Venture Forth: A D&D Podcast
Venture Forth is an RPG based narrative podcast developed by a group of actors, entertainers, and friends. Through the use of detailed storytelling, committed role-playing, and a completely original swath of tone-setting music, our goal is to create an immersive and theatrical narrative experience without sacrificing the warmth and comfort of playing with your buddies. Thanks for checking us out, and may your adventures be epic! All music composed by Shane O'Loughlin.
Venture Forth: A D&D Podcast
C2 E9 | Courage Mounteth With Occasion
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Venture Forth is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast. We play 5th edition (5e) Dungeons and Dragons in a home-brew D&D actual play setting. Our campaign takes place in the high fantasy realm of Elbor. A world of monsters, heroes and epic tales to be told. D&D is a TTRPG, a tabletop roleplaying game, also known as an RPG. Our gameplay is perfect for beginners to Dungeons and Dragons from episode 1.
Olma Marsk is played by Rebecca Hausman, Flynn Felloweave is played by Russ Bartek, March is played by Bridget Black, Ceallach is played by Shane O'Loughlin, Seeker is played by Rodney Campbell, and the DM is played by Ethan Ralphs and Seth Fowler.
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SPEAKER_09Hi, I'm Ilya Ramsay. Philippa.
SPEAKER_13Vale. So I'm your DM Seth. Welcome to Venture Fourth.
SPEAKER_03Gather round ye gentles. I've another tale to tell of woe-begotten heroes and repentant now duels, of villains and their scheming and the fools that heed the call. Sweet melodies to ensure that they venture. For they venture, dueling dragons in a dungeon, topping trolls till the toes are peeled. Of course they venture. For they venture, thou mayest have to trust a notch fate when a devil's at thy heels. When last we left our heroes in the tavern or a cave. They dispatched a doctor's laser, found some sun and stops to sleep. There's a mate with much ambition. There's a more connected gate. The real friend's a politician.
SPEAKER_13When last we left our heroes. We saved people. You guys did. Your heroes? We did. You guys are your second day on the road brought rain and mist and the steady eyes of the Freywood, tracking your passage through the trees. Before eight hours of travel, and the cresting of a hill laid open a scene of carnage. Lizard folk corpses strewn across the claim, human remains on tables, and far more questions and answers. But a chained bunkhouse door with a posted warning perhaps promised some kind of information. The warning nailed to the bunkhouse door was plain enough, but what was inside was anything but. As the chains fell away and the door swung open, two figures awaited you all in eerie silence. Miners once, now transformed by some fell force, they no longer remembered what they had been and attacked. The fight was brief and brutal. But when it was done, the party made a careful inspection of what remained. Within the footlockers of the six miners, that presumably were once here, five pristine gold pieces and individual coin sacks, far more than their normal wages. Hush money, paid to workers who found something someone wished to keep quiet.
unknownHush money.
SPEAKER_13But the extra gold hadn't saved them. Philippa and Vale examined the bodies closely, and what they found in the bone and sinew and muscle was unmistakable to Philippa's practiced eye, a gangrenous corruption, a physical mark of whatever fell force had transformed these people into the abominations they became. And while they worked, Shaw, Ramsay, and Ilya continued their investigation of the surrounding buildings and the staged caravan. The stables provided a potential means of departure, three Orochs, alive and restless in their stalls, but the warehouse yielded something far more significant. Behind a heavy door in a heavily fortified safe room were the surviving miners, and among them, Tom Forger and Senecalder, battered, wounded, exhausted, but alive. A heavy weight lifted from Ilya at the side of her childhood friend, and in the warmth of that reunion, as the relief of the survivors filled the room, Ramsay stepped quietly forward and pressed a good berry into Ilya's hand for her friend. A small thing, but an important one. As we return to this moment, Ilya, you have just given Dom the Goodberry. You see as his weight goes and shifts away from the very heavily wounded leg that you can see to sort of straddling his full stance. And he breathes in a sigh of relief. And you see as the survivors begin to filter out into the space as they see the light for the first time in who knows how long. But uh Dom is standing there and he pushes back from you, and he You know, one of these days, I'm gonna have to save you again.
SPEAKER_09Well, you'll have your chances, trust me.
SPEAKER_13One can only hope. Um, everybody, um, yeah, just just spread out. Um, let's get out of here. And you see, as a number of figures kind of come forward, you recognize some of them. Um, you see, of course, Dom and Senna both are, like I said, pretty heavily wounded. Um you see that uh almost everybody is um stripped down to their small clothes, um, and there is no no gear, no weapons of any kind. The room is completely sparse and empty. The lizard folk left nothing in here with them. Um the stench is pretty unbearable. Um, but they all begin to filter out, and um you also recognize two other figures. You uh see um Maren Valdis, who you recognize as the uh the healer who is like stationed in shifts here at the mine for injuries. Um, and you see that among the uh the people coming out, you see a stocky dwarvish woman with a sort of like very uh like a short, not quite a bob, but like shoulder length cut hair that is pulled back into a very tight uh braid. Um you recognize Dagra, the um the foreman, uh or forewoman, I should say, of the of the mine. Um but they all begin to filter out as the three of you uh begin to take stock and kind of see everybody um as they are. Um and you hear like cries for like water, is there any water? And just like several voices. All told there's um around 25 uh or so minors, um, plus um Dom, Senna, Maren, and Dagra.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, is when we were looking through all the buildings, did we see like the central mess hall where we can guide folks to and then the injured to fill for one of the cabins?
SPEAKER_13You guys uh you you saw a number of buildings, um, but you're not sure which one is the mess offhand. Um, but uh yeah, you're not you're not sure.
SPEAKER_09I I'll I'll go up to to Dagra and be like, can we gather everyone to the mess and then I can take the injured to Phil?
SPEAKER_13I uh what happened to the lizard folk? Where are they?
SPEAKER_09We don't know.
SPEAKER_13They're gone. Dead.
SPEAKER_09We think there was a creature monster that came from the mine.
SPEAKER_13They're all gone. Dead. Thank you, gods. Alright, uh, yeah, everyone. Let's uh let's go to the miss. And you see as several of the survivors, and this Dabra just kind of like stops, she turns to you, puts her hand on your shoulder and looks at the three of you. You've uh well and she just turns and kind of looks at the room that they were all locked in, and you see as like kind of a shudder goes through her sh her body, and she sets her jaw. I wouldn't have liked to know what might have happened if we'd been left.
SPEAKER_09We're gonna have some questions for you, but I can wait.
SPEAKER_13I'd imagine so. Hopefully I'll have some answers. But um first, and you see like her like her ever all of them are talking, kind of like I am right now. Like their voices are like are raw. Yeah, yeah. Um they're you know, they've had to clear their throat. You can see that they're they keep like swallowing, uh trying to get moisture into their mouths. Um they're all, like I said, like severely dehydrated. Um but uh you see is most of the body most of those people begin to move out. Um, and Dom and Senna uh sort of come over to the three of you guys.
SPEAKER_02Um I'm outside. You're oh that's right. You left. Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_13I would have been inside.
SPEAKER_02I'm like sitting on the stoop, basically, just kind of like fed away.
SPEAKER_13Okay, cool, cool, cool. Um, so the two of you are just inside. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I would have at some point, if uh as this was going on and they were escorting people out, once everyone seemed to be more or less secured, I would make my way over to those boxes. Okay. Potentially, um I don't want to make a big deal of it. So like I'll kind of stroll that way, I'll hold people up, move my way, get get to the boxes, and I don't want to take a look at them. Cool. Whatever.
SPEAKER_13All right, I'll I'll probably get back to that. Um, but Ilya, you see, as Dom and Santa are kind of with you. You see it happen, and you didn't actually, I don't think, know this. Um Marin is, you see, Marin is like tall, thin, uh, tall, thin male with like very thin features. Um, you see like very dirty spectacle glasses. Um, he's got like this sort of like uh frumpy blonde, sandy blonde hair um that probably normally is done kind of nice, but is now just like filthy dirty. Um and uh he um Senna and he um you see like there's kind of a squeeze of the hand that lingers for just a minute as uh Marin um looks at Senna and then looks at all of you guys. Thanks. That's um I'm just glad y'all showed up. Um and he turns to Senna. I'll see you in there and turns and kind of limps away. Um just a brief moment of of overt affection between the two of them.
SPEAKER_09My main focus after the group starts headed out towards um the mess halls and everything is I grab Dom by like the elbow and like help take some weight off of his leg.
SPEAKER_13He his big meaty arm like drapes over your shoulders and he's still yeah, he's like he's he starts walking. I guess there's no sense in staying in here and he starts walking out of the out of the warehouse with you. Everything's dead? All of them?
SPEAKER_09I mean, they're not here, but we don't know if they're dead.
SPEAKER_13Did you kill them? Well no, they're lizard folk.
SPEAKER_09They were gone before we got here. Looks like there was a struggle again. I don't know what it was, but we um we heard something.
SPEAKER_13We heard a lot of screaming. But we weren't But we weren't sure, and then no one came, but god I could have done that.
SPEAKER_09When's the last time they took one of you? The lizard folk.
