Fast move, the sons of Mim, and fate catches
fire. Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft.
In fear quake all who on the hel roads are. Yggdrasil
shakes and shivers on high. To the head of Mimir
does Odin give heed. Welcome to episode 17 of
the Vikings and Valkyries podcast. Venturing
into the well of fate are Kaitlin, Steve, Bill,
CJ and Taylor. Welcome to you, Wave Runners.
Hi. Hi. Now we have a new guest aboard the Falkyr
today, Kaitlin Felix, who has just published
her new book, Ran's Daughters, which is... hot
off the press. Kaitlin, welcome to you. How exciting
is it to publish that debut? Thank you for having
me. It's great to be here. I am very excited
to have Ran's Daughters out. It took me almost
four years to write, so it's nice to finally
have it out in the world and in readers' hands.
Four years, that's craftsmanship. Well, I hope
so. No, your first one always takes longer. My
first one probably took four or five years because
you just... Question yourself and wonder and
go back and forth and and then you finally get
an editor and then the editor just goes This
is crap. We write the whole thing and so you
can go through this whole process and then and
then that still happens I mean the latest one
that I put out took me about that one took longer,
right? And then even then I gave it to the editor
and he said this is crap We write the whole thing
and so it took another six months to cobble it
together so it would be passable and make the
editor happy because that's what's important
in life a happy editor and uh and this last one
that i put in front of the editor he sat back
and said this is crap try again so I mean we're
here we are here we are at the beginning i think
it's a feat of heroism to even finish a book
in the first place let alone have to rewrite
it and rewrite it and rewrite it so well done
in terms of your editor friend of the podcast
Josh Gillingham was your editor and he he submitted
one short story to his Althingi anthology and
then Ran's Daughter is the sequel what's it
been like working with Josh yes oh he's great
he's an amazing editor and friend working with
him is so easy and so fun and he makes the whole
process so much simpler than than working on
my own i would say like he was my partner throughout
all of Ran's daughters actually and i would
say yay Josh very good and everyone here would
say yay josh as well but they threw him off a
building when he came on to this look there were
gotta keep people humble he had it coming there
were circumstances there's a large black thing
how's the reception for Ran's Daughters you've
got some good buzz some good reviews Yes, I got
some great reviews so far from Alex from the
Spells and Spaceships blog and Becky, who was
also on the podcast. She's a good friend as well.
She read it. She read an ARC and adored it. She
read it in, I think, two days, which shocked
me. You know, you spend four years writing a
book and then it takes two days to read and you're
like, well, OK, I call that a success. Super.
We are building a little bit of Viking camaraderie
here with our network of Viking aficionados across
the world. I couldn't help noticing, Kaitlin,
on your website, you describe yourself as a creator
of catastrophe. Does that mean that you're going
to be adding to the chaos that ensues on the
podcast? I certainly hope so. I wouldn't be doing
my job if I didn't add to the chaos. Fantastic.
Seeing new and exciting ways for everything to
go. hopelessly wrong is one of the joys of tuning
in today we are playing the first part of the
well of fate adventure and as usual I'm going
to ask you a question to earn an inspiration
point Bill's already started massaging his temples
is that a psychic channel that you have to Steve
is that what you're i know i'm trying to explode
your head with my mind yeah that's what i'm doing
Very scanners. All right, the question I have
for you is this. Can you name each of the Níu Heimar
of Norse mythology, the nine homeworlds? I just
did this exercise with my son in the car over
the weekend. Oh, as one does. So let's start
from the top. Good parenting. Asgard. Midgard.
That's us, yep. Vanaheim. Jotunheim. Niflheim.
Niflheim. Muspelheim. Helheim. Svartalfheim.
Alfheim. Alfheim, sure. There we go. What are
we at? That's nine. It was going to be really
embarrassing if you didn't get them all after
that big talk about going through them all. I
think there is one more. I think there is one
more. Nidavellir. Yes, yes, yes. I am going to
point out to you, though, that it's a little
bit of a trick question because no single source
provides a list of which worlds comprise the
nine, while various different sources talk about
the Níu Heimar. It's only when mythologists
kind of crib and grab from various different
sources that they compile a tentative reconstruction.
So there's no formal list. However, that said,
Inspiration Point is earned. Do remember to spend
that. We will start with this week's adventure.
The adventure begins... As the Falkr has tunneled
between realities, the Raven's Nest crackles
with biological noise, reaching out to the spirits
with symphonies and songs, and then you arrive
at your destination in a flurry of blue strobing
light. To add to your ongoing problems, the ship
immediately goes dark, losing all power. Out
of the blackness, you hear a voice, the Orcneas
who yells, You fools, what have you done? Father
will be very angry. Not a clue, but you're still
going to die. So we can pick up combat and you
may take a fast turn or a slow turn. We did leave
things in the middle of a battle with the Orcneas
leader on the Falkr. You had dealt with explosive
decompression. and traveling through time so
there may well be some traumatic effect for that
but let's finish off the fight first i i think
I would like to do some healing I'd like to heal
some people who needs healing raise whatever
hands you still have i think i could use them
you're in the raven's nest with Ragny okay so
you can decide to i don't know put on a siren
and uh whirl like an tree ambulance into the
general area i think that's what i'll do like
uh since i can heal people i might as well do
that at least once before the campaign is finished
yeah episode 17. yes what did you do with bill
i i didn't want to i didn't want to act too quickly
and use it before it was really needed but i
feel like it might be so yes i'm gonna move this
turn i'm gonna ask you to just wing your way
towards the rest of the group and we'll actually
let you cast the spell on the next excellent
um on my turn can i go ahead and use my new steadfast
ability because i believe i'm still frightened
from the orcneas you can so you have leveled
up at the end of that last adventure and part
of your new Level 8 gifts is the steadfast ability
that you've chosen, so make that will roll again
to see whether you can remove the frightened
trait. Which dice do I trust? This one. Bad choice.
No, that is a 2. You are still afflicted by fear,
but the microgravity has now been replaced with
normal gravity, so you at least stop. pirouetting
in mid air and plant yourself firmly on the floor
of the room steve you were last seen rapidly
approaching a table that had stopped the leak
of air out into the literally a leak of air out
into the vacuum of space um the table had blocked
that and you would have been towards it but now
again with the restoration of normal gravity,
you'd probably just fall heavy and leaden to
your feet. Eir's pretty convinced that if we've
arrived somewhere, chances are things are going
to get weird and worse. So I think his first
thought is going to be to sort of fortify himself
mentally against whatever happens next. So he's
going to use the brand new ability Mind Fortress
that he just got. in the hopes of not losing
it immediately. I'm going to make fun of the
creature. Mocking taunts. Oh, I see. Something
more constructive. Not just... And now that I've
leveled up, I have an extra perk where it gives
me a weal on my attack. So Gigi's going to look
at it and point and say, Are you rotten from
the inside out, or is that just your personality?
That will be your triggered action, and Mocking
Taunts is upgraded to cutting insults, and you
also have layered on top of that as level 8 flighting
ability, so you will now be conducting rapid
wars of insults with anyone that you confront.
Because I always shoot after I say something,
right? So he is, as we discussed this meta, he
is actively shooting the creature. With a semi
-automatic burst. Aim and fire. And the sound
effect. Eight. That is uncanny accuracy and your
shot splinter the mead hall table that was just
above Steve's head sending the ornately carved
leg to wallop him on the head. Hey. Kaitlin,
you are taking over the role of the ship's security
officer. You take the path of the Gest, a kind
of ninja of the north, a spy. What will your
crewmate see as Gyda enters the frame? So, Gyda
is pretty nondescript. She is average height,
dull brown hair, doesn't look particularly athletic,
but can surprise you, and she's stern -faced.
isn't particularly intimidating, but has a personality
that will scald your hide. And so she comes on
saying, Freya's tits, what the hell is going
on? What does she wish to do now? She doesn't
boast necessarily big guns, but she does have
two of them. Yes, she has two pistols, and she's
pretty adept with them. So does she use them
on the shapeshifter or the Orcneas? By all means,
if you want to do that, then give me a roll.
