WEBVTT

00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:11.359
A hall I see that no sunlight reaches, On Nastrond

00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:14.839
the doors face northward. Through its smoke -vent

00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.379
venom drips, Serpent skins enskeen the hall.

00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:22.539
Men wade there, tormented by the stream, Vile

00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:27.120
murderers, men forsworn. Welcome to episode 18

00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.940
of the Vikings and Valkyries podcast. Venturing

00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:34.340
into the well of fate are Josh, Jeremy, Steve,

00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:38.359
Bill, CJ, and Taylor. Welcome to you all, Black

00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:42.539
Swans of Battle. Hi! Woohoo! Oh, hello! Now,

00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:45.759
we have two new guests with us today, and we

00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:49.719
are delighted to welcome Josh Heath, who is the

00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:53.119
COO of High Level Games. He's also known as the

00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:56.520
Heathen... philosopher a u .s army veteran who

00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:58.500
helped convince the department of defense to

00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:01.759
add several religious preferences to their list

00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:06.819
including heathen so just that's a feat in itself

00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:11.640
tell us about how you overcame barriers to have

00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:14.840
that embraced as an official religion um it was

00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:17.480
a pretty long process it took us about eight,

00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.299
nine years, all told, and multiple rounds of

00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:24.379
congressional requests and getting the news involved.

00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:27.620
And finally, we had to petition the Department

00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:30.379
of Defense Chaplains Corps directly. We had several

00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:32.840
meetings with high -level generals, and we were

00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.760
like, we're not weird. We're not crazy. This

00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:38.000
is actually a religious belief, and we'd like

00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.739
you to recognize it. And they ended up pausing

00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:45.500
all editions. to the list for about five years

00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:48.400
until they had a plan that was going to go out

00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.379
through the entire Department of Defense. And

00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:53.000
they included all of the requests that I helped

00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.239
put into their list of things to add in that

00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:58.560
process. So it was definitely interesting. It's

00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:02.400
gratifying to hear that you've managed to find

00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:04.939
your way through that bureaucracy. And you've

00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:07.480
also published a whole bunch of game -related

00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:11.939
stuff like Snowhaven and Army Men. Anything there

00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:15.060
that... is going to stand you in good stead for

00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.860
the adventure ahead today? You know, Army Men's

00:02:17.860 --> 00:02:20.960
a little bit similar to this in that it's about

00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.400
warfare, but as little plastic army men in a

00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.699
world full of plastic bugs and other plastic

00:02:26.699 --> 00:02:31.039
people. So maybe a little bit. I think the general

00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.400
concept for this game is a little bit different

00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.419
than anything I've put out in the past. But I've

00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:38.919
played in some sci -fi settings, things like

00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.789
Aeon for the Trinity Continuum. with psychics

00:02:41.789 --> 00:02:44.710
and things like that. So I've got a foot in the

00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:47.849
door, as it were, I guess. Now, you are well

00:02:47.849 --> 00:02:50.870
-versed in ancestor worship, and so you've got

00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:53.310
a whole bunch of ancient spirits playing with

00:02:53.310 --> 00:02:57.810
you today, including Jeremy of Old Men Rolling

00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:00.810
Dice. You're kind of akin to an ancestral spirit.

00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:05.530
You're all about nostalgia for past glories.

00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:09.539
Yeah, it leans into that. If I had a problem

00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:12.419
with being called old, I certainly picked a wrong

00:03:12.419 --> 00:03:14.900
username on most of my social medias and things

00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:17.639
like that. So, yeah, I feel a little outgunned

00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:19.560
here, though. Like, I'm not an author. I know

00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:21.840
you guys have had some great guests on, authors.

00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.500
And, you know, I haven't done anything as lofty

00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:29.020
as, like, taking on the bureaucracy of my government.

00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.860
I feel I'm just like, I'm just that guy. I'm

00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:36.949
glad to be here, though. Well. your eloquence

00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:39.370
speaks for itself you have quite the following

00:03:39.370 --> 00:03:42.449
online you know you're constantly dipping into

00:03:42.449 --> 00:03:44.870
that treasure trove of the of the good old days

00:03:44.870 --> 00:03:48.169
what's your most favorite gaming memory oh my

00:03:48.169 --> 00:03:51.389
gosh now you're really digging uh you know what

00:03:51.389 --> 00:03:55.750
it wasn't actually all that long ago like i've

00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:59.610
been playing role -playing games for 40. 40 years

00:03:59.610 --> 00:04:04.030
so uh but about uh this going back maybe about

00:04:04.030 --> 00:04:08.710
10 years uh was running a campaign and uh it

00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:11.490
was dungeons and dragons our wizard and our group

00:04:11.490 --> 00:04:14.250
had to dispel a very high level spell and there

00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:17.750
was a role involved and i think she needed like

00:04:17.750 --> 00:04:20.009
she needed like an 18 and it's one of those moments

00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:22.790
where like everything aligns and she rolls a

00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:27.209
natural 20 and the table just like erupted and

00:04:27.209 --> 00:04:29.790
i think it had like it certainly had happened

00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:32.730
in my gaming before but i had never been sort

00:04:32.730 --> 00:04:36.579
of cognizant of how amazing It is when something

00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:39.379
like that happens at the table. One of the other

00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:42.160
players was so excited. Like he jumps up out

00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.259
of his seat. He sort of does a full lap of the

00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:46.959
table, high -fiving everyone. And everyone's

00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.620
laughing to the point of almost like crying.

00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.959
We're in such hysterics after the high -fives

00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:55.800
were done in that. And it just kind of set the

00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:59.279
scene as to like why I do these games. Because

00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:04.990
sometimes great stuff like that happens. A shared

00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:09.149
make -believe sort of turns a whole bunch of

00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:13.089
adults into just like kids again, cheering and

00:05:13.089 --> 00:05:16.670
shouting and laughing. Here, for just a moment,

00:05:16.769 --> 00:05:20.089
there was just sort of bliss for no other reason

00:05:20.089 --> 00:05:22.709
than a dice came up on the number they were all

00:05:22.709 --> 00:05:25.189
hoping for. And it was a player who was very

00:05:25.189 --> 00:05:29.730
new. This was her first campaign. And I can only

00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:33.209
imagine the impression and memory that has...

00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:36.980
given to her. It was fantastic. It's why I play

00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.920
the game. Like, that was just it in a nutshell.

00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.079
That is a great story. We had the kind of reverse

00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.459
a couple of weeks ago when Tilda, our pilot,

00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:50.779
joined on pretty much her first recording of

00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:54.600
an RPG, and she got a natural one, a critical

00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:57.160
moment. So, you know, that was equally hilarious.

00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.000
Anyway, Jeremy, to your point, the interesting

00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.439
thing about the podcast is bringing various different

00:06:03.440 --> 00:06:05.680
artistic types together and the way that they

00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.540
tell stories, each of them is perfectly valid.

00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:10.100
And I think that everyone learns a little bit

00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:14.339
of something from it. I saw somebody on Reddit

00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:16.480
who said, I just want to play a D &D campaign

00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:18.620
where I tell the story and I get to do all this

00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:21.160
stuff and I just want to do it on my own. And

00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:22.920
then they replied to themselves and said, I was

00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:24.639
just informed that that's called writing a novel.

00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:30.939
That's narration. I support the railroad, by

00:06:30.939 --> 00:06:34.399
the way. As an old school gamer, I feel there

00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.660
was a lot of railroading back in the day. And

00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:40.199
yeah, I always say it's not railroading. It's

00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.399
called linear storytelling. I give my players

00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:45.899
lots and lots of options, nearly all of which

00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:52.800
are quite bad. Exactly. Let us proceed with Bill's

00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:56.040
favorite part of the episode, which is the quiz.

00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:00.449
question that I have for you today is somewhat

00:07:00.449 --> 00:07:05.790
mythical. Can you name for me all of the children

00:07:05.790 --> 00:07:12.290
of Loki? Sleipnir, the horse. I think Fenrir,

00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:18.889
the wolf, was as well. The serpent. One of them

00:07:18.889 --> 00:07:22.069
is, I don't remember his name though. Jormungandr.

00:07:22.829 --> 00:07:29.889
Is that it? Nice. You have named all of the monstrous

00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:34.949
kin, but he was married to Sigyn and had two

00:07:34.949 --> 00:07:41.110
offspring by her. Rumpelstiltskin. Valid contribution

00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:45.910
as always, Bill. Thank you. So I think one of

00:07:45.910 --> 00:07:51.029
his kids with Sigyn was Narfi. Bob Marks. Good

00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:58.220
job, Josh. Another was Bill Hopkins. I like how

00:07:58.220 --> 00:07:59.860
we're all waiting with bated breath for Josh

00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:02.160
to come up with a second name. You're our only

00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:05.279
hope. Yeah, it's funny because I was like, should

00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.399
I study for this quiz? I shouldn't fail this,

00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.500
and now I'm stumped. We didn't mention Hella

00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:19.209
earlier. Good. You've made... Some audacious

00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:21.329
stabs there, and you've got it almost right,

00:08:21.449 --> 00:08:26.189
because you're correct. Hel or Hela is also fathered

00:08:26.189 --> 00:08:30.829
by Loki and the Jotun Angribortha. The one that

00:08:30.829 --> 00:08:37.809
you're missing as a son by Sigurd is Vali. As

00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:39.730
often the case with Norse myth, it's a happy

00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:43.389
tale, because the Aesir changed Vali into the

00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:46.330
form of a wolf, and he tore apart his brother

00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:49.919
Nafi. And then the Aesir took his entrails and

00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.500
they bound Loki with them over three stones.

00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:58.500
So a salient lesson for us all. Be careful what

00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.360
you teach your children. Nice and cheerful, like

00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.419
a German fairy tale. Germanic folklore at its

00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:09.480
best. The inspiration point is yours. Remember

00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.460
to spend it. Perhaps put a post -it note, I don't

00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:15.379
know, on your screen, on your head, because it

00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:19.779
oftentimes you. forget to spend it let's begin

00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:25.480
the adventure now rather than send you back to

00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:28.799
the ship and do some slightly boring inventory

00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:35.240
things we will just start as you prepare to make

00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:40.409
planetfall The supercomputer MIM has guided you

00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:43.269
towards the planet's surface using a mechanism

00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:47.330
called a gap lifter, or in our sci -fi terms,

00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:50.909
a space elevator. It's affectionately nicknamed

00:09:50.909 --> 00:09:54.830
Bifrost by the Skull for obvious mythological

00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:59.549
reasons. The orbital ring above acts as a counterweight,

00:09:59.669 --> 00:10:04.090
and the lifter spirals up and down a vast sky

00:10:04.090 --> 00:10:08.549
-bound tether. The journey to the planet below,

00:10:08.769 --> 00:10:13.669
the dual planet of Muspelheim, Niflheim, is a

00:10:13.669 --> 00:10:16.129
lengthy one. It's going to take you nearly 24

00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:19.629
hours to descend from the atmosphere down to

00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:23.779
the planet's surface. Trip is largely redundant

00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:27.120
in the era of flitting ships and thought and

00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.360
memory drive. However, your ship has powered

00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:34.279
down. And as you know, you are unseen. You are

00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:36.559
ghost -like. You are non -corporeal because you

00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:40.620
are out of phase in this time. The space elevator

00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:43.919
is still used to make occasional trips. for study

00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:47.259
maintenance and and descent to the planet surface

00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:50.220
by the techno priest who comprised the skull

00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:54.419
and it's the only real option available to you

00:10:54.419 --> 00:11:00.120
again you are just on this this shuddering space

00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:04.700
elevator that spirals down this tether towards

00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:08.820
the planet's surface below, half of which is

00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:12.960
seething embers, the other half is chilling cold,

00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:17.139
and you will eventually alight in the Terminator

00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:20.100
Zone at some kind of docking station, the Terminator

00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:25.000
Zone being a habitable part of this tidally locked

00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.940
world. So let's just take a moment to introduce

00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:34.980
our two new crewmen, our new jetfarers. We can

00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:39.340
imagine them a little bit like Warhammer 40k

00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:44.220
Space Marines. What will they see when they look

00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:49.580
at you, John? So my character is in armor that

00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:52.600
is immediately obvious as a stylized depiction

00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:56.539
of Yggdrasil. his helmet is shaped to look like

00:11:56.539 --> 00:11:59.519
the head of an eagle and if you look really close

00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:03.559
there's a small bump of a that you got to get

00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.860
really close to see it is actually a blood red

00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:11.379
hawk and along the arms are gold inlaid branch

00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:14.360
images with the recurring squirrel motif rushing

00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.860
up and down the arms and his leg armor is shaped

00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:22.990
and colored like tree trunks his boots look like

00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.789
mighty dragons that appear to be gnawing on the

00:12:25.789 --> 00:12:29.649
roots of the tree. And he goes by the name Ula

00:12:29.649 --> 00:12:33.570
Ixbani. Now, historically, again, if you've listened

00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:35.490
to the podcast, you'll know that everyone will

00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:40.190
get your name wrong. And... Uma. No, I got it.

00:12:40.210 --> 00:12:44.250
Uma. I wrote it down. Excellent. Excellent. So

00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:51.980
I am playing Gengar Wolf. And... Ganga is, his

00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:56.279
armor may have had one time looked like, are

00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:59.179
we calling him Uma? One time looked like Uma.

00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:06.600
Proud and, you know, epic in proportion. However,

00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:12.539
just rune upon rune upon rune upon rune has been

00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:16.860
scratched into its surface again and again and

00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:22.220
again. It looks like the armor is a bit of a...

00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:28.600
It's a bit archaic. It's been maybe a hand -me

00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:32.379
-down as the runes are clearly not all written

00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:36.460
by the same individual if Gengar wrote them himself.

00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:42.960
And if his helmet was off prior to us beginning

00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:47.759
to descend, he has... perhaps the most glorious

00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:53.600
sort of 1980s mullet with a ridiculous, just

00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.279
like his armor is written all over his skin,

00:13:57.340 --> 00:14:01.580
including his face, tattooed everywhere in sort

00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:05.779
of, you know, stereotypical knotwork patterns,

00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:11.679
almost like he's trying to look the role of the

00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:16.639
ultimate space Viking. But there is sort of a

00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:20.700
youthfulness in his eye and inexperience that

00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:24.879
you would clearly be able to see. Very good.

00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.100
See, we've upped the quality now. We're bringing

00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:30.100
these DMs into the fold. There's all kinds of

00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:33.480
descriptive stuff going on. Cole, why don't you

00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:37.519
tell your crewmates why you have gathered them

00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.539
and what the mission is ahead? Perhaps it's the

00:14:40.539 --> 00:14:43.830
time to... To do a kind of mission briefing,

00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:46.830
you grab them from the Falkir, brought them down

00:14:46.830 --> 00:14:51.490
at Min's insistence. On this is Gap Lifter. Gappers,

00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:55.870
our fate is to go to Nastrond, the Heart of Darkness,

00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.929
and to stand witness against tyranny and murder.

00:14:59.409 --> 00:15:02.789
Now, we cannot save this planet, or the Skuld,

00:15:02.889 --> 00:15:05.450
and their families above us, and we cannot change

00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:09.529
the past. But, we can return to our time, and

00:15:09.529 --> 00:15:11.570
save the remaining homeworlds from a worse doom.

