Hello, Pants people. Welcome to episode 69. Nice.
Nice. Nice. Nice. You know what else is nice?
What else is nice? We're about to hit 10 ,000
downloads. What? Nice. Yeah. So if you have any
friends, like any friends at all, and you want
to help us get to 10 ,000 downloads. That was
savage, man. It is savage. carry on carry on
if you have any friends at all oh my god send
them our way say hey you know what these guys
are pretty cool these guys are nice these guys
are pretty nice But I want to talk to y 'all
about death. More specifically, what happens
to us after we die. This is, of course, a wildly
complicated matter. One's true after life depends
on the world they hail from and the deity they
worship, or most impressed upon with their living
actions. One thing we do know, though, is that
by far most passing souls, those undammed, will
find themselves on a fuel plane just after their
death. But we know nothing concrete of the truth.
We'll be right back. But we do know that Israel
must all come to face at the end of our time.
Now wait just a damned minute. Now wait just
a damned minute. That was good. I didn't realize,
honestly, at the moment how good that was. Oh,
yeah. I didn't realize the tieback, the callback.
That was great. Well, I didn't realize that you
were going to ask for a Zebulon line. And when
I looked down at my little bottle, and I was
like, that just fits. That just fits. So if you
forgot, it was one episode ago, one week ago,
I assume. We received a letter and a gift, three
gifts from D, Daniel. And amongst those gifts
were these three bottles. One of them, or two
of them had the message. Now wait just a damn
minute. Stephen can explain more. Because you're
going to hear a lot of my voice in this episode.
So I'm going to shut up for a minute. Yeah, I
did D a little dirty last week where I just,
I read the back, which I assumed was the front
of his letter. I assumed it was like the introduction,
but it was more like the conclusion. And we read
his potions. But I knew that we were on a little
bit of a time schedule, so I didn't want to read
his letter, which explains. how we're supposed
to use the potions. Yes. Anne says a lot of really
nice things, so I'm going to read it now, if
you don't mind. Dear Fantasy Pants crew, my name
is Daniel. I've been a fan of the show since
y 'all started, and the campaign I'm DMing started
about the same time the show did. I have the
distinct pleasure of DMing for none other than
our Lady of Perpetual Cartography, Rochelle.
Like Rochelle, I am a priest, but instead of
holy water, I have sent, ahem, potions. Real
potions. First, to Steven and Jeremy, every player
knows that Dungeon Masters are human, even David,
and I'm sure he very occasionally makes a questionable
ruling, and if and when that happens, you need
a way to register your disapproval. So to that
end, please find and close two potions of Now
Wait Just a Damn Minute. Give them to David as
needed. Second, for David. I don't know if you've
ever had this experience as a DM, but sometimes
a player takes a massive risk in a game and it
does not go well. And sometimes when it doesn't
go well, the party peppers you with a million
questions about how they're supposed to get out
of this mess that they freely and willingly got
themselves into. That sounds accurate. As though
it was your fault. If ever that happens to you,
please find enclosed one potion of not my damn
problem. Dispose to any player as you see fit.
Thanks so much for making such a fun podcast
and sharing it with all the pants people out
here. Happy New Year, D. So thank you again,
D. Really, this was lovely. So I didn't realize
at the time the drink wasn't for me. It was to
dispose to the player as I see fit. Given that,
though, once again, once again, D. He's doing
it again. He's doing it again. He's doing it
again. My man, you incredible DMU. Doing it again.
He's doing it again. Oh, shit. Do it again. Hang
on. Do it again. Then he builds up to it. Do
you think he'll like it after a little while?
No. Absolutely not. There's no universe. Well,
so here's the thing. Will he just keep spiking
his rock stars with it? Oh, my God. Leave his
face. Oh, it's too much. It's too much. Oh, no.
The second it hit his tongue, his eyes went wide.
How far down are you? How far down are you in
that bottle now? Oh, God. Halfway. Okay, so these
are for anybody else. They're little nips. It's
not little. Well, I mean, it's a 50 milliliter.
It's a little nip. So the way these are supposed
to work is that we're supposed to give David
these potions. So now he's halfway through his.
Wait, what? You have to drink ours. No. No. No,
it's okay. It's okay. I will happily drink the
Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey when it
comes time. When I'm really, really stressed.
When we hit that, wait just a damn minute. I'm
drunk again. Excellent. That's great. That's
how we like you, David. Well, pants people, you
are going to have to wait just a damn minute
before we get into this final fight. Because
we need to step back in time. We need to step
back to the early afternoon of the previous day.
To the moment that Zebulon Black died. You guys
ready for this? I mean, I think so. I don't have
a choice, but. You don't. We locked the doors.
What happened? I think that's probably the first
thing that's running through your mind, Zebulon.
