Legends of Avantris - Uprooted | S3E4 | Truth in the Wax

Episode Date: August 30, 2026

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Last time, unabrooted, you encountered the lizard cult, simple name that many of the Dimwood called this shadowy religious organization that seems to worship a mysterious dragon god, known as the Lord of Flame and Shadow. there seemed to have been a strange import about Bitsy. He always gets me when you laugh. The figure that they met, perhaps the leader of this cult, of this clearing, known as the gardener, welcomed Bitsy and their comrades, her comrades, and offered a mysterious dagger, strange blade of black metal and gemstone and bone, and said to hold on to the bear

skull. And in a trade, he took the bee pen, the buzzy bee pen. I'll take the pen. And realizing that they had effectively risen up as soon as the bleeding star appeared on their The bleeding star appeared in the sky, and they slaughter all of the eerie soldiers and setting the woods around, perhaps as a distraction, around this clearing a blaze, and then burning all of their battlements and slaughtering them.

It was apparently very grim and bloody. In this time, Peggy, while they were all focused on this, no one saw Peggy get the witched, into the sky. As you floated up with glowing eyes and mouth as she rose upwards into the morning sky, loss of the smoke. Also, Booker's father was dragged off by cultus

to a throne of skulls. He was given a goblet and said that he was of a powerful line and might need to pass it on. And was offered pupe wine. You know what? And Booker... You heard that right. Yeah, yeah.

We had a whole conversation. Booker attempted to read it. reason with him, but his new trusted advisor from the cult said that he was a prophesied God King. Yes. And Beauregardi Raccoon seemingly trusted Satan-hearted Bone to Pick instead of his own son. They decided to get some sleep for the night, get a meal, and they made their way through the gloomy town of Drake Smith and finally found the belly of the serpent, I believe, with a fanciful sea serpent on the sign, found a very kind of gloomy but warm, or rather a quaint, but at the very least warm in most of the establishments closed up and locked up after the bloodshed.

This is one of the few establishments open. Much blood in the streets, even some remnants of drag marks of where corpses had been dragged to the great pyre. And it was here they met the innkeeper, a man named Borrell, who offered slippery stew, I think. A mysterious stew that was very mysterious and very slippery. And they sat down and amidst the patrons, there was a huge looming shape, a very wide shape that I actually foreshadowed as soon as the answer.

That's true. And as soon as they mentioned, Bitsy mentioned hot dogs. I knew that that was my opportunity. And who else put Big Net appeared? The figure. He said that he had escaped the

horror that came to Muckbed Creek. He also said he was Big Net. And he also said he was Big Net. Many times. Many times. That was he. And then he loved, he was fine. And he loved Chicago dogs. And that he had narrowly escaped that there was a great

it was a great day of public executions. Nestor the political leader was hanged viciously. Grusomely. And then right before the kid brother of the dawn of the river folk company was to be hanged, a bunch

I'll say there's a bunch of crazy fishermen erupted from the river and started eating everybody. Yeah. Saving, allegedly saving this otter but everyone got it. Pendleton the cobbler got horribly He'd eaten Roxy from the foxhole, got eaten. God bless her.

And he was on his way to look for his brother Sonny, who was looking for a basement. He was looking for a basement, and he was looking on the hunt for his brother, Sunny. How true all this is is not entirely clear because Bitsy offered for Big Ned to share a room with them. Bitsy went to bed first. Big Ned joined shortly after.

Well, the other three enjoyed their rest of their slippery, to and drinks. And in the flame, Grumley saw a figure, the blazing heart, a king, who in a strange, fiery vision, kneeled and knighted him as a herald of war, a knight of war, and charged and warned Bitsy, or warned Grumley that Bitsy was in grave danger, and said, I still need her very mysteriously. and foreshadowing. And so Grumley run, narratively and boardly. Grumley ran up the stairs and burst into the room

and found Big Ned, having already stolen much of Vitsy's things and, but midst of busy things, finding the dagger and getting ready to slit her throat. And in a moment of certainty, Grumley plunged his blade through the back of Big Ned, piercing his heart, going out the other side, and igniting as Big Ned was slain and set ablaze. Any questions?

So many. None that you can answer. Can we call him Big Dead now? Well, you can do that in a second here. Oh, okay, okay. Ned's dead, baby. Okay. Ned's dead.

Flame fills the... Simple room of the belly of the serfins in room. As Bitsy, you suddenly awake to blood on you. And you feel the heat as the bulging eyes of Big Ned look at you, blood spilling from his lungs. His lungs and heart have been pierced by the sword. As flames lick up, as he starts to scream,

but his life leaves him as suddenly a burning corpse has you in its clutches. As you realize now, there was your very own dagger gifted you to buy the gardener has slightly pierced the side of your neck. Your own blood, Big Ned's blood, is on you as the flame starts to get closer. Grumly, you suddenly, almost in a trance having done this, but certainly your own volition. You pull your own blade as you hold it as it is a light with flame. As this flame is, as Big Ned's body is covered in flame, there's twitching and writhing. Grumly has removed the sword, but the body is beginning to burn.

What do you do in this moment? I have a sudden urge to ask Big Ned how he is, but I scoot back and slam against the head of the and try to get away from the flames and the violence and the, I can't leave the blood that's on my body, but if I could run away from that, I would. Make an exterity saving throw. Oh, gosh. Actually, make an exterity saving throw. You two are there with us, right? So, he's happening right now. They're all joining right at this is half. I ran after you, but you were ahead of me. Yes. I would have lag behind him. I wouldn't have been like Johnny on the spot. I think you would have seen me kill this dude, though. Oh, I'm like standing in the doorway. Like, oh my God.

Right as it happened. John Claude is right behind. I'm probably like three seconds behind. We're like slowing down here. 21. 21. You are without even taking, I will say, you've taken one point of slashing damage.

Only one. From the blade making its indent, as you were able to leap back as the flames start to lick up. and begin to consume the body. And then almost, you're not sure, bodies typically don't burn that quickly. How you know this, you're not entirely sure.

But as soon as it had roared up and consumed this flesh, charing him, it suddenly smolders back down to glowing embers and doesn't catch on the wood floor and the carpet that's on this in this room. With the 21, I will have backed up, and as soon as my hand hits the wall, a athleticism that you wouldn't expect suddenly emerges,

and I will even like race off the bed, running along the wall like Trinity and the Matrix. Yeah, and then I'll dart down and get my bearings. I'm looking around for other sources of danger, but from what I can tell, this is the only source of threat. in the room, and I'm looking at Grumley hearing the screams from Booker, everything that's happening all simultaneously. And Booker, you see this happen, as Jean-Claude, you rush up behind Booker, and all of you see now the charred corpse of Big Ned with the sword wound through his chest and his back, standing there having been hunched over, now creaks and stumbles forward and collapses on.

onto the ground. So by the time we, I see that, I see this, this man burst in the flames. Do, does it basically reduce to coals or embers quickly enough? Or do I feel like I need to help put this out in the moment? I would say that there's still some smoldering on his hedgehog spines. But I'm not worried about the whole place going up. Um, is the bedding on fire. That's what I'm like, do I need to make a, because Booker's first reaction to be to find some kind of water source to help us out. I would say that it's very clearly, it's not consuming it. But some embers are starting to catch, and there is some smoldering elsewhere, yes.

I would just, it would be my natural instinct to attempt to try to put this out if I see that Grumley appears to be in some sort of a trance or you're not really acting, you're standing there, and Bitsy's trying to, like, yeah. I would immediately look for some kind of bucket of liquid in this room that may or may not be a piss bucket, to attempt to try to throw something onto,

to this smoldering corpse so that the entire inn and tavern doesn't go up in flames. I wouldn't even have to be. It would be natural reaction. Not bad. Perception, uh, 15. 15. You look around and you see that normally no one cares about the tall glass of lukewarm water unless it's two in the morning.

Yeah. Or in this. And then it's last. And then it's the greatest thing you've ever tasted. Either two in the morning in the middle. the night or now, you see that there's a full glass of water there. I immediately rushed to the water, and with surgical-like precision, I don't just throw it all over the place. I look for spots that I can dampen strategically where there might be

coals or embers lasting. I would say make a sleight of hand or a survival check, referring back to the time that you were in the Acorn Scouts. Slight of hand. And thinking about that time. Of course, I was an Acorn Scout. That's a 19. Okay. You're able to put it out before it starts. catching. You realize it could have been bad. The bedding, it didn't consume the whole room, but the betting was starting to go up as suddenly calm returns. Brumley. What was that? I'll say, I'll say what was going on in here. The enemy of my lord is dead.

Your lord? It does go out as soon as it hits the scabbard. Oh, it's on fire. Oh, yeah. I start to do it. I'm like, I'm a knight now, Booker. I serve the Lord of War. I don't know what any of that means, Grumley, but you're swords on fire, and you lit a guy on fire when you stabbed him in the back. What's my duty?

To sentence him to death. I mean, yeah, we were gonna, I, I, dude, I, I, I know we were gonna kill the guy, but we really took that a few steps ahead and took the initiative. I'm, you say, Bitsy, I'm proud of you, but where did that come from?

This newfound assertiveness. Oh, yeah, I'll say it. The only thing I've seen you kill with such gusto is a stacked sandwich. Do you not see the flames? From your sword, yeah, for sure. They were everywhere. I mean, he burst in the flames.

Big Nets. They're dead. The crown of antlers. The Lord of War, he united me. He made me. His champion, he told me that Bitsy was in danger. And she's okay now. Are you okay, Bitsy?

I think so. I think I got nicked in the neck a little bit, but other than that, I think I'm all right. Did Bidsey ever mention any of this antlered burning anything to us? I'm trying to remember if she divulged any of that information. Did you? About a vision about this. The few times that I've seen,

the creature, I've whispered to it. So it's possible that you may have heard me whisper to it, but I haven't directly said anything about those visions to the group. All right, so just so I'm understanding, just so we're on the same page here. You're saying that you saw something, somebody spoke to you and gave you this directive

to save Bitsy? Is that what I'm, is that what I'm gathering correctly? No, that's exactly what I said. I mean, did you not see it? Who? Who's what they're in the fire? In the fire. Do you understand what that's saying?

You looked into a fire and you saw this and somebody spoke to you through a fire? It was more like I stood up and I looked at the fire and all of a sudden I was in this kind of like dream scape. You know what it was like? Remember when you were telling me that you would like look around and you saw like the teeth and all the darkness? It was kind of like that. But instead of cold and teeth.

