With their heads still not clear from a Layover in Mistport, the Line Bulls of the Pride of Duskwall agree to meet on the train early and investigate the Office Car. The mists of the Dagger Isles are unable to conceal the secrets of Mr. Walker, who's true nature is finally made clear to the Line Bulls. Drix busts this whole thing wide open. Pippin is cornered and frightened. Andrel is told she is pretty.

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Ghost Lines by John Harper. Music by Sebastian Black. Art by Yoshiko Agresta.

For the full transcript, go to https://ghosts-on-a-train.captivate.fm/episode/ep-39-walkers-footsteps.

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Radio Announcer Greg 0:00

The Dagger Isles is a name given to the southern archipelago between Severos and Iruvia. The name is violent, painting the entire region as hostile for no reason other than a geographical separation from His Majesty's Imperium. But the people of the Isles refer to it as the Banwa, the grave of the Sky Father. Slain by his own wife, the Sky Father fell and formed the shape of the archipelago as his corpse hit the ground. This was long before the cataclysm, and perhaps living within a grave is what allowed the Daggerites to continue to thrive as the world itself became one mass grave. The Banwa's grim creation story may leave one surprised at the lack of specters within the dense jungles of the Dagger Isles, though this does not mean an easy ride for a Line Bull passing through.

Greg 1:12

Welcome to Ghosts on Train! This is a podcast, an actual play podcast where we play Ghost Lines, an RPG by Jonathan Harper. Or maybe just John Harper. I don't know if it's short for Jonathan. I'd like to welcome back any returning passengers and to thank anybody who's choosing to travel with us for the first time.

Hannah 1:32

Why are you doing this?

Greg 1:34

I am your conductor Greg. I run the game.

Hannah 1:38

Why - he's, like, leaning into the mic like an ASMRtist.

Andrel 1:42

I didn't know that was a phrase.

Hannah 1:44

I only learned it from writing Midsummer. Anyway, yes. Hello, I'm Hannah. I play Andrel Anderson, owner of several knives.

Andrel 1:56

I'm Guy, I play Pip, noted ASM-fartist.

Hannah 2:03

I'm gonna kill you.

Guy 2:06

Honestly, I deserve it.

Stefen 2:09

I'm Stefen, I play Drix, and ow. That's all I got, just ow.

Greg 2:17

Oh, gosh. Well, here we are. The Pride of Duskwall. The Pride of Duskwall is a nine car locomotive of the electrified Imperial Railways. The mighty locomotive boasts a contemporary design with the exception of its front, which has a light powered by a proper coal furnace rather than the electrified lightning oil that most other technology runs off of, which spews out occasional bursts of fire and smoke in a manner reminiscent of a moustache, if you, like, look at trains and are like, "Ah, that train's got a face!" Which you know what, you probably did as a kid. Let's take you back to that magic.

Hannah 3:03

We've all done it. That's how the movie Cars happened.

Greg 3:05

That's how - I thought you were gonna say that's how Thomas the Tank Engine happened.

Hannah 3:08

Oh, no, I guess that too.

Greg 3:11

That's also how Cars happened, but for Cars. But this is a train.

Hannah 3:15

I think there were trains in Cars. Probably somewhere. It was a long series.

Greg 3:20

You know what, let's not, let's not get too crazy. The Pride of Duskwall is currently getting set to depart from Mistport on the isle of Iruvia. They will cross over the Dagger Isles on a nonstop trip up to Thorn, so it'll be passing through Irondale in Severos and ending up in Thorn, a coastal city of Severos. But before any passengers are allowed on, as freight is getting loaded up by big machines, what would normally be done by maybe dramatic crate apparatuses are instead done by the massive 20 to 30 foot tall Hulls, the Sualim, the bronze giants. Big robots piloted by ghosts.

Hannah 4:06

Yes!

Greg 4:07

So -

Hannah 4:07

We love big robots.

Andrel 4:09

We love big robots.

Stefen 4:10

We are a fan.

Andrel 4:12

You don't have to convince me on that one.

Greg 4:14

So who arrives first?

Andrel 4:17

I like the idea that Pip is still drinking.

Hannah 4:21

Drix, then.

Guy 4:22

For once.

Stefen 4:23

Okay.

Guy 4:24

Stefen, we're volunteering you.

Stefen 4:25

That's fair.

Greg 4:26

All right. Stefen, please describe Drix as you enter the office car a little surreptitiously. The, the Sualim, they regard you but, like, as we learned in the last layover, you've got that, that badge. You're part of the Ministry of Preservation. They're like, oh, yep, there he is. Like, you're, you're a coworker. You should be here.

Stefen 4:43

Okay. Drix, he steps into the car. He is a tall, dark, handsome, obviously.

Greg 4:51

Obviously handsome!

Stefen 4:52

Obviously handsome. Yeah, he is a tall, dark Severosi man with black curly hair.

Guy 4:58

And protagonist voice.

Stefen 5:00

Of course, gotta have that protagonist voice. He's, like, pretty tall. He's decently buff. He's got, like, you know, a bit of a barrel chest, and he's in his downtime clothes right now, so he's got, like, a loosely fitted, like, white shirt with a vest over it, a belt buckle that says "yee" on the front, and then he's wearing, like, some loose slacks with some boots with some spurs. Boots with the spurs.

Greg 5:23

With the spurs!

Stefen 5:24

The whole club was looking at her.

Greg 5:28

Yeah, Drix you hit the floor. The office car of the Pride of Duskwall in the back half of the locomotive. It has a large desk with an ashtray that is used by Candace, the conductor of the train, conductor slash owner of the train and your direct boss. The walls are surrounded by all sorts of secret compartments and puzzle locks and things, information to open which some of which is in Candace's head, some of which gets telegraphed over along the lines to Candace to be able to pay you without the train needing to stop, like, at Ministry locations every single goddamn time. I think maybe you, you, your feet touch on the weird stained corner that nobody talks about.

Hannah 6:11

Oof.

Greg 6:11

But that is not a mystery that you are prepared to solve right now. Because there's a different mystery.

Stefen 6:16

Yeah, Drix is looking around the room. He briefly glances at the corner just because he did have a theory last time that maybe, just maybe, but he doesn't seem to see any seams or anything in the walls nearby, so he kind of, he kind of is like, maybe the body's not in here. So he, like, starts glancing around the room trying to figure out, like, what happened to Hecla?

