What If? feat. The Amber Clave, Part 1

[Opening theme, “Friends” by Miracle of Sound, begins.]

Kyle

Hello, and welcome to Quest Friends. I am Kyle, your GM, and today I'm joined for a very special episode by the cast of The Amber Clave. Uh, so before I explain what we're doing, I'm going to first explain who we are. And before we continue, this episode is...we're going under the assumption that you have either listened to Quest Friends or The Amber Clave. If you're not used to our show, or used to like, Numenera, the podcast in general, probably isn't a great place to start. I would recommend either waiting a few weeks for Crime and Courtship part one, or jumping back to Elee's memory part one, which will be a few episodes before this.

And then come here! Still come back here, we're just not going to explain how things work and it might get a bit confusing. So again, my name is Kyle. I'm he/him. I am the GM, the game master of Quest Friends, and we are joined by the players of another Numenera podcast, The Amber Clave. So if everyone could introduce themselves, I'm not gonna...you can pick, or I will start selecting on you like a teacher at class.

Aser

All right, I can go first.

[Dramatic, intense music begins to play.]

Hello. This is Aser, and I play Korshen Lambro, a...hang on, I always have trouble with this. Impulsive, stealthy glint who devotes everything to the cause. My character and I both use he/him pronouns, and he is a person who decided that slavery was not for him, and has in the course of uh, rectifying that unfortunate situation caused himself to be the subject of a very large bounty from, uh, very many slaveholding organizations.

Kyle

All right, let me just add fifty new enemies with that new backstory in mind.

[The music stops.]

Shaunna

You know, that's never come up in our game, or has it? [Thoughtfully, a little surprised.] I don't think has.

Aser

Uh, it actually hasn't, although I did say that our, uh, my room in uh, at the Clave is decorated with uh, wanted posters of myself.

Shaunna

I do remember that.

Landan

I remember that.

Shaunna

But we haven't seen any...anyone seeking a bounty. [Laughing.]

Aser

I'm very happy whenever I see the bounty has gone up. I really irritated someone last week, apparently.

Kyle

[Laughing.] All right, cool. So that's Korshen. Who are our other two companions for today?

Shaunna

Hi, I guess I'll go next. Hi. I'm Shaunna.

[Country music begins to play in the background, a low-key but fun saloon tune.]

I play Jessamy Gray, who is a resourceful ultraterrestrial seeker who hunts with great skill, although I do commonly say that she does not hunt with a lot of skill.

[Laughter from the others.]

But that might be my own personal problem. Uh, Jessamy and I both use she/her pronouns. Jessamy has the stereotypical, fun adventure look. Half of her head is shaved, the other half is braids, of course. A lot of her things are purple. Once again a lot of… [She laughs.] Overflow of Shaunna into Jessamy.

[Laughter from the others.]

Jessamy doesn't have great luck. She actually is bad at noticing what's going on around her, and this may be because she is an ultraterrestrial, she's actually not originally from this plane, but she got dragged back to this plane when she was, ah, part of some adventure with the other characters. So they ended up dragging her to where they are now.

Kyle

So within our alternate universe, you're from an alternate universe–

Shaunna

Mm-hmm!

Kyle

In our alternate universe.

Shaunna

[Gleefully.] Yeahhhhh!

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

[Conspiratorial.] How deep does it go!

[The music fades out.]

Landan

All right, I'm Landan and I play Mako, who is a perceptive mutant nano who wears a sheen of ice.

[A cheerful, lively piano tune begin to play, with a whistling melody soon picking up.]

And both my character and I use he/him pronouns. As far as looks, uh, Mako's...yeah, he's basically kind of a shark man. Kind of grayish in color, kind of have the, if I remember right from biology the correct coloration of, uh, his back part is more of a darker silver, whereas his underside's more of, uh,  whitish in color. So if you were swimming in water, if you're looking up from the depths, he would blend in with the light, you wouldn't really see him, and if you were looking, uh, down below on him, if you're above him in the water column, you wouldn't really notice him swimming around. And he has, uh, silverish color eyes, he's hairless, uh, that's pretty much Mako. [Laughs.]

Kyle

Yeah! And then, so these are us, this is our characters. So as I said, The Amber Clave is a podcast that stars these three adventurers, um, and their GM that's not me as 

[00:05:00] 

they go off on a series of adventures all across the Ninth World.

[The music stops abruptly.]

And we are not playing those characters today, but we are! But we aren't.

[The music picks up again.]

Essentially what we are doing, is we are doing a "what if" scenario. We are taking those characters from The Amber Clave, and we're plugging them into our Quest Friends universe. And similarly, in the Amber Clave, we're taking Quest Friends characters and we're plugging them in the Amber Clave universe. We're just going to see what happens, and what gets burned to the ground, because that tends to be how these things end.

So we're just going to get straight into the adventure! I will give us an exposition dump, uh, starting now.

[The music fades, transitioning into a slower, more and slightly foreboding song.]

Mako, the loose dust of Charmonde's hillside scratches around your ankles as you stare out on a city that casts such a large shadow it covers itself. In front of you lies the forlorn district, one of the five distinct locations in this city that loves its inane categorizations.

The other four districts are built into the open air tunnels of a hill split in two. It looks a lot like an anthill? With the, uh, a very, very big ant hill, with the city citizens scurrying from one collection of pathways to the next. You are in the Crocus District, a flower-like patch of pathways that host Charmonde's food. But your mind is miles away, off, off in the land we call the exposition world.

[The dramatic music slows, fading into a more upbeat and lively piano song that feels like something you'd hear on a self-playing piano in an Old West saloon.]

So here is...here's the deal. You are all members of the Amber Clave. The Amber Clave is an organization underneath the Amber Pope, really like amber, that seeks to defend the Ninth World from extraterrestrial and ultraterrestrial threats. Essentially: weird stuff. It's been 100 years since the Amber Pope and the Order of Truth dissolved. They used to be basically the science Catholic Church with large control over everything...it's been a hundred years since that really isn't the case anymore, and the Amber Clave is a lot scrappier than it used to be.

It's a lot smaller, it used to have very distinct organizations. At this point, it's like twelve of you in a moderately sized house, and you're all split into different knots or squads. Ah, so, the three of you, Mako, Korshen, and Jessamy, are all part of your own knot. Now as I said, things are pretty scrappy right now. The nicest thing you all own is the mesh, and the mesh is an ear plug with a net-like covering that covers the whole side of your ear.