00:15:12.269 --> 00:15:16.009
We must return the ravens who cruelly propel

00:15:16.009 --> 00:15:19.250
our noble Falkir to the Allfather, whom they

00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:22.190
rightfully belong. We are to bear witness in

00:15:22.190 --> 00:15:25.110
this strand of time to prevent the same mistake

00:15:25.110 --> 00:15:28.389
from happening again. Super. Now, Josh, one of

00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:30.490
the things that I've thought long and hard about,

00:15:30.529 --> 00:15:32.649
and again, as perhaps from your perspective,

00:15:32.769 --> 00:15:36.049
you may well have a good way to explain this,

00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:41.740
but stripping the ravens from Odin. and delivering

00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:44.360
their skull and using it for the purposes of

00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.980
technology. I mean, it's akin to taking the Turin

00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.879
Shroud or the nail of the cross or the crown

00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.299
of the thorns. There's something kind of blasphemous

00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:57.580
about this. Ripping the thought and memory of

00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:01.980
the Allfather would prevent his ability to see

00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:05.720
into the world, to know what is coming, to be

00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:10.110
able to contextualize it in what has been. We

00:16:10.110 --> 00:16:12.990
will fix this. I mean, as far as Gigi's concerned,

00:16:13.269 --> 00:16:15.809
this is just, you know, okay, nothing new. I

00:16:15.809 --> 00:16:23.269
mean, he's going to look at Ulma. Two syllables

00:16:23.269 --> 00:16:28.610
went wrong quite quickly. Ulma and Wolf. I'm

00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:30.929
going to call you Wolf. I can remember that.

00:16:31.830 --> 00:16:33.230
And he's going to look and he's going to say,

00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:38.629
you have red on you. Yes. Bill, have you got

00:16:38.629 --> 00:16:41.750
any perspective about making planetfall approaching

00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:44.529
the planet below because you are potentially

00:16:44.529 --> 00:16:48.769
headed into the very birthplace of the universe,

00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:53.289
the place that sired the planets, the home of

00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:57.309
Yggdrasil itself? It's the beginning of all things.

00:16:57.429 --> 00:17:00.870
It's the well of life. It's the meaning and purpose

00:17:00.870 --> 00:17:06.059
of every alpha and every being. But how does

00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.160
it make you feel, Bill? How does it make you

00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:13.000
feel? A little dizzy. I feel like healing. I

00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:15.099
feel like healing a lot of people. Sometimes

00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:19.640
not healing. It's a broad range of emotions.

00:17:20.339 --> 00:17:22.779
And Steve, let's get a little word from you as

00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:25.359
we approach the planet's surface because one

00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:28.460
of the things that our new comrades might not

00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.460
understand is why you are unseen and just how

00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:37.089
trauma... plays a part in your visibility and

00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:40.730
your ability to interact with the creatures and

00:17:40.730 --> 00:17:44.869
structures below. One of the things that we've

00:17:44.869 --> 00:17:48.390
learned over time is that when someone is shifted

00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:50.630
sort of half in the world, half in the spirit

00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:53.329
world, they can only be seen by people who have

00:17:53.329 --> 00:17:56.650
suffered trauma, who have psychological damage.

00:17:57.450 --> 00:18:00.210
The more they have, the more that they're likely

00:18:00.210 --> 00:18:03.029
to see us, which is why up on the station, pretty

00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:06.190
much no one except that one unfortunate crazy

00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:10.329
man could see us. But we're now headed down to

00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:13.849
a prison where I think it's safe to say most

00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:17.769
everyone will have some amount of trauma. So

00:18:17.769 --> 00:18:20.609
we should assume that most of them, if not all

00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:23.650
of them, will immediately see us and there will

00:18:23.650 --> 00:18:28.210
be no more sneaking around. The elevator continues

00:18:28.210 --> 00:18:32.529
to lurch down its tether towards the impossible

00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:36.630
planet below. The star Sertologi sears the sky,

00:18:36.930 --> 00:18:40.710
appearing perhaps ten times larger than Sol does

00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:48.069
on Midgard. It is an oppressive, radiant presence.

00:18:48.569 --> 00:18:55.109
As you know from your discussions last episode,

00:18:55.829 --> 00:18:59.490
the prison complex, Nastrond, and then this anchor

00:18:59.490 --> 00:19:02.150
station that you all come to are well within

00:19:02.150 --> 00:19:07.230
this habitable Terminator zone. It comes into

00:19:07.230 --> 00:19:10.450
sharp relief as you descend, but there is no

00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:13.690
real boundary between the two sides of the tidally

00:19:13.690 --> 00:19:17.490
locked planet. There's nothing between Muspelheim

00:19:17.490 --> 00:19:22.210
proper and Niflheim, apart from this shadowy

00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:26.710
transition where... Along this Terminator line,

00:19:26.809 --> 00:19:29.869
you can see it's flooded with a constant and

00:19:29.869 --> 00:19:35.849
sickly twilight. In this zone, alien trees have

00:19:35.849 --> 00:19:41.029
flourished. They form tall, spindly black forests,

00:19:41.369 --> 00:19:45.130
aeons old. According to the wise, this is the

00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:49.009
very birthplace of the world's tree. You may,

00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:53.349
if you are religious, act with suitable awe.

00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:58.660
The space elevator shudders to a halt. The doors

00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:02.420
open, and they leave you able to enter onto the

00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:06.799
planet. You may proceed as you wish. Leomi takes

00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:11.960
a deep breath and says, The air is so rich, so

00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:14.799
full of life. You can smell it. You can feel

00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:19.400
it all around us. The holiest. Cornelius is going

00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:23.730
to step out. onto whatever the area is outside

00:20:23.730 --> 00:20:29.569
and kneel in prayer the second that he does so.

00:20:29.789 --> 00:20:32.210
Cole will join him and run his hands through

00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:34.410
the dirt and just kind of feeling the earth.

00:20:35.390 --> 00:20:41.029
You feel it, brother. So full of life. In a planetary

00:20:41.029 --> 00:20:43.910
context, again, this planet is gravitationally

00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:47.430
locked, so it's in a synchronous rotation with

00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:51.420
the star. Muspelheim, one half of the sphere

00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:55.079
is like embers of a dwindling fire. Niflheim

00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.839
is this frozen waste with an atmosphere that

00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:01.700
glows like a sapphire. The planet does maintain

00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:06.019
strong magnetic field and an oxygen rich atmosphere

00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:10.720
and there is a constant transfer of heat through

00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:14.630
these. whirling winds that go from the hot to

00:21:14.630 --> 00:21:17.789
the cold side. So there is this constant blustering

00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:22.150
gale all around you that drowns out your voices.

00:21:22.549 --> 00:21:25.769
Gungor totally has missed the religious significance

00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:29.349
here as he steps out of the elevator, locks his

00:21:29.349 --> 00:21:36.329
helmet down into place, and it's warm. You might

00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:38.990
have a rival there, CJ, for stating the obvious.

00:21:39.329 --> 00:21:41.329
Gigi doesn't even realize they've landed yet.

00:21:42.250 --> 00:21:47.089
The prison complex will lie about 300 yards away.

00:21:47.210 --> 00:21:50.650
There is a poorly maintained stone walkway that

00:21:50.650 --> 00:21:53.089
dates to when the Skald were still constructing

00:21:53.089 --> 00:21:56.490
the ring station above. Effectively, this facility

00:21:56.490 --> 00:22:01.890
is a temporary structure that has been converted

00:22:01.890 --> 00:22:06.150
to a maximum security prison. It was never intended

00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:10.109
as such. It was a halfway house for techno -priest

00:22:10.109 --> 00:22:13.880
builders. as they were constructing the vast

00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:18.039
edifice that dominates the sky above you. Is

00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:23.140
the ring visible from, like, in the sky? It dominates

00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:28.099
the horizon and it matches the Terminator line.

00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:31.759
So everywhere you look directly up, you will

00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.279
see this superstructure. We're out of phase for

00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:38.059
the moment. What would inform us that we have

00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:43.190
phased in and therefore... become visible and

00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:47.450
vulnerable to what I presume is going to be a

00:22:47.450 --> 00:22:51.670
large horde of voracious Orcneas. I imagine that

00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:56.269
when they start screaming abuse and demanding

00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:59.910
your immediate vivisection, that will probably

00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:03.609
be the clue. And I don't think we have to phase

00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:06.730
in to be seen anyway, do we? It's just if they've

00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:09.279
been traumatizing. It's a function of trauma.

00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:13.700
You remain unseen and out of phase unless someone

00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:17.599
has trauma. And the degree to which they can

00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.980
see you, whether you're distinct or indistinct,

00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:23.740
depends on the amount of trauma. If you go back

00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:27.839
several episodes, CJ, to when you faced the ghostly

00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:31.440
World War I soldiers, you could see a hazy form,

00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:33.279
but you couldn't make them out as clearly as

00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:37.019
Steve did. So it may well be that people... who

00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:41.480
have mild trauma catch a kind of a hint of you

00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:44.140
on the wind, a glimpse of you in a mirror. But,

00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.660
you know, the full -on death row inmates can

00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:49.339
probably see you in all of your satin glory.

00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:56.039
So, Ian, could I use a spell here? I have Udal

00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:59.980
Wright. It would let me ask you a yes or no question

00:23:59.980 --> 00:24:03.180
that might be helpful to us. You may indeed.

00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:09.319
Entirely up to you. So my question is, is it

00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:13.619
possible for us to sneak in to this place from

00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:17.799
where we are at right now? Yes. Will we be smart

00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:21.640
enough to figure it out? No. That's the second

00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.019
question. That is the second question. Ula is

00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:27.500
going to turn to everyone, and he's going to

00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:32.220
point. And just kind of not specifically at anyone,

00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:37.289
but you. are going to go left and down. You are

00:24:37.289 --> 00:24:40.849
going to go right and up. We will be close to

00:24:40.849 --> 00:24:44.650
the ground and careful on our way in. Do this

00:24:44.650 --> 00:24:47.650
and we will be safe. And what about those of

00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:53.130
us who are particularly large and quite obvious?

00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:57.150
And noisy. Be quieter then. Well, I could be

00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:04.319
quieter. It's more of an issue of my size. hide

00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:08.940
behind things i am not small in my armor am i

00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:12.720
i just don't like sneaking josh there's a couple

00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.400
of things that have come up in previous episodes

00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:17.619
the first is is that he is the size of uh ganger

00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:21.700
wolf who was the uh you know is a pun for why

00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.339
jeremy is called ganger wolf so he was the the

00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:29.920
heavy set norseman who was so large he couldn't

00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:33.609
ride a horse And secondly, when they were on

00:25:33.609 --> 00:25:36.269
a stealth mission to rescue the law speaker a

00:25:36.269 --> 00:25:40.170
few episodes ago, CJ was effectively foghorn

00:25:40.170 --> 00:25:43.009
leghorn and just alerted everybody. He got bored

00:25:43.009 --> 00:25:45.329
and threw a couple of grenades into a gondolier.

00:25:45.430 --> 00:25:49.109
Yeah. So just be prepared. He's keen on just

00:25:49.109 --> 00:25:51.250
opening up with his machine gun. He likes to

00:25:51.250 --> 00:25:54.009
let that speak for him. The patience part of

00:25:54.009 --> 00:25:57.710
him is not strong. I suspect, Josh, as you are

00:25:57.710 --> 00:25:59.670
a veteran, you've been around the military, you

00:25:59.670 --> 00:26:02.829
might have a discipline and approach to these

00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:05.369
things that is entirely absent from this group.

00:26:06.250 --> 00:26:09.569
I'm picking up that energy right now. Especially

00:26:09.569 --> 00:26:14.210
Gigi. However, feel free to try and drag them

00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:17.490
kicking and screaming. I think it will be a life

00:26:17.490 --> 00:26:23.089
lesson. Again, look you up and down and go. Stay

00:26:23.089 --> 00:26:28.230
low. When things get hot, you do what you are

00:26:28.230 --> 00:26:31.789
good at, yes? Certainly. Fantastic. I shall tiptoe

00:26:31.789 --> 00:26:35.910
to the best of my ability and whisper as quietly

00:26:35.910 --> 00:26:40.109
as I can. The prison complex, as I've said, is

00:26:40.109 --> 00:26:42.730
a maximum security prison. The planet itself

00:26:42.730 --> 00:26:45.410
acts as the warden for the murderers, adulterers,

00:26:45.430 --> 00:26:48.049
and oathbreakers who find themselves banished

00:26:48.049 --> 00:26:51.759
here. A lot of the Jotnar. We're sent here as

00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:56.279
prisoners of war. It's an equivalent to Guantanamo,

00:26:56.380 --> 00:27:00.299
perhaps. Rescue is impossible because you flee

00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:03.759
into Niflheim and you freeze. You escape into

00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:09.460
Muspelheim and you burn. The prison proper is

00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:15.220
within visibility. You can see, as you stealthily

00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:19.559
approach, hugging the trees that ring the...

00:27:20.109 --> 00:27:24.650
stone walkway, you can see that there are a group

00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:29.089
of inmates lounging around at the entrance to

00:27:29.089 --> 00:27:32.009
the prison. They haven't seen you, they're talking

00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:37.849
amongst themselves. One of them is a broken down,

00:27:38.089 --> 00:27:44.250
antiquated diverg. The second is a hulking wain

00:27:44.250 --> 00:27:49.309
covered with orange flowers. The Third is an

00:27:49.309 --> 00:27:53.970
excitable man who is being berated by the fourth

00:27:53.970 --> 00:27:56.829
figure, who's also a man, all of whom are in

00:27:56.829 --> 00:28:02.309
orange jumpsuits, adorned with a Nastrond motif.

00:28:02.970 --> 00:28:04.910
There doesn't appear to be, like, a guard with

00:28:04.910 --> 00:28:08.049
them or anything like that, though. Partly because

00:28:08.049 --> 00:28:11.930
the structure itself is so inaccessible. You

00:28:11.930 --> 00:28:15.210
can't get out of here without trying your freezing.

00:28:15.490 --> 00:28:18.710
It's the ultimate Alcatraz. I'll turn to the

00:28:18.710 --> 00:28:21.569
group, and one of us needs to make a distraction

00:28:21.569 --> 00:28:25.529
to move them away from the door. Yeah, everyone's

00:28:25.529 --> 00:28:29.329
pointing at CJ. Me? Son, I shall go introduce

00:28:29.329 --> 00:28:32.529
myself. They may know who I am. I was the silver

00:28:32.529 --> 00:28:35.109
medalist at the All Asgard Games for the Tonga

00:28:35.109 --> 00:28:38.630
Honk. Oh, God. Gunga looks incredibly impressed

00:28:38.630 --> 00:28:42.599
that you're a silver medalist. A fan! I'm trying

00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:44.400
to read Ian's face to see if this is another,

00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:46.859
like, jumping out of space. You do, you do, you

00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:51.400
do. His eyes are only bulging a little. We're

00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:55.460
fine. You do, Gigi. All right. So Gigi's going

00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:59.940
to walk toward these prisoners. He's going to

00:28:59.940 --> 00:29:02.380
saunter. It's not going to be a march. It's going

00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:05.019
to be a little less aggressive. And he'll saunter

00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:07.920
and kind of wave and try and get their attention.

00:29:08.059 --> 00:29:11.140
And in his usual voice. you'll say hello my dear

00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:16.259
fellows i am your new cell mate i have been sent

00:29:16.259 --> 00:29:20.920
here for committing atrocious crimes of all manner

00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:26.039
of varieties i am griotka the magnificent you

00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:28.559
may have heard of me silver medalist all asgard

00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:34.400
games wait has he won the silver medal yet yeah

00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:40.299
exactly you're back in the past who knows We're

00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:42.960
five years in the past? You might have just given

00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:49.140
them the kind of betting scan for all time. The

00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:52.180
almanac. Now, how many of them actually see me

00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:56.720
and hear me as I approach? All four of them turn

00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:01.880
to you and look you up and down to get your measure.