And horrifying? And horrifying. It was like fire and warmth and like really cool. That sounds like. way better than anything I've experienced. Yeah, I'm a little jealous. And I took an oath. And he made you a night?

I mean, you already were a night, but now you're like another night, a different night. I believe, now. I believe now's the time for me to finally tell you, Booker. What, what do you mean? I was never a night.

What? What? You know. No, you were. You were, you were, you're, you're, a disgrace tonight. Oh, careful.

I was all right. It's like the sound of this. I thought you were disgraced. Excommunicated. Cast out. I was shunned and disgraced, but I was just a soldier. I was a lap dog of the Marquis-Zat.

Huh. And so? I was never knighted. All right. Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I wanted to. My lord commander, She never did.

And she wouldn't say, why? Why would you keep that from me? Why wouldn't you just tell me that? Just because I always wanted to be a knight. And I just figured that, you know, who would know? Who would know if I was never really nodding? You know, I mean, maybe, maybe if I believed it hard enough, it would somehow become true.

Well, I can understand that, but Romley, you gotta ask yourself the question. I mean, who's more true of a knight? The man who is knighted and doesn't act knightly, or someone who isn't knighted, but holds up the tenets of one. You're right, Booker. You've been a knight through and through since day one. Yeah, but it's, I mean, to be a knight, you really gotta be knight. I don't. I've never heard of it. It's never been it before. But it doesn't really make any sense.

Fair. Yeah, I suppose that's right. Okay. Gosh. It's all coming up. I hate to say it, but this text here on the overlay has been alive. Maybe that's what the confusion

came from. Fourth wall breaking meta knowledge. That's all right. Look. But now it's true. I guess. I mean, If you count a mysterious voice in a fire knighting you, that feels more validating than... Could someone who wasn't a true knight do this?

It's hard to argue what is the equivalent of an AK-47 in the second. It's very hard to argue with that, Gromley. I can't disagree with you. As this is happening in this conversation is occurring, Bitsy will have gotten down. and on the floorboards is looking at the ash, the wet cremated, uh, Oh, his body is still slumped over.

Yeah, so the fire's gonna cold kind of on his quills and his fur, but it's still there. So this is not like a pile of action. No, no, it's still a big net's like corpse. It's still, it's still, it's kind of stinks. He's a bit charred. Yeah, he doesn't have kind of like, almost flashed, like seared.

He's effectively like seared. The dagger is just on the mattress. It's still gripped in his hand, perhaps. He is still gripped in his hand, completely untouched by the flame. And this is the same dagger, the one made of... That the Gardner gave you. Yeah. He attempts to steal everything from you.

As I am removing the dagger from his clutches. What happened? Why would he do such a thing? I thought all he cared about with those dogs. Um, you, as you pull it out, it kind of moves and settles and you hear, I'm fine, how are you? Big name is that you? What the hell? What was that?

How are you? The body kind of says, I'm fine, how are you? Do we hear this? Oh, yeah, everybody hears it. What the fuck? We're okay. You didn't get it, you didn't kill us. We're all right.

I've, that's got to be just air escaping the body. I mean, he's, he's breaking. Make a nature check or a medicine check. John Glaw. Is anyone going to freak out if I begin to eat Ned Steaks? Yes. Yes, I am. Hitchhog friccacy. That sounds.

A what check? A nature? Nature or medicine. Yeah. Let's call that an 11. An 11. I mean, this isn't natural. I mean, you don't think of anything of it's natural, and this is very strange. Can you understand me?

Can we talk? The body's motionless. I kick over at the corpse. I said you're dead! What are you doing to do it? The corpse rolls over, and you hear, how are you? Hey, answer to no, the mouth isn't moving.

It sounds like whispery. It sounds very whispering. Hard to tell was not as an air escaping the folds or if he's truly dog. I don't know. Wait, but, Ned, if you're really alive, what kind of dogs does your brother like?

Ned's not dead. He's surely alive. No, no. He's got to be dead, Grumley. I think you just, every time he moves. He looks so dead. Oh, say, Grumley, you cooked him. You set him ablaze right on top of 50.

He's dead. He's dead. Do you think that people in town are going to care that we killed this guy? No, he's kind of a scumbag, to be honest with you. We were going to kill him anyway. We didn't tell you this, but I can't exactly remember what happened. We came to the conclusion, Grumley and I that we had to kill this guy. Well, I'm glad you did.

I think that he was trying to kill me. Yeah, that was just, I don't know how it turned into that. We didn't like him because he was a scumbag and he was a loose head. He took this dagger and he had it up against my throat. I can't believe he broke into your room in the middle of the nine. While you were sleeping. No, no, no, no. We came in here and cuddled for a little while.

Ewe. And then I'll kill them. You got in the bed? Yeah, they were cuddling when I came in here. Grumby, struck down, 50's lover? Well, I mean, he was about to cut off row. Yeah. Gay, ho.

It's hard to see the smell of getting right. Oh, John Glock, with the 11. Now, finally, you realize that it's strangely just air leaving the full. of his back. Oh, oh, oh, oh. He's starting to rot already. I think he was sick. No body turns, thanks.

Death rattles escaping the body before. I've seen this. Believe me, I've seen this before. Any lavender or something, anything? Geez. Bits of you, an herbalist? It says so right there. Oh, yeah.

It says so right there in the opening. Where are you? Oh, you're this way. All I can do is make a potion of one hour or one day of fucking work. It's just a 25 fucking work. It's a lot of fucking work. gold pieces, this is fucking horseshit!

I'll say, Bitsy, does it use lavender. Is lavender a re-agent for the healing potion? You know how hard it is to get fucking lavender? I'm not to use lavender on this fuck? Bixie, no, the reason why he wanted to kill you is because

you're special. You, you matter. I don't know why, but in all of this, in the grand scheme of everything, and the end of all things. You're the princess who was pledged.

That sounds kind of nice, but I don't think that's me. I don't know. I just, I thought Big Ned was a friend. I like that. Do you think he got possessed? This is some Illuminati shenanigans? I believe that Ned wished to stop what's coming. He plots against

my lord and my lord told me that you have a role to play or maybe he was just I don't know lonely and overtaken by Aunt Terrors didn't know himself in the moment it was in big misunderstanding

you came at the right time no matter one either way this is all extremely important but we have a second room where we can continue this conversation because I know that Big Ned died like 10 minutes ago but I think he was actually dying from the inside like a week ago. This is unnatural and I'm not going to stay in this room any longer. Good Lord.

I'll say, Booker, should we push him out the window with something? Actually, we can't leave him in this room. Booker make an Arcona check at advantage. He smells like burnt hot dogs. Let's make it look like you jumped. Burn hot dogs wrapped in burning hair, maybe.

Oh, geez, I got a 10 with advantage. I'm not very good at Arcona. There is something that reeks of low tide about this that's quite odd. Nah, look, I'm no doctor, but something is off with this guy. And no, I'm afraid if we pick him up and push him out the window, and he pops like an overright melon, we're really gonna hate that. Wait!

What if you used like this whole time, like an undead thrall and it wasn't Big Net at all? Ah! Well, then we definitely don't have to feel bad about killing him. Why do you get that impression? Oh, because of the stink? Well, the stink and like that whole thing we dealt with, we met that guy that had all those undead thrott. Remember that? Like all those servants that were undead?

Oh, fair. Maybe he was just one of those. There might be a through line there as possible. Let me... Oh, Drumbly, don't do that. Don't know. I'm trying to like investigate to see if I can like understand, was this guy alive? Is this smell normal?

Make a medicine check because you're using your nose, do it an advantage. I'm thinking of provision. Seriously, guys, don't move. I think he's swelling actively. 22. 22. You sniff and you... 21, sorry.

You realize as you sniff, there is something foul in this, and you're kind of sniffing, and it's actually where your sword had pierced the back. You sniff, and you look at the wound, and then suddenly you see some movement inside. If I haven't

fire dreams again, maybe it was just tricks of the life. I don't know. I bring the sword closer again. Yeah, hold it closer so I can see.

And I'm gonna try to I'm trying to... I don't get you go to go to it. I'm going to go back up, back up. I'm trying to see what Drumley is pointing at. I lean in with him with the light from his brain.

You look. Oh, God. To see if I can see what he sees. Make a perception, Chuck. Oh, no. Oh, okay, you're good. I was helping holding my...

Uh, I got a seven. 17. 17. You look in, and you see the same movement as suddenly you see a, what looks like, slimy flesh. Not, is it an internal organ? It's where his heart was. And suddenly there is a sickening bulge and rupture. And I need you to make a dexterity saving from. I'm going to stink for forever. Oh, Dex is okay. Just a straight-up deck saving throw? Don't get too close to my pop. Not bad, but I don't know if it's good enough.

I got a 14. But if I'm in danger, I can probably expend a reaction inspiration. 14 is what I got. 14. You definitely are in danger. Uh-oh. Let me real quick check my features if you don't mind. No, no. Grumly.

Uh-oh. That's good. That's gumly. Hold on. Grumly. If you can't do it to yourself, I can give you... Not at, like, instant speed. Yeah, not at, like, reaction speed here. I'm trying to see if I have anything like a reaction. No, no, I think I've cooked. I think I'm going to smell like a corpse in the next three months.

Great. Or maybe we all will. You all see as what can only be described. as a strange, grotesque, fishy, eel-like creature with strange, stunted humanoid-like hands

burst out of the back of the corpse of Big Ned as it lunges forward to you, Booker, as you are sprayed in disgusting slime. However, I imagine

like an ink pack, like from a security. It goes, as it then slaps onto the floor, unable to reach you, completely run through by the blade and scorched, horribly scorched and blackened where the blade had been, where the blade had pierced through it. Holy shit. It then rides and slaps around slime going everywhere. As it then, as it lets out one final breath

and dies on the floor. Double kill. Oh, gods. This is easily one of the top three grossest things I've ever experienced in my life. Oh, God, the stink. Did I really kill two guys with one stab? You definitely got something, and I'm going to lean in close to this dead creature to get a good look at it, to see what it is.

Yeah. Making her count take advantage. Most notably, what I'm looking for is if I feel like it's reminiscent. of any of the visions that I've had of the deep. Oh my God, a natural 20 gives me a 24 in Arcana. Oh, what? I was due after that awful deck's role. You look, and as you lean down,

you feel with absolute certainty that this is a child of night here, that this is almost like a lorvel type stage of presuming whatever Big Ned had said had erupted from the waterways and made their attack on Muckbed Creek. Uh, yep, yep, okay, that makes sense. I'm starting to think that I may have backed

the wrong horse here. What the heck are you talking about? Well, this is definitely a creature of, the thing in the deep. Not here? Yes. But why? Why?

would the wonderful benevolent and kind tonight here send one of his thralls here to kill our friend Bitsy. Night here would never do something like that. Oh. You spit swamp water in our mouth. I did do that, yeah. Oh, no, no, right? Yeah.

