Hey Pants People, just wanted to take a brief
moment before the episode to say thanks for listening
and thanks for being our friends. Enjoy! I'm
sure the events of yesterday have lingered darkly
in the minds of all residents of all worlds.
The merchant monarchy of Zinda targeted by a
serial killer. The entire Ain family slain. Meloara.
Azranir. Tragedies. Tragedies all. On top of
that, we have confirmation of the deaths of Arlhafim.
And Amomata were also linked to this plot. Those
bloodletter revolutionaries that were taken into
custody for Amomata's murder are being considered
for release. In the wake of this new information.
And who was behind all of this? None other than
Diva Luma. We've received diamond recordings
provided by the Captain of the Asylum Burst that
reveal everything. And who was it that saw through
the heart of this plot? That brought down the
deadly Diva and her spirit servant and stopped
them from stealing any more lives? Who, I ask?
Well, folks, you ain't gonna believe this. We
open into darkness, and we see Jean, face locked
in frustrated agony, floating amidst blackness
with a voice just ringing out, echoing all around
him. His own voice, speaking lines from the past,
lines that, in our journey together, we have
all heard. My name is Jean Franklin Montelio,
by far the greatest and most noble warrior you
could have on your side. And the important thing
is justice was done. That fool Kasim will spend
an eternity in Atasha's prison. The Sky Prison.
Isn't that lovely? He was supposed to be my guide.
So what are we supposed to do when we can't ask
him where to go? Does that make me a terrible
person, sir? Does this change the very pillars
of my beliefs? Make me weak? Father is a lying,
betraying murderer. All the kings of Koynar.
They're all murderers, sir. And I'm going to
prove it to the world. All of this and more mingling
together into a horrid cacophony. You see him
brace his head against it, fingers going to his
temples, pressing deep into his scales or skin,
whatever turtles have. But something swells behind
the noise, and you see his fingers begin to release,
his face begins to calm as something, another
sound, a uniform, chanting, repeated, growing
in volume, pushing away the words, the doubts,
the failures. This... Wonderful, wonderful sound.
For golden tides! For golden tides! For golden
tides! Light explodes in the darkness, driving
away all shadow, all sound, apart from that glorious
chant. A golden light in the shape of Blanche
Trudeau, standing tall, sword raised towards
the heavens, standing just as she had all those
years ago when she had won the Golden Bay tourney.
and claimed her title as Master of Defense. When
a young John Franklin stared in awe, his heart
forever changed. We see John's eyes snap open,
his features strained. He snaps up from the cupboards
of his bed. He lies in his movements, pushed
by a deep, frustrated fury. Damn it! And beside
him... John, it's all worth. We see Ledoux raise
from the covers. It's none of your concern, Ledoux.
A dismissal, really. Might I remind you that
it was you who came to me in the middle of the
night? Was our evening so unsatisfying? It was
good, Ledoux. It was very, very good. I have
no issues with our choices last evening. It may
have been the single right choice I've made of
late. Sean... This again? You couldn't have known
the truth about Eden and your father? Yet Blanche
trusted him. She hubered me, sure, but she knew
I was wrong. The math to defend is simply loyal
to your health. I failed to see. You weren't
there, Ledoux. You didn't see. You didn't see
her that day. He kind of rises up, begins to
very uniformly start making his side of the bed
covers neat. Something he's... Something I've
beaten into him in years. I mean, not beaten,
but you know what I mean. You know what I mean.
The day she earned her title. The way she stood,
reflecting Carnarola's golden glory. I've seen
champions aplenty, but none like Master Blanche.
I knew, I knew that she would always get it right.
She has never let me down, let anyone down. I
wanted that. More than learning to fight like
her, I wanted to be good like her. But I'm starting
to realize I can't learn that. I'm just going
to fuck it up, time and time again. I thought
if I followed the letter of the law, I would
always be right. A pitfall that Jules swiftly
pulled me from. That perhaps my sense of honor
would lead me to righteousness. Yet all it did
was drive me to defend a monster and attempt
to destroy my own house. What would that have
done to our people, the total people? To Father?
To Blanche? I just... Want to be a good person.
Why is it so hard? I think maybe that's because
you are a good person. Jaune just stands up,
his side of the bed fully made, and just moves
to the wall with sort of furious step, grabs
his spear, a newly mended banner hanging from
it. I should train. I only have nine days until...
I'll see you tonight. And the dude just watches
on as John Franklin pounds through the door and
almost slams it behind him. Steps retreating
down the hall. We cut outside. The thorn apple
is established. Maybe there's a small sort of
recreational court in the back. And here, under
the very, very early day, the sun's still barely
breaking into day here. John begins to just...
training with the spear. The coral catches the
fish. The urchins strike. Damn it, damn it. And
maybe as we hone in on this, as we see Jaune
working so hard, maybe we pan back and see Blanche
watching from afar, perhaps out on your own morning
jog, your bed already well made, your eyes catching
your pupil and your mind flashing. Back to the
day before. To De Piero taking his leave. You
see a contingent of your own soldiers had been
waiting on standby in Zinda. Not really allowed.
