WEBVTT

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Welcome to Vikings and Valkyries, an actual play

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podcast. We are playing When the Wolf Comes,

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an RPG etched in runes and bloodied in war. My

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name is Ian Stuart -Sharpe and I will be your

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ruler of treachery in the adventure ahead. Joining

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me for the wolf's feast are Bill, Steve and CJ.

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Welcome to you, Dogs of Odin. Hi. You'll never

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take me alive. Where are the red shirts? You've

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run out. Yeah. We need some victims. Every time

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we present someone, no matter whether they're

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an artist, an author, a professor, you manage

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to... dispense with them, sometimes within the

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space of the world record so far is for Matt

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Forbeck with, I think, 46 minutes. Some people

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ask the end of the episode. Anyways, we've had

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an exciting week. CJ, I've noticed that you've

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not only released your audiobook version of The

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Failed Deeds of Fate, but you told everyone that

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you've decided to pack it all in for life as

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a full -time author in France. That is correct.

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The audiobook is due on May 6th. It's going to

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be released by Tantor Media. And yes, I parted

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ways with my previous employer and I was doing

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some consulting. It just seemed like a good opportune

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moment. My family's been working on moving back

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to France for a couple of years now. And we just

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were in a really solid position to basically

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just do that now. Congrats. Thank you. that's

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fantastic it is exciting news and obviously we'll

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look forward to using your new home as a as the

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launch pad for viking raids around the world

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yeah oh and part of this is i'm not making this

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in a vacuum either i mean i did the books did

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get picked up by wf how in europe to be translated

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in swedish to start so i'm going to be famous

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in sweden soon i think maybe and then i have

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a publisher in france who's starting a whole

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publishing tour Well, that is wonderful. Now,

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what I wanted to do this week, before we start

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today, is just do a little recap of your bound

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objects, your magic items. So, what goodies have

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you picked up in your travels? I think only the

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skull, the raven skull. That is true. You have

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in your possession the skull of Munin. A cigarette

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case. So Air has got the ghostly cigarette case.

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Yes. I think the lion's share of the other bound

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objects are pretty much with Gigi. I have the

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god's tongue that is grafted to inside my mouth.

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Yep. That enables you to detect falsehoods and

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speak all tongues with Kvasir's gift. Which is

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fun. And then I have bear paw. That's a good

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one. And then I have the golden torque. When

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bound to the torque, the wearer gains the binding

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vow. Yeah, so the idea there is similar to a

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Norse king or a Geachish king like Beowulf compelling

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people to do his bidding like that, that you

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now have that bestowed upon you. And so you wield

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the authority of the kings of old. Now, that

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is a lead -in for our question this week, which

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is also about mighty artifacts. And so the question

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I'm going to ask you is this. What did the Sons

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of Ivaldi make for the gods? Maybe my recording

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equipment? Didn't they make Mim? Ah, so you've

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got to bear in mind the Sons of Ivaldi are...

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both an origin in this game, but they are also

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a mythological race of beings. That's where the

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origin comes from. So I'm talking in the mythological

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corpus. What did the Sons of Ivaldi make for

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the gods? Weapons? Sure, they did. And it's absolutely

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fine if you don't know and want to pass on your

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inspiration point again. I mean, if I had to

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take a stab at it, I would say they made weapons.

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And specifically, let's see, if they made weapons

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and you say yes, that means that I'm on the right

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track thinking they were dwarves, so they made

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Mjolnir? They did not. Oh, okay. Never mind.

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I was convinced, CJ. Like, I was totally buying

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it. i should really brush up on my norse mythology

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i haven't really looked into it in a really long

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time why start now good tip for your future self

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you know and perhaps you can use the raven skull

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go back in time 15 16 episodes brush up on your

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norse mythology and then come back we will move

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on past the quiz in the interests of time and

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momentum our adventure this week begins alongside

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the funeral pyre of Beowulf, king of the Geats.

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The king is placed on a huge burning platform

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while his thanes plunder the wreckage of the

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Falkir, loading whatever they can into carts.

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The old king's remains and much of the treasure

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are then buried in a huge barrow constructed

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by his disconsolate people. big life does not

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begrudge you the king's last gift but he urges

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you to return to odin with some alacrity and

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curses the norms that brought you to his land

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and there's also the matter of air exploding

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with the strain of the last battle imagine him

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on the hilltop just go no one is actually injured

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but your fracturing reality around you certainly

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gives people The willies. A couple of bits of

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housekeeping. The first is, CJ, for your honourable

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treatment of the refugees and the slaying of

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the dragon, you may add one honour to your score.

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It can't really go much higher, but the good

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news is that you are firmly established amongst

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the exalted heroes of the realm. Conversely,

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Bill... I'm going to give you one shame for refusing

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to heal those poor people, despite your ability

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to minister them tenderly. And Steve, I'm going

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to balance you in with no change to your honor

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and shame, partly because of your charity and

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your dragon -slaying black hole, but because

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you also killed the professors and set back the

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advance of civilization by several centuries.

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I'm going to balance it, so no honor or shame.

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All right. Big Life, like I said, has suggested

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that you leave the land of the geeks, and it's

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up to you to work out how exactly you do that.

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I propose we return to that priestess who told

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us to return when our task was done. Sounds logical

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and, frankly, crazy talk. Okay, then obviously

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we're on the right path. We're a short one spaceship,

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so traveling through space is going to be a challenge.

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I propose we walk there. So... Odin's V is the

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holy sanctuary for the geats where those sacrifices

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are offered to the gods in a clearing in the

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forest of oak, ash and hazel and the priestess

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Ili greets you at the edge of the grove and you're

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delighted to see that your two Isbjorn cubs are

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playing with the hems of her robes. As you advance...

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Into her sanctuary, she says, the scalds will

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sing of Beowulf's brave deeds from now until

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the sun grows cold. You have no idea. I can now

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return you, huntsman, to Olfin, but first I will

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make you this suggestion. The Dísir are close

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by this mother's night, and the spirits might

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decide to aid your quest. For understand this,

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two ravens flew from Orphan's shoulders, Hugin

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to the hand, Amunin to the slain. Memory you

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hold in your hands, but it is thought that you

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must ensure comes calling. So you mean to say

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that we need to find... Thought. That's been

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our problem all along. If only I had the thought.

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My offer to you is a simple but gruesome one.

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A volunteer must join the ranks of the hanged

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men outside the temple. Then if you are lucky,

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the raven will come to the hanged one and whisper

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his secrets. Now, of course, in Norse society,

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human life was the most valuable sacrifice that

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the Vikings could make to their gods. We know

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from written sources that Odin often demanded

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a sacrifice by hanging and was known as the Lord

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of the Hanged. It's just up to you as to whether

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you wish to seek the advice of the Dísir. How

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does the sacrificing work? Is it just... hung

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by the neck from a tree branch? When you entered

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the grove last time, you saw all manner of beasts

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hanging, some hens, some horses, some people,

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some dogs, all hanging from the trees in nooses.

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And yes, she did cut them and spray blood, such

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is the fun nature of sacrifice to the gods. Does

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it have to be a human? Certainly has to be someone

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who has an esophagus. Because... You would just

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effectively form a pendulum. I would just be

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an ornament. I was going to ask if they had any

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really strong ropes so we could hang air. I don't

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think it'd be effective as a sacrifice. Perhaps

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we could find a volunteer. We could find a volunteer.

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here, but we've arrived with none. We killed

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them all. One of you's a rock, one of you's a

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tree. There's only one option. It's me. Or you

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can forgo this kind offer from the priestess

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and simply make your own way home. Um, Leomi?

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Yeah? We know now that you're well -versed in

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the healing arts. Indeed. Hypothetically, our

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friend and our revered Jarl here were to sacrifice

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themselves. Could you later undo the effects

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of it? I don't know that I've ever raised someone

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fully from death. I'm hoping not to sacrifice

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him to death. Just to the point where he's almost

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dead. Just to discomfort, maybe. He can claim

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he's feeling better. Oh, bliss. Or what? Hang

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from the neck until you are blissful. I'm sure

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it'll be fine. I mean, I'm pretty sure. It's

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probably not a risk. I expect he'll come back

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no problem. Is it hanging from the neck, or is

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it hanging from the tree and then other things

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to try and kill me? I'm not sure. I will not

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pierce your side with a spear, if that is what

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you mean. Rest assured, should you venture into

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the spirit realm and descend to hell, I can bring

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you back with my incantations, for I know the

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spell to awaken the dead. Well, that sounds like

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a yes. Every hero must die and be reborn. This

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is my chance. Let's do it. Apostasis it is. You

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are hung by the neck and dangled from the branches

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of a great oak tree in the grove. Your eyes bulge

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in your skull and your throat goes taut as you

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gasp for breath. The world goes entirely black.

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The Priestess proceeds to paint runes in blood

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all over your corpse and utter strange incantations

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to resurrect you from the dead and you recall

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nothing of this experience at all apart from

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seeing a huge raven approach as the noose is

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tightened and then moments after illy finishes

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the spell you open your eyes and immediately

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utter three pieces of advice that appear to have

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been delivered directly from Hugin itself. Would

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you care to tell us what those pieces of advice

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are? The sons of Evaldi carved runes on the tip

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of Ganungir and stole the wings of Hugen and

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Munin. To defeat your foe, you must call forth

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the Lanvatir, compelled by law and deed. The

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Weaver's Web holds your deliverance. Spooky.

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I thought I'd go full Norseman on that one. Those

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cryptic words of wisdom, such as they are, may

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well enable you. to conclude this adventure and

00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:41.259
the campaign. I got parts of it. Yeah. It's easy

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still waking up and going, where am I? What happened?

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I'm thirsty. Does someone have a drink? Ely plans

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to use the Doors of the Dead spell to send you

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home, but she says that without a clear destination,

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the wreck of the falcon, or rather the lair of

00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:06.169
the dragon, is vital to the spell's success.

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She divines that that's what is meant by the

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weaver's web holds your deliverance. So Odin's

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spear is Gungnir, is it? Yes, it is. Ah, and

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so... What's the land that's here? Spirits of

00:15:28.210 --> 00:15:31.309
the land in the old Nordic religion. Yes, I...

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I've seen a magic book with them drawn in there.

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They look like aliens. Funny enough, they look

00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:40.200
like Steve and Bill. We've referred to you all

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as land whites, as land fatigues throughout the

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whole saga. You perhaps hold the secret to your

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success, compelled by law and deed. What documents

00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:59.879
do you possess that may compel the spirits of

00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:06.639
the land? Huge coincidence. Caesar, I happen

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.659
to have a deed. Yes. What are the chances? You

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do. I see all. I know all. Now, you must wear

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hell shoes made from the remains of your ship.

00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:30.120
That will enable you to return to Lord Odin.

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Okay. Anyone here good at making shoes out of

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spaceships? I buy shoes. I don't make them. I

00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:43.559
didn't actually think that. I'm just checking

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if a cobbler is one of mine. You have a profession.

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I don't. Really? What have you done with your

00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:57.379
time? You're four. We study and read and win

00:16:57.379 --> 00:17:01.059
at Tonga Honk. So I'm still enjoying the GM hitting

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us over the head with deed, law and deed, deed,

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deed, deed. And then eventually, eventually.

