WEBVTT

00:00:01.090 --> 00:00:02.910
Storyteller David here. You guys having fun?

00:00:03.390 --> 00:00:04.669
Great. Well, you know the fun doesn't have to

00:00:04.669 --> 00:00:06.769
end with the show itself. Check out our Instagram,

00:00:06.969 --> 00:00:09.710
fancypantspod at instagram .com. And hey, while

00:00:09.710 --> 00:00:11.449
you're at it, go ahead and rate us. Tell your

00:00:11.449 --> 00:00:12.990
friends about us. Let everyone else join our

00:00:12.990 --> 00:00:15.589
pants party. Thank you much. Enjoy the episode.

00:00:55.789 --> 00:00:58.509
It's a sad matter of life that sometimes, despite

00:00:58.509 --> 00:01:01.770
your best efforts, things can still go so terribly

00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:05.150
wrong. This is a lesson our heroes have just

00:01:05.150 --> 00:01:07.769
been faced with when last we left off in our

00:01:07.769 --> 00:01:11.629
tale. Despite some well -executed plans and some

00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:14.730
well -reasoned arguments, the three youngest

00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:17.709
cherry lights have been taken from Jules, ripped

00:01:17.709 --> 00:01:22.269
from his very arms, and delivered to his diabolical

00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:26.200
parents. On top of this, Sholay, Zebulon's grandmother,

00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:28.840
has confirmed that she's used her political might

00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:33.120
to ensure no agent will assist our heroes. And

00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.560
see their footage shown and their stories shown

00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.579
on the network. Having reached rock bottom, our

00:01:39.579 --> 00:01:42.140
heroes were met by Ada, the proprietor from the

00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:44.579
Ugly Coyote, who offered them a singular hope.

00:01:45.230 --> 00:01:47.209
He brought them back to the coyote in a rush

00:01:47.209 --> 00:01:50.269
and told them that just inside awaits their only

00:01:50.269 --> 00:01:53.069
chance to have their footage shown and turn their

00:01:53.069 --> 00:01:56.670
situation around. What did they find as they

00:01:56.670 --> 00:02:01.629
pushed open those saloon doors? Well, viewers,

00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:04.989
listeners, this is the part of the story where

00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:13.419
I come in. Well, here we are. Storyteller Oren

00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:17.039
is here. Storyteller Oren is here. Yes. Before

00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:20.599
we get to Storyteller Oren being here, I want

00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:24.900
to talk about work. Why? So we're all working

00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:26.020
together now. I'm going to give you a 60 -second

00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:28.659
timer. That's fine. That's fine. It's fine. We

00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:32.020
got a mystery on our hands. We got a mystery

00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:34.159
on our hands. Oh. Yes. So we all work at the

00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.419
same brew pub now. Yes. That's why I got to bring

00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:38.000
this to you guys. I need fellow investigators

00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.310
on the floor. because there is a diabolical presence

00:02:41.310 --> 00:02:45.409
in our brew pub. You see, for the last few weeks,

00:02:45.509 --> 00:02:48.169
nay, months, a mysterious character has been

00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:51.789
sort of known to the kitchen staff, a legend

00:02:51.789 --> 00:02:55.469
unfolding over time. I'm really curious to know

00:02:55.469 --> 00:02:56.629
where he's going with this. We're calling this

00:02:56.629 --> 00:02:59.650
character the Half -Cookie Bandit. You see, some

00:02:59.650 --> 00:03:01.729
malicious presence. Dude, that's everybody. Some

00:03:01.729 --> 00:03:03.889
malicious presence in this brewery has been taking

00:03:03.889 --> 00:03:06.930
half a cookie, eating it, and leaving half. Dude,

00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:09.490
like. And I'm here to tell you that I think I

00:03:09.490 --> 00:03:14.669
know exactly who the half cookie bandit is. I

00:03:14.669 --> 00:03:19.810
am a half cookie bandit. I will say, yesterday.

00:03:20.750 --> 00:03:25.750
Yes? Yesterday, I did see a half a cookie in

00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:29.419
Stephen's hand. Dude. My. God. That's not a secret.

00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:32.979
That's not a secret. I do that all the time.

00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:34.819
Everybody does that. I'm not going to name names,

00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.479
but like. We've already named all the names we

00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:39.759
need. I'm not the only person who does that.

00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.280
I don't know where that half cookie ended up.

00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:44.599
You can't eat an entire one of those cookies.

00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.099
They're like face size. He just admits it. No,

00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:51.919
I freely admit it. Ladies and gentlemen, we got

00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.599
him. This entire podcast was a setup for this

00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.129
moment. I never hid this. We got him. Hold on,

00:03:57.169 --> 00:04:00.349
hold on, hold on. What's the problem? I don't

00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:02.409
know. It's funny. Oh, okay. People are always

00:04:02.409 --> 00:04:04.550
asking, they're like, who has been doing this?

00:04:04.669 --> 00:04:06.590
Who ate half a cookie again? Half the staff.

00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:08.969
Half the staff does that. But I've seen you.

00:04:09.030 --> 00:04:11.030
I've seen you do it multiple times. Yeah, of

00:04:11.030 --> 00:04:13.490
course. No one minds. I freely admit it. It's

00:04:13.490 --> 00:04:17.709
just funny. Okay. I'm not hiding it. I could

00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:19.470
name names. I can bring people down with me.

00:04:19.470 --> 00:04:20.670
I don't give a fuck. Well, you know what? Bring

00:04:20.670 --> 00:04:22.110
them all down. No, I'm not going to do that.

00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:25.779
We're not done yet. Once we stop recording. But

00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:27.399
yeah, all right. It's all right. We aired that

00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:29.439
out. It's out of the way. We have our culprit.

00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.680
So I guess we can move on with the show, can't

00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:37.040
we? So hold on. Am I now like King Cookie Cutter

00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.000
and Halfer? You're the half cookie bandit. That's

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.199
your new sub name. Yeah, I just think now everybody's

00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:44.339
going to notice when you have a cookie. And they're

00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:46.240
going to make sure that you finish that fucking

00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.720
cookie. No, I'm not. I'm not going to eat a whole

00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:50.800
cookie. You know why? I'm going to leave that

00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:52.920
half for somebody else. And somebody else is

00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:55.439
going to come in and grabs that half. And then

00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.560
somebody else comes in and cracks a new cookie

00:04:57.560 --> 00:04:59.740
in half. And they're like, oh, look at that.

00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:01.899
Steven cracked another cookie in half. Like,

00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:04.019
no, no, no. There's like several people who are

00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:07.019
cracking cookies in half. No, if everybody just

00:05:07.019 --> 00:05:09.420
eats half of the same cookie, that cookie will

00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:15.100
never go away. Damn. You just keep eating half.

00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:18.759
If you eat half of it. I just can't wait until

00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:21.600
this gets out. And then Steven walks into a grocery

00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.079
store, and we cut into the back room, security

00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.939
room, and a red light goes off, and Steven's

00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:30.019
image on the screen gets blown up, and half -cookie

00:05:30.019 --> 00:05:31.800
bandit in red letters appears, and they're like,

00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:34.459
my God, he's here. We don't work in a grocery

00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:38.160
store. Well, you go to one. This podcast is out

00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.420
there. We're famous now. Millions of listeners,

00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:44.819
probably. I don't look. I assume I'm popular.

00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:50.560
You're not as popular as you think. Damn it.

00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:52.839
I mean, I will say we do have such incredible

00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:54.680
listeners that sometimes it feels like we have

00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:58.139
a million listeners. It's true. Nice. Picture's

00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:00.660
worth a thousand words and a Fancy Pants listener

00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:03.019
is worth a thousand average listeners. And if

00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:05.500
anybody wants half a cookie, if anybody wants

00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.319
half a cookie, just hit me up on Instagram, Fantasy

00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.540
Pants Pod. Send me your address and I'll send

00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:15.699
you half a cookie. Oh, God. All right, all right.

00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.100
I've got plenty to spare. He's totally serious,

00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:23.240
folks. With that done, with that done, we've

00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:25.319
got one more little bit we've got to run before

00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.439
we can get this episode going. And this is important.

00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:31.379
This is important for everyone. So, wait. It's

00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:33.920
the stage. It's the stage. Blank minds. Blank

00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.279
minds, gentlemen. My mind is empty. All right.

00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.300
See a theater. All right. We see a loaded audience.

00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.259
You're the audience now. You're everyone. You're

00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:44.459
many people. You're looking at the stage, you

00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:46.399
know, spotlight. I'm going to step on out with

00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:51.339
my nice suit. I'm wearing a nice suit. I'm holding

00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:54.939
four golden trophies in the shapes of a large

00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:59.339
button each. Oh. Oh, yes. Because we are now

00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:03.860
looking at the first annual Fancy Pants Zippies.

00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:09.620
What? Zippies? Grammys, Emmys, Zippies? I don't

00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:13.389
know. I do fannies. Panties? You like that better?

00:07:14.230 --> 00:07:17.430
Yeah, the fantasy panties. The fanny panties.

00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.689
I think fanny is a naughty word in some cultures,

00:07:19.790 --> 00:07:24.990
so. Shoot. Zippies it is. Fancy man zippies,

00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:27.790
we're here. I'm going to step up to the microphone

00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:30.589
here. Thank you for coming, everybody. Thank

00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:34.170
you for coming. You see, there are times in every

00:07:34.170 --> 00:07:37.110
Master of Dungeons life when they've got so much

00:07:37.110 --> 00:07:40.629
going on that they just lose sight of what's

00:07:40.629 --> 00:07:44.420
important. which is to reward the players for

00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:48.220
their incredible ingenuity, creativity, role

00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:53.259
play, and just being overall fun dudes. And I,

00:07:53.300 --> 00:07:56.600
as perfect as I am, may have fallen into that

00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.180
pit hole in the last few episodes of the show.

00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:01.740
David's admitting that he was wrong. I'm doing

00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:04.420
it once. He's also admitting that he gives out

00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:09.129
buttons just annually. I'm holding the button

00:08:09.129 --> 00:08:10.870
trophies right now, and the audience members

00:08:10.870 --> 00:08:13.850
are currently speaking their minds over there.

00:08:13.970 --> 00:08:16.910
I could take these back in a heartbeat. I'll

00:08:16.910 --> 00:08:22.470
leave this bit so fast. So, without further ado,

00:08:22.550 --> 00:08:25.350
I'd like to award some buttons. Let me get the

00:08:25.350 --> 00:08:27.769
buttons. Hang on. They're not golden, but...

00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.420
Imagine. We imagine in this room. It's like the

00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:33.980
whole game. David, the gold is blind in my eyes.

00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.419
Yes, it's so shiny in the spotlight on my head.

00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:42.620
Now, I'm going to give out these awards to four

00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:45.240
people that are actually two people that greatly

00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:50.799
deserve them. Because we don't have a lot of

00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:54.120
contestants here in the Fancy Pan Zippies. Now,

00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:58.299
first of all, our heartfelt speech button. It's

00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:00.460
going out to Jeremy Wolf, everybody. Jeremy Wolf

00:09:00.460 --> 00:09:03.179
for his speech to Arhalar at the end of episode

00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:06.399
20. Amazing stuff. You played the character so

00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.799
well. You played Arhalon so well. And that last

00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.179
speech you gave was truly heartwarming. So sad

00:09:12.179 --> 00:09:14.279
that all went south. You played Arhalon. Yeah,

00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.279
apparently I played Arhalon. No, you played Arhalon.

00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:19.720
You played him. Oh, he got played. I wasn't playing

00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:23.500
him. Yeah, but you knew the character. You appealed

00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:24.919
to the character in all the right ways. That's

00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:26.799
true. And that last speech you gave is beautiful.

00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:29.379
It was perfect. Take this golden button trophy.

00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:32.730
Oh, thank you. This is actually like one. The

00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:34.889
golden button means three buttons, right? No.

00:09:35.450 --> 00:09:38.169
Fuck. And that's also your entire speech. Get

00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:41.049
off the stage. Get out. Get out. We have more

00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:42.409
of these to go. We have more of these to go.

00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:47.250
The making me do more work button. I don't know

00:09:47.250 --> 00:09:49.850
why it's a thing. It goes to Steven Rodriguez.

00:09:49.970 --> 00:09:51.509
I can already see him looking at me. Steven Rodriguez

00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.970
for his making me improvise a letter mid -session

00:09:54.970 --> 00:09:57.750
out of nowhere because he's a ranting, raving

00:09:57.750 --> 00:09:59.309
madman. Yeah, that one was fun. Come take your

00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:00.649
button. I'll take the button for that one. Guest

00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:04.730
speech. You get like one sentence. I'd like to

00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:07.090
thank all the little people. That's it. All right.

00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:16.750
We're moving on. All right. All right. The callback

00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:20.730
that I loved button goes to Jeremy Wolf. Jeremy

00:10:20.730 --> 00:10:24.450
Wolf. Keep your eyes closed moment at the end

00:10:24.450 --> 00:10:27.409
of 21. That got me. I got so excited when you

00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:29.470
brought that call. Take this button. You deserve

00:10:29.470 --> 00:10:31.940
it. Thanks. Pretty good. Great callback. Good

00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:36.639
overall stuff. Speech? I'd like to thank myself.

00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.320
All right, fantastic. That's it. We're cutting

00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:42.879
here. Cutting here. Get out. And last but not

00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:45.240
least, we got one more button here. It's a weird

00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.779
one for the listeners, but it makes sense for

00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:50.480
you. This is our world's greatest detective,

00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:53.720
apostrophe after the S, button, going to Steven

00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:56.379
Rodriguez for discovering the answer to a mystery

00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:59.389
that we're going to resolve in this... But he

00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:02.049
actually figured it out in between weeks. Cracked

00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:04.529
the case. Take that button, sir. You don't get

00:11:04.529 --> 00:11:06.169
a speech. We're done with this now. It's over.

