What If? feat. The Amber Clave, Part 2

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

Kyle (as Glorinna)

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

Landan (as Mako)

I don't see why not.

Aser (as Korshen)

We like talking.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Exasperated.] Do we?

Aser (as Korshen)

We don't like being lied to.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Well...[Sighs.] You have to understand, it's, it's, it's easy to...I'm inclined to lie to people when those who walk away with awareness of what is going on...[More annoyed.] Explode my front door.

Aser (as Korshen)

Well, see what we–I don't think we really do understand what's going on.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Still less patient with the situation than Mako and Korshen.] I mean, you drugged us. That's what's going on.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

I didn't–it is a natural pollen. I did not drug–

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Crosstalking.]  It's a drug! You drugged us.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Slower, trying to be patient.] All right, let's start from the top. Hi. My name is Glorinna. I am trying to survive. And you are?

Landan (as Mako)

I'm Mako.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Sullen.] I'm Jessamy.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Slightly bored.] Korshen.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

All right. And you are here with Don, which makes me imagine that you are…

Kyle (as Don)

And Don's just like yes, we are going to take you in, because you are making un–you, because you are selling food that has clearly not been approved through the official channels.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Sighs.] Yeah, so I don't, I don't necessarily see why that would be a, a reason to uh, blow up my door.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Okay, well.

Landan (as Mako)

[Slightly apologetic.] It's hard to get a handle on this one once he's kind of been revved up.

Aser (as Korshen)

I, I don't take kindly to being manipulated.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

And we don't take kindly to being hunted. Now, could you please explain what is...what is going on here?

Aser (as Korshen)

[Thoughtful, choosing his words carefully.] It seems as though you are posing a danger to those in charge.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Those in charge? Who possibly in charge would we have to worry about? We go on our own, we've stayed on ourselves. Yeah, we sell fresh food. But who else is...how else are people here going to get food? It gets us shins, and it gets people safe. I don't see what the issue is, or why Armalu...why I don't see why anyone in power would care about us.

Aser (as Korshen)

Well, you know, there are any number of reasons. Control over the food supply tends to be a pretty strong motivator to keep people in line.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Sighs, annoyed.] Yeah, fine, I guess. So Armalu sent you?

Aser (as Korshen)

Don?

Kyle

So Don is working with Armalu. You are hired by JET.CO, which is a private organization.

Aser (as Korshen)

Yeah. Well, you know, you know how those things go. When you go high enough, it's all the same thing. So, I mean, why did you settle here?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

I don't know, we were...[Huffs, frustrated.] Okay. Yeah, fine. I guess I'll explain our life story. So I am...I guess the head of the sarracenians, or whatever is left of us.

[Quiet, dramatic music begins to play in the background, building in intensity.]

We've been running for a while, and we found a place where we could be safe. We found this.

Kyle

And she points to the blue light that's on the cavern wall.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Glorinna starts talking faster as she goes, more anxious.] She says this a type of light, a type of energy that, that is nearly infinite. And all we have to do is just hide in our part of the wall, and, and, and take from it. And then this was how we were able to clean the food. So we stay here safe, we get the food for everyone else, and they don't remember us, and, and, and then, uh, and then he can't find us.

Landan (as Mako)

Who's he?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

I...[Sighs.] It's not important. What's important is that we can't go anyplace else. This is where we're safe. This is where we're secure, and, and this is supposed to be where nobody can find us. So I need to know how you knew we were here.

Aser (as Korshen)

Let's back it up here. There are certain, you know, the, the important thing when you're trying to negotiate is to investigate people...people's underlying assumptions. Who is this person, or thing, that you cannot hide from, other than here?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Frustrated.] Fine. So there was...a, uh, I'm not the first leader of the sarracenians. There were, there were two of us at the start. There were two of us who did all of this. His name is Roscand. He's looking for, I don't know, a way to make life, a way to make infinite life, and he thought making all of this would help him find the answer. And then when it didn't, he wanted to burn his research to the ground, and so I took the rest of us, and we went. And, and, and he found us a few times but we got away, and I don't...he's the only person who's had ever had an interest in us, but he wouldn't, he wouldn't know we were here.

[The music abruptly stops.]

Kyle

And to that Don blurts out, 

Kyle (as Don)

I mean, what are you talking about? He's the one who hired them.

Aser (as Korshen)

Oh.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Hmmm.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Brightly.] Okay, so I figured out how we can solve this problem.

Landan (as Mako)

I think I have an idea too.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Laughter.] Does it involve Roscand dying?

Landan (as Mako)

That's part of it, but it's got some other stuff.

Aser (as Korshen)

All right. Okay, so that's just, that's as far as I got.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Aser (as Korshen)

So let's hear the rest of it.

Landan (as Mako)

Well, you know, things have been kind of rough for the Amber Clave lately, right?

Aser (as Korshen)

Yeah.

Landan (as Mako)

Our headquarters 

[00:05:00] 

currently isn't the best of shape, right?

Aser (as Korshen)

Yes.

Landan (as Mako)

So they need to stay here and be hidden right?

Aser (as Korshen)

Yes.

Landan (as Mako)

So why not move our headquarters to here? They can still cook food and stuff like that, but then, you know, we can say it's from the Amber Clave, and then we still go hunt Roscand, but then kill Roscand, but then we have a better setup where we can guard them. You know, there's Glorinna, and the Sicilian–the sarracenians, you know, can stay protected and everything. And it might be a little bit of an upgrade from where we're currently headquartered.

Aser (as Korshen)

It sounds like this could be a very beneficial partnership.

Landan (as Mako)

Exactly!

Aser (as Korshen)

And we can hire Don here to do the paperwork.

Kyle (as Don)

I am not allowed to be hired to other positions. So that will not be...

Aser (as Korshen)

[Cutting him off.] We'll pay you under the table.

Kyle (as Don)

I'm pretty sure that's how I'm already paid anyway.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Oh, so you're used to it!

Landan (as Mako)

Just think of it as another level of bureaucracy.

[Cajoling him.] Come on, Don.

Kyle (as Don)

I...I suppose you might have a point.

Kyle

And he starts to reach out his hand for an official handshake, and as he does another explosion rocks the space.

Shaunna

[Gasps.]

Kyle

And he shoots his hand back down.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

And Glorinna's like wait, what's going on? What's going on? You don't, did you–like, you have more?

Landan (as Mako)  

[Wary.] That wasn't us.

Kyle

And Don just pipes in, 

Kyle (as Don)

I suppose my paperwork finally went through.

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle

And as it happens, you can hear the footsteps of two Gendarme soldiers as they start searching the the area beneath you. So you are behind the door, but they're, they're searching trying to find, find this evil plant organization that so heinously does not follow food protocol.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Cheery.] Hang tight. We'll take care of this. Wait, do you have any more of that stuff? Or those spores, or the pollen?

