Hey, Pants People. Have you checked out the Discord
yet? We'd love to see you there. So if you find
us on social media, you can link to the... That
was my, like, Simspeak. I don't know. It's pretty
good. It's pretty good. Some sources from the
other side have informed us that a storm over
the Kamino region has mysteriously disappeared.
In the wake of some kind of explosion and a roaring
draconic light in the sky, I don't... Shearbell
officers have filled the Pearl Conqueror Jewel
to near capacity and are holding folks to the
site under their protection while awaiting the
order to leave. A large crowd of evacuees surrounds
the site and are prepared to swiftly board the
Pearl upon its return to the world. But whether
the evacuation of our meson folk is even still
necessary, we just don't know. We don't know.
On top of this, we have heard that Jules Roche
and Black Trudeau joined the Shield Belt Rescue
Force and swiftly left the Docking Bay to pursue
their own goals. Could this be connected to the
Vanishing Storm? It has been noted that luminaries
Crispin Dubois and Dresden Kellick were taken
leave by Omiza before this all went down, and
have not been seen since. Knowing these four
in particular, I have to wonder what kind of
trouble they may be facing again. The only thing
we can say for now is that no fatalities have
been reported yet on Omiza during this incident.
So there's our hope and pray that this fact does
not change and that our brave luminaries all
make it back to porn. What a battle! You had
to add that in, didn't you? You know I had to
rub that wound. Rub some salt. It's weird when
you don't say the salt part. Let me rub your
wound. Yeah, okay, you gotta add salt. You gotta
add salt to that. Otherwise you're a real freak.
Dude, the tension was real in the studio. It's
been two weeks since I last recorded because
it's been crazy. It's holidays, madness. But
I am still riding that high. Everything mattered
in the end. You need every bit of damage to close
that deal. Akio's Thunderball, Arlan's Breath,
every strike of Blanche's Blade and Dresden's
Warpick. So I believe I had 14 HP. during that
last sequence of crab mech attacks. That's such
a weird thing to say. And I realize in hindsight
that I never used my last song of defense during
that last attack, that flurry of attacks. But
given the average damage that you would deal,
which would be around six from each blow, it
really is hammer's home that every point of damage
was needed to close that deal. Like... And there's
so much else. Imagine a world where Crispin did
not stop the kangaroo from escaping with the
apparatus of the crab. Or where you failed to
convince Arya to let Arhalon come. Or I kept
my lair actions and you didn't blow up the shrine.
Like, in any of those scenarios, I probably would
have won that fight. But I didn't. Because everything
mattered. I fucking loved D &D. Yeah, it was
really exciting. Some sad parts, but all in all,
man, jeez. Yeah. What a fight. It's funny. I
started this off, I remember, with this idea
of the big, bold Hollywood action movie arc.
That was my mind. And I kind of feel like I lost
the path in that one pretty early on after Swordnado.
But damn, did you sell it in the end with a crab
mech assault as the closer on this overbearing
villain. Yeah. I had this image in my mind, this
dubious canon image of Dresden slamming four
on those two levers to end this thing, but having
taken serious damage from breath attacks and
tri -explosion, the mechs that go malfunctioning,
the levers lock up. We see Blanche and Jules
just over each shoulder, grabbing onto one lever
and just helping everyone together, pushing until,
bam! I don't know. Again, dubious canon. I like
that image. I choose to believe. I choose to
believe. For me, the wildest part is like I had
backed Akio up to stand near the mech so that
he had like some sort of protection. But then
like Ozen walked into like the perfect spot between
Akio and the mech. And I was like, oh, well,
now you don't have to waste movement on. It was
like, yeah, like you said earlier, it was just
like a perfect setup in so many ways. It's so
fun, too, because one thing I kind of realized
afterwards is like. When Ozen was ruling my instincts,
when I was playing defensively, I was a duelist
who was hitting, running, striking, getting out,
getting in. I was winning that fight. I was dominating
that fight. But right there at the end, that's
when I did the thing Ozen would never do. I walked
up to a... dying dog and held hostage and said
i'm gonna kill this dog right but the second
ice dropped ozen the second sapphire's hatred
took control you fucking seized it like that
was it that was my mistake ozen finally let down
the cigar because it wasn't ozen anymore and
that's when you you jumped in that's when you
claim victory it's so cool to think about that
narratively like ah i just love how how Things
randomly just turn into something incredible.
Yeah. This was supposed to be like a two episode
little side blip with Crispin and Dresden. And
this turned into arguably the greatest fight
we've ever had on this show. Just like, I want
to, I want to, I want to do an Oni fight. And
then it just turned into this whole arc that
ended up being honestly amazing. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, yeah, actually, let me ask you guys,
because you just said. That was my favorite fight
in the show. In hindsight, how do you feel about
this battle? Are you as excited about this chunky
boy as I am? Yeah. This big old chunky boy? Yeah,
I mean, it was certainly epic. It was like, what,
three or four fights just in a row? I think at
the very least, this was the highest stakes fight
we've had. Oh, God, yeah. At the very least.
Well, except for maybe the Mesmerize fight. That
one got dicey. That one got dicey. Yeah, yeah.
That was one roll away from our main party dying.
yeah true but the uh god the intensity of this
fight yeah maybe unmatched so i'll tell you true
uh in this rise fight i had a sort of backup
plan if you failed oh really which would involve
essentially some like uh waking up, sort of tied
up in the middle of the desert area of them.
And then your grave's being dug and giving you
a chance to maybe try to do something else. Wow.
All right. That'll be fun. This fight, it was
like, nah, I killed them all. Right. Well, with
one exception. I was going to do something pretty
horrific to you, Jules. Yeah, you told me what
you were going to do. That's fucking sick. I
told you what I was going to do to Jules? Or
Jermick, I told him. I was going to take his
legs. Just take them legs. They're going to be
mine. Yep. You don't need to leave. You can just
crawl until this world falls to oblivion. Yeah,
that's pretty messed up. Yeah. It's fun. It's
fun. Anyway, that didn't happen. No. Because
you won. You know what's not messed up? What?
What, Stephen? The coffee that we got in the
mail from our buddy Don. Yes. Oh, my goodness.
