How long has it been since this occurred? Are others on the way?

(1/4) kpwlt 2026/01/10(Sat)06:01 No. 1119885 ID: 127310
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>Are there reinforcements coming? Perhaps all we need to do is delay the creature.
>Are others on the way?

???: “I’ve sent for backup, but I think the Association is spread a little thin today. I’m not really sure what the usual response times for these kinds of things are.”

>Burning creature like what? big? was it a dragon?

???: “A dragon?? No, it wasn’t a dragon. I didn’t get a really good look at it but it was small, like person sized, and it was completely surrounded by these weird flames. It didn’t move or sneak up on us either, it’s like it burst out of thin air one moment and was gone the next.”

>How long has it been since this occurred?

The Hazard Association Agent checks her watch.

???: “Maybe… Forty-five minutes ago? Maybe longer.”

>Burning creature, huh? Well, with the four of us we should be able to at least attempt a rescue, correct?
>Should at least go and see it before you leave.

You can certainly try.

A quick look around the room and a consultation with the Agent (who remembers to introduce herself as Simone) reveals that not much is left to discover here, aside from the odd wall scratching. Some seem fresh, but Sam isn’t sure and is worried she’ll look stupid if she asks. The group progresses through the crawl tunnel.

(2/4) kpwlt 2026/01/10(Sat)06:01 No. 1119886 ID: 127310
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In this room, there is a large irregular stain on the ground. Sam makes extra sure that the hem of her dress doesn’t touch whatever disgusting residue has been left here.

Something strange is in the air. Smelling it tickles the back of Sam’s brain.

UBERTO: “Feel that? What is that?”

JURIST: “A path trod fervently yet infrequently.”

SIMONE: “It didn’t smell like this before. Is it smoke..?”

It does not smell like smoke. It smells closer to incense, but it still doesn’t smell like incense. Does it even smell at all?

Uberto tries to lighten the mood.

UBERTO: “Shouldn’t we be seeing some of those Mole People by now? I’m a little disappointed!”

SIMONE: “Mary said that. I mean, my mentor said that there should have been Mole People.”

Sam has heard of Mole People before, shambling figures of urban legend, now mysteriously absent.

(3/4) kpwlt 2026/01/10(Sat)06:01 No. 1119887 ID: 127310
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The group continues around the corner. The scent, the un-scent, is stronger here.

In this new chamber, there are four dim passageways, excluding the one from which the four emerged. Three are on one side of the chamber and have been boarded up. Two of those three have had their boards removed or destroyed.

The smell of death comes from the first passageway. Whatever smell the other two have have been obscured by the earlier incenselike phenomenon.

SIMONE: “Here. This is where it happened. This is where she was taken, right as we were coming out.”

She points to the central passage and shudders.

(4/4) kpwlt 2026/01/10(Sat)06:01 No. 1119888 ID: 127310
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After looking at the three roundish entrances, Sam turns her gaze to the fourth passageway. A cool breeze is coming through it and she fills her lungs to be free from the odd smells of the Catacombs, for just a moment.

The passageway is intersected by another straight corridor before it splits into a Y shaped fork.

The left part of the straight corridor seems to get darker as it goes on. The right part does not do the same. Sam thinks that it perhaps gets brighter as it gets further from the intersection.

The breeze that could be felt from the entrance comes from the left prong of the fork. No sound nor other sensation comes from the right prong.

Sam isn’t quite sure what to make of all this. Advise her.

>>1119887
Scorch mark, but no further marks. The creature must have appeared in a burst of flame.
Well, the main objective for now is to find the missing person so let's go down the central passage where the creature went. Once we find them, then we'll have an excuse to go exploring.

I suppose the scorched one is the more likely to be relevant

The creature just disappeared, right? I'm not sure it'll be down ANY of the passages. Though maybe we could trigger it again by going where you went before. Are there any spell-like things any of you can do, divinations, communing with the fabric of the world, opening your third eyes, something?