What happened? You remember that battle in the
manor? jumping into that room to save those hostages,
all sort of tied up in the back. Two figures
charging across the room to face you, and you're
facing two of them down, side by side, the body
of one behind you. You're going to save these
people. You cut one down, turn to the last remaining
guy. Fight all but one, and then a voice echoing
through your mind. Jessen's voice, but something
wrong with it. Something dark is happening just
outside these walls. What happened to Jules?
Where is Jules? And then a presence behind you.
Something shadowy appears. Strikes out. Twice
you're struck by this thing. Your mind erupts
with this dark energy. You remember falling unconscious,
falling into blackness. In that blackness, something
sharp digging into your body. A weapon? A spear?
And the last thing you remember was music. A
note of music. A feeling of inspiration. Jules.
Jules was there. He was right there. He was coming
to save you. And then you're in this place. This
gray landscape. Nothingness surrounding you.
Gray skies. Gray sands. Footsteps all over, but
no feet to leave them. No wind to break them.
These footsteps, how old are they? How many souls
have passed through this place? And I believe
your line, if you want to repeat it for the audience,
was, Jules, anybody, Jules. Let's get us in the
scene. Did you say Jules, anybody? Or did you
say Jules, guys, Jules? You said Jules, guys,
Jules. Oh, was it guys? It was guys. Well. Don't
listen to me. I don't watch the show. I only
watch good podcasts. Yeah, go. Jules! Guys! Jules!
And then, Amelia, your voice is answered by not
Jules, a woman's voice. Alejo! Where is Alejo?
You turn and see that a woman has appeared beside
you. A woman in her 30s dressed in a simple patchy
street dress, deeply tired eyes, dark hair, a
frazzled mess. You have not seen this woman before,
but I will tell you that Crispin has. When he
barged into the upstairs room through that door,
the first thing he saw was another body. Yeah.
Dropped by Jessenth. This woman is looking around
frantically and her eyes fall on you. My son!
My son! Is he here? Where? Where? Zebulon's looking
around. I don't think so. I haven't seen... I
don't even know where we are. I... What happened?
We were taken hostage by some mad men. Me, my
son, a bunch of others. We were locked in a room
waiting. And some shadow, some creature, it...
And her eyes go wide as she starts looking around.
And this sort of heavy realization hits. You
can see the moment it hits her pupils as she
turns to look at you. It... Killed me. I'm dead.
We're dead. This... This is the fugue playing
the afterlife. No. No. Alejo. Who will take care
of my Alejo? And she just drops to her knees.
And Zebulon, what is your reaction hearing this?
Danny just bumped her head on the table. He just
laughs in the face of death. This bold woman
crying and Zebulon just... Zebulon looks down
at his hands and his body. Does he look any different?
You are wearing the same equipment you were wearing
when you died. I mean, everything looks normal.
As if you're... If it's true, if you died, if
your soul essentially copied its exact form,
maybe the form you recognize as yourself when
it appeared here. I don't even know if this is
a concept that Zebulon can really understand.
Right. The idea of a soul being sort of given
context by your mind, your own contextualization
of yourself. I don't know what that even means.
But yeah, I'm about as wise and smart as Zebulon,
so. Wow. I guess. I guess he must have got me
too. Well, Jules is still there. Jules is there,
so it's going to be okay. Right? She's still
on the ground just weeping. Maybe you're looking
down at this. What are you feeling in this moment?
It's obviously a lot to process. He's disappointed.
He's disappointed because he feels like he had
so much potential. And he was really starting
to get there. He was really starting to become
somebody. Cut down his prime. But he feels good
about doing it. You know? Because there's a reality
where he could have still been sitting in Arhuan's
apartment. But he got out. He became a luminary.
Heck, he's got an action figure. And I'll use
an else too. As you see this woman here crying
and you realize you died, you appeared here.
She died. She appeared here. It seems there's
some kind of like location based, like you'll
appear in the same spot when you die. No one
else has appeared. There are so many hostages
there and not a single one. All the people in
the room, you remember their faces. Not one of
them has appeared here. And you realize that
you did it. Well, where are all the bad guys?
It's a fine question. Rule, you know what? How
about you roll for me? Ooh, okay. Give me your
religion check. Yeah, let me pull out Zebulon's
die. Oh my gosh. Which I... Oh my god. Haven't
used. Wow. Since that day. Since, yeah. Holy
crap. All right. What's your trash stat here,
Zebulon? Oh, look at that. Minus two to religion.
Fifteen, though. Fifteen. Yeah, that's actually
pretty good. That's pretty good. You killed those
guys, so yeah, you think, why aren't they here?