Did you spit? No, it was you too, grubred. If I did, that was just for fun, there wasn't really a place. I was there with you too. I was just on a roll and I didn't stop. It was me and you. You know you're right.

I did. in danger what was I gonna do? Bidzee was dead. Oh, grumma, stabbing with the sword. Maybe we can just say some, you know, in the game of courses and undo the whole night of your seawater thing. Oh, no! No! Are you sure? It's not serious... Not his crazy fish monsters are in us.

It's possible. I may have made a slight miscalculation. But to be fair, who could have known? Who could have known what I'd gotten myself into? Oh, the wearer me like a puppet. Say it's in me I can feel it wriggling around? Can you? Is that, like, particularly, you know, no matter, I'm not going to ask that question.

It's more important to ask what do we do next? I propose that Gumby stabbed that thing again in case there's another smaller larvae inside of it. And then if once everything's all done and dusted, let's just stuff them in the closet and leave. You know, I don't hate that plan. Grumley, take out the cell. This thrall of night here one more time.

Give him a good flaming stab. Just really get, really cut them up. Where, though? You know, in thirds and quarters, who cares? You chop them up real good. Oh, not like stab, like, like, not like piercing damage. You know, the old chuck, chop, chop. Give him an old, you know.

You could really julian that guy. Wait, wait, which, which one? Which, you mean that guy? No, no, the worm. No, no, both. The small one first is in the big one. Maybe the eel first. Oh, shh.

Cut of an half real quick. Oh, say, grumbling, that's not, surely, yeah? I'm not cutting sloths. It's like using a butter knife to cut a raw scallop. Oh, no. 12. 12.

You slice this thing in half, and you make it next dirty saving throw as you see a flage of movement. Oh, shit! 10. 10. As you see what looks like a tight, small,

wriggling little eel-like, fist-like creature burst out from the wound. And you cut the thing's head off and it's basically about like this big at this point. It slaps down and the head flies off and it lands and it stops moving. Oh, my God. My one is a serious even though?

Oh, it was, What did I say it was? 10? 10? 10. 10? No, if I only got a 10, there's no modify. I think it was 10. And then I got a nine attack.

You are covered in the strange slime from this burst as you cut the hell of the nine. Those things wriggling inside me? Awesome. It's not possible. It can't get worse. I don't want to alarm anybody because surely we don't have a

Mertruchadal situation going on here and there couldn't possibly be a third one, but maybe, you know, maybe give it another step. just to make sure. Yeah. Oh, just... I take a big step back. I'm, like, playing with my foot at this point,

and I'm just, like, going to try to... You do that, make an attack roll. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just trying to do a light and cut him in half. 14. 14. You see that the tongue of this thing is lulling out until it wriggles and moves and opens and opens eyes

and a mouth that slunges towards you. Make it out what! I'm, like, way far away. He's the only one has the tools to deal with this. It's all you, buddy. You got this gum, and you wanted to be a knife. Slice the thing, and it's a worm,

and it is just, it let us just, and it just, it slithers into a, and melts into a pool of iCorp. Okay, that's got to be the last one for sure. No, he does. That one turned into a puddle of goo. Yeah, the Icar is a good sign.

It's a good sign. Oh, all right, I'm going to be honest. I'm going to level with you here, Jean-Claude. converting over to the Lord of Shadow and Flame seems like a really good plan right now. You need to convert please. No, no, we got to find pamphlets. We got to get whatever's inside of us burned out.

I'll say we're going to head over to the garden and get some shovels. I'll start digging. Because I don't know about you. I'll play whatever you want, God. But my guts are wriggling. My guts are wriggling. I don't know if it's the slippery stew. I don't know if it's one of those things.

I don't know if it's nerves. But I'm freaking out a little bit. I say, you think you've, They got blades for everybody? Unlikely. No, she's the princess. Yeah, no, that's a special thing. That's a totally different thing.

But how come you got a flaming sword? That's a good point. Well, to be fair, I already had the sword, and I think the Lord of War made it flaming. Well, I just, you know, since he got a dagger, you got a sword, I'm just afraid that mine's going to be metaphorical. And we have a handsome briefcase there, Mr. Schaedlerc.

Thank you, Blu-Mitton. Try swinging around, maybe it'll burst into flames. Ha! You see you're standing there. Make a reception check, Grumley. Does it rely on your smell? Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Oh, I'll slip it out, oh, no, no. Reception, you say. We are playing DMD here. 20. No, no, no, no, no. Uh, 20. You smell. And there's something you sniff this ooze,

and you feel like there's something about it. There's something about it that feels like you should probably burn this ooze. I think I should probably burn this ooze, Booker. Yeah, I don't disagree with that. It should be as easy as you just like touching the sword to it, right? Oh, I guess. I mean, I guess the sword is on fire.

But the big net didn't really start up. You have to wave it and then in a fancy fashion or is it just always on fire? I don't really know. Let me see if I can turn it off with my mind. is it turning off I don't think this is my sword anymore I think it's his capital H-I-S

I said like the whole thing's capital or capital H-I-S you know it's unclear oh unclear I didn't tell you how to spell it while he was giving you a flaming sword let's see if this works and I'll like touch my sword

It goes up and it sizzles and you hear the as it burns away entirely. And as soon as it finished is burning away, the sword, the flamethr on the sword goes out. Booker, do you know what this means? No. You and I are pledged to two different lords who are diametrically opposed. And that means that we're faded to,

kill each other in brutal, violent combat and struggle. Only if the worms in my body don't do that first. Look, here's the thing. Oh, I don't have to kill you, but here. I kind of feel like I got tricked. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't feel like this was explained very well to me when this went all the way back to the time

that it started as a punch card, okay? There wasn't really like, you know, any explanation in the initial pamphlet that the world was going to end and that there was going to be some antlered King and that we were going to get attacked by the equipment of Russian dolls of worms.

In fact, the information was purposely obscured, Booker, until you reach high levels of acolyte, wouldn't it? There's got to be some sort of contract negation on a loophole. I think you're foolish. There's a thing about signing into contracts you don't understand it. We claim foolish,

Ms. Booker. We can definitely get it. John Claude can get me out. I think he can flip-flop gods and demons easily. Is foolishness a defense in the court of law? Well, if you know what you're doing. Oh. The point is, I don't think you're going to have to kill me. And at the end of the day, if those start coming out of every orifice I own,

then I would welcome your blade. Slice me into, vivisect me right down the center and end my misery. I would be honored. Wanting to have to put you down like a dog. Don't make me do that. You can put me down like a rabid raccoon. All right. If it comes to that.

Yeah. But we're not going to let it Because we're gonna say lots of in the games of course The world's gonna end anyway I mean how much time do you think we possibly have But don't you want to save your immortal soul? You know I'm not sure there's much to save What is that mean? I've done a lot of terrible things in my life

I've tried to do the best that I could by everyone I know but Never seems to work out It's like my blood is cursed Now I have worms in my guts Well, we don't know that for sure Grumble, you take four points in the chronic damage Oh How does that feel?

It feels cold It feels a chill suddenly comes over you I feel And you feel Cold like a chill is suddenly coming over me Looker What do you mean? What do you mean? I feel chilling

Why don't we take you down by the fire Oh, oh yeah, why don't we get it? out of this room. We still have that second room. And the stink is getting worse. And it's all over me. I want to get out of here. I don't like this anymore.

Let's go down to the hearth. We'll get you warmed up. Maybe we get you some more slippery stint. I think in fact, we got to wash off some of this awkward before we walk back downstairs. Okay, all right. Let's wash off the best we can. I feel like I'm screaming over the corpse.

and we'll get you some slippery stew and a nice fire. How about that? Okay, Boca. I will quickly pick up any of the other things that had been scattered across the room. All of your stuff, your bag had been ransacked and he had been seemingly planning on stealing you. I think that you're not sure,

you presume that maybe he was a thrall or did he just happen to get bit by something in the attack and was still just trying to steal from you and escape out? He was a criminal. He was a criminal goon. Yeah, I just feel a great amount of concern and my very new friends risk their lives to come save me out of nowhere.

And so I'm feeling very grateful as I put my things back into my pack in the order I prefer and hitch it over my shoulder. Yeah, let's get you warm, okay? All right. And then we'll get some rest. And then we'll figure all this out. I'm sure there's a reason why all these little lords and gods are fighting.

Gosh, I wish... I wish the creator of the universe was here. She'd be able to tell us everything that was going on and... All the magic. And whatever we needed to do next. Well, maybe she'll come back soon and explain it all. And we wouldn't be getting followed around by that antlered creature and our swords wouldn't be catching on fire and stuff No, no, I mean, that's pretty cool. I'm totally good with that

But all that all the rest of this stuff I don't like very much Let's get warm Oh, yeah Let me see what happens It slides in perfectly Is it on fire still? It's already gone out It went out when you lit it's out when you burnt the I think of it Presumably its quest had been completely

It's like stint. It glues in the presence of making. It glows flame. Is it fine? Mm-mm. Yeah, wave that thing around John Claude's ass. Let's see if there's any worms up there. Oh, do you think that's what it is? It, like, larchs up in the presence or something? It would be funny if it did.

Check me, correct. Oh, no. Oh, careful with the head! Oh, I'm next. Spank me with it a little bit. Are you sure a book? I mean, look, if that thing bursts into flames and it takes me with it, it was meant to be. And you can just chop me up.

I think you cured my polo rolls. And with that, you all go back down. You enjoy another bowl of slippery stew. No one seemed to have heard the commotion upstairs. Is there anything you'd like to do before you turn in for the night? Clare's the sword of flame a shadow into my body. Just reflect on the night, I think. I would probably just, um, I don't know, eat more slippery stew and lament the end of the world a little bit, probably.

