Daniel [GM] 0:30 Welcome to Explorers Wanted. We are an actual play Numenera podcast I will be your humble GM, Daniel Andrlik. Here with me today is Samson Davis. Sampson [Dili] 0:41 Hello. How are you? Daniel [GM] 0:42 Stace Babcock. Stace [Nix] 0:44 Hey, how are you? Daniel [GM] 0:45 Alex Finn? Alex [ChaCha] 0:47 Hidy ho! Hello, Daniel [GM] 0:48 And Marietta Jones. Marietta [Atalia] 0:50 Oh, hi. Daniel [GM] 0:51 So, who remembers what happened last time? I think I'm gonna pick on Alex. Alex [ChaCha] 1:02 Was this before or after the bathroom? Or during the bathroom? Daniel [GM] 1:07 It started in the bathroom. Alex [ChaCha] 1:09 Okay, that - then you are in for some fun. So we were all equally disturbed with looks of shared horror on our face as we discovered what kind of low key bathroom there was, like squatty potty plus the Flintstones. Marietta [Atalia] 1:28 It was a little disturbing. Alex [ChaCha] 1:30 Because we had pee pervert time, because Atalia. She was being threatened because she stuck her nose where it doesn't belong, and you've got to threaten somebody in the bathroom for that. And so her natural defense was I'm gonna go pee now. [laughter] Marietta [Atalia] 1:51 Okay, to be clear, there was some question whether or not this would be a thing that even happened, but it did. Alex [ChaCha] 2:00 So there was no social distancing, so that person just kept watching. And to save the day, Nix and Dili busted in while ChaCha did a saucy puppet show. It was a good puppet show though so you win some you lose some. Dili pointed out to the crowded bar that hey, this person's a pee pervert. After being outed as a pee pervert, that mysterious person just wrecked another monster. Like oh my God, we know that one is dead now. We know. Sampson [Dili] 2:38 We also know they can talk. Alex [ChaCha] 2:39 Yeah, that's like - you have to go, is this a "I don't want to yuck your yum" situation monster, but is this really the best use of your skills? As we know you are a sentient, intelligent being with language capabilities. Daniel [GM] 2:55 It is a symbiotic relationship, it likes that. Alex [ChaCha] 2:58 I know. Daniel [GM] 2:58 The last episode, I left out the bits about hearing its gullet working during that last horrible sound. Alex [ChaCha] 3:04 Uh. Sampson [Dili] 3:07 I mean, that's why it's okay to have a kink, just not in a public space. All right, just not a shared space. Unknown Speaker 3:16 [laughter] Sampson [Dili] 3:16 Does it have to moan the entire time? That's off putting. Marietta [Atalia] 3:20 Alright kids. Unknown Speaker 3:21 [laughter] Alex [ChaCha] 3:26 So anyway, after getting more scorps, we all left the bar, and we're trying to decide where to go. We went to Nix's church group? Unknown Speaker 3:44 [laughter] Alex [ChaCha] 3:44 Who run a youth hostel. And we were going to crash there, but after Nix told her buddy to you know, "don't talk to my mom," some of her other friends - I think it was "Hey You"? Realize that Dili had a wanted poster and through magic means, they did not recognize Dili. And we decided no, we cannot stay there. And we went to go stay in Nixs' mom's basement. Atalia went to stay with her grandma. We found out that Atalia had to go talk to James, because woopsy doodle he could not convince them not to be angry. Daniel [GM] 4:30 Mmhmm. Marietta [Atalia] 4:31 Yeah. A lot went on in that bar bathroom. In particular. Daniel [GM] 4:36 Yeah. So at the end of last episode, we definitely had two things go down. One, Nix handed Dili the bounty, the wanted poster with a bounty of 500 shins on him and said that he would have to explain himself. And then we had Atalia the next morning, finding that note from the handlers. With a note that says "See me" with an address in a different ward for 8pm tonight, but in a completely different set of handwriting, "Sorry, A. I did what I could." Signed J. Alex [ChaCha] 5:01 Yes. Marietta [Atalia] 5:13 Yeah. I've been pretty stressed out about that, actually. Daniel [GM] 5:17 I can't imagine why. So. With that in mind, I kind of wanna string it out for the listeners a little bit. So let's go back to Nix's house, since we were already talking about Atalia in the morning. And so let's talk a little bit about morning at Nix's home. So it is morning. Nix, I don't know where you sleep in this house. Your old room? Somewhere else? Stace [Nix] 5:45 Umm, in this case, if Dili and ChaCha are in the basement, Nix is also in the basement. Daniel [GM] 5:53 Okay, okay. So there's just like leavings of pizza rolls everywhere? Ok. Sampson [Dili] 6:00 So much code red. Stace [Nix] 6:04 Definitely. Daniel [GM] 6:05 What do Dili's pajamas look like? Sampson [Dili] 6:09 Dili's has little spaceships and is blue. Daniel [GM] 6:13 So I would say Nix, you wake up first. Stace [Nix] 6:16 Okay. The first thing she does is verifies that Dili and ChaCha are still in the basement. Daniel [GM] 6:23 They are. Stace [Nix] 6:24 And she leaves to see if her parents are up. Daniel [GM] 6:29 Okay. We'll say you head up the stairs. Dili, I will tell you this. You're having a bad dream again, very similar to one you had before. So I imagine Dili might even be like twitching in his sleep. Upstairs. You go upstairs and you see that your father is not up yet, but your mother is standing there in sort of like a breakfast nook. She doesn't have anything with her, she's just staring out the window. Stace [Nix] 7:03 [As Nix] Hey, Mom. Daniel [GM] 7:05 There's no answer at first. Stace [Nix] 7:07 Nix will like walk up and just put a hand on her shoulder. Daniel [GM] 7:10 She turns and like just her face just looks gone and haggard. Then for a moment, it brightens as her lips kind of puts a smile. And she says your name [As Nix's Mother] Nix. And then she flickers. Stace [Nix] 7:30 Oh shit. She flickers. She comes right back? Daniel [GM] 7:35 She flickers, comes back, and then flickers out again, and then she's gone. Stace [Nix] 7:42 Nix'll wait. Probably not the first time she's seen this. But if it lasts longer than like three to five seconds, Daniel [GM] 7:51 It goes on for like 25 seconds before she suddenly bursts back in, appears just drenched. Like, hair sopping wet. There's like red marks on her arm, like something would have been grabbing her. And she falls to her knees and begins coughing up water onto the ground. Unknown Speaker 8:16 [coughing] Stace [Nix] 8:17 Nix will kneal right beside her. And - [As Nix] Mom, Mom or that's all right. Yep. Cough it out, Mom, cough it out. It's gonna be okay. Daniel [GM] 8:28 So she's coughing it out when she finally like is just kind of shaking there. And that's when you notice those marks on her arms are actually seeping a little blood. Stace [Nix] 8:43 So is Nix's dad around? Daniel [GM] 8:46 He's not up yet. Looks like your mother got up before him and left. Stace [Nix] 8:51 Okay, so Nix will yell for her dad. Daniel [GM] 8:54 It only takes a moment before you hear him kind of like hurrying down the stairs and comes into the room. He's like, [As Nix's Father] Oh, oh God. And he runs over and just clutches your mother while she's coughing and honestly now weeping. Stace [Nix] 9:10 Okay. Excuse me, [As Nix] Hang on real quick, I'm going to get my, one of my friends is a Nano. I'm gonna bring her up here and see if she can help. And Nix will go down, run down to the basement. Daniel [GM] 9:25 It's about this time, I think ChaCha is waking up naturally, like just before this. And I don't know how ChaCha, or what ChaCha's waking up routine is, if she's a quick wake up or if it's just like one of those things where it's always like dragging yourself out of bed. Alex [ChaCha] 9:41 I think she's kind of a dragger. Like, do we really