Hey, Pants people. Last week was wild. A lot
of you have reached out and said a lot of really
nice things. Thank you for that. This next episode
is really touching as well. So relax. Enjoy it.
Thank you for listening. We all awaited a legendary
effort from the young fighter. What nobody expected,
however, was that dance did not show up to fight
at all. But would you not yet know what drove
Gabriela Cortez to flee from the Lucha Labor
Contest? Oh, yeah, yeah, run the script live.
Yeah. Uh, looks like we have some huge news from
Satsutyan City. A possible connection to the
disappearance of Dance Macabre. It seems that
just before Harkfight's early bouts, a violent
altercation broke out amongst the criminal factions
of Satsutyan's old city. Now, the situation has
been quelled, though it has led to the tragic
death of new luminaries. No, no. No, that can't
be. You need to check your source. Now. I don't
care how... How many sources? Check them again.
I don't... Just cut the break. I said cut the
goddamn break! You guys ready? No. Absolutely
not. We see various moments flash before us.
Moments not connected by space or by time, but
rather by a powerful yet intangible bond. A bond
that has been so suddenly and cruelly severed.
We open up Tsubusanko on a scene in the Densing
Night Market. We see Pepper the Haringan. He
is in his tent surrounded by crates of fresh
peppers. And he stares towards us and towards
the flickering image of a screen, absorbing the
news. His mouth is agape, eyes horrified, ears
hanging. And this is just the foreground of our
shot. Behind him in the background, we see young
Gammon Zungun. He unpacks a crate of peppers.
He's been helping pepper out ever since he came
into the market. We see Gammon turn to smile
at a small figure resting on a nearby shelf.
And just how Gammon Zungun managed to get his
hands on one of the straw Zebulon figures that
have been all the rage in God's breath, made
by Hannah, little Hannah. is a mystery to us.
Gamon suddenly takes notice of Pepper's frozen
form, and he curiously begins to approach. And
we cut from that. We cut to the ugly coyote,
and to more figures staring towards a flickering
screen. Chester, Jeans, Fibro, Mulligan, Kiana,
and Ader, all together around a table. Chester
is the first to break. heaving, shaking sobs
until he is grabbed by Gene's and pulled into
a tight embrace. As all others stare towards
the screen in shock, Chester pushes his face
deeper into Gene's shoulder and weeps. And we
pan away from this, zooming towards a painted
scene across the back wall of the coyote, depicting
heroic Zebulon in bold fashion, standing against
the evils of the rattle. And we cut again to
a close -up exterior shot of a plain -looking
door. We see fists pound against wood, a POV
shot. And moments later, the door swings open
to reveal the comfortable interior of a room
at the Sandy Hill Inn. Jean Franklin stands in
the doorway, looking towards us with tired eyes.
His expression quickly shifts to a haughty, annoyed
arrogance. But his silent words are exchanged.
We see that persona melt. Shoulder slumping,
legs shaken as those tired eyes begin to blur
and then run with tears. We cut to a cluttered
mess of a manor. A veritable horde of trinkets,
garbage, furniture, anything you could imagine.
We zoom into the top of a pile where the beautiful
contents of a red vase glow. A group of laopop
flowers. Suddenly, a large, hulking shadow appears
behind the flowers, Xena's face illuminated by
their petals. She smiles. She gently strokes
at the stems of the flowers, the claw. Her eyes,
usually darting and wild, seem to settle as they
hold tightly to a treasured memory. And then
this is interrupted by the sounds of knocking
at her door. Xena turns away from the flower.
beaming, nearly shaking with anticipation, for
she just loves having company. And then we are
in the crystalline streets of a rural town. Just
outside, the great diamond dome has become Sholay's
own lair. Sholay herself and her human guise
pushes through a crowd of eager, manic peoples,
many of whom wear the black and yellow checkered
vests of the Paparazzi Guild. A number of recording
diamonds face the great brass dragon as questions
are hurled her way. But we see Sholay bat these
off with a stony, cold expression. The shield
bearer at the door has eyes on the ground as
he performs the act of opening the way inside,
and Sholay just pushes past him. The door slowly,
swiftly, I mean, closes, silencing a new surge
of excited questions. And then we see her immediately,
almost... violently transform as her body shifts
into the form of the massive dragon. Her arms
sweep out, toppling a tower of files and sending
various papers scattering through the air. As
they flutter around her, we watch Sholay take
in a few quick, agonized breaths as the same
claw reaches to her back and begins to rip out
a number of her scales, boiling tears sizzling
as they hit the floor. In trickles of hot blood
running down her side, the great form of the
dragon arches her head back as she screams into
the vast chamber. We cut to black. We open now
on a single diamond resting on a dusty stone
floor. The smooth top facet of this conical shape
points towards an open door across the room.