Yeah. I'll spend, um, eight hours of work and 25 gold pieces of raw material. Which is an actual potion. That's the fucked I think. I think a potion is like five gold pieces, 10 gold pieces, if that. And you just make 25 gold pieces worth of material. make a single mealing version. That's insane. I'm Googling it

right now. I'm thinking about everything that I've witnessed since waking up and meeting my new friends and I'm trying to put these puzzle pieces together. It feels like

just yesterday I was in my hometown and I was with my sisters or with in my hutch. And now I'm here and suddenly it feels like the end of days is just around the corner. And I am trying to put those pieces together

wondering what terrible tricks the Illuminati must have of their long, long sleeves. But eight hours later, I produce a potion of healing. No, I go to sleep. I got to sleep. You all settle in. Exhausted. It's been a long, day. Bitsy died. And you almost got consumed in a wildfire.

That was today. You also fought the shirt and stained bears today. We've been up for a very long. And the moats. And the moors. You have not slapped. And you all pass out.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Bixie. Good night, Gumbie. Good night, Mr. Chanticleer. I'll say good night. Good night. Mr. Chantleptleys as Polaroids. Good night.

How are you? Oh, man, why's down the internet? Oh, wait. Austin, it's just something fierce when they start talking. Semidavent. Big Nett never shoot himself, did he? He threw the wall. Do the closet.

You see that? It sounds like wet a denim ripping. What is that? Oh, there it is. It sounds like Velcro gummed up with mud. That can't be right. We haven't invented

denim or velcro. There's no way. Service raccoon. Booker. Good night, Booker. Yeah, good night, Bitsy. Good night. And with that,

you all. We are so immature. Thank you. God. Kelsey is not here. Kelsey, Andy wouldn't have a wife in a bunch. She probably would fit somewhere. She would die if she would here for this.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Holy shit. You all go to a peaceful, into a peaceful sleep. Peggy. As you're not sure where you lost yourself.

You lost your ground. You'd been through the smoke. Had you made it to the clearing of Drake Smith, you're not sure. But now you drift among the stars. As you see, the enormous moon above you. Can't remember what time it was as you look down,

you see nothing that looks like a, is it a small marble? A blue and green marble below you as you rise towards this enormous cratered, white-green moon. As you rise and you feel called there. Or is it this moon that you're called to? No, you know it's beyond that.

As you know what you're heading towards is waiting for you past the dark side of the moon. As you rise past it, and it's a barren, rocky landscape. You look around and you just see darkness and twinkling stars as far as you can see. This enormous sphere before you,

you have no idea how you're here, how you're alive. But then, as you ascend higher and higher, you see in the shadow of that dark side of the moon, you arrive on the other side,

you see a small speck of red, and you look just beyond this moon. Is that a second moon? A second smaller red moon hidden behind the moon that you've seen in the night sky. And it's to there you're called. What do you do? You suddenly realize that you're floating. It's like melancholia. I've never seen that movie. Oh, shit. As you now see that it is spherical in shape, almost pristine and perfectly geometric, and it's not perfectly smooth, but there's strange patterns on it. As, it's hard to see as lost in shadow as it is.

I look down at the marble beneath me. I knew I was always, I knew I was always, I don't know I'm doing this voice. all of a sudden I'm turning it to Gina. The atmosphere really affects my guilt. There's a little thin up here. Mama needs some smokes. I knew I was too powerful for that tiny dim wood. When I burst Chad,

a god. It was time for me to ascend and leave all of that behind. The moon really was made of cheese, and Mama is hungry. And I'm gonna start to float towards what looks like my favorite snack, the wax casing around cheese. You approach, and you see that this is a small

planetoid, small celestial body that's floating just beyond the huge, moon and you get closer and closer and you see that there are craters similarly on this moon, but perfectly circular and geometrical with lines that are running all the way across it, almost like a strange interlocking network of rings as you then get closer and closer and you see that in the center of directly where you're going to be. you're heading from, you see that there is what looks like a shape that is just moving, very slightly. Brief silhouette, two legs, two arms ahead, and a pair of great bat-like wings.

You see your son sitting on what looks like a simple circular pillar of red wax. on top of this strange alien red moon. Mama's so proud. My boy has his own planet. Chad! Mama has come. You've no doctor, though. And I'm going to float towards him.

You float towards him. And you see that he sits there almost melancholic. As he holds up his hand, And from his hand, almost like there's water pooling out of his hands, but you realize that it's wax. Is he holding it? Is he making it? Is it him?

It's hard for you to tell. Oh, God. As he looks at it, and then you see, as you call out to him, he looks at you with, nearly emotionless eyes, but a hint of sadness. I knew you would come, Mother. Yeah, yeah, I'm predictable. I know, I know.

Wait, why are you so sad, baby? I went to the moon. Seeking... The other one, not the red one? Seeking the gods. And they were not there. There was nothing there. Well, you know what that means.

What does it mean, Mother? That means there's a power vacuum, and someone's got a... step into that place. If God's dead, then who's closest to the moon now, honey? This moon. I like, I like the one that I've made. I'm not taking it away from you. You know, if there's a power vacuum on the other root moon, mama's got some free time. There's nothing there, mother. No gods. Yeah. No creators, no clockmakers. I've come to this place with that. without seasons, without clocks, without an hourglass, no vessel to hold this wax.

You are really well spoken. I did not teach you that. I had a feeling there was no God. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't want to tell you. Um, you know, I was gonna be a hard conversation, but John Claude really does seem like he's talking to himself. I don't think there's anyone on the other side. Santa Claus is real though, just in case you were worried. I sought the truth, mother. Okay. I sought it here. I thought perhaps if I pled with God, if I looked into the eye of truth, I might be able to preempt my fate.

Oh, you mean the one where you die as a virgin within seven days? More time on the clock. We all want more time on the clock, Chad. But if you are God, then you can have as much time as you want. I'm not understanding the problem here. I did not raise a quitter. What do you suggest I do? There's a power vacuum, baby.

You just have to be... Look, what if I... I know we don't know each other very well, being mother and son, but what I've done? I created the entire world. Magic from these froggy hands. Mother, if you created this world,

why would you create one where I blink in and out of existence in a matter of weeks. Well, because... One of strife and one of war, not one, one doomed... Mm-hmm. To annihilation below. Do you want the truth, or do you want me to sugarcoat it for you, baby? Until only I will remain looking down upon its ashes.

Well, you and me, of course. I'm not going to go anywhere. Well, the truth is I didn't really think about it. That's kind of... You know, everyone's got a problem. problems I don't think too I don't think too far ahead I mean life's too short for you to be planning everything all you I didn't plan you and look how you turned out you were just a late night snack perhaps you are right mother after all there are no gods on this moon well there too right now there to be all of this is meaningless oh god there is no truth

How did I give birth to an... All of us saw nothing more than a light snack. Well, yeah. I think I understand your meaning. No, I don't think. I think we're having a serious miscommunication issue here. It might be a generational thing. You know, I'm more of a boomer and you're a gen alpha.

And I just think we don't speak the same language. I mean, I know how to read. I don't think you do. If we are too, truth is not to the... there to be found. God is not there to be sought. The truth is for us to make. The world is ours to remake. And he looks at you. I understand now, mother. Father was foolish. Well, I mean, you were a virgin birth, so it's a weird thing to say. His lack of ambition. I mean, if you had a father, he definitely would have lacked ambition. I can tell you, I don't

and pick them the best. If nothing in this world can forestall my fate, perhaps as it is a new one. Oh, you want to recreate the world? One remade. Okay, I kind of like where you're going with that. That moon, he looks up,

and you realize now that you're facing, that you are facing directly looking up above, you just see this massive sphere. And as he raises his hand, the ground on this wax sphere starts to rumble. And these strange geometric shapes rise out in concentrant circles and spheres as they rise up. And from this, all pouring down from the wax

that spills from his hand as it rises and rises and rises is what can only be described as a palace is created. I gave birth to such a special, boy. I'm grateful to have such a special mother. Well, you know, if you want to, if you want to reshape the world and look, I love a good bit of destruction. Once I threw a Molotov cocktail into a forest filled with innocence and I listen to them scream as their skin popped. And it was quite liberating. So if you want to do something like that, I'm not going to tell you not to. I'm not going to stifle your creativity.

The egg told me, I think the egg told me the mouse needed to die. Although I'd really like it. Can we keep my friends, do you think? And also the chicken that's with us now. What do you wish, mother? Oh, you know, I think that, I think that I, you know, I kind of agree with you that the dim woods. It's kind of worn out. It's welcome, Chad. I think we should just...

You're as tired as I am. You're pretty exhausted. I am only a week old and I tire. I was supposed to go to college. Play hacky sack. Have awkward sex. We don't have to talk about that. It would have been awkward, though, yeah.

You made out of wax. That would have been a conversation you would have to start off. And if you anything like the day you were born, you built like a Ken doll. So. I've been asking myself, why was I made? Who made this world that made me? I grow tired of the dim wood, mother. These critters, their simple, strange little lives.

Yes. You know, it sounds exhausting, we make in the world, but not nearly as exhausting as the world has been as it is now. We could make it however we wanted. I could have everything. Just like this. And you look in this enormous, intricate palaces, it almost looks like the beginning of some sort of city.

As additional structures are starting to grow, as you realize now that layer upon layer is being added to the sphere beneath your feet, as it is growing in size. Jeez. Do you believe in fate, Chad? How can I not? I did some drugs once. The egg was wise, but I don't think I got it.

its message true. I think fate brought you to me for this very purpose. I think I had rested on my laurels for too long. I think the true heart of the frog was slumbering inside me. But I think with your birth, a virgin birth, I have been reawakened. I would like to destroy alongside you. Yes, I would like this very much. the purpose. Well, as long as we save my friends and that chicken's with us now, too. Destroy so that it may be remade. Yes. In our image. The riders, they have been heralded. There is no stopping them.

I cannot forestall what is to come. Then we shan't forestall. I have peered into the cosmos. I've tried to glean truth from what I have. I saw there. I enjoy lying. I believe there is something. We are two halves of the same coin,

there is no universal truth, Mother. No literal God. Just fragments, shards. I do not know. But there is an aspect

of truth. I have seen it. Visions. Dreams. It's like the places I walk are memory of woodland

and the memories failing. I've thought about writing a book. You're so beautifully poetic. I think your writing would be lyrical, darling. I think you're sure. With what time.

You got seven days. Three weeks. How long does a book take? Perhaps. in another lifetime. Should I be granted another? Mother, you must find the hovel.

The hovel? The cellar. There's a, the fragment of truth that still remains on that place. I've grown so tired of. The hovel, you say. Does it go by any other name? A cellar. A basement.