want to get up? Is today gonna suck or is today gonna be okay? Daniel [GM] 9:52 Okay. And Nix you come down the stairs. Stace [Nix] 9:55 [As Nix] ChaCha, ChaCha. Are you awake? Alex [ChaCha] 9:57 [As ChaCha] Like 50% awake, I guess. Stace [Nix] 10:01 [As Nix] My mom is hurt. Can you come help? Alex [ChaCha] 10:03 [As ChaCha] I mean I can try, but if it's like major stuff. No, no. Stace [Nix] 10:08 [As Nix] No it's not major, but uh, she likes she teleports places she's not supposed to and I was just wondering if you would come help? Alex [ChaCha] 10:16 [As ChaCha] I'll try. I'll try. ChaCha goes with her. Daniel [GM] 10:20 Okay, so you guys head back upstairs and into that room. Stace [Nix] 10:24 [As Nix] So ChaCha, so she seems like she was drowning and she came back, she coughed it all up, and look at these marks on her arm. Can you help? They're bleeding. Alex [ChaCha] 10:36 Would that be like hedge magic? Daniel [GM] 10:39 Unfortunately, not. You need something special for healing. Alex [ChaCha] 10:44 Hmm. Daniel [GM] 10:44 I mean, do you have anything in like a medicine or at the very least you could use your intellect to try to help. Alex [ChaCha] 10:52 I think we're going to use the intellect, because I feel like ChaCha has been hurt a lot, she has to patch herself up. Daniel [GM] 10:59 Yeah, for sure. So I would say this is a nine and if you want to spend effort, you can. Alex [ChaCha] 11:07 How much do I the player love Nix's mom already. I a lot, I'm going to put a level of effort into it. Daniel Andrlik 11:16 Then it's a six. Alex [ChaCha] 11:18 So I got a nineteen. ChaCha gives her a lot. Daniel Andrlik 11:23 Wow. Alex [ChaCha] 11:25 She knows how to fix them. Daniel [GM] 11:27 So ChaCha definitely does this very effectively, you've got a minor effect. I would say that with a minor effect, you're actually - like your care's enough to actually kind of probably bring Nix's Mom out of her sort of hysteric state, because you've been doing that. In fact, and now what I would like you to do is though, tell me like, in story terms how how ChaCha takes care of her. Alex [ChaCha] 11:56 I think like after like muttering to herself, and kind of assessing this situation. She like goes into like the various pockets of her cloak like, where she has bandages and herbs that you would find in like the wild for healing. Like, just so she doesn't get gangrene and lose an arm or something. [As ChaCha] Remember, you know, back in that village in the mountains, they did that. And it was really good for rope burn if you did this. Daniel [GM] 12:26 So Nix, are you doing anything during this? Are you just kind of watching? Stace [Nix] 12:31 She's definitely observing. And I mean, her dad's there, so she's not gonna try to like horn in. Umm. Daniel [GM] 12:42 Mmhmm. Stace [Nix] 12:43 Yeah, so just sort of anxiously watching. Daniel [GM] 12:46 And by the time ChaCha's done, your mother is breathing deeply and somewhat calmly. And during this time your father has made some tea because a lot of times that's all he knows how to do. Like when things are bad, sometimes he's not sure what to do, so he goes and he makes tea for everyone. And he comes back with a warm cup of tea for every person, which your mother accepts gladly, because she's probably cold. And she drink some of the hot tea. She says, [As Nix's Mother] Thank you. Thank you. You're a friend of Nix? Alex [ChaCha] 13:27 [As ChaCha] Yeah, yeah, we we played scorpions together and no one died. Daniel [GM] 13:33 [As Nix's Mother] Oh, that's good. That's good. Thank you so much. Are you are you doctor? Alex [ChaCha] 13:40 [As ChaCha] No, I'm - I entertain. children. Daniel [GM] 13:45 She says, Alex [ChaCha] 13:45 And she does like the little like jazz hands arc over her head like she still has like a blank expresion on her head - face and she's just like, bam, jazz hands. This solves everything. Daniel [GM] 13:46 [As Nix's Mother] Oh, oh. Okay. Thank you so much, anyway. Umm, I don't want to be rude, but is it okay if I go back to my room? Alex [ChaCha] 14:12 [As ChaCha] I mean, as long as it's not filled with water, you should be fine. Daniel [GM] 14:16 [As Nix's Mother] I should hope not. And she climbs her feet, she stands up, she gives your father a small smile. She's smaller than Nix, so when she comes by, she just raises up a hand towards Nix's face. Stace [Nix] 14:34 [As Nix] I'll walk with you, Mom. Nix takes her hand. Daniel [GM] 14:38 And she says, [As Nix's Mother] Oh, I didn't need that, but come here. Stace [Nix] 14:42 [As Nix] Oh. Daniel [GM] 14:43 And she goes up on tiptoes and kisses you on the forehead, before she goes upstairs to her bed. Dili, you wake up alone in the basement. Sampson [Dili] 14:54 I don't think Dili is going to assume anything bad, so he'll just kind of get up immediately. As far away from that nightmare as he can and you know, start packing up a little bit. Daniel [GM] 15:04 So Dili, you start packing up. Nix, your mother goes up to bed. Your father kind of smiles tiredly at you, but his eyes are worried and it doesn't take long before he kind of looks at you, [As Nix's Father] Do you need me to make some breakfast here? Stace [Nix] 15:22 [As Nix] That would be great, Dad. And there's - don't forget we got one more, too, in the basement. Daniel [GM] 15:28 [As Nix's Dad] Oh, right. Right, the short one you told me about. Stace [Nix] 15:32 [As Nix] Yeah, really appreciate you letting them crash here. That was clutch. Daniel [GM] 15:38 [As Nix's Dad] Yeah, I have - honestly, your friend here has more than made it worth it for us. And he goes to the kitchen and begins opening up cupboards and preparing to cook. Stace [Nix] 15:53 [As Nix] Hang tight, ChaCha. I'm going to go see if Dili's up. Alex [ChaCha] 15:58 [As ChaCha] Okay. I think she's gonna like shuffle closer to Nix's dad, like I guess this is what I'm doing now. Stace [Nix] 16:07 [As Nix] And Chacha? Thank you. Alex [ChaCha] 16:11 [As ChaCha] We're friends now, right? Stace [Nix] 16:13 [As Nix] Yeah, we're friends. And Nix will go get Dili. Daniel [GM] 16:19 So as you're going down to get Dili, Nix's father turns to ChaCha, [As Nix's Father] So have you been in children's entertainer long? And then we go down to the basement. Nix, you get down and you see Dili kind of packing up his stuff. Stace [Nix] 16:38 [As Nix] Hey Diili. My dad's making breakfast. Sampson [Dili] 16:43 [As Dili] Oh, awesome. Thank you, by the way. I don't know if we ever thank you for letting us stay here. Stace [Nix] 16:48 [As Nix] I don't think you did, but I knew you were grateful. Sampson [Dili] 16:51 [As Dili] Oh good, so thank you. Is ChaCha upstairs, I assume? Stace [Nix] 16:56 [As Nix] Yeah, we've had a busy morning already. My mom had a - one of her teleportation attacks, and ChaCha helped her after. Sampson [Dili] 17:04 [As Dili] Teleportation attack? You said she was sick Is that her sickness? Stace [Nix] 17:09 [As Nix] Yeah, like she'll just like teleport somewhere random. She can't control it. And then she comes back. Sampson [Dili] 17:16 [As Dili] So you said it was bad? Like the stress if it was bad or she was stressed? Stace [Nix] 17:20 [As Nix] Well stress, and then like this time she was like drowning. Sampson [Dili] 17:23 [As Dili] Oh, oh. But everything, everything's good now? Everything's fine? Stace [Nix] 17:28 [As Nix] I mean, as fine as she ever is. ChaCha calmed her down and she had like some wounds, ChaCha healed them up. So. Sampson [Dili] 17:38 [As Dili] Oh, that's good. Stace [Nix] 17:40 [As Nix] Yeah. Yeah, we're still trying to figure that out. But anyway, breakfast. Sampson [Dili] 17:44 [As Dili] Yeah, let's - I would love to eat. Daniel [GM] 17:48 Okay, so you