00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:04.559
Just quickly, before you go on, what is everyone

00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:07.460
else doing? Did you all hunker down by the bridge

00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:10.670
following Josh's lead? Can I cast Dream Sight?

00:30:11.329 --> 00:30:14.250
Dream Sight prevents you being surprised, so

00:30:14.250 --> 00:30:18.410
should you be surprised, I will recognize that

00:30:18.410 --> 00:30:21.970
you wanted to peer into the near future to prevent

00:30:21.970 --> 00:30:24.670
you from doing so, but there is no immediate

00:30:24.670 --> 00:30:27.410
danger. No, I'm very much not surprised by Gigi.

00:30:28.430 --> 00:30:32.529
You can also use Dream Sight to re -roll a dice,

00:30:32.809 --> 00:30:38.750
so that's worth remembering. So... CJ, they simply

00:30:38.750 --> 00:30:43.349
look you up and down. They are somewhat surprised

00:30:43.349 --> 00:30:48.549
to see you. And the hulking Wayne, again, he's

00:30:48.549 --> 00:30:53.170
rippling with muscles, bursting out of his suit.

00:30:53.509 --> 00:30:59.390
And he says, What you doing outside? Nobody complains

00:30:59.390 --> 00:31:02.509
about outside. As bad as it is, it is better

00:31:02.509 --> 00:31:06.200
than being threatened by the Christians. I came

00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.839
from the elevator. Did you know the big elevator?

00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:13.799
Have you seen it? They sent me down. How then

00:31:13.799 --> 00:31:18.240
you a prisoner? They just sent me down. How are

00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:20.880
you a prisoner? There are no guards. He making

00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:26.160
no sense. And he looks across to his fellow prisoners.

00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:33.059
The old droid simply looks at you and says, I'm

00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:41.500
leaking. Oh, I'm leaking. Dare I ask, leaking

00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:50.039
what? It's my battery fluid. It's leaking. Gigi

00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:53.700
is a yo -for, and yo -for are tremendously...

00:31:53.700 --> 00:31:58.319
What's the right word? Leaky? No, tremendously

00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.299
fond of these little robot things. In fact, he

00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:05.240
speaks their language. And so... he's going to

00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:10.259
say allow me i know my way around your kind i

00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:14.900
may be able to help you you remember how steve

00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:19.079
was once incarcerated his spirit in a broken

00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:22.660
down heap of old crap this is probably even older

00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:27.880
and you can quickly ascertain that this diverg

00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:32.900
is at the end of its battery life and God knows

00:32:32.900 --> 00:32:36.019
what crime it committed or why it is here, and

00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:39.960
it's just constantly moaning. The fourth figure

00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:45.480
is even more unhinged, and he tugs at your cape

00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:48.299
and says, You got some grenades? You got some

00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:53.680
grenades? Set the fire! Set the fire! I am so

00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:56.619
sorry, good man. I used all of my grenades on

00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:00.180
the Imperial fleet. Unfortunate, I know. They

00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:03.119
were quite effective. Big boom indeed. I agree

00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:08.220
with you. What about your friends? They got some

00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:13.980
grenades. What friends? He is just bouncing up

00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:18.420
and down excitedly and he reaches into his pocket

00:33:18.420 --> 00:33:23.819
and begins to light matches and singe his fingernails

00:33:23.819 --> 00:33:27.339
with them. The last man turns to you and says,

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:32.279
Please accept my apologies for these... these...

00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:38.140
my other inmates. I can act if you like as a...

00:33:38.140 --> 00:33:43.920
as a guide to Nastrand. I have a little guidebook

00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:48.680
here. It is merely one imperial shilling and

00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:52.099
it contains a list of... All of the inmates that

00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:55.779
we've had, rich and famous and illustrious and

00:33:55.779 --> 00:33:59.920
noble and scurrilous and evil, it's all here

00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:03.380
for you, laid out. That could come in handy,

00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:05.880
actually. Hands over an imperial shilling. You

00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:09.559
look through the guidebook. It is effectively

00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:14.880
toilet tissue that has got lots of blots and

00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:18.440
stains on it. Could still come in handy later.

00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:22.869
You'd look alike. You can lift an ox, says the

00:34:22.869 --> 00:34:26.250
wain. When I was a young man, I was a great one

00:34:26.250 --> 00:34:29.949
for hefting. But now I have no strength left.

00:34:30.090 --> 00:34:34.969
I can barely lift up my head. We wains, we honor

00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:37.969
the insane, you know. Step aside for them. But

00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:41.909
inside, be careful. For the roarer, he is a whole

00:34:41.909 --> 00:34:47.329
new level of a glazy. I shall avoid him? Meet

00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:51.239
him? Ally with him? What are you suggesting?

00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:54.599
Is everybody sneaking in? Because Gigi's just

00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:58.219
struggling here. Tell you what, everyone give

00:34:58.219 --> 00:35:02.760
me a slight roll with one wheel, considering

00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:08.000
that CJ has had to deal with these renegade inmates.

00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:10.659
I think we were all just hiding by the bridge

00:35:10.659 --> 00:35:12.880
watching you going, oh, he's actually doing quite

00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:18.909
well this time. These people are insane. With

00:35:18.909 --> 00:35:24.070
a wheel, he said. With a wheel. Well, 16. Well,

00:35:24.110 --> 00:35:27.309
so far we've got an elf stealth squadron. So

00:35:27.309 --> 00:35:30.610
19. Like a parliament of owls. What's the group

00:35:30.610 --> 00:35:35.090
noun for ninjas? Shadow of ninjas. Shadow of

00:35:35.090 --> 00:35:40.889
ninjas? Or maybe it's just of ninjas. He's got

00:35:40.889 --> 00:35:46.780
them distracted. Is this when we open fire? We

00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:51.380
typically, yes. Hopefully not on Gigi. Don't

00:35:51.380 --> 00:35:55.440
shoot until absolutely necessary. They are not

00:35:55.440 --> 00:36:00.099
innocents, but they do not need to die yet. Gigi's

00:36:00.099 --> 00:36:02.300
going to take this insanity a little bit higher

00:36:02.300 --> 00:36:06.659
now. And so you're going to see him conversing

00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:09.679
with his hands. And that's him. And because of

00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:11.199
the wind, you can't really hear what he's saying.

00:36:11.260 --> 00:36:13.219
But basically what he's saying is, I really was

00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:15.380
silver medalist at the old Asgard games. You

00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:17.880
have rope. I shall demonstrate all of you on

00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:20.820
one side and me on the other. And we shall play

00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:24.340
Tonga Honk here now. Let's have some fun. And

00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:26.500
then, so they're going to be looking for rope,

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.659
hopefully. Is there a rope in my pack? Do I have

00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:33.539
a rope? You do. We've covered this in your bailout

00:36:33.539 --> 00:36:36.440
bag. So he's pulling out a rope from his bailout

00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:39.500
bag. Let's play. You grab the end, all of you

00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:41.500
on one side, and I shall be on this side. So

00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:44.949
he's setting up a tug -of -war. Very ingenious.

00:36:45.250 --> 00:36:48.989
Did we establish a way to extract him? No. You

00:36:48.989 --> 00:36:51.570
know, we've got our strongest guy with the biggest

00:36:51.570 --> 00:36:56.610
gun. We've just clued him out of our plan. He

00:36:56.610 --> 00:36:58.769
once rode a rocket ship and somehow escaped from

00:36:58.769 --> 00:37:01.369
that. It was fantastic. We had to go back in

00:37:01.369 --> 00:37:03.909
time to save him. And we're back in time now.

00:37:04.190 --> 00:37:05.989
You don't need to worry about his gun. I mean,

00:37:05.989 --> 00:37:09.550
you have Ula. And I sort of brandish my gun.

00:37:09.869 --> 00:37:13.849
I assume that's what my shaker is. your shaker

00:37:13.849 --> 00:37:17.269
is exactly it's the norse pseudonym for a machine

00:37:17.269 --> 00:37:19.869
gun the great thing about you know norse and

00:37:19.869 --> 00:37:21.949
icelandic is it's very poetic and it kind of

00:37:21.949 --> 00:37:25.449
lends itself to these things so dragon guns howling

00:37:25.449 --> 00:37:27.510
dogs all of these things are what we've come

00:37:27.510 --> 00:37:30.349
to with to name the weaponry so yes you've got

00:37:30.349 --> 00:37:34.309
all of those to hand cj we will leave you playing

00:37:34.309 --> 00:37:38.070
your game of tug of war with at least three of

00:37:38.070 --> 00:37:43.500
the inmates who participate the Dverg is a little

00:37:43.500 --> 00:37:47.360
bit too miserable and tired to participate and

00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:51.920
simply slumps down in a corner and dozes off.

00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:55.380
The rest of you can enter the prison complex

00:37:55.380 --> 00:37:59.380
itself. The area that is behind these guys is

00:37:59.380 --> 00:38:03.320
very clearly abandoned. There is, however, a

00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:08.440
constant chanting that echoes through the building.

00:38:09.159 --> 00:38:11.880
One of the things that occurs to you here is

00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:17.880
it's almost monastic. The Nastron facility is

00:38:17.880 --> 00:38:23.079
just a Spartan. Clearly not designed as a prison.

00:38:23.159 --> 00:38:26.800
There are no bars. There's no cells. It's like

00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:30.280
a military facility that has been repurposed.

00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:34.519
You see it's largely wrecked. There's empty room

00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:38.099
upon empty room. with old circuits ripped out

00:38:38.099 --> 00:38:40.659
of the walls, bits of insulation and building

00:38:40.659 --> 00:38:45.199
materials strewn everywhere. The only thing that

00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:49.679
distinguishes it from an out -and -out ruin is

00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:53.119
that the walls are adorned with crucifixes and

00:38:53.119 --> 00:38:57.039
the occasional open flame torch and religious

00:38:57.039 --> 00:39:00.900
icon. There is a sense that this is almost a

00:39:00.900 --> 00:39:07.159
medieval monastery. The easiest thing would be

00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:10.599
to follow the chanting. From this entranceway,

00:39:10.699 --> 00:39:16.039
you can wind your way through rooms, an empty

00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:20.699
kitchen and mess hall with strewn pots and pans,

00:39:20.860 --> 00:39:26.000
a blood -ridden infirmary where there are soiled

00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:30.860
sheets and masses of ransacked cabinets. But

00:39:30.860 --> 00:39:32.960
the whole place, again, feels very derelict.

00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:36.820
Do we get a general sense of how long ago any

00:39:36.820 --> 00:39:39.699
of these things were used or that people came

00:39:39.699 --> 00:39:42.039
through here? I know we can hear this chanting,

00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:47.460
but does it seem well -trod? It does. It's as

00:39:47.460 --> 00:39:53.110
if people have been summoned from what? they

00:39:53.110 --> 00:39:56.409
were doing. There were perhaps a plate of half

00:39:56.409 --> 00:40:00.070
-eaten and warm beans in the mess hall. There's

00:40:00.070 --> 00:40:04.610
a half -finished surgical procedure and, you

00:40:04.610 --> 00:40:08.789
know, a bowl of blood with a scalp in the infirmary.

00:40:08.869 --> 00:40:10.750
There's all of these little clues that suggest

00:40:10.750 --> 00:40:14.309
that people were here within the past few hours.

00:40:14.809 --> 00:40:17.190
Do we have a sense of how many people are chanting?

00:40:18.989 --> 00:40:22.909
It's fairly harmonious. It's like psalms echoing.

00:40:22.909 --> 00:40:29.710
It would be akin to a large church and a congregation

00:40:29.710 --> 00:40:34.590
within singing lustily, but at some distance

00:40:34.590 --> 00:40:37.510
because it's echoing through the ventilation

00:40:37.510 --> 00:40:41.150
shafts, through gaps in the wall, reverberating

00:40:41.150 --> 00:40:43.849
around the building as a whole. And it's probably

00:40:43.849 --> 00:40:48.570
50, 60, 100 yards away. and slightly muffled

00:40:48.570 --> 00:40:52.750
by the amount of walls between you and wherever

00:40:52.750 --> 00:40:55.550
the congregation is gathered. Is there a way

00:40:55.550 --> 00:41:00.590
to get above where we think they might be? To

00:41:00.590 --> 00:41:04.170
have some sort of vantage point over anyone?

00:41:05.130 --> 00:41:07.349
That's what I would be looking for, if that's

00:41:07.349 --> 00:41:11.010
something available. The architecture, the roof,

00:41:11.170 --> 00:41:15.190
the ceilings all look fairly solid, so you could

00:41:15.190 --> 00:41:19.409
get above them. and be on the roof atop them

00:41:19.409 --> 00:41:23.070
and be able to hear where noise is coming from,

00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:25.929
but be then difficult to get into the room from

00:41:25.929 --> 00:41:29.309
that vantage point. For example, as you pass

00:41:29.309 --> 00:41:34.150
through the infirmary, you notice that there

00:41:34.150 --> 00:41:37.780
is a... disconnected power plant. You can tell

00:41:37.780 --> 00:41:40.019
it's disconnected because this whole place is

00:41:40.019 --> 00:41:43.559
lit by torches as opposed to electricity. You

00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:48.519
can see near that power plant is a guard tower

00:41:48.519 --> 00:41:51.639
that will look over an interior courtyard and

00:41:51.639 --> 00:41:54.400
from that you're fairly sure that you could climb

00:41:54.400 --> 00:41:59.099
up onto the roof in the direction where the congregation

00:41:59.099 --> 00:42:03.820
are gathered. Is it possible to search the infirmary

00:42:03.820 --> 00:42:07.440
for any kind of, like, med kit, first aid kit,

00:42:07.539 --> 00:42:10.760
healing supplies that we could take advantage

00:42:10.760 --> 00:42:13.599
of? There's nothing here that Lermie doesn't

00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:15.980
have already, but yes, you could scrounge together

00:42:15.980 --> 00:42:20.840
and create your own med kit or field kit or any

00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:21.860
number of... I feel like taking that into my

00:42:21.860 --> 00:42:24.840
own responsibility rather than, you know... I

00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:31.090
got your back! Yes, by all means, this... Place

00:42:31.090 --> 00:42:35.630
is Spartan and monastic, but there is enough

00:42:35.630 --> 00:42:39.829
here in terms of bandages and drugs that you

00:42:39.829 --> 00:42:43.489
can cobble something together and put it into

00:42:43.489 --> 00:42:47.610
your packs. I'm going to draw my... I have a

00:42:47.610 --> 00:42:51.010
long axe. I feel like we're going into close

00:42:51.010 --> 00:42:54.769
quarters in here and we maybe don't want guns

00:42:54.769 --> 00:42:58.070
going off right away. I'll certainly volunteer

00:42:58.070 --> 00:43:03.889
to lead. the way through these dark and grubby

00:43:03.889 --> 00:43:07.190
hallways towards the chanting, if that's the

00:43:07.190 --> 00:43:10.469
plan. Or at least to move towards the tower that

00:43:10.469 --> 00:43:13.769
you spoke of, that we can get a look. I feel

00:43:13.769 --> 00:43:16.510
like Genghis is sort of looking at everyone like,

00:43:16.630 --> 00:43:22.349
so I'll go? I'm going to, Leomi is going to cast

00:43:22.349 --> 00:43:25.809
Healing Herbs so that I'm ready to do extra good

00:43:25.809 --> 00:43:30.739
healing, should the need arise. Cole, I would

00:43:30.739 --> 00:43:33.159
step forward and just say, like, I would caution

00:43:33.159 --> 00:43:37.719
us to result of violence before we have to. I'm

00:43:37.719 --> 00:43:40.880
not sure what effect our weapons would have in

00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:43.460
this timeline, in this phase, or what consequences

00:43:43.460 --> 00:43:47.539
our destruction would have on our future if we

00:43:47.539 --> 00:43:51.960
were to do something too rash. So perhaps we

00:43:51.960 --> 00:43:56.880
stay our blades as long as it is possible. Then

00:43:56.880 --> 00:44:01.510
I think it is smart. We use the tower to get

00:44:01.510 --> 00:44:04.289
an idea of what's going on, listen in, and then

00:44:04.289 --> 00:44:07.090
make a decision on how we act from there. Agreed.

