Are the wheels on the pallet jack burnt? Courtesy of Riki.

Anything off with the pallet jack we found? Burnt wheels or ash or blood?

You inspect the pallet jack... The wheels do not appear to be burnt, but upon inspection, there are slight burn marks around a pallet would sit. There is no blood on the jack though.

Kick Looob in his bald head

In Hustler's room, you boot the bird in its bald head. It squawks and flees underneath the bed.

Don't suppose Hustler would mind if I thoroughly checked the coveralls' pockets?
Just to be certain.

You rummage through Hustler's pockets. There's nothing inside the coveralls.

Any trails from the Receiving Bay tunnel to the forest? In fact, scour the edge of the forest for any obvious trails.

Walking along the tunnel, you emerge outside. Sure enough, there appear to be wheel tracks heading from the exit into the woods.

Anything in Boathouse drawers?

Void Conduit missing from Esotera Lab? Or other things missing from Esotera Lab, too?

Don't suppose the trail continues into the woods? Or are the trees too dense for the a good snow covering?

Give me the sloth mark; I'm too lazy to gradient on mobile. In Dr. Lyra's learned opinion, does the Arboretum vomit come from the same source as either the Boathouse vomit or the vomit in Nashu's Dorm? (Nashu gave permission in Discord)

Anything in Boathouse drawers?

All the drawers do not contain anything of note. Couple thumbtacks, a compass, etc.

Void Conduit missing from Esotera Lab? Or other things missing from Esotera Lab, too?

You inspect the Esotera Lab... You do locate a few sealed jars labeled VOID CONDUIT, which appear to contain a thick black liquid of some sort. You don't know if any jars are missing though. It doesn't seem like there's anything else missing from here.

Don't suppose the trail continues into the woods? Or are the trees too dense for the a good snow covering?

Unfortunately, the dense canopy prevents a significant snow covering.

Give me the sloth mark; I'm too lazy to gradient on mobile. In Dr. Lyra's learned opinion, does the Arboretum vomit come from the same source as either the Boathouse vomit or the vomit in Nashu's Dorm? (Nashu gave permission in Discord)

Eugh, you're really making me...?



...Fine. Based on the... contents and consistency of the gastric secretions and other stomach content, I think we can determine that each of these samples came from... different sources.

Never ask me for anything again. Thanks.

Riki... big sniff sniff... Arboretum vomit... see where vomiter went...

One more, Dex. Can you give us your theory on Alan's kill? Spice it up, or whatever, with some anecdotes or fun stories you know to compare.

I flip the switch in the Arboretum while Riki stands in the woods. Does it affect the lights there?

It's getting close to the end so...I think it's time we.... come clean. I know that neither of us are really very suspicious, but... if we have some kind of information, I think we need to give it up. Sorry, everyone - but as I'm sure you figured out.... I did make a murder attempt. I actually... feel pretty bad about it too, but I'm not gonna let that stop me. Right, Spooks?

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I did not attempt murder, I simply acted to prevent accidents occurring in the vicinity of a major accidental spill. I have been programmed to prevent risk incidents wherever possible.

...Right. We'll... go with that.



When I woke up in my Observatory... I reached out to Spooks. I have a way to talk to him remotely. I didn't feel comfortable, facing this motive myself... so we worked together. He was going to set up a hazard, spill some lubricant on the ground. I mean... I know he couldn't actually kill someone outright, but I thought that maybe an accident would technically bypass his... annoying mental blocks.

Statement verified. I was able to accidentally cause a potential slip-and-fall incident within the Geology Lab. I had assessed it as a low-risk area due to being damaged by fire on a previous evening. Of course, I likewise had to appropriately telegraph the risk incident, and placed appropriate signage in addition to activating my alarm protocol should someone enter the designated risk zone.

My part of the plan... was to go wait in the Archaeologist's Office... and shoot anyone who triggered Spooks' alarm. I was hoping... it would be ambiguous enough that people would blame him. He has... backups and stuff, so he'd be fine - if... further downgraded. If someone slipped and fell and hit their head... then it'd be impossible to tell what killed them if I shot them at the same time, right?

