WEBVTT 00:00:03.050 --> 00:00:05.389 Hey, Pants people. I just wanted to stop real 00:00:05.389 --> 00:00:07.610 fast and say thank you so much for listening. 00:00:07.910 --> 00:00:10.929 We love getting to know you guys and interacting 00:00:10.929 --> 00:00:14.050 with you, whether it's on the Discord, social 00:00:14.050 --> 00:01:00.170 media, anywhere. So this one's for you. speakers 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:04.310 have, well, spoken. I am so very glad to announce 00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:07.290 that Atash, our number one luminary and speaker 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:09.430 for Anchor and Sengar, is going to be taking 00:01:09.430 --> 00:01:12.390 the reins of our luminary adventurers. Now, right 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:13.950 now, this might seem a bit sudden and confusing, 00:01:14.109 --> 00:01:17.150 so I want to make this very, very clear. The 00:01:17.150 --> 00:01:19.849 luminaries aren't going anywhere, and they aren't 00:01:19.849 --> 00:01:22.329 going to be serving as any sort of citadel military 00:01:22.329 --> 00:01:26.189 force. And if anyone says different, they're 00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:29.750 full of something sticky. No, indeed, your favorite 00:01:52.679 --> 00:01:58.930 And great news! More great news. Autosh has already 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:02.409 made his first cuts to the station. Blanche Trudeau, 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:06.430 Jules LaRoche, Dresden Kellig, Sean Franklin 00:02:06.430 --> 00:02:10.509 Montelio, Emin Rath, and the Mage Smith are no 00:02:10.509 --> 00:02:13.250 longer considered agents of the Citadel and should 00:02:13.250 --> 00:02:16.969 be considered as nobodies. Hate them, ignore 00:02:16.969 --> 00:02:19.430 them, do whatever you want with them, as long 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:26.240 as you don't listen to a word they say. I hate 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:29.360 you, Rune. Threw the mage smith in there, huh? 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.580 Just for good measure. I'm sorry, Andrew. I had 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:35.280 to do it. I know you're not tickling at the table, 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.639 but I shouldn't be able to punish you. Pence 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:40.639 people, revolt. Look, as the arbiter of all things 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:42.419 action and consequence, I got to remind you all, 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.659 everyone here, that the mage smith proclaimed 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:47.319 loyalty to the justice undying movement on the 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:49.000 final episode of The Morning Jewel. Right out 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.259 there. He said it. Had to be done. He was noticed. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.419 does not mean he's out of the fight. Much like 00:02:56.419 --> 00:02:59.960 our beloved PCs and sidekicks and all that, he's 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:01.580 just going to have a harder time joining the 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:06.699 fight. So, yeah. Yeah, I'm coming after all of 00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:08.539 you. I don't care if you're in this room, if 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:11.139 you're in this country, I'm coming after you. 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:16.800 I don't care. I don't care. But before we get 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:18.479 into the show, we've got to talk about a few... 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:20.000 Pretty cool things. You want to have some cool 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.159 things? Yeah. A lot of really cool things. Cool 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.800 things. Cool things. First things first. I mentioned 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.639 it a few weeks ago. The ugly coyote being designed 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:29.520 by John. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude, it's here 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.340 right now. Check out his YouTube. Seriously, 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:34.020 get on there. I don't know if it's up there yet, 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:36.759 but he took a bunch of videos that he's been 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:38.539 posting on there. So keep your eyes on Crow's 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:41.340 Nest Crafts on YouTube because this thing is 00:03:41.340 --> 00:03:45.439 insane. Fully built, painted. We got the sign 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.509 hanging. We got the saloon door. that you guys 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:52.250 broke off. Fucking animals. The inside's fully 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:54.370 furnished. Yeah, it's furnished. Everything is 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:58.270 painted. Everything is like shaded. Dude, I can't. 00:03:58.349 --> 00:04:00.949 I look at it and I don't believe that it exists. 00:04:01.129 --> 00:04:04.330 It's just like so beautiful. It's unreal. People 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:09.009 who are passionate about things can do unbelievable, 00:04:09.009 --> 00:04:12.349 incredible things. Yeah. It is my favorite fact 00:04:12.349 --> 00:04:17.120 about the human race. Yeah, it's breathtaking. 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:19.920 It's really stunning. It's really something. 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.220 Words can't do justice. Seriously. So, yeah, 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.079 when John on Crow's Nest Craft posts whatever 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:30.759 he's going to post about it, we'll share it for 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:33.399 sure. Give him a lot of love. Yeah, definitely. 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:36.079 Get on that TikTok. Get on that Instagram. Get 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.079 on that YouTube. Go do the TikTok toes and find 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:43.209 Crow's Nest Craft. And keep your eyes out for, 00:04:43.290 --> 00:04:45.350 I don't know, maybe some potential future collabs. 00:04:45.629 --> 00:04:50.790 I'm not saying too much, but yeah. Thank you, 00:04:50.810 --> 00:04:54.250 John. Thank you so much, John. Freaking much. 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:56.829 Fucking cool as hell. And we've got to keep things 00:04:56.829 --> 00:04:58.610 going tonight. We've got to keep it going because 00:04:58.610 --> 00:05:01.910 Matthew, Matthew's Nerd Nation, has also been 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:05.290 hitting us up with crazy stuff. We had a little 00:05:05.290 --> 00:05:08.870 minute ago, and we haven't quite... We haven't 00:05:08.870 --> 00:05:11.370 talked about it yet, but Mr. Wolf, you in particular 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:19.370 got a little package. Package. Package. I was 00:05:19.370 --> 00:05:25.050 sent the Buffy the Vampire Slayer role -playing 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:27.579 rulebook. Boy loves his Buffy. Holy shit. I did 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:29.980 not know that was a thing. I did not know that 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.800 was a thing. What a find. What a wild find. Seriously. 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.600 For real. That is so fucking cool. Thank you. 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:37.980 Thank you. Thank you. It was amazing. Some dice 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:40.240 came with it. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:42.899 You didn't see these? No. Oh, yeah. Look at that. 00:05:42.939 --> 00:05:45.100 What the hell? The D6s. It's really cool. But 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:47.019 they're Ghostbusters. 3D printed D6s. Get out. 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.579 Oh, yeah. Oh, Matthew loves his Ghostbusters. 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:52.550 Oh, 100%. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude. If 00:05:52.550 --> 00:05:53.990 you're in the North Country and you see someone 00:05:53.990 --> 00:05:56.149 going around with, like, the full -on Ghostbuster 00:05:56.149 --> 00:05:58.709 ton blaster. Full -ton blaster. Yeah, fuck yeah. 00:05:58.889 --> 00:06:02.410 You know who it is. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's wild. 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:05.569 Got a note here. Who wants to read this note? 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:08.389 You can do it. You got it open. All right. I'll 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:11.189 have to do a voice. Yeah, of course. Do the Gabby 00:06:11.189 --> 00:06:17.089 voice. Of course. No one. I've done enough voices 00:06:17.089 --> 00:06:19.509 lately. I'm going to give the pants people a 00:06:19.509 --> 00:06:23.839 break. Hey, David, Stephen, and Jeremy. I had 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:25.259 said something about this book to Stephen, and 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:27.439 he said Jeremy would love it, so I'm sending 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.300 it along. Yep. Also, find three of my 3D -printed 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:32.899 Ghostbusters dice, one for each of you. When 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:36.199 rolling it, and you roll a ghost, a six, hilarity 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.439 of some sort must ensue. We'll find a use for 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:40.660 that. Thanks for bringing such awesome content 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:43.959 to my local area, and we'll call it there. Oh, 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.660 hell yeah. That's cool, that's cool. PS, working 00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:49.879 on a 3D print project to add more to your dice 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.019 pool. That's interesting. I actually know what 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:54.399 that is. I know a different one. Well, yes, we 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.660 know about the buttons. Yeah, Mike just messaged 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:59.420 me. Hammer on the Discord. So many people. Mike 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:01.959 just messaged me and told me that he is currently... 