You know, like David said, it's been a couple
weeks since we've been able to record. And, you
know, usually Jeremy and I will have, you know,
a little special bag of coffee that we'll keep
on hand to brew up before recording episode,
recording session. Now it's the bag we got from
Don. I don't remember what it was. It's not here
anymore. It's in the kitchen. It's in the kitchen.
It's in the kitchen. And it's super tasty. And
to me, it tastes like chocolate. You know what?
All right. You sold me. Hand it over. No, no,
no. Hand it over. You sold me on it. Give me
some of that. Come on. Let me see. You need to
sound so good. Fuck. It's like the last like
two sips. It's like I do this and then I'm like
for the bit, you know? And then I'm like, I really
don't want to actually. But I'm here. I'm in
it. They're going to call me a coward now if
I don't. Oh my God, David. I'm brave. The whole
thing. Yeah, drink the whole thing. What the
fuck? What the fuck? How is that like chocolate?
It's like dark chocolate without the chocolate.
It's just dark. It just tastes like dark. You
know what? I'll take it. That's all right. It's
awful. But you know what? I'll wash it down with
this Arctic sauce that was given to us, I believe,
right? By Andrew? Yeah. That was in Andrew's
box. Thank you again, Andrew. And actually, guys,
we have an Unzipped coming up very soon. Yes.
And when that happens... We got to break out
that Chianti from Kevin because we are drinking
in victory. I know. It's sitting on the windowsill.
And we were like, you know, at first it was like,
okay, after this fight, we're going to do it.
And then it was like, well, Unzip's coming. So
let's wait another week or two. It seems like
the special time to do it. I know. It's hard
to wait, but I'm going to wait. I don't know
if I like wine. This is going to be interesting.
That's okay. More for us. Can't be worse than
got coffee, so we're good. And one last bit of
housekeeping, I guess, maybe. We got so overwhelmed
with everything that was in all those boxes.
Don also sent us... We talked about it. We just
didn't distribute them, really. These grab bag
dice sets from Misty Mountain Gaming. So there's
three sets here, and... Since I'm the gentleman,
I knew you were going to pick that one. Oh, my
God. All right, Jeremy, now you pick. Oh, no,
I hate this. I hate this, dude. David picked
the, like, icy dye with, like, blue paint. Because
I know which one I want, but I feel like that's
going to be the one that you want. Take whichever
one you want, man. Because this one looks just
like your other set. Yeah. So it would be, like,
weird to have two very similar sets. So they're
both green. Yours has, like, a blue lettering.
Yep. It's got blue lettering. It's got little
sparklies on the inside of them. And mine is
more like the classic. Like tiger green with
the gold lettering. So now we got new sets of
dice to play with. Thank you so much, Don. Thank
you so much. And thank you, Misty Mountain Gaming.
These guys are cool, too. That's what I realized
in hindsight. We never had Danny Roll on the
Danny D20. No, we haven't done a Danny Roll.
It got so intense. I know. It got so intense.
It's like we're like over the like, okay, no
more funny. We can't be funny for a while. Stop
it. Cyber serious time. Serious bite for serious
podcasters. I want the Danny Rolls to be like
something that's both. important but not like
life altering you know what i mean like i don't
want to risk like a pc's life on a danny roll
yeah because if we're gonna blame anybody i don't
want it to be poor little danny almost got uh
with you and um yep uh uh oh boy larissa killed
yeah maybe yeah maybe larissa ren names so many
of those um but yeah I mean, maybe, you know,
who did live? Akio. We'll get some Danny rolls
for rolling for the dog. Oh, that'd be cool.
Ooh. Rolling for the dog. I like it. Damn, guys.
You won. And that means we can sort of move into
the aftermath of this fight. I am... There's
so much to get to. There's so much to, like,
I don't know, for your characters to absorb and
to understand and to move past and... damn i
mean i guess let's just get to it right yeah
uh yeah before we do the real super fast what
if you're listening to this it's coming out on
monday and we're gonna be recording unzipped
on thursday so uh let me just do dates to be
less confusing that's a good point because yeah
time so this will be releasing on monday january
6th We'll be recording Unzipped on Thursday,
January 9th. So you'll have until then to submit
Unzipped questions. You can email us a voice
recording thingy at fantasypantspodcast at gmail
.com or you can just send me questions on Instagram,
Discord, wherever. I still taste that coffee.
Even through the sour? It's the back of my tongue.
Oh, wait a minute. I'm going to... And I'm done
with my coffee. Wash mine down as well. Let's
get to it. Oh, God. Oh, no. That was horrible.
That was the worst. Why are my USB ports broken?
Damn it. That, yeah. Hang on. Oh, shit. Okay,
that is the right one. I got it. Sorry. I'm sure
Jim added it up, but there was a horrifying burst
of static. Oh, no. I'm keeping it in. Okay, good.
Be prepared to shrivel in pain. I will make it
not as god -awful to listen to. You do it for
Steven! You do it for Steven! That's what I love
about this show, is that we will take the time
to leave in the horrible static, but Jeremy will
edit it down so that it is palatable. It's like
authenticity, but we take the edges off just
a little bit. Palatable, but for the ears? I
mean, you don't have a palate in your ear, but...
Hey. Shut up. Steve, Jeremy, edit that out. Make
it palatable. Akio, in darkness. He's floating
amidst this void, feeling something calling to
him from beyond. Many voices. And he feels hands.
Six hands. Six people. They stroke gently at
his fur, along his back, his tail, upon the top
of his head. And with these motions, there are
smells distinct. The shrine guard, making good
on pets owed. My friends, I'm so sorry. I couldn't.
And these hands stop their petting motion, the
feeling shifting to a light pressure. Focused
in a forward direction. A push. Starting light
but growing in strength. Until Akio feels himself
being propelled through the dark. And all hands
fall away as Akio is flying. Flying. And following
him, a call. Six voices. One word. Go! And Akio's
eyes open. I'm going to just hand wave the staying
in initiative. I don't care. The fight's over.
And so I assume Jules, seeing the dire state,
immediately rushed out on the rod. And you are
healing. Cool. And you roll die. Fight's over.
I'll give you that. Yeah. His eyes open. He sees
you, Jules. Who are you, brave one? Are you friends
with Blanche? And with nobody? He never knew
their names. He never learned their names. Oh,
my God. Jules reaches down, gives him a little
pat. We're all family here. I think at that you
whirl around because Arlon still lies unconscious
for like the third time in the last minute. Dude.
