WEBVTT

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Hello, friends. We are gearing up to record another

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episode of Fantasy Pants Unzipped, our little

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behind the scenes Q &A show. So if you have any

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questions about the show or any of our deep,

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dark personal secrets, hit us up on social media,

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Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. You can find us

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all there at Fantasy Pants Pod. Thanks so much.

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And I have some exciting news. Folks with signs

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of talent have a lot to look forward to as we

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close in on the Night of the Remembered. The

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Mighty Pigman will once again be stepping into

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the ring, taking on a myriad of exciting opponents.

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Most of the challenge's names are yet to be disclosed,

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but we have caught wind that luchador Dance Macabre,

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a .k .a. Gary LaCortez, the sister of the tragic

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past Mateo Cortez, will be joining this battle

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in honor of her lost brother. This should all

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be going down just before the Night of the Remembered,

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so get your tickets quick, folks. Now, as we

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all know, today is the day we've been waiting

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for. The speakers have repaired their part, and

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Jewels the Roach and Sibion Black will finally

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be allowed access to the Preserve of the Ancestors,

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where they will undergo the rituals to finally

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become Ruminaries of the Citadel. Now, I expect

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Qua to turn out the Iron Gates, and I will see

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you all there, as I have requested to be their

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guide to the Preserve. into the fabulous rural

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town within. See you there, folks. David, do

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you have anything to talk about at the top of

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the show? Oh, my God, no. Oh. Excellent. Because

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we've got mail. Mail! Oh, whoa, look at that.

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All right. I didn't think about this, but I need,

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like, a knife or something. More technical difficulties.

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No, no, no, it's all right. I think I got it.

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We got it. It's got those big, strong Sasquatch

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hands. Oh, wait a minute. I should probably read

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what was supposed to be in here as a letter first.

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You are really struggling with that. Well, it's

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like this tape that's really strong sideways.

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Here, you try it while I pull up the thing to

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read. I'm just going to watch. This is fun. So

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this package is from our friend at Hooli Forge.

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Look, five seconds. I got it. Yeah, I opened

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it. That is the most inept looking. You loosened

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it. I just ripped the fucking box. It's not even

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open. It's open. All right. Just a crater ripped

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into it. So after the package was sent, he sent

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me a message and said, so I found my notes to

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each of you left forgotten on the shelf. So he

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sent me the, what he said to David. Oh, that's

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me. Yes. From. Wait, wait. To David, this is

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a first. This is a fancy pants first. I was kind

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of looking forward to you not getting anything

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in this package, to be personal. Because I knew

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it was going to be in it. And I was like, oh,

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man, that's going to be so great for David to

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get shunned again. And then the message came

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in. It was very nice. Very honestly. You're a

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much better person than I am. For David, from

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one cider drinker to another, may this rail spike

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bottle opener serve you well. Thank you for running

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such a fun story to listen to. Oh, what? So let

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me pull that out. Give me that. Give me that.

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Okay, that's fair. Yeah. Don't take it too long.

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No, you're right. This is hard. Mm -hmm. Everybody's

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shitting on Steven. Oh, I'm going to skip shit.

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Look at this. What? Oh, that is so cool. And

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I went to the beer store and I got you a bottle

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of cider to open. I don't think I've ever used

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a bottle opener. Just don't do it over your laptop.

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Okay. Hang on. Let's try to hang out. Don't do

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it over the floor either. I don't want cider,

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Danny. Did you hear it? Did you hear that? I

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heard it. All right. Fully forged. Thank you,

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sir. That's good. Yo, let me see that thing real

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fast. Yeah, yeah. Dude, this thing is amazing.

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Look at that. That looks so cool. Yeah, that's

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a hefty boy right there. That thing's excellent.

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Dude. That is incredible. And this one is for

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Jeremy. Knowing nothing of musical theory of

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any kind, I attempted to make a pick of steel.

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I don't know if this can be used or if it alters

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the sound in any way, but my touch mark is in

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the corner of one side, so you can flip it like

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a coin if nothing else. Holy shit. As it can

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be used for decision -making, I call it the pick

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of minor destiny and bestow it upon you. All

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right, let's find the pick of minor destiny in

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here. Oh, that is fantastic. That is so cool.

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Oh, my God. There you are. This is incredible.

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Let's see if I have as much trouble as David

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opening this. You know, I have scissors in the

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next room. These are really nice little... They

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are. Little packages. They really are. I have

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to go grab scissors. I can't even get this started.

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I like how the packages say Zebulon Black, Jules

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LaRoche, and Cider Friend DM David. That's just

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a special. Yeah, you are special, David. I'm

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glad you finally got something. It's worth the

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wait. That's the only thing you're going to get.

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I know. Holy shit, that's cool. That is awesome.

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That is a hefty -ass pick. That is so fucking

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cool. Damn. Look at that. Oh, yeah. Wow. Yep,

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and there's his punch mark up there. Sweet. Heads

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or tails, baby. Oh, yeah. Thank you so much.

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That is so incredible. Oh, yeah. That is rad.

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All right. And lastly, Stephen. Wait, should

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I read yours to you? I mean, I've already read

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it. That's fair. I purchased these actual bone

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dice from the venue where I got married. I left

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them out in the light of a full moon overnight

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and put them in a place of honor at the forge

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while I made Jules pick so that Selune may guide

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your heart and Moradin may guide your steel.

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May your rolls never fail your needs. Wow. We

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rolling bones, boys. We're rolling bones. Someone

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wants Zebulon to live. Let's see these. No way.

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Oh, man. So I got four D6 here. These things

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are cool as hell. I'll pass these around. Check

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these out. Oh, my God. I love that. That's like

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the sneak attack die now. Holy shit. Well, that's

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what he was saying to me. He was like, oh, man,

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you could use those for your sneak attack die.

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That's incredible. That's so wild. Yeah, I'm

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pretty stoked for these. Hell, yeah. Damn. That

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was one hell of a package. Thank you so much.

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Thank you. Yeah, and we're definitely going to

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post pictures of all this stuff, especially that

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cool -ass bottle opener. Absolutely. And Hooli

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Forge sells those on his Etsy page, so we're

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going to link that stuff and check them out.

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Yeah, hell yeah. That's insanely cool. And you

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can just really see the handcrafted, the handiwork.

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It's something else. It is dwarven. Yeah, exactly.

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He's got some videos up on his Instagram page

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of... you know, parts of him making stuff. It's

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really fascinating. Sweet. Yeah, very cool stuff.

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Hell yeah. Well, I'm glad you had something.

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Because, man, what a pretty bad, sad opener if

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you didn't pull that out. Starting the night

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on a high note. We are, we are. We can only go

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down from here, and we certainly, certainly will.

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Oh, and I can't let David drink alone. Same.

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Well, thank you. Cheers, Hooli Forge. Cheers.

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Now, as we get started. I have one more high

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note to deliver to you guys. So, we talked about

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it last time, but it wasn't quite... ready yet,

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and the world wasn't quite moved on to the point

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where you could get your pay for these last two

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missions, actually, as you found a sponsor at

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the end of Sipsunko, but it was a pretty new

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sponsor. I couldn't really justify you making

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money off of them yet, as they were just barely

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getting moving. Pepper had just gone back to

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the world to sort of take over the stand. So

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I fronted you the 200 gold that I intended to

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give you from Jean Franklin, which you'll owe

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him back. But now God's Breath has also been

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completed. And where we stand now... We'll say

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a little over a week has passed since we ended

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our last episode. And before we get into what

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you guys have been doing in that downtime, let's

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talk about the money that you're raking in. Oh,

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yeah, baby. Music to my ears. Show me the money.

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I have one million tabs open right now. That

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means your computer should be on fire. That's

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why the Internet's so shitty. You're taking all

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the Internet. So I have a little system in this

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campaign where basically you're going to set

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a flat amount for the adventures you do. Kind

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of based on what you make from the book, but

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probably a little bit undercut because there

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are other ways that money is going to come in.

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So basically you go out, you do cool adventures,

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you become cool luminaries, and you have a sponsor.

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Just by merit of you going out and doing stuff,

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getting known, accomplishing quests, you're going

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to make some money. That sponsor is going to

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get hit. Because people are getting to know your

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names. But you're also going to accrue bonuses

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if you bring back footage of particularly cool

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things you do and have them played on the network.

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So, as it stands, 200 gold was your base gain

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from Sipsunko. 300 gold was going to be your

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base gain from God's Breath. But, you gained

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an extra 100 gold for bringing back the footage

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of Tythos, recovering that from Rune, and handing

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it off to Orin. Nice. Sweet. You won two games

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on Sumsunko and got the footage. 50 gold each

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for those two wins. You had footage, I didn't

00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:38.799
mention it before, of the pangolin save, basically

00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:41.519
taking out those con men, and I think Zebulon

00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.480
posed some pangolins. It was real goofy, but

00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.559
that was a known broadcast that weren't mentioned.

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If you were shown there, then hey, the folk who

00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.720
helped Amun -Rath to save the day. have now been

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unveiled. That sounds about right. 50 gold. Hey.

00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:58.600
You got footage saving Gammon Zungun from the

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fire. 50 gold. Nice. You got footage fighting

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the rattlesnake in God's Breath. That's going

00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:08.519
to be worth 100 gold. And you got footage fighting

00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.779
the coyotes on God's Breath. That is another

00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:16.879
100 gold. So that is a total of 500 gold base

00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.990
and 500 gold. extra from footage. You gain a

00:11:20.990 --> 00:11:23.049
thousand gold to split amongst your party. Hell

00:11:23.049 --> 00:11:25.669
yeah. That is fantastic. I love it. Feels a little

00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:28.490
weird to gain a hundred gold from filming the

00:11:28.490 --> 00:11:33.029
collapse of an entire planet. But yeah, I guess

00:11:33.029 --> 00:11:34.929
we can capitalize off that. Profiting from tragedy.

00:11:36.870 --> 00:11:39.129
I mean, I'm not going to say I don't want it.

00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:41.389
You're right. Is that not the most Hollywood

00:11:41.389 --> 00:11:44.750
thing? Oh, very. Yeah. You're in the system now.

