Legends of Avantris - Stardust Rhapsody: Overture | Ep. 15 | Separate Ways

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

Overture resolves as the crew set off on separate paths...   Gain access to an exclusive campaign, Shroud Over Saltmarsh, over on Patreon: https://legendsofavantris.com/patreon The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for 5e, is available for preorder! Get the Crooked Moon at: https://thecrookedmoon.com/ Watch more D&D adventures in the world of Avantris live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/legendsofavantris Check out our merch store: https://shop.legendsofavantris.com  Join our community on Discord: https://legendsofavantris.com/discord Watch our many campaigns on YouTube: https://legendsofavantris.com/youtube  All other links: https://linktr.ee/legendsofavantris   Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/xAFddhGF8rQ?si=7tzNjDnhEg_IaoQ4

Last time, on Stardust Rhapsody, You found yourselves beneath the ancient Sorian temple deep in the pits of Aurora. Face with an ancient nightmare, Labouche set out to cleanse it, though not before it mortally struck Leo Kahn. As the fight ended and Labusch absorbed the dark coral, he lost control of the entity within and mortally wounded Pike. Wrette fires a blast immediately. at LaBouche, causing him to regain consciousness.

Reluctantly, following the party as they rushed to get Pike to safety. Faced with the encroaching empire, Rhett asked them to take Pike and save him as the Rhapsody was ill-equipped. Imperial soldiers take Pike's limp form and blast off, leaving Aurora to vapor. The hangar of the Rhapsody lies open and waiting as you charge towards it, ready to chase after Pike. The thunder of your footsteps ring hollow in your ears as you find yourselves first in the hangar. The landing base snaps shut behind you, but it takes moments before the chill truly leaves your bones. You're surrounded by the destruction of your ships. The three of you stand there. What do you

do? Mike, get us up there. As quick as you can. I don't know. I don't know what you're what fucking good is gonna do. Damn it! You're gonna be okay, right? Python to be okay. I mean, it looks like a flesh wound. I call that a fucking flesh wound.

I mean, I don't know. I mean, my people, like, we get holes punched in us all the time, and it's usually played off for laughs. I know that their biology is a little different. If he's alive, it's a goddamn fucking mirror. And if he survives one fucking hour from now, that's another goddamn fucking mirror. Yeah. And even if he does fucking survive all of it.

It's on that fucking empire shit. You heard that cocky jackass. You're not going to just let him fucking go. That's... And it's the empire, too. I can't... I can't be there. I can't be around.

We're going right towards it. Oh, no. Oh, they're going to dissect me. me like a like a sixth grade frog oh and you what did you do I I lost control I don't know what happened I I lost myself I I it wasn't me yes where what the fuck was it whatever was in me whatever was controlling me I I didn't know what I was doing I swear sure shit looked like you fucking Why? Why did I fucking entertain all of this?

We have to save him. We have to do something. I mean, there's probably better med tech up on that fucking ship than fucking thousands of light years around. But none of it fucking matters. It's fucking over. He's going to be okay. We can reach him and then we can take him and then go. We're going to fucking break him. Hank, fucking fire up the guns! We're starting the rebellion!

You're a fucking idiot, you know that? You are fucking brainless. As long as I've goddamn known you, I never should have picked you two up. You're a fucking monster. With an accident. What's gonna stop you from fucking punch and to hold this fucking wide through me?

Or through him, he'd probably fucking survive it. Probably. Why couldn't you have done it to him? I don't, we didn't wish for it for anybody. It still hurts too. It's not like I survive it. It's not like pain. I still feel pain. I, uh...

You didn't mean it, did you? LaBouche, right? You're not a bad guy, are you? Of course not. I mean, I'm, you know, I'm kind of a demon clown, and I feel like I'm pretty friendly. If I could take it back at the wood. So then what happens next time?

Next time you lose control. Next time, oh, it wasn't me again! I don't know. Stop bludging me around. I don't know what else to fuck it. I should not have stayed. I should have left after good beer. I should have gone. Maybe now's the fucking time.