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I didn't realize 6th century Europe had deeds.

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Luckily, this is a CRS with a command of past,

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present and future and insights into all kinds

00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:23.700
of things that are going on in this campaign.

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Now, it's not necessarily a case that you have

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to cobble yourself together some shoes of ironwood,

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but merely taking something that will enable

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her to anchor the spell on a destination and

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a time, that's the vital ingredient. So you can

00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:46.640
simply strap on pieces of ironwood hull to your

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feet, a bit like impromptu sandals, and then

00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:53.940
when you are ready, Ely will open the greenways

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and send you back. to Himeslip, ready to face

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the future. Of course, she doesn't know that

00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.440
that's what she's doing. She has only a very

00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:06.759
vague notion that she is returning you to where

00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:09.799
you belong. She thinks you are part of Othin's

00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:12.019
wild hunt, and that you will be returning to

00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:16.839
Asgard. Okay, we shall return to the ship, I

00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:20.500
suppose, and find some bits. I guess, should

00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:26.589
we? Yeah. And the popcorn maker. It's a good

00:18:26.589 --> 00:18:29.490
thing we blew it up good, because now there's

00:18:29.490 --> 00:18:32.869
quite a lot of debris to select from. All right,

00:18:32.869 --> 00:18:36.069
well, I guess I'm going to strap some remnants

00:18:36.069 --> 00:18:40.170
onto my footsies. And he says to you, just before

00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:42.809
she begins to cast the spell, she says to you,

00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:48.170
Laramie, did you want to say goodbye to your

00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:52.779
bear cubs? Yes, please. Yes, please. We have

00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:54.779
traveled far with them and they have never been

00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:57.460
far from my thoughts, even if occasionally slipping

00:18:57.460 --> 00:19:00.519
from my memory. And occasionally, well, that's

00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:02.759
one of the problems of having memory loss as

00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:05.579
a character and as a player. It goes hand in

00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:09.319
hand. Wait, shouldn't we take them with us? They

00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:13.400
could grow up and devour your ancestors, my ancestors.

00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.220
We shouldn't leave them here. I think they would

00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:19.519
be happier here. I think they'll be safer here.

00:19:19.950 --> 00:19:22.130
They've been through much. The world is younger.

00:19:22.130 --> 00:19:24.690
Are you not listening? They could devour our

00:19:24.690 --> 00:19:27.890
ancestors. They could devour yours. They could

00:19:27.890 --> 00:19:31.569
be a sproutling. Well, listen, I'll talk to one

00:19:31.569 --> 00:19:34.049
of them and make it clear they're not to do that.

00:19:34.190 --> 00:19:37.890
And I think they're bears of great wisdom. I

00:19:37.890 --> 00:19:42.450
think it'll be just fine. I'll use my bird charms

00:19:42.450 --> 00:19:46.410
gift to say farewell. And also, Gigi, I will

00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:49.869
make sure they don't eat your ancestors. But

00:19:49.869 --> 00:19:51.529
you don't really have any. You were born in a

00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:54.309
test tube, weren't you? Someone had to make the

00:19:54.309 --> 00:19:58.690
test tube. Yes, okay. All right, and so no glassmakers

00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:02.690
then either. No one working in the crafts at

00:20:02.690 --> 00:20:05.710
all. We'll assume that you're just emanating

00:20:05.710 --> 00:20:08.630
love, care, and compassion towards these bears.

00:20:09.289 --> 00:20:12.819
Yeah. The princess continues her incantations,

00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:15.640
and before you know it, you reel, tumble, and

00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.599
fall through the greenways. For a moment, you

00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:22.339
are lost in a giant arboreal maze, a place of

00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:25.099
visions. Up above you, the northern lights crown

00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:28.200
the majestic tree with their haunting motion.

00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:32.000
Generations of your ancestors hang from its branches

00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.299
like brittle leaves, mouthing silent warnings

00:20:36.299 --> 00:20:40.450
through starved lips. And then you thump onto

00:20:40.450 --> 00:20:43.970
ice and rock, the wind knocked out of your body,

00:20:44.089 --> 00:20:47.990
except for air, obviously, or possibly from Leomi

00:20:47.990 --> 00:20:51.150
as well. In actual fact, CJ, you're the only

00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:53.029
one that has the wind knocked out of your body.

00:20:54.230 --> 00:20:59.170
The Norse call it staggering because the journey

00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:03.910
feels exactly like trying to run when five flagons

00:21:03.910 --> 00:21:09.109
into a feast. I guess we should determine when

00:21:09.109 --> 00:21:12.150
we are. Yes. And I guess we should determine

00:21:12.150 --> 00:21:15.710
where we are. And I suppose we might as well

00:21:15.710 --> 00:21:21.230
try to figure out who we are. And how. And how.

00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:26.650
And why. Well, I'm not sure there's any answer

00:21:26.650 --> 00:21:30.930
for that. That's the biggie, yeah. Is the landscape,

00:21:31.210 --> 00:21:35.089
like the general shapes of the landscape, familiar?

00:21:36.269 --> 00:21:38.569
To where we left, you know, have we just moved

00:21:38.569 --> 00:21:41.289
only in time or have we also moved in place?

00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:48.049
That is a very good question. You are in the

00:21:48.049 --> 00:21:51.529
middle of a very dark forest during the polar

00:21:51.529 --> 00:21:54.869
night. There is no glimpse of light in the sky,

00:21:55.009 --> 00:22:00.029
just uninterrupted darkness. The frigid air bites

00:22:00.029 --> 00:22:03.230
at exposed skin and every noise seems amplified.

00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:07.539
in the silent, eerie stillness. Surrounding you

00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:11.420
are trees that loom like icy sentinels, an old

00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:14.779
-growth forest that you recognize as being near

00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:19.039
the southern shore of the world's end archipelago.

00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:24.779
The scar in the sky is gone? The scar in the

00:22:24.779 --> 00:22:31.119
sky has indeed gone. Well? Are we home? The last

00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:33.400
time you were in the Ife Forest you spied this

00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:35.940
old man beckoning you and you promptly ignored

00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:39.220
him but this is a knot. This is like one of the

00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:42.240
gates to the greenways although it's been locked

00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:45.400
tight and the whole area you remember is cordoned

00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:48.599
off with razor wire and warning signs partly

00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.740
as an attempt to protect the trees from the effects

00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:55.039
of glaciation but also perhaps to stop people

00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:59.339
using this method to travel off -world. Before

00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:02.059
you can properly get your bearings, however,

00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:06.680
you notice a hooded, visored figure lurking in

00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:10.539
the forest beyond. For we have a special surprise

00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:15.559
guest star. Hello, boys. Hello. I've been waiting

00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:18.920
for you to get back. I'm glad you're all in one

00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:23.920
piece. Now wait just one minute. Last I saw you,

00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:27.970
you went flash and you were gone. Where did you

00:23:27.970 --> 00:23:31.829
go? Well, my body disappeared, darling, but my

00:23:31.829 --> 00:23:34.490
entire intelligence can be downloaded into a

00:23:34.490 --> 00:23:37.490
new one. Do you like it? And as you look closely,

00:23:37.589 --> 00:23:40.289
she's showing not just blue, but yellow robes.

00:23:41.230 --> 00:23:44.769
It's lovely. Thank you. I think it suits my hair

00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:48.769
a bit better, don't you? Now, before we kind

00:23:48.769 --> 00:23:50.589
of get down to business, because I know we're

00:23:50.589 --> 00:23:54.890
in danger, can I ask, do you have it? Is it secret?

00:23:55.009 --> 00:24:00.950
Is it safe? A thought? No, none. She's just sadly

00:24:00.950 --> 00:24:07.250
not looking at Gigi at this point. Do you have

00:24:07.250 --> 00:24:10.269
the skull? Do you have the raven skull? Is it

00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:15.289
safe? Yes, we have it still. Would you mind showing

00:24:15.289 --> 00:24:18.650
me it? I've heard of it, but I've never actually

00:24:18.650 --> 00:24:23.990
seen it. All right. Naomi holds it out for her

00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:30.609
to see. It's so small. Can I just hold it for

00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:35.569
a second? I don't know what to do. Yeah, I heard

00:24:35.569 --> 00:24:38.750
yellow robes. Are those yellow Sons of Evaldi

00:24:38.750 --> 00:24:42.569
-style robes? You'll remember that the Sons of

00:24:42.569 --> 00:24:46.630
Evaldi wear robes according to their bank balance.

00:24:47.230 --> 00:24:54.049
Okay. So, for example, when you last met Brynn,

00:24:54.190 --> 00:24:58.700
Evaldi's daughter, She was Bryn B 'laar. That

00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:01.839
means blue. You've met various other characters

00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:06.460
like Bangsy. Bangsy is the white. Bangsy Fynta

00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:11.160
of Baldur's. And so, depending on how much wealth

00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:15.599
they have, their clothes change. And also, you

00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.460
remember that you saw past Bangsy on Mimisbrunner

00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:22.920
wearing green robes. In the present, he was always

00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:29.420
adorned with the finest white. I think I'll just

00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:32.400
hold on to the skull for now. You've seen it.

00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:34.480
Really? You can trust me. I'm not going to run

00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:37.359
off with it. I could have had you all rounded

00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:41.759
up by now if I was. How did you know to wait

00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:48.839
for us here? Good question. And now? Good question.

00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:55.609
And why? Why? Because when I returned, I learned

00:25:55.609 --> 00:25:58.109
you'd all gone. And I was like, well, where could

00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.109
they have gone? So I have, amongst other things,

00:26:01.269 --> 00:26:03.690
been trying to look out for you guys. But here,

00:26:03.829 --> 00:26:06.910
in the dark forest, in the middle of nowhere,

00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:11.329
in the eternal night? Can we see the skull you

00:26:11.329 --> 00:26:14.109
have? Oh, I don't have one, unfortunately, darling.

00:26:15.170 --> 00:26:18.609
I'm not that important yet. We're all making

00:26:18.609 --> 00:26:21.589
faces. It's such a shame there's no video for

00:26:21.589 --> 00:26:25.549
the recording. Gigi's just crossing his arms.

00:26:26.069 --> 00:26:31.890
Could you give us one moment, please? And Gigi's

00:26:31.890 --> 00:26:36.049
going to huddle. Whisper. He's going to huddle

00:26:36.049 --> 00:26:41.890
and whisper with the rock and the tree. Yeah,

00:26:41.890 --> 00:26:45.809
that's what it does. I don't remember much from

00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:50.130
the dream, but I remember the Sons of Evaldi.

00:26:50.650 --> 00:26:55.509
being the bad guys. We should be careful. She

00:26:55.509 --> 00:27:00.990
seems nice, but devils often show up as small

00:27:00.990 --> 00:27:07.990
girl -like children. And we don't know what else

00:27:07.990 --> 00:27:10.950
has changed. We can't assume everything's going

00:27:10.950 --> 00:27:14.329
to be the way we left it. Things might have changed.