00:11:06.330 --> 00:11:08.610
I dropped the button. Hang on. I had to grab

00:11:08.610 --> 00:11:11.029
it forward. Danny made her move. I am now. Oh,

00:11:11.049 --> 00:11:12.529
she was eyeing it. She was eyeing that button.

00:11:12.809 --> 00:11:15.990
Flush. Flush with buttons. Zebulon has more buttons

00:11:15.990 --> 00:11:20.129
than Jules now. Whoa. This calls for a celebration.

00:11:20.809 --> 00:11:23.009
Oh, shoot. Yes, it does. Let's pop a bottle.

00:11:23.370 --> 00:11:26.110
Pop a bottle. Okay. All right. Over this mixing

00:11:26.110 --> 00:11:30.389
bowl that we have brought into the studio, which

00:11:30.389 --> 00:11:33.450
realistically, I don't know. However big the

00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:35.710
mixing bowl is, is not going to stop a fucking

00:11:35.710 --> 00:11:40.269
beer volcano. It's precaution. There we go. Here

00:11:40.269 --> 00:11:46.169
it comes. Look at that. A normal bottle. Not

00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:52.509
bad. Wait for it. Wait for it. We're good. All

00:11:52.509 --> 00:11:56.590
right. Cheers, gentlemen. And with your drinks

00:11:56.590 --> 00:12:00.250
in hand, are you ready to continue our little

00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:05.129
tale? Ooh, I'll play. We're going to open Inside

00:12:05.129 --> 00:12:08.210
the Ugly Coyote. I'm going to say we step forward

00:12:08.210 --> 00:12:11.529
in time maybe just a few moments. I think the

00:12:11.529 --> 00:12:15.590
scene we open on is actually like Zebulon sitting

00:12:15.590 --> 00:12:19.009
at a table. I think you have the pangolin Jamal

00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:20.750
is kind of resting in front of you looking kind

00:12:20.750 --> 00:12:23.509
of awkward. And there's sort of this just awkward

00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:25.730
lingering quiet in the air around this table

00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:29.750
as you're waiting. Now, off to the side of the

00:12:29.750 --> 00:12:33.370
room, you see that Ader has taken storyteller

00:12:33.370 --> 00:12:36.889
Orin to have a sort of hushed conversation. There's

00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:39.169
a lot of whispering, but the few raised words

00:12:39.169 --> 00:12:42.529
you can catch, you get the impression that maybe

00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:45.649
Orin has no idea who you are or why he's here.

00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:48.590
You think about it, there wasn't a lot of time

00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:50.769
for Ader to just like... Bring this guy in. So

00:12:50.769 --> 00:12:52.350
he must have, like, showed up, get in my car,

00:12:52.409 --> 00:12:56.509
and come find you. And so Orin's just here. It's

00:12:56.509 --> 00:12:57.629
funny looking at it, too, because they really

00:12:57.629 --> 00:12:59.370
couldn't be any more opposite, their figures.

00:12:59.450 --> 00:13:01.690
You have a story to Orin, very, very lanky, very

00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:05.210
thin. And Aedir is just a super heavyset, bulky,

00:13:05.450 --> 00:13:08.850
broad -shouldered dude, almost like, just like

00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:12.529
dwarfing him. But, like, the way they chat, it's

00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:14.309
not unfriendly. You can definitely tell they

00:13:14.309 --> 00:13:17.860
have a history together. As these two are sort

00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:21.580
of having their conversation in private, we pan

00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:25.200
back to Zebulon, whose eyes, I think, would linger

00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.100
towards a door to the back, back to that same

00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:32.220
kitchen. We sort of zoom past that door to where

00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:36.000
Jules LaRoche is delivering some very difficult

00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:39.460
news to the remaining Cherry Delights. Thanks,

00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.809
David. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Jumping right into it,

00:13:42.830 --> 00:13:44.730
Jeremy. Oh, yeah, I'm pushing you in. Right in

00:13:44.730 --> 00:13:46.529
the deep end, we move into the room through the

00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:50.649
keyhole. We see Chester, Mulligan, Fibro, and

00:13:50.649 --> 00:13:54.370
Jeans all lined up on the back wall, looking

00:13:54.370 --> 00:13:57.149
at you expectantly. Guys, we got some hard work

00:13:57.149 --> 00:14:01.210
ahead of us. It's not going to be easy. Jules,

00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:04.470
what? What happened? What happened out there?

00:14:05.809 --> 00:14:09.429
You said I could trust you, Jules. We can't let

00:14:09.429 --> 00:14:11.769
things lie like this, right? We can't. We gotta

00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:15.169
go now. Jules, we gotta go now. Chester, we're

00:14:15.169 --> 00:14:17.450
gonna go. Chester, how long have we known each

00:14:17.450 --> 00:14:21.450
other? I know we've got a history, but... Man,

00:14:21.549 --> 00:14:24.409
Jules... When have I ever let any of you down?

00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:28.970
He just looks down and Gene speaks up. Jules,

00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:31.610
you've told us some stories about your parents.

00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:34.950
They're monsters, from what you said. Yeah. We

00:14:34.950 --> 00:14:36.730
can't leave them in their hands. We're not. What's

00:14:36.730 --> 00:14:39.590
happening to them? We're not. We're not going

00:14:39.590 --> 00:14:41.549
to leave them there. Then what's the plan? What

00:14:41.549 --> 00:14:43.250
do we do? I don't know what the plan is yet.

00:14:43.629 --> 00:14:46.289
I don't know. We need to regroup. We need to

00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:47.809
figure out what's going to happen from here.

00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:52.929
But I... Miskin's with them too, okay? Miskin

00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:56.269
is 10. He acts tough, but he's always had us

00:14:56.269 --> 00:15:00.190
to rely on. I can't. And Jeans actually just

00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:03.169
walks out of the room. You see the door open

00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:05.710
and slam shut. And Chester's inside looks at

00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:11.590
you. Jules. Jules, I'll go after him. Look, look.

00:15:11.750 --> 00:15:18.049
Jules. Chester. Yeah. There's a real chance that

00:15:18.049 --> 00:15:22.039
all of us could be dead right now. Okay? I know.

00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:26.360
I know. And right now, everybody's alive, including

00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:29.919
them, okay? And we're going to keep it that way.

00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:35.080
I don't know how yet, but we're going to stay

00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:40.539
that way, okay? Jules, that guy out there, he's

00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:44.019
supposed to help, right? That's Oren from TV.

00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.279
I've seen him on the Crystal Network, on the

00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:50.769
projections. He's a big deal. I mean... Maybe

00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:53.769
he can help us? I mean... I think that's the

00:15:53.769 --> 00:15:56.850
plan. That's what we're hoping. That seems to

00:15:56.850 --> 00:16:00.350
be what Ada thinks can happen. Okay? Alright,

00:16:00.529 --> 00:16:03.149
yeah, yeah. We're connected with a guy like that.

00:16:03.570 --> 00:16:06.309
We can turn all this around. Just promise me

00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:08.990
one thing, alright? Anything. When things go

00:16:08.990 --> 00:16:13.230
down, I'm with you. Every step of the way, okay?

00:16:14.370 --> 00:16:18.440
I don't want it any other way. Alright. And he's

00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:20.539
got his bow strung over his shoulder. He lifts

00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:25.059
it up proudly up towards his neck. You nod. I

00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:29.139
should go check on Jeans. Yeah, go do your thing,

00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:33.519
okay? And he rushes out. Fyro and Mulligan both

00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.600
are staring down towards the ground. Fyro looks

00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:40.539
up at you. They'll be okay. They'll be okay.

00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:43.460
I promise you, they're going to be okay. And

00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:46.440
this is only temporary. There was nothing else.

00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:55.090
There was nothing else. He just nods. He steps

00:16:55.090 --> 00:16:58.509
to the door as well, opens it. Mulligan follows

00:16:58.509 --> 00:17:01.429
him out, just quiet, staring towards the floor.

00:17:01.990 --> 00:17:05.150
And the remaining Cherry Delights leave the room.

00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:09.890
Jules sits on the bed and puts his head in his

00:17:09.890 --> 00:17:14.269
hands. And a few tears roll down. This is...

00:17:14.269 --> 00:17:21.119
It's defeat. It's... Breaking trust. This is

00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.380
not supposed to happen. A few moments later,

00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:26.519
you hear a knock at the door, kind of disturbing

00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:32.599
you in your solitude. What? What? Hey, Jules,

00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:37.079
it's Ada. Look, he's ready for you. All right.

00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:41.420
All right. I get up off the bed and walk out.

00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.740
Zebulon, outside, you see Storyteller Orn is

00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:47.859
still kind of in that corner as Jules moves towards

00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:51.460
the table where you are. Oren nods to himself,

00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:58.740
turns, and moves towards you guys. He steps over

00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:00.400
to the table and he sits down to the other side.

00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:02.779
You guys both sit. I think you're already sitting,

00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:06.940
Zebulon, I imagined. Yeah. Quick question, David.

00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:10.200
Yeah. How does it feel to make a grown man cry?

00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.980
You know, I do be a monster sometimes. All in

00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:21.099
a day's work, huh? Yeah, you know. You, uh...

00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:24.200
As you sit down, Jamal the pangolin reaches out

00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:28.299
and skitters onto your shoulder. Fuck. He just

00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:31.960
rests there. Oren takes us in. I think eighters.

00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.099
Alright, I'm gonna... I'm gonna get you guys

00:18:35.099 --> 00:18:36.640
something to eat. Alright, maybe some good drink.

00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:38.819
You guys hold tight. Hold tight. He actually

00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:42.099
looks over and he's like, Hey, Mulligan. Come

00:18:42.099 --> 00:18:46.109
on, come and help me out. Mulligan. I guess so.

00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:48.190
Come on, come on. Let's get some work going.

00:18:48.269 --> 00:18:50.049
Get those hands moving. That's what we call God's

00:18:50.049 --> 00:18:52.930
breath grieving. Come on, come on. And he takes

00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:54.250
him out back. And Mulligan actually almost seems

00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:55.869
like he perks up a little bit at the idea of

00:18:55.869 --> 00:18:58.069
getting into the kitchen, of doing some work.

00:18:58.250 --> 00:19:01.609
And they both move into that back room. The door

00:19:01.609 --> 00:19:05.490
closes. And it's just you, two, your pangolin,

00:19:05.670 --> 00:19:08.509
and Storyteller Oren. The other cherry delights

00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:11.190
have all fled upstairs. Pepper, from what you've

00:19:11.190 --> 00:19:12.630
heard, is either out in the town or upstairs.

00:19:12.670 --> 00:19:15.720
You haven't seen him for a hot minute. Jules,

00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:22.200
uh, you doing okay? Yeah. I'll be fine. All right,

00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:24.880
because that can... I mean, I can handle this

00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:28.519
if you need to. No. Okay. We do this together.

00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:31.980
You just let me know. I'll be right here. All

00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:34.940
right. Oren's eyes are darting quizzically back

00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:38.859
and forth between you two. Now, uh, I can't say

00:19:38.859 --> 00:19:41.599
I know what your situation is. It ain't to fill

00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.259
me in on a little bit, but I don't know much.

00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.539
But I am sorry. Sounds like you've experienced

00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:52.299
a loss. That's hard. And if I can help, I will.

00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:56.200
But to be really honest with you fellas, Ada

00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.519
rushed me here out of nowhere. He came to me

00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:01.319
and said that y 'all could help me with a certain

00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:04.440
situation I'm in. And in return, I could help

00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:06.640
you. Show some footage on the network. Now I

00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.900
have privileges that other folks don't have.

00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:11.400
And if you guys really can't give me a hand...

00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:13.829
I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Ada says

00:20:13.829 --> 00:20:16.869
I can trust you to keep this quiet. And that's

00:20:16.869 --> 00:20:21.130
what I need. Subtlety. Discretion. You get me?

00:20:22.230 --> 00:20:26.789
Well, Mr. Oren, we do have some footage. Please,

00:20:26.789 --> 00:20:34.250
just Oren. Oren. Oren. And this is a superstar.

00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:38.329
Yeah. This is probably a weird situation. Someone

00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:41.180
who Zebulon has watched. On the Crystal Network.

00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:43.720
Yeah, both of you have. For a long time, yeah.

00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:48.980
I don't think it phases Jules. Hell yeah. Basically,

00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:55.700
Mr. Oren, some of the footage that we have, if

00:20:55.700 --> 00:21:01.900
shown on your marvelous network, well, we'd be

00:21:01.900 --> 00:21:07.960
famous. We would be on the billboards, on cereal

00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:13.380
boxes. Uh, I mean, you can imagine. The whole

00:21:13.380 --> 00:21:15.799
nine. I mean, I've seen it time and time again.

00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.519
I hope. I hope that's true for your sake. I do.

00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:22.779
I heard Ada said something to the doc. I think

00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:25.400
he was told by that jeans girl that's been working

00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:28.700
with him here. It's not just that, though. There's

00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:32.400
some people that need to be exposed. Well, might

00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.359
be I can help with that, too. That's mighty tricky.

00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:38.559
And we'll get to that. But if y 'all don't mind.

00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.720
I'd like to give you details on what I need before

00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:46.519
I give away too much. You understand? Like I

00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.440
said, discretion is very important here. As you

00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.819
might understand, I'm kind of a high -profile

00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:55.059
figure. And the paparazzi guild is all over the

00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.640
place, crawling after me. As long as this stays

00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:02.579
mutually beneficial, my ears are open, and you've

00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:06.960
got my trust. All right. Well, to put this nice

00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.579
and simple... I'm going home to God's breath

00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:13.019
in a few days, and I might need some bodyguards.

