Storyteller David here. You guys having fun?
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And chains of guilt broken for uncle and niece.
Jean Franklin stood strong as claws raked his
skin. Just a hell to the wall, shooting arrows
within. Seb's blades a flurry, severed many a
hand. And Jules' magic supported in a masterful
plan. Together they banished the malevolent past.
Free the good folk of God's breath from the shadow
it casts. Spirits rest. Darkness gone. Slay the
night. Break the dawn. A new start. A new start.
A new start. Final excerpt from The Awakening
Song. The Song of Seven Jewels. Co -written by
Proclaimer Amy Corden. And Proclaimer Tungsten
Ward. May they find peace in the arms of the
covenant gods. You just gave me goosebumps. Yeah.
Hoo -wee. I had goosebumps last week. That was...
That was something else. Yeah, it was. You guys.
You guys. I mean, you were incredible. You played
your roles perfectly. Jean Franklin up there
tanking every blow, stopping that last hand for
hitting Coley, getting the actual attacks onto
his... His death saves. I mean, like, Zebulon,
you're in there doing your damage. Jules, the
support. Just beautiful. I'll be honest with
you. Me and the monster both really underestimated
you guys. Well, yeah. I mean, if any one of us
wasn't playing that chosen role, then the whole
thing could have fallen apart. And we saw how
one hit could either change or end. The fight
for somebody. If we had one wrong move, it would
have been over. Well, if anybody else except
for Jean took that hit, then they'd have been
down. Yep. It was a risky, risky thing. Especially
with 14 HP. Yeah. I feel that. I feel that. Even
Zeb with 21 would have been down because that
first hit was 22 HP. Oh, that's right. It was.
Yeah. And then the whole thing just falls apart.
I was going to play mean. I was going to go after
down people. I was out to kill. And you guys.
Just played perfectly. You were going to play
me? Does that mean you took it easy? What the
fuck? Right. I didn't get to play me. I didn't
get to have turns. You guys were slaying me.
Throwing me this way and that. Oh, my God. It
was beautiful. Brutal, but beautiful. Plus, those
dice rolls. Those blessed dice might have worked
out because I was rolling not great. Thank you,
Rochelle. Yeah. Yeah. That was pretty key. After
those first couple of stinkers for me, I just
had to warm things up. But all that being said,
a couple of real quick wedges here. At one point,
we did miss the extra damage on a Bardic attack
from Jules' College of Creation. Basically, like
extra sort of inspiration on his Bardic die.
Oh, yeah. Yes, there's sort of a sonic damage
component or force damage. A damage. Basically,
it wouldn't have mattered, I realize, in the
hindsight, though, because it was the final blow
of the combat, but still would have been a pretty
cool visual. Yeah, I think it was like a con
save on the attack roll or something. Yes, that's
right. I constantly attack roll. Yeah. I also
did not give Jean -Francois an A -O -O when Jules
did his first Dissonant Whispers. This was partially
out of choice because in the moment I was kind
of making a call whether or not I would let go.
I have to move as far away as I can with my speed,
but you can actually move something you're grappling
just at half speed. In the moment, I decided
to let go and move back. It felt more fitting
for the moment, for the scene. But because of
that, I kind of like in the moment was like,
eh, maybe I won't do the AOO though because he
wouldn't have had it if I grabbed him and pulled
him. So it was kind of like a give and take moment
I viewed as. But yeah, still could be considered
a wedgie. I wanted to clear that up in case anybody
was curious about that little bit there. So the
only one that's kind of a bigger thing is the,
well, we got a little bit of something wrong
with Tasha's hideous laughter. And I believe
this in myself. I was a little too invested in
figuring out whether or not it would work on
a prone creature looking into that. So I... Didn't
quite look at the fact that I should have been
making extra saves on attacks that actually hit
my enemy while it was under the effects. But
hey, on the bright side, my wisdom save on this
creature was very low. And even had I gotten
those, I think it was three different chances
of what I had to reroll, they weren't super likely
to actually... So I got extraordinarily lucky
by getting the first try on my turn. I mean,
we can spread around the blame on that. That
was my spell. I should have known it right off
the bat and let you know. But in the end, honestly,
fantastic fight. I have no regrets. And here
we are moving on into the conclusion of God's
Breath. This is wild. This is exciting. How are
you guys feeling? I didn't think we'd ever make
it here. Well, I know when we first, I mean,
this is a lot of unzip talk, but when we first
started the arc, David, you were thinking like
five episodes. I did. I did. Yeah. Yeah. What
is it like 10 now? Something like that. Like
19 or 20, we started. Something like that. Yeah.
10 or more. I got really excited and kept adding
things. It feels like both yesterday and last
year at the same time. It feels like we've been
here a long ass time. It really does. It has
been, it's been big. I think a lot of things
have changed for a lot of these characters. And,
man, I cannot wait to go back to the Radiant
Citadel and to see how these developments are
moving on. Before we do move on, do you guys
want to do a little bit of mail time, super,
super quick? Oh, yeah, sure thing. Yeah, so...
Mail time, mail time, mail time, mail time. Here's
the mail that never fails. It makes me want to
wag my tail. When it comes, I want to wail. Thank
you. Thank you. You guys both had to look like,
what the hell are you talking about? Yeah, I
knew the thing. Are we going to get sued now?