00:27:15.549 --> 00:27:17.910
I mean, you know, in case we had an influence

00:27:17.910 --> 00:27:20.430
on the present. through our actions in the past.

00:27:20.630 --> 00:27:24.369
Also, we seem quite nice, but a lot of people

00:27:24.369 --> 00:27:30.930
have died all around us. Yeah. Including her!

00:27:30.950 --> 00:27:33.109
At this point, you're going to hear a sound from

00:27:33.109 --> 00:27:37.589
behind you all, and it gets louder and more manic,

00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:40.170
and it evolves into one of those maleficent cackles.

00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:43.569
And she'll say, well, there might yet be a mote

00:27:43.569 --> 00:27:47.450
of intelligence between you all yet. But my patience

00:27:47.450 --> 00:27:51.269
is short, and so is my time, and my time is money,

00:27:51.349 --> 00:27:54.670
so if you're not going to hand it to me, I will

00:27:54.670 --> 00:27:58.670
have to take it. And she almost whistles, a little

00:27:58.670 --> 00:28:03.450
bit like touching a dog. Bad Grin, as we call

00:28:03.450 --> 00:28:09.410
her, is not alone. Through the trees, you see

00:28:09.410 --> 00:28:13.430
a huge, hulking war machine splinter through

00:28:13.430 --> 00:28:17.559
the forest. as it guns the area with automatic

00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:20.799
fire, the flashes of the gun muzzle lighting

00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:25.599
up Polar Night. In the darkness beyond you also

00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.500
see through the trees are cybernetic soldiers,

00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:31.920
presumably of the Church of One Zero, literal

00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:35.579
converts to their machine god. They sprint with

00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:39.480
unnerving speed through the snow. modified for

00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:42.180
increased performance and rapid response to threats.

00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.339
They take cover behind the ancient trunks, firing

00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:50.880
short bursts as they advance. What a compliment.

00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:55.400
An entire division just for me? I must be dangerous.

00:28:56.579 --> 00:29:00.180
Before we go too much further, obviously we're

00:29:00.180 --> 00:29:04.660
joined again by the like of Becky Hill, who is

00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:09.180
reprising her character as the clone. Bryn, Evaldi's

00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:12.759
daughter. Before we go on, we paused at the beginning

00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:16.099
of the episode because I asked the quiz question

00:29:16.099 --> 00:29:20.380
and our intrepid trio here, Becky, surprisingly

00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:23.500
weren't able to get it. But being related to

00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:26.339
the sons of Evaldi, the great Evaldi, I'm going

00:29:26.339 --> 00:29:31.160
to ask you the question now and see whether you

00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:34.960
can earn the inspiration point for using the

00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:38.329
battle ahead. So the question... The question

00:29:38.329 --> 00:29:42.390
is this, what did the Sons of Ivaldi make for

00:29:42.390 --> 00:29:48.009
the gods? If I remember correctly, there was

00:29:48.009 --> 00:29:51.069
a ship that could fold like a handkerchief for

00:29:51.069 --> 00:29:55.589
the god Frey. There was the spear Gunnir for

00:29:55.589 --> 00:29:59.589
Odin. And then I think they made the thing that

00:29:59.589 --> 00:30:02.329
was what was really wanted was Sif's golden hair,

00:30:02.509 --> 00:30:07.630
since Loki cut it off. That is correct. The inspiration

00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:10.650
point is yours. Yes, they did indeed fashion

00:30:10.650 --> 00:30:13.910
Skiffbladnir, the flying ship of Freyja. Dungnir,

00:30:14.089 --> 00:30:17.930
the spear that never missed. And yes, Sith's

00:30:17.930 --> 00:30:21.089
golden hair to replace that which Loki had cut

00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:25.789
off. And CJ, just to double back to your comment

00:30:25.789 --> 00:30:29.710
earlier about weapons, Mjolnir was actually made

00:30:29.710 --> 00:30:33.589
by two dwarves, Brokkr and Eita, along with Droughtnir

00:30:33.589 --> 00:30:39.160
the Ring. And it was made after a bet saying

00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:42.819
that Brokka and Eitri couldn't make better gifts

00:30:42.819 --> 00:30:45.440
than the three already made by the Sons of Ivaldi.

00:30:45.579 --> 00:30:51.460
So Milnir was subsequent to the devices, the

00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:56.259
artifacts that Becky, as our Norse expert, delivered.

00:30:56.660 --> 00:31:01.200
So... I want to make sure I understand. So we

00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:03.619
failed to get the inspiration point and now our

00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:06.779
enemy. has got the inspiration point, as well

00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:10.720
as the division of specialized constructed soldiers.

00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:13.980
I just like to know the odds. That's exactly

00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:16.859
right. And I'm going to remind you of a couple

00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:19.380
of things. At the top of the episode, I did introduce

00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:22.259
myself as the ruler of treachery. Well, we always

00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:27.140
thought of you as that anyway. Yeah. Becky, we're

00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:30.200
going to consider this a surprise round because

00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:33.660
whilst the gentlemen are in their huddle working

00:31:33.660 --> 00:31:39.000
out what on earth is going on with the appearance

00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.480
of your clone, we're going to let you sock it

00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:48.599
to them. Very good. Well, in that case, I would

00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:52.579
like to initiate my trigger action of Skyshine.

00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:58.500
It doesn't sound good already. No, it doesn't.

00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:02.079
Becky has availed herself of the opportunity

00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:06.359
to use the death metal expansion and take a character

00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:09.960
from there called a Flamekeeper who uses the

00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:12.839
Hellstones, the radioactive material that the

00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:17.339
Doc Alpha found in Mine 7 or wanted from Mine

00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:21.859
7, and she's now using it for her own nefarious

00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:27.480
game. so she takes out a stone from her pocket

00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:29.380
and it looks very much like something volcanic

00:32:29.380 --> 00:32:34.059
almost like a meteor and it pulses and from its

00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:37.240
pulse emits a blue light and it emits a light

00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:40.039
that surrounds her from head to foot in a perfect

00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:43.559
almost like perfectly fitting bubble and it's

00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:46.319
partially obscures me makes me look a bit blurry

00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:50.779
that's my sky shine which you will... You're

00:32:50.779 --> 00:32:54.099
surrounded by a radioactive shroud. This is fine.

00:32:54.359 --> 00:32:57.819
That was your trigger action. What was your main

00:32:57.819 --> 00:33:01.160
action? And then for my action, she is going

00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:06.440
to extend forth that stone and mutter some words

00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:09.240
that you may or may not understand, and she will

00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:13.420
summon forth her iron storm spell. I'm going

00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:20.259
to ask our unsuspecting dupes, to make a roll

00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:23.759
as an eerie purple glow spreads through the area,

00:33:23.859 --> 00:33:27.299
turning the darkness into shadows. Two things.

00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:31.460
So, first of all, you're all going to take five

00:33:31.460 --> 00:33:34.940
damage. A hundred damage? No, five damage. Just

00:33:34.940 --> 00:33:39.079
five damage. And then, if you could all make

00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:43.539
a might challenge roll, please. Sixteen. Okay,

00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:46.019
in which case, CJ, halve that damage to three.

00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:53.200
I got a ten. Seven. Ten is enough for Leomi to

00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:57.759
also half the damage, so three damage. But air...

00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:02.720
Explodes. Not only takes that full damage, but

00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:08.300
also becomes both fatigued and slowed by the

00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:12.840
ion storm. So that's going to mean your rolls

00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:17.380
are subject to one woe, and... Being slowed,

00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:26.659
you can only take a slow turn. Now, the cybernetic

00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:29.900
soldiers that are sprinting through the tree

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:33.920
line are a little bit too far away, but the huge

00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:37.969
hulking war machine... is closer and just for

00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:40.010
background because you know these war machines

00:34:40.010 --> 00:34:44.590
are diverg they are war bots and this particular

00:34:44.590 --> 00:34:48.750
one is called a battle brand it's manufactured

00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:53.409
by logger hofford martin as an affordable countermeasure

00:34:53.409 --> 00:34:56.630
alternative designed to optimize the man machine

00:34:56.630 --> 00:34:59.969
team interface and mitigate direct threats to

00:34:59.969 --> 00:35:03.679
the warfighter and it comes with a handy 30 -day

00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:06.699
money -back guarantee and refund policy. Anyways,

00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:11.039
these Vigvel or war machines, which were once

00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:15.440
burned as not being particularly Norse, they're

00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:18.119
now a commonplace stationed across the Neuheimer,

00:35:18.219 --> 00:35:22.760
and Bryn has one at her disposal. It fires at

00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:29.099
you with a howling dog. And you all please take...

00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:37.019
17 damage. Is it a creature that is bigger than

00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:41.679
size 2? It is a huge great machine thrusting

00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:44.860
its way through the trees. I would like to use

00:35:44.860 --> 00:35:47.659
Outwit. When a creature larger than you attacks

00:35:47.659 --> 00:35:49.900
you, you can use a triggered action to make a

00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:51.980
slight challenge roll. On a success, you impose

00:35:51.980 --> 00:35:55.579
three woes on the triggering roll. You may do

00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:57.739
so. The only thing I'm going to say is because

00:35:57.739 --> 00:36:01.750
it's... full auto. He's not actually made a roll.

00:36:02.110 --> 00:36:04.469
What I was going to say is that you can all make

00:36:04.469 --> 00:36:12.150
a slight roll to take half of that damage. We'll

00:36:12.150 --> 00:36:17.550
just do that. Should you have any abilities or

00:36:17.550 --> 00:36:21.869
gifts or items, you may well consider using them

00:36:21.869 --> 00:36:26.949
now. I was trying to... Well, yeah. How much

00:36:26.949 --> 00:36:32.139
damage? How much damage did we take? I said 17.

00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:36.619
And I can have that? You can have that if you

00:36:36.619 --> 00:36:39.019
make a slight roll successfully. Yeah, I rolled

00:36:39.019 --> 00:36:42.780
a 17 on mine, so I'll have that, which I think...

00:36:42.780 --> 00:36:44.659
My math's not strong, but I'm thinking that's

00:36:44.659 --> 00:36:52.739
another 3. I rolled a 15. Should I try using...

00:36:52.739 --> 00:36:55.380
I'm talking to my team now. Should we try using

00:36:55.380 --> 00:36:59.159
the skull? to get us back before the Betrayer

00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:02.539
appeared? I was waiting for my turn to ask that.

00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:04.780
I was going to have Gigi turn on a slow turn

00:37:04.780 --> 00:37:07.699
and said, could we use the skull to go back an

00:37:07.699 --> 00:37:11.699
hour to before our arrival? However, would that

00:37:11.699 --> 00:37:15.059
take us back to the Geats? That's what I'm worried

00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:18.219
about, yeah. 50 minutes before we arrived in

00:37:18.219 --> 00:37:20.340
this forest so we can go get some reinforcements.

00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:26.960
Yes. Do we try it? Yes. Yes. Because it doesn't

00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:29.440
look like it's going to go our way right now.

00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:34.340
Yes, I've been hunted by the entire army sent

00:37:34.340 --> 00:37:36.559
to kill me, but yes, we should try something

00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:39.739
different. You don't have to go back the whole

00:37:39.739 --> 00:37:47.079
hour. Yes, we do. All right, so how long have

00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:50.380
we been in the present time that we're now in?