Kyle

Five of them drop into your arms as you say that.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Oh also, there's um, there's this.

Kyle

And she is going to hand you three different cyphers. So she's going to reach into the plants, and she's going to pull three plant-based cyphers, which I'm going to create on the moment, right here.

[A cheery and chill tune almost like something you'd hear during an easy-going infomercial demonstration begins to play.]

So how cyphers work in the Quest Friends universe: I described how they look and what they do. You get to extrapolate from that how you want to use them.

All

[Laughter.]

Aser

Okay.

Kyle

She hands–Korshen, to you she hands the, uh, the cauliflower, just a bunch of this cauliflower-looking thing, which is called anther, and are you familiar with spud launchers or potato guns?

Aser

Yes.

Kyle

She gives you a s...potato gun, made out of potatoes.

Aser

[Surprised and amused.] Wow, you know the, that's some real nose to tail full, full utilization there.

Landan

[Dryly.] That's definitely a tuber launcher.

Kyle

All right. So for for Jessamy.

Shaunna  

I'm assuming it's a purple cauliflower for Jessamy.

Kyle

Yes. There's one purple cauliflower. You all get one cauliflower, yours is purple, but she actually reaches in to...she pulls out this, like, knotted jar. And into it, she reaches into this light in the wall that was coursing in rivers, this harsh blue light, and she pulls it out and she bottles it. And she hands it to you and she's like...

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Alright. [Anxiously.]  This is nearly infinite energy. Please use it outside of the door

Kyle

And then finally for you, Mako, she's like...

[The infomercial music fades into something higher and sweeter.]

Kyle (as Glorinna)

I don't, I don't have anything else.

Kyle

And she reaches around one of her arms and she pulls off an armband that has a single rose on it, and she hands it to you.

Landan

Okay.

Shaunna

I love that so much!

Kyle (as Glorinna)  

She says I, I cannot thank you enough...

Kyle

And there's another explosion.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[A little frantic.] But we will talk about what we do after, after this!

Kyle

And then you all just march out?

Aser

Oh, yeah.

Kyle

All right, you all march out, and I'm going to say that when you march out, you hear the Gendarme army soldiers moving around. Just so you know, they're wearing the same gear that Don is wearing.

Landan

Can I...can I do something more for flavor than anything, I think, mechanically?

Kyle

Go ahead.

Landan

So whenever we walk, uh, out of the doors and shut the doors behind us, Mako's going to take a canteen of water that he has, and he's going to coat the door in the water. And I have an artifact called polar touch that freezes, normally on an attack it would freeze a creature solid if they're in the water, but I want to use it to encase the door in ice as another barrier in case something were to happen to us. So, maybe it buys time for Glorinna and them to escape that area if they could.

Kyle

Okay. I love it. Yeah, the ice goes up and it locks everyone in, and you hear some murmuring. And you just hear Glorinna like, [Makes soft shushing noises.] She's trying to shush everyone in in the other room.

Landan (as Mako)

All right. Let's see who's making them explosions.

Kyle

So you're gonna just charge out?

Shaunna

Well–as we, as we are leaving the room I, I murmur.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Why don't we play this like they're already gone?

Aser (as Korshen)

Alright

Landan (as Mako)

Seems good enough to me.

Aser (as Korshen)

I am, uh, I will go down there and lie through my teeth.

Kyle

All right.

Aser (as Korshen)

If I don't come back, avenge my death.

All

[Laughter.]

[00:10:00] 

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

That's always at the top of my checklist.

Kyle

The steps creak as you walk down, and I need you to roll speed defense as you get down to the bottom step.

Aser

Okay, I will burn effort on that. [Dice roll.] That would be a level five success.

Kyle

All right, you just barely get it. So as you get down, you hear a fwip! And a chain on the end of, like, a...what am I thinking? A grappling hook! Clangs into the side against you and whips back into one of the arms of the Gendarme soldier. Because you see now that their vests essentially let them shoot out grappling hooks, like Spider-Man, so it goes back into their vest, and they just kind of look at you. And they're like,

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 1)

Uhhhh, you're not a plant.

Aser (as Korshen)

No. No, I am not a plant. So let me guess. You're the sergeant.

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 1)

[Hesitantly, slightly confused.] Uh, I am. Yes. I am the sergeant.

Kyle

And the other one turns over and says,

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 2)

Valentine, you're not the sergeant, you started yesterday, like me.

Kyle (as Gendarme "Sargeant"/Valentine)

Yes. I am the sergeant of the two of us, 

Kyle

Valentine pipes up.

Aser (as Korshen)

All right. Well in that case, then you really should know that you really need to be exercising better fire discipline, because, well, this place could literally catch fire.

Kyle (as Valentine)

[Shocked and a little indignant.] Whoa. Yes, I under–yes. I understand that. But you know, we have very dangerous criminals we have to catch.

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 2)

You know, I don't really think they're that bad. They just, I mean, it, they're plants. Plants can't move that much.

Kyle (as Valentine)

[Insistent.] Very dangerous plants though! So I would, uh, you don't look like a plant to me. But, so, you can, you can be on on your way. We have a taken care of from here.

Aser (as Korshen)

Well, you see, we were contracted to take care of the same problem. And, well, you saw from the door there that we already affected a tactical entry into this, uh, building and cleared it of all hostile presence. It turns out that the fiends behind this, uh, dastardly conspiracy to sell unlicensed food products fled in the night.

Kyle

Make a roll to convince them. He's gonna look at you like ah, ha. [Slightly confused noises.]

Shaunna

[Through laughter.] Unlicensed food products! The worst!

Kyle

[Laughter.] Welcome to Charmonde!

Aser

I am putting two levels of effort into that. [Dice roll.] Because, yes. So let's see... I rolled an 11, with training and two levels of effort, would be a level six success.

Kyle

The soldier looks at you and he says,

Kyle (as Valentine)

Ah, well, uh, that, uh, you seem very official to me, that seems properly right.

Kyle

And the other one's like,

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 2)

But what about the, what about the paperwork? Did you, did you fill out the–

Kyle

And it's GM intrusion time. So who do you want to give you other point to.

Aser

I'm gonna give you a point to refuse the intrusion.

Kyle

Ooh, he's gonna be like 

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier)

Oh, but what about the, what about–

Aser

I'm going to provide the paperwork that I had Don fill out on...before I went down here.

Kyle (as Gendarme soldier 1)

[Surprised.] Ohh...

Kyle

He looks at the paperwork that you gave, that you give him, that you apparently, that you took from Don, and he looks at it, and it is not filled out properly at all. Don did not have nearly enough time, but it is his first day and he's like...