No. No. It's parody. Oh, okay. So in addition
to the other week on Instagram, we posted the
stickers and talked about the letter that we
got from our friends. Rochelle, of course, and
Danny Pirate, who paints minis and all sorts
of really cool stuff. Super, super talented.
We also got some goodies in the mail from our
friend Hungry Familiar, who just launched a Kickstarter.
In this package here, we have some original art
from her, as well as a zine of a tavern that
she... that she drew up. There's like, there's
like a bookmark that has the menu for the tavern.
There's a map of the tavern. I believe there's
a short scenario that you can run and stuff about
the NPCs, all sorts of stuff. So I thought we
could open it here real quick before we get started.
Sweet. So this is the original ink drawing that
we got from her. It's a couple of A couple of
lovers sitting under a tree. Holy shit. So I
think that'll look pretty cool on our new shelves.
Yeah, I finally put up shelves in this studio
here so we can display this awesome, awesome
stuff. And then while that's going around, this
is that brand new. Here is the Hungry Familiar.
What's the? Timberwolf Tavern. Timberwolf Tavern.
That's the one. I wanted to say our tavern, but
it's not ours. Check that out. Not so ugly as
ours. Oh, that's cool. I love it. So we got some
extra goodies in there. We got some stickers
and stuff like that. I haven't opened it to really
figure everything out. I'm going to have to read
this to Danny. I'm calling dibs on one of those
stickers. Oh, absolutely. This isn't totally
well -known yet, but we actually had to put off
last week's recording for a few days because
my computer, my faithful, faithful computer died
that night we were about to start the fight.
So I got a new one, and I am so glad to be getting
all these stickers from all these cool folks
and decorating it. I've never really done that
before, and it's really cool. Yeah, it's looking
cool so far. You got some Happy Cat from our
buddy Morgan Gleave, some UR Wizards, one of
Danny's stickers. Halfling's Den. I see Spectral
Craft on there. And now I'm getting this cat
from Letterkenny fame. Yeah, that's right. Yeah,
yeah, the cat that was on the poster in Letterkenny.
Yeah. Still just isn't as good as Friends, but
we're not getting into that today. You were the
one who put that to bed. Yeah, you just brought
it up. I'm putting it back to bed. You just brought
it up. I just want to remind you how foolish
you are. You're alone. You're alone in this.
I'll die on this hill. I don't care. That's what's
going to happen, yeah. You are correct. Well,
gentlemen, you have been through a lot in this
last number of episodes. I mean, you went through
the horror arc here, and I feel like you went
through the ringer, and you came out of it. I
think it's time to close the book on God's Breath.
And maybe, just maybe... To claim your reward
for everything, everything you've been through.
But first, let's open up the cold cavern beneath
a lonely, dark farmhouse. You are surrounded
by just walls of red clay. In the middle of this
room, just a pool of dirty water. Hands and fingers
sort of floating atop it. And you stand in silence.
I think the first thing that happens is we see
Kiana still kind of on the ground where she was
stabbing at the last hand that was attacking
her. Looks around at all of you, her eyes wide,
taking you in person to person. And there's just
so much in those eyes. You don't need to roll
insight to see the gratitude. And then her eyes
close. And she slumps backwards. The exhaustion
of these last days, weeks, you don't know. Finally
taking their toll. And she rests. Cully just
reaches down, puts his head on her chest. Stands
up. She's sleeping. Poor thing. Looks like she's
been through hell. I don't know what she's going
to want when this is over. I don't know if she
wants to stay here. And maybe I have to stay
too odd. I will, if it comes to it. But I will
make good on my deal with you first. Now, I don't
know about you all, but I'm ready to get the
hell out of this hole. Yeah, Zebulon walks over
to grab one of Kiana's arms and, you know, put
it over his shoulder to try to help him carry
her. So, she's free now that this thing is dead.
There's an expression in Cully's eyes that's
hard to read. He just nods slowly, staring down,
dismembered hands all over the floor, eyes flickering
from place to place, and says, Yeah, I think
we both are finally free. And he grabs the other
arm. So that means that upstairs, they had a
chance. We don't know what their purpose was.
If I could feel this thing for a second, I could
feel it creeping in on me. And I would have done
anything that it ordered me to. Maybe they were
meant to come down and attack us while we were
fighting it from behind. I don't know. Zeb, you
said that yourself. If we didn't do what we did,
they might have killed us. I just want to know
what it was like. Maybe when... Even when Kiana's
awake. Let's get out of here. And you each take
an arm. It's pretty rough moving through the
tunnel, moving in. It's a tight squeeze, but
perhaps with your sort of smaller frame, it's
easier for you to maneuver. Taking the front.
Gently and slowly, you push around and up and
up. You work your way up the ladder into that
small pantry, into the farmhouse proper. And
I ask you now, what do you want to do? See, everyone
climbs out. Kiana's still sleeping. This first
room has two bodies on the floor. I think, uh...
I don't think Jules and Chester are saying much.
