Daniel [GM] (00:30): Welcome to Explorers Wanted! We are a weekly Numenera actual play podcast . I will be your humble GM, Daniel Andrlik. With me today is Alex Finn. Alex [ChaCha] (00:42): Hello. Today I am drinking kombucha because mistakes were made last time, and we should not repeat them. Daniel [GM] (00:53): Stace Babcock? Stace [Nix] (00:56): I am drinking something slightly more tasty than kombucha, and that is grapefruit Vista Bay (aka Aldi White Claw.) Daniel [GM] (01:04): Oh, okay! Marietta Jones? Marietta [Atalia] (01:07): Hi, I'm here and I'm drinking water because I'm not done with my school work yet. Daniel [GM] (01:14): And Sampson Davis. Sampson [Dili] (01:15): I am drinking alcohol because I'm also not done with my school work today. Marietta [Atalia] (01:18): Are you allowed to alcohol and do school work now? Is that how that works? Sampson [Dili] (01:25): Oh, my god. Let me tell you about grad school... Average blood alcohol content's like .07! Marietta [Atalia] (01:30): Oh, my gosh. I might have to acquire a beverage. Alex [ChaCha] (01:34): I mean maybe alcohol and science experiment, but ... Marietta [Atalia] (01:37): Oh, no. I just have to summarize groups on the periodic table, it's fine. Alex [ChaCha] (01:43): Oh, then drink away! Sampson [Dili] (01:45): Get your drink on, then. You're good to go. As long as that you're not drinking while you're working at an actual job, it's fine. You can drink and home, and do your homework. Stace [Nix] (01:55): And even then, depending on your culture, it could still be fine. Alex [ChaCha] (02:01): That's why you become a CPA. Stace [Nix] (02:08): I don't know if that's sad, or cool. I think, it's sad. Daniel [GM] (02:11): Let's see. Who remembers what remembered last time? I think this time, I am going to pick on ... Alex. Alex [ChaCha] (02:24): You waited for the look of, "Oh, no, confusion" to come on my face, didn't you before you picked me? Daniel [GM] (02:30): Yeah, I had to hunt to weak. Sampson [Dili] (02:35): Damn! Alex [ChaCha] (02:36): Last episode, ChaCha somehow can see horrors (that starts with an H, not a W) in the distance, and has found out that one of the tiny towns that they were passing, that they were debating resupplying at, was inhabited by dicks aka the snake people. And not the good snake people of Nix. The bad kind of snake people who do bad snake things. So they decided, "Let's not fluff with the snake people." They continued around the town, through the forest when we discovered there were wires in the trees. "Oh, no!" and tried to hit one with a dart thrower, and the dart was cut in [twine 00:03:28]. We were like, "Yo, whatever. Keep walking." and suddenly, spiders attacked. From what I remember of this fight, Atalia killed a lot of spiders with that Onslaught. So after Atalia killed several of the spider with Onslaught and her battle cry of La Croix (Keeping that canon in my mind. Sorry, not sorry.), they made their way to the city which they can now see. And ChaCha's best friend buddy cop showed up, and told ChaCha she needs to hurry and change the world, and I'm really confoozed. Can some listener please help me? I need guidance, pleaz. Pleaz, halp! Stace [Nix] (04:17): We don't figure things out fast, so this might still be relevant. Alex [ChaCha] (04:22): When you're hearing this, I still need help. Marietta [Atalia] (04:25): Yeah, so does Atalia. Daniel [GM] (04:30): Some other important things happened though. Nix tried out some of her new "snek" abilities. Alex [ChaCha] (04:36): Oh, yeah. It was "snek move." Stace [Nix] (04:39): Sneks. Marietta [Atalia] (04:39): Yeah, pro tip, don't startle Nix awake. Stace [Nix] (04:43): With a rock? I feel like this is a rule for everybody, just don't throw rocks at people to wake them up. Daniel [GM] (04:52): Yeah. You guys also saw Nix eat a football-sized organ in one bite. Alex [ChaCha] (04:56): Oh, yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (04:57): That's horrifying. Stace [Nix] (05:00): Oh, was it football-sized? Well, good for her! Daniel [GM] (05:05): Yeah, so you guys dealt with those steel spiders who also dealt with some strange clicking creatures that were partially extra dimensional. Stace [Nix] (05:15): Oh, right! The clickity-clacks! Daniel [GM] (05:15): And you guys also had some very important conversations around the fire midway through your journey. Sampson [Dili] (05:21): Emotion [inaudible 00:05:22]. Daniel [GM] (05:23): Emotions, and things. There were lots of feels. Alex [ChaCha] (05:27): Yeah, we did have some discussions on how things happened. Marietta [Atalia] (05:32): Yeah. Stace [Nix] (05:32): They were all Atalia's. Alex [ChaCha] (05:39): And the important theme in the take-away was teamwork. Wherever, and always. Daniel [GM] (05:48): Yes, absolutely. So you guys have reached the edge of this wooded area. You can see Shallamas. Shallamas is a fairly large city so you seeing in the distance means you're probably still about two days away. But ChaCha has just saw her friend who's appeared, and told her that she's wasting time, that she's supposed to change the world, and she needs to act quickly. That figure began fading away as soon as they finish saying that. Leaving ChaCha seeing her buddy cop friend disappear, and the rest of you wondering, "What the hell's going on?" as ChaCha stares into the middle distance. Alex [ChaCha] (06:41): I think, with that ChaCha's going to run full sprint at the city because she was told to hurry, and not waste time. That she must change the world, and clearly that indicates this city in front of them. Yes, yes. Marietta [Atalia] (06:58): "ChaCha, that's not really a sustainable pace!" Sampson [Dili] (07:05): "Did