Greg 6:41

Yeah, I think, I'm trying to think of, like, any evidence that would be left behind. And the answer is, of course, nothing.

Stefen 6:50

I think the fact that there is nothing is, like, what's kind of eerie?

Greg 6:54

Yeah.

Stefen 6:54

Like, there doesn't seem to be any signs of a struggle. He saw the knife earlier before he got off the train, but beyond that, it's like Hecla was never here. Nothing was ever here. But there is one thing out of place. He can see a blinking light on the spirit box.

Greg 7:11

Spirit box, a device that we occasionally use for anybody who sends in voice suggestions, send in voice suggestions either at our old anchor link for that or you can send them on over, any suggestions, voice or otherwise, to ghosttrainpod@gmail.com But yes, that allows one to replay notable events within an area of the Ghost Field. The train's Ghost Field, the invisible to the naked eye layer of reality that ordinarily people can attune to with their own minds to perceive raw, the spirit box allows for safe observation.

Hannah 7:54

Oh, there's a joke about raw somewhere.

Greg 7:57

Yeah.

Stefen 7:59

Find it, find it. You got this.

Hannah 8:03

Love going into the Ghost Field raw? I dunno.

Greg 8:07

You heard it here, folks, that Hannah likes to raw the Ghost Field. Anyways -

Andrel 8:14

There it is, I guess.

Greg 8:16

Anyways -

Stefen 8:17

It's cool, it's cool. We'll figure it out later. We will put it in post.

Guy 8:20

We won't put it in post.

Greg and Hannah 8:21

No, we won't.

Hannah 8:22

I don't care that much.

Greg 8:22

No, I won't. The important thing is, yes, the spirit box light. I think considering our level of technology, the spirit box from, like, the start of one line to the start of the next line, it will do two things. It can press onto its spiritual record, almost like a vinyl record, the events that occurred within the Ghost Field, and it has a maximum capacity. If there's been no, like, note left for a suggestion, or, like, if there's no reason to look at it, Candace would just be like, oh, well, okay, time to clear it so we've got a whole nother line's worth. You're here before Candace, though, far earlier, and she has not yet cleared it. Drix understands the function of the spirit box, having answered questions from it. So yeah, I think, I think a plan starts to hatch in Drix's head. Who shows up next?

Hannah 9:17

Andrel can come.

Greg 9:19

Describe Andrel as she enters the office car.

Hannah 9:21

Andrel is a young woman, girl, she's 13. I always get that wrong.

Greg 9:29

Because you're a whole, you're a grown ass woman.

Hannah 9:31

I am. I am a grown ass woman, women. Andrel, Andrel's a young girl. 13 years old, copper skinned Iruvian, dark, messy hair, very shorten and boyish, Victorian orphan clothes, so, like, a little ratty shirt and vest, and mischievous eyes. Did, I guess we agreed to meet at the office car?

Greg 9:54

Yeah.

Stefen 9:55

Yeah, I'd say, I'd say we agreed.

Greg 9:57

One of the Sualim briefly stops to delicately toussle your hair and give you a thumbs up.

Aw!

You can tell it's Ekimosa, who you helped escape.

I give Ekimosa a thumbs up back.

And then, yeah, you go into the office car as he keeps unloading.

Hey, Drix.

Hey, Andrel.

Hey. You already surveyed the place?

Looking around a bit. Can't really find anything, and ain't that weird?

Yeah.

Drix, there's a sniffing noise near your feet, and you feel the wet nose and whiskers - and when I say whiskers, I mean moustache - of Ji'mani, the dorg, a hairless, dog-like creature with two legs in back and one leg in front, no hair on his body except for a handlebar moustache. Ji'mani is sniffing around, sniffing around Drix's feet sort of between where Drix and Andrel are standing.

Now Ji'mani, Ji'mani. Okay, remember, task number one is finding some kind of evidence, something so we can help figure out what happened to, what happened here. Task two, if you see any more knives, I would like them.

Yorp yorp!

Yorp.

If you do a good job, Ji'mani, I'm gonna scritch you real good.

Ji'mani stands at attention, like Scooby fucking Doo. He sniffs again, and does, like, a little circle at, like, a random spot a couple steps into the room but, like, otherwise nondescript.

No knives? Damn.

No knives, but Ji'mani's doing a little circle and sniffing.

All right.

Huh.

Yeah.

Yorp yorp!

Well, nothing, nothing exactly...

Yorp yorp yorp yorp!

Yorp yorp? What've you found?

At the mention of nothing exactly, Ji'mani is giving, like, a more intense yorp yorp.

Oh, uh...

Steps and does a little circle at that spot again.

Did something happen at this spot, you think?

Yorp!

Alright, thank you, Ji'mani. You can stop yorping, we have been alerted to the spot.

Ji'mani, Ji'mani gives a quick little -

Yorp...

- and gives a little, like, nip. A nip that doesn't break skin at Drix.

All right, all right. Here, here's your scritches. Who's a good, who's a good dorg? You're a good dorg. Aw, man, I love this little guy.

He's a good boy.

Now...

And Drix, like, runs his fingers over the spot that Ji'mani pointed out.

We could try and attune to the Ghost Field, maybe?

Or we could check the spirit box. And have it do that for us.

That is easier.

I think this is about when Pip shows.

Nope.

No?

I'll tell, I'll tell you. I'll tell you when.

I'm getting cued in.

Okay.

God damn, okay.

Everybody else got cued in!

Should we wait for Pip?

Probably.

Candace might be here any second.

Oh, yeah. That'd be -

That's true. That's true, voice of God.

Thank you, thank you, voice of God.

Well you guys, you guys, you guys just know that if Pip is late to meet up with you...

Yeah, Pip could be drunk, hungover in some alley, and if he's late then Candace will get here and wipe this thing.

Alright, let's play it, then.

Appreciate the vote of confidence.

You, you told me -

Joking, joking!

- you tell me it's not deserved!

The spirit box begins to crackle easy blue, showing some events of the line. You zip through them and slow down -

Oh, hey, Mr. Walker picks his nose.