00:11:44.830 --> 00:11:47.210
You're playing the game. That sounds very Homelander

00:11:47.210 --> 00:11:50.230
-ish. Yeah. You're playing the game, and you

00:11:50.230 --> 00:11:52.830
guys are good at it. So let me ask you. You've

00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:55.029
had a little time. Maybe this gold came in. You

00:11:55.029 --> 00:11:57.090
got a note from Peppers Peppers just thanking

00:11:57.090 --> 00:11:58.909
you profusely for the opportunity, saying business

00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:01.389
has been booming. He's running wild trying to

00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:03.769
keep up, but he's loving the work, loving the

00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:06.529
farming. He took right over the fields. The community

00:12:06.529 --> 00:12:08.990
has welcomed him with open arms, and Peppers

00:12:08.990 --> 00:12:11.649
Peppers is doing great, especially after that

00:12:11.649 --> 00:12:14.659
last announcement. Good for Pepper. Yeah, he

00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.580
held him out. He didn't have to. He was like

00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:18.240
a thug that was hired to beat you up, and then

00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.679
you turned his life around. I know, but the name

00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:23.820
just sells the business. It's just like a pun.

00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:27.639
A pun changes a whole character's life. And so

00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:30.039
there you have it. You have this money. Do you

00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:31.879
want to spend it on anything before this big

00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:35.440
day starts? I didn't have a whole lot that I

00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:40.590
wanted to buy. I was going to buy... a couple

00:12:40.590 --> 00:12:44.149
pairs of manacles. Those are just two gold apiece.

00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.990
I was going to buy, I think I have one already,

00:12:48.169 --> 00:12:51.450
Potion of Healing. You do have one, yes. Okay,

00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:54.269
I think I'll just pick up a second Potion of

00:12:54.269 --> 00:12:59.669
Healing. And since we've seen poison so much

00:12:59.669 --> 00:13:02.690
in this adventure already, it's a bit of a big

00:13:02.690 --> 00:13:07.909
buy, but I was going to buy a dose of antitoxin.

00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:11.899
Ooh. Ooh. That's a great idea. Just to have,

00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:19.220
just in case, 50 gold. So considering we just

00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:22.620
gained 1 ,000, that's not insignificant. So that's

00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:28.139
it for Zebulon. Hell yeah. All right. And Jules,

00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.159
what about you? I don't think he's interested

00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:34.740
in anything just yet. Are we splitting the gold

00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:39.139
evenly, or are we keeping one big pool? I think

00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:44.240
we should split it up. Okay. Pay Jean back. You'd

00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.720
pay him back? Good, good. Pale moonlight costs

00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.799
a lot of money, and you do not want Jean Franklin

00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.639
moving into the ugly coyote with you. Fuck those

00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:57.679
guys. Yeah, okay, so that leaves us $800. So

00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.620
you need to get $400. $400, yeah, and I think

00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:02.740
I'm going to give $200 to Chester. That's nice

00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:06.120
of you. I'm going to give $200 to him. That's

00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:10.070
very nice of you. Whatever he needs it for, either

00:14:10.070 --> 00:14:13.529
him or the family at home. Yeah, so I guess you

00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:18.769
could say it's for everybody. Yeah. Hell yeah.

00:14:19.149 --> 00:14:21.169
Whose stomach just growled? Yeah, that was me.

00:14:22.629 --> 00:14:25.730
I hate that this thing picks up what my stomach

00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:32.799
does so well. Oh god, that's awesome. So. Any

00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.220
other antics you want to get up to before we

00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:38.039
move forward in time? I don't want to throw you

00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:40.960
guys around too, too much. Your world, your story.

00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:42.740
You want to do some wild, wacky shit? You tell

00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.299
me. We'll do that wild, wacky shit. You said

00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:50.480
any other antics. We haven't anticked yet. You

00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:54.460
spent money. It's antics. I don't know. Geez,

00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:57.360
now I feel like there have to be antics. Since

00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.840
you're prompting antics. No, not sex manacles.

00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:04.700
It's antics enough. No, I don't think Jules has

00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:06.600
gotten into any antics. I think he's just been

00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.740
hanging out at home. Okay. And he's very focused

00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:13.620
on continuing the mission and what we're trying

00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:17.539
to do. Zemulon, that actually makes me wonder,

00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:19.539
how have you been? I mean, like, I know last

00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:21.940
time you'd finally achieved the fame you've been

00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:24.639
looking for your entire life and basically just

00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.240
had the rug pulled out from under you. Your first

00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:30.360
foray into the adoring public was one that was

00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:35.240
fraught with just sorrow and anxiety. And you

00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:36.779
didn't really get to appreciate it. And what

00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:39.480
is it like in the following days? Because the

00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:42.179
hype does not die down. If you step on the streets,

00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:44.480
people go nuts. People ask for your autograph.

00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.500
People are trying to shake your hand. What does

00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:50.000
that look like? Yeah, I think... Not I think.

00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:56.120
At first, once Zebulon gets back from... his

00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:59.159
brother's apartment. He just wants to hide away.

00:15:59.299 --> 00:16:02.519
He doesn't want to participate in the fame. He's

00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:08.059
not grateful for it. So I'd say, I think maybe

00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:12.320
the next day, once the shock is done and over

00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:17.480
with, Zebulon tries to go out and talk to people.

00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.639
He wants to get out and experience what it's

00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.759
like to be famous. So he does it after a day

00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:29.669
or so. And it just maybe isn't what he was expecting

00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:34.090
or it doesn't feel right. He's trying to participate.

00:16:34.610 --> 00:16:37.629
He's trying to benefit. But it's falling flat

00:16:37.629 --> 00:16:42.429
right now. Wow. Wow. Yeah, just a lot of fake

00:16:42.429 --> 00:16:46.230
smiles and waving and damn. Yeah, fake smiles.

00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:49.970
I like that. It's rough, buddy. And so the days

00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:53.480
pass. And when you find yourselves moving down

00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:55.799
the road, or up the road, I should say, up the

00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.879
coil of the serpent from the ugly coyote towards

00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.519
the sort of upper end of the trading discal,

00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:06.640
where the great iron gates that open up into

00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:09.579
the auroral diamond itself, into the heart of

00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:13.819
the citadel, await you. And as you move, and

00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:19.299
people on the side of the streets... Do you mind,

00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:35.230
sir? Dear Lord. Lord Stephen. Zebulon realizes

00:17:35.230 --> 00:17:37.009
he was too excited and he skipped breakfast.

00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:43.970
And you see like people lining the road on both

00:17:43.970 --> 00:17:47.930
sides, cheering you on, waving you forward. Children

00:17:47.930 --> 00:17:50.269
just like running up to you and parents kind

00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:51.849
of holding them back. You know, it's just this

00:17:51.849 --> 00:17:54.930
like this, this. grand march and you see this

00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:57.009
roaring crowd the second you kind of come in

00:17:57.009 --> 00:18:01.529
view of it you just hear this applause people

00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:05.309
hundreds of them just cheering you on Jules you

00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:07.930
look up the road from there and while they're

00:18:07.930 --> 00:18:09.769
not like in the main sort of crowd you see a

00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:12.430
lot of the low city folk of Tythos your people

00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:15.789
are standing out watching with teary eyes and

00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:19.579
fists raised to the air And you move into the

00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:22.660
embrace of the crowd through them towards the

00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:26.140
sort of great open plaza. Zebulon, while she

00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:28.759
doesn't jump into the festivities herself, she

00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.579
does not leave her home. I think you peek over

00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:35.220
at Xena's cottage or Xena's sort of manor and

00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:37.440
you see like from an open window at the top,

00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:40.740
fire belching out to the sky. And Xena's like

00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:44.480
waving you along like, Zebulon! Zebulon! Yes!

00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:48.059
Zebulon! She's so sweet. Adorable. She's the

00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:51.779
sweetest, isn't she? Oh, my God. Oh, it is a

00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:56.400
raucous party. The gates are closed at the moment,

00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:59.980
and standing before them, smiling a huge smile,

00:19:00.380 --> 00:19:05.720
Storyteller Oren, Cully Sr. But at least in front

00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.599
of the crowds, he's gone back to his old name.

00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:11.359
Well, his old new name. New old name? I don't

00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:17.230
care. His familiar name. He stands, you know,

00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.509
sort of a number of shield bearers have kind

00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:21.529
of lined up to keep the crowds sort of backed

00:19:21.529 --> 00:19:25.150
away. Shield bearers who tend to glare in your

00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:27.710
direction, Zebulon, as you move by. Both of you,

00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:30.990
really. The shield bearers? It feels like we

00:19:30.990 --> 00:19:33.490
have fewer and fewer allies here on the Citadel.

00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:38.029
Yeah. And what do you do? Crowds are starting

00:19:38.029 --> 00:19:40.650
the cheers to die down. Everyone goes quiet,

00:19:40.849 --> 00:19:44.339
watching as you step forward. Do you have anything

00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:46.259
you want to say in this moment, or do you want

00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:49.079
to go right to Oren? I don't think Jules says

00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:53.440
anything. I think he's just very... He's used

00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.720
to being known, and he's still got his game face

00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.720
on. It just doesn't faze him. He's just still

00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:04.819
internally focused on what we're trying to do.

00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:08.720
Damn, you really put me on the spot here. That's

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:15.410
what I do. All right, yeah. As the crowd quiets

00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:19.950
down and they get up towards Orin, Zeb will turn

00:20:19.950 --> 00:20:24.109
around and just simply put his arms out and say

00:20:24.109 --> 00:20:33.210
to the crowd, Thank you, Radiant Citadel! Roaring

00:20:33.210 --> 00:20:38.450
cheers. You clap on the back from Orin behind

00:20:38.450 --> 00:20:40.710
you as you turn away from him. Just like a...

00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:45.230
Yeah. Just like laughing. You actually hear another

00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:46.809
voice kind of breaking out from behind the crowd.

00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:51.230
Like, hey, move it. Sean Franklin pushes his

00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:52.750
way through and starts running through. You're

00:20:52.750 --> 00:20:59.089
in the way. He runs over to you. Sorry, I overslept.

