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Now, we've been talking a lot about zapping on
Black Lily here on the network, so I always think
we might shine the spotlight on another of our
more iconic luminaries. I am, of course, referring
to Rory King. Now, Rory's origins are much humbler
than most, raised solely by his mother in a small
village on Danatu. We don't know at what age
a spark of his red dragon heritage began to burn
in his blood, granting him socialist powers.
We also don't know at what point he discovered
the crown that magnifies his magic. There are
troubling rumors that Rory's rise was assisted
by a darker presence. The cultists had said they'd
inhabit the higher echelons of our world's political
scene. These are, of course, faceless rumors
and slanderous lies not to be believed. What
we can speak to the truth of is Rory's incredible
magical power. We know he stays true to his red
dragon ancestry, utilizing primarily fire -based
spells. We've even seen footage of Rory casting
a full wall of flames with the power of his own
burning breath. And when things get up close
and personal, Rory's always ready to activate
the spikes on his trademark mace. Victory through
battle is, however, not Rory's primary goal.
He insists on growing and gaining from the use
of his silver tongue and razor mind. So remember,
all you watchers out there, that skill and magic
is all well and good, but the pursuit of knowledge
is the true path of the king. Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power. And thank you, Hunter, for
the knowledge you dropped on me, giving me access
to this awesome character. Hell yeah. Yeah. Hunter
from our Discord. Great guy. Great guy. He's
been watching the show lately. Honestly, he marathoned
through it pretty recently. Yes. It was wild
how fast he grinded through the entire, what,
70 episodes? That was incredible to watch. It
was so fun getting all those updates every day.
Yeah, exactly. It's awesome. To hear the blow
by blow. Oh, I just listened to 26 and 27. Yes,
yes. And then some thoughts. I love that. So
thank you, Hunter, for doing that. Yeah, thank
you, Hunter. And speaking of Hunter. Actually,
a question for our unzip somehow slipped right
through the crack in our pants. Our pants crack.
Yeah, there's a little hole in my pocket. Yeah,
so thank you, Hunter, and I'm sorry, Hunter.
I felt really, really bad when I figured out
that we accidentally skipped Hunter's question,
so we'll read it and answer it now. Let's do
it. It is a short and sweet one, and it's directed.
Mostly at Jeremy. Mr. Wolf. What character will
Jeremy play when Jules finally meets his end?
First of all, I want to say I really love the
certainty in that question. Not if, but when.
It's not even if. When. When Jules dies. Yeah.
And I got a really quick, easy answer to that.
I won't be playing another character because
Jules isn't going to die. Oh. Oh. Okay. All right.
And you're opening beers. I'll crank a beer to
that. Yeah. Yeah. Take that. I am curious though.
I mean, of course we have Dresden out there and
like, I'm so curious what happens to Dresden
in a world without Jules. Like, I feel like there's
a lot to be explored there. It's very interesting.
Yeah. I think he would probably do what he can
to finish what Jules started. Yeah. You know,
yeah. I would be so, it would be so weird to
not have a bard. on Fantasy Pants anymore. Well,
that leads me into the next thing. I don't know
if Dresden is somebody that I'd want to, you
know, play as a main character. You don't think
Dresden would take the mantle? No. Gotcha. My
personal love image, whatever I'd love to see,
would be like we go full Robin Nightwing sort
of deal with Chester, right? It's like, all right,
five -year time skip, and now Chester is this
full luminary badass, actual 20 years old, just
running around. He is fey -touched. He's fey
-touched. He's fey -touched, so we could do a
lot with that. 20 years, what kind of time skip?
Five years, I said. Oh, I thought you said 20
years. He's almost 60. He would be 20. Well,
but even still, five -year time skip. Yeah. You
think that's going to happen in this? Do you
have any idea how fucking crazy I am? Yeah, actually.
Yeah. Yeah. I'll do anything. I'll do anything.
Hey, everyone, listeners, no one's safe. Wow.
Not even you. Well, we already knew that. We
already knew we weren't safe. I'm talking to
them. Oh. They're not safe in their cars and
their jobs. Zoo Beard Ruby Fist is coming. Yeah,
Zoo Beard Ruby Fist is right behind you right
now. All right. Cool. Question answered? Question
answered. Yes. Thank you. And again, sorry. And
a little more specific with you real fast before
we move on. I don't have another backup. So don't
die. Yeah. Or make one real fast. Yeah. Exactly.
Exactly. On the fly. Yeah. Yeah. We also, before
we get all wild and into everything here, we're
talking about Jules. We're talking about Jules
and his, sorry, Jeremy and his characters. And
I'll say this, because I thought this was really
cool. I was thinking about this all week, actually,
that Dresden and Jules share this special relationship,
but I thought it was really, really exceptionally
clever that you had this planted idea that Dresden
was mute for a lot of their time together. And
so their relationship is so focused on nonverbal
communication, which... Actually, that's awesome.
Like so many of these scenes between these two,
it's like so much can be said without saying
anything, which is both really cool characterization
and a fantastic way to not have to self -awkward
role play. That was about 85 % of the decision.
And so for that reason, I want to give you a
button. Listen to that jingle. Listen to that
jingle jangle. And while I'm giving you a button,
Jeremy. There we go. I didn't have to remind
you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaking of buttons. We
do have two more belated buttons to give here.
Two buttons for one hell of a song. Something
we totally just skipped discussing in our Unzipped.
You finally released the full version. Did you
want to dance? Oh, yeah. Long time coming. Dude,
it was awesome. It was really awesome. I mean,
honestly, you sold that relationship. My inner
dance was blushing. We kissed. We kissed. We
kissed. We kissed. In real life, too. It was
close. No, I was looking at you when I said that,
David. Yeah. Take two buttons. Thank you. Uh
-oh. That's two more buttons, which makes four,
I believe. Yes, it does. Oh, no. That's above
our usual cap. Oh, no. Oh, no. Well, wait. Didn't
you decide we get more? You get more buttons
while you're playing two characters each, which
you technically are four. one more episode. This
episode, in fact. So, once we close the book
on Crispin and Dresden at the end of this episode,
I'm going to need to take that surplus back.
Yeah, I've been too nice to you guys. Guess what?
I'm going to use this button this episode. I
don't know what for, but I'm just going to use
it. That's it. You find a reason, you use that
episode. These are playground rules. No takesies
-backsies. No, no, no. These aren't. My rules
now. They're too nice. Too good. I got to lay
down the law. I think you guys are getting too
cocky. I think the pants people are going to
need to stick up for us with this one. Yes, please.