00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:18.559
That's my simple answer. The whole picture, well,

00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:24.400
it's a story. I'll start with this. He reaches

00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:27.200
into his vest and he pulls out this envelope,

00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:30.000
just with this rustic, old -looking parchment

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.660
paper, and tosses it onto the table between you

00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:36.380
guys. Give that a read, will ya? I want to get

00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:39.220
your opinion on it. I think Jules is going to

00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:43.359
let Zebulon take it, but Jules is going to scoot

00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:48.880
his chair over. Sure, I'll read it. Oh, it's

00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:53.099
really long. I can also read it. Let's give it

00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:55.859
a shot. If you stumble too much, I'll take it

00:22:55.859 --> 00:22:58.279
back. If we waste six minutes doing this, then

00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:10.140
we can just... I get on with this, Zeb. Y 'all

00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:11.980
want me to read that for you? Oh, sorry. You

00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:20.559
meant out loud? Dear Uncle Oren, I know it's

00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.500
been a while since I last wrote. It's been a

00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:27.240
longer while since you've written me back. It's

00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:30.079
okay. I know you're busy. With the Awakening

00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:32.640
Festival just around the corner, it felt like

00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.359
the right time to send you a letter. I just wanted

00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:37.089
to let you know. that things have been going

00:23:37.089 --> 00:23:40.509
well for me here on God's Breath. I've seen you

00:23:40.509 --> 00:23:43.369
here and there. When I pass by one of them projectors

00:23:43.369 --> 00:23:46.990
in Promise, you look good. The people around

00:23:46.990 --> 00:23:49.829
town ain't so keen on you these days. Always

00:23:49.829 --> 00:23:52.109
saying that you're selling our culture to the

00:23:52.109 --> 00:23:55.910
masses and making it big off something you don't

00:23:55.910 --> 00:24:01.210
own. Zebulon puts the letter down. This is really

00:24:01.210 --> 00:24:05.690
tough to hear, Mr. Oren. Eh, nothing I ain't

00:24:05.690 --> 00:24:07.329
used to. That's not the important part. Keep

00:24:07.329 --> 00:24:10.329
going. Keep going. I can't say I know a lot about

00:24:10.329 --> 00:24:13.950
that, but I'm happy for you nonetheless. Now,

00:24:14.190 --> 00:24:17.630
I know you can't see me on any fancy crystals,

00:24:17.690 --> 00:24:21.430
so this paper is all I can send to prove that

00:24:21.430 --> 00:24:24.710
I'm all right as well. I've had some recent troubles,

00:24:24.789 --> 00:24:28.509
though. Old Den's farm in the ribbon has gone

00:24:28.509 --> 00:24:32.759
dead, like much of the others. It's getting hard

00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.519
to find work in Promise and in the surrounding

00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:40.559
land. Now, I don't want you worrying none, but

00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:42.980
I've taken up a job at the new farm in the Rattle.

00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.940
I ain't telling you whose farm or where it is.

00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:48.619
I don't need you sending folk to come and check

00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:53.660
on me or trying to haul me off world to the protection

00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:56.799
of your big diamond city. I mean it when I'm

00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.380
saying that I'm fine. The folk here are real

00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:01.640
nice to me. even when I mess things up here and

00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:05.160
there. Also, Cully's coming along to stay with

00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:07.700
me here. I just got a message from him yesterday

00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:10.960
that he's on his way. I'm hoping it can be just

00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.500
like old times. He says he misses you, by the

00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:16.640
way, and that he hopes you'll come to visit.

00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:20.319
No offense, Uncle, but I disagree with him there.

00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.000
I'd rather you stay in your city, making your

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.059
show, and leave me to my painting and farming.

00:25:27.810 --> 00:25:29.750
A letter here and there wouldn't bother me none,

00:25:29.849 --> 00:25:35.349
though. It's love, Kiana. Thank you. I'll take

00:25:35.349 --> 00:25:37.730
that back, if you don't mind. Yeah, that was

00:25:37.730 --> 00:25:42.210
a lot. You can just have that. I'm sorry, Steven.

00:25:42.450 --> 00:25:46.450
I didn't realize what that was. I was willing

00:25:46.450 --> 00:25:48.509
to read it, but I wanted to give you guys a chance

00:25:48.509 --> 00:25:52.450
to do some talking, too. I didn't really realize

00:25:52.450 --> 00:25:55.369
what was happening in that moment. Get that Zebulon,

00:25:55.369 --> 00:25:58.789
you know, feel in there. And it only took three

00:25:58.789 --> 00:26:01.950
minutes. It's a long letter. It's a long letter.

00:26:02.509 --> 00:26:04.710
But also, like, I couldn't just be like, it's

00:26:04.710 --> 00:26:06.569
five sentences in the actual letter, because

00:26:06.569 --> 00:26:08.890
that's stupid. And I'm trying to make a believable

00:26:08.890 --> 00:26:12.029
story here, kind of, sort of, ish. So Oren takes

00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:16.849
that back, folds it up. Well, that's the situation.

00:26:18.170 --> 00:26:20.490
Kiana's my niece, and though we may be somewhat

00:26:20.490 --> 00:26:23.769
estranged these days, I do have my concerns.

00:26:25.069 --> 00:26:29.059
Now. Let me explain a little more. Yeah, no offense,

00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.140
Mr. Oren. It seems like a pretty normal letter

00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:33.779
to me. It seems like Kiana maybe doesn't really

00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:36.160
want to see you. That is going to be a little

00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.759
bit of a problem, but not so much a problem as

00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:40.299
you might think. We'll get to that. We'll get

00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:43.440
to that. What's your concerns? Well, first things

00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:47.299
first. The rattle. What do y 'all know of God's

00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:51.279
breath? Not a lot. Well, I can't say I know a

00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:52.380
whole lot about it either. I know that's where

00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:57.420
you're from. Yeah, well. And eight or two. It's

00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:00.380
got an air of mystery to the rest of the world,

00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:02.539
generally speaking. The people of God's breath

00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:05.940
are rather defiant towards the Crystal Network

00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:09.140
and towards the Concord in general. They like

00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:10.960
to keep their culture close to home. They're

00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:13.000
simple farming folks, staying away from the big

00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.619
cities and the tourists and all that. So how

00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:19.059
did you get to doing what you're doing? Again,

00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:21.700
that's a story. And I'll tell it, I promise.

00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:24.910
Because it has... A lot to do with what I'm asking

00:27:24.910 --> 00:27:28.710
here. But first things first, let's talk about

00:27:28.710 --> 00:27:33.009
God's Breath. Now, God's Breath is a beautiful

00:27:33.009 --> 00:27:36.369
farming country. Like I said, we got a small

00:27:36.369 --> 00:27:38.589
world, small population, one of the smallest

00:27:38.589 --> 00:27:42.390
amongst the Concord worlds. It is gorgeous, pristine

00:27:42.390 --> 00:27:46.269
land for the most part. You have a central town

00:27:46.269 --> 00:27:49.509
of promise. And all around it is an area called

00:27:49.509 --> 00:27:52.630
The Ribbon, where we have many farms set up.

00:27:53.289 --> 00:27:56.309
Problem is, the ribbon of beautiful farmlands

00:27:56.309 --> 00:27:59.789
has been dying. Every year the harvests are bringing

00:27:59.789 --> 00:28:03.369
in less and less with smaller gains. It's getting

00:28:03.369 --> 00:28:07.710
worse. No one knows how to stop it. And so people

00:28:07.710 --> 00:28:10.109
of God's breath are facing the real danger of

00:28:10.109 --> 00:28:15.269
starvation or over -reliance on the radiant citadel.

00:28:16.049 --> 00:28:18.769
And that is a terrifying prospect to my people.

00:28:20.009 --> 00:28:22.690
So some of these folk have decided to take a

00:28:22.690 --> 00:28:25.250
different direction. They want to help themselves.

00:28:25.549 --> 00:28:28.890
I get it. So let me tell you about the rattle

00:28:28.890 --> 00:28:32.930
now. It's a wild, miscovered land beyond the

00:28:32.930 --> 00:28:36.410
ribbon, where the air smells always of metal,

00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:39.730
and the land shakes and screams beneath your

00:28:39.730 --> 00:28:45.130
feet. Many dangers lie in those woods. Dire coyotes,

00:28:45.369 --> 00:28:49.380
giant rattlesnakes. Giant hard shells burrowing

00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:53.000
reptiles known as boulets. But there's more than

00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.700
that. More than the typical dangers you may find

00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:59.660
in the wilderness. There are tales and rumors

00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:03.440
of things out there in those lands. Dark things.

00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:09.220
Evil things. Whole farms and houses swallowed

00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:13.279
up by the land itself. A palpable malice pressing

00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:17.109
in on all those who linger in the mist. Driving

00:29:17.109 --> 00:29:20.910
them mad. I've spent my own time in the rattle.

00:29:22.369 --> 00:29:26.569
Used to explore it for fun. Some things happened.

00:29:27.769 --> 00:29:33.269
Now I'm here. But that's not really what troubles

00:29:33.269 --> 00:29:36.430
me about this letter. There's something much

00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:40.049
more sinister. Something that truly scares me.

00:29:40.089 --> 00:29:43.710
Shakes every bone in my body to its core. And

00:29:43.710 --> 00:29:45.490
I wonder if you can guess what that thing is.

00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:51.200
I guess I didn't really notice anything too extraordinary.

00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:55.940
He nods, smiles a little bit, and says one word.

00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:04.319
Cully. That name. Cully. What's that mean? Cully's

00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:09.259
a boy. A boy I knew. Keanu's best friend in the

00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:13.460
whole world. Up till he drowned to death. Ten

00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:21.000
years ago. So, how is Cully gonna be on a farm

00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:25.200
in the rattle? My thoughts exactly. Now listen,

00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:29.660
this is why I gotta keep this secret. My niece,

00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:34.079
she's always had... Cully's death was a trauma.

00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:38.380
It was hard for her. She's always had a way about

00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:40.640
it since then. She's alienated from other people.

00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:42.619
I've tried to get her to come with me here, but

00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:45.200
she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't come where there's

00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:48.400
crowds. She always wants to stay alone. Alone

00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:52.039
where she could paint. Painting macabre images

00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:56.279
of events that she imagined. Or thinks she imagined.

00:30:57.079 --> 00:31:02.220
Thinks she's in some kind of mental crisis? Might

00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:07.700
be. Look, I got one more story to tell you. And

00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:10.940
this is a big one. But I'll make it quick. Long

00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:14.259
version can wait. All you need to know is that

00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:16.759
there's a land out in the rattle once known as

00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:20.200
Cradle Lace Lake. Used to be Cradle Lace Farm,

00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:25.079
home to a large, happy family. During a terrible

00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:27.960
storm, a sinkhole swallowed the farmhouse whole

00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:31.660
and flooded, drowning the house in brackish mug.

00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:34.859
There are many a tale to say that the house's

00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:38.279
residents struggled to escape that pit, but the

00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:41.420
farm's owner, desperate to keep her family with

00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:44.880
her. dragged them back into the sinking house.

00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:48.779
In the aftermath, when neighbors arrived at the

00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:52.440
sinkhole's edge, all they saw were six pairs

00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:54.859
of severed, undead hands struggling to escape

00:31:54.859 --> 00:32:02.119
the water and then sinking in. Gone. Lost. To

00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:05.880
the murk. In the years that followed, more tragedies

00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:09.259
befell those who came to Cradle Lace Lake. That's

00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:13.329
what they say. And that's... That's where Coley,

00:32:13.450 --> 00:32:18.470
that's where he passed down. So you think that

00:32:18.470 --> 00:32:26.789
he's come back as undead? I don't know. I don't

00:32:26.789 --> 00:32:30.589
think so. But from what Kiana told me, after

00:32:30.589 --> 00:32:35.049
the fact, after the incident, he's like sweating

00:32:35.049 --> 00:32:38.809
now. You're realizing that maybe this is more

00:32:38.809 --> 00:32:41.410
personal to Oren than just... A family matter.

00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:43.470
There's more to this tale. He's sort of wiping

00:32:43.470 --> 00:32:46.210
sweat off his brow. What she told me back then

00:32:46.210 --> 00:32:51.509
was that she saw hands through the water grabbing

00:32:51.509 --> 00:32:54.809
him, pulling him down, holding his head below

00:32:54.809 --> 00:32:59.869
till he was gone. Most folk think that maybe

00:32:59.869 --> 00:33:05.509
she just made this up. A factor of her guilt.

00:33:05.950 --> 00:33:10.700
She was there. She watched it happen, and I think

00:33:10.700 --> 00:33:14.480
that affected her, and she... Hang on. He reaches

00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:17.380
into his jacket again and pulls out one more

00:33:17.380 --> 00:33:20.460
rolled -up parchment. That litter wasn't all

00:33:20.460 --> 00:33:24.759
I got. There's one more thing, too. Mind, I told

00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:27.140
you, Kiana, she's got a penchant for macabre

00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:30.039
art, right? She draws things, paints things that

00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:33.839
ain't pleasant to see. It's always been that

00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:36.880
way, so this... It shouldn't be too disturbing,

00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:43.539
but... I don't know. It has me scared. He rolls

00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:46.579
out this painting. And you look at it, I imagine?

