High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #54 | The Last Brookstone (Part 1)

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

Nova receives an unwanted vision and Quill sees everything. Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Thanks to our sponsors D&D Beyond! D&D Beyond is the official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Create your FREE account now and start digitising your campaigns here: www.dndbeyond.com/ Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickaxe. Add your team to your Uber account today. Your mom hates it when you leave six half-full glasses on your nightstand. It's a good thing mom lives on the other side of the country. And it's an even better thing that you can get six IKEA 365 Plus glasses for just $9.99. So go ahead. You can afford to hoard because IKEA is priced for student life. Shop everything you need for back to school at Ikea today. Hello everyone, welcome back to High Rollers, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast in the world of Erois,

run by Dungeon Master Mark Sherlock-Humes, with me, Tom, playing Keelak Ad-Kalad, Cleric Wizard. Hi, I'm Rhiannon, I'm playing Sentry, I am a Guardian Paladin. I am Chris Trott, I am playing Lucius Ewan, Elowen Elanastro. And I am a High Elf Sorcerer. Hi, I'm Katie. I'm playing Aayla, a Wild Elf Barbarian. And I'm Kim. I'm playing Nova, who is an Air Ganassi, and she is a Hexblade Warlock. Thanks to our regular sponsor, D&D Beyond, the official Dungeons & Dragons

toolset. Create your free account and speed up your campaigns today. Last time on Erois. In the busy marketplace and arid streets of Vivec City, the party defend themselves as a surprise attack by cultists, snake women and stone giants engulfs the city and threatens the Draconis Militarum. An intense battle follows as Aayla fends off three crazed cultists that get stronger the more damage they take.

Lucius and Quill are harried and under threat from the magically resistant snake women, and Sentry is sent sprawling by the stone giant's immense strength. A magically propelled Nova literally flies onto the scene to even the odds, and eventually the group defeats the attackers. After meeting with Sergeant D'Kal, a Dragonborn elite soldier who informs them of the attack on the rest of the city, the party retreats to their ship to make sure it is all right. A chance meeting with the crew confirms they all survived, and after a few

heartfelt conversations, the team retire for the evening. In her dreams, Nova V'ger is contacted by Kallus, enemy of Erois, demigod emperor of the Starbane Empire. Before we do that...

Quill. God Emperor of the Starbane Empire. Before we do that... Okay. Quill. Oh. I get contacted by Starbane. Get in line, bitch. Hey, I'm currently on the phone to Nova. Party line. It's been a while since Quill's dreams were as vivid as they become. You see what at first

feels like a dark room blinking with different lights, you soon come to realise is a shrouded map of Erois. You see different locations beginning to glow and pulse with light and warmth and then they begin to grow dark and cold. The vision of this map slowly begins to fade, peeling away, almost burning as if fire has caught the edges of the paper as it begins to trail inwards, leaving golden lions in their wake. You find yourself staring up

and you realize that this is no longer a dream but a vision oh no you see before you something that your brain struggles to comprehend it is a hallway made from an infinitesimal amount of other hallways, all intersecting and crossing with another, as if thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of mirrors all line it at different angles and seem to stretch reality out into oblivion and at its center you see not just Hesper but other figures. The winged humanoid form of your god stands before a great council. You recognize some of them as they are depicted in religious iconography around Eroes. Valena, a dwarven woman with dark, curled hair and a great hammer at her side. You recognise Zephia, an orc woman, proud and noble with a cutlass at her side. Sayana, a small halfling gently strumming upon a lyre, she sits in an oversized chair. Killara, her lantern lighting the room softly with a dark glow as her mantle of flowers

constantly wilts and regrows around her shoulders. Artelicus, a god that you have heard of but for the first time see in his imposing form. Giant, muscular, with great curved antlers and horns protruding from his head as he reaches and grabs for the throat of Hesper. Fiercely engaged in some sort of conflict that you struggle to understand. in some sort of conflict that you struggle to understand. The gods erupt into argument, all picking different sides, their voices resounding but not understandable as the infinite corridors begin to expand and coalesce

with their every breath, their every shout. And you see the ground beneath them begins to fracture and break as the vision ends. Okay! Okay! Nova. Oh my god. The last words of Calus ring in your mind.

Why did you go to Aegis V? The ship that you have been standing on, in whatever this place, whatever Calus has taken you, it shifts and warps. And you now find yourself on the bridge of Aegis V. Its broken remnants, the debris field outside it, expanding outwards, surrounding Eros. The words just echo in the empty, lonely space.

I didn't know that we were going there. I didn't even know that you had such facilities, that you had astral citadels. We were helping some tritons. We were trying to find a missing... The villagers went missing. It led us to a portal. And that's where we ended up.

I would like for you to make... There is elements of truth in what you're saying. It is true, but we know that Nova is concealing information. It is true, but we know that Nova is concealing information. That the party had clearly identified that Starbane was involved, and that you had gone there to investigate. However, you may choose. Deception or persuasion? They're both the same. Persuasion.

Sure. 17uasion. Sure. 17. 17. Okay. Stop that. Why? If you were merely curious. Once you had arrived, why not simply explain that to my agent? She didn't exactly... She didn't want to talk to us. We did say that we had met you. We tried to tell her we met you at Callie's rest and she didn't believe us.

And then she attacked us straight away. And then I was going to try and say something, you know, find a way to prove to her that we had met you, but she just vanished. He moves around in front of you and looks down at you. He must be nearly seven feet perhaps even taller um and his armor pulses with this purple light as he looks down

he looks down and gestures to your arm and what happened here um the portal was closing and we were trying to get off the station and I panicked and I didn't know if everyone would make it so I thought maybe maybe I could

use my life to power the portal and he reaches down and just like like ow ow ow no gently he doesn't like not not harshly like no i think just like i think just reactively i'd be like oh don't touch it don't touch it no no no effect takes place he takes the metal gauntlet and he takes it off and shows this skeletal arm that you have but he touches it without any cause effects. How can you? It hurts others.