He's eating all your spell blocks. You know,
he's also in that void. And so I imagine you
rush over. No. Yeah, of course. We see Jules
sort of move away. We see Akio sort of weakly
get to his feet, onto his paws, and he goes to
Ozen, or to the pieces of Ozen that lie kind
of everywhere now. I think he's just sniffing
through them and whining lightly, maybe nudging
the pieces sort of into some pile, some hole,
in a wholesome, not horrifying way. Yeah, Blanche
is already there, you know, brushing Ozen's hair.
putting him in the most normal position that
she can. So Akio comes to your side. We slide
back to you, Jules. Forgot to put repeat on.
That's Dan, too. Damn it. We slide back to you,
Jules. And maybe your light of your healing touch
just leaving Arhalon. And his eyes flutter open.
Great, meaty claw just comes up and, like me,
grabs you around the shoulder. You see there
are tears running down the half -dragon's cheeks?
Sure, yeah. I guess. I heard him, Jules. I swear,
I think it was you. You connect things somehow.
Even impossible things. Thank you. For saving
my life again. My friend. Jules will kind of
grab Arhalon's head. Thank you. You saved our
lives. Jules, in this moment, something between
the two of you, something inside of you, roars
to life. We've talked a lot about the power of
the bond shared between you and your comrades
and how that sometimes Comes to life. You remember
with Chester. The way you granted him the same
power you had. This fey ability. Now tell me
true. You came very close to attempting an empowered
inflict wounds during that battle. Yes? Very,
very close. That was the plan. And then plans
changed. Until you stepped into the perfect spot.
Yeah. And in the end though, you didn't do it.
I know you were planning on doing it before you
went to save Blanche. When it came down to a
final strike. Or to saving your friend. But you
chose not to use that ability. Instead, you leaned
into the trust you share in your allies. When
faced with the puppeteer behind so much of your
sorrow, you could have chosen to hate. To be
consumed by hate again. And you chose to save
the ones you love. And you pulled through. Crispin,
your mind turns to him lying behind you and...
He fought alongside you in Saint -Étienne. He
was instrumental in saving Roundsleif and Miskin,
and his loss hurts another bond, severed forever.
But you now understand that there is beauty in
death, in having held that bond at all. And in
this moment, flooded by the pain of bonds broken
and the joy of bonds preserved, a well of power
floods you, and your loot... shines bright blue,
a beacon of victory that drives away the last
rays of the rainbow, signaling Storm's end. Your
treasured loot has gained the properties of a
magic item called a Rhythm Maker's Drum, granting
you a plus one bonus to spell attacks and spell
save DCs. You may also use an action to regain
a bark inspiration once a day. Nice. Hell yeah.
That's great. Hell yeah. It's about time. Cool.
Hell yeah. Very cool. As you're kind of in this,
I think Arhalon sort of slowly stands, almost
like awed by you, by the light coming off of
you. And then his gaze sort of turns behind you,
deeper into the court, to Crispin. He just moves,
rushes over, drops down beside him. I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry I failed you, Crispin. You saved
me on Sansatian. You showed me patience and kindness
that you did not know me. Grandmother was right
to praise her trust in you. He just reaches down
for the body, looking so small. Just a furry
little guy. Ears tucked away behind the folds
of his bandana. I wonder in this moment if Crispin
would have died if his last act had not been
healing Jules, but rather himself. A selfless
act. At the very end. I feel inadequate as a
vehicle for your body, but if I may have the
honor. He reaches down. I will carry you home.
I can imagine Blanche standing next to Dresden
as they watch Arhalon lifting up Crispin. And
Blanche puts a hand, you know, around Dresden's
back. I am sorry about your friend, soldier boy.
He was really, really, really, really cool. And
Dresden, I mean, that's right, Dresden, a lot
of stuff just happened to you here. In the wake
of all of that, it might only be dawning on you
now that it's actually crazy to see Blanche and
Jules here right now. Like, you know, actually,
you've never met Arhalon. It's funny, you guys
never crossed paths in Saint -Etienne. But like,
yeah, like this whole scenario has just been
miracle after miracle for Dresden. Dresden continues
just staring at Kristen's body. Yeah, he was
pretty cool. Then he turns his head to Blanche.
What the fuck are you doing here? We got the
alert on the Citadel, and I had to see Ozen.
I wasn't expecting... What we got. But there's
some closure now. We can begin to heal. All of
us. Thank you. I'm sorry. Should anybody ever
rip my corpse in half, would you avenge me? They'll
get the same. Thank you. Blanche, you're standing
by Dresden, and we poised you before by the body
of Ozen, which you've kind of said, yeah, so
I think the two of you are standing together,
Akio sort of by your side, perhaps kind of moving,
you know, sort of perfecting the sort of display,
and you notice something on the ground. Something
catches your eyes. A black katana. Ooh, baby.
Lying just before you, the handle just sort of
like poised your way as if, Binders keepers.
And Arlan's like, oh, take that. No, binders
keepers, no takesies backsees. The golden rules
of fancy pants. You look down at Ozen's sword,
Ichiginka. You know it was gifted to him by Damyo
Hokeshi Takemi, whose son now rules over Kamino.
Ozen solved the murder of the prior heir to the
seat. Something we saw actually way back in,
or heard about at least in a flashback on whatever
world we just did. It's too many of them now.
Yeah. I was counting on you to remember. There's
a murder mystery, I think. I don't know. Ichigenko
means unification. It was named for the desire
to, of the ancestors of the Hogashi clan, who
worked to conquer and unify the Kamino coast
long ago. bring all the clans together to create
the great city of Kamino, this whole region that
is kind of like the sort of main primary sort
of civilized region of Umizu. This blade, forged
by a legendary smith, has been passed down through
the clan from heir to heir for generations until
it was gifted to Ozen Yoshikatsu. And he wielded
it for most of his life, a constant companion.
And should you desire it, it may now come to
you. So Blanche is fixing Ozen's sword in the
other side of her belt opposite her current sword.
And she looks down to Akio. What will you do
now, Shrinehound? Did Ozen ever finish your training
formally? He looks at you with a slightly cocked
head. You know the look. The dog look. The dog
look. Where's your toy? Do you have a stick?