SPEAKER_13Um, and he kind of thinks hard to and he looks back and you see again there's no windows in that safe room, right? And he he kinda you see him kind of doing the mental math and says and as Seth does the mental math. Well, I've s we've slept three times since the screams. We've been trying to get out, but they took everything we had, and I mean that fucking room is also designed to not let people in or Well, out, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_13Well Yeah, it's been um I think it's been about three days since anybody came in and took anybody.
SPEAKER_09So I guess it's been probably three days since that thing, whatever it was. When you get out here, you'll see what I'm I'm talking about. It's kinda hard to explain.
SPEAKER_13We left um a couple of days ago. But um well, we moved pretty fast when we're traveling, just the two of us, and he looks over to Santa and and then he kind of leans down and he like kind of whispers to you because Santa wanted to get here sooner, so we pushed past the way house and just traveled through the night. So, um That makes sense. We were tired and we didn't um we didn't see him. And he kind of like reaches down to the wound in his leg, and I mean there was like almost ten of them, so we didn't really stand much of a chance. I'm surprised they kept us alive at all. And you see, he's like, I mean, yeah, they're they're pretty fucked up, both of them.
SPEAKER_09Um We need to send an animal message to Daggett as soon as possible.
SPEAKER_13Right, yeah. Um and at this point now you've kind of crossed out of the warehouse and into the into the rain and now into the outside. Um at this point now the sun is the light's starting to fade. Um it's getting on towards evening. And you see as Dom gets out and he like takes a big deep breath of like the fresh air, and he's like, oh my god. And you see as a bunch of like as you get outside, you can see that most of them are just like standing there in the rain, just like like open, their mouths are open, and you can see that some are like they've basically scattered to like different little like places where rainwater is collected and they're like drinking greedily from all of these different little pockets and places, um, whether it's like the tops of barrels or like one of them standing like under the eave of one of the roofs, just like getting drenched in water, um, as the cold, you know, spring rain is just like they're all doing their best. You see, a few of them puke um as they are too deep, they drink too much and like it's kind of a mess. Um but um you I will say that probably at this point the two of you have finished what you're doing and you see like across the way because you hear noises, and yeah, you hear like people and voices start coming.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, once we hear things, I would imagine once as soon as we heard even just like the start to hear like voices, voices, you guys hear voices, like more than normal carry. So as you guys are because we'd be like, I'm I would imagine I would like turn and be like, who's out there? Bill. And I like run.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, you take off, duster flaring behind you as you guys bust out of the bunkhouse that you guys are in, and you can see kind of across the camp, a couple hundred yards away, you can see people are just beginning to emerge from the warehouse. You see, again, as described, everybody's in their small clothes, pretty much basically naked. Um, and yeah, just like doing exactly right, just looking for water.
SPEAKER_07Um, but you see as they come into to eyesight. Look there!
SPEAKER_03Is that not the hero veil? The veil from the sky?
SPEAKER_13From the stars above, and you see as like everybody's like, all these people like everybody turns and looks to see Phil and uh and Vale made her way across the death. Alright.
SPEAKER_09Phil, is there uh is there a cabin that all the injured should go to so we can treat them? Not the obviously the one cabin, but I don't fucking know.
SPEAKER_12Why would I know that?
SPEAKER_08This is the first time I've been here too. Who the fuck is here? Dom! Sit up!
SPEAKER_13You see, hey Phil. Um, you see, yeah, you see Dom is like draped over everywhere.
SPEAKER_12Uh where where were they?
SPEAKER_09Uh in the building that we were checking out across the uh the caravan where we left it. Or where it was left.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I start looking at everybody that I see, um, and I'm sure I see Dagra.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, you see Dagra. For sure.
SPEAKER_09How long were they in there? Uh probably about three days.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_09They need water, but some of them have bigger injuries, and I'm like, you see Dom in his legs.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, and I see Marin. I was like, well, Marin's here, so he's gonna do a lot more work than I can.
SPEAKER_09We're all gonna need help.
SPEAKER_12I I understand.
SPEAKER_13How many are there? Approximately almost 30. There's like 27 or something like that. 26, 27.
SPEAKER_12Dagra!
SPEAKER_13Uh, hey. Hey, Phil. Um Nice to see you.
SPEAKER_11Good to see you.
SPEAKER_13Thanks for uh for making it for coming. Um, who sent you? Did she get my my note?
SPEAKER_12No note was received.
SPEAKER_07And I'm like getting up, I've I've flung Luther over my back, and I I look like a wet dog. Yeah. I do not have the appropriate attire for this. Um uh believe we happened across uh No Well, this is Dagra.
SPEAKER_04You're the one that put the sign on the door, were you not?
SPEAKER_13Um yes.
SPEAKER_04Um We could not read it. The handwriting was illegible, but I did make out your name.
SPEAKER_13Um and she like looks are the um That's great. Make a deception check.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that was so good.
SPEAKER_13Uh uh, both of you guys make deception checks on me.
SPEAKER_07Come on, Ramsey, old boy. Uh 12. 12? Okay, 11, sorry. Okay. I don't know.
SPEAKER_12I'm a plus zero. Oh no, but I rolled a 19. Oh.
SPEAKER_13Um, yeah, you see, she kind of like there's a moment of like confusion. Sure. And but then she just like weird? Yeah, she's just dehydrated. Except she also she also doesn't recognize you, right? She has no idea who you are. Um she recognizes Phil, she recognizes Ilya. Um, but she uh oh fuck. Are they um dead?
SPEAKER_04Everyone inside, I'm afraid.
unknownShit.
SPEAKER_04Do you know what what happened to them?
SPEAKER_10Um let's get out of the water and start getting everyone settled, and and I would like to know.
SPEAKER_13I I'll um tell you what I can. And um you see she kind of also like looks around to see like who is nearby as she kinda acquiesces to this idea. Um to the mess. Um, I think everybody needs some food. And she like walks across and kind of together, uh most of the way. Most of you guys make your way across the the grounds to the mess. Um, I am gonna come back to Shaw, who is inside of the warehouse still. You've managed to linger behind and you see the boxes. Um, they are nailed shut, um, as far as you can tell, but you're as everybody leaves, you are alone in here.
SPEAKER_14How many boxes and how big?
SPEAKER_13Um there are uh six boxes. They're probably like two and a half, three, three feet, probably three feet by three feet by three feet. Like just kind of a standard like crate. Okay. Um, like a shipping crate. Yeah, three by three by three.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I mean, are they all stacked up together?
SPEAKER_13Yeah, they're they're basically all like to there's like yeah, two rows of three. Um, so they're like they're not stacked on top of one another. There's just like they're lined up. And as you look around, you do see that there are uh other crates and things like that. There are barrels, there are crates, there are what look like mining carts with like canvas wraps over the top of them that are oiled.
SPEAKER_14It seems like this is other stuff that was set and ready to go to get packed up in caravan.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, there's a lot here. This is as you look at it, you can see like this is the bulk of everything that was here. Um for the most part, there are um uh most of it that you can see is like ore. Um, you know, if you bother to like pull up the canvases and stuff like that, you can see that it's yeah, that it's mostly ore. Um you don't see any like gems or anything like that that are here.
SPEAKER_14I'll mose my way over to one of the crates and I'll flip out my dagger and stick it in there. Okay. Pry up the top one, the closest one.
SPEAKER_13Easy enough to do is you open it up, you can see that there is a um there is a uh like a series of basically um uh glass or clay jars um that are just like lined up in uh what looks like packed straw. Um there are six, like so thro one, two, three, one, two, three. Um, and they are, yeah, they're just kind of like these sort of bulbous, almost like a cord, um, and they all have just like lamp oil on them. Yeah.
SPEAKER_14Um, in my workings with certain people, would I know what I should look for? Yeah.
SPEAKER_13I mean it would never it would never be on top.
SPEAKER_14Right. So I will I will kind of pick up one of the lamp oil bottles and kind of dig through the. I'm guessing it's sitting in some straw and some kind of like hay or whatever. Yeah, yeah. I'll kind of dig down and I'm kind of feel around and see if I can find something else.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, as you dig around and you feel down, once you get past that first layer of straw, you can see that there are um, like once you get past the first layer where all the bottles are like um they're horizontal, you get to kind of a secondary layer beneath all the straw, and you can see you feel what feels like a crate with multiple uh like liquid, what's like a like a milk crate would be where there's like uh sort of liquid um uh glass jars that are like sealed and standing upright, packed in amongst the straw.
SPEAKER_14Under the mountain of the top, yeah. I'll pull one out.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, as you look, you see this sort of like it's this uh oh man. Make a poisoners check. Okay. How do I do that? This is gonna be uh this is gonna be your professional. It's plus your wisdom modifier. I'll say it's your proficiency bonus. What do you use to poison? Is it your wisdom or let me look? Um It'll be uh yeah, your proficiency plus. It's not deck space, it's either wisdom or intelligence, I think. Right. So it's whichever modifier you use for your poisoning, that'll be what it is. Um wisdom's one. Yeah, plus one super and intelligence is zero, so it'd be your wisdom. So it's just a it's just a dumbest comment. Um it's d20 plus your proficiency bonus, which is two plus one. So it's d20 plus three. Okay. Uh because because I will say that because of your background specifically, you can make this check with advantage. Love that for me.
SPEAKER_14Yeah. Plus three. Uh huh.
unknownGot this.
SPEAKER_14What is it, Ronnie? That's real good. I'll do it again. I'm gonna get a 20. Did I get a 20? You didn't, but it's okay.