00:20:59.650 --> 00:21:01.970
Those cozy fucking beds at the Pale Moonlight?

00:21:02.069 --> 00:21:05.529
They're incredible. You would not believe. Must

00:21:05.529 --> 00:21:07.750
be easy when you're sleeping on that goose down.

00:21:09.869 --> 00:21:14.369
He takes a look around. Where is Chester? We

00:21:14.369 --> 00:21:16.009
ought to be signed up as sidekicks. He should

00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:19.210
be here. What? Is he late too? Chester's taking

00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:21.150
care of some business at home. All right, but

00:21:21.150 --> 00:21:23.690
he needs to be here to sign up as a sidekick.

00:21:24.329 --> 00:21:26.190
You understand this, right? He won't get the

00:21:26.190 --> 00:21:29.089
full umbrella permissions that we get if he's

00:21:29.089 --> 00:21:32.690
not here. Yeah, not yet. Chester's not going

00:21:32.690 --> 00:21:37.579
to sign up right now. What? In time. You're never

00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:40.519
telling me anything. Fine, fine. Very well. We

00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.400
don't need him anyway, right? Right? You spent

00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:45.160
so much time on that feather bed of yours that

00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:47.119
you've been missing out on all the news. I deserved

00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:54.680
it. After God's breath. Anyway. But that's behind

00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:58.660
us. The wonders of Aurora Town awaits. And I

00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:01.160
think he just looks forward, just staring at

00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:04.180
Cully excitedly. Orrin Cully. It's going to be

00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:07.180
so hard to fix that. This is Orrin excitedly

00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:09.680
who just like looks around everybody. The crowd's

00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:12.059
sort of still farther away, still watching quietly.

00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:15.220
And he just looks at you guys and sort of speaking

00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:18.960
more, more, you know, in a lower voice. So it's

00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.539
not caring to everybody. Just, you all ready

00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:26.799
for this? This is exciting stuff. Yeah, this

00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:30.539
is, I think it's pretty terrifying more than

00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.839
exciting. Let's just do the thing. Yeah, yeah.

00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:35.980
I mean, there's a couple things we gotta go over

00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.539
real quick. First of all, how's Kiana doing?

00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.539
I mean to get by, I really do, but I saw she's

00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:43.519
been painting, right? That's something good.

00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:47.859
She's safe and appears to be happy. Good, good,

00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.140
yeah. I mean, I want to bring her into a rural

00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:54.859
town where I live, but it's kind of a lot there,

00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:57.839
you know? All the politics and all that. Best

00:22:57.839 --> 00:22:59.960
she stays out of it. And I know God's breath

00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:01.630
and... The googly coyote, they're one and the

00:23:01.630 --> 00:23:03.890
same in a lot of ways, a lot of respects. You

00:23:03.890 --> 00:23:06.390
know, I know Ada would take care of her. It's

00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:09.170
nice having people her own age, and the paintings

00:23:09.170 --> 00:23:13.109
are, like, they're fantastic. Yeah, yeah, I bet,

00:23:13.250 --> 00:23:18.029
I bet. Oh, that's awesome. Well, anyway, same

00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:20.069
time for that, right? I think it's time we show

00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.049
you what's going on inside. Now, you ever been

00:23:23.049 --> 00:23:25.589
inside the preserve? I know you've got family

00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:27.720
there, as if you don't, but... I know it's also

00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:29.440
pretty restricted. I'm not sure if Sholay ever

00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.920
bent the rules for you. And I'll tell you that

00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:35.240
she did not. You have never been inside the diamond

00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:40.279
itself. Yeah, Sholay and rules. No, I haven't.

00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:45.900
No. Trying to decide, do you want to roll to

00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:47.039
see if you know anything about it? Or do you

00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.680
want to just go in fresh? Do you think your characters

00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:51.819
would know anything about it? Well, I mean, do

00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:53.160
you think Sholay would have told us anything

00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:55.759
about it? Possibly. Want to roll history about

00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.660
it? Yeah, let's roll history. I think there's

00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:02.500
probably a chance that Jules knows something

00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:06.960
about it, given his family history. Influential

00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.619
family. Yeah, absolutely. What did you say, history?

00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:15.259
Yes. That is a six. She might have told you,

00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:18.200
you forgot. That tracks, that tracks. You forgot

00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:20.900
a lot of things, Zebulon. You son of a bitch.

00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:29.140
I was two less than Zebulon. Wow. Wow. It's all

00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:31.180
actually kind of a wild mystery to you. You don't

00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:32.700
know much about anything. Even the word Aurora

00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:34.660
Town being thrown around, you're not really sure

00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:39.200
what this means. So I think Horn just nods, taking

00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:43.180
this in. All right, then. Let's go. He just raises

00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:46.900
his hands up, both to get the crowd going wild

00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:48.660
and also as sort of a signal as you hear something

00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:55.839
go. That's how you open the doors? Well, someone

00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:03.220
saw that and I didn't do it. Is it like that

00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:06.099
all over a rural town? Just raise your hands

00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:12.759
up? Yeah, sure. Yeah. That was beautiful. The

00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:16.329
doors swing open and... I think you're immediately

00:25:16.329 --> 00:25:18.609
hit with, like, you're close now. Maybe closer

00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:20.049
than you've ever been before to, like, the open

00:25:20.049 --> 00:25:22.190
doors. The shield bearer is sort of blocking

00:25:22.190 --> 00:25:24.109
people off even more. Some folks almost admit

00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:25.789
they want to, like, push against them to rush

00:25:25.789 --> 00:25:29.130
towards to see the inside. You hear birdsong.

00:25:29.509 --> 00:25:33.009
You smell flowers and grass. And immediately

00:25:33.009 --> 00:25:35.130
facing you as you turn to the door is just, like,

00:25:35.150 --> 00:25:39.309
a lush green, almost like a forest. A grassy

00:25:39.309 --> 00:25:41.809
floor and a forest path moving through this absolutely

00:25:41.809 --> 00:25:46.119
immaculate scene. You can't make out much beyond

00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:49.640
the trees. They're thick. But there is a light

00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:54.579
somewhere ahead. And Oren just waves you in.

00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:58.819
Go on. You go first. All right. Zebulon steps

00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:03.740
through. Yeah. And you step through thick, thick

00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:07.839
walls of diamond. As you move in here, a strange

00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:12.730
thing. You feel the doors behind you close. And

00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:14.690
all sounds of cheering crowds on the outside

00:26:14.690 --> 00:26:17.650
are drowned out entirely, and you are standing

00:26:17.650 --> 00:26:21.049
in the midst of this forest. Iron doors to your

00:26:21.049 --> 00:26:24.369
back, and as you look up, you see that the walls

00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:26.890
of diamond around you have taken on a very different

00:26:26.890 --> 00:26:30.809
form. On the outside, it was just this pulsing,

00:26:30.809 --> 00:26:34.470
glowing, sort of yellow light, bringing sort

00:26:34.470 --> 00:26:37.950
of day to the surrounding fossil, to the citadel.

00:26:38.109 --> 00:26:43.609
But on the inside, you see sky. You see sky sort

00:26:43.609 --> 00:26:46.890
of cracked and broken by the sort of natural

00:26:46.890 --> 00:26:49.690
facets and lines of the diamond around you, but

00:26:49.690 --> 00:26:55.029
it is a fake sky. You feel a fake breeze rustling

00:26:55.029 --> 00:26:58.450
the trees above you, pressing on your skin and

00:26:58.450 --> 00:27:02.849
scales, and you look down towards the opening

00:27:02.849 --> 00:27:05.710
in the trees, towards the point of light ahead,

00:27:05.970 --> 00:27:10.950
and I take it you move forward? Yeah, definitely.

00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:16.359
Let's go. You begin to move down, passing by

00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:19.119
trees, approaching that light until you step

00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:24.380
out and you see, for the first time, truly see

00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:27.180
the preserve of the ancestors. I want to ask

00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:29.759
you this real quick. What do you expect the inside

00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:32.779
of the auroral diamond, the heart of the citadel,

00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:36.859
to look like? I think Jules expects it to look

00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:42.170
like paradise, but... It's also a tainted paradise

00:27:42.170 --> 00:27:47.009
to him. I think visually he sees it as a quote

00:27:47.009 --> 00:27:50.869
-unquote paradise, but it gives him an uneasy

00:27:50.869 --> 00:27:55.849
feeling. Wow. Wow. I don't know. Maybe I'm way

00:27:55.849 --> 00:27:58.329
off at left field. I kind of expect it to look

00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:02.009
like a segmented, sort of like a cross -section

00:28:02.009 --> 00:28:04.950
of an orange or something, where each wedge is

00:28:04.950 --> 00:28:08.660
like a different biome. Where there's like this

00:28:08.660 --> 00:28:11.519
beautiful green lush forest. Then maybe there's

00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:14.799
more like a desert sort of setting. And like

00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:19.339
an arctic setting. Holy shit. Alright, hang on

00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:22.440
a second. You are both getting a button. Because

00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:25.660
both your responses are incredibly close. Woah,

00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:29.940
really? Oh yeah. No way. You step out onto...

00:28:30.329 --> 00:28:32.630
This jutting out sort of face of a cliff. You

00:28:32.630 --> 00:28:35.490
see there are stairs to the west that seem to

00:28:35.490 --> 00:28:37.829
spiral down, switchbacking down and down and

00:28:37.829 --> 00:28:42.289
down into a vast land below. What strikes you

00:28:42.289 --> 00:28:46.849
first and foremost is the absolute enormity of

00:28:46.849 --> 00:28:52.309
what you see before you. You see this absolutely

00:28:52.309 --> 00:28:56.650
stunning amalgamation. of every biome, every

00:28:56.650 --> 00:29:00.009
world that you could imagine. You stand on a

00:29:00.009 --> 00:29:01.710
cliff, and as you stand there, you see, like,

00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:04.509
there's a great sort of light beaming down from

00:29:04.509 --> 00:29:07.789
the west side of this great space. I'm talking,

00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:09.869
like, there are, the Citadel itself on the outside

00:29:09.869 --> 00:29:13.450
is probably not even a mile wide, the world diamond.

