Previously on the Atomless
Azan, he-
Ike! She-
Uh, my name's Thiriyak
What's up? My name's Sky! Welcome to the patchwork, my dudes!
Everyone, welcome to WildTams
You are trying to merchandise the organisms? The specimens?
Sometimes foundations need to change for something to grow
Do you ever think that your foundations just don't fit anymore?
Kiskak, you see Lorik, who is one of the board members
Thank- thank god, um, I didn't know if you'd be here in time
I don't know what is happening to the park, but things are weird
I don't think Kiskak went on holiday at all
And then there is a shot that rings out as this purple energy is sucked out of Lorik's head
And they fall down, and this huge bolt of energy shoots out and hits all five of you
And slowly begin to shrink
You hear a doof doof doof as you look to your side
Where the slug was held in an electric cage
And this now humongous slug lurches forward
You see a large rat
The rat, it's firm, matted, and slightly burnt
The top part of its head is metallic, coming down into this one point that looks like a camera
Which has been implanted into this rat's head
The constant exhaled breath of computer fans' focus
The screen on the experiment bay
The unwavering eyes try to focus on the board member that was shot down
And then the co-founder and crew that were shrunk
Uploading, one percent complete
A spined rodent shivers at its surroundings
And uses its eye stalks to peer out at the room beyond the glass in front of it
A thin black wire connects a console to a helmet on its head
Fifteen percent uploaded
It wasn't optimal
They think on their uncharacteristically impulsive decision
Twenty-five percent uploaded
But first, punishment for crimes called mistakes
Fifty percent uploaded
Perspective needs to be obtained
And the dream of progress can continue
Seventy-five percent uploaded
But before that dream can come to pass
Eighty percent uploaded
Secrets still need to be revealed
Ninety percent uploaded
Truths need to be uncovered
Ninety-five percent uploaded
And those punishments need to be given
Upload failed
Source of the upload has been removed
We cut back to these two scenes that are playing out
With our tiny patchwork crew
Theriac and Skye at the shrink ray port
Theriac on Skye's skateboard in front of the nozzle that will grow or shrink the subjects
Skye at the console which is far, far larger than they are trying to figure out
How to switch shrink to grow and grow Theriac back to normal size
An electrified cage that holds one of the slugs that you all found on Leviathan's eye switches off
And the slug slowly pours itself out of the cage and crawls towards Skye
And under the experiment chamber where the excess fluids from the charge of the shrink ray
flowed and have corroded this copper pipe
A rat attempting to hide in darkness but with this metal plate imprinted on their head
A light hanging like an anglerfish's lamp above them lighting their way for a camera that seems to be centered in its forehead
Ike with their hand out holding a block of cheese that has been eaten
Azam sickened by the toxic waste that flows throughout this pipe that Scrap and Ike have been able to offset
Since they are used to a slightly more toxic environment because of where they are, where they hail from, which is the lower decks of Saga
Ike casting a spell misread the amount of power that they had sparked part of the rat's brain that made it go slightly feral
Can everybody roll me initiative? Please!
Let's go!
Unfortunately the rat did roll the highest with this slight spell that went off
And it's going to go for a bite
It's going to try and bite you immediately
That's a 28 against your KAC which I believe hits
It does a little bit
This isn't that bad, that's 7 damage to your stamina as it strikes out at you
It looks like it's very worked up at the minute so it's just trying to lash out at you
But that's all it's doing this turn, that's it, Azam it is you
I'm assuming we don't want to hurt it
I don't
I'm going to rush up to it and I'm going to try and give it a little pet
Okay
This is combat basically
Yeah that's actually incredible
Okay so that's going to be survival, so we're going to do that
So this is as a move action you can use your survival to improve the attitude of an animal with the intelligence of a score 1 or 2
Which is this
You are using your move action to do this
Yeah so I basically like, I was very close to Ike to begin with
I reach up and as I like walk closer I say
We are not here to hurt you
We're not here to fight you
We're not even here to disturb your day, we're just wondering what the light is
And in like in a very soothing Azam voice
He just says, please we don't want to fight you
That is an unnatural 20
A genetically modified 20
A bio-act 20
I like this
It's like
Of it's like flailing like calms as you try to like calm it down
It still counts as hostile
But it is like not flailing wildly
You know it's not like enraged
It's just like it still is treating everyone like a threat
But not like I'm gonna fucking kill everyone here
Can I observe the eye patch computer chip to see if it's possible to remove it
Absolutely, this is going to be the final action in your turn
Which is an engineering
18?
You overseeing it
Not removing it, specifically this isn't removing it
But this is seeing if it can be removed
You see a small rectangle above this like robotic eye
Which is like kind of in like the crown of it's head
You see a very thin line that you can assume is like a micro SD
Given enough force because of how small you are you could push it down and it would release this chip
I motion one hand towards Scrap because I know that Ike's busy
And I point to the card and I make a motion to push
While I'm like shh shh shh you're a good rat
They give you a little nod, they have their pistol out
There's a little robot that is like flying next to them
It has like a small little pistol
Just like a small disk with a fan and there's like a little pistol in it
He was in combat mode and now he's like ah ok, perfect
Ike!
Yes
It's your turn
You can tell me what we like to do
I just want to try to figure out what exactly
The camera or light or whatever it is
I want to find out exactly what it's doing
Absolutely, is there a spell that you're casting along with this or is this just a
I think I'm going to forgo any spells
And just try to
Now that it's not thrashing about I figure I can look at it a little bit closely
Perfect
So you want to tell what this camera thing is doing to it
Is this like you want to hack into it to try to see
Or you'd like to just give a more passive
No I guess I do want to hack into it a little bit
And I just want to say we're very stressed out
What are you doing? What is this?
And I yell it at the camera not at the rat
Ok then roll me a computers to hack system
Who? 29
Oh beautiful
As you like follow this thread to this camera
It doesn't seem to be technologically advanced enough to give you like a proper response
But you hear a whirring like a classic
Like think that 1940s film camera like
Like something is being recorded
Ok if I look
Can I garner just the general direction of where the thread is going to
It's like recording because I don't know if I know this but it's recording onto the SD card
It would have to go to here so it's not like the other situation
It's purely recording onto this
Ok that's it that's all I do
Scrap's turn now
The pair of you here the low whirring of Scrap's little drone
So do you want me to try and take the thing out of its head
So Scrap is going to try to do an engineering roll
As the drone flies off to like it's now this little drone
The pistol that it was carrying moves into like the main system of this
Imagine this drone is like it's like a frisbee it's like a disc
But the main center bit has this little fan that's spinning real fast
This pistol that was on attack mode forms back up into it
And then a little like not screwdriver but very like precise pinpoint pops out
This is also a different drone to what you saw Scrap using earlier
Scrap seems to have a whole Batman's utility belt of little drones and little things that they can use
The drone very slowly moves this point toward the little slot to try and push the card in
But as it does it seems to it just doesn't have enough weight to do the push in unlock
So it just the drone just kind of like flies backward a little bit
And that sudden movement of the drone like hitting this small point into the rat's head and then flying back
That sudden motion makes the rat like scream a little and then and then get more onto fours where it's now like more wildly looking
It seems to be angered a little bit more as he felt that roll
As you all are attempting rat SD card surgery
We are going to move on over to the experiment room
Theriac sits on top of a flying skateboard about equivalent of about 50 foot in the air
But it's really only like maybe one or two foot into the nozzle of this of this shrink ray
Sky is at this giant giant console and this big old slug is like is crawling its way toward toward the two of you
Sky I am hoping to direct the skateboard so that it can pick me up like Aladdin jumping on the magic carpet
And we can like meet in the middle and just go you know and you're just are you just trying to just like get the hell out of dodge
I'm getting chased by a giant slug. Yes, please. It isn't like a hard roll since your your skateboard is literally built for speed
I will say with both of you on it at the same time its movement is halved so it is convinced
It's pretty slow since mechanically can't really work with two people on it
But theory act is teeny tiny enough that is able to pick them up you you pull your skateboard around
I'm just so I'm I'm 30 and the skateboard is 30 so we can meet in the middle. Oh, yes, you will have to meet in the middle
That's true. Yeah, it would look cooler that way. So I'm not upset about that. Okay, there we go
So you take off sprinting down the console theory act?
