High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #70 | The Last Feather (Part 2)

Episode Date: May 7, 2020

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of mind you deserve let us help you plan every detail with professionalism and compassion provider. Find us at dignitymemorial.ca You are all in the Last Feather, a bar that sits on the starport of Ishtar City. It is filled with a very colourful cast of characters, and having just dealt with a very aggressive and annoying Durgar, you are now presented with a number of options. Nova is currently speaking to Medusa, who appears to be a starship captain, while the rest of the party have reconvened at the bar.

That is where we are now. Okay. Now that that guy and that other thing is out of the way, what do we do? I mean, should we talk to some other captain? Anyone? I don't want to talk to anyone. So the guy that we talked to isn't a captain, so he can be a bodyguard if we want him, but he's not a captain, so no luck from us.

He said he's died like five times. We didn't ask for details, but maybe he's... I like to imagine he threw himself in front of people and died. I don't really like the idea of hiring a bodyguard that dies a lot. Depends how he's doing it. It's just what he does. Yeah. Okay, okay.

Well, I mean, me and Lucius, we spoke to at least one person who is kind of nice, and they said that potentially the fiery armor over there, she might be the best bet. Maybe. But she is fiery armor. Why would she do that? What did she do?

She's a captain. Why would she be the best bet? Because she messengering might be wanted by Starbane. I'm sold. Or at least the Valkyrian Empire anyway. And that means that her

allegiance at least stands with us, because I mean, we're in the same boat, right? Question. Okay. Does also having someone that is wanted by the army that we're trying to leave the planet of point a huge target on our back? Not if we move quickly. The army, on top of everything else, out of interest.

It's probably the person we can be most open with. Right. Right? Do we know why she's wanted by the army? She could also just be a criminal who's not trustworthy in any sense. We could talk to her and see.

Yeah. It's worth a try. While you guys are having this conversation, Nova, you buy a drink. It doesn't actually cost you anything. It seems that if you ask for a drink, the bartender gives it to you thinking it's for you and then thalia takes it and he kind of gives you a look of like i'm not i didn't want to give her any more of like uh i wish i'd known it was for her um but she just kind of like takes it and it's just like drinks it uh and she kind

of like rubs like finishes like she claps her hands. She's like, well then, Neva? Nerva? No, Nerva. Nerva's fine. That's fine. Nerva. Nerva. Nerva.

You're a pretty little thing. If you need a captain, I am ready to go. Where are your companions? Who are they? They're the ones getting shouted at by the sprites yeah the ed to cap I hate that guy he's a jerk oh look she's just

picked him up and put the duggar on the hanger that's really funny I like her she seems great Ayla that's great great well should we go and speak to them yeah the sooner I'll need a few That's great. Great. Well, should we go and speak to them? Yeah.

The sooner... I'll need a few hours to get things together, but I'm ready to go. Well, I do a lot of my best. I do my best. Well, it's not really flying. You've never... Bless you. You don't really travel, do you? You don't fly through the

astral sea. You sail the astral sea. It's very different. It's very sweet. You don't really travel, do you? You don't fly through the astral sea. You sail the astral sea. It's very different. It's very sweet. You're very cute. You're very sweet. You're really cute too. Cute's not. Cute's not. Don't use cute to describe me.

It's not cute. I'm sexy. That's good. You're learning. Perfect. I like you even better and she kind of like rubs like a you can see like she has very delicate nails and she kind of like you know kind of rubs the side of your cheek in a kind of very patronizing the affectionate way and she definitely does um but she kind of stands up awkwardly a little bit swaying puts a hand on your shoulder to steady herself okay Okay, how about you just

wait here for a minute. Maybe I'll get you another drink. Water. Water. And I'll just talk to the band who's crying over there and the bird who's crying over there and I'll be back. I'll tell you what, you do that. I'll talk to my crew

and I'll ask Bim if he knows. Yeah, I'll see what he knows about where you want to go. Okay, okay, okay. You just don't throw up. She pulls out a small stone device. Bim! She starts talking into it. Shut up!

Shut up, all right? I'm the captain. Shut up. I have a question for you, and then you begin making your way back to the rest of the group. Hey! Oh, hi. Why are you saying hey like you've got something bad to tell us, Nova? That's your

hey, I messed up. That's the bad news, hey. Well, no, I think she's fine. But she's very drunk and very pukey. But apparently she's got a ship and she's fast and she has breasts and she has a navigator called Bim. And wow. What happens if you...

Lucius, why are you crying? The man said mean things and frankly I'm questioning everything right now and maybe I should switch my cologne or something. He was picking on Quill. Lucius, what have I told you before?

I've told you that you shouldn't listen to meanies because they're all idiots and they don't have anything interesting to say. Also I put him on the note hanger. It was quite funny. meanies because they're all idiots and they don't have anything interesting to say and you are also exactly look at how ridiculous he looks right now look he's wriggling around he can't look his spider friend can't get him down off the coat hook that's hilarious laughing myself to his level okay that's fine you keep your chin up you smell wonderful by the way you've i've always thought you have a very good fragrance about you. Quill, you always seem well-groomed as well.

I've always thought that you're very good-looking for a bird. My fingers smell of vomit. But either way, you're both fine. I am a good-looking bird. You are a good-looking bird, and you're a good-looking high elf. Thank you, Nova. It means a lot. Anyway. I mean anyway how what does yeah we need to figure out price because we don't i don't i assume we don't have a lot total well might have to do a few business pieces maybe some bartering with some items maybe a

starbane statue i don't know like've got a hammer I could sell. Yeah, I don't know. 1,000 credits. Also, she could take us to the Ganassi homeworld, but that would take four days and I don't think you want us to do that. But fine. Okay, that's okay. I don't need a very thorough explanation that goes from start to finish,'t include boobs and involves you talking at a normal pace.

I think I caught it. Manageable? Wait. I caught it. It's a thousand plus stuff that we have, and that's assuming that we just go to... Wait, does he know where we're going? She know where we're going? Yeah.

