>>1126734
>If she was at the reins, maybe things would be better for everyone?
Do you have any experience governing? Or being in a position of power/authority? You could easily make things worse with an ignorant or reckless approach.

>>1126735
Well, time to see if the feather can ascend to Uberto's branch. Call him in.

Ask the feather what protecting the crown means exactly. In what ways could this be done?

you can message back that you're fine and headed back.

unless beak has anything else to say you should return to the others.

(1/5) kpwlt 2026/05/25(Mon)14:15 No. 1127163 ID: 127310
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>Do you have any experience governing? Or being in a position of power/authority? You could easily make things worse with an ignorant or reckless approach.

Sam is currently taking a small break from her more-complete-than-not political science degree. She was also a registered member of the Southshoals Esoteric Party (which is currently led by Uberto), though she seldom attended meetings.

>Ask the feather what protecting the crown means exactly. In what ways could this be done?

SAM: “What do you mean by protecting the Crown?”

BEAK?: “Repelling… foreign influences. Northreef… the Regnum Centratum, even the Beltonine Federation… Their governments and magnates hold too much sway over your… our Legislature. And take wealth away from the people of Southshoals. We must strengthen the Executive to… protect the integrity… of Parliament and the sovereignty of the Crown.”

Sam thinks back to the pitch Uberto gave her to convince her to join his party.

SAM: “Hmm… You mean like taxing foreign corporations more?”

BEAK?: “A good start… though phasing them out entirely in favour of… domestic industry… would be better. A better goal, perhaps.”

(2/5) kpwlt 2026/05/25(Mon)14:15 No. 1127164 ID: 127310
File 177971853265.png - (24.43KB , 700x700 , u22p2.png )

>Well, time to see if the feather can ascend to Uberto's branch. Call him in.

Sam calls out to Uberto. He bursts in with his brass knuckles raised.

UBERTO: “I’m here, Sam! Don’t worry!”

SAM: “I’m fine, it’s okay, Uberto.”

UBERTO: “Oh. Whoops.”

In hindsight, Sam could have called him in a less alarming way.

The beak recoils slightly. It makes a few clicking noises.

SAM: “Have a look at this. It is a ‘feather’.”

UBERTO: “Oh yes?”

BEAK?: “Samantha, this friend of yours carries the will of another as well as his own. And the light… so bright…”

SAM: “Don’t be worried. Your presence is harming the feather.”

UBERTO: “Oh no! I’m sorry little fella!”

SAM: “It’s alright, it’s just a feather. The main body is… not here.”

UBERTO: “Oh.. Where is it?”

(3/5) kpwlt 2026/05/25(Mon)14:15 No. 1127165 ID: 127310
File 177971853676.png - (17.66KB , 700x700 , u22p3.png )

BEAK?: “It is not.”

UBERTO: “What could that possibly mean?”

OYARSA: “I am outside. Waiting in the innavigable darkness that looms beyond the edge of your world. Peering through the holes in the sky with eyes that are not yet real.”

(4/5) kpwlt 2026/05/25(Mon)14:15 No. 1127166 ID: 127310
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UBERTO: “Oh, like plague locusts? You know them, Sam, those freaky bug monsters that sometimes try to swarm the City. They think they come - spontaneously generate - from nothing, or almost nothing, now. I guess it makes sense, since they’re always coming out of the ground or melting through walls, but I always thought they came from somewhere, you know?”

SAM: “Is it like that?”

The beak scoffs. Then coughs.

BEAK?: “In the same way… you emerge from the same womb… that births roaches and… maggots.”

UBERTO: “Eugh.”

(5/5) kpwlt 2026/05/25(Mon)14:15 No. 1127167 ID: 127310
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>unless beak has anything else to say you should return to the others.

Now seems like a natural break in the conversation. Sam can’t think of anything else to ask at the moment, anyway.

SAM: “Let’s go meet up with the others. I want to know if the feather can withstand that.”

UBERTO: “Sounds like a plan.”

The two bump into Simone first.

SIMONE: “Oh, hey. I was just coming to check if you two want to come down the well with me. I don’t- I don’t really want to do it alone. Justice McGregor says they’ll go if you go.”

SAM: “Justice McGregor?”

SIMONE: “Your jurist friend who you’ve been travelling with?”

UBERTO: “Of course. We’ve just had a… mind-addling moment in there, is all.”

Thank the Crown for Uberto.

SIMONE: “Fair enough. Is it related to that?”

Simone points to the quite still feather-beak. It has begun to emit a kind of grey fume and does not speak.

SAM: “Oh yes. You could say that.”

SIMONE: “Haha, don’t worry. I won’t pry. Not sure if I want to know, anyway, judging by your expression.”

Sam is not aware of any expression she’s been making.

She now defers to you for her next course of action.