SPEAKER_00Line it!
SPEAKER_14What was the total? Okay, so it was uh 19 plus three, so 22. Oh wow, 22. That's real good.
SPEAKER_00Okay, um he's good at this.
SPEAKER_14Okay. Yeah, so it's pryed up.
SPEAKER_13Um look around, dig under, pull out one of the vials, and so this, oh boy, you have seen this substance. Um, uh-huh, uh-huh. It's my favorite. We love it when he does that. Okay, um, so uh as you pull up one of them, um, you see inside is kind of a like a viscous, kind of thick liquid. Um and you actually recognize this because you've seen it before. And you know that occasionally it does move through um, it moves through the red thorn. Uh this is unrefined rush.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, baby. Droga.
SPEAKER_13So it is it is Oh, is that raw? It needs to be um basically in this form. It's it needs an additional stage of processing, but it is the requisite sort of raw substance. Um, effectively, it needs to be like suspended in some additional materials before it can be uh well with that check, you know that rush is an injectable drug favored by um fighters um and soldiers. Um remind me of it. Yeah, so it's gives you um so rush is a it's an injectable, yeah. Um and you know that um it is very high risk, very high reward. Um when you take it and you inject it, it effectively um gives you the benefits of a short rest, like immediately. Wow. Um but it the drawback is is that it can also fuck you up. Um and it comes with a lot of consequences if used repeatedly.
SPEAKER_14Okay.
SPEAKER_13Some really, really harsh drawbacks.
SPEAKER_14Do I know the the if I were to use it now somehow, yeah, what would happen? Do I know like this is why we refine it?
SPEAKER_13Uh yeah. You oh if you use it now, yeah. Yeah, it would be like it's just or what it is like poison can be. It could none of the benefits on all the drawbacks. It could, it could uh in this form, uh-huh, and it also has to be injected. That's the way that it like it works. And so it doesn't work when it's consumed. If you consume it, it's likely that it will just make you sick.
SPEAKER_14Um, and then I guess as the kit and the carries that I have, yeah. Do I I'm assuming I have like the the means to inject like in my all my pouches and my because I have the poisons and everything, would I have an injectable in my on my hip in my pouches?
SPEAKER_13The trouble with this is this is a an illicit substance, not necessarily a poison. You've seen it before, you haven't worked with it before. So you would have to like do some experimentation if you were to try um to to refine it and make it work. Oh, I wouldn't refine it. Um, you're just gonna try it? No, I'm not gonna take it. I'm just saying I'm just I'm okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_14I'm gonna heal like if I if I were to have the means to inject it, yeah. I I'm assuming I would. I'll I'll I'll keep one if I could. Like I'll look at my pouch and be like, okay, I have a a syringe or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_13You could I mean, yeah, you could keep a jar. I will pocket it. Okay, cool. Um cool. You also, because you're rummaging through here, so I'm assuming you kind of check a couple of things.
SPEAKER_14I'll see if they're all the same color, all rust on unrefined rust.
SPEAKER_13So as you uh unrefined rust. That's just you.
SPEAKER_00There's you in a back.
SPEAKER_13Hey! No, no, no. You have to find it we found it. Um the uh as you go through, you see that there are other similar-sized jars. There is one that, or there are some that do not have that same liquid in them at all. Uh instead, you see a very thick, viscous, uh, like red uh material. Um, it is a deep uh deep red. You're actually very familiar with this. Um it is um redthorn resin. Okay. So redthorn resin is the um, this is like the the substance that actually is is brewed into a lot of the uh the vitals, I think that's how you say that word. Uh the like um the wines and the drinks and the cocktails that are made at the red thorn. Uh comes from a redthorn vine, which is native to the Freywood um only, and it grows in like the deeper parts of the forest. It's known because the the thorns are like very sort of dark and then they fade to a very bright red at the tip. Um this resin, uh, when again compounded into like uh consumables produces like a very like euphoric sort of effect. It's basically like uh yeah, it's a drug. Now both of these are drugs. Love that.
SPEAKER_14I'll pocket that too. Okay. I'll take one of each. One of each undefined unrefined uh rush.
SPEAKER_13You have unrefined rush, and you can read it.
SPEAKER_12Your boss is gonna open up the screen and be like, maybe.
SPEAKER_13There's some missing stuff in here, maybe but you're yeah, you're able to take a vial of each. So you have uh I you have one jar of unrefined rush, one jar of redthorn resin.
SPEAKER_14Love that. I'll I'll uh I'll start down with the back of the dagger. Okay. Um we'll be back for you in a minute. I'll head back out.
SPEAKER_13Okay. As we go over to everybody else, you guys are making your way to uh the um to the mess.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, how does um daggra look?
SPEAKER_13Uh not good. Um, everybody here almost for the most part has uh some form of of wound. Um well, not everybody, excuse me. Uh I think I mentioned this at the end of last episode. Some of them don't have any wounds. So they're just hungry. And you can you you um uh it would appear that Marin, between Marin Senna and um and Dom, some of these people have been able to be tended to um of the worst of their wounds. But um, yeah, there are there but Dagra um is still sporting wounds, she apparently uh refused.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, so as I'm following um with her walking to the mess, I'm gonna I'm gonna put my hand on her back um to like kind of walk with her.
SPEAKER_13Yeah.
SPEAKER_12Um and I will um cast cure wounds.
SPEAKER_13Okay, cool. Um, yeah, as you cast cure wounds, you see she like and But I like won't make a big deal.
SPEAKER_12Yeah. Like it's gonna be really kind of like it's not a subtle spell, obviously. Like people would know if they were paying attention. Right.
SPEAKER_13Um You guys are kind of in the back of the group. She's walking with you.
SPEAKER_12I don't want to make it a big deal so that because I know she'll refuse if I ask or try to do it.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, and there is a moment of like she like she breathes in deep and then she kind of looks at you and you see the brow kind of furrows a little bit. Thank you, she walks a little bit easier.
SPEAKER_10Don't even mention it.
SPEAKER_13I won't.
SPEAKER_12Um, and yeah, I don't know if it matters how much she gets back.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, go ahead and roll for me.
SPEAKER_12And um And I use um my mark of healing for that, so it's not even It's not even a thing.
SPEAKER_13Okay, go ahead and roll for me. Um as you guys walk to the mess, you can see that all of the people, um the miners, um, are looking around at like, and there's still bodies everywhere. Yeah, and you can see some of them are like whispering, Dom, next to you.
SPEAKER_12What the hell did this 17 points of healing?
SPEAKER_13Awesome. She's full of it. Wow. Um, you see, yeah, she like takes a big deep breath, and she you can see that like she was kind of like hunched over to one side and she like straightens up. You can see that there is a I mean she's basically naked. So you see that there's a big gash across her left side from some form of crude cleaving weapon um that like as as you cast your spell, what what happens? Does it just is that is that that same blue white light?
SPEAKER_12No, so I use my oh what's different. Yeah, so um as I um like my collar is all flipped up, so I don't think anyone sees anything. Yeah, because my collar is is uh kind of pulled up. Um so you don't see anything. Um you just hear me like um like on as I like pat her back and kind of move my collar like pull my collar up a little bit more, almost like to hunt it under the against the wind in the water. Um I I touch the back of my neck while I do that. Um almost as if the same thing, like pulling up my collar, massaging the muscle out, um, and uh you know, like murmur under my breath as I'm and then I'm you know touching her back, yeah.
SPEAKER_13The cesarean cantations spoken, you see the the wound in her side, plus a dozen other like cut, scrapes, bruises. Um, you know, her cheek has like this mottled purple, yellow, nasty bruise that just like vanishes and goes away as she's brought back to full health. Um and uh yeah, she like like I said, she kind of looks at you slightly disapprovingly, but also very grateful for the for the help. Um as Dom you see is scoping out the bodies and seeing the the the way in which everything was killed, and you see him he says to you, looks down at you as you're kind of like supporting his way. What the hell did this?
SPEAKER_09We don't know. This thing disappeared.
SPEAKER_13And he like squats down and he looks at it, like investigates it very, very closely. And you see his eyes like very alert look up at you. I've never seen anything like that. The whole place is like this.
SPEAKER_09And I like point to the gate if we can see it, and just blast it open.
SPEAKER_13And you see as he like does this whistle, and it's like it mimics one of the bird calls that you heard very frequently, and like a moment later, you see as like this small sort of red-chested, uh, sort of uh almost like a r-a robin, um, like a like an inverted version of a blue jay, like the same sort of crest and uh cardinal, I suppose, would be the closest what it would look like. Um this sort of cardinal comes down and and it like just perches straight into his hand. You see as he like moves his hand um and whispers an incantation under his breath um and speaks to to the bird. Attack it. Ilya and the group have arrived. Santa and I are safe. Twenty-six is total survivors. We'll make our way back as soon as we can. And the bird flames off into the into the night and just beelines it.
SPEAKER_09And next time we do that, immediately when you get somewhere.
SPEAKER_13It was dark. They came out of nowhere. I know we were tired. I'm just saying. They hit me in the leg with a spear right away.
SPEAKER_08I'm just saying if you're gonna snip an outpost, won't worry me as much next time. Ugh.