Well, I asked for two locations. One is Ganas. The Gnassy homeworld. Okay. Although she said that Jasipir is a ruin. But anyway, that's a story for another day. And then I kind of maybe asked about the other thing, and then I tried to get her drunk so she would forget,

but then she's now on a call with her navigator to figure out where it is. Which she's asking somebody a call with her navigator to figure out where it is which she's asking i'm sorry somebody and that's the point where you guys kind of look over it and she's on this little stone a speaking stone she's like yeah yeah yeah eros did you get that do you know where that is it rings a bell i think i know. There's something about it, right? Do you know where it is, though? Oh. She's just shilling him over. She's not shouting. That's Mark doing it for comedic effect,

but it is loud. I think that the large armored figure with the flaming helmet definitely turns and seems to have heard her saying the name of the planet. Okay, we need to talk to the lady real quick. Everybody, we're going to talk to her.

Oh, wait, wait, wait. Get her out of the bar. Get her out of the bar. Tell her she's pretty. Tell her she's pretty. Don't, otherwise she'll turn you to stone. Nova, no. We're not talking to her. We talked to the other woman. She's on the other side.

Do you not hear? Do you not hear what she just said? not talking to her we talked to the other woman no I mean we need to stop you're not here you're not here what she just said she just said oh shit because she's he told you know what you guys are all a bunch of warriors worry worry worry I mean if Nova saying that that's something right I? I mean, we're in a den of inequity and filth. The Medusa doesn't seem annoyed, or she seems excited, if anything else. She's just like, oh, shit. Oh, really? Okay.

And it seems like an excited kind of like, maybe. But yeah, it doesn't seem to be like a like, fuck, I need to go and dob you into the police kind of excited. I just, I don't get the feeling that people here are such a big fan of the big S, you know. The big SB with the V. True. You can never really know, you know.

You hear heavy armoured footsteps approaching. Oh! Hi! What? This very androgynous form,

this big hulking metal body kind of stomps up to you in this full completely blocked in helmet you don't even see the eyes it's just like a thin slit and there just is this red or almost flame like like eminence coming out of this visor

and a voice which is feminine but is warped and kind of sounds distorted kind of comes out. I'm going to pretend that, well, you know what she just said. And I'm assuming that she's asking that on behalf of your Ganassi friend here. So I have an idea of where you're trying to go. And, man, you really shouldn't be going around

and say that so that other people, loud mouths like Thalia can shout it out yeah I'm under the same impression I was getting her drunk I didn't think she'd make a call she's drunk you're a drunk person

but never mind it's happened now how do we solve this issue well listen living listen flesh bags you need to be really careful with that around here if you're trying to get to that planet I can only assume it's either

because you're empire spies or you're Empire spies, or you're trying to go somewhere that you've been told not to go. And that sort of talk can get you in real trouble around here. Hmm.

Speaking of trouble, I mean, we were vaguely introduced. You're a captain of the Conflagrant Vagrant, right? That's right. You're a captain of the Conflagrant Vagrant, right? That's right, that's my ship, the Conflagrant Vagrant. That's an amazing name. Amazing. Lorelei Blaisbourne. Yeah.

We heard what happened to your crew, we're very sorry. Why are you apologizing to me? We heard what happened to your crew. We're very sorry. Why are you apologizing to me? I just forgot that they needed to breathe oxygen. Oh. Uh, okay. You flesh bags have some funny needs, I'll tell you that. Food, oxygen. This one, and she points at Sentry. flesh bags and some funny needs. I'll tell you that. Food. Oxygen.

This one. She points at Sentry. You get what I'm saying. Crazy people needing food. What's that? What's that about? Well, let's eat more flesh to go in our flesh bits. Weird. It is weird, but I can get it.

It's a comforting thing, I suppose, to them. The warm bit's the knife. When you have a warm thing, that's nice. Imagine that warm thing in your tum-tum. Oh, I don't need that. I'm warm all the time. That's very true. Yeah, you do look it. Just a quick one.

You don't seem to be... What? You don't seem to be very concerned that we were speaking about that particular world. What, you think I care about anything the Valkyrian wants or gives a shit about?

It's not his fucking space. I'll do whatever the fuck I want. What's her allegiance to Big Lord Valkyrian? The SB! You're asking a lot of questions at once.

What are you saying, pretty boy? What's the snake lady's allegiance towards uh the fucking allegiance none of us here have really got an allegiance to the to the empire he's the one that clamps down on space well done uh very astute of you nova to notice called it listen this place sure you're gonna get some captains that work for Calus, but they're already employed. Any freelancers like us, eh, we're lucky if we can scrape together a living or travelers. Not that I really need anything, I do it for the thrill of it, but people like Thalia, eh, she's trying to make a living in a world that doesn't want her to.

Wants her to play by rules that she's not willing to. I can at least respect that from her. She's crazy and a drunk and a bit of a... bit of a prissy bitch, but I can at least respect the fact that she wants to live her life free. Right. I feel like we're all getting along. I guess. Learning so much about each other. We have the same goal that we should be getting free. What did you say? Other elf, you were saying something. Could you get us there?

And how much would it cost us? I can get you there. Well, she thinks, like, any captain will tell you. It'll be a thousand credits for the fuel and supplies up front. Fuel's the biggest one. So a thousand credits before anything fuel and supplies up front. Fuel's the biggest one. So a thousand credits before anything happens. That's a no deal.

That's a no bargain kind of affair. After that, I'll just take you there. Sounds like fun. I've never been to that part of astral space before. I might make you help me out on some things along the way. There's a station I want to explore on the way ah but you're under my

if you come with me I do what I want when I want I'll take you there but if I want to stop off somewhere tough luck wow you're really building a great picture will you be supplying oxygen the whole route yeah I will try and remember that i mean

to be fair last time we got hit by a stray by a stray uh lance it damaged the system i didn't notice i heard them screaming but i thought that that was just like you know pain and then they went quiet thought they'd finally decided to shut up Do you get hit by a lot of lances? When I steal imperial supplies, yeah. Right. Right. Oh, that's the other thing. Yeah.