This is the recording diamond Zebulon dropped
as he rushed into this manor. not knowing that
he would be recording his final moments. We see
through the diamond into the dimly lit space.
The open door is perfectly framed in the center
of the shot. Zebulon's body lies just beyond
it, with Dresden Kellig kneeling beside him,
head low. A moment later, Jules and Crispin reach
the scene. As Crispin stands back, we see Jules
drop aside Dresden. We watch a silent scene unfold,
as Jules shakes Zebulon by the shoulders. Zeb's
head rolls back and we see Jewel screaming something
towards him. Then as Ramin enters the room, leading
a crowd of people behind him, the diamond is
nudged by a foot, rolling away from this scene
and turning to face the slate gray of the stone
wall. And here, I think we'll let some time pass
as we transition to a mural of a black -haired
woman shrouded in a black cloak. A serpent coils
around her neck. its mouth open, hanging by her
ear. La Catrina, the spirit form of death itself
that watches over the Moreno estate's ballroom
-turned -temple. And as we zoom out from this
figure, we can see that a large gathering has
come together in the rear of Moreno's main floor.
The makeshift benches are filled with old city
folk. Every single survivor of Jessen's assault
is there. as is Jean Franklin, whose head is
buried in his hands, white knuckled fingers pressing
into his scalp. Zebulon's body lies on the altar,
preserved by clerical magic. This is the work
of a dwarven woman that stands by the body, a
mysterious figure tall over a dwarf with brown
eyes and long, dark red hair, a single lock of
white hanging over her forehead. Her face is
cherubic. In stark contrast with her outfit,
a black cloak with white lining, shoulders adorned
by silvered raven's heads, between which are
draped beautiful black feathers. A black and
silver brooch with a raven's head and ruby eyes
held aloft by this woman as she whispers a quiet
incantation, and a pale light surrounds Zebulon's
body. This is Rinbell Strongheart, a traveler
to San Satyan, the one with, in my setting at
least, a rare clerical connection to a higher
power. Though her interest lies more in exploring
and understanding the strange magics that surround
this city, particularly during the night that
remembered she has been assisting the clergy
of the Moreno estate, whose own deity shares
domain with hers. I figured, given just how much
she has done for us, it would only be right for
a player character of Rochelle's to be here for
this final celebration of Zebulon Black. Ramin
Rasool stands on the other side of the altar,
He blesses Zebulon with tearful prayers for the
Sunweaver. Though Zeb grew up on the Citadel,
his ancestry links back to Ankar and Sengar,
and that's a fact that is not lost on Ramin,
who works through the tears. Heads turn away
from this ceremony suddenly as the door to Merino
bangs open. Backlit by the light of day, we see
the silhouette of a woman in the doorway, leaning
against it and panting hard as though having
just run the entire length of the city. Dance
Macabre rushes by the rows of bodies of the Sereno
Hill into the ceremony at the back of this temple.
She freezes at the back edge of the bench as
her eyes and her skull mask stare in horrified
belief at the body on the altar. Her gaze sweeps
slowly over the scene and stops as she catches
sight of Jules. Where does she see you, Jules?
Jules is in the back row, as far in the corner
as he can be. I am curious, what expression do
you wear as the service is performed before your
eyes? Absolutely no expression. It's a face that's
defeated and eyes that are lost. And while we're
here, where do we find Crispin and Dresden? Crispin's
sitting among the hostages, the former hostages.
I think Dresden is one or two rows ahead of Jules
in line with him. We see dance without a word,
moving around the back of the benches, moving
to you, Jules. She leans to you or beside you
and throws her arms around you in a tight and
powerful embrace. Do you embrace her back or
do you just? No, but Jules does. He maintains
his. blank, lost expression, but slowly cocks
his head to meet hers. I think your eyes just
lock for a long moment as she slowly pulls away
from you. We see her hand just slide down your
arm, her fingers lingering over yours as she
turns away from you, turning her attention towards
the front, towards Zebulon. Rin and Ramin finish
their respective rituals. And step away. Zebulon's
body still faintly glowing. Lies alone at the
altar. Before the crowd. And I think. It is now.
