Hey guys, it's Steven. If you're enjoying the
show, please consider leaving a podcast rating
wherever you're listening. That's one of the
best ways to help us grow. Also, please find
us on Instagram at fantasypantspod and share
it with your friends. Thank you so much. When
last we left off in our little tale, our heroes
found themselves in a sudden, desperate situation.
Upon returning to the ugly coyote and finding
the cherry lights working for the cantankerous,
I'm just kidding, old buddy. Our heroes enjoyed
a moment of respite as they delivered gifts to
Jewel's band of misfits. This peace was shattered,
however, by the appearance of Pepper the Horrigan
and the implications of him knowing where our
heroes were hiding now. Immediately, the group
was assailed by shield -bearers, joined by new
officer Jesseth Kellig, and led by Lieutenant
Arhalon himself. The unit, under strict orders
from a speaker for the Ancestors, demanded the
three youngest Cherry Delights, Miskin, Paul,
and Roundstuff, be taken from the pub and forcefully
adopted by the Royals of Saru, Jewel's own mother
and father. With nowhere to run and nowhere to
fight, Jewel's man should convince Arhalon to
hear him out privately. There, in the back kitchen
of that ugly coyote, Jules revealed the demonic
influence of his own blood in an effort to turn
Arhalon against the powers that command him.
Now, having to choose between goodness and law,
Arhalon must make a most crucial decision. If
you guys don't mind opening things a little bit
differently this time. Yeah. I went to see, I
had to see a microbiologist at the hospital the
other day. Oh, huh. They were much bigger than
I expected them to be. Oh my God. Come on. You
have me thinking something serious is going on.
I'm like, are you fucking telling us this on
air? A little late, but I tried. You know what?
Actually, more fittingly. There you go. Jesus
Christ. Steven. Sorry. That was kind of funny.
That was hilarious. And we'll call it there,
I guess. On a better note, I have stickers. You
have stickers? I have stickers. What's stickers?
Some of these are from Druidic Habit. We got
stickers from him the other day. Whoa. The Fuck
Perfect stickers. Dude, check that out. Let me
see that. Oh, hell yeah. That's pretty good.
We're going to have to get a sticker board to
put these up around the studio. We do need a
sticker board. I also got a sticker from a place
called the Halflings Den. They've got an Etsy
shop. Oh, my God. That is so cool. I bought this
super cute little candle from them, and it's
in like a, I don't know, potion bottle -shaped
bottle. All right. A bottle -shaped bottle, huh?
Yeah, yeah, a bottle -shaped bottle. Oh. And
it had a little potion of healing tag on it,
but it's a candle. That's cool. That's sweet.
And then I got some stickers from our buddy Morgan,
who I got that comic off of. Oh, yeah. Yeah,
so Morgan drew that sweet comic called Hostile
Takeover. He also did a zine. I don't know if
y 'all are up on the lingo. I have no... What
the hell is that? Wait, let me guess. Dude, David,
you gotta see this. It's really cool. Yeah, I
brought it. A zine? Zine is like some kind of
newfangled stapler? No, no. All right. Actually
pretty far off. Okay. Zine is like a miniature
magazine. That was close. And I think they were
big when we were kids, when we were younger.
They've been a thing for a long, long time. 90s
sort of thing, yeah. Like less pages or it's
just a small magazine? Both. Okay, all right.
Smaller format, fewer pages. Oh, all right, all
right. Anyways, so he did this. It's a skateboard
breakfast -themed zine. It is very cool. It's
pretty cool. It's difficult to explain. A lot
of crossover between those two fan bases. Well,
see here, I think the crossover is that they
use what are called egg -shaped skateboards,
I think, and they're just slightly egg -shaped.
I'm not cool enough to really know the difference,
but I think skateboarding's cool. Oh, Steven,
you have 30 years showing. And I love breakfast.
Yeah. So, so he, he gave us a bunch of, um, eggs
for breakfast stickers and they're super cool.
I threw them up on Instagram, check them out.
Um, and I brought them here to share. Hell yeah.
Right. Guys, we've really got like. The coolest
little community here. It's fantastic. Such cool
people. I can't believe how fast it's actually
already kind of grown and how fast we're having
conversations with folk or just becoming classic
members of the community. It's wild to me. I'm
having a lot of fun connecting on Instagram.
So if you're out there and you want to interact,
that's the place. Hell yes. Well, with that sort
of chatter out of the way, anything else you
guys want to touch on? I mean, we weren't really
doing anything important last episode, so I feel
like we could just... We could just chatter on
all day. No, we're just chilling on the couch.
We don't need to. Just taking it easy after a
big arc. We can just time skip back to another
world, right? You know what? We can do that.
We can do that. Why not? I like that idea. That
sounds less stressful. Oh, boy. Yes, indeed.
We left off with quite the little cliffhanger
last time. A role that's going to change the
fate of this very campaign. Very, very likely.
And I bet you are just. Ready to make that rule,
huh? Huh, Jeremy? I mean, with a plus seven,
yeah. Yeah, well, you have to wait. Let's see.
You have to wait. Come on. Because I'm starting
this off with another flashback. Flashback sound
effect. Okay, see, now I am going to make something.
I am going to make it for that. You can use my
voice and just alter it. So, we find ourselves.
In a scene on Typhos, we have that typical fade
-to -white background of a flashback. Everything's
colors a little brighter. But not terribly bright,
because things never look too bright in the slums
outside of Cerule. Do they, Jules? Do they? Never.
I think this is about two years ago. Okay. I
think you and your cherry delights have just
returned from a bit of a score. Tell me, what
kind of hideout... I'm sure you've had a number
of hideouts throughout the years. Give me one
right now. What's a kind of locale you may have
set up to... Hmm. Interesting. Yeah. I don't
know. I imagine something probably similar. I
don't know if you guys have ever seen the original,
I don't know, might have been late 80s, definitely
at least early 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
movie with their little home in the sewers. Hmm.
All right. I'm not certain. No. I'm sure some
listeners know. But I don't know. Yeah, I imagine
it's either, you know, like down in the gutters,
down some kind of back alleyway, you know, a
little nondescript. Hell yeah. A little broken
wooden door that nobody would think twice about.
Hell yeah. But I think you walk in and it's probably
made a nice raggedy comfy home. You know, maybe,
you know. Not a second hand, but like a third
or fourth hand ripped up sofa, you know, makeshift
dishes, you know, crates as tables kind of thing.
But, you know, it's a place that they've made
home. I absolutely love it. So I want to create
a scene here. You see the Cherry Delights all
chipper and cheering and laughing as they are
moving sort of towards this rickety door. Um,
you see Mulligan is kind of in the lead of them
two years younger. So now I believe he is nine.
Would it be something like that? And he's just
like got this tray of, of, uh, iced over like,
like rolls, um, like cinnamon roll kind of things.
And he just, you just poached from, uh, some,
maybe some, uh, cart moving through the, uh,
the actual like proper city. It's a good meal.
um this is a big score for you guys and he's
just like oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my
god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god uh
i can't wait and just burst through the door
and you see like him just running in uh you see
all the others are kind of running in as well
behind him you hear the rolls cloud down the
table and i like to think there's a moment where
you jewels are just standing back and watching
your six cherry delights move into the room you
just kind of Probably a slight smile on your
face, knowing that you've done good today. These
kids are happy. We got the feast. And you're
starting to get your bearings together on the
streets. You're really starting to get it now.
