Daniel [GM] (00:00:00): Welcome to Explorers Wanted. We are a weekly Numenera actual play podcast. I will be your humble GM. With me today is Sampson Davis. Sampson [Dili] (00:00:41): Steam sale's done its annual damage, so, hey. Daniel [GM] (00:00:45): Alex Finn. Alex [ChaCha] (00:00:46): I'm blonde now, so you can go on Twitter and now timestamp when we're recording this. Daniel [GM] (00:00:52): Marietta Jones. Marietta [Atalia] (00:00:54): I still haven't watched Hamilton yet, and it's been out for like three days. Daniel [GM] (00:00:58): And Stace Babcock. Stace [Nix] (00:01:00): I watched Hamilton at 7:00 AM July 3rd, the day it came out, and I cried twice. Alex [ChaCha] (00:01:07): What? Stace [Nix] (00:01:08): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (00:01:09): If I watch Hamilton and I don't cry, am I a communist? Stace [Nix] (00:01:12): Yes. Daniel [GM] (00:01:13): No, I don't think it's that. Stace [Nix] (00:01:14): Oh. Daniel [GM] (00:01:14): I have wonders about your emotional stability if you can get through act two without crying. Sampson [Dili] (00:01:21): Now I'll continue. Some may not have seen it. Great. Marietta [Atalia] (00:01:23): Well, you don't have to cry. It's fine. Alex [ChaCha] (00:01:27): Have you tried crying recently? It can be really cathartic. Sampson [Dili] (00:01:31): Yeah. That's the thing. I don't want to start something and then deal with everything I've built up and not notice. I don't have time to do that. Marietta [Atalia] (00:01:38): It does. Daniel [GM] (00:01:42): Who remembers what happened last time? I think I am going to pick on Stace. Stace [Nix] (00:01:49): It is about my turn. Isn't it? Also, I feel personally attacked because you were there five minutes ago before we started recording, listening to me trying to describe what happened last time. Last time on Explorers Wanted, we started out the episode Fighting The Hive Guy. Auto correction's great. And so Nix and Dili had burst into the area with Nix hauling the cart and came across the beehive guy. We started beating the shit out of the beehive guy with, honestly, minimal provocation; decided against… We didn't kill him. Right guys? Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:31): We did that. Marietta [Atalia] (00:02:33): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [Nix] (00:02:33): Okay. We decided against killing the hive of guy, so he could crawl back to his home and we could follow him there. That's what we did. Daniel [GM] (00:02:43): With a honey blood trail behind him. Stace [Nix] (00:02:45): Yeah, man. Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:46): That's sounds delicious. Stace [Nix] (00:02:48): Nix should try that honey blood. It seems like something she would enjoy now. Marietta [Atalia] (00:02:52): Definitely. Sampson [Dili] (00:02:52): That sounds like a weed strain. Like, “Can you try this honey blood?” Stace [Nix] (00:02:56): Like, “Your eyes will bleed if you smoke this.” Now, let's see. God, you guys are fucking derailing the shit out of my goddamn recap. Daniel [GM] (00:03:08): Sorry. Stace [Nix] (00:03:08): No, it's fine. It's fine. Follow the honey blood trail to the hive. Dili had an idea that we should light the transparent fairy wood on fire, or auto-phase transparent. Whatever it was. Daniel [GM] (00:03:24): Multi-dimensional wood thing? Yeah. Stace [Nix] (00:03:26): Yeah. And use the smoke of it to keep the bees away as we traveled through their hive to find Stannis, Soles friend. And we found her, and that was the end of the episode. Daniel [GM] (00:03:43): Yeah. And before we get back into it we talked about it last episode, but a few of you teared up over the course of the last two episodes. Let's circle back around and talk about what you teared up with. The first one who teared up was of Atalia. Marietta, do you want to tell our listeners what's new about Atalia's tone? Marietta [Atalia] (00:04:07): Yeah. Atalia explores dark places and she's also a nano, so from exploring those dark places I get eyes adjusted, can see in extremely dim light as though it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were extremely dim enabler. And then I also got superb infiltrator from that and we were trained in lock picking and tinkering with devices in an effort to make them work, or at least work for you, also in a blur. And then I chose flash from nano and that just does light damage, create an explosion of energy at a point within close range affecting an area of so immediate range from that point. Marietta [Atalia] (00:04:48): You must be able to see the location of where you intend to center the explosion. The blast reflects two points of damage to all creatures or objects within the area. Because this is an area attack, adding effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single target attacks. If you apply a level of effort to increase the damage at two points of damage for each target, and even if you fail your tackle, all targets in the area still take one point of damage. And surprise-surprise is in action. Daniel [GM] (00:05:14): What you're saying is Atalia can explore dark places perfectly well like a cat, but it's like she's got a not lame version of jubilee's power? Alex [ChaCha] (00:05:27): I was going to say, what about Dragon Ball Z? Remember that flash attack? Sampson [Dili] (00:05:32): Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:05:33): Yeah. It's definitely better than the Pokémon version, at least. It's such a disappointment. “Oh, you're having trouble seeing in the dark? Let me help you with that with a really bright light.” Alex [ChaCha] (00:05:43): “Let me just permanently blind you.” Daniel [GM] (00:05:48): And then how about ChaCha? Alex [ChaCha] (00:05:50): ChaCha teared up, and we decided that because part of ChaCha's descriptor is sees beyond she now can see through things. See through a matter is what it's called, so you can see through matter as if it were transparent. You can see through up to six inches of material for one round. And then for the nano part, we went with mind reading because the bees poked her in the brain so hard she can now read minds. Listen, I'm not trying to make an unseen horror of our very own, but it just seems to be working that way; and people need to be accepting and not judge her journey, because she's going to change the world. Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:45): ChaCha's the big bad. Daniel [GM] (00:06:50): ChaCha's our final villain. You have to fight her at the end. It's going to be very sad. Sampson [Dili] (00:06:51): We did establish in ChaCha session zero that even though she hates it she is a master juggler. Alex [ChaCha] (00:06:58): Mm-hmm (affirmative). If you listen to that trailer, that AU trailer, is it really ChaCha with a voice modulator in the secret underground circus with all of the rebels? You don't know. Marietta [Atalia] (00:07:10): The specificity of that makes me think yes. Daniel [GM] (00:07:16): And how about Nix? Stace [Nix] (00:07:18): Yeah, Nix teared up. For her final advancement at a tier one Nix specialized in social interactions and therefore needs no weapons. Nix got advantaged to disadvantage where with a cost of three speed Nix can now disarm a foe. The attack still does damage, but it also disarms. And then Nix can choose to have the weapon or for it to be 10 feet away on the ground. Daniel [GM] (00:07:51): That's very cool. Stace [Nix] (00:07:53): Yeah. It is hindered to attempt to disarm. Daniel [GM] (00:07:57): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (00:07:57): What if the weapons are the arms? Stace [Nix] (00:07:59): I think then- Daniel [GM] (00:07:59): Just pops them off. Stace [Nix] (00:08:05): I feel like we covered that a couple episodes ago. Nix will just take them. Yeah, she disarmed. And then Nix is now trained in unarmed attacks, which she wasn't before actually. And then for Glaive, Nix is now trained in medium range attacks, which would be her swing. And then as a fighting move, I picked successive attack. If you take down a foe, you can immediately make another attack on that same turn against a new foe within your reach. The second attack is part of the same action. You can use this fighting move with Bayley attacks and ranged attacks. Daniel [GM] (00:08:47): Wow. That's pretty sleek. Cool, cool. And Dili has not leveled up because he's waiting his moment. Sampson [Dili] (00:08:57): Yeah. If any fans are counting, I do have enough. But I don't have a good reason to, so- Marietta [Atalia] (00:09:03): Trying to be a storyteller, oh. Sampson [Dili] (00:09:05): Sorry, I'm trying to make it meaningful. Alex [ChaCha] (00:09:08): Just have some [inaudible 00:09:10] until it works a bit better. Stace [Nix] (00:09:12): I'm sorry for you too, Sampson. Sampson [Dili] (00:09:17): Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Stace [Nix] (00:09:18): [crosstalk 00:09:18]. Marietta [Atalia] (00:09:19): [inaudible 00:09:19] all over again? Alex [ChaCha] (00:09:21): I don't know. It's pretty great being tier two, man. You're really missing out. Sampson [Dili] (00:09:28): I'm really not. I mean, none of the fun stuff begins until like tier three. Alex [ChaCha] (00:09:31): Then we're really going to wreck some stuff, so- Stace [Nix] (00:09:34): Oh, God. Alex [ChaCha] (00:09:34): -stay tuned. Sampson [Dili] (00:09:35): Then we're going to make Dan cry. Marietta [Atalia] (00:09:36): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [GM] (00:09:38): You guys found your way into the tunnels behind this hive, this tunnel that was big enough for the 12 foot tall bee man. No problem. And you found your way to this cavern, these gigantic Numenero devices. Some of them were two storys tall, clearly were intended for this bee man or this hive man to operate. And up against one of the walls you saw a person with a label that matched the designation that the bee man was thinking about in terms of Stannis. And as soon as the woman that was in there was like… She was against the wall, energy flowing through her body. As soon as you walked in and she saw you, she opened her mouth in a silent scream and that's where we left off. Alex [ChaCha] (00:10:28): That's what we're doing, more bee horror. Daniel [GM] (00:10:32): Welcome to Bee Town. Marietta [Atalia] (00:10:35): Is there some Numenera technology going on here? Daniel [GM] (00:10:38): All over. This looks like a full on laboratory installation that's all built to hive man's scale. Marietta [Atalia] (00:10:47): Okay. I want to see if I can assess it to the point where I can see if there's something till I could get her out of her situation. Daniel [GM] (00:10:55): Hmm. I would say that is a 15 understanding Numenera. You're trained, so that's a 12. Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:03): Good, because it's 12. Daniel [GM] (00:11:05): Okay. It's going to be difficult for you to do on your own. There is a way to, at least, turn off this energy that's going through her which you think might release her from other stuff as well. The problem is that the controls that govern that are on the second story of these devices, and there seem to be assumption of like three controls involved in doing that. And, of course, none of them are next to each other. Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:33): Cool. Hey guys, so I think that up there would be how we would turn it off. But you see how there's three? It's different stations, so I need help. I think I can climb up there though and I have some rope. This here is the explorers pack. Daniel [GM] (00:11:48): Also, Atalia, you think one of them can be engaged on its own first to start the process, but two of them need to be… If your goal is not to kill the subject, two of them have to be turned off at exactly the same time but they are a little ways apart. If you're thinking about something the size of the bee man reaching out like both hands stretched out like this, so it's farther out than one person can hold onto. Just for funsies. Alex [ChaCha] (00:12:21): I have a plan. Sampson [Dili] (00:12:21): But it seems like Atalia had a plan. Stace [Nix] (00:12:25): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (00:12:25): It filled our stations. Stace [Nix] (00:12:28): Atalia, what are you climbing to the top for? Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:30): Because it's up a story. Stace [Nix] (00:12:32): No, like seriously, Stannis is or the- Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:35): No, the controls are that we're trying to use to let her out. I can hit one of them, but then two more have to be hit simultaneously and my arm span is… Wait, is my body span wide enough? Sampson [Dili] (00:12:50): Bring back planking. Daniel [GM] (00:12:52): Nix is the tallest of you at 5'7”. Atalia is just a little bit shorter. I think Atalia is like 5'5”. Was that the case? Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:02): She was like 5'6”, 5'7”, whatever. Sure. Yeah. Daniel [GM] (00:13:04): Yeah, yeah. Finger tip to toe tip maybe, but you don't have a whole lot of control. Stace [Nix] (00:13:11): I want to say that Nix is 5'10”. That's really- Daniel [GM] (00:13:15): I think you said 5'7” before, or maybe that was Atalia and Nix was 5'10”. You were very emphatic that Nix was tall but not like super tall. Stace [Nix] (00:13:26): Yeah. Daniel [GM] (00:13:27): Understand my understanding of this is like all the way off, because my wife is the same height as me. Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:34): That's amazing. Alex [ChaCha] (00:13:35): Yeah, so maybe some collaborative effort which we make eye contact and we go like, “What?” And then we hit it at the same time, you know? Could be a good time. I was counting down with my fingers for the listeners just so you know. Daniel [GM] (00:13:47): Yes. One of them has to be turned off first and then the two need to be deactivated simultaneous. Correction, the two that need to be turned off simultaneously is if you don't want to risk killing Stannis. Alex [ChaCha] (00:14:01): Here's a question, with ChaCha's new mind reading power could she use that to super time with somebody else? Because there's the delay with like physically speaking, but if you're in somebody's mind there's no delay. Daniel [GM] (00:14:23): Yeah, for sure. That would definitely give you an asset on doing it at the same time as the other person. Alex [ChaCha] (00:14:29): Okay. Who wants to mind meld with ChaCha? Stace [Nix] (00:14:33): Yeah, I'll do whatever. Daniel [GM] (00:14:36): Keep in mind it's only one way, so ChaCha gets to look in. You don't get to see what ChaCha's thinking. Alex [ChaCha] (00:14:41): For everyone's sanity. Stace [Nix] (00:14:45): All right, so Atalia is going to climb up to that one. Me and ChaCha, we're going to climb up to the other two. Dili? Sampson [Dili] (00:14:51): Hey. Stace [Nix] (00:14:51): God, I don't want to leave you by yourself again, man. I just don't. Sampson [Dili] (00:14:57): No, these two when you hit the same timer I'm ground level. Right? Daniel [GM] (00:15:02): Nope. Sampson [Dili] (00:15:03): Oh, they're not? Oh. Daniel [GM] (00:15:04): Everything's up high. Sampson [Dili] (00:15:05): I mean, someone needs to be down here to catch Stannis anyway. Marietta [Atalia] (00:15:08): Well, I mean, I could just go up with ChaCha too or I could stay down here and you guys could go up; like that one needs to be hit and then those two need to be hit at the same time. Only two people need to be going up. Stace [Nix] (00:15:18): Oh, all right. Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:15:18): Someone like one of us can stay down here and be with Dili. Stace [Nix] (00:15:24): Okay. Sounds good to me. Good plan Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (00:15:26): Atalia makes a face. Daniel [GM] (00:15:29): Who is going to go up and turn off the first control? Alex [ChaCha] (00:15:35): I guess ChaCha can. She's trained in climbing as well. Daniel [GM] (00:15:42): Okay. With your training, it's only going to be a six to get up to where the control is. Alex [ChaCha] (00:15:47): It's a 15. Daniel [GM] (00:15:48): You make your way up there, and since Atalia has already told you what to do you don't have to roll or anything to deactivate this. But the first one goes down then the other two controls start blinking. They were sort of like a almost pale blue steady light and now they are blinking sort of a bruised lavender. Marietta [Atalia] (00:16:14): Can I tell what that means? Daniel [GM] (00:16:16): As far as you think, it just means that those two are awaiting input, like they've essentially been unlocked by that first control. Marietta [Atalia] (00:16:26): Are you trained in climbing? You being Nix? Stace [Nix] (00:16:29): Oh, yeah. But I thought ChaCha and Atalia were going up. Marietta [Atalia] (00:16:33): Yeah. Okay. Sure, yeah, we can do that. Stace [Nix] (00:16:36): Okay. Daniel [GM] (00:16:38): ChaCha and Atalia are going up to the other two controls, right? Alex [ChaCha] (00:16:41): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Marietta [Atalia] (00:16:43): Yeah. I will climb up as well. Daniel [GM] (00:16:45): Okay. ChaCha you can either climb down and then climb up the other place or you could try to climb your way across to where it is. Climbing your way across is going to be a little bit more difficult just because of gaps between various machines. Alex [ChaCha] (00:17:01): ChaCha would climb across. She's not [inaudible 00:17:04]. Daniel [GM] (00:17:04): That'd be a 12 before your training, so now it's a nine. Alex [ChaCha] (00:17:10): No, a 20. ChaCha's a little… I don't know how you describe it, a squirrel. Daniel [GM] (00:17:15): Okay, so what would you propose as a major effect? Alex [ChaCha] (00:17:18): Can ChaCha get any more information from this equipment? Daniel [GM] (00:17:23): It's a little hard to do that with the climbing. But you know what maybe we could say? It's we could say that you're understanding the mechanics of this better as you're crawling across it, essentially like a spider almost or a spider monkey. Hard to say. Alex [ChaCha] (00:17:36): I like spider monkey. Daniel [GM] (00:17:40): I think that let's say that on top of getting over there quickly you actually beat Atalia over to your control even though you were farther away. But then let's also say because you have a better understanding of the mechanics of how this works you're going to have an additional asset being able to pull this at the same time as Atalia. Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:06): We're going to totally save this lady's life, I think. Maybe. Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:10): That would be nice, considering all the people we killed recently. Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:12): What? Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:13): We put those people out of their misery. Remember? It'd be nice to save one instead of killing them. Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:18): All the people in the forest? Stace [Nix] (00:18:23): Oh, got it. Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:23): Yeah. Daniel [GM] (00:18:25): Atalia, I believe you're trained, right? Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:26): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [GM] (00:18:28): It's a six for you to climb up to your control. Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:29): 17. Daniel [GM] (00:18:31): You climb up handily, and you guys are in position. ChaCha, you're initiating your mind reading? Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:38): Yes. Daniel [GM] (00:18:40): What are Atalia surface thoughts like, as ChaCha is only going to get surface thoughts with her mind reading ability? But is Atalia the kind of person that's focused in the moment or is there like a frantic- Alex [ChaCha] (00:18:54): Let's say frantically focused. Daniel [GM] (00:18:56): Okay, so there is focus but there's still like… What's the word I'm thinking of? Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:00): ADHD brain? Daniel [GM] (00:19:02): Yeah, it's like a dialogue of anxieties going on in the background too. Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:06): Yeah. It's like multiple trains of thought simultaneously. It's a little overwhelming. Daniel [GM] (00:19:11): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:11): It's like, wow, there's a song here and, oh, wow she really is comprehending this Numenera. But, whoa, she needs like a chill pill, man. Daniel [GM] (00:19:22): The song that got me. You're saying that amongst other thing ChaCha is hearing whatever Atalia's version of Eye of the Tiger is- Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:31): Basically. Daniel [GM] (00:19:31): -as she's climbing up to this controls? Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:33): Yes. Yes. Daniel [GM] (00:19:38): Because Atalia is going to be able to pull this control without a problem, activating the control itself doesn't require a [roll 00:19:45]. And because, if I'm understanding correctly, ChaCha is using her mental link to Atalia in order to make sure she times it to be at the right moment with Atalia it has to be very close. Normally this would be a nine, but you have two assets so it'll be a three for you. And it's intellect if you want to make it a gambit. Alex [ChaCha] (00:20:05): No, because I think it would be funnier if we got a one. You know? Daniel [GM] (00:20:09): Okay. Yeah. Alex [ChaCha] (00:20:11): We just accidentally killed another person. Daniel [GM] (00:20:15): Okay. Yeah. Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (00:20:15): Oh, okay. Cool. Alex [ChaCha] (00:20:16): It's like that's the kind of week it's been, you know? Like, yeah, woopsies. Marietta [Atalia] (00:20:22): Oh, that's fine if we just accidentally kill somebody. Whatever, it's just that kind of week. Daniel [GM] (00:20:27): It's a 2020 mood. Stace [Nix] (00:20:30): At least it would be an add to that. Marietta [Atalia] (00:20:33): But, anyway,- Alex [ChaCha] (00:20:34): Well, good thing. Anyway, it's an 18. No one died. It's fine. Looking up. Daniel [GM] (00:20:37): Okay. You guys turn off these controls simultaneously and a bunch of circuitry dims normally and then the energy stops flowing through Stannis' body. And then you hear this clunking sound and these restraints that you couldn't see through the glow open up and she starts falling towards the ground. Is anybody going to try to catch her or are they just going to let her fall? Stace [Nix] (00:21:04): Oh, yeah. I would say that Nix was prepared for this. Daniel [GM] (00:21:08): Okay. Since you would have had a chance to prepare for this, since you knew what was happening, you'll have an asset on it; so it's a six, and it's might. Stace [Nix] (00:21:16): All right. Nix will use two efforts to make it a gambit. Daniel [GM] (00:21:22): Okay. Cool. She falls but, Nix, you catch her handily. She is on the ground in your arms and shaking. She's not crying. She's just shaking. And now that you guys have her outside of this energy, it's a little easier to see her. Stannis is roughly 5'8”. She is dressed in very sturdy traveling gear. It's a little worse for wear-on spots. She's definitely got quite a bit of bloodstains, dried blood stains, on it. Nothing recent but like you're not sure if it's her blood or somebody else's. Honestly, she just looks like a capable traveler who wanders the lands. And she's shaking there for a minute, like clearly her muscles are just exhausted; and there's really only a moment before she passes out. Stace [Nix] (00:22:20): All right. I mean, I guess this works and Nix will just get her into like a comfortable harries carry. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:27): What's a harries carry? Stace [Nix] (00:22:28): It's just the one arm over and then you lean forward and walk. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:31): Okay. Daniel [GM] (00:22:33): Okay. Dili. Alex [ChaCha] (00:22:34): Oh no. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:36): I'm here too. What's up? What if I stepped in? Daniel [GM] (00:22:40): I would like to offer you an XP. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:41): Oh, okay. How's everyone doing on XP, roughly? Alex [ChaCha] (00:22:45): I got four. Stace [Nix] (00:22:46): Nix has one. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:48): ChaCha has four? Shit. What about you Atalia? Marietta [Atalia] (00:22:50): I think I'll just have one. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:53): I'd give it to Nix. Stace [Nix] (00:22:54): Thank you. Sampson [Dili] (00:22:55): She's got the body. Stace [Nix] (00:23:04): Oh yeah. It's a good call. Sampson [Dili] (00:23:04): I mean, Stannis. Daniel [GM] (00:23:04): Okay. Dili, you hear something coming from back down the tunnel you guys came in. It sounds like buzzing, a lot of buzzing. Sampson [Dili] (00:23:16): Just buzzing, or is there like a thump underneath the buzzing? Daniel [GM] (00:23:20): Well, it's funny that you ask because mostly you hear buzzing but as you hear the buzzing getting closer more distant down the tunnel you do hear large footsteps slapping against the rock. Sampson [Dili] (00:23:37): Cool. I will calmly turn to Nix and say, “He's fucking coming. Hide.” I don't know. And then I'll wave to ChaCha and Atalia like, “He's coming. We should go on.” Marietta [Atalia] (00:23:51): How far could I jump-climb down? Daniel [GM] (00:23:54): You guys could get down. No problem. Marietta [Atalia] (00:23:55): Okay. Yeah, we're going to do that. Daniel [GM] (00:23:59): Especially since you don't have to be stealthy at this moment. Marietta [Atalia] (00:24:00): Yeah, Atalia jumps down. Is there any way to close the door off into here or something? Sampson [Dili] (00:24:08): I have an idea that might be able to get some of us to sneak out, because Dili can make an illusion of Stannis still in the thing and then maybe Nix and ChaCha can sneak out. He'll probably see that the instruments are not meshing with what he's seeing so he may go investigate that, and then Atalia and Dili can go sneak out after that. Alex [ChaCha] (00:24:30): Or, we could kill him. Sampson [Dili] (00:24:31): Also an option. Alex [ChaCha] (00:24:33): Almost killed him once. Marietta [Atalia] (00:24:34): I mean, yeah, but now we're in his territory. Daniel [GM] (00:24:38): I would also like to point out the buzzing that you're hearing coming your way is much louder than any of the buzzing you guys heard at the [inaudible 00:24:47]. This is not just a few bees in the hive. This is a swarm coming down the top. Stace [Nix] (00:24:54): Yeah, so I think Nix is going to pick up her feet a little faster. And I think she's not going to be quiet like Dili. She's going to yell like, “ChaCha, Atalia, we got to go.” Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:06): All right. Is there any other way out of here, or do we have to go back to the way the sound is coming? Daniel [GM] (00:25:10): I'm glad you asked. Atalia, please make a… Well, we'll say this. You're searching, because I believe you're trained in that. Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:19): I'm trained in searching. I'm trained in perception. Daniel [GM] (00:25:22): Okay, so it will be a nine for you. Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:27): I'm going to spend a level of effort. Daniel [GM] (00:25:29): Good idea. Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:30): Cool. That's a 13. Daniel [GM] (00:25:33): Okay. You see it's easy to miss between the shadows of this machine, but there is like a tunnel out of here. It doesn't look like it was sculpted in any way. It looks like mostly like it's a natural formation, maybe water initially ran down it at some point that has since been cleared out and just the hole was never plugged up. Especially since you can see in the dark and you can see this thing goes away. It's not just like a little hollow or something like this. This is a tunnel that leads somewhere off and curves off somewhere as you go down it. Daniel [GM] (00:26:10): Once again, it is a little bit irregular because it's a natural formation and it's roughly… I use this description for the root tunnel too, but it is just a little bit less than the diameter of a manhole cover. Marietta [Atalia] (00:26:26): Ah, so this is an awkward option but how about this. They'll gesture. Sampson [Dili] (00:26:30): Okay, let's go now. Stace [Nix] (00:26:33): All right. Marietta [Atalia] (00:26:34): It's going to be awkward to drag her, but you're so strong. You're so strong. Stace [Nix] (00:26:40): All right. I guess like Nix crawls up into the hole on her back and scoots up and then is like dragging Stannis up also flat, just like holding the shoulders of her armor. Does that make sense, what Nix is doing? Daniel [GM] (00:26:58): Okay. Okay. Yeah. Is Nix going like feet first then? Is that what's happening? Stace [Nix] (00:27:04): No. Nix is like going head first up. Daniel [GM] (00:27:08): Well, the tunnel goes down. Stace [Nix] (00:27:09): Oh, head first. Well, how far and how steep then? Daniel [GM] (00:27:12): It's not super steep at this point. Like even if it was steep, because it is so tight it's something you guys have to work your way down because it's not smooth. If you tried to go like two by two in parallel with each other, you would just get stuck. Stace [Nix] (00:27:29): Yeah, so Nix is just going to drag her backwards that way then. Daniel [GM] (00:27:32): Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (00:27:33): Also some rope if you want to tie a harness on her and grab her. But there won't be time for that, so here we go. Stace [Nix] (00:27:39): Nix is already wearing a rope harness so she could- Marietta [Atalia] (00:27:47): Oh, yeah, just do that. Awesome. Stace [Nix] (00:27:47): Yeah, so I guess for some added security Nix will tie. Well, if we're tying… No, I think Nix would still do it that way to help protect Stannis' head and stuff anyway. Daniel [GM] (00:27:58): Okay. Nix, you and Stannis start inching your way down the hall. The bees are getting very close now. You see Stannis' feet disappear down the hall. What are the rest of you guys doing? Marietta [Atalia] (00:28:13): Hey Dili, now might be a good time for one of those illusions. Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (00:28:17): I'll put up an illusions. Yeah. Dili will put up an image of the wall of the room that we're in to patch over where we're all standing, patch over the hole. Daniel [GM] (00:28:28): Okay. You're going to make it intellectual to see how convincing this is. There are actually like two levels of this, but if you succeed on one of them you'll succeed on both; or there's a chance that you'll only succeed on the easier one. You're really looking for a 15 to fool everybody that's coming. Sampson [Dili] (00:28:48): Right. Okay, that makes sense. I will then apply a level of efforts to this role. Oh, and I haven't trained in my illusions yet. Daniel [GM] (00:28:58): What'd you get? Sampson [Dili] (00:28:59): Heaven, it going to use an XP to reroll that. Daniel [GM] (00:29:03): Okay. How in story terms does Dili reroll? Sampson [Dili] (00:29:07): Well, I think he puts up an illusion that looks a bit like the wall but it doesn't fit right, like the texture is a bit off. It looks a little too PlayStation-1 era textures against real stuff. He drops and tries again. Do I need to repay for the effort when I reroll? Daniel [GM] (00:29:25): No. Sampson [Dili] (00:29:27): Okay, 13. Daniel [GM] (00:29:28): You had to effort down so just say yes. Dili, you get this illusion up and you tune it. As you, Atalia and ChaCha are there this illusion has appears. Stannis' legs have just disappeared down the hole as a massive swarm of bees, both these giant bees as well as those phasing bees, come flying in more than is worth counting. Let's put it that way. And then a few moments later, you begin to see the outline of a high fan coming into the room. What now? Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:03): Let's go. Let's go. Daniel [GM] (00:30:05): Who's going next, keeping in mind that Dili can only hold an illusion within 10 feet of him? Sampson [Dili] (00:30:11): Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:13): I think Dili should go second to last then have someone go behind him. Daniel [GM] (00:30:17): Okay, whoever. Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:18): Yeah. Let's go. Sampson [Dili] (00:30:20): Who's going next? Alex [ChaCha] (00:30:22): Anything works. Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:23): If ChaCha's is not going to go I'll go, I guess. I really like that, but whatever. Daniel [GM] (00:30:29): Okay. Atalia, you start making your way down this tunnel. Are you going feet first or head first? Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:34): I think she's literally putting her hands over the top of the hole and sliding her legs in like she would be going down a slide, so she's going feet first. Daniel [GM] (00:30:42): Okay, sounds good. Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:44): She definitely is like swinging herself in, no time wasted. Daniel [GM] (00:30:51): Okay, perfect. This is going to be pretty easy for Atalia, but give me a… No, I guess the hive man is in there. You'll have an asset because of the illusion and then you're specialized in stealth, so that'll be a six for you to try to get in there without the hive man noticing. Marietta [Atalia] (00:31:12): It's an 18. Daniel [GM] (00:31:13): Okay. Atalia slips into the tunnel in utter silence. Sampson [Dili] (00:31:20): Am I going next? Alex [ChaCha] (00:31:20): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (00:31:20): Right. Dili will try to keep his illusion up, edge feet first. Daniel [GM] (00:31:25): Okay. Dili, it is a stealth role and is a 15 to start. You are trained in stealth and you have an asset from your illusion, so that makes it a nine. Sampson [Dili] (00:31:38): Mm-hmm (affirmative). It's probably a good time to play effort, so we will add to six. [inaudible 00:31:44] six. Marietta [Atalia] (00:31:45): Amazing. Daniel [GM] (00:31:46): Dili, you start going into the hole. You almost get yourself stuck as you're moving into it, because Dili is a little shapeless and this tunnel expects you to have a little bit more shape than that, but Dili manages to make his way down. Sampson [Dili] (00:32:03): I'd be body shamed by the tunnel? Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:04): Yes. Marietta [Atalia] (00:32:05): Yes, exactly. Daniel [GM] (00:32:09): It's the ninth world. Everything has personalities here. Damn. Last but not least is ChaCha. This will be a stealth role. You will have an asset from the illusion. It is a 12 then. Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:26): Okay. Now 20. Daniel [GM] (00:32:29): Wow. What would you propose as a major effect? Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:32): That the bees turn around. That they're like, “Oh, yeah, it looks good in here.” Time to go back to our hives stuff. Daniel [GM] (00:32:40): I'll say that they don't necessarily turn around, but the hive man comes in and seems to be… As you disappear down the whole, like you can hear him fiddling with the controls even though you weren't using your power as like… There is a lingering sort of after-connection to the hive man. And it's not anger. It's just sort of confusion. And he is, or they are… I mean, they're an automaton. Hive man is just a poor reflection of what they are, but it's confusion and the thoughts of, “Experiments, designation Stannis, incomplete,” as you slip down the tunnel and farther away before Dili's illusion fades. Daniel [GM] (00:33:27): The rest of you are crawling through this tunnel and you guys are making pretty .good progress. It is not a comfortable thing. Hopefully none of your characters is claustrophobic. Alex [ChaCha] (00:33:39): I feel like we should [inaudible 00:33:39] for that even if [inaudible 00:33:41], man. Stace [Nix] (00:33:43): Nix is just doing like half rows. Daniel [GM] (00:33:47): Although ChaCha is super tiny, so for ChaCha this is probably not a big deal. Alex [ChaCha] (00:33:52): It's like the time I went to those tunnels underneath South Korea and I was just like, “This is me height.” I guess that's what the invading army is, me height. Daniel [GM] (00:34:02): Yes. Stace [Nix] (00:34:02): ChaCha was measuring it. She was like, “I could stay here for a while.” Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:05): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [GM] (00:34:07): Look, I could set up a kitchen over there. You guys are going down, and Nix as you're making your way… I mean, everybody who wants to control perception it's like nine to start with. Nix will have an asset because she's farther forward. Stace [Nix] (00:34:22): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:28): I got it to you. Stace [Nix] (00:34:29): 16. Marietta [Atalia] (00:34:29): That's a nine. Sampson [Dili] (00:34:29): 12. Daniel [GM] (00:34:29): ChaCha got a two. Okay, so ChaCha has no idea. Stace [Nix] (00:34:30): ChaCha is distracted by her new home. Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:33): ChaCha is like rolling and designing. Daniel [GM] (00:34:36): She's already like planning out what she's going to ask Tom to do to this tunnel next. Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:42): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sampson [Dili] (00:34:42): Exactly. Daniel [GM] (00:34:45): But the rest of you hear the sounds of rushing water up ahead. Stace [Nix] (00:34:50): Oh, fuck. Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:52): Can Dili swim? Stace [Nix] (00:34:54): We'll find out. Sampson [Dili] (00:34:59): At least I could paddle, I think, not much more than that. Daniel [GM] (00:35:00): Yeah. You hear this loud sound of rushing water. Well, it's getting louder as you approach. Nix, you could definitely feel the temperature dropping the farther down you guys go. Stace [Nix] (00:35:11): Okay. Nix will keep going until she thinks she's close to the edge. I mean, I imagine she could tilt her head back and it's not like she's blind, so when she gets up to the edge- Daniel [GM] (00:35:21): Yeah. And I can't remember, were you going face first or feet first? Stace [Nix] (00:35:25): She's going face first. Daniel [GM] (00:35:27): Okay. You reach, you can see, it's dark, but you can get the impression of an opening up ahead where the sound is getting the loudest. And as you're moving forward you realize, okay, now I'm poking my head out of this tunnel. And I hear the rushing water down below me, but I don't see. It doesn't look like there's anything else around me. Like if you experimentally move one of your hands out there, it's just open air and the sound of water down below. Stace [Nix] (00:36:03): All right. Atalia. Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (00:36:06): Yeah. I imagine Atalia is trying to push Stannis with her feet to like help her. Stace [Nix] (00:36:13): Hey, I'm about to take a look out while we're at the end. Can you just hold on to Stannis, because she's hooked to me, just in case. I don't know. Marietta [Atalia] (00:36:22): Yeah. Do you want some rope? Stace [Nix] (00:36:24): Well, I'm hooked to Stannis with rope. Marietta [Atalia] (00:36:25): Oh, okay. Sure. I guess Atalia will try to grab Stannis with her legs, like [inaudible 00:36:34]. Stace [Nix] (00:36:35): But Nix is still very cautious as she scooches her head out all the way. Daniel [GM] (00:36:42): Okay, so you scooch your head out. Are you experimental in reaching an arm around? Stace [Nix] (00:36:50): She'll probably like grab the top of the hole as she's pulling herself over. Daniel [GM] (00:36:54): Okay. Okay, so you can grab the top of the hole and you can feel it yourself, kind of your head is coming out into open air and there's that sound of rushing water. There is that sense of moisture in the air. It is pitch black and there's no light coming in. And if you're holding onto the hole there's surface around the hole, but it all feels like perfectly worn down and smooth limestone around the hole. And you are definitely coming out at, if you had to guess, a slight angle pointing down above this water. Stace [Nix] (00:37:34): Okay, so Nix we'll flip over on her stomach and pull herself out far enough to reach down and just reach down as far as she can. How close is the- Daniel [GM] (00:37:44): You encounter delicious moist empty air. Stace [Nix] (00:37:47): Atalia? Marietta [Atalia] (00:37:47): Yeah. Stace [Nix] (00:37:48): I need you to take a look. It's too dark for me to see anything. Marietta [Atalia] (00:37:57): I did. I don't have to tell you this. I don't think I can curl over Stannis here and you. Is there room for that? Stace [Nix] (00:38:04): Yeah. I'll wait real still. Marietta [Atalia] (00:38:07): All right. I'm going to try to worm all over them if I think it's even maybe possible. Daniel [GM] (00:38:14): Okay. Stace [Nix] (00:38:14): You know what? Daniel [GM] (00:38:16): No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm good. Make your decision. Marietta [Atalia] (00:38:20): I mean, also repel you down is an option. Stace [Nix] (00:38:22): Or we could toss something down. Oh, yeah, Nix tosses the glow-glow down. Daniel [GM] (00:38:28): You're going to toss the glow-glow down, so you activate a glow-glow widening up the tunnel. It's a little rudely bright for everybody for a moment. And, Nix, as you toss that you see a cavern with what looks to be roughly a 40-foot drop into a extremely fast moving rapid underwater river that seems to be heading out through another very low-cut hole in the far side of this cavern. Stace [Nix] (00:39:00): There's no shore? It's just a cliff. Daniel [GM] (00:39:03): There is shore if you want to drop 40 feet onto a piece of limestone. Marietta [Atalia] (00:39:09): Jesus. Could we repel down to that? Daniel [GM] (00:39:13): Maybe. You can try anything. Stace [Nix] (00:39:15): Yeah. Nix is going to try. Nix is going to attach her harness from Stannis. Marietta [Atalia] (00:39:21): I'll attach the Stannis harness to be in the interim and then I'll hand you my rope, like I should be able to pulley you from up here. Stace [Nix] (00:39:31): You sure do. Marietta [Atalia] (00:39:34): Yeah, Dili will help me. Daniel [GM] (00:39:35): Well, how do you plan on securing yourself with the buffest one of you on a rope going down? Stace [Nix] (00:39:44): Well, you said that it's a rough tunnel so theoretically there should be... and it's angled downward, so Atalia should be able to get a foothold or something to brace herself up against. Daniel [GM] (00:39:53): But she could absolutely try to do that, yes. Stace [Nix] (00:39:55): Sweet. What small damage to escape. Marietta [Atalia] (00:39:59): The either side of tunnel, legs first. Heels dug into the ground. Daniel [GM] (00:40:07): It's going to work out great because Nix was going face first, so this is going to be no problem whatsoever. Stace [Nix] (00:40:12): No, I'll be fine. Marietta [Atalia] (00:40:13): Guess I'll toss you a rope to have you tie it around yourself. Stace [Nix] (00:40:17): Yeah. Nix attaches it to herself, to her harness. Daniel [GM] (00:40:21): Okay. You're not going to have any wall to bounce against as you go down. Stace [Nix] (00:40:28): There's no wall? This is just a over [inaudible 00:40:30]? Daniel [GM] (00:40:30): You're coming out, not next to the wall that goes along the side. Imagine a tunnel, like a big arch. If this is a big arch, you're coming out at the far Northeast of this arch, if you're thinking about it as if it was a compass rose. Could you bounce against the wall initially? Maybe. But after that you're going to be going way far. Marietta [Atalia] (00:40:55): We're coming out of the ceiling more is what you're saying? Stace [Nix] (00:40:58): Oh. Daniel [GM] (00:41:00): Yes. You're coming out at an angle, but you're coming out of the ceiling; and you're not above the shore, you're above the river. Marietta [Atalia] (00:41:07): Okay. See, I thought we were above the shore. Daniel [GM] (00:41:11): And, by the way, your glow-glow has now been washed away by the river so now it is dark again. Marietta [Atalia] (00:41:16): God damn it. Alex [ChaCha] (00:41:17): Side question. How fast is the river going? Daniel [GM] (00:41:20): I guess Nix, if she wanted, could try to explain what she saw. It was not like a leisurely pace. It's not like whitewater rapids rate, but it's also not not that. Alex [ChaCha] (00:41:37): It's not the lazy river, but it's also not a water slide. Daniel [GM] (00:41:42): Yeah. It's not the end of Splash Mountain but it's close. Stace [Nix] (00:41:48): Atalia- Marietta [Atalia] (00:41:49): Oh boy. Stace [Nix] (00:41:50): -remember how you said you could, maybe, crawl over? Marietta [Atalia] (00:41:56): Fucking yeah. All right, I'm going to attempt to crawl over. Stace [Nix] (00:42:00): Nix is now bracing Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:03): This is an awkward 69 [inaudible 00:42:10]. It's great. Stace [Nix] (00:42:10): I don't know if it helps or not, but didn't Nix turn over so she could look down? If that makes you feel any better. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:20): Yes. Daniel [GM] (00:42:20): Yeah, it's less awkward. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:20): We're touching butts. It's great. Sampson [Dili] (00:42:20): It's more like a 96. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:20): Okay. Perfect. Daniel [GM] (00:42:23): Okay. Atalia, trying to think what's a good role for this. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:35): Will this be climbing? Will with this be… Stace [Nix] (00:42:40): Well, Nix could hold the rope so that it was a climb for you, because it's a 50 foot length. Daniel [GM] (00:42:44): Well, we're talking about can she get past you guys first, so it's less to do with you holding the rope, because this is a very tight tunnel. Marietta [Atalia] (00:42:52): I will say that Atalia is long, but she's not like buffer or anything. She's like- Daniel [GM] (00:42:56): Yeah. I mean, so that's the thing really what's most fun. Can make you roll forward, or I could just offer Atalia an XP. Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:04): Sure. Daniel [GM] (00:43:05): Who will you give the other one to? Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:05): Nix, obviously. Stace [Nix] (00:43:05): A reroll in the future. Daniel [GM] (00:43:12): Okay. You get past Stannis and your feet get to about where Nix's head is when you reach… like there's like an outcropping, a little bulge in the rock. It's about where would be the small of Nix back but about where your pelvis would be, and you realize that you are stuck, you are stuck against the Nix there and against the rocks. Stace [Nix] (00:43:41): Oh, this is so good. Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:48): Wow, this isn't really how I wanted it to be. Atalia is just like star fishing. Daniel [GM] (00:43:54): Yeah. And of course, Dili and ChaCha can't see anything, so they're just hearing everybody. Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:04): Atalia can see but she can't move. This is great. This is great. Alex [ChaCha] (00:44:08): And this is how we all died. Cool. Daniel [GM] (00:44:11): But, hey, you guys managed to get to the point where you're not being chased bees down those tunnels, so that is an awesome improvement over the initial scenario. Sampson [Dili] (00:44:20): It's a monkey POV on improvement. Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:21): Can I try to wiggle myself out, or can I try to dislodge the rock that's trapped me next to Nix? Daniel [GM] (00:44:30): Let's see. Stace [Nix] (00:44:31): And Nix could also scoot forward too. Daniel [GM] (00:44:34): Yeah. It's part of the limestone, so it's like as if… Yeah, so I would say, Atalia, you're like stuck-stuck, so you don't really have enough room to do anything. Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:45): Could I onslaught it? Alex [ChaCha] (00:44:47): Oh God. Daniel [GM] (00:44:48): Ooh. Sampson [Dili] (00:44:50): Oh shit. Daniel [GM] (00:44:53): A physical onslaught in an enclosed space, ooh. Stace [Nix] (00:44:57): I'm here for it. Alex [ChaCha] (00:44:59): I'm very nervous because of cave-ins. Marietta [Atalia] (00:45:01): I'm really stuck. Hey Dili. Sampson [Dili] (00:45:08): What? Marietta [Atalia] (00:45:09): Can you crawl forward a little bit and try to drag Stannis' body bag? Just feel for it. It'll be fine. Sampson [Dili] (00:45:18): I don't want to be that guy because we haven't mentioned it, but I don't think I can get past Jeskii. Alex [ChaCha] (00:45:23): Yeah. That's what I was also wondering, where Jeskii was. Daniel [GM] (00:45:27): Oh, yeah, that's a good point. That's a good point. Jeskii is just sort of licking Atalia's face and trying to comfort her. She's like half stretched across Stannis and just like… If Stannis woke up, she would wake up to seskii tummy in her face and darkness. Oh man, that sucks. Stace [Nix] (00:45:45): Oh, wow. Marietta [Atalia] (00:45:46): “What is this creature?” Is there any protruding rocks that I could, maybe, tie a rope around? Daniel [GM] (00:45:52): There's nothing that's that, because this has been worn down by water, so this is like a smooth bump in how this rock has formed. It's not like something jutting out. It's just that you've hit a spot where between you and Nix it's too much to get past. Stace [Nix] (00:46:11): Atalia's stuck, but Nix isn't necessarily. Daniel [GM] (00:46:14): She is not necessarily. It probably is going to be painful to get free, but Nix could probably try to move. Stace [Nix] (00:46:23): At least one, if not both, of Nix's arms are out, so Nix could get leveraged to pull herself forward. Daniel [GM] (00:46:29): Yes. Sure. Stace [Nix] (00:46:30): Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:31): Okay, is that like an angle coming down but we're kind of in the ceiling, right? Daniel [GM] (00:46:36): Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:37): But so I think I am going to onslaught it, but I want to do it so it's like hitting the top lip so that it would ideally not fall onto us but fall down into the cavern. We just made that space a little bigger. Does that make sense? Daniel [GM] (00:46:50): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:52): Like angle, so it would be like this V part here that I'd be shooting off. It'd be like a wider opening at the top, but the bottom would still be where it was; like an angle situation so there's like an angle and so we're just sliding down shore. Stace [Nix] (00:47:06): Do you want to try that before Nix tries to pull yourself forward? Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:09): That's fair. If you want to do that, go for it. I just don't want you to fall out into the river [inaudible 00:47:14]. Stace [Nix] (00:47:13): Yeah, it's 40 feet. Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:16): Oh, yeah, just 40 feet into a raging river. Alex [ChaCha] (00:47:18): We're all thinking back to all those roles Daniel has made us do. We're just like, “Mmh.” Stace [Nix] (00:47:25): All right, so what kind of role would it be for Nix to pull herself forward but not fall all the way out of the hole? Daniel [GM] (00:47:33): This is something might-related. I'll give you that. It'll be up to you if you have a skill that you think will apply. I think I'll give you two difficulties. Okay? One is to avoid any injury to you, the other one is to accept the fact that either you or Atalia will get scraped up pretty bad. Are you doing it? Stace [Nix] (00:47:53): I mean, there's no way to know for sure who would get scraped up? Daniel [GM] (00:47:57): I would say that Nix could decide. Stace [Nix] (00:48:00): Oh, yeah, Nix would be fine with getting scraped up. Daniel [GM] (00:48:04): It is going to be a 15 to avoid any damage. It is going to be a nine to accept one of you taking some rock-scraping damage. Stace [Nix] (00:48:16): Okay, and I will spend… I only have climbing. Would that apply? Daniel [GM] (00:48:21): You could make that argument. Yeah. Stace [Nix] (00:48:22): Okay. All right. And I guess I'll use a level of my effort just because it's so cheap. Okay. Daniel [GM] (00:48:30): That takes it down to a nine if you're trying to avoid all damage. Stace [Nix] (00:48:33): 14. Daniel [GM] (00:48:34): Okay. Nix, you've managed to slide forward enough without falling down that Atalia is free enough to get past that outcome. Stace [Nix] (00:48:43): Nix's abs are tight. She is planking. Daniel [GM] (00:48:48): Yeah. Nix is really working her core, yeah. Sampson [Dili] (00:48:52): I mentioned she's grinding some of the rock away with her abs. Marietta [Atalia] (00:48:54): It's a rock grader. Daniel [GM] (00:49:00): Okay. Okay, so Atalia, you are now free and Nix is far enough forward that like if you were trying to slide along, if your feet can… if they want to they could kick in the open air, although I wouldn't recommend doing that because Nix's face is around there. Marietta [Atalia] (00:49:15): Okay. Yeah, I don't want to do that. I will try to see what I can see now with my vision, I guess. Daniel [GM] (00:49:23): Okay. It is like dim light to you in here, so it is a massive cavern. Marietta [Atalia] (00:49:30): Shit. Daniel [GM] (00:49:31): And most of what's directly below you is this river. There is, maybe, about five feet of this limestone shore on either side that curves up the edge of this river, but it's not enormous. And, like I said, it's 40 feet down to the river. And then I would say that where you are, over the river, it's probably… let's say it's 75 feet across from end to end, from like one wall to the other wall if you're going across the river. And the cavern itself is about 200 feet long along the length of this river. Marietta [Atalia] (00:50:20): Okay. This is a pickle, man. The best option I can think of is that we rope some people down and swing them, you know? But how do we get all of us down that way? You know what I mean? I also can't tell how deep this river is from here. It's really dark in here. I just don't know if jumping 40 feet like, “Let's just go for it.” You know? Stace [Nix] (00:50:42): Well, I could hold the rope. Marietta [Atalia] (00:50:44): I'm just trying to think like, so if I get down there and I either just jump down and you hold the rope and I swim furiously, or you do swing me on a rope to the edge, or I just jump and swing, whatever, that gets me down there. That's fine, but how do we get Dili down consciously and you and ChaCha all down there too? Alex [ChaCha] (00:51:04): Could Dili make a zip line? Sampson [Dili] (00:51:07): I can't really move my elbows. I can try, but it's kind of a tight squeeze. Daniel [GM] (00:51:14): Another thing to keep in mind is if you're thinking about swinging, it's 40 feet directly down, it's 75 feet across, but there's only five feet of shore on either side so find the hypotenuse. Marietta [Atalia] (00:51:28): Atalia will probably swing and jump, but- Sampson [Dili] (00:51:32): Are we in the center of the cavern? Daniel [GM] (00:51:35): Close enough, maybe not from a rights perspective; but I would say from Nix and on Atalia's perspective, pretty close. Sampson [Dili] (00:51:44): 4,000 across 200 long, is that what you said? Daniel [GM] (00:51:47): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sampson [Dili] (00:51:50): Excuse me while I calculate the hypotenuse. Daniel [GM] (00:51:51): Yeah, so it's 40 down. The Z axis is 40, your X axis is 75. Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:00): Is this A plus B equals C? I don't know math. Sampson [Dili] (00:52:03): No, I know. I'm trying to figure out what your axis are now. Daniel [GM] (00:52:07): Your Z axis is ceiling to surface. Sampson [Dili] (00:52:12): Got that, 40 feet. Daniel [GM] (00:52:13): Okay. X axis is from one wall to the other wall, of which there is five feet of shore on each side. Marietta [Atalia] (00:52:23): Bring those, that's 35 feet. Daniel [GM] (00:52:25): And then the length of this entire chamber from where the river comes in to where it ends, it's 200 feet. Sampson [Dili] (00:52:31): Got you. And then the X axis, what was that, from wall to wall? Daniel [GM] (00:52:39): 75 feet. Sampson [Dili] (00:52:40): Okay, so 65 divide by two because I've taken out my shore. All right, I'm going to Wolfram this bullshit. Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:51): Welcome to the math cast where I just sit here thinking, “Man, school didn't lie. We'll use this stuff in the real world.” This is like the section of math my brain can't handle. Sampson [Dili] (00:53:05): All right. You need 51.5 feet of rope to get your toes onto the shore. Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:10): I could swing off the end. Dili will jump. Well, I'll jump for that one inch, or my body length. Yeah, let's do that. Atalia, could you fit there over on Jeskii? Sampson [Dili] (00:53:28): I'm feet first, so I don't know if I can. I'd probably get the rope to you. Stace [Nix] (00:53:33): Nix is literally wearing a rope. Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:36): Okay. Can we utilize that, I guess? Stace [Nix] (00:53:38): Yes. Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:41): Okay, let's do that and we'll tie the knots together. Daniel [GM] (00:53:46): Okay, so let's do some happy time fun time rules keeping in mind you also have to figure out how to get Stannis down there. Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:55): That's what I mean. I think we should have Atalia go down, have her get to the shore, and then you tie like a harness to Stannis' body and you swing her and I'll catch, take it off and then we can basically just jump. Daniel [GM] (00:54:09): Wow, you're just going to let Jeskii jump 40 feet? Wow. Over a raging river? Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:17): Well, I've already done it once in this campaign, so I might as well do it again. Daniel [GM] (00:54:23): Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:25): Not the dream, but I just don't know. I feel like Jeskii is bigger than us. Isn't she? Daniel [GM] (00:54:29): No. She's smaller. Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:31): Oh, okay. Well maybe she could be roped down. Daniel [GM] (00:54:34): She's bigger than what you would think of as a dog, but she's still smaller than you guys. Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:39): Okay. Well then, [inaudible 00:54:41] if she does not need to just jump down then. Stace [Nix] (00:54:43): Yeah, guys, I have some spikes and a hammer. Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:49): It's just that we're kind of on the ceiling here, so I don't know how you're going to climb down. Stace [Nix] (00:54:53): Well, we could drive a spike into the tunnel. Sampson [Dili] (00:54:57): As an anchor. Stace [Nix] (00:54:58): Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:54:59): Then we could all get down. Stace [Nix] (00:55:01): And then I can be the last one guys, kind of feel like I should be the last one. Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:06): But can Dili get over Nix? Marietta [Atalia] (00:55:08): I don't know how that's going to work but- Stace [Nix] (00:55:13): Yeah, so it's true. Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:16): I was already body shaming him now. Stace [Nix] (00:55:18): All right. Sampson [Dili] (00:55:18): Unless you can like cur the rope on the ceiling, like under the lip, and then just hang there and like help us along. But then you're just hanging there as the rest of us go past it. Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:32): Making all the strength checks. Daniel [GM] (00:55:37): Yeah. Are you guys getting Atalia down first or are you working on the whole plan first? Stace [Nix] (00:55:40): Whole plan, I guess. Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:45): Why can't they just be reckless? Stace [Nix] (00:55:47): Atalia can still go first, probably should still go first, so she can see. Marietta [Atalia] (00:55:50): Yeah. How about I'll go and then I can scope and see if there's a better way. You know what I mean? Stace [Nix] (00:55:55): Yeah. And, here, let me just still drive these spikes in real quick. Nix is going to take part of Dili's idea, drive in two spikes, attach- Sampson [Dili] (00:56:06): Okay. I'm going to say Nix, because of who you are, you just do this. That's no problem. Stace [Nix] (00:56:12): Okay. Nix attaches rope attached to her harness, kind of short, to one of them just so she can hang down and get out of the way and attaches another long rope to the other one. Daniel [GM] (00:56:26): Mm-hmm (affirmative). I will say one thing to Nix, it is not in any way negatively affecting you at this point but you notice that with the temperature change, like while you're still able to do everything you're not hindered or anything like that, you are feeling a little bit more sluggish than usual. Stace [Nix] (00:56:44): Oh man. All right, Nix doesn't think anything of it though; and unless someone else wants something to do first there's now a rope for Atalia hanging down. Marietta [Atalia] (00:56:56): All right, Atalia will test the rope a little bit first and then she'll go for it. Daniel [GM] (00:57:03): Okay, so do you have any skills in trapeze artistry? I'm kidding. You can just use climbing. Marietta [Atalia] (00:57:08): I have climbing and jumping, so when I jump off- Daniel [GM] (00:57:15): Okay. And this is going to be a 15 before your training, so that makes it a 12. Marietta [Atalia] (00:57:21): All right, and I will spend a little effort. Daniel [GM] (00:57:29): Okay, so that'll be [inaudible 00:57:30]. Marietta [Atalia] (00:57:30): Goodbye my points. That's 11. Daniel [GM] (00:57:33): Atalia lands. It's a little bit of a stumbling land, but she lands on the shore below. Stace [Nix] (00:57:38): Is it where only Atalia knows it was a bad landing; it looked good to everyone else though? Daniel [GM] (00:57:41): Yeah, because none of the rest of you can see shit right now. Like you hear Atalia land and if Atalia wanted to she could just say like, “Awesome. You guys have no idea.” Sampson [Dili] (00:57:55): Twist her ankle a little bit. “Awesome.” Daniel [GM] (00:57:58): You wouldn't be able to hear any tripping or anything like that over the sound of the river. Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:03): I'll shout out, “Okay, I made it.” And then I'll look around and see what I get with the lay of land from this angle, see if there's like anywhere that the shore goes or that kind of thing. Daniel [GM] (00:58:16): Yeah. You can see that the shore kind of extends down, like the way out of here is a very low hole like basically there's no… like to get out with where the river is you would have to be under the water. Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:31): Fuck, okay. Daniel [GM] (00:58:32): Yeah, what are the rest of you guys doing? Are you going to move Stannis next? I mean, Jeskii's is whining because she wants to be with Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:38): It's okay Jeskii. Stace [Nix] (00:58:42): I think there should be two people on the ground when we lower Stannis. Daniel [GM] (00:58:47): Okay, so how are you going to get other people past? Stace [Nix] (00:58:49): Oh, I didn't realize getting past was the problem. ChaCha could get past if Atalia could get past. Daniel [GM] (00:58:54): Yeah. But ChaCha get past Dili? Because Dili is there taking up most of the space. Sampson [Dili] (00:59:00): That's up. Stace [Nix] (00:59:03): All right. I guess Nix will go down. Nix is going to- Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:06): Wait, what? How are we going to get the rest of them down then? Stace [Nix] (00:59:11): Well, the rope. Right? Sampson [Dili] (00:59:14): Stannis and Jeskii are kind of in the way of Dili and ChaCha. That's the order. Daniel [GM] (00:59:17): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:17): Yeah. Alex [ChaCha] (00:59:18): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [Nix] (00:59:19): Uh-huh (affirmative). Sampson [Dili] (00:59:20): Unless you just are expecting Stannis and Jeskii to just fall out naturally, there's not a whole lot Dili and ChaCha can do there. Stace [Nix] (00:59:26): Yeah, so Nix will go next and she's going to tie Stannis is to herself, like coast guards do. Daniel [GM] (00:59:34): Okay. Okay. Stace [Nix] (00:59:35): Nix is already out. Daniel [GM] (00:59:37): Okay. Nix that sounds fun. It'll be slightly more difficult since you're trying to do it with Stannis. It'll be an 18 to start, but then you've got trainings so that puts it down to a 15. Stace [Nix] (00:59:51): This is climbing? Daniel [GM] (00:59:52): Yes. And you've got rope tying her to you, so I guess that will be an asset. Stace [Nix] (00:59:57): Rope and it's climbing so it's a nine now. Daniel [GM] (01:00:00): No, it was a 15 with your climbing already, so now it's a 12. Stace [Nix] (01:00:05): I will spend effort again. 16. Daniel [GM] (01:00:11): Okay. You managed to get to the shore with Stannis. You guys can't see, although Atalia can. Jeskii pokes her head out and looks down at Atalia and makes a little wine and then there is a concerned, faint glow from the tunnel where Jeskii's crystals on her back glow a concerned orange. Stace [Nix] (01:00:33): Nix is going to lose Stannis and climb back up the rope to get Jeskii. Daniel [GM] (01:00:37): Okay. Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:40): Atalia will take Stannis, I guess. Daniel [GM] (01:00:44): Okay. Atalia as you take Stannis she's kind of like moaning a bit because she's starting to stir finally. What do you want to do with her? Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:54): I'll set her down and I'll put my cloak under her head and be like, “Calm down. It's okay. We're just trying to get out of here.” Daniel [GM] (01:01:00): Atalia, you feel something sharp against your neck and Stannis looks up at you with angry eyes and says, “Who are you?” Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:13): “Your savior and [Salah 01:01:15] is the one who sent us here to find you since you were just fucking gone.” “Get out my face,” and I'll smack her hand away. She's like, “Fucking lady, I just saved your ass and you're putting a nice to my throat? No, I don't think so.” Daniel [GM] (01:01:29): Okay. To smack her hand away is going to be a 15. Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:34): Okay. That's a 13, so not spending effort on that. Daniel [GM] (01:01:40): You try to smack her hand away and she grips your hair with her hand, with her other hand, and then holds the knife closer. And she says, “Salah send you?” Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:48): Yes. Daniel [GM] (01:01:51): And she kind of grits her teeth and looks at you and says, “Prove it. What is the door?” And that's where we'll end this episode. Fuck. Damn it. Marietta [Atalia] (01:02:02): Atalia going to be so fucking salty. She's going to be like, “Where is fucking Momma Jerrun and Salah and all these assholes who [inaudible 01:02:11]? Bring all of their necks. I'm done with this organization.” Just trying to help people and they're all like, “Oh, are you part of the club? Have you jumped through the right hoops?” Like, "No, fucker. I've been trying to survive. I'm sorry. Okay? Arghh, should have left her." Alex [ChaCha] (01:02:29): What's your next character going to be? Marietta [Atalia] (01:02:31): Even spookier. Even spookier, just you wait. Sampson [Dili] (01:02:34): [inaudible 01:02:34]. That'd be fucking rad. Marietta [Atalia] (01:02:37): Yeah. Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah. That's it. That's rad. Daniel [GM] (01:02:39): Stace, is there anything that stuck out for you this episode for Nix? Stace [Nix] (01:02:43): I feel like it was a physical activity centered episode, so that was cool. Just some heavy lifting stuck out for Nix. Honestly, there was definitely a point where I was like, “We should just turn back around.” Like, we fooled the bees maybe we should go back. Marietta [Atalia] (01:03:04): Right? I was also thinking that. Stace [Nix] (01:03:10): But I never said it because it'd look so ridiculous. I just loved the whole situation of like a fairly impossible seating and a certainly not over yet physical problem. Daniel [GM] (01:03:19): Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool. We have a segment that we do every week called Player Intrusions where we offer you, the listener, an XP to check out something that we think you would absolutely dig. This week it's my turn, and I will offer you all an XP if you check out a book series called The Murderbot Diaries. The Murderbot Diaries were initially a series of novellas although there has been a full length novel that was released just a couple of months ago, which I'm very excited to read, by Martha Wells; and the story follows. Daniel [GM] (01:03:54): It's from the point of view of this sort of security bot which is essentially like somewhat cybernetic, although they don't like thinking of the cells in human terms, that are like these contracted robots that are used for hired security for company explorations and things like that. The difference with this one is there was some very traumatic thing in the past that resulted in the death of a lot of humans under their care. And the big difference for Murderbot, which is the name that the main character gives themselves because of the way they think of themselves, the things different and she's hacked her own governor, which is the thing that other computers and humans use to control her. Daniel [GM] (01:04:42): Well, I say her, I shouldn't say her. Murderbot is a-gender. They don't think of themselves with any term with a gender or anything like that. Murderbot doesn't really think of themselves even like in the same category as humans. They think of themselves robot. But now that they've hacked their governor, what they really want to do is spend time watching all this media they've collected of these goofy terrible soap operas in space. Essentially the way Murderbot describes these stories they're watching, it's a little bit like anime meets daytime soap opera type stuff. Daniel [GM] (01:05:24): Murderbot loves that, but Murderbot keeps getting drawn into all these situations. First of all, their all systems red is about Murderbot getting caught up in a situation where the humans under their care are in danger and Murderbot makes decisions to help them; but that means that the humans along the way discover that Murderbot's governor is offline. And the story follows Murderbot as they really just try to find their own freedom so that they can just enjoy their media and their life, but because Murderbot is honestly still a good person underneath keeps getting caught up in more bizarre cases going on. Daniel [GM] (01:06:09): And the joy of the books is Murderbot's personality is just delightfully wry and sarcastic. And they're just a ton of fun. There are, I think, I can't remember if it's four or five books out now. I think the novel is the fifth one. The first novella, All Systems Red, is outstanding. They've won Hugo awards but it's just so much fun to read, and I can't recommend it enough. It's got the action of like mild sci-fi, but still like this weird humor and character studies that you just tend to associate with more generic sci-fi. And Murderbot is hilarious as are the other AI that Murderbot is interacting with over the course of time. I can't recommend the series enough. Has anybody else read the Murderbot Diaries? Sampson [Dili] (01:07:00): Other books keep getting in the way. Daniel [GM] (01:07:03): Yeah, I know. I understand. But yes, I heart Murderbot. Murderbot is a great character. Sampson [Dili] (01:07:08): Yeah, I heard a lot of good things because of its a portrayal of like non-gendered characters, like that character that just does not associate with any gender or even the concept of it. Daniel [GM] (01:07:18): Yeah, and it's funny. Most people when they're reading it, they tend to make the mistake of assuming Murderbot is one gender or another and then… Even now while I was going through it I made the mistake of mis-gendering Murderbot, but Murderbot really doesn't associate either way. Anyway, read the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. They're awesome. And we'll have a link in the show notes to where you can buy them at the big stores as well as through indie book shops. If people wanted to reach out to us to tell us what they think about the podcast, or want to tell us and share what they love about Murderbot Diaries, or what they're excited about with the ongoing Murderbot series, how would they do that, Marietta? Marietta [Atalia] (01:07:56): Well, first, they should start at our website which is explorerswanted.fm, and you can find links to all of the things I'm about to mention starting with our Twitter, which is @explorerswanted. And then we're also on Instagram @exploreswantedpodcast. And then we're on Facebook, Explorers Wanted Podcast. And then if you really, really want to hang out with us you should come to our discord server for which there are links on all the social media and our website. We're pretty active on there. Marietta [Atalia] (01:08:22): And we've had it going for a little bit now, but we also have a Patrion which is a great way if you feel like you can actually financially support us. If that's something that you can do, we really appreciate it and it could really help us. That's our things, our social medias. Daniel [GM] (01:08:39): Outstanding. And honestly, right now, the best thing that you could do for us if you enjoyed the show is to tell a friend; and tell them why you enjoyed the show, why they would enjoy the show. That's really the way that we can build an audience. The second best thing you could do for us is leave us a five star rating and review on the podcast directory, particularly Apple podcasts, Podchaser, Stitcher. Those are the places where those reviews have the biggest impact, especially if you give us a written review which explains why people should listen to us. That tends to draw people in more than just the five star reviews. Although, thank you to those of you who've already given us those. Daniel [GM] (01:09:21): It's a big part of how we build an audience, which is really critical at this stage in a podcast. If you didn't like the podcast, if you just thought it was meh, then there's something you can do to help you with that. I think you're ready for it if you're at that stage. I want you to go and take a look in the mirror, preferably a full length mirror. A bathroom mirror is workable too, but something like a hand mirror is far too small. Now, turn the lights down low. If you don't have a dimmer where the mirror is, just turn off all the lights and use a candle instead. Look at your reflection in their eyes then let your gaze relax so that you can get full access to your peripheral vision. Daniel [GM] (01:10:07): Wait. Just stay relaxed. Don't rush things. You may see hints of movement, but again, wait. Keep your gaze centered and easy. Wait until your reflections hand has almost reached your shoulders, and then grab the wrist and tug it from the mirror before it manages to pull you in. There can only be one of you, and I wish you luck. If you want to reach out to us individually on social media, you can. You can find me on Twitter @andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-K. Stace [Nix] (01:10:40): You can follow me on Twitter @staceWindu. Sampson [Dili] (01:10:41): You can hide from bees with me @slampotato. Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:45): You can probably tell my dog to stop screaming at me @realteaunicorn. Alex [ChaCha] (01:10:51): And you can tell me how to Twitter, because I still don't know how to Twitter at [inaudible 01:10:56]. Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:57): Okay. Thanks everybody for listening. Have a good day, night, or whenever you're listening to this. We will be back next week as we will for every weekend the foreseeable future. All (01:11:06): Bye.