Look at that ponytail swinging. Too fucking cocky.
So, yeah. Pants people, flood the Discord because
we have a Discord. Let David know. Don't. You
and your Discord. It's infectious. Is there any
more? Wait just a damn minute over there. Don't.
You even start with me. I have a full one behind
me. Why, you guys are upset about the whole four
-button thing? Who's more upset? Raise your hand.
I fear retribution. I'm not raising my hand.
Raise your hand. Same. Not in this episode. Nope.
Fine. Fuck it. Whatever. I'll raise my hand.
All right, Steven. You know what? That's not
my damn problem. All right. Give me something
to drink. You say that like that's punishment.
Oh, no. Half of a bourbon shot. How are you going
to do this, Steven? Oh, no. Yeah, I see your
stupid face cringe when you drink that. Don't
make that. Why are you making it look so good?
Steven, I'm kind of jealous. I'm going to take
a sip of mine. Can I have yours, too? Yeah. Let
me take a sip of mine real quick. Is that all
that's over there? Hold on. We have bourbon still.
Steven, tell me. Tell me to wait just a damn
minute. Jeremy. Wait just a damn minute. We have
like other bourbon here too. No, no, drink that
one. Not this potion. Drink that one. Yes, it
worked. It's less for me to have to drink. Oh,
David. Damn, that was awful. You fool. You little
fool. Oh, that is so fucking good. Right? Holy
shit. Yeah, the honey whiskey? Yeah. I've never
had the honey whiskey. Thank you, D. Cheers.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, that was lovely. Now. We
got one hell of an episode tonight. So much information
that has to get from my brain into your brains,
and it's going to be a ride. Before we get to
that, I think there's one more thing we should
discuss, which is the events of this last Tuesday.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So
we were part of a stream. Stephen, take it away.
I've been talking a lot. My throat's dry. You
go. Yeah. You should drink some of that whiskey
then. I'm going to drink some of this Rockstar.
There you go. Oh! We streamed the first half
of a two -shot with our new buddy, DM Jeremy,
over at Old Men Rolling Dice. And we had a great
time. There were a couple other players. Ari
was there. Queen Mother was there. And the three
of us. We all got to play a game together. Affie?
Affie. Sorry, Affie, if you're listening. I was
one letter off. You are. Damn it! I wasn't calling
her Affie. I was calling her Emmy, because that
was her. character's name and we had a fantastic
time we had a fantastic time dude was so awesome
planted that recovery perfect yeah yeah was was
that the first time the three of us have played
as players together literally the first time
wow david and i have played before yeah you've
played before yeah i've played with david before
but the three of us never i've always dm for
the two of you so yeah this is this is really
cool It was fun. This was really, really cool.
And like, I mean, all right, just mild spoilers
because you guys have to check this out. Gets
into some real Eldritch horror stuff. Yeah. DM
Jeremy is not pulling punches. Hardcore. Yeah.
You think David's an asshole? DM Jeremy. It's
awesome. What he calls the stream is TPK Me Daddy.
Yes. That is the title. Of what we did. That
is the point of the whole thing. And we're about
halfway through. Well, we are exactly halfway
through because it's going to be a two -part
adventure. And there very well may be a TPK.
Yeah. Next stream might be 10 minutes. I don't
know. We're going to find out. It's wild. So
if you missed the stream and you want to watch
the VOD, look up Old Men Rolling Dice. We have
them on Instagram. So you can find them there
and check it out. And next Tuesday, which for
this episode will be tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow.
It'll be tomorrow. Thank you, Jeremy. Yeah. We're
going to be streaming 8 p .m. Eastern. You can
find all our info on social media or on the Discord
about where to watch. Hell yes. Yeah. All right.
I'm waking up. I'm into it now. Let me slap my
face real quick. What the fuck was that? That
was a really hard slap. You got a black eye over
there? Holy shit. You've been doing that a lot
lately? A little bit. In that mass vacation,
post -mass vacation burnout phase. Would somebody
walk into the kitchen and punch you? Oh, I wish.
Let's start the episode. I'm here. Now I know,
I know everybody hates goodbyes. I'm afraid that
we're going to start this episode on yet another
one. This one is taking place in the early afternoon
as the fire opal Concord Jewel has just landed
on the Radiant Citadel. Here we see Jules, Blanche,
John Franklin, Dresden, and Crispin all moving
out into the passage of Respitha docking station
for the Concord Jewels. Arhalon, if you remember,
had gone ahead and should already be somewhere
in the city. Dance, as she mentioned in the last
episode, will be staying behind on her world,
hoping to assist her in the great changes that
are coming to the people there. You can, as a
luminary, Jules, visit whenever you like, of
course. I mean, you have the passport. And as
for how Jules and Dance spent the rest of the
morning before you guys left the world, well,
let's just say we're all gentlemen here, right?
That's behind closed doors. Behind closed doors.
Fist bump. Fist bump. Saloon doors. Nice. Fist
bump. Okay. Nice. Nice. Why am I nice -ing? Zoeyplex.
Pigman taught me this one. So wild when it's
me. I imagine at this point you are all exhausted.
Having been up all night fighting, especially
Jules, planning and partying. What is your First
intention upon leaving this jewel. Just curious.
Whose? Each character. Blanche first. Blanche,
her intention is to go back to Noiri. She kind
of up and left. Okay. And she has a post. Okay.
Yeah. Thanks for leaving me alone. Blanche didn't
sign up for this, all right? We just met and
you leave? Yeah, man. What's the conversation
we get back to DiPiero, like, you know, John
Franklin's father and you're like sort of, you're
king, you're lord. Just like, yeah, so sorry,
I had to leave real quick to overthrow a city.
Right. Over a world government. We're back. My
intention wasn't to overthrow the city. How about
Dresden? What are you up to? I didn't think of
this. Oh, God. You don't need to have a set thing
in mind. I'm just curious what this character's
like. Oh, right, because you don't have a job
to go back to. No. No. You were tasked by Sholay
to join Crispin. That's true. You were basically
sent as partners. Initially, you were sent because
Sholay wanted to protect you. So she was like,
you'll be safer off -world. And while Crispin's
investigating the Roche family. You know, if
Crispin will have me, that makes total sense.
Yeah, I don't want to skip over your turn to
speak, but that's where Crispin's going. Crispin's
going back to Sholay. Yeah, that makes total
sense. Yeah, we'll see what happens there. I
think they're kind of partnered up now. They're
holding hands. All right. So we have your...
