Hey friends, it's Jeremy. If you're enjoying
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Instagram at FantasyPantsPod. in here with some
breaking news. Reports have come in of a fire
in the Dinsing Night Market on Susulco. Apparently,
a number of businesses were destroyed by the
flames, though thankfully, nobody was hurt. Rumors
of arson have reached the citadel, and a plea
for a luminary adventurer has been filed by the
speakers. With luminary and rafts still on the
hunt for a band of poachers within the jungles,
a new luminary needed to be sent to the world.
Surprisingly, though, this call to action has
been answered by none other than the world's
greatest detective, Sturgeman. Why such a high
-profile luminary has taken up this minor case
is a mystery to me. Needless to say, the folks
of the Denton City Night Market have little to
fear. Now the real hero is on his way. Does storyteller
Oren even know who the fuck we are? Throw in
shade. Seriously. Throwing shade. Seriously.
Fuck that guy. But realistically, he has no idea
who you are. Nobody does. Sturge man, however.
Well, I question his sources, though. It's quite
questionable. It's a media blackout. David, do
you want to talk about hit points or do you want
to talk about NBC's heroes? You know about NBC's
heroes, but we got no time today. I could go
on for one full hour about Siler and the decisions
made around Siler. I was going to say, I can
see his brain short -circuiting right now trying
to decide which one he wants to do. I can put
on a 60 -second timer or a 90 -second timer to
see how much you can cram of heroes into 90 seconds.
Oh my god, this is brilliant. This is fucking
brilliant. Let's see how far I can get. Let's
see how much we can remember about this incredible
villain. Okay, ready? Three, two, one. Okay,
so Siler started off as this pretty great villain
in the first season. He had the ability to steal
other people's powers, right? And he actually
was pretty intimidating, pretty powerful. Ended
up being like, he got defeated at the end of
it though, right? Story there was great. Let
me go into the next seasons. Now. Basically,
they had to kind of continuously find ways to
get rid of Siler because he was too powerful.
So in one season, they're over there, and the
main villain is this other guy who's some other
people's father. And Siler goes and tries to
defeat him, and the guy's like, no, you can't
defeat me because I'm actually your father too.
And Siler's like, okay, cool, I won't defeat
you. And then it's revealed that guy was not
actually his father anyway. It was a fucking
lie. Siler's like, okay, I'll just defeat you
now, and he beat him. And the next season, he
spent the entire season going cross -country
with a little kid to find his real father for
no goddamn reason just so he can get out of the
plot for like six episodes. season they erased
his memories, but replaced them with somebody
else's memories, and then he got amnesia, and
was getting back the wrong memories, and it's
crazy! Do you want us to go time? Yeah, you have
50 seconds. Okay, and then he joined a circus,
and I think he became a good guy, because they
put him in a mental plane for like a while, and
he just kind of like became a good guy suddenly,
and done. That was 60 seconds. That is the arc
of Siler. Can I just say, though, Zachary Quinto
is fucking awesome. Oh, he is incredible. He
was great. I wish the writers did something with
him. He took shit. And he made something halfway
decent out of it. Oh, man. I can't wait to actually
hear that and listen to it because I was just
watching the stopwatch the whole time. Brilliant,
brilliant. Level ups, gentlemen. This is a big
one. Normally, I'm not going to do these spur
of the moment on worlds, right? I wanted to make
it so level ups will happen, generally speaking,
during downtime. To kind of explain why you're
getting different abilities, why you're powering
up. But I felt like this world and the events
on it have been so vital to your characters.
I mean, you've done things. You've pushed yourselves
in different ways that, like, it just makes sense
for you to get stronger now. You hit a small
bit of downtime here anyway. But after all, especially
Zebulon, you were so close to dying. A fluke
of the dice. A two and a three on an advantage
roll to kill you. It didn't work. That was an
intense... intense combat. Yeah. Out of 10 universes,
there are nine where Zebulon is not in this episode.
Yeah, really. I think right now you have both
of you. Creative play. I mean, honestly, the
ideas you had were amazing. Should have given
you a button earlier. My brain was in 1 ,000
places at the time. That's all right. We're going
to shit on you for it anyway. Go ahead. Please,
please. Shit on me because I'm going to shit
on you back. Gentlemen. But you deserve this
level up. So who wants to go first? Because you
just picked your archetypes. This is exciting
shit. Zebulon gets to go first. Zebulon. All
right, sounds good. Tell me about your level
up, and then we'll roll your HP. So I think,
listener, the captain kind of had some premonition
as to what Zebulon was going to do. Oh. He recently
changed his Instagram handle to a swashbuckler
-ish name. Oh, yeah. Zebulon's going swashbuckler
rogue. Nice. So I've got fancy footwork and rakish
audacity. Fancy footwork makes it so that if
I make a melee attack against a creature, that
creature cannot make an opportunity attack against
me for the rest of the turn. So I can strike
somebody and then get out of there. Wow, and
you don't have to blow your bonus action on disengage.
Yeah, I could do like a bonus action dash. I
could go way across the map sort of thing. You
can get your second attack off with your second
weapon. That's really good. Exactly, and I can
really only use half of Rakish Audacity because
the first half allows me to add my charisma modifier
to my initiative roll. Oh, Zebulon's a bad character.
But my charisma modifier is literally negative
one. Oh, no. Here, let me add my negative one
to my initiative. But the second half is huge.
It reads, you don't need advantage on the attack
roll to use your sneak attack damage against
a creature if you are within five feet of it
and no other creatures are within five feet of
you. So if I'm out there solo, I can get my sneak
attack damage in. That's amazing, actually. Yeah,
I know. That's why I picked that. Dang, what's
that look like? Are you just kind of like, you're
just... Getting so good at these one -on -one
fights, you're able to aim for these vital points.
Yeah, he's a duelist now, and he loves the spotlight,
and he soaks it all in. So when it's just him
out there, he's in his element now. I love it.