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:02.860 So many people on the Discord. You should check 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:06.019 it out. Shut up. He's got our buttons. He's got 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:09.279 our 3D printed fancy pants of buttons. If you 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:10.800 want some of those, where could someone go to? 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:14.000 Get a hold of Matthew. You would literally have 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:15.560 to go to the Discord. And if you're not on the 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.500 Discord, I can't imagine why. But yeah, Matthew 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:24.699 has taken orders. And I don't want to speak for 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:26.800 Matthew. This could be 10 years in the future 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:28.720 when Matthew doesn't care anymore or whatever. 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:32.360 But, you know, right at this immediate moment, 00:07:32.459 --> 00:07:36.720 he's like, hey, if you want. Send me your address, 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:38.379 pay for shipping, and I'll send you one of these 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:42.420 buttons. Super, super kind. Like, great move. 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:46.860 Love it. I'm very excited to get ours. Maybe 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:48.740 tomorrow, the next time we see Mike, I think. 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:50.980 Yeah. I think Mike has them. Yeah, because Mike 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:52.740 and Matthew are playing a game together. And 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:57.060 yeah, so. Nice. That's the hope. Nice. That's 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.720 the dream. That's the dream, baby. Hold on, hold 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:01.439 on, hold on, hold on. What? Which one of these 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:03.160 D6s is going to be mine? There's a gray one, 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:04.360 there's a white one, and there's a blue one. 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:05.879 I know which one I want to have. Which one do 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:07.560 you want to have? I want to hear what you guys. 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:09.540 It was sent to you, Jeremy. I think you should 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:12.740 pick. Blue. Blue for Jeremy. Blue for Jeremy. 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:17.079 Steven, gray or white? You pick. I'm taking the 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:18.740 gray. Taking the gray? That's great. I wanted 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:21.519 the white. Gray feels more even. It all works 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.519 out. I'm going to roll these and make ghosts 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:25.100 happen to you. It's going to be awesome. I'm 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:26.439 going to make ghosts happen. I'll roll mine. 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:27.879 Yeah, let's all do a roll through our dice towers. 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.840 Ooh. Oh, no, that's a one. Sorry. I got a two. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.120 I got a two. The one has a circle around it, 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:37.940 so I was so excited because from afar I thought 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:40.440 it was the Ghostbusters logo. And I was like, 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:41.679 oh, God, what am I going to do? That's goofy. 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:45.559 Hell yeah. Yeah, these are great. Oh, and they 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:49.759 sound like ping pong balls. I won again. I got 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.700 a loaded die. God damn it. You guys want to get 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:55.100 to the main event? Yeah. Enough of the riffraff, 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:56.940 enough of the fluff. Let's get to the main event. 00:08:58.129 --> 00:09:00.830 But before we get to the main event, something 00:09:00.830 --> 00:09:02.669 else. You're right. A lot of stuff. Another big 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:06.370 thing. Cool announcement. Mr. Wolf, in what I 00:09:06.370 --> 00:09:08.610 think historians will be calling the year of 00:09:08.610 --> 00:09:11.909 the wolf many years from now, another major development 00:09:11.909 --> 00:09:17.029 has occurred. Jim, what's going on? Well, I'm 00:09:17.029 --> 00:09:20.730 sorry to inform you guys that this week, as of 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:22.509 this week, I will no longer be working at Reckless 00:09:22.509 --> 00:09:24.929 with you guys. You son of a bitch! Get him! Get 00:09:24.929 --> 00:09:28.070 him! But I took a really fucking cool job that 00:09:28.070 --> 00:09:31.330 I'm really fucking excited about. It's the operations 00:09:31.330 --> 00:09:33.649 manager for our local community theater. That's 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:37.590 so cool. Yeah. Getting back to his roots, Mr. 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:41.830 Wolf. Well, cheers to that. Cheers. My beer's 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:44.490 over there. Go get your beer. I'm walking away. 00:09:44.669 --> 00:09:47.690 You have a beer? Oh, hell yeah. I'm taking my 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:51.309 computer with me. Cheers. To new beginnings. 00:09:52.789 --> 00:09:54.309 So I'm going to be really, really sad not to 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:55.809 work with you guys and see you guys every single 00:09:55.809 --> 00:10:00.070 day. That's the tough part. Yeah, but the good 00:10:00.070 --> 00:10:01.889 thing is we have a bunch of other stuff. Anyone 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:06.129 local here who's a fan of Mr. Jeremy Wolf, look 00:10:06.129 --> 00:10:07.710 in the theater up. Check out some productions. 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:09.990 Know that he is working behind the scenes. His 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:13.789 Jeremy ass off. Make those things happen. If 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.350 you're up in the North Country, Crucible starts 00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:19.080 in a week and a half. I'll be there. Check it 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.220 out. I'll be there. Hell yeah. I don't know what 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.100 it is, but I'll be there. Actually, you might 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:25.940 really love The Crucible. Okay. It's about the 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:27.600 Salem witch trials. That sounds great. Yeah. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.759 That's my shit. Yeah, those were fun. I wish 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:40.080 I was there. All right, main event time. You 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:43.820 remember this? No. That's how I lost. I lost. 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:46.799 We'll call it there. Lost is pretty good. It 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:48.940 was pretty good. Oh, did you end up finishing 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:51.799 it? I did. It's over. We finished it. Thank God 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:53.799 it's over. Yeah, no, it was great. It was a good 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:57.179 time. Last season, you know, slow at the start, 00:10:57.299 --> 00:11:00.080 but boy, did that ending hit. Love the show. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.559 Yeah. Yeah. A lot of answer questions. I can 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:06.519 see where there could be some. I know this show 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:08.480 has a very mixed legacy. I won't go too deep 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.879 because Steven will kill me. I've already checked 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:13.299 out. You guys can do whatever you want. My realization 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:15.820 watching Lost is that Lost is the American Doctor 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:20.309 Who. I don't need to elaborate. Yeah. Yeah. That's 00:11:20.309 --> 00:11:22.710 my review. Yeah. My review of Lost, four to five 00:11:22.710 --> 00:11:26.509 stars, American Doctor Who. All right, that was 00:11:26.509 --> 00:11:27.809 the main event. You guys want to play some games? 00:11:28.009 --> 00:11:29.929 Can I start paying attention again now? Yeah, 00:11:29.929 --> 00:11:32.009 get back in here. Okay. You're never paying attention. 00:11:32.029 --> 00:11:35.389 What are you talking about? Let's get into this. 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:41.669 Let's get into this. We open a tower of ashy 00:11:41.669 --> 00:11:44.230 stone carved with elaborate images of local flora 00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:47.080 and fauna. Local, of course, too. Tlaltepec, 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:50.360 dancing at the base of great mountains. Standing 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:52.759 upon a small mountain itself, the narrow form 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.500 of the Twin Gods Observatory is about 120 feet 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:59.519 high from its base. Behind and around it, we 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:01.940 see the landscape of Tlaltepec. To the west, 00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:04.480 the plain of Metzli spans a great distance, holding 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.389 the city of Xochotl. safe and unshaken by tectonic 00:12:07.389 --> 00:12:10.269 dangers. North of this, we catch a remarkable 00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:13.009 view of the namesake of this tower, the rather 00:12:13.009 --> 00:12:16.409 popular Twin Gods volcanoes, two mountains matched 00:12:16.409 --> 00:12:18.990 in size, both spewing a slow haze from their 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:22.490 summits. Beyond them and all around us, the expanse 00:12:22.490 --> 00:12:25.909 of forest is broken as the land slows up into 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:30.360 lines of craggy peaks. Now the watchers... Of 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:31.720 the ashes. That's what they're called, right? 