Yeah, you, you get to the part where Hecla walks in. Hecla enters. Mr. Walker stares up at her. With barely a moment's hesitation, you watch as she throws her knife, and it's halted in the air by some mysterious power. It clatters to the floor, and Mr. Walker's says words in a voice that belongs to his body and yet is not his own.

Sister Hecla. Naive assassin. You know stepping in here that you have failed in your task in undertaking it.

Guy, please describe Pip to me as he's on his way.

Pip is a man that one would closer be compared to a rodent or some other vermin. Just kind of greasy, like, unkempt.

Rat man.

Just a little rat man.

Rat boy.

Would be tall and, like, maybe good looking, maybe, like, if he put, like, the effort in, but clearly has not ever, and so is just, like, ew. Ew. He's kind of stumbling home with dark circles under his eyes and a bit too much to drink.

Yeah, it's, it can hardly be called day drinking when you live in a world with no sun. So it is dark and lamplit as ever, with the exception of a - well, not just lamplit, sorry, lit by lamps in the buildings and bioluminescent plants throughout.

Sexy.

A shadow approaches you, Pip. As it enters the light of a nearby fern, you recognize the Salvador Dali mustache and the bald head of Mr. Walker.

Pip immediately stands up straighter.

Mr. Walker, sir.

Pippin McKeel, quickly. I need to know.

Know what, sir?

He guides you behind some stacks of crates and boxes that might be going somewhere or might just be for sale here, but either way, you are somewhat hidden from view. Walker roughly grabs Pip's left wrist -

Oh.

- and pulls a sleeve down to reveal a tattoo of three digits. What are the three digits right now, Guy?

I think 607.

Walker rushes to his, his right arm, pulls down his sleeve, revealing a tattoo on his forearm.

Oh.

And he looks down at it. And at first he sees the first digit that he has is six, and then he looks to yours, and then he notices that his is 652. He breathes it first what's a sigh of relief, and then he gets sort of a perplexed look on his face.

I-is there something I can help you with, sir?

In a way, you already have. Although, I suppose if you were to do another favor for me, it could be to speak plainly.

Certainly, sir. Wha...

Do you have any memory of me, Pippin McKeel?

I, yes. I remember you... I remember you taking me off the streets and giving me a job.

No, not then. I cannot tell which is clownish performance, and which is perhaps your own memory still resisting. But the fact of the matter is, I saw your recognition when I spoke the name Crowl. At the very least, I believe you have recovered some memory of who you were.

I'm afraid I don't understand, sir. I've always just been Pippin McKeel, I have.

Yes, yes, but do you understand what that means now? Do you understand what these tattoos mean?

Permission to speak plainly, sir.

I've in fact asked for that. Permission granted.

You are frightening me, sir.

I am frightened. I recently fulfill my duty as a Walker, allowing the Emperor's will to inhabit me. I am but a vessel.

Pippin balks.

The tattoo that I have, as I have come to understand, these digits indicate some sort of distance of the Emperor's will to me, though not by any metric that I could voice or even properly understand. That our numbers do not match, it seems likely that it is not His Majesty for whom you may be a vessel. Though this arrangement does indicate that they are close by. Were you inhabited recently?

I genuinely do not recall.

When I asked you if you knew the meaning of these tattoos, this understanding that I have is but a clumsy understanding of observation, correlation. I had an honest question for you of whether you understood. Please, if you can, explain to me what this is. By what mechanism it works.

I don't rightly know, sir.

Well, then I'm sorry to say, you do not know how it works, and we have no clue who may know, then I fear it might be as Crowl declared over the corpses of your family. Only the rats shall remember the will of them the McKeels.

And at that he seems really frustrated.

Yeek.

Wuh-oh.

That's what everyone likes to hear.

Yeah, I think they, does Pip have a reaction that Walker might notice in his own frustration?

I think Pip is just, like, shaken. Like, full on deer in the headlights. Pip is currently being faced with a lot of traumatic experience. And it's just all crashing down at once and his, his only reaction is to just lock up until it passes.

I think he might notice the stiffness. Like, because you'd normally, you'd, like, in this conversation have been like, "Oh, well, sir," but, like, this is, like, stiff.

I am terribly sorry, Pippin McKeel. Truly, when I went on to the Pride for this, I merely wished to see that you had encountered Crowl and survived, and maybe through your tattoo or your own abilities you have seen him and survived the encounter. For that I am overflowing with gratitude to both the world and your comrades. I am sorry for any pain that my shortness with you might have resulted in. It is... it is not often I have had opportunity to question this burden that has been placed upon me.

Looking to his tattoo.

You, Pippin McKeel, are the only person I believe with whom I may converse about this experience. I remember when I lost sight of you 13 years ago, on the Feast of Gratitude.

Oh, boy.

Was that Guy or Pip?

That was Guy.

I cannot rightly say what my life was like before your family. Well, our relationship cannot resemble a typical friendship. You are one of the few familiar faces that I understand as any sort of peer. I believed you dead along with the rest of your family and accepted my place as vessel. I suppose... no, I do not suppose, I did. When I discovered that you had drowned your sorrows in whiskey and flooded your memory with gin, I was similarly frustrated that my questions would go unanswered. I am merely further frustrated to discover that you were as in the dark as I, with even that cloud burst. I have laid much upon, you over a decade of expectations that you were unable to meet twice now, though I unfairly thrust them upon you. You are an excellent Line Bull, may I say. Of that I had no expectation. So I suppose in that sense, you have shown me.

Yeah, I think now just Pip is waiting. Like, he doesn't know how to react. There's so much there. All the trauma and pain that he's tried so carefully to bury, the realization and almost explicit confirmation from Walker. And then of course the, the feeling of letting someone important to you down. It all just kind of rumbles through his mind, tossing and turning like the waves in the port, never settling. Pip does not know what to say. Perhaps everything that needed to has already been said.

Mr. Walker notices Pip still not saying anything. His face darkens, his expression darkens. Tilts his head in almost a bow, almost a nod.

Well, I do believe that it is time for you to continue your journey. And I hope to see you again, to perhaps apply a journeyman's edge to your badge. McKeel.

Thank you, sir.

He gives you a there-there-old-chap clap on the shoulders, but, like, tentatively, with great discomfort, and then walks away.

I think Pip just kind of hangs in that moment for a little bit before scrambling towards the train.