A hutch. I thought you might say that. A fragment of truth. I'll reach out and I'll stroke his face. Leave the hutch to me, darling. I can no longer leave this place until my work here is done. You realize now that although that the wax is pouring from his hands, that from his feet and the tips of his wings,

it's all he's melting off as he's melting, this moon is getting bigger. And the strange, Geometric palace rising taller as additional structures are being growing out from strange walls and parapets For I am here I am my throne my throne is me Am I the world? Are all of us the world? Are all of us God? Perhaps

The answer lies in the hutch Chad darling Mother You are my You are my world. And when we remake it, you will be a part of it. And I'll turn away, dramatically. And I'll stare down at the tiny round orb where I know the hutch to be.

And I'll look back at Chad. Do not fear the end, for it is just the beginning. And then I'll leap off into space. And head back. towards the dim world. As he looks up at you, you see, although he's melting at certain points, you now see a new source, new drops running from his eyes.

As wax tears watch you leave, as he raises a hand, as that wax spills into the red moon below. And it's the voice, It's the void of space as you awaken in a bed in a dusty, salty tavern. You all awake in across two rooms. In the belly.

Yeah, fuck that. That's probably where Peggy Waves up. Absolutely, yeah, no, 100%. The belly, oh, the serpent. The lady's room is the one that, I guess there's three in three in each room. Big Ned just ducked in the closet of the room and suddenly both Bitsy and Peggy wake up cuddling in the one bed that isn't charred and covered in Big Ned guts. As the three of you awake in your room, as you realize that it's nighttime,

You had gone to sleep in the morning, and you hear now the kind of, it had been very still and quiet in this morning, the smoke from the burning ramparts and battlements. Still in the air, but you occasionally hear the bell ring for the night fisherman,

going out to dredge up for various shellfish or hunt for sharks while they're feeding. You hear occasional murmur of voices from outside of your windows as the night seems to have returned. What you all do? Oh, wow. Goodness gracious. I did not sleep well.

Yeah, what a long night. Wait, are you, wait, do we determine? I'm still hugging, hugging Bidsey. In the other. Nobody's in the other room. No, a different room. That's what I'm asking. Oh, I thought we were all in a thing.

That's what I'm asking. Oh, no, you guys are in the Big Ned. So Big Ned's and his shit bands. I didn't go to sleep in Big Ned's room. Yeah, you did. I did. I thought you did. No. No, no, we all left.

Us fell asleep in. Oh, yeah, you're all in the same room. Oh, okay. I mean, if I was suddenly transported to the other room, that's fine. Both of you, both of you are in, the ladies are in a bed. I don't know how we would have slotted.

Grumly probably curled up on the foot of a bed or something. Sure, 100%. 100%. Apologies. That was a really long night. Mm. Oh, Sal, must be going crazy. Good morning, Booker.

Good morning, Bixie. Good morning, Peggy. Good morning, Grumley. Peggy! Grumly? What does this mean? You're back? Yeah.

What happened? Well, yeah, I just had to do God stuff. See? I'll say last we saw you. You were upset. sending into the, I don't know, into the sky. Up into the stars. She was doing God stuff.

She was doing God stuff. I got some confirmation about things. Sorry about the death of your God, by the way. That sucks. And then Bitsy, do you remember how to get to your hutch? Well, what do you mean? I'll say I've been saying that, but it's strange now when you say it. You said it was so much confidence.

My condolences. Do you remember how to get to your hutch? I could show you how to get there once we get to Potsu. I think. And this is God stuff, Bixie. You understand. I do. I think we have to go there.

We have to go to my hutch? I think the fate of the world depends on it. Was it because of what's... Well, first, my... I do have a question for you. Are there other hutches in the world? Yours is the only hutch, right? Isn't a hutch just a house?

I thought it was like a basement or something. That's exactly what... There's like a hutch. It's just like a thing. and then like you can go into the basement under the hutch. It's the same thing. I thought it was kind of like a, do we have this conversation before?

You told me you told me it was something under something else. I'm not sure. I don't think I said that, but maybe I did. Who could tell at this point? Based on the last 24 hours of what we've experienced, also why does it smell like shit in here? Big Ned died in the room next door,

but we think that he actually died multiple weeks ago and then Brumley killed him, and it released the stink and some worms and some eye core and like a little creepy fish guy yeah and another little creepy fish guy it's not good

it's not good and you slept in here no he's in the other room yeah I know but you still slept in here well we don't think we was only only had two rooms I wouldn't sleep it outside me better than in here I don't think you know what's going on outside a lot of sacrifice a lot of weird lizard people

possible is also also plague grain and... Yeah, this is the whole plague thing. We have a lot going up. Okay, so you have the only hutch. No, there are many hutsch. See, I knew it. I just, but they're all false hutches.

Ha ha. There are 41 other false hutches. 41? Uh-huh. Why, one, it doesn't matter. The one two hutch. I think. I'll say 41 other huts,

meaning yours is the 42nd hush. Or minus, yeah. Or the first one. touch and the other ones at 40. Well, yeah, what, what did you say? Mm. Mm. 42 through two.

We need to go to your hutch. We do? We do. Is it, is it because of what's, what's down there? You know that it is. But that must mean people aren't ready for that yet. It doesn't matter whether they're ready, but see, the time is now.

We are on the eve of the apocalypse. Okay. Well, we have to make our own. That's, we can't do it now today. Well, why not? What else do we have to do? I mean, that's where we were. I mean, I was gone for like two hours.

That's where we wanted to take Mr. T. Raccoon, wasn't it? Didn't we want to get him away from everything and take him to Pots? Oh, God. Are we still carrying around Booker's Deadbeat Father? Oh, and it's worse than that. He's basically become a god king. No, he has. With a royal vizier named Satan-hearted bone to pick.

You got people carrying them around. Well, he sounds like he's in a good. place. Why don't we just leave him here? Exactly right. I think it's going to be too difficult to peel him off that throne and damn him. Whatever he wants to do is fine. Yeah, we don't need him from my plan.

Drinking pub wine. What? Oh, yeah. You heard me right. Pube wine. Whose pubes were in the wine? Unclear. It is very unclear. It is very unclear. Oh, man. I didn't even realize

frogs, raccoons, pugs, chickens, and Bitsies had pubs. Well, they didn't farm it from us as far as I can tell. Not 100%. said sure. You'll see how fast that gardener

was moving? He was quick. He got hands like that? If he gave my garden a trim, I wouldn't have been able to stop it. Stop it, I wouldn't know what it was happening. No, he shaped up the shrubbery.

He would have been like instant. Oh my gosh, a little slapping tick. I would have thanked him for the experience. This is too fast. You realize that you had actually seen a tattoo that it said hedge trimmer on? He's got the manned state logo tattoo on his chest.

This guy is an absolute wizard with that knife. Yes, I mean, it sounds like the book is dad's fine. We don't need to worry about that. I mean, I think we just exit out the back door and we just head straight to that hutch. I don't know if anything's really fine, Peggy, but I guess it depends on what you mean by fine. From the day we met, I don't think anything's been fine.

I think you're right about that, Peggy. Well, except for us. I think we're pretty fine. I'm not so sure about that. In the middle of the night. You haven't been in the last 24 hours. In the middle of the night, my guts were rumbling. I swear I heard deep down, die brothers.

Oh, did you eat some lettuce from Taco Bell? Because that's been wreaking havoc all over the place. I'm pretty sure I have dead worms. Nothing but worms. I'm probably 80 or maybe 90% worms at this point. Our book is spit not here in our mouths. Yeah, we're afraid that the worms are swimming. We are at worm to.

We made some bad choices, some real bad choices. I mean, you could sell him to, his some fisherman and makes some money. Well, it was Booker's choice to spit in our mouths. Well, you consented, I feel. Well, I definitely got the sense that Grumley wanted me to spit in his mouth. I wouldn't have done otherwise. I didn't want to get a job.

Desperate times, call for desperate measures. All right, look at me straight in the eye, Grumley. If he asked you, Grumley, can I spit worms in your mouth? Are you going to tell him no? Well, if the choice is to have worms spit in my mouth by my best friend, or die because I took fall damage after being given the gift of flight by literal god after saying 42 in the games, of course. I would probably take being spit in the mouth. That's what I thought. What about you?

Oh, I'll take it. Well, I guess when the flying wore off... By the way, sorry about your dead god. You keep saying that, Peggy? What do you mean? Sorry about my dead god. What do you know? So I think we should really go to this hutch. Wait, do you think that's why we lost the ability to fly? Was that the moment he was killed? What do you know about little god, Peggy? Tell us. Tell us everything.

The literal god is dead. There is a power vacuum. Well, how could you know this? And myself and Chad and tend to fill it. So you're saying... A power vacuum on the moon. You're saying... You're saying God's not alive. He's literally dead? Yes.

He's not living on the inside. Not inside of the moon? Or the outside of him. It's just the worms. The worms are living on the inside. Which worms all the way down. Oh, no. And the only way we can stop

things continuing as they are is to go to that hutch. I'll suspect it now for quite a while. But hey, the good news is this frees me up to worship the god of flame and shadow. Son of a guy. What about me? You know what I can put with.

I think you know. Is my soul claimed for all eternity? Is there any way? Maybe I can get in with the God of Flaming and Shadow figure out what his equivalency to the other in the game, of course. Your choices will matter not when all is torn asunder. What you said? Well, there's still time no long to, you know, repent for our sins.

Time is a flat circle, grumly. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wait, you haven't heard about the, the Lord of Flame and Shadow? Well, exactly right. I mean, this sounds badass, all right? And if we got to pick a side here, I'm definitely going more towards the warmth and the light and away from the infinite teeth and abyss in the mall.

And they already worshiping. I mean, he's got a flaming sword, and she's got kind of a cool dagger thing that is gifted from the gardener, an elite accolat of the Lord of Flammer shadow. She's the princess what was pledged. The writers cannot be stopped and the end has already begun,

so we need to make our way to the hutch. Did you say the riders or the writers? Yes. We need to make our way to the hutch. Maybe before we go, we can just go by that garden that he was talking about. I mean, I could use a good trip. I mean, it's been a while. Ask him, like, how you can change your allegiance.

Yeah, I mean, what is the absolute worst that he could say for switching sides? I mean, you can always, no, I mean, just, it's got to be pretty easy. Just hit escape and then go to go to God selection and just re-select God and hit apply. Oh, it's in the same thing. It's in your HUD. I don't know what you guys are talking about. Don't you also supposed to do something with that dagger? Aren't you supposed to be awakening dragon gods or something?