It is impressive that you were able to channel this kind of process. It would have killed many lesser beings. You are lucky to get away with just this. And he helps put the gauntlet back on. There are many things you do not know about me, Nova Vita. I do not have the time nor necessary inclination to reveal them to you yet. I do not feel that I can trust you yet, nor that you do not trust me fully.

It is a shame. I sense so much potential in you. And you of everyone seem to at least understand what I am trying to accomplish. I do. I mean, you've shown me Hadar, and I've seen Hadar. I've shown you only a brief flickering moment. Exactly, but... Waves his hand.

Oh, God. And suddenly the kind of environment around you shifts and changes. And you see not quite a montage, but flashes. You see worlds like you've seen the one you saw before, where it was being partially consumed by this writhing mass of darkness that is made up of hundreds, thousands, billions of creatures. But now you see worlds that have been just turned to grey. They are lifeless.

Dust. Ruins of buildings, of civilizations. of buildings, of civilizations. You flicker again and you see these writhing masses, like these ships of this pale black and grey form just floating through space, some of them fighting ships,

they just consume anything they find. And then finally it stops on the very edges of this writhing mass and you see, for the first time, closer than you've ever seen it before, a hole has been ripped in space. And at its centre is a red light. And staring at that red light, as your eyes begin to adjust, you see for the first time the shape of a man in the red light as the power ripples out from him

and turns into darkness Hadar lives beyond our world in a place called the Far Realm our magic will not work there my technology offers little protection. This hole that he has created is the result of something that happened thousands of years ago, and the actions of different realities to our own. Powerful beings that were freed different realities to our own.

Powerful beings that were freed from prisons and weakened the very fabric of time and space. Creatures that have been released from infernal prisons, powerful magic that has been unleashed, all of it used by a group that sought to unleash Hadar on this world. And for thousands of years, he has grown stronger with every world he has consumed. He is, for the most part, unstoppable.

So what is it about Arois that you think will stop it? Why is Arois the key to your plan? I cannot tell you that, Nobobita. Is it because you're going to use the energy of this planet to feed a weapon that will destroy it? That will fix it? That will fix the hole? Is it Siaska? Is it the cradle protects Erois and hides it from him? I cannot. Why not?

Because I do not trust you. Then why, why, don't you understand? This is why people fight you. Nova Vigia, I have been doing this for thousands of years. Do you think, of course you do, you think that I could simply explain this to the rulers of Eros and that they would join me? That they would seize reason as you have, and they would fight against Adar?

That is what you believe, isn't it? Well, if I can see reason, and I'm just a... I'm just a Ganassi. Yes. Who likes reading books. You are more than that, Nova Vigia. But if I can believe you and see the logic in it, why... There are more.

There are more people who can. Yes. They fear you and that's why they fight you. No. No, Nova Vija. They fight me because they still value something that they think they can have. The ones who fear me are the ones who listen. Even you yourself, I can tell that you are trembling.

You fear me as well. You know my power. That is why you would trembling. You fear me as well. You know my power. That is why you would listen. But you also see reason. You have a noble heart. You care about other people. Not everyone is so selfless. When I started this crusade against Hadar, it was when Siaska and I still worked together, when we still loved each other. And when I did so, I did as you suggested. I reached out, I tried to form alliances. And they did. They did join me. For a time.

But then as I gave them more of my magic and my technology and my resources, greed, ambition, these black stains in mortal life took hold. And then suddenly, they would send me less troops. They would ask for more, more power, more autonomy. They wanted a say in how that we were to conduct our battles. They wanted to use Hadar's power against it. I tried and I lost countless systems and worlds, billions of lives, because of greed and ambition and I learned my lesson. There is only one thing that people will truly follow. Fear. But you see me as a tyrant.

I will show you something one last time. He flicks his hand and again the scene changes. And this time you see something different, something he's not shown you before. You see a thriving planet, a planet with astral ships coming and going, dozens of cities full of life and population. You see humans, dark-skinned dwarves with flames for beards. You see Ganassi, you see Dragonborn, you see Eladrin, all living lives, peacefully, trading, making business, raising families, learning, working on weapons and ships. Peace. This is Gideon Prime, a world that I have worked with for some time. They enjoy peace and prosperity

because they follow my rule and my order. They do not question it. Because they do fear me, but they respect me because of it, because of my strength. This is what happens when a planet surrenders to me. I will bring peace and prosperity. But Aroas is too tainted by Siaska's children. They hate me for what I did to their mother, an act that I myself hate myself for, but I know was necessary.

Do you honestly believe the people of Aroas would lay down their arms? With the Dragonborn, I know that you have spoken to them recently. He just puts a hand on your shoulder. I want to tell you more. I want to help you. It's clear that you have formed a bond with Tiangong. Perhaps you could be a successor for me. You could carry Tiangong.

I have no need of him anymore. I can help you find more parts. Give you some. You have parts? Yes. I could give them to you. If that's what you want. And what do you want in return?

Your help. And your trust. What can I do? I'm... There are things you can do for me. But you will not like them. I need information. I need to know what the leaders of Erois are planning. I need to conquer Erois no more. Not because I want to, because I need to. And then is Erois going to become like Gideon Prime, or is it going to become like one of those out there, and I point at

like, I'm fucked up. I will not destroy it as Hadar does. Please, just... Just a clue. Just something. What is it that is so special about Arois? Why Arois? Is it because of Siaska? The answer you seek lies long in the past.

And it is tied to Siaska. But I cannot tell you more, not now. Tell me what the leaders of Erois are doing. Find ways to sabotage their military. If possible. If you can find a way to bring down the cradle. There will not be a need for a war. Erois will have to surrender to my overwhelming power.

If I can bring my empire to bear, there is no hope for Erois. They will surrender to it, me. If you can do that, you will not only save Erois, but you would save the universe. And you would have anything you desire. But I need to know why Erois. I can't do this just on a promise. You have to give me a fact at least what is so important why did siaska die to protect arois she loved you she loved you and she gave her life to protect this planet from you what makes you so special why are you the only one that can defeat hadar because i am special? Why are you the only one that can defeat Hadar? Because I am

the only one willing to do what is necessary. If you want to know why Erois, I cannot tell you, but I will tell you the question you should be asking. Perhaps your very clever bird friend can help you fight Frigga it out. How did Siaska create Eroes in the first place? It has no sun. It has no life. She took a lifeless rock and made a verdant world. Answer that question and you will know why I need a robot. If you wish pieces of Tiangong, help me, and I will help you.

