WEBVTT 00:00:01.819 --> 00:00:04.339 Hey there, Pants people. Steven here. Just want 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:06.620 to say real quick before the episode, thank you 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:08.400 for listening. Thank you for hanging out with 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:11.320 us. Thank you for being here. We love you. Enjoy 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:51.270 the episode. Superstar Jean Franklin here. Now, 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:52.929 the life of a luminary is terribly stressful. 00:00:53.170 --> 00:00:55.429 You never know what dangers your face, what sorts 00:00:55.429 --> 00:00:57.409 of atrocious filth you accumulate in the cracks 00:00:57.409 --> 00:01:00.840 of your shell. Blech! That's why I'm always delighted 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.079 to relax and restore at the pale moonlight between 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.840 missions. A silverfish mud bath with a side of 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.760 succulent sushi? Yes, please. A complimentary 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.620 massage kept up with the most delightful pedicure. 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:15.439 I'm already in the chair. The menu selection 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:17.780 is just lovely with five -star rated amazing 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:20.319 dishes that will have your mouth watering for 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.659 days. Drink selection? Only the finest sakes 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:25.519 you could ask for. And of course, the finest 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.409 wines for those with alternative palates. And 00:01:29.409 --> 00:01:33.010 the rooms, well, that's a reason I wake every 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:35.170 morning running like a fool and purring like 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:38.750 a tamed tiger. I'll tell you, the pale moonlight 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:41.349 is more than just an inn. It's my, well, it's 00:01:41.349 --> 00:01:45.549 my home away from home. Fuck the pale moonlight. 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:51.030 How dare you? Or it was. Or it was. We'll get 00:01:51.030 --> 00:01:54.579 to all that in a minute. Because we should probably 00:01:54.579 --> 00:01:59.239 talk about level six. Level six. Level six. This 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:01.120 is exciting. We didn't really get into this before 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:03.140 because we had a lot of stuff happening last 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:05.939 episode. You kind of leveled up like two episodes 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:08.560 ago. But, you know, before we get into combat, 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:10.939 before anything crazy happens, you know, you 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:13.939 just had this week or 10 days actually of celebration, 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:17.199 you know, actual kind of downtime. So I want 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:20.080 to know what you got level six. I also want to 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.580 know how you think you got it. What were you 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:25.719 doing? We know Chester was with the Duergar. 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:27.699 He was hanging out with the Burnshadow Clan, 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.219 the Silent Bursts, and learning from them, getting 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:32.360 some sniper training. Jean was out there every 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:35.840 day training like a madman for this tournament. 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.199 And that's where their levels come from, their 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:41.699 new strength comes from. What about you? Who 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.599 wants to start? Steven, start. Steven, start. 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:51.770 So... I imagine Blanche, she stays up late into 00:02:51.770 --> 00:02:55.330 the night partying, you know, that's what this 00:02:55.330 --> 00:02:59.050 is all about. The 10 day. Yeah. Um, and then 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:01.969 in the morning she gets up super early to go 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:05.990 and help John. And it's like, she should be sleeping 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:10.349 in between, but she's bringing books home from 00:03:10.349 --> 00:03:15.590 the local libraries or her own personal stash. 00:03:16.729 --> 00:03:18.870 When she goes up to her room to catch some shut 00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:22.969 -eye, before she does, she's reading, and she's 00:03:22.969 --> 00:03:26.909 falling asleep on her scrolls. I love it. She's 00:03:26.909 --> 00:03:28.990 pooped. She is pooped, but she's putting in the 00:03:28.990 --> 00:03:32.830 work, and it's really paying off. Things got 00:03:32.830 --> 00:03:35.650 dicey back there. I mean, it's a time to celebrate, 00:03:35.750 --> 00:03:38.569 but I'm sure there's that feeling of, we need 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:41.009 to get stronger, you know? Yeah, exactly. Things 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:45.250 got close. Hell yeah, I love that. What's going 00:03:45.250 --> 00:03:47.120 on at sixth level? What's happening for Blanche? 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:51.000 So there's a, you know, I think it was just one 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.879 more spell. So I picked a spell. You'll have 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:58.879 to wait and see what that is, I suppose. The 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:04.659 big notable thing is. Oh. Extra attack. That. 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:09.000 Oh, yes. Yeah. That is crazy. And one of those 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.599 attacks can be a. extra attack on a wizard. Nice. 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:16.259 Nice. So cool. It's so cool. It's going to be 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.300 crazy. You can just, we have a cantrip at the 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:22.019 end. That is. Or, or, or the cantrip first, you 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:25.439 know, like do, um, what do you call it? Yeah. 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:33.279 Right. Shut up. I'm trying. Like do true strike. 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:35.959 Oh, the cantrip. And then, you know, going for 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.910 a sword swing. Yeah, that is pretty damn cool. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:43.069 All sorts of really cool combos. Wombo combo. 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:46.389 Yeah. So here's to second attack, extra attack. 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:51.790 Hell yeah. That is awesome. And then, yeah, are 00:04:51.790 --> 00:04:52.810 you going to tell me your spells or are you going 00:04:52.810 --> 00:04:56.069 to keep them secret? Yeah, I really kind of want 00:04:56.069 --> 00:04:59.230 to keep a spell under wraps. That's fine. It's 00:04:59.230 --> 00:05:01.829 fun. Yeah, I think it'll be fun when I decide 00:05:01.829 --> 00:05:08.930 to pull it out. Same for the unzipped that we 00:05:08.930 --> 00:05:10.910 released last week and we're going to record 00:05:10.910 --> 00:05:13.370 after this. Yeah, we're recording in the opposite 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:16.370 order, but it makes sense. Yeah, unzips are second 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:18.129 episode energy, you know? Oh yeah, for sure. 00:05:18.370 --> 00:05:20.870 There's a difference. I think everyone listening 00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:22.870 knows it. Yeah. If you've gotten this far, you 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:29.730 know about second episode energy. Hey, you want 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:32.529 to roll for HP? Oh yes, HP. Let me pull up my 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:37.620 thing thing there. Roll for it. Okay, so Blanche 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:40.839 is at 38. No, wait, hold on. Yeah, I think so. 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:43.639 Yeah. I have a D20 in my hand. What am I doing? 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:45.680 No, that's not what I said. No, it's a D6 for 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:49.699 the wizard. Oh, D6, really? Oh, man. Oh, that's 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:54.720 sad. Okie doke. All right, here we go. Four. 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:57.540 One. Okay, I'll take four then. Taking a four. 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:01.579 I was so hoping you'd get a one. I want to wipe 00:06:01.579 --> 00:06:03.800 that stupid grin off your face once and for all. 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:07.310 Nope. Instead, I ended up with 42 HP. Oh, and 00:06:07.310 --> 00:06:09.089 he's grinning like a fool over there. No, I'm 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:11.870 happy with that. 42 HP for a level 6 wizard. 00:06:11.970 --> 00:06:14.610 Is that good? It's not bad. I mean, the AC is 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:16.329 what really stands out with your wizard. Oh, 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:19.470 yeah, for sure. I mean... Outrageous. Yeah. What 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:22.110 you looking for, bucko? My D6. Oh, no. Are you 00:06:22.110 --> 00:06:24.949 also a D6? You can borrow my D6. We got some 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:28.060 Blanche going. Now let's hear from our favorite 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:31.160 luminary, the Midnight Prince, Mr. Jules LaRoche 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:32.920 himself. What's going on, Jules? I didn't choose 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:34.699 that title. Dude, that title's awesome. I did 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:37.819 not choose that title. You didn't? You took too 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:41.339 long, so I gave you a David title. Midnight Prince 00:06:41.339 --> 00:06:44.100 t -shirt, though, right? Dear Lord. Joan Franklin 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:48.120 loves his titles, you know? I like to think that 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:52.600 as the story goes on, Jules just naturally continues 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.339 to have this magic building up inside of him. 00:06:55.769 --> 00:06:57.910 And he just keeps growing more and more powerful. 