Re: scent-that-is-not-a-scent, tangential storytime. I once ate like three szechuan peppercorns, which are known for producing a tingling or buzzing sensation rather than the burning that most other peppercorns produce. I figured three was a fairly small number. Turns out they're quite strong. The experience was EXCEPTIONALLY WEIRD - I felt buzzing in my mouth, yes, and very strong. It tasted like a 12V battery does. In addition (or as an extension of it?), my mouth felt something I don't think it had ever felt before, and which I wasn't consciously aware I COULD feel; I still couldn't put my finger directly on it, yet it was overwhelming; I nearly threw up. My mouth was reporting a STRONG feeling/taste/sensation that I nevertheless couldn't directly perceive; all I knew was that something was strong. It felt analogous to being blinded by an infrared laser invisible to me. It was a very weird experience.

(1/3) kpwlt 2026/01/14(Wed)14:27 No. 1119994 ID: 127310
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>Re: scent-that-is-not-a-scent, tangential storytime.

Once, Uberto took Sam to his favourite restaurant, where she severely overestimated her spice tolerance. For about a week after she complained to him that she could now ‘only taste in black and white’.

>The creature just disappeared, right?

Simone confirms that she believes that it appeared and disappeared on that very spot without moving, as she and her mentor were returning into this chamber from that one.

>let's go down the central passage where the creature went
>I suppose the scorched one is the more likely to be relevant
>Though maybe we could trigger it again by going where you went before.

Sam grabs Uberto’s hand and pulls him through the dark tunnel. He produces a faint light.

Once the tunnel has become long enough to provoke some small amount of discomfort, it terminates in a small circular room.

There are a few small white wooden crates, perhaps five or six, in a couple of stacks. Each is neatly and clearly painted with a black triangle on the sides and lid.

UBERTO: “Sure hope we aren’t doing anything illegal. More illegal than before, I mean.”

He lifts the lid off of the top box. Soil and some leaf litter greet him. There are also a few deciduous green leaves. He picks one up.

UBERTO: “Odd, this should’ve gone orange by now. It’s the middle of autumn.”

He moves on to the second box in the stack. This one contains sand and several seashells.

(2/3) kpwlt 2026/01/14(Wed)14:27 No. 1119995 ID: 127310
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The bottom box’s lid springs off when Uberto removes the sand box. Inside are two small stone figures, apparently standing on their own.

Picking them up and looking at them doesn’t do much. They seem altogether inert aside from their gentle self-righting.

SAM: “What’s up with these, do you think? Could they be… magnetic, or something?”

Uberto is really not sure.

The two put everything more or less back the way it was and leave.

Nothing happens as they approach and then pass the threshold of the larger chamber.

SIMONE: “Nothing?”

She’s not really asking, so much as expressing a mixture of relief and disappointment.

Uberto replies with a mere gesture.

(3/3) kpwlt 2026/01/14(Wed)14:27 No. 1119996 ID: 127310
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>Are there any spell-like things any of you can do, divinations, communing with the fabric of the world, opening your third eyes, something?

Sam closes her eyes and fills her lungs with the air of the Catacombs. Sealed below and around her are rooms in which yet unseen things move aimlessly. With her mind, she reaches into the far darkened reaches of the cosmos, where the unbegotten attempt to exert their influence, seeking non-denominational help. Something obliges.

For a split second, a mental map flashes in Sam’s brain. She sees it for less than a moment, but it is more than enough to commit it to memory. Notably, a number of markers appear on the map and a handful of pointers emanate from her location.

>>1119996
Let's check out that orange reading first, it's closer.

The sapling marker appears in a direction away from where the corresponding pointer leads. curious

>>1120003
might as well look at that first. and it looks like the straight left and blocked passages intersect.

Oh right that door's boarded up. Yeah, take the fourth (north?) passage and then take the first door on the left.

(1/1) kpwlt 2026/01/19(Mon)09:53 No. 1120221 ID: 127310
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>(north?)

South.

(2/3) kpwlt 2026/01/19(Mon)09:53 No. 1120222 ID: 127310
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>sapling marker

Sam recognises the ‘sapling marker’ as a common symbol used by tryptologers to denote harnessed darkness.

>Let's check out that orange reading first, it's closer.
>might as well look at that first. and it looks like the straight left and blocked passages intersect.
>Yeah, take the fourth (north?) passage and then take the first door on the left.