And you see what he does. He doesn't say anything
in response at first. He just reaches over his
mouth and draws out his own blade. A thing of
old legend, much like Ichigenka, handed down
by generations of shrine dogs, gleaming silver
sword with a white handle shaped oddly in order
to best fit a dog's mouth. And he says, Behold,
Igao Nisaru. A sword that shows our teeth and
declares the foremost mission of every generation
of shrine dog. To make people smile. But there
is no longer a shrine. And no longer a need for
shrine dogs. And I feel that whatever Master
Ozen started is not over yet. That horrid jewel,
that sapphire. I do not see it now. Master told
me to wait. But I think... It is time I make
a decision for myself. I am a wizened old hound
after all. So, his eyes flashed the sword. Holder
of Ichigenka, will you take Igao Nisaru as well?
Along with the honored snoot that wields it.
Blanche gets down on a knee and... I don't know
if it would be like... to pet Akio in this moment.
Like, I'm not trying to belittle him or anything,
but maybe just, you know, like a hand on the
back of his head. He fully accepts it. He's a
dog. He loves me. Okay. It's an honor. To him,
it's like, oh, I've been a good boy. This is
a great honor. I have fought well. Yeah, well,
it's an honor to Blanche as well. It would be
my greatest honor to train the... Last pupil
of our great master, Ozen Yoshikatsu. He looks
to you, his eyes catching yours as your hand
rests upon his head. And we pan back for a moment.
Back in time, we pan to a quiet walk down a forested
road. The very road that connects the Shrine
of Storms to the Pearl Conquered Jewel Docking
Bay. It's just a weird thing to say. The ocean
is not yet the keeper of the shrine. The fields
and tenements that make up his school rest nearby
it. Perhaps we panda them now. A brief flash.
A large cherry blossom tree rains pink petals
in the midst of an open field. Simple, beautiful
structures surround. Pools of steaming water
lay sort of at the edges. And we see a wind cyclone
surrounding him, catching the falling petals.
They swirl around his body, swirling around his
limbs. Though older and more mature than the
last time we saw him in a flashback, he has once
again been left to commit to a thousand swings
punishment rather than traveling to sea. Blanche
Trudeau off. But let us move back to the road
now. To master and disciple alone. You walk with
Ozen, passing the occasional vendor or pilgrim
on their way to the Shrine of Storms. Though
very few are allowed entrance, many do go to
see it from the outside and to make offerings
and sales to the Shrine Guard and Keeper. But
there are few in the road today, and so I think
it is a quiet walk, heavier the weight of many
unspoken words and feelings, until finally the
trees begin to part. In the pearl, Docking Bay
comes into view in the near distance. Much akin
to the worlds like Sonsonko, the Docking Bay
is surrounded by stands and stalls and carts
poised to take travelers towards the grand city
of Kamino. You see there's a small crowd gathered
there, and so Ozen... knowing his appearance
to them would drown out your goodbyes and a tirade
of questions and exclamations just abruptly halts
while you step forward. As you realize and turn
to meet him, you see that the shade of trees
still falls over him while the light of the sun
breaking through the cloudy sky falls upon you.
And he speaks. So, the time has come to part
ways. I am so very fortunate that I feel such
profound pride in this departure. It does serve
as a sheath of sorts. Covering over the sharp
blade of sorrow the loss of your company will
bring me. I am... I am sad to leave, Master Ozen,
but I don't know that either of us would have
agreed to this if we knew that I never would.
Can I last? I will never get you to call me Yoshikatsu,
will I? Though in my eyes we stand as equals
now. And know... Good things cannot last. It
is simply the way of the world. We must grow
beyond our constraints. And how you've grown,
Blanche Trudeau. I can only dream of the heights
you will reach. There is still so much life in
you, so much potential. Think well on the path
you will walk. You may find in time that the
worlds will bend to meet your step. Blanche bows
deeply. I never imagined in all of my life that
I would receive such a great honor from such
a great man. Thank you for everything. As you
raise from your bow, you see that he has bowed
to you. Still bows. Finally kind of raises up.
Reaches a hand out. And Blanche meets his hand
and shakes it. Farewell, my friend. If the fates
are kind, we shall meet again someday in Spa.
A fight. I greatly look forward to losing. I
will not stop training. I can assure you that.
Your hands break away. In the present, in this
moment, we see your hand leaves Akio's head.
And the two of you, the first pupil and the last,
turn in tandem. to look at the body. You see,
on his head, a great open gouge covers most of
the face, around and beneath the eye where the
gemstone had been implanted. But the other eye
has faded back to a warm, light brown, and the
half a mouth that you can see looks almost to
be turned up into a serene, very Ozen smile.
Blanche and Akio set about in the... closets
of the shrine or something and find some vestments,
some garments, some robes, some things, and wrap
Ozen's body up. And together they step down partially
into the water. And after some contemplation
and a few words, they set the body of Ozen to
drift out of the shrine. very fittingly floating
out from the Shrine of Beauty. The storm is gone,
and so you see that form moves out into the waves,
into the sparkling sea. I think Akio grabs maybe
one leftover blanket and brings it to Arhalon,
where he mournfully lies at Arhalon's feet, who
then wraps the body of Crispin Dubois, such a
tiny form, and holds it. Before we... Go too
far off the mark. I should tell you a little
more about that sword. Ichigenka. That you now
wield, Blanche. This is the nicest thing I've
ever done. In my entire life. I think it just
makes sense. What you hold is a plus two sword
of sharpness. When you attacked an object with
this magic sword and hit... you always do max
damage against the object. Not a creature. An
object. So you can cut through doors or whatever.
Always max damage. It's perfectly poised to cut
through. I mean, it's a Samurai's Blade. When
you attack a creature with this weapon and roll
a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an
extra 14 slashing damage. Holy shit. You then
roll another 20, or d20. If you roll a second
20 on that, you lop off one of the target's limbs.
Wow. Whoa. GM sort of decides the effect and
what that means, but you do it. Sounds like fun.
Holy shit. I hope it happens. In addition, you
can speak the sword's command word to cause the
blade to shed bright light in a 10 -foot radius
and dim light beyond that. Speaking the word
or shooting the sword puts out the light. This
is also a finesse longsword. It's a katana, so
it's a longsword with finesse. I don't care.
