Transcript:Hidden Truths

Pre-show
MATT: Hello everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of us nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. ALL: (hollering) We play Dungeons & Dragons!

MATT: That one there. Before we jump into tonight's episode, however, we do have some announcements to get through, beginning with our first sponsorship of tonight. Ashley will be here. She's just running a few minutes late. In the meantime, I guess, Sam, do you want to kick it off for our first sponsor, Shopify, I guess?

SAM: Shopify. Yes. Yes, Shopify, a fantastic service that our own company, Critical Role, has actually used a bunch.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Shopify offers an easy to use, all-in-one commerce platform for anyone, regardless of technical ability or experience to start, grow, and manage a business. It lets you sell online, in-person, and on all major social platforms. Now, everyone knows, above all else, I'm an entrepreneur, and I've recently launched my own small business called "My Johnson." (laughter)

SAM: Using Shopify, I built an online store quickly where you can access a suite of products all based on customizable photographs of Ashley Johnson.

LAURA: Oh no.

SAM: Like, the My Johnson custom tee. (laughter)

LAURA: No! Sam!

SAM: Or the My Johnson mug.

MATT: Oh. Oh. Why?

SAM: Or the iJohnson. It's an iPhone case that's Ashley Johnson's face.

TRAVIS: Wow! (laughter)

MATT: That's a nightmare!

SAM: Uh-huh.

LAURA: I really hate it.

MARISHA: I want it.

SAM: Shopify supports businesses like mine. Oh shit! Where is it? Okay. Like mine along the entire journey from first sale to full scale, and speaking of full scale, My Johnson's most amazing product is none other than a life-size version of Ashley Johnson! Pull it! Hey!

LIAM: What's going on?

SAM: Ashley, where are you? You're-- She's supposed to be in the box.

LAURA: Should I open it more?

SAM: Yeah, maybe she's on the other side or something? But-- (groan-yells) (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: Are you looking for the perfect pie to smash into Sam Riegel's dumb face? Well, check out my new online store "Riegel Revenge Pastries" powered by Shopify. You going to hock any more cute, little mugs, Riegel?

SAM: No, thank you.

ASHLEY: Or should I show off RRP's new spicy meat pie special?

SAM: No, thank you! I'm good.

MARISHA: Do it.

ASHLEY: I thought so.

SAM: I can't see anything!

ASHLEY: If you want to start a business today, go to shopify.com/critical to start a 14-day free trial. Check it out. Matt, back to you. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh man! You're like a bullfrog! (cheering)

LAURA: Is it good or is it shaving cream?

SAM: The first one was Cool Whip, but this is shaving cream.

MARISHA: Is that shaving cream?

LIAM: (yells)

MARISHA: That's definitely shaving cream!

LIAM: Oh no!

SAM: Why did you put shaving cream in my mouth?

TALIESIN: -- Erika that so hard?

SAM: I have shaving cream in my mouth!

LIAM: And you willingly tasted it! (laughter) (laughter)

LAURA: Oh no! (laughter)

LAURA: Are you just crying? You got shaving cream in your eyes?

SAM: Yeah. It's okay.

LIAM: Santa, what did you get me for Christmas? (laughter)

LAURA: Go wash your face, Sam.

SAM: Continue with announcements.

MATT: Yeah. Okay.

ERIKA: There's more?!

MATT: Wow!

LIAM: Are you okay? Because your eyes are tearing.

LAURA: Seriously, go wash that out of your face right now! Go, Sam!

SAM: We have other announcements.

LAURA: Go, Sam!

LIAM: Go! Go!

MATT: How did you become my sleep paralysis demon? I'm hating this. All right, this episode is also sponsored by--

MARISHA: -- because it wasn't immediately bad.

MATT: No.

LIAM: All right, hold for the next sponsor.

TALIESIN: Hold for sponsor.

TRAVIS: No, keep going. Keep going.

MATT: The second slow pie was like the Saving Private Ryan. Like, "Shh!"

ASHLEY: Well, I couldn't decide if I wanted to do it or not.

MATT: No, it was good.

LIAM: It was, "Go to sleep," moment.

MATT: Yeah, it really was.

ERIKA: Bleh. Bleh.

MARISHA: Just took a lick.

MATT: This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Hit Point Press and their brand new Humblewood Tales, a 5E companion book to the Humblewood campaign setting with expanded lore to the everyday happenings and events around the mystical tree city, Alderheart.

LIAM: Fun.

MATT: Hmm. And that's the end of it. Five new adventures. (laughter)

MATT: Five new adventures. Have your encounter pirate mercenaries... Have you encounter pirate mercenaries, face off against the Slime King, and take on the Amaranthine Kren in a nightmarish dreamscape. The 200-page book has everything you need to play, including pre-made characters, bestiary, and more. And it is available in a handful of different versions at cr.humblewoodtales.com. Thank you so much for supporting the show. (cheering)

TRAVIS: Well deserved clap.

ASHLEY: Oh wow!

TALIESIN: Wow!

MATT: We get worse at this every week.

LIAM: Well, you got an excuse this week.

MATT: Fair enough.

MARISHA: Ooh! This show has its own built-in planned obsolescence.

MATT: Marisha, you're up.

MARISHA: Next Tuesday, July 12th at 7:00pm Pacific, we are going to have the whole cast of Exandria Unlimited: Calamity coming back for a special wrap-up.

TRAVIS: Huh?

MARISHA: Yes. This is by popular demand. We heard you, audience. We heard you wanted more info on all the drams, and so we're giving it to you.

MATT: And some Lou Wilson, please.

MARISHA: And Lou Wilson.

ERIKA: Yes!

ASHLEY: Woo!

TRAVIS: Love that Lou Wilson.

MARISHA: Do love that Lou. So tune in if you want all the deep dive and the informations on Calamity. (cheering)

MATT: Thank you, Marisha. Laura, you're up!

LAURA: We're excited to announce our first collaboration with the fine folks at-- Hold on, I'm looking for the box. Razer! (cheering) We teamed up to create a myriad of designs inspired by Bells Hells as part of Razer Customs.

MARISHA: We're real gamers now!

LAURA: Now you can personalize your Orochi V2 mouse and Gigantus V2 mouse mat in sizes medium, large, and extra large with patterns by Grace Berríos, or go big with a large, fully illustrated mouse mat by Kendra Wells. Check it out! But also, everybody, hold up your stuff because they're really freaking cool. These are all the custom designs.

TRAVIS: There's chisels on my shit.

LAURA: Yeah. So these are the smalls, or these are the mediums, and then those are the extra larges. We don't have the large here, but--

MATT: It smells like a gym.

LAURA: I know. I love it.

MATT: Like a fresh one.

LAURA: In the best way.

MATT: The ones with the rubber floor.

LAURA: Not like a gross gym, a new gym.

MATT: Like the rubber floor of a fresh gym.

MARISHA: Like the rubber floor. Yeah.

LAURA: And then, wait! Did anybody hold up the mouse? Because here's a mouse.

LIAM: Ding!

TRAVIS: Oh yeah!

LAURA: Learn more! Check out these awesome things. Learn more about this amazing collaboration and start customizing today by visiting rzr.to/Critical-Role!

LIAM: Exclamation point.

LAURA: Exclamation point? I don't think that's part of it.

MATT: You got it. You got it, Laura. (laughter) You did it! You're safe! You're safe.

LAURA: In case you missed it, Beauty of Exandria: The Wildes, Uk'otoa. Water bottle art also by Grace Berríos and is beautiful and it's got this, which you can also use as just an extra little thing, dangle anywhere you want it to.

MATT: Anywhere you want.

ASHLEY: Anywhere!

LAURA: Drink your water, consume.

TRAVIS: Anywhere you want it.

LAURA: I'm done.

MATT: Awesome. Thank you, Laura. (laughs)

TRAVIS: Nice job!

ASHLEY: Yay!

LAURA: Also, the mice come with a battery.

MARISHA: Yeah!

ASHLEY: I mean, come on.

MARISHA: They never gave you batteries anymore.

ASHLEY: They never give you batteries.

LAURA: They come with a battery!

TRAVIS: Are the plural of computer mouses, mice?

ERIKA: Meese.

TRAVIS and MARISHA: Meeses.

LAURA: Isn't it?

MATT: I hate this.

TRAVIS: Meese's Pieces.

TALIESIN: I should call my meese. It's been a while.

LIAM: Oh, three or four. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I want to know that answer.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: Okay.

MATT: With that, our well oiled machine of professionals I think have finished our intro.

LAURA: I want to put this--

MATT: Let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role!

Part I
MATT: And welcome back. So last we left off: Bells Hells have been hot on the tail of Armand Treshi, who had escaped southeast from the city of Jrusar and vanished into the Hellcatch Valley. Tips that have been given via the network of aligned individuals to Eshteross, said that he had gone towards Bassuras, where his alliances with the Paragon's Call would likely lead him to some sort of protection. Utilizing the enchanted ring that you had placed upon his finger, you head that way and quickly discover the ring had been pawned off, leaving the trail cold. However, you did discover the Seat of Despair, the stronghold of which the Paragon's Call resides within the city and figure that he's likely, possibly, within there. You acquired the ring back, and had forged a plan that involved some elements of practiced forgery to try and draw him out, or at least confirm his location within. You had wandered and staked out the exterior and grounds of the Seat of Despair. You went forward with a few different ideas, tossed around some plans. You had a brief encounter at the Taste of Tal'Dorei, a wonderful themed--

LAURA: Oh my god!

ASHLEY: The best!

MATT: -- tavern and experience--

TALIESIN: We've got to go back.

MATT: -- here in the city of Bassuras. You acquired some merch, some keepsakes, you got an oven mitt, I think. It's been great.

LIAM: The oven mitt and the pencil were gifts for Imogen.

MARISHA: For Imogen.

MATT: That's what it was.

LIAM: I rapid fire got a couple of toy swords.

MATT: That's what it was! Yes!

LIAM: I still have them.

ASHLEY: There was no T-shirt?

ERIKA: I have a new hat.

LAURA: He did give me, I got a--

LAURA and MARISHA: Whitestone is for Lovers T-shirt.

MATT: Yep, yep.

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right. (laughter)

SAM: (sneezes)

LAURA: Bless you.

MATT: Gesundheit.

ASHLEY: Stop it! (laughter)

MARISHA: It's never not funny!

LIAM: DM, was it Seat of Despair or Disdain?

MATT: Sorry, Disdain.

LIAM: Disdain.

MATT: ♪ That was my brain ♪ ♪ Having a fart ♪

LAURA: Which stain?

LIAM: Disdain!

LAURA: That's right.

MATT: There it is. Deez stains.

LIAM: Deez stains. (laughter)

MATT: But you've been traveling with an individual that you encountered when you came to the city, Dusk, an individual from the Fey Realm, like Fearne, who seemed to be having a a series of blocks in their memory. But an interesting connection to Fearne's past as well. You've taken them under your wing. As you ventured away from the Seat of Disdain, back towards the Raha Den for a night's rest, that was where we left off. So after you've attempted and completed what you feel is a solid forgery for the intent--

LAURA: Good job, Orym.

MATT: -- of the following day.

LIAM: I'm crafty.

MATT: You've all gone back up to your rooms. Is there any business before the night comes to a close? Very well.

ASHLEY: Well.

TRAVIS: No, doesn't seem like it.

SAM: No.

MATT: Okay.

MARISHA: You were going to talk, right?

ERIKA: We were going to-- Well, we'll take first watch.

SAM: If there's a watch.

TRAVIS: Oh, yeah. We should have a watch.

MARISHA: We should definitely have watches.

TRAVIS: We are in--

SAM: At a hotel?

MARISHA: We are in a yurt.

LAURA: Yeah.

MARISHA: It's canvas.

ASHLEY: Didn't we take the--

LAURA: It's fabric on the walls.

ASHLEY: Is this where we were--

LAURA: This is where we stayed before.

LIAM: That bird could come right through the tent flaps.

SAM: Don't you dare.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Well, I can take first watch.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: Yes. Would you join me?

ERIKA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ERIKA: All right.

ASHLEY: So. (laughter)

ASHLEY: Okay, I just have so many questions. What were you doing with Birdie and Ollie?

ERIKA: Well, they found me wandering around in the Feywild. You know what it's like there, all the lights, and you just follow one and it's so beautiful, and then there's another one and you got to go over there after that one. It goes on that way and there's no real day or night cycles and you just wander and I could have been wandering forever.

ASHLEY: I know how that goes. Sometimes you're like, I don't know if it's been 10 minutes or three years.

ERIKA: Yeah. So things, I feel like now, are a little unstuck for me in time, you know?

ASHLEY: Okay. Like it feels more... I feel like time makes a little bit more sense here.

ERIKA: Do you like being here? You know?

ASHLEY: Yes, I do.

ERIKA: Why?

ASHLEY: I think just because it's so different and I love all the trinkets of things that they have here that really don't make any sense. But I like to collect things from here, and I really like this whole group that I'm with. They're really, really wonderful. And I feel like I've learned a lot. Something that I do feel like is really different here is it seems like I feel a little more. Does that make any sense?

ERIKA: It's funny that you should say that because I feel it's the exact opposite. I feel like things here are so controlled and that everybody doesn't say what they mean and that they have to put boundless concepts into tiny little neat packages, whereas in the Feywild, it's, well, wild.

ASHLEY: It's wild.

ERIKA: And things are gooey there.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Yeah. I miss it. I do miss that a lot.

ERIKA: Don't you feel like they put you in little boxes here?

ASHLEY: Yeah. I think there are definitely different rules here and sometimes I kind of like it, though, because I know what not to do. If that makes any sense. Like here, sometimes when I want to keep a trinket, I sometimes will feel bad and I don't know what that means, like I'm doing something wrong.

ERIKA: Maybe. Or maybe it's just--

ASHLEY: Rules.

ERIKA: -- the weird boundaries that they've set up that tell you that it's wrong.

ASHLEY: So how do you live life here then? You don't live in this world's box?

ERIKA: No. No, I don't think I do. Should I? Should I want to?

ASHLEY: No! I think if it's something that you don't feel, then you should do what you want to do.

ERIKA: We should find a way back sometime.

ASHLEY: I would love that. I really do miss it. I would love to show everybody my home and--

ERIKA: Do you think they'd want to come, too? Even if it meant that maybe they might leave things behind? Families, times, identities?

ASHLEY: I guess I didn't think about that.

ERIKA: Sorry, I didn't mean to get too serious.

ASHLEY: That's fine. Can you tell me about Birdie and Ollie?

ERIKA: I think they might've been in trouble out there.

ASHLEY: But they were--

ERIKA: They really wanted to come out this way. Out into this realm.

ASHLEY: Well, they left because they were saving the world, which you probably knew that.

ERIKA: I didn't.

ASHLEY: It's what my grandmother told me, which is why they had to leave. Because they were on a very important mission to save this world. So I know that they wouldn't have stayed gone this long if it wasn't important.

ERIKA: I mean, that's a surprise to me. They didn't really ever talk to me about, you know, grand plans. But then again, I don't know how much time we actually spent with each other. It was enough that I felt like they were family.

ASHLEY: Oh. That's so nice.

ERIKA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: I'm kind of nervous to meet them.

ERIKA: Don't be nervous.

ASHLEY: I feel like I don't-- I don't know them at all.

ERIKA: Well, if you get to meet them new, and for the first time, I mean, that's kind of exciting, isn't it? A fresh slate.

ASHLEY: Yeah, (sighs), yeah, a fresh slate. Is there anything I should say or--

ERIKA: Just be yourself.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ERIKA: I mean. You know, I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you.

ASHLEY: Yeah, I think they will be. I think they will be.

ERIKA: I know they will be.

ASHLEY: Yeah. This is just so unbelievable that we ran into each other, and...

ERIKA: I feel like it was destiny.

ASHLEY: I do, too. I do, too.

ERIKA: If... I was different before this, before my trip, to the Feywild, before coming here, do you think we'd still be getting on like this? I mean, like you said, you haven't seen your parents in 90 years, and that you're scared of what to do and how to act and who to be. I mean, I don't know who I was back then, even necessarily when I met them before, so. Maybe they won't like me like this now, either.

ASHLEY: I just don't see how that could be possible. I mean, we've only known you for a day or so, but I think you're wonderful.

ERIKA: I think you're wonderful, I think you're brave, and that you don't belong in a little boxes that people are going to try to put you in.

ASHLEY: I don't either. I certainly don't want to live life in a box. That feels small.

ERIKA: And people like you aren't meant to be small.

ASHLEY: What do you mean you don't know if you were different before this?

ERIKA: Well, I have memories from before the Feywild, or even much in the Feywild. So, you know, I could have been anybody.

ASHLEY: Yeah, sometimes when I think about when I was there, I have wonderful memories. But sometimes I feel like I'm different when I'm there, too. But I don't know how to really explain that (chuckles). Yeah, there's a lot of questions around that place, and I didn't realize it was so, I guess, different until I came here.

ERIKA: I guess in the end, that no matter what, you're always going to be you, you know?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ERIKA: It's like that trip of that adventure, right? Even if there is different parts that make it up, or different memories.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ERIKA: It was you.

ASHLEY: How do you feel like you started living life outside of the box? Did you just start doing what you wanted?

ERIKA: Yeah, I think that the Feywild encourages that.

ASHLEY: Maybe I should start doing what I want now.

ERIKA: I think you should.

SAM: *Now*?

MARISHA: Yeah.

SAM: Now?

MARISHA: What does that look like?

LIAM: Dark Galadriel.

ASHLEY: Wow.

ERIKA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Last day.

TALIESIN: I'm ready for this.

ASHLEY: I think-- I think you've inspired me.

LAURA: Oh no.

ASHLEY: And you've encouraged me. And I am so happy that we met you.

ERIKA: I'm so happy that I met you, too.

ASHLEY: It's kind of like we're family a little bit.

ERIKA: Yeah, yeah.

ASHLEY: Well.

ERIKA: I'm going to go get some rest.

ASHLEY: Get some rest. I'll wake up the others for the next watch.

ERIKA: Awesome.

ASHLEY: But thank you for talking with me.

ERIKA: No, thank you.

SAM: We were all murdered in our sleep.

LAURA: Yeah, because nobody watching. (laughter)

ERIKA: Oh shit.

ASHLEY: They're dead! (laughter)

TRAVIS: (choking) Dusk! Dusk!

ERIKA: Do you hear anything?

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, it sounds like choking.

MATT: While you guys finish your watch, if I could have everybody except for Erika leave the table. (exclaiming)

LAURA: Well! (yelling)

ERIKA: Am I in trouble?!

MARISHA: What'd you do?

TRAVIS: Is this the first one of these this campaign?

ASHLEY: Yeah, I think.

ERIKA: Wait, did you guys do this before?

MATT: Others campaigns.

ERIKA: Don't leave, don't leave.

ASHLEY: Please be careful.

MATT: (shushes) Stay.

ASHLEY: Please be careful.

LIAM: I hope you're still here when we get back.

LAURA: I'm going to go get some water in my cup.

MATT: Go out into the hall.

MARISHA: Go out in the hall?

SAM: Oh shit.

LAURA: How dare.

MATT: (laughs)

ERIKA: Goodbye, friends.

MATT: Okay, and. As you step away from the conversation, gently flicking the dark metallic ring on your finger, here in the still, silent night, you feel that familiar cold, creeping sense, like mythic tendrils reaching beyond layers and layers of time. You feel a presence creep into the back of your mind. A voice exhales (exhales). You immediately remember the familiar voice of the Sorrowlord Zathuda, Bearer of the Lightless Flame and Grove Captain of the Unseelie Court. "You. I wait in prickly silence for your report."

ERIKA: My lord, you know that good work takes time.

MATT: "Have you located the Moontide Crown? Have you dealt with the Calloways?"

ERIKA: Are you aware that there is a daughter?

MATT: "Go on."

ERIKA: She's been living here in the mortal realm for who knows how long. These beautiful idiots that she keeps company with have led me right to the Calloways. So I could succeed where all of my rivals could not.

MATT: "Don't think you're the only one still on this job."

ERIKA: Yes, but I'm the only one that's gotten success, that has results, and is the prettiest.

MATT: "I see no results yet. And your dalliance in this mortal realm slows you with distraction and weakness. I hope that I wasn't wrong in entrusting you with this task."

ERIKA: Come on, my lord. There's so much to explore out here. Have you ever had a rum ball? (laughs)

MATT: "Sammanar grows impatient. You will not fail me, lest I find better use for you in one of the Yore Mirrors. Now, if you're this close, I expect the crown soon."

ERIKA: You will have it, my lord. I will end the Calloway line.

MATT: "Very good." You feel the tethers release. That cold sense in the back of your throat gives way.

ERIKA: Fuck. (sighs) I check the ring. It still points to the room next door?

MATT: It still tugs gently in the direction of Fearne Calloway.

ERIKA: Hm. There's a momentary flicker. A riot of color passes over my face, and then it's gone. And I lie down to sleep.

MATT: Very well. We can send the rest of the folks back in, if you don't mind. Thank you. Get back in here! Come on!

TALIESIN: Long walk.

MATT: That's okay. Welcome back. (laughs)

TALIESIN: Hi.

ASHLEY: Oh no, you have a sad face.

ERIKA: I'm fine!

LAURA: Oh no, what happened?

ERIKA: It's fine! Nothing happened!

ASHLEY: What happened?

LIAM: You alive? How many hit points do you have?

ERIKA: I'm fine.

LAURA: Oh no.

MARISHA: Did you get assassin-ed?

ERIKA: I'm fine.

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Did anything happen to you?

LAURA: Did you have a nightmare? Some people have nightmares.

TRAVIS: Did you barf water?

ERIKA: Did I--

TRAVIS: Barf. Yeah.

LIAM: I do an insight check on Dusk. (laughter)

MATT: Anybody doing any other specifics through the night's rest? Or should we progress?

TALIESIN: Good for now.

SAM: I'm just sharpening my blade.

MATT: Okay. Okay.

SAM: And staring.

TALIESIN: I'm just going to watch. If we're taking a watch, I'm just going to watch you do that.

LAURA: (laughs)

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: I'm watching both of them.

LAURA: Do we need to take watches? I'm assuming from--

TRAVIS: Well yeah, there's a bird out there that's hunting FCG.

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: I feel like we can take him.

LIAM: I would like to get up for a solo watch at the end, unless anyone objects.

TALIESIN: Nah.

TRAVIS: I object for no reason.

MATT: Before we get to your final solo watch.

LIAM: Yeah?

MATT: Imogen.

SAM and ERIKA: (gasp)

LAURA: Oh no.

MARISHA: What?

SAM: Everyone leave the table.

MARISHA: What?

LAURA: No, no, no.

MATT: No, no, no.

MARISHA: Dream journal.

LAURA: (sighs) Ah, shit fucking shit balls. Shit. Shit.

MARISHA: Where is it? Where did I put--

MATT: You find yourself once again--

LAURA: Fuck. Fuck.

MATT: -- standing in the familiar field, but the greens of the grass that normally greet you have already passed. There is no looming storm in the distance. You stand within it already. You see the darkened clouds above, the red hues already consuming all but a brief glimmer of blue in the distance. The dark shadow of the farmhouse barely visible at the cusp of the right end of your vision. You hear the echoing sound of your mother once more. "Run!" What do you do?

LAURA: I start spinning around. Do I see that figure that I saw before the last time I was here?

MATT: You glance back around the opposite direction of the farmhouse, and indeed, you see again the figure. You focus in, looking through the bits of sand and dust and debris that blow past, and you can see the shape. Lithe, built, hard to discern where on the spectrum of gender it may lie, but you're almost certain it's feminine when you take more time to focus.

LAURA: Mother?

MATT: The figure takes a step towards you.

LAURA: Who are you?

MATT: It takes another step, and you begin to see emerging from the dust around it, other figures, roughly the same height. You see amongst the darkened leather armor a bit of short, gray hair that just pushes to one sides and ends outward to the left. Dark eyes like a bird of prey looking towards you.

LAURA: Does it look familiar at all?

MATT: No.

LAURA: What's their expression like?

MATT: Hard. Focused. And a slight curl into a grin, as a voice enters your mind. "Hello. How interesting."

LAURA: Who are you? I say back.

MATT: (chuckles) "Who are we?" As the other figures step up, you can see more and more of them and more, dozens and dozens wearing dark gray and black leather armor. All masks over their face except for the one central commander-type figure staring towards you. As they all at once rush towards you. The wind picks up around you.

LAURA: Fuck.

MATT: And you wake up. As you come to consciousness breathing, there's the faint opening across the various bits of cloth that maintain the exterior of this soft Raha Den outer wall. There, you can see the stars beyond, but a faint orangish hue that marks the sky.

LAURA: What do you mean orangish hue marks the sky? Does it mean-- Can I look out the window? Can I look out the window?

MATT: Yeah. You step up and carefully approach where the flapping bits of sail-like material and fabric give way to the night sky and the horizon views of the Hellcatch. You can see the tops of the numerous buildings, the beautiful, chaotic, haphazard skyline of Bassuras. And there above, you can see Catha just finishing its descent across the way into the mountain range and above, you can see the ruddy moon Ruidus on its daily rotations growing closer towards its zenith. But where it normally sits in a dull brownish-red coloration, here it is a vibrant red. It's flaring. And it's in this moment you notice many others in the street are all stopped and looking up towards it, these rare occasions. And just in that moment, the flare vanishes and it fades back to its calm, ominous, red-maroon hue.