00:06:58.009 --> 00:07:01.230 And as it keeps growing, it's more of a struggle 00:07:01.230 --> 00:07:04.250 for him to contain it and control it in the ways 00:07:04.250 --> 00:07:07.649 that he wants to control it. Huh. I like that. 00:07:07.709 --> 00:07:09.629 It almost sounds like it's like a muscle. Like 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:11.370 it's like this weird other muscle to you because 00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:12.829 you keep on, you're using it and you're stretching 00:07:12.829 --> 00:07:14.709 it in strange ways. And it really is developing 00:07:14.709 --> 00:07:16.889 and growing. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's just spilling 00:07:16.889 --> 00:07:20.769 out. You're something that you can't fully understand. 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:24.000 Right. you were made to be a vessel for something. 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.439 And like magic kind of like a, you know, it just 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.779 fills you like a goblet spilling over here and 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:32.240 there and staining a world around you. It's cool. 00:07:32.459 --> 00:07:35.079 Now you got this big fat magic muscle. Big fat 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:41.759 magic muscle. So I got a couple of fun things. 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:46.920 I got a counter charm. As an action, I can perform 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:49.540 until the end of my next turn. During that time, 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:52.879 you and any friendly creatures within 30 feet 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:55.839 that can hear you gain advantage on saving throws 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.579 against being frightened or charmed. That's really 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:02.740 cool. If we ever come across some baddie that's 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:06.000 doing that. Then I also have animating performance, 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.000 which as an action, you can animate one large 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.199 or small non -magical item that isn't being worn 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:14.579 or carried. The animate item uses the dancing 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:18.899 item stat block. Whoa. Uh -huh. Uh -huh. And 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:21.300 you can make things too. Yeah. You can make it 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:23.180 and animate it. I can make it and animate it. 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:26.699 I think it's got like 16 AC. Wow. Yeah. And it 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:29.480 lifts for one hour until it is reduced to zero 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:33.179 hit points. Huh. So, yeah. Yeah. That's going 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:36.419 to be fun. Find some creative ways. Maybe a little 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:39.440 protection if we need it. Yeah. Or at least something 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.830 to soften a blow. It sounds like there's a lot 00:08:41.830 --> 00:08:43.990 of cool creative plays coming out. That's without 00:08:43.990 --> 00:08:46.730 the spells that I don't know about that are sure 00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:50.049 going to ruin my whole life very soon. You know 00:08:50.049 --> 00:08:52.409 about my spell. We discussed it before we started 00:08:52.409 --> 00:08:55.029 recording. I chose Healing Word. That's right. 00:08:55.269 --> 00:08:58.710 Yeah. You know, sometimes the simple choice is... 00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:01.330 A strategically excellent choice. Exactly. Well, 00:09:01.370 --> 00:09:03.409 like you said, all of my healing right now is 00:09:03.409 --> 00:09:05.690 based on touch. Yeah. And with healing word, 00:09:05.830 --> 00:09:08.509 I get a 60 foot range. Bonus action too. Which 00:09:08.509 --> 00:09:09.870 is fucking great. Bonus action. Yeah, bonus is 00:09:09.870 --> 00:09:11.149 really. That's huge. Imagine a world where you 00:09:11.149 --> 00:09:13.649 can drop that, take out the old Sturge sword 00:09:13.649 --> 00:09:16.929 and get that crit extra heal on yourself. Like 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:18.690 now you have an even more tax. I will absolutely 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:21.129 take out that sword that Sturge man gave me. 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:24.250 Yes. Yes. It's a cool sword. Wait, why'd you 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:27.490 say it that way? Oh, to avoid saying Sturge Sword. 00:09:27.649 --> 00:09:31.309 Gotcha, gotcha. Hey, hey. Yes. Say it. No. Say 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:32.909 its name. Sturge Sword, I don't mind too much. 00:09:35.990 --> 00:09:39.889 Sturge Stone. Sending Sturge? No, I think Sturge 00:09:39.889 --> 00:09:42.570 Stone is at least. No, I put it, it's already 00:09:42.570 --> 00:09:44.610 in a sheet, Ascending Stone, or Ascending Sturge, 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:47.889 it's over. It literally is in the sheet. I made 00:09:47.889 --> 00:09:50.470 sure to add it myself so I could title it myself. 00:09:54.990 --> 00:09:58.870 Jules. Oh, God. You have not been winning the 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:01.870 HP roulette too often. No. You've been having 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:05.629 a bad time in this show. Maybe tonight will be 00:10:05.629 --> 00:10:07.309 a little different. What do you think? What do 00:10:07.309 --> 00:10:09.750 you think? Grab your D8. God, I hope so. Yeah, 00:10:09.750 --> 00:10:13.169 do I have higher HP than you with a D6? Probably. 00:10:13.470 --> 00:10:16.210 Where are you at? I started with 38. I'm starting 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:21.090 with 35. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you have the ammo 00:10:21.090 --> 00:10:23.470 that gives you at least a little bit of con. 00:10:23.889 --> 00:10:26.429 Right. Otherwise, it's just straight dice rolling 00:10:26.429 --> 00:10:30.789 and that's it. It's brutal. All right. Okay. 00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:36.470 God damn it. Mine didn't go all the way through. 00:10:36.730 --> 00:10:41.389 All right. What'd you get? What'd you get? What'd 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:43.830 you get? Tell me first. What'd you get? We get 00:10:43.830 --> 00:10:50.600 to know both numbers. Three. I'm really, really 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.320 sorry, Jeremy. I rolled an eight. I rolled an 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:56.460 eight. Oh, my God. Thank goodness. He rolled 00:10:56.460 --> 00:11:00.799 max. Thank goodness. You know, halfway through 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:03.840 your little statement there, I was like, he rolled 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.879 high. He would never apologize. It's true. I 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.039 did feel terrible. I did feel terrible that I 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:14.879 rolled an eight. Damn. All right. Well, with 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.990 that out of the way, gentlemen. You ready to 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:21.830 start an episode of the old FP? Ooh, I almost 00:11:21.830 --> 00:11:25.110 forgot to add my plus two for my constitution 00:11:25.110 --> 00:11:27.750 modifier. So you're not ready? No, now I am. 00:11:27.970 --> 00:11:31.250 Okay. Just building into something. Now I'm cold. 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:40.110 Hey, why don't you start over? Let's go into 00:11:40.110 --> 00:11:44.970 a flashback. Let's go back to the Golden Bay. 00:11:46.009 --> 00:11:49.809 Not as we left it, but as it stood some years 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:52.049 ago. I believe we touched on this, Blanche. I 00:11:52.049 --> 00:11:53.809 can't remember exactly what we decided on, but 00:11:53.809 --> 00:11:56.690 I think it was 10 to 12 years ago. I want to 00:11:56.690 --> 00:11:59.250 say about 12 years that you had become the master 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:01.090 defense. Yeah, that sounds right. You had won 00:12:01.090 --> 00:12:04.629 the tourney. And this scene we're opening up 00:12:04.629 --> 00:12:10.409 on is actually the morning after our first Blanche 00:12:10.409 --> 00:12:14.429 flashback. You have just won the tourney. Your 00:12:14.429 --> 00:12:17.450 victory in the tide pool arena carrying you to 00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:22.990 such heights. And now you stand in the Montelio 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.850 household, the castle that oversees the Golden 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:28.029 Bay. Now imagine, if you will, just like this 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:31.009 arcing slope heading down until it hits the white 00:12:31.009 --> 00:12:34.990 beach where the water sort of meets and rushes 00:12:34.990 --> 00:12:38.570 in. Constant sound of crashing waves. Now as 00:12:38.570 --> 00:12:40.750 we move up the slope from there, we see a number 00:12:40.750 --> 00:12:45.470 of stone -built homes. Many waving sort of banners 00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:48.250 above them. There's a lot of smaller clustered 00:12:48.250 --> 00:12:51.049 homes sort of around larger, more fortress -like 00:12:51.049 --> 00:12:53.350 houses. These are where the more wealthy of the 00:12:53.350 --> 00:12:55.350 Golden Bay, the ones that might form the King's 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:58.570 Circle, would reside. And as you go up and up 00:12:58.570 --> 00:13:01.970 and up, the houses get loftier and larger. Strangely 00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:04.730 enough, the higher properties are away from the 00:13:04.730 --> 00:13:07.330 water. It's higher and it's cool until you hit 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:10.909 the top of the sloping hill where you see... 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:13.460 One house that stands apart from all others. 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:17.840 One structure that is entirely unique. This absolutely 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:23.480 beautiful castle. Not enormous. Not huge by any 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:26.940 right. The palace and Zinda were larger than 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:30.519 this. I mean, the Golden Bay does not have the 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:34.480 population that Zinda has. Not nearly. But there 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:38.860 is spectacle here. As you see these finely carved... 