There's this sudden jolt as the skateboard moves itself on its own accord
And then sky hop and then lands on it as a like jumping on a moving train
Is there anything else you'd like to do since that was just your that was your drones full turn and your movement?
Yeah, I'm looking at the I finally found the class traits that we were talking about
I don't think if I can comprehend what's going on in those large blocks of text
I don't think we actually are breaking any rules. So can I do it? Yeah, you can do it. Yeah, okay, so sky
Hops on a skateboard and I imagine it wobbles a bit like a Star Trek ship and we're like whoa
And she's going to start taking grenades out of her pocket and laying them down on the skateboard
putting a screwdriver in her mouth and being like
Theory act, you know the like chemical compound that you use on the wild time animals to make them less aggressive
Yes, I'm gonna need you to walk me through that real fast
And I'm taking I'm cracking open the grenades and taking pieces out and taking test tubes out of the back pocket of my cargo pants
And I'm just starting to assemble things on the skateboard as it's flying away. Ah
Okay. So do you see these two?
Identical looking of aisles that are in these syringes. Yes. Okay. These are very different. The one is an inhibitor and one is
I forgot the word. Uh, what the what is it called?
Explanations more putting things together
Each one and either enhances or un enhances different aspects of the creature
Or I've been using them on people too, which I don't know about the scientific ramifications of the
Do you want to help it or hurt it?
I want it to befriend me. Okay. I want it to be less aggressive
Okay, well this requires 10 minutes we can cut away
You're welcome to continue this RP on theory act if you
Theory act also has a turn right? Uh huh. Yeah, like during your turn, which is right now. Well
I suppose if we are trying to have it to friend us, we should use the inhibitor
So that way it's less inclined to aggressive behaviors. Yes.
I don't love I don't love that friend platonic bomb. Sure.
A friend bomb friend bomb and will hand
How many do I have? I need to double check that real quickly my class features. How many do I have?
Oh, you don't need you don't need to use anything. I can make a I can make out of nothing a custom grenade
Each each day pretty much and I can make as many as of those as I basically as
As often as I attack so I just want to put theory act in the position where they have to pass on their problematic
Knowledge to the next generation. Oh
No, not
Not cultural hand be downs. Brilliant
So sky you can have you can count that as your grenade is being built since it is it's supposed to be at the beginning of the day
But like we're allowing the grace of the fact you didn't know you're gonna get shrunk today. I picture she's like assembling it
Something almost falls off the skateboard and she reaches down and grabs it without stopping. Oh, oh, I just had a spark
um, and well, uh very quickly fashion a
Fusion of the inhibitor and the booster into one shot and then it's gonna try and fire it at the slug
How's it 21 a 21?
Okay, great. I do you do a hit?
Yeah
Little little guy takes big little guy takes for damage
Piercing damage I should say
Increasingly the damage it takes from one energy type of your choice
Do this piercing work for you? Moe sure
minor inhibitor a
Negative one penalty to attack rolls for number of rounds able to three plus my ability score
Which I think is for seven rounds and then for the booster
Target games plus four bonus only on the next saving throw that attempts against the drug or poison
So maybe I shouldn't have done that
Okay, so it gets plus four to the next saving throw for against drug or poison or a drug or poison
Okay, which is very dangerous since I'm pretty sure that's exactly what's happening is is a drug. Okay, perfect
That's that's you you fire this
Combination of inhibitor and booster it took into this slug and this little potion goes goes into it
Oh
That's I should have done that. Oh
Why shouldn't you have done that? I gave it resistance to drugs. Oh
Why would you give it resistance to drugs?
You are the smartest person I've ever met but you work so poorly under pressure
I know that's why I'm having a bad time
Gotta get a couple chips on your shoulder or this could be real rough
As the two of you are yelling this slug
Turns to you both on the skateboard flying and then like you can see
These two spindly little ice stalks on the top on the top of its head watching as this skateboard flies away and it goes
yeah, and this big glob of this
thick fluid flies out of this
immediate created mouth that it that it made just like a slug, you know, they have those weird mouths and
flies toward the skateboard can both of you make a reflex save
please as
this thick glob
Hits the skateboard and the skateboard immediately stops as it is captured in glue and starts falling
Toward the the table like it is trapped
22 22 hell yes
six
six as this as this huge glob of this like
Flemmy gross fluid is flying toward you the theory like you you get you can say whether you
depthly
Jump out the way because the skateboard hasn't taken off the ground very far yet or
you
Get up in shock and then stumble and fall off the skateboard as this big Flemmy fluid
Yes, the absent mind of professor one. Yes that one you get up in shock and then stumble like you lose your footing
lose the balance that you had and
fall off onto the table as
sky and the skateboard are
Captured by this this fluidic substance both of you both of your speeds are zero
theory like you dodged out the way of it and
Sky as you are trapped in this fluid from this slug you feel a slight
Burning on your hands on one of your hands, which is trapped inside. Can you make me a will save?
15
Your mind is cast back to where you found this slug on the Leviathan's eye
these
hundreds of zombies who had these slugs attached to their minds and
you feel like
There is something in this fluid that is trying to get you out of the way
That is trying to get into your bloodstream
You have avoided corruption
For now you do however take four acids damage. We're gonna cut over the sewers
The rat
With this unsuccessful attempt to like get the SD card out of its head this like quite aggressive tap that scraps droid drone had it
screeches and I
specifically you hear this like a whirring of like a burning of a tape as
all of this
This like almost EMP pulse comes from an overactivity of fear in this little rat's mind as arm I can you
Give me a reflex check as there's this small like of energy that explodes out
Before you make that check the Zom says watch out you have a plus two bonus to that saving for ah
That is good
Commander shit
Because my role was not great. So let me see plus two you said so plus
12
15
Even with Azam's command you're not sure what it is, but diving out the way this this small
burst of energy boof still hits you
you I take
12 damage and
Azam you take six that is that that is the rats turn as arm it is you can't do an athletics check to remove that SD card
You know what athletics is all about like strength stuff
I'm down for you sprinting up toward it and trying to like push this thing and I think that's really cool. Yes, you can yeah, so I
Run forward like I skip out of the way. I almost get hit
And then I immediately turn to face it run forward maybe like put a foot on one of its legs to push me high enough
to
22 you do exactly as you describe you you you sprint up to it
You like jump off one of its legs use its its little rat nose as like a small bit of like leverage as you
Push it down and it's like slam the top of its head
You feel the in click of this micro SD card and then the
It comes out and you're a it is very big for you
It is still like a double hander, but it is out the rat is still up. This didn't seem to have damaged it
But it has seemed to have
disrupted
the
Mechanical things that are going on in it you you put it out
It is a two-hander
So you until you like put it down or give it to like scrap or whoever you won't be able to like do
Anything that requires hands, but you you take out this SD card the abilities of this rat seem to have lessened quite dramatically
I get is you now that the
Chip is out
I'm gonna try to calm the rat again
Literally just gonna like make myself smaller than I already am and they get like
low to the ground just be like
Everything is fine. Here's more cheese
You know
Okay, can you send me a voice clip of you saying that so I can listen to it when I have a bad day
Everything is fine
Just more cheese. Yes, it is calmed down more it like
shocked with this
Relief that seems to be in in its head. I you feel the threat like not snap
But lesser there is still technology on its head
It's just slightly powered off in the minute as arm grabs this card and then you feel it like calm
You pull out the cheese and then it's like it's again. It is still a little bit hostile
But it's far more neutral. It's not going to attack if you don't it is just a it's it's hostile in terms of the fact that it is
A it's scared since you've all come in and then started like batting it on the head
Which is quite scary for quite alarming for many things
And I just I just say to his arm this is working and I don't think that we have to hurt it at all
Scrap after you like release the micro SD from its head is going to sprint
Over to you and then be like come on give give give give give and then like
Open up their their arms for you to pass over the the SD do you do you do that?
