192: The Telltale Rose Petal Trail

## Summary

The party begin searching for Captain Clockface and Marko leads them into a secret tunnel in a bid to reach Cliffside.

## Synopsis

The party are behind Roladexaroonie in Morrow's Inlet and Captain Clockface is missing. Will is suspicious of Marko, but when casting *True Strike* his only sense is that Marko is probably the one person in this town who he can rely on to get things done. Raphina and Batthwack remember seeing Clockface outside the Roladexaroonie dance hall at the Town Square, where they encountered the angry crowd. Marko thinks that Clockface has been absconded by Watersiders to sell him and that Crumplemeyer can help them. Batthwack wants to go back to the Square to look for Clockface. Marko says he needs to be disguised to move about the Waterside safely. Will gives him his *Hat of Disguise* and instructs him to think about the appearance of a Watersider to disguise himself as one.

They head back round the corner to the front of Roladexaroonie. Batthwack doesn't see anyone he recognises from before. Dew searches for evidence of a struggle but only finds the aftermath of Marko's fight with the crowd from earlier. No-one can find anything relating to Captain Clockface. Marko offers to take them to see Crumplemeyer on the Cliffside via his secret route through Roladexaroonie. His girlfriend works at the dance hall. He says they can't go in through the front, even when disguised, as the door people have a way to see through magical disguises, so they head back to the window round the back and Marko helps them through.

They find themselves in a quiet storage room. Marko wants to go and find his girlfriend and everyone wants to go with him as they don't trust him enough to let him out of their sight. He leads them down a dark hallway past several closed doors on the left. At the third door he uses a special secret knock: 3 knocks, followed by 2 more knocks.

The door opens and they all slip inside to find a dressing room. A scantily-clad dwarven woman is there who is introduced as Marko's girlfriend Tess. They group describe Captain Clockface to Tess. They discuss who might have wanted to kidnap him. Tess suggests Cliffsiders would be more interested in him due to his mechanical nature. Will suspects Tess is probably just guessing. Tess suggests they really should meet Crumplemeyer.

Tess asks Marko for some money to tide her over. Batthwack offers her a platinum piece, but when she takes it she can tell it's way too heavy. Anyway, she's happy to take it. She asks Marko for some small change that she can use for food or whatever. Tess excuses herself as she has to go back on stage. Raphina asks her to demonstrate her dancing and she dances sensuously. It dawns on everyone that Roladexaroonie is a strip club (Raphina says they're called *"Strip Clumps"* in Beartoggle). Hilula says she enjoyed the dancing and Will wonders if she might be gay, but can't discern anything.

They head back down the hallway to the storage room and Marko shows them a hatch in the floor hidden under crates. They descend a long ladder into an underground brick passageway. The papermill smell is not so bad down here. Marko explains this is a disused tunnel housing one of the city's water pipes. It's not used any more due to a cave-in that blocked off one end.

Marko reveals that there have been incidents in the tunnels, where people have disappeared having encountered *"mutations and growths"*. The tunnel twists and turns as the party head on but they can tell they're progressing more or less in one direction. Will is keeping an eye on Raphina.

Eventually they reach a set of iron bars with a gate covering the passage way, although the pipe continues through. Built into the pipe here is a huge valve. Marko explains they are now right beneath the wall and that he has a key for the gate hidden on this side. He heads back a short way down the tunnel to an alcove and goes in. Will doesn't want to let Marko out of his sight, so follows him round the corner into the alcove. However, rounding the corner, he is met with a solid green wall pulsing in front of him.

## Trivia

* The episode title quotes Eric. The group are looking for Captain Clockface in the square round the front of the Roladexaroonie. Batthwack is trying to find any clue as to what might have happened to him, but not having much luck. *"He didn't leave behind a trail of rose petals for you to follow or anything like that. At least not that you'd see, maybe they're all behind you. But everywhere you look you don't see the telltale rose petal trail that you know he would have left for you."*