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There is, however, a response from within.

A sudden urge leaps within you -- you want to see the sky again.

You are deep in it this time. So deep you can almost touch dream.

This game's getting played, even with a handicapped substitute.

Plaintext. No cipher. Good start.

A shudder runs through you, as if brushing against a frayed wire.

A little bell inside goes 'ding-ding'.

Don't look at the clock. Don't look. Don't...

That did it. She's becoming hysterical.

A scenario she has been forced to create in order to ignore a heartbreaking truth.

She can only ignore it for so long.

A childhood boogeyman, suddenly and horribly real.

A scenario she has been forced to create in order to ignore a heartbreaking truth.

No matter how terrible reality might be, it's better than the not-knowing.

No longer can she live with the burden.

A chill runs up your spine. The beginnings of an uncanny convergence.

This is one pissed off monkey. You may not have the edge like last time...

But imagining that it is could certainly make them less intimidating, at least in your head.

The monkey stares you down. His adorably well-fitting shirt does nothing to tamper the threat.

Effortless. Nothing but grim inevitability and dawning madness now.

But did someone sell out Karolina? That you never discovered.

'MALA FIDE'... Bad faith. A betrayer in your midst.

If they aren't already a bloody mass screaming at existence.

A flatland vertigo takes hold of you as you face the expanse of letters again.

A lurch of tedium at the name alone.

Steady yourself. You've slipped deeper into the game.

This is slow work, but it is logical. A methodical siege on a lunatic fortress.

Prepare body and mind for hours of fun.

Suddenly, violently, you are aflame with indignation.

Are you 'special edition' enough to drink it? Gauntlet thuds against ground.

A surprise attack launched from your own past.

They were counting on you, and you abandoned them. While they thought of you, you thought only of yourself -- you selfish little child.

The past descends with talons.

Wasting valuable time. But there may be something in here...

You've never seen the man before either, but the horripilation up your neck tells you exactly who he is.

Uh oh. An unknown quantity. You don't care for those.

You do not want this to end in a close quarters gunfight. If you can help it.

No -- but don't let her see.

Don't panic. Must've been a body double. A pawn distracts, the king withdraws.

She would be vaporised by return fire in seconds.

That he could clear it all up. That things could go on, as though none of what happened had happened.

He can't bring himself to use the word 'incarcerated' in the same sentence as his daughter.

'Doing fine, without you,' is all he hears.

He'd simply prefer it weren't him.

Rising temperature, needless fidgeting -- this really bothered him.

He's never felt such freedom.

604 skill checks - ZERO PARADES field manual - Page 4 of 13