WEBVTT 00:00:01.869 --> 00:00:04.469 Pants people, we bring you a special message 00:00:04.469 --> 00:00:07.650 from our friends at Fables of Latour. And if 00:00:07.650 --> 00:00:12.210 you'd like to hear us do a interview. You can 00:00:12.210 --> 00:00:14.910 save it. No, no, no. Keep going. You got this. 00:00:16.809 --> 00:00:19.750 And if you want to hear an interview show that 00:00:19.750 --> 00:00:22.489 we did with them, they call it Latour Radio. 00:00:22.829 --> 00:00:25.390 You can find that on their socials. It's posted 00:00:25.390 --> 00:00:33.770 on YouTube. Go check it out. Fables of Latour 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:36.829 is a long -form narrative fantasy adventure podcast 00:00:36.829 --> 00:00:39.670 brimming with dragons, intrigue, and laughs. 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.630 Join Fables of Latour every Monday on a journey 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:45.350 unlike you've ever heard before. Available everywhere. 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:33.700 Today, I thought it'd be fun to talk about the 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:36.040 world of Hauri, or as many call it, the world 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.120 of Yonido. Now, technically, Yonido is the capital 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.400 city -state of Hauri, but it's also the governance 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:43.140 that rules over the entirety of the world, so 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:45.120 the two are often interchangeable in reference. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.019 But because of this, I figured the best way to 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:49.319 discuss Hauri is to talk about the history of 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.480 Yonido, because it is fascinating. You see, legends 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:55.980 say that Yonido, the city of judgment, was founded 00:01:55.980 --> 00:01:58.340 by the great dragon Miraihu thousands of years 00:01:58.340 --> 00:02:01.299 ago. Braille's chosen mortal task was creating 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:03.599 and leading a great civilization, one that would 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.819 never fall or falter. It is because of this mandate 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:09.800 and the sheer resilience of Unido's people that 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.240 the city -state stands today in all its glory. 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:14.460 The people of Unido believe in tradition above 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:17.400 all else and hold steadfast to ideals of fealty 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:20.159 and order. Structure is the key to everything, 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:22.680 and devotion to family and to the royal family 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:26.259 is the most crucial of personal traits. The royal 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:29.599 clan currently is headed by Queen Jean -Mi, and 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:31.659 they are said to be descendants of Mireille herself. 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.099 Through their monarchical nature, this government 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:37.340 also relies heavily on bureaucracy to see the 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:39.599 needs of its people's men. Nigel's trades are 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.659 meticulously chosen and painstakingly tested 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:43.919 to see if they can stand worthy of governing 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:46.900 the city and forcing its rigid laws. The most 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:48.719 promising of these can ascend to the rank of 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.159 Spirit Arbiter, which, I mean, sounds really 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:53.639 cool, but their role is kept pretty secretive. 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:55.759 And that's kind of the thing with the Unido. 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:58.259 We know a lot of the big picture of how the city 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:00.979 -state runs, how it's ruled, but the city of 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:02.500 judgment has also been called by another name, 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:06.020 by outsiders. The city of secrets. The people 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:09.080 of Unido, of Howray, are legendarily tight -lipped 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.719 by many of the goings -on to their culture, leaving 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:16.639 us all to wonder at their reasons. Oh my god, 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.650 three computers in. Two hours to think. Technical 00:03:20.650 --> 00:03:22.949 difficulties. We are here. We're actually doing 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:26.189 this. It's happening. That was a lot. That was 00:03:26.189 --> 00:03:28.789 a lot. Oh, my gosh. I'm so stressed. Yeah, we've 00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:30.469 been dealing with internet connection issues 00:03:30.469 --> 00:03:32.870 for the past, like, hour. The one night. I don't 00:03:32.870 --> 00:03:35.310 have a beer. The one night. So you're dealing 00:03:35.310 --> 00:03:39.210 with this David. Up in the zone, David. Flailing 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:42.349 arms, David, tonight. Well, we got it figured 00:03:42.349 --> 00:03:45.069 out, finally. We got it figured out. I'm on Steven's 00:03:45.069 --> 00:03:48.110 computer. With my notes. Steven here peeked at 00:03:48.110 --> 00:03:49.750 the name of my notes and now knows I probably 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:53.490 got spoiled. It wasn't my fault. He is sneaking 00:03:53.490 --> 00:03:56.729 through my notes. No, you messaged me the Google 00:03:56.729 --> 00:03:59.330 Doc and said, hey, can you put this on the drive? 00:03:59.550 --> 00:04:01.409 And I said, yeah. That file name is kind of a 00:04:01.409 --> 00:04:03.889 spoiler, though. Yeah. You should be ashamed 00:04:03.889 --> 00:04:10.210 of yourself. All right. So. I was going to do 00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:11.490 a banter, right? Andrew brought up a really fun 00:04:11.490 --> 00:04:13.789 idea for a banter, basically picking theme songs 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:16.709 for our PCs and major NPCs, and I really want 00:04:16.709 --> 00:04:20.470 to dive into that, but not tonight, I think, 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:23.009 because I have some fun thoughts on this, right? 00:04:23.089 --> 00:04:25.290 I have a few themes already picked out, but as 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:28.689 much fun as that sounds, I want to move forward, 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:31.639 right? I've been having so much fun with this 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:35.420 Citadel Inbetween arc, the party boy, just wild 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:37.800 shenanigans arc we've been up to. And we've moved 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:39.259 the story forward in some really fun, really 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:42.120 crazy ways. We finally got Trace. Big things 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.959 have happened that were not great for you. But 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:47.839 here's the thing. If we do not get into the next 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:50.720 big arc by the end of this episode, I will die. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.339 I will physically die right here. I'm so excited 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:57.399 for what's coming next. I want to get into it. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.860 I want to tickle it, Steven. So I have, I'm not 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:02.939 saying them, we're skipping that banter part, 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:05.420 but I have a theme song picked out for Blanche 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:08.060 and I have a theme song picked out for Zeb. And 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:10.660 I think, I would think it'd be fun next week 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:13.980 if we like say, oh yeah, my theme song for so 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:17.180 -and -so is blank. Pause recording, listen to 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:19.500 the song together. Maybe the people can listen 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:21.660 along if they want. That is fun. And then pick 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:23.939 it back up. I like that. Okay. Wouldn't that 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:26.889 be cool? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So you're. Think hard, 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:28.810 gentlemen. Think hard in your theme songs. Get 00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:30.829 them ready to go. Get them loaded up. We're going 00:05:30.829 --> 00:05:33.269 to hear them. I got some for Jean, for Akio, 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:37.209 for the Sapphire Wyvern, actually. This one I've 00:05:37.209 --> 00:05:39.129 known for a long time because I listen to it 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:42.470 when I get in the mindset. And Pants people, 00:05:42.689 --> 00:05:44.350 if you have any guesses on these themes or any 00:05:44.350 --> 00:05:46.769 ideas of your own, get in the Discord. Okay? 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:49.430 Just get in there. Get in that Discord. The what? 00:05:50.149 --> 00:05:58.800 Discord. Discord. Discord. Oh, God. But yes, 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:01.500 a lot of fun to be had, but not tonight. Because 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:03.920 tonight, we're serious podcasters. We'll save 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.180 the fun for next week. Yeah, no more fun. It's 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:08.800 a fun -free zone. It has been for an hour now. 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:12.040 I haven't had fun. If we're not having fun, why 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:18.860 should the pansy people have fun? Five days. 