Oh, yeah, there's a whole thing about dragons. What the heck are you supposed to do with you? Stone and sacrificial daggers. And Bidsey has a ring, this crazy fucking ring. She tried to give it away. And the guy in the gardener was like, oh, it's not time yet. You still need the ring. I'll say, and the Biscoll.

And the best. Yeah. Bits is collecting, like, mythic level. artifacts of lore. I don't know what's going on. Maybe you can ask the best of what we should do next. I mean, I do think going to the hutch might be the correct move. And, you know, if you are the creator of the universe, like Bixie said,

I mean, kind of this whole time I had a very sneaking suspicion that Bitsy didn't know what she was talking about. But I'm about to hit all that four. But now I'm wondering, maybe you did create the universe. last Thursday. And Thursday, next Thursday is upon us. And you all know what that means. It's time to go to the house.

It's not far away. And last night I had a dream too. Was this while I was cuddling you or before? I think it was during. Okay. And I was, I was presented with a crossroads. Both of them led to Patsville. one was a mundane path where we took the usual roads we walked out of town we walked through the woods and we found our way back there encountering whatever whatever was in our path another road was more treacherous another road led us up a great mountain a great mountain just to the side of this town that we're in

a mountain that wasn't there before there were many challenges on the way up the side of this mountain and at the top there was a way a long smooth curving halfpipe that bent and twisted and swim all the way down to the edge of Potsville. You want to take a mountain slide down to Potsville? But we couldn't go down that way

Okay. Now without some sort of transport or vehicle like a long sled that we could all fit in. But just as my dream ended, I realized that there was

no man that could make such a device in this world. I wouldn't be too sure that. Yeah, that's a... We might be able to find somebody if you had a dream about it. Seems like a very achievable thing. If you locked a home chosen one or whatever,

Maybe it was a message. I think the dream was taking us the faster path, the path that it will get us to the hutch, all the better before the end of days. So we need to go to the mountain that wasn't and find the thing that can't be created. The mountain that wasn't. I know it sounds impossible, but that's all I got.

Well, I'll say if this dream rise to two different paths, suppose that it ain't impossible, one you just walked straight there, the other would climb a mountain and there's a wind of serpentine. pass. We have to ride a vehicle in which no man can make. And yet you still end up in Potsville. It begs the question, Bitsy. Uh, what the hell?

That's a good question, I'll say, I say, why don't we just walk to Potsville? Okay, my dream seemed pretty insistent. I don't know. We can do whatever you want to do. That's fine.

I don't care. Mr. Sean to declare, are you a chosen one? I'll say, no, I'm not the chosen one. I'm not a chosen one. Oh, yeah, you're not a chosen one. I got no flaming sword. I got the, my god is dead.

The God of flaming shadow is, a lot in blades left and right. All I'm saying is you two paths, a crazy mountain, a serpentine pass, a vehicle would not exist. And yet you end up in Potsville. Gentlemen, gentlemen, please.

We are but a humble lawyer, humble knight, and a humble musician. and amongst us we have the princess that was pledged and the creator of everything that we've ever known. I think that the three of us have to take a backseat on this one and let the ladies fight out where we're going. I think we should go to the mountain that wasn't and I think we should find the sled that can't be made. Do you think it's possible? Do you think it's real? What I saw in my dreams? No, not at all, but I think it'll be really hilarious.

Well, we might be able to make some great shorts out of it. I mean, I don't know what clothing has to do with this at this point, but I'm willing to try anything. Just leave the way and I'll follow. Well, it was your dream. Don't think that the Wood Wizard survived the Fishman attack. Oh, no, no, not a chance. That guy had the survival instincts of a pair. There's no way.

What do you mean, Wood Wizard? Yeah, there was this guy who literally, well, it's kind of a long story. He had the ability to craft exactly what you're talking about. A wizard with wood? He was a wizard with wood. It's unlikely that he's still with us. And you don't remember that at all? Oh, yeah, we told this whole wonderful musical play about miserable people.

And we needed some large platform to perform it on. A rotating device. Is that the one where all the children were killed? Exactly right. He built us a giant rotating tobogging displaying device. It collapsed. It was a terrible accident. There's so many countless lives lost. Probably one of the greatest tragedies that didn't want has ever faced until now. But the clearing that he lived in was on the north shore of the lake of which all the fishermen erupted out of and killed up for him.

He's almost certainly been eaten alive. What the fuck is a toboggan? You know, I'm not really sure. What is a tobogging? Unclear, he's the one who grown up in the first place. You're right, none of us said to Vogue it. Correct. Correct. I will die on that hill. We don't say that. We're going to go up to a mountain.

There's no mountain. We're in, like, the lowest bottom river delta of the dimwood. We've got to go up the mountain, and we got to find the wood wizard. What about this, this fire lord entity of shadow and flame? I mean, that sounds pretty godly. And then Peggy's saying there are no gods at all. I mean, is this guy a god? Or is he just some sort of king? Oh, well, you know, it's not very clear,

but I think that the Lord of War is a writer of the apocalypse and is heralding in the end of all things. He's not necessarily a god, so to speak. Maybe like a demigod. You know, all right. The writers cannot be stopped. What has begun must be finished. The end is nigh.

And I think that that lizard guy was pretty clear that the Lord of Flame and Shadow was like a dragon. Oh, a different entity. Okay. Yeah, no, I know. I read that book. The fairies fucking it like 15 times. Oh. But Peggy's saying that she's got all this information about all the gods are dead. There are no gods. I mean, what does it mean? I'm a little lost. I'm just going to be honest with you. I feel like in my heart of hearts, I know that the Lord of Flame and Shadow is real.

Perhaps literal God is dead. The rioters cannot be stopped. What was made, will one day be unmade. I'm pretty resigned with the fact that we're in the end of all things, Peggy. The world will be made anew. From the ashes will rise. Wait, the world will be remade anew?

Well, does that mean that we'll be remade anew? Here I thought it was the end of all things. I did make sure that there was a stipulation that my friends and also the chicken would be spit. Do you think this has already happened? Right? Like, we were made a new once before. last Thursday?

Right, maybe we already had this conversation hundreds of times. Oh, like countless times? Oh, kind of like the Mancala effect. I'll say like countless of times we've been pulled apart at the seams killed and obliterated only to be remade, only to do it all over again.

That sounds like a nightmare. That sounds terrible, Bitsy. I'm just thinking out loud. Unending torment. And quite frankly, Bitsy, anytime we have a conversation with you, It's like the hundredth time we've had the same conversation, so you're probably right in some twisted way.

I think pancakes sound great, thanks. There we go. Okay, well, one of you two needs to decide where we're going. I think we need to stop by going to the garden and try to save your own. Oh, yeah, we've got to get all these worms out of me and him. Everybody can't go to the guard of Lord of Flammerichita. We're not taking you dad. I don't care about my father.

I don't know if we got to drop an eye or something and burn out these terrible fish folk would be. Yeah, and it certainly won't be painful at all. Why does that matter when the world will be torn asunder? Well, so that we can all be remade in his image. Her image. It seems very clear that of the available options, night here is very, very dark and evil. And this lord of flame and shadow is good and light and bright and warm. Oh, certainly seems more powerful as well. I mean, the power scaling is very evident. Oh, and his name is just absolutely bitching.

Seer cool, uh, not here. Of course, literal God. And then the Lord of Flaming Shadow. Okay. Whoa, whoa. We're gonna have to raise Chad up a little bit more. They kind of pumps him down a few rings. Well, I mean, it's unclear whether or not Chad flew to the moon and slay them. And I think not hanging out here and just, but just staying out of the kerfuffle as it was.

Oh, it's not unclear. Chad did go to the moon, but there was no God there to slay because he was already dead. So he created his own second moon, which is hiding behind the first moon, where he's, now ruling, when I was floating in the universe looking down on those that were beneath me, I had the epiphany that all must end. There was a moon hiding

behind the other moon? Yeah. There's the defunct's moon and then there's Chad's moon. Was Kirsten Dunst there? I mean, she might have been, I didn't see her. Or even Kiefer Sutherland? Oh my God, she's going to take his virginity. Chad can't be

left on a moon with some. some bitch named Kirsten? I'll say he could be worse. Is that what you just said? I just want to make sure I heard it. Yeah, why not? That's canon now. Dukes. Kirsten Ducks.

Kirsten Ducks like M.R. Ducks. That's perfect. Thanks. That's all I needed. That's good. Anyway, we go to the garden. Yeah, we gotta go talk to the gardener. Can we have breakfast first and confirm that we got a long way? I don't want to have breakfast in the middle of the night and in the room next to a room filled with

It must be just so full. The door's bowing in. Look at it. Let's go. It's good thing these rooms were free. Never repair those room, that room. There's no way. The floorboards are toast. No, you do something else with that space now.

That's just useless. Well, come on. Suddenly we're in the garden. Yeah, we teleport instantly. the transmission video. You head downstairs, and you actually, when you open the door, there's a bit of clanking of silverware.

It's about suppertime. There's a number of fishermen. You can definitely smell the smoke. You hear the music of the heroin musician on that lonely stage as you are able to get another round of slippery stew. And you just... It just never gets old.

It's better every time. Cheers. Cheers. Surely all will be fine with this, too. Slippery yet scrumptious. You make your way out into the night and out of town, and as life returns,

your destiny or destination is towards the swampy or marshy area away from the coast until you see where the pire of bodies had been is now a series of braziers lined in the direction off into the swamp. You see further off,

there's continuing further flickering light into the darkness. Do you follow? That's totally going to be with a garden is right. I mean, I don't know what else to do. I do. I do just want to say, before we go to this gardener and have all of our bushes trimmed, it's not a good experience to shave your bush and then have to go on a long walk through a zoo or up a mountain.

A menagerie, perhaps. A menagerie. What's a zoo? I don't know. Or anything. So, I mean, we should think about it because, I've heard firsthand that it's an unpleasant experience. We definitely should not go to the zoo anytime soon.

So we're gonna be walking a lot. Do we really wanna have a trim first? I'm just putting it out there. If the consensus is yes, I'm all in. Well, no, just if he asks you and offers, we just say, no thanks. I had a big pasta salad earlier. And so I'll pass on that.