00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:53.619
Yeah. You see a painting that is beautiful, yet

00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:58.819
terrible in its realism. You see it as a portrait

00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:01.799
of a young woman, her ebony skin and gaunt features

00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:04.519
showing a likeness to Orin that belies their,

00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:09.170
or betrays their family resemblance. As do her

00:34:09.170 --> 00:34:12.789
copper eyes, which are open wide in a visage

00:34:12.789 --> 00:34:16.670
of pure horror. A trickle of tears forming at

00:34:16.670 --> 00:34:20.070
their corners. Her head is wrapped in a red cloth

00:34:20.070 --> 00:34:22.929
with a number of thin black braids hanging down

00:34:22.929 --> 00:34:27.469
to her shoulders. Her mouth. Well, you don't

00:34:27.469 --> 00:34:31.570
see her mouth. Not beneath the hand, pressing

00:34:31.570 --> 00:34:35.769
over half her face. A hand large and bloated.

00:34:36.329 --> 00:34:39.090
sickly gray and covered in spots of slick rot,

00:34:39.210 --> 00:34:43.989
fingernails cracked and dirt -filled. Orne only

00:34:43.989 --> 00:34:45.590
looks at it for a moment before he wraps it up

00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:48.010
again and tucks it away too quickly, trembling

00:34:48.010 --> 00:34:50.289
fingers as he pushes it into his jacket, a little

00:34:50.289 --> 00:34:54.389
too rough. You can see why I'm worried. Now either

00:34:54.389 --> 00:34:58.670
my niece may be getting worse in the mind and

00:34:58.670 --> 00:35:05.650
may need help, or something else. But I can't

00:35:05.650 --> 00:35:12.650
if she's, if she's ill. I can't have these paparazzi

00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:14.389
guild members swarming over her. It's only going

00:35:14.389 --> 00:35:16.889
to make matters worse. She don't deserve that.

00:35:17.070 --> 00:35:19.130
She wants to be away from the crowds, away from

00:35:19.130 --> 00:35:22.409
the fame. And if I go there with any real luminaires,

00:35:22.449 --> 00:35:26.469
any big, big names, anyone I can't trust, they'll

00:35:26.469 --> 00:35:30.010
throw her to the crowds. Those sharks. I need

00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:33.130
people who aren't known yet. I need discretion.

00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:39.880
She certainly has an aptitude for the fine arts.

00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:50.619
This dead silent table. Over here is the penguin

00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:58.000
sniffing it. I'm sorry. I just have to recognize

00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.159
talent when I see it. No, she's brilliant. No,

00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:04.320
seriously. I mean, if her arts weren't so upsetting,

00:36:04.539 --> 00:36:07.599
I'd make a pretty penny on them. Talent recognizes

00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:14.099
talent. And I should have put this before, but

00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:17.099
content warning, listeners. We're going into

00:36:17.099 --> 00:36:22.840
the horror arc. Oh, jeez. Oh, boy. Here I was

00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:25.420
thinking we're just going to nice farming country,

00:36:25.619 --> 00:36:29.099
going to gallop through the wheat fields and

00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:32.150
all. And then we're going to fight a necromancer.

00:36:32.250 --> 00:36:38.969
Yep. So the only way this is going to work is

00:36:38.969 --> 00:36:41.989
if we all trust each other. Ada vouched for you.

00:36:43.690 --> 00:36:46.730
He's likely my best friend I have here on the

00:36:46.730 --> 00:36:52.269
Radiant Citadel. So I trust you too. And it sounds

00:36:52.269 --> 00:36:54.510
like y 'all are in your own sort of pickle here.

00:36:54.590 --> 00:36:57.969
So I promise you help me with this and I will.

00:36:58.429 --> 00:37:00.969
Make sure to do everything in my power to get

00:37:00.969 --> 00:37:04.650
your names out. You want to be famous? I'll make

00:37:04.650 --> 00:37:07.929
you famous. I'll make it happen, as long as this

00:37:07.929 --> 00:37:13.809
stays secret. I'm okay going into this being

00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:19.590
relatively unknown, as long as you keep up your

00:37:19.590 --> 00:37:21.130
end of the deal and we don't come out of it that

00:37:21.130 --> 00:37:26.010
way. I promise. If half the things Ada says are

00:37:26.010 --> 00:37:29.420
true about y 'all... And if that diamond you

00:37:29.420 --> 00:37:32.980
got is as promising as you make it sound, no

00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:35.460
way in hell you come out of this being unknown.

00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:42.119
Hater doesn't know the half of it. I've got my

00:37:42.119 --> 00:37:45.920
own personal family business to take care of,

00:37:45.920 --> 00:37:50.340
too. All right. We take care of that. I don't

00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:54.039
know what that entails, but I'll do what I can

00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:56.179
to help, I promise. All right, we'll get there

00:37:56.179 --> 00:38:01.619
in time. So the door opens and you see Ader muscles

00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:04.079
in with a steaming platter. He's got three bowls

00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:07.099
on it, like sizzling, and little bits of spoon

00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:10.159
bread. He drops down like a crawfish stew in

00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:12.559
front of y 'all. I'm saying y 'all in my own

00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:15.559
voice now. I was going to say, you're in character.

00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:18.840
I can't, it's so hard to like disassociate. But

00:38:18.840 --> 00:38:21.199
he slides it over and actually Oren kind of steps

00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:25.039
up like, sorry old friend, but I actually got

00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:28.639
to go. I got a lot to do today. We only have

00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:30.340
a few days before leaving, but listen, folk.

00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:33.579
In three days' time, the Awakening Festival happens

00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:35.360
in God's Breath, and every year I take these

00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.019
days off, right? So we got ourselves an opening

00:38:38.019 --> 00:38:40.239
where people won't expect me around on the network.

00:38:40.340 --> 00:38:41.960
It won't be strange for me to disappear for a

00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:44.340
while. And while I never actually go back to

00:38:44.340 --> 00:38:47.099
God's Breath, as you can see, there's some contention

00:38:47.099 --> 00:38:50.860
that comes to me. Let's just say someone else

00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:54.460
does. You're probably wondering, how did Sojourner

00:38:54.460 --> 00:38:57.889
Oren walk into this pub? And we aren't swarming

00:38:57.889 --> 00:39:01.969
with paparazzi, huh? I mean, I wasn't, but. Yeah,

00:39:01.989 --> 00:39:03.849
I guess. That didn't cross your mind? Not that

00:39:03.849 --> 00:39:08.289
you mention it. Let me show you. And he looks

00:39:08.289 --> 00:39:10.110
at you for a minute and he's like, once again,

00:39:10.409 --> 00:39:14.510
stay secret, right? Oh my God. You see he takes

00:39:14.510 --> 00:39:16.909
off his hat for a second and he puts it back

00:39:16.909 --> 00:39:21.250
on. As he does. No way. He transforms, changes.

00:39:22.139 --> 00:39:24.440
And you actually see in front of you, suddenly

00:39:24.440 --> 00:39:27.639
rather than this skinny, this is very skinny,

00:39:27.780 --> 00:39:31.679
very tall, very gaunt man, you see a husky, well

00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:35.500
-built, large muscle, broad -shouldered woman.

00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:39.679
Also dark skin with like a sort of like flowing,

00:39:39.860 --> 00:39:43.099
God's breath sort of gown. Oh my God. And just

00:39:43.099 --> 00:39:45.920
like wearing this hat and he goes, as you can

00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:52.369
see, hang on, as you can see. Oh, what a twist.

00:39:52.690 --> 00:39:56.070
I got myself an alter ego. Y 'all can call me

00:39:56.070 --> 00:40:03.289
Lady Dre. I hate how much I love it. He points

00:40:03.289 --> 00:40:05.210
to the straw hat, which is still on his head.

00:40:05.530 --> 00:40:11.429
Her head. Now this thing here is what you might

00:40:11.429 --> 00:40:15.110
call a hat of disguise. Basically always allows

00:40:15.110 --> 00:40:17.190
me to cast a disguise self at will. Just take

00:40:17.190 --> 00:40:20.679
it off, put it on again. This is my alter ego

00:40:20.679 --> 00:40:22.940
I go around with sometimes, and this is how I

00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:24.940
go back to God's breath for the festival without

00:40:24.940 --> 00:40:28.699
getting my, well, my shit kicked in. Like I said,

00:40:28.739 --> 00:40:30.940
my people, they ain't too keen on the Citadel

00:40:30.940 --> 00:40:33.800
and the Crystal Network. They watch it. They

00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:35.780
don't want to be a part of it. And me coming

00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:37.739
in with my farmer's attitude when they don't

00:40:37.739 --> 00:40:41.360
really see me as a farmer type anymore. Plus,

00:40:41.400 --> 00:40:44.659
well, there's more to my earlier story, but we'll

00:40:44.659 --> 00:40:47.199
get to that. They think you're just some flatlander.

00:40:47.719 --> 00:40:51.420
Yeah. Y 'all know what that means. God's breastplate

00:40:51.420 --> 00:40:55.659
flat. Really not a mountainous region there.

00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:01.039
Sorry, that may have been a little of my personal

00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:06.260
bias. So he stands up, or she stands up. I don't

00:41:06.260 --> 00:41:10.159
know how to go about this now. You got to keep

00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:12.300
track now. I know, right? They stand up and move

00:41:12.300 --> 00:41:14.699
over to the door, saloon doors, and looks back

00:41:14.699 --> 00:41:17.440
and he's just like, Oh, you want to take that

00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:20.280
to go, you sure? No, no, Ada, I'm fine. Remember,

00:41:20.539 --> 00:41:23.599
it's Lady Dre now. And, uh, points to you guys.

00:41:24.039 --> 00:41:26.159
I'll be back in three days' time to collect y

00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:28.320
'all. We'll be taking the, uh, the Jasper off

00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:30.500
-world. She'll be about an eight o 'clock travel

00:41:30.500 --> 00:41:35.019
time. Y 'all understand? We'll be there. Well,

00:41:35.059 --> 00:41:38.960
doodaloo then. And she tips her hat and spins

00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:42.280
and steps out of the... over the tavern doors

00:41:42.280 --> 00:41:47.730
and steps out into the world outside and... They

00:41:47.730 --> 00:41:53.909
close behind Storyteller Oren. Zebulon reaches

00:41:53.909 --> 00:42:00.469
over and grabs the bowl of crawfish stew. He

00:42:00.469 --> 00:42:02.349
was watching you, expecting you to be like, go

00:42:02.349 --> 00:42:04.510
on, eat it. I'm only going to put his heart into

00:42:04.510 --> 00:42:07.050
that. Y 'all especially need to eat. He points

00:42:07.050 --> 00:42:11.150
to you, Jules. I'm not hungry right now. Zebulon

00:42:11.150 --> 00:42:16.409
picks up a spoon. Is it spicy? Well... Yeah,

00:42:16.449 --> 00:42:19.670
of course. Excellent. I don't make not spicy

00:42:19.670 --> 00:42:23.829
food. Come on. It's the ugly coyote. We ain't

00:42:23.829 --> 00:42:27.550
the pale moonlight. Hey, fuck those guys over

00:42:27.550 --> 00:42:29.010
the pale moonlight. Yeah, fuck the pale moonlight.

00:42:29.070 --> 00:42:33.030
That's right. We hate those guys. Dude, I'm really

00:42:33.030 --> 00:42:35.110
surprised that... When I said I'm not hungry,

00:42:35.230 --> 00:42:37.170
you did not say, well, Mulligan comes out of

00:42:37.170 --> 00:42:41.389
the kitchen and looks at you. He's there. He's

00:42:41.389 --> 00:42:43.949
there right now. He's at the door. It doesn't

00:42:43.949 --> 00:42:46.409
work like that. I can't. No, it doesn't work

00:42:46.409 --> 00:42:50.750
like that. I gave you the idea. You can't go

00:42:50.750 --> 00:42:53.630
back and say, oh, yeah, he is. God damn it, that

00:42:53.630 --> 00:42:55.789
face, David. Okay, I eat some. What do you think

00:42:55.789 --> 00:42:58.690
of my homemade seafood stock? Do you smile? How

00:42:58.690 --> 00:43:02.389
do you react? It's good. Is it good, Jules? Hey,

00:43:02.409 --> 00:43:06.480
Jules. Jules? Okay, Jules takes a bite, and then,

00:43:06.539 --> 00:43:09.559
because he's really not feeling happy right now,

00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:15.119
so he is putting on the biggest performance that

00:43:15.119 --> 00:43:18.780
he has ever put on to muster a genuine smile.

00:43:19.659 --> 00:43:22.340
And you actually see a soft smile return to you

00:43:22.340 --> 00:43:24.900
from Mulligan, who tucks himself back into the

00:43:24.900 --> 00:43:27.300
kitchen, and you think maybe he's feeling just

00:43:27.300 --> 00:43:32.130
a little better. Mulligan, what's in this? He's

00:43:32.130 --> 00:43:43.369
back in the kitchen. I already said. Dead end.

00:43:44.130 --> 00:43:48.630
Get out of here. Oh, God. So dumb. All right.

00:43:48.909 --> 00:43:51.650
All right. Hey, Mulligan, give me the recipe.

00:43:53.590 --> 00:43:57.070
Now, if you guys don't mind, I'd like to turn

00:43:57.070 --> 00:44:00.010
the clock a little bit. Just down to later that

00:44:00.010 --> 00:44:01.769
evening. I don't know if you guys, I imagine

00:44:01.769 --> 00:44:04.050
maybe you're spending a quiet day in after everything

00:44:04.050 --> 00:44:06.889
that's gone down. Yeah, I imagine Jeans isn't

00:44:06.889 --> 00:44:09.250
talking to me right now. Chester's been gone

00:44:09.250 --> 00:44:12.050
all day with her upstairs. Zebulon spent the

00:44:12.050 --> 00:44:15.130
last two hours talking about the recipe with

00:44:15.130 --> 00:44:21.389
Mulligan. All right, you got the recipe. Oh,

00:44:21.550 --> 00:44:26.210
God. I think, like, as night's falling, you see

00:44:26.210 --> 00:44:28.900
Aiders kind of, like, Setting up his own sort

00:44:28.900 --> 00:44:30.800
of diamond that he's got. He's blowing it up.