LAURA: Can I go over? Is everybody else asleep?

MATT: I'd say--

SAM: I'm sharpening my blade.

MATT: You would be up sharpening your blades.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

LAURA: Can you draw?

SAM: Sure. Yeah.

LAURA: Can I grab Laudna's notebook that I know she keeps with her and hand it over to you. I start describing the face that I saw in my dream.

MARISHA: I have a dream journal chapter.

SAM: Oh, great. Well, I flip to that then. Sure. This was in your dream?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Shoot, I should have been there for it. I still feel like I can glean something. But anyway, describe before it wears off.

LAURA: Gosh. It was a figure. They had gray hair over to the side. And I describe. What did they look like? Was it like sharp features?

MATT: Sharp features. Now that you recall, just roll a perception check for me.

LAURA: (groans)

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: We'll say recalling the details that you could pull from this dream.

LAURA: No, no, no!

SAM: I'm going to--

TALIESIN: Guide.

SAM: Just knowing how stressed out you are, I'm going to cast Calm Emotions on you.

LAURA: Okay.

SAM: Just to settle you, and then also I'll hit you with a Guidance.

MATT: Well, this technically would be recollection of the dream, so the Guidance wouldn't help with the perception.

SAM: Okay. Well, I'll still calm you so you can focus.

LAURA: Oh, 11. Perception?

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: 11.

MATT: 11. In the midst of the storm, you couldn't pick out too fine of features. There was something... They seemed sharp, the chin came to a point almost like a heart-shaped face. Feature-wise, you just remember the eyes being dark, and cold, and piercing like a predatory creature about to pounce.

LAURA: Do I remember their armor?

MATT: You remember the armor was dark shades of leather, blacks and grays and--

LAURA: Sharp points, or was it just--

MATT: Form fitting. Very tight to the body. Definitely designed for movement.

LAURA: I tell you all of that.

SAM: I do my best to get it down to paper.

LAURA: Does it look like what I saw?

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: I don't know.

LIAM: It's a police sketch. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Knott's Berry Farm caricature.

MATT: Go ahead and roll-- I'll let you choose, either a standard dexterity check or a performance check. Your choice.

LAURA: Are you dextrous at all?

SAM: I'll do performance.

LAURA: (laughs)

MARISHA: With his knife hands.

SAM: Can I Guide myself?

MATT: Yeah, you can.

LAURA: I pictured him like a 3D print, like a...

SAM: Sure. Dot matrix.

MATT: Dot matrix, exactly. You should tear the edges off when he's done.

TRAVIS: -- the non-artist. (laughter)

SAM: All right. Here it goes.

TRAVIS: Right here.

SAM: Yeah, let's see.

LAURA: Oh no.

SAM: 13.

MATT: 13. It looks like a woman.

LAURA: Which is good, because I don't think I told you woman. (laughter)

MATT: I know. We'll say the details as you convey them best you can.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: It seems to be more feminine form. You definitely get the shape close, the hair a little bit. It's just vague and sketchy. Not super detailed, unfortunately.

SAM: I should have used this hand, but it's got a blade on it, so I was drawing left-handed.

LAURA: I know, that's fine. That's fine.

SAM: No, I'm sorry.

LAURA: Yeah, this is pretty good. I mean, it looks like a dream person, right?

SAM: I'm so sorry, I wasn't... I didn't notice. I've been watching you while you sleep. Not in a creepy way, but trying to be ready so that I could... I feel like I can connect with you while you're in a dream and maybe see what you see.

LAURA: You think you could do that?

SAM: I do, but how do I time it, right?

LAURA: I have no idea. The moon was flaring right when I woke up.

SAM: In your dream?

LAURA: I was in the flare, and then when I woke up the sky was still orange.

MATT: You recall something interesting. When you noticed it in the sky, you felt drawn towards it. You didn't will yourself necessarily to the edge of the window, more than you just found yourself there. And as it flared, there was an ever so deep, faint yearning, a pull.

SAM: Well, I don't know if that means that the moon was just going through something tonight and maybe affected you, or the other way around?

LAURA: No, there's no way I would...

SAM: No.

LAURA: No.

SAM: No. Are you all right?

LAURA: Yeah. It didn't feel... I mean, it was terrifying, but there was something different about it.

SAM: Different good or different bad?

LAURA: I don't know.

SAM: Well, how about this. Next time you sleep, not in a creepy way, I'll watch you and maybe be ready to look in.

LAURA: How would you know? I was having a nightmare right in front of you when you were awake. How would you know?

SAM: Your eyes sometimes go all loony when you're--

LAURA: Oh, do they?

SAM: Well, everyone's does. I've looked at all these folks while they've been sleeping, not in a creepy way. (laughter) And I don't think that my ocular receptors do that, but y'all's do. Not every night, too. But Chetney.

LAURA: I look over at Laudna, and with her eyes. (laughter)

SAM: That always happens. She's like that all the time.

TRAVIS: Eyes wide open. (laughter)

SAM: Everybody has their own sort of sleep tell.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Chetney's--

TRAVIS: (whimpering) (laughter)

SAM: Sometimes his leg starts...

MARISHA: Like a dog?

LAURA: Does he wake up and run into a wall?

SAM: His leg starts thumping.

LIAM: He's chasing toy makers in his dreams. (laughter)

SAM: Ashton, sometimes his brain glass starts to shine.

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

TALIESIN: That's true.

SAM: Fearne sometimes, every once in a while when she's asleep, some fur will grow, like she's turning into an animal then it just comes right back.

LAURA: What?

SAM: Just ever so slight, you have to really focus on it. When she's hot, some hair will just--

LAURA: Fearne's always hot.

SAM: Orym--

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: I don't even want to say it. (laughter)

SAM: He toots. (laughter)

SAM: He toots.

LAURA: He toots when he's dreaming?

LIAM: Canon.

SAM: I think so. (laughter)

TALIESIN: It's like Sopranos, but small.

LIAM: Twice now, twice.

SAM: And then your eyes start darting back and forth.

LAURA: Mine seems relatively normal compared to everyone else.

SAM: Yours is the best one.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: I haven't found out what Dusk's is yet, though.

LAURA: We'll have to watch her.

SAM: Not in a creepy away.

LAURA: Yeah. Can I just stare at her for a minute?

ERIKA: I know.

TRAVIS: (whimpers)

LAURA: Yeah, maybe she talks.

ERIKA: Monkey.

LAURA: She's a talker.

MARISHA: Monkey.

SAM: Did she say monkey?

ERIKA: Yes, I'd like some tea. (laughter)

TRAVIS: "Yes, I'd like some tea."

ERIKA: Two lumps.

LAURA: Two lumps of sugar. She likes tea with two-- yeah, yeah.

SAM: Oh, she just has boring things. (laughter)

LAURA: Tea dreams.

SAM: Tea and monkeys.

ERIKA: Ah, those scones are so fresh.

SAM: All right, yeah, that's enough. (laughter)

SAM: Boring stuff right there. (laughter)

LAURA: I want to tell Laudna.

SAM: But you can't because... She's asleep.

LAURA: Well, she's asleep.

SAM: But also because... She talked to me about-- She confided in me that y'all are maybe having a little bit of a tiff.

LAURA: Mm-hmm. Did she?

SAM: She did, but she was very worried about it.

LAURA: I mean, she gave me a pencil. I figured-- (laughter)

SAM: And a--

LAURA: And a tot holder.

SAM: A pot holder, yeah.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: A tot holder.

TALIESIN: (whispers) Save me.

MARISHA: When you say it like that.

SAM: She's trying. She might not know how, but I suggested to her that you and she might want to just sit down together when things have calmed down a little bit, and be honest with each other and say what's on your mind. That's the best way to get through these things.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: And I could facilitate that?

LAURA: Maybe, maybe, maybe.

SAM: Just as a--

LAURA: Maybe. We'll see... Yeah.

SAM: Just a third party. Independent third party.

LAURA: I know it makes you feel really good.

SAM: It does. It's the thing that I do, so--

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: -- if I don't do it, I don't really have anything to do, you know?

LAURA: Oh right. Yeah, so maybe I'll let you help.

SAM: Okay.

LAURA: All right.

SAM: She's really broken up about it.

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: I'm sorry.

LAURA: Me too.

SAM: Well, try to get some sleep.

LAURA: I think I'm awake now.

SAM: Sorry.

LAURA: I'm going to make some tea with two lumps. Two lumps.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: All right. You finish your watch, which completes with you alongside you, Orym, since you said you wanted the final watch.

LIAM: Yeah, I'll just take it on my own. I will spend the whole time just watching the group, and watching for trouble and watching Fearne's hair grow slowly outward and then shrink. (laughter)

LIAM: Then when I think we're like 20... When I can tell the sun's coming up--

LAURA: You toot?

LIAM: -- and it's going to be time to-- That never stops. That's happening all while this is-- No, I'm awake, it stops.

MATT: Yeah.

TRAVIS: He's Orym of the Air Ashari.

MATT: Yeah, exactly.

SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: Where do you think the Gust comes from?

MATT: Involuntary cantrip, yeah.

LIAM: That's how they power those air brooms. (laughter) The whole time I am watching Fearne, and when I think we're close to waking, I scoot over quietly to the spot where earlier I was sleeping in the nook of her knee. I very carefully and gingerly go in to take Captain Xandis' spyglass off of her that I clocked, because I have a passive perception of 26.

MATT: Yes, you do.

LIAM: I just wanted to gently take it away--

LAURA: (gasps)

LIAM: -- and roll it up in my pack.

MATT: Okay. I need you to go ahead and roll a sleight of hand check for me.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: PvP.

LIAM: Any extra juice here since she's asleep and I'm awake?

MATT: Because she is asleep, I will give you advantage against your passive perception, is what it would be.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Don't fall asleep next to Liam O'Brien.

LIAM: Passive perception. That is a 19.

ASHLEY: Yeah, beats it.

MATT: Okay.

ASHLEY: Because my passive is 17.

MATT: You begin to remove it from within the tangled bits of slightly oily fur, in which it had previously been tucked away.

LIAM: I sleep in it.

MATT: There's a brief moment where Fearne suddenly--

ASHLEY: It's essential oils.

MATT: There you go. Breathes deeply and begins to shift, and you think it's over, but you remove it and it is yours.

LIAM: Palms are sweaty. Don't like doing stuff like that.

ASHLEY: Knees weak? Mom's spaghetti.

LIAM: I put it away and then I will--

LAURA: I'm in the corner. (slurps)

LIAM: Are you awake? (laughter) Two hours later?

LAURA: Keep going. (laughter)

LIAM: I wake up Fearne by tucking my toes under her tuckus and then I just start doing crunches. That's how I wake up the group.

MATT: All right.

ASHLEY: (groans)

LIAM: Don't move. Don't move. Five more minutes.

ASHLEY: Uh, okay.

LIAM: Five minute warning.

MATT: You all slowly come to just past the crack of dawn.

ASHLEY: (exaggerated yawn) (laughter)

MATT: Gathering your things. The morning is yours. What would you like to do?

TRAVIS: Worst day ever.

SAM: Worst day?

TRAVIS: What?

ERIKA: I don't understand.

TRAVIS: Because I'm still sleepy.

SAM: Oh. Oh okay.

LAURA: Why worst day?

TRAVIS: I don't know. Some people wake up cheery, some don't.

LAURA: Oh, all right.

TALIESIN: I feel pretty sure we could top this.

ERIKA: Not a morning person.

LIAM: Orym's doing one-handed pushups now.

ASHLEY: Sometimes it depends on which side of the bed I get off on, that's how my day goes.

TRAVIS: You get off on a particular side of the bed?

ASHLEY: Yeah, sometimes--

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Sometimes the right side puts me in a worse mood.

MARISHA: You were sleeping on the ground.

TRAVIS: Let me write this down.

ASHLEY: Oh, that's right.

TALIESIN: You think getting off on the right side would do it.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Or a cot, maybe. I guess it doesn't apply in this situation, actually, because there's no bed.

MARISHA: Sometimes if you lean too far over on the cot, though, it does tip up on you.

ASHLEY: It does a little tippy thing.

MARISHA: And then that is really unfortunate.

ASHLEY: Yes.

LIAM: Now, I'm doing burpees.

MARISHA: You're making the rest of us feel bad.

LIAM: This is all I got. I have no powers. (heavy breathing) (laughter)

TALIESIN: The morning is not based on a grade curve. For fuck's sake, I need something to eat. (groans)

SAM: All right. What are we doing? Planning time.

LAURA: Oh, yeah.

MARISHA: Well.

ERIKA: Again?!

MARISHA: Wait a second.

SAM: Yeah, no, I'm with you on that. (laughter)

ERIKA: Incredible.

LAURA: Right, we have our letter.

MARISHA: We've got the letter. But you know I was thinking about it. Because remember how the captain was like: Oh, it'll take me like 24 hours. I want to catch the guy and get the boat back over. So if we catch Treshi, we should probably have some place to stash him.

SAM: That's not a public tavern or inn.

MARISHA: Right.

TALIESIN: Mm.

MARISHA: So I think before we execute this flawless plan, which I think would work, we find some allies.

LAURA: Joe.

MARISHA: Joe?

SAM: Who's Joe?

MARISHA: You've got people, right?

TALIESIN: I have people.

MARISHA: You've got-- Do you?

SAM: Oh. That's right.

TRAVIS: No, they're further from here.

TALIESIN: FCG's got people.

SAM: Yeah, I know someone. I know someone here.

LAURA: You do?

SAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

LIAM: Would any of these friends be able to put us up, hide us away if need be?

SAM: Well, I mean, I don't think Ashton knows where their friends are. I know where mine is.

TALIESIN: I was going to say, I got some thoughts on where they might be but that's-- I may have somebody in the All-Minds-Burn.

ERIKA: Also, I feel like pretty much anything's available here for a price.

TRAVIS: Right?

SAM: True.

TALIESIN: Yeah, that's the trouble, though. If it's available for a price, it can also be resold underneath you.

TRAVIS: That's true. Let's go with something--

TALIESIN: We need somebody who has something invested.

TRAVIS: Let's go with some- thing that we know for sure, and then build off of that. So if you *know* some folks, let's start there.

SAM: I'm just going to throw it out there. I'm totally happy to go there, but y'all don't have to come with me. We can divide and conquer here. We might need to keep eyes on Treshi's location. We also might want to shake the tree for Ashton's folk.

MARISHA: And then you all have your parents coming to town.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Because once we do this Treshi thing, we kind of--

ERIKA: Got to go?

MARISHA: -- hit the button on the clock. Right.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

ERIKA: Okay.

MARISHA: But I don't mind--

ERIKA: Because we've got a couple of days.

MARISHA and ASHLEY: We've got a couple of days.

LAURA: Before they're here, but we should definitely keep an eye on that fortress, to make sure that he doesn't come out.

LIAM: Well, I can do that. I'll keep eyes on it.

MARISHA: I don't mind keeping you company as well, if-- and I can maybe send messages.

LIAM: Okay, how far can you do that again? I can't remember.

MARISHA: Not far.

LIAM: But how far?

MARISHA: I can--

LAURA: 100 feet?

TALIESIN: 100 feet?

MARISHA: 120 feet.

TALIESIN: Oh.

ERIKA: Yeah, I think--

LIAM: Okay, because there's two exits on the place, so.

SAM: But she might have magic. Do you have magic that could send up a flare or something? Or I don't know what you do. (laughter)

TRAVIS: You'll figure it out. So you two are keeping an eye on the place. You're going to find somebody you know.

SAM: Yep!

TRAVIS: You're going to find people if they're here or not. Who else is left? Y'all are looking for parents. Imogen, it's just you and me.

LAURA: Where-- Well-- us again?

TRAVIS: We take down Treshi.

LAURA: Just us together?

TRAVIS: We go in-- Was that not what the plan was?

LAURA: No, that's not what the plan was.

TRAVIS: Sorry, okay.

LIAM: We're putting that on hold. We're getting ducks in a row first. So like you said, we want a place to throw Treshi while we wait. Safe house? Maybe you and I will watch for patterns from Treshi. Does he leave? Does he go to the grocery store? Does he just stay inside?

MARISHA: Sure.

LIAM: That'll inform what we do next.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Then you guys are looking into--?

TALIESIN: Well, I don't know if my people are necessarily good safe house options, but they'd at least be allies, people who could maybe help us make this happen.

SAM: Do you want to go after them? You take somebody, and I'll take somebody to back us up?

TALIESIN: We can divide and conquer, I guess, yeah.

LAURA: Sure.

MARISHA: And, of course, Imogen can always send a message to me, since we have a bond and she can talk to me.

ERIKA: Oh.

MARISHA: If needed, you know?

LIAM: Sure.

LAURA: Yeah. Yeah, I could keep that connection up with you.

MARISHA: Right, right.

LIAM: That sounds good. And then the parent.

SAM: Well, they're not coming for a couple of days, right?

ERIKA: Well, we can split off with some of the rest of the folks.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we could come help anybody.

ERIKA: Who needs back up?

SAM: I need a backup.

ERIKA: I'll go with you.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we'll go with you.

SAM: And you? Okay. And then Ashton probably needs someone.

TRAVIS: I'll go with Ashton!

TALIESIN: I like that plan.

LAURA: Where am I going?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: You can go with Ashton, too, or wherever.

LAURA: Okay.

MARISHA: Unless you wanted to stay with Orym and just-- or you can do whatever you want because you're a free woman.

SAM: Just chill.

TRAVIS: You should come with us because we're going to establish some street cred. We're going to be fucking fierce, so by the time we come back nobody will mess with us.

TALIESIN: Not kidding.

ERIKA: Oh, do we have a gang? Oh, we do have a gang!

LAURA: Oh yeah! What does my hair look like?

MATT: Oh, it's pretty much back to normal now.

LAURA: (gasps)

LIAM: Long?

MATT: It's almost there, but it--

LAURA: Is it a little French girl bob right now?

MATT: Yeah, it's a little bit longer than that. It's mostly returned.

MARISHA: Curled under with bangs.

LAURA: Which is like-- (laughter)

LAURA: It's cute, it's cute!

MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)

MATT: Yeah, it's mostly back.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: All right.

TRAVIS: Got it.

MATT: So you have your--

TRAVIS: We know what we're doing. When do we meet back up again?

SAM: End of the day?

TRAVIS: Sundown?

ASHLEY: Back here.

LIAM: Yeah, end of the day--

ASHLEY: Sundown?

LIAM: -- Imogen reaches out, rallies the group.

LAURA: Uh-huh, I can definitely do that.

SAM: Orym, if Treshi moves, we still haven't figured out how you're going to contact us?

LIAM: Well, we're not going to make a move.

LAURA: I can always--

SAM: You're just tracking him.

LIAM: We're just-- yeah.

SAM: He's not going to leave the city.

LIAM: Well, he might not leave the building, but we're going to find out.

TALIESIN: Leaving the city would be ridiculous. I mean, this is the place you go if you don't want to be found, where else would you? And going anywhere would make you found.

TRAVIS: We're going to kill somebody before the day's done. No problem.

ERIKA: You swear?

TRAVIS: Yeah. (laughter)

LAURA: I wish we had earrings or something that you could talk through. That'd be really fucking cool.

MARISHA: We need some sort of communication device.

ERIKA: Can we go get those in town?

MARISHA: Ooh, maybe this, the Imahara Joe, maybe he has something that could help with that. Or those stones that we gave.

MATT: As you descend to the base of the Raha Den to the open caravan-serai where breakfast and other meals are discovered and sold. As you're finishing up this conversation, a voice nearby goes, "Ah, ah, there they be! Right where I told you!" You glance over and you see there's this swaddled, cloak-wrapped goblin figure with its hood half pulled over its head with an eye patch on one eye and one eye that's just pointing directly at you with his finger out in your direction. Surrounding him, you see at a quick glance, 10 rough-looking figures--

SAM: Oh shit.

LAURA: Oh no.

MATT: -- in all forms of tough armor, some of them were sitting, some with coffee in their hands, all turn back and go-- Stand up, putting their hands on the edge of their weapons, various heavy, ragged-looking maces with twisted blades of metal, other ones that have blades on the side, and they all stand up and start beginning to mark a perimeter from where you're standing.

LAURA: Wait, the goblin was pointing at all of us or one of us?

MATT: Make a perception check to see who it was pointing at.

LAURA: Oh great, because I'm real good at these.

TRAVIS: Come on, 11.

LAURA: Oh, oh, 17!

MATT: 17, was pointing, what you can gather, either to be you or Ashton, but it just points in the general direction. As the group begins to fan out a bit, as you take in the space, a dwarven figure, a male dwarf steps forward, brown mohawk, long sideburns that dip past the chin and dangle at the bottom with rings attached to them, a big cigar in the middle of the mouth, and you could feel it as he chips and chews it from one side to the other, it almost rubs against the scruff that's about a half an inch from the bottom of the lip. As he pulls up his hand to pull the cigar out and blow it, you can see there's no thumbs. The thumbs have been cut from his hand.

SAM and LIAM: Ooh!

MATT: On the other hand, it's resting on the edge of a large, double-sided battleaxe that's currently just slung to the left side. These spiky-ass shoulder pads that sit there that if they were pushed any further inward, it would be dangerous for him to be looking left or right. Steps forward. "Good morning."

ERIKA: Good morning!

ASHLEY: Hi. (laughter)

MATT: "So some of our sentries have said that they caught your bands moping about our seat yesterday."

SAM: Oh.

LAURA: What seat would that be?

SAM: Seat?

LAURA: What are you talking about?

ASHLEY: What's a seat?

SAM: He might mean the Seat of Disdain.

MARISHA: The-- right.

MATT: "That one. You see, we got keen-eyed folks," and he nudges the cigar over towards the direction of the goblin, who skitters back a bit as the bit of ash gets knocked off the side before pulling it back to his lips. "We survive by making sure that people that go poking around and looking all sort of untrustworthy--"

ASHLEY: Oh!

TALIESIN: I was going to say suspicious, but okay.

MATT: "Suspicious, that's a better word."

LAURA: Oh, you know what it was?

TALIESIN: You're welcome.

MATT: "Thank you, shut up."

LAURA: I saw, so yesterday, I think this is around your neighborhood. Sorry, I'm new here. There was this little creature. It looked like a gopher, but it was super adorable.

TALIESIN: Like a cat gopher?

LAURA: Oh my gosh, it was smiling at me, but it looked so defenseless, and it was, like, stuck at your gate, and so I was trying to help it.

MATT: This scraggly- looking katari with patches of fur missing and one larger eye, who was listening to all this goes, "Ah, I saw that one!"

LAURA: Yeah, wasn't it so cute? And so--

MATT: The dwarf just goes (whooshes).

LAURA: So I realized, as I was trying to help it, that I was probably looking kind of weird at somebody's gate, just helping this weird creature. So I stepped back. Is that what you're talking about?

MATT: Make a deception check.

MARISHA: Come on!

TALIESIN: So good. This is so good.

LAURA: I'm scared of all my dice right now! Oh, come on, hold on, oh! Well, 13, I rolled poorly, but it's 13.

MATT: 13? (exhales) No, but really. What's your business? I'm giving the opportunity to tell us before we go ahead and beat it out of you."

TALIESIN: I think this is only fair. Who are you again?

MATT: "I'm Tanvir, Tanvir the Rake, from the Paragon's Call."

MARISHA: Tanvir.

TRAVIS: The Rake?

SAM: Tadmeer?

TALIESIN: Tanvir the Rake.

TRAVIS: Tanvir the Rake.

MATT: "I have a reputation around these parts here by not letting people doing what you're doing get away with that sort of bullshit."

ASHLEY: Wait, yeah, what do you do?

TALIESIN: Other than rake.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MARISHA: Are you a landscaper?

TALIESIN: Like the bodies of your victims and then you landscape?

MATT: Reaches back and flings the axe out of the side of the sling that's hanging off the side of the belt. It sticks in the ground right at the base of your feet, Imogen.

MATT: "I'll make sure that those that are poking around have a good reason. If they don't, they go missing, and stop poking around."

LAURA: Mm.

MARISHA: You know, you don't have to do that or be that way, and I highly suggest you don't.

MATT: "Or what?"

MARISHA: Look, it's so early, we really don't want to fight this early in the morning.

TRAVIS: I mean, we could.

MARISHA: We could, if you want.

TRAVIS: Are you hiring? We should just prove ourselves. I just throw the wood chisel at his feet. Like (rattles).

MATT: Go ahead and roll an attack.

MARISHA: Come on!

TRAVIS: 20? 20. 21!

LAURA: He was aiming for the ground, right?

TRAVIS: The ground, to match the battleaxe.

MARISHA: I'm going to double down on that and give it a little Unsettling Presence as my eyes blacken over as a little intimidation situation.

MATT: Gotcha, as it (rattles) in the ground, looks at it.

TRAVIS: I know, looks can be deceiving, but I still got it.

MATT: "Well, you said you're looking for work or something?"

TRAVIS: I wouldn't mind.

ERIKA: That's right, and we already have an in.

TALIESIN: That's true.

ERIKA: You've already proven yourself, sir.

TALIESIN: Me? Well, I don't work for these people. I haven't done any work for these people.

LAURA: No, but you did fight.

MARISHA: You impressed Ratanish.

TALIESIN: I did, actually, that's true, I forgotten that.

MATT: He just blows this big plume of smoke out with a chuckle. "Ratanish?"

TALIESIN: Yeah, we're acquaintances, yeah.