Sam leads the group towards the orange marker. A slab of wood crudely affixed to the wall with hinges greets them. She peers through the makeshift door and spies a black and white clad figure hunched over a crate. The figure quickly ceases its rummaging and bursts into bright orange flame.

Sam is propelled several metres away by a flaming jab, knocking down Simone in the process. She feels as though she has been singed, though when she inspects herself later she will find that she has been left physically unharmed aside from some bruising.

The flaming figure momentarily projects an aura of darkness and Sam feels herself become pinned down, as though a fridge has been placed on her. She is unable to stand. She is barely able to properly breathe.

(3/3) kpwlt 2026/01/19(Mon)09:54 No. 1120223 ID: 127310
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Uberto charges with his rapier, and the spectral assailant melts away at the touch of his blade.

UBERTO: “All okay?”

Simone has already picked herself up and is holding her sword ready. The Jurist managed to stay out of harm’s way. Sam feels the monstrous weight being lifted and is able to stand once more.

The room before them mainly contains weapons and containers for weapons, but also has a few odds and ends. A scorch mark remains where the figure once stood.

>>1120223
Are they dead? Was that the expected result of hitting someone with that rapier?

Check the crate the figure was rummaging through. Also see if there's any particularly good weapons here.

It didn't seem like they needed a weapon. Is there anything else in here?

(1/1) kpwlt 2026/01/27(Tue)11:26 No. 1120468 ID: 127310
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>Are they dead? Was that the expected result of hitting someone with that rapier?

It’s not clear if they are dead. They certainly aren’t here anymore, but Simone did say that they simply disappeared into thin air earlier, and it would be very strange if Uberto’s rapier was that lethal.

>Check the crate the figure was rummaging through. Also see if there's any particularly good weapons here.
>It didn't seem like they needed a weapon. Is there anything else in here?

There are a number of weapons here. Swords, halberds, maces, flails. Sam isn’t great with any of them. She’s barely done any sword training since she finished high school.
She does pick up a few small daggers, however. Surely, sticking a dagger in someone doesn’t require very much training, and Sam always beats Uberto at darts, so throwing daggers shouldn’t be much different, right?

The crate is full of odds and ends. Sam can see a pair of pliers, a hammer, some screwdrivers, but also other things like a peculiar amulet and a strange white crownlike thing.

Crumpled around the crate are certain bits of paper, including a couple of photos, a weird diagram annotated in a language Sam can’t read, and a note within an envelope.

The note reads:
“Dearest Hella,

Attached is my personal copy of Clerk’s writings on the pore Glundandra, as requested. I trust you to figure out how to use them without help.

I am now being kindly housed far closer to the city, so if you need anything more you may ask Koroviev for the address and come visit.

Best,
Professor M”

See if anyone else can read the stuff you can't.

What does Sam know about the pore Glundandra?

do we know a Koroviev? what about a professor M?

it seems that the flaming thing was searching through the crate so presumably it was looking for something left here. maybe we should stick around to see if it returns, if we don't think it's too dangerous

(1/1) kpwlt 2026/02/07(Sat)06:35 No. 1120892 ID: 127310
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>do we know a Koroviev?

Sam doesn’t.

>what about a professor M?

No, you don’t. Perhaps only in passing.

>What does Sam know about the pore Glundandra?

Aside from the fact that it appears as a subheading under ‘ARBOL FIELD’ in the book, nothing.

>See if anyone else can read the stuff you can't.

UBERTO: “Let’s see… Uhh…”

Uberto holds the paper quite close to his face as though struck with sudden nearsightedness. After a fair while, he speaks.

UBERTO: “Right… It looks like it says it’s some kind of person-mimicking demon, copying someone from the Executive by the looks of things. This part is talking about its mechanical arm and this part is talking about its other arm, which is made of… um… I can’t tell. The rest talks about how its clothes have the appearance of fabric but aren’t really. I can’t figure anything else out, I’m afraid.”

>maybe we should stick around to see if it returns, if we don't think it's too dangerous

Sam isn’t thrilled about simply waiting for things to happen, but she’ll do it. Uberto is more receptive to the idea. The other two make no comment.