00:44:07.090 --> 00:44:11.070
Okay. So you can rejoin the group as they gather

00:44:11.070 --> 00:44:14.750
and make their plans there. And Josh, if you

00:44:14.750 --> 00:44:18.230
want to clamber up the tower, you can get on

00:44:18.230 --> 00:44:22.050
top of the roof without giving your presence

00:44:22.050 --> 00:44:26.750
away. because there is so much noise that's coming

00:44:26.750 --> 00:44:30.510
out as the prisoners below are lustily singing

00:44:30.510 --> 00:44:34.150
their carols, their chants, their psalms. There

00:44:34.150 --> 00:44:39.610
is worship going on as Norsemen. It's not something

00:44:39.610 --> 00:44:44.710
that is very familiar to you. It sounds ancient

00:44:44.710 --> 00:44:48.730
and liturgic. It sounds as if they are chanting

00:44:48.730 --> 00:44:55.349
in Latin. Disgusting language. So Shishi comes

00:44:55.349 --> 00:44:58.489
up behind everybody and tries to whisper. So,

00:44:58.489 --> 00:45:03.070
how far have you gotten? So Ula's on top of this

00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:05.849
guard tower at the moment, so I'm not sure if

00:45:05.849 --> 00:45:07.769
he heard that. Look, you're pretty loud, so maybe

00:45:07.769 --> 00:45:10.769
he did. Louder than the chanting? Hopefully not.

00:45:11.190 --> 00:45:15.110
And what's that dreadful music coming from the

00:45:15.110 --> 00:45:18.610
other room? Having scouted it out from the various

00:45:18.610 --> 00:45:21.610
different vantage points, you can see that the

00:45:21.610 --> 00:45:25.289
only way into what appears to be a makeshift

00:45:25.289 --> 00:45:32.570
chapel is through some large steel doors that

00:45:32.570 --> 00:45:38.630
stand slightly ajar. There's enough room there

00:45:38.630 --> 00:45:43.239
to... shoulder them aside and enter into the

00:45:43.239 --> 00:45:46.280
room beyond and just enough of a gap that the

00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:51.880
music, the singing beyond is somewhat muffled

00:45:51.880 --> 00:45:55.360
and not coming out in its full resonant glory.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:59.559
I just want to double check again. The plan is

00:45:59.559 --> 00:46:05.960
to retain the timeline and not eliminate every

00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:10.460
being in that space, correct? Correct. Yes, we

00:46:10.460 --> 00:46:14.199
are meant to merely be voyeurs. Then we should

00:46:14.199 --> 00:46:17.460
wait for their chanting to be over, and they

00:46:17.460 --> 00:46:21.679
leave, and then we should enter that space to

00:46:21.679 --> 00:46:24.519
see what is inside. Or perhaps the chanting is

00:46:24.519 --> 00:46:29.039
what we are meant to observe? How closely is

00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:32.139
what I am worried about? No one's going to write

00:46:32.139 --> 00:46:35.340
anything about people that live here. I think

00:46:35.340 --> 00:46:39.719
we can do as we please. That seems... unwise

00:46:39.719 --> 00:46:45.320
and perhaps unhospitable to those who are here

00:46:45.320 --> 00:46:52.360
attempting to become rehabilitated, one might

00:46:52.360 --> 00:46:56.400
argue. Did you see those guys out front? There's

00:46:56.400 --> 00:46:59.800
no rehabilitation going on there. They didn't

00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:02.579
even know about GG's silver medal. You should

00:47:02.579 --> 00:47:06.599
see them now, covered in mud. I won, by the way.

00:47:07.760 --> 00:47:11.719
If only one amongst your party has such abilities

00:47:11.719 --> 00:47:15.440
as Stonewalk or Blacksite. That's a big hint

00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:18.960
for somebody. Yeah, that's a huge hint. I've

00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:21.219
learned to pick up on Ian's subtle little hints

00:47:21.219 --> 00:47:25.719
over time. Subtle. If I may for a moment, Air

00:47:25.719 --> 00:47:29.619
has an ability to turn himself invisible for

00:47:29.619 --> 00:47:33.719
a short period. He has limited x -ray vision.

00:47:33.860 --> 00:47:36.480
If he's standing next to a wall, he can see through

00:47:36.480 --> 00:47:41.320
it. And he can disguise up to five people for

00:47:41.320 --> 00:47:45.940
up to an hour. So we could all have orange suits

00:47:45.940 --> 00:47:49.679
on, like the ones outside. Air goes invisible

00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:53.480
and the five of us are prisoners. And we could

00:47:53.480 --> 00:47:55.000
go through the doors. You could look through

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:58.400
the doors, couldn't you? Yes. I love this plan.

00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:02.219
I love this plan. Very heroic. No way for it

00:48:02.219 --> 00:48:07.960
to fail. If we can get close to the door, maybe

00:48:07.960 --> 00:48:10.199
not even the door, it could be a wall, like a

00:48:10.199 --> 00:48:14.239
wall that we know, a wall with the chapel on

00:48:14.239 --> 00:48:18.079
the other side. Err could press his nose to the

00:48:18.079 --> 00:48:20.219
wall and look through the wall and see what's

00:48:20.219 --> 00:48:23.199
going on on the other side. Can indeed. So it

00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:25.300
doesn't have to be the door. Correct. You can

00:48:25.300 --> 00:48:30.980
find an adjacent wall and peer through using

00:48:30.980 --> 00:48:36.519
your... Doc Alpha, gift of black sight. On the

00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:40.059
far side of the wall are indeed hundreds of inmates

00:48:40.059 --> 00:48:44.920
sitting transfixed. Some are praying on their

00:48:44.920 --> 00:48:47.920
knees. Others are lying prostrate on the floor.

00:48:48.099 --> 00:48:52.679
Some have fists raised and are chanting in an

00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:57.619
ancient tongue. In the centre of the group is

00:48:57.619 --> 00:49:02.500
a thin, unkempt man, his eyes redolent. of ancient

00:49:02.500 --> 00:49:09.420
enmities smoldering like cold black embers. What's

00:49:09.420 --> 00:49:14.159
this unkempt man doing? Ayr will relay to the

00:49:14.159 --> 00:49:16.940
group sort of very, what do you call this thought

00:49:16.940 --> 00:49:19.360
of Voceir? Just very quietly relay to the group

00:49:19.360 --> 00:49:22.860
what he's seeing, sort of under his voice. It's

00:49:22.860 --> 00:49:26.659
clear to you that he is controlling the inmates

00:49:26.659 --> 00:49:30.320
as a puppeteer controls a marionette. He holds

00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:35.300
some kind of bulbous capsule in his hand, and

00:49:35.300 --> 00:49:42.039
he is conducting the choir of inmates within.

00:49:42.519 --> 00:49:46.480
Air will relay all this to the rest of the team.

00:49:46.559 --> 00:49:49.639
It seems that there's a ringleader who is...

00:49:49.849 --> 00:49:52.989
quite literally conducting a choir. The figure

00:49:52.989 --> 00:49:57.909
glances over his shoulder directly at you, understanding

00:49:57.909 --> 00:50:01.889
that there is an intervening war, and he says,

00:50:02.050 --> 00:50:06.969
Hmm, you shouldn't be here. Mimir playing games

00:50:06.969 --> 00:50:12.469
again. What do you hope to find? But what was

00:50:12.469 --> 00:50:14.809
it Mimir said we needed to witness? Didn't it

00:50:14.809 --> 00:50:19.670
tell us? Is this anything close to what it was

00:50:19.670 --> 00:50:21.289
saying we need to witness? We need to witness

00:50:21.289 --> 00:50:23.409
something, right? Did it say, like, witness this

00:50:23.409 --> 00:50:28.530
event? Question. The congregation he's conducting,

00:50:28.809 --> 00:50:32.530
are they entirely people or are any of them Orkneyists?

00:50:32.690 --> 00:50:35.650
Because we had a theory that something was going

00:50:35.650 --> 00:50:40.989
on down here. The vast majority, as far as you

00:50:40.989 --> 00:50:45.849
can tell, are all Yukna soldiers, prisoners of

00:50:45.849 --> 00:50:50.820
war. the brutish giants of Norse mythology who

00:50:50.820 --> 00:50:55.179
were defeated in the war and many of them incarcerated

00:50:55.179 --> 00:50:58.980
here for their part in it. Also, Eir will point

00:50:58.980 --> 00:51:02.960
out with some distress that he just, whoever

00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:07.300
that is, just saw Eir through the wall. Presumably

00:51:07.300 --> 00:51:10.739
he can see the rest of us. Don't just stand there.

00:51:10.739 --> 00:51:14.960
Come in, come in. You may as well have a ringside

00:51:14.960 --> 00:51:20.079
seat. Ula will just walk around through the doors

00:51:20.079 --> 00:51:27.000
and in. Might as well. In for a penny. In for

00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:29.980
everything. Sounds like there's something to

00:51:29.980 --> 00:51:33.400
witness here. This is a breach attack, right?

00:51:33.460 --> 00:51:38.679
We go in. Weapons down for now. Cole turns to

00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:44.019
Gigi and says, Gigi, you can see one's spirit

00:51:44.019 --> 00:51:48.880
companions, can you not? somewhat um it is keep

00:51:48.880 --> 00:51:51.300
an eye on our quarry here to see if anything

00:51:51.300 --> 00:51:55.260
shows up i'm curious what may be at play here

00:51:55.260 --> 00:51:59.480
certainly air will cast ancestral wisdom on himself

00:51:59.480 --> 00:52:02.619
to make himself immune to charm compel frighten

00:52:02.619 --> 00:52:05.579
and trauma because i have a feeling one or more

00:52:05.579 --> 00:52:08.960
of those things is going on in there alas that

00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:13.679
these lava should die in the moment of fertilization

00:52:14.539 --> 00:52:18.360
Such it is with all joy. Life's most splendid

00:52:18.360 --> 00:52:21.940
moment of enjoyment is accompanied by death.

00:52:22.320 --> 00:52:26.400
So we've all walked in. You are all within the

00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:29.539
makeshift chapel at the back by the wall watching

00:52:29.539 --> 00:52:35.320
this unkempt, wiry man conduct his Jotnar orchestra.

00:52:35.760 --> 00:52:38.699
I think it would be proper for me to introduce

00:52:38.699 --> 00:52:42.650
myself and my friends. I am Griotka. There really

00:52:42.650 --> 00:52:47.349
is no need. I know all there is to know about

00:52:47.349 --> 00:52:51.969
you. Indeed, but... The Skald plucked the wings

00:52:51.969 --> 00:52:54.909
off the Raven God, but they bit off a little

00:52:54.909 --> 00:52:59.110
bit more than they can chew. The Fools took Bithri's

00:52:59.110 --> 00:53:03.889
hounds as well. They will devour you soon enough.

00:53:04.269 --> 00:53:07.869
I feel like you have us at a disadvantage. Who

00:53:07.869 --> 00:53:15.289
are you, sir? Why, I am the ruler. Does my fame

00:53:15.289 --> 00:53:18.869
not precede me? This little experiment is but

00:53:18.869 --> 00:53:22.210
the tip of the spear. You'll see what I mean

00:53:22.210 --> 00:53:26.710
soon enough. Unfortunately, no. Were you in the

00:53:26.710 --> 00:53:31.050
old Asgard games, perchance? Oh, my dear fellow,

00:53:31.230 --> 00:53:34.829
I was the one that built the very wall around

00:53:34.829 --> 00:53:38.639
this. Have we witnessed enough? I don't think

00:53:38.639 --> 00:53:41.900
so. I think the thing is coming. I think the

00:53:41.900 --> 00:53:46.300
big thing is coming. I think it's here. So hearing

00:53:46.300 --> 00:53:50.780
that, someone present would kind of understand

00:53:50.780 --> 00:53:52.880
what that means, right? If he erected the walls

00:53:52.880 --> 00:53:54.739
around the all Asgard games, that would make

00:53:54.739 --> 00:53:57.019
him, we would know, right? It would be like,

00:53:57.019 --> 00:54:02.019
you know, walking into a room and it's, you know,

00:54:02.019 --> 00:54:04.619
like a... like a zombie john kennedy and then

00:54:04.619 --> 00:54:06.639
you go oh who are you i'm the one who sent man

00:54:06.639 --> 00:54:08.820
to the moon and then you'd be like oh yeah you're

00:54:08.820 --> 00:54:11.659
kennedy okay so like like you you would know

00:54:11.659 --> 00:54:15.679
right we'd have some kind of history so in the

00:54:15.679 --> 00:54:22.340
context of the yoten war the ruler is the leader

00:54:22.340 --> 00:54:26.380
of the raw rebellion he was the one that roused

00:54:26.380 --> 00:54:29.880
the christian souls to topple the empire and

00:54:29.880 --> 00:54:34.530
he was the originator of the Jotnar themselves,

00:54:34.690 --> 00:54:39.469
splicing man and animal to create the savage

00:54:39.469 --> 00:54:43.670
soldiers that almost tore the empire apart. To

00:54:43.670 --> 00:54:45.909
which then Jiji would say, holy shit, you're

00:54:45.909 --> 00:54:51.570
still alive? Did they kill you twice? Like Rasputin?

00:54:52.670 --> 00:54:54.949
Stabbed, shot, thrown in a river, you came back,

00:54:55.170 --> 00:54:57.130
stabbed, shot you again, threw you into the river

00:54:57.130 --> 00:55:01.400
again? Did I mention the most painful state of

00:55:01.400 --> 00:55:03.480
being is remembering the future, particularly

00:55:03.480 --> 00:55:12.840
the one you'll never have? You should run! Running?

00:55:16.619 --> 00:55:22.280
You notice that as the roarer talks, the convicts

00:55:22.280 --> 00:55:27.219
behind him are being transformed. Their bodies...

00:55:27.760 --> 00:55:32.599
and shuffle as they contort themselves one by

00:55:32.599 --> 00:55:38.360
one into a legion of chemicalistic ghouls. The

00:55:38.360 --> 00:55:42.780
whole prison in the space of seconds becomes

00:55:42.780 --> 00:55:47.079
a hellish nightmare as you witness the birth

00:55:47.079 --> 00:55:51.599
of the Orcneus. So Hula's going to point at Ganga,

00:55:51.699 --> 00:55:56.179
axe back to back at the door. I'm very excited

00:55:56.179 --> 00:56:03.800
about that. and my goal is to act as a blockade

00:56:03.800 --> 00:56:06.940
for the rest of the group to get out and run

00:56:06.940 --> 00:56:11.860
while we take on these things as they are coming

00:56:11.860 --> 00:56:16.460
at us well that is unprecedented bravery you

00:56:16.460 --> 00:56:20.179
may award yourself one honor for the brief moment

00:56:20.179 --> 00:56:22.619
of time in which it will be useful for you these

00:56:24.750 --> 00:56:30.389
These Orcneus are the embodiment of undeath and

00:56:30.389 --> 00:56:34.349
primordial elements. They are the infectious

00:56:34.349 --> 00:56:39.030
horror of zombies interwoven with the chill of

00:56:39.030 --> 00:56:42.849
an ice giant's breath and the ruthless rage of

00:56:42.849 --> 00:56:46.750
a fire giant's heart. These are creatures that

00:56:46.750 --> 00:56:51.369
are born of this impossible planet, the hole.