Of course I do and then is going to
After running up towards you is going to use the rest of their movements
They only use 20 to run back to the drone. I'm holding this this SD your hands are free
As is Ike's and since then that is all done. We're gonna move
Back on over to team slug
Team slug
Sky you
Are you and your skateboarder currently trapped in this big thick goop that you?
Can't seem to to move in
Movement is completely zero and you can feel
this
natural
Corruption that this slug emanates is is
Attempting to infect you it is your turn. Okay. I imagine we're not I'm starting to think 10 minutes is a very long time
That's like three MCR songs. I don't know if we're gonna have enough time
I'm giving you the grace of like the 10 minutes just isn't there the 10 minutes was you spent
Because you didn't know it was combat today and I respect that like you spent your time on the patchwork before you came into wild times
90 building this grenade you just needed the ax a little bit to like pop in and the grenade is aww
Thank you. Okay
Um do what can I spend an action trying to get my hand out of the goop?
You're fully in the goop your your head and hand is almost the only thing that's not in the goop
You're like completely encased like you are as is your skateboard
Which is now currently all like a glob of snot like glued to the table. You can try and wrestle your way out. Yes, can I?
So, you know how we talked about earlier that sci-fi is just like
It's more fun when it's just magic and things don't have to scientifically make sense
I'm gonna do something there is there is actual magic in this universe. I is magical
That is that is true, but I am about to do something where it's like
I don't know if this is how this works, but it is a fun little way to think outside the box
So we're all here to have fun. Let's go sky is swimming in the goop
And she's got her grenade. She's gonna put
Her gas mask on and her goggles take out of one of her cargo short pockets a smoke grenade and
Pull the thing in the hopes that the smoke will like
I don't know if that's how that works, but I just think it'd be fun. I'm like
Like I'm trying to like you're trying to blow yourself out of the thing
Out of this not
Take out of this not maybe it'll make oh you want to let ice because you want to make like a little pocket like a
Like an air bubble basically, right? Yeah. Yeah smoke will like fill up enough that the guy like
Okay
Here's how here's how this is gonna work. You're you're trying to make a sonic air bubble
In this in this pile of goo
You are then going to try and wiggle out. I imagine you can roll me
Because the normal roll is an acrobatics or athletics to try and
Wiggle your way out and you can roll me this with advantage
Because you're using one of your smoke grenades to make this small pocket
22 is the highest you pop this smoke this smoke grenade
You like shove your free hand into the into the goop and then it and then makes a pocket big enough
that you can like wiggle out of as you
Scramble out you can see that the goop is like and like quickly closing in like you've parted the seas for a second, but
They're all gonna collapse in and and trap you even further a bubble in pudding you crawl out
You can try to get your skateboard out also
But it's gonna require you to reach a hand back in and try to pull it out skateboard. Yeah, reach reach for my board
All right. This is gonna be
another acrobatics
Actually, no, this is gonna be a sleight of hand
It's gonna be a sleight of hand
But if you fail this the dc is gonna be 15 if you fail this
You are gonna be still in the goop skateboard is like my child or you can just leave never leave skateboard behind
That's a six
You you put your hand back in
And you try you like fully grasp skateboard and you pull slightly
But can't I control skateboard with my mind? Can't I also like you can but it's like stuck in the goop
It's like trying to wiggle but it's fully in jelly
And as you try and pull it out you pull it out like halfway and then it collapses back in and traps your arm again
As it and then captures your arm. Can you make me another will save please?
Isn't going very good for me. I'm so sorry. It's okay. Oh 21 you again
feel the bubbling of this acid is trying to get inside of your
Bloodstream to corrupt you but is unable to and you take two damage as it's just still just burning on you slightly
Firiak you're out. You're free. You just watched sky try to grab the skateboard the glute
We recaptured them as they were trying to get their skateboard. The slug is still there is weakened and is
Slowly making his way toward you. Okay
Oh boy sky yeah
Expose your forearms real quick working on it and then we'll load up another booster and just gonna
uh with it with a basic booster which is
You're gonna get plus one enhancement bonus to ac plus two enhancement bonus to all skill checks plus 10 foot enhancement bonus to their speed
Whoa?
Andre give me a second here
Okay, you've gained 10 feet of speed yet
Plus two to all skill checks. You have plus one to your ac and that lasts four rounds
I feel fast
Thank you. Thank you
That's what i'm here for and then we'll oh god. Okay, I need to find a way. Oh
How to subject myself to and then we'll uh stick themselves just willingly with with a needle
the slug very slowly
Approach you as it sees its little trapped prey we because it's at the bottom of the round
I'm gonna head on over back to rat gang
Do you rep do you rep the rat is going to i'm actually is going to use its full turn as it calms
Like it breathes and it's gonna edge its head out a little bit. It's gonna sniff the cheese
And that's its whole turn
It's on edge, but it's sniffing the cheese good as um, what you like to do
You see we're friends we didn't want to hurt you we just had to get that thing out of you
Don't worry and like I extend with our
very warm hands out
And then gently gonna like pat it snooped
would you
Like for a chance to completely end this combat to roll a survival
To see if you correctly pet it if you get a crit fail
You're gonna punch this rat and this rat is gonna start
Swiping out at everyone
14
the rat
backs up a little bit as your hand slowly goes near it and then it
Takes a bite of the cheese and you place your hand on it
rat gang if they would like are out of initiative as
You have calmed the rat enough that it was no longer in a threatening position. You have the SD card
We made it. Yeah, okay
If you calm the rat the rat isn't going to be like super aggressive anymore. It is still a wild rat
so it's not like
Hyper kind to you all but um is not going to attack you as you as it's nibbling the cheese. I take one little
corner of the cheese
And then I put the rest down so it can just have it on its own and then I I snack
Because I
I needed a piece of cheese also. All right
Okay
I got the card
Do we want to keep moving down the tunnel?