I will have an agent of mine. Keep an eye on you. And when you are willing to communicate, or you have something, they will approach you goodbye Nova feature and the dream ends the dream ends oh look there's this one too

yeah great big middle fingers firing out let me tell you something I could have gone a lot worse for you could have gone a lot fucking worse I. Could have gone a lot fucking worse. I had a whole thing planned if you hadn't been clever and nice. What was clever? What worked? No, just the way that you approach things.

If you had been a bit more sort of perhaps rude. Stubborn. Or stubborn. So you're saying that my try-hard planning worked? Maybe. Wow. I literally sat down on this week is that four pages

no it was just two it's a mind map and then I wrote like some ideas so in those few seconds between this week and last week you went into

your mind palace I love it damn oh I'm so sweaty I'm so sweaty I'm so sweaty everyone else so sweaty I'm so sweaty Everyone else You enjoy a long rest?

I don't Yay Ayla is snoring I mean does Century She's having a really great nap Right now Every time So for Century

Yes It is a lovely long rest It's a lovely rest It's almost The longest Difficult to wake yourself from Because it's so nice It's

Your rest is full of memories Of solving And service And better times from because it's so nice it's your rest is full of memories of solving and service and better times you know Anna from frozen when she's like drooling and her hair is everywhere that's a that's a low when she's sleeping yep about right oh all the the blessful ignorant who know little of the world's problems set a hard day. Yeah. Right. Okay, you wake up.

You're all staying on the ship. It is a lovely early morning. Fucking cry. In fact, Nova's going to do that. She's going to wake up, hold Tiangong to her and just cry. Can I, I guess, upon waking up, can I go to whatever quarters I have maps in? Not me.

And you said that there were areas that were lit up in that vision. Am I able to identify what areas? You can identify some, yeah. Some you've not been to. You're almost certain Goldthrone was one. Okay. Gusthaven would have been one. Vortensar, Nova's home, would have been one.

That would be cool. Let's go there. Ibyxan, which is a city you've visited before as well. Basically, you think it's all major cities. Horizon, another sky city. Pretty much all of the major cities that have any political power or influence. Leaders.

Okay, that makes sense. Okay, I makes sense. Okay, I'm just gonna sit there and just look at this map for a while. What a great nap. Yeah. She's had, like, Aayla is just literally... It was a rough battle, so she's really tired, so she's just gonna snore and sleep and... Whilst everyone else cries or freaks out. Pretty much just have their own. How's Lucius doing?

How's Lucius feeling after his chat with Kamara and, you know, the battle and everything else? Is he just, like, in normal? Is it just, you know? No, he spends a long time thinking. And he walks to, you know, the edge of his captain's quarters for a little bit. Yes, yes, Here we go. Goes to the door handle. Nope.

Turns around. Think about it some more. Yes. Need tea first. And basically does loads of distractions until he's too tired. Finds, like, my socks. They're all out of order. And, like, pairs his socks.

Fold those up. And then he just eventually falls asleep. Okay. Because he's too tired to do anything. Okay. That was his night, basically. Avoidance. Avoidance. Perfect.

We all wake up in the morning. Orion probably comes and just lets you all know that the day has started. Like a, hello? It's time to get up. The shipper, there is business to do. I believe that you have a dragon to go and speak with? Yes. Yes, we do.

Yes, a dragon. You are the only one who is out of his quarters, Courtmaster Quill. We have to speak to the dragon. Is everyone else awake? Have you spoken to anyone else? They are not responding. I tried to knock on their doors. I can hear Aayla snoring.

Sentry did not respond. Lucius mumbled something about socks. Okay. I could hear Nova crying. It's okay. Everyone is A-okay. Anyone, can you hear me? I think it's time we

meet the... Who doesn't have their messenger ring? Who gave up their messenger ring? I did. Will. Hello? Oh, a ride. A ride like jangles the bracelet. I've tried that as well. Oh. Okay, well I guess I'll do the root. Sure.

I'm going to go get on with my job. Sure. Perfect. Thank you. I will go to Ayla's door first. I mean, it's quill. Would it be a loud, powerful knock? It would be like a...

Slightly feathery. Yeah. It's like a claw. You're not going to get anything with that. Hey there. I'll let you sleep. Move to the next door. I think he's just too polite to wait triple up.

I don't give a shit. Don't run. I've done. I've had my fun now. I've had my fun for the next three hours. I tormented Kim and I tormented you. I'm good. I thought at least I'd have some fucking answers this week

and now I'm worse. You've got a bunch of them. Yeah, but they just opened up so many more questions. I mean, did you think it was going to be like, ah, everything makes sense now. Here's how you save a row. Good job. I sent an email to Mark early this week

because I had some worries and I was like, I literally know you're not gonna give me anything Everything I'm gonna try is gonna fail today He's promised you shards, money, like he's given you the answers The villains promised you all these things Is he a villain? Is he even a villain at this point? There's a man in a hole. I mean he seems pretty nice to me Sounds to me like

Alice is trying to basically save the universe. It's what it nice to me. Sounds to me like Calus is trying to basically save the universe. It's what it sounds to me. Well, he's just put a lot of pressure on me as well. Like, only you can save the universe, Nova. Fuck off! No, he didn't say only. Well, you could. He said you could.

He didn't say only. You go to next. Calus doesn't pull all of his eggs in one basket. That's all I'm saying. Nobody doesn't know that. Captain Lucius? I burst open the door. Have you seen my other sock?

I swear I put it under the bed. Just open the door. Use my bird vision. Deception. Where is it? So my question then is, has Lucius deliberately hidden the sock to try and give himself something to look for?