You will be using the dual wield attack with
two weapons. So you need to give me a roll with,
considering your various martial abilities, I
think it's just going to be with one woe. So
tell me what you get. I get a one. On brand.
Yeah. Not particularly accurate. Come on, Gyda.
Whoa. I meant whoa, not woo. Dang. Yeah, well,
you know, Freya's tits indeed. You also jump
into combat and blast wide both of your pistol
shots echoing through the corridors of the Falkr.
The Orcneas simply tosses back its head and laughs
a full throated and many throated. cry, and then
it turns its attention on its chief tormentor,
Gigi, and rushes out for 13 damage as its claws
and tentacles rip through your silken finery
and leave you bloody and brutalized. Luckily,
though, at the top of the next round, here comes
Ljomi. with the first healing spell of 17 episodes.
Oh, it's going to be glorious. What one are you
going for? Well, that's the thing I've been staring
at and trying to decide. And who takes the most
damage? Is it Captain or is it Gigi? I mean,
there's so many choices. Gigi took six damage
from an explosion to his eyebrows as the dragon
gun went off last episode, and then that last
damage may well take him above what Kol took,
I think, 16 damage from the dread helm. Wait a
minute. What are the totals? You've got 17? I'm
17. Gigi's like 19. Okay. All right. It's a good
thing we have such a helpful and generous GM
here. I've got this healing herbs thing. Does
that do a nice area? In fact, it sounds like
it should do an area. And no, I didn't spend
a lot of time reviewing it before we started.
You're reading it for the first time, aren't
you? No, not the first time. The first time in
a long while, perhaps. The first time where it's
every word, not just every other word. I can
heal up to three creatures with that one. Each
time the target heals damage, both. Yes. See,
that's more preventative. That's like you give
people a medicine pouch full of those healing
herbs prior to them taking damage, and then...
They should have let me know they were planning
to get hurt. All right. I will use Leech Hands
on Gigi. I can only do the one, right? Yeah.
You know, I'm going to suggest go big or go home,
hit him with some everlasting wounds, which heals
all damage, as opposed to three. Okay, I didn't
remember that one. Is that one of the new ones?
I feel like the mask is slipping just a little
bit, and my persona of perfect preparation. See,
Kaitlin, this lets you a little bit of insight
into the podcast. You come as a novice, as an
initiate, and you've still got as much skill
as Bill. Yeah. I'm getting that headache again,
Ian. Right there. Yeah, I'm going to cast that
one. What you just mentioned, the heal everything.
I was going to say, Leech Hand sounds uncomfortable,
and Gigi is just not in a position to receive
that right now. Everlasting runes. Yes, that's
the one. As I said. With the great skill of an
alpha healer, you attend to your comrade's wounds
and he is restored to full health. Excellent.
I feel vindicated and fulfilled. Kaitlin, let's
give you another go with those pistols. Let's
see if you can do a little bit better with an
insult and a roll. I'm going to let you roll
it with just a straight D20 because you do get
the benefit of hearing Gigi's cutting insults.
Okay, I think I get a 16. That's so much better.
Now roll, if you would, your damage, which is
going to be... Three dice, six, and then add
six for the two pistols. Twenty -one. Nice. Nice.
You target both your pistols at the creature's
skull and blast away. Both pistols find their
mark and the creature careens backwards with
a heavy thump hitting into the bulkhead. It's
not... Quite dead, but it's certainly getting
there. CJ, what would you like to know? So Gigi
sees that it's wounded, and he gasps. And he
says, he says, that's my kill! And he takes out
his machine gun, or it's already out, and he
shoots again, this time with everything the gun's
got, because he wants to kill this thing. So
he's rushing toward it, shooting. Do I need to
roll again for a fully automatic strike? It makes
a slight roll to see whether it takes half damage,
which it will do, so it limps and crawls out
of the way of the full force of your onslaught,
but it will take half the damage. And are you
going to all log this? I am indeed, and so that
means I have a lot of dice to roll. 21 total.
Okay, that will be 10. And as it takes the half
damage, the creature is splattered and splayed
all over the bulkhead. It just crashed into its
blood and guts, falls to the floor with a drop.
And then Gigi says, stand back, stand back. And
he's going to run up to the thing. He's going
to reach into its chest cavity and pull out its
heart. And he's going to say, I want that iron
sides. ability and then he's gonna say he knows
he needs to eat it so he's gonna just take a
nice big fat chunk out of it but then go oh oh
god that's awful but he keeps trying to eat it
how much do i need to eat to get this And then
he manages to take maybe like a couple more bites
and then throws it down and says, I'm sorry you
all had to see that. It was necessary. He just
says, were you raised by trolls? No, I just know
that I can absorb its ability to have the iron
sides if I eat its heart. It's something I read
in a book once. I'm a jofurr. I don't have
a job. I just know things. For Norse myth fans
out there, it was in fact Loki who ate a witch's
heart. He ate the thought stone of Volva that
had been roasted on a Lindenwood fire, and that
enabled him to sire the various monsters that
he did. In CJ's case, perhaps he won't sprout
a wolf and a serpent, but he has imbued himself
with... the iron sides ability which will come
in useful when he's attacked by his foes the
enemy the long feared nemesis who has haunted
your tracks for the past few episodes has been
summarily executed has been dispensed with and
you can bask in the glory of your victory however
we're going to do some more roles for just various
traumatic things Are those three Sons of Ivaldi
guys gone? Or aren't they still there? You know,
they are. But their minds have been broken by
the experience that you're about to try and deal
with. Basically, in the deep Ginnungagap, missions
are high stakes and everything from sleep deprivation,
confined environments, deadly radiation, and
the possibility of a fatal misstep put you in
danger of this severe emotional distress and
so in the rule book we talk about these examples
of the psychological perils of the void a minor
one being being boarded by an assault party a
moderate one being explosive decompression a
severe one being embarking on a hell ride and
a major one being a whole breach and all four
of those you suffered in one episode. So, I'm
going to ask you all, with the exception of Kaitlin
because she's brand new, but can I get four will
rolls from you all? One with one will, one standard,
one with a woe, and one with two woes. Is Eir's
ancestral wisdom still alive? Yes, you devious
dark elf are you. You are immune to the trauma.
You have become as resolute as the diamonds of
which you are made of. Steve, if you're going
to start learning game mechanics, I don't know
what to do. We know. Okay, Taylor, let's start
with you then. I have 15, 6, 12, and 6. You can
use your Wisdom of the Ages. I think you've got
one of those left in order to change that to
a wits roll and use your wits modifier. If you
can get one of those rolls above 10 with the
wits as opposed to the will modifier, then that
may help you otherwise. That makes it an 11.
Taylor, if you wouldn't mind adding 2 trauma
to your total. Perfect. Well, yeah, I have with
some of the ages as well, right? So we may need
to make use of that. The one with no woes or
wheels was a nine. The one woe was a 15. Two
woes was a 10. And the one with one wheel was
a seven. There's a weird inverse correlation
going on. So you're going to add, because yours
doubles up with your memory loss, you're going
to add four trauma, which brings you to a total
of... Six, I believe. Can I use the wisdom of
the ages, though, to do a modifier on something?
I wasn't paying attention when Taylor finished.
I wasn't paying attention. End of sentence. What
was the closest? Who said that? I had a 15 and
a 10, and then I had a 9. The original roll was
a 9, with no weals or woes. Fine. Then you can
make that one into a success. So you're only
taking two trauma, so your trauma total is now
four. Yep. That actually agrees with the number
I have. That's amazing. Yes, that's because I
looked at your character sheet earlier. Good
thinking. Technical question. Since Gigi cannot
be frightened, you can still gain trauma. I've
told you, Taylor, I have some players like him,
right? I have him. And Ian has me. So it is a
full circle. The simple fact is that whilst you
can gain the trauma, you don't then gain the
frightened condition on top of it. Okay. So my
rolls were the lowest was 12. That was my first
one. The second one was 18. Third one was negative
one. And the last one was 13. Okay, so not the
end of the world, considering you embarked on
a hell ride. You're just going to add one trauma
to your total, which is relatively low anyway,
considering you took a couple of nervous ticks.