00:37:50.539 --> 00:37:55.679
Because I don't have it set. I think if you just

00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:58.880
stepped back in time using your Waving Star,

00:37:59.019 --> 00:38:02.719
just 10 minutes to when you popped out of the

00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:05.500
greenways and Brynn, that Ivaldi's daughter,

00:38:05.619 --> 00:38:08.659
was there waiting for you, she'll still say,

00:38:08.780 --> 00:38:12.599
hello, boys. But at that point, you can perhaps

00:38:12.599 --> 00:38:16.960
take a slightly different approach. Something

00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:20.860
smarter. Huh. I wonder what that would be. You

00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:23.099
are level 10. You have a range of abilities and

00:38:23.099 --> 00:38:26.139
you have a range of objects. So feel free to

00:38:26.139 --> 00:38:30.860
have an epiphany at any moment. Well, you know,

00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:35.400
it's your optimism that I most appreciate. Before

00:38:35.400 --> 00:38:39.960
stepping into the Greenway, Err would cast Ancestral

00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:41.880
Wisdom on himself because something traumatic

00:38:41.880 --> 00:38:44.179
is bound to happen. Actually, he should get to

00:38:44.179 --> 00:38:45.460
the point where he just does that first thing

00:38:45.460 --> 00:38:48.280
in the morning. While he's brushing his diamond

00:38:48.280 --> 00:38:51.380
encrusted teeth. Yeah, it's just something horrible

00:38:51.380 --> 00:38:54.340
is going to happen. I just know it is. Are we

00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:56.739
in a place where we would be aware of how far

00:38:56.739 --> 00:39:00.400
we are from our old friends, the other rock people,

00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:04.440
the dwellers of the earth, a .k .a. the land

00:39:04.440 --> 00:39:13.380
veteer? You do have a map in your campaign stuff.

00:39:14.670 --> 00:39:19.909
Yes, so as Gigi consults the map. Yes, you are

00:39:19.909 --> 00:39:23.630
in the Ithir Forest. Is that close or is that

00:39:23.630 --> 00:39:27.610
far? It's very close to where you met Daniel

00:39:27.610 --> 00:39:31.050
in Spickball. In actual fact, the last time you

00:39:31.050 --> 00:39:35.909
passed the Ithir Forest, you saw an old man stroke

00:39:35.909 --> 00:39:39.909
a bear and refused to have anything to do with

00:39:39.909 --> 00:39:46.130
it. Ah, yes. But wait, Ed didn't? The other Dark

00:39:46.130 --> 00:39:50.570
Alpha say they're watching us all the time. They

00:39:50.570 --> 00:39:55.769
did. And I think my people will be keenly interested,

00:39:55.969 --> 00:40:00.789
well, in the deed, obviously. So could you commune

00:40:00.789 --> 00:40:06.050
with them and say, we need help? Lots of it.

00:40:06.710 --> 00:40:09.989
Commune, commune. And tell them I'm dreadfully

00:40:09.989 --> 00:40:12.630
sorry for killing that chieftain and a few other

00:40:12.630 --> 00:40:17.199
people. including the seer in your ear. Question

00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:21.219
for you, Gigi. When you inevitably become Jarl,

00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:25.719
I wonder if we could make a deal wherein you

00:40:25.719 --> 00:40:28.679
are Jarl of everything on the surface and my

00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:31.480
people have the mineral rights to everything.

00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:34.860
I think I could float that past them. Yes, whatever

00:40:34.860 --> 00:40:38.219
it takes. In fact, I think the heir could ask

00:40:38.219 --> 00:40:41.960
the seer in his ear whether or... Okay, maybe

00:40:41.960 --> 00:40:45.980
we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Why don't

00:40:45.980 --> 00:40:50.559
we part the division of the spoils of the land

00:40:50.559 --> 00:40:54.300
until such time as you've dealt with the immediate

00:40:54.300 --> 00:40:57.960
threat, which is a platoon of the Sons of Ivaldi,

00:40:58.039 --> 00:41:02.400
led by a familiar face. It's important to recognize

00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:06.000
that we are multifaceted idiots. There's a lot

00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:12.130
going on here. We're multitasking. idiots in

00:41:12.130 --> 00:41:13.590
a number of different ways at the same time.

00:41:13.590 --> 00:41:15.849
We're not just stupid in one direction. That

00:41:15.849 --> 00:41:18.949
would be very unfair. Like an onion. Yeah, that's

00:41:18.949 --> 00:41:22.590
true. Like an onion that someone stepped on and

00:41:22.590 --> 00:41:28.409
it's a bit old. So, yeah. Okay. Hey, Steve, you

00:41:28.409 --> 00:41:31.090
figured it out. What should we do? So we're still

00:41:31.090 --> 00:41:33.869
going to arrive at the same place with Bryn waiting

00:41:33.869 --> 00:41:36.869
for us. We can't do anything about that. So...

00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:39.940
If that's the case, then the moment we arrive

00:41:39.940 --> 00:41:45.340
and see Brynn, we open fire. Why change? It seems

00:41:45.340 --> 00:41:48.880
a bit subtle for us. I could use the god's tongue

00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:53.199
to have a chat with Brynn and perhaps talk us

00:41:53.199 --> 00:41:57.219
out of having to fight to the death, which would

00:41:57.219 --> 00:42:01.280
go our way. I'm certain of it. It's for them.

00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:03.480
So the god's tongue would enable you to determine

00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:05.539
whether she was speaking the truth? That could

00:42:05.539 --> 00:42:08.460
be useful. But she hadn't said any, she hadn't

00:42:08.460 --> 00:42:10.260
even really made any statements other than she

00:42:10.260 --> 00:42:13.260
wanted the skull, which I think we know was truthful.

00:42:13.820 --> 00:42:20.500
But the army didn't show up until she did her

00:42:20.500 --> 00:42:23.679
maniacal laugh. So if I talk to her, call her

00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:27.179
out on her lie, and then distract her by telling

00:42:27.179 --> 00:42:29.440
her how very, very bad she's being by lying,

00:42:29.500 --> 00:42:32.519
that could buy us a little bit of time to prepare

00:42:32.519 --> 00:42:38.570
better. How stupid. I'm going to cast sharp runes.

00:42:38.570 --> 00:42:41.469
No, wait, not sharp runes. I have a better one

00:42:41.469 --> 00:42:48.409
now. Bloody runes on my shaker. Steve, you were

00:42:48.409 --> 00:42:51.210
in the process of having some kind of brainwave.

00:42:51.849 --> 00:42:54.969
Yeah, it doesn't happen often. Air has the new

00:42:54.969 --> 00:42:59.090
ability called Lawspeaker that allows him to

00:42:59.090 --> 00:43:01.929
construct a legal argument that forces another

00:43:01.929 --> 00:43:05.139
creature to comply with your wishes. But it only

00:43:05.139 --> 00:43:09.480
lasts for one round. Yeah, it was a great plan

00:43:09.480 --> 00:43:13.679
until I got to the last for one round part. And

00:43:13.679 --> 00:43:16.000
I was trying to think if there was a way to use

00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:21.380
that. And apparently it killed Bill. I feel that

00:43:21.380 --> 00:43:25.280
you are very slowly feeling yourself towards

00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:30.059
a solution. If only you had something that represented

00:43:30.059 --> 00:43:34.300
the bonds of kinship. All right, Gigi is going

00:43:34.300 --> 00:43:40.079
to use Binding Vow from the thing that he got

00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:43.019
from Beowulf. And so here, I'll read it so that

00:43:43.019 --> 00:43:44.960
you guys know what it is. You demand a solemn

00:43:44.960 --> 00:43:48.599
oath of undertaking when you spend at least one

00:43:48.599 --> 00:43:50.780
minute talking to a creature that can hear and

00:43:50.780 --> 00:43:53.460
understands what you say. Make a wits attack

00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:55.239
roll against the target's will. On a success,

00:43:55.420 --> 00:43:57.480
you may describe a course of activity that is

00:43:57.480 --> 00:44:00.610
obviously not suicidal. And that can be summarized

00:44:00.610 --> 00:44:05.369
in a sentence or two. So basically, I can make

00:44:05.369 --> 00:44:10.829
her make an oath to me to do something for me.

00:44:11.269 --> 00:44:15.070
So Xixi could just say, so I have this new ability.

00:44:15.469 --> 00:44:19.210
I could have her make an oath to me. And that

00:44:19.210 --> 00:44:26.059
oath could be to not kill us. And not take our

00:44:26.059 --> 00:44:27.679
things, though, because we don't want to give

00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:31.900
up the skull. And go away. Obey you. I could

00:44:31.900 --> 00:44:37.000
instruct some legal, well, let's face it, bullshit

00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:41.039
that will compel her to agree to that deal briefly.

00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:44.179
But you don't need to, you see, because I have

00:44:44.179 --> 00:44:47.340
a magical object that will compel her to do what

00:44:47.340 --> 00:44:51.059
I say. So I could send her on a mission to, oh,

00:44:51.199 --> 00:44:54.610
I have an idea. I will send her to go find. bought

00:44:54.610 --> 00:44:59.829
the other raven skull go fetch it for me fetch

00:44:59.829 --> 00:45:03.250
nice by the way she's probably hearing everything

00:45:03.250 --> 00:45:06.530
that she's saying right now the entire time yes

00:45:06.530 --> 00:45:08.710
i've just got a vision of time paused around

00:45:08.710 --> 00:45:11.289
you three having this pretty deep internal discussion

00:45:11.289 --> 00:45:15.809
that's very kind of you options it's so good

00:45:15.809 --> 00:45:18.190
to see you can i cast it i'm trying i'm gonna

00:45:18.190 --> 00:45:23.639
do it so first of all You have to spend at least

00:45:23.639 --> 00:45:27.599
a minute talking to her. Make a wits attack roll

00:45:27.599 --> 00:45:31.500
against the target's will. So Brynn, what is

00:45:31.500 --> 00:45:35.980
your will? My will score is 11. Okay, so you're

00:45:35.980 --> 00:45:38.599
going to have to roll on 11, and before you do

00:45:38.599 --> 00:45:40.639
so, since she's got the inspiration point and

00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:45.039
you don't, can I suggest that you arm yourself

00:45:45.039 --> 00:45:49.679
with as much? guidance or legal counsel or any

00:45:49.679 --> 00:45:52.099
abilities that you can throw at this to make

00:45:52.099 --> 00:45:55.340
sure that that role goes your way because otherwise

00:45:55.340 --> 00:45:58.219
you've got the equivalent of gunfight at the

00:45:58.219 --> 00:46:01.920
OK Corral. Guest counsel usually gets one wheel.