I'm wanted by the Empire, so chances are, if you want to fly with me, we'll probably come under attack. He's after me all the time. Good pitch. Twinsies? Yeah. with me will probably come under attack. He's after me all the time. Good pitch. Twinsies? Yeah.

She kind of looks at Lucius and is like, whether you come with me or not, it's no skin off my nose. I'm not exactly charging you for it. I do things because I want to, because they're fun. Or they're crazy. Or maybe I'll get destroyed or I'll find something of power. What station, by the way? What?

I don't know its name. It's some abandoned station on the route close to a moon or something. Heard that it was a research facility for chaotic magic. I want to go check it out. Right. Well, we'll put a pin in it.

Sure. I'm going to be here for the next day. You know where to find me. After that, I'm gone. The authorities will come and find me. Right. She's already walking away. Okay, bye.

Bye. He's a character. Let's go with Nova's friend. Yeah, that one, messenger ring, that one, that's... We don't want anything on our trail, do we? Really? We don't need any more on what we already have, right? True. Although she'd fight her hardest to...

She would be a... Not defend us, but fight if Starbane was like, oh no, it's you. A really, really fun ally to have for a future reference. Yeah, at least for the few seconds before we suffocate. She might just forget we exist

at some point. I feel like Nova built a better rapport and I think that's what we were going with a trust between our captain and us sure but she's also drunk I mean I got drunk

at my ship and made some mistakes and that doesn't make me a bad person does it no maybe she's gone through a lot recently and we need to give her some time. Maybe. But it also depends on how much she's going to ask for

beyond what we only have. We only have a thousand. Well, this one, the sooty armor lady, we do what she says and she might forget the oxygen and you guys need oxygen to breathe. But Medusa,

Captain Thalia, is pretty and has an open blouse and she's like, you know, we could barter items and you could help along the way and she has a navigator called Bim. And they already know where we're going. And they use oxygen.

They do. which is wonderful. True. I mean, as long as we make sure that the journey is as expensive as the bounty, we don't want people to just turn on us the moment they find out where we're going, you know? True. I don't think she looks very turny on us, and I'm pointing at what I presume is Captain Thalia just like, enthusing about him.

Yeah, they both know where we're going. She's actually finishing her call. She finishes her call and is now making her way towards you guys. I feel like we're safe in the knowledge that the other fiery person is not going to give us up because she has no interest in giving intel to the the army because she doesn't like them so i think it's relatively safe with our thread dying there and it's safe to go with captain thalia that's my as you say that she uh moves up kind of stands just behind the crowd um kind of behind where nova and quill are and she kind of you hear like a

so you must be nervous friends and she kind of stands quite tall you can see she's buttoned up her blouse a little bit but it's still heavily open sort of at the top um she has this just gun holster harness you can see i think you would have seen these before you can see several colored um they almost look like large bullets inscribed with all different runes you have seen these before. You can see several colored... They almost look like large bullets inscribed with all different runes. You've seen these before. It's called spell shots. They replicate spells when fired from a firearm. She has two firearms hooked into the holsters.

She has different spell shots down the front of the thing. Tight leather trousers, big boots. Very Han Solo-y, Star Wars-y kind of scoundrel. But she's a Medusa, right? And you can see her. She has these reptilian eyes, elven features and skin in other regards. And then the hair. And she's just like, ah, nice to make your acquaintance.

I am Captain Thalia Whisperwind of the Twin Star Longbow. The Twin Star. Your friend tells me you're looking for a ship and a captain. Yes. If you're able to get us there, you were just seconds ago

throwing up. She tosses something into her mouth and eats it. Peanuts. She tosses a peanut in her mouth. Well, I've had a chat with my navigator I can get you where you want to go

I'm kind of excited by the prospect to be honest I've heard a lot of stories about that region of astral space okay okay she's rubbing her hands together she looks pumped nothing to sober you up like the idea of an adventure.

Oh, yeah, you're a big one. Look at you. Wow. Oh, Nerva, I didn't realize you had friends like this. And look at this guy. And she points at Lucius. What a pretty one. I'm a lucky counting.

Sorry, Birdman. Snakes and birds. It's not a good combo. I know, I was gonna say. But just so you know, I'm pretty for a bird. Sure. Are your crew equally

excited about the adventure aspect? As you know, it's a bit of a, you know, sensitive place to be traveling. She holds her hand up. Don't worry about that. My crew, they're a ragtag. They're an odd bunch. I got a lot of outcasts. That suits me well.

People that haven't really been given the right chances in the Empire. They've got no love for Calus, I'll tell you that much. And they're loyal to me. I've given them a second chance at life. So they'll do what I tell them. Your friend might have mentioned it. It's a thousand credits up front for fuel and supplies. It will take me a few hours

to get everything ready. To get a journey that far, we'll need to make sure we stock up on supplies because we won't really be able to stop anywhere along the way. I also want to make sure that our weapons are primed and ready, just in case. So it'll take me a few hours. When we get there, well,

I'd like something of good value from one of you, a magical relic or something of high value, but also I want to visit, or perhaps put in an extended stay on your destination. Ooh definitely we've all heard

my mom we've like yeah like my mom would really welcome you i'm not too interested in meeting your mom nerva to be honest but we've all heard we've heard stories and any place that can hold out against callous well i want to see that sure she does and she kind of slaps you on the back i'm sure she does she's very sweet but i'm not a kind of home cooking person i'm afraid okay okay well we should let you know of a final resistance the moment we arrive, something that we will need to try to interject before it stops us. Oh, yeah. I know about the Sunship. Okay.

Are you kidding? No other captain, no other smuggler or pirate or explorer has managed to get close to the place. And the fact that you guys want to go there, that tells me that you've got a way to get past it. So yeah. I know. Let's hope we do. It's fine. We've got it covered.