she see something? Should we be running? Is there anything around us that we can see?" Marietta [Atalia] (07:05): Seskii! Daniel [GM] (07:12): No, you can't see a thing. Although I can picture Dili looking around for danger like a flock animal [inaudible 00:07:17]. Sampson [Dili] (07:17): "I'm going to start running now." Alex [ChaCha] (07:21): ChaCha causes a stampede. Stace [Nix] (07:22): Nix is like, "Oh, we're running? Let's run!" Marietta [Atalia] (07:24): "Oh, my gosh. Are we actually running? Jeskii, go follow them!" Daniel [GM] (07:31): Jeskii charges on ahead. Marietta [Atalia] (07:32): "What a pal." Sampson [Dili] (07:32): "Are we in danger? Do we need to be running?" Marietta [Atalia] (07:36): "My theory is perhaps ChaCha saw something that we did not see." Sampson [Dili] (07:42): "So that's a yes, we should be running?" Marietta [Atalia] (07:45): "Sure! Would you like to run? Why don't you run, and then I'll run behind you!" Sampson [Dili] (07:50): "I ... Fuck, all right." Dili will start running. Daniel [GM] (08:00): Okay. Dili, please make a might roll of nine. Sampson [Dili] (08:10): Six. Daniel [GM] (08:13): Dili, you start off running and you get about 100 feet before you have to stop and starting retching bent over ... Marietta [Atalia] (08:28): "Oh, buddy!" Daniel [GM] (08:28): From the exertion. Sampson [Dili] (08:30): "Oh, god just let them take me! Oh, this is agony!" Marietta [Atalia] (08:36): "Oh, man. Just do what you can, man. Okay?" [crosstalk 00:08:39] Sampson [Dili] (08:39): "That was it! I just did what I could!" Alex [ChaCha] (08:43): Oh, no! Sampson [Dili] (08:45): "My lunges feel like knives!" Marietta [Atalia] (08:46): All right. How big is Dili? Daniel [GM] (08:48): Oh, what'd I say? Just above five foot? He's relatively short. Sampson [Dili] (08:53): Yeah, he's just above five foot. Daniel [GM] (08:54): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (08:55): But round, very round. Daniel [GM] (08:58): Shapeless, he's shapeless. Sampson [Dili] (09:00): Shapeless. Stace [Nix] (09:03): Yeah, somewhat round, right? Well, well, [not 00:09:07] to me. Marietta [Atalia] (09:07): What's the probability that I would be able to give Dili a piggyback ride? Daniel [GM] (09:14): You're not going to be able to run and do it. Marietta [Atalia] (09:16): Oh. "Can you still walk?" Daniel [GM] (09:17): At least not for any succinct ... Marietta [Atalia] (09:18): "Dili?" Sampson [Dili] (09:20): "I ... give me a second. I think I can walk." I'll start to shamble away. Daniel [GM] (09:28): Okay. So you walk a few steps, and then you vomit. And now you feel a little bit better. Marietta [Atalia] (09:36): "Yeah, you should be careful. Don't forage or anything. You don't know what's poisonous or not poisonous out here." Sampson [Dili] (09:45): "Haven't you been the one getting food?" Marietta [Atalia] (09:49): "That was Nix!" Sampson [Dili] (09:49): Okay. Daniel [GM] (09:53): That was Nix. Nix and ChaCha. Marietta [Atalia] (09:54): Atalia was literally like, "I don't know what outside is. I live in a city." Sampson [Dili] (09:58): Okay. Daniel [GM] (10:01): I assume ChaCha and Nix are still running throughout this with Jeskii following. Alex [ChaCha] (10:05): Yep. Unless something stops her, ChaCha is running her little legs out. Daniel [GM] (10:13): As you're running across this uneven terrain (there are rocks, and things like that) you're running pretty effectively because I believe ChaCha is trained in running, right? Alex [ChaCha] (10:27): Yes, she is! Daniel [GM] (10:28): So, she's running just fine. Jeskii is doing parkour off boulders to keep herself moving at a good pace. What is Nix doing? Stace [Nix] (10:42): Is the terrain steep or flat? Daniel [GM] (10:44): It's relatively flat. The terrain itself is flat, but it's still rough terrain. There are boulders, there's plant life. You're not on a road because you came out of the woods. Stace [Nix] (11:00): Nix is also very parkour-y (if that's a word), but not as much as Jeskii because she's actually trying to race ChaCha now. Daniel [GM] (11:12): Okay. She's trying to race ChaCha. Okay. That sounds like contestant roll. That sounds like Nix should roll. It's might-based. If you have training in running, you can add to that. Stace [Nix] (11:31): Don't have training in running, but I will spend [inaudible 00:11:32]. Daniel [GM] (11:32): Okay. So, I'll give you a +3. Stace [Nix] (11:36): 20 total. 17 + 3. Daniel [GM] (11:38): Okay. ChaCha, roll a d20 + 3. You can spend might effort, if you want to increase that. Depends if ChaCha notices if Nix is racing her. Alex [ChaCha] (11:51): I don't think ChaCha's going to notice anything besides the demand that she change the world. So, ChaCha got a 15 + 3. Daniel [GM] (12:01): Okay. So, Nix does pull ahead of you. Meanwhile, in increasing distance behind y'all, is Atalia and Dili walking along. Sampson [Dili] (12:16): "Who would willingly subject themselves to something like that?" Marietta [Atalia] (12:20): "I've heard that if you get really into it, you get this runner's high. It's really great, and you don't have to buy any drugs to get there. You just have to run past your threshold, and break through." Stace [Nix] (12:35): Runner's high doesn't exist in the Ninth World that's canon. Daniel [GM] (12:38): That sounds like drug war propaganda. Sampson [Dili] (12:44): "So it's equivalent to a hard drug? What?" Marietta [Atalia] (12:46): "I don't know. [crosstalk 00:12:50] Plus there are many rewards! ChaCha and Nix a lot of running, and look at how fit they are! That's not the rewarding thing?" Alex [ChaCha] (13:01): Nix is not thin, Nix is very fit. Sampson [Dili] (13:01): I heard fit. Daniel [GM] (13:06): Yeah, she said fit. Stace [Nix] (13:07): Oh, I thought you said, "thin!" I was like, "Get out of here with that!" Marietta [Atalia] (13:10): No, I'm pretty sure Nix is ripped and I feel like, "Woof! Heart aflutter!" Daniel [GM] (13:18): How ripped as Nix? Like Kassandra from Odyssey? Stace [Nix] (13:22): Nix is cut! Daniel [GM] (13:24): But like Kassandra from Odyssey kind of thing? Stace [Nix] (13:27): Yeah, that's good. That's close rough. Alex [ChaCha] (13:30): Cassandra from Dragon Age. Stace [Nix] (13:32): Oh, man. Cassandra from Dragon Age. Heart her. Daniel [GM] (13:40): I know ChaCha will probably keep running until she can't run anymore. Alex [ChaCha] (13:43): Yes. Daniel [GM] (13:45): Nix, how far away are you going to allow yourself to get from the rest of the group in your racing? Stace [Nix] (13:51): Daniel, your face just says, "Don't make me turn this podcast around?" Like, "All right, guys..." Yeah. Nix will get ahead by a decent amount, about 20 feet, and then look over her shoulder and see that ChaCha is not trying to race her. She's like, "Where we going, ChaCha? Where we going?" Alex [ChaCha] (14:12): ChaCha just ignores her and still runs to the city like, "Must. Change. World." I think, she might be chanting that under her breath. "Must. Change. World. Must. Change. World. Must. Change. World." Stace [Nix] (14:27): "ChaCha you can slow down and change the world or you're not going to change anything. Are you trying to get to the city?" Alex [ChaCha] (14:38): "Don't know. He said hurry." Stace [Nix] (14:40): "Well, if you don't even know where you're going then there's no point in running dude!" Alex [ChaCha] (14:45): "Hurry..." Stace [Nix] (14:46): Nix says as she runs with no idea where she's going. Sampson [Dili] (14:48): I imagine Nix is running backwards just super chill. Alex [ChaCha] (14:51): Yeah! Daniel [GM] (14:53): Yeah. Nix is at the point she's gone ahead and now she's just keeping pace running backwards. Jeskii is actually parkouring up ahead, so Nix is paying attention to Jeskii and has an idea of what's the safe way to go because Jeskii has fallen into this role. She's not going to get her parkour runs with Atalia. Alex [ChaCha] (15:22): Atalia has expressed the disdain for running. Daniel [GM] (15:26): She's with run mommy now. Marietta [Atalia] (15:27): Atalia was just like, "Maybe someone should to make sure that Dili can run." Alex [ChaCha] (15:37): Which he can't, we found out. Marietta [Atalia] (15:39): And that's why she sent Jeskii with you guys. So hopefully we can find each other one day. Alex [ChaCha] (15:44): Yeah. Good thing we found out now when it's not important to run. Imagine if we actually had to run. Daniel [GM] (15:51): I think Dili's been pretty vocal about not wanting to run quite a few times. Sampson [Dili] (15:54): "Have I?" It hasn't really come up because one time I would've run, Atalia just picked me up, and carried me along. Alex [ChaCha] (16:05): No, because there was the thing were Nix wanted to run. Daniel [GM] (16:09): Yeah, to jog to her home. And both you and Atalia were refuse. Then later on, you guys offered her to just run up a block, and back a block so she could get it out of her system. Alex [ChaCha] (16:25): Good old fashioned wind sprints! Daniel [GM] (16:30): Like I said, the city is probably still a day or two away by walking. So you're running is only get you so far. ChaCha, you do start getting tired to the point where you do need to stop and rest. Or at least slow to a walk if you're going to not collapse face first. At this point I would say ... Is somebody good at doing math in their head? Alex [ChaCha] (17:01): Maybe. Depends on the math. Sampson [Dili] (17:03): [inaudible 00:17:03] math. Daniel [GM] (17:11): Okay. Let's say that because ChaCha is trained, ChaCha can easily... Was ChaCha sprinting, or was she just going at a good jog? Alex [ChaCha] (17:25): Sprinting. Daniel [GM] (17:27): Okay. So realistically sprinting, let's say the best case scenario is probably ChaCha can do a half hour just because she's passionate (that's her descriptor) and she can focus on that. I'm trying to do the math at somebody running versus walking, and what the speed would be. Marietta [Atalia] (17:52): Most people can maintain six miles an hour. Alex [ChaCha] (17:55): Maybe six miles an hour? Stace [Nix] (17:57): Oh, yeah. That's a ten minute mile. Alex [ChaCha] (17:59): So how about she's made it about three miles before she's just like, "I guess we're walking now." Marietta [Atalia] (18:03): Then it would be a four mile an hour walking quickly. Or three with Dili being tired, maybe. Daniel [GM] (18:11): Yeah, so probably three. That's how far back Atalia and Dili are from the rest of you. Marietta [Atalia] (18:18): So we're an hour behind y'all now! Daniel [GM] (18:25): They're in sight! They're dots in the distance. Alex [ChaCha] (18:26): And ChaCha is wearing red, so she's easy to keep track of. Marietta [Atalia] (18:30): "Look! She looks like a little fire ant! Wow, that's some distance!" Stace [Nix] (18:38): "Yo, ChaCha! ChaCha, we got to go back for them!" Alex [ChaCha] (18:44): "They can... They can hurry... They can hurry up." Stace [Nix] (18:48): "Yo... They don't even know what mushrooms to eat dude!" Marietta [Atalia] (18:53): It's true! Stace [Nix] (18:55): "We can't leave them back there." Daniel [GM] (18:57): Atalia, I would like to offer you an XP. Who would you like to give the other XP to? Marietta [Atalia] (19:04): Dili! We are in it to win it, man! Sampson [Dili] (19:04): Yeah! Daniel [GM] (19:05): Okay! Here we go. You can see those little dots of Nix and ChaCha in the distance, but then you notice