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:34.460 I don't know. Do not live inside the tower, but 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:36.519 rather in a camp of colorful tents and wagons 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:39.200 that surround it. When you return to the camp 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.059 with Zopa, you are treated to a warm campfire 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:44.360 and some bottles of agave wine and mugs of hot 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:47.519 spiced cacao. You're also offered a humble feast 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.799 of rice stuffed peppers and a hearty bean stew. 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.360 I don't know if you guys want to partake in these. 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:55.100 You tell me. You guys are going to sit down and 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:56.940 eat with these guys? You want to get on your 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:01.100 way? I mean, yeah, after a battle, Blanche is 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:03.259 starving. You guys have one level of exhaustion. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:04.799 You guys are pretty beat up right now. Yeah. 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:07.340 Well, that's the thing. I was looking at it earlier, 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.899 and in order to recover that level of exhaustion, 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.779 you have to have food and drink during a long 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:16.779 rest or something like that. Hey, okay. Nice. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.340 I'm hoping that this helps out as our food and 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:21.600 drink during a long rest. I'm going to count 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.210 it. I'm going to count it. Nice. Hell yes. You 00:13:25.210 --> 00:13:27.350 guys are enjoying this. You're joining the company 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:29.850 of the Watchers with the most recent ash rise 00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:32.049 quelled. You find the Watchers are pretty jovial. 00:13:32.129 --> 00:13:33.470 You know, they're fun. They have an absolute 00:13:33.470 --> 00:13:36.690 love and respect for their fearless leader. And 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:38.730 I should say the magnificent Magma Queen herself, 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:43.169 as Oprah reborn, has gone by herself to the observatory, 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:46.110 sort of lost in thought. You know, she awaits 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:49.929 your presence inside, but there is no rush. so 00:13:49.929 --> 00:13:52.590 so can you help me with the timeline between 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:58.450 like where we are right now the um proclaimment 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:01.370 whatever the words are that rune just put out 00:14:01.370 --> 00:14:04.409 yes and you know like are we sitting there and 00:14:04.409 --> 00:14:06.690 we know that like we're ostracized now this is 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:09.269 actually a fun thing uh uh weirdly enough that 00:14:09.269 --> 00:14:11.929 little ditty at the beginning happens a little 00:14:11.929 --> 00:14:15.429 later in this episode because You'll see later 00:14:15.429 --> 00:14:17.389 on there'll be a timeline issue if it was to 00:14:17.389 --> 00:14:19.590 happen actually after the events of the last 00:14:19.590 --> 00:14:21.889 episode but before this one. Right, right. Yeah. 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:25.230 After your combat, it probably took you around. 00:14:25.350 --> 00:14:27.950 From where you stopped when you escaped from 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:30.409 Jade Mountain, the Gate of Illumination, you 00:14:30.409 --> 00:14:33.389 flew for as long as you could and you probably 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:35.710 had your spell recast on you for about 17 miles. 00:14:35.990 --> 00:14:38.919 So it probably took you... you know, two to three 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.899 hours to reach this point now. Okay. The day 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:43.720 is getting long. I think it's honestly like you 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:45.700 were saying, the sun means the sink and the mountains 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:48.759 are burning in a very different way now as sunset 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:54.360 backlights. Blanche has a full serving of the 00:14:54.360 --> 00:15:00.700 food that's being served before refilling, grabbing 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:06.799 a second bowl for Zopa and heading towards. Where 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.820 soap is waiting for us. Hell yeah. Damn. Have 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:12.600 you had enough to eat, Jules? Yeah, I'll be all 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:17.639 right. I think Jules eats just enough to feel 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:22.340 okay and take away the exhaustion point. We'll 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:24.299 call it. We'll call it. Take away your exhaustion. 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:26.320 You're resting for a bit. You're getting some 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:27.980 food and drink. I know you need a long rest, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.600 but that's going to happen anyway, so we can 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.240 cut those exhaustion points out. I will say as 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:33.960 you're kind of getting up and you're moving away, 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:38.139 you just kind of hear a as Akio just like flops 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.320 onto his back. His stomach's like bulging. He's 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.620 eating so much food. And you see he's just dog 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:45.240 snoring so hard right by like a nice little campfire. 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:50.159 His legs are moving. He's chasing something. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:54.139 All right. If he's asleep, I was going to jokingly 00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:56.360 tell him to guard the fire as we walked away. 00:15:58.389 --> 00:15:59.990 That's fine. He can stay there. He can do that. 00:16:00.090 --> 00:16:03.710 Just the happiest little dog. Good. He earned 00:16:03.710 --> 00:16:06.990 it. He earned it. He earned it. Guy put in work. 00:16:07.870 --> 00:16:10.610 Seriously. You guys are going to the tower then, 00:16:10.649 --> 00:16:13.649 huh? Go see Zopa. Let's go. You step away from 00:16:13.649 --> 00:16:15.409 the camp. Nobody moves to stop you. They just 00:16:15.409 --> 00:16:17.850 kind of watch, nodding, a couple cheers from 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:22.179 behind. And you go to the tower. You enter the 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:24.240 first floor. You see most of the tower itself 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:27.779 is hollow and barren with a spiral stone staircase 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:30.419 rising besides carvings depicting volcanic events 00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:34.039 and smoke formations. There's a sort of rounded 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.419 gate resting on the floor at the tower's base. 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:40.139 Doors of heavy stone. You can feel a notable 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:43.059 warmth sort of emanating from them. You see chains 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:45.120 lay slack upon the floor connecting the handles 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.639 of this gate to a pulley system along the wall. 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:50.169 And I imagine from what you've been told that, 00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:51.370 you know, they probably talked about themselves, 00:16:51.470 --> 00:16:54.990 the Watchers. When these doors, the base of this, 00:16:55.049 --> 00:16:58.309 are opened, a magma cavern beneath the observatory 00:16:58.309 --> 00:17:00.710 releases a steady smoke that the Watchers can 00:17:00.710 --> 00:17:03.070 read to learn of possible upcoming surges and 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:05.430 dangers throughout the volcanoes of Teletepec. 00:17:06.170 --> 00:17:08.930 The smoke, however, did not warn them of the 00:17:08.930 --> 00:17:12.230 death throes of Paladine. It was only a happy 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:13.990 accident. They were near enough. It's a fun name. 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:18.920 It's cool. Shut up. Don't snicker at me. There's 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:20.900 only a happy accident there close enough basically 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:22.799 to react to the sudden eruption of Jade Mount 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.339 and stop those surges from reaching other volcanoes. 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:30.279 So it was a close call, but it all worked out, 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:34.200 right? For now. For now. It's a very good answer 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:38.019 because this was the seventh ash rise. How long 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:40.980 can they keep? They almost missed this one. You 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:43.059 have to think. You see these people outside. 