That we see Jules. Rising from his seat. As he
begins his slow approach. Towards the altar.
Sliding his loot from his back. And into his
arms. I think as he's walking up. His face isn't
changing. And he's walking extremely slow. And.
Every once in a while, stops and takes a half
step back, like he doesn't want to get there.
Sorry, I'm going to need this. And finally, he
makes it up, goes around Zeb's body, places a
hand on his chest, lowers his head down, and
then slowly raises back up. That's what I said.
Can I take it back? Can I take it back? I'm sorry
that I let you here into the darkness of my own
fear. If you just say something. If you just
say something, maybe it'll be okay. If you just
say something, please just say something, please.
Please. Oh, God. I'm so sorry, son. It's all
my fault. I should have never brought you here.
You're too kind. You were too good. And all you
wanted to do was make the world a better place.
But wait. But wait, no. No, you were supposed
to protect me. You made a promise to Ronstadt
that morning, remember? Does she know? You can't
go back on that. That's not what families do.
Tell me why, Sam, why? Let's take a quick break.
Yeah. We'll open on a scene sometime later. As
far as how long later, we'll worry about that
later. Time matters in this arc, but I'm of course
going to make some leeway here and we're going
to get this all figured out afterwards because
we're not skimming over all this. With this initial
ceremony completed, Zebulon's body has been taken
to a weight transfer to the Radiant Citadel,
where he will be delivered to his loved ones
and celebrated again in a much grander affair.
With him gone from the altar, I think this temple,
at least the benches at the sort of back of it,
have largely been cleared out. People just getting
back to the streets, back to their homes, back
to their life. But we... See a group sitting
silently at the front bench of the temple now.
Crispin, Dresden, Dance, Ramin, Jean Franklin,
and Jules. Together, alone. A voice suddenly
breaks this somber silence as Jamal comes up
to your side, Jules. Hey, hey, um, I just want
to say that I owe my life to you. To the three
of you. And to, uh, to him. I won't forget what
you did. Ever. None of us will. So, I know it's
a bit late, but I want to get you some breakfast.
The most important meal of the day. Sorry, that's
a callback to the last time we... Nice. Pangolins
know how to cook. She retreats and leaves you
all alone. And I'll ask. Amongst this group,
who do you think breaks the ice? Oh, geez, well,
I know who it's not. Yeah. Well, let's, I mean,
where's Crispin at? Is that, is that? Crispin's
embarrassed and ashamed because one of his tasks
was to protect Xena's, sorry, yeah, well, Xena's
sons, Xole's grandsons, which he spectacularly
failed at. Well, half failed. So far, half failed.
I didn't even think... Oh, yeah, Arhalon's out
there somewhere. Oh, jeez. Oh, shit. And I'll
say this. Actually, you know what? Only Zebulon
knew that. Never mind. Then Frasians lost the
time. I was going to say that the listeners might
know that Shirley mentioned that Arhalon was
sent to Sunsetion to assist the Serenno ill.
But he's not here in Moreno, and that's where
he would be. Right. So something went awry. Yeah,
I'm sorry. There's just no way that Crispin's
going to break the silence here. He's a quiet
guy to begin with. I think it's either Jaune
or Dance or Ramin. Oh, yeah, make me do the work.
Yes. You know what? I like that. I like that
because I think it actually is Dance. I think
she's sitting beside you, Jules, and she turns
to look at you. When I heard what happened, I
was waiting. The Marvel Arena in Fiesta Town.
For the battle. I heard there was some kind of
attack here. In the old city. I thought I heard
my people were dying. And I fled as soon as I
could. I ran the city's length. I should have
been here. It was my job. These are my people
to protect. And it's just like then. It's just
like the fire. Zebulon taking charge. Zebulon
saving lives that I could not. I'm sorry I was
not here. I had my reasons for going, but...
No. None of this was your fault. You're here
now. And that matters. I'm glad. I... I had expectations.
I had hopes. There was much I could gain from...
Much we could gain. Our city could gain from
me. I should not have fled, but I'm glad I did.
I'm glad I did. What do we do? I don't know what
to do. When I heard that the sapphires fall,
when Mateo died, I was broken. He was everything
to me. He was everything to us, to this city.