00:56:52.469 --> 00:56:57.889
chamber echoes to their infernal screams as they

00:56:57.889 --> 00:57:02.170
descend upon you like a tempest. Fast turn or

00:57:02.170 --> 00:57:04.730
slow turn? Fast turn. What do you think, PJ?

00:57:05.429 --> 00:57:08.610
Gigi was lying. He has grenades. He's gonna toss

00:57:08.610 --> 00:57:12.789
a few into the pit. How many can I, like, can

00:57:12.789 --> 00:57:16.090
I do two, like, can I double fist? And do two

00:57:16.090 --> 00:57:19.710
and toss them in? You can throw a whole harness

00:57:19.710 --> 00:57:23.400
of grenades, should you wish. And describe to

00:57:23.400 --> 00:57:25.480
me the scene. So we're kind of at the back and

00:57:25.480 --> 00:57:27.079
then there's just this whole horde of people.

00:57:27.199 --> 00:57:30.840
So if I just kind of toss it in the middle and

00:57:30.840 --> 00:57:34.360
tell everybody to duck, it could make big boom

00:57:34.360 --> 00:57:38.900
boom. You could certainly do that. Again, the

00:57:38.900 --> 00:57:43.579
scene is a makeshift chapel that has been put

00:57:43.579 --> 00:57:47.989
together in the bowels of this. prison facility.

00:57:48.369 --> 00:57:50.369
So there's no stained glass windows or anything.

00:57:50.530 --> 00:57:55.090
This is like being in the, as Cole described

00:57:55.090 --> 00:57:58.170
earlier, the heart of darkness. And in front

00:57:58.170 --> 00:58:03.110
of you are a horde of creatures that are animated

00:58:03.110 --> 00:58:08.570
by a primeval will and fury. Their bodies bear

00:58:08.570 --> 00:58:12.849
the pallor of death, the cold blue of frostbite

00:58:12.849 --> 00:58:18.880
and others of them are set ablaze like fire giants.

00:58:18.960 --> 00:58:21.639
They lurch like the viathans walk towards you,

00:58:21.659 --> 00:58:27.659
claws scorching the air in their frenzy. Okay.

00:58:27.840 --> 00:58:33.559
So that's awesome. Quick question. How resilient

00:58:33.559 --> 00:58:40.039
is the Ironside spell? The Ironside gift enables

00:58:40.039 --> 00:58:43.719
you to resist as a triggered action one set of

00:58:43.719 --> 00:58:48.380
damage per round. And so if I were to wear my

00:58:48.380 --> 00:58:54.760
grenade belt as a suicide vest and run at the

00:58:54.760 --> 00:59:04.380
Roarher, would I survive? Your iron side would

00:59:04.380 --> 00:59:11.030
enable you to ignore that damage. although if

00:59:11.030 --> 00:59:13.269
that damage we would roll it were significant

00:59:13.269 --> 00:59:15.829
enough, you would take trauma from the fact that

00:59:15.829 --> 00:59:18.849
you would have otherwise have died. You can contain

00:59:18.849 --> 00:59:23.429
that damage and hopefully try and take out as

00:59:23.429 --> 00:59:25.969
many as possible. I know what I'm going to do.

00:59:26.510 --> 00:59:30.210
I'm glad that we talked this out. So I'm going

00:59:30.210 --> 00:59:32.989
to toss the entire vest with all the grenades

00:59:32.989 --> 00:59:35.630
at the Roarer, because he's presumably kind of

00:59:35.630 --> 00:59:37.739
in the middle of this horde. And then I'm going

00:59:37.739 --> 00:59:39.739
to turn around and I'm going to bear hug everybody

00:59:39.739 --> 00:59:43.980
else to shield them from the blast to minimize

00:59:43.980 --> 00:59:46.500
the collateral damage. So just a quick whoop

00:59:46.500 --> 00:59:48.920
and then turn around and be like, duck, everyone.

00:59:50.159 --> 00:59:52.400
Joss, I just want to ask, is this kind of tactic

00:59:52.400 --> 00:59:55.900
in any military manuals that you've read? I don't

00:59:55.900 --> 00:59:59.880
think so, no. But it's not a bad idea. Use your

00:59:59.880 --> 01:00:02.900
explosives and then jump on the grenade as it

01:00:02.900 --> 01:00:05.289
were to protect your friends. Sure. Jump on the

01:00:05.289 --> 01:00:08.309
friends to protect from the grenades. I believe

01:00:08.309 --> 01:00:11.210
they're still working this one out in the academies.

01:00:11.230 --> 01:00:13.469
There's been a few wrinkles that have come up.

01:00:14.250 --> 01:00:20.610
I have heard that we have a great healer. So

01:00:20.610 --> 01:00:23.570
whatever damage is done from these grenades,

01:00:24.010 --> 01:00:27.710
I'm sure we can recover, right? Oh, absolutely.

01:00:28.070 --> 01:00:31.949
Plus, the other one picked up a bunch of medical

01:00:31.949 --> 01:00:35.469
equipment. So, you know, we're good. Okay, so

01:00:35.469 --> 01:00:39.530
I have a fast turn, and this is how combat works,

01:00:39.610 --> 01:00:41.550
just so that everyone knows it's not initiative

01:00:41.550 --> 01:00:46.110
-based like D &D. This being the V &V podcast,

01:00:46.429 --> 01:00:49.550
we don't do rolls like that. Fast turn enables

01:00:49.550 --> 01:00:52.090
you to take an action, or if you took a slow

01:00:52.090 --> 01:00:56.590
turn, you can take an action and move, but opposing

01:00:56.590 --> 01:00:58.409
creatures that took a fast turn will go before

01:00:58.409 --> 01:01:02.739
you. So there's a kind of sequential camaraderie

01:01:02.739 --> 01:01:06.099
to combat where you can build off each other.

01:01:06.179 --> 01:01:08.659
And certainly because some abilities have the

01:01:08.659 --> 01:01:12.239
option to lend each other wheels and enhance

01:01:12.239 --> 01:01:15.780
skills. Here, for example, as a triggered action,

01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:20.659
CJ could also engage in cutting insults or flighting

01:01:20.659 --> 01:01:24.699
with the roarer, and that would benefit everyone's

01:01:24.699 --> 01:01:28.460
immediate role. He said, by way of suggestion.

01:01:29.480 --> 01:01:34.699
Diomi is going to cast Summon Spirits. Very good.

01:01:34.860 --> 01:01:37.460
And would you like to tell all of the assembled

01:01:37.460 --> 01:01:40.420
dignitaries what that does mean? Well, it allows

01:01:40.420 --> 01:01:44.500
me to either attack creatures directly, using

01:01:44.500 --> 01:01:47.179
up the number of spirits that I have to roll.

01:01:47.380 --> 01:01:51.300
Or I can give people wheels, or I can give enemies

01:01:51.300 --> 01:01:56.949
rolls. I rolled an eight. So the spirits. will

01:01:56.949 --> 01:02:01.190
issue forth at your command and assist your combat.

01:02:01.869 --> 01:02:04.730
I think I'm going to take a slow turn. I think

01:02:04.730 --> 01:02:07.050
I'm going to take a slow turn as well. Yeah,

01:02:07.070 --> 01:02:09.650
I want to come out shooting, but after Gigi has

01:02:09.650 --> 01:02:14.150
sort of cushioned the force of the grenades,

01:02:14.269 --> 01:02:17.369
and then I'll come out from behind that. So I

01:02:17.369 --> 01:02:18.829
guess that would be a slow turn. I guess that's

01:02:18.829 --> 01:02:21.070
what I'm going to get. Eric will take a fast

01:02:21.070 --> 01:02:27.039
turn to use self -fortification to Brace against

01:02:27.039 --> 01:02:29.800
the impending mayhem. And as a living statue,

01:02:30.019 --> 01:02:32.219
one of the Dark Alpha, you have the ability to

01:02:32.219 --> 01:02:37.460
reconstitute your body in hardened form and protect

01:02:37.460 --> 01:02:40.599
yourself from the inevitable onslaught of damage

01:02:40.599 --> 01:02:45.639
that is about to happen. Gigi, you lob your bandolier

01:02:45.639 --> 01:02:50.539
of grenades. Last time you just threw three as

01:02:50.539 --> 01:02:53.679
part of a juggling act. This time you are, shall

01:02:53.679 --> 01:03:00.280
we say, hurling ten at the foe. They land with

01:03:00.280 --> 01:03:04.900
a clatter immediately at the roarer's feet. Now

01:03:04.900 --> 01:03:08.480
this man, like I've said, is spindly and gaunt.

01:03:08.480 --> 01:03:13.900
He has coal black eyes and a shock of red hair

01:03:13.900 --> 01:03:17.940
that stands upright like an explosion itself.

01:03:18.219 --> 01:03:24.199
And he picks up your bandolier of grenades. And

01:03:24.199 --> 01:03:29.199
he holds them in front of his face. And he chuckles

01:03:29.199 --> 01:03:34.460
as he compresses them to dust. Really? How rude!

01:03:35.460 --> 01:03:39.539
I did not see that coming. He wants to take those

01:03:39.539 --> 01:03:43.880
slow turns. I think that's a good point now for

01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:49.940
Ula and Ganga to, like, step back around the

01:03:49.940 --> 01:03:54.739
party. with axes and be ready to to hack whatever

01:03:54.739 --> 01:03:57.460
is coming at us above table question real quick

01:03:57.460 --> 01:04:01.159
with triggered actions um if something like in

01:04:01.159 --> 01:04:03.219
my case i have warden tree if that can be an

01:04:03.219 --> 01:04:06.139
action or a triggered action does that essentially

01:04:06.139 --> 01:04:09.840
work like a bonus action would in dnd or since

01:04:09.840 --> 01:04:12.460
it's an undefined trigger action triggered actions

01:04:12.460 --> 01:04:16.039
yeah the equivalent of a reaction so you can

01:04:16.039 --> 01:04:19.639
take an action and set the trigger so that when

01:04:20.250 --> 01:04:23.309
The triggering action occurs. You pull the trigger.

01:04:23.309 --> 01:04:24.809
Got it. I'm going to hold action. Got it. Cool.

01:04:25.349 --> 01:04:30.030
Everyone else is bracing for impact. I'm actually

01:04:30.030 --> 01:04:33.489
going to step around and start using... I can

01:04:33.489 --> 01:04:36.530
burst fire with my shaker, I think. And I think

01:04:36.530 --> 01:04:39.429
I'm going to start laying down suppressive fire

01:04:39.429 --> 01:04:45.269
on the closest ranks of the bad guys. Not the

01:04:45.269 --> 01:04:49.940
roar. I'm like... I want thin numbers that can

01:04:49.940 --> 01:04:53.940
actually get to us if possible. Roll for damage.

01:04:54.019 --> 01:04:56.099
If you do burst fire, you don't have to roll

01:04:56.099 --> 01:05:00.219
to hit. You just apportion the damage amidst

01:05:00.219 --> 01:05:02.860
the creatures that are rushing towards you. They

01:05:02.860 --> 01:05:05.920
might make a slight roll, but these creatures

01:05:05.920 --> 01:05:08.739
are effectively operating in game terms as a

01:05:08.739 --> 01:05:13.679
mob, which is a collection, a collation of individuals

01:05:13.679 --> 01:05:18.219
that perform much more as a swarm. I do have

01:05:18.219 --> 01:05:20.300
an ability called Weapons Expertise, which allows

01:05:20.300 --> 01:05:22.460
me to add an extra D6. Correct. So would that

01:05:22.460 --> 01:05:26.619
apply in this case? It would. So you should be

01:05:26.619 --> 01:05:30.280
rolling 6d6, I think. I think so, too. I rolled

01:05:30.280 --> 01:05:34.980
very well. 28. Your bullets tear into the horde,

01:05:35.019 --> 01:05:39.179
but they barely make a dent in its relentless

01:05:39.179 --> 01:05:44.019
surge. One of the things about the Orpheus is

01:05:44.019 --> 01:05:48.190
even when they are felled, unless they are burned

01:05:48.190 --> 01:05:52.789
or beheaded, then they rise again. So each of

01:05:52.789 --> 01:05:56.550
your shots is, unfortunately, somewhat fruitless,

01:05:56.570 --> 01:06:02.630
and they advance unfazed, even if they are missing

01:06:02.630 --> 01:06:08.250
limbs or have been splattered by gunfire. As

01:06:08.250 --> 01:06:12.250
the burst goes off, Ula screams, That's why I

01:06:12.250 --> 01:06:16.730
said axe! That's why I said axe! So, not to say

01:06:16.730 --> 01:06:21.030
that some orchids are felled as each bullet does

01:06:21.030 --> 01:06:25.269
find its mark, it's just there are so many of

01:06:25.269 --> 01:06:29.710
them that the relentless tide is not stopped,

01:06:29.969 --> 01:06:34.050
and by the time the ones that were punctured

01:06:34.050 --> 01:06:38.050
and cast to the cold, hard ground are passed

01:06:38.050 --> 01:06:43.510
over, they will stand again, risen in undeath.