>>1127165
Thulcandra... malacandra, glundandra? From a web search, these look like names of planets in "Old Solar" from a film called The Silent Planet.
Thulcandra is Earth, (literally "Silent Planet"), Malacandra is Mars, Glundandra is Jupiter.

>>1127167
The fume has those unidentified symbols in it. Now they kindof look like weeping eyes with the pupil missing.

>Jurist's name
Oh lord we never asked it, and of course he's the kind of weird person who doesn't introduce themselves. Speaking of weird, his comments on the feather have been rather interesting haven't they? "Nothing must have been making the noise" indeed. You should ask if he knows anything specific about this, or if his statements have been more Pataphysical/prophetic than based on knowledge. Though maybe ask in a way that you won't be overheard by Simone.

>go down the well?
I guess. I take it we're not going to try retrieving those weapons. Makes sense, it's probably not worth alerting them to our intent.

whoops, seal beak back up.

onwards and downwards to the well

>>1127170
Holy Heavens! I had not read those years in many years. What a gracious delight it is to see them again.

That's not the name of a film, Out of the Silent Planet is the first book of the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis!



In that book, the protagonist travels to Mars (Malacandra for the locals) and learns all planets can comunicate with one another thanks to the angel-like beings ("if they are mundane intelligent beings, they must have different bodies than us" the locals in Mars say to the protagonist) who were tasked by, well, God by any other name, to guide and keep watch over intelligent life.

All planets except Thulcandra, whose guardians have gone rogue; "bent", as the guardians on Malacandra call them, for they have no word for evil.

(Yes, the Christian themes are way more overt in this work than in Lewis' subsequent Narnia, but the first book has some cool aliens, and the second has an unforgetable scene where- right, back to Sam and company!)

So, I guess what Oyarsa is implying is that it emcompasses at least a sizable amount of the vastness between world, that it might be a deity, and that there is an active, maybe malevolent, force keeping it and our world unable to communicate. A force that's hard to see to the naked eye.

Hmm, I also err on the side of subterfuge! Let's go for the weapons without sharing spreading it around.

Oh, and I'd like to point out that the third symbol in the haze is not the same as the others. I wonder if we can see that better by trying to look at it while the haze is around?

Speaking of looking at things, is it possible to "zoom in" on the map? Like, do a local scan for objects with notable energies? Might get a better idea of what the symbols mean in the well room, or in the office if we dare go there now.

(1/4) kpwlt 2026/06/02(Tue)15:35 No. 1127514 ID: 127310
File 178041455378.png - (18.01KB , 700x700 , u23p1.png )

>Malacandra is Mars, Glundandra is Jupiter.

Mars and Jupiter? Sam knows of no planets with those names.

>an active, maybe malevolent, force keeping it and our world unable to communicate

Odd. And ominous. Sam hopes this force isn’t too malevolent.

>seal beak back up

The lid goes back on.

>I take it we're not going to try retrieving those weapons.
>Let's go for the weapons without sharing spreading it around.

Sam weighs up the two options. She decides to go case out Hella’s office.

The strange room does not appear to be an office at all. Before Sam is a white plinth, and on the ceiling above it is another. They are identical aside from the symbols painted on them and the fact that the ceiling plinth has a sword wedged in it. Sam hopes it doesn’t fall out while she’s here.

At the far end of the room is a little golden bell on a pedestal. ‘RING FOR ASSISTANCE’, instructs a plaque on the pedestal. On the upper part of the wall is a white panel with the floor plinth’s symbol painted on it, only upside down. A window, perhaps? It’s big enough to be a door.

On the left wall of this room are two double sliding doors, such as one might expect to encounter when attempting to enter a lift, on an artificial column set in the wall. One door is on the floor, and the other is at the ceiling. Both bear the ceiling plinth’s symbol.

Odd.

>Oh, and I'd like to point out that the third symbol in the haze is not the same as the others.

It may be worth noting that the third symbol in the haze bears a striking resemblance to the symbol on the lift doors and ceiling plinth.

(2/4) kpwlt 2026/06/02(Tue)15:35 No. 1127515 ID: 127310
File 178041455762.png - (17.75KB , 700x700 , u23p2.png )

>Speaking of looking at things, is it possible to "zoom in" on the map? Like, do a local scan for objects with notable energies?

Sam does not receive another map when she does this. Instead, the sword glows. Well, it’s not really a glow per se. Sort of the opposite. The sword unglows, and exudes strange particles. While bearing no resemblance to each other, the particles somehow impress the weeping eye glyph upon Sam’s mind.

Sam also notices a slight orange glow coming from her skin. It could be a trick of the light.

Nothing else in the room has any notable energies.

Sam makes an executive decision that she will not be retrieving the weapons. Unless she has an epiphany about this room.

(3/4) kpwlt 2026/06/02(Tue)15:36 No. 1127516 ID: 127310
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>onwards and downwards to the well
>I guess.