MATT: "Well, he just got back, when the fuck did you meet Ratanish?"

LAURA: We just said we're new to town, too.

TALIESIN: Met him in the Spires.

MARISHA: In Jrusar.

TALIESIN: We had a very lovely talk.

MATT: Looks back, and the rest of them look at each other.

MARISHA: You see, we know all about the Paragon's Call and your little operation.

MATT: Walks over and grabs the axe and pulls it back out as he listens to you.

TRAVIS: I tiptoe over, pardon. (laughter)

LIAM: Orym steps up behind Imogen.

MARISHA: We know that you're trying to expand your presence outside of just Bassuras, and honestly getting a nice little look at your place, I can see why maybe you would want something a little bit more lofty in your goals, because, let's be honest, (chuckles) this place is a shithole.

MATT: Make a persuasion check.

TALIESIN: Goddamn.

MARISHA: Okay. Yeah, 23.

SAM: Ooh!

MATT: 23. Now, the Unsettling Presence is still kind of pushing into his brain a bit. As you say this and step forward, your eyes widening, he doesn't even realize that he steps onto his back foot. His cigar is now just hanging out of the mouth a little bit, and his finger went reach for it, and just stopped. "Well, you're certainly a sort of motley lot, aren't you?"

TALIESIN: We make an impression.

MATT: "Ratanish?"

TALIESIN: Yeah, we had a little sparring match.

MARISHA: He told us to come and seek him out.

MATT: One of them in the back, you can see this rough-looking human dude has a large claw mark across his face, that at first glance, looks like it's paint pushed across, but as he steps forward, you can see the healed folds of skin, it is definitely a scar. The rest of his hair is pulled in this very, very, very tight ponytail where you can imagine, over time, it's just going to eventually pull all of his hair out. He's wearing a thick leather coat that drapes past his legs, like a duster that's tattered to the bottom. He goes, "I know I heard about that fight. That was you?"

TALIESIN: Yeah.

MATT: "Matches the description," sits back. Tanvir goes, Okay. Well, tell you what. You go ahead and talk to Ratanish, see if you're worth working with. If that doesn't happen, we find you tomorrow. If you're not gone, then we'll beat the real reason out of you."

TRAVIS: Shit!

TALIESIN: Tomorrow? Fuck, I had people to look up.

MATT: "Then you better hurry."

TALIESIN: (groans)

ERIKA: Well, I guess we're all going to go talk to him, huh?

SAM: We'll see you tomorrow, then!

TALIESIN: Tomorrow morning, then.

SAM: Have a really good day!

MATT: "Yeah."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: They mean it.

MATT: They all gather.

TALIESIN: Have a really good day.

MATT: They all turn and--

TALIESIN: Super fucking good day.

MATT: Mad-dogging on the way out, and the one katari, he's like, "Heh, good day."

TALIESIN: Each morning's a gift.

MATT: One by one, they all exit out of the main Raha Den area.

TALIESIN: Well, that changes things, doesn't it?

LIAM: That complicates everything. If word from them gets back to Treshi, Treshi is going to say why is this group that was just in the place that I came from here now?

LAURA: Yeah.

LIAM: Automatically suspicious.

LAURA: We're the group that was fucking with his ring.

LIAM: Yeah.

SAM: But still, you have to imagine that Treshi's not going to bolt or make a run for it. This is his headquarters. He's not going anywhere.

TRAVIS: He doesn't know Ashton's connected to the ring fuckery.

TALIESIN: No, not at all.

LIAM: It might make him turtle up more, though, I mean.

SAM: Sure.

LAURA: Ashton was connected to the Nightmare King, though, which is the whole reason Treshi had to leave town.

LIAM: He's not going to know what it means, he's just going to put all his alarm bells up.

SAM: He'll probably hole up even deeper in that fort.

TALIESIN: Of course, we'll be getting into that fort.

ERIKA: We just go, then.

SAM: I think this doesn't really change the plan. It just means that--

LAURA: It steps it up.

TALIESIN: Speeds it up.

SAM: Yeah, we got to do a lot of stuff today.

LAURA: I really thought that quokka thing was going to work.

ASHLEY: I did, too, I really did.

MARISHA: It was a brilliant idea.

ASHLEY: We tried, we tried the cute route.

TRAVIS: Okay, so we meet back end of the day unless Imogen says sooner?

LIAM: Yeah, still need a safe house. We'll keep an eye on the place. Going to need allies, but.

MARISHA: It just expedites everything.

LIAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Dusk and I are going to kill somebody.

LAURA: What's the most promising place to find a safe house?

SAM: I can ask my contact if she would house us. I don't really know her housing situash, but--

MARISHA: "Situash"!

SAM: But I know that, I mean, I know her and maybe, it's a maybe.

TALIESIN: I got a couple maybes in an order of preference.

LAURA: All right.

LIAM: I got to say, yesterday I was pretty against storming the place and all for trailing him out, but I'm really worried that the gopher's going to stay in the hole now, and we might not have a choice. I'm just throwing that out there now.

TRAVIS: That's a poop reference: constipation.

LIAM: Look, it's just at night that I toot, man.

LAURA: We all know.

LIAM: You don't have to hang on it.

LAURA: Yeah, it's fine.

LIAM: All I eat is protein! (laughter)

TRAVIS: Fiber.

SAM: It's keto.

TRAVIS: Need more fiber. All right, should we break?

SAM: Break!

MARISHA: All right.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: All right.

SAM: Oh, and Imogen?

LAURA: Yeah?

SAM: If you send a message, send it to me, because I might be able to do something similar to you to others of the group so we could double up.

LAURA: Oh, good idea.

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: All right.

MATT: Okay.

TRAVIS: Wait, before we go our separate ways, everybody, hands in. The thing that we say on three,

SAM: Oh, okay.

TRAVIS: Ready?

TRAVIS and TALIESIN: One, two, three.

MARISHA: The thing we say!

SAM: Smile forever!

TRAVIS: Okay, we'll figure it out.

MATT: (laughs) Very well. So, as you scatter in your groups, which group wants to go first?

LAURA: I don't even know what group I'm in. (laughter)

MATT: To be honest, I don't know who's which group either.

TALIESIN: Who's coming with me to the All-Minds-Burn?

SAM: You could go with Orym, you could go with Ashton, you could go with us.

LIAM: Orym and Laudna are stakeout crew.

SAM: Dusk, Fearne, and me are going to talk to my folk.

TRAVIS: I'm going with Ashton.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: Who's talking to Joe?

SAM: Joe's not for two days.

ERIKA: Not for another couple days.

LAURA: Okay, so we're just not going to go find Joe. Okay, cool. Then I will go with Ashton.

SAM: Laudna's with Orym. Okay. All right?

MARISHA: Yep.

MATT: Okay, so going with Ashton's group, we've got Ashton, we have Chetney.

TRAVIS: Yeah!

MATT: We have Imogen.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

MATT: Is that the group?

SAM and TALIESIN: That's the group.

MATT: Okay, what are you doing? Where are you going?

TALIESIN: I'm heading to the Palace of the All-Minds-Burn.

TRAVIS: Of the what?

SAM and TALIESIN: All-Minds-Burn.

MARISHA: I just-- I grab Ashton before we all leave.

TALIESIN: Ah, hmm.

TRAVIS: We just did the hands thing.

MARISHA: As we're parting. Don't let anything happen to her or I'll fucking kill you. I'll kill you first.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: Okay?

TRAVIS: (laughs)

TALIESIN: Kill him first. I mean, come on, if something goes wrong, it's going to because of the little fucker.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: You're surprisingly the most level-headed here, so I'm looking at you to be responsible and if she gets hurt, I will fucking slit your throat.

TALIESIN: It's nice to know you care.

MARISHA: Pâté will come to life, and he will eat your eyeballs out of their fucking sockets.

TALIESIN: I feel bad about making the outfit now.

ERIKA: What's happening?

MARISHA: Nothing, nothing.

TALIESIN: Nothing, we're fine.

MARISHA: We were just having--

TALIESIN: Nothing's going on.

MARISHA: -- a quick little motivational speech.

TALIESIN: Good luck, good luck on whatever you're doing.

LAURA: I don't know if that's really working, Marisha.

ERIKA: I would've assumed it was like a duck or something.

TRAVIS: You'd think.

LAURA: As we're walking away, in Laudna's head, she hears: I had a dream last night. It was fucked up. It was fucked up.

MARISHA: What?

LAURA: I'll tell you about it later.

TRAVIS: Good to leave on. That's good. Yeah.

SAM: Last words you'll ever--

TALIESIN: It's that a text message that's hanging on three dots for two days now?

MARISHA: Yeah. There were three dots. I saw three dots, and then there stopped being three dots.

LIAM: It's probably just a really long--

TRAVIS: Ashton, just a question for you as we get started. If people see you being you, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

TALIESIN: I mean, it's kind of a... As we're heading over, it's kind of a middly thing. I don't know who remembers. It's been a long time since I've been here.

TRAVIS: Okay, so if you see a face that makes you go, "Oh shit," what's the word that means that we need to be subversive?

TALIESIN: "Oh shit," I think would probably cover it.

TRAVIS: Let's get creative, though. Something that sticks out singularly. What's the food you hate the most?

TALIESIN: Uh, (sighs) sweet, fucking mutton chop.

TRAVIS: Yep. That'll work.

TALIESIN: I don't know.

SAM and TALIESIN: Sweet mutton.

TRAVIS: Sweet fucking mutton, that'll do it. Okay.

TALIESIN: Mutton's gross.

LAURA: Fucking mutton what?

TRAVIS: If he says that, we got to get real squirrelly quick because old shit has spotted him.

LAURA: Got it, old-- Sweet mutton?

TALIESIN: I don't know, I'm just going to scream loudly and attack something.

TRAVIS: This is how we set up for success.

LAURA: All right, you could all-- okay.

TALIESIN: Ah, where we're going to, you might want to keep your brain stuff a little pulled back. These people are a little squirrelly.

LAURA: Ashton, I have been keeping my brain shit pulled back for quite a while now. I don't know if y'all have noticed, but I'm not talking in your heads as much because I keep getting shit about how weird it is.

TALIESIN: I don't give a fuck about it. I actually think it's--

LAURA: Yes, you do.

TALIESIN: -- pretty cool.

LAURA: You gave me shit about it.

TALIESIN: I give everybody shit about everything.

MARISHA: That's fair. (laughter)

TRAVIS: She gestures with her imaginary glasses. (laughter)

TALIESIN: These people are a little weird.

LIAM: Get Schrödinger's glasses.

TRAVIS: Schrödinger's glasses, yeah.

MARISHA: Are they there? Are they not?

TRAVIS: The Palace of the All-Minds-Burn?

TALIESIN: All-Minds-Burn.

TRAVIS: Got it.

MATT: So, in trekking, following the path that Ashton sets forward, you head through the now continuously warming middle-- early middle of the day at Bassuras. Wrapped as you are, the temperature this day is relatively sweltering, a dry heat thankfully, and it looks like there is some cloud cover possibly on the horizon, either if it'll pass overhead or pass a little far north or not hit you, it's uncertain, but you immediately look forward to the hours from now that there's a chance of a little bit of midday shade as you begin to immediately feel the sweat begin to drip within your armor and clothing. But heading towards the center of the city, past the numerous buildings that are clustered, clay-brick constructions and ancient, outfitted, long-abandoned temples that have been retrofitted into modern-day gathering spaces and drinking holes for whoever else might be passing by, you eventually come upon the Palace of the All-Minds-Burn, which you can see is not a grandiose palace. The term "palace" is used in a way that is technically correct. You can see the large arches and the green, glass-like dome that sits in the front presentational appearance of the palace before you, a number of towers that seem to crawl up from different spires and walls that partially surround it, though crumbled. On the right side, you can see there's some wear and tear and a lack of general care over time that has been afforded this central building, but it does seem unique against the surrounding cluster of the neighborhood. Approaching closer, the numerous windows and openings, there is, I want to say a dark, almost like a silt gathered at the edges of the glass. All the color on the edges-- it looks like it's mildewed, but it's not when you get closer. There's a shade that seems to creep into every corner and crevice of this structure. As you head to the front archway that opens, it's an open door entrance. There's no blockade or a heavy door that prevents your entry. It's just an open archway and a dark-shaded interior awaiting you. As you begin to approach, you see two figures step out, themselves wrapped in a light linen scarf of a faint, brownish coloration, a pattern with yellows and reds throughout, and as they both move past, they don't even acknowledge you. They just stare straight ahead and drift beyond.

TALIESIN: Yep, okay.

LAURA: What's up with these guys?

TALIESIN: Everyone's doing their own thing on a very fundamental level here. Everyone's a little out of it, somewhere else.

LAURA: All right. What the fuck?

SAM: Sorry. (laughter)

SAM: It's our products. They're very good. (laughter)

TALIESIN: I'm going to head my way up into what would be the main hall to see if I can find somebody who is conscious enough to answer some questions.

MATT: As you follow Ashton within the darkened interior, the dry, dusty smells of the city immediately give into a sweeter scent, musty but sweet, like long-used teabags that have been left to ferment. It's both pleasant and unpleasant simultaneously, and it is stronger the further in you step. Within this main entryway, you can see there are all manner of cables and ropes that are pulled across the interior dome, the glass above now looking inside. Only bits of sunlight come through, giving a greenish hue to where it strikes the distant walls and a number of curtains and heavy bits of dark material have been strewn across to block the majority of what would normally have been a very bright interior chamber. Within this room, steps rise up onto multiple platforms and where you can see tables and chairs that are scattered between pillars, load-bearing pillars that hold this central-domed entryway high. At a quick sweeping glance, about a dozen or so figures in various states of conversation, unconsciousness on scattered beds or cots and all the figures at once all seem to (whoosh) shift in your direction.

TRAVIS: Ooh.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TRAVIS: Can I give a (sniffs) to this room? I mean, the sweet smell is one thing, but anything that seems a little out of place?

MATT: Sure, make a perception check with advantage because of your wolven sense.

TRAVIS: Fuck yeah, 18.

MATT: 18? Really taking it in, there's a number of smells here that are colliding. Once you push past that initial odd, sweet mustiness, there are a number of burned tobaccos, a hint of opium at times, and a strong underlying layer of mold, just an old, ancient, prevalent, tomb-rot mold.

TRAVIS: It's not like the earthy smells that were around the lady that turned in (growls) back in the place, right?

MATT: Right, no, no, a uniquely different scent.

TRAVIS: Okay.

MATT: It's faint, but it's definitely there, and as you get close, you smell it and go towards one of the nearby pillars and just rub it out with your finger and smell it, and it's present, like a sedimentary layer of this particular mold-like scent, or at least the source of it is everywhere.

LAURA: And that's what's on the windows?

MATT: May very well be.

LAURA: They've got a greenish? Is it a greenish tint or black?

MATT: It is a blackish-brown tint to the shaded edges of where the light begins to fade. The light interior that's coming through is green-tinted by the glass the dome is made from and the sunlight that's coming through, though most of it is enclosed.

TRAVIS: Like the inside of a fish tank when you don't clean it.

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Okay. Blech. How many people would you say are there in this room with us?

MATT: From what you can see, about a dozen.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: They all slowly, one by one, as they notice you enter, a few of them keep watching, but they go back amongst their drinking or conversation, card game on the edge there. One--

LAURA: How do you--? Sorry.

MATT: It's okay. One figure stands up and begins to approach.

LAURA: How well do you know these people, Ashton?

TALIESIN: Oh, I mean, on and off. Back when I lived here, all right, a little bit. I mean, you know.

TRAVIS: Oh fuck.

TALIESIN: This organization's pretty well known.

LAURA: Were you part of this group, or--?

TALIESIN: No, no, no. (laughter)

MARISHA: What?! (laughs)

TALIESIN: These people are fucking crazy.

TRAVIS: Oh my god. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

MATT: The figure that's stepping down from the stairstepped dais that's on the risen central platform of the interior chamber of this smaller palace, as they step through one of the beams of green light, you can see an orcish visage that steps through, their skin a sandy coloration, a light orangish yellow, and you can see a scraggly bit of facial hair that's either patchy or falling out, who knows? But as they approach, their hood is pulled back, and it's a bundle of dark red cloak that is thrown over the shoulder and beneath that is not expensive-looking clothing, but definitely not a commoner's outfit, a medium income piece of attire. They step down and approach. "What can I do for you?"

TALIESIN: I'm looking for Justi Pross, if she's still around. I'm an old friend.

MATT: "Maybe."

TALIESIN: If she happens to be around, can you tell her Ashton Greymoore--?

MATT: "She's here."

TALIESIN: Okay.

MATT: "She's coming."

LAURA: How did you know that?

MATT: Turns around and begins stepping back up the stairs.

TALIESIN: They're all functioning on a very different level.

MATT: You hear a creaking sound from up in the risen rafters of this central chamber. One of the bowing pieces of thick material that's used to block out this sunlight hangs and shifts slightly, moved, disturbed, and you hear (flapping) as a shadow begins to unfurl from above. As it does, you hear this faint, a gentle screech. (screeches, whooshes) And with that, you watch wings unfurl (whooshes) and rapidly, before descending onto the ground, not but five feet from where you stand, you see through the green light, your eyes adapting the changes in hues based on the internal odd green coloration that imprints upon everything, a deep, red color to the feathers, like a cardinal of some kind. As the figure stands up, you see before you a red eisfuura, a long, pointed beak to the front, their eyes a pale sky-blue coloration, wearing a simple, dark-brown tunic with a light gray cloak that comes to a point at the mid back, simple pantaloons that stop at the knee where you can see the claw-like feet grabbing onto the bits of tattered carpet that they landed upon before it looks up and head to the side. "Huh. Ashton."

TALIESIN: Look at you, you messy fucking bitch. (laughter)

TALIESIN: How've you been?

MATT: Comes forward, wings out and gives a big embrace, (laughter)

TRAVIS: Yes. Amazing.

MATT: Pulls back. "Why are you here?"

TALIESIN: Well, oh, that's a little complicated. I was actually hoping for a little bit of help for old time's sake, maybe something that could benefit you as well.

MATT: "Maybe, maybe, maybe."

TALIESIN: These are my friends, by the way. I'm so sorry, Chetney and Imogen.

MATT: "Hi, friends."

TRAVIS: Hello, Chetney Pock O'Pea. Glad to make your acquaintance.

MATT: "Hmm. Welcome. Welcome, friends of Ashton."

LAURA: How big is this room?

MATT: This internal chamber, now that you really get a vibe of it, it's probably a good 150 feet across and a good 70, 80 feet to its apex of the dome itself. It's a big internal chamber and there are other rooms and splinters off into the small palace. It is a palace, though it is on the tinier scale.

LAURA: How many people are around us right now? Like within 30 feet, thereabouts.

MATT: Within 30 feet?

LAURA: Of us.

MATT: Three outside of you guys, so five total aside from you.

LAURA: Okay.

TALIESIN: (sighs) We seem to have gotten ourselves in a little bit of a sticky situation with the Paragon's Call.

MATT: "Oh, oh no."

TALIESIN: Oh no.

MATT: "Problems."

TALIESIN: Yes. And we were thinking that our problems could maybe they could use a little help and maybe we could figure out a way for them to benefit you.

MATT: "Maybe."

TALIESIN: I mean, I owe you.

MATT: "Yes."

TALIESIN: It was some good times.

MATT: "Indeed."

TALIESIN: How have you been doing in here?

MATT: "Good, we're all doing well. Your friends are interesting."

TALIESIN: That is an understatement.

MATT: "So!"

LAURA: You're quite interesting yourself.

MATT: "(laughs) Thank you. What can I do to help with this problem? Are they looking to kill you? Are they looking... to kill you?" (laughter)

TALIESIN: Well, they're looking to kill us, but not quite yet. They don't know they're looking to kill us yet.

MATT: "Ah, pre-kill?"

LAURA: They will be.

MATT: "(chuckles) Very good."

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: We were trying to get somebody who's currently under their care out, smuggled out of the city, somebody who, say, turned on one of our employers and they spotted us and now we've had to bullshit our way into them thinking that we're there to talk to them--

MATT: "Hmm."

TALIESIN: -- tomorrow, but really, we just need to get the fuck out of here and get our guy and get out of town.

MATT: "You are in their sights already."

TALIESIN: Mm.

MATT: "It's difficult."

TALIESIN: Yes.

MATT: "Why you talk, they did not take you already?"

TALIESIN: (sighs) Got very lucky. We convinced them that we were legitimately here to see them.

MATT: "Hmm, what for?"

TALIESIN: A job to audition for work?

MATT: "Huh."

TALIESIN: They're trying to expand into the Spires, and I'm sure you know that.

LAURA: I'm looking-- can I look up where--

TRAVIS: Get up in there!

TALIESIN: Go for it.

LAURA: I want to.

LAURA: Can I look up where they're looking? Does it look like there's anything up there where they're looking?

TRAVIS: Get in that Kraft mac and cheese.

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Figure out what is happening.

LAURA: My perception is balls, and I rolled a seven.

MATT: Unfortunately--

LAURA: In that case, fuck it.

TRAVIS: Glasses are off! Elegantly as you please.

LIAM: War Imogen is back.

TALIESIN: ♪ Da da da ♪

MATT: ♪ Back again ♪

LAURA: I'm going to--

LIAM: Where'd Laura go? (laughter)

SAM: That's super--

TALIESIN: Imogen, is that you?

MATT: Yes, Laura?

LAURA: (raspy) I'm going to-- (laughter)

LAURA: Can I back up at all to where I'm around less people?

MATT: This is a large chamber. I'd say you could take a few steps and maneuver in a way that would put only-- that would only put Justi and Ashton in your periphery.

LAURA: Okay, then I will do that. I'm going to back up and I'm going to drop my wall, and I'm going to try to fucking hear shit.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: Okay. As you begin to focus, your--

LAURA: Okay, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good.

MATT: You good? Okay. As you focus and push into the mind of this odd eisfuura, as it stares up and almost freezes for a moment before returning its attention back to Ashton, there's like a fuzz. Almost like there are thoughts, but they're underwater. Do you want to push deeper? You're not hearing anything.

ASHLEY: (underwater mumbles)

LAURA: Ooh, that was really good.

MATT: Kind of, yeah.

ASHLEY: Thank you very much.

LAURA: (underwater mumbles)

ASHLEY: Didn't mean to steal the show for a minute.

MATT: As is looking back towards you, Perhaps that could work, too. Um, hmm. How we could help? We could, how could we help?"

TALIESIN: We would love to have a place to sleep.

LAURA: When I see the eyes like dart up, and start looking, that's when I'm going to try to push.

MATT: What's the DC for you?

LAURA: Oh, for Detect Thoughts?

MATT: Yes.

LAURA: Oh, jeez. 15, yeah, I think 15.

MATT: 15, okay. They do fail the save.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: As you push past, that weird, underwater sound becomes a loud buzzing, a static, an ever-present, all-consuming static. (aggressively) "Shh." You suddenly aren't delving into *her* mind. You're delving into the mind of everybody in this room. Everything in this chamber and beyond the walls, like they're all one mind as opposed to individual bodies. But it's not their mind. It's a collective. It's like a hivemind, and it's buzzing and it's loud and it's hurting, and it's hurting and it's from below. It's from below and it hurts and it's everywhere, and you have to pull away. You have to pull away. You have to pull away. You have to pull away.

LAURA: I pull away. I pull away!

MATT: Okay, you pull away and pull back, and you touch, and your nose is bleeding.

TRAVIS: Oh shit! (oohing)

MATT: As you notice, you glance over, and Justi is looking right at you.

MATT: (clicks)

LAURA: It's this dry weather. (laughter)

TALIESIN: We were hoping for a place to stash our guy for 24 hours, if we manage to get them out, and then a little help getting out of the city the next day.

MATT: "We could provide, yes. Yes, we could if you send--"

TALIESIN: If you have anything else you could help us. I don't know. We're looking for ways of distracting the Paragon's Call, any weaknesses in their throne, any way to get inside undetected, I don't know.

MATT: "The best way inside is as one of them, perhaps."

TRAVIS: Ooh.

SAM: Yep.

MATT: "You said you looking for work. Told them they expect work. Maybe challenge them. Maybe show what you're worth. Maybe take them to The Run. We could help there. We could set the Run in your favor."

TRAVIS: What's The Run?

TALIESIN: Did Pocket end up at The Run?

LAURA: What's The Run?

MATT: "Yes. Haven't seen Pocket in some time. I think." They stare up for a second. "Yes, Pocket's at The Run."

SAM: Pocket.

LAURA: Pocket's at The Run.

TALIESIN: Pocket, Run. Run's not a bad idea. Run's a great idea. Shit.

MATT: "If so, let us. We can set traps. We can set it in your favor in places."

TALIESIN: Oh.

MATT: "Even the odds. No one plays The Run fairly, you know. (chuckles)"

TALIESIN: I missed you, Justi. I will owe you one. Don't think I don't know what that means.

MATT: "Of course." And reaches a big feathered hand into the side of a little pouch and pulls like a small box and (inhales) like full snuff box, and takes a hit.

ASHLEY: (quick exhale)

TRAVIS and MATT: (quick exhale)

MATT: Exactly. (laughter)

MATT: "Let us know."

TALIESIN: Oh, we'll--

MATT: "We'll keep you safe."

TALIESIN: We do know.

MATT: "We'll keep quiet."

TALIESIN: Be careful. These people'll kill you one day.