01:06:44.000 --> 01:06:47.300
How far are we from the door? You're standing

01:06:47.300 --> 01:06:51.360
in the doorway. Oh, nice, nice. How wide is the

01:06:51.360 --> 01:06:57.519
doorway? It is six yards wide, 18 feet. Time

01:06:57.519 --> 01:07:00.559
to run. I think Cole's just going to start, like,

01:07:00.559 --> 01:07:03.179
say, we need to fall back now. We need to go

01:07:03.179 --> 01:07:06.679
and start running through the door. Cole is hightailing

01:07:06.679 --> 01:07:09.119
it. Cole is the captain of the falcon. He is

01:07:09.119 --> 01:07:12.380
your commanding officer. If anyone wants to disobey

01:07:12.380 --> 01:07:15.010
his orders, then... by all means, is it? So I

01:07:15.010 --> 01:07:19.949
think Ula is going to step into the room. You

01:07:19.949 --> 01:07:23.429
said there are torches, right? That are lighting

01:07:23.429 --> 01:07:25.789
everything. There are torches in this room as

01:07:25.789 --> 01:07:29.150
well. The whole chamber is interspersed with

01:07:29.150 --> 01:07:31.909
occasional flaming torches, again, like that

01:07:31.909 --> 01:07:34.469
medieval monastery. So you could pull them out

01:07:34.469 --> 01:07:37.570
of a socket and brandish one, should you wish

01:07:37.570 --> 01:07:40.929
to. Yeah, so I think Ula's going to grab that

01:07:40.929 --> 01:07:45.449
and Probably doesn't have any cloth on him, but

01:07:45.449 --> 01:07:49.010
he's going to take the torch and throw it toward

01:07:49.010 --> 01:07:53.969
the massive Orcneus and then move in with his

01:07:53.969 --> 01:07:57.849
axe to try and take some heads off. Let's make

01:07:57.849 --> 01:08:01.929
some rolls here. So you have the benefit of wearing

01:08:01.929 --> 01:08:06.570
the Gapfarer's suit of armor. That is genetically

01:08:06.570 --> 01:08:11.199
engineered to fit you. However, the challenge

01:08:11.199 --> 01:08:16.000
here is that while they may not be able to penetrate

01:08:16.000 --> 01:08:19.760
the mix of plasteel and ironwood that surrounds

01:08:19.760 --> 01:08:23.899
you carved ornately to fit your form, this chaotic

01:08:23.899 --> 01:08:27.840
maelstrom of rending teeth and claws will attempt

01:08:27.840 --> 01:08:31.939
to rip off your helmet and their searing bites

01:08:31.939 --> 01:08:35.920
may well find a way to penetrate your... runic

01:08:35.920 --> 01:08:40.539
shields and metamaterials so the horde automatically

01:08:40.539 --> 01:08:46.779
does damage to anyone who stays within its environment

01:08:46.779 --> 01:08:50.979
at the end of any round and so i'm going to ask

01:08:50.979 --> 01:08:56.579
you to take 12 damage okay you remain intrepid

01:08:56.579 --> 01:08:59.899
making your stand in front of this monstrous

01:08:59.899 --> 01:09:03.020
wave but you are engulfed by the tempest and

01:09:03.020 --> 01:09:06.659
they begin to tear Let's go to the top of the

01:09:06.659 --> 01:09:09.380
next round. All right. Gigi is ready to make

01:09:09.380 --> 01:09:11.800
the next move. He's going to say, I think we've

01:09:11.800 --> 01:09:14.460
seen enough. Thanks very much. And he's going

01:09:14.460 --> 01:09:17.439
to carve wave runes in the doorway that will

01:09:17.439 --> 01:09:20.479
erect a shield. And then he will designate the

01:09:20.479 --> 01:09:22.640
creatures of his choice, which will be his companions

01:09:22.640 --> 01:09:25.000
who are present, who will be able to move through

01:09:25.000 --> 01:09:28.380
the shield. But the Orpheus will not be able

01:09:28.380 --> 01:09:31.899
to, to cover the retreat. I suggest we get back

01:09:31.899 --> 01:09:37.979
to the elevator and back. To the future! Great

01:09:37.979 --> 01:09:42.920
Scott! You etch your Eldritch symbols into the

01:09:42.920 --> 01:09:45.300
doorway and it creates an impenetrable barrier

01:09:45.300 --> 01:09:50.840
that will give you at least a minute head start

01:09:50.840 --> 01:09:55.279
whilst this unholy union of frost and flame sees

01:09:55.279 --> 01:09:58.680
you behind you. I suggest we all go! I can only

01:09:58.680 --> 01:10:03.739
do one of those! Let's go, let's go! Yeah. It

01:10:03.739 --> 01:10:06.779
is a mass flee, or are some people remaining

01:10:06.779 --> 01:10:10.399
to stem the tide? I'm going with my strengths

01:10:10.399 --> 01:10:13.859
and fleeing. Some of us remember being slaughtered

01:10:13.859 --> 01:10:19.819
by the Orkneas three rounds in a row. Yeah. I

01:10:19.819 --> 01:10:22.300
am going to take a slow turn, but overall I'm

01:10:22.300 --> 01:10:25.180
going to flee. I don't want Ula being consumed

01:10:25.180 --> 01:10:29.579
by the horde. I know that his intention was to

01:10:29.579 --> 01:10:32.140
guard the doorway, which I'm still fine doing.

01:10:32.729 --> 01:10:36.510
but if i can like sort of slash with my axe to

01:10:36.510 --> 01:10:40.050
get to him and pull him back so he's not being

01:10:40.050 --> 01:10:44.270
overwhelmed uh to put sort of the the door at

01:10:44.270 --> 01:10:47.270
our back so to speak uh that's what i would like

01:10:47.270 --> 01:10:51.449
to do that means stepping into the avalanche

01:10:51.449 --> 01:10:54.789
of rot and ruin that has swarmed over him like

01:10:54.789 --> 01:10:58.109
an unstoppable wave you're welcome to do so but

01:10:58.109 --> 01:11:02.630
it will be a feat of unparalleled Heroism and

01:11:02.630 --> 01:11:06.670
Valhalla may be cool. I've heard that's the only

01:11:06.670 --> 01:11:11.270
way you get glory, though. Yeah, so I've got

01:11:11.270 --> 01:11:13.210
to live up to this armor I'm wearing, so I'm

01:11:13.210 --> 01:11:16.710
going to go for that. Feel free to give me a

01:11:16.710 --> 01:11:19.289
might roll and give me the damage associated

01:11:19.289 --> 01:11:24.010
with your long axe as you twirl it with great

01:11:24.010 --> 01:11:28.739
skill. reminiscent of the Varangian Guard of

01:11:28.739 --> 01:11:32.220
old, clefting and cleaving as you go. Awesome.

01:11:32.439 --> 01:11:35.960
Okay, so I got... And I get a wheel with this,

01:11:36.020 --> 01:11:38.439
because I have weapons handling, I think. So...

01:11:38.439 --> 01:11:45.140
21. That will give you not only a hit, it will

01:11:45.140 --> 01:11:48.819
give you additional damage with guards of the

01:11:48.819 --> 01:11:52.159
abilities that you have, I think, on your character

01:11:52.159 --> 01:11:57.020
sheet. So roll me the... various dice sixes oh

01:11:57.020 --> 01:11:58.840
but i do have forceful strikes so if i roll more

01:11:58.840 --> 01:12:01.140
than a 20 exactly that was what i was referencing

01:12:01.140 --> 01:12:07.220
so you get to another d6 wow uh 20 damage in

01:12:07.220 --> 01:12:11.239
total don't die we could use you on a regular

01:12:11.239 --> 01:12:20.920
basis there is a flurry of steel as you You can

01:12:20.920 --> 01:12:24.939
test the space with the horde of Orpheus and

01:12:24.939 --> 01:12:29.859
almost fight your way through to your fallen

01:12:29.859 --> 01:12:34.239
companion, aiming to grab him. You just reach

01:12:34.239 --> 01:12:38.220
out. He's just that little bit beyond reach.

01:12:38.359 --> 01:12:41.859
If you give me a successful might roll, I will

01:12:41.859 --> 01:12:46.500
let you grab his shoulder. Okay. Plus 3, 15.

01:12:46.899 --> 01:12:52.170
With a surge of adrenaline, you clasp. your gauntleted

01:12:52.170 --> 01:12:56.930
hand on his shoulder and haul him somewhat out

01:12:56.930 --> 01:13:01.710
of the fray, just as, undeterred by your weaponry,

01:13:01.710 --> 01:13:05.430
the horde swarm forward. Again, their forms flickering

01:13:05.430 --> 01:13:09.770
with infernal fire, their very touch scorching

01:13:09.770 --> 01:13:13.890
your armor. So I wanted, before I ran, I wanted

01:13:13.890 --> 01:13:17.229
to lay down covering fire to kind of give them

01:13:17.229 --> 01:13:20.529
some kind of assistance to... pull back from

01:13:20.529 --> 01:13:23.810
the horde. So can I use my hoss hitter and make

01:13:23.810 --> 01:13:27.149
three attacks using weapon? By all means, roll

01:13:27.149 --> 01:13:32.949
away. Okay. First one is a four, and we're not

01:13:32.949 --> 01:13:36.770
going to use that die anymore. Second one is

01:13:36.770 --> 01:13:40.569
a ten. Sorry, what do I add to it? Attack rolls?

01:13:41.869 --> 01:13:45.470
You're slight in this case. And I do love the

01:13:45.470 --> 01:13:49.920
correlation between the word die. meaning dice,

01:13:50.159 --> 01:13:54.579
and the word die meaning perish. Such a GM thing

01:13:54.579 --> 01:13:58.300
to say. Oh my god. We have spirits giving wheels

01:13:58.300 --> 01:14:00.640
as well, don't we? And I have weapons handling

01:14:00.640 --> 01:14:03.420
giving me a wheel as well, so that makes it a

01:14:03.420 --> 01:14:07.979
17 for the second attack. And the third attack

01:14:07.979 --> 01:14:14.020
is a wheel 12. Bullet after bullet finds their

01:14:14.020 --> 01:14:19.659
target. It's dropped one. after the other, only

01:14:19.659 --> 01:14:23.779
to have the terrifying horde fall over them in

01:14:23.779 --> 01:14:27.319
a seething sea that continues to surge towards

01:14:27.319 --> 01:14:29.600
you. As soon as I finish the attack, I'm going

01:14:29.600 --> 01:14:32.619
to say, everyone's clear. Get out now. Let's

01:14:32.619 --> 01:14:34.859
go and start following the other three. It is

01:14:34.859 --> 01:14:39.699
clear that dozens upon dozens, scores upon scores,

01:14:40.140 --> 01:14:45.699
nay, hundreds upon hundreds of these new Feral

01:14:45.699 --> 01:14:49.829
Orpheus are are about to burst from the room.

01:14:50.029 --> 01:14:54.729
And if you know your history, then they surge

01:14:54.729 --> 01:14:57.869
up the very space elevator that you descended

01:14:57.869 --> 01:15:02.569
upon and storm the orbital station above you,

01:15:02.630 --> 01:15:06.789
destroying everything in their apocalyptic wake.

01:15:07.149 --> 01:15:09.590
This is the benefit of traveling back in time

01:15:09.590 --> 01:15:14.399
and having 2020 doomsday hindsight. So was that

01:15:14.399 --> 01:15:17.359
a strong suggestion that we not go to the elevator?

01:15:17.640 --> 01:15:19.659
Oh, it's entirely up to you. I don't think that

01:15:19.659 --> 01:15:23.359
there's many other methods of getting off the

01:15:23.359 --> 01:15:28.239
planet beyond running into the furnace or the

01:15:28.239 --> 01:15:30.760
frigid waste. We need to make it to the ship.

01:15:31.060 --> 01:15:34.939
Yeah. And I would remind you that 24 hours down,

01:15:35.100 --> 01:15:40.159
24 hours back, and you had a total of 72 hours

01:15:40.159 --> 01:15:44.949
before that. star that hung sullenly in the sky,

01:15:45.189 --> 01:15:48.689
detonates the supernova called the Swordfall,

01:15:48.850 --> 01:15:52.970
and eradicates all life on this planet. And sorry,

01:15:53.029 --> 01:15:55.390
Josh and Jeremy, to parachute you right into

01:15:55.390 --> 01:15:59.270
the middle of Ragnarok. But, you know, it happens.

01:15:59.989 --> 01:16:02.949
Like the Rora said, you've got a ringside sneak.

01:16:03.250 --> 01:16:06.850
But what should we do? You are able to bring

01:16:06.850 --> 01:16:11.189
the stragglers to the doorway. Gaunt's spindly

01:16:11.189 --> 01:16:18.010
roarer strides up and looks at the wave runes

01:16:18.010 --> 01:16:22.909
and begins to draw his finger over them with

01:16:22.909 --> 01:16:29.689
a very long claw -like fingernail and he pops

01:16:29.689 --> 01:16:33.810
them one by one. The fourth build that you had

01:16:33.810 --> 01:16:37.949
created with your runic magic instantly collapses.

01:16:38.520 --> 01:16:42.100
And he chuckled to himself. Would we know from

01:16:42.100 --> 01:16:44.960
our history how long it took the Orcneus to climb

01:16:44.960 --> 01:16:47.199
the ladder? Are they climbing it faster than

01:16:47.199 --> 01:16:49.380
the elevator can go? Good question. There were

01:16:49.380 --> 01:16:55.600
no eyewitnesses to tell the tale and keep time.

01:16:56.699 --> 01:17:00.539
Aren't we already, like, I mean, Steve, how far

01:17:00.539 --> 01:17:04.020
away are you now? Error is currently, I mean,

01:17:04.039 --> 01:17:06.560
I think... Without hyperbole, I think I can say

01:17:06.560 --> 01:17:10.340
that Air is currently the fastest diamond -crusted

01:17:10.340 --> 01:17:15.619
obsidian statue on the planet. And he is headed

01:17:15.619 --> 01:17:18.460
to the base of the elevator, and he's going to

01:17:18.460 --> 01:17:22.100
push the call button. You don't have to summon

01:17:22.100 --> 01:17:24.739
it, because no one else has been using it. It

01:17:24.739 --> 01:17:30.170
is still there. That never happens. Well, luckily,

01:17:30.310 --> 01:17:33.210
you're the only people who've chosen to descend

01:17:33.210 --> 01:17:38.149
to a planet about to detonate. There weren't

01:17:38.149 --> 01:17:41.529
people queuing up. 24 hours for the elevator

01:17:41.529 --> 01:17:43.829
to come back down and pick us up, and then 24

01:17:43.829 --> 01:17:46.449
hours to go back up. 24 hours of elevator music.

01:17:46.869 --> 01:17:51.289
Nice. So, Ian, would it be worth it for being

01:17:51.289 --> 01:17:57.630
suicidal to blow up said elevator to prevent?

01:17:58.300 --> 01:18:02.079
the Orcneus from going up it? It's certainly

01:18:02.079 --> 01:18:07.300
something that you can try. The only advice that

01:18:07.300 --> 01:18:11.739
I will give you is that the omnipresent sentience

01:18:11.739 --> 01:18:15.600
that was Mim, who in this world is a supercomputer

01:18:15.600 --> 01:18:20.779
reflection or analog of Mimi in myth, said that

01:18:20.779 --> 01:18:24.149
there was no way of preventing this doom. but

01:18:24.149 --> 01:18:27.310
you were to stand judgment in the hope that you

01:18:27.310 --> 01:18:31.210
might prevent the next. There is seldom a single

01:18:31.210 --> 01:18:34.409
wave. Fair enough. It is the thought that goes

01:18:34.409 --> 01:18:36.850
through Ula's head, though, very strongly, like

01:18:36.850 --> 01:18:41.369
we could save lives, but maybe not. When it comes

01:18:41.369 --> 01:18:44.390
to Mimir, it's the thought that counts. Oh, nice.

01:18:45.369 --> 01:18:48.729
Man. Painfully good. Well, I mean, we've got

01:18:48.729 --> 01:18:50.850
to go up the elevator, right? All aboard the

01:18:50.850 --> 01:18:56.500
new elevator. Yeah. The ruler who stands in the

01:18:56.500 --> 01:19:00.680
sea of Orchneus as they swarm over the bridge,

01:19:00.920 --> 01:19:05.920
some of them burning brightly, others are rhyme

01:19:05.920 --> 01:19:10.460
-dueled supermen. All of them are born of the

01:19:10.460 --> 01:19:14.260
Yot -Ma, so are muscular, beetling brutes. He

01:19:14.260 --> 01:19:18.659
waves at you and says, Give my regards to the

01:19:18.659 --> 01:19:22.840
future of mankind. We love all of you. Yes, thank

01:19:22.840 --> 01:19:25.819
you. Farewell. It's too bad he couldn't die.

01:19:26.380 --> 01:19:30.000
You know, as eccentric as we all are, it's very

01:19:30.000 --> 01:19:32.539
comforting to me that we're not the most eccentric

01:19:32.539 --> 01:19:35.899
in this universe. There's always a more eccentric

01:19:35.899 --> 01:19:38.819
bad guy. There seems to be. Why are they all

01:19:38.819 --> 01:19:42.039
monologued so much? It's just inherent. That's

01:19:42.039 --> 01:19:46.239
right. The elevator begins to slowly spiral.

01:19:47.199 --> 01:19:51.100
up and away, leaving the planet's surface behind

01:19:51.100 --> 01:19:56.260
and you can just hear the screams of the Orpheus

01:19:56.260 --> 01:19:59.920
as they begin to clamber up, moving at horrifying

01:19:59.920 --> 01:20:03.060
speed, clambering up the star ladder, trying

01:20:03.060 --> 01:20:07.699
to keep pace. I'm going to ask you all to give

01:20:07.699 --> 01:20:12.460
me an awareness check. Seven. Twenty -seven.