Chester, especially after the conversation he
was there for, has been very, very quiet. And
as he sees these bodies, like, face very white,
head down. Where I was going with that was as
we get up and we cross over the bodies, I think
Jules grabs Chester's head and kind of covers
his eyes and pulls his head in towards his chest
as they walk by, kind of shielding him from seeing
all of that. Zebulon's feeling kind of claustrophobic,
trying to put on an air like he knows what he's
doing and just walks straight for the... He just
wants to get Kiana and get out of here. Put this
behind him. Hell yeah. The door damaged, the
splinters of a chair still all over the hallway
just outside. I think, Jules, you must have your
rapier out, the only light source for this group
to follow currently. Hell yeah. You move out
of this room, away from the corpses, away from
the smell of rot emanating from that cellar down
below. What's your plan now? It's the middle
of the night. You're at a farmhouse. There's
nobody around. I don't want to speak for anybody,
but Jules doesn't want to stay the night in this
place. Yeah, I don't think it makes sense to
stay here. I think it would be smarter to go
to the next house down the street sort of thing.
At least. Yeah. I'm thinking almost maybe just
camp out outside of this neighborhood. Yeah.
We could do that too. I don't know. Like I said,
I don't want to speak for anybody. I just, I
don't want to stay here. Let's, let's find a
safe place. We can, we can start a fire and we
can take watch and rest until the sun comes up.
All right. So you guys move away from the farmhouse
as you're sitting past that last body down at
the base of the porch. John Franklin's eyes fall
on it. He turns to Cully. Is it possible to get,
well, information on these folk that lived here?
Do they have people? I would be much obliged
if you could look into it for me. Coy just nods.
Yeah. Keanu will know. And as much as I hate
to say it, we'll have to tell her everything.
I ain't lying to her anymore. Sibion speaks up
to kind of try to almost interrupt or maybe redirect.
Where's the horse? He's looking around for, I
forget the horse's name. Percy. Percy. Where's
Percy? Zeb, didn't you tie him up at the house
back there? Rule D20 for me. I'm pretty sure
you tied him up before we went in. Did we just
leave him? I'm going to roll the red dragon.
That's a three on the die. I was thinking he'd
get a one. You just hear a... It's the worst
Winnie. It's a natural three Winnie right there.
I was going to say natural three on that Winnie.
Did you say that was a DC one? No, I wanted to
see if you'd roll a one. Bad thing might happen.
Percy comes shambling out. He was kind of like
lying down, maybe in some brush around where
you tied him up. But he runs over to where this
rain sort of end and just kind of just looking
at you all, just snorting and puffing. Oren,
help me get Kiana up on Percy. Right, yeah. And
get her up there. And I imagine you guys get
some distance to the point where you, maybe you're
still along this old road, but not within sight
of any of these farmhouses. As you're moving
back, you don't see any of those hands either.
It's ones pointing the path. And maybe they were
the ones making up that creature you fought.
Maybe they weren't. Maybe there are some mysteries
you're not going to solve here, but you at least
know that they are gone for now. Are we going
to learn later, though, like Jeremy and Steven?
Yeah. Because I think that they were the hands.
Maybe. Who knows? I mean, the tunnels under the
floorboard tells me that they were the hands.
Yeah, we saw a whole bunch of hands. So if we
just went around, like, killing hands, do you
think we could have made this thing weaker? All
right, retcon the whole thing. Let's redo this.
A magician never reveals his secrets. Or not
all of them, at least. They're just illusions.
All right. Serious. Campfire. Night watch. You
got a campfire going. Crackling in the night.
Have fun with that. Sorry. I was just going to
say, I'll take first watch, though. You get some
rest. Roast a knockwurst over the fire. The official
meat of fantasy bands. You know it. Yeah, I think
Jules will take first watch. You get some rest,
Seb. You've been through a lot. You know, let's
take shifts. Maybe I can sit up with you. We
could do that. I think you also see, like, John
Franklin just looks around. I don't. feasibly
see any way I'm going to sleep. So, perhaps I'll
take a watch, too. Well, then it's, uh, I think
it's settled, then. We're all staying awake.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that's just about right.
Chester's just sitting on his own, staring down
at the ground, hands playing in the wet mud.
Coley's leaning over Kiana. She laid out in a
sleeping mat. You know, there's no way in hell
I'm going to sleep. Well, I want to make sure
this fire stays running all night. Jules, do
you want to help me gather some wood? Yeah. Yeah.
One second, though. And Jules is going to mosey
over to Cully. Reach in his pocket and pull out
the rings. I think these belong to you. And he
reaches out. He puts his hands out. His eyes
go wide, just looking over all of them. He's
mouthing something, some words. You can't quite
make them out. And his eyes tear up just a little
bit. Not wounded. She kept them. Left them to
her to sell them, you know. Help make a home
for herself. These belong to my sister, Delilah.
And to my Susanna. This here. Grabs one of them
from the pile. Very simple little ring with a
singular small diamond. I proposed with this.
Different life. I guess I shouldn't have expected
to get rid of them. Girls too sentimental. They
clearly mean a lot. Yeah, they do. Thank you.
Of course. Jules pats him on the shoulder and
then turns back to Zeb. Yeah, Zebulon's at the
tree line. He's already got like three or four
good sticks under his arm. That's all he can
carry. Just kind of like moving real slow. All
right, Jules joins him. It is a short while where
you go out gathering. Anything you want to talk
about while you're alone? Yeah, just quietly
gathering sticks for the first couple of minutes.
So, Jules, you know at least something about
demons, and we've seen some pretty horrible things
together. I'm not bad, am I? Absolutely not.