I mean, i'm not against it, but I just
Meet a friend today
That's good. Yeah, it's uh, it's a rare situation like yeah
Looking okay. I'm
Alive
Everything is fine
Want to go further down the tunnel? Yeah
Yes
I think
Yes
We keep going
Uh, so take it come on and like with like a audible grunt and like the cracking of the spine his arms stand straight up
again
The rat backs off a small amount with the fact with the hearing the clicking of your spine and your sudden stand up
But then calms again upon your
Nice. Okay. That's all right
The rat is snacking on the cheese are all of you moving past we will
Yeah, all of you move past the rat. It's going to take you
One round to get
Into the experiment chamber. So if you're all just full booking it you will arrive at the edge of the experiment
Chamber with the theory i can sky and the slug
Oh, yeah, let's go as fast as we can. We will sprint
And
Sky it is your turn are we going to try and force our way out of this goop again?
Would it be an easier role to just try and get my grenade hands out of there?
Your grenade hand is out of it. It's your other hand that is in in my in my mind
Your grenade is in your right hand and your left hand is stuck in the goop. It's equivalent of of
35 40 foot away
But okay. I have my hand stuck in the skateboard and I got my grenade in my right hand. My grenade is fully built
Yeah, theory act doc. Yes. I'm sorry that I said that you don't work well under pressure
Here's a chance to work well under pressure with a grenade
I need you to get this slug to imprint on you like a baby duck. Can you make that happen?
You know what imprinting that's that's pretty advanced any
Oh, yes theory act. I am stupid in so many areas, but there's a couple areas where i'm like wicked smart
Baby ducks is one of those areas. We'll have to get some and then we'll
snatch
the grenade
Run a little bit forward and then
Chuck it. I kind of want you to miss because it'd be so funny. It would be so funny if you missed 15 you
Love this grenade
it
This like green
Gas that that explodes from this from this grenade this slug
As it is slowly moving towards you just slowly stops
And shifts its weight
and shifts again its eyes
blink and
Turn and look at you and it seems like this slug has calmed sky. However
Can you give me a will check since your arm is still in this goop
I can do that. I guess
Have you considered making not making me do that though? That's a 10 this slug
Shifts its weight and looks toward theory egg
And as you're looking toward this feeling pretty proud of the fact that your grenade worked and your call of getting theory egg to throw it
Um was a good idea
There is like a small fog that kind of rolls in in your mind your vision starts to blur
as
Even though you feel your body move. It doesn't feel like you are moving it
You're going to take you just need to write this down one corruption as this
zombie'd
curse begins to
Inflict your mind the acid has successfully made its way into your bloodstream and is slowly turning you into one of these
slug zombies
God
I also need you to take four damage, please
I will
I'm gonna meta for you all
Whenever you fail that role you take one level of corruption when you get to three levels
You become
Full. Oh my god
Sky was feeding
This slug cheese puffs a day ago. I feel like that's important
Oh, it's very important. I thought we were cool burger and fries
As you yell, I I thought we were cool. You feel that you're
the words kind of falter in your own throat and you kind of
Flub a couple of words since your tongue feels a bit too big in your no, I can't lose the ability to talk
That's like my favorite thing
Oh
Oh god, you staring at this slug here
From behind oh
Oh god, it's
The paralysis effects. Oh god, the slug is still shifting its weight and looking at the two of you
Although this imprinting has worked sudden movements do seem to interest it and kind of spike it out of this thought process
So we're gang
Sprint all three of you see a crack in the copper pipe
that leads clearly into the
Experimental chamber you actually aren't able to hear anything since it's equivalently pretty far and this noise is very very quiet
Since it's just like slow slug moving noises and it's a mainly an internal noise rather than an external
But you can see the chamber that you're all trying to get in at the end of this round after the slugs turn
All three of you will make it into the chamber and then I will combine the initiatives sky
I would like you to make me a will save please
Okay
five
Your vision almost entirely goes black
You can feel
Your heart beat in your chest
You can almost just hear the movement of your bones as they creak
inside of your own body
Theriac
As you run over to sky you see
Her eyes are clouded over big thick green and purple veins
Run up her arm to her neck and I will say if you do get too close
She is going to make a strike at you. Oh, well, i'm right next to her so
I'm right next to her
And do I do I take damage as well?
Yes, you do because you're still inside of the thing that is an additional four damage
I feel like you can tell Momo's stressed out because suddenly she's like well
We're not going to talk about what's narratively happening here. Let's talk numbers. Yes mechanically
Is it four?
Because it's a mechanical tom
Four four four damage
I need to break my own immersion right now. We're just gonna do a little combat game and it's gonna be fine
It's gonna be fine. So theriac you said that you run up to sky
Unfortunately, I did just roll a nat 20 immediately takes a a swipe at you. It's not fully
It's it's not fully just like random gurgles. You can hear
Sky's voice in like the back of this thing's throat
This is so sad that is
11 damage to you 11 damage
She strikes out and just like hits you in the face as you as you run you are there in front of her sky
Slashes a theriac and actually manages to break the skin
of the garlic
And now it is like exposed clove underneath
That was a that was a big chunk of damage. Uh, it was painful here. It was like
Okay
Get the micro lab. Uh, we'll pull out the micro lab very quickly
i'm going
to make
I'm going to use that in combination with my med kit
to
Administer an antidote is this a is this just an ability that you have dc 25 medicine checks to treat deadly wounds
Would you consider this a deadly wound? I would also under the physical science
skill
craft drug poison or medicinal is here
And because of your micro lab, I will allow you to quickly
use the like combination of a booster and inhibitor to
Make the role to make a full antidote. Okay, so I will use a
Physical science check or life science or physical science
Physical science physical physical that's that's fine
Fine no, I got a nat one
There is just
Theriac doesn't work well under pressure
And there is just too much going on
So you feel a heavy shift behind you
As you feel the slug
Slightly lurched towards you whether it whether or not it's a
It's it's for angry purposes. It's not yet to be said
Your hands are just shaking
And you haven't set up your lab right and you're not able to
Concentrate or do what you want to do
The top of the round
Azam, ike and scrap all
All make it onto the table that even with all of the initiatives combined
Sky is still first
I'm really glad I made all those animatics of my character. That's about to
Be coming. No, that's great. No, don't even give that thought
Voice in your head. It's not gonna happen. I would be so dramatic. I live for the drama
If you would make me I will say
Um, i'm just gonna pray i'll be right back eat the mubarak everybody
Um, how are we how how are we gonna tell our friends that that's a six
Death feels weird
You feel not a rush
but a
Slow agreement that your blood makes with this poison as it works its way towards your brain
Your vision clouds and goes black
You feel your body snap
And contort itself
You feel like it's fighting a losing battle one that your brain has already lost
You feel yourself
float
Not in a physical sense more of a metaphysical
The darkness
That you see starts to swarm
into new forms
And even though you're here
You feel your body being forced to move
You feel your arms swing and your legs kick
Blashing out in anger, but in your brain
You feel a pulling toward this darkness
A tree forms branching its way throughout this eternal dark space
You hear
Breathing
This slow inhale like the breath is trying to draw you toward it
And
There's a shifting in the darkness
Something slithers behind you large uncaring but acknowledging your space
There's a howl off somewhere in the distance
From beyond the darkness something changes for
You
And the tree shudders
Back on the table
Theriac
It is your turn
Skye's jaw slacks
They slump almost like their personality has been
Wiped clean of their body and they slump and stumble
And twitch as they look up at you
Your lab is set out in front of you. It's your turn
No, no, I
I
Just wait one moment and we'll rush and try again to make
uh an antidote
In the denial of what just happened give me a physical science, please
Much better
That is a 31
Seeing Skye's body shift something matches that shift in you a
A adrenaline rush of intellect as soon as you see this problem
Face out in front of you using some of the sludge that Skye is trapped in you whip together an antidote in a small
needle injector will load up a
An inhibitor inject that immediately and then will then
Inject the antidote to follow
This is both into Skye you're injecting this. Yes. Can you before any of this?