He took on the luchador guise of Demi Lich. She
became a luminary in honor of Moreno, in honor
of her. She points towards the image of La Catrina,
the spirit of death, because he wanted to stand
up for us, bring our plight into the light. He'd
been building fame for that. And I wanted so
badly to find out what happened to him to avenge
his death. That's where I was on Sosanko when
I met you. You and Zebulon. And ever since, I've
seen things differently. Revenge does not honor
Mateo. Carrying on his will does. And so I came
back here to help my people. And I'm going to
keep helping my people. For him and for Zebulon,
who died to protect them when I was not here.
That is my answer, Jules. And I don't know if
it's yours or if it helps you at all to hear
it, but that's my answer. She's right. Crispin
stands up. We should do exactly what Zebulon
would want us to do. And? Just bitterly, Jean
Franklin looks towards you. What do you think
that would be? Hmm? Have you asked him? He was
supposed to be my guide. So what are we supposed
to do when we can't ask him where to go? I...
Stupid. Stupid. He just kind of stands to his
feet and kind of walks away from you guys and
kind of into his own sort of corner. I don't...
I don't know Zebulon like... like you all did.
I imagine you could channel. what you know of
him, and decide what is the best course of action.
I really hope you guys are right. Because right
now, all I want to do is kill them all. Every
last one of them. My mother. My cousin. What
of your father? Is he a part of this? Because
he is here. In the city. On the hill. You do
not know. I don't care. No, no, you should...
I should tell you something. My reasons for entering
Hogfight, it was not to gain fame, though becoming
a luminary would be a shoo -in if I had succeeded
and I could have carried on Mateo's will, but
no, there's more to it. Even more than the money
that I could have brought to our people here.
The winner of the fight. They would have been
invited to Pappalotti on the Hill. I fucking
did it. Sorry. Got it. I noticed it. High five.
I noticed it. Give me a high five. I need this.
I need this. Thank you so much. High five. All
right. To the estate of Yitzmin Del Prado, the
CEO of Marfil. The Tresena will be there. The
city's leaders. And your father, Samuel de Roche,
is their guest here. He will be there, too. I
need to talk to Yitzmin. I... Nobody has seen
him. He is reclusive. Enigmatic. But I have a
theory. I think... I think he is held captive
by the Trezina. They use him. They use his factories
to abuse our people. For their own wealth and
gain. But maybe he knows something. If I could
have just gotten to... But that's gone. I'm,
uh... Not much for politics. But, uh... Jules...
I know that you're sick. And there are a lot
of people sick here. We can still save them.
Yes. Serono. It's linked. To its men. To the
Tresna. To all of them. They did not want me
to win. Hogfight. There were supposed to be others
with me. Three others. All of them sick. All
of them taken by Serono. And two nights ago,
me and Ramin were walking the streets. He felt
an evil presence and pushed me aside. A foul
wind took him and he... She looks at him and
Ramin... still just staring at the floor, looks...
Amazia looks sick. I think there are answers
there, on the hill. At the very least, they are
here in the city. Whatever's causing this is
in this city. Please, Jules, please. I know it
hurts, but I need you. Okay. I'll come with you.
And if you think that... If you think that they
are... Trying to cover this up. To Sarah now.
I'll go with you too. I think Ramin finally speaks,
just staring towards the floor. I asked you before,
what are you doing here? And I never got an answer.
Looks towards you, Jules. Why are you here? What
brought you to Sanstian? What brought you to
Rosas? To speak with Serapio? You seemed you
had a... A mission of some importance. Did Jules
have the flyer? I think Jean might have had it,
at least at one point. I don't know if he was
the last one to have it. Because I know we're
here to investigate a lot of stuff, but the second
that we saw that flyer, it became about, for
Jules, it became about one thing. Yeah, we were
sent to investigate Serenno, and then the flyer
happened pretty quickly. Yep. So, wait. Who did
we just say had the flyer? Either Jules or Jean.
I'm guessing it's Jules. I think Jules would
have held on to that. Yeah, so Jules silently
reaches into his pocket and pulls out the wanted
flyer and passes it to Ramin. I think before
he kind of weakly reaches out towards it, before
he gets it, it's just snatched very fast by dance.
Serapio, you dealt with Serapio? And she's like...
opens a flyer and looks at it for a moment. This,
even for him, this is despicable. When I see
that man, just rapidly rolls it up and like,
like hands it towards you. Do you know this child?