Because... Look, we had to make really tough
choices. And sometimes it's not always right
and wrong. It's just trying to survive. We've
seen monsters now. Don't let me be a monster.
Okay? You're anything but, Zeb. You're my best
friend. Thank you, you're my best friend. Oh
my god. You guys take a button each. Oh yeah.
You guys take a button each, I can't not. Get
over here, put your hands up. Take your buttons.
I got tears in my eyes. I almost do too. Well,
I think that's enough stick to get it most of
the way. Oh, don't tell Chester what I just said.
That's right. Give me that button back. Hey,
give me that bucket back. Oh, God. I'm content
to sit and watch by the fire the rest of the
night. Yeah, same. David, did we get enough wood
in that time? Yeah. Perfect. You're good. Cool.
I'm not. Now, what are the mechanics of campfire
wood? Let's really dig into this. We will lose
every listener. Except for those old D &D fans.
The real wood gathering aficionados. Oh, yeah.
Keep those guys. You guys move back. Zabielon,
you stay up and watch. And I'm just going to
ask, who does sleep? Kali and Kiana? I mean,
I only control Zebulon, so. Yeah. I think Jean
Franklin eventually trails off. That's good.
He needs it. He also bickers a lot about how
uncomfortable this mattress is. What is this?
What mattress? He's got this really nice packed
bed that kind of puffs up. Oh, so he carries
a giant bedroll? He's got a way bigger bedroll.
The whole time we were getting wood, he was sitting
there blowing up his air mattress. Yeah, exactly.
He's lightheaded. This needs more feathers. I
can't sleep on this. Ridiculous. Yeah, I imagine
Chester eventually succumbs to sleep as well.
I don't think he falls asleep traditionally.
I think he's just sitting, like, kneeling on
the ground, and then eventually just kind of
his head sort of slowly drop into the points
of his knees. Right. Snores. I don't think Jules...
He snores. I don't know if Jules ever falls asleep.
I think he just kind of stares at the fire, thinking
about what just happened in his head. Damn. Yeah.
And what's happening to him. Yeah. Probably imagines
Ebulon's exact words. Don't let me become a monster.
And the night passes, and day begins to break.
Kiana's the first to wake up of those that did
fall asleep. Her eyes finally just fluttering
open, and she just sits up with a gasp. She looks
around at the campsite, everyone. Koli's right
next to her, asleep on the ground. She looks
to you, Zeb. I knew it, and I was thinking about
it. I remember a little. Y 'all were there in
the cavern. I don't know you. I owe you my life.
Thank you. That's okay, Kiana. You don't owe
us anything. We're just here with Cully. We're
just doing our job. She just kind of looks back
at him. I still can't believe it. It's all like
some crazy nightmare. I could feel him calling
out for me. I had visions in my sleep. I could
see him moving, slowly moving to meet me here,
but I didn't see, I didn't know what he became.
I didn't know, and now I do. That wasn't him,
was it? That wasn't little Coley. That wasn't
Coley Jr. He's gone, right? He's really gone?
He's been gone, yeah. So that's what it was like.
She just looks down at her stump of a right arm.
I never, never in all my life thought I'd feel
grateful for that thought. And my cousins were
the Covenant Cards. I'm sorry, Kiana. Well, it's
done, it's done. And then she kind of, as if
something hits her mind, Oh! Um, there were others.
Mitch, Hayes, Diane, Tyra. I had other folk there
at the farm. Well, Zebulon stands up and starts
to kick dirt onto the fire. A safe fire is a
dead fire. Wake the others. Let's get moving.
First light. She just nods. Her eyes still kind
of vacant, stupefied, and starts to... Shake
people awake. And Zebulon starts to pack up camp
and load Percy up with Jaune's bedroll, apparently.
It's the biggest, puffiest thing on the back
of this horse. It's like a saddle blanket. Did
you just roll him up, like, inside it? Wake up,
Jaune. Time to go. You, like, roll him off at
no time. Fine. Can't I just sleep a little? No,
you know what? This is fine. This is fine. The
sooner we get back to Promise, the sooner we
get to the Pale Moonlight Inn. And I cannot wait
for my feathered bed. Yeah, that's exactly where
we're going. Fuck the Pale Moonlight Inn. You
keep thinking that. What? You keep thinking that.
I'm going back there. Perfect. Good riddance.
You can go to your ugly coyote whenever you want.
But me, I've had enough of this world. I hate
those guys from the Pale Moonlight Inn. Everyone
kind of gets up, Coley, Chester. You pack up,
begin to move, and you're probably an hour into
your journey when over the hills ahead you spot
another group coming your way. As you get closer
and as they get closer, as you nearly meet, you
can make out Uncle Polder on horseback, the first
one in this line. You see just behind him, looks
like a proclaimer. You notice the rainbow scarf.
You see an older man with a full black beard
and a long face and chin. And this group, catch
up to your group, behind them there's probably
like about 20 men all on horseback, all like
rugged farmer types. I say men, men and women
both, just like real hodgepodge, a couple of
haranguan. In fact, it's hard to make out, but
there's one particular haranguan that seems to
stand out a little farther back. Huh. We'll touch
on him in a minute, though. Okay. As this group
kind of meets you, Polo jumps down. Oh, y 'all
made it. Y 'all made it all right. Oh, thank
the Covenant gods. I was worried, but I brought
help, like I said. If y 'all need help moving
back, we can get you there. We can go and investigate.