All right. So we're in agreement. Truly, this must be the way. You continue downward. The whole fire theme, I think, is on the node. And shadow. You follow this. And every time you think that you're going to get perhaps lost in the darkness,

you see it's off ahead, another flickering flame. As you call the wet from this village, unsure if you'll ever return, as the ground gets less wet, and swampy and gets more firm as the tree cover becomes more dense as it turns into more forested

um more forested terrain as you see up ahead the shadows dancing as the brazier cast its light and you see

you could swear that in this strange gnarled forest that continues to get denser and denser, that there's an occasional patch of large stone blocks embedded into the earth, ruined mortar, and you feel like you occasionally see a shape with antlers in the woods, and you look, it's just shadows cast by branches, and nothing more.

and you're guided deeper into the woods until you see perhaps six these huge stone, weathered stone bricks stacked up, gnarled by trees sunken into the earth. Some area is still damp in this marshy terrain

until eventually you see the garden ahead. And let me change the music here. It would be like kind of spooky. What's it means? What's it means? Strange

gnarled trees grow. The bark is black. Its branches split off, almost looking like antlers on each limb.

As the leaves, These are strange darkened shades of red, orange, yellow, almost looking like they're a light and flame. As you get closer, you see that there's strange carvings on each of these. You see intricate knotwork, effigy that looks like perhaps figures. are they mythic, legendary, historical, or just abstract, it's hard to tell. And then you see that there is a grove,

a ring of these strange trees with a huge brazier at the center. Smaller brazier is all in this space, and you see that along these gnarled roots and branches that hang over, There are strange flowers that grow, some off the branches, some from the ground, up from the roots. Their petals seem to almost flicker in ember. And you see amidst this strange garden, bits of stone, the remnants of some sort of ruin,

fragments and chunks of incredibly ancient moss cover. stone plaster, even bits of metal. As you see hooded figures standing around the greatest brazier. What do you do as you step into the garden? Betsy, visible. It's supposed to be a sign like a pass, right?

Like we can get through. We're signs of friends. Okay. Just make sure they can see it. I ask if they're, I say if they're taking a... on additional hack of lights. And let him know that we have the frog mother with us.

Should we walk into the Grove bush first? I don't know. Well, it's sort of, it comes naturally, doesn't it? Oh. I guess why not? Do we all have to take her clothes off? No, I think that's just a special peggy thing. Well, you can't be escaped if you're wearing your clothes.

I said it didn't stop him last time. Oh, yeah. Waits you see this guy in a longer. You didn't see this guy's hands. He's that skilt. He knows what he's doing. Well, I don't. I don't want him to miss me if I'm invisible the whole time. Let's put my robe back on. Ah.

I'm going to walk in. Uh huh. Well, hi. Why did I think you're going to do the twilight sound? Uh, ha, ha, ha. He's a lot. insane. That's definitely the gutts thing. That's not the Twonnet song at all. It's the gut sting. What are you talking about?

I start to sing as I enter. We're here with the frog mother and three potential acolytes and I got I'm the princess that was pledged, I think, and also I got, I got this knife. And we're here for your guidance, because we think there might be a mountain that doesn't exist. Or maybe we just go the other way, because maybe that's okay too. As soon as you sing this melody,

all of the hooded figures match your tune. And they all sing in these shrill voices as they all separate from around the Great Brazier. and with strange almost supernatural speed, they form a row past the brazier toward the far edge of this grove of strange trees. As you see that they form a line on either side, their hoods shrouding their faces,

and each one of them is holding a small torch, almost forming a flickering pathway to the edge where a throne of skulls and bones sits. A torches and braziers on either side. Guys, come on. Strange a choir. Very distant choir. Yeah, I mentioned that there's this like echoing choir

of the Hoa Hoa Hoa Song from Twilight as we. Guys, down the path this way. Yeah, right? I blow out my sword as we go down the path. You do. Not expecting you to light on fire or anything.

In your shins, your sword is presented. They make no motion. They don't seem to... You're all kind of threatening way, just to kind of, you know. You don't seem to threaten them. As you see now that up against this, and you see that

On this edge, the trees and the roots and the branch are so knotted together and gnarled, it almost forms like a pure barrier. And you see now on this throne of skulls as you approach, you see a king, an antlered king. You see a pudgy older raccoon. A son of a bitch.

His cheek and his fist, a large crown, atop his head, an antler crown, and you realize as you approach that this crown is not antler, it is charred bone latched together. Damn, that's pretty hardcore. As Beauregard T. Raccoon watches you approach. All right, guys, these guys can't help us. Let's just leave. Let's just find this mountain that wasn't. Let's go find a fucking toboggan.

These jackasses can't do anything for us. Oh. But it looks like the 19. 1970s down here. Well, that I cannot comment on. I'll say, and we just leave the night here fish are swimming around in our guts? Look, even if the...

I'm not sure they have the ability to help us if they put that jackass in the lead. Mr. T. Raccoon. Can you please help us save the immortal soul of your son? Oh, here we go. And also, Jean-Claught. And also Grumlin. Well, I was sort of already nodded,

I think I'm good. He's basically approved. He's got the pre-approval. Oh, okay. Well, that's certainly me, okay? All right, maybe he's fine. Don't worry about him. Unless there's like any worms and fish that Booker spit my mouth that need to be cleansed.

I want to talk to the gardener. I don't want to talk to my dad. Where's the gardener? Oh, here we go. Here we go. My son. Yeah, how much pupe wine yawn? He's the old drunk.

He just smells from here. He's sick fuck. He's looking down into his cup. I have sub. upon the enchanted wine and fruits and honey of our lord

oh gosh you're a man I mean I can't I don't remember who the beard He's a raccoon Pizzi he's a raccoon Not like that Something else

It's a fucked up thing to shape It's soon On go on I knew you would finally come Don't say it like that. I'll say it like that. I know after being denied for so long,

you would have come very quickly, yet forthfully. Awesome. It's a fucking problem. It might be the wine. It's a pub wine. It's all that fube wine. Yeah, uh-huh.

You see the future now, Dad. Oh. See how that is? Oh, he's a seat. Leaving a mess in your wake. Well, we do kind of do that. Yeah. How does he know?

Yeah, go on. Go on, Dad. I have communed with the gardener. Oh. And my dearest, trusted friend, Mr. Bonderpigs. Son, bitch. They have told me that this sacrifice is enough to open the way beyond this throne. Where I cannot tread, but it is you who,

must tread. All of you. Whoa. All of us, even me? The princess that was pledged. The frog mother and the rest. Garfield and breath. Yeah, that checks out. That checks out. I'll say. Well. Listen, Dad, Drunler's got a flaming sword now and he killed a guy.

All right? Don't fuck with us. The final sacrifice, as was for as we're told, as we're told, as was for told. All the bloody fingers all, all chant out. I'll say, are you talking about Ned? Was Ned the final sacrifice?

I believe he was called Big, Big Ned. Okay, well, was he the final sacrifice? He was a sacrifice? Well, with the flaming sword, he was cut down by Sir Grumlin,

knight of the Lord of Flaming Shadow. And so presumably, That's the final sacrifice you mean, not anything else, or cryptic. The Lord of War granted me this power, this duty. And it will be that power that will take you to where you belong. And this is the way? Behind me, behind this throne is your destiny. And you can clear the path.

The sacrifice was great enough. The way will be open the first time in many moons. Whoa. But I cannot go with you and this may be it. Oh man, what a shame. The door's running my mouth pain. I finally am where I belong.

So you will stay here? Now we're heartbroken about it. Don't get your hopes up, grumbling. I said we're on the throne with a pound name. State of Honobonovic? That's where you belong. It's his duty. Yeah, I mean, Satan out of Bonapik and I are going to play Keino later. That'll be, you know, after this is all done.

I know duty all too well. For I am a knight. I will walk this path with my friends. Is the gardener back there? If we go back there, we should find the gardener? Yeah, we really want to speak to the gardener. Yeah, I'll say, well, what is back there? It's kind of all shadowy. The gardener is where he is meant to be. That's bullshit.

He is not here. Oh, God damn it. He waits for you. Well, we're ready to party. We're ready. Booker, my son. Yeah, yeah. This may be goodbye.

I'm sure it won't be. Forever. Thank you for showing me the light. I don't know if he's being serious. in that. I'm gonna level with you, Dad. I'm gonna level with you. Look, I really gotta see the gardener, okay? Like, chances are like pretty good that it's anxiety and obsessive compulsion, but I just feel like I'm full of worms and they are burrowing straight down out through my gooch. And I cannot risk that, okay? I need to find the gardener. I need him to fix me and get me to the right side of things here. Booker, I have this point. power now. The gardener anointed me before he walked into the wood, disappearing into the shadows.

Do you wish to gain my knowledge? And he extends a hand. He is this large ring. And it's a strange, you can't tell if it's glass, but it looks like a huge glowing eye with a vertical sled. You're just, you're offering knowledge? If you kiss my ring, son, I will know what can be. be done and if it is within my power those in this garden within the garden in the garden is there any other way to do it like sticking a hot poker in my eye that might be preferable okay I know you go out you know I say you as French hastas no no you you do you they're whole like literal God kind you got a say bugger his dang on ring you do it you go first now he's offering it to

you do that. I say this is a father's son kind of. No, no. He's gonna trick me somehow. Booker, we have worms. It's gonna turn into something. I say, Booker, we have worm! This is gonna be a cruel prank. It couldn't be worse than what's going on within you right now. It might be. It might be. I say kids are daguerre! Do you even know my father? You're this guy's son. That's horrible. It's not good. It's not good. I gotta look in the mirror every day. Goodness, gracious.

Didn't we want to save your soul? I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe this is the way, Booker. Is it worth this after everything I've done for that lazy bum? Think about everything we've been through, Booker. Doesn't this seem so trivial in comparison? Right now, horrible, evil fish demon god of night and coldness and death has claimed on your soul. Maybe, we think. Possibly. I still think John Clutch should do it first. And your own father has invited us.

To come on in, come to the place where fun never ends. Have you seen the way he's treated me? Us? I know. Maybe he wasn't the best dad. But maybe... I don't think that's a maybe. I think it's very clear he wasn't the best dad.

Well, I say, looking back, he's tried to cook his meals and hang out with us, and he always just kind of gets beset upon by evils of the surrounding area. And then he's tossed off in different directions on whirlwinded. I mean, and to be fair, he could be worse. He did say he was going to play some game with say departed Bone to pick, and he didn't choose the game Bunko. So, I mean, he could be worse. That's true. That's true.

I guess at this point, I just don't really have anything to lose. Oh, my dignity. Oh, well, I think you sent that out the window a long time ago, Booker. My name? Yeah, absolutely. What happens if, if, promise me, Sean Claude, if this goes south, but save yourself, okay? Don't fall for his tricks. He has an advisor named Satan

Harder Bogue to pick. What are the options? What are the options? Kiss the ring or walk into the spooky forest? Reefed and shadow and flame when you made me the gardener? You're a smarter man than I am, John Clark. Do something with it.