00:44:30.940 --> 00:44:33.179
It's all dusty covered. He's sticking it in like

00:44:33.179 --> 00:44:34.880
a projection crystal with a little diamond slot

00:44:34.880 --> 00:44:38.820
in there. And he's like, well, might as well

00:44:38.820 --> 00:44:42.539
get an eye on the news here. Somewhere private.

00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:46.840
I think what I've been hearing, this may be important

00:44:46.840 --> 00:44:50.380
to y 'all. And he sets it up and it flickers

00:44:50.380 --> 00:44:52.159
a light against the wall. And actually, I think

00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:53.400
there's actually some customers in here now.

00:44:53.869 --> 00:44:55.610
So they're all kind of watching, maybe a few

00:44:55.610 --> 00:44:58.650
cheers go up as they see something. An image

00:44:58.650 --> 00:45:03.050
appears of the great sort of gate into the preserve

00:45:03.050 --> 00:45:05.670
of the ancestors, the sort of inside of the ethereal

00:45:05.670 --> 00:45:07.269
diamond where, you know, a lot of the governance

00:45:07.269 --> 00:45:10.769
gets done. You watch as like the gates are opening

00:45:10.769 --> 00:45:15.510
slowly. You see like paparazzi black and yellow

00:45:15.510 --> 00:45:19.340
checkered vests everywhere. all excitable and

00:45:19.340 --> 00:45:23.239
jumping and trying to ask questions. Just all

00:45:23.239 --> 00:45:26.659
this chatter as a small group starts to move

00:45:26.659 --> 00:45:30.559
out of the inside. You see, first and foremost,

00:45:30.860 --> 00:45:34.960
the familiar red leather uniform of Sturge Man,

00:45:35.179 --> 00:45:39.639
who is stepping out basically at the head of

00:45:39.639 --> 00:45:42.719
this small group. Behind him, you see this large

00:45:42.719 --> 00:45:46.889
object like this. almost human -sized, maybe

00:45:46.889 --> 00:45:51.530
like eight feet tall or so, crystal. And it's

00:45:51.530 --> 00:45:53.289
got these sort of golden ribbons running around

00:45:53.289 --> 00:45:55.489
it. It's kind of got this greenish hue. And as

00:45:55.489 --> 00:45:57.349
it moves further in, as the camera's panning

00:45:57.349 --> 00:45:59.949
in closer towards this, you can see there's a

00:45:59.949 --> 00:46:05.650
man inside, frozen solid, his face locked in

00:46:05.650 --> 00:46:10.469
this state of anguish. That's gross. I mean,

00:46:10.489 --> 00:46:13.320
I just pictured Han Solo, but... It's not far

00:46:13.320 --> 00:46:15.219
from that. You see, like, the hands up, the eyes

00:46:15.219 --> 00:46:19.219
are open wide, and, like, staring out, unmoving.

00:46:20.139 --> 00:46:23.239
And maybe there's a part of you looking at this,

00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:26.880
looking at Casa Maroon, that wonders if those

00:46:26.880 --> 00:46:30.420
eyes can see, and if that mind can think while

00:46:30.420 --> 00:46:34.940
locked, preserved, and unmoving in that crystal

00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:41.340
prison. Next to it, you actually see this, what's

00:46:41.340 --> 00:46:44.190
called a pari. Or parry? They're basically a

00:46:44.190 --> 00:46:46.690
type of lesser angel that are from Ankara and

00:46:46.690 --> 00:46:50.110
Sengar. They're very tall with blue skin and

00:46:50.110 --> 00:46:52.989
glowing orange eyes. They've got four great red

00:46:52.989 --> 00:46:55.590
wings coming off their back. Long black hair.

00:46:55.829 --> 00:46:57.849
He's got a shining breastplate over flowing white

00:46:57.849 --> 00:47:00.989
robes. You know these guys are generally Atash's

00:47:00.989 --> 00:47:05.150
sort of enforcers. As well as the prison wardens

00:47:05.150 --> 00:47:09.429
for Zendayane Saab's The Sky Prison. And you

00:47:09.429 --> 00:47:13.679
know... Exactly where Kasim is going now. This

00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:15.980
Pahri looks in, takes in the sights, doesn't

00:47:15.980 --> 00:47:18.920
speak a word, just nobly stares around, soft

00:47:18.920 --> 00:47:22.000
smile on their face, as they, with one sort of

00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:24.340
open hand, direct the glowing, floating crystal

00:47:24.340 --> 00:47:28.199
along with them. Luckily, their own magic sort

00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:31.119
of creating and sort of holding it together.

00:47:32.039 --> 00:47:34.460
A Sturgeman steps forward, and everyone, Sturgeman!

00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:36.179
Sturgeman! Sturgeman! I get a statement! Can

00:47:36.179 --> 00:47:37.639
we get a statement from you? What are your thoughts

00:47:37.639 --> 00:47:39.480
on this case? Just a little paparazzi coming

00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:42.000
over. The surgeon puts his hands up and people

00:47:42.000 --> 00:47:44.739
kind of move in. It is my pleasure to see justice

00:47:44.739 --> 00:47:48.480
done here. There are some that may feel 300 years

00:47:48.480 --> 00:47:50.420
is too long a sentence for this one's crimes,

00:47:50.679 --> 00:47:53.880
but they lack understanding. Any doctor will

00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:56.320
tell you that an infection cannot linger inside

00:47:56.320 --> 00:47:58.840
its host's body, not without endangering that

00:47:58.840 --> 00:48:02.039
host. Bad blood must be drained from the veins

00:48:02.039 --> 00:48:05.820
of society. That will always be my creed. Are

00:48:05.820 --> 00:48:07.880
the rumors true? Are the rumors true you had

00:48:07.880 --> 00:48:10.150
assistance in catching this criminal? He kind

00:48:10.150 --> 00:48:13.110
of looks around. This is true. Though the others

00:48:13.110 --> 00:48:14.690
involved have asked that they not be revealed.

00:48:15.530 --> 00:48:18.329
More just like, more shouts in version. Is there

00:48:18.329 --> 00:48:20.010
anything you would say to them now, given the

00:48:20.010 --> 00:48:22.630
chance? And I think there's a long moment where

00:48:22.630 --> 00:48:25.429
he stops and thinks. And then turns back to that

00:48:25.429 --> 00:48:29.389
one particular paparazzi member. Only that justice

00:48:29.389 --> 00:48:33.010
has been done today. Justice for murderers. And

00:48:33.010 --> 00:48:34.769
this slight pause where he seems to look directly

00:48:34.769 --> 00:48:37.190
into the crystal watching him. And for thieves.

00:48:37.690 --> 00:48:41.599
And watching this. Because you figured it out

00:48:41.599 --> 00:48:44.159
outside. I want to give your characters the benefit

00:48:44.159 --> 00:48:47.800
of this revelation. Your minds flash back then.

00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:52.699
To the day you met Rune Rusong. When he challenged

00:48:52.699 --> 00:48:56.039
you with that little mock battle. When you walked

00:48:56.039 --> 00:48:59.280
away angry. And he was trying so hard to coax

00:48:59.280 --> 00:49:02.199
you back into his arms. Into his loving embrace.

00:49:02.579 --> 00:49:05.039
And he was telling you about his prospects as

00:49:05.039 --> 00:49:09.519
an agent. You remember now him saying. I even

00:49:09.519 --> 00:49:11.880
helped some of the big ones. Sturge Man? That

00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:16.400
was me. And you remember. Me, Jules. You remember

00:49:16.400 --> 00:49:19.139
when you're walking back from the densing night

00:49:19.139 --> 00:49:22.199
market on Smasunko. Having small talk. And I

00:49:22.199 --> 00:49:24.019
imagine Zebulon was geeking out about Sturge

00:49:24.019 --> 00:49:26.420
Man. And me dropped that little fact that he

00:49:26.420 --> 00:49:29.460
realized in the moment. That Sturge Man carries

00:49:29.460 --> 00:49:32.440
amongst him many magical tools. One of them being

00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:37.519
his proboscis Sturge mask. which also functions

00:49:37.519 --> 00:49:41.219
as a helm of telepathy, giving him the ability

00:49:41.219 --> 00:49:44.219
to read thoughts. You remember him asking you,

00:49:44.260 --> 00:49:49.539
dead on, what you would call home, where home

00:49:49.539 --> 00:49:52.780
is for you. You remember Jules, that you thought

00:49:52.780 --> 00:49:55.400
of the cherry delights, and Zebulon, you thought

00:49:55.400 --> 00:49:59.880
of the ugly coyote. The best way you could be

00:49:59.880 --> 00:50:04.960
hurt, and where that weakness lies, delivered

00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:09.500
to him. And you remember he left right after.

00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:15.639
Jules turns to Zeb. I will kill that fucking

00:50:15.639 --> 00:50:19.079
gnome. I think Zebulon meets your gaze, but doesn't

00:50:19.079 --> 00:50:22.840
respond. Yeah, I mean, like, I think that it's

00:50:22.840 --> 00:50:24.440
great because you have this moment where you

00:50:24.440 --> 00:50:26.320
both realize this at the same time. And when

00:50:26.320 --> 00:50:27.760
you look at each other, as you say these sort

00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:30.659
of cryptic lines, you know, you both know what

00:50:30.659 --> 00:50:32.960
the other's thinking. You've just kind of gotten

00:50:32.960 --> 00:50:34.639
to this point where you're on each other's level

00:50:34.639 --> 00:50:40.789
so hard. I love that. I love it. As the... Oh,

00:50:40.809 --> 00:50:44.090
yes, there's no sun. As the crystal re -illuminates

00:50:44.090 --> 00:50:47.469
the fossil once the city is built around it,

00:50:47.489 --> 00:50:51.210
as this brilliant light shines out and, well,

00:50:51.250 --> 00:50:54.550
essentially morning hits the Radiant Citadel,

00:50:54.730 --> 00:51:00.030
you awaken to a slamming open of the saloon door

00:51:00.030 --> 00:51:01.929
downstairs. I imagine you're upstairs. You hear

00:51:01.929 --> 00:51:07.650
a voice go... Disgusting! Awful! How can anyone

00:51:07.650 --> 00:51:10.630
live here? Zebulon! Jules! Down here! Now! Wait,

00:51:10.650 --> 00:51:17.530
now he's the first one awake? Got him. Hey, it's

00:51:17.530 --> 00:51:20.710
a good question. You guys go downstairs? Yeah.

00:51:20.909 --> 00:51:22.969
I mean, yeah, I'm not happy about it, but...

00:51:22.969 --> 00:51:24.989
You both, like, I imagine sleepy -eyed, funneled

00:51:24.989 --> 00:51:26.409
down the stairs. I think Chester's also with

00:51:26.409 --> 00:51:30.010
you two, moving down. As you step down, you see

00:51:30.010 --> 00:51:32.329
John Franklin is looking at you, and he looks...

00:51:33.500 --> 00:51:36.400
unbelievably irritable. He's got, like, sleep

00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:39.760
lines under his eyes. He looks exhausted. And

00:51:39.760 --> 00:51:42.920
he's just like, There you are! Having fun here

00:51:42.920 --> 00:51:45.980
in the ugly coyote? This is disgusting! Why you

00:51:45.980 --> 00:51:48.239
won't stay at the pale moonlight? I can't understand,

00:51:48.380 --> 00:51:52.099
but listen, anyway, I am exhausted. No, no, I

00:51:52.099 --> 00:51:55.900
will have my say. I have been out all night looking

00:51:55.900 --> 00:52:01.840
for agents after agents. Agent after agent, and

00:52:01.840 --> 00:52:05.300
none of them, none of them have had any hope

00:52:05.300 --> 00:52:07.880
of taking us on. Turned down again and again

00:52:07.880 --> 00:52:10.260
and again. I have done things I am not proud

00:52:10.260 --> 00:52:12.820
of. John, sit down. I have tried so hard to find...

00:52:12.820 --> 00:52:16.440
I don't understand. John! What? Sit down. Why?

00:52:16.880 --> 00:52:19.739
We have work to do. We have good news. What news?

00:52:20.360 --> 00:52:25.800
Sit. No! He stomps his foot. He's so angry. Have

00:52:25.800 --> 00:52:29.519
some crawfish stew. It's spicy. He, like, takes

00:52:29.519 --> 00:52:32.179
one snip and slaps it off the table. Oh, my God.

00:52:32.219 --> 00:52:35.800
Wow. Get out. John, get out. All right, all right.

00:52:36.380 --> 00:52:38.940
Go back to the pale moonlighting with your kind.

00:52:39.099 --> 00:52:41.539
I'm sorry. It has been a very frustrating evening

00:52:41.539 --> 00:52:45.039
trying to find an agent for two people who seem

00:52:45.039 --> 00:52:47.639
to have some sort of blacklist here. John! What?

00:52:48.119 --> 00:52:50.780
Fucking listen to what Zeb's trying to tell you.

00:52:50.860 --> 00:52:54.099
What are you trying to tell me? We have a prospect.

00:52:55.579 --> 00:52:58.019
What do you mean, a prospect? You found an agent?

00:52:58.949 --> 00:53:02.369
You? Found an agent? Well, I mean, in a manner

00:53:02.369 --> 00:53:06.130
of speaking, yes. What? We just... Why? How?

00:53:06.369 --> 00:53:12.210
When? We just have to complete a job. A bodyguard

00:53:12.210 --> 00:53:15.809
gig. And then that's it. We're going to be on

00:53:15.809 --> 00:53:19.130
the network. You're telling me the truth, really?