I don't really like using guns, but I had to do it. I just... regret my target.



But I can explain the rest of my night now. After I told Spooks the plan, Riki came in. It kind of surprised me, to be honest... but he's one of my best friends here. I guess I was glad to see that he was okay. I lent him my camera for a bit, and after he left, I got to talk to Konata. It's... the same situation for her. I didn't want to get either of them in trouble or wrapped up in my attempt though... so I made sure neither of them stuck around. After I was alone... I put on my cat mask to prevent any targeted kills, then I left. I was hoping Mr. Columbo would come by, but I went for our usual meeting place just in case.

The beginning to my evening activities was far less eventful. With the passing of [AGENT DESIGNATION - LITA] , I have been left with few individuals with which to interact. When I had been informed of Astrid's intentions, I gathered the required safety materials and signage required for a potential slip-and-fall incident and exited the premises via the Whisper Valley Archives. My sensors detected [AGENT DESIGNATION - WALMART JOHN FINALFANTASYXIV] on the way, which was alarming due to his recorded status as deceased.

I traveled across the Facility Grounds to the Geology Lab, where I caused an accidental spill. Of course, as my programming dictates, I set up a large quantity of appropriate warning signage, and put on proper protective equipment for working in a hazardous area.



Yeah... while he was doing that... I was heading for the Patio. I ran into Pea along the way, but he just asked me about... Liturigic artifacts. I pointed him in the right direction, but I had to hurry, so I didn't stay long. At the Patio... That Giffany girl was just passed out. I wasn't sure if I should wake her up, but thankfully... Mr. Columbo came upstairs. We talked for a bit... but we both decided it was better if we didn't go exploring together again on a night like this.

After that, I went over to the Auxiliary Building to find Spooks for our plan.

As I was awaiting the arrival of Astrid and preparing the proper signposting when I was met with the arrival of [AGENT DESIGNATION - RIKI]. I warned him appropriately of the hazardous spill, as I did for [AGENT DESIGNATION - COLUMBO], who also entered the room at a later time.

Between the arrival of both individuals, Astrid took her place in the Archaeologist's Office, as laid out within the initial planning phase of the project.



Right... yeah that's why I feel bad. See... I was waiting to hear Spooks' alarms, or at least a thud. The thing is... when the alarms went off... I pointed my gun right out the office door...

And I shot Ciel! I... I'm so sorry. I didn't want to cause any trouble, or kill you... even if you're a wraith and it won't actually do anything. I was hoping I'd get that janitor... or something. I... just went home after that. I guess I was happy that I didn't kill anyone, but still...

don't worry about it astrid everything's chill

Riki... big sniff sniff... Arboretum vomit... see where vomiter went...

Grimacing, you put on the mask and sniff the... vomit. Yep, smells like vomit. You follow the scent to the south, into the Sleep Lab. You lose the trail in the Museum Hall though.

I flip the switch in the Arboretum while Riki stands in the woods. Does it affect the lights there?

You flip the switch in the Arboretum while Riki stands in the woods at the southern entrance by the Patio. Upon flipping the switch, several lights in the trees flash on, illuminating a beaten path through the woods. You repeat the experiment with him standing at the northern entrance by the Arboretum, but he sees no such light - only the gloom perpetuated by the Black Forest.

Any weird thingies in Sleep Lab or Museum Hall that Riki can see?

I introduce everyone to my roommate in the Lost City.

Investigate the Fountain, both Lobbies, and the Leisure Room.

Spooks, help me out. Anything fall in that big ol' chasm, or in the lake itself?

Search the woods and the burnt shack for anything out of place, especially potential ignition sources.

One more, Dex. Can you give us your theory on Alan's kill? Spice it up, or whatever, with some anecdotes or fun stories you know to compare.

Alan Wake? Yeah, you've got it. Guy was weird, I think he's a dick for all the horse mask shit - but I'll go to bat for a fellow media man. Especially when the other option's the fucking crimbo. RIP, bozo.

Thankfully, I've been doing a lot of thinking about this one. Partially because my own keeps getting put on the line, however briefly. I think I've got an idea though. Something keeps bugging me about this whole, and other incident halfway across the map. So let's do this song and dance again.



That's right, it's time for Dexter Hexley: Paranormal Investigator - Season 9, Episode 8: Planting the Seed of Evil!

So we've got Wake dead in the Arboretum. We don't know what did him in - our killer was smart enough to crank the humidity up and damage the body. But that melted metal in the boiler makes me think... Back when I was doing my show, we had a guy in the prop department who used to work with those CNC machines. You wouldn't think it, but they can put out some pretty sharp results. Had to cut filming at one point when an extra ended up cutting his hand open showing a "cool knife trick" to his buddy on-set.



Idiot. Anyway, point is... I'm pretty suspicious of that machine.

Here's what we know: a pipe was printed, something else was printed too. Now, we know the place is hooked up to the Equipment Storage, so who was in there? We got the old archaeologist, some guy in PPE, and uh... some illusory Jack of Spades. So we've got two instances of what could be total bullshit, and one real guy. Great. Cool. You want my hypothesis? Alright.



Indy's a bullshitter.

The one who used the machine? Yeah, it's just him. Guy started it up, printed off a sawblade or something, then loaded up pipe schematics and let it run. That guy decked out in safety gear? Totally fake. Never existed. Just a convenient scapegoat he could blame shit on if it got too far. He picked up a bunch of clothes you can literally find in the same room, then dumped them in the elevator.



Then, guy took a timed detonator and rigged up the Chaotic Seal. He didn't actually think it would blow, it just made a convenient alibi, you know? What he actually did is leave the place to blow, then head back to the Mining Equipment. Why?

Guess what's used in metalworking? Sulphuric Acid, baby! He probably grabbed some from here, then set the place to blow too so that we couldn't find any. After that, obviously he went to the elevator. Nobody would suspect anything, guy hasn't been upstairs in forever. That was the idea, anyway.



He went to go camp out in the Arboretum, and we know what else happened after that. Acid to the body, sawblade to the neck. Didn't matter how cool their fake murder plan might've been - the second he walked in there, he was about as dead as his recent sales numbers. Poor bastard.

Yep, I'm feeling pretty good about this one. Good ol' Dr. Jones' choice of career was pretty poetic in the end, as it turns out. Because that fucker's history.

There any signs of some kind of container for sulphuric acid in the Drafting Office or Mining Equipment are?
Or if anybody could recall, anyway.

Any weird thingies in Sleep Lab or Museum Hall that Riki can see?

You check out the Sleep Lab and the Museum Hall... Nothing really stands out about either location though - outside of a small amount of blood in the Museum Hall, though the Sleep Lab is bloodless.

I introduce everyone to my roommate in the Lost City.

You get everyone to stand for a second, excited to introduce them to your new roommate. Heading into the mines and down the elevator, you return shortly after, dragging a withered corpse on the ground. You hold him up in front of you, beaming with positivity. Nobody seems impressed.

Investigate the Fountain, both Lobbies, and the Leisure Room.

You investigate the Fountain, the lobbies, and the Leisure Center. Out of the three, only the Leisure Center has anything out of place - a bloody knife and a dumbbell on the floor.

Spooks, help me out. Anything fall in that big ol' chasm, or in the lake itself?

While Mirror Lake is still frozen over, Spooks leans over the edge of the chasm and activates his sensors. He shakes his head after a while. Looks like it's nothing.

Search the woods and the burnt shack for anything out of place, especially potential ignition sources.

You walk throughout the Black Forest, first checking the burned Relay Station. While it smells of smoke and gasoline, there is nothing you find that can start a fire. You go wandering through the woods though, where you find... a matchbox, lying on the ground a few meters away from the pallet jack. It looks like it's missing one match.