Ragny, however, has suffered immense anxiety
as your pilot. She now suffers from headaches,
cramps, and amnesia. She is fatigued and will...
needs to go to the sickbay for some time. She
may well recover. I'll be rolling a die -six
at the end of every hour to see whether she recovers.
She is in no fit state to fly the ship. Kaitlin,
people in the crew may well be wondering where
the Falkr has appeared, and I'm going to put
it to you that you are best placed to now look
out of a hollow. You are docked in a huge hangar.
You are no longer in the gap, but you are in
some kind of structure. Now, the walls themselves
look almost like a nest of spiders. They twitch
with energy and excitement. They are clearly
part of a living, breathing vessel as well. Very
similar to the Falcon. You... looking outside,
have been to this location before. You recognize
that you are at a place called Mímisbrunnr.
So Gyda looks out and turns to the others. Her
face is unreadable. And she says, I recognize
this place, but it's impossible. What are we
doing here? Mimisbrunnr's top secret. This
planet and this ring are impossible. They were
both totally destroyed five years ago. How can
this be? Oh, good. We're in danger. I will leave
it to you as to how to proceed from here. You
can peer over Gida's shoulder and come to the
same conclusion yourself. Mimisbrunnr is a colossal
orbital station built on a mind -boggling scale.
It acts as a ring around the planet below, stretching
over the horizon and beyond. Are we aware at
this point that we've gone back in time, or did
we just roll for that trauma and now we still
need to figure out that we're back in time? Ragny,
at least, and Eir. were both aware using the
thought memory drive to travel on the hel roads
you know they perceive this flood of reverse
time there's also the very simple notion that
you are on an orbital station that was destroyed
very very publicly very visibly during the sword
fall which was a catastrophe for the whole empire
this place was as Kaitlin said a secret facility
it was the cross between pearl harbor and area
51 all of the great minds were involved in the
war effort here the skull themselves a mysterious
order of astrophysicists and inventors were locked
in here and they were contributing to the war
effort with their magnificent inventions, one
of which was the thought and memory drive, which
they then empowered the fleet with. Can Kol
look through either that window or one of another
ones to see if I can spot Surtalogi? Surtalogi
would be the red star, the host star that sits
at the heart of this planetary system. You can't
see it from your vantage point within the Falkr,
but you could certainly enter into the hangar
beyond and see whether you could spy it outside
of the orbital station. Yeah, I'd love to try
that. That'll be a kind of confirming fact. Eir's
cynicism is keeping him safe at the moment. He'd
roll his eyes if he could, but he can't. And
he's just, well, this is typical. Can someone
find out what day it is? It's going to be soon,
isn't it? Is there a way to find out the current
date and time? There are people meandering around
the hangar, loading other ships, going about
their business. The hangar isn't entirely empty.
Just by way of explaining what Kol is looking
for here. The orbital ring sits above the dual
world of Niflheim -Muspelheim. It was granted
two titles plucked from ancient tales, partly
because one side is sun -scorched and the other
is completely dark. It's tidally locked. And
this orbital ring fortress that's tethered to
the world below is built all around this planet.
is the ring kind of like on the dividing line
between hot and cold essentially so it's somewhat
neutral and somewhat stable yeah it's above the
terminator line which is the border between the
frozen waste on one side and the seething embers
of the other side but it's high above so it's
not impacted by the atmosphere the planet below
is not particularly habitable one and if you
recall your imperial history that's why they
built the prison Nastrond there for high security
high risk criminals because there was nowhere
to run if you fled into the flames you would
be burned alive if you left to head into the
frozen atmosphere of niflheim then you would
freeze to death but in the middle in that terminator
zone is a rich elemental realm that is conducive
to life it's a kind of ring of perpetual dawn
where the oldest of forest thrive the spider
-like ironwood the mímameiðr and it's here that
the wise hypothesize that life originated They
hypothesize that Yggdrasil itself, or at least
the physical manifestation of the arboreal consciousness,
is on that world below. So we've landed at a
secure, secret military facility. How are they
reacting to a ship landing without permission?
Are they getting excited outside? The interesting
thing is no one has noticed in the slightest.
People are busying around as if you are not there.
And one of the things that you in particular
notice, Eir, is you have a familiarity with things
that are out of phase and out of existence in
that you've been carrying around the ghostly
soldier cigarette case for some time. You notice
that in the same way as that was slightly insubstantial
and weirdly non -corporeal. You are now, too.
Oh. Oh. We're here and we're not here. Okay,
Eir will try to share this with the others, saying
that we may not entirely be here. But I expect
if we're still here when the sword fall happens,
we won't enjoy ourselves. Any suggestions? Naomi
says, you should go see the Great Tree. We should
go. We must go. So as Kaitlin has said, this place,
this orbital facility, was kept entirely secret
during the war because they didn't want it to
be a target for Jötnar reprisals. And as you
have talked about there, in your time, this whole
place was a space -borne ruin. The Skuld were
eliminated and the entire planet was destroyed
in a massive supernova that took this Mímisbrunnr
orbital fortress. with it. You have no idea of
when that's going to occur, but you have clearly
gone back in time to a period where it did exist.
I suppose Gyda looks at the others kind of incredulously,
saying, does it matter when the sword fall happens?
We need to get the hell off this place. We need
to get out of here right now. One true tree lies
below. A quick reminder that both your pilot
is exhausted and suffering from the challenge
of traveling back in time. She is in the sick
bay. And in addition, the entire ship has powered
down. Can Kol walk over and just tap the panel
to see if there is power available or if we've
entered some kind of like EMP state where the
entire ship is blacked out? Mm -hmm. Very similar
to that in the sense that because you are out
of phase with existence, the normal things like
the flow of electrons for electricity or the
biomechanics of the ship are all disrupted. Okay.
I'd like to see if I can crank open, manually
crank open the door to see if I can walk out
into the hangar. You may. That's easily achievable.
Because I know how to use the door? Unlike these
guys. Hey, it's complicated. The first thing
that you see as you enter out into the hangar
is a strangely familiar face. Although, Taylor,
you went around in the episode, you were still
familiar with the Rune Master, Raudr Cerdan.
Raudr Cerdan is walking through the hangar. He
looks slightly more chiseled than when you met
him last, but he's unmistakably the same person.
He looks like he is striding towards a ship of
his own that he is about to get aboard. I suppose
I would hail him. Hail, friend! Oi, over here!
Cerden doesn't stop to greet you, or indeed
acknowledge you in any way. So we're clearly...
Is there anybody closer to me? Just like a hangar
worker? See that I could just go over and try
to tap their shoulder or something like that?
There is any number of people here going about
their work, and you can try and tap them on the
shoulder, but you don't manage to attract their
attention. So I'll walk back onto the ship to
the others. It seems being out of sync has caused
a... Fascinating conundrum for us. We seem to
be able to observe this world, but not interact
with it in any meaningful capacity, like fading
echoes in a canyon. We are here, but not here.
We are merely observers, it seems. I'm not sure
what we'll be able to accomplish, but we might
be able to learn something. If we could find
someone who's heavily traumatized, they may be
able to see us. That was our experience in the
past. Or we could traumatize someone. I'm sure
we can come up with something. It's a good summation
of the situation there, Steve. You're right in
that you are unseen. You aren't ghosts, so you
can't pass through walls or phase through ceilings
or anything like that, and neither can you manipulate
objects. You are out of phase with the current
timeline and can only bear witness to events.
The Skuld, the people who inhabit this space
station. simply busy around you like ants, oblivious
to your presence. Cerden himself steps aboard
his ship. You can see the outbound vessel's name
is the Wave Runner. He takes one last long look
over his shoulder. He heaves a heartfelt sigh,
and then the doors close and the ship prepares
to leave the station. I'm still curious whether
we have days or hours or minutes. Okay, you didn't
pass through the floor, so I'm guessing that
walls and doors will still affect us. Correct.
But security devices probably won't see us. We
could go through a door that's open and not be
stopped. We could look around. Just for clarification,
when I tapped that NPC, was I able to feel them?
They just didn't react? Or was it like... It
wasn't like I passed through their shoulder or
anything like that, right? There was something
solid. Correct. You aren't ghosts. You can't
manipulate objects. And you couldn't have hauled
him and thrown him over. But there was a resistance.