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:23.430 You've been given five days before. Embarking 00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:25.949 on Sholay's task, you know, in four days from 00:06:25.949 --> 00:06:28.889 your conversation that evening, she will embark 00:06:28.889 --> 00:06:31.930 herself for the world of Halri, for the city 00:06:31.930 --> 00:06:36.910 of Yanido, to meet with Queen Jinmi, who absolutely 00:06:36.910 --> 00:06:40.069 commands the speaker for the ancestors for Halri. 00:06:40.649 --> 00:06:43.670 So if they want that speaker, if she wants that 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:46.759 vote, if she wants that control. that bulwark 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.060 against Atash's efforts. She needs to pull this 00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:52.379 off. This is a diplomatic mission of the utmost 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.699 importance. And you have become a crucial part 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:58.000 of it because all these events, everything's 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.079 swirling around out there. It now revolves around 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.180 you. So I want to talk about these five days. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:08.300 I want to montage through them because there 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:09.980 are a few important things I want to bring up. 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:11.600 And if there's anything you want to do or bring 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.379 up, I want to touch on those too. I will say 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:16.990 that on day three, of these five days, a whole 00:07:16.990 --> 00:07:19.269 crazy adventure happens. It was nuts. We'll talk 00:07:19.269 --> 00:07:24.250 about it after Mountain Mania, though. That happens. 00:07:25.990 --> 00:07:29.089 So stay tuned. Stay tuned. Characters will just 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:31.089 never mention it until after Mountain Mania, 00:07:31.089 --> 00:07:33.389 but it happened. It was crazy. But apart from 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:38.500 that, yes, let's talk about what. Goes on. Hey, 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:40.360 Jules, all that shit that happened at Mountain 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:43.100 Mania, let's take a couple of days to really 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:46.160 absorb that before we discuss it. Yeah, Blanche, 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:49.180 that was kind of crazy. That was wild. I'm actually 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:51.660 calling the adventure Mountain Mania. Oh, my 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:53.459 God. Because there's going to be a Mountain Mania 00:07:53.459 --> 00:07:55.240 at Mountain Mania. You'll find out. That's great. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:58.480 Oh, my God. There's actually going to be a mountain. 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:02.660 I am so excited. But let's talk about something 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:06.420 else that's very, very exciting. Very soon in 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:09.819 these days. a package arrives at the Ugly Coyote. 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:15.540 A package bearing the emblem of the Mage Smith. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:17.300 You've seen one other package from this figure 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:21.000 before. A memorial hanging above the fireplace. 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:25.000 And this package is addressed to Chester. Is 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.019 this Andrew burning more buttons? This is Andrew 00:08:27.019 --> 00:08:30.180 burning a lot of buttons. This is Andrew burning 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:32.259 15 buttons. I wasn't even sure I was going to 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:34.679 do this because this feels like a crazy thing. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:36.879 But at the end of the day, I thought about it 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:37.980 and I was like, you know what? He pitched me 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:41.639 an idea. I really liked it. And he gave me the 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.120 buttons. He's been doing a ton of shit. He's 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:46.120 always done a ton of shit for us. And so I was 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:47.419 like, you know what? I really like this a lot. 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:50.179 I mean, the idea itself is so cool. You want 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:52.299 to know what's in that package? Yeah. Is Chester 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:53.879 going to open that package? Of course Chester's 00:08:53.879 --> 00:09:00.759 going to open the package. He pulls out a crossbow. 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:06.350 I'm already a fan. Master metalwork made crossbow. 00:09:06.570 --> 00:09:08.669 It matches aspects of Zebulon's armor that hangs 00:09:08.669 --> 00:09:09.830 from the fireplace. You can see the same kind 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:15.590 of rippling patterns in the metal. This is misdirection. 00:09:17.149 --> 00:09:20.990 Yes. No, it's so good. Hang on. This is the perfect 00:09:20.990 --> 00:09:23.570 Chester weapon. It's incredible. It's a plus 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:27.029 one crossbow. Nice. And it has an effect on it 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:29.509 where if Chester misses an attack three times 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:33.840 a day, he can... use the catapult cantrip to 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:36.860 essentially, when it goes behind, launch the 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:39.340 bolt the other way back at someone. They have 00:09:39.340 --> 00:09:41.500 disadvantage on the saves to avoid that because 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:43.980 they don't see it coming. It's really cool. It's 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:48.159 a trickster weapon. Wow. That is awesome. He 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:49.940 actually sent me this, too. He sent me a little 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:52.820 description, and I love this. Each of the pattern 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:54.860 -welded metal pieces were etched by being dipped 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:57.580 in acid provided by a Haringan by the name of 00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:59.440 Roger, who just seemed to be happy to be rid 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.769 of the stuff. No questions. I'm pretty sure that's 00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:04.169 what's allowed it to take this particular magic 00:10:04.169 --> 00:10:06.649 so easily. Black as night, the ironwood stalk 00:10:06.649 --> 00:10:09.230 is hefty enough to use a club as a last resort. 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.370 I am 99 % sure that's a Roger Rabbit reference, 00:10:12.529 --> 00:10:17.029 and I am here for it. So thank you, Andrew. Wow, 00:10:17.110 --> 00:10:20.090 yeah. Thank you, Andrew. 15 buttons, but for 00:10:20.090 --> 00:10:22.730 our little trickster, Chester, this is the perfect 00:10:22.730 --> 00:10:26.710 weapon. There also is, I should say, a note right 00:10:26.710 --> 00:10:28.210 in there with it. Chester picks it up and reads 00:10:28.210 --> 00:11:01.200 it out. It says, I'm going to say there's a blank 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:03.220 spot here, as he put. Look at those goosebumps. 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:04.799 I'm seeing those goosebumps, yeah. Goosebumps. 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:07.279 There's a little blank spot, I'm going to say, 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:11.419 where it allows for a psychic name to be engraved 00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:13.940 right underneath his name. Oh, man. And Andrew 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:15.820 did send. So we're going to do this tonight, 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:17.340 but I'm going to put these out there. Andrew 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:18.840 sent a couple of options he thinks are pretty 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:20.559 cool for psychic names. Some of these are amazing. 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:24.460 So one shot, trick shot. Chester trick shot's 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.480 pretty solid. Chester the Ember Guard. Okay. 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:30.600 Chester the Crimson Rogue. And I love this. Chester, 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:40.159 the ginger quiver. So good. I'll put that on 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:42.259 you, Jeremy. Jeremy, you can pick his psychic 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:43.659 name as we go. All right, I'm going to think 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:45.080 on it. Think on it. I'm going to think on it. 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:47.320 They'll be etched down just below his name. He's 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:49.200 kind of still making that name for himself. Tell 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:53.379 us which one you like. In the Discord. In the 00:11:53.379 --> 00:12:00.860 Discord. In the Discord. We're like season eight 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:06.559 parodies of ourselves. Flanderized versions of 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:10.840 fantasy pants. We've lived too long. Oh no, don't 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:15.720 say that. Chester takes his new crossbow in hand. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.259 Maybe he goes off to the roof and begins to start 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:21.519 training, shooting cans on roofs across the street. 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:25.039 Let's pan away from his little scene here. I 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:28.080 want to open on Blanche. at some point early 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:32.899 in these weeks. I'm going to assume maybe there's 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.139 a mailbox out in front of the other coyote. Ader 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:36.940 asks you to step out and grab it when you're 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:38.379 going outside anyway. You're over by the door. 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:41.059 You step out to grab some mail from this box. 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:43.139 And as you do, you're kind of pulling through. 