MATT: "(laughs) (wings flapping) Takes up, clutches the edge of one of the hanging pieces of material before darting off and flies back up to a small perch, lands and tucks the wings back in.

TRAVIS: You just traded for another favor? You didn't give any money, or--?

TALIESIN: Eh, we're old friends. God, yeah, I got to admit, this city sucks, but man, I miss some of these people. Fuck.

TRAVIS: Aren't you afraid that they're going to sell us out?

TALIESIN: No, Justi, no. Also, the All-Minds-Burn to the Paragon? No, they fucking hate each other.

TRAVIS: They do?

TALIESIN: Oh yeah, they fucking-- nobody gets along in this goddamn city. Anything the Paragon takes is just something that the All-Minds-Burn doesn't get.

TRAVIS: Oh.

TALIESIN: It's a constant territory war. Nobody actually wants to make a deal with anybody.

LAURA: How long have the All-Minds-Burn been around?

TALIESIN: God, for as long as I can remember. Oh no, you went in, didn't you?

LAURA: I don't know what you're talking about.

TALIESIN: You got a little more, yeah, you got red all.

LAURA: I'm going to use my scarf.

TALIESIN: What was that even like in there?

LAURA: It was fucking awful, and there is... Let's get out of this place.

TALIESIN: Okay, I'll explain later, apparently. Okay.

TRAVIS: *You'll* explain-- Oh... Okay.

MATT: You all eventually head back out into the oddly welcoming, sweltering heat, by comparison, as you exit the shaded interior of the palace, and are back now amongst the city streets of Bassuras.

TRAVIS: Anyone tailing us as we leave?

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: Yeah.

LAURA: Even in the sky? I look up in the sky.

MATT: Make a perception check.

TRAVIS: You better-- Fuck, god! That says fuck; that's a one.

LAURA: I finally roll a good one, a 19.

MATT: 19? Nice.

TRAVIS: 13.

MATT: 13. You don't seem to see anybody following you, though there is somebody just standing at the edge of the archway, just watching you leave and then they turn around and go back in.

TALIESIN: They take a lot of interesting chemicals. Sometimes, they have weird--

LAURA: They're not, no, no, you can't. They don't have their own thoughts. It's not like-- It's like one, no, but y'all. It was--

TALIESIN: Well, there are layers to it. As far as I understand. I don't know. I've never actually been in it myself.

LAURA: I've never experienced anything like that.

TALIESIN: They make some crazy shit.

LAURA: I hear a cacophony of voices all the time. I grew up with it, and that was so different. It's all together, and there's something big under the ground.

TALIESIN: That's-- You actually sound like some of them when they dry out a little bit. That's interesting. You didn't even have to hit that shit.

TRAVIS: Wait, wait, so they're all under the effects of something in that place?

TALIESIN: High as fucking kites, yeah.

TRAVIS: But do they ingest something? Or is it just from being in there?

LAURA: No, it's probably the shit that.

TALIESIN: They make a ton of weird shit for that, but you know, most of that's kind of a bad idea. I mean, clearly, it's a bad idea, but you know, some people are into that.

LAURA: What's The Run?

TALIESIN: Oh boy. We're going to have to find ourselves a car.

LAURA: Is it a race?

TALIESIN: It is more than a race. It is a race where the stakes are high. Death is possible. You're beating everybody. It's not just about the car that wins. It's about the car that survives. It's intense. It's awesome. Oh, I've always wanted to do this shit.

LAURA: Are we going to race?

TALIESIN: Fuck, I hope so. It's a great plan.

LAURA: We got to go to Joe's. I keep talking about Joe's like it's an amazing place, but I feel like that's where we're going to get some stuff.

TALIESIN: We're at least going to eat there. You've got to eat at Joe's.

TRAVIS: How long did it take us to get over here to the Palace of the All-Minds-Burn from where we were?

MATT: Oh, not that far, because it's central to the city, and you guys are just a little further north in the Salmagunda Strip. So I'd say about a 15-minute walk.

TRAVIS: So in a worst case scenario, if we ran back in there, do you think they would hide us or pretend they didn't know where we were.

TALIESIN: Well, I think in a worst case scenario, we could, if we lost our tail, if we got in there, we wouldn't be found and they wouldn't rat us out. Honestly, I don't even know if they would go in there. That's dangerous.

TRAVIS: What kind of favors do you owe if you're not giving them money?

TALIESIN: Well.

TRAVIS: Is it your body?

LAURA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: I mean, technically.

TRAVIS: It's a good body.

TALIESIN: I get paid to do shit. I break into people's houses, steal some shit, then occasionally do a little mild enforcement. Whatever, smuggle. Who doesn't like smuggling? I love smuggling. It's basically a vacation someone else pays for. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Okay. So we've got to get a car. We're going in The Run.

LAURA: Let's go find a car.

TALIESIN: So tomorrow morning, we go in there, we'll see how it goes, and if it goes poorly, we'll just demand to settle things the old fashioned way. If we settle things the old fashioned way, we'll already have some friends to help cheat as much as we possibly can.

TRAVIS: Oh, here, so like instead of a trial by combat, you can be a trial by Run?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Awesome.

TALIESIN: More or less.

MATT: To clarify what they were saying, just so you know--

TALIESIN: Sorry, yeah, sorry.

TRAVIS: This is... This is--

MATT: No, no, that's good, that's good.

TALIESIN: Take your lore and run.

MATT: No, no, to clarify, they mentioned it wasn't so much that you had to come back tomorrow, but if you didn't check in with them, they would come back tomorrow to beat it out of you.

LAURA: Oh, okay.

MATT: They were like, Cool, we'll give you a day to do what you're saying you're doing and if you don't, we'll find you."

TALIESIN: Well, we got one person, and then, also, apparently, I've got an old friend who is currently working at The Run, Pocket, who's... probably fine.

LAURA: Pocket's a good name.

TALIESIN: It is a good name. The name's better than the guy, but that's okay.

TRAVIS: Are you closer with Justi or Pocket?

TALIESIN: Oh, Justi. Pocket's a-- I mean, I haven't seen Pocket in years, but when I left, he was a mess, and he's probably still a mess.

TRAVIS: This feels like it'll fucking fail at any moment, which means it's doomed to succeed.

LAURA: Yeah. (laughter)

TALIESIN: If worst comes to worst, there's always the orphanage, and I could hit that up and see what the fuck happens.

LIAM: ♪ The orphanage ♪

TRAVIS: What do you mean? Like, oh, the orphanage, you were here?

TALIESIN: Yeah, Greymoore Orphanage.

TRAVIS: Greymoore Orphanage? Wait a minute. Your last name, Greymoore, because you came from there, or your family owns the--

TALIESIN: Oh, my family's own-- (laughs) I couldn't even get through it. Shit. (laughs)

MATT: (laughs)

TRAVIS: Oh, all right.

TALIESIN: No. Any ward of the state who goes through the Greymoore Home for the Untethered Children, I kid you fucking not, they give you Greymoore as a last name. It's supposed to create a sense of community, I think, is what they would say. So, a Greymoore kid's a Greymoore kid.

TRAVIS: Got it.

TALIESIN: The place is kind of a shithole, but you never know.

LAURA: Might be a good place to hide.

TALIESIN: Could be.

TRAVIS: Do you know anyone at the orphanage still?

TALIESIN: God, I hope not. Anybody I was in there with is either probably long gone, and god, most of the staff is probably long gone. It's not like I really gave a fuck about them, either. I was not exactly a pleasant--

LAURA: What are you talking about, Ashton?

TALIESIN: Oh, I know I'm charm personified.

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

TRAVIS: I thought that went really well.

TRAVIS: We've got at least a fallback spot. The orphanage isn't anything we need to check out. I mean, we're fucking killing it.

TALIESIN: That's a last, if everything goes to shit, then maybe the orphanage, and we'll let the others know. But in the meantime, Justi's, you know, it's been a while. She's pretty on the level.

LAURA: I don't think that's urgent enough for me to send a message to everybody else just yet. I say we go and we look for a car in the meantime while everybody else is scouting, and then we meet back up like we're supposed to.

TALIESIN: I'm fucking really into that. That's a great idea.

MATT: Okay. In the interim, what other group have you gathered?

SAM: Me, Dusk, and Fearne, we're going to go to Finders Takers at some point.

MATT: Okay, okay.

TALIESIN: Losers Makers.

SAM: In the East Dregs.

MATT: Indeed. So the three of you go ahead and tread on over to the East Dregs. Now this is one of the more rough and tumble parts of town. It is a combination, tightly woven cavalcade of hovels and ramshackle buildings and clusters of scrap materials that have either become so overused or rusted that they really don't serve a purpose to anyone except for decor or a dangerous, nearby hand-grab to defend yourself. And just where a lot of the folks just like to disappear, if need be, within the town, on an independent, individual basis. But you also come to the exterior here of Finders Takers, which is a small boutique scrap and black powder shop, where all manner of raw materials and scrounged minerals and unstable materials can be found. As you approach the outside of it, you can see it's a somewhat simple building, but the roof, which curves at the edges, and then goes into a bell shape, has a number of black singe marks across it, and has seen all manner of fire damage that has either not been fixed because they couldn't, or because they didn't want to. But this is a familiar sight that brings you a bit of calm upon approaching.

ASHLEY: Do you know this place?

SAM: I do. I've been here before. They've fixed me up and we've bought scrap here before, and yeah, I'm a little nervous and might just ask the both of you just for some quick advice.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: If you had to deliver sort of bad news, do you just come right out with it? Or do you lead with something else first, something good, and then go bad? Or?

ERIKA: I like to do a shit sandwich, you know?

SAM: What does that mean?

ASHLEY: I was going to say an ice cream sandwich!

SAM: What's a shit sandwich?

ERIKA: Where you're like, Hey, the weather's nice. I'm sorry your child is dead," and then, like, "Hey, great shirt."

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: You give a compliment, you give the bad news, and then you give another compliment. Usually, the brain just is like, oh, and then they--

ERIKA: The element of surprise.

ASHLEY: Yes.

SAM: All right.

ASHLEY: What bad news are you tell-- Well, I guess we'll find out. Is there anything we can do?

SAM: Just maybe smile a lot at the pieces of bread in the shit sandwich, just to make them look more appealing than the gooey center.

ASHLEY: I can smile through the bad news, as well. You know, maybe--

SAM: Sure. It might not be appropriate, but sure.

ASHLEY: Okay.

SAM: We'll try.

ASHLEY: Okay.

ERIKA: I have a good feeling about this.

SAM: I do, too.

ASHLEY: I do, too. I also, we talked last night, and I am in a whole new headspace of just living life balls to the wall.

SAM: What does that mean? That's great. That's fantastic. You're just, you're free?

ASHLEY: No rules.

SAM: No rules?

ASHLEY: No.

ERIKA: None.

ASHLEY: None.

SAM: As opposed to before?

ASHLEY: I mean, now, I'm just going to do whatever I want to do.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Let's go in.

ERIKA: That's the spirit.

SAM: All right.

ERIKA: Let's go.

MATT: As you turn towards it, two figures step out. You see a younger, probably no older than 17, boy, dark tan skin, a pair of goggles over his eyes, and some scruffy hide armor, comes out with a long rifle, and is the process of holding it out before tucking it under his arm and stepping away. A person behind them keeping an eye out. Across, you see a hearty-looking elf, a bit heavy-set, who currently glowers at the three of you as it steps off and joins their companion. They both head off to the street, but the door, and it is like a saloon double door, like (squeaks). It comes to a close, but it doesn't close perfectly. It's a little off-kilter, and it's frustrating that it's not quite perfect. But in the inside, you can just see, it looks shaded, and a welcome comfort from the hot day you're currently standing in.

ASHLEY: Hey.

SAM: Yeah, let's go on in. Do I see Esmer anywhere in here?

MATT: Okay, as you glance inside, the smell hits you, and it's a smell of heavy rust and iron, as well as fires, and not like a normal campfire, but like metal burning. Those of you who have been around forges or smithies, there's a specific smell to super-hot metals that have been struck or broken down, filings that have been heated up in cauldrons and crucibles. There is a particular smell of unique burning that already informs you that somebody industrious has spent time in here. Now the interior's not very well-lit. There are a couple of lanterns that are hanging, oil lamps that are on hooks by the door. In the back, you can see, between a number of small shelves, it isn't like a display shop of some kind. It isn't like this is a wide array of things to purchase. It's more like a supply cabinet that also can sell things based on request, but amongst the clustered bits in the sides, to the back and to the left side of it, you can see a long table where a whole cluster of six lanterns are jammed together and are all affixed to a long pipe that is drilled and bolted up into the ceiling. That's giving warm light from different perspectives under the table below, and at the table there, you see a woman, who's currently with thick pieces of leather, stitching either a vest or a piece of chest armor. You see a tall, slender, gorgeous woman with jet-black skin, white, almost bleached hair that's parted in the center that goes just past the chin. You see her wearing a sleeveless, dark purple-red vest that cuts off mid-torso, and there's a dirty, white work shirt beneath it.

MATT: As she sits there with a thick pair of goggles with multiple lenses, not too dissimilar to the ones you've seen Milo wear, but with a better-refined build to them. She's in the process of pulling this heavy thread, this thick, thick leather thread through the material she's working with.

SAM: Smiley day to you.

MATT: "Yes?"

SAM: Esmer, hi.

MATT: Pushes the thing aside. (shifting fabric)

SAM: Hi there. I see business is booming. Remember me?

MATT: "I do. I'm surprised to see you. Fresh Cut Grass, right?"

SAM: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: "Right."

SAM: It's been a while, but I'm back in town with a new group of friends.

ERIKA: The weather's really nice.

SAM: The weather is really nice. Yeah, not a cloud in the sky to be seen.

MATT: "There are clouds on the horizon, actually, but I appreciate that you've maintained the same sunny disposition that you had for so long. What are you doing here? Did she send you here?"

SAM: No, she didn't. She's--

MATT: Sits back into the chair and puts her legs onto the table and you see she has these thick fucking leather boots with a wide bottom and there are spikes off the front and a big old steel toe in the front. Sits back, grabs a bottle of already opened, looks to be some sort of a red type of wine or brackish liqueur and just takes a big swig and sets it down on the counter. "Go on."

SAM: She isn't coming back. She's not with me today.

MATT: "Good."

SAM: That is good. That's good news, right?

ERIKA: That is good news.

ASHLEY: Yes. There's just good news all around.

SAM: You won't be seeing her today.

ASHLEY: Who?

SAM: In fact, funny story. You won't be seeing Dancer anymore. She was brutally murdered.

ASHLEY: (laughs nervously)

MATT: "What?"

ASHLEY: Give her a compliment.

SAM: Nice shirt.

ASHLEY: It's so beautiful.

ERIKA: It really brings out the color of your eyes.

MATT: "How? When?"

SAM: A few months ago. We were doing a job and they got her. They got everyone, really.

MATT: (gulps drink) (sputters) She just spits the wine all over your face. (laughs) Ah, you're a filthy liar like she was."

SAM: Oh.

MATT: "No, but seriously, what is this about? She send you in here? I saw her like a month ago."

SAM: I'm sorry, what?

LAURA: (gasps)

MATT: "Well, she came in here wanting to connect old ties and was like, 'Hey, I'm sorry about how things went, 'and it's a rough time to go around the world, 'and all kinds of bullshit up north and stuff.' I should have sent her packing. It's not like history would've told me she's a really good manipulator, but you know that. Pulled those heart strings, among other things, but once things got a little too intimate, she bounced again, the fucking bitch. So if you see her, please tell her don't come back or I'm going to fucking cut that cunt."

LAURA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Did you say-- When did you see her? Did you say a month ago?

MATT: "Yeah, about a month ago."

ASHLEY: Huh.

SAM: She-- Are you--

ERIKA: That's a great shirt you're wearing.

SAM: I'm not wearing one.

ASHLEY: Your legs are great.

SAM: She came back here? You saw her? You talked to her?

MATT: "Oh, I did more than talk to her, little friend."

SAM: Wait, you mean...

MARISHA: (laughs)

SAM: Wait. So you're sure it was her?

MATT: "I'm sure. Only one person does the thing. Yes."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: Did she have the others with her? Was Axer here and Terrawyn?

MATT: "No, it was just her. Why?"

SAM: Any of the other bots?

MATT: "No. It looks like you got one of the pieces right there, right? That Pussy's old buzzsaw, right?"

SAM: It is, yeah. (laughter)

LIAM: What a phrase.

ASHLEY: I know. (laughs)

MARISHA: Pussy's old buzzsaw.

MATT: "She didn't have any of her companions with her. She had a new arm, that was pretty crazy."

SAM: I'm sorry, what?

MATT: "Big old metal arm. Kind of cool."

ASHLEY: Maybe she survived and that's why she has a metal arm.

SAM: But we saw-- I saw-- I saw everything.

ASHLEY: What did you--

MATT: "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so intense. I just assumed you were delivering a message or an apology that wasn't heartfelt at all."

LIAM: What is going on?

MARISHA: Shit.

SAM: Yeah, that's all this is. Yeah. She wanted to say sorry, I guess, for running out on you I guess.

MATT: "So she did send you?"

ASHLEY: What a lovely store.

MATT: "Thanks."

ASHLEY: I was going to ask.

MARISHA: What the shit?

ASHLEY: How did you know Dancer? You guys were a thing, you dated? Is that what I'm gathering here?

MATT: "You could say that. Yeah."

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: "We were entangled."

ASHLEY: Oh. Okay. Is she here anywhere?

SAM: Is she here? Yeah, do you know where she went?

MATT: "I don't know. After the last time I saw her, I screamed at her loud enough, I assume she went way away."

SAM: Did she say she was after something, running from something?

MATT: "She didn't tell me much about anything."

SAM: Did she buy anything? Fix anything?

MATT: "No, she came in, stayed for a few days and then did what she does, vanish."

ASHLEY: Did she leave any hints to where she might possibly be going?

MATT: "Hopefully far away from my shop."

TRAVIS: Wow.

SAM: Wow. Well I came here for other reasons, but I'm sorry. I'm just a little shocked that she was here and didn't tell me, that's all.

MATT: "If she's smart and she's still in town, she's probably at The Ends. It's where our other friends used to be."

SAM: Yeah, of course. I know the Ends. Yeah, I'll probably just swing by there. She's probably waiting for me there.

MATT: "All right, well if you see her, tell her she's an asshole. Yeah."

TRAVIS: (laughs)

SAM: And that she should not come back to see you?

MATT: "Yeah. Tell her that."

SAM: Okay.

MATT: "Unless she's ready to apologize in person, maybe."

SAM: Say, unrelated to Dancer--

MATT: "Mm-hmm."

SAM: I'm here with a new group and we've been looking for some assistance for a job we're on. Didn't know if maybe you could help us out, for a price, of course.

MATT: If I can help, maybe.

SAM: We're doing a couple things. One, we might be going into a place that we shouldn't go and so we might need some tools for that.

MATT: "I have tools. Tell me what you're looking for, I could probably sell you."

SAM: So Esmer sells all sorts of stuff, but especially pepperboxes and things that make explosions, and I don't know if that interests either of you.

ASHLEY: Unstable elements and types of things.

MATT: "Oh yeah."

ASHLEY: What is in that boy's hand over there? Is that a pepperbox, the long--

MATT: "No, that's a carbine."

ASHLEY: It's a carbine. What does that do?

MATT: "It goes boom. It puts holes in things."

ASHLEY: Can you attach one of those to him?

MATT: "With enough time, probably."

SAM: Well, I'm more of a healing type than a making holes in things type.

ASHLEY: Maybe it's good to have just in case. You never know.

SAM: Sure, maybe.

ASHLEY: What else do you have that's fun?

MATT: "Well, we got all sorts of pistols and rifles and dynamite sticks and small explosives. We got satchels of black powder."

SAM: Something that could maybe blow a hole in a large wall?

MATT: "Give me a little time, yeah."

SAM: All right.

MATT: "It's dangerous to do that. It has to be prepared properly."

SAM: Of course.

MATT: "So I'd need a little time to do it. What is it you're trying to do here? You back in the old game again?"

SAM: Maybe. I don't know. I don't want to get you in trouble and tell you too much.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we probably can't.

ERIKA: It's probably best not to know.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

MATT: "Is this for Dancer?"

SAM: No, it's not. She's not involved in any way. The other thing that we needed help with, which I don't know if you can help us with, is we might have some cargo, some living cargo that we need to ferry out of town and we might need that cargo to have a night to rest somewhere before we leave. Is there a place that you can think of that might house some folks who are on the run and not ask too many--

MATT: "I don't deal in smuggling, especially of the living variety. That's not what I do."

SAM: All right. That's fair.

ASHLEY: Do you happen to know someone who does do that?

MATT: "Are they a voluntary smuggle?"

ASHLEY: Well.

ERIKA: For all you know.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: "Hey. I mean, honestly, probably someone in The Skids. Easy to get lost in The Skids, hard to be followed. A lot of trash heaps. A lot of small winding alleyways."

ASHLEY: Okay.

ERIKA: Thank you so much for all of your help.

SAM: How many days would you need to make a large wall-busting charge?

MATT: "How big a wall?"

ERIKA: How big you got?

SAM: How about a gate? How about just a big gate?

ASHLEY: A big stone situation.

MATT: "Are you talking like this thick, this thick, this thick?"

SAM: You were in there.

ASHLEY: Probably like this thick.

MATT: "I could put something together in like six to eight hours, maybe."

SAM: Six to eight hours?

MATT: "It's pricey. It's a lot of black powder."

ASHLEY: How much is it?

MATT: "Hmm."

ASHLEY: For an old friend.

MATT: Make a persuasion check.

ASHLEY: 16.

MATT: "150."

SAM: Okay.

ASHLEY: Okay. Okay, what if we also get-- How much are the dynamite sticks? Sorry, I'm making an absolute mess of your space. Let's just put it all back.

LAURA: You do it again. (laughs)

MATT: Just continuously ruining it.

LIAM: Chevy Chase-ing through the store.

ASHLEY: Oh god. (laughter)

MATT: That would actually be in the Dungeon Master's Guide, I think. I'll just say "Per stick, five gold."

ASHLEY: Okay.

ERIKA: Can we take a couple of those?

SAM: To go right now?

ERIKA: Yeah, we'll take a couple to go.

MATT: "Sure."

SAM: Let's put on order the large one, if you can.

MATT: "Half up front. 75 gold."

ASHLEY: How much do you sell the pepperboxes for?

MATT: "Well, you see, the ammunition is custom for those. I could sell you one for 300."

ASHLEY: Hm. No, I think I'd like an explosion better.

MATT: "I respect that."

SAM: So here's a fun fact. I don't have any money. So could y'all front me?

ASHLEY: I can do it. Okay, so we will get the explosive and how many sticks of dynamite do you have?

MATT: "Well, based on a recent purchase, I have five."

ASHLEY: We'll take them all.

MATT: "Okay. 25 gold. That'll put us at 100 gold, including the half down price for the explosive to be picked up later tonight or tomorrow morning, whatever you prefer. If anybody asks any questions at all, I have no idea who you are, and if any sort of funny business goes on, I find where you are and I put one of these sticks of dynamite up your ass and I light it."

ASHLEY: Well, you won't have them because we took them all, but I understand. (laughter) I'm just being specific.

SAM: It really is a nice shirt. Thank you for everything.

MATT: "Yeah. Why do you seem so-- I've always liked you. Of all the ones she made, you're the one, you're something special."

SAM: Thank you. I hope you're right.

MATT: "All right, well I'll see you then. If you see her, just tell her fuck off and--"

SAM: Sure, eat shit and die.

MATT: "Yeah."

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: "I'm still waiting on that apology."

SAM: I will. All right, let's go.

ASHLEY: Okay. I'm going to linger.

MATT: Okay.

SAM: Of course you are. All right, Dusk, let's go outside.

ERIKA: Okay. (laughter)

ASHLEY: I have a question for you, since you seem to be familiar in these types of things. Sometimes, Fresh Cut seems like he's fritzing. Do you know what that could possibly be?

MATT: "I mean, automatons are often, especially in this space, scavenged from multiple sources. Sometimes they get a little crossover. Imperfections."

ASHLEY: Like a melding of memories or something?

MATT: "Maybe. Or a melding of different technologies. Maybe the enchantments are incongruent between the schools and it can cause a bit of a shake up. I don't know, I don't deal with them often. That was more Dancer's purview."

ASHLEY: Okay. Do you know, does he have... I don't even know what these words mean together, but does he have a control panel?

MATT: "I couldn't even begin to tell you. That is not my specialty."

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: "For that, you'd probably have to go to ask somebody at The Ends. That's where they do all the crawler work and automaton construction. Somebody there could probably help you."

ASHLEY: Okay, great. Thank you so much.

MATT: "Of course."

ASHLEY: I'm sorry Dancer has been an asshole to you. But love, right?

MATT: "I'd be lying if I didn't say a part of me might like it."

ASHLEY: I know, it's always those crazy ones.

MATT: "It's really not healthy."

ASHLEY: Yeah, well, could be into worse vices, I guess. Well, maybe not. I don't know. Okay. Well, thank you for all of your help and your dynamite and for making us an explosive.

MATT: "No problem. You didn't get that from here."

ASHLEY: Where? I don't even know where I am. Bye.

MATT: "Bye." (laughter)

TRAVIS: Like a pro.

ERIKA: Freshy, are you okay?

MATT: Pulls over.