Sure, sure. I mean, this is, as you know, conquered
worlds are small in size, right? This is not
a huge grandstand. This is not fucking Faerun,
you know, the Forgotten Realms area. A plus two
blade is an absolutely legendary weapon. You
currently wield a plus one magical blade, just
like Dresden gifted to you by the pigmen. And
that weapon was a new creation, new magic, very
much a high -end commercial product. A modern
bladesmith in Marfil's magical forges. It is
a product of industry, not artistry. All utility
with little majesty. Ichigenka, however, is old.
The magic imbued in the blade is old. Handcrafted,
perfected through months, maybe years of masterful
labor. Imbued with the resources of a rising
warlord. This is a sword of legends. Well, even
though you killed my character, I guess I should
probably say thank you. Again, by the way. Again.
I'll ask you now. Do you have any other business
here before I do a thing? That's a good way to
put it. Like immediately after the fight, anything
you want to do right away. Not like saying, you'll
get ready for a fight. Just I'm going to move
things forward a little bit. I don't want to
step on your scenes. Yeah, I think Dresden wants
to go and find the recording diamond. Oh, yes.
Excellent memory, Mr. Wolf. You know what? In
the rear of the Corps of Beauty, not far from
where you finished Ozen off, actually, you do
see that beneath some rubble, the Kenku's body
is crumpled. I think Singer was the name. He
also wants to loot that body, too. It's just
a sending stone, really. It's a really exciting
note. Everybody! The sending stone lies right
by it, kind of like just outside the reaching
hand. You also realize, I guess, that Oni's bodies
must have washed out to sea when the pool trap
was reset on Ozen's arrival. Okay. Because they
were in the water, and then when that came up,
they just washed out with the waves. I was going
to say, I was like, did they have magical items
on their bodies? You see the sending stone, and
you realize you could use this to speak to Sholei
if you so desire. You know it's a direct connect
to her. Unless there was a sending stone, not
a diamond. What the fuck? Oh, sorry, yeah. Well,
there was a diamond, but the diamond didn't work
in Sapphire Wyvern's presence. And Jules still
has it, yeah. He still has it. Oh, also, in that
note, the letter. I guess Arhalon. You go to
Crispin's body, or the last thing that happened
was Crispin crumpled it up and put it in a pocket,
I remember. So, like, I don't know if Dresden
would want to retrieve that. Yeah. carefully
reaching into the body of your friend. Very respectfully.
You grab the letter and like... And Blanche respectfully
takes all of his items. I'll just take this sack
here. I think there's a... There's an immovable
rod in there, I believe. You're never going to
find it. Never going to use it. You retrieve
that letter and you realize this is... so much
of what you came here to fight for. This is the
only evidence you have of what's to come. Crispin
died for this. You take hold of it. Does anyone
else want to... I mean, you already know what's
on it. Does anyone else want to read the letter
as it's kind of there? I think Dresden offers
it out to anybody who wants to read it. Yeah,
I'm sure that it's passed around. It's discussed.
It's, hey, you know, this is this puzzle piece.
Everyone's kind of brought up to speed. Everyone
roll me an intelligence check. Oh, boy. Which
die am I going to use now? I got so many. I'm
going to use my Misty Mountain. Everyone in the
teabag die. Oh, teabag. That's fun. It'll be
straight intelligence, not room destination.
Jules only got a four. That's a dirty 20 then.
Ooh, that's pretty good. Dresden got a 17. Blanche,
you read the letter. As you go over the words,
your stomach sinks. You miss something. The storm
is gone. You know that Ozen's powers, the Keeper
of the Shrine, as written here, must have been
used to create the storm over Tythos. And, assumedly,
that storm would consume the world, right? Pull
the gemstone into the Keen and Gloom, right?
I mean, the storm looks so much like the Keen
and Gloom, it just made sense. But it's right
there in the letter. This was a smokescreen.
It mentions this was used to set up, this storm
was used to set up and distract from their real
intentions. And if you've dissolved the smokescreen,
that doesn't mean you saved this world. You may
still be in very real, very terrible danger because
something is happening still. If this letter
is to be believed. Can we go over the text of
the letter one more time? Now with new insight.
Let me open my 50 page note document of the last
note document. Hang on. Control F. Control F,
yeah. Give me one word that was in the letter.
Kejo. Boom. Baby, here it is. Let me just get
to the point that matters, right? Your granted
talents as the Keeper of the Shrine of Storms
will play a vital role in the events to come.
As to your earlier concern, I can assure you
that the panic created through the presentation
of the Serpent Storm will be paramount to our
efforts. Only through an epidemic of fear can
our conquered worlds truly come together and
evolve. On top of this, the obvious connection
to the Keening Gloom will be necessary to facilitate
and mask our primary plot. I will, of course,
play my own part in this aspect of our endeavor.
Facilitate and mask, but not to commit. Soldier
boy, how fast can this crab go? I don't know.
Tell us, DM. Not fast enough. Yeah. You'll have
to go down winding paths through, like, forests
and stuff. The mech is 15 feet wide. It's going
to be a lot harder than flying out. He didn't
want us to have it. In fact, there's two big
demons in the doors out of this place. You'd
have to, like, take it into the water and swim
around. We have Abram. What's your play? Yeah,
I mean... So were you... Okay. What is Blanche
thinking? We gotta get off this world. Because
the storm was just for appearances, but the world
still might fall. I mean, Blanche still has bladesong
she can use to get out. Or to move faster, at
least. So, question. So we came from the Concord
Jewel. Is that accessible by the water? No, it's
inland. Okay, fuck. We have one broom that can
fit two people. You can also just start running.
Arhalon can fly. Arhalon can fly. Blanche can
cast Haste and Bladesong and just get the fuck
out of there. So Dresden Jewels on the broom,
then. And Akio's fast. What's Akio's movement
speed? I think 40 feet. So he's fast enough that
he can somewhat keep up with Blanche. Okay. You
guys just kind of move? Yeah, and maybe Blanche
can provide the help action to Akio, get him
moving a little faster or something. Yeah, you
know, I'm fine with that. Yeah, you guys are
working together. You just see this, and what
do you, so you just say that out loud to, like,
Dresden, everyone hears it, and what's it look
like? You guys just turn and start running? Yeah,
once they realize what the letter really means.