It's not mandatory. I, for one, wouldn't fault Sam if she simply decided to let Simone wait for backup.

Sam picks up Uberto and Simone and makes for the well room.

McGREGOR J: “Ah. The fated descent draws near.”

The light still flickers in the corner of the room.

Sam initiates another local scan. Everyone in the room immediately begins to glow faintly orange. Other, bolder colours soon dwarf the orange, though. Violet for the jurist McGregor, bright red for Simone, and grass green for Uberto. Sam is a bit disappointed that she has no second colour.

UBERTO: “All good, Sam?”

SAM: “Um. Yes. You two go ahead, I just… I just thought of something.”

Uberto, thankfully, takes the hint.

UBERTO: “Ah, alright! Simone and I will go scout out the well.”

The well has been converted into a black pond. It unglows in a similar way to the sword, and impresses the idea of the weeping eye as well. Like something watching from inside the well, between waking and sleeping. Looking into Sam’s skull with every glance she takes towards the divot. Uberto and Simone vanish into this void.

>You should ask if he knows anything specific about this,

Sam shows McGregor the box.

SAM: “Do you know anything about this?”

They take it from Sam and look over it, carefully fiddling with the latches.

McGREGOR J: “Ah, this is very impressive. Something that should not be, but is anyway. So convincing that it has not been ejected yet. A cuckoo egg. Could it be Clerk’s Raven?”

SAM: “Clerk’s Raven?”

McGREGOR J: “The book the Daughter carries became of great interest to the University of ‘Pataphysics, for rumour of an odd Raven between the lines. Shortly after, it was defaced and returned. The Raven was nowhere to be found.”

SAM: “What does the Raven do? What did the University want with it?”

McGREGOR J: “This one has heard much, and many. But the answers to those questions cannot come from this tongue. The Daughter should descend shortly. The situation may require her… expertise.”

(4/4) kpwlt 2026/06/02(Tue)15:36 No. 1127517 ID: 127310
File 178041456495.png - (15.96KB , 700x700 , u23p4.png )

Sam and McGregor climb down into the well.

Night has fallen in the forest. Trees and darkness surround the two. A trail of small, tree-mounted lights illuminate the clearing and a path forwards.

Something moves up ahead. Sam can hear the chittering of birds… no, they don’t sound quite like birds, all around.

SIMONE: “Not sure I like this place. I can see why Mary wasn’t planning on coming down here.”

Uberto emerges from the path.

UBERTO: “Ah, hey guys. I had a little look up ahead. There’s another clearing without any other lit-up paths coming out of it. I haven’t been in there, but there’s like… some pots and boots and stuff there. It’s a little creepy.”

Huh. You went down a well intto a forest?

hmm, does it look like its been abandoned in haste? food still in the pot? should we be worried about predators?

(1/3) kpwlt 2026/06/21(Sun)15:17 No. 1128340 ID: 127310
File 178205504408.png - (20.72KB , 700x700 , u24p1.png )

>Huh. You went down a well intto a forest?

SAM: “Uberto, weren’t we just in a cave? How is it that we’re in a forest now?”

Uberto looks as though he is considering how much to tell Sam and then sighs.

UBERTO: “Listen, all of you, this hasn’t been raised in the House so don’t tell anyone I told you this. Especially you.”
He points to Justice McGregor.

UBERTO: “Alright, mid to late last year I paid the Minister for Spatiotemporal Anomalies a visit, not too long after he came back from the Catacombs.

’You might wanna sit down for this one, mate. Now listen, you mustn’t share this with anyone, especially a member of the Judiciary. The other arms want to keep this under wraps. For now at least.

In the Catacombs, there’s this kind of spatial distortion called a Well. Now, I never went into the Well myself, but based off of the debrief I had with my colleagues afterwards, things can get pretty weird down there.’

UBERTO:”He told me that his friends told him it was like another world down there, uh, down here. With its own sky and all. He also said that there was this ‘other him’ that came out of the Well and tried to convince everyone that he was the real one. Apparently the Government never got rid of the other him, either. Spooky stuff!”

(2/3) kpwlt 2026/06/21(Sun)15:17 No. 1128341 ID: 127310
File 178205504873.png - (14.02KB , 700x700 , u24p2.png )

McGregor’s face twists slightly, then curves into a slight grin.
McGREGOR J: "Imprisonment without trial? That may be of interest to certain personages on the Supreme Court’s bench.”

Uberto cringes.

SIMONE: “Another him? Y’know, we’ve been getting more reports of identity theft lately. Especially in the more rural areas. People that look exactly like other people moving into their houses and trying to take over their lives. It doesn’t happen a lot, but still.”

>should we be worried about predators?

SAM: “So, this forest, should we be on the lookout for predators?”

SIMONE: “These kinds of forests? They don’t usually have anything that preys on people in them.”

UBERTO: ”Although we should keep an eye out for other people.”