I love it. That's so cool. Hell yeah. Why don't
you grab a die for me? Oh, that's right. What's
your hit die? It's a D8. D8. It's going to be
about 10 minutes to find a D8. Oh, I got one
of my spectral craft die here. All right, so
to recap, we both roll. Yes. And we take the
highest. Take the highest. And are we re -rolling
ones or not? Sure. Okay. I think we re -rolled
the ones last time. Yeah. I think. I rolled a
three. Three, okay. All right. Let's see what
my Norse Foundry turquoise die has to say about
that. It's a one. Oh, shit. Wait. Wait, do you
want to re -roll it? Oh, yeah, right. It's a
real one. It's a seven. Oh, yes. All right. I'll
fucking take it. Not bad. Zebulon. Almost a good
character now. Almost. So close. That was pretty
clutch. So close. While we're talking about you,
actually, let's bring up your sidekick, Jean
Franklin. I'm leveling him up as well. I'm going
to go for static HP, so basically he's going
to get six HP. He has a D10. He's going to go
in one over the average. So he's going to boost
up to, I believe it's 21 HP. He also gets a nice
little ability called Rebuke Evil. Basically
a sort of AoE fear effect with not the highest
DC to pass, but pretty nifty stuff. It only works
on evil creatures, but hey, it's useful. It's
good. You haven't really been able to test drive
this baby because he's asleep in a tent during
your final battle here. But hey, he's there,
and he'll be there to be used soon enough. I'm
pretty stoked. That means that Jean Franklin
and Zebulon have the same HP. Oh, wow. Yeah.
Which is not bad. Yeah, that was a good roll.
That was a good roll. It really was. Both of
those are currently double my current HP. At
level 2 HP. Yeah. You haven't rolled for 3 yet.
Let's see. Let's talk about that. Jules. Nice
transition, David. Jules. That was pretty good.
That was pretty good. You are a level three bard,
and you got to pick an archetype. I know today
you were going through all of them literally
an hour ago. There are so many colleges that
a bard can be a part of. There are so many colleges.
Oh, my God. And I'm very excited about the one
you chose. Yeah, me too. It's the College of
Creation. Creation. Yeah, I'm pretty stoked.
Yeah, the huge draw for this was a gigantic buff
to my bardic inspiration. Yes. Which I think
is going to be key in a lot of situations. It's
so cool. It's so cool. So the biggest one here
is the mode of potential. So anybody that has
a Bardic Inspiration die, you get a little mode
of potential around you, which I think I'm going
to call it like a little gold and shiny ring
that kind of hovers around the waist. Oh, nice.
So when you use the Bardic Inspiration die, depending
on what you use it for, whether it's an attack,
ability check, or a saving throw, it has a different
effect for each one, which is great. I forgot
about that. That is really, really cool. Yeah,
that's the main draw for this one. So for the
ability check, Bardic Inspiration die can be
rolled again, and you can choose which one you
want to do. So it's basically advantage on the
Inspiration die. Amazing. For an attack roll,
what was it? Oh, yeah. For an attack roll, the
creature that you're... Rolling it on has to
succeed in a con saving throw or take thunder
damage equal to the amount of the bardic inspiration
die. Really? That's cool as hell. This is nuts.
For the saving throw, this is going to be key,
I think. If you're using the bardic inspiration
die, you gain temporary hit points equal to the
number rolled on the inspiration die plus my
charisma modifier, which is three. Oh, wow. So
that's a mass of nine suddenly. That's massive.
It's huge. Before you get hit by a big attack,
nine HP to just like block that is crazy. So
get ready for Zebulon with two swords, sneak
attack damage, and thunder damage. Yeah. Wow.
It's going to be so good. And I did gain two
additional spell slots as well with this level
up. Which is also huge. I'm keeping those a secret.
I'm curious. Ooh, okay. I mean, I'm going to
tell Steven. I'm going to tell Steven, but I'm
not going to tell you, David. Steven will tell
me, right, Steven? I'm going to just plug your
ears, David. Take your headphones off. Earmuffs.
So that'll be a secret, and I'll just pull them
out when the time is right. It's so much fun.
And you're going to be so pissed, David, and
it's going to be wonderful. It's a lot of fun
when casters do that. Yeah, I know. I'm looking
forward to it. I'm looking forward to being surprised.
It has happened a lot lately. On the note of
you. Let's roll that HP first of all. Oh, jeez.
I believe it's also a D8 for you, correct? Where's
that D8 from Spectral Craft Dice? Oh, yeah. Right
here? Hell yeah. Please roll higher than a two.
I think two is the one that I got last time.
I technically did. It's a three. Oh, shit. Oh.
I have gotten... On the bright side... My last
one was like two or three as well. Was it really?
It was awful. Damn, why do we roll dice? It was
terrible. I know. I know. It was terrible. So
now my HP is 14. Oh my gosh. That was Zebulon's
HP at level two. 14 at level three. Yeah. I mean,
but you are the support. Holy fuck. It makes
sense. You're casting from the back. It does.
You're backing them up. Damn. Them's the breaks.
The funny thing is Chester is now at level three
as well. He has 18 HP. And we're not rolling
dice for them. Yeah, he has 18 getting like kind
of an average. And he gets a pretty cool new
ability. basically he gets an ability where he
can, if he shoots somebody and lands an attack,
he can make a second attack for free with the
same attack action if there's an ally or an enemy
within 5B of the enemy he just shot. Kind of
like a rapid fire situation. Yeah, it's called
quick reload, I believe. So it's pretty cool.
Once again, Paul Metzger, Sidekicks Essentials,
thank you so much. Thank you, Paul. Having a
great time with your PDF. I wonder if Paul's
on Instagram. We haven't tried to... Oh, I should
reach out. Let's hit him up. Yeah, we'll figure
that out. It's a cool fella. So, you guys are
waiting. The Dancing Night Market is still setting
up for another night of festivities and selling
and business thing. What the hell they do over
there? I don't care right now. It's just daytime.
We're setting up. You know, you're kind of keeping
an eye on Casamaroon, whose hands are still bound.
He's still staring down, muttering to himself
here and there after the events of just, honestly,
maybe an hour or so before. Everything has moved
very quickly. And as time passes, a new sort
of commotion begins. Sort of on the edge of the
market, up on the hill, you can kind of make
out a number of people are surrounding a figure
in a little circle that's just moving down. You
see just this dark, cool -clad figure in, like,
red leather from far away. Red leather, yellow
leather? Yes, precisely, I guess. Zeb, Zeb, keep
you cool, keep you cool. He's serious, man. I
can tell, I know it. This crowd moves as one
cohesive unit. You see them go down the hill.
And they're kind of danishing behind the tents,
going into the market proper, heading towards
you. You are by Kassim. You are by the prisoner.