And then you hear, Oh, Jules! Jules! Jules! Panic
Chester from somewhere inside. You can hear,
like, everyone kind of quiets down a little bit,
and it sounds different. The joyous atmosphere
is just, like, gone. You go in? Yeah, of course.
So you just, like, rush in, door opens, and you
see immediately what's troubling the gang. You
see as you move into the room, maybe there's
a small counter on the other side. They just
set the buns down, they're all gathered around
the table, but sitting on the counter, you see
this small, maybe five -year -old tiefling girl.
You see she's wearing just these completely shoddy...
Dirty, like, soaked rags. Her feet are bare and
blistered. And she's brandishing a little knife.
Dull, but still a dangerous weapon. She's shaking,
and she's watching everyone with eyes wide and
terrified, like a feral cat. She's just looking
around from person to person. Not making any
sounds, but... Take it easy, take it easy. It's
okay, it's okay. She's kind of like... Well,
shakes the knife towards you. Nobody's going
to hurt you. Nobody's going to hurt you. What's
your name? What's your name? You see, she stops
looking at you for a moment, and her eyes fall
towards the tray on the table, and you can see
the desire lighting up in there. You have to
wonder how long it's been since she's had any
sort of meal, and as she looks down, tears form
at the sides of her eyes, and a little drool
forms at the side of her mouth as she stares
at the cinnamon rolls. And she takes a hand off
the knife and she points, shaking towards him
and says, Round stuff? Go ahead, go ahead. Are
you hungry? Round stuff? Yeah, go, go. Go ahead,
take one. I think she doesn't move and Chester
kind of looks to you for permission and kind
of grabs one of them and moves to approach. Yeah.
He hands it over to her and she just... drops
the knife lets it clatter to the floor and just
shoves it into her mouth and you see her just
like her eyes just openly weeping now as she
smiles this big smile and just just riding the
sugar craving she's just so happy and yeah i
think jules is gonna go over and just kind of
plop down next to her a little cautiously but
you know not not to scare her and she recoils
for a second at first But I think you kind of
move slow, like you say. We're all friends here.
What's your name? I'm Jules. This is Chester.
Round stuff. She kind of points again to the
cinnamon rolls. Chester shrugs, gets her another
one. And I think as she kind of takes her hand,
she looks back at you. And in this strange sort
of sudden shift in momentum in the scene, in
her mood, she just... dives off the counter and
wraps her arms around your neck and like holds
you tight and you see she's shaking. She's shaking
so much. Oh, we got you. You're safe here. You're
safe here with us. Don't you worry. Don't you
worry. You hear a whisper in your ear. It's so
quiet. Don't. Don't let go. Don't let me go.
I got you. Don't ever let me go. Don't let me
go. Don't. Let me go. And we find ourselves in
a very different back room in a very different
building. And here we see that same tiefling,
two years older, huddled in a corner, looking
just as terrified, surrounded by her family,
and looking to you with this desperation. No,
no. As this. Half -dragon in armor stands, coming
to a decision. His eyes meet yours, and I need
a persuasion check. You have buttons. This is
going to be a monumental check. Now, I will tell
you a few things before you make this. You've
played this scene amazingly well. Brilliantly,
I will say. appealed to Arhalon's, essentially,
his insecurity when he initially brought Mew
into this room. And in doing so, and in passing
that first persuasion check, you've dropped this
DC down quite a bit. You then manage to inflame
his sense of curiosity, his investigative senses,
his instincts, by bringing up the corruption
in your own blood. The idea that those on top
may have more Skeletons hiding in their closets
and they let on. This got him going and this
dropped the DC. Again. You've played to the character,
great. But this is a game about roles and numbers
and sometimes you can do everything right. It
can still go wrong. Because this is a big, big
ask. It's been quite a while since I have used
a button. It has been. And I need to use one.
Okay. I think this is the time. This is too important.
You got a couple in there. This is too important.
I do. I do. And I am going to use one. Okay.
I will take that button back. There you go. Thank
you, sir. And here we go. Oh, man. Roll number
one. I will reveal both after I have rolled both
of them. Okay. I have a DC in mind. 13. 13. I
don't think that's going to do it. Yeah, I don't
think so either. He's typing. I don't like that.
Nope. I mean, I just expected no. Right. I didn't
expect typing. I think he expected me to actually
hit it, and now he's changing his plan. Oh, it's
a music change. Yep. It's worse than we expected.
Fuck. Roll for initiative. God damn it. No, that's
not what I want. Try the right one. I thought
I had it set up already. He looks you in the
eyes, Jules. His eyes narrow and he says, I'm
sorry. I am. If what you say is true, I have
to remain a shield bearer. If I strip myself
of any rank, of any ability to investigate this,
in this scenario, perhaps, The smaller wrongs,
bringing these children to a home that is perhaps
compromised, it's not great, Jules LaRoche, but
it will give me the ability to continue my investigations.
I'm sorry. Arlan, I'm not asking you to drop
your shield -bearer status right now. But you
are! I'm just asking that you not send my friends
into the care of anybody under the control of
my parents. That's all. That's all. I am not
the wielder. I am the sword. And if a sword does
not perform in combat, it is tossed to the side.
This is not my call. I have no choice. My hands
are tied in this as much as yours are. I'm sorry.
I have to take them. He turns and sweeps his
hands around and you hear round stuff. Like crying
out chesters. It's okay. It's okay. He's looking
at you like, what do we do? What do we do, Jules?
So when all of this evil comes out, when it all
takes over all these worlds, and the darkness
spreads, what are you going to think about what
you did then? How are you going to live with
yourself? It won't come to that. I will stop
it before it happens. They are far too powerful,
even for you. They're far too powerful for Atash.
And all the fucking luminaries out there. What
side are you going to be on when everything crumbles?
Are you going to be on the side rebuilding and
creating something good? I will be on the side
of law. And he stands up. The law's a lie. Don't
interfere, Jules. I'm warning you. And he takes
a step towards the cherry delights. Don't touch
them. I will take them. He looks back at you.
I want to leave this scene for a moment. I want
to leave this scene and move into the room next
door. Because I'm an asshole. Oh no, not me.
Please, anybody, not me. Fuck. Somebody, anybody.
I'm still getting over my goosebumps. Zebulon,
you are waiting in this room. You guys don't
hear. The door's pretty thick in the back room.
You hear nothing. You're just waiting. Waiting
peppers. Kind of. Kind of like, you know, calming
down a little bit. Ader sort of by his side.
You see the shield bearers are all standing.
All just kind of like waiting. Kind of like,
you know, calm, patient stalwart. Except for
one. Jacinth Kellig is fuming. I can't believe.
There's no way. There's no way. Not like this.
Not his fucking honey tongue. He's not getting
away this time. He's not. And he's just kind
of like, how do you know what George's tongue
tastes like? God damn it. We were very close
at one point. He, um, he's like kind of fuming.
Then he kind of stops for a second. His eyes
flicker towards you. And flicker just past you.
To Pepper. And he smiles. So, you really think
this is all going to work out for your new friends?