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:44.720 walls and towers of hardened sand. Magically 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:48.799 firmed sand. You see, quite literally, a giant 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:52.679 sandcastle. Hell yeah. With the Montelio banners 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:58.639 flapping behind. All over. Red and gold and a 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.970 black leaping fish. Somewhere high, high up in 00:14:02.970 --> 00:14:04.710 a parapet of this castle. It would be like an 00:14:04.710 --> 00:14:08.309 open sort of courtyard. High and overseeing all 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:10.710 of the Golden Bay. The sound of rushing waves 00:14:10.710 --> 00:14:14.950 echoing faintly to your ears. You stand as you 00:14:14.950 --> 00:14:17.990 are about to be introduced to the young lord. 00:14:18.490 --> 00:14:24.870 Your new pupil. Now your job here is multifold, 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:29.289 right? You are... the sort of head of defense 00:14:29.289 --> 00:14:31.549 here. You're the master defense. You control... 00:14:31.549 --> 00:14:34.190 Well, first of all, here's a question for you. 00:14:34.309 --> 00:14:37.110 So we're getting improv -y. What do you call 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:39.710 the military force here? What is the Golden Maze 00:14:39.710 --> 00:14:43.090 military known as? We have the silent verse of 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:47.350 the sort of hidden police force of Zinda. Any 00:14:47.350 --> 00:14:55.839 suggestions? My placeholder was Shellguard. Dude, 00:14:55.839 --> 00:14:57.940 I actually was like, I was sitting here. I was 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.440 like, I was like, I was like, shell defense is 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:05.159 stupid, but shell guard is like my idea, but 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:07.679 better. No, it's better. Oh, you know, that's 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.580 yeah. The shell guard. I had the kind of in my 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:10.700 notes. I was like, I want to see what Steven 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:12.179 wants to do instead. So kind of like, I took 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:13.539 a couple seconds. I was thinking about it. I 00:15:13.539 --> 00:15:15.500 was like, I can't come up with anything other 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:18.279 than, other than shell defense. It's stupid. 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:20.259 Shell defense is a thing you have on your sheet. 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:24.639 Oh yeah. It's the move. It's an ability. really 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.019 do on the like looking around look at your sheet 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:33.240 shell defense defense you look at the same thing 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:38.159 three times okay shell guard okay shell guard's 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:40.279 excellent you are the commander of the shell 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:44.080 guard um you oversee basically like they we should 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:47.100 actually do a quick quick history lesson uh we 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:49.019 talked about the nine pools in passing right 00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:51.750 it's it's it's lord of the nine pools The nine 00:15:51.750 --> 00:15:55.490 pools are sort of the wider territory that the 00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:58.409 Golden Bay oversees, right? So as you kind of 00:15:58.409 --> 00:15:59.929 branch out from the Golden Bay, you'll see this 00:15:59.929 --> 00:16:04.309 number of small, almost like these grand tide 00:16:04.309 --> 00:16:06.070 pools, right? They're almost lakes, but they're 00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:07.730 lakes that are extremely shallow. You can walk 00:16:07.730 --> 00:16:10.509 through them, and they kind of go deeper and 00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:13.269 deeper inland via larger sort of river inlets 00:16:13.269 --> 00:16:16.169 that feed between them all, almost like a network 00:16:16.169 --> 00:16:21.340 of roads that bind these pools together. Whoever 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:23.519 takes the seat of the Golden Bay oversees the 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.879 nine pools as well. And they're all turtles. 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:28.279 Turtles live amongst these things. They're smaller 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:30.360 residents. The farther away you are from the 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.519 Golden Bay, the smaller the pool gets. The smaller 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.440 the population in the pool. So maybe they're 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:40.340 sort of like salt marshes? Yeah, yeah, basically, 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:42.860 yeah. Okay. Yeah, as they kind of go further 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:44.379 and further back. I mean, certain fish you're 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:46.299 only going to catch over there. Right. You know. 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.600 It all kind of feeds into the Golden Bay's economy, 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.759 the booming fishing market that allows them to 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.419 play with the big boys in Zinda. So, yeah, that's 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:58.980 the nine bulls. You oversee those as well. Your 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:02.679 shell guard are distributed all throughout patrolling, 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:05.619 monitoring, keeping back whatever dangers lurk 00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:09.380 in the open sea and in the lush jungles on land. 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:13.849 Sure. So just for my curiosity. Yeah. What? What 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:17.710 size is that kingdom? Is it the size of a town, 00:17:17.829 --> 00:17:23.289 a county, a state? Territory -wise, it is larger 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:28.470 than the territory Zinda actually occupies. Zinda 00:17:28.470 --> 00:17:33.309 is a dense metropolitan city -state. And while 00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:35.029 there's some control in the area around it, there's 00:17:35.029 --> 00:17:36.930 not a lot. There's jelly farms, things like that. 00:17:37.029 --> 00:17:39.450 But most of the actual activity in Zinda lingers 00:17:39.450 --> 00:17:43.799 in Zinda. The Golden Bay has a more distributed, 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:45.779 like, you know, all over the place population, 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:48.440 but it controls a larger, like almost county 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:51.339 -wide, I guess I would say, territory. Okay, 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:55.099 gotcha. Yeah. It's expansive. Yeah, for sure. 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:58.640 It's strange that it's so unknown to the world, 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.660 to the larger world, you know, kind of hiding 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:03.019 in the shadow of the great towers of Zinda. You 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:05.920 have this huge, you know, thriving civilization 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:10.539 of turtles. So maybe in like a real world comparison, 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:13.759 The master defense would be equivalent to like 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:16.900 a sheriff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I liked it a lot. 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:19.460 In charge of like a county -wide area. I liked 00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:21.220 it a lot. Okay, that's great. That helps me. 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:25.160 Yes. That is one of your objectives. You have 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.660 one other as well. And that is, of course, the 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:31.400 training of the young monarch. Not something 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:33.380 that the master defense is always made to do, 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.000 but something that has been specifically requested 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:40.650 of you. Maybe something that has... in recent 00:18:40.650 --> 00:18:44.369 years been more of like a like an honorary sort 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:48.650 of i don't know like an like inactive like maybe 00:18:48.650 --> 00:18:52.309 in days of old it was like yes you will train 00:18:52.309 --> 00:18:57.349 this my air in you know martial combat and as 00:18:57.349 --> 00:18:59.410 time has progressed on maybe it's gotten a little 00:18:59.410 --> 00:19:01.529 less formal i like that a lot yeah i mean the 00:19:01.529 --> 00:19:03.650 monarch is supposed to be the best fighter amongst 00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:05.509 the golden bay but that was a belief that was 00:19:05.509 --> 00:19:08.210 uh you know kind of Pushed to the side long ago. 00:19:08.289 --> 00:19:11.230 DiPiero Montalho certainly is not the best fighter. 00:19:11.390 --> 00:19:13.690 Although, he gave a couple good licks. Couple 00:19:13.690 --> 00:19:15.250 good licks. Couple good licks in that fight. 00:19:15.829 --> 00:19:20.250 You see DiPiero now. As the wind rustles your 00:19:20.250 --> 00:19:25.529 weird little hair. As you're standing out in 00:19:25.529 --> 00:19:28.670 the open air in this wider field. This wider 00:19:28.670 --> 00:19:33.450 courtyard. He steps out in his long and regal 00:19:33.450 --> 00:19:37.430 robes. At his side, kind of, he's almost, like, 00:19:37.450 --> 00:19:40.829 pushing him along, you see the young Jean Franklin. 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:45.009 They look very similar, you can tell here. I 00:19:45.009 --> 00:19:48.289 mean, same, like, you know, vibrant blue eyes, 00:19:48.430 --> 00:19:51.230 same kind of green skin speckled with yellow 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:54.829 spots. Jean's is much more vibrant than DiPiero's. 00:19:54.829 --> 00:19:57.130 DiPiero's is older, and his is definitely getting 00:19:57.130 --> 00:20:00.869 shown signs of age and discoloration. Not to 00:20:00.869 --> 00:20:04.670 the point of yours, but they come to approach 00:20:04.670 --> 00:20:08.460 you. DePiro looks you in the eyes as they get 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:13.200 about ten feet away. Master of defense, tell 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:17.220 me, your lodgings, are they sufficient? Um, are 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:19.319 they sufficient? Yeah, they're awesome. Okay. 