The socks are all tidied away. Okay. In order. There are no missing socks. Everything's in place. Everything is in place. This room has never looked more immaculate. It's been cleaned.

It's been organized. He's organized quills in like a size category. Is my feather in there? Yeah. No, that's on me. Oh, okay. There you go. How tired do you

well I guess rings under the eyes a little bit but otherwise not too bad is that normal at this point yeah okay

family's dead not all of them um stop I don't know where it could possibly be I guess that's actually

my job Yes it is Right You know what I've got another pair It's fine Are you sure I can put that highest priority

for the captain No we've got to What have we got to do today Speak to a dragon Yes we do We have to They might hopefully let us leave

if we can actually speak to you know the bigger dragon first Have you seen Sentry yet No Well I've knocked on Aayla's door They might hopefully let us leave if we can actually speak to, you know, the bigger dragon first. Have you seen Sentry yet? No. Well, I knocked on Aayla's door. She's snoring a lot.

Yeah, it's a waste of time. I don't know why you did that. Yeah, I know. Well, we can wake the others up, maybe. Let's see if Sentry's okay. Okay. Because obviously we need to get out. Doesn't Sentry stay in my room?

No, you all have your own quarters. Oh, okay. I think you're thinking about the sparrow blade. Yeah, I think so. I don't think any of you guys have really had time, like, you've not been at a place to get supplies, but I imagine over time you'll, like, slowly each room or cabin will get personalised,

like, as you add things to it and things like that. Yeah. I can see Sentry doing that. I guess for the time being, we're just in regular bunk places. They're bones right now, yeah. Yeah, it's quite, yeah. It smells a bit too.

Yeah, because you decorated the ship for yourself, so the captain's quarters is already kind of decorated to an extent. But the crew quarters and officer quarters are kind of bare bones. Nice, but bare bones. Okay, in that case... Sentry. Open the door. Oh.

Echo in hand. Oh, hello. Are you already awake? That's good. Do you hug Echo like a soft toy at night? Yeah. That's adorable. Like a son.

Like holding a son. Yeah. Your tiny son. My little tiny twig son. You look cheery. I mean, as cheery as a blank face can be. Oh, thank you. So do you. How are you? Well yeah good. I mean we have to talk to a dragon today and that's always a thing isn't it? It's exciting.

You can be on the front line in case it you know... I don't want to get eaten though. No, none of us do. But I'm ready. I'm ready to go. Okay you've got a powerful knock. Why? Why do you need it? Aayla needs waking up. Okay.

You might need to kick the door in. I don't want to do that. She was snoring real loud. Don't kick the door in as I'm walking down. Don't kick the door in. We've just got a new airship. Oh, but I don't know how to wake her up otherwise. Quill doesn't appreciate that those doors probably cost, like, 20 gold each.

They're pretty heavy. Okay, fine. But I don't have my ring anymore, the messenger ring, so... Let's messenger ring. Aayla. Aayla? Doesn't work when someone's asleep. Really?

No, it doesn't work. That would be so rude. Yeah, it's also just, like, you're asleep. You're not conscious. Like, you have no conscious thought, necessarily. So you couldn't have any... Like a loudspeaker in your ear, though. No. No. It wouldn't, like, seep in. If conscious. Like, you have no conscious thought, necessarily. So you couldn't have any... Like a loudspeaker in the air, though. No.

No? No. It wouldn't, like, see... If it was, do you not think Aayla would have waited until Lucius went to sleep every night and just went, Fuck! Lucius! No, it's conscious thought.

Like, you have to consciously be awake. Yeah, if you're unconscious, for example, if you were, like, rendered unconscious, you still can't communicate. If you were paralysed, you would would be able to because you can still consciously think It's not like going to bed like the headphones in your eyes and wake up to death now. Yeah, cool oddly specific Okay

Well, let's try and get up Yes, well you you go for century your century you go for a la. Let's go get Nova. Okay Wait, who's going for Aayla? You pointed at Katie when you said that. Jesus Christ. Guys, you're fucking waking up. Like, do we really need to go through all of this? This is very important.

Jesus. This is an important character moment. This is my groaning glory. Yeah, fine, fine, fine. Sentry goes to wake up Aayla. Lucius and Nova go to wake up Nova. You go. Okay. I'm going to gonna go to Ayla's door

I'm gonna have a weird like lapse of memory there I'm gonna be like princess oh okay hello oh RP is anyone with her

I mean Ayla Ayla Ayla Ayla okay just complete piss off oh see she is awake. We've got to go speak to a dragon.

It's a very important day, Ayla. Come on. You're too happy in the morning. I'm sorry, but come on. I open the door to stop her knocking on it. It's just like the shevelled ginger hair is everywhere and, you know, half, like, armour is off and on and hammer is by the foot of the bed.

The hair looks great like that, by the way. Thank you. I'll be right with you. Okay, would you like a hot drink? No. No, no. Okay. See you in five.

Five. In five. Okay. No. We'll see. Okay. I'll just go back. Ayla's chamber, just for the records,

Ayla's area is just, compared to everyone else's, I imagine, just has, like, muddy boot prints, and, like, the hammer's still probably got a bit of blood on it, so it's dripped onto the floor. Nice. There's just shit everywhere. It probably smells a little bit bad as well. Like, in comparison to everyone else,

she's really not taking care of it. Well, you don't, like, wash your clothes. She's good. So they wash themselves. Do they? After a while. In blood. not taken care of. Well, you don't, like, wash your clothes. She's good. They wash themselves. Do they? In blood. Sweat washes them back. Oh, okay.

I like to think that probably somebody else occasionally just takes them and washes them and puts them back. I think that's probably Howard's job. She just doesn't question it. Like, Howard probably washes all of your bed stuff, but not your clothes. So you have, like, a very strong musky, woody smell. Do you actually use the bed? Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah.