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:44.820 You can remember little letters, probably a bunch 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:48.620 of shady little things for Ader, unmarked and 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.100 undressed, and you kind of just shrug. But you 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:54.509 do find one red envelope. Very familiar, and 00:12:54.509 --> 00:12:56.049 it will be turned over. You see it's marked by 00:12:56.049 --> 00:12:58.970 the seal of the Golden Bay, a golden wax seal, 00:12:59.149 --> 00:13:03.669 usual emblem. Do you open and read it? Yeah. 00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:07.509 She's going to toss the smut aside. Goddesses 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:11.889 of God's breath. Dude, yes. Oh, my gosh. Whatever 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:16.789 else. It's just like a scroll. Goddesses of God's 00:13:16.789 --> 00:13:19.950 breath. I just imagine Hader, like, picks up 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:22.590 the bar, drops this whole scroll, drops down. 00:13:26.849 --> 00:13:35.690 Dude, scroll port is brilliant. Take a button. 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.129 Oh, yeah. I'm already at three, though. Oh, never 00:13:38.129 --> 00:13:42.870 mind. I'm keeping that one for me. That was funny. 00:13:42.990 --> 00:13:45.230 Okay. It's funny as hell. All right. Yeah, so 00:13:45.230 --> 00:13:49.309 shaking off the chuckles, Blanche is going to 00:13:49.309 --> 00:13:53.070 cut open the... The letter. Now, let me ask, 00:13:53.210 --> 00:13:56.190 have you been saying John Ehlers, is he up to 00:13:56.190 --> 00:13:58.350 date on what you've been experiencing, everything 00:13:58.350 --> 00:13:59.769 that you've been going through? Because you haven't 00:13:59.769 --> 00:14:02.409 seen him since before the Shrine of Storms, before 00:14:02.409 --> 00:14:06.210 Ozen. I think probably up until the point where 00:14:06.210 --> 00:14:10.269 we got put on blast on the network. I think after 00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:13.610 that, Blanche thought that maybe communication 00:14:13.610 --> 00:14:20.059 was unsafe, going to be listened in on. So he 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:22.360 knows about the shrine events, but nothing afterwards, 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.639 basically. Yeah, if I have that option, yeah, 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:27.860 for sure. You see what's in there. It's too long 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:29.159 for me to read out loud. It's multiple pages. 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:32.259 John's very long written. Is this a mail time 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:38.000 drop? Give me that drop. Why not? Mail time! 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:44.700 Mail time! Blanch edition. Blanch edition. This 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:49.320 is a formal report from your pupil. multiple 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:51.320 pages detailing his recent actions, as well as 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.320 his strides and self -training. But it kind of 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.279 goes on to more personal things after a while. 00:14:56.419 --> 00:14:57.799 It sort of starts off very matter -of -fact, 00:14:57.820 --> 00:14:59.460 very business -y, probably things you've kind 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:02.860 of seen before from him. Following that, you 00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:06.000 see just this... multiple pages where he is just 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.000 deeply apologetic for allowing Atash to put a 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:11.279 hand in Zinda. and kicking himself for making 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.100 moves to combine the shell guard with Zinda's 00:15:13.100 --> 00:15:15.440 own policing force. What seemed like an ingenious 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.059 idea at the time has been turned on its head 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:19.539 due to recent developments. With that precedent 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:21.820 set, Ataja Celestials will soon be trying to 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:24.399 push their way into the Golden Bay, after fully 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:26.799 replacing Harlan and his silent verse. Yeah, 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.899 geez. Our godly Ledoux will need Jean's help 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:30.799 to combat this, and so Jean will still be tied 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:34.059 up for some time yet, though he desperately wants 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:37.600 to adventure with you and Jules again. He acknowledges. 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:40.620 Maybe again, you've seen a few times, you know, 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:43.419 how sorry he is for what you faced in the Shrine 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:47.860 of Storms. He also seems a little defensive over 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:52.299 this news of you taking on a new sidekick. Something 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:54.860 written between the lines there, you just feel 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:58.980 like, you know Jean would be like, oh no. Wait 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:01.200 a minute, isn't Jean a luminary? He's a full 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:07.779 luminary now. Jean is Jean. I see. This Akio 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:16.460 sounds quite interesting. If you're reading this, 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:19.720 just about finishing this scroll of letters, 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:24.620 this long thing, and... You feel suddenly a small 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:27.179 form, perhaps a child or a halfling, just knocks 00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:29.379 into you and just sort of knocks all the letters 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:31.740 from your hand. The porn scroll gets all rolled 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:33.759 down the middle of the street. No, no, they can't 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.919 see that. You're rushing out to grab all that. 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:38.460 Blanche casts something. I don't know what. You 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:40.440 cast Mage Hand to grab. You just sort of pull 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:42.639 out together. You kind of look over and the figure 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.659 that ran into you, whoever it was, just seems 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:46.200 to vanish around the corner just as soon as you 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.960 look up. You only see a dark braid slipping into 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:52.700 the shadows just extremely fast. You're kind 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:55.460 of hands are full trying to keep this goddess 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:58.120 of God's breath scroll from getting everywhere. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.039 Is it a hairstyle that I would have recognized? 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.819 No, just a dark braid, very slow to the ground, 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.299 very small form. But as you kind of look up and 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:12.079 you look down at the scroll, you do notice that 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.059 another letter now rests among those that have 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:17.200 fallen. Okay, so I'm not meant to follow. Unmarked. 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:19.900 Black envelope. Okay. I was like looking through 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:22.339 my spell list. I was like, hmm, I could cast 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:24.440 haste, I guess. Let's just say Andrew's not the 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:27.160 only pants person that's paid up some buttons 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:30.220 this episode. Yeah. Is this another button drop? 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:36.940 No shit. All right. Yeah. Blanche will open this 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:40.380 new black letter. There's like essentially almost 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:45.619 a card inside, a very firm sort of. sheet of 00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:49.819 paper that just reads, Be wary of Omid Pastar, 00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:53.900 ambassador for Ankara and Sengar. He awaits in 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:57.859 Yanido, an honored guest of Queen Jinmi. He is 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:01.079 not strong, but he is clever and he is dangerously 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:04.599 zealous. He intends to prove you are the monsters 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:07.380 that they say you are. Do not fall for his tricks. 00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:13.079 If he succeeds, they win. And then a dash and 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:18.690 the name. Shrike. Thank you, Zila. Oh, no way. 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:22.210 Zila, spend five buttons and ask that Shrike 00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:25.990 deliver, of my DM choice, some piece of important, 00:18:26.069 --> 00:18:28.549 relevant information. And so you are forewarned 00:18:28.549 --> 00:18:30.109 that there is an enemy awaiting you on the window. 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:33.309 That's fantastic. One that intends to prove you 00:18:33.309 --> 00:18:36.190 are what they say you are. From Anchor and Sengar? 00:18:37.609 --> 00:18:39.789 This ambassador is from Anchor and Sengar, yes. 00:18:39.789 --> 00:18:44.029 What was his name? Omid Pastar. Omen Pastor. 00:18:44.990 --> 00:18:50.029 From Sholay's world. And Atash's world. Yeah, 00:18:50.029 --> 00:18:52.289 yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, Sholay is the speaker 00:18:52.289 --> 00:18:54.069 of the ancestors. It was Sholay's world first. 