Quoted By:
>LAST TIME ON DROWNED QUEST REDUX
Having finished making a tentative deal with Us, you set off to go find Gil/Teddy. Instead, you encounter, of all people, Horse Face-- apparently dropping by because of Gil's tip-off, he's lost in the Us sauce and thinks he's a reporter. You persuade him to help you speak to Gil/Teddy, who is currently competing in an ice fishing tournament, and it works... except Teddy doesn't know who you are, and is pissed that you're interrupting. He tells you that Gil's off repairing fishing gear.
Confused, you go find Gil, and discover that, not only is he separate from Teddy, but he's very much non-lucid. After a little questioning, you come to the unnerving conclusion that he's not just in a trance-- Us has absorbed his goo body and incorporated him into the hivemind. When you wake Us up, they sheepishly confirm this, but claim it wasn't on purpose and that he isn't suffering. To prove it, they let you talk to Gil's consciousness directly: he's pretty out of it, but claims that he's happy where he is and doesn't want to leave. You don't buy it and decide to rescue him anyway. Us alters the dream to make Gil's alter ego ("Dream Gil") into Claudia's family friend.
Because the dream altered, you're back to thinking you're Claudia, and you coerce Dream Gil into becoming your mischief accomplice. You attempt to sabotage the health & safety inspections, but discover that the inspectors have already come and gone. Meanwhile, Claudia feels watched, and manages to look inside her mind to discover... you, Charlotte Fawkins. You're inside of her. Claudia assumes you're a manifestation of the Wyrm, which you deny, and you discuss pagan lore (apparently the Wyrm has a "dead eye," and hell is inside the sun?) and Iceover info (apparently there's a suspiciously dangerous-sounding beauty pageant?) before growing frustrated at her unwillingness to cooperate with you. The red stuff feeds off your frustration, and you may or may not transform into a lizard-type nightmare monster. You definitely do suck Claudia into yourself, fusing her with your own mind.
You snap out of it, discovering that you can now keep up the "Claudia" persona while remaining completely lucid. Very little time has passed. As "Claudia," you decide to investigate the beauty pageant, which is hours away-- but its contestants are housed on a private lodge on the beach. You and Dream Gil go find Horse Face again, since he's buddies with Dream Gil and, as a reporter, can help with plausibly bluffing your way inside.
Inside the lodge, you discover that there's five contestants, any of whom could be Pat-- and they're under a vow of silence, so you can't go around asking. Undeterred, you solve a logic puzzle and deduce that Pat is the depressed one in the pool room. She's lost all hope of surviving Management and is irritated to see you, but you extract her unwilling promise to help, then go off to magyck Management.