Supposedly, back in the past when everything was good and they had a relay, uh, this was used for mental communication.

[The music stops.]

Kyle

It has not been that way for decades, for, so far as we know, the mesh is functionally worthless? But, I mean, it looks nice. It's the nicest thing you got. It's like wearing a nice suit when it's the only thing you got, you just gotta look nice when you're...when you're off doing your adventuring.

And because you're in kind of, in a scrappy, not a great situation, you've been taking jobs that aren't necessarily the ideal pinnacle of virtue and truth that you always wanted. For example, you three have been hired by the Numenera and robotics megacorp JET.CO. Just imagine Walmart and Amazon and the mafia all rolled into one. That's JET.CO.

Aser

I think that third one is redundant.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Aser

I think, you know, give them a generation and they'll put the mafia out of business.

Kyle

[Still laughing slightly.] I mean, I, yes. Yes.

[A high, eerie tune picks up in the background.]

So JET.CO claims that one of its employees was a former member of an organization called an organization called the sarracenians. The sarracenians is basically a group that worships plants. Carnivorous plants, flower photosynthesis plants, they love plants. And this former member of the sarracenians who now works at JET.CO has identified a rogue cell operating in Charmonde.

[The eerie music builds.]

JET.CO has recently done some renovations to one of the districts, they're currently working in there, and they don't want the sarracenians getting in their way. And it's particularly startling because the sarracenians have what is described as a super weapon, a very dangerous project called the ploctopus. So your job is to go in, find this ploctopus, and neutralize it. And as you're thinking about this, as your mind is deep in thought, I want you to roll speed or int defense.

Shaunna

[Laughing, a little startled.] Oh jeez.

Landan  

[Wryly.] It starts early.

Shaunna

But I have questions! [Dice roll.] That's a D8, I rolled the wrong dice. This is a good start. [Gleefully.] Ohhh natural 20! [Delighted laughter.]

Aser

[Crosstalking under Shaunna's laughter.] Nat 20?

Landan

[Crosstalk.] Yeah, nat 20.

Kyle

Mako, your mind whips out of this...it just flashes out with the rest of us of this like, exposition flashback, and you turn around and you see this piece of newspaper hurtling in the air towards your face. And you have the moment to react any way you want, you have a 20. It's like moving in slow motion towards your face.

Landan

Ah, in that instance...uh, it's a basically a newspaper coming at me? I think I'm basically just going to try to reach out and catch 

[00:10:00] 

it before it like, smacks me in the head.

Kyle

You catch this newspaper and it's in your hands. It looks really nice. It's like, like, the paperboy where it's like rolled up really nice. It's just, it's immaculate. It looks brand-new, uh, and it's, it is part of the newspaper, which is called The Daily Domino. It's the daily newspaper of Charmonde, and it comes from the district that JET.CO's actually working in. It comes from the Radiance District, which is jay–basically a giant Rube Goldberg machine that creates and distributes this newspaper across the city.

Landan

Once I have the paper, I'll probably try to unfurl it and just see if...what the headlines say or anything like that.

Kyle

Yes. [Dramatically.] Mako in jail! The nefarious trader has been caught and imprisoned.

Landan (as Mako)

[Bewildered.] Well, that's there's a headline.

Landan

And I'll show it to the others.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Wait, Mako, aren't you supposed to be somewhere?

Landan (as Mako)

[Still confused.] Um, I guess so, but apparently I'm here!

Aser (as Korshen)

Are there two of you?

Landan (as Mako)

Last I checked, there's just me.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Thoughtfully.] There hasn't been any opportunity for someone to have cloned you?

Landan (as Mako)

Mmm. Not that I can think of.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You don't have the twin...named Mako?

Landan (as Mako)

[Slowly, mulling over the possibility.] I don't...I don't think I have a twin. I don't remember having brothers before I lost my family.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Quickly, slightly apologetic.] Oh, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have brought that up.

Landan (as Mako)

[Slightly resigned.] Ah, that's in the past.

Kyle

So after, after thinking more about, about your families and about the potential for someone having cloned you, you turn around and you find yourself looking at the Crocus District. And by looking at, I mean smelling, because it is pungent.

[A folksy, easy-going guitar tune begins to play.]

The Crocus District, again, is the open-air food market of Charmonde, but because Charmonde's rules are such, filled with such bureaucracy and such needless steps, convoluted steps, as put down by Queen Armalu, it typically takes...well, it takes food long enough to get approved that by the time it's approved for sale it is very, very rotten.

So you have all these open air stands trying to, like, sell their food as best they can while also trying to hide their food at the same moment.

[The music fades out.]

Shaunna

Okay, well, I...the sarah-celians, what do they eat? They, do they only eat...I'm assuming they don't eat plants. So they have to be carnivores right?

Kyle

Give me a roll to see what you know about the sarracenians.

Shaunna

[Amused, in slightly disbelief.] I cannot believe this, I rolled another 20. You know, how out of... [Laughter.] Out of my character this is.

Kyle

All right. Um, yeah, I'll give you an answer to that, and the answer to two other questions. The sarracenians, they...some do eat meat, because you know, the sarracenians really like carnivorous plants. So the sarracenians will eat, and they will distribute meat. They will eat things that come from plants? [With an air of mystery.] But a lot of them don't need to eat at all.

Shaunna

[Thoughtfully, uncertain.] Okay, okay. And you said I get to ask two more questions?

Kyle

You can also hold on to these.

Shaunna

Okay, I will ask one question now, and then I will save the other one for later. Is that okay?

Kyle

Yes.

Shaunna

Okay. So my question right now, as we're approaching this foul-smelling area is, is there a secret underground fresh meat market.

Kyle

As you're thinking about that like, man, I wonder if there's an underground market, you see a guy walking past you just with a big turkey leg and it looks good, it smells good, and he's just munching on this...uh, it's actually kind of glimmering, it shimmering in the sunlight. He kind of looks like he's not really thinking that much, he's just kind of walking without...he's just so absorbed in this food. This is probably the first piece of fresh food he's had in, like, years.

Shaunna

[Amused, over laughter from the party.] Wow. That's pretty brazen, just walking down the street with a fresh turkey leg, too.