We have to get out now. The storm is gone, but
this world, it may still be doomed. Ooh, I just
had this really cool. image in my head oh give
me that image of us all standing in a circle
the letter gets to blanche and the camera's like
zoomed out right but that ash zooms in close
up to her face and her eyes just go wide i love
it do you realize what this means blanche ever
the investigator you know what you know what
that's so cool whoa whoa for the scene, for the
words, for the image. A button for Jeremy, a
button for Steven. Take one of these new Don
buttons. Try a Don button on for size. Hell yeah.
Oh yeah, baby. Yeah, I think in that moment when
Blanche says that, Jules looks around, takes
stock of who's there, and then he gets on the
broom and nods Dresden over. Dresden leaps on,
I imagine. Yeah. Hell yeah, you guys, Arlon blasts
off the sides. You kind of nod as you no longer
fighting strong winds. You're just shooting through
clear skies. But there is a darkness ahead. You
can feel it now. Something is so very wrong.
You fly underneath Blanche and Akio, blasting
out of the shrine, moving her up the stairs through
the court of discipline, out the destroyed dead
doors that were alive and cool. Blanche is running
at like a hundred miles an hour between her haste
and her blade song. And she looks over her shoulder.
First lesson, Shrown Hound. Shrine Hound. Shrown.
Shrown Hound. How dare you. Keep up. Just going,
rushing, rushing. As the next few moments pass
in an absolute blur, your trees blurring past
the two of you, Blanche and Akio, and beneath
the three of you in the sky as you find yourselves
launching forward. Will it have already have
left? Could it have already happened? What does
it mean to unify a world? You know what happened
to Tithos now. It wasn't destroyed, but it was
cut off. Could it have already happened to you?
And so your heart sort of raised when you see
the pearl still hovers above the docking bay
as you, all of you kind of moving into the actual,
like... field there uh you see a crowd of people
huge now is built all over uh a trail of them
leading down the road towards kamino towards
like the actual city um shield bearers uh kind
of at the scene at the side so they're kind of
rooming around everybody um sort of scouting
see you and kind of help commands people start
parting and i think you see like rushing out
from the crowd to feel part uh aria just comes
um he's waiting to meet you as you all kind of
come down yeah once people get into into sight
blanche starts to yell and message is only 120
feet i don't think that's gonna help too much
that's you know at that point should be within
shouting distance so message won't even really
help but yeah she'll start she'll start yelling
um we must get off this world the danger is not
gone we must leave now As you hear that, Aria
just spins around and just kind of, go, go! And
you see people just start, like, the shield bearers
start to move in. You realize the jewel is, like,
packed. As you're kind of moving around, you
see, like, people kind of filling in, and there's
a line of people waiting to get on, but, like,
they were waiting because they didn't know that
this was supposed to happen. You realize, you
come to find out, and Aria kind of just running
over to you. What? What happened out there? We
need to evacuate! What's going on? There's no
time to explain, but anybody who can't fit on
that jewel may die here. It's already packed
full. I have space for enough for my officers.
And I was waiting to see if you were to return.
Stack them. I don't care. He just nods. As many
as we can fit. Now. People just start rushing.
The crowd, people were like, there's some people
who are proffered, like, almost, like, bowing
out in the direction of the shrine, who now kind
of get up, and they look horror -stricken. People
start screaming. There are babies crying. It's
just chaos unfolding around you as everyone that
can fit gets moved onto the jewel. Oh, yeah,
just, I knew something was wrong. I felt it,
but I didn't want to, I needed confirmation.
I, he looks to you. Will you be taking the first
jewel out? What the hell does that mean? What?
Are you getting on? Does that mean that somebody
else doesn't go on? There is a crowd of people
that will not fit on this thing. It's already
basically full. You'll be cramming yourselves
in. I mean, you can fly on a rod, so, like, it's
pretty easy for you guys to fit in there regardless.
You won't necessarily be taking a lot of space.
He's, like, looking to you, but, you know, he's
in haste. He's, like, about to move on himself.
He piled this thing. He has to drive it out.
So he's, like, fucking, like, answer me. I'm
leaving. I don't think he even waits for an answer.
He just says that, looks at your expressions.
Maybe you turn and see all the crowd of people
around you looking terrified, and he just kind
of moves and rushes. If you're quick, maybe you
can beat it. Whatever this thing is, maybe you
can catch it. What's happening? What could be
happening? Is it happening here? Blanche puts
a hand on each of Jules' shoulders. Jules, you
have the broom. You won't take up any space.
I can't do the same. You have to understand.
What the fuck? I'll take the next jewel. I won't
take another spot. Blanche, I have lost too many
people. I am not getting on that without you.
We will make this work. We also, if there's a
plot, we could catch it. If you do not get on,
I will not get on. You are all getting on. Arhalon
just huge. He starts towering above you, big
shoulders set, and a very disappointed, like,
oh, no, you don't. Okay. So Blanche has Crispin's
bag with Crispin's items in it. Yeah, you grab
the bag on there. So two items that I'm finally
going to use are the immovable rod, and I can
pair that. with the pole of collapsing, which
can extend into a 10 -foot -long pole. So if
she rests that on top of the movable rod, that's
like a bunch of extra space. Okay, so you're
just trying to basically, you're creating vertical
space so that the floor can be filled, the stands
can be filled. Yeah, she'll set that up as vertical
space. Blanche will get up there. She'll help
some other people up onto the rod. Luminaries!
And as you guys move in, people start partying.
People are like, it's the luminaries! It's the
luminaries! They're here! They're fine! They'll
save us! You guys push in. You start getting
people up off the grass as this thing's about
to take off. Everyone that you can possibly fit.
How many people are still there? Arlon throws
a cure over his shoulder and flies and he's just
hovering in the air. Jules and Dresden hover
in the air. So it's maybe like I can go in. How
many are still waiting to go on? How many are
still on the world? Thousands. Maybe more. Thousands
currently lined up from the city. I mean, you
have to imagine there's so many more. This is
a full city. I mean, the whole world cities aren't
massive, but like thousands of people. What's
Blanche's instinct? That they're not getting
off? You don't know. You just know something
must be happening. Something must be wrong here.