If that's what we want, I will. Wait, no, you're not, you don't mean that, Red. LaBouche is one of the crew. He may have done something, but we can figure it out. He just got a, he's sick. He's got a parasite or something. I don't know. That may be right.

I am maybe an idiot, but I am a danger to both of you. I had a parasite once and Dr. Bozo prescribed me some prune juice and he was gone in a jiffy.

Shut the fuck up. It's kind of lighten the mood. We fucking met that spider fuck. Some greater cosmic power that fucking pushed Laboosh and made it all better, trapped it away.

Fucking bullshit. He fucking lied. And Labush, you feel the sense that that's... You remember the feeling you had in deep beneath Aurora and how uncontrollably

insatiable the hunger felt. And though that moment has passed, ever since it had faded away, A new, dulled presence of a familiar hunger lingers in the pit of your stomach. I have to go. I do not know when. I do not know what. But you're right.

If I stay, I could destroy this ship. I could hurt you. I could hurt Hank. Chuckles, I don't know what I do. But I am not. myself and I need to. We've already lost Dandy and Clear and Pike. LeBooz is only three of us.

I don't want to out anyone else. I have to go. I'm not going to stop you. You better fucking let him. Understand. That's okay. Even if I wanted to let you stay. You killed my partner.

Back in the core, there's no coming back from that. I've lost enough goddamn fucking comrades. Regret what happened. I am sorry. I didn't. I will look around the hangar bay and find the entrance to the corridor that'll take me back to the living quarters.

You do so. You know the layout of the ship well. You can navigate easily to leave the hangar and get back to the living quarters to collect whatever. you're seeking to grab before let me get my things and I will just leave me alone and I will stomp out of the hangar leaving retin chuckles alone the footsteps thunder loudly as you the heavy weight of what you've been through hangs in the

air as you make your way to the living quarters I'll find my room and I'll find my room and I will take what very few possessions I have, but most preciously, I will find the hourglass that I was left by Kavir, and I will pick it up and sigh and steadily start to make my way back to the hangar back. You grab your items from the room, you go to pick up the hourglass,

where you gathered the remnants of Kavir, innate, the sands shift casually, lifeless in your hands as you collect your things. I'll start to make my way back. You do so. You're able to navigate back. You arrive back in the hangar. It's only moments from the conversation you had with Rhett and chuckles. the tension still extremely tight in the air as you re-enter.

Brett barely looks at you. You're really going to go, Lubush? I thought I asked you to leave. Leave me alone. Okay. Well, I hope you figure out what's wrong with you. I hope that you feel better soon. I'll kind of slump and I'll kind of walk off to the corner of the hangar. I will punch the ground in frustration, but not answer chuckles.

I will turn to Rett and struggle to find the words, but instead just sag my shoulders. And I look around to see if I can find a Cavier Ship Echo. You make your way past Rett, and for a moment, pause, side by side with him. Both of you glancing in different directions. Nothing is said, but the intent is clear. You see the echo, damaged and shattered, the cracks in the glass, from what you've just been through days before, not having a moment to repair. It sits lifeless in front of you. I think that the only person who might be able to repair the ship is somebody that was a friend of mine now, my enemy.

I'm terrified of asking for help and torn, wishing that I'd perhaps stayed on that planet. And I will, in my despair, just jump into the into the cops. to try and figure something out. You climb up the section and you open the top of the echo. Some of the glass shards sprinkle off and clatter across the ground in disrepair. But too afraid to ask Rhett, you don't reach out for any help to make your exit. Now hold on a goddamn second. All walk up.

And I'm like, I'm not looking at you. enter the ground. Where are you headed? If I can go, I, if I can get this ship to work, I will, I will go back through Kavir's home planet. I will give him a proper burial. You would have appreciated that. He belongs in the sands.

Give me a minute. And I'll like hit the side of the ship and the, the access panel to the engine. Flips down. Drop down. And this is tech I might not be too familiar with, but I just want to basically tune it up and get it to the point where I can get this working.