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:45.640 You see them so jovial. You see them at rest. 00:17:46.509 --> 00:17:49.109 And you realize that this is the guard that keeps 00:17:49.109 --> 00:17:53.029 absolute doomsday at bay. People who have to 00:17:53.029 --> 00:17:55.089 be worried all the time that that could happen 00:17:55.089 --> 00:17:57.009 again and that they'll be a little bit too late 00:17:57.009 --> 00:18:01.269 next time to stop it. You climb the stairs. Yeah, 00:18:01.369 --> 00:18:05.559 a bowl in each hand. Hell yeah. As you reach 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:06.980 the top, probably a little awkward, you're trying 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.460 to like, there's no guardrails anyway, but you're 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:10.460 just carrying the heavy bowls. As you go up and 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:12.259 up, you realize the stairs are so dangerous. 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.140 I think Jules is walking behind Blanche with 00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:18.039 his arms and hands up, waiting for either the 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:22.559 bowls or her to fall backwards. When you guys 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.220 finally reach the top and you step out into the 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:28.039 sort of open observatory, just totally open to 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:31.859 the sort of... expanse outside. You can see the 00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:33.980 mountains. You can see the twin gods. And you 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:37.819 can see Zopa. You see she's staring out over 00:18:37.819 --> 00:18:40.039 the landscape as you approach. Her braids and 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:43.680 dress billowing in a warm breeze. Her eyes are 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:45.720 locked onto those twin volcanoes to the north. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:50.220 And as you step in, I think you just hear her. 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:52.799 She doesn't look at you yet, but she just speaks. 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:56.960 I'm sure you have come to realize it. But the 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.039 legends my people tell of heroes transported 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:03.240 to the volcanoes are not entirely accurate. Drakkan. 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:06.519 They're fossils buried within the volcano mountains 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:11.319 that we call gods. Or gateways to the gods, depending 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:14.680 on who you ask. And she turns to face you and 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.559 you see that carefully crafted face of calm like 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:22.160 a porcelain mask has returned to her. The other 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.009 watchers do not know this. But the reason we 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:27.750 were scouting so far to the southeast was so 00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:30.930 I could find you. I had come to learn of your 00:19:30.930 --> 00:19:35.410 arrival on this world, and I was curious. Will 00:19:35.410 --> 00:19:38.289 you tell me of your quest here? Of what occurred 00:19:38.289 --> 00:19:42.609 at Shademount? You mentioned an elemental. She 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:46.789 trails off. Do we trust Zoba? Good question. 00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:50.000 I'm not asking you. I'm asking... I'm asking 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:56.079 Jules. Jules does not. It's safe to say Jules 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.119 does not trust anybody outside of our immediate 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.140 party and our immediate group. Yeah. You don't 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:03.680 know what side of whatever war she lies on. Now, 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:07.279 she implied that she knows what you're about, 00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:10.119 what your intentions are, your greater intentions, 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:13.259 and she wants to offer you advice, what that 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:17.109 means. Hard to say. Sure. One thing's for sure, 00:20:17.170 --> 00:20:19.410 Jules is not going to say anything, and she certainly 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:22.589 knows more about us than we know about her. That's 00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:28.650 very true. Yeah. Obviously, Jules and Blanche 00:20:28.650 --> 00:20:30.390 would have talked about this earlier, whether 00:20:30.390 --> 00:20:32.329 or not they trust Zopa, blah, blah, blah. Right. 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:38.970 So Blanche's answer, well, firstly, is going 00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:44.430 to be to reach out the bowl and offer it. Offer 00:20:44.430 --> 00:20:49.089 it to Zopa. I smile, and she steps very gracefully 00:20:49.089 --> 00:20:52.869 over and takes it from you. Does not eat, though. 00:20:52.950 --> 00:20:55.690 She just puts it down on a nearby sort of table. 00:20:56.730 --> 00:21:01.490 Suffice to say that we came to help an old friend. 00:21:02.930 --> 00:21:06.829 And the elemental you mentioned. Well, we weren't 00:21:06.829 --> 00:21:09.170 expecting an elemental when we showed up to help 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:14.180 our friend there. There it was, and... Well, 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:17.480 we happened to be equipped for that particular 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:25.539 obstacle. This elemental was not of the smaller 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:29.140 variety salamanders, fire snakes I see commonly. 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:34.799 Was it something larger? Also lizard -like in 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:37.880 appearance? Was it dragon -like in appearance? 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:41.539 It was like a giant axolotl. Right, yes, yes, 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:44.940 yes, yes. We have legends in our world of creatures. 00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:50.079 I had a certain fear. I don't see any reason 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:54.059 for us to keep that from her. Yeah. I think Blanche 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:55.940 tells her all about it. You're just going to 00:21:55.940 --> 00:21:58.960 describe it? Yeah, it was this big. It had these 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:07.039 powers. It looked like a giant flaming axolotl, 00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:12.230 if we have those in this world. You see, she, 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:15.690 as you're speaking, she seems to shrink down 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:17.569 a little more as you're describing this thing. 00:22:18.549 --> 00:22:21.029 Again, it's hard to read her, but there's definitely 00:22:21.029 --> 00:22:23.470 something, some conflict, something stirring 00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:29.390 in her eyes, behind her eyes. I have never known 00:22:29.390 --> 00:22:32.730 one. They are supposed to be dormant, sleeping 00:22:32.730 --> 00:22:36.950 since the breaking of the world. If one has awoken, 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:40.170 it is only a matter of time before there are 00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:45.769 more. I am ashamed that this has happened beneath 00:22:45.769 --> 00:22:48.769 my watch. I have trusted too much in the tales 00:22:48.769 --> 00:22:54.509 told in smoke. But no more. Action must be taken. 00:22:55.549 --> 00:22:59.349 Tell me, what do you know of planar absorption? 00:23:01.089 --> 00:23:04.750 This is kind of like... This is more Jules' bag, 00:23:04.849 --> 00:23:07.789 I feel. I think Blanche is going to look to Jules 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:12.329 and kind of shrug and be like... Hey, man. I 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:14.210 don't know how much you want to tell this lady. 00:23:15.009 --> 00:23:18.250 You can roll insight checks, too. Yeah, I think 00:23:18.250 --> 00:23:20.890 that's a good idea. Yeah, I'll roll insight as 00:23:20.890 --> 00:23:22.710 well. I don't think it's going to change Jules' 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:31.349 perspective on this. 14 for Blanche. 14. 17 for 00:23:31.349 --> 00:23:35.509 Jules. 17. 14, hard to read, conflict, something's 00:23:35.509 --> 00:23:39.210 going on. 17. Yeah, you're starting to realize. 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:42.710 There is emotion there, Jules. You're very good 00:23:42.710 --> 00:23:45.329 at reading emotion. You're very good with people. 00:23:46.369 --> 00:23:48.430 And you see this is a person who's very, very 00:23:48.430 --> 00:23:53.930 scared. Jules will just look up, think about 00:23:53.930 --> 00:23:59.549 your worst fears, and that's what happens. The 00:23:59.549 --> 00:24:03.950 clock's ticking. There's a very knowing look. 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:08.200 I think you pierced the heart of her. Even Blanche 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:11.920 can see that mask slip. You can see the fear. 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:16.319 She might even sort of gently raise a hand that 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:19.720 almost touches over her heart. Clutched into 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:23.099 a fist as she continues speaking. My worst fears. 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:26.539 The plane of fire has nearly claimed to let it 00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:31.700 back seven times now. Seven times. We call it 00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:34.960 the ash rise. This inevitable final eruption. 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:40.359 The sacred cycle of death and life broken. While 00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:42.500 my people will speak of this as some religion's 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:46.700 comeuppance and final call of our gods, it is 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:48.440 truthfully just an effect of planar absorption. 