After a short wait, a woman’s accented voice echoes around the corner.

???: “Come out with your hands raised, all of you! You have ten seconds to start leaving before I detain you.”

Uberto puts his hand on his sword’s hilt and looks to Sam.

Simone should talk to the other person while we remain here and stand guard for a little bit. At least until Simone finishes her conversation and we can continue without lowering our guards. That thing could show up the instant we "surrender" to whoever that is out there.

That said, I don't think it's very productive to just stand around, so we should continue on as soon as we resolve the issue with what I assume is another official guarding this place. Perhaps towards the dark red symbol?

shout back "on what grounds?"

and while you're stalling Jurist might try hiding

(1/2) kpwlt 2026/02/13(Fri)05:52 No. 1121046 ID: 127310
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>That thing could show up the instant we "surrender" to whoever that is out there.

Indeed, but Sam is also worried that it could also show up at any instant without any warning whatsoever.

>and while you're stalling Jurist might try hiding

When told to hide, the Jurist is pulled under their cloak by whatever brainless legservant hides there. They scuttle over and reduce themself in the corner. It’s probably best not to get a member of the Judiciary embroiled in whatever legal trouble everyone else might be in right now.

>shout back "on what grounds?"

???: “On the grounds that you are trespassing on Crown land, and interfering with WOLAND’s operations in this area. If the Minister has also authorised you, please say so, but I am not aware of this being the case.”

>Simone should talk to the other person while we remain here and stand guard for a little bit.

Sam ponders this thought for a while. After deciding not to mention it, a nigh-imperceptible black dart shoots from her forehead and into Simone’s temple. I could tell you exactly how and why that happened, but that would be a confusing tangle of words and a royal waste of time.

SIMONE: “You know what? Maybe I’ll go talk to her. How bad can it go?”

Sam considers answering.

(2/2) kpwlt 2026/02/13(Fri)05:52 No. 1121047 ID: 127310
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After a discourse of considerable length, Simone and the reluctant-looking woman walk into the room. She wears a name tag that reads ‘HELLA’. Hella pinches the bridge of her nose and begins.

HELLA: “I’ve decided to let you continue your survey in the Catacombs.”

UBERTO: “Wonderful!”

She pulls a map of the Catacombs from her clipboard and circles a certain area in red marker.

HELLA: “This is my office. Please knock before you come in. Aside from that, feel free to look- but not touch- anywhere. EXCEPT here.”

She draws an X on the map. It looks like the place where the dark red symbol was.

SAM: “What’s there?”

HELLA: “There is a large, dangerous sinkhole in that room. You may look at it but please do not go into it. Oh, one last thing before I leave you.”

A faint pulse of darkness ripples through the room, and Simone and Uberto’s swords clatter to the ground.

HELLA: “You must leave these behind while you explore. Come to my office to pick them up when you are heading off, but not a moment sooner.”

With that, she leaves. Simone and Uberto try to lift their swords, but find themselves unable to lift them more than an inch or so before exhausting their arms.

>>1121047
Rude... does she not know there's a dangerous fire being around here? Well, she removed *our* weapons, and we're in a room with other weapons. So grab replacements for the rest of the search I guess.

Let's check the cave paintings next.

>>1121049
hmm, could something be off about these weapons? Why didn't she take the knives off Sam?

since the only other places to go are where she just told you not to it makes sense to look at the paintings first.

(1/2) kpwlt 2026/02/21(Sat)05:33 No. 1121353 ID: 127310
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>Why didn't she take the knives off Sam?

Sam has a small pouch on her dress in which she immediately stashed the knives. It is almost invisible to the untrained eye. It is possible that Hella didn’t realise that she left someone armed.

>Rude... does she not know there's a dangerous fire being around here?

Something in the back of Sam’s mind suggests that that’s exactly why she removed the weapons.

>So grab replacements for the rest of the search I guess.

Simone grabs a mace. It looks uncomfortably heavy and unwieldy in her hands.

Uberto says “I should be all good.” and shows off a pair of brass knuckles he apparently had in his pockets.