Love all around. Mm -hmm. Ooh, I love love. Uh
-huh. Jules, how about you? I mean, I think his
first intention is to go home and be with his
loved ones. Back to the ugly coyote. Yes. Got
to bring round stuff and miskin back. Yep. Missing
one. Well, missing two, really. I think John
Franklin feels the exact same way. Paul and Zebulon.
Oh. Oh, yeah. John feels the exact same way.
He wants to go... Home as well. To the pale moonlight.
The real inn. Fuck those guys. Fuck that place.
Whoa, whoa. Hey, yeah. All right. A bunch of
crumpet eating. It feels good to be talking about
the pale moonlight again. I know. I hate it,
but it feels so good. It feels good to be mad
about something else. Yeah. Let's start talking
about Blanche here. Blanche. If you want to go
back, I will tell you that the next Bastite Conqueror
jewel departure, the jewel that would phase to
Noari. What'd you call me? Is not until this
evening. You actually have quite a bit of time
to wait here, to rest on the citadel before you
can leave. It just happens to be a long window
before you can take the next jewel. Shopping!
I just got this image of a montage of Blanche
just going nuts. With, like, the big, like, designer
bags. This is where Sean gets it from. It's so
good. I will say this, actually. Speaking of
Sean, you know that going back to Zinda, there's
more than just, like, your general duties there.
You'd be aware that the March of Vice, the great
festival of Zinda, is coming up soon. At the
end of this... The Golden Bay will hold its annual
tournament to gain Kondorala's favor. Noiria
is going to have two major events. I'm so excited
for that. Now, you've won this very tournament
before, earning your position. We've seen this
happen. Do you think, as you look at your young
pupil, that he may be strong enough to claim
victory in the melee himself? Oh, yeah. Yeah?
Yeah. I mean, maybe not the last time Blanche
saw him, but he has matured a lot. That's awesome.
And like, yeah, I mean, I don't know if this
is something that, Jaune left. He left for a
reason, but maybe it's something to broach. It's
his return. Jaune has taken the training that
Blanche gave him and then applied his own real
world experiences to it and has just flourished
because of it. And I'll say you have about a
month before this event occurs. Yeah. But it's
coming up soon. I'm sure your duties back in
Noiria are going to be pretty hectic for a time.
So then, you all step out into the passage, and
I'll tell you that you are met by a flood of
black and yellow paparazzi guild members. Many
diamonds are facing you from this crowd, some
recording, some releasing bright flashes of light
with some neat sort of still image feature the
diamonds possess. They make shuddering noises
for no reason. It's weird. Because they're cameras.
Hey. They're cameras, guys. Don't do this. Let
me feel smart. Thankfully, this crowd has been
sanctioned off and pushed back by a line of shield
bearers on either side of the steps leading deeper
into the Citadel. And as you sort of move down
into this sort of pathway, this walkway, one
figure sort of breaks out and begins to move
towards you. And... Jules, at least, would certainly
recognize the captain of the shield bearers,
Ariat. Wow. As he comes before you, his face
is quite grim and serious. The memorial ash dots
on his forehead are dark, very freshly applied.
He immediately looks to Crispin and Dresden.
How is his voice again? Hang on. Crispin Dubois,
Dresden Kellig, I need you two to come with me.
Speaker Sholay has requested your immediate presence
at her home. This tone brokes no argument. Essentially,
this is an order from the top. Crispin, his face
doesn't give away anything, but maybe if you're
standing behind him, you can see the backs of
his ears sort of drop. And he agrees. Very well,
I'm ready to go see Sholay. Yeah, Dresden just
gives a solemn nod. And follows along. Come with
me then. My men will keep the crowds off you
as we go. And he sort of turns and begins to
walk. Is there any kind of moment to pass between
one group and the other as you guys break away?
I think Dresden would turn to Jules and give
him the, you know, elbow, arm shake. I think
Dresden's going to have to catch up because Crispin's
just going to keep walking. Hell yeah. Dresden's
tall. He can walk fast. Yeah. All right. With
that, you two begin to follow. I think there's
a moment where Arya just stops. He turns back,
not just to face the two that are right behind
him, but the two that are farther back, or the
three that are farther back as well. And I think
it's almost like his eyes have a moment of, like,
hesitance. This is a man that's not used to speaking
from the heart. This is a man that's used to
speaking what he's ordered to speak. And then
he just kind of nods almost to himself and says,
You are all heroes for what you have exposed.
Step proudly as we march into a brighter future.
And he just sort of nods again like, yeah, that
was cool. And turns back to lead you guys away.
And as we see Crispin and Dresden sort of moving
further and further down the walkways, down into
the Citadel, towards the sort of great gate leading
inside the diamond itself, we're going to leave
them. We're going to come back to them again
a little later. One more time before putting
those two in their own little box for a while.
But for now... What is Danny doing? He's just
dog digging. He's just... She's scratching at
the pillow. Doing dog stuff. I can't lay down
on this until I scratch it a hundred times. So
much work to be a pet. Yep. For now. Let's stick
with Jules and Blanche. First things first, I
want a perception check. Oh. So if you were serious
about that button, I'm going to use my goddamn
button right now. You know what? Hell yeah. Okay.
All right. It's happening. In fact, that's so
good, take a button about it. We got to use it
this episode. Oh, here. Here's a button, Dan.
We actually physically exchanged that back and
forth. That was wonderful. So stupid. I thought
I did pretty good last episode. I didn't get
any. Yeah, I'll give you a button in the unzip.
Son of a bitch. I got seven. You got your related
unzip button. You can play it. Even with advantage,
I only got 12. Honestly, I think above 10 is
fine for this because Jules specifically knows
what to look for. You guys step off, and I think
you see the paparazzi members all around you,
all the cameras flashing, but I think Jewel's
eyes do not linger on them. They move upwards
to the rooftops, and you catch a glimpse of Chester.
You see as you are stepping out, as you kind
of look at him, he backs up almost nervously,
almost harried, and then vanishes in mist. Gone.
I don't like that. That's what you see. What
do you do? Around you just see a stream of questions.
Jules, Jules, Jules, what were you doing? Your
family, Samuel L. Rose has been arrested. Just
people, just a crowd just screaming, chattering.