something [like a 00:19:33] figure coming in from above you to your left. In fact, it looks like five something. Marietta [Atalia] (19:45): "Oh, lovely!" Daniel [GM] (19:47): When you look up at them, they are insectoid with wide wings. They'd actually be quite beautiful if they weren't so big and coming at you. They look almost like what you and I would think of as moths, except they look pretty nasty. This would probably be something that would be ridden about. It could be biology or it could be Numenera, and it is a six. Marietta [Atalia] (20:24): Okay. She's just trying [inaudible 00:20:27]. Daniel [GM] (20:26): So it's a three for you. Marietta [Atalia] (20:31): 18! Daniel [GM] (20:32): Okay, so this is what you know... You've read something about something like this. The description kind of matches something from a book. It's something that you remember reading. A moth, a war moth, something like that. Begins with an S. Like a Synthian war moth, or something like that. You remember that they can be quite vicious. They're suspected they were bred for battle. Yeah. Also, you know that they are immune to mind-altering effects that they are quite nasty critters. These creatures seem to be coming towards you and Dili at a very rapid pace, and at this point I need you and Dili to roll a mischief. Marietta [Atalia] (21:23): "Oh, fuck!", and I'll point that out. Sampson [Dili] (21:26): "Uh oh!" Marietta [Atalia] (21:27): 16. Daniel [GM] (21:27): Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (21:30): "Is there anywhere we could hide?" Sampson [Dili] (21:33): 18. Daniel [GM] (21:35): I also have your Caustic Storm. Sampson [Dili] (21:38): Good. Marietta [Atalia] (21:40): "Are we going to have to use that cypher over this?" Sampson [Dili] (21:43): "I... We don't have our glaive with us, so maybe." Marietta [Atalia] (21:48): Yeah, and resistance to mind-altering effects. Which means my Onslaught would not be... Daniel [GM] (21:52): Your mental one wouldn't. Marietta [Atalia] (21:53): Well, I could physically Onslaught. Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (21:53): Yeah, you can physical Onslaught. Stace [Nix] (21:56): Yeah, you can physical Onslaught. Marietta [Atalia] (21:59): Okay. Sampson [Dili] (22:00): That's still five versus two... Alex [ChaCha] (22:03): You got this! Sampson [Dili] (22:05): The good news is that they're initially going to operate as a swarm, meaning that they'll attack as one to start although that makes them tougher. Alex [ChaCha] (22:17): Good news. Daniel [GM] (22:19): Dili goes first. Sampson [Dili] (22:20): I need to look up Caustic Storm does because it's got some goofy notions about what it targets. Daniel [GM] (22:32): It does! Caustic Storm will give you a defense against what it's doing for up to 10 points of damage. It won't give it to anybody else. Sampson [Dili] (22:41): I think I get 10 points of Armor against Acidic Attack. Daniel [GM] (22:48): Which is what it is. It's going to attack everything in short range, and if there aren't enough targets it'll go out to long range to try to find more. Sampson [Dili] (22:57): Right. Okay. "Caustic Storm. When activated the cypher surrounds the user with a nimbus of energy giving them +10 armor that only works against caustic damage. Lasts for one round. [ablative, absorbs 00:23:12] Cypher also releases 14 hailstone-sized motes of roiling caustic fluid that fly toward and attack all targets (including the user) within immediate range, one mote per target. If there are not fourteen targets within immediate range, the motes fly out to short range. That's if your target's within in short range, fly out to long range." Marietta [Atalia] (23:36): So, it would also hit us? Sampson [Dili] (23:38): It's definitely going to hit you. Daniel [GM] (23:41): And it's a level 10 so it will do 10 damage to whoever it hits. Stace [Nix] (23:47): Hashtag worth it. Marietta [Atalia] (23:48): Hashtag I'm going to be on the ground! Sampson [Dili] (23:54): Since there a swarm, does that count a one target, or is it still five? Daniel [GM] (23:58): For this, I wouldn't do that to you. It would count as five here. It would be able to kind of defend at a higher level, but it really wouldn't matter with Caustic Storm. There're seven targets including you guys, which means it's still going to look for seven targets. Which means it will keep going out until it finds the full number of targets it needs. Sampson [Dili] (24:20): Okay. Marietta [Atalia] (24:21): For how far? Sampson [Dili] (24:24): Would Dili know the order of operations that this thing would do? Would it see us two first, and then all 14 would go towards us? Or would it just... Daniel [GM] (24:34): It'll do one attack per target, and then (if there's not enough targets), it goes out to the next level of range. Sampson [Dili] (24:43): Okay. Daniel [GM] (24:45): The war moths are a short distance away from you guys at this point. Sampson [Dili] (24:48): Okay. Daniel [GM] (24:51): Two of them would attack you guys, and then the rest would move out to the next level of range. Sampson [Dili] (24:58): Okay. I take the risk because this is about the only combat thing I have, so for Dili's turn he will activate the Caustic Storm. Daniel [GM] (25:10): Okay. Sampson [Dili] (25:11): I don't like those eyebrows, Dan! Stop with those eyebrows! Daniel [GM] (25:13): Okay. So the Caustic Storm gets triggered. In the distance, Nix and ChaCha, if you look back at your companions, you will see a strange blast of red fluid leaping up and splitting into a bunch of dots that you can't see. You can sort of see these moths in the distance. Dili, you get surrounded by a nimbus of energy. Atalia, you see that energy and you realize, "There's about to be a problem here." Marietta [Atalia] (25:51): "Fuck!" Daniel [GM] (25:52): Dili, one of these motes comes and slams into you. Luckily this nimbus absorbs all that damage. Atalia, you'll get struck for 10 damage. Yes. Sampson [Dili] (26:08): Okay. Daniel [GM] (26:09): So now you are impaired. Stace [Nix] (26:11): Impaired. Daniel [GM] (26:13): Then, since there's nothing else, they're going to move out to a short range. The one's that aren't there are going to be starting to move towards short range, and they're going to hit those war moths. Here's the good news... It's basically obliterates those war moths. They dissolve... Alex [ChaCha] (26:35): Yay! Daniel [GM] (26:36): Into nothingness. Seven of them keep moving out. Sampson [Dili] (26:41): Seven? I thought there were five of them? Daniel [GM] (26:45): Seven of your motes keep moving out. Sampson [Dili] (26:50): Okay, cool. Daniel [GM] (26:53): Moving at [inaudible 00:26:54]. So over the distance, you guys see this weird splash. Nix, you will notice that these things are getting closer, and closer to you guys. Sampson [Dili] (26:53): "Oh, shit." Daniel [GM] (27:08): And they move fast! Stace [Nix] (27:09): "Aw, shit!" Marietta [Atalia] (27:11): "They're three miles away! There's got to be other creatures!" Daniel [GM] (27:16): Yeah, yeah. For sure! Stace, roll 1d6. Stace [Nix] (27:24): Okay, 4. Daniel [GM] (27:26): Four of them hit local wildlife, and kill it. Roll another 1d6. It's going to be 1d6 - 2. Stace [Nix] (27:40): 5. Daniel [GM] (27:40): You got a 5? Stace [Nix] (27:41): Yes, I got a 5. Daniel [GM] (27:42): Okay, so that's 3... 3 of them, I'm sorry, hit other travelers along the way on the road, and pretty terribly wound them. You guys have no idea! I'm just telling you. This is the consequences of what happened. Dili, you're standing there. Atalia, you're really hurt. You've basically had caustic fluid thrown on you, acid. You have chemical burns all over you. Marietta [Atalia] (28:19): I think, she's just laying in the middle of the trail on her side. Sampson [Dili] (28:23): "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do! I have a thing, I have a thing! I do have a thing." Marietta [Atalia] (28:28): "My dude, I thought I was pretty clear about how that cipher works, but..." Sampson [Dili] (28:32): "I... didn't really have another option, so..." Marietta [Atalia] (28:37): "We should...[crosstalk 00:28:38]" Sampson [Dili] (28:40): "Well, I have this." Dili will activate Speed Heal, and Atalia will now get one Mights point back every minute for the next hour. Daniel [GM] (28:51): Okay. That means even after an hour, for the next hour, even if you just did a 10 minute recovery roll or an action recovery roll, you'd still keep getting healthy even if you got injured again. But I am going to say this. Atalia, roll me a 1d100. Marietta [Atalia] (29:11): 49! Daniel [GM] (29:19): Scar. And the scar is going to be somewhere around the head, but it does not have to be the face. It is going to be an acid, bubbling chemical burn. Marietta [Atalia] (29:30): I think it hit... Alex [ChaCha] (29:32): Hair doesn't grow on those, FYI. Marietta [Atalia] (29:35): I think it hit the right side of her. So this part of her neck, and up to her ear is pretty burned. You can see it when you're facing her if she has a regular t-shirt on, but she might be able to conceal it. Daniel [GM] (29:53): It definitely looks like it hit you, and it almost slagged bits of your flesh a bit. Marietta [Atalia] (29:58): Yeah, it's like a splash. Because I think she was like, "Oh, shit!" I think as soon as she realized what Dili was doing... Cool. Cool! Gnarly. Daniel [GM] (30:12): While you guys are kind of walking Jeskii lets out a little whine, and starts pawing at her own face. Jeskii does not appear to be hurt, but she seems to be on some level aware of what happened. Stace [Nix] (30:33): Well, if Nix saw the motes, she'd be like, "ChaCha, something's happening. We got to go back, man. We're still a team, even if you need to change the world, dude." Daniel [GM] (30:45): Here's the better question. Would ChaCha know what this cypher does? Daniel [GM] (30:49): I think, at this point, it's been passed back and forth enough that its pretty clear what it does. I think you guys would all be aware of this things because it was probably the most powerful cypher among all of you in your inventory. Alex [ChaCha] (31:04): I think ChaCha would remind Nix what this cypher does because I don't think they would know how many things it hit. They could be next if they get too close. Daniel [GM] (31:17): That's true. Stace [Nix] (31:18): Maybe we would've seen the motes, though, divert. Right? Daniel [GM] (31:18): You did. Stace [Nix] (31:18): Because we were watching. Daniel [GM] (31:22): You did because you saw them coming in your direction. Then when you were rolling the die, which was just an act of chance to see if there were other creatures. You don't see them coming toward you guys anymore. Alex [ChaCha] (31:33): Okay. ChaCha's going to stop walking towards the city, and turn around and walk back towards the group. Stace [Nix] (31:43): "Yo, ChaCha. You got a jog in you?" Alex [ChaCha] (31:47): ChaCha looks at her and then holds her hands up like, "Uppy." Stace [Nix] (31:55): Oh, like you want to be carried? Alex [ChaCha] (31:57): Yes. "Up. Up." Stace [Nix] (32:00): Nix just kneels down. She's not sure how you want to be carried. Alex [ChaCha] (32:06): I think ChaCha's going to climb on Nix' back like Yoda. Daniel [GM] (32:15): Actually terrified of what she'd be whispering in Nix' ear while [inaudible 00:32:18]. Alex [ChaCha] (32:20): That seagull song. Daniel [GM] (32:22): Yeah. Nix, you're not going to be able to go as fast as usual, but you can move along. Jeskii is already at a full sprint back to them. It'll take some time. Atalia, are you guys moving towards them? Or are you just sitting during this time? Marietta [Atalia] (32:40): I think as soon as she was impaired, she'd be like, "We need to get the fuck out of here. Let's try to go catch up with them." Sampson [Dili] (32:47): "Yeah, all right." Daniel [GM] (32:49): Okay. As you're walking, I would say Atalia you're pretty worn out from this, so you're not even totally aware when Jeskii comes up and does a jumping [inaudible 00:33:01] at you, and paws on you. You actually fall down, and she starts licking your face. Which is great until she licks all around the scar, which is not so great, but that seems like what she's fixated on because she's trying to comfort to you. Marietta [Atalia] (33:15): "All right baby girl. I need you to stop though, because that it's not pleasant. Wow, you're such an athlete! You ran so fast, so fast! Good, Jeskii!" Daniel [GM] (33:25): And Jeskii looks at you and goes, "Ruff!" Marietta [Atalia] (33:29): "I'm sorry! I just wanted to be able to find them again. Where are they anyway?" Daniel [GM] (33:35): As you say that, you can see Nix kind of keeping pace because she's not that far behind. Marietta [Atalia] (33:41): [inaudible 00:33:41] Daniel [GM] (33:41): It doesn't actually make sense story-wise, but I'm going to say it because it's easier for me. That you guys see Nix carrying ChaCha a little ways behind. Marietta [Atalia] (33:50): "Yeah, I was thinking about doing that. But I'm not as buff as Nix is you know?" Daniel [GM] (33:56): Nix and ChaCha you come up and see Dili standing there, and Jeskii on top of Atalia. And it is very obvious right now that Atalia has a very nasty scar along the side of her neck and face. Sampson [Dili] (34:14): "Hi. Welcome back." Daniel [GM] (34:16): I think some of her hair has been melted away too, on the right side. Alex [ChaCha] (34:26): Oh, my god. [ala zoo co 00:34:27] Marietta [Atalia] (34:27): Anyway! Sampson [Dili] (34:28): Like that side shave thing, but with acid. Daniel [GM] (34:34): Yeah. Stace [Nix] (34:34): "Man. Glad you guys are all right. We saw you set off the caustic shit. ChaCha, what'd you call it?" Alex [ChaCha] (34:42): "Caustic Storm." Stace [Nix] (34:43): "Caustic Storm." Sampson [Dili] (34:45): "Yeah, we were..." Stace [Nix] (34:46): "Was that an accident, or..." Sampson [Dili] (34:47): "Nope, we were being attacked by some big moths and that was the only thing that I could think to do." Daniel [GM] (34:55): I just had this image of, in Nix' mind, picturing Dili swatting at little moths around. Marietta [Atalia] (35:00): Atalia's face definitely is telling a different story. Daniel [GM] (35:07): [crosstalk 00:35:07] No, that is not canon. Because I guarantee, with those things, Nix has heard about those in her travels. There's no way she hasn't heard about war moths on her travels. Stace [Nix] (35:22): "The war moths? Dang! Yeah. Not really sure that you needed Caustic Storm for that, but I see where you're coming from, man." Sampson [Dili] (35:30): "I don't really fight a lot. The other thing I had was this little dart thrower. I don't think that was going to work very well." Stace [Nix] (35:37): "That's fair." Marietta [Atalia] (35:39): "That's fair." Stace [Nix] (35:40): "Atalia! Wow!" Marietta [Atalia] (35:42): "Thanks!" Stace [Nix] (35:42): "That's a new and different look!" Marietta [Atalia] (35:45): "We're all trying new and different things these days..." Stace [Nix] (35:49): "Are you all right though?" Marietta [Atalia] (35:50): "Oh, great. Let's just [inaudible 00:35:54] that way. That's the way, right? Are we running still, or are we done running?" Stace [Nix] (36:00): "I think that we are done running." Marietta [Atalia] (36:02): "Cool." Stace [Nix] (36:03): "Thank you, Atalia, for making that point. Because, guys, we got to start splitting up, okay? I don't like to choose who I'm staying with. It's not good." Marietta [Atalia] (36:13): "Got to hit home that 'stay together like a group' thing. It's hard for everybody!" Stace [Nix] (36:20): "Yeah, I think this is a perfect example why. Thank you, Atalia! Yeah, you're absolutely right!" Marietta [Atalia] (36:26): "Yup!" Atalia is so mad that she's crying a little bit, but then it gets into the scar and she's like, "Fuck! This way! Walking now! We're going!" Stace [Nix] (36:44): "Atalia! [inaudible 00:36:45] I don't think Atalia's okay." Sampson [Dili] (36:45): "As odd as it may seem, I think we all need some space all of a sudden." Marietta [Atalia] (36:49): Atalia's like, "Yep, and we're going!" She and Jeskii will, and not at a speedy pace as previously perhaps. Daniel [GM] (36:59): Yeah. Alex [ChaCha] (37:00): I think ChaCha's muttering in Nix' ear, "It wasn't my fault I was chosen to change the world. People need to keep up. Honestly, an hour of cardio a day is a reasonable thing if you're going to be an explorer." Sampson [Dili] (37:21): "Nix, what's that look on your face?" Stace [Nix] (37:25): [inaudible 00:37:25] "Nothing. Although, Dili, have you considered an exercise regimen?" Sampson [Dili] (37:33): "I recently tried to take up running, and that was hell so I think I'm good without exercise for the rest of my life if I can help it." Stace [Nix] (37:43): "All right. Well, I think that settles that. Onward!" Sampson [Dili] (37:47): "Oh, all right" Daniel [GM] (37:49): Okay. So it will take you guys, especially at this slowed pace, you're not going to reach Shallamas by night fall. It's up to you guys if you want to camp, or if you want to try to continue through the night. Alex [ChaCha] (38:03): I think as soon as ChaCha sees an appropriate place to camp for them, she's going to tap Nix on the shoulder and be like, "We stop here." She's still piggybacking, and she's not going to stop the piggybacking unless Nix stops the piggybacking. Stace [Nix] (38:19): Nix has not set ChaCha done. Daniel [GM] (38:22): Nix, one thing (I should have mentioned this earlier, but I was reminded by Atalia's predicament), so you had shaved yourself bald before you left. But you guys have been traveling for quite a while. So initially your hair... It's still not super long yet, but as it's been growing back in it started off dark brown. As it's grown in that dark brown has started to take on a strange greenish tint. Stace [Nix] (38:59): Yes! Like a dark green or a neon? Daniel [GM] (39:07): It's sort of a gradient from a dark green to an electric green. In fact, I'll say that at some point, you've had people look at this for you because it's hard for you to look at your own head. But it's almost like your normal dark brown hair had grown in, but then some other scaly sheath started growing over your individual hair follicles. Stace [Nix] (39:32): Oh, dope! Alex [ChaCha] (39:33): Can ChaCha braid this while she's on Nix' back? Stace [Nix] (39:36): I don't know if there's enough. Daniel [GM] (39:39): Yeah, there's not enough yet. We're talking, at best, it's crew cut level growing back at this point. Or maybe a little bit longer. Alex [ChaCha] (39:50): So it's that nice fuzzy level, where you want to rub your face in it because it feels good to the person (not the person having the shaved head?) Daniel [GM] (39:59): Yeah, except that her hair doesn't feel soft anymore. It feels scaly. Sampson [Dili] (40:06): Got to moisturize. Alex [ChaCha] (40:08): Got to moisturize. Daniel [GM] (40:08): Yeah, there's not condition out here in the wilds. Stace [Nix] (40:13): Nix is like, "Well, ChaCha..." Sampson [Dili] (40:16): ChaCha just whispers that in her ear, "Got to moisturize." Stace [Nix] (40:19): "I don't have time to moisturize... Guys, this is a good place to camp. Right here. Unless you guy want to try to press on in the dark? But considering there are more moths around it might not be the best idea..." Marietta [Atalia] (40:36): "Yeah, it seems like there is some shelter here. Why not?" Daniel [GM] (40:42): Okay. Who will keep watch for the night? Stace [Nix] (40:47): Nix'll start. Daniel [GM] (40:48): Okay. Who will do the second shift? Alex [ChaCha] (40:49): Then ChaCha. Marietta [Atalia] (40:50): Atalia will do a shift too, if necessary. Daniel [GM] (40:55): Okay. The night, for the most part, passes without incident although I will offer Sampson an XP. Sampson [Dili] (41:05): I am totally taking it. Daniel [GM] (41:07): Who will you give the other XP to? Sampson [Dili] (41:10): I feel like I'm obligated to give it to Marietta since I fucked on this. Marietta [Atalia] (41:14): You do not have to. Alex [ChaCha] (41:14): It's just a little. Do it! Do it to it! Sampson [Dili] (41:14): Yeah, I'm going to give it to Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (41:14): Okay, that's thoughtful. Daniel [GM] (41:24): Dili, you go to sleep. For the most part, it's in the normal dreams that are like you are dreaming that you're in your shop, and what not. At some point the dream fades and then there's a moment where you feel like its blackness, but you can't move. You try to open your eyes, and after a moment light starts to seep through. You see something that looks familiar. You can't move yet, but you're looking around and it looks like one of the work areas in the warehouse, the Knyxos warehouse. You do see Acydra standing there, and she's looking at look. She says, "Did the glyphs work?" Aces steps forward, walking with a cane, and he says, "Pollos at least did what we paid him for. He was able to make that plan just fine. It's unlocked now. We still don't quite how to tell it what to do yet, but it's unlocked. It's what you asked for." And she looks at you, Dili, sitting there [inaudible 00:42:58], "It's been a lot of trouble... Just for this little Wright who cost us so more trouble. At least the first is done." She steps closer to you, Dili, and she looks into your eyes, and she says, "Identify yourself." You don't think of doing anything, but you hear this strange clicking mechanical language that is not easy to understand. She looks at it closer and says, "Well, that's a start anyway. We'll move onto the next phase of activation. Turn it off for now." Then things go dark. And that's where we'll end this episode. Sampson [Dili] (43:49): "Fuck. Shit. So!" Stace [Nix] (43:54): No fucking way this is the end, right? Sampson [Dili] (43:54): "What?" Stace [Nix] (43:56): I said no fucking way this is the end of the episode, right? I wasn't ready for it to end is all. Daniel [GM] (44:09): Yeah, I get it. Stace [Nix] (44:11): I want to know what Dili's doing inside of his reaper. Daniel [GM] (44:16): Yeah, that's the whole point of a cliffhanger though. Alex [ChaCha] (44:20): My dog stared me in the eyes, and pissed right next to me. Stace [Nix] (44:26): Daniel? I wouldn't call this that, but I guess there's a correlation. Daniel [GM] (44:32): It's my method of asserting dominance. Atalia, Marietta! What was something that Atalia did this episode that was at least interesting to you? Marietta [Atalia] (44:47): The move that I appreciated the most is the ability to send Jeskii with them. I know that they came back on the road to us, but that situation could have gone multiple different ways and it was nice to have that resource. Daniel [GM] (45:06): Yeah. Cool! We have a segment that we do each week called "Player Intrusions." It's where we tell you, the audience, about something you should absolutely check out because we think you would dig it. We offer you an XP for that, of course. This week it is Marietta's turn. Marietta, what would you offer our listeners an XP to check out? Marietta [Atalia] (45:26): Oh, man. I've been getting back into She-Ra. Which it's June 2020 that we're recording this and the fifth season has recently come out, which I haven't finished yet. I like animated stuff. It's animated, it's on Netflix, it's She-Ra: The Princesses of Power. It's written by Noelle Stevenson who worked on Lumberjanes. It really promotes friendship and communication, but it also shows good examples of how to handle conflict in relationships. And then there's magic, there's pretty colors! And saving the world! A lot of really strong bad ass women which is always, always such a good thing. [inaudible 00:46:10] Intelligent... A really diverse cast, too. Last season they introduced a non-binary character. That was really nice, and they're been really good with their pronouns. Yeah, and also showing that bad guys have another side to them too. There's reasons why people are the way they are, and it's a really good example of that. Especially, I think with the character Catra. [They 00:46:39] is some what inspo for Atalia, a little bit. Not as aggressive. Yeah. You should definitely check it out! It's amazing. It's wonderful, and there's five seasons out now so there's a deep dive that you can go on. Daniel [GM] (46:54): I've heard nothing but great things about it. We haven't been able to get our daughter to agree to watch it, but she has been devouring the chapter books from it. Marietta [Atalia] (47:03): Seems reasonable. Daniel [GM] (47:07): Cool! Stace [Nix] (47:08): I had a cat named She-Ra! Daniel [GM] (47:09): You did? Stace [Nix] (47:12): I did. My cat's name was She-Ra was a kid. Daniel [GM] (47:12): That's adorable. Stace [Nix] (47:12): I know. Daniel [GM] (47:19): If somebody wanted to reach out to us, tell us about what they thought of the podcast, or what they thought of She-Ra ... How would they do that, Marietta? Marietta [Atalia] (47:27): Oh, man! They would find us on a multitude of places! The best place to start would be our website which is Explorerswanted.fm, which has links to everything. We are on the social medias. We are on Twitter at Explorers Wanted, we're Explorers Wanted Podcast on Instagram, and Explorers Wanted Podcast on Facebook. We have Patreon now, we're Explorers Wanted on there. We're also really active in our Discord server which is where I highly recommend you come hang out, if you really want to interact with us. It's our favorite place. Or tweet us, [inaudible 00:48:04] messages, whatever. Daniel [GM] (48:07): Okay. Cool. We would love it if support us on the Patreon, but if not we totally understand. Honestly, if you like the podcast the best thing that you could do for us is tell a friend. Tell them why they should listen to the podcast, what you like about it. The second best thing you could do for us is to leave us a five star rating and review on a podcast directory. That's Apple Podcasts, or Podchaser, or something along those lines. Those reviews, especially the written reviews, make a huge difference for trying out the show. It would mean a lot to us because it helps bring in new listeners and a huge part of us getting started is we have to build an audience. If you didn't like the podcast, it's not too late for you. Listen, I know it's difficult, but we need you to remember... It was a long time and you got separated from your parents, it was at the store or in the stacks at the library. You remember it differently each time you think about it, but you got separated and you needed to find them. Those moments, those instances, they don't tell you that's the way it works. The storytellers and librarians of midnight would have you believe that portal fantasies reflect a clear moment of curiosity and choice. But the truth is that the portals can't be seen. You can turn a corner at any time in your life, and find yourself in another world. One that looks just like the one you left except for being a little bit different. Did your parents seem different when you found your way back to them? Even just a little bit? Maybe home felt less familiar, maybe the store or library looks smaller. I assure you that portal was there. You need to find your way back. If you're not sure where it happened, you might have to retrace your steps. The longer you walk in the other world, the harder it will be for you to find your way back to the life that you were meant to live, she one you long for at night. So retrace your steps. It may take hours, or years, but you have to find your way back. If you want to reach out to us individually, you can. You can find me on Twitter at Andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-K. Stace [Nix] (50:47): You can find me on Twitter at StaceWindu. Daniel [GM] (50:50): You, like Dan, can fuel my paranoia at SlamPotato. Alex [ChaCha] (50:52): If you can assist us in any way, just story wise, we know you know! Please halp us! Tweet at me at realteaunicorn. Marietta [Atalia] (51:08): Yeah. I'm still really sad on Twitter, so you should tweet tweet me anything at imonahike. Alex [ChaCha] (51:23): [crosstalk 00:51:23] Twitter allows a lot. Daniel [GM] (51:24): Yeah. So that's it for us. Hope you enjoyed the show. We'll be back next week, as we will for every week in the foreseeable future. Have a good night, and bye! Stace [Nix] (51:34): I don't know about you guys, but this episode was fun as fuck!