And clearly they're filling Sturgeman in on what's
going on, quite likely. I think Zebulon wants
to run and intercept Sturgeman before he gets
there. Yeah. Jules, are you just letting him
go on his own, Jules? Yeah. Okay. I'm just like,
what? Yeah, go. Go, go, go. So Zebulon just peels
off and runs. I'm going to go get him. I'm going
to go get him. It's going to be great. Just remember,
he's going to be up here soon. Yeah, I know.
It's just, I'm excited. I'm excited. As he's
going off, I think Chester and John Franklin
round the corner come by you, Jules, and they're
like, hey, where's Zeb going? And the camera
just trails after him, following him through
the market. Zebulon, I want you to roll history
on Sturgeon with advantage. Let's see how much
you know about this guy. There's going to be
some base stuff you'll know regardless. There's
going to be kind of a base to this history because
you would know certain things. I just rolled
two 19s in a row. Wow. Wow. Okay. I think there's
a good chance that you would connect with Sturge
Mountain on a deeper level because he is the
most famous rogue luminary there is. And I have
all of his comics. Of course you do. That marbles
antics you pulled during the final game, that's
true. That's classic Sturgeman. Basically, what
you know about Sturgeman. Textbook Sturgeman.
Textbook Sturgeman. He's what they call an inquisitive
rogue, which means he's very good at perceiving
things. He's known as the world's greatest detective,
apostrophe after the S, because he's the world's
many, multiple, plural, greatest detective. I'm
having fun, damn it. Have fun with me. I love
that you took... took time to clarify that. Grammar
at 7pm. So important. So important. I mean, it
is. It really is. There's no there there. You
know, he's well known for like, he can read his
opponent's actions beforehand and sort of like
gain advantage against them by just kind of like
beating them out at their own game. You know,
always one step ahead. He's a brilliant, constantly
working mind. And he's also well -known for his
arsenal of magic items. He's always throwing
them out. You saw him during the fall of the
Sapphire using immovable rods and connecting
them to kind of create a sort of guide rails
for everyone to go across safely on the land
bridge connecting to the Citadel. He also, I
will say, with year 19, you know one of his most
famous items is he has this big sort of proboscis.
like mask. Um, first of all, Sturge, Sturges.
You might not know this. People might know this
or not. Sturges are a fantasy creature and pretty
common in 5e, especially in worlds here, like
Shankavumi. I was, I was thinking it was like
a Sturgeon. No, actually Sturges are, they are,
they are essentially these red bat mosquitoes.
Huh. I just thought it was a name. No, Sturgeon
Man is actually just a very stupid play at a
very, very popular pop culture icon hero. Okay.
It sounds to me like show and tell in kindergarten.
My mom's a sturgeon. She works at the hopsicle.
But you know that his big proboscis sort of mosquito
-looking helm with these kind of big bug eyes
and stuff he wears all over his head like this
full mask helm. You know that it also functions
as a helm of telepathy, which is a big part of
how he gets his detective work done. He can read
people as he's going around, read their thoughts.
It's useful. Very, very powerful. Very helpful.
He has so many magic items, he's constantly reattuning
to different ones, but this is one that he almost
always has active. It's his claim to fame, one
might say. Yeah, I bet. Reading people's minds?
So you are heading towards this crowd. You run
up, you kind of slide to a stop as this group
reaches. You can hear people, right this way,
oh yeah, it's over here, yeah, no, we found him.
And then the voice ringing out from the other
is like, where is he? Bring him forward to me.
Hi. Hi, search man. I can take you to... I kind
of apprehended the suspect. At this point, you're
talking, but there's such a big crowd around
him. You're kind of just like... You can't be
seen by him because you're tiny. So you're trying
to say things, but you probably finger up like,
excuse me. And you can't get around. You need
to do something if you want to get his attention.
Hey! Hey! Search man! Churchman, over here! The
crowd starts sweeping around you, moving past
you. Do you want to try to run through them and
get in the middle? Yeah, absolutely. I won't
make you roll for it. You're Zebulon. You're
small and you're spindly. You're dexterous as
hell. Yeah, my intention is to, like, stand,
like, right in front of him, like, nose to nose.
So you just kind of pop through some legs. Or
nose to sternum. And you pop out of a bunch of
legs and crotches and whatnot and rise up. And
you see this big man with this, you know, proboscis
helm. His chin's kind of like his chin and mouth.
The only thing sort of showing in is he's got
this big old, you know, brick chin. He's wearing
this, like, tight. red leather armor with these
little, like, sort of bat wings under the arms.
And he just takes you in with these, like, weird
sort of bug eyes that cover his face. He's just
staring at you. What did you say? Well, I guess,
Surge Man, now that you're here, I can pass the
scene over to you. I was previously kind of in
charge around here. It's a huge relief that you're
here. Let me... I can take you to the suspect.
You're the one that apprehended him. Yes, that's
right. That's how you're going to do Jules? Zebulon
Black. Me and my partner, Jules de Rose. He actually
puts a finger up and cocks a head. Black. Zebulon
Brass. Grandson of Sholay. Speaker of the Ancestors.
I know who you are. Zebulon Black, formerly Zebulon
Brass. Interesting. You see, search man, no brass
will ever be a luminary. He like, he cares. He
just kind of looks at you for a long time. Actually,
I think the crowd kind of stops and goes quiet.
It's like he's suddenly engaged in conversation.
So he looks at you for a long while. His eyes
are taking you in. You want to be a luminary?
Well, I, I suppose I. Almost already am? We won
a sponsorship here on Sipshunko, so it's really
just a matter of time. Hoping to prove my mettle
here. And you caught the perpetrator? Well, that's
right. Me and my luminary team. And you're sure
it's him? Yes, sir. Could be a red herring? A
trick? Well, he... Tried to kill us, so... The
Peppermint. Yeah. Murderous Peppermint. I mean,
it was accidental attempted murder, but the first
time. The second time was, I think, intentional.
Bring me to him. Yeah, yeah, right, right, right.
Do you have evidence of his crimes? I mean, I
almost died, so... Oh, yes. And we also recorded
some of what happened. We have a recording, Diamond.
You're recording? Yes, yes. I'll take you there.
Now you can meet my team. They're all so great.
He's already walking past you. Oh, okay. Do you
know where to go? Should I follow you? He looks
back at you and says, I'm the world's greatest
detective. I always know where to go. So cool.