It's all starting to come together. This whole
plot. This letter. Sapphire. knew about the letter,
knew about it from Ozen's memories, was watching
the shrine to make sure it would never fall into
hands, and the second Sholay had Crispin and
Dresden make their move, had the Oni attack the
shrine to give them permission to enter in to
find evidence, Ozen sprung this trap, long awaiting
this moment, and this war will be severed, if
needed, to keep that information away from the
network, away from anyone who could use it. But
you have the letter. You are on the jewel. And
as you stand risen above this crowd, all these
people, you hear the screams and shouts and cries
of those outside until the door closes and things
get so much quieter. All the screams from the
outside are shut off and you'll hear quiet, scared
murmurs all around this place from the thousands
of people that are currently inside this place.
I mean, it's packed, packed, dangerously full.
Ariat, you imagine, must be somewhere, you know,
probably saying whatever words to say, rise,
or they're in the book, to, like, get this thing
to move because you feel it start to move upwards,
upwards. You're watching, I imagine, for anyone
who looks at anything that's going wrong and
nothing seems out of place, nothing seems wrong.
You're above it all. You all have this perfect,
like, view on everything. Do you want to roll
perception checks? I mean, yeah. Give me checks.
Give me checkos. Jaws. We need to find a private
place to update Sholay. Oh! I just crit my pants
with Dawn's new dice. The first roll. Highest
roll I got was a 14, so. Perception is a plus.
Oh, no, that's, sorry, that's Crispin's page.
Never mind. That's amazing. Oh, man. Fucking
amazing. Blanche's perception is plus zero. Crispin's
is a plus. No, within that 20, though, I'm going
to give you something so cool here. I was not
planning on this. I was not remotely planning
on giving this away, but fuck, I think that's
so cool. Hell yeah. You're looking around, trying
to see, you know, everything. The jewel is rising,
rising. And you begin to hear that warping sound.
As you know, like, lights sort of shooting out
everywhere around you. It's blinding, and you
know you've just transported. And as the lights
fade, you're still looking. You don't see anyone,
anyone suspicious. And then something. You know
you're hovering just outside of the Radiant Citadel.
You know you are moving in towards the passage
of Ritzpit, Ritzpit to the Concord Dual Jogging
Bay. You know. Fuck. God damn it. Hey. Are you
having a stroke? Serious moment for serious podcasters.
Passed a respite towards the conquered jewel
docking bay. Nailed it. Second try. Got it. We
edited that. It's the first try now. Nope. You're
looking around and there is some strange regularity
because you remember this place is packed so
full. So full. And so a question enters your
mind that... It first just feels like a weird
little oddity and then strikes you with this
icy stab of fear and realization. If this place
is so full, why did Ariat kick all other officers
out of the control room? As you see the door
opens and people start funneling out, the door
closes and you can just barely catch that. In
this one room, this valuable space, only Ariat
sits. Where is he taking us? And as the door
closes. Where is he taking us? Turbulence. The
whole thing begins to shake. It stops dead and
you can see the whiteness of the pearl bleeds
away into a clearness. It is happening again.
You are falling again. Jules, you'd better get
on that stone. Fuck. Uh, yeah. What do you say?
Jules takes off the stone. 25. Give 25 words.
Pause. I think as Jules is about to pull this
out, maybe you're letting him know what you're
feeling, Blanche? Yeah, exactly. Blanche is going
to use message to send the important bits. And
it's hitting you now, too. You're just realizing
more. It's like, why? Why did he wait? With that
crowd of people there, why wouldn't you just
take them off world? He was waiting for you?
No. He was waiting for Jules. He was waiting
for the sapphire. He was waiting for Ozen to
return. Because Ariat knew there was only one
trip. He's waiting for the sapphire to return?
Waiting for Ozen, you have to imagine. Well,
so are you saying the sapphire wyvern is on the
pearl? It seemed like it phased out, like it
has some more features, but perhaps you would
think the body... He wasn't going to do whatever...
Ariat wasn't going to do whatever Ariat did that
was going to trigger the fall of the world. until
the Sapphire Wyvern was safely off the world.
And maybe, like, the fact that you guys returned,
maybe he wanted to restore the Keep the Body,
keep Ozen's body. You actually know, Blanche,
Ozen has the Sky Self. It makes sense that maybe
that's how he got off the world the first time,
off Tythos. Maybe he was on the gem with everybody
else. Maybe he was supposed to come. And maybe
when you guys returned, it was Ariat's, he realized
in that moment that Ozen died. Sapphire's body
vessel is gone. So he doesn't have to wait anymore.
No reason to wait. You guys appeared. This thing
takes off. This thing shudders. Bleeding. Falling.
Falling. Everything falling away. The keen and
gloom below you. This great maw of a storm. Fenneling
into great darkness. To some disconnection from
these conquered worlds. It's growing larger and
larger in jewels. You raise the sending stone.
Hold on. Hold on. Real fast. No! No, dude. Jules,
do you or I'm looking through Blanche's spell
list right now. Do we have anything that is going
to keep Jules' mouth away from, like, everybody
else who's in this giant... Fuck. You're up pretty
high. I'm up. It's also kind of loud. Oh, by
the way, right now, because this started falling...
Okay. Screaming. If anything, it's going to be
hard for her to hear you. You have to speak pretty
clearly. Sure. Okay, I'm going to go into, like,
An uppermost corner. You fly up to the very top
of the circle. It's full of star pearl. And again,
it's all clear now. You can look up towards the
sky. It's the falling sand. And he pulls the
stone up and says, Ariat, piloting the pearl
into the gloom. Send luminaries now. Storm was
a diversion set up by Sapphire Wyvern. He escaped.
Don't know where. Okay, perfect. You just say
all this as you're falling. You're looking up
towards the sky, expecting Luminary, expecting
Shola, expecting help. You're stoned as you kind
of stop it. It's like you heard, I think when
you pick these things up, the mouth moves. And
when you know somebody is answering the phone,
as to say, the mouth sort of opens up or in your
case the ear opens up. It's like the three dots.
Yeah, so you know they're there. You know Shola's
there. But as you say all this, silence. Oh,
fuck. Fuck, where's Shola? You're looking up.
You're looking up. She'll be there. She'll be
there. You're falling further, further. Gloom
is about to consume you all. You're looking up.
And you see lights in the sky. A similar, something
that Blanche and Dresden, maybe a little lower
than you are, as you were kind of raised all
the way. They've seen this before in Saint -Etienne.