If it's there, you know I will use it. Yeah, yeah, okay. Alright, Lucius and Quill, you hear sobbing coming from Nova's room. Like, actual sobbing. That's always good. Out of interest, Kim, you wouldn't have activated ILS, I'm assuming. No, you're just hugging

Tiangong. Okay. I know, it's not safe. It's vibrating. You can just hear it like, underneath the pillow. I'm not doing it, Mark! Just saying. Okay. You're the captain, this is more your thing. I'm technically more sentry's thing but

yeah I'm backing up for this Nova! Nova you okay? I hear the crying and then go yeah no this is not my job I just keep going Nova? I can't

it's probably got a cold right? possibly maybe people definitely sound like that when they have colds, yeah. Just hear some hurried. And then I just open the door a crack. Oh, fucking hell. Okay. What was that?

He rolled something. Yeah. I just opened the door a crack. Oh, I saw what he rolled. What did he roll? Just carry on. What did he roll? Just carry on.

What number was it? What do you think it was? Just carry on What did he roll? Just carry on What number was it? What do you think it was? Just carry on A one Well The door opens a crack What's the matter? Are you okay?

I'm homesick Homesick Oh Oh I'm so sorry Is there anything we can do? She's not Your insight's high enough That you're like

Yeah I don't know Go home You want to go home? I'm just going to make you, I don't know, go home. I'm going to go home. We can go home at any point. If that's what you really want. We have an airship. We can go home.

I've seen it. I'm going to fix Sentry. You want to fix Sentry? Yeah. Which would you rather first? Go home. I want my mom. All right, go home, fix Sentry.

That's two on the list. No, but Sentry's more important. Right. Sentry's more important. There's more to it for Quill. You can just tell by the body language. Nova's not that good at lying. I mean, is that everything?

Are you sure? Yep. Okay. Is that everything? Are you sure? Yep! Okay, um... We need to sort of... If we're getting the sentry thing, that's what we're doing today. And now, I think. Um... So... Yeah. Hey Quill, have you heard from Hasbro recently? Sort of, actually. Sort of, but no.

More of a vision sort of thing last night. I was hoping we'd actually all sort of gather, everyone together, have a captain's quarters sort of meeting rather than a at-the-door, one person's crying, two of us are awkward sort of meeting. So... And wait, I might take a sick Well, is... Why are you getting up?

Oh, whispers! Whispers! For the podcast listeners, Mark has gotten up out of his chair and is whispering into Tom's ear seductively. Yes, very seductively. I was like, no, it's fine. Okay. Smeek. It's about Smeek, isn't it? Okay, so how about we get you out of that dark, horrible, scary, lonely room?

What? Excuse me. I mean... These are the most exquisite crew rooms that I could afford. It's exquisite, but in the wrong... No, but aren't they lovely? Right. It's very...

You could add some deco. Do you want to do that after we speak to the dragon? We can go get some lovely blues on the wall. Maybe some clouds. Pointless. Pointless? It's all meaningless. That's it.

I'm going to kick the door down. I'm going to grab Nova. There's not really a lock. Yeah, you just kind of push open with your foot. I'm not very strong. I'm going to grab Nova and sit her down on the bed and kneel down. It's like, that's it. Tell me what's happening.

Quill, do you go in the room? I'm with him, yeah. Okay. You know where that's coming from. Yeah. I guess I'm sort of gravitating more towards... If Lucius is sat on the bed with Nova... I'm in front of the bed.

Oh, you're in front of it. I'm sort of gravitating over to that side. Okay. Tell me what's wrong no i'm the captain i'm just homesick and i want to go home is that true quill no um nova you know i could just find out this is an interrogation but you know you can trust us you're an insight 16. what what sorry okay don't just don't just roll things without telling me don't just go

inside I found that that sentence was very pointed okay I know that I can just that's quite threatening okay

I mean that's fine like I mean so okay don't roll inside against each other you Nova just infers what she wants to infer

like it's it's less of a case of like like, he's not lying to you. There's no body language there of lying. Is Quill trying to be threatening, or is he just like, I can make you tell the truth? Yeah, I did say, I could just find out this isn't an interrogation. Yeah, okay, so you think that he's, yeah, you imagine that he's either referring to the eye

or, like, a spell that he can cast or something. Look, we're here for you. We're a team. We share everything, right? Starbane spoke to me again last night. Oh, okay. Was it the thing that... Wait, did you bring the thing?

You don't know about the eyelash. You don't know that. I took that. But was it a dream? Was it a nightmare? Do you know it was real? It was like the last time when he visited me. Remember when Sentry was at the Forge and we were waiting and he visited me then and he warned me about Hadar and yeah, he knew we were on Aegis V.

Okay, but... Did he threaten you? But was this in response to what we did here? Okay, but... Did he threaten you? But, um... Was this in response to what we did here? Because we were, I mean, I guess defending against whatever he was doing. Well, it was our hero, but... No, I'm guessing it was Shansara. Shansara told him.

The agent that we met at Aegis 5. He knew that we were at Aegis 5 and he was mad. But he didn't hurt you, right? No. I think... I think he could have if he wanted to. I think Nova got the sense that there was something about he had complete control over that environment.

He probably could have done something to you if he wanted to. What did he say? He warned us about.... He showed me Hadar. Like properly showed me Hadar. I don't know how, I don't know if it's a spell I was gonna ask you Quill, I don't know if you know any kind of spell that does this. It was more than a dream and it was real and he took me to different places. He took me to the Aegis V. He took me... I guess I was on his spaceship

and he took me close to Hadar. Okay. But how do you know you can... I mean, it's Starbane. How do you know you can trust what he's showing you? Do you want to make an arcana check to see if you know... Yeah, I was going to say I saw you typing away can trust what he's showing you? Do you want to make an Arcana check to see if you know?

Yeah, I was going to say, I saw you typing away. I didn't know if you were trying to find the spell. It was delay tactics, Mark. No, that's fine. I've known about it. I was bringing up the details. I know exactly what I've been doing. Arcana plus five.

17. 17. Also, this is technically make it with advantage because Hesper is the god of magic. Nope. No. 17. 17. 17.

There's something. There's something, maybe not in necessarily the teachings or things that you've read, but almost like inherent knowledge as you've been getting more powerful spells. There is a spell that allows someone to contact people through their dreams. It allows the person to shape the dream, to speak with them in the dream, to basically fully communicate. To basically, yeah, fully communicate.

And you do... You think that that person can change the dream into a nightmare. And then it can cause damage. Lasting effect. Lasting effects. It's especially more powerful if somebody has something of the person physically. Very similar to how scrying works. Whereas if you own something that the person once had, or if you have a lock of hair or an item that was theirs,

it becomes more powerful. Piece of a bonded Eterna, perhaps. But is other pieces that he had that's a whole different philosophy but you know that it's not really a priestly spell it's something that a

wizard somebody who's more of an arcane spell perhaps maybe like a natural druid might be able to use it as well but there you go. Okay. Yeah, this is Starbane, and he was showing you things through your dream. He can shape it however he wants.

How do you know that what he showed you was true, was real? We've seen elements of Hadar before. You saw the Hadar touch. Saw them pretty close, yeah. It matched all the descriptions I read. Remember when I did all that research in Gusthaven? It matched all of those descriptions, but it was so much worse. Maybe he made it worse to add gravitas to his point,

to convince you of something, to put you on his side, to disrupt us. Not to downplay Hadar at all, I'm sure it's awful, but there must be a reason why he's showing you these things. Because he wants to show what happens if Eros doesn't... doesn't bend to his will, I guess. What if that's a good deception to get what he wants? What if Hadar is something else, or, you know, a different threat,

or a threat all the same, but he's actually got it under control and he's utilising it to control and he's utilizing it to I don't know get Eros for a different reason I mean me and Ayla did see something when we were getting coming back but just over the

bracelet you just heard hey guys guys I've been waiting up here for you for like a few minutes now bit bored gotta go and see a dragon about an airship. Am I leaving? Anyone? Oh, Aelita, you're up. Yep.

Okay. Yeah, I'm waiting. Okay, I'm ready to go too. Okay. We'll be right with you. Just getting Nova up. Oh. Nova.

Oh, yes. Quill, the sailor in Sentry is saying they're ready. Okay. Do you want to bring them down? Should we go up to them? Should we have a meeting? Do you want a meeting? Are you okay?

Do you need a moment? Do you need to tell the group this? Fine. Not here, though. Where would you like to do it? Stop it, Mark. Where would you like to discuss this? In your captain's quarters.

I haven't tidied. Or your room with the thing. Back to immaculate room. Just not here. That's absolutely fine. We'll do it in Quill's room. Okay, in my room. It's fine, we'll do it in the captain's room.

Thank you. Okay, I'm going to message Lucius. You cast the spell message. The cantrip message. And I want to tell him to... I mean, yeah, I think Nova would see you being like... Oh, it's verbal. The verbal component is the message you whispered,

and she won't hear that, but if there's any somatic components, she would see... Oh, I didn't realise it was so obvious, a cantrip. I just imagine if it was modern times, you'd be like... If you want to try and do it softly, make a sleight of hand check. I guess because I try and time it with the messenger ring when they're listening to that. Sure.

Can I... So this will use your passive perception, though. What's your passive perception? 17. I'm guessing passive perception? 17. I'm guessing it's not 17. It's a 9. Okay. So, yeah, you don't know if it's quid.

Why are you such a low passive perception? Because I'm a fucking idiot. And I say in the message... Mine's way higher. I'm not an idiot. Dumb as shit. Yeah, no. It's Nova...

Like, you're dumb book-learning dumb. Nova is unaware dumb. I'm intelligent, but I'm not very wise. Yeah, you're the opposite. Why do you think I'm so easy to manipulate? Come on! What did you say? The message is, there's definitely something more here.

You know it's coming from Quill, it's Quill's voice. There's definitely something more going on here, and it's in this room. Try and get her out of here. Well. Are you going to fucking rifle? No. You don't know. That's how fucking literally I am.

Let's go to the captain's quarters. I think this is very important. Guys, vote! Hurry up! Let's come to my captain's quarters and have a meeting before we speak. We need to have a recap. We need to have a recap That's a messenger ring message Dressed Can I finish getting dressed please? Oh yes

Definitely that first We'll wait outside for when you're ready I'll be in the captain's quarters I don't need to wait outside Yes you will Yes That's where he's going to be. Bye, Quill.

No. No. You're waiting here? Yes, I'm waiting here, Lucas. Oh, my God. Can I roll a perception now? You can roll an insight. Roll an insight for me.

Please roll, though, because this will be amazing. They're being weird, but not in any bizarre way. You don't think anything's up. They're just... I would imagine that with such a low roll, you just think they're worried about you. I'm also just distracted. Yeah, they're just worried about you.

So Ayla's already gone to the captain's quarters. Okay, so Ayla goes up to the captain's quarters. Okay, does Century go up? I bring in coffee. Okay, the two of you, as you go up to the captain's quarters, see that there is a Beast Walker woman waiting outside. She's just kind of like awkwardly kind of like standing around, like looking around.

Oh, fuck. This is the culmination of a lot of things. This is like an episode of Survey Room TV. I've got to wrap a lot of threads up at the minute. There's a lot of information that the group doesn't know about each other, and I'm like, well... And she's just kind of waiting, and she kind of sees you both and just awkwardly waves.

Hi. Century, you know this is Fayeth. She's one of the crew. Ayla, you don't know their names. Why? Ayla wouldn't know their names. Dog one, dog two. Fayeth!

Hello. Hi, Century. How are you doing? Hi, Ayla. She kind of! Hello! Hi, Sentry. How are you doing? Hi, Hela. She kind of like nods. Yeah, I'm okay. Have you seen the captain around anywhere? I think we're about to be having a meeting.

I think he should be coming. Oh, he's going to come here? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Would you like some coffee? Oh, yes, please. And she kind of takes that and kind of like guzzles it a bit. She can see she's definitely one of the more quieter of the Beast Walkers.

She's not as rowdy as the rest of them, but she still doesn't do things elegantly. It's still kind of like... Kevin's really hot. Ah, ah. It's like, yeah, oh, sorry. Crazy battle yesterday, huh? I'm like, is this going to be awkward?