00:18:54.609 --> 00:18:57.150 Atash is the ruling party of the world. Omen 00:18:57.150 --> 00:18:59.089 Pastor would be an ambassador for Atash. Oh, 00:18:59.089 --> 00:19:02.730 so he's gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Okay. Sholay 00:19:02.730 --> 00:19:05.089 mentioned that she believes Atash will make a 00:19:05.089 --> 00:19:07.430 move on Queen Jinmi as well, since this is an 00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:10.349 important power play in the governance of the 00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:13.470 Radiant Citadel. So you see that this can be 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:16.369 a problem. You see this immediately. And you 00:19:16.369 --> 00:19:18.809 know in this moment, despite what they're saying 00:19:18.809 --> 00:19:20.730 about you, despite how the world's turning against 00:19:20.730 --> 00:19:25.349 you, there are allies out there. Shrike, you 00:19:25.349 --> 00:19:29.230 maybe barely recognize as a luminary. One of 00:19:29.230 --> 00:19:32.130 some renown, one that tends to keep to the shadows. 00:19:32.710 --> 00:19:35.390 You've got others watching your back. You think 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:38.000 that as you hear... Across the street above you, 00:19:38.059 --> 00:19:40.619 Chester shooting a can off of the building across 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:45.559 the street, holding his new dark iron, dark metal 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:51.140 crossbow. Nice shot, kid. Hey, thanks. Whoa. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:56.019 He looks down at the scroll on the street. Whistles. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.079 It's not old enough for any of this. Not the 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:07.670 party. Not the adventure. That dares. Oh, my 00:20:07.670 --> 00:20:15.089 goodness. Jules. Yes? I have a hard question 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:19.970 for you. Okay. Dance Macabre. You have been made 00:20:19.970 --> 00:20:24.690 aware that her trial will be coming soon. You 00:20:24.690 --> 00:20:27.410 don't know if you leave if she will still be 00:20:27.410 --> 00:20:31.289 here to talk to. They have asked you to change 00:20:31.289 --> 00:20:37.109 her mind, to push her into supporting. to letting 00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:43.549 this justice undying movement die? If so, Artavazda 00:20:43.549 --> 00:20:47.549 will drop the assault on a speaker for the ancestors 00:20:47.549 --> 00:20:49.569 charge that has been raised against her. But 00:20:49.569 --> 00:20:54.309 if that does not happen, she's being caught on 00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:58.269 camera. Hard evidence she will do time in the 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:01.529 Sky Prison. But you have an open invite to visit 00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:06.599 her. Do you want to take that invite? Jules will 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:12.859 accept the invite. Then let's cut to a back room 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:17.180 in the barracks for the shield bearers. Somewhere 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:19.980 where just off the way you can hear like grinding 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:23.640 sort of cells being opened and closed. Perhaps 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:26.119 you're just sitting at a single table in a private, 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:29.059 you know, just small private, very sparse kind 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:31.980 of dungeon room, hard oaken table, two chairs. 00:21:32.829 --> 00:21:36.529 The other side is a gray sort of iron, sort of, 00:21:36.529 --> 00:21:40.009 what do you call it, like a circle? An iron circle? 00:21:40.210 --> 00:21:42.089 Iron circle, like a hook, but it's a full hook. 00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:45.250 Like an iron hook? Like people are shackled to? 00:21:45.430 --> 00:21:47.369 Yes, yes, thank you. Yeah, like on the table? 00:21:47.589 --> 00:21:52.089 Yeah. Yeah. I need a word. Circle. Yeah, an iron 00:21:52.089 --> 00:21:54.269 circle. You see an iron circle kind of sitting 00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:57.430 across from you, and you look at it and just 00:21:57.430 --> 00:22:01.500 feel something foreboding. You can hear the sound 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:04.740 of jingling chains, and the door across the way 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:08.680 from you opens. Two shield -bearer guards step 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:12.099 in with dance, and you can see that faded bruises 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:15.359 cover her face and arms from when she was arrested. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:19.140 It was not a pretty sight. They never, I mean, 00:22:19.180 --> 00:22:20.940 despite the fact that the Celestials can, it 00:22:20.940 --> 00:22:24.259 seems they never actually healed her. They shackle 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:28.180 her to the table. They even leave her feet sort 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:30.589 of chained together. They know. just how dangerous 00:22:30.589 --> 00:22:33.930 a weapon dance is, even without wielding a weapon. 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:38.789 And without saying a word, they slip out, slam 00:22:38.789 --> 00:22:42.150 the door, and she is just sitting before you. 00:22:42.710 --> 00:22:49.470 Despite her beaten form, she sits tall. Her eyes 00:22:49.470 --> 00:22:54.049 blaze, those dark, dark eyes, almost black, just 00:22:54.049 --> 00:22:58.240 filled with a fire. And she does smile when she 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:02.500 sees you, Jules. A genuine smile. I should say 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:04.759 she's not wearing her usual mask, folklorico 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.960 dress. She's just wearing a simple, I don't know, 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:10.559 probably just gray kind of jumpsuit sort of thing. 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:13.339 Jules is going to wait for a brief moment and 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:18.359 let her be the first to say something. I am surprised 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:22.720 they let you come to talk to me. I assume there's 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:27.470 a reason. I will not stand down, Jules. Artavasta 00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:31.569 has told me of the deal. I will not stand down. 00:23:32.150 --> 00:23:35.150 The things they are doing, saying, what they 00:23:35.150 --> 00:23:40.450 said about you. This is madness. I think we both 00:23:40.450 --> 00:23:43.329 know what needs to happen. And Jules will get 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:45.750 up and walk around the table. I don't think you're 00:23:45.750 --> 00:23:48.630 supposed to do that. Just smiles deeper. Sometimes 00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:51.170 fire leaves your eyes. And he's going to reach 00:23:51.170 --> 00:23:54.470 in for a hug. Jingling chains as her arms wrap 00:23:54.470 --> 00:23:58.430 around you. She presses her face hard into your 00:23:58.430 --> 00:24:03.710 chest. And softly into her ear. Just this undying. 00:24:04.549 --> 00:24:08.690 And he pulls away, grabs her cheeks, looks her 00:24:08.690 --> 00:24:13.470 square in the eyes. I will come for you. I know. 00:24:14.069 --> 00:24:20.230 And with a little kiss, I will stand up and walk 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:27.019 out. You see, as you move out, just outside the 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:34.779 door, Ariat stands, very grim face, eyes boring 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:39.500 holes into you as you move past. Jules glares 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:43.119 back at him as he walks by, and with no funny 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:48.980 flair, gives him the finger. Fuck yeah. Let's 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:51.680 move on to the fourth day. The day that Sholay 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.299 is supposed to make her way to Yanito. On this 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:58.500 day, perhaps as you're kind of out and about, 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:01.420 perhaps it's in the early morning, and Dresden 00:25:01.420 --> 00:25:04.099 and everybody has established, you've got essentially 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:06.019 tents set up in the main dining room, everyone's 00:25:06.019 --> 00:25:07.759 sleeping downstairs, everyone's sleeping communally 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:10.400 together. And I mean, I think throughout this 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.160 time, there have been people have come to the 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.440 door, you know, kind of like barging in drunk, 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:17.440 Ader and Dresden might just push them out. People 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:19.500 have tried to like... paint on the front of the 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:21.720 building, people throwing bottles and rocks at 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:25.119 the windows. People are not happy with you, and 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:27.140 there are those who will cause trouble, and you're 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:28.680 starting to realize that having someone here 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:31.119 to guard the place, having Dresden around potentially 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:34.980 could be very helpful, could be necessary. But 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:38.579 so far, no one had any kind of, no one in any 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:40.500 position to actually do any harm has come by. 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:44.339 That could change. Here we see in the morning, 00:25:44.420 --> 00:25:48.220 everyone sort of waking up in their tents. Everyone 00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:49.759 kind of like gathering together. They just go 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:52.880 off to do their sort of daily things. And before 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:56.019 anything's open, the pub is still closed. I think 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:59.099 we see a visitor comes barging through the saloon 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:00.880 doors. The coyote just boom, boom, boom, boom. 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:04.559 A huge hulking form, wings spread out. We see 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:09.000 Arhalon. Hello, my friends. We see him looking 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:11.279 in many ways more refreshed than you've ever 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:14.130 seen him. He wears his usual chainmail armor 00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:16.950 with a new cloak hanging over it. Rough spun 00:26:16.950 --> 00:26:19.569 and rustic. It's a very God's breathy in design. 