Our heroes find out exactly what’s going on.
Transcript is below the cut!
Transcript provided by Ria Couoh.
**************
INTRO:
HANNAH
Hi, everyone. Hannah here.
Thanks for listening to Inn Between.
A quick content warning before we begin: this episode contains forcible loss of agency through, as the title suggests, possession.
If this is troubling to you, we recommend you check out the episode transcript, at thegoblinshead.com/listen.
Please take care of yourselves.
Let’s go to the Inn.
TESSA
Previously on Inn Between…
Inn Between theme plays in the background.
ROSIE
We’re a great team, we’ll figure something out!
ZARA
You say that, but what do we really know about each other?
Sword being unsheathed.
CARRIOR
Are you friend or foe, stranger?
KNOWLES
Ladies, you go to the east end.
ZARA
This… can’t be right.
ROSIE
Why? What is it?
KNOWLES
And gents, why don’t you go to the docks?
TODE
(pained)
The noise… the noise…
CASTOR
Uh… What noise?
Inn Between theme fades.
Background sounds of tavern.
ADRINE
(venomous)
Back off, Carrior, or you’ll be tasting my blade.
CARRIOR
(taunting)
Yeah, go ahead and try it, Adrine!
TESSA
Oh, you’d like that, would you? Listen here, everyone. This inn is neutral ground, and anyone who thinks differently…
A firm thud against a table.
TESSA
(firmly)
Is welcome to meet this club. Do you understand?
Pause as the crowd takes this in.
KNOWLES
Alright, let’s… let’s inventory what we know, shall we?
ROSIE
What did you find out, Knowles?
KNOWLES
Nothing useful. Other than the fact that this town is made up of violent belligerents. It’s like… as soon as they know you are not part of a faction, they ignore you in favor of attacking the nearest enemy.
ZARA
There’s a good reason for that.
ROSIE
Tell them what you sensed.
ZARA
I am, relax.
(takes in a breath)
I was casting Detect Magic to see if I could track down a source, but… I found something much worse.
CASTOR
What did you find?
ZARA
Dozens of people under a low-level enchantment. Not everyone, but nearly all your belligerents.
KNOWLES
Not plain old hate, then.
ZARA
Oh, there was plenty of that, too. Not everyone was enchanted, and this type of enchantment is only powerful enough to take advantage of existing feelings.
ROSIE
But what about that other thing you said?
ZARA
(exasperated)
I am getting to it.
(beat)
As far as I could tell, this isn’t sorcery. It would take a whole team of them to enchant so many people and… I think it would look different. There were no… physical signs that I could see.
KNOWLES
Tode, is that your observation too?
TODE
(pained, slightly disoriented)
I can’t say.
ZARA
Why not?
TODE
The noise…
ROSIE
What noise?
CASTOR
He’s been saying that all day.
TODE
(slowly through the pain)
The noise of… the feeling. The thing I was sensing on our way here.
ZARA
Oh, that.
CASTOR
(curious)
It’s like noise to you?
TODE
Yes. No. Sort of?
ROSIE
Okay…
TODE
I feel it now. It’s… very strong and close. Constantly present. It is slightly irritating but otherwise untroublesome. Until I attempt to Detect Magic or any sort of thing, at which point it becomes so… much, and so strong, that I can’t even see what’s right in front of me.
ZARA
So, it’s an interference?
TODE
Yes, exactly so. Like… a hive of wasps in my mind.
(apologetic)
I wasn’t able to focus on anything else, I’m afraid.
ZARA
Why can’t I detect it?
TODE
Not sure. Perhaps it isn’t magic.
ROSIE
There’s got to be some kind of magic at play, though. While Zara was doing her thing, I did some sneaking to listen to what they say when they think no one’s listening.
(unsettled)
All the feuding people kept saying the same things over and over again. It was like a script.
KNOWLES
(confused)
Like a rallying cry or…?
ROSIE
No, it was stranger than that. Not propaganda, more like their brains were stuck. Not just the enchanted ones either.
KNOWLES
Stuck, you say?
ROSIE
Mhmm. They meant what they said, I think, but it felt… rote.
KNOWLES
I’ve… actually seen that before. People who have been enchanted multiple times sometimes fall back into the same patterns, over and over again.
ZARA
You’re saying the whole town’s been enchanted, just… not all at once.
KNOWLES
Sounds that way. Maybe repeatedly.
ROSIE
(shaken)
Leaping Lolth.
ZARA
(disconcerted)
The kind of power it would take to do this…
TODE
What was it you said about taking advantage of existing prejudices, Castor?