00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:17.630
And yet on the inside, you see miles and miles

00:29:17.630 --> 00:29:21.410
of terrain. You see sun beams down from the west,

00:29:21.450 --> 00:29:24.859
shining on this, like, large ocean covered in

00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:28.359
this tropical island. You see where it hits the

00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:30.960
coast. It becomes a beach, which becomes desert

00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.819
dunes, which becomes stony, sort of rough wastelands,

00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:36.140
which becomes a frozen tundra as it hits the

00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:40.140
colder, sort of darker west side, or east side

00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:42.819
of this open space. And then from there, moving

00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:45.359
into another glacial bed, you see waterfalls.

00:29:46.170 --> 00:29:48.670
seeming to appear out of the facets of the diamond

00:29:48.670 --> 00:29:50.990
itself, the water coming from nowhere and spraying

00:29:50.990 --> 00:29:53.849
down, dropping far and far off into these oceans,

00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:58.329
into small rivers and lakes. You see as the land

00:29:58.329 --> 00:30:00.930
moves farther and farther away from you, it rises

00:30:00.930 --> 00:30:03.509
up and becomes more lush. You see the deserts

00:30:03.509 --> 00:30:05.950
before you now, which turns into like the rolling

00:30:05.950 --> 00:30:08.940
hills and grasslands of God's breath. into open

00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:13.039
savannas, into swamps and wetlands, into temperate

00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:15.759
forests and tropical forests, into lakes, and

00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.180
at the very edge where it rises up, you see volcanoes

00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:21.460
in one corner under the heat, fading into tropical,

00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:24.539
sort of forested mountains, becoming more temperate

00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:26.480
mountains, becoming arid, stony mountains like

00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:29.559
those of Tythos, becoming these icy, frozen -over

00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:34.319
peaks, jagged and tall. You see all of this.

00:30:35.309 --> 00:30:37.569
And you see something strange that doesn't quite

00:30:37.569 --> 00:30:40.789
fit. Sort of right in the center of it all, you

00:30:40.789 --> 00:30:43.150
see a great river runs between the two oceans.

00:30:43.190 --> 00:30:44.809
And just on the coast of that river, which sort

00:30:44.809 --> 00:30:48.569
of crosses sort of diagonally through this land

00:30:48.569 --> 00:30:51.130
and this space. Right in the middle, right where

00:30:51.130 --> 00:30:53.069
the savannah sort of blends into temperate forests,

00:30:53.329 --> 00:30:57.769
there is a number of these strange crystalline

00:30:57.769 --> 00:31:00.670
towers. They almost remind you of the towers

00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:04.990
of Tythos. Just these strange sort of... diamond

00:31:04.990 --> 00:31:07.849
structures jutting up from the ground and this

00:31:07.849 --> 00:31:10.009
sort of light is pouring off in this multicolored

00:31:10.009 --> 00:31:12.910
light almost like spotlights running around shining

00:31:12.910 --> 00:31:17.309
across this this strange city in the midst of

00:31:17.309 --> 00:31:20.089
all this wonder and nature you see in the middle

00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:22.230
of it there's some gigantic like amphitheater

00:31:22.230 --> 00:31:26.309
also made that same diamond just standing out

00:31:26.309 --> 00:31:29.750
amongst all this you can hear booming sounds

00:31:29.750 --> 00:31:32.650
coming from there some noise pollution what would

00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:36.799
otherwise be this Absolute paradise. And you

00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:40.279
stare down at all of this. Oren is behind you,

00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:43.519
arms crossed, just watching your expressions,

00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:48.200
watching your reactions. Wow, I guess... I guess

00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.460
that's where we're going, huh? Yeah, looks like

00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:52.900
they're nice and safe and sound down there. Now,

00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:55.619
I know it's off -putting, but... Aurora Town

00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:58.900
ain't so bad. And, uh... It's actually a lot

00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:00.920
more easy than you think to get there. He kind

00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:02.500
of gestures over, and you actually see where

00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:05.059
this cliff you're standing on, it moves off to

00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:10.039
the western side. Is it the stone steps are moving

00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:12.819
off to the east? Could be wrong. Anyway, on the

00:32:12.819 --> 00:32:14.839
side opposite of the stairs, you see this sort

00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:18.920
of standing, a few gigantic doors also made of

00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:21.839
the same sort of diamond, this sort of doorframe

00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.799
structure is just standing in the middle of this

00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:26.299
rock. Zebulon throws his arms up in front of

00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:32.210
the doors. Of course. It's a... Nope. That's

00:32:32.210 --> 00:32:35.529
not how that works. He tries it again. There's

00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:38.170
nothing wrong with this one. As you're kind of

00:32:38.170 --> 00:32:40.730
doing that, one of them flickers to light. There's

00:32:40.730 --> 00:32:42.690
like some mages nearby. They're kind of like

00:32:42.690 --> 00:32:44.970
pressing on the edges of these structures, running

00:32:44.970 --> 00:32:47.730
fingers down, sort of this arcane script that

00:32:47.730 --> 00:32:51.349
runs down each side. And it's almost very similar

00:32:51.349 --> 00:32:54.049
to the Conquer Jewels. They whisper some words

00:32:54.049 --> 00:32:58.670
quietly to activate, and you see like this white...

00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:01.299
light filled with, like, just modeled various

00:33:01.299 --> 00:33:04.180
colors, like, all the colors of the rainbow fills

00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:08.519
the space. And a couple people just kind of appear

00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:12.440
from the light and sort of chit -chatting with

00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:15.299
each other, sort of move past you, leaving the

00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:20.660
preserve out the way you just came. And do we

00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:22.859
assume that these are just other luminaries?

00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:27.240
Or do other people have business in here? You

00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:32.569
could ask. Hey, Oren, are those other luminaries?

00:33:32.630 --> 00:33:36.789
Or who else comes and goes around here? Oh, yeah,

00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:38.970
no, no, they ain't luminaries. You'll know when

00:33:38.970 --> 00:33:42.650
there's luminaries. No, these are staff for the

00:33:42.650 --> 00:33:46.509
Crystal Network. Now, let me explain a little

00:33:46.509 --> 00:33:49.329
bit to you here. Those gates will teleport you

00:33:49.329 --> 00:33:51.190
right down to Aurora Town. That's that bit down

00:33:51.190 --> 00:33:53.289
there. I'll show you a spot that doesn't quite

00:33:53.289 --> 00:33:57.490
fit in with the rest. Now... That big one there,

00:33:57.509 --> 00:33:58.829
that big building there you see in the middle,

00:33:58.849 --> 00:34:00.990
that sort of theater, that's the meeting chambers

00:34:00.990 --> 00:34:03.190
for the speakers. And all the surroundings are

00:34:03.190 --> 00:34:05.150
homes for the speakers and their staff, as well

00:34:05.150 --> 00:34:09.070
as studios and offices for talent workers, overseers

00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:11.710
of the network. I myself live down there, and

00:34:11.710 --> 00:34:13.090
that's where I work. That's where my show is

00:34:13.090 --> 00:34:17.070
filmed and sent out. There are some luminaries

00:34:17.070 --> 00:34:18.369
down there, too, that live there full -time.

00:34:18.469 --> 00:34:22.010
It's expensive to get homes down in rural town,

00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:25.599
but as you can see, it's prime property. Once

00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:27.019
you get your passport, you'll be allowed here

00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.940
regularly. Whenever you want, you can come on

00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:35.639
in. So, Oren, what's film? It's a word. It's

00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.059
sort of a strange term we use for the recording

00:34:38.059 --> 00:34:41.679
properties that the oral diamond blesses to diamonds.

00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.360
We come recording diamonds, and then you can

00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:45.800
film. You try to get something. You try to get

00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:48.679
me, boy. You try to get me, car. I ain't falling

00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:57.300
for your trap, Stephen. All right, sorry, I had

00:34:57.300 --> 00:35:00.159
to. She just looks around like, yes, this is

00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:03.440
it. There is one thing I should bring up with

00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:07.380
y 'all, though. And this is, I mean, basically

00:35:07.380 --> 00:35:09.920
optional, but I would recommend that you follow

00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:12.139
through on the usual stuff here. There is a bit

00:35:12.139 --> 00:35:14.599
of a ceremony that luminaries go through before

00:35:14.599 --> 00:35:18.139
they get their status, right? Now, the speakers

00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:20.739
can't deny you your status, not without causing

00:35:20.739 --> 00:35:23.440
a ruckus with the Concord Worlds. I mean, the

00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:25.320
luminary system is supposed to be free of any

00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:28.119
political bullshit. No favoritism of any particular

00:35:28.119 --> 00:35:30.679
worlds or folk. And that's why we managed to

00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:32.139
tie the speaker's hands a bit with our little

00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:34.079
announcement, right? Because now the worlds know

00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:37.019
who you are. And if they deny you, well, it's

00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:39.659
going to smell of corruption. So, we got you

00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:43.659
there. But even so, all luminaries are generally

00:35:43.659 --> 00:35:46.119
encouraged to take part in a little ceremony

00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:49.840
where you don't take the gates. You take the

00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:52.880
steps. You move down into the preserve proper,

00:35:53.179 --> 00:35:57.860
and you speak with the incarnates. Oh, yeah,

00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:01.559
we're absolutely doing that. Uh, question for

00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:04.679
you, Orin. Yeah, what's that? If we caught them

00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:06.800
with their pants down, what does that mean for

00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:12.079
you? Well, I had some trouble on my end. They

00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:14.880
damn near stripped me of my show and everything.

00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:18.559
Which, hell, at this point, I got my family back.