It's hard to hear anything over them. Yeah, I
think Jules is in a state of shock, kind of like
that where you see in the movies where, you know,
everyone around is just muffled. His vision's
kind of blurry, and there's just a high -pitched
ringing going on. And unless Blanche wants to
say anything, Jules will. No. Blanche is just
trying to get out of the crowd. I think, yeah,
as we continue to walk, Jules will stop and pause.
And for a brief moment, that haze kind of breaks.
And he's going to put up a hand, asking everybody
to quiet down for a moment. Whoa. Yeah, they
do. All the cameras focus on you. It goes quiet.
There's this nervous energy all around. He looks
around with just his eyes. He doesn't move his
head. Don't believe everything you're told. Question
everything. And ask yourselves, where's Tithos?
Just immediately like explosion of questions.
And the ringing and haze and shock comes back
and he turns around to continue walking. That
was cool. Hey, take a button. Man, Jeremy, when
the pants people revolt and turn over that rule.
I'm going to have so much fun. You guys are going
to be complaining all this time. You never give
out buttons. Remember that episode I gave out
30 buttons, you assholes? To one player. That's
a record. Fuck. This is fun. All right. You're
moving down the road. Passing by the... The barracks
for the shield bearers where Arhalon's apartment
would be. Passing by the actual passage into
the auroral diamond itself. Down the trade discall
where all the inns and stores. And where at the
very, very end, the very tail of the great fossil,
you will find the ugly coyote. As you're sort
of moving, at one point you're passing by a very
grand looking building of sort of umizu make.
Sort of, sort of... cool, like, arched ceilings
and then the rooftops and I think as you're passing
it. I mean, this is a fine, gigantic building.
Highest class in around. The Pale Moonlight,
they call it. And Blanchville will tug next to
you. Actually, sir, I've been meaning to talk
to you about this. I know I tasked you with handling
my gold, but I will, uh, I do need to pay for
another month at the Pale Moonlight. My time
is, uh... Unfortunately, when we were gone, I
would have run out, so if you would not mind,
he puts out his hand. So here's, all right, let's
do this real fast. Yeah. Blanche isn't staying
here. She's going home. So Jean is going to have
to start to, like, pay his own way again. And
we've never really, like, counted Jean's gold.
It's your gold. So it's kind of just been like,
well, right, yes. He spent it all. He didn't
have any more since it's Jean. So what you have
is his gold. You came with the backup funds for
Jean Franklin. That's what brought Blanche into
the story. Yeah. My intention was that she came
with her, like, her physical, what she owns.
Yeah. And a purse for Jean. Yep. So we can't
just be like, here you go, story, you know, hand
wave, here's your gold. Or is Blanche just going
to leave Jean with no money? Your call. You know,
Jean, we always got room at the Ugly Coyote.
That's hilarious. Sir, please. He's sort of reaching
his hands out. And, like, you look. He gave you
this money because he wanted you to, like, make
sure he was making right choices. And you look
at the incredibly lavish pale moonlight. You
look at the incredibly well -to -do folk who
are walking in and out. And you realize, okay,
there's no wonder he blew through all of his
savings when he went off in this little. adventure
of his. This is where it went. Well, Jean, I'm
not one to encourage such lavish overspending.
It's not like that. It's clean. Why don't you
prove its worth to me? Show me around. Convince
me. Very well. Yes, yes. We should go to the
spa post -haste. Is that weird? Do you want to
go in right now? Yeah, I'd like to talk to the
front desk. Okay. All right. Let's split this
group up. I'm going to Jules. You're still going,
right? Yeah. Jules is still going. All right.
Holy shit. I did not see this coming. Let's do
it. So this is wild. John grabs Blanche and starts
leading her very, very excitedly into the pale
moonlight. He gets to finally show it off. All
of his friends pick on him about it. He's so
sad. It's someone who cares. You know what? You
know what? This is actually a really interesting
direction. Jeremy, take a button. Hey, Steven,
have my button. Don't you? You can't do that.
That's against all the laws. Hey, hey. It is
not. You're making a bogus law. What is this?
Mr. No -takes -these -backsies. We're just breaking
rules tonight. Pansy Bull, revolt. They broke
all the rules. Well, they're already on our side.
Damn it. Let's go to the pale moonlight. Fine,
no more buttons. All right, going to the pale
moonlight. Meanwhile, Jules is pushing onwards
down the way. You move inside as you push through
a sort of very nice, like a sort of a sliding
kind of like paper sort of door. There's no strong
winds here, so like they can kind of have very
ornate stuff that's not technically like durable.
So you slide into it. And immediately you're
facing this room that's just like well lit by
these like sort of floating lanterns all the
way down. This sort of like a grand sort of space.
It's like most in the bottom floors of a pub.
The smells are amazing. All the tables are lined
with dishes that have almost no food on them
because fancy people do that. A couple little
sniblets in the middle of a plate. But it looks
incredible. Pops! The color's amazing. There's
a little deuce drizzle on the edges of every
plate. Various colors. It's great. You sort of
step in, and I think there's immediately sort
of a desk beside you. A very well -dressed locata
of fish folk, actually, is standing behind the
desk. Got a little... catfish whiskers, but they're
sort of done up very nicely, like waxed. I don't
know. I don't know how that works. Shut up. And
he looks at you and says, did you make me do
this on the fly? Don't you give me that judgy
stare. I'm not doing anything. Ah, Mr. John Franklin.
I'm so glad to see you're back, but unfortunately
your room is up for grabs if you do not bring
us the, uh, well, the requisite pay. Ah, yes,
of course, Master Beauregard. This is, I should
say, Master Defense, Blanche Trudeau. Blanche,
please, this is Master Beauregard. He is a delight,
and he serves the best wine to your room every
night. Hello, Mr. Beauregard. Hello. Blanche
pulls out her coin purse and... All right. I
have so much information to deliver this episode
and I'm just wasting all of it on stupid. I guess
I didn't appreciate it the first time. Do it
again. You gotta earn that. I'm sorry. What did
you say? I said hello. So Blanche pops her Plops
her coin purse down on the counter. Oh my, look
at that coin purse. She says. How long, how long
would Jean be able to stay in his room for this
amount? Oh, let me see that. How much is it?
Let me pull up my... It's all of it? Sure, yeah.
For all of the gold in that bag, that would get
him another month. He is currently staying in
our month -time apartment complex in the upstairs.
And how much has Mr. Franklin spent already?
Oh, he's only been here for one month so far.
This would be his second. Well, I am here to
decide if it's worth it at all. We'd like to
see the rooms and experience the pale moonlight.