He's my family. And he's here. I have reason
to believe. And he's hunted. 600 gold. Someone
in power wants him gone. This could be a link
too. This could mean something and... We can't
stand idly by and let this happen. Time is running
out. We must speak with Serapio. Crispin's paying
attention to this as well because he was tasked
to investigate the bounty by Sholay, but didn't
know who the target was or that they were connected
at all. Well, where do we go first? I think I'll
answer that question for you. A nervous energy
suddenly begins to... filled this great interior
of this building as the door at the far back
groans open. We see a number of the robed acolytes
of Lakotrina turning and looking. We see even
figures down their beds turning over as this
anxious energy just fills the space. We see a
group of three moving into this temple, pushing
towards the altar at the far back very casually.
pushing towards you. And as any of you glance
behind, you will see the man himself. Speak of
the devil. Half -teethling Serapio, backed by
a cold -eyed woman and a massive mustache of
a man. As he gets close, the roll of snow of
roses grows strong. You can see he holds a bouquet
of the very flowers in his arms, wearing an expression
of such solemn grief. Dance. shoots up to her
feet immediately, turning on the intruder furiously.
Serapio, you dare to show yourself here? My sweet
Cabela, I'm only here to pay my respects to the
fallen, a hero of the old city. I understand
your anger at me. As this is happening, Jules
realizes it's him who bursts up. You! You! And
then he starts running at Serapio. You could
have fucking helped us! I see. Somebody hold
me back. And nobody's holding me back. Oh, okay.
Because I'm going to go in for a fucking strike.
I mean, we'll try. Yeah, I considered it. And
then I was like, I'm going to let it happen.
But yeah, no, no, no. Somebody's got to hold
me back. Crispin will jump up and try to grab
you. Only issue is that in his little form, I
don't know exactly how well he'll do. I think
Ramin's going to help. So take the help action
on this. As Jules runs by Crispin, he's going
to. dive at his feet and try to grapple and try
to stop his feet from moving. Look at who you're
rolling against. And I got a pretty good athletics.
Me too. Plus one. I have plus six with advantage.
What the fuck? All right. Nat 20. Here we go.
I got an eight. That's 18 plus six without even
taking advantage. Easily you stop Jules. Ramin
goes by your side. The second was a 19. So yeah,
you're fine. Let me have my moment. The old Jules
grabs Jules and Serapio just kind of looks at
you. Cox is almost a half smile. I do not help.
Perhaps if you'd taken up my offer in the first
place. You're a piece of shit. Gabriela, I had
sent for these men to come and help you in Hogfight.
My gift to you, my gracious, gracious gift. And
they spat on my arrangement. They spat on it
all. But that's what they get for turning their
backs on the city. So he's got my feet. Can I
cast a spell? Sure. I will say, before you cast
a spell, you do hear a... Hang on. As Dan's full
slap Serapio across the face. Okay, in that case,
I'll say I bring my... And up. And as I see that,
I pull it back down. I don't care about Hogfight.
Where were you when our people were dying here?
You preach revolution, and you stand to the side
like a coward when our oppressors kick down our
doors and shed innocent blood. And now, I hear
you've been denying sleeping medicine to the
people. You are a villain, Serapio. I am not
denying medicine to anyone. Well, just one. Just
this outsider. This werewolf in sheep's clothing
is pointing towards Ramin. This man you so fully
trust. If I did not expect himself to hold and
hoard such a bounty, I... For the last time,
Serapio, there is nothing romantic between me
and Ramin, just as there is nothing romantic
between me and you. Ooh. Whoa. Okay. He just
kind of goes quiet, like bites his lip. Huh.
Now, you're going to tell me everything. Everything
you know about this. And she reaches out to you,
Jules. Reaches for the scroll. I'll give it to
her. She unfurls it. I see. Eyes flicker to you.
This is why you came to me. This is why you came
to my office earlier today. Jules doesn't respond,
just keeps staring. What is it to you? You want
the money? Fine. It's an absolute mess anyway.
War out there. Call it off. Crispin says from
the ground with his arms wrapped around Jules'
legs. Call off the bounty on the boy. You're
trying to start a revolution, but you become
the very thing you're trying to take down. And
that's all you are, a thing. And you will be
squashed if you don't come to your fucking senses.
Roll an insight check. I'm going to two. Damn
it. Two, two. You have a good insight. I want
that. Eleven. Thirteen. Okay. Don't worry about
it. I can't call it off anyway. It's too late.
They're already in the field. You coward. It's
too late. The hunters are already out. They've
gone to the borderlands. The last known location
was Millsapool. If it's too late for him, that
means it's too late for you. Wait, wait, wait.