It's fine. Hope and a prayer is better than sitting around in this dump. That's true. I mean, what do you intend to do once you get there anyway? Like, just look around? I want to see it. I mean, what do you intend to do once you get there anyway? Like, just look around? Yeah, I want to see it. I want to explore it.

I want to see what the deal is. I want to see how it survived, how it's kept the way that it is. It's something I've never seen before. And there's this genuine moment where you immediately know that's why she wants to go. There's a curiosity in this woman that it needs to be satisfied. Now she knows what it is. She's a fellow Nova. I mean, she's more of an Indiana Jones to Nova.

I mean, that same sort of curious. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, don't get us wrong, we love the place, but this place, this is magical in comparison. It's so much more advanced. Listen, boy. When you've seen a million places like this, and trust me, what you're seeing here, this is the fancy paint job on a pretty rotten apple core.

Sure, it's got technology, it's got magic, it's clean, but deep beneath the surface, this place has it's got a history of bloodshed and it's this is where all the rich folk from places like gideon prime come to live right but you go to a place like that it's just all she points to the lantern in the corner it's like them it's pretty on the outside but deep down it's just all lies it's pretty on the outside, but deep down, it's just all lies. It's just all lies and trampled dreams. That's what it is. Okay.

I mean, if if earnesty and honesty and kindness is, I guess in some sense what you're looking for, then that's the place to be. Sounds like there's a lot of people to work for. Yeah.

I mean, we could be one of them. Maybe. Maybe. I tend to, I don't like long-term contracts. I like jumping from job to job. But this one, this one sounds right up my street.

It's your call. And how? Okay. Yes, go on, pretty boy. Captain Thaler, you talked about really rich people and apple cores. They love apples. And things like that. So I was thinking you must do jobs where you get things and sell them to people,

potentially seedy things and naughty things and profitable things and whatnot. We have a few trinkets and goodies. Do you have a good trader that you know that we could exchange for a few credits? Honestly, head down to the commercial district here on Elysium. They'll buy that shit up. Things like trinkets, art, magic items, relics, that sort of thing. They'll buy it up like that here. I don't know what currency you use on your planet,

but I'm going to guess it's not Valkyrian credits. You should probably maybe get some of it transferred up, though. Raw materials are worth something. Go on. How about a statue of good old Calus? Yeah, the people here, they'll buy that shit up like nobody's business. Might not be worth as much as the raw materials on your planet, but you'll get credits for it, for sure.

We can at least do a straight trade for something that we can interest us. You can't really sell it on our planet, you see. I'm guessing that means that you don't have the thousand credits now, but if you need to go and sell some stuff, head down to the commercial district. That sounds fine. You can come back here, pay me, and then I'll

start getting all the things ready to go. When would you be able to leave? Once you pay me, then I'll be able to start getting things up. It'll take me about eight hours to get everything ready to go. Messenger ring. Wait, should we just pair now

so that we can get the getting out of here on the road? And then we can go and try and make money off of other things. Right, yes. She seems like the one, right? She's not the type to just take her money and run, is she? I don't get that impression. Who knows? There's something more in this job that she's interested in.

I think she genuinely wants to take it. How about a down payment at least, not the full amount? Like a deposit? Yeah. Do you say that to her? Or is that messaging? How about we secure your your captain

nessness with a deposit? No. I told you, a thousand credits is for the fuel and supplies. I need that now to get the ship ready to make the transit. Then, when we reach a destination, then I'm expecting something else. Magic relic.

I don't really want more credits, but she looks around. You've all got plenty of shiny magic things. One of those will do. Right. Or, or, you can help me with something along the way. Okay.

There's always, there's always places to plunder and things that can be sold on other worlds. Either of those. In which case, Okay. Okay. All right.

Well. Nova... Okay. Okay. All right. Well. Nova? Okay. I'll start counting out the thousand. It's just that it's one thing. It's like a one ceramic thing. She's just like, yeah. Got this here on Ishtar.

How did you get this? Can we tell you along the way? Sure. I don't really care. She looks in. looks in she's like yeah that's a thousand credits she kind of like shrugs puts in like a little pouch on her belt and snaps your shirt okay great i'll be i'll go get the twin star fueled up and get it ready i'll get the crew prepped be back here in yeah eight to nine hours uh i'll meet you here outside the bar quick quick, before we head off and you head off and we all head off and you're pretty.

If one was to do some sort of research into planets, like Ganas and other planets, like, you know, where would one, is there like a library here? Sweetie, sweetie. I can tell that you're not from around

these parts you're not too familiar with the empire are you she kind of leans in a bit more conspiratorily this time like you gotta remember callus controls everything you think he's gonna let people just have a library where they can learn about whatever they want whenever they want you could check out the valkyrian Empire Museum. It gives you some information on some stuff. And if you want to find out about the other planets, you can always ask the residents, or you can go down and ask people like myself.

I know a little bit about Ganass, but... Getting any kind of information that's true, that's the hard part. Most of it's propaganda. Most of it's all cultivated by his church and his officials. They tell the parts that they want to tell that help sell the Valkyrian story. Everybody does their part against Hadar. That sort of crap.

So, sure. Head down. There's a Valkyrian museum here on Ishtar. It talks about the history of the Empire and everything that Kallus has done. And maybe there's some information. There's a hall of planets there that talks about all the various planets that have been or were part of the Empire. The tragic losses that have been destroyed in battles.

You can go and find out about that stuff, but just take it with a pinch of salt. A lot of it's just not going to be exactly true. Okay. Thanks. Sorry, kid. Welcome to the Empire. Alright, I'm going to go get set.

I expect you all to be back here on time. I'm going to take some potions that are going to help me sober up even more, too. She kind of gives you a smile, gives Nova, Lucius, and Aayla a wink, and then turns and begins

making her way out of the bar. Okay. Okay. I mean, sure. If we need information, she and the Navigator will probably give us the best. Right? Rather than whatever lies there are.