00:26:20.009 --> 00:26:22.029 He's got a great big pair of like dark jeans 00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:25.630 tightly covering his legs. And I think if this 00:26:25.630 --> 00:26:30.109 is okay with you, Steven, a very familiar on 00:26:30.109 --> 00:26:32.490 him, very small bandana is wrapped around his 00:26:32.490 --> 00:26:39.150 wrist. Oh, that's so sweet. He comes in. He's 00:26:39.150 --> 00:26:42.279 sort of smiling at everyone here. Maybe he, like, 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:43.920 notices, you know, maybe, like, you guys sort 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:46.059 of, like, Dresden, I imagine, might look towards 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:49.700 that. He knew Crispin well, and Arhalonkav nods 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:52.220 to Dresden, nods to you, and raises his wrist, 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:57.299 kind of puts a finger, a thumb on it, and almost 00:26:57.299 --> 00:27:01.059 bashfully just, they, uh, insisted that I take 00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:04.119 it, the family. I just returned last night from 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:06.619 God's Breath. I had planned to come here immediately, 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:08.779 but Grandmother's agents caught me leaving the 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:13.779 gem, and... Well, now I'm leaving again. You're 00:27:13.779 --> 00:27:19.339 leaving to Ionito? Smile's a big sort of toothy 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:21.819 smile. Did you think you were the only weapons 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:24.640 Grandmother was going to deploy? It seems we'll 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:27.240 be allies in battle again so soon, though in 00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:32.920 the struggle of politics. Hopefully there won't 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:40.680 be too much of that. Hopefully. though my role 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:43.559 in this is more or less simply as an escort. 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.680 Grandmother's real secret weapon is, uh, well, 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:50.000 a bit nervous being out and about, so I thought 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:52.079 I'd bring her here to calm her nerves before 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:55.319 we take the amethyst. And kind of looks back 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:57.380 out, almost like he realized that someone's not 00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:00.079 behind him, and looks out the door. Come on, 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:02.859 Mother! Don't get distracted again! Come, come, 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:06.180 come! And the other door kind of opens up for 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:09.880 a bashfully, and you see... What? The towering, 00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:13.660 half -tracking, looking much like her son. Before 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:15.519 you saw her, I imagine she was wearing some form 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:18.539 of bathrobe over her, like, brass scales. So 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:20.019 you're kind of surprised she steps in wearing 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:22.660 a floral white sundress. She's got, like, four 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:25.839 oversized purses hanging from, like, her arms. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:29.940 bulging with various things. You can see, like, 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:33.160 bits of rag and cloth sticking out of one. One 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:35.759 of them, like, has a gigantic goblet shape, like, 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:40.000 sort of pressed in a fabric. She kind of peeks 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.359 in, just like, Oh! It's Chosen Blanche! Hello! 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.960 Is this her house? It's so empty! It's real stuff! 00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:52.359 How we keep it quite sparse on purpose, I'm afraid. 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:58.309 She just looks baffled. Hmm. It's weird. And 00:28:58.309 --> 00:29:00.789 she's kind of looking around, and her eyes fall 00:29:00.789 --> 00:29:04.150 on the Zebulon mural in the back, and then flicker 00:29:04.150 --> 00:29:07.609 to the memorial set over the fireplace. And you 00:29:07.609 --> 00:29:09.690 see Arhalon sort of do the same, and he places 00:29:09.690 --> 00:29:12.029 a tender hand on his mother's shoulder as her 00:29:12.029 --> 00:29:15.869 eyes kind of start misting over a bit. And I 00:29:15.869 --> 00:29:17.549 think Arhalon sort of coughs off with a, you 00:29:17.549 --> 00:29:20.029 see, her mother used to do a lot of traveling 00:29:20.029 --> 00:29:22.609 to Hauri, into the city of Unido, before she 00:29:22.609 --> 00:29:27.140 stopped traveling. She became close friends with 00:29:27.140 --> 00:29:29.579 Queen Jean Mee, maybe one of the closest the 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:31.559 queen has ever had, and they still send each 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:33.339 other letters and gifts to this day. Isn't that 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:36.019 right, Mother? And this sort of jolts Xena away 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:38.960 from her reverie. Oh, yes, yes. Ginny is the 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:41.980 sweetest little girl she is. She's 60, Mother. 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:46.299 To you, she's young, but not a little girl. Oh, 00:29:46.359 --> 00:29:47.940 oh, right, right, right, right. And you have 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:50.359 to call her Queen Jean Mee. Queen Jean Mee or 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:52.099 Your Royal Highness. She carries the blood of, 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:54.200 you know, her draconic founder, you know. Oh! 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:56.279 Oh, yes, yes, right, right, right, yes, yes. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:04.019 Queenie genie. No, stop. Okay. It just looks 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:10.119 exasperated. It sort of sighs. Well, anyway, 00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:12.319 we'll both be there on holiday to help you see 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:14.339 things through. Grandmother figures that Mother's 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:16.900 high regard for you will make for a great boon 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:19.339 in winning over the Queen. There's been some... 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:22.279 distance between our families for years, but 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:25.000 we may be able to bridge that gap now. I've been 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:27.519 briefed on most of the situation. I think criminal 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:31.980 strategy might work. And he kind of wings sort 00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:37.019 of fall a bit. Kind of bares his teeth a little. 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:42.500 I, uh, haven't always trusted her. I think I 00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:45.480 still don't fully, but she may be the only chance 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.539 we have at fighting it back against all of this. 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:53.519 Just be careful with her, all right? With Sholay. 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:58.420 What has she done to keep you from trusting her? 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:05.380 I told Crispin this once. That those who work 00:31:05.380 --> 00:31:09.019 for Sholay don't always tend to survive the experience. 00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:13.480 She must burn a pawn to seize the information 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:16.180 or the keys she requires to achieve her goals. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:19.589 And burn them she will. And he reaches down for 00:31:19.589 --> 00:31:24.849 the bandana again. And I fear she has already 00:31:24.849 --> 00:31:32.029 one warning that fell on deaf ears. That's pretty 00:31:32.029 --> 00:31:36.069 heavy. Well, with her own grandson around and 00:31:36.069 --> 00:31:39.769 your mother, I'm sure we'll be perfectly safe. 00:31:40.049 --> 00:31:44.569 Oh, yes, yes, so safe. And goats. Ah, did you 00:31:44.569 --> 00:31:47.799 bring your goats? I forgot the goats. Mother, 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:49.519 we can't bring a... No, no, no, we have to go 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:53.160 back. No, no, no. We do need to get going, though. 00:31:53.660 --> 00:31:55.660 Mother does tend to dawdle, and we have a gem 00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:58.220 to catch. Mother, if you behave, we might have 00:31:58.220 --> 00:31:59.859 time to visit a souvenir shop near the Passage 00:31:59.859 --> 00:32:03.599 of Respite. Just, like, hopping up and down the 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:08.079 whole building, shaking as she's... Oh, yes, 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:10.420 yes, yes. We must go. We must buy souvenirs. 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.859 I'll buy one for you and one for you. She starts 00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:14.380 pointing at the cherry lights. And you, and you, 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:16.400 and you, and you, and you. And I want to pay 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:21.500 for all of it. No, no, mother. Okay. And he starts 00:32:21.500 --> 00:32:23.779 kind of like pushing her out the door like, we 00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:25.900 will see you on the morrow then at the palace. 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:31.180 We'll be there. Good. Oh, bye, Blanche. Bye, 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:34.000 Jules. We'll see you later. We'll see you later. 