01:20:13.479 --> 01:20:17.300
That's a twenty plus four for twenty -four. 96.

01:20:17.399 --> 01:20:23.020
No, wait a minute. 9. 20 plus 5 for 25. I rolled

01:20:23.020 --> 01:20:27.159
a natural 1 for 2 with my bonus. Who invited

01:20:27.159 --> 01:20:33.680
that kid? He's the muscle, not the brains. Those

01:20:33.680 --> 01:20:36.159
of you who didn't, you're probably too traumatized,

01:20:36.159 --> 01:20:40.979
too horrified by the fact that these spiky terrors

01:20:40.979 --> 01:20:46.260
are clambering up this star ladder. But the ones

01:20:46.260 --> 01:20:51.579
of you who passed can look down and you see an

01:20:51.579 --> 01:20:54.159
oddity, an additional oddity, should I say, on

01:20:54.159 --> 01:20:56.659
the planet's surface that's visible from the

01:20:56.659 --> 01:21:01.039
Rising Lifter. You see the Falcon sitting idle.

01:21:01.159 --> 01:21:05.399
Its Imperial crew are clearly trying to hurry

01:21:05.399 --> 01:21:10.420
through some last -minute repairs. You have to

01:21:10.420 --> 01:21:16.100
look on impotently as... the Sea of Orcneus,

01:21:16.300 --> 01:21:19.800
unleashed from Nastrond, begin to scramble over

01:21:19.800 --> 01:21:23.779
the heart and overpower the crew. There are a

01:21:23.779 --> 01:21:28.060
few desperate shots of the dragon guns that hurtle

01:21:28.060 --> 01:21:31.699
shells into the Horde, but it's not enough to

01:21:31.699 --> 01:21:35.560
save the ship from being entirely overwhelmed.

01:21:36.340 --> 01:21:39.399
Well, that's that mystery enlightened a little

01:21:39.399 --> 01:21:41.899
bit about the fate of the Falkir. That's the...

01:21:42.279 --> 01:21:45.819
Not our Fal 'kyr, that's the historic Fal 'kyr

01:21:45.819 --> 01:21:49.220
that we have now discovered. Which dumped Orc

01:21:49.220 --> 01:21:54.079
-mea sonnets. Yes. That's a fair assumption.

01:21:54.220 --> 01:21:57.659
In your earpiece, through your comms, you hear

01:21:57.659 --> 01:22:02.399
Raggedy, your pilot, who pipes up in your ear

01:22:02.399 --> 01:22:07.439
and says... So, the citizen followed, but I still

01:22:07.439 --> 01:22:10.649
have power. What are your orders, Captain? I

01:22:10.649 --> 01:22:14.909
would have power. Quick, think of something.

01:22:16.909 --> 01:22:24.750
Do we need to report to Mim directly, or is Mim

01:22:24.750 --> 01:22:26.689
aware of what we've seen, and we can just skip

01:22:26.689 --> 01:22:28.590
that and run straight for the ship? I know which

01:22:28.590 --> 01:22:32.670
one I'm voting for. You don't know the answer

01:22:32.670 --> 01:22:35.350
to that, I'm afraid, Steve. Do we remember if

01:22:35.350 --> 01:22:39.189
Mim gave us any kind of indication of when our

01:22:39.189 --> 01:22:44.289
time are we going to just pop back into our existence,

01:22:44.430 --> 01:22:46.550
or do we have to travel back to the rift, or

01:22:46.550 --> 01:22:49.710
anything about how we're getting back? I don't

01:22:49.710 --> 01:22:52.949
think there was any. Steve, could you ask the

01:22:52.949 --> 01:22:56.189
skull in your head, or the seer in your ear?

01:22:56.350 --> 01:23:00.729
Oh, brilliant. The elf on the shelf? The elf

01:23:00.729 --> 01:23:05.170
-ar on the shelf -ar? Yeah, I will ask the voice

01:23:05.170 --> 01:23:10.590
singular in his head. Is Mim... Does Mim know

01:23:10.590 --> 01:23:14.229
what we've seen? Have we borne witness to Mim?

01:23:14.609 --> 01:23:18.630
No. Mim does not know what we've seen. We have

01:23:18.630 --> 01:23:21.510
to get word to Mim, or else we haven't upheld

01:23:21.510 --> 01:23:24.689
our end of the deal. Let me clarify. What I thought

01:23:24.689 --> 01:23:29.010
you asked me was whether you had seen what Mim

01:23:29.010 --> 01:23:31.050
needed you to witness, and the answer is no.

01:23:31.510 --> 01:23:36.189
Oh. Maybe it's the scar going on. There's something

01:23:36.189 --> 01:23:40.579
we haven't seen yet. Can I do my oodle right

01:23:40.579 --> 01:23:44.979
to ask you a yes or no question? Of course. You've

01:23:44.979 --> 01:23:46.380
got plenty of time. You're basically sitting

01:23:46.380 --> 01:23:48.439
in an elevator listening to the elevator music

01:23:48.439 --> 01:23:52.659
with a horde of undead ice and fire giants tearing

01:23:52.659 --> 01:23:55.939
up the atmosphere below. It's not our worst day.

01:23:56.100 --> 01:23:59.279
It's not our worst day by a long shot. Are we

01:23:59.279 --> 01:24:01.500
able to witness what needs to be witnessed from

01:24:01.500 --> 01:24:05.680
the ring? Yes. Okay. That's encouraging, if nothing

01:24:05.680 --> 01:24:09.810
else, right? Ragni pipes up again, asking for

01:24:09.810 --> 01:24:14.310
your orders. Ragni, man the guns, lock down the

01:24:14.310 --> 01:24:17.750
ship defensively until we make it back. We have

01:24:17.750 --> 01:24:20.390
24 hours to figure out how to get power back

01:24:20.390 --> 01:24:28.850
to you. She says. Lock down the ship, prepare

01:24:28.850 --> 01:24:32.159
it for defense as if a siege were coming. We

01:24:32.159 --> 01:24:34.840
will be back on the station in 24 hours. We have

01:24:34.840 --> 01:24:36.659
that amount of time to find out how to get power.

01:24:37.220 --> 01:24:39.600
Protect the crew and everyone and do your best.

01:24:40.560 --> 01:24:43.319
And look around at everyone else. I presume they're

01:24:43.319 --> 01:24:48.659
just my dogs. Yeah, probably. Well, I would just

01:24:48.659 --> 01:24:51.560
like to say today was a good day. You know why?

01:24:51.960 --> 01:24:54.600
Because Gida said we would die down there. Well,

01:24:54.659 --> 01:24:57.579
here we are, not down there, and very much alive,

01:24:57.760 --> 01:25:02.439
even the red shirts. That's a victory! He's not

01:25:02.439 --> 01:25:05.340
wrong. He's technically correct. The best kind

01:25:05.340 --> 01:25:10.000
of correct. We've evaded a swarm of orcneus who

01:25:10.000 --> 01:25:14.439
will kill us three times in the future. The orcneus

01:25:14.439 --> 01:25:19.180
horde are gathering with insane momentum threatening

01:25:19.180 --> 01:25:25.300
to overtake your carriage to the stars. Oh. How

01:25:25.300 --> 01:25:27.920
close are we to the ring at this point? Are we

01:25:27.920 --> 01:25:33.560
still hours out? Yeah, this is literally 24 hours

01:25:33.560 --> 01:25:38.899
of crawling up a nanofiber tube into the atmosphere

01:25:38.899 --> 01:25:44.520
with an undead horde of relentless marching giants

01:25:44.520 --> 01:25:48.260
underneath you, clambering their way up along

01:25:48.260 --> 01:25:55.260
the same tether. Are we able to not fully exit,

01:25:55.319 --> 01:25:59.119
but even partially exit this thing at all? Maybe

01:25:59.119 --> 01:26:04.439
in our Gapfarer suits? Ganga and I? You certainly

01:26:04.439 --> 01:26:08.939
could, because your gap suits are designed for

01:26:08.939 --> 01:26:13.279
exploration of the Gununga Gap, the Norse Yawning

01:26:13.279 --> 01:26:17.939
Void, and so even as you hurtle into the thinning

01:26:17.939 --> 01:26:21.979
atmosphere, you would be able to smash through

01:26:21.979 --> 01:26:26.020
a window, clamber outside, wreak the approaching

01:26:26.020 --> 01:26:30.619
horde with gunfire. However, It's a risky maneuver,

01:26:30.800 --> 01:26:36.739
and you may well allow the Orcneus to enter through

01:26:36.739 --> 01:26:39.340
the breach that you've made. Oh, so the rest

01:26:39.340 --> 01:26:42.760
of us would suffocate. Yeah, there's that. Steve

01:26:42.760 --> 01:26:45.359
would be all right there. You don't want that

01:26:45.359 --> 01:26:49.899
to happen. Error is going to ask a second question

01:26:49.899 --> 01:26:54.199
to the voice in his head, and the question is,

01:26:54.340 --> 01:26:59.100
when we arrive, If we go straight to the hangar,

01:26:59.220 --> 01:27:03.680
will we witness what we need to witness? Yes.

01:27:04.020 --> 01:27:07.140
Oh, got my plan. We just have to survive till

01:27:07.140 --> 01:27:10.939
then. What could be easier? Yeah. We don't have

01:27:10.939 --> 01:27:13.220
to stop and talk to Mim. We can run straight

01:27:13.220 --> 01:27:17.220
to the hangar. And we'll see what we need to

01:27:17.220 --> 01:27:20.239
see. Did Ragni say the station was already on

01:27:20.239 --> 01:27:24.380
alert? Correct. Okay, so they are aware, so they're

01:27:24.380 --> 01:27:26.960
not going to necessarily be caught. by surprise

01:27:26.960 --> 01:27:31.600
per se. That could buy us time. No, they're the

01:27:31.600 --> 01:27:35.520
epitome of the military -spiritual complex, and

01:27:35.520 --> 01:27:40.180
they have eyes on the planet below as the Orcanist

01:27:40.180 --> 01:27:44.100
horde erupt. Then they have started to train

01:27:44.100 --> 01:27:47.800
their Heimdall missiles that they will launch

01:27:47.800 --> 01:27:50.920
from the station in an attempt to stop the horde

01:27:50.920 --> 01:27:53.739
reaching the station. Not worried too much about

01:27:53.739 --> 01:27:57.220
the elevator, possibly. The history teaches us

01:27:57.220 --> 01:28:00.579
they make it up no matter what, so it'll probably

01:28:00.579 --> 01:28:02.979
stay intact long enough for us to get up there.

01:28:03.560 --> 01:28:06.539
Okay, good point, good point. Maybe Gigi could

01:28:06.539 --> 01:28:11.020
jump on something. That usually works. So we

01:28:11.020 --> 01:28:13.260
can't smash a window because you guys will suffocate,

01:28:13.520 --> 01:28:17.960
but can we literally open the door and everybody

01:28:17.960 --> 01:28:21.739
just hold their breath while Ula and I step out

01:28:21.739 --> 01:28:23.699
and then close it, and then would life support

01:28:23.699 --> 01:28:27.500
take back over? I will allow you to step out

01:28:27.500 --> 01:28:31.380
into the void under the protection of your gapsuits

01:28:31.380 --> 01:28:35.399
and ensure they can hold their breath momentarily

01:28:35.399 --> 01:28:38.260
and hold on to their garments that will presumably

01:28:38.260 --> 01:28:42.199
be whipping out and suck towards the venting

01:28:42.199 --> 01:28:46.439
out. Is the idea we just need to slow their ascent?

01:28:46.600 --> 01:28:50.470
And so like we could just sort of... step out

01:28:50.470 --> 01:28:52.890
and create a firing line i know bullets don't

01:28:52.890 --> 01:28:56.109
kill them but it does slow them down right so

01:28:56.109 --> 01:28:58.369
that's what my thought was too right we go out

01:28:58.369 --> 01:29:00.989
with both of our machine guns and we you know

01:29:00.989 --> 01:29:03.829
try to take slow them down as much as possible

01:29:03.829 --> 01:29:06.409
for as long as we can i'm with you a lot that's

01:29:06.409 --> 01:29:10.829
what you want to do save these heroes yes i appreciate

01:29:10.829 --> 01:29:13.430
the gesture i appreciate it all right i do want

01:29:13.430 --> 01:29:16.770
to just emphasize or just just highlight one

01:29:16.770 --> 01:29:20.609
of the phrases that you just said. Bullets. Bullets

01:29:20.609 --> 01:29:25.270
only slow them down. So, if the rest of our brain

01:29:25.270 --> 01:29:27.770
trust would like to just think about the implications

01:29:27.770 --> 01:29:32.289
of bullets only slowing them down. And, I've

01:29:32.289 --> 01:29:34.890
just done it perfectly. Oh, you mean like arming

01:29:34.890 --> 01:29:39.729
ourselves? Yeah, with flamers. I'm sorry, am

01:29:39.729 --> 01:29:42.729
I the only one who brought a flamethrower from

01:29:42.729 --> 01:29:47.880
the armory? that I've been holding on to this

01:29:47.880 --> 01:29:52.779
whole time. I'm not the sharpest tack in the

01:29:52.779 --> 01:29:56.500
weapon drawer, but I'm pretty sure that we can't

01:29:56.500 --> 01:29:59.300
use a flamer in the void, though. Like, we stepped

01:29:59.300 --> 01:30:02.819
in. Stop helping the GM. What are you doing?

01:30:06.220 --> 01:30:09.439
Let's give these guys a chance at glory. they

01:30:09.439 --> 01:30:13.640
can blast down at the approaching hordes. Give

01:30:13.640 --> 01:30:18.840
me some damage rolls as your gunfire echoes out

01:30:18.840 --> 01:30:22.699
against the tide of orchids. It is like shooting

01:30:22.699 --> 01:30:27.699
at an immense wave of these rimed, jeweled and

01:30:27.699 --> 01:30:32.000
fiery monstrosities clambering towards you. Each

01:30:32.000 --> 01:30:35.220
bullet fells one and sends them tumbling back

01:30:35.220 --> 01:30:42.850
to the planet below. 20 damage. It's almost impossible

01:30:42.850 --> 01:30:47.050
to miss. So meanwhile, the rest of us are still

01:30:47.050 --> 01:30:49.989
in the elevator. And whilst that's true, you

01:30:49.989 --> 01:30:54.289
also notice that calling alongside you is the

01:30:54.289 --> 01:30:58.050
Falcon. The one from the ground. Yes, the very

01:30:58.050 --> 01:31:01.689
self -same Ironwood ship that you piloted here

01:31:01.689 --> 01:31:06.010
appears to be now manned by a group of 14 -year

01:31:06.010 --> 01:31:09.800
-old pirates. who spin the ship around to train

01:31:09.800 --> 01:31:14.500
their dragon guns. If we die here, we're still

01:31:14.500 --> 01:31:17.100
right and Guido is still wrong. We're not on

01:31:17.100 --> 01:31:24.880
the planet. I got 23 for damage. The two stalwart

01:31:24.880 --> 01:31:30.420
gapsmen blast against the seething tide, firing

01:31:30.420 --> 01:31:36.239
with abandon into the bodies below. All it does...