00:46:04.179 --> 00:46:07.360
Can I provide guest counsel as well? I was a

00:46:07.360 --> 00:46:11.639
thing that had to do with stuff. Hang on one

00:46:11.639 --> 00:46:15.960
second. You were a thing. I was a reeve. magistrate,

00:46:15.980 --> 00:46:19.159
so yeah. I'm just going to make that into a woe

00:46:19.159 --> 00:46:25.940
just because. It's so mean. Yeah. What do you

00:46:25.940 --> 00:46:30.360
want to do then, CJ? What is the quest that you're

00:46:30.360 --> 00:46:35.639
going to compel Brynn to perform? Alright, so

00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:37.960
how many wheels or woes do I have on this roll?

00:46:38.780 --> 00:46:42.420
Guidance can give plus two wheel. I guess, Gansel.

00:46:42.860 --> 00:46:45.400
That's three wheels. So while they're doing that,

00:46:45.519 --> 00:46:48.079
Gigi's going to show up and see Bryn and say,

00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:52.360
Bryn, what a delightful surprise. Hello, boys.

00:46:52.619 --> 00:46:55.519
I've been waiting for you to get back. We haven't

00:46:55.519 --> 00:46:57.059
seen you in forever. The last time I saw you,

00:46:57.099 --> 00:46:59.460
you disappeared into a flash of light. It's so

00:46:59.460 --> 00:47:02.639
good to see you. You won't believe all the things

00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:05.000
that we've seen in the past since we've last

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.099
met. By the way, is that a new colour on your

00:47:09.099 --> 00:47:12.320
robes? That's incredible. Where did those come

00:47:12.320 --> 00:47:14.900
from? And this is just going to keep going for

00:47:14.900 --> 00:47:16.159
a minute. And meanwhile, he's going to roll.

00:47:18.019 --> 00:47:23.800
Woo! Blattery. I'll get you everywhere. The highest

00:47:23.800 --> 00:47:27.039
was four, so total of 19. Very good. Well, that

00:47:27.039 --> 00:47:33.119
will be enough to use the binding vow of Beowulf's

00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:38.480
tool to compel Brynn to perform a task that you

00:47:38.480 --> 00:47:41.989
set her. Now it's up to you to use that task

00:47:41.989 --> 00:47:47.070
wisely because this is where the plan gets weak.

00:47:47.530 --> 00:47:52.550
She could be a valuable informant. Well, hearing

00:47:52.550 --> 00:47:54.829
kind of like the friendly overtones from Gigi

00:47:54.829 --> 00:47:57.550
and then the magic underlying that conversation,

00:47:57.949 --> 00:48:01.449
you'll see her original kind of like stern but

00:48:01.449 --> 00:48:04.670
serious face changing to the more amicable, gentle,

00:48:04.769 --> 00:48:06.769
little geeky scientist that she was when you

00:48:06.769 --> 00:48:10.239
first met her all those moons ago. And she will

00:48:10.239 --> 00:48:12.599
appear quite shocked that you're all here, because

00:48:12.599 --> 00:48:14.619
she will then remember what's lurking in the

00:48:14.619 --> 00:48:17.260
trees behind her. Then she will start saying,

00:48:17.300 --> 00:48:20.139
you shouldn't be here. You need to leave. You

00:48:20.139 --> 00:48:22.420
need to go. You need to take the skull somewhere

00:48:22.420 --> 00:48:26.500
safe. Speaking of skulls, do you know where the

00:48:26.500 --> 00:48:31.179
other one is? Unfortunately, I don't. As you

00:48:31.179 --> 00:48:33.800
notice, my colours have changed, but I don't

00:48:33.800 --> 00:48:36.639
have that kind of knowledge. Unless, I don't

00:48:36.639 --> 00:48:41.300
know, there might be a way. Hmm. What I do know

00:48:41.300 --> 00:48:43.000
is that you can't go any further beyond these

00:48:43.000 --> 00:48:47.579
trees. There's a whole battalion of, well, what

00:48:47.579 --> 00:48:50.880
can we say, followers, so to speak, of that church,

00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:54.019
the 1 -0. They're looking for you and obviously

00:48:54.019 --> 00:48:58.760
the skull that you have. What has changed? What

00:48:58.760 --> 00:49:01.420
are the sons of Vivaldi up to right now? The

00:49:01.420 --> 00:49:04.980
plan that she reveals to you. because she has

00:49:04.980 --> 00:49:07.760
the inside information as to what the sons of

00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:12.820
Avaldi are up to, is that they have been using

00:49:12.820 --> 00:49:17.539
the cloak of this Fimbulvita, this great winter,

00:49:17.679 --> 00:49:24.639
in order to rebuild Min in their image, in order

00:49:24.639 --> 00:49:29.360
to help their ascension to godhood. And in the

00:49:29.360 --> 00:49:33.480
same way as that... rare earth minerals are needed

00:49:33.480 --> 00:49:38.739
for today's iPhones and smart TVs, they are also

00:49:38.739 --> 00:49:43.639
using the vast polar wealth to help create the

00:49:43.639 --> 00:49:48.920
new version of Min and power it with the skulls

00:49:48.920 --> 00:49:51.460
of Hoongin and Moonin, which effectively act

00:49:51.460 --> 00:49:55.500
as the CPU and the RAM. So you can think of the

00:49:55.500 --> 00:49:59.780
Ravenskulls as an integral part of this new Norse

00:49:59.780 --> 00:50:03.800
supercomputer that they were building in Sokvebeka,

00:50:03.920 --> 00:50:08.659
but now have relocated to the Firefox Institute.

00:50:09.599 --> 00:50:12.440
She also reveals to you that some of the soldiers,

00:50:12.539 --> 00:50:15.940
the cybernetic soldiers that you saw there, are

00:50:15.940 --> 00:50:20.519
people who, as I mentioned, are literally converted

00:50:20.519 --> 00:50:24.780
to the Church of the One Zero. Not just in the

00:50:24.780 --> 00:50:29.800
sense of their faith, but they have been grafted

00:50:29.800 --> 00:50:33.840
with the same cybernetic components that the

00:50:33.840 --> 00:50:36.639
Sons of Avaldi sport in order to turn them into

00:50:36.639 --> 00:50:40.019
superhuman soldiers. Almost a sort of, oh, what

00:50:40.019 --> 00:50:45.000
would the phrase be? Cybermen. There you go.

00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:49.760
Hatchie, what about the Hounds people? Are they

00:50:49.760 --> 00:50:54.730
being converted? Like, against their will? Or

00:50:54.730 --> 00:50:58.190
what are they doing? Are they in danger? Yes,

00:50:58.289 --> 00:51:01.090
the townspeople are in danger. They're all being

00:51:01.090 --> 00:51:05.630
converted one by one. No one's getting a chance

00:51:05.630 --> 00:51:08.489
to say no. They're all going under the same process.

00:51:08.909 --> 00:51:11.989
So if we approach the town, we're going to make

00:51:11.989 --> 00:51:16.929
it worse. So Error now has the ability to sit

00:51:16.929 --> 00:51:19.780
and concentrate for a minute. and think about

00:51:19.780 --> 00:51:23.840
a place where he has been within 100 miles. And

00:51:23.840 --> 00:51:26.980
at the end of that time, he will now have a vision

00:51:26.980 --> 00:51:31.139
of that place as of right now. You'll be able

00:51:31.139 --> 00:51:34.099
to see what's going on there right now. So if

00:51:34.099 --> 00:51:37.599
we were to look in on somewhere, where would

00:51:37.599 --> 00:51:40.360
that be? Would it be the Institute or the Church?

00:51:41.139 --> 00:51:45.119
Or, you know, the Church of the One... Two? The

00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:48.269
Church of the One Zero. Yeah. You know, it's

00:51:48.269 --> 00:51:50.269
quite easy to remember because it's binary. See?

00:51:50.389 --> 00:51:53.730
One, zero. The church of the one, two. I'm sorry,

00:51:53.929 --> 00:51:56.650
I'm a man made of stone. I don't understand this.

00:51:56.670 --> 00:51:59.289
That's the dancing church. The church of the

00:51:59.289 --> 00:52:03.489
one, two. Of the five, six, seven, eight. Take

00:52:03.489 --> 00:52:08.730
this waltz. And shove it. So if we were to look

00:52:08.730 --> 00:52:14.280
in on somewhere, any suggestions? No. Okay. All

00:52:14.280 --> 00:52:16.699
I can recommend is the Firefox Institute. That's

00:52:16.699 --> 00:52:20.260
where the new MIM is being built. You can see

00:52:20.260 --> 00:52:23.599
the progress or lack of. Because without that

00:52:23.599 --> 00:52:26.099
skull, there's a bit of a problem. So they're

00:52:26.099 --> 00:52:31.300
trying to fix it as best they can. So the Chair

00:52:31.300 --> 00:52:34.820
of the Norns spell will enable you to effectively

00:52:34.820 --> 00:52:38.280
scry as if you had a palantir. You visualise

00:52:38.280 --> 00:52:39.900
a place, which you've seen at least once, like

00:52:39.900 --> 00:52:42.650
you said. That could be... all of help makar

00:52:42.650 --> 00:52:45.489
itself so you could get a full sense of what

00:52:45.489 --> 00:52:49.849
is happening in the town you would be able to

00:52:49.849 --> 00:52:53.469
should you find a position of safety because

00:52:53.469 --> 00:52:56.750
you are about to be inundated by an elite troop

00:52:56.750 --> 00:53:00.849
of overclocked warriors but then you know once

00:53:00.849 --> 00:53:02.429
you were able to concentrate you could use that

00:53:02.429 --> 00:53:05.809
chair of the norms to see okay what the town

00:53:05.809 --> 00:53:09.309
was like and then plan your strategy so you can

00:53:09.309 --> 00:53:12.900
see the whole town it's not just a A ground POV

00:53:12.900 --> 00:53:16.920
sort of thing. Yeah, okay, so let's deal with

00:53:16.920 --> 00:53:21.059
the armored division coming our way, and then

00:53:21.059 --> 00:53:25.400
we have options. I do have a question for Bryn.

00:53:26.059 --> 00:53:30.280
Please ask. How did you know we were going to

00:53:30.280 --> 00:53:35.400
be here and now? I was sent here, Gigi, because

00:53:35.400 --> 00:53:38.860
Bangsy knows you're coming. He knows where you

00:53:38.860 --> 00:53:41.940
are. He can see things a lot further than, I

00:53:41.940 --> 00:53:46.099
don't know, Leomi or Aircam. He's got some ability,

00:53:46.440 --> 00:53:49.619
some very strong ability. So this is why I was

00:53:49.619 --> 00:53:52.599
here. It's all planned. And I was following orders.

00:53:53.320 --> 00:53:59.079
I wonder if he knew you would fail. Remains to

00:53:59.079 --> 00:54:01.599
be seen. We still need to get you guys away from

00:54:01.599 --> 00:54:03.900
what's in those woods. They're waiting on my

00:54:03.900 --> 00:54:07.750
signal. then the oath that we should have her

00:54:07.750 --> 00:54:13.010
take is to take the army off on a wild goose

00:54:13.010 --> 00:54:16.469
chase that way, pointing in a random direction.

00:54:16.710 --> 00:54:20.570
That way? That way. Up, down, left, right, north,

00:54:20.750 --> 00:54:26.170
south, away from the town. That's a given. And

00:54:26.170 --> 00:54:28.070
away from us, like off a cliff, for instance,

00:54:28.250 --> 00:54:31.519
would be great. And that shall give us enough

00:54:31.519 --> 00:54:34.820
time to recruit our good friends the Lundveteer.