00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:38.200 He should have. Pushed out the door. Arlan's 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:39.720 kind of, you can hear him just bickering and 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:41.599 sort of, mother, mother, mother, mother, this 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:45.759 way. No, we want to go down. As they kind of 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:50.000 vanish into the street. Now I'm going to ask 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.920 you, is there anything else you wish to do before 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:57.000 you depart? Any other, anything else that needs 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:59.380 to be done? I don't have enough money to go shopping. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:05.130 Should be better at the game, just saying. Bad 00:33:05.130 --> 00:33:11.470 at D &D, I don't know. Has Fibro picked up on 00:33:11.470 --> 00:33:13.609 anything that could be useful? Not yet. What 00:33:13.609 --> 00:33:16.210 is Fibro's current research, actually? What would 00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:18.509 you like him to be working on now? He's pretty 00:33:18.509 --> 00:33:20.730 good at, like, he kind of figured all this stuff 00:33:20.730 --> 00:33:22.109 out or helped figure all this stuff out with 00:33:22.109 --> 00:33:24.769 the history of the worlds and the Drakkon and 00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:27.450 the split and everything, but I guess he's kind 00:33:27.450 --> 00:33:29.390 of been left floating in the void, kind of not 00:33:29.390 --> 00:33:31.950 really directed on a topic yet. Would it be too 00:33:31.950 --> 00:33:36.940 weird or bad? To see if he can look into Sholay's 00:33:36.940 --> 00:33:42.200 role in everything. Yeah. Or at least in the 00:33:42.200 --> 00:33:45.299 history books to see, you know, what things say. 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:48.420 Deep dive on Sholay. I like it. Not necessarily 00:33:48.420 --> 00:33:52.059 with the explicit intent of looking for dirt. 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:56.619 Right. Just some context. We can have a clear 00:33:56.619 --> 00:34:00.819 idea from outside eyes apart from her word. I 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:04.599 love that. And on top of that. One thing we should 00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:07.200 bring up, this makes sense. Crispin and Dresden 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:09.320 had sending stones they used for each other. 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:12.800 I imagine Blanche or you, one of you two, have 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:16.219 Crispin's stone. So you have a way to contact 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:18.820 Dresden here and vice versa anytime. Oh, cool. 00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:21.380 Yeah, that'll work out. So if you need to, if 00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:23.019 he was looking into this and you want information, 00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:24.659 he might have, you have a question, he might 00:34:24.659 --> 00:34:27.619 be able to answer it. Hell yeah. Cool. Really 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:31.480 cool. I'm guessing we can give Fibro one topic 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:34.699 at a time to research. I mean I don't know I 00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:36.139 can give him two but if he has one he's probably 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:38.039 gonna get more detailed information I guess I'd 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:40.820 say sure that's fair we can save it then okay 00:34:40.820 --> 00:34:44.460 I was thinking sky prison oh that too that is 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:46.559 interesting yeah that's a good one that's very 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:50.599 interesting okay um maybe have him do both on 00:34:50.599 --> 00:34:55.880 those because maybe they overlap hmm maybe a 00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:58.780 pants person conspiracy yeah I don't know give 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:02.539 you some information maybe yeah I like it I don't 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:04.710 know what do you think I'm going to let that 00:35:04.710 --> 00:35:08.110 be. That's a Cherry Delight decision, so that's 00:35:08.110 --> 00:35:11.369 on you, buckaroo. Yeah, let him do both. Okay. 00:35:11.429 --> 00:35:13.369 Let him do both, because at the very least, we 00:35:13.369 --> 00:35:16.130 might get a nugget out of something. Sure. And 00:35:16.130 --> 00:35:18.889 we can tug on that nugget. All right, Jules. 00:35:19.250 --> 00:35:21.989 I'm on it. Dives. Full -on Scrooge McDuck dives 00:35:21.989 --> 00:35:26.329 into a pile of books. Ow! Tell Penny we said 00:35:26.329 --> 00:35:32.650 hello. Hell yeah. With that, do you want to proceed? 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:37.159 To the fifth day. Got my boarding pass, my carry 00:35:37.159 --> 00:35:41.599 -on. Your dog gets to ride on with you. He's 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:43.860 going to go in the back. Yeah, he's an emotional 00:35:43.860 --> 00:35:46.820 support dog. There you go. Don't need a kennel 00:35:46.820 --> 00:35:52.000 for him. And so you depart. Before you leave, 00:35:52.059 --> 00:35:54.480 I imagine, you know, there's probably some exchange 00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:57.059 with Dresden who's standing with all the cherry 00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:59.679 delights kind of surrounding all around him. 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:02.840 He rounds up his climbing on his head. Any last 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:06.539 words of, you know, to kind of ease the worried 00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:09.760 jewels that Dresden might drop? I got it here. 00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:13.739 Do your thing. And Roundstuff kicks him in the 00:36:13.739 --> 00:36:20.619 face. Pulls his hair, ties his shoelaces together. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.539 See, I'm just fucking fine. It's Radiant Citadel 00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:30.280 Kindergarten Cop. Seriously, yeah, exactly. We'll 00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:32.739 come back to this. We actually will. But anyway, 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:35.699 don't worry. We'll see Dresden again real soon. 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:41.500 But with that, I suppose you leave Jules. I mean, 00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:44.000 if there's one person you can trust to watch 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:46.940 your family. Yeah. It's him. A member of your 00:36:46.940 --> 00:36:52.300 family. Yeah. Hell yeah. So you leave. So you 00:36:52.300 --> 00:36:57.300 travel up the length of the Citadel through streets, 00:36:57.340 --> 00:37:01.900 through crowds that stay away from you. Crowds 00:37:01.900 --> 00:37:05.820 that avoid you, glare at you, whisper about you. 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:08.659 Pushing up and up and up until you reach the 00:37:08.659 --> 00:37:12.260 passage of respite. Where just on time you see 00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:16.460 the amethyst conquer jewel is coming to dock 00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:23.019 this great dark purple gemstone. And you board? 00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:28.769 Yes. Blanche is probably a little nervous about... 00:37:28.769 --> 00:37:30.769 Yeah, Jules and Chester are pretty seasoned in 00:37:30.769 --> 00:37:33.590 all this. Well, Blanche is worried about, like, 00:37:33.610 --> 00:37:36.110 what... Are they going to let her on? You know 00:37:36.110 --> 00:37:39.909 what I mean? She's really nervous about the authorities 00:37:39.909 --> 00:37:42.929 right now. You're still a luminary. You have 00:37:42.929 --> 00:37:45.250 full access. Yeah, I think Jules and Chester 00:37:45.250 --> 00:37:48.849 will walk ahead. Jules will turn around and just 00:37:48.849 --> 00:37:53.590 extend his hand back. Yeah. Blanche will grab 00:37:53.590 --> 00:37:57.380 on and, you know, now that the... The nerves 00:37:57.380 --> 00:38:02.079 of almost expecting or waiting for getting denied 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:05.539 have passed. You can see the gate guards don't 00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:07.380 like it. Before they'd seen you, they'd probably 00:38:07.380 --> 00:38:10.000 been delighted. Now that you see these sour faces, 00:38:10.260 --> 00:38:12.260 they can't let you. But you have to remember, 00:38:12.679 --> 00:38:15.199 Atash can say whatever he wants. He can rile 00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:17.119 up the public, but he does not make the laws. 00:38:17.400 --> 00:38:19.639 He does not command the luminaries. That's the 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:24.460 speakers. Not yet, I should say. But if this 00:38:24.460 --> 00:38:28.079 mission fails... That could change, and that 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:31.820 could be very, very bad. But you step upon the 00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:35.480 amethyst, move into the crowd, and just as happened 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:47.219 before, rises up into orbit and phases. When 00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:51.880 the sort of sliding door jumps out of the amethyst, 00:38:53.089 --> 00:38:55.449 opens. I imagine you probably can see blurrily 00:38:55.449 --> 00:38:57.750 through it, like the, you know, this long landscape 00:38:57.750 --> 00:39:00.030 around you and a great shadow that you're facing 00:39:00.030 --> 00:39:03.250 as you open up, kind of facing west in the world 00:39:03.250 --> 00:39:06.230 of Holory. You see as it opens and you can look 00:39:06.230 --> 00:39:09.090 out the sort of doorway as you're moving out 00:39:09.090 --> 00:39:11.159 of it. that it opens in the middle of a great 00:39:11.159 --> 00:39:13.960 plain, long yellow grass blowing easily in a 00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:16.579 calm breeze. Perhaps somewhere far off, you can 00:39:16.579 --> 00:39:19.320 see a family of tigers are prowling and moving 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:22.599 away. Far, far away, they're orange stripes kind 00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:25.340 of standing out to you. Sorry, black stripes, 00:39:25.460 --> 00:39:30.400 orange. You know what? Orange and stripes, maybe? 00:39:30.619 --> 00:39:32.559 No, no, no. Tigers actually are black with orange 00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:36.989 stripes. Look it up. You look out, this blue 00:39:36.989 --> 00:39:41.349 sky hangs overhead. A beautiful, perfect day. 00:39:41.909 --> 00:39:43.909 As you step out, you're facing west. You see 00:39:43.909 --> 00:39:48.510 that the sky is dominated by the city of Yanito. 