SAM: No, I'm not okay! That was-- She's alive? What does that even mean? She has a metal arm.

ASHLEY: Okay, so maybe you guys got attacked and--

SAM: She got away.

ASHLEY: She got away.

ERIKA: But why wouldn't she go try and look for you?

SAM: Yeah, or tell-- Maybe she didn't know I made it.

ASHLEY: She probably didn't know that you were alive--

SAM: She didn't know I made it.

ASHLEY: -- because I'm sure she would've-- I'm sure she would've grabbed you or something.

SAM: I saw her-- I saw her die, I thought. It was all sort of hazy. God, I wish I could remember more. Maybe if we find someone who... Or maybe when we go back to Milo, I don't know, maybe we can dig around in my memory or something.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Just open you up or something.

SAM: Yeah. Anyway, we didn't get a place to stay, but we got a way in, maybe.

ASHLEY: Yeah, okay.

SAM: Let's go find the others.

ASHLEY: We can definitely use that for something. Yeah, let's go find the others.

MATT: Okay. Gathering your thoughts on that unique encounter, you find the rest of your fortune for the afternoon and/or find the rest of your friends. As we turn to the final group, we'll come back to them after we take a break. (exclaiming)

ERIKA: Hey!

TRAVIS: This is the point where it all goes tits up.

SAM: What the fuck?

TALIESIN: It's okay.

MATT: All right, we'll see you guys here shortly.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: Thank you so much.

Part II
MATT: And welcome back. So we got through two of the groups. The remaining group that had scattered to the four winds was you, Laudna, and Orym.

LIAM: Yep.

MATT: It was just the two of you?

LIAM: Yeah.

MATT: Where were you off to?

TRAVIS: Got to shit the bed.

LIAM: Come on, we got to run an errand first. I started dragging Laudna through the crowd.

MARISHA: But I thought we were going-- all right.

LIAM: First, I got to take you clothes shopping. Can I take us in the direction, I think we were in like a bazaar where there was all kinds of things for sale. Am I right?

MATT: There are a number of caravan-serai and open shopping area.

LIAM: Okay, then I'm going to start dragging us to that, or look for one, find one. We've already been made, right.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: They know what we look like, so you and I can't just go as-is hanging out so--

MARISHA: Oh.

LIAM: We're going to change things. You are what some would call an impressive woman.

MARISHA: Ooh!

LIAM: And we need to counteract that a bit.

MARISHA: Okay.

LIAM: Let's go into this place.

MARISHA: Oh!

LIAM: He starts going down through the all clothes in the rack.

MATT: Now, there aren't many fine threads to be found here. Most everything is for function or affiliation with particular Crawler gang, or utilized to keep one cool on a hot day, or keep one hot on a cold night.

LIAM: Which is perfect, I'm looking for function over form. I actually want something that is a light color white or cream to be better in the heat. I want matching outfits, rough hewn, so that we blend in. I'm not looking to dress finely.

MATT: Yeah, that's easy enough to find. There are a number of like--

MARISHA: You want me to wear white? Just it gets very monochromatic when I wear white.

LIAM: I know.

MARISHA: It just is my skin tone.

LIAM: We're going to get something hooded, light under the sun but we got to hide your face.

MARISHA: Okay, you know that black shit drips out of my eyes sometimes, right?

LIAM: That's why we're going to cover your face, Laudna.

MARISHA: You're going to cover my face! All right, all right.

LAURA: Loud-na.

LIAM: (like Caleb) What is the problem? Is how you say her name?

MARISHA: Laudna.

LIAM: Laut? Not loud.

MARISHA: Loud-na.

LIAM: So you said that it was easy to find something.

MATT: Yeah, you find beyond just a spectrum of light, general clothing. A lot of it just open tunics or simple coats. There are also hooded scarves that themselves like a hood that scarf that can pushes over both sides.

LIAM: That's what I want. Thin hooded scarfs, really thin material, but to hide our faces and all the clothes are boring.

MATT: Like scratchy linen that will be lightweight, but not the most comfortable on your skin for days at a time.

LIAM: I want burner clothes for you, Laudna.

MARISHA: Do you want me to set these on fire?

LIAM: (sighs) Okay.

MARISHA: They're easily flammable.

LIAM: Just go put this on and meet me back here. Then I will go throw the smaller version of it on.

MATT: All right, so you have as close as you can find to a matching set.

LIAM: Right, okay so.

MATT: The child size.

LIAM: Exactly, you're Mom, okay.

LAURA: Oh, beebee.

LIAM: And you're going to call me Nancy.

MARISHA: Georgie. Nancy?

LIAM: This is not my first rodeo.

MARISHA: Can I call you Georgie? You don't look like a Nancy.

LIAM: You say that.

MARISHA: Freddy. Jeremiah.

LIAM: Let's go with your first instinct, Georgie, I think.

MARISHA: Georgie.

LIAM: Okay, Georgie Boy.

TRAVIS: (laughs)

MARISHA: ♪ Little Georgie ♪

LAURA: (laughs)

LIAM: Oh no.

MARISHA: How is this? Do I look like a cult leader? I feel like we look like cult members.

LIAM: You just look-- You look great.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: I mean, you don't look like you normally do. You have very dark clothing and very dark hair, and now you're not going to be recognizable. They have sentries all over that building and they spotted us already. So it's kind of stupid that we're even still doing this. We have to be careful if we are going to do it.

MARISHA: (sighs) Fine, little Georgie.

LIAM: All right, Mom, let's go over there and give it a walk around.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Are you okay?

LAURA: I'm good.

LIAM: Okay.

MARISHA: The shopkeeper has a cold.

LAURA: It's just, that's just.

LIAM: Keep the change.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: It's the dry air. (laughter)

LIAM: All right, I'm going to start leading us back toward the, see this thing.

MARISHA: Hold my hand. Look at this city! You cannot get more than six feet away from me.

LIAM: And I lean into it.

MARISHA: Are you serious right now, Georgie? (laughter)

LIAM: Is anyone following us?

MATT: Make a perception check.

LIAM: Great, that is a 24.

MATT: 24, you feel fairly confident that nobody seems to be following you or trailing you.

LIAM: (whispers) Okay, we're going to go over there, and we're going to get a big loop of the place, all right?

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: Then we're going to try to find somewhere where we separately, but within range of each other can communicate, okay?

MARISHA: I just don't know if I feel comfortable leaving my child alone, though.

SAM: (laughs)

MARISHA: You're not old enough. Maybe in a few years.

LIAM: I got to grow up someday, Mom.

MARISHA: (sighs) (tears up) (tearily) It happened so fast. All right, let's go.

LIAM: Okay, when we get over there, I want to try to get a bead on the kinds of buildings that are surrounding the place. I don't want us to be in the open. I would love for us to get indoors, if possible. But I don't remember the imagination zone around--

MATT: Right.

LIAM: -- Disdain.

MATT: So around the actual fortress of the Seat of Disdain, there are the high walls that surround it. It looks, at a simple glance, like it's a rectangular shape. There's actually five edges of the wall. It's more of a pentagonal wall that encloses the interior courtyard. It is pretty much a road that surrounds it. It's meant to be separate enough where there isn't a building buttress too closely, so a person could either try and jump the wall, or-- it's to help any of these sentries keep a good watch of anything perimeter-wise. So it definitely stands alone. There's nothing too close to it. But in the neighborhood around it, it does stand out against the other buildings. A number of them are two to three-tiered residential buildings, looks like there's maybe some warehouses or storage spaces. There are a couple of-- One building that is partially collapsed, and just abandoned. It eventually gave into its faulty architecture. Who knows who occasionally squats in there, but there is a partially ruined, what was once a three-story building that remains probably empty and filled with all sort of masonry.

LIAM: Okay, that's good. There's a gate on the back of this place though, too.

MARISHA: Correct.

LIAM: I feel like you should watch here at the front because it's going to be real obvious if they come out. Then I'll find a place maybe halfway around where I can at least see the back of the whole joint.

MARISHA: All right.

LIAM: If you see our guy, you--

MARISHA: I can message you.

LIAM: Yeah, you just ping me every so often.

MARISHA: All right, can I just message you if I'm bored and just want to talk?

LIAM: Sure, are you okay, by the way? You got really intense with Ashton back there.

MARISHA: Well, yes, I was just separated from Imogen, and if something happens to her, (tearily) especially because we're kind of fighting, and I don't want it to end on a sad note.

LIAM: You guys have known each other a while, right?

MARISHA: Yes.

LIAM: Like quite a while.

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Have you weathered a few storms?

MARISHA: This is our first really big fight. There's been times where she's like, Oh, what if you put up these drapes in this way? And I'm like, "Oh, whatever you want. I guess that's fine." Or she's like, "Oh, you should put the cups upside down, so they don't collect dust." And I'm like, "Well, but then the rims are touching the shelves and that's gross." So there's been like little things, but not like this.

LIAM: Cool. Well, I don't know every nuance, but she seems to care about you, and you clearly care about her a lot.

MARISHA: Yes.

LIAM: I mean, maybe just breathe through a couple of days, and whatever happened, give her a chance to process it on her own, and I don't know. She's capable too, I mean.

MARISHA: She's the most capable.

LIAM: She is the most capable. She flew off ship and caught me before I hit the ground.

MARISHA: That's true. I've honestly gotten a lot of mixed advice as well. So it's hard. I don't know if I should approach her or give her space. I don't want to be overbearing, and Ashton said I should just get her a new rock.

LAURA and MATT: (laugh)

MARISHA: I haven't found any good rocks in this whole stupid city.

LIAM: Well, maybe just give it time.

MARISHA: All right, I'll give it time. I guess.

LIAM: Okay, I'm going to go find another spot. Are you cool climbing into that heap?

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: Stay in the shadows, if you can.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: Okay.

LIAM: Stay in the shadows.

MATT: I'll ask you to roll stealth, since you are hiding in the shadows. Are you also hiding the shadows, or are you trying to play off as a--

LIAM: Well, I want to stay within range of her to able to message me, but I also want to be able to see the back end of it. So I'm going to go as far as seems possible from Laudna. If I have to climb on top of the building from the back, or sneak into a building that looks not busy then I'll do that, so that I can see the other side of the Seat of Disdain entirely so that we don't lose Treshi at the back, if he goes the other way.

MATT: Okay, fair enough.

MARISHA: And then-- Oh, go ahead.

MATT: I was just saying stealth check for you as well.

MARISHA: So the area that I am-- would it make sense-- I just need a little bit more description, if I did a little darkness in the area or would that be weird? If it's a an alley where it makes sense to make it just feel like the shadows are a little bit darker, but I also don't want to blow my cover, if that doesn't make sense.

MATT: Right, the Darkness spell, is that what you're referring to?

MARISHA: Mm-hmm.

MATT: It creates a sphere of magically pitch black darkness.

MARISHA: So it would be super weird?

MATT: Yeah, an illusion would probably extend the shadows.

MARISHA: Okay.

MATT: But a Darkness spell would be like a Vanta black hole in the middle of a day, which means placed properly could help a little bit. But you also can't see out of it.

MARISHA: I don't want--

MATT: Unless you can see through magical darkness, but.

MARISHA: -- that. Okay, no, I'll just for now do a nice, regular old stealth check.

MATT: Go for it. What did you get, Orym?

LIAM: I got a 19.

MATT: 19, good.

MARISHA: Oh, it's not as bad as I thought. Okay, 21.

MATT: No, that's definitely not as bad as you thought.

MARISHA: I thought it was a three, but it's a 16.

MATT: That's a bit of a range.

TALIESIN: That will be hard.

MARISHA: So it looks weird with the light.

MATT: Yeah, fair enough. Okay, so you both perch into your corresponding areas of shadow keeping an eye across the various pentagonal elements of the wall that you intentionally want to keep watch on. How long do you want to remain keeping an eye?

MARISHA: I mean, a while, I guess, at least--

LIAM: Past sundown.

MARISHA: Yeah, at least until they--

MATT: Okay, so it's a number of hours, all right.

MARISHA: Unless we get word from somebody.

MATT: I would say both of you roll perception checks for me, if you don't mind.

MARISHA: Don't fuck this up. Don't fuck this up.

SAM: Going to Gil? No.

MARISHA: I know, I was thinking about it, 16.

LIAM: 24.

MATT: Gotcha. The hours go by. Thankfully, you've chosen areas of shade. Occasionally, when somebody walks by, you can play off the beggar aspect, or wander off for a moment before circling back around and taking your spot once more. It is trying on one's patience. Occasionally, the loud noises catch your attention, and another crawler ends up wandering through. You see the same mammoth-crawler that had come through the previous day, the massive dual platform one, this one not carrying beyond a skeleton crew, ends up meandering through. One of its back legs is a little wonky, and ends up dragging behind and leaving this large groove in the dirt that one of them has brush past, and reform as they go. A couple of other sand-based creatures begin to come around. These odd desert birds that you've only seen one or two of that are used as a mounted creature for smaller people. They're too small for a standard human to ride, but someone of your physical stature could probably attempt to utilize a fast moving mount. Right around the time that dusk hits, right when you're about to give up on this circumstance. Dear god, Marisha, what have you done?

MARISHA: Bored. (laughter)

ASHLEY: This is amazing.

MATT: That's pretty great.

LIAM: You all right?

MATT: Right as the dusk begins to hit, and you've watched a number of sentries patrol the upper parts of the wall, the top of the fortress. You've seen a couple of individuals start taking sniper shots from one of the watchtower positions towards somebody walking the street who begins to freak out and sort of dance. They're just fucking with somebody to keep themselves interested. But around the time that the sun begins to set, and you are considering returning, you glance up and watch as three figures eventually come to the roof, glancing over, your incredibly acute eyes.

LAURA: They're just so cute.

MATT: They're so adorable. Hone in on these three figures.

MARISHA: That's my son.

MATT: You haven't seen these three trek before, and as they head up there two of them seem to be fairly well-armored, and are essentially flanking a third figure. The third one looks shorter than the others, but squatter, dwarven in stature, it seems. As you're watching, you see an orange glow begin to brighten the face, as you notice that the figure in the center is lighting up some sort of a pipe. As the embers burn in, in that quick glance, as they begin to puff on it slowly, and the red begins to frame the shape of it. You're pretty damn sure, that's Armand Treshi.

SAM: Oh shit!

TRAVIS: Oh shit! Got you, bitch!

MATT: He's out there, and he's nervously smoking. Nervously smoking, rapidly going through his tobacco, and then--

SAM: Wait, the fortress is a no smoking zone? (laughter)

MATT: Yes, he's being very secretive about it. You get the sense being out in the open like this, is... He's smoking nervously. Then upon a few moments later, one of the armored figures pats him on the shoulder. He nods, hits the pipe on the edge of the watch cliff on the top of the fortress. Tucks it away, the three of them enter the fortress and vanish from view.

LIAM: Okay. Okay, well, let's just continue watching in silence.

MATT: The sun eventually sets. The stars begin to come out, the bits of broken clouds above.

MARISHA: I just send a message to Orym. ♪ Oh Orym ♪

LIAM: Yep.

MARISHA: If you could turn into any animal-- (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: -- what would it be? (creepy whispering)

SAM: (whispers) Uk'otoa.

LIAM: Why are you like this, Mom?

ERIKA: (laughs)

MARISHA: I'm just making conversation. (creepy whispering)

LIAM: A sparrow, sparrow, I guess.

MARISHA: Oh! (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: You wouldn't want to be like a-- (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: -- like a bird of prey? (creepy whispering)

LIAM: I know it's not the question you asked, but I saw Treshi.

MARISHA: What? (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: Where? What? How? (creepy whispering)

MARISHA: Did he leave? (creepy whispering)

LIAM: I actually blow that one. I don't reply fast enough because I'm so freaked out. (laughter)

LIAM: Oh no, okay.

SAM: (laughs)

LIAM: I don't dare look over. You look like madness. (laughter)

TALIESIN: It can't be good for your hair. It can't look good.

MATT: It's very Mad Madam Mim.

LAURA: I don't know it stays so well.

TALIESIN: Just cannot be good for it. (laughter)

LIAM: Okay, I wait until she jumps in my head again because I can't initiate anything.

MARISHA: Did you see him leave? (creepy whispering)

LIAM: Didn't leave, smoke break on the roof. Maybe report to the others.

MARISHA: Right. (creepy whispers) Right.

MARISHA: I try to message Imogen. (creepy whispers)

TALIESIN: Oh, goddamn it. (laughter)

MARISHA: ♪ Oh, Imogen ♪

MATT: You're quite a ways, though, right?

LAURA: Yeah, unless we were making our ♪ way ♪ back.

MATT: Which, to that point, you guys been waiting for a good part of the day. Other groups, was there other things you're hoping to accomplish during the day?

LIAM: Yep.

TALIESIN: We were debating--

LAURA: Looking for a car.

TALIESIN: Yeah, we were debating going to look for a car, but we were kicking that around.

LIAM: So that's cool.

MATT: Would you like to?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: I mean, where would we go to find a car?

TALIESIN: Sonyon, I suppose.

MATT: Bring it back.

LAURA: Where's that?

TALIESIN: Sonyon Row's is where The Ends are.

LAURA: The Ends?

TALIESIN: Yeah.

LAURA: All right.

TALIESIN: It's either that or talk to Pocket, but I think Sonyon might be the place to start.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: Also, since I absolutely have no idea where Pocket might be right now.

MATT: Fair enough, no worries. So that being the case, it would be Ashton, Imogen...

LAURA: Chet.

MATT: Chetney.

TRAVIS: It's all right. You don't know my name.

MATT: No, no, I'm trying to keep the groups in mind as to who all--

TALIESIN: Did you guys have plans to roll around or no?

LAURA: Yeah, are you guys planning on rolling around anywhere, or--?

SAM: Do we have a Dusk? Do we have any plans today? Did you want to stop anywhere, Fearne?

ASHLEY: No, no, but we could-- We have to pick up the--

SAM: The bomb.

ASHLEY: -- the explosive at some point. Did you want to go to The Ends to try to see if--

SAM: Not before talking to the others, though. I think we're good. I just want to reconnoiter with y'all.

LAURA: Oh, okay, yeah. I mean, we should probably reconnoiter.

TALIESIN: No, that's fair. We should reconnoiter.

SAM: We could stop at a car dealership.

LAURA: We should reconnoiter?

TALIESIN: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: Should I send a message to the group and see if they want to meet us at The Ends, maybe?

TALIESIN: Yeah, yeah, do that. That's a really cool idea, actually.

LAURA: All right, I'll send a message to FCG. Because he told me to do that. They told me to do that, so. Hey, so we're going to The Ends to find a car. Apparently there's some sort of race or something that we can be part of. I'm not sure what's going on here. But The Ends. We're heading towards-- What was his name?

TALIESIN: Which?

LAURA: Where we're going?

TALIESIN: Oh, we hadn't actually discussed that. We were just going to The Ends to-- Just because that's where you go to find.

LAURA: The Ends, that's where you go to find stuff.

TALIESIN: Maybe, possibly.

SAM: What's a car? We'll see you there.

MARISHA: "What's a car? We'll see you there." (laughter)

TALIESIN: Wow.

MATT: All right, so.

SAM: We'll start going to The Ends.

MATT: Fair enough. All but the two sentries that are watching the exterior of the Seat of Disdain gather on the outskirts of the Sonyon Row. So as you arrive at this pocket neighborhood, this area is... It very much resembles a junkyard, more so than any other places. There are buildings, but there're all manner of old ruined crawler pieces everywhere. You can see bits of furniture that have been broken and bound together to create bracing for the sides of buildings, and makeshift scaffolding that has slowly rotted or fallen apart, or it's lost its color from being sun bleached over the years. You can see piles of bent and long rust-eaten iron. You can see broken parts of overused and discarded automatons that sit at the edge of small workshops that are either abandoned or no longer in service. Amongst these clustered spaces, there are odd piles, it seems, of hovels. There are homesteads that are nonsensically jumbled together and held and ratchet fit to each other with all manner of heavy straps and metal bars. Everything has this ready-to-fall-apart feel to it that also brings an element of danger and charm to a lot of the structures. As this pushes into the later afternoon as well, you can see a lively energy as people come to and away from it carrying all manner of scavenged bits to either sell to those who are purveyors or tinkerers in this space, or are leaving with interesting things they might sell to other facets of the city and beyond. On the way, you do catch-- FCG, specifically, it catches your attention-- these small, brass sphere objects (whirring) glide over with small, propeller-like tops. They just (whirring). They glide in the air. One of them, a little lens opens up. It's like, (whistles). (whirring, thuds) The other one (chirps), picks it up, and drags it off out of the way.

SAM: Have I seen anything like that before?

MATT: Nah.

SAM: So cool. Wow, all right.

MATT: In this industrious space, too, there is a familiar smell. The scent of industry. Something that reminds you some of the aspects of Jrusar. It is a familiar smell to you especially, as a lot of your time alive in this city centered around The Ends themselves, and there is a sense of homecoming when returning to The Ends here. There are all manner of smokestacks that these black plumes that eventually drift and dissipate into the sky above. Now that the cloud cover begins to push in, offering some bit of shade and a hint of respite from the heat of the day that has just beaten down so aggressively since your waking moments. You look around, and while not incredibly crowded, there is an air of interesting industry and curious scavenging. As you wander through, a number of eyes are on you. You see this pair of small, halfling or gnomish figures that are wrapped in scattered rags and ramshackle, patchwork clothing. One has a heavy coat that drags behind them, leaving a trail on the ground. They both come out and glance at you from across the edge of the walkway, the main thoroughfare that pushes through The Ends, and they stare at you. Talk to each other and point and point. One of them is reaching into a tool bag.

SAM: Hi there. Do you know me? Do I know you?

MATT: They both look at each other. They just dart off.

SAM: I'm just looking around to see if I recognize anyone here. Anyone at all, or any automaton.

MATT: Make a perception check.

SAM: Okay. Seven plus like one or something. Oh, I have a plus six to perception, 13. (laughter)

MATT: That makes a difference.

TALIESIN: It's a one or something.

MATT: You don't see anyone out in the open streets that reminds you of anyone you know, necessarily. You weren't a very social entity. You definitely followed in Dancer's footsteps, and Dancer was the one that definitely made all the connections. When there was someone important, they'd introduce you. But that network was relatively small, and often just traveled with you. You glance around and you remember vaguely conversation about Imahara Joe. You know that there is a-- There is a workshop around here where this Joe figure. You remember Dancer mentioning Joe. You recall an odd competitive nature to it. Now that you think about it, you're like, they mentioned a Joe. You only heard to them referred to as Joe, and it was usually out of frustration. Half-drunken frustration at times. Competing contracts. Two specialists in odd arcane constructions and machinery. But glancing around here, there is a familiarity to the space that at least you find yourself instinctually leading the group as you go forward without even thinking.

SAM: Did we meet up with the others yet? Or not yet?

MATT: I'd say, by now, you would've met up with the others.

SAM: Oh, okay.

LAURA: Hi.

SAM: Hey.

ASHLEY: Hi.

SAM: Hey.

TALIESIN: Did you have a good day?

SAM: I think so.

LAURA: We saw some weird-ass shit.

ASHLEY: Really?

LAURA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Yeah.

ASHLEY: What?

SAM: We learned some weird-ass shit as well.

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Yes.

TALIESIN: That's great.

SAM: Why are we here?

LAURA: Oh, well.

TALIESIN: There's a possibility. I talked to some friends, and they had the idea that, honestly, since they assume that we're there to see them, we can probably just walk right into the Paragon's Call and if shit goes sideways, we can challenge them to an old fashioned duel and maybe come out on top.

SAM: So we're here to?

TALIESIN: This is how we duel.

TRAVIS: But you should--

LAURA: ♪ This is how we do it ♪

SAM: (beatboxes)

ASHLEY: ♪ This is how we do it ♪

SAM: Sorry.

TALIESIN: It's a dance off.

TRAVIS: That's a sick beat.

SAM: Sorry.

TRAVIS: But it's not like a duel in the normal sense. There's The Run.

TALIESIN: It's The Run. I like the way you say that.

TRAVIS: Not like the dookie run. A different kind of run.

SAM: I'm familiar a little bit, but these--

ASHLEY: Like a--

LAURA: Yeah.

ASHLEY: A running race?

TALIESIN: Like a getting on top of a crazy thing with engines and wheels and spikes and just going full speed.

LAURA: Like a crawler race.

TALIESIN: A crawler race.

ASHLEY: What?!

TRAVIS: Ashton lights up in the dome when he talks about it.

TALIESIN: I've kind of always wanted to do this, I got to admit.

ASHLEY: We need to do it.

SAM: It could end in death, it could end in glory. That's what Ashton's always saying. (laughter)

TALIESIN: That's my conversation about lunch, but, yes, that also still applies. Anything can end in death or glory.

ASHLEY: We also could stop somewhere if you wanted to. To maybe see if you wanted to see anybody.

SAM: Sure, sure, we learned some stuff. Some crazy stuff. But also, we're also near where you need to be, right? You need to be near Joe's or something? Joe's is around here.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: But that's not happening yet?

ERIKA: Not yet, but we should scope it out.

ASHLEY: Yeah, we could scope it out.

SAM: There's a lot here.

LAURA: Yeah, this is a--

SAM: My whole memory is a lie. Everything I've known about myself is a wrong.

LAURA: Wait, what? What are you talking about?

TALIESIN: Wait, hold on, hold on.

SAM: Yada, yada, yada. Dancer's alive, maybe.

LAURA: Wait, what?

SAM: I know. It's-- Maybe she's anywhere. She's within the three-block radius. I don't know, maybe, maybe?

TALIESIN: I saw a pile of meat, right? Like, this was--

SAM: What?

MATT: Oh, no, there were definitely bodies.

TALIESIN: Okay, okay.

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Just double checking that this was not some weird Spider-Man villain.

MATT: Yeah, no, yeah, there was definitely a murder scene that he was only survivor from.

SAM: You saw into my memory.

LAURA: When we merged. It was just chaos. And the one-eyed creature.

TALIESIN: I was there afterwards. That's not--

SAM: Not a monster. (laughter)

LAURA: That's why I said creature.

TALIESIN: Really, really?

LAURA: That's why I said creature.

TALIESIN: Really? That joke again?

SAM: It's just so big and scary.

ASHLEY: Yeah. (laughter)

MATT: Every campaign. (laughter)

TALIESIN: Fuck my life.

SAM: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Did it look good?

TALIESIN: Who the fuck did I find you with?

SAM: I don't know. I don't know. So all right.

TALIESIN: Okay.

SAM: So we got my connection somewhere around here. We're going to buy-- No, we're finding a vehicle somewhere around here.

TALIESIN: It's a good idea just to have an idea.

SAM: Your parents are somewhere around here or soon to be?

ASHLEY: Well, I hope so.

ERIKA: Soon.

ASHLEY: Soon, soon.

TALIESIN: Soon.

SAM: This is crazy.

LAURA: Wait, wait. Can't you message? Can you send a message to Laudna? You said you could do it if I--

SAM: I could, I could try. Yeah, I've done it before.

LAURA: I mean, I feel like this is a lot of stuff.

SAM: Should we call them here?

TALIESIN: Let's collect everybody.

ERIKA: We should probably, yeah.

ASHLEY: Yeah, call Orym and Loud-na.

LAURA: Loud-na. She needs to know.

TALIESIN: Call her Loud-na.

SAM: I'll try. I'll try my best. I will cast Sending. Right, that works? That's a thing?

LAURA: That's a thing.

MATT: Yes, that is.

LIAM: Send me and angel.

MATT: 25 words.

SAM: Okay. Bloop.

ASHLEY: ♪ Send me an angel ♪

TRAVIS: ♪ Send me an angel ♪ ALL: (singing)

MATT: Is that the quaalude version I hear? (laughter)

TALIESIN: Here we go.

SAM: Oh. (shouts) If you can hear me--

MARISHA: Ah.

SAM: -- we're in The Ends. That's in the area of Bassuras. Ask around and you'll find it. We're at a street corner.

TALIESIN: You've got-- No, wait.

TRAVIS: You have two more.

TALIESIN: Two more? (laughter)

ASHLEY: Give them two street names.

LAURA: What, like it's hard?

SAM: Street names?

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Street names, that was it.

ERIKA: 12th?

SAM: North and Main. (laughter)

TALIESIN: That's Nord and Man. Oh god. She's going to be lost.

ASHLEY: Nord Man.

TALIESIN: Yeah, Nord Man.

MARISHA: I can respond, right?

MATT: You can.

MARISHA: Fresh Cut Grass, you don't need to yell. It's in my head. Also, where's Imogen? Why isn't she messaging me? ALL: (creepy whispering)

SAM: (laughs)

MARISHA: We saw Treshi. ALL: (demonic noises)

SAM: They saw Treshi.

MARISHA: See you soon.

SAM: She's still talking. (laughter) Okay.

MARISHA: I'm assuming-- Is the timing up right?

MATT: I'm fixing the timing now.

MARISHA: Okay. (laughter)

TRAVIS: Fixing the timing now.

MATT: Yes. (laughter)

MATT: Folding the universe together. We're good. Okay, fixed. (laughter)

SAM: It did take us a while to walk over here.

MATT: It's true. You got lost a few times, you know? Found a butterfly. It's weird.

LAURA: They saw Treshi?

SAM: Apparently. It was really weird to hear her voice in my head.

LAURA: Have you never done that before?

SAM: I've heard her voice, but it was just weird. I don't know. It was just I haven't heard it quite like that before. That's all.

TALIESIN: Huh.

SAM: All right, they're coming.

MARISHA: I summon Orym. Give him the update.

MATT: Fair enough.

LIAM: Come on.

MARISHA: Shall we?

LIAM: Yeah.

MARISHA: Hold my hand. Hold my hand! God, jeez.

ERIKA: Buy a car.

TALIESIN: Well, we're going to take a look at our options.

LAURA: Maybe we can barter.

ASHLEY: I like that idea.

TALIESIN: This is also a place where people modify cars, so you know.

LAURA: Oh.

SAM: Chop shop.

TALIESIN: Sometimes you got something lying around. You never know.

LAURA: You know, FCG.

SAM: Oy?

LAURA: I mean, if you're looking for Dancer, you could find her, or at least try to talk to her. You've got the same ability that I do.

SAM: You're right.

ERIKA: Well, go on.

LAURA: That's too much.

ERIKA: Do you not want to talk to her?

SAM: I do. I do.

ASHLEY: She'd probably--

LAURA: What has happened to your hands?

ASHLEY: -- be so happy that you are alive.

ERIKA: Oh, I was fidgeting with my fountain pen and it--

SAM: It's all over you.

ASHLEY: Oh no. Oh no, Erika!

MATT: What?

LAURA: What? (laughter)

MATT: Oh, Erika (laughs).

TRAVIS: It's one of the cartridges.

ERIKA: Yes, I feel like maybe a fountain pen is the wrong choice for me in a time where I'm just sitting

TRAVIS: She chose the Fountain Pen feat.

LIAM: You got to be careful with wild magic.

TRAVIS: Yep.

ERIKA: I think so. (laughter)

MARISHA: It'll blue ya if you don't blue yourself.

MATT: That is incredible. You totally blue yourself. Well done.

MARISHA: (laughs)

ASHLEY: Oh my god.

MATT: (laughs)

SAM: You're absolutely right. I guess I could.

LAURA: Is it--

MARISHA: Oh. (laughs)

SAM: I just feel like there's someone behind me.

MARISHA: I don't know if you can fix this right now, but it's worth a shot.

SAM: Maybe just wait until the whole group is together.

LAURA: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's a lot.

TALIESIN: You don't have to right now if you don't want to.

SAM: No, no, I want to. Just wait until everybody gets here.

ERIKA: You seem very hesitant, though. Why?

SAM: I'm just confused. I mean, what else have I seen that's not true? Or what if I was wrong about other things?

LAURA: Well, you know, it's possible. There's some crazy healing magic out there. Maybe after you left, something came along and saved her. You know, that could've happened.

ERIKA: Was this a heist? This feels like a heist thing.

SAM: What does?

ERIKA: Whatever went wrong.

SAM: Oh, yeah, it was a heist, yeah.

TRAVIS: Just generalize how you're feeling about it. If we find Dancer, are we killing her?

SAM: No!

TRAVIS: Oh, you're happy to see her?

SAM: Yes.

TRAVIS: I just wanted to make sure.

SAM: No killing.

MARISHA: (laughs)

TALIESIN: That's a very fair question.

ASHLEY: Oh, yeah. That's fair, yeah.

SAM: No.

ASHLEY: No, we're not going to. I was just saying, you know, we didn't know she was alive. Now that she's alive, we don't know if we should kill her or not.

SAM: We should not kill her.

ASHLEY: We won't.

SAM: Hard no. That's a hard no.

TRAVIS: Got it.

ERIKA: No killing.

TRAVIS: Until you say so.

ERIKA: Yep.

SAM: I'm not going to say so.

TRAVIS: Dusk and I are on the same wavelength.

TALIESIN: Never close the door.

SAM: All right.

ASHLEY: Should we get a big machine to ride?

TALIESIN: Let's wander a little bit. See if anything looks interesting.

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Yeah, do we window shop around here?

TALIESIN: Well, there's no windows. But yeah, you shop.

SAM: Do I know that if Joe's is an automobile dealer? Or just an automaton dealer?

ERIKA: He's more of a tinker kind of guy.

MATT: You know that Joe and part of the jealousy that came between Dancer and Joe is, Joe essentially became the go-to person for many of the Crawler gangs for repairs and alterations to all their Crawlers of all scales. He had a team working with him, but he was the primary tinkerer of The Ends, and was called the King of the Roaches because a lot of people that live here in The Ends are prone to scatter whenever an untrusted figure walks in. And so they just colloquially refer to it as The Roaches, but they pretty much all trust in him. He's kind of like Fagin of the tinkerers of this region, and Dancer was always a little jealous about that.

SAM: It seems like he's the place to go. Right? No?

TRAVIS: It seems like it.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

TALIESIN: You have a better idea than I do.

SAM: All right.

ASHLEY: Let's do it.

SAM: Let's go to Joe's.

TRAVIS: Yeah, we got to scout it anyway.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: All right.

LIAM: Are you waiting for us to arrive before you leave--

SAM: You'll find us.

LIAM: -- the premises? Okay. (laughter)

LAURA: I'm going to hang around and wait for them, and then I'll meet you guys at Joe's.

SAM: Okay.

MATT: Okay. You know this area well. As memories come back to you, you glance around. It's odd because you look at the space and you have memories associated with following Dancer and the rest of the troop, seeing other constructions and being privy to conversations and business dealings of Dancer's, and parties, and having to pick her up, and drag her home to go to sleep after she passes out from too much drinking. You always were this protector and caretaker of your creator. Through here, you remember there was always one space that you kept a wide berth of, and Dancer often cursed when passing the front of it. You think that, if any place, it's probably that one. Then guiding the rest of the troop over there, you come to a massive construction yard. There are at least two layers of jagged fence lines that look like there are multiple types of fences that have been scavenged and layered on top of each other to build in the interior construction yard for it. In here, there are all manner of metallic tables and chain-based cranes. It looks like hoarded clusters of ingots of different metals and materials. The floor is a hazard of bolt and jagged metals pieces and errant bits of material that looks sharp and unkept. In the center of it, there's a small open air warehouse and three small buildings that are buttressed against each other. The cluster of buildings, as the night begins to slowly filter in and the sunset begins to fade, you can see the warm light from the inside. Occasionally, there's a flash, a sparking of light that flashes through the window. That goes quiet for a second. Here, in this space, you can see there are a few signs hanging that have just eventually grown dark with soot and smoke. But at a quick glance, you can see one of them says, Imahara Joe's.

TRAVIS: Nice.

SAM: I mean, I don't know this fellow at all, so maybe Fearne, you take the lead? Or someone else?

ASHLEY: I don't know him either, but sure. (knocks)

TALIESIN: (tonelessly) No. Don't. Stop.

MATT: You approach and knock on the door. There's a pause. That flashing again (hissing pulses) from the inside.

SAM: He's working.

ASHLEY: Yeah. What do you suggest?

TALIESIN: (heavy pounding knocks)

MATT: It stops.

TALIESIN: (continued heavy knocks)

MATT: You hear (prolonged clicking) (whooshing clunks)

TRAVIS: Wow.

MATT: And the door is a heavy, iron door. From a distance, it looks like a fun, little ramshackle place--

MARISHA: ♪ From a distance ♪

MATT: -- but this close, this whole place is armored and heavily fortified with all sorts of scrap metals. This door is probably a good, solid, three or four inches thick. Like a vault that opens up, and then a head craning around the corner. You see, looks to be a gentleman in his 40s. Kind of lightly tanned skin. Jet black hair with a shock of gray that's appearing at the edges of the temples. Little bit of soot smeared under the eyes, and a heavy set of goggles that are pushed up on the top of the head. You can see the grease and the sweat that's formed on the cheeks, and a little bit of just very, very faint chin scruff that's just peeking through in a light grayish-white coloration. He looks behind. "Huh?"

TALIESIN: Honestly, if I'd known it was going to be that much work, I wouldn't have been so insistent. Yeah. Hi.

ERIKA: We would like to purchase your finest automobile.

TALIESIN: Crawlers. We're in-- We're looking for crawlers, and we heard you're one of the people to talk to about crawlers or modifications thereof.

MATT: "Yeah, yeah, no. Crawlers, yeah. How soon?"

TALIESIN: Well--

ERIKA: Imminently.

TALIESIN: I think that's the word.

ASHLEY: Yes.

MATT: "Uh."

TALIESIN: Can we come in and talk for a second?

MATT: Gives you a close look up and down. Make a persuasion check. Make a persuasion check.

TALIESIN: Oh no.

MARISHA: Come on.

SAM: Come on, Ishii.

ASHLEY: Come on.

TALIESIN: If this goes poorly.

ERIKA: 16.

TALIESIN: Four. (laughter)

MATT: Looks over at you, glances over at you.

TALIESIN: I'm going to slowly back off.

MATT: As you back away--

ERIKA: I slow...

MATT: As you back away, you now notice what didn't catch your attention when you approached. But sitting right above the door, there is a massive cylindrical tube, a barrel made of metal that sits downward, and within it, it looks to be close to nine or 10 of those strange, rifle-like devices that you've seen a few of the Crawlers carry, that are bolted on the inside at different lengths, some shorter, some longer. It looks like a series of massive keys that have a jagged exterior. As you turn, you watch as it shifts and tracks your movement.

SAM: Oh shit.

MATT: You see the arm off to the side, as this figure is apparently controlling it. "We can talk."

ERIKA: Okay, cool.

MATT: "Who are you with? What's your affiliation?"

ERIKA: None, for right now.

TRAVIS: (laughs) Free agent.

MATT: "Interesting."

ERIKA: We're new in town.

MATT: "I can tell that. This one's with you?"

TALIESIN: I'll wait outside.

TRAVIS: I'm a financier. Do you need cash? You know, we could help.

ERIKA: Can we tell him something or can we--? I'll just pop on in.

ASHLEY: We can all go. We're not going to do anything.

MATT: "All right."

TALIESIN: You two, you should go inside.

ERIKA: Yeah, let's go.

TALIESIN: Three of you.

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: Goes, and you see him pull something down behind the door, and that large cylinder comes to rest.

TALIESIN: Oh, that's nice.

MATT: No longer towards you.

TALIESIN: That's really nice.

MATT: (squeaks) Opens the door. Now you can see the rest of him. He has a long, light brown, linen vest-coat combination that ends at the elbow, with large, heavy leather gloves on each arm. Beyond that, you can see a heavy, leather apron that's put on top of that as well, that has all manner of burn marks across it, scuffs, and heavy boots beneath that. Looks out towards the rest of you, begins pulling the gloves off a bit. Okay, well, here's the thing. I have most of a couple."

TRAVIS: (laughs) Oh, amazing.

MATT: "So, I can-- I can finish them. Here, come in, come in, come in," and goes ahead and turns inside. As you follow within, you watch as the inside of his workshop has these bright blue crackling orbs, that are set within cages against the wall. These orbs look conspicuously like the energy sources you've seen within many of the crawler automatons around here, just smaller, and occasionally, they (hisses) flicker brightly, and come to rest again, just this low hum emanating from them.

ERIKA: What are those?

MATT: "Oh, these? My lights." Continues walking inside. Sets the leather gauntlets down, and you see, on a large table, there is some smaller, weird, clockwork-like devices, and a strange-- It almost looks like a crowbar, but within it is another smaller one of those bright blue, glowing arcane orbs. At the end, there's a forked element. There's a heavy smell of that burning, ozone, like an electrical fire smell, that permeates the interior. You also notice those glowing, caged orbs that you were saying for lights, they move, and with them move what you thought at first were just decor, are large automaton bodies. These rotund walls that just (rumble) keep an eye on you. He's like, "Just my protection. Don't worry. I don't trust easy." Turns around, takes a piece of sandwich off the table. I'm Imahara Joe. Welcome to my workshop here in Bassuras, and you might be?"

ERIKA: Oh, I'm Dusk. That's Fearne.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: We're Bells Hells. We're a group that's been traveling around--

MATT: He immediately darts up right to you, and goes, What the hecking blazes of Exandrian--"

SAM: I don't know, all right?

MATT: "-- deity prime--"

SAM: I don't know.

MATT: "-- bitch are you?"

SAM: I don't know.

TRAVIS: It's okay, FCG. I think he's just inquisitive.

SAM: Sure.

TRAVIS: You get it a lot.

SAM: But everyone's looking at me.

ASHLEY: You're so special. That's why.

SAM: Yeah. All right, yeah. I'm weird. Hi.

MATT: "No, no, you're not weird. You're something else. There's sentience. It's interesting. Sorry, that's disrespectful to me. My apologies. We'll talk in a moment. I'm very curious to talk in a moment. Before we get to that, Bells Hells? You're here to buy some vehicles."

TRAVIS: There's a chance we might be entering--

LAURA: (pounding knocks)

TRAVIS: Oh.

SAM: Don't worry, don't worry. I think they're with us.

MATT: You glance over and he's already reaching to another device. "All right."

LAURA: Hello?

MATT: "Bells Hells?"

LAURA: That's us.

MATT: "You are rolling deep today. Come on in, come on in. Imahara Joe."

SAM: This should be the last of us, sir.

MATT: "Good to know. Anybody else comes in?" He goes and does this, and you watch as the two closest to the door, the large, beefy automatons, (low thud) towards the front door.

TRAVIS: (deep voice) You have five seconds to comply." (laughter)

MATT: Straight up.

LIAM: "Officer Murphy."

MATT: "All right, so looking to just cruise around in the Hellcatch? What's the--"

ERIKA: Death race.

MATT: "I'm sorry, you're taking these to the Deathwish Run?"

TALIESIN: Well, there's a possibility that in the next couple days, we're going to really, really piss off somebody in the Paragon's Call, and we're just trying to get a little insurance going, if things go south.

MATT: "Okay, okay."

TALIESIN: As these things tend to.

MATT: "Okay. Well, I'm not going to lie, to get-- You just need one? Need two?"

TALIESIN: I mean, how many people can ride in one?

MATT: "Two."

SAM: That might be all we need, right?

LAURA: Yeah, we might only need a couple riders.

TALIESIN: Yeah, that's true. How expensive, and how long do they take to make?

MATT: "To get two of them? How soon are you doing this?"

LAURA: Maybe just one. How much--

TALIESIN: Probably two days.

TRAVIS: Maybe two, you know? We could double our chances.

LAURA: Sure, I guess. I just, yeah.

TALIESIN: It's just worth knowing the options. Right now, we're just dealing with options.

MATT: "Fair enough. I mean, rapid, around the clock, generally runs baseline, without additions, little over 1000 gold per crawler. Then, upgrades from there can ramp up, depending on provided materials or, you know, what I construct internally. Depending you want carbine weapons, you want mounted weaponry. There are all manner of chain-based harpoon or grappling elements there. There's a whole spread."

SAM: What do you need for one of these runs? Is it just speed only, or do you need firepower?

MATT: "(chuckles) Okay, so, The Run runs through The Skids. It's through dense neighborhoods, rapid turns. It's extremely dangerous for both riders and onlookers. They crowd, anyway. Part of The Run is not just the race, but preparation for it, meaning people, before the race, set surprises."

TRAVIS: (laughs) Yes.

MATT: "It's part of the fun. The only rule is, 'Don't die.'"

LAURA: Death or glory.

MATT: "So, you know, anything goes scenario. Don't be surprised to see a few unexpected things waiting for you along parts of The Run. But it starts in The Skids. Urban race, rapid speed, trying to get the best you can in front of the folks, leaving them behind you. Then, it begins to dive into the ravine. There's a switchback path that goes along the baseline, over the cliff that heads down into the ravine itself, through some of the caverns that actually run through the base of the ravine and within the mountain. There's a number of dangerous things that actually live there, that tend to cause a little bit of fun while you're in that space. If you can make it through that part, then eventually, it glides back up around to the top of the ravine, heading along the Carmine Wall, and then returns back to the base of the Bone Tree, where it starts."

SAM and MARISHA: Bone Tree?

LAURA: Awesome.

TRAVIS: Carmine Wall?

MATT: "Carmine Wall, yeah. All along the way, most have a driver, and then a support. The support is there to both keep an eye on the road and to harry their opponents."

SAM: Like a RIO.

LAURA: That's awesome.

MATT: "Whatever that is, sure. So, yeah."

TRAVIS: Like Goose.

MATT: "I'm saying this with absolute care and respect as I can: you don't look like the normal people that make it out of a Deathwish Run. I've seen a lot of bright faces come through here for a loaner, and that's the last time I saw them."

ERIKA: Those are the only rules, basically, right? I mean, the things that you just told us. But you can use whatever you want.

MATT: "Pretty much."

ERIKA: Hmm. I like our odds.

TRAVIS: Yeah, me too. "Don't die," is pretty simple.

LAURA: Mm-hmm.

TALIESIN: Do it all the time.

TRAVIS: You said, "Loaner", like- It's 1000 gold at the base for a loaner piece, not outright purchase.

MATT: "Well, depends. If you're racing on the behalf of any of the different Crawler gangs, they'll usually grant an emblem they give off the loaners, which is a short-term rental. Whereas they pay me directly for the service there's a smaller fee, and then I collect whatever's left over at the end, to incorporate into the next build. The two that I'm working on right now that I was mentioning, they're from the last Deathwish Run, what's left of them. I'm getting them right up to speed. So--"

LAURA: Can I see what they look like? Can we see that?

MATT: "Sure, yeah, yeah. Follow me. All of you," and points to the two other, standing, massive, battering ram-armed behemoth automatons, that just, (thudding) and follow behind, the ground shaking with each footstep as you follow.

ERIKA: Do we have that kind of money?

LAURA: How old is Joe?

TRAVIS: Yeah, I think so.

MATT: Joe is human, looks to be in his early 40s, mid 40s.

LAURA: Okay.

MATT: He's walking, he's like, Now, this yard's a little scattered." He's got a bright, wide smile, and pointing with an excited glare in his eye, now that he has people to talk to. He seems to be getting quickly excited to have people around.

ERIKA: I keep asking him about everything. "What's that?"

MATT: "Well, these are all manner of weaponry that I'm designing, or at least have been brought to me from far ends of Exandria that I'm looking to improve upon, or to borrow, design-wise. I'm part of a low-key tinkering guild, where we share bits of information around the world, and we try to iterate on each other's designs, and then send them back out. It's not very interesting, but--

ERIKA: That's so interesting!

MATT: "Thank you. Thank you very much. Here." He comes to the back door, opens it up. As it opens up, you see additional little lanterns flicker on into an interior, caged, back patio area. For about 30 feet one way, and 50 feet to the other, there are these big, metal, caged elements that it hold within, and there's all these chains that hang with hooks, and on the hooks, there are sections of crawlers. There are elements of exterior metal cages, and body elements that are broken and dangling, and placed upon the hooks, that are long-destroyed. You can see elements of the metal that are blown back from internal explosion. You can see elements that are pierced through by massive harpoons, or themselves were impaled on heavy, bladed bits of jagged metal, and they're all just waiting to be repaired or recovered, and incorporated into the next crawler design.

ERIKA: Is this like going into a slaughterhouse for you?

MARISHA: (coughs) I inhaled my spit.

SAM: I hadn't thought about it like that.

ERIKA: They're hanging from hooks in bits.

SAM: I mean, I hadn't thought about it, but yeah, it's kind of weird, yeah.

TRAVIS: Shrieks everywhere you look. "Help." (laughter)

SAM: Yeah, I mean, they're just pieces of metal, so it's all right.

MATT: You see there's one that you hadn't quite seen before yet, that looks like it's in partial construction or reconstruction mode. It's like a tripod, like a massive, spider-like tripod. With these three pointed legs that have, within one of the hinges, built-in wheels, that hinge back to roll or to crawl. In the center of it, it looks like a partially spherical, dome-like seated midsection, with a throne-like control chair in the center, and on top of it, some sort of mounted ballista, or some sort of weaponry mounted on top. But it is blown apart on one side, and looks like it's in heavy need of repairs. He goes, "Past all that. Those are the two that I mentioned." You see, hanging on two of the big chains on the far back side of it. As he points over, he brings a small wand out, and points it over, and as he gestures, three more of those blue orbs crackle to life, and as they do, it lights up and frames these two, skirmisher-crawlers that are hanging, and as you can see, most of the seats are there. You can see the shape. It has a big wind guard, that points outward, like jagged teeth. There are parts of the metal bent to look like animal bone. But it's made of rusted iron, and elements of black metal bolts that are pushed into it, and strips of leather that dangle off the sides, and have long been tattered by the wind and the elements. Where the front wheel is, you can see bits of armor that are waiting to guard the front, but the wheel itself is missing, and at the back legs, large, muscular-like, the clustered bits of cable that act like the muscular push of the horse-like back legs, themselves are torn open, and the cables are just dangling, unfurled, and dragging to the ground. You can see the beast-like claw feet that you've seen pushing and propelling the back of the crawlers previously, hang limp, dragging on the ground as they just gently sway with the wind. These would be the two. They're most of the way there. It's been a project for the past few weeks. With a bit of a rush, I could probably get them done in the next day or two."

TALIESIN: What about this thing? The three-wheeled?

MATT: "Oh, the Ruiner? That's a few weeks out. And I don't think you could afford that. That's not Deathwish Run territory. That's full-scale. Ruiners are for-- They're there for more aggressive stuff.

TALIESIN: Sure. Doesn't mean I don't want one.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TRAVIS: These Crawler guilds, do the people that pilot them, are they considered positions of honor and stature? Or are they short straw draws?

MATT: "Well, I mean, everyone wants to ride one of them. Those that survive riding them tend to be respected because they survive."

TRAVIS: Right.

MATT: "They're dangerous. They're reliable, most of the time, depending on who built them or who worked on them. I take pride in my construction, even when rushed. But I'm not the only one around here. Of course, every Crawler guild likes to think that they can train someone up from the inside to save a little bit of gold here and there, and sure enough, you see the backup explosion in the middle of some sort of power parade on the west side of the city and they lost 30 dudes! And you know what, just means more work comes back to me and my compatriots."

TRAVIS: 30 dudes! Oh man! (laughs)

SAM: You said you called them skirmisher-crawlers?

MATT: "Skirmisher-crawlers. That's the single wheeled with the back leg ones. Those are more of the standard."

SAM: The individual units, the vehicles themselves, do they have names, ship names or anything? Or is it just Crawler 1, Crawler 2, or do they--

MATT: "Well yeah, every person who owns one usually names them."

SAM: Oh! Do these come with names?

MATT: "Not originally, no. Usually the ones that normally do, we try and scrape it off because the person who previously owned it who named it is no longer around. And plus, it's easier to sell when it's a blank slate. Someone's like, they don't want to inherit the memory of someone who wasn't good enough to survive utilizing one of them. So it works back."

SAM: In case we have to come up with a name, what are some examples of other people's names? I don't want to name it something dorky.

LAURA: Like Rusty.

SAM: Or something too clever.

TALIESIN: It's already too late.

MARISHA: (laughs) Rusty.

MATT: "Oh boy. I mean, the spectrum's pretty wide. We get everything from, Face Chewer to Sunrise Hellhole--" (appreciative murmurs)

LAURA: That's nice, that's nice.

LIAM: Stick it where the sun don't rise.

MATT: "-- to Gentle Buds. It depends."

SAM: Like an ironic name.

MATT: "Yeah, yeah. People laugh at it until they get run over. It depends. There's a lot of different odd personalities from Crawler gang to Crawler gang. Some people like something more poetic, some people are just lacking personality."

TRAVIS: Those two are giant. That Ruiner, though, the little tripod that you said's expensive, you said you would never see that in a race? There's no trade off or size versus...?

MATT: "No, Deathwish is skirmisher-crawlers. The Ruiner is more for artillery and going after some of the larger denizens of the Hellcatch, or for full on-- I mean, it doesn't happen too often, but whenever Crawler gangs start getting a little antsy and want to attack each other out past the city bounds, or go after some of the other villages across the valley and beyond. Ruiners were more in use 20 years ago when the Apex War was going on with the Stratos Throne and they were hiring themselves out as mercenaries. They don't really make a lot of new ones; they're more keeping the ones that were built and that still function going as long as we can."

TRAVIS: Just in case I'm a prince in disguise and I'm just loaded, if we wanted to refurbish that Ruiner, just for hobby's sake, how much would that run you?

MATT: "Well, this one here, I'm already in contract for right now, but if another one were to come in and you'd want it, I'd say probably around 8,000 gold."

TRAVIS: Fair enough, you know, for a hidden prince in disguise, no big deal. Good to know.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: DM, quick quesh.

MATT: Yeah?

LIAM: In all the time that we've spent here, and Fresh Cut Grass is from here, right?

SAM: Yeah.

MATT: Mm-hmm.

LIAM: All of the automatons that we've seen, none of them are shiny or polished like FCG is, right? Everything you've described is really rough and patchwork and scuzzy.

MATT: Yes.

LIAM: So Letters stands out from anything else we see here?

MATT: Very much so.

LIAM: Okay. What are you?

SAM: I don't know, man.

LIAM: Thanks.

MATT: Of course.

SAM: You look over at me--

TALIESIN: Of course, this would be a lot cheaper if we actually had a faction that was backing us up.

SAM: -- licking something with my flesh tongue.

LAURA: Stop with your flesh tongue!

MATT: "Yeah. Look, the Deathwish is usually used as a means of either putting to rest conflict between the different factions or it's used as an initiation rite for different factions, or it's used as a means of getting rid of individuals that they don't want to have to officially get rid of, like blood relatives of higher ups that don't want to deal with the fallout of aggressively firing them, they can just watch them kill themselves essentially in The Run. It's a little rough."

TRAVIS: Do you know which two Crawler gangs these belong to? Just in case they want to get a driver for, I don't know, no money?

MATT: "The skirmishers?"

TRAVIS: Yeah.

MATT: "Skirmishers aren't held. The Ruiner is the one that's on commission for."

TRAVIS: So these are up for grabs?

MATT: "Yes. These are--"

ERIKA: We'll take them.

TRAVIS: Both of them?

ERIKA: Yeah.

TRAVIS: Or just one?

SAM: Do we have that kind of--

LAURA: No. I don't.

TRAVIS: I got scratch.

SAM: How?

LAURA: Because he's been hoarding stuff that was supposed to go to the group!

TRAVIS: Be careful! You're going to have to be accountable for the words of your mouth!

SAM: The words of your mouth? (laughter)

LAURA: In your head, you hear: What about these words?

TRAVIS: That's nice hair. Do you want to keep it this time? ALL: Ooh!

LAURA: I think I look pretty good bald. You don't scare me.

TRAVIS: I have some scratch.

ASHLEY: Question. What do you get when you win?

MATT: "You survive, and the respect of victory of whatever the current reason you went in for. There isn't prize money or anything. Like I said, it's mainly used for clout."

TALIESIN: I have a funny feeling we might be going into this, so it's good to just be a little bit prepared. If shit's going to go sideways, this is where it's going to go sideways to.

LIAM: It's just a "might makes right" kind of thing, Fearne.

TALIESIN: Worst case scenario, we can talk to All-Minds-Burn and see if they'll actually put us up, if it comes to it.

SAM: You mean sponsor us? What's going on over there?

LAURA: Nothing, he just had something on his shirt.

TALIESIN: I just had something on my shirt.

SAM: It's a nice shirt.

TALIESIN: Thank you.

LIAM: Gem dust.

SAM: So do we need a sponsor?

ERIKA: No, we'll just--

SAM: Independent competitors can throw down a challenge and go against a--

MATT: Yeah. I mean--

LAURA: If we bought two of them, we could just race each other. (laughter)

SAM: Then we'd always win!

LAURA: Yeah! We'd be so cool!

SAM: Like when you go to a county fair and you all sign up for the squirt gun thing and everybody wins.

MATT: "I will say, they don't happen every day. It's not like a recurring thing. They can happen once every couple of weeks, sometimes once every couple of months, depending on the necessity of it. But when it happens, it's an event. People come out in the streets to watch it, people come out in the streets to mess with it, all the different factions come together to watch. And if there's anyone looking to go ahead and prove themselves, or to work out something between them, they jump in, too. So if you're going to be part of this Deathwish Run, you either have to jump into an existing one, or if you're starting one, you're definitely not going to be going in there by yourselves."

LAURA: Oh.

MARISHA: How many normally compete?

MATT: "I've seen anywhere from four to 12, depending."

TRAVIS: Damn! 12 is chaos!

MARISHA: Let's hope for four.

MATT: "There was a lot of collateral damage on that one and I think they might be trying to keep it lower after that."

MARISHA: Oh.

TRAVIS: Watch out for those first five minutes, they're amazing.

LIAM: Got to watch out for sweet tooth.

TALIESIN: So 1000 baseline, plus whatever it is you're going to do to it.

MATT: "Yeah, if you have any extra."

ERIKA: We would like those two, please, and done as quickly as possible. And if possible, using parts unlike the ones that did not come back with these ones.

MATT: "Okay."

TRAVIS: I think just actually the one, because did he say a thousand?

LAURA: Do you have a lot of money?

ERIKA: Well, not like a thousand money. (laughter)

TRAVIS: I think we can pool our resources for one.

ERIKA: You're a hidden prince.

TRAVIS: Yeah, yeah. My last name's Storm, so I have a lot of money. (laughter)

ERIKA: Okay. But only enough for one with you.

TRAVIS: Of the Prince Storms, yeah. I have an allowance that comes in.

ERIKA: Mm-hmm. Okay.

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: "So two?" ALL: Just one.

TRAVIS: One. Just one. We're going to pool our resources and make one fucking unkillable skirmisher.

SAM: You could put me up as collateral for the second one.

ASHLEY: No, stop!

SAM: Everyone says that I'm worth a lot! This fella seems to think that I'm very interesting!

LAURA: No!

SAM: As collateral! When you win, you get me back!

LAURA: We'll probably die.

SAM: Well, some of you might, but the ones that win can get me back.

MARISHA: I don't think that's a terrible idea.

ERIKA: How much would we get for the robit?

MARISHA: If we're dead, then he has a nice home.

LIAM: That's right.

MATT: "Sorry, what?"

TRAVIS: Think it over.

ERIKA: How much would we get for the robit?

MARISHA: (laughs)

TRAVIS: It's a pretty good idea.

MATT: "Oh, you're willing to sell your automaton?"

MARISHA: Not sell! Not sell!

ERIKA: Put up as collateral.

MATT: "Collateral for you? Oh my goodness."

LAURA: Stop moving your flesh tongue!

TALIESIN: Stop with the tongue, it's weird. (laughs)

MARISHA: I mean, this was your idea, Fresh Cut Grass.

TRAVIS: Yeah, if we win, you get all the accolades, all the glory.

ERIKA: And you get the crawlers back.

MARISHA: Also, Orym and I just got here, so I'm fully catching up on this plan as we're hearing it. It feels a little reckless for you. That's a little off.

SAM: We don't even know if we're racing yet!

TALIESIN: This is just if everything goes shitty, and knowing us, it won't go shitty. It will go shitty, obviously, but we're just trying to cover our bases.

MARISHA: Is there one scheduled? Or no, we would have to start it?

SAM: We'd have to challenge it.

MATT: "There isn't, not that I know of, at least, you'd have to initiate it. I appreciate the offer, and believe me, there's a part of me that is genuinely interested and curious, but... Based on your level of sentience and the primary historical connections that that probably entails, I don't think I can ethically take you as a collateral piece of ownership."

TALIESIN: Thank you.

ERIKA: Perhaps you wouldn't own him, but he would live with you. Share his secrets. You could study him and work with him.

TALIESIN: I've got a solve.

MARISHA: No!

LAURA: And what's your solve?

TALIESIN: You get to have a nice dinner together. Like a date, ask anything you want. Have conversation, share a story.

LAURA: Never mind.

TRAVIS: The meatloaf!

SAM: I've been on one date!

TALIESIN: Make it two.

SAM: All right. We don't even know if we're racing yet. We just need these things to be--

TRAVIS: Ironed out ahead of time. Just in case we need to pull the switch.

SAM: Sorry, sidebar, Mr. Joe. You saw Treshi? You saw Treshi.

MARISHA: Oh! Yes we did.

SAM: Did he make you? Are we-- Is this--

MARISHA: No. He was smoking on the roof.

LIAM: I think he knows that chickens have come home to roost. He seemed really freaked out for the moment that I saw him up there. He seemed spooked. So I'm a little worried that word's gotten back to him.

LAURA: But Treshi would be spooked anyway. He's got to be terrified.

LIAM: He's been here for a while.

SAM: So you don't think we can coax him out and kidnap him or anything? We're going to have to call him out?

ERIKA: You wanted to race these things. You said, Why are you even here unless you do this?" Right?

SAM: Part of that was Sam Riegel saying that. (laughter)

SAM: But no, you're totally right. It feels like the call of this place is rooted in an intense death or glory skirmisher-crawler race to the death. But we have to go propose this to Treshi first before we even know if we're going to race!

LIAM: Also one issue, not Sam Riegel, is if we put FCG up for collateral...

LAURA: We're not.

LIAM: You don't get to drive a death machine.

SAM: I'm not a driver!

LIAM: Neither am I! Is anyone here a driver? Do you need experience to drive these things?

ASHLEY: I have. I've driven a bunch.

MATT: "You don't need experience, but it helps." (laughter)

TRAVIS: I have experience around sleighs. (laughter)

LIAM: You know, that's a noun and a verb. (laughter)

SAM: Once one is ready, we could all take turns on it and see who's the most natural.

LAURA: Ooh, I like that.

ASHLEY: That's a good idea.

LAURA: I am good at horse riding, so maybe it's similar.

ASHLEY: That's true, actually!

SAM: It's half horse.

LIAM: Animal-like, yeah.

TALIESIN: Let's start to get one up and going. We'll check in tomorrow and let them know that we're still just taking care of a few things, but that we're actually going to have our meeting and set it up. Take care of you two, and then we'll let shit hit the fan and we'll try and get out of town with our guy.

ASHLEY: How much do you need to start?

MATT: "Baseline, for just getting one for now? We'll say 1000."

ASHLEY: Okay.

MATT: "Do you want any armor upgrades? If you want any sort of, mounted carbine maybe, that can be a little extra."

ASHLEY: How much is that?

MATT: "The carbine will put you at about 1,300 gold."

ASHLEY: Okay.

TRAVIS: Wait, on top of the 1,000, or 1,300 total?

MATT: "No, total."

TRAVIS: Extra 300.

MATT: "Additional armor, that be about 150."

MARISHA: Would the date with Letters maybe knock some off the overall cost?

ASHLEY: You look like you want--

MATT: "We discussed talking here in a minute. I still have a business to run."

TRAVIS: Well, you have to wager somebody to offset the cost of this thing. It's all or nothing. We go over, we pick a fight, talk some shit, and then we win, make money.

ASHLEY: Wait, how are we making money?

SAM: I don't know! I don't know where the money came in.

LAURA: We bet on our own--

TRAVIS: We find one of the Crawler gangs, we're like, Bitch, you don't know nothing about skirmish races! Enter the death race, put your money where your mouth is. We win, profit.

TALIESIN: That's not how any of this works, but okay.

SAM: How are we going to win against multiple Crawler gangs? We've never driven one!

TRAVIS: We've heard people go out on the tracks and leave surprises. We take dumps at every hard right. We know where the dookie is, they don't. It's in the bag!

LIAM: Dumps?

TRAVIS: We can elaborate, but it's a start.

MARISHA: I understand him.

ASHLEY: Yeah, same, same.

TALIESIN: No, I do understand, that's why I'm confused.

ASHLEY: Are there any rules or things that you are not allowed to do? Or can you just do anything?

MATT: "Outside of being on skirmisher back, and no more of a team of... Well, actually, no. You can fit either two medium folk or four smaller, I think, might be able to ride on it from there. But that's also four people that can die in one fiery crash. It's up to you."

LIAM: You talk about adding different kinds of weapons or contraptions to the side. Could you add side cars or seats?

MATT: "See, here's the thing. At that point, we're already pushing it with a possible mounted weapon. It starts throwing off the balance of it, which not only adds drag to the vehicle, but it ends up becoming a possible issue with the tight turns you're making."

LIAM: What if we don't want that weapon, what if she's the weapon?

MATT: "Right. But I'm saying if you have a side car on something like this, I guess I could probably do that. But knowing this track and some of the tight turns, there's a good chance you might scrape your companion off at a turn. I can do it, but I'm just--"

SAM: We can station ourselves over the course of the track and help when it drives by, I suppose.

LIAM: There's no rules, yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

LAURA: That's true.

TALIESIN: Yeah, uh...

MATT: "Well, I can get started on this one. If you manage to piss off a faction or get involved with somebody, you can always come back with an emblem for maybe another loaner, and we could take it from there."

TALIESIN: I think that's the call.

ERIKA: Excellent. Pay the man!

TRAVIS: All right.

TALIESIN: I think it's the call.

MARISHA: How much money do we need? I've got 300 gold.

MATT: "So the armor upgrade is 150, are you taking the carbine mount as well for an additional 300?"

LAURA: So if we take the armor upgrade, are we lessening our speed?

MATT: "It negligible. Negligible."

LAURA: All right, yeah.

ERIKA: Shield?

TRAVIS: We got 1,450! Armor. Carbine mount.

ERIKA: Does anybody know how to shoot?

TRAVIS: What about oil sl--? Can you drop oil behind the vehicle or a smoke screen?

LAURA: Or banana peel?

MATT: "I mean you can, that would be the same. You could pay me to put on something there where you could just have it with you yourself. They come with a large satchel in the back that you can just utilize as a pull mechanic."

TRAVIS: 1,450, all right. I'm in for 750. Who can help?

TALIESIN: I can't.

TRAVIS: You can't?

TALIESIN: No.

LIAM: I'll throw in 100. The plan is what? We're going to go just call them out now?

LAURA: No.

MARISHA: Tomorrow?

SAM: Yeah. Not right now.

MARISHA: We'll figure that out later tomorrow.

SAM: Not right now, tomorrow.

LIAM: So we're going to spend 1,000 gold and figure out how to use it tomorrow.

LAURA: If it turns out that we don't need one...

LIAM and

SAM: (laugh)

ERIKA: Look, we can always resell.

LAURA: Yeah, would you buy it back from us? Because, I mean, you'll sell it obviously, right?

MATT: "I mean, I can. It'd be at a higher price."

LAURA: You'll buy it back from us--

MATT: "For a lesser price, sorry."

ERIKA: Yeah. Done.

ASHLEY: Are we giving you a deposit type of a thing? We're just giving you half now and then half later.

MATT: "This would be half now then half upon acquisition of it tomorrow."

ASHLEY: So 725.

TRAVIS: 725.

MARISHA: 725.

TRAVIS: I could just do it myself.

SAM: Do it.

MARISHA: Yeah, I'll toss in 100 gold.

TRAVIS: A hundo?

MARISHA: A hundo.

TRAVIS: Cool.

LAURA: I'll put 100 in.

LIAM: Orym is thinking about the weeks, the months of immaculate planning he was privy to standing 30 feet away from the Voice of the Tempest and thinking of all the fucking dickery that is surrounding us all in this moment and then he puts 100 gold.

TRAVIS: Yeah, this is what true planning is.

MATT: There it is.

TRAVIS: Anybody else?

TALIESIN: Are we turning this into some sort of bonding experience? Is that what this is?

LAURA: That's what this is.

TALIESIN: Oh, for fuck's sakes, 100 gold.

TRAVIS: It's literally ride or die. Okay.

TALIESIN: I hate you.

LIAM: It's die or die.

TRAVIS: Anybody else?

ASHLEY: Yeah, wait. Are we putting it all in now?

TRAVIS: No, no, we're just putting in the down payment.

ASHLEY: How much do we have?

TRAVIS: We got 725, but how much do you want to help lessen the load? I'm in for 325 and others are in for 100.

LIAM: I've got no monies.

ASHLEY: Well, let's see.

LAURA: Wait, I thought you said you had enough to cover it all on your own there?

TRAVIS: Yeah, but we're a team.

LAURA: So you're just going to cover the other half tomorrow all on your own?

TRAVIS: No, I'm paying the most, what do you want from me?

LAURA: Because the rest of us won't have any cash.

TRAVIS: Listen, I can change your toy at any time, all right?

ASHLEY: I'll put in 100 gold as well.

LAURA: You haven't given me anything yet, so--

TRAVIS: You're right. It's really nice. I could just scrap it. Yes?

ASHLEY: 100 gold as well.

TRAVIS: 100 gold as well. Thank you, Fearne. That's enough. I'll pay 225, others have paid 100, that's wonderful.

ASHLEY: Thank you.

TRAVIS: Here's 725. You build this son of a bitch the best you've ever built anything. Your name depends on it.

MATT: "My name is Imahara."

TRAVIS: There you are. Did you hear that? That is a craftsman's guarantee.

MARISHA: Yeah, a master. Are you an MC too?

MARISHA: A master crafter?

LAURA: -- and he never dispersed it. He just keeps it.

MATT: "Is that a thing? Then yeah. Yeah."

TRAVIS: Oh, well we'll indoctrinate you afterwards. We have chapters all over Exandria.

MATT: "Okay. Yeah, I figure I've got decent amount of these. I could probably have this ready for pickup tomorrow. We'll say about mid afternoon?"

TRAVIS: Mid afternoon.

ERIKA: Incredible.

TRAVIS: Sounds good. Do we want a color? Do we get a color?

MATT: "I can do a quick wash on it, I guess. But normally I'm not--

ASHLEY: What about, is there charge for a paint job situation?

MATT: "I'm not a specialist in that."

ASHLEY: That's exactly what you're saying to her.

MATT: "Yeah."

ASHLEY: I'm really sorry.

MATT: "That's okay."

ASHLEY: You worded it differently, I think, unless I just wasn't listening. I probably wasn't listening.

LAURA: Could we show you our logo? If we came up with a logo for Bells Hells, could we put it on the car?

TALIESIN: Oh my god.

MATT: "Of course you can. I will say you will probably have a better shot at doing it yourself than I would. I'm an engineer, I'm not an artist."

TRAVIS: Oh, you're too humble.

SAM: So we can put a hood ornament sort of a thing on the front of it, or--?

MATT: "Sure."

MARISHA: Paint it red!

TRAVIS: Laudna, now wait. Hold on. Why red?

MARISHA: Red, because it's the color of blood and it's the color of Ruidus!

SAM: Ooh.

ASHLEY: Oh, I like that.

ASHLEY: We've got a vibe.

MARISHA: And blood!

LAURA: And Ruidus.

MARISHA: Mainly blood.

MATT: "It'll be ready by the mid afternoon tomorrow and you are welcome to color it however you like."

MARISHA: Red.

SAM: (laughs)

MATT: "I'd recommend not putting too much detail on it. Just in case things go badly and it's ruined afterward. But what do I know?"

TRAVIS: Plus, we don't want to stand out too much and become *the* target just because we're wildly colored.

LAURA: That's true. A red one will probably be like they'll go after us.

TRAVIS: Screw the wash!

MARISHA: Right, so red cars get the most heat.

SAM: Of course we're going to be-- We're already going to be the target. We're starting the-- We're calling--

LAURA: That's true.

SAM: We're putting on the challenge.

TRAVIS: Keep the red wash. (laughter)

MATT: "Come pick it up tomorrow and you can decide then, how about that?"

LAURA: All right, all right.

LIAM: Do you paint terrain? Can you paint some of my terrain?

MATT: (sighs) (laughter)

MATT: "I hate it here."

TRAVIS: Thank you!

SAM: All right.

LAURA: Oh, wait, no.

LAURA: Yes, yes. A question for you. Do you happen to know anybody named Birdie and Ollie, Oleander?

MATT: "Yeah. I was going to ask. You kind of remind me of one of them."

ASHLEY: Really?

MATT: "Yeah."

ASHLEY: Birdie?

MATT: "Yeah."

ASHLEY: Well, how do you know them?

MATT: "They come in here every few months or so for supplies. Often people come in here looking for automatons and various other constructs of that nature. They just come in for power sources."

ERIKA: Power sources?

MATT: "Yeah, these here." The different blue crackling elements there.

ERIKA: What?

MATT: "Occasionally the scrap and general materials, yeah."

ERIKA: Did they tell you what they're building?

MATT: "No. I don't ask, I just sell them."

ASHLEY: Are these similar to those orbs that the Nightmare King had on his--

MATT: Very similar coloration.

LAURA: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

ERIKA: Who's that?

ASHLEY: Okay, so-- Oh wow. So, power source. What exactly are those?

MATT: "So I don't make them, but I import them and utilize them to both run a number of the automatons and arcana-based constructs that I work on. They are sourced from all over Exandria. But they are themselves essentially arcane batteries. They draw from local leylines and they deliver enough arcane energy to basically power low level enchantments for locomotion, transmutation, abjuration, all manner of things beyond generally destructive magic, mainly things that just operate devices and such. But it depends on the size, it depends on the make. Yeah, I mean it goes a little beyond my purview from there, but that's primarily what I use them for."

ASHLEY: Sure, sure. How often have they been customers?

LAURA: How long?

ASHLEY: How long, I mean.

MATT: "Couple years, maybe."

ERIKA: Years?

MATT: "Not often. Every few months, they'll stop on by and pick up whatever I can spare, really."

LIAM: Just the two of them?

MATT: "Yeah, just the two of them."

LIAM: Okay.

SAM: They just pay with money, right? They don't leave anything else.

MATT: "Yeah. Pay well."

TALIESIN: Huh.

LAURA: Have they ever had any companions with them?

MATT: "No, I mean it's primarily one or the other. They haven't actually... I don't think they've come in together before, but they've definitely made their relations known."

LAURA: All right.

ERIKA: Has anyone else asked about them?

MATT: "Not to my knowledge."

ERIKA: Oh. Huh.

LAURA: How do they look when they come in?

MATT: "I mean, it's kind of hard to tell. You got someone of elven lineage and someone of, well, yours."

ERIKA: Do they look similar to this?

MATT: "Yeah, yeah. That's them right there. Huh. Yeah, they look only just a little bit older than that maybe, at most."

LAURA: Did you say elven? One of them is elven?

MATT: "Yeah, some sort of elven lineage to them."

LAURA: Right, right, that makes sense.

SAM: It does?

ASHLEY: So, okay. Do you know when they're coming again in here?

MATT: "I don't know. They usually just wander in and show up when they do."

ASHLEY: Okay. Is that it? Is there anything else that you can think of or know about them that you'd like to share?

MATT: "They're nice. They're pretty jovial, especially compared to a lot of people in the city I do business with."

TRAVIS: They loaded?

MATT: "Good sense of humor. Pretty loaded, actually. I figured they probably had some sort of political connections or maybe a royal history or a background."

LAURA: Oh, that's right. You're royal.

ASHLEY: That makes sense.

LAURA: Well, if you happen to see them--

MATT: "Mm-hmm."

LAURA: -- very soon, would you tell them to, I'm sure they're already planning on it, but stick around because--

ERIKA: Their daughter's looking for them.

MATT: "You're their daughter? See, I wasn't going to say anything, I didn't want to assume."

ASHLEY: No, it's totally fine. I was waiting. I was going to tell you, I was figuring out what your deal was with them and--

MATT: "Yeah, yeah. What's your name?"

ASHLEY: My name is Fearne.

MATT: "Fearne, Fearne Calloway."

ASHLEY: Calloway.

MATT: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

ASHLEY: Oh, it's very nice to meet you.

MATT: "Indeed. Well yeah, I'll definitely let them know next time they come around."

ASHLEY: Okay, that would be wonderful. Thank you.

MATT: "Of course, of course."

ERIKA: Also, maybe if anybody else asks about them, maybe keep it on down low, right?

ASHLEY: Yeah, probably.

MATT: "Oh, is there like-- Okay."

ERIKA: Just to be safe around the area.

MATT: "Yeah. No, no, it's valid, it's valid."

ASHLEY: Just that they're on a very important mission, so--

ERIKA: Shh.

MATT: "Okay, okay."

ASHLEY: Just leave it at that.

MATT: "Mum's the word."

ASHLEY: Mum's the word.

SAM: Thank you so much for your service.

MATT: "Do you?"

SAM: Hm?

MATT: "This is weird. This is weird. Do you-- Did you used to run with someone named Dancer?"

SAM: I did, yes.

MATT: "I knew it! I knew that I'd seen you before! (laughs)"

SAM: Why? Do you know her? Have you seen her?

MATT: "We had kind of like a-- I have always thought she was friendly, talented, but she never really took a shine to friendship with me. So we had a playful rivalry, if anything. Very talented, very talented artificer. I remember you, because when you came through on that trade caravan, I wanted to pick you up originally. But I was down a large investment at the time and by time I tried to come back to pick you up, Dancer already nabbed you."

LAURA: (gasps)

SAM: I didn't come in a trade caravan, she built me.

MATT: "No-- No, because I almost bought you myself, but I--"

SAM: Did I look like this?

MATT: "Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you don't mind, you're a grade-A scavenged automaton. The quality of a find here. This is pre-Divergent stuff here. This is obviously--"

SAM: What does that mean?

MATT: "I thought it was originally an Avalir design, but the sentience already tells me this was straight-up Aeormaton, you are a relic, and if Dancer still considers you under purview, you don't even know how much you're worth. Not just from a research standpoint, but just monetarily."

SAM: What does that mean?

LAURA: What is an Aeormaton?

SAM: What is Divergence?

TALIESIN: Oh boy.

MATT: "Oh, that's a long conversation. You're a relic of history. Even just the designs here, the power grooves here, the overall design. Your speech, your sentience, this was--"

SAM: It was assigned to me by Dancer. She built me out of spare parts.

MATT: "Okay."

ERIKA: Is that what she told you?

MATT: "There are some in recent years that have been coming online, if you will."

SAM: Some others?

MATT: "Other automatons like you. Scavenged out of ruins and found in long-hidden chambers and vaults of history of Exandria that have been awoken, re-awoken."

ASHLEY: Where was the trade caravan coming from?

MATT: "I don't know specifically. We get all sorts of odd traders coming through here."

ERIKA: Was he like this?

MATT: "Oh, no, you were disabled at the time, but--"

ASHLEY: Were these there? The grass, the scrapes in the front?

MATT: "I don't remember. That was a couple years ago."

TALIESIN: Couple years.

LAURA: The heist that you guys were doing, was that just a cave system or was that ruins?

TALIESIN: It was a cave system.

SAM: I think it was just a cave--

TALIESIN: It was just a cave.

SAM: -- we were supposed to go in and clear out.

TALIESIN: There were mines.

SAM: I don't know what was in there, but--

TALIESIN: It was just a--

SAM: Like a creature that we were supposed to clear out.

MATT: "Please don't misread me. This all comes from a place of absolute respect and just professional interest and wonder. You were the one that got away at the time, and just the fate of bringing--"

LAURA: What would you know--

MATT: "-- you back here is incredible."

LAURA: -- about bringing someone like him back online?

LIAM: Letters is different than anything else we've seen in this city or really anything I've seen anywhere.

MATT: "Oh yeah, no."

LIAM: You're saying that Letters is from that long ago?

MATT: "I mean, I have no confirmation, but from the reading and studying I've done, this--"

SAM: Why don't I remember anything?

MATT: "I can only tell you that it--"

ERIKA: Maybe you went the Feywild, too.

MATT: "Maybe time took its toll."

ASHLEY: Do you think that-- Is there a way to restart him? Maybe Dancer erased some things?

MATT: "I could look into it, but that would be an extensive bit of research. See, understand the reason I'm going to the Aeormaton is that there were automatons of incredible designs in ancient times. Like all spectrums of builds and capabilities. Part of what I do is just trying to rediscover and essentially iterate on the scraps of that time, best I can, along with other compatriots and individuals that I mentioned earlier, this tinker trade that we do. But all of them were like all the other automatons you see. They perform functions, they are not living things. But you. The folks of Aeor managed to bring sentience to their automatons. Eventually, they fought for their freedom, and then these Aeormatons became citizens. They were the only source of folks like you before it fell. For a long time, most folks thought that they were gone, that you were gone. Past five or so years, though, there's been whispers, rumors, that some have been showing up, waking up."

LAURA: So there's more people like you.

ERIKA: I also wonder what happened in the last five years to make that happen.

MARISHA: Yeah, why the past five years?

MATT: "I don't know."

ASHLEY: In the past five years they've been waking up?

MATT: "From what I've heard. The first I heard about it was about five years ago, yeah."

ASHLEY: Huh.

LAURA: Careful, Erika. (laughter)

TRAVIS: When was the last time you saw Dancer?

MATT: "Oh, maybe a year."

TALIESIN: Okay.

LIAM: These others that are similar to our friend, that are coming online. What part of the world?

MATT: "I mean, I haven't seen them personally. You were the first to come through here which is why I was so excited. That's why I thought I remembered you."

LIAM: But you've heard of others?

MATT: "Yeah, no. I've heard rumors of in the eastern side of Tal'Dorei, I've heard in Wildemount, I've heard-- I heard one in Issylra that may have come on as well. But these are all rumors. These were all exciting rumors."

ERIKA: Incredible.

MATT: "So anyway, all that to say, it's genuinely really special to see you again. If you ever have the inclination to let me carefully and consensually inspect your capabilities, I would be very interested."

LAURA: (laughs)

SAM: Sorry, Laura is a child.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: I know.

TALIESIN: But you are kind of like a kid.

SAM: Dancer didn't seem to like you very much, but you seem okay to me.

MATT: "Dancer was a bit abrasive, and to be fair, I'm not the most outgoing person, either. I'm kind of married to my work."

SAM: If we make it through this, maybe we could spend some time doing that.

MATT: "That would be fantastic. I mean, my goodness, could you imagine if we could discover what the great artificers of Aeor were able to uncover, to create life like you once more. That would be--"

SAM: I just want to know who I am.

MATT: "I just want to know who you are, too."

SAM: All right. Well, smiley day. I guess we go.

ASHLEY: Well, would anything-- Would it hurt him to check in there and look at--?

MATT: "I wouldn't want to at all."

TALIESIN: Maybe not right now.

ERIKA: Yep.

TALIESIN: Okay.

TRAVIS: Don't distract him. He's got to focus on our bill.

MATT: "I do, you're right, I'm sorry."

ASHLEY: In the future, if that comes-- I was just seeing if there's any, you know, repercussions to--

MATT: "I would do everything in my power to ensure I didn't. This is different than cobbling in my workshop. This is a conscious, living being."

ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: This is nothing new to us.

ASHLEY: No.

TRAVIS: Aeormaton.

LAURA: We should find out more about Aeor.

TRAVIS: Yeah, whatever the fuck that is.

SAM: Okay.

ERIKA: Thank you so much for your time.

MATT: "Of course. I guess I'll be seeing you all tomorrow afternoon."

ERIKA: See you tomorrow.

MATT: "All right. Let me get to work." He starts putting his gauntlets back on. Turns around and grabs the unique device that you saw earlier with the small blue orb in it. As he begins to pull it over to-- dragging it outward with a small, looks like a battery device, the base of it to the backyard. You can hear him gruffly speaking excitedly to himself.

LAURA: He went to go jack off because he was so excited about it.

SAM: Oh, because he wants to fuck me?

LAURA: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

ASHLEY: How do you feel about that?

TRAVIS: Just with his fingers, I think. Like really get in there.

SAM: Yeah, I mean, everyone should leave the table so I can be finger fucked by Imahara Joe.

LIAM: Why, why?

TRAVIS: We went in from a skirmish racer, and we came out with information about your parents.

LAURA: What in the hell?

TRAVIS: You are an ancient technological marvel.

SAM: Yeah, and we bought a car.

MARISHA: (laughs)

LAURA: What in the--?

TRAVIS: We bought a chassis.

MARISHA: This is a lot. Are you all right?

LAURA: Are you all right?

SAM: I don't know. I don't know.

MARISHA: Do you want to try and find Dancer?

SAM: Yes, but, I mean, maybe not this instant.

LAURA: Plus, she was lying to you.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: Well, hold on. I mean, she didn't lie. She just probably told me what she knew.

LAURA and ERIKA: That she built you?

SAM: Well, okay, okay, easy.

MARISHA: And she's not dead.

LIAM: I mean, a lot of things are not adding up all in one day.

ERIKA: Pretty much your existence is a lie.

LAURA: Well, all right. Let's not give them a crisis right now.

ASHLEY: Dusk is not wrong.

ERIKA: But, also, that's kind of cool. Because now, you can decide who you want to be.

TRAVIS: Clean slate.

SAM: Or maybe not. Maybe I've got ancient programming in me that will make me-- What if Joe digs in and finds out that I was something else, someone else?

MARISHA: A murder robot?

SAM: Yeah, or--

MARISHA: That's awesome.

SAM: Or I don't know. I don't even know where I have these powers from. What if I was created by some mad person? Some evil archmage.

ERIKA: You are so much more than your programming or the person who made you. You are here with all of these amazing, nice people, and you offered me help.

TRAVIS: I mean, Chetney's not nice, per se.

ERIKA: Guys, he's in the cool category.

TRAVIS: No, I can turn it on. You're totally an archmage, by the way.

MARISHA: What?

TRAVIS: Has anyone given him a wand to see what the fuck happens?

SAM and ASHLEY: A wand?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

SAM: Like if I can cast spells?

TRAVIS: Like a focus, yeah.

SAM: But I can cast spells already, but like through a wand? Does that change?

TRAVIS: It's a whole new aesthetic for you.

ERIKA: You don't have to be your past or your programming or what your body-- You're you, right?

MARISHA: Dusk is right. I mean, he said so himself that the Aeormatons gained sentience and then fought for their freedom. So, you know, it doesn't matter where you came from.

LAURA: You might've been made by other Aeormatons. Maybe Aeormatons could have Aeormaton babies.

SAM: You might be right. I have no idea.

ASHLEY: We don't know, we don't know.

MARISHA: I have a crazy woman in my head who likes to tell me what to do. That's really not that dissimilar to, you know, being programmed.

SAM: I mean, it feels really great to know something. I guess I just don't know what it means yet.

LIAM: I want to understand the level of context for us. They threw out words like Aeor, Avalir. How commonly known are those things?

MATT: They're not terribly commonly known. There's a history check involved, if you want to know that sort of information.

TALIESIN: I'll take a shot.

LIAM: 16.

LAURA: 18.

MATT: 18. You do know of the names. You know of the names Avalir, Aeor, along with Zemniaz. Other of the great cities of the Age of Arcanum.

LIAM: But this is like, to us, knowing Constantinople or--

MATT: Exactly.

LIAM: Right? We're hazy on the details.

MATT: Yeah, you don't know much beyond a passing bit of historical information that may have crossed your studies, or just your own casual reading time as a child or as a teenager. None of you have that sort of academic background, necessarily, and with those rolls, you have context for it. But to your point--

LIAM: The vaguest.

MATT: The vaguest of historical passing knowledge.

LIAM: It's a 'what the fuck' moment.

MATT: Yeah.

LIAM: To have someone say, you are from this place.

LAURA: You're from Mesopotamia.

LIAM and MATT: Yeah.

SAM: Yeah.

TALIESIN: Okay.

LIAM: Well, that kind of changed the day.

SAM: Yeah, for sure.

ASHLEY: Wow.

SAM: I mean, I guess as the oldest member of the group, I should be our leader.

TRAVIS: Oh shit.

SAM: Yeah, sorry, youngster.

TRAVIS: I don't know what my job is anymore.

MATT: (laughs)

TALIESIN: We'll always need wood.

MARISHA: (laughs) We'll always need wood.

TRAVIS: You will.

LIAM: What are we doing?

SAM: I don't know anymore!

LIAM: I know it's a lot to process.

SAM: We were supposed to stake out a fortress, and now?

TALIESIN: We did that.

LIAM: We did.

SAM: We're in ancient space.

TRAVIS: Dancer. She could be here.

TALIESIN: We're going back to somewhere to get some food, sleep it off.

ERIKA: Yeah.

MARISHA: It's late. How about a beer and some copper pieces to take edge off? Maybe we can even find you a nice silver piece. You know, treat yourself.

SAM: That sounds real good right now.

MARISHA: Yeah.

TALIESIN: That might be too rich.

MATT: (laughs)

ERIKA: Well, we got a place to hide out. We got a car. We got, you know, a bomb we can pick up.

TALIESIN: Yeah, a lot happened.

TRAVIS: Oh yeah, we did do quite a bit.

MARISHA: You ordered a bomb.

ERIKA: We ordered *bombs*.

SAM: Just to throw out the back of the crawler.

TALIESIN: It's coming together.

TRAVIS: Just out of curiosity, should we find a new place to lay our heads? Since the last one is spoiled?

LAURA and TALIESIN: Yeah.

MARISHA: That's true, that is true.

TRAVIS: Can we look around for a little goblin with an eye patch?

LIAM: It's 24 hours later. We've changed one plan for another, and our prey is aware that they are being hunted.

TRAVIS: 24 hours.

TALIESIN: We're showing up tomorrow. We're going to check in. We'll see what they think.

LAURA: Maybe tomorrow around the same time that you saw him, we can swing by, see if he comes out every day around that time.

SAM: Like he always takes a smoke break at the same time?

LAURA: Yeah, maybe, maybe.

LIAM: It was after sun went down. He might not know, but we have to assume that the Paragon's Call tipped him off. We just have to act as if that is likely.

ERIKA: Boy, you really are going through quite a bit of effort for one guy.

LAURA: Yeah, we really have.

MARISHA: I mean, you know what's wild about it, Dusk, is you're asking about all the little weird battery things that Imahara Joe had. We saw those in the Nightmare King's lair, which the guy we're hunting was in cahoots with.

TRAVIS: He's like a fey creature. They're fucking crazy looking.

MARISHA: And now he knows--

LIAM: The stuff with Letters-- that your parents are trying to get them.

LIAM: -- made me forget that.

MARISHA: Sorry.

LIAM: No, I'm sorry. Just there's so much.

MARISHA: So much.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TALIESIN: It's been a day.

MARISHA: Fearne, why are your parents getting weird batteries?

TRAVIS: Is your dad the Nightmare King?

ASHLEY: I don't know. No!

LAURA: But he did know you. He said you smelled familiar. Which means he knows at least your--

ASHLEY: Maybe he's met them or something.

LAURA: Maybe he's met them, or he knows your grandmother.

MARISHA: Did you ever know that they would go and split off and do their own thing? Like, would they ever disappear?

SAM: Parents.

ERIKA: No.

LAURA: They've been coming to him for two years now. I thought you just left them.

MARISHA: I thought you were with them.

ERIKA: I thought I did, too!

TRAVIS: They're being held captive and someone's impersonating them. Always assume the worst.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

LIAM: Fearne, these arcane batteries. Is that a thing at the Seelie Court? Or with people you know from home?

ASHLEY: Do I know? Are they?

MATT: Not in your experience, no.

ASHLEY: I've never seen anything like that before at home.

ERIKA: Do you think maybe your parents weren't quite as forthcoming about everything?

TRAVIS: Ooh, she said it!

MARISHA: ♪ She said it out loud ♪ ♪ We were all thinking it ♪

ASHLEY: Well, I think-- for sure. But I think there was definitely a reason for it, you know? A very good reason as to why.

LIAM: The light of the batteries that we just saw, same exact color as what Ira's messing with, or similar?

MATT: Variations of. They're not like a fully consistent across the board. But, you know, different shades of--

LIAM: Shades of blue?

MATT: Of blue and turquoise. In the same ballpark.

LIAM: Oh, okay, okay, okay.

ASHLEY: I just don't know.

MARISHA: So not the same, but similar ballpark.

MATT: Yeah, some of them are the same. Then some of them are a slight variation.

LIAM: And after we all went, "Huh?"

MARISHA: But then also the rock. The rock that I broke.

LIAM: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

MARISHA: Yeah, the Gnarlrock wasn't-- Because we also hear that that was also from the Fey Realm and that it was a similar or same stone that we found in the Nightmare King's laboratory, right? That's what I wrote down.

MATT: The Gnarlrock was found in the Shade Mother's den. Which had some--

MARISHA: Reminiscent of.

MATT: The structure around it was reminiscent of, but the actual stone itself was different.

LIAM: Still fey shit.

LAURA: Yeah, it had an orrery sort of thing around it, right?

MARISHA: Thing around it.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah.

MARISHA: Okay, okay, okay.

ASHLEY: I mean, I have a postcard from Aeor from my parents. So that's a little weird.

LAURA: You have a postcard from Aeor?

SAM: I'm sorry, what?

ASHLEY: Yeah, all the postcards that I got. I told you guys this.

ERIKA: What?!

LAURA: From Aeor?!

ASHLEY: Yeah.

SAM: From *Aeor*?

ASHLEY: I don't know, I have so many. I have hundreds of postcards.

SAM: What does that mean? Aeor was ancient.

TALIESIN: Does the Feywild have a post office?

LIAM: Show us one, show us one.

LAURA: Was it recent? I don't understand.

ASHLEY: I think so, hundreds.

LAURA and

SAM: From Aeor?!

ASHLEY: No, from all over. From all over, because they traveled all over the entire world.

TRAVIS: Jesus.

SAM: Do you have it on you?

LAURA: What are they gathering? Power sources? They're traveling all over the world.

MARISHA: Are your parents thousands of years old?

ERIKA: They might've been gone two years or 90 or...

TRAVIS: Or thousands.

ASHLEY: They've been doing something, apparently extremely important.

LIAM: Oh man.

MARISHA: Wait, you said that they left because they were trying to save the world.

ASHLEY: Yes, so they left. A little bit is fuzzy because I was very young. My grandmother was there. They left me because they had to go do something. And then, my grandma always told me that they had to-- It was very important, and I couldn't know. But I got postcards this whole time.

LIAM: Including from Aeor? Or is that a miscommunication?

ASHLEY: I'm pretty sure.

MARISHA: Or did they find it at like a vintage shop?

ASHLEY: They might've. I mean, who knows?

LAURA: Can I see it?

ASHLEY: If it's not somewhere that's real, like not somewhere that's-- (laughs) (laughter)

SAM: That's merch that we sell! (laughter)

LAURA: I didn't expect it to look so--

ASHLEY: It could have been-- It could have been from a--

LAURA: "The city that took on the gods."

ASHLEY: -- a shop.

LAURA: "And lost."

ERIKA: A novelty thing.

ASHLEY: Like a novelty shop.

SAM: Oh, okay.

ASHLEY: I mean, from what it sounds like, this place is not even--

ERIKA: Around anymore.

MATT: Make a perception check, Imogen.

LAURA: (humming)

LIAM: It's about me, isn't it? Oh, wow.

LAURA: (laughs) 12.

MATT: Never mind. (yelling)

MATT: (laughs)

LAURA: Why do I always roll low on perception?

MATT: (laughs)

ASHLEY: I just pull out all the postcards. I mean, you guys can see. They went everywhere.

LIAM: At some point, Orym stares into camera like Jim from The Office. (laughter)

LAURA: I chose poorly. I want to roll this dice to see if I rolled better. Nope, exact same roll.

MATT: What you can tell from the postcards, looking at them, is they are all handmade. Meaning there isn't some sort of like--

LAURA: A gift shop.

MATT: Like a gift shop, or a printer set. All of them are meticulously done by hand.

TRAVIS: Maybe made by your parents.

MARISHA: Yeah.

LAURA: Probably.

ASHLEY: Well, you don't know that. I mean, how else would you make a postcard? Someone would have to make it.

TRAVIS: Do you think your mom and dad were trying to tell you something in the postcards? A deeper meaning? A code? Maybe a mystery lesson or two?

SAM: Or to deceive you about where they actually were?

TALIESIN: Or just a postcard.

LIAM: You also say though that time is like a soup, right? It acts a little weird, maybe.

LAURA: Time is a soup?

ERIKA: What does the handwriting look like? Are there stamps? (laughter)

MATT: There aren't stamps. They're more like colorful letters with painting, hand painted elements of different locations across Exandria and a note on them.

LAURA: Like a little painting of the location so you can see what it looked like. Well, okay, okay, okay. The city of Aeor, does it look like ruins or does it look like a city that they painted?

MATT: It looks like a city.

LIAM: What I'm saying is--

TALIESIN: I think it's just a painting.

LIAM: What I've heard about your home, from you and from others, is that time is slippery. Maybe there have been a little hopping around. You follow me?

ASHLEY: I follow you, for sure.

LIAM: What else you got in that stack?

ASHLEY: I think that's entirely possible.

TRAVIS: Have FCG read that Aeor postcard and see if something pops up.

LAURA: But that's not possible.

SAM: Sure, can I see that postcard?

ASHLEY: Sure.

LIAM: For us, no.

ASHLEY: Got that one.

TRAVIS: Maybe use your fancy lenses.

ASHLEY: Here's the whole stack.

SAM: (speaking gibberish) I'm just kidding. (laughter)

SAM: It just looks like a postcard.

MARISHA: Nothing, nothing? Look harder.

SAM: Okay, I will cast Identify on it.

MATT: Okay.

TALIESIN: If this turns into something more than a postcard...

LIAM: It is a postcard of storm giant strength.

TALIESIN: It is, in fact, a postcard of divergence.

MARISHA: (laughs) Postcard of divergence.

TALIESIN: You can keep sending it and sending it.

MARISHA: (laughs)

MATT: So they're not magical. Identify focuses more on the magical aspects of things. I will say, as part of what you are, you gather these are handmade and hand painted, and all by the same handwriting.

TRAVIS: You guys, come on. There's something in the postcards to their daughter. Come on.

MARISHA: What if you look at like the first letter of each one?

SAM: First letter of each one?

MARISHA: Of every one in--

SAM: And it spells a sentence.

MARISHA: You can put it in order that it says something.

ASHLEY: The first letter, that's always F.

SAM: Oh, Fearne, yeah. I meant the first letter of the second word.

ASHLEY: Well, I mean, I doubt it. But, I mean--

SAM: Maybe tonight when we rest, someone can take a couple minutes to look at them and see if there's any patterns.

MARISHA: I love puzzles.

SAM: Oh, great.

MARISHA: I was alone a lot. So, you know, little brain teaser.

SAM: Sure.

ASHLEY: Fun, okay.

LIAM: You are a puzzle.

MARISHA: (chuckles)

SAM: Where are we staying tonight?

TRAVIS: Not the same place.

SAM: Ashton, do you know other places around here?

TALIESIN: I'm pretty sure I do.

MATT: You do know of one. Well, the Raha Den, you've not frequented often before. This one, you have frequented in the past. It is in some of the shadier regions in the outskirts of the western side of Bassuras, a location known as The Undercarriage.

TALIESIN: Oh yeah.

MATT: It is a rugged caravan-serai on the surface. A whole series of stairways and tunnels lead to the rooms which are all subterranean beneath. It is like a-- If the rooms didn't have beds, it could very well be a dungeon. But the beds are decent.

ERIKA: Do you know-- Never mind.

MATT: (laughs) I mean, you'll probably find a few rooms from there, too.

TALIESIN: It's the Rubble and Break, right?

MATT: Yeah.

TALIESIN: All right. Good beer.

MATT: With that in mind, you follow Ashton's lead, towards The Undercarriage for another night's rest. As your minds swim with the revelations of the day, we'll pick up from there next week.

ERIKA: (screams)

TALIESIN: That's an awful lot of lore.

MARISHA: Still got to ask you about the dream because you dropped that, and then a lot of other shit happened.

MATT: I didn't expect a lot of lore to hit back to back to back to back, but sometimes that's how it works.

ERIKA: (screams)

TRAVIS: That was rich. Rich!

SAM: A lot of lore.

LAURA: So much shit.

MARISHA: A lot of shit.

MATT: Now you have a week to digest.

LIAM: Hold on, I'm going to save the game.

MATT: We'll take a week to sit on these revelations. We'll pick up from there next time.

MARISHA: Marinate, marinate.

MATT: Marinate, let it set. But until then, thank you so much for joining us. We love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night. (cheering)