guys go back upstairs. Even as you're going back up the stairs, you can already smell like these wonderful scents of breakfast meats cooking. And as you're going up the stairs, the camera kind of does a crossfade, and we are looking at Atalia this morning, after she's read the letter. Marietta [Atalia] 18:14 Excellent. Umm, I think she's on her like third cup of tea, just kind of staring at between it and the dog - I mean it and the seskii, until grandma wakes up. Daniel [GM] 18:30 The seskii is just kind of sitting there with his head cocked at you, just watching you. Marietta [Atalia] 18:33 I have the like leg shake going, you know? Yeah. Oh and then she'll say to herself, [As Atalia] Oh shit, I was supposed to go meet them. So I think when she remembers that she's supposed to meet them, she'll like start to get ready, but like kind of be slow about it, because she wants to talk to her grandma, who is apparently sleeping in this morning. Daniel [GM] 18:57 Okay. As you get ready to go, you go to open the door and the seskii bounds out in front of you, and then turns around and looks at you happily. Sampson [Dili] 19:10 Bring it, bring it, bring it. Daniel [GM] 19:13 It kind of does that thing where it like a dog would do, where it gets down low like it's excited to play and wags its tail back and forth, and its crystals on its back glow bright lilac. Marietta [Atalia] 19:28 I'll pat it on the head. Dammit, okay. I need to - this is silly. I'm gonna, I'm gonna go knock on grandma's door. I'm not just gonna leave. Daniel [GM] 19:38 So you knock on her door and she's actually in the process of coming out . She's like, [As Atalia's Grandma] Oh, Atalia. You're, you're up early for you. Marietta [Atalia] 19:47 [As Atalia] You know, rise with the sun. It's, it's good. It makes you more productive, they say. Umm, so you know. I was hoping we could talk, maybe? A little bit, possibly. Daniel [GM] 20:02 [As Atalia's Grandma] About what? Marietta [Atalia] 20:03 [As Atalia] Uh, mistakes that I might have made that are concerning, and maybe I should talk to you about a little bit. Daniel [GM] 20:13 [As Atalia's Grandma] Okay, let's have a seat. Marietta [Atalia] 20:16 [As Atalia] Yeah, so, um, I - I'm pretty strict about what jobs I do and I stumbled upon information I shouldn't have on one of them, and maybe pissed off my employers accidentally. It wasn't my intention. Um, and yeah, yeah. And then I got this letter, And I'll just kind of smooth it over several times, and I'll hand it to her. [As Atalia] So I'm gonna have to go to that meeting, but I'm just kind of worried about you. Daniel [GM] 20:57 She kind of looks down, looks at the letter, looks at the symbol on the letter. Could you give me some sort of insight base roll? The target is a 9. Marietta [Atalia] 21:06 [As Atalia] I'm trained in detecting falsehoods, if that helps. Oh, I rolled a nine. Excellent. Daniel [GM] 21:13 Uh, you get a distinct impression that your grandmother recognizes the symbol on the letter. And for a moment, she's holding it and - sometimes like, especially in the mornings, it's not often like that sometimes her hands can be a little shaky in the morning, but all of a sudden her hands still. She looks up at you, she's like, [As Atalia's Grandma] You're in the same mess your mother was. I tried to. I tried to help her, tried to help keep her away from it. She grew to like it too much. It took her away from me. I tried my best, but I can't lose you too, Atalia. And when she looks at you about that, her voice, it is definitely filled with love, but you also can see something in her eyes. Like a hard gray, like stone in her expression. Marietta [Atalia] 22:07 [As Atalia] I will see what I can do at this meeting, but I'm not sure how much of it is in my control at this point. Daniel [GM] 22:16 [As Atalia's Grandma] No honey, that's not what you're going to do. This Atalia, is what you get. And she leans in close and she puts a hand on your hand and she grips it, and her grip is like iron. And she says, [As Atalia's Granmda] You are going to go in there. You are going to stand tall. You're going to admit you were wrong. And you are going to tell them what they need to hear. I need you to tell me everything about what this is concerning, right now. Alex [ChaCha] 22:52 All right, I guess I'll tell Grandma slowly. Daniel [GM] 22:58 Okay. Alex [ChaCha] 22:59 Like gauging her reactions, as you know. Maybe leave out certain details, but also clearly express my frustration with the organization because what the heck, like I was very clear about what I would and wouldn't do, and they throw me into a situation like that. I don't know what they were expecting. Daniel [GM] 23:14 [As Atalia's Grandma] I love you dearly, dear. But you're with an organization like that and you were asked about a job that wasn't yours. That's what got you here. But that's not the real reason you got here, it's that you started working with them in the first place. The only way for you to handle this, you have to speak a language they're going to understand. Marietta [Atalia] 23:35 [As Atalia] Dollar bills? Daniel [GM] 23:36 [As Atalia's Grandma] Partly. You need to tell them that your concern was that if there's going to be a risk of a conflicting job, then that should be disclosed in advance, that you would need to receive additional hazard pay on your contract, that you need to be able to get a prepayment in escrow regarding it, because of the danger. You should be asking for twice what they offer you initially if there's a conflicting job. And you should stipulate that from a professional standpoint, that is what is required. What you are not going to do, is suggest that you are in any way bothered by the morality of the other job. You're going to keep it professional, you are going to keep it about the money, and about what's the nature of your contract. Marietta [Atalia] 24:28 [As Atalia] Okay. I mean, look, I didn't handle the initial meeting. Well, I did handle the meeting after the contract fine, I think. It was the whole sending someone after me that was a little confusing. I was very clear. Daniel [GM] 24:43 [As Atalia's Grandma] That's the problem. That's the problem, you. It sounds like your - what did you say his name was? Marietta [Atalia] 24:49 [As Atalia] James. Daniel [GM] 24:50 [As Atalia's Grandma] Sounds like you did okay with him. But there's always more than just him. And those kinds of questions always raise concerns. So this is the way you're going to play it. Trust me, honey. Whatever you think you know about these guys, I know them a hell of a lot better than you. They took my daughter and like hell are they going to take my granddaughter. Marietta [Atalia] 25:14 [As Atalia] Okay, I'll go play the game. Daniel [GM] 25:16 [As Atalia's Grandma] Yes, and that's what you're going to do. And then what I need you to do is get your ass back here right after that meeting and tell me exactly what was said and what happened. Marietta [Atalia] 25:24 [As Atalia] Okay, I can do that. I'll go and come back. Daniel [GM] 25:28 [As Atalia's Grandma] And that this seskiiy with you, I can handle myself. Marietta [Atalia] 25:32 [As Atalia] This is kind of a wanted seskii though. Maybe I shouldn't. Daniel [GM] 25:35 [As Atalia's Grandma] Nobody's gonna come looking for that seskii. Marietta [Atalia] 25:37 [As Atalia] Okay. All right, boy. I guess you can come. Daniel [GM] 25:43 [As Atalia's Grandma] It's a girl. Marietta [Atalia] 25:43 [As Atalia] Oh. [As Atalia] Yeah, definitely her. She, she can come. [laughs] Daniel [GM] 25:49 [As Atalia's Grandma] I realize it's difficult to tell wometimes with seskii, but it's a girl. Very sweet girl. She leans down