Kyle

Yeah, so he's just walking.

Shaunna

Okay.

Kyle

[With an edge of encouragement.] And he keeps walking, and now he's walking away.

Shaunna

All right.

Kyle

[Trying not to laugh.] You should talk to him, or you can do something else.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Hey, hey, excuse me. Excuse me.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] I just realized this is my cue.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Excuse me, sir.

Kyle (as turkey leg fan)

[Muffled, as if speaking through a mouthful of turkey leg.] Ah, ah.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Picking her words carefully.] Um, hi. I was wondering if you could...I, I'm new here. I was just wondering if you could tell me where you got that?

Kyle (as turkey leg fan)

[Still muffled.] What?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Encouragingly.] That turkey leg. [With emphasis.] It looks so good.

Kyle (as turkey leg fan)

[Through a mouthful of turkey.] What's a turkey–what's a, what's a turkey?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Frustrated.] The...okay, the thing that's in your hand, that you're chewing on? Where did you get it.

Kyle

And he just starts walking again, after a pause. Like he looks at you and seems to have no memory--

Aser

[Crosstalking.]  Oh, alright.

Kyle

--of this conversation as he takes another bite and then he keeps walking.

Shaunna

[With understanding.] Oh...okay. That seems like bad news. Does he drop a receipt as he's leaving?

Kyle

[Laughing, slightly incredulous.] Do you want that to be your third thing?

Shaunna

Uhhh...yes. Yes, I do. [Laughs.]

Kyle

Okay, he drops a receipt.

Shaunna

Receipts are still a thing.

Kyle

It is time for a, uh, a GM intrusion. So who do you want to give your other points to.

Shaunna

Uh, I will give 

[00:15:00] 

it to Landan (Mako) since he's in jail.

Kyle

So you go down and you reach this receipt and you pick it up.

[Mischievous, playful music begins to play in the background.]

And as you go up, you find yourself facing this man with the world's largest frown, that's mirroring his like, frowning mustache, and large sideburns. He's wearing a, uh, bright green, a very ugly bright green, like, shirt, and then he's wearing a vest that has two capsules that kind of look like pills on his shoulders. And he says, 

Kyle (as Don)

Shoulda known they would have brought criminals here.

Kyle

And you look down and you see that the receipt is for the aneen stand in the Seskii District, which is the black market–the officially sanctioned Black Market of Charmonde.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Startled.] I'm sorry. What did you mean? I'm not a criminal. I'm just trying to keep the streets clean!

Kyle (as Don)

[Exasperated.] 'course, keep them clean of all money, of all civility, of all pieces of normality, and...of course, she would have sent me on a mission like this.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Wha–okay, but there's a lot to unpack there, sir. Sir? I...first of all...civility. Let's, let...you know what, we'll come back to that. Mission? What mission are you on?

Kyle

He doesn't respond. He just kind of looks over at the web on the side of your ear and he says,

Kyle (as Don)

So they're making the Amber Clave still wear that?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[A little indignant.] Uh, we choose to wear this, thank you very much.

Kyle (as Don)

Yes, I understand. That's what I'm told to say as well. [Exasperated sigh.] Hello. My name is Don. I am you're officially sanctioned Gendarme soldier, here to help you find the ploctopus. It is my pleasure...[Another sigh.] To work with you today.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[A little pityingly.] Oh, Don.

Aser (as Korshen)

The Amber Clave is a worthwhile organization, and you really should be more enthusiastic about an opportunity to collaborate in such a way.

Aser

And I'm going to impart ideal.

Shaunna

[Excited.] Yes!

Kyle  

[Laughing.] All right, tell me how impart ideal works.

Aser

So basically, what I can do is, I can just talk to someone and create an ideal. Like, this political party is better than the others, or children should be seen not heard, and they will believe that until someone they trust reminds them of what they actually think.

Kyle

Okay, cool. So then he will never...Don doesn't trust anyone. Okay. Yeah, give me a, do you normally have to roll to impart that ideal?

Aser

I'm going to put effort into it, because it seems like a good idea. I want good cooperation from our local Gendarme, and I rolled a 15, plus...I'm trained in deception-related abilities.

Kyle

[Amused and slightly incredulous.] Oh, so you're saying it's a lie to say that the Amber Clave is worth working with?

Aser

[Wryly.] Yes. We're obviously on the down and out! And I got...and with effort, it's a level seven success.

Kyle

Before he responds, let me know, what do you do that really convinces Don? Because Don is not easy to convince.

Aser

I tell him about our excellent theoretical retirement plan, which is in the old days if you were to die and you had a mesh implant, they would have downloaded your consciousness back into another body, and sent you out again. So you would be free to heroically confront the threats to humanity, ultraterrestrial, extraterrestrial, what have you, because you would have the opportunity to do it again, and eventually, maybe, you know, like, retire. That's obviously not true anymore. That's where the lie part comes in.

Kyle

He is just gonna look at you, and you're just gonna like...sometimes when you just like, hear like memories of like battles in the background, you just hear like memories of like, mundane customers asking him: uh, how do you do this? Uh, I want a refund. Like, just asking for terrible, terrible things. And he just says, 

Kyle (as Don)

Yep, that sounds like how most organizations work. I understand why the queen wanted to work with you. Anyways, we're here about a ploctopus?

Aser (as Korshen)

Yep. What have you got?

Kyle (as Don)

Well, from what I understood, you were the organization...you just convinced, you just told me that your organization was amazing. I thought you would be the ones with the information.

Aser (as Korshen)

Ah, all right. Well, what are you working off of right now? We wouldn't want it to be at cross-purposes.

Kyle (as Don)

Well, from what I understand the sarra–Sarah–suss–the, the organization, from what I can understand, might be the same folks who are causing people to forget the food that they are eating. And that would be at that restaurant over there.

Kyle

And he just points to the far distance where presumably a restaurant is.

Aser

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

So halfway through his sentence, Jessamy lifts up the receipt like she has something valuable to contribute, and then as he finishes his sentence, she just quietly like puts it into her pocket and keeps listening.

[Laughter from the group.]

Aser

[Sincerely, but amused.] I'm so sorry.

[00:20:00] 

Kyle

Yeah, and then he just points in the distance.

Landan (as Mako)

Well, it looks like we may need to make a reservation at that place.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Sing-song.] As long as we don't forget!