Kyle (as Valentine)

Yes. Yes. No, I, I see you are prayed to the Scrat. You, uh, got the spit of the Moonlight Dancer. And it looks like you went directly to the forlorn district for the University's opinion. This, there's, this does seem, uh...

Kyle

I keep on losing his voice. I'm just doing Don.

Kyle (as Valentine)

This does seem like, uh, accurate paperwork to me. I think that is, that is correct. We will, uh, be on our way.

Kyle

And the two of them walk off, and they high-five each other for a job well done as they leave.

Landan

[Pleased.] Nice.

Shaunna

After it looks like they're gone, I come down the stairs to meet Korshen.

Aser

I'm going to replace the sign out there, out front, and hand letter a sign that says The Amber Clave.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] That's a good good thing to do

Kyle

[Gentle, quiet piano music begins to play.]

And with that we fade out and we start to flash forward. We start to see visions of what the future would look like, the Amber Clave coming in, them forming bonds. Don just standing there. He ended up not taking the deal because, like, he almost got caught when he tried to take it. He didn't want to be that risky. But we see all these futures, and then they shatter in an earthquake, and you feel a rumbling around you. And I'm gonna say, if it's alright, that you've caught–you met up with Glorinna at this point, like maybe you're trying to clean up the area.

Aser

Yep.

Kyle

And you hear an earthquake and we are back in the present day. We are maybe five minutes after that confrontation with the Gendarme soldiers. And you just hear Glorinna.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Surprised.] That doesn't happen normally.

Aser (as Korshen)

Well, no anywhere where that happened normally, I would, you know, want to leave and not stay there.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

You said Roscand was here, right? You said Roscand paid you.

Aser (as Korshen)

I don't think...payment was never mentioned.

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Landan (as Mako)

[Curious.] You know, who negotiated this deal?

Shaunna

Pass?

Kyle

Jessamy did it. I'm so sorry.

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle (as Glorinna)

She says no. No, but he–Roscand hired you.

[00:15:00] 

Aser (as Korshen)

[Uncertain.] Yeah.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Increasingly panicked, talking faster.] Oh no. Oh, no, he can finish the cradle. He can finish the cradle. What is–but he, no, he wouldn't have the resources to get, to get there. He's...

Aser (as Korshen)

[Unsure.] You're not making sense.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Urgent.] You're speaking in riddles!

[Low, eerie music begins to play.]

Kyle (as Glorinna)

The cradle, the cradle–Roscand wanted to make something called the cradle. It would grant him immortality. If he had access to this, to this light.

Kyle

And she points back to that blue light in the caverns.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

This is all throughout Charmonde, Charmonde is built on a bed of energy it doesn't use. If he could get to it, he could finish this thing that he uses for his eternal life or whatever nonsense he calls it. That's, that's gotta be why he knows we're here. If, if–

Landan (as Mako)

[Thoughtfully.] So, is Roscand like you all? Can he feed off the light the way that y'all do?

Kyle (as Glorinna)

He...to a degree, yes, he was...we were the more extreme versions of his interpretation. He can feed off of the light. But even if he couldn't, that is, that is an endless bed of energy. If, if he accidentally overcharged that, that could be disaster for all of Charmonde, doesn't matter how nicely we have things built up here.

Landan (as Mako)

It may be an endless bed of energy, but...

Aser (as Korshen)

[Quickly, as if he's had a flash of insight.] Wait a minute. Why don't we just find some way to channel it?

Landan (as Mako)

Even if he's siphoning off some to power his works, even if it's not as much as y'all, it's still...there's a loss somewhere in the chain of energy.

Aser (as Korshen)

Try...you're talking about figuring out where?

Landan (as Mako)

Yeah, if we can figure out where he's drawing from we'll know where he's at.

Kyle

And as Mako says that, Jessamy, who apparently negotiated the agreement, is remembering some of the fine text. They've been working to fix the Radiance District. The giant Rube Goldberg machine has not been functioning up to par. It has been sluggish, and has been slow. JET.CO  has set up a base there to help fix this machine that supposedly hasn't been operating at its full capacity.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Thoughtfully.] Okay, if this machine is operating at full capacity, what does that change for the city?

Aser (as Korshen)

Nothing good, I'm assuming

Kyle (as Glorrina)

It doesn't make a difference, but if Mako is right and that energy would have to come from something else...

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

That's why it's not functioning. 

Shaunna

All right, I, briefly, because we're in a high-stress situation and we have to go quickly, summarize the fine print of the contract that I obviously read, but did not share with the rest of the party.

All

[Laughter.]

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

So I think I know where he's pulling that power from, Mako.

Landan (as Mako)

Where's that at?

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

From, from this District–

Shaunna

What's the name of the district again, I'm sorry.

Aser

Radiance District.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

The Radiance District!

Landan (as Mako)

You know what, that makes sense. It's got that goofy machine that's never worked in, like, forever. If they got that thing up and running, that would pull quite a bit of this energy, even though it's limitless. It's still, uh, it'd be quite a draw. That makes sense that he might have, uh, holed up there somewhere.

Aser

How big is the, uh, this machine?

Kyle

It is the size of an entire district. So imagine a fourth of a big ol' hill.

Aser

Alright. Well...

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Well...

Landan (as Mako)

[Driving rock music picks up in the background.]

Well, Don, how much more paperwork for some more explosions in the Radiance District.

Kyle (as Don)

[The music abruptly stops.]

Um, honestly, this is–I did my job. I found the, I found the ploct–I found the culprits. I hired the individuals to find them, and the individuals seem to believe that the situation is taken care of, so, so far as I am concerned, the situation is resolved.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Wryly.] Oh, Don.

Kyle

And with that Don walks up, turns to you, says...

Kyle (as Don)

I would say it's a pleasure, but...eh.

Kyle

And with that he walks out of the location, and out of this episode.

All

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

I love that Don's last line is, "eh."

Aser (as Korshen)

He's the real hero.

Landan (as Mako)

Alright. It looks like we're going to the Radiance District.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Nervously.] Ah...I think so.

Kyle

So, and as that happens, you hear a slam as the door behind, locking all the things, shuts. And you turn over, and you see decked out...

[A rock song with a driving beat begins to play.]

I'm gonna say it's leather now. In a leather jacket, and leather overalls, and with all eight of her octopus plant legs holding plant guns, Glorinna just says...

Kyle (as Glorinna)

Cool. Let's go.

[The music intensifies.]

Kyle

[The music fades out.]

Hello, and welcome to the announcement break for "What If?" featuring The Amber Clave, part two. I am Kyle, your GM and today I want to let you know that our intro and outro song are "Friends" and "Hitoshio," both by Miracle of Sound, but in addition to that, I want to talk a little bit about The Amber Clave 

[00:20:00] 

and a little bit about Quest Friends.