I'm going to storm up with determination, knowing that there's a big meeting happening. Okay, so you leave Quill. Yeah. Yeah, you do leave Quill. Yeah. Yeah, you do. Yeah, he does. Okay. So Nova shuts the door.

Nova is getting changed, getting ready. Quill waits outside. Lucius is like, well, and then just makes his way out. I tried. See you later. Okay. Okay. Okay. Wow.

So yeah, Lucius begins making his way over. What's Nova doing? Try not to metagame, but what's Nova doing? I probably don't know that Quill's waiting outside. Yep. What's the ILS doing underneath my pillow? Gently vibrating, because it always does. Can I pick it up?

Yep. And activate it? Okay. So you say, ILS. Okay. These are 20 gold doors, right? But how much... You hit Quill, you hear it.

Your passive perception's high enough that you're going to absolutely hear this. Oh, damn. Okay. Okay, so you... And you feel... You hear it hum. You say ILS. You throw it out. And you basically... Yeah, the image of Calus appears before you. Before that,

yeah, so Lucius, you come up, ready to meet everyone. I think Oriya also arrives at the same time. Ow. I'll come up the middle. As soon as you come up the stairs onto the top deck and look down the deck to the captain's thing, you see

Ayla, Sentry, and Fayeth weighing outside. I turn around 180 and just fold my arms. Oriah comes up and is like So we are having our meeting? Oh! Yes! fold my arms Uriah comes up and is like ah so we are having our meeting oh yes yes

I turn around again let's go mmm hello hello everybody so you move up yeah did you forget that

Uriah is now listening into our meeting requests as well yeah so yeah you move up and you say hi to everyone and like I'm assuming you guys are all like

Hi Lucius or whatever and stuff like that Morning Morning Captain Yes Well this is nice, can we go in? Yes Before you have your meeting, can I speak to you briefly? We're still waiting on Nova and Quill

so yeah sure, why not and I'll just open the door and go in and just sit on the bed that has been really neatly made. Well, I'm assuming Oriah looks at you and is like, Hela, we are having the meeting in the war room next door. We're not going to have it in Lucius's bedroom. Well, he told us to meet us here. I know, because he's Lucius.

In there. And she, like, points. She's like, I am first mate, come on. In there. This is technically an order. You have to listen. Yes, I'll... What does Century do? Because Century's carrying out... I am first mate, come on. In there. This is technically an order. You have to listen. Yes. What does Century do?

Because Century's carrying out. I've just got my coffee. I'm like, oh, it's going to get cold if we keep waiting around. I'm just going to put it on the table. She's turning into like an old grandma. You're like a waiter. So you go in and you take a seat in the war room as well. Yeah, so Raya absolutely grabs one and takes one off of you. And then yeah lucia she would have left outside with fair okay that's um i i

know that you're busy i don't i don't want to trouble you too much i just i wanted to i haven't seen you and i i if you regret anything i know let's go to captain's quarters shall we and uh yeah and she kind of like steps inside with you brief chat she steps inside with you the door is open between the captain's quarters and the war room. And like the other three are looking at you. Oriah looks at you, moves up to the door and shuts it for you. And then turns to you two and is like, like strokes. I'll sit down.

Okay. Please, please take a seat. She like shuffles over. She looks scared. She looks really nervous and worried. And she kind of sits down awkwardly on like a chair, like kind of like her little kind of hands like tucked up under her chin. Now first of all- Her ears are kind of half drooped.

There's no need to be concerned. I've just been so busy and I want to apologize for- No, that's okay. For not coming to you sooner because it's very important. So, how do you feel? Still recovering a little bit, and she kind of, like, scratches her thing. The fight was... The hangover? Both, really.

A little bit of both. I'm not much of a fighter, so I kind of just mainly hid, but I did... I hit one of the cult cultist women it kind of hurt my hand but oh job well done thank you but no the and then the hangover was really bad it was wasn't it yes yeah yeah it's just this awkward kind of like mm-hmm let's let's discuss this shall we let's Let's make it... I just... It's fine, you know, if you did something that you regret or if it was too soon, just...

I understand, it's fine. Put a hand up. There is not an ounce of regret in what I did. Yes, I drank a lot. A lot. I drank a lot. A considerable amount, actually.

You did. You really did. Yes. We need to... Yes, we need to figure out the stocks for that sort of thing. No more. Yeah. Nevertheless, anything I said or did was not a lie. I do not regret the actions that were taken. I care about you very deeply. And I think we should honor what happened.

Do you agree? You can see that there is like this spark, like a little sparkle behind the eyes. Her ears kind of like go up fully, and there is still the nervousness there, but you can see like her breath just goes out of her body and her shoulders shump and she relaxes she's like thank you so much for saying that um i i would like to just because i i don't know how much you remember but it's like i said if if i'm and she kind of like holds the little rope ring around her finger, if she kind of holds it, if I'm with you in this way,

then the others will leave me alone. And it just makes things easier. And I do, I like you as a friend and you're so funny and you're really kind. And I want to get to know you better. And just this, this helps a lot, a lot, a lot. And it would be really nice if this could stay, even just for a little while, while we're here on the ship, or until I figure out what I want to do in my life,

or something like that. That would really mean a lot. I'm going to put that decision with you. Thank you. As far as I'm concerned, we did that. We are bonded. But I know you weren't... It wasn't 100% your decision, so you think about it too, okay? And

maybe, I don't think you remember, but you talked a lot about what happened with your family and your sister. Yes. I want you to know that I can be here for you as well. If you just need someone to talk to, I know you struggle with some of the others.

You said that it's hard for you to talk to some of them sometimes. So just come and find me if you need to, okay? Absolutely. And that is why I took a shining to you. So early on, when I started going down there, the whole reason I went down there was to mingle and to bond and to understand. The crew really like you. They really do. And what do they think about this?

Some of the boys are a little unsure. More of a doubt on my decision, I guess. Not that you should take that to heart. That's just them. They're all tough and that kind of thing. I understand. But they like you too. They appreciate the fact that you came down.