And then maybe it strikes you. I think it was
mentioned before, like you were aware of the
fact that the people that were after Jules were
involved in some kind of cult. I mean, hell,
it was a demon that struck you down. And practitioners
who swear themselves to particular demons, they
sometimes don't even enter the fugue plane. Their
souls are already claimed, and they go straight
to the abyss. To the hells, wherever damnation
awaits them. And so, it makes sense. These souls
were sworn elsewhere. Well, if your son's not
here, then that means they saved him, right?
Isn't that... Wow, I'm really sorry. But he's
gonna be okay. I think her weeping sort of quiets
her. face sort of in her hands and her hollow
eyes kind of look up towards you. And maybe there
is something there, some level of peace or understanding.
And then something flickers on the horizon. You
see her face really abruptly turn away from you,
straight on deeper into the desert. And I think
you turn as well, almost not of your own volition,
as you see a beacon of light has sort of flared
up far in the distance, breaking the monotony
of this gray. You see, her eyes are just locked
onto it. Her fears are just drowned out by some
sudden sense of peace. Just what you'd given
her magnified, deepened until it's everything
she seems to feel, and slowly she rises up from
her knees and just stares, and you feel it too.
You feel that light. This warmth, this peace
washing over you, it's so good. You want to approach
it. You want to go there. Because whatever you
feel now, what's there is so much more. So much
better. You see her feet begin to move across
the gray sand as she starts. Alejo. Alejo. Walking
towards the light. Do you want to walk towards
the light or do you want to resist it, Zebulon?
I mean, he doesn't have any reason to resist
it. So you want to move? Yeah. You take a step
forward towards this. That step feels so good,
but then something on your shoulder. You feel
like something just appears there suddenly. Some
kind of presence. And in this presence, it reverberates
through your body like a note of music. As this
feeling, this sound, courses through that pole,
the light seems to retreat away. It still calls,
and maybe you still want to go, but it isn't
overpowering. As a woman silently walks away,
farther and farther, perhaps you turn to this
presence on your shoulder. And you turn to see,
well, what does he see, Jeremy? What does Jules'
bardic inspiration look like in this space? Jamal
the pangolin. Oh, God. We're bringing it all
back, baby. Bringing it back. You know why? Because
we didn't mention this. This is episode 69, gentlemen.
Oh, it is. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Give me some nice.
All right. Fist bones around the table. You look
into the eyes of this. So it's just look like
a straight pangolin. Like just a normal ass pangolin.
Yeah. I mean, it's decidedly Jamal. Fuck yeah.
All right. It's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Does this
pangolin do anything? As Zebulon's eyes sort
of turn and start noticing it for the first time.
You feel that. Jamal, they got you too. Poor
sweet Jamal. Nah, nah, Zeb. Nah, nah, nah. Nah.
Jamal can talk? Jamal, you can talk? Oh, my God.
It's me. Jules? Yeah? Are you... Did we lose?
Are you dead, too? Nah, you're dead, Zeb. I'm
good. Here, look. Let me show you. You're looking
at this pangolin. You're looking deep in these
eyes. And again, you feel that sort of music,
that note just reverberate through your body,
Zebulon. And then the gray landscape around you
seems to just like fade away. And you are looking
through Jules' eyes. You're seeing yourself lying
beneath him on the stony floor of the manor.
You see... Your body. Jewel sort of collapsed
over it. And as you're looking at this, events
are sort of continuing around you. Ramin rushing
into the room with a number of others. Surviving
hostages now untied are funneling into the room
from all directions, all eyes on you. That you.
You are the center of attention and it only cost
your life. Thick line right there. Yeah. These
events continue as you're sort of carried away.
And I'll ask, like, do you want to continue watching?
Do you want to watch your own funeral? Oh, man,
that's a tough one. I'm interested in seeing
this because Zebulon's always been so, you know,
I guess interested in social perception of himself.
Would he want to know, like, who turns up? How
do they react? I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I
don't know if his mind is there yet. You know,
I think he's still getting over being dead, but...
Yeah, I mean, it seems like it's either submit
to being dead and walk towards the light or figure
out exactly what's going on here, why he's hearing
Jules' voice and why he can see what's happening.
Yeah, I mean, out of that level of curiosity,
he's going to keep watching. Hell yeah. Hell
yeah. So you proceed up towards Moreno. Watching
through Jules' eyes as everything just moves
around you in a blur. Your body laid on an altar.
Ramin moving towards it to sort of prepare it,
speaking quiet words. The teary eyes of all the
people you saved and those who heard of your
bravery all around you. You see a character.
We mentioned her before. This will be your first
time seeing her. Rinbell Strongheart. the mysterious
dwarven cleric who served a deity of the death
domain unknown to those at Moreno, perhaps to
anyone in your set of worlds. We see her dark
reddish hair with a single streak of white, her
silver raven skull pauldrons between which are
draped an array of black feathers. Her black
chossable seems to billow, even hidden from the
outside wind in this chapel. As we close down,
we can even see how unnaturally the cloth seems
to move, more akin to some dark twisting shadow.
You see a lot of things as a funeral is prepared,
as people speak, as your perspective gets up
and slowly approaches the altar, taking loot
in hand, and you hear Jules' song, his final
cry out, his pleas. Yeah, that moves Zebulon
to tears. Damn. Yeah, it's one thing to be sad,
but it's a whole other thing to see your friends
and your loved ones be sad. As Jewel's song comes
to an end, bringing a deep silence over the room,
I think you notice that Rin's eyes are focused
on him. I think you see that she makes a curious
expression, as if something in him. It's being
seen, something beyond him. And then she's just
gone from the chapel, fading away like a shadow
exposed to bright light. Yet you still see her,
Zebulon, superimposed over everything you're
seeing now. For she stands before you in the
fugue plane. Her eyes take you in and she speaks.
Jeremy, we apologize for the audio quality, but
I think this is amazing. Oh, my God. You ready
for this? That's so cool. You ready for this?
All right, Rochelle, take it away. Hello, Zebulon.
I'm afraid we haven't been formally introduced,
but I think you already know that I am Ren Bell's
strong heart, as unlike most, You have seen what
has passed since, well, since you passed. And
I am sorry about that, Zebulon, but you are dead.
The magic of the place you died, though, it's
different. And the timing of your death, fortuitous.
You are going to be given a chance few are given.
But it is only for a moment. Like me. You are
not of that world, and death, death will not
forget you. When your chance is done, you will
return here, to this in -between place. I have
known many young valiants like you, luminaries,
and those who have not come quite as far. I am
one who serves the lady of fate and death, a
keeper of the final gate. And I am no stranger
to this in -between that is neither life nor
death. And those who find themselves lingering
here tend to be two kinds. The first are afraid.
They are afraid of what lies beyond. The second
are those who can't let go of what they leave
behind. Now, you do not strike me as a coward,
nor... as the type who does not trust their friends.
But if you linger, it's saying that you don't
trust that they can carry on without you. Because
you have to trust that, Zebulon. You have to
trust that your friends and the others you died
for will keep going. You have to trust that what
you did was enough. Otherwise, well, otherwise
they died for nothing. I don't believe that,
but it's not what I believe that matters. I know
you wanted to be a hero. I know you sought the
life of a luminary. I think you wanted to create
a world in which children would play with action
figures of you. But Zabulon, a real hero, makes
the world safe for children to play in regardless
of whether they know his name. And rogues. do
their best work when they are unseen, after all.
This is what I will offer you, Zebulon. When
your chance is done, you will return here, and
you will have a choice. You can rest. Or you
can go on. There is more work, should you choose
to take it up. Or, of course, you can stay here.
Stop. mourning, pouting, whatever it is that
you're doing. But whatever you wanted from being
a luminary, whatever you thought being a hero
might mean, you are a rogue, and you are at your
best in the shadows, maybe even the shadow of
your brother. But there are other worlds, Zebulon
Black, including the world of the lady I serve.
And I do not doubt that my lady has a place for
you. And I can only imagine what you could accomplish,
what kind of hero you would be in a world of
shadows. So, Zebulon Black, remember that when
your chance is done and when you return. Remember
that when you choose. As his final... line sort
of echoes around you. And I think the funeral
scene just sort of fading away. You see this
figure once again fades like a shadow in the
light. Hey, wait a second. Get back here. Hey!
I didn't ask for this, but I'm not afraid. I'm
not afraid! There is no answer. You feel Perhaps
that presence yet lingers somewhere beyond that
light. Zebulon turns to find Jules, Jamal. Can
you believe what she said? I brought my brother?
That one kind of hurt. She got you there, good
Zeb. The Vageland! The Vageland just rubs it
in! God, so good. Oh, thank you so much, Rochelle.
I was so excited. I was so excited when we got
to talk about that. Oh, my gosh. What an amazing
feature. Dude. Oh, it's so cool. It's so cool.
Oh. So maybe at the end of all of this, there
is still some unknown future for Zebulon Black.
Maybe he'll be out there adventuring with Rochelle
someday. Somewhere out there someday. But not
this day. For... Another part of her message
sort of lingers in your mind. An opportunity.
A chance. To go back. You don't know how this
is possible. You never heard of something like
this, but who can say what can be done beyond
the mortal can? What do you do, Zebulon? Well,
what the heck am I supposed to do now? Are you
asking the Bangalan? Yeah, I'm the only one who's
here. It's just you and a pangolin. Are you,
like, my guide or something? Yeah, you could
say that. I'm a projection of everything you
know Jules to be, so... Well, I'm not Jules per
se. So I'm here with myself. Well, if I don't
know what to do, then how are you going to know
what to do? All you know, Zebulon, is that this
thing is some sort of link to Jules. And as you
sort of focus on it, deeply focus, you can see
through it. And you can see what Jules is experiencing.
Do you want to, I mean, actually, do you want
to roll a check to see if you kind of connect
those dots, Zeb? Yeah, what do you want for a
roll? I would like, ooh, that's a good one. Doesn't
matter. It's a natural one. Seriously? Yep. Doesn't
matter. Zab. It's God. Yeah, that's exactly why
I don't use these die anymore. This has to be
the Sunweaver. God. I was like, I'm so excited
to pick these dice up and play this character
for a minute. You can't even escape it in death.
Jesus. If I saw the wisdom save, would that be
like a negative three or something on that one?
Yeah, yeah. Something like that. Oh my God. Yeah.
Okay. I mean, I think what strikes you in this
moment is an opportunity is supposed to await
you. You don't know what. You don't know where.
You know you have this link. And at the very
least, whatever this thing is, we know. I think
I mentioned earlier on, this is the bardic inspiration
that was cast on you as you died way back in
Hero Time Part 3. Jules' magic has a tendency
to do strange things when he's feeling very emotional.
And I think we can chalk this up to another one
of those. But... You don't know that. What you
do know is that this is a link. It's a way to
see what's happening in the material plane. And
if you have a chance to go back there, you know
that gathering intel is definitely an important
part of... All right. I guess I'll... I guess
I'll watch some more. I really hope this isn't
a clip episode. We'll skip fast. So you kind
of plant yourself here in this... Nothingness.
You feel no hunger, by the way, no thirst, no
exhaustion. You are starting to realize that
you are a soul, untethered, except for this pangolin
on your shoulder. And so you sit and you watch.
Time passes. You see the meeting in the chapel.
You see Jules breaking away from Jean Franklin,
their final goodbye. which I believe will be
the last time you ever see Jean Franklin Montelio.
Man, they got over my dad super quick. They're
sad. They're sad, damn it. Jean looks real sad.
I wrote the whole song for you. You son of a
bitch. I'm going to go back and delete that episode.
It was only like a day. I think it was like eight
hours. This scene was like two hours later. You
got shit to do. No, I know. That's the last time
you see Jaune. As he sort of turns away, Jules
moves out, climbs on top of Crispin, and turns
into a horse, and they ride off into the borderlands
and dance. This is a weird show. You see a long
journey into the borderlands. You watch as they
enter the town of Milpazul amidst some calamity
in the local Pokeria. You see the moment they
break in, the smoke clears, and you see your
brother. You see corpses smoking beneath the
bar that he just felled. You watch the entire
fight against the pooch. And actually, as this
happens, in the distance, you can see some figures
start appearing, dotting the sort of fugue -playing
landscape around you. You can hear just this
howling voice just go, Oh, no! It looks like
that pooch just got put down! Oh, man! As he
figures he gets to wander towards the light.
Man, that guy sucks. You also see the near fight
after that battle when Arhalon comes dangerously
close to killing Jules. In the wake of his heartbreak,
you hear his own scathing words about you. And
the night carries on. Just... Watching your friends
move like a phantom. Staying here, waiting for
your chance. As time is passing, I mean, is this
becoming more real to you, Zebula? Like, the
shock of this initial death, it's been, at this
point, hours and hours. Time, while you're linked
here, seems to flow in accordance with the material
plane. You could feel it passing through Jewel's
experience. While there is no day or night or
time here. Yeah, I'm going to imagine that for
Zebulon, this is cathartic. Like, I don't know
how to deal with being dead because I haven't
tried that yet. You haven't tried it? I haven't
tried it yet. But I'm going to guess that at
least for Zebulon, this is... probably an okay
way to deal with it to still feel like you have
some sort of control maybe or you're still involved
somehow being able to see knowing that maybe
you can help I think that's kind of what he's
focusing on maybe because he's not ready to accept
that he's dead yet so he's holding on to that
that little thread Out of curiosity, just because
I'm trying to imagine the scene, are you just
kind of sitting quietly watching all this? Are
you openly discussing your thoughts with your
pangolin buddy? Yeah, maybe there's some interaction
back and forth. Yeah, it's like... Come on, give
me some of this. The people need this. There's
commentary back and forth. I need an example.
Yeah, you're peeping Tom, ain't you? You're following
me this whole time? Yeah, I'm waiting to see
if you're ever going to kiss her. So good. I
don't know how much time I have like this, but
I think it's running out. Fuck, take a button,
both of you. Thank you. I dropped Jeremy's. Jeremy
doesn't get a button anymore. Okay, here you
go. Thank you. Excellent. Excellent. And I think
time passes. You hit daybreak the next day. You
hit the morning. You watch. Maybe this exact
dialogue is happening as you watch Jules and
Dance setting up the ofrendas. Yeah, exactly.
I remember there were some close, awkward moments
then. There were. There were some close moments.
It's probably fun just to hear. I mean, you're
watching like now a second sort of, in a way,
a second funeral. There's a ofrenda being set
up. You see a giant pile of nondescript foodstuffs.
Your phantom tummy rumbles. That looks really
good right about now. And as this scene passes,
as they sort of get back on the trail, heading
towards the farmstead that Arhalon pointed out,
on the trail of Miskin, I think you're staring
out at the Borderlands. I like to imagine this
is like, as you're seeing these memories, they're
superimposed over the landscape around you, but
there's such nothingness around you that these
memories take everything, right? They sort of
take precedence over, and so you don't really
see. Maybe that beacon of light is always kind
of off in the distance somewhere as you're watching
through jewels, but nothing else. Then they enter
the borderlands and you're looking, you're kind
of watching. This is where monotony takes over.
You know, there's a cactus. There's a cactus.
There's a rock that looks like a cactus. There's
a... Hey, Zapp, why does that cactus look so
weird? Oh, don't even do this again. Isn't there
helix flowers or something like this? Come on,
with this. God damn it. All right. And you see,
fuck, fuck you. Did you know that you're supposed
to turn around? Then you see a particularly weird
looking cactus. You see something strange. No,
no, it's, it's not a, it's not a cactus. It's
a, a person, a figure in the distance, almost
like a ghost, barely visible, almost translucent.
And you're watching them and you realize, No
one's looking towards this figure. No one's reacting
in the memory. And you realize it's because it's
not in the memory. It's here on the fugue plane
with you. Do you drop the link? Yeah, Zebulon,
like, takes his VR glasses off. Takes the pangolin
off your face. Exactly. Eyes to eyes with the
pangolin. Drops his, you know. Yeah, however
you want to describe it. But yeah, I like the
idea of it feels like, you know, Zebulon's sitting
in place or standing in place and everything's
moving around him. It's projected into his world.
But yeah, and he can see this figure walk through
and it takes a minute and he realizes it's like
breaking through that vision. Yeah, that he drops
the Jules vision, the Jules link. The Jules link,
yeah. The VR goggles, I love that actual, that
image, it's so great. So yeah. all the sort of
color of the outside world vanishes. And the
instant that you are left in the grayness and
you see that figure is moving far in the distance,
but you realize they are moving towards you.
Perhaps they've been moving for a long time,
but until you stepped out of the town, the borderlands
in this sort of memory, you couldn't see them
and they're not far off. Do you want to approach
them? Yeah, I guess. Yeah. Zebulon's going to
walk towards them. As you move closer, you can
see a large and imposing figure, though burdened
by deep pain or exhaustion. You can't really
tell. Their walk is more akin to stumbling. Their
large form sort of bent at the back. You can
also see what looks like dark, tight clothing.
A black mask. A black... Fuck. You talked the
whole line over. No, I think it's funny. Okay,
I'll leave it in. It's staying in. A black mask
with design on the front. Almost like, and you
get a little closer, almost like a skull. And
you know this figure. You have seen them before.
Mateo Cortez. Dance's older brother. The luminary
and luchador known as Demilich. Did you say that
in Storyteller Oren's voice when he originally
said Demilich in the first episode? Yeah, a little
bit. I did do that. Demilich. He was there during
the fall of Tithos. He was killed that day by
Ozen Yoshikatsu before everything went wrong.
And he's still here. Still apparently fighting
that light. And you realize he sees you too.
He's moving towards you. There's purpose in his
stumbling, exhausted form. He's trying desperately
to reach you. Zebulon starts to run towards him.
You move up and up and up until you are just
beside him. You can see he's trying to talk,
but his voice is muted. He's so tired. You said
Zebulon has all of his gear on him that he died
with? You do, yes. Almost a weird projection
of the gear, but yeah, you have it. What happens
if he tries to like reach for a water skin or
something? I mean, yeah, try it. Okay. He tries
it. You grab the, you get it. Yeah. You feel
the water in your hands. Like, and then be like,
I don't know if you understand that this is kind
of like a projection of water. You don't need
to drink here, but like, you could probably still
taste the water. You could probably still feel
it the way you remember it being felt. And so
you, you kind of move towards Demulage offering
this. reprieve. Yeah, exactly. I think without
sort of still grumbling, the figure grabs the
water and takes a long sip. A sip that means
nothing, but as you kind of look at the expression
on his face, sort of seems like it means everything.
And then... I remember you. The little brass
with the angry brother. You were there on Tythos.
Did a... Did you see me suplex that bench or
whatever? During the storm, that was fun. Wow,
Tithos. Yeah, I remember you too. Yeah, Demulus.
Yeah. Wow. That was pretty cool that day. Yeah,
that was... Yeah, wow. I guess I didn't expect
to see you here. I didn't think I'd see you here.
I'm sorry to see that you died. Thanks. Yeah,
I was really bummed when you died. I was your
fan. I mean, I am a fan. I'm a fan of yours.
I appreciate you. Yeah, even though we're both...
Both what? We're both dead. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, we're dead. Wait, if you don't mind my
asking, where were you when it happened? Yeah,
when you died. I was on Sensation. You were...
He gets, like, visibly excited. More energy kind
of returns to his body. You were... Oh, so I
finally made it. And probably too late. Damn
it. Damn it. You can... Made it? What does that
mean? You can get places? My allies, the mirror's
blessing, they gave in to the light, but I...
I mean, damn, I want to go too. He looks towards
that light. I want to go. It's been a battle
to resist it all this time. My soul is breaking
down from the fight, but I can't be sure that
I'll remember if I am brought back during the
night. Not everyone does recall their time here
in the feud play. Not everyone remembers, and
I can't forget what I saw there, what I saw here.
When I came back, I cannot forget the worlds
need to know and hear. The few plain touches
of Sansatian are a special way I thought maybe
I could get through if I just made it here. I
walked, followed my instincts. I felt, I felt
it. But I'm scared, Zebulon, that my... Wait,
did I know your name before? You didn't say it,
did you? Yeah, I... My instincts told me your
name is Zebulon. I'm trying to remember if he
did the like. Yeah, I'm Zebulon. Anyway, Zebulon.
I told him. I told him. I told him. Hell yeah.
Pangolin said something. I'm scared that my journey
here is maybe too weak to return. I thought if
I could just wander far enough, I could give
my message to Gabriella, give my message to the
worlds. But maybe I still can give them my message
through you. Well, I mean, I can see. I'm watching.
It's like... It's like Jules is here. Who the
hell is Jules? I don't know. He's... He's...
He's alive. He's with Dance. He's with Gabriela.
Yeah. You have a link to Gabriela right now.
You can see. Yeah, they're... They're going to
save my friend Miskin. Wait, is Jules a boy?
That... I mean, you're pretty dead and weak,
so. Yeah. Yeah, Julie's a boy. Get the older
brother stare. He better watch his back. He's,
honestly, he's one of the best people I know.
All right. New. Fine, he's safe for me. He better
watch out for Gabriella, though. She will kick
his ass. Anyway. Yeah, I think he kind of likes
it. Oh, shit. You know what? Good pairing, then.
I'm fine with that. What's this message? What
are you trying to remember? Look, listen. I think
he puts a hand, like, sort of, like, kneels down,
puts a hand on you. Which one? I know when you
were alive that day you wanted to be a hero.
You wanted to be a luminary like me, right? You
can be a hero. You can still do it right here,
today, right now, if you want to accept this
quest from me. Kind of died a hero's death, um,
so... Hey, good for you. Hey, thanks. Yeah, I
just wanted to let you know that, like, I'll
be a hero, but you're not making me a hero. I
kind of did that myself. I would love more context,
but I am actively fading. So, in my time here,
in my days wandering, I've learned to have some
control, I guess, over the workings of my soul.
And I'm pretty sure I can give you my spark,
as we call it here. My blood -given gift from
La Catrina. This will let you return instead
of me during the night of the remembered. I know
Gabriela must have made it ofrenda for me. She'd
wanted some of me there, but I can't make it.
I can't make the journey. But you can. I saw
it. The ofrenda. Was it nice? It was really sweet.
What'd she give me? It was a bottle of poke.
I don't remember. It was, says God. Yeah, it
was that exactly. And I totally remembered. I
wish I could taste it. Now, I don't know if your
body will hold this spark. Once you return, it
might fade in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
I don't know. You're not. This hasn't happened
before, but I feel it. I can do it. I can move
it. I can feel you. And you could feel something,
too, as he, like, his hand is, like, on your
shoulder and starts to connect deeper. Almost
like the same feeling you had with the pangolin.
Something touching deep into your soul. This
link. But this will be all the time you need
to deliver my message. Just a matter of moments.
Can I trust you, hero? Yeah. Yes. Yes, of course.
Yes. Thank you. Yes. Smiles like water. Thank
you. I've met other spirits during my travels
here. Those recently dead. And they told me about
Tithos. That following my death at the hands
of the Storm Eye, the entire world was assumedly
destroyed. The Sapphire losing its power, consumed
by the Keening Gloom. All their lives lost. Investigations
saying that they couldn't be saved. But they're
wrong. I did die on Tithos to the Storm Eye's
blade. And so I know I saw. There were spirits
in the few plain. There were deaths, but only
a handful. Not an entire world. Not a city. The
people have been lied to. Some kind of evil tricks.
You need to tell them, Zebulon. You need to tell
them. Tythos is alive. They're still here? There?
There's no there there. I don't know. I don't
know where they are. I don't know. I just know
they didn't pass through here. If a world truly
died, I would have seen it. So, wherever the
storm is, or leaves, or... I don't know. I can't
make sense of it. We don't need to. That's our
lot. We pass on what we know to those yet living.
Those who are still due to be born to live. We
let our acts form the future. If you can give
my message, you can trust those in that world
to understand it. Trust Gabriela and trust this.
Jules. I'll tell them. I'll tell them that we
don't know. You don't know where. Nobody knows
where Typhus is, but they're not dead. You feel
something? pushing into you. Something electric
just reverberating through your very soul and
then something new in there. Fire lit. And he
kind of leans back. Thank you. And if it is,
Gabriella, you see when you get back and I'm
sure. Tell her. Pauses. Actually, never mind.
She already knows. Thank you. And you see Demi
Lich, something in his shoulders gives out. They
sort of slump like some great weight has been
lifted from him. And this smile on his face just
deepens. And he turns towards that pillar of
light in the distance. Still momentary. Thank
you. Thank you. And as it sort of lights up his
features. Olga. Gaius. Wait up, team. I'm finally
coming after you. And with more energy in his
step, no longer tripping over himself, no longer
exhausted, proud and strong, Demi Lich begins
to move towards that light. I always knew I'd
team up with Demi Lich. Until your questions
have been answered, Zebulon, your means of return
is here. Maybe you, I'm sure you've heard bits
and pieces of the Night of the Remembered. You
know, you've been seeing people talk about it.
Dance has talked about it. They talked about
it when they made the ofrendas. And this very
night, your soul should be summoned back, appearing
before them. And so, do you wait? Yeah, I guess
all he's got to do is watch until then. Watch
and chat with Jules. Jules, Jules Maul. I didn't
sign up for this. Jules Maul. Jules Maul the
pangolin. Jules Maul. And so you wait. You watch
them travel to the farmstead, to the mountain
peaks, saving Miskin, hearing his story, traveling
back down. Night is falling as they are moving
down the peaks. And then, eight o 'clock hits
in the material plane. The sun sinks beneath
the horizon, and once again we're seeing that
scene from before. But now we're seeing it from
a different perspective, as the returned are
brought back, as the night of the remembered
begins. You watch, Zebulon, as the gray sky above
you begins to fill with streaks of light, thousands
of them, all emanating from the beacon on the
horizon. They shoot across the sky, towards you
and above you, vanishing over the horizon behind
you, and... Something new is pulling you in their
wake, and electricity courses through you, charged
by some sudden force, and before you know it,
you are flung from the gray ground, you and this
pangolin on your shoulder. You're launching into
the sky, your body fading away, and you are a
streak of light as well, mingling with these
other souls, feeling their excitement, their
energy, flying, flying until you hit some phantom
edge to this plane. And you are slowly rising
from the space between two altars resting against
the side of the Milpazul Bukeria. On one, you
see a bottle of fine pulque. Pulque, I don't
care. And a skull -to -library mask. Way to ruin
the moment, David. On the other, a pile of nondescript
foodstuffs and a child -made Zebulon dolly. And
then you are flying again, slower this time,
over the town of Milpazul and into the sky of
San Sitian. seeing through the link to jewels
even as you fly through the borderlands. A spark
of light hovering over the desert. Your form
seems to move on its own, seeking out those that
summoned it. But the journey is long and they
are far ahead of you, deep in the Risenor peaks
at this point. And so you fly and you watch.
You see them leaving the peaks, traveling on
horseback through the town, towards the town
of Hollow. You see them entering the fissure
in the ground, working through the caves. You
see them enterings of Ar's chamber in the mine.
The fossil, the ritual, Arhalon lost to some
kind of rage. A battle about to begin. And you
are there, pushing through the iron doors into
the chamber. You are taking form in the midst
of it all. You are skeletal, yet you can see
without eyes, feel without skin, hear without
ears. You can't smell because it's made up. You
are naked, yet you hold two sabers of gleaming
bone. By the way, plus one magic weapons. Empowered
by the magic that has formed you on this night.
You stand there, before your brother, before
jewels and dance, a hero in the spotlight. And
in this moment, as you say your line, say your
line. Now, wait just a damn minute. The magic
courses through you. And as we begin to roll
for initiative, as this fight fully rolls out,
Zebulon is also level five. Yeah. And we'll call
it there.