Are you going to pay for that? I can assure you
the pale moonlight is such an exquisite experience.
It's far well worth the money you'll spend, but
I can't allow any pauper off the street to come
in without paying, and it would bring down the
very rich vibes we have here. Blanche shakes
her bag and her coin purse and puts it back on
her person. We will not be spending another gold
piece here until... Until... Until... Until we
are treated to at least a week. Whoa. Without
enough time to decide the worth of this. She
looks around unimpressed. In... Another gold
won't cross the desk from me. I'm going to need
a check. Give me a persuasion check. Hey, Steven.
You can't give him no. You can't do this. I'm
using six buttons for an instant natural 20.
Persuasion. Man, I wish Blanche's charisma was
better. Fuck, come on. Please, please, just give
me one. Eighteen. Eighteen. That's pretty good.
Well, we have a wait already on our lavish rooms.
Many of the wealthier of Tythos have been staying
on our place since their world was sadly destroyed.
But, but, Madame Blanchet. Without a gun. I'm
sorry, who? Master John Franklin here has been
a delight. Perhaps we can give you a night for
free and then go from there. Well, it better
be one impressive night if that's all you have
to woo me to open my coin purse. Woo, madame!
What a... That word is so dirty. I don't think
you'd be up to that task, my friend. But we'll
start with the room. Are you sure one night will
be enough? He looks over very slowly at Jean
with his very cocky, knowing, big fish smile.
And Jean says, oh, dear, sir. One night would
be enough. Please, let me show you the key, sir.
Very well. Here's your key. He stands over the
very ornate gold. gold, diamond -encrusted key,
and, uh, gestured you forward. All right. As,
uh, Blanche and Jean walk into the depths of
the pale moonlight, she very quietly says to
him, This is the last night you will ever spend
here unless you can get creative. So enjoy it.
He's just a stark whore on his face. But sir,
you don't understand. Please, if I'm not staying
here. Do not waste your 24 hours. Almost every
inn has been taken in the city. If I'm not here,
then the only alternative is, is, is. And we
hard cut to the exterior of the ugly coyote where
Jules is standing outside the door. You better
put that music on. No. I like this music. I'm
fun. I'm vibing. I like that word today. Jewels.
Jewels, jewels, jewels. You stand outside the
ugly coyote. At this point, you're alone. You've
been surrounded by people for days. It probably
feels really weird to be on your own for a time.
And now as you stand here before the coyote,
there's a quiet. It's a quiet that you feel from
being alone, but you realize as you stand before
this building that it's too quiet. The coyote
is too quiet. You saw Chester. Where are the
Delights? Why are they screaming? Why aren't
they coming out to attack you? No noise? I mean,
I think that is definitely going on somewhere
in the back of his head. But I also feel like
Jules just stands. and just stares at the doorway
in silence for probably 15, 20 minutes, just
frozen. Wow. And no one, not one's facing the
window. No one comes out. Are Brownstuff and
Miskin just, like, standing there? Oh, right,
I forgot they're there, too. Shit, I didn't see
them earlier. Oh, same, same. Damn, they're with
you. Whoops. Imagine if you're with an adult
and an adult is just standing still for 15 or
20 minutes just blank staring at a door. Yeah,
I gotta go back. So when they got the jewel,
they were there too. They were watching all that.
I had in mind they went with Arhalon. I don't
know why I thought that. That would be silly.
I think what probably ended up happening was
once we got within half block of the coyote,
they probably both ran forward and ahead. I love
that, yeah. And went in. Yes. And then Jules
comes up a moment later, and that's when he has
his, you know, moment of just staring. His mental
breakdown? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Pretty much.
Yeah, that's not a normal thing to do. Yeah,
no. Blanche is like, she opens the curtains of
the pale moonlight, and is like, he's fucking
still standing there. That's really weird. I'm
being dramatic, damn it. And then, yeah, and
then he walks in. You push forward. You push
open the door to see a darkened room. Not a soul
starting with it. And you just saw round stuff
and miskin ran inside the building, kind of screaming,
hawing. They disappeared in. And, like, you assumed
there'd be some kind of something. And then...
Surprise! Oh, my God. Surprise, Jules. Everyone
pops on the table. Chairs explode around us.
Everyone's just popping out from their hiding
spots behind the bar, behind the tables, behind
the wall. Round Stuff and Miskit are like, I
guess they got brought into this whole thing
because they pop out too. Like, yeah, surprise,
surprise. Hold on. One minute. Yeah. Surprise.
One. Take a button. Wait, you, Steven, just took
my button back. I'm putting it way back in this
corner here. Fuck that. This whole system is,
like, destroyed now. God damn it. Oh, yeah. It's
anarchy. I was fully prepared for, and you see
a note on the bar. Right. Saying, we've got your
family. Right. That's the wrong song. That's
the we got your family song. No, it's playing
them both. I don't know why it's doing this.
Hang on. Oh, these are both staying in. That
was a combat song. Hang on. We got this. Yeah.
Jules is so surprised. He goes in. All right.
Everyone bursts out. You see like Ader kind of
comes up behind the bar. I think round stuff
is literally on top of his head now. Somehow.
Miskin sort of just like comes out of the showers
in the corner. Just like. Yeah, surprise. Yeah.
Mulligan pops out with a full tray of cupcakes.
He just drops down on the counter. Pink frosted.
Looks delightful. Fibro comes out from behind
a stack of books. That he probably was already
just reading anyway. And just like, Jules, yeah,
you're back. Everyone's just like going. Chester,
I think, is the first one to just come charging
down the way, jumping onto you. You see Jean
to the top of the stairs, sort of smiling down
at you. Though with something in her eyes that
isn't quite a smile. You're going to make those
kids eat cupcakes knowing that Paul's still out
there. Jules! Jules! Hey, sorry. You know what?
I realize in hindsight, the way you are, that
probably fucked you up real bad. We shouldn't
do that. But, man, I was excited. Yeah, I almost
killed you. Look, it was kind of their idea.
I couldn't tell them no, right? Yeah, I guess
not. Thanks, buddy. Yeah, of course. Yeah, yeah.
Hey, hey, come on, buck up. Jules. Jules. Hey,
hey. And he kind of like... What? Puts a hand
on your shoulder. And his face gets, like, very
serious. And you can see almost, like, the smile
is plastered on for you. Jules, I know. We know.
All right? He told us. And at that, he kind of
nudges his head towards the bar. And a very large
form kind of, oh, surprise. Sorry, I fell asleep.