Meanwhile, back on the Pride of Duskwall. So at this moment, Drix and Andrel witnessed through the spirit box, crystal clear audio and video of the brief conversation between Walker and Hecla implying that Walker was inhabited by or the Emperor. And just now, you have watched as the Emperor says -

We can speak if you wish, though in a moment you will not be much of a conversationalist.

A flash of light as Hecla is instantly reduced to a pile of dust. Walker picks up the knife that Drix recognized in his bag, untied Booker's badge from it, held it, and softly, so softly, in fact, it's almost like the tears are not coming from Walker's face but appearing and falling from his eyelids, Walker briefly sheds a handful of tears onto the badge before putting it and the knife in the bag.

Woo! All right, so couple off the bat thoughts. One, I can't believe we were right. Two, the camera angles on the spirit box, super impressive. Three, three, aaaaahhhh. Aaahhh, you know?

It's just a projection!

Yeah.

It's just a projection into the room! The camera angle is wherever you're standing!

You called in video!

There was a real, there was a real sense of cinematography to that.

Yep!

And I think chiaroscuro? Which is really hard, because it's all one color!

I know, right? Oh, god. Should we leave? Is there anything else we have to do here, or should we just go processes this in the crew car?

I think we should just go process this in the crew car.

Okay.

Okay, see, there's this difference between, like, you know, believing you're right and, like, knowing you're right. And when you know you're right about something, like, I don't know, the Emperor could be anywhere in anyone at any time but probably with some kind of on the nose name, that makes you a little nervous.

I can't - why would they keep his name that even if it was originally his name?

I don't...

It just feels like a really big hint!

It's such, it's such a bait. Maybe, maybe that's the point? Maybe it's just flaunting it? Like, clearly, clearly you can't kill Walker. That, that much has been made abundantly, abundantly clear.

Okay, I really want to argue with you. But yeah, at the very least...

Not normally.

Not normally. Not with what Hecla had.

Yeah.

Not with knives.

Pip, at this point you arrive. You see Candace is already setting up in the office cart. You can see her through the door. Meanwhile in the, in the crew car, in the bullpen, your companions are sitting talking.

I think Pip goes to the the crew car.

Hey, hey Pip.

Pip, we just heard some wild stuff. You're not gonna believe this.

Well, it makes three of us.

Pip has the look of being haunted.

Oh goodness. Um, do you, do you need, do you need a drink? I don't know how to make drinks. But I know where the bottles are.

I can make you something. I, believe me, I think, I think, I could use one too.

Pip goes over to the shelf, grabs a whiskey, makes just, like, a neat whiskey in the glass for Drix, and then just, like, tops off the bottle.

I'm gonna go order some rat nachos from Greta. Just through a tube message.

The crew car door opens up, and you see Georgie looking, like, exasperated but, like, normal, like, woof, another day, another day on the job exasperated. Nothing like what you guys are like.

And everyone here is just like, the shit we've seen.

We've, we're all staring with, like, a thousand yard stare just, like...

Yep. Georgie the redheaded Skovlander with her dress uniform, plaid skirt. And she, she adjusts her little beret.

Are you all already? Another, another day, another couple silver dollars.

Oh, it sure is, Georgie. Yeah, we're good. We're ready.

Are you, are you alright?

Well, I've a thirteen year old and I fight ghosts for a living, so baseline no.

All right, but I was under the impression that you perhaps had worked through this already. I trust you with my life.

Yeah, no, it comes in it goes, though. I just, I'll be fine when it comes down to it. I'm just a little stressed at the moment.

Alright, then. Pippin McKeel, be sure to not get all three sheets to the wind before we get started. I was just letting you know that the passengers are showing up, but, um, I guess we're all having a, having a rough one today. Let me tell you, I overslept a little bit.

Georgie I... that, that must be, that must be terrible. I'm really sorry.

I missed my glass of milk before I went to bed.

Aw.

Yeah, you know, we're, we're all having a day. Every, every one of us.

All right then. Well, either way. You just, you just hang tight in here.

No, we'll go look at the customers, or the passengers or whatever they're called.

Technically both.

Aye, that's true, yeah, they're both, technically both.

We'll be, we'll be, we'll be good. It's one of those days, you know? Slow start, slow...

I ken, I ken, I ken what you're saying. It's been one of those days for all of us, I'm sure.

And she closes the door.

All right. All right, gang.

We here at Ghosts on a Train would like to take a moment to bring you this message from our friends at Adventures in Erylia.

Syvahl's guild of adventurers. Many come to train here. Few have the dedication necessary to enter the life of an adventurer.

Cities under attack.

Lost artifacts uncovered.

A king's missing daughter.

Evil brewing in the forest.

Trouble lurks around many corners. Each for their own reasons, these four individuals have sought out this lifestyle. Follow their stories in the Erylian epic as they...

Confront their nightmares.

Decipher their visions.

Explore new realms.

And make the world a better place.

These are the Adventures in Erylia. Listen to the story at adventuresinerylia.com. That's E-R-Y-L-I-A.

The passengers begin to mill on board of the Pride of Duskwall. Pride of Duskwall carries both freight and passengers, because Candace likes to double dip. Please describe any passenger that may stick out to you.

I'm still dealing with the grand revelation.

Yeah.

I'm thinking, so Stefen, you got anything?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, cause Hannah's thinking. You're done thinking, Stefen, I'm sure.

I mean, I asked if he's done thinking. That was the purpose of the question.

Okay, I think we could all use a little bit of mood lightening, so let's go with, let's figure out a nice, goofy passenger.

Actually, I have an idea. There's a man with, around, supported by, like, a harness around his neck, he has an electric keyboard.

Excellent.

I do love that.

Yeah. He's just, like, doing little tiny riffs as he walks in on the electric keyboard.

Yeah, what he's actually, what he's doing, it takes you a moment to realize but he's, like... see, now I'm wondering how much I care to do this.

Poor editing Greg.

He's, he's, he's, like, sound tracking as he's walking. Boop boop boop boop boop boop. And then as the door opens he's like, booooo, like the sound of, like, the hatch opening. And Georgie's like -

Hello there, sir. Welcome to the Pride of Duskwall. I'll gladly take your ticket.

And the entire time he's, like, boop, boop, boop, boop boop, boop. She's like -

All right. Yes. All right. Yes, sir. Sir. Can, can you hear me?