You know where he is? We know the direction.
General location. I don't know if he's been found
yet. It's... Tell me. It's gone to hell. Tell
me! Look, something out there has been slaying
the hunters I've sent. Some hulking, winged figure.
Some monster knight. I don't care. Do you want
to save him? I'll let you go. I will tell you
what I know. It's out of my hands. You are already
a rebel to the Laroche family. They won't think
of me as an ally to you, and so my place is secured.
The last I heard some great demon in the Borderlands
was slaying the hunters. I've heard recently
that the creature has been wounded during an
attack, has retreated to the town of Mizzapool
to lick its wounds, and the remaining hunters
I've sent are banding together to slay the monster.
Before continuing their pursuit of the half -orc
child, you want to stop the hunters? They'll
all be together. And this creature may know something.
I thought you knew where the boy was. I know
he is in the Borderlands. That's it. The last
I've heard, he was moving east from Hollow. All
right. Can we do a little table talk and figure
out exactly what that means to us? Yeah. So give
us the names of these towns again? Okay, so the
town of Milsapul is far to the eastern borderlands,
far to the northeast of Santillan City. Now,
when you were coming down towards the city, there
was a point where the road sort of split. There
was an old sign. I think the sign actually, I
didn't mention this, but like there was another
name there sort of faded out. You might have
been able to read the name Pantazuela, but it
was sort of scratched out and the name Hollow
was carved in its place. That was one branching
path. The other branching path led you to Sanctityan
City. Now, Serapio is saying that the half -orc
child was last seen, the last known location
when this bounty was given, was that the child
was heading east into the borderlands from Hollow.
Hollow was to the north of the city. So he mentioned
another town called Milzapul. And I will say,
maybe you know maps, maybe someone will point
it out to you. Milzapul is... Far to the east
of Hollow, far to the northeast of Sunsetian
City. Another very small, small, just borderlands
town. That's where the hunters are gathering.
Whether or not the child is near there, it's
a big maybe. But it seems like something strange
has been happening. You may have another enemy
in the field, you may have an ally in the field.
You hear a sound of a great winged creature in
the night, and it might remind you of a certain
thing that you dealt with not too long ago. I'll
add it to the Sunsetian map on. Roll 20 as well.
Oh, okay. Perfect. Yeah. So, so it's kind of
like, it's like a triangle. You say, let's say
one is two short ways to the almost roughly North
of the city. Hollow is where miserable is very
far away to the East, like almost a day's travel.
So that's like diagonal up. Yeah. Okay. Let's,
let's talk the actual mechanics of what's happening
right now. Uh, because I want, you know, basically
everyone to be on the same page with this dance
has been saying that there is something happening
in the city. that there's some great conspiracy
is causing Serenno. Jewel, Serenno is still coming
to kill you. Killing Ramin, killing a lot of
people. This needs to be stopped. And she believes
wholly that the answers lie in the city, perhaps
on Popolitean Hill. But Miskin is the reason
you came here in the first place. And now you
know he is far outside the city. And I think
all of you would slowly gather this, that there's
not time to do both as a group. You will need
to split. Let me open up the map for you. I mean,
we all know where Jules is going. Right. After
just losing Zebulon, there's no fucking way he's
going to let another one go. I'm GMing layering
them now, so you'll see them. Hollow is here.
Okay. Millsapool is here. Oh, wow. Okay. Holy
shit. Way off in the McGuay Valley. Wow. Okay,
and let's go over again who was where, just so
I can now put names to it. Okay, so Hollow is
where Miskin was apparently last seen heading
to the east, heading into the Borderlands from
Hollow. That's all that they know going into
the hunt. Right. So all the bounty hunters moved
into the Borderlands, moved into the McGuay Valley.
Around the territory of Milpazool. I've been
saying it wrong. I'm a doofus. I'm an idiot.
Shit. Around Milpazool. Some creature has been
slaying the hunters in the night. Apparently
it was wounded and apparently it's been tracked
to Milpazool. And all the hunters are gathering
around the town to finally kill this thing. Okay.
So they can resume the hunt unbothered. Okay.
So the owl thing, the hunters, and presumably
Miskin. are all in the direction of Millsapool.
That sounds dangerous as fuck. Millpazool. Millpazool.
Millpazool. Let's say it ten times, all together
now. I'm never going to say it. All together
now. Millpazool. Millpazool. Millpazool. Millpazool.