>hmm, does it look like its been abandoned in haste? food still in the pot?

Sam travels to the clearing Uberto mentioned. McGregor and Simone linger behind but Uberto follows her in.

There are a couple of small items of cookware. There is a dented, blackened steel pot with what looks like some charred spaghetti fossilised on its interior, and a (comparatively) clean saucepan-like implement that smells a little like old instant coffee. At a reluctant touch, both are cold.

(3/3) zpwlt 2026/06/21(Sun)15:17 No. 1128342 ID: 127310
File 178205506046.png - (35.31KB , 700x700 , u24p3.png )

UBERTO: ”And here are the boots.”

Indeed, there are the boots, right at the far edge of the clearing. A perfect pair. They look a lot like Sam’s boots, actually. Sam picks them up but quickly tosses them aside.

SAM: “Uberto… these boots still have someone’s feet in them!”

Uberto returns a hushed ”what?!” and retrieves the boots. They contain flesh and bone, like someone’s foot had been severed just at the lower shin, but with no separation of the boot and the flesh. Uberto drops them almost as soon as he realises.

SAM: “Look, Uberto, look!”

Sam struggles to form words and point at the same time. There is a trail of little bits leading off into the darkness of the forest. The largest visible is an entire arm, just lying there. None of the skin is visible. The arm wears a similar sleeve and glove to Sam’s.

Come to think of it, all of the little bits look sort of familiar. Sam feels a twinge in her stomach as she recognises a chunk of Uberto’s side, another one of her arms, thoroughly bisected this time, and so on. All melded with their clothes and staining the leaf litter with anemic blood. You could almost make another two of them from the bits.

The hideous trail leads to a confusing collection of fluorescent red strips in the distance, rising and falling subtly but steadily. And something almost imperceptible but certainly there.

>>1128341
>clones showing up
Ok, from now on, we move as a group. Everyone stays in sight of eachother at all times. Also we can't trust anyone we meet down here, they could be clones.
>McGregor and Simone linger behind
Not allowed!

>>1128342
...I guess the Well made clones of you already, and they were killed. Or this is an aborted cloning attempt? Wait, the bodyparts are *melded* with their clothes? Clones would have separate clothes, so... this does sound more like an aborted cloning attempt than a killing. I'm guessing clones are made all in one piece then the clothes separate from the body.

There is something in the dark. A symbol? Focus on it before you get any closer. This seems dangerous.

So something killed your clones? But were they protecting you, or targeting you?

either way better not go that way.

They are wearing your same clothes?

Um..ask Simone and Uberto if they know whether the identity theft victims are people who entered the well. It might be the clones come into existence when someone arrives in this world.

It definitely feels like going that way is a bad idea. Let's investigate from a safe distance and leave if it looks like we angered something.

(1/1) kpwlt 2026/06/30(Tue)15:34 No. 1128760 ID: 127310
File 178283364129.png - (19.50KB , 700x700 , u25p1.png )

>So something killed your clones? But were they protecting you, or targeting you?

Is it possible to say?

>Ok, from now on, we move as a group. Everyone stays in sight of eachother at all times. Also we can't trust anyone we meet down here, they could be clones.

Sam creeps back to the stragglers and seizes their wrists.

SAM: “Oh, okay, there have been some developments that mean we all need to stay together. We can’t let each other out of our sights, and we can only trust ourselves. Got it?”

Sam is met with murmured agreement.

>...I guess the Well made clones of you already, and they were killed. Or this is an aborted cloning attempt?

The Well made clones? So like the other Minister, there was an other Sam and an other Uberto?

SAM: “Did the Minister tell you anything else about that other him?”

UBERTO: ”Only that he was very convincing.”

There is limited cloning technology that Sam knows of. She thinks it involves implanting some specific genetic material in an egg cell but isn’t quite sure. Either way, it takes a long time and most certainly does not include clothes.

>Um..ask Simone and Uberto if they know whether the identity theft victims are people who entered the well.


SIMONE: “No. At least, not that I know. I didn’t know about Wells before now, to be honest. Well, it sort of lines up with what you’ve been saying about the Minister’s other him, Uberto.”

UBERTO: ”But lots of those cases were quite far from here, weren’t they? And remember, the real Minister never actually went into the Well.”

>There is something in the dark. A symbol? Focus on it before you get any closer. This seems dangerous.

Sam hushes the group and peers into the darkness. It seems to be a mask, with four circles surrounding a kind of upside-down Y. It’s attached to a larger, person-shaped structure. It jolts a little when it realises it’s being watched. The shape vanishes.

In response, the red strips shift, and now Sam can make out that they are attached to a person lying supine.

SIMONE: “By the Crown, that’s Mary!”

The forest remains still.

Slowly approach as a group. You're going to grab Mary and retreat to the lit camp.

Really? That's not the outfit I thought she'd be wearing after all these months.