SPEAKER_13And hearing the like actual like tremor in your voice, he stands up and he reaches out and he puts his hand on your shoulder. I'll do that moving forward. Great. Come on, you big oaf. Oh, shut up. And he like puts his his uh his shoulder and you realize like he doesn't really need to help. He just wants the comfort of you close.
SPEAKER_09Oh yeah, he would crush me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_13A lot of his weight is on you, but he just is holding you close. Um, and as you guys make your way to the mess, we go, oh god.
SPEAKER_06Other people are noticing the bodies.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I will subtly sort of like look over toward Vale and I'll be like, didn't stand a chance. And just kind of like intimate that it was Vale who killed all these lizards. No contest at all. Just yeah, quiet reassurances.
SPEAKER_13And as you s as you see, Dom with his very perceptive ears, uh, unless you wanted that to be, you wanted that to be broadcasted, is that right?
SPEAKER_07I'm I'm I'm trying to make it as subtle as I can.
SPEAKER_06I'm like applying to the you know, I would uh infer are a little less educated. Is anybody I can convince is that?
SPEAKER_13Alright, cool. Uh yeah, you see some of the miners and the like sort of normal people of the thing, they like sudden they look over at you and then they like look at Vale and they have like a sudden appraising look. You see as they like look him up and down, and you're like they're like, and some whispers start to start to like, do you think did he do that?
SPEAKER_15Do they do that? I have a question for you real quick. Um as as Ramsey says that I take another look at the carnage.
SPEAKER_16Have I seen Carnage like this before? Yeah. Yeah, you have some more recently.
SPEAKER_13Some more recently. And I think that's a good time to go to break.
SPEAKER_09What a great clip. We'll see you in a minute, stick around!
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SPEAKER_13As we return. Veil. Um, very specifically the the foot. While you were running through the halls, yeah, there was a corridor where you came across a group that looked like this.
SPEAKER_12The halls?
SPEAKER_13Okay. When you were making your way.
SPEAKER_15Going getting back to the apparatus. Yeah. Yeah. To the apparatus. Yeah, I remember that.
SPEAKER_13Yeah. We were all there.
SPEAKER_15Okay. In that one location.
SPEAKER_13You didn't see the same thing though. You didn't see what did it. And it was so fast because you were just moving through.
SPEAKER_15Yeah, I was trying to get away.
SPEAKER_13You were trying to get somewhere. Um, and you didn't see what caused it, but you saw the aftermath of it.
SPEAKER_16Um, so with that, observation and it settling in finally, I start to lag behind a little as I'm looking at it more closely. The concern is rising in me.
SPEAKER_12And Dagger and I pass him since we were at back.
SPEAKER_13Yeah. You pass up as you just sit there and you're looking. At this point, Dom and Ilya have also moved on. Um, and you guys, uh, unless there's anything else that anybody is doing specifically, you all arrive at the mess. Shaw, you join them a short time later.
SPEAKER_14I'll kind of follow the group as they're kind of leading to wherever they're going. Yeah.
SPEAKER_13Cool. Um, you guys walk into the mess. Um, in as you arrive at the mess, you can see that there are bedrolls. Um there are no lizard folk corpses in here. Um, it looks everything does look like it's left in a hurry. Um, as you arrive, there are certainly uh leavings from the lizard folks' meal that they were enjoying in here prior to. Um, and you can see that everybody just kind of like stays far away from those tables. Um, but people circuitously make their way into the back. Um, and you hear the cry come up that like the food is still there. Right, because they the lizard folk don't have any interest in human food. So the larder is pretty much untouched. Um, and you over the next couple of minutes, um, you see as the miners very quickly get together and start grabbing food and passing out water and and start about preparing a meal. But you guys are able to sit down um at a faraway table kind of away from the from the commotion. Um, and you're able to sit down with Dagra, Dom, Senna. So it's all of you guys kind of seated at a table. And um Dagra is um well um I've got some questions. I imagine you've got some questions, so what are your questions? Um well um you said that um my note never arrived.
SPEAKER_11No note arrived, no. Um Taggett sent us. Taggett sent us because Bavrolder told him that she was expecting a caravan that was never arrived.
SPEAKER_12So after four days, I mean w the day that you were to arrive in BlackRock, I believe Dominna was sent out.
SPEAKER_11A few days after that, when no one had heard from Dominna. We were sent.
SPEAKER_13I thought I timed it out right the runners were supposed to get there the day that um we were supposed to arrive. So there shouldn't have been any missing communication.
SPEAKER_12We did see some bodies.
SPEAKER_04Perhaps some atrocity befell them in the wilds.
SPEAKER_12We did see some bodies on the road.
SPEAKER_09Oh, right, yes, I forgot about that. I think they were killed by lizard folk and then their bodies were dragged out to the fields beyond the outpost.
unknownOh yeah.
SPEAKER_12We don't know what they were killed by. We didn't see anything.
SPEAKER_09I'm just putting one and two together, but true. We don't know what exactly it was.
SPEAKER_13One man and one woman.
SPEAKER_11I I think so.
SPEAKER_13Then you see she kind of just like it takes a second. Well, it takes that it does. She was supposed to know the first day that um well, she was supposed to be informed the day that we arrived. I held a caravan because um well, some of the miners fell sick.
SPEAKER_11I saw that.
SPEAKER_13Well, I d the last thing I wanted to do was um bring it back to town, so.
SPEAKER_11Why were they sick? What happened?
SPEAKER_13That you all have to ask Marin. I don't know. Fell ill several days ago.
SPEAKER_12Ill because they went down into the Freywood, or ill because they What? Did they come into contact with something? Uh we've seen this illness before, so. Sorry, did you say Sorry has I mean we've saw we've seen some of this illness before with um the minor that came back.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, you saw one. And so when you say we've seen this illness before, she sorry, I'm very confused here.
SPEAKER_04Um there's another there was a minor. And did you say you fell ill or just those just the six?
SPEAKER_11Jaro came back to town. Week and a half. Gone. Sick. He's passed.
SPEAKER_13You see her brow kind of knits in consternation.
SPEAKER_12If there's a contagion that is just common now in the mines, we we have to know this.
SPEAKER_13It was contagious, I think by now Meren would be sick, no? And you look over and you see Meren is sitting down, um like looks perfectly hail and healthy. Madon was alone with him the whole time treating him.
SPEAKER_04So Well, um what um but you don't know what was special about these people that were all in that sort of sort of um quarantine you set up? Are they all part of the same venture?
SPEAKER_16Around here, I'm I'm gonna be making my way in. Um and I'll sit with everybody.
SPEAKER_02I'm kind of sitting, we're at a table. Yeah, yeah. I'm sitting on the table with some feet on the bench. Yeah.
SPEAKER_13Um pertinent as always. I love it. Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_16Um I will do the same thing because I think that's what you do.
SPEAKER_09So it's the rest of us not doing that yet. You're like, no, I'm gonna do better.
SPEAKER_13It's a little awkward for you because you're six centers.
SPEAKER_12So it's all. We can't help if we don't know what happened. We were given a few, I don't know, tasks when we came out here. The first was to find what happened to the caravan, which seems like we've done. The second was to find Dominicna, which oh look at that, we've done that too. But we need to know what caused the delay in the first part, and I don't think, based on what you're telling me, that it has to do with the ambush you fought you faced.
SPEAKER_13Um, Phil, Vale, and Ramsey make persuasion checks.
SPEAKER_09Got it. You got it. It's so likable. Yes, he is so likable.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_12Um, yeah, I have no charisma, guys.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's each other, guys.
SPEAKER_07I have stuff for a total of 19. That's a thir 13 for me.
SPEAKER_1313, 12, 19. I'm rolling so good.
SPEAKER_12You are my charisma calling. We need you to be doing this.
SPEAKER_09I have root I'm I'm not in this. I I'm just sitting and waiting.
SPEAKER_13A few weeks back, um, before my shift, mind you. This was under classes watch. Um Classes? Classes. C K-L-A-A-S. Use the other foreman. We swap out some time ago. Jaro, um, well, he found something in the mine.
SPEAKER_10That's all he would say was that he found something in the mine. He was just on an endless loop almost.
SPEAKER_13I don't know what it was. Um, it looked like a it looked like um to be honest, I'd never seen anything like it. It was metal. Um flat. Had 14 sides on it. And um, well.
SPEAKER_12Did Jawa bring it. Do I remember if Jawa brought it back with him?
SPEAKER_13He did not bring it back. I sent it, uh Class sent it um back to Black Rock with the previous caravan. So pretty much the last thing I know of it, but um truly before I got here um still under Class's watch. And she kind of looks over it like Dominna. And then just makes a decision. The six miners who fell ill found something down in the mine. Set of doors. Chamber.
SPEAKER_04And this object was in the chamber?
SPEAKER_13No, the object was found nearby. It wasn't inside. It was found outside of the chamber itself.
SPEAKER_04So the object um has not to do with the illness by circumstance?
SPEAKER_13No. Not that I know anyway.
SPEAKER_04The object um happened to say drink light out of the air. Anything like that.
SPEAKER_13Oh it I mind you, I only heard about it through class. I I never saw it myself. Um But the stone uh it does as you say.
SPEAKER_16Where's the stone?
SPEAKER_13It's uh it's in the chamber as far as I know.
SPEAKER_12Uh Were those six the only men who went into the chamber? And all six are ill?