Rabbit, I wonder what's happening back there,
what they're saying. I wonder if they're selling
you out. Pepper, what do you mean? Hey, Pepper,
that's okay. You don't have to say anything to
this guy. That's all right. Well, what's he talking
about? Well, I mean, you were their enemy, weren't
you? I've heard a few things. And aren't you
wanted on God's breath? I mean, perhaps. They
could make a deal in exchange for the children.
They could have you put away. But I didn't do
that. No, it wasn't an accident. They wouldn't
do that. They wouldn't do that. Hey, Pepper,
as not your lawyer, I'm going to advise you to
not say anything. He turns towards you just like,
quiet, Zebulon. You don't have any power. Here,
do you understand? This is Big Brother's show.
I'm not as scared of you. You see Peppers looking
back between the two of you, and I want you to
make a contested persuasion check. Oh, all right,
all right. All right. Yo, I just crit my pants.
Oh, shit! I just crit my pants. All right. Oh,
my God. 20 plus 3. Give me something cool. What
do you say to, like, fully calm Pepper? Because
Pepper looks at you, and he's, like, he's kind
of, like, getting nervous again, shaking again.
And, like, maybe he looks and sees how just,
like, stalwart you are in the face of this, like,
shield bearer. And you see. Pepper, look at me.
Oh, yeah? You wouldn't do it, would you? We're
never going to forget, Pepper, what you did for
us during the games. You proved to us then that
we're friends. Do you believe me, Pepper? I do.
Yeah. Yeah, I do. I do. And he turns over. I
believe him. And you're a liar. And you're a
jerk. And you're not a good shield bearer. And
you kind of smell. I mean, we're a little distant,
but I can... Unless it's one of your guys. Justin,
I just kind of like... Grimaces, like... We'll
move back to the room beyond. Well done, Steven.
Thank you. Jules, what are you doing? Our Halana
is taking a step towards the Cherry Delights.
You made your threat. He looks at you. Another
long, warning look, and he takes another step.
You let me take them. What do you mean? You lead
the way. But I will bring them. He softens. I
am sorry. I understand this is hard. It's hard
for me too, but it's nothing compared to how
hard it must be for you. And I appreciate this
show. If you come with me, it will look good
for you. It will show that you are on the side
of the law if you want to become a luminary.
And I... Don't recommend that you do, but if
you want to become a luminary, this will help.
I don't want to become a luminary. I want to
stop the darkness. If it can be stopped, then
you can leave it to me. I will find a way, and
when I do, I will see them taken away from these
monsters. We'll find a home, a better home. I
cannot leave you alone in the room. But I suggest
you say goodbyes now, before we go into the public.
So, if we are in agreement on this, you understand
what I'm saying, right? You understand what's
happening? I do. Do me this one favor. I'm listening.
Before we go, let's make a stop to your mother.
Your grandmother. Very well. Very well. This
can be done. I can have her meet me at my mother's
residence. Just we don't move into the jewel
itself, into the diamond. This is where my grandmother
resides. But my mother, Xena, she lives just
outside of it. Call it neutral territory. The
Preserve of the Ancestors is this, like, it's,
you've probably never even seen it as I belong.
You just know there's a massive, expansive area
inside the diamond itself. And there's one sort
of great iron door leading into it. This is where
all the governance of the worlds basically happens.
This is where all the governance of the crystal
network happens. Okay. This is where apparently
those mysterious creatures known as the incarnates
happen, or they reside. So it's very, very, very
restricted. Okay. All right. You give no transmission
to your higher -ups until we do this. I will
follow you. I'm not going to fight. I don't want
to fight. But we do this first. I understand.
Very well. I will... I will make a call. He kind
of, like, pulls out this stone. You see, like,
this polished stone off, like, his belt. And
you see, like, one side of the stone has, like,
a sort of mouth. And the other side has, like,
an ear. It's, like, this, like, finely carved.
What? Yeah. Okay. And I think he, like, steps
away. You see him just, like, turn to the ear
side. He whispers a message into it. It glows
faintly. It's a short message. And he turns it
around. And at some point, you see the mouth
begins to, like, move. I'm not really saying
anything, but, like, this weird whisper. And
he holds it up to his ear. And then it opens
and starts to speak into his ear. Again, quiet
enough where he is that you don't quite hear
it. He nods. Puts it back down, turns to you.
A tell stone. Trying to name it. I think it has
a name. Might be the Stone of Far Speech or something
like that. I'll have to look it up. Stone of
Message, I don't know. Anyway, he pokes down
his pocket, turns back towards you. I'll need
the three youngest. We'll take them. We'll move
to Xena's. We'll also take Zebulon. She... He
actually looks, like, a little nervous here.
She wants to speak with him. Aw, fuck. Um, hell
yeah. So... Let's go. I'm gonna crack another
beer before that scene. Zebulon, the door into
your room opens. Everyone kind of turns. Wait
with bated breath. As Arhalon strolls out of
the room. Followed by Jules. All the cherry delights.
Chester's... Jules! Jules! Are you serious? We
can take these guys! Come on! We can't! Jules,
you know we can't do this! Chester! Slow game.
We gotta pick our battles right now. Chester,
not a great idea, buddy. Alright, alright. Yeah,
don't you fuck this up, David. Chester pulls
out his sling. No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't.
Should I check him with you? He looks over at
the older Cherry Delights, like Mulligan and
Fibro. You stay here and keep the others safe.
Okay. I trust you. All right. Yeah, yeah. I trust
you too, Jules. Whatever happens, I trust you.
You and Gene's got this. Yeah. Yeah, we got this.
How is Arhan behaving towards Zebulon right now?
He steps out. His eyes immediately dart towards
you. And I need you to roll me an insight check
if you want to read into them. I think they're
guarded, I would say, at this point in time.
Well, I don't have high hopes with insight, but
I'll do it anyway. Yeah, it's a 10. It's hard
to read. I would just say cold. Zebulon's going
to try to kind of break the ice a little. Hey,
Arhalon, you should make your guy shower more.
That one over there. He's kind of stinky. He
just glances over at you and, giving his voice
no real room for emotion, just says, Zebulon,
Grandmother would like to speak with you. Now,
we're going to Xena's. We're going to Mother's.
You're coming too. He walks away. And Zebulon
looks over to Jules. But, uh, Xena's, huh? Yeah,
sounds like it. Zebulon mimes a raspberry at
Jessenth. Jessenth is. Like, he sees the children
are kind of, like, hugging and separating. Chester's
just, hey, hey, it's okay, hey. We're going to
come for you, all right? Random stuff. We're
going to come for you, okay? And she's just,
okay. Yeah, well, Jules will figure it out, right?
And hey, you got Miskin here. Miskin's going
to protect you. Huh, Miskin? I got their back.
His legs are shaking so absolutely. But he's
just looking so bold up top. And Paul just looks
mortified, but like isn't saying a word. Just
kind of like almost half hyperventilating. And
everyone just kind of like whispers a few words
to them. There's a number of embraces. The shield
bearers wait patiently. And the three youngest,
Cherry Delights, Misskin, Paul, and Roundstuff
step away from the others and turn to follow
usuals. The eight guards in the room, Jethyn
included, turn. Jethyn's is still just grinning.
He puts his helmet back on. So you see that smile
just disappearing under it. As I walk past him,
I turn and I give him a wink. And you see just,
like, you can't see his face now with the helmet,
but, like, he kind of abruptly looks at you.