00:54:34.880 --> 00:54:38.179
We could raise an army of our own since there

00:54:38.179 --> 00:54:42.539
were so many of them. What a good idea. A whole

00:54:42.539 --> 00:54:46.460
army of abominations. They have an army. We'll

00:54:46.460 --> 00:54:50.360
have an army. And then we will pay this bangsy

00:54:50.360 --> 00:54:53.760
a visit. I feel like the oath needs to be really

00:54:53.760 --> 00:54:57.300
specific. Take them away. Run them off the cliff.

00:54:57.960 --> 00:55:03.190
And then... disappear. Oh wait, no. We could

00:55:03.190 --> 00:55:05.250
make it even better than that. Have her swear

00:55:05.250 --> 00:55:08.230
an oath to protect our lives with everything

00:55:08.230 --> 00:55:11.730
she's got. Including them. From everything. That

00:55:11.730 --> 00:55:15.110
way she's loyal to us to the end. Keep us on

00:55:15.110 --> 00:55:18.510
her good side. And then we can keep her as a

00:55:18.510 --> 00:55:21.630
free agent to keep helping us down the road.

00:55:21.909 --> 00:55:25.489
So you shall now swear an oath to me to protect

00:55:25.489 --> 00:55:30.269
me with your life. in all circumstances and help

00:55:30.269 --> 00:55:33.750
you with your plan and to help us with our plan

00:55:33.750 --> 00:55:37.789
using all the resources at your disposal using

00:55:37.789 --> 00:55:42.329
all the resources at your disposal very well

00:55:42.329 --> 00:55:46.630
nice i swear a couple of things then yeah suggested

00:55:46.630 --> 00:55:50.030
activity would be potentially harmful for you

00:55:50.030 --> 00:55:53.190
you can make another will challenge role and

00:55:53.190 --> 00:55:56.730
is not effective on the success and so looking

00:55:56.730 --> 00:56:00.460
after Being a babysitter for these guys is known

00:56:00.460 --> 00:56:03.800
to be one of the most harmful occupations on

00:56:03.800 --> 00:56:08.460
Midgard. So give it another roll. So this is

00:56:08.460 --> 00:56:14.219
a will challenge roll. That's nine plus one is

00:56:14.219 --> 00:56:17.739
a straight ten. Well, you know what? She shrugged

00:56:17.739 --> 00:56:24.400
off the binding vow. Screwed. Because you made

00:56:24.400 --> 00:56:29.460
it potentially harmful to her. It is no longer

00:56:29.460 --> 00:56:35.280
ironclad. She may wriggle out of it. I mean,

00:56:35.280 --> 00:56:40.179
that was our best plan ever. Yeah. Failed immediately.

00:56:40.420 --> 00:56:43.219
Yeah. But still, it was good. Good while it lasted.

00:56:43.559 --> 00:56:48.639
I liked it. Yeah. Yeah. It felt good. Can I keep

00:56:48.639 --> 00:56:50.679
talking to her for another minute and cast it

00:56:50.679 --> 00:56:56.159
again? She's now immune. However, events now.

00:56:56.960 --> 00:57:02.320
Luckily for you, intervene. Because in the pitch

00:57:02.320 --> 00:57:06.019
darkness, you hear a distant thunder growing

00:57:06.019 --> 00:57:10.219
louder and more insistent. The air carries a

00:57:10.219 --> 00:57:14.059
sharp cold breeze infused with a metallic tang

00:57:14.059 --> 00:57:17.760
of adrenaline and the musky scent of bare fur.

00:57:18.320 --> 00:57:22.400
As they draw nearer, the ground vibrates more

00:57:22.400 --> 00:57:25.059
fiercely with the weight of ispial charging through

00:57:25.059 --> 00:57:28.250
the dark. There's a fainter underlying itself,

00:57:28.269 --> 00:57:31.010
too, leather creaking and armor rattling with

00:57:31.010 --> 00:57:33.510
each stride of the massive beasts. Suddenly,

00:57:33.730 --> 00:57:36.969
the night air is pierced by the song of the Alfar

00:57:36.969 --> 00:57:41.650
as the scions of Yggdrasil burst into the fray,

00:57:41.690 --> 00:57:46.389
scattering the lurking enemy from atop their

00:57:46.389 --> 00:57:51.010
earth -side stairs. Rin, it's probably a good

00:57:51.010 --> 00:57:56.130
time for you to swear insult these chaps and

00:57:56.130 --> 00:58:01.650
run off into the night as your ambush has been

00:58:01.650 --> 00:58:06.690
detected by the alpha of the region and thwarted.

00:58:07.269 --> 00:58:11.269
You're all blundering idiots. You couldn't even

00:58:11.269 --> 00:58:15.030
get me on your side. I will see you later that

00:58:15.030 --> 00:58:19.110
you run off into the forest. Until the next time.

00:58:19.590 --> 00:58:24.829
Thanks for making it worse. Thank you for not

00:58:24.829 --> 00:58:26.889
killing me. I appreciated you all trying not

00:58:26.889 --> 00:58:29.409
to kill me, but we respected you if you have,

00:58:29.550 --> 00:58:33.349
so it's all good. We certainly gave it a good

00:58:33.349 --> 00:58:38.949
think. Yeah. That went better than planned. Went

00:58:38.949 --> 00:58:42.070
better than expected. Well, mostly because somebody

00:58:42.070 --> 00:58:47.230
else saved us, but you know. It went the alpha.

00:58:47.769 --> 00:58:52.670
A stride there is beyond mounts. Rear in front

00:58:52.670 --> 00:58:56.050
of you, and you can smell the fetid, fishy breath

00:58:56.050 --> 00:59:01.030
of the polar bears. From atop one of the mounts,

00:59:01.269 --> 00:59:08.150
you hear a familiar voice. Brother, mine eyes

00:59:08.150 --> 00:59:11.949
deceive me, for I reckoned thee claimed by the

00:59:11.949 --> 00:59:15.909
merciless winter tempests. How dost thou tread

00:59:15.909 --> 00:59:21.920
upon this? Still amongst the living. Hail, brother.

00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:25.599
We have traveled far beyond imagining and had

00:59:25.599 --> 00:59:28.820
adventures beyond imagining, but protected and

00:59:28.820 --> 00:59:33.219
guided by the great spirits of the world and

00:59:33.219 --> 00:59:37.239
of reality. We've come back. How fair is thee?

00:59:37.380 --> 00:59:41.760
You have an army. Indeed, brother. I'll come

00:59:41.760 --> 00:59:46.239
to me for the sons of Avalir. shrewd and cunning

00:59:46.239 --> 00:59:50.260
did purchase the land from amongst those garbed

00:59:50.260 --> 00:59:53.760
in the rags of fortune and thereupon commenced

00:59:53.760 --> 00:59:57.960
to raise a stronghold grand in a cavern deep

00:59:57.960 --> 01:00:00.800
as the bowels of the earth they labor to shape

01:00:00.800 --> 01:00:05.599
fate against the impending doom indeed the drift

01:00:05.599 --> 01:00:09.219
has shown itself a sanctuary most fortuitous

01:00:09.550 --> 01:00:13.110
Cradled far from the clashes of men, stable as

01:00:13.110 --> 01:00:16.909
ancient stone, and nestled high, beyond the grasp

01:00:16.909 --> 01:00:20.630
of the swirling seas, tunneled profound in yon

01:00:20.630 --> 01:00:25.050
steadfast mountain. Did you say they bought the

01:00:25.050 --> 01:00:30.469
land from someone? Indeed I did, from the former

01:00:30.469 --> 01:00:35.570
Jarl. The man you know as Finbogie Asbjornsson,

01:00:35.610 --> 01:00:42.539
he fell upon hard times. Did you also say, honored

01:00:42.539 --> 01:00:47.280
cousin, that they're building their project underground?

01:00:48.639 --> 01:00:53.000
Indeed, such was the case. In their fortified

01:00:53.000 --> 01:00:57.440
vault, Bangzi, ever persuasive, hath moved the

01:00:57.440 --> 01:01:01.039
Empress to house the whole of the Imperial lore

01:01:01.039 --> 01:01:06.619
within its cold embrace. And perhaps my people

01:01:06.619 --> 01:01:11.739
could help us get it without going through the

01:01:11.739 --> 01:01:15.519
town. Perhaps they know of a way underground

01:01:15.519 --> 01:01:19.980
to this abomination they're creating. And it

01:01:19.980 --> 01:01:22.119
takes one to know one, I get that. And to this

01:01:22.119 --> 01:01:24.239
abomination they're creating under the ground.

01:01:25.440 --> 01:01:29.320
That may be so, if you wish to throw in your

01:01:29.320 --> 01:01:33.360
lot with the forces of darkness. Well, kind of

01:01:33.360 --> 01:01:38.849
judging a bit here. One question. Did we fulfill

01:01:38.849 --> 01:01:43.110
the deal we made with them that allowed us to

01:01:43.110 --> 01:01:46.510
escape the last time? They asked us for something.

01:01:46.610 --> 01:01:52.150
I cannot remember what that was. They wanted

01:01:52.150 --> 01:01:56.730
something. Did we do that thing? They asked you

01:01:56.730 --> 01:02:01.769
to secure the rights to Mind7 and indeed all

01:02:01.769 --> 01:02:06.679
of the rights, especially... That was his original

01:02:06.679 --> 01:02:10.179
mission. The reason he was sent forth from their

01:02:10.179 --> 01:02:16.119
dark elf enclave in order to secure the radioactive

01:02:16.119 --> 01:02:20.460
materials, the hell stones that Bryn just demonstrated

01:02:20.460 --> 01:02:29.260
the efficacy of. Result. We have the deed. Therefore,

01:02:29.320 --> 01:02:32.179
we have the power to give them those rights.

01:02:32.219 --> 01:02:37.489
We must simply assert them. But the sons of Vivaldi

01:02:37.489 --> 01:02:44.130
appear to have bought something. They think they

01:02:44.130 --> 01:02:50.989
have. So we need to speak to my people, I think.

01:02:52.210 --> 01:02:56.510
We also have my brother, the Alfar, with a whole

01:02:56.510 --> 01:03:00.429
army of Alfar on Isbjorn. I mean, maybe we could

01:03:00.429 --> 01:03:02.210
think of something to do with them. If nothing

01:03:02.210 --> 01:03:05.780
else, we could put them in front of us. Perhaps

01:03:05.780 --> 01:03:08.340
it would be helpful for me to take a moment to

01:03:08.340 --> 01:03:13.679
commune with things and catch a vision of what's

01:03:13.679 --> 01:03:17.420
happening in Helmikar right now that may help

01:03:17.420 --> 01:03:22.380
guide our choices. Sorry, brain short -circuited,

01:03:22.380 --> 01:03:27.139
trying to think. We'll edit this out. Or not.