And then he pulls out a ticket with a boop boop. And then grooooooop. He does, like, a piano sweep as he hands it over. Like broooooop.

Amazing. He's so talented.

Where does he go? Passenger car or parlor car?

Parlor car.

Definitely kind of want to see him play in the hot tub.

That would be really fun.

Very carefully.

Yeah, he, boop boop boop boop boop boop. Boop boop de boop!

Not carefully enough.

He opens up the door and goes to the parlor car.

What would be really fun for me is if rather than doing, like, keyboard noises you'd use, like, a slide whistle instead.

I think I might just keep the boop boops.

The boop boops are pretty good.

Oh God, do I do this joke?

I think it's time for jokes, personally.

Love jokes.

That's why Georgie missed her, missed her milk and had a, she overslept.

It's just one of those days, you know?

It is one of those days. I missed my milk.

There is a, a man, fairly plain, you can tell, like, he used to be kind of schlubby but, like, recently kind of came into his own. Very muscular, like, lead movie action hero type, and, like, but the ones that, like, you know, get the snappy one liners and such. They probably did, like, some voice acting roles, a little bit. Maybe.

I mean, badly.

Badly. Except for one of our children's toys. That one was surprisingly good.

Is that, is that our fella?

I think that's our fella.

Okay, all right.

On his, on his luggage is just says "Chris P".

Yeah, he walks over and he says -

Hello.

I knew it was coming.

It's a-me. It's a-me, a passenger, a-Chris.

And Georgie is like -

Ah, sir, I don't know if you ken, but outside of a couple of, of circumstances, when you buy your ticket I don't know who's, who's already got your ticket. Your ticket has your name on it, sure, but I dinnae have a list.

And he says -

Oh, okay. Mamma Mia. Made a bit of a fool of myself there. I do that too pretty often.

Hands, hands her a ticket. Does he go to the passenger car or the parlor car?

I think it's parlor car. This guy is, like, relatively famous.

Hey, uh, is that... is that...

Yeah, I think it was.

Yeah, huh.

Who? What?

Mr., Mr. Rat.

Who's Mr. Rat? I...

No, wait, you said it started with a P on, on the suitcase. I can't make the Chris Rat joke.

No, that's, that's fine.

This is a disaster.

We go with it. Go with it.

It could say Crispy on the...

Yeah.

His name is Crispy.

It's Crispy Rat! It's Crispy Rat!

Yeah, I have no idea who this Crispy. Crispy. What, what was his name?

Crispy Rat. Do you, he was, he was, uh, Marfield.

Marfield? Really? I don't know. He seems, he seems like he doesn't really have, like, the kind of voice I would expect to come out of...

Yeah, it was a weird decision. I don't know why they made him Marfield. I also don't know why he's using this voice now, cause he used a very unaccented voice when he was playing... Muigi.

Huh.

I think this is his natural voice. Because, like, he used it in the, the one drama where it was, he was herding lizards.

Oh, yeah! The lizard park!

Yes, that's the one!

Right, what was it? Comodo Isle?

Something like that.

It was called Lizard Park.

Oh my god.

Yeah, yeah.

Does Drix notice a passenger?

Drix does notice a passenger. I think, I think everyone notices this passenger, because she makes herself known. So bear with me in the description here, but I want you to imagine someone who walks out slowly with a spotlight on her as the music goes btss, buh, btss, buh, btss, bud, btss. She's stepping in tune with the imaginary music that is not happening. She's, she is a...

Can we hear the imaginary music?

We cannot hear be imaginary music, but she certainly, certainly moves like there's a beat behind her. She, she steps onto the train, does a high kick, does a high click.

Bam!

Yep, yep, yep. You got the stab just right. And she flips back her, like, short bob and goes -

I have arrived.

Oh man. She and, she and the keyboard guy are gonna hang.

I hope they hook up.

All right. Hello there. Let me, let me just say your voice is uncomfortably strange and sultry.

Thank you. I try.

Wait, is Stefen just voicing this passenger?

I guess!

Okay!

He started doing it! That's why...

We're in it now. It's too late.

We're in it now! I did the "I have arrived" without thinking and now we're here.

All right. Just get on with it.

Alright, ma'am, are you headed to the parlor car the passenger car?

Well, you see, I have this ticket for the passenger car, but I was really hoping you could upgrade me.

No, no, no, ma'am. I dinnae do that. That's not, that's not my job. Unless, unless, unless you happen to have a little extra, a little extra coin on you. I suppose. I suppose we could just, you know, there's a couple silver pieces' difference between the parlor car and the passenger car.

Well, I suppose I could be persuaded to grace the passenger car with my presence. That's a, that'll, that'll, that'll do just fine.

She turns with an about face, does, like, a hip, or does, like, a hip bounce.

Boom boom boom boom. Little bass line as she does it. Boom boom boom boom.

Sashays down.

Sashays into a parlor, or a passenger car seat.

You're not getting any music in the effects. We're just getting Greg's mouth sounds.

That's valid.

Listen, it'd be so hard to do.

I know it would be so hard.

Oh, absolutely.

I don't blame you. I don't blame you.

I do not expect you to do it. The fact that there is no music is part of the joke.

I'm looking forward to Greg doing the, doing, like, acapella jazz. Like, just, just scanning this for, like, three minutes.

So with that all the passengers are aboard. And Trevor makes his announcement as the train it gets ready to depart.

Pride of Duskwall heading nonstop towards Thorn, Severos! Pride of Duskwall heading straight through Irondale all the way to Thorn in Severos! All aboard!

And the Pride of Duskwall lets out a jet of fire and smoke from its mustachioed front and begins to move.

I was just about to say what a quirky and likable cast of characters we have this time.

Yeah, it's a fun one.

Yeah.

But the mood and the crew car is not very fun.

Mm hmm, mm hmm.

Very dour.

So you guys can keep talking.

So, Pip. Mr. Walker is, you were right about him being a vessel.

The Emperor really is a series of clones.

Yup. Believe me, I, I'm as shocked that we were right as you are.

I didn't expect to be right.

Truly, truly, you know how sometimes you say things like "let's fight a demon on the train!"

RIGHT?

And then you fight a demon on the train, and you're completely blindsided that that was a real thing that could have happened. Well, that's this.