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:52.440 Shadrakhan was broken, its fragments displaced 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:55.940 on a planar level. Telethiphek just happens to 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:57.680 be pushing into the plane of fire and that connection 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:01.920 grows more powerful every day. You have traveled 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:03.680 the fragments and so I can see you have seen 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:09.059 stories like this. I am faced with a terrible 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:12.900 choice soon. The people of Tledepec look to me 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:14.920 for guidance in the matter of celestial enforcement. 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:18.200 We are one of the last worlds to hold out against 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:23.400 Atash's will. I do not like him. I know that 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:25.599 he has lied about the fate of Tithos and Umizu. 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.480 He aims to strike fear into our worlds, and he 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.400 has gained power through this fear. Also, I know 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:37.140 of his jealousy towards my reincarnation. I doubt 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:41.220 he will allow me to use my power freely. Yet 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:46.140 I nearly missed this last asherahs. Reading the 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:49.059 smoke, it only does so much. I am nobody gifted 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:52.519 with prophecy. If we invite attached forces into 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:55.579 Talitha Bek, then my people will be that much 00:25:55.579 --> 00:26:02.670 safer. And so, she breathes deep. lowers that 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:08.009 hand, her eyes resetting hard. Today I've decided 00:26:08.009 --> 00:26:12.829 that I will invite them. I must invite them. 00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:19.529 Given two evils, one must pick the lesser. Shit. 00:26:20.470 --> 00:26:22.829 I wanted to ask more about planar absorption, 00:26:22.990 --> 00:26:24.890 but now I feel like this is a way bigger deal. 00:26:26.990 --> 00:26:32.259 Well, I think Blanche is still curious. You questioned 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:36.940 us about planar absorption. Is there still debate 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:41.880 amongst the luminaries at your heights? Only 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.799 the fools debate what is obvious. Every one of 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:49.359 our worlds will fall to it eventually. And there 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:54.220 are no good ways for it to take your world. Horrible 00:26:54.220 --> 00:27:00.200 deaths. And the only plan to... delay the inevitable 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.900 at this point is to invite Artash and his celestials 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:08.599 in. How are we to be sure that they can hold 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.900 it off? They at least can tell when the ash rise 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:16.299 will come. Such an event will proc the Vahri's 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:21.740 prophecy, it must. But they can't stop it, slow 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:24.920 it, halt it for some time, but they cannot stop 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:28.099 it only when our worlds are united again. When 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:31.819 we are pulled from our places, connected into 00:27:31.819 --> 00:27:34.819 the planes, piercing them, only when we all return 00:27:34.819 --> 00:27:41.460 through the Keening Gloom will we be saved. I 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:45.039 think Atash seeks to save us all from planar 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:50.160 absorption. And I think, her eyes scan over both 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:56.559 of you, you seek to save us all from Atash. You 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:58.220 have placed yourselves on a path of challenge 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:00.920 towards Atash. It is a clear thing to those who 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:05.079 are watching. This path you have chosen is impossible 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:09.039 to traverse, and yet, should you succeed, should 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.500 Atash's reign be cut short and his forces return 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:15.220 to anchor in Sengar, what do you think will become 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:18.960 of our worlds? I'm going to be honest, Sopa. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:25.440 We're not sure yet. Does that make you afraid? 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:29.579 What you see is a very genuine smile because 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:31.920 she understands that you are being very genuine 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:38.859 with her. The answer I expected. I troubled you 00:28:38.859 --> 00:28:41.799 with all this and it's not my intent, but I will 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:44.460 tell you why I really asked you here. It will 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:49.259 sound foolish, but I have connected myself with 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:53.720 the powers of this world. I touched the power 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:59.569 of the wild. And so I understand that instinct 00:28:59.569 --> 00:29:03.509 is something one should listen to. I have had 00:29:03.509 --> 00:29:07.170 this feeling in my gut. It has grown stronger 00:29:07.170 --> 00:29:09.109 every time I have heard tales of your heroics 00:29:09.109 --> 00:29:16.690 and misdeeds. A feeling that one day you will 00:29:16.690 --> 00:29:21.130 need to make a choice for all of us. We have 00:29:21.130 --> 00:29:24.329 been a doomed people for a long time. Now perhaps 00:29:24.329 --> 00:29:27.589 we are doomed in a different way. And I wonder 00:29:27.589 --> 00:29:30.990 what the lesser of two evils will be in your 00:29:30.990 --> 00:29:36.430 choice. And I wonder if choosing it will be any 00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:42.089 salvation at all. If there's any consolation, 00:29:42.170 --> 00:29:46.069 we do have lots of experience making decisions 00:29:46.069 --> 00:29:53.089 in the face of certain doom. Ain't that true? 00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:58.289 With that, Jules chimes in. If you give Atash 00:29:58.289 --> 00:30:04.589 even the scrap of control, he will take it all. 00:30:05.789 --> 00:30:11.950 And he will never, ever give it back. I know. 00:30:12.170 --> 00:30:17.309 So, I have decided to gamble. Just a little. 00:30:19.130 --> 00:30:21.920 That's your instinct? It's not a gamble. If you 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:25.960 know the outcome. I don't know the outcome. Yes, 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:28.380 in the short term, Atash will take our world. 00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:32.460 Atash will control me. In doing so, he will protect 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:37.519 my people. But my gamble is this. I hope you 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:42.519 will save us from Atash in the end. I cannot 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:45.539 leave here. The rituals to stop the ash rise 00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:50.420 require me. I cannot leave. And I cannot say 00:30:50.420 --> 00:30:55.089 no. How will you balance the scales if you go 00:30:55.089 --> 00:30:58.769 this path and essentially work against us? Make 00:30:58.769 --> 00:31:02.809 our jobs harder? I will not work against you. 00:31:03.190 --> 00:31:07.369 I will just let... let the gates be open, let 00:31:07.369 --> 00:31:13.849 him in. Please understand, my... I could... And 00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:17.730 she wavers. Here. You can see she wavers. There 00:31:17.730 --> 00:31:20.869 is doubt being planted. This is very interesting. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.380 There's a saying about evil. The greatest evil 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:28.119 is when good people do nothing. But what if the 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.099 ashram should come in a way I cannot predict 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:38.500 again? What then? You gamble. You may roll a 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:42.039 persuasion check here. I want to make this very 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:46.099 clear. You don't know that everything will be 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:49.920 okay. You don't know, and I will probably roll 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:53.259 a die about it, Maybe there's a low chance the 00:31:53.259 --> 00:31:55.339 Asherahs comes from a way that they cannot see. 00:31:55.500 --> 00:31:58.160 Maybe there's a low chance that Atash's presence 00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:01.880 here doesn't save them. You can talk her out 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:05.180 of this. That would be a blow to Atash. One world 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:08.420 holding out might keep other worlds from holding 00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:13.680 out. One little spark of rebellion, but you look 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:16.240 into this woman's eyes and you see a great fear 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:22.019 of what might come. Should she say no? Can Jules 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:25.099 give the help action? Any of you can be the one 00:32:25.099 --> 00:32:27.259 to roll it. Whatever one rolls it also gets a 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:28.960 help action. Which one is it? Persuasion? Persuasion. 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.460 Dude, I have a plus 13. Well, yeah. I mean, there's 00:32:31.460 --> 00:32:34.539 no doubt that Jules should be the one to... Is 00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:38.259 the higher... Yeah. So... I want you to understand. 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:43.269 Mm -hmm. I will roll a die during some time frame 00:32:43.269 --> 00:32:45.869 to see if a bad thing happens. And people are 00:32:45.869 --> 00:32:49.609 going to die because we talk her into not allowing. 00:32:49.630 --> 00:32:51.630 We don't know that. We don't know that. But I 00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:52.829 want you. That's what he's trying to tell us. 00:32:52.829 --> 00:32:55.170 When consequences could potentially happen. I 00:32:55.170 --> 00:32:57.009 don't want you guys to point back and be like, 00:32:57.089 --> 00:32:59.650 you didn't say. I want to make sure you understand. 00:32:59.769 --> 00:33:05.410 I'm sorry. I'm not a nice guy. Here we are trying 00:33:05.410 --> 00:33:09.779 to do all the right things. Yeah, in Jules' head, 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:15.420 not doing anything, like... You've seen a future. 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:21.339 A prophecy gifted to you by Salome. And maybe 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:25.039 that world is even worse than one torn to scorched 00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:28.920 earth and ash. You stare at two different doomsdays. 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:34.160 So can all of what Blanche said be the help action 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:37.619 and Jules' smoldering face be the... Yeah. You 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:44.059 both said big things. 20 on the first. Dirty 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:52.059 20. And 25. 25 was the DC. Oh, my God. Holy shit. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:54.440 I heard 20, and I was like, oh, okay, it's not 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:59.880 set. Wow. We just killed a bunch of people. Yeah, 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:05.039 we did. I don't know. In Jules' mind, he knows 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:09.389 that. Going that route with Atash leads to the 00:34:09.389 --> 00:34:12.630 worst possible outcome ever in all. We'll replay 00:34:12.630 --> 00:34:14.690 this whole conversation. Zopa knows the same 00:34:14.690 --> 00:34:17.829 thing, I think. Yeah. She does. That is a certainty. 00:34:18.190 --> 00:34:22.690 Yeah. We have to go. We go out on fighting. That's 00:34:22.690 --> 00:34:24.590 just what you fucking do. Right. Have some balls 00:34:24.590 --> 00:34:28.449 and say no to the bad guys who you know are bad 00:34:28.449 --> 00:34:33.670 guys. Very well. A different gamble. I will say 00:34:33.670 --> 00:34:38.130 no to him. We will hold. Against his persuasion. 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:43.210 Come fire, come earth tearing apart, we will 00:34:43.210 --> 00:34:47.329 stand strong. We are Teletopec, and we understand 00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:52.570 that destruction only brings opportunity. When 00:34:52.570 --> 00:34:56.590 the smoke rises and you respond, how do you quell 00:34:56.590 --> 00:35:01.090 it? It's a complicated ritual. Many parts to 00:35:01.090 --> 00:35:05.050 it, but basically I... Have my druids imbue myself 00:35:05.050 --> 00:35:10.869 with an empowered spell to calm... It will make 00:35:10.869 --> 00:35:12.670 no sense to you, but to calm the emotions of 00:35:12.670 --> 00:35:16.570 the volcano. I drive myself into the... I fly 00:35:16.570 --> 00:35:22.570 into the caldera and I cast this magic, this 00:35:22.570 --> 00:35:26.289 ritual. It takes at least five to do it. And 00:35:26.289 --> 00:35:29.750 I must take point. Can you train others? Are 00:35:29.750 --> 00:35:33.030 you the only one who can perform it? For now, 00:35:33.190 --> 00:35:37.809 yes. Others are training. It will take time. 00:35:38.670 --> 00:35:42.909 Is there anything that we can do for you or leave 00:35:42.909 --> 00:35:47.349 for you to either help you perform the task or 00:35:47.349 --> 00:35:51.550 help others learn it? I'm trying to think. I 00:35:51.550 --> 00:35:55.809 will take your dog. I did hear at the start of 00:35:55.809 --> 00:35:57.530 the session we might have some downtime coming 00:35:57.530 --> 00:36:04.239 up. I'd ask for your rod of flying, but I'm in 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:07.760 wrath I retook it. No, he gave it back. I saw 00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:11.019 him flying around. Right into a caldera. It's 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:17.039 gone. He melted it. Just singed it. Just merely 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:20.559 singed. Listen back to the episode. Merely singed 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:26.820 it. Now she just kind of shakes her head. Not 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:29.000 that I can think of. If there is any help you 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:33.309 are willing to offer, I will take it. But I believe 00:36:33.309 --> 00:36:37.309 you have your own quest to accomplish. Are we 00:36:37.309 --> 00:36:40.889 rushing off to Letopec? Up to you. You can leave 00:36:40.889 --> 00:36:43.349 whenever you want. If you want time to think 00:36:43.349 --> 00:36:47.230 about it, we can cut away. But really, honestly, 00:36:47.469 --> 00:36:49.469 it is fully up to you what you want to do here. 00:36:49.710 --> 00:36:53.929 You can hang. I mean, Blanche is a teacher, an 00:36:53.929 --> 00:37:01.380 instructor. Usually in the art of... sword fighting 00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:08.360 but if she can help teach and and advance this 00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:13.980 new class of casters who are learning to quell 00:37:13.980 --> 00:37:18.280 the ash rise okay i mean depending on depending 00:37:18.280 --> 00:37:20.380 on how much time blanche thinks she has here 00:37:20.380 --> 00:37:22.559 and now no i like that a lot i like that a lot 00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:25.460 i mean salome knows you got two months before 00:37:25.460 --> 00:37:27.480 shit hits the fan blanche doesn't know anything 00:37:27.480 --> 00:37:30.119 but blanche can hang out here for a minute yeah 00:37:30.489 --> 00:37:32.369 Yep, and we'll see what happens. I like that. 00:37:32.409 --> 00:37:33.329 Jules, you staying with Blanche? Sounds like 00:37:33.329 --> 00:37:35.449 a great use of your time. Yeah, of course. I 00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:37.969 love this. So let's sort of pan away. Perhaps 00:37:37.969 --> 00:37:41.909 we'll go into a montage of you guys hanging out 00:37:41.909 --> 00:37:44.730 here in Paletapec. Both of you are casters. Both 00:37:44.730 --> 00:37:48.610 of you can help to inspire and teach. And if 00:37:48.610 --> 00:37:51.829 you spend time here, I will significantly cut 00:37:51.829 --> 00:37:57.840 down the chances. of Ash Rise. That makes the 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:02.079 whole thing better. For us to come in here and 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:05.679 be like, nah, don't call the guy who's gonna 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:09.039 help you do it and just fucking figure it out 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:11.500 and we leave, that feels shitty. No, I think 00:38:11.500 --> 00:38:13.440 this is cool. There's a cost in time and right 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:15.820 now, you aren't aware of this yet, your characters 00:38:15.820 --> 00:38:19.619 aren't, but time is an enemy to face as well. 00:38:19.739 --> 00:38:22.800 There is a set date now. We will be counting 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:27.170 the days. But for now, we'll leave our heroes 00:38:27.170 --> 00:38:32.389 within the volcanoes of Tlatelpec. Before we 00:38:32.389 --> 00:38:33.889 start moving forward in time, though, I want 00:38:33.889 --> 00:38:39.909 to move to a different place in space. Real quick 00:38:39.909 --> 00:38:41.650 before I get into this next scene, I want to 00:38:41.650 --> 00:38:43.730 add this. I had a kind of funny thought yesterday. 00:38:43.889 --> 00:38:46.789 It's not like canon or anything, but it's kind 00:38:46.789 --> 00:38:48.469 of a cool sort of potential pseudo -canon, like 00:38:48.469 --> 00:38:50.960 maybe it's canon. Which is weird when you're 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:52.679 looking at your own stuff and you're like, oh 00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:56.460 my god, is this a theory? Imagine the Ash Rise, 00:38:56.619 --> 00:38:58.239 right? Imagine there's some prophecy out there 00:38:58.239 --> 00:39:00.880 that's like, our world will fall at Ash Rise. 00:39:01.719 --> 00:39:05.880 But what if a slight mistranslation? Our world 00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:10.320 will fall. Atash rises. Oh, fuck you. Isn't that 00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:12.219 cool? Fuck you. Isn't that cool? I don't know, 00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:15.260 that was cool. That's so gross. That was cool. 00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:19.420 Speaking of Atash and rising. Oh my god. Let's 00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:23.099 cut. That's so nasty. Was it cool? I thought 00:39:23.099 --> 00:39:25.079 it was cool. No, it's great. You just blew my 00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:27.780 brain. I was like, should I put it in the episode? 00:39:27.880 --> 00:39:29.119 Is that canon? I don't know. I just thought it 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:30.500 was a cool thought. It wasn't planned. It just 00:39:30.500 --> 00:39:35.219 hit me. Wow. Speaking of ash rise. Sorry, atash 00:39:35.219 --> 00:39:38.659 rise. Speaking of atash. Rises. Rising. Into 00:39:38.659 --> 00:39:43.860 power. Let's cut back to Salome. Leaving that 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:47.300 meeting behind, standing within just pure cloud 00:39:47.300 --> 00:39:50.400 as you've pushed beyond that chamber, that strange 00:39:50.400 --> 00:39:53.340 extra -dimensional chamber that rests at the 00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:55.820 top of the House of Convalescence. And I want 00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:59.739 to quickly entirely shatter any feelings of grandeur 00:39:59.739 --> 00:40:01.860 villains have as we cut to them standing in a 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:04.500 swirl of dark clouds, waiting for an elevator. 00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:11.460 Big elevator door. It's like floating door just 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:17.860 sitting in the clouds. Just waiting for it. Door 00:40:17.860 --> 00:40:23.639 slides open. Rush of people come out. You got 00:40:23.639 --> 00:40:25.619 to wait for the people to come out before you 00:40:25.619 --> 00:40:28.360 walk in because that's just elevator etiquette. 00:40:28.480 --> 00:40:30.800 Like Atash is standing beside you, Salome, as 00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:34.380 this door opens and he begins to move inside. 00:40:34.440 --> 00:40:37.550 Rude. appearing from out of the cloud his suit 00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:40.329 soaking wet from like sort of cloud uh water 00:40:40.329 --> 00:40:43.670 and he's just like moving in you know and sorry 00:40:43.670 --> 00:40:45.769 no i was gonna say ruin's the type of guy that 00:40:45.769 --> 00:40:47.349 farts in an elevator and doesn't say anything 00:40:47.349 --> 00:40:52.130 and maybe that's the exact reason atash holds 00:40:52.130 --> 00:40:58.699 a hand up towards him take the next one Oh, no. 00:40:58.840 --> 00:41:02.239 Looks kind of sad. Oh, no. I wish to speak with 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:06.619 Salome. Oh, no. Alone. You've ruined my day. 00:41:06.860 --> 00:41:09.699 Oh, just you wait. You've ruined my day. He moves. 00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.059 He actually, he doesn't move. He puts a hand 00:41:12.059 --> 00:41:16.659 out in a lady's first kind of gesture. How polite 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:20.460 of him. Yeah, very polite. Going in? Yes, yeah, 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:23.139 yeah. Salome will dutifully walk into the elevator 00:41:23.139 --> 00:41:28.739 as bid. Tosh follows you in. really big for this 00:41:28.739 --> 00:41:32.519 elevator so it's a little goofy he's huge he's 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:34.980 like a little bit like crouching just destroying 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:38.159 the villain of the show is just like a fucking 00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:41.460 loser now what have i done he just steps in whole 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:46.599 other shifts a little bit um and you see the 00:41:46.599 --> 00:41:48.940 door begins to close and a very angry looking 00:41:48.940 --> 00:41:52.239 rune who just stares out his eyes falling on 00:41:52.239 --> 00:42:03.539 atash then on you It begins to slide down. I 00:42:03.539 --> 00:42:07.119 wanted to apologize for everything we have asked 00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.539 of you. I know it was not an easy thing to speak 00:42:10.539 --> 00:42:15.519 such vulgar lies to the public. Rune's villainy 00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:19.860 is a necessity I wish we could ignore, but it 00:42:19.860 --> 00:42:25.139 is the Sapphire's will. And he is not the only 00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:32.239 one we can call a villain. We, I, have condemned 00:42:32.239 --> 00:42:40.000 innocents to incarceration. A deep sigh. What 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:43.420 the? Our enemies may stand against their own 00:42:43.420 --> 00:42:47.539 salvation, but they are in many ways more righteous 00:42:47.539 --> 00:42:53.579 than we. You feel this huge fatherly hand on 00:42:53.579 --> 00:42:56.760 your shoulder, Salome. What is happening? Stop! 00:42:57.400 --> 00:43:00.559 If what? It serves as comfort and consolation. 00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:05.920 Know that there will be justice for both of us. 00:43:06.500 --> 00:43:10.179 I have asked the Sapphire to punish us appropriately 00:43:10.179 --> 00:43:13.840 in the coming world. The same fate that awaits 00:43:13.840 --> 00:43:17.420 Rune Rusong as well as our other conspirators. 00:43:18.019 --> 00:43:21.619 We will all suffer terribly for what we have 00:43:21.619 --> 00:43:27.500 done and what we will do. To see our worlds saved. 00:43:29.340 --> 00:43:34.179 Ding. The elevator opens and Salome has that 00:43:34.179 --> 00:43:39.139 like broken anime face with like the big eyes 00:43:39.139 --> 00:43:43.199 and a small mouth. Hold on. You feel a gentle 00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:45.840 squeeze almost bodily again just on your shoulder. 00:43:45.900 --> 00:43:51.559 Like just very comforting question mark. Can 00:43:51.559 --> 00:43:53.480 you break it down and explain it to me like I'm 00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:58.340 five? Atash, it seems, you can roll insight, 00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:02.300 feels terrible about everything that's been happening. 00:44:02.440 --> 00:44:08.599 Insight, that's a 19. Oh, no, my insight is wild. 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:15.719 Oh, yeah? 24. You know Atash. Hold on. 22. 22. 00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:19.679 That's how numbers work. Are you sure? Oh, yeah, 00:44:19.699 --> 00:44:22.880 if you don't, yeah, never mind. You know Atash. 00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:25.519 Do you know him as being righteous? You always 00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:28.119 have. Maybe it was surprising for you when you 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:30.760 started to hear these tales of him like, I mean, 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:32.199 you start getting into this and you realize he's 00:44:32.199 --> 00:44:34.059 part of some great conspiracy. He's been lying 00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:36.840 to the world. He pulled this elaborate con along 00:44:36.840 --> 00:44:38.900 with his fellow conspirators to make the world 00:44:38.900 --> 00:44:40.980 believe that they were being pulled into the 00:44:40.980 --> 00:44:43.480 kingdom gloom. They were being destroyed. He 00:44:43.480 --> 00:44:46.460 did this all to spark fear. And this is surprising 00:44:46.460 --> 00:44:51.519 to you because Atash is a heroic figure. You 00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:53.099 remember him giving a speech. You remember him 00:44:53.099 --> 00:44:55.280 diving an anchor in Sengar because he wanted 00:44:55.280 --> 00:44:58.679 to save people from the demons when Kameo wanted 00:44:58.679 --> 00:45:02.539 to just sit back and watch. And maybe things 00:45:02.539 --> 00:45:03.960 are starting to fall into place for you here, 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:07.800 Salome. Yes, he is doing these terrible things. 00:45:08.619 --> 00:45:11.139 But to Atash, this is a sacrifice that must be 00:45:11.139 --> 00:45:17.019 made. And he will punish himself if he must to 00:45:17.019 --> 00:45:20.000 make it up. He is an aspect of... Justice. He 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:22.239 is Kameo's justice. He doesn't believe in the 00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:25.619 means, but he believes in the end. Yes. He believes 00:45:25.619 --> 00:45:28.380 he has soiled himself. He believes he has soiled 00:45:28.380 --> 00:45:32.039 you. And he believes that both of you deserve 00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:36.960 retribution for this. Both of you should suffer. 00:45:37.139 --> 00:45:39.199 Does Salome know what suffering he's referring 00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:41.980 to? You don't, and it's so much worse because 00:45:41.980 --> 00:45:45.480 of it. Yeah, great. But you know a bit about 00:45:45.480 --> 00:45:50.840 the Sky Prison. I think your wings shudder just 00:45:50.840 --> 00:45:54.019 a little bit as you think of what could happen 00:45:54.019 --> 00:46:00.119 should Atta succeed. He walks away. Elevator 00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:02.119 opens, he just walks away. He just leaves. He 00:46:02.119 --> 00:46:04.199 just gives you a gentle squeeze, a little nod, 00:46:04.320 --> 00:46:08.039 and he just steps out, kind of regains his great 00:46:08.039 --> 00:46:10.739 sort of composure, floats, and begins to sort 00:46:10.739 --> 00:46:15.119 of fly gently out of the building. You are standing 00:46:15.119 --> 00:46:18.519 in the lobby of the House of Convalescence in... 00:46:18.880 --> 00:46:22.500 Some level of utter shock. And I need you, Salome, 00:46:22.500 --> 00:46:26.099 to tell me what happens now. Got any big plans? 00:46:26.639 --> 00:46:29.679 Salome, I realize this is an exciting radio. 00:46:29.860 --> 00:46:33.920 Salome needs to take a minute. Like, she's going 00:46:33.920 --> 00:46:40.300 to find a bench or a nice column to lean against 00:46:40.300 --> 00:46:47.500 and kind of watch the world pass by for... a 00:46:47.500 --> 00:46:51.500 few minutes and process, you know, wait for maybe 00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:56.440 a vision or something. You know, they often provide 00:46:56.440 --> 00:47:00.440 context for her. Are you near the elevator when 00:47:00.440 --> 00:47:02.440 you sit down? It's a hospital. There's benches 00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:04.960 everywhere. The first bench. You sit down. The 00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:06.840 closest bench. It's got to be one near the elevator 00:47:06.840 --> 00:47:09.579 bank. And you're just staring into space, waiting 00:47:09.579 --> 00:47:11.980 for something, anything to happen in your mind, 00:47:12.039 --> 00:47:15.420 outside of your mind. No vision comes, just that 00:47:15.420 --> 00:47:18.519 last one of this world casting a black shadow, 00:47:18.619 --> 00:47:21.440 a world that's starting to seem more and more 00:47:21.440 --> 00:47:27.239 inevitable. And as you stare, you hear, ding! 00:47:28.340 --> 00:47:32.639 The elevator opens again, and Rune Russam moves 00:47:32.639 --> 00:47:38.739 out. I will say, he looks to you, kind of scowls, 00:47:38.760 --> 00:47:42.579 and moves. past you as he leaves. Do you have 00:47:42.579 --> 00:47:44.480 any words for Rune? Do you want to stop him? 00:47:44.539 --> 00:47:46.739 This is an opportunity if you want to take it. 00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:51.340 You know, carrying over an insight check you 00:47:51.340 --> 00:47:54.900 made last session, you were kind of tuning into 00:47:54.900 --> 00:47:57.539 what people were all about in that room. Rune 00:47:57.539 --> 00:48:00.260 mentioned at one point that there'll be peace 00:48:00.260 --> 00:48:02.579 when the world's brought together, and he added 00:48:02.579 --> 00:48:06.099 and a prosperity for those that are a part of 00:48:06.099 --> 00:48:08.940 it. Atash speaks of a great sufferance that will 00:48:08.940 --> 00:48:11.860 come for everyone involved. rune doesn't know 00:48:11.860 --> 00:48:15.159 this rune believes that he will right come out 00:48:15.159 --> 00:48:17.380 very rich yeah he believes that there's some 00:48:17.380 --> 00:48:20.280 great reward waiting for him so it's it's like 00:48:20.280 --> 00:48:24.360 super like um eldritch horror where where rune 00:48:24.360 --> 00:48:27.099 thinks he's like summoning fucking cthulhu or 00:48:27.099 --> 00:48:29.760 something yeah exactly you know come and cleanse 00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:31.980 the world in reality he's just gonna get squashed 00:48:31.980 --> 00:48:35.119 like a bug yeah um that's a that's a good way 00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:38.289 to look at it now you could stir the pot There's 00:48:38.289 --> 00:48:40.530 dangers associated with that. There's dangers 00:48:40.530 --> 00:48:43.909 everywhere. And I think if there's one thing 00:48:43.909 --> 00:48:45.929 that comes to you over and over again, Salome, 00:48:45.949 --> 00:48:50.829 is how very, very alone you really are. You are 00:48:50.829 --> 00:48:53.090 so alone. And when you have so much information, 00:48:53.289 --> 00:48:56.869 two months and two months in assault on the incarnates, 00:48:56.869 --> 00:49:01.530 and then that's it. A perfect world, right? Unstoppable, 00:49:01.710 --> 00:49:05.250 right? Is Rune the friend you need? Is there 00:49:05.250 --> 00:49:07.469 someone else out there? Perhaps you think of 00:49:07.469 --> 00:49:09.989 Dresden Kellig, who fought beside you when you 00:49:09.989 --> 00:49:13.150 came to attack Aria, when all this really started. 