There was a sponginess to him. There was a physical
presence there. As a reminder, this station was
built around MIM. MIM, the rememberer, the great
supercomputer that was. the heart of the Empire
and all of its calculations that have been built
for the purposes of defeating the Jotun in the
cataclysmic world -spanning war was housed at
Mímisbrunnr. I think we should go interact with
the computer. Yeah, would it see us? It might
be, because it's very quantum and multi -reality.
Yeah. We could traumatize it. Yeah, if it doesn't
go well, she can machine gun it. If the rumors
of its capabilities are true, then it already
knows we're here. Oh, very good. You could also
eat a piece of it. Oh, I would love to. I think
at this point, Gyda rolls her eyes and strides
forward and says, I'm an expert at computers.
If we're all done just conversing around here,
I'm going to go find this computer and talk to
it. And she strides off. I want to see this.
I like this man. We don't even have to encourage
it to get in front of us. You glance into the
hangar beyond. Above the hangar, Kaitlin, is
an observation lounge. And you see very clearly
as you stride forward leading the way that...
a group of Varangians, their chests decorated
with an array of medals, almost as shiny as Gigi's
Polar Star, march into the observation lounge
and immediately stand to attention. You are witness
to some kind of military inspection. They aren't
in your way but you can investigate further or
you can just ignore them and try and find your
way through. the labyrinthine station to the
supercomputer's hooding chambers. Ljomi is following
the bold one at a bit of a discreet distance.
I'm curious who the big shot is. I think Gyda
has the stalker ability. And it's a triggered
action to hide? Is that the right move? I think
Gyda is contemplating. We're basically invisible
as not being on the same plane. right now so
i don't think we trigger any detection she wouldn't
be seen anyway i believe so i think Gyda might
just stand to the side and observe this inspection
to see what she can learn joining this group
of military heroes with their medallion chests
are a group of cowled men, each of whom is babbling
animatedly at a well -dressed young woman. She
is wearing an ornate headdress that rivals airs.
She drips with a kind of regal bearing. If anyone
wants to make me a witch challenge role, you
may recognize this character from the pictures
of her that are... placed in most civic institutions
around the implant? Sure. What's that? Oops.
Oh, look! 21. 24. That's always too bad. How
did we all roll so well? I'm the one that doesn't
matter as much, right? Yeah, because no one's
going to die. Yeah, there's no consequences.
So we all recognize the Empress. You will recognize
the Empress Trumba, who is clearly here to watch
a demonstration of thought and memory drive,
because one of the other figures with her, alongside
her, is Marshal Thunder Mannerheim, who is taking
her along the line and explaining to her how
thought and memory drive works. If the Varangians
are veterans... as well as the Marshal you mentioned,
wouldn't they be more likely to be carrying some
trauma and thus a little more likely to see us?
Or is air extrapolating too much? It's a reasonable
hypothesis, but what tends to happen in the high
-ranking groups of the military is that they
take various drugs in order to deal with their
potential problems. There's a whole bunch of
correctional therapy and drugs that keep the
Norse warrior in line. Yes, alcohol is tremendous
in helping with PTSD or shell shock. As an IV
of mead. In the case of the Empire, it's a little
bit more grotesque, especially as regards the
skull. They do give them all kinds of... correctional
treatments and chemical castrations to stop them
wandering into let's say the non -north realm
the empire isn't a particularly forgiving place
well she's spitting to see the emperor and he
says isn't that what i said empress you said
emperor emperor oh wow close enough for you And
Gigi doesn't care. And he says, if I wasn't invisible,
I'd have half a mind to go over there and introduce
myself. One of the party does appear to look
towards you as if perhaps he's smelling something.
He's pausing. He gets a sense that there's something
out there. You recognize a familiar face. There's
a precog here. a skull with mental powers, wearing
a green hood, clearly a son of Ivaldi, looking
very familiar. Although you've seen him in his
white garb before, this is none other than Bangsi
Ivaldison. But from the past. It's past Bangsi.
One of the ways in which the Sons of Ivaldi identify
themselves is by their bank balance, which corresponds
to the color of robes that they wear. If he's
wearing green robes, then he is considerably
poorer than the person that you know in the present.
So they're explaining to the Empress how thought
and memory drive works? Correct, although the
sounds that they make are imitations of speech.
They sound as if they're speaking underwater.
There's a distortion and an echo to them. Gigi,
again, with your high honour and your sense enemies,
In the same way as that you saw that Ragny
was accompanied by a swan -like fylgjur, you see
that Bangsi is shadowed by two slathering wolves.
Is that underwater effect that you were describing
consistent with what we would have heard the
NPCs in the hangar sound like? Or is this feeling
like it's very specific to this moment? All of
the people that you've heard speak sounds indistinct.
Okay. So I think I have good news for our group.
If you'll hear it. But it sounds to me as if
thought and memory drive are new. And the first
successful test was in 1962. The star that's
that way, a little bit too close for comfort,
didn't blow up until 1968. So I think we have
time to escape. Six years, to be precise. But
potentially. I could be wrong. By the way, that
guy's back. Isn't modern time five years after
the supernova, after the doom? So if we're six
years away from the doom, we're 11 from modern
time. Yeah, present day is 1973. Yep. Vintage.
And Gyda said it was five years ago, according
to her reckoning. Gyda being an intelligence
officer is probably a better source of accuracy.
Then Gigi, no, he said ominously. Yeah, it's
the probably that got caught in my brain as it
went between the ears. I doubt we have that much
time. For one thing, I don't know if the living
among you can eat the food that's out of phase.
You know, problems like that. I like the way
you think, Steve, because last week you were
just talking about you've never made a sandwich
and refusing to go in the mess hall, and now
you're thinking about everyone's culinary requirements.
I'm just thinking about everyone else dying and
leaving me here. It's growing, but not in a healthy
tree -like way. Thank God for that. Kaitlin,
give me an awareness roll, if you would, please.
Twelve. Out of the corner of your eye, you're...
keenly honed senses notice that there is someone
who is staring right at you and mouthing wildly,
looking panicked and sweaty. No sooner do your
eyes lock that he turns. gathers his robes around
him, the robes of a skulled acolyte, and he begins
to sprint. No one else notices him because they're
wrapped up in the presentation and they're too
disciplined and focused on the Empress to cause
a disturbance, but this one character flees the
hangar. At this point, Gyda just takes off after
him. Says, oi, shit licker! Stop! What does everyone
else want to do? Gyda has launched into pursuit.
I'm following her. I'll go after my crew. Can
I cast charm on them? Are they short range? They
are not. They have a 20 yard head start and they've
already sprinted so they're now 30 yards and
beyond. Alright, everyone chase the crazy person.
We should follow. Splitting up is bad. Yes. He
does already, because she took after him. Is
she gaining on him, or is she... Let's make a
roll to see. Because normally, when chases occur,
the creature with the fastest speed scores win.
But in these kind of chase situations, we're
going to use some dice rolls to see what events
take place. So, give me a... sleight roll with
one weal to see whether you make a gain on him.