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:22.359 Imagine Blanche before this wasn't in such a 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:23.920 lofty place. You would spend some time on a muzu, 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.799 but you were born in the Golden Bay. You were 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.220 probably born in one of the pools. Okay, sure, 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:31.500 yeah, yeah, yeah. It would be like the home of 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:35.339 a fishing family that was not... not high so 00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:38.279 the further out the pools go i mean i don't want 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:40.359 to go too far out on a tangent here but the further 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:43.519 out the pools go does it become like more and 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:46.900 more impoverished maybe yes okay sure yeah gotcha 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:49.799 so yeah pretty much anything that's here in the 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:51.519 golden bay is probably going to be above and 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.039 beyond whatever she found oh my gosh yes okay 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.359 and she probably comes from i mean especially 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:02.680 being with uh ozen you know You know, nice, clean 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:05.400 accommodations, but fairly Spartan, I would think. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:09.000 Yeah, yeah, very, yeah. Yes, my lord, they will 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:14.299 do quite nicely. Very well. I spoke to some of 00:21:14.299 --> 00:21:18.559 the guard. Your initial instructions were well 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:22.039 received. We are glad to have you. Thank you, 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:25.720 my lord. I shall not disappoint you. Kind of 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.859 smiles as for a wry smile. I certainly hope not. 00:21:30.490 --> 00:21:34.410 Not in the defense of our good people. And not 00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:38.609 in the training of my young son. Kind of like, 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:41.690 looks down sharply at Jean. His mother wished 00:21:41.690 --> 00:21:44.089 him to train in the spear. And the heir to the 00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:47.710 base should learn, I suppose. As long as he remembers 00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:51.369 to prioritize his mind. Kind of gives him a firm 00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:54.269 sort of glance. Then these lessons will be welcome. 00:21:55.009 --> 00:21:57.289 Perhaps in time you can beat him with respect 00:21:57.289 --> 00:21:59.890 for learning. Warm him up with the mental arts. 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.500 There are to come. There is time yet. I sought 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:06.339 to find him a tutor in numbers. Most promising 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:08.140 candidate I've found so far is a boy his own 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:13.299 age. Can you believe it? Well, I will tell you, 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:16.720 my lord, that training the body will help in 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.119 training the mind. It will center the boy, the 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.539 young lord. Good. Like it or not, someday he 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:29.319 will rule here. And he must be sharp. In all 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:33.019 things. Very well. Understood, my lord. Sort 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:36.119 of shuffles back, leaving a space between him 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:41.500 and Jaune. Go. You have one hour. Sort of spins 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.880 and begins to move away as Roe is fluttering 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.140 in the blurries as he returns to his duties as 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:52.319 lord, as king of coin. And you are left with 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:57.480 a young lord. This boy looks at you. Kind of 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:00.779 begins to move over towards a training spear, 00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:04.200 perhaps already laid out. Picks it up, kind of 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:07.119 awkwardly sort of twirls it from hand to hand. 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:10.839 Hang on, let me see if I can get this in. I'm 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.500 John Franklin. I'm young John Franklin. Yes, 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:18.779 there it is. Excellent. So, you're going to show 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:23.200 me that move. Yesterday, last night, there was 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.190 a... And he kind of, like, steps in, and he starts, 00:23:25.250 --> 00:23:28.470 like, a stab into a swirl. Your spear goes out 00:23:28.470 --> 00:23:31.450 wide in this arc. Yes, and you took them right 00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:33.609 in the head, knocked him, had him cleaned off. 00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:36.589 He was, yes, that move. You're going to show 00:23:36.589 --> 00:23:41.130 me that move now. You won't be learning the narwhal 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:44.009 approach for quite some time, young lord. The 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:47.630 narwhal approach? Fuck yes. In fact, we won't 00:23:47.630 --> 00:23:52.650 be wielding spears for quite some time. No. You're 00:23:52.650 --> 00:23:55.589 my spear tutor. That's what father brought you 00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:58.910 here for. And when you sit down to learn your 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:02.630 numbers, where will you start? At the beginning? 00:24:03.329 --> 00:24:05.369 Or will you learn to balance the books of the 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:07.869 kingdom on day one? I'm not going to learn my 00:24:07.869 --> 00:24:10.130 numbers. I'm going to learn the spear from you. 00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:16.109 I'm the prince. I'm your master. You need to 00:24:16.109 --> 00:24:18.009 show me what I want to learn. She sweeps him 00:24:18.009 --> 00:24:22.519 and he falls to the floor. He's on his shell. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:25.559 He can't get off. Kind of rolling. She walks 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:29.839 over and puts her head above his. You need to 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:33.019 learn to defend yourself without the spear before 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:37.680 you can wield it. And she reaches a hand out. 00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:43.619 Think. Hand reaches up to you. Takes yours. And 00:24:43.619 --> 00:24:47.460 she pulls him up with her badass blanched strength. 00:24:50.859 --> 00:24:53.579 He sort of groans, looks at the spear, kind of... 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:57.519 This is weird. He's not told no very much. You 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.519 could see that in him. He's not... This hasn't 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:04.819 happened. Drops the spear to the ground. Fine. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:10.859 We'll do it your way. So what? Well, first we'll 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:13.019 do a little bit of stretching and warming up. 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:16.740 Stretching it? Fine. How's your mile? My what? 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:20.660 Your time on your mile. My... How often do you 00:25:20.660 --> 00:25:28.220 do it? Oh, uh, what? Very well. Let's see. And 00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:31.779 Blanche starts to jog off. Wait, come, wait, 00:25:32.019 --> 00:25:42.920 come back here. And let's cut ahead. All these 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:47.880 years later, when the young prince has finally 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:54.160 been crowned. Imagine if you will. We pan out 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.480 from that sort of scene, that flashback, see 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:59.380 these two figures sort of running. We see the 00:25:59.380 --> 00:26:01.539 great sort of sandcastle overlooking the Golden 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:05.000 Bay. We pan out and see the bay as a whole in 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.240 this dawn light. And we see time just shifting 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:12.619 ahead of us, years passing. We find ourselves. 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:18.069 Under the stars in the sky is night here. Torches 00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:22.930 lit along the rising streets. Great sconce is 00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:28.150 lit along the towers of the sandcastle. It's 00:26:28.150 --> 00:26:30.170 called the sandcastle? I don't care. It's cool. 00:26:30.369 --> 00:26:31.930 No, no, no. Is it called the sandcastle? Yeah. 00:26:32.170 --> 00:26:34.650 All right. Fight me. It's kind of funny. No, 00:26:34.730 --> 00:26:37.190 I'm not going to fight you. I like it. All right, 00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:39.769 cool. I'm on board. Zoom in. Yeah. Through a 00:26:39.769 --> 00:26:41.950 window at the top of the castle. Zoom in and 00:26:41.950 --> 00:26:46.240 then towards the... Dwellings of DiPiero Montelio. 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:50.140 Now, just after the announcement was made, the 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:52.859 torment ended, DiPiero departed immediately. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.359 Turned without a word, left the box that you 00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:59.819 were all in, as you, I imagine, sat stunned at 00:26:59.819 --> 00:27:02.940 his words, at this revelation. Jean, staring 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:07.960 up in what looked to be stark horror, DiPiero 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:12.069 made his way out. And... A guard sort of carrying 00:27:12.069 --> 00:27:15.529 him, sort of a preset plan. What do they call 00:27:15.529 --> 00:27:16.950 those things? Palanquin? Palanquin. Taking his 00:27:16.950 --> 00:27:20.829 palanquin and leading it up towards the castle. 