00:36:18.579 --> 00:36:22.500
It's fine. I was ready. But the people raised

00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:27.139
a riot. I mean, letters came in. People were

00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:29.900
threatening to boycott the network, do all sorts

00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:34.280
of crazy shit. And speakers came back. Let me

00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:37.400
keep my job as long as I'm better about what

00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:39.739
I report on the show. There's definitely a little

00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:43.300
more oversight than there was before. Not worried

00:36:43.300 --> 00:36:46.380
about any future consequences? If they come,

00:36:46.539 --> 00:36:50.769
they come. Not what you guys did for me. It's

00:36:50.769 --> 00:36:54.969
irreplaceable. I, uh... I still can't thank you

00:36:54.969 --> 00:36:58.730
enough. So it's fine. Whatever happens, it's

00:36:58.730 --> 00:37:02.429
fine. As long as you guys get yours. Well, we're

00:37:02.429 --> 00:37:06.889
really sorry for the trouble. Don't be. Don't

00:37:06.889 --> 00:37:10.110
be sorry at all. Well, let's get back to business.

00:37:11.369 --> 00:37:13.010
Basically, how this is gonna go is you're gonna

00:37:13.010 --> 00:37:14.829
meet the Incarnate. You know what an Incarnate

00:37:14.829 --> 00:37:17.449
is? You know this, right? You know, these guys

00:37:17.449 --> 00:37:25.590
are on all history? Yeah. Okay. 15. Natural 1.

00:37:25.809 --> 00:37:27.969
Oh, my God. Oh, I thought that was a 7. Damn.

00:37:28.130 --> 00:37:31.010
No, it's a 1. Is it a 7? No, it's a 1. It's a

00:37:31.010 --> 00:37:36.670
1. So a horse kicks you off the cliff. Shut that

00:37:36.670 --> 00:37:40.389
door. It's closed. It's Percy. Suddenly my backup

00:37:40.389 --> 00:37:46.369
appears out of the forest. Okay. With that, Zebulon.

00:37:46.449 --> 00:37:48.349
Jules, you don't know anything. I mean, you didn't

00:37:48.349 --> 00:37:49.670
know much about the network before all this and

00:37:49.670 --> 00:37:52.289
all the stuff going on with the Citadel. Sure.

00:37:53.190 --> 00:37:55.849
pretty much raised to be a part of Tithos. Right.

00:37:56.510 --> 00:37:58.429
And so you didn't really know much about what's

00:37:58.429 --> 00:38:00.750
happening outside of your world, Zebulon. However,

00:38:00.969 --> 00:38:05.070
you were raised here. You know a lot about the

00:38:05.070 --> 00:38:07.130
Incarnates, and of course you do, because Sholay

00:38:07.130 --> 00:38:08.969
would have filled you in on them. Sholay personally

00:38:08.969 --> 00:38:13.309
knows them. When the Radiant City was founded

00:38:13.309 --> 00:38:15.590
and the gateways to all the worlds were reopened

00:38:15.590 --> 00:38:17.590
by Sholay at the end of her sort of grand adventure

00:38:17.590 --> 00:38:20.030
in the past, which gave her the sort of position

00:38:20.030 --> 00:38:23.539
of power she has now, She came to this citadel,

00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:25.940
this great diamond, as it was seeming to be going

00:38:25.940 --> 00:38:27.719
to drop into the Keenan Gloom, like it was going

00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:30.280
to be absorbed, destroyed, you're not sure. And

00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:32.300
all the worlds were facing, like, dangerous crises

00:38:32.300 --> 00:38:34.139
that they couldn't really face on their own.

00:38:34.860 --> 00:38:37.420
Sholay, seeking to find a way to save her world,

00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:39.619
Anchor and Sengar, as well as all the others,

00:38:39.820 --> 00:38:42.780
entered the diamond, flew inside of it as it

00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:45.480
was about to fall, where she met the Incarnates,

00:38:45.500 --> 00:38:49.719
these great gemstone beings. They take the form

00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:52.710
of animals. uh that basically are sort of like

00:38:52.710 --> 00:38:54.949
major animals on each of the worlds each of the

00:38:54.949 --> 00:38:57.190
habitats that these worlds sort of uh represent

00:38:57.190 --> 00:38:59.829
uh especially specifically in the area around

00:38:59.829 --> 00:39:04.150
where the conquer jewel lands right so as you

00:39:04.150 --> 00:39:09.110
might guess the ruby uh incarnate is a pangolin

00:39:09.110 --> 00:39:12.780
as is the incarnate of subsunko So basically

00:39:12.780 --> 00:39:15.980
these sort of strange gemstone animals wander

00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:20.079
around this preserve. They give wisdom and insight

00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:22.460
to these speakers. And it used to be that they

00:39:22.460 --> 00:39:24.739
were kind of the major playing force behind a

00:39:24.739 --> 00:39:27.099
lot of things that happen here. While they've

00:39:27.099 --> 00:39:31.420
been less respected lately, matters like this

00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:33.000
might have been like you had to speak to the

00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:34.519
Incarnates and only if you were approved could

00:39:34.519 --> 00:39:37.000
you become a Luminary. That's been waived. Now

00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.199
it's just a sort of ceremony. It just makes you

00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:43.480
look better, feel cooler to do it. But their

00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:45.420
opinion isn't actually mattering anymore because

00:39:45.420 --> 00:39:47.860
the people of the worlds have demands and the

00:39:47.860 --> 00:39:50.860
incarnates can't really outweigh the populace.

00:39:51.320 --> 00:39:55.019
That would be totalitarian in some regards. And

00:39:55.019 --> 00:39:57.679
these strange gemstone beings can't really speak

00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:01.159
for all the worlds like they used to. You know

00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:04.539
that the incarnates are... I'll say this, with

00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:07.000
XV, all you really know beyond that is that...

00:40:07.389 --> 00:40:09.489
It is said the Incarnates are basically ancient

00:40:09.489 --> 00:40:13.010
spirits embodying these gemstones. Spirits that

00:40:13.010 --> 00:40:15.929
used to dwell in these various worlds in that

00:40:15.929 --> 00:40:18.929
hope to guide them to the best possible future.

00:40:19.489 --> 00:40:22.369
They are the overseers of this place. They are

00:40:22.369 --> 00:40:25.090
as old as the auroral diamond itself. Older than

00:40:25.090 --> 00:40:29.570
Sholay. And when she appeared, they gave her

00:40:29.570 --> 00:40:31.610
the instructions she needed to reawaken the Citadel.

00:40:32.150 --> 00:40:35.010
They know more about this diamond than anyone

00:40:35.010 --> 00:40:38.650
else. Wow. Yeah, so start thinking about your

00:40:38.650 --> 00:40:41.989
big picture questions, I guess. Mm -hmm. We should

00:40:41.989 --> 00:40:47.409
have brought Jamal. Well, I was curious. I wanted

00:40:47.409 --> 00:40:49.429
to know how much Zebulon thought that pangolin

00:40:49.429 --> 00:40:55.389
is worth. At least 10 gold. At least. At least.

00:40:55.510 --> 00:40:58.590
Ten times. Yeah, we know that's the bare minimum.

00:40:58.869 --> 00:41:01.949
Giant ruby pangolin, at least 10 gold. Ten times

00:41:01.949 --> 00:41:07.400
10 gold. So I think. Warren will keep talking.

00:41:07.780 --> 00:41:09.780
All right, well, I mean, do you feel him on what

00:41:09.780 --> 00:41:10.960
you know? Because he just asked what you knew.

00:41:11.420 --> 00:41:13.380
Yeah. So you just tell him a little bit. He just

00:41:13.380 --> 00:41:16.039
nods along. All right, good, good. That's good

00:41:16.039 --> 00:41:19.260
to know. So how it normally works is most folks

00:41:19.260 --> 00:41:20.619
are going to meet the incarnate connected to

00:41:20.619 --> 00:41:23.000
their home world. But we've got some strange

00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:25.559
situations here, right? Sabalon, you're not from

00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:27.840
any particular world, not from birth, but your

00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:31.159
bloodline is directly tied to Anchor and Sengar,

00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:34.460
where Sholeh is from. For that, you'll want to

00:41:34.460 --> 00:41:36.869
seek out the turquoise lion. She'll be found

00:41:36.869 --> 00:41:38.909
in the region most log anchorings in Gauss climate.

00:41:39.070 --> 00:41:42.309
So he points down to these sort of desert dunes,

00:41:42.309 --> 00:41:43.909
actually very close to where you are, the first

00:41:43.909 --> 00:41:46.010
sort of major biome you're going to reach at

00:41:46.010 --> 00:41:47.690
the base of these stairs. He points down there

00:41:47.690 --> 00:41:50.570
and says, somewhere in those dunes, you'll find

00:41:50.570 --> 00:41:55.809
it. That sounds really badass. Now, Sean Franklin,

00:41:56.110 --> 00:41:59.030
another strange situation for you. You can choose

00:41:59.030 --> 00:42:02.260
to meet with Noiris Bastard Kamen. Or to go with

00:42:02.260 --> 00:42:05.500
the others. This tradition is more for full luminaries

00:42:05.500 --> 00:42:07.940
than for their sidekicks, so it's really your

00:42:07.940 --> 00:42:13.579
choice. I think he just nods. And jewels. Well,

00:42:13.880 --> 00:42:18.239
this is a... Hmm. This has all been kind of hush

00:42:18.239 --> 00:42:20.619
-hush. Hell, I didn't even know about this till

00:42:20.619 --> 00:42:23.619
this morning, but the sapphire wyvern of Tythos

00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:26.699
isn't taking visitors. Hasn't been for a while.

00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:29.039
In the Incarnate, I've been firm about this.

00:42:29.460 --> 00:42:32.559
No one is allowed to seek it out. No one's allowed

00:42:32.559 --> 00:42:35.400
to even enter the arid mountains out there, representing

00:42:35.400 --> 00:42:38.780
Tithos' structures. And you can see, like I said

00:42:38.780 --> 00:42:40.360
before, you can see that one strip of the mountain

00:42:40.360 --> 00:42:43.380
range does look very similar to the ranges that

00:42:43.380 --> 00:42:47.199
surrounded the city of Cerule, rich with gemstones.

00:42:47.539 --> 00:42:49.780
I love what he's like. Now you're not allowed

00:42:49.780 --> 00:42:52.719
to go right over there. See that? Over there?

00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:56.679
Not allowed to go there, you kid. Don't go. There.