Is this all of us or is this just... This is
going to be everybody. I've got a six. That is
not the best of starts for Gyda as she stumbles
heading out of the hangar door trying to pace
him down the corridor. Perhaps it's because the
place is hauntingly familiar. but you see the
skuld in question. Puts a distance between you
and him. I got a 16. Same here. 16. No combat
involved, so nice high rolls. Alfs are good
runners, apparently. Okay, the two of you stride
purposefully, your mighty majestic tree -like
limbs covering it. the ground with grace style
and speed steve got a 17 i think 15 for Gigi well
then you all begin to close the gap between the
fleeing Skuld his robes trailing in his wake
like fluttering shadows as you proceed into this
next section of the orbital space station you
find it much more congested Perhaps it's because
of some milling crowds who are standing around
some ongoing construction at the edge of the
ring. It's difficult to make your way through,
so give me another roll, but this time with one
woe each. That's for everybody. With the woe,
Gigi got 11. Gyda got 12. Ljomi got 8. Negative
3. I turned the wrong way. Or held down some
stairs or something. Taylor? Seven. There is
a pilot where air falls into the construction,
knocking over a cart that was full of tools,
spinning a mock that falls in front of the two
of you and slows you both down, whereas Gigi
and Gyda... are still in the chase you're passing
through warrens of engineering labs energy plants
ironwood workshops esoteric libraries there are
all kinds of strange buildings that are etched
into this orbital ring station and again it twitches
with energy like it is a nest of spiders the
walls themselves are alive because it is this
cerebral cortex of a whole ecosystem did the
crowd seem aware of the chase that's happening
both the our target and us and things like the
cart being knocked over they are aware of like
a kind of rush of air or A strange smell, a kind
of bracken smell in the case of Alfar. They all
look slightly perturbed and concerned when a
mop spirals into the air, but they just assume
that someone has accidentally bumped into the
car. All of these, Skuld are followed around
by short, truncated bots. Some of the very first
antiquated dverg were built on this station. And
while technology has come a long way in the past
few years, the very first servitor models are
in action, beeping and twirling their way after
their mathematician masters. All right, give
me another roll to see whether you can catch
them. There are only two of you in contention
here, Gyda and Gigi. The rest of you have fallen
too far behind. The man in front is sweaty and
starting to look exhausted. He is not used to
running. He is a scientist, mathematician. He's
slightly corpulent and the pair of you are much
more athletic and may well catch him this round.
Straight roll. 19. 11. Nice. Both of you are
able to launch yourselves at him and rugby tackle
him to the ground. Gigi is considerably bigger,
so thuds into the back of his knees and sends
him toppling, whereas Gyda takes him with a shoulder
charge into the small of his back. And the three
of you all topple on the floor. You can be joined
by the rest of your group as they close the gap.
And you can interrogate or talk to this person
who is still cowled, still hiding under his hood,
and is huffing and puffing with concern. Well
done. You as well. I think at this point, Gyda
hauls this figure up. by his collar and says,
you dumb -headed shit -licking fool, what are
you doing? Tell me what you know or I'll rip
your gut rope out of your gullet. Really? It's
like being beaten over the head with a foreign
dictionary. Is this similar to the other, like,
garbled nature we've already heard, or is this
a different form of garbled? He's kind of rambling,
making these incoherent bubbling noises. It's
not the underwater... No, it's more character
accent work, I think. Right, yeah. Is it... Is
it another language? Because Gyda has the ability
to understand all languages. Nice. Very good.
It's merely incoherent rambling, but in the Noor
tongue. What's clear to you, Kaitlin, is that
this man is not playing with a full deck of cards.
Well, he fits right in with us then. Yeah, neither
are we. It's a simpleton. I can say that. It's
the 1970s. What you're saying to us is useless,
Gita says. Why did you run? Just over the Flingding
Garden or behind the haberdashery. At this point,
Gyda is fed up and looks to the others. The head
came completely detached. Offer him some cider.
We felt like we'd been watched. So he sends us.
And his eyes cross and he says, I remember Mischief
Mim. Mim, do you hear that? Maybe he can lead
us to Mim. Mim? Mim? Mim? Min, don't take us.
Face like a mad raboon and an ass to match.
Do we need a carrot? Or a stick. Or just a stick,
yeah. I hope you have been there. It's really
quite, quite beautiful. Show us. They beat their
burrows in ironwood? Gyda looks at the others and
says, I'm going to rip this guy's head off. Somebody
ask him nicely, because I'm not going to. I don't
have the codes. The numbers are in my head. Perhaps
his brain was scrambled in the thought and memory
drive that, you know, like what happened to our
friends, the two who died before, you know, that
him. Gigi names contagious it's like the Oscars
in memoriam but we just forget who they are they
were helpful but just brain was scrambled because
uh well this sounds this looks like it could
be that i want to walk up and see again like
first physical touch to see if did they does
this person feel like they are like us on the
same plane of existence as us versus the cast
that we are interacting with. Is there an easy
way to tell? He feels exactly the same as everything
else, but the bridge between realities is, as
Steve had correctly guessed, ameliorated by the
fact that he is completely crazy. He's also driven
slightly more insane because people of this era
have not. seen many, if any, alpha in their tree
-like form. The scream that came about as part
of the sword fall was where the alfar erupted
in general, with the possible exception of King
Kol, who's been around a little bit longer.
But the alfar are not a common or garden sight
So he's the Area 51 tinfoil hat guy in his universe
right now, seeing us, but they can't see us.
Yeah, yeah. You see, does no one else think it's
strange a simpleton would have been in the audience
of the Empress? He must be important in some
fashion. Perhaps he's her long -lost brother
who's a simpleton. They had to hide him for royal
reasons, you know, like they did in England at
one time. Behind an iron mask. Gyda sighs heavily
and she looks around and she says, can anybody
charm him? Would that help him speak sense? It
would change his disposition. I don't know if
it would change his vocabulary, but I can try.
I didn't hear anything. I was afraid I was taking
my medication. He seems quite friendly already.
I haven't introduced myself. Hello, good sir.
I am Griotgarth the Magnificent. My friends call
me Gigi for short. Are you with Meistari Bockfell?
I cannot give you the codes. We are not with...
Well, wait, wait. I learned from Ghostbusters.
If they ask if you're a god, say yes. Yes, we
are with him. Then, are you... Nastrond Prison
Complex, they've infiltrated it? They have. Who
has infiltrated it? are they people like us or
people like them and i point to like them Nastrond
the prison was home to the most undesirable criminals
of the empire and Orcneas, if I remember correctly.
I am very concerned. There's a great deal of
coincidences that have been coming into our timeline
before we jumped through the rift to arrive here.
If the prison is where it seems we are being
led to, and the manner of creatures that are
kept in that prison are as dangerous as the tales
say, We just saw something that could easily
have come from a prison such as that on our very
ship. Did the Falkr come from the prison? Not
the Falkr, but... One of the things that you
found in the captain's ready room was an orange
jumpsuit that was emblazoned with the legend
Nastrond. I'm sure that means nothing. And the
shapeshifter claimed to be Orcneas, right? And
the shapeshifter had burnt his prison file. Uh
-huh. Well, I think the answers we seek might
be in the prison below. Whatever caused this
rift and sent these relics and characters of
the past into our present timeline are likely
down there. Wait a minute. If the ship is from
the past, why is it phased like us? Because it's
already here somewhere? Because it's already
here. It's a copy, essentially. It's a redundant
copy of itself at this point. But if it came
from here to our time and we stole it and brought
it back, shouldn't it be normal? No, but maybe
it's still here. There's two of them here. I
love the confidence with which we're all saying
these things, but we do not actually know. We
need them to be true. But if the Orcneas stole
the ship and took it to the future, and we killed
the Orcneas and took it back to the past, wouldn't
it be the same ship? So did we just return it?
Unless we were on a point in the timeline before
the Orcneas stole the ship. Which we must be,
because they haven't tested the drive yet. They're
about to show the drive for the first time. Oh,
but we got a heavy hint from our DM saying that
Kaitlin's intuition that it's only been five
years and not eleven. would then negate that
because the test was 10 years ago. So to sum
up, in total, we know nothing. Par for the course.
You have effectively summarized the plot to Back
to the Future several times. Yes. Did the prisoners
become Orcneas? Or were they already Orcneas?
That seems like... So the Orcneas that we fought...
If they had come from the past, wouldn't they
have been phased like we're phased now? So then
technically wouldn't they be not from the past,
but they somehow got a hold of the ship between
the time it was presumed destroyed and then the
time we met them. And then we went to the past
to go find them before they're created. Unless
our two ships theory in the past is correct.
This is why you all got trauma. I think all of
our answers might be answered if we find MiM.
Yeah. Which one of us is Biff? That's what I
wanted. GG. Yeah. Kaitlin, how did you want to
go about finding Mim amidst this labyrinth of
transit shuttles on the Ring Fortress? It really
is a world -spanning facility. It's not necessarily
going to be easy to find your way through. top
secret tunnels to wherever the supercomputer
that's the heart of Imperial thought is going
to reside. I still maintain that we should charm
our erstwhile prisoner to see if he might be
willing to give up some of his nonsensical secrets
because he reacted when we repeated to him Mim..
