Goshawk | Ep. 26

0:00Greetings, listeners, and welcome back to The White Vault Gos-Hawk. 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?

0:38Right 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 Vault's 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 foolandscholar. Now we return again to the chill of the white vault. Starting or growing your own business can be intimidating and lonely at times.

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3:33No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no.

3:50Only... One way... With light. Just do it!

4:32Other way.

5:01The White Vault Goshunk

5:25Thank you.

5:58We'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.

6:27That 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.

7:10If it just checked the cave, we're lucky we got here so late. It shouldn't come back for a while. Maybe. Hopefully.

7:37When 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 bugs. Kinda. Cardians, go now. These things are... Yeah, yeah, okay, let's go. Give me a second.

8:15Hold on to the rock face. Once I get up, I can help you up. It's not far. It's not 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.

8:47You've seen those bugs before? Long ago. Lucky. Never seen them move. Sorry about I'm going to pull you up. How are you feeling? Right. Let's get to somewhere safe. Safer, and then I'll look for Adele.

9:14I can't... Wait, I have a light.

9:25I 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 Ify. We're here at the door, can you hear me? It's me, Ify. The real Ify. Stop!

10:03Yeah, 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.

10:21We'll head further in still. Find a place with a bit of cover. Kid Light knows where she is, and we'll just have to wait for him. Dragona? Oh, fuck, not again. Um... Not here. Not now. No. Get in the goddamn tarp. Why are you so heavy?

11:00Liked it better when you helped.

11:05What's there?

11:11I'm not gonna happen.

11:40Get 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.

11:59I 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. Now I'm going to get all the stuff to the back of Cairo.

12:23Oh, he's here. Right. Yes. Hello, are you Ben? 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. Please. Is something wrong? Yes, but also maybe... no? I'm not sure yet. I'll tell you later, in private.

13:00Certainly 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 Elvin's daughter. 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.

13:48I'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, as 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.

14:34I 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.

14:54Right. 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.

15:41Do 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 the crow flies, but we aren't crows.

16:29Let 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. that runs here, along the St. John River. Now, Old River will eventually move away from the river and head west. Follow it, because you're going for a route that will ensure that you get there instead of ending up with you and the snowmobiles in a ditch.

17:21A 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.

18:09Should 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 Priestly 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.

19:04This is very helpful. Thank you. And thank you again for securing the supplies in such short notice. You kidding me? Your company, or assistant, or whoever it was paid enough to cover my whole spring season. 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.

19:48They'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. Kuske, 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.

20:35Are you all on our side? I lost my mask on here and now I got to follow the Taoist

20:57These, we're over here. Ah.

21:06Got 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 gonna get any better, so you should kick off soon.

21:56Good 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? Kvitmist wanted me to come here too. And she was still in Iceland. I think that this was their plan. With or without you and me. I think we're going to need it.