CASTOR
Uh, yes, I think it’s obvious what’s happening.
A pause while they wait for him to elaborate.
CASTOR
(matter-of-factly, like crossing off items on a checklist)
We have a pervasive presence that is sensed by a druid, but not a sorcerer, suggesting a living thing that is not a standard mortal. We have a powerful enough magical influence to enchant multiple people, repeatedly, and we have a blood feud that is deliberately and maliciously cultivated.
(dramatic pause)
The answer is clear. It’s a demon.
ZARA
I think he’s right.
TODE
If I could think a little more clearly, I might have an objection, but my inclination is to agree.
A pause as they all process this.
ROSIE
(unsure)
Well… mission accomplished? We know what’s causing the feud. We could go back.
KNOWLES
I just… don’t understand the reasoning here. Why would a demon want to do this?
CASTOR
The machinations of demons are… ingenious. Beyond mortal ken. We might never really understand.
ZARA
Don’t we need more evidence before we go… waltzing off home? We have to be sure.
KNOWLES
What do you think, Castor?
CASTOR
There are a few more things we can look for, but I don’t see any reason we couldn’t leave town tomorrow.
ROSIE
(baffled)
You… don’t want to stay.
CASTOR
Why should I want to stay?
ROSIE
You don’t think there’s any way to help? Isn’t the town in immediate danger?
CASTOR
(amused, disbelieving chuckle)
It’s not as though we can fight the demon.
ZARA
Changing your tune from three days ago, huh?
CASTOR
I have new information, don’t I?
ROSIE
I… guess.
TODE
(pained grunt)
Noise.
ROSIE
(gently)
Are you alright, Tode?
TODE
I’m… not sure.
ZARA
I would have thought you’d view this as an interesting observational experience, Castor.
CASTOR
Does the real and present danger not alarm you?
KNOWLES
(conciliatory)
Come now, a person is allowed to change their mind, aren’t they?
ZARA
(scoff)
I guess. But… isn’t he acting—
KNOWLES
(firmly)
He can act how he likes.
(casually)
Say, Castor, what’s your favorite food?
CASTOR
(thrown off)
I’m… sorry?
KNOWLES
Your favorite food. What is it?
CASTOR
(baffled chuckle)
I don’t see how that’s relevant.
KNOWLES
I’m just… curious to know.
CASTOR
(annoyed)
We don’t really have time for this.
ROSIE
(with creeping horror)
You don’t know, do you?
(pause)
You have no idea.
CASTOR
Just because I don’t want to talk about this…
ROSIE
You don’t know!
(with finality)
Because you’re not Castor!
A tense, horrified pause.
NOT CASTOR
(amused chuckle)
(cruel, mocking, vicious laughter)
(laughter grows in intensity)
(taunting and droll)
Oh, it took you long enough!
(laughter)
I’ve been in here two days!
ZARA
Castor, this isn’t funny.
NOT CASTOR
Beg to differ, cousin.
TODE
(darkly)
You’re the noise.
NOT CASTOR
(derisive)
I’m the noise, little man. Honestly, you four don’t really know Castor at all, do you?
ROSIE
(scared)
Who are you?
NOT CASTOR
(mocking, faux-thoughtful tone)
I’ve got lots of names. Castor calls me The Gray One, which…
(pleased)
I rather like.
KNOWLES
(calmly, firmly)
What happened to Castor?
GRAY ONE
(haughty, annoyed)
Oh, he’s still in here, kicking up quite the fuss. It’s truly shocking. I can’t read his mind, as you so astutely discovered, but… I can get a sense from him.
(with fake pity)
He honestly thinks of you as his friends.
ROSIE
We are his friends!
GRAY ONE
You didn’t even notice he was gone! How sad…
(smug)
It’s delicious.
KNOWLES
(forceful)
Get out. Leave him alone.
GRAY ONE
(ignoring them)
Did you even know he could do… this?
Magical whoosh.
ZARA
(alarmed)
That’s… magic.
KNOWLES
Castor can’t do magic.
GRAY ONE
(cruel, cold laughter)
You’re all so stupid.
(suddenly serious, humorless)
Listen, adventurers, this town is my corner of Hell. It belongs to me. I’ve been cultivating it for a long time, and I don’t need the four of you here being pests about it.
Now, I’m willing to let you take your intel back to whoever it is that hired you without… killing you.
(with veiled menace)
Isn’t that a good deal?
KNOWLES
How do you know we won’t use our intel to destroy you?