And so all of the arms from the Ether engine and come around, start drilling and zapping and fixing any of the cracks in the cockpit. And I just silently try to get the echo flyable. Roll on engineering, you check. Dice. The day. Oh, my God.

I, um, 208. You are unfamiliar with this tech, but you are an exceptional engineer, and it doesn't take long before you can kind of figure out what's in front of you. And you do the best work that you can, and you think that what you're able to do is your arms come out

and you're working within the echo to get it back to at least a, pilotable state, you feel confident that it will fly. You fix the cracks in the hull, the dome over top, now once again airtight. She'll get you where you need to go. Thank you. I hope you find peace. You don't have to say that.

What I did was unforgivable. I hope. Against hope. Against hope? That's like it's okay. You don't need forgiveness. All of us have done shit. We can never be fucking forgiven.

Peace is all we can fucking hope for. And I'll turn. And I'll walk away. You do so. Lubush, you find yourself in the cockpit of the Echo. The lid pulled down around you. The panel stretched out in front of you, dark and lifeless.

When I look around, I start to familiarize myself with the controls. I don't know how to pilot this ship very well. I've only seen it piloted, but this is the first time cramped in the actual seat that I'm trying to even just find the ignition. And when I see a switch that I think I might turn the ship on, I give it a flick. You were definitely uncomfortable for many reasons, one of which is you have your far larger than Kavir ever was. As he sat comfortably in a ship built to accommodate him, you find it small and unsettling.

You've watched him pilot this ship thousands of times. You've seen how he interacted with it. You've seen how he was able to bring it to life. And you question whether you'll be able to do the same. Kavir would always take his hourglass and insert it into a central point in the console, bringing it to life. I'll place the hourglass into the center

and give it a little twist to see if I can ignite something. It sits in, and you get no response. I'll try to twist it more to see if I can get the sands to move, as I've seen them so often flow, and reverse or swirl within its glass. and you try and you're struggling and you're moving

and you're hitting buttons and you just don't, nothing seems to want to come to life. Come on. Come on. Give me this. Give me this one thing. I'll be flipping switches. I'm going to push buttons. I'm going to, I remember that display usually turns on. I'll tap it. And you're hitting things, you're pressing buttons,

you're tapping displays. And it's at this moment. sitting in the Sitting in the ship that hearing your your pleas and your cries out you see the hourglass Might even notice it at first looking down Frush all over the sands in the hourglass start to shift start to move as They very slowly begin to speckle upward into the upper chamber, running flowing opposite as what you would expect.

At that moment, the panel lights up a bronze light, and you feel, not that you know, but you do know that the ship will respond to you. I'll grab the controls and look back out. I see chuckles. I see chuckles and look back out. I see chuckles in the distance, I see Rett. I want to reach out to my friends, but so much has happened, such as life, I guess. And I will pull the ship so that it starts to lift off from the bay floor and command the doors to open

so that I can leave the Rhapsody. You do so. The echo whers up and flies out the hangar, making it to exit. You feel heavier than ever with the weight of the words unsaid as you make your departure. I start to figure out coordinates. I look in the reverse display and I see the Rhapsody shrinking farther and farther behind me. And I find Kavir's home planet in my navigation system and chart a path. It almost presents itself to you as if something in the echo wants to return home. And as you make that selection, you blast off into deep space.

Derek, will you please get up from the table? You two find yourselves less one party member standing awkwardly in the hangar. As Hank has fired up the rhapsody, you now feel the pull of, of the movement as you are blasting after the Imperial frigate. You stand in the hangar at different points feeling the departure of Lubbush. I will be deflated like a balloon as I'm just looking wistfully at the open hangar

that LaBouche flew out of and the vapor trail of the echo with that golden tail as it fades away. And I'll approach Rett, where are you? I would just be sort of standing. I would have kind of like not watched it sort of out of the corner of my eye, kind of just like standing in the hangers. You know, knowing that we're sort of on the way

and feeling helpless and in this moment, I'd just be sort of standing in the hangar. Maybe even back towards the, like kind of refusing to watch him leave. Yeah, I would be watching walking me towards the panel to shut the hangar doors. And I would go up and I would hit, hopefully get the hangars to start to close.