00:49:14.130 --> 00:49:17.150 Perhaps you think of Jules Laroche, who you saw 00:49:17.150 --> 00:49:20.170 as this rebellious figure and you shared a vision 00:49:20.170 --> 00:49:26.050 with. You took a risk there, Salome. Steven wants 00:49:26.050 --> 00:49:29.329 to say something to Rune and try to break that 00:49:29.329 --> 00:49:36.219 spell that he's under. Salome realizes that she 00:49:36.219 --> 00:49:42.139 has already gone all in more than once, and stepping 00:49:42.139 --> 00:49:46.539 out of line now could just waste everything that 00:49:46.539 --> 00:49:51.400 she's sacrificed. Salome wants to... This is 00:49:51.400 --> 00:49:53.159 probably stupid and crazy and will work for, 00:49:53.199 --> 00:49:59.420 like, two rounds, but follow Rune. Okay. Hmm. 00:49:59.619 --> 00:50:04.150 I... I don't know. I just want to try it. This 00:50:04.150 --> 00:50:07.250 is what happens. You stand up as he begins to 00:50:07.250 --> 00:50:10.909 scowl and walk past you. Now, he is in the House 00:50:10.909 --> 00:50:13.050 of Convalescence. He does not turn towards the 00:50:13.050 --> 00:50:16.510 exit. He instead turns sort of down one of the 00:50:16.510 --> 00:50:19.530 side hallways and begins to move. And you see 00:50:19.530 --> 00:50:21.670 a number of celestials. They're kind of in standing, 00:50:21.889 --> 00:50:25.409 you know, kind of up against the walls, up against 00:50:25.409 --> 00:50:29.289 corners. Four of them. All of them are divas. 00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:33.119 uh much like heronics pale skin very like light 00:50:33.119 --> 00:50:36.780 hair uh all of them step forward and begin to 00:50:36.780 --> 00:50:41.599 follow behind him kind of god damn it i did show 00:50:41.599 --> 00:50:44.579 in our little scene earlier with uh fucking great 00:50:44.579 --> 00:50:48.039 yeah rune has a guard on him four divas great 00:50:48.039 --> 00:50:52.980 divas but you're a you're a pari you could take 00:50:52.980 --> 00:50:56.239 him right a lesser angel last year that's true 00:50:57.639 --> 00:50:59.840 You're kind of a weaker Pari. Weaker but more 00:50:59.840 --> 00:51:03.079 versatile. You're an interesting case. Okay, 00:51:03.179 --> 00:51:06.019 I'm still interested to see where this goes, 00:51:06.059 --> 00:51:10.599 I guess. She'll keep a distance and... Hell yeah. 00:51:11.239 --> 00:51:15.219 Try to see. Does he speak to any of them? He 00:51:15.219 --> 00:51:18.440 does not. They fall in line behind him, and you 00:51:18.440 --> 00:51:20.820 can hear him speaking, but not to them. Very 00:51:20.820 --> 00:51:23.500 low, grumbled. A few curse words come, like, 00:51:23.500 --> 00:51:24.679 echoing towards you as you're kind of slowly 00:51:24.679 --> 00:51:26.659 moving. And, you know, there's other Celestials 00:51:26.659 --> 00:51:29.099 moving around. There's patients. There's sort 00:51:29.099 --> 00:51:31.940 of doctors, physicians, acolytes in robes, and 00:51:31.940 --> 00:51:34.480 you're kind of pushing past them slowly and following. 00:51:35.539 --> 00:51:38.159 Rune doesn't look back. He is very comfortable 00:51:38.159 --> 00:51:40.980 here in his dwellings, and you see he moves down 00:51:40.980 --> 00:51:45.019 a long hall, turns at a corner. It comes to the 00:51:45.019 --> 00:51:47.079 end of the next hall, and you see there is a 00:51:47.079 --> 00:51:52.500 door awaiting him. He steps up to it. You see 00:51:52.500 --> 00:51:57.900 a nameplate, Rune Rusong. It is new, newly placed 00:51:57.900 --> 00:52:00.840 on this door, and you realize that recently, 00:52:01.219 --> 00:52:04.059 you've heard tell, that Rune's office on the 00:52:04.059 --> 00:52:07.239 higher floor has been broken into in a very embarrassing 00:52:07.239 --> 00:52:09.880 manner, and so he's moved himself to the lower 00:52:09.880 --> 00:52:13.219 floors with a little more protection. A little 00:52:13.219 --> 00:52:18.280 more eyes. One of the Celestials steps forward. 00:52:19.599 --> 00:52:23.420 Unlocks the door. Probably just draws out a simple 00:52:23.420 --> 00:52:27.679 sort of magical looking key. Steps inside. Rude 00:52:27.679 --> 00:52:29.400 waits outside with the three others as his room 00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:32.780 is being scanned. Set protocols wherever he goes. 00:52:32.820 --> 00:52:35.579 He's a very important man. But you know where 00:52:35.579 --> 00:52:39.039 his office is. Do you want to make a move? Say 00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:43.699 hi? No, it's not. There's nothing to gain. There's 00:52:43.699 --> 00:52:50.239 too much risk. You think you'd know. Rune's guards 00:52:50.239 --> 00:52:53.880 did not go upstairs for that meeting. One little 00:52:53.880 --> 00:52:59.199 thing playing in your mind. All the Pari know 00:52:59.199 --> 00:53:01.539 of a coming future. They don't know that Atasha's 00:53:01.539 --> 00:53:03.739 a part of it. They've seen visions. They don't 00:53:03.739 --> 00:53:05.940 know how this is going to come to be. Just this 00:53:05.940 --> 00:53:09.440 potential reality that might happen. On top of 00:53:09.440 --> 00:53:12.809 that... You believe you're the only Celestial 00:53:12.809 --> 00:53:16.690 out of all of them that is fully aware of Atash's 00:53:16.690 --> 00:53:19.889 full plan. Thinking about it, this conspiracy 00:53:19.889 --> 00:53:25.130 must be very tight -knit. Atash, Rune Rusong, 00:53:25.409 --> 00:53:30.510 the Sapphire, of course, this Kejau Kamal, the 00:53:30.510 --> 00:53:33.750 founder of the Crystal Network, and Captain Commander 00:53:33.750 --> 00:53:36.789 Ariat. These are the only names you've heard 00:53:36.789 --> 00:53:39.650 really deeply associated with what is coming. 00:53:40.799 --> 00:53:44.940 These guards don't know what they're protecting. 00:53:47.280 --> 00:53:50.000 To just walk up and be like, hey guys, let me 00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:52.559 show you the reality. I'm not saying that you 00:53:52.559 --> 00:53:54.059 should do anything. I'm just telling you what 00:53:54.059 --> 00:53:59.260 Salome knows. Because there's a lot. With all 00:53:59.260 --> 00:54:03.599 that in mind, Salome will watch as Rune enters 00:54:03.599 --> 00:54:07.940 into his office. Two guards go in. Two guards 00:54:07.940 --> 00:54:10.480 stay outside the door. The door closes. And you 00:54:10.480 --> 00:54:14.420 hear it lock. She steps back into the crowd and 00:54:14.420 --> 00:54:20.039 disappears. As Salome perhaps reappears on the 00:54:20.039 --> 00:54:23.280 outside of the House of Convalescence, stepping 00:54:23.280 --> 00:54:27.139 out into the Radiant Citadel, something interesting 00:54:27.139 --> 00:54:31.960 happens. Now, this is kind of a fun little thing 00:54:31.960 --> 00:54:34.400 that Zila and I were talking about. I think this 00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:37.619 is very interesting. Salome, you put a secret 00:54:37.619 --> 00:54:39.860 message in that last speech. You put the words 00:54:39.860 --> 00:54:42.320 justice undying in that speech, and I did not 00:54:42.320 --> 00:54:47.300 see. But on the Discord, Zila saw. Join the Discord. 00:54:47.559 --> 00:54:51.159 Join the Discord. And so I think that opens up 00:54:51.159 --> 00:54:54.039 a very interesting possible tool to help you 00:54:54.039 --> 00:55:00.739 as you feel a voice in your mind. I don't want 00:55:00.739 --> 00:55:04.960 to speak for a character that is not mine. So 00:55:04.960 --> 00:55:10.300 I will summarize. This voice. A psychic connection 00:55:10.300 --> 00:55:14.519 between you and someone. I think you feel their 00:55:14.519 --> 00:55:18.340 presence. Someone called Shrike. A luminary. 00:55:18.860 --> 00:55:23.420 But one that seeks to help the justice undying 00:55:23.420 --> 00:55:26.500 movement. One that has seen you for what you 00:55:26.500 --> 00:55:30.300 really are. Who you're really loyal to. Is offering 00:55:30.300 --> 00:55:35.670 to send a message between you. And others. Should 00:55:35.670 --> 00:55:41.510 you want to meet? Yeah, Salome... Salome definitely 00:55:41.510 --> 00:55:45.130 would jump at the opportunity to send a message 00:55:45.130 --> 00:55:50.190 to Jules LaRoche. Hell yeah. What kind of message 00:55:50.190 --> 00:55:52.590 do you want to send? Is there a place in mind 00:55:52.590 --> 00:55:55.510 to meet? Will you wait to see if they choose? 00:55:56.670 --> 00:55:59.809 So what are the mechanics of this message? Someone's 00:55:59.809 --> 00:56:02.570 going to get back to me? This is... To Salome? 00:56:03.159 --> 00:56:08.360 Pull this up. So he whispers, Shrek is a Tawasee 00:56:08.360 --> 00:56:10.559 Telb. Have a communication between you and her. 00:56:11.840 --> 00:56:14.579 So for some hours, basically, she can speak to 00:56:14.579 --> 00:56:17.119 you. And you know she can just find you and open 00:56:17.119 --> 00:56:20.659 this link again if she needs to. Okay. So what 00:56:20.659 --> 00:56:29.340 Salome will say is, Jules LaRoche, Atash seeks 00:56:29.340 --> 00:56:36.300 to ruin this world. and take all its free will 00:56:36.300 --> 00:56:42.900 from it. If you are a true arbiter of justice, 00:56:43.320 --> 00:56:52.860 I seek to help you. And I don't think that, in 00:56:52.860 --> 00:56:56.000 an effort to gain Jules' trust, she's not gonna 00:56:56.000 --> 00:56:59.599 be like, meet me here at this time, because that 00:56:59.599 --> 00:57:02.889 seems like a trap. Yeah. I think she's going 00:57:02.889 --> 00:57:06.550 to convey that she knows what Atash is up to, 00:57:06.570 --> 00:57:09.050 that Atash is up to bad shit. She doesn't like 00:57:09.050 --> 00:57:12.110 it. If they're against it, she wants to help 00:57:12.110 --> 00:57:15.909 and wait for instructions, wait for a response. 00:57:17.110 --> 00:57:21.829 That message goes out. We fade on those words, 00:57:21.929 --> 00:57:26.570 fade to black. We fade with the knowledge that 00:57:26.570 --> 00:57:30.489 that message finds its way to Teletopec. Finds 00:57:30.489 --> 00:57:33.269 its way. to the Twin Gods Observatory, finds 00:57:33.269 --> 00:57:36.250 its way to the mind and heart of Jules LaRoche, 00:57:36.429 --> 00:57:42.730 and begins a momentum, a moving towards inevitable 00:57:42.730 --> 00:57:48.690 union, a meeting that may decide the fate of 00:57:48.690 --> 00:57:52.329 the world. And we'll call it there.