Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - C2E9 Steam and Conversation

Episode Date: January 19, 2022

The Mighty Nein explore Zadash, looking for new jobs, finding old allies, and stumbling upon intriguing mysteries... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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That might be the worst. Oh, no. Wow, man. So welcome, Travis and all of you guys. Before we jump into tonight's game, let's go and get to some announcements real fast, so hang tight with us for a moment. All right, first of foremost, tonight our fantastic returning sponsor

for this campaign beginning and in the foreseeable future, until they decide to vanish in Pop of Smoke, it is D&D Beyond. Happy have you guys, Sam. You have a few words on that. The D&D Beyond has a mobile app, guys, and it is out on beta. You can download it now at the App Store and the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store

and the Google Play Store. And because most, not most, but a lot of our audience is located in the United Kingdom, I tailored tonight's D&D Beyond pitch to the British audience. Oh, wow, I'm so sorry. I see. Have a butchers and be gobbed by this brand new D&D Beyond Mobile app for your dog and bone. Sorry, Kit.

I know my onions on this and I ain't all mouth and no trousers. It's a real corker of an app, and you can nick yours on the Apple App Store and, blimey, the bloody Google Play Store too. Are you skint? Tosh. It's free, and that's the dog's bollocks. You don't got to be minted to get sorted. There's nothing bent as a nine-bob note about it. you get an e-reader with the beta,

and character sheets will be added in the future, tickety-boo. Wow. That's a real phrase that I looked up. So don't faff a dozy Fortnite. You'll be right gutted if you do. Oh, sweet Fanny Adams, don't wag off. Search D&DB at your app store,

and you'll be jolly good chuffed about it. Oh, now I'm knackard and cream cracker, so I'm off to Bedfordshire. Pipip. Yes. Wow. I thought that was Masterpiece Theater, all in one. I refuse to applaud that.

I feel like it would be really hard to do quickly. Thank you. Thank you, Seth. And we're sorry. Also, as a quick note for you guys, they begin posting article content on d&dbion.com, which has been awesome. They've done video content before now. They're doing article content as well, editorial, which our very own James Haake, who you may know, help me with the Tal'Dore campaign guide. A fantastic writer and a good friend of the show is doing stuff there now. He's officially on board with D&D Beyond.

And he's doing the campaign two summaries right now for the critical campaign. So we posted every episode recap every Friday to check him out. So awesome, congratulations to see you James. And if you haven't checked it out, please do, because he's amazing. You are. At dndbion.com. ND, not end, ND. All righty. So, next up, Reinder for you guys who have Amazon

With Twitch Prime, with Twitch Prime, you can subscribe to any channel on Twitch for free each month. You get one, you can just subscribe for free. Just connect your Amazon Prime in your Twitch account, and it's a little button pressed, and there you go. So it's awesome. Tox Machina hosted by Brian W. Foster, who now I'm tempted to miss up his name every week, because apparently early. So, but anyway, he hosts our fantastic Talks Machina wrap-up show about today's episode next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pacific here on Twitch and Alpha. So check it out there and check out whatever cast members show up to dish the dirt and shoot the shit and whatever else involves doing something and something. You got it.

Daily at savings time hits the U.S. on Sunday. Yeah. Oh, I didn't know that. Why would they do that? Well, it's on the list if it's not. I don't know anymore. It's spring forward. Lose an hour.

So check out, when is Critical Role.com for an update on Wintox, Mokina. and Critical Role will be live in your time zone if you aren't lucky enough to be living in the dark ages like America is when it comes to keeping track of your time. Also, if you're watching this episode in July of 2019, you're welcome. The podcast episode of last week's episode

of Critical Role is available now for all your fine downloadable podcast purposes. And there's no giveaways tonight from Wormwood, but congratulations to our friends at Wormwood on the success of their Adventures Arsenal Kickstarter. All you guys are supported to, It looks really awesome. And all the critters who supported it, thank you so much, and we'll hopefully be back to get something in next week. We have a couple other cool announcements. One, issue five of Voxmocking Origins is out. If you haven't seen it yet, it's

beat to shit Vax on the front. It's fucking awesome. It's pretty great. Is someone ready? What? It's really good. It's really good. And we've already gotten back a good portion of the art for issue six, the end of this arc, and it looks really good. But If you haven't had a chance, check it out, you can download it on Comicsology, on the Dark Horse Comics app, and many other places where fine comic books are sold digitally. Laserdocis. Yes, that too. Let's see. Is it on the list?

Is it on the list? I think it might be. Okay. I will be leaving late tonight, like post midnight, to fly out to Lexington, Kentucky. Oh, really? Yeah. But it'll be great, because it'll be at the Lexington Toeing Comic Convention to to hang out with a bunch of you guys out there in Kentucky.

So if you haven't already decided to go and you're in the vicinity, please come. We'll have panels and signings and be around. We can hang out, top stories, and just be general nerds. Wait, are you leaving from here to there? I'm leaving from here to home to pack and then leaving. You haven't packed? I had to finish campaign prep.

Oh, no, that's a sprint every day. It'll be fine. I'll be fine. Laura, you hadn't asked me? Yes, I do. Oh my gosh, you guys. merchandise. Number one, the tarot cards,

which a lot of people have been asking about, are back in stock right now in the Gake & Sunday store. Number two and three, check out these fabulous, fabulous t-shirts. These are new t-shirts. Look at this, our Thronex shirt, and we redid our logo shirt and new,

Darkest Timeline shirt, Criticorold Darkness Timeline. If you're looking for them, they're not in the store now. They're not. They're not next week. I know. They're going to be available next Thursday.

We're announcing them right now so that those of you that don't see them on. People on YouTube get mad at us. Yeah, so it's just kind of like this is like a little love to YouTube. Now you've got four days to figure your stuff out. Think about the Europe's and the other places that are asleep. So yes. There's people you just addressed.

They're going to be there on Thursday next week. Awesome. Thank you, Laura. Thanks everybody for talking over my fucking announcement. Wow, wow. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

You got this, Travis. This is all you. I know, I have it at home, but I'm here. It's okay, too. You son of a bridge. You did this to make some pickle juice. You know, let's take some cheats. And last but not least, we have a cool announcement for an upcoming event. For those of you who are in, around, or planning to visit Chicago in April for C2E2, I think,

We'll produce the whole cast, aside from Ashley, we'll be filming. But we'll all be there for critical role. Panel signing events, all that kind of fun stuff. So in Chicago, April 7th on Saturday and April 8th on Sunday, we'll be there to party in Chicago. Panels and autographs, we loved the critters that came out in Seattle, Chicago. It's time to represent. I want to taste some rock worst.

That can be done. Some beers. Some be bears. We can do that. Some Chicago-style pizza. Okay. So bring all those for Sam at the signing. By the way, this isn't an announcement,

but I think it's important that I only chose from dice that were given to me in Seattle for my dice that I was rolling tonight. She always there were to fucking, I may have picked from the remains Carrie and like as well to grab a couple of others. I would like to announce a small amount of progress for Laura Bailey who resisted the urge to keep a super cool D20 for herself,

She wanted to do, she gave it to me. I was ordered to, so. Hopefully it stays in my bag. I have one final announcement. Okay. Key question just came up. Yeah, on Tuesday. The show that Key and I created.

We talk about Deadpool, Mekke. Watch Alpha. For those who want to watch it and don't want to pay for Alpha, you can get a free 60 days with the promo code question. There were a ton of people who responded to my tweet with the promo code in it saying, yeah, but I want to have to pay for Alpha. I'm like, you need to read further down the tweet.

Reading was over about. So I'm telling you now, promo code Alpha. No, promo code for Alpha, question, 60 days, go watch it. Roll a D20 real quick just for that. So yeah, to finish up the Z2D2 announcement, I did okay. The full schedule will be announced for us at C2E2. Early next week, you buy tickets at C2E2.com,

and tomorrow is the deadline to order badges to receive them by mail. So any badge orders after that will be half the hell that well call. So just a heads up. And I think that's the last of our announcements. Yeah. And with that, let's jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role.

Oh, but, but, but, but, welcome back. Welcome back. So, last we left off, The newly decided upon title for this adventuring group was announced to Bryce. And as such, you are now referred to as the mighty nine. Nine. Nine.

The mighty no in Zemnian. Big no. Big no. But upon finishing your business in Allfield, you acquired your new cart. new horses and found your way on the Amber Road northward for a number of days making your way towards Zadash. Along the way, you had some curious naps. You found some cool little landmarks

from a warlong past. You were nearly robbed and instead shooed them off with cries of extreme syphilis. And then entered the gates of Zadash yourselves. Upon which you briefly met a character named Ulysses, who offered at a bit of cost to show you around the town for the remainder of the day. Unfortunately, the sun's set within the next couple hours.

But you were led towards the pentamarket where you did a little bit of shopping, offloaded some things you had acquired in your previous venture in the mines where you battled the knolls. The mines! Encountered a purveyor of various magical artifacts named Enchanter from Matt's soul, acquired some baked goods from the market,

and then finished up by making your way to the Leaky Tap, to where you had just begun to cross the threshold when we left off last week. So, with that, coming in, out of the now cold night air, mouths filled with various crumbs and residue of sweets having been consumed on the walk, you enter the darkened interior of the Leaky Tap. Now the Leaky Tap itself,

is a simple but very large tavern. You can see there's space here for at least a dozen tables and chairs and stools crowded around. While it lacks decor, it seems to have charm with a rather ratty-looking band in the corner that's playing mostly on key, where it appears that a number of people who have found their way from the eastern outer studs,

I believe, have wandered in to spend whatever coppers they want to throw towards a drink to send their cares away for the evening and or argue with each other about how better to make the day before them. So upon stepping into the chamber, you can see there's already about 25 patrons scattered amongst the tables, and the evening just appears to be slowly crawling

to more of a roar. There's chatter and whispers, there's laughter, and the clanks of metal and glass. You can see already there's one long bar on the far end of the room that's broken in the center for a number of entryway hatches and you can see two busied bartenders rushing back and forth. What do you guys want to do? I, Sam Riegel, want to go back and see Pumont Soll again.

Yeah. That would not make narrative sense. There's always tomorrow. Can I just do a quick kind of case of the room, see if I, you know, see anybody suspicious? Do the old, given the old evil eye. Mm-hmm. Perception check. Come on, first of all, the night. Perception, check.

Okay, this now to be in. 15. 15, okay. Glancing about most of the patrons in here range from somewhat dusty, destitute clothing that looks to be torn and ragged at the edges. Some can be farmhands, but most of the farm work you've seen are done in the outskirts of the outer walls of Zadash. But you've also walked through folks in the streets that sit on the side peddling handcrafted wares and whatever they can muster to try and make ends meet on the outskirts of the city proper.

You notice what looks to be two fairly dressed individuals compared to the rest to that in the process of doing a quick game of cards. You can see what looks to be a large group of people that are just beginning to gather and kind of keeping an eye out towards the door, if anybody else I recognize is gonna come in. Looks to be about eight or so strong, with a, looks to be a younger half-elf woman or so who's kind of, as you guys enter, sees you, kind of glanced over and then shakes her head

and then goes back to conversation. Bachelorette party. Oh, straight out. You can see the whole like banner on the other. Penis, night-lissism. Dick whistle. Ste and D's are they're real penises. Yeah, yeah.

No penises. Yeah. Can't identify on that. Take out of the end. The tune in process is a little weird. Anyway. I met a bar. You do see one of the bar keeps, kind of leaves behind and kind of gives a finger off to the other one to pick up the slack.

The one leaving looks to be an elder. an elven woman, a little, what would look to be the equivalent of a human 40s or so, so who knows how long our actual elven age is, but looks graceful if a lit, looking a bit dishevelled, hair pulled back and kind of just tied into a small, kind of haphazard bun,

simple apron and washing up her hands and tallying them off as she passes off for the full bar to what you see to be a male dragonborn and white-scaled, a very kind of plump physique. He himself is wearing a similar apron with a big smile on his face. It seems jolly and rushing back and forth, taking orders, fill in drinks. And it looks like even though he's a bit stressed at the moment,

having to take the slack, he's handling it with a smile and is used to the usual evening ruckus. And so the two, the dragon-born and the female elven lady are kind of seem to be run in the joint. They seem to be, yeah. I figured we want some drinks and food, yeah? And also we should rent some rooms. Hey, Justin, it looks like there's a game of cards

going on over there. Oh, okay, I will, I'm. Just tossing it out. I will do that. Just, you don't have to take my. Or you could eat first, but we've been traveling. I saw that you were eyeballing the room.

All is good. Everything is good. Yeah, yeah, it's fine, yeah. Seems like a room. people in it. That is accurate. Yeah. Sir, cannot bother you for a second.

At that point in a hand comes up, goes, hey? Excuse me. Just the moment. It fills up. Looks to be two tankers on the side, slides them down a bit, grabs a couple silver, pockets it turns back. He's ready. Turns back to you, and maybe a good solid inch or two,

taller than you. You can see a burly-looking dragon-born with it. I'm not proud anymore. Who's that? with a kind of a dangerous look in front of the snout that as soon as it spins to and gets to you with this big toothy grin, you can see scars and areas where it's been split in the past.

This guy's seen some rough action in his past. But as soon as the large dragon mouth curls up into this smile, the kind of golden yellow eyes peeking from behind the stark white scales that themselves look a bit dusty, yes. All right, so what I'll do for you? Yeah, I mean, can we just grab any kind of booth or a table that's available? We're looking for some food and drink this evening. Well, food and drink, I can go and get started.

Let's get the order in the kitchen, pick a table, see the spill. Go in and rack up. You're paying up a foot, or you're like a tap? Like a tap. Yeah? A tab with a conversation of possible rooms for rent later. Oh, how many rooms are you looking? Oh, people are with you, oh, this shit.

Yes? And how many rooms you get? One, you help you. Looks into the counter roll fast. On the fun of that. Pulls up, it looks to be a small board. Three, three rooms. Oh, you'll plan to be able to five of them open.

Three rooms and a tab under the nine. Nine. Nine. Just nine. Nine will do. Six of you. Nine. Yeah.

It's an I-e-N. Nine. Nine. Zemnian, fucking weed. All right. Language in South the country. It's a lovely language. And what was your name?

Me. Wessek the Trim. Wesik the Trim. Good name. We have the same little name. Pervi at a bar hearing. Is he in fact trim? Or is this just a...

No, he is a plump dragon board. Just checking if it was an ironic nickname or not. He's lived a happy midlife. Some unpervaved drinks and keep her food here at the Leaguey Tap. And, well, happy to get your food orders in, get some drinks to your table, sit back, relax. And it's usually a show at some point in the night. I'm hopping over to the card game.

All right. I'm gonna tag along beside her. Hey, do I see any other goblins in this far? Make a perception check. Two. No. In fact, from your height, just a lot of bums. A lot of butts. Just a whole lot of butts in there. I can assume that I'm okay then.

Any other half-works in this bar? You do not see any half-hours in this bar. So as you go over to the table, the two gentlemen playing cards, you sit down and glance, one of them looks to be an older man in his 50s or so, kind of his pattern baldness kind of curling back, but has this kind of curled kind of mush of brown now graying hair on the outskirts of it. He's wearing, looks to be a billowing shirt of a nicer silk.

That's why he kind of caught your eye. These two seem not, he shouldn't be well off by any means, but at least better than a lot of the other riffraff that are finding their way in, including you guys. My dress is nice. Your dress is pretty nice, that's right. You're too. The other one is in the process

of very heavily concentrating on his hand. This one looks a lot younger. He has this kind of scraggly mustache. Looks like he's probably been growing it since childhood and it's just let it go in its glory. He has a button up high collar bit, and it looks to be a cravat that is just kind of loosened and fallen.

Both of these gentlemen, upon a close look, like they're dressing up beyond their station at the end of the night have come to just alleviate their stresses with drink and yelling at each other over cards. Averick hospital. I sit down. Yes.

So what are we playing? Are we playing go fish or war or? They both kind of stop mid-conversation glance over. We're playing whatever suits us at the moment. What is suiting you right now? Well, we are in the moment of finishing a quick game of Parker. But if you would be so kind as to leave us to our game in peace, that would be appreciated.

But I would play with you. I'm not very good so you can take so much money from me. Yes. Gryft of girl. Make a deception check. I am watching this from the table. This is the show. 17.

17. 17. The younger one who was talking to glances over to the older gentleman who's in the process of glancing back, and they take a moment and they both look back to you together. I suppose if you want to buy it, then that is your choice. You can finish your game though, I'll just watch. And they wordlessly continue the game. They begin arguing over the process of rising prices between irons coming up down from the Drouvenload city,

which is one of the large mining cities in the empire. They begin to also discuss the quality of alcohol seems to be diminishing the more they drink. And then eventually with one final hand, it looks like the younger one, slaps down his cards and the older one in frustration, they're just, fine, fine.

You ain't. I applaud the younger guy. Do you want to play now? Do you want to play now? I'll just watch for now. Do you want me to go get you drinking, bring it back, or are you okay? No, unless you want to get some milk.