I'll walk up to that. You do so, and they follow your command. As I kind of have my hat, like, just holding it cheapishly and I'll say, where is he going? He's going to put Kavir to rest on his home planet, and on Zardine. Zardoon?

Yeah. There's a lot of sand there. Yeah He forgot his flip-flop What if you gonna wear? Can you imagine a new guy? Shut the fuck Up chuckles

How fucking dare you? Do you understand what's going on here? I was just trying to Always a good time for a joke Pike is fucking dead LaBouche is a goddamn fucking monster Every planet we go to gets fucking blown up Our way of life is over.

Do you understand that? I guess it is. Don't you fucking joke about that shit. I'm sorry. Kavir was a fucking member of this crew. You're gonna fucking joke about goddamn fucking flip-flops. I thought it was pretty funny. It wasn't.

You're not funny, Jocles. You don't mean that. Do I ever fucking laugh at your jokes? I just have a horrible realization over my face. You're wounded. You're coming to think back of it. All of the moments, all of the settings, all of the Big Mouth William Bass,

every scene that flashes through your head, laughter, laughter, but there stands ret, stone-faced. I don't care how many times you fucking comedicly fumble with the space jurid machine or those stupid fucking trap. You think this is a fucking joke. You're a literal fucking demon, you know that? Do I need to fucking remind you of that? You're kill on sight anywhere in the fucking core worlds.

Why the fuck did I even entertain this? Open up cartoon fucking portals to goddamn hell? I thought it was helpful. And I thought I added a bit of necithere comedic relief. You just had to play those goddamn games with Dandy. You were a bad fucking influence. You know that? You're just having a little bit of fun. You know, maybe if I'd never fucking picked you up, she wouldn't have fucking turned goddamn evil and fucking abandon

us like that. Maybe it's your fucking fault she did all that. Maybe it is. Maybe it is my fault. I've been thinking about that. I don't know what's wrong with me, Red. I don't, I have a lot of confusing memories. that I don't know. Apparently, I was the guy, maybe named Charles. I don't know. I have a wife, apparently. And she's hot? How? But you're right. It's my fault. It's my fault. I'm going to go to. I'm going to go to. You're right. I don't know. I'm sorry, Red. I'm sorry that all this happened. I'm sorry that we messed everything up. I think that would be for the best. I gotta figure out who I am and who I was, and jolly who she is and why she wants me. And I gotta figure out my own stuff too.

You gotta figure out your own stuff. Find your own fucking piece. Not gonna guaranteeing fucking tea. It doesn't involve clowns, hell, and your goddamn ex-wife. I'm gonna get my things. I'll go to my room You make your way to your things You know the layout of the ship

You've made this walk so many times Landing your Your ship and making your way to your room You're able to do so I'll go through I'll pull out my My blue Popo Ice Climmer Parka Oh and I'll

I I reach into my hat and I pull out a very stereotypical hobo bindle. You're able to produce it. A long crooked stick with a bandana tied open at the end for you to place any items you'd like into. I put my parka in there, just like shove it in there, and it disappears into the the bindle. Oh, my rubber duck.

My rubber space duck. My rubber demon duck. My rubber space demon duck. All while. And then I'll gather some more of my things. I'll put him in my dwindle, and then I'll finally look at the wall. I guess it's just you and me, large mod, William Trout. Oh, oh, wow, Lord. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Maybe that's where we'll go, Lars Mouth, William Trout. Maybe that's when we'll go.

I'll take it out. I'll put it in the, you've lifted off the wall with ease and you stick it into your stereotypical hobo bundle, and you're able to, you can accommodate everything, your entire rubber ducky collection, your personal placard on the wall of wide, wide mouth William Drought, and your blue parka. I have my Owo Vindal.