SPEAKER_13They spend um send them in. Well didn't send them, they just went. Curiosity. They um they tried open the doors, um and um well it's uh it was a sort of long hallway and then uh a big chamber. Um and you see her eyes get like really hard to explain.
SPEAKER_11Oh lines and patterns and like runes. A language?
SPEAKER_13I don't know.
SPEAKER_14Is this what they told you?
SPEAKER_13I've seen it. I've been down there. And you're not ill.
SPEAKER_04Right. But you went not into the chamber itself.
SPEAKER_13No, I've I've been. Um there's um only for a time, mind you.
SPEAKER_11Um So you don't know why the six miners are ill, but you're not ill.
SPEAKER_14What did they do that you didn't? It's ill. I don't know.
SPEAKER_10Did you come into contact with this with this stone?
SPEAKER_13There's uh bits of it throughout, yeah. Uh you perhaps just have such strong constitution. I'm Torvish, so maybe.
SPEAKER_06I give a meaningful look over to the naysayers to our adventure.
SPEAKER_13Um my people are um more resilient than most. Um poisons don't affect us as harshly.
SPEAKER_12But um So you could guide us to where we're where this chamber is.
SPEAKER_16I could, I I would like to see it.
SPEAKER_13Then um in the middle of the chamber there was a sort of um a box. Like a like a like a um a almost like a like a coffin made with metal and glass. Inside there was a stone, a big, great big stone, and she like looks and kind of measures it out on the table almost. It's large, probably I don't know, seven, eight feet at least.
SPEAKER_16And then elbow you.
SPEAKER_13And um inside uh it was a a large stone. Uh it was strange that And she just throws up her hands. It's like light our torches, our lamps, and if it works the way it's supposed to down there, it doesn't go as far, it doesn't work like it should. It's like it's like the light gets swallowed. But the stone emits light, it's and she kind of like looks around for support, but then realizes no one there knows what she's talking about. I can't I can I explain it. It's something you just have to see. But there's like it's but there's bits of the stone throughout, and the men were gathering portions of it.
SPEAKER_14Did you ever touch the stone?
SPEAKER_13I I touched it. Not all of them, just the six. Plus he paid them extra. Um, only allowed them to work down there. Uh until such a time as we could sort out what it was, get word to Bavaralda and our direction.
SPEAKER_14So they were down there multiple times. Aye. And they weren't sick until Um later. It was an exposure thing.
SPEAKER_13They found it on the 27th. And didn't start to exhibit symptoms until the following day. But they were there for longer than you.
SPEAKER_04Days worth of mining as well. Right near pulling it out of the stone.
SPEAKER_13Near two, yeah. We couldn't um trying to figure out how to get the sort of box out, but it didn't want to move.
SPEAKER_04So it's still down there, this box.
SPEAKER_13Oh I it's it's heavy, but um.
SPEAKER_14Did you feel weird when you're down there? Near a weird feeling or lethargy.
SPEAKER_13Yes. It's all the room, the song. Never seen anything like it. And it's not. There's not a spot of rest. Not damn near not a speck of test.
SPEAKER_14And you're the only thing living down there. You never saw anything else move.
SPEAKER_13Things I mean it's not unheard of for minds to run into things. Right. Things make their way in, or perhaps you hit a vein or a natural cavern extension that something crawls out of. It's not unheard of, especially in deep planes like this. But um well. As far as I know, no. There's nothing down there.
SPEAKER_14Uh Phil, did you ever get a chance to take a look at the other bodies that were in the room with those creatures? All of them were down there. Was there any signs of something they might have done differently? Had in their pockets scars, scratches, anything.
SPEAKER_13The only thing all of them had that, like their muscle and their bone had that like corruption, but only two of them had changed.
SPEAKER_12Yeah. No.
SPEAKER_14Can't think of what it would be.
SPEAKER_04We may just have to inspect ourselves.
SPEAKER_14Do we need to?
SPEAKER_04Yes. Yes, we do.
SPEAKER_14Just to double check here, we have her friends. We have the caravan. We have an idea of what happened. That's far more than we need to deliver to get our reward.
SPEAKER_11Well, you can see the caravan back if you so choose. But I'm going in to check it out.
SPEAKER_13Yes, we must as well. I s I sealed the chamber. So mind you, they discovered the the day that I arrived earlier. I didn't arrive until the evening. Class let me know when we, as part of our handoff, told me about it. The next day they fell ill. And well, I just thought it might be best to seal the chamber, who knows? But it was the only parallel I could draw between the men falling ill and I sealed it. And no one's been in since. But then the next day, they got worse. And then the following day we were supposed to leave, and they were even worse, and at that point I wasn't sure if it was something that would spread, so.
SPEAKER_04Had they at that point um manifested limbs, growths, anything like that?
SPEAKER_13Not to my knowledge, but again, Marin was the one who took over their care.
SPEAKER_12So you and them were the only ones that went into that area.
SPEAKER_04Um, I think he did. Has there um sorry, I'm a storyteller by trade. I know naught of um mining expeditions. Is there some kind of standing policy that your workers have as far as um discoveries they may find? I mean the fray would. Veritable treasure trove. Possible discoveries, no?
SPEAKER_13Everyone here is well, they're paid their labor. They don't um they're paid a wage. That's they don't own anything that's found in the claim at all, belongs to Buffalda. Sometimes. Those of us who are the four the foreman, we receive incentives. But the everyday work. Workers know they don't don't uh partake in the spoils.
SPEAKER_14Does class receive incentives?
SPEAKER_13Uh I don't follow.
SPEAKER_14Um other people.
SPEAKER_13I wouldn't know. Um I mean Class and I both get compensated well from Bravda Bravda. We when items or uh gems of particular value get discovered, there's a certain again incentive for us to report it. But as I understand, Jaro found the object that I described. Gosh more than two weeks ago now.
SPEAKER_04The fourteen-sided metal.
SPEAKER_13He found that. Uh then it was sent back with his caravan. Not under his care, mind you. But um with a caravan leader, I presume it's been given to Pavralda as part of the find of the claim.
SPEAKER_04And then once you found the chamber and then well that was when Klass returned.
SPEAKER_13Class found that the day that I arrived was the day that the chamber was found. It was found that morning. Klass, as far as I know, went in, as did the miners, and then that night we did our handoff. Class left the following morning, and then the miners fell ill that night.
SPEAKER_12It's not abnormal for a foreman to leave when a new foreman arrives.
SPEAKER_04I really know just this morning or whatever time it was.
SPEAKER_13He also told me about the extra coin that he had given to the men. All in the ledgers.
SPEAKER_04But the ones, uh the six that fell.
SPEAKER_13Aye.
SPEAKER_14I went into the chamber.
SPEAKER_13Yes, we didn't find any coin, but uh I believe you. And as I said, then the rest happened as I said. I they fell ill. When they didn't recover, I sealed the chamber, and then when they got worse and worse, fear and it was spread. I sent the runners and held up the caravan. Last thing I wanted to do was bring something back to town. Lord of Blackrock's had enough sickness over the years. Right. And then Well, um basically the evening, a few evenings later, suddenly the lizard folk arrived. They attacked in the night. And that's when er and uh Dom pipes up. How did they attack? And Diagra kind of turns. Attacked in the night. Most of us hadn't heard anything at all. No alarms went up. They um overwhelmed us. Half the men were dead in their beds before anybody knew anything was amiss. That's when Dom is like, and Dom is like. What? And then Dagra, she just like shrugs. And Dom turns to you guys. Speak your mind, friend. That's not normal. It is weird.
SPEAKER_11Couldn't there be a watcher?
SPEAKER_13Right. It would have been. Those are folks don't use tactics. They attack in the night. Daga, I an alarm didn't go up.
SPEAKER_04Aye. Is it possible it's one of those um Freywood uh mutations? Uh you know, where they grew double brains in their little lizard skulls.
SPEAKER_13Lizard folk are they're lizard folk are I mean they're smarter than m animals, but they don't Exactly Question for you.
SPEAKER_14Um Do you have watchers uh at night to keep an eye on things? I always are those watchers still alive right now. Who would have been alive on the interesting There's no answer there.
SPEAKER_04Lizard folk are smart enough to follow a leader if someone were to tell them how to do a night and have a strike.
SPEAKER_14Meaning and that leader didn't die in this fight either.
SPEAKER_12Where are you getting that from?
SPEAKER_14We haven't seen anything but lizard folk so far.
SPEAKER_12They might have eaten whatever the watchmen them they might have might have killed.
SPEAKER_14No, I'm talking about the leader that led a lizard folk and got away.
SPEAKER_04Some sort of um betrayer of some kind. Pretty good detail.
SPEAKER_13It's just dumb, yeah. He kind of staples his fingers. Look, lizard folk aren't subtle. You know? They're they're kind of brutes for the most part. They don't have they also don't have metallurgy or complicated weapons. These lizard folk had some steel-made weapons, and then he turns to Senna and he's like, and they they were they got the drop on us.
SPEAKER_14That's abnormal. Someone knew something about this.
SPEAKER_09Or something's helping the lizard out.
SPEAKER_11That is the mighty gotten away.
SPEAKER_04Um the chamber Was there something extracted? There's um an odd um arrangement of areas outside. Um sort of in a circle. Uh is there something large that's missing from the quarry?