00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:26.390 Blanche, perhaps you've just reached this place. 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:28.710 I imagine, for one thing, you've heard there's 00:27:28.710 --> 00:27:30.829 Jaune following the tournament. You didn't see 00:27:30.829 --> 00:27:33.509 him either. He immediately went off in pursuit 00:27:33.509 --> 00:27:37.390 of his father, demanding answers. Would Blanche 00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:41.779 want to also? find them and yeah absolutely okay 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:43.440 i mean that's yeah pretty critical part of her 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:45.119 job i think you know as you're kind of leaving 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:46.720 there's a lot of guard you know probably some 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:48.559 deliberation with the with the guard as you're 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.700 kind of going out and so you're just a little 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:53.559 bit slower to reach them as dipiero and jean 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:56.980 reach the castle ahead of you so as we pan into 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:59.240 this hallway leading to this room we pan towards 00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:03.420 blanche approaching a closed great sort of door 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:06.099 at the end also made of sand with a shell this 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:08.750 is a knob i don't care it's cool That's pretty 00:28:08.750 --> 00:28:11.630 cool. It's pretty cool. It's like a little conch 00:28:11.630 --> 00:28:14.190 shell. You have to be really soft, though, or 00:28:14.190 --> 00:28:16.250 rounded. Yeah. You don't want to cut yourself 00:28:16.250 --> 00:28:22.009 on that. Conch or conch? It's conch. I think 00:28:22.009 --> 00:28:24.950 it's conch. It's conch. You tell us, pants people. 00:28:25.089 --> 00:28:39.200 It's conch. It's conch! No, it's conch! Hey. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:46.940 Hey. Serious time. Serious. Tortles. This is 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:53.339 a big political moment. Oh, God. You just hear, 00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:55.119 like, yelling. Muffles yelling behind the doors. 00:28:55.140 --> 00:28:56.980 You get closer and closer down the hall, and 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:00.559 words begin to rise out. So this, this is why? 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:04.319 For this, you stepped down? I mean, damn it, 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:08.829 you should, but how? How could you? How could 00:29:08.829 --> 00:29:13.289 you do this to her? I did what I did, Sean. I 00:29:13.289 --> 00:29:17.650 did it for us, for our people. I did it! You 00:29:17.650 --> 00:29:23.009 hear the sound of a fist crashing against flesh, 00:29:23.130 --> 00:29:26.069 scales, whatever turtles have. You hear a sound 00:29:26.069 --> 00:29:29.890 of someone falling, a clattering of glass breaking, 00:29:29.890 --> 00:29:36.039 and steps towards the door. The door opens. Jean 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:40.759 stands before you. Tears in his eyes. Face furious. 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:45.420 Teeth gritted as he catches you. His face turns 00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:51.339 to one of just such horror and sorrow and regret 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:53.720 and there's something in his hands, you see. 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:57.079 Sort of clenched up in his fist. A piece of paper. 00:29:57.299 --> 00:30:00.200 Some parchment. A scroll or a letter. Something. 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:03.299 He catches your eyes for a second and then looks 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:09.119 away. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sir. What's happening? 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.180 Damn it. Damn it. And he just starts moving away. 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:15.819 All right, I guess. Do you follow him? No, I 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:18.759 guess Blanche is going to watch him leave and 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:24.700 turn to the room, turn to DePiero. You kind of 00:30:24.700 --> 00:30:27.920 push through the door. See DiPiero slowly kind 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:29.680 of rising up from the ground. There's a huge 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:32.299 sort of, I think I saw something bruised up yet, 00:30:32.380 --> 00:30:34.819 but you can see where like a mark is lying the 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:37.119 side of the cheek. Blanche walks over to help 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:40.119 him up. He, you reach your hand out towards him? 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:43.819 Yeah, yeah, she goes to like. He stares at your 00:30:43.819 --> 00:30:48.039 hand, does not take it. His eyes fall away from 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:51.599 you. He kind of just stands up. Master of defense. 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:55.240 If I'm being honest, I had hoped not to see you 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:58.480 this night. Stay. He kind of puts a hand up. 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:00.759 And then almost for a moment, like there's a 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:04.299 second where he realizes that he no longer has 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:07.819 any ability to command you. And he adds, please 00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:12.920 stay. He finishes getting to his feet. There's 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:18.720 this powerful tension in the room. It's funny. 00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:22.500 Most. Boys spend their lives hoping to earn the 00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:25.480 pride and respect of their fathers. Many tales 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:29.240 are told of this. But we never talk about the 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:32.240 father's perspective. Seeing the boy become a 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:38.460 man and hoping. John Franklin is not ready. Still 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:42.380 too emotional, too hasty. But he is the future. 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:48.740 He will learn. Of course he will. But why now? 00:31:49.710 --> 00:31:54.930 I suppose the truth must out. I have done something. 00:31:55.890 --> 00:31:59.849 Not this murder he suspected me of, no. I was 00:31:59.849 --> 00:32:02.369 a part of that, but as you've seen, it was no 00:32:02.369 --> 00:32:06.589 sin. But I am not innocent. There may be blood 00:32:06.589 --> 00:32:10.130 on my hands, and I have betrayed. Well, I've 00:32:10.130 --> 00:32:13.769 betrayed you. You need to know, I did what I 00:32:13.769 --> 00:32:16.410 did for my son's sake. He lost his mother too 00:32:16.410 --> 00:32:19.220 young, and you are so much like her. He was a 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:23.539 brat of a child, but you, you changed him somehow. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:27.099 You planted something, a seed of something within 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:30.519 him. I could not let you leave until I saw it 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:33.599 grow and bloom. I could not let you go. What 00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:37.740 are you saying? When the letter came, I opened 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:43.960 it, I read it, and I replied in your stead. I 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:46.440 spent enough time with you to pose quite effectively. 00:32:47.529 --> 00:32:50.589 This was not the first document I have had forged 00:32:50.589 --> 00:32:57.210 in my time. What did it say? It would be best 00:32:57.210 --> 00:33:00.769 if you read it yourself. You see, he's holding 00:33:00.769 --> 00:33:05.450 back tears now. Jean took it with him. The burden 00:33:05.450 --> 00:33:09.329 of this truth, all of my burdens are his now. 00:33:10.470 --> 00:33:14.259 I am sorry, Blanche. I must do what I believe 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:16.039 is right for our people, even if it hurts the 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:19.500 ones I care about most. I believed in this principle, 00:33:19.579 --> 00:33:22.359 but I couldn't have known what happened. I couldn't 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:25.660 have known about Tythos. Blanche goes into Bladesong 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:29.519 and just runs after Jaune. Holy shit. Not to 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.640 attack him, just for the movement. Yeah, no, 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:37.480 that's awesome. You just hear, I had to. I had 00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:47.619 to. It's not... His voice lost in the sounds 00:33:47.619 --> 00:33:52.259 of your singing metal blade as you rush down 00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:59.759 the hall. Jules. Oh, I'm here too. Yeah, we're 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:03.319 doing fun. Let's cut. Let's cut for that scene 00:34:03.319 --> 00:34:04.819 for a minute because it's fun to cut from things, 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:08.780 intense moments. The old David special. Jules, 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:12.179 you are... Far removed from this, I think. Perhaps 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:15.739 they ran out ahead, but I guess, where are you? 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:18.840 This is kind of a shock to your system, I imagine. 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:23.179 Is Jaune, is he leaving? Your luminary partner 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:29.500 already gone? I think Jules found a quiet beach, 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:32.619 a quiet shore. I love it because that's in my 00:34:32.619 --> 00:34:37.739 notes. Get out. You called it. I was going to, 00:34:37.739 --> 00:34:39.440 I was going to say, I was like, I should ask 00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:40.719 him what he's doing. Kind of like with you. I 00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:41.900 was like, I should ask if you go after them. 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:43.380 You guys did exactly what's on my notes. I was 00:34:43.380 --> 00:34:44.920 like, cool. Awesome. Made my life really easy. 00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:49.579 I think he's, you get a shot from behind. He's 00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:51.760 just sitting kind of cross -legged on the ground, 00:34:51.860 --> 00:34:55.280 looking out at the water. Chester next to him 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:58.179 as well. Hell yeah. And they go through phases 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:02.079 of, you know, complete silence for a long period 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:04.929 of time. And then random chit -chat or whatever 00:35:04.929 --> 00:35:08.449 else, back to complete silence. Yeah, yeah. I 00:35:08.449 --> 00:35:09.849 think, actually, I should note this, because 00:35:09.849 --> 00:35:12.550 I haven't noted it yet, but you see Chester in 00:35:12.550 --> 00:35:14.449 this sort of back image, but you see that, like, 00:35:14.449 --> 00:35:16.789 his jacket's gone. The hungry moss would have 00:35:16.789 --> 00:35:19.630 burned his sort of brown, like, leather kind 00:35:19.630 --> 00:35:22.030 of long jacket, that patchy thing that he always 00:35:22.030 --> 00:35:24.590 used to wear. It's like it was tattered by the 00:35:24.590 --> 00:35:27.690 time that moss was removed. So I think... Now 00:35:27.690 --> 00:35:29.389 you see him wearing, like, a colorful floral 00:35:29.389 --> 00:35:31.869 pattern, like, sort of longer shirt instead, 00:35:32.150 --> 00:35:34.590 with the same sort of worn, wide -brimmed hat 00:35:34.590 --> 00:35:37.750 in his head, just kind of sitting there, looking 00:35:37.750 --> 00:35:40.409 out to sea. I think you're in one of those silences 00:35:40.409 --> 00:35:43.409 now, and then, sort of abruptly, he decides to 00:35:43.409 --> 00:35:48.309 break it. So you, uh, you missing dance? I do. 00:35:49.130 --> 00:35:51.409 Yeah. I'm sure Gene's won't be happy with how 00:35:51.409 --> 00:35:54.050 long this trip has taken. I'll have to pick up 00:35:54.050 --> 00:35:56.199 some good fried eggs on my way out. She was talking 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:58.500 about sewing round stuff a nice dress. Doubt 00:35:58.500 --> 00:36:00.159 she'll wear it, but, uh, you know, thought's 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:03.280 nice. Eh, you guys are strong. You'll be able 00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:06.119 to handle the time away. I know that. Oh, yeah. 00:36:06.199 --> 00:36:09.119 Yeah, it's, uh, I mean, it's good. It's, you 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:13.780 know, it's early, but it's good. Good. How you, 00:36:13.860 --> 00:36:16.659 how you doing, Jules? I know all this, but also, 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:19.900 like, we've had some time to cool down, but that, 00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:22.639 you know, that, the stuff in the palace, it was 00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:25.670 a lot, right? It was a lot. To be honest, Chester, 00:36:25.789 --> 00:36:29.630 I'm just kind of a little numb to it all at this 00:36:29.630 --> 00:36:33.409 point. I'm not gone, though. Hey. We'll be back. 00:36:34.389 --> 00:36:38.909 Yeah, hey, that's fine. You know, you get numb. 00:36:39.710 --> 00:36:43.730 I hear you. I mean, yeah. He's like kind of far 00:36:43.730 --> 00:36:49.369 off in his expression. I feel it, too. I'm good. 00:36:49.570 --> 00:36:51.829 I'm better than ever. You know what? I get it 00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:54.579 now, Jules. I really get it now, and I'm sorry 00:36:54.579 --> 00:36:57.980 it took me so long. Just keep growing. Yeah. 00:36:58.039 --> 00:37:02.039 It's all you need to do. Growing. And next time, 00:37:02.059 --> 00:37:04.760 I won't bother you. I won't hesitate. I'll just 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:08.400 do it. Just be, Chester. Just be, Chester. Yeah, 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:12.599 yeah. Well, no. Hmm? You don't have to justify 00:37:12.599 --> 00:37:16.360 your actions to me. No, I'm not. It's not. Just 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:22.369 be. Just be. Yeah. There's a smile there, and 00:37:22.369 --> 00:37:26.730 he does seem easygoing. I'm sorry I made a big 00:37:26.730 --> 00:37:30.909 thing about Diva Luma trying to save her. It's 00:37:30.909 --> 00:37:33.110 stupid. She could have killed us all, but hey. 00:37:33.289 --> 00:37:36.190 No. All works out, right? Just like God's breath. 00:37:36.710 --> 00:37:40.070 Sometimes people gotta die. Sometimes we gotta 00:37:40.070 --> 00:37:43.650 kill them. But it works out. We watch out for 00:37:43.650 --> 00:37:46.929 each other, and we keep moving forward. Hey, 00:37:46.949 --> 00:37:51.719 we keep growing. Chester? Yeah? We always do 00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:57.360 what's right. I know. I get it. Okay. Though, 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:00.079 man, I still can't believe we're losing the royal 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:04.059 brat. The big king of the beach now, huh? I hated 00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:06.039 the guy, remember? You know, because he almost 00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:09.639 killed us? I said never talk to him, ever. You 00:38:09.639 --> 00:38:12.679 know? Remember that? I do. I think I'm really 00:38:12.679 --> 00:38:16.099 going to miss the fella. He's gone, right? He's 00:38:16.099 --> 00:38:22.179 going to do this now. I don't know. I guess we'll 00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:24.920 let him tell us that, and then we'll figure it 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:29.000 out from there. Yeah. I guess we'll... He suddenly 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:32.219 just looks up. You know Tester has shrewd, like, 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:34.619 marksman's eyes, and so as they hone in in the 00:38:34.619 --> 00:38:37.400 distance, you know something must be there. Hey, 00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:42.099 Jules, you see something out there? Something 00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:46.820 rushing our way? Do I see it? To answer your 00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:48.619 question, I have to ask Steven a question. Steven. 00:38:48.739 --> 00:38:52.539 Oh. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. What are the chosen mounts 00:38:52.539 --> 00:38:56.639 of the Shell Guard? What do they ride into battle 00:38:56.639 --> 00:39:01.320 as they patrol and scout down the rivers, through 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:05.059 the pools, out in the sea? In the water? Yeah. 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:07.840 They have a water mount. They do a lot of fishing. 00:39:08.380 --> 00:39:12.139 Some kind of trained, awesome thing. Manta rays. 00:39:13.569 --> 00:39:17.110 That's really cool. Ooh, and they'd work so well 00:39:17.110 --> 00:39:20.829 even in the more shallow pools, too. Yeah, for 00:39:20.829 --> 00:39:23.289 sure. That's really cool. That's awesome. You 00:39:23.289 --> 00:39:24.849 can, like, stand on that bad boy if you need 00:39:24.849 --> 00:39:27.050 to. Yeah, these big sort of reef mantas. I think 00:39:27.050 --> 00:39:28.650 there's a reef mantas. Yeah, big, giant reef 00:39:28.650 --> 00:39:32.949 mantas. That's awesome. As you hone your eyes, 00:39:33.050 --> 00:39:36.869 Jules, you see what looks like a rider sort of 00:39:36.869 --> 00:39:40.730 pushing, rushing towards. Face sort of white. 00:39:40.750 --> 00:39:45.650 You see this. Giant manta ray kind of cresting 00:39:45.650 --> 00:39:49.010 the waves, rushing towards the beach where you 00:39:49.010 --> 00:39:51.469 stand, rushing towards the harbor. And as this 00:39:51.469 --> 00:39:55.849 figure gets closer, closer, under the light of 00:39:55.849 --> 00:39:58.849 the stars and moon, you begin to make out the 00:39:58.849 --> 00:40:05.309 blackness of blood against their shell. Blanche. 00:40:06.469 --> 00:40:12.420 You son of a bitch. You run down the hall. Yeah, 00:40:12.420 --> 00:40:16.199 I would think that Jean Franklin's room would 00:40:16.199 --> 00:40:18.239 not be terribly far from here. And so as you 00:40:18.239 --> 00:40:21.480 chase your pupil, you see in the short time he'd 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:23.920 already managed to reach his room, door is closed. 00:40:25.099 --> 00:40:29.320 What do you do? I'm really torn because like 00:40:29.320 --> 00:40:33.539 the Honorable Blanche would knock. But I think, 00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:37.679 I think she's afraid. She doesn't, she doesn't 00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:39.820 know what she's afraid of yet. This, something 00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:43.179 feels so... wrong here. I think she just tries 00:40:43.179 --> 00:40:47.460 to open the door. Door opens up into the room 00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:49.139 and Jaune sort of looks up in some surprise. 00:40:50.280 --> 00:40:53.480 You look around this sparse... You know what? 00:40:53.659 --> 00:40:55.900 It's lavish. It's Jaune. You look in this absolutely 00:40:55.900 --> 00:41:01.380 lavish bedroom. Does he have the letter? He does. 00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:05.480 I'm gonna say maybe you see he was like tucking 00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:07.679 it away. Yeah, okay. So you see like he's got 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:10.269 this... big sort of comfy looking bed. And he 00:41:10.269 --> 00:41:12.190 started kind of open up the, Oh, you know, pulled 00:41:12.190 --> 00:41:13.489 the mattress up and he started trying to stick 00:41:13.489 --> 00:41:14.829 it beneath the mattress. I mean, as you open 00:41:14.829 --> 00:41:16.889 the door and you could make out like, you know, 00:41:16.889 --> 00:41:18.769 you know, John, you know, this is where he keeps 00:41:18.769 --> 00:41:21.590 all of his, uh, luminary comics. Um, his father 00:41:21.590 --> 00:41:23.969 was never a big fan of those. So like, he's sticking 00:41:23.969 --> 00:41:25.909 in right next to mighty pig man, number five, 00:41:25.969 --> 00:41:28.269 uh, his sort of crown is collection. A lot of 00:41:28.269 --> 00:41:31.010 pig man comics, uh, some attach, but yeah, you 00:41:31.010 --> 00:41:33.409 can see like this. It's like, you know, the room 00:41:33.409 --> 00:41:35.630 itself is kingly princely, whatever you'd have 00:41:35.630 --> 00:41:39.110 it. Uh, And all the kind of immaturity of that 00:41:39.110 --> 00:41:42.449 sort of President Jean's soul is buried under 00:41:42.449 --> 00:41:46.570 that bed. Man, I really want to, like, show restraint, 00:41:46.670 --> 00:41:51.090 but I'm, like, panicking for Blanche. Oh, shit. 00:41:51.550 --> 00:41:56.449 Give that to me, Jean. Sir. That is mine. It 00:41:56.449 --> 00:42:02.750 is. I'm going to. I just, I need you to, I need 00:42:02.750 --> 00:42:07.900 you to not hate me. Hate us. What he did is wrong. 00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:12.139 He was right to step down, but damn it, sir. 00:42:12.760 --> 00:42:18.679 She walks over to grab it. He, shaking fingers, 00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:22.360 almost just like our scene from earlier, blanch 00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:26.260 above and jawn below. His hand reaches out to 00:42:26.260 --> 00:42:30.380 meet yours, this folded, sort of crumpled parchment 00:42:30.380 --> 00:42:35.789 in it. You go to take it? Yeah. Yeah, she grabs 00:42:35.789 --> 00:42:38.369 it. As your hand reaches the paper, you hear... 00:42:38.369 --> 00:42:48.469 What? Sing la voix. What? Why? Why now? Why? 00:42:49.590 --> 00:42:53.329 Okay, can Blanche read and run at the same time? 00:42:54.250 --> 00:42:58.349 Oh, do you want to? Yeah. She's already in Bladesong. 00:42:58.510 --> 00:43:00.429 Hell yeah. She's got the extra movement. Yeah. 00:43:01.889 --> 00:43:06.420 Yeah, Jean. looks to you. You grab the letter 00:43:06.420 --> 00:43:08.019 and start reading, but I think you know when 00:43:08.019 --> 00:43:10.679 this goes off, you guys need to meet at a certain 00:43:10.679 --> 00:43:12.679 sort of mutual point. I think down the bottom 00:43:12.679 --> 00:43:16.539 floor of the sand castle, there's a sort of war 00:43:16.539 --> 00:43:19.340 chamber. You'll gather there with your officer, 00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:22.340 with Jaune, I guess with the king, but Jaune 00:43:22.340 --> 00:43:25.420 is the king. With the hero show, who knows? I 00:43:25.420 --> 00:43:27.300 don't think Blanche even says anything. She starts 00:43:27.300 --> 00:43:31.360 to read and she's running towards the meeting 00:43:31.360 --> 00:43:34.769 chamber. Jaune, swiftly. Falling behind. And 00:43:34.769 --> 00:43:41.550 you're just gone. Running. You see this was. 00:43:42.349 --> 00:43:44.210 There's like two papers actually I should say. 00:43:44.269 --> 00:43:46.110 Because there would be an envelope as well. And 00:43:46.110 --> 00:43:48.110 the first thing you note as you're going to move. 00:43:48.730 --> 00:43:53.849 Is the envelope. Is the postmark. Dated for a 00:43:53.849 --> 00:43:57.610 few months ago. A few weeks before the fall of 00:43:57.610 --> 00:44:01.130 the sapphire. And the Tythos tragedy. And you 00:44:01.130 --> 00:44:04.530 see it is from Umizu. It's a letter from the 00:44:04.530 --> 00:44:11.130 Shrine of Storms. War on the horizon. Your family 00:44:11.130 --> 00:44:14.989 here is in some ways falling apart around you. 00:44:15.769 --> 00:44:18.250 You look at this paper and you read the words 00:44:18.250 --> 00:44:24.989 that might break your heart. Asshole. My dearest 00:44:24.989 --> 00:44:28.050 Blanche Trudeau, I once told you that I would 00:44:28.050 --> 00:44:31.030 never push you down any set path. That once your 00:44:31.030 --> 00:44:33.329 blade is honed, it is yours to wield as you will. 00:44:33.929 --> 00:44:38.610 I feel stalwart in this. That, as your once master 00:44:38.610 --> 00:44:41.570 of the blade, I hold no power above you. I make 00:44:41.570 --> 00:44:43.929 no demands, and do not wish to appeal to any 00:44:43.929 --> 00:44:46.309 sense of debt you might wrongly feel towards 00:44:46.309 --> 00:44:51.030 me. Yet, with deep sorrow, I must tug upon your 00:44:51.030 --> 00:44:54.949 chosen path, and impede it with my own. I do 00:44:54.949 --> 00:44:59.579 so prostrate before you. I am begging you. Please 00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:02.900 come to my aid. I must choose my words with great 00:45:02.900 --> 00:45:04.860 precision here as this may fall into the hands 00:45:04.860 --> 00:45:08.039 other than your own. I have been approached by 00:45:08.039 --> 00:45:11.480 a representative of a larger collective. A powerful 00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:14.920 representative with powerful allies. My position 00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:17.579 as keeper of the Shrine of Storms and the talents 00:45:17.579 --> 00:45:19.780 it affords me appeals greatly to their plot. 00:45:20.579 --> 00:45:23.460 I have chosen to play along, to hear them out 00:45:23.460 --> 00:45:26.860 and to gain what information I can. I have learned 00:45:26.860 --> 00:45:32.119 much. Know this, Blanche. They are monsters, 00:45:32.219 --> 00:45:35.880 and their will is evil itself, whatever they 00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:39.719 pretend. I see the storm that is coming for us 00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:42.500 all. The storm they will bring to our worlds. 00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:46.099 I have pledged to stop them before their machinations 00:45:46.099 --> 00:45:50.280 can bloom into tragedy. I must act swiftly and 00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:54.519 without drawing suspicion. You are the only one 00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:57.309 that I can trust. I ask that you join me at the 00:45:57.309 --> 00:45:59.289 Shrine of Storms within the coming fortnight. 00:46:00.010 --> 00:46:03.809 When we are alone and safe, I will tell you everything. 00:46:04.510 --> 00:46:08.070 I will ask you to fight by my side. Borrowing 00:46:08.070 --> 00:46:11.269 your assistance and your wisdom, I... I must 00:46:11.269 --> 00:46:14.190 move to face the leader of this plot. Alone. 00:46:15.130 --> 00:46:20.630 I am scared. For myself. For our worlds. I will 00:46:20.630 --> 00:46:23.309 find strength in this fear. And I will pray that 00:46:23.309 --> 00:46:27.590 it will be enough. I hope that I might find strength 00:46:27.590 --> 00:46:34.269 in you as well. Your friend, always. Oh, Senor 00:46:34.269 --> 00:46:39.630 Shikatsu. I love to imagine that she reads that 00:46:39.630 --> 00:46:45.929 last line as she arrives and is just so torn 00:46:45.929 --> 00:46:52.889 to be, I guess, lied to by the people that she 00:46:52.889 --> 00:46:57.730 served. So faithfully, like, why should I stay? 00:46:58.570 --> 00:47:04.550 Why should I fight? Why don't I go to my true 00:47:04.550 --> 00:47:08.610 blademaster? And yet you know that your true 00:47:08.610 --> 00:47:12.889 blademaster is gone. What happened, Blanche? 00:47:13.590 --> 00:47:16.889 What turned Ozen to attack Tythos? You've heard 00:47:16.889 --> 00:47:19.210 the stories. We never really dwelled on this. 00:47:19.369 --> 00:47:21.929 Perhaps something that Blanche hasn't focused 00:47:21.929 --> 00:47:27.300 on, but what? And would it have happened if you 00:47:27.300 --> 00:47:32.420 were there? Okay. One more. Maybe just one more. 00:47:33.139 --> 00:47:37.880 And we'll figure this all out. She breathes. 00:47:38.460 --> 00:47:41.800 And she steps into the room. What's the situation? 00:47:42.019 --> 00:47:45.380 Who knows what? You look into the room to see 00:47:45.380 --> 00:47:48.760 Jules and Chester actually already there. You 00:47:48.760 --> 00:47:53.010 were on the beach when Master of Offense... the 00:47:53.010 --> 00:47:54.969 actual kind of like second in command, the master 00:47:54.969 --> 00:47:57.210 of defense, and who oversees a lot of the outwards 00:47:57.210 --> 00:48:01.869 patrolling of the nine pools. Galt Shavok. Say 00:48:01.869 --> 00:48:04.889 that again? Galt Shavok. One more time. Galt 00:48:04.889 --> 00:48:08.570 Shavok. All right. All right. I like this guy. 00:48:09.199 --> 00:48:11.780 But you're focused mostly on the Golden Bay. 00:48:11.880 --> 00:48:13.820 You are, of course, supersede him. You are above 00:48:13.820 --> 00:48:16.559 him. But Galt Shavak, master of offense, oversees 00:48:16.559 --> 00:48:19.559 the nine pools around. You see he, when Jules 00:48:19.559 --> 00:48:21.400 and Chester kind of met him on the beach, he 00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:24.619 led them, maybe recognizing the luminary, who 00:48:24.619 --> 00:48:26.679 is John Franklin's partner, brings you along. 00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:29.300 And so you guys have gotten a quick sort of recap 00:48:29.300 --> 00:48:31.880 of what's happening as Blanche pushes into this 00:48:31.880 --> 00:48:34.179 room. Right now, all you see in this room are 00:48:34.179 --> 00:48:36.820 maybe like Galt Shavak, a couple of the head 00:48:36.820 --> 00:48:41.159 guards here. Jules Chester and you. He looks 00:48:41.159 --> 00:48:45.039 up to you at your words. You see this older, 00:48:45.300 --> 00:48:48.260 kind of worn turtle. Lots of sort of training 00:48:48.260 --> 00:48:52.500 battle scars down his face and arms and stuff. 00:48:52.659 --> 00:48:55.079 He's not quite as old as you, but he's a sort 00:48:55.079 --> 00:48:59.579 of trained veteran. Very weathered looking. What's 00:48:59.579 --> 00:49:02.219 his voice? Try to find a voice. Master of Defense! 00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:08.980 I am going more French than before. Pencil mustache 00:49:08.980 --> 00:49:11.519 and all? Yeah. Okay, great. He does have one, 00:49:11.559 --> 00:49:13.760 yeah. Of course he does. I know, I know. You 00:49:13.760 --> 00:49:15.440 have your hair, I can have hair too. Hell yeah. 00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:20.119 The Sohagin. They have launched a sudden offensive 00:49:20.119 --> 00:49:22.460 on the end pool while our people were distracted 00:49:22.460 --> 00:49:25.880 by the tourney. It has happened tonight. Much 00:49:25.880 --> 00:49:28.519 blood has been spilled. We are fighting them 00:49:28.519 --> 00:49:31.800 back, but we need reinforcements now to hold 00:49:31.800 --> 00:49:35.500 them at bay. Blanche looks over to whoever is 00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:39.840 her, you know, in charge of the guard here at 00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:43.380 the bay. Who can we spare? Jean and DePiero, 00:49:43.539 --> 00:49:45.900 I'll say, move into the room now, kind of pushing 00:49:45.900 --> 00:49:48.099 in behind you. They kind of meet at the same 00:49:48.099 --> 00:49:50.420 time. Awkward sort of stare between them, but 00:49:50.420 --> 00:49:53.940 it's focus time now as they push in. How do you 00:49:53.940 --> 00:49:58.900 react? You feel DePiero move up behind you? I 00:49:58.900 --> 00:50:03.460 think she needs to figure out the situation first 00:50:03.460 --> 00:50:06.519 before she can backtrack and update people. Hell 00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:09.219 yeah. I think it's all business right now. One 00:50:09.219 --> 00:50:12.519 of us just... We are having no issues here, sir. 00:50:12.639 --> 00:50:15.579 We could... Whatever you need, we could send. 00:50:16.119 --> 00:50:18.760 We will keep at least two divisions to make sure 00:50:18.760 --> 00:50:21.219 the Sahagi do not make a break for our Golden 00:50:21.219 --> 00:50:26.480 Bay. We must protect here utmost. Yes, send... 00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:31.920 Will it be enough, Jean, beside you? Will it 00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:36.400 be enough without those two divisions? Your Majesty, 00:50:36.719 --> 00:50:39.699 now, will it be enough without those two divisions? 00:50:40.300 --> 00:50:44.139 We cannot risk any lives. The 8th pool is far. 00:50:44.940 --> 00:50:47.719 Only, if we require more reinforcements beyond 00:50:47.719 --> 00:50:51.219 this, it might be too late. Sir. I'll see to 00:50:51.219 --> 00:50:56.920 it myself, my lord. Yes, sir. There is more. 00:50:57.440 --> 00:51:00.940 We have reports that one of the champions of 00:51:00.940 --> 00:51:03.199 the Sahagin... managed to punch through our forces 00:51:03.199 --> 00:51:06.000 on the Sendine River with a small squad. Five 00:51:06.000 --> 00:51:08.920 Shelgar dead, and a group of five civilians taken 00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:12.599 by force. They'll be on their way to the Maw. 00:51:13.159 --> 00:51:16.320 On their way to the what? The Maw. Heavy silence 00:51:16.320 --> 00:51:19.599 hits the room. You know of the Maw, where you, 00:51:19.739 --> 00:51:22.320 turtles of the Golden Bay, worship Kondorala, 00:51:22.539 --> 00:51:25.539 who is sort of the great spiraling coral reef 00:51:25.539 --> 00:51:29.059 that responds to honor and to discipline. The 00:51:29.059 --> 00:51:32.320 Maw of the Sahagin is this great, toothy, uh, 00:51:32.500 --> 00:51:35.960 this bony mouth of fossil that lies at the bottom 00:51:35.960 --> 00:51:38.460 of their, uh, the rift that they call their home. 00:51:39.099 --> 00:51:41.920 It is the god of bloodlust and predatory instinct. 