Surge, man, so cool. And Zebulon runs behind
him. And he does. He beelines this group right
to Cass. So impressive. Of course he does. I
never would have doubted Sturge, man. Oh, as
he gets close, he's, everyone back. Everyone
kind of moves away. But he kind of points to
you, Zebulon, and waves you forward. He goes,
you're still there with Chester and Jaune. And
he just moves up towards Cassam. Cassam will
rule. If all is true that I've heard, you will
be found guilty of... Thanks for a second. Five
attempted murders. One murder. Colluding with
fey or evil creatures. Arson. And a number of
smaller misdemeanors. How do you state your...
Guilt? Um, and Kasim just... Stares at the ground
and kind of, quiet under his breath, just...
Guilty. Alright. I'll be taking you back. You
will meet with the council before being taken
to... Agar and Sengar to the Sky Prison. And
to this, like, you just see Kasim's eyes widen.
He looks up in horror. I think he expected something
bad, but I don't think he was expecting the Sky
Prison. And I want you guys to roll history.
Yeah, I really want to know what the Sky Prison
is. Roll history with advantage. I think both
of you would. This is something that you might
know in the world. And again, I'll give you some
details. I got an 18. Okay. I got a 14. Okay.
Zebulon, with an 18, you especially should know
about this because you have some idea of the
political struggles Sholay has dealt with in
her time as the sort of head of the Speakers
for the Ancestors. And one of the more major
political battles she's fought has been against
the use of the Sky Prison of Ankar and Sengar
for the criminals of all the worlds, essentially.
So the Sky Prison is... Atash is pride and joy
in his world. It is this massive flying fortress.
I have the name. It's like Seldane Mobs. I'll
have to double check on that. But it's like,
there's an Anchor Ensign guard name for it. But
it's this massive fortress filled with different
demiplanes. Basically like different tiers for
different levels of crime. And it was big enough
that they could use it for all worlds. The Citadel
itself is relatively small as a city. And they
can't just like... play host to every criminal
from every world. But they also don't want to
trust that a lot of these major criminals, these
powerful necromancers, dragons, beholders, and
the like, will go unchecked in whatever various
world they may have come from. So it just seems
safest to send them to Atash. It's honestly one
of the biggest plays for power he's had when
it comes to the Radiant Citadel. And the people,
the populace of the world, they love the Sky
Prison. I mean, there's no fortress. No fortress
you'd feel safer hiding all the evil of the world
behind. You know, with an 18, why Xolay has some
issues with it, though. You see, Antosh has a
peculiar take on justice. He has a very strong
sense of it. When someone is, you could say,
killed in pursuit, they've committed a terrible
crime, Antosh is known for resurrecting them.
To force them to go through a trial. And he's
known for forcing them to go through whatever
prison sentence they have earned for themselves.
So if somebody has earned, say, eight consecutive
life sentences in prison, there will be demiplanes
used that will keep their perception of time
basically slower. So they will not... as quickly,
and they will live out that entire period of
time. It is justice. That sounds disgustingly
terrifying. At first, I thought that was pretty
creative when you were like, oh, yeah, if somebody
was killed in the pursuit, bring them back to
life and bring them some justice. I'm like, all
right, a little weird, but I guess kind of creative.
And then you're like, eight times. Yeah. Yeah.
No, it's not great. But, I mean, like, then again,
they're criminals, right? A lot of people in
the world, they're very, very okay with it. Atash,
when it comes to his moral codes, is rigid. And
this is something he strongly believes to be
important. That criminals face the full extent
of the punishment they deserve. That's what you
know. So as Kasim reacts to this news that this
is where he's likely going, you see fresh tears
spilling down over his already red, tear -stained
cheeks. He's just staring up at Sturgeman in
horror. But Sturgeman's not looking at that.
His attention has turned towards Jules. Oh. His
insect eyes taking you in for a moment. Your
Jules Oroch, prince in hiding of the surreal
city -state. Yeah, that's me. Prince of nothing
now. You have my condolences. Thanks, I guess.
Oh, he puts a hand out. Do you have the diamond?
With the evidence? Maybe. He grabs another one
for his own, sort of like he has a good utility
belt and all sorts of magical items, and he pops
a diamond out of it. If I could transfer, I only
need the evidence of his guilt. The speakers
want to see it. All right, I'll pull out the
diamond. Transfer. Okay. Also, he, like, holds
it up and they touch together. And I think you
get this sort of, as you go to transfer it, you
almost, like, have this weird feeling. Like,
I imagine it's similar to you editing, Jeremy.
You're kind of looking at all the footage in
this diamond, everything you've collected. You
can feel it. You can sort of, like, see it all
rapidly through your mind, like memories you're
playing through. And you can go to the exact
spot you want, clip it, go to the next spot,
clip it. All kind of is mental. It takes a few
moments as you're kind of, like, working this
through. But you can transfer it all over. Can
I maintain a copy of it? Or does it move? It
does take it. Yeah, there's only one footage.
Once it goes to the Citadel and the network,
it's gone. And the Crystal Network itself, they're
from the Ethereal Diamond. If it goes from there,
you could essentially make copies only from that
one source. So, yeah, I just want to give him
only what he needs. Okay. Great. And you give
it to him. He takes a moment and starts watching
it. And, like, it's funny because you can't really
see what he's seeing. So, like, to you, there's
no sound. But you know that his eyes lingering
on it will hear everything Kasim is saying. So
to him, it's just he's staring at this diamond.
You don't see the image. You don't hear any noise.
But he's nodding along like he's... taking in
all this information, and just puts it in his
pocket. You have my thanks. You're welcome. Do
you intend to be a luminary as well? I mean,
it seems like it might be in the cards, but...
Whatever comes my way, comes my way. Will you
be returning to the Citadel? I think that's probably
a safe bet, yeah. He's kind of talking to both
of you now, like... You have a home there. Somewhere
to stay. Your home was destroyed. We found the
comfy spot. And I guess just for the listeners
at home, I mean, I figure I know what you're
thinking, but what do you envision as home? What
are you thinking of as home right now? Not a
place. I'm thinking of the Cherry Delights. Interesting.
Okay. And Zebulon, you too. What do you consider
to be home to you? I mean, I don't think it's
home yet, but I'm hoping the Abilite Coyote.
Okay. Great. Don't like that. Okay, noted. Great,
you think that. Sturgeman just kind of nods.
See you around. And he raises a hand up. And,
like, from, like, almost out of nowhere, he's,
like, almost a demiplane opens up just above
this, like, magical wristlet he has. And this,
like, rope blasts out of it and just wraps around
the rope that's already holding Kasim's bound
hands, yanking him up, like, creating a leash.
Like, it's, like, the rope trick spell, but,
like, on an item. He just creates, like, this
rope out of, you know, nowhere. And it's, like,
this rope stays and lingers. And he just kind
of, like, yanks on it. Just like, come. We have
a long journey. And begins to make his way out
of the market immediately. Like too late after
Sturgeman has already turned around, Zebulon
jumps up. See you, Sturgeman. Thank you. Don't
forget about us. Zebulon Black! Oh, Zeb. All
right. With that, you can abandon your posts.
You know, guarding this prisoner. As you know,
he is in good hands. I think Jules is finally
actually breathing for the first time in a little
while. Yeah. He wasn't going to let down his
guard until that was taken care of. So I think
we can move time a little forward here as the
market is still setting up. And you know from
experience that it's not going to really light
up. It's not going to get exciting or fun until
6 o 'clock when the sun sets. And you can watch
that. whole show again, the whole experience.
The mountains burn, the market lights up, and
during this sort of period as you're waiting
around for this to happen again, you're allowed
in the market proper if you want now. You are
part of the market. You can wander around. You've
already been, and it shows. You are Rhea, and
you're more than Rhea now. But at some point
as you're moving around, Madam Culp will take
you aside and just say, There's much to do today,
but I would like it if you would come and meet
me and a few others. Ah, about 6 .15 if possible
in the Spicy Brothers tent. Zab, you got any
plans? 6 .15, um... Just after the market opens.
No, I think I'm free. Let me check. Yeah, I'm
free. Okay. What? Actually, I got a thing? I'm
just kidding. Shut up, Chester. Chester's got
a date, but we'll be there. Um, great. And so...
Time passes, and the mountains burn, and the
market sparks to light and life again. So, you
make your way back to the market, back towards
the Spicy Brothers tent. It's, you know, festive
as ever here. Actually, let me change our music
to fit this new scene. Okay. And... You move
to the market again. People are, again, there's
off -worlders that have come in when Sturge Man
did. There's later ones that come in at 6 with
a 6 o 'clock gem. Ruby that you have missed.
If you want to leave, you'll have to leave in
the morning. But you'd already kind of committed
to that. So, hey, we're good. You're moving to
the streets. A number of stalls are closed. I
mean, it's a somber air here because Madam Culp's
silk, half of it was essentially burned down.
Almost all of it really had been burned down
by the end of the fire. You've heard rumors that
a number of her touch -crow caterpillars that
she uses to make the garments she sells had perished
in the flames. Her caterpillars died? Yep, a
few of them. Oh, shit. Not all of them, but a
few of them. Yeah. Price of Silk is going to
skyrocket. Yep. You know, she's not going to
be open tonight. Tiamo Noodles, I think, are
still kind of recovering from everything that's
gone down with them. And I think they're actually
spending time, Lamai, from what you've heard,
is spending time with Kusa Zungun and Gemon,
helping them to recover, and just wants to stay
by their side for now. So Timber Noodles is not
open. And, of course, Zungun's family's seafood.
I mean, they've got nothing. Their tent was burned
to the ground, every stock they had. And people
are working to help get them back set up again,
but it's going to take time. They'll be back
on their feet eventually. Where are we going
to buy shrimp cakes, then? Do they have a big
stash of the ones that we just made or are they
all eaten? That's actually going to be Sid's
Squids. So you'll be able to go there if you
want to get some food. What's funny is as you're
moving through the market, you see that more
and more of these stalls are actually either
closed down or the people that are running them
are hands that you saw building tents or children
or elderly folk. A lot of the actual main market
folk. aren't at their positions and so you move
to the spicy brothers tent very large open tent
um once there was a neon lit like pepper sign
uh currently dark uh the single sort of sort
of dark uh sign and then just this bastion of
brilliant lit uh lit signs and mascots and uh
you know images of all sorts and you move towards
this one position What do you want to do? Do
you want to just walk right in or knock? You
can't really knock on a tent. Could we swish
the doorway? You can swish the doorway. I don't
know what that means. Hey, anybody in there?
Come in, please. And you move in? Yeah. It's
6 .15. We're expected, right? Yeah. Yes. Yes,
6 .15. Let me open my book. As you... move the
flap and step into the tent. You are immediately
hit by a bright radiance you weren't expecting
as basically the whole tent all around is just
like, there's just these hanging Laopop flowers
everywhere, all glowing with their nightly glow.
And you see the tent is filled with people. And
you notice, you recognize a lot of them. They're
all the owners of the various stalls and businesses
that you have met with and experienced in your
night here at the market in the following day.
At the head of them, you see Madame Culp. You
also see that half -orc with glasses that told
you he owned Jolion's tales and texts. You see
Fi from Fi's Flora, kind of neatly trimming up
one of the flowers. She smiles and waves when
you step in. You see, actually, Lamai Tienmo
is there right now. Sid Squid. There is a...
You see this husky, burly, dragon -born woman.
that you remember as the owner of Suwan's Traditional
Weaponry, where you bought a buckler shield for
Miskin. Yes. Yeah, and there's a number of people
you don't even recognize as well, just a ton
of various market owners, all here, all supposedly
for you. Do you say anything, or do you just
kind of wait? Jules doesn't say anything. I think
he's a little overwhelmed at what's happening.
Zebulon wants to, like, really nonchalantly grab
some of the wild pop flowers off the that are
hanging because he gave some to the little kid
they nod and like gesture like please they're
yours yeah so he just like grabs uh i don't want
to say a serving of them whatever one serving
yeah i'll have one i just scarfing them down
like fucking i don't know what the caloric value
of a serving of wild pop flowers is So I was
just scarfing down some flowers. Madeline Culp
says, I know we talked about offering sponsorship
to you in the morning, and we do intend to do
this. We also wanted to speak with you. You had
a friend of yours you wish to try to insert in
our marketplace, and we are open to a suggestion
you might have. But for this evening, we feel
there is more reward due to you than... A simple
sponsorship. Wow. What? I lost... And she kind
of gets a little teary -eyed behind her glasses
as they start fogging up a little bit, and she
pulls them off and wipes. I lost four of my babies
in the fire. I'm so sorry. Most of my stock.
And you, you found the Cretans responsible. And
while the fey creatures may have made their way
back into the wilds, Kasim, he will see justice.
I wish we could have saved more. I'm really sorry.
Vi's passing was hard. We will feel it always,
and we have sent word out we're trying to find
his... Betrothed? Yes, sorry, I lose track of
words because I'm so old. There's so much trauma
and stress right now. Yes, it's the trauma and
the stress. That's what it is. So she actually
comes forward, and she actually turns towards
you, Jules, and she pulls out a present, like
a wrapped present, and hands it out to you. What's
this? You'll see. Open it. I thought you might
like it. Excellent foley work. Who's got the
trash bag? Who's got the trash bag? Christmas
was not long ago. This is very fresh. All right,
I open it. You open the present, and you see
you are looking at a cloak, very much colored
like your own that you have now, but this one
is made of this fine, fine silk with this interesting
sort of embroidery, this pattern running down
it, and it looks almost like an incantation running
across the bottom hem of the cloak. Wow. It's
something I've been hanging on to for some time.
I had it colored today to match the cloak you
had some interest in when you first visited my
shop. I can't take something this beautiful.
Please. The fact that it survived the fire, it
is a sign, I think, that this belongs with you.
It's magical as well. What? I call it a cloak
of billowing protection. Basically, sorry, it
doesn't work quite as I'd intended it to work,
so there's a bit of a strange drawback to it
as a cloak of protection. But basically, you
may command the cloak to billow heroically behind
you. What do you do? It activates the magic,
which should allow the garment to protect you
from some assault, some damage. What? Yes, it's...
What numbers are we talking about here? Let's
get into the mechanic. So I'll tell you right
now, basically what this is, as a bonus action,
you can command the cloak to billow while it
is billowing. And this also means if you're in
windy weather and it's billowing then too, that
works as well. If this cloak is billowing at
any time, you gain a plus one to AC and saving
throws. Oh, wow. Nice. So it's basically a cloak
of protection, but I want to make it funnier.
So he also slapped the cloak of billowing onto
that too. So that was fun. Billow is just a funny
word. It's fun. Yeah, it is. This is too kind.
Thank you. Thank you. She nods very, very happily
and starts to step back. And as she does, you
see Fi from Fi's floor steps forward. And she's
dragging this sort of tall, lanky man with this
kind of long face with her. And he's got like
a number. He's got all sorts of necklaces hanging
around his neck. It almost looks ridiculous.
His whole shirt is covered from different sized
amulets. I think you saw the shop. You probably
saw this guy before. He's the owner of Va's Lucky
Amulets. I think I mentioned the shop once before.
You probably passed by. I don't think you stopped
to say hi or anything. I think everything was
too expensive. But Fi just pushes him towards
it. It's like, all right, little sap. And she,
like, winks and pushes him. This one's for you.
And he shoves the guy forward. He's like, yes,
we never did a thing. But Fi here has purchased
one of my, well. Most valuable amulets. Wow.
It's really nice to meet you. And really, the
little stuff, it doesn't get old. I didn't actually
say anything about that. I wasn't. That was,
okay. Well, this is awkward. Here. He was just
down in hands near this amulet. It's this pendant.
It's sort of this bright orange. I think it's
actually shaped. In this kind of spirally pattern.
And he reaches out and hands it to you. Please,
put it on. Yeah, Zebulon reverently, with both
hands, holds his hands out and receives it. Wow.
This is... Thank you. What is it? It is one of
the only magical items I have in my wares. One
of the only ones? I call it an amulet of minor
confidence. Oh. Essentially, it is still a bit
of confidence, and it's where I make them seem
a little cooler, more down to earth in any sort
of social situation, or even perhaps on the battlefield.
I thought it might be helpful. Well, I mean,
confidence I'm okay with, but socially, I guess
I could probably use a little bit of help. Well,
you'll find, Zebulon, as you put this amulet
on a mechanic's sock, basically if your charisma
score is higher than 12, you'll do nothing. But
if it's lower than 12, it becomes 12. Oh! 12?
Holy shit! Dude, that is a huge bump. From 9
to 12? That's pretty good. No fucking way. And
I just took swashbuckler, you know that, right?
Oh, you did, did you? Does that? I had no idea.
Fuck you. What a twist on things. It's almost
like you planned it. Wow. Oh, my God. Well, thank
you. Sure, but thank you, David. That's game
-changing right there. Yeah, it is. He actually
gestures to Fi from Fi's Flora. It was her purchase.
I'm just here to deliver it. But still, thank
you. And he steps back. Zebulon walks over to
Fi and puts the amulet on. I think as he does,
he puts it on. Jules, you're watching from behind.
I think you just see him almost stand a little
straighter. He has a little more presence to
his character. You're not sure how to note it.
He looks taller somehow wearing this thing. There's
just more. Zebulon there. Zeb, I think that suits
you real well. Looks good on you. The confidence
is really getting to him. David, what have you
done? I think he's going to pull a pretty bold
move, and he's going to go up to Fi and kiss
her hand. I mean, it's both, like, it's both,
like, a brave, like, bold sort of thing, but
it's also, like, very, like, humbling, you know
what I mean? To show thanks. I love it. Yeah,
she just kind of takes that in and just kind
of smiles widely and just, it looks good on you.
And winks again and says, big zap. Gee, thanks.
Thanks, Fi. I'm really glad we could come together
like this and put our differences. Our height
differences aside. So it carries on like this
for a while, each of these owners stepping forward
to give you something. You have the owner of
Vada's Otherworldly Goods. Basically, a confectionery
shop brings you this bag full of their trademark
vanilla buns. It's supposed to be incredible.
Yum. Oh, my God. We got more food. We got more
food for Mulligan. Yeah. We got more food for
Mulligan. Sid Squid steps forward and he gives
you this case of shrimp cakes, much like the
ones you had before, but, you know, not gigantic.
These are perishable. Yeah, those are snacks
for us on the ride back. Oh, he also gives you
a walk. A W -O -K walk? Yes, a small walk. Really?
Nice. Basically, it's a secondary gift. Basically,
he says, like, just like, just so you know, some
of the best cooks I've had the pleasure of working
with. Nice work yesterday. And he hands you the...
Oh, man, that's so great. I've been looking at
the J. Kenzie Lopez alt walkbook. I don't know
if you guys know it. It's really expensive, like
60 bucks, but... Speaking of books, Jolly on
the Half -Orc, who owns the Tales and Texts,
he steps forward and he looks at you. Now I remember
you had some interest in a certain text on Sonsonko's
lore. This may help to assist you in whatever
studies you intend to make. And he gives you
a book called When Mountains Rise. It looks to
be a book detailing Sipsunko's known history.
You know that fibrosis will lose his shit. Yep.
Wow. Thank you so much. This is going to get
put to real good use. He just nods and steps
back. You have Lamai Tienmo comes forward. And
she offers you basically not any actual physical
gift, but she simply says, If you ever desire
my noodles again, you may have as many as you
want for life anytime. Please come back, have
as much as you want, bring whoever you want.
You saved my stall. You saved my family, our
livelihood. I can't thank you enough for what
you've done. Noodles for life? For life, I promise.
That's too much. I couldn't possibly. Well, you
don't have to eat a lifetime supply all at once.
I mean, if the option is there, how can you say
no? Yeah, you're right. Yeah. You make a lot
of sense. We lack self -control on this team.
And the last of the... market owners that steps
forward is Suwan from Suwan's Weaponry, who kind
of takes in what you got, nods at your loadout,
Zebulon, nods at yours, Jules, and looks at Chester
and kind of just shakes her head, steps back
into the back of the room, rifles through a few
things, and comes forward with this fine -looking
bamboo shortbow and a full quiver of arrows.
Oh my god. Holy smokes. I love it. So, I noticed
you're not packing as much as you could be. Uh,
wow, uh, thanks. I mean, I didn't really think
I'd be one of the guys, but it's okay, Jules.
Of course you're one of the guys. Oh, yeah, uh,
thank you. And he takes it and he's immediately
kind of playing with the string. Huh, you know,
I like the feel of this. Well deserved, Chester.
You earned that, buddy. With that, I think. The
night falls into general festivities. I think
they basically tell you, have your run of the
market, eat whatever you want, wherever you want.
Oh, man. That's so dangerous for Zebulon because
I can see him running through the market with
a meat stick in one hand and a candy apple in
the other, just running up and down the muddy
stalls probably until he gets sick. Physically
ill. And that's what we see now. We kind of fade
from the scene to a Zebulon just running around,
food in hand, just a wild animal. No matter how
much is in his tummy, he's running. He's running
all night long. And as he steps between two stalls
and begins to vomit violently, the camera pulls
back and up and up and up into the skies of Sipsunko.
And night becomes day. Day arrives. over the
market, over the jungles of Sumco. And I imagine
we zoom down to a scene of you saying your goodbyes,
everything all packed up. You probably got loads
of food with you, all your new gifts. And is
there anything you want to do before leaving
the market? I will say, Madam Colt did tell you
that they will leave the Spicy Brothers tent
open for a time. You seem like you're interested
in... Unless you want to pursue one of them as
a sponsor, you submit you had an interest in
creating a sponsor for yourself, essentially.
And they are down with whatever you want. You
performed such a powerful act in the eyes of
the people of the market by helping their family
come back together after nearly being broken.
Out of character, am I the only one that has
thought of Madame Culp? Yeah, I'm leaning in
pretty hard to Peppers Peppers. So, Jeremy, get
this. Would Pepper know how to sponsor us? So
my, I guess, I'm going to expose my idea, and
we're going to really get into this. Okay, yeah,
get into it. Get into it. It's interesting. My
idea is that Pepper just runs Pepper's Peppers
for us, and we take over the stall and sponsor
ourselves. Can that be a thing? I mean, you literally
convinced Pepper to lose a game just to spite
his allies. Well, no, he won it for us. I mean,
he was on the losing team is what happened there.
And now he's like off world. I mean, you basically
think you can convince this rabbit of anything.
Well, but I don't really see it as like... Convincing.
Yeah, I think this is a good opportunity for
Pepper. No, it definitely is. I think this is
us taking care of Pepper. This is us fulfilling
the quote -unquote promise that we made without
making Pepper another fucking cherry delight.
Do you include Jean Franklin in on this little
scheme of yours? He does know Pepper. I think
maybe he would overhear us talking about it,
but... I'm not really sure if it's even something
that, up until now, maybe now that we... in person
are talking about it. Maybe now it's something
that our characters can talk about, but I don't
know if it's really been, I don't know if it's
been said up until now. Okay. Might have been
a lot of discussing over the night. And I will
say, maybe John Franklin overheard at one point
and like moves in closer to you guys. You intend
to make the rabbit a market stall owner? Why?
I think it's a pretty great idea. He sort of
cocks his head and thinks, well. He was a farmer
in God's breath. And what if he told me he would
have to run a small plantation of peppers if
he wants to pull this off? It might be the best
for the job. Clever, Zebulon. Very clever. Thanks.
I guess I didn't really know he was a farmer,
but I just... Oh. Well, it's not so clever then.
You just shot in the dark. Happy happenstance.
Yeah, I figured sales, I mean... I'd imagine
he could be a very charismatic guy, you know,
with a big personality and all. Eh, I don't know
about that. He was exiled from his farm on God's
breath for his, well, certain anger issues, but...
That's a little troublesome, but I guess that's
what HR is for. Be the markets problem now. Great,
so is that... Do you want to double down on this
plan and, like, leave your... Sponsorship open
-ended for right now. You can come back and touch
on this again. I mean, that's kind of what I
had on my mind, but I'm kind of just spraying
it on you, Jeremy, so. A little bit, but I like
it. Okay. It's creative, I think. I think so.
Has that been done before? I'm sure everything's
been done. Yeah. But I don't know. I don't know.
I mean, the horror NPC that I made. I like it.
I think the ultimate decision is up to David.
No, I'm interested in pursuing this. Okay. Let's
bring a little bit of capitalism into Dungeons
& Dragons. It's not that much. It's just a touch.
Just a little capitalism. Just a touch of capitalism.
Your creativity could be rewarded by just generally
more gains. Because what's going to happen is
when you become luminaries and you're... You
know, peppers are selling like hot because you're
branding them. You're going around and you're
talking about how great peppers peppers are.
Like, oh yeah, only a real luminary can handle
the heat of peppers peppers. Do what you want
to do. It sells itself. Make a fucking song.
Peppers peppers sells itself. The money you guys
make in the market from just like bringing in
crowds is going right back to you. And you might
make a little more money than you would with
a traditional sponsor. And free peppers. I guess.
For life. Sure. Okay. Put that shit on everything.
The possibilities are endless. They're not endless.
Poison arrows. What? Like aerosol pepper spray?
I don't know. What? I'm trying to think of how
to use peppers as a weapon. Well, stop it. Didn't
you just do that in the last combat? We need
an artificer to make pepper spray. Yeah, with
that in mind, and you have that sort of open
-ended agreement with the market, they're going
to leave the stall open for you. And that is
that. You begin to leave the Densing Night Market.
As they all kind of gather around and wave goodbye,
you move up the hill, back to the road, heading
towards the gem. You know you can catch the noon
gem once again today. It's showing up at noon.
And you can basically be probably leaving around
9 .30, 10 o 'clock. It's a two -and -a -half
-mile walk there. Do we encounter Emondrath along
the way? I wish. Maybe next arc. He's got poachers
to deal with. And so you begin to move through
the jungles of Sipsunko. Oh, wow. Begin to groove
through the jungles of Sipsunko, more like. You
are moving down the path. You are alone at this
point, traveling once again towards the plaza
of the traveler, the ruby that should be arriving
there shortly to take you home? Don't like that.
I don't know if this is your home necessarily.
Not for jewels necessarily. Home is where my
friends are. Then home you go. You're moving
down the path. Now as you're going, I think...
You've noticed, Jules, that Chester's kind of
seemed like he's wanted to talk to you about
something. I think as you kind of are moving
now away from all the people in the market, he
finally kind of nudges or pulls on you. Probably
gets you kind of to step back a little bit from
Zebulon and Jean Franklin to sort of have a little
conversation with you. What's up, Chester? Yeah,
so, uh, Jules, I want to talk, if that's all
right. Yeah, of course, anytime. What's about
the Goyle? Not ready for the hard oil, huh? Sorry,
the what? The hard oil. Hard oil. We got a gargoyle.
Well. Let's talk about this gargoyle. Hang on,
I can't hear you over the boids. Damn boids.
What? I want the goyle. Well, which girl? He
gives you this, like, pointed look, like, Jules,
come on. Now, we've been together for a while,
right? I've never seen you like that on Tythos.
Jules, you made a song. What's going on? What's
going on with you and Jeans? Hey, this ain't
about Jeans. We're friends. Jules, we're friends.
But Dance, you don't even know her. Dance is
not Dance and I are friends. No, you ain't. You
were enemies. And then suddenly you was all dancing
and singing together. Maybe not that much, but
you were singing. I saw it. She dragged you away.
That was for distraction. That was just for distraction.
Jules. I didn't mean it. Jules. Come on, man.
You tell me everything. I can't like somebody?
I mean, I just, I haven't seen it. On Tithos,
you never really seem to, I don't know, get around?
What do you, I guess, how do you know when someone's
right? He actually is sort of like looking awkward
in his own way. Playing with his fingers and
looking down. You just know it, Justin. If you
know, and I kind of, I'm looking into his eyes
and looking, really looking into his soul to
make sure he understands that I'm really talking
to him. Hell yeah. If you know, you know. You
see he, you know, sort of sticks with your gaze
for a moment and then finally his eyes flicker
away. And you don't miss that his hand immediately
moves to a pocket of his jacket, bulging. And
you know it's bulging with many exotic silks
that he's bringing back to Jeans. That's right.
Little fucking thief. It's true. While this is
happening, actually, Jean -Francois kind of notes
they've fallen back and kind of turns towards
you, Zebulon. Well, I'm a little peeved that
you left me behind for the final battle and all,
but... I'll say it was well done, Miss Weld,
this little adventure of ours. Well, to be fair,
I kind of assumed that you were awake, but I...
You should make no assumptions. You're back.
That was my first, no, my many -eth mistake.
Did you just say many -eth? Many -eth. My many
-eth mistake. That's a new Zebulonism. I didn't
mean to leave you behind, John. It was for no
other reason than my own stupidity. It's fine.
It's all done and behind us. The thing is, I
like you, Zebulon. I do. Well, you're a rough
-edged blade, but with some work. Some shine.
You could be something. I could see that potential
in you. Well, I think I could get along with
you, too, John. I think... I think we could make
a good team. You know, I like you too. Yes, and
the important thing is justice was done. That
fool Kasim will spend an eternity in Atash's
prison, the Sky Prison. Isn't that lovely? Justice.
I think all I can do right now is trust the system,
I guess. I'm a little concerned. Why? Forever?
Forever seems... Well, it won't be forever. For
his crimes, I imagine it will be, oh, a few life
sentences. Nothing too terrible. Nothing he doesn't
deserve. Zebulon, you understand you are to be
a luminary. Law is everything to us. If I'm to
be a sidekick, you need to understand that that's
what we do. We preserve law. Like Atash. That
is why he's the greatest of all the luminaries.
I've told you before, I have a certain number
of criminals I intend to seek out. I intend to
make face their own judgment. And someday I will
need your assistance in that matter. But it can
wait. We need more popularity. We need more pull
with the governments of the world if you want
to make a move against that particular group.
I... I think it's really hard to measure punishment.
What is... right? But it's enough. Zebulon, Zebulon.
Puts a hand on your shoulder. Don't strain yourself.
It's not your problem. John, this doesn't feel
right. He stares you kind of quizzically and
he sort of goes quiet. Almost looks a little
disappointed. He's expecting more from you. And
I imagine Jules and Chester kind of move back
and sort of rejoin the group. The competition
sort of dies down for a short while. And before
long, the trees before you part into this open
sort of plain with this big sort of stone stage
kind of set up in the middle of it, you know,
stadium -sized. And just moments after you arrive...
In the sky, the ruby appears above you. Massive.
It moves down 500 feet. Just resting above the
stage where the staircase leads up into the open
maw of the gym. That take of you guys moving
to the conquered jewel? Time to go home, baby.
Yeah, we ain't going anywhere else. So we see
our four heroes. Stronger. More equipped than
ever. moving towards what's next. What waits
for them at home as they step up the stairs,
entering into the ruby, and leaving Subsunca.
Hell yeah. And we'll call it there.