You've done all you've created it. You have it. Can you give me you can pick life or physical science?
I'll do life science. That's a nat 20 this antidote
You have to the best of your ability
created
you are so
Sure that this is going to work, but you can see that Skye is
Skye is
Quite far gone. This antidote is going to work
But Skye is going to need full
Medical support after she will still need time to recover
She is she also is still inside of this goop
And you are not sure of the ramifications of you injecting an antidote
Which you have one of and her still being inside of this
this glob of poison
You
Gather the idea that getting her out and then injecting her
Would give you the highest chance
of getting her back
After injecting the inhibitor
All of that runs through the rex mind
Takes a step back and like
Looks around
Can they see uh azam?
Azam come quick
I run over
sprint over what
Skye we need to pull Skye out of I don't even wait for that sentence to finish I
Reach out with burning hot hands
Into the goop and grab my friend to drag her out
You
Shove your hands in there is this immediate
sizzle
as this as the the wet burns away and you
wrench
Skye out you both
Collapse and fall down. I wrap my arms around her protectively
All right, just hold her still
Just for a second and we'll try and aim
Uh for a vein spot and then
Inject the antidote
I'm not gonna make you roll for it. You're a doctor. You know how to do this
But I am going to move over to Skye
This
Void that you found yourself in
the large
Shifting of creature behind you these howls
this
Being just beyond the veil that changes forms
this
constant
inhalation
It starts to match your own breathing
But your lungs burn as you try to keep up
with the breaths
They breathe too deep
too cruelly
for you to catch up
You can still feel your body
In the material plane
But as you're watching
Trying to find some form of meaning between all of these different sensations around you looking at this one tree that
stretches on toward the infinite
you feel a
Shove back toward your body
You can feel in this metaphysical that your arm
begins to reconnect to the arm and your physical and just like a dream this whole space
Begins to fade away
The large shifting behind you stops
The howl quietens
The shifting creature fades from memory and this tree in front of you burns
As this breathing
Un-sinks with your own
You're still unconscious, but you know that you're in your own body
And this space but gets completely forgotten
As you lie still
Alive I don't need to be lodged to use the
uh
the telecom
system, correct
No
I'm calling um
Oh wild times, uh
Emergency services and security
Uh
What I was emergency services, how can I help you hello, this is a doctor theriac I am in uh, the experimentation bay
uh, we have um a particular individual who has been uh
compromised by a new specimen
That was being uh held in the in the bay. Uh, we need uh immediate medical attention to them asap
Of course doctor we'll send out someone to
To help you now. Theriac is going to look at look at ige. Can you with the the board? Can we do that now?
Do
What with the board?
Activate the shrink activate the
Reverse engage the shrink ray so it becomes an enlarging ray so that we can return back to proper size
Can we do that really like okay?
Um, I I imagine there is a visible shrink ray
in this room
There is a very you can see what is here. Yes
There is a very obvious shrink ray the thing that you know is the thing that does it as well as a console that
Uh, you can probably speak to it. Um, well I run as fast as I can up to it and um
Hi, I'm so sorry. We really need uh your help very badly. We need to all be normal sized
Uh people again, can you please please please please?
Give me a computer's check, please
Uh 21
You hear and feel an acknowledgement
and
everyone sees
the
ray
go from
Red to blue as it
Ding and you can see that the shrink ray has switched modes
scrap
Scrap being the last to climb up and seeing everything that's going on. Oh my god sky sky
Is is is she okay? What's wrong? We are we need to get her to medical attention asap
uh the slug, uh
Coded her in some of the paralysis. Um
mucus so we need to
escort her to
An emergency room asap. All right. Fuck. All right. Fine. Where do you need me?
I need you to grab sky alongside azam and move her towards the ray
Azam clearly does not need help to pick up sky. I'm sorry, but scrap does
Does go on but isn't isn't doing any of the pickup is just like taps on
Sky's face a little bit and he's like hey there, it's all gonna be all right. Don't you worry?
Hey, we're gonna get you we're gonna get you out
We got some of the smartest people in all of the galaxy right here for you. Okay
The slug lurches forward slightly
But again doesn't seem to be
Aggressive azam actually we're going to leave initiative since this slug is not aggressive
It is in it is approaching everyone, but i'd just like to know what everyone is doing
Ike is working on the board
Azam and scrap are with sky right now
The req is going to gonna do their best to try and
redirect the slug
away from the ray because
What we don't need is a giant slug to break out of here
so i'm going to try and
Course, correct. Can you give me a survival with advantage since the slug is not hostile to you?
I roll the one and a two that is
That it that's just two
You move around to try to get the slug to come follow you but the slug seems to be
Interested in this large gathering of people it seems to have the a certain affinity for
sky
Since sky has been infected with the with the mucus and is edging more toward
this
The conglomeration of everyone you haven't yet distracted it was we I said we're out of initiative, but we're we're we're being fanciful with it
Yeah, azam
The shrink ray has yet to fully move to its core
Yet to fully move to its correct position you are holding sky. I'm going to creep out my hand one of my arms under her
And then hold use my other to prop her up and hold her again extremely protectively
This is like akin to how someone is holding either a fallen soldier or their own child
But the hand that's reaching out is beginning to glow a bit brighter. It's not as bright as it should be because azam himself is sickened
But should that thing come within 15?
feet
Should the thing come close enough?
That I can hit it
with
My heat I will I
I'm gonna keep focusing on making the ray
Work, would you like to push it into position or would you like to?
Try to just like more ready it up. I guess i'm just
I yeah, I don't think that I have the strength to move it. It can be mechanically moved as well
Okay, so you could try to do a little hack to try and mechanically move it then. Yes
Uh, so yeah, uh, I will i'll just sort of be like you need to make that girl over there
Human-sized it fully moves at the full 90 degree angle is now pointing at the crew
The slug edges forward. It's now pretty close as arm. It is within
the 15 foot it
Again doesn't seem hostile. It seems curious. I don't care. I'd like to make a reflex save, please
It fails that reflex save 14 fire damage
you
Open up your palms and this
white hot air
bursts out it
dries and cracks
Cracks the mucus on the slug everyone can see the slug going from not hostile to actively being attacked as it
shifts and angrily like
However, that is an absolutely huge amount of damage. It seems it does seem very hurt
However, it does now seem hostile
So I am going to put us back into initiative order since you are now actively in a combat service scenario
I guess next I believe no, we just did I we just do I we just go back to the top
Go back to this
That's you
theory act the see set happen and
Is going to
Rush
Using just a straight dash action with this last round of the plus tens fee. Yeah
To just book it and then it's going to say to I
I activate it now go please go
22 there is this loud
whirring
As uh
the
now growth rate
Charges up turns on and then
Hits all of you. You all feel yourself grow and get bigger and bigger
The slug stays the the the same height you're all pushed from this table all falling and crumbling over each other as you all
Crash down to the ground and you're all normal size again
A zom still have sky
like in
I would have held on to her
Yeah, like for dear life
You hear a little car like drive up and if someone flings open the door looking at all of you
Who needs medical this girl right here?