I'll just watch for now. Okay. What is the buy-in? What do you wish to play? What do you wish to play? For the sake of ease of the sudden card game, we'll just, he looks around the other guy. Do you know the Crick Queen's Cole?

I do, I do. Oh, I love this. This is the one I was telling you about. You were? Yeah, yeah, remember with the three cards? Oh yes, I remember. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Very bad then. We've used to shuffle the cards rather rapidly

before he begins dealing out the early sets. Is it a clean shuffle? You may make a perception. Oh, yeah, I would watch that too. I'm watching this. Nope, I don't see shit. I would be watching this too because I'm kind of a.

I'll say a question. Is there any rafters or any high place in the room behind these gentlemen? There are rafters, yeah. It's not a very high peak ceiling. It begins, the actual roofing element of this, at least, begins about 12 feet up. And there's a small space before the beans kind of meet the top.

For the moment, I scooch Framkin down to the floor and send him off towards behind these gentlemen and just to hang around under that spot for the moment. All right. Overwatch. 22 perception. All right, it seems to be a clean shuffle. Great.

And a clean deal. Do we put like what, like two golden or like some silver? Both the guys look at each other again, their eyes a little wide. Two gold would suffice, yes, of course. The strokes is way too soft mustache. Yeah. Not all there, muster. So then.

I think you are too young to be watching this. You should come sit with me over here. Oh, it's very fascinating, though. No, it's a bad idea. You're too little for gambling. You're not too little, not you're not. She doesn't think I am. But if Caleb says so, then I should go with Caleb. Yeah. Good luck.

Thanks. Use your skill. Bopi. I'm confused. Is she actually that young, or is that part of the game? Come, let us go sit over here. Is that part of the scale? I walked away from her small.

I don't know how old I am. Two gold on the table from each of you. So that's six gold in the full pot. Go ahead and make your roll. 3D6. Ooh. What do you do? What are you good?

No, no, no, no. And then you can raise her end. I'm going to try to use one of my own cards and try to replace one of them. the cards. Oh. Can you climb up into the rafters with a view of the gentleman's cards? 19.

19. Oh. Oh. Okay. Do I see, can I, can I try and perceive this too? Sure, make perception check. 15. 18. No, you do not.

Oh, shit. Good. All right. Get you a word. Now look at their hands. The young one with a mustache, can I just keep stroking in the front of his face? and goes, I'll raise four.

Well, you don't roll yet. I thought I was trying to cheat and replace one of my things. Oh, you were, yes, you're right, yeah. So do I get to choose what it is, or do I just roll again? You just roll again. Oh, okay, so I rolled it.

It was shit. Okay. Raising to an additional two gold pieces. I would like to start looking at their cards through Franken's eyes. I'm definitely. raising two. From your two, I'm going to add in another three, so five extra on the table. Okay.

Okay. I'm pulling out my thin bit of wire and I'm getting ready to cast a message. We just can't have a fucking peaceful drink. Yeah, we just gotta get right on the shit. I know. All right. They meet your race. That's now 15 as 21 goal, I believe, on the table. on the table. Oh, wow. So you all get to draw another cards, so re-roll one more. The older one. Done?

Folds? No, he stays. He stays. Okay. The younger one? Perception shot. Oh, yeah. It's 21.

Yeah, you can see. Oh, I'll cover my ears, so I don't know. You're about to know when I whisper it to you. What? Okay, okay. The younger one has a crap hand, and he's trying to bluff and he's already sweating a bit. The older one is looking really good.

Yeah, okay, so tell a friend that Mr. Mustache is sitting pretty and the young boy has Scheizer. Well, the Mustache is the younger one. The older one is. Reverse it. Reverse that. And also I would like the curly fries. I point to her and whisper in my bit of copper wire

and do a little hand gesture and say all that to her. The young one's bluffing, the old one's got a sick hand. He's gonna burn you. Burn you good. Hmm. I'm going to slide his hand try to replace one of my cards again. Jesus! In one game! All right. So, you're going to attempt it again. Go ahead and roll a deception. Or sorry, slide a hand. Oh God, oh God, oh God. You guys are so wounded on this. Oh, 16? Uh-oh.

All right, so as the young guy is kind of sweating a bit, and you watch as he gets more nervous, he just continues to stroke his little caterpillar mustache quicker and smaller bits. The older guy, as soon as to be playing rather Spacey the whole time, suddenly, shh, zooms in on your hands and goes, I do say, I think we're being hard. He goes ahead and leans forward and pulls one of the cards that you had slipped into your sleeve out

under the table. Oh, that's weird. Where did that come from? I shouldn't wear such loose sleeves, you guys. That was really obvious. The old guy stands up and leans forward. You could see he has this kind of bloodshot corners when we're a little bit of the white show for his like deep brown irises. The smell of alcohol haul and dirt just kind of waffes off and he leans forward. Greetings adventurers, spring has sprung here in Los Angeles, and that means it's a brief period where it's only 75 degrees instead of 95 degrees.

I'll take it. And that means I've been outside a lot more, walking around, occasionally galloping after a toddler hopped up on juice boxes, traveling a bit, you know the vibe. And after doing some spring cleaning, my wardrobe, I got to say, looking a little bit sad. I want clothes that can keep up with me, my son, but updating my wardrobe every spring sounds pretty expensive. So that's why I wound up signing up for Fabletics as a VIP. It let me overhaul my springtime outfits without obliterating my bank account. New VIPs unlock major

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Wait, cheating, what are you talking about? He just takes the coins and scoops it back. Wait, wait, I thought that was part of the game, is it not? They get up and leave. Motherfuckers, they took my money. Did you win? Yes, not. I won real good. I knew you would.

I only lost seven gold. That was a lot of fun, you guys. That was a good trick with the messages. It didn't seem to help very much, though. No, but it would have if I would have succeeded in these Gosh, I really need to get tighter sleeves, though. Yes, but that's what had potential. Molly, you have to teach me how to do that better, okay? You need you want to play again right now.

What? What? I said you want to play again, don't you? So bad. Yeah, Laura's dying on the inside. I know. Should we follow them outside and kill them? Ooh, no, probably not.

That doesn't seem very nice. Why don't instead we have something to drink and eat? I agree with you 100. I agree with you 100% please. You know what that we should do? Follow them outside and rob them. Molling, sorry. Did we get rooms?

We did get rooms. Yay, are you roommate? Rooney's. Food has arrived. Drinks have been provided. You guys are able to use your meal and figure out who you want to talk to, what you want to do, your business.

We should look for Claudia. We were told that there was Claudia Sheet here. Sheed. Sheed. Sheedy. Allie Sheedy is here. Yes. A lover.

Sheed or Sheeer? Sheed. Sheed. Charlie Sheed. Sheet. Oh no. Only I get to say Sheet, you have to say Sheed. Sheed.

She's probably the Elven woman working at the bar since we were told she works here, right? Claudia Sheed. Yeah. Claudia Sheed. Let's ask about Claudia. Yeah, go get her. Yeah, go get her. As you're shouting this out, like some people start looking over,

I'm kind of curious as this very ostentatiously dressed teetlings to start shouting essentially the owner of the tavern out in the center of the tavern. No one seems to make any physical action towards it. However, Wessek kind of points over towards, he goes, Oh, she took some time off, she's up in her office. Sorry. Brilliant. Thank you. Ooh, our office. That was very effective.

She's getting an office. I normally fine, just shouting people's names really loudly. Tends to bring them to your table. Right. I wonder where her office is. We could look. Have we had food and drink yet? Yeah, you guys have to eat. Now, you're in the process. You don't have to roll play every meal.

Mnam, gna, gna, gna, gna, greg. Not as to roll play every meal. What time of the evening do I know it to be? At this point it's probably pushing closer to 10 o'clock. Yeah, okay. This one's been set for a couple hours. Yeah, it's late. It's not that late.

Anybody feel like going up and giving it? A little cloudy door wrap at her office. Oh, I thought you were going somewhere else for a second. No. Well, I'm interested either way. So I'm gonna stand up and start heading upstairs. Yeah, I'm bored. Let's go.

Come, a pleasant one, let's go. All right. A obnoxious one, I'm with you. All right, so there's a brief spiral staircase towards the far back that leads to a landing and then the second floor, which, From the outside, you could see there were three floors to it, so this probably progresses,

or there's another staircase further down the hallway. But in the landing up there, there is a single doorway that is currently closed. It has no name on it, but it stands alone from the rest of it, and it seems to be in the direction as to where Wessek was pointing. I'm just going to look for what looks like an office, for whatever door seems most inconvenient. At a quick glance, the one in the landing it is.

What the fuck was that? Wow. We've been hanging out far too long, yes, this is a problem. There's a moment. Yes, who is it? Friends from out of town. More information, please. Bryce said us.

Bryce who? Bryce from Allfield. Yes, I am. We weren't out there. I thought we all would have. Crownsguard, Bryce. From All field. All right, just a moment, please. Bryce felled it.

About. 30 or so seconds pass, and the door opens, and the same elder woman you saw leave from behind the bar earlier. However, the disheveled appearance you saw earlier is gone. It's pristine, clean, the hair is immaculously combed and pulled up into a high bun. Roring what looks to be kind of a deep maroon,

almost a silk robe that is just pulled over, arms across. I was desanitizing him. Oh, fair enough. So you are friends of Bryce. We have come from very far to take a look here. Converse. Right. Well, they are a very good friend,

and if you are friends of them, then you are friends of mine. I ask you to enter for the time being, and perhaps we can get to know each other, I suppose, if you have business. Enter, please. She turns and whips around and heads back inside. In this office, it's a simple office.

When you consider, you know, most of the offices, encountered have been in some level of empire, clerical work and or in various institutions. This is mainly just a desk with a chair, some books and ledger information, some scattered papers, ink and quill, a few books on the side. Other than that, it's just pretty barren and simple.

There is a window in the back that has a cross beam by setting it into four squares, or it's just pitch black outside, because the rest of it's just an alley. Anyway, she turns around and sits in the chair and comes back, kind of crosses her hands in front of her with her elbows on the edge of the table. All right, so, you have my attention. Why, what can they do for you? Well, to wrap it up a bit, we've just recently gotten to town. We're looking for employment.

All jobs we were recommended to use to be the person to talk to about what's actually going out in the city. We knew the city were not necessarily a... We don't necessarily have our thumb on the pulse of what's going on, so I'll speak. So if you're here to looking for work, well, for one, if you're in need of paying work, and I always have dishes to wash, but at a quick glance at how you are presented as a little more capable individuals, at first glance, I would say that perhaps you have other skills. So I would... I do the dude at a bar thing, kind of push up my biceps. You know.

So if you are better with a blade or information, then checking at the king's hall board might be a solid bet for you. We just figured we would make sure that you're aware that we were here. We don't want to ruffle any feathers, and we don't necessarily know the right people, the wrong people to work for, so to speak. Every person you meet is the right thing. the wrong person, depending on where you're coming from. Very fair. I guess I would ask what for you is the wrong type of people? Shitty people.

Yeah, we'd like to avoid entanglements with the law we're being so new and all. Right. Then perhaps do not punch any crownscart and I think it'll be okay. Seems we're pretty... Sounds easy, except it's really not. I mean, it does seem like crown scar tends to be assholes. Deeply punchable.

Do you ever have you ever had any issues with the crowns guard? They've heard rumors. Individuals, yes. And there's like a brief moment where she looks kind of wistfully into the distance. I've had my encounters. Not so much with Crownscart, but with other figures. Do we need to kick someone's ass for you?

I've already made sure their ass has been thoroughly kicked. Maybe it might be wise to ask any particular groups to avoid while we're here. She could cross her arms for a second. Interesting point. Where are you from? Who do you live? Have you always lived in the empire?

No. I'm from Port. You're from Port-Mauly. I'm from Nicodranes. All right, so from the menagerie coasts. You are in for a treat of a comparably colorful times, but probably less jovial atmosphere. hemisphere places. Do you know about the religious control, correct?

We're slightly aware. Really frown on it. Grace of the Platinum dragon. There are, for well over a century now, the worship of various deities in the empire has been controlled. controlled. And there are shrines throughout the city. Most cities contain a shrine of some kind

to the approved worships, but I just want to ensure that if you do not follow it in this realm, you do not go flashing it about, because that will get you very easily put into the umber dungeon, and that is not the place you want to be. Where are these shrines that you're talking about? What they are scattered about. For instance, there is the All-Hammer,

and their shrine is, let me think, for a second. as I consult my notes. I'm getting the good shit right now. Umbar Dungeons. The Umbur Dungeon. There is the hearth of the Olhammer that is existing in the Penta Market. Ooh, we were just there.

It's to look for the domed iron structure. It's maybe a bit rusty, not in best upkeep. But it's hard to miss the interior with a very heavy, beautiful anvil for both crafts, craftwork of those that maintain the position. I mean, what else do you want to know about? There's the Ravens Den, which is in the center of the graveyard. Both of those could do.

The Ossewer Gates is the multi-layered catacomb graveyard, and the Ravensden exists in the center area of that field. Do the shrines usually have a lot of people in them? Midday, and depending on which places of worship they are, yes, but there are heralds that run each shrine that are, they work for the empire. And they hold all sermons, they give counsel to anybody who requires it. It's all pretty much within the government structure, yes. Are there any particular groups of people that are responsible for unsavory business in the city? Any identifying clothing or memorabilia they might have on them? Not visibly, no. There are many people that work underneath the law here, but they are careful enough if they wish to continue business to not show it. I mean, what are you looking for? You're looking for that kind of work? No, no, just perhaps to keep an eye out for it in case we sought employment from the wrong type.

You know, tourists. Right, right. We have that tourist look. Yeah, with all the bad facts. Speaking of tourists, look, how much of a problem with this point in town? It should be fine. You should be fine. Excellent.

For the most part, those of various unique heritages have hearted times at the farther eastern areas around the garrisons, those that have to keep the creatures of Jorhasid Bay, and possibly historians that believe that the US is the curse of Gordranas. But for the most part, nobody studies history and just consider you either unique looking or will avoid you regardless.

No one studies history, really? Do you not have a good public school system or something? I was just curious. Well, if you want to go study history, and there'll be over here. In the interstate sprawl, we do have the Apple Tree Tudor Village. That is three long buildings owned and provided by the Sostris Academy for basic learning to children and adults of the less affluent lifestyle for a moderate price. It is...

Private school. It's more... If you're looking for a comparison here, it would be an upper and public school, if anything. Charter's magnet program. Sure, we'll put it at Charter's... Modulies are a bitch! Yeah. But controlled by the Solstress Academy.

All controlled by the Solstress? Yes. Okay. But the head tutor there is a overworked and relatively stressed out individual. Head tutors, yes. Mikhail Dron. Mikhail Drome. Yes, a very nice fellow.

Eager to help, but the system has been difficult for him. There is. Shrine of the Dragon as well. There is. There is a platinum house. You can find that. That would also be in the inner steads. Look for the beautiful white building with deep blue tapestries on the outside. Reflective mirror like during the day. It's almost a beacon for having to shield your eyes.

Meditation, worship. It's all available within there. Sermons usually around moon. So you mentioned all the sanctioned shrines. Are there any unsanctioned shrines? Anything that isn't Platon Dragon, Raven Queen, Allhammer, Dawnfather, Lawbearer, and the knowing mistress? So six, that's it. There are six.

Okay. Six approved gods. Yeah, all of those guys. Of course we knew about those guys. Jester, now that doesn't seem to cover who you're looking for, though. You're looking forward, though. Oh, well, you know. Look, I don't judge.

If you worship what you want, you can just be careful about it. Okay. Don't tell anyone. Stay on the industry. Okay. I won't tell anyone. Very well. She's going to tell everyone.

She's going to tell everybody. Well, that's going to do to help you. Anything else you want to know? I mean, I've been living here most of my life, so. job postings, anywhere we might go to, you know. Well, we have the Kingshold board, yo. That's where the job postings are. And King's Hall is a good resource.

If you really hit up hard and you want to try the route that braced it, you can always sign up to become a member of the military. Go fuck yourself. No. It works well for some people. It pays, you train. The righteous brand is very helpful and helps keep the empire safe from the terrors that wander in and beyond their borders. We're also always big fans of underbellies, especially if there's an underbelly with a heart of gold.

Especially one if it's furry and you can pet it. There are plenty of underbellies, but they are localized, scattered, and very protective. Keep your ears open, ask the right questions. Are there names that if we hear that we should... trust. I don't trust anybody. That's how I'm still alive and that's how I came to own this tavern. Yes, a great corner office, by the way. You have a window. Thank you. That's great. That's great. I had to change it a bit. The man I took it all from was him to leave nothing behind. Was he, perchance, named the gentleman?

There's a quick glance in your direction. Her expression darkens and goes, No, but I would be very careful how you use that name. Oh, shit. Really? No. Do you know him? I do not know him, but I know of him. And the thing I said about trying not to get in trouble with the darker elements of the city that might be in over your head.

That is very specifically one who wallows in that mind. Okay. You wallows in the underbelly shit? Is that what Zetcher said? That's me asking, that's me asking DM? Yes, yes, basically, Wallows in the Meyer of the Underbelly shit. Sounds like a fun lyric.

Wallows in the Maya of the Underbelly shit. That's the second verse. There we are, then. Well, thank you for your time. I think we'll find our way back down to the belly of this tavern. Very well. I will walk you down. Sorry.

I want to touch on something happening. I'm not there. We're not there. Oh, right, right. So I want to touch on something that's happening at the same time, but I will wait till you think it's a good moment. Sure, you can do that now while they're exiting the office. So they've been in there. Yeah, so Nott and Caleb didn't go up.

So they're busy. Would you like to learn something interesting? Magic trick? That, sort of. Yes. It's a little homework and a little bit magic trick. So this is where I keep my spells. This is my book.

And this is the piece of luck that you helped me achieve in Trostenwald. So over the months and years, I gather the amount of magic tricks that I can do. So in this book, for instance, there is a new spell that I do not even know how to use myself, where I can make an invisible sort of helper. And what is going to happen now, I bought supplies for it.

and I find a booth for us in the corner, is I'm going to move it from here into here, and I thought you could help me. Would you like to do that? Yes. Okay, so you can see. Photocopying. Sirrus.

I don't know what that means, but this will take a little while. Here, hold this in hand a quill to her. Hold that. Okay, so you can see the markings on this page. It's intricate, but you can do the first few strokes. It needs to look like that, it needs to go here. And I guide her hand a little bit

to make sure that it doesn't smudge too much. It's still workable, good. Now I will fill in the details, right? And I spend the next, they're probably gone for 15 minutes, just putting down just the glyphs and the marks. It's delightful. Yeah. And begin the first 30 minutes of the two hours

I need to spend copying this. Yeah. Too much. Fair on. I'll need to be plied with you. with many drinks to have the to keep going. Just sliding, sliding them over. How's my penmanship?

So far, so good. We'll see how it progresses. All right, so as you guys exit the office, at the bottom of the stair, you can see that group that was kind of gathering earlier with the young girl that was looking out towards the entryway, is they're kind of waiting at the base of the stair. The bachelor party?

Yeah, the bachelor party, if you will, though it was a mixed group. Sure. And as soon as you exit with Claudia, they notice her, notice you, and all kind of like step back from a moment and wait. And as you step down the stairs, a young half-elf girl, you can see who's freckled,

kind of auburn hair, a bit of a smudged face of a hard day's work, kind of leans forward and goes, I'm terribly sorry, Claudia. Are we good to use the cellar for the meeting? Yes, of course. It is available to you right now, not the bar. All right, thank you very much. And she turns around and begins gathering up the crew, and you can see a few of the people at the bar.

She's kind of slowly gathering folk until there's a cluster about 20 or so. And they all begin making their way towards where the kitchen is into like a pantry area. You'd have to follow to find that. I'm asking that of Colombia. Oh. How loud. She goes, that's so quiet.

No, not so much. They are passionate. political debaters. Oh. Are you helping run some underground clubs? Just right out in the open, huh? Just asking it. In your cellar?

No. I am merely providing a space for people that are wanting to work through some difficulties they have with their lifestyle. I'm running to find Caleb. Yeah, and then it's like lattice work. You have to do the smaller circle. inside the last one.

You have to do this with every spell. Well, each one's a little bit different, but it's very... We're busy here, please. We're really right in the middle of the same. We just need your cat. I trail for it. I trail for it. I'm really, I want to know.

Okay. And I'm for heading down. Frumkin climbs up and... Molly's back. Yep. I'm tossing, I'm tossing Frumpkin in the direction of that, of that... What are you doing to my cat? In the basement.

In the basement. Oh, you have to look through... Yeah, you won't be able to see it. We're going. We're going. Go to the base. Look, so the circle goes inside the launch. What is the A-E that's one letter?

I don't know if you're aware, but when you compliment people, it sounds like a fucking insult. Is that intentional? Oh. What? What? Like, commenting on the office window? Like, you gotta put more like smile.

Oh, but that was badass. I know. She had like a cool fucking office, I guess. It didn't quite sound now. Oh, no. Maybe like put your hat, yeah. You know, maybe we picked this up later. Can I try it with you?

Yeah, go for it. I've just mastered the F that looks like an S. It's very nice. You're really attractive. Yeah, so let's start with maybe like a little smile on the face, you know, it's always a good starting point. Try again. You're really attractive.

Oh man, you look constipated. No, is that worse somehow? What if you did like, you ever winked at anybody? Huh. You're really attractive. attractive. We'll keep working. No, that still wasn't it?

No, it's okay. Okay, I'll thank you. At least, you know, things for like telling me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just to be aware of. Most people would just be like, you're a bitch, and then would leave. I've been around you long enough that I could tell

you were actually trying to be nice. Oh, yeah, thanks, man. Thanks. I think you're real nice too. As you guys, at this point. Genuine, I was being genuine. I'm here. I was here.

All right, so the two of you, you guys have... Wrapped up for the time being. I just wanted to borrow some parchment. Do you have any extra pieces of paper, though? How much do you need for what? I don't know like 20 pieces. Do you need to write a long letter? I like a really long one.

I'll give you two. I can make do with that, yes, thank you. I hand them over. You do know what your cat's seen. What's the cat scene? Hold on. Okay, I got you. I got you, dear.

The cat who's been following Ford and Beauregard, you guys have been having this conversation as you follow through down to the cellar, and as you descend down the cellar stairs, you can hear what sounds like conversation and a few voices passing. One, now I'll get quiet, and as you step and descend just pass

where the ceiling of the basement reveals you. You can see the group of 20 folks are all gathered around with a central podium and it looks to be an elevated step or a box, if you will. And they're all just looking at you, quiet. The one who's standing on the box, you can see, looks to be human man probably in his early 60s or so. Shorter hair, grang, but a little unkept in the face.

He's got smaller spectacles at the edge of his nose, and it looks to be kind of an unshaved stubble against his chin. But he's dressed in a nice white shirt, tucked in well and looks kind of thin and well-mannered, and he kind of just puts his hand up and goes, uh, hey there, um, can we help you? There's a bunch of people staring at Fjord and Beauregard. Why are we doing this?

Oh, for fuck sake. Uh, apologies. We don't meet to intrude. We're new to the city. We just heard that some higher thinkers were going to be meeting down here. We hoped we might be able to join you. Just looking for a good conversation. They're making asses of themselves, aren't they? Everyone kind of looks at each other, and you see the, uh, there's kind of a, an ordinary dwarf fellow who kind of looks over to the guy in the top and kind of shakes his head. And the half-elfan girl you saw earlier

who was kind of gathering the group kind of gives a nudge towards you with a smile and says, can at least ask? And he goes, all right, well, step on up, step on up. The crowd kind of separates a little bit as you guys approach. Oh, shit. Oh, God.

I'm curious. How, uh, Share with me briefly the joys the empire have brought to your life. I think it's like alcoholic anonymous or something. Well. Be honest. I'm afraid my list is not that long, unfortunately. Oh, I'm incorrect.

Yeah, we're a bit skeptical. We're looking for support, just like any other wayward souls in this crazy town. We seek knowledge. And you know, we want to be able to trust our empire, but maybe we need some reassurance in one way or another. Make a persuasion check with advantage with his help. Persuasion with advantage? Yes, because...

That's good. That's good. Oh, that's gone to natural 18 with a 1, plus 1, so 19. I'm fucking killing it. I just shut up. Just being real vague. Speaking real vague. Well, you seem to be on the level.

We are a group called the Knights of Requital. And we are discussing methods of changing the current political unhappiness in the city of Zedash and beyond. So. Yeah, okay. See, we're not. the only ones. We just, you know, felt like something's been missing. Taring in our heart, yeah. It's our empire. It's an ache. Very well. I will continue with my talk then if you don't mind.

Please, yeah. Please, yeah. Pre-jole. Does that name you anything to Caleb? No. Okay. No. Looking around the room, most of the folks in here look to be, you know, salt to the earth folk at the city. A few folks that look to be a little more well- wealthy, lower to middle class, if you were to give any sort of comparison there. And they all look like they're a bit riled up. And the dwarf, who had kind of eyed you out previously, you could see you. His eyes have kind of these heavy bags under them. He's got this kind of scraggly unkept brown beard and very, very short, almost buzz cut hair on top as she's just kind of glaring at the two of you.

He steps away from the crowd and just keeps a very close eye. The gentleman at the top. First off to our new conversationalists, I am Dolan Thrym. As many of you know here, I once ran a very successful physician practice here in the Intersted Sprawl. One that my partner was the head physician.

Well, he was, unfortunately brought to an unearned level of shame and his practice ruined as well as our industry by the house of Sutan, not but a year ago. We went from a comfortable living helping people to a life of squalor and shame. I know we're not the only one. As now the son of the house of Sutan,

Renn sits at the top of that, practice, took all of our clients and squeezes them for all their worth. And I, for one, I'm sick of it. And everybody else in the group just kind of goes, I am sick of it. We can't sit back and let nothing be done about it. You'd like to take the floor lock. And the Dorf who was watching you guys, takes his, doesn't leave you for a moment before he kind of steps over and the crowd separates. And he steps up onto the small block, which at his puts them about head level with most of the crowd. As many as you know, I was a word worker for many years.

Carvin Wood did good carpentry. My wife, Eliana, she's a good wife. About six months ago, she was out late at night picking up just food for the night for the two of us on the Penta Market. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was some street bannings outside of the day. tri-spires. They had stabbed someone who were running, ran clean into my wife, just as the

Crown's Guard descended. She got looped in with them, phone in jail, went and fought. There wasn't even a bit of a trial. The High Richter sent us straight to the Amber Dungeon, sent us there for 20 years for this business. It's been six months now. I can't even see her. I'm sick of it. I think it's Tom we did something. Everyone in the car goes, And as this continues, one after another, individuals start coming up and talking about resharing stories for the newcomers, things that have come up recently that frustrate them. They begin throwing things around like instability within the Storost is a capable hands to maintain a political structure in a city this large. They begin to talk on anger

frustration with the lack of proper education for the masses, keeping them unable to climb status and make an eke out a living and thus are forced into the military to die out in the fields of Jorjas. There have been discussions about frustration dealing with the ever-creeping power scale of what's called the Cerberus Assembly and the influence that stretches from Rexentrum into the city itself. And eventually it begins to rise into this kind of many voices clamoring out in frustration. And once again, Dolan, the softer gentleman at the beginning who began, puts his hands up and steps back up and goes, I know, I know, I know. But we're going to find a way. I have friends that I've made, people that we're talking

to, and we have hopefully a new beginning soon, an opportunity where I think we can have a voice in the politics here. I hope to have more for you soon. In the meantime, Try and keep your chin up. I know it's hard now, but I believe we have an opportunity soon. Thank you. Thank you to Kara, who's been helping set these meetings up and points over to the younger half-health earlier,

and she kind of nods in a few hands, clap, and to our new members, sorry, didn't get your names. Bo. Ford. Ford. Yeah. Bow and Ford, thank you for joining us tonight. And it goes out saying, please,

if you don't mind, we prefer to keep these conversations, conversations, personal, for obvious reasons. Absolutely. And even the most misunderstood discontent leads to unfortunate circumstances. We understand. Thank you for sharing with us. I know I, for one, have had my discontent with the Empire, so it's good to hear we're not alone.

Of course. Night to Requietal. I appreciate your time. Rest well, we'll meet soon. Dismissed. never even kind of against a scatter and make their way back up into the tavern. We kind of stay down. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go away behind me.

Talk to Dolan. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Really appreciate what you said. Yeah, thank you. So much. Of course. Yeah.

I understand that you aren't from around here, so don't feel that you have to take too much of this to heart. But the best that we can do to try and keep spirits up and, you know, you know, you know, and you I believe we can find a way to make an exact some change real soon. It struck a chord. It mirrors a lot of what we've seen since we've been here. Do you meet very often? I'd love to come back. Well, I was scheduled to meet here in probably the next two days or so.

We're gearing up for a couple of important events. How often are the meetings that heated that seem pretty intense? Yeah, personal, emotional. It can vary. Anyway, I'm sorry, I really should be going. Yeah, yeah. Whereabouts in town do you live? Oh, I live outside of the Appletree Tudors.

Oh. All right. Well, we'll probably be staying here the next few days, so, you know. Yeah, we'll check in with, what was her name? With Claudia. Yeah, we'll check in with Claudia if there's any other meetings again. All right. Appreciate you being so open. Appreciate you being respectful and close to your chest. Anyway, he steps past the two of you, kind of puts the rest of his jacket on and exits,

and now it's just the two of you there and kind of the cellar below. What's in the cellar? Yeah. She plants about. Did he rob the place? Well, I just want to know. Is it munitions? Is it meat? Is it booze?

Is it good wines? There are large casks, large, like, wooden. barrels and casks. Looks like this is where kind of major ale storage is set, but none of them are tapped. It looks to be a couple of crates that are still sealed and opened. Any good wines that I would recognize? None of the wines are kept in this cellar. Okay. By the size of the place, you get the sense there's probably more than one storage places here. Right.

When you scroll your cursor over it though, the descriptions are all in red. Right, yes. Yeah, sure, sure. Can't access that. Talk about an underbelly. That was more than I was expected. Yeah. Yeah. No. and I totally called Claudiana, too, and she didn't come forward. I'm like, you've run some shit.

Yeah, you did. She's running some shit. Right up front. Did you notice he said, things were keeping things close to your chest? Are we that transparent? No. No.

I mean, I would say the same thing if I was taking such a chance with people I didn't know, right? I think he's just trying to invest in us a little. Seemed nice. Right. I tell Frumpkin to yell between their legs. Oh! Oh, shah.

I get frumpkin the finger hoping Caleb will see. I don't see it, I'm not really going to. Now I'm just flicking on a cat. Maybe we should go back up. Let's go back up. Yep, that's good. I was spending my time cutting the parchment up into even little, like, rectangle, so I could make them into multiple pieces of paper.

Ah, easy enough to do? Yes. We go back. Okay. So as you guys head up into the the tavern of the meet up with the rest of your troop. You can see they're all sitting around, handling the other business. What are you guys up to?

We were listening to the description of this insanity. Yeah, I bumped out of that probably two minutes before it finished, so I didn't get the tail end, but I got the meat. You got the meat of it. And you've watched the people that were in the meeting leave in like small groups. They're kind of pacing their exit.

It was a huge orgy. Just naked parts everywhere. You missed it. I figured it wasn't Caleb was lying to us the whole time. Maple syrup, they had like, little tic-tacks and all sorts of chocolate chips. Lollipops galore. Usually in orgies like that,

they don't let you stay unless you're part of it. He's not sticking with maple syrup, his lank. Tongat. Oh, nice. I think what we should do is take the names and descriptions of all of those people and turn them into the authorities for 50 gold a person.

We could make so much money and be heroes in this town as well, just like we were in the last. Maybe not that, but quite frankly, those people are reckless telling you what they told to. It is, and the only problem with that would be that we were in that meeting as well, so, you know. As spies. Except that they told them the real names. Also, the authorities don't delineate. The war is over, and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, an army scattered.

like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time. And when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules-light nightmare with a story that emerges organically

based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s, and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadow Dark every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube.com slash the Glass Cannon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. Look, there are a lot of celebrity interview podcasts out there,

but there's only one happy, sad, confused. I'm Josh Horowitz, and yeah, I'm the first. host of the show, so I'm a little biased, but truly, Happy, Sad, Confused is the place for nerdy and intimate conversations with all your favorite actors and filmmakers. From Andrew Garfield and Scarlett Johansson to Christopher Nolan, casting what ifs, backstage stories, and much more. Listen to Happy Say I Confused on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's between the real McCoy and passes by, just like that man's story. The dwarfs of people are always idiots.

Never trust a group of people. I specifically used to gather people into groups to make them into idiots. It's just what you'd do. You don't do us. It was exactly what I did, it's how I met you, it's why I keep you around. You also traveled with a group of people.

Which is what we were doing. Yes, but we weren't a group of people. We all hated each other. It's a smaller group. There's nine of us. So often, just logic falls apart. Nine. You just told them your real name.

No, I told them I'm Bo. You left out the regard part. And you mispronounced your name Ford when we all know it's Fjord. It's right, yeah. There's a lot of people named Bo. Right? I've never met any. Only one other person named Beau.

That guy. Just one. Just one. Just one. And they think his name was not the same bow as your bow. It was a different bow. It was a different bow. I'm going to start folding my little pieces of paper into little trifles.

All righty. What else are you guys doing? I think we're probably good to retire. You know, I'm going to turn in. I have a little bit more homework to do before the end of the night. Good night. Thank you. Good night. I'm eventually falling asleep, but before that I'm going to go take a fucking bath. There's a bath house. I am going there. Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome to do so. I want a bath so bad, but it's so late, Molly. It's just a walk.

Is it even going to be open at night? Is it gonna be open at night? You can go and try and find out. I'm gonna go and try and find out. Okay, I have important work. I'll accompany you just to make sure you don't get killed. I'll come with you too because I really want it back. I guess I stay behind with Ford.

We talk about the crazy shit we just heard. Yeah, because we're fucking spy. Oh, fuck yeah, man. Bring the system. Put it in the ground. It's folded like this. Fuck the man. Fuck the man.

All right. I'm happier with my company. Right, now the two of you, make an investigation check. Three. Oh, you should come in a well, that's right. Yeah. It's because I'm folding paper. 17.

I'm specifically looking for stores. Four. All righty. You do manage to discover the location of, what was it, the steams respite, but it is closed or. It is too late for its functionality. Damn it. On the way to pass pack-aware provisions or any of the other fine establishments you've told us about?

If you're wandering for the Penta Market, which you can go roundabout to do that. That's not on the way. No, no, no. Just on the way. On the way from where you were exiting there, none of those. No, those are all. The Penta Market is pretty much like this clustered center of... Any shops at all, or is it just... You would have come across probably more small food establishments, like small dumpling establishments. Nothing too crazy. It looks like most of the stores there on the outskirts would be a simple glassware, the occasional basic blacksmiths for putting shoe horseshoes on and construction of that.

simple armor repairs for whoever needs it. Nothing fun. Nothing crazy. Most of the good stuff is in the vicinity you've already been. You know, I notice I notice the way that you eye things on occasion. I'm not stealing anything right now. Well, not right now. That's fine. That's fine.

And I would hate to get in the way of any of your business. Your business is your business, and I'm perfectly fine with that. But, you know, it's good to remember. that there are people who need what they have. There are people who need every bit of what they have. And there are people who would be much happier if they had a little less. How do I know which is which?

Well, that's a skill worth developing. That's a skill very much worth developing. If the people look like you and Caleb, they probably need it. If they seem grumpy or angry and... seem overly concerned with an enormous amount of money that they happen to have or using it to just be mean or cruel to somebody.

That's probably a sign that they'd just be much happier if they just knew exactly who liked them. And the only way you could ever really know if someone likes you, is if you don't have anything over them. And the easiest way to get to that honesty is if you don't have anything. So you're saying steal from grumpy people? Oh, yes.

Shitty people specifically. Unless they're grumpy because they don't have enough. Because if you're hungry, you get very angry. I do, I do. It's really mad. You get so angry when you're hungry. I know. Which kind of grumpy is Bo? Bo has way too much.

So you should probably take some stuff from Bo. All right. That's fair. Bo really needs to know who likes her. Bo knows Grumpy. Oh, it makes sense when you're in that shirt. It makes sense when you're over the shirt. 30. All right.

I have some sports market again. Yep. Jop. All right. So you guys find your way back. What about the rest of you guys? Anything? I am just finishing up the spell unseen servant before I go to bed so that I will go

to the morning. You have a copied over with that issue. Yes. Yes. Before I go to sleep, I'm going to use my little folded papers and make little pamphlets to travel and to the traveler. So it's going to be like, have you heard of our Lord and Savior? Oh, you're gonna get us. Everyone should worship him. He's the best guy around. Okay. You're making your religion. Tijuana Bibles. You're making Tijuana Bibles. You're making Tijuana Bibles.

Is there going to be new being sex in these? Because then it's basically a Tijuana Bible. Like yes, they're going to have all sorts of beautiful. Don't Google Tijuana Bible. It's the white rose. Like this little. I know, I don't know how to make it. How many do you make? How many do you make? Well, however many I could make out of two sheets of parts.

So probably, like eight or like maybe ten? Wow. We'll say ten and a few that didn't quite, you got halfway through and and you're like, tore it up. Okay, cool. All right, so the rest of you guys, so you're all resting for the evening. All right. Night rest comes.

Without issue, you awake the morning to the sound of an already kind of muttering watering tavern floor below you, the smell of food, and whatever dried ales been spilled into the room that you're currently sleeping in. But the day is yours, the morning has arrived. You are welcome to do what you wish. Molly, do you need to pray over your swords? I don't know how often it.

Oh, I did it before you woke up. Oh. Well, next time, could you include me in it? I don't know if maybe it would help me with my skills. Sure. Happily. I appreciate that. Yeah.

Actually, no problem. Good morning. Morning gesture. Bo, you know what we need to do today? We need to go to the pillow place and go get some money from my mom. You're, okay, yeah. You get money from your mom.

You're not with us in our room right now. Are you, okay. Are you, um. Tom. How does he do that? How do you know? How do you know it's gonna be there? Because I asked her for it.

Okay, but asking isn't the same as confirmation of the. receiving. Yes, but it's my mom, and of course she's going to send me money. You're crazy. Yeah. Let's go. Let's go.

I'll go with you. It's called the pillow trough. We need to go there, but you need to look very pretty. So before that, I'm going to see if Molly wants to go get a bat. Okay. We have to look pretty? Yes, we have to be fancy. We have to be fancy.

Okay. Yeah. All right. Are you all over? We also need to go to the blacksmith, you guys, as I'm coming down the stairs. We have so many things to sell. We do.

Blacksmith is filthy, we'll go there first. Yeah. Good call. Mm-hmm. All right. We stumble down stairs. All righty. You get your food, your breakfast set. Let's see here.

Come, I'm sorry. We'll say for the two meals and the drinks and the three rooms overnight, if you don't want to keep track of the tab, though you haven't paid it yet, necessarily if you're staying for a while. I'll put you a... Plus we're good friends of Claudius.

This is the DM. I'll put you at the three rooms, food and drink at about six gold all so far. Okay, gotcha. Six gold. This isn't the nicer part of town. So far. One gold each? All right. So. Is Claudia down in this room at the moment?

At the moment, no. No, okay. It just like it is your Dragonborn friend. And there's maybe six people in the room. How'd your homework go last night? I very well. I am a step ahead of where I was yesterday. Hey, that's great.

Nicely done. I walk over to this Dragonborn. Good morning. To you. All right, good morning. Sorry, I know you're busy preparing for the day. I hear there is a rather large library here in the city. This is correct, yeah?

There's probably a few places with libraries. There's the archive. That's the biggest one. Yeah. The main one. There's also the whole of iridition. I'm pretty sure they got libraries as well. All of iridition.

Yeah, yeah. It's where the Soul Street Academy's Academy is here. Oh, good, good, good. Okay, okay. The first place, though, could you point me in the direction of it from here? Right, right, that would be, let's see, roll around. Make sure I get this correct for internal consistency.

Ah, that would be in the interstead sprawl. It's an inner stead sprawl. It's kind of a, if you consider the city's kind of triangular shape, there's the pentagram market's kind of off center and a little bit to the west of it, and then there's the east and west to outersteads, which are kind of the outside cusp and the slums in the outside of the main wall.

There's the tri spire, which is up north. Then there's a section, a quadrant over here. That's the military section. And kind of this weird ring that surrounds and bisects them all around the Pentamarket. That's the Intersted Sprawl. That's kind of the garrison area? Yeah.

Well, no, that's kind of the more middle class central connecting part that kind of holds the rest of the city together. Garison's more east, you said. Library is there. The library is there. And that's to the east of thing? From where you are, now you guys are on the east It would be Western.

And he goes, actually, hold on just a second, I don't get to you, you follow me, yeah. And he kind of comes out from behind the bar and slaps it up and kind of puts arm around your shoulder and kind of leads you right immediately outside to the front of the tavern, kind of pushing you along. Yeah, okay, I kind of shrink inward.

Yeah, look over that rooftop, you see that, and you can see what looks to be this kind of slowly tapering, tower that then curves off at the very top to be what looks to be a very dome-like pinnacle. The stonework itself appears to be kind of like a smooth concrete-looking texture just from this distance, and the way the morning sun's hitting it, half of it, is just bright and reflective. It looks to be really intricate carving in various tiers along the towers. At the sense, he goes, there's the archive.

That's what you're looking for. So just look for that tower and keep it going. Thank you. No worries. Also asking the DM, not this Dragonborn, but you had mentioned the chastity's nook. And Caleb would remember if you said what area it's in? Tri-Spires.

Tri-spires, thank you, got it. Get that smut, boy, get that smut. Sure, you said get that smut? Mm-hmm. Is there any question? Okay. All right, thank you very much, a very helpful. No worries.

And he runs back and quickly gets when. You see those two people now waiting for him to get back. And he gets back to pouring drinks and getting food order situated. So we're going to the blacksmith, and then we're getting Molly a bath. And me and me and me. And you.

And then are we looking for job postings? Like maybe some work? You're welcome to take a look at the job postings if you don't want to take a bath, but I'd highly recommend a bath. Baths are great. They really are. Is it like a fancy thing?

Yes, very fancy. Is it expansive? That entirely depends what you think it's worth. What are you doing this? Blacksmith first and we'll see. How about that? Because we might make so much money from the blacksmith. That is true.

What do you want to do today? I want to steal something. And the itch. It's back. Siflis. All right. A stream. Syphilist.

All right. We met an exposition. Just. Never mind. Yeah, yeah, he can check you out, and give your crotch, you'll once over. Hold a former doctor, sign me up. Wow.

You know, I'm sure we can facilitate that. Let's maybe keep it, manage our expectations and not go for the plumpest plum on the bush. Don't worry, I'm only going for grumpy people today. Okay. Amazing. Okay. So excited.

This was an idea you had. It was given to me by a wise weirdo. I'm not going to question it. It's not the first time I've been called. Actually not the first time I've been called that, that's fair. It's not Molly's as me. Okay. Thank you.

As you guys are making your way through the East Outer Steads towards the Pentamarket, you said you're going to the blacksmith? Yeah. Right. To the Sparkhammer Smithing. Hey, hey. All right. That word's real.

She is the grumpy one. All right. So as you're making you way there, one thing, you hear a voice that's kind of just loudly talking that crosses you guys as you're walking down the street. You can see what looks to be a younger man in his early 20s or so. His really, really, really thin kind of blondeish hair, and he's wearing what looks to be a tabard

that is the same colors. the Crown's Guard. But other than that, normal clothing. What's a tapbird? A tabbird is a piece of cloth that kind of goes over the front and back. Okay. It's like when you see like knights with the... Like at medieval times.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let go for the great knight! Yeah, yeah. But he's just shouting out, you get very quick, and so he's a town crier. And as you come into Zadash, you can see this probably how a lot of the news is disseminated amongst the pocketists here. Ooh, what's his sign? What's his sign? The view here approaching, he sees,

So the crown's guard and the king's grace. Attack on all field has ended. Terrible fiends, responsible, put to the sword by a crown's guard and the king's grace. We did that. That was us that we did that. The attack on all, and he just kind of repeats it as he continues down the street. Oh man. They stole our thunder.

But not our gold. That's true. Thank you. Although, I mean, credit would help our, you know, reputation. We could be famous. Seriously. What do you expect from the Crown's Guard, though? Have you been famous?

No, I have no interest in becoming it, thank you very much. You have no idea the kind of stuff that it's given to you and you're famous. I have it, most everything I need already. Why does I need more stuff? I have any interest in chasing down that guy and seeing where the news is like gathered? Maybe they could print a retraction. Do you need to go tell him he's got it wrong? Some of you would care to where it comes from.

Okay, I chase out. He's gonna think you're crazy! Also, I'm sorry, some of you wish to be in the spotlight with the things that we do? I chased after a moment. Okay. He's moved on to, he's cycling through different pieces of news, and as you approach, he's shouting, he's like,

Families missing in Nogverot! Crick kidnappers steal them away in the night. Lock and seal your windows and doors while you slumber. The attack on Allfield has ended. Terrible. And you just approached him at that point. Is he back to that cycle, isn't it? Excuse me, down crier, man?

Why? Yeah? Excuse me. Where does your news come from? From my boss? Where is your boss located? It's at the King's Hall. Because your boss at the King's Hall has some of his news is wrong.

Did you know that the attack on Allfield was defeated by a group called the Mighty Nine? There are this really amazing band of heroes. Yes. That's amazing. That's really interesting. It is. It's really cool. Because we were there and we saw it happen and it was really, really cool, and you should probably get your news right. That sounds amazing. You should go tell that to the Herald of the Hall.

He's probably the one who would care the most. Yeah. Okay, because by the time though that we get there and then it gets back to you, you've probably been around town so much and then you'll have to retract your article and that would be really weird. The attack on O'field! And he just kind of quickly gets away from me repeating in the process over and over again. Also, Ford walks right up behind Jester and says, come on, we need to get back with the others.

Okay, this is not a good idea to put yourself out in the open, let's go. Yes, that's me and Ford, come on. What is this, is this a new accent you're trying out? It's very easy. There was a cough drug stuck in the side of my mouth. Is there a sourcedegar? Yeah.

Ford, you almost sound like Caleb. No, this is a deep text, I don't know. Are you planning on sounding like Caleb? Listen, accents are not my strong suit. Will you just please stop talking to the town crier? Are you, wait a minute. I'm trying to drag a back. What are you're talking about?

Accents are your strong suit. That is, you're really good at it, Ford. You look like me? Are you just- You're trying to drag your law? Yeah, back towards the group. Yeah, do you let him drag it? Yeah.

Okay. Can I tell it's not actually him? Probably. I mean, can I tell it's not Ford? It sounds about as good as I just did. Yeah. Caleb's not good at that. Caleb's not good at accents.

But Ford does accents, so we're gonna be working on. That's what I mean, like, but I tell from like the physicality because, like, you do accents, so. That's interesting. Tell me, I am fort tough, let's go. Lord, do you seem even weaker than you were before? Like, you're pulling me along.

This is weird. This is everything. But I don't smell bad. Now come on. Let's go to the rest of the group. of the group. Okay. Is it really you?

I pull her by the earlobe. Could we please go back to the rest? Okay, don't just let go of my ear now, okay? All right. I'm sorry. Is this what we're going to be about? Is huge credit and get ourselves to be part of the news? Hey man, I was just doing what Ford told me too, okay?

So don't you give me shit! I am not giving you shit. I am putting a subject on the table. For the group, I need to make an informed decision about what Nott and I are doing. I prefer to keep it on the download person. Yeah, of course, and not to alarm you, I only meant that if we are gonna be paid for our escapades,

a reputation anonymously might help if we belong to that name. You want an anonymous reputation? Oh my gosh. Because if we're called a Mighty Nine, people will expect it to be a different group of people. Yes, we're just six. Yeah. It's perfect.

That's brilliant. It's brilliant. We're disguised. We're hiding in plain sight. Yeah. As you say that across the way, you can see there's one kind of crotchety-looking dude with one eye who's like, I'm going to look right back at him. It's gaiting and keeps on walking. I see the little hobbit.

I have something in my teeth. Plus, what makes you assume we're about anything right now? I don't think we've made any decisions. I thought we were just having fun, right? Making good money? I'm here for making money personally. Are we about anything? No.

Yeah. Do you want to be about something? I don't want to be about making a stink area where we go. This is what happens after you go to meetings is suddenly you want to be about something. Be careful. That's not true. Caleb, I'm sorry. I didn't say it he did.

If we put you at unease, that was not our intention. Well, it's not just me. I mean, you are vomiting salt water, and you are getting into fistfights with people, I don't know what you're doing, and you, look at you. Wait, way, way, wait, wait, wait. Look at you, there's always the worst. Look at you.

Look at you. It's entirely for the sake of my mirror. I'm very well aware. We're the ones that you don't know what's going up with. You two take off every day, the two of you. Maybe you wouldn't know what we're up to, If you know, you went along with the group, like once. Go along with the group.

He always knows what we're up to because he has this cat follow us. Yeah. Oh, bird. Yeah. Super personal. I have fought a giant toad creature with you. I have fought a big lion thing with a woman's face. I propose a plan.

You killed his baby. I did. I feel very bad about that. I have a plan for this. I have a plan. We're going to take our scrap and we're going to sell it so that we have some money. so that we have some money. Yeah.

We're going to take the good feelings from that money, and we're going to spend it on hot water and inappropriate friendly nudity. Yeah. And we're going to have a discussion about what we're doing with heat, steam, water, and a little bit of cash. Okay, you're super insistent about this, so I'm going to go with it.

Yeah, I'm down for it too. Because now I feel like it's real important to you. I just find it's easier to have this conversation when just everyone's sitting around naked in hot water. Molly, I expect you to lead this. This exculpade, please, lead home. Sure, but us. Through our first bathhouse, I take five steps and I go,

I don't know where the blacksmith is. I don't lead the way. All right. Five steps in a circle of that. All righty. As everybody walks to Bo, it's just about logistics. I mean, you're very, you are in, you are in, no, I dropped like me.

You are in peak physical condition. Your guns are amazing. I can't do what you do. I can't run into it. Of course, I'm 100 yards. because I'm thin as a wet toilet paper. Thanks, man. Thin as a wet toilet paper.

Thanks. I'm sorry. Were you trying to tell me about, oh, I'm sorry. What? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I gotta stop complimenting you. It does not lead to good moments. I walk away.

Okay, away from me in the camera. All right. So, following jester, make your way back to the pent market. to the outside of the Spark Hammer smithing. Now, what was previously closed the night before, you can now see the open-air smithy is lively and banging. You can hear the slamming of hammer on metal and the shower of sparks from the exterior anvil setup

that's currently there. There is the, what looks to be a halfling man with deeply tanned kind of tan red skin, short black hair, and very, very muscular arms who is currently has leather gloves on, leather apron, and is in the process of, looks to be forging some sort of long metal blade, and it's just hammering it out over the heavy end roll

on the outside. There is the trough for the quenching of the blade, and then the interior you can see a few steps away, the orange glow of what looks to be the rest of the blacksmith interior. Cool. There looks to be somebody else in the inside, but you don't get a view of them right now.

And you can just, It's barely look to be rows and rows and racks of various pieces of armor and weapons that are currently just hanging on display on the inside. There is nobody in the process of walking through at the moment, just in the process of crafting. So you are the only individuals who are holding the space at the moment.

To the... Ting! Ting! Turn. I take my pink bag and I put it down on the table in front of him. Spin. Oh, um, are I?

I have things to buy and sell from you. Well, that's all certain, ready to hear for that. Once you go, let's you look at a boy. I pull out, well, it depends. Do you have a hand axe that I could buy? It goes and sets the hammer into the water, the steam rises up. Got a quen the blade, takes the gloves off, and kind of wipes the heavy sweat from the brow.

It's like it's broken. You're looking for a hand axe, something that's very sharp and can kill people. That I can do. And turns around, in the inside of the building, comes back, and you can see I have two hand axes in the hands. Both look pretty well made. One's a little more intricate than the other,

but both are pretty solid. So, I've got these two. Throws one and catches it, throws the other catches it. Okay. Put those on the table, and then we'll look at some other stuff first. Okay. I have six short swords, and they put them down on the table. I've got two daggers here. I've got two hand crossbows, two light crossbows, and I've got two heavy crossbows. Alright. You place them all down, and looking at the quality and the shininess and the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the.

smooth, fresh weaponry that he's placed on the table. And the pockmarked, used, damaged, in some cases, no mess-covered weaponry, you immediately realize, maybe scrap metal is a good thing for this. Yeah, sorry, sorry, he's all seen some use. Little late great, sorry. But also, also, also, we have some other things. There were the chains, the manacles.

We had in the cart. We definitely drunk here. Definitely around Ford's neck. We're selling these things? Oh yeah, no, aren't. I have them. Oh, they're in the bag? We put everything in the bag.

Why you couldn't fit the manacles in the bag? The one that was around the neck of the manacles was that big around. Well, then we fucking had them around our neck. Yeah, you had them in the card. So you could bring them along with you. We knew we were going to the Blacksville. All right.

All these here, these are some nice metal. And they were magic. Show them the ruin on them. They were magic. Show them the run. They had to be real good metal to be magic. Let me have a look at it. Take some, kind of pulls them up the chains,

drag for a minute and he inspects them over. There's some real nice craftsmanship. You don't see something this wheel made. So, where'd you get this? This giant lion thing with a woman's head had them around it, and then we killed the lion thing? We found it.

Do you guys bring the cart with you? Well, if we got up there, then yeah, probably. You kind of glances past you. Well, the Manticore had to still affixed to the cart, by the way. Yeah, yeah, yes. That's a rotting head. The Hathlin kind of looks past, he goes, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'll take it you mean that thing? Yeah. That's quite scary. Well done. Looking here, all the weapons, I mean, the wood's mostly rotted, unfortunately. Some of the mill can be melted down and reused, have to hammer out all the perfections, throw us melted all.

The manacles are very nice. Tell you what, give me the lot and the manacles. Give you both of these axes and put you at an access of about 20 gold pieces. Do we want both of the axes or just the one? Why did we need any acts? I need another weapon, not. Oh.

Just one of the axes is all I need. I don't need both. Okay, put that at about 25 gold in the 1X. Is that good for you guys? Worse for me. Yeah. I like it. I think that is a very good deal. What's your name, sir? Sorry about that. No. Eannick. Yannick. Yannick. Yannick.

I'm Jester. It's nice to meet you. Nice to meet you as well, Jester. The inside there is Jan. She helps around the place. Well, fantastic. We'll go get your gold for you. Do you sell flasks? I do not work in smaller bits of metal, unfortunately. More of the hefty of your kind. My apologies. If you're looking for flasks,

there's the wares and ends. They've probably got something there for you. There's a peckware's provisions. They've probably got flasks around that way. There's, well, they probably have some of the Lodge of the Eclipse. That's possible. Lodge of the Eclipse. Right, right. That's the more hoity-toity nighttime tavern here in the Penta Market. What's it called Lodge of the Eclipse? Because her night time has the great shows and stage.

Sure. Ooh. You know anyone who might want a scary lionhead thing? Decorate their walls? Specifically one that's kind of melting. Oh, soggy. Is there a taxidermist or I think she's asked? Taxidermist.

I don't know about a taxidermist, unfortunately. But I'm pretty sure if you ask around, you can go ahead and find someone willing to pay for that. I'd probably ask the whole of your edition. They deal on weird things and strange beasties. Sorry about that. What did you say the fancy tavern was? Lodge of the Eclipse. Lodge of the Eclipse.

You might be able to take it to a school or a medical facility to sell studies. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm good. All right, let's go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you guys head on towards where now? Bye bye. We're in the pentagram.

Penta market area. So we're close to the library? close to the library? Did you mention? I thought it was in that area. No, the library is, the archive you're talking about. Archive is, it's on the, be on the western side of the Pentamarket. Okay, so we're closer now.

Yeah, you're closer now. Okay, so, but I don't see the entrance from where we are, we're too. No, but you can see it. It's not one of the tallest towers in the city. In fact, the tri-spires, as it's called, has three massive towers of all different designs that kind of lord over the rest of the city.

There's the first things you saw when you crested the hill on the way into the city. the night before. This one is still visible from your perspective, though. It's a little more squat and maybe about four or five stories tall. Getting Kabul is visible from here? You can see where the archive is, but it's maybe another 10-minute walk to get there. Okay. Okay. You know, does anyone mind if we just swing by and just take a look at the archive, not go in? You know, we have other things we're going to do, just to take a look. At the outside? It's a bit of a tourist trap, but sure. Oh, you've seen it before?

Oh, yeah. I lived here for like a short time. Pass through. Okay, how long did you do that? A few months. Okay. Well, I am a tourist. Yeah, it's really pretty. It's got it's pretty. All right, if it's on the way, sure. Okay. There's a board between here and there. The job board. Oh, the postings, yeah. What was it? The King's Hole. The King's Hall. Where the Herald of the Hall is, where we can get that direction. The King's Hall. The King's Hall. The King's Hall actually is not that far from the archive. So it would be a brief detour to get there.

We can do a couple to the archive, couple of the Kings Hall. Just pick it up. Yeah, that's cool. Would you like to show me the archive, not the inside the outside? I think it's this direction if I remember. It's been some time.

Never mind, I don't want to put you out. Anyone want to go see the archive? Enthusiasm, Beau. Enthusiasties. Showing your archive would be good for you. Come on. Work on what we did. I don't think Caleb likes me.

Just try. Give it a work. All right. It would be great if you could both take me. All right. Hey, Caleb. Yeah. Right this way.

She's really scary. Is that fuck? Yeah. Was that right? Yeah. It's just a vulgar thing sometimes. He said enthusiasm. Oh, geez.

Is that not? Scowl this way. Baby steps. All right, so were you heading first? The archive. The archive, okay. the way another town crier crosses by another individual. Same garb. It looks to be a kind of a middle-aged woman, hair pulled back into a very, very, kind of tight button, the like tufts of kind of

curled hair around the edges. Same tabbered in the front, she's shouting out, riot in Wrex and Drim squashed for peace! Radical groups brought to justice under the crown! Oh, that's some dirty part. I follow behind her and yell, Town Cryer has toilet papers stuck to her shoes. In the middle of her, next line. Two weeks. So you do know what toilet paper is.

Victory Pit in the Pense, a market, and she begins in full days. Wait, what did you do this? Two weeks. Harvest Festival. Harvest Festival. Harvest Clothes Festival. Harvest Clothes Festival.

Harvest Clothes. A harvest clothes is the end of the harvest. It's in two weeks. In two weeks. In a fortnight. In the victory pit in the pentamarket, entry begins in four days. Victory pit! We need to get a really big piece of vegetable.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Big pumpkins. All right. You eventually find your way to the outside of the archive. And where you saw was the kind of the tapering tower that had the dome that with the kind of the kind of like polished kind of sun reflection on one side. The rest of it you can see with the intricate carvings

that happen with each bit of the spirals that continues downward. You can see what looks to be three specific smaller spires that kind of almost from this perspective make it look like, I would say almost like a Thai fighter on its side, where it has a series of smaller three spires in the base and then the central spire that is the mainstay of the library.

But you can see there is a double door at the base. And a number of individuals dressed him looked to be like deep gray robes with blue sashes. Very, very gray and blue color skin. As you approach the outside of it, you can see folks entering and out, but as they enter and exit the facility, they usually enter an exit under the watch and being escorted by one of these individuals that seems to be a member of the archive. I would just like to look around, it's in a square, you say?

Well, it's built off of one of the main roads that leads in the direction of where the Kings Hall is. So it's not like in a major square area, but it's off a large road. Well, I am no super spy, but I would like to just look at the area and see what I see in the nature of security other than these obvious robed figures.

All the windows that exist are, at least, least eight feet off the floor and look to be a very thick stained glass. The only entrances you see are currently guarded by at least two members of the archive. And the dress of them actually is very close to the individual that helped in the trial that you had in Trostenwald, who introduced himself as Zenoth, the one who had kind of helped provide information that eventually got you off the hook for that trial. But you can now see similarities in the color scheme of their attire and the way that it's worn.

It's ceremonial. It looks like it comes with some sort of a, a ceremonial robe, but they're all uniform to a certain extent, with some being more intricate and longer, with more jewelry, and they seem to have a little more station. And you said everyone going in and out is being escorted by one of these individuals.

What do the people who are, if I see one or two people going in or out, what do they look like? One of them you see appears to be a woman very well dressed. Looks to be like a high collar, buttoned up blouse of some kind, a dress that just barely cuts off right where her ankles hit the ground with his very nice shoes. Looks to be a very well off human woman, a human. Does she look grumpy?

She looks stoic. Leap to the very... Is she leaving or coming? Leave it. I will follow her. Okay. The other one looks to be a man probably in his late 30s or so, also human.

He has what looks to be a cluster of small pieces of parchment that are folded and kind of wadded into his arm, and he's leaving like he just either is taking something out or is retrieving something. Same fancy type? Less fancy than her, but still more well off than most of the other individuals that have passed through. Fancier than me.

Oh yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's a beautiful building. They're all wearing the same thing. You lived here a few months. What do you know about this place? There's a lot of books in it,

and fancy people are super interested in it. Is it, I mean, I obviously am very interested in learning. Is it easy to gain admittance? Do you know that sort of thing? I'm not entirely sure. Oh. I know they're super into their knowledge. Yeah.

Like, hey, knowledge means you're like powerful or something. Yeah, that's what it means. Yeah. Yeah. Knowing's better. Ah, books. Well, you've really sold me on it. Let's go find the others.

All that's happening, you are following this woman. I'll try to stay 25 feet behind her. Make a stealth check. Oh, okay. Oh, 15. Oh, 15. Okay. No one immediately seems to pay mine, and she is just currently

eyes on the prize heading some direction with earnest intent. The escort, of course, that had helped her out of the archive, stays behind and reenters the building, and she just continues on her own, but stays mainly on the main street. It doesn't go and ducked on any alleyways very much for her own personal safety during the day as staying out in the open. Does she have any bag, purse, visible necklace, pocket, anything pickable? There does, they do appear to be like two small pockets and kind of the front waist part of the blouse. It looks to be a small satchel that's hanging off the right, or, you know, over the left shoulder and off the right side of the body.

Do I have any chance in hell of knowing where she went because I stopped looking around immediately? Make perception check. Okay. No. You have no idea. You come back and not's gone. She's an adult goblin woman girl. She's fine.

Not helping me. Like at all. Okay, I look around. Do I see not appasantly? No. Not at this point. Not at this point. Okay, well, we are going to look around now

is what we're doing. All right, so all the rest of you are kind of re-gathering yourselves together to continue on the next step of your journey. I'm gonna cast Mage Hand and try to pick. Let's see, can I un-buckle the satchel thing, or can I, it would it be easier to just get in a pocket? It's up to you.

I'll go in a pocket, I guess. The front pocket? You said she had two side pockets? It was like, yeah, kind of the front of the blouse. Front of the blouse. Front of the blouse. Or a satchel on her side? I'll do the side satchel.

Okay, so go ahead and roll a sleight of hand, please. Okay. What is? 11. Okay. Higher than 10. Is she still with one of the... No, no, no.

No, she's long. All right, so as you're walking and you're concentrating, you watch. You watch is the satchel itself kind of lifts and tugs, and just tugs, and her head kind of spins around and looks behind her and looks back. Just sort of press up against the wall. Glances around confused eyes, one of the small, like, popper children that's off at the side, just kind of begging

on the side of the road. It was that one. Scoff. Scott scoffs and holds a chin up and continues walking with a brisker pace. I follow it, a brisker pace. Negative stealth check, please. Stealth, 22. Yeah, that's good.

Kill the baby's a false imprisonment for the kids. Yeah, that's not a good. Brisker pace, but does not seem to have taken notice if you were tracking. A little closer this time. I'll try for one of the pockets this time. Okay. Oh, I don't know. I see so.

How hard? Goose. 12. 12. That's better. There is a brief moment where you watch the flap of the blouse kind of open up and expand a bit as the the mage hand begins to reach in for what is within. And then with a slight tug you watch as two of the blouse buttons, bing!

Bounce off and just a bit of the brassiere's hose, and she closes her shirt real fast and looks about again, and what you can see is a man there who's selling apples on a small cart on the side is maybe two feet from her. two feet from her and goes, Miss? The apple, and she just whack! Smacks them right in the face, and he's, How dare you? And then holding her shirt closed and bundles up her satchel up in her arms and just is now like belining it deeper into the city.

Told her to get away with that. I run up to where that happened, and I pick up the two buttons. They're nice buttons. I come back. I did it. I got these two things. They're very nice and round and shiny. They're very nice.

Why did they come from? A very grumpy person. She was awful. She scowled at children and slapped an innocent man for no reason. She was evil. Inside check. That is 20. If you want an inside check?

All right, we've got to make a deception check then. Well, maybe she believes that. That's true, yeah. It's a horrible person. Yeah, that's true. Okay, well. My itch has been scratched. I feel good about everything that just happened.

In that time that Knot was gone, could I spot the Allhammer temple? From the past, you know, make a perception check. Or the platinum house. The 12. Unfortunately, that was really. Unfortunately, no. The Platinum House, nor the Harth the Allhammer, we're noticed.

The Harth of the Allhammer exists in the Pentamarket, on the northern side. You guys have kind of cut through to get directly to the vicinity of the Beth House. In the area you are now in the city, you don't have any sort of visual on the Platinum House. All right. So as you guys have gathered yourselves together

and you make your way towards, The team is respite. We're gonna take a break. Hey! Because it is 9 o'clock. Nice. We're back here in a few minutes. We'll make this quick break as we can,

so we can jump back in. In the meantime, guys, sit tight. We'll see you in a few minutes. And welcome back, everyone. That's good. Welcome back. So thank you for your patience. Once again, you didn't have anything.

Sorry, we didn't have a giveaway this week. We hope to have one. I'm going real soon from my books on Wormwood. So in the meantime, hang tight. You didn't miss anything. All right. Oh, I pooped up myself. Ew, you really are, Caleb.

No, that's just, what is that? It's not pooped. That's why I've had this circle. No, that is, I'm gonna- I'm gonna dad thumb you. That's pocky chocolate. That's gross. It's just fecal matter.

It's not a fuck of death. Anyway, welcome back, guys. Great to have. So, you guys, coast alongside the road, leading towards the seams respite, you catch a glance at what appears to be the King's Hall, immediate glass. It's a massive structure of bronze and cobalt

that is what looks to be essentially the central courthouse of the city. You can see it's this massive, tall, single story that stands at least 20 feet high. What it looks to be long, thin windows about every 15 or so feet, the Crowns Guard presence is pretty thick. You see probably at first glance at least,

10 or so that are just watching the front as general sentries. But there it is. You do also, at a quick glance, see what appears to be a 10 foot by 5 foot, large heavy piece of wooden board that is standing on its own about four feet from the main entrance to the right. It has a number of pieces of just parchment stuck to it. So, how you guys continue on? Head to the bathhouse. Take a gander. We've got Mr. Gander. We've got Mr. Memory Board here to just sort of scan the thing. Oh, that's true.

Just take a quick look at it. That's true. And then we can have a discussion. Some more comfortable. Are there people watching the board right now? Looks like there's one person kind of scanning past, just kind of in the process of reading and looking at things as they go. Looks to be a person in basic leather armors.

Probably a cell sort of some kind. As soon as he walks away, is there any, are there any body any guards looking at the board? Not like directly reading it, but there are, right now, four that are within a 15-foot proximity of it. A lot of guards at this one board. Well, the boards are right at the front of what is essentially the courthouse center of the entire city.

That's true. I'll walk up with Caleb. Works for me. Is there a place I can duck away for a second, or is there like a... I mean, there is away from the building, but there's nothing... I'm going to walk away from the building, cast the sky's self on myself and make myself look exactly like Ford. Which is a shorter version.

A bit tiny. Okay. Oh my God. I've done this before. I've only seen people do that, so that's what I'm going to do. So the height difference you can create with the disguise stuff, I believe, is it a foot? Uh-huh. Yeah.

So you have... Four foot tall. You're a four-foot tall Ford. But a perfect replica of Ford on a smaller scale emerges from the shadows and saddles up alongside you ford. I'm sorry, it's a very focused Ford. Oh, wow. Like a tiny little fiesta. Howdy?

Are you doing a variation of mother's love right now? Yeah, well, I've never used this spell before, so I just did what you did. Oh, it's good mistakes that I have made, learn from them to keep quiet. Yeah, I was going to say, the second. Howdy. All right. So, let's see, as you approach the board, the board's going to say, the board, which you can see has a top of it pressed into the wood, the lettering that say task board.

Now the having one board, it looks like an immediate view of it. There are maybe eight pieces of paper that are currently stapled to it with various rusted nails that have been reused and even kind of placed onto it or have been stuck and then replaced into it. There's no, there's probably close to 45 or 50 other rusted nails that are just stuck there and been left that have currently holding nothing to it. But you do see through the first glance, the both of you, as you look past them, a lot of them are looking for general work helping construction. Some are looking for people that want to help reinforce buildings that are crumbling. There are some that are looking for folks that can help shoo away parts of the outer, Outer Steads that are encroaching upon the farmlands and the outside of the wall.

You do see one that says seeking and paying for any information on myriad activity within the city. There is one that says, reward for information on rebel gatherings and anti-crown rhetoric. There's one that says, Let's do it.

There's one that says, Proof of others worship of heretical gods paid in gold. One that says, looking for work for the glory of our King Bertrand. Good pay and adventurous living as a soldier of the righteous brand. Seek Leopold Wannstiker at the Morrow Keech. What? Wainstiker. Whang stiker?

Wainstiker. Can I try slide a hand and just try to make that into wangstacker? Yeah. Yeah, go for it. Wang slapper. I believe it. Are we all up here now? Whangstaker.

I think that's a, but I believe in. I think that's a 12. No one seems to notice. As you quickly scribble out and alter the visual to where it says, Wangstacker. At the marrow keep in the signet wall. Yeah. And then roving beast in need of extermination must be trained to sell sword with experience.

That's right up our alley, extermination. Control action. And there is, It looks to be one piece of engraved kind of brass or bronze material on the side that says, all job inquiries to be taken to Herald of the Hall, Voloshin within. The fucking Harold.

Yeah. Would you repeat that last phrase, please, DM? All job inquiries are to be taken to Harold of the Hall. H-O-O-O-O-H-I-N. Voloshin. V-O-L-O-S-H-I-M. The guy to the top. Croner's head.

Yeah. Personally, I think that we should turn in those devious schemers and all the gold we can. No, look, come on. They confided in us. The last thing we should do is turn on that just for a simple calling. Did you see how many other posts on that board? We're all revolved around ratting people out. Yeah, also I don't want to stick my neck out, but anything that is a thumb in the eye of the empire I'm all for. Stitches get stitches. Stitches are just... Stitches.

Stitches get snitches. Stitches are just stitches. The original Zimian... It makes more sense. One of the few. I personally enjoyed the last beast that we've played, but I think we had plenty to discuss in that warm bath. Yeah, yeah, let's go take off bathed. It's time for a bath.

As we walked there, I talked to Caleb. What's... You mentioned being like, ah, empire. Just now you mean just a moment to go. Yeah, yeah. Don't say it in the open, you guys. Wait until we're in the bath. Yeah, let's just be mozy in the bath.

All right, I'm not so steady. That's a good point. Can you put your thumbs in your pockets and give you a sylphilful little waddle? A yuck, yuck. Right on right there. This is a dark mirror, man. Give a little spit so people know you're coming.

Which is strange because the spit actually emerges from your sternum. But as you progress, you eventually find yourself to the outside of the Steams Respite, which is a fairly simple-looking building of deeply dark-stained wood slats that are all vertical against, you know, would be heavy load-bearing columns at each major corner, but it's fairly sizable for its simple exterior. If I've learned one thing in my travels. Always hit the bathhouse first, every major town. Oh. Finally a bath.

As you guys walk your way into the main chamber, there's a couple of benches immediately to the right and left of you. It looks to be some small planters that have low light plants just being kept in the area to kind of give a fresher scent. There is a small chair and a desk setup with a clerk a clerk in what looks to be an older female half-ork, hunched but smiling with her gray, thick hair kind of braided up on the sides,

and then pin in the back with what looks to be a long spike of some kind, with a lower jaw that extends with two visible tusks, but a warm smile amongst the rest of the nice flower dress that she wears. As you approach, She looks up from the desk. Oh, hello.

You've come to the respite. I am Rima. Miss Rima. Are all of you here for a bath? Yes, Miss Rima. Individably. Would you like individual rooms? Oh, I think we plan on doing a lot of stuff,

so probably all together. Right, so the common room. It is the less expensive but less private. for the six of you, for the common chamber, that'll run about three silver apiece. That sounds quite a pretty cool. Oh, Rima, is there someone who can take care of our clothing and clean it up as well while we're bathing?

That can be provided at an additional cost, my dear. That'll be an additional one silver each for the washing and cleaning fee. Oh, happily. I'll take it. I'll pass on that. Probably shouldn't, though. He's all clean right now.

Pumat sole, hook them up. They can stitch up the holes and stuff too, though. The clothes are still pretty shit, though. No, no, no, you were presiditation. My hair is killer right now. The clothes is old and shitty. The clothes are cleaner, they're just tattered and patched. Some stains don't come out.

No, like the first flat. I've meant blood, but sure. blood, but sure. Poop blood. The poop is right. The 90s River Phoenix hair. It's like everywhere on its own volition. I'd like that my clothes, wait.

A surprise here. Four. Four, eight, twelve. I already paid mine. 16, 20, 23, silver for the lot. Thank you so much. Takes a change. Leads you into a back chamber where you get undressed, and there is a doorway that leads open into what is a central common kind of a hot spring bath that is dug out of the ground here. It has kind of a rock perimeter to it and the steam immediately

hits you and the smells of herbs and soaps. And while the water itself is somewhat cloudy and it looks like there's maybe only four other people and they're kind of obscured by the steam at the edges of the pool. But as you guys are, you know, as Misremah leaves your presence, you guys can finish disrobing and leaving your clothing behind and then enter the bathhouse. I go in and I'm like that kind of drunk person at the hot tub at the hotel, you know? Sorry. Hi, how are you guys doing? Excuse me. Scoot over. Scoot over.

I got more friends coming. All right. Run by her and say, Cannonball! And jump in. Soldier. All right, so as the explosion of water hits, there's this older couple kind of in their 70s or so

that as you kind of muscle in, they just slowly scoot away, and then there's the splash, and they both, and kind of like, avoid the space. As you come up out of the water jester and kind of, ah, your hair and it flaps back on the back of your neck. Like the little moving. Yep, and your eyes focus, and you see a familiar face in the water across from you, leaning kind of arms akimbo

against the rock, it looks to be a thick, a thick hilt of a sword, resting, apparently, In the hot tub, you see a familiar pale-looking muscular woman with darker hair that fades to light as there is Yasha kind of staring you with a curious look. Oh, hi. I'm all sleepy, but I'm here. This episode is brought to you by Netflix's remarkably bright creatures. What if a Pacific octopus held the key to a mystery that could heal your heart?

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her brothers and I talk with scientists, authors, and experts and I keep it practical, surprising, and fun to listen to. If you've got a curious brain, come try one episode of something you should know on the podcast app you're listening to right now. Oh, my gosh! You know, I have been tracking you guys. for quite some time, and I knew you were here, but I just figured I'd want to get a bit of a bath first and get a little bit of a rub down, treat myself. Oh man, you come to these places a lot? I've never been.

I enjoy sometimes the finer things of life. She rolled with Molly. I walk out of the changing room and just walk by, don't even just give a kiss on the head. Took you long enough to bloody find us. I know, I'm sorry. I had something to do. I am, for the record, tattooed, like, a lot.

Like everywhere. Explain the tattoos. Okay. So I apologize that there's no art yet. I'll get around to that. There is a snake tattoo that curls all the way up the arm, that goes all the way up into the peacock. People have seen the top of the peacock,

but the peacock is actually roving into a big floral piece that goes down into a snake that is kind of swallowing the hand. There is an eye in a pyramid piece with another eye illuminated above it that seems to almost go into the hair line. all the way up the back. And then there's a moon and sun connected to sort of the shoulder piece that all interconnects.

The whole thing is very complicated. Is it all upper body? It is all upper body, yeah. But about the Prince Albert. Except it's, yeah. Do you actually know what that is? I take it. No, I don't know.

She knows a lot about Dix, remember? Was there? Prince Albert is for a very tight pan. For Ashley, wherever she goes, it's body tattoos. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Found him in the woods, and I.

In a bag of holding. Each tattoo has 15 meanings. Have you been hot on our heels? There's all time to keep the pace with us. Well, you guys are not very discreet. Pretty easy to follow. Did you see what happened in the field? Yeah.

So we are transparent. We killed them all. Okay. I came for the aftermath of it, but... I didn't see, or I would have jumped in and helped, of course. Why are you following us? And by the way, even though I am totally naked, I still look like a fully clothed, tiny four. Yeah, see when you remove your clothes and they just kind of shut off your body and they still visually appear on you. It's a very strange visual. It's me the goblin, by the way.

I do remember you quite well. Why were you following us? I said I was going to meet you back here in... Or here in Zadash. We told them where we were going to be. Oh, but don't you have mysterious big person things to do? I did. I have things that I occasionally tend to, and I did. Did you do them? Ish.

It's mysterious. It's not that mysterious. It just have things that I have to do sometimes. Well, we're looking to get into some... Trouble? Yeah. I've made like 60 gold at 3 days. You've made 60 gold at 3 days.

It's ridiculous. Kill things for money. I've never made money like this. We've got the head of a manticoor out on our cart and melting in the sun. I stole two buttons! Oh. How nice. What do they look like these buttons?

They're in my other, my existing clothes. Yeah, they're in the other room. They're really nice though. You're among friends. You don't have to wear any clothes if you don't want. Oh, I'm okay. Are you free of bandages and everything too, and we just can't see it? I handed all of those bandages to be washed.

I did hear of that you've been calling yourself something. I've heard a name floating around that you're calling yourselves the Mighty Nine. We are getting a reputation. Word of your mouth. You don't need a big public thing. Not too much, Caleb. Not too much. How many people have you heard that from?

Three and a half. That's less than a handful. Three in one dead. Not even worth mention it almost. In a handful of days. And is our reputation intimidating, opposing, threatening? Is our reputation intimidating, opposing, threatening? It's neither here nor there, but,

I just, I don't, just for clarification, is it, nine is the number nine? Yes, it's the number nine. Okay. Yeah. So we still need a few people actually. No, that's not. It would be very hard to search for us so they don't know if it's nine or nine.

No, it's right. That's true. That's good. Okay. And are they looking for nine people? That's right. You don't look different. I thought it was no.

Yes, I have been in this bath for a few minutes. No, you were here when I got here. That's true. We visited an arcane shop and the gentle men. I'm not sure really. The proprietor of the shop did a little di-de-do to me and it just took everything away. Did you know there's a spell that can do that?

No, I actually don't know much about spells and things. Yeah, he gave me the car wash, you know. Took it all the way. Oh, nice. That's something different from where I come from. Yeah, I don't like this. I start sinking into the back and enveloping everything and just sitting on the bottom and holding my breath for a while.

We've asked, Caleb. Should we discuss the potential job offers that we've collected? And also if we're going to get them back, we're going to have to have an agreement about the fact that while there is going to be a certain amount of advertising necessary for this kind of venture, there are many of us, and I think it's fair to say, that want to kind of keep things quiet.

As quiet as possible. I agree, I'm also not looking to attract any attention. Discussion. You hear this like four series of quick snap, snapping claps. And here, heat it up! You hear the voice of Misremah from within, and you watch his two side doors open, and these small troops of women and men come through

with these pots of heated water and then dump them into the bath to kind of refresh the heat, and then exit again and then close the doors behind them. Bless you. God, it's hot down there on the ears. I wasn't going to tell you. I'm not as well. You're not getting in the water?

No. You're just standing up to the side, not? Yeah. But you're naked. Possibly, yes. You're ready to come in. Have you been in the water at all? No, I prefer not to.

Do you not like going into water? Thank you. What is it about it? It's creepy. It's dangerous in there. It can drown a person. So wait, you're creeped out by water and you're creeped out by fire?

Man. Covering the spectrums. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know how to swim? I don't know. I haven't tried in a while. Well, we could certainly teach it. We could all do.

Yeah, I mean, it's very shallow here, very little risk. My father just flew that threw me right in. That's how I learned. You know, that's actually... We're not going to do that, though. It's terrifying and terrifying. It was awful. But here we are. You could do the dog pedal to be able to be able to do.

I've seen the dog pedal before. I mean, it seems dangerous though. Like, how do you breathe in there? Well, you keep your head off water. You know, hmm. Here, I take knot and I just say, just hold my hands. Just hold my hands. Okay, ready?

And I pull knot into the water and I go, Now kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. Wow, that brought it back. She vomits up a poxico. Yeah, that's okay. See? Sam and I have posted. Another button.

It's a bad. Yeah. You know. Sovers. It was terrible. Does the little fjord look wet or dry? Looks dry. Dry.

But leaving a trail of water behind them. Magic so much. That's not bad. Are the old couple looking at us like were weird? Yes. They were both off kind of by holding each other, just going, hey, they're all about to start having sex, so you might want to get out of here.

They immediately get up and start leaving into the changing room. and exit the chamber. Is there anyone else in this pool with us? At the moment, no. Yeah. I don't think they understood that was an invitation. So here's what we got.

We got gold for myriad activity. Marriad? Myriad. Mirriad activity, whatever that is. That's exciting. We got reward for rebel gatherings, which we are not going to do. We got tracking down heretical god worship.

I don't think we're feeling that one, Rafe. I think we know with this one, no. You're probably about the odd days. Are you, do you have a god that you worship? Because we've just been told that it's bad juju around here. Apparently there are only six deities. They allowed to be worshipped publicly. What are the six deities?

The Allhammer, the Raven Queen, the... Platinum Dragon. The Dawn Father, the Annoying Mistress? Knowing Missile. That's a different pantheon altogether. What was it? The Donfather, the Raven Queen, the knowing mistress, the all-hammer. Sneezy bachelor. The law bear. The lawbear. Do you have any sort of religion or tradition of like heavy metal or something?

Yes, I do. Oh. Are you in the clear? Not here. Do you worship the traveler too? I do not. Oh, okay. I thought I would have known you if you did.

You probably. We have really small group meetings. It's usually just me. Well, he sounds like a great, so many adventures with traveling and with him. What about you? Oh, I don't feel like I'm comfortable to say here. We can see your vagina.

Yeah, you can have anything to hide from us. I mean, it's underwater. We're all comfortable. One assumes there's like a mist that's just covering everything. It obscures it to the point where, yeah, it sucks. You stand up, but it's still like a good. I mean, nudity's going great and all, but this is more about comfortability. As a victim of Campaign 1, yes, there has to be.

It's like everything is a miller. Everything is a milk bath. Thank you. Yeah. That's not milk. Thank you. All right, we also got apparently wine stacker, Wang stacker.

Yeah, he had something at the Morrow Keep. He's wanted people to join the military, so no. We're not going to do that. But there is a roving beast, which I feel like, kind of falls into our wheelhouse. I like killing roving beasts. I don't know what a wheelhouse is, but I feel pretty positive about the metaphor in general.

Knott, do you want me to wash your hair for you? No one will see, because you look like Ford. If you're not planning on like, if you're not planning on bouncing Toot Sweet, it might be a fair way to find our way into town. Sometimes I have to go. But I like killing things, so sign me up. My God, the money. My God, the money.

He made so much money off of ears. Yeah, we really did. Just years alone. Three months' worth of shows like that. Wow. The Crownscard has so much money. And they're so lazy. And we're about to go make a whole lot of gold over at the Pillow Trow.

What is the Pillotrope? Well, it's a fancy hotel place. Apparently, Jester's mother is going to hook it up, right? Mm-hmm. Who's your mother? She's the Ruby at the Sea. I feel like part of the Ruby at the Sea. There's a picture.

And then the... Yeah, yeah. Okay, I have heard of the Houdia's scene. That's pretty spectacular that that's your mother. I know. She has her own jingle. Don't talk about going again? Nope.

Nobody knows through the other sea. She's the best one is the best one lay around. You guys have really bad memories. Okay, knot. Now the next step is to get your head underwater. Okay, we're going to take a big breath all together. I've been sudsing up your hair. You have to do it to dunk your hair. To dunk my tip wash my hair. So Bo and I will hold you and on the count of three we're going to go under a one. One. And two. And two. And a three.

We all go underwater and we're not. And we bring it back up. Cheers, she's, she's done, his dog, his dog. You did great. You did great, hey. You're gonna get a sticker. Mm-hmm. Is soccer at the end of this? From Jester, not from me, but you'll get a sucker.

You didn't burn, right? You lived. Great job. Thank you. How do you feel now? Are you still scared? I'm less scared. But it's still uncomfortable.

And I prefer to do it at my own speed, thank you very much. Do you want to just stand at the side then and hold the side? Hold the side? Please, oh, yeah. Yes. I'm not kidding. I'm going to be mad at the results. Exactly.

I'm going to show progress. Yesha, there is a heavier presence of the empire here. And then there was in Troston Wald. How does that sit with you? Well, I know I just have to. to be careful about some certain things, and I think I'll be fine. Nobody's chasing after you are giving you any hate, are they? No.

Inside check. Jesus. I don't. What you? Yeah, what's the one? I am lying. Generally, you can say, do I believe her? And then I'll tell you to make an inside check.

Okay. Do I believe her? Yeah. Yeah. I do. Okay. Okay. Yeah, no one's, I'm not, I'm not in trouble for anything. I think if anything it would just be because of the God I've chosen to follow. Which is who? Jester. Well, it's the storm lord. I don't know if, you know of him.

Do any of us know what the stormlord is? Yeah, yeah. I mean, for basic religion you would, because you've been outside of the empire. Those of the people who grew up in the empire, you would vaguely have much of an idea. What about a big reader? You would probably make a religion check. Natural 20.

You're very aware of the storm lord. You know the storm lord well because since the Menagerie coast largely relies on port trade, it is one of the most worshipped gods in the monogry coast for people who travel in and out of the ports there. Overseas, you know, safe passage amongst bodies of water, Contests of strength, proving were through action. A lot of very interesting elements that the two of you would know of that following.

I understand. The Stormlord is to be feared and respected. Yes. He's pulled me out of what literally felt like the depths of hell, so I owe him my life. And I will continue to serve him and do as he has to serve him and do as he has done. He asks whenever he asks. Are you from the Menagerie Coast as well? No.

Are you from the Empire? No. Where are you from? What? Sorry, Yasha, this is a lot. If you don't want to answer, I understand. Yeah, you just run back up. Well, she doesn't need to tell us her life story.

When you say pulled you from hell though. Wow, Beau. Really. What? I'm wondering. She brought it up. I literally undercutting the very thing I just said. You are.

Very glad that you're back. I vouched for her for what it's worth. Which means a lot, Molly. It means what it means. I know. Holy. I, uh. Molly, what else do you do around the hot bath spa place?

You run into your friends who are also heading in odd directions. You stand uncomfortably close to people you know and make them feel awkward and I walk really close to you forth. It makes, I tend to find it's just easier to look into somebody's eyes and figure out if they're lying to you if they're naked and boiling. Uh-huh. Jester, I forgot what I was going to say. Yasha, it's interesting to see you without your cloak. Yeah. I'm super adamant about that one.

I just, I was cold. Sure. Hot tub, you know. I recall when you asked for it, it was a very cold day. Yeah. But do you need a towel? You may to get the hard-to-reach places in your back or anything for you over here. I got it.

I got it. I got it. You got a sword in your hand for God's sake. Yeah, right. This is normal, right? You pay extra to keep your weapons, so you just never know when you're going to need it. You've been in the water before, haven't you? No, no.

It just seems to be happening faster than all fragrant and stuff. Oh, no. Ford! Are you melting? Oh no, you're turning into water, I'm here. Oh, no. Oh, no. Just your hell.

Five or six days in, I think, and I'm really questioning this decision. Well, should we take the mission to go kill the big beast? I think so. I say we take the beast. We, again, keep it on the down level. We'll figure out a way of getting credit. getting credit and keeping our reputation, but keeping it quiet.

Okay, okay. Things like that. We take it to the Harold of the Hall. Yes. God, I hope his name is Harold. You guys know how Chacosta was all like, secret, you know. Yeah.

Maybe. Yeah, he was all like, I'm mysterious. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're out of them?

Totally blind. Everywhere he went, he was like, shh. He was like super badass. He said baby a lot. He called his baby. Yeah. He called you a baby a lot. Yeah, but in like a charming way.

Yeah. Yeah. Like I was kind of into it. I didn't feel demean by it. I was like, oh, it kind of. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Makes me feel safe. Yeah, bring on that.

I felt to mean, but in a good way. I'm just saying, I'm just saying. It's just nice, it's tingling. Be like that. Be like that. Be like that. Be quiet. No, it's good to see you.

I start drying my hair and try to get pretty. Yeah, we're up. All right, so you guys start making your way out of the bath, gathering your clothing once more as you head back into the... I gather my clothing away from the... Is this one still in disguise? I'm completely late. No, how long has it been?

It's an hour that it takes to do it. Oh, yeah, no, it's been... You've been in here, I'd say catching up and soaking for about a half an hour and 40 minutes, so you're getting pretty close to losing your... I'll have a towel around myself. disappears into the eyebrows. And then I'll drop the poor. Come on.

You now see like the towel-covered goblinoid form of not her hair just like wet and tattered down across the face. It's like long and in the front, the yellow eyes kind of peeking through. It's like some barrow from the room. Aroclos in here or somewhere else. They probably folded them up for us. They were in cubbies. But I didn't send mine off to be cleaned.

Oh, then yours was in a lot of here. So I'm going to pull the spool of silver thread and I'll take a length of it out. and I'm just going to pull knots hair back, and then I'll just do a little ponytail, simple. Yes. I don't wait till everyone gets out. I was gonna say, bo, damn it.

I was gonna say, I wait and watch all my friends get out. You'll just say, just opposite time. Yes, opposite time. You guys coming? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I just wanna make sure that I get my full time worth. Except we paid a lot for this. Should we just,

to catch you outside then. No, it's good. It's a really hot hot tub. Yeah. If I think the moment is passed for the rest of us, I think we should go. Maybe they need more hot water. We'll send some in on our way out.

Have fun storming the castle. The clean clothing is presented. You guys, the dress and your outfits are waiting for you in the dressing room. Okay. I am ready for Monster Home. Who gives up first? I'm real down for this show up.

We're a hot tub chicken right now. I mean, I don't care to show anything. I just wanted to get a, I feel like this is a pool of honesty. I just wanted to see everybody else naked first. Yeah, it's honestly kind of my thing. Okay, I'm getting up. And the water drops a footman. I know.

No. No. What's going to find. Watch her make her way out using the large grate essentially as a walking stick as she emerges from the tub. Do I get a nice view? Yes. Roll for purr.

Yeah. And now I get out. All right, thank you. We're good now. Back for that. You're landing. Yeah. All right.

You guys have regathered your materials. You've reconvened outside. outside, this team's respite, and you've now, it's about midday now, about noonish, the rest the day is still yours. Let's find the... King's Hall. Harold. Yeah.

The Monmouth. Well, you guys do that. I need to go to the pillow trove, okay? Where are you going? I need to go to the pillow trove, which is a really, the nice tavern in place. Would you mind, I don't want to go in, but would you mind if I tagged along with you? No, that's fine. Okay. Will you be gone for a while? Is it a quick errand?

It's a quick errand. I just need to bobbyard. I just need to bobby. and pop out. Do you know how you do? We'll just see you back over here then? Mm-hmm. Okay. Uh-huh. You want to stick with the others. I'm going to run an errand with Chester.

Do you need me? Not for this. We'll just be gone a couple of hours. Do you need health potions because you might die? I think chances are very low that I will be. Do you have one? Yeah, I have the one. Okay, good.

Come on, we'll be fine. We'll see if we can meet anybody else who you could make feel better. about who they are. Go to fun, maybe you get another button or two from a grumpy person. Excellent. Yeah.

I go before we leave, I run up and give Yasha a hug and say, I'm glad you're back. Oh, thank you, Jester. I get uncomfortable. I don't hug her back, but I gently give her one pat. Caleb sees this, and just goes. Is it to hug around the arms that are down and you're like? Yeah.

Perfect. I'm trying. Very uncomfortable with human touch. I feel like I know you better now. I will see you back at the King's Hall. Okay dokey. All righty. So those of you heading to the King's Hall, you make a way back to the familiar outside of this large center for law, order and judgment within the city of Zadash.

As you approach the interior or the doorways, the front, the guards kind of pass, but keep an eye very closely as you enter. On the interior you can see there are two round tables with what appear like curved benches that meet the sides of it. And there you can see some of the Crowns Guard in the process of talking to various civilians and taking notes, there's conversation about, pardon me. Is there a desk or a clerk or someone that is? You don't see a desk or a clerk,

but you do see the crowns guard that are currently at the tables talking to these individuals, and you see two other individual crowns guards that are walking, or sorry, standing and guarding two hallway entrances that lead further into the King's Hall. As we walk up, I'm gonna take my robe and just for the first time any time this party has seen,

kind of just cross it over and tie it a little bit more traditionally. Okay. I'll walk up to one of the King's Garden, just ask, we're here to inquire about one of the postings. There's a roving beast that needs taking care of. Oh, let me go ahead and get the Harold for you, Helden, just a second. And he goes and scoots out of the next hallway. A few months later, you watch as this really kind of stressed-looking male dwarf

with these thick, thick, like mutton chops. This kind of salt and pepper hair, well groomed. It's combed really heavily to one side. The thick hair is being tamed to the point where, in a very Jean Wilder way, it's combed and then out at one side. And as he walks in, he's wearing what looks to be long robes of gold and white and silver and carries the holy symbol

of the lob berry. You can see what looks to be an axe that hangs on a chain with a scale embedded in the center of it. He walks in. Right, so you're inquiring about the job board. That's right, we're a few members of the group known as the Mighty Nine. We would like to take one of those listings off your hand if we could. All right, which one on the task board you're looking for?

One mentioning that roving beast seems about our speed. It kind of gives a quick glance over all of you. All right. Let me go ahead and pull the site. And he pulls a small side bag that has a bunch of pieces of paper and he unfolds one section, sets it down. And your names? That can we just all go under the mighty nine. I'm sorry, but for the purposes of maintaining an organization within the paperwork here,

need to know the names of those who are to claim. Any rewards or benefits of completing a job? Yeah, I'm Philbin. Philman. All right. And you are... Orangees. Oh, damn it.

I can't say it now. You a fucker. Lawrence. Lawrence. Good old. Cowrie. Cowry. Desma.

Smut. All right. A berry. A berry. A berry. Short for berry more. It's short for Barrymore, but I don't, I just go by Barry. Barry.

Make a deception. Then it's shaking afterwards the best. Barry. What? Is remember you want to do this? Screen are you on? Hold on, hold on. It's still new.

Refreshing, refreshing. Refreshing. Refreshing. What did you roll? There you go. Ashley, that's document. Your sign. The wrong app.

Really? Oh, wow. That's a number. Okay. Okay. 13. Okay. Is it a minus two?

All right. All right, very. Okay. This here is a writ of lawmaster intent. This will give you an entrance to the location of where the job is supposed to take place. So, this supposed creature has held up in a sewer nexus. right on where the enlisted sprawl meets with the outer wall of the trisphire.

So we need you to travel down there, and, well, let's say there's a whole region on the inside, we're even hearing about this backing up of various liquid and strange noises from cleaners we were beginning their way through. So we sent a few crowns guards down, and came across a massive congealed sewage, slime, and webbing. So we, well, the fucking cowards ran back,

and we need to dig deeper. So here we are. Find a way of whatever is creating this disturbance. Kill it, take it back with proof of the kill, whatever, build that little nest, and the crown is willing to drop you about 700 gold pieces. Ooh.

Seven hundred gold pieces. That's correct. Just for the entrance, they are aware that there are several of us. We are just representatives of a slightly larger group. Well, you have to divide it evenly from the 700 you're getting. Of course, but we can all get entrance from this rate, of course.

all the ones that are names on here. So you need all the names of everybody involved. There's more involved. Well, we're called the Mighty Nine, aren't we? Takes the red. And who are the other companions? Well, let's just send seven of us down for now. Yeah, that's fair.

Seven of nine? Yeah. Oh, really? We have our hands. I've never felt such a hatred in this moment. Wow. What are those other two called?

I forget. We've got Karen. Karen. And Rothschild? Karen and Rothschild. Yeah. So wouldn't that mean it would be we would get 900 gold? Yeah.

100 per person? Per, you know. No, that'd be about 100 gold split between. How lots of you? And just to be clear, there's no clearage of sewage. We're just here to take care of whatever's causing that webbing, you mentioned. Whatever is causing the blockage and the weapon, whatever else they found down there. Yes, take care of that. Bring back proof of the death.

Proof of, okay. But you know what kind of monster it is? No fucking clue. That's why you're being paid set out on the goal for it. Okay. Have people been killed? People have gone missing. I think you're the first to try and take the job? No, it's dangerous. That's why we're paying so much. If we don't want it, go away. If you want it, here's the writ. Good luck.

Thank you. Mighty obliged. We'll take care of this most expediently. Bye. Wait, has anyone gone and come back? There have been three times that it's been taken up and one's come back, declining it and two that have no. Declining it for any specific reason or they'd just change their mind. They change their mind a bit. Fair enough.

Yeah. I'm sure you will. I sense a little sarcasm here, sir. It's a dwarven thing, the resting bitch voice. Fair enough. Good day to you, we'll take care of this. Three. Well, shove off, okay.

That's fine, we leave. We walk away. All right. Theoretically. Yeah. Not that I want to be... Yeah, what's the word, shister or something like that? Shister. Shastor. Shastor. Couldn't, if they don't know what the monster is,

and we have a perfectly good manacore head. But then there are some people down there. That's not really our problem. Yeah, but if we get the gold first. Maybe it came back to life. As someone who actually has towns that they can't re-enter again, for reasons that we will go into later, over booze.

It's best to kind of keep a clear reputation. Bo does have a good point though. I mean, if we get down there and it's some world-ending monster, I mean... We can just run back up the manes. We found a manacore. Who knows that? They make nests. There's a blacksmith. Apparently. Do you think the blacksmith cares what the empire is doing?

Blacksmith is just trying to survive. I think the blacksmith will get 10 gold for telling him if they find out that there was a mandicor down there. If the blacksmith knows. All right, it's a good plan be. It's an emergency plan. It's a good plan B. I'll grant it that. I'll get it up to the outside and wait out by the posting where we last saw Caleb in Jessica. Karen Rothschild.

Karen and Rothschild. I'm going to juggle. All righty, you guys, after asking some questions, making way around, you eventually find the tri-spire, which is not too difficult to see. difficult to see once you know what you're looking for. You see these three very unique looking towers that ascend past what looks to be a round wall that encases the interior of this kind of elite portion of the city. As you approach the wall, the outer walls you see are basic stonework and mason, as they may be and use this from a defensive position. These walls are made of solid marble and are look more

decorative than designed to be a military buttress of any kind. As you approach, you can see there are two entrances to it, or at least you've been told there are two. The one that's nearest to you kind of opens in the direction of the Penta Market, and while the portcalaise is lifted, you see there are two crowns guard there, currently standing with spears and shields at the ready. Unless you watch as a horse-drawn carriage kind of clumps by and makes its way inside, and you guys approach, and one of the guards steps forward. Can I help you, please?

Yes, we have business at the pillow trough. I don't think you do. Please, shove off. Oh, well, I have business at the pillow trough. What's your business with the pillow trough? I have a package that's being delivered there. What business do you have at the pillow trough? Look, your friend, he looks like he just wanted out of the evening nip,

if anything, so it would be best. I hired him to protect me. because, you know, I'm very fragile and delicate, but if he doesn't look well enough to be my guard, you're welcome to walk me instead. They kind of look at each other. Make a persuasion check. Come on, guroo.

Come on. Come on. Oh! Oh! 22! Look at see each other, it looks back at you. That was impressive. All right, I'll walk you in briefly.

I'll get back my post. You stay the fuck out of this. Sorry, Kayla. It's like, okay? Okay. Rejecting. Okay. Okay.

Keep, keep, keep. All right, to the Pinotrov. This way. Follow me. The other guard kind of steps past him and kind of just blocks you from the other two. And as the guard guides you in, he makes a big whistle son of,

does a finger loop, and you watch as another guard. Gets relieved and comes down to kind of help him at the front doorway. You guys are really on the front doorway. I'm not overshed in here. Thank you. I appreciate that. All right, so now stepping into the Tri-Spyre.

Does that happen, Lickety Split? The second guard comes down? There's maybe a 20-second period where he's making his way down. He quickly, you get the sense of the look of this and just glancing through the interior. You see what looked to be elements of beautiful courtyard parks with trees and bushes. you can see statuesque structures that decorate

where the various roads indicate. What normally was just dirt road of the occasional bits of stonework is beautifully laid cobblestone from the interior. You can see homesteads of different styles of construction from all across this continent and beyond. This is where the money of the city goes. This is the district where the elite live,

with the elite work, and where folk of very specific visual presentation and purpose are allowed entry. Right, and as she goes and does her thing, I just want you to know that Frumpkin does full of her, and I leave and walk around the block and duck into an alley or any private place and cast disguise self and myself to look myself,

make myself look very, very resplendent. Roll a stealth check for Frumpkin. For Frumkin? Yes. It's not very good. It is only a foie. Ooh. Oh, Frumpkin begins to kind of,

One of his way in, one of the guards just goes, piff, piss off, and kicks Frumpkin about 10 feet off and kind of stumbles and skids and then gets back up. Does that take him? Any damage? Yes, he'd take one point of damage, yeah. I rolled hit points for him when I made him, and it was one, so he's gone.

He was cat into oblivion. You kicked his cat until he burst. I didn't. He kicked the highlights out of his head. He kicked the highlights out of his head. Now, Billy. Who's last one? Now.

Uh, stray cats can't just wander into the... CERALS is to himself and wanders around and does what he says. Suddenly is looking very noble. But I'll let that go and then I'll follow up. You guys, I kicked his cat today and it fucking evaporated. If that is a beer worthy story, I don't know what is. Oh no. Somebody punched me.

Caleb is pissed. The guard looks a bit confused. As you wonder back, he's like pointing at the tip of his boot and he's like, I don't know, it's fucking crazy. So what do you look like? Oh, I am wearing the deepest black robes and I have a black goatee. Very evil David Hasselhoff, you know. And...

Dr. Who? Sure, that. It sounds very embroidered in everything. It's all black velvet. Ooh. Yeah. Yes, the way the audience thinks Vax looks. That's what I look like right now.

Neil before us all. I have a meeting in 20 minutes at the pillow in, I don't know what it's called, but Caleb does. Caleb does. I don't remember shit, but Caleb says whatever the name of it is because of my piece. This is the smartest beat you've ever taken. Of course it is. Oh, man. Specifically, I say whatever it's called.

The pillow trove. I don't remember. He does. The pillow is. I have a meeting in 20 minutes at the pillow. The pillow grove. I know that's wrong. No, you're in deeper.

Right now, 20 minutes, I need to get in. Right now, 20 minutes, I need to get in. They both kind of blink their eyes at you. And as you glanced down to look at your hand, it's your regular sleeve. What? It dispelled in work here. It worked, but then as you approached, you look down and it's no longer there. Oh, magic shit.

And you have a sense now, you kind of think back to the air of magical longevity that the spell would maintain. Right, right, right. It's gone. Oh, wow. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. Yeah, I used disguise self. So they dispelled it?

They have like a dispelled thing. They've got a little bit. At some point, as you approached and then walked up to the gate, you went up to the gate, you your disguise self just dissipated. Okay. The one guard that was there before is like... That's really good to know. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay, I just walk away. Yeah. As you walk away, he goes, yeah, that's what I thought. Catcaker. Quick meeting, right? Quick fucking meeting. What a dick.

What a dick. Oh, geez. You just made some guards night. I need to fucking... He's not going to live. I'm not going to live. Just see the next. I got to get in there.

We're gonna kill that guy. All right. Yeah, he's got it. You are escorted to the exterior of Pilotrove, which this would be over here in the trispyre. Hmm. Look at all your nose. I wonder how much of the tri spires like this.

It's got to be locked up. A lot of bed, right? Yeah, it's pants, pants. So you're led down the beautiful cobblestone street around the bend of this beautiful courtyard where you can see a family is currently sitting down and having kind of an open air picnic here amongst the grass.

There are butterflies in the air. It's picturesque to the point where you question how engineered it is to a certain degree. But with a couple of quick spins, you see one that catches your eye, which is really interesting, is this massive, massive, one of the tri-spire towers that's closest to the vicinity of the Pilotrove, looks like it was this old temple.

that's been completely hollowed out and repurposed to look almost like a glitzy casino. There are banners that are just pulled across of brightly colored silks that mingle and almost braid into each other. You can see at each different floor there's a different kind of tone to the stone that's been slightly altered. You can see signs showing what looks to be different forms of entertainment. and it has a simultaneously historically awe-inspiring and gaudy combination that is intriguing. It's like Caesar's Palace. Kind of yeah, it's a little vagusy

compared to the rest of this area. You can see the, the, and there's clouds painted on the ceiling for no reason. At the corners of these roads, you can see these tall lanterns that contain a very, very faintly burning kind ever burning flame. In between each of them, there's a long, white, silken banner that just hangs as part of decoration along each road. So the road to themselves feel like they're kind of always in some sort of loose parade type celebration, but it's just part

of the decor of the vicinity. The stark contrast between the outer, the outersteads, to the even moderately average intersteads to the Tri-Spyre is astronomical. Can I ask the guard? What is that building? Have you not been here before? No, I'm new to town, actually. Interesting. That is, well, you're in the silken terrace. What you're looking at right there? It's called the Triumph Chime.

It's got all sorts of bars, gambling halls, in rooms, brothel, everything you need up here. Oh, wow. I didn't think you had things like this in the empire. We've got them in places. What, you think of a... think we're uncivilized, folk. Where are you from? Oh, I'm from the Menagerie Coast, actually. Nicodranes. Oh. Well, you're from right at home here. Quite.

Well, here you are, Pillow Trove. And as he kind of mentions over the side, you can see this luxurious inn that has this kind of cylindrical appearance to the front and then turns into a blocky building behind. It has this very kind of... gold and deep, deep purple coloration to the pillars that hold up the various walls to each intersection. And as soon as you walk inside, the scents of scented candles and various lavender-type smells kind of hit your nose.

A element of it kind of reminds you of home. And as you walk inside, you can see there's a beautiful semicircle desk and what looks to be a A human woman, probably in her mid-20s or so. Jet black hair that's kind of just straight and dangles past her shoulders, watches you approach as the guard says,

I'll wait here and escort you out when you're done. Thank you very much, kind sir. I walk grandiosely up to the woman. Hello. Hi. Hi. I have a package that's being delivered to here. Very well. What is the name?

receiving? Jester. I shall inquire. I'll be back here in just a moment. Thank you very much. As she leaves from the front desk, you can see there are two crown scar that are assigned to the sides that are just keeping a close watch on you, but they're kind of laxed dazily through their day. You get the sense they probably don't have to work too hard to the side of the city.

I'm kicking shit up at Tiffany, though. Okay. About five minutes pass. Is anybody watching me? Yeah, they're both watching you, but not intent. Kently like Hawks, more just occasionally just making sure you're not doing anything silly. You watch as a rather bounding, obese merchant in his late 40s or so comes barreling down the stairway, kind of sniffling hard and rubbing his nose, and he's dressed really, really well, maybe a size too small, trying to reclaim a presentation, maybe a younger self of him, and he hasn't quite come to terms of the fact that he's hitting that age.

But as he walks past, he goes, good day. Good day. Exits the building. Another five minutes pass, and eventually the woman comes back. She goes, I'm sorry, we don't have a package for that name here. Is there any other, it might be under? Maybe under Levor? I'll check.

Okay. She leaves again for another few minutes, comes back after that. I'm sorry, there's nothing under that name. Anything from the Ruby of the Sea, maybe? I'll check one more time. Okay, thank you. She leaves. I smiled back at the guard like,

oh, this is crazy. He moves back out. I'm terribly sorry. We do not have a package for or under any of those names. Well, that's really weird. Okay, well, tell you what. How about, because it's probably going to be coming. You know, I'm here really early for it, you know.

So if it comes for me, when it does, could you leave word with the guard outside the tri-spire? Which one? Well, like the guard house, you know. Oh, right, okay. And then I can just come and ask if it's been delivered, and then I can come, because I don't have to walk all the way here, you know, if it's case.

if it's not the other than you. All right, I'll make a note of it. Okay, unless I should maybe stay here, waiting for it. If you like, we could set you up with a room. Oh, oh, yes, how much would that be? Well, it depends on the size. We have our general suites,

we have the Lordly suites, and then we have the diplomatic, invitational suites. Pricing begins at 10 gold per room for the basic suites, 20 for the next tier up, and for the diplomatic ones. Those run about 50 gold a night. Well, I normally stay in the diplomatic rows, but I guess the smallest room for not, just because, you know, I'm small.

Of course. Ten gold for nine. How long do you plan to stay? Probably just tonight, you know, because they'll probably be here in the morning. All right? And that was Jester, right? Yes. All right. Thank you. And here is the key to your room. Oh, thank you. Second floor, third door on the left. It should be number 12.

12, that's my favorite number. Oh. So sorry, I couldn't be of help with you. Okay. I go upstairs. Okay. You sit down. Get into your room.

Door opens. It's a beautiful, small room, but well-decorated, nice, a queen-sized canopy bed, it looks to be a dresser with a mirror, a chair, a little cabinet. Yeah, right. Traveler, are you here? I don't know where I'm staying tonight, Traveler.

I might be here or I might be with my friends, but okay, I'll see you soon, okay. And I run back out of the room. You turn in the hallway to where you entered, you see a familiar cloak of deep green hooded. The cloak kind of nods down towards you, and the voice slowly kind of cascades out from underneath. I'm so sorry she's not aware that you're here now,

but you're with friends. Okay. Do you think you could help me though? Child, I think I help you quite a bit already. I know. You do. What do you need? I don't know how to let her know.

I don't know what to do. Leans forward and the hand reaches out and kind of takes your chin a little bit and just holds it there. There in the kind of the dark space in the hood, you can just see the familiar verdant irises looking back and kind of the warmth fills you once more, the comfort that kept you comfortable

so many years alone in that room. I think The more deeds you do, the more lives you change, the more confident brats you break, she'll find you. Look what I made for you. The hand kind of pulls back and takes the pantom. Adorable. People are going to worship you like crazy.

You know what to do then. I missed you. I'm never far. As you look down at the pamphlet and look up to say that, he's gone. You just hear this faint little... I skip away. Skip away. I go back to the guard.

Okay, I have a room here. I don't know if you need to escort me anymore because I'm staying here at the pillowrobe. But I'm going to go, okay? All right. Okay. You're welcome. Hey, guard, what's your name? Rive?

Rive, it's so nice to meet you. I'm Jester. He had his handout. It looks like he's expecting some sort of a tip. I fake it. Okay. Hey, so that guy that I hired to guard me, I give him some money.

What am I supposed to do? Am I allowed to get him in here so he can actually do his job? He's not an interior guard. Based on his markings, it looks like he's supposed to be at the perimeter. The guy that was all in his tattered coat and stuff? Oh, I misunderstood. Yeah. Maybe he's not coming in.

But I hired him. I hired him to guard me, though. I'm sorry we have to maintain a certain kind of presentation here. It's... All right. Okay. Quickly. I have asked around and found my way

to the other entrance to this area by now. Or to open a Republic. Thank you. No, no, no, no, no, I have this. Super quick, question, a single question at the gate. Yeah, you could have, in this time, you could have made your way around. All right, so I just walk up straight,

looking like me, yeah. Excuse me, may I have a word of your time? May I have a moment of your time? Face off. Listen to me. There is a store in here called Chastity's Nook that sells dirty books. I have heard of it for months, and I am going to shop at this store. And if you want to make three gold, and if this one wants to make three gold,

you will let me in there to shop for smut at the store. He watches his face kind of just, his eyes go wide for a second. He goes, you're a fan of the Chastity Nook. Yeah. Yeah. One, two, three, or one to three, each of you. The guards are critter. No. You know for six gold you could buy yourself some real fancy clothes.

That, I appreciate what you're trying to do. Pay off for Crown's Guard of the City of Zadash to let you a low-lie from the skids of the town inn and the most expensive and most well-guarded region of the city. I like my job. I like my head. Enjoy working for the man. I have a problem. Yeah. Adarchy. Boom.

So Jester. Hmm. I guess I go back to Caleb. Okay. You guys meet up on the outside of the district. How was it? It was really pretty in there. People were kind of stupid, but they did talk to the traveler, so everything's cool.

Also, I don't have any money. That's okay. I have a little bit of money. Do you need some? I have... About 50 gold, you want me to give you something. I think that's about as much as I have now. It's so stupid though.

That's a lot of money. It's not, Caleb. It is? It's not. That's more money than my parents ever made in their entire life. That's what I... In full view of Jester, I reach into my pocket and take what's left of the mud. Just...

Oh! I storm off towards our original... Okay, love. I didn't mean to make you make you. Put your shit on your face again. I don't know. I don't hear that. All right. As you guys jaunt off to catch up with the rest of the troop,

meeting probably, because you guys probably heading back to the leaky tap. You managed to gather in the center of the common area. You see a freshly muddied Caleb enter with a somewhat flustered but smiling, Jester. Hey, hey, oh. Yeah, yeah. We're clean, we're relaxed, we're ready to go into a sewer. Yeah.

Fitting. Absolutely fitting. Didn't we just... This is its normal look. I think it's very nice, actually. I do too. I thought we took a... Hey, I am not a person to judge. I know I don't look. It's fine.

Where are we going again? I like you. Do you want to have a person to have a judge? hang with us for a while? I don't know. This day is great. Well, let's go kill something, yeah. We're going to the outer wall that tries by. What time is it?

By now it's eight's probably close to three in the afternoon. It's beast killer time. Oh, it's beast killer time. Yeah. It's time to eat some roast beasts. Maybe late lunch, carve up and then let's fucking, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's cover back it, yeah. Pot roast beast.

Oh, yeah. I got some Oju's and some French onions. Totally. Why would you get a room at the Pulitro? Well, brisket sandwich. Because my package didn't come, so I thought maybe if I got a room there, then I could check in in the morning as well. Oh, that's very clever actually, well done.

Are you expecting, you're still expecting your package? Yeah. Yeah, it's been not enough time, I don't think. Sometimes I expect things to show up and then they don't. It can be very disappointing, but it's all right. It I'm sure it'll show up. It'll show up, of course it will. Not that it matters if it doesn't. The trick is to just not expect anything in life.

I didn't expect you to say that. That's a good advice. Well then you'll never be disappointed, you know. It's very true. Yeah. Here's to abandoning expectations. Abandoning expectations. Expectations. Yeah.

All the way off from the airport. Taking a little bit of liquid courage as you muster your weaponry and gather your way to the directions to the entry of the sewer where the currently acquired mercenary contract had been taken. Before we end, Beau, whoa, wait, should we have done research on what we're fighting? Oh, alright, let's go. He gives me migraine. And that's what we'll pick up next week. Yeah. Yasha!

Send all of your complaints for not knowing what would happen in the porno shop to at Matthew Mercer. I was sorry, man. You just gotta get some fancy clothes, man. I was just waiting for like the drop to look at the shoes and you look back, yep, no, those shoes don't get out. We got to get rid of the disguise self-blockage. That's a dirty book shop. It's a dirty book shop. What caused that?

We can go over the wall, around the wall, under the wall, under the wall. This place is crawling. Oh, we gotta get on that. If it's a vicinity thing. Oh, yeah, I know. It's on. We will get you porn, Liam. We will get you as much slug you shall have.

I agree. I think you just need a nice coat. Gotta get to that. A nice coat can get you for. Please continue to try. Not every means to an end is the easiest and most straightforward, man. Sewers. When I was going, we would just stack three up and put on a coat.

I want this to be like an Ocean's 11 style, like three episode mini. just to get into the smud shop. That's what I like. All righty. All rightes is the deck. Thank you guys so much for watching. Those I'll see you in Kentucky. I'll see you soon. Yeah. Oh boy. Four hours. I know. Ted Cal of my boy home state. It's been good to him.

We'll be back next week with Ashley. Yes. I'm excited to have you home for a little long. Yeah, just a little bit. Yeah, so there was that, there was something else I was supposed to talk about. I was supposed to say something about giveaways or something? No, I told me some of the giveaway. Was it? No. What were you supposed to say?

Where's the lucky go? It was supposed to remind me of something. Anyway. I was just reminded something. Anyway, I'll put it on Twitter if I remember what I was. But anyway, love you guys. Take care of yourselves. We'll see you next week. And is it Thursday at. It still is. We had a bathhouse. Oh, please, not that music.

That music gives me nightmares from my childhood. Could we get something a little bit lighter? Some lighter music here. Are you a fan of true crime TV shows? And what about Unsolved Mysteries? The show that jumped started all of our love of true crime. I'm Ellen Marsh. And I'm Joey Taranto.

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