01:03:28.260 --> 01:03:36.840
I like to eat them in. At this point, the party

01:03:36.840 --> 01:03:41.460
put themselves trying to think. If Ian wanted

01:03:41.460 --> 01:03:44.039
to, he could deliver a blooper collection that's

01:03:44.039 --> 01:03:47.820
longer than the entire series. I will summarize

01:03:47.820 --> 01:03:52.539
for you before you implode. Before you sit on

01:03:52.539 --> 01:03:56.599
your chair of the Norns, I will remind you that

01:03:56.599 --> 01:04:02.019
the spirits of the land include both the Doc

01:04:02.019 --> 01:04:06.590
Alpha, and the loss alpha. They also include

01:04:06.590 --> 01:04:11.389
those who have a prior claim based on blood and

01:04:11.389 --> 01:04:14.969
soil, which would be the Jotnar of Spikborg,

01:04:15.090 --> 01:04:17.989
your good friend Daniel. You haven't seen for

01:04:17.989 --> 01:04:23.070
many episodes, but certainly they might come

01:04:23.070 --> 01:04:28.170
to your aid. Or a fourth potential beneficiary

01:04:28.170 --> 01:04:33.079
would simply be the Jarl in Waiting. Grok of

01:04:33.079 --> 01:04:37.000
the Magnificent, who did have some kind of claim,

01:04:37.139 --> 01:04:40.739
although it would need to be legitimized through

01:04:40.739 --> 01:04:44.780
his heroic deeds and sealed by the Empress herself

01:04:44.780 --> 01:04:48.739
were it to become official. You effectively have

01:04:48.739 --> 01:04:53.739
four choices. They are embrace the Doc Alpha,

01:04:54.099 --> 01:05:00.329
align with the Los Alpha and the Ispion, to work

01:05:00.329 --> 01:05:03.949
with the Jotnar of Spikborg, the Wailing Giants,

01:05:04.010 --> 01:05:09.130
or to bet on CJ and his ability to carry the

01:05:09.130 --> 01:05:13.630
day single -handed. I mean... I vote number four.

01:05:14.090 --> 01:05:17.070
Air, you still have a wife among the Jotnar.

01:05:17.210 --> 01:05:19.750
I mean, surely that's an advantage. You must

01:05:19.750 --> 01:05:24.250
be dying to see her again. I'd also like to point

01:05:24.250 --> 01:05:28.179
out the irony, because I felt... so bad over

01:05:28.179 --> 01:05:30.820
these past few episodes that we played a ride

01:05:30.820 --> 01:05:32.980
of the Valkyries at the beginning of every episode

01:05:32.980 --> 01:05:36.340
and then CJ wants to ride everything that he

01:05:36.340 --> 01:05:39.719
possibly can and so I gave him a great hulking

01:05:39.719 --> 01:05:43.679
war robot to jump on and for the first time ever

01:05:43.679 --> 01:05:47.880
he didn't jump on it oh I thought about it he

01:05:47.880 --> 01:05:50.880
was thinking about it he was like oh I want to

01:05:50.880 --> 01:05:54.440
jump but but But, you know, dying was imminent.

01:05:54.760 --> 01:05:58.280
He's grown. He's grown. He's more restrained,

01:05:58.280 --> 01:06:01.400
more thoughtful, deeper. He has layers. Another

01:06:01.400 --> 01:06:04.460
onion. Another onion. If the town is an armed

01:06:04.460 --> 01:06:08.559
camp and we attack over land, they might wipe

01:06:08.559 --> 01:06:12.880
out the townsfolk. That can't be honorable, letting

01:06:12.880 --> 01:06:15.420
that happen. Certainly not. You know, there'll

01:06:15.420 --> 01:06:19.320
be no one left to sing songs about you. We can't

01:06:19.320 --> 01:06:22.590
have that. Can you remember, Steve, just how

01:06:22.590 --> 01:06:25.929
well you led relations with your kinsmen? Wasn't

01:06:25.929 --> 01:06:30.570
great. You took their leader's body. Yeah. You

01:06:30.570 --> 01:06:36.409
are roaming around in Redgold's body. You stole.

01:06:37.210 --> 01:06:40.789
Like invasion of the body snatchers. Are you

01:06:40.789 --> 01:06:46.369
giving it back? I liberated. They were going

01:06:46.369 --> 01:06:48.250
to kill us, so I thought it worked out fine.

01:06:48.269 --> 01:06:53.059
You recycled. You recycled, you reused. I'm trying

01:06:53.059 --> 01:06:56.500
to find a way through this that doesn't screw

01:06:56.500 --> 01:07:00.800
air's own people, and I'm having some trouble.

01:07:02.000 --> 01:07:05.179
Might be your fastest way back to Valhalla. There's

01:07:05.179 --> 01:07:07.920
a poem where it's about, like, you know, how

01:07:07.920 --> 01:07:10.380
did you get this land? My father gave it to me.

01:07:10.480 --> 01:07:12.199
Where did he get this land? His father gave it

01:07:12.199 --> 01:07:15.440
to him. How did he get this land? He fought for

01:07:15.440 --> 01:07:18.320
it. Right. So there's the whole idea that to

01:07:18.320 --> 01:07:23.000
make Gigi the Jarl requires the seal of the Empress.

01:07:23.099 --> 01:07:25.860
But since we're in a pinch and she's not on planet,

01:07:26.019 --> 01:07:29.980
then just say Gigi's the Jarl and go around and

01:07:29.980 --> 01:07:32.380
recruit all the armies and bring them together

01:07:32.380 --> 01:07:34.639
and fight the sons of Vivaldi. And then with

01:07:34.639 --> 01:07:36.900
the promise of once it's all said and done, everybody

01:07:36.900 --> 01:07:39.539
kind of, you know, you split up all the stuff

01:07:39.539 --> 01:07:41.780
the way that they want. We have the deed, so

01:07:41.780 --> 01:07:46.840
we technically have that power. And then if we

01:07:46.840 --> 01:07:50.460
don't, well, you know, we still win. So you're

01:07:50.460 --> 01:07:56.480
taking a swing at a sitcom ending. Where everybody

01:07:56.480 --> 01:08:00.159
ends up happy, and it all works out, and we freeze

01:08:00.159 --> 01:08:02.500
on the final shot of everyone laughing in joy.

01:08:02.900 --> 01:08:04.780
Yes, and then we get to do a montage of recruiting

01:08:04.780 --> 01:08:09.920
armies, right? I'm in. Okay. It did sound a bit

01:08:09.920 --> 01:08:12.260
like the Battle of the Five Armies. If you know

01:08:12.260 --> 01:08:15.400
any eagles... But four of them will be on our

01:08:15.400 --> 01:08:22.180
side. Gigi, how do we make this work for you?

01:08:22.500 --> 01:08:26.640
Well, I'm already a Jarl. I have land. I have

01:08:26.640 --> 01:08:35.920
possessions. I have... I have bear claw. I have

01:08:35.920 --> 01:08:40.439
fiddle -baggy sword. And we have the deed to

01:08:40.439 --> 01:08:47.260
the land. Now we shall declare me Jarl of this

01:08:47.260 --> 01:08:51.960
entire land wherever the light doesn't touch.

01:08:52.539 --> 01:08:58.420
I like it. Yeah. I second the motion. Let's do

01:08:58.420 --> 01:09:03.020
it. Let's ride for Gigi. Second place in the

01:09:03.020 --> 01:09:06.340
Honky Tonk. Silver medalist in the Poker Honk.

01:09:06.340 --> 01:09:10.909
It'll be gold next time. I'm level 10 now! You

01:09:10.909 --> 01:09:13.930
might earn a new Polar Star. Let's do the Chair

01:09:13.930 --> 01:09:17.210
of the Norns stuff to help you with your deliberations.

01:09:17.630 --> 01:09:20.489
So now from the relative safety of this frozen

01:09:20.489 --> 01:09:23.710
forest, you can try and locate the secret Avalian

01:09:23.710 --> 01:09:28.649
facility that is housing this newly rebuilt MIM.

01:09:28.729 --> 01:09:32.869
MIM 2 .0. There's a few flashes of inspiration

01:09:32.869 --> 01:09:37.270
that perhaps will come to you. There is. You

01:09:37.270 --> 01:09:42.149
remember that you saw the room master, Raul de

01:09:42.149 --> 01:09:45.789
Cerdin, on the space station, and he was evacuating

01:09:45.789 --> 01:09:52.289
before you found Min. You saw Bangzi leave. You've

01:09:52.289 --> 01:09:56.789
heard Brim talk about the fact that the Sons

01:09:56.789 --> 01:10:00.869
of Ivaldi were... stealing the secrets of the

01:10:00.869 --> 01:10:04.090
Skald, who were the techno -priests who ran that

01:10:04.090 --> 01:10:07.449
facility. You know that those priests were the

01:10:07.449 --> 01:10:11.289
ones who had devised thought and memory drive

01:10:11.289 --> 01:10:16.109
by cutting loose the ravens from Odin. And you

01:10:16.109 --> 01:10:20.210
also know that inadvertently they cut loose Odin's

01:10:20.210 --> 01:10:23.609
walls in Gery and Frecy. And you have seen those

01:10:23.609 --> 01:10:29.390
said same walls cavorting with. banshee has his

01:10:29.390 --> 01:10:33.289
spirit animals so make of that what you will

01:10:33.289 --> 01:10:38.470
sitting in your seat of the norms able to peer

01:10:38.470 --> 01:10:43.569
over the realm towards help makar you can see

01:10:43.569 --> 01:10:46.350
clearly despite the fact that it is still the

01:10:46.350 --> 01:10:50.609
polar night and incredibly dark that the town

01:10:50.609 --> 01:10:53.529
has been placed under martial law and there's

01:10:53.529 --> 01:10:58.189
a strict curfew in force Now, you do have the

01:10:58.189 --> 01:11:02.930
town map and the locations remain the same, but

01:11:02.930 --> 01:11:08.869
Hap Makar is now patrolled heavily by the new

01:11:08.869 --> 01:11:11.689
converse to the Church of the One -Zero, the

01:11:11.689 --> 01:11:13.489
Church of the One -Two, and they're all doing

01:11:13.489 --> 01:11:18.609
the quick step around town. The Church of the

01:11:18.609 --> 01:11:21.649
One -Zero, these heavily augmented overclocked,

01:11:21.649 --> 01:11:27.340
there appear to be at least... 35 that's 50 soldiers

01:11:27.340 --> 01:11:32.119
in the garrison now the church of the one zero

01:11:32.119 --> 01:11:37.920
itself has been constructed quickly and elegantly

01:11:37.920 --> 01:11:41.420
on the foundations of the temple of the bear

01:11:41.420 --> 01:11:46.399
replacing that structure and you can see that

01:11:46.399 --> 01:11:52.239
the perhaps there are around 60 survivors 60s

01:11:52.239 --> 01:11:56.079
townspeople including Solveig Cooking Kettle

01:11:56.079 --> 01:12:00.659
and including Gunnar Weatherbank who are holed

01:12:00.659 --> 01:12:04.359
up in the church, herded into the church perhaps

01:12:04.359 --> 01:12:09.579
for use as bargaining chips. The Firefox Institute

01:12:09.579 --> 01:12:15.000
itself appears to be protected by drones or to

01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:18.899
use the Norse term drinn. They are at roof level.