01:31:36.439 --> 01:31:40.460
His slowly stem the tide as the figures fall

01:31:40.460 --> 01:31:46.159
away from the tether. Others replace them. There

01:31:46.159 --> 01:31:51.880
are legion. Jeremy, please make a slight roll

01:31:51.880 --> 01:31:56.819
as the Falkir turns its dragon guns and howling

01:31:56.819 --> 01:32:02.399
dogs on you. A shell fires with unnerving precision

01:32:02.399 --> 01:32:06.510
towards the space elevator. catching the side

01:32:06.510 --> 01:32:10.390
that you are on, there is an immense explosion

01:32:10.390 --> 01:32:14.810
that threatens to topple you off and down through

01:32:14.810 --> 01:32:17.750
the atmosphere. I may be toppling a total of

01:32:17.750 --> 01:32:22.930
nine. Then, yes, without any protection, you

01:32:22.930 --> 01:32:26.630
plummet, passing through the thinning atmosphere,

01:32:26.930 --> 01:32:31.229
falling hundreds of metres, kilometres, and not

01:32:31.229 --> 01:32:35.029
even your suit. can withstand the impact. You

01:32:35.029 --> 01:32:38.390
pass through the tide of Orpheus, but ultimately

01:32:38.390 --> 01:32:42.930
hit into the Terminator line with a sickening

01:32:42.930 --> 01:32:48.390
crunch. Oh, he's okay. Josh, again, you are surrounded

01:32:48.390 --> 01:32:52.090
by the horde. I'm going to give you 15 damage

01:32:52.090 --> 01:32:57.390
and a tear at your suit, ripping it apart, pulling

01:32:57.390 --> 01:33:02.239
the various... pieces of armor to one side as

01:33:02.239 --> 01:33:05.279
their fangs and claws find their way through

01:33:05.279 --> 01:33:10.079
your defenses. Are these, the gapter armor, they're

01:33:10.079 --> 01:33:13.500
powered, right, by something? Mm -hmm. Is it

01:33:13.500 --> 01:33:18.000
possible to make that explode, short -circuit

01:33:18.000 --> 01:33:23.260
the armor and kind of use it as a set of grenades,

01:33:23.399 --> 01:33:25.659
as it were, to blow as many of these things off

01:33:25.659 --> 01:33:29.770
as possible? You can rig it. You will short -circuit

01:33:29.770 --> 01:33:32.409
it and potentially set up a cascade reaction

01:33:32.409 --> 01:33:35.390
that would cause an explosion and take anyone

01:33:35.390 --> 01:33:40.189
in short range out with you. I will attempt to

01:33:40.189 --> 01:33:45.689
do that. Okay. I will require a witch roll to

01:33:45.689 --> 01:33:48.609
do that in Extremis. If you fail, you can always

01:33:48.609 --> 01:33:51.550
use that inspiration point. Good point. I rolled

01:33:51.550 --> 01:33:54.729
a two, so I'm going to use that inspiration point.

01:33:56.220 --> 01:34:00.920
Channeling the divine fury of Odin, you overcome

01:34:00.920 --> 01:34:04.859
your panic and your fumbling as you try to charge

01:34:04.859 --> 01:34:08.300
the suit to detonate it. Inspired by that divine

01:34:08.300 --> 01:34:15.039
force, you rig the armor and erupt in flame.

01:34:15.340 --> 01:34:20.079
The Orpheus will ground you, tumble to the planet's

01:34:20.079 --> 01:34:24.680
surface with you. Their howls diminishing as

01:34:24.680 --> 01:34:29.060
they... fall back through the atmosphere. A single

01:34:29.060 --> 01:34:33.239
Wilhelm scream. Gentlemen, I thank you for your

01:34:33.239 --> 01:34:36.619
glorious contribution. You have acquitted yourself

01:34:36.619 --> 01:34:40.079
with great heroism. We like people to go out

01:34:40.079 --> 01:34:43.039
swinging in a blaze of glory, and you've done

01:34:43.039 --> 01:34:46.859
yourself proud. I feel I may have spoken too

01:34:46.859 --> 01:34:57.199
soon. Still not on the planet. Technically. Okay,

01:34:57.279 --> 01:35:00.939
I'm going to pitch an idea to everybody and we'll

01:35:00.939 --> 01:35:04.300
get a consensus vote. But Steve, you can disguise

01:35:04.300 --> 01:35:07.859
yourself. Can you disguise other people at the

01:35:07.859 --> 01:35:13.619
same time? Yes, I can disguise up to five people,

01:35:13.720 --> 01:35:17.119
including myself, for one hour. Could you disguise

01:35:17.119 --> 01:35:20.819
us all as Orkneas and then we'll all go on top

01:35:20.819 --> 01:35:22.960
of this thing before it gets too high so we don't

01:35:22.960 --> 01:35:25.500
suffocate. We'll wave down the Falkir. We know

01:35:25.500 --> 01:35:28.260
the Falkir is going back to our time. And we'll

01:35:28.260 --> 01:35:30.060
just stow away on there for a while and let it

01:35:30.060 --> 01:35:32.140
just zip us back since our ship doesn't work

01:35:32.140 --> 01:35:34.699
anywhere. But then we don't witness the thing

01:35:34.699 --> 01:35:37.460
that Vim needs us to witness. You don't know

01:35:37.460 --> 01:35:41.260
that. They might go there first. This is batshit

01:35:41.260 --> 01:35:44.180
insane and I love it. Yeah, I'm having trouble

01:35:44.180 --> 01:35:48.479
separating CJ and Gigi at this point. And others

01:35:48.479 --> 01:35:51.000
have said that about me and my character as well.

01:35:51.159 --> 01:35:54.000
So I recognize that. I've said that about him

01:35:54.000 --> 01:35:58.779
a lot. So the disguise can increase or decrease

01:35:58.779 --> 01:36:00.899
the target's apparent height or weight by up

01:36:00.899 --> 01:36:04.399
to 25%, including clothing, equipment, whatever.

01:36:04.819 --> 01:36:08.039
Would that be enough to get us all within more

01:36:08.039 --> 01:36:10.239
or less the right size range for an arcanist?

01:36:10.500 --> 01:36:15.500
At least, legally. There's a fair few flaws in

01:36:15.500 --> 01:36:19.979
that plan beyond the looking like an undead fire

01:36:19.979 --> 01:36:23.229
or ice giant. Just because it's stupid, Ian?

01:36:23.350 --> 01:36:27.970
I mean, come on. Yeah. That's our thing, man.

01:36:28.350 --> 01:36:30.949
You throw all the spaghetti at the wall and you

01:36:30.949 --> 01:36:33.069
see what sticks. What I'm going to say is this,

01:36:33.170 --> 01:36:36.390
is the heroic sacrifice of the two gapfarers

01:36:36.390 --> 01:36:42.310
has at least bought you plenty of time for the

01:36:42.310 --> 01:36:45.890
gap lifter to spiral up the cord, the tether,

01:36:45.949 --> 01:36:49.630
and to reach the station. You've put enough...

01:36:50.010 --> 01:36:53.010
distance between you and the ascending horde

01:36:53.010 --> 01:36:56.850
that you reach the station minutes before them,

01:36:56.909 --> 01:36:59.850
but crucial minutes which will enable you to

01:36:59.850 --> 01:37:03.630
flee across the orbital station back towards

01:37:03.630 --> 01:37:09.010
the hangar where you left Ragni and the falcon.

01:37:09.579 --> 01:37:11.640
Okay, so you can cut that whole idea in post

01:37:11.640 --> 01:37:14.539
-production. Perfect. They shall not have died

01:37:14.539 --> 01:37:17.460
in vain for your silly idea to jump on a ship

01:37:17.460 --> 01:37:25.319
again. It basically was the same idea. It's just

01:37:25.319 --> 01:37:29.260
this time, everybody goes. Something about the

01:37:29.260 --> 01:37:33.859
definition of insanity, but yeah. Do we make

01:37:33.859 --> 01:37:37.539
it back? My God. Yeah, we're in the hangar. Run

01:37:37.539 --> 01:37:40.800
straight to the hangar. You are able to navigate

01:37:40.800 --> 01:37:46.020
your way through to... the hangar past the various

01:37:46.020 --> 01:37:48.420
laboratories of the skull the skull themselves

01:37:48.420 --> 01:37:53.399
the cowl techno priests are all agog they are

01:37:53.399 --> 01:37:57.079
all running around fearful they are all able

01:37:57.079 --> 01:38:00.920
to see you but no one really pays you much attention

01:38:00.920 --> 01:38:04.920
they're much more concerned now with the approaching

01:38:04.920 --> 01:38:08.899
catastrophe the missiles are being fired sirens

01:38:08.899 --> 01:38:12.460
are blaring from everywhere no one stops too

01:38:12.460 --> 01:38:15.020
so much as if your second class despite the fact

01:38:15.020 --> 01:38:19.079
that you are non -humans they've not seen an

01:38:19.079 --> 01:38:21.760
alpha they're not saying doc alpha but uh this

01:38:21.760 --> 01:38:28.140
is such a horrific occasion that they don't care

01:38:28.140 --> 01:38:30.560
at all about you running through their station

01:38:30.560 --> 01:38:33.840
yeah i'm sorry that they can suddenly see us

01:38:33.840 --> 01:38:41.460
that's I'm sorry, just a few minutes ago, Gigi

01:38:41.460 --> 01:38:44.479
suggests doing the crazy thing that he had done,

01:38:44.600 --> 01:38:48.399
and we all go, yeah, that might work. None of

01:38:48.399 --> 01:38:52.340
us goes, wait a minute. We already did that.

01:38:52.420 --> 01:38:57.159
It was bad. Then we all just went, yeah, come

01:38:57.159 --> 01:39:03.079
here. Well, Min did call you Black Swans for

01:39:03.079 --> 01:39:08.920
a reason. In the hangar, I'm going to allow you

01:39:08.920 --> 01:39:12.279
to make a wit's roll, those of you who are still

01:39:12.279 --> 01:39:15.359
there and surviving, because you are able to

01:39:15.359 --> 01:39:18.100
see one of the familiar faces that you saw last

01:39:18.100 --> 01:39:21.239
time, Bangzia Valison, wearing his green robes.

01:39:21.239 --> 01:39:25.279
He appears unperturbed by the unfolding catastrophe,

01:39:25.500 --> 01:39:32.239
and he is jumping onto a shuttle. The shuttle

01:39:32.239 --> 01:39:40.989
is called the Yungnir. 23. 30, 20. 10. 12. So

01:39:40.989 --> 01:39:45.710
the ship is named for Odin's spear, a weapon

01:39:45.710 --> 01:39:50.390
that famously never misses its target. Bangsy

01:39:50.390 --> 01:39:56.949
of Allison powers up his thrusters, leaves the

01:39:56.949 --> 01:40:01.750
hangar on this carver, and heads directly towards

01:40:01.750 --> 01:40:09.000
the looming red sun. Oh. Okay. What did you figure

01:40:09.000 --> 01:40:12.119
out? Because I didn't figure it out. It's the

01:40:12.119 --> 01:40:14.220
metaphor of the sphere. It never misses. He's

01:40:14.220 --> 01:40:16.359
aiming at the star that's about to go supernova.

01:40:16.359 --> 01:40:20.380
He causes the supernova. To try and stop the

01:40:20.380 --> 01:40:24.779
Orcneus from spreading outside of the solar system.

01:40:25.199 --> 01:40:27.560
Or to enhance the Ragnarok. We don't know if

01:40:27.560 --> 01:40:29.899
that's a good thing or a bad thing. Or if the

01:40:29.899 --> 01:40:33.000
intention was good or bad. Because he's got those

01:40:33.000 --> 01:40:36.479
two dark wolves as his spirit companions, which

01:40:36.479 --> 01:40:40.060
was weird as hell. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is he being

01:40:40.060 --> 01:40:46.880
influenced, controlled? Is he, you know? Aurora

01:40:46.880 --> 01:40:50.880
talked about the stripping of Huginn Amunin,

01:40:50.960 --> 01:40:53.899
but he also mentioned that they had inadvertently

01:40:53.899 --> 01:40:57.600
stripped the hounds of Vithrid, Odin's personal

01:40:57.600 --> 01:41:02.560
pottery. Gary and Freckie then, the ones that

01:41:02.560 --> 01:41:07.460
serve him. Hmm. Well, two wolves and two spirit

01:41:07.460 --> 01:41:11.819
wolves. There's a parallel there for sure. Gary

01:41:11.819 --> 01:41:15.779
and Freckie translate to avarice, greed, hunger,

01:41:15.939 --> 01:41:19.979
voraciousness, and they cut Hugin and Munin loose.

01:41:20.039 --> 01:41:23.539
They inadvertently cut those two loose as well.

01:41:23.899 --> 01:41:27.409
And then... Bangsy and Valison is prowling around

01:41:27.409 --> 01:41:30.170
with two spirit words. I'll leave it to you to

01:41:30.170 --> 01:41:31.970
draw your conclusions. You can ponder on that.

01:41:32.029 --> 01:41:36.409
You're pondering faces. You may rush towards

01:41:36.409 --> 01:41:41.270
the outfield, but before doing so, I want a slight

01:41:41.270 --> 01:41:46.010
roll from each of you because the station is

01:41:46.010 --> 01:41:49.729
now ringing with detonations as warheads are

01:41:49.729 --> 01:41:55.380
exploding. sculled with their unit shields and

01:41:55.380 --> 01:41:58.600
weaponry are attempting to defend the station

01:41:58.600 --> 01:42:01.640
as best they can. You may well be hit by debris

01:42:01.640 --> 01:42:05.439
as you speed through the hangar. I got it twice.

01:42:05.460 --> 01:42:12.140
Ooh, five. Okay, nine damage. Twelve. Okay. Twelve.

01:42:12.739 --> 01:42:17.359
CJ? Eleven. You all wing your way through the

01:42:17.359 --> 01:42:21.720
station, desperately speeding. through the hangar,

01:42:21.720 --> 01:42:26.600
sweating profusely as you rush towards the Falkir's

01:42:26.600 --> 01:42:32.199
extra vehicular pour to jump on board. The Falkir

01:42:32.199 --> 01:42:37.520
does look like it has powered up. Mim has been

01:42:37.520 --> 01:42:40.920
true to its word and now you have seen the crucial

01:42:40.920 --> 01:42:43.500
event. Now you have taken your judgment seat

01:42:43.500 --> 01:42:49.039
and stood witness. You are able to fly the ship.

01:42:49.940 --> 01:42:53.680
Ragni calls out to you and says, Welcome aboard,

01:42:53.899 --> 01:42:56.560
and in the nick of time, too. I can say that

01:42:56.560 --> 01:42:59.479
again. Fire up the engines. We need to get out

01:42:59.479 --> 01:43:02.739
of here now. She begins to do so, and as you

01:43:02.739 --> 01:43:07.239
enter into the Raven's Nest, who's going to be

01:43:07.239 --> 01:43:10.079
powering thought and memory drive with her? I

01:43:10.079 --> 01:43:14.279
can, or we had done it in the past. Even in the

01:43:14.279 --> 01:43:18.600
past. I'm happy to do it. I'll do it this time.

01:43:19.310 --> 01:43:24.430
Okay, you plug in the flight visor and your world

01:43:24.430 --> 01:43:27.750
goes dark as the Oblivion Link kicks in the magnetic

01:43:27.750 --> 01:43:33.069
field powers up with a hum and Ragney turns to

01:43:33.069 --> 01:43:38.130
you and whispers. I'm curious. What did father

01:43:38.130 --> 01:43:43.090
have to say? Was he burdened with glorious purpose?

01:43:47.880 --> 01:43:51.039
The Vikings and Valkyries podcast is hammered

01:43:51.039 --> 01:43:54.779
together by a dedicated team of scalds and smiths.

01:43:54.779 --> 01:43:58.060
Please don't forget to like, share and sacrifice

01:43:58.060 --> 01:43:59.420
to the old gods.