I kind of want to go to this museum anyway anyway just to see how Calus views this and even if it is propaganda it's still useful information and who knows we might find something about Ayla anything is better than nothing

and honestly I think that like Nova says learn more about your enemy I think it's beneficial for us to see what kind of stuff that he's covered up and see the world through his eyes.

I think it can be amusing. Or see the world through his followers eyes. So what's the plan? What do you guys want guys want to do you want to go check out this museum first and then go sell stuff do you want to sell stuff then check out museum like what's the plan what's the plane I think I'll be too terrified to

split up and just yeah it's kind of being in a big city for the first time yeah so I probably follow the library and then we can sell stuff you want to do you want to do a museum first museum yeah yeah okay yeah why not propaganda tour sure the group of you make your way down into ishtar uh central city which is the name of like the main component of the the city itself this is where most of the businesses are where many of the churches are where you know the the infrastructure, where many of the churches are, where the infrastructure is, as well as commercial zones and things like that.

Central City, it doesn't take you long to arrive there, and it does not take you very long to find the Ishtar Museum of the Valkyrian Empire. A very quite not gaudy, it's very plain in a in a way plain black crystal draped with banners

of the valkyrian empire but quite simple uh a large stone a large kind of like square shaped building um there are no there's nobody out front it seems completely open to the public there is no charge uh there is a set of stone steps that lead up um you do not see any staff uh it just seems to be almost like a monument that you can just go and visit um you may make your way up the stairs and when you enter the main doorway you see that looking down on you the the kind of main uh feature arch that before it splits off into corridors is a large statue of a man you have seen in person but now he here he is depicted very much how you've seen him before but callus is given a kind of much larger stature he kind of like rises up um his hair billows kind of backwards

um and he reaches down with both hands and he holds a spinning kind of model of dozens of planets and galaxies in his hands but is protectively kind of cradling it like you know with his arms surrounding it in a protective manner and behind it in kind of gold stenciled font along the base of the statue is Praxis Val, the Valkyrian Empire's legacy. And it kind of then extends into two different corridors. One is the, I guess it would be called something along like the Planar Archives is on one side. And then on the other side is the history of the Valkyrian Empire, an interactive tour. Are there buttons to press?

You don't know. It's like a corridor you have to move down into. But you don't imagine that there's a lot of it. From the outside of the building, these are really just two individual rooms, you think. I'd like to go to the

planar... Of course I want to go to the planar room. It says planar, I want to go in there. Planar archives? Yeah, sure. So the group of you make your way in. Because she's like, Nova's smart, she knows what she's looking at. She will find information. Absolutely. You all as a group make your way.

The doors here open on their own. They kind of open automatically as you enter. You don't see any other people around. When you step inside, you enter the kind of inside of a planetarium, a large dome-like room, at the center of which

is just a single crystal disk. And as you step inside, there is a flickering of an illusion that comes to life. And you see a very well-dressed woman with long, dark hair

with grey and red streaks through it, wearing elaborate, almost bladed jewellery, and dressed in black and red. And she has a very bored looking expression on her face. And she is just like Welcome to

the Planar Archives. You are free to use this facility as is necessary for the Valkyrian Empire. Praxis Val to all of our loyal and most glorious subjects. am zarkira and i welcome you to make use of this facility and then the illusion fades um and you see that the crystal in the middle kind of spreads out and creates a full illusionary map of the known planes and systems of this galaxy or universal plane art sphere

if you want to call it um and it seems that yeah there's a number of locations and planets and things like that but yeah what do you guys want to do um so can we see the planet Ishtar? Sorry, Elysium? Right now, it's just like a spinning galactic system. And there are points that you can tap, but a lot of it you're like, I don't know what planet this is. You can't seem to see Ishtar immediately because it's almost at a larger scale. You don't know what system Ishtar would be in.

It just looks like a confusing mess of information you don't know what system ishtar would be in uh it just looks like a confusing mess of of information you don't quite know yet um okay um hello hello go on just uh when you say when you say hello there is a you there is a pause but then a modulated kind of magical voice um seems toate from the crystal, like a pulse of light in the crystal. And this one doesn't have the same voice as Zarkira. This one has a more neutral, flat tone. Welcome to the Planar Archives. Can I assist you? Hi. Could you show me... I guess I'm a bit... Where are we in this? What is your inquiry?

Where is Elysium? Elysium is located in the celestial sector of the outer system. And the map begins zooming in, and you see a section of the planar sphere highlighted and then it expands and now it reveals a number of other planets and one of them is Elysium um

where in relation to Elysium where is Gnas hang on hang on Is Gnas? Hang on. Hang on. It's just because, like, you're asking in relation to and stuff like that.

It's kind of annoying. Yeah, kind of. I need this book and I need this chapter. Oh, hello. So... This thing is Google-mapsing us across the world. Yeah. Across the universe. How long does it take if you're walking?

How long does it take if you take public transport? Ganas is located in the inner system, and then it goes back out to the wider version, and it shows that the outer and the inner system um and then it kind of goes back out to the wider version and it shows that the outer and the inner system are connected um but are quite far apart however ganass is located on the opposite end of the system to uh elysium and then it displays and

it's basically you'd have to travel across the outer system and then the Ganassi's on the other side of the inner system. So it's kind of like segmented like that. Ganassi is the homeworld of the Ganassi race. Those born with elemental influences and powers. It is closely tied to the elemental planes. They're talking about you, Nova.

That's me, that's me. Would you like to know more? Yes, you, Nova. That's me, that's me. It's your home planet. Would you like to know more? Yes, yes, please. Ganass joined the Valkyrian Empire approximately 350 years ago, after the planet was nearly destroyed by a Hadar swarm that intended to consume the planet. However, the Valkyrian Empire and army managed to defeat the forces and save Ganass. It was at this time that a number of

insurgents and prisoners from a rebellion was discovered upon the planet. These were incarcerated by the Valkyrian Empire and taken off world. Taken off world where? I'm afraid that no more information remains about this subject.