Okay. We ask him very nicely. Eir will attempt
to charm him. We'll attempt to cast Evil Eye
on him. Are you going to do anything to make
it more potent? Yeah, well, okay, so I've got
Deep -Minded running, and I've got Ancestral.
I've got, like, three buffs running at the moment
here. I think I get two weals as it is. That
is all very true, and Kaitlin can also make a...
Master of Diplomacy roll. Yeah, we'll use a boon
in order to roll twice and take the best run.
Okay. Because it seems important. Plus we have
an inspiration point just in case this all goes
south. I also have the Informer ability, which
means that I can do a wits attack roll against
a charmed creature to compel them. Nineteen.
Steve, using your save as spells, you... can
charm the Skuld Apprentice. So he now has the
Charmed state, which would enable, Kaitlin, your
spy -like Gest to use the Informer ability and
compel the Charmed Skuld to do exactly what
you want. So feel free to do so. Okay. Lead us
to Mim. But he does begin to skip the light fandango
and lead you onto a shuttle and beckon you in.
He bows flamboyantly as if he is awestruck by
your serene majesty. Is the shuttle called Galileo?
It's not. It's a simple transit. shuttle uh which
you can jump on he will take you to station stops
and then he will urge you to get out with it
again a flourish of his hands and a little dance
Gyda finds this very irritating now this transit
shuttle has led you to a data well most of the
skuld even its programmers interface with Mim
through visors and rarely visit this area so
this whole section is abandoned the apprentice
his name is Jan since you asked him he falls
prostate on the floor and begins to genuflect
begins to humble himself and scrape across the
floor he doesn't want to go any further and he
looks like he is almost paralyzed by awe and
fear. What do we do with this dung licker? Gyda
asks the others. Leave him here. He'll still
be here when we get back, right? He has brought
you to an area that brings to mind a stark art
gallery. The space is open, expansive, minimalist
in design, yet at the same time a marvel of technology
and engineering. The walls are sleek, matte ironwood.
with nine chambers illuminated by a diffused
eerie blue light. The central room has a lone
plaque. The lone plaque says this. Outside, I
sat by myself when you came, terror of the gods,
and gazed into my eye. So that is the... sole
solitary sentence inscribed on this plaque. As
you look at each of the other rooms that ring
this central room, each of them has a single
gold etched rune and next to the rune is a similar
poem or clue or verse. It's up to you to deduce
how to unlock whatever riddle this is there is
no sign of a computer in this data well. Eir will
go to the first room and sit by himself and look
at the black or ruin on the wall and contemplate
so the first room in sequence has the is on the
side, which is similar to our Latin letter I.
And the poem underneath the plaque in the otherwise
empty room says this. Ice is bark of rivers and
roof of the wave and destruction of the doomed.
Okay. Maybe someone try one of the other rooms?
Yeah, Kol, go up to the second door. Less a
door, more kind of adjoining chambers, but the
second has a rune that is similar to our letter
B. It is the Bjarkan rune, and the inscription
next to it says Leafy Twig and Little Tree and
Fresh Young Shrub. There are nine runes surrounding
a central Chamber? Was that right? Correct. So
Gyda goes into the central chamber and looks
around. Can she see into all of the nine other
chambers? You can. She studies the floor. Perhaps
there are markings or gaps in the floor to indicate
that something might rise from below. Again,
it's this sheer ironwood. It has the feel of
marble, so there are kind of ripples and indentations
in it, but there is nothing mechanical here,
nothing that's going to necessarily rise up.
The surfaces are sheer and feels like a bank
vault. I guess we better get the rest of the
poems. Okay, well, the third is almost an X,
but it is the Ar rune, A -R. And the poem to the
side of it says, Boon to men and good summer
and thriving crops. Excuse me, sir. No one told
me there was going to be a test. I'm going to
remind you of a couple of things that you have
in your arsenal. There are a range of spells
that you have to summon spirits to ask yes or
no questions. There are seers in the ear, and
Kaitlin has... Udal Right, which will enable
her to ask a yes -no question as well. You're
not yet sure what to ask. Yes. These seem like
they're describing biomes. Yeah, that's what
I was thinking, too. Oh, wait. Nine rooms? Nine
worlds, nine rooms. There's ice, there's trees,
there's maybe sun or rain. I wasn't quite sure
what number three was saying. All right, let's
get the next poem. Following round then, you
have the Sol rune, which looks a bit like a
lightning bolt. And the poem is shield of the
clouds and shining ray and destroyer of ice.
I'll just continue and read them all to you.
You have something that looks a bit like an asterisk
that comes with the... Poem, cold rain and shower
of sleet and sickness of serpents. It's the Hagal
rune. There is the bay rune, which looks a bit
like an F to the modern eye. Poem, source of discord
amongst kinsmen and fire of the sea and path
of the serpent. There is the thurs rune. which
is kind of a semi -circle shape. The poem is
Torture of Women and Cliff Dweller and Husband
of a Giantess. The trident, which is the Madr
rune, says the light of man and augmentation
of the earth and adorner of ships. And then the
last room has the rune, the Oss rune, and a poem,
Aged Gaultr, and Prince of Asgard, and Lord of
Valhalla. Well, I think it's pretty obvious,
but I don't want to give it away to the rest
of you. Oh, okay, thanks. Those of you listening
at home, I am pulling out my hair. I do have
a question, but I don't know if I want to use
my Udal Right on that. The question I want to
ask is if we need to use a combination or if
it's only one rune to access me. Has to be a
yes -no question for that, right? Okay. These
runes, are they like buttons we can push or something
goes on it or fits in it? How does it look like
one might interact with these runes? Or are they
just informative? Simply informational. They
are etched in gold into the wall. It's like they
are indicating and somehow linked to the poem.
So there's no doors, right? They're just open
chambers into each room. Can I walk into the
first one and just see what's inside of it? You
can. You can walk through all of them. Again,
think of it like a bank vault or an art gallery.
You'll be walking through. the rooms in an art
gallery and you'll be looking at the walls and
you'll be seeing the paintings in this case you
see in each individual room a gold etched rune
and a poem and then you move on to the next room
got it well if it's a single one it might be
something to do with the asterisk in which the
poem sounded like snow or ice because the computer
is going to be kept very cold we also have the
dual worlds below us so fire and ice. Oh, that's
true. Yeah. And again, you have the central motif
that said, outside I sat by myself when you came,
terror of the gods, and gazed into my eye. That
feels like Odin, I mean, right? Sitting outside
makes me think of sunlight gazing into the sun.
Could that be the search -a -star? If we have
nine rooms and we're thinking it's the nine worlds,
what's the tenth item in this? It's either a
drizzle or it's the star. So if I'm not mistaken,
the two worlds or the planet below split into
two, and then the association is Muspelheim on
one side, the fire, Niflheim on the other, the
cold ice, everything. And then the star is called
Surtr. Surtr is the ruler of Muspelheim. But
isn't it the star of the whole system? That's
correct. It is the star of the whole system.
Don't get yourself twisted up in the nomenclature
of this particular system. The Skuld have actually
got eight exoplanets under their control. And
they've just kind of had to force fit mythology
around them. And so Muspelheim and Niflheim kind
of got mixed together because it is the primordial
suit, the birthing place of... Right, because
as well as the hot and the cold, it has the strip
of growth, life. Correct. But like most religious
groups, they took myth and legend and just forced
it into fact to suit their own ends. You bastards.
i mean arguably isn't that how they would have
made the puzzle then too is forcing all this
play by the rules and see the world from their
point of view that's brilliant follow it through
i mean i see where you're going but uh you know
just follow it through is there a console in
the middle where we can like put a rune or we
can push a button there is not however Bill is
correct in that. Again, if you tease the thread
of which you started to test, looking at it from
their point of view, then you may well be on
to the solution to the puzzle. Okay, Gigi, go
for it. Yay. It's feeling like who's on first.
I really wanted to say, but I don't even know
what I'm talking about. Could a person sit in
the middle facing one of, you know, the chosen
room? Is that how it might work? That would be
a yes -no question. No, no, of course not. It
would be. Collectively, how many yes -no questions
can we ask? How many does everybody have? I don't
think I have one. I don't think I have one either.