And, like, his helmet just follows you as you
walk away. The guards are like, I was like, come
on, and, like, pushing him. He, like, stopped
as everyone was trying to move. And he's, right,
yes, coming. I'm staring at him as we walk out
the door. My head's turning and everything. What
a shit. And they all move out kind of in a line
behind you. And you move up the trade disc. You
see, like, outside, a lot of people have, like,
gathered, but they're, like, quietly gathered
in a circle around, watching. There were a number
of shield, a few other shield bearers. Like,
there's, like, four of them that were kind of
outside, kind of, like, keeping the crowd at
bay, watching one of the back doors. And as,
like, you guys move out, they kind of fall in
line behind them. The crowd just watches on.
What could it be? What's going on? Just a lot
of chatter. And you move up the streets of the
Trade Discall, circling around and around. As
you move, you hear joyous crowds up ahead that
slowly kind of descend into, like, quiet concern
as this guard of shieldbearers led by the Immaculate
Arhalon stroll past them. And as you move right
up towards the... towards the Preserve of the
Ancestors, towards that graceful iron door, and
towards the large manors resting outside where
you know Xena is. You do see where the Trade
to Skull hugs the edge of the area known as the
Court of Whispers, where a lot of intelligence
is traded. You see, like, resting in an alley
as you move by a smiling gnome in this bright
blue suit with this bright orange tie, just garish.
He just waves at you. I don't think Zebulon even
shows that he notices Rune. He's actually going
to slow his gait a little bit. You said that
the shield bearers are behind us? Yes. All right.
So Zebulon's going to slow his gait a little
bit and put Jessinth in between himself and Rune
to not even make eye contact. All right. And
I think Jules sees Rune and gives him a little
flick of the wrist like, I don't give a shit
about you. And as I do that, I'm going to turn
around for a second. All right. And stare Jess
into the face and say, you know why you're still
alive? Enlighten me, Jules. Because I'm better
than you. He just kind of, like, goes quiet,
almost thinking this over. And do you continue
to move? I'm going to slowly back up, keeping
eyes locked. You can see, like, maybe, like,
between the slits of his helmet, you can see
his eyes are, like, narrowed. It's a cat and
mouse. He thinks he's got you, finally. So...
Finally. So, David. Yeah? I don't think this
is going to work. What? Wild -ass plan do you
have this time? Would you say that Jessenth is
distracted right now? I will say that. This is
like Jules. If there's one thing in this world
that's going to distract this guy, he is obsessed
with getting even with Jules LaRoche. Yeah, sure.
He's distracted. And see, the thing is, all the
other shield bearers are behind Jessenth, aren't
they? They are kind of in a line behind, yeah.
But you're going through a crowded trade to Skull.
I'll tell you that much. Scheming. Scheming again
at the table. What is this madness? They've got
their phones out. They are texting each other.
On mic. You animals. I don't even. I don't even.
What are you doing? Get me in that group chat.
Post it on Instagram. Live feed. Damn it. You're
in a busy trade disc, Al. So. It's possible you
could pull off. Something? So Zebulon's going
to throw a wink Jules' way. Okay. And as he does
that, Jules casts Minor Illusion to create an
explosion noise off to the side somewhere, maybe
around the corner of a back alley. I need to
read about Minor Illusion real quick. It's a
cantrip, baby. The volume can range from a whisper
to a scream. It can be any sound. It can last
for a minute. Okay. All right. Okay. So you are
going to make a somatic gesture. What's somatic?
Basically means you're going to move your hands
in some way when you do this. Okay. So the question
is, can you do that? My hands are down like at
my sides here. I'll say, yeah, you can, like,
I think you can do it behind your back or, like,
down. I'm just going to have it behind. I mean,
everybody behind me is facing forward. Everybody
in front of me is facing at me. That's true.
I just give a little flick with my finger. Okay.
Okay. Okay. I still want you to roll a little
sleight of hand just to see, like, it's possible
it could be noticed that you're doing something
behind your back. But you're making that explode.
This is wild. Wow. Ten. Ten. Ten. Tweener. Ten.
Okay, okay. So, would it be fair to say that
everybody behind Justin would not have noticed
that? Let me... Fair. ...create a little more
tension here with the sound effects. Because
you suddenly, as he's staring at you as this
is happening, there's just a sudden... Boom!
Explosion from an alley nearby, basically. There's
a loud sound. And you hear a crowd screaming.
It's a kind of move away from it. You watch as
the shield bearers go. And the ones behind, the
ones forward, all kind of look over there. Start
like, fair enough, fair enough. Arlon's like,
what's going on? What's happening? Go! Check
it out! Check it out! And in the middle of the
chaos, Zebulon wants to pick Jessin's Pothicant.
Here's the thing. Jessinth. sees, like, hears
the explosion, his eyes turn there, and they
lop back onto you. He's like, no, you don't.
No, you fucking don't! And he goes and tries
to charge you, Jules. So he's definitely not
paying attention to Zebulon. Yeah. Oh, my God.
Yes. Okay, all right. Yes. Yes, this whole time
I was in there, you're locked on me. Oh, my God.
You're locked on me. Yeah, he saw you do that.
And everyone else is, oh, my God. So he's going
to, all right, first things first. You're going
to do this. He's going to roll an athletics check
against your athletics tools. You can do athletics
or graphics. He's going to try to grapple you,
basically. He's going to try to take you down.
Who's behind me? I would say the Three Cherry
Delights are behind you. The other guards are
very distracted. They're kind of like, a lot
of people are. Who's in front of the Cherry Delights?
I think it's just them and then you, and then
Zebulon is, I believe, like, kind of just ahead
of you. So probably Jessenth is now not facing
him, because he even specified he got, like,
between Jessenth, them, and he let Jessenth fall
behind him. So, yeah, this all checks out. Okay.
Yeah. So right now, in the middle of this chaos,
we have a small group with the Three Cherry Delights,
Jules. And Justin's kind of, like, charging in,
grabbing at Jules, and then Zebulon behind him.
And everyone else is kind of fanning out, running
to, like, sort of secure the crowd, secure the
location that this explosion happened in. Arhalon's
eyes are wide. He's surveying there. You see
his wings flap, and he bursts into the air. Whoa.
Yeah, he can fly. Woof. Yeah, that's cool. He
doesn't do it often, but he can fly. So first
things first, athletics check. Jules is grappled.
Okay. I got a 13 to beat. With a nat 1. Oh, my
God. With a nat 1. That's real bad. I'm going
to say he, like, straight up grabs you and, like,
drops you to the ground. But he's on top of you.
He's holding you down. He's like, don't you fucking
try this. This is my way. Zebulon, you have advantage.
There it is. Yeah. Advantage. That's what I wanted.
And also, let me be clear. Nobody else saw this
except Jessenth, right? Jessenth's the only one
that noticed. That was the mixed result. I'm
okay with that. I'm okay with that. Okay. So
my question is, you said that Arhalon jumped
up into the air. Am I going to get to make this
check before Arhalon notices what Zebulon's doing?
Because Zebulon was waiting for the perfect time.
Arhalon's distracted. He's flying in there. He's
flying over to like the behind those two buildings.
He's checking out the alley. So I'm going to
roll sleight of hand with advantage without having
to worry about our hunt. I accidentally create
the best possible scenario for you to do this.
