Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Previously on Alicia Rising. I was expecting you to be a bit tardier with your timekeeping cavern.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Let's just say I'm learning some better skills nowadays.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: She reaches in and pulls out this lightning lure. That is a remarkable discovery. Cavern. You absolutely recognize this goblin to be high priestess lucrative, the leader of the Church of Ire. The cathedral is open to anyone who would welcome Ayah's light into their hearts.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: It's open to anyone.
And I sort of make eye contact with her, showing her the red of my eyes.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: Everyone. Well, well, well.
We meet again. Catherine. I told you it wouldn't be the last time you saw me. This is one freshly obtained warrant of arrest.
[00:01:02] Speaker D: So Freida's gonna step forward and take that warrant out of the city. Watch his hand. And just while staring into his eyes, just tear it into tiny little pieces.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: Magpie, Algernon, and Atta. You notice that the watch unholster the cudgels and maces from their belts from behind you. You are resisting arrest, and they are authorized to do whatever needs be. You're left in the street outside the spectre like spattered in each other's blood. You've successfully fought off the watch. Right.
[00:01:39] Speaker D: Time for a pint now, I think.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Definitely.
[00:01:49] Speaker D: Welcome to Elysia, the jewel of the north. On our gilded streets, fortune and fame can be found by anyone.
[00:02:00] Speaker E: Hi, I'm Julia, and I'm playing Magpie, an ace of our lurk.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Hi, I'm Nate, and I'm playing cavern, a dragon scent slide.
[00:02:11] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Meg. I'm playing Frieda, a wolfkin cutter.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: Hi, I'm JC, and I'll be playing Algon, an ace of our spider.
[00:02:21] Speaker F: Hello, I'm Erol. I am playing atta, a goblin whisper.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: And my name is DM Dan. I will be the games master on this adventure.
[00:02:31] Speaker D: So come on in and marvel at our wonders. Make sure you see the beautiful views we have to offer. And don't mind the ghosts. They're friendly, really. Grab yourselves as a seat and make yourselves welcome in the city of Elysia.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Welcome back to explorers of elsewhere's Elysia rising campaign.
We've had a bit of a barney, haven't we?
Look at all.
[00:03:08] Speaker D: Look at all these stress balls.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Okay? I mean, the. You know, the final results speak for themselves. You've managed to fend off some naughty city watch.
[00:03:23] Speaker D: We made friends, you know, changing the campaign name to Elysia Rising. Friendship is magic.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Yes.
Yes. We've had our first proper kind of nitty gritty. That was. I think that's the most scrappy ttrpg fight I've ever witnessed. And I applaud each and every one of you. That was incredible.
So, yes, you've managed to see off the city watch. You currently stand outside the specter, just caverns, just leaning against the wall, groaning slightly. Appears his arm is dislocated and he's kind of clutching his ribs with his good hand.
Atta, you're a bit scuffed, having been sort of like bodied out the way by. By cavern. Frieda, you're like, the world is spinning slightly and sort of like jittering in and out of focus. And you can feel a really kind of delicate, tender spot in the back of your head. And you can feel a lump kind of growing out the back of your head already from a cudgel blow you took to the back during the fight.
Everyone else seems relatively alright.
Just a bit shaken, I would assume.
So we can get rid of the watch clock. They are. They are done for.
But you do know that the sergeant. The look on the sergeant's eyes as they retreated was one of a desire for revenge. So see what happens going forward.
What do you do? What are you doing?
A bit of downtime, Dan.
[00:05:09] Speaker D: Might need to reduce some of this stress.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Let's. Let's just kind of fast forward straight into the downtime.
We'll start with the. The highest.
The highest stress. So Cavern, once again on eight of nine, yeah. What is it you're doing?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: I think.
I think me and Meg are gonna do. I think Cavern and Frieda are gonna do the exact same things and try and get some healing done.
So I'm wondering if you're up for this, Meg, that we actually go to the same person who you were thinking.
[00:05:47] Speaker D: Frida's gonna turn to Catherine, say, I tell you what.
First off, bloody well done, mate, for getting right in there. I'm so proud of you. You have no idea. And Afrida, like, claps you on the back, probably a bit too close to the shoulders, and then realize, oh, shit. Sorry, mate.
Anyway, I think I know someone who can sort us out.
Let's go see my friend Jocasta. I think you'll like her.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:20] Speaker D: She gives a bit of a wink.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Oh, I don't know what that kind.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: Of wink means from you.
[00:06:28] Speaker D: Wouldn't you like to know?
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Um, so, uh, Frida, where, like, where is Jocasta? Or where do you find her?
[00:06:37] Speaker D: Uh, you can find Jocasta in Rookridge. Or I should say underneath Rookridge. Okay, so access through the sewers and then you can get to a big old chamber which is essentially where the rookridge fighting pits are held. These are sort of not exactly legal dens of, well, fighting.
It's a sort of mismatch of like, you know, sort of rough necked.
You know, people who come there to train their fighting, but also, you know, they run fights for gambling purposes, for just general entertainment purposes.
You know, it's where Frida goes, you know, after a hard day punching people.
Frida really likes to go and punch more people, so, uh, sure. So, yeah, that's where we're going. And Jocasta is the sort of, I guess the. The fighting ring leader, you could say.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Um, in which case, um, as you kind of enter into this kind of fighting pit like cavern. You're so sorry. Is it in like, in this, like it's level with the sewers but it's not strictly part of the sewer system.
[00:08:10] Speaker D: Yeah, it's not strictly part of the sewer system, but you'd have to get down there to access it. But it's almost like, um, imagine like an underground high vaulted, sort of, you know, halls of Moria type lord of the Rings.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: Yeah, okay.
[00:08:33] Speaker D: Half built into the rock itself, half sort of man made.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Sure. Okay, so in which case, yeah, cavern.
Like, you're feeling pretty kind of woozy already, like, it hurts to breathe. Your arm feels really kind of heavy as it hangs limp at your. Your side.
And like, the smell doesn't help, but as you move through, you enter into this kind of large kind of hall of sorts.
And like, the sounds of concussive thuds and like grunting and straining echo off the damp walls around you.
And sort of like in this, what you can only describe as like a fighting cage, you can see two sort of like rather burly Laura VAR. Just trading blows with one another, just sucking seven bells out of one another.
Watched over by a dark skinned wolf kin woman.
Her hair is kind of pulled back in like a. Almost like a ponytail, but it kind of sticks almost straight out. And you notice that she has a very distinctive set of like wolfkin markings across her forehead and down her nose in sort of like sky and darker blue hues.
And like she's just kind of leaning against the side of the cage just watching these two. Laura Vargo ham. And every so often she's leaning forward, sort of like shouting out instruction or words of affirmation.
But as the two. If you kind of enter in, she turns and looks up to see you. Like specifically, she looks at you first. Cavern. And like a brow follows as she wonders who this stranger is. And then from behind you steps Frieda. And you notice that this Wolfgang woman's face immediately softens and she.
There she is.
She shouts out and like her, her voice is booming and like reverberates off the halls.
And you, what she saw, like quite efficient, effortlessly climbs over the top of the cage kind of lap, jumps down with surprisingly sort of like feline like grace.
And then in a relatively few but great strides like soars towards the two of you, effectively brushes past you. And then she just like embraces Frida in this really big encompassing hug.
[00:11:19] Speaker D: All right, watch the back of the head now.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: Oh, you right love, are you, you pained?
[00:11:27] Speaker D: Oh, just a little bit. We've been out making friends. My, uh, my companion here and me.
This is Catherine. He's alright. He is.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: Um, the woman looks you up and down and where'd you find this whelk?
[00:11:46] Speaker D: Oh, don't be like that now, Jocasta. He's fine. He got right in there. You see, we're up against this group of five. You know, one of those old puffy city watch boys. You were there poofing up their chests thinking they're hard. We, we took them, me and Kav. He got right in there, he did. However, he has now got a dislocated arm for the, for the price of it. So I was wondering if you could help patch us up.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: The woman like size, like is looking at you, Frida. And every so often cameron, she like turns to look to you and like the look, every time she looks to you, the face is one more. It becomes more and more like motherly hen. Like she's like, no. And like this, the, the pity gets more and more and then she sort of like walks up to you, she puts one hand so like on your, on your good shoulder and then she's like, is it, is it this? Is it this arm? No.
Pointing at you. Dislocated? Yes, yes, yes. Right. And then she like grabs your. Dislocated or your wrist and then just like wobbles your arm about a bit and you stifle and she's like, oh yeah, no, that's, that's definitely dislocated. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're definitely gonna need to get that looked at.
And she. See what I can do.
So are the two of you both doing heelys?
[00:13:17] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Yes. Okay, I'm going to argue she's tier one because fundamentally she's a solo project down in the sewers. So she's gonna roll a fortune.
[00:13:30] Speaker D: Don't worry.
[00:13:31] Speaker F: Calv.
[00:13:31] Speaker D: Me and Jocasta go way back.
[00:13:35] Speaker B: That's what I'm afraid of.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Right, so Jocasta tends to you first, Frida.
So she sort of like, look, she's like going through your hair just like trying to figure out if there's any kind of like, like, leave it, like any cuts where the swelling is. And like, she's poking it to see which bit hurts the most. Mainly because she's probably more bloody curious.
But she rolls a two, so you heal one segment on your heel clock.
[00:14:13] Speaker D: Ah, boop.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: There we go. Cool. One segment on the heel clock. And she tells you that, yeah, you're definitely gonna have to get some. Like, you're gonna feel a bit woozy every now and again. The world's gonna start spinning. You just gotta stop and, you know, calm down a little bit.
And then she turns to. To you, cavern. Right, sweet cheeks, let's have a look, she says.
So she's gonna give you a look over. Also a two. This is clearly she's a medic of tough love.
[00:14:47] Speaker D: It won't be pretty, but she'll get the job done, calv, don't you worry. She have a sip of this first?
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Yes.
Yeah. Freedom. You know what's about first?
Freedom, you know what's about to happen. So cavern, as you're given this sort of like canteen of like mushroom liquor, and you're like, what? What? And like, before you get a chance to take a sip, Jocasta is sort of like, she's squatting down by your side, just kind of sizing you up and she, and then she grabs your, like, pinches your neck and then grabs your shoulder with her other hand and just with like a shoulder barge, just knocks your arm back into its socket and then she, she looks up and with all your fingers, it hurts to wiggle your fingers and she goes, oh, you'll be fine, so you'll be alright soon, she says, and then, like, she then leaves and then a few moments later comes up. Oh, and then just throws you a bundle of bandages and just says, just wrap those around you. Round your ribs. Yeah, you're creaking when you move.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: He sort of looks at them and goes, like, anything less gray.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: The wolf king woman looks to you.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: I know that's gonna find the fine.
I'm sure I'll find something to match.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Clearly, school of tough love. You also only get one segment of your heel clock healed. But when that fills up your dislocated arm and your bruised ribs will be better.
So that's, uh, yeah, cavern. That's your first downtime. And Frieda, yours as well. What else you doing?
[00:16:45] Speaker B: Um, well, I'm probably going to need to indulge in some vices.
Just a little bit.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Who else is it? Just sort of like the two Laura VAR. In the. In the cage.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: There's. There's quite a few.
What? You notice that it's primarily wolf kin right. Lurking about down here. The two Laura VAR. Like you can see some of the wolf can like hollering and hooting and like placing bets. You can see kind of money getting exchanged and there's like a mixture of like cries of celebration and like groans of defeat as one of the Loraval just eats Matt from a haymaker.
Yeah, but primarily like the Laura vile. Looking around, they're all kind of looking at you, but, you know, overhearing what Jocasta is saying to Frida, you've been referred to as pretty boy on more than one occasion.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: I think in that case, hearing that, I think Katherine's gonna feel a little bit more of his oats. A bit more. And he's gonna find like, I'm gonna say like a rather attractive young wolfkin woman who may be just sort of standing in the corner and sort of chatter up and just kind of go like, you know, I thought the city watched tonight, don't you know, and just try to impress her for maybe a little bit of a fiddle around the back.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: Oh, you are a big scary man. Yes, she says.
Okay, I'm fighting with the guard. I'm trying to find like the smallest.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Wolf king I can find. They're probably like the same height as me.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: Kevron, roll me your insight.
So one dice for your indulge vice?
[00:18:47] Speaker B: Oh, no one for me then, obviously.
[00:18:52] Speaker A: Oh no, Cavern is broken like a twig.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: I've got bruised ribs.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: Give me a chance. It would seem that she cared. Not okay. Yeah, so you can help feeling almost as battered as when you went in.
Okay, let's finish off. Frida, what's your second downtime again?
[00:19:24] Speaker D: I think I'm gonna have to reduce some stress. And you know, I'd like to think that, you know, to be honest, watching Cavern trying to peacock in the den of muscle mummies would be stress relief enough.
But on the. On the alternative, she's going to turn to Jocasta and ask her. So who's up on the ring tonight? Who's next on the books?
[00:19:50] Speaker A: Jocasta.
So she tells you that there's a couple of new. But ever since Tavareen died, like more people have been turning up, like, people have been turning up with more regularity and, like, new faces have been turning up. And she's a bit concerned about how, like, the word is spreading, but she's also a bit. She also mentioned she's a bit wary that some of the new. That, like, there's new kids that have rocked up from old Town and she's overheard them talking about, like, are we gonna join a gang?
And, like, yeah. As you give her the face cast. And also. I know, right.
But what's worrying is that, are you having this conversation whilst having a bout in the ring? Just having the discussion while you throw fists at one another?
[00:20:52] Speaker D: Yeah, why not?
[00:20:54] Speaker A: So, yeah, Jocasta's just like. But the worrying thing is the crowd, this crowd that they're looking to get into, they don't sound like a good crowd.
[00:21:04] Speaker D: Right.
[00:21:05] Speaker A: Arsonists, all right?
And the last thing we want right now is fire.
We don't need nuts. We don't need firebrand nuts running around the streets. So I tried to knock some sense into them, but they weren't having. It seems that. Seems that there's a group and they're just rounding up discontents and swelling their numbers.
[00:21:36] Speaker D: I don't suppose you've got a name for me, have you?
[00:21:39] Speaker A: And, like, you, as you say that, and you sort of, like, shoulder her in the collarbone and she. In the sternum and she staggers back. Oh, yeah, the kindling, they're calling themselves.
[00:21:55] Speaker D: I've heard that name before.
[00:21:58] Speaker A: They sound like nuts, but it's probably. Well, normally I think that it's just something that will blow the, you know, just a fad that will blow itself out. But now that Tavareen's gone.
[00:22:14] Speaker D: Vacuum. Right.
Well, stick me on the books for tonight, jocasta. I've got some.
Got some things to work out, okay.
And I'm going to indulge in the stupor of violence for the night.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: So your prime match is against this rather kind of short, but really stocky major man.
He's got multiple ringlets in his kind of long hanging moustache, and there's a lot of kind of gold studs throughout his beard.
And you notice one, like, gold hoop around his crystalline horn that protrudes from his head.
But, yeah, he's kind of. He's giving you the. The cockiness. I'll. Come at me. Come at me. Uh, yeah. Roll your indulge. And this will be a two dice pick. The lowest.
[00:23:13] Speaker D: Oh, my gosh.
[00:23:14] Speaker F: Roll.
[00:23:16] Speaker D: Oh. Three.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: Three. Okay, so you reduce three stress as you pummel this poor majority into next week.
Hmm.
Okay, cool. So next up, looking at the stress bar. Atta, what's your first action? What you do?
[00:23:39] Speaker F: Okay, we'll try and reduce some stress.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:23:44] Speaker D: Because we all be mega stressed.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: I.
[00:23:50] Speaker F: Think, flavor wise, I think if everyone kind of disperses and goes their own ways to sort their own things out, I think Atta takes the sentient, the sphere of sentient dichotomy, dictophony, and probably goes to her regular. Her regular spot for veil bubble gazing and kind of doesn't necessarily try and do anything with the sphere. Just kind of, I guess, like David Bowie labyrinth.
[00:24:24] Speaker E: I don't know.
[00:24:25] Speaker F: You know, David Barry labyrinths it a little bit too much.
I'm gonna. It's like your lowest score, right? So prowess has one in it.
[00:24:39] Speaker A: So I would get one dice.
[00:24:42] Speaker F: Just. Just one dice. Oh, wow. Okay, I'm going for it.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: Reduced by two.
Stress.
[00:24:54] Speaker E: Boy, oh, boy.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: I would argue, perhaps whilst you're kind of playing around this orb, maybe some of the stress is the fact that it takes so long to figure out, like, how to.
Like, you're not trying to activate it, but it's kind of annoying that it isn't just working, but after a few hours of sort of, like, tinkering and mucking about with it, like, putting it down and leaving it and then scurrying back to it a few moments later, just in case anything's changed, you note it like your face is suddenly illuminated by this kind of soft lavender glow.
And, like, as you look at your kind of distorted reflection in the circular surface of the orb, you hear, hello?
Hello?
[00:25:54] Speaker F: I don't know what I was expecting.
[00:25:56] Speaker A: Hey.
What?
I. I don't believe we've met before.
[00:26:07] Speaker F: No, you.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: We. Uh.
[00:26:10] Speaker F: Yeah, no, I.
Hello, I'm at.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: Oh, hello, atta, my name is. And what are you doing for your second?
[00:26:28] Speaker F: Oh, gosh. I feel like I.
I either want to reduce. I want to reduce some of this heat. It's not good.
[00:26:38] Speaker A: What are you talking about? You still got two left.
[00:26:43] Speaker E: Two whole heat.
[00:26:46] Speaker F: I'm not really sure how to reduce it yet. So would you mind coming back? It's either between reducing heat or, like, trying to figure out orb, which is, I guess, a long term project, right?
[00:27:00] Speaker A: Potentially. I mean, the orb seems to be. Be. So I only cut off because I haven't got a name for the wizard yet.
But you can more. I'm more than. I will more than welcome names in the chat for potential names for this voice from the orb in the meantime, Al Ganon, what's your first?
[00:27:21] Speaker C: Okay, I have an idea to reduce heat.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:24] Speaker C: And I would like to go and consort with Odel Merce Oran.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: Interesting.
Okay, where is the meeting?
[00:27:36] Speaker C: Let's say we go back to the keel hall.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: Okay.
Okay.
You send off the invitation. Odor Merce's people like secretary agrees to it.
And.
Yeah. So later that night, you find yourself back in Rook Ridge at the keel hall, back at the booth, Odor Merce gives you a very, gives you a specific time and does that. Is Algernon a punctual person? I assume so, yeah. Yeah.
In which case, as you arrive at the keel hall, you notice, worryingly, surprisingly, that there's quite a few city guard, like, there's more security, there's no patrols in the area. Then you would expect there to be Rook Ridge. And as you ascend this, the flight of stairs up to, like, the first floor kind of ring, if you will.
Outside Odal Merce's booth is a figure in black lacudama, a long red cloak, a golden faceplate helmet, and as you clock eyes on the black guard that stood outside the booth that you've arranged to meet Odel Merce at, the drape is pulled back and Odal Merce hops out before being followed by Marshall, Guillaume, Algarve, and the bored Loravar, sort of like straight, stands straight and kind of pulls his coat to kind of straighten out the creases.
And you notice, like, behind Algarve steps like a blonde Loravar woman.
Like, to look at the scene. Scene. She looks like his aide, but she's got, like, she looks at you and she's got this very kind of piercing blue stare.
And then she kind of like her face often. So she turns back to Mark Gianna Garvin. She laughs at whatever kind of witty comment he just made.
You notice Odomus does not laugh.
And yeah, the sprite simply lifts up a hand and it was good speaking, grand marshal, he says, and the Loravar kind of a bit shirked, you know, a bit put off that this, uh, Sprite didn't laugh at his witty remark. Um, huffs and sort of like, shakes the hand and turns to the blonde Loraval woman behind him. And come on, he says, like a, like someone with their pound.
And wordlessly, the black guard follows in behind them.
And although the black guard never turns their heads to regard you, you feel like you're being scrutinized as this heavy figure wafts past you and Odomos looks to you, and I have so many meetings here, I should probably consider renting some space. Please, take a seat.
[00:31:14] Speaker C: Quite. I didn't know you were such a fan of martial law.
[00:31:21] Speaker A: I can't say I am. But sometimes it's just good practice to make sure that everyone is on board with your business practices.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: Quite.
It's not quite conducive to my business practice, and I try my best to outrun it wherever I can.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Of course.
You look. You look tired. Busy day?
[00:31:54] Speaker C: Quite. I've been practicing a few more magic tricks.
[00:31:57] Speaker A: I assume you've. You've earned quite a lot from your magic tricks, your little endeavors.
[00:32:04] Speaker F: Quite.
[00:32:04] Speaker C: Maybe you heard of one that happened recently. A ghost incursion that tragically took the life of a shield bearer.
[00:32:13] Speaker A: Oh. Up industri hill.
It's very worrying stuff.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: It's your fault, apparently.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: The sprite.
[00:32:27] Speaker C: Well, that's what high priestess ethos seems to think. Thought I'd give you a heads up.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: I appreciate it.
Do you have any inkling as to why our benevolent high priestess thinks that I had something to do with the murder industry? Hill?
[00:32:45] Speaker C: Well, I heard she found some incriminating device in the basement of your strong house here in Rookridge.
[00:32:54] Speaker A: Oh, I see.
And there's an ever so slight smile that spreads across his face.
[00:33:04] Speaker C: Here's the thing, though. She doesn't know who I am, and you do. And as I'm seeing you might have the air of Algarve's boys, I thought you might be able to help us out, remove a little bit of the heat that's been following us around.
[00:33:22] Speaker A: The sprite studies you. You can tell. It's like watching a master chess player just trying to figure out what your intentions are for the next few moves.
And one would assume that if I were to grant you some breathing room, then the high priestess might find reason to look in new directions, correct?
[00:34:01] Speaker C: I think so.
How? Interest seemed to align.
[00:34:06] Speaker A: Romeo consortium.
Okay.
[00:34:16] Speaker E: You still release a bit, though, don't you?
[00:34:18] Speaker A: It reduces a bit, yes. So reduce heat.
One segment.
Odomus kind of leans back in the seat and he's got a lot of room, given that he's quite small and sort of as he kind of puts. What fault? Crosses his leg, but puts one leg up on his lap.
I'll see what I can do.
I do, however, find myself quite busy, you see.
New business propositions with the guard and all that.
But, um, I'll see what I can do, he says.
Now, if you excuse me, I have other appointments to attend to. Unless you have anything else pressing to inform you.
[00:35:16] Speaker C: No, but if you wanted some help alleviating your busyness, you know, my team specialize in the transportation of arcane products.
[00:35:28] Speaker A: Like, Odomus is kind of busy, kind of jumping off of the seat and then stops, as you say that, and, like, there's a head tilt, as if he's thinking. And yes, I think I will bear that in mind.
Stay safe on the streets, Mister Cabollader.
I hear they're getting a bit rowdy.
And the chamber leaves.
Okay, what's your second?
[00:36:12] Speaker C: So, to relieve some of my stress, Algernon's vice, the way he reduces stress is by sort of stepping away from big picture conspiracy stuff and sort of tinkering with the lives of ordinary people to make some people's lives a little bit better. Sort of reminding himself of the regular people in the city and what he's fighting for.
So I'd like to use my powers of foresight and blackmail to improve Fairfax's marriage.
I can't remember. I can't remember exactly what he was implying about it, but I would, uh.
I would like to check out his spouse.
[00:36:57] Speaker E: That's not going to improve his marriage, JC.
[00:37:01] Speaker C: We'll see if we overindulge.
[00:37:04] Speaker A: Okay, please roll me.
[00:37:07] Speaker D: Algernon becomes a third.
[00:37:11] Speaker E: Pegasus. Algernon.
[00:37:16] Speaker C: Okay, so I've got one. I've got one dice this time, because I did level up my.
[00:37:21] Speaker A: Yes. Your prowess is now one. So on one dice, six.
[00:37:25] Speaker C: Much less than last time.
[00:37:29] Speaker A: Oh, you tempted it.
No.
[00:37:33] Speaker D: Jt, why have you got the cursed dice?
[00:37:38] Speaker A: Oh, no stress. Um, it would seem that Fairfax's wife is upsettingly squeaky clean.
And you, like, there's nothing you can't like. You're watching her, like, doing her kind of going about her business. You know that Fairfax is off in Abbott's gate going about his business, and, like, you're looking. You're looking at this, like, Laura VAR. Woman, and it's just alien that, like, because as far as, you know, Fairfax is a dutiful husband, and that's clearly all that marriage is about, right?
And you just can't. She was just like, what? You. You can't fathom what he's doing wrong to get the in, to figure out how you're going to fix it for him.
And you find yourself just getting more and more stressed and, um. And there's like, these tokens and gestures of affection when you do see them together and you're like, but what? Why? Why?
Um.
Yeah, you just mind boggling.
[00:39:01] Speaker C: The man must be bored out of his mind.
[00:39:05] Speaker A: Yes.
So, does Ata want to jump back in, or shall we go? Magpie?
[00:39:14] Speaker F: I'm still thinking, and I've got questions. So if Magpie knows what they want to do, then go for it.
[00:39:18] Speaker E: Well, one of my things was going to be to reduce heat, but again, I don't know 100% how, but I'm open to ideas. So, yeah, there was that. And there was my project that I never finished looking into, the sort of after effects of Tavareen's death. So I'd like to do both of those, please.
[00:39:38] Speaker A: Okay, so how are you reducing heat? First and foremost, if you want to.
[00:39:42] Speaker F: Do a combo, I sort of have an idea of how I would reduce heat. Maybe using, like, study or tinker to try and, like we saw, like, this magistrate's office, like, sort of warrant for arrest. And I'm sort of wondering if atta can, like, forge some documents, because study is like, document forging and kind of. You could. I don't know if then you could, because she's not very sneaky. But I don't know if those could be planted somewhere.
[00:40:09] Speaker E: Planted somewhere?
[00:40:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:11] Speaker E: Would we get. Would we both get to roll if we do that, Dan? So we're both using one of our actions to reduce heat. Lovely. So I will do it with my prowell, because I would like to plant the documents once Atta has pulled them.
[00:40:26] Speaker F: What names do we want on the documents? Algonon. Do you have ideas of who we would want, like documents of arrest for? To take heat off of us or anyone else? Ideas?
[00:40:37] Speaker C: I don't.
Not really.
[00:40:41] Speaker F: Okay. Should we just go with what's it.
[00:40:43] Speaker D: What's his name? Caleb.
Say maybe. Maybe Caleb, see if we can.
[00:40:49] Speaker E: We don't for sure bring some of.
[00:40:50] Speaker D: The kindling stuff to light.
[00:40:53] Speaker F: We don't like what he's doing really, do we? Even though we're criminals?
[00:40:56] Speaker A: We're not.
[00:40:56] Speaker E: We do not.
[00:40:57] Speaker D: But we're not mutual murder cult criminals. We're just, you know, back in the.
[00:41:02] Speaker A: City watching the Steve criminals street brawl criminals.
[00:41:08] Speaker B: Bunch of delightful ragamuffins.
[00:41:11] Speaker E: Cheeky scamps.
[00:41:14] Speaker A: Okay, now that sounds good. So the two of you, then, if you both roll me your respective. So one study, one prowl. And then we'll reduce the heat.
[00:41:23] Speaker E: So we just. We roll the actual gill, do we?
[00:41:27] Speaker A: And then I like it. Counts off segments.
[00:41:32] Speaker E: Wait, who's who?
[00:41:34] Speaker A: That's fine. It's partial.
[00:41:36] Speaker E: Okay.
[00:41:36] Speaker A: Partial and partial. Okay, so that is both. Reduce the heat by two.
[00:41:45] Speaker E: Very good.
[00:41:45] Speaker A: Two, three, four. Okay, so you're now back down to three. Heat.
As this forged document. You. You hear of various kind of patrols heading off into rook Ridge looking for one Caleb McNulty, who's a bit of a indoctrinated zealot, bit of a nut. Especially, as you've mentioned, presumably in the forge. In forgery, you've mentioned suspicions of Marda.
Okay, fair enough.
[00:42:22] Speaker D: So, yeah, your heat is back to check out the bakery.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So the bakery gets raided. Yeah, that's definitely happening. Okay, so you are back down to three heats. Congratulations.
[00:42:34] Speaker E: Great.
[00:42:35] Speaker A: And last but not least, Magpie roll. How are you finishing off your investigations?
[00:42:40] Speaker E: I think. I mean, I'm doing. I'm doing the prowls again. Yeah, it's what I do. Well, I'm gonna do some sneaking out town, trying to overhear conversations, find out.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: I would argue, in this point. Where is it you're sneaking to?
[00:42:54] Speaker E: Like, where maybe I'm. Am I possibly following up on the leads I got last time when I overheard musty. Musto talking about Songbird and the fire.
[00:43:08] Speaker A: Nuts, was it?
[00:43:10] Speaker D: Wonder how Moscow is. You haven't seen him for a while.
[00:43:12] Speaker E: Yeah, I know, right?
[00:43:14] Speaker D: I'm a tea.
[00:43:16] Speaker E: Wherever. Wherever would be most appropriate to do that, based on the clues I've got so far.
[00:43:22] Speaker A: Sure.
Okay, let's.
Let's say it's near.
So must. Well, Musto has just been a veritable font of information.
Not that he knows, sure, but. Yeah. Roll me a pro.
[00:43:42] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:43:45] Speaker F: Roll it.
[00:43:47] Speaker A: Oh, good one.
So that is many segments, which means you complete your clock.
[00:43:57] Speaker D: That's exciting.
[00:43:59] Speaker A: As you like, you this time, you're, like, you're waiting in an alleyway near the window that Mustow's office has once again. Or maybe you are just lying on the roof of his house, like, his stronghold, and you're listening in, and he's primarily talking about the same sort of things, but, like, progress reports. Like, they're. They're doing really, really well, pushing into old town. Like, they've nearly got a foothold there.
But, like, he's worried.
He's worried because he's been told to be worried that a lot of things that the factions around the city are doing and nearing completion and the blackguard are up to something, but he doesn't know what.
The tellers are working to sort of, like, kick. Like, kick him out of old town. So he's desperately trying to get his foothold in there before they get a chance to, like, unwedge him.
Mm hmm.
But then you hear him say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So basically, cuz. Cuz they've been so good. Yeah, she wants to. She wants have a meeting with them.
I don't know why. I don't know why. I mean. I mean, they're good. Yeah, I'll give them that. Like, you know, I mean, yeah, I mean, yeah, she wants me with them. I know. Maybe. Maybe she's got job from or something. I don't know.
I mean, I'm surprised because, like, she's really busy what we've. What with the kindling and all that, because I up to something and, like, they're up to something. No good. Don't. I don't like it. I don't know what, though, but it's no, no good. Okay. Yeah, yeah. So, um, yeah, if you could pop on down to there, we'll pop on down, we'll say hello, and by the time you kind of skedaddle and make your way back to the spectre, where I assume everyone's having, like, a bit of a nightcap to rest and relax, you, like, it's getting close to closing time at the spectre, and as you arrive, magpie, you notice there's, like, a young cobble stood outside going, oh, but I just. I just need to go and talk to.
Please let me in. Like, juicy, just like, no, it's closing time. Like, too late. Come back tomorrow.
And then musto kind of burst onto the scene and just, like, effectively shoulders past due to. Excuse me, miss, he says, and, uh, like, grabs this young cobble and drags him, uh, like, drags him along, and, like, juicy's just, like, shouting at this sweaty little goblin that's barged his way in. Um, and are you ducking in behind them to, like, follow along? Yeah. So musto just beelines, like, no subtlety, no discretion, just beelines to the bookcase, pulls on the lever, swings the trapdoor open. Doo doo doo doo doo doo. Down. Down the steps he goes. Um, and I'm assuming everyone's just having. Because you've all had a pretty rotten night in the grand scheme of things. Like, Frieda's got a sheen from her fight, but, like, Algernon just looks a bit frustrated with something. Cavern looks delicate.
Assam, how excited are you that the orb started talking to you?
[00:48:00] Speaker E: Weirdly?
[00:48:01] Speaker F: Not that excited.
I think Ata. I think Atta's slowly coming to realize, like, oh, no, everyone's getting her out.
[00:48:11] Speaker B: Atta wanted a ghost, not a wizard.
[00:48:15] Speaker A: Yeah, everyone's in. Like, you're all in the, like, the downstairs of the spectre getting your nightcaps.
When you all turn to see, like, you hear hear juicy shouting as she chases musto down the stairs. The magpie, you kind of coming after, um, and musto just sort like bald as brass, just wanders across, takes a seat next to you. Um, you finish with that, he says, pointing to your drink, Frida. And before you get a chance to answer, you just, oh, cheers.
Just finishes off your. Your point.
[00:48:55] Speaker D: Readers fist just like clenches on the table.
[00:48:58] Speaker A: Oh, that was disgusting. What are you doing that for? Puts the tank back down. Right, so basically, oh, hello, Magpie. He says you stood at the bottom of the stairs. Come on. Come on over, love. Come to a pretty little tush down. Come on, in you come, in you come. Come on.
Here you come.
[00:49:20] Speaker E: Sort of look over my shoulder as if he been talking to someone else.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: Yeah. He's not. He's patting the stool next to him.
I grab yourself a seat.
[00:49:29] Speaker E: I pull up a stool at the opposite side of the table.
[00:49:32] Speaker A: Very good, very good. So I am here to formally invite you into a meeting of sorts, a very private, very secret meeting.
So, you know, a meeting of the best minds in the sea. I'll be there, of course, but the timings are a little bit weird. So what's the time? Barkeep? Barkeep? Yeah, he's like, clicking at Eric, and Eric's just like, what the f is this goblin doing?
What's the time? What's the time? And Eric's like, uh, it's like quarter to midnight. What? It's. Oh, shit. Well, we ain't got very long, uh, so we need to. We need to skin adult real quick, actually, because, um, we have to be there at a stroke midnight. So you'll finish up. Finish up, drink up, he says, um, and he's sort of, like, pointing at everyone who pointed at the drinks on the table. Cavern. He looks to you and he finishes your drink for you.
That's even worse.
And then he hops off the stall and go on. Let's go, let's go.
He starts, like, ushering you.
[00:50:48] Speaker F: How can you say no?
[00:50:50] Speaker A: How are you all feeling by this force of nature?
[00:50:56] Speaker F: I think the contrast between, like, musto and. What is it, Lucaji? Lucrative.
[00:51:04] Speaker A: Lucrative? Yeah, yeah.
[00:51:05] Speaker F: Lucrative is like hitting at her because there's like, two goblins of power. And I was just like, huh, interesting.
[00:51:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, are you. Are you accompanying musto?
Yeah.
So musto, like, is scurry. And you've never seen. This is the fastest you've seen this goblin move, right?
It's not very fast, but is the fastest you've ever seen the move and he leads you south over the bridge into rook Ridge and then west into the slums of Saints Hollow, like the ghetto, if you will.
And, like, you can almost see the buildings around you deteriorating in upkeep with every kind of step you take until musto, like, looking at any, you know, he's kind of walking along with his gem encrusted cane, like under his armpit, whistling joyfully.
And he arrives at this just door, a house building in this street.
And, like looking around, you can see that there are people looking at you curiously. Muscle starts like rapping on the door with the hot end of his cane.
And there's silence for a while.
And Musto then, oh, to it. To whoo.
And whoever's close, who's closest to the door, like, who's immediately next to Mustow?
[00:52:50] Speaker E: I think it's Algernon.
[00:52:52] Speaker A: Yeah, Algernon. You hear this, like, barely audible sigh come from the other side of the door.
And you hear a deadbolt pull open and the door swings open.
[00:53:08] Speaker C: I'm still, I'm exasperated by this man and his apparent success in the criminal underworld.
[00:53:16] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, as he, as he scolar walks in, you notice, like whoever opened this door. So this door opens and it's effectively like, it looks like it was once an alleyway between these two buildings, but someone's come, like walled it off to almost act as an extension. But the alleyway leads to one of those kind of basement access doors that you get on the sides of buildings.
And you notice that the person that's undid about the deadbolt is already gone, is already heading off down into this kind of basement area of sorts.
And like, musto is just sort of like semi chasing after them, being like, oh, you're right. Yeah, it's just me. Hello? Hello. Love you. Oh, hello. His voice trails away as he disappears down the stairs into this kind of, like whatever is on this basement area under this building that you've arrived at.
And there's no pomp and there's no ceremony. You're just kind of left in the street, this open door of this kind of walled off alleyway.
[00:54:23] Speaker D: I'm really regretting using up all my punching energy earlier, you know?
[00:54:32] Speaker A: And as you kind of follow in behind you, the first thing you notice as you descend in down this kind of basement access ramp stairway, I should say, is a very strong smell of like a herbal incense.
And it's quite kind of smoky, so almost foggy down here, presumably from the kind of the incense.
And it's clear the direction you need to go in because it's a bit of a winding corridor, and you can see rooms off on either side. Some of the doors are closed, some are slightly ajar, but you can see sort of like shadowy figures moving about, like doing whatever they're doing behind these doors.
But you're able to follow the sound of Mustow's voice down the corridor until you arrive in a rather large room punctuated by supporting beams. So clearly you're in the basement of this actual building.
And in the middle of the room is a large circular table.
And as you enter into the room, sort of like coughing slightly as you kind of waft the smoke away from your faces, you notice that around the table to the left, there are a number of mujani sat, covered in kind of gold ornamentation and rich and lavish clothes. They all look similar to one another. And Algernon use. You suppose that they are family, they're all related, but they all kind of look to you suspiciously. And to the right, you see musto sat with a number of other cobbles, and they stand as, like, visually, diametrically opposed to them. Opposite them, majani seem to have these kind of incense like sensor burners just around them, just kind of wafting them with. With the smoke. And you see moss dome kind of blowing it away. At the far end, on the far side of the circular table, you see there is a hand emerging from darkness. Resting on the table, you hear a voice from the darkness say, please take a seat.
The hand gestures to some spaces between the majority and moss, those cobbles.
[00:57:20] Speaker C: He takes a seat.
[00:57:22] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, we take a seat.
[00:57:25] Speaker A: Thank you for your prompt arrival.
I understand that the invitation didn't reach you until very recently.
And, like, you hear the cobbles moving kind of awkwardly in their seats. Apart from mustow, I understand that you've done quite a few jobs for us and that you've done them with a sense of professionalism that cannot be questioned, a certain efficiency.
I also understand that we both know what really happened to our dear old Tavare.
And the figure at the opposite end of this roundtable leans forward, bringing her face into the light.
And it's the same blonde Loravar that was Algarve's secretary of sorts, a magpie.
You notice on this Loravar woman, this blonde Laura volume's neck, it's a tattoo of a bird.
And you realize that this must be songbird, the leader of the marionettes.
And as the songbird looks to you all in turn, you know what happened to Tavareen.
And you also know what's gonna happen to the veil, so we've got a job for you, she says.
And we'll call it that.
Elsewhere in Alicia, there is an excitement in a crowded tavern that is very, very, very rarely frequented by the city watch.
The tavern is unusually busy, filled with young citizens of Alesia who are speaking, whispering nervously to one another, wondering why it's so dim and dark, the room illuminated only by flickering candle flow.
The nervous chatter quietens at the sound of clanking footsteps, accompanied by a slow but distinct and onto a stage once graced by barbs of yore, a figure clad head to toe in armor and leathers emerges, two gleaming lenses of orange shining in the flickering light.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you for acknowledging that Alicia, who must be saved from herself, and the gathered crowds.
The eyes of the gathered crowds widen as they eagerly await indoctrination into the kindling.
Congratulations, everyone, on completing episode six.
Yay.
[01:01:54] Speaker E: Hold up a minute. If Algarve's secretary is songbird, who leads the marionettes, does Algarve know about that, or is that a little slide?
[01:02:06] Speaker A: That's a good question, isn't it, Magpie one that I'm sure you can ask her in episode seven?
Sure.
Yeah. There you are.
You meet in all the celebrities now, aren't you?
Big shots around town, your bezies with musto, and you're all fit and ready for whatever mission Songbird has.
Absolutely fine. Yeah, she's just the queen of the underworld. Absolutely fine. It's gonna be an easy job, right, for now.
Easy.
So, yeah, there you go. Thank you for playing.
[01:03:00] Speaker E: Thanks, Dan.
[01:03:01] Speaker A: That's all right. Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed this episode, like the video, and comment down below on, uh, what should. What should everyone comment on today?
[01:03:19] Speaker E: Um, what the wizards called the wizard.
[01:03:22] Speaker A: Yes. Comment down below on the name of the wizard in the sphere of sentient dictophony.
And the best answer will be his name or her name. Well, yeah, the name.
The best answer would be their name.
Fab. Yes, I'm grand.
And if you want to see how this. How the crew kind of wangle themselves out of this situation, make sure to hit the subscribe button and the bell icon for notifications. When we release new videos, we release new videos very often we want you to miss, except we'll make a sad and maybe even a little bit stressed, and Kevin's going to get traumatized if he gets that much bit more stressed.
You wouldn't want that to happen, now, would you? So, yeah. Thank you. Again for watching. Thank you again for playing.
See you next time.
Bye.