00:42:56.679 --> 00:42:59.599
Hey, don't do it, motherfucker. What happens

00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:05.440
if I do? There could be trouble. I mean, look,

00:43:05.619 --> 00:43:08.099
even easier, right? We don't need to worry about

00:43:08.099 --> 00:43:10.840
that. We're speaking around, and if you want

00:43:10.840 --> 00:43:12.559
to just go with Zebulon here meeting the Turquoise

00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:15.639
Lion, that's all we need. You'll be good to go.

00:43:15.760 --> 00:43:18.019
You all just can gather together, find the one

00:43:18.019 --> 00:43:20.159
incarnate, make your way up north to Tinseltown.

00:43:20.940 --> 00:43:22.500
I said the wrong thing. I said the thing I'm

00:43:22.500 --> 00:43:24.599
making a pun of. Did you just say Tinseltown?

00:43:25.949 --> 00:43:27.929
It's staying in now. No, fuck it. Don't. Don't

00:43:27.929 --> 00:43:30.849
do it. No! Make your way up north to Aurora Town.

00:43:31.809 --> 00:43:34.590
Great. My simple brain is now revealed to the

00:43:34.590 --> 00:43:38.929
world. It's Hollywood, damn it! You can redo

00:43:38.929 --> 00:43:41.469
it if you want to. That's fine. Make your way

00:43:41.469 --> 00:43:43.050
up north to Aurora Town. You decide. I don't

00:43:43.050 --> 00:43:49.670
give a shit anymore. Yeah, that's usable. Please.

00:43:50.670 --> 00:43:55.239
Just look at you guys. It's your choice. I can't

00:43:55.239 --> 00:43:57.579
join you on this. This is more supposed to be

00:43:57.579 --> 00:43:59.739
kind of an exploring it for yourself kind of

00:43:59.739 --> 00:44:02.800
deal. Self -discovery, all that. I did it once

00:44:02.800 --> 00:44:06.099
too, though. I mean, it was something else. Well,

00:44:06.099 --> 00:44:08.340
we haven't really gotten here going the easy

00:44:08.340 --> 00:44:13.460
route. So, Jean, don't come with me to see the

00:44:13.460 --> 00:44:16.199
Turquoise Alliance just because that's what's

00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:20.900
easy. Do what's best for you. And Jules, I'm

00:44:20.900 --> 00:44:26.750
really confused. Oren, is the Wyvern even still

00:44:26.750 --> 00:44:31.469
alive? Has anybody seen it? I don't know. Is

00:44:31.469 --> 00:44:33.070
that why they're not letting anybody go there?

00:44:33.329 --> 00:44:35.630
I gotta imagine the speakers looked into it.

00:44:36.190 --> 00:44:38.610
Someone looked into it, but no one said anything.

00:44:39.650 --> 00:44:42.590
Sometimes it's best not to get yourselves mixed

00:44:42.590 --> 00:44:44.909
up in shit. We just got the payoff for everything.

00:44:45.710 --> 00:44:48.949
Don't screw it up. Jules really wants to go.

00:44:49.530 --> 00:44:52.250
Yeah, I mean, like, low -key, Steven wants Jules

00:44:52.250 --> 00:44:56.219
to go. Yeah. But I also think it could fuck everything

00:44:56.219 --> 00:45:03.019
up. I think so too. Okay, I'll say this. Jules

00:45:03.019 --> 00:45:08.219
will go with Zebulon, but Jules has every intention

00:45:08.219 --> 00:45:13.579
of going to the Wyvern. Holy shit. I don't know

00:45:13.579 --> 00:45:18.099
when or how, but he's going to get there. Okay.

00:45:18.909 --> 00:45:21.510
I'll say, for Jean Franklin's part, he just kind

00:45:21.510 --> 00:45:23.929
of looks out, and you see his face turns towards

00:45:23.929 --> 00:45:27.389
the more tropical region, by the edge of the

00:45:27.389 --> 00:45:30.829
coast of the sort of western ocean bay. He just

00:45:30.829 --> 00:45:35.150
nods and says, No. No, I have no real interest

00:45:35.150 --> 00:45:37.510
in speaking with the incarnate for my world.

00:45:38.050 --> 00:45:39.969
I have only one person to speak to, and that

00:45:39.969 --> 00:45:44.130
is the actual speaker for Noiri. Onikaneer, we

00:45:44.130 --> 00:45:47.449
have to have a discussion. And finally, finally...

00:45:47.820 --> 00:45:51.340
I'm here. Once we get to Auraltown, I'm a loud

00:45:51.340 --> 00:45:55.039
audience. And there is much for me to discuss.

00:45:55.880 --> 00:45:57.619
You want to fill us in before you do anything

00:45:57.619 --> 00:46:01.940
crazy? In time. What I wouldn't give to be a

00:46:01.940 --> 00:46:08.000
fly on that wall. I will join in with you, Zebulon.

00:46:08.159 --> 00:46:10.280
It is the fastest way to my goals, and so it

00:46:10.280 --> 00:46:13.440
is the best way to my goals. I guess it's settled.

00:46:13.980 --> 00:46:17.699
Let's go see the... Let's go see the turquoise

00:46:17.699 --> 00:46:21.219
lion. Hell yeah. If y 'all see the jasper pecan

00:46:21.219 --> 00:46:25.179
tree, say hi for me. What? Yep. Your speaker

00:46:25.179 --> 00:46:27.900
is a pecan tree? My God, it's a pecan tree. Yeah,

00:46:27.900 --> 00:46:30.539
no, I wasn't. Wait a minute. I was a little disappointed.

00:46:30.900 --> 00:46:33.559
Pecan or pecan? I don't know what the accent

00:46:33.559 --> 00:46:37.900
would be. It's pecan. You should do an Instagram

00:46:37.900 --> 00:46:40.579
poll. I'm God's brethren. I don't give a shit.

00:46:40.699 --> 00:46:44.559
I decide. I decide my regional pronunciations.

00:46:48.239 --> 00:46:50.539
That's by the book, too. It is legitimately a

00:46:50.539 --> 00:46:53.159
pecan tree. Really? Interesting. Yeah, some of

00:46:53.159 --> 00:46:56.179
them are trees. There's more than one tree? For

00:46:56.179 --> 00:46:57.739
the incarnates, yeah. Some of the incarnates

00:46:57.739 --> 00:46:59.659
are actually trees. Almost a good amount of them.

00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:04.079
What would happen if you go and eat a pecan?

00:47:04.619 --> 00:47:07.199
When I say it's gemstone, it is literally made

00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:11.599
of gems. There are pecans of jasper hanging from

00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:14.679
it. So if you eat it, then you probably die or

00:47:14.679 --> 00:47:17.670
something. You'd just be eating a rock. Eat a

00:47:17.670 --> 00:47:21.090
rock. All right, all right. So I think Oren just

00:47:21.090 --> 00:47:25.369
nods and looks at y 'all just, all right, well,

00:47:25.550 --> 00:47:28.389
I'm going to take the gate down. I'll be waiting

00:47:28.389 --> 00:47:30.769
for you in Rottletown. You look me up when you

00:47:30.769 --> 00:47:33.949
get there, all right? Yeah, how can we find you

00:47:33.949 --> 00:47:38.110
when we get there? Y 'all just need to ask. They'll

00:47:38.110 --> 00:47:42.750
come running for me. Okay, well, wish us luck.

00:47:43.570 --> 00:47:45.849
I mean, you've done this before. Do you have

00:47:45.849 --> 00:47:50.289
any... Any advice? No, really. Just keep looking.

00:47:50.550 --> 00:47:52.869
Trust me, especially in those dunes. You'll know

00:47:52.869 --> 00:47:55.889
when you see it. Yeah, it's a pretty strong contrast

00:47:55.889 --> 00:47:59.070
against the sand. And these things, they can

00:47:59.070 --> 00:48:02.650
be intimidating. But stay strong, stay brave,

00:48:02.710 --> 00:48:06.730
stay wise. You'll be fine. I mean, are they dangerous?

00:48:06.969 --> 00:48:10.269
Do they attack people? No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:48:10.269 --> 00:48:12.050
Nothing like that. They're probably just going

00:48:12.050 --> 00:48:14.150
to ask you some questions, that's all. They like

00:48:14.150 --> 00:48:17.800
to... Ask for some kind of trial sometimes. But

00:48:17.800 --> 00:48:20.139
all you gotta do is meet it. Get its blessing.

00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:24.000
Move on. Alright, well... I hope there's not

00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:27.300
gonna be a whole lot of wisdom checks. I'm gonna

00:48:27.300 --> 00:48:31.800
be really fucked. He starts to move away from

00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:35.679
you. Good luck. He approaches the sort of doorway.

00:48:36.840 --> 00:48:39.280
One of the many lakes where... teleporter doors,

00:48:39.579 --> 00:48:42.219
which, as he approaches the sort of worker there

00:48:42.219 --> 00:48:44.500
in the white robes, runs her fingers down the

00:48:44.500 --> 00:48:47.280
edge, whispers a word. The gate slashes with

00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:49.960
the light, and he takes one last look back at

00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:53.800
you, tips his sarah hat, and steps through. And

00:48:53.800 --> 00:48:57.360
you stand at the edge of this cliff, at the edge

00:48:57.360 --> 00:49:00.900
of the steps, moving down and down and down into

00:49:00.900 --> 00:49:07.650
this vast, vast wilderness. So, Jean... Why is

00:49:07.650 --> 00:49:10.829
it that you don't want to see your speaker? Not

00:49:10.829 --> 00:49:15.309
your speaker. Your... Yes. Incarnate. Incarnate.

00:49:15.409 --> 00:49:16.789
You got it. There you are. You figured it out.

00:49:18.010 --> 00:49:22.449
Thank you, Jules. No problem, buddy. That's what

00:49:22.449 --> 00:49:25.250
friends are for. I'm not against it. Not necessarily.

00:49:25.289 --> 00:49:29.150
It's just not important for me. Look, my only

00:49:29.150 --> 00:49:33.849
objective is to clean up the corruption in Zinda,

00:49:34.030 --> 00:49:37.440
the city -state I come from in Noari. In order

00:49:37.440 --> 00:49:39.860
to do that, I have certain crimes to report.