Well, we purposefully tried to create the best
possible scenario. It's like I fed perfectly
into your plans on accident. I was like, make
success. This happens. And you're like, good.
That's great. I'm like, damn, you guys are good.
And I mean, like, the thing is, is we created
this whole charade. And Justin's pockets could
be empty. This is a total crap show. I honestly
don't know what you're going for. I don't either.
And I'm also going to say this because this is
the first time I can ever say this. I'm going
to remind you that you have a button. Huh. Oh,
no, you do have advantage anyway. Never mind.
Yeah, I have advantage and a pretty high dex.
So here we go. I'm going to roll the Labradorite
die that my wife gifted me for my birthday. Oh,
yeah. Okay. Here we go. All right. That's the
first roll. So that is a 21, dirty 21. You slide
in and you reach down. Maybe there's like a pouch
to the side of his armor where he has like, you
know, maybe important valuables and you slide
your hand into it. You come out with, I'm going
to say some amount of money, 10 gold. And then
your hands also fall on an envelope. Yeah, I
knew David was going to do something. He was
going to reward us for this. This is a risk.
I had ten seconds there to come up with what's
in this guy's pocket. Holy shit. You're like
Bilbo Baggins. Like, what's in his pocket? What's
in his pocket? It's his precious. Just like,
all right, fine. I'll guess. Yeah, you find an
envelope. Excellent. As you pull it out, you
see, like, you slide out and you step back. You
see this envelope is unsealed currently, but
you see what's previously stuck together with,
I'll say, blue wax in the shape of a great tower
standing above, like, a few other, I think four
other towers. Maybe you wouldn't recognize it
as the seal of the LaRoche family. But you would
have a perfect identification source of jewels
to find out later on. I don't think it matters
what Zebulon pulls out. I think he's immediately
stuffing it and backing off. And just, you know,
looking totally nonchalant. Well, not nonchalant.
I mean, obviously something's happening, but
looking not guilty. You kind of step back in
a moment later. You see, like, shield bearers
are kind of, like, moving out of the alley, calming
people. Justin is sitting over you. You know
what? He's going to hit you. Where? I'm going
to say right now you are restrained. He's kind
of got you dropped, and he's kind of got you
grappled. I'm going to punch you. Stop him. Stop
him. This guy's unhinged. He actually rolled
a one and a five, so he, like, literally misses.
You move your head, and he smashes knuckles against
the pavement and goes, God! Just! Like, just.
Hits his hand. And Jules is going to say, Arhalon,
Arhalon, get your little goon here. I don't know
what the fuck he's doing. He's got some vendetta
against me. He's brutalizing Jules. This is not
fair. I think like a figure smashes down so hard
you hear Tyle crack beside you as Arhalon drops
down beside you. He puts a hand on Jess and rips
him off of you with such like ferocious strength.
He goes falling backwards, sliding and skidding
his metal against the stone. Call us on street.
Arholon just turns to him. What are you doing,
officer? You can't treat people. Hey, he can't
treat people this way. Zebulon. Silence. And
he, like, looks back. Zebulon crosses his hands
and is very docile. This dude was just mad because
I kicked his ass one time. I roll a very high
insight check. Go ahead and roll deception for
me. Hey, David. You want to read this for me?
Did you crit your pants? Are you kidding me?
I crit my pants. Oh, I can smell it. I crit my
pants. All right. Damn it. I rolled really high,
too. Damn it. Dude, twice? Amazing. Twice in
one app. Amazing. So Arhalon just nods and turns
back. And he looks at some of the other soldiers
just like, Officer Bergens. Officer Maestro.
Take Officer Kellig away. Let him cool down somewhere
far from here. This is too personal for him,
it seems. What? No, no, I'm seeing this through.
This is an order from a superior officer. Do
not question it. He's just staring him down,
and Justin's kind of like, almost like he's still
on the ground, and you see he just deflates.
His head just falls back against the cobblestone,
and he just knows he is beaten. Here, as two
other officers rush over and help him up, and
your group begins to move away. That was wild.
That was awesome. That was so good. I can't believe
any of that worked. I mean, I didn't know what
you were hoping to find in the pockets, but as
this started progressing, I'm like, oh my god,
this is going to totally tear down Jessent's...
Yeah. And create this friction. Yeah. I didn't
really have any designs on bringing Jessens down,
but I was thinking that if there were any written
orders, they would be on Jessens' person. Sure.
It's pretty good. Oh, yeah. It's pretty good.
I'm into it. Jules, do you get up off the ground?
I kind of dust myself off. Fucker. Arhalon is
still kind of eyeing you suspiciously, not about
what you lied, he believed you fully, but he's
still just like, Watching you. He's hated me
for a long time, man. Come on. We didn't find
any sign of mischief. But the sound was very
real. I think there were some kids dropping pots.
Flower pots. Off the roofs. Remember? We used
to do that as kids. Dropping pots. Scare. Scare
pastures by. He just looks back at you. Jules,
let's move on. Hopefully there'll be no more
distractions. I'm here. And he turns on his heel.
Shield bearers once again go. The chariot of
lights are kind of like staring around. Miskin
kind of like, kind of gives him a nudge like,
come on, we'll be okay. And they kind of still
sniffling, follow you. And you move, and you
reach the entrance to the preserve of the ancestors.
You reach the large, sort of open yards, reaching
out to these great manors that belong to important
peoples here in the Citadel. At least it smells
better now. At this point, Arhalon turns to the
soldiers, just says, Keep an eye on these three.
Be kindly. This is a hard time for them. The
soldiers salute. The cherry delights kind of,
you know, they kind of usher their lights towards
them. And they're not being rough or mean. They're
not like bad people. They're just officers following
their orders. And they're kind of like, hey,
hey, come on, kid. It's all right. Hey, come
here. Come here. Let me show you something. And
the kids kind of like go usher over. And the
officers are kind of just like, you know, kind
of gathering around them, like being friendly.
Arlan nods at this. Turns to both of you. Well,
let's go then. Both of you roll an insight check
for me. I'm going to switch die. I feel like
that die is too hot. I got to let it cool off.
My die just got hot. I'm going to switch to my
big die that we got from Spectral Craft. There
you go. Not crazy high. It's a 10. Okay. I got
a five. All right. As you move forward, Arhalon
still maintains that kind of cold, stiff demeanor.
You don't read much into him. But Zebulon, I
imagine you feel like some gnawing in your belly
as you know you're moving towards Xolay. Oh,
boy. Waiting for you inside. Gonna need that.
Nice. There you go. You move up the courtyard,
up the steps. Arhalon just opens the door. They're
expecting us. and ushers you in. Zebulon kind
of, with his hands, brushes off his pants and
his shoulders real fast. You see, as you step
in, Arhalon stops the door. He, like, stands
there. Go on. I will speak with her afterwards.
And, like, in this moment, there's almost this,
like, the, I guess, anger, even the coldness
towards Zebulon seems to drop for a moment, and
there's this flicker of, like, concern in his
eyes as he looks at you and nods you in. Zebulon
kind of fixes his back, straightens it, lifts
his chin up a little, adjusts his posture, and
walks in the door. You move in. You see. piles
and piles and piles of junk all around you as
you step in, kind of moving between them through
like aisles, uh, dig set and all this. And you
can actually hear that the room like, yes, dear.
Yes. Zebulon's also holding something in his
hands behind his back. Okay. You turn a corner
into the junk and you see that one, uh, set table,
uh, just. laid out over, like the table with
no legs, laid over a pile of junk that you were
resting at before. And you see that just sitting
there with a glass in her hand, some cold glass
of wine or something. And there's one of those
at the table. You see Xiole. You see this old
woman full on wearing her sort of human form
that you know it's truly masking the form of
this massive ancient brass dragon. Just an old
lady with graying hair and a braid down her back.
Honestly, a very unintimidating figure, but you
know better. On the other side of the table,
you see a brass half -dragon, very large and
imposing, but again, you know better. And she
goes, oh, yes, yes! Oh, oh, oh my goodness! And
she looks over. Oh, Sabula! Sabula! Oh, Sabula,
Sabula made this title for me, you see? Zena,
hey. Oh, that's his friend Jules. Jules, hi.
Hi, Zena, hi. Hi, everyone. I brought you something.
What did you bring me? I brought you something
from Sipsanko. Really? Sipsanko? Yeah, we were
just there. And he walks over to Zena, and he
hands her the bouquet of Laopop flowers with
one hand. Oh, my goodness. Everyone, hello. They're
surprised. They're pretty. Yeah, these are the
Laopop flowers that grow in the mountains in
Shipshunko. Laopop? You should see the lights.
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Zebulon. She gives
you a big hug, and she grabs the flowers, and
she's, like, looking through them, almost like
her fingers running down the petals of each one.
Just so delighted. And Shirley kind of laughs.
Oh, Zebulon's always doing such a good job taking
care of you, isn't he, Xena? So kindly. With
Zebulon's other hand, he pulls out a single lapop
flower that he pulled out of the bouquet and
hands it to Sholay. Oh, grandson. She takes it
in hand, smiles fondly towards you, and her eyes
are not smiling. And she looks back to Xena.
Xena, dear, do you know that blue vase I gave
you last year from Taib? Wouldn't these look
lovely in that? A blue vase? I have a... Half
a blue vase? There's the red vase. No, no, no,
there's a blue one. I remember it. I believe
you left it on the third floor. If you want to
take a look, please. Oh. Oh, yes. It would look
lovely. Yes, yes. I'll go. Crafty, crafty. Please,
take a seat. And she, like, gestures towards
the table, and you see Xena just, like, flies
up. Thanks, Xena. And you and Jules are alone
with Xole. She slowly stands up, tosses a flower
to the side, let's just fall into the ground.
Ouch. She walks over to you. Do you say anything?
Hello, grandmother. You take four points of damage.
What? As she just slaps you. Holy shit. Right
across the face. You go sprawling into a pile
of junk. Some things roll off the top as you
just. Smash into it, and she just looks at you
in the eyes. Her eyes are blazing. How fucking
dare you? Oh, my. Stand, Zebulon. Zebulon pushes
off the floor and stands up and faces his grandmother.
Leaving the world without telling me? How cute.
Sapsanko. You think I'm not keeping up what you've
done there? You think I don't know your intentions,
Zebulon? I know everything. And now, what are
you trying to do to your brother? Hmm? Interfering
with his investigation? Are you trying to see
his whole career ruined? Why are you here? Why
are you here? I'm here to make a life for myself
and protect my friends. You can make a life for
yourself. Without throwing away everything I've
done for you. Every way that I've protected you.
That's your life. I want to make a life for myself.
Not the life you made for me. You want to be
a luminary. I am a luminary. No. No. No. This
will not happen again. I will not watch it happen
again. I know how it ends. What do you mean again?
Roll an insight check. I'm real bad at insight.
God. It's a lot of insight. I'm real bad at it.
Get out of town. What is it? Dude, I crit again.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I rolled high, too. Oh,
my God. Your pants are so full of crit. Dude,
I've got so much crit in my pants. Holy shit.
It was the spectral craft die logo, so it took
me a second. I was like, is that a zero? But
no, it's just the round shape of the spectral
craft eye logo on the 20. Oh, yeah. I absolutely
love this because she did roll high, which is
so fitting. You can see that she, like, her eyes
widen for just a half second, almost imperceptibly,
and then narrow again, almost like she was unfazed.
But to you, how well you know your grandmother,
Zebulon. She is shaken to her core. She said
something that she fucking should never have
said. And, like, she let something so massive
slip just there. Wow. And, like, it just, again,
just, like, covers over. She's calm. Never mind.
I spoke. Grandmother, what does that mean? Nothing.
No, continue. Nothing. You let it out of the
box. Jules the Roach. Yeah, I've seen that look
before. You just see, like, yeah, she kind of
turns away from you, and it's almost like the
eyes of the hungry predator have turned to a
new prey. And she just leaves you, Zebula, and
begins walking over to you, Jules. I've been
watching you too, Jules. You know, you could
be arrested. You were a criminal on Sarul, and
maybe coming to the Citadel, maybe there was
no hard evidence against your crimes. What do
you think makes me a criminal? The ruling class
described you as such. It would be smart for
me, as a diplomat, to ally with them. While they
may have lost their world, the king and queen
of Cerule are still very much in power. You know
this, right? Grandmother, please! The ruling
class. You got the veil pulled over your eyes
so bad. Why? Because they worship demons? Because
I deal in dark magic. You think I don't know?
You think I don't know everything? So then why
are you standing back doing jack shit about it?
And stopping the people who are trying to do
something about it? You know absolutely nothing
about what I do. Then enlighten us. Be honest
for once. These conquered worlds may be small,
but the differences between our cultures is vast.
Indeed, you could not understand the meticulous
care I must take with every public word I speak,
every glance, every smile I make. How do you
expect any of us to trust what you say unless
you are honest? You come out with it then. I
am speaking honestly. Tell me. Fine. You want
real honesty. You want the truth. I will give
you the truth. This charade of yours is doomed.
It never had a chance. It's over. This is not
a charade. You think an agent's going to put
any footage you have on the network? I know what's
happening. I am standing in the way of it. You
will never be luminaries. And so long as the
public doesn't know who you are, you are not
protected by any of the laws governing the network.
You are not protected from me. You know, to me,
to us, it seems like you and everybody else are
putting on the charade here. We're trying to
stop it. Shelly. We're the only ones trying to
stop all this. Shelly. You're talking about demons
and black magic and luminaries. What? If you
know about it and don't do anything, you're just
as bad. Zebulon's got, like, eyes wide, jaw to
the floor, has no idea what anybody's talking
about with fucking black magic and demons. Yeah,
yeah. It's like you're annoying in this conversation.
She's looking at you. Believe me, there is nobody
in these worlds that has more to hate. More lost
from the cult of the Fractured Horn than me.
I don't believe it. But I will deal with them
in my way. It is the subtle way, because it is
the winning way. I do not smash my head against
every obstacle like a fool. They aren't going
to be subtle. They're not going to be subtle
when they're coming around here, killing everybody.
Sweet child, you think you've seen darkness.
You think you've experienced the worst, and so
you are wise in this world? I think I'm the only
one of us that has actually resisted it. And
that's why you are going to die when I live.
Because I know how to play my cards right. Be
smarter, Jules LaRoche. Be smarter. And you might
just protect the people you care about. Isn't
that why you're here? To protect the people you
care about? I'm stronger. And what power do you
have now? What is your strength? Begging at my
feet so you don't lose your loved ones? To your
own family? Drop the charade. I ain't gonna drop
shit. Shall I do... Do I really have to come
here and ask you to save... Children in the face
of evil and demons? If I make a move against
the family now, it opens me up to attack. Political
attack. You don't understand how fractured the
speakers are. You don't understand how difficult
it is to make a move here if they gain more allies
against me. Or if Atash does. Or any of my other
innumerable enemies. I may not be a politic addition,
but... I mean, can't you make a lateral move?
Can't these kids go somewhere else? To Xena?
Here? How do you live with yourself not doing
something about it? I'm going to let you make
a persuasion check. The check has disadvantage,
but Zebulon is going to give you the help action
with what he's saying as well. So I'm going to
give you a flat persuasion check. What do I do
if I use a button? You will have advantage again.
This is going to be a higher DC than with Arhalon.
It may be a very high DC. You did not play to
Sholay as well as you did to Arhalon because
Sholay is much, much harder to deal with. I've
crit with two die already. They're hot. I'm putting
them down. I'm picking up. The metal die I got
from Jason and Andrea at MF Designs. And I'm
going to use that die. Okay. With a button. Oh,
man. We got double advantage. This is a high
roll. No, no, no. I'm sorry. I think it's just
flat advantage because I think the help action
brings it from disadvantage, and then the button
brings it to regular advantage, correct? Yes.
Okay. It's one advantage. I mean, we're here.
I said it. This is a high roll. Try as I tell
you the DC now, or it's more interesting if you
roll them and I play it out. Killing. Please.
Nope. First roll was a three. I don't even think
we need to say it. Second roll was an eleven.
Well, it's ten and eleven. Okay. Okay. You ask
how I can live with myself, and you have no idea
the good I do every day, what I sacrifice for
it. We all make sacrifices, Jules. You know,
maybe if you fill us in on what the hell is going
on, maybe, maybe we can find some middle ground
on this and work together and be stronger against
whatever the hell this is we're trying to stop.
I respect that you want to assist me. That you
want to become my allies. But my allies are far
smarter than the two of you. You want to help?
Go somewhere quiet. Stop making moves. Stop making
waves. Live quietly and stay out of my way. I
feel so small. I... I go someplace quiet. With
my friends. None of them get in the hands of
my parents. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. You
didn't roll high enough for that, Joel Zaroche.
And then you hear... I didn't find the blue one,
but there's a red one. I think it looks good
in the red one, too. Oh, yes, dear. You know,
I was wrong. The red would look wonderful, and
I believe I... My mistake. It was the red vase
I gave you. The blue one. I'll buy you a blue
one next time I find myself in the region of
Taib. Oh, really? Oh, that'd be wonderful. Oh.
And Sirk's over at you guys. Zabulan's got, like,
probably a stinging slap mark on the side of
his face. Jules, you probably just look, like,
distraught. Oh, no. I forgot to bring snacks.
I'm sorry. Please forgive. Please. I forgive
you. You've been kind. Oh. You are kind. Thank
you. Oh, Sebulon, I love the flowers. Thank you.
And she gives you another hug. And Sholay, you
watch as she kind of like nods. I best get going,
dear Xena. Oh, come back soon, mother. Sebulon
is shell -shocked. I don't even think he returned
the hug. I think he's just standing there. Sholay
just turns on her heel, and you watch her disappear
behind a pile of garbage and artifacts, whatever.
She makes her way towards the door. You just
hear her, right? As it closes. Do you want a
goat? I think as the door closes, Jules is going
to call out and say, Don't worry, I'll give you
another chance down the road. Does that mean
yes to goat? Zeta's just like staring on, wildly
confused. And, like, I love this because me and
characters trying to, like, throw antics at you.
And you guys are just so fucking slapped out
of the ground. You're, like, so sad. How do we
antic? Zina's just kind of, like, staring around
at you, like, confused. Her face, like, wide
and smiling. She's just, like, all excited. All
of her friends are visiting today. What a wonderful
day she's having. Zina, yeah, I'll take some
goat, but can you do me a favor? Can you go grab
my friends from out front? I think they're a
little hungry, too. Oh, okay. And she goes and
flies over. The door opens and closes. And then
a moment later opens again. And Xena walks in.
Oh. It sounds like you have to go already. The
shield bearers say you need to leave. Oh. I was
going to make such a lovely girl. Will you come
back? Didn't you see Arhalan out there? He told
me. Invite him in too. Invite him in, too. He's
working. He's very busy, Ahalan is. He doesn't
get to visit much, but it's okay. He's working
with us. It's okay. It's okay. Zebulon walks
up to Xena and puts his hands on her arms. Xena.
Huh? Xelai said something. She said, again. What?
She said, this won't happen again. Xena, were
you ever a luminary? I was not luminary, I...
And... She's, like, smiling. This big smile just
looks at you. And, like, it's like a thought
suddenly hits her mind. And her eyes, like, there's
a spark of something in her eyes. Gina, what
does it again mean? It means something. What?
I... What? Her? What? I... Uh... Uh... Um...
Um... I have to go. I have to go right now. No,
no, no, no, no. And she just like moves away
from you and you see she kind of just like vanishes,
just like flies off and like almost crashes down
into a pile somewhere on the far side of the
room. The door opens again. Zebulon, Jules, it's
time to go. Arhalon looks like completely downtrodden
as well. You don't know what was said outside
between him and Sholay, but you get a feeling
he got a bit of that action as well. And he's
just like, Okay. Just make sure your mother's
okay. What? Yes, of course. I'll check in with
her, yes. Right. Let's go. Yeah, and Zebulon
will leave. Defeated. Feeling defeated. I don't
think there's anything else I can do at this
point. I think we follow. You step out of the
room. And you're walking outside. And you see
another figure is standing with shield bearers
are all at attention again. The children are
kind of left alone where before they were kind
of gathered and playing. as another figure is
standing. I think at first you think you see
your mother, and you realize, no, no, no, that's
not your mother. It's your cousin. Speaker Cirilla
LaRoche. Arrived from the inside of the diamond.
The preserve of the ancestors. And she's like,
has a hand out, coaxing the cherry delights who
are all gathered up, like, no, no, no, please,
no. Come on. Come on. It's going to be fun. You're
going to love your new family. They're going
to take care of you. They're going to feed you
better. Oh, the food will be delightful. And
you'll get to see just what it was like when
Jules grew up. And she looks up right at you,
Jules. And smiles. You're going to get what's
coming to you. And guess what? I'm going to be
the one to do it. She turns back to the guards,
still just like smiling, unshaken. Bring them
inside. It's time for them to meet their new
family. And family is, it's so important, isn't
it? Come on, come on, come on, sweetlings, come
on. And they just... Fall out of your heels.
And I think, like, this scene is so dark for
you, but you're actually on the streets watching
as, like, people are, like, clapping and cheering
and, like, so, like, this is a show. Cirilla
is adopting these sad orphans from Tythos. People
are just, yeah, yeah, the roach, the roach, the
roach, the roach. I'm going to lean down to Miskin.
Before anything happens? You kind of move up
there. They're like being ushered. I think at
this point they're trying to keep you away. Maybe
you push past and Miskin just kind of like looks
at you like, Jules, what do I do? Miskin. Yeah,
yeah. You tell the others too. Yeah. Never open
your eyes. Okay. Okay. You never open your eyes
until you hear my voice. It doesn't... understand,
but he just kind of nods. And he steps back.
I think, like, as he's being pushed away, you
feel like, hey, hey, hey! And, like, a figure
drops out of their arms and comes rushing, rushing
past them, moving under legs, and round stuff
jumps onto you and grabs onto your neck. It's
so familiar. This figure, this small figure,
wraps up around you, and she just whispers in
your ear, don't let go. Don't let me go. Asshole.
Fuck you, David. I'm such a dick. Sorry. The
door opened. I took it. I went in. Don't let
me go. Please, please. Don't let me go. Don't
ever let me go. And guards are breaking towards
you. Jules, like one of the guards, is standing
there like, I'm sorry. Jules Roach, I need to.
Hands out. And I'm going to turn to Arlon. He's
like, looking at this. And he doesn't, he looks
defeated as well. And I'm going to look to him.
You make sure you fix this. I promise. I will.
I will. You feel the guard's hands wrapping around,
around stuff and starting to pull her away. And
just, no, no, no, no. And her arms finally part.
And you watch, she's being moved away from you,
arms outstretched, paws being led in by the hand.
He looks back at you, eyes wide and horrified.
And you watch as the three cherry delights are
ushered into the great iron gates. Into the verdant,
green, tree -filled area within that you could
barely make out before. It closes on the sounds
of cheering, clapping, applausing crowds. That
does not feel good. I quit. It's so hard. I did
not think in a million years it would go this
way. I thought you were going to pass the check.
My entire session was different. Well, there
were a couple of points where we could have passed.
We could have made a check. Close in so many
ways. Oh, my God. We could have made the check
with Arhuan, and you're right. Jules has that
high bonus. I thought we were going to do it
with advantage. You used a button. We could have
passed a check with Sholay, and that might have
changed things. But, I mean, the dice were hot,
but not when it came to saving the Cherry Delights.
But you gained some things here, and I think
we'll touch on those later because they may be
crucial. Yeah, Zebulon puts a hand on his pocket
with the envelope. I think without a word. One
pangolin's worth of gold. Finally. Finally got
the ten gold. Finally got your ten gold. You
just took his savings for the day or whatever,
which is great. Ten gold's still decent money.
Fuck that guy. Yeah, you know what? That's why
I think it's better. The ten gold doesn't mean
a lot to you. but it probably means a lot to
Jesseth, and that's what feels so good. Arlon,
I think, like, without a word, just flies, like,
just down the street, lands, and begins to, like,
walk away back towards Shieldbearer headquarters,
and the Shieldbearers all kind of, like, disperse
their mission accomplished, and you are just
alone outside Xena's, and I'll ask, where do
you guys want to go from here? I mean, Zebulon
looks to Jules. Zebulon has no idea how to react
or what to do next, and he's concerned about
his friend. David, you have no idea how much
you have just weaponized Jules. Holy shit. I
taketh away, but I also giveth. I don't think
Jules says anything. I think Zebulon is the one
that's going to need to... So the shieldbearers
are gone, there's nobody around us? Nobody around.
All right. I will say... Yeah, what are you going
to do? Well, now I want to know what you're going
to say. I will say that there is a figure kind
of rushing down the road, kind of through crowds
approaching you. A lot of the crowds have kind
of dispersed here, but I think you're still kind
of off to the side of the road, kind of more
tucked into, like, Xena's yard. If you have something
you want to do, there's a figure running towards
you. I'm not going to have them... Just be there
right off. Okay, I'll let you save that for after
what I want to do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm going
to grab Jules by the arms and move him somewhere
sort of out of sight, whether it's in an alleyway,
behind a tree, whatever. I want to be... Maybe
behind his fence. Sure, perfect. And he's going
to reach into his pocket and pull out the envelope.
Um, Jules, um... When you did that thing, that
was great, by the way. All that communication
just through a wink? I mean, we are so in sync.
What are you getting at, Sam? Look what I found
in Jesse's pocket. And he pulls out the envelope
and hands it to you. I take it. I look at it.
And I open it, knowing full well what the seal
is. Okay. You pull out the letter that I had
to make up. In this episode. Because Steven is
an asshole. Like 20 minutes ago. You unfold it.
And you read. Very simple order. Dear Jessinth.
After retrieving the children, make sure they
are sent to San Sitian. Our allies in the city
are nearly ready. It's time we bring things to
the next level. That's all it says. So you know
where they're going. Saint -Étienne, Jules, what
does it mean? It means we've got to get back
in touch with our pal Dancia. Dancia's from Saint
-Étienne. Maybe she'll know what's going on over
there. But you also know you don't have free
access to the worlds yet. You're still watched.
You need to be luminaries if you want to, or
at least find a writ to get there, and that's
not an easy thing to accomplish. Not in your
state, not when grandmother's going to essentially
bar the way for you, and you know she's going
to try. As this thought crosses your mind, you
hear like a huffing, puffing, Where the hell,
where the hell'd they go? Just saw them. On the
other side of the fence, you hear Ader's voice.
Where? Set me alone. Jules. Are you here? Set
me alone. Hey there. Oh. We're over here. You
pop up your hand around this and it's, oh, hey.
Listen, hey, hey, hey. Look, look. That was bad.
Oh, no. And where are the kids? Did you get them
back? Are they gone? There, take them. I'm sorry,
Hater. We did everything we could. Shit. Shit.
Look, hey, hey, look. I can help, all right?
Just went down to my pub and I feel... I'll feel
responsible. No, Ader, this has nothing to do
with you. I'm so sorry that you got caught up.
I can help you out, right? You need to get more
influence. We can win them back if you get the
people behind you. I found you an agent. What?
Just come with me. Come on. Back to the coyote.
And he, like, gestures you to follow him. Jules,
I think we need to go. Jules isn't saying anything.
I mean, he's following. Okay. But he's kind of...
Still, he's in shock. Zebulon's visibly excited.
Where is the diamond? Jules hasn't. You have
the diamond? As long as you're following, Zebulon
doesn't care. Okay. You guys follow Aether down
the streets. He's rushing ahead, looking back
every once in a while, nodding, rushing, rushing,
and he reaches the coyote. He stands at the saloon
door, and he puts a hand on the door. He's like,
look, look, look, right. I called in a favor,
and... I can get you guys on the network. I can,
but I need you... Well, someone's going to need
you to do a little job for them. They need it
to be... They need it to be quiet, right? Subtle.
You guys aren't known, so you're perfect for
it. It's going to work out just fine. You do
this, and I promise you, I swear, to all the
gods of all the worlds, that you will be on the
network. You will be luminaries, and the people
will be behind you. Do you understand? Well,
I mean, Eater, I mean, we're not exactly nobody.
No, you ain't. You sure as hell ain't going to
be for long. Now, he pushes the door open, and
as he opens the saloon door, you see a figure
standing at the back of the pub, kind of like
waiting it out. You see a very tall, gaunt, skinny
man in like farmer's overalls with a big straw
hat in his head. He turns around to you with
a salt and pepper beard, and he says, storage
of the ore in here. Oh, fuck!