SPEAKER_13No. Not to my knowledge. I uh after the attack they locked uh they locked everybody who was still alive in the storeroom, so most of us have been in the dark now for um a few days now, several days. By by what we can tell. Since the attack. And then a short time after Well they chucked these two in with us.
SPEAKER_12It's possible that Tom Senna, did you see anyone other than Lizard Folk? I know you said it was night, I know. Well, it's possible that whoever assisted the Lizard Folk, be them human or other man or beast, is no longer here.
SPEAKER_04Or down in the world. Maybe left as soon as perhaps maybe left, maybe left as soon as for example could be assisting these lizard folk. They might have taken control of Sam, maybe. Never know.
SPEAKER_14I really, really hope that's not the case.
SPEAKER_04Glorious battle.
SPEAKER_05Glorious battle?
SPEAKER_04Do you think?
SPEAKER_16We should well go down and see. Also, I would like to talk to you.
SPEAKER_04Um of course and I thank you for your time. Um I'm going to confer with my associate here.
SPEAKER_11I think it's best if we all rest tonight.
SPEAKER_04Yes, that's probably why.
SPEAKER_11And then as you're prepping the caravan tomorrow, we'll go check out the chamber.
SPEAKER_13Uh Dagger just kind of shrugs. I can take you there, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um And then hopefully by midday we can Is it worth subjecting this poor woman to um further trauma?
SPEAKER_14Is it hard to get to the chamber?
SPEAKER_13It's deep in the mine, but um I don't know, about thirty minutes of walking.
SPEAKER_14A lot of left and right, or do you think it'd be easy for us to find it?
SPEAKER_13Uh she kind of looks at all of you. I um I think it'd best I go with you. Alright.
SPEAKER_14We are quite capable.
SPEAKER_13I just it's hard to tell up from down if you're not um familiar. Uh although I I mean and she kind of turns and you see she looks off in the distance. I could get you a map of the shafts and the various mines. We have everything in the assay house.
SPEAKER_14We do have a friend that seems to have a pant for uh I would love him.
SPEAKER_11But I think we would take your we would take your leadership at least to make it a quick journey, and then you can head back and get everyone filling up the caravan.
SPEAKER_12We can do it first thing in the morning. And then hopefully by mid-morning we can be on our way.
SPEAKER_04Alright.
SPEAKER_13Alright. Dominicana kinda sit forward. Do you need help?
SPEAKER_09Always.
SPEAKER_14Oh, look at the alien.
SPEAKER_09Why are we going down there? We don't know what it is. We could all become mutated monsters. You're right.
unknownWe could.
SPEAKER_04So could all of the people in BlackRock if this is left um unattended to.
SPEAKER_09I'm not saying we leave it unattended, I'm saying.
SPEAKER_14So you trust we have ruled to do that? And we could also go back to camp or go back to BlackRock and get reinforcements. Better force, people with more magic capabilities, more understanding.
SPEAKER_11You can do that, do you?
SPEAKER_12You can head back with Don, Sinna.
SPEAKER_11The caravan. Do what you must.
SPEAKER_12But there's something tickling my brain. No. There's something in there. And I can't make the connections just yet. But I know, I know it exists, and I have to see.
SPEAKER_14hesitant as well. I am curious. We can be in and out. Be quick. If anything seems amiss, we run.
SPEAKER_09I have a very, very, very bad feeling.
SPEAKER_14You should. Good. I have a very good feeling. You know, good category. That's actually more worrisome.
SPEAKER_11I'm not going to ask you to go down there.
SPEAKER_04No, it certainly doesn't seem for the faint of heart.
SPEAKER_14I'll stay up if you want.
SPEAKER_04Darling, you're trembling.
unknownThe only one.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's worth it. I don't think we should subject your friends to it any further. This clearly takes a certain caliber of individual. No offense, Tom.
SPEAKER_14Well, you all you have all been through it already. Maybe set this one out.
SPEAKER_13He looks he looks at Santa. Santa can. Your son looks over Elia. I'm gone.
SPEAKER_04I'm so sorry. We've had to endure this poor las in terror about your state for the past indefinite feeling amount of hours. So I really would prefer if you didn't go.
SPEAKER_09Or just sleep on it.
SPEAKER_13Look, I'm sure that's your preference, and that's great. But I've known her my whole life, and I'm not gonna let her go down there by herself.
SPEAKER_17I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_13And I just turned my head, I just struggled when you say I'm so sorry, he does, he likes smiles.
SPEAKER_04So he's like Well, you've got your friend now, I suppose. Yeah. Maybe that helps. I just think it'll be a grand bit of fun.
SPEAKER_09If both of you are going, I'm obviously not gonna get left behind. Alright.
SPEAKER_14I'll uh hold uh I'll hold a gaze on Ilya for a moment. Right, I'll go too. Who knows? Maybe the stone is worth something. Right?
SPEAKER_13Tyra kinda just shrugs. Something that can do this.
SPEAKER_04Come on now. You know, what's the sword go for? That's good, um, you know, 30, 50 silver, something like that.
SPEAKER_13Alright, so um. Rest. And um, I'll take you to the chamber tomorrow.
SPEAKER_09We should keep watch on the mineshaft entrance.
SPEAKER_14Alright, let us take watch on this one. Get the miners, let them rest. We'll take this one. Dom, Cinna, do you help us with that as well? Yeah. We'll we'll take we'll take watches.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_13Probably a good idea to keep an eye out for Dom. Yes.
SPEAKER_01I'll see you to you later.
SPEAKER_13Thanks, Well. You see, and you do notice that Dom and Sinna are of everybody, they are uh they're the most heavily wounded, but they are not as like Of course.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, they're not as um but also both had a good berry, I guess.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, they did. And and also like both of them though, or I I gave for the record, I gave you all ten.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, however many.
SPEAKER_14I think we did it amount to all the batteries, I think.
SPEAKER_09I gave them all the guns.
SPEAKER_13So yeah, they he they were definitely distributed, because he knows what they are. Like he's he's very familiar. I mean, like once he had it, after he added the first one, he was like he knew what they are. Yeah, he's familiar with magic.
SPEAKER_16He gets the craft, yeah.
SPEAKER_13Um, yeah, I mean his his own magic is rooted in in the primal magic. So um he uh he what it took him a second because it looks so different than what he's accustomed to. Um but he was able to give them out. And uh, but even even with like three days of um of like not eating and drinking, like him and Stenna look actually like pretty good. Um they're they're they can recover like exhaustion on short rests, like they're they're fucking badass. The Thorwodch is like super hard to wear down. Uh used to be.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I mean that's why Willow can sleep after me in a w and a wake up.
SPEAKER_13Sleeping in the saddle and like getting 20 minutes and then coming out of the end. So they're that's great.
SPEAKER_06They're very, very hard to wear. I feel like I have a feature that requires me to have 12 hours of sleep.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, but yeah, I mean they're they're um uh in yeah. So anyway, um but coming back into into our into the into the moment here, um you see the miners evolve like everybody's eating, um, and um you know Bavaralda as well, Dom and Senna. Um even with the good berry, they're still they still you know eat eat eat uh plentifully.
SPEAKER_12Um I would like to pull Ilya aside in one second. Oh yeah, like not even looking at me, I imagine. I don't know.
SPEAKER_09I'm I've been glaring daggers into like I noticed when when Shaw like kind of looked at me and was like, well, I'll go to, but like I'm like locked in on Phil. Yeah.
SPEAKER_12So after I after I address, like wrap up.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, you guys kind of you and you they kind of turn to their food and everyone's just and I um stand up.
SPEAKER_09Well, I stand up and I like allow her glare that's been like the moment I know she's done, I also get up because I know I know it's like where we have and I just like I feel the glare.
SPEAKER_12I don't look, I just keep walking, I know, I know um off to the side and um you know make it to like the a doorway, just turn the doorway and literally like post up against the wall, just like waiting.
unknownCool.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, you're able to depart and you follow you the rest of you see as the two of them get up and leave, exit the mess hall and out with it.
SPEAKER_09You're hiding something.
SPEAKER_12I'm not hiding anything, I already told you. There's an itch, and I need to resolve it. You are so quick to make assumptions and to tell everyone what is going on. This is our moment to actually investigate, to see what could be happening, to have proof behind all of your ideation, and you're running from it. You love to make assumptions and to tell me what is happening. This is our moment to see and know for fact what is happening.
SPEAKER_09And yet, you're so eager to go into this darkness, this unknown, and I am I'm the one advocating for caution.
SPEAKER_12I'm not saying let's be uncautious when we go down. But I am an intellectual at the end of the day. And I need to see what's there. Why? Something is killing people. It is my job to keep the people of Black Rock healthy and safe. And I will do whatever I can to do that.
SPEAKER_09Do I believe her? Oh I've known my whole life.
SPEAKER_13Oh, that's true. Okay.
SPEAKER_09And I I know that she cares about the people of Black Rock.
SPEAKER_08I'm like, I'm not there's something else.
SPEAKER_13Rebecca. I think Phil needs to make a choice of persuasion or deception.
SPEAKER_12They're the same.
SPEAKER_13Don't tell me which one it is. Okay. Um, and then Elia, go ahead and make uh insight. Um then just do me a favor. Uh, what is the DC she's looking for?
SPEAKER_0914.
SPEAKER_13Okay.
SPEAKER_09And I am in insight?
SPEAKER_14Yes.
SPEAKER_09Oh no!
SPEAKER_14Do the do the do the rolling hood thing.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, yeah. Just confidence. Okay. Natural 20 plus two.
SPEAKER_00What are you doing?
SPEAKER_01I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_12No, no, no, you're fine. You're fine. Here's the thing. Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_13Do we do you want everybody to leave the room? Ooh, I'm down.
SPEAKER_12I don't think I need to. I don't think I because you don't need to tell her anything. She just knows you're if you're not going to be able to do that. Exactly. Here's what I'm gonna say. Here's what I'm with it with that, here's what I'll say. You know that I'm not being 100% truthful. You know that I do just like I just saw Jar and Jaro die. I know that Obin is ill. I care about Abin. Um, I do I care about every single person in BlackRock? Absolutely not. You know that that's not true. You know that there's something more. There is absolutely 100% something else that is there in addition to wanting to figure out what this illness is.
SPEAKER_09I would like to open my mind. Because there's no one around us, right? We we were walking.
SPEAKER_13No, it's just the two great, great, so I know. Okay. Holy fuck. Oh.
SPEAKER_09I know you're hiding something, so I'm just gonna.
SPEAKER_07Okay. I mean, wow. This is worrisome. Wow. What the heck is this?
SPEAKER_06I never know, it's not worried.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, what's the range?
SPEAKER_06Are you are you getting up?
SPEAKER_09No, I gotta walk away from people.
SPEAKER_13Okay. Um cool. Ilya, you as you're looking at Phil, release the locks, the controls that you always maintain and you allow your consciousness to expand outward. What I would like for you to do, Rebecca, is as Ilya's mind opens and connects with yours, you do not you're not aware of this connection, but what are the primary emotions? Is there anything that Ilya can kind of sense or see that is very like surface thoughts, top of mind for for Phil right now?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, well, um, you'll see like the frustration with this conversation, the like um desire to um get through to you, to be on the same page. So you'll see like the frustration and the desire kind of both there, very surface. I guess we're in the middle of this conversation, right? I don't know that you're kind of like digging into my bat, my path. Yeah, that's why it's like usually in the midst of a conversation because I'm like, you're thinking about the thing. Will be our conversation. Um and the surface will be what I just said, which is the health and well-being of our people. So you'll above the people of BlackRock. So you'll see, you know, I was there when Jaro died. So you'll have like those feelings will have been there. Um, I was supposed to see Avon before we even left on this, wanting to wanting to keep wanting to heal him and cure him. Um, so you'll see that. You will also see um surface thought. Is it a surface thought right now? Is the question. Like, I it would be surface, because I'm thinking about it, I guess, like in terms of Me knowing, but it wouldn't be in a like in in a more obtuse way of putting it, I think, in more like uh obfuscated, because I don't think it's like you wouldn't it wouldn't be like words. Yeah, nothing. It'd be a images, it'd be flashes of images, and you might see um there was a metal 14-sided item discussed. You will see pictures of a drawing of an item. You will see images of that. It is not the item itself.
SPEAKER_09Right, right.
SPEAKER_12It is not even maybe, maybe it's not even fully 14 sides, maybe it's a series of sides, maybe it's more than 14 sides, maybe it's less than 14 sides. It's it's it's an object. But you'll see me thinking about it, as well as like scribbles and like notes and in a language that I that you don't understand.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, would I have been able have I ever seen those have or have I ever seen those notes? No. I wow. Okay. Wow.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_15Okay.
SPEAKER_09Okay, so I'm I'm And you're just going surface, right? Yeah, I'm not going deeper.
SPEAKER_16That's better than I was thinking surface styles and be like, that was weird.
SPEAKER_01I remember that one. That's not she'll just say that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_09Um okay, okay. Um I can't help you if you don't be honest with me. But I get it. Do you really need this?
SPEAKER_12I need to go down there, yes. You don't need to.
SPEAKER_09I love you. Well, do you really need this? Yes. Okay.
SPEAKER_12Okay. And I'll just like pull her in. Like I'll like reach up to the back because I'm taller, somewhat taller.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, you gotta tell her boots on.
SPEAKER_12Stop.
SPEAKER_07Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_12I lie. I aye. Um I'll grab around like the kind of like you the the neck, like um behind your neck, and I'll just like bring you in and just put my forehead to your forehead. Thank you.
SPEAKER_09Okay.
SPEAKER_13Phil's sorry.
SPEAKER_09I was gonna say, let's join the others.
SPEAKER_13Phil's intelligence is 18, right?
SPEAKER_12I believe so, but I can check. Okay. Mm-hmm. It is 18.
SPEAKER_13Billy, I need you to roll a D100.
SPEAKER_12Of course. Yeah. Because I didn't know. There's a big brain. There's a blue brain to get button. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_13A creature of a certain intelligence level increases the chances of a mishap.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, just do well. You're safe with me. That's good.
SPEAKER_0954?
unknownYou're fine.
SPEAKER_09Moderate. Moderate is good. Moderate is good. And I'm gonna uh forcefully close the the connection instead of letting it go.
SPEAKER_01Cool.
unknownPew.
SPEAKER_09As we're getting closer to people, I'm like, whoop, tighten up. What is what is does Ilya have like a mental exercise or any sort of like way that she envisions the There's a void, and I see myself in a mirror version of myself that is reflected within like mirrored walls, glass, uh, chromatic, very similar to my magic, but it just kind of closes around and it's like protective. Like this, these are mine, this is my emotion, this is my um, these are my thoughts. So the my emotion, it kind of shifts like a prism, and you see me like smiling, and you see me like sad, and I see myself, and then it's like these are my thoughts, and it kind of shifts and changes geometrically, so that you see more mirrors and like more walls and more protection. And then like the void as well breathes with that chromatic, mirrored, fractal just shell.
SPEAKER_01Cool.
SPEAKER_09Walk in with the person that I love dearly, who's known me practically my whole life. Um, yeah, and just as we go.
SPEAKER_13Does that motion stop as you sever the connection?
SPEAKER_09It's it doesn't stop, but it is it's always spinning. And I'm just no longer thinking about it. It's just in the back of my mind, constantly, constantly keeping it up, constantly. But I'm not, it's not active, so I'm not visualizing it in my inner eye.
SPEAKER_13Compartmentalize that piece of your your mind. Okay. So you head off into the evening to find your place to rest after having gotten food and having had a very long day. You return to the inside of the mess hall where we see Vale and Ramsey. Vale, Ramsey, and Shaw still there. Um, most of the miners now are um at this point, like some of the other miners, the ones who got the good berries, have like gone and retrieved, uh, they've retrieved like clothing and stuff like that. They've distributed it, food has been distributed, everybody's now dressed. Um, it looks like uh um Dom and Cinna have uh actually recovered their weapons. Um it looks like the lizard folk did hang on to the very well-made pose, the very well, the very, very well forged steel. Um and it was actually here in the mess hall. This looks like kind of the place where the lizard folk had a bit of a base of operations. Um so a lot of their uh, like I said, the things they plundered from the miners specifically, like anything steel-made is was kind of like collected in here. Um, but the three of you, um, yeah, clothing has been dispersed and and most of everybody has finished eating at this point, and they're making their way towards the bunkhouses for uh um for uh to to rest. Um yeah, so the mess hall kind of slowly clears out until it's really just the three of you.
SPEAKER_14Uh we can take first watch if you get some rest.
SPEAKER_04Um, no, I'm alright to take first watch. I deal better with the later hours, as it were.
SPEAKER_14What? Which watch would you like to take, Frank? Early morning.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_14Still a bit famished if you've got any modes of light.
SPEAKER_04Well we're in mess hall, so might be able to defend for yourself. Um I've given all my modes of light to the good people here. Well, modes of light are quite bitter, so it's a pretty even trade or something. But say you hate me, friend. No, I don't hate you, Shaw. I find you very entertaining. You're not my type, you know. Maybe. Little slenderer.
SPEAKER_14I'm gonna go get a bit smaller, and I'll walk off and find some food. Alright. He's kind of cute.
SPEAKER_07I heard that you were meant to.
SPEAKER_13You mentioned the food again and are able to leave earshot, leaving it.
SPEAKER_15As he walks away, I roll over like a couple motes.
SPEAKER_01You son of a big I don't know, it's just hard to give them to him.
SPEAKER_17I'm glad to hear you say that.
SPEAKER_04I'm you kind of fluctuate, my friend. You know this. No. You've got this streak in you where you well, I guess I'm starting to understand. You know, the thing about giving the money to them so that they would be up be trust trust us more. Yes. Um but I'm glad that you're conserving your resources. It's important, you know, dire straits out here. And this whole thing about you know, finding this whatever object, we certainly can't trust the people of Blackrock with such a thing.
SPEAKER_16I think we're on a new trail.
SPEAKER_06Let's and as as we're having the conversation, we'll, you know, make our way out of the mess hall could be more private, uh uh, you know, finding like um any kind of awnings or anything like that. Yeah, you're gonna watch first and walking your way there. Yeah, going up to the tower.
SPEAKER_14Oh, yeah, cool.
SPEAKER_13The tower's still very much there.
SPEAKER_14So we're basically everyone's bent down. It's it's about that.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, the night's starting to wind down. It's probably like the sun is is at this point, probably set. Um, so yeah, I mean, like there is a bonfire that's go like basically the lizard folk area. People are staying towards the bunkhouses that are like furthest away from all the icky uh basically the lizard folk left. Um but you know, people are making their way that way. Um, and uh, and you guys kind of head actually in the total opposite direction towards the watchtower. Um yeah. The the the light is fading fast. There's it's twilight at this point.
SPEAKER_16Yeah, when we get when we get to the tower. Oh I'll just stay with you.
SPEAKER_04Oh this watch. I think that's probably wise.
SPEAKER_16Uh remember the attack I told you about?
SPEAKER_04Yes, um They led me here.
unknownKind of.
SPEAKER_04Uh this was how it crashed. It's how that all took place, or no.
SPEAKER_16We were boarded.
SPEAKER_04Yes. And were they carrying this stone? I think they wanted it. So you your ship had it in its possession, and then Yes. And so I think And who boarded it?
SPEAKER_16Not terrible creatures.
SPEAKER_04Like the ones we fought in the um Worse. Worse.
SPEAKER_16How exactly? Are we we're up in the town? Yeah, yeah. Our gesture to the carnage around us.
SPEAKER_04This, um it I saw damage like this. Do they like shoot cannonballs or something? Like how does one achieve that I didn't see them do it.
SPEAKER_16I just saw the aftermath. The results, I see. And if that's true, I can get some revenge. And the town may be under. Maybe in grave danger. Yes. And your legend grows. Especially if they took some of this back to the town.
SPEAKER_04Yes, that um that does concern me as well. That's what that's the case I was trying to make to Elia, but um she's caught up in all of her emotions, you know. I think that happens to me.
SPEAKER_16Uh, kind of. Kind of like the town. Blackrock. Yes. Well why? Reminds me a bit of Githgear. Except for the people on the hill. I don't like them.
SPEAKER_04With the highstone folks. Yes. Yes, we're going to do something about that. I think this Beverlder person. Untrustworthy. Not good. Yes. Yes. I I do wonder if perhaps Beverld knows something about what's in this mine.
SPEAKER_16I mean, Beverld's claim. Another claim had something similar too, right?
SPEAKER_04Um.
SPEAKER_16No or no. I don't I don't recall.
unknownHmm.
SPEAKER_16I don't think so. Um, the the one that can't speak, um, Arbin. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Was not here. We haven't quite made that connection yet. Um he's lost his senses, but he doesn't exhibit any of the other symptoms.
SPEAKER_16The illness. I don't know about the symptom. I don't know what's causing that. I didn't see that.
SPEAKER_04Right, you did a sort of um what's that called, um autopsy. Oh, yes, but with when we had this stone or whatever it is, I didn't see that with Oh, the m- the mind-altering elements of it.
SPEAKER_16No. No one on board had anything like these people.
SPEAKER_01Hmm.
SPEAKER_16Or Obin. But the description sounds similar.
SPEAKER_04But you did witness some creatures, no, in the attack or um yes, they were tall, multiple limbs, kind of like a big bug. Really, really big bug. Bigger than the um the on cakes. No, not that big.
SPEAKER_16They walked on two legs and by pedal lots of little arms in their stomach area. Uh and then arms. Extra arms.
SPEAKER_04Right, not in their stomach area.
SPEAKER_16Correct. Right. I'm used to weird stuff, but they were different. I was saying something.
SPEAKER_04And powerful. Were you in limbo?
SPEAKER_16No. Moving from plane to plane, sometimes you want to go into a plane between. However, we weren't going home.
SPEAKER_04You were taking the stone somewhere.
SPEAKER_16Or looking for more. I'm not sure. Remember, I said that when I saw it and it was seen that I saw it, I was told to act as if I had not.
SPEAKER_04Right. So some sort of clandestine mission run by your superiors through the astral sea to locate this crepuscular stone. Lady has prolonged melisma.
SPEAKER_16The one we found was here.
SPEAKER_04Not here, but material plane. Yes. Elmore. Flash Verestra.
SPEAKER_16Verestra, yes.
SPEAKER_04Right. Hmm. That should be so much more simple if it was a werewolf. Okay, well, um I think so. I was just going to say so far we've convinced them that uh we're just stupid enough to want to go down there without any other reason. Um But um we are going to find them.
SPEAKER_16I think the orders I was given are I'm here.
SPEAKER_04Oh yes, but don't you your braces? Do they do something if you, you know, defy orders or something like that?
SPEAKER_16I got them for defying orders. Right, so I am a bit worried about further I don't know. I don't think they control them from here from there.
SPEAKER_04Yes, but if they found out, would they like? You know, now you have to wear a helmet that does things.
SPEAKER_16But if I find out and or if they find out, but I was able to find them, then.
SPEAKER_04You think they would balance out. Um yes, um.
SPEAKER_16And maybe I can solve what this.
SPEAKER_04I think um I hear you. Certainly. Um and uh they're quite capable, despite um Ilya's sort of um, you know, pants wetting the slightest uh problem. Uh but the I am concerned that we are within a hair's breadth of um them turning tail. Except for Philippa, who's um haven't quite figured out her angle.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I told Philippa that I saw something similar in the autopsy.
SPEAKER_16Right. Okay.
SPEAKER_04And so I mentioned Oh, grab I didn't Well, that's fine. Um Is that bad? No, I don't know. Hey, I don't know. Um you know, you're talking to a man as uh all the time that I've spent in the Freywood was has been pretty much an old guard, uh among drink and uh men and women and uh whatever bedchamber I could find. So with thought of that and the boonies here, I don't know what's going on. Um I just think it's important to protect ourselves.
SPEAKER_16What does that mean? I've you have a loose relationship with the truth. And I don't. Well, I do take offense.
SPEAKER_04Why? Because the lies that I tell are the quickest route to the real truth. You understand? I this is what I've been trying to explain to you all this time. I know it's a bit complicated, right? But a story isn't the truth. It's better than the truth, it's more powerful than the truth. That's what I'm talking about. We have to make sure that we are positioned in the right place in that story so that we do not get killed.
SPEAKER_17How does that lie? No. Very much so.
SPEAKER_04Um but uh I I do uh I hear your compassion, and uh I'm grateful for it. Um we can tell them once we sort of sort of figure out what's going on here. Yes, once we get a little clearer. Um I it's either that or we venture down there by ourselves when they all go back without us, and uh I don't know how good our chances are if that happens.
SPEAKER_16Okay. I'm trying to understand you. How about we tell them on the way back after we go down?
SPEAKER_04I don't know anything to go wrong if for some reason everyone wants to kill me.
SPEAKER_16You are my companion.
SPEAKER_17And you have helped me. Oh yes, I will help you.
SPEAKER_16Do you have any berries? You said you don't have any berries left.
SPEAKER_04Why did you eat them? Yes, I'm sorry. I don't know. I got when I get nervous. I uh snack.
SPEAKER_17Don't do that. Therefore life Yes.
SPEAKER_04Yes, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_16I'll get you a stick. Or something.
SPEAKER_04Uh that's alright. Okay.
SPEAKER_17Um, there's thank you.
SPEAKER_01Nothing.
SPEAKER_06And I'll sort of like turn and just begin to look out over the camp.
SPEAKER_16As you turn, I'm bat your head. And then I would turn the other way.
SPEAKER_17It's pretty out here. Yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_13You look up and you see that the clouds and the mist have cleared with the falling of the night. And the stars are a riot of silver against a black sky. See the moons hanging in the the ether above.
SPEAKER_16Just a small as I see the these are new constellations for me. Um, I'm going to try and look at them and force my patterns into some of these shapes.
SPEAKER_04Cool as fuck.
SPEAKER_13That's cool as fuck. You look up and you see the the constellations different than the ones that you were accustomed to. Ramsey, you see as faintly the motes of light around Vale shift to mirror the sky above. And I think that's a good time to end.
SPEAKER_08Oh boy.
SPEAKER_13With the boys.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_13Vail, you turn and take your leave quietly. Head down.
SPEAKER_15Oh, I'm gonna stay. Oh, you're staying?
SPEAKER_13Oh, you stay. Okay. Then you stay together in the watchtower. And uh everybody else heads off to bed. And yeah, we'll pick up in the morning, I suppose. Next time we come back. Hope you enjoyed playing or watching as much as we did play. You didn't play, we played.
SPEAKER_00Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_05Hey nerds, it's Shane. Thanks so much for being here for this episode. We appreciate you very, very much. If you haven't already, please do hit that like button, that subscribe button, that bell icon, leave us a five-star review, give us uh some words of kindness, leave a comment down uh wherever you can and however you can. Uh, please help us out by just contributing to that algorithm so we can get the show out to more people. If you're enjoying the show, then someone else might too. Uh and we can just spread that love and it helps us, of course, to keep the show going and growing. And in that uh thought, if you have the means, please do uh consider supporting us on Patreon or YouTube memberships. The benefits are ultimately pretty similar or the same, so no need to double dip. Though those of you who do, we really appreciate you. Thank you very much for that. It's it's awesome. We're extremely, extremely grateful. And with that said, we'll see you in the next one, nerds. May the light reflect from your eyes.