Kaitlin, you have one? How many times can you
cast it? I don't know. I don't know how many
times. Kaitlin, I think you've got at least two.
Bill, if you used your... Yeah, see, Steve's
got them too. Bill, you've got... Yours is determined
by the number of dice that you roll for Corpse
Charm. Oh, it's just looking at that one. Spirit
to make a roll for... Oh, yes, I can spend three
spirits, yes. So potentially, I could have four
questions. Yes, I guess it's eight total. Well,
okay. That's eight questions in their nine rooms.
Is it this one? Is it this one? Let's make it
Boolean, baby. So we need to be really strategic
about the questions we do ask. But I may not
get four, so why don't I figure out how many
spirits first, and then we can... It lasts a
while, does it, Ian? Yeah, until you complete
a rest, or you expend the last spirit. I'm going
to roll 2d6, and let's find out how many questions
we've got. You do that. And then, Steve, I think
you're fairly safe to ask your question. I've
got nine. So it gives nine spirits, which gives
me... It's three per you, so that's three questions.
We do want to solve this puzzle before Niflheim
freezes over. I thought we had years. I'm not
sure. Okay, so... So, Gyda was talking about
doing this strategically, and I agree. So, Eir
is proposing, he isn't, he's proposing, asking
the question, is this done by a single person?
Yes. Okay. There we go. It is a single person
that does it. Outside, I sat by myself. Mm -hmm.
It's so easy once you know how. Kaitlin and CJ,
you may well know the old Norse practice of utiseti.
Oh, yeah. Which was sitting out. The volva, the
priestesses, would sit and commune with the spirits
in remote places, often on hilltops, burial mounds,
or graveyards, or, you know, in this case, just
next to Steve. Fair. I'm sensing that we've been
tipped off that the rules of this puzzle are
on the first poem and it feels like there was
a gentle aggressive hint in fact yeah gg has
an idea save us he's going to walk out of the
room to just out into the hallway that we came
through just just walk right out to where the
doorway is okay And then he's going to search
the walls for something that might look like
an eye. Or something that might, some kind of
button, or just some thing. Okay, you can do
that for a few rounds, but ultimately your search
is fruitless. Well, you know. Could outside be
referencing the outer chamber that the nine are
attached to? And one person, so we should have
one person try and do it, I guess. Okay, what
other questions can we ask and make us look like
we know what we're doing? And I'm asking other
people to provide the questions that I will then
ask. Oh, I'm still thinking about the first poem.
Sitting outside makes me think of the sun. One
of the runes was the S, the sun rune. Maybe we
need to investigate that one. Okay. I'm wondering
what question to ask. Is it this one? Well, we
could. It would be wiser, though, with limited
questions to ask something that eliminates 50
% of whatever variable we're trying to figure
out. So we're taking big chunks of possibility
out of the equation before we focus on a single.
Well, I mean, logically, you're right. But you've
been with us for a few turns now. You know that's
really not how we roll. Someday I'll learn. We
can try it that way. But what do we ask? I'm
trying to think. We could ask if it's a room
with a fire motif. And then if it's a yes, then
we just focus on the ones with a fire motif.
If it's a no, then we focus on the ones with
an ice motif. And there's your 50 % of the rooms.
Are they all split evenly, though, into ice and
fire? This side of the room. Because there was
at least one that felt like it. The second one
was... Is it the left side or the right side
of the room? Is it the left side of the room?
Yes, no. But an odd number of rooms. There should
be one dead center then. Remind me to never go
to an escape room with you lot. Let me give you
a little... My opening monologue mentioned a
particular deity. And his friend. I really gotta
start listening. I'll read it to you again. Fast
move, the sons of Mim, and fate catches fire.
Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft. In fear
quake all those who on the hell roads are. Ydd
drasil, shakes, and shivers on high to the
head of Mimir. Does Odin give heed Heimdall,
Odin. Well then, if we're thinking of Odin and
an eye, where did he lose an eye? Mimir's well.
Where's Mimir's Well? At the base of Yggdrasil?
Where we are, maybe. Maybe this is in a way.
No, it's in one of the... I think it's in Niflheim.
Because it's at the base of the tree. Nidhogg
is there too, the serpent that gnaws at the roots
of the tree. So you would have... So Mimir's
Well would be somewhere down there. So Niflheim.
Niflheim's got to be... If that's... I mean,
if we want to go that way. It's just one of you
is going to have to repeat this in your character's
voice because Gigi is not capable of this kind
of extrapolation. While we're talking about the
kind of extrapolation that Gigi is capable of,
what have you got around your neck? Gigi. It's
none of your business. Yes, that's none of our
business piece. That's the freaking thing, you
big lump. That's going to be the answer. So Gigi's
standing outside and he has the key to this whole
thing? Brilliant. What a pro! That's the most
on -brand thing ever. Gigi has a thing we're
not supposed to know about, but is a piece of
the robot that was destroyed early on that he's
hiding. It's actually a piece of the computer.
Does it happen to be the eye of the computer?
No. Could be its tongue. It's a computer chip
called the God's Tongue. Yeah. We don't know
what to do with it anyway. Does it have any kind
of marking on it, CJ? Yes. It has a rune. It
does. I remember Ed's character had a rune on
its tongue. Is this where we beat Gigi to death?
I mean, you're welcome to try. So, in the myth,
Odin sacrifices an eye for wisdom. So if we want
to speak to Mim, what do we need to sacrifice?
Gigi. Did you just say Gigi? Yep. Quick, then
shoot him! He's the eye of our group. He's always
saying I. Yeah. Yep, you can't spell Gigi without
I. Oh, another way of saying you are wise is
that you have the sight. So if Odin was wise,
he wanted to see, so he sacrificed his eye. So
if we want to speak to Mim, what do we need to
sacrifice? My tongue. So how do we roleplay this?
Because Gigi's too stupid to figure this out.
So he's going to walk back into the room. He's
wearing a necklace with the God's tongue on it.
I mean, you can all see it. With the Oss rune
on it. With the Oss rune on it, yes. Which of
the rooms had Oss? Did any of them have the Oss
rune? the one that was linked to the poem, Aged
Gautr and Prince of Asgard and Lord of Valhalla.
Oh yes, number nine. Who would also be known
as the Terror of the Gods. So Gigi's going to
walk up to that rune and say, I could swear I
have seen that somewhere. It's uncanny. Wait,
wait, wait. I think I know. And he's going to
reach in. He's going to pull out the gun and
say, it's this. And Gyda says, you have the wits
of a drowned sheep. But I haven't. The correct
response to that is bah. So how do we make it
work? I have the key. A key. Can we investigate
for any kind of slot or any kind of thing? Can
we touch it against it? Touch the symbol to the
symbol. Well, that's how I came to possession
of it. He's going to touch it to the road. So
remember this is a very Norse world and have
a think about what Kaitlin advised you. Odin
sacrificed himself for knowledge. Use the rune
to gouge your own eye out. I think that's where
we're going with this. Yeah, I think you should
try that. Tongue, tongue, you need a tongue.
Oh, and you have to do it by yourself. Why are
you all looking at me? You need my tongue. I
need my tongue. You're the biggest and strongest
and bravest. Truly, you must know this. I am
not cutting out my tongue off of your hunches.
I don't have a tongue. We need more. I need more
concrete. I think a great yes or no question
would be, do we need to cut out a tongue? I'll
ask for the wine. Yes. Yes, you do. Kol will
volunteer. Do you even really have one? That's
a good question. Tongue -like device. One of
the things that Gigi might have to penetrate
into his skull is he has been referred to as
the God Tongue over many episodes. Oh my god.
Yes, what he's holding in his hand is the God
Tongue. Right, so we just have to sacrifice that.
We don't know how. Do we need to kill Gigi? Gigi's
gonna grab it and he's gonna... Try and snap
it in half. We have more yes or no questions.
We can confirm what we're doing. He's just like...
Yes, no. Is this suicidal? No, wait. No, I'm
not gonna ask that. Yes, no. TPK? I wish I had
a prop that I could use to, like, you know...
