WEBVTT 00:00:01.550 --> 00:00:03.529 Roll for initiative. All right, Pants People, 00:00:03.649 --> 00:00:06.250 you're up. So here's your options. You can either 00:00:06.250 --> 00:00:09.230 dodge action like a chump, like a coward, and 00:00:09.230 --> 00:00:11.029 not engage with our social media, our Discord, 00:00:11.130 --> 00:00:12.869 all that stuff at all. Or you can commit full 00:00:12.869 --> 00:00:15.650 assault. Get in there. Get on our Instagram, 00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:17.890 our Facebook, our Discord. What else we got? 00:00:18.030 --> 00:00:20.570 Instagram? I said that one already. We got TikTok. 00:00:20.769 --> 00:00:23.109 I don't know. Go do that stuff. It's cool. We're 00:00:23.109 --> 00:00:24.489 doing things all the time. We're working on a 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:26.089 YouTube eventually. We'll get there. But yeah, 00:00:26.149 --> 00:00:27.829 check us out, Pants People. And thank you so 00:00:27.829 --> 00:00:30.280 much for listening. See you guys the best. Uh, 00:00:30.280 --> 00:01:40.189 your turn's over. We've been asked to keep all 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:42.930 names and no guests out of the show, but I can 00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:46.530 say it is an impressive crowd. Now, as an agent 00:01:46.530 --> 00:01:48.909 of the Crystal Network, I should reiterate that 00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:51.920 Papalazzi on Hill is off limits to anybody. without 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:54.640 an invite. Seriously, folks, don't get any ideas 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:57.060 or party crashing. Marfa's Guardian Armors patrol 00:01:57.060 --> 00:01:59.719 the area heavily to protect the homes and properties 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:02.620 of the Tressina and their allies. We've seen 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:05.340 tragedy after tragedy every year. Someone caught 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:07.000 up in the atmosphere getting mistaken for a criminal 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.680 element and killed as a result. Now, I'm sure 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:13.000 the idea of a secret high society party is tantalizing. 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:16.539 I get it. I do. But getting in just ain't worth 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:19.319 your life. The night I remembered may be a celebration 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:21.979 of death. But I think we'd all prefer to see 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:24.879 Santa Claus revelers live. To see the morning 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:30.479 light. All right, gentlemen. You're on the streets. 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:37.240 It's raining. Gross. Tip -tapping down the sidewalk. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.500 And would you know it? A gentleman comes up an 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:44.389 alley. Says, hey, kid, come here. To you. And 00:02:44.389 --> 00:02:46.590 you come here because that's what happens. Because 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:50.250 that's the story. No. He opens his jacket up. 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.770 What's he got in there? It's watches? No. It's 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.150 tickets. You see tickets lining his pocket. Tickets 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:58.069 to anywhere in the world. Round trip. That day. 00:02:58.789 --> 00:03:01.310 Where do you go? Any feasible location in the 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:03.189 world that this man could take you on his magical 00:03:03.189 --> 00:03:06.050 little jacket journey. Where do you go? Probably 00:03:06.050 --> 00:03:08.669 South Korea. That was a really fast answer and 00:03:08.669 --> 00:03:10.530 a really interesting one. Elaborate, sir. Yeah. 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:12.349 South Korea looks really cool. I mean, yeah. 00:03:12.349 --> 00:03:14.530 It's super expensive to go there. Really? Is 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:18.169 it? Huh. I did not know that. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty 00:03:18.169 --> 00:03:20.229 sure it's a pretty expensive place. Damn, that's 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:23.750 awesome. That's it? I mean, it looks beautiful. 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:26.389 It looks beautiful. I'd like to see, you know, 00:03:26.389 --> 00:03:28.870 a different culture. You gotta sell this man, 00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:30.530 okay? He's got the tickets, but if you don't 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:32.490 fucking sell your desire to him, he's going to 00:03:32.490 --> 00:03:34.870 take them to someone who cares more than your 00:03:34.870 --> 00:03:37.629 melancholy, half -baked reasoning. Yeah, I couldn't 00:03:37.629 --> 00:03:39.729 do that on a good day. He scoffs at you and goes, 00:03:39.810 --> 00:03:43.509 you, Jeremy. Hey, you, kid. Hey, you, kid. I 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:44.810 got tickets to anywhere in the world, and this 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:46.689 guy doesn't get one. First off, I'm not a kid, 00:03:46.729 --> 00:03:49.069 bitch. Okay, well. That was the first thing that 00:03:49.069 --> 00:03:50.750 turned me on. I thought about saying something 00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:52.150 about that. That was a little rude. Hey, hey, 00:03:52.169 --> 00:03:53.849 you're out of the scene. Your ponytail's gone. 00:03:54.069 --> 00:03:55.930 Your ponytail whipping around the corner. You 00:03:55.930 --> 00:03:59.210 left. You ran away. You. First choice would be 00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:02.550 New Zealand. That's a cool one. Yeah. That's 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:04.449 a cool one. Give me your reasoning. Some people 00:04:04.449 --> 00:04:05.949 don't like to give good reasons when they, yeah. 00:04:06.650 --> 00:04:09.259 Yeah. The Shire? That's a pretty good reason. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:10.819 Yeah. It's a good reason. Okay. All right. I 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:13.280 like that. Second choice would be Tokyo. I like 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:15.180 that one a lot. I like that one a lot too. That 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:17.300 one, that's after my own heart. I want to go 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.439 there and feel the electricity. That sounds awesome. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:22.379 That sounds awesome. Yeah. I mean, really anywhere 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.300 in Asia would be super cool. Oh yeah. I mean, 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:27.420 different culture, different food, different, 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.939 you know, the cherry blossoms, like I'm into 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:34.839 it. So, all right. Connecting to this, I'll tell 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:37.259 you mine. I can't remember exactly where it is. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:38.800 I want to say it's in the Kyoto area. But, like, 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:43.060 there is a theme park in Japan called, I believe, 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:44.920 Dragon Quest World. Oh, sure. I guess Dragon 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:48.399 Quest Land. Okay, so I am a massive, massive 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.819 fanboy of the Dragon Quest series of games. Love 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:53.180 them to a million, billion pieces. Love that 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:56.230 series so much. There's a park. Where you can 00:04:56.230 --> 00:04:58.709 just go through and like the park itself is playing 00:04:58.709 --> 00:05:00.910 an RPG. You go to different spots and you run 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:02.430 a turn -based encounter and you go on a whole 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:04.029 adventure. But it's like an adventure where you 00:05:04.029 --> 00:05:05.709 walk from place to place. It sounds like the 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:07.250 best thing that could ever happen to a person 00:05:07.250 --> 00:05:09.769 in the entirety of the world. I want that so 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:13.610 badly. So is that your answer? If this man approached 00:05:13.610 --> 00:05:15.709 me, which he can't because I am the man. So it's 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:18.189 a metaphor. What if I am the man? Holy shit. 00:05:18.610 --> 00:05:21.660 Power move. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'd tell 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:23.279 you. That's what I'd tell you, Mr. Sir. Hey, 00:05:23.300 --> 00:05:25.000 kid, where you want to go? I want to go to Dragon 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.720 Quest Park, please, sir. Please. Tell me why. 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.300 Can you say that again? Yeah. It'll help me get 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:34.120 in. It's a childlike experience of wonder. You 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:38.160 must be this short to ride the ride. I want to 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.980 fight dragons and... So how about we all go to 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:43.019 Japan together someday? Dude, that would be... 00:05:43.019 --> 00:05:45.319 I would take you all to Dragon Quest Park. We 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.620 have the best time in the world. I swear, it's 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:49.180 going to be such a good time. We would paint 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:51.660 that town. We'd paint that town red with the 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:54.279 blood of dragons. That's all I got. That's all 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:58.160 I got. Well, it's currently November 2023. Let's 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:01.180 try for the next, what, four or five years? Dude, 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:02.819 I'm in. I'm in. I've been wanting to go for my 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:04.779 whole life. I would be absolutely down. Yeah. 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:10.779 Yeah, totally. Serious podcaster. All right, 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:12.839 guys. We're Serious Podcast with a serious story. 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:14.459 You want to talk about a serious story? Yeah, 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.019 let's get serious. Got any fucking mail for us? 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:19.300 No, no mail right now. How lame. Get better, 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:25.139 pants people. Oh, my God. What is that? What 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:30.259 was that? Why do you have to... You got the Dresden 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.420 laugh. The Dresden laugh. All keyed up, ready 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:36.779 to go. All right. I did that, but I also did... 00:06:36.779 --> 00:06:40.220 I also did just an out of the blue. Meeps. Oh, 00:06:40.220 --> 00:06:48.579 God, yeah. Meeps? Oh, no. Oh, heart to point, 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:50.379 we're taking quotes and putting them on the thing, 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:55.100 and that is so dangerous and funny. Oh, no. Bit 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:58.019 by bit, we're going to get a little more zany. 00:06:58.180 --> 00:06:59.600 We're going to be serious podcasts here pretty 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:02.879 soon. Serious podcasters. We are serious podcasters. 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:07.300 It's time for a serious flashback. It's not that 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:10.000 serious, actually, but hey, we've had serious 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:20.170 -er. I didn't plug in Sirenscape because I'm 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:23.389 a serious. Hang on. Well, there's two serious 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:25.509 podcasters in this room. This is a mess. Hold 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:28.829 on. This is a mess. No, hold on. We've got to 00:07:28.829 --> 00:07:32.310 do two tonight. We've got to do that. We'll tell 00:07:32.310 --> 00:07:35.250 you why next episode. Maybe pause the recording 00:07:35.250 --> 00:07:37.610 for like half a jiffy second. You know, give 00:07:37.610 --> 00:07:40.550 me a. Give me a second. Half a jiffy second. 00:07:40.550 --> 00:07:43.250 You're sweating bullets over there. It's not. 00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:46.449 Everybody's going wrong. Give me your button 00:07:46.449 --> 00:07:48.939 back. Do you have any buttons? Why? Because it 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:51.819 wasn't even me. It was you. It was Jeremy. You 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:54.699 had a slider on. The whole time. I turned up 00:07:54.699 --> 00:08:00.420 the wrong fader. Professional podcasters. You 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.899 guys are pooping all over me. Think anybody's 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:05.860 still listening? No, no. Let's do a flashback. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.879 I want to open up now on a familiar site. I want 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:15.720 to open up on the harsh, crowded streets of Cerule's 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.579 low city. I know we've been here before, but 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:19.839 let's go back real quick. Maybe even a couple 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:23.060 more times. We see night has swiftly overtaken 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:25.339 the sky, the stars beginning to shine and twinkle 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:27.600 over the great shadows of towers that stand to 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:31.339 the east of this portion of the city. But despite 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:33.899 the bleak atmosphere, we can hear the muted sounds 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:37.000 of celebration emanating from a large, nondescript 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.159 structure tucked deep into the city's bowels. 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:42.320 A building of crumbling brick, single story, 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.899 but longer and wider than most around. Now, low 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:48.139 city pubs have a habit of hiding in plain sight. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:51.220 They look like any other old warehouse or enclosed 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:54.100 tenement that dot the city slums, but there's 00:08:54.100 --> 00:08:56.720 no sign of visible advertisement. Advertisement 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:58.820 can bring bad crowds, wrong crowds, you know, 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:00.879 corrupt high city guard, criminal gangs, people 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:02.679 eager to bully and steal from any place that 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:05.919 seems to be holding its own. But the good people, 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:08.120 the ones that can be trusted. And the ones that 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:09.879 still try to seek out joy at the end of a long, 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:12.820 exhausting day of labor. They know where to go. 00:09:13.100 --> 00:09:15.200 And among these many small bastions of meager 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.019 joy hidden throughout this low city, Mickens 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:21.559 Pub is one of the most well -respected. So we 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:23.639 move in towards this building, towards the sounds 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:25.840 of revelry. We push through the grain of the 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.879 wooden door and we are among the people. Drinking 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.259 and chatting. One woman awkwardly attempting 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:34.070 to lead the crowd into a folk song. Nobody joins, 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:36.190 but many turn their attention towards her, their 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:38.470 creased and weary eyes carrying the shadow of 00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:42.529 a smile. And beyond all of this, beyond the makeshift 00:09:42.529 --> 00:09:45.230 bar built on cloth -covered crates, we see a 00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:47.210 copper -skinned dwarven child sitting over a 00:09:47.210 --> 00:09:50.690 trapdoor set into the floor. He sighs, his eyelids 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:55.549 drooping, closed, and faint snores rolling out 00:09:55.549 --> 00:09:57.429 from his nose before his eyes flutter open and 00:09:57.429 --> 00:09:59.830 he shakes himself awake again. This child is, 00:09:59.889 --> 00:10:03.929 of course, A younger Mulligan Svulligan, around 00:10:03.929 --> 00:10:06.889 eight years old. And we hear him whisper to himself, 00:10:07.070 --> 00:10:12.690 just, no sleep, no sleep, no sleep. Jules, Jules 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:16.769 is counting on me to hold this door. Now, before 00:10:16.769 --> 00:10:20.029 we continue, we should address the Jules, sort 00:10:20.029 --> 00:10:23.299 of lore, Jules timeline really quick. See, I, 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:25.700 as a longtime television fanatic, absolutely 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.460 love flashback scenes that resonate with the 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:30.600 events of an episode but are told out of chronological 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.440 order. I have a blast piecing these sort of timelines 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.220 together, but that is a lot easier in a visual 00:10:36.220 --> 00:10:39.379 medium. And we've had a number of Jules flashbacks 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:41.379 at this point, as well as Dresden flashbacks 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.320 that sort of intertwine with them. And I really 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:44.600 want to start setting the record straight about 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:46.980 when and where they go down in the timeline, 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:50.039 because there's more to come. So up to this point, 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:52.639 I'll say it looks like this. We had our first 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:55.519 flashback of Jules early in his 13th year in 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:58.559 the darkness. The single candle, this dark ritual, 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:02.580 something trying to invite itself into him, screaming 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:05.879 at him to open his eyes. Then, very shortly after 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:09.019 that, we have Jules meeting Dresden. About two 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:12.159 years after this time, sort of late in his 15th 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.100 year, we have the scene with the black candle 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:17.360 where Jules gains his abilities, which we've 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:19.240 labeled as a shadow -touched feat. where his 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:21.559 hand is sliced open, the wax poured in, some 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:25.460 dark ritual giving him power. And not long after 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:27.899 that, at age 16, I think we said 14 in the episode, 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:30.659 that was my mistake, I realize, age 16, Jules 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:33.600 meets Chester after a few days in the Low City. 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:36.320 What we're going to pick up now is four years 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.600 later than that. Jules is 20 years old. This 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:43.440 is four years before the sapphires fall and this 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.860 adventure begins. At this point, Chester, Fibrosis, 00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:49.700 and Mulligan have all joined his ranks. And currently, 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.299 Jules and the gang are dealing with a peculiar 00:11:52.299 --> 00:11:55.759 little problem. So, Jeremy, I imagine at this 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.080 point Jules is sort of in your gang almost like 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:01.899 the Robin Hoods of the lower city. Yeah. Scoundrel 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:03.399 kids that go around stealing from the high city 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:05.799 folk, conning them, getting what you can, hoarding 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:07.379 it, giving it to the people that need it the 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:10.159 most. Yeah, we've definitely already established 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:13.399 our shenanigans at this point. Yeah. I love it. 00:12:13.950 --> 00:12:16.169 And I think you are, in that way, sort of revered 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:20.509 as heroes by so many people in need. And in holding 00:12:20.509 --> 00:12:22.289 these items and being these heroes, you will, 00:12:22.350 --> 00:12:24.190 of course, need to store your scores between 00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:25.950 jobs. Because you need to give them to the people 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:27.570 who need them most. And sometimes you have a 00:12:27.570 --> 00:12:30.870 good haul. I imagine you have stores of money, 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.129 of food, of clothing, various basic comforts 00:12:33.129 --> 00:12:36.360 that can help the people. So you need safe houses. 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:38.600 We talked about one before when you met Roundstuff. 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:40.120 We talked about, like, you had these various 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:41.820 sort of safe houses you could store your things 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:43.820 at where you'd kind of camp out. And I imagine 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:46.559 you're having to move pretty consistently. So 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.259 you've got a lot of allies here amongst the people. 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:49.879 And a number of them have given you sort of safe 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:52.980 houses. And amongst them, you have, of course, 00:12:53.059 --> 00:12:56.740 Micken and his pup. You've managed to store your 00:12:56.740 --> 00:13:00.340 stuff down in the basement below. The revelers 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:02.840 up top, they don't know about this. But down 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:07.080 here in the dark, You are free. But there's been 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.480 a problem. At the last couple of safe houses 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.200 you had, the one before this and this one here, 00:13:11.340 --> 00:13:13.279 things have been going missing in the night. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.799 Fibro has been avid about recording your inventory, 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:18.700 mostly to make sure Mulligan doesn't eat too 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:21.139 much of it. And he has noticed a pattern of things 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.240 disappearing, mostly food, but some money and 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.799 some clothing as well. And now in the safe houses, 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:29.620 you're starting to feel this again. You realize 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:31.620 that it's a continuing problem. Something is 00:13:31.620 --> 00:13:34.879 wrong. And the time has come to take action against 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.720 this threat. What action do you think Jules would 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:41.100 take? Jules and the rest of the guys are pretty 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:44.600 street savvy. So I think they kind of have an 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:48.220 idea of what's going on. So they're going to 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:50.919 do a stakeout. Hell yeah. They're going to stake 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.740 out the joint. All right. Even in what seems 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:56.340 like the most private of places, shit's still 00:13:56.340 --> 00:14:00.340 going missing. So we pan down beneath Mulligan 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:03.039 where he sits on this trap door. One of the two 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.440 exits to this sort of basement layer. As we move 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.620 down, we see this dimly lit basement just loaded 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:10.100 with all sorts of crates and barrels and things. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.259 Some of them belonging to Micken, but many of 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:15.539 them belonging to you guys. There is one more 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:17.460 exit, a staircase towards the back that leads 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:20.899 to sort of cellar entrance behind the structure. 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:23.620 This is closed up, locked. Do you have a guard 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:27.960 on this door? Chester's there. Okay. So Chester 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:31.409 is waiting outside. sort of poised to go, but 00:14:31.409 --> 00:14:34.509 I don't think he's too concerned. Not that someone's 00:14:34.509 --> 00:14:36.190 going to break in here, because I think you've 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:39.049 noticed that these entrances haven't been bothered. 00:14:39.370 --> 00:14:43.029 No. So where is Jules? Jules is hiding in the 00:14:43.029 --> 00:14:46.690 shadows behind a crate. Probably been here. Invisible. 00:14:47.570 --> 00:14:50.789 Oh, shoot. Yes, you have it by now. Actually, 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:52.629 you know what? You know what? No, no, no. No? 00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:55.169 I'm going to alter this. He's not sitting behind 00:14:55.169 --> 00:14:57.759 a crate. He's just sitting on top of the crate, 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.659 but he's invisible. That's amazing. He went invisible 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:04.919 before they came down this time. That is clever. 00:15:05.299 --> 00:15:08.740 Oh, devious. So you guys go down, store your 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:10.500 items, and everyone kind of makes out like they're 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:13.100 leaving. Things are all closed up. One door watched 00:15:13.100 --> 00:15:16.080 by Chester. One door sat on by Mulligan. Fibro 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:19.039 is who knows where. He's in his books. Yeah, 00:15:19.059 --> 00:15:21.120 he's reading. He's in his books. He did his part. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:26.159 But Jules is here, invisible, waiting. And waiting. 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:29.299 And as the night goes on, everything goes silent. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:32.639 As the sounds of revelry above begin to fade. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:37.639 People going home. The bar closing. You hear 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:42.620 a soft scrape. Something moving towards the back. 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.419 And you realize the perpetrator has been here. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:50.340 You knew the perpetrator had been here. Hiding 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:53.100 amongst all of this. Waiting for his chance. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:58.259 You watch. As slowly, a small figure, maybe a 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:01.399 five -year -old child, begins to move across 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:05.059 the floor carefully. Eyes falling on the exact 00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:07.679 crate you're sitting on, because I imagine some 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.679 good stuff in it. Oh, yeah. As he grows closer, 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:14.120 you can see green skin, pointed ears, the features 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:17.799 of a half -orc child. And very quietly, he moves 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.740 over to open the lid of the crate. What do you 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:27.850 do? What you doing there? He just reaches behind 00:16:27.850 --> 00:16:30.049 his belt, tries to pull out like a tiny little 00:16:30.049 --> 00:16:33.409 like dagger, like comically small and just, where, 00:16:33.549 --> 00:16:38.590 where are you? I'm, I'm dangerous. You don't 00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:42.730 want to, you better give me your stuff. He's 00:16:42.730 --> 00:16:44.190 just like looking around all over, trying to 00:16:44.190 --> 00:16:47.330 spot you. It sounds so close. You can put that 00:16:47.330 --> 00:16:50.350 down. You're among friends here. It's okay. And 00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:54.179 then Jules reveals himself. Uh, he, Almost drops 00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:56.460 the weapon, like flailing hands, and he kind 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:58.559 of like leaps backwards and then sort of poisons 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:01.039 it towards you again. You see his eyes look towards 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:04.619 the cellar door that Chester's manning, and he 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:06.440 makes a move like he's going to run towards it. 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:12.740 Put the knife down. You're safe. No one's safe 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:16.960 anywhere. He's safe here. Trust me. And he kind 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.220 of look over at Chester. Yeah, Chester's kind 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:21.819 of like steps in, sits down in front of the stairs, 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:26.970 kind of like. nodding, waiting. Looks towards 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:28.890 the trapdoor and realizes they're two. It's like, 00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:33.430 one door's manned. I'm Jules, and this is Chester. 00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:38.029 What's your name? He drops the weapon, puts his 00:17:38.029 --> 00:17:40.490 hands behind his head, and just in a very adult 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:43.009 manner just says, You can torture me all you 00:17:43.009 --> 00:17:51.069 want. I won't tell you anything. He's five. Do 00:17:51.069 --> 00:17:53.329 your worst. Nah, nah, nah. There's going to be 00:17:53.329 --> 00:17:56.089 none of that here. He's just glaring. He doesn't 00:17:56.089 --> 00:18:00.529 trust you. He's like scared. What are you after? 00:18:01.890 --> 00:18:06.470 Things. We got things. We can share these things. 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:10.650 You don't got to take them in the shadows. What's 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:14.309 it cost? Everything costs something here in the 00:18:14.309 --> 00:18:22.029 streets. All it costs is friendship, man. You 00:18:22.029 --> 00:18:25.009 got our back, we got yours. I think he almost 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:27.230 bewildered looks towards Chester, who just kind 00:18:27.230 --> 00:18:29.269 of shrugs and says, Hey, he's telling the truth, 00:18:29.349 --> 00:18:32.329 man. I know it's crazy, but that's Jules. You're 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:35.390 going to like him. And hey, you got skills. Honestly, 00:18:35.589 --> 00:18:37.809 it took us a while to catch you. And even just 00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:39.849 now, you were quiet. We could use someone like 00:18:39.849 --> 00:18:44.309 that. Right, Jules? Yeah, and we take from people 00:18:44.309 --> 00:18:49.420 that deserve to be taken from. Deserve. Justice, 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:56.160 yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So if I protect you, I can 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.759 have some stuff. We all get some stuff. But the 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.460 most important part is we get a family. There's 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:07.640 this moment, hearing that word of just longing 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:14.259 in his eyes. Family. And he reaches out, small, 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:19.160 shaking, to a rough little hand. I'm Miskin. 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.000 Miskin Muddlehopper. And Jules reaches out a 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.200 hand, shakes it. It's really good to meet you, 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.799 Miskin. Welcome. So, Jules, you're just from 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.440 the corner. We did it. Caught the guy, got a 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.240 new member. What do you say? You want to celebrate? 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:37.940 Hell yeah. Let's do it. Mickey may have closed 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:40.460 up, but his stuff's still up there. Oh, yeah. 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:42.559 You thinking the usual? Oh, man, we got to get 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:45.460 Miskin in on this. Miskin, Miskin. What are you 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:47.279 doing? Have you ever heard of a cherry delight? 00:19:48.309 --> 00:19:50.809 Cherry what? Come on, come on. We'll make you 00:19:50.809 --> 00:19:53.109 one. Come on. Come on up. And I think like with 00:19:53.109 --> 00:19:55.230 that, you see Jules and Chester begin to move 00:19:55.230 --> 00:19:58.730 towards the ladder by banging on to wake up Mulligan, 00:19:58.789 --> 00:20:00.529 who definitely fell asleep, snoring to their 00:20:00.529 --> 00:20:05.289 side. Oh no, we're trapped. As you move away, 00:20:05.390 --> 00:20:07.809 I think we just kind of pan over to little Miskin, 00:20:07.849 --> 00:20:13.950 eyes wide and watching a cherry delight. And 00:20:13.950 --> 00:20:21.539 we pan away from this scene. Fade to black. Jules, 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:25.240 as we return to the present, to the borderlands 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:29.099 of Saint -Étienne, and to this nice little pukeria? 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:33.319 Pukeria? Don't look at me. This little bar. I 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:36.460 can't help you. In the town of Mupazul. We cut 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:39.640 to you. Now we're in this cool, sleek, dark, 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:42.500 plus one studded leather armor. And I imagine 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.799 just like sort of packing the last of what you 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:48.210 need into your handy... your gift from Coley 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:52.710 Sr., is 5 a .m. on the second day. We're on the 00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:55.630 second day, guys. Day two. Took a while. We're 00:20:55.630 --> 00:20:58.789 here. Oh, man. Wait, no. Wait, the whole time 00:20:58.789 --> 00:21:01.470 we've been on Sansa Tian? Wait, seriously? Yep. 00:21:01.890 --> 00:21:04.440 Holy shit. Zebulon and Jules arrived on Santa 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.319 Town at, I believe it was 9 o 'clock p .m. on 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.079 day zero. So we don't believe you. We did not 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.160 give enough character death processing time. 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.180 Dude, I think we have like, I think we have like 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:17.720 literally, it must be like 24 hours of content. 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:21.960 Yeah. I mean, it's just a lot of numbness because 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:23.140 like that's, I think what you're dealing with, 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.619 like you're pushing, it's a lot of denial and 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:27.579 pushing through. Yeah, it's coping mechanisms. 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:29.440 And everyone's been doubling down on these missions. 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.250 Jean, I mean, his whole thing is like, I want 00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:33.789 to save Jules. I want to save Jules because he 00:21:33.789 --> 00:21:36.029 knows that like this just happened. It's so fresh. 00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:37.750 Well, there's also a point where we have to sort 00:21:37.750 --> 00:21:41.869 of like, you know, suspend our reality and understand 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.089 we're playing a game. Oh, I know. You know? Yeah. 00:21:44.150 --> 00:21:49.950 No. Hey, no. It's all genius. Instead of like 00:21:49.950 --> 00:21:52.170 my best friend died yesterday, but okay, I'm 00:21:52.170 --> 00:21:53.910 going to continue on this adventure right now. 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:57.890 That's fair. This is just a very short while 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:00.829 after the previous scene. Crispin, I imagine 00:22:00.829 --> 00:22:03.690 you're still sitting out behind the Picaria, 00:22:03.829 --> 00:22:06.670 still smoking your smoke rings. We're going to 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:08.369 get to you. We're going to get to you. We've 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:12.130 got a lot to say to you. Crispin. Uh -oh. And 00:22:12.130 --> 00:22:14.450 we know Dance and Arhalon have not returned quite 00:22:14.450 --> 00:22:17.509 yet from wherever they had gone. Right now, Jules, 00:22:17.609 --> 00:22:20.029 you still feel the exhaustion of Serenno. You'll 00:22:20.029 --> 00:22:21.930 feel it until around 6 o 'clock a .m. when it 00:22:21.930 --> 00:22:25.930 will vanish. How many points am I at? I believe 00:22:25.930 --> 00:22:29.109 you're at three. Okay. Wowee. Okay. They could 00:22:29.109 --> 00:22:30.670 have been a lot worse. You passed your last save. 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:33.170 That was good. I mean, honestly, I'm not overly 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:35.569 concerned just yet because it's 10, right? I 00:22:35.569 --> 00:22:38.430 think so. It's 10, right? 10 is death. Okay. 00:22:38.630 --> 00:22:41.230 Okay. Yeah. So if you can resolve things fast, 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.990 no matter what failure you could have tonight, 00:22:44.109 --> 00:22:46.630 potentially, you might be okay. Oh, look, there's 00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:49.069 Miskin. Let's go. Okay. Only 30 % of the way 00:22:49.069 --> 00:22:52.130 to death. I ignore that fact most days. Oh, no. 00:22:52.750 --> 00:22:56.009 Don't. Don't do this. Don't you math me. Oh, 00:22:56.029 --> 00:22:59.230 no. I don't know what kind of day you're having 00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:02.509 out there, but I hope you didn't need that. Oh, 00:23:02.509 --> 00:23:07.730 no. Jules, what do you do? You know it's about 00:23:07.730 --> 00:23:09.210 time. You know, light's going to hit the sky 00:23:09.210 --> 00:23:11.089 pretty soon. You guys want to leave pretty soon. 00:23:11.690 --> 00:23:14.029 Kind of still waiting on people. Where are we 00:23:14.029 --> 00:23:17.349 at again? We're in... You are in the Bukiori. 00:23:17.450 --> 00:23:19.130 You're downstairs. You just packed all your stuff. 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:23.049 You're ready to go. And it's a bar. Yes. Jules 00:23:23.049 --> 00:23:27.089 is drinking an ale. At 5 a .m. Yes. I love that. 00:23:27.230 --> 00:23:41.529 Yes. I mean, we do it. Not exactly. You're paid 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:49.269 to do it. Not exactly. Yeah, I think he's just 00:23:49.269 --> 00:23:52.390 sitting at the bar alone. Okay, fine. Drinking 00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:55.809 a water. No, no, no. Tell your truth, my man. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.900 Don't let my surprise change Jules' story. Yeah, 00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:04.579 he's just sitting silently at the bar by himself. 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:07.819 Okay. So your bag's slumpin' easy. You're just 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:09.859 kind of drinking at the bar and you hear the 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:12.500 saloon door open behind you. He doesn't even 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:17.339 turn around. Welcome back. You just hear a, hmm, 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:21.579 drinking already? Seems like an appropriate time. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:24.740 Pull me something. You're not gonna like it, 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:28.579 but okay. And he pours what he's got, which is 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:34.960 just your standard ale. She sort of glides over 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:38.380 to the bar, kind of leans up next to you, picks 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:41.940 up the glass and... This will not do. I told 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:45.559 you. Yes, you did. She passes it over to you. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.759 Drink this one too. All right. And I think she 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.099 kind of goes behind the bar and starts fishing 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:54.599 around and picks up this bottle of the more standard 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:59.099 pulque. Sniffs it. This is good. This will be 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:02.359 good. I've been, uh, speaking with the owner 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:04.960 of this tavern. I paid them off for the damages 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.680 for the night. Whatever we've taken. Everything 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.279 is cleared. They were terrified of that monster 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:16.680 we travel with. As you should be. I can see right 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:21.799 through Arhalon. He's not a monster. He's just 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.519 got some, uh, he's got some walls to break down. 00:25:25.289 --> 00:25:28.769 Then he'll get there. If he's anything like Zebulon, 00:25:28.890 --> 00:25:33.470 he'll get there. She gets this kind of far -off 00:25:33.470 --> 00:25:35.970 look, kind of staring at the back wall, and then 00:25:35.970 --> 00:25:41.369 nods slowly. Zebulon, your grief must be fresh 00:25:41.369 --> 00:25:46.230 still. But perhaps I can help. Will you come 00:25:46.230 --> 00:25:48.589 with me? We have some time before we have to 00:25:48.589 --> 00:25:51.369 go. And this is important. It may save our lives 00:25:51.369 --> 00:25:55.980 later. I'll explain. Let me get outside. Yeah, 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.220 sure. You lead the way. And I think she moves 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:04.099 out, leading out the front door, around sort 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.099 of like towards the side of the book area with 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:10.359 this kind of an open wall. And you notice something 00:26:10.359 --> 00:26:14.559 there. Looks like a number of small stone altars 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:18.359 and a path leading over to them. You see as Dancer 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:20.579 approaches them, she fishes a sort of satchel 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:23.579 that she didn't have before. sort of down from 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:26.039 around her arm, and begins to, like, open it 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:28.559 up, and starts on two of these altars, decorating 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:30.680 them with a number of things. You see a number 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:34.279 of, like, candles, a sort of inscription running 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:38.079 down, the wax, as well as a number of marigolds, 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:39.980 starts decorating the altars with around the 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:43.920 bottom. Tonight, Jules, the celebrated dead of 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:46.940 Sansation will return to their loved ones. This 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:50.680 works only if you build what's called an ofrenda. 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:53.740 These are small personal altars that work as 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:56.759 invitations into the feud plane and beyond. I... 00:26:56.759 --> 00:27:00.119 I must build an ofrenda for Matteo before the 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:04.000 night comes. And if all should work, he will 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.200 come to us. Tonight. He will help us tonight. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.960 And I invite you to do the same. I... And she 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:13.400 kind of puts her hand up. I... I don't want to 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:16.839 get your hopes up. Zebulon... He cannot come 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:21.160 back. Not like Matteo can. There is... A spark 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:23.619 in those raised on Saint -Étienne, born here. 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:28.680 Those with my blood. Like Katrina, she left it 00:27:28.680 --> 00:27:30.859 to my people many, many, many years ago, generations 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:33.180 ago. And every year we have been able to come 00:27:33.180 --> 00:27:36.680 back, but those from off -world, they don't have 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:40.119 this spark. Even so, though, I find it is comforting 00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:44.240 to create an altar to those lost. And she gestures 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:47.039 towards the second one she's decorated. I will 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.880 walk you through it. Yeah, sure, I'll give it 00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:52.960 a try. Here, and she hands you a number of marigolds. 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:56.140 Decorate as you will, around the base. And you 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:58.599 just kind of start following her lead and decorating 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:02.019 them? Yes. So two of you are leaning side by 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:03.740 side in front of these stone altars, decorating. 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.079 I think it was like a moment of silence, and 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:10.859 then... Jules, do you... Do you know what happens 00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:13.480 after you die? Are you aware of Zebulon's journey? 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:19.299 No, I mean... That is dead. It's not so true 00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:23.750 here. Or anywhere, I found. Whether or not you 00:28:23.750 --> 00:28:26.630 have the spark, the passing is peaceful. It is 00:28:26.630 --> 00:28:30.450 a good thing. He will have found himself in the 00:28:30.450 --> 00:28:34.670 fugue plane. A vast gray landscape. Those who 00:28:34.670 --> 00:28:36.630 come back, they remember the fugue plane well. 00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:40.809 Nothing beyond it, but they remember feeling 00:28:40.809 --> 00:28:44.609 this warmth and this calm. As a pillar of light, 00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:47.849 a beacon on the horizon called to them. They 00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:51.079 remember... Walking in a trance. Letting the 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:53.140 warmth of the light envelop them and take them. 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:58.079 And they remember joy. They don't remember where 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:00.160 from. They don't remember what happens beyond 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:02.480 the light. I don't think anyone really remembers. 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:06.000 But there is joy. For those who have lived good 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.359 lives, there is joy. And Zebulon was good. How 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:11.880 do you know that? We can speak with the dead. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:14.640 Well, I got a question for you then. Please. 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.279 When they come back... Is that even really them? 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:23.140 She kind of smiles and looks down. My mother 00:29:23.140 --> 00:29:26.740 and father. Mateo and I lost both of them years 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:29.140 ago. The first year they came back, I had the 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:31.519 same thought. Will it be them? Will they remember 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:34.019 everything? Their form has changed. They are 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:37.619 skeletal. I don't have seen the Olvidatos around, 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:40.480 those who death forgets to reclaim at the night's 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.619 end, but... I'm not talking about their body, 00:29:42.700 --> 00:29:45.519 what they look like. I'm talking about their 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:50.490 soul. It was them, Jules. When they spoke. When 00:29:50.490 --> 00:29:54.210 she held me. It was after that that Matteo and 00:29:54.210 --> 00:29:56.950 I decided to take on the monikers of Dance Macabre 00:29:56.950 --> 00:29:59.329 and Demilich. To honor the dead in the arena. 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:04.210 To honor La Catrina and her gift. I would bring 00:30:04.210 --> 00:30:07.269 them back too, but I do not have all the tools. 00:30:07.970 --> 00:30:12.369 But Matteo. I can bring back Matteo. First things 00:30:12.369 --> 00:30:14.630 first. You need something Jebion would love. 00:30:15.450 --> 00:30:17.710 Something... He would treasure in life a gift 00:30:17.710 --> 00:30:20.690 to invite him. Do you have anything like this? 00:30:21.910 --> 00:30:24.690 Jules would go back into the bar, grab as much 00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:29.630 food as he can. Oh, food, yes. And then he's 00:30:29.630 --> 00:30:32.529 going to come out with the tray of food. This 00:30:32.529 --> 00:30:34.730 is like nondescript food because Zebulon wasn't 00:30:34.730 --> 00:30:40.509 that guy. He'd just eat until he puked. That's 00:30:40.509 --> 00:30:46.079 a lot to put on. Nope, do it. So much food for 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:49.420 the altar. Dance, if you knew Zeb, this is not 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:57.579 enough. How is he so small? So Jules comes with 00:30:57.579 --> 00:31:02.119 the food and kneels down at the altar. And he's 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:04.980 got this, he initially has this expression like, 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:08.180 this is so fucking stupid. Like, what the hell 00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:10.299 am I doing? But he's doing it because, you know, 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:13.000 it's dance and he would do anything for dance. 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:18.579 Let's just put that out in the open. And he puts 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:21.960 the food down and kind of stares down at it for 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:25.339 a second. You're just loading this altar with 00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:28.539 food. I think you can feel Danza's eyes on you 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:30.880 and this kind of soft smile playing in her lips 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:33.640 as she sees. Maybe just watching her expression 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.579 and knowing that you're not overly enjoying this, 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:42.319 but knowing that in her way that this might still 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.019 help. And once you're done, she just sort of 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:47.019 nods, and then you see she takes that bottle 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:49.819 of poke that she took from the bar and places 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:55.859 it on hers. Mateo loved Miposo's poke. Now, the 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:59.579 next part, an image. Something that looks like 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:02.480 them. It isn't overly necessary, but it helps 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:07.039 a lot. Jules pauses to think for a second, then 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:10.180 reaches around. There's a moment of realization. 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:14.160 And then he reaches around to his back pocket 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:20.180 and pulls out the doll of Zebulon. That's so 00:32:20.180 --> 00:32:28.299 cute. It's probably so cute. Yeah. Yeah, it is. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:33.079 And Jules will kneel down in front of the altar 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:37.279 and hold the doll out in front of him. Love you, 00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:41.500 Zeb. And he'll put the doll. On top of the food. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:49.759 Yes. I love how crude this altar must look, but 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.500 it's also just so Zebulon. It's excellent. Just 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:55.079 an action figure and a pile of nondescript food. 00:32:57.779 --> 00:33:01.759 All right, now there. I got everything on there. 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:04.599 He's supposed to come back now, right? She just 00:33:04.599 --> 00:33:07.240 looks at you sadly, puts a hand on your shoulder. 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:12.390 I'm sorry, Joss. But just because they're not 00:33:12.390 --> 00:33:13.769 going to come back does not mean we should not 00:33:13.769 --> 00:33:17.609 honor them and remember them. And this, this 00:33:17.609 --> 00:33:21.609 is a great honor to Zebulon. It's so Zebulon. 00:33:22.289 --> 00:33:26.150 I did not know him well, but I can see it. He 00:33:26.150 --> 00:33:28.750 was the best person I knew. I think there's a 00:33:28.750 --> 00:33:32.369 moment, a long moment between you. And then she 00:33:32.369 --> 00:33:35.349 finally just slowly pulls her hand away and looks 00:33:35.349 --> 00:33:38.349 back towards her own altar. I have no image of 00:33:38.349 --> 00:33:40.809 Mateo. But they have something else that might 00:33:40.809 --> 00:33:45.549 just work just as well. And Dance reaches up 00:33:45.549 --> 00:33:49.690 and unties the back of her mask and pulls her 00:33:49.690 --> 00:33:53.509 mask off her face, gently lowering it down onto 00:33:53.509 --> 00:33:56.730 the altar. And for the first time, you look at 00:33:56.730 --> 00:33:59.650 Dance Macabre and you truly see Gabriela Cortez. 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.660 Her youth was apparent even without the mask, 00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:04.200 but now you can clearly see the face of a woman 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:07.119 in her early twenties. You see smooth, girlish 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:10.559 features betrayed by such intense eyes, so dark 00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:13.900 brown they border on black. With those eyes closed, 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:17.900 she just whispers a soft prayer. Please, hear 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:21.579 me, Mateo. Your people need you. Your sister 00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:27.320 needs you. And she rises to her feet. It's done. 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:30.639 They are very good to friend us. Player Jeremy 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.659 forgot that she was actually wearing a mask the 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:39.159 whole time. She's a luchadora. Yeah, I think 00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:44.400 as she's doing this, Jules is no longer like 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:46.539 paying attention to the ritual that she's actually 00:34:46.539 --> 00:34:52.139 doing. And he is just wide -eyed. As she gets 00:34:52.139 --> 00:34:55.679 to her feet and kind of like dusts off her choreo 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:58.219 dress, just kind of looks over to you and just 00:34:58.219 --> 00:35:01.530 kind of smiles. He does like a little, like the 00:35:01.530 --> 00:35:03.670 corner of the mouth, like half -cocked smirk. 00:35:05.409 --> 00:35:11.409 You like what you see? Keep going, keep going. 00:35:13.349 --> 00:35:17.570 Roll your tongue back in, Jules. Her eyes are 00:35:17.570 --> 00:35:20.730 like still locked on you, still smiling. Do you 00:35:20.730 --> 00:35:23.289 know what I saw in you, Jules Roche? Back on 00:35:23.289 --> 00:35:26.769 Susanko? In the market? Couldn't have been anything 00:35:26.769 --> 00:35:29.130 good, but go on. Oh, no, nothing good at all. 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:32.719 You pushed me into helping with your distraction. 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:37.000 You sang to me on the spot in public. Do you 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:40.900 have any idea how mad that made me? Such infuriating 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:44.619 boldness. The sheer audacity of your words. Men 00:35:44.619 --> 00:35:46.960 have made advances on me for years. Sarabia, 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:48.920 for instance, has tried hundreds of times to 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:52.239 impress me, but nobody has annoyed me nearly 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:55.900 as much as you. In that, there's courage in that. 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:59.489 I could break you. Right now, even. That's why 00:35:59.489 --> 00:36:03.110 I like you. And she just kind of smiles. If Thrapio 00:36:03.110 --> 00:36:06.150 heard any of this, you know he'd have you assassinated 00:36:06.150 --> 00:36:10.070 in a day, right? Does it frighten you? Some things 00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:12.670 are worth the risk. I thought you'd say that. 00:36:13.530 --> 00:36:16.829 I think she moves a little closer to you. I'm 00:36:16.829 --> 00:36:21.650 flushing. Are my friends going to kiss? I don't 00:36:21.650 --> 00:36:23.909 know. Does she want me to kiss her? I don't know. 00:36:24.150 --> 00:36:26.010 What do you want to do? She kind of just moves 00:36:26.010 --> 00:36:28.960 a little closer, almost like... She's got something. 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:30.079 I don't know if you want to roll an insight check. 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:31.960 You can do what you want here. Yeah, let me roll 00:36:31.960 --> 00:36:33.519 an insight. Roll an insight check. Let me roll 00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:35.340 an insight. Let's see what we're working with. 00:36:35.539 --> 00:36:42.340 Hell yeah. 19. There's humor in her eyes. She's 00:36:42.340 --> 00:36:46.059 playing with you. Now, there is definitely feelings 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:48.360 there. Well, she's also having fun with you. 00:36:48.780 --> 00:36:53.340 Okay, so Jules will give a playful nudge with 00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:56.219 his shoulder. I think she cocks her a little 00:36:56.219 --> 00:36:58.440 bit. Not going to make the first move, Jules 00:36:58.440 --> 00:37:02.039 Roche. Good. I am a luchadora of Saint -Étienne. 00:37:02.260 --> 00:37:05.440 I will be making the first move. And she spins 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:09.260 around, starts stepping playfully away, and gestures 00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:12.679 back to you, too. Come along. Jules gets up, 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:19.099 doesn't say anything, and follows. As dance reaches 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:21.199 the edge of the alley, kind of moving onto the 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:24.900 street, she stops, just halting in her step. 00:37:26.029 --> 00:37:27.949 raises a palm towards you and you see her head 00:37:27.949 --> 00:37:30.809 sort of snaps towards the sky and she gets sort 00:37:30.809 --> 00:37:34.710 of glower in her eyes and you immediately read 00:37:34.710 --> 00:37:37.489 the moon is fully killed and a moment later you 00:37:37.489 --> 00:37:43.269 see a very glum looking Arhalon flying overhead 00:37:43.269 --> 00:37:48.409 and coming down to land just in front of the 00:37:48.409 --> 00:37:52.469 Valkyria. You give me a dance scene? And an Arhalon? 00:37:52.550 --> 00:37:55.150 What the fuck? I think he actually more just, 00:37:55.190 --> 00:37:57.949 he more looks towards you guys. Day is almost 00:37:57.949 --> 00:38:02.349 upon us. Are you ready? I'm always ready. And 00:38:02.349 --> 00:38:06.750 he just sort of nods and storms away. And we're 00:38:06.750 --> 00:38:08.710 going to follow Arhalon. We're going to follow 00:38:08.710 --> 00:38:12.429 Arhalon as he moves through the building, looks 00:38:12.429 --> 00:38:16.210 around. Let me sniff the air. Smelling smoke. 00:38:17.090 --> 00:38:19.389 And while they're bursting out the back door. 00:38:19.949 --> 00:38:24.050 Where Crispin Dubois sits. Crispin, let's talk 00:38:24.050 --> 00:38:26.869 about you. Let's talk about Crispin. We left 00:38:26.869 --> 00:38:29.789 off last session, you had this development in 00:38:29.789 --> 00:38:33.969 your powers. Your augury spell essentially like 00:38:33.969 --> 00:38:37.329 gaining a second feature. It's doing something 00:38:37.329 --> 00:38:39.730 it doesn't normally do. The sort of surge of 00:38:39.730 --> 00:38:41.909 power you normally feel when you cast it echoed 00:38:41.909 --> 00:38:45.090 that you saw this second symbol appear after 00:38:45.090 --> 00:38:47.150 your first wheel and woe, traditional symbols, 00:38:47.329 --> 00:38:50.719 family. You don't understand the symbol, what 00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:52.260 it means. You don't understand where the power, 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.739 where it came from. Why the change? There were 00:38:55.739 --> 00:38:58.500 set rules, you thought. Why are they changing 00:38:58.500 --> 00:39:01.199 now? And perhaps you're lost in this sort of 00:39:01.199 --> 00:39:03.880 thought as the door behind you slams open and 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:08.519 this just enormous half -dragon just steps out 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:10.619 behind you, sort of stomping out onto the porch. 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:16.119 Good morning, our horn. Breathes out a little 00:39:16.119 --> 00:39:18.949 bit of flame and smoke. I gather we'll be leaving 00:39:18.949 --> 00:39:24.030 soon. We will. Soon. The others are about ready 00:39:24.030 --> 00:39:28.570 to go. But... He just, like, seems different, 00:39:28.690 --> 00:39:31.789 off. Like, he's been away, sort of fuming and 00:39:31.789 --> 00:39:34.309 cooling down, and there's nothing more thoughtful 00:39:34.309 --> 00:39:36.349 about him now as he's come back. I kind of just 00:39:36.349 --> 00:39:40.710 assumed he was away killing somebody. No fresh 00:39:40.710 --> 00:39:45.010 blood on him, it seems. Tell me, Crispin, I have 00:39:45.010 --> 00:39:48.849 seen you change your form. Become a monstrous 00:39:48.849 --> 00:39:52.269 beast. From where do you derive your power, your 00:39:52.269 --> 00:39:56.889 magic? Well, the spirits and the sprites all 00:39:56.889 --> 00:40:00.969 around us. I believe I get my powers from them. 00:40:01.289 --> 00:40:06.769 From nature, if you will. You believe? You don't 00:40:06.769 --> 00:40:11.929 know your source of power? I haven't entirely 00:40:11.929 --> 00:40:17.239 figured it out, but I am grateful. I used to 00:40:17.239 --> 00:40:21.179 wield some magic as well. And I knew my source. 00:40:21.900 --> 00:40:26.559 An oath sworn when I was a younger man. Not an 00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:28.460 oath to the shield -bearers, but an oath to myself. 00:40:29.079 --> 00:40:32.559 To my brother. To devote myself to the protection 00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:36.079 of the innocent. I wanted to stand for those 00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:38.760 who could not stand for themselves. I wanted 00:40:38.760 --> 00:40:42.679 to stand for Zebulon. And this gave me power. 00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:47.940 Magic from the gods. and from my resolve, my 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:51.139 heart. But in my duties as a shieldbearer, I 00:40:51.139 --> 00:40:54.519 served an evil purpose. I gave children over 00:40:54.519 --> 00:40:57.320 to the LaRoche family. Even after I learned what 00:40:57.320 --> 00:40:59.619 they really are, I could have defied orders. 00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:03.239 But I didn't. I had thought at the time that 00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:04.960 sacrificing my role in the shieldbearers would 00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:08.599 lead to a path of greater loss. And I was a fool. 00:41:09.340 --> 00:41:12.980 I lost my powers soon after. On the last day, 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:17.309 I spoke to my brother. Have you ever lost someone, 00:41:17.510 --> 00:41:19.889 Crispin? Have you ever lost someone you cared 00:41:19.889 --> 00:41:24.030 about? Crispin's head sort of tilts away as he's 00:41:24.030 --> 00:41:28.090 seeing flashes of just these horrible things. 00:41:29.190 --> 00:41:33.510 Monsters in the fog. I have known loss. Yes, 00:41:33.550 --> 00:41:37.909 of course. Tell me, did they hate you when they 00:41:37.909 --> 00:41:41.210 died? Did they die believing you hated them? 00:41:42.269 --> 00:41:48.650 No, I surely hope not. But Ahalan, I don't believe... 00:41:48.650 --> 00:41:52.150 I don't believe Zebulon ever hated you. Ever 00:41:52.150 --> 00:41:56.489 could hate you. Maybe he should have. Because... 00:41:56.489 --> 00:42:01.309 Smile cracked in his lips. Because maybe I do 00:42:01.309 --> 00:42:07.070 hate him. Even now. I hate him. Because I needed 00:42:07.070 --> 00:42:10.909 him. That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter, 00:42:10.989 --> 00:42:14.210 Ahalan. He was your brother, and he loved you. 00:42:15.989 --> 00:42:20.269 Always. I know it. You don't know us. You don't 00:42:20.269 --> 00:42:24.789 know things I said to him. I think I could pick 00:42:24.789 --> 00:42:27.710 up a little on his character. That's why I speak 00:42:27.710 --> 00:42:31.730 with such confidence. You could see it in the 00:42:31.730 --> 00:42:34.349 way he carried himself. There was honor there. 00:42:35.469 --> 00:42:40.309 Honor and love and devotion to his friends and 00:42:40.309 --> 00:42:44.690 to his family. I suppose I'm glad. that he did 00:42:44.690 --> 00:42:49.250 not forget everything I taught him. Now come, 00:42:49.409 --> 00:42:52.429 the sun begins to light the sky. We must make 00:42:52.429 --> 00:42:57.130 haste. Crispin grabs his little satchel bag, 00:42:57.409 --> 00:43:01.070 whatever he carries, and heads in through the 00:43:01.070 --> 00:43:03.349 back door to meet up with the rest of the crew. 00:43:03.829 --> 00:43:05.789 I tried to say crew and group at the same time. 00:43:05.849 --> 00:43:07.889 I heard that, I heard it. We're the crew now, 00:43:07.889 --> 00:43:12.710 baby. Okay. I'll ask you guys now, is there any 00:43:12.710 --> 00:43:13.989 last business you want to do? You still have 00:43:13.989 --> 00:43:16.309 this guy tied up in here. Dance will explain. 00:43:16.389 --> 00:43:18.170 She told the town about him. She told, like, 00:43:18.170 --> 00:43:19.889 because she met with the actual owners. Yeah, 00:43:19.969 --> 00:43:21.250 I think we established that we're just going 00:43:21.250 --> 00:43:24.809 to leave him. Okay. And leave him to the town's 00:43:24.809 --> 00:43:27.070 vote. Wash our hands of it. Yeah. So he just 00:43:27.070 --> 00:43:29.809 kind of watches on, tied to his chair as you 00:43:29.809 --> 00:43:32.630 grab all your belongings. I think as we start 00:43:32.630 --> 00:43:35.449 to leave, Jules looks at him and says, stay. 00:43:37.230 --> 00:43:41.539 To just kind of be fair, I think. I think they're 00:43:41.539 --> 00:43:43.579 giving him water and food and things as they 00:43:43.579 --> 00:43:46.659 see fit. You know, we're not like, we're not 00:43:46.659 --> 00:43:48.420 just like hog tying this guy and torturing him 00:43:48.420 --> 00:43:50.940 and letting him sit there. I think they're doing 00:43:50.940 --> 00:43:54.300 their best to treat him humanely. Yes. All right. 00:43:54.980 --> 00:43:58.019 With that, he watches you. All move out the door. 00:43:58.119 --> 00:44:01.619 The saloon doors. I love doing that. Just close 00:44:01.619 --> 00:44:04.500 behind you. The more you do it, the more I have 00:44:04.500 --> 00:44:06.340 to make a sound effect for it. He's got the hand 00:44:06.340 --> 00:44:09.139 motion too. I love it. I love saloon doors. They're 00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:10.780 so cool. There's going to be so many saloon doors 00:44:10.780 --> 00:44:12.300 in this podcast. There already have been a lot. 00:44:12.380 --> 00:44:14.840 You know what people love? Like when I throw 00:44:14.840 --> 00:44:17.199 up like reels or stories on whatever is your 00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:19.840 hand motions. I can't. I just do weird hand things. 00:44:19.840 --> 00:44:22.599 It's great. It's fantastic. Yeah. It really pulls 00:44:22.599 --> 00:44:28.510 me into the scene. Cool. I tell you guys, hit 00:44:28.510 --> 00:44:33.469 the road. Yeah, I think so. Off to the Luis Senor 00:44:33.469 --> 00:44:37.730 Peaks. Oh, yeah. Right? Yes. Yeah. So first things 00:44:37.730 --> 00:44:39.909 first, the first place you were thinking of going 00:44:39.909 --> 00:44:42.150 was there's a farmhouse at the base of them where 00:44:42.150 --> 00:44:44.570 Arhalon believes Miskin was last sighted, where 00:44:44.570 --> 00:44:46.630 the entire family was killed. That little yellow 00:44:46.630 --> 00:44:50.090 dot at the base of the peaks. That is approximately 00:44:50.090 --> 00:44:54.650 10 miles away. So around 3 .5 hours of travel, 00:44:54.670 --> 00:44:56.980 we'll say. You're leaving here around maybe 5 00:44:56.980 --> 00:44:58.400 .30, 6 o 'clock, so you'd probably get there 00:44:58.400 --> 00:45:01.820 around, we'll just call it 9 .30. I think I'm 00:45:01.820 --> 00:45:05.559 going to keep my wild shape. Okay. Yeah, I mean, 00:45:05.639 --> 00:45:08.480 emergency use, you know? Yeah. I feel like we're 00:45:08.480 --> 00:45:11.239 on life two right now. And Arlon can't ride you. 00:45:11.260 --> 00:45:13.019 He can fly, but he can't ride you. Sure, sure. 00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:18.039 That would be a lot. Great. So, I mean, like, 00:45:18.079 --> 00:45:22.139 we're just heading out? Yeah, heading out. So 00:45:22.139 --> 00:45:25.630 you press out into the desert. Into the borderlands 00:45:25.630 --> 00:45:29.250 again. Leaving the town behind you. And I think 00:45:29.250 --> 00:45:30.929 as we move away, the last thing we see is the 00:45:30.929 --> 00:45:33.570 camera sort of pans back down slowly to the pokey 00:45:33.570 --> 00:45:36.809 area. Down the roof, down the wall, down towards 00:45:36.809 --> 00:45:43.070 these two structures. These two ofrendas. And 00:45:43.070 --> 00:45:46.590 we're out in the borderlands. You guys are moving. 00:45:47.550 --> 00:45:50.550 Passing wastelands of cacti, mountains off in 00:45:50.550 --> 00:45:54.170 the distance. It's a hot day. It's a long day. 00:45:54.800 --> 00:45:57.139 You travel for three and a half hours, and they 00:45:57.139 --> 00:45:59.260 are not irremarkable three and a half hours. 00:45:59.519 --> 00:46:01.019 And towards the end of your travel, you start 00:46:01.019 --> 00:46:03.239 to see there's farmlands growing. Right at the 00:46:03.239 --> 00:46:05.300 base of the mountain peaks, you get closer and 00:46:05.300 --> 00:46:07.500 closer to the dominating mountain spine that 00:46:07.500 --> 00:46:09.880 just sort of juts up and travels far to the north. 00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:13.039 You can see it's intimidating. You start to see 00:46:13.039 --> 00:46:16.119 greenery. Perhaps a good sort of groundwater 00:46:16.119 --> 00:46:18.039 source coming off the mountains and feeding the 00:46:18.039 --> 00:46:21.840 lands around. The soil here is good. Not arid 00:46:21.840 --> 00:46:24.590 and dry like the rest. You can see, like, A number 00:46:24.590 --> 00:46:27.730 of large farms. Arhalon leads you past the first 00:46:27.730 --> 00:46:30.710 few. I have spoken with them already. If you 00:46:30.710 --> 00:46:33.289 have something to ask, we can stop. I suggest 00:46:33.289 --> 00:46:35.690 we reach the farmhouse in question, the first 00:46:35.690 --> 00:46:40.170 one. The first one coming from the other direction 00:46:40.170 --> 00:46:43.269 from Hollow. Yeah, I think Crispin's okay to 00:46:43.269 --> 00:46:46.909 keep going to... Yeah, I think at this point, 00:46:46.949 --> 00:46:50.949 too, Jules is following Arhalon. Yeah, I think 00:46:50.949 --> 00:46:55.059 Arhalon's the leader right now. Okay. He's sort 00:46:55.059 --> 00:46:56.960 of in the air flying above you, kind of keeping 00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:00.059 an eye. You can see people sort of cowering in 00:47:00.059 --> 00:47:02.179 homes, peeking out and watching as you guys are 00:47:02.179 --> 00:47:05.619 moving as Arhalon's scowl is dominating the sky 00:47:05.619 --> 00:47:10.800 as you press from home, farmland, to the next, 00:47:10.940 --> 00:47:16.960 to the next, and to the last. Jules, I don't 00:47:16.960 --> 00:47:19.800 know what we're going to find here. I don't know 00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:25.610 this boy, not the way you do. I had this feeling, 00:47:25.670 --> 00:47:32.650 this premonition. Is it impossible that Miskin's 00:47:32.650 --> 00:47:37.889 with family? Have we established if Jules knows 00:47:37.889 --> 00:47:41.710 Miskin's entire history? After torturing him 00:47:41.710 --> 00:47:46.769 for a good while, you did... Great. Great start 00:47:46.769 --> 00:47:49.590 to a friendship. He actually would have opened 00:47:49.590 --> 00:47:51.889 up at some point and told you. All you know about 00:47:51.889 --> 00:47:55.309 Miskin is he did have parents. They were miners. 00:47:55.889 --> 00:47:59.969 One orc, one human. The father was a human, mother 00:47:59.969 --> 00:48:01.909 was the orc. They worked together in the mines. 00:48:02.329 --> 00:48:05.590 They died. Mining accident. Whole shaft sort 00:48:05.590 --> 00:48:08.349 of caved in on them. They are most definitely 00:48:08.349 --> 00:48:11.329 dead. That's all the family he has. It's not 00:48:11.329 --> 00:48:14.469 impossible that he would be with his kind. But 00:48:14.469 --> 00:48:18.949 he'd let me know. I don't want to upset you. 00:48:19.010 --> 00:48:22.829 I just... Maybe it's nothing. I don't know. I 00:48:22.829 --> 00:48:25.309 can't quite figure it out yet. He'll show me 00:48:25.309 --> 00:48:30.170 the way. Arlan is flying up, circling around 00:48:30.170 --> 00:48:33.090 the back of this house in the sky and guiding 00:48:33.090 --> 00:48:36.489 you all towards it. You've seen this farmhouse 00:48:36.489 --> 00:48:39.150 looks like any of the other ones. It doesn't 00:48:39.150 --> 00:48:42.570 look destroyed. It doesn't look harmed. Livestock 00:48:42.570 --> 00:48:44.989 are... It looks like there's actually some livestock 00:48:44.989 --> 00:48:47.489 in the field still, like, munching. On grass, 00:48:47.670 --> 00:48:49.530 haven't really been claimed by anybody quite 00:48:49.530 --> 00:48:53.650 yet. It should hopefully happen soon. But from 00:48:53.650 --> 00:48:56.090 a distance, it looks like nothing's wrong. Just 00:48:56.090 --> 00:48:59.170 beautiful fields, bounty vegetation. Right at 00:48:59.170 --> 00:49:00.510 the foot of these mountains, which you can see 00:49:00.510 --> 00:49:02.829 are also covered in such vegetation, various 00:49:02.829 --> 00:49:05.829 spots and places, trees growing, vines hanging 00:49:05.829 --> 00:49:10.110 as they snake away from the deserts. Can Jules 00:49:10.110 --> 00:49:12.989 roll investigation? This is a roleplay episode. 00:49:15.279 --> 00:49:17.019 Actually, if you guys want to investigate the 00:49:17.019 --> 00:49:19.980 whole scene, please. Yeah, I'll roll. And we'll 00:49:19.980 --> 00:49:22.139 say this investigation just kind of on the whole. 00:49:22.219 --> 00:49:24.760 So I'll say this is like you guys follow Arlan's 00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:27.000 lead. You can move and investigate whatever you 00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:28.780 want to investigate here because Arlan might 00:49:28.780 --> 00:49:32.900 have missed stuff. Yeah. Instead of investigation, 00:49:33.800 --> 00:49:37.539 Crispin's going to look more for like a presence, 00:49:37.739 --> 00:49:39.679 like to see if there are people here or if he 00:49:39.679 --> 00:49:42.460 can hear anything. I'd rather roll with perception. 00:49:42.880 --> 00:49:47.280 Okay. I also allow survival if you have it. 14 00:49:47.280 --> 00:49:49.820 perception. Okay. All right. Would it be better 00:49:49.820 --> 00:49:52.179 for Jules to do perception or an investigation? 00:49:52.699 --> 00:49:54.239 I guess it depends on what you're looking for. 00:49:54.420 --> 00:49:55.900 You also might get different things based on 00:49:55.900 --> 00:49:59.739 what you roll. Can I roll both? Yes. Okay. In 00:49:59.739 --> 00:50:01.139 fact, I actually recommend Crispin, you roll 00:50:01.139 --> 00:50:04.199 survival as well. Okay. All right. So investigation. 00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:10.920 Okay. There's a 13. Okay. This guy's hard to 00:50:10.920 --> 00:50:15.199 read, but it's a 13. For survival. And perception 00:50:15.199 --> 00:50:19.699 is an 8. Damn. Not great. So while I'm going 00:50:19.699 --> 00:50:22.119 through all this is your perception will let 00:50:22.119 --> 00:50:23.960 you see things like tracks, signs, things like 00:50:23.960 --> 00:50:27.539 that. Your survival would let you glean more 00:50:27.539 --> 00:50:30.079 information from them. Your survival was not 00:50:30.079 --> 00:50:32.179 huge, so I'm not going to give you a whole lot. 00:50:33.059 --> 00:50:35.460 So let's resolve your investigation was what 00:50:35.460 --> 00:50:42.000 now? Shit. 13? 13? Yeah. 13, okay. All right, 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:44.300 with a 13, as you move through the farmhouse, 00:50:44.500 --> 00:50:46.820 you notice things in Arhalon. Notice there's 00:50:46.820 --> 00:50:50.239 an eighth plate. Okay, there's one thing you 00:50:50.239 --> 00:50:52.400 would not see, regardless. But I want you to 00:50:52.400 --> 00:50:54.219 roll the die one more time for something else, 00:50:54.239 --> 00:50:55.460 because you're going to have advantage on a certain 00:50:55.460 --> 00:51:04.019 thing. Okay. Okay. 16. With a 16, you're moving 00:51:04.019 --> 00:51:08.119 through the house, and it's very faint. It's 00:51:08.119 --> 00:51:10.699 tucked down into a corner of one of the rooms. 00:51:11.400 --> 00:51:14.800 But you see, like, low down a wall, there's a 00:51:14.800 --> 00:51:18.940 small carving. Looks like two sort of circles 00:51:18.940 --> 00:51:20.840 connected with a little triangle sort of connecting 00:51:20.840 --> 00:51:24.940 stem. A cherry with a stem. It's a sign that 00:51:24.940 --> 00:51:27.360 Miskin has left you before, as we said, in the 00:51:27.360 --> 00:51:31.260 streets when he was taken. And you know it's 00:51:31.260 --> 00:51:33.760 a sign from Miskin. He was here. He was here. 00:51:33.880 --> 00:51:35.639 If there's a sign here, there may be more signs 00:51:35.639 --> 00:51:40.280 leading away. Guys, he was here. Come here. So 00:51:40.280 --> 00:51:44.179 you all kind of see that. Arhalon kind of notes 00:51:44.179 --> 00:51:48.840 it, nods. Very well. Let me show you the back, 00:51:48.880 --> 00:51:50.760 where I found the bodies. Maybe more to find 00:51:50.760 --> 00:51:53.460 there. And that's where your perceptions are 00:51:53.460 --> 00:51:55.920 coming, Crispin. Okay. Arhalon takes you all 00:51:55.920 --> 00:51:59.000 out back, and you see, like, there are seven 00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:03.199 fresh graves, and somewhere, like, in the middle 00:52:03.199 --> 00:52:04.480 of all of them, there's, like, in the middle 00:52:04.480 --> 00:52:06.820 of this little circle of graves, there is a spot 00:52:06.820 --> 00:52:09.630 of, it looks like... Sort of darker brown on 00:52:09.630 --> 00:52:16.329 the grass and dirt. Just a lot of blood. A pool 00:52:16.329 --> 00:52:18.409 of it that has kind of been sucked mostly into 00:52:18.409 --> 00:52:20.429 the earth, but some still lingering, remaining. 00:52:21.469 --> 00:52:26.849 So, anything. I can't make much out on it. And 00:52:26.849 --> 00:52:30.070 I will say that with your perception, Crispin, 00:52:30.090 --> 00:52:34.289 you notice that there are tracks leading away 00:52:34.289 --> 00:52:38.130 from this spot. Looks like... larger tracks, 00:52:38.349 --> 00:52:42.170 and maybe even a set of smaller footprints. This 00:52:42.170 --> 00:52:44.570 thing is a little off about them, but that survival 00:52:44.570 --> 00:52:47.329 doesn't give you any more information on what's 00:52:47.329 --> 00:52:49.429 going on with those small tracks. Can we, like, 00:52:49.449 --> 00:52:52.230 can Crispin, like, take 20? On this, I'll say 00:52:52.230 --> 00:52:54.710 no. Okay. It's more of a logic, sort of deducing 00:52:54.710 --> 00:52:57.269 what the person means. But you see this trail 00:52:57.269 --> 00:53:00.869 does go northwards into the mountains. And again, 00:53:00.929 --> 00:53:02.889 with that survival, you don't know how old this 00:53:02.889 --> 00:53:05.309 is, but based on what Arhalon had said, it may 00:53:05.309 --> 00:53:08.949 have been at least, Two days now that this has 00:53:08.949 --> 00:53:11.869 happened. You also see, with your perception, 00:53:11.929 --> 00:53:14.610 another kind of weird, interesting thing. These 00:53:14.610 --> 00:53:19.210 tracks lead sort of... They're close to the bloodstain, 00:53:19.230 --> 00:53:20.630 but they're not directly on the bloodstain. They're 00:53:20.630 --> 00:53:22.969 almost like, if you move up like 10, 15 feet 00:53:22.969 --> 00:53:24.389 away from it, that's where the tracks sort of 00:53:24.389 --> 00:53:26.670 come in, like something moved in from here and 00:53:26.670 --> 00:53:29.110 then moved out from there. But there are no tracks 00:53:29.110 --> 00:53:32.789 around the bloodstains. No indents of these large, 00:53:32.849 --> 00:53:37.019 giant feet. So they... So they didn't bleed. 00:53:37.500 --> 00:53:41.559 That or somehow when they died, there was no 00:53:41.559 --> 00:53:45.679 tracks left around their bodies. And I will say, 00:53:45.739 --> 00:53:49.239 Jules, if you sort of follow Crispin's sort of, 00:53:49.239 --> 00:53:51.300 you know, he points these out and you're following 00:53:51.300 --> 00:53:53.440 them up, you do see, as you're kind of honing 00:53:53.440 --> 00:53:57.179 to this now, a small cherry sort of carved into 00:53:57.179 --> 00:53:58.900 the dirt on the ground. Or there's like some 00:53:58.900 --> 00:54:02.059 handprints where like someone fell and very quickly 00:54:02.059 --> 00:54:05.599 scribbled a cherry into the ground. before they 00:54:05.599 --> 00:54:08.380 stood up and kept walking. He was with them. 00:54:08.840 --> 00:54:13.239 He went this way. I see. So he's in the mountains 00:54:13.239 --> 00:54:16.519 then. As I feared, the Etans have taken him. 00:54:17.079 --> 00:54:21.739 Well, I guess we better give chase. I am not 00:54:21.739 --> 00:54:26.019 stopping until we find him. Then let's go. Naralan 00:54:26.019 --> 00:54:30.440 just with one mighty flap takes the skies and 00:54:30.440 --> 00:54:34.739 begins to shoot over you, over the trees. and 00:54:34.739 --> 00:54:37.960 sort of up the mountainside. Can I take you guys 00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:41.579 to follow? Absolutely. Yep. Let's go to the mountains. 00:54:42.360 --> 00:54:45.159 Here we see Crispin, Dance, and Jules all together, 00:54:45.360 --> 00:54:49.980 pushing away from this solitary farmhouse, the 00:54:49.980 --> 00:54:53.500 stains of blood and tragedy behind, into the 00:54:53.500 --> 00:54:57.400 mountains where perhaps more tragedy awaits. 00:54:58.260 --> 00:54:59.380 And we'll call it there.