We were just doing a bit! It was mostly a bit, the whole blow everything wide open thing, but now we have to do it!

Yeah, I think, I think now we do have a responsibility to actually blow this whole thing wide open.

You did kind of speak it into being.

Yeah.

I should talk less. I won't, but.

I get that.

But yeah, Mr. Walker vaporized Hecla. With, with brain powers, I guess. Also he started talking in a voice that was not his own. It was very dramatic. Yeah, it kind of... it kind of was like what you did with the Hollows when you, in the church? Not, like, the vaporizing thing. But the talking with a different voice thing.

I think this is where I get to do a fun bit, and I don't think Pip remembers doing that. He looks confused.

Uh...

Have you blocked it out of memory? Because I think he did briefly think about it at the layover during the pub trip. I like, that's cool if you did, I just want to make sure that you remember that.

How to put this... I don't think the knowledge of that flows freely to Pip. It's like there is a sluice gate, where sometimes it lets in a little bit, and sometimes it does not. And I don't know if this knowledge is being currently kept from Pip, but he, he remembers the reverberations from the Hollows. I don't think he remembers the actual action of talking to them and, like, commanding them.

You, you did it, you've done it a couple times. You did it with Jamie too. Remember, Drix?

Yeah.

You were there for that, when he...

His voice got all wiggly, right?

Yeah.

Wiggly how?

Well, it kinda, like... doo doo doo.

I can't do it.

All right. I'm sorry. I just, Mr. Walker's been following me for a long time, and I didn't realize that. He's apparently been keeping an eye on me since... since I lost my family.

That long?

And he's, he knows that the Emperor takes control. But he's, he separate from him. Like, he's, he's not actually the Emperor, but he's also got one of these.

And Pip, like, rolls his sleeve up.

But mine is different. So I'm, I'm connected to somebody else. There's, there's more here than just ol' Pippin McKeel.

Drix is gonna examine his arm. He wants to, he wants to see if you can recognize, like, magic in it. Also, Greg.

Mm hmm?

The magic that, like, the Emperor uses, he would recognize that this is human magic, correct?

Yes.

Cool.

Yes.

Cool.

You, so for him, it's effortless. And there's no transfer of power, because it's all coming from within him. But yes, I think, I think Drix knows that was human magic.

Okay.

And he the magicians, the magicians always talked about how the Immortal Emperor keeps the lion's share of human magics to, for himself. Somehow.

I have a question for Greg. When Drix examines the, the number, has it changed at all since last time?

Yes.

Cool.

Interesting. Seems to be tied to proximity, but Drix wouldn't know this.

No, yeah, I think roll me an insight, Drix.

Yeah, you know what, fair enough.

You are equipped to roll an insight on this.

It now reads 535.

Pulling out my magic dice, doo doo doo.

Pulling out your magic dice.

Magic dice!

Magic dice. Bendelin harmonium have yet to fail me, so we're gonna go with those. They have officially failed me. That would be a five.

Well, you get one question. One question right now.

What should I be on the lookout for?

Ooh, with this? So I'll say, I'll tell you this in a less sinister sense. So here's a thing that only it was eagle earred listeners will remember. The Physicker was like, hey, there's, like, a demonic presence in the tattoo. But, like, Pip is not a demon. Drix, this tattoo, the ink from it is partially demon blood, probably a mixture of, like, Leviathan and some other things to use to ink it. Meaning the tattoo, in a sense, is still living, like a Leviathan, and that's probably why the digits move around. That is not something you need to look out for, that is safe, the process by which it moves. However, I think you are able to turn out that this is, the display function of it, the display function of it is showing some metric of distance. But what metric is, like, some, like, sacred geometry that you, like, can't quite grok on your own here. But if the digits were to ever be, like, 999, that would mean that Pippin McKeel, at least for now, has left the building entirely, and whoever this is, is fully there.

Okay, so as, as they go up less Pip more, more this presence, as they go down more this presence - or more Pip less this presence?

Well, it's, like, not that simple, because they always add up to 13. If you just add them up.

Gotcha.

That's, that's the secret.

You know that, like, these three digits represent some sort of weird sacred coordinate system. If all three of them are nine, that is, like, this position where Pippin is.

Okay.

That's, like, you, you, you can't grok what, any other meaning, really. What's the difference between 535 and when, was it 607? You couldn't really figure that out without a lot of study. But you know, for sure 999 means complete superposition of Pip.

Okay.

All right. Well, what I can tell you is kind of got a cocktail of demon blood and Leviathan parts that kind of acts like, kind of, how to put this. Like, like, think, think of it like a gateway.

Oh, good. Yes.

It can tell you where you are in relation to this thing, nut I have no idea how exactly to pinpoint it. What I can tell you is if it hits triple nines, it is you. It is, it is on top of you. Like, you and it, one. Which is probably what happened to Walker.

Cool, great. Lovely, because I have such an easy time opening up already.

Well, I guess you don't have to try and open up to it because it'll just be you when you want to be. So that, that'll be easy.

I appreciate the vote of confidence. I suppose.

Just saying.

Pip, you did the right thing telling us. We're your friends and we can help you, at least in some ways.

Can we also go back to the fact that the Emperor was here on the train and vaporized a nun?

Yeah.

That is the thing that happened, yes.

Is, is it vaporize? What, how -

She was a pile of dust at the end of it.

So that's, that's not very moist. So it's probably not vaporized.

We do have a bit of a plus side, though. We know the Emperor can't sense magic. Otherwise he would've -

Do we?

How so?

If, if he could tell that magic had been performed on this train, he probably would have confronted us about it.

Yeah. He said, he had a whole, whole - honestly, not, not to be disrespectful to the most powerful being in existence, but it was a little overwrought, the monologue about how "if this was my real body, you wouldn't be able to gaze upon me," so, like, presumably he's less powerful when he's another person. Or maybe he's just less ugly.

It is a magnificant moustache.

Mr. Walker is, like, not not handsome.

Yeah, yeah, I see exactly what you're talking about. Okay, well, we'll learn some things.

Wait, hold on. You said he couldn't sense magic. When did, when was the magic? While he was here?

Oh, did I not tell him?

No, no, no, you did. I think Drix is referring to the spell that we cast before he came. I say we, the spell that Drix cast before he came, to help Gafou.

