The fact that Sheppard just left his body there suggests to me that in Cattenom, Recycling is just something that happens after death here.
If I'm going based off of Franklin's thread, then it's best to assume that it happens immediately after death, which would be why any traces of 'it' were long since gone from Jhonen.

If we're to assume that the current risk is fear related, and because of that, Roger's fear is too high, then that would imply the only options that make sense here are 'Bec and Enid. And that does make sense to a certain extent, but I feel wrong to assume that looking at a more than likely freshly made body would incur dang near 50 fear-
-However if the danger is instead physically related to what recycling entails, then I'm not sure I'd want Enid to be checking up on Giovanni.

C: 'Bec, if possible. As the informant, if she's able to bear it, then she'll very possibly be able to get the most amount of people to know about it. If Enid ends up getting picked instead, well... I think about the only thing that can be said to make this decision not feel really cruel on its face would be to suggest for her to talk to him and ease him out if he's still alive after all that somehow, which I personally heavily doubt.

>>1106723
Albert has weak eyes and wouldn't be much use here since he also lacks any connection to the task at hand, roger is out by default, that leaves Enid or Clive. Of these two, I think CLIVE would be the most narratively-likely choices here. He has unresolved business here.

Send Clive.

C. Bec
While Enid seems to be ALARMINGLY resilient to trauma (seriously she only gained 10 fear as opposed to Rodgers 15 here) I don't think it would do her any good to see the one adult friend she's had outside of her dad in the state that he's currently in (stabbed and with bullet holes perforating him).
If anybody had a better opportunity to find something on a body physically (either alive or dead) it would be Bec. Plus she would probably know better than to let any authority's find whatever she finds (assuming of course the danger is from such things).

Thinking it through, I’ll change my vote to Bec. One thing I noticed is that Snyder did not mention Bec at all when ratting out who he found to Anderson. Even if he didn’t see Bec, he didn’t mention anything about hearing another girl’s voice that isn’t Enid’s, despite Bec talking to Clive after stopping him right near snyder (interestingly). Farmer Anderson was also able to piece together that Enid was here, which leaves Bec as the only one not under suspicion.

Maybe she has to be the one to search the body and hide whatever she finds herself because she is the least suspicious after all and the only one Anderson does not suspect at the very least raided the nuclear power plant.

The Storyteller 2025/04/25(Fri)20:38 No. 1106977 ID: c438a4
File 174563870576.png - (247.42KB , 1000x1001 , 412.png )

Slowly, you exit the cubicle.

Roger: “Is everyone okay?”
‘Bec: “Yeah, we’re good.”

You hear her step out, accompanied by Clive and Enid. With Albert beside you, that’s everyone accompanied for.

Enid: “Is it safe to turn on our lights?”

Your stomach drops at the thought. The darkness was a blessing you aren’t ready to give up. Not when you know what the light will reveal.

Roger: “...Better not. Aiden’s dad could notice and come back.”
Enid: “Okay.”
Albert: “It sounded like he left to the East. Unless we’re intending to confront him, I suggest we head elsewhere for the time being.”

More than ever, you wanted to suggest leaving outright and going home. You hadn’t discovered anything useful yet, but you’d rather flee and live than stay here for even a minute longer.

Unfortunately, if Albert’s points before hadn’t been true before, Mr. Snyder had left you no room for doubt. Mr. Sheppard knows your names, all of you, save for ‘Bec. (Your guess is that he didn’t recognize her in his injured state, at least not well-enough to sell her out.)

If Mr. Sheppard leaves this building, there won’t be any more investigation. All of you will graduate, and that will be that.

Albert: “Or we could Kill him.”

…You’re running out of room to argue against that course of action.

‘Bec: “What about the Body?”

And there’s the other topic you really wanted to avoid.

Roger: “What about it?”
‘Bec: “We don’t know what Snyder was carrying. Some of it could be useful.”
‘Bec: “I’m calling dibs on his wallet.”
Enid: “You’re going to take his stuff?”
‘Bec: “...It’s not like he still needs it.”
Albert: “You realize that, even if we agree on principle, someone will have to rummage through Snyder’s pockets to find whatever he may be carrying.”
Albert: “Unless you’re offering yourself for this unwanted task.”
‘Bec: “Uhhhh, !@#$ that? I’m not touching a $#%@ corpse.”

Albert sighs, as the conversation comes to a standstill.

For a moment, you consider volunteering to do it yourself. It isn’t that you want to, it’s just habit. Your throat tightens before you can get the first word out, the weight of the task dawning on you.

You can’t do it. You just can’t.

Albert could probably handle it mentally, but you can’t exactly leave him behind to handle something like this, considering his health. If Aiden’s dad came back, he might not be able to get away by himself.

You don’t think you can rely on Clive for anything, and he isn’t even offering himself up. He hasn’t said a word, and you’d rather it stay that way.

The thought of asking Enid makes sense for a longer moment than you’d like to admit. She knows him the best, so you figure she might recognize anything important he might have better than anyone. Perfectly sound plan, right up until you really think about that first part. Enid knew Mr. Snyder better than any of you, as he was a friend of her dad’s. Does it really seem like a good idea to put her face to face with his corpse?

It does not. That left only one real option…

Roger: “I know you don’t want to Bec, but can you do it?”
‘Bec: “I just said–”
Roger: “You’re the one who brought it up! A-And… you’re the oldest.”
Roger: “Please?”

Honestly, you don’t know her well-enough to know how she’ll respond. From how she was earlier, you could easily have imagined her getting mad at you for even asking. Instead however, she just sighs and scratches at her beanie.

‘Bec: “Fine. Gimme your flashlight though, I’m not doing this $@#% in the dark.”
Roger: “Th-Thank you! And here…”

You pass her your torch, and she waves you all off.

‘Bec: “There’s a room straight North of here, down that hall. Go wait for me there.”
Albert: “Hmm, we’ll run into Sheppard eventually if he loops the entire floor, but we’ll evade him for the time being at least. That can work.”
‘Bec: “Yeah. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. Dumb#$$...”
Roger: “Let’s just go. We’ll wait for you, as long as you reach us before Aiden’s dad can.”

As you turn to leave, she stops you.

‘Bec: “Wait.”
‘Bec: “...Don’t go to that room actually, hide in the one beside it.”
Roger: “What’s wrong with the first room?”
‘Bec: “Let’s just say that if you don’t want to be here, then you definitely don’t wanna be there.”

You swallow, remembering the corpse that greeted you at the building’s entrance.

Roger: “Right… The room beside it then?”
‘Bec: “Yeah. It’s full of papers. You can’t miss it.”

With that settled, the four of you head off as a collective towards the room ‘Bec pointed you towards. At some point, you notice the hall behind you get brighter. ‘Bec had, thankfully, given you a decent head start before lighting up the body to examine it, sparing you all an awful sight.

The Storyteller 2025/04/25(Fri)20:38 No. 1106978 ID: c438a4
File 174563872992.png - (340.69KB , 1000x1001 , 413.png )

The walk is silent, until you eventually find the rooms ‘Bec described.

Ignoring the first room entirely, you head a few steps East to the one beside it, finding yourselves in what could best be described as an Archive. There were shelves lined with the kind of cardboard boxes that adults use to hold files and folders. They were all rather organized, save a couple that had fallen over and one whose contents seemed scattered about a small area. You’re guessing that ‘Bec might have been looking there.

Albert: “Hm, waiting here might not be a waste of time.”

He immediately moves to a shelf to start investigating, while Clive and Enid meander to different corners of the room.

…Maybe you should leave the files to Albert for a bit, and focus on the emotional state of your group?

Choose up to two:

A: Check on Enid
-You have a clearer idea what’s bothering her
-She doesn’t scare you
B: Begrudgingly, Check on Clive
-As upset as you are with him, you’re more scared than anything. You don’t understand Clive
-If you face your fears and just talk to him, you might get some answers
C: What about Albert?
-Albert isn’t always upfront about his feelings
-He seems fine, but it may be worth checking in with him anyways
D: Investigate
-There’s a lot to go through, but you feel like your odds of finding something important are pretty good here

The worst part about being in such a critical situation for a prolonged period of time is that it makes it all that much harder to justify not focusing on arguably the most important thing, which in this case, would be finding information.

That being said, I'm still going to advocate for A + B, and failing that, B + D.

Albert seems fine, but since the Party Fear was last updated in response to Clive's trauma response, it's hard to say for sure. What I can say, however, is that I trust him to understand what he finds. But putting all that aside, Albert is probably the least relevant when it comes to the topic of Giovanni's death.

Enid is probably doing better than we think, in large part due to Actual Therapy, but even if she is, this definitely has to suck for her.

And as far as Clive goes, this is probably one of the few instances where we won't be getting much pushback from Roger as usual- the fact that it's an option means that he's considering it, and that alone is, in my opinion, monumental.

>>1106983
All valid points. I’m voting for A + B.

Albert has something to occupy his mind with. Clive most certainly does NOT. Even if he doesn’t like Roger, it’s something to focus on other than gruesome gory murder. Clive is undoubtedly remembering some things he’d rather not, so anything Roger does to talk to him will help his mental state far better than leaving him alone- no matter what Clive himself thinks.

Enid needs some reassurance. If ‘Bec being the oldest means she gets more responsibilities, then Enid being the youngest means she gets help working through all the things the two adults said about her.

I think it’s as temmie and once said iirc, we are not going to get all the answers to our questions during this quest. Not sure when, where, or if she said that, but that's a fact we have to accept. I think as long as Albert and Bec are investigating their respective areas, we should get the decent amount of information needed to continue if we're not getting a lot. mental health comes first

That said: Clive needs help, but Roger dodger knows nothing about him to help him properly, not to mention he's terrified of him. If we wanna help Clive, talking to Albert or Enid first about Clive is a must so Roger can at least get some idea of who he is to take at Least the first step to help,

as for whom, talking to Albert could be beneficial as it can probably help lower Albert's fear (his is the second highest), but I feel if we ask him about Clive, he will only give us analytical insight on him instead of insight of his personality, which would only help a little, but not quite the information we need. Right now, Albert believes Clive murdered his parents when in actuality, it was Rodney. Albert would only give Roger false information and fear Clive more.

Enid took some time to try to understand Clive as a person, if anybody can help Roger, it's Enid.