00:39:49.130 --> 00:39:51.090 You must be just a half mile away from the main 00:39:51.090 --> 00:39:53.929 gate where you stand, where a long wall bearing 00:39:53.929 --> 00:39:56.889 colorful flags and ribbons rungs along the front 00:39:56.889 --> 00:40:00.070 of a great wide hill that rises up and up and 00:40:00.070 --> 00:40:02.550 up, and the entire city is built in layers upon 00:40:02.550 --> 00:40:05.250 this hill, a majestic display of sloping roofs 00:40:05.250 --> 00:40:07.949 and switchhacking streets broken up by parks 00:40:07.949 --> 00:40:10.289 and copses of trees. At the very top of this 00:40:10.289 --> 00:40:12.429 hill, more flags and ribbons adorn the walls 00:40:12.429 --> 00:40:16.369 of a colossal red palace. Beyond that, you can 00:40:16.369 --> 00:40:18.769 see the hill rises even still, and a second wall 00:40:18.769 --> 00:40:21.409 separates the city from lush forests beyond. 00:40:22.070 --> 00:40:24.550 There's a great roaring river standing against 00:40:24.550 --> 00:40:26.449 the city's northern side, coming down the hill 00:40:26.449 --> 00:40:29.869 in a rush, rushing off into the plains and sort 00:40:29.869 --> 00:40:31.909 of scattering away in a different direction. 00:40:32.710 --> 00:40:38.170 You see this city. I mean, this titan of a city. 00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.480 You see a mess of activity at the main gate far 00:40:41.480 --> 00:40:44.820 ahead where wagons bearing crops line up and 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:46.719 travelers move past. They have guards and dark 00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:49.539 breastplates and long blue battle skirts. Among 00:40:49.539 --> 00:40:51.679 the folks you see, there are a number of chromatic 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:54.039 -scaled dragonborns, mostly red, green, and blue, 00:40:54.099 --> 00:40:56.320 as well as humans with dark hair. These are the 00:40:56.320 --> 00:41:00.099 primary peoples of this world. you are looking 00:41:00.099 --> 00:41:01.719 at all this. I think in other worlds, you usually 00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:04.440 have those like stands and, you know, kind of 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:06.159 like when you get in this information. Like a 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:07.480 farmer's market sort of thing. Yeah, there's 00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:08.699 probably one of those here, but it's a little 00:41:08.699 --> 00:41:10.480 small since you're so close to the main city. 00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:12.039 There's not really a reason to have it go all 00:41:12.039 --> 00:41:14.699 out. You're just a short jaunt away. There's 00:41:14.699 --> 00:41:16.900 probably still, you know, people who can take 00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:19.280 you on mounts to bring you in closer, but. Is 00:41:19.280 --> 00:41:21.840 this the biggest city that we've visited so far? 00:41:22.900 --> 00:41:24.980 Tythos is by far, was by far the biggest city. 00:41:25.599 --> 00:41:27.860 Oh, that's a really good question. This is probably 00:41:27.860 --> 00:41:30.260 about. This is probably bigger than Saint -Étienne 00:41:30.260 --> 00:41:31.739 City, because Saint -Étienne City wasn't like 00:41:31.739 --> 00:41:34.559 an actual full city -state. I'd say yes, yeah. 00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:39.780 A little bigger than even Zinda, which is quite 00:41:39.780 --> 00:41:44.599 large. Okay. So what instructions were we given 00:41:44.599 --> 00:41:46.820 by Sholay? Did she want us to meet her at the 00:41:46.820 --> 00:41:48.599 castle? Are we supposed to... Oh yeah, she said 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:50.519 to join her there. You probably received a missive 00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:52.519 sometime afterwards, basically said, when you 00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:55.760 arrive, proceed to the castle. Guards have been 00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:58.489 informed of your arrival. Basically, just go 00:41:58.489 --> 00:42:01.250 there. You have rooms and board at the castle. 00:42:01.650 --> 00:42:03.769 Queen Jean -Mi is accepting you as guests. She 00:42:03.769 --> 00:42:07.710 did her thing, got you in, made her introductions. 00:42:08.449 --> 00:42:10.849 She's going to use Xena to kind of soften your 00:42:10.849 --> 00:42:16.650 reputations, Queen Jean -Mi. So, yeah. All you 00:42:16.650 --> 00:42:18.010 got to do is show up and be impressive, right? 00:42:18.329 --> 00:42:23.289 You can do that. Our ability to freely travel, 00:42:23.369 --> 00:42:27.630 I think, depends on our performance here. Maybe 00:42:27.630 --> 00:42:31.510 it's best that we blend in, head straight for 00:42:31.510 --> 00:42:35.929 the palace, try not to make any ruckus. Yeah. 00:42:36.269 --> 00:42:39.909 Just do what we got to do. Right, Chester? Oh, 00:42:39.909 --> 00:42:42.690 yeah, Jules. Let's do it. Right, Chester? Yeah, 00:42:42.690 --> 00:42:47.190 yeah. Hey, hey. We're good. All right. Sidekick. 00:42:47.289 --> 00:42:49.929 Keep your ears open and your hands in your pockets. 00:42:50.829 --> 00:42:53.969 He slides him grudgingly down. But you do see, 00:42:54.010 --> 00:42:57.210 like, at the same time, his eyes sparkle at the 00:42:57.210 --> 00:43:00.030 sight of this city. You know, Chester loves a 00:43:00.030 --> 00:43:02.969 metropolis. He loves to, you know, scamper through 00:43:02.969 --> 00:43:04.650 the streets, causing all sorts of mayhem. And 00:43:04.650 --> 00:43:06.409 he just, like, it's like he is in his element, 00:43:06.710 --> 00:43:11.210 like, shaking with excitement. Meanwhile, Akio 00:43:11.210 --> 00:43:13.170 is shaking with the opposite of excitement because 00:43:13.170 --> 00:43:16.869 he lived in a quiet shrine for his entire life. 00:43:17.489 --> 00:43:22.139 Oh, we're going there. It looks full. Is there 00:43:22.139 --> 00:43:24.780 one that's not full? I'll be with you the whole 00:43:24.780 --> 00:43:28.840 time, Akio. There will be nothing to worry about. 00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:32.340 It kind of slides up right next to you. Very, 00:43:32.380 --> 00:43:35.440 very close. I wish I could be attached to you 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:39.039 by some sort of lead or leash. So you can't get 00:43:39.039 --> 00:43:44.179 away from me. Think of it this way. Anywhere 00:43:44.179 --> 00:43:47.440 we go in this city is going to be less crowded 00:43:47.440 --> 00:43:54.329 than the handsome house. It's like a small groan 00:43:54.329 --> 00:43:57.710 mixed with a growl. I was thinking about Handsome 00:43:57.710 --> 00:44:00.690 House. You did fantastic there. You are a very 00:44:00.690 --> 00:44:08.030 good boy. Huge wide eyes. Stiffens up, sort of 00:44:08.030 --> 00:44:10.309 puffs out his chest, more determined than ever. 00:44:10.349 --> 00:44:12.670 Like, okay, I can do this. He kind of starts 00:44:12.670 --> 00:44:17.269 proudly long strides as he moves towards the 00:44:17.269 --> 00:44:19.469 city gates. I hear they have fish fillets here 00:44:19.469 --> 00:44:25.380 that you can't get on the Citadel even. It moves 00:44:25.380 --> 00:44:29.980 faster. And so you move. As you get closer, I 00:44:29.980 --> 00:44:31.920 think that line of the gate gets a little smaller. 00:44:32.079 --> 00:44:33.599 You're in this early part of the day where a 00:44:33.599 --> 00:44:35.699 lot of activity is happening and people are moving 00:44:35.699 --> 00:44:38.179 in to sell crops to wherever markets are in town. 00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:40.900 So when you get there, there's not too large 00:44:40.900 --> 00:44:42.719 a line of people kind of funneling in behind 00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:45.099 you. It's like a mother and a child. She's like 00:44:45.099 --> 00:44:46.579 shushing the child who's sort of complaining 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:49.360 and she wants to get off their feet. Like, oh, 00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:52.219 it's going to be fun. Don't worry. Kind of sitting 00:44:52.219 --> 00:44:54.780 back there. A few people ahead of you. I imagine 00:44:54.780 --> 00:44:56.760 people kind of looking at you, creating space 00:44:56.760 --> 00:44:59.099 again. Do you wait in line or do you want to 00:44:59.099 --> 00:45:01.320 kind of move around ahead as luminaries? You 00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:04.000 probably could do either. No way. I think we 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:07.219 should wait in line. Yeah. Don't want to give 00:45:07.219 --> 00:45:09.960 anybody any reason to call us out. No. You're 00:45:09.960 --> 00:45:12.679 probably thinking well in your mind of that note 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:16.239 left by Shrike. This ambassador from Ankara and 00:45:16.239 --> 00:45:19.280 Sengar. Someone who's here, who's out to get 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:23.989 you. As the cart ahead of you moves in, creaking 00:45:23.989 --> 00:45:26.829 wheels, the city gates are wide open. You can 00:45:26.829 --> 00:45:29.230 see the magnificence of the city streets ahead. 00:45:30.989 --> 00:45:33.949 There are, I think, four guards here at the gate, 00:45:34.030 --> 00:45:36.869 all wielding these, like, long halberds. You 00:45:36.869 --> 00:45:38.789 can imagine, like, dark sort of breastplates, 00:45:38.789 --> 00:45:41.429 long sort of battle skirts. And one of them, 00:45:41.489 --> 00:45:47.050 a woman with very, very green eyes and long black 00:45:47.050 --> 00:45:49.860 hair and a ponytail. kind of steps up to you. 00:45:50.340 --> 00:45:53.900 And she has this very cool demeanor as she looks 00:45:53.900 --> 00:45:59.000 to you both. We were told you would be coming 00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:01.760 here. You will of course need to be searched. 00:46:02.400 --> 00:46:06.500 Do you comply? What are you searching for? We 00:46:06.500 --> 00:46:08.500 have been informed that you may have ill intentions 00:46:08.500 --> 00:46:11.880 for our city and our queen. We want to be sure 00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:14.920 that's not the case. Other guards are kind of 00:46:14.920 --> 00:46:17.789 moving up. Surely we could pose no threat to 00:46:17.789 --> 00:46:21.789 the great city of Ionito? Surely not. Especially 00:46:21.789 --> 00:46:26.349 if you comply. There's something wrong here. 00:46:28.530 --> 00:46:31.010 Do you have any checks or anything? Yeah, I'd 00:46:31.010 --> 00:46:35.349 like to roll insight, I guess. Hell yeah. Jules 00:46:35.349 --> 00:46:41.630 can't see shit. Okay. Three on the die. Just 00:46:41.630 --> 00:46:46.440 11. Okay. With an 11, all you know is... She 00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:49.219 seems like she's being overly aggressive. You've 00:46:49.219 --> 00:46:50.519 seen her speak to everybody else and she was 00:46:50.519 --> 00:46:55.659 not like this. Sure. I would feel most comfortable 00:46:55.659 --> 00:46:58.400 if there was a supervisor present for this search. 00:46:59.179 --> 00:47:01.300 Is there somebody higher up we can speak with? 00:47:01.940 --> 00:47:05.219 I am supervising the gate at the moment. Right, 00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:10.099 your supervisor. I mean, we are guests of the 00:47:10.099 --> 00:47:12.880 Queen. Surely that much respect can be shown. 