00:53:20.289 --> 00:53:23.369
Jules? Yes? Roll an insight check. I don't care.

00:53:24.199 --> 00:53:26.480
Fine, I'll roll an insight check on you. The

00:53:26.480 --> 00:53:31.360
first roll of the episode. It was high. So then

00:53:31.360 --> 00:53:35.320
you tell me. You actually roll for Jaune, but

00:53:35.320 --> 00:53:39.619
oh well. It's a weird middle ground. He's looking

00:53:39.619 --> 00:53:42.019
at you, and he kind of just like, his eyes widen,

00:53:42.099 --> 00:53:45.619
and then he does just collapse into a seat. Why

00:53:45.619 --> 00:53:50.159
did I do all that work then? Well, you did that

00:53:50.159 --> 00:53:52.739
yourself. Why didn't you tell me you found an

00:53:52.739 --> 00:53:54.780
agent? I'll just pick up my cell phone and give

00:53:54.780 --> 00:53:56.420
you a call and let you know what's going on.

00:53:56.980 --> 00:53:59.619
You knew where I was. Most of the time, a pale

00:53:59.619 --> 00:54:01.659
moonlight, room 11. Neither of us are setting

00:54:01.659 --> 00:54:03.460
foot in the goddamn pale moonlight. We're not

00:54:03.460 --> 00:54:05.719
going there. So much better than this dirty...

00:54:05.719 --> 00:54:08.800
We're not going there. Even if there's a fire.

00:54:10.019 --> 00:54:24.059
Oh, my God. All right. I'm going to assume you

00:54:24.059 --> 00:54:25.619
fill his own out on everything, right? You probably

00:54:25.619 --> 00:54:28.679
sit down. He's exhausted. He finally shuts his

00:54:28.679 --> 00:54:31.239
mouth for a moment, and you can just, like, give

00:54:31.239 --> 00:54:33.619
him the whole load. Dump info. I imagine Chester's

00:54:33.619 --> 00:54:34.980
probably already heard all this the day before,

00:54:35.019 --> 00:54:37.079
but he's listening and probably cutting in here

00:54:37.079 --> 00:54:39.860
and there to give updates. And you fill him in,

00:54:39.900 --> 00:54:43.519
and he's just nodding. I see. Well, that's...

00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:48.699
Huh. Well, if we're going to take up this job...

00:54:49.739 --> 00:54:53.219
Some sort of bodyguard gig. We really need to

00:54:53.219 --> 00:54:56.880
update your equipment situation. Now, listen,

00:54:57.099 --> 00:55:02.119
listen. I do have some means, as you know. This

00:55:02.119 --> 00:55:04.820
is a standard issue. I'm not a nobody. Not you.

00:55:05.539 --> 00:55:09.059
I'm not some nobody, after all. But I will say

00:55:09.059 --> 00:55:12.539
a lot of my money is tied up in things. I'm used

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:15.380
to a certain life of luxury. Certain foods and

00:55:15.380 --> 00:55:17.489
resting conditions, you understand. so I've already

00:55:17.489 --> 00:55:19.070
kind of paid ahead at the Pale Moonlight for

00:55:19.070 --> 00:55:23.369
some time. But I suppose I could front you a

00:55:23.369 --> 00:55:27.170
hundred each, if you promise to use it properly

00:55:27.170 --> 00:55:32.050
to make sure we survive. In fact, I'm your sidekick,

00:55:32.070 --> 00:55:34.110
aren't I? So perhaps I should be taking some

00:55:34.110 --> 00:55:36.130
of that for my own equipment situation. I've

00:55:36.130 --> 00:55:38.150
been meaning to buy a shield for some time. Well,

00:55:38.170 --> 00:55:43.239
what does it mean to front us 200 gold? Well,

00:55:43.280 --> 00:55:45.000
I mean, do we have to pay you 300 gold back?

00:55:45.119 --> 00:55:46.780
Like, what is going on here? I mean, I'd love

00:55:46.780 --> 00:55:50.219
if you'd pay me back the 200, but if you can't

00:55:50.219 --> 00:55:52.139
make it, whatever. It's better I stay alive and

00:55:52.139 --> 00:55:54.420
you stay alive and we have a chance at, well,

00:55:54.460 --> 00:55:57.260
my goals than nothing at all. So here. And he

00:55:57.260 --> 00:56:01.900
just slides 100 gold to each of you. Hey. I mean,

00:56:01.900 --> 00:56:05.079
if you say so. He just kind of gives you a terse

00:56:05.079 --> 00:56:07.780
nod. Well, you did find an agent. At least you

00:56:07.780 --> 00:56:13.530
did some work. It was like a musical reward.

00:56:13.989 --> 00:56:18.389
Yeah, yeah. He nods heroically towards you because

00:56:18.389 --> 00:56:22.409
the music said so. No. Yeah, so I'm going to

00:56:22.409 --> 00:56:24.710
ask you guys right now. We're going to cut some

00:56:24.710 --> 00:56:26.590
time here because you've got a few days before

00:56:26.590 --> 00:56:29.329
the next mission. And during this time, I imagine

00:56:29.329 --> 00:56:31.590
you're going to do some shopping. You're literally

00:56:31.590 --> 00:56:34.730
in the trade disc all. You can buy almost anything

00:56:34.730 --> 00:56:37.389
on the Radiant Citadel. I mean, come on. This

00:56:37.389 --> 00:56:40.539
is the main trading hub between... 25 worlds.

00:56:40.940 --> 00:56:43.639
There's almost nothing you can't find. So let

00:56:43.639 --> 00:56:46.320
me ask you right now. I actually made these players

00:56:46.320 --> 00:56:48.699
do a little homework this week. What are you

00:56:48.699 --> 00:56:53.639
buying? Zebulon, you go first. I am buying Jaune

00:56:53.639 --> 00:56:58.139
his shield. Thank you. I will take that. I'm

00:56:58.139 --> 00:57:02.400
buying some more. Ball bearings to replenish

00:57:02.400 --> 00:57:05.199
what I already used. That's fun. I'm upgrading

00:57:05.199 --> 00:57:07.360
those a little bit. I'm also buying some caltrops

00:57:07.360 --> 00:57:09.820
that work similarly, but they're a little more

00:57:09.820 --> 00:57:16.099
gnarly. It's so fun. And then I'm spending 50

00:57:16.099 --> 00:57:21.500
gold, half of this loot drop on a single health

00:57:21.500 --> 00:57:27.199
potion. Hey, you know, that might save your life.

00:57:27.440 --> 00:57:30.320
I'm hoping so. Hoping so. I already informed

00:57:30.320 --> 00:57:32.960
these players that this next adventure we're

00:57:32.960 --> 00:57:36.480
going on is going to be incredibly deadly. Good

00:57:36.480 --> 00:57:38.480
thing I've got one health potion. Good thing

00:57:38.480 --> 00:57:39.940
you've got one health potion. It sounds like

00:57:39.940 --> 00:57:43.500
you might have to use it on me. Well, because

00:57:43.500 --> 00:57:45.340
you're the healer, so if you're down, someone's

00:57:45.340 --> 00:57:48.280
going to heal you. Oh, boy. On that note, Jules,

00:57:48.480 --> 00:57:50.500
what are you getting to keep yourself alive?

00:57:51.260 --> 00:57:53.159
On the note of possibly having to use the health

00:57:53.159 --> 00:57:56.199
potion on me, both myself and Chester have shit

00:57:56.199 --> 00:57:59.920
for AC. You do. I am currently at 11, and Chester

00:57:59.920 --> 00:58:01.780
is at 12. And, like, you guys never start with

00:58:01.780 --> 00:58:03.199
armor. It just didn't really fit the characters

00:58:03.199 --> 00:58:06.280
to have any armor. I had studded leather armor

00:58:06.280 --> 00:58:08.579
for flavor at the beginning of the campaign.

00:58:09.019 --> 00:58:11.440
Oh, did you? Yeah. I remember that. At the beginning

00:58:11.440 --> 00:58:14.139
of the campaign. But I'm pretty sure it was just

00:58:14.139 --> 00:58:16.000
for, like, flavor. It was, like, shredded up

00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:18.699
bad armor. Right. And to give me at least a bit

00:58:18.699 --> 00:58:21.880
of a bump against the... I don't know, you call

00:58:21.880 --> 00:58:26.420
them zappies. So I'm going to buy each of us

00:58:26.420 --> 00:58:29.300
a piece of armor. All right, hell yes. So jewels,

00:58:29.440 --> 00:58:32.380
I'm proficient in only light armor, unfortunately,

00:58:32.460 --> 00:58:34.400
so I am actually getting real studded leather

00:58:34.400 --> 00:58:40.019
armor, which... That's a lot, right? No, it brings

00:58:40.019 --> 00:58:43.940
me up to 12 from 11. Not still. Plus my dex modifier,

00:58:44.039 --> 00:58:46.139
which is zero. That's full stud leather? I mean,

00:58:46.159 --> 00:58:48.139
isn't that super pricey? That's studded leather.

00:58:48.300 --> 00:58:50.519
I mean, that's 45. Okay, yeah. It's only 45.

00:58:50.519 --> 00:58:52.539
Not too bad, not too bad. And then Chester's

00:58:52.539 --> 00:58:55.900
getting a bigger moon than I am on it. I'm getting

00:58:55.900 --> 00:58:58.219
him a chain shirt, which is 50 gold. Yeah, Chester

00:58:58.219 --> 00:59:01.519
as sort of a watered -down ranger. Right. He's

00:59:01.519 --> 00:59:04.159
pretty tough. Yeah. So he's able to get the medium

00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:06.619
armor. I'm getting him a chain shirt, which gives

00:59:06.619 --> 00:59:10.000
him 13 AC, plus his dex, which is 2. So he's

00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:13.179
got an AC of 15 now. I like to think you step

00:59:13.179 --> 00:59:14.559
out of the store. I'm sorry, Stephen. Go ahead.

00:59:14.889 --> 00:59:18.170
I did offer you earlier to take some of Zebulon's

00:59:18.170 --> 00:59:21.409
bank if you wanted to buy Chester something better

00:59:21.409 --> 00:59:24.389
than a dagger. Oh, he's got a short rod, too.

00:59:24.789 --> 00:59:26.750
Yeah, but if you wanted to buy him a better melee

00:59:26.750 --> 00:59:29.329
weapon. Because I think I've only spent, like,

00:59:29.349 --> 00:59:33.869
70 or 80 of the 100 gold. I mean, his dagger

00:59:33.869 --> 00:59:37.289
is a plus 4 to hit, damages 1d4 plus 2. Right,

00:59:37.369 --> 00:59:38.849
but if you wanted to buy him, like, a short sword

00:59:38.849 --> 00:59:41.550
to give him, like, 1d6, it's probably, like,

00:59:41.650 --> 00:59:44.530
5 or 10 gold. Let's see. I think it's more than

00:59:44.530 --> 00:59:48.449
that. For short sword? It might be more than

00:59:48.449 --> 00:59:50.130
that. I'm pretty sure it's more than that. Let

00:59:50.130 --> 00:59:55.230
me just see real quick. Okay, so a short sword.

00:59:56.190 --> 00:59:59.190
Oh, it's actually 10 gold. It's 10 gold. Yeah.

00:59:59.289 --> 01:00:05.230
But it's 1d6 damage. Yeah, that's a huge difference.

01:00:05.449 --> 01:00:09.070
No, it's not. Between 1d4? 1d4 plus 2. Well,

01:00:09.090 --> 01:00:11.400
yeah, but won't you get the same bonus? It's

01:00:11.400 --> 01:00:14.460
an average one damage higher, I believe. Is he

01:00:14.460 --> 01:00:17.019
going to lose the plus two by wielding a short

01:00:17.019 --> 01:00:20.820
sword? No, he has proficiency. Will it still

01:00:20.820 --> 01:00:23.920
be the plus four to hit, though? Yeah, it's a

01:00:23.920 --> 01:00:26.340
plus. Yeah, because he gets proficiency in simple

01:00:26.340 --> 01:00:28.079
weapons, right? So any simple weapon, he'll get

01:00:28.079 --> 01:00:29.820
the same. Yeah, he gets it. He'll still get the

01:00:29.820 --> 01:00:32.300
plus four to hit. Yes, it'll be the same as a

01:00:32.300 --> 01:00:34.699
dagger. So do you give him the short sword, too?

01:00:35.300 --> 01:00:37.199
How much gold do you have left? I don't know.

01:00:37.239 --> 01:00:43.880
I didn't count it out. Potion was 50. Okay. The

01:00:43.880 --> 01:00:46.340
shield is, I think the shield's only like 5.

01:00:47.000 --> 01:00:48.940
I'm sure you have 10 gold left after the caltrop.

01:00:49.059 --> 01:00:51.960
You definitely have 10 gold. What about 15? I

01:00:51.960 --> 01:00:54.480
think there is probably 20 gold left. I would

01:00:54.480 --> 01:00:56.760
say 20 gold sounds about right to me. And I started

01:00:56.760 --> 01:01:00.380
with 25 gold, or 28 gold or whatever. I take

01:01:00.380 --> 01:01:02.679
that from you. So what about a 15 gold warhammer?