Kyle (as Don)

[Sternly.] This is not a joking matter.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Through laughter.] Apparently not.

Kyle (as Don)

Please do not use humor.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Crosstalking.]  Yes, it's, uh–

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You're right, Don.

Aser (as Korshen)

It's counterproductive.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[A little sullenly.] My apologies.

Kyle (as Don)

That...that...

Kyle

And he just walks off in the direction of the place.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Laughing.] I sniff Don.

Aser (as Korshen)

All right, let's, let's just follow behind him, you know, maybe if there's an ambush they'll shoot him first.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

I want to sniff him. I want to get get a good smell of him.

Kyle

[Somewhat incredulously.] Okay. Give me a roll to smell Don.

Aser

[Wryly.] Have you ever had to deal with that there, Kyle?

Kyle

No, I've had lots of things. I've had rats getting eaten. I've had lots of nudity, but no one has sniffed anyone. This is new for me.

Shaunna

[Strained.] I rolled a three. [Laughter.]

Aser

[Trying not to laugh.] Oh my God, very blatant.

Shaunna

I guess he's kind of hard to smell over the scent of the food.

Kyle

Yes. I will say that you cannot smell anything, and he does notice, but he's just accepted it at this point, and he just keeps walking.

Shaunna

[Laughter.] Smart move, Don. Smart move.

Aser

I feel bad for this guy.

Kyle

I was gonna say don't worry his life gets better, but that's, uh, that's up in the air.

All

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

Oh no!

Kyle

So you uh, you make your way, and you see people walking out with turkey legs, with uh, but they also walk out, out of this like hole in the wall with a lot of what you would call in the South, you would call a hatdag and what they call up in Navareen, in the North, what they call the hothound.

Shaunna

[Bewildered.] I'm sorry. Hatdag?

Kyle

Hatdag. This is the lore we're working with! At least we don't have aneen cheese, which is horrifying in the context of our show.

Landan  

But do y'all have spider goat silk in y'all's world yet?

Shaunna

[Eagerly.] Or Jimmy Buffett?

Kyle

We can now if you want it!

Aser

All right!

Kyle

They're walking out. There's a lot of sub, a lot of sub sandwiches coming out of this place, that you see a name on the side, a very minor name.  And they're all glittering, and the sign is glittering as well, out of this very knotted, almost looking a lot–it's a sign that's wooden, but it looks like it hasn't been harmed. Everything is seamlessly put together and it's flowers that form the name of this restaurant: The Submergine.

[A lowkey, inviting jazz tune begins to play in the background–the music of a classy cafe or restaurant.]

And you are make your way inside the restaurant, and it's very quiet. There are a lot of–a lot of people are sitting there quietly eating their food. Typically, they'll eat it and then after a few bites will stand up and walk to the side. As you walk in here, you hear a "yip!" You hear a yelp, and if you look around you can see potted plants, a couple of potted plants all around the, ah, all around the shelves on the sides, some stairs in the back of the leading up.

Again, adorned by so much plant life, and you've seen basically nothing in Charmonde so far. It's basically been a desert. The only part that doesn't have anything is there's an empty pot at the bar, like, but it looks like a pot for a potted plant, and behind that, you see the bartender, who is a red-haired woman in bulging baggy overalls, and her hair's tied into tight into a bud on the back of her head. And as soon as you enter, she looks at Don and she says...

[The jazz music begins to fade.]

Kyle (as the bartender)

[Startled.] Wait, what are you doing back here?

[A more mysterious, sneaky tune featuring a low horn line begins to play, fading as Kyle begins to speak.]

Kyle

Hello, welcome to the announcement break for "What If?," a special Quest Friends episode featuring the Amber Clave. My name is Kyle. I am your GM for today. And this is our little announcement break where I just talk, me to you, you to me. Well, not you to me. I can't, I can't hear you. But I am going to talk to you, so really it's just the same as everything else. And what I want to talk to you about today is The Amber Clave. So The Amber Clave is a fellow Numenera podcast. It takes place in the same world, the 9th world that our show does, although while our current season focuses more on the land, their first season takes place entirely in the ocean. It features the same protagonists as this bonus episode. It features similar shenanigans, only differences is that the Amber Clave is in a little bit better shape than it is here, and it has a different GM behind the wheel.

If you've enjoyed hearing these characters go through their shenanigans at all. I really encourage you to check out TheAmberClave.com, which you'll find a link to below. They're really good people, their show's a lot of fun, and showcases a very different way to interpret Numenera, which I think is just a really fun part about playing a role playing system and kind of seeing the different ways people interpret them. And their show also has transcripts for the first two episodes, for someone who wants to, you know, quickly read it or if you're hard

 [00:25:00] 

of hearing or something like that.

In addition, on today, today! Right now. Well, I can't guarantee right now. I don't know which of us is gonna release it first, you know, we could be a few minutes apart. But today, they have a similar "what if" scenario bonus episode on their end where Hop, Misha, Xoc, and Elee are thrown into the deep, dark, scary depths of the ocean as seen in The Amber Clave. So if you're enjoying this episode, check out The Amber Clave, not only for more episodes starring these three goofballs in this episode, but also for a special bonus episode starring our regularly scheduled pack of four goofballs.

But you know, I can only speak so much about what their show is about, and they can really speak to it better. So without further ado, here's a brief advertisement showcasing The Amber Clave.

[Low, ominous music begins to play.]

Megan (GM of The Amber Clave)

A billion years from now, civilization has risen and fallen eight times, leaving the people of the 9th world to make lives in the ruins of the technology whose secrets have long since been lost. Here, every turn may bring a strange new discovery, and what is familiar might be the greatest threat. The Amber Clave seeks to learn, build, discover and protect all 9th worlders. Join us at TheAmberClave.com.

[The music stops.]

Kyle

One last thing I gotta say, our intro and outro song are "Friends" and "Hitoshio," both by Miracle of Sound. And while I normally say when you can find our next episode at the end of these, I should have the other episode either uploaded now or within 12 hours. So I'll see you again whenever you choose to start the next one!

[The mysterious, whimsical horn music begins again.]

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Frustrated.] Ugh, Don!

Aser (as Korshen)

[Startled.] What did you do?