And I know Kamara thinks a lot about you as well. She regards you really highly. And especially everything that's happened. I'm going to leave you now. And she kind of gets up in this kind of awkward way as well. I'm just, thank you. Maybe we'll talk again when you're not busy. I'll reach out and grab her by the top of her arm

and just give a very gentle embrace yeah she returns it in like a kind of like a friendly hug I just want to say thank you I was in a dark place I wanted to mingle and I wanted to get over some things and I wanted to mingle and I wanted to get over some things and I

wanted to just make everything work both in my mind and with this huge responsibility so you're a good captain Lucius you're gonna this suits you and she kind of like you know gives you a squeeze back and and then as she's going also you did promise the crew that you would come and teach us that Sky Elf song. The one about the... Oh, is that... Right.

Yes. You did promise. I did. You keep asking about that. Right. Maybe a few things... Yes, anyway. Yeah, I'll think about that.

Thank you. And she just goes to leave. Yep. She makes her way. Those of you who are in the other war room, make perception checks. I think the sentry got pretty good. Eleven.

Yeah, you didn't hear anything. Oh, yeah, eighteen. Yeah, you pretty much heard all of that sentry. Like, you know, Aayla and Oriah are talking, and you're just kind of being quite polite, but, you know, your guardian sort of senses you heard all of that. Like, you know, Aayla and Araya are talking and you're just kind of being quite polite, but you know, your guardian sort of senses you heard the whole conversation. Guardian senses.

Let's jump back. We got like 10 minutes before we take a break. So, Nova, what are you saying? You see the figure, the illusion of Kallus, hums to life. Nova Vija. What do you want? You need to figure, the illusion of callous, hums to life Nova Vigia What do you want? You need to be

quiet and you need to be quick. What do you want? You keep vibrating. What do you want? I want to help. I want to speak with you You are aware that when I am not present that I am existing in something of a void It is somewhat lonely. You are my

only company now. I was used to serving on a ship that had, on a station that had thousands. I am still, even though I am an illusion, I am still capable of conscious thought. I still have a need to speak with people. But also you... I can help you. Brilliant. How can you help me? Tell me, how can I help you? Is there things you need to know? Are there things that I can teach you?

How would you bring down the cradle? Bring down the cradle? An interesting proponent. It would have to be... The source of the cradle was Siaska's life force. It is tethered to Erois at the Halls of Infinity. The seat of power for the Titans that call themselves Erois's gods. Remember what I told you, that titans are echoes of Siaska

that they are not truly gods but beings that exhibit aspects of her if they were to relinquish their power or if they were to give up their titanhood Siaska could potentially even be reborn

if it drew in the cradle. The other option would be, you would need magical energy of an incredible amount. But delivered from this side, the cradle protects Eros from beyond the astral sea. An incredible high volume of energy directed from this side could disable it. I would gladly help you with this. You listen. You know when you're in the crystal, you can listen, can't you?

To what is vaguely around me. I know that we are... Dragonborn. Something about a dragon going to their city. If you could... If you could patch me in the IRS to the warship, I could control it. Stop that. It is merely an option. Consider it if you wish. Tiangong.

Yes? Do you know where there are shards of Tiangong? It will be tricky. My memory is obviously limited to the moment just before the Sundering. I have vague recollections of where some of his warships or war machines were located. They may be difficult to track now. Eros' surface and landscape has changed dramatically. But if I have access to maps, I may be able to triangulate it.

If you want me to trust you, you find me Tiangong. Because I need them. If you can get me access to maps, yes. But you will need to activate me. Nova, please understand. Yes, of course I have the mind of Kara Starbane, but I am a programmed illusion. I am not really built for deception I am built to facilitate command

I'm built to facilitate strategy that's what I'm designed to do I'm not trying to deceive you if you have need of something I have limitations, I won't tell you things that I think would harm Calus' events or plans

but if you're working towards them, I'm here to help you. If you can give me access to maps, I will try and triangulate locations of Tiangong. If they're lost, then rejoining them to you would benefit Calus as well. Look, you need to be quiet. You need to stop vibrating and lighting up. People don't know I have you and if they find you...

Then carry me with you. Take me with you. Can people detect you? Can... I will. I can ensure that they do not. Then do that and stop listening! I'm afraid that is difficult to ask of me. Then I can't take you anywhere, can I? If it helps, I cannot. The only person I can communicate with is you. The only person I can tell anything that I listen to is you.

But you realise if people find that I have you, it's dangerous. Yes. You know that already. You blackmailed me with this last time. Blackmail is a strong term. I merely pointed out that we have leverage over one another. But if they take you... I would be destroyed. Exactly. So, I have a very good reason not to make my presence known.

But take me with you. Do not just leave me here as some forgotten trinket. What's Quill doing? I mean, it's whispered, but if you're like literally at the door listening... I mean, I'm like hanging on every word at this point. Yeah, yeah you are.

Very well. Is that all? Do you have any more questions? Anything I can help you with? Not right now, no. Very well. Is that all? Do you have any more questions? Anything I can help you with? Not right now, no. Very well. Disappears back into the ILS. Drops on the floor. All right.

Oh boy. This went a very different direction. We had a whole bunch of other stuff But boy oh boy And with that we're going to take a break That's break time Holy shit Kim wrote me a note earlier

Said let's dance bird boy And he wrote me one back going you're done son Just so you know The natural 20 that Katie saw me roll Was me rolling a perception check for Quill I was like he's got a high passive perception But there's a chance that if he's near Nova's room, because also being a cleric of a god of magic, the ILS, if it doesn't turn itself off, emanates powerful illusion magic. I was like, well, there's a chance he'll pick up on it.

And I rolled a nat 20. I was like, if I rolled lower, I would have just told him there was a slight buzzing. I got that natural 20. I was like, yeah, you can feel a really strong magical presence. Man, I think that's one of those times where I prefer that you made the roll for me as well

because otherwise it's just like... Yeah, that's why I did it. Yeah. I'm really interested to see where this goes!