01:01:04.039 --> 01:01:06.500
Yeah, I'm good. That is 1d8 bludgeoning. Let

01:01:06.500 --> 01:01:08.420
me... Actually, warhammers are small. Yeah, he

01:01:08.420 --> 01:01:11.199
can wear that. And it's also versatile. So that

01:01:11.199 --> 01:01:13.500
could be a 1D10 if he's wielding it two -handed,

01:01:13.579 --> 01:01:15.639
which I think that is the only way that he would

01:01:15.639 --> 01:01:19.039
wield it. Shit. He doesn't have two -handed proficiency

01:01:19.039 --> 01:01:20.719
in anything. Chester with a war here. If he's

01:01:20.719 --> 01:01:22.320
taking a swing, he's not going to be doing a

01:01:22.320 --> 01:01:23.760
short bow. I want to do something with this,

01:01:23.780 --> 01:01:25.880
actually. As you're kind of going through, like,

01:01:25.880 --> 01:01:27.559
shops, I think you see Chester wearing, like,

01:01:27.599 --> 01:01:30.480
his chain armor now with his bow slung over his

01:01:30.480 --> 01:01:32.539
shoulder, his quiver on his back, and he's looking

01:01:32.539 --> 01:01:34.000
more like, he always looked like just kind of

01:01:34.000 --> 01:01:36.239
a random street rat, you know? Suddenly, Chester's

01:01:36.239 --> 01:01:37.940
got this look of, like, an actual warrior about

01:01:37.940 --> 01:01:39.239
him, and you're starting to realize the sort

01:01:39.239 --> 01:01:41.579
of, like, muscular physique that's been building

01:01:41.579 --> 01:01:43.300
under his long jacket, which he still kind of

01:01:43.300 --> 01:01:45.159
has tucked over his armor and everything. I like

01:01:45.159 --> 01:01:46.460
where you're going with this. Yeah, I think he's

01:01:46.460 --> 01:01:48.019
walking through the shop, and he looks over,

01:01:48.139 --> 01:01:49.480
like, and maybe he's looking at swords, and his

01:01:49.480 --> 01:01:53.119
eye moves over to, like, a warhammer. and his

01:01:53.119 --> 01:01:56.179
eyes linger on it for a while, and he looks over

01:01:56.179 --> 01:02:00.360
at you. Hey, Jules. Get a load of that, huh?

01:02:00.860 --> 01:02:03.519
A miskin will lose his shit, right? You always

01:02:03.519 --> 01:02:08.159
want one like that. Nice warhammer. Uh, Jules

01:02:08.159 --> 01:02:11.099
is going to look over at his, um... Think you

01:02:11.099 --> 01:02:14.619
can spot him? I mean, you think you can even

01:02:14.619 --> 01:02:18.059
wield something like that? I mean... Yeah. Let's

01:02:18.059 --> 01:02:20.639
just say I've had a... Pick it up. A rough time

01:02:20.639 --> 01:02:23.530
of things. I learned a thing or two. He steps

01:02:23.530 --> 01:02:25.510
over and he yanks up the shelf and sort of like

01:02:25.510 --> 01:02:27.610
immediately swings it around pretty comfortably

01:02:27.610 --> 01:02:31.690
around his head. Kind of, and then Chopper's

01:02:31.690 --> 01:02:33.590
like, hey, hey, hey, stop that there. Oh, sorry,

01:02:33.690 --> 01:02:37.090
sorry. Oops. But yeah, I can wield it. Wow, you

01:02:37.090 --> 01:02:39.090
didn't even have to roll for that. Damn. Why

01:02:39.090 --> 01:02:43.710
would I need to roll for it? I'm a ranger. Zeb

01:02:43.710 --> 01:02:47.769
pulls out his purse and... What? He's got a coin

01:02:47.769 --> 01:02:50.989
purse. What's the matter with that? He's a modern

01:02:50.989 --> 01:02:55.349
man. I mean, you didn't preface it with coin

01:02:55.349 --> 01:02:58.469
the first time. You just said purse. I probably

01:02:58.469 --> 01:03:00.110
should make sure, right? Rangers actually are

01:03:00.110 --> 01:03:03.250
proficient in non -simple weapons before I...

01:03:03.250 --> 01:03:07.269
It's a martial weapon. Is that a non -simple

01:03:07.269 --> 01:03:11.269
weapon? Looks like they are martial. Oh, sweet.

01:03:12.670 --> 01:03:15.010
Awesome. Just double checking. One more sight

01:03:15.010 --> 01:03:18.510
source real quick. So yeah, you see him swinging

01:03:18.510 --> 01:03:21.139
around. He tucks it into his back, and again,

01:03:21.260 --> 01:03:23.820
you just look at Chester, and this small friend,

01:03:23.940 --> 01:03:26.780
this 15 -year -old boy, freckle face and wild

01:03:26.780 --> 01:03:30.179
red hair, big gap teeth, is just suddenly starting

01:03:30.179 --> 01:03:34.280
to look like kind of a badass. And I'm going

01:03:34.280 --> 01:03:37.800
to look down at Chester, and I'm going to take

01:03:37.800 --> 01:03:41.800
my hand, and just kind of like a proud dad moment,

01:03:41.920 --> 01:03:43.619
I'm going to take my hand and just kind of pat

01:03:43.619 --> 01:03:45.780
the side of his face and his chin. Hey, come

01:03:45.780 --> 01:03:48.840
on, Jules, come on. Hey, hey. We're in public,

01:03:49.000 --> 01:03:53.769
man. Zeb's watching. He's blushing. He looks

01:03:53.769 --> 01:03:55.070
a little bit less like a warrior, more like a

01:03:55.070 --> 01:04:00.630
kid for this moment. Hell yeah. And from that,

01:04:00.690 --> 01:04:04.289
I'm going to say a few days pass. Is there anything

01:04:04.289 --> 01:04:06.590
else you guys want to touch on during this time

01:04:06.590 --> 01:04:10.949
period? Zebulon wants to find Pepper. Oh, yes.

01:04:11.090 --> 01:04:13.809
That's right. Yeah, honestly, before those few

01:04:13.809 --> 01:04:15.590
days pass, on the first day, Pepper would come

01:04:15.590 --> 01:04:19.960
back at some point. Yeah, let's do this. He walks

01:04:19.960 --> 01:04:22.820
back in, his ears down, almost to the floor,

01:04:22.880 --> 01:04:26.719
just like this really sad rabbit walk, just barely

01:04:26.719 --> 01:04:32.440
any speed at all, just step, step. He looks up.

01:04:32.719 --> 01:04:36.780
Oh, hey, Zeb. I'm really sad about the thing

01:04:36.780 --> 01:04:42.159
that happened. You know, with the kids. I like

01:04:42.159 --> 01:04:45.900
them. They were nice. I know. That wasn't your

01:04:45.900 --> 01:04:48.769
fault, Pepper. It was my fault. I came here,

01:04:48.869 --> 01:04:52.510
and then they... I didn't realize you guys and

01:04:52.510 --> 01:04:56.809
Rune were, like, bad, bad, you know? Peppers,

01:04:56.829 --> 01:04:59.309
um... I should have told you sooner that Rune

01:04:59.309 --> 01:05:03.449
knew where you were. He's sniffing. He's probably

01:05:03.449 --> 01:05:06.989
crying a little bit. It wasn't your fault. Sturge

01:05:06.989 --> 01:05:09.849
Man had everything to do with this. Sturge Man?

01:05:09.989 --> 01:05:12.389
He would have been here with or without you.

01:05:13.389 --> 01:05:19.889
Oh. Rune used you. Oh, well, I'm going to get

01:05:19.889 --> 01:05:23.349
that guy. Yeah, we are. I'm going right now.

01:05:23.489 --> 01:05:29.130
No, I mean, there's a time and a place for everything.

01:05:29.710 --> 01:05:35.030
And Rune will get his due. But we're not ready

01:05:35.030 --> 01:05:38.250
yet for that. You can trust me when I tell you.

01:05:38.909 --> 01:05:41.989
When it's time for Rune to get his, we're going

01:05:41.989 --> 01:05:44.760
to give it to him together. I don't know what

01:05:44.760 --> 01:05:47.800
I should do. That guy, the guard, the shield

01:05:47.800 --> 01:05:51.079
bearer guy, he was right. I am kind of wanted

01:05:51.079 --> 01:05:53.199
in God's breath, and if he knows, then soon they're

01:05:53.199 --> 01:05:54.860
all going to know. Once they all know, they're

01:05:54.860 --> 01:05:56.920
going to come get me. I've got to leave the Citadel,

01:05:57.019 --> 01:05:58.340
and I don't want to leave you because they're

01:05:58.340 --> 01:05:59.980
my new friends, and I don't have any friends,

01:06:00.139 --> 01:06:02.199
and I don't know where to go because God's breath,

01:06:02.300 --> 01:06:05.739
I can't go back there. Well, I think, Pepper,

01:06:05.920 --> 01:06:09.260
I think we might have a solution. Huh? His ears

01:06:09.260 --> 01:06:15.530
prick up. Until such time that we need to get

01:06:15.530 --> 01:06:20.210
Rune back. Yeah. How would you feel about a job?

01:06:20.710 --> 01:06:23.550
A job? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like those, yeah.

01:06:23.929 --> 01:06:26.469
So, so, I mean. How many people do I have to

01:06:26.469 --> 01:06:28.670
beat up? That's what Rune had me do. No, no,

01:06:28.730 --> 01:06:30.670
it's going to be. Remember because I beat you

01:06:30.670 --> 01:06:33.650
up? It's going to be simpler than that. Oh. It's

01:06:33.650 --> 01:06:36.630
going to be, well, I mean, Jaune said that you

01:06:36.630 --> 01:06:38.769
should be a farmer. Yeah, I was good at it, yeah.

01:06:38.969 --> 01:06:42.019
Did you like it? Oh, I loved it. Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:42.380 --> 01:06:44.219
God's Breath. Yeah, it was awesome. Yeah. So

01:06:44.219 --> 01:06:47.380
we kind of wanted to know if you would want to

01:06:47.380 --> 01:06:50.139
do something like that. I can't go back to God's

01:06:50.139 --> 01:06:52.900
Breath. No. It would be on Sapsunko. His ears

01:06:52.900 --> 01:06:55.539
prick all the way up. I like Sapsunko. Yeah.

01:06:55.760 --> 01:06:59.480
Oh. Remember the pepper shop? I do. Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:59.599 --> 01:07:02.019
They were nice peppers. They were. Yeah. Yeah.

01:07:02.340 --> 01:07:05.719
Well, we were thinking that you would want to

01:07:05.719 --> 01:07:11.070
grow those peppers and sell them. Really? What

01:07:11.070 --> 01:07:15.329
the? Didn't they take me? Well, yeah, I mean,

01:07:15.349 --> 01:07:22.449
it's kind of up to us. You guys hooked me up

01:07:22.449 --> 01:07:26.409
with a sweet new gig? Yeah, Pepper, of course

01:07:26.409 --> 01:07:29.429
we're going to hook you up. Oh, Pepper. We said

01:07:29.429 --> 01:07:34.110
so. We said so. I'm crying laughing. We keep

01:07:34.110 --> 01:07:37.309
our promises. He just kind of cries a little,

01:07:37.389 --> 01:07:41.380
wipes his eyes. When can I start? Whatever I

01:07:41.380 --> 01:07:43.820
can do to help you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah,

01:07:43.840 --> 01:07:48.119
I mean, as soon as you're able. All right. Wow,

01:07:48.539 --> 01:07:52.000
wow. I'm going to start a pepper shop. What do

01:07:52.000 --> 01:07:57.460
I call it? Timmy Lots Peppers. No. No. Jules

01:07:57.460 --> 01:08:01.239
Hot Stuff. No. I like that one. I'll keep workshopping.

01:08:01.559 --> 01:08:03.500
I'll think of something. You keep doing that.

01:08:03.659 --> 01:08:10.110
Yeah. And I imagine the following. day. He takes

01:08:10.110 --> 01:08:11.989
the noon ruby, probably with some written portion

01:08:11.989 --> 01:08:14.269
from you, describing the situation, what you

01:08:14.269 --> 01:08:16.750
want him to do, and he brings it straight to

01:08:16.750 --> 01:08:19.109
Madame Colt. And I think that's the last you

01:08:19.109 --> 01:08:20.729
see of Pepper before you head to God's Breath.

01:08:21.130 --> 01:08:24.710
He's just waving farewell furiously, arm -like,

01:08:24.750 --> 01:08:28.229
side to side, as he's moving on to the ruby.

01:08:28.350 --> 01:08:31.369
Good luck, Pepper! Steven, that deserves a high

01:08:31.369 --> 01:08:34.369
five. Nice job. Alright. Great. It's been many

01:08:34.369 --> 01:08:37.850
episodes coming. Yep. Awesome. One more thing.

01:08:38.650 --> 01:08:42.329
I want to touch on before we wrap this up and

01:08:42.329 --> 01:08:47.130
go into the day of your departure. This is going

01:08:47.130 --> 01:08:49.949
to take place on the very night before. Jules.

01:08:50.449 --> 01:08:52.569
Yes. You've noticed that throughout the last

01:08:52.569 --> 01:08:57.149
few days, Fibro has been reading nonstop. You

01:08:57.149 --> 01:08:59.229
don't even know when he's been sleeping, if he's

01:08:59.229 --> 01:09:01.859
been sleeping. just flipping page after flipping

01:09:01.859 --> 01:09:03.239
page. And you know that he's done this before

01:09:03.239 --> 01:09:05.300
when he's gotten down, he's been like diving

01:09:05.300 --> 01:09:07.460
into his magical studies and this and that. And

01:09:07.460 --> 01:09:09.640
now he's got these books on history and lore.

01:09:09.720 --> 01:09:12.260
And he's just been like, just, just completely

01:09:12.260 --> 01:09:15.720
devoting himself to just diving into them, really

01:09:15.720 --> 01:09:17.699
trying to learn what he can and just not think

01:09:17.699 --> 01:09:20.060
about anything outside. You know, that's always

01:09:20.060 --> 01:09:22.779
been his way. Just sitting at a corner table

01:09:22.779 --> 01:09:26.159
downstairs. With one, like, candle lighting his

01:09:26.159 --> 01:09:29.420
sort of pages as he reads and reads and reads.