So all you have to do is kiss your daddy's ring and then we could... And probably die or I don't know. My entire body will turn inside out. Worms will start shooting out of my eyeballs. Who knows? Beady eyeballs, then your butt hole. Just one second.

There's all this talk going around about, literal god and hell he's dead. And Lord of Flame and Shadow and other gods and no gods and all this stuff. I can't get into it right now. It's a long story, but here's a simple answer to all of this is a secret to the universe. This might be the path.

But. And I'm going to lift up the dagger that I'm holding. The tiger. You know the dragon. Hey, you upon that throne? Yes, princess that was promised.

You better promise. Sorry. You better promise. You better pledge. Promise? You better. Do right by us and show us the way. There's so much time left.

Okay? If you don't, I swear, what, this page crash. I swear I'll seek you out I'll flay you alive Whoa Yeah

You won't survive I'm not scared of your stolen power I'll see right through you Anyhow All right Now Booker here He's gonna kiss your ring Yeah let's get this other week

This is all some fake crap I swear There's no fake crap here Princess you will wake dragons from stone as was foretold the soul of my son

I know not his fate but our Lord may tell us something if he has the humility the humility and lack of eubris why he's saying it like that

To kiss the ring? No, no, go back to that thing. Why are you saying it like that? What, don't you have humility? It's humility. Why do you have so much eubris, Booker? Why are you saying it like that? That's how it said.

No, no, you've never ever pronounced those words. In the history of the time that I've known you like that, why are you saying it like that now? That's how it's said, Booker. You're showing a lot of eubris right now. And, okay, am I coming up there? Are you coming down here? I will not leave this throne of bone. There's no stairs. How am I gonna get up there?

Can you give me a boost? Oh, there's no stairs? There's cool stairs. I think he described as cool stairs. No, it's literally just a throne of bones. There's no, there's no stairs. I gotta climb up the bones like a ladder. Yeah, but can you give me a little boost?

I'm just asking for a little help here. You see strange clawed hands emerge from behind the crown. Give him a little, a hood and leans for him a hood and a figure leans for from around the throne. Here's this house for a man to do. Oh, Jesus. That's our Bohnapit guy. Look at him. He's skulking. This isn't any kind of trick, is it, Mr. Bonderpick?

He's going to lie. And he did the agree is behind the throne. My faithful advisor and dearest friend says time is short. Dearest friend, my ass. I'm going to start climbing the throne, but it's going to take a while. He herald the knight of war will cut through the wood behind. That is the path forward. Our Lord cares not for your soul, Booker.

But he may have answers. I'm climbing up the throne. Wait, taking a while. Maybe you can get up there faster. They might be like those bursts of gas. I'm already halfway. From the elephant gravedron level of the Lion King video game on the SNES? Yeah.

Do you just get launched up? I'm literally past the point of Novertone. I only had the Genesis version. Oh. Same game, right? Or the difference? And there's slight differences. I keep climbing.

Well, I hope you brought lots of spaghetti, and that's the last theme song to Garfield and Fritzvary for coming tonight. Because no one isn't the idea of what I'm saying. Nope, nope, don't have any clue. Well, thank you, Gromley. I appreciate you. You're welcome, Booker, good luck. And I climb the bone throne. My son.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is it. Okay, is there anything else we have to say before we do that in magic words? You must just simply show you humility. Oh, you said, right? That's how it said. I kiss the ring. You lean forward and you kiss the ring and suddenly there's a flash.

My boy. Oh, my boy. Oh, great, he's having an art attack. Oh, my boy. You're lost. Yeah, yeah, no shit. You are lost to the deep. You are lost to the cold.

This is beyond my power. There we go. It's okay. I got a good lawyer. Oh, my boy! Okay, all right, come on. Yeah, yeah. We've heard it all before. Get it out. You guys hear this? You see you say in our podium. Go round. Disappears.

Oh, never mind. Mr. Bonapik's sake, it's not very kingly or prophesies godly to show paternal affection, especially crying. Okay. Okay, well, they get yourself together. His estimation of me is prophesized God King has plummeted. I'm sorry to hear that. No one's going to understand that reference. It's very tough for you to hear.

Booker, there is nothing that I can do. I told you guys. None of us can do in this garden. So you kind of did all of that for nothing, but I'm glad you showed you. I told you. I fucking told everyone. We had a know, Booker. We had to know. Hey, that's why you were alive!

It's beyond my power, but there is other great power in this woodland. And eventually we're going to be through with this whole burning hard arc, and there'll be cool, cool shit ahead. I don't know. All I know is what I believe the Lord says

and also what Mr. Satan-hearted bone to pick tells me. What a name. He's always, you know. No. You always have a bone to pet. I'm sorry, Booker. Mm-hmm. I'm sure you are, Dad. I wish I could remove the grip, the fishy, stinking grip.

It smells of low tide and other unmentionables. It fills your soul. Are we done here? It's a little salty, a bit viscous. We're not done yet. He's still going, guys. You want some wine? No, no, no.

Absolutely not. Have you taken a good look in there and really taking a look at what's in the wine? I don't need to. I have faith and humility, Book. He takes a drink and a couple of straight hairs hang out around his mouth. Okay, well, I ask again, are we done here?

We're good here? Booker, your destiny, Lies on a different path than mine. Thank you for bringing me on the path that I was meant to walk. Okay. Well, um, goodbye, I guess. Yep. Goodbye.

I'm sure we'll see you around. That's for nothing. We should probably hug or something. No, I'm not going to touch you. You should probably hug. You have cubes all up your face. Those are pubes. Those aren't fumes.

Oh, no, Dad, it's very clearly. They're different kind of hairs. They're from their different, the tail hairs. Tail hair. Who told you that, say, how I'm trying to pick? He's lying. He's lying. He's lia.

Those are pups. Those are pups. I'm sorry, Mr. T. Recru. Yeah, okay. Thanks for nothing. I'm getting out of here. We'll see you around. Well, goodbye, son.

Yep, goodbye. At least till the next clearing, I'm sure. A rock looking here. I start climbing down. I got you. I don't think. I think I'm making it to the next clearing booker. Uh-huh. Yep, yep.

This is your last chance. Mm-hmm. Yep. As you walk away, are you sure? About what? I mean, my path's that way, right? It is, I guess this is it. If there's nothing else to say, I'll go back to my wine.

Yeah, yeah. Good luck with that. Yo. It's as if he's never heard that, you know, the hairy wine is unusual. Are we done here? Can we move on? I think the worst part of the wine is that it comes out of that box behind him.

Yeah, boxed pub wine. Who will create such an abomination of an item? Unbelievable. All right. Now, how we move forward with the bat here? So just back into the dark forest then? So you go past, you'll, you descend as he calls after you and the shrouded figures. Kind of ominous.

disappear. Or they spread, they part. And you see now the fully knotted and intertwined trees before you. As you approach Cromley, almost

instinctively, you know what's going to happen. Your sword ignites. Wow. This is the way. Nice. Follow me. I'll love. leave the way. Thank you guys for being patient. That was an absolute

travesty, a waste of fucking time. No, that might be the last time you ever seen the other book. We couldn't possibly be that lucky. It was not a wasted time. It's now the 90s down there, so I think the gonda was present. Whoa, really? That's pretty undisclable.

Straight to the 90s? Anyway, just another waste of time, another another lies and I'm just I'm tired of the tomfoolery well I think it's possible he was just wrong and you had to check what else is new well they were made a hate who's ever heard of a name like that grumly do you mind leading the way this is that quick before we get's in the cradle and the Silverpool, little boy, blue.

We start running. We start running. Right. I'm not entertaining this. We'll be to get into the woods. Come on in, come to do the place. No one. Come on here, anytime to party with Redfield and friends.

And with that, you lunge forward in half into the trees. And all of the cultists let out a shrill cry as the wood ignites as the trees burn as it arcs perfectly and circles around as you see what looks like a dragon's eye peering at you. And in the shadow, there is a pair of dark antlers and a crown in between as the forest burns, almost like a pillar, a drill.

As you continue to walk forward, hacking through the woods, it burns forward the path before you, emerging. And then. And then? You continue in. And as you walk, the flame catches on the branches and to the right, to the left. You feel like you've seen this before, but you know that those were just the tricks of that bird and bear combo. I remember that was canon part of this campaign, I think.

Oh, yeah. And, but this, you know, is real. as you see it and you cut your way through the woods as it starts to burn and flame and then up ahead you see

more and more trees but every single slash is getting less and less dense as you hack through the thicket suddenly there's a clearing and as the fire burns all around you

circling Bitsy you've seen this exact thing before. In your death, you all see this now. It's impossible. Looks like an ancient ruin, but a massive fortress, a castle. And you see a head that there is,

that you've seen grumly, you've seen castles of the Marquisotte and the forts that are built. This is vastly larger than any of that. And although it seems to be in disrepair, that this is far more expertly craft than anything that your government, your faction ever could have created.

And you see now great towering pillars and enormous statues all around you see standing at the head fully armored from head to toe a great crown atop his head a picturesque stag

wielding a sword raising it to the sky and you see that there's a sigil of a comma and flanking him leering at you massive winged creatures

elongated necks reptilian almost antler-like horns themselves as you seem to be watched and it's hard to tell if these eyes are of stone or there is sight there huge serpentine-like dragons statues dozens of them all over the castle

all stretching further inward. And this pathway that leads up to where a splintered gate once was of this huge castle all now bathed in the glowing light of fire. You see a single figure, a silhouette in the center of this archway, this massive door, as the fire continues to spread. And you expect perhaps it to be this king, the knight of you. But no, the person is there. It's a lizard.

It's the gardener. And the gardener looks at you and sees you. And it looks at you, Bitsy. He looks at you as he just gives you a nod off in the distance. As the fire whips around the ring, rushes up the stage, and he pulls off his hood. And in a final moment, he lowers his head, his head and it's completely consumed in the flame.

And burns. And as soon as it consumes his body, the entire castle burst into flame until there is a massive fortress of stone, of flame, and of shadow. shadow, a castle fit for a king, castle fit for a god. And that is where we'll end tonight's action. Damn. That's a badass shit to say, Mike. Thanks for running the session. I look up to the highest peripot on the highest tower of the castle. And I see a glimpse

a winding half by the curves down through the woods. That's very funny.