GRAY ONE
Oh, because I know everything you know.
(smug, taunting)
You just told it to me!
(beat)
It’s not nearly enough. You’re getting off here easy, kids. And, keep in mind, this is a one-time offer.
ROSIE
What about Castor?
GRAY ONE
(dismissive)
Castor’s mine. He stays.
KNOWLES
No. No deal.
Blade being unsheathed.
KNOWLES
Let him go.
GRAY ONE
What are you going to do, human? You hurt me, you’ll be hurting Castor, too.
ZARA
Is that a promise?
The magical whoosh of Zara’s flames igniting. They stay burning throughout the exchange.
GRAY ONE
(dark chuckle)
Nice bluff, cousin, but you wouldn’t roast your friend alive just to get to me.
ZARA
(firmly)
Don’t call me cousin. And…
(derisive snigger)
Check that sense you get from him again. I don’t have any friends.
A tense pause. Zara’s magic is still alight.
GRAY ONE
(considering)
Mm, I suppose it’d be a shame to waste a perfectly good vessel.
(serious, dangerous tone)
Adventurers, you have twenty-four hours. You leave without Castor…
(lightly, casually)
…or you die. That is the deal. And if you’re smart, this is the last you’ll be seeing of me.
(pleasantly)
Goodbye!
A pause. Zara’s magic rumbles.
CASTOR
(heavy breathing)
Zara’s magic dies out.
CASTOR
(loudly, pained, determined)
(through clenched teeth)
Get. Out of my. Head!
ROSIE
Castor?
CASTOR
(surprised, scared)
Rosie?
(desperate)
Ca—Can you hear me? Can you hear what I’m saying?
ROSIE
(small)
I can hear you, yeah.
TODE
The noise is diminished a bit. The demon is no longer close.
KNOWLES
Your favorite food, Castor. Quick.
CASTOR
(slowly, in pain, scared, breathless)
The… the black… trumpet mushrooms my cousin grows. It’s… It’s me. I swear it’s me.
TODE
(gently)
Are you alright?
CASTOR
Uhm…
(shaken)
No.
ROSIE
(distraught)
How did this happen?
CASTOR
I don’t know. It just… When we were walking up that big hill, we… when we could first see the ocean, it…
(beat)
(dissolving into anxious panic)
All of the sudden he was there. I… I could feel him, and none of you could hear me and—
KNOWLES
Why didn’t you tell us one of us could get possessed?
CASTOR
(loudly)
I didn’t know! I didn’t think—
(lowering his volume, apologetic)
I didn’t realize that… it would be… him. I—I’m… sorry.
ROSIE
I can’t believe you were going to kill Castor!
ZARA
(offended)
I was not going to kill him! It was an obvious bluff!
KNOWLES
You’ll pardon us if we bought it, Zara.
ZARA
Why are we so concerned with me? We’re ignoring the obvious question here.
CASTOR
(panicked)
Please… I can explain. I swear I can…
ZARA
Castor. Are you a warlock?
A tense, long pause.
CASTOR
(heavy sigh)
(helplessly honest)
Yes.
Background sounds of tavern fade away.
OUTRO:
Inn Between theme plays in the background.
TESSA
To be continued…
CREDITS:
HANNAH
This episode, “The Possession”, was written and directed by Hannah Wright with assistant director William Wright. The show is produced and edited by Katherine Ayers.
The voice of Castor is Caleb Del Rio. The voice of Zara is Quin Leigh. The voice of Tode is Anthony Morales. The voice of Rosie is Lucille Valentine and the voice of Knowles is JV Hampton-VanSant.
This episode featured the voices of Matti Mali as the Carrior and Marielle Madden as the Adrine.
Our theme song is by Eli Hamada McIlveen and our artwork is by Gabrielle Buxman. Our transcriber is Ria Couoh.
Transcripts for this and every episode can be found on our website, thegoblinshead.com.
Find and follow us on Twitter, @inn_between_. Or support us on Patreon, at patreon.com/thegoblinshead.
If you like the show, carry out the next step of your historic family rivalry in the public library. Or leave us a review.
Thanks for listening!
Music ends.
POST-CREDITS:
Muted background sounds of conversation.
CARRIOR
(whispered)
Curse your family and your name, Adrine.
ADRINE
(whispered)
Try my steel for a curse, Carrior.
TESSA
(disbelieving)
Excuse me, this isn’t a library. Quiet feuding is still feuding. Get out!
Background sounds fade away.
Episode ends.