I know you see Arhalon. I fell asleep. God. Sorry,
I missed the. Do we get you, Jules? What you
got? Yeah, you got me. You got me. Very good.
I love that. I think Jules kind of makes his
rounds to each one, giving him a hug. He's not
genuinely smiling, but he's got a mask on. I
think Chester's like your shadow at this point,
right behind you. And then when he's done, he
grabs a drink from the bar. Cloud of Judgment
by Reckless Brewing Company. There you go. Drop
that ad spot. Yeah. Oh, wait. I got to get another
one, too. Get your Cloud of Judgment now. Jules
cracks a beer. Oh, that's exactly how fantasy
works. Yeah, it is. There are definitely cans
in the Ugly Coyote. Absolutely. For sure. There
is that moment, you know, everyone has that moment
of hug. I mean, it wasn't like, you haven't been
gone for a long time. It's been a couple of days,
but still, every time you go, it's that concern
that something could happen. Yeah, of course.
In a couple of days? Yeah. Wow. And during the
time, we actually saw it. They saw the Zebulon
thing. Everyone saw the Zebulon death. It was
on the network. They have grieved, and there's
still definitely a solemn air here. Absolutely.
As you sit down at the bar and you have that
drink and you're trying to sort of bury this,
But you're trying to keep yourself looking like
you're happy, like this is fun. You know, it's
very simple, basic. It's only the cherry delights
here. Ader closed the day for the day. He's kind
of just around, you know, kind of watching from
the corner, happy, sitting with Kiana, having
a drink with her. And Chester sits down on one
side of you and Gene's on the other. And Chester
just says, You're giving me the double whammy?
Tools, hey, thanks for making it look good. The
kids, you know, the other kids. They wanted this.
They wanted to make you happy. Cheer you up.
I know it's been hard, all right? I know. About
Zeb? Um... Yeah. It's tough. And, uh... Hell.
I'm sure you gave those guys hell that didn't,
right? So, that's good. But... Hell, you're back,
all right? All that, that was Sansatyan. That
was then. And you're here, and you're with us,
and... And... Yeah, but we're not done yet, Chester.
I know. I think you feel a hand sort of reach
down and touch your hand on the table as Jean's
still kind of looking down. I think she's having
the hardest time, I guess, like smiling. And
you know that Jean's and Paul's relationship
actually predates their relationship with the
Cherry Delights. They joined you as a unit. She
raised him when he was very young. She doesn't
look at you. She's staring down at her own, an
empty glass that maybe like... Never had anything
at all, just for show, and she's just looking
into the glass. I know you'll save him. I do.
It's okay. Jules, you did good. You did really
good, alright? I'll believe that when we finish
this. And she just nods, still half -smiling,
still staring down at her glass. Chester kind
of sees this solemn moment and immediately tries
to, like, intrude. He jumps off his stool, gets
between the two of you, puts his arms around
you both, and it's like, well, I'll tell you,
I've been never, we've been all right here. I
mean, me and Jeans have been hanging out a lot
together, right, Jeans? Chester, I, no, come
on, it's all right. We're being happy, and Jules,
Jules, hey, hey. It's about damn time, man, come
on. Speaking about damn time, that Sansa Tian's
where Dance Macabre's from, did you see her?
Yeah, yeah. Did you see her? Oh, yeah, yeah?
Yeah, I saw her. All right. Come on, get this
man. Ada, another drink, please. Do you stay
and drink with Jeans and Chester? I think so.
I think so. What is the conversation like throughout
the night as things sort of move on? I don't
think... It's not normal conversation. I think
we have these niceties and these, you know...
I mean, okay, we're back, we're all good. But
he tells them everything. Anytime one of the
others come up and, you know, gets close, they
stop the conversation and act like they're, you
know, having a good time. Because the others
don't need to be, they don't need to hear this
stuff. Yeah, yeah. Then they go away and we continue
the rundown. And so I think we see just time
pass there as you guys are talking as... This
conversation is sort of happening. Maybe, like,
in the corner of the room, we see Arhalon is
just, like, sitting, like, looming over a table
just way too big for the typical, you know, humanoid
-sized chairs. And the other side of the table
is Roundstuff, who's just chattering excitedly.
You can hear just, like, yeah, and you, and bigger
Zebulon, you can stay in my room, like Zebulon
did, little Zebulon did. You can stay in my room,
and you'll need a bigger bed. It's just not,
oh, yeah. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The way
you just described that, I had this image of,
like, a full -ass grown adult sitting on, like,
a tiny tricycle. Yeah, or like the Little Tikes
plastic table. Yep, yeah. Like, he's just sitting
there. I think you can see, like, occasionally,
like, Miskin just jumps out of the shadows with,
like, a sort of fake dagger sort of thing, trying
to get him, and Arhalon just, like, brings his
tail up and sort of slaps him just gently to
the side. He's like, very nice try, but your
step was a little too loud at the very end there.
You want to try to really stick to the edge.
My ear on the side is a little... He's, like,
trying to, like, try to... to tell him, help
him out. They're like combat training while he's
chattering with round stuff. She's pouring like
a fake teapot into, into, into a glass. And I
love that so much. Teaching kids how to fight.
Um, yeah, yeah. Teach kids how to fight. Um,
and so I think that's where we'll leave this,
uh, this group just reveling in just this, this,
this, this moment. There is a lot unspoken. There's
a lot to be done. But right now, I think a lot
of the Cherry Delights, a lot of the people here
are just happy to be home and to have you home.
And for one night, perhaps, there can be a focus
on that. Yeah, obviously Jules is not feeling
happy and feeling joyous, but he's... breathing
for the first time in a while. Hell yeah. And
we'll pan away from the Ellie Coyote. I think
it's time for us to take one little journey into
the inside of the Citadel, into the Aurora Diamond,
into Aurora Town. It's time for Crispin and Dresden
to face the music, as it were. You stand in the
plaza at the town center. The great crystal amphitheater
where the speakers meet and confer looms over
you, behind you, but you are looking at the great
dome, the great crystal dome that is Sholay's
residence, the dragon's lair. The guard at the
door nods as Ariat sort of leads you there, and
I think he just kind of gives you one sort of
parting farewell and moves back to his duties.
Crispin starts to walk in. Yeah, Dresden follows
suit. You move up, the guard speaks the words,
touches the right spot to the door, slides open,
you step in. You haven't seen it before, actually,
Crispin, nor have you, Dresden, the inside of
Cholet's lair. A great hoard, not of gold, but
information. Folders and papers and diamonds,
so many diamonds, recurring diamonds with who
knows what knowledge just littering the area
around. Some stacked neatly in piles, some sort
of tossed into more like, I guess, messy piles.
I don't know. Shouldn't use the word piles already.
And you see this sort of reaching back and back
and back. No material wealth, but a wealth of
something perhaps more powerful. A great draconic
shape looms in the shadows at the back of the
room. Huge. Head reaching near to the ceiling.
only barely make her out as the room is quite
dark. Quick, weird question that I can't get
out of my brain. Tupperware is what you put cheese
in. I told you already. No, no, no, no. Lies.
No, no, no, no. Fuck, this is stupid. Did Crispin
notice the sequence that the guard used to open
the door? Huh. I'll need a really high perception
check. I think it's one of those things where
this would be like generally they'd be making
measures to stand kind of in the way of it, doing
it very careful. Steven, use my fourth button.
Nah, it's all right. I don't think this is ever
going to be a thing, but I'm just... You probably
need to crit it at the very least. Perception.
Wow. He has a pretty high perception. Yeah, I
have the right character for this because he's
got a plus eight perception. Holy moly. Whoa.
On a 25. 13 on the die. Should have taken my
button. Okay. You don't quite catch it. I think
maybe with that, you catch, like, a sequence
of words. They're essentially, like, magical
-sounding gibberish, but you hear them, especially
because, like, you have your, you know, leoprine
senses. Your ears pick them up, but you don't
quite see the hand gestures. Oh, shit. I was
going to say, because I have, I think I have
advantage with perception regarding hearing.
Yeah, so I gave you the words, not the hand,
not the places. Fair. So you have half the key.
Okay. You move into this room. You see a long,
almost like straight way through all the sort
of opening and all the information and all the
horde and Sholi at the other side. I take full
responsibility for my failures. This massive
head sort of turns down towards you, eyes that
blaze. I simply ask that if you, If you kill
me, please send my gold home. Stepping towards
you. And out of the shadows, as this great form
shrinks, steps an old woman. She's smiling slightly
as she steps out, looking towards you. Almost
like that remark was amusing. And she walks,
so she's probably about a meter ahead of you.
Come in close. I thought I saw something. For
a brief moment, just last night, something quite
impossible. Now, I consider myself an exceptionally
sane dragoness. Even in grief, I do not believe
I would witness things that are not. True. And
she gives you this look like Chris has been looking
for some kind of confirmation. Wouldn't it be
simply dragon? That wasn't conical. That was
just me being a smartass. I wasn't sure. I was
like, do I react to show like? No, sorry. I'd
like to speak about the impossible, but yes.
Tried to show you. Thank you. Brief as it was,
it focused me. Though I fear it may have come
too late. I have erred grievously. An art art
has made swift and ruthless use of my weakness.
The bastard wasted no time at all in exploiting
my pain. Do you understand the... Extent of his
victory on Sarsatian. The rise that will follow.
I couldn't begin to. No. You could not. You failed
in the quest I sent you on. But I am at the end
of my ropes. My position has become dangerous.
And I have so few allies. I can call upon. I
fear the impossible might be exactly what I need.
If I want to wrestle control back. You failed,
Crispin. But I do not think you will fail me
again. And you brought Arhalon. And Dresden,
too. You brought them back safely. This is good.
I won't fail again. Her eyes sweep over to you,
Dresden. I told you that should you return, both
of you, that should you serve me faithfully,
I would bring you in, protect you, and tell you
all that I know of these worlds. Do you wish
for this knowledge? It is a burden. Believe me,
it is a burden. But some must bear it. Nobody
should bear such a burden alone. I don't want
to turn back now. She takes this moment. Maven
closes her eyes and leans back. She's pushing
these emotions, this grief, back. But there is
this, like, this coldness. Not a meanness, but
just a coldness in her stare. A razor wit behind
these eyes that is trying to hone itself. Sharpening.
We'll start with politics. The real politics.
For over 50 years, I have battled against Arthas
for control of the speakers. As a king, he should
not be able to pull any real weight on the citadel.
But as a luminary, the whole system serves those
pandering to the general populace and granting
him power enough to challenge my control. Though
I am the very speaker of the world he hails from.
Of course, he was the only force utilizing the
rise of the Crystal Network to gain power. His
most hated foes, those servants of Zomateshab,
the ones called the Fractured Horn, as your very
point looks to you, Dresden, rose quickly to
challenge him. I... I could not stop them. They
had something on me. They used it against me.
To my shame, I did not directly oppose the cult.
I could not. But I did play the two factions
against each other for years. Decades. Carefully
crafting a stalemate in the speakers and in the
network. Whenever one faction would gain even
a speck of influence, I would see the scale tipped
the other way. I would do so unnoticed as the
two sides would focus solely on each other. But...
In one fell swoop, Atash has done more than just
tip the scale. He has destroyed it. Following
Ichmin's fall, the fractured horn will be exposed
at last to the public. Those in his confidence
will be investigated by Atash personally. In
social perception of any who oppose the angel
king will be quite volatile. I too had hoped
to unseat the fractured horn. That is why I sent
you to investigate on San Sitian. My outcome
would have differed greatly. The fallout from
Atash's actions will be disastrous. Firstly,
I expect Speaker Cirilla LaRoche will soon be
removed from office pending her own investigation.
Your former employer, Dresden, will be unseated.
The Roche family, they will face hard times.
In that way, we have accomplished our goal. We
may take some pride in this, I'm sure, but there's
more. I also expect that Speaker Infante will
be replaced. You saw when we first met Crispin
that I had already managed to blackmail him myself.
You remember when you first met Shirley in the
quarters for the Speaker of Saint -Étienne, that
she cowed him with some information. The information
I had gathered was not so difficult to obtain.
Atash Shirley has already found enough to have
him removed as well. Doubtless, his replacement
will be someone loyal to Atash, probably one
of the heroes of the recent battle for Papalatiyan
Hill. The people of Sansatyan will, in their
gratitude, serve their very world to the bastard.
And so Atash will remove two of Zomateshab's
agents and add one of his own. On top of that,
he will gain even higher social standing, drawing
other speakers to his side. In the coming months,
the cult will go silent, so Monte Sharpe's sucklers
will bury themselves away to lick at their wounds.