I walk by the brig, I'll see your own, man, don't. I'm hanging out. See you later. As I walked to the bridge, and I presume that's where Hankins. That's where Hang is a pinn. Yes, Hank's in the bridge.

Hank, I'm going. This is an evening for me. I'm gonna go up and I want to give him like a little scratch. A little scratch. He turns back at you and looks and accepts your little stretch, absolutely, and looks sad as he doesn't seem to understand what's happening. He understands the message you're conveying, not the why. I'm going to be okay.

Here, this is the last one that I have is a cartoonishly perfectly shaped bone that wouldn't actually come from any animal, pristine white. I know the dogs love those. Here you go, buddy Well, thanks for everything And thanks for always letting me win At Super Funkus Card 64 I know you were always letting me win You're a good dog

Good boy Good boy Hank, good boy I'll turn back And I'll make my way back to the hangar He barks out a couple more times As you turn to leave is you exit the room, almost calling after you. Though he doesn't chase knowing that he can't leave the pad

while he's piloting the ship. See again, mad dog. I hope you don't starve to death. Come on, now, I'm in the wakes. Yeah, I'll miss you too, mad dog. As I will, I don't know where you are in this. I'm still at the hangar. You're just in the hangar.

Do you open back up? Well, so, yeah, basically when you get back, the hangar doors will already be open for you. Rhett, long before you see his return, you hear the familiar squeaking of the shoes as Chuggles has collected his items. I have it all, I have a hobo bendal. And announces his presence before ever seen.

Well, I guess this is it. Thanks for taking me in and giving me home for a little bit. It was very nice while it lasted. If you ever see Dandy again, tell her, tell her I said, hey, and that I miss her. I'll pass that on. And could you give her this, too? My special collector's edition,

Big Banana version of Big Funkin' 64 with expansion pack. And it has the Rumble function enabled. Yeah, it's my first prize position. Rumble pack, too. Yep. Yep. Rubble and expanded expansion pack. Well...

If I see her again, I'll pass it on. Take care of yourself, Brett. Where are you headed? I don't know. I'm gonna... Maybe just throw open a clown hole and dive on in. I miss my wife, Fred. I miss her a lot.

And I feel like I shouldn't. I feel like there's a lot of deep knotted baggage and trauma than such a horrible, nasty person I would be that drawn to. So I probably need to work on that. You know what I mean? Yeah, there's probably a lot to unpack there. Yeah. I should call her. No.

How about you work on yourself alone? That's the plan at least. Okay. Red, well, I'm no good at goodbye. No, don't go on. We've already said it up. I won't. Right before you turn, I'll stick my hand out. It's been a pleasure.

I hold your hand and I just like to us. It doesn't, and I pull back. Oh, no. As you're holding. A detachable chuckle's hand is there. Just fucking go. Okay. Just fucking go.

That was probably, just get out of here. Oh, that was my fault, okay. As I get into the Scooty Puff saucer and, and, beep, beep, burp, bump it, twist it. Oh no. And you do all these things.

You twist and you bop and you hit all these different buttons until you eventually just hit the giant one that says go. Yeah. As you... As I'll turn back, as I go, I'll look back at Rett as I'll wave and I'll give one wave and I'll say, that's all, folks, as I... Out of the hangar.

And you do so. You scooty puff out of the hangar. And as you break the walls of the hangar barrier, you blast off as well in deep space, heading for parts unknown and maybe space there. Mikey. Can you please get up from the table? I can.

Rhett, alone at last, your final party member has departed the Rhapsody. For the first time in years, these hallways are empty. No one here but you and Hank. It's all sort of nod and feeling those memories of the old days pre-pike. I'll turn to the hangar control panel, walk up to it. As I smash the the close button, and it'll slowly close. I'll somberly walk through the halls and to get to the bridge. As I take off my pack, just throw it down. Just let's let me just let it. drop as it hits the ground with a thunderous clash and I just sort of look out the front

window and just sort of see presumably the imperial ship that we're headed towards and just taking in the reality of Pike is on this shuttle or who knows if he's alive or dead and just kind of absorbing all of it you know the grand expanse opens up in front of you anywhere you think you could choose to possibly go. And right there, locked on, you see the Imperial frigate in front of you as Hank has set the course to trail behind it. All of your prior party lost behind you. I'll come up and sit in my seat, in the pilot seat.

I'll give Hank a scratch. It's just you and me, buddy. I guess you probably know about LaBouche and chuckles. He's kind of sadly pawing next to you on his pad. He's sadly mouthing at the comically inaccurate bone that's been left for him. Oh, yeah. Chucks. Nothing for you to worry about, all right?

Just try to keep your spirits. I know you were fond of them. Fucking, how everything we've fucking been through. Fucking fool I was for believing I was doing the right goddamn thing. And I'm taking a chance on all this. Might be a confounding of the will of the goddamn fucking. fucking Cosmos. Now they're all gone.

Even Pike. Point of it all. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, buddy. You don't deserve that. I just got a lot of my plate right now. And I'm feeling less than my full fucking self.

He leaps off the pad and moves to your lap now that you're in the commanding chair. And he'll look at your face. Comforting as you go through this together. I don't know what I'd do without you. You know what, Hank?

We don't need Pike. It's just you and me, buddy. It's like the old days. And at the end of it all, I may have fucked my life up flatter than hammered shit, but, you know, here I stand. Beholding to no imperial fucking bureaucrat

or corpo jackass. Working a paying fucking bounty hunting operation. None of these fucking demons or monsters or any of the other fucking killers of this galaxy, you'd better try and stop me. We just have to keep moving forward. What else is there to do? And I'll sit back,

and I'll sort of pick Hank up and put him back on his pad, and I'll flip some switches, grab the throttle, maybe add some power to the engines, and just sort of with intent, I'll take controls. And I will start, gunning for the imperial capital ship. Punch forward. The Rhapsody presses onward,

tailing the imperial frigate that holds Pike's life in balance. Richie, would you get up from the table? His body lies lifeless, yet at peace in the medical bay. The hole in his torso patched with foam sealant as doctors and medbots frantically tend to the numerous survivors from the raceway. His heart may be ripped to shreds, but his soul is of the phoenix. His only hope to survive.

This isn't the first time he's died after all. How did I end up in this position? Genetic experiments in a secret lab buried in an asteroid. A ruined temple on an ice planet. Clowns in hell not once, but twice. A bunch of junkyard dogs and planet-killing explosions. Death in the desert and among the stars. Blue gems turn in red and more friends lost.

One last race before the end. Monsters from the darkness eating everything. Betrayal by a trusted ally. The only family I've ever known turned to ash. Death and rebirth by the grace of a phoenix. but I do have to thank the relentless medical staff and the technology of the Cavalon Empire for my miraculous recovery. And then, of course, I was thrown in prison for my suspicious connection to not just one, but two, exploded planets. Not to mention all the demons and the cosmic horrors.

Fair enough. And then I bounced around the prison system. frankly terrible until apparently my sentence was up and here we are and I had the wonderful opportunity to share my story with you lieutenant Waxley and that is how it all happened space here in the endless expanse feel lost and alone drowning in silence and surrounded by the all-consuming and void. But for the precious few who truly open their eyes and ears to the cosmos, destiny reveals itself. You learn in an instant that it lies amongst the stars. Tugging at the soul, gently,

but with the weight of infinity, you can see it ahead of you and behind, like a thin silver strand stretching into the past and the future. You can hear it all. around you, like an anthem for what you are, for what you were, and for all you will ever be. When you open your mind to it, you learn that what surrounds you is not nothing. It's everything. That the stuff you're made of is the universe itself. Then finally, you realize that you're where you're meant to be, and that your hopes your dreams, your fears, your sorrows, your joys, your life.

They're all a single note in the Song of Existence, the Stardust Rhapsody.