to the seskii and she pets its head and then she holds it by the jowl up to her nose and says, [As Atalia's Granmda] Take care of my granddaughter. And the seskii licks her nose. Marietta [Atalia] 26:09 [As Atalia] Well, do you think I should go through with trying to find the item? Daniel [GM] 26:13 [As Atalia's Grandma] I think you took another contract. I don't know who this Momma Jerrun is, but everything you described there? Sounds like a contract. You may not think of it as one, but I guarantee she does. Marietta [Atalia] 26:26 [As Atalia] Okay, well. Hey, did I tell you that I saw Nix? Daniel [GM] 26:33 [As Atalia's Grandma] Nix! You saw Nix? How is she? Marietta [Atalia] 26:37 [As Atalia] Umm, she's doing pretty good. I think something's going on with her mom, maybe. Daniel [GM] 26:44 [As Atalia's Grandma] Sorry to hear that. Her mother was always nice, always good to our family. And Nix was always such a good kid. Marietta [Atalia] 26:51 [As Atalia] Yeah. Daniel [GM] 26:52 [As Atalia's Grandma] What's she doing these days? Marietta [Atalia] 26:54 [As Atalia] I just didn't think I'd see her again. I'm not certain, it sounds like she's also taking contracts from this Momma Jerrun woman, she was on the contract with me. Daniel [GM] 27:05 [As Atalia's Grandma] That's interesting. Wouldn't think she'd ever been looking for money. Marietta [Atalia] 27:08 [As Atalia] Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on there exactly. Umm. Daniel [GM] 27:14 [As Atalia's Granmda] I haven't heard much, I just know that they're... I used to hear more things about them, but in the last year or so I haven't heard anything. You know, usually, her parents would make a splash and you would hear about it at a social event, but not that I'm making it to any of those, but gossip gets around. Marietta [Atalia] 27:36 [As Atalia] That's true. Daniel [GM] 27:36 [As Atalia's Grandma] There's been nothing for quite a while. Marietta [Atalia] 27:39 [As Atalia] Hmm. Well, I'll see what there is. I'm supposed to meet them though, at the youth hostel. Daniel [GM] 27:46 [As Atalia's Grandma] Youth hostel? Marietta [Atalia] 27:50 Sorry, I forgot what it's called. Daniel [GM] 27:55 The Benevolent Society of Travelers, it's their wayhouse. Marietta [Atalia] 27:58 [As Atalia] The Benevolent Society of Travelers. Yeah, I think she's involved with that organization still, that she left to go join. Daniel [GM] 28:09 [As Atalia's Grandma] Oh, they're supposed to be quite good. Totally fits, she had the right personality for it. Marietta [Atalia] 28:16 [As Atalia] Yeah? I don't really know much about them. Daniel [GM] 28:19 [As Atalia's Grandma] Well, she was always very laid back, but very disciplined. Marietta [Atalia] 28:23 [As Atalia] Yeah, that's one thing she's very good about. Daniel [GM] 28:26 [As Atalia's Grandma] You remember the time that you got in trouble for sneaking into that merchants backroom? Marietta [Atalia] 28:37 [As Atalia] That cat was back there. Daniel [GM] 28:38 [As Atalia's Grandma] I mean, Nix got you out of that, right? Marietta [Atalia] 28:40 [As Atalia] Yeah. Daniel [GM] 28:41 [As Atalia's Grandma] I mean, the shopkeeper still told me about it later, but you know. Marietta [Atalia] 28:45 [As Atalia] Yeah, you know, I just wanted to play with the cat. That's definitely all it was. [laughs] Daniel [GM] 28:52 She gives you that look, like she knows exactly what happened. And she's like, [As Atalia's Granmda] You've got everything good about your mother in you, and just a teeny bit of her bad. I love you, Atalia. Do what I'm telling you, play it safe. Because remember, the only lines that matter, are the ones around you and yours. You decide what those lines are. Marietta [Atalia] 29:20 [As Atalia] Okay. Daniel [GM] 29:20 [As Atalia's Grandma] Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go take a bath, because it was a long night. And I've been not sleeping well of late, but I need to go and take care of this. Okay? Marietta [Atalia] 29:31 [As Atalia] I will, I'm gonna go meet up with them, because they're still looking for that item. Daniel [GM] 29:39 [As Atalia's Grandma] Okay. Marietta [Atalia] 29:40 [As Atalia] And sounds like I've got to find it. So maybe I'll find out more about what's going on with Nix and you know, it wouldn't be bad to have some people on my side too. Daniel [GM] 29:50 [As Atalia's Grandma] Yeah, that's good. So come here and give me a kiss before you go. Marietta [Atalia] 29:56 I'll kiss her on the cheek and I'll take the - I'll take the seskii with me. Daniel [GM] 30:00 And you get a kiss on the cheek. And as you're kind of leaning back, her hand kind of comes on your shoulder. And once again, it's that iron grip and she's like, [As Atalia's Grandma] Remember how to play it. Don't let them think for a second that you have reservations about it. Keep it all business. Marietta [Atalia] 30:20 [As Atalia] I can do that. Daniel [GM] 30:21 [As Atalia's Grandma] Okay. And she heads off. Marietta [Atalia] 30:23 I will also head out to the benevolent place. Daniel [GM] 30:28 So we'll kind of fast forward through the bit where you find the note and meet up. So the rest of you are enjoying a pretty amazing breakfast. Nix's father's amazing cook. He's made essentially, you know, it's ninth world equivalence, but you know, for the sake of, you know, keeping it relatable. It is like a mixture of just amazingly thick but crisp bacon, sausages, eggs, and he's even done some hash browns where it's, you know, that perfect mixture of like crisped while keeping that sort of moist center with the onion, and he's prepared some amazing tea for everybody. And you guys are about a third of the way into this meal when there's a knock at the door. Stace [Nix] 31:21 [As Nix] Yeah, that's Atalia's knock if I ever heard it. And Nix will go - Sampson [Dili] 31:27 [As Dili] You can tell? Stace [Nix] 31:29 [As Nix] Yeah, Atalia used to come over here all the time. Sampson [Dili] 31:31 [As Dili] Oh. Daniel [GM] 31:33 You open the door and it's a singing gram. Just kidding, it's Atalia. Unknown Speaker 31:40 [laughter] Daniel [GM] 31:42 It's rabid bear. Marietta [Atalia] 31:45 [As Atalia] Wow, you know, it would have been way easier just to come here, but to have to go all the way there and then come like basically all the way back. Stace [Nix] 31:52 [As Nix] Oh, were you at your Grandma's? Dude, if I knew that I would have sent a note over there, but you just bounced, you did not say where you're going. Marietta [Atalia] 32:02 [As Atalia] There's just a lot of people I didn't know in there. And I - it was kind of stressful. Stace [Nix] 32:06 [As Nix] Yeah, it's all good though. Come on in, my dad made breakfast. Daniel [GM] 32:09 Atalia, you remember what Nixs' father's breakfast are like, amazing. Marietta [Atalia] 32:15 [As Atalia] Oh, I'm excited about this. Alex [ChaCha] 32:18 Nixs' dad's breakfast are the best. So I'll go in there and join them. Daniel [GM] 32:26 Okay, so Atalia comes in, sits down at the table. Dili and ChaCha, how are you spending the breakfast? Sampson [Dili] 32:34 Eating? Alex [ChaCha] 32:35 Eating everything. Sampson [Dili] 32:36 [As Dili] Atalia, did you - when did you get a seskii? Marietta [Atalia] 32:40 [laughs] [As Atalia] Recently, actually. Sampson [Dili] 32:43 [As Dili] What's her name? Marietta [Atalia] 32:47 [As Atalia] Umm, I don't know. Alex [ChaCha] 32:49 [As ChaCha] Call it Steve. Marietta [Atalia] 32:51 [As Atalia] Stevie? Daniel [GM] 32:51 [As Dili] Human names for pets are hilarious. I don't care what other people say, it's oodles of fun. Stace [Nix] 32:58 [As Nix] Dili, what are you talking about? That's a total pet name. Never once have I met a human name Stevie. Sampson [Dili] 33:03 [As Dili] No? Oh. Daniel [GM] 33:05 Nix's father laughs for a second and says, [As Nix's Father] If you're looking for a non human name, you might as well name them something ridiculous like Donald. Stace [Nix] 33:13 [As Nix] Oh my god, Dad. Hilarious you say that, because last week I legit met somebody named Donald. Daniel [GM] 33:22 [As Nix's Dad] You're kidding. Stace [Nix] 33:23 [As Nix] I am not. His nickname was latrine, which is honestly better. Daniel [GM] 33:26 [As Nix's Father] Wow. Sampson [Dili] 33:28 [As Dili] That seems kind of mean. Stace [Nix] 33:31 [As Nix] Dili, it's Donald. Sampson [Dili] 33:33 [As Dili] I agree that's ridiculous, but call him latrine just because of his parents' mistake, that seems mean. Stace [Nix] 33:42 [As Nix] No, it was because of his smell. Sampson [Dili] 33:44 [As Dili] Oh yeah, - Marietta [Atalia] 33:46 [As Atalia] That sounds like a fixable offense, maybe. Alex [ChaCha] 33:49 [As ChaCha] Donald isn't. Stace [Nix] 33:50 [As Nix] Can't fix that. Sampson [Dili] 33:51 [As Dili] This is why it - Alex [ChaCha] 33:52 [As ChaCha] Not fixable. Marietta [Atalia] 33:53 [As Atalia] Not a fixable offense. Let me just say, this is the best breakfast I've had in a minute. Daniel [GM] 33:59 Nix's dad smiles and says, [As Nix's Father] Well, it's always nice to do something helpful. And then for a moment, his eyes kind of go distant. And then he says, [As Nix's Father] Excuse me, umm, I need to go upstairs. And he gets up and leaves the table, he goes up the stairs. Marietta [Atalia] 34:18 Okay, so I'll turn to Nix and say, [As Atalia] So what's been going on? Stace [Nix] 34:26 [As Nix] Well, we went to the wayhouse and Dili - Marietta [Atalia] 34:30 I shake my head at her, [As Atalia] No, no, no, no, no. No. That's not what I meant. Stace [Nix] 34:35 [As Nix] Uh... Marietta [Atalia] 34:36 I'll gesture around to the state of her house and her retreating father and gesture up in the air like. Stace [Nix] 34:45 [As Nix] Oh, yeah, we've sold almost everything because my mom has teleportation attacks. So we're trying to, we're paying this nano to try and figure it out. And it's expensive. We're like, it's why - I told you guys this in the woods, didn't I? That's why I'm taking jobs, I got bills. Sampson [Dili] 35:06 [As Dili] You told us that - Alex [ChaCha] 35:08 [As Atalia] You said bills, bills is not - Sampson [Dili] 35:10 [As Dili] Yeah and you told us that she was sick, but not like this. This is, I was thinking just like a disease or something, this is a something else. Stace [Nix] 35:20 [As Nix] Do you think it? Because as far as we know, it's a disease. Sampson [Dili] 35:24 Dan, would Dilli be familiar with any cyphers that would have similar effects? Or any Numenera-ish happenstances that would allow me to roll Understanding Numenera? Daniel [GM] 35:36 Give me an Understanding Numenera of 18. Sampson [Dili] 35:38 I'm gonna save the effort. 13. Daniel [GM] 35:44 Yeah, you have no idea. ChaCha, at this point I will offer you an XP. Alex [ChaCha] 35:51 Yes. Daniel [GM] 35:52 And where would you like to put the other one? Who will get the other XP? Alex [ChaCha] 35:57 Dili, because Dili tried. Daniel [GM] 36:01 So ChaCha, as you're sitting there, eating and kind of seeing this conversation go by and kind of chiming in every once in a while. You notice another figure in the room on the far side, and it kind of phases through the wall. And once again, it's that figure of black ebon with claws and mandibles full of fire and fiery eyes. And it kind of, it floats in and it's standing in the living room, kind of staring at you. And it cocks its head and even though it's got like mandibles instead of a normal face, you can tell that it's smiling at you somehow. Alex [ChaCha] 36:46 I think ChaCha's just gonna keep eating and look at it and be like, [As ChaCha] Are we going on another adventure? Daniel [GM] 36:51 Everybody else hears this, of course. So you guys hear this. What you don't hear, and ChaCha, this is unusual, is the response. The figure's mandibles like move for a moment and then there's a long pause and then you hear a deep resonant voice that says, [As the Horror] Anything's an adventure if you look at it right. Alex [ChaCha] 37:16 [As ChaCha]I mean that's true, but like is this gonna be a shitty adventure, like going to do the laundry? Or like the kind where I can get paid and not die? Sampson [Dili] 37:27 [As Dili] Chacha are you? Who are you talking to? Alex [ChaCha] 37:30 [As ChaCha] The horror in the living room. Daniel [GM] 37:33 Dili's gonna slowly turn around and look for a horror in the living room. Dili doesn't see anything. ChaCha, this figure in response, kind of cocks its head and kind of its clawed hand kind of flickers. It's something that once again, it doesn't have a corollary in human behavior, but you feel like on some level that you understand that it's a chuckle. It kind of glides a little closer to the table and it's actually like right behind Dili now. You hear that voice again and it says, [As the Horror] I'm sure you can get paid. I can't promise anything about the rest, but I guarantee it won't be boring. Alex [ChaCha] 38:16 [As ChaCha] Have you had breakfast yet? It's apparently important meal of the day. And she kind of like pushes her plate towards Dili. Sampson [Dili] 38:24 [As Dili] I'm already eating. Alex [ChaCha] 38:27 [As ChaCha] Yeah, but the horror. Daniel [GM] 38:28 [As the Horror] I - I've already eaten. Stace [Nix] 38:33 [As Nix] Yo, ChaCha. If you're done, I'll eat it. Alex [ChaCha] 38:37 I think she like pushes the plate towards Nix and like just keeps looking at this creature and just like, [As ChaCha] I mean you don't eat people right? You're not secretly killing Nix's mom by drowning them. Right? Is - I'm friends with Nix now and that's not cool. Sampson [Dili] 38:55 [As Dili] Nix, I swear to God, I was in the basement all night. I have not done anything. Daniel [GM] 39:01 This figure kind of leans down, it's like it knows what it's doing, like it's putting its face like right next to Dili's. Alex [ChaCha] 39:09 [laughs] Daniel [GM] 39:10 So ChaCha will have to direct all the conversations that way. And it says, [As the Horror] Oh I don't have anything to do with that woman, but I'm sympathetic. Your friend Nix has more to do with that than I do. But I'm here to talk to you Chacha. Alex [ChaCha] 39:28 [As ChaCha] Oh, are we friends? Because you're nicer than the snake people. Snake people are dicks. Daniel [GM] 39:35 [As the Horror] Yes, they are. Sampson [Dili] 39:39 [As Dili] I mean, we haven't known each other for long, but I appreciate you as a person. I hope we can be friends. Daniel [GM] 39:46 And the creature kind of like, looks at Dili. And this weird like red tongue flicks out, as if it's licking the side of his face. Although, you know from experience that Dili won't be able to feel any of that. And it turns back to you and says, [As the Horror] Your nervous friend tastes good. But that's not why I'm here. Alex [ChaCha] 40:07 [As ChaCha] I mean, I'm sure he'll let you snack on him for a little bit as long as you know, he doesn't die or anything. Sampson [Dili] 40:13 [As Dili] Nix, I'm not interested in your father. So I don't know what she's talking about. Daniel [GM] 40:19 [As the Horror] I'm not known for controlling my appetites, so I'll pass. But I do want to tell you something, ChaCha. Alex [ChaCha] 40:26 [As ChaCha] Yeah, anything. Daniel [GM] 40:29 [As the Horror] You've got an opportunity here. You've found yourself on a path to make a difference, to change the world, to do something that maybe not everyone wants, but they need. This is your chance, ChaCha, to make an impact, and I know you'll take it. I've been watching you for a while. And with that, he fades away. Alex [ChaCha] 40:54 I think Chacha's just nodding to herself like, "Yes, we will destroy juggling. We will make that difference." Stace [Nix] 41:04 [As Nix] I'm like ambivalent jugglers, ChaCha, but I don't think Dili's got anything to do with what's going on with my parents. Alex [ChaCha] 41:14 [As ChaCha] Oh no, it was the horror that was licking Dili. Said Dili tasted good. Stace [Nix] 41:20 [As Nix] I could see that. Alex [ChaCha] 41:23 [As ChaCha] Yeah. And we're gonna go on an adventure to change the world to destroy the juggling. And she does like raise her hand over her head. In like little fists, like Yes. Stace [Nix] 41:35 [As Nix] Do you uh, do you mind giving us a little bit more detail about this horror? Is it the same horror from the ruins? Alex [ChaCha] 41:44 [As ChaCha] Yeah, we're friends now. He talks. Sampson [Dili] 41:50 [As Dili] If you can describe it, I might be able to make an image of it. Alex [ChaCha] 41:54 [As ChaCha] So he's tall. He's like fire but not fire. And he, he has like this on his face, And she like makes like crab motions. Like, I don't know how to describe this motion to the audio listeners. Like she tried - Daniel [GM] 42:15 You're trying to make predator mouth with your hands, essentially. Alex [ChaCha] 42:18 Yes, predator mouth with her hands, [As ChaCha] And he has a tongue and he likes to lick people, I guess. And that tastes good, I guess. Marietta [Atalia] 42:30 [As Atalia] This is a little disconcerting. Sampson [Dili] 42:33 Dili will try to make an image that fits that description to the best of his ability. Daniel [GM] 42:39 Okay, so Dili. You don't have a whole lot to go on from ChaCha's description, but give me an intellect roll of 15. Sampson [Dili] 42:49 4. Daniel [GM] 42:50 Okay, you make that - you like hold up this image and to the rest of you, it is like a kid's crayon drawing of a dragon. Unknown Speaker 43:03 [laughter] Sampson [Dili] 43:03 [As Dili] Is this what you saw? Alex [ChaCha] 43:05 [As Atalia] I am horrified, terrified. Sampson [Dili] 43:06 [As Dili] I tried to bring out the terrifying aspect of it. Did I miss anything? Stace [Nix] 43:14 [As Nix] So ChaCha, you were asking the Horror some things about my parents, about my mom, did it tell you anything? Alex [ChaCha] 43:24 [As ChaCha] Oh it says it doesn't do that to your mom. That's you, that's a you thing. Stace [Nix] 43:30 [As Nix] What? Sampson [Dili] 43:31 [As Dili] Wow. Alex [ChaCha] 43:32 [As ChaCha] Yeah, my new friend lays on the hard truths. And she does do that like crosses her arms in front of herself that old people do when they're trying to seem cool. Stace [Nix] 43:45 [As Nix] I'm not doing this. It started I wasn't even here. Alex [ChaCha] 43:50 [As ChaCha] Subconscious, yo. Marietta [Atalia] 43:53 [As Atalia] Are you sure there's nothing else? Any strange curses? I don't know. There's some weird stuff. Like a cypher? Did she touch something that she shouldn't have? I don't know. Sampson [Dili] 44:07 [As Dili] Did you touch it? Because you travel a lot right, so did you go into a cursed room? Marietta [Atalia] 44:13 [As Atalia] Yeah, did you pissed someone off? Unknown Speaker 44:17 [laughter] Stace [Nix] 44:17 [As Nix] No I don't piss people off, people love me. I do - Daniel [GM] 44:25 Somewhere in the Queen's Spittoon that like huge guy just kind of like looks both ways and then starts tugging on his ear. Unknown Speaker 44:34 [laughter] Stace [Nix] 44:34 [As Nix] Oh, yeah. Actually now that I think about it, bad people don't love me. Daniel, I guess could Nix roll to see if like anything's ringing a bell? Like from the last - so from around the time when it started with her mom, which I think we decided it was like a yearish ago. If that's even like, what Nix would? Daniel [GM] 44:57 Yeah, it is. Yeah, so I'm just thinking about like what it would be. Alex [ChaCha] 45:02 A bajillion? Stace [Nix] 45:03 I mean. Daniel [GM] 45:04 I think it's twenty one? Stace [Nix] 45:09 It's intellect, I assume? Daniel [GM] 45:11 Of course it is, yeah. Stace [Nix] 45:13 Nix is gonna think really hard about this, would - Alex [ChaCha] 45:18 I mean, can we assist? Daniel [GM] 45:21 This is what I'll say with this information, that ChaCha said, I will give you an asset on it. So if you're spending a level of effort, that brings it down to 15. Stace [Nix] 45:32 Would the map Nix has compiled be any help? Daniel [GM] 45:36 No, not in this case. Stace [Nix] 45:38 Okay. That's a one. That's a one. I think I'm gonna. I think, no. I think I'm - Daniel I would like to spend an XP to reroll that. Daniel [GM] 45:52 Okay. Stace [Nix] 45:54 Nix is never gonna tier up. Never. Unknown Speaker 46:01 [laughter] Stace [Nix] 46:01 Well, that was a three. Unknown Speaker 46:04 [laughter] Stace [Nix] 46:04 But it's not a one, it's not a one. Alex [ChaCha] 46:06 Yeah. Daniel [GM] 46:07 You don't know, like this is very confusing. Stace [Nix] 46:11 [As Nix] Well, shit. I don't even know what to do with that ChaCha, but thanks for telling me like it's something, you know my mom told me she traveled somewhere yesterday that uh, she encountered these creatures and one of them said her name and then one of them said my name. So make sense. Marietta [Atalia] 46:33 [As Atalia] That does seem pretty connected. Stace [Nix] 46:36 [As Nix] Oh man. Marietta [Atalia] 46:38 [As Atalia] Hey, have you tried scanning her mom? Stace [Nix] 46:40 [As Nix] I don't know what the nano that we hired's been trying and like, honestly, if you guys like wanna try to help I would take the help, because that Nano's coming today and it's her last visit until I can get 200 more shins. Marietta [Atalia] 46:58 [As Atalia] So I guess. Yeah, I mean, if you - I guess I could scan her and see like what effects? Yeah, if you don't think it would bother your mom, I don't think it should wake her. It's like, just an esotery, you know? Stace [Nix] 47:14 [As Nix] All right, but just be very quiet, if you don't mind. a Alex [ChaCha] 47:22 [As Atalia] Blah blah blah. Okay, so yeah, I'll try to be stealthy. Daniel [GM] 47:28 So out of curiosity, since Atalia didn't receive any formal training, so how did she come upon her nano abilities? Marietta [Atalia] 47:37 Um, I'm not sure if it was like through this organization. I think her mother might have taught her some when she was like scamming people when she was little. Umm, so I think scan could have been useful for like seeing what a person had on them. Like whether it be worthwhile to try to be lifting stuff off and out. Daniel [GM] 47:58 Okay. Marietta [Atalia] 48:00 And then she also has onslaught, but that's the only two that she has, and I feel like onslaught would just make sense as a Nano ability pretty early on. Daniel [GM] 48:08 Okay. Marietta [Atalia] 48:09 Umm. And I think also just a curiosity, I think she probably did a lot of like research on her own. I think she probably got in the habit of picking up any sort of like Numenera based books when she was heisting, when she was younger, especially Daniel [GM] 48:24 Okay, cool. So Nix I assume you lead her upstairs Stace [Nix] 48:30 Nix takes her to the top of the stairs and like, cuz I would say Nix is pretty good at reading her parents and knows that they her mom definitely did not want to be disturbed. So she'll just get to the top of the stairs and like gesture towards the room and it just is like [As Nix] Be very quiet. Marietta [Atalia] 48:46 [As Atalia] So you don't think I should you know, I mean to talk to her okay. Stace [Nix] 48:49 [As Nix] No, just like she's probably sleeping just like go in. You know, if she talks to you, it's fine, but like, if she's sleeping, just scan her and we'll talk about it downstairs. Marietta [Atalia] 49:00 [As Atalia] Okay, okay. Daniel [GM] 49:02 Before you go there, just real quick can both of you give me a perception role, target is 6. Stace [Nix] 49:07 14. Marietta [Atalia] 49:09 15. Daniel [GM] 49:10 He's doing his best to be quiet, but you guys can both clearly hear Nix's father quietly weeping in the bathroom. Stace [Nix] 49:20 Nix just makes eye contact with Atalia and shakes her head, like we're not acknowledging that. Marietta [Atalia] 49:26 Atalia will kind of nod and then she'll as softly as possible, which she's specialized in stealth. Will try to slip into Atalias' mom's room. Daniel [GM] 49:37 So I think you managed to do that quite easily. Marietta [Atalia] 49:41 Okay. Daniel [GM] 49:42 Nix's mom is definitely asleep. Marietta [Atalia] 49:45 Think she'll look at her for a second, just like seeing how different she looks from the memory of her in her youth. And then she'll cast scan on her and or use scan on her and see what's going on. Daniel [GM] 50:02 What does it look like when Atalia casts scan? Marietta [Atalia] 50:05 Um, I think she kind of stands by the side of her bed and then kind of like waves both of her hands over her body and like a little like, smoke comes out and like kind of rolls over her. So it like sinks over her. And then intrinsicly I know or something. Daniel [GM] 50:22 Yeah, so the smoke sinks over her. And there's some of this, like the initial smoke coming out of your hands is something that even Nix can see from a distance. What she can't see is that after the smoke settles on your mother, something that only at least as far as you're aware, Atalia, of you think only you can see. And that is that the smoke goes in there and then all of a sudden, they're all these motes of light that flow through Nixs' mother's body. And one of the things is that of all the things that you've kind of found out from your passions and your interests and things like this, this the pure joy of learning how to make the data sphere work for you, the joy of that skill. Because you know, as a nano, you figured out over time that what you're doing as commanding the almost infinite amount of nanites around here to do something specific, and they all light up at your beck and call. And then all those lights connect and beam something back to your mind. And in that moment, you know a few things. Nix's mom is a human, she's a typical commoner so she's probably like, well not commoner but you know, well to do so. Now she's like level one or two at best. There is a strange energy around her and that strange energy seems to be vibrating. And you get the impression that that energy's always seems to be. It's hard to describe, it's an energy, it's not a person. But if it was a person, you get this feeling of antsiness, like it was always looking for something to do, something to stimulate itself. And there's something about it that sort of reminds you of Nix, but it's definitely not Nix. And then the light fades. Marietta [Atalia] 52:31 I'll wait a heartbeat or two and then I'll sneak out again. Stace [Nix] 52:37 Nix'll just like, gesture her back down the stairs to the kitchen to discuss. Marietta [Atalia] 52:42 [As Atalia] Look, that was pretty weird. It was nothing specific as far as like, you know, usually I'd be able to tell like they're diseased or whatever, but it was like, like an energy, sort of restlessness. It reminded me that it's a bit of you, you know, like they're so excited to like go join the thing and do the things and you know, like, move in that way. It seems like that same energy is in her, but it's not... I don't know. It reminded me of you, but it didn't feel like you. You know? Stace [Nix] 53:15 [As Nix] You're saying it felt like the society? That's seems. Marietta [Atalia] 53:20 [As Atalia] No, no, no just like the like the restless, like urge to move, I guess? Stace [Nix] 53:26 [As Nix] Oh, you know, you don't have to if you don't want to, but you want to scan me and see? Cause that horror said - Marietta [Atalia] 53:36 [As Atalia] That's interesting. Yeah, why not? Do you want to do it here or? Alex [ChaCha] 53:40 [As Nix] I mean yeah. I mean is it what like, is it gonna hurt? Marietta [Atalia] 53:44 [As Atalia] No, no. And I'll repeat the process with Nix and see what it says. Daniel [GM] 53:52 So it comes back. Nix's definitely something, character tiers and levels are not the same thing. Like a tier one explorer is much higher than a level one creature, they're or something else. But one of the things that strikes you in it is some things that you would have expected already, Nix's strength is surprising. No, she's always been tall, she's always been had the build, and she's always had that interest, but there is more strength to her than you would have expected just from looking at her. There's some things in the scan that come across to you - I would say the scan is more potent in this case, because you have such a history with Nix. And you can sense that sort of like yeah, Nix does have that sort of laid back demeanor at the same time, but you still like clearly see that firm line that makes Nix who she is, what she stands up for, what she cares about. And that's familiar and comforting. You get the feeling that Nix is - a lot of what Nix is is through careful training. Marietta [Atalia] 55:12 Okay. Daniel [GM] 55:12 But like every explorer, there is a sense of additional nanite energy around them. I mean the fact that you guys can do like recovery roles and things like that as explorers is not something that the average person can do. But something that you have because whether it's luck, whether it's something you guys sought out in your backstories, it's something that you are getting out of the datasphere. You're not always directly aware of it, but Nix has that. Really all the only thing you, the only other thing you can tell from it is that Nix's nanites have two patterns, but you don't really have any more information about what those patterns are. Marietta [Atalia] 55:57 Is there any similarities to like the energy i felt from her mom? Daniel [GM] 56:01 One of the patterns is somewhat similar, but it is not the same. If you want, you can do an Understanding Numenera roll of 15. Marietta [Atalia] 56:11 Sure. And I'm trained in that. Daniel [GM] 56:12 12. Marietta [Atalia] 56:15 14. Daniel [GM] 56:16 So this other - one of the patterns is somewhat similar, but it isn't the same. But it's, it's hard to describe. Like, to a nano, it's almost like seeing two languages that derive from the same root language. Whatever you sense in Nix's mom comes from the same root language as one of the patterns in Nix, but they're not the same. Marietta [Atalia] 56:46 Okay, I'll try to explain all of that to Nix while we're kind of like standing in the stairwell. [As Atalia] I don't really understand it myself either. It's kind of confusing, but I don't know if what's going on with your mom is actually a disease if it like energy and nanite based. Stace [Nix] 57:02 [As Nix] Yeah, I don't know either. I appreciate you trying. Marietta [Atalia] 57:08 [As Atalia] What has that other Nano said about it? Anything? Stace [Nix] 57:11 [As Nix] I haven't really talked to her too much. I just went to the office last week again, I've mostly been taking care of the money. You probably have to talk to my dad to find that out because like, really up to this point, we thought it was a disease. Daniel [GM] 57:28 More crying and sniffling coming from the bathroom. Stace [Nix] 57:31 [As Nix] He - it doesn't help to interrupt him. Marietta [Atalia] 57:34 [As Atalia] Yeah, I don't need to ask him right now, I just - Stace [Nix] 57:37 [As Nix] Give him hugs after and.. Marietta [Atalia] 57:39 [As Atalia] I just feel like the Nano should have known what I just told you. Like a lot - most nanos can, a lot of nanos can do that. Stace [Nix] 57:47 [As Nix] Well, she's gonna be here later, but we shouldn't be, we've got to find that item. Marietta [Atalia] 57:51 [As Atalia] Yeah, and I have a meeting I have to attend tonight. It seems like apparently our bar shenanigans wasn't well reciprocated or received. Stace [Nix] 58:03 [As Nix] Okay. At this point Nix would have walked back into the kitchen while conversing. Daniel [GM] 58:10 So you come back and what have ChaCha and Dili been doing during this time? Alex [ChaCha] 58:14 ChaCha's like showing exactly where the horror licked Dili on the face like, [As ChaCha] No no no, it was this area right here. And she's just like stroking up and down like, [As ChaCha] Like like this. Sampson [Dili] 58:29 [As Dili] Okay, thank you. Umm. You mentioned something itself, yeah - ChaCha stop touching my face. ChaCha, you mentioned something about snakes? Alex [ChaCha] 58:41 [As ChaCha] Oh yeah, there's like snake people who are dicks and want to kill people and they're just dicks. Daniel [GM] 58:48 [As Dili] Would you elaborate? Like do they just like show up and wedgie people, like? Alex [ChaCha] 58:52 [As ChaCha] No. Like they try and bring bad times, like they're just bad bad people who are also dicks. Sampson [Dili] 59:03 [As Dili] It's like a freudian thing? Marietta [Atalia] 59:05 [As Atalia] That describes a large percentage of the population, you're gonna have to be a little more specific. Alex [ChaCha] 59:10 [As ChaCha] But like they have snakeheads, which makes them extra dicks. Marietta [Atalia] 59:15 [As Atalia] So they're snake people? Alex [ChaCha] 59:17 [As ChaCha] Yes. Daniel [GM] 59:19 But they don't have snake faces. Alex [ChaCha] 59:21 [As ChaCha] They do not. But they're stupid and they can't stay focused. Sampson [Dili] 59:27 [As Dili] Umm. Shot in the dark. Do they kind of look like this? And then Dili will manifest the snake person that he's seen in his dreams a couple times. Daniel [GM] 59:42 It's not exactly the same, but it looks very similar. Alex [ChaCha] 59:45 [As ChaCha] It could be a cousin of the dicks. Sampson [Dili] 59:50 [As Dili] Okay, I feel - okay. It's not those types of dreams, so I don't the snake people. Okay. Cool. Cuz I got bit like a couple of weeks ago and I had a dream like this, so is that? Did you get bit at some point? Poisoned? Unknown Speaker 59:50 [laughter] Alex [ChaCha] 1:00:08 [As ChaCha] No, but you made a bad choice getting bit. We should try not to get bit. Sampson [Dili] 1:00:12 [As Dili] I assure you I did not consent to any of that. Alex [ChaCha] 1:00:15 [As ChaCha] See. Sampson [Dili] 1:00:17 [As Dili] I did not want that. Alex [ChaCha] 1:00:18 [As ChaCha] Also why they're dicks. Sampson [Dili] 1:00:19 [As Dili] Too much mouth. Alex [ChaCha] 1:00:20 [As ChaCha] No consent. Daniel [GM] 1:00:22 Nix, at this point I will offer you an XP. Stace [Nix] 1:00:25 Yeah, I'll take it. Daniel [GM] 1:00:26 Who will you give the other XP to? Stace [Nix] 1:00:28 Marietta gets it. Marietta [Atalia] 1:00:29 Yay! Thank you. Daniel [GM] 1:00:31 Okay. Nix, you're right - is this right handed or left handed? Stace [Nix] 1:00:36 Right handed. Daniel [GM] 1:00:37 Your right hand starts throbbing. And when you look down at your hand, even though the wounds are mostly healed, you see those two puncture marks between your thumb and index finger, just in the meat there, as they are throbbing and they have turned a deep red. And that's where we'll end this episode. Stace [Nix] 1:00:58 What is happening? Alex [ChaCha] 1:00:59 It shall be titled "Mark of the Dick." Sampson [Dili] 1:01:04 Fucking snake campaign, goddamn. Stace [Nix] 1:01:05 Snakes on a plane? Sampson [Dili] 1:01:06 Also, hey Marietta, is your grandmother like fucking John Wick or like what? Unknown Speaker 1:01:12 [laughter] Marietta [Atalia] 1:01:13 Um, I - okay, so grandma found out a lot more than I might have wanted her to so quickly. Stace [Nix] 1:01:21 Grandma's Sarah Connor. Sampson [Dili] 1:01:22 I think she fucking knew the whole time. Alex [ChaCha] 1:01:24 I think she's Helen Mirren. Stace [Nix] 1:01:26 Ooo yeah. Marietta [Atalia] 1:01:27 In RED or something. Sampson [Dili] 1:01:29 Oh, yeah. Marietta [Atalia] 1:01:30 That's, that's who I really want grandma to be. Uh. Daniel [GM] 1:01:35 Okay. So Alex, is there something that ChaCha did this session that really stuck out to you as being awesome, that you felt awesome for doing? Alex [ChaCha] 1:01:46 Um, I think helping Nix's mom. Like, it's always nice when you can actually help somebody and not be like, "Well, I killed good today." And so it's nice when you're able to help people, especially like when you wanted to and it's not like a "Well you rolled a nat one so you actually healed the bad guy." Daniel [GM] 1:02:12 We have a segment we do each week called player intrusions, where we offer you all, the listeners, an XP to check out something that we think you should absolutely dig. And this week it is Alex's turn. Alex, what's your player intrusion for this week? Alex [ChaCha] 1:02:26 Animal Crossing New Horizons. Marietta [Atalia] 1:02:29 Yeah! Stace [Nix] 1:02:30 Fuck yeah. Alex [ChaCha] 1:02:30 I was playing it before we started recording even. Because just like, it's like the best chill game ever. Like there's no plot except to get out of debt from the tanuki overlords. Marietta [Atalia] 1:02:38 It's like real life but cute. Alex [ChaCha] 1:02:50 Yeah! Stace [Nix] 1:02:51 Super relatable. Alex [ChaCha] 1:02:52 Like we're just running around, helping each other out, and it's super fun. And then I made myself a spoopy jumper to look like Freddy Krueger. And I put blood on it. And I put blood on my character's face and it's adorable. Sampson [Dili] 1:03:07 That sounds like a David Lynch film or something. Marietta [Atalia] 1:03:11 I will say that your face blood is slightly on the pink side. So in my brain it's just like a lollipop or something. Alex [ChaCha] 1:03:18 Yeah. Stace [Nix] 1:03:18 It's frothy fresh. Alex [ChaCha] 1:03:20 Now I'm gonna, I'm gonna adjust that design pattern now, so. To make it more - Marietta [Atalia] 1:03:27 Oh no! Alex [ChaCha] 1:03:29 Yeah, it's uh - in recording time, came out like less than a week ago, and Stacey, Alex, and I have been playing a lot of Animal Crossing. It is the mindless catharsis that everyone needs in their life in these dire times. Daniel [GM] 1:03:46 And you know it's escapism because the loans have no interest. Stace [Nix] 1:03:50 And an extremely flexible payment plan. Alex [ChaCha] 1:03:53 I know! You can pay it back whenever. Daniel [GM] 1:03:56 Yeah. Stace [Nix] 1:03:57 If you feel like it. Alex [ChaCha] 1:03:58 Yeah, like whatever you're feeling Marietta [Atalia] 1:04:01 You could also just never pay it off and just have a one room home forever. Alex [ChaCha] 1:04:05 I know, like he's okay with that. It's just like weird that he's so chill. Marietta [Atalia] 1:04:11 I think it's because you're doing all the work for him, for Tom Nook. Stace [Nix] 1:04:15 Yeah, I do have to say that I'm a little bit disappointed in my character's business acumen. Like why are you donating? Alex [ChaCha] 1:04:24 All the donations. Daniel [GM] 1:04:26 Well I will say this, I have had very little time to play it because in my house, it's impossible to get the switch away from the rest of my family. But I will say the museum that gets - Alex [ChaCha] 1:04:37 Yes. Daniel [GM] 1:04:37 - built in Animal Crossing is really cool. Marietