High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #163 | Veiled in Vortinssar (Part 2)

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

The team, now through the checkpoint, try to navigate the city to find a Spicy Rabbit! Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes and Studio updates on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Grab some High Rollers merch: https://freshmerch.fm/collections/high-rollers Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound & TCT Adventures (Solasta: Crown of the Magisters) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickaxe. That's crypto on Kraken. Powerful crypto tools backed by 24-7 support and multi-layered security. Go to kraken.com and see what crypto can be. Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss. See kraken.com slash legal slash ca dash pru dash disclaimer for info on Kraken's undertaking to register in Canada. Hello, welcome back to part two of Aroas High Rollers. We are here on a Halloween episode, and the party have just entered the city of Wartensar. Having been stopped at the gate, they had to answer several questions in interviews here on our halloween episode and the party have just entered the city of wharton saar having been stopped at the gate they had to answer several questions in interviews before entering the city

and having an immigration seal provided to them which has now set the party's incognito score as they maneuver and explore the city and they've come to realize they've been given two different locations for places to spend the evening and they are about to realize they've been given two different locations for places to spend the evening and they are about to make their way the very last thing was quill used identify spell to figure out exactly what these uh immigration seals do has learned that they are sort of tracking spells of a sort that will only get flags at certain locations or times um yeah but yeah and also they were kind of like trackers as well not they can ping us as well they well only if they if you encounter somebody who can cast like certain

spells or like does certain things it's basically these are a way of making other spells easier to use and at longer ranges and things like that but certain locations may automatically like register when you arrive when you, that sort of thing. Okay. But they are just physical little wallets, basically. So it can easily be got rid of, can be given to other people. It's a rudimentary system, but it has to be done on a mass scale, so they can't make it too powerful or too specific.

It definitely has flaws that can be exploited, but then there are also consequences for such things. Sure. So, perfect. And that is where we pick back up. That was like a really clown-like sneeze. There was like a real like...

To it. I just realised we kind of look like that meme of like the goth sister and the rainbow sister. You actually do. Yeah. Yeah. It's very... That table is like a very different palette it's like the two ends and then trot in the middle and just he's like yeah

what's on board number b it's number wang let's rotate the board then i come out. Devil baby. It's a devil baby. Come on down, devil baby. Come on down the stairs, devil baby. We're big fans of Ghost Files. Right, with that, so hand it over to you guys. So, yeah, so in terms of like our daily, we've got the four quadrants, right? Yes, the city is split into the four districts.

Oh, and I mean time-wise. Oh, yes, yes yes yeah so are we currently operating on a this quarter uh we're doing this or yes basically any any sort of like main task so like let's say you were like we're all gonna go travel to our inns we're gonna go check in and figure those out and stuff like that you'll basically be spending a quarter of the day kind of doing that and any sort of minor tasks any sort of big task that you want to do is probably going to cost at least one of these segments um you can also choose to spend um segments to gain flashback tokens so you would basically be like i'm good we're going to spend you know maybe trot and i are going to spend one quarter setting things up to earn a flashback token that you can then use later.

You can also use two segments of a day to find out what your incognito score is if you think that it's massively fluctuated. But right now, 21. That is what it has been set at, and you have not done anything else to influence it yet. Sure. I won't tell you when it's influenced, but obviously nothing else has happened, so... And is there any indication of how close our two places are together?

I think the only one who might have a chance of knowing that would be Nova. Hiya! And that would require, I would say, a history check for local knowledge. I've been bashed in the head a lot since i don't uh kade isn't from here k's are changing kane doesn't really know anything more k k is if you have anything where you want to have a change to your disguise or you need a new disguise um or if you want to use one of their sort of like minor magic items like their perfume and things like that that they had um they can provide you those but apart from that they are like i'm going to go to my inn i'm going to go check in and i will

be remaining there i am not i'm not here to help you with your shenanigans i've been paid to do a service and that is what i intend to do um and they will just sort of like raise their hands like that is where i am going That is where you can find me. Okay. 16. 16 on the history? Yes. I think that you would probably know the fire pot,

but the brazen pit is not one you're familiar with. It's kind of closer to the Earth Ganassi gate. Mummy didn't let me go there. It's up to you if that's what you want to establish. But the fire pot you have at least heard of. It is basically like a big traveler's hotel, kind of like a travel lodge or like a holiday inn. It is mainly catering to people that come and go on a short-term basis. There are much nicer, finer inns.

These are fairly comfortable, but pretty cheap. Pretty basic. I know where to go. Well, for us at least. I've never really heard of the brazen, what was it, the brazen? Pit. Pit. Oh.

Yeah, this doesn't sound enticing, inviting. Doesn't sound like they'd have goose down feather pillows, that sort of thing. Probably not, no. Maybe egg and assy pillows though. Oh. Made of clouds. That sounds wonderful.

Well, it's not gonna have that. In terms of the- Better than the other nasty pillows. You know the fire pot is at least a good walk from where you currently are. Like it's still, you know, this is a big city, like getting around, you know, you've been to like big cities like Seattle and London and stuff like that before. Like, you know, is a big city like getting around you know you've been to like big cities like seattle and london and stuff like that before like you know getting around especially on

foot um can be quite time consuming and like you've got to navigate it especially if you don't know where you're going and stuff are there any other like would we take any of the public transport things like the fire elevators or anything like that not for these places no these like generally it's the like sort of higher society stuff that tends to be built in the upper sections yeah basically it's just because like you know tends to be built in the upper sections. Ooh, hoity-toity. Yeah, basically. It's just because the air is nicer, you get less pollution, it's quieter.

Forts, yeah. Forts go down. Being in the fire district as well, this is very much an industrial district. A lot of the fire district is occupied by forges and foundries and workshops and things like that. So there is almost this dull dull orangey haze in the air um from all the kind of like ash and spew and embers and stuff kicked up into the air it kind of

creates its own micro climate in the district so it has this kind of like dull burnt burnt umber kind of glow to everything um but not when you get into the higher districts basically the higher parts of the area. Yeah. So yeah, if you guys just want to head to your respective places. I think Nova's gonna lead the way, and as she leads the way, she's gonna be excitedly pointing things out to everyone,

like, you know, this is my home, and I've come back and I brought everyone here, and I'm just going, ooh. And that's where I used to have a paper route, and I'm, oh, that's a really good restaurant. What's a paper route? Yeah, it was a newspaper, you know, the thing. And over there, over there,

oh, I learned how to cycle over there. Cycle? I say cycle. Bicycles don't exist in this universe, probably. I learned how to levitate over there. Why there? Good ground. Good ground for levitate.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Soft. Yeah, yeah. And that's where the bullies pushed me over and stole all my stuff. Good ground for levitate. Soft. Yeah, yeah. And that's where the bullies pushed me over and stole all my stuff. Oh, Nova. It's fine. It happens. It's fine.

Where are they now, huh? Not saving the world like you. Dead, yeah. Oh. Oh, brazen strength. Where's the brazen peat? So there comes a point where you will have to diverge. If Kay, Quill, and Lucius are going to go to the brazen pit? So there comes a point where you will have to diverge. If Kay, Quill, and Lucius are gonna go to the brazen pit,

they will divert from the rest of the group. Is that the plan? I mean, yeah. We're gonna have to split off, old man. Well, we're going to the same place. No, we're splitting off from everyone else. I feel stupid in this outfit. You don't look it.

You smell it at all. You don't look it. You smell it. At all. You just look convincing. I don't look stupid? How do I smell? Awful. Awful. Awful. I don't know, the smell's not my... Oh, I was hoping for just, oh, you know, like, oh. No, it's pretty terrible. I've been holding my breath this whole time.

Yeah, anyone who stands next to you is not gonna have a great time. Did the interviewer notice your smell, or were they quite professional? Oh, they didn't say anything. Probably just trying not to. Extremely impressive. I mean, no one, you know, tried to frisk me,

which is good, which was the point. True. So, yeah. So, Brazen Pit, hands up. Oh, yes. Right. Well, we need a time of day or some sort of meeting point. Well, what's the plan after we check in and check out the place and whatever else?

How about we all try to find a way to keep these little slips in the place we're staying as if we're staying, as if we're remaining there, and then we all meet up without them. We might get in trouble, though, if we get stopped for a random search or have to go somewhere. Yes, I know. It's exciting, though, isn't it? But then you'd get arrested. I don't want that. No. That would kind of blow our cover really soon.

All right, let's act like regular people that are just meeting up after checking in. I am a regular Ganassi. We'll go find somewhere to maybe just get a drink or what people do. Or a particular type of meal in a particular place. I want to, yeah, I want to make contact as soon as possible. I think the more time, the less time we spend,

the more, the less time, the time. We don't have time. We don't have time. We have seven days. We don't have time. So we all need to go to Coalsmoke Street. Yes. So let's all meet there and say,

I don't know how long it's gonna take us to watch the Brezen Pit with his back, but. I can speed it up. Let's say the quarter of the day. Yeah, I mean, you can say that like, yeah, like in the afternoon, right? You basically, the quarters, it's early morning, early afternoon, evening, and night time.

So it'd basically be like, okay, we've spent the morning doing the gate stuff, the afternoon would be checking into your hotel, so it'd be an evening, you'd be going to the food market. I say evening, I mean like your six to nine o'clock. Six to ten o'clock. All right, everyone okay with that? The nighttime is like sleeping,

typical sleep time, right? Now those with... Penises? Spritz. Hi. I don't have anything right now. I requested nothing down there. How do you, it's very unusual. It's liberating. I always feel like this. That's why I got rid of them, It's very unusual. It's liberating.

I always feel like it's just there. That's why I got rid of them. It's just not worth it. Weebly bits. Anyway, you've got the advantage of knowing the area, so give us a chance to catch up, okay? Don't go in and meet Nani without me. I'd be devastated.

Don't worry, of course. Great, all right. Don't worry, of course. Great. All right, see you later, athletes. Yeah, you don't remember our names, do you? Craig and Spark. Volcanic victors, we got this. All right. In that case, you guys, I will take this back

and mark off another segment of time as you guys head to your respective inns. Along the way, there's a couple of details that you note in different groups. The group going to the brazen pit, for you, let me roll, say 10 or 100, it's that one. Okay. As you guys are making your way towards this Brazen Pit,

you pass by, you know, you're walking down the streets and everything in the city has a sort of mood and feeling of anticipation. Parades are being planned. You can see bunting and, youting and flyers and pennants are being hung up. And there is this kind of excitement building in the town. And you can see kids running around and sort of like playing and laughing. You do see guards walking around and kind of keeping a heavy patrol. Maybe more guards than you're used to seeing in cities.

and kind of keeping a heavy patrol. Maybe more guards than you're used to seeing in cities. But they keep a friendly atmosphere. And even Valkyrian soldiers, like you notice like a group of Valkyrian soldiers kind of marching together in a very strict, rigid method. They stop as, you know, they see like an old Earth Ganassi who's like selling fruits and vegetables.

Like his cart's like broken, the wheels kind of come off and he's trying to fix it. And he's got some locals helping vegetables. Like his cart's like broken and the wheels kind of come off and he's trying to fix it and he's got some locals helping him. But the soldiers stop and they all like move over and they lift the cart up while they get a block under

and they have this like conversation and you can see like back and forth like, oh, how are you doing? Like, yeah, we'll buy some for the barracks and you know, they buy some of the, you know, merchandise and things and all the people there are just like, oh, thank you so much.

And like, you know, the kids are like coming up to them, looking at so much. And the kids are coming up to them, looking at them amazed. There's almost an idolism, a heroism here, and seeing these kind of cool space soldiers. You know, the kids really, you know, and everyone seems to really empathize with. And the soldiers are, for what you see,

heroic and noble and sort of helpful. As you're making your way we were wrong you begin to see told you you should listen to me from the start various parts of the city and both sides will see this in internet so the group heading towards the fire part as well sections of the city you can see magitek Crystal screens have been erected and like placed on the sides of buildings or like put into public plazas almost like giant yeah like giant screens really with illusions and magic projecting images and sounds onto them or out of them like the like the screens and things that you saw in the valkyrian um astral spaceships and things like that but these have been built for like a more um

commercial purpose and on them you see not like advertisements for products, but you see like music videos, like kind of illusory recordings of Shansara, this autumn Eladrin dressed in like fire Ganassi clothing. And the one, well, you probably would see different ones. So one group sees her in like like, fire Ganassi clothing, and it's projecting this song, and she's, like, singing and dancing,

and she has, like, Ganassi performers with her, and it's, the song is, you pick up on, I'm going to roll a D4 to see which song. You've got four songs. Well, for now, I have four songs. There could be more songs. An album! I thought she was releasing an album, yeah.

Yeah, she can have one. So the one that, one group, the Fire Ganassi one, the song is called Planar Dance, and it's all about how the planes work together, and it's like a beautiful medley of all the different planes working together, and there's all Ganassi dressed up as different planes. You actually see some Air Ganassi dressed as angels from Elysium, right? And they show a backdrop of as angels from Elysium, right? And like they show like a backdrop of her like performing in Elysium and singing this

song about like how life is this beautiful dance and everything else and everyone's coming together in unity for the better of everything and you see that in these crowds, these screens, like there are like dozens of Ganassi that sit down and watch them and they cheer and they sing along. And like, they are just in adoration of this person. And then at the end, when the music kind of stops and you kind of catch the end of it, there is almost like a section where it then cuts to Shansara and Harmony meeting. And like, you can see Harmony for the first time,

those of you who, you know, Nova would recognize them. Harmony is a Ganassi of all four elements um there is no discernible gender they are very sort of androgynous in form but also kind of non-binary in that way um elements of air earth and fire and water all kind of combine together their skin has this almost gemstone diamond like quality and then rising from them are almost these kind of wispy and then rising from them are almost these kind of wispy bluish flames and you can see that their hair flows upwards like a kind of nebula like a cloud and it kind of distills around them um and then they're uh and then from there i'm trying to think of a good water kind of like analogy i think it would be almost like frost kind of like coating their skin like in patterns like swirling patterns

and things like that all over this kind of like gemstone like you know uh colored kind of like coating their skin like in patterns like swirling patterns and things like that all over this kind of like gemstone like you know uh colored kind of like skin pattern um they are very young you kind of get the sense that they're probably sort of like 19 or younger um and uh they look very nervous but shansara kind of has her arms around them and is showing them off to this crowd and you and delivering this speech about going home and soon, soon, my beautiful city of Vortensar, soon we will be returning to Ganas. Harmony and I have been working diligently with all the engineers and scientists and magicians of the city, along with my loyal Valkyrian heroes to help us send the city home.

And then you hear Harmony speak for the first time and in this very soft very whispered very melodic kind of gentle voice um they're like yes my people we are i'm so happy to be taking us home something that we have something that will live on in the history of our people forevermore we were brought here not by choice but our choice to go home will be ours and you know this kind of like beautiful kind of like political kind of speech it's all very like cut and magically stitched together with illusory magic and things like that um and yeah it's just this kind of propaganda video basically mixed in with this kind of music video um and then on the the other group kind of get a very similar thing maybe it's a different speech it's a different song uh shansara's actually looks more like a winter

elandrin and it's more like uh water ganassi clothing um and this one is called uh al ganassi's love heart um i'm not gonna uh i wrote lyrics i'm not gonna i'm not gonna to, I wrote lyrics, I'm not going to sing them, so don't worry about that. I'm going to play this bit backwards. Huh? Play this bit backwards. Yes. Join the empire.

Join the empire. But yeah, it's, you know, and again, very similar kind of concept, right? Like very kind of put together magical music video, and then at the end of it, like, propaganda. But it has this genuinely, like, believable message of like, yeah, like, we're going to do this and we're going to go home and the Erosians don't want us here anyway. So let's go back to where, you know, where we're from.

And Shansara, the other thing you pick up on is everyone refers to Shansara as our guiding star or the guiding star. Bright star, very much those kind of like names and emblems. And that's kind of like the ongoing themes as you guys are making your way to your various destinations. Can I... Yeah, absolutely. Two things.

Can I roll an Arcana check to see if there's anything more like coming out of these illusions? Like some kind of, like knowing Shansara, some kind of charisma. Yeah, sure, yeah, you can see if there's an enchantment or some sort of mind affecting magic at work here. What's 18 plus nine? 27.

That's what you, 27. 27, confidently you can say there is not. These are just projection illusions like programmed illusions words of power yeah but yeah there's no like you know

there's no magical generator which is casting charm spells or suggestion spells or anything like that this is just good old classic like giving people something to believe in

that you know and a message that they can they can focus on gross I hate this ew yeah

the taverns themselves I don't have like a massive plan for these they are pretty much message that they can focus on. Gross. I hate this. Ew. The taverns themselves, I don't have a massive plan for these. They are pretty much pretty standard inns. I think, to be honest, we're just going there to basically get a room, put your stuff down. And that's the thing. I think Quill would

pick up on this and maybe Nova when you arrive at the other end. You do notice Ayla probably spots them first because your passive perception um when you enter the inn there is a device kind of built into the door frame like on either side um and it seems to and it and you look around and you know any sort of like entrances and exits they have these like round valkyrian spheres like crystal spheres with runes etched into them um and when you sort of like you notice them maybe you point them out to nova or something and based on what quill told you yeah you can definitely suspect that these things register and and connect with the these seals that you've been given um and probably that's part of

this magic system in place um but yeah you you arrive, there's a Ganassi behind the various desks in either place. For the brazen pit, it's probably an earth Ganassi, and then for the fire part, it's probably a fire Ganassi. And they'll just be like, yes, hello, welcome, and you explain that you've been sent there, like, yep, absolutely, we can do that. The rooms are heavily subsidized,

but we do still ask for a very small fee. It's just one silver piece for the night um just to cover like lodgings and bedding and things like that um it's nothing nothing too much uh if you do struggle to pay for that we can sort of make arrangements um there might be we can find work for you in the city and we can sort of take an advance payment if that's something you need just let us know uh do i have any money on me that's not in a chest? It's a great question. I have nothing.

I have nothing. Oh, I have money. I have ten gold. Okay. So I can pay for our gang. Okay, yeah, you can pay for your gang easily enough. Just mark it off. If you've got ten gold, that's going to be three silver pieces for your gang. So it's ten silver per gold piece.

So you're down to nine and seven. Because if that's all the money you've got available to you, then that's an important thing for us to check. I've got 80 if you want. Oh, there you go. Still, worth keeping a note of. Because if you want to buy supplies and stuff and you're separated or you can't access the magic chest, then you've got nothing.

Kate will pay for their room. Kate pays for her room. She's just like, one silver piece each. So, and then, so 10 gold would go down to? Oh, no, no, no. Nine gold and seven silver. I have one gold on my person. Nine gold, seven silver.

I gave the rest to Quills. There you go, perfect. Kay, she puts down a silver piece. It's like, there's my room. Good luck. And heads upstairs. It's like, I'm not that bad. Yeah upstairs it's like i'm not yeah that's for the yeah case with those guys so not yeah century yeah um i i i'm sorry i don't have any gold

on me right now any silver sorry oh well that's all right we can make arrangements uh what about yourself sir do you have any gold or i left it with my friend who's been assigned to the other place. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, what we can do is for the interim, we can basically set you up on a sort of credit basis for tonight. And then what we'll do is we'll find you work for tomorrow. Oh, we'll pay it by tomorrow. Well, make a persuasion check for me.

21. 21. She kind of looks at you and is like, are you together? Are you with this one? I'm his carer and I don't think he's, he's past the age of working. Yes, I'm long retired. All right, and you said that your friend has your money,

but they're at a different inn or something like that? We got split, we weren't a group enough by the time. We didn't realize we would have to pay. Well, I suppose I can allow it for tonight, because we do have this system in place to help people. If you can't pay by tomorrow, we'll have to put you to work in the kitchens or something like that just for the day to earn to earn and the wage but um but no yes all right well as long as you pay by

tomorrow morning if you can get it to me by tomorrow afternoon we'll say then then we'll we won't worry about it but i all right and they'll sort of let you let it slide for now um but you have to make sure you get that payment by tomorrow or you're going to be asked to put to put to work uh in order to pay off and then at the other end yeah if kim uh sorry uh spritz spritz that's it pays then it's all fine the rooms are basic you literally have like a bed a single bed a dress a chest like a trunk um and a desk and a chair that's it can i when we're checking in can i just casually you know slip in like you know full house tonight you know uh yeah yeah it can do um the you guys are staying at the

fire pot so it's a fire ganassi uh it's a man he's kind of got like a big flaming beard a bald head but big fiery beard kind of thing um dark kind of like uh ashen gray skin but like bright red eyes um and uh he looks he's like oh uh no no still got still got a few rooms we have um we have we have to try and keep a little bit of availability for the folks coming in from the gate like yourselves um we've got a couple left once we've uh once i've got once those have gone i'll i'll message back and they'll i'll let them know that we've not got any rooms still here so interesting interesting yeah thank you that's right. Do we notice any other people staying in the building with us? Yeah, there's definitely people staying here.

Most of them, I think one of them you would recognise as there was a family that were behind you in the queue, and they arrived just shortly after you guys. And they're like, oh is this the fire party? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And they sort of come in and they speak to the guy, and he's just yep yep sign you up yep no problem and so they come in and they take one of the rooms uh like a more family-sized room um but uh you spot a few people around there's other it's all ganassi like there's no other travelers here um you don't see any valkyrian soldiers in this building most of them appear to be kind of similar to the story you guys have concocted for yourselves they're like travelers or people that were out in a rowist and have now come back to the city but didn't have anywhere to really stay

um and yeah i mean that part seems legit like they're they're all here a few of them have sort of gathered together in like a common room like a little sort of like not quite a bar but like a little sort of cafe drinking area there's like maybe a handful of tables there's like a very simple basic bar um and they're just sort of gathered around having a drink maybe some coffees or something like that with each other and just catching up and introducing themselves to each other and that sort of thing um yeah just a little idle conversation going on all righty nice for me and azure yes um are we in the we're not in the same room are we we're in separate

no no you're in separate rooms yeah okay but you were registered not as a family so you have separate rooms I know we've already been

too much trouble with not paying we will get the money as soon as we can but as he said he is my carer is it possible for him to have

a spare key to my room oh make a persuasion check. Okay. Here you go. He's incontinent. Also, I am not me.

I'm somebody else's disguise is how bad it went. Four. You could just like pee yourself right on the spot and just prove that point. Sorry, I've shit. Oh, I'm so sorry, sir, that's not really our policy. We, I mean, you're not family related,

so we don't allow for sharings of rooms. Does anyone else have access to the room in that case just in case i may call out and yes our staff do yes our staff can come in um okay thank you that's how that's wonderful okay at the very least no problem you seem confused no no no no i'm just in case i've had accidents before you come on you Let's get you up into your room. No, it's absolutely fine. Please don't worry about that. We just, we can't give them to another guest.

It's, you know, keys are... We understand. It's okay. Thank you. Yeah, it's just... Earth, Earth, Gnasty's just like... Come on, you. What?

I don't know. Elder abuse. No! But yeah, like, there's really not much else that can really happen with this. You guys have those rooms for tomorrow, but it does take you some time to go there, drop off your stuff.

It's mainly the getting to, maybe speaking, arranging for the rooms, taking your stuff up, and then basically figuring out, okay, now you've got to travel back and try and meet up at this other place. And that spends most of the afternoon doing that. Okay.

I would like to get my tiny chest out. I'd like to get a gold piece out. So this is, you're going to cast the spell? Because you can't access the big chest unless you cast the spell. I think it's, I think I read this before, that it's something I can just sort of... Cast and then it lasts for 20 days. Yeah.

I can use an action. Yeah, carry on. Let me read this. Okay. Sure. I mean, I can't carry on because the next thing is you guys doing a thing together. Yeah, you need to know. Just read it out loud.

Fill that dead air by reading out the spell. While the chest remains on the ethereal plane, the real one, you can use an action and touch the replica to recall the chest. It appears in an unoccupied space on the ground within five feet of me, and then I can send it back using an action, and it lasts for...

Ever? After 60 days, there is a cumulative 5% chance per day the spell effect ends. Yeah. So, yeah, I can just do it as an action. Yeah, I think you have to, like, cast, like, every month or something, but I'm not going to track that. I can't be bothered. Yeah, okay, so, yeah, you touch the chest.

You summon the real one up in your room, I'm assuming. Yep. Get, what, gold piece out? I'll get a couple out. A couple? And then... How much are you going to get out? Write it down.

Two. What if we are shopping? Yeah. I'll get three out. Okay. Three gold pieces. Watch out. He's a professor and an academic.

Just make sure you have a note of it because, again, you don't want to be summoning that chest out in public. So whatever you need, you need to get out now. I've got four gold. Okay. Every time we say something, he ups it by one gold.

Get ten out. I think six is good. I'll get three. I'll get three out. I hate you. I mean, I like he's telling me this, like, I'm going to care how much he gets out. I just, all I care about is that he notes it down so that when it fucks him over, I can be like, well, you said that you got three gold out.

That's all I care about. I've got four gold. Okay. And then you put the chest away. You sure you want four? Why did you land on that number? How much is our rooms? Ten silver.

One silver. I've got three gold. Oh, my God. He's just turning it to fuck with you now. If Aelum's at the same inn right now. Smash. It would be right now. Smash. It would be elder abuse. Right.

Okay. So yeah, you get the money out. You put the chest back in the ethereal plane, I'm assuming. And yeah, you're good to go. Cool. He's not an elder, he's three. No, he's three. He's a baby.

And then the plan is what? Go meet up at Cold Smoke Street? Yeah. So that was this quarter, right? This quarter of the day is just getting into the room, signing ourselves in. You have the evening and then night time left of today. Check out each other's rooms. Oh, yeah. Got a good view.

Not bad. Nice view. Over there. It is over there. Yeah. I can see my car from there. I've got a view of a wall. That's all I can see, it's just a wall.

Yeah, there's just a tree across, just really blocking. I went into my bathroom, Lucius, and the roof is slanted in such a way that it's right over the top of my toilet, so I have to kind of lean backwards if I want to use it. Oh, interesting. Is yours like that? No.

Oh, weird. Mine's very spacious. Remember Bryony's bathroom window situation? Yeah, yeah, yeah? No. Weird. Mine's very spacious. Remember Bryony's bathroom window situation? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That. Anyway. Rhiannon wasn't in the group chat, she didn't know. You missed a lot.

Oh, you missed the whole thing. I can imagine. I fell out of my bed. We had twin beds and the hotel was wonky old and wonky and mine was on a wonk and I fell out of the bed. No! And then Ted didn't believe me that the mattress was wonky old and wonky, and mine was on a wonk, and I fell out of the bed. No! And then Ted didn't believe me that the mattress was wonky, so I made him lie on it, and he fell out immediately.

It's okay, it's not just wedding day. It's not just me that is out of this joke. It's anyone watching. The hotel that we stayed at for Ree's wedding, the rooms were quite funny, and Bryony had a window in her bathroom, hence why we're talking about windows. She had a window that we could see into. That we could see in.

It's genuinely amazing that if I don't say anything, the conversation will just keep going. I think we should go around and describe each other's bedrooms that we had. Mine was pretty standard. What about you, Tom? I had a corpse in my cupboard. Oh, okay. Was it the friar?

Was it a ghost? The friar? Lord Friar. Lord Friar. Okay, now it's seriously in-joke period where we should stop. Devil baby. So, you guys meet up in sort of, yeah, I think it would be sort of around 6 p.m., 7 p.m.,

so it's evening, so the sun has set, and when the sun goes down, all over Vortensar, the city comes alive with magical light. All of those crystal screens of the Valkyrian Empire, they are so much more visible at night time. And you can see Coalsmoke Street has them lining. Coalsmke Street. You're having a stroke.

It's me, it's me. You're having a stroke. He's back. Chet's like, Speak, speak, speak. Speak, speak. Coal Smoke Street He's a hero in what it's all.

is a very closed in statue in the town square. narrow street with lots of little tiny restaurants and buildings and eateries and some of them are like stalls outside but along the sides of the buildings you have these beautiful kind of like painted artworks on the sides of buildings that have been illuminated with like minor illusions like paints

and things like that so kind of almost creating like neon signs a little bit but you also have these giant crystalline illusory screens that are playing these like music videos not just of shansara there are ganassi musicians as well um you see like the recruitment ads for like join the valkyrian empire today and all this kind of stuff um kind of like running on loops right that they play through um but quite you know it means that the streets are filled with music um there is also like uh you can see that they've probably quite a recent thing since the Valkyrian Empire joined. There are, like, dramas, like, and they show, like,

clips of, like, these drama shows. Amazing. Where it's, like, a serialized, like, tale of, like, lovers on Gideon Prime. It's, like, a Valkyrian Empire thing that has been brought into the city. And then one of them is, like, an advert. It's, like, coming soon, the first Vortensar drama, the V drama.

And it's of a Ganassi kind of like, you know, family. And like they're like living in the city and like, you know, dealing with like these new neighbors that are all Valkyrian Empire people that come in and stuff. And it's kind of like a little bit of a sitcom and a little bit of a romance drama. Is it kind of like we're talking like, you know, Hong Kong drama level? Like, you know, where it's kind of cheap sets and really over the top.

Yeah, kind of like Hong Kong drama and Korean drama kind of merge together. A bit of telenovela, Latino telenovela. Like, And like some of it's like real life and then some of it's more fantastical. Like a lot of the Valkyrie and Empire stuff, one of these shows that you see advertised is like the legendary knight of gideon kind of thing like you know on their epic quest and stuff yeah it's max when he was young he was an actor that's why he doesn't talk about it there's a part of me that wants to say yes i think that would be

discrediting max's character it's his brother it's his twin brother i think that would be discrediting Max's character. It would be. It's his brother, it's his twin brother. I think that like, but I think that like, it's that idea of like, and to kind of lean in, because obviously with Kim's stuff, like there's elements of like the kind of like the, what do they call it, the kind of the wuxia kind of like, the wuxia, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the fantasy, yeah, yeah.

So it's very over the top and dramatic. But it's more sci-fi, right? Like it's kind of got the magitek kind of element to it. and yeah like these screens just project it and people will just they gather in these courtyards and they'll watch and it's a communal thing it's not like you watch it at home like nobody has these like massive magical screens at home so they gather in these courtyards and they watch like these public ones together um and they watch all the music videos they sing sing along and they sing songs together um but the street itself, imagine that kind of classic, almost kind of, yeah, like Hong Kong, full of neon, like magical paintings on the sides of signs and advertisements,

but it's steam rising off like the cooking pots. Like hawker stalls. Yeah, exactly like that. What a noise and life. Yeah, like din of music and life and stuff like that all mixed together. I imagine as well, like, you know, like in China, when I lived in China, they have like, and Malaysia actually, like kind of grass squares where people just do tai chi

in the evening or even just like waltzing and ballroom dancing, things like that. I think that that's like gonna be more maybe like- In the residential areas, yeah. It's like the fire, this is the fire district is very packed in because you've got all these big industrial warehouses around. So all of these kinds of streets, like the residential stuff,

the areas where you're staying in, it's much more packed in, and it's got these bright lights. And you don't think that there's as many of these, like, you know, magic neon signs in the other districts. Like, this is very much the fire district kind of vibe. It's really cool. Yeah, very kind of smoky nightlife town kind of thing. Sentry's, like, amazed by the screens, by the colors and the lights.

She just, she's like, oh my, this is incredible. I think Nova's just buzzing and going around and doing that rapid fire, showing everybody, like, oh my gosh, you gotta try this food, and we have this thing here called this, and blah, and just like, blah. Yeah. Sentry's just listening, just like, oh, that sounds amazing.

That sounds incredible, oh my god. These dramas are new, I've never seen these dramas though before, I need to catch up. I need to get, I this, oh, that sounds amazing. That sounds great, oh my god. These dramas are new, I've never seen these dramas though before. I need to catch up. I need to get, I'm so far behind in my season. Well, this would be a new thing. No, it wouldn't be, yeah. This is all since the Valkyrian Empire came in,

so all the screens and stuff like that. The painted magical signs were there, but that was a thing that the ones like Ganassi would do to show off their business, right? Like, oh, I've got a magic sign kind of thing. The crystal screens, the dramas, that's all Valkyrie Empire that's been coming in the last, like, few months, basically.

I think, if anything, then, Noble probably wouldn't even comment on them yet because she's so caught up in... Being home. Being home and seeing Ganassi everywhere and, like, you know, just smelling the food and feeling the nightlife that, yeah, she'd be proudly concerned of.

You've reminded me of something. So for Quill and his massive perception. Thank you. There's two things. And I think Ayla would also pick on this because you've got a pretty high passive perception. Do I? I think you do.

Let me check. Check because I think you have a decent one. Oh, I do, 17. Yeah. When did that happen? Anybody with a sort of 17 or higher, Cora, you're gonna get a bit more information than this. Genuinely didn't know I had that high of a passive.

It's, there's a couple of things. It's very loud, like the screens blaring this like magically projected sound, the din of conversation of people, the cooking sounds, it's very loud. The smells are unlike anything any of the rest of you have ever encountered. Especially here, it smells hot, it smells spicy, it smells rich, and very fragrant spices and kind of incense-y kind of smell mingle in with the scent of people,

like sweat and embers and ash, and it all kind of mingles together, creates a very pungent, unmissable scent. And you have a feeling that the reason that the cooking is done with so many spices and there's so much incense here is to mask this ashy, kind of industrial, sweaty smell. But it kind of just mingles together.

Minges together, I almost said that. It was like mingle and merges and minges. Dyslexia, baby, it happens. We've all been there. So yeah, very pungent smell. In terms of sight, it's a little bit harder because it's dark and all of these lights, it actually makes it very hard.

You actually have disadvantage on perception checks in this area, like for sight-based, because it's so difficult to see with all these blazing lights and glaring lights and things. And same with the sounds and smells. In fact, I'm going to say it's disadvantage on perception checks in general because it's so loud, it's so smelly, and it's visually obscuring. Despite that, Quill, you will notice that there are guard patrols. And this doesn't just look like normal like there are guards around. You actually

see a group of Ganassi kind of like citizen militia along with Valkyrian troops going store to store asking questions. They're investigating this area. And you don't hear what, but you see them and you can tell by their movements and their body language

that this is kind of like they're investigating something. Okay. Yeah. Are we near... So this is on Coalsmoke Street, right? Yeah, it's a long-ass street. It's like a long kind of winding labyrinthian maze of these little like alleyways

and restaurants and and food markets and plazas it's like a more of like a a zone almost okay um yeah i mean if it is super loud i guess it's not too hard for us to whisper amongst each other no yeah you guys can definitely talk amongst each other and like unless somebody's next to you they probably won't either be able to pick up on it or won't hear enough to be able to discern that it's anything suspicious yeah I just noticed some some guard patrols I think investigating the stores and restaurants around this area they're probably trying to find well the place that we're going to, uprooting any background activities, I suppose. On that, we should probably enter this place

independently to each other so that we're not drawing attention to this luxurious place that simply everyone has to go to. Right. Should I go in first? Yeah, if you want. Make contact with... do you remember what to ask for yes I've got it written on me I will also say you do you don't know

where this place is yet you this is a big look for us big street and big place yeah you are gonna have sign you're gonna have to find it here look at the sign of the spicy rubbish need to order the banantam mix, Sky Elf style. Yeah. That means they take the chili out. So I guess where we are, no, I mean, lights all over the place. Can I have a look for this? You can.

So there's going to be a couple of things here. So the first question I'm going to ask is, how are you looking for this place? Like, what is Quill looking for specifically that is going to be, like, you know, what's his thought process here? Well, we're looking for, I mean, if there's signs for all of these. Every restaurant, every stand has some sort of sign of some sort of manner. Yeah, so I'll be looking for that spicy rabbit or a rabbit of some kind.

Okay, yeah. That looks a little spicy. Okay. So you begin making your way down. So while Kool's doing that, what are the rest of you doing? So just so it doesn't just become Kors. Rolls a perception check and it's going to be really high.

And then that's it. Ayla's just overwhelmed by all the stuff that's happening. Too many people. Too many things. This is probably out of everybody, Ayla's probably having the worst time with this. Take me to a forest somewhere. This is just a lot happening. it's really garish

i don't know how you're doing it it's just too much nova's just eating something just already that does look good you look silver piece you looked away for a minute and she went and got like a bun sounds like him um and that's true for any of you. Like, if any of you want anything to eat, like, this place has got, like, everything and anything. Like, you can try a million things here. It's a silver piece, pretty much. Most, like, pieces of food are, like... Because it's all, like, street food.

Like, it's mainly, like, little pockets of things or, like, you get, like, a little sort of, like, a clay plate or, like, a little, you know, cheaply made wooden slab with stuff on it. Or, like, a little, like a little container of something. And it's all different things, right? It's, you know, you get- Meat bun.

Yeah, sure. Chewing on a meat bun. Tasty bow. Huh? What are you on fire? That looks amazing. Mm! It's a soft white, yeah, and it's real delicacy.

Mm. Mm. Sorry. It looks so pelican soft. It's like a mixture of things that you see people with, almost like chicken legs, almost like a whole ass, big chicken drumstick, smothered in sauces and stuff. Where can I get one of those?

The chicken legs? Mmm, yeah. I'm gonna get one of the chicken legs. Yeah, you see they've got hanging chickens and ducks and stuff and they cut them off and grill them up. You want it with this sauce as well. Give them this sauce. Yeah, sure, yeah, sure yeah sure yeah sure silver piece silver piece yeah yeah i'll pay i'll break are you sure yeah my treat oh thank you they freshly grill it they smother it in

some sort of sauce you don't know what century um you can eat you just don't have to right yeah and it's like the like her century's not very good with like flavor so like anything that's quite plain she can't really taste but she likes really strong okay like and it's like, like, her, Sentry's not very good with, like, flavour, so, like, anything that's quite plain, she can't really taste, but she likes really strong. Okay. Like, heavy, sweet, heavy. Because, like,

we've never seen the mouth open. It's like, ahhh. It's like, ahhh. And then just, gung, gung, gung, gung, gung, gung, and then, yeah,

chomps it down. Oh, my God. Would Sentry, like, eat the bone as well? Probably, yeah. It's just, like, the whole thing goes in? The better thing is that Rhiannon's describing this

whilst she's a demon baby. Demon baby. Devil baby. But also, she is disguised. She's disguised, so she pulls the mask down. And the illusion will move with her face kind of thing, but it doesn't look right. It's almost like this craggy, scarred mouth.

The Joker just splits way too high and like hinges open and just and there's no teeth. It just looks like rock on the inside and just chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp. Cause Kay didn't know that you could eat, so the mouth hasn't been illusioned to look like that, right? So it's just Sentry's, like, gaping whole mouth.

Sentry. Taria. Taria. Can you make, for me, Sentry, a sleight of hand? Oh, no. Of course. Lucius is, like, woozy. See this? 13?

13. Okay. You chomp down, and in terms of strong flavors, yeah, this is a very strong, I'm assuming that Nova would have been like spiciest, spiciest sauce. Very, very strong, fiery, almost sweet in some points

with a kind of citrusy aftertaste, but very, very, very strong, but delicious and like, you know, very wholesome. You crunch that bone, suck on, but delicious. And like, you know, very wholesome. You crunch that bone, suck on the bone juice. Bone marrow. Yep, delicious. It's kind of, and then afterwards,

after you have that initial hit of like that spice and that citrus, there's this kind of the umami, that kind of like really like very satisfying kind of flavor. And you're actually going to gain, because if there are consequences, there must also be benefits. You'll gain 13 temporary hit points. Oh, cool.

You can't benefit from eating a special meal again for another 24 hours, but this one gives you some temporary hit points. What about me just chowing down on everything in sight? Yeah, if you had like a meat bun, I would say... I'm plus five full. Plus five full. I would say...

No exhaustion. No exhaustion. You can have... For the next hour, you have advantage on constitution, ability checks and saving throws. Cool. Because it's, like, a very hearty meal.

It's, you know, fills you up and you feel... Oh, it's not just that. I'm eating everything. Yeah, sure, yeah. We'll say that if you're consuming a bunch of stuff, just mark off a few more silver for different issues and things. Yeah, we'll do. But yeah, okay, so Century's eating some

food, Nova's eating some food. Anything for Lucius? Ayla's kind of just like, too much, overwhelmed. Lucius is going to ask Quill, aka Wisp, for advice on how to find this sign. Oh, well, there's signs lit up above us, there's signs all by the sides of the street. I don't know what a spicy rabbit might look like, but I guess anything with long ears.

Spritz. No? In terms of... I want to hurt you so bad right now. Sorry, Trot. I'm so sorry, Trot. I did it, and then I remembered. Imagine I'm chewing while you are. Oh, I am. In terms of the location and the name of this location that we're looking for, would you say that's like an established restaurant

or is it going to be more of a vendor stall? What do you think? Have you heard of anything like this before? I'm not giving you nothing on this one. It sounds more like a hawker store to me, but to be honest, you know, the turnover here is so fast, you know? People change their names often and like, you know, decide to, I'm going to do another dish, so I'm going

to change the name of my stool, or they move their stool. It's very confusing. So it could be anywhere. Mm. All right. You're going to have to use those old eyes of yours. Chew, chew, chew. I'm trying as best I can, but... So you're basically, at this point, you're kind of all relying on Quill's eyesight to try and find this this place yeah i'm going to try and look as well okay so you're going to you want to help yeah all right if he's looking on the left i'm looking on the right sure

we'll say that that's taking the help action through time itself i was just going to say like while i'm chomping around like you know casually we are eating stuff so it's limited how much you can do alongside this but i was just going to ask like vendors like oh have you i heard that the spicy rabbit's a good place to go and eat like where's that that yeah all right well what we'll do because you're kind of like focused on eating while these guys are looking that'll be like the next step like kind of thing um but yeah we'll follow along from that uh did you have anything katie i saw you about like and then no okay um in that case, so because Lucius is helping Quill, Quill, you would have made a perception check

with disadvantage because of the light and noise and din. Advantage from the help action will cancel it out, so it's just going to be a straight perception roll. But this is going to take a significant amount of time because it's just Quill and Lucius really looking around while the rest of you guys do other stuff. It's a long road. So it's just going to take a bit more time.

Long road and tons and tons of different places. It's like a whole quadrant. Boom. 30. Oh my god. So with a plus 18. You scour the place and you have to kind of walk back and forward and like go down the street, go down a few side streets.

You clock a number of potential places. Sure. You find one place that has the sign of what appears to be like a big soup pot and it has like happy little bunnies like playing in it like they're in a

swimming pool kind of thing and it's like it's like rabbit hot pot basically but it's like they're like having a lovely time

with all their veggies like playing with them like it's a pool but they're being cooked to life. Don't worry about it. And like looking at it's all red and fiery

that could be a sign of a spicy rabbit. You also see a kind of more vendory, like a market stand, with hung up kind of like skin hairs, with like smothered in like spicy sauces and dry rubs and things like that, being hung up outside in its window display. That could be the sign of a spicy rabbit. That's a spicy rabbit. That's a spicy rabbit.

That's a spicy rabbit. You find a couple other places that just have names like Red Hot Rabbit or... One of the best rabbits. Yeah, Hot Lop Hair and things like that. These restaurants have these names. And then I think the last one that you see is actually one of these animated neon signs

on like the side of a smaller looking restaurant. But it's actually like a kind of like burlesque borough folk woman with like the kind of like the rabbit ears and she's kind of got like the big leg and she's like, and it kind of like moves and like animate slightly. Like she's kind of on like a little pole and she's dancing. That's spicy rabbit. That could be a spicy rabbit. I thought you she's kind of on like a little pole and she's dancing

that could be a spicy rabbit i thought you were gonna say it was like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat but it's a cauldron it's a culture maybe that's one of the other ones maybe that's one of the other ones i said there's these five potential options and uh yeah and like the animated one has got like flowers and things but yeah it's a restaurant it's not like anything else it's just like a kind of eye-catching sign of like um you know and it's it's probably called again like yeah like the hot leg hair or something like that i'm a little worried wisp yes we're going to be eating a lot of band towel sky elf style tonight i i don't imagine that's a recipe that actually exists are you sure well i i don't know but that's meant to be the code word, right? If someone orders a Ban'tau-style rabbit, Sky Elf style, they'll be inducted into a

group. Would no one know if Ban'tau mixes is a thing or not a thing? Ban'tau mixes is, you've never heard of Sky Elf style. That's the bit I don't know. Because Sky Elves would rarely come to Vortenughtons yeah it's not a very common thing it's not but about our mix is like yeah it's kind of like a kind of spicy uh like veggie veg and sort of um uh stir-fry kind of dish yeah we need to pick one of these places which do you think is the most like a spicy rabbit well i mean I mean, the second one,

I mean, they are literally being drenched in spice. It is very good. Very tasty. Not necessarily rabbits, they were hare. Really tasty. I'm imagining it's more of an actual building than a stall. Yeah, two of them are stalls, three of them are buildings. In my head, buildings seems more likely. More likely to have secret areas in it, you know?

Let's start with the buildings then. So we've got the strange sign that moves somehow. Magic, I assume. Dark and light. Of the Borafog Lady, that seems like a good potential. I think the buildings would be that one, the one with the hot pot with the bunnies in the pool of soup. Having bunnies in the pool of soup.

Having fun. In the pool of soup. And then the other one, like the red hot rabbit or whatever it was called. But like it's, you know, another one of these kind of like, it's a full building, but it doesn't have an animated sign. I'm good. What do the two do? You guys look preoccupied.

Oh, wait, you already are. She's at another store. Yeah, I'm at another store other two do. You guys look preoccupied. Oh, wait, you already are. She's at another store. Yeah, I'm at another store eating some kebabs. Like satin. Can I notice Sentry's terrible mouth thing and go, ah, just maybe don't let anyone on the street see that because it looks real weird. Does it?

Yeah, the illusion's not carrying over, my dude. No. My dude. I'm sorry. We need to cover it. Cover. If you're chewing, it's so good that I can't. Yes, but just put it under.

Under the mist. Okay, it's weird. This is the thing that rats us out. It's sent you eating. Can't carry on? Don't look at me. As you guys are making making your way because this has taken a fair bit of time and like you've been sort of like debating over it you see this patrol of guards is making your way is a few feet away from you at this point um and they're stopping and they turn around to one of these stalls um maybe the one with the sort of like the skin rabbits outside covered in like

the sauce and the dust. And they're actually, you lean in and for the first time you kind of overhear snippets of like, have you seen, looking for this person, what do you know about, you're catching glimpses of this conversation. And then they hold up one of these smaller crystal slates. It looks Valkyrian made. One of the Valkyrian soldiers holds it up.

And Quill, you would see very briefly, One of these like smaller crystal slates. It looks Valkyrie made one of the Valkyrian soldiers holds it up and quill You would see very briefly it flashes up on it because it's angled away from you So you only see it as he kind of pulls it out. Yeah, it's actually a picture of Norfyr it's like a stylized portrait of Norfyr and they show it and they're like having like They're like having like... You kind of see them having this mimed conversation as it's loud and Shensara's song begins blaring through the street and so you're like, you can't quite hear in what they're saying now. So I'm quite far away, you said?

No, these guys are, I would say, within 30 feet. 30, 40 feet. The person they're talking to yeah could i make almost like an insight check to see almost their initial reactions to this picture um you yes you absolutely can if you want to do it from where you are it's going to be disadvantaged in a high dc because you're at a distance like even it's 30 40 feet it's quite hard to like see them at the angle if you get closer then it will be a lower dc no disadvantage but you'll be closer uh i think just where i am okay i'll take take the hit disadvantage and high dc uh okay okay and oh son of a bitch, 14. 14.

From this distance, not enough. It's the angle. You can't quite see their facial expression clearly enough. People are crossing in front of us. Yeah, people are crossing in front of you. No, that was insight. Oh, insight, sorry. I would say that if you get closer, then yes,

but you would be noticed by the guards and the troops that you were coming closer. I mean, there's people walking past them and they're not like, who are you, blah, blah, blah. There are people passing behind them because this is a busy street, but it's just that, yeah, they would be like, oh, there's this old man who's come closer to us.

Yeah, I think it was, the moment of them first seeing the picture has already gone and it was just a way to see, do they recognize, are they actually the people? It would've just saved us a bit of time, but that's fine. Yeah. The guards over there, Lucius, you should probably know this,

they are showing pictures of Norfyr to... Who's Lucius? Sorry, um... Azuray. Thank you, Wisp. Azuray! They're showing pictures of Norfyr. Right next to the security guards, you say?

No, no, 30 feet away. Approximately. They've got a picture of her? They would have had massive disadvantage. It's loud as fuck here. Yeah. Okay. Pictures of Nanny North here.

Oh, no. Okay. Well, we best get a move on then. Yeah, but, I mean... I'm going to try this one. Looks like they're just about to finish up at this stall that they're with, and you get the impression that they've clocked the same five locations you have.

And this is at least one. You don't know how many others they visited, but... I'm going into the one with the Borough Folk. Okay. You guys... Yeah, which ones are to our side of where they've been? Because if they are coming towards us... You don't know, like, they're coming towards you now,

but they've been here, you don't know how long they've been here. So what I'm gonna say is that you know that they've they've basically clocked the same five places they've been to at least one but you don't know how many others they've been to you guys can if you guys go to them like you can interact with them first like you're currently still ahead of them but you just need to tell me which ones and i'm keeping track of it so you don't need to worry about like which side who's what on and things like that like would i have gotten anything out of like asking whatever vendor like you know oh have you heard of the spicy rabbit i think that they would point to the exact

same five places they basically be like yeah like these are the five like yeah spicy rabbit yeah these these places either do it or they're like yeah that place is called the the hot rabbit or whatever and stuff like that any of them known for the Bantam mix? Like I heard it's really good. Uh, make a, do, do, do, do, do. It's not really deception, I guess persuasion check. I wish there used to be a skill called gather information. Nine plus five. Nine plus five, 14. 14. Kind of like this guy, he's like an older water ganassi.

He's like, oh, Bantam mix water ganassi he's like oh bantam mix i mean it's pretty popular dish a lot of places here do it i can't say i know any of those ones specialize in it probably not that one he points at the one with the the hairs that they were selling like sliced rabbit it's like not that one but most of the restaurants do it and that stand does it but yeah so like the other four but he he marks that one that the guards are currently at. He's like, not that one, but the other four, maybe. Okay. But yeah.

I'll share that with the group. Like, he reckons not that one, and I'll point at the stall. Okay. 14, no, it's a 14. Okay, yeah, that's it. That feels fairly, yeah. Yeah. Cool.

All right, so Lucius, because I'm the DM, I can say the names that I remember. You could say Chris. Chris. Oh, no. Chris. Quip. Trotty.

You don't have to say any of those. Totemus. Okay, yeah. Baby boy. Rainbow man. You head up to, you said you want to go up to the one with the kind of sexy bar folk lady, right?

Of course he does. Okay. Yeah, you approach. There's a fire ganassi woman behind, actually it's a fire air ganassi mix lady. So her hair is like very bright and almost stands straight up, kind of like this big kind of column of like,

almost like a candle kind of like whipping around her head. And you can see she's wearing like an apron, loose shirt, rolled up sleeves. big kind of column of like like almost like a candle kind of like whipping around her head um and you can see she's wearing like an apron loose shirt rolled up sleeves um and it's it's a restaurant but it has like the kitchen has like a window for like takeaway stuff and the kitchen kind of connects to that so she can serve either people inside or people who come up to the window um and uh she kind of goes like ah hi there and she kind of like like, ah, hi there, and she kind of like calls out like, hello, welcome. What can I get you? Hi, I'm looking for the Bantel Sky Elf style.

Bantel mix? When you say Sky Elf style, she kind of like goes, oh, Sky Elf style, don't get that very often. She begins pulling things on and she looks at you and then she does this. Great, I'm going in. She's like, yeah, I'll get a table, I'll get that sorted for you.

And then she'll call out and she'll say, Fuego, get this fella a table in the back. I should have named myself Fuego, that's a great one. Fuego. And I turn around and say, there's a couple of ruffians that seem to have an eye for the price. Okay. What does that mean? She like looks at you and is like, yeah,

like you don't think that the message is quite got across, but she's like, well, thanks. Just step inside. Don't worry about that. Like, just come inside and we'll get you set up at that table, get you that Bantal Skyhawk style. That's what I would like. All right, so you guys watch. Can you all make perception checks for me, please?

Is this with disadvantage again? Yes, all with disadvantage again? Yes, all with disadvantage, yes. I got a 16 and a 7, so 6 for me. May I just say that our new dice are amazing. 14. 6. Nat 1. Nat 1. 6.

35. 35. Um, Sentry and Nova, you watch Lucius have this interaction, but you don't hear the conversation. Like, you're, like, watching it and trying to figure out... You see him go inside, but you don't really hear the conversation on what's happening. You see he has, like, some whispered

conversation and sort of awkwardly looks around and then heads inside. Um, Ayla and Quill, you both pick up enough that that like, yeah, okay, Lucius gave the code phrase and she was like, yep, hen on side kind of thing. And he tried to like give some sort of subtle message and didn't seem to. You're not sure if she picked up on it or not, but you don't know. You do notice the other thing is the guards move to the one with the bunny pot, like the paddling pool of the hot pot.

They're currently at that restaurant talking to them. There's two more others left after that. The one that Lucy's just gone into and another one. We should probably wait until the guards check out this place before we're all in there together. Otherwise they'll get a good look at us all together in this suspicious place. Is that a terrible idea?

Well, I don't think Lucius got the message across very well, so. Well, he's in there. Yeah, and- That is the place, I'm just saying. Do we all go now? I think we just quietly, one at a time, go. Okay. Yeah?

I'm just wary of, if the guards are definitely going to this place, and we're all at this place, that might be a bit weird. Yeah, but if we don't get in there, it's... Go on, Cintri. We should probably make sure that they don't hear us saying the words, if they're too close by, and we say, can you hear us?

But I don't know where they're going to go next. Well, I'm happy to wait around for a bit if you guys want to go in. While you guys are waiting there, or while Quill is waiting at least, Lucius, you go inside, and a young fire and air ganassi, he looks like the son of the woman who was cooking outside, is like, hey, welcome, man.

And he kind of like slaps your hand, like shakes your hand kind of thing. He's like, yeah, Skylcell, right? Yes, please. Yeah, come this way. I've got a special table at the back for you. You called ahead, right? You sent word that you wanted a special table for the night?

Yes, right. That's right, yeah. And he's like, yep, come with me. And he's just act super casually, none of the locals seem to really pick on it. You can see there's a few people eating inside, just enjoying different meals and stuff. It's a table for five, right?

Table for five, yeah, yeah, that's right, yeah, yeah. And he kind of like looks at you, can you make an insight check for me, please? Ooh, I got an 18 plus 119 19. uh that you that just he you've thrown him off like he was expecting because you gave the pass right and he's like okay this guy's given the special code phrase he's like oh yeah party of five and he's like looking he's like looking at his mom and he's he's like like making like a face at her like oh i don't know they're probably trickling okay okay okay sure sure sure sure just come with come with me man um he kind of looks you up and down he's got this like kind of like

very punky kind of like got kind of like the shaved head side big spiky kind of quiff um if you've watched the new cyberpunk edge runners anime he's kind of like the shaved head side, big spiky kind of quiff. If you've watched the new Cyberpunk Edge Runners anime, he's kind of got the main characters look, David Martino. He's kind of this big spiky kind of column of hair, wears like this big loose kind of like puffy jacket, but bare chested underneath it. And he's just kind of like, yo, kind of like very hip and cool.

And he's like, yeah, yeah, follow me, man. And he kind of leads you out the back. He takes you downstairs into like a basement there's seating and stuff down there looks like maybe there's some sort of room for like singing or performances as well like a karaoke room uh and he takes you and so he's like yeah and then he looks around it's it's empty down here um and he looks at you one more time. Can you make a persuasion check for me, please? So I became 14 plus persuasion of nine. So that's 23.

23. You see, like, he's like, yeah, yeah. And he kind of turns to let you pass, like, you know, after you, man, like go down here. And he puts his hand on something like at his waistband, basically. But as you kind of like, he kind as he looks, he's just like, so you're a friend of the other guys? Yes.

He's like, okay. There's no problem here, is there? I don't know. Is there a problem here, mate? I just want the Bantau Skyhawk style. It's kind of a rare dish. Not a lot of people ask for it. Kind of regular customers, you know, it's kind of a rare dish. Not a lot of people ask for it. And kind of regular customers, you know what I mean? Like, people that ask for it.

And you don't, you're not a regular customer. Do you know what I mean? I have a very specific need. Yeah, I bet, I bet. And he doesn't take his hand off, like, you know, where he's got it. It's under, like, his jacket. He's kind of, like, resting, like, he's resting his hand on his hip. But you can see he's definitely, like, holding something.

And he's just like, yeah, well, you know, it just uh just down here i've got a special table for you um just down here but no problem right down there yeah he gestures to like a little corridor it's a dead end um but when you get down and he's kind of between you and where you've come in but he like leans over and he like bangs on the side of the wall and then the end of the corridor you see the whole wall shifts like like gets dragged to the side of the wall, and then the end of the corridor, you see the whole wall shifts, like gets dragged to the side, and it seems to lead in to a little underground tunnel. I point and I look back, I'm like, wow. Cool, right?

He's like, just watch yourself, man. Like, we don't know you. You clearly know who we are, but we don't know you, so just watch yourself. I point at my nose and point at this guy. Yeah, he's just like, what are you, something smells. Banto.

Right, okay, cool man. I back into the corridor. He just calls out, he's just like, yeah, it's okay, it's okay, Goliath, let him through. And you see that as you step through, waiting behind this door with this huge iron club is this hulking, quite large, obese, barrel-chested Earth Ganassi,

bald head, but studded with gemstones. And he's just looking down, and he's trying to bash your head in. Holy siesta! He's just like, down and he's ready to bash your head in. Holy siesta. He's just like, Fuego says you're a friend. Go on then. Yes, yes. One friend.

Yep. Off you go. Right on through. Yeah. I scurry. Yeah. And he's like, yeah. And you see that he raises his hands up and the door moves on its,

like this corridor like rejoins, like it reseals. And then he just kind of stands there and he leans up against it uh crossing his arms like resting this giant club on the ground um the rest of them are gonna have to get past that guy yeah so uh yeah lucius is now in what about the rest of you this takes like a few minutes uh so you guys have been waiting for a few little bits outside do you are you waiting for the guards or is one of you gonna go up next or before they get there? I mean, yeah, it looks like they're wrapping up

with who they're talking to at the minute. I was gonna head in. Okay, all right, so yeah, you move up to the, you enter the restaurant, are you gonna go up to the counter? Yeah. Okay, yeah. And she's like, hey, welcome, how can I help you? Hey, just looking for some Ban Tao Sky Elf stuff.

She kinda looks at you, now a little bit sort of like, okay, a guy just came by here and asked for this. I think my friend has already arrived to have dinner with you. Okay, your friend, right? Well, yeah. Okay, can you make a persuasion check for me, please? It's a low DC, it's a low DC,

because you're only the next one. I mean, it's a two,c it's a low dc because you're only you're the next two okay so it was okay a two uh she's like yeah sure just give me a second will ya um fuego and she kind of calls over the sun she has a whispered conversation that you don't hear um and he's like oh cool yeah another one for the table downstairs right ma yeah yeah oh she must be with the other guy okay yeah i'll take her down uh he's like, nice to meet you. Come on, come down with me. Your friend's waiting for you.

Nice. I think there are a few more still to arrive, probably. Yeah, he said something about that, like trickling in. Yeah, you see, because they're just running a bit late. Yeah, no worries. Come on, come with me, Come with me, pretty lady. And he'll kind of like gesture like just down here. And he points down the stairs to this like lower area.

But he says, after you. Ladies first, please. Sure, I'll go downstairs. You go downstairs. He kind of follows behind you. And he's just like, oh, when you get down there, there's like a little like performance room on the side. There's a little corridor just after that.

If you just turn right just after that. And there's the tables down there um and as you kind of do that do you do what he says i guess i don't i don't have any reason not well when you do you get to that same uh dead end door but now you kind of hear this like ayla can't be surprised you've got danger sense uh you feel him like something happens and when you turn around he's pointing a Valkyrian gun, basically. A Valkyrian Magitek gun. And he's like, now listen, your friend said that more of you were trickling in, but you didn't really convince Mar up there. Like, I need to know that you're a friend.

I'm really bad at lying, my dude. People ask me for things, I just can't do it. I'm with him, okay? I can describe him to you. Sure, describe him to me then. I'll describe what Lucius, well, his disguise looks like to him. Okay, so you know him.

What about anybody else? You know any of the rest of our friends? You, uh... Yeah, I'll describe Norfyr. Okay, yeah, when you describe Norfyr, he's like, okay. He's the only one I know. He keeps this, it's like this magitek gun,

and it's like a smaller version of the force rifles that you've seen, these kind of like long, crystalline sort of blocks of crystal that form in the rough shape of a rifle. This is like a little handheld version. He kind of keeps it at his side, but he's not like pointing it in your face, he kind of like lowers it down,

and he's like, okay, well, if you cause trouble, Goliath will deal with you anyway, and he's like, bam, bam. Just a... And you hearoliath will deal with you anyway, and he's like, bam, bam. And you hear the. There's nobody in earshot down here, is there? No, no, it's like, it's thick stone. Like, this is like a cellar basement. I'm just gonna say to him,

there are another three people out there that are coming in, this is what they look like. There are also- How did you all come together? Because there are guards out there looking for this place right now, so be on the watch. That's a very good thing to know. You just earned yourself a brownie point.

Yay. Thanks mate. Honestly, meaning no harm, totally understand. Just wanna give you as much of a heads up as possible. You know, we gotta be cautious around here, but if you guys are friends of friends of friends, then nothing to worry about. we gotta be cautious around here but you know if you guys are friends uh of uh friends of friends then nothing to worry about just gotta be cautious and you kind of like gestures like after you okay oh god yeah uh you again you see the same thing big hulk and dude like am i smashing this one for you go no no this one can go too apparently we've got a few more

guests that might be arriving nice club thanks nice club. Thanks. Nice axe. Thanks. Whatever you've got. It's like, sweet. Cool. It just like lets you go down. And you hear the and like, yeah, figure it's like, Jesus. The last thing you hear is like,

busy night, and then he just goes back upstairs. Meanwhile, those of you who are upstairs, the guards move on and roll a d4 to see which of the ones remaining they go to. Okay. of the ones remaining they go to. Okay. One, two, three. You watch as they're approaching the one with the sign that you are heading to, the one

with the bar of folk lady, they move past it and they go to the other restaurant. Giving meaning that you have a good window. At least two of you can probably enter before the guards approach. Can we go together? Because if I'm kind of showing Sent Crag all the food, I want to naturally sort of act like, oh, we should check out this place. They're really good for, you know.

Oh, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure, sure. Yeah, you can both go together. So you approach, and the woman's like, hello, what can I do for you? Hey, I heard your Bantam mix is really good. Like you do it Sky Elf style, right? Can you make a persuasion check for me?

Cause she's just like, wow, real popular dish tonight. Sentry burps. 18. Is that burp the help action or are you just burping? I'm just sentries just burp, just spicy burp. Spicy burp. 17? 18.

18. She's like, okay, okay. And she kind of like leans in and is like, are there any more of you? Oh, just one. Okay. Really old guy, stinks. Yeah. Okay.

Okay. And then she just sort of like nods and says like, hey, if I go, got two more for downstairs. I think it's that same party. He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. They said that they were trickling in. Like, no worries. I got them all.

I'll get the next one too. Don't worry about it. And she's like's like okay and then she goes and starts serving other people in the restaurant you can see that a few people in the restaurant have definitely noticed like they've picked up that like this keeps happening um what has no one ever seen people coming for a birthday party no well i think it's the fact that you're coming in so staggered that like people are gonna remember this oh Oh, we've done the opposite. Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah, but it was either alert the guards

by going in a big group or alert Flynn there. It's making those calls, right? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying that these guys are gonna remember it. So if the guards maybe ask them, hey, have you seen anything suspicious tonight? They might be like, yeah, there was this weird party that came in and they kept being taken downstairs

and blah, blah, blah blah but they might also not they might just be like yeah not really like you know we'll see um but yeah she kind of mentions it fuego appears and he's like yeah follow me takes you downstairs does the whole thing doesn't pull the gun on you this time doesn't pull the magitek pistol um bangs on and just says like one more right got one more to come through yeah real stinky guy okay sure uh and he said did you see those he said that the last the lady that in, she said that there were guards outside. Are they? Oh, they went to the other rabbit restaurant.

Okay, okay, sure. And kind of like nods. Okay, sure. And then he comes back upstairs. You guys get let in. Fine, you get no problem. Well, having, because like these guys are coming and going, the guards who are having a conversation and staying, I'm going to roll to see if they notice that like these guys are coming and going the guards who are

having a conversation are saying I'm going to roll to see if they notice that like the guys are going up and like asking this thing with disadvantage they seem to be

focused on their investigation so if you wanted to you can slip in now sure yeah in that case yes alright

we'll go in in that case I'm not going to have you do the phrase or make any checks because you have adequately kind of warned them I was going to look at the menu first to see what else there was sure that would have been a good way of doing it wouldn't it like oh i don't know

maybe i'll have this like yeah but no you are let in um and with that you have now all gained access and not alerted the guards uh to the presence of this place yet guys we're doing it you are doing it you're doing espionage but you all make your way and we will begin next session with you guys arriving at the seekers hideout hell yeah nice you're proud of us with spies your spies well done no you've done it my dudes the bare minimum very last thing before we go don't forget next sunday we got a brand new merch drop that's going to be happening.

Woo! Yeah. Get out next Sunday. The next few episodes will be slightly shorter. They're going to be two-hour episodes because we're going to be pre-recording and doing them and all that kind of good stuff. But do please keep sending your donations and support messages in.

We'll read them all and do them all when we will get back together live. But that's going to be it for this second part of High Rolls of Rose. Thanks very much for joining us. We'll see you next time. We love you. Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!