Oh, right. Right. I kind of expected there to be, like, a little bit more of a gap. How long does it leave, like, residue?

Greg?

Considering the fact that the old Severosi magician was able to detect your spellwork upon Gafou -

Yeah.

- you can say that depending, the level of spell that you put there, it did stick around, at least for the entirety of the train ride up until you guys got to Irondale. Yeah, Walker got on board while you were in Irondale. So it's, there was definitely spell residue.

There would have been a little stink left around. Well, at least when Walker was getting on the train.

I guess we don't know when he was Walker and when he was Mr. Emperor, though.

I suppose that's true.

Or is he always both? I don't really know.

Eh...

Pip seems to usually just be Pip, though.

Yeah.

But hold on. So was Hecla's, Hecla's job maybe wasn't to kill the, to kill Walker, but, like, the Emperor.

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

So she knew that the Emperor was on this train. Somehow.

She explained that, like, she could feel his presence, right?

So, so, well, you guys who saw the, the recording, do you, the Emperor says that he kept his awareness close to Walker, because he sensed Booker in the badge. Or as he put it, "My own ancient companion, or at least a piece of him within that trinket," the badge. So I think you guys can kind of put that together.

She does say she has a badge and that she can feel... or, I don't think she tells us she can feel, like, what she needs towards the train, but she does say that she has a badge to us. I do remember that.

And the Emperor recognized it, so maybe both ways.

So does, does that mean that our badges... maybe he doesn't see, like, us as like, people. But he can see our badges.

What a good on the nose metaphor. Whoever's writing this universe -

Wow.

- sure has a mind.

Wow. Everyone go to Twitter and say, "Hey, good job, Greg."

He'll, he'll respond to each one with a patting himself on the back gif.

We'll have to throw a party for you. About this great piece of writing that you've created.

Yep.

I don't like that. The guy who made my, Dunvil sucked, apparently. Did you guys know that? I mean, I guess I could have guessed it. But still disappointing. There's a whole prison camp named after the guy.

Ooh.

Ooh.

That's not great.

Yeah.

I'm trying not to think about what you have to do in order to get a prison camp named after you.

Yeah.

Maybe it was, it was named that because he was, like, he broke out and is famous for it.

I doubt, I do not think that is what happened.

Yeah, I feel like if you name a prison after, like, a person who broke out of it, it kind of creates this expectation that anyone can break out of it. And then get their name -

Yeah, it seems like asking for trouble.

- get their name, like, changed to the prison name.

There's the crackling noise of an announcement.

Attention passengers, we shall be stopping briefly for an upcoming bridge across one of the islands to drop. This stop shall be brief, but we thank you for your patience as we slowly cross the bridge.

And the train begins to slow to a stop.

Do you guys think we need to help with that?

We probably should make sure.

Let's go see Trevor.

Honestly, I just want to, like, do something so I don't have to think about the things that are thinking about.

That is fair. Let's go see Trevor!

Yeah, you know, it'll, it'll be good to see our buddy Trev.

Trevor! Let's go.

I'm just imagining the Oprah, like, the Oprah arm movements to go with that.

Oh, that was not what I was going for.

So you guys had through the passenger car. The woman there is sort of, like, slightly sashaying to an invisible dum tss, dum tss, dum tss.

It's a slow ride.

Mr. McClaremont looks outside as the train slows to a stop.

That was a percussion joke.

There's, there's bioluminescent plants. The cloud of mist, the amnesia mist has passed through, so there's just the typical sort of Deathlands fog, which is still obscures things somewhat, which still obscures things somewhat, but you can get a better view of the land: the series of islands of the Dagger Isles, impenetrable to most Imperial forces, lit up in the night by bioluminescent plant life. Yeah, you guys go into the parlor car. Georgie lets you through. Yeah, you see, sitting in the hot tub, the piano guy with, like, an old timey bathing suit, but, like, the piano's, the piano, the key, the keyboard is, like, up out of the water, and he's just giving a soft, like, doo doo doo. Like, mirroring, like, the bubbles in the hot tub.

Good for him.

And then, um, Crispy Rat goes into the hot tub, and the keyboard person's, like, pshaw. Like, he, like, he does a little, like, sound effect like the little splash as he walks in. And Crispy Rat's like -

Ah, yes, I get it. Yes.

Aha, yes, I get it!

Yeah, you guys head through the dining car.

It's wild to hear actors speak in accents that they don't do in, you know.

Greta gives you guys a wave, the chef in the dining car. She is a short haired, muscular Skovlander woman with sick tattoos and piercings. And at the moment she is, she's preparing some lasanga.

Yes!

Let's go.

But it's, like, Shattered Isles lasagna. So it's, like, tomatoes are, like, purple. That's definitely rat meat and, like, goat cheese.

Disgusting. I love it.

One day we're really gonna have to write that cookbook.

Well somebody already did. At least a Duskwall cookbook. It's really good. You could find it on the Blades in the Dark website. It's for the most part written entirely, like, in universe, like, "Use eel." And then at the end it's like, "If you find yourself outside of Duskwall, you can substitute any kind of fish for eel." Like, then at the end it's like, "Here's the substitutions you can make to actually make these recipes."

What if I really wanted to use eel, though? Eel is delicious.

Eel is good.

Up to you. But, like, but the instructions are, like, "Make sure it's dead."

I mean, that's just good advice.

That is just good advice. But yes. I don't remember who made it. I'm sorry, I've only looked at the once, but it's really great. You go to the locomotive. You see the train is very slowly going on to this bridge that's lowering. There's a couple of Dagger Isles trading boats, unusual to your eyes, as they are sort of made of multiple canoes on the bottom of what would be the main hull on, like, a normal Akarosi ship, as far as your limited boat knowledge goes. Like, on top of those canoes.

We do trains. We don't do boats.

Yeah, but they're just dutifully waiting as you pass over the bridge. Trevor's like -

Oh, hey guys, what's up?

Nah, we just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything we needed to help with.

No, I mean, we're just kind of going slowly over a bridge. If you want to take a look up top, like, that's, that's your prerogative.

I look at my compatriots.

I mean, I wouldn't mind getting some not-so-fresh air.

Let's go top side.

Sure.

You know, sometimes you just gotta follow your gut.

Love my gut.

We dressing as normal, gang?