Um, is there any other planet that has a Ganassi city on it? The Ganassi are only located on Ganass. Many have since moved to Gideon Prime, along with much of the Valkyrian Empire. But no other Ganassi cities exist on any other planes. Oh, really? Um, Aayla? Um, where is Alfheim? Alfheim was located in the outer system. However, sadly, Alfheim was a tragic loss to the forces of Hadar.

The Valkyrian Empire managed to save much of the residents who formed a large part of the Valkyrian Empire, and their technology was adapted to allow us to fight in endless numbers against this hostile force. It is a sad and tragic loss to the Empire that these noble elves of ancient magic

no longer have their home, but their sacrifice will never be forgotten. Hmm. Where is Alfheim in the... Where was Alfheim in the system in relation to here? It brings up the system. Alfheim is located very close

to what appears to be a white spot in very close to the center of the outer planes and you see a planet there called Celestia as well which was nearby and as well as a planet called Ysgard

or Asgard it would be pronounced Alfheim is located close to the planet known as Celest, or Asgard it would be pronounced. Alfheim is located close to the planet known as Celestia and Asgard. Both of these regal realms have since joined the Valkyrian Empire. Interesting. Anyone else?

Are wild elves on any other planet? There is no known species as wild elf. Elves come in many forms, such as the high elves, Eladrin, as well as... God, I'm trying to get my own lore stuck in my head and trying to remember certain stuff. I guess they would have been called, yeah. There are several known subspecies of elves,

such as high elves, eladrin, wood elves, dark elves, and the first elves. wood elves, dark elves, and the first elves. What elves resided on... Oh my god, it was there. What's your planet? Alfheim. Alfheim.

Alfheim was the home to the first... Alfheim was the home to the first elves. It is believed that many of the subspecies of elves descended from these firstborn. First elves? So... What about Storm Elf? There are no known

species of elves referred to as Storm Elves. That's what the frame said. I don't know. Yeah. When did Alfheim that's what the frame said I don't know yeah when did Alfheim fall to Hadar the destruction of Alfheim

was several thousand years ago in the early records of the Valkyrian Empire maybe maybe you're a first elf, Ayla? Maybe, but it seems like that was a really long time ago. I don't think I would have been around.

Maybe there's some kind of the primescent storm elf in me. Maybe we have evolved. I don't know. I have an idea, but I probably shouldn't say it here. Would you like to know of anything else?

Where is Hadar? The location... Hadar is an external... Hadar is an endless threat that exists throughout all of the known universe and across many different planes. For military purposes, the location of any emergent point

is kept secret from the public. However, rest assured that the Valkyrian Empire fights against it daily for your safety and protection. Thanks. Thanks. The first elves, what powers did they possess? The first elves were known to create- to carry many unknown phenomena, especially related to the natural order of magic and life itself.

However, more information on these has sadly been lost following the destruction of their planet. Huh. What did we start with? Did we start with a galaxy view? Yeah, you started well with galaxy. It's known as the planar sphere, which is all the different sectors of planes and planets in one sort of sphere-like ring-like map. So it's very wide. What's outside

of the Planar Sphere? Outside of the Planar Sphere is the area known as Dark Space. This dark, shadowed version of the Astral Sea is not to be explored. It is full of the dangers of Hadar and cannot be and there are no licensed

or charted paths through it. What's outside the dark space? It repeats. It doesn't. It just repeats the same as what it just said. What planets or sectors are under

Valkyrian control? Almost What planets or sectors are under Valkyrian control? Almost all planets and sectors are under the control of the Valkyrian Empire. A few primitive planets that do not have access to magical technology are not considered part of the Empire, but are under our protection. Can we see some of them? can we see some of them these planets hot yield no resources or value of materials of any value

however they are closely watched by valkyrian valkyrian empire scientists and cultural experts awaiting the day that they can join our glorious empire and the fight against hadar prime director the propaganda machine is strong and the fight against Hadar. Prime director.

The propaganda machine is strong. Hail our benevolent leader. Praxis Val. Hail Kallus Valkyrian. Just in case they're recording everything. Which they probably are. Messengering. Okay, I mean... Do not forget to explore

the history of the Valkyrian Empire and enjoy many of the luxuries available in our gift shop. Oh, there's a gift shop! I hope there's new things because I've already got all the other things. A door does open on either side. The door you came in

from and another door on the other side of the room Messenger ring Do you want to try and ask about the prime? Do we want to feed information to this That's a sentry question Yeah, that's a hard no That's a hard no from sentry

That's a hard no from me There might be a record of Guardians or at least where they started. I'm just saying. Poor guy. Why does Starbane want the world engine? We might find out more if we go into the next exhibit

of the history. There might be mention of you know what and you know where. And if we go to the gift shop, we might be able to buy an obsidian statue of Starbane in the gift shop. Oh my gosh. Amazing.

You imagine. Wait, look at the bottom of your Starbane statue. Does it say property of the museum? Yeah, maybe. Does it say property of the museum? Yeah, maybe. Does it say made in Elysium? Yeah. We can get more.

Let's get a whole set. Before we go. Quill, whilst this is going on, Quill, you hear a message in your head. Here we go. We have received your circle code. you hear a message in your head here we go oh cool

we have received your circle code the wings of Ishtar wish to meet you city outskirts north side close down opera house messenger ring the splinter group just got back to us and we need to meet them what?

do we continue with the museum or the resistance The splinter group just got back to us, and we need to meet them. What? Do we continue with the museum, or... Did they give a time? Did they give a time, or... You have 25 words to respond, don't forget. It was... Yeah, it's a sending spell. You have 25 words to respond.

It was sending, yeah. Okay. Continue walking through the museum while I write down my reply. Quickly, like, while all this is going on, can I be sketching some of the maps that we've seen, just, I guess, of the Ganassi system and all that? Yeah. Easy.