Where do you want to outside outside walks through the door like stupid a little as he does so to try and make sure that he's
as protecting sky as possible
Until there's a safe place to lay her down you
Lay sky down all four of you with scrap watch sky get put down. There is uh, someone who's like checking her
pupils and
Then they do like a one two three and put her on a stretcher and then put her on the back of her thing
Um on this little emergency jeep that they have we're going to be taking her to the medical bay. Is anyone else?
I'm fine
Uh, yeah, fine. I
Definitely bleeding
Let me let me take a look at you first someone else goes over to attend to sky and they like
Start preparing her to hook her up to an ivy and and this other person comes over to you
actually, I think it's best that we all go to the medical bay I
very unfortunately
Can't do that right now. Where are we going? Come on?
theory act will like pull his arm to the side I think
You have most likely deduced this at this point. You shot yourself. Yeah, there is
He what?
slightly
There was a chip inside bullet. It was supposed to upload
Uh lorick's consciousness into something which means this was either a trap or a plot
Something's rotten in the state of wild times
I am trying very hard not to be aggressively sarcastic right now. I think
It would be best
For you to stay with sky
I don't think that you
Being with me as I approach
The board would be why you're being alone right now is not wise
Please because if someone came for lorick and they belong to your board they could come for you
Bringing in an outsider will be seen
as
as an attack
You just survived being shrunk almost shot and attacked by a slug
We'll well pass aggressive negotiations
I can stay outside but at least let one of us be in your eyes shot
So if something should happen to you, we can see it and act
All right
fine
I
scrap
Yeah
You two accompany sky to scrap is already on the jeep. Yeah, it's like sat next to a company
Yeah, it's like sat next to a company here to the med bay
We have some business to attend to
um
Oh
uh
Scrap puts the hand in their pocket and pulls out a now very small
Uh micro sd card
Um and then hands it
Reaches out to you therian
um
We found that
Azam can fill you in
I mean it was in a rat with the camera on its head it was recording
things in the pipes
Oh my god
I told them not to
You can grumble about it on the way. Come on
Yes. Yes. Okay. Let's go. Let's go
just before I hop in the
cart ambulet
Thing go up to theriac and azam who are about to head off in a different direction
theriac
I think
There's a lot happening right now
I
I think it's all gonna be okay eventually but
um you did
fully just
save sky's life, um
and I think
I just want to
I just want you to remember that you did that and I
would just like to kind of like a little hand on their shoulder and
Uh, I would like to cast
a fluid
morphism
To give them a plus two to
intelligence
For a while
Oh shit
I've got 20 ins right now
No
Um theriac more like brainiac. Am I right as theriac gets like that wave
they are like
All the neurons are firing at this at this moment as that
Washes over them
Thank you
I'd
I'd be smiling if I weren't so stressed
But thank you
Sorry, we'll we'll talk in as soon as this is over. Okay
Okay
I you get on the
Jeep I imagine
You're sat in the back with a
Emt I imagine it is who is
Looking over sky and then turns to you and scrap both of whom I mean scrap is like
Perfectly fine as the jeep
Puts out and drives toward the medical facility leaving you theriac and his arm in the park. It is
Very late. It was dark when you
Met up with lorik. It is still it is like far later
It's like full middle middle of the night. The park is closed to outsiders
Theriac is going to direct their eyes towards raven's roost
Are the lights on? Yeah, the lights are always on in raven's roost this huge floating orb that
Looks over the park
Is still floating silently in the sky almost
Like a second moon that was just watching over the things that you had just done
All right
We'll discuss what
The steps we take next on our way there. Theriac you can be okay. No, no, I mean
physically
Mentally no
There's a lot to go through in one day for anyone
The hunt
Is not over yet. It doesn't mean you can't take a second a split second to stop catch your breath
And acknowledge the seriousness of a situation
We have to go. Theriac, I like grab theriac by the shoulder
I don't tell you how to do medical shit
When it comes to fighting wars battles hunts
You're not the expert
I am
Come on and then I start walking towards raven's roost
Walking towards raven's roost
The medical bay is
Less rudimentary than you think a park's medical bay would be
Since there's a lot of
To be frank quite dangerous animals lurking around they have they're quite well equipped for problems of this nature
They've put sky in a in a room a private specified room since
Theriac is the co-founder you have all been bumped up in importance
They're laying on a bed being hooked up to an ivy with a monitor
Going on in the background they
They have then taken you Ike and scrap out of the room just as they get set up and you are sat
Right outside the room
But are still separated by a by a door
Is there a reason we can't be in the room with her?
No, the doctors are just setting up so they just need some space
You'll be able to go in the room and sit next to her in a few minutes
Okay soon
Very and you have a little plaster they sort of you earlier and they've they've they've cleaned you up and they
Maybe a nod and then leave since the park is closed. This is emergency staff only so there's really no one in these
Hallways aside from yourself and scrap as the doctor leaves
Scrap, are you okay?
uh
Yeah, I mean
She'll be fine
she's
gotten herself through worse scrapes
Just um, yeah, I just wasn't expecting to see her like that at all. Oh
Definitely not
She'll be okay though
How are you worried
I'm worried
Trying not to be but I still don't feel
Like it was a good idea for
The Achaena's song to go
There
Without the rest of us. I feel like something
terrible is happening and
I don't really understand what it is yet
Um, and I'm just very worried.
How are you doing after?
I don't know.
I'm too worried about everything else.
And I don't know what exactly happened.
So I'm not doing well, Scrap.
Um, when I was in your position, I also didn't handle it too well and had other things that I was trying to focus on.
Speaking from that, if you keep putting off feeling that, it's gonna start eating you up.
I just need to understand what actually happened. Because you and Dizam are...
I know... I know it feels... I know the feeling, okay?
But, again, I don't know if it's they did it to themselves and you stopped it or if someone else did this to them.
But I still think you did the right thing.
I know that doesn't... I know that doesn't help.
But I do want you to know that... I hope it brings you some comfort to know that I think that you saved someone from a far worse alternative.
It isn't that I don't believe you. I do, and I do genuinely appreciate that.
But I would like to know that for sure.
And I would really like to tell Dr. Theriac.
But I can't do that until I know that they're also not directly in danger anymore because this seems to be all ongoing.
I think I don't get to feel better about this until I do what I'm supposed to do.
But thank you for trying. I do appreciate it.
You're very brave, Ike.
I'm...
Not that at all, Scram.
I am afraid of almost everything and everyone.
Almost.
And I'm very much afraid of what I just did as well. So I don't feel very brave.
I think that's what makes you brave.
People can't be brave unless they're scared.
And you've helped us so many times.
You keep fighting against your fear.
Is that not what bravery is?
Did something that a lot of people won't do.
You saw a giant rat and you were brave enough to try and help it.
You were brave enough to race in a race that we colloquially call the Death Race.
That is what bravery is, Ike.
Is being scared and trying your best anyway.
Maybe. Well, I like that idea.
I just don't know that I feel very brave right now.
I think that we're here and I guess, like you said, we have to get through this no matter what.
And we need to make sure that Skye is okay and we need to get to the bottom of what's going on in Theriax's world here.
And I can't just go hide in the pipes. We need to just do it.
I guess you could be right.
Scrap puts a hand on your leg, a little mechanical clawed hand, pats and then moves the hand back to themself and sits in contemplative silence.
You can feel that there's more to be said, but they might not be brave enough.
She'll just turn the hand, also.
And then she'll just pass the door into the next room.
Skye, you awake slowly to the hums and beeps around a room.
She feels off. It was in a different state for a very long time and you didn't have the luxury of acclimatization when you grew.