00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:17.449 We will comply. This kind of a furrowed brow, 00:47:17.590 --> 00:47:21.349 a bit of an annoyance. Kind of sighs. I don't 00:47:21.349 --> 00:47:24.809 think you understand. And she kind of waves other 00:47:24.809 --> 00:47:27.110 guards, kind of move a little closer, almost 00:47:27.110 --> 00:47:29.789 like a gesture of, they're giving us trouble. 00:47:29.869 --> 00:47:31.329 The guards probably wore out an earshot, start 00:47:31.329 --> 00:47:33.889 moving in, kind of curious expression, sort of 00:47:33.889 --> 00:47:36.849 moving around you. You're looking at her, and 00:47:36.849 --> 00:47:39.070 then you guys see something kind of strange, 00:47:39.389 --> 00:47:42.360 sort of in the background of all this. Just looking 00:47:42.360 --> 00:47:44.679 on past her, past the guards behind her, past 00:47:44.679 --> 00:47:48.300 the gate into the city. You can see that the 00:47:48.300 --> 00:47:50.139 switchbacking streets curving up and up and up 00:47:50.139 --> 00:47:52.119 behind layers of towering city structures. You 00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:55.519 can see that above all of it and around the palace 00:47:55.519 --> 00:47:58.260 and behind it in the forest that stand behind 00:47:58.260 --> 00:48:01.019 and above the city on this great hill, there's 00:48:01.019 --> 00:48:04.360 like this thick white mist forming. You can see 00:48:04.360 --> 00:48:06.849 it just... falling down over the city, falling 00:48:06.849 --> 00:48:10.010 like a tidal wave in a rush, blanketing structures, 00:48:10.309 --> 00:48:12.070 obscuring the hustle and bustle of moving cities, 00:48:12.230 --> 00:48:15.889 silently enveloping the city, falling quickly, 00:48:16.030 --> 00:48:18.969 so quickly down towards the gate, towards you. 00:48:19.469 --> 00:48:22.650 It's almost like watching hot fudge poured over 00:48:22.650 --> 00:48:27.449 a sundae. And Blanche points behind the guard. 00:48:27.769 --> 00:48:32.469 Is that normal? She looks over her shoulder. 00:48:33.010 --> 00:48:36.920 You can see, like, cocks her head, and it kind 00:48:36.920 --> 00:48:38.139 of looks back to you and shakes her head like, 00:48:38.219 --> 00:48:42.519 I will not deal with your distractions. You will 00:48:42.519 --> 00:48:44.480 surrender ourselves to a full surge, or we... 00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:50.480 And the white mist surges over you all. Do you 00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:55.000 use any spell slots? I don't like the way that 00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.239 was worded. No. Any abilities? Bardic Inspiration? 00:48:59.280 --> 00:49:02.260 Maybe a use of Misdirection's Catapult? Bladesong? 00:49:02.579 --> 00:49:05.000 Anything. Let me know. What do you want to burn? 00:49:05.699 --> 00:49:09.079 So the weird thing is that I, Stephen, was planning 00:49:09.079 --> 00:49:12.480 on casting a spell. Yeah. Or at least Blanche 00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:14.599 was planning on casting a spell. Okay. But now 00:49:14.599 --> 00:49:18.820 because of this, Stephen doesn't want to. Might 00:49:18.820 --> 00:49:21.300 want to cast that spell. I don't know. Jeremy, 00:49:21.340 --> 00:49:22.880 I don't know what to do. Because I just showed 00:49:22.880 --> 00:49:25.739 you on my phone what I was going to do. All right, 00:49:25.739 --> 00:49:29.119 let's lay it out on the table. You know, top 00:49:29.119 --> 00:49:33.099 level stuff. If I cast invisibility at fourth 00:49:33.099 --> 00:49:37.559 level, I can make Blanche, Chester, and Akio 00:49:37.559 --> 00:49:39.820 all invisible. You have invisibility as well. 00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:41.920 You can cast on yourself. The four of us can 00:49:41.920 --> 00:49:45.019 just scoot on by, which is what my character 00:49:45.019 --> 00:49:50.039 was ready to do, but now I'm afraid at what David's 00:49:50.039 --> 00:49:53.079 saying. Jules was not ready to do that. Okay. 00:49:53.739 --> 00:49:56.119 You would not have done that. I think, okay. 00:49:56.519 --> 00:49:59.900 So why would Blanche not have done that? Because 00:49:59.900 --> 00:50:02.960 of what happened. I don't think you would have 00:50:02.960 --> 00:50:07.219 done that. Okay. But you can use a fourth -level 00:50:07.219 --> 00:50:10.179 spell slot if you want. No. No, I don't think 00:50:10.179 --> 00:50:12.119 so. You don't think so? Any abilities? Nothing? 00:50:12.920 --> 00:50:15.159 I am going to give you a plus 10 luck bonus here 00:50:15.159 --> 00:50:17.320 since you have absolutely no idea what the fuck 00:50:17.320 --> 00:50:20.920 is going on this time. I am so benevolent. I 00:50:20.920 --> 00:50:23.119 have no idea what is going on. Yeah. Jules does 00:50:23.119 --> 00:50:25.900 not make a knee -jerk reaction move before he 00:50:25.900 --> 00:50:29.019 can get a lay of kind of what's going on. I mean, 00:50:29.019 --> 00:50:31.639 not entirely what's going on, but... I'm not 00:50:31.639 --> 00:50:34.300 asking you guys. He pauses for a second. I'm 00:50:34.300 --> 00:50:36.659 not asking your characters in the moment. I'm 00:50:36.659 --> 00:50:37.840 asking you guys. What the fuck are you doing, 00:50:37.900 --> 00:50:40.239 David? Do you use a spell slot? I don't think 00:50:40.239 --> 00:50:43.360 so. No. Any spell slots? No. Okay. I think it's 00:50:43.360 --> 00:50:46.400 time to wait a beat and see what happens. Okay. 00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:49.159 That makes sense. You want to reserve them. It's 00:50:49.159 --> 00:50:50.940 still early in the day. Look at your shit -eating 00:50:50.940 --> 00:50:55.199 grin. What is this? Plus 10 luck bonus and that's 00:50:55.199 --> 00:50:57.989 it. What do you mean? I'm so fucking confused. 00:50:58.010 --> 00:51:00.449 Sure. Plus 10 luck bonus and that's it, I guess. 00:51:01.110 --> 00:51:03.030 All right. I'll bump it to a 20 because... Oh, 00:51:03.050 --> 00:51:05.110 God. We have to do something. We have to do something, 00:51:05.309 --> 00:51:09.550 Jeremy. Roll a D100. So, what the hell? Okay. 00:51:09.630 --> 00:51:11.510 Jesus Christ. Whoever wants to roll, you need 00:51:11.510 --> 00:51:14.250 one for all of you. Oh, one for everybody. One 00:51:14.250 --> 00:51:19.190 roll for everybody. Oh, my God. I've been waiting 00:51:19.190 --> 00:51:22.610 so long for this. 65. 65 with a 20, that's a 00:51:22.610 --> 00:51:25.949 75. That is... Not with a 20. With a 20, that's 00:51:25.949 --> 00:51:32.039 an 85. You're right. That's actually really good. 00:51:32.539 --> 00:51:35.679 Okay. That's great news. Good? Great news. Good 00:51:35.679 --> 00:51:38.659 roll. That plus 20 was way too nice. Can we have 00:51:38.659 --> 00:51:41.559 a plus 10? I guess you can do whatever you want, 00:51:41.659 --> 00:51:44.360 you sick son of a bitch. Damn. No, you're right. 00:51:45.079 --> 00:51:47.539 I'll be nice because I'm not being very nice 00:51:47.539 --> 00:51:49.679 right now. Jeremy, I'm willing to use a dice 00:51:49.679 --> 00:51:53.380 roller for this for reasons. What is happening? 00:51:53.719 --> 00:51:56.989 What is going on, David? Hang on. You know, he 00:51:56.989 --> 00:51:59.590 said before we're going to hate this arc. What 00:51:59.590 --> 00:52:02.050 the fuck? He said we're going to hate it. Sorry, 00:52:02.110 --> 00:52:03.090 I got to do a bunch of math in my head. Give 00:52:03.090 --> 00:52:04.809 me a second. Don't point at me. I'm pointing 00:52:04.809 --> 00:52:08.090 at you. Pointing at you again. That's two. Let 00:52:08.090 --> 00:52:10.170 me ask. I assume that if I was to break down 00:52:10.170 --> 00:52:12.550 your party into frontliners and backliners, Akio 00:52:12.550 --> 00:52:13.769 and Blanche would be your frontliners, Chester 00:52:13.769 --> 00:52:15.789 and Jules your backliners. Oh, God. This is very 00:52:15.789 --> 00:52:17.929 important. Yeah. No, that's definitely. Cool. 00:52:18.010 --> 00:52:23.099 Okay. Blanche. David. Damn it. You are suddenly 00:52:23.099 --> 00:52:25.659 standing, blade raised, some 15 feet away from 00:52:25.659 --> 00:52:28.159 where you were. What? You have taken five points 00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:30.320 of damage, a large sort of gash kind of in your 00:52:30.320 --> 00:52:33.119 upper sort of arm and shoulder. A whimpering 00:52:33.119 --> 00:52:35.139 sounds behind you, and you turn to see that woman 00:52:35.139 --> 00:52:37.639 and child. They were just behind you in line, 00:52:37.699 --> 00:52:40.699 cowering together under your protection. What? 00:52:40.739 --> 00:52:42.380 Tears run down their cheeks. What? They are not 00:52:42.380 --> 00:52:47.380 crying now. They just look confused. Jules. A 00:52:47.380 --> 00:52:50.280 burning pain in your sort of waist, kind of like 00:52:50.280 --> 00:52:53.780 down in your side, and you have taken five points 00:52:53.780 --> 00:52:57.559 of damage. What? A large gash in you. The stirred 00:52:57.559 --> 00:52:59.380 sword is in your hand, positioned in a forward 00:52:59.380 --> 00:53:02.340 thrust, like you've just moved your leg sort 00:53:02.340 --> 00:53:04.960 of out in this sort of reaching step. You feel 00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:07.400 Chester behind you, sort of like pressed up by 00:53:07.400 --> 00:53:10.219 your back, his crossbow raised and loaded, and 00:53:10.219 --> 00:53:12.539 Akio stands nearby, growling over the blade in 00:53:12.539 --> 00:53:15.320 his mouth. He stops growling, though, and then 00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:16.900 looks around as if trying to figure out what 00:53:16.900 --> 00:53:20.559 he was growling at. The guard that stopped you, 00:53:20.579 --> 00:53:23.820 the woman, lies somewhere between you both, Blanche 00:53:23.820 --> 00:53:26.519 and Jules. Her body covered in blood and large 00:53:26.519 --> 00:53:30.840 gashes. She is not moving, not breathing. You 00:53:30.840 --> 00:53:33.659 see two of the guards at the gate are sort of, 00:53:33.659 --> 00:53:35.739 again, their weapons, sort of out looking around, 00:53:35.920 --> 00:53:39.820 confused, nervous. One of them sits propped up 00:53:39.820 --> 00:53:41.760 against the stone wall beside the gate, their 00:53:41.760 --> 00:53:44.920 neck a fresh gushing wound, a trail of blood 00:53:44.920 --> 00:53:47.980 soaking the wall behind them in a streak down 00:53:47.980 --> 00:53:50.780 to their bodies. And you can see around them 00:53:50.780 --> 00:53:53.239 enormous gouges have been torn from the stone 00:53:53.239 --> 00:53:57.000 of the wall. And there is stone all around you, 00:53:57.059 --> 00:53:59.900 too, cracking, crumbling stone, falling apart 00:53:59.900 --> 00:54:03.340 but looking as though it has just held some shape. 00:54:03.820 --> 00:54:07.420 What? Crackling, but looks like it used to hold. 00:54:07.460 --> 00:54:10.000 Cracking. Cracking crumbling. It's stone, almost 00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:11.960 like it's sort of you look down and see a vague 00:54:11.960 --> 00:54:15.519 shape before it dissolves into just this rubble. 00:54:17.519 --> 00:54:22.400 You stand here, hurt, confused, wondering what 00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:26.599 the hell just happened. It's like you just fought 00:54:26.599 --> 00:54:31.320 for your very lives, and you don't remember a 00:54:31.320 --> 00:54:33.880 thing. And we'll call it there.