Is it gone? That thing, is it gone? It's over.
It's over. Hell. Well, we're gonna push forward.
I won't keep you guys any longer. I know you
must be itching to get back to promise, back
to civilization, but we're gonna go investigate,
follow through, make sure. Um, I think the man
behind him moves up, the proclaimer. Says, uh,
my name's Emmett Corden. I'm a proclaimer of
the covenant gods. Well, I'm just wondering if
y 'all would be interested in telling me a little
bit about what happened here. It's important
to get this down on history, you see. It don't
need to be right now. I know y 'all are in a
hurry, but... Yeah, there's a lot to tell. We
were accompanied by a proclaimer earlier, Tungsten
Ward. And Corden just looks down. Yeah, I heard.
Polter told me all. That's a damn shame. A damn
shame. I have, and Zeb reaches into his pocket
and pulls out Ward's scarf. I got this. I don't
know if it's important. He reaches out for it.
To bring it to Ward's folk. The parents. Tungsten
was a little abrasive at first, but they were
our friend. I'm sorry. Trust me. I've butted
heads with them time and time again. They all
relentless. Were relentless. Damn it. It's gonna
be weird. Listen, Emmett. Was Emmett, right?
I think so. Let me check my notes. Ammit with
an A. It says right here. Ammit? Ammit. Like,
damn it? Oh, now I get it. Ammit, listen, you
should know that there's nobody left back there
that needs help. So proceed with that understanding.
I think if you want the details, I think that
might be for Cully to decide. He looks up, and
Cully behind him just nods and says, Yeah, give
us some time. You investigate, and we're going
to head back to the Citadel. I got things I got
to do with that, but you have my word. I'm coming
back, and I'll tell you everything. About me.
About this story. Some stories deserve to be
told. Right? And it just nods. I think some of
these guys in the group are kind of getting a
little, you know, biting at the, chomping at
the bit. That's the one. Chomping at the bit.
And they start to move forward like, come on,
we gotta go. We don't know what's heading up
there. Might be folk who need help. Some of the
ones didn't really hear what was being said.
Ava kind of nods and then, oh, just out of curiosity,
not the only thing Ward left. Scoff. I need a
second. You knew it was going to be, I was going
to do this. Moving hard. No way I wasn't going
to. You feel that diamond? Yeah, I know. Pressing
on you in your pocket. And I wasn't going to
bring it up, but now that, I'm not going to fucking.
lie to this guy. That's your choice. I know he's
going to say something. I just need a second
to figure out exactly how he's going to... You
know what? Screw it. Well, yeah, there's... There
was this. And Zebulon pulls out the recording
diamond. There's a lot on it that I kind of need.
Well, um... Perhaps if you're feeling kind enough,
you could bring it back after you take what you
need from it. Might be footage on there that
Ward's folks might want to have brought back
to him. Bring it back. Yeah, that's great. I
can do that. You don't mind if I borrow it? Just
to get the footage. He just kind of looks for
a moment, nods. No, yeah, it's what you've been
through, what you've done for us. I heard about
the snake in town. Any possible thing I can give
for you, I mean, take it. Yeah, the snake, that
was us. I think that's on the diamond, too. We'll
want to see that. I hope you understand. Coley
just kind of tips his straw hat. Let's get going,
Emmett. I'll see you again soon. I promise I'll
find you. We got to tell Ward's story together.
And this group begins to move off, hold her in
the lead. Kiana is staring wide -eyed. She hadn't
asked since this morning, but she heard what
you said. No one left. She buries her head in
the mane of her horse, or the only horse. I imagine,
I actually don't really know who's riding it.
I was assuming it was Koli and Kiana on horseback.
I was assuming at least Kiana was riding. Okay.
And so I take it you move on? Yeah. Zebulon's
got nothing left to say. It's a long trip to
promise. Almost a full day's ride. Well, because
you're walking, most of you. And I guess you
start to move off as Kiana's sobbing very weakly
next to her. You just hear Chester's voice. It
was self -defense. It was self... He just trails
off. And you move. Do you think it's a quiet
trip back? Zebulon's at least pretty quiet. I
think so. Maybe like after a few hours, Coley
and Jean Franklin prod Kiana for information
on just the folk who they can talk to. I think
both of them are invested in maybe trying to
get their families some compensation, something.
And there's so much more than just those people
in the farmhouse. So much more. There's the death
of Ward. There's this theory of planar absorption.
There's this fucking monster. I mean, like, we're
talking about world shattering. Shit. Everything
just changed for us. Yeah, how do you go back
to normal? We don't. We can't. And I nearly forgot.
As you're, uh, suit back in time, just a short
bit as you're parting from this group, you do
see one figure that stands out from the rest.
Sort of in the back, a lot of folk are kind of
hushed whispers around them, gathered up, and
a name rings out here and there amongst these
whispers. Crispin DuBois. Crispin DuBois. Hey,
Crispin. This way, come on. We'll need you on
this one. You remember hearing this name once
before, spoken by Ward? A luminary of God's breath.
And as you're sort of passing by this figure,
as maybe they turn and take your little group
in, I would like Stephen to describe Crispin
Dubois for us all. Yeah. Crispin Dubois is a
Haringan. He's got, um... Sort of like a gray,
dusty color fur. A little bit of white on the
center of his face. The rest of his face, though,
is covered up by a red bandana that he wears
over his face and nose. And sort of tied into
the back of his bandana. Are his ears. His ears
are tucked in behind it. Holy shit. So they're
kind of down over his head. Bandana's tied around.
And that's really all I have so far for a Crispin
Dubois description. That's good for a passing
glance. And hopefully we don't need any more.
Fingers crossed. Here's hoping. You think Crispin
gives your little group a nod as they pass by
or just carries on doing his thing? Hmm. Yeah.
He'd be cordial. He'd give a nod, a head nod.
Hell yeah. As he goes to join the rest of the
group, a luminary moving to the former battlefield.
Then you continue your journey to promise. About
seven hours or so pass. The day is absolutely
stunning. Not a cloud in the sky. rolling green
farm hills, it's hard to imagine that just beyond
this beautiful land lies something so, so horrible,
so dark, it could be easy to forget as the nice,
cool breeze mingles with the heat of the sun
bearing down on you. And then you see, promise,
town bustling. You see a hill just beyond it
where you know soon, potentially, a gem will
appear to take you home. Thank goodness. I am
starving. Of course you are. I think as you're
getting close, Jean Franklin kind of shoots down
ahead, talks to some folk in town, comes back
to meet you. Well, we're in luck, looks like.
The jasp is coming soon. We have about an hour
in town. Okay, well, let's see how Promise is
after the snake attack. As you step through the
streets of Promise, you see the colorful drapery
all around has been put away. The Awakening Festival
is over. There's no low, droning singing coming
from every corner of every street. There's no
stage set in an open field with a choir of proclaimers.
Things are back to usual here in this town. Just
simple trade going on, a lot of stands closed
down, a lot of farmers moving in to sell their
wares from the fields. A lot of nods in your
way as you come by, because just as before, you
stand out here in this town, in this world, and
everyone knows the story of the guys who fought
off the rattlesnake with Emonrath. Emonrath and
Bink don't seem to be here. Pick that up instantly.
They have a way of attracting attention if they're
anywhere around. So they must have taken off
some time ago after making sure that event at
the festival wasn't going to repeat itself. Never
to stay in one place too long, those fellas.
In and out. So you're moving to the town. Is
there anything in particular you're seeking out?
You're looking at me like... I'm just hoping
that you got something because I kind of don't
have much. I don't have anything. I mean, I think
Jules is going to eat something. Yeah, Zebulon
is pretty hungry. Yeah, yeah. Seven hour walk.
Yeah, I think Jules at least is eating out of
necessity. I don't think he's thinking, oh man,
this is so good. Yeah, food, food. I just think
he's kind of going through the motions of eating.
He's feeling like really out of place right now.
And really just kind of, life is happening normally
around him. And everything that just happened
is not normal. Life is no longer normal. So it's
this kind of surreal kind of walk through the
crowd and munching on whatever's there. Wherever
they stop to get food, Zebulon's going to ask
the proprietor. So, um, is there any more news
about those poachers? Um, well, by the bar, just
no, no. No news at all, really. Looks like they
were local folk here. But, uh... Whatever's going
on is all hush -hush. I think that was a lot
of them, though. We haven't seen any more trouble.
Oh, okay. We'll have to ask when we get back
to the Citadel. Oh, y 'all know people in high
places, huh? Well, I mean, I don't want to kiss
and tell, but I don't know why I said that. She
just weirdly walks away from you. I will say
one thing that's interesting. I guess you can't
take that one out, huh? God. I wouldn't if I
could. Oh, God. What I think you'll find that's
interesting is, amongst the stares coming towards
you, there's a lot coming towards Kiana and Kully.
Kully, who's no longer in disguised form, not
as Orin, not as Lady Dre, but as the man he really
is, as Kully. Is there any, does Zebulon detect
any aggression towards Kully? Because he's kind
of on edge about that. It's not necessarily aggression.
To some folk, it's a bit of pity. To some, it's,
I hate to say something so strong, but almost
disgust. The man who fled and all the songs.
But there are a few faces in this crowd that
look on with pride at the man who came back.
You realize that maybe the reason Orin is so...
Because no one actually knew who Orin was. Just
figured that showed up on the Crystal Network
one day and not a single soul in Promise recognized
him. And what happens now with this character,
with Koli, Orin, who they will become when they
get back to the Citadel, you don't know. Yeah,
it's for him to decide. I think as you finish
your meals, stepping out of this little tavern
with little time left, Someone sort of shoots
out of the crowd towards you. A small figure
comes running at you. Just, oh, I found you.
I found you. I was so worried. Ruby. Is that
her name? Hannah. Hannah. Jesus Christ, Stephen.
How did you not remember that? I feel like I
said Ruby like... Ruby's her last name. Hannah
Ruby now. I thought it was Ruby Hannah. Where
did Ruby come from? That's like the second time
I said Ruby. I have no clue. Oh, beautiful. I
should just stop talking about it. Just stay
quiet until we get back to the sit -and -dow.
Two beer Steven. Yeah, exactly. Fucking letting
loose. No, that's three. Here it comes up. Are
you my mom? Yes. That explains it. She comes
running towards you all with her arms filled
with these four little figures. And she's just
kind of looking at you like, I made them like
I asked. I couldn't find you after the festival,
but folks said you were still on world. I've
been waiting. I really worked hard on these ones.
I know you guys did. We did a lot for us. Here.
She reaches down. She pulls up. It's a figurine,
a little straw doll. Of jewels. Oh, jeez. You
know how she managed to dye a cloak to look like
the exact colors of your own? But it is impressive.
Even a little wooden carved lute resting on the
back. This is beautiful. How'd you do that? Well,
I'm pretty good, mister. That's why I do it.
No kidding. Yeah, I want to do it all my life.
Is this for me? Yeah. Y 'all paid for it, remember?
Thank you so much. This is so special. This is
real special. You got a gift. She's just beaming.
She looks a little nervous when she turns to
you, Zeb. I never made a dragon one before. I
hope it turned out okay. And she hands you a
little figurine of Zebulon. It's, you know, probably
half the size of the jewels one. But somehow
she managed to nail, like, the head. I think
there's, like, you could see almost, like, there's
bits of beak, like a bird's beak, kind of, like,
worked around in the straw to, like. formulate
the head, but it looks surprisingly good. Is
it good? It's good. It's decent. Maybe you take
this in, and it's strange. You're looking at
maybe the first edition of a Zebulon action figure,
and maybe it reminds you of an Ozen Yoshikatsu
figure that you definitely had as a child. Definitely.
This is, um... Looks at it for a second. This
is really good. You should make more of these.
Yeah, actually, that's my seventh. I keep making
them. Oh, yeah, yeah. A lot of the kids here,
they've been asking for your figures. They're
playing with them. You might see them around.
You guys have made me some money. Wow. Well,
yeah, here you go. And Zeb hands her a gold piece.
The next many are keep making these. Oh, yeah,
yeah. Thank you, mister. This is a lot of money.
A gold piece is meaningful. Her eyes are glowing
as she takes us in. You sounded like you wanted
to take that back. Steven didn't do it. Zebulon
did it. She reaches out with another one. Handing
Chester's figure to him as you see, like, maybe
there's, like, a little bit of a flower with
sort of an orange bloom for the head to, like,
give him that moppy red hair. It's a little figure
with a little bow. And you just see he stares
at it and just slowly reaches out. Um, I... You
keep it. Maybe there's a kid here that wants
to play with it. Come on, Chester. You're a hero,
too. Roll me an insight check. 16. You see...
Actually, let me roll a contested check. I really
have no idea where he's going with this. I'm
going to roll. 15. I will say what you guys notice
is... 18 on the die. Minus three. What? Oh, I
forgot about... Why'd you even roll? Because
I wanted to feel included. You just see something
dark pass over Chester's features for just a
moment. His face sort of setting, eyes narrow,
and he just blinks it away. Right, yeah, of course,
Jules. Yeah, I'll take it. Thanks. I appreciate
it. It's nice. It's really good. It's nice. He
just kind of subs it down his back pocket and
just kind of moves away. You earned this, kid.
She probably hasn't sold seven, but... He's like,
he's actually actively kind of moving on past
you guys. And as he kind of moves away, I'm going
to stop him with my hand. We'll talk about it
later. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Nothing to talk
about. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Sure. Later.
And she reaches out with one last figure. You
see an actual turtle shell. Oh, God. Oh, no.
This strong figurine. No, you can't give that
to him. A turtle shell? He's got a little turtle
shell. You know where those come from, right?
It was probably an already dead turtle. I don't
know. I have no idea. But, like, it's actually
in some ways maybe the most ornate. Like, she
got really creative with it. It's... Got him.
We just killed Jerry. Got him. You sure it wasn't
like a walnut shell painted to look like a turtle
shell? It's a bigger figure than that. Oh, my
God. A coconut shell? Coconut's on God's rest.
Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure there's a huge
import market. Jean Franklin reaches out for
it and just, um, let's shell it. Oh, it's already
dead. Sorry. It wasn't. I know maybe it's tasteless,
but I thought it looked nice. I wanted to be
like yours. Your shell's so pretty. And he just
kind of, like, stares at her for a moment. And
there's no real expression on his face as he
looks at this thing. He just kind of reaches
into his coin purse and pulls out some coins
and reaches out with them. And she's, oh, no,
mister, your friends paid for your dolly already,
and you don't get to. Yes, well, they probably
made a mistake. They're bad at counting. And
he just drops some coins into her hands. It just
stares down at bits of gleaming gold and just...
Mr. No, this is way too much. I'm bad at counting,
too. And he just storms away. Sean Franklin's
got a heart, after all. So, David. Yes? Give
me like 60 seconds here. Less than that. If somebody
handed you a dolly made of human skin... And
then they said, oh, well, no, it was already
dead. Oh, turtles aren't turtles. It just doesn't
sit right with me. Turtles aren't turtles. I
just want you to know I'm uncomfortable. They
are fishermen. Like they got to accept the fact
that like turtles die. I don't know. I don't
think it's like the features that define your
your closeness to like. beings of your your same
species i think it's like the the emotional connectivity
and intelligence but this is a conversation probably
not for a dnd podcast we're gonna have to agree
to disagree on that one i mean maybe it's a little
weird maybe it's a little weird but she's a little
girl so give her some slack you monster all right
that's all that's all my that's all for my interruption
you guys uh make your way towards the hill just
outside of town Knowing the Jasper is about to
appear. And one thing has been unsaid this whole
time. Kiana is by Koli's side as they move up.