00:49:40.260 --> 00:49:43.199
And I could not get to anybody important enough

00:49:43.199 --> 00:49:45.880
to talk to until now. But now I'm allowed inside.

00:49:46.659 --> 00:49:51.119
Now I am basically cornering our speaker. Thanks

00:49:51.119 --> 00:49:54.500
to you, I have my chance at justice. Finally,

00:49:54.500 --> 00:50:00.340
justice. Well, I mean, be careful, Jean. I mean,

00:50:00.340 --> 00:50:03.239
we've seen it here before. Corruption can run

00:50:03.239 --> 00:50:08.090
really deep. It might go all the way up. Believe

00:50:08.090 --> 00:50:15.030
me, it does. What? That was cool. You heard it

00:50:15.030 --> 00:50:17.429
too. You heard it too. What'd I do? You said,

00:50:17.510 --> 00:50:21.389
it does. It does. What? I didn't do that. Damn

00:50:21.389 --> 00:50:27.150
it. Believe me, it does. It does. It does. I

00:50:27.150 --> 00:50:29.789
don't know. I like to try to hold off laughing

00:50:29.789 --> 00:50:32.110
long enough to give it a pause. It was a cool

00:50:32.110 --> 00:50:36.869
line. It was. It was really cool. Yep. Yep. And

00:50:36.869 --> 00:50:38.789
then we both looked at each other, and we could

00:50:38.789 --> 00:50:42.949
tell we were holding it in. Oh, God. Yes. Yes,

00:50:43.030 --> 00:50:47.309
yes, yes. Okay, well, that's, I mean, that's

00:50:47.309 --> 00:50:51.389
the next challenge. But for now, how in the heck

00:50:51.389 --> 00:50:54.070
are we going to find this thing? Look at it down

00:50:54.070 --> 00:50:58.010
there. It's enormous. We ain't got anything else

00:50:58.010 --> 00:51:01.989
to do but just go. He said, well, no. That's

00:51:01.989 --> 00:51:04.690
all we got. That's all we got. Luckily, we're

00:51:04.690 --> 00:51:10.309
pretty decent at walking at this point. Half

00:51:10.309 --> 00:51:13.409
the damn campaign. And so I take it you begin

00:51:13.409 --> 00:51:18.849
to walk yet again? Yes. All right. You begin

00:51:18.849 --> 00:51:23.789
to move down switchbacking stone steps. And you

00:51:23.789 --> 00:51:26.989
are high, high up now. So it's a long and dangerous

00:51:26.989 --> 00:51:33.940
journey down and down and down and down. It's

00:51:33.940 --> 00:51:35.579
funny, too, because you're moving, like, from,

00:51:35.639 --> 00:51:38.079
you know, where the steps end one way, it starts

00:51:38.079 --> 00:51:40.320
to get kind of cold and frosty, and as you sort

00:51:40.320 --> 00:51:42.880
of move back and back and back, maybe like a

00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:46.039
full mile the other direction as the steps sling

00:51:46.039 --> 00:51:48.719
down, it gets hotter and hotter until the stone

00:51:48.719 --> 00:51:51.659
beneath your feet is, like, baking. It's a really

00:51:51.659 --> 00:51:53.599
long switchback. It's a really long switchback.

00:51:53.719 --> 00:51:56.139
I mean, these stairs go way, it's like, it is

00:51:56.139 --> 00:51:59.000
a trial in itself to move down. Not so much I'm

00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:00.159
going to make you roll for it, but it's just

00:52:00.159 --> 00:52:05.570
a long, long trial. Um, but you do eventually

00:52:05.570 --> 00:52:09.090
reach the bottom. You step off the stone steps,

00:52:09.250 --> 00:52:12.230
and you are standing at this strange midpoint

00:52:12.230 --> 00:52:15.130
where, uh, the ground before you is like this

00:52:15.130 --> 00:52:18.289
sort of stony wasteland, canyons dropping down

00:52:18.289 --> 00:52:21.789
in this sort of rugged terrain on the, uh, east.

00:52:22.349 --> 00:52:25.070
But then right to the west of you, sand begins

00:52:25.070 --> 00:52:26.929
to sort of overtake these canyons and just turns

00:52:26.929 --> 00:52:30.449
into these rolling, giant, sort of sandy dunes.

00:52:31.150 --> 00:52:34.289
Well, I'm, uh, Pretty sure we're heading for

00:52:34.289 --> 00:52:39.570
the dunes, right? I think so. Looks pretty hot

00:52:39.570 --> 00:52:41.650
over there. All right, let's see how long this

00:52:41.650 --> 00:52:44.230
takes you. Give me an investigation check as

00:52:44.230 --> 00:52:48.090
you begin to move deeper in. As we start moving

00:52:48.090 --> 00:52:50.309
in, I'm going to touch Zebulon on the shoulder

00:52:50.309 --> 00:52:56.190
and cast Enhance Ability. Ooh, what? So you can

00:52:56.190 --> 00:52:58.550
choose any number of things. You can choose Bear's

00:52:58.550 --> 00:53:00.829
Endurance, which gives you advantage on con checks.

00:53:01.420 --> 00:53:03.679
Also, you gain 2d6 temporary hit points. You

00:53:03.679 --> 00:53:05.340
can choose Bull's Strength, which is advantage

00:53:05.340 --> 00:53:09.260
on Strength checks, Cat's Grace, Dexterity, Eagle's

00:53:09.260 --> 00:53:11.639
Splendor, advantage on Charisma checks, Fox's

00:53:11.639 --> 00:53:14.360
Cunning, advantage on Intelligence checks, and

00:53:14.360 --> 00:53:18.119
Owl's Wisdom, advantage on Wisdom checks. Okay,

00:53:18.280 --> 00:53:21.719
yeah, let's go with... I mean, I don't think

00:53:21.719 --> 00:53:23.360
you have to choose it immediately. Oh, okay,

00:53:23.480 --> 00:53:25.840
great, excellent. I don't think so. I think you

00:53:25.840 --> 00:53:27.719
do choose it immediately, which one you get.

00:53:27.719 --> 00:53:29.869
Really? Fuck. Yes, I think you choose one of

00:53:29.869 --> 00:53:33.670
those options that he keeps. Well, okay. How

00:53:33.670 --> 00:53:39.530
long does it last? Up to an hour. Wow. Yeah,

00:53:39.630 --> 00:53:42.090
let's do wisdom. Yeah. I don't think we're going

00:53:42.090 --> 00:53:44.050
to encounter dex stuff or anything like that.

00:53:44.210 --> 00:53:47.469
Right. Okay. Yeah, I'll take some wisdom advantage

00:53:47.469 --> 00:53:49.570
in case that comes up. It's random as shit, but...

00:53:49.570 --> 00:53:59.059
Hey, I mean... Why not? Why not? Thank you. 16.

00:53:59.059 --> 00:54:02.920
You said that was investigation? Yes. 19. 19,

00:54:02.980 --> 00:54:06.420
okay. Do me a quick favor, because you are seeking

00:54:06.420 --> 00:54:08.179
out this, you're seeking out this gemstone being,

00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:09.500
so you're kind of looking around, trying to spot

00:54:09.500 --> 00:54:11.900
this sort of larger, I mean, you know what color

00:54:11.900 --> 00:54:13.500
to look for amongst the sand, so you're kind

00:54:13.500 --> 00:54:15.199
of investigating, even looking for maybe like

00:54:15.199 --> 00:54:18.239
tracks here and there. I guess they wouldn't

00:54:18.239 --> 00:54:20.139
really last, you could see that the wind, a strange

00:54:20.139 --> 00:54:21.679
fan of wind is blowing constantly through this

00:54:21.679 --> 00:54:25.260
place, moving the sand, shifting it. I do want

00:54:25.260 --> 00:54:29.099
you to... Tell me your passive perception. Mostly

00:54:29.099 --> 00:54:31.440
because this is going to increase having advantage

00:54:31.440 --> 00:54:32.800
for an hour. It will increase your passive perception

00:54:32.800 --> 00:54:37.400
by 5. Oh, wow. Yes. Okay, so my passive perception

00:54:37.400 --> 00:54:42.159
is 9. Okay, so it's currently 14. Not bad. That's

00:54:42.159 --> 00:54:43.320
a good passive perception. Yeah, that's great.

00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:54.300
Okay, good. Nice. Hi, I'm just rolling. What

00:54:54.300 --> 00:54:57.480
you rolling? I don't know. So you guys move into

00:54:57.480 --> 00:55:00.800
the desert. You see waves of heat running off

00:55:00.800 --> 00:55:04.099
of these sands as you begin to climb dune after

00:55:04.099 --> 00:55:08.440
dune. But I will say, with your check, you find

00:55:08.440 --> 00:55:11.119
this thing extremely quickly. Okay, that's good,

00:55:11.199 --> 00:55:12.519
I think. You cross over the top of one of these

00:55:12.519 --> 00:55:18.360
dunes, and you see it. Yeah, that must be it.

00:55:18.679 --> 00:55:21.429
It seemed to kind of almost, like, appear. At

00:55:21.429 --> 00:55:23.550
the top of one of these dunes, standing tall,

00:55:23.849 --> 00:55:27.530
this great turquoise gemstone lion. It's huge.

00:55:27.670 --> 00:55:30.969
You see, like, great long gems forming this sort

00:55:30.969 --> 00:55:34.289
of mane around it, all sort of slightly disconnected

00:55:34.289 --> 00:55:35.690
from each other, sort of hanging around each

00:55:35.690 --> 00:55:38.409
other by some sort of strange magnetic energy

00:55:38.409 --> 00:55:41.429
just holding this thing in place. Like, half

00:55:41.429 --> 00:55:44.550
of its form is just invisible. But you see this

00:55:44.550 --> 00:55:48.010
thing standing tall, staring right towards you.