Still, going to grab her would be a bad idea in the middle of that strange darkness.

Maybe the Jurist cloack can do it? If not, asking Simone and Uberto, and yes, even our spectral bird friend, if there is any way to retrieve without moving deeper in would help!

>>1128760
Huh, the thing was creating an illusion? Do the clone-bits look the same as before?
Let's go retrieve Mary.

(1/2) kpwlt 2026/07/08(Wed)15:30 No. 1129119 ID: 127310
File 178352461873.png - (24.34KB , 700x700 , u26p1.png )

>Really? That's not the outfit I thought she'd be wearing after all these months.

Oh? Sam was not aware she should already have an idea of Mary's outfit.

>Huh, the thing was creating an illusion?

Sam isn’t sure. She didn’t notice any illusion, but then again, what good is an illusion you can notice?

>Do the clone-bits look the same as before?

They appear to be unchanged.

>Slowly approach as a group.
>Let's go retrieve Mary.

The group advances, remaining wary of their surroundings, and each ensuring the continuous presence of the other three. Uberto conjures a soft light to illuminate the area.

Mary is awake and looks at the group with a look of either fear or deep physical discomfort through her glasses.

SIMONE: “Mary, we’re here to help you!”

Mary breathes in a strained fashion.

Uberto tries to lift her. Then the Jurist’s Cloak tries to lift her. Both fail. Various combinations of people try to lift Mary. At most, she comes several centimetres off the ground before everyone has to put her back down. It’s as though she’s made of lead.

She inhales deeply before whispering.

MARY: “The WOLAND lady… did something to me. Can’t move now.”

SAM: “There was someone standing near you before we came over. Do you know them?”

MARY: “Old friend. And you… two… you real now?”

UBERTO: ”As real as it gets! But I guess the fake ones would have said the same thing.”

(2/2) kpwlt 2026/07/08(Wed)15:30 No. 1129120 ID: 127310
File 178352462112.png - (27.32KB , 700x700 , u26p2.png )

A black-clad figure zips out of a nearby tree. The same one as before.

MARY: “It’s them.”

???: “Apologies. Just a precaution.”

The masked person grabs Sam by the face and looks deeply into her eyes. She kicks them off of her, and they promptly do the same to Uberto and the rest.

UBERTO: ”Hey! At least tell us who you are if you’re going to come in here and start examining us.”

They step back and seem to consider for a moment.

MILLER: “I work for the Ministry of Memetic Philosophy. Please, call me Miller. Some well doubles of you came here earlier, hence the inspection.”

SIMONE: “Mary’s mentioned you before. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

MILLER: “A shame we couldn’t meet in kinder times. Your mentor has been cursed, and the only person I know of who can undo it is the person who cursed her.”

Miller looks at Sam again, as if expecting her to say or do something. Or, perhaps they feel compelled to look at her for some subconscious reason.

>>1129120
"That woland lady"... so I'm guessing Hella is the flaming figure after all? Her ability to teleport in and out of the Well seems pretty handy. Wish we could do that, then we could go confront her.

Ask Miller what's with the mask. (so that's what was behind the censor bar)

Could we do something to lure the perpetrator to us, rather than attempt to track down someone so ellusivea? What was Mary doing when she was accosted?

Oh right, introductions are in order.

And ask about the body parts strewn around.

(1/1) kpwlt 2026/07/20(Mon)13:42 No. 1129614 ID: 127310
File 178455492529.png - (31.70KB , 700x700 , u27p1.png )

>so I'm guessing Hella is the flaming figure after all?

Based on what Sam knows, it seems almost certain.

>Her ability to teleport in and out of the Well seems pretty handy. Wish we could do that, then we could go confront her.

Sam wonders how Hella is able to teleport. She knows of several tryptologers who were claimed to have the ability to “move without moving” but they tended to disappear along with their research. The most famous she knows of was a burglar who went by Garou Garou, who was able to enter and exit sealed rooms with no trace. One day, his corpse was found fused with a wall.

Sam is unsure if and to what extent Hella’s teleportation is comparable to Garou Garou’s wall-walking.

>Oh right, introductions are in order.

Sam is a little miffed that Uberto has decided to shirk his regular duty of introducing her.

SAM: “Well. I am Sam. This is Uberto. Those are the Jur- I mean, Justice McGregor and Simone.”

MILLER: “A pleasure to actually meet you this time.”

>Ask Miller what's with the mask. (so that's what was behind the censor bar)

Censor bar? Sam isn’t sure what that means in this context. Perhaps she’s subconsciously remembering seeing Miller on television or something and they’ve had their face censored?

SAM: “So, Miller. Why do you wear a mask? What’s behind it?”

MILLER: “...My face. I wear a mask to hide it. My identity is sensitive. I wear this mask to confuse and unnerve well doubles. They find the pattern difficult to mimic, for some reason.”