Yep.

Yep.

Okay, so that means Spider for Andrel, Rook for Drix, Anchor for Pippin. You guys head up top, and as you're slowly crossing this bridge, the nine car train -

It's been a while since we added a car.

It has been a while. It has been a while since we added a car. I usually only do it when people give us suggestions. So if you, yes, you, listener, want to hear about another train car that will radically change the gameplay of Ghosts on the Train, send an email to ghosttrainpod@gmail.com. Preferably, like, you know, we like to do, like, little in-character bits. You don't, it doesn't have to be in character. We'll have fun with it either way.

Talk to us, please!

Talk to us, please.

I'm gonna call out Joe. Joe, give us a car.

Yeah, so you guys head up top. So there is splashing coming from behind you, many tiny splashes.

It better not be that big water monster again.

We bottled it.

Maybe it's his brother? Or sister, I don't know. Or sibling.

As the splashing approaches, I don't know how you react, maybe you, like, ready some hooks, maybe you're, like, just getting defensive. That's all right. They're clearly not ghosts. Ghosts, at least without attuning to the Ghost Field or using technology like the Owl goggles, you guys usually perceive them as kind of, like, hazy, amorphous at times. These are solid creatures. At first blush they look like several women swimming through the ocean.

Are they hot?

Yeah, they're pretty hot. But as they get close to the train, and we see, hear, like, the sounds of people pressing their faces to the windows, the traders on the ship just sort of, like, shake their heads and, like, go below desks. As the these swimming women approach, you notice their hands are oddly shaped, as though webbed between fingers. Note the lack of legs among them.

Our visual acuity is stunning.

Very hot.

Well, visual acuity is stunning, and it's also the Deathlands fog, you notice around you, the Deathlands fog itself is clearing, and you can see beautiful, long, fish-like tails instead of legs.

Mermaids!

Mermaids.

But the evil kind, maybe!

Calling it right now.

Mermaids, common in Iruvian myth, like the Iruvian tales that Andrel's heard. The Anva, they're called. They are the daughters of the sea demon Setara, slash sea witch. Granted, of course, sea witch and sea demon, this is Iruvia, so it's just a statement of what she is. It's not, like, bad. In the myth that Andrel read, and the rest of our listeners hopefully had, the Anva are who helped spirit the Burned King away into the ocean.

Girlbosses. All of them

Girlbosses.

Are we about to get gaslight gatekeeped?

And they're making the Deathlands fog clearer. Yeah, they're, like, going around speaking in Hadrathi, but, like, a weird old king. Lot of giggling noises, greetings and such, a couple of them, like, like, press their faces to the windows. One of them sprays a little bit of water at Andrel.

I mean, it doesn't look like they're hurting anyone. We can, we can probably just leave them, right?

Ata! Ata!

Do I know what that means?

Child.

I'm child. Andrel nods.

Ata, ata! I'ata, i'ata!

Beautiful, beautiful child.

Aw!

Can I say thank you Hadrathi?

Yeah, yeah.

They think I'm pretty.

They laugh. They start to wave. The fog has started to roll back in, but for a brief moment it was, it was nice.

That was nice!

Unless Drix and Pippin want to do something as well.

I think Pip is sort of just taking this in. Also, like, historically, water bad, especially with, like, electrified suit. So a little, little kind of cautious, hesitant.

Drix?

Drix is, like, he's, he's in kind of, like, awe? He usually figures, like, what we'll encounter in the Deathlands will be, like, a little more openly hostile, but also, like, a little less, like, together than these guys. They look, they look a little too, like, solid, if you know he means. So he's, like, really on guard.

Andrel's having fun.

After a while they pass by. You notice as the Deathlands fog comes up, where they passed by, the stars at the bottom of the Void Sea, they also sort of shake and shiver in joy as the the mermaids pass by. But then it all starts to calm as the fog rolls in. The Pride of Duskwall slows to a stop, last three cars still on the bridge.

That's usually not great. Andrel ducks her head back into the train and goes - well, no, are we above the...

You can be above wherever you want. You're walking on top of the train.

Can I be above -

You can walk, wherever you were, you walk over to the top of wherever you go.

Alright, I'd like to be on top of the engine car.

Locomotive, yeah.

Locomotive, yeah.

Trevor! Why?

You see, looks like he's taking a little nap, leaning against an open window.

Oh, this seems bad.

The Deathlands fog does seem to slowly walk back in.

Oh, that seems real bad.

Can I jump down and close the window?

Sure. You extracate his arm. It's a little moist.

Alright. I close the window and then I slap him across the face.

Full open palm or backhand?

No, full open palm.

Slap him. No response.

God damn it.

Guys, Trevor's unconscious!

Okay, let's -

Is he at least wearing pants?

Yes! The window was open, the fog was getting in. Oh we should check the other cars.

Yeah, good idea.

And we'll do that check next time on Ghosts on a Train!

Yay!

Yay!

We're back.

Woo!

That's right, I bet you thought, I bet you thought this line wasn't gonna have stuff! No, you probably thought that it was gonna have a lot of stuff.

We all thought that the line was gonna have stuff.

Bye!

Bye!

Bye!

See ya!

Pride of Duskwall is now arriving. Please allow all passengers to exit the train before boarding. This has been Ghosts on a Train, a podcast with the Faustian Nonsense network, where we've played Ghost Lines, an RPG written and designed by John Harper. All of our music by Sebastian Black. Our cover art is by Yoshiko Agresta. Your Line Bulls for this trip were:

Andrel Anderson, badge name Dunvil, played by me, Hannah Levin.

Adric, aka Drix, badge name Colburn, played by me, Stefen Lewis.

Pippin "Pip" McKeel, badge name McKeel, played by me, Guy Zwiebel.

And I have been your conductor, Greg Carrobis. For bonus contents as well as behind the scenes, become a patron of the Faustian Nonsense Patreon. Your support will help our podcast as well as the others on the network, and in lieu of monetary support, a review on your favorite podcatcher will help Ghosts on a Train maintain visibility. If you have any questions about the Pride of Duskwall or additions to suggest for the train, please email them to ghosttrainpod@gmail.com or contact us on Twitter @ghosts_train, and I'll have Candace bring them to the Line Bulls. Thank you for riding with us, and please consider traveling with us again next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai