Legends of Avantris - Vagabond's Heart: A Dimwood Tale | Ep. 3 | Bloody Negotiations

Episode Date: September 26, 2024

After a shocking murder, the party tries to clear their name after being framed as the murderers...   Gain access to an exclusive campaign, Shroud Over Saltmarsh, over on Patreon: https://legendsofavantris.com/patreon The Crooked Moon, a folk horror supplement for 5e, is available for preorder! Get the Crooked Moon at: https://thecrookedmoon.com/ Watch more D&D adventures in the world of Avantris live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/legendsofavantris Check out our merch store: https://shop.legendsofavantris.com  Join our community on Discord: https://legendsofavantris.com/discord Watch our many campaigns on YouTube: https://legendsofavantris.com/youtube  All other links: https://linktr.ee/legendsofavantris   Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/oas3jXR9VFE?si=a9DU5pohl-tBkhNR

This is Mikey Gilder, and you're listening to Vagabond's Heart, A Dimwood Tale. Here's what happened last time. As if we recovered a chamber, we can't go further. Some bloggers went missing, I think, they got wrapped up and by the giant spiders in the forest outside. But that's really fucking dangerous. Two of these massive spiders have skittered away. But there is one directly in front of you. But what the fuck am I alive?

You all are. You all are something else. Mary here is our guide into the mind. Yeah. All of the amateur tell is to go left. The real secret is, you know, you're paying attention, is to go right. And then she starts walking left. I mean, okay.

Cavern up ahead, this building seems to be the remains of some sort of, is it a fortress, sit a temple? You then see an arched doorway up ahead. And that's when you all see that faint glowing light. A tiny little flame flickering. It looks to be a large amulet. It's in the shape of a heart. All of these orange embery particles rush past you

all into this heart-shaped medallion. Gosh, I think magic is real! In the center is this large statue of the Stoic Deer King. You remember Jericho mentioning the King of the Blazing Heart, an initial mural. You notice that there is an extra bit of care put onto four of these objects. The medallion around the neck, the crown atop is head,

The sword in one hand and the banner in the other. By the way, it looks like we've got one of the fourth things. I hope you have made my mind finally usable to advance my inch... As you see Mr. Y behind him with a knife in his back, you see Smiles spits up blood and tumbles forward off of the railing, landing hard onto the ground in front of you. You are all standing, all four of you are standing. in front of the wooden watchtower at the center of these mining operations, as the bloodied corpse of Levi Smiles lay simply 20 feet from him.

The wound in his back deep and his previously pristine clothes stained with blood. A number of skinkertons armed with hand crossbows are flanking Mr. Y as he steps forward, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the blood off of his blade. As he inspects it and tucks it into his pocket, he sheets the blade into his coat. and he looks down at all of you, and he says, well, my, oh my, what a tragic thing for Mr. Smiles to be murdered by vagabonds. Oh, my acorns, what have you done? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you son of a bitch! You killed him! What would you kid him?

Did I kill Mr. Smiles? Did I kill Mr. Smiles? and he turns to either side of the pinkerton's, and every single session I'm going to do that. He turns to either side, and they all shake their head. There's absolutely no way you're pinning this on us. No way. He's trying to say, we did it?

No, not today. You're going to pay for your crimes. People are going to know about this. Is he like up on the rail? Yeah, so he's up probably about two. stories up looking down on you. And then you now see as the skinkertons all pull out their hand crossbows and are all leveling them at you. Are there? There are six, three on either side.

This, we got ourselves in quite the predicament here, ladies and gentlemen. I, I, I don't really know how we're gonna see our way out of this one. We got, we have witnesses. How do you feel you're gonna pay everything? How many people are there? Is Mary? So you see that Mary is there. Mary is just looking down at him at the bloated corpse of Levi, as she is taking the opportunity to tear her mask off, and she's downing a bottle of whiskey, and she looks around and says, well, I don't know these guys. I'm just a drunk. I didn't see nothing. What are you going to do?

What are you going to do? You think that you're just going to get away with this? I mean, people know we went in there. You're not going to get away with this. Can I figure out, Mr. White? Yeah. So to figure it out, he's going to do one of those moves, and he's going to roll two sets, and we'll see what he gets.

And you're going to roll cunning, I believe, correct? Charm. Charm, that's right. Nine. So, with a nine, unless someone wants to help you. Oh, hell yeah, I'm helping him. How are you going to help him? One's exhaustion to help. So let me think about this. You're trying to figure him out, so it's like an insight check. Yeah, basically. Okay, so what I'm going to do is after having said that, and I noticed grumly,

I noticed grumly looking at Mr. Y a bit more intently. And I say, I know this, I know this type. I know what he looks like, what they do, what the aims are. Look for it. Look for it. You, You know, you've seen the pattern. You know what to look for. I'm looking for it even more now. And you succeed. What do I know about this? What do I take?

One exhaustion. One exhaustion. I walk and read the scarf and down. I'm going to ask more questions now. What does, uh, what does this, what does this character intend to do? It might be obvious. You get to hold three, right? Yeah.

Yeah. I don't have to ask them right now. So I will answer, and I have to answer truthfully at the Game Master. So Mr. Y intends to exploit the arrival of vagabonds in order to, A, get vengeance on smiles who was sending him into a sure death trap. And his morale shaken by your conversation, particularly Peggy's seed that she was sewing, he is now attempting to take over the operation, perhaps, with the backing of the skinkertons. He seems to have a pretty, he seems to be very smug, but he seems as if he's going to pin it on the vagabonds that rolled in

as a very convenient excuse as to who would kill Mr. Smiles, especially ones that are allied with Selgin Alabaster. What does he wish we'd do? He wishes that you would, Mr. Y wishes that you would cooperate and be turned over to the Marquis-Ait as a prize. However, Booker knows the type and knows that a sniveling weasel literally like this would probably be open to other alternatives and has contingency plans as well that you, that you as a group may be able to exploit.

You can hold the last one if you want. Yeah, I'm going to hold the last one. Okay, so you're figuring him out as he leans down and says, now I wouldn't want any more bloodshed to happen after poor Mr. Smiles met his untimely end. But I would ask that you join my associates here down to the Marquis-A troops so we can turn you in. I can tell them everything that happened. Now, hold on right there. One second. You don't think for one minute that they're just going to accept that we murdered some guy. I mean, we have Lee Grumley in our party.

Lee Grumley. Yeah. You would think that we haven't done any work for the Marquis Ate. They know who we are. They're not going to believe that we killed Levi Smiles. You've got to think about this a little bit more. That is orange and has the cat emblem on the front. You take us to the Marquis A.

They're going to know in a heartbeat that you're lying. They're like best friends. It's like writing on his shirt. They never believe. They know my character. You can find Sheriff Beatrix. She could vouch for me. He looks at it and he pulls out a separate handkerchief,

the one that isn't staying with blood, and he taps the side of his mouth, before reaching in and grabbing a flask and taking a little neck. And he sticks it back in his coat pocket as he then dabs the size of his weasily snout again. And he says, Now, when was the last time you don't know that filthy thing? And I don't know who you think you are,

who the share of Beatrix is, but it is the Levi-Smiles mining company that provides the iron ore for probably the weapon that you hold right now, friend. Are you think you're just going to take it all from the guard of bootness company? Just by killing him? Yes, I've been not trustworthy of Mr. Smiles for a long time, and anything I say now won't matter because you all are up Shits Creek without a pattern.

It's not exactly wrong. All right, so let's just say for one minute here that we comply, and you don't shoot us in the back as we go to the Marquis 8. Then what? Then? They take you away and they hang you, I assume. Not today. Surely there must be some other agreement we can come to

before you just send us off to the gallows. Well, I believe that this entire mining company has my name on it. I'm the chief geologist. I am the one that is able to find the iron in the earth. Mr. Smiles would like to think that the earth spoke to him, but it was really me whispering into his ear. What do you have to offer me? What, I appreciate your help.

I assume that it is fine down in the minds, but either way, I suppose it does not matter, does it? We don't deal with your type. Backstabbers and double crosses? Can I get a sense of, like, how this building is arranged? I lead into Grumlin and I say, I do if they're going to hang us. Yes, we do, Brumley. We need to make sure that we stay alive. So it's a large structure.

You get the sense that it is... What's a good, like, if you play World of Warcraft, like the venture company, like tiered, kind of wooden structures that have, like, offices kind of on either, on each floor, and then each of them has a balcony, and then there's like a kind of a wraparound staircase going up. And is he on a balcony? Yeah, so he's on two balconies up. Yeah. Talking to us. Do you think we should deal with him? I mean, I don't want to.

He's clearly a scumbag. And he's probably going to backstab us, too. but I'm certainly not going to march onto my own death here. Why don't we get in to backstabler his guy? I mean, which guy? I mean, he's kind of the top dog now. I didn't really see anybody belong except for those skinkages. Any of the six crossbowers or crossbowelists?

Crossbowman? Yeah. Crossbowman, that's the word. Do any of them, are any of them the one that beat up Basil? What are they called? Barbos. Do I recognize that? I would say that you definitely recognize that there is one.

He's looking a little. stiff, and you can't even. So he's not dead. He's not dead. And I'll say that you're able to look up, and you get the sense that the other skinkertens are kind of also giving him a bit of a side on it as well. Hear me out. So he's got six guys right now. At least.

One of one's one of those chicks that's been amazing. That's true. I've recognized that face anywhere. And I really recognize the crossbow. Use math. and get him on our side, so he gives up that guy, and instead he gets four of us. That's one for four. That's a business guy's too, right?

The only problem with that plan is that these skinketans, if you know anything about them, they work for nothing but coin and lots of it, and we, unfortunately, barely have two coins to rub together. Literally, often, I'll literally have no coins. What do we need coins for? I don't think that that easily bought. We're not just saying, hey, Mr. Weaselie, Weaselman,

we can just say, hey, if you turn that guy in because he's a real jerk, then four of us will help you. That's one for four. And Peggy's smart as shit. Oh, I want to use my last one. How could I get Mr. Y to let us go? And saying there is no way for you to do that is an acceptable response. Well, that would be an acceptable response. You're exactly right, but that is not the case in this situation.

Oh. I would say that what Hazel is suggesting would be absolutely a way. If you can offer some kind of deal and have it instead pinned on the one skinkerton, it seems, depending on your case, you may be able to come to some sort of arrangement. So in the context of this game, these are things that only grungly knows, unless he tells us, correct? Oh, yeah. Because it's like an insight check. This is a feeling that you get, and we don't know, right?

I'm sure that's meta-knowledge. But feel free to tell me otherwise. I'll say that's probably accurate, yeah. I think that plan will work. You think so? You're not just saying it? No, I'll figure it would work, but we can't send this poor innocent. Innocent?

You haven't shot me in the face. You were there, and you always killed Basil. But we're not going to frame one guy out front of the other guy. Come on. Watch me. Mr. Why? Yes. I very, very, very much prefer not to die today or tomorrow or until I am resting comfortably in my bed Sunday many, many years from now.

Be too. Is there any way that we could meet in your brand new, lovely office that you've just now inherited? Congratulations. And have a little bit of a discussion. Now, what do you have to offer me at all? I'll need some sort of proof that this claim that you have something to offer me. Some sort of proof. I mean, surely we can come to some sort of agreement.

Whether it be we do some work for you, as you see, we do some pretty good work. We get things done. That's what vagabond is do. Yeah. And Peggy, she knows how to do all kinds of things. She got us into mine and we didn't die. She is very creative. And she's got a very keen eye. She could probably double triple what you're trying to do in there.

It's at this point, I would say, whoever would like to make a persuaded NPC, Please do. Charmed, damn. I got a six. You can assist me to pass with, somebody can assist me to pass as repercussions. You help me out. If you're willing to take an exhaustion to help me out, then we get a pass. So on a seven, you don't have any boxes.

Unless you've been tracking it on my phone. So that would be a seven, which says they aren't sure. the GM will tell you what I need to do to sway them. Okay. It's at this point that you'll remember that Peggy took a huge chunk of iron ore in the mine. And if you offer to give that to him, he may be able to just up front. Peggy, you are a genius. I can't believe I forgot about that.

What my friend Peggy here is trying to say is that we found quite. quite to the treasure down on the mine. And I know that the original agreement was that we get to keep whatever is in the mine. But we aren't that stingy, my friend. We are not that stingy. We might be able to show you something pretty, pretty sweet. As Peggy pulls out the huge chunk of iron ore, he looks down on you in his little weasily, beady eyes, narrow.

And he says, well, I suppose you are posing no threat to me at all, you can join me in my new office. And he steps through the large double door to the top of the structure. And he says, come on up. As you see that these skinkertains will begin to walk down to then guide you up into his office.

As they get to us and, like, you know, I'm assuming they're pretty gruff. I'm going to, like, turn my pockets inside out and basically they'll be like, I don't have any weapons. See, I got nothing. I got nothing. Search me, search me.

They all search you They'll try to take your weapon Are you sure about this? I'll give them over my weapons You hand over your weapons How about you, Hazel? You can all day see it I'll give him my dagger, but

I mean, I was walking real tired And I'll lean on my staff And they all They guide you up to his office. As you enter, you see this elaborate desk that says L smiles on it. And you see that the dirty boots stained in mud and soot of Mr. Y are kicked up onto the desk as he's pouring, he takes his flask and throws it behind him as he pulls open the drawer and this pulls out a bottled, massive bottle of absurdly expensive whiskey, more expensive than anything you all

have probably enjoyed. And he looked at the array of glasses on this little whiskey cart, and he just shrugs and starts to drink out of it as he places it down. And you see Mary is kind of shuffling in the back as he looks like, well, I guess if I'm going to reflect can die here. At least I would like a fucking drink of that. Hey, I'm pretty sure

I remember you saying you didn't even know us. Well, I got mixed up in this. These are just trying to fly away and I face-planted. I beat planting right into a fucking rock and serving this scaly, ugly mug, son of a bitch

collected me and now here I stand before you. Oh, you're really swift us, understand? Well, I I don't think I have a fucking choice. Do I have a choice, skeely? Drive a choice? Uglier skeely. And she points at the two of the lizards.

And they all sneer at her and shake their heads as they pull up. They kind of press their crossbows even furthering. And without doing, I'll have a fucking drink of that. And Mr. Y looks up and shrubs, well, I suppose if I'm going to hear a business proposition, we should do it in the appropriate style, and he pours out a glass for each of you and slides it over. Oh, my. That's a hell of speaking. He is to avoiding the gallows.

Cheers. Well, I would hope that anything that you do propose is adequate. I would not count on avoiding the gallows. I am still very connected. You don't stay with besides a very powerful. for a lot for as long as I have without greasing a number of paws. Well, I think that on behalf of the group we've got a lot to offer, and you've got a lot of work ahead of you, and you're going to need a good team.

Oh, absolutely. As you've already seen the work that we can do, it wouldn't behoove you to pin any kind of death on us and get us killed, when you could use us to your advantage. Yeah. And at this point, the massive sheet of iron is a place on the desk. And he looks at it, he pulls out a strange spyglass-looking device, and he examines it as he's looking at. Now that is a sight to behold. And you're saying now that my miners can go in there, and they are my miners.

they can go in to the mine and retrieve it without going mad. That's the idea. Well, we think that that's the case, right? I mean, we certainly haven't gone mad, at least the last time I checked. Of course, now I'm in this situation. All I really wanted to do was go explore, but by all means, no, we're not crazy. And that was frank to us. Because of us, you're able to go with mine, all that all that all.

So let me ask you this. Are you rich? You need someone to pin this. unfortunate accident on, correct? Well, it's not going to be me. That is true. I would never suggest that, my friend. So, in that case, as you know, you've inherited all of this lovely, lovely new things.

You are a very rich man, my friend. I suppose I am. So these skinketins, you know, one of them might be dispensable then. And I eye them all. all of the all of the skinkertans are like suddenly taken aback if they're all like looking around and all of their eyes are kind of lingering

more on Phil The skincliff Why'd you have to name him? I'm Phil. I mean I don't mean to overstep any boundaries here but I take out a coin and I say but if I had to pick and I flip a coin it lands in my hand

how about that one and I point to Phil and I give him a wink because I recognize the damn crossboys holding as he looks and he he seems very stiff and I said but why me? Hey! Hey!

I didn't! And Mr. Y holds up his pall as he and silence falls over the room. And now why would I trade one of these fine mercenaries

for the four of you. Well, again, these gentlemen, they are, uh, I assure you there are more than just the ones that are in this room for one. And you get rid of him, you get the four of us. That's one less guy you got to pay. I'm not working for this car. Well, of course you're not working for him. He's not going to pay us any of course you're not going to pay us anything. He gets us for free. What do you mean by that?

gets us for free. We are buying our lives back, Rumley. Well, that doesn't mean he gets us. That means we get ourselves. Very good, my friend. You're a sharp one. Yeah. And what are you all going to do for me then? If you are indeed going to be worth one of the skinketimps. And I do think that I would be able to do whatever I wanted to, any of these six, find lizards that flank me, and none of the others will tell, isn't that right?

And they all look kind of nervously back and forth at each other. I still don't know if I can trust for lowly vagabonds. Well, of course you can. But that's what good faith is. Surely you're trying to expand this operation, correct? Surely, not too far from here, who does the Grissel Pondas? What? Lovely treasures might await in the Grizzapal Mountain range, my friend.

You're the one with the eye, the nose for the metal. The Grizzly mountains. I mean, it's just I'm no geologist, my friend. Not like the great Mr. Y, but I'm only spitballing here. If, you know, some might say stalling, but I like to think ad-limbing and, you know, proposing good ideas. There are lots of rocks in the Grizzly Palm Mountains. And you like rocks, it seems. So there are lots of things you like up there.

And from... In I bet there's probably some iron up there too. But the key thing to remember here is you've just inherited a whole, a whole job site. You can't just walk away from it now. So maybe you're going to a scouting group. And that is what we're really good at, because we're great at moving around town to town. If you send some of these little lissoprens, they're just going to get ed up or something. Well, I suppose that is an interesting proposition.

Now I'd suppose that if I do want to expand, there are a number of clearings that the Smiles mining company could expand too. I do need additional ore. Grizzle Paul may indeed have that. Their denizens may be even more difficult to get beneath the boot, being as even farther on the edge of the dim wood. It is something that Mr. Smiles had been attempting, but had not been succeeded. Then there is the matter of shipment. The riverfolk company has been less than agreeable to our operations and has gouged our

shipments up and down Old Towns River. Now, if we could get something, if any way, along that river, if you have connections there, I made me interested. My friend, you would not believe it? I do know the artist very well. Now is that so? Well, where I'm from is one of their main bases of operation. Sorry, sir? He's from Muckpet Creek. Oh. Yes, he is. Now, do you speak the artist's language? That's a great question, James. I don't know what kind of language they speak.

Clams. Oh, of course, yes. which they're saying, where there's mocked there's clamps. And if there are going, it's going to be increased iron ore mining, then there also may need to be some encouragement of the more established Marquis-Zate in order to expand their operations as well. further into the dim wood, connections there may help as well.

Roughly what time is it? It is like past sunset, so it's about evening now. The lantern light is flickering in this office. Well, Mr. Y, sir, this is all very, very lovely, very high level over you, lots of details. I'm sure we can hash them all out. But, as you may see, my friends and I are very beat up and worn out, and we would really love to just get a little bit of rest and maybe some food and some nourishment, and then we can get right back out in the morning.

What do you say? So are you going to be my forward men? That's certainly what it sounds like. I think you're getting a real deal out of it. As long as you don't hurt Phil. I won't hurt Phil at all. As long as you don't have someone else hurt him. What the Marquis-Aid does to any of these lizards.

It's not up to me I wash my hands of the situation It's either you all swing from that gallows Somebody Well, it's not gonna be us I can tell you that, grumly And all I'm asking Is that we resume talks in the morning

I know that I think better after a good night's sleep Maybe persuasion And I'm persuasion, uh, persuasion Uh, persuasion NBC Basically persuasion 12 12

Thanks. 12. Okay. I will say he says, well, then I suppose you'll be staying and sleeping on premises. I assumed you wouldn't have it any other way, Mr. Why? You can find dwellings in the first floor reserved normally for guests that are from the Marquisade overseeing the operations. But you must understand. and that the accommodations are still better than what you're used to.

Oh, of course, and I promise you, we won't make a sound. Very well, you will be watched. And he nods at all of you and says, good night. As you're all led out, and as all the skin curtains are getting ready to lead you, you hear the voice call out from behind. Now, Phil, please come back. And Phil looks very nervous. as he steps back into the office and you all guide it down to the first floor.

There's a door with a number, a room with a row of beds on either side. That's what you get across and book. Beds on either side. And you are alone. There are, you do get the sense that as the, as the evening goes on, that there, you hear the footsteps and the shuffling and the shadows cast. the shadows cast from underneath the door of the Skinkerton's Garden. So what I would like to do, from an out-of-character perspective,

whatever conversations that we have in the room are going to be very long. Yeah, yeah. But we'll just talk more. We're very deliberately, or at least Booker's going to very deliberately talk very quietly. I would say that's fine. In the room. Before, either of you say anything, just understand I did what we needed to do to survive, all right? secondly, I planned on getting the hell out of here in the cover of darkness,

but I should have realized that he was going to stick the bastards in front of our door. I'm still open ideas. I don't intend on working for this fool, but I'm not going to die. Not today. No. So we do what we got to do, even if it means getting all the way to the grizzable mountains and then making a break for it. We need to help Phil.

Do we? Fuck Phil. We're going to send some guard. He's not innocent. But we're going to let Mr. Wagon. off scoffrey, and just skinketitin to hang instead? You keep this in mind. You put a crossbow in Booker's face, Booker gets even, all right?

And he was going to kill Paul Basil. Exactly. That guy's getting his comeuppance. Well, but not for this particular crime. It's not right. Well... I ain't worried about it. What if... Do what you got to do to survive.

Live one more day. That's it. What if... What if... What if the body just like... disappeared into the river and floated away for everyone. What, what buddy? Mr. Smiles. Well, I guess, well, one, it would determine on where they left him.

I can't imagine that his buddy's just sitting up out on the throat. I should have thought that earlier. I was just really hungry, and he was talking a lot. Well, they must know that he's just going to disappear. Oh, he left town. He had a very successful mining company. He decided to leave. I mean, even if his body got to wash up down,

I mean, what would that accomplish for us? I don't know. No body, no crime. And then we're... Unfortunately, I don't think it works that way, Hazel. Ah. We are very much in deep, deep shit. But...

I'm not exactly... I'm still not opposed, either. Just fleeing. Which wouldn't put, you know, Selden in a great position, I must admit. But... Or we try to make a break forward as soon as we can. As soon as we get the hell away from this clear...

I know it's not the most courageous thing, but what's severely outnumbered here? How many Skringertons roughly on the premises, do we think? There are six total, including Phil. You know, that Phil, at the very least, was upstairs. That would be five. I'll say that... We heard any body-like...

I would say whoever wants to read a tense situation. This is very tense. I think that that would count. A tense situation could probably get a sense of... It shouldn't be me. Well, it was your question. I figured, unless you don't want it because of your stats. I can do it.

My cunning is... I'm happy to do it. I'll do it on behalf of Grumley. Saying that, is that okay? Yeah, please, please. He said the question out loud, and I'll be like, oh, yeah, let me read it a ten situation. Well, I got a seven. That is technically a pass.

So you get one question here. Oh, what's the best way in out through? The biggest threat, yeah. Yeah, I want to know what's my best way out. And I'll phrase the question in so much that out meaning, with our lives intact. Like, how do we get out of this mess? Whether it be through the cover of darkness,

playing along as long as we can't, whatever, right? That's what I will say that there are, I guess that this is a GM, so I'm able to say whatever I want. Yeah. I would say that you are listening and you notice that there are two skinkertons that are stationed on the other side.

You get the sense that if you're sneaky enough and quiet enough and either kill or take out the people you may be able to sneak, depending on how well you can get out. You know that you have a drunk canary with you as well. That could be one way to do it, but it's very dark, and you know that this mind has been abandoned, and that Mr. Y is keeping others away because of what he's done.

He doesn't want news or to get out yet that Mr. Smiles had done. Or there's the alternative of trying to make some kind of arrangement. But you would understand that for vagabonds, you know, you know that the skinkerton is going to be rough cost. but you handled one before. There are multiple options here. Is there a window in the room? You look out and there's one very small window.

It doesn't look like it can open. And it looks out... It's out... It's out onto the camp and you just see the rows of buildings and the flickering firelight down past the mines pretty far away. Well, I'm still not opposed to sneaking out in the cover of darkness.

That being said, I'm not much of a fighter. And anything that we do is going to draw attention. Unless we can somehow deal with the skinketons out front. I think we smash your way out of here. It's pretty loud, Romney. We can do it quietly, I'd be with you. There's only five of them left. Only five.

What if we invite them in here, and they can have some of this booths that are found a lot of it. I didn't realize you were holding out of us. Well, you can have a little bit of our own, but I shouldn't. I can have a little more. Can I have a little more there, cheeks? If you play a pot, maybe. What part do I got to play?

I was in the school fucking play in sixth grade. You play the part of doing whatever we tell you to do. You saw what I did to fill, right? You think I won't throw some drunk out under the bus? Well, I don't think that'd be very heroly of you. Do I look like a hero to you? No, you look like a raccoon. Thank you.

Are you? I'm going to invite them. Invite them inside for like a game of cards or something. Oh, yeah. You've got cards probably. Look at you. Well, I'm not exactly sure that the Pinkertons are anything about playing games, but what if one of our lovely party here were to get very, very ill?

Why is everybody looking to me? I've got no idea. Let's involve him in with some balloons and some... playing and then Mary will get, I used your thing because that's what you do when you're scheming and I'm learning. Mary will get real sick and then bend over and

make a lot of noise and then they'll go oh no what's wrong and then when they turn their back will just bump them right on the head. Grandma's good at that. Leave that to me. I think that plan is perfect minus all the gaming and boozing. Those gentlemen are not going to be swayed by anything like that. I'm telling you. The only thing they want is money.

What if it's a game for money? What if it's your game? Oh, good game. And free moves. I didn't take that as a skill. Okay, what is your skill? There's a skill called let's play. You can play a game or some skill for gambling, yeah.

And like, try to like, fucking, I have too many good abilities. I shouldn't have taken that instead of buffing my luck last time. Um, well, all the way. If you want to swap it out. No, no, no, no, no. Can you not play if you don't have that skill? Well, no, I just can't use the ability. Let's play.

I can make some shit up and sway them or whatever. This has a very specific. Well, if you want to get them in here, the best way to do it is help, help, help, you know, the classic, help help. See, he's injured. She's injured. Not, hey, do you want to come in and play games and drink? Because I mean, like, fuck off. I'm going to stand in it in next to the door and you just figure out what we're doing.

And I just want to, like, stand up and back against, like, the, at the door opens, as when you block by the door in his way there. All right. And crack my impulse. Well, we all in agreement that this is the direction that we're going in. Seeing like a shadow across the pug face. Or we all in agreement that this is the direction that we want to go in. Because once we make this choice, there's no going back.

Absolutely. What should I say? What should I do? Just look very, very concerned. Gladys. Oh, no. Make a trick in that VC roll. While he's saying, I'm going to open.

You got help us. I got a five. Can I help you? Can only one person help? No. So if you each help, we make a seven. Oh, 100% help.

Does it eight do you better than a seven? No. No. It's either got to be seven or ten. If you each help one, I get a seven. So I mark one exhaustion. Yeah, I'm going to help you also. How are you guys helping? I'm going to just like pound it.

ground a little bit to make it sound like you get a beat up. That's good. I'm going to open the joint. Oh my gosh, the hole. She's going crazy. Help us. Okay. And so you can choose one.

I would say, so if they, I would say they stumble and you gain a critical opportunity. That's what I was going to pick. It looks like they're coming into the room. I would like them to stumble and we get a critical. Anybody probably gets a critical opportunity. So, I'm riding on the ground in crazy. So, and then it takes a minute and you see Mary kind of blank.

And she said, oh, that's right, you stupid fucking, are you eroding out of your fucking hair? Oh, no. I'm going to pretend a little back. How dare you stupid about fucking booze? And she's crazy with, with booze lost and stuff. It's awful. Ah!

So it's like screaming and rolling around again. And suddenly, uh, that you heat. the jangling of keys from outside through the cacophony of your act. And suddenly the door swings open and two skinkertons walk in. And as the door swings open, it bumps by the halfway

in the girl leaves his form. Not all conceiving him. As they see, Mary is just standing over you and she actually has like a huge knife drawn. It seems like she had somehow started away. Are they both in the room?

Yeah, is the door still open? So the door is still open, and you see Booker on the ground as Mary is standing over him. Both Peggy and Hazel are looking very concerned, and then the door stops, and they're like literally a quarter of wrongly covered on the door. So they're facing the down. So once they walk in, I'm going to shut the door

and I have that, like, anime shadow. This big medicine, hulking din. And I wanted to fucking just punch the guy in the back of the head. So critical opportunity is what? A critical opportunity is you have an opportunity to react so they are distracted by this. So for the first guy I would like to basically beat the shit out of him. Attempting to

not kill him. Yeah, but hit him in a way where it would not. Is that sword to sword? Let's see. What are the battle moves here? Engage sword to sword at close range. Or I can grapple the enemy. You can just something. I don't have respect. Oh, you don't have the thing. Just kidding. I was saying it could be an engaged,

either grapple or engage sword to sword. Whatever you want to do. I want to, I'm going to engage sword to okay? Because I don't know how much help these guys. Yep. I'm just going to go ahead. You're a close rate. Boom. Oh, my goodness.

Eleven. Fourteen. Fourteen. So I get to choose three. Holy shit. I'm going to inflict serious harm, suffer little harm, and dismay my foe. Okay. So, you see the anime shadow of Grunley

as he leaped forward. The door slams shut and with a massive, pun-fist, smashes into the back of the skull. You hear a lot of crack as the eyes roll back in the skinkerton as a, falls down and you see the other one fling around and out of surprise, he fires off a crossbow bolt slicing into you, Grumley, for one point of injury. But as soon as he sees the sheer devastation with one blow that he did, he's looking back to being looking very scared.

As soon as he fires off the crossbow at Grumley, I'm going to just jump up and grapple him. Okay. using my leather armor. Okay. You do that. I still have my armor on, right? Yes. So the arrow-proof, ignore the first injury I would suffer from an arrow in a scene.

So it just tinks off your armor and it clatters to the ground. Is there a weapon move for grapple? Yes. Very good for me. I can grapple on enemy at intimate range. Roll with Mike. Come on. Oh, baby.

There we go. It's unfortunately a nine. So on a seven to nine, we choose simultaneously, continue making choices until someone disengages dies. What I'm going to do is, in grappling an enemy, oh, I guess we get to choose simultaneously. So let me know when you're ready, and we'll both say the same time. You leap up past Mary. Like, oh, fuck.

And you knock a bit as whiskey flies over and coats this one skinkerton as the bottle shatters. and a fly raccoon attack and grapple on and he turns and we're going to three, two, one. I strike a fast blow inflicting injury. Yep, so they're both going to... Oh, you do that too? Okay, so with my flight is a wound,

I get to mark an exhaustion to ignore the force for restriction. Okay, so you manage to... So I'll exchange the injury for exhaustion. Hits his armor and you managed to do one injury to him. Yes. And you, as you're grappling and you punch him in the face as it hits his armors.

It is not able to hit you, and you're still grappling. Question. Yes. Do we get our weapons back? No. No. Okay. I would like to just assist in any way I can if I can rough the guy up.

Oh, so I guess we keep making choices, right? Oh, yeah. Keep going to... I'm going to exploit weakness. Mark Exaltion and Flip 2 injury. Okay. I'm like, I'm just... like trying to wail on this guy

and claw him out and like I'm just like flailing and he's not very graceful. He's going to strike a quick blow that is going to hit you for one injury but however you use you use your strength and you can and you basically bite him a little you bite him and he

and he just the sudden he leaves an opportunity from the bite of it and you use that opportunity to clock him right in the side of the head and he's eyes roll back and collapses. There's two unconscious skinkertam. Okay.

All right. All right. We got to go. We got to go. We can't stay here. Oh, it's pretty good. We got to move. We got to get out of,

we got to get the hell out of camp. All right. They've got to farm Mr. Watt. Can I feel around the pockets for keys and stuff? What do you mean what? What do you have to find Mr. Watt? We have to turn him in.

Turn him and he killed Mr. Smiles. No. No. We believe him. He's going to kill more innocent people. We've got to get the fuck out of town right now. Come on.

Not until I'm going to open the door and try to, like, drag him out the door. I'm going to pick up one of the unconscious guys and just smack him until he wakes up. I'm like, we've got to go. So you managed to find, um... He's, like, smacking him and I'm digging in his top of him. I'll say that you find enough gold to all, uh, remove one decay, both of them. And you also find a ring of keys. I never have decay.

Is there any benefit to me finding gold if I don't have decay? Yeah, you can, well, we got a bag of coins. Oh. So you can, you can add that to your bag of coins, I guess. Yeah, you have the bag of coins. You can add it to that. We got that last session you weren't here. So the idea is that you can just like, you know, if you need to exchange a coin for something.

I want to give myself a coin. Is that fixed a ball? Yeah. Okay. That's fine. Okay. So you do that and you find a ring of keys. Okay.

And keys. Yeah. I want to just keep smacking the guy until he, like, trying to shake him out of it. So one is, uh, on the ground, uh, cold. and a Booker opens the door and the lizard is jostle away because he looks at you, his eyes are kind of rolling around. I'm going to say,

you better be cruel, you better timidling, turn me with Mr. Writers if you want to keep you off. Make persuading an NPC. Eight. Eight. Okay. Basically.

Oh, basic. Sorry. They aren't, so. There's a bit of fear. Persuading NPC, so, yeah, they're not sure. So you see. You see the fear in his eyes as he looks around, and you get the sense that he is very nervous to go against Mr. Y,

but if you gave him some kind of promise or tell him that he's not going to... You're not going to have to worry about Mr. Wye if you tell me where he is. Oh, my Lord. I'm going to put him away for the rest of his life. I'll let the Marquis-Ague her out. Oh, when he got out of his life. He backstabbed Mr. Smiles and the people need to know. He's going to say, he's, he's up in the top office.

Mr. Smiles has, has a bed chamber up there. I'm sure that's where he's staying. But there's more of us. Where are they? Where are they positioned? How many more? There's, there should be your ship. Four more of us, but I haven't seen Phil all night.

Oh, no. All right, well, grumbling, there's no way I can convince you to get out of the down. Thank you. I'm going to knock him down. I'll say it's easy enough to just, he's totally helpless. I'm going to take,

do they have rope on them? I want to tie them up with, with their own rope. They have actual like manacles, like in chains, not like just like rope on their side. Can we manacle them with their own, with their own like manacles?

Yeah, I'll say that's very easy to do as you've managed to manacle both of them. They're out cold. It looks like it's going to be hours before they're up. Do they only have crossbows? Yeah. All right. Well,

I didn't want it to come to this, and I figured up one of the crossbows. Are you sure about this? Because there's no going back, and there's a very good chance that we're going to die going up against Mr. Y. The whole point of this was to get the hell out of town. We are going to get out of town, but not before we take care of this guy. You better take the other one then? Fine. Until we get your...

Do you have a crossbow? Yeah. It'll be better on you. All these, that's all I need. About two, crab clothes? Well, they're not literally crab clothes, but I'm just trying to... motion to my hands is in, I don't need it. I don't need it. I don't need it.

We should go, though. Do you have extra ammo or anything that I can take? Yeah, there's a number of bolt. You have enough bolts. All right. Yeah, you, yeah. And just so I understand, the weapon move is target someone. Yes, I don't need to have that. No, if you wanted a quick shot or if you got that, whatever, you can't do that, but you can't target someone, yeah.

All right. You all take hand crossbows. Okay. Um, so let's go. All right, Grumley, lead the way. Yeah, I'm pretty roughed up. I'm like disheveled and I'm believing a little bit. I want to, I guess, walk carefully as I can, but the second I see anybody, I'm just going to like bum rush them. I'm just trying to run out of it.

I'm going to lock the door as we leave with the keys. Okay. So you go out and you lock someone. As you're entering or as you're leaving, you hear that there is that the, that it's actually really loud. Even though there's a lot of commotion downstairs, you remember that sound, of the slamming mining of machine was echoing through everything.

And it's automated and it's the technology of the Marquis-Aid. And even though it's far down, it's automated or there's a handful of miners down there that are not poking there, knows anyone's business. It is so loud as this cacophonous roaring. And you, however, hear the footsteps of three separate footsteps coming from the floor above you from the balcony. I hear that? They're coming. All right, I'm going to lead the way, and I'm going to try to be a good shot with this thing.

Okay, are you not so good to be okay? No, I'm very convinced we're going to die. I'll lead everybody upstairs. Stay behind me. All right, of course. Okay, so you're not sneaking. You're just running up and just trying to pop up. Yeah, as quickly as I can.

Okay. So as you run up, you just start booking it, and all, the whole lot of you are running up, and you see that there's the center office level, or the second level. or the second level, as there's the wrap-around balcony. You see that there's a, you see the shadow of a skinkerton being projected from behind

and you see two whip around as they level their crossbows at you and they're like, wait, what's going on? What do you do? I'm immediately going to try to fire at one of them. Okay, I'll target somebody. Okay. It says when you target a vulnerable foet range.

Vulnerable is meaning it there, it's your book, you're both holding. I'm just going to try to fire as soon as you questions us. I need to roll very high because it's finesse and I get minus one. Damn, it's a five. So I'm going to miss. Okay, so you miss as you fire off and it flies off. You're not really used to having a crossbow.

He returns fire and it actually pierces your shoulder. You take one injury as the crossbow as he starts to reload. What are you guys doing? I want to run at him and, yeah, I'm basically just going to go to run at him and try to, try to, like, elbow him in the face, like, shoulder. Okay. Roll unengaged sword to sword, I guess, right? Yeah.

Okay. So I will inflict, um, what is the, uh, sorry, sort of sword. I'm going to inflict serious harm. Uh, you're inflicting serious harm, which would mean that two, that's two injury for you. Um, uh, he, uh, he, uh, he manages, uh, you smash. smash him up against the railing. He lets out a cough of blood as if you're sickening crack as he, as his back kind of snaps awkwardly against this railing.

He looks incredibly rough. What are you doing, Hazel? I'm going to shake my little, my chipmunk tail and go, oh, no, and run backwards a little bit and try to use ropedoop. Okay. So when you evade and dodge your enemy, so as to tire them out, you roll with Vanessa. So I'm kind of like, no, no, and like trying to give him a chase. Okay, so you're the one that shot Booker.

And he's finally low. He's like, okay. And he's like, staying still. Okay. While she's doing this. I know. I know. Oh, boy.

That's not good. So seven. And what is the move do? You got a seven? Yeah, on a hit. I forget. Is that? Yes.

So, nice a hit. Oh, cool. So on a hit, I can mark one exhaustion to make them mark two. Oh. Oh. That's actually really good. So I'm going to mark one exhaustion. And he has to mark.

seeing her do this and this guy's attention being drawn to her I'm going to have been reloading and I'm at fire out of him. Okay. So he is focused and he's like, ah, that! And he fires off. It's an eight. An eight, okay. So that is

just a one. That's just, I want to hit. I think it's one damage. Yep. Right? Where's the weapon moves? So, yeah, I think it's just you roll finesse on a hit, you inflict injury. So on a 10 plus you get a shoot again. That's Lost it. But yeah, he takes one.

So as he is, son of a bitch, he's exhausted as he's, or he's trying to aim and he's distracted. And he does manage to fire off a bolt, but because he's so exhausted, it just grazes you. You take one injury, Hazel, as you're distracting. But however, as he's distracted, you all hear a gurgle as you're sprayed with blood as Booker's crossbow bolt flies through this skinkerton,

and he collapses off of the balcony. Gronle, what are you doing? Is the guy that I knocked in still up? Yeah, he's still up. Okay, I will, I'm just going to try to hit him again. Okay? Whoa. Oh, fuck.

Max roll 50. Are you going to try to kill him? No. Okay, so he looks like he's pulling out a blade as his crossbow falls to the ground, and he pulls out a blade, and he's trying to stand it. but you smash him in the face.

And Grummeling, however, as you do that, you feel a pain in the back of your shoulder as the other's fingerton appears from behind the corner and fires, and the crossbow bolt bolt shoots you in the back. This is a new scene. No, it's the same scene. Okay, it's all the same scene.

It's all the same scene. So as it pierces and take one injury. Who's up? Who's still up? The one that had been walking away is now he's seeing one friend is dead dead from a crossbow won't through the neck. You're the one knocked up out, but

slumped over and falling down into the dirt below. Is he like aiming his crossbow? He's aiming his crossbow. He just shot Grumlin. It isn't pierced the flesh, but it pierced his tooth's pickplate arm or damaging it. Okay. I'm going to rush forward with my, with my staff and just

try to knock him. Okay. Can I do that? Engage sword or a sword, yeah. I can engage sword to sword. Yeah. Um, yeah, so... Oh, what's right here? Yeah, so I will just try to like whack the Actually, I can't discern him. Yeah, I'll just try to hit him with my staff.

I'll walk a stick. 11 plus. I don't have any. Yes, that's a success. It's a 10 because I've never left one might. Oh, yeah, there you go. So you get to choose three. Okay. Um, I inflict serious harm. I impress my foe.

And you shift your range to intimate or far. So that means you either. jump closer and get right up in his face or you actually like disengaging it back. I'm going to disengage and get back. So you like jumped in, bopped him and like bounced out. Okay. So, um, as I was only supposed to pick one, right? Oh, no, no.

I want to 10 pick. So, um, as, uh, you see that, uh, that this, uh, person, uh, is as you smash in and he looks incredibly weak as you hear, uh, the cracking of bones. And he sees incredibly impressed, like his eyes are wide, like, oh, not bad. You managed to dodge out of this strange blade that he has as he slips it forward. But you manage to avoid the injury, but you take one exhaustion as the act of leaping back. What happens when my exhaustion falls up? If you are just too tired to do anything that would normally fall.

No, if you take it an exhaustion after it's full. Yes, after it's fine. So I have four exhaustion. Yeah. So that guy is now unconscious? No, he's still up. He's looking very wounded, though. What do you do? I'm going to just take another shot, okay? And try to finish him off here. Bingo, nine.

Nine. I inflict one. Oh, no, it's a ten. I'm sorry. So I actually did to shoot him twice. Ben. And you hang of it as, or no, no, you know what, just for flavor points, you see the other hand crossbow and you pick up both. Bang, bang! One campaign. It will be no judgment. mercy redemption

Having seen him drop to the ground though I'm gonna like huddle over to him and like throw the crossbow down and basically

I'll be better off with this and I want to pick up his knife that he put out and yeah come on Gromley we got a I want or two more right one or two more

there's only they're on fire what I had one more and it's Phil oh Phil I lost count I lost count and he needs to die

anyway because if I'm gonna die for this then he's gonna die for this you're not gonna die you stung to Go! Leave the way! And I want to go and find this to why.

As you're making your way through kind of gathering the things, you see that the door is cracked open to this office area. And you see a shiny glint of the lantern light. You see a familiar sight as you see your great sword propped up on the side of inside this room. But we don't hear anything coming from the room? No, you listen, you hear the slamming of the mining machine. but in this office that's right there you see your equipment in there

I will burst into the office and grab my sword you burst in you see a number of documents all over you see a few crates and barrels and you all see your knife you see you can give up anything

but you're the things that Peggy had given up from the tarantial all that shit is all there in a crate and you get your great sword grumlight is he down here well is he

On the second floor. He's on the third floor. Oh, my bad. I made a mistake. I'm losing a lot of blood. Are you all right? Are you good to keep going, leaving the charge like this? Keep going.

I'm going to take a look around before we go out. I'm going to all slower than the other two and just see if there's anything valuable in here that I can take. Yeah. I'll say that you take a little bit of time. And you look around and you find that there is a number of, you find a silver pocket watch. you find a silver pocket watch you find a set of beautiful survey instruments all played in this and maybe is a beautiful gilded material

I'm going to notice Hazel taking time to do this I'm going to walk over and say I need a minute to maybe bandage myself up a little bit here before we go on, but I noticed you eyeing some of these beautiful, beautiful things. Do you need to help with that? What a lot is? I'm happy to help you load it up. I still got a little bit of gumption left. So what I'd like to do is mark a decay if I could to, like, try to patch myself up a little bit.

Yeah, you can do that. So I'll train a decay for an injury. And then I want to... It's two decay per injury. That's fine. Oh, yeah. That's fine. Two decay.

I have to because I'm bleeding out. Is there anything I can do to get rid of exhaustion right now? Well, we're working on it. Oh. So, and then I want to help her find, like, the most valuable shit in this room. Like, like, we're talking, you know. Are you being stealthy about? No.

Okay. Because we're worried. So you're, so you're just, you also have a potion. Oh, snake oil. Yeah, you have snake oil from last time. Oh, I do. So if you have, does that clear it? Two.

It just two. Well, let's see if we can find something really, really valuable first. Yeah. We're looking for very valuable shit. something very valuable. Okay. So as you're looking through, you find a set of just a very, very nice survey material. And as you're going through, you take a little bit more time here as you're patching yourself up and scaling the room, not trying to be stealthy, that you are digging through these things. You see like these things of soot and you see this cloth and you're not sure that you're

going to, that it's anything, but then you decide to stick your little pause in there and you feel around you feel something hard and smooth, and you look in and fold it up, along with bits of pebbles and some scraps of iron, you see gold nuggets, and you see three gems of this strange kind of orangey color, almost of the same color of the particles that you saw. Hazel, that's my girl. Nice fight.

I love this stuff. Mama always said that too much honey makes a ball sticky, but I think it's a good thing sometimes. I have to agree with you, my friend. You are very, very good at this. Do I feel a little less exhausted for finding something so valuable? How does that work? The better question

is, did we steal something very valuable from a very powerful faction? I would say yes. Then we both clear our exhaustion tricks. Yeah? Good? No. No? When I steal something valuable

or important? So this, this would work. When you selfishly steal something valuable or important, well, Booker has to be. Mine just says family after Hazel and I blow up thing. It says, uh, da-da-da-da-da-da. Oh, I think you're talking about greed. If, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. When I help them fulfill their nature, we both clear our exhaustive tracks.

So you both clear. Yeah, so you both clear. You feel as soon as you find this valuable business in here. All right. Hi. So while they were doing that, I was going to kept going. Okay. And just looking for Mr. Y.

We got to catch up with Brian. So while you're doing that, grumbling, come out, you cow! And I'm like, break the... If the door's shut, I won't break it down. The door shut. I would say it's not hard to break down. Or do you when he's crash and bash?

Oh, yeah. Come on, maybe. Unless it costs you. If I need to, I would have that. I would say it's a flimsy wooden door. It's locked, and you bash the door off. Yeah, if you don't mean to, you still crash and bash it. And as... And the scene that you see

is in front of you. You see that there is a small door in this office where you had a meeting with Mr. Y. And you see that the door is slightly open and there's a flickering light off to the sides. It's not flung open, it's cracked open, however. And you see the same office that had been Mr. Smiles and you see that the placard with L. Smiles

is on the ground. And you see that there's broken glass all over the ground as the bottle of nice boo seems to have been smashed. And it smells of thick alcohol and whiskey. And you see a shape on the desk that is very slightly moving. And in the darkness, the slight flicker of the torchlight or not torchlight, the lantern light, candlelight. You see the shape as you approach of Phil beaten to almost a near bloody pulp, barely hanging on at scenes, but still on the desk. And you see that his hands and his legs are bound. As this is what you see.

Is he conscious? He's barely moving. It's hard to tell. I'm just going to leave him. And I want to go into the closet that has the light flickering. Okay. You open and you see a small bedroom and you see the, you see that there is a bottle of whiskey that is almost towards the very bottle. And you see a shape in this very large bed, obviously built for the large cat that was Levi Smiles. As you see some movement in this bed and some fur, as you see the weasel shape as he begins.

to stir, his eyes kind of flutter open, seems to be very drunk. I want to... Are there any bannicles lying around? Not that you can immediately say. I'm going to pick him up by the scruff and punch him in the face. Okay.

Not like hard enough to knock him out, but just to like... Okay, I'll say, you don't even need to roll for this. As he, as you lean down and you grab him by the scruff and he's just out of it, he's drunk, and you manage to smash him in the face.

If you're allowed crack, it's one of his teeth snaps off and flies across the room and clatters. And he's, look, what are you fucking doing here? Miss you are. What's your real name? I'm not telling you my name. What's the fucking is your real name? And I want to hit him again.

Make a persuasion check. What you name, bitch? Seven. Seven. Okay, what does that do? Um, he's unsure. He looks at you and says, who wants to fucking know? And he spits blood in your face.

Oh. You could probably, he seems to be very drunk and a little bit belligerent now. Uh-oh. You may need to continue to beat him, threatening him. I'm not there some way in order to put the fear of a pug into him. The fear dog. Fear dog. Um, do you want to leave?

I can kill you right here right now. Do you want to die? Have we caught up yet? I'll say not quite yet, because you had to basically... Well, yeah. You faced the joint. We selfishly did what we had to do. Hopefully, Grumley didn't notice.

As he looks at you and he says, what are you going to do with me? I'm not going to kill you. you, but I need you to confess that you and him on there, kill Mr. Smiles, and I'll rip him out of bed and drag him into the office and sit him down at his desk

and then pull out, I'm assuming he's like paper and a quill. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I need you to write a confession note right now, and he signed it with your phone name. And I'm to be like holding him on the back of his neck. Okay, make him another persuades a, make persuade an NBC move. This is

bullsy ass, and we're all going to, we haven't died yet. It's pretty amazing. Seven. Seven. I want to punch him. Okay. To, to drive. I will say, you punch him again, and another tooth chips flies out, and this seems to have done the trick.

And at this point, Hazel and Booker, you walk in as Grumley is standing over a very drunk Mr. Y. as he is signing, as he's writing very kind of sloppily, but trying to stay focused. His eyes are wide. His mouth is bloody. You see a bloodied skinkerton fill on the desk to the side as a very angry pug is basically grabbing the back of his neck

and forcing him to sign a confession. I'm going to close the door behind us as we come in and say, Gromley, grumly, are you all right? I'm fine. He's confessing. Are you sure? I look at him and read what he's writing. You read what he's writing is a little bit difficult,

given the penmanship in his current state. But you see that he says, I, Wilbur Yates, murdered, I, Wilbur Yates, murdered Levi Smiles on X date. in order to X, Y, and Z, and I will cooperate

with the appropriate authorities in order to spare my life. And then he does some kind of signature. And you see, like, do you have my CEO? It's in there. It's in there. And he, like, points out of the door.

I rub the drawer absolutely out of the desk. It clatters. And you see wood splinters as grumly rips it off. And you see that there is that gold seal of smiles. But then you see that there is a very basic brown sealing wax as well, and you find a small seal, and he drops it on, he stamps it,

and he slides it forward to you. And, Caesar, are you done beating the shit out of me? Yes. Hold on. Maybe. What's the most valuable thing you've got in this room? It doesn't have to be else.

It can be Mr. Smiles. To be fair, I think we ought to clean him up. Well, I was down there. Just look around. Where is Mr. Smiles' body? Oh, yeah, that too. But also any goodies. It's in the tool shed just down the ridge.

That's not a noise. Have I seen it before? Yeah, you guys passed like a tool shed that had a bunch of equipment and actually right by that huge machine. as you case the joint and you find a collection of very fine whiskeys. You find a nice set of cutlery and utensils as well as silver cups and candlesticks. But it does not seem to be, and then you find a satchel of gold on his person.

It seems as if Smiles was not foolish enough to keep a lot of valuables in this office. And you get the sense that the gold that he had in his pocket, you actually see that there is the Velvets. There's the velvet symbol of Smiles Mining Company on it. But it's a large satchel of gold. It's what a nine. All right. Now, we got the confession.

We got the seal. We got everything that you want, right, Brumley? Can we take this man? to Seljan's place keep him alive, maybe take this sorry son of a bitch with him, and I point to Phil, and, you know,

keep everybody alive until we can clear our names. Sir, Sir George. Selgin might be pissed, but I don't know where else to take him. We don't know if they've even said words that we were the ones that didn't. Tom him up. I, aye, Captain.

Maybe we can just leave Phil here. He might die anywhere. No, we're not going to leave Phil. He. Look at him. It looks terrible. Ew. I want to... I'm going to... I'm going to pull out

a medicine kit and heal him up. Why does nobody remember this man? I'm shooting me straight in the chest. You... I remember. Thank you. You do that, and you patch him up.

He looks a little... He's alive. Yeah, man. He's alive. I think he's gotten a pretty good punishment, though. He's got his ass kicked twice now. Fine. He's got his ass kicked,

and we were going to frame him for something... He didn't... do. It's a worse thing to do with somebody. He'll have got away. Healy Scott free for the other bad. Haven't you seen Lane's at Rome? It's the whole point of that show. I just, uh, I just pull out one of the chairs, like, in the office and, like, kick my feet up on the desk and go, meh.

Look, let's just take Mr. Roy, Mr. What's you say, his name is, Fibber? His name is Wilbur. Mr. Yates. Wilbur. I think we're on first, first name basis now. Let's take Wilbur. And take him to the authorities? Well, let's get him to the pearl first.

It's late. It's very late. I don't necessarily want to be traveling through the woods, so even clearing with these people itself. I'm just saying, but you're taking with us, so, you know, if we run into any more of the skinketons, he can tell him to back off. Of course.

We're taking everybody to the pearl. Okay. Because Mr. Albaughn't know what to do. Okay. We're going to take Mr. Smiles' corpse with us, too, to drink into the pearl? No, we're going to leave that in the tool shed. No, I'm not going to leave it.

Two-shed? I'm not carrying a course. He's already dead, girl. I'm camera the course. Well, who's gonna carry Mr. Wye? I'm gonna carry Mr. Y, I've got two shoulders. All right, fine, I'll get Phil, you... Damn it!

And I'll like, I'll, like, bend over and, like, try to, like, hoist up Phil, like, on my shoulder and just, like, get him up. He's a lighter lizard. He's a bit of a smaller, uh, gentleman. He's managed to get Phil on your shoulders. Yep, yep, I don't know if you can hear me, buddy, but you good pal Booker, so I suggest you straighten up. And he's like, I remember. And he passes out.

And I'll just kind of like drag him along, you know, and then say, lead him, like, like, wrongly lead us to the tool shed and then the pearl, I guess. Yeah, I'm going to throw Mr. Y over one shoulder, and then you go down to the tool shed. Uh, and I'm going to grab the body of Mr. Smiles, throw him over my other shoulder and, uh, walk, I guess. Somebody's thrown a cloak over me or something.

That doesn't matter. What? There's nobody around. This place is a ghost town. As you're, so you go into the shed, you find the corpse flies covering him of Mr. Smiles. As he flies over and then suddenly you see a shape emerge. You see a ragged looking brown-ford fox with a leather hat as he is extending a large kind of tarp thing. And he says, I haven't made it this fucking far.

Pick, sticking my nose where it doesn't fucking belong. Here, take this. As he throws it to you, he was like, I didn't see fucking nothing. And he just goes back to tending the mining machine. My man. As you now have a

tarp, able to kind of cover your shoulders and the bodies. Thank you. We should go out quickly. All right. Thanks for your help, good, sir. We'll see you around maybe. be well.

I wouldn't count on it. Stay safe. And we'll just take everybody in the problem. And it continues to go back to the huge machine that is just boring into the earth, into the hills. And you manage to make your way through the streets. There's a number of Skinkertons walking around, but they seem to pay no mind with the assistance from a stranger that you got. And you find your way to the pearl. as soon as you enter

it is it is so late at this point that it is probably the that they've just kind of cleared out there's just one a slumped over a drunk old rabbit in the side of the corner by the piano and occasionally tapping his large foot

to music that isn't playing as as you look around and you realize that Mary is no longer with me you. The second that you all left, she fucking bolted. As, um... She looks pretty slick for a drunk one. Yeah, something like that.

And, um, she, she immediately dipped. And the, you, uh, enter, and the loud commotion, you see, uh, that young, uh, fox lab as, uh, you all, uh, crashed through. And you see a number, uh, you see one of the, the girls that's, uh, walking around on the upper balcony and you hear the boy called out, uh, boss. I'm just going to yell his name anyway. Selton! And, uh, you wait a moment. And then you hear, it's like, what the fuck is going on down there? Uh, we fucked up a little bit. Uh, maybe we should, uh, come into your office all, me, uh, one, seven of us, eight of us. Oh, seven. The door flies open and you see, uh, in

onesie pajamas and red pajamas, bleary-eyed with a nightcap on, a rough-looking badger as he sticks his head out. He walks over and he looks and he sees the skinkerton. He sees smiles. He sees Mr. Y. And he's like, what the fuck do you do? Get the fuck up here.

Didn't you see you come in here? No, well, the camp is pretty much dead, which things are changing around here, Mr. Alabaster. I'm sorry, but things are changing quick. I grumble and stuff upstairs. And I'm going to just kind of drag... Jesus fucking crisp, get up here! As he ushers you up,

and the door slams behind you as in his office. You see there's a small candle by his bedside, on the large office and combined bedroom that he has. as the door into the thoroughfare is cracked open and a nice breeze as you bring in three bloodied individuals

and he's hold on, let me get Dolly, get a tarp! And then she comes in and puts down a tarp and you use the one that you had gotten from the Fox and you drop down

the dead body of Mr. Smiles and then the skink and the weasel are all laid out as well. Now, Mr. Alabaster, If I may, a friend. I told you that we would get you a mine. This?

Did you kill Smiles? No, no, no. Now, I can explain everything, but ultimately the question resides down to, do you want to own and run the Smiles mining company? How the fuck do you intend to explain this to the Marquis? Well, Grumley, my good friend here, was able to... Please, Romley, you explain.

And we begin to tell him everything. I'll see you later. Confessed. We just tell him fucking everything. That we, not about the amulet, right? We cleared out the mine. When we got out of the mine, Smiles was dead, and Mr. Y did it. We were captured and about to be framed.

I tried to convince the group to run away and wrongly killed everyone. And then got Mr. Y to sign his confession. and these are the I guess the fruits of our labor and Seljan takes in the whole thing as he sits he's just kind of nodding looking and his eyes are going back and forth as he just almost automatically

pulls out a drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and pours it and puts it back and he shakes his head and puts the glass down and pulls out the bottle and takes a huge swag and he and he says fucking vagabots Yeah, we made some tactical errors, I suppose. To be fair, like I said, I tried to talk our way out and just, you know, leave on the cover of darkness,

but my friend Brumley here, he's awfully brawny. It was worth it. Now, quite all of these horrible wounds. Now, don't give me fucking wrong, a knife in the back and proves this motherfucker's character. And he is a motherfucker than you need to die, and the fact that you brought a fucking skinkerton into my fucking joint. For what it's worth, I tried to get that guy killed. This guy was going to frame this guy, and I pointed Mr. Wye, and then I pointed Phil. Phil.

Phil. He was going to frame him for killing, for killing Mr. Smiles. And I couldn't let that stand. But it was still much better than the fore of us taking the fault. That's right. We got out of it, and we're going to get justice. So I need to know where the local authorities. Justice.

Where's the Marquis eight present? The authorities. The Marquis eight. Now, I had fucking visions. smiles the fat cat of some fucking cousin or in-law, whatever the fuck he has back at New Felicia. Hearing about dear fucking cousin Levi's untimely fucking death, and then the cat's descending with fucking locuses. But, amidst my visions of a camp burning to the fucking ground, brilliant fucking I. And it's thanks to you, dumb motherfuckers.

I think all was, to be fair. What's your plan? It was the agents of Seljan Alabaster, dear friend, dear friend of Levi Smiles that put a right to this injustice. And his dear friend, Levi would want Seljan to have those fucking minds. I'm sure if we looked hard enough, we could find a deed. Indeed. Some sort of, you know, representation of ownership. Do you thoroughly check that motherfucker?

Uh, which one? The fucking weasel. Uh, well, to be fair, Grumley, roughed him up pretty good. Yeah. Oh, I didn't, look, I don't, I don't, I don't do this to search thing. Yes, what are you guys do? I'll just roughed him up.

That was pretty hard to search his body while you were. I don't want to search him. All right, all right. Now, Hazel help me out here. I'll, well, we'll serve him. Hey, you say, my. Oh, hey, everybody. Hi, yeah, everybody.

Thanks for hanging out. Welcome, welcome. You pat down and you search him, and you had just found the goal, which was very easily findables immediately, but upon a thorough search, kept four more protected, you find a blood-stained roll of paper,

and it seems to be a deed to all the various claims of the Smiles Mining Company. Well, a little bit of blood never invalidated one of these. where the fuck were all of you about three months ago well I'll have you You don't know That's a story Do you think you hoopel heads can fucking stick to that

I can stick to whatever you want As long as I'm not in the gallows Do you promise that you'll treat all these mines Better than he did And you're not going to send him in all suicide missions I know a guy Up at the fucking minor He's a I don't know shit about mining

I know a guy that can run the entire fucking operation. A guy I trust. What's his name? Where's he looked like? He's not dead. Uh, pardon me. This is like my deadwood fan service.

We've gotten everything we ever wanted out of a deadwood ending. Oh, my God. He's alive in my dreams. Comstock, uh, sink shaft. He's an old brown fox. He was the one that got duped out of the mind that made all the hoop go fucking crazy. He was basically got, they

threatened to kill him and his wife if he didn't sell his claim to smiles. So, so he can, he can run things and you'll take good care of him. He's good man, not the smartest, but that's what I'm here for.

All right, I can live with that. All right. For what it's worth, though, not to really change the subject. But this is the son of a bitch that almost shot me in the face. And I wanted to You know, you don't cross Booker. But here he is, and Grumley convinced me to keep him alive, I suppose.

So maybe you can set him on the straight and narrow. I know he's a skinkerton, but maybe not anymore. He's not getting framed under Marwop's fault. As I'm concerned, so just make sure he's a die. Make a persuasion roll. He's pretty beat up, but we know he's going to go to the boss-bub. Yeah. Damn it!

He looks and he says, if any of you want you, you can interfere and give me minus two He A fucking Skinkerton Under the employee of Selgin Alabas

Matt, trust me I did everything I could to get the guy killed Wouldn't that be a fucking ending? Well, what's his fucking name? Phil, I guess Something along those lines Whatever, that's a stupid fucking name They can change it up

I think he'll kill Phil? I guess you have a new line of fucking work Now, I guess Dick and his life would have been a little extreme anyway. I was just angry, to be honest to you. I've called off a little... I've called off a little bit of people for no reason.

I've cut enough skinkettings tonight. I've cut throats over less. Now, see, there's a man who gets it. I don't like to do that. Well, no, I'm certainly not a fighter. I mean, you've all seen me. I'm not soldier. I'm not drumming.

I just, you know. And so, we... are going to turn over this slimy fucking weasel

to the authorities and you are will be welcome to accompany him to the makis 8 yes

I don't trust these drunk fucking cat soldiers that they got working out in this fucking mining camp on the

pissing hand hindelands of the dim world. How far do we got to take them? We'll connect with the fucking sheriff in the morning and we can take him to ward wall. Can maybe we see the map?

Oh yeah, let's take a look at this map. So we're here, we're just little raccoon guy. Oh, so we got to go right there. Okay. Okay, so we go, not too bad. All right, right.

Well, it is very late. And I apologize for waking you up in your establishment and bringing one dead body and two nearly dead bodies and, well, a whole lot of mess. But you've been good to us, and we hope that, you know, even though we fucked everything up, that, you know, you got a little out of it. I got a fuck whole mind out of it, really.

Just don't let any... Don't ever tell anybody that booker's intruder's word. I told you we'd get your mind. I just didn't tell you how many we'd get. Well, I thought I was fucking crazy. for trusting vagabonds of all fucking people, but you all

did your end of the bargain and he goes to his desk and he pulls out the second half of your payment. As I take mine off... As fucking agree. As I take mine off the desk, I'll look at him and say, well, I'd say it was dumb luck, but I'd be lying.

We're very challenged, is what he's saying. We're good at being vagabonds. Apparently fucking so. And you even took care of the spooky mumbo-jumbo in the fucking mind. You never told me how you fucking did that. Do I even want to know? Eh, it's one of those things that, uh, better left on set. I'll let Comstock take a look at it. But just know, you ever need us? You got friends.

Well, as long as Seljan Alabaster draws fucking breath, you hoopoo-heads have a problem. place, and booze is half price in the pearl. I can find that very amenable. And there's nothing saying we won't come back. I have a feeling we might have to stop by here some other time. Ashwar.

Have two rooms on the fucking house, because I'm feeling fucking gentles. I appreciate it. So if we get a good night's sleep or what's left of the evening, we've got to find a good way to bind this guy up. And then we'll be on our way. Don't they'll take care of him.

All right. And then we'll deliver safely tomorrow. I don't know how far of a journey that is, but we'll figure it out. Yeah, well, the sheriff ought to be able to take care of things. I'll be the fucking sheriff. Could I only

impose a can of peaches before they? It's always fucking peaches with you. Fine. Well, sometimes it's peaches and sometimes it's apples and sometimes it's cherries depending on the season. But those peaches the other day were very good. Blueberries. Peaches and fucking cinnamon.

Blakburn. Hoosah! You know, just as a way to really tie it all together. Well, it costs less than fucking whiskey. No, drink the... I'll eat my peaches. I just have a best idea. I've got to write this down. I'm going to put some of the juice...

Darling! ...into the whiskey! Now, please get the fuck out of my bedroom. All right, all right, all right, all right. I think that could work. I'm going to scribble that in my little bit. I'll have a spot of tea if you've got it. Yeah, they'll...

They'll get whatever you want downstairs. Welcome, Aaron Fox. Hey, Aaron Fox. There's a couple foxes in this campaign that they're dealing with. Dolly is a young fox. So Dolly rushes in and you start to see as Mr. Y is kept in in Seljan's office, but the, see the Mr. Smiles' body is taken down and out back.

And then the same rumor, ironically, the same room where Basil was being tended to from being roughed up by Phil and his henchman. Phil is then taken down to, for his wounds to be tended to, in full fucking narrative circle. Are we in our room? Yeah, you're in your room. Well, Gromley,

I appreciate you. Looking out for us, taking the charge. But, uh, please, please try not to get me killed. I'm just a simple raccoon. Looking to make his way in the world, especially amongst all the turmoil. I didn't ask for fighting. I didn't ask for me this scrapping.

I don't have any of this swords swinging armor wearing stuff you've got. You did fine, you're not dead. It was a rock thing to do, Booker. It was a right thing to do. As I grabbed my side and wins a little bit. Fine, it was the right thing to view, I suppose, but it would have been dishonorable how we just left him. There would have been a great injustice had Phil been framed. There was nothing saying we couldn't come back.

I was trying to buy us time. Do you realize that they're going to just shut us there where we stood? And look, who is the same night, and the whole thing's resolved. That's true. It's big things up. I think it would just be a nice thing to do that the next time you get into a justice rage, that's what I pull on when you go crazy. Maybe just take a deep, humbly breath, and then hold it.

And I'll puff my cheeks out real big. And then release. I'm not very good at. deep breaths, frankly. Oh, that's wonderful. Sorry. It's insensitive. I know you've got problems with you breathing.

Oh, I'm all right. I'm all right. So I'm always exhausted. It's not just this plate armour. Ah, well... Short... Hazel trette. I've got a short nose.

What can I say? So, uh, do any of us know if any of us have been to... Whippoor Wallet? Uh, Whartwaller. Wartwaller. I've never been to Wartwallow. We've been to Wartwold on tons of times of terms of this with Peggy's workshop is. Okay.

That was a in-carriage or out-of-character. Question for everyone at the table of the Game Master. That means the book is probably not leveling up tonight. I will say for the purposes of this campaign, new things will be things that we haven't been to in the campaign. Are you sure? Yes. Okay. Because, I mean, it's not like we're going to, it's not one of those things.

I think the game is intended to be your bouncing around clearing and clearing, and I'm having to be a little bit more narrative. It's going to take us time, I assume, right? I mean, all right, so we've been, we'll say, for the sake of book on leveling up, it's a place that I haven't been to for a very long time. Yep, it's been a long time. We've been on the road, and poor Peggy hasn't been to a workshop. But it sounds like, you know, given the distance, it shouldn't be too terrible for us to make it there in a few days, perhaps.

Let me consult the map again. And then when we get there, it'll be like home sweet home. So I'll pull the map out. It's just this one, it's just one path this way. Now, again, out of character in character conversation, I'm not necessarily sure how much time it takes to get from clearing to clearing, but I imagine we got quite a haul ahead of us with a prisoner as well. Well, hopefully the sheriff can help us out and maybe...

Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting about the sheriff. A company is on a journey or something. It's up to him. He's the lawman in this period. Well, we're certainly not going to pull him away from his duties, but you've got to ask, if he's the sheriff of this town, things have really gone to shit. Where the fuck has he been? He probably doesn't have any power to do anything against Smiles.

Well, maybe now. I can finally do his job. Well, hopefully he can. If we're going to sleep, I have several game questions I'd like to ask. Yeah. So the Skinkerton dagger that I picked up. That is a weapon that needs to be used in intimate

range? Yes, I believe. I guess because my question is I can't sword to sword with it. Yes, you can. Well, so that's my question, right? Is if I have a dagger, what is the weapon move? Because there's an age sword to sword, but one of the sort

sort of thing specifically says you can move to intimate range. And I didn't know if the dagger can only be used in an engine. I think you can do a close range. You can extend. Okay. So then I can't murder because I don't have murder, right? So dagger's intimate or close. Okay, okay, good.

So the idea, right, is that you have ranges. And so, like, let's say you're close. If you just wanted to, like, just walk up to a guy that's against you, you might have to, like, tempt fate to get into intimate. Sure. He's, like, on guard. So that's a way to get in there for free. Love that.

But so you can kind of, I guess you can use it for both. But I can't use my great sword into it. If somebody gets in my face, I can't swing the sword out. Okay. So I need to find a way to back out. Second, and I'd like your opinion on this as the game master, the your equipment I started with, I foregone two of them. I just basically took leather armor.

Yeah. The mouse folk short sword says range close, mouse folk steel. I can mark decay on the weapon. It's a sword to engage sword-to-sword combat with cunning instead of might, which obviously benefits the vapor. Is there any way? you would allow me to keep the Skinkerton dagger and basically replace it for the mouse fault shorts. You examine the... Is that reasonable? You examine this, this make, and it actually

seems to be that the standard issue were made by the mouse folk, that it is from the steel, the forged from the iron that they harvested, but the, the Marquis-Aid, it had, it's the classic, sneaky hallmarks of the mice, and it is mouse-folk. I don't want to be that guy and, like, No, that's the whole point is this. But I'm trying to be creative. The whole point is that this is a conversation. And you're like, I'm thinking this. And as a GM, I'm like, oh, yeah, that makes sense.

Or, well, let's see. Because it didn't make sense for me to have a mouseful short sort and a longbow as Booker. But if I could pick up a sweet Skinkerton dagger and reflavor it, I think that'd be kind of cool. Yeah, that's perfect. That's great. Yeah.

Cool. I have a question. Yeah. What was the second payment that he gave us? Oh, so we received half before. So this will be a satchel of coins for two. Okay. So you should have a bag of coins.

That was at the end of the first session. We got that. So then you get a second one. So then you get two more. Two more boxes. So in theory, you have a bag of coins that's for four decay. Right. Yeah.

So they're empty boxes if you haven't spent them. And then when you spend them, you mark them off. And you can move them to your decay track if you want to like replenish your Yeah. So if you simulate to go out and you're shopping for supplies, you can basically just dump all those and stock up and expend your coins. So if I had two from that first one, two from this and then the one

coin I picked up was a fifth decay so I have five, like a stack of five decay. Is that all that word? Yes, sure. Yeah. Okay, cool. You need to like hold my equipment in one place.

Cool. All right. Okay. So you wake the next morning. You clear whatever exhaustion is needed for that sort of thing. Whatever happens when you sleep. that's a great question.

I think you only recover a certain number of exhaustions. Is it one one per night? But if I, with saving Phil, would that be my defender? I mean, you fucking saved everyone. When I defend someone who cannot defend themselves,

desire, 100%. You defended everybody. He was beaten from an inch from his life by a maniac. And you convince Booker not to stomp on his face. So, okay. We don't do drives now, right? We only get that at then. It's at the very end.

Yeah, no, that's the very end. Is it at the very end? Yes. It's at the end of the... So drive is at the level up, right? We've been doing it at the end of the session. I didn't know if you're supposed to do it at the end of the day. No, it's the end of the session.

Cool. For that. For the advancement. Which either way makes sense, right? I mean, we've been doing it, I think it works well. I agree. Those rules are written. Wrong.

Okay. Good to know. Okay. You awake in. And you meet Seljan. downstairs. You see that Dolly's going in.

There's a lot of bloody bandages that she's taking away. And... And... And... Selim's like, I guess Phil's gonna fucking live... He lived through the night.

That's... Well, that's just an absolute miracle. I'm gonna probably have to give him another... one more fucking sock for Basil, but... Just don't kill him, things. No, he's an employee... He's an employee.

I have a lot. He just set them on it. As long as you set on the good and narrow, I suppose it'll be all right. I am grateful for every fucking beating I've ever got. It builds character. Phil's going to have a lot of fucking character after this, huh? Yeah, you're not wrong.

Just don't want it to, like, be resentful and then turn into a super evil skeek. And this man's watch, that won't happen. Okay, we'll just keep an eye at. I think I'll just threaten them with vagabonds coming back Oh, that's fun And we're only ever clearing away Give a take

It'll be like a kid's tail like You never know when we're going to pop up That'll put the fear of dog into him Of Jesus crisp The fucking sheriff Yeah, what about this guy? Where the hell's he been? He has a pension for cards and it's been a little bit

go on you're all right then I've never been better my friend and you know these fucking canine types he's the eyeballs just turned like little money sounds these canals he's a fucking coyote

he's not as much of a bootlicker as you are but he's they they find the breathing and hold it and then sort it out That's good, Tomlin. And with fucking, he's, I'm glad he fucking did,

because if he poked his coyote fucking nose and too much of what Smiles was up to, he'd have a fucking skinkerton bolt through his eyes a long fucking time ago. He's a good man as much as I hate the obnoxious son of a bitch. I feel like I can trust him. What I am not 100% sure I can trust is him getting, and he points to the side, and you see that tied up is Mr. Y.

His cheeks are swollen, his eyes are kind of droopy, and he just looks totally beaten up. He's like, he's getting him across these dangerous fucking woodland path with all the eerie flying fucking around without an escort. and getting him to the fucking, to the authorities, at least in Warwalla. A little bit more fucking civilization with those fucking frogs and toads. Give them to the fucking mayor, I don't give a shit. But as long as we get him to the Marquis-Zegh, with his confession.

The Marquis-Aid, just none of these drunks here. All right. All right, we will take him to Warwick. Because all of these have been, had their palms fucking greased by who, could be this motherfucker said oh here we'll take him and they cut all your fucking throats we're giving you you and sheriff Octavius all right is that a coyote yeah well I can promise you one thing is that no matter what happens Gromley will die trying or will succeed but I'm not dying I'm

just gonna try him you well I mean he he would die trying trust me he tried he to yesterday. Well, you all fucking survived, and we all survived, and... One more day. Everything fucking worked out a lot fucking better than I was expecting. So are you hoping that we're going to take off right this morning, and we have a little bit of time to restock and refuel a little bit? I know there's not much here.

As long as you fucking won. I'm staying here. I'm comfortable. You think, you know, you might be able to show me how to use this thing. I slacked the signature and dagger on the... You mentioned you were pretty good with knives. I'm pretty fucking good with a knife I'm not really a fighter

And I'm not looking to start But things are pretty dangerous around here You don't look like a fighter I don't want to be stuck in a position Where I'm, you know Flat footed If you want to take the morning I can show you a few things

I'd appreciate that Grumley Hazel Peggy We got some time We need to buy some supplies anyway We're gonna head out in midday Yeah I think that's fine

I appreciate it I'll have my All of my I'll have someone Fetched the sheriff In the afternoon It's going to be a several-day journey anyway. Sounds like a plant.

And so you all enjoy, stock up whatever you would like to. Seljan takes you out back behind the pearl, and he shows you a few sneaky moves with the dagger. You're actually, for his age and his size, you're actually pretty surprised at how seemingly deft he is with his blade. I love that. And he'll continue to do a few things. I enjoy that. Booker is impressed. So I have a hearty feature.

I take one additional injury box in the MX is 5. Whenever time passes or you journey, you can clear one injury box automatically. Time passed. You were like, I guess once a day I do exhaustion and injury. I mean, it's like a short rest almost, right? We're taking time to like do whatever we want. That's time passing.

Yeah, I guess, yeah. You know what I mean? I don't want to be too broken, but we can talk about how we want to define that. Just don't throw anything else. And how can I get rid of my injury here? I have to like... Well, you could trade some of your coin for supplies

to heal up, to damage yourself. Okay. You know what I mean? I'm sure there's multiple things we can do. See, it's two to decay to get rid of one. So you could spend two coins and mark two to pay on your satchel coins to get first-day supplies or whatever.

Right? I mean, flavor however you want, however the game master. But describe what you're doing, basically, is the gold. Is there anywhere in town where I could, like, sell off some of the scrap that I've picked up? You get the sense that you could probably find a buyer for some of it, but it might not be as much as in other places. Okay. I'm going to look around and not like my options in this town so much, so I'm going to take two of my decay and just buy a medical pack and patch myself up.

You do it. We do it. Is there any like overtime injury business? I think so. I don't recall off the top of my head like me. I'll say in this time, Dolly Patches, you up and so everyone can just take an injury. Okay.

As part of a reward. So we clear one free. Keep your decay. Yeah. So we'll say one injury. So you keep your decay if you want to do an additional one to get rid of another injury, that's also fine. Dolly, you spend some time with Dolly, whoever would like

to, and they patch you up. You see Phil, he seems, he's, he's beaten to a pulp. You see Mr. Y unloaded on this skink. And... Poor skin. I'm sorry

And he seems to be pretty grateful But he's alive And you know, shocking A shock to him, a shock to Selgin And he talks to the game master He's just, I'm just saying kind of what you see He's grateful. He's not talking to guys

He's not talking to you all You all get patched up a little bit And then you all stock up on whatever you want to stock up on and it's in the afternoon when you all gather and you see an individual step into the saloon. He is a coyote with these patches of brown and grayish front tawny fur, and you see that he's wearing a black vest. There's two hand crossbows at his side. and he's wearing a bright red sash around it.

As his two ears point up through a broad, brim black hat, and he steps forward and he looks and he points at Mr. Y, who's just been kind of stand up. And so, like, now this is the weasel we're taken. And Seljan steps over and says, Ace! And he claps him on the shoulder and says, you do not let this fucking weasel out of your fucking sight

until he is with the proper authorities and these fine associates are going to be with you the entire fucking time they will tell the story of how I avenged Mr. Smiles' death you've seen the body your deputy seen the body everyone's seen the body this is the motherfucker that killed him

that's the story follow their fucking lead you understand. And we have a signed confession as well. It has a seal, any signature on it. Sir, Sheriff, sir. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but this is Grumley. My name is Booker. I'm Hazel.

I'm Brumley, sir. Mrs. Peggy. It's a pleasure, sir. You can call me Ace. Pleasure. I tip my hat. That's a cool nickname. That's just my name, Ace Octavius.

Oh, that's a really cool name, then. Well, it was the first time I've gotten that, but y'all don't look like you're from around here. Not even close. Where are you from, friend? I live here my whole life. They honest work, for the most part, working for the Marquis 8 until Smiles. For that, it wasn't so bad. Well, we shouldn't waste any time.

We have the corpse of Mr. Smiles. Should we bring that as well? Now, Santa already sent a letter to the next. to Ken, often new Felicia, we'll see if they want us to send it back. Well, could you please keep it at your sheriff's building, whatever it is? That's where he is now. Oh, okay, great. I'm just making sure.

Deputy's taken. Keeping him company. Maybe I'll keep him coming to as he'll start to stink. We may take him down to the creek to cool him off a bit. He had a lot of flies and it's kind of gross. I think storing him in the creek would be. good idea. I've seen dead bodies before, but not like dead dead. Like usually they're just like fresh thin and then I leave. You've never seen a dead body? Like a dead body? Not like an old

dead body. I'm not really a fan to be honest. It's not the best. No, it's gross. I've seen it all. Well, let's uh, get this, give this, uh, criminal. You're going to help me carry him. All right. Well, can we like, is he, is he, can he walk or is he still like fucked up? He's gonna need, he doesn't need to be carried, but he can't. Yeah, yeah. So I'm all like helping him along the way and kind of force him along, but I just, do I need to, like, I move over my shoulder? No, you just need to give him a shoulder and kind of force him around. So I would do that. And he stops in Mr. Y, and he unholsters a hand crossbone. He says, you want this bolt through your head? All you got to do is fucking moving away I don't like.

And he just holsters it again. No, well, that I don't do it. And, uh, and, uh, you just see some terrified nodding. And with your assistance, you managed to collect him. And Selgin says, like, well, remember the fucking story. And you will have a place here at the fucking Pearl. You have a place here in Reconnoiter Ridge.

Well, we thank you again for the hospitality. And, of course, keeping us alive. Thank you for having this all fall to my fucking lap. Well done, vagabonds. Godspeed. Thank you, Alabaster. Gives you a firm handshake all of you and says,

You're a good man. Don't forget about us fucking hoop was on the edge of the forest when you become legendary wanderers. Oh, dear Lord. The bars will sing tales for fucking generations. The or will die, but hopefully that. They'll sing of your terrible,

painful, fucking death. That could be the case. Farewell from fucking Reckenoider Ridge. you all increase your reputation by the Denizens by three. Yay! As you begin to leave

Reddoy or Rich. Do you have to fill the track or press over it? You get to fill. So we all should be there, I believe. So we all should be there, I believe. Plus one. Yes.

So circle plus one instead of plus zero. Okay. Can it ever fall below plus one again? Yes. So if you fill up these three, it drops from plus one. Oh, okay, got it. You feel both ways.

Yeah, because I've got one, one way and two in the plus way. Yeah. All right. Can I steal your head? How do I, so I had four before the one. So I was like here. If we got three, so I go what? Where does that put me?

So you had four. Yeah. Okay, so you have three. So you have one, and then you circle one, and then you would clear it. And so now you have one, two, these two would be full. Oh, I see. So now I have to get all the way to two before it comes to? Yeah, so they need to get to ten. Yeah, it takes very, it takes a lot.

That's two. And I have a feeling just based on the way the game is going to flow, that it's, it's going to be tough. It's going to be a lot, very, very fluid. So now I have two in the plus one. Okay. Yeah. Two here. Okay, cool.

You, bagabonds, are joined with Sheriff Ace, Octavius, heading to Warhol. How will you make this path along? with journey. What exhaustion are you going to expend as a group to travel and make your travel role? So we need at least a what to get like a 10? A 10 is totally un-interrupted, timely fashion. I am happy to expend two exhaustion at least. Because each one we give is a plus one. Beyond four. So it's minus one until you hit four, four is zero. Oh my God. Yeah. All right. Well, if If we offer up a shitload, I can offer up three. I think we're just risking.

Holy fuck, Gromley. I'd be willing to get one. Grumly, are you not? Are you telling me I'm willing to give anything? Well, I'm already wearing his plate armor. I'm already at one. Me traveling anyway, marks one anyway. So I'm at two just without even offering.

Say no more, fam. I'll offer three. Hazel offer one. That puts us at a zero. I could do one. No, no, no. No, no, please. We don't watch it over it.

yourself. All right. Well, I appreciate that. I'll get this guy. He said with a very sarcastic face. Poor Booker's already now. Three exhaustion.

That's okay. He doesn't fight his friends. Booker didn't ask for this journey, but he's here nonetheless. Booker didn't want to almost die and reckon order to Ridge, but nonetheless, he did. Almost die.

That's what he did. Okay. So we've got a total of four, Game Master. Whoever would like to make the role. What's that Andy do it? Oh, God damn it. You're working three.

Watch, ladies and gentlemen, the great book of fails and whiffs. I need a... Give a flourish. Can I do the Mayan? Natural 12. I told you. It's the flourish. Natural 12.

All right. Our limiters, thank God. Unbelievable. I'm very lightheaded after that. Don't pass out unless we need you. We need you. Hashtag word. You

make your way. along the trail, along the forest path. And you occasionally see, off into the forest on either side, up into the trees, the flapping of wings, towards the territory of the erie. You see the remnants occasionally of battle, maybe marks of blood or some signs of a scuffle. but this is a very, a very brisk journey. We'll say that you probably have to camp a couple times, takes a few days, probably to get along the scores pathway.

Wait, let's do it. Give it a path, give it a bath. So, what's it called Whartwallow? Wurte Wallow, nothing. Just Whorewollow. So you are along the path as you're with Ace Octavius, and you can ask, you get to know him a little bit, and whenever you want to ask him, you do.

And you eventually see a clearing up ahead. And as you get closer and closer to this clearing, you hear the roaring of the river, old Tom's River, that splits the dimwood in half. It's the primary source of travel for the Riverfolk Company and it seems to dominate a lot of the traffic of shipping up and down. But you know that there's a lot of other denizens that live along these banks. And you eventually arrive to a, the forest on either side kind of gives way to sparser trees.

And as you have to see, swaths of marshland all around with tall grass, willow trees, reeds of blowing in the wind. As you see that directly ahead, a large, the clearing appears before you. Warwall, a town built onto the river. As you see up ahead, a huge lake on the southern edge of this town built onto the side. Massive lily pad stretching out onto the water. Huge reeds. as you hear the buzzing of insects.

And while it's marshy, it's not the oppressive swamp of other clearance potentially. As you hear not just the symphony of the insects, but also loud croaking. As you know that Warholo is home to many frogs and toads. And as you arrive at this with the sheriff and Mr. Y and tow, you see a variety of structures. Strange wood in the architecture is very different from the rough and tumble mining town of Reconoiter Ridge. You see houses built on stilts out onto the water.

Some built almost on floating on lily pads. And you also see streets and streets of quaint little mouse villages. As you know that this is a, I believe it's a mouse clearing. It is. Yeah, you see the houses of mice. You see similar to every other clearing. There's houses in the trees built for the variety of birds. You see a storm flying by or a heron, maybe a whippoorwill.

And you make your way through the streets as, rather than dirtied, worn minors, you see happy, healthy, if not a little bit poor individuals, mostly mice, but a good number of frogs and toads running around of all ages, men and women, small children running around. You pass a number of restaurants and bakeries. You smell delicious mouse-baked goods drifting on the wind as you arrive. You scooby-do. You get carried and through the air.

And you see, once again, a heavy cat presence. There are marquis-eight soldiers with their bright orange taverns. So even though it's a mouse clearing, it is still Marquis-E-8 controlled? Yes. Okay. Yes. So the denizens are predominantly, just like how Revenue Bridge was boxes. Yep.

This is predominantly a mouse clearance. Okay. And you see these soldiers, and rather than looking kind of like the shady, the shady, almost kind of near mercenary style of soldiers, these are, seem to be a more standard Marquis Ae warriors that you're used to. They're wearing their taverns that are a lot more cleanly. and you see you pass a recruitment center, you pass a field hospital, you see that there is a bit of off to the side, you hear the loud hammering of workshops as they work out on the docks and they seem to be crafting boats and other floating structures as you make your way to the center of town. and as you arrive

you see Sheriff Ace stops and says well so where do you want to turn in this slimy fucking son of a bitch? Well, for what it's worth, Mr. Alabaster said that maybe we find the mayor or something, but certainly there must be some sort of head-marketing

that we can speak to and turn this gentleman over and never ever be associated with any of this ever again. I think the mayor would probably be a good spotless. Do we know any kind of like a police station or whatever? You know that there is a constable's, constable's office that is prominently run by cats. I would say that Peggy is easily able to tell you that this is, that the mayor is a toad named Mayor Boghop.

and he is a, he's a toad that's been installed by the, by the Marquis 8 as someone who has proven to be loyal and useful and prized himself on the number of, the amount of tax that he collects from his prosperous clearing. That's interesting. So I would, would, would I be able to ask Peggy, like, based on what, based on, what you know, like, based on what she knows, would she have with an obvious, well, this is where, I would rather do this over that, like what she knows of the mayor. Yeah, she would have some knowledge, right? Yeah, I mean, I think the most powerfully connected person would be the mayor and the mayor would be able to help.

And it might help to have a prize for the Marquis 8 to deliver it to the mayor. And that could be a, you might even get back in good standing. That's wrong. I think that's your great idea. The man is very powerful. He's connections to the Marquis 8. So, Peggy, lead away. No delay.

So you see, you head to Town Hall. And this is a large, extravagant structure that is built partially of wood, but also of mud and stone and out of these massive mushrooms that are growing out. You remember the dangerous mushroom that you encountered in the forest. These are very, they're large, but they're not poisonous at all. these massive toad stoats stooms. As you see, it just says city hall in this large sign. As you enter, you see a number of mice walking out and a handful of frogs. And you see that the station on either side are armored cats as you make your way in.

And with the, you are informed that a letter had been sent ahead of, of you to inform that someone with connection to the incident with Levi's smiles would be arriving at a clearing and you are sitting in the waiting room as this very small bug-eyed toad sitting behind the desk you see this large extravagant open door that says mayor's office and you were sitting in this waiting room as you see the six of you are awkwardly sitting there. I'm severely under... I'm severely underdressed.

Yes. You're all underdressed. And you see this up, this toad, he's like, the mayo be with you shortly. I'm going to take out a little snack from my pack and just, you know what I'm like, get crumns all over the place. I'll turn to Mr. Y and I'll say,

I'll say, uh, all right, Wilbur. You best be on your best behavior. And keep your thoughts to yourself. You're here because of the actions that you did. I should not forget that. The crime doesn't pay. Now you think there is justice here?

He's still kind of talking his mouth involves rolling from being beaten still. Well, I'm not so sure about justice, but, you know, for how many days we spent walking through the woods, I never got the chance to ask you. What kind of asshole gets drunk after he locks up prisoners downstairs and thinks it's going to be okay? Someone who had it all Grumly beat the fuck out of you Yes he did Yes he did

I was not accounting for A pug of all fucking vile creatures Easy now Watch yourself Anyone could have done it Yeah but especially grumly Because he's like three times my size Especially me

Yeah I thought the only risk was all of you sneaking off these useless skinketons, I should have known better. I told Mr. Smiles never to trust them. And then you killed him. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. This is justice.

And when I'm swinging from the gallows and doing a hangman's jig, will that give you solace? Will that help you sleep at night? It's not up to me whether they hang you or not. It's up to the Marquis eight. Yeah, but did you ask, I'll sleep better. Well, I'm glad I can give you pleasant dreams. And not much longer as the Toad says, oh, the mail was seen now,

and the door opens, and you see Sheriff Ace grab the scruff of Mr. Wise neck and walk him forward and kind of shove him into the room. And as you enter, you see this beautiful office with a huge window that looks out onto the lake, this massive sprawl on the lake with the beautiful marshlands on either side, large mushrooms popping up all throughout this marshland. And behind this elaborate desk, you see shells on every side with a variety of knitknacks and things. these gaudy gold things, you actually see a statue of, that's carved and crafted to be a very overly attractive version of this bloated toad creature. And in the flash, you see probably who this person is supposed to be. You see behind a, dressed in purple fineries, wearing huge jeweled rings on every one of his fingers.

You see a golden chain going on his pocket into her pocket watch. This slightly green, deep green skin with several warts and bulging eyes as you see Mayor Bogop. And he says, well, I received the letter that they'd be vagabonds bringing justice to for Mr. Smiles. May he rest in peace. That's right. Man, Mr. Manson. Why, wait. What an office.

You must be doing pretty well with yourself, huh? And I want to try to figure him out. Okay. Yeah, make a roll. What does it figure out? Charm? Oh, I don't have any charm. Why did I try to do that?

Doesn't matter. What did you roll? I rolled a six. I will help and make it sound. Don't help me. Because even on a miss, I can still last. what the most valuable thing he's carrying. Asking the important thing.

That he's carrying, at least on immediate, he's not carrying anything. You see that beside his desk he has a cane with a gold topper on it in the shape of his head. Of course he would. And you see that his rings

are very valuable as well. The Golden's pocket watch might also be quite valuable. And he he leans forward. and said, well, I received the letter, and thank you, I am doing quite well. Thank you, darling. Yeah, I can tell. Mr. Mayor, sir, we've apprehended the perpetrator, the one that killed, that murdered Mr. Smiles,

and attempted to take over his entire company. I have a signed confession right here. Let me see you. I'm supposed to do that, too. It's what we did in the Marquis' 8. I don't know. Sure. We did that. Eddie's, Eddie's.

And he begins to read it. And you see Ace kind of shut them forward and says, like, listen to their story. They're the ones that brought this to justice. I'm just seeing it through. Everything that they're about to tell you is true. And I'll bring word to the relevant authorities, as is my jurisdiction. and Reconnoir Ridge. And you see the mayor just reading it.

Yeah, it is. Fine. Sure, sure. As he's reading and says, Well, that's good enough for me. Now, this is going to be quite the feather in my cap. And what's the story here? Are you sure that you didn't murder Mr. Smiles? Not working.

What are they doing sending vagabonds here? you. Well, more than show. We have this written confession by the man himself. You've read it. He has a signature. It has his seal. It was not under duress, you know? Is this true, Mr. Weasel? He should have a glare. He leans. And, uh, yeah, he sees all of you glaring

and he says, and there's some hesitation. And Mr. Why not and says, it is true. I murdered Levi smiles. So to answer your question, the reason that Vangabonds would even deal with anything like this is because the man tried to pin it on us. So, of course, we've got to clear our names. That's right. And you'll give him a fair trial, of course, right? Fair trial, this is all I need.

Once his relatives find out what happened, then find out who did it? It'll be the hangman's jig for him. How very much. You have done me a great service. You have done the Marquis Aide great service. I tell you that. Yes, we did. They brought justice to Mr. Smar's and to those workers.

And so, I suppose you'll be staying in town for a while. Well, certainly not going to just, you know, mosey on through. We've been a long way, and we need to rest. Yeah, and I'll smell a lot of things out there that I want to eat. And, look, just don't before we forget, let's just tell them about who owns demands now. Oh, yeah. Oh, of course. I apologize.

guys. There's been a lot going on the last few days, but our very, very good friend, Seljan Alabaster, who also happened to be very, very good friends with the, Mr. Levi smiles, you know, may he rest in the treetops, the bottom line is that, it turns out Mr. Levi smiles left Selgin Alabaster everything. So he's running the minds now. So he's the one to know in Reck and Roy to Ridge. He's a good man. He knows what he's doing, and he's going to look out for the people, and he's going to make sure that everybody's happy. Well, can I entrust one of you to deliver a letter of recommendation from old Mayor Boghaw? Make sure I'm knowing the right people.

You'd like us to deliver the letter back to Reconard Rich? Anyone who wouldn't mind that would make it worth your while. Again, not to jump ahead, and as much as I like to make things worth my while, I think that the sheriff might be heading back that direction. What do you say, Ace? Yeah, I can take. I'll take it later. And it says, oh, just give me one moment.

And he shuffles around through his desk and pulls out a paper and he pulls out this large quill and just gaudy purple quill. And he is just scrubbing. And he finishes it and he swoops and swirls, seals with purple wax, and hands it to the sheriff. And the sheriff takes it and says, I've done my duty here. this man I know will hang and the mayor leans forward and says

well yes he'll be lucky if he hangs but that's not up for me to decide I will have the are my very competent cat soldiers take care of him and he'll be marched directly to new Felicia I trust the Marquise

will do the right thing in this case of course they always do the right thing eh grumly in this case yes in this one case they always do the right thing in this one case my friend grumly they always do the right thing

and you know I am I will tell you that you are a lifesaver you are bringing a little ray of sunshine and hope after such a treacherous terrible period for town. Oh, you don't say. Oh, oh yes, we had a shipment of taxes to, uh, to the marquisade that just, that went missing and so we have to just pay up somehow and the, the townsfolk, and especially me, I am bending over backwards to make sure that we are

delivering what's owed. Oh, you're paying your fair shares, what you're telling us. Absolutely. More than, more than. More than. No, I, I do not. I put the burden upon myself before I do it upon my people. Unbelievable. I mean, absolutely believable. Yes. It's all charming. That's all up. Whoa.

You're charming as fuck. I got two charm. Damn. I got too charm. I got two charm. Holy shit. I would like to know if he's telling the truth. No.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay, Rich. I don't need any confirmation. Did it. actually need confirmation. Probably, which she didn't. Gently need the confirmation. Terrible dragonflies.

You know how it is. Wait, what? The dragonflies are the highway, Robbins? Oh, well, the highway of the horrible, monstrous, fluttering dragonfly out on the marsh. We were sending it down the river to... Is this something Booker would have heard of before? Or Peggy? Well, I don't want to ask on her behalf, but...

I would say that... Probably both Booker and Peggy would have heard of monstrous dragonfly, just like he would fought a monstrous spider. So they're not as shocking as the barbarians. Correct. Okay. Right? You know that, like, they're a danger, and they're out in the forest, in the woodlands, you know, in the forest on the side of, like, the river and the lake. Oh, of course.

Monstrous dragonflies should say, well, that's certainly a tale that's believable in is a thing that exists. I believe that's true. Oh, they made off with all of our attacks. Every single gold piece, you say. That's what my men said. Terrible tragedy. They lost their lives. Wait. Well, why don't we just find the taxes for you,

and then the people won't have to pay extra? And you won't have to pay extra. Well, of course. So we have it under control. Are you sure? No, no need. No need to worry. No, I insist, and we help with this.

It's not right that all these poor folk have to pay extra just because a dragonfly something. Well, I don't even know if it's still above water. Well, luckily we have someone that can swim. And we can always stop by talking to your men. And he knows a few orders. Yes, I do. Well, that'd be very helpful.

I suppose I'll tell you where to go. Uh, give me an afternoon. Oh, of course. I've always wanted to be directed directly to my death. to my death. Oh, that I intend to. I mean... I mean, I appreciate the help. Yes, sir. We will be a very great help to you. Oh, yes. I swear it. And Book is very happy that we played our cons just like this, out in the open, for you to just, you know, slit our throats in our sleep.

I would never do anything like that. I do think I implore the vile tactics of the eerie. No, of course not. Absolutely not. And especially not the skinketins all the way out here, away from Wreckingham Ridge. Oh, we don't employ skinketons. No mercenaries. No, we are genuine approved by the Marquis-Zait. Just the Marquis-Zek.

Those very, very trustful individuals. I'm very, very trustful. They are the ones that allow me to look over this whole clearing with the benevolence of my toad heart. They said, but you know what? We don't need a cat in charge. You're a toad that knows how to play the game. And I use that relationship for all of the denizens. So what you're saying is that because you work for the people,

and we are going to be here to help you work for the people, you're willing to let us stay someone for free. I didn't say that. No, you did. You're going to take it upon yourself because that's the kind of person that you are. A self-sacrificial individual who will work for the people. Make a persuasion a role. Oh, you deserve more.

Persuade is with charm. I got a seven. So it says that they are they aren't sure, but the GM will tell you what you need to persuade them. If you can figure out a way where there's no witnesses here that he cares about, so if you get a sense that you could like spread the word that he's a benevolent person and like make him look good and say that you're going to do that to the people, that would be a way that you would persuade them.

So the bottom line is that I know that we can just stay at Peggy's workshop. I'm trying to squeeze that guy. Right. I know that. I don't want it to seem like I'm a bloominable. Well, I mean, you know, you know. At the end of the day, what's really important is the people know who we're looking out for. And I know, personally, that if someone of great stature were to do something for us,

but I couldn't shut my raccoon mouth about who it was. Oh, yeah, he's right. I want to shout it from the tree jobs. And if they would have thrown some free booze and drink, I'm sorry, drinking food, especially food. These rabbit folks certainly know how to bake. Well, then I really wouldn't even be able to... I would have to do nothing but say exactly who that generous individual was. To anyone who's willing to listen.

But... But... Those are just the musings of a vagabond raccoon. He's just a raccoon. I don't know if you notice, but if you look at it, I don't know if you can tell... I think the eye mask might have given it away. He looks just like a raccoon. He does.

So I suppose the ones that brought justice to Mr. Smiles might be good to have for morale as we collect additional taxes. Not me, of course, but the Marquisade is as people have to give up with their possessions and the like. I suppose if you spread the good word, it could help, and I'll put you up in the nicest hotel that we had. How about that? That sounds like an absolute deal. As long as you say, tell everyone you meet that Mayor Barcop has assisted in bringing justice to the slayer of Mr. Levi smiles. Done. That's wonderful.

His slimy hand sticks to you. That is lovely. Yes, yes. That was a great handshake. Yes. Lovely. This podcast is brought to you by our Patreon. Become a patron today.

at patreon.com slash Legends of Aventris and gain access to tons of exclusive perks including a monthly movie night and a weekly Patreon exclusive campaign set on the high seas shroud over salt marsh. You can also go to The Crooked Moon.com to pick up your own copy

of our first published supplement. The Crooked Moon, a folk horror tone for Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition. And don't forget to snag all the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, Herodek, and more. Thank you. So, as we said, do we have ourselves a deal? Yes, we have a deal.

Now, uh, Rodey will take you to the hotel and put you up with all the best accommodation. And the booze. Don't forget the booze. The booze, of course. We have food, of course. And you have tea. Just, just more tea. Yeah, whatever you want. Okay. This is, I know that we fall on on tough times, but old mayor of boghop, he has what you need, friends.

Friends, as long as you spread the good word that Mr. Mayor Barkha is looking out for the people. And we will not stop talking about it. Moral is very important here. Of course. You will stand. Of course. You want to stay. Oh, yes. Mayor Barker, my new best friend.

Well, we will get right on that, sir. Thank you so much, sir. Good afternoon. Good day. And with that, you see as four Marquis 8 soldiers, cats, heavily armored cats walk in, and they grab Mr. Y and start dragging him out along with you

as you and Sheriff Ace are escorted out into the town square. And you get one last look at the weasel as he's being carried away and he looks at all of you. My blood is on your hands. Thank you for the rain force, Great for you.

Hey, welcome. Welcome. As he says that, I just want to kind of tip my hat and say, well, I wish I could say that this wasn't the last I was going to see of you, but that would be a lie. And I just kind of like, you know, with a flourish, watch and go. And he is escorted away and you all enjoy two reputation with the Marquis 8. Oh, shit. Turning in

Levi smiles That puts me close I got four Yep So I'm one square away Is it two? Two

I'm going to borrow One of your pencils You got it You are Escorted Thank you To the windy Willow

It is a large Hotel that seems to be built into a large thick Willow tree that is, uh, that you see a beautiful sign of a willow tree blowing in the wind, um, with a little, uh, little boat on the river, uh, beneath it. And, uh, you enter, you are given a two rooms of gratis, free fucking gratis. And, uh, and you are a full sweat of food, of food and, and booze that you like. Well, well, well, is this how the

Marquis eight lives on a daily basis? I finally feel like we may have arrived. This is certainly nice. Not isn't in anything we've been staying out for the last like six months. I could get used to this and I fully intend to milk this mayor for all he's worth. Are we in our room? Yes. Or you're a pretty private. He's a real creek.

Oh yeah. We're going to squeeze him for every penny we can. I was real frustrated. I couldn't get anything off him. And he's got a lot of stuff on him. Well, let's not steal from the guy. Or maybe we could. He's stealing from everybody else.

So that's the thing. He was saying that the. Taxes were gone missing from a dragonfly, but I don't think he was telling the truth. You know, Brumley, I don't think he was either. I think so. I could sniff it out. Something about the way is that weird like toad stink. You know what I need to be.

You're getting better. You and I have been spending a lot of time together. You're starting to understand what it is. You know, this might have been why are you able to figure out that car. I tried to blow on you. It's my nose. It's my nose. That's how I flavor my plus two charms.

I'm, you know, you never cease to amazing me, my friend. and I'm glad to hear it. But the bottom line is that we can get a little bit out of him every day that he gives us free stuff. And at the end of the day, I feel like it all kind of evens out. As long as he's not just taking the free stuff from someone else and then giving it to us. Oh, no, that's absolutely what's happening, Hazel. Oh, so now I feel bad. You should listen to that.

No, no, no, I feel bad. We're doing our pot. We're orning our way. And at the end of the day, we're taking from the rich and we're giving to the poor. And I very clearly point to myself. I just would feel a lot better if I could, like, wrestle a couple of those rings off of his knobby toe fingers. I mean, nothing saying that you can't,

except for the fact that you might do the, what do you say, the hangman's jig. You don't want to be doing that. No, no, neither does bugger. Okay. Well, maybe we can figure out what you did with all their money. Well, if... So, me, you didn't just buy all those.

rings and put it on his toe fingers. I mean, it's a good chance that he did, but not necessarily with the missing shipment. If we really want to get to the bottom of this, and I'm going to tell you, I don't. No. No. Why? Are you kidding me? We're just far away out of a

damn money encampment. I almost died. I took a damn crossbow bolt to my shoulder. He seemed fine now. I seem fine now. Days later, and I still can't quite do this without it hurting. We don't do that, then. Yeah.

Look at him. He looks fine. You look fine. Like it me, grow at me. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't sign up to get in fighting. We're not, we're not fight us. We're just going to find the gold. Yeah, we're just going to find the gold and keep it for ourselves because fools are reasonably separated from the money. Yeah, but I'll give it back.

Give it back, Grumley, don't you even start with me. It's sort of like we find it and then we take like a finder's fee. We'll get paid. He would pay us. Find us. That's a great way to put in is 100% of what we find. We found it as ours. I saw a lot of those, you know, little mousy people.

They were running around. Oh, don't you tug at my heart strings. Do you have a heart? No, no. Booker does not have a heart. My plan's failing. Yes. Over way, I think we just wait and we see what the mayor says.

And if he's like, oh, it's some really dangerous, dangerous suicide mission. I mean, we should be able to milk this for like a month, right? A full month, 30 full days of us just chilling here and enjoying the lovely, lovely food and booing. for free. That's my plan. Well, we'll see what he said. 30 days is just about enough time for me to get sick of this place and move on to the next clear. Well, I'm going to lead as soon as we can, Peggy, to patch up my armor and me sword. Well, of course. I mean, look, I didn't forget. I didn't forget that Peggy lives here and her

workshop is here, but look at what we're at. No offense, Peggy, but I certainly didn't expect you to put out like this. I mean, this is all the free food and booze we can eat. And then we'll get to the workshop And we'll spend a lot of time Then it'll be lovely But at the end of the day I'm gonna milk the mayor For all he's worth

Well You can do that I'm in it for the big pay day The big pay What does that mean? It means finding wherever he took that goal to And getting it Oh and keeping it for ourselves

Most of it Most of it See I like the way she thinks scrumly You could do a little bit better By working with Hazel We've got to make sure we're doing Good for the people And good for ourselves

What's good for books? is good for the people. That doesn't make any sense, okay. Just think about it, a little bit longer, and we'll get back to that. Gromley,

tell me a little bit more about what you want to do. I would like to have Peggy repair my armor and my sword. Good, good, because look at all these things in it. All those spiders we killed, I'm totally wrecked.

And you didn't say justice once, which means we're on the same page. And I want to get justice for these poor townsfolk damn it. Stealing taxes from these people. No, no, that was not the point of the truth. Damn it, Peggy, can we please go to the workshop? And if you would like to go to the workshop

or we can wait until next session, it's fine. We'll wait until next session. But I'll say that Rudy, the small toad gentleman that works for Mayor Boghop, fetches you, and it's with that. The Ace has been joining you for a drink, and he's like, I'll stay the night, but I'm going to sleep off this hangover and make my way back

to Reck and Noid or Rich. So. Hey, Mr. Ace. Yes. How do you wear that red thing around your waist? Find that it makes me a quicker draw. Huh. Yeah, how it works.

I never seen anybody else do that? You love a dangerous life. I used to. Killed a lot of men. Don't recommend them. Nah, I take that advice. Well, I'm going to go see if they gotten any cards here. I want to make my way out

Be careful That letter Getting back to old Mr. Alabaster is important Yeah I'll be fine on the trail I know how to stay out of the sides Of those birds

If without that fucking weasel Weighing me down If there's anything we can do for you You let us know Like I said to Alabaster I mean to you too You got friends only a few calenings away That's wrong Sheriff

It's been a pleasure Thank you for your help sir Ace is fine. And Ace, just try to keep some law and order in the town. Reconnaught a Ridge, it's a rough place, but I think with Selgin running things and that nice Fox gentleman, which I believe is probably the one warning the operation now, I think it can maybe turn over a new leaf. Well, we'll see.

Maybe there's new life left yet, Rekenoir Ridge. I'm going to go find me some poker. Go luck. Take care. walks off. It's then that Rody comes in and he guides you out and you see that as he takes you through

the town square, it's the first time you've really seen it to its full extent. There is a huge fountain at the center with a huge statue that's spitting up water and it's carved into the shape of Mayor

Boghot. And you see that it's made out of stone but there are patches of metal on these gilded metal all in his bloated form still carved and and built to be a far more attractive

visage of Mayor Boghop, but he's standing there gloriously in the center of this town, the statue. And with that, Rody gives you directions to where the last shipment was.

the taxes making its way down the river. And and it's basically a point along on the far side of the lake into the swamp. Let me go to the map. Yeah. So he thinks that we're...

So we're here currently. Yeah. We're this little raccoon guy to our viewers. So it's down here somewhere? To the further, closer to the... This way? The close are here. Up, up. He was going up the river.

Apologies. Oh. So it's going up the river here. Yeah. Click, click clock crossing. Oh, shit. So it's up here.

So, no, it's not up there. It's just right out. It's going that way. It's basically on the edge of the, like, you know, past the edge of the north. The edge of the clearing. Yes. Yes. Yes.

The end of the clearing. Got it. So we'd have to go, like, up here. Yeah. And, uh, with that. As he, as he hands this to you. Um, you, as you're going through the town, you hear the wailing and the crying of, of mice, it sounds like.

And you're like, no, please, please, it's all we have. And you see kind of down an alley, an alleyway, not too far from this lavish town square, little row of mice houses, as you see down one house at the end of the row, as a number of cat soldiers are standing. standing outside, and you see that they're filling up this cart with, you see a large grandfather clock placed in. You see like a set, a box of nice china that's being put into the cart, and it's a smattering of coins. As you see a cat with this dark gray fur and at its side, this a, a, a, a, at its side, this a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a. large, almost like a whip with nine tails on the end. Oh, whipped up with a hood on,

helping, assisting considerably larger than the other cats. They're just dragging in. And you hear the wailing of, uh, other people, like, please no. And then as you see the cat to smack this, uh, this, this, this was wailing mouse woman. And, uh, are we walking directly past it? So you're not directly past it. So you're kind of towards, as you're seeing in the square, it's down the alley towards this road.

Don't look at you like that. Oh, I'm looking at you. Don't look at you like that. I'm looking at you. Grummley, what's the matter? See what's going on down there? No, no, no, no. I don't see anything we proceed.

He's lying. He sees it. No, no. I see it. No. And take me belongings. Just because you're not looking at something doesn't mean you can't see it. You're just choosing not to see it.

Grumley, it's not about business. What's going on down there? All right? Look at a little mousy face. What do you want us to do about it? I just, she just is probably somebody's mom or like, Are we working for the Maki Zane? Are we not working for the Maki Zay?

Well, we just... We are not working for the Mokicay We should. They're not taking more taxes than they should. Maybe this is fair, maybe it's not, but we don't know until we ask. Who are you to... Damn, come back! Damn it!

To go up to this little. And I'll chase after him. I'm gonna follow behind him. No. You see, you see the, uh, the Morrow. You see the, uh, the Molling. mouse woman, she's wearing a bonnet, and she's crying and she's holding her cheek as she goes back dejected, hang your head. And you see peeking out the corner of these two young mouse children,

all of these brown furred mice, as the cats are loading up this cart. And you see that they're, these two armored soldiers, and then the one with the large whip at the side has this large clipboard. And then with a pen. checks off something as you approach. I wish so, an interesting. Time out. How big is this cat compared to our boy, Gromley? Uh, bigger.

No! That's a big cat. It's, um, you know, like a Russian blue? The NEDM cat? Like the big, thick gray fur, like, thick boy. Is that bigger than a Maine Coon cat? Uh, probably similar.

Probably similar, but it's like a big... A Maine Chon. It's like a small winks. Yeah, no. This is like a big, chunky, uh, Russian blue cat. Well, yeah, a lynx is fucking huge. Give her to a house cat. A mean, crew is like, Lynx. He's got the leather hood and the whip on the side.

Now, now, now, now, now, Grumley. Easy then, buddy. Come on, come. Come on. I would like to know why are you whipping these poor people. Yes, you're asking the very large gentleman why he's beating the star. Why are you getting into Marquis A business? We are collecting taxes.

as well as it happens to be, we are under the orders of the mayor to find the missing taxes. So if you're collecting additional taxes because of that missing shipment, I must implore you to stop immediately and return these possessions. Now, now, now, my very, very large, furry friend,

what my good friend, Grumley here means to say is that we're all being a little too hasty here. And I give him a very desperate smile. How does that work? All I'm doing is I'm trusting fate. to see me through. And hoping that Grumley doesn't get his ass handed to him by this very, very large cat. I would like to try to disarm him.

Like, you know, not disarm him physically, but, you know, charmingly disarm him. Roll the best of trusting fate is what it is. So that is a basic move. It's a called trusting fate. I rolled with charm instead of luck, though. Makes it real good. That is going to be an eight. and eight

okay did you scrape by with that well I mean seven to nine is a pass oh I thought it was sorry well let me see what it well what does it say

trust feet yes so on a hit I scrape by and the GM will tell me what it costs so it looks like he's going for his and as you butter him up he rolls his eyes

and he removes his Give him a toothy back his hand. He glowers at you and says, You, Lord, haven't obviously heard of the Cat of Nine Tales. Hmm. Is that who you are? Is that like a story book? Whatever the mayor told you doesn't matter to me.

I work for the Marquis-Ate. I'm from New Felicia. I've been sent to collect the taxes that failed to make their way where they should. Now, you, I am remembering your face. Oh, well, I must have... You are very lucky that I am not lunging forward at you, right? But it's second. Let me do...

I'll snap you in two, rack here. Hold on, hold on. Please, grumly. Yeah, don't let them kill you. The taxes that were missing, they will be recovered. There's no need to do this. These people have already paid their taxes. Isn't that right, Miss Mouse person?

Shut up you! Look, she paid her taxes already. I don't care if she paid him already. I'll care if the taxes make your way to new Felicia. Can you do you... Then give her... Days. I will be in town for the next few days

collecting the rest of my list. And you see a... He turns his clipboard. And there is a number of families, dozens and dozens and dozens of families. So just so we're all on the same page, Mr. Scary Marquis 8 person. If we could, you know, somehow we claim the missing taxes,

you wouldn't need to take these extra taxes. Is that correct? That is correct. And we have your work. That's how taxes work. That's all I care about. I'm not told to bring the taxes. What are owed to new Felicia?

Three days. Three days I'll be in town. Right, Brumley, three days. Three days. We'll get those taxes in you. Please stop. doing, I will have the mayor put you up in a nice hotel room, with all the booze and food you can drink.

Oh, we will. I ain't stopping. No, you need to stop. You need to, if they've only paid their taxes for this month, and it was part of the shipping, they got lost. And what he means is it, why spend three days just wearing yourself out when you're just going to have to redistribute all the taxes? Very, very smart, he's...

Because... You're going to go and get up by a giant dragonfly. Oh, no. You think? You think that's what we're going to do? Oh, the list of what has been taken. You bring the taxes. We'll return an old.

I'm continuing my job. Brumley, I think that means you're just being the way it is right now, all right? We'll get all your possessions back. Don't you worry? You better keep a good inventory. We're going to try, die, I guess. Good luck. Okay, onto the next one.

We're just next door. Don't know to what we're for. as the cart gets wheeled next to. And then you see that there's cowering mice kind of peeking out from the next window, and you hear the bang on the door. Grumley, a word over here. And I point away, like, you know,

away from the houses and the people, maybe off to the side a little bit. And I wait for him to approach. I will approach. I climb up on Grumley, like on his shoulders. Like, damn it, Brumley, son of my god! And I'm coming on him. Every single time I swear we do this.

You're why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Blumley, why do you make me do this? I'm not making you do anything. You are.

You are. You are. Brumley. You're putting us into predicaments that we don't eat to be in. This worthless mayor is stopping these people from collecting taxes. Worthless mayor. Well, yeah, of course the mayor is worthless. He's not clearly in charge here. Did you hear the poor little mouse?

I heard the poor little mouse. What do you want to do? It's terrible when they cry and then they bake and then they're and the pies get oversalted because the tears go into the mix. So what? Now you think we're going to, we're going to, we're going to, we're going to just ruin all the pies? We're going to trade soft into the swamp and go face some giant dragonflies and hope that somehow we're going to miraculously recover all of this gold. It might be an adventure.

It might be an adventure. That's all you have to say. We're going to get paid. We're going to get paid. We're going to get paid. Is that all you ever say to old book? We're going to get paid. That is all I said.

You think that's enough to get me to. be in on it. Well, you see, right, yes. That is enough for me to be in on it, but I don't want to die. I can't enjoy the gold if I'm dead, Grongley. All I want is to retire somewhere on the river and enjoy a nice sunset with all of my gold amongst all this turmoil. How can I do that if I'm dead?

You think one puny dragonflies are any match for us? One punitive. I can't single-handedly smarted smoked. Grumby. Grumby, Grumby, let me stop you right there. Have you ever seen a dragonfly? they kept in that different from giant spider the giant dragonfly

So you're just assuming there's only going to be one Or two or three two We can handle it There's four of us we're all capable I just look at Peggy and say This dumb son of us Okay, okay Okay, okay, don't need for name calling

I I am going back to our beautiful, beautiful hotel And I am going to drink until I can't see straight. And then, and then, my friend, we'll have a conversation about dragon flies. And I stop off towards the hotel. What's our partnership thing?

You saw, oh, it's, well, actually, it just says, so here's the question I had, right? It says, when you figure them out, you can always ask, are you telling the truth, you're going to miss. Okay, so when you're figuring me out, okay. But I feel like it shouldn't be that way. Because you saw through my con, right?

And it doesn't make sense that all of a sudden that I would magically have insight into your brain. I would even say it would be both ways if you want. Okay. Please. If you want to try to figure out. I'm going to try to figure, figure, figure out. Okay. Oh, for sure.

Pretty good. That's bad. So what would you like to? You have what? You get 13. You get three questions then? I got three questions. Go ahead.

So you're already stopping away, but you just. Yeah, no, it's fine. We're having a conversation. It's good. So what does your character wish I would do? Booker wishes for once in your goddamn life. You'd keep your flat-faced nose out of other people's businesses, putting Booker into mortal danger.

Okay. Squished up news. How could I get Booker to be at least amenable and go, would not fight against the plan to get these taxes. Grumly would have to convince Booker that there is not a great risk of mortal danger. Otherwise, Book is not opposed to doing the right thing. Booker's worried about needlessly throwing his life away. And then one more.

What is Booker really feeling? Booker's conflicted. Booker is very conflicted. Because, and I'm willing to give you more, he understands that there is injustice. He's not blind, right? But his nature is that he wants the easy score of the money. And even if that means not doing the right thing, it doesn't mean he's guiltless. Got it.

If that helps. But Buck is going to go drink for now. Oh, go on, then. Be that way. I just kind of like wave my hat in the distance. and I just keep going. You do that. What do you do?

What should we do? What time is it? It's probably approaching sunset. Well, we would await word from the mayor, so we told him we'd give him the afternoon. I suppose we could just follow behind, give him some space. So that's not awkward, but we'll follow not too far behind. We'll let him get way far away,

and then we'll go back from him. Girl, I'll... Yeah. So, yeah, you have the general just the last time the ferry was seen, or the riverboat was seen. Right. Okay. And then you all make your way back to the hotel, bookers, drinking. What do you do with the rest of your day?

Wait, so we're not waiting for it on the mayor. No, no, no. So Rody came in. I just skipped it, basically. He says, he's, like, kind of like, oh, it's here. That's the last time we saw it. So that's our information. That's your information.

And so it's a bend in the river. It's just that's pretty treacherous that you know. That it's kind of marshy on all sides, but it's treacherous. The tree cover is thick. And you know there's things like giant beetles in the swamp lamp rays, massive dragonflies. Well, I know we got here with Little Lake, which is why I started drinking, because if this is my last day in the dimwood, I'm going to make it a good one. We can head out in the morning, I suppose, if that's our course of action. If you like, I guess.

If I, what is that supposed to mean? It sounds like a fret. How's your fretting me? Hazel. What? You watch yourself. You just, you haven't a lot of us all. Yeah, and I'm basically immune.

All right? You watch yourself. I'm by my own self. All right? Agent, you'll be full. Are you winking at me or are you seeing you two? No, I'm scowling at both of you. Ah, all right.

Well, often, we can enjoy nause, comfortable sleep tonight. Enjoy the room, get an early night, get lots of rest. And then in the morning, Be eaten by Dragonfly. We should set out, maybe swimming by Pevelli's workshop. You mispronounced, be eaten by Dragon Place. Kill some Dragon, you don't be fine, Booker. Well, you're going to be in no danger.

We might have to kill a dragonfly. They might be long gone. We just take a little boat. Maybe you talked to some other go on. Be like, oh, hey, remember me from way back when? We take a boat out. Peggy goes and swims around, finds the missing boxes. She ties a rope.

Do you honestly believe that I know all of the otters? Well, you say that you know artists, I assume you know every other that's on the river. At what point in time do you realize that half of the time, I'm talking out of my ass? That's a lot of thing. I guess I just half the time I know that half the time you'll talk me out of your ass. Okay.

So roughly a quarter at a time. Oh, great. Well, then I guess we'll see how this conversation with the artist goes tomorrow. I think it'll be fun. Oh, yeah. I think it'll be fun. I bet you do it'll be fun. Anyway, it'll be fine.

It'll be real quick. We just pick your earseum around, find them. We pull them up with my muscles, and that'll be that. That sounds very easy. Oh, it's very easy, very easy. More mouse people. Yes. They didn't have.

I don't hear any more mouse crying. It makes me, like, feel bad in my heart region. Do you think anyone likes to hear that? Well, I don't know. The cat looks pretty pleased. That sadistic, son of a bitch. Yeah. He threatened to snap me in two.

They did. It was really rude. Oh, I'd like to see him try. He's a big cat, wasn't it? I don't ever want to see him try. What a... What a God. He's not... I'm not going to let him be amassed to these people for long.

I hope you're right, Brownlee. I hope you're right. All right, well, I should probably... Sleep without my arm or on for once. So I'm going to, like, just get down on regular clothes, It's from the first time in a long time. You do that. And get into a bed, and I will pass out.

Okay. I think I'm going to take a little walk before bed. Walk off some of this food. I'm going to sit here and have another drink of two, and I'll find myself in bed sooner than later, I suppose. So I'm going to walk out into, like, the Town Square area. How, is there still a lot of people milling about? At this point, it's not that leading to the evening.

It's probably about, like, 9 o'clock. and there's a number of people making their way. Some people are, it might be fishermen heading back home or some people are making some last-minute purchases at some of the stores that are just like trying to get that last purchase before they go to bed,

before the stores all close. And yeah, so it's about, it's not super bustling, but people, you can see that a lot of the mice and the frogs are kind of sad, and they're counting their coins that they have left if the cat of nine tails had hit their house, so they're trying to get the deals that they can. Okay. I want to sit on the edge of the fountain and just pull a snack out and wait for crowd to disperse.

Okay. You do that. And I'll say that the evening, so you're continuing to drink? Yeah. I'm going to stay in the hotel room and basically just like, you know, continue to consume, you know, and imbibe because it's rare that we have this much available to us until I, you know, I'm ready to go to bed and pass out. Okay. I'm not doing anything. So, Grumley, you're, you're, so you're drinking at the bar. Grumly, you're settling into bed in your normal clothes. It's hard for you to immediately fall asleep. As the, as you wait, as you're sitting, you're not a sleep yet, as you're sitting, you're waiting for the crowd to disperse.

And as the clouds part, a nearly full moon, almost illuminates. this city, and you see that there are these street lamps filled with these own bioluminescent fireflies of some kind and bits of mushroom that at night, in the day, they seem normal, but at night they are glowing. And there's this beautiful, a beautiful hue, a colorful hue to this town at night. As you sort of hear from a lot of the frog homes, this beautiful musical croaking. It's incredibly peaceful. And Grumly, and Booker, you're into a drink and you're waiting in the crowd is dispersing. Grumly, you're trying to sleep.

And then suddenly you hear a loud bell going off. Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, and you're awoken immediately. And you have to see people immediately rushing to their homes. And you hear a loud, a bullfroar. Roar. Get to your homes! Dragon! And bang! Bang! Bang! Clang! And Grumly, you're able to just take a look out the window. Booker you, too. Hazel, you managed to see for a moment as a massive shadow shades, almost the entire square,

as you hear a loud, coughing is buzzing. And you have a massive shadow. a massive shape passes over you. And you see a dragonfly. You had seen giant spiders. This thing is at least twice the size of the giant spider that you had killed. As it flies, massive red eyes, a mawerell, these horrible proboscises and mandibles dripping. As it just buzzes over, people are cowering, looking up.

as the moon illuminates it, as it casts this silhouette as it flies northward up the river. And that's what a fun. Holy, holy. What a great fucking, goddam, man. That was great. Let's do advancement. Who advanced? I think I advanced twice.

So tell us. Tell us what you did. And let's hear what the game master says. Up to Game Master. But greed, you advance when you secure a series pay or treasure. I would say the, like, the GENDS. I think the getting paid would be a payday, yeah. Okay.

And then ambition, you advance when your reputation increases with affection, which happened a couple times. I don't know. It is just once. Yeah. Wow. So you can advance a maximum of twice, right? One for each of your lives.

And what do I do for that again? So you can choose either a stat, up to three. And in this game, there are three stats. There's charm-cutting finesse luck, or five, sorry. Right. Arm-cutting, finesse, luck, and might. You can choose one of your weapon skills, which are various kind of special weapon attacks. And then you can choose one of your regular kind of class moves for our years and heart.

So... I could choose two because I advanced... Do you have generous ruling of wonder lust... It's been a while. We've... I have come to a new or clearly I haven't been doing a very long time. The question is, thrills. You advance when you escape from certain death or incarceration.

I would say 100% I would say Booker you were literally incarcerated. And or incarceration. I mean, we were almost You were literally incarcerated. All right, then I gained two levels or two advancements. I also level up twice, I believe. I advanced when I pursue

and achieve justice for someone deeply wrong by another powerful denizen. And I advance when I uphold my sense of personal honor at great cost of yourself or your allies or Booker. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. Fuck you. Oh, you all advanced twice. What an action-packed sales.

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