McGREGOR J: "A slumbering mind may struggle to recreate details.”

SAM: “Would you take it off?”

MILLER: “No.”

>And ask about the body parts strewn around.

SAM: “Anyway. So, these bodyparts…”

MILLER: “Are from you and Uberto’s well doubles, correct. You may have noticed the inaccuracies with the internal portions, clearly indicating their inhumanity.”

SAM: “Where did they come from?”

MILLER: “It seems that the well produces them. To what end, beyond simply causing confusion and doubt, I have no idea.”

>What was Mary doing when she was accosted?
SAM: “Simone, what did you say Mary was doing when she was attacked again?”

SIMONE: “She was carrying one of those rock things you two found out of its storage room.”

MILLER: “WOLAND agents tend to be quite possessive over their infrastructure and well artifacts. There is an old WOLAND encampment not far from here that was still guarded until not long ago, and is almost certainly still surveilled. I avoid it as much as possible for that reason. If I ever do go there, I steer clear of their equipment.”

>>1129614
Sounds like an opportunity. We want to deal with Hella, and she currently doesn't know where we are. If we go to the encampment and mess with their stuff, she might teleport down to fight us, at which point we can win and lift the curse.

To that end, we should try to prep for the fight as much as possible. Is there anything else nearby we can use?

might as well take a look at the camp

(1/2) kpwlt 2026/07/26(Sun)15:12 No. 1129914 ID: 127310
File 178507873213.png - (32.35KB , 700x700 , u28p1.png )

>If we go to the encampment and mess with their stuff, she might teleport down to fight us, at which point we can win and lift the curse.
>might as well take a look at the camp

SAM: “Would you show us where the camp is?”

Miller elects to stay with Mary, but gives a quite detailed explanation of how to get to the encampment.

MILLER: “And remember. Don’t let anyone out of your sight.”

>To that end, we should try to prep for the fight as much as possible. Is there anything else nearby we can use?

SAM: “Also, do you know of anything nearby we could use in our fight with Hella?”

SIMONE: “We’re fighting Hella?”

UBERTO: ”Sam? What are you planning??”

MILLER: “My advice would be to not fight a high-ranking WOLAND agent. Forgive me for saying so, Mister Di Cesare, but I must imagine even your authority would be limited in the context of a prima facie unlawful battle. I cannot judge the rest of you just by looking, but please be forewarned.”

Sam gazes through Miller.

MILLER: “I have a small store with a net and some ropes near the encampment. Just follow the trees marked with broad arrows once you get there.”

(2/2) kpwlt 2026/07/26(Sun)15:12 No. 1129915 ID: 127310
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UBERTO: ”What’s your plan?”

SAM: “Instead of trying to find Hella and asking her to help us, we can lure her down here by tampering with her stuff and force her to help us.”

McGREGOR J: "Does the daughter recall what the Raven quoth?”

SAM: “Maybe? Anyway, we’re here.”

The group find themselves between two clearings.

The one on the left has a few deflated tents, the odd half-full sword rack, and several crates that remind Sam of the ones found in the Catacombs.

The one to the right houses some humming machines. It looks like there are two rather large cylindrical machines each hooked up to what might be a generator. One glows faintly orange. The other, slightly brighter blue. Something shifts inside the cylinders.

Sam leads the group to Miller’s store. She finds two lengths of rope, a net, and a large bear trap with gnarly looking teeth lining its jaws.

>we're fighting Hella?
I mean, she's the kidnapper? How else would we resolve this, asking her nicely to let us do what she told us not to do, and also to uncurse the person she cursed? Why would she cooperate?
Well, we can't do this without the agreement of those present, I suppose. Ask what alternative plans they can think of for uncursing Mary.

>"Does the daughter recall what the Raven quoth?”
That's either "nevermore", or a reference to the "feather" we spoke to. I guess this equipment could be at the site of a pore. Does he have anything else to say on the subject?

>two clearings
Hmm. Scry a bit, see if you can find any readings similar to the Feather.

the thing in the blue tube matches the diagram found next to Hella's letter, so this is her camp and one of the pores we were supposed to find.

So one tube is marked with will and the other with will of the crown. Is that not trouble, them being so close together?

what state is the feather in? has it responded to the proximity of the pore (assuming that's what this is)?

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>this is her camp and one of the pores we were supposed to find.

This appears to be her camp. However, in Sam’s experience, pores tend to be rather big, and in space. This is probably not a pore, in her opinion. It might be that the documents detailing a pore are in this place. This place may also be linked or aligned to a pore in some way.
>what state is the feather in?
>Does he have anything else to say on the subject?

Sam doesn’t particularly want to consult the feather in Simone’s presence, so she gives Uberto a look. Uberto gives Simone a look. Whatever message was intended has been lost almost instantly.

SAM: “I’m gonna go over there to… check out those tubes. While staying within sight, of course. You guys stay here and do your thing.”

Sam heads back over to the tubes and opens the box. McGregor watches her from afar. The beak proudly emerges. Its feathers are a glossy black and it has a certain gleam to it that was not present before.

BEAK?: “Ah, Samantha. Thank you for visiting me in a more hospitable location. I do apologise for the inconvenience, I look forward to the day I can freely roam without forcing you down wells. Speaking of, are you any closer to finding the locations of the pores?”

SAM: “Right. Where should I be looking for those? What exactly am I looking for here? Is this a pore?”

Sam gestures around herself.

BEAK?: “Not quite. Please don’t worry yourself with the similarities and differences between pores and wells. You’d find a pore by traversing the wells, but it would be the wrong one. Normally, you’d be looking into space (well, not quite), since that’s where the pores are.”

Sam has heard that a certain method for finding pores is to look directly away from the sky and try to ‘see’ them ‘in reverse’, or with the eyes in the back of one’s head. It was once believed that this behaviour was a symptom of lunacy. Not that it’s any more accepted or understood nowadays.

BEAK?: “Thankfully, the fool Clerk has done all the hard work for us. You need only find his writings, or steal them from the mind of one who has read them.”

SAM: “How?”

BEAK?: “All power comes from authority. Darkness comes from pores. Pay attention to the flow from pore to harnesser.”

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Sam spots McGregor drifting over and instinctively starts to hide the box.

McGREGOR J: "Be not afraid. This one arrives only to inspect the Raven.”

BEAK?: “Hello, Leslie.”

The Jurist scowls. They look as though they’re waking facial muscles that haven’t pulled this expression in years.

McGREGOR J: "Beware. The University is still looking for you and your old friend.”

BEAK?: “Is that meant to be a threat, wee judge? They’ve already found me. Or, more accurately, I found them. And Leslie? Don’t worry about Shelley. I know what I’m doing with him.”

McGregor looks at Sam as though she’s some kind of science experiment before quickly adjusting their gaze to be more appropriate for a human being.

BEAK?: “Close me up, Samantha. I have nothing more to say to you in the presence of this Obstruction of Justice.”

Sam obeys.

SAM: “Want to tell me what that was about?”

McGREGOR J: "It is Clerk’s Raven. A contemptuous but allegedly necessary part of the University of ‘Pataphysics’ plans.”

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>So one tube is marked with will and the other with will of the crown. Is that not trouble, them being so close together?

SAM: “Anyway, so, Leslie-”

McGREGOR J: "The daughter shall address this one as Justice McGregor or Your Honour. Or Les, if she must.”

Sam is unused to this kind of formal address, but is eager to remain in the Jurist’s good books after that incident.

SAM: “Right. Your Honour. Those tubes, one marked with the Chaos Star, meaning Will, and another with the Broad Arrow, symbolising the Will of the Crown, is it a problem that they’re being kept so close together?”

McGREGOR J: "Lay Will and Executive Will may often partially or fully coincide. Unless at least one of the two are immensely powerful, and unless they are diametrically opposed in purpose, there shall be no issues. Although, in the case of a malformed Executive power, some fragmentation of Will, or some distortion of the barriers between the two Wills might occur… That is not the case here.”

>the thing in the blue tube matches the diagram found next to Hella's letter

Sam peers extra closely at the thing in the blue tube.

SAM: “What do you think that is?”

From here, it looks like a person, or perhaps a robot. Or half of a monstrously tall person or robot.

McGREGOR J: "An imitation. The shadow of a particularly special officer of the Crown.”

SAM: “What about the other one?”

McGREGOR J: "It looks similar to a certain WOLAND Quartermaster. This one has no recollection of his name.”

Sam is made uneasy by the squirming of the… people? in the tubes. She and McGregor return to the others.

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UBERTO: ”Ah, welcome back.”


>Ask what alternative plans they can think of for uncursing Mary.

SAM: “You seemed unsatisfied with my plan. Did you have another idea for how we could free Mary?”

SIMONE: “...no. It just seems pretty sudden, you know? We don’t even know what Hella’s capable of.”

UBERTO: ”Right to business, then. Hmm. Well, it’s risky, but I don’t really see any other way around this. Surely with the lot of us, and expecting her, we can win.”

He’s being intentionally optimistic.

>Scry a bit, see if you can find any readings similar to the Feather.

An inscrutable sound bursts into Sam’s skull and there is suddenly a new map behind her eyes.

No readings come from the left clearing. Two from the right clearing, both dark aligned.

The blue and red arrows from earlier point in the direction the group came from.

>>1130892
The blue and red readings are probably Miller and Mary.
>contained figures both dark aligned
Huh, I think you can spot doppelgangers this way. That is incredibly useful. Well, unless the dark alignment is due to the containment devices. Speaking of those... I wonder what the attached tanks are doing. Are they draining Will? Or are they fueling the containment?
Hmm. Freeing the robotic doppelganger is slightly tempting. She can't possibly pretend to be anyone else, so if she helps us with the fight against Hella, we could agree to shelter her somewhere without worry of her managing an impersonation. On the other hand, we do not know where her allegiances lie, not without a deep understanding of how the minds of doppelgangers work.

Looks like the reading to the "north" is related to the Feather, so we could go that way later.

>Hella's letter, pictured figure in containment, pore?
Ok, I think I know what the problem is. The letter that was in the envelope, regarding the pore, was not present. It's probably in Hella's desk, which obviously we weren't able to search.
The other scraps of paper were nearby by coincidence and are not necessarily related to the pore or letter. At least we now know that Miller's photo was taken of him wearing the mask and coat... and holding a staff or spear? Or maybe that's someone else in the same getup.

>seems sudden, we don't know what Hella is capable of
True. How would we investigate our opponent though? Maybe we can ask the captive doppelgangers? Or do Miller and Mary know anything about Hella?

That symbol to the north, is it related to the feather? it looks similar to the large symbol we interacted with, but that was seven pointed while this one is five. but we have seen this exact one before, on one of the wall carvings in that same room. I don't think we determined what it meant.
and are we sensing, a house?

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>The blue and red readings are probably Miller and Mary.

Sam would tend to agree.

>That symbol to the north, is it related to the feather?
>and are we sensing, a house?

Sam recognises this symbol from a few places before. She does not recognise it as meaning anything in particular. She vaguely remembers it as appearing under or in what may have been a drawing of a well, next to a skull and crossbones.

It’s more like a wide arrow containing the symbol than a house. But Sam supposed she could be sensing a sort of ‘abode’ of whatever is meant by the five pointed symbol, in an abstract sense.

>Are they draining Will? Or are they fueling the containment?

Sam doesn’t know for sure, but she has heard tales of certain techniques and rituals used by particularly cunning mystics to hold dungeon doors closed with the prisoner’s very own force of Will. If these stories are true, then it wouldn’t be the most outlandish thing to expand such a concept to a machine.

>Freeing the robotic doppelganger is slightly tempting. She can't possibly pretend to be anyone else, so if she helps us with the fight against Hella, we could agree to shelter her somewhere without worry of her managing an impersonation.

Sam likes this idea.

SAM: “Maybe, to even the field, we could free one of those doppelgangers from the tubes before fighting Hella. Justice McGregor said one of them was a special officer of the Crown.”

UBERTO: ”Maybe, how do we know we can trust it, though? Can we even communicate with it?”



>How would we investigate our opponent though? Maybe we can ask the captive doppelgangers? Or do Miller and Mary know anything about Hella?

Sam returns to the doppelgangers. The others follow her.

SAM: “Excuse me. You two, do you know anything about Hella?”

The officer of the Crown does not speak, but the other pipes up. He speaks in an accented, muffled voice.

KOROVIEV: “Ah, of course, mademoiselle. My name is Koroviev, and I am a colleague of Hella’s. Or, was. For whatever reason, she has overseen my continued imprisonment here.”

SAM: “How would we go about defeating her?”

KOROVIEV: “Hella is so spirited that your task may be difficult. Unless you find some way to overcome her sheer force of Will, you are unlikely to prevail. My fellow inmate, the Dame Collector-General, is a great combatant and promises that she will help your cause should you release her. But unless you have something else that can match her Will, I would discourage you.”

Sam is aware of the Collector-General from her studies. It is a specialised role with vast discretionary control over certain combatants deemed ‘high value’, and is seen as a counterpart to the Captain-General, who has more general control over the Army. Both roles are appointed by the Governor of Southshoals on advice of the Executive Council.

The purported Collector-General remains silent. Koroviev calls out again as Sam crosses the threshold of the clearing.

KOROVIEV: “One other thing, I don’t know if it will help. Whenever Hella appears to check on us, it is always there, where you are standing.”

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Sam and the group return to Miller and Mary. Mary regards them with an expression halfway between a grimace and a grin.

MARY: “Done.. already?”

SIMONE: “Awh, sorry Mary. Not yet.”

UBERTO: ”We just wanted to know if there was anything else you could tell us about Hella.”

MARY: “She replaced.. Quartermaster, Koroviev. After WOLAND pulled out of the Well. To defend assets here.”

MILLER: “I have heard that she is capable of a great many things.”

MARY: “Hah. Well, I think.. She’s a one- trick pony. Just to put on a show to. Scare away intruders. Her real power… was sent in a letter. Watch for that dark power, don’t get burnt. And you’re golden.”

MILLER: “But look at what she’s done to you! Clearly, her one trick is effective.”

MARY: “Hmmph.”

Hella always appears in the same spot eh? So we have our ambush spot.

Now could we rig the collector's cell to release her exactly when we want. It sounds like we wouldn't want her loose until Hella arrives