I mean, allowing Ledoux already was kind of like
pushing the limits of what the Grand Master would
bring into this party. It was supposed to be
a very, very enclosed affair. And the silent
verse was supposed to be the only sort of armed
guard. But there were some... What's the word?
They were nearby. They were waiting. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. I'm sure they escorted him there to bring
him home. Yes, exactly. Up to this point, the
Golden Bay don't really utilize the silent verse.
Even though DiPiero is a king of coin, the Golden
Bay maintains their own sort of trained military
and policing force. Badass. Which is, of course,
what you control as the master of defense. And
so we see here as DiPiero is making way to depart.
wagon sort of loaded with whatever belongings
he brought, about to get back on an elephant
because, of course, he is. You've got to ride
in style. You've got to ride in style. Penny's
back. It's the elephant that was kind of hurt
before. Oh, Penny. It's Penny. You see a number
of turtles in salute standing by, you know, perfect
posture as you've taught them, and DePiero staying
before them. He's sort of grumbling to you as
he's about to make his leave. Jean and... Ledoux
and everyone else would have already made their
way towards the thorn apple, but perhaps the
loyal soldier, loyal master defense, you stayed
to make sure your liege escaped unharmed. At
least to see him off, yeah, if she's not actually
going. Watch him, master defense. Keep an eye
on my son. He's so much like his mother. Pure.
Focused wholly on means rather than their ends.
I often wonder what our house would be had she
not passed. Had my ambitions not gone unchecked.
And there's like a weird bitterness to him here.
Not a bitterness towards John, but a bitterness
almost towards himself. You see, he kind of turns
to the side. He doesn't look you in the eye and
just says, tell me, master defense, in your opinion,
have I been a good ruler? Have I led the total
people well? Well, my lord, I suppose that I'm
not qualified to say, but I couldn't imagine
backing anyone else. This doesn't make him happy.
You read, he kind of winces, almost like this
strikes at him in some way. Master of defense,
Blanche, you have proven yourself once again
to be invaluable to our house and people. In
truth... I begin to wonder if you were sent to
my side by Kondorar themselves. A boon and a
test. My son was wrong about Proud Eden, but
I fear he was right about me. I do not deserve
your loyalty. And before you concede, I have
much to consider over these next ten days. And
we have much to discuss when we meet again. In
the meantime... Take care of him. Please. I'll
keep an eye on Jean, but the boy's... Well, you've
seen he's quite capable on his own. Yes. Quite
capable. And there's something in his eyes as
he turns away from you. Begins to move towards
the elephant. And watching your liege's sort
of slooping shoulders, if burdened by a great
weight, it... strikes you in this moment that
DiPiero and Jean Franklin are just so much more
alike than they may ever realize. So burdened
by this self -doubt that they pretend they don't
carry. At least the father does. And as we fade
away from this, you watch Jean. Gah! Gah! Gah!
Dammit! Training under the morning light. Blanche
sort of walks around the corner. A little bit
closer to Jean. Your form is good, but rigid,
as always, when you're in this manner. Yes, sir.
My apologies, sir. You'll do more harm than good
training your muscles in this mindset. Yes, of
course. Sit, sit. Yes, sir. Kind of lowers down.
And Blanche and Jean sit, sort of like cross
-legged and... And she brings him through, like,
a meditative sort of breathing exercise. I love
this. With all your oceanic, like, move sets
and phrases, I imagine there's a lot of, like,
you know, you're on the beach, you're hearing.
Right, exactly. It's very... Imagine the waves,
Sean. Yes. Yes, sir. The waves bring all the
stress in, and they gather in one place, and
when the waves go out, you expel. Try again.
He looks at you with a smile and uses his spear
to kind of hoist himself back up. One strong
movement, twists it in his arms, drops into a
stance. Sir, your order. What move? A rhyming
mouth. Pike strike. Pike strike, I love it. That's
one of the basics. No, you're right. You're right.
Always establish the basics, then move on to
the more complex. Yes, yes. Always the fundamentals,
Jean. The fundamentals, I'm sorry, yes. Pike,
strain. Perfect sort of easy movement. Shoulders
go in. Spear flashes out so fast. He's getting
quicker. His jab's getting quicker, deadlier
every single day. He just might pull this off.
Perhaps we... Pan out here as Blanche is coaching
Jean through more, you know, the more complex
styles and skills that you've taught him and
just kind of going through the entire arsenal.
Ha! Ha! Yeah! We'll pan up and up and up to the
top of this in the thorn apple where some very
recently opened curtains flood light. Into the
room that belongs to Jules and Chester. Light
that has fallen onto an intruder that has appeared
in the night. Sturgeman. Chester, Jules, you
both face this figure as the mask is removed
from the man. The Sturgeman, this... Helm of
Telepathy just lowers to his side, and you see
an easy, bright smile on a boyish, handsome face.
Elegant features with large eyes, dark skin,
and a fully shaved head. This face you see truly
is a match to Larissa Reen's. I suppose there's
no reason for this sweaty thing. You know who
I really am, and it seems detecting your thoughts
isn't a possibility anyway. Ring of Mind Shielding?
