Daxton's Dozen

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**Daxton's Dozen**

Personal Information
Status
Active

Residence
The Hideout

**Daxton's Dozen** is Daxton's "special forces" comprised of Blackout Club members.

## Description

The known members of Daxton’s Dozen include Ariadne (Addy), Natasha, Eva, Zoey, and Zoey’s dog, Nova. Dax picked the group because they have talents he doesn’t.

## History

Daxton’s Dozen first appeared in the tabletop adventure by the same name, created by the head writer of *The Blackout Club (Game)*:

Following the disastrous Pact Summit, Daxton’s Dozen is given a new mission: investigate the missing Hosts at the Townsend motel. Current Sleeper and high school art teacher A.P. Perdichi has been meeting with The Voices at Townsend, where the hosts sent by LAUGH-LAST and HUNT-THE-STRONG have disappeared. Dax is worried that LAUGH-LAST will interfere with the Sundown plan, and intel from the Unknown Caller confirms that HUNT-THE-STRONG doesn’t know what happened to his host. With Gwen ignoring IN-HER-TEETH and Sundown approaching, Dax wants to prepare information for IN-HER-TEETH, but he has to hold down the fort at the boxcar.

The night before the mission, the group dreams of a hole in the center of town, which grows and grows and grows, silently consuming everything in its path as if swallowing the town into a sea of ink. The hole rushes towards the space where the dreamer is standing, and all four kids wake, just as it reaches them.

In the morning, Daxton’s Dozen collect a supply drop at the treehouse and receive a message from THEE-I-DARE wishing them luck. Afterwards, they head to Lambert’s Drugstore to buy further supplies. Mrs. Lambert takes notice of them and appears to make a phone call before disappearing into the back room. The kids catch sight of Myron Trips, the mayor of Redacre, briskly approaching the store with one of Zoey’s dads, Noah, both maintaining physical contact by linking pinkies as they walk. While Zoey greets her dad outside the store, the rest attempt to hide.

Zoey’s dad confronts her regarding a recent Chorus newsletter, which details how some kids are illegally smuggling in or tampering with technology. Zoey’s phone had been flagged as malfunctioning. While Noah appears to give Zoey the benefit of the doubt, he is suspicious of her potential involvement with The Blackout Club (Group).

In the store, Myron easily finds Addy hiding on a shelf and tells the others to come out. He explains that the Chorus phones are a right, not a privilege, and asks that they hand over their phones: “Obviously, if you are willing to cooperate, it’s a malfunction. We can fix the issue, show Chorus that everyone’s acting in good faith, and we all walk away. Or. I can have them simply flip the bit, turn them off at the PBX level, and mark it down that you refused. Which one do you think is the right choice? Which one do you think is the *Redacre* choice?” Myron slowly counts the kids, aware that one is still hiding, and then threatens to involve the police and the kids’ parents if they don’t cooperate, at which point all four reluctantly give up their phones.

The group continues on bikes to the Townsend motel, following the wildlife trail parallel to the highway. The motel has an external parking garage, 2-3 stories tall with a curved, spring-like shape. Instead of locking up their bikes, Daxton’s Dozen attempt to hide their bikes in the woods. The Townsend motel is one of the oldest buildings in the area, preceding Redacre’s formal ratification. It’s boxy on one side, with beautiful windows facing the woods nearest the lobby and pool, which is fairly small. The motel has two levels, and is split into six separate buildings, each of which has a couple rooms stacked on top of each other and a roof with a dramatic triangular flared shape, similar to the one over the lobby. One of the buildings, a conference room, is larger and more dome-shaped than the rest.

While discussing the potential existence of ghosts, Addy spots a small puff of vapor emitting from the hollow of an unusually large tree. They gradually approach the tree, and begin to hear breathing. Upon closer inspection, the hollow of the tree is about six feet deep, and the breathing, the source of the vapor, is coming from inside. Within the hollow is a scruffy-haired man with a hiking backpack and a walking stick held within the inner lip of the tree hollow as if leaned there, frozen in the act of carving initials “STA…” The man is one of probably hundreds of sleeper participants in the “human fence”, SPEAK-AS-ONE’s defense network made up of sleepers who are frozen in place, but are set to spring into animation upon detecting someone nearby. The sleeper didn’t react to their presence, so it’s likely that something is interfering with the song, or that he hasn’t received instructions in awhile. Upon walking back towards the motel, Eva spots horse droppings and a few horse tracks, as if someone had ridden by the motel at least once, but decides not to mention it to the group.

As Daxton’s Dozen approaches the lobby, they see a young-looking woman with red hair sitting at the desk. They also see the room called “Hunt Valley Homesteader Room” (the conference and event facility), upper level individual rooms with balconies, and lower level rooms with sliding doors leading outside. Eva notices a man in the darkness, leaning with his back against the balcony railing at the end of one of the upper level walkways. The man appears to be solidly built and intently monitoring a room door. Tiring of the debate over what ninjas would do, Zoey uses a crossbow to tranquilize the adult.

Eva moves to search the man and finds that he was carrying an ax wrapped in a yoga mat in addition to a knife in his boot. Though there are no lights on in the room, she hears the constant shifting and creaking of furniture within. From his wallet, Eva learns that the man’s name is Harris Hughes. Nova discovers a secret compartment within the man’s long raincoat, containing a variety of unique seeds, each carved with SEED-THE-GRUDGE’s symbol.

The man’s phone begins to ring, at the same time as a phone within the room. Inside the room, a man stands up, answering it. Seeming distressed, he degenerates into sobs as he speaks. Natasha answers Hughes’ phone, which is receiving a call from Chorus. She hears the chiming of the instrument, trying to tell her, *“Go home. Go to sleep. Everything will be fine.”* Natasha immediately hangs up without saying anything. By searching his phone, they find a single text thread from the previous night, one message sent to him by a number with no contact information: “New priorities: the Townsend. Secure it at all costs.” After dragging Hughes down and under the stairs, they notice a small army of sleepers cleaning around the Hunt Valley Homesteader room.

Daxton’s Dozen again approach the room, as A.P. Perdichi calls the front desk to ask for assistance with the sobbing man: “Could you send… is there a van for crying in the corner? Is there a service that covers that?” The group scatters into the bushes as the red-haired woman leaves the lobby to help Perdichi.

By checking the lobby terminal, Zoey and Addy learn the following: an order was issued by the owners of the motel to give the cleanup crew everything they need and to not book the Hunt Valley Homesteader Room for any events, Perdichi used the alias “Lincoln Warner”, and on the same night two other tenants (“Smithson Weer” and “Health Inspector Gaines”) inquired about booking a room and were sent to the Hunt Valley Homesteader Room to wait on availability. Neither actually booked a room.

## Trivia

* *Daxton's Dozen* was done to thank the moderators of The Blackout Club's official discord.
* The music within the tabletop adventure was composed by Nathan Moody for *The Blackout Club (Game)*.