Greetings, listeners, and welcome back to The White Vault, Gosshawk. I'm K.A. Stats, writer and creator of The White Vault, co-founder of Fool and Scholar Productions, and personal spokesperson for our Patreon. Our company is tiny, independent, and almost entirely funded by listeners, so if you find value in the stories we tell, please consider checking out our Patreon. You are what makes us possible, and in the world of large companies and podcasting giants, we endure. If you are listening to this episode before February 2026, you have an interesting possibility ahead of you. What if you could bring home a piece of our horrors? Right now, on our Patreon, supporters are signing up for our tantalizing Guardian Tier, a level of support for fans who feel the frightening pull of tangible terrors. This year, to mark the end of the White Vault, we're conspiring with talented European craftsmen to build Guardian statuettes. versions of the white vaults dark unsettling creatures in their frozen form for you to bring into your home as always to learn more click on the link in the show notes or go to patreon.com slash fool and scholar now we return again to the chill of the white vault oh please not that music that music gives me nightmares from my childhood could we get something a little bit lighter, some lighter music here. Are you a fan of true crime TV shows? And what about Unsolved Mysteries, the show that jumpstarted all of our love of true crime? I'm Ellen Marsh. And I'm Joey Taranto. And we host I Think Not, a true crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime campy TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries. Baby, you will laugh, you will cry, you'll think about true crime in a whole new way and you'll also ask yourself who gave these people mics? New episodes of I Think Not are released every Wednesday with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon. And every Monday you can listen to our True Crime Rundown where we go over the top true crime headlines of the week. So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcasts. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not-so-dark not-so-stormy hard spoiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming. Follow Sonic and the intrepid Chaotix detective agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying, action-packed adventure will take them across the world, fighting for every clue they can find. It's one heck of a tale, which is good, because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all, I can just dispose of you. Wait, what? All will be revealed in... Sonic the Hedgehog presents The Chaotix Case Files. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. The Chaotix are on the case. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. Only... One way. With light. Just do it. Other way. The White Vault, Goshak. Thank you. We're nearly there. You said I'd have to help you up the entrance, but you didn't say we'd have to climb a few feet. Shit. Hide. What? Hide. That thing's nearly two stories tall. How... how are we... It's not even possible to kill those things, is it? Adele. Adele isn't there. No blood. What? What? Yeah. If it had found her, we would have tried to take her to the lake, or at least have some blood on it, so... Maybe it didn't find her. Come on, let's just get up there and out of the storm. If it just checked the cave, we're lucky we got here so late. It shouldn't come back for a while. Maybe. Hopefully. When it sighs, it probably can't get to wherever she's hiding. Ow! What the hell? Rocks falling from the sky now. Wait. No. Don't touch. They're rocks. Kinda. Cardans, go now. These things are... Yeah, yeah, okay, let's go. Give me a second. Hold on to the rock face. Once I get up, I can help you up. It's not far. You sound like him. Yeah, I'm sure he'd also be pissed that he got stabbed. Hold on. Sorry, this is going to hurt. I know You've seen those bugs before? Long ago. Lucky. Never seen them move. Sorry about having to pull you up. How are you feeling? Right. Let's get to somewhere safe. Safer, and then I'll look for Adele. I can't... Wait, I have a light. I think it's bad. We'll need to get further in, and then we can rest. I'm sorry. Just stay awake, please. Look. That must be the door. The one kidnapped Adele behind. Rest here a second. Adele? Adele, it's Iffy. We're here at the door. Can you hear me? It's me, Iffy. The real Iffy. Stop. Yeah, I can't get it open. Maybe it's not the right one. But if it is, then it doesn't look like the creature went in either. She's in here. Somewhere. We'll head further in still. Find a place with a bit of cover. Kid Light knows where she is We'll just have to wait for him Dragona? Oh fuck, not again Not here Not now, no Get from the goddamn tarp Why are you so heavy? I liked it better when you helped. Keep the box. What's there? They're not going to stop us. I'm not going to happen. Get ready for the cold. We got the good gear, right? We'll find out soon enough. It's whatever was available. High price or not. I don't see any damage from that problem we had. That's good. Can you open the trunk? We'll need the packs we ordered, and then we can switch some of the stuff over from the suitcases. He's here. Right. Yes. Hello. Are you banned? Sure am. Not many tourists out here right about now, so you must be my customers. Let's get on inside and talk business out of this snow. Sounds good. Thank you. Right, behind you. This... something wrong? Yes, but... also maybe... no? I'm not sure yet. I'll tell you later, in private. Certainly better in here than out there. Though we don't have the heat on too high. I'm Ben Libby. Ben's fine. Good to meet you in person. Must be Mr. Karsuki Iwai. Yes, nice to meet you. Thank you for arranging everything on such short notice. This is my associate, Dees Elvenstrotter. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your help, Bunt. Not getting much, if any, inquiries this time of year. Certainly not in this storm. Which means I'm going to try one more time to convince you both not to go out there. We already got one young kid this season lost out in this snow. Thank you for your concern. But I'm afraid we can't be suede. I'm sure the snowmobiles aren't cheap, so we'll try and get them back to you without issue. Oh, I'm not all too worried about that. Mr. EY here's paid to buy them outright. Same for the gear. It's yours now, far as I'm concerned. Just don't like trying to sleep thinking of two tourists freezing out in the woods. Now, you said you know where you're wanting to head out to. So let me see those coordinates. I got maps here, and I know the area. So even if I can't convince you to stay put, I can at least show you a good path. More so in this shit. Thank you for your concern. That would be very helpful. I have the coordinates here. All right. Let me get the maps. And I added a detailed local map pack to the gear you ordered. GPS is great and all, but in this weather, best to have something in your hands. Right. Your assistant already sent over all the signed paperwork and identification for you, Mr. EY. Don't need much from your associate, since she's not the one buying the gear. But I'm guessing you also know how to ride. Yes, my family owns several snowmobiles back in Iceland. Iceland, eh? Well, guess you're not too off-put by this cold, then. Good to hear. Now, where we are here is already where most people consider nowhere, and you're heading even further out than that. Most of the roads you see marked on the map can't rightly be considered roads, not in the winter, and they've certainly not seen a snowplow since this storm. Do you still think we can make it out there? Well, with what I told you, sure. Those snowmobiles may be a couple years old, but they're still great models built for Maine winters. Wouldn't have bought them otherwise. Other thing here is, you can see on the map these circles indicating roads that have become impassable, or bridges that have gone down. Thankfully, most of it's frozen over by now. So if the bridge is out, just check the ice before going over. Snowmobiles were the right choice, then. It's not as far as I had worried. Looks like about 40 miles as a crow flies, but we aren't crows. Let me see. That's about 60, 65 kilometers for you guys. The land route will take a bit longer with a few more twists and turns. Right. This is us here, west of the Allagash, right off Rapid Road. You head a piece down the road, and it'll turn into this, that's Irving. Now, you won't stay on this Irving long at all, just until you get to Old River Road. It runs here, along the St. John River. Now Old River will eventually move away from the river and head west Follow it because you going for a route that will ensure that you get there instead of ending up with you and the snowmobiles in a ditch A preferable outcome. I think so. Now here, at this cross-section, start looking for a safe heading south and for a good place to cross the stream. It should be frozen, but the terrain can be steep. Eventually, you'll want to meet up with another Irving rod. roughly about here. Most of these are trail roads or logging roads, some camp roads, not plowed, like I said, but generally clearer and flatter than going through the woods. Irving will turn into escort, and when you go about 16 or so kilometers before crossing the big Black River. That's here. Escort continues on the other side of the bridge. Should be a straight, flat, easy stretch. Great for getting in some speed. All the way to here. Take Escort as far south as it will go before it takes a hard turn west. But don't go west. Instead, take the small hiking trail south from there and get on to the St. John River after the Priestly Rapids. Again, be smart. Check the ice. I'll leave that to your discretion. You'll be the ones out there. If you feel like you can take the ice, maybe. Otherwise, hug the bank. About half a kilometer past where Priestley Brook lets into the river, get off and look for Boulevard Road. Keep taking that one south, and it'll get you as close as any road will take you. This is very helpful, thank you. And thank you again for securing the supplies on such short notice. You kidding me? Your company, or assistant, or whoever it was paid enough to cover my whole spring season. and just don't go dying on us out there. Bad luck when the high roller tourists die off. And like I said, be smart about it. I can't vouch for what's accessible out there, but I wish you the best. You take this one, too. Always good to have a backup. And this one's got my scribbles. Now, these are your packs. They've got some of the gear in them already, and the rest is already strapped to the snowmobiles. They're fully gassed up, and there's an extra two gallons each for you, too. If you're ready, they're this way. I'll show you to the garage. Koshkir, go ahead. I'll take the packs and get what we need from the car. I'll meet you back there. Good. Here are the keys. Then, I'll leave the SUV keys with you when we leave. I don't know where to park it, Mr. Larkin. Are you all on our side? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We're over here. Ah. Got everything you need? Got everything you need? From the car, yes. Though for the trip, that's more a question for you. Everything your man here asked for, and a bit more. I can't think of anything you're missing, except a bit of common sense. Everything is here, and the gear will suffice. In all luck. With all luck? Either way, we hope to not be out there for too long. Oh, Ben. On the drive over from Presque Isle, there were some shady characters along the road. Seems others are out and about in this storm. Not with good intentions. Really? Out in this shitstorm? Well, stay careful out there, all right? Now, the weather's not going to get any better, so you should kick off soon. Good idea. Here's the car key. And here's your snowmobile key. Yours is yellow. I'll get the garage open. Hey, you look startled. Are you okay with this? I can still go out alone if you change your mind. No, I'm fine. Though, it seems we are taking more help with us than we previously thought. There were more artifacts in my bag than when I packed in Cairo. A lot more. They must have come with us from the conference. But how did they know we were going here? Cleetmist wanted me to come here too and she was still in Iceland I think that this was their plan without you and me I think we're convenient Alright, time's now Get geared and stat him up Good luck out there Let's