And just as you reach the hill, he turns back
to her. Now, I gotta do a few things on the city,
but I'll be back. I think maybe it's time for
Storyteller Oren to retire. And she shakes her
head. No. No. It ain't. I ran away too, in my
own way. I guess in the opposite way. And I just
couldn't let go of it all. I didn't want to let
go, but I'm ready to let go now. Uncle, I'd like
to come with you back to the city. Maybe a new
start wouldn't be so bad. He smiles and hugs
her and doesn't even try to. Hold back the tears
as you guys hear a whooshing of air. A gem appears
in the sky above and slowly lowers down. These
two embracing figures let go of each other hand
in hand. I just love that. Like, the two of them
hugging. As it's coming down behind them. The
camera zooms back and there's this giant gem
coming down and they're like, silhouetted in
front of it, and it's like the scale is just...
You see they turn hand in hand towards it in
the same camera image. All of you all gathered
around them. Imagine all of you begin to move
towards the Jasper. Yeah. No looking back. I
think literally, I don't think Jules turns back.
No way. No way. Nope. Hell yeah. Now I'm gonna
do something a little weird here for just a moment.
I want to cut ahead in time just a couple of
days. Wow. We haven't done this before. Huh.
And what happens in that day span, we'll touch
on next time. But there's a little scene I think
we all deserve to see. You've piqued my interest.
Yeah. You stand at the Ugly Coyote. Kiana's there
as well. Cherry Delights, the ones that remain,
all gathered around. Ader, looking proudly on
the bunch. All of you in the empty dining room
as the crystal projector flickers to life on
the canvas wall. And you see Storyteller Oren.
But it's also not Storyteller Oren. For while
he wears that same straw hat, he's kept his features
as Cully. And he just looks at the screen and
says, Now, I know there's been a lot of rumors
and confusion around the details of my little
break from the network. And I might be able to
clear things up a bit. But that ain't the real
heart of this broadcast. First things first,
let me speak true to y 'all. I was not born storyteller
-owning. My real name is Cully. Cully Groundspur.
Ten years ago, I lost my little boy to dark forces
in my homeworld of God's breath. And a few days
ago, that self -same darkness came back for me.
Now, I ain't got time for the whole story right
now, and the details ain't important to my announcement
tonight. Just know that I faced a greater evil
than I have ever known. And I did so with the
help of the two most promising luminary candidates
I have ever met. Zebulon Black and Jules LaRoche.
Y 'all hear those names? Remember them. Stebulon
Black, Jules LaRoche, Sidekicks, Jean Franklin
Montalia, and Chester Mapes. You may know that
some of these folks through station and reputation,
but you do not know them as I do. As true heroes.
Just as survivors of Tithos. Some of whom owe
their lives to these new luminaries. And you
see them flashing across the screen over this
foot of his face. You see the footage that started
all of this. Jules, backed by his cherry delights,
obliterating a lightning creature. With a magic
touch, Zebulon, two blades, cutting through one
of these elementals in a flashing X. The two
of you, eyes meeting for the first time on the
sapphire, surrounded by the cool blue of the
jewel. Oh, hell. As the folk of the Ding Sing
Night Market, who still sing their praises, and
you see footage of the market games. Jules eating
the skull pepper to the awe of the silent crowd
and standing strong. Zebulon cleaving through
a giant prawn, launching itself, spiraling out
of the water of the tank. To roaring applause,
Chester tossing the last of the living green
bee into his mouth. Jules casting hideous laughter
in a dashing dance. Zebulon blasted backwards
by falling, burning tent frame. Then rising.
healed by Jules and cutting his way through canvas
into flames and smoke. Zebulon now behind the
tent and holding a barely breathing Gammon Sunkoon.
And of course, the good folk of God's breath.
Jean Franklin taking a bite from the giant rattlesnake
right in the chest and holding strong. Chester
firing an arrow into this creature's head. Jules'
magic driving the creature away. Zebulon's final
shot through its eye. Dire coyotes surrounding
your group. A flurry of blades. The thrusts of
a spear. Arrows fired. Magical mists in a glowing
lute. A party together. And the images fade away
to the familiar face of Kully. What more can
I say? Just this. It with the utmost pleasure
and excitement and pride that I announce my full
support of these four folk. They are the real
deal. And I will continue to promote them and
sing their praises for as long as I am able.
Which, well, it may not be long enough. Now,
I'll be honest with y 'all. I might not be around
for a bit. You see, there's some folk in power
that don't want to see these luminaries rise.
Which is why I look to you. Good folk of the
Concord worlds. I look to you and I plead. In
these times of darkness, don't shy away from
our greatest, brightest beacons of light. Invite
them. Welcome them. Oh, and don't forget to check
out Pepper's Peppers in the Densing Night Market.
The official sponsor for these two rising heroes.
And, hell, I guess we'll call it there. There's
another award you guys deserve. What? You both
level up to four. Yeah. Level four. Oh, man.
Only took 33 episodes. See you next week, folks.