Kyle (as Don)

[Without inflection.] I came here for an investigation. I left, I filed my report, and now I am back.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Wryly.] You've clearly broken this woman's heart, you scamp.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as the bartender)

Okay. No. Um, okay. No, that's not what's going on here.

Kyle

And Don just looks even more dejected. He didn't want this, but now he's just sad he's been rejected so quickly.

Kyle (as the bartender)

[Quickly, a little frazzled.] Anyways, Don, I would say it's great to see you again, but you know, you really should, should go. I can get you some more food if you want it.

Kyle (as Don)

No, we are here with the Amber Clave for...I was just supposed to bring them here.

Kyle

And he just motions for you to do your thing as he sits, as he just sits down at the bar. Not at the bar. He sits down at the table.

Landan

I'm gonna do perception checks.

Aser

I guess I'll leave that to the perceptive one in the group. [Amused.] I'm good at lying. That's what I do.

Landan

And I do have, uh, or my perceptive thing is I do have a skill that's called eye for details.

Kyle

Okay, does that just make it easier to see things?

Landan

Yeah, like, it's generally thing, anything that's like hidden, hidden doors, stuff like that.

Kyle

Okay.

Landan

[A little sheepish.] Well, I notice nothing! That is a one. [Laughter.]

Kyle

Okay, you, everything looks on the level? You don't see anything suspicious here! [Trying not to laugh.] Everything looks great. In fact, the only thing you notice is as soon as Don sits down, he remembers his protocol and he stands back up again, because he is not allowed to sit while on the job. And the woman looks at you and she's like,

Kyle (as the bartender)

Oh, um, so we're, we don't answer...I'm not here to answer questions. But if you want food, we've got some food, some really delicious stuff here. I'll even offer it since, you know, you're working with my friend Don, I'll offer it on the house.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Quickly, with enthusiasm.] Okay! Food on the house?

Shaunna

I would assume since we're so scrappy, we uh, have a hard time saying no to food that's free.

Aser

Yeah.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

But I'm a little bit worried still, because of the encounter with the man on the street.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Curiously, with a hint of suspicion.] Is there anything I should worry about, you know, allergies or adverse effects to you know anything on your menu?

Aser

[Pleased.] I will ask, as I am trained in sensing deception.

Kyle

Okay, and she will say–

Kyle (as the bartender)

[Insistent and maybe a little nervous.] Oh nothing with allergies. Well...

Kyle

And you see her kind of sit there for a second, and she looks like she wants to say something, but she's like...

Kyle (as the bartender)

No, nothing!

Aser (as Korshen)

[More overtly suspicious.] But you just kind of...there was a thing there.

Kyle (as the bartender)

No, there wasn't, there's no thing, no thing.

Aser (as Korshen)

There was definitely a thing.

Kyle (as the bartender)

No, there wasn't, there wasn't a thing! So do you all want–

Aser (as Korshen)

[Crosstalking.]  Jessamy, did you notice a thing?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

I think so.

Kyle (as the bartender)

[Crosstalking.]  You want turkeys, you want hothounds?

Kyle

And she takes, and she's just making some food, and she takes some seasoning and she starts pouring it on.

Kyle (as the bartender)

We've got the best kind of food around, don't let anyone else know. Of course.

Landan

I want to make a roll to try to help Korshen out. I have a skill called imposing deductions.

Kyle

Okay.

Landan

Where it's like whenever he said the, the tick or whatever, I guess, her hiccup in speech, like, point that out to try to back him up, to try to intimidate or be like yeah, there was a thing I didn't say.

Kyle

Okay.

Aser

All right. I've got coax information.

Landan

All right. That is a 14.

Kyle

Okay, and then Aser, give me a roll.

Aser

All right. So the way coax information works is I talk to someone for a minute, and I can get them to reveal information to me. And the best part is if I succeed, they 

[00:30:00] 

either are unaware, they convinced, they uh, they tell me what I want to know, or they don't think it's a big deal. And I'm going to go ahead and use that training and effort as, you know, I risk giving this person an aneurysm.

Kyle

[Incredulous.] What?!

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle

What?! Are you gonna kill her?

Aser

[Dice roll.] There isn't anything causing her to not want to talk to us like this. Unfortunately, I rolled a one!

Shaunna

Oh gosh, we go with the really high highs, and they're really low lows.

Landan

Yeah.

Kyle

Yeah, so I am going to say that she knows when she gives you information. She will be aware of this, but she will give it, because Landan had a good roll. And also, she's just a, she might be a good person. She seems like a good person, maybe, who knows. Uh, she's making the food, and um, she turns over and she's like.

Kyle (as the bartender)

Uh, all right. Well, I, none of you are allergic to anther are you?

Aser (as Korshen)

[Hesitantly.] Can't say that I am.

Landan (as Mako)

[Thoughtful.] I don't think so.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

What is that...

Kyle (as the bartender)

Cool! Then you'll be great.

Kyle

And she passes on over three pieces of food. Got a turkey leg, you have a, uh, a hothound. And then you have an egg. A mysterious egg. It is just an egg, and it seems to chirp a little bit, but she's like,

Kyle (as the bartender)

No, that's fine. That's how it works.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Reluctant.] Oh.

Kyle (as the bartender)

So it's like fried over easy, but it is chirping.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Wow.

Kyle

And there is, there's some glittering. They are all very shiny and glittery, so.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Slowly, thinking it over.] So...I think we need to donate this food, for science.

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as the bartender)

Donate for science? I don't know what you're talking about. You all, you all look very hungry. I just–

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You're right. You're right. I meant donate to my stomach, because I'm the science person. Right?

Aser (as Korshen)

[A little too enthusiastically.] Right!

Landan (as Mako)

Exactly.

Aser (as Korshen)

Well, we will be right back.

Aser

I will say.

Kyle (as the bartender)

Okay!

Shaunna

Okay. And as we walk away. I whisper quietly.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

I really meant donate to someone else.

Aser (as Korshen)

Yeah, and we observe them, right?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Okay. Yes! For science.

Aser (as Korshen)

For science.

Kyle

Um, so are you leaving?

Shaunna

I think we need to find a table in here.

Aser

Yeah.

Shaunna

Preferably with someone else who was also just getting their food.

Kyle

Okay.

Landan

[Trying not to laugh.] I kind of want to get another one of those egg things and sit at the table with Don, and see if we can do an egg shot and see how to fix Don.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

Good plan.

Kyle

All right, and he is, he looks at you and is like–

Kyle (as Don)

This is not in my job description, but I have not eaten in 30 hours. So, yes.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[A little worried.] Don, you should eat!

Landan (as Mako)

Yeah, I mean, I know you can't drink on the job but there's nothing about doing an egg shot!

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

No, for science!

Kyle (as Don)

Please do not refer to it as drinks, or I will have to wait another 12 hours.

Landan (as Mako)

It's not a drink, see, it's more of a semi-solid than anything.

Kyle (as Don)

Semi-solids ... wait.

Kyle

And he counts down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then he takes it and he gulps it down. Are you drinking it, too?

Landan

I think, given the nature of not knowing how it might affect me, I will uh, I'll go ahead and drink it and then have the others not eat their food, just to see how it affects me.

Kyle

Okay, cool. How much of it do you drink?

Landan

I'm gonna do the entire egg, just like in one go.

Kyle

Okay, cool. So you see to–so everyone, I want you to give me an intellect defense role.

Landan

Nice. All right. That's an 18!

Kyle

Cool. Don is going to drink it and everyone's just going to see him kind of go...

Kyle (as Don)

Ugh, uhhh, too fresh.

Kyle

Meanwhile, you're gonna gulp it down. It tastes...exquisite. It is perfect. It is, it is blessed.

[A bright, tinkling tune begins to play.]

And then the sparkles, you feel them kind of almost dig in on your tongue and the sides of your mouth a little bit, and your vision goes kind of foggy. And you're having a little bit of trouble remembering, like, it's very good, you kind of want to order it again, but you forget how much it costs. You forget the name of it. Honestly, you forgot the name of the restaurant so you don't even know how to get there and you're like, oh, wait. I'm in the restaurant. I know how to get there.

So you seem to have trouble remembering the circumstances around this food? You know you want it again, you know it's really good, but everything else you seem to kind of be forgetting.

[The music stops.]

Landan (as Mako)

Man, that whatever I just had was amazing. Where am I?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You had an egg, the...one of those eggs and it was good? [Confused.]

Landan (as Mako)

It was great, but I don't really think I had egg.

Aser (as Korshen)

Do you still–

Aser

The remnants of the eggs are still there? Right?

Kyle

Yeah. The shell is still there.

Aser (as Korshen)

Do you see this shell, Mako?

Landan (as Mako)

[Confidently.] Yes.

Aser (as Korshen)

You ate the egg that was in the shell.

Landan

Mako will pick it up and kind of look inside.

Landan (as Mako)

[Less confidently, more confused.] Maybe I did, but I don't remember. I don't seem to taste egg in my mouth.

Kyle

And as you say that, you just see from, like, off-camera, just a couple more eggs slide into frame on a tray. And you see the the red-haired woman with the baggy pants, the bartender. She's holding the pot from the table on her arm, and she slid the other eggs there.

Kyle (as the bartender)

You know, I'm really glad to hear that you like it. Here, you can–feel free to have some more. Everyone else if you want to try it as well, this is kind of our specialty!

Aser (as Korshen)

Excuse me? I didn't catch your name.

Kyle (as the bartender)

[Reluctantly, stammering.] Oh, um, well, uh well...

Kyle

And she turns over to, uh, to Don, and it almost looks like she wants to lie, but Don can remember things, so she just sighs 

[00:35:00] 

and she's like, yeah.

Kyle (as the bartender/Glorinna)

My name is Glorinna. I run the place.

[Laughter.]

Aser (as Korshen)

All right. Glorinna! Would you mind...could you have one of these eggs, please?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Um, you know, we're not allowed to eat our own food.

Landan (as Mako)

[A little too cheerfully.] Um, oh not–nonsense! If they're that amazing, surely you have to partake with your guests.

Landan

And I will hand her an egg, another egg.

Shaunna

Ohh.

Kyle

She'll take an egg.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

And the customer is always right!

Kyle (as Glorinna)

You know, really, that's, that's...that's not really our policy. And you just hear her whisper, I'm so sorry.

Kyle

Like you see her lean down to the plant and say I'm so sorry before looking up saying...

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Really I can't, I'm sorry. I can't do it.

Kyle

And she just drops the the egg into the potted plant.

Aser

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

Okay.

Landan (as Mako)

[Disappointed.] What a waste of a good egg.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

So wait, she just apologized to the plant?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

No I didn't!

Aser (as Korshen)

Hmmm.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You're right. I, I'm, I have had too many eggs. [A little panicked.] Oh, that was silly of me.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Audibly stressed, with forced laughter.] You know, it's getting pretty late. Maybe, you know, I think we're going to shut down. So it's been great seeing you all, Don, a pleasure as always. Um, we're just going to us to go.

Kyle

And as that happens, she turns around, and I'm going to introduce a GM intrusion for her, but is also bad for you. I want...who am I going to give it to. Who did not get a GM intrusion earlier? Aser, you didn't get a point right? Aser, you will get the point and you will be the one punished for this. Who do you want to give your other experience point to?

Aser

Let's give it to Mako, for his enduring memory loss. Taking one for the team.

Kyle

Okay. So as she walks away you hear a similar, like, the yelp you heard earlier. You see hear it out of the potted plant, and you see what looks like a plant octopus head kind of emerge from it, going...

Kyle (as the ploctopus/Morrin)

Uh...wha...what's going on. My head's a little fuzzy.

Kyle

And Glorinna just turns over and she's like, 

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Morrin. 

Kyle

And um, she sets down the plant, and she just sets her hands on the table and she's like...

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Sheepishly.] I am, I'm really sorry about this.

Kyle

And with that, all of a sudden the pants burst open, and you see eight plant octopus legs emerge from where the plants were, and um, four of them lift up and they hurl they hurl balls of like what looks like cauliflower at each of you and I need you all to roll speed defense.

Shaunna

[With a sigh.] Oh boy.

Kyle

You have found the ploctopus, or the plant octopus.

Landan

[Laughter.]

Aser (as Korshen)

[Dryly.] Don, we found her.

Shaunna

[Surprised.] I rolled a 20 again. I don't know who I am anymore!

Landan

I got a 12.

Aser

I got 12.

Kyle

Okay, and Don, it does not matter; Don always fails.

Shaunna

He's like Eeyore. Oh...

Kyle

All right. So Jessamy, you got a twenty. What do you want, like, the kind of bonus effect to be as these cauliflower comes flying at each of you.

Shaunna

[Startled.] I don't even know. I want...I want Mako to come back to his senses.

Kyle

Yeah, so you dodge, and as you do you whip your hand back and you accidentally knock Mako in the face, which knocks his senses back a little bit.

Landan

That works!

Kyle

And right after that happens, both he and Korshen are slammed in the head by these cauliflower which bursts into flowery glitter all over them. And you recognize, suddenly, and only you, you recognize what comprises this glitter as anther, a type of pollen that causes memory loss.

And with that, both Mako and Korshen, your brains just black out and you're like–

[The tinkling music begins to play again.]

Oh, it's getting kind of late out. I should probably go home.

[The music stops.]

Shaunna

I cover my face.

Kyle

You're fine.

Shaunna

Okay.

Kyle

Yeah you cover your face, and you're fine, and Don's just standing there–it just hit him in the head, and he's just standing there. But the other two.

[The tinkling music begins again.]

Yeah, it's getting late. You should probably go home. Don't even know why you're here. You should get to bed.

Shaunna

I look at Glorinna.

Kyle

Yeah.

Shaunna

What's she doing.

Kyle

Um, she's just sitting there. She's very, like, concerned that you dodged it. And you see that she is, um, a couple of the tentacle legs are reaching behind the bar and trying to grab some more stuff it looks like.

Shaunna

Okay, so can I try to like fake her out, and be like, oh, yeah, it's time for us to go! Like I want to try to act like I have now lost my memory. Can I try to do that?

Kyle

I'm going to say since you rolled a 20 and you–recovering Mako's memories didn't really work because he lost them immediately afterwards. I will say that you can do this.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Kyle

But I need you to play this out in full. I need–I need this for me.

Shaunna

Okay. Well, lucky for you, I'm a glass and a half of wine in so this should be easy.

[Laughter.]

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Exaggeratedly cheerful.] Wow, that was fantastic. I think it is time for us to go. Don! You have really shown us a magnificent 

[00:40:00] 

time but we need to go.

Kyle (as Don)

[Bewildered.] I, um, was supposed to bring you here to recover to stop the sarracenians. I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Kyle

And Glorinna pops in.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Insistent.] Don, no, really. I think it is best if you go.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Yes, Don, everything's fine.

Shaunna

And I try to grab Don.

Kyle (as Don)

And he just sighs and he says, well, paperwork will get through in like a month, so. [Annoyed.] Fine.

Kyle

And he starts walking out with you three.

All

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

Okay. As soon as we get outside, I punch both Korshen and Mako on the head again.

Kyle

Okay, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say it works. I don't...I don't want to mechanically punish them for this.

All

[Laughter.]

Um, I'm tempted to, but for the sake of time, I won't.

Shaunna

That's fair.

Kyle

Also because this is our first session together, and I don't want to get too mean to you yet. So as you leave, the door slams, at the same time as you punch both of them in the face, so you can't tell which sound is causing what. And I'm gonna say, yeah. Your memories are back, you got a good bonk on the head.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Surprised.] Ah, ow!

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but you guys both got hit with some pollen, and it made you forget everything. So...but you're back now.

Aser (as Korshen)

All right...?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Don, how you doing?

Kyle (as Don)

Is that a genuine question or is that just, like, making conversation question because honestly, I have a lot I could talk about and...

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Apologetically.] I want to get into that, but I don't think we can.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as Don)

He just sighs and he says well, I would say it's the thought that counts but honestly, I feel just as bad as I did before.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

That's fair. I wouldn't trust me either. Um, so I think we found the...the thing, the Sarah...the Sarah-octo-things?

Aser

Uh, where we supposed to do anything other than find it?

Kyle

You are supposed to find, and I forget the word...it was code word for neutralize, that was it, you're supposed to find and neutralize the sarracenian...the scarracenians, specifically the ploctopus, which was a dangerous weapon.

Aser

All right. Well, I have an, I have this artifact weapon.

Kyle

What is it called?

Aser

It actually doesn't have a name. We took it. It's taken from a cypher fanatic, and it is the equivalent of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Kyle

Okay?

Aser

And I think it is time to reacquaint ourselves with this lady who does not want to be remembered.

Kyle

So are you gonna just open the door?

Aser

[Reluctantly.] Ahh...it seems like a bad idea to open the door.

Kyle

Okay.

Aser

[More enthusiastically.] So I will instead blow up the door. Hey, you said we could burn down the, we could burn down this quarter of town.

Kyle

[Slightly incredulous but amused.] Okay. Yeah. I mean you could. Poor Glorinna. Um. So yeah, you take the rocket launcher. You should...describe how you blow up this door, because you're blowing up the door.

Aser

Alright. So first of all, we have to, we have to um, we have to leave, you know, we have to go beyond minimum safe distance. So, you know, I'm just going to casually start walking, walking the group farther away, like across the street.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Aser

And then I'm going to say...all the while, you know, the rage is building and I say.

Aser (as Korshen)

So, Don. For...just as a hypothetical, how many, you know, how many forms would I have to fill out for the destruction of a commercial building.

Kyle (as Don)

Surprisingly few

Aser (as Korshen)

[Pleasantly surprised.] Really? Okay, so, you know like, uh, I just have to show like good cause or something?

Aser

And as I'm saying this, I'm like, opening, I've taken out my pack and I've started assembling this, this contraption. And basically like, it's a, you know, it's somewhat more sophisticated than a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, which is essentially just a steel tube with a firing mechanism.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Aser

And so I'm just having this conversation with him as I'm, you know, shouldering this weapon.

Kyle (as Don)

Okay, he's going to say, well the first thing you're going to have to do is you're going to have to make a prayer to the Moonlight Dancer. Then you have to get a nibble of a, you have to get the paperwork signed with a little bit of blood, you just gotta poke the Scrat statue for that one. At that point, it's about three to eight weeks as you wait for Queen Armalu's approval, and then honestly, generally Vera just blows it up herself.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Cheerfully.] All right, got to expedite that.

Aser

And I will fire.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Kyle

This rocket shoots out and it, it spirals, and it hits the door of the Submergine, and the door explodes open and you hear some hissing, like, some, uh, some hissing as like ah, the doors and kind of the plants around it shrink back a little bit.

Aser

Oh and uh, FYI, anything that cannot dodge takes eight percent–anything that cannot dodge that is in immediate range of the impact point takes eight points of damage.

Kyle

That's enough to kill anything in that radius because 

[00:45:00] 

they're all plants. So a lot of the potted plants are just on fire. Don't worry. They weren't alive in the way that Morrin was alive, but they were still life, and you killed it.

The fireball explodes. You see flecks of the door just fly past Don's unblinking face as, like, the lights just like shimmer back and forth, and he just stares there.

Shaunna

This is what I want.

Kyle

He sighs, and you're now able to get in pretty easily. There's a little bit of smoke, so you can't see what happens till you get through the door, because that area of the game hasn't loaded yet.

Aser

The highlight of this, like, whole thing, in the whole trailer, could just be Don reaction shots.

Shaunna

Yeah. This is, I want to imagine, like, Don in a halo of sparks and smoke and glittering plant pollen.

Kyle

[Laughing.] I love it.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)  

Before we go back in there, we need to, like, cover our faces or something, because you two, and probably me...

Aser (as Korshen)  

I was just thinking bandanas.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Yeah, bandanas, something. Gas mask, I don't know. But you two were goners before.

Aser (as Korshen)

Yeah.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Pouting a little.] You're welcome.

Landan (as Mako)

I don't know if this will help?

Landan

And Mako will activate his ice armor ability.

Kyle

Describe how that works.

Landan

And Korshen gets the benefit as well of this. But basically, Mako will kind of just stand there close his eyes real quickly, and then it's almost like...ah, not to the extreme of, kind of, uh, X-Men's Iceman, but Mako's all of a sudden kind of covered in like a layer of frost, and it adds to his armor–extra if it's cold. And then at the same time, kind of slowly, I imagine, from the foot going up, or feet going up, Korshen's kind of covered in the same kind of frost like chill.

Kyle

Okay!

Landan

Yeah, and it's, it adds +1 to armor, and it makes it +2 if it's cold.

Kyle

Okay. Yeah, that works perfectly. So you two are covered. All right. So are you going to cover your face?

Shaunna

Yeah, so I, like, dig through my bag for a spare undershirt, and wrap it around my head. That's all I have, I don't have anything...

Kyle

Okay, how–how bad is this undershirt? Is it like, the shirt that you buy that you, like, never expect to wear? Like, while going out, so it can be like covered with paint.

Shaunna

Probably. I mean, I would assume that it's the Amber Clave standard issue. So it maybe has seen a few other adventures.

Landan

I like to, I like to think it's more like uh, it's like an Amber Clave, like, gym shirt, because like, when you join the Amber Clave, you get access to, like, the Amber Clave's gym.

Kyle

So we got two ice people, and then someone who's just covered with a bandana, and Don who is also there.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Insistent.] Don, cover your face!

Kyle (as Don)

Honestly, I don't need to. This thing removes memories, but I haven't slept in a few days. So really, life is just a walking fog for me anyways. I should be fine.

Shaunna

[Laughter.] Don!

Kyle (as Don)

Um.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Once again Don, I wish we could talk about this!

Kyle (as Don)

Maybe someone will be able to talk with me about my issues one day.

Aser (as Korshen)

Have you like, thought about going to HR?

Kyle (as Don)

Maybe. Honestly, the horrendous Rat King tends to just eat whoever talks to him about hi–their problems. So I have not approached them yet.

Aser (as Korshen)

Yeah.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

That's fair.

Kyle

See you make your way in, I'm assuming?

Aser  

Yes.

Landan

Yes.

Kyle

So you make your way in. It looks like the aftermath of an explosion. You hear, like, some screeching. There's smoke billowing up. And if you walk up the...but Glorinna and Morrin are not there. And if you walk up the staircase, you can see up at the top, there's some, there's a couple of doorways. There's a cabinet to food at your left. There's some stuff to your right. And right in front of you, there is a steel door behind which you can hear some murmuring.

Landan  

Can I make out the murmuring to see if it is Glorino?

Kyle

[Laughing.] Glorino? Yeah, give me a roll.

Landan  

Uh, that's going to be a 10.

Kyle

Yes. It is a lot of people, and you can hear Glorinna trying to like, shush them down a little bit. Like kind of comforting, and it's like murmuring, almost like, you know, like maybe kids who are super nervous so someone's trying to, like, calm them down.

Landan

I will look over to Korshen and Jessamy and just kind of word with my mouth.

Landan (as Mako)

[Quietly.] I think they're in here.

Aser

All right, I'm gonna go ahead and roll intimidation. It's really funny. My character has two axes of competence. One is lying to people and–or getting them to do what I want–and one of them is blowing things up.

Kyle

[Laughter.] You are tremendous heroes. All right. So what's the kind of intimidation are we trying to do, and how are we trying to do it?

Aser (as Korshen)  

[Matter of factly.] You've seen how I open doors, open that one or I'm opening it for you!

Kyle

Okay, give me a roll to intimidate.

Aser

With training and effort, that will be an 18.

Kyle

Yeah, the door cracks open. It is not open completely, but it does crack open, allowing you to enter?

Aser

All right!

Kyle

Do you enter?

Aser

Ah, yes.

Kyle

[The tinkling, chiming music begins.]

All right, you push 

[00:50:00] 

open the door, and you see–your mind–your eyes and your minds are almost kind of overwhelmed for a second, as you see this harsh blue light emanating from, like, in like rivers, in this cavern wall that stretches out hundreds of feet in front of you. And on it, you see rows and rows of potted plants, each of which has a different kind of creature in it.

One looks like a potted skrat. One looks like like a potted aneen. They all are different potted creatures.

[The music fades out into something more dramatic and melancholy.]

And as you open the door, they...they're all looking like frightened and terrified at you, and they're all kind of shirking back in your, uh, they're striking back into their potted plants. And in the center of all of them, illuminated by this light, is Glorinna, who's just kind of sitting over her own legs, and she has her hands kind of like in a–just close together. She says.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Resigned.] So...[A sigh.] I don't suppose we can talk.

[Closing theme, “Hitoshio” by Miracle of Sound, begins.]

[Episode ends - 00:51:22]