01:12:19.430 --> 01:12:23.210
50 yards apart, forming a moving cordon that

01:12:23.210 --> 01:12:26.909
starts and ends at the town's power station.

01:12:27.609 --> 01:12:32.750
So there is an aerial flotilla that is monitoring

01:12:32.750 --> 01:12:37.010
for incursions. All of the rest of the buildings

01:12:37.010 --> 01:12:40.210
in town are partially boarded up or, like the

01:12:40.210 --> 01:12:42.350
Temple of the Bear, have been burned to the ground.

01:12:42.810 --> 01:12:47.949
The Rowdison Hotel is also boarded up, and you'll

01:12:47.949 --> 01:12:51.390
remember that. Many moons ago, you moved into

01:12:51.390 --> 01:12:54.850
Bjarne Bjarnason's check. That was fortunately

01:12:54.850 --> 01:12:58.369
already burned down before you left town. All

01:12:58.369 --> 01:13:02.649
of those trapper cabins are now just derelict,

01:13:02.770 --> 01:13:07.210
tumbled down, or outright destroyed. So Eir will

01:13:07.210 --> 01:13:12.069
describe all this while he's seeing it. If they

01:13:12.069 --> 01:13:17.289
see us coming, they might kill the townsfolk

01:13:17.289 --> 01:13:20.100
in the church. Kind of the impression I'm getting.

01:13:20.319 --> 01:13:24.619
How close can we get before they see us? I wonder.

01:13:25.199 --> 01:13:27.899
Gigi, you're a tactical genius. I'm sure you

01:13:27.899 --> 01:13:32.060
have an excellent plan. Well, if our little friend,

01:13:32.279 --> 01:13:35.300
whom turned dark side, light side, then dark

01:13:35.300 --> 01:13:38.300
side again, had anything valuable to share, it's

01:13:38.300 --> 01:13:41.359
that Bangsy appears to already know we're coming.

01:13:41.479 --> 01:13:44.159
And from what you've described, patrols in the

01:13:44.159 --> 01:13:48.199
town, they... I believe they've... already expect

01:13:48.199 --> 01:13:50.279
us to arrive so if they were going to kill the

01:13:50.279 --> 01:13:53.199
villagers they would have done it already okay

01:13:53.199 --> 01:13:58.819
that's my view we just ride into town and let

01:13:58.819 --> 01:14:03.699
the let the games begin or well we need an army

01:14:03.699 --> 01:14:06.699
so the espion is one then we need your people

01:14:06.699 --> 01:14:11.460
to agree it's two i'd prefer not to have the

01:14:11.460 --> 01:14:14.880
help because they are detestable beings that

01:14:14.880 --> 01:14:20.060
i I'll leave it at that. Agreed. Yes, and the

01:14:20.060 --> 01:14:27.319
eagles and the... Yes. The eagles and the dwarves,

01:14:27.340 --> 01:14:30.500
yes. They create a distraction. We go into the

01:14:30.500 --> 01:14:34.119
facility. We find the other head of the raven

01:14:34.119 --> 01:14:40.899
to return to Oðinn and hopefully prevent... Do

01:14:40.899 --> 01:14:43.220
we want to prevent Ragnarok? That doesn't sound

01:14:43.220 --> 01:14:45.670
very Viking of us. Shouldn't we welcome it with

01:14:45.670 --> 01:14:49.689
open arms? Shouldn't we precipitate Ragnarok?

01:14:50.130 --> 01:14:52.510
Wow, that's a good question. Do we want the sons

01:14:52.510 --> 01:14:57.710
of Ivaldi to become gods? No. No. Is there any

01:14:57.710 --> 01:15:01.010
way that we can get them out of the way and we

01:15:01.010 --> 01:15:06.149
get to the make -me -a -god machine? Your divinatory

01:15:06.149 --> 01:15:11.890
spell enables you to... work out that the new

01:15:11.890 --> 01:15:14.789
computer, the new supercomputer, MIM 2 .0 that

01:15:14.789 --> 01:15:20.029
has been grafted in secrecy is to be found in

01:15:20.029 --> 01:15:23.710
the subterranean basement of the Firefox Institute.

01:15:24.329 --> 01:15:28.750
However, you cannot peer further because it appears

01:15:28.750 --> 01:15:34.430
that Bangzi Avalison has shielded the area because

01:15:34.430 --> 01:15:37.869
you are able to scry and peer and eavesdrop.

01:15:38.270 --> 01:15:40.970
You are able to listen in as some of his students

01:15:40.970 --> 01:15:44.970
are discussing the conundrum that they face because

01:15:44.970 --> 01:15:50.970
the supercomputer is effectively offline or not

01:15:50.970 --> 01:15:54.489
working completely because it doesn't have its

01:15:54.489 --> 01:15:59.810
RAM, its memory, its moon in skull. The Imperial

01:15:59.810 --> 01:16:03.989
fleet has been... grounded, then that is going

01:16:03.989 --> 01:16:07.510
to cause all kinds of problems for the Sons of

01:16:07.510 --> 01:16:11.750
Evaldi. Also explains why you weren't met with

01:16:11.750 --> 01:16:17.449
another drift or warship as you were when you

01:16:17.449 --> 01:16:20.869
found your way to their military base. The fleet

01:16:20.869 --> 01:16:27.850
is unable to move and is basically stuck in dock.

01:16:28.890 --> 01:16:33.640
Okay. Yeah, Err would like to ask a question

01:16:33.640 --> 01:16:38.560
to the seer in his ear. Would the Doc Alphar,

01:16:38.779 --> 01:16:44.960
we spoke to previously, agree to help us if they

01:16:44.960 --> 01:16:50.680
gain the deed, the mineral rights for everything

01:16:50.680 --> 01:16:55.720
below the surface, leaving our new Jarl in charge

01:16:55.720 --> 01:16:59.199
of the same territory on the surface? Would they

01:16:59.199 --> 01:17:05.489
go for that? No. Oop. Worth a try. See, I'm trying

01:17:05.489 --> 01:17:08.609
to have my cake and eat it too, right? Let's

01:17:08.609 --> 01:17:11.489
do all four! Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.

01:17:11.569 --> 01:17:16.409
How do we all get cake and eat it too? And whilst

01:17:16.409 --> 01:17:20.909
that is some kumbaya. Yeah, it's not going to

01:17:20.909 --> 01:17:23.609
happen. I think Air is not particularly bothered

01:17:23.609 --> 01:17:26.369
if his people want him dead because they didn't

01:17:26.369 --> 01:17:28.590
like him much to start with. But it would be

01:17:28.590 --> 01:17:31.289
nice to have their army and to be able to attack

01:17:31.289 --> 01:17:34.029
the underground facility from underground. That

01:17:34.029 --> 01:17:37.010
would be helpful. Do you think we can do it with

01:17:37.010 --> 01:17:40.970
just the Icebjorn? Gigi? Let's see. Well, because

01:17:40.970 --> 01:17:44.909
remember the Yothworld have a disdain for the

01:17:44.909 --> 01:17:47.470
Yothworld. So that's a no -go for Gigi right

01:17:47.470 --> 01:17:50.270
off the bat. So the Icebjorn is kind of the only

01:17:50.270 --> 01:17:53.630
option with Gigi becoming the Jarl of everything

01:17:53.630 --> 01:17:56.840
and trying to cobble everything together. Going

01:17:56.840 --> 01:18:01.220
back to what the group was supposed to witness

01:18:01.220 --> 01:18:06.680
with the Rune Master who detonated a star to

01:18:06.680 --> 01:18:10.279
stop the Orkness and then bring that information

01:18:10.279 --> 01:18:14.539
forward to prevent Ragnarok from happening is

01:18:14.539 --> 01:18:16.640
what Mim told us, right? That's what Mim was

01:18:16.640 --> 01:18:19.380
saying. Oh, yes. Right. They're supposed to prevent

01:18:19.380 --> 01:18:22.340
it. So we're supposed to prevent. So the question

01:18:22.340 --> 01:18:26.500
is, does Mim want us to prevent? Ragnarok by

01:18:26.500 --> 01:18:30.600
destroying MIM2 or by empowering MIM2 to turn

01:18:30.600 --> 01:18:34.399
online. No, MIM2 will make Ragnarok happen, right?

01:18:34.399 --> 01:18:39.180
Unbelievable. The crucial thing that MIM had

01:18:39.180 --> 01:18:43.380
said to you was to return thought and memory

01:18:43.380 --> 01:18:46.659
to their rightful owner, otherwise past, present,

01:18:46.699 --> 01:18:48.600
and future would collapse in upon themselves.

01:18:49.159 --> 01:18:53.880
Ah, yes. Yes. That would be bad. So they have

01:18:53.880 --> 01:18:58.779
been stolen. and used for the creation of this

01:18:58.779 --> 01:19:02.500
new supercomputer in in earthen's image but it's

01:19:02.500 --> 01:19:06.960
not necessarily a legitimate enterprise i will

01:19:06.960 --> 01:19:13.079
offer you this oldinger the alpha who you had

01:19:13.079 --> 01:19:16.039
mistakenly assumed had died but had merely fled

01:19:16.039 --> 01:19:19.380
into the wilderness to avoid any repercussions

01:19:19.380 --> 01:19:27.949
or tussles with the sons of avaldi he says, With

01:19:27.949 --> 01:19:49.710
the Ispion as an escort, they take you through

01:19:49.710 --> 01:19:53.449
the Iphir forest and in the heart of this dense,

01:19:53.960 --> 01:19:57.420
and dark polar forests you come to an ancient

01:19:57.420 --> 01:20:02.420
tree towering and majestic its massive trunk

01:20:02.420 --> 01:20:05.000
is gnarled and thick with age having survived

01:20:05.000 --> 01:20:09.619
centuries in this harsh freezing climate the

01:20:09.619 --> 01:20:12.840
bark is deeply furrowed and covered with a layer

01:20:12.840 --> 01:20:15.140
of frost and around its base the undergrowth

01:20:15.140 --> 01:20:18.020
is fast unable to compete with the colossal roots

01:20:18.020 --> 01:20:21.720
that spread like a network of history into the

01:20:21.720 --> 01:20:26.109
frozen earth This ancient sentinel, cloaked in

01:20:26.109 --> 01:20:29.789
perpetual twilight, exudes an aura of timeless

01:20:29.789 --> 01:20:33.869
strength and enduring mystery. And so you're

01:20:33.869 --> 01:20:39.109
quite surprised when it says, You fucking idiots!

01:20:39.369 --> 01:20:42.949
I've been waiting for 1500 years for you to show

01:20:42.949 --> 01:20:45.949
up! Luckily, that's enough time to come up with

01:20:45.949 --> 01:20:52.420
a plan. The Vikings and Valkyries podcast is

01:20:52.420 --> 01:20:55.779
hammered together by a dedicated team of scalds

01:20:55.779 --> 01:20:58.920
and smiths. Please don't forget to like, share

01:20:58.920 --> 01:21:01.340
and sacrifice to the old gods.