01:09:30.359 --> 01:09:32.039
I imagine maybe you leave him to it, knowing

01:09:32.039 --> 01:09:35.640
that's just how he copes. But finally, on the

01:09:35.640 --> 01:09:38.159
night before, he kind of looks up at one point.

01:09:39.199 --> 01:09:42.520
Uh, hey Jules? Yeah, what's up, Fibro? Can I

01:09:42.520 --> 01:09:45.159
ask you a question? Anything. His eyes are, like,

01:09:45.159 --> 01:09:48.899
wide and super tired looking. Uh, alright, um,

01:09:49.000 --> 01:09:51.920
so, heh, this is interesting stuff here. So I've

01:09:51.920 --> 01:09:54.050
been reading about Sapsunko. In these books,

01:09:54.130 --> 01:09:57.029
I almost finished both of them, and wow, it's

01:09:57.029 --> 01:10:01.189
amazing. You are there. Is it true? The mountain

01:10:01.189 --> 01:10:04.489
range around the valley, is it? It's really as

01:10:04.489 --> 01:10:06.729
tall as they say and almost straight on the other

01:10:06.729 --> 01:10:08.310
side, and it's really there. There's really a

01:10:08.310 --> 01:10:11.930
range guarding this valley. Yeah, and it's a

01:10:11.930 --> 01:10:15.470
beautiful mountain range. Jules, you don't understand.

01:10:15.689 --> 01:10:18.289
That's incredible. I mean, they say, both these

01:10:18.289 --> 01:10:21.369
books, say that a single sorcerer, Phi May Moon,

01:10:21.569 --> 01:10:23.529
climbed up this mountain in the middle of the

01:10:23.529 --> 01:10:26.430
valley and, speaking to the spirits, summoned

01:10:26.430 --> 01:10:28.710
this entire mountain range to guard against an

01:10:28.710 --> 01:10:31.930
outside threat. Now, that's crazy, right? This

01:10:31.930 --> 01:10:34.170
is magic on such a high level. I couldn't believe

01:10:34.170 --> 01:10:37.729
it. These spirits in the land. I mean, no human

01:10:37.729 --> 01:10:39.770
could do this, right? I've never heard of something

01:10:39.770 --> 01:10:46.800
like that. Yeah, it's nuts. Wow. He's just, like,

01:10:46.840 --> 01:10:48.739
he's just, like, phasing out just a bit. What

01:10:48.739 --> 01:10:52.760
are you telling me, Fibro? I just, I don't know.

01:10:53.020 --> 01:10:57.000
This idea that, like, that this human could call

01:10:57.000 --> 01:11:01.619
upon some spirits and just, I mean, what are

01:11:01.619 --> 01:11:02.979
these spirits? Do you know anything about them?

01:11:04.829 --> 01:11:08.149
Yeah, it's like some wild kind of unknown magic.

01:11:08.229 --> 01:11:10.149
Even though the lore and stories, it's almost

01:11:10.149 --> 01:11:12.550
what he's trying to get to. It's not well described

01:11:12.550 --> 01:11:15.729
how this process happened. How did one singular

01:11:15.729 --> 01:11:18.930
person manage to raise an entire mountain range?

01:11:19.329 --> 01:11:21.010
I mean, there's this idea that he called upon

01:11:21.010 --> 01:11:23.510
the spirits of the land, which is a huge part

01:11:23.510 --> 01:11:26.289
of Susanko's culture and kind of local reverence

01:11:26.289 --> 01:11:28.789
and religion. The land spirits are like an important

01:11:28.789 --> 01:11:31.229
part of it. And you do know one more thing about

01:11:31.229 --> 01:11:33.909
these land spirits. You know a term connected

01:11:33.909 --> 01:11:37.470
to them. Shadrakhan. Do you say that out loud?

01:11:37.890 --> 01:11:46.390
I look over at Zeb. Shadrakhan. No. No. Sha...

01:11:46.390 --> 01:11:50.829
Wait. Vizier? Vizierdrakhan. Vizierdrakhan. Vizierdrakhan.

01:11:50.829 --> 01:11:52.949
So Vizierdrakhan is one who can speak with the

01:11:52.949 --> 01:11:55.869
spirits. Shadrakhan is what you know as the land

01:11:55.869 --> 01:11:57.909
where spirits come from. The land of spirits.

01:11:57.909 --> 01:12:03.239
She is... the Laopop flowers? He nods at that.

01:12:03.460 --> 01:12:06.140
Covering the mountains. That's actually what

01:12:06.140 --> 01:12:08.640
they say here. They were born, created when the

01:12:08.640 --> 01:12:10.840
mountains were born. As part of the same ritual.

01:12:11.039 --> 01:12:13.899
It's amazing how this stuff can last for thousands

01:12:13.899 --> 01:12:15.500
and thousands of years. People barely even remember

01:12:15.500 --> 01:12:18.819
how this happened. This predates the union of

01:12:18.819 --> 01:12:21.500
the world. This predates the citadel. And no

01:12:21.500 --> 01:12:25.380
one knows anything about these spirits. It's

01:12:25.380 --> 01:12:28.920
crazy, right? So are we scrapping God's breath

01:12:28.920 --> 01:12:33.699
and going back to some psycho? He's just asking

01:12:33.699 --> 01:12:35.899
you questions. I mean, did you say Shadrakhan

01:12:35.899 --> 01:12:37.939
in front of him? Yes. Because I don't think you've,

01:12:37.939 --> 01:12:39.380
you probably haven't brought these terms up with

01:12:39.380 --> 01:12:45.380
Vibro. Well, I think I said Shadrakhan, and I

01:12:45.380 --> 01:12:49.039
don't want to speak for Zeb, but I imagine, I

01:12:49.039 --> 01:12:51.119
mean, you just said the same thing, maybe it

01:12:51.119 --> 01:12:54.739
was in character, but Azir Drakhan. Shadra what?

01:12:55.460 --> 01:12:59.039
Drakhan what? That mean something, Jules? I don't

01:12:59.039 --> 01:13:01.819
know. I don't know what to make of that. It's

01:13:01.819 --> 01:13:04.000
just... What's it mean? The words? Does it...

01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:08.060
Did you just say words? Gibberish words? It's

01:13:08.060 --> 01:13:11.000
a spirit world. A spirit world? That's what I

01:13:11.000 --> 01:13:14.239
was told. Like a separate world for spirits?

01:13:15.520 --> 01:13:19.859
I... I don't know. That... Where'd you hear that?

01:13:19.979 --> 01:13:22.399
Because that doesn't... Look, that contradicts

01:13:22.399 --> 01:13:24.539
what the history and the lore book here say about

01:13:24.539 --> 01:13:27.720
the world of Sasako. I mean, basically what they

01:13:27.720 --> 01:13:30.140
say is the spirits predated humans. It was their

01:13:30.140 --> 01:13:32.680
world first. Humans came along, all humans and

01:13:32.680 --> 01:13:36.640
all the other half -elves, elves, in this case

01:13:36.640 --> 01:13:38.819
a lot of dragonborn, gnomes, and such and such,

01:13:38.979 --> 01:13:43.100
orcs. They came along and they were led to creating

01:13:43.100 --> 01:13:47.300
the society by the spirits and the land. So I

01:13:47.300 --> 01:13:48.939
don't know, there's nothing I want to hear about

01:13:48.939 --> 01:13:51.659
the world the spirits belong to. Steven, you

01:13:51.659 --> 01:13:53.060
can feel free to take over on this because I

01:13:53.060 --> 01:13:54.960
feel like I'm missing something. No, you're not.

01:13:55.020 --> 01:13:57.199
I don't think Zebulon's there. You're not missing

01:13:57.199 --> 01:14:00.039
anything. I don't know. He's just pointing out

01:14:00.039 --> 01:14:03.109
contradiction. You're doing good. I don't know

01:14:03.109 --> 01:14:04.829
what else to say. I will say, not every scene

01:14:04.829 --> 01:14:06.750
has an answer. Not every scene is me guiding

01:14:06.750 --> 01:14:08.550
or something. Some scenes are me just bringing

01:14:08.550 --> 01:14:11.210
up new questions because questions need to be

01:14:11.210 --> 01:14:13.750
brought up to be answered later. Fyro's just

01:14:13.750 --> 01:14:17.369
curious. Okay, then that's that. All right, yeah.

01:14:19.649 --> 01:14:21.829
All right, end of scene. You just kept asking

01:14:21.829 --> 01:14:25.449
questions like you're trying to lead me to an

01:14:25.449 --> 01:14:29.689
answer. No, no, he's just curious. He's the character.

01:14:30.239 --> 01:14:32.000
He's a curious boy. He's a curious boy. This

01:14:32.000 --> 01:14:34.659
is going to be a mess of a scene to cut and edit.

01:14:35.439 --> 01:14:39.359
He's basically just saying what he's saying,

01:14:39.399 --> 01:14:41.760
that the idea of a Shadrakana, a world of spirits,

01:14:41.840 --> 01:14:44.079
contradicts all the history and lore of the world,

01:14:44.180 --> 01:14:46.420
which is inherently interesting to him. You keep

01:14:46.420 --> 01:14:48.960
reading Fibro, okay? He actually, I will say

01:14:48.960 --> 01:14:52.939
one more thing, if that's okay. I'll allow it.

01:14:55.030 --> 01:14:56.689
He's kind of like on a roll now, and he's like,

01:14:56.869 --> 01:14:58.569
actually, it's fascinating. You see, and he kind

01:14:58.569 --> 01:14:59.909
of grabs one of the other books he was holding

01:14:59.909 --> 01:15:02.029
the other day, a God's Breath book that he got

01:15:02.029 --> 01:15:03.350
from Aiders, and he flips it open. It's like,

01:15:03.390 --> 01:15:05.590
you see, it's actually very similar to the way

01:15:05.590 --> 01:15:07.350
God's Breath was founded as well. I don't know

01:15:07.350 --> 01:15:08.750
what you know about God's Breath, but there's

01:15:08.750 --> 01:15:11.550
some beings known as the Covenant Gods, five

01:15:11.550 --> 01:15:14.609
gods local to the land, and they're also shrouded

01:15:14.609 --> 01:15:16.170
in mystery. All we know about them is they're

01:15:16.170 --> 01:15:19.989
these thin beings, long of limb and neck. that

01:15:19.989 --> 01:15:21.789
apparently brought the folk of God's breath to

01:15:21.789 --> 01:15:24.350
a new land long ago when they were being assaulted

01:15:24.350 --> 01:15:26.529
by some mysterious aggressor. And they were brought

01:15:26.529 --> 01:15:29.930
to the Promise and the Ribbon and the farmlands

01:15:29.930 --> 01:15:34.229
they now use. And it's just like the story of

01:15:34.229 --> 01:15:36.510
Susanko, right? These sort of ancient beings.

01:15:36.630 --> 01:15:39.069
I mean, it's so wild. Every one of their worlds

01:15:39.069 --> 01:15:40.630
has their own cultures, their own gods, their

01:15:40.630 --> 01:15:42.710
own religions, and yet they all seem to culminate

01:15:42.710 --> 01:15:46.569
in the same story. Sorry, sorry. No, no, no.

01:15:46.729 --> 01:15:49.609
I'm just excited. No. I meant that when I said

01:15:49.609 --> 01:15:52.270
it, you keep reading. Oh. You keep doing what

01:15:52.270 --> 01:15:54.390
you're doing. Yeah, of course, yeah. And honestly,

01:15:54.569 --> 01:15:56.310
if you're ever around a new world, please, if

01:15:56.310 --> 01:15:57.630
you have the gold, you have the time, bring me

01:15:57.630 --> 01:16:00.250
back a book. I'd love to read more. Maybe I can

01:16:00.250 --> 01:16:03.510
help you in some way by diving into these tomes.

01:16:04.069 --> 01:16:07.989
I'll bring you as many as I can, okay? You keep

01:16:07.989 --> 01:16:12.270
doing what you're doing. Please. He actually,

01:16:12.329 --> 01:16:14.590
like, despite his exhaustion, smiles this big

01:16:14.590 --> 01:16:16.149
smile, like he just feels like he's been given

01:16:16.149 --> 01:16:19.430
this... Grand Quest by Jules LaRoche. He's just

01:16:19.430 --> 01:16:21.930
like nodding. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jules, yeah,

01:16:21.989 --> 01:16:25.130
of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he's just like,

01:16:25.170 --> 01:16:29.149
gets right back to it. Hell yeah. Hell yeah.

01:16:29.449 --> 01:16:34.109
That was a mind fuck. Books aren't cheap, by

01:16:34.109 --> 01:16:35.649
the way. I think they're like 25 gold apiece.

01:16:35.689 --> 01:16:40.430
Yeah. I mean, if it solves the entire problem

01:16:40.430 --> 01:16:44.390
of this universe, I'll make it rain. Hell yeah.

01:16:44.810 --> 01:16:47.800
So. And that's like the end of that evening.

01:16:48.140 --> 01:16:51.220
You guys rest. You know you need to rest well

01:16:51.220 --> 01:16:54.880
and be prepared because the next day sees you

01:16:54.880 --> 01:16:58.359
leaving. And once again, the windows of the coyote

01:16:58.359 --> 01:17:02.739
fill with light as the ethereal diamond pulses

01:17:02.739 --> 01:17:08.520
to life and morning comes to the radiant citadel.

01:17:09.399 --> 01:17:13.140
The morning of your departure to God's breath.

01:17:14.869 --> 01:17:15.729
And we'll call it there.