So The Amber Clave–I've talked about them a lot in the previous episode. But again, it's another Numenera podcast. It stars the three protagonists you see in this game, but in a different interpretation of the 9th world–one that features a lot more water. They just finished the Waterworld season, my term not theirs, and starting two weeks today, they're going to start a brand new season that does not take place in the ocean. But, I don't want to say any spoilers, but as is to be expected with Numenera, shit gets weird in the most wonderful of ways. And in fact, if you listen to that first arc, you'll get a pretty strong idea from where these episodes came from, as these are largely an interpretation from a few episode arc that they had.

It's got Glorinna. It's got Roscand. But instead of being in this bureaucratic, weird space of Charmonde, the Submergine is an actual submarine city, Glorinna is just a good old-fashioned half-octopus lady, and they supplement the story's kind of dark tone with just a whole lot of romantic shipping.

But let's say you came here because you already know what The Amber Clave is, but you don't know what Quest Friends is. Well, Quest Friends is another Numenera actual play podcast. It stars four characters who you can find doing a similar adventure on The Amber Clave right now. They have a version with our characters over there. It takes place in the version of the 9th world that is populated both by heavily reinterpreted locations from the core books such as Charmonde, which looks entirely different in this game than it does in the core rulebook, and completely original locations such as Roulettia, which is Disneyland, crossed with Las Vegas, crossed with bad. If you've been enjoying our location of Charmonde, you can check out the Clockwork City arc, which takes place entirely in the city.

Otherwise, this upcoming Monday or Tuesday, we're going to have a summary of the show so far, and then you can just get started right with the new episodes.

One last thing I want to take care of before we finish. I pulled a name from the name pool for this episode. It's a pool of names featuring anyone who has tweeted or Tumblred out about the show using the hashtag QuestFriends, and I use it for characters, places, items, et cetera, et cetera. Today's character from the name pool is Sergeant Valentine named for MJ_Valentine on Twitter. Ah, thanks so much for tweeting and continuously tweeting about the show, hearing your feedback is just, it's really great to know that people are enjoying the show, and I hope you enjoyed your little role in it.

All right, that's all I got for you today. Again, if you've enjoyed this, be sure to check out TheAmberClave.com for their "what if" scenario featuring our protagonists, and then be sure to come back in a week for our summary episode on Monday or Tuesday, April 22nd or 23rd.

I'll see you then.

[The rock music picks back up once more.]

Aser

[As the music fades out.] Okay, you–like she's obviously got this. I'll just...

Kyle

Just sit back. Let's hang out while she's got it taken care of.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] I don't want to get in her way, personally.

Landan

Yeah. Nope.

Kyle

[A whimsical piano tune begins to play in the background.]

You make your way up to the Radiance District and it's looks like a giant Rube Goldberg machine, like you see a giant pair of scissors that will drop and cut a wire, and then some–a couple, like, five different bowling balls will go, and they'll hit ink which will spill out and spell the news of the day. You've got, ah, 10,000 monkeys on 10,000 typewriters typing out what they want to say. There is a minefield, but it's all mousetraps, and one rat trap. And you make your way to the district. Do you want to do anything on your way to what is the final confrontation?

Aser

I want to modify some of these projectile rounds to accept the cauliflower for my artifact weapon.

Kyle

Okay. Yeah. No, it is–what modifications do you make so it can shoot cauliflower,

Aser

Um, basically, the, uh, there's a, there's a an explosive warhead on these things, usually. And I just remove that and pour the pollen in its place, and leave the, the, the uh, primer charge on the bottom to, uh, to spray it when it impacts the target, target zone.

Kyle

Okay, you now have glimmer bombs.

Landan

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

[Bemused.] Wow.

Kyle

[Wryly.] Congratulations!

Aser

And then I will write "forget-me-not" on the side of the tube.

All

[Laughter.]

Landan

That was beautiful.

Kyle

Do we do anything else?

[00:25:00] 

Aser

Oh, I have to make recovery rolls.

All

[Laughter.]

Quite a few of them.

Kyle

Make those recovery rolls.

[Dice rolls.]

Shaunna

Ugh. I stare longingly at the Seskii District as we scamper by.

Kyle

You look at it. You see so much. It's so silent, as if the calm before a storm, the storm that would last exactly eleven episodes.

All

[Laughter.]

That are about 40 minutes long a piece, almost.

Shaunna

I don't know what's there, but I feel like there's something.

Landan

I think Mako will be looking at the armband that he has, just trying to, you know, kind of figure out its whole thing. And then, 'cause I have an idea in my head of what I might use it for, so I'm not going to say what it is just yet.

Kyle

Okay.

Landan

But he kind of, you know, looks at it and everything, and then he kind of gets almost like the kind of sadistic smile that Korshen gets when he finds a new explosive and then he'll kind of look at Glorinna and wink, and then keep walking.

Shaunna

I just want to clarify as someone who has played many games with Aser for several years now, that that facial expression is not Korshen.

All

[Laughter.]

Landan

Eh, I didn't want to tell too much about Aser, but okay.

Aser

[Dryly.] I'm going to blow something up.

Shaunna

I mean, I say it with love.

Kyle

All right, so we got the recovery rolls taken care of. We've got the, uh, we've got the wink, which was returned. Although not well? I mean she normally talks to plant animals, so winking is not something Glorinna is practiced in, so it looked more like a blink. But the intent was there.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Kyle

[Low, haunting eerie music begins and builds as Kyle describes the district.]

Alright, so you make your way through the district and you start to notice that some of the things, uh, some of the things on the Rube Goldberg machine have been taped into place, and you realize that's because they're vibrating. Because as you're getting closer to your destination, you can tell because there are more explosions. And as you make your way, you see there are a series of wires that aren't connected to the machine as a whole, they're kind of separate. They look like telephone wires. And as you go you see a handful of robotic vultures with green ooze coming out of their mouth setting themselves down on the wires and watching you, and eventually you follow the light.

[The music slowly fades out.]

Because as the shimmering, as the, like, pounding gets stronger, you start to see a fountain of harsh blue light spilling out from a hole at the edge of the uh, the edge of one of the walls, a much more open area. You...it's, uh, still kind of almost in the center, it's in the center of the, uh, of the machine. So it was hard to see at first, because the machine was blocking it, and there were impromptu, like, machines for construction conveniently set up so people couldn't see the light.

But as you round the corner, behind a giant bowling ball that is used as one part of it, you see a man standing above what looks like a cradle made out of wood–a large human-sized cradle, which is hanging over this pit of light. And the man is standing there, and he has two basically Doc Ock robotic arms that are covered in plants, and they actually flower out–the, the fingers flower out like the spokes of a flower. So there are like eight fingers for each hand, that are kind of planting as he's getting things together, and there's lots of vibration as he like tunnels into the Earth even more with some machinery.

Aser

Can I get a range estimate on that cradle?

Kyle

That cradle? That cradle is probably a short distance away from you, and he, this, this man with a baby face is there as well. Because the one last thing about Roscand, which lets you know that he's searching for immortality, is in the Amber Clave he is described as...the, um, he's described as, because I just listened to this, as, what is it, butter spread over too much bread?

Aser

[Chuckling.]

Kyle

In Quest Friends, he looks like a baby face, but not any baby face. You know, like, the babies that look like really old men and you can't tell if they're baby or a really, really old man? That's what he looks like. He is a baby old man.

Aser

Wow.

Shaunna

[Slightly horrified.] Oh man.

Kyle

And his eyes glimmer with glee, with, uh, green sparkles because he has photosynthesis inside of him.

Aser

Alright, has he seen us?

Kyle

He has not seen you. He is busy working on the cradle. Yeah. He's busy working on the cradle, and it looks like he's doing some drilling, because you can see the light kind of shimmer a little bit as he seems to be trying to drill in even deeper and access some more. But...

Aser (as Korshen)

[Quietly.] Alright. Jessamy. I got an idea.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

Okay.

Aser (as Korshen)

Uh, you take this spud gun. And–

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Crosstalking.]  I like it.

Aser (as Korshen)

On three, you shoot him in the face.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

You know, this is either going to go great, or really, really bad.

Aser (as Korshen)

I'm counting on it.

Aser

I say, as I load an explosive charge, and I'm going to point it toward the cradle

Shaunna

I take the spud gun and I aim it and I wait for the count.

Aser (as Korshen)

Alright.

Landan (as Mako)

Korshen, Glorinna.

Aser (as Korshen)

This is the whole reason why surprise rounds are so awesome. Wait a minute. What did I just say? Everybody got some sort of ranged

[00:30:00] 

thing to make his life miserable ready?

Kyle

Glorinna has six plant guns raised, because I didn't write what she had. So now they're plant guns!

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle

So we got the spud gun, the plant guns...not the spud gun. We've got the rocket launcher, the forget-me-not. We've got the plant guns. What are the other things that we have? Just so I know what everyone's doing.

Landan

I think right now I'm just going to have an onslaught attack ready.

Aser

Well, I'm firing.

Kyle

Okay, everyone do their rolls, and I sometimes have NPCs roll because I think that's more fun than just automatically winning or losing.

[Dice roll.]

Landan

I got a 19.

Shaunna

[Gasps in delight.] I got an 18!

Aser

18.

Kyle

[Dice roll.] 16...okay, so we are going to ruin Roscand's day, uh, everybody's gonna ruin his day. So the first thing I need to know is, just, everybody, we're just gonna go in order, and we're going to...you need to let me know, are you targeting the cradle or are you targeting Roscand?

Aser

Well, technically I targeted both, because it's impact point and immediate range of anything within that point.

Kyle

Okay, so Aser's gonna hit both of them. Korshen, let's, let's have you kick it off. What is the first thing that this poor, poor man sees?

Aser

Um, all of a sudden he sees, at about short-range, someone stand up with a huge metal tube, and bring it up to his shoulder, elevated about, you know, 45 degrees. And there's just a little igniter flash, and then this thing just goes blasting toward him and lands right in the middle of the cradle and then just sit still, hits it, and then sort of, like, spins like a top for a second as the igniter fuse winds down and then blows up.

Kyle

Alright, it explodes and you see one of the arms holding the cradle just exp–not one of his–but one of, like, the arm, the, like, poles holding the cradle just explodes, and the thing hits the ground and he just like blocks his face and he says...

Kyle (as Roscand)

[Stunned, yelling over the sound of the explosion.] What?!

Kyle

[Whimsical piano music begins to play.]

And as he says what, he's pelted by eight different, like, seed bullets that just hit him, and then bloom into beautiful flowers on his face as he gets pelted by Glorinna.

Shaunna

Aw!

Kyle

And then, and then, what happens next?

Shaunna  

Well, my directions were to aim at his face. So I'm assuming–

Kyle

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

I'm assuming it's easier now because, you know, those flowers are like, hit me, hit me!

Kyle

Yeah, I'm gonna say he's, he brushes the flowers out of his face as he sees the next attack happen on him.

Shaunna

Right, and it's going to his face and it's the spud gun.

Kyle

And, that, did you get–were you the one with a 19? Was it Lan who got a 19?

Landan

[Crosstalking.]  I had an 18.

Shaunna

[Crosstalking.]

I got an 18, so.

Kyle

Okay, so, okay. So it does do some extra damage.

Shaunna

Yes.

Kyle

Alright, so he gets hit in the face with a spud gun, and it just–poof!–it looks like a firework, but it's all glittery because it's cauliflower.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] This is the prettiest attack.

Kyle

It's like, yeah. No, it's beautiful. I love it.

Aser  

[Dryly.] It's the prettiest murder ever.

Kyle

So then, it gets in his eyes and he starts to wipe it out, and he looks and he's like–

Kyle (as Roscand)

Glorinna, nice to see you!

Kyle

And then he gets hit by Mako's attack. Mako, what– [Trails into laughter.]

Landan  

Pretty much. It, before it, before he even I think gets out the "nice to see," he gets interrupted with an Onslaught. So it's basically a bunch of ice crystals and stuff being shot towards this face.

Kyle

[The music ends.]

So it just hits him in the face, and one large particularly, like, hail piece knocks him in the head and it's like, you know in the fighting game when you get a KO and someone's like–

[Dramatic background voice.] K-O!

And they just, like, slowly fall, and they hit the ground. And then after a few moments of sitting there, the two arms raise up and you hear a–

[Kyle makes a high buzzing noise.] You hear an alarm that's like a baby cry, and you see the vultures from earlier, about seven of them go, and they're going to attack as a swarm. Seven of them go and they surround you, and it's time for us to roll initiative.

Shaunna

Oh my goodness. [Sighs.]

Landan

I got a 16.

Shaunna

[Dice roll.] I got a 12

Aser

Nine.

Kyle

And then let me go for...

Landan

My Onslaught did 7 damage.

Kyle

Yeah, no, this boy is basically dead. I just had to res him so you can have an actual right.

All

[Laughter.]

Aser

We do that to a lot of, uh, boss fights.

Kyle

Alright, and then NPCs are going to be back to back. So alright, Mako, you get a turn before everybody else. You've got this flock of what are called venom vultures, and then you have this baby man on the ground, and you can see that his arm has dig–hit the ground, and it looks like he's trying to drag himself back to the cradle.

Landan

[Thoughtful.] Ah...I think I'm going to go ahead and use the bracelet.

Kyle

Okay.

Landan

What I had in my head is, to throw the armband at the uh, cradle, which is using the liquid to possibly feed off its energy. So I'm going to throw the armband, which is going to kind of explode into this rose bush, uh, because it is a rose on the armband, 

[00:35:00]  

and the plant is now going to start feeding off the light, and pull the power away from the cradle. So that he can't operate the cradle the way he wants.

Kyle

I really like that. So you go on, and you...the plant goes, and start sucking and for a brief–actually, no.

Landan

Like, in my head I envision it just keeps kind of slowly growing until it reaches a certain point, and then it just stops or something.

Kyle

Yeah. No, the plant is, the plant is growing, and you can see it start to actually move a little bit like to deliberately wrap around and grab the light. And the cradle is not operational, you have nullified it. And at that you're going to hear the, what is it, Roscand is going to turn around and you hear–

Kyle (as Roscand)

[Frustrated.] No, just just give me a second. I will defeat you

Kyle

And he's using his arms to try and get himself back up again. He's like, 

Kyle (as Roscand)

[Increasingly despondent.] Just wait one second. I'm–

Kyle

And so he's gonna spend his turn trying to get back up. But in the meanwhile, you hear a screech and a bang and you see two of the vultures fall down at your feet as Glorinna is trying to shoot them as they run towards you. But, that was only two of them that were knocked down, and the other five are going straight at your face. So I need you to roll some kind of defense.

Landan

Okay... [Dice roll.] [Audibly grimacing.] Ugh, 11? It's probably not going to be the greatest.

Kyle

Okay. So two things–first, take 3 points of damage before armor.

Landan  

Okay. [Laughing.] That's not cold by any chance is it?

Kyle

It is not.

Landan

Okay.

Kyle

It is very poisonous and very acidic. Ah, Landan, Mako, I have a question for you.

Landan

Okay.

Kyle

What's your least favorite pool?

Landan

[Reluctantly.] Uh...might.

Kyle

Cool. You can't use might effort for the remainder of this episode.

Landan

[Relieved.] Okay.

Kyle

As this numbing agent gets inside your veins and, like, seizes it up, and you just don't feel as strong as you normally do.

Landan

Not that I was that strong to begin with, but.

Kyle

[Laughter.] That is going to be their turn. It is now to Jessamy.

Shaunna

Okay, I guess I'm going to turn the spud gun to one of these vultures and try to hit it.

Kyle

Uh, does that spud gun have a radius to it?

Shaunna

[Wryly.] I don't know. It was like, it was just handed to me.

Kyle

You can choose, or we can decide on the moment?

Shaunna

[Cautiously hopeful.] Let's decide in the moment.

Kyle

All right, let's take that shot.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] I rolled another 18!

Landan

Nice.

Shaunna

I need to drink more often.

Kyle

Yeah, I'm gonna say a spud gun is a heavy weapon, so it's automatically going to do eight points of damage with that 18. What do you–what do you want it to look like?

Shaunna

Well, I would assume that it would just be another spray of glitter, but maybe a different color glitter?

Kyle

Okay.

Shaunna

So maybe some green glitter.

Kyle

Oooh, it's green, I like that. I's green and it's purple. It knows its plant roots, but it also knows the person who's using it. It's a very personalized spud gun.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] This is the most beautiful battle.

Kyle

And it gets inside the vultures gears and they're like– [Startled bird noises.] And they fall down onto the ground. They do not fall into the blue light, because we don't have time for phase two of the boss battle.

Shaunna

That's fair.

Kyle

But I want to let you know I am cruel enough to do that. Alright, Korshen. It is your turn. You've got, I'm going to say you got two vultures left. One of them isn't looking so hot. And then you have Roscand, who's trying to get up.

Aser

Well, you know, I take personal affront at Roscand having tried to lowball us on this contract that I'm now seeing for the first time.

Shaunna

[Laughter.]

Aser

And you know, we have overhead damn it!

Shaunna

Who put Jessamy in charge of the contract, that's all I'm saying. She's not even–she doesn't even go here!

Aser

I'm going to try to finish him off and you know, just, he's ah, he's down on the ground. So I'm gonna crank the elevation down a little and say...bad baby man...thing...and uh, crank off another shot.

Kyle

All right, give me a role to hit this this baby man thing.

Aser

Uh, 15, training and effort.

Kyle

[Lets out a breath.] This boy gets launched back a few feet, and the only reason he doesn't hit the ground is because his arms dig in and they entrenched himself into the ground. And he is, I would say, maybe conveniently two hits away from dead, so he can do something before this episode is over. But he is entrenched on the ground and he is very upset, and he is about to throw a very bad temper tantrum.

Mako, it is your turn.

Landan

[Sighs thoughtfully.]

Aser

[Ominously.] End him.

Landan

How far, how far away is he from me?

Kyle

Did you all run up at all or are you...are you still a short distance away?

Landan  

I probably said I'm at least maybe a short distance away, because I would have been–

Kyle

Okay!

Landan

At least a distance away to do the Onslaught, and then throw that armband. So I think I'm going to use my shatter wand that I have.

Kyle

Okay, how does that work? [Demanding but amused.] And how do you all have so many items?

Landan

Talk to Megan.

Shaunna

[A little proud.] Well, uh, some of us have abilities that let us find extra stuff too. So.

Landan

So my shatter wand is a level 6 artifact. The weapon crystallizes flesh, 

[00:40:00] 

working at long range, with no visible manifestation. It inflicts damage equal to its level. If the target is slain, they explode into crystalline shrapnel, dealing three points of damage.

Shaunna

I mean, it sounds like it was made for this fight.

Landan

I am going to give, uh, Roscand a look and be like...

Landan (as Mako)

I think you're on the kind of the wrong end of this deal. [A little disgusted.] And you're just, you're a horrible man child thing!

Landan

And hit the button on this shatter wand, and that is a 16.

Kyle

Hey, hey, hey, Mako. How do you defeat Roscand?

Landan

So whenever I hit this shatter wand and look at him, you don't really see a projectile or anything go towards him. But if the camera, like, If this were a film, were to zoom in, you'd slowly start seeing the exterior of his body crystallized into different patterns and everything. And for flavor, it's ice crystalline looking. Uh, until he freezes solid, and then since he's, uh, destroyed, once he freezes entirely his body explodes.

Kyle

The shattering explodes, and all of you are shielded by it. And as it hits, you see it hit the other wire of the cradle, and that and the rose bush fall down into the pit below, as do–and both of Roscand's arms, his two Doc Ock arms, spiral out onto the ground beneath your feet. As do the two venom vultures which screech as they get hit, and they're like–

[Kyle makes a brief bird screeching noise.] As they hit the ground. But that vibration also hits the wires that were holding the bits of the Rube Goldberg machine in place.

Aser

[Nervous.] Uh-oh.

Kyle

[Increasingly frantic.] And suddenly you hear a–

[Kyle makes a gong noise.] As a giant hammer hits a cymbal, and you like, see a bowling ball from behind you. It slides out from behind you and starts going down a ramp. Scissors in the distance come down and start cutting, the monkeys start going– [Screeching noises.] And they start screeching and they start hammering away at the typewriters, and ink spills everywhere.

[Slows back down, dramatically.] And above you, you see one giant anvil, and you see a handful of, uh, what are called treetines, these little marsupials, go and they start chewing at the rope that's holding it above you.

 And it's about to drop on all your heads.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)  

[Distressed.] Oh, no. Oh, no!

Landan (as Mako)  

[Somewhat calm, but not entirely.] Uh, we need to get out of here.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Frantic.] Yeah. I think it's time to go.

Kyle

[The driving rock music picks back up.]

I'm not gonna make you roll, but do you want to describe–how cool does it look as you jump out from this anvil as it's about to crash–crush you.

Shaunna

[Wryly.] Well, I'm assuming Glorinna is leading the way in her leather jacket.

Kyle

Oh, she absolutely is. The leather jacket, she pops up the call, she pops up the collar and is like–

Kyle (as Glorinna)

[Clearly pumped up with adrenaline.] Alright, let's go!

Kyle

And she runs away, and she's just speeds away. She looks like she's swimming in the air. Uh, she's not, but she's that graceful. And you run away, and, like, it drops and somehow the anvil explodes as you walk out in slow motion and rock music plays. It's just like, [Kyle makes electric guitar noises.]

And you just hear the–

[In a movie announcer voice.] "What if?" featuring, The Amber Clave! [He returns to his normal voice.] As you walk away like badasses.

Aser

[Laughing.] It's part of the Rube Goldberg machine.

Landan

Yeah.

Shaunna

I love it, because I don't think any of us would describe our–they're, not as badasses.

Aser

[Crosstalking with Aser and Landan.] We're just adequate.

Landan

Yeah, I was gonna say like, I think if anything, like, Mako would try to be like, you know running to escape the anvil but what actually happens is somewhere he slips on something, and it's like Glorinna happens to look back and has to whip a tentacle back to like, sling Mako, sling Mako forward before he gets crushed to death.

Kyle

She pulls you forward, you're now just in her arms as she carries you.

Landan

Exactly.

Shaunna

[Laughing.]

Kyle

I love it! And then you stop, and in the silence, you look back, and you just hear some like you just hear the fire crackling and she looks around.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

She's like, [Relieved.] Well, I, thanks a lot everyone.

Aser (as Korshen)

Uh, it was like that when we got here.

Kyle

And as you say that you hear a voice behind you say...

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

Perfect. You already know how to express the story.

Kyle

And as you look around you, you suddenly see that you're surrounded by dozens of Gendarme soldiers. And, uh, you actually see two of the arms, which are still there, the the two arms, look like they're going to go and grab you?

[Low, ominous string music begins to play–the music that often accompanies malevolent forces in Quest Friends.]

They like, reach out to grab you and then suddenly they, like, stop, and they knot themselves together and they fall back onto the ground. And you turn around, and you see a woman who is stroking one of her hands, and she is wearing tall heels and she has a clipboard under one of her arms. And she walks up and she says...

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

I wanted to thank you so much for, ah, taking care of the situation. Queen Armalu will look past it. This was absolutely broken when you got here, but we appreciate that you found it for us.

Aser (as Korshen)  

[Hesitant.] Yeah, no, no, 

[00:45:00] 

no problem whatsoever.

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[A little suspicious.] It's what we specialize, in finding the broken things.

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

Of course, and you were the Amber Clave, correct?

Aser (as Korshen)

Ah, yes. We need to apply for a re-zoning permit?

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

You know, I don't think...

Kyle

And she looks down and she starts writing on her clipboard.

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

You know, I think I'll put in a good, good word with the queen. I don't think you'll have to rewrite that permit. I think you'll be fine, perfectly, perfectly where you are, and you should not hear any, any problems from anybody. And I suppose they won't hear anything from you as well. I think this will be a nice, ah, a nice little bow on the whole night's affairs. I heard you weren't probably going to be paid by JET.CO  for that. So the queen will reimburse you, and will take care of anything that you need.

Aser (as Korshen)

[Surprised.] Thank you very much. We're happy to be of service to the Queen.

[The music stops abruptly.]

Shaunna (as Jessamy)

[Quickly.] JET.CO was going to pay us a lot of money.

Shaunna

Jessamy tosses the contract into the fire.

Kyle

And she looks at you, and she sits there and pauses for a second. She says, 

[The ominous music begins again.]

Kyle (as mysterious woman)

Yes, of course, they were going to pay you a handsome sum, and Queen Armalu will make sure that is taken care of so that you don't have to worry about this night...

[She slows down a little, making a point.] Ever again. Feel free to reach out to me if you need ah, anything.

Kyle

And she is going to hand you a card, and you're going to see right underneath the symbol of a, uh, of a clock with its clear, gears clearly visible, the name of Vera Layeni.

[The music fades out.]

Alright. So, um, let's talk about what we did. So again, thank you for doing this "what if" scenario. Not canon to The Amber Clave, very canon to Quest Friends. Oops! And all the bad things that happened, they're there, they stayed. But thanks so much for playing. Again, I am Kyle, I run Quest Friends, we're–you're on our feed right now. You don't need to know anything more about us. If you like what I did, then check this out. If you listen to us, check out The Amber Clave, which you'll figure out how to find it when everyone goes through goes through who they are and how you can find them. And also how you can find The Amber Clave.

I'd explain it, but I think you can do it better than me. So I will just hand it over to you.

Aser

Alright. So this is Aser, I was playing Korshen Lambro, a, let's see, uh, impulsive, stealthy glint who devotes everything to the cause. You can find me on Twitter at Aser_Tolentino. You can find us on Twitter at AmberClave. The podcast has just finished its first season and is most of the way through recording the second season. So, uh, we hope you would check that out.

Megan and I are also, and Landen and Shaunna, are also on The Redacted Files podcast, which is at TRFPodcast on Twitter.

Kyle

Yeah, The Amber Clave, they are–first season is in underwater. And the second season is, I know you spent a lot of time in Qai, which our listeners will know as Qi, because I got the name wrong and I'm sticking with it.

Shaunna

[Laughing.] I mean, things change. Things change in a couple hundred years.

Aser

[Amused.]  Internal consistency is what matters.

Kyle

Awesome. Anything else you want to pitch about yourselves, or any other place that people can find you when they're not listening to The Amber Clave?

Shaunna

Oh, hey. Well, you can–this is Shaunna. I've been playing Jessamy Gray. You can find me on Twitter at CallMeShaunna. Feel free to harass me about my dice rolls. Although, they were much better here than they are on The Amber Clave actually. So, you're welcome.

All

[Laughter.]

Landan

It balances out.

Aser

We just have to tell you you're guesting on someone else's show every time.

Shaunna

That's what it takes.

Kyle

That could work. Although our, our bad dice roller, her luck did transfer over to your crossover episode, so.

Shaunna

[Delighted.] Ahhhh, yes! We are sisters.

Aser

[A little dismayed.] Oh, no.

Landan

Uh, and I'm Landan. I've been playing Mako, the perceptive mutant nano who wears a sheen of ice. You can find me on Twitter at Solemn_Lyrian.

Kyle

Alright, thanks so much. And again, I'm Kyle, I am on Quest Friends. Stay on this feed and you found us. But yeah, download all of us, download The Amber Clave, but do that after we are closing because every Quest Friends episode ends with a cliffhanger.

[Soft, gentle piano music begins to play.]

It's a few days later. The Amber Clave has set up, they have happily set up their new digs. There is a new door. It is now very very explosion-resistant. In fact, they asked Korshen to help ensure that it was explosion-resistant. You were able to, uh, you're still kind of doing things under, under the table a little bit, but people are getting fresh food, which is honestly, honestly something that's in short supply. Anyone who can remember, Korshen makes sure that they know they need to forget.

Is there anything that you want to like have done, or anything special that has happened in this, in this couple of days that you have reset yourself up?

Aser

I make sure we're on good terms with all the Gendarme personnel who patrol this district.

Kyle

Okay, you're on as good as terms as you can, honestly. No, because the two guys, those two new guys that, that Korshen had met, they're really impressed with you and they just love you. Like they're, they're the new leaders of this district, and it was specifically because they got all

 [00:50:00] 

the credit for catching those plant guys. So they love you.

Aser

Yeah, so I will impress them with my previous experience as a town guard and I know, I know all of the great tricks for malingering and doing as little work as possible.

Kyle

All right, how about Jessamy and, uh, and Mako, are you up to anything special on these next couple weeks, the next couple days.

Shaunna

Yeah. I'm trying to get Don just open up and really embrace his feelings.

Kyle

You call Don, you try to get him to open up a few times. He does he does tell you a few new things. You learn his middle and his last name, knowledge no other human has ever and will ever learn, including his parents.

Aser

[Laughter.]

Kyle

But after, uh, it turns out after about a short while, because I don't remember how long it takes for the Quest Friends characters to appear here, but after a short while he is, he is carried up by a bit of an adventure, and you don't you don't hear from him for a while. Until a few weeks later, you find out he's working on a caravan, and uh, he seems to be a lot better since he since he quit his job.

Shaunna

Aw, and I also, just because I want to make things fun for your players, I give Don the jar of infinite energy.

Kyle

Don has a jar of infinite energy. I will have to–let me note this quick.

Aser

[Laughter.]

Shaunna

I kept looking for something to attach it to and then I was like, you know what, maybe I can put it in a place where, where the other players will get to…

Kyle

So Don has a small glowing jar. We'll see if that comes up again.

Aser

It's literally the gift that keeps on giving.

Kyle

Alright, and then Mako, we started with you looking dramatically into the distance. It feels only appropriate to end with you. So what,  what is your kind of epilogue to this little adventure?

Landan

[Thoughtful.] Ahhh, let's see. I think there's two things.

[A sweet, gentle tune begins to play.]

I think the main thing Mako is going to do is he will find some artisan to make an armband to replace the one that he used, to give back to Glorinna, but instead of it being a rose, it's going to be a shark that's on it. And basically be like, to Glorinna,

Landan (as Mako)

To replace the one I lost, or uh, used. 

Landan

And kind of stammer, you know, all as blushed as a shark man can get.

All

[Laughter.]

Kyle

No it's um, she looks at you.

Kyle (as Glorinna)

You know, it was, uh, actually it was, it, the one I gave you is actually a, uh, you know, it's great. I, you know, I like it. No, it's…

Kyle

She is stammering. She realizes that she was about to correct you that it was a rose, and then she met, she realizes that oh, no, he might think I don't like it. So she just takes it and she just sits there and, like, awkwardly fiddles with the shark. So that is the one thing. What is your other thing?

Landan

I think the other thing is just going to be, you know, Mako studying kind of the the whole energy thing around this area. Because at least in Mako's head, infinite energy seems to good. Like, there's something that's creating it. It can't just be coming from nothing, kind of a thing.

Kyle

Yeah. So let's say maybe you and Glorinna, you, you go out, and we're going to end with the scene of you right by this anvil where the, uh, the old robotic arms of of this man Roscand were. You're sitting there, Jessamy is making some new deal, some new contracts Korshen is running surveillance and you two, you and Glorinna are sitting there. She's got the shark armband on, and she has made you a new rose one, and you're sitting there and you're understanding the science. And we follow this thing you're using, and we go down the glimmering blue hole, and we go down, and, and we are covered with light as we go deeper, and deeper, and deeper, and then we sit down, and we see the cradle and this red plant sitting inside of it, this rose bush.

[The slow ticking of a clock begins, soon followed by an eerie tune that sounds like the ominous howling of wind.]

And we see them, ah, on a gear. A giant gear of a clock. And inside of it, we see gears of, uh, of many other clocks, and they're just rotating slowly and slowly, you know, just bit by bit, like a clock. Tick, tick, tick. And the ticking goes faster and faster to show the passage of time, and we see multiple scientists in various outfits going on, doing some research. We see, uh, them going back and forth. We see a scuffle between a Gendarme soldier, an android with a long purple scarf, and a short woman brandishing a folding chair and a red hat with three candles in it. And then shortly after that we see the clocks go faster and faster, and we see an explosion of the blue light and then we see it disappear.

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

And in the darkness, after a few moments of silence, the, ah...we hear the rose bush, which has grown bigger and bigger, and taken on various features over this passage of time. We see the, we hear the rose bush move around, and hear it scrape, and we hear almost a stomach growl and we just hear it go…

Kyle (as the rosebush)

[In a low, hissing voice.] Feed me.

[00:55:00] 

[After several seconds, the music fades out.]

Aser

Oh well–that's someone else's problem.

All

[Laughter.]

[Episode ends - 00:55:34]