All right, sorry. Millpazool. Thank you. Wow,
Jeremy, he will be our leader. I think Serapio
just takes you in. So, are we done here? You
better take... Good, hard look in the mirror.
Or else I'm coming back for you. My good friend,
I spend much time in front of my mirror. He gives
you this, like, real snarky smile. Sorry for
you. His eyes flicker to dance. I will see you
later, Gabriela. You cannot evade me for long.
All of the finest things in this city I will
have before long. You've got to earn the girl.
You can't buy what Crispin says as he stands
up and dusts himself off. I think he just glances
at all of you, raises his gloved hand, and almost
seems like a sort of easy, casual wave as he
turns around and begins to walk away. His small
retinue following him dance, just standing defiant
before him, staring after him, just daggers into
his back as he vanishes out the door and back
into the old city. Kingdom. So, Serapio is gone.
And it's time for decisions. There are two objectives,
it seems like. Jules, you seem like you've made
your mind up. Everyone looks to you. Welcome
to be in the face of the group. Dude, seriously,
yeah. Welcome to be in the face of the group.
You're carrying the show on your shoulders, you
sad, sad man. I'm so scared for you. Jules looks
to dance, and his eyes turn to almost a pleading
stare. I can't lose another one. You don't have
to. This could be connected anyway. Samuel LaRoche
posted the bounty. All of this is connected,
and you will not go alone. Jules, will you take
me by your side? Oh, I'll take you. So many emotions
in this episode. All over the place. What a range.
He doesn't nod or say yes. He just stares and
says, thank you. Crap. What, here comes Crispin
to poop on it all? No, no, no, no. I mean, the
group, I think we all know the group has to split
up. And I'm trying to decide where Crispin's
going to go. Because, God, wouldn't it be awkward
if Crispin and Dresden, or sorry, Jules and Dresden
went to the same place? Yeah. Well, let me ask,
before you make your choice, where's Dresden
going? I mean, I don't think Dresden would go
with Jules to begin with. Well, that's your choice.
I think he is much more, I think he'd probably
stay and do what he can here. If I might make
an addition to the scene. I think for the first
time in a very long time, a voice finally breaks
in the corner. You're the only friend I have
left in this world, Jules. I will save you. And
he turns to Dresden. You. You want to save him
too, right? Will you join me? Please. I can't
do it alone, but... I'll be here. You're not
alone. I've got a lot of responsibility, Jules.
To, uh... to solving these problems here on Sansa
Tian. I've got no right asking you to come. I
can't watch you go through it again. I, uh, I
know laws. I'd like to go. Okay. We can, uh,
leave the, uh, city business to these fine folk
here. I feel, uh, a little more comfortable outside
the walls anyway. Yes, for his part, Ramin. stands
up, looks between the two groups like he's just
so torn, and then Dan's nods. I mean, I'll be
gone from the city. They will need a light in
my place. Stay. Help them here. Please. And he
nods and turns towards Dresden and Jean Franklin.
And I think that's everyone decided. Holy shit.
So doing some calculations... I believe right
now the time would be, if you think this is fair,
about 2 o 'clock in the afternoon. Everything
would have just ended around 11 .30. The funeral
would have started maybe starting to get set
up a half an hour later, maybe really getting
full swing an hour later at 12 .30, wrapped up
around 1. And now an hour later is where we find
our party here having this conversation, 2 o
'clock. It is about 15 miles to Mil Pazul. So
about a seven -hour walk. Night falls at eight
o 'clock. And at that time, Serenno will strike
again. Your exhaustion jewels will return, as
Oral means, but he won't be in that group. He
won't be the one leaving. That's the one thing
I will say. Likely before you reach Milpazul,
you'll be dealing with the effects of Serenno,
and they will worsen. But... I got no buts. Sorry.
So let's see here. Well, I mean, I don't know
that I could argue that it would be very restful.
We've at least passed enough time for a short
rest. That's true. I'd allow it, yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Then if that's the case, let's talk about
how far a wild -shaped crispin Could get towards
meal puzzle. So going with Crispin, we have dance
and jewels, correct? Yeah, that's the tricky
part. Both of which aren't very heavy. I'll say
if Jean Franklin was there, you're in trouble.
Sure. He's a heavy boy. I think you could carry
on. If you're going horse again, you can carry
both of them. And I will say, I don't want to
go all number crunchy because I don't feel like
it. If you're going to use an actual like slot.