Don't need to tell me. I know my magic items.
Congratulations, David. You remembered. I can
look at your sheets. I want to make sure it's
out there. Oh, God. You still have it. You still
have this power to, like, totally deflect mind
shielding or mind reading. Uh -huh. And, like,
control it. It's pretty great. You see Sturgeman
shifts, and something kind of rolls out from
just beneath his legs. You see a bottle. There's
another one sort of half full, resting on the
arm of his chair. Bottles of jelly wine. And
you, looking into this face and seeing these
somewhat like red, somewhat kind of unfocused
eyes, you realize Sturgeman's a little drunk.
He's drunk. Sturgeman is a little drunk. Whoa.
Uh -oh. There's maybe a silence for a moment
as you kind of take this in, as he's kind of
looking at you, blinks a few times. Ah, you're
probably still mad about the kids, right? It
was nothing personal. And my involvement was
minimal. Rune asked that I find a way to hurt
you, to send a message. I told him about the
coyote and the kids. That's it. That's all. He
asked me to kill you since then, but I turned
him down. He knows who I am, too. Just as you
do. So he has some power to blackmail me, but
he won't push it. He knows that I could kill
him easily. Look at me. Never again. You don't
need to tell me that, Jules. You have done...
You don't understand what you have done for me.
Rune, whatever partnership I have with him, if
it pertains to you, it's ignored. He set me up
with this identity, this luminary figure, the
mysterious Sturgeman. It was all his idea. My
father funded it. Rune planned it. He pulled
some strings, and I owe him, which is why I have
not arrested him yet. The time may come, but
you, Jules, you've done so much more for me than
that. My sister, I have heard tell of what has
happened last night. I heard it from her, herself.
You saved her, while my bumbling father sat there
in shock. You, a real luminary. There are so
few. Real luminaries. But you... He just reaches
down to the bottle. To you, Jules. Raises it
to his lips and begins to drink little trickles
of dark wine running down the sore mouth. It's
pretty good, huh? It's very good. I have much
to celebrate and this is my home. In... the height
of celebration. So, how about a toast together?
To, uh, what commonality do we share? Kind of
snaps fingers and sort of looks like he just
realized, to shit fathers, how about? I know,
I know. Yours was a piece. Does Jules laugh?
No. No, okay. What's Jules, how are you taking
this? Like, he's talking about shit fathers,
brings up your father, and like, what's, this
is a weird, surreal, you just woke up. Jules
will grab the nearest, uh, He'll grab the nearest
bottle. He doesn't laugh. Chester had a few leftovers
next to him. But he'll raise up the bottle to
leave in the shit fathers in the past. Were I
only so lucky. I got to help arrest yours. I
can only hope that my father joins him in the
sky prison someday. But family is complicated,
right? raises up and drinks. Do you drink, too?
Mm -hmm. Damn it. I should have waited to open
my beer until now. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, yeah. Drink
your beer. Drink your beer. There you go. It's
open. Nice. I think Sturgeon, like, lowers his
head and sort of shakes it. Yes, my father is
a megalomaniacal pile of shit, but my sister,
she really loves him. Her only true weakness.
But once he's gone, Jules, once I kill him, she'll
be in charge. Thanks to you, these plans can
still push forward. My only true family yet lives,
and I am indebted to you. This whole city is
indebted to you. Larissa's survival ensures a
bright future for our world. Zinda, this city
of sin, will change beneath Grand Madame Larissa
Nier. My... Revolutionaries have already started
to pave the way. He mentions revolutionaries
and his eyes flicker to you to see if there's
any reaction. No. You surprise me. You and your
party learned that Diva Luma is a secret serial
killer, yet never figured out who the true founder
of the Blood Letters really is. It's right there
in the name, Jules. The Blood Letters. What's
under the side? I wear a mosquito mask. Shit.
Damn. You see, that's another link that binds
us. We see the worlds for what they really are.
And we see how much better they can be when the
filth is cleaned up. We are the leaders of a
new order. A just order where the rich are made
to follow the very laws they write. We believe
in justice. True justice. You be careful with
that, though. It's a fine line. Care? We can't.
Dwell on care. Our burden is too great. The changes
we can bring to these worlds, they can shape
so many lives. We have power over people. Well,
you just answered my question. If you don't have
care, then what are you doing this for? I thought
you... You were there. In the tower, you watched
your father. The way he ruled, the way he looked
down on everyone. You don't beat power with more
power. Of course you do. When those who ignore
the laws can thrive. Law binds us. Law should
bind all like gravity itself. Bring them down.
Those on high should fall farther and harder
when the new order comes. Fine line. Just be
careful. Of course. Of course. Kind of raises
his hands up. Of course. I don't wish to get
heated with you, Jules. We're friends. Another
swig. I think Chester's been staring this whole
time, kind of like in pure disbelief, kind of
like backed up towards the window. He actually
has his bow in hand. He's kind of during this
time like snuck over to it, like gotten a hold
of it, facing it down. You see there's almost
like this malign magic that's starting to fade.
Perhaps he's starting to realize this is okay,
but he was ready to go. Sergeant's eyes flicker
to him, flicker back to you. But I am impeding
your celebrations. I should take my leave. But
before I go, gifts. He kind of stands up slowly
and unfastens something from his belt. You see,
like, it's a full, like, utility belt of magical
gear. Like, you know, I think some of the pockets
in the belt, he can reach into it. You pull,
like, things that are way too big for it. He
has a number of bags of holding, like, on his
belt in pouch form. He kind of reaches in, pulls
out little things. You see he grabs a stone.
You've seen sending stones before when Crispin
was using one to speak with Dresden. On Saint
-Étienne, you see one now, but this one has kind
of a strange sign etched into it. One that looks
like a hybrid of a bat and a mosquito, a sturge.
There may come a time when you want to contact
me. The sturge don't. How dare you! How dare
you! Fine, very well. The sending, the sending
sturge. No, it got worse. Oh my god. Oh, fuck.
It just gets worse and worse and worse. It just
emits, like, a high -pitched frequency. Just,
like, travels across the worlds. Oh, my God.
He lowers it down to the chair. I think he doesn't
approach you because he has that feeling, maybe
it's something he experiences as well, that you
don't take well to people you don't really know
stepping up close to you. Yeah, and quick question.
Yeah. These, like, sending stones. Yeah. Do they
only work? Oh, a starch stone. Sending Sturge,
yeah, please. Shut the fuck up. Do these only
work if both sides activate it, or can somebody
listen in without the other's knowledge? Only
if both sides activate it. Okay, cool, cool.
So it's not something that he can listen through?
Yes. Yeah, he can't listen through it. Okay,
cool, we're good. That's fine. That's fine. Yeah,
you could basically, he could send a message
to you, but it would be like, and then you could
respond to it, but you would be aware of it.
The way I have them work is like you hear, normally
they just happen in your brain. I like to have
it work like a weird little like creepy cell
phone where like little mouths in the snow and
such are open and closed and like make a whispering
sound. When you pick it up, you hear the voice
through it. It's fun and magical and creepy.
Waspy talky. Waspy talky. Waspy talky. That's
pretty good. Not bad. That's really good. That's
better than sending Sturge. He leaves it down,
and then you see he reaches down, and this. And
he pulls, maybe not actually in a pouch, but
just resting on his belt, a fine -looking blade.
You see a handle of, like, a dark sort of red
that matches the Sturge costume. And even the
handle itself seems to, like, the sort of guard
breaks out into two bat -like wings. The sort
of body seems to form a shape, and you see, like,
almost, like, connected to the guard is... The
very sort of bear, like the Sturge head that
the nose forms into the very long pointed blade
of this rapier. Oh. I believe this is your weapon
of choice. The Sturge sword. Baby. Fuck. It was
good until it wasn't. The thing about this is
what's called a rapier of life stealing. is a
magical weapon as far as it's concerned, damage
is concerned. When you attack a creature with
its weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll,
that target takes an extra 10 necrotic damage.
If it's not a construct or undead, you gain 10
temporary hit points. Wow, that's pretty cool.
It's a life training. It's very Sturge. It's
very Sturge. Leans up against the chair and then
sort of stands. I thank you again, Jules. I look
forward to meeting you again. I'm going to take
the door because now that it's daytime, it's
hard for me to do the window, the cool window
thing I did. No, try it. No, I'm just going to
walk. Try it. It'll be real weird. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. Exactly. I wish I'd left earlier. Do it.
I want to watch you sleep. Now this is just off.
See ya. I'm sexy and you know it. He just leaves.
You hear the door close behind him. That just...
That took a turn. Give me a second. I want to
change the song. Let's talk about the next ten
days. Or, I guess in this case, next nine days.
The first day has ended. Remember, this was a
ten -day sort of celebration. The first day was...
A lot of shit went down. You burned everything
in the attempt to save these people, but you
made it through. And now, one of those rare moments
in time where our heroes can actually celebrate
their victory. And so we see these celebrations
to a quick blur, a montage of what people are
up to. I told you already that during these 10
days, you're going to level up. So perhaps intermingle
with celebration there, some studying, some training.
I know we see Jean training hard. every day,
almost all day. There's actually very little
rest that he takes just preparing for the Golden
Bay Tournament. Perhaps many mornings are spent
with him. Blanche coming upon him. They go over
the meditation and then they go through the forms,
the fundamentals again and again and he gets
faster and faster and faster. I'll tell you right
now that Jaune at the next level has access to
an extra attack per turn. Oh yeah. That's going
to be great for him. Hell yeah. Oh yeah. See,
he's been working hard this week. And Blanche,
you've kind of come to notice something a little
interesting. That perhaps through how you're
pairing him visits here and there to check in
on him, you found out that he has not been staying
in his rooms lately. It seems that he's been
making somebody else's bed in the morning. And
it doesn't take a detective to know who's. I
also love the idea of Jean getting out of bed
while... LeDoux. Sorry, yeah, while LeDoux is
still in bed and Jaune making his half of the
bed. 100%. He won't start the day without it,
and LeDoux's kind of a late sleeper. Yeah. You
know, I wanted to see a kiss, but this will do.
This will do. No kiss for you. We're classy.
We keep it off camera. Maybe we'll kiss. Maybe
we'll kiss, but not today. Not today. Because
I'm crazy. Speaking of LeDoux, we actually see
that throughout this week, he's in near -constant
meetings with the other kings of Corbyn. with
their families, with various merchants throughout
the town. This, to him, is a work trip. And he
is dedicated to doing what he can to further
the Golden Bay's influence in Zinda. And so he's
working. He's pushing at it. And he's making
good deals. He's actually been spending a lot
of time with Margus Ruba in particular, who I
think you've all probably seen a fair bit as
they are just having a blast during the celebration
now that the negative bits are out of the way.
Chester. actually spending a lot of time with
these silent birds. You know, he was kind of
speaking with them a lot during that first day.
Yeah, he's kind of become friends with them.
Yeah, that's great. It actually turns out that
a number of officers are accomplished crossbow
snipers. He's picking up some tricks. He's been
training with Harlan himself. Harlan and Chester
working at it in the fields. He's been in good
spirits following the events at the palace. His
insistence on saving Diva Luma brought him some
turmoil following that betrayal. But he's faced
darker things and he's come through. Time and
rest, he knows, will help to wash these pains
clean, so he channels those pains into the bow
every day. Training, training. Also getting a
little faster, because he, too, at level six,
gains an extra attack. So, another big power
spike for another sidekick. All sorts of crazy,
fast -hitting boys around here. Oh, yeah. See,
Marcus and Xenia invite you to party after party,
parade after parade. The two are inseparable
during the time of the march. You also note that
Samira Ara, tailed by Harlan Burnshadow, joined
the Rubies in Celebration here and there. There's
a somber air to Samira, but buried within it
is a spark of true joy as she takes Xenia shopping
to the markets once or twice. There's a relationship
there. There's a connection. You don't see Amos
near again, nor do you see Larissa Reign. There's
no announcement at this point of Larissa's true
identity, but you know it. With the heir gone,
it's likely to follow soon. But the two have
been shut off. The palace in which you battled,
in which you struggled, has been closed off to
the world during this celebration. No theater?
You know what? I want some more omelets. You
know what? One night as you show up to Margus
and Xenia's place. I mean, he's got to go grocery
shopping. You see omelets. Lying the table. It
turns out, it seems that following everything
that happened at the Manor, Fyodor found himself
a better master to serve. Whoa. He works for
Marcus now. Whoa. Damn. All right. Macanoli.
Okay. And so, yeah, there's definitely some,
Blanche, the jewels, how are you doing? There's
a lot of, you know, he's happy, he's cheerful,
everything is going well. That's great. So, during
all of this, Actually, one more thing before
I get to that. During your time spent with Margus,
Fjodor, Xenia, all that, there will come a night
where Margus, while in their cups, offers you
a relic of some import. A nice little magic item
called the Amulet of the Drunkard. Essentially
an amulet that allows you to recover HP off of
alcohol once a day. I'll take it. Hell yeah.
Absolutely. Oh my god. So that sort of slid out.
Boom, party collects the amulet of the drunkard.
Margus, delighted. And now, following all that,
we've talked before about how this party, Jules
and Blanche, they haven't really spent a lot
of time together. You know, Zebulon and Jules,
they live together in the Coyote. Blanche, she's
got a job to do. She's got places to be on Zinda
and the Golden Bay and all that. She's barely
around the Radiant Citadel. So when you guys
actually meet, it's because shit's going down.
But now you find yourselves, Blanche, you're
on vacation. You've been told to stay on vacation
for a week, essentially. Jules, you're here.
I mean, is there a time when these two line up,
just like sitting at a busy bar? Maybe the bottom
floor of the Thorn Apple is in celebration. Maybe
you're watching a parade go by, beads all over
your necks, just drinking out in the streets.
What's going on? Give me a scene. Yeah. You go,
Jerry. No, no, go ahead. Go ahead. I insist.
No, no, no. I insist. I mean, I imagine. It's
similar to a lot of the just kind of encounters
we've had so far where I think we have moments
where, you know, first we sit down and we talk
serious. We talk business. We just sit kind of
on our own. But does Blanche drink? Oh, yeah.
Okay. I think there was a sake scene with. Oh,
yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I love the idea. of
Blanche and Jules getting drunk together. Totally.
Maybe Blanche is sharing her love of sake. There's
a big stone crock, or a tall stone crock anyway,
and they've got the small little cups that they
use, and Blanche is pouring it out. It may be
an acquired taste, but this one I find is particularly
smooth. You want to put a bet on this? I can
drink you under the table. Oh, shit. Drinking
contest. This bottle may be more about quality
than quantity, but what do you say about tomorrow
night back at the Thorn Apple? All right. I'm
in. Yeah. Thorn Apple. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah,
yeah. I heard drinking contest. I came running.
Chester, you're not old enough, but you're old
enough. I'm an alcoholic now. It's my new arc.
We kind of don't know. No, it's... Zinda's drinking
ages 16. I'm right there. I don't know if anybody
from DCF is listening, but... It's Zinda. There's
toddlers in the street drinking. There's cops
everywhere. City of Sin. Come on, gentlemen.
Hell yeah. So that's... Quite the sod you got
there from Sturge, man. It's still, well, it's
hard to believe. Yeah, I was a little surprised
myself. Yeah. Especially after the stories you've
told me about your run -ins in the past. Yeah.
I still don't trust him. Smart. But it doesn't
mean I'm not going to take a sword. Yeah, of
course, of course. I mean, let's be real here.
Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of your past. Jules, I've
never gotten to Tythos. What was it like? Ooh.
Oh. Ooh, this is interesting. I love this. Steven.
I want to know where you came from. I mean, you're
here now in my home world, and I'd like to share
in yours as much as I can. You've got to look
past what you've seen on the network. Look to
the people. Tithos was so rich in community and
love and genuine connection among the people.
All I ever saw, all I ever showed were, I mean,
the towers. Of course, of course, they were,
I mean, magnificent. They were beautiful. But
that's not real. So much love and so much evil
trying to stifle that love. But we stood together
until the end. For what it's worth, she pours
the last of the sake into the two cups. For what
it's worth, I am... She hoists her glass to Tithe
House. And to Zinda. And they clink glasses and...
Oh, my gosh. Empty them. Speaking of clinking
glasses... Ooh, that's a clinking noise. Each
of you take a button. I'll take it. Each of you
take a button. Absolutely. Oh, hell yeah. I think
that is the most words that have been exchanged
between players. That was awesome. I think it's
his plan, yeah. It's awesome. And I love this
because I think as that last little bit of sake
is drained from your glass plant, you look across
the jewels and you think back to the last time
you shared sake with somebody. And I think you
realize it was Ozen so long ago. This has been
a personal, a private thing for you here on your
world and on Noari. But we don't want to think
about that right now. I think... Come on, drink
more. Jules, is it too late? Do you want to...
That drinking contest, are you still on? I'm
always on. I've already started. I'm always on.
I think they're still pouring. Just a fair warning.
I'm too in. I might ask to ride on your back.
I haven't had quite enough of that, but let's
see what happens. We'll get there. We'll get
there. Incredible. And so, ten days of partying,
of training, of studying, of working, of celebration,
and of friendship pass in a blur. And we find
ourselves at the end of the March of Vice. The
parade has ended. The Prince of Vice has been
cast into the sea, carrying all the sins of the
city along with him. And the city is purged.
And all is bright and sleepy. But where Zinda
sleeps, somewhere else wakes. It's time to go
to the Golden Bay. So we are going to leave behind
those white, shining walls. The palaces of the
kings of coin. And we're going to travel. Not
by elephant this time, because... Penny's already
gone. Penny's already gone. Depeo didn't leave
money for another elephant. So you're huffing
it. No pennies, so no penny. A small retinue
walking along the seacoast to the north. A short
journey. A few hours on foot will bring us to
another place of such beauty as Zinda. Here.
I think I've used this before, but I don't care.
It's awesome. Here we see that the sea has carved
its niche into the land. A great bay. The shimmering
water reflects a blue sky as the sun begins to
sink towards the horizon's edge. As you're reaching
this area, you're cutting it close. The tourney
is coming up soon. Perhaps Joan was dragging
his feet this morning. You beeline towards this
central beach. Structures of stone more humble
than zinda in their material, but just as pompous
in their spectacle, banners of red and gold decorate
these structures. All this surrounds you. All
these banners decorated by an image of a leaping
fish. A red sky, a gold sea. You see turtles
moving about, some mostly with the paler, grayed
-out scales of the elderly, where full -flowing
robes like the Piero. But most tend to dress
as Jean, wearing colorful trousers and sleeves
over their arms, connected by chains of like
jewel -adorned metal. They stop as you pass,
all eyes locked on the returning prince, the
turtle, luminary. Their smiles and awe -filled
eyes follow him everywhere. Maybe some elderly
tend to scowl and turn away, but the younger,
the younger love him. Children, their scales
are a vibrant green or yellow or turquoise. They
rush forward to greet the young lord, crowding
around him and breaking into a barrage of questions.
John, John, John, what's it like being Illumina?
What's it like off -world? Did you really fight
a spider? I'm sorry, I have to go. He's pushing
past them. And as he is just pushing through
these crowds of people, as he gets closer and
closer to the enormous stone arena that rises
from the white sands of the beach, just dominating
the harbor, you can see the tension rising in
the set of his shoulders and the stiffness of
his steps. He starts responding to those waving,
shuts down entirely, his eyes locked on the structure
and the battle ahead. It's a curious place for
you, Jules. I think you've never been somewhere
that's so fully dominated by a non -humanoid
race. They kind of tend to look at you strangely.
There's not many visitors. You know this, Blanche.
Very few non -tortal visitors come to the Golden
Bay. It's not far from the heart of civilization
here, but there's still this sort of alienation.
There's still this disconnect between the turtles
and the people of Xena. So there's a lot of sort
of wide eyes and gasps following you, Jules.
And that's not anything that's new to Jules at
all. I think he recognizes it, but it doesn't
really faze him. Yeah. All that much. Yeah. And
if one thing, you're a luminary. You're used
to a lot of eyes following you. A luminary and
a prince. You guys got it all. Except HP. Except
HP. We cut to a quiet sort of stone room with
great doors resting on the edge of it that you
know is going to open up soon. Magically, all
of them will open as all champions pour from
their personal chambers into the Tidepool Arena.
When the sun hits just right, when the water
reaches the very edges of the arena, figures
will splash through it and begin their melee.
Jaune just... Man, I see Father's not here to
greet me. No doubt ashamed of my mistakes in
Zinda, but how to blame him, hmm? From the door
behind, there's like a knocking. And there's
a kind of... opens up. I think one of your soldiers,
Blanche, comes forward. Good. I see you all here.
Lord DePiero has asked me to bring this to you.
A gift. Jean. Sorry, my lord. He kneels and sort
of presents something to Jean. All of your eyes
walk on this. This gift. A spear of gleaming
gold metal with a spiraling pattern lined by
fine inscriptions running up its length. You
know, it's shaped blanched, as you see it, in
the image of Kondorala, which the total people
know Kondorala's form, or takes the form of,
a twisting, spiraling coral reef jutting up from
the bottom of the Golden Bay. This is a spirit
of great honor. This is... This is... And then
John sort of says his thoughts out loud. This
is... The father's spear. The king's spear. But
why? I don't deserve to. My... He's here with
you, Jean. And it's not even just him. You know,
another part of what makes this so incredible
is this. DiPiro has never wielded this spear,
but his wife had once. Jean steps towards it,
hands sort of reaching out, and those fingers
sort of close. No. No, no, no. No, I shouldn't
be here. What? Sir, I can't do this. I can't.
I can't go out there. I can't. I can't. Not alone
in front of all of our people. I'm not good enough
or strong enough for this. I shouldn't have this.
Just gestures towards the spear. Hell, I shouldn't
even be here. A luminary. It's a joke. We all
know that I was carried into this role by both
of you, by Zeb. I'm... Sir, I'm nothing on my
own. Your father certainly thinks you deserve
it. I think you deserve it. What was the point
of all of our practice if... if you're going
to give up now? When you're so close. John, you've
earned this. How? The battle for the Golden Bay
begins today. Defeated by the runaway to their
dismay. Display arrays of forms and plates to
slay your way. Through the disarray to prove
to your sensei that you're the greatest. Mentored
by greatness. Posted the temple to honor his
father the latest. King of coin racists. Won't
keep him down because he's got a crown. You'll
make it. You've been trained to take hits. So
look alive. Defend your sides for golden times.
and Zeb in front of Rune's estate. Now with your
new friend's trek to battle spooks and snakes,
and when it's time to step, you escaped from
the belay. Can I take your hand? They'd be done
with. If Jean wasn't there, Mesmer would win.
Takata, Kolo, and the sickness in the studio
made Atash look witless unstoppable. You're right,
sir. I can do this. My people, no worry, I'll
spit shit. My habit of cowering twisted. I've
underestimated this kid. For the last time, now
blast rhymes. What the thought of these fools
bringing me back to the moonlight for bedtime?
On the way, I'm not on the Citadel. I'm back
in Monsanto on Baytime. It's a place I'm from
where the lights in the water, they look like
a sunrise. I can't realize that tomorrow's the
moment to feel. Ah, yeah! Get him, John! Chester!
Keep it real! Bust him like black, black, black!
Oh my gosh. So I guess what we're saying, John,
is we believe in you and we're on your side.
You got this, buddy. You got this. Amazing. Amazing.
Hand reaches out and grasps the gold of the spear.
Plus one spear, actually, by the way. Ooh, la
-dee -da. Nice. Upgrade for John. Okay. Double
upgrade now. Oh, guys. That was awesome. That
was so much fun. We'll go into the details of
the behind the scenes in the Unzipped episode.
Unzipped. Unzipped. Coming next week or the week
after. Two weeks from the release of this episode.
Steven, what's your zipper sound like? That's
pretty good. Yep. Mike picked that up. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. I'm going to leave it. I'm going to
leave it down. I'll leave it down. Leave it down.
Get some air. I'll leave it up. Hey, leave it
down because this next scene is going to give
you a boner. You need the space. So let's cut.
Let's once again find ourselves in an arena of
gray stone that stands upon the white sands of
the coast. We can hear thunderous cheers as we
move in towards rows of benches circling an open
battleground. We see where a wide break in the
ring of the benches faces the sea, where the
lapping tide is swiftly filling the arena floor.
The water surges in around the ankles of a number
of combatants, all tortles. We see painted shells
of many colors and crests, many of these characters
wielding traditional spears and nets, summed
on shields. Only one carries a spear of gold.
that bears the waving banner of the Golden Bay.
We cut to the stands, to the great viewing box
where DiPiero Montello, who has been strangely
silent until now, stands up and moves to the
edge, hands raised towards the sky. Behind him,
Blanche, Jules, and Chester. Blanche, Jules,
and Chester. I heard that. No. I heard that.
Watch for seats of high honor. The crowd hushes
at Tapiro's silent command. And after a short
pause, his voice begins to boom across the benches.
He begins his usual speech. You have seen our
combatants. You have seen their strength and
their honor. So I ask, good turtles of the bay,
will these fighters impress Kondorala? The tides
have covered the arena floor. Kondorala touches
our fighters and watches from her throne beneath
the waves. Should she be impressed by their powers
in battle, then the tide shall be blessed with
gold. Our harvest season begins tomorrow. Should
it begin in glory, then the Golden Bay will be
prosperous! Only one warrior will have the honor
of welcoming Kondorala's gift. Only our champion.
As you are well aware, my son, the very son of
our Golden Bay, has returned from his journeys
to prove his worth. Let us all bear witness to
his glory and see in it the future of the Torta
people! John Franklin! John Franklin! His eyes
lock on to John Franklin. He smiles. And John,
wielding that spear, meets his gaze and nods.
Now the sun begins to sink. The sky will soon
fill with crimson and the time for golden blessings
will be at hand. Let the melee commence! His
final words are punctuated by the blaring of
horns. In the arena, the fighters snap to action.
Steven, how does Jean Franklin start this combat?
Fast and aggressive. Hell yeah. Whoever is closest
to Jean. That's who he's attacking. Just drops
down and begins pounding forward. Spear flashing
out in an instant. Catching this figure off guard.
And as spear makes contact, he clings against
a shield. Switchlight slides past it. But as
we see this sort of striking of metal, striking
of gold, we cut to the end where the sky is red
with sunset. Jean Franklin stands in the center
of the arena alone. The water level has risen
swiftly since the combatant's start, and now
touches his waist. The defeated have been carried
off the floor, unworthy of what comes next. Only
vague murmuring can be heard throughout the stands.
All hold their breath, waiting. All eyes are
locked towards the opening in the ring, with
the tides of the bay pushed into the arena. It
is time for Kondorala's judgment. And once again.
We watch as the water begins to fill with luminescent
flakes of gold. They surge in from the depths
of the bay, spreading across the whole of the
arena beneath the darkening sky. A surge of new
gasps and cheers as large dark shapes rise amongst
the swirling gold. One moves just beside Jean
Franklin and his sphere flies down in a flash,
striking the water and sending ripples through
the gold. He raises his sphere, using both hands
and stares and mouth wide. at the massive fish
that hangs in the blade, a rare black salmon,
the season's first catch, a second honor, and
one that has never occurred during the tourney.
The luminescent algae that fills this arena has
filled the surface of the bay outside as well,
promising a mass migration of fresh fish and
a surge of fortune for Meliteron, for the Golden
Bay, Kondrala's gift to deserving Tornkind. For
the fish to come so soon is a sign of great fortune
indeed. The algae swirls in a circle around the
arena floor, moving around Jaune, blending, shimmering,
and soon Jaune himself seems to be radiant with
it. He looks to you, Blanche, you sitting where
he had so many years ago, and your eyes lock
your positions now perfectly reversed from that
day. The golden radiance reflects most brilliantly
off the fresh tears that run down your pupil's
cheeks. He tries to hold a straight face, but
can't stop the smile from taking his features.
He nods to you, then turns his features towards
the sky, raising his spear in the salmon and
letting the crimson banner flap gloriously beneath
the sky of the exact same shade. For the golden
time! The crowd erupts into applause. Horns blare
again, mixing with the cheers and the chants
and the roaring triumph. It all blends together.
The very sound of honor punctuated by three words
shouted over and over and over again. For golden
times! For golden times! For golden times! As
cheering finally begins to die down, Jean lowering
his catch down, standing in this moment of glory,
His father once again approaches the edge of
his box, looking down proudly upon his son. He
raises his hands again. All eyes turn towards
the Lord of the Golden Bay. I present to you
my people. He paused for a long moment at that.
Takes in everyone. There's just something behind
his eyes, those words. The pride of Noiri! Jean
Franklin Montelio, heir to House Montelio, future
lord of the Nine Pools and bearer of the banner
of the Golden Bay. Alas, this title will no longer
be spoken. A surge of whispers to the crowd,
Jean's confident pose begins to break as he turns
a nervous eye towards his father, towards the
two of you. Kondorala responds to honor. It is
the very lifeblood of the tortal people. Honor
must lead us. So it is with great pride that
I announce that our wayward luminary will be
suspending his gallivanting across the world
and will henceforth remain here upon this bay
with his people. I hereby resign as monarch.
What the fuck? And we'll call it there!