>Let's check the cave paintings next.
>look at the paintings first

The group walk into the painting room. Sam is immediately struck by the strange and intricate illustration on the far wall. It’s quite birdish.
SIMONE: “Oh. Mary didn’t mention this one.”

UBERTO: “Weird...”

JURIST: “This is somewhat similar to certain symbols used by the University of ‘Pataphysics.”

Sam also finds some elements of the mark unshakeably familiar.

(2/2) kpwlt 2026/02/21(Sat)05:35 No. 1121354 ID: 127310
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Uberto occupies himself with the wall on the left.

UBERTO: “Do you think this diagram of the Halberd is related to the other drawings here? I’m not super certain of what I’m looking at.”

SIMONE: “Is that the coast? And here’s Shrikenest.”

Simone traces the squiggle with her finger before poking the crossed lines slightly ‘inland’.

SAM: “What do you think is under those metal plates?”

SIMONE: “I’m not sure. Mary never really spoke about the art in detail.”

>>1121353
Seems like bird-like elements, wings and clawed limbs. And with that fire person around; phoenix?
Or, the core of the symbol is a triangle, similar in shape to the figure's head on the diagram we found. connection?

>>1121354
there was a halberd on the cover of the book Umberto showed you

The Halberd is on the cover of the book we're investigating!

>>1121047
...huh, the boarded up passageway just leads back into the central corridor? Is it boarded up on both entrances? Wait, which room was the weapon storage? There were three storage rooms, we only went into two of them. Let's check the other. Should be the northernmost storage room, considering the orange symbol was in the southernmost storage room and presumably we entered it via its southern entrance. I didn't get a good look at the room itself; was there another tunnel leading northwest out of it, presumably blocked at the end by the boards?

Hey, do that divination thing again. The orange symbol should have moved, so... where did it go?

What exactly was Mary doing when the burning thing abducted her? If we know that, it could give us a clue as to what the creature wants. It may be the kind of monster that follows particular "rules" and attacks those who break them.

Oh, let's finish messing with this room before we check out the third storage room.
Can you unscrew the metal plates? Maybe with the point of a dagger?

What's familiar about the big bird symbol? Hmm, those are runes around the edge. Can they be translated?

(1/4) kpwlt 2026/02/24(Tue)13:48 No. 1122580 ID: 127310
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>What exactly was Mary doing when the burning thing abducted her?

SIMONE: “We were just walking out of the storage room. Did you see those, those weird rock things? The ones in the boxes? She was also carrying one of those.”

UBERTO: “Oh, the magnetic ones?”

SIMONE: “They were magnetic?”

UBERTO: “I’m really not sure…”

>Can you unscrew the metal plates? Maybe with the point of a dagger?
Sam retrieves a dagger from her pouch and sets to work unscrewing the plates.

UBERTO: “A king? And a bunch of stick people.”

SAM: “Strange that they felt the need to cover it up…”

SIMONE: “Maybe it’s part of some big conspiracy. Haha, probably not.”

UBERTO: “Not any conspiracy I’ve been let in on!”

Sam returns the plates.

(2/4) kpwlt 2026/02/24(Tue)13:48 No. 1122581 ID: 127310
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>there was a halberd on the cover of the book Umberto showed you
>The Halberd is on the cover of the book we're investigating!

The Halberd is a typical adornment on the covers and in the margins of mystic texts produced in Southshoals, as it’s the most iconic constellation visible here. It shows up more on astrological texts than tryptological.

Sam is unsure why Clerk would put the Halberd on his book aside from for patriotism’s sake. Or due to conflation of tryptology and astrology.

(3/4) kpwlt 2026/02/24(Tue)13:48 No. 1122582 ID: 127310
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>What's familiar about the big bird symbol?
>Seems like bird-like elements, wings and clawed limbs.

There was something else bird-like in this cavern, wasn’t there? Sam can’t quite place her finger on if there was or wasn’t.

The six blobs near the top of the symbol evoke the most familiarity. Like looking into the eyes of an old associate.

>Or, the core of the symbol is a triangle, similar in shape to the figure's head on the diagram we found. connection?