That'll get you a good start on the way to Mil
Pazul. I would cut off maybe an hour and a half
to two hours. I'll get you there right as the
sun is sinking, but you'll have time where day
will still be active. You will not be dealing
with Serenno when you reach whatever situation
is waiting for you there because you know something
is happening. Okay, yeah. So he would be horse
-shaped for an hour because it's his druid level,
half his druid level rounded down. So that'd
be an hour. So like you said, if you don't want
to get too crunchy into, ooh, how fast can a
horse go? If you have a horse traveling this
way. Right. And Sarah knows traveling that way.
Sarah knows something. A 95 -degree angle at
six miles per hour. What would it hit? But don't
forget, if you roll a natural one while you're
on the horse. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no, no. Oh,
my gosh. So I guess that's fair if you're going
to say that we can get there before nightfall.
If you're rolling that one, can I just have you
sneeze and turn into a horse? Is that? Sorry.
You always have a horse at the ready now. You
don't have to fabricate away. I don't have to
roll for wild shape, but I'll roll. No, you don't.
I just mean any natural one ever that anyone
makes, and you just turn into a horse and kick
them. Geez, I've already used all my hit die,
so I guess I'm just going to take a short rest
and regain my wild shape. So that's the thing.
You realize, you wild shape, you can get everyone
to Milpazool just before dark. which means you'll
have time to accomplish something, at least,
before Serenno strikes at Jules. But you need
to leave now. Now. Well, uh, the day is short,
Jules, and, uh, I think it's time. Yeah. Let's
go. Now I can get you there before the sun goes
down and before the sickness, uh, well, takes
its toll. We'll cross that bridge when we come
to it. Good luck to you too, Nutri. Dance looks
at Dresden. You want to save Jules. You need
help. Go to Salazar. Remember the words, only
the dead are free. I still remember that. Only
Jules knew this. That's true. But I've been waiting
for the time to fucking say it. Hell yeah. Say
it again. Only the dead are free. Speak to Enolvidado
that rests. At the main building. And Paloma
will help you. The Resistance will help you.
And whatever you do, do not trust Serapio. He
speaks of Resistance, but he is a snake. Of course,
you have seen this. And she breaks eye contact
with you, Dresden. Dresden just gives her a nod.
Jules, John Brinkman moves up to you. Just be
careful, okay? I think Jules grabs the back of
John Franklin's head. I need you too. You stay
safe. And he's going to try to pull him in for
a hug. What does John Franklin do? I think there's
a bit of resistance almost at first. And it's
like a real hug. It's not just some joke. I got
you to hug me. It's a genuine. I would hope that
John Franklin can feel. That it's a genuine connection.
His arms are like almost stammering to the side,
slow to move at first. And they wrap around you.
Strong, total muscles holding you and pushing
you towards his shell. And he just says, you're
my best friend. I, I, damn it. I'm not good at
this. This isn't, I don't do this. But damn it,
you're my best friend, Jules. I will save you.
I will. I will save you. I think at that moment,
Jules backs off from the hug, still kind of holding
John Franklin's shoulders. Save me. Please. I
need you alive. Anyway, when this is done...
I got you back. I'm a sidekick without a luminary.
And, well... No, you're not. You got me. He smiles
and he steps away. Steps back. You guys... Take
to the steps of Moreno and leave? Yep. It's time
to book it. Yeah, we're going to step outside
and Crispin will, wild shape, check that off.
Okay. We see a horse take form, dancing jewels
go over the top, you know, jump on the back,
and you start galloping through the streets.
People, you know, sort of making a way for you
as you push your way through the city towards...
Actually, there is a gate out of the city in
the old... In Los Gavilanes, that will lead you
straight to the northeast, to the borderlands.
A shortcut. Yeah. So you are very, very swiftly,
you find yourselves riding across the dusty desert,
pushing on towards a sinking sun, whatever lies
far to the northeast. We cut away from you, back
to the church. Let's go back into camera mode,
right? Let's go back to... Slow camera moving
down on Jean Franklin, who turns, sort of facing
us, facing his new compatriots, Dresden and Amin.
Well, so, where do we start, anyway? And as he's
facing you guys, facing away from the doorway
into the great church, against this great light,
we see a silhouette step into frame. Just a vague
figure. Do they say anything? There you are,
Tadpole. Jean's eyes go wide. Mouth drops slack
as he slowly turns to face the figure. And we'll
call it there.