Video episode originally posted Jan 25, 2023
Transcript of Play
Fabum and Doceep prepare for the next stage of their investigation. The question arises: will Doceep finally tell Fabum about his secret mission now that her investigation is getting so close to his?
- Fate: no
Doceep must continue to keep his mission secret, which becomes increasingly challenging as they continue their investigations.
Fabum decides to investigate the tracks left by the mysterious train. She and Doceep pack for a journey to follow the tracks and see where they lead.
- Chaos die: expected scene
Do they encounter something along the way?
- Fate: strong no
The two head along the jungle tracks, with Fabum keeping her small Rajasaurus arm on her holster, ready for action. But the jungle is eerily silent. The stillness becomes unnerving, almost worse than running into danger.
Based on what we know, I assume this leads to a Martian facility.
- Fate: yes
Eventually, the tracks lead to a Martian facility. The tracks disappear into gates patrolled by Martian guards. Fabum and Doceep take cover and observe the scene.
Fabum whispers, “Martians. This is bad. We’re completely outnumbered. I do not think we can do a direct assault. Nor would we want to. We’ll have to sneak in.”
Doceep nods. “This is a good piece of information. We could take this back to the Saurian Arbitrators’ Guild, and let them know there’s Martian involvement in this case. There’s no need to risk ourselves further.”
Fabum hesitates. “It feels like a waste to have come all this way and not gather more intel. Let’s see what we can observe before deciding.”
The pair decide to sneak closer.
- Hide: failure with one advantage
Fabum and Doceep attempt to hide behind a large growth of sparking trees near the Martian facility. Despite their efforts, the Martian guards spot them. A small contingent approaches, with one guard calling out, “We see you there. This is a secure private facility. We are asking you to leave immediately.”
Fabum steps forward, adopting a diplomatic tone. “My deepest apologies. We were merely sightseeing, backpacking through the beautiful Midnight Jungle, and stumbled upon your facility. We mean no harm, no offense, and will leave immediately.”
The Martian guard replies curtly, “Good. I thought you might.”
Before leaving, Fabum and Doceep manage to gather a small clue.
- Story cube: reading a book
Books make me think of wizards.
They spot the sylicate aembermancer Fabum had encountered previously entering the facility. The large gates open, and the aembermancer walks inside before the doors close again.
Fabum whispers, “Well, that’s very interesting. We suspected the sylicate aembermancer was involved, but seeing them working with Martians confirms it. This gives us something to go on.”
Unable to stay longer due to their lack of stealth, Fabum and Doceep are escorted out by the Martian patrol. Of course, Doceep wants to get out of here.
The chaos rank increases to seven, as they gain only minimal progress in uncovering the mystery.
Reviewing her options, Fabum recalls Smuy, the human hermit with a fuzzy gruen pet.
- Chaos die: interrupt scene
- Event focus: advance a thread
- Event theme: care for the mundane
- Thread: TransTech’s mysterious cargo
Care for the mundane makes me think of a low-level medic or nurse. We know this is going to advance our understanding of TransTech’s mysterious cargo.
As Fabum and Doceep make their way to Smuy’s camp, they discover one of his traps has captured a Martian medic.
We assume they are Martian. Is this the case?
- Fate: yes
Fabum: “I want to try one other things. I have a local contact who’s been able to help me out before. Lets go meet with him.”
Doceep: “Alright. But if this doesn’t pan out, let’s just go back.”
Fabum is starting to get suspicious of why Doceep wants to leave so quickly and urgently, but doesn’t say anything.
Fabum and Doceep venture deeper into the wilderness where they know Smuy resides. His shelter is a makeshift hut constructed from black vines and roots with bioluminescent shoots woven together. The result is an eerie but striking structure hidden among the trees.
When they arrive, Smuy is sitting outside with his fuzzy Gruen, petting the small creature. He greets Fabum. “Oh, you’re gonna like this! I got something in my trap. Come check it out!”
The medic appears to be involved in the operations related to TransTech’s cargo. Fabum turns to Doceep, who remains cautious but intrigued.
Inside the hut, tied up in ropes and vines, is a Martian medic. Muzzled and visibly frustrated, the medic stares at Fabum and Doceep as they enter.
Fabum nods approvingly. “Perfect. We’re going to interrogate this medic and find out more about what’s happening at that facility.”
Fabum attempts to use coercion to extract information, leveraging her natural intimidation.
- Coercion: Failure with advantage
Though the interrogation isn’t entirely successful, some useful details still emerge.
The gag is removed, and the Martian medic, defiant, says, “I’m not telling you anything.”
Fabum retorts, “You’re going to tell us what’s happening in that facility, or else.”
The medic smirks. “Joke’s on you. I’m just a lowly medic. I have no idea what’s going on in the facility. I’m only there to treat neurological conditions. We’ve got a lot of dizziness, blackouts, sleepiness. That’s all I know.”
Fabum frowns but considers the implications. Doceep remains silent, knowing full well the connection to the Martian hypnotic experiments. Fabum begins piecing together the clues aloud. “Neurological symptoms… dizziness, blackouts… This could be some kind of hypnotic technology. If the Martians are creating a hypnotic factory, it could be a huge problem.”
Fabum inspects the medic for anything useful, like an access card.
- Fate: no.
There’s no way to use the medic to infiltrate the facility.
Doceep, visibly uneasy, suggests, “We’ve got enough information. We should leave. We don’t need to get more involved.”
Frustrated but unable to see another option, Fabum agrees. “Fine. Let’s head out. But I want to do a flyover of the facility on our way.”
The group packs up and heads back to their chariot. Fabum is determined to gather more intel from the air.
- Chaos die: altered scene
- Theme: imprison the public
As Fabum and Doceep fly over the Martian facility, they notice something alarming. At the back of the facility, Martian guards are taking sylicates prisoner. Looking closer, Fabum spots Beigh among the captives, along with other citizens. The prisoners are being herded under heavy guard.
Fabum exclaims, “Look! They’re taking regular citizens prisoner! We can’t let this stand!”
Doceep hesitates but agrees. Together, they decide to intervene by disrupting the Martians’ operations without endangering the prisoners. Their chariot is equipped with weapons, and they make a plan to fire from above.
Doceep’s firing roll: success with a threat
The assault takes out a couple of guards, but one of the sylicate prisoners is injured in the explosion.
How many prisoners are there?
- d10: 10
Assessing the situation, Fabum counts approximately ten prisoners—a number far too large to evacuate in the chariot. Determined to help, she prepares for another pass while Martian guards return fire.
- Martian firing roll: failure
Fabum’s going to try to bring the chariot around for another quick pass.
- Fabum piloting check: success with three threats
While making a tight maneuver, a hidden compartment in the chariot opens, spilling out Doceep’s secret items—the plant clipping and a datapad.
- Doceep’s firing check: failure
Distracted by the spill, Doceep abandons his turret, scrambling to recover the items.
“What are you doing?” Fabum shouts. “I just set you up for another shot!”
Martians are firing at them and sylicates are screaming.
Doceep frantically tries to stuff the items back into the compartment, but Fabum catches a glimpse. “What’s that? Why do you have that plant clipping?”
Doceep, flustered, stammers, “It’s… it’s nothing! Don’t worry about it.”
Fabum’s frustration mounts. “Wait a second. Is this why you wanted to leave earlier? Are you working with them?” She draws the worst conclusion.
“No, no, no!” Doceep protests. “It’s not that—it’s just… you’re not cleared for this!”
“Not cleared? You’re hiding something from me! Tell me the truth, or I’ll crash this chariot into the ground!” Fabum demands, her anger boiling over.
Doceep clutches the items tightly. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I can’t tell you.”
Furious, Fabum tries to force Doceep out of the chariot by flipping the craft.
- Fabum piloting check: failure
He holds on. “Okay, okay, okay!” he pleads. “It’s classified. It’s higher security clearance. I can’t tell you. You just have to trust me.”
“Trust you? You’ve been lying to me this whole time!” Fabum snaps, humiliated and enraged.
- Martian firing check: failure
Meanwhile, the Martians fire another volley, but it doesn’t hit. Fabum, ignoring Doceep, focuses on bringing the chariot back around for another pass to rescue the prisoners.
- Fabum piloting check: sucess
Fabum steadies the chariot and decides against any more fancy maneuvers. She swings the vehicle around, giving Doceep another shot at the guards.
- Doceep firing check: success with a threat
Doceep fires, hitting one of the Martians, but the chaos on the ground worsens. The sylicates are scattering, endangering themselves further.
Realizing their current approach isn’t working, Fabum decides to land. “We have to rescue as many as we can and create some cover,” she says.
- Fabum piloting check: success
She lands gently amid the chaos. She shouts to the fleeing sylicates, “Get in! Get in!”
Beigh is among those who make it into the chariot. As he climbs aboard, he says, “I told you not to get involved!”
“I couldn’t help it,” Fabum replies.
They aren’t able to save all the sylicates. There’s not enough room.
- Martian firing roll: success
The Martians retaliate, landing shots on the chariot, which takes damage.
- Doceep firing roll: success
Doceep manages to fire another round, knocking back some of the guards and creating enough cover for them to take off safely.
As the chariot soars through the air, Beigh confronts Fabum. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved. This was a major mistake.”
Fabum snaps back, “Why? You were being taken prisoner! Why shouldn’t we have gotten involved?”
I have an idea that I want to test. It seems likely that if Martians are building hypnotic technology, that they are using it on the prisoners, and there’s a mental block to prevent the prisoners from discussing the experiments.
- Fate: yes
The reason Beigh has been telling Fabum to not get involved is because they are under the influence of Martian hypnotic suggestion, as are some other members of the sylicate community.
Fabum turns to Beigh. “You’re under the influence of Martian hypnotic suggestion, aren’t you? That’s why you didn’t want us to interfere.”
Beigh looks uncomfortable but doesn’t respond. Fabum then turns to Doceep. “You’ve studied this. Do you think you could break the suggestion?”
Doceep science roll: success with threat.
He answers carefully, “I could, but not here. We’d need to be settled, in a safe place. It’s a long process, and there’s always a risk of brain damage.”
Fabum considers this. “We still have that medic Smuy captured. Would their help make a difference?”
“It might,” Doceep replies, “but even then, this isn’t something we can do on the fly.”
The group returns to the sylicate village, landing amid growing concern from the villagers. The sylicate leader, Rock, approaches with several others, looking apprehensive.
Fabum addresses them directly. “Some of your citizens are under the influence of a Martian hypnotic suggestion. We can break it, but it will take time.”
Rock nods gravely. “I had suspected something strange was happening in our community, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Thank you for uncovering this. Hopefully we can solve this.”
Fabum addresses the sylicate leader. “I fear that because of the way we approached the Martian facility, they may try to counterattack. We need to get ready for that.”
The leader nods. “All right, we’ll prepare.”
Do the hypnotized sylicates resist?
- Fate: yes
Just as Fabum finishes explaining, chaos breaks out. The sylicates under Martian control, including Beigh, suddenly turn against the others. Their eyes glow red, and the Martian command to “fight” takes hold. Sylicate begins fighting sylicate. What had seemed like a manageable situation erupts into a full-blown conflict.
Fabum and Doceep quickly retreat to the chariot as the fighting spills into the village. The controlled sylicates, now frenzied, begin attacking the damaged chariot. Even the pterosaur becomes spooked, screeching loudly.
They’re going to try to retreat to a safe position.
- Fabum piloting check: success
They take off, gaining enough altitude to escape the immediate chaos below.
From above, Fabum looks down at the village in turmoil. Her attempt to help has led to a disaster, with sylicates battling each other under Martian control.
Frustrated and distraught, she turns to Doceep. “You knew. You knew the whole time. You just stood there while I investigated. While I tried to figure it all out, you knew what was going on, and now the village is in chaos. You should have said something!”
Doceep, visibly tense, replies, “You don’t understand. I can’t break confidentiality. There were secrets I couldn’t expose.”
Fabum’s anger boils over. “When did you even get those things? You’ve been with me this whole time. Wait—not the whole time. Did you leave me in the swamp? I thought I remembered something, but you told me it couldn’t have happened. You left me, didn’t you?”
Doceep remains silent, his guilt clear.
Fabum looks back at the village below, chaos unfolding as sylicate fights sylicate. The weight of the situation presses down on her. Part of her knows this mess is her fault, but she also blames Doceep for withholding critical information.
The scene ends with unanswered questions. How will they get out of this? What will they do now, with the Martians likely preparing a counterattack? The chaos factor as the situation spirals further out of control.
Next episode: Keyforge Ep 7 Village Battle