00:55:48.750 --> 00:55:52.610
You're with a 19 investigation. Correct. It's

00:55:52.610 --> 00:55:56.369
strange. It feels like the light isn't hitting

00:55:56.369 --> 00:55:59.530
it quite right. I'm not really sure, but it's

00:55:59.530 --> 00:56:01.969
there. Yeah, I'm not sure what you mean by the

00:56:01.969 --> 00:56:04.750
light's not hitting it quite right. It's just

00:56:04.750 --> 00:56:07.730
a weird feeling you get. Maybe certain parts

00:56:07.730 --> 00:56:09.429
should be gleaming brighter in the light, but

00:56:09.429 --> 00:56:11.769
it's also a faux light. You don't know. Like

00:56:11.769 --> 00:56:13.289
it looks like a glitch or something, maybe? Yeah,

00:56:13.289 --> 00:56:16.070
I was going to say, is it actually there? It

00:56:16.070 --> 00:56:19.420
maybe looks like a glitch. A glitch in the matrix.

00:56:19.579 --> 00:56:20.659
A glitch in the matrix? I don't know. It just

00:56:20.659 --> 00:56:22.139
looks like something's a little bit wrong. That's

00:56:22.139 --> 00:56:25.119
all. Can I roll something else to dive deeper

00:56:25.119 --> 00:56:30.300
into this? Roll me Arcana. That seems fitting.

00:56:30.920 --> 00:56:35.300
It's a magical being, right? That's a dirty 20.

00:56:36.099 --> 00:56:40.719
Dirty 20. Okay. I don't know what that face is.

00:56:40.840 --> 00:56:45.199
Son of a bitch. Fuck yeah. You crossed off this

00:56:45.199 --> 00:56:47.940
dune. Zebulon. I think maybe you see this thing

00:56:47.940 --> 00:56:50.800
and you're all decent, but you're just kind of

00:56:50.800 --> 00:56:53.440
moving forward. John Franklin like, huh, well,

00:56:53.539 --> 00:56:56.599
that was quite easy. Let's go. And begins to

00:56:56.599 --> 00:56:58.639
move towards it as well. John Franklin, hold

00:56:58.639 --> 00:57:02.260
up. You, Jules, just hard up. What? Hold on.

00:57:02.900 --> 00:57:05.099
You're staring. I don't think it's that easy.

00:57:05.699 --> 00:57:07.940
You are staring at this thing. Everyone stops

00:57:07.940 --> 00:57:10.340
to look at you and you're staring and staring.

00:57:10.980 --> 00:57:15.510
And you realize it. Jules. It makes so much sense

00:57:15.510 --> 00:57:18.769
it would be you, because you have access to illusion

00:57:18.769 --> 00:57:22.809
magic. And this is an illusion. John, that's,

00:57:22.809 --> 00:57:25.789
uh... I don't think that's really there. What

00:57:25.789 --> 00:57:28.170
does that mean? It's an illusion of some sort.

00:57:28.769 --> 00:57:31.690
Well, who would... Who would make an illusion

00:57:31.690 --> 00:57:35.570
of the... Why? I don't know, but I don't trust

00:57:35.570 --> 00:57:38.389
that. Something's not right. Something's up.

00:57:38.530 --> 00:57:41.449
How far off is it? Uh, right now, I'll say you

00:57:41.449 --> 00:57:43.579
crossed the top of one, dude. It's about... Oh,

00:57:43.579 --> 00:57:46.300
we'll say 120 feet away. Another sort of, maybe

00:57:46.300 --> 00:57:48.119
there's one doom between you and it. It's sort

00:57:48.119 --> 00:57:53.139
of standing off. All right. Zebulon reaches for

00:57:53.139 --> 00:57:56.500
his short bow. Well, let's see what this illusion's

00:57:56.500 --> 00:57:58.880
all about. You better be careful. This might

00:57:58.880 --> 00:58:01.599
be a test of some sort. Well, it seems like we're

00:58:01.599 --> 00:58:05.260
passing the test. We figured out it's an illusion.

00:58:05.719 --> 00:58:08.579
I wouldn't be so sure about that. So then what

00:58:08.579 --> 00:58:14.670
do you want to do? No fucking clue. Well, all

00:58:14.670 --> 00:58:20.650
right, then. And Zeb knocks his arrow and fires

00:58:20.650 --> 00:58:23.610
an arrow at this illusion. Roll me an attack

00:58:23.610 --> 00:58:31.829
roll. 13. 13. This is only basically to see if

00:58:31.829 --> 00:58:35.130
you hit the space you're shooting at. You watch

00:58:35.130 --> 00:58:39.289
this arrow moves this illusion and passes through.

00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:43.260
For a second, just like the shape begins to ripple

00:58:43.260 --> 00:58:46.599
around the arrow as it just briefly moves through

00:58:46.599 --> 00:58:49.980
it. And as this happens, you hear just behind

00:58:49.980 --> 00:58:56.420
it a voice say, Fuck! Zebulon turns around. What

00:58:56.420 --> 00:58:59.039
in the hell just happened? You turn around. Oh,

00:58:59.139 --> 00:59:03.400
come on. And you see two figures moving up behind

00:59:03.400 --> 00:59:07.659
you. You see one of them. And they're probably

00:59:07.659 --> 00:59:11.199
about like... The 80 feet away, moving down a

00:59:11.199 --> 00:59:14.320
dune, moving carefully and stealthily, you see

00:59:14.320 --> 00:59:20.480
a near eight foot tall Goliath with a gray stony

00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:23.639
skin adorned with marks of swirling darker gray.

00:59:23.780 --> 00:59:27.159
These were giant kin. She's wearing only straps

00:59:27.159 --> 00:59:28.980
of light leather and a matching leather battle

00:59:28.980 --> 00:59:31.480
skirt with a thick. battle -weathered wooden

00:59:31.480 --> 00:59:34.460
club inlaid with a number of smooth stones. This

00:59:34.460 --> 00:59:36.639
figure is marching towards you, eyes focused.

00:59:37.019 --> 00:59:40.199
Oh, fuck. You don't recognize him, but you sure

00:59:40.199 --> 00:59:42.920
as hell recognize the figure next to him. A very

00:59:42.920 --> 00:59:47.420
familiar goblin. Eyes filled with rage. Shit.

00:59:47.739 --> 00:59:51.659
He stops moving slow and starts full -on just,

00:59:51.719 --> 00:59:54.800
like, running towards you. And you hear, like,

00:59:54.800 --> 00:59:57.539
as you, like, see this, maybe, like, jumping

00:59:57.539 --> 01:00:00.110
on turns back, it's like, it's gone! The illusion

01:00:00.110 --> 01:00:05.429
vanishes. In its place, two figures stand on

01:00:05.429 --> 01:00:10.730
a dune far off. One of them is this silver -haired

01:00:10.730 --> 01:00:14.809
elven woman. She's got sort of pale skin. She's

01:00:14.809 --> 01:00:17.070
got very, very sharp angular features, thick

01:00:17.070 --> 01:00:20.170
robes of white fur adorned with stitchings of

01:00:20.170 --> 01:00:22.869
purple and orange eyes. She's holding out some

01:00:22.869 --> 01:00:25.809
sort of antler that she's using as a focus, the

01:00:25.809 --> 01:00:27.949
points of which are glowing with magical light.

01:00:28.750 --> 01:00:30.650
You don't recognize her, but again, you do sure

01:00:30.650 --> 01:00:33.170
as hell recognize the smaller figure beside her.

01:00:33.730 --> 01:00:37.429
Hair side -combed, wearing this pretty obnoxious

01:00:37.429 --> 01:00:42.170
sort of mint -colored suit. You see Rune Rusong,

01:00:42.349 --> 01:00:45.349
and you realize you are surrounded, but you are

01:00:45.349 --> 01:00:49.829
not quite all over you yet. That son of a bitch.

01:00:50.250 --> 01:00:53.159
Everything stops. The figure's behind you, and

01:00:53.159 --> 01:00:55.780
Trace is starting to move, and he sort of halts

01:00:55.780 --> 01:00:57.360
where he is, watching to see what you're going

01:00:57.360 --> 01:01:00.199
to do. Like I said, they're probably about 60

01:01:00.199 --> 01:01:02.599
feet or so. They're kind of moving down, they

01:01:02.599 --> 01:01:05.599
stop about 60 feet, and Rune stands farther away.

01:01:06.260 --> 01:01:09.880
They're pretty far off at this point. Anything

01:01:09.880 --> 01:01:12.159
you want to say or do? This isn't going to end

01:01:12.159 --> 01:01:15.420
well, Rune. Why did you have to spoil my fun?

01:01:16.079 --> 01:01:20.800
Oh, I've been waiting for this. Thanks for the

01:01:20.800 --> 01:01:26.380
footage, man. Don't thank me yet, Jules. He's

01:01:26.380 --> 01:01:28.099
sort of shouting this with the arms over his

01:01:28.099 --> 01:01:31.760
head. Don't thank me yet! Tell you what, I'm

01:01:31.760 --> 01:01:33.460
going to ask you a question. I was going to do

01:01:33.460 --> 01:01:35.440
it as an incarnate, be all fun and cool, but

01:01:35.440 --> 01:01:37.579
hey, you know, no worries. We'll do it this way.

01:01:37.960 --> 01:01:40.340
Where do you start, huh? Where do we start here?

01:01:41.159 --> 01:01:44.019
Huh? You tell us, because we'll finish it. All

01:01:44.019 --> 01:01:45.900
right, good. I have been thinking, and I have

01:01:45.900 --> 01:01:52.139
an idea. You see, it is hot out here. Feel that

01:01:52.139 --> 01:01:55.500
burn. And I know this is a mockery of real sunlight,

01:01:55.659 --> 01:01:59.099
but boy, does it feel real, right? I mean, could

01:01:59.099 --> 01:02:01.039
you imagine crawling your way through the hot

01:02:01.039 --> 01:02:04.380
sand, roasting in this heat? Because I could.

01:02:04.860 --> 01:02:09.219
And it would be hell. Which is why, oh yeah,

01:02:09.360 --> 01:02:11.719
we're going to start by breaking your fucking

01:02:11.719 --> 01:02:13.860
legs. And we'll call it there.