That’s a similar familiarity, but it gives Sam an impression distinct from this bird symbol.

>Hmm, those are runes around the edge. Can they be translated?

Sam recognises these runes. They function as a sort of alternate, officially unrecognised script. They might find themselves sprayed under a bridge or on the walls of a drainage tunnel, or on some country town resident’s hasty notes. All sides of the political spectrum have used them to paint themselves as ‘allies of the people’. They aren’t taught in schools, but they’re culturally osmosed from generation to generation.

A suburbanite like Sam would have been expected to learn them through notes passed at the back of the classroom, or etched into desks. Owing to her unpopularity during school, however, Sam has failed to pick these up.

When Uberto sees Sam gazing at the runes, he looks as though he’s digging up some mythic ancient lore, and then he points at the top left point of the symbol and calls them out in counterclockwise order.

UBERTO: “T, N, O, C, L, O, R. Any idea what t’noclor means?”

(4/4) kpwlt 2026/02/24(Tue)13:48 No. 1122583 ID: 127310
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>Hey, do that divination thing again. The orange symbol should have moved, so... where did it go?

Sure thing. Oh, hey. That’s what gave Sam the same vibe as the bird symbol. The map did, for whatever reason.

>Is it boarded up on both entrances? Wait, which room was the weapon storage?

That was the weapon storage. One of the entrances was boarded up, the other had a makeshift door. The orange symbol is now in the forbidden room.

>Should be the northernmost storage room,
>check out the third storage room.

Yes. The group moves to the northernmost storage room, the only one that they haven’t looked in yet.

SIMONE: “Oh, I don’t really want to go in there. Mary took one look and came straight back out.”

SAM: “Did she say why?”

SIMONE: “No, but she was holding her nose when she came back out.”

It’s not difficult to see why. This passageway reeks.

Uberto and Sam enter anyway. There are a bunch of bones with some rotting flesh clinging to them. Some corpses are more complete than others, so it’s difficult to tell how many are here or how they were all killed.

UBERTO: “Must be those… people that lived here before.”

He covers his mouth and pinches his nose with his right hand. With his left, he guides Sam back out. Sam is reluctant to leave. Not because it feels irreverent to leave so soon, but because she feels as though she is missing something. There is some presence of which she is not aware. There must be.

Trol Con eh? some kind of troll gathering?
just kidding it says 'control'

It feels like something's trying to communicate through your divination. Feels... corvidy
Does Sam know any birds?

also there seems to be a faint something right in front of you. Like a dark red star. Is that coming from the sigil?

also also, what are the red and green symbols?

>>1122582
>something bird-like in this cavern
Not really, but... those little stone figures could be similar if their arms were raised up instead of down.
>it's the map
Oh! There's birds in the background. Crows? They're saying something.
The first time, it was "Quit pro quo, Samantha"
This time, it's "I have waited... so long... ...to meet you"
>letters
CONTROL.

The divination still has a dark red reading here. I think we need to do something with the big bird symbol. Try touching it, saying "control", or maybe using that lockpicking spell again.

This room also has an eye symbol on it... looking up? Is there anything on the ceiling? Could just designate that there's art here.
The black symbol shows up in the remaining two rooms we haven't been, and it's also drawn on the wall. I guess we'll get an idea of what it means when we visit those rooms. Fairly sure the red !! symbol signifies threats, and the blue/red arrow symbol is for travel.
The green symbol wasn't here before... did someone new show up? I guess it could be Hella, but I expected her to correspond to the orange symbol, due to her text color. Oh, she can't be the burning figure though, you saw what she was wearing and it didn't match what the figure was wearing, right?

>>1122596
given the eye symbol's placement on the first map it would seem to indicate Sam's position

>>1122580
Mary was holding one of those figurines? We saw the burning thing just after we found them, but it was in another room looking through a different crate. Maybe it's searching for them, and it sensed us messing with one of them, but didn't know exactly where they were because we put them back in their box. Or it could have been after something else in the box, like the amulet.

Where did Mary find the figurine she had, and how long did it take the burning thing to appear?