Your head is swimming like a powerful hangover and as you shift, your eyes open to a blurry room, you see a figure in the corner underneath a security camera.
You're cloaked mostly in shadow, staring back at you. And then as you blink, this figure is gone.
And you regain consciousness, enough to speak.
Can I get up?
You can get up. Your arm is connected to the IV and the heart monitor still.
Where am I? Can I figure that out?
Yes.
I'm gonna hang up my phone and I'm gonna text Theria. I might as well text the group chat.
Hey, I'm conscious. How do you spell conscious? Whatever.
Thank you for, I'm assuming, saving my life. But, Dr. Theriak, did you give me over to the medical team of the theme park that we believe to be corrupt enough to try and kill you?
Dot dot dot. All I'm saying, dot dot dot, is don't let this turn into a hostage situation, because that's just gonna be real embarrassing for all involved.
See you soon.
Very tired.
Sky.
Send.
And then I'm gonna take a selfie in the bed.
I would like to imagine that this comes through, because that was a long text, but it comes through in like three separate messages.
They're out of order.
Oh, PS, Dr. Theriak, is hallucinations a symptom of fatigue or slug slime?
I get responsive.
Eye slash scrap.
Question mark, question mark, question mark.
The door is like, as soon as the text is sent, the door is flung open and scrap is, scrap an eye, can I imagine.
Holy shit, there she is.
There's nobody in here.
I guess not. Was there supposed to be, I just imagine there'd be a doctor or nurse or something.
I think they just gave her a few minutes to rest. How you doing, slugger?
Don't talk so loud, scrap.
Sorry.
That's okay.
I mean, I lived, so.
Yeah, you did.
I was fucking scary for a minute there.
Oh, I was terrified.
It's a good thing that I lost the ability to speak, because I think I would have traumatized the doctor a lot more than their little heart could have handled today, you know?
Right.
I am good at cards on the table here, my dudes.
I am not as fighting fit as I'd like to be, so I just want to make sure that the vibes here check out, because this just could end badly, you know what I'm saying?
Because I don't even know what I'm saying right now.
The minute, the few words leave my head, I forget what I said moments ago.
Yes, I agree. This is, everything is quite precarious still, but, um, well, that's why Scrap and I are here.
You can rest until you get strong again, and once you are, then we can figure this out.
But you definitely need to get stronger first.
Uh, okay. What the frack happened?
Well, we...
I have no idea.
We ran into the room.
We came up, yeah, and you were swinging and frothing at the mouth, Azarm had to pull you out of the goop and Theriac hit you with something.
Then I moved the ray and we all grew back to normal size. Theriac called the med team. That's why we're here.
Where are Theriac and Azarm?
They're going to the headquarters to confront the Lord. I don't, it was sort of a decision made unilaterally, so we, it's just, it is what it is. They're over there.
This is a mess.
Okay, I can't tell you guys to go follow them, because this is a hostage situation waiting to happen.
I agree. We're not leaving you.
But, but also them going to see the evil council by themselves. I feel like the plan could be improved from this point on.
I, I, I mean, yeah, they, they put us in that situation and, and, and, you know, whatever happened, happened, but they needed to hide, even though they were planning on killing a few of us.
So I don't think they're that strong. I think they're just people.
And Azarm is there. Theriac has a wicked streak. So I actually think that figuring out what's happening and yeah.
Well, hmm.
All right. Well, what do we do, B team?
Well, I was thinking maybe as long as there's no staff in here, I could see if there's a way for me to sort of move your recovery process along a little quicker.
I don't know.
If you do that.
I can, I don't really understand half the things I do, but I could look around.
Okay.
Putting my life in your hands has not done me wrong so far.
That's good.
You're telling me.
Well, go on.
Yeah, go have a look around. I guess.
I guess I want to, I would wonder if there's maybe like a computer on wheels or other such medical equipment that is technological that I could peek into.
Yeah, there's some basic computers that they use to like track the, track patients health like a live feed.
While you're doing this, I'm just going to rest my eyes.
As I, as you turn scrap.
Like does grab skies handed and squeeze it a little just to make eye contact and then too much physical contact.
Get that intimacy away from me scrap.
What are you doing?
I just wanted to ask if you were right.
If I could move my arm I smack you. I'm fine.
Yeah, you said it.
Go on.
Keep moving on.
Sounds encouraging.
Now try to peek into this here computer.
What kind of information are you trying to find out?
I'm looking, I would, okay, my, my hope of all hopes is that I can look at Skye's little chart that they've made.
See what the current status is and see if maybe there's any like information about what the treatment plan would be.
Schedule her surgery up.
I'm just going to move you up in the queue. That's all.
Sure. That, that will be a super easy computers.
Okay.
18?
It being, it being a quiet night, this is an emergency med bay, but you do see like one or two people ahead of Skye.
You see that she needs very basic poison checks and antidotes over the next few days.
The IV that she's like plugged into is doing like a dramatic amount of help with fluids and then trying to like flush out the poisons.
As well as the antidote also did very well.
You push the medicines ahead and yeah, and that's a, that's a, that's a easy thing to do.
It should, it will arrive within like the next hour.
I feel like my veins have been stung by 300 bees.
Because I think they have actually.
It was one slug.
You know, one slug, but an acid slug.
Listen, I know, I know this isn't the highest priority, but do you think that this medical bay has food?
Yeah, I can get you some stuff from the vending machine.
I, I, could I?
I want to get it myself.
I hate this.
I hate everything about this.
This is an awful situation for me.
Skye, you very need to rest, at least until the medicine comes.
I hate being a sitting duck.
I don't like sitting.
It's my worst.
This is the exact opposite of fast scrap.
Yeah, but you're a sitting duck now, but that's only because you're an angry goose and someone attacked that angry goose and you now need to be a sitting duck just for a little bit.
That was all theory actually.
Don't think of it as a sitting duck.
I just kind of handed them the tools to do it.
Well, you got them.
You, you, they used your skateboard.
Where's my skateboard?
You see that your skateboard is just like on the side.
Like it's a little, it's a little dinged.
There's like some acid burns wearing off the paint and there's like a sticker or two that have, have burnt off slightly.
I can't believe I gave Burger and Fries cheesy puffs and this is the payment I get.
Well, I don't think that, you know, there was any nefarious reasons behind it.
I think that they just are, they are just, that's just what they are naturally.
Slugs will be slugs.
I sure hope Azam and Theriak are doing okay.
Me too.
Azam, you stand at the monorail to Raven's Roost.
Lights are still on, but because of how late it is, you can't really imagine that there's any of the board members working,
but they do, all of them do stay in Raven's Roost.
The only one who didn't was Kizkak, who stayed off planet,
but they have gone on holiday or gone on holiday in quotation marks.
Can we get a rundown of everybody really quick again?
We have Mr. Helo Lepore, who is a human, is the person who met you at the gateway and you shuttled down with.
We have Sir Mincell, who is a Cassathar, whose long elongated head ends at a certain point and has been replaced with a fish tank.
They sit on the Hermod Tech Board of Directors, which is a big tech company.
Does Lepore have a specialization?
Lepore is the business, they deal with the big picture, big main investor.
They are like pseudo an ideas person and also like a big, big investor, arguably the biggest investor in wild times.
We have Fede, who is an Android.
She is the person who deals in getting more investors involved in the company, is very much the face when you are not the face.
And she works with social media and publicity and stuff?
Yes. We had Kiskak, who was a Shiren and was the park and ride manager.
She dealt with all of the installing the things and getting the wild times equivalent of Imagineers involved.