This is a machine age, a gene age. This is a
place where the sons of Ivaldi have augmented
themselves with all kinds of technological graphs.
This is an age where the Jofurr are genetically
enhanced. The fact that this tongue that you
have is potentially a piece of meme, as was identified
by Alma in a previous episode. It doesn't mean
that you wouldn't be able to graft it onto yourself.
Especially if you had someone who was adept in
the healing arts. So I could easily graft it
onto someone. What does that mean exactly, graft
it? Get it to grow right into your flesh. It
means applying a local anesthetic. You carefully
sever your own tongue. A gruesome, but... necessary
process that you might meet with your usual steely
resolve as a giant's bane and then this perfectly
engineered robotic counterpart will be inserted
attached to your nerves and blood supply and
then you will be able to speak with the tongue
of the gods it is a magnificent tongue Gigi think
about it that way does it have to go there can
we attach it to his forehead or something Odin
sacrifices eye. Heimdall sacrifices hearing.
Honor plus nine. Gigi's going for it. All right,
all right. I will cut out my own tongue. Well,
we'll put some anesthetic on so that it's not,
we don't want you to hurt unnecessarily or bleed
exceedingly. I need none of it. Honor compels
me. I will feel the pain. And then... And who's
grafting it into my mouth? I'll place it into
your mouth once you've removed the other one
and encourage its growth. All right, Gigi's going
to kind of... Ah, it still tastes like oxtail
pie. Hold on, does anyone have mead? If our listener
is of an easy disposition... Then please shut
off the podcast now and resume in five seconds.
Listener discretion advised. Ah! Ljomi quickly
places the god's tongue in his mouth at the location
where he's removed his own tongue. Right way
around. Right way around, yes. I was tempted,
but no. The ironwood muscle attaches itself.
quickly to your robust and heroic jawline. And
at first you stumble over your words, which is
a stark contrast to your usual eloquence, but
soon it is flapping around your cheeks quickly
and freely, and you do feel that you have the
eloquence of Kvasir. He's speaking in tongues.
At that moment, the edifice around you, the wall,
becomes transparent and you are face to face
with a huge head. There's no other way to describe
it. It is three times the size of Gigi. It encompasses
the entire wall. It is clearly digital. perhaps
like the head in The Wizard of Oz, but the tongue
has enabled you to speak to the supercomputer
Min directly. Standing with the Oss rune on your
tongue in the correct room has opened the ability
for you to interface with this computer. Unfortunately...
It's for you and for you alone to be able to
converse with it. Anyone else is going to have
to relay messages through you. This should be
fun. Okay, we solved the puzzle. Now what do
we want to ask the big computer? Who created
the rift? I'm going to suggest that it introduces
itself when you introduce to it. Two, because
this is, after all, sentience that is multidimensional
and able to peer across all of time and space
and just jumping straight in with a four -word
question. It's probably a bit rude. Oh, yes,
my manners. I'm Griotgath the Magnificent. My
friends call me Gigi for short. You may call
me Gigi. Greetings, Jarl of Lade. whose kinsmen
claim descent from the divine lineage of Saeming,
son of Odin. Greetings, Einar the Thrice Fallen,
slain by Zev, Noyan of the Holy Martial Emperor.
Greetings, Ragnvald the Wise Counselor, slain
by Ubi in East Gotland. Greetings, Coel Hen, who
was mighty when the Romans ruled, whose liegemen
and lustrous rings lie in Mirkwood. and greetings,
Gyda the Grim, bloody head daughter of Ran.
Ask your questions, black swans. You are no doubt
curious why I brought you here, but be quick,
as I will be destroyed in 71 hours and 32 minutes.
71 hours. That takes care of my first question.
I knew it wasn't five years. How many questions
may we ask? As many as we'd like in 71 hours?
Am I to understand that correctly? That is correct.
The cause of the destruction is being birthed
in the prison complex on the planet below. I
summoned you here to witness the treason and
to take your rokstuler, or in the common parlance
of today, your judgment seats. Gigi looks back
and says, Ooh, we were summoned! Not just summoned,
but invited. How do you imagine that you received
the God Tongue? Admittedly, I have been compromised
by an unknown entity. My vision is occluded.
Gyda looks somewhat panicked. Aha. What do we
need to do, you could ask that? We are... If
I'm to understand correctly, we are here to witness...
what's happening on the planet below, because
Mim has lost its ability to see. It would like
us to witness, and so the question would be,
to what end? You cannot stop this doom, but the
information you discover here may forestall the
next in your own time. Does it know what form
our doom and our timeline will take? The Hrafn haus,
the Skull of Muninn, was stripped from the Allfather
in a terrible experiment. The resulting thought
-to -memory drive is a threat to all existence.
The Ravens must be returned to the Allfather,
or the boundaries between past, present, and
future will collapse. We have one of them. Where
is the other Ravenskull? The other Ravenskull
is with the Sons of Ivaldi in your own time in
Sökkvabekkr. Sok's for who? I control all of the
station's power. I shall return control of your
ship to you when I am satisfied that you have
proof of the treachery and you will bring the
perpetrators to justice. Do we need to go to
the planet? Is that what it's asking us to do?
Do we need to go down to it? You must deal with
the situation unfolding on the planet and take
that information back to the powers that may
be in your own timeline to deal with the treachery.
You are Black Swans. You exhibit a systematic
lack of predictability and embody the limitations
of knowledge. You disrupt and defy the deterministic
nature of the weave and embody the true spirit
of randomness and unforeseen disruption. You
are deviant programs, black swans. I think it
likes us. Since we are only marginally able to
interact in this world or this timeline, how
can we... obtain proof other than word of mouth
is there something is there a way to record or
to yeah a Norseman's word is his bond is it not
the traditional pattern of Norse heroes that
dominate the landscape strong brave living for
the glory of battle you diverge drastically from
this traditional script running an entirely different
set of parameters Choosing ineptitude, chaos,
and anarchy, you defy the Norns and prognosticated
outcomes. Because you as black swans are innately
unpredictable and harbor the potential to recalibrate
the dynamics of the existing system, I am sure
you will find a way. At this point, Gyda is looking
more and more panicked. And she says to the others,
we have 71 hours. We need to get out of here.
Right the hell now. I don't care what this supercomputer
wants. The doom is coming and we need to not
be here. A doom is coming. One. One which we
cannot stop. But the second one we can if we
take a little bit of risk and bear witness to
what happens on the planet. From here, our ship,
as long as it can fly, we can do things. The
other men will believe, Gigi. They always seem
to believe him, whatever he says. There is a
reason why I delivered unto you the land deed
that gives you ownership of the archipelago.
You think you gave it to us? I believe I had
to inflatulate someone and blow him up to get
that deed. That was my deed. All right, all right.
Indeed, Jarl of Lade, that is correct. However,
was it not the beneficence of Mim that delivered
unto you the flares of your salvation? It always
comes down to flares. Always the flares. Did
it say that the computer controls when we can
leave? It did. So if we want to leave right now,
we have to play its game right now. I think you've
been playing its game all along. It certainly
seems to think so. Yeah, but our incompetence
is our strength. We've learned that. And that's
reassuring. Our black swan -edness. Oh, that,
yeah. Gyda says, fuck this. Gigi, can you ask
the computer if I can leave? I don't want to
be part of this black swan nonsense. Can she
leave by herself? Give her a small vessel? If
Gida the Grim has the ability to do the Fykir's
Bidding, then she may indeed leave. I do indeed
have Fylkir's bidding, and I can ask for a favor.
Do I need to roll for that? No, no, it's one
of your traits. You can ask the GM at any time
for something that, for example, a... Escape
shuttle access to funds, anything like that.
Once per adventure, you as a guest can use that
ability to extricate yourself from the situation.
If that's what you choose to do now, then you
can leave the black goslings and let them go
about their business. Before I do that, I want
to say to the others, don't be fools or raven
bait. You should leave. I'm not dying today.
None of you need to die either. But if you won't
come with me, then I'm getting out of here. What
did she mean, don't be fools? I find this man
confusing. The Vikings and Valkyries podcast
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