00:51:42.280 --> 00:51:45.420 A dead god, but one that they believe. If they 00:51:45.420 --> 00:51:49.320 capture enough innocent lives, particularly their 00:51:49.320 --> 00:51:52.840 fond of tortle lives, they will sacrifice them, 00:51:52.880 --> 00:51:55.820 feed their blood, their clouded blood into the 00:51:55.820 --> 00:51:59.940 Maw. And when it feeds enough, it will awaken 00:51:59.940 --> 00:52:05.280 and lead them to control over the Golden Bay, 00:52:05.380 --> 00:52:08.940 over Nowari. It has always been, the Sahagin 00:52:08.940 --> 00:52:11.619 have always been your foremost enemies here. 00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:14.840 To attack like this, it's much like them. Perhaps 00:52:14.840 --> 00:52:18.139 you even had units spread out, a higher guard, 00:52:18.199 --> 00:52:20.480 preparing that they might go for something like 00:52:20.480 --> 00:52:22.619 this when the tournament was happening. But the 00:52:22.619 --> 00:52:25.239 Eighth Pool? That's so far back. What are they 00:52:25.239 --> 00:52:28.320 doing that far back? So you said that they, they 00:52:28.320 --> 00:52:31.179 punched through the defenses of the eight pool, 00:52:31.179 --> 00:52:35.019 eighth pool to get to this. I think as we kind 00:52:35.019 --> 00:52:37.019 of, so, so yes, they're, they're heading back 00:52:37.019 --> 00:52:39.420 to their base with a group of civilians. Oh, 00:52:39.420 --> 00:52:41.800 oh, okay. So they didn't punch through the defenses 00:52:41.800 --> 00:52:44.500 and continue going. They hit the eighth pool 00:52:44.500 --> 00:52:47.550 and now they're taking one champion. And a squad 00:52:47.550 --> 00:52:49.650 punched through the defenses of the Sendine River, 00:52:49.769 --> 00:52:51.789 which you would know is like a kind of looping 00:52:51.789 --> 00:52:53.530 river that kind of goes around to the north. 00:52:53.690 --> 00:52:56.110 It's more of a roundabout way back that kind 00:52:56.110 --> 00:52:59.550 of bypasses a lot of your guard. As the shell 00:52:59.550 --> 00:53:01.130 guard kind of came in to meet them, and they're 00:53:01.130 --> 00:53:03.210 kind of explaining this to you. We'll do this 00:53:03.210 --> 00:53:04.369 so I don't have to do a French accent the whole 00:53:04.369 --> 00:53:06.550 time. As the shell guard came to meet them, one 00:53:06.550 --> 00:53:08.429 group branched off with a bunch of civilians, 00:53:08.590 --> 00:53:12.050 a bunch of sacrifices, punched through the defenses 00:53:12.050 --> 00:53:14.030 that were kind of blocking the Sendine River, 00:53:14.110 --> 00:53:16.840 one of the only back ways out. That's water based. 00:53:17.739 --> 00:53:21.179 It's a longer sort of looping pathway, but it 00:53:21.179 --> 00:53:23.099 will lead back to the ocean and it will lead 00:53:23.099 --> 00:53:25.719 them eventually back to their territory out in 00:53:25.719 --> 00:53:27.199 the deeper sea. Why didn't they just go back 00:53:27.199 --> 00:53:29.179 the way they came? There was a heavier guard 00:53:29.179 --> 00:53:31.840 moving in from there. The shell guard managed 00:53:31.840 --> 00:53:34.599 to rally. Okay. There are a number of Sahagins 00:53:34.599 --> 00:53:37.420 still kind of in combat or being driven back 00:53:37.420 --> 00:53:39.300 into the jungle. Okay. They are disadvantaged. 00:53:39.800 --> 00:53:42.260 Okay. So the Sahagin are encircled by the shell 00:53:42.260 --> 00:53:46.579 guard, but some. Some Sahagin broke out and sort 00:53:46.579 --> 00:53:48.300 of escaped. There's two issues being proposed 00:53:48.300 --> 00:53:51.739 to you here. One is that they need more reinforcements 00:53:51.739 --> 00:53:54.860 to ensure they can drive away the Sahagin without 00:53:54.860 --> 00:53:57.980 any more bloodshed. The battle is still ongoing 00:53:57.980 --> 00:54:01.599 and skirmishes, but they need more. On top of 00:54:01.599 --> 00:54:05.400 that, one Sahagin champion, a master of the spear, 00:54:05.579 --> 00:54:09.519 you would expect, has managed to sneak away with 00:54:09.519 --> 00:54:12.320 a bunch of civilians. Based on Blanche's knowledge 00:54:12.320 --> 00:54:16.539 of the area, If she were to immediately go after 00:54:16.539 --> 00:54:19.920 this champion, would she catch up to him before 00:54:19.920 --> 00:54:22.760 he got back to wherever he's going? You know 00:54:22.760 --> 00:54:25.460 the area well. You know a few things about this. 00:54:26.079 --> 00:54:29.420 The Sendine River is a longer looping path. It's 00:54:29.420 --> 00:54:31.139 going to take a long time for them to get around 00:54:31.139 --> 00:54:33.920 that to hit the open ocean again. They have prisoners, 00:54:34.079 --> 00:54:38.199 five. That's going to slow them. You also know 00:54:38.199 --> 00:54:39.559 that because the prisoners are turtles, they'll 00:54:39.559 --> 00:54:42.349 need to keep... away from the sea caves that 00:54:42.349 --> 00:54:44.849 might lead to the main rift. They'll need to 00:54:44.849 --> 00:54:46.889 stay towards the surface. Turtles only can survive 00:54:46.889 --> 00:54:50.429 for one hour without drowning underwater, which 00:54:50.429 --> 00:54:52.070 means in order to keep their prisoners fresh 00:54:52.070 --> 00:54:54.570 for the sacrifice, they'll need to take the open 00:54:54.570 --> 00:54:59.429 ocean route. The area bordering their territory 00:54:59.429 --> 00:55:02.409 is actually quite shallow and filled with these 00:55:02.409 --> 00:55:07.070 large stone spires jutting up from the sea, which 00:55:07.070 --> 00:55:09.380 means likely they'll need to take... They'll 00:55:09.380 --> 00:55:11.119 stay close to the surface when they reach that 00:55:11.119 --> 00:55:13.579 point. All this flashes through your mind. I 00:55:13.579 --> 00:55:15.320 mean, you have a high intelligence. You're calculating 00:55:15.320 --> 00:55:17.800 it, and you think, yes, if we're fast enough, 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:22.280 we could catch them. Okay. So she says to the 00:55:22.280 --> 00:55:26.539 captain of the local watch, send whoever's ready 00:55:26.539 --> 00:55:30.900 to reinforce the 8th pool. Rouse the rest. They'll 00:55:30.900 --> 00:55:35.059 be on double duty securing the Golden Bay. Galt, 00:55:35.199 --> 00:55:38.440 you're with me. We're going after the hostages. 00:55:40.400 --> 00:55:43.380 Sacrifices. I think you see DePiero sort of jumps 00:55:43.380 --> 00:55:46.139 up, just like, and you would take away most of 00:55:46.139 --> 00:55:49.039 our guard here. What if they come to attack us 00:55:49.039 --> 00:55:51.300 now? They're getting bolder. What if they come 00:55:51.300 --> 00:55:54.280 for me and for my family? Master Vance, this 00:55:54.280 --> 00:55:58.079 is... No, Father, she's right. We must rally 00:55:58.079 --> 00:56:01.679 and drive them off. We... I think... You see 00:56:01.679 --> 00:56:03.420 one other figure kind of moves into the room, 00:56:03.460 --> 00:56:05.159 actually, kind of as it's going on. You see Ledoux, 00:56:05.280 --> 00:56:08.300 kind of. awkwardly timidly kind of moves in. 00:56:09.960 --> 00:56:13.559 Jean looks at him like, Ledoux, do you still 00:56:13.559 --> 00:56:18.239 have it? And Ledoux sort of presents a sending 00:56:18.239 --> 00:56:23.139 stone. Contact Harlan. It is time we call upon 00:56:23.139 --> 00:56:27.159 the silent verse to back us up here. It'll take 00:56:27.159 --> 00:56:29.960 them some time to reach us, but what troops we 00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:33.300 have here can help to rally. We need to send 00:56:33.300 --> 00:56:38.809 whoever we can. Nobody has to die. Unnecessarily. 00:56:38.809 --> 00:56:42.590 But... Jean -Claude Bites' turtle beak, whatever. 00:56:43.829 --> 00:56:47.190 Master of Offense Chevak, I am sorry to disagree 00:56:47.190 --> 00:56:50.449 with you, Master Defense, but I believe he will 00:56:50.449 --> 00:56:54.550 be needed to rally the troops. Instead, I think 00:56:54.550 --> 00:56:57.670 it's best you take a small squad, one that can 00:56:57.670 --> 00:56:59.590 make it into territory without being noted quickly 00:56:59.590 --> 00:57:03.809 by the shock scouts. His eyes flashed to you, 00:57:03.929 --> 00:57:08.219 Jules, to you, Chester. if you're willing. These 00:57:08.219 --> 00:57:10.960 are not your people, Jules. You do not have to 00:57:10.960 --> 00:57:14.320 accept this. It will be dangerous. Do you know 00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:18.719 me at all, Sean? Just a big smile. I should not 00:57:18.719 --> 00:57:23.300 have asked. Here, let's do it. And of course, 00:57:23.340 --> 00:57:27.019 I will be going with you, too. And then just 00:57:27.019 --> 00:57:29.179 immediately, under no circumstances will you 00:57:29.179 --> 00:57:32.159 do so. Only a fool came to Pyrrho, just raging. 00:57:32.860 --> 00:57:36.210 Then a fool I will be, father. I am not content 00:57:36.210 --> 00:57:38.690 to stand on the sidelines when I can save lives. 00:57:38.969 --> 00:57:41.889 Why else would I wield this? Hammers the golden 00:57:41.889 --> 00:57:45.250 spear down. This is the same. The same foy that 00:57:45.250 --> 00:57:47.150 led your mother to battle the Sahagin champions. 00:57:47.670 --> 00:57:50.809 Her blood fed the maw along with those taken 00:57:50.809 --> 00:57:54.170 in her time. Would you have it taste yours as 00:57:54.170 --> 00:57:57.809 well? Then I can say, father, with confidence 00:57:57.809 --> 00:58:00.150 that mother made the right choice. It killed 00:58:00.150 --> 00:58:02.929 her, yes, but it was the right choice and I am 00:58:02.929 --> 00:58:06.239 proud to make it too. Now I suggest you guard 00:58:06.239 --> 00:58:08.219 your tongue from further argument, else you will 00:58:08.219 --> 00:58:10.420 need to be removed from this war council immediately. 00:58:10.760 --> 00:58:15.659 Do not forget who rules here now. Your coronation 00:58:15.659 --> 00:58:20.559 is a formality. You publicly resigned. Or have 00:58:20.559 --> 00:58:23.000 you changed your mind? Perhaps I should share 00:58:23.000 --> 00:58:25.420 with everyone here the very depths of your dishonor. 00:58:26.119 --> 00:58:28.900 DePiro's eyes flash to you again, Blanche. But 00:58:28.900 --> 00:58:33.320 he is silent. Um, Blanche steps close to Jean. 00:58:34.000 --> 00:58:37.619 They're like chest to chest, nose to nose. And 00:58:37.619 --> 00:58:40.940 she says quietly just for him to hear, if you 00:58:40.940 --> 00:58:43.340 ever speak contrary to my orders in front of 00:58:43.340 --> 00:58:46.280 my soldiers again, it will be the last orders 00:58:46.280 --> 00:58:50.179 I speak here. I do not have the time to argue 00:58:50.179 --> 00:58:55.559 with you. So let's go. And she steps away. Now 00:58:55.559 --> 00:58:59.980 everyone, move! You see, Shabak salutes. Everyone 00:58:59.980 --> 00:59:02.119 starts to break off. Jaune's sort of frozen in 00:59:02.119 --> 00:59:08.280 this moment. Hands. Fists. Wave. Carries the 00:59:08.280 --> 00:59:14.239 stress away. Yes. Very well, sir. Jules. Chester. 00:59:15.340 --> 00:59:18.139 Let's move. And we'll call it there.