This was a grave blow to them, though they are
still not to be underestimated. An animal cornered
is at its most dangerous, and the bitch Calypsania
yet thrives in hiding. She is plotting something
yet. I think she almost, like, looks away for
a second, like, agitation entering her eyes,
and just there's a moment of pause. Is there
anything you want to jump in and say during this
moment? I want to give you a moment because Mama's
laying down some lore. I mean, I... I want to
give you a chance to breathe. Crispin has something
to ask about, but I don't think now is the time.
Okay. All right. Yeah, Dresden's just open ears.
Okay. She starts for a second. She's just...
Calypsania. I suppose I should tell you of her
as well. An ancient black dragon, my mortal foe,
and Zalmante Sharb's most foremost... Shit, hang
on. Let me say it again. An ancient black dragon,
my mortal foe, and Zalmante Sharb's most fervent
servant. I hated that, too. Yeah, fervent servant.
Fervent servant. Ah, just go on. She leads the
efforts to revive him and serves the true mastermind
behind the fractured horn. She stands even above
Cerise Laroche, who was the queen of one of our
most influential worlds, as you know. In this
one, she breathes in deep, like she's really
thinking. Calypsania is also Zebulon's mother.
Knew it. I think we literally knew it. You kind
of had it. Yeah, I think it was pretty much out
there. Yeah. What? In the files. When they first
tried to seize power, I stood in their way, snuffing
out every political flame they lit. And then,
Zebulon was born in secret. The child of a brass
half -dragon, a full black. He was a child that
should not have been. Chromatics and metallics
simply cannot procreate, and so he was born small.
You're breaking my fucking heart. Yet, he was
the most beautiful thing I have known in my life.
I let them gain power, let their master come
to threaten the world again so I might be allowed
to raise my grandson outside of their influence.
I only wanted to keep him that way. Keep him
following the footsteps of... I can only imagine
the horrors you have put through, Dresden, raised
in the shadow of my greatest failure. I am sorry.
I will say, though, this thing does strike you
both here. Sholi mentioned that Zebulon was born
to Calapsania, a black dragon, and to a half
-dragon, which is presumably her son, but...
Leave it in. Leave it in. David is getting a
phone call. Shame. Shame. For shame. For shame.
Where's the handbell? Where's the handbell? Shame.
Shame. Presumably her son, but Sholi doesn't
have a son. No, no, no, no, she must. She has
grandsons. But why can't you remember anything
about such an important person? Why did this
oddity never strike you before? You never even
considered it. And it feels like there's something
there, some memory, something at the top of your
mind being yanked back before you can focus on
it. Something is wrong here. Even this moment
of revelation is quickly fading as if being buried
by new mundane thoughts. You have to fight to
keep it in your mind. But what are you fighting
against? Do you want to say anything in this
moment of clarity before it is lost? Yeah, maybe.
Crispin reacts if he's having a headache. He
reaches up. Who is he? What are you? Are you
doing this? You see the bearish nod almost. Despite
my promise to share all, there are some truths
that you simply can never, ever know. But understand
that I am not ashamed of what I have done. I
simply fear its consequences more than anything
else in the world. And there's a real awkward
pause. Yeah, I'm sure. Real awkward pause. I
have so many questions that I want answered.
Now this is one of them. Ask me another. A different
question. One that I can answer. Please. I'm
kind of imagining that the whole issue magically
sort of wipes away and Crispin starts to feel
a little more normal. Starts to forget what he
was even so concerned about. What were you guys
just talking about? Huh. Uh, questions, right?
The boy, Paul, can you help get him back? That
was one of the children. One of Jewel's boys,
yeah. The Citadel, they sent men to take them
away and bring them to the LaRoche family. And
now, well, I can't help but imagine that the
authorities hold some responsibility. I wanted
to stand in the way of it, but I couldn't. Every
time you step out of line to protect anyone,
you open your back up to attack. Knives in the
dark. And I speak not of physical, but political
attacks. Well... The Roche family is weaker now,
though. Perhaps we can make moves. Perhaps. I
think it'll be worth it. I showed you, or I tried
to show you. The boy Paul, he's... he's like
me. She takes a full step back. Her eyes... wide.
You do not see Shirley react like this. Ever.
Monsieur Drakon. No. No, no, no, no. No, you
know the word. Who has him now? Not Calypsania.
No. I don't know where they took him. We found
the others, but he was gone. What does it mean,
Mazia Dracon? She sort of nods, and then just
stunned, shocked, horrified, her eyes sort of
staring out into space. Then she kind of comes
back to herself. Yes, yes, there's still much
I want to tell you, but I will not be the one
to tell all, and I cannot be the one to tell
you of this. Crispin Dubois, you should be made
aware that it was not my idea to reach out to
you at the start of all of this. I have allies
that pushed me into making contact with you.
Stalwart allies, my closest. Those that we all
should heed, but do not any longer. The Gemstone
Incarnates. You met with the Jasper Picantry
when you first became a Luminary, and they saw
something within you. They know. what you are.
Dresden, they have sensed your presence as well.
You are not, Monsieur Drakon, as Crispin is,
and yet, as this Paul is, yet you carry a similar
fragment of great power within your body, a piece
of the Ancient Ones, their kin. When you have
prepared, you must go to them, to the Incarnates.
Travel the Preserve. Meet them all, learn, and
hone your powers. I fear the time will come soon
when we will all need to be at our strongest.
I'll do it. I'll go. I'll do the same. The slightest
smile touches her lips. Some of that fear washing
away. And she even chuckles. As I said, my allies
are few and my position is weakening. If you
side with me, You will be standing on the losing
side of a secret war. Yet I am confident that
this is the right side. Will you do as I ask
and join my fight in all fields of battle? Will
you serve me in this war? I will, of course.
I have to send something home. I have to send
protection, but I'm here, but I can't go there.
I will care for those you love. Do not worry
for them. For now you must protect yourselves.
For you two may be the greatest weapons we have
to stand against the evils of this world. Leave
the rest to me, please. If they have you, then
you can see his shoulders drop. He's feeling
relief. Okay. When do we start? She turns away
from you, sort of beckoning you deeper into the
shadows of her chamber and begins to walk. Now
will do. We start now. And as we pan away from
the two of you, outside the door, up and over
a row without staring down at the preserve, we
will leave Crispin and Dresden for a time. Give
these heroes time to shine outside the spotlight.
Crispin likes it best. We'll come back to them
when they are needed. And they will be needed.
But for now, we'll call it there.