They were there. When the stars began to fall,
as celestials rained down from above, you see
them, the faithful soldiers of Atash, and of
course he falls with them, shooting down past
the pearl. And he seems to find you as you linger
above the crowd, above everyone, looking out
in this clear, sort of once a pearl, his eyes
of brilliant white seem to lock onto the three
of you. He paints as imposing a picture of his
ever -rippling muscles beneath a red, raw wings
of firelight. The face beneath his crown is regal
and strong, and every figure beneath you begins
to start calming. The screams turn into light.
Cheers at his presence. To even just like hooping.
Woo! Woo! It's Atash! Save us! He'll save us!
Yeah! I hate how awesome Atash can be. Yeah.
As he now looks at you, you see he smiles. Enden
just booms out as he flies down beneath the pearl,
and a voice so loud it seems to resonate through
the structure's walls. Fear not, citizens! We
have come! Hold tight, and I will stop this fall!
And Entar swoops down beneath the falling pearl,
and just before... ...releases a beam of radiant
light towards it, and the falling gem stops dead.
The doors slide open, and angels begin to swarm
in. These glowing forms grabbing people and flying
them out, flying them to safety. What do you
all do? Jeez, I mean, Blanche can't fly right
now. You better get out of there, man. You flying,
Jules? Yeah. You look down. I mean, you know
it stopped. Last time they got everybody, you
feel like they're going to get them again. There's
a lot of people flying. You look to Blanche.
to Arhalon, who's already kind of, he nods to
you, and he's taking a cue and flying out. He's
got Crispin, he's got a cue. He probably can't
carry you, Blanche, because you're a whole ton.
Yeah, Blanche is standing on the movable rod,
you know, just above the crowd, and she's reaching
down, and she's grabbing, you know, the children,
and she's holding them up above her head for
the angels to grab as they fly by. That's so
beautiful. I love that so much. And yeah, they're
flying. You guys, mixed with the celestial lights,
you begin to fly out. Yeah, I think he sees that
Blanche is doing her duty, and Jules will fly
down from his spot and grab Dresden and throw
him on the back. You guys are launching out the
main way, launching up, up, towards the tail
of the citadel where the coyote rests, where
home lingers. You're moving, and there's light.
Suddenly, lights are shining down. You turn.
You see that one celestial. approaches you, hand
outstretched. You see the blue skin and red wings
of a pari. She wears a similar golden chain to
the rest of her kin over a flowing white robe.
Her long black hair trails behind her as she
glides towards you. You see eyes filled with
radiance, pools of orange light surrounded by
gold makeup and face paint. There is something
strange in those eyes and their wideness and
passivity, like someone caught in a daydream.
The gentle smile beneath them only adds this
air. She's right on your hand, but a touch in
her mouth parts as she speaks a few words. And
what does she say, Stephen? Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I
am sorry, Jules LaRoche, but I must share a burden
with you. Okay, I can't tell if this is player
Jeremy or actually Jules. doing this because
part of me feels like if this was just some random
person, Jules would pay it no mind and pull away
and keep going. Even if you try to pull away,
she's right on you and that hand is going to
touch you. I'm going to touch you. Okay, so in
that case, I think he's going to stick with what
Jules would normally do and cast a quick wound.
Exactly. Everything explodes! As this is happening,
he starts to try and speed away. You try to speed.
You see this. You turn. You feel something wrong
here. And then this hand reaches out. Grabs you
by the shoulder. And there is a sensation flooding
through your body. Like you are suddenly falling
in a dream. Your stomach flips. Your vision fades
away into light. And you see. A world connected.
A great mass of land dotted with cities and settlements.
You fly over the deserts around San Satyan City.
You sail between the jagged peaks that surround
the valley of Zantini on Samsanko. You see in
a rush that the pieces of your world are whole.
You see lakes and seas, a plethora of trade ships
around, but no naval forces, no pirates. You
see fields of trees stretching on and on with
no scars or burns. No battlefields. You see settlements
full of life and without guard or walls or weaponry.
You see a world at peace. More mountains surround
you as you fly. Familiar mountains. You see a
lake ahead and great towers jutting up from a
settlement that rests beside it. You see Sarul.
You fly in and down and... And you are in the
low city, but not in any way you've ever seen
it before. The streets are clean. The structures
that line them are well built and decorated.
A morning sun shines down over the city and crowds
of people move through these streets, not with
the suspicious shuffling of criminals or the
slow, somber gait of broken laborers, but rather
with an easy, eager step. Friendly faces, waves
and greetings, fine, comfortable clothing, shoes
and socks on every set of feet. A miracle. And
you see something else, someone else, that puts
your mind into a delighted shock. Round Stuff
sits along the edge of the street, on the steps
leading to some kind of tenement. You barely
recognize the little tiefling. She looks older,
maybe by a year or so, and her rabbit onesie
has been replaced by a formal yellow dress. She
sits, kicking her legs and humming a song, waving
and smiling to all passersby who wave and smile
back. You see this and... and... You get a little
closer. You stop moving now, Jules, stop flying,
and you begin to see that something is wrong.
The houses, they're all the same. The decorations,
the furnishings, the people, all dressed similarly,
fine, simple clothing. Even those that look like
they may hail from different regions of this
world. Their smile, their waves, all the same.
Swirl had always been a bit of a cultural melting
pot. Almost like the mixed paint of an artist's
mixing board. But this, it's like the artist
of this city only mixes one color. And you focus
in on round stuff, you see her smile and laugh.
It's not her laugh, though. There's no edge of
mischief or burst of curious energy. It's just
a laugh. No one's laugh. And as you listen to
the crowd around you realize with dawning horror,
it's everyone's laugh. Your fight and flight
instincts go wild. Your heart is hammering a
coldness, spreading through your veins. You are
experiencing the feeling of seeing something
that looks so near to right, but is in essence
so horribly wrong. Off, just slightly. A perfect
mask of a city with nothing behind it. You looked
around, stuff again, and... Her eyes, Jules.
Her eyes are not laughing. Her eyes are voids.
Windows into nothing. Nothing. Except for a spark
of light pulsing in the dark. A radiant sapphire
blue. Jules, when you wake up in a cold sweat,
lying in your bed at the Ugly Coyote, hours have
passed and the worlds have changed. And we'll
call it there. right here. Just shit. Thanks
for those post credits. Fuck yeah. See, always
say it. Never do it. I'm not scared anymore.
I'm not scared anymore. I'm not scared.