Lorik is the person who was just killed, who was finances, and then you have Lin, who is the screedreep, who is your second.
Oh, you know what? We didn't do anything with Lorik, did we?
No, Lorik is very much still there.
Can we, before we leave actually, decide what we want to do with Lorik before we run away to Raven's Roost?
Before the whole party splits, you want to decide? Or just yourself and Izom?
I'm okay with either.
We can do it over text. I mean, the rest of the group is still hanging around Sky.
Yeah, we can just do it over text. Now that Sky is awake, what do we want to do with Lorik?
Izom does not answer the question, instead grunts and sits down on the sidewalk with his arms out in front of him.
I'm good with whoever everyone else wants.
As I understand the situation, anything that would pin me publicly as the aggressor would essentially be the end of my cooperation with Wild Times.
It would be very easy for them to spin the story of myself being a tyrannical co-founder.
And I know that's what they want. They want me off the board.
Anything that would give them that power is what we want to avoid.
Are we getting this through text?
Yeah, it's the text message. You didn't hear what I said?
Right, okay.
Oh, I will say everything that, like the long explanation of the theory act's thought process was just said to Izom, not sent to the child.
Thank you. Okay.
Who was Lorik's?
Sky, the bug-like fellow?
I now text the group chat. Dead one.
Oh. Put the body on top of a high building. People will smell the smell of burning flesh and assume it is a barbecue, and no one will look on top, yet the heat will dispose of the body.
Good night.
Okay. We're gonna talk about that later.
I...
Sorry, gang. Sky's very drugged up right now.
Okay, um...
I am open to... disposing the body. I can go do it. I've done it before.
Is Lorik dead? Question mark?
Yes, although we may not want to do anything drastic with his body until we confirm something. Oh my god. I don't say- I don't text oh my god, but I say it aloud.
I can tell them. If you want me to.
I have to. I-
Tell them what?
I take out- I take my phone back out and send another message, saying they were shot with a bullet that had some sort of communicator that was sending data somewhere else, and I thought that was dangerous.
So, I stopped it. I don't know exactly what that means yet.
What if we contacted security again? No, but that would-
Fyriak, you're obviously- you're obviously overthinking things. So, think about that. Come on, right here. What do you want to achieve? What's the goal? Short-term goal. What's the short-term goal?
Short-term goal is to- oh my god, I don't know what I want to do.
Okay, then.
Um, I want to discover what the plot is. That's what I want to do.
Do you think Asbest discovered tonight or tomorrow? Do you think it even makes a difference?
Uh, well, uh, okay, well, if I- if I know- if I know the board members, most of them should be asleep.
If we wanted to get a direct line to them, we could try to speak with one of them. I'm pretty sure that trying to speak to all of them would raise many red flags, but speaking to one would only raise one red flag.
So we'd have to get into a place of residence quite and quickly enough, or they'll raise any alarm. So now, pick one who's most vulnerable. Go through a list. Who's overconfident enough to not have good security systems, or alternatively, who's low on wrong enough, or cheap enough not to have one.
Would it also be worthy to waive the option of who would be most integral to this plot and try and remove the person with most influence in that scheme?
Ask yourself, do you need allies on your board, or do you need enemies? You take down Top Brung, it'll last for a bit, but you'll make many enemies. If you bring up yourself an ally, it might be easier to figure out what needs figuring out before you take a lot of them down. It's up to you. At this point, you can really see that Azam is just not as energetic as he's supposed to be.
I will also just really quickly interject. They're not part of the overarching board, but they do technically count as one. The other co-founder, Mr. Wild, is also on planet and in Raven's Roost.
Oh. Alright, I have two primary thoughts. Let's go with Doe Number One.
We approach Mincel, who is the head of tech for Wild Times. Mincel would be able to assist us in understanding what that chip was that was lodged inside that bullet.
If that is something that would have been accessible to people coming into Wild Times, or if that would have been smuggled in, and determine if this would have been brought in or readily supplied on site. That's thought number one.
And Doe Number Two.
Door Number Two is to contact Mr. Wild himself.
Wait, hold on, hold on. This place is named after a Mr. Wild?
It came with certain licensing rights, let's say. But Mr. Wild is the other co-founder alongside myself.
Which means a probable guaranteed ally. Or Big Bad.
To my understanding, he was the initial, not just co-founder, but funder. As in readily provided the funding needed to kickstart the actual facility. And oversaw lots of the executive decisions as it progressed further into more of a lived in experience.
Yeah, for just general context for you, Andre.
The Idun used to be just like a housing, essentially just a group of holiday homes. Four upper-deckers from Saga, they would come in and just live in the holiday homes and that was it. Mr. Wild was in charge of expansion and expanding that area. Hired you, and then you came up with the idea of instead of just getting rid of the animals, biohacking them.
And then they backed you in this process to make it more. So you wouldn't have that much contact with them, but they would have helped set up meetings with investors and stuff. So yes, everything you said is correct on top of just that little bit of background.
So it's, like you say, it's likely he will be a guaranteed ally or likely the root cause of all of this.
Alright, so I ask again, which one supports your short-term goal best? More information gathering or going straight to someone who will either know all or back us up to know all?
We can work with information.
People change.
It's more utilitarian for us to discover more about the evidence theory we have rather than...
I'm going to say this once. Don't think like a scientist. They're counting on you to think like a scientist right now. They know you.
Trust what's...
Do you have an equivalent of a heart or a soul? Do you delegate it to someplace?
You have a soul, yes.
And where do your people think you keep it? Up here? Nocks on his own head? Up in here? Nocks on his chest?
I once met people who thought a soul was in their feet. And yes, I realize how silly that sounds in trade language.
That's not silly. That's our souls are not in our roots.
Alright. No, I meant it sounds silly because souls of a feet are different than souls. But they meant both.
Oh, I understand. As in S-O-E-E.
Yeah. Trade is such a terrible language sometimes.
It's awful.
Think and then I motion to your roots.
Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright.
How would you like to meet the other co-founder of Wild Times?
I mean, I'm not that excited, but I can psych myself up. And like with a loud crack, he just stands up to his full height.
Let's go.
And we're gonna make our way over to Mr. Wild's residency.
And with that, we're going to call our session here today.
Thank you all so much for being here.
Hi there, beautiful, wonderful souls. Thank you so much for listening to the hour. Oh, my Lord.
It's been so diggity dang long since I've done one of these.
I have a few quick thank yous before I shout out the players.
Our music today was provided by Artlist under their fair use license.
Soundscapes were by Michael Guelphie, again under their fair use.
And you should go visit Michael Guelphie's Patreon because our show would not be what it is without them.
They are so good.
Thank you to our hosts, the welcome in.
If you want to listen to the full version of this episode, head on over to their YouTube, where you can find all unedited,
atomless, and also the other beautiful, wonderful shows that they have.
They've started a bunch of new shit. You should go check it out.
Our players today, Momo O'Brien playing Sky.
Oh, my God, she went full zombie in this. Isn't that absolutely bonkers?
Suva Dillon playing Igar, favorite little rat, an ordinary little lea who is where we'll feel on socials who played us as a zombie.
Andrea Rivera-Arte who played our absolutely wonderful garlic theory act.
And then there's me, the captain Kral, who I did all the silly little noises.
Thank you all so much for listening. I appreciate you all so much.
And I hope the next time we fly through the atomless sea, you are there to fly with us.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
And then I got to get up. Oh, no, don't say so sad.