Easily done. Do you guys want to go through the museum? Can you also draw Alfheim for Ayla? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm assuming that Nova is making a planar map. She's sketching out like, right, this is vaguely what it looks like, these are the key locations, etc. I'm not going to go through the whole thing.

When you enter the next room, it is similar to this one and it is a large kind of empty space and an illusion uh is conjured changing the surroundings around you um and it creates the the location of a beautiful pastoral planet um where you can see beautiful cities of a kind of medieval style but but made from crystal and with magic and very similar kind of veins, but in a very traditionally kind of like castles and, and inns and things like that, but it has a high magic element. Um, and the,

the museum tour, uh, introduces you to this, uh, this is the world of Gideon. An ancient land many millennia ago. Here, a warrior

was born. A man who would rise up through the service of his army to defend his king and country across many plains and planets. It shows a younger looking Calistarbane. However, disaster would strike Gideon as a corrupt and cruel council of governors and politicians would come to control the king and indoctrinate him to the cult of the Crimson Star.

And you see the whole world becomes enshrouded in a crimson glow. Whilst the warrior Kallus was away, fighting wars to defend his planet's home and safety, these corrupt politicians influenced and gave power to the Dark Star, Hadar. It spawned fleets determined to destroy Gideon as well as all the other planets in the system in order to grow in its own power. But one warrior would not let this stand.

The whole room shifts and cuts to a fleet of starships as you find yourselves just hovering in space, to a fleet of starships as you find yourselves just hovering in space and a slightly older, much more powerful looking Kallus in the power armor that you've seen him in before, carrying

not Tiangong but a long black sword. Quill has seen this version of Kallus before in a vision where he saw him arguing with Siaska. At Kallus' side side is siaska as well as several other warriors including a serpentine uh zarkira like a woman who looks like zarkira but with these serpentine elements callus was joined not only by his companions but by a divine being, a goddess named Siasca.

These group of warriors and rebels returned to Gideon to stop their mad king and to save the planet. But after many bloody battles, not all could be saved. Hadar had arrived and Kallus lacked the powers to fight the force back. A mass evacuation was ordered as the king was slain and Kallus was crowned the new Lord of Gideon. A mass evacuation, sending citizens aboard great ships that could outrun the Hadar spawn, was ordered,

and Gideon was left. The room seems to accelerate. For a thousand years, Emperor Kallus Valkyrian built his forces, forged alliances, and created armies, pushing back against the spawn of Hadar as they could sort to consume planet after planet. And as each victory came, more systems were saved and swelled our empire's numbers. Sadly, it not all was, uh, not all was well for our beloved emperor. The goddess

known as Siasca was killed. Whilst fighting aboard, on, whilst fighting for the safety of the planet Alfheim, it, she was destroyed along with the planet itself, as Kallus evacuated the el evacuated the first elves into new worlds. The loss of such a powerful and beloved being sent splinters across the universe. For many years, the armies of Kallus...

Sorry, can you repeat the start of that bit about Alfheim? Sorry, can you repeat the start of that bit about Alphine? Basically, it's just Siaska. So this thing says that Siaska was killed along with the destruction of Alphine. Right. That's what I wanted to say. Yes. For many thousands of years, Kallus, empowered by magic and sorcery and given long life as a blessing from the first gods of the universe

has continued to wage war against our ancient enemy hadar the endless hunger thousands of troops across many different across many hundreds of planes and planets have joined this battle callous has united the forces of demons and you are left with an exit. funneling this war to victory. And then the whole illusion ends and you are left with an exit. That isn't as detailed as I was like. I did just have to do that out of the top of my head, so there's very good.

There's not enough detail. There might also be some contradictions to stuff I've said in the past. Don't worry about it. It's all propaganda, isn't it? It's good. There's not enough detail. There might also be some contradictions to stuff I've said in the past. Don't worry about it. It's all propaganda, isn't it? It's propaganda. It's propaganda. That's exactly it. I'm doing my part.

Yep, exactly. Would you like to know more? Yeah. It's very Starship Troopers. It's very, very Starship Troopers in that regard. Very good. I like it. My sci-fi tendrils are tingling.

Do you have a response? Received. We have little time. Seven hours before we fly. I assume it was like an hour to get here. Is it safe to travel? Do not make a move without us. Regards, Storm Chasers.

Storm Chasers, one word. Nice. You get a response uh come immediately safety assured coordination necessary and then it gives you more it gives you more details yeah basically it gives you more detailed um directions to find this uh opera house that it was trying to uh it gave you before okay okay okay okay i use 25 words to say okay on repeat um uh and then i'll yeah i'll communicate it to uh to everyone i mean yeah

storm chasers it makes sense like this mean, yeah, storm chasers, it makes sense. Like, the ship is called the storm chaser, right? I know. It also fits into one word in a long way. Which is power of chopper sending. Okay. Yeah. I'll cast sending again to then use another 25 words to say okay.

Well, you don't know the target. They have not given you a name. You don't know them. You can't send sending back. So instead of the okay, okay, okay 25 times, is there something you would like to put into that message? No, I think I know what to do, right? I just communicate the idea to everyone yep

yeah the wings of Ish well messenger ring the wings of Ishtar have communicated that we need to visit them now they've given me a location we do have 8 hours ish 7 hours ish

and I've told them not to make a move without us we just need to coordinate with them alright, that makes sense it's also good to meet them if they're working on our side just across the

astral sea then they're working on our side just across the astral sea then they're still useful yeah it's just they want us there now yeah because then we can make contact and you can see them and we can send them spending spells in the future hooray can we go through the gift shop

yeah sure you do you do the gift shop is there is nothing tacky it is all very sort of like oh isn't this very nice it's a little diorama of you know

Gideon and there's like a very lovely sort of like art print of Kallus in front of a you know a world and things like that it's all all very classy. There's nothing tacky here. I asked about the destruction of my home planet and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. There is none

of that. There are no t-shirts. I want to know where Arois is. There are little pennants of the Valkyrian Empire. Is there a memorial plaque for Alfheim? No. There's not a spinny thing of different planets andyrian Empire. Is there a memorial plaque for Alfheim? No. There's not a spinny thing of different planets and things like that.

No key rings. There are banners. There are things like prints and books. It's like a boring gift shop. Do they have those name key rings? I'm looking at them like Quell? Qual? No one's called Quell?

Hey, Qual. Are you talking to my son, Qual? No, my name is also Qual. Any excuse to get a Simpsons reference in, for sure. No, my son is also called Qual. Qual.

What do you guys want to do? Buy a book. No, it's fine. You can buy a written copy of the history of the Valkyrian Empire. Book of lies! You can buy a book of lies. One credit. Yeah, we don't have anything there, so... Could I trade a Starbane statue for it? That's fine. Carry on.

Get on with it. Forget me. Leave me. Alright. So do you guys want to go into this meeting, then? Do you just want to go straight there? Sounds urgent. I guess so. Should we sell the statue? Do you want to do that first? I don't know.

Let me help you out because I ain't doing a shopping episode today, so if you want to sell the statue, they will give you 500 credits. What could 500 credits buy us? 500 credits. So the commercial

district here, you can pretty much buy lots of common and uncommon magic items. So they have things that are conveniences. They have stones that when you touch them, clean dirt and grime from you. They're just like, suck it away. You can buy chests that when you put food and organic materials in it, it prevents it decaying for 12 days.

It's like a refrigerator, basically. Not like a small chest. You can buy things like you could buy something like a bag of holding. Yes, you could buy that. That would be 500 credits. You can buy uncommon magic items as well. So, any kind of

If you can think of something you want. Power up a hammer. Maybe. Let me have a look. Nope. That definitely they won't. No! We were so close to him! We flew over it!

I think if we've got 500, right, should we just figure out what we're going to have between now and next episode? Yeah. We can just get one thing with 500 credits. We'll just hard trade

Starbating Statue versus Stone that Cleansed Us. Sure. Because that's awesome. I've written it in my inventory. Yeah. Starbating Statue, gone. Go to the meeting.

Yeah. Okay. All right. So you have 500 credits to spend. We'll try that next time because we've got someone on after us. They'll also... Yeah. If you did want to exchange gold, 100 gold coins,

it will translate into 100 Valkyrian credits. They'll take raw gold. They'll exchange gold for credits because gold is a resource that they can then use in other things. Oh, shit. But we'll do that off screen. That's actually quite a lot. Yeah, it's about 500 gold. That's 200 more than

the statue was valued for. So, you make your way, following the instructions given to Quill, you make your way to the outskirts of the city. It takes you nearly two hours to reach it. It takes you a good long while on the various sort of like crystalline platforms and things like that to reach the outskirts. And the instructions lead you to a district which, whilst not abandoned, is very clearly quieter.

It looks to be mainly sort of run-down businesses or homes. And it's kind of a contrast. It's still clean and pretty, but it's devoid of any life and many of the places here are shut showing that perhaps the central part of ishtar gives an impression of this very affluent busy city but when you get to these outskirts it's actually like oh there's nobody here that's's weird. Right. And you make your way to a... One of the buildings stands out. It's an abandoned theater of a sort with an open amphitheater at the back.

There are signs indicating that the building has been sold, and you can see that there are various construction tools and supplies out in front of it. But there are no signs of any workers or any construction being done. There's just the sort of like smattering of things that like, yeah, maybe we'll build something here eventually.

When you guys arrive, you hear a very delicate angelic voice in your minds. Enter the building and stand on the stage. You will not be harmed. Okay.

Okay. I mean, this is definitely the place. Yep, it's definitely the place. If you follow the instructions, you make your way down to the amphitheater, and you stand on a section of the stone stage. And when you're all stood together, the instructions, you make your way down to the amphitheater and you stand on a section of the kind of like

stone stage. And when you're all stood together, after a few moments, you feel that section of the floor begin to drop slowly. Not like a pitfall, but a platform. A platform that begins lowering down.

And as you get to a certain height down, you see a kind of flickering illusion come into place above you, which recreates the stone floor. The crystalline platform lowers you down and down and down and leads you into a very

basic cellar of a sort. But you can see that there are several guards here. They appear to be angelic in nature or smr in some nature they wear armor they have feathered wings you can see halos of light around them and they gesture you into a hastily made command center where there are all sorts of weapons maps um spell scrolls potions all stored and stood amongst a group of asimar warriors is a being that you can feel the power and the radiance coming off of he stands about

seven feet tall two sets of angelic wings protrude from his back um chestnut hair is shaved on one side but grows kind of semi-long on the other and he's covered in these celestial spiraling tattoos that go down all the way from his neck down his arms there's weapons there's geometric patterns and sigils all over this uh these quite burly muscular arms and he has bright blue orbs of light instead of eyes. Not like Lucius's, but glowing spheres of power in place of eyes. And he turns to you and telepathically in your mind, you hear this just chorus angelic voice. So, you are the ones that have given us a chance to strike back at Kalos. You have my utmost gratitude and my welcome.

I am Zelion, Solar of Elysium. And that is where we'll end today's episode. Solar of Elysium. Solar. Solar. Wait, what was his name again? Solar of Elysium? Zellion. Zellion.

Zellion. Zellion! Very cool. Holy moly! And I will say now, any kind of spellcaster and Quill especially being a cleric, and Sentry being a paladin, in fact, this being just radiates not just goodness but like richness and power this is a very powerful

planar being um i don't know the the closest power you felt to this was when caridus the the demon lord thing spoke to you through the gate. It's that level of power. Really? Yeah, this thing feels strong as hell. Damn. Yeah, we'll just drop him onto the ship. That's easy.

We've won, right? Sure, Thomas. Okay, cool. Well, thank you everybody for tuning in to watch thank you players for joining me and we'll be back next Sunday

for more Erois we love you take care stay safe stay healthy and we'll see you next time play lots of D&D

bye bye go through the gift shop bye go through the gift shop bye Bye.