go halo uh Oh, my God. No. No. No. No. This can't be happening. This can't happen. Paul? Someone? Dracana, why you gotta be so fucking heavy? Not happening. And they said not to listen. So I'm... I'm not going to. And if you are more than a voice, then either come out to kill me or help me frag this damn char. Hmm? Another one of these. You're different from that other one. What? Why? Why? What is it? talk to me now I'm going insane this is all insane Tricana please wake up you're supposed to be rescuing me remember because I can do this alone rescuing people isn my thing and I still have to find Adele Adele Mika. Is there any truth to it? That I don't deserve what I have? It's all... Inherited. What have I done for myself? You're not breathing. You've got to breathe, Dragana. Come on, he's in... Where is... Come on, Dragana. That's better. Someone... Here. Let me go. Stop moving! I'm... Not him. Not him. Shh. It is me. So stop moving or you're never going to get out. You're just sinking further. Stop. If I'm a monster, you die. If I leave you alone, you die. I can breathe. Hey, shh. I really am. Yes. Ow! You locked me in a fucking cave. You left me! I know, I'm sorry. But you're alive, so it worked. Now let's get out of here. Ow! Come on! There was something here. I thought I was gonna die. I fell into a hole, and I couldn't see, and I couldn't breathe. I'm sorry, but can you go back and tell me what you meant by there was something here? I just opened the door. It was still locked the way I locked it. I would have... No one would have found my body. I'm sorry, again, really. But it did its job. You did exactly what you were supposed to and hid from those things in here. It's good. You're good. Fuck you! I should have been able to do this! get myself out of this. I'm so sick of relying on others. If I did better, maybe me God... Andel, you're a kid. A literal calendrical child. You're not supposed to deal with shit like this on your own. Or at all, really. And yeah, I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this. And I'm sorry that the safer option was you getting locked in this mine. But I'm not sorry you're alive. There's plenty of time left for you to figure out how to deal with this shit yourself once you grow up So let's make sure you get that far How long does it take to grow up? I'd say about mid-thirties And then you'll still be lying to yourself half the time Kid Kid, lad, you're bleeding Shh, I know It's just a scrape from a fall. It's not too bad, and I'd rather not mess with it until we find the others. Come on. Stop. You make too much noise with the ice glades. Right. I forgot to take them off. There are fresh footprints in the main cave. Large prints with claws. One of those things came in the cave, but didn't go past the gate. I rushed in when I saw them outside. Let me get the crampons off. and you need to explain what you saw or heard earlier. There was a light. Is a light. You can see it. I went toward it, but it was just rocks. Light coming through rocks. That's not great. More like the rocks were glowing from inside. But at one point, there was a tunnel or a passage or similar, and I heard something like an animal. So I turned around to go back where I came from. But when the light dulled too much, I couldn't get my light to turn back on. It still won't. See? What? I swear it wasn't working before. I believe you. The light from the stones can fluctuate, and so does the radius of the power out of this. The what? Never mind. Then I found another passage, the one you took to get here just now, and it split in two. The other way was like a pit of bones and animal remains. Like when vultures tear things apart. I freaked out and ran here instead. But I didn't know it dropped down like that. And I fell and I thought... Thank you. You're welcome. And good to know. I'm concerned about the pit of remains since your description makes it sound fresh. I did smell rot back the way we came. and where we're going back out. So we'll be careful and quiet. Now let's get out of here. And no more hitting me. The White Vault. Gosshawk. Written and created by K.A. Stats. Co-created, produced, and directed with Foley by Travis Fengroff. With script editing by W.K. Stats. Co-directed with dialogue editing by Hreger Römer. with sound design, mixing, and mastering by Finner Nielsen, and executive producers Carol Vengroff, Maiko Villegas, Dennis Greenhill, and A.J. Punkin. Starring Lauren Tucker, Hildur Magnusdolter, Marcy Edwards, Tanya Milojevic, Louise Cruz, Daisuke Tsuji, Finner Nielsen, and special guest Tim Sample. For access to bonus episodes, early episodes, and ad-free episodes, visit patreon.com slash foolandscholar and support this show and its creators. This is a Fool and Scholar production. Thank you for listening. 327 episodes And though we have seen, of course, every episode Many times, we figured, hey Now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again And we can't do that alone So we're inviting the cast and crew That made the show along for the ride We've got writers, producers Composers, directors And we'll of course have some actors on as well Including some certain guys That played some certain Pretty iconic brothers It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible. The note from Kripke was, he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Duchovny type. With 15 seasons to explore, it's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes. So please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now. of social change, sex scandals, and maybe the worst king in British history. And on the Vulgar History podcast, we're going to be looking at the balls, the gowns, and all the scandal of the Regency era. Vulgar History is a women's history podcast, and our Regency era series will be focusing on the most rebellious women of this time. That includes Jane Austen herself, who is maybe more radical than you might have thought. We'll also be talking about queer icons like Anne Lister, scientists like Mary Anning and Ada Lovelace, as well as other scandalous actresses, royal mistresses, rebellious princesses, and other lesser-known figures who made history happen in England in the Regency era. Listen to Vulgar History wherever you get podcasts.