(1/3) kpwlt 2026/03/02(Mon)12:25 No. 1122841 ID: 127310
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>given the eye symbol's placement on the first map it would seem to indicate Sam's position

The symbol has moved with Sam and it’s the same as the one on her dress.

>red and green symbols

The green symbol generally indicates the Lower House or the Legislature as a whole. The red symbol is the logo of Hazard Association. It could be that Uberto and Simone’s weapons were either imbued with some power, or some power rubbed off on them, causing them to register.

>Does Sam know any birds?

Not personally. She has issues with Uberto’s cockatiel, though.

>Oh, she can't be the burning figure though, you saw what she was wearing and it didn't match what the figure was wearing, right?
Hella was wearing black and white, loose, sort of boxy clothing, and wore her long orange hair down. It was difficult to see what the burning figure was wearing because of its large and indistinguishable form.

>just kidding it says 'control'
>CONTROL.
>"Quit pro quo, Samantha"
>"I have waited... so long... ...to meet you"

This makes Sam a little nervous. Why does the big bird with ‘CONTROL’ written around its sigil want to meet her?

>Where did Mary find the figurine she had, and how long did it take the burning thing to appear?

SIMONE: “In the same room you did. We were in there for a little while, and the fire thing only appeared when we started to leave.”

>Maybe it's searching for them
>Or it could have been after something else in the box, like the amulet.

There seems to be only one way to find out, and Sam might need a little push before she volunteers herself as a lab rat.

>also there seems to be a faint something right in front of you. Like a dark red star. Is that coming from the sigil?
>The divination still has a dark red reading here.
>Try touching it, saying "control", or maybe using that lockpicking spell again.

Struck by (your) inspiration, Sam rushes back to the art room. In blatant disregard of the black and yellow tape, she reaches out and places her hand in the centre of the sigil.

SAM: “Control.”

Nothing happens. That would have been a little embarrassing if the others were here.

(2/3) kpwlt 2026/03/02(Mon)12:25 No. 1122842 ID: 127310
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Sam retrieves her documents on Kleidas and completes the ritual prescribed for a situation as close as conceivable to this one.

A ripple of darkness extends from Sam’s hand and corrodes a part of the wall. She steps back to allow the sliver of rock to peel away and crumble into nothingness. The room starts to smell quite strongly of the absence of black tea.

A feathered mass bulges in place of the star-shaped slice. It’s as though whatever was on the other side has pressed itself up to its own wall as best it can. A mound in the centre of the apparition cleaves itself in two to reveal a featureless eye.

(3/3) kpwlt 2026/03/02(Mon)12:25 No. 1122843 ID: 127310
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A pale membrane flicks across the viscous dark several times. With each pass, it embeds some greyish afterimage into Sam’s mind.

A lot going on here.
Looks like you working with the birds. wielding a feather, then summoning a bird, and it must have gone well because you have a crown in the third image.
Also of note is you are holding a halberd.

the question is; is this a premonition, or an offer?

The first image. You are standing in a room with thorned vines and bones. You are holding up a feather... there is someone in the doorway.
I think this means the feather can be found in the corpse room.

The second image. You have performed or are performing some sort of ritual, and a crow stands on a pentacle drawn on the floor.
Clearly you can use the feather to summon the crows.

The third image. You are wearing a crown, wielding a halberd, and there are symbols visible... those black symbols on the map that look like flies are attached to your hand by lines. There are buildings in the background.
Hmm. I guess this means you become ruler of... whatever this place is? They're promising good things will happen to you after you summon them. Perhaps they're saying you will have control.


Well, no harm in getting the feather at least. We can confer with our allies as to whether it's a good idea to summon the birds.

>>1122583
Ok now that we know what the symbols generally mean I think the black fly symbols are associated with Hella's group... assuming she's in her office. If Hella is in the pit room then the orange symbol is her, and there's someone else in the office.

>Hella is wearing black and white
>She peers through the makeshift door and spies a black and white clad figure hunched over a crate. The figure quickly ceases its rummaging and bursts into bright orange flame.
Yeah either Hella is the culprit, or someone that dresses like her, which would mean someone in her organization. After we decide what to do about the crows, we should confront her.