The small-town morgue crouches beneath a dead streetlamp, its windows filmed gray. Inside, a young adult woman folklorist, slim, pale and freckled, with blunt black hair tucked behind one ear, in a brown wool coat reads beside the intake desk, her red spectacles catching the fluorescent flicker.
Mara Venn
File 19-B. Freedom's Beginning. The patron is described only as the one who receives what Lester Devoy sends.
A service door clicks open at the far end. The body assigned to drawer seven, a gaunt middle-aged man with waxy skin, sparse gray hair, and a torn white hospital gown, steps into the corridor and begins walking toward the town, still wearing its paper identification band.
Mara Venn
That is not in the report. Do not say the patron's name aloud. Something has been waiting to hear it.
Outside, the Watcher stands beneath the dead lamps, one hand pressed against an unseen boundary. Each time he steps forward, the pavement returns him to the morgue entrance.
The Watcher
Finnegan! The doors are sealed from the outside. Something is moving behind you.
The folklorist lowers the file. From inside the walls comes a soft, patient imitation of her breathing, though her lips remain closed. The corridor lights go dark one by one.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prevent the presence from reaching the town
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover the identity of Lester Devoy's patron
“"Got it Fred!" I say”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +2)
Finnegan Wrettch
Got it, Fred!
Finnegan’s voice carries through the sealed corridor. The unseen boundary releases its pressure, and the Watcher’s next step remains on the pavement instead of returning him to the door.
The Watcher
That’s the first sensible thing anyone’s said in this place tonight.
Behind Finnegan, the darkness settles into a listening hush. The walking body continues down the corridor, paper band whispering against its wrist with each stiff step.
Mara Venn
Do not follow it toward town. The file says the patron receives what Lester sends, and that sentence was written before the body rose.
The Watcher
Then we keep it here, if here still means anything.
The corridor lights return in a weak, uneven row. At the far end, the walking body stops and turns its waxy face toward them.
“"Stay back lady! We have this under control! Me and the Inspector here are gonna knock this brute out before he can escape!"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Finnegan Wrettch
Stay back, lady! We have this under control! Me and the Inspector here are gonna knock this brute out before he can escape!
Mara Venn
Then do it quickly. It is not walking by its own decision.
Finnegan and the Watcher close on the body together. Its stiff arm rises, but the Watcher hooks it aside while Finnegan drives the momentum into the tiled wall.
The impact ends the corpse's advance. The walking body folds silently to the floor, unconscious and motionless, his paper band sliding loose beside one hand.
The Watcher
Down. And still breathing, if breathing is what that is.
The loose band reveals a small brass key taped beneath it. Its stamped number matches the morgue's sealed service door, giving them a way through without touching the boundary.
Mara Venn
That key was not listed in the file. Take it, but do not let the body hear what door it opens.
Quest Complete
Prevent the presence from reaching the town
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Small brass key