A. Check up on Enid to see how she is feeling considering she just witnessed her father's good friend get killed by Anderson, and if it leads into it, Roger should talk about his own fears about Clive, and his feelings about his actions here, and what he did to Jolene. While Enid knows Clive almost killed Jolene, I don't think Roger ever told her the full story, like events leading up to her beatdown from his perspective. Roger should be honest with her about his feelings about Clive for what he did if it makes Roger feel any better, even if it's hate. Maybe after, Enid can give Roger some insight from what she learned about Clive as a person who protected her from Anderson, and other thoughts. I feel talking to Enid will help mentally prepare Roger for Clive.

then B. Honestly not sure what to say to Clive at the moment until we get Enid's insight. But I remember we had 4 water bottles along with our 4 rations? though they probably got mixed with our rations, and got depleted when Clive, Roger, Enid, and Albert snacked. I guess if Roger and/or he still have some, suggest/offer drinking, stay hydrated. Otherwise... maybe try to think about why you drew him, what was it that inspired you to draw him despite your fear?

My vote is on B + D, and my reasoning is that Clive is in much dire need of someone to stabilize him right now.
Enid too, for that matter, but not to the point where it can't be adressed later, as she is still holding together and paying attention to her surroundings.

Albert is most definitely not fine, but his traumas seem to be more ingrained, seeing as how he is so resolute on killing Mr. Sheppard, and we might be able to add actual input right now as he sifts through the documents, and it could also provide something to ocuppy our mind away from the chaos around us.

A + B, use Enid as moral support to check on Clive.

>while Clive and Enid meander to different corners of the room.
Boy. That doesn't imply anything about these two characters and how they'll be interacting with each other going forward.

I'll pick D-B.
While I'd normally understand why people would go for Enid in these cases I don't think She'll be quite as sympathetic towards Clive as she would otherwise be given what he just did to one of her few adult friends.
Rodger needs some time to decompact what he just saw and calm himself down a bit. But Clive's behaviour NEEDS to be addressed at some point.

>>1107013
With that said. Now WOULD be a good time to hand stuff out at this point if we still have anything.

and after hearing >>1107013 argument, I'll change vote B, C. Yeah, Enid might not be too happy with Clive and would probably not have good things to say about Clive and won't help Roger's fear of him at all.

since Albert was wondering why Clive couldn't finish the job of killing Snyder, maybe he's been thinking about Clive from a different perspective, knowing him, he might have figured something out about him. Plus we should probably address Killing Anderson or not with him. He also has the second highest fear.

but yeah, B, C is my new vote.

rolled 5 = 5

---

A quick roll for Albert's investigation to see if he finds anything while searching by himself.

6-8: Albert finds something of at least SOME value.
3-5: Albert finds something mostly useless.
1-2: Albert finds nothing meaningful.

>>1107210
Nom d'un chien.

The Storyteller 2025/04/29(Tue)22:38 No. 1107273 ID: c438a4
File 174599151984.png - (420.54KB , 1000x1000 , 414.png )

Update on current fear levels

Party Fear Levels:
[Roger: 56/100] (+6)
[Albert: 64/100] (+3)
[Clive: 90/100] (+0)
[Enid: 56/100] (+12)

Enid is sitting with her head buried in her knees in one corner of the room. You sit beside her, and realize that she’s crying. Her shoulders shake, as she quietly sobs into her legs.

You place your hand on her back, rubbing gently. She doesn’t tell you to stop.

Roger: “I’m sorry that happened.”
Enid: “Giovanni… He was trying to save me. If I’d just–I should have–”

She chokes on her words. You don’t interrupt, letting her take as long as she needs.

Enid: “...He wouldn’t be dead if I just went with him, would he?”
Enid: “Clive wouldn’t have hurt him. Sheppard wouldn’t have killed him.”
Enid: “...Doesn’t that mean it’s my fault?”
Roger: “No, of course not.”
Roger: “You didn’t go with him because he wasn’t telling us everything, a-and he was going to get the rest of us in trouble.”
Roger: “He made those choices, not you. If anything, it’s his fault that you chose not to go with him, so what happened to him was his fault too.”
Roger: “Does… that make sense?”
Enid: “...Do you think it’s dumb that I care?”
Roger: “What do you mean?”
Enid: “‘Cuz… Giovanni was Bad, wasn’t he?”
Enid: “He knew about all the bad stuff, and he didn’t try to stop it. He turned on daddy–he was even gonna turn all of you in!”
Enid: “He was a bad person, so isn’t it stupid that I care?”

That… is a question you haven’t quite found an answer to yourself.

You hadn’t stopped loving your parents, even when it was hard to talk to them. It hurt when they belittled your interests, but it didn’t change the fact that they were your parents. Them being complicit in this townwide conspiracy though…

Even though you haven't decided yourself how to feel, you know that isn’t what Enid needs to hear. She needs comfort, so you swallow your doubts and lay it on thick.

Roger: “It isn’t stupid to care about someone, even if they turned out to be lousy.”
Roger: “Mr. Snyder–Giovanni–he probably treated you well. You had nice memories with him, didn’t you?”
Enid: “Yeah…”
Roger: “Well, even if he did bad things, it doesn’t undo that he did good things too.”
Roger: “It’s okay to miss the good times without ignoring the bad ones.”
Enid: “...”

She glances up at you, considering. Soon, her eyes fall back to the floor.

Enid: “...Daddy was bad too, wasn’t he?”

For a moment, you consider lying to spare her feelings. It’s tempting, but you can’t do that to her. Not only does she deserve the truth, but you doubt she’d even be fooled. If she was, it would only be by choice, a willful decision to ignore the harsh reality.

Roger: “He knew what was going on in town. At least as much as every other adult.”
Enid: “I don’t want to believe it. That wasn’t who he was.”
Enid: “He didn’t only care about me, not like Giovanni was acting. There’s no way daddy knew about Graduation and just let it happen.”
Enid: “I just… I can’t believe it.”
Roger: “I get it. I don’t want to think that about my parents either.”

You sit there in silence for a bit, unsure what else to say. Eventually, Enid takes a breath and raises her head.

Enid: “Okay… I’m done.”
Roger: “You’re done?”
Enid: “...I miss daddy, and I’m sad that Mr. Giovanni is gone.”
Enid: “But… I can’t just sit here and feel bad. Not right now.”
Enid: “I’ve cried plenty, and I’ll probably cry more later. For now though, there are things we need to do, right?”

You’re almost stunned silent by her shift in attitude. After a moment though, you can’t help but smile at her.

Enid was able to work through some of her negative feelings, -5 Fear
[Enid: 51/100]

Roger: “Yeah, that’s right. We can come back to how we feel about everything later.”

The Storyteller 2025/04/29(Tue)22:39 No. 1107274 ID: c438a4
File 174599154968.png - (1.01MB , 1000x1000 , 415.png )

Helping Enid out of her funk must have made you arrogant. Feeling strong enough to face anything, you genuinely consider talking to Clive next. He completely shut down after attacking Mr. Snyder. Right now, he’s just sulking in the other corner of the room, staring down at the floor.

Part of you wanted to demand answers, force him to explain why he did what he did…

As you approach him however, he looks up at you, and your confidence melts away in an instant. The weight of his glare froze you in place, making you rethink everything.

He’s so… unapproachable. The thought of getting near him, saying anything… It's horrifying. You know what he’s capable of, and it feels like any wrong statement could make you his next victim.

There wasn’t hate in his eyes, no, but that just made it harder to read him. His eyes were dull, utterly lifeless. His whole expression sent only one message: “Leave me alone.”

You stand there for a few indecisive seconds, debating if you really want to go through with this.

Then, Enid walks right past you. Your arm flinches, nearly moving on its own to pull her away from danger. You catch yourself though, and let her pass.

She takes a seat on the floor beside Clive, watching him. Her expression seemed uncertain, but not terrified in the way that you were.

She holds her hand out in front of him, palm up. His eyes twitch, looking down at it. Then, after a few tense seconds, he places his hand in hers.

Clive… is holding Enid’s hand.

Clive is holding Enid’s hand.

There’s a distinct moment where you feel something change.

Suddenly, where once sat a feral creature who might strike at any provocation, there sat a boy. An abrasive boy with a nasty face, but ultimately, just a kid. Not much older than you.

Enid: “Are you okay?’
Clive: “...”
Clive: “...I’m fine.”
Enid: “Are you sure?”
Clive: “Yeah.”

She looks like she believes it even less than you do. Her grip tightens.

Enid: “Before, when you–um–hurt Giovanni… It was scary at the time, but you saved me from him, didn’t you?”
Enid: “Thank you for that.”
Clive: “...”

Clive pulls his hand back and looks away. It seems like a negative response, but you aren’t sure why.

Unfortunately, you can’t keep your tongue in your mouth. The question comes out before you even think about it.

Roger: “Why did you do it?”

Your resolve shakes as he looks up at you, but you keep going.

Roger: “I-I can think of a few reasons, but what was yours?”
Clive: “...Couldn’t let him get away. I can’t help Rodney if I graduate.”
Clive: “He had to stop moving. Stop talking. Forever.”
Roger: “...”
Roger: “Were you going to kill him?”
Clive: “I don’t know.”
Roger: “But… you wanted him dead?”
Clive: “He had to be dead, so that he couldn’t talk. I didn’t want it. It was Necessary.”
Clive: “Someone always stops me. I don’t know if I’d go all the way.”

There’s a pause, as he lifts his still-bloody hands to stare down at them.

Clive: “...I think I probably would.”

It wasn’t a comforting sentiment, but it was an honest answer. You don’t have the heart or time to ask for any more.

In the end, you aren’t sure what to think about Clive. The image you had of him as a horrific killer had been shaken. It didn’t quite match up to reality, but the actions remained the same. He was still the boy who attacked JoJo, and the boy who may have killed Mr. Snyder if nobody had stepped in. They weren’t senseless acts, but that just meant they were choices he made.

Still, you don’t fear traveling alongside him quite as much. So long as you don’t present a reason, you don’t think he’ll harm you.

Roger is able to cast aside some of the Fear he’s been carrying about Clive, -5 Fear
Clive has been brought back to reality, -3 Fear
Enid is able to settle some of her uncertainty around Clive’s actions, -2 Fear

[Roger: 51/100]
[Clive: 87/100]
[Enid: 49/100]

The Storyteller 2025/04/29(Tue)22:39 No. 1107275 ID: c438a4
File 174599157328.png - (82.17KB , 1000x1000 , 416.png )

The door to the room is kicked open, as ‘Bec strolls inside, looking understandably worse for wear.

’Bec dug through the pockets of a corpse, during which she definitely got a look at the damage. She gained 14 Fear in total from all of that.

[‘Bec: 56/100]

Albert: “How was the search?”
‘Bec: “Waste of my @#$%in’ time! Dude didn’t have shit.”
‘Bec: “That sight wasn’t worth the #$^% pocket change. That was a five dollar job, bare minimum.”
Albert: “Hmm. He didn’t have anything of interest?”
‘Bec: “Empty @$!#in’ wallet and his Keys. That’s it.”

She holds up the ring of keys with a sour look on her face, staring at them as if they personally insulted her.

‘Bec: “It’s not like I couldn’t just pick the lock to his store and leave with whatever I wanted. This doesn’t do &@#$ for me.”

You just barely catch the key ring when she tosses it your way. You hold it up to get a better look, seeing three keys on it. One was obviously for the shop, and another his home. Both of them looked a lot like the house keys your parents had. The style of the third key, however, was a bit different. Instead of being a flat piece of brass with a wide head and a hole just slightly wider than the key ring going through it, the third key was wholly unique.

It was thicker, silver, and its head was more a ring than a flattened shape. The teeth were also unlike the house or store key, having an unusual pattern of bumps.

Enid gasps.

Enid: “Giovanni had this?”
Roger: “Do you recognize it?”
Enid: “This is daddy’s! It’s the key to his Safe!”
‘Bec: “Say that again? This is suddenly sounding profitable.”
Enid: “This key opens the Wall-Safe in daddy’s bedroom!”
‘Bec: “Cha-ching! Tell me everything you know about it.”

You hand the key over to Enid. She rolls it around in her palm, staring at it curiously.

Enid: “Daddy showed it to me a few times, but he never told me what was inside.”
Enid: “I think… he wanted me to know about it. It didn’t just come up, he went out of his way to show me.”
Albert: “Inheritance perhaps?”
Enid: “Maybe…”
Enid: “But… Why did Giovanni have this? Did he take it from daddy?”
Albert: “That’s one possibility. There’s also the chance that your father bequeathed it to his trusted friend upon realizing his death was imminent.”
Albert: “It also could have been passed for unrelated reasons. Difficult to say without knowing when it entered Snyder’s possession.”

Enid’s expression didn’t betray her thoughts, as she continued to stare down at the key with an uncertain look. However Mr. Snyder had come upon it, it had returned to Enid. That is all that mattered.

‘Bec: “Anyways, now that that’s sorted, you guys gonna keep hanging around here?”
‘Bec: “There were a couple rooms to the East I wanted to take another crack at Picking, now that I’ve got a light.”
Albert: “Our chances of crossing paths with Sheppard go up quite a bit if we head in that direction. We should take some time to plan before doing so.”
Albert: “Besides, there are still heaps of potential clues in here.”
‘Bec: “What, this junk? I dug around here myself, and none of this @#$% is helpful.”
Albert: “That’s your opinion. It wouldn’t hurt to compare our clues.”

What should you do?

A: Stay and Scheme
-Enid: “What are we going to do about Mr. Sheppard?”
-Discuss a plan of action to deal with the gun-toting farmer
-There is a strong likelihood that you will need to decide on someone to “do the deed”. This will not be an easy conversation
-Feel free to suggest points for Roger to make
B: Stay and Search
-Albert: “If we’re searching for clues, it would be wasteful to ignore this room’s contents.”
-Do a sweep of the entire room and find all clues hidden within
-Sheppard will perform multiple movement actions, dependant on how long you take to search
-You will be warned if Sheppard is coming near
C: Leave and Lockpick
-’Bec: “Those two rooms seemed interesting…”
-Head East to the rooms ‘Bec wishes to try lockpicking
-You will listen for Sheppard as you move, and be given the chance to hide if you would cross paths with him
-You haven’t come across a fully locked room yet, so ‘Bec may be right to assume these are important

Well I’m just gonna say thank goodness we gave Enid the day off way back when. Getting the chance to cry it out then and not now is good.

Clive’s been brought back to reality, but reality sucks. Let’s give him a break on doing any more deeds. And speaking of…

Sheppard knows Enid is aware of far more than she should be. I’m struggling to come up with a way to let everyone know that Sheppard will hunt people down AFTER we escape, not just right now. I’m still not sure why he doesn’t go out to get more people…

Roger can bring up the fact that, based on Giovanni’s conversation with Sheppard, there’s a very real chance that there are multiple factions in the town regarding… whatever is happening. If Sheppard is removed from that equation, he won’t be there to organize and energize his murder-y faction. Plus we cut off any information about us from getting out, and have the chance to (correctly) frame Sheppard for Giovanni’s death. Make sure to give a good cover story for the stab wounds.

As for how to do it, Sheppard isn’t aware of how many of us there are. We can lure him into an area where he doesn’t have the advantage, and spring a trap. Are there any heavy objects we can rig to fall?

I vote A for all of the above reasons.

>>1107278
A.
Frankly the only person at this point who could reasonably deal with him without getting hurt at this point would be Bec.
Primarily because she has a pistol (the only time this EVER came up in these threads is during Alberts part where he saw it on the price list for 10$). Failing that for some reason, She has a crowbar.
>>1107278
>frame Sheppard for Giovanni’s death
What makes you think anybody will even admit that ANY deaths took place here at all? The fact that there are still decayed mutilated dead bodies and that one of the few survivors of whatever happened here is a pariah makes it seem like people would rather just assume Giovanni up and left town than admit he died here, Doubly so if Shepard or whoever he works for says he's a traitor.

>>1107301
(first message wasn't for donut. Sorry)

A. Sheppard can't be allowed to repeat what Snyder told him.

I forgot Bec had a pistol. The question is whether or not she brought it with her. it wasn't shown in inventory, but then again, neither was Bec's crowbar...

I really want to do C. but Albert's pretty smart. If he believes there's a higher chance of being spotted by Anderson right now, he is most likely right. It's probably best to wait in this room a little while with A or B.

I'm guessing B is my choice. If Anderson gets away and lets everyone know about us, it won't be the end of the world, it would just mean that Roger, Albert, Clive, and Enid will have to go into hiding, and can't go home.

if we do A, I guess it would have to be a team effort where one person gets Anderson's attention, lures him somewhere, and when we reach a certain spot, another shoots him with pistol.

If we can lure him into the storage room, we can have some other people hide in the shelves here >>1063021 and they can push the barrels or crates to get in his way, causing him to stop, and having one more person shoot him from there since he would not be a moving target

So overall, my plan to deal with Anderson I'm guessing first, Clive, Enid, and Albert could be the ones hiding in the shelves, maybe where the crates are, and bec could hide in a locker

then Roger, since he's the fastest, can try to find, and lure Anderson into the
storage room as he gives chase. Roger could then try to run past the shelves around the corner, maybe knock on them to give them a signal to push the crates. Clive, Enid, and Albert would in a team effort try to push one of the crates right in front of, or on top of Anderson if we're lucky (we should test and make sure they can push it together first before we set the plan in motion) Once the crate falls, Anderson would most likely stop in place, and then Bec hearing the noise the falling crates cause would use this as a signal and take the opportunity and confusion to pop out of the locker, and shoot at Anderson.

If we can lower Clive's fear a bit more before we start the plan, I would have bec and clive switch roles, but as it stands, Clive doesn't seem well enough to do the deed. But if Bec misses, the last resort would I guess have Clive stab Anderson before he can do anything.

this is all assuming Bec brought the pistol with her.

>>1107327
That's not a bad plan however I'd like to add that someone else should hold the crowbar in the off-chance something goes wrong. Having a tool to break an arm/hand or simply just slap the shotgun away from Shepard definitely doesn't hurt.

>Clive: “...Couldn’t let him get away. I can’t help Rodney if I graduate.”
>Clive: “He had to stop moving. Stop talking. Forever.”
>Clive: “He had to be dead, so that he couldn’t talk. I didn’t want it. It was Necessary.”

Consider: perhaps the reason why Clive almost killed Jolene was because of much of the same reason, it was necessary. Whatever she did to Clive on the day that caused him to attack her was something that was going to severely endanger his, or Rodney's life, whether it be the threat of graduation, or the death of one or both of them.

And considering Clive first made the effort to cool the situation with Mr. Snyder by trying to talk things out, and only knifed him as a last resort, maybe he couldn't sort things out with Jolene in a similar situation despite his best efforts, and only attacked her as a last resort after being backed in a corner to save his or Rodney's life?

It makes me wonder what Jolene did, and what she knew. Did Clive's parents get killed by Rodney around before the time he attacked Jolene? or was that after? if before, my only guess is that maybe she somehow found out about Clive's parents being dead, or even murdered by him or Rodney, and Clive's attack on her was to try to silence her...

The Storyteller 2025/05/03(Sat)23:15 No. 1107497 ID: c438a4
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As appealing as both their points were, there was one lingering issue that took priority over everything else. Enid brings it up before you can.

Enid: “What are we going to do about Mr. Sheppard?”

Albert and ‘Bec both go quiet. The answer to that question is obvious to both of them, but neither wants to come out and say it. You notice Albert glancing at you, clearly thinking of ways to phrase his answer that won’t rile you up. ‘Bec just frowns, tugging at her beanie.

Albert: “...Roger, what would you have us do?”
Albert: “I’ve made my thoughts clear on this matter already. You disagreed, so I invite you to propose an Alternative.”

It’s true, you did disagree before. Albert’s proposal, killing Aiden’s dad… It was insane. Killing in general really, just the idea gives you chills. However, a lot had changed in the time following that conversation, short as it was. Given everything, you lack the privilege to maintain your original stance.

Roger: “After what he did to Mr. Snyder, we can’t pretend that he won’t do the same to us.”
Roger: “And he definitely knows our names, so just getting away isn’t an option either. We wouldn’t be safe from him in town.”

You bite your lip, hating what you have to say next.

Roger: “...It’s either him or us. There’s no way around it.”

Sorry Aiden…

Albert nods, turning to the others.

Albert: “Any other objections?”

Silence. Clive doesn’t respond at all, Enid shakes her head, and ‘Bec just shrugs.

Albert: “Alright then… Let’s discuss our options.”
Albert: “Before anything else: Rebecca–”
‘Bec: “It’s ‘Bec, and no. I’m not gonna #%@$in’ do it, so don’t even ask. None of that you’re older @!#$ either.”
‘Bec: “Snyder didn’t even say my name, so consider me exempt from this BS.”
Albert: “That’s not what I was going to ask. I took your obstinance as a given.”
‘Bec: “Then spit it out!”
Albert: “Are you carrying a Firearm at this moment?”
Roger: “Sorry–what?”
Albert: “The list you showed me the other day had within its contents a pistol, which you were offering for a lofty sum.”
Albert: “Did you bring it here with you?”

Frankly, you’re more curious over why ‘Bec apparently owns a lethal weapon. Albert’s question is more relevant though, so you don’t interrupt. Unfortunately, ‘Bec shakes her head.

‘Bec: “No dice. You think I’m gonna walk around with something that’d get me graduated on the spot if I get caught with it?”
‘Bec: “Yeah, if I knew we’d be up against Tadd @$%^in’ Sheppard and his boomstick, then trust me, I would’a brought it.”
Albert: “I figured as much, but it would be foolish not to confirm.”
Albert: “Without a firearm, we won’t be able to match Sheppard in terms of force. Direct confrontation can be wholly stricken from our list of options.”
Albert: “Not that it was ever going to be a real solution. The level of risk in confronting an armed assailant is far too high.”
Enid: “So then, if we can’t fight him head on…”
Albert: “We’ll need to set an Ambush.”

You decide to reach into your bag and pull out your sketchbook, anticipating a lengthy explanation that you’ll want to take notes for.

Enid: “What do we need to make an ambush work?”
Albert: “First would be the Method. We need to establish what we intend to do.”
Albert: “As part of that, we’ll also need to determine the Intent of our plan. That is, whether the goal of our plan is to immediately kill, disarm, incapacitate, etc.”
Albert: “Next, the Location. We’ll have to identify an area within the plant in which we can execute our method.”
Albert: “Depending on where we choose, we’ll also have to decide if a Lure will be necessary, and if so, how much risk will be necessary to attract him to our location?”
Albert: “Finally, we’ll need to determine Roles. Who is handling what elements of the plan?”
Albert: “And while it isn’t technically necessary, it would do us well to consider the Failure State of our plan, and what we should do in the event that it doesn’t succeed.”

Okay, so there are six elements you need to consider: Method, Intent, Location, Lure, Roles, and Failure State. Whatever your plan ends up being, it’ll have to account for all of them.

The Storyteller 2025/05/03(Sat)23:16 No. 1107499 ID: c438a4
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Enid: “Okay… We should probably start with the method then. If we know what we’re doing, then we’ll know what we need from the location.”
Albert: “A salient point. Any suggestions?”
Enid: “Umm… I did have one. Clive and I explored a Storage Room earlier, and it had a lot of huge items stored on shelves.”
Enid: “So I was thinking… Maybe we could Drop something big on Mr. Sheppard?”
Roger: “That sounds like something Wile E. Coyote would do.”
Enid: “Well… Mr. Sheppard isn’t as fast as a Road Runner, so I think it might work.”

As morbid as all of this is, the mental image of flattening him under a huge rock seems almost comical.

Albert: “It’s certainly a premise worth exploring at least.”
Albert: “Regarding the method, what exactly do you mean by ‘drop’ in this context?”
Enid: “Um… I don’t understand the question.”
Albert: “I’ll rephrase it. Suppose that we have a large item placed high enough to crush Sheppard with.”
Albert: “Do you suggest we set the item to Fall on its own, requiring no manual assistance from any of us?”
Albert: “If not, then do you imagine the trap being Manually activated? Perhaps somebody sitting with the item, and pushing it off when Sheppard is in place?”
Enid: “Oh, well, I guess I was imagining the second one. Do you think we could even do the first?”
Albert: “It’s a possibility at least.”
Roger: “If the trap doesn’t require any of us to activate it, then none of us would even have to be in the room, right? That would be safer for everyone.”
‘Bec: “Eh, you’d probably still want at least one person in there to make sure it goes off without a hitch.”
‘Bec: “Plus, if it fails, you’ll probably want to launch into your back-up plan immediately. Otherwise, he might just say #$@! it and leave.”
‘Bec: “I definitely wouldn’t stay after a near-miss like that.”
Roger: “Th-That’s true…”

You hadn’t considered that, but ‘Bec was right. If your plan fails, there’s a chance you might end up chasing him out. Obviously, that’s less of a concern than him straight up shooting you, but it would still be a huge problem.

Rigging something to fall on him is probably safer, but you also wonder if it’s reliable. At least if you have someone pushing the item off, they might be more likely to succeed since they can react to whatever Sheppard does.

Clive: “...Is there anywhere we’d be able to do this, besides the Storage Room?”
Clive: “It’s pretty out of the way. We would have to make him come to us if we set the trap there.”

Another good point. If you couldn’t offer any alternatives, then the Location would be locked in, and you’d have to find some way to Lure him to that room.

Roger: “What about the intent? That was part of it too, right?”
Albert: “The suggested plan, as described, would almost have to be lethal. The only way Sheppard would survive is if we miss.”
Enid: “What if we dropped something smaller?”
Albert: “...Care to elaborate on why we would.”
Enid: “Instead of trying to crush him with something huge, we could drop something small to try and knock him over. Maybe make him drop his gun?”
Enid: “If we get that away from him, doesn’t it flip the power balance in our favor?”
Enid: “I mean… He’s bigger than us still, but there are more of us, and we’d be the ones in control if we get his shotgun.”
‘Bec: “Okay… So what’s the point of doing that?”
Albert: “If he’s alive, there’s a chance we could Interrogate him.”
‘Bec: “Yeah, and a better chance that he just takes the gun back and kills us all.”
Enid: “I was just thinking that it might be more likely to pull off.”
Enid: “Moving something heavy enough to crush Mr. Sheppard wouldn’t be easy, so it might be hard to time it right, or do it without him noticing.”
Enid: “Something small enough to hold in your hands would be a lot easier.”

The conversation comes to a pause, as you all stop to consider the various ideas currently on the table. There’s a lot to nail down, and every single choice affects the Safety of the people involved in each step, as well as the Chance of success of the overall plan.

You won’t get anywhere if everything remains a possibility. Now is the time to be decisive.

[ The decisions you make here will greatly influence whether or not your plan succeeds. ]

[ To clarify how your Safety Net will apply to the execution of your plan: There will be multiple opportunities for things to go wrong with your plan. Your Safety Net will be used in the first instance that something would go VERY wrong. Your first failed role with critical stakes will be treated as if it succeeded. ]

[ If a second critical role fails, its consequences will play out normally. ]

Is the plan you’ve been discussing an acceptable base for ambushing Sheppard?
A: Yes, dropping something on Sheppard will work
-It’s the best plan you have
B: No, you’d like to propose something else
-What alternatives would you like to propose?
-Even if everyone who selects B has different ideas, so long as B is the majority, the discussion will change to discussing other methods

Assuming you stick with this plan…

What Method would you prefer?
C: Have someone manually set-off the trap
-Chances of success are higher with this option
-Whoever is assigned to activate the trap will be at significant risk
D: Rig the trap to go off on its own
-Chances of success are lower with this option
-You won’t have to put anyone at risk to activate the trap
E: Something else?
-Describe your alternative

What should your Intent be?
F: End him
-All of these options end with you killing him, right? Why not do it fast?
-This option will come with more room for critical errors
G: Stun him
-If he drops the gun, you’ll have all the power
-If you succeed, you’ll have a chance to interrogate him before you take him out
-While this option has less room for error in execution, Sheppard will be physically able to take actions afterwards, which may create problems
H: Something else?
-Describe your alternative

How about the Location?
I: The Storage Room is fine
-Stick to the storage room, and set up your trap there
-Due to its location, you will be required to Lure Sheppard there
J: Somewhere Else
-Suggest another room you might consider using

It's unfortunate that we haven't really explored the second floor, but I think we're long past the point of finding out more or choosing a location on the second floor due to the lack of information we have on it.

I somewhat doubt that the group overall has the physical strength required to drop something on Sheppard, however I don't have a better plan at the moment.
For now, I'll abstain from voting A/B, but continue my line of thought assuming that A is being picked for now.

Modifications: I warned you about the stairs, bro!!!
However it happens, Sheppard has to go down the stairs at some point, and I find it highly unlikely that he'll decide to go back upstairs and go around to escape, so I recommend setting a trap in the stairs down into the storage room- ideally, a tripwire. The easiest way to avoid it would be to jump the railing, which should work for whoever ends up being the bait- which is probably Roger, to be honest.

I believe we should also sacrifice a Flashlight in the plan, to blind Sheppard. However, I'm not sure how we would do this without someone holding it- I believe it would be unwise for it to be held, as Sheppard, blinded or not, will likely just try to shoot towards the light.

INTENT: G + H
I think it's safe to assume Sheppard came prepared with more than a shotgun. Even if we wrest control of it from him, it may by then be out of bullets, which he almost certainly has a backup plan for- namely, another weapon. If it's something like a knife, we might be okay, but if it's a handgun, then we're probably really in bad shape with this plan.
I suggest that more than just stunning him, we should also cripple him, specifically his legs. If his legs are in working condition AND our plan fails, then he'll be able to either pursue or escape with relative ease which is BAD.
In any case, even if we succeed in dropping something on Sheppard, it cannot stop there.

LOCATION:I?
It might be worth probing the group to see if they can think of anywhere that would make a good location here on the second floor, but who knows.
The only other place I can think of on the first floor that would be good would be the Turbine Room, as it is spacious which works against the advantages of a shotgun, and also there should be numerous things to hide behind. The second point is both good and bad, as this applies to Sheppard as well. The fact that there are seven exits is also similarly good and bad, but is probably the best room for WORST CASE SCENARIO, so that as many people can escape as possible.

Additional Point: Sheppard probably doesn't know that Bec is here yet, or if he does, he doesn't know that it's her- which is something that we can probably use against him, but I don't know if it's enough to say, have his guard lowered against an extra person he wasn't expecting, for example.

It’s time to use our small sizes to our advantage. We can use the Storage Room shelves as an excellent location for the trap.

One or two of the team can fit on a third-level shelf, and then push one of the heavy boxes to fall on Sheppard once he passes underneath. Make sure to rig it just right so that the center of gravity of the heavy box is just hanging on the edge of the shelf ahead of time, so it takes very little effort to actually set off the manual trap.

That by itself is unlikely to be lethal, but it will almost certainly knock him senseless, maybe break a few bones if we’re lucky. He’ll be stunned for long enough to get the shotgun away, and use that to finish him off.

Plan: A.

Method: C.

Intent: G, then F.

Location: I.

C for storeroom, D for stairs (can probably do both).

F: I think it's best to go with a lethal trap. It will spare the kids the trauma of killing someone in cold blood, which would be a lot harder to rationalize than killing an active gunman.

Kinda wish we chose to do the planning a little later until we at least explored where Bec wanted to check, but it is what it is.

since Bec doesn't have a pistol, I'll have to adjust some things.

I really like the idea of using a tripwire on the staircase. The only couple issues is that we will need something to use as a tripwire, which we don't have, unless we want to use shoelaces, but I'd rather use that as a last resort if we can't find something before we are ready. If we do have to use that, we probably cannot use Roger's, as he will be the bait to have Anderson chase him to the traps as he is the fastest.

Also, setting it up might be a little difficult. While we can tie one end of the tripwire to the railing, the other end doesn't have a railing or anything to tie with, just a wall shown here >>1071053 So we are going to need to find something we can stick the other end of the tripwire to the wall. Since we are in a room full of papers, are there any tape in here? If not, we'll have to look elsewhere. Storage room might have duct tape, considering there are boxes there too, but This room might seem pretty likely to have tape, what with all the papers.

of course, if the tripwire plan doesn't work, then we'll have to use the storage room as a plan B.

plan B will have to be that 3 people hide in the shelf above, fourth kid (Roger) lures anderson towards the shelf by running past it, and at the right time, they drop something big on him. Maybe if we can have Roger drop something important enough for Anderson to pick up in front of the shelf, it'll help manipulate him stop in place to pick it up, giving the three people in the higher shelf the time to push it on him! Maybe we can find that important thing in the room Bec wants to check out, if it's locked, maybe even Anderson doesn't know what's in there and whatever we find might be something he'll need to pick up and hide. If not, we'll have to use something else. But whatever it is, it'll have to be something Anderson will need to be compelled to stop and check/pick up.

Sadly we do not have a pistol, so we can't have someone hide in the locker as originally planned. We will have a fifth person be hiding behind the barrels instead in the lowest shelf instead with the knife. If dropping something heavy doesn't work and he dodges it, then the fifth person will immediately come out of hiding taking advantage of the confusion and use the steak knife to do the deed. He'll probably be too compelled to look up at whoever pushed the object down to look at someone running towards from behind the barrel.

At this moment, Bec will have to hide behind the barrels with the knife, but I'd rather have Clive be behind the barrels. sadly, as it stands, Clive's fear is still a bit too high to finish the job. unless we can lower Clive's fear a bit more, we can't ask that of him. However, I feel if she is hiding in the shelf above, the people above will have an easier time pushing the heavy object. Which is why I want to test how effective they can push it without Bec's help.

alternatively, could Enid be brave enough to hide behind the barrels and finish Anderson off with the knife if needed? He did kill Snyder, one of her friends, she might be more willing if she wants revenge for that, and she is able to keep her composure really well as we have seen multiple times before...

I think it'll have to be lethal. While getting answers is important, this here is do or die. We will get enough answers exploring this place.

Also, the storage room might have some kind of rope or thread to use as a tripwire for the stairs.

The Storyteller 2025/05/06(Tue)23:49 No. 1107645 ID: 7354fe
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Roger: “I like a lot of what we laid out so far.”
Roger: “The storage room should be fine. I haven’t seen it myself yet, but there aren’t many other rooms with the height necessary for this.”
Roger: “That, and heavy enough items to do the deed…”
Albert: “So, you’re in favor of ending him with the trap?”
Roger: “Disarming him could be riskier, even if the trap goes off right, and I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
Albert: “That would be ideal.”
Enid: “I think so too. Th-That’s why I think we should have someone set off the trap manually.”
Enid: “If the trap fails, then we’re all at a lot more risk.”
Roger: “You’re not wrong…”

Despite agreeing, you couldn’t deny a gnawing in your gut for whoever gets the role. If they fail, and they’re trapped on a shelf while Sheppard has his shotgun…

…If Sheppard has his shotgun…

Roger: “I-I had one other idea too, actually.”
Roger: “What if we set more than one trap?”
Albert: “Oh? What are you imagining?”
Roger: “This is happening downstairs, right? That means that someone will have to lure Sheppard down a stairwell.”
Roger: “What if we set up a Tripwire?”
Roger: “If he falls over, he might drop his gun, right? If we take it, then when he follows us to the Storage Room, we won’t be in serious danger, even if our trap fails.”
Roger: “The worst thing he can do is shoot us.”

Albert strokes his chin, consideringly. Before he says anything though, ‘Bec speaks up first.

‘Bec: “Would he even keep chasing you if you got the gun?”
‘Bec: “I’m not gonna risk #%$*ing around with a kid that can shoot me. I’d leave.”
‘Bec: “And I’m pretty sure we established that that ain’t acceptable.”
Clive: “If he tried, Roger could shoot him.”
Clive: “As long as Roger isn’t pointing the gun at him, he might try and take it back.”
Albert: “Clive’s right. There’s a back-up plan innately built into this option to prevent Sheppard from choosing flight over fight.”
Albert: “That isn’t the only issue however.”
Roger: “It’s not?”
Albert: “Say the tripwire fails, and Sheppard notices it. The plan then is to lure him into the original trap, is it not?”
Albert: “If I were in Sheppard’s shoes, the conclusion I would reach after seeing the tripwire is that I’m being lured. I would be wary of traps around every corner you went.”
Enid: “So, if it failed… Mr. Sheppard would be less likely to fall for the main trap?”
Albert: “Exactly.”

Hmmm, Albert definitely has a point. Would it be better to set the tripwire and give us two chances to succeed, even if the second chance would be lower, or should we stick to put all our eggs into the one trap, and just hope that works?

Albert: “While you mull that over, I’d like to consider our Lure for a moment.”
Albert: “You should pay attention, Roger, given you’re the likely candidate for the task.”

You couldn’t really deny that assertion, given that your natural speed made it safest for you over the others. Between Enid’s short legs and Albert’s cane situation, it’s really just between you, Clive, and ‘Bec.

Albert: “How we attract his attention is something we’ll have to consider. There are three main options I can think of.”
Albert: “The first would be to show yourself and then make a run for it.”
Roger: “That sounds… dangerous.”
Albert: “Yes.”

…You’d rather wait for his other two suggestions before agreeing to that.

Albert: “Next, you could make an overabundance of noise to attract Sheppard’s attention.”
Albert: “Scream your lungs out, knock things over, make a big enough scene that he can determine where you are and start hunting you down.”
Roger: “That definitely sounds better. Any catches?”
Enid: “Well, It wouldn’t be very subtle, would it?”
Enid: “We’ve been trying to avoid him and stay quiet for a while now. And, w-we made noise when Giovanni… f-found us…”
Enid: “But, that was definitely a different kind of situation. I think Sheppard knows that too, even if he wasn’t there.”
Enid: “If you just started screaming, isn’t it possible that he’d get Suspicious?”

Oof, you hadn’t thought of that… Maybe you can mitigate it if you come up with a story that explains your volume before the chase begins? It’d have to be something Mr. Snyder could see and immediately understand though, or else he might ask too many questions and see through our trap.

Albert: “Well-put, Enid. That leaves the third option, which is to let Sheppard think he’s caught you unawares.”
Albert: “Keep your noise to reasonable volume, only show him brief glimpses of you rounding the corner, whatever makes him think that he’s the one in control.”
Roger: “Wasn’t that the strategy you suggested for catching that pickpocketing ring in our tabletop game?”
Albert: “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”
‘Bec: “Yeesh, that plan might be the riskiest one of the three.”
Enid: “R-Really?”
‘Bec: “What, you think Sheppard is just gonna run at you if he thinks you’re still playing it stealthy? He’s gonna try to get the jump on you, just like you’re doing to him.”
‘Bec: “And guess what? Unless you’re peeking around every corner to make sure he’s following, which’d give the game away, he might still catch you off-guard.”
Roger: “But, I’d know where he’s coming from, so I could just keep watch and listen.”
‘Bec: “You sure about that? This floor is pretty open. There are plenty of spots where he might have two or three different ways of approaching you.”
‘Bec: “Keep your eye on the wrong one, and you won’t even see it coming…”

You gulp, a little turned off the idea after hearing that explanation. Playing bait was certainly not going to be an easy task, it seemed.

Clive: “...What about the Failure State?”
Clive: “We need a backup plan, in case the plan fails, right?”
Clive: “What will the person assigned to that be doing?”
Enid: “Maybe they could be waiting on the first shelf, since we already have people on the third?”
Enid: “Remember those big barrels? I bet someone could hide behind those, and they’d be out of Mr. Sheppard’s eyeline.”
Albert: “I think the more pertinent matter is: What will their goals be?”
Clive: “...Ultimately, the goal is still to end him. Will whoever is assigned to backup be doing that Themselves?”
Enid: “I-I think that’s asking too much.”
‘Bec: “Yeah, I don’t see that $#!$ working out. Murder attempt number two loses the element of surprise.”
‘Bec: “Best you could hope for is to get in one good hit.”
Enid: “Then m-maybe we can make him drop his gun like that too?”
‘Bec: “It’s one option.”
Clive: “...If the one good hit we score is with this…”

He holds up the Kitchen Knife that he slashed at Giovanni with earlier. Your throat tightens, as you see the red stain on its blade, knowing where–or really “who”–it came from.

Albert: “That may do it.”
Albert: “Are you volunteering?”
Clive: “...”
Enid: “Um… Do we have any weapons that would be better for not killing him?”
‘Bec: “Bet you could get a good swing in with the cripple’s cane.”

Albert is about to say something, before you grab him by the shoulder and shake your head. He lets the argument die out in his throat, though not without shooting her a sour expression.

Albert: “Unfortunately, I require my cane for travel at the moment. Considering the fact that we’ll all be put into peril if we require our backup, I’ll require it to flee.”
‘Bec: “Well you won’t need to flee if we take care of Sheppard. Seems to me like you just don’t want to commit and put yourself at risk.”
‘Bec: “Bet you won’t hesitate when it comes to everyone else though, right?”
Albert: “...Do you have any alternatives to offer, or is sass the only thing you plan on bringing to the table?”

She makes a gesture that you aren’t allowed to copy, before pulling a long piece of metal out of her jacket.

Albert: “Is that… a Crowbar?”
‘Bec: “One good swing with this, and his knees oughta give out.”
Enid: “That’s perfect!”
‘Bec: “Would be. Only one problem.”

She holds it out to Enid, who tilts her head, confused. When she takes it from ‘Bec, the problem quickly becomes clear.

Enid: “I-It’s Heavy!”
‘Bec: “Yeah. None of your noodle arms are getting a decent hit in with this thing.”
‘Bec: “So this is definitely great, but only if you plan on making me swing it.”

You take a moment to review everything you’ve discussed so far, as you’d covered a lot of ground. After this, the only task left will be assigning roles. You’ll wait until all of the other details are set in stone before worrying about that. After all, the requirements of each role change based on some of these details.

Should you place a Tripwire on the stairs to try and make Sheppard drop his gun early?
A: Yes, once you have the gun, then you’re in control even if the plan fails
B: No, you should stick to the main plan, and give it the best chance of success

How should you Lure Sheppard?
C: Show yourself
-Presents an obvious risk, as he might get a shot off before you get away
-You aren’t faster than bullets
-Would definitely get him to follow you
D: Make some noise
-The safest option for you, as you can do it from out of sight and guarantee he’ll hear it
-He’ll definitely follow, but he may be more wary of traps if you choose this
E: Play it Subtle
-Give subtle signals, such as noises just loud enough for him to hear or flickers of light
-He’ll hide his approach, making it hard to confirm if he’s actually following you
-He might catch you off guard by coming from an unexpected angle
-If he sees you before you see him, you’re dead
F: Don’t bother, just wait for him to come to you
-Off the table, due to your choice of location

If you reach a Failure State, what should your backup aim for?
G: Execution
-The riskiest option, as he may not go down in one strike
-The best result, as Sheppard’s death is the end goal
H: Disarming
-Still risky, but less likely to be immediately fatal
-Will require additional efforts to put an end to Sheppard
I: Other
-Suggest an alternative not listed here

And assuming anyone other than ‘Bec is picked (since she has her own weapon), what should your backup use?
J: Flashlight
-Neutral option, it’s better than nothing
K: Cane
-Swings a lot better, increasing your odds of success at Disarming or Execution
-Will leave Albert incapable of escaping if taken from him
L: Knife
-Will increase your odds of success, but only viable for execution
M: Other
-You will not waste time searching for alternatives
-You could try using something else you possess

A.
D/E: "accidentally" knock something off a table, be berated for it in a trying-to-whisper-but-too-loud voice, run.
G using L.

B: probably best not to make him suspicious of everything if the tripwire fails, that said, if we do B, we should still have Roger drop something of interest in front of the shelves that Shepherd might want to stop briefly to pick up for a better chance of him stopping Where the trap is with less chance of us missing. if we can find some kind of evidence in the locked room later that shepherd doesn’t want us to have, that would work well. This of course comes with the risk of us losing whatever we might find if the trap fails as he might take it with him

Otherwise, I guess Enid’s key might work, but I’d prefer not to use that unless we find nothing shepherd might need to stop and pick up. also, it’s just a random key to him, might not even know it belongs to Enid’s dad, or even see something so small on the ground

If we do A, don’t bother putting anything in front of the shelves, it will be too obvious at that point.

C: Show yourself. If Clive was able to get away, while holding Enid’s hand, so can you. Still risky as $#(£ but we have a safety net.

If we lose safety net before the plan tho, let’s switch to E


G: Execution, this is already a huge risk, if we lose our safety net before we disarm him it won’t help us if he manages to get the advantage over us during interrogation. Best to execute


L: Knife mainly

But I want to consider one more fail state we are not considering: what if they can’t push something heavy at all, Or they miss him, and he just continues running towards Roger instead of standing still to look at the shelf? We miiiiight have to consider leaving Albert’s cane around the corner that Roger can run to towards the entrance to the west hall to pick up, and defend himself with a sneak attack, once Sheppherd runs around the corner.

Non plan related:
Roger has his sketchbook? Does he have that unfinished drawing he made of Clive back on Monday https://questden.org/kusaba/questarch/res/1010078.html#1015100 ? Or did he finish and sell it offscreen earlier today? Maybe give it to Clive to make feel better a little more? Art is subjective tho and he will have his own interpretation of it. Maybe tell him it’s a picture of him looking towards the light in a sea of darkness (symbol of hope?)

I highly encourage everyone who has already voted to reconsider based on the fact that we have access to the single best option to play it subtle: Albert’s cane.

Albert’s cane is noticeable, but not loud. The very definition of subtle. Sheppard may even have picked up on it earlier. His instincts will zone in on it- he’s on the hunt, and since it makes perfect sense to have this specific subtle sound moving slowly down a stairwell, it gives us lots of time to believably make it move slowly and increase odds of him picking up on it.

A, E, H via K.

Execution is tempting, but it takes time to bleed out. We don’t have the quick kills that a tall adult would have access to.

Our best bet is to use the cane if things go south, and it maximizes our chances of successfully disarming Sheppard, and keeping us alive. Our FEAR gauge will go through the roof if anyone dies, making this quest incredibly difficult.

Seeing as A/E is winning out, I’ll switch my vote to cane and disarming as donut pointed out that the cane would be perfect for playing subtle as we lure him to the trap
(Unless I’m too late, in which case, ignore me

I was pretty proud of the tripwire plan, although it seems like the emphasis seems to be on him dropping his gun- which itself seems like an assumption that it would indeed happen that way, rather than say him having less time to react, or reducing his ability to aim. I'm altogether less certain of it now.

Any thoughts on whether it'd be better for the tripwire to be partway down the stairs, at the entrance to the storage room- or even possibly inside the storage room itself?

I'm going to err on the side of caution and say B, although I am still in favor if the timing is closer together with the main trap.

> If Clive was able to get away, while holding Enid’s hand, so can you.
I can't decide if I want to vote C or not. Part of me wonders if maybe Sheppard didn't shoot because Enid was there.

I'm personally against E, as it has perhaps the most menacing bullet point, somehow more menacing than "You aren't faster than bullets" to me, which I can't fully explain, being "If he sees you before you see him, you’re dead".

I like the idea of using the cane's distinct sound as a lure, but unfortunately I think that falls into E and not D.

Failure State Backup:
I'm personally for H. As much as I'd like to end things as quickly as possible, Golden Wind Curbstomping Style, this is for "If things go wrong" and when things go wrong, which I fully expect, we need flexibility, not sacrifice.

There are two options not mentioned in the case of I- the first would be Bargaining/Buying time by trying to talk to Sheppard. I imagine this would require just the right words to work, and it's really risky. I think we might be past the point of thinking up options for this method, nor am I confident in it.
The second, which has probably the same end result of not having dealt with Sheppard at all, is to RUN, which is a very reasonable choice. Unfortunately, this could easily end badly for Albert, which is one of the reasons why I haven't suggested it. Also, in this situation, we'd have come here for... basically nothing.

>>1107706
overall, after all that's said and done (unless I'm too late) my final vote will be B (only the main trap, see if we can put something in front of the shelf that Sheppherd wants to pick up, unless A is chosen), E (Roger using Albert's cane as a subtle noise as a lure cause that idea was smart of Donut, and flashlight now and then), H (reasons donut and Liminori explained, and if we disarm him near the others, we also have bec with her crowbar, clive with his knife, and Roger with the gun if he manages to grab it) K: Cane (our only safe option for disarming)

>>1107645
something to point out, we don't have to swing it. we raise it and let gravty take it down, like a sledgehammer. it'll be enough force if it's that heavy to crack a skull, which ought to at least stun.

>>1107645
something to point out, we don't have to swing it. we raise it and let gravty take it down, like a sledgehammer. it'll be enough force if it's that heavy to crack a skull, which ought to at least stun.

The Storyteller 2025/05/10(Sat)18:43 No. 1107826 ID: 7354fe
File 174692780794.png - (409.54KB , 1000x1000 , 420.png )

After giving it some thought, Albert is probably right about the tripwire. However likely it is to work, the increased suspicion is just too big of a problem. Especially since, even if you did get the gun, the main trap failing would mean you might have to use it.

That’s… not something you want to think about.

The rest of the group agrees, and the idea is set aside. Instead, the discussion comes back to Albert’s cane.

Roger: “What if we used it to lure Sheppard in?”
Roger: “He probably heard it plenty when he was chasing us around earlier. Hearing it again wouldn’t make him suspicious. It’d just sound like us moving around.”
Albert: “Hmm…”

He twirls the cane around, looking at it skeptically.

Albert: “...Couldn’t you get the same result by walking back and forth, creating the sound of footsteps for him to follow?”
Roger: “Maybe, but I don’t think it’d be as noticeable.”
Albert: “Perhaps. My cane certainly produces a more audible reverberation.”
Albert: “So then, won’t it be equally notable when that sound comes to a stop? I believe, if anything, it was louder when we ran earlier.”
Albert: “Additionally, if you enter his sight for even a moment, he’ll definitely notice that you’re holding a cane that you clearly lack the need for.”

…You hadn’t considered either of those cons. While you don’t wish to give up on the idea, no counter-argument occurs to you. Seeing that you have nothing, Albert continues.

Albert: “I suppose that there is a chance he might not notice it, but we create the possibility that he will and grow suspicious if we advance in that direction.”
Albert: “Considering the risks this would put me under, leaving me incapable of traversing the plant without aid, I’m inclined to Reject this suggestion.”

Drat. Without that option, you’re split on what the best way to lure in Aiden’s dad is. You’ll have to revisit that thought later.

The discussion continues, but the others all have different ideas on how the backup should act, or what weapons they should carry. Your own feelings aren’t clear, so you ultimately agree to let whoever fills the role decide for themselves.

Naturally, that transitions into the final topic…

‘Bec: “So, who’s doing what?”
Albert: “Well, we have three roles to split into. Lure, Pushers, and Backup.”
Albert: “We only need a single person to act as Lure, so it’s the other two groups where we need to split ourselves.”
‘Bec: “Alright, so two Pushers and two Backups then?”
Enid: “Wouldn’t three Pushers be better? Then there’d be less of a chance that we even need Backup.”
Enid: “Although, if everyone was up there, and something did go wrong, we’d probably be in a lot of trouble…”
Roger: “That’s the whole reason we’re assigning people to act in the event of failure. This plan might work, or it might not. We need to be ready for either scenario.”
Albert: “The more resources we devote towards our reserve plan, the more likely it is we’ll need to rely on it.”

An even split would leave things in a better place if your plan fails, but a more weighted split would lower the odds that such a failure occurs in the first place. That’s a tough call to make…

Roger: “Do any of you have a preference on what role you get?”
Enid: “Um, I’m fine with Anything except for Lure.”
Enid: “I’m not very fast, so I’m a little scared that Mr. Sheppard would catch me…”
Enid: “I’m not very strong either, so… maybe I’d be better as Backup?”
Enid: “If we do three Pushers though, I think I’d prefer to be up there. I don’t know if I can carry the full weight of having to stop Mr. Sheppard if the main plan fails.”
Albert: “I also will accept Anything besides Lure.”
Albert: “In my case, I’m fully incapable of performing the responsibilities of the role.”

He taps his cane against the ground for emphasis.

Albert: “I don’t believe I’ll offer much to either of the other positions, so I suppose I’d prefer to be a Pusher.”
Albert: “A fight with Sheppard would surely land me in the Hospital, if not the Morgue.”
Clive: “...I’m fine with Anything.”
Clive: “Just tell me where you need me.”
‘Bec: “Well since you both don’t want it, I’ll gladly take the job of Lure.”

Albert outright scoffs at that.

Albert: “Honestly, I felt it went without saying that Roger would claim that position. It suits his skills the best.”
Albert: “You would do better than any of us in the Pusher or Backup roles. Why waste that on the one role in which we have a superior option to you?”
‘Bec: “Hey, @$%hole, we’re talking preferences here.”
‘Bec: “I would rather be out of the room or hiding when y’all try to kill Farmer Blood. That’s what I want, even if it ain’t what’s gonna happen..”
‘Bec: “I’ll do whatever I gotta do, but let me be clear: I ain’t killing this guy.”
‘Bec: “You put me on Backup, I’ll swing at him and shit, but someone else is finishing the job.”

It’s a reasonable stance, no matter what Albert thinks. Honestly, you’re half-convinced he’s just disagreeing with ‘Bec at this point because he doesn’t like her. You aren’t her biggest fan either, but you can’t deny that she’s been helpful, however rude she may seem. Actions speak louder than words.

Roger: “I’m fine with anything, and Albert is probably right that I’ll probably end up just being the Lure. The only role I’d rather not have is Backup.”
Roger: “I… understand that what we’re doing is necessary, but I don’t think I can be that close to the action. I might hesitate, and if I did that… Somebody could die.”
Roger: “If I mess up and get hurt, that sucks. If it were someone else though… I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”
Enid: “That’s everyone then…”
Albert: “All that’s left is to decide.”
Roger: “...”

You take a breath and close your eyes. When you open them, all eyes are staring back at you. It’s immediately clear to you why that is. Under normal circumstances, you’re sure that everyone could sort themselves out, or that one or more of them would have tried to dictate roles for everyone.

Now though, with the stakes literally being life and death, there’s a real weight to these final choices that need to be made. In the face of that, they all reach the same conclusions.

Albert’s opinions are too harsh, ‘Bec’s too self-centered, Clive’s too apathetic, and Enid’s too unsure. Silently, it seems they all concluded that the final call was yours to make.

You take another breath, and consider your options carefully…

This will be the final choice before you execute the plan. If you’d like to change any previously decided details or toss out a few last suggestions, do so now.

Assign each member of your party a role


Roles:
[ Lure ]
-The individual who will bait Sheppard into the trap
-This will be the first person to be exposed to serious risk. If they get killed or seriously injured, nobody else will be put at risk, but the plan will be a failure
-In the event of a Failure State, this individual will have the opportunity to either run, help the Pushers get down quicker, or assist the Backup in taking down Sheppard

[ Pusher ]
-The individuals who will push heavy machinery onto Sheppard’s head, ending him
-You need at minimum two people for this The more people you have assigned, the better your timing and odds of success will be
-However, the more people you have assigned to this, the more likely Sheppard notices them before the trap can be set-off
-In the event of a Failure State, this group will have to spend several rounds getting off of the shelves before they can flee or fight, during which they risk getting targeted by Sheppard if their Backup is insufficient

[ Backup ]
-The individuals who, in the event of your plan’s failure, will execute Plan B by attacking Sheppard
-You need at least one person in this role, otherwise Sheppard is guaranteed a free shot against your Pushers after the trap’s failure
-If the Backup is forced to act, they are the most likely group to face retaliation. There should be an expectation of injury if you have to rely on them
-Since no consensus was reached on whether to disarm/execute, whoever you assign to this role will choose what they’re comfortable with, and will take the appropriate weaponry



Kids:
Roger
-Preference: Anything but Backup
-Everyone can agree he’d be the best lure, due to his speed. In the event of a Failure State, Roger will be inclined to distract/disarm Sheppard to protect his friends
-He’d be a perfectly good pusher for sure, at least as strong as Clive
-Roger can get a good swing in as back-up, but might hesitate to deal a lethal blow. He would borrow Albert’s cane, and aim to Disarm

‘Bec
-Preference: Lure
-Long legs and quick on her feet. She’d be about as good as Roger as a Lure, but if you enter a Failure State, she’ll probably run and save herself
-She’s bigger and stronger than anyone else in your party, making her an exceptional fit for the Pusher role
-’Bec is just as good as Backup as she is a Pusher, thanks to the crowbar and being larger than the others. She’ll only use her Crowbar, and she won’t do anything other than Disarm Sheppard

Enid
-Preference: Backup if even split, Pusher if there are three
-Enid has very short legs. She would not be a good Lure, period.
-Enid is smaller than most kids, and won’t be an amazing Pusher either
-Enid has little personal attachment to Sheppard, and is willing to serve as Backup. She’d be fine in the role, but wouldn’t have the force for blunt weaponry. Enid would take the Knife, and aim for a Lethal Blow

Clive
-Preference: None
-Clive has long legs, and could definitely stay out ot Sheppard’s range, but he may have a harder time holding Sheppard’s attention, due to his quiet nature. In the event of a Failure State, Clive would try to strike a lethal blow on Sheppard
-Clive would be a perfectly good Pusher, sitting at the middle of the pack here in terms of strength
-Clive would be very effective Backup, but if you force him into the role and make him take the lethal option, his Fear may max out and VERY BAD THINGS will happen. You… aren’t sure what he’ll lean towards

Albert
-Preference: Anything but Lure
-Albert ABSOLUTELY cannot be the Lure. He will laugh in your face if you ask him to do it
-Albert is a terrible Pusher, mustering less strength than anyone else. If your only Pushers are Albert and one other person, your odds of success will be low
-Albert is terrible Backup, as he will almost certainly break several things if Sheppard retaliates against him. Albert would take the Knife, hoping to finish Sheppard off before the farmer can make him regret it

Party Fear Levels:
[Clive: 87/100]
[Albert: 64/100]
['Bec: 56/100]
[Roger: 51/100]
[Enid: 49/100]

Lure:
Roger >>> Clive > 'Bec > Albert > Enid

• Albert and Enid are objectively bad choices for the lure, and normally I would say they're about equal for the position, I think that the fact Albert still has his cane and is in general taller, would have more stamina than Enid. Without the cane, he's clearly the slowest.
• 'Bec's placement might seem odd, but that's mainly based on again, the fact that Sheppard might not know she's here- which is something I want to delay him knowing as long as possible. Whether or not that makes her a good lure is a separate matter.
• In my opinion, the only other option for Lure right now is Clive, and the Failure State of that part seems less likely to trigger FEAR to the same degree that it would as Backup... maybe.
• Roger is the no brainer choice, and the only reason I can think of that it might be bad is that Sheppard might expect it and change tactics.

Shorthand Vote: Roger > Clive

Pusher: Clive >> Enid > 'Bec > Roger > Albert

• As a pusher, Albert probably wouldn't gain injury, but I don't think he should be a pusher unless there's three people pushing.
• In theory, the only other place Roger would be useful is as a pusher if we were to respect everyone's preferences.
• 'Bec would probably be most useful as a pusher.
• I would personally rather not have Enid kill Sheppard.
• As a pusher, Clive gets to use his strength meaningfully without risking his mental state.

• If there are three pushers, it has to succeed. Best Odds: Clive + 'Bec + Enid
• If there are two pushers, the backup should be stacked with better odds

Backup: Albert >> 'Bec / Enid > Clive > Roger

• Despite being at the bottom of the list, I don't think Roger's actually the worst choice here- convincing him he can be useful here though is another thing entirely.
• I think we should only have Clive as Backup if someone else is specifically chosen to do the finishing blow, which would mean either Albert or Enid.
• Even if 'Bec refuses to go for the finishing blow, she should be plenty to keep Sheppard occupied while either Enid or Albert go for the finishing blow.
• Albert's Fear may be the second highest, but I feel like he's our best bet in that regard if we end up deciding to kill Sheppard.

Going off of all that, I think these are our main options, with Albert and Enid being relatively interchangeable.
[Strong Push] A: Clive + 'Bec + Enid = Push, Albert = Backup
[Rounded] B: Clive + Albert = Push, 'Bec + Enid = Backup
[Risky Gamble] C: Albert + 'Bec = Push, Enid + Clive = Backup

It's late where I am, and despite having ranked who I think is best where, I'm actually not sure which grouping I prefer, so I think I'll hold off on further thought until later tonight because I'm mentally spent.

Extra Things potentially worth discussing:
• Which way to escape in the worst case scenario and where to meet up again later
• Options available to the Backup: Kill, Incapacitate, or Other
• How the kids would feel if given options between groupings
• Any last moment tools/objects that may be of use in the plan (ex; Broken Glass...?)
• Whatever Albert found before the plan started, so more people know about it (unhelpful although it was stated to be)
• In general, a final check for any information that the group forgot to share with eachother after meeting back up
• Things the kids personally know about Sheppard that may serve as helpful in the plan (assuming nothing, it hasn't come up.)

I don’t think we can truly rely on Clive as lethal backup. His FEAR is pretty damn high, and backup requires both timing and good judgment. Sorry, but he’s just not in the right place mentally to be the lethal failsafe. I recommended disarming as the backup before, and I restate my proposal of using Clive to disarm, not to kill.

Personally, I do not count Albert or Enid as actual people when it comes to Pushers. Albert’s physical state is just not his strong suit, and Enid is, well, the smallest and weakest. Honestly, she won’t contribute much. For that reason, I recommend Enid and Clive as backup. Give Enid the lethal option of the knife. That way, we have two backups: one primary (nonlethal), and one secondary (lethal). It’s simply the safest option.

‘Bec is needed as a pusher, as the only other available option is Albert, who is unsuited to any other role. It gives us middling odds of success via pushing, but we don’t need 100% success: all we need is a glancing blow. Even a shoulder hit or a foot hit on Sheppard would be debilitating enough for both Clive and Enid to have the upper hand when working together.

I suggest Roger use a flashlight on Sheppard when he reaches the point where the push plan commences. Sheppard will not be expecting it, and I don’t care how prepared you are mentally, no one can physically focus their eyes that fast if the flashlight is on their face. Roger has a split second to try and blind Sheppard, and Sheppard has a split second to fire. Light is faster than disoriented bullet.

Lure: Roger
Pushers: ‘Bec and Albert
Backups: Clive (Nonlethal) and Enid (Lethal)

Extra Discussion:

>Options available to the Backup: Kill, Incapacitate, or Other
Clive: Disarm/Incapacitate. Enid: Kill if Sheppard is still moving after she counts to seven. It gives her time to prepare mentally, and focus on the correct target (not Clive).

>Any last moment tools/objects that may be of use in the plan (ex; Broken Glass...?)
Flashlight, as described above.

Currently thinking:

Roger: Lure

Pushers: Bec and Clive (bec probably has the strength of two younger kids, so it'll be like having the strength of three people up there, but with the less likely to be spotted with just two people.)

Backup: Enid and Albert. I recommend Enid attack first before Albert. Enid with the knife, then albert follows with a cane. Probably not the best choices for backup, but I think our chances of sucess with just bec and clive pushing would be pretty good and wont have to worry about backup. with both Enid and Albert as backup, they might be able to have a higher chance, if little. I would have Clive instead of Enid, but his fear is too high, and is a better pusher.

>>1107893
>Backups: Clive (Nonlethal) and Enid (Lethal)

keep in mind: it was stated that the characters themselves would choose the method of disarming or lethal. I don't think we have the option for Clive to go nonlethal if we wanted. If Clive went for the cane, theres a chance he'll use it lethally

also consider: with clive as a pusher, he is very silent, less chance for the pushers to get spotted, especially if we have Bec with him as she is the strongest.

The Storyteller 2025/05/14(Wed)17:15 No. 1108030 ID: 7354fe
File 174726810803.png - (465.47KB , 1000x1000 , 421.png )

After much deliberation, you come to your conclusions.

Roger: “Alright, I’m going to act as the Lure. It just makes the most sense.”

It felt a bit cowardly, giving yourself the job most removed from actually killing Sheppard. You doubt anyone will call you out on it, as the logic holds up: You’re the fastest. Still, part of you can’t shake the idea that you’re only agreeing with the suggestion because you want the easy way out.

However you feel, you won’t wreck the plan by letting your doubts shake your resolve.

Roger: “‘Bec, Albert, do you think you can work together if you’re both Pushers?”
‘Bec: “Can I? Yes. Will I? No promises.”
Albert: “Just the two of us? Are you sure?”

It’s definitely not the safest option, as ‘Bec will have to carry more of the effort to make up for Albert’s lack of strength. Still, she’s the only one here you imagine will be able to carry that weight.

It is still a risk, but putting someone else up there with them would put whoever the sole backup is at a far greater one. You can’t do that to anyone, not even Clive.

You could always put Albert down below, but you really don’t like his odds down there…

Roger: “Seriously, will you both be okay? I know you two don’t get along, so if it’ll be an issue–”
‘Bec: “What, you think I’m gonna sabotage this $@#& just to get the geek shot?”
Roger: “O-Of course not! I just want to make sure you’re okay with this.”

The two share a look, neither carrying a particularly pleasant emotion. Eventually, Albert sighs.

Albert: “It doesn’t perturb me. I’m less likely to be critically injured atop the shelf than I would below it.”
‘Bec: “Whatever. It’s fine.”

That seems like the best you’ll get. You move on.

Roger: “That means Enid and Clive will be our Backup. Is that alright with you two?”
Enid: “I don’t mind working with Clive.”
Clive: “Yeah. We’ll take care of him.”

He glances down at the knife in his hands, tightening his grip on it. It’s a touch worrying, but you can’t really complain since that’s basically what you’re asking him to do.

Clive: “Are you going to take Albert’s cane?”
Enid: “Um, actually… I was going to ask if I could use That.”

She points to the knife he’s holding. He seems as surprised as you are, as he just stares for a few seconds..

Enid: “...I’m not very strong, so I don’t think I could hit him hard enough to make him drop his gun. Sticking him with a knife seems easier.”
Enid: “Is that alright with you?”
Clive: “...Okay.”

Hesitantly, he hands the knife over to her. She lays it flat in her hands, examining it, only to stick her tongue out and wipe her hand on the floor when the blood stains her palm.

The thought occurs to you that whatever is wrong with Clive must be infectious, as Enid has clearly caught it after spending too much time with him. Thankfully, you manage to tuck your inner-Jhonen away before blurting that out and inviting his wrath.

With role-assignments covered, there are still a few things you all want to confirm before getting into the thick of things.

Roger: “Should we have an Escape plan, in case things go wrong?”
Clive: “Why?”
Roger: “...In… In case things go wrong. I don’t know how to be clearer than that.”
Clive: “Escape is pointless though, we already agreed on that. We shouldn’t plan on it.”
Clive: “Sheppard will die. There is no alternative.”
Roger: “Ah…”
Enid: “I have a question. Do we have some way of getting Mr. Sheppard to stand where we need in front of the shelves?”
Enid: “We’re gonna need him to stay put for at least a few seconds, won’t we?”

She’s right to point it out. You may be acting as bait, but your only job is to get him into the room. Once he’s there, you need some way to ensure his position.

Albert: “I propose we sacrifice one of our flashlights to guarantee his placement.”
Albert: “If we set one on the ground where we want him to be, I’m certain he’ll pick it up. After all, denying us sight makes it harder for us to run and hide from him.”
‘Bec: “Sounds like a pretty $%#@ obvious trap.”
Albert: “Perhaps, but it only needs to ensnare him for a few moments.”
Albert: “If we leave the flashlight off, then it may seem more natural. He might suspect Roger dropped his while trying to get away. Possibly even while hiding on the shelf.”
Enid: “Won’t that be bad for Clive and me? We will be hiding there, right by wherever the bait is set.”
Albert: “If we do our jobs adequately, then it won’t matter. He’ll be crushed before he can discover either of you.”
Clive: “How will he even notice it, if the light is off?”
Roger: “He has Mr. Snyder’s flashlight now, doesn’t he? If he’s lighting up the room himself, then he should notice it, even if it is off.”
‘Bec: “...Hmph. Could work.”

Enid and Clive would be at a fair bit of risk in that plan still. There’s a chance they would get caught and harmed before the machinery could be dropped. Even if he saw them before Albert and ‘Bec could knock something over, if that plan failed then they might have a hard time catching him by surprise in their follow-up strike.

Suddenly, it hits you: You have two flashlights.

Roger: “What if I jump out and try to Blind him with my flashlight when he gets in position?”
Roger: “It’d steal his attention away from Clive and Enid, and he’d be less likely to notice the trap as it’s going off too.”
Clive: “There’s a chance you’d get shot.”
Roger: “Yeah, but… At least I have more room to dodge than you guys.”
Albert: “It’s not a bad addition plan, but try to be careful. It wouldn’t help anyone for you to reveal yourself early and take a fatal blow.”

You swallow, recognizing how possible that really was. Slowly, you nod, silently promising not to take any unnecessary risks. Protect yourself as much as everyone else. You’ll really consider if you want to go through with it.

Albert: “Is that everything then?”
Roger: “Just one more thing.”
‘Bec: “God, can’t it wait?”
Roger: “Um…”

To be honest, it could. You wanted to ask Albert if he’d found anything while searching the shelves in here. He seemed motivated to keep investigating at least, which makes you think he found something.

Still, forcing the topic now feels a bit too much like acknowledging that he might not be able to tell you later. There will be time to talk about it later. You can’t accept that there won’t be.

Roger: “I guess it can.”
‘Bec: “Thank you.”

Roger: “I’ll stay here and get ready to bring Sheppard down to you guys. How much time do you think you’ll need?”
Albert: “Counting travel time? I think 10 minutes should be enough.”
Enid: “Be careful! Don’t let him see you before you’re ready. Run to the other side of the plant if you have to, just stay safe.”
Roger: “I will.”

Soon enough, the others depart, leaving you to your lonesome. You’d have to track down Sheppard, and keep your distance until it was time to bring him downstairs.

Ten minutes… You start counting the seconds in your head, not wanting to get it wrong.

One… Two… Three…

One final thought creeps in to distract you: When your time is up, how will you get his attention? You hadn’t reached a decision before, but you ended up the Lure, so it’s on you to decide.

How will you Lure Mr. Sheppard?
A: Show yourself
-You could get shot at before you can get away, and you aren’t faster than bullets
-While Roger won’t die, you would expend your one Safety Net very early into the plan
-This would guarantee that he follows you
B: Make some noise
-The safest option for you, as you can do it from out of sight and guarantee he’ll hear it
-He’ll definitely follow, but he may be more wary of traps, depending on what he hears
-Suggest ways to make noise without arousing suspicion, and it may sway Sheppard’s suspicion one way or the other
C: Play it Subtle
-Give subtle signals, such as noises just loud enough for him to hear, or letting him see quick flashes of your light
-He’ll hide his approach, making it hard to confirm if he’s actually following you
-There is a chance he’ll be able to get closer than you want him to, which may lead to a negative outcome or worse odds in chase-related rolls
-If he sees you before you see him, you will spend your Safety Net

Additionally: Should Roger try to blind Sheppard as part of the trap?
1: Yes
-Sheppard will be less-likely to notice Albert and ‘Bec pushing the machinery
-Transfers immediate risk in the event of Sheppard surviving the trap off of Backup and onto Roger
-If the plan fails, Roger may take a critical injury or worse
2: No
-Roger will instead wait until the initial plan fails to come out and try to help disarm Sheppard
-If the plan fails, Roger will be less likely to suffer as a result
-This is strictly worse for the group, but it is safer for Roger



[ Following this decision, The Spirits will return to guiding The Anti-Socialite ]

I'll decide later, but I'm leaning towards A or C. I think Roger is fast enough to keep his distance from Sheppherd and take corners quicker in halls. I advise against B, we need this trap to be less obvious, especially with who is pushing.

1. Since we have Albert up there, it might take more time for the trap to spring, I don't care if Bec and Albert being enough to be two kids pushing, because we don't have anyone other than Clive or Enid up there with Bec, this needs the blinding to happen

Plus, I feel Roger is too selfless and too caring of others to have them be put in danger and would probably be more wanting to take that risk

A, 1. While Roger isn't the top tier athlete Lillian is, he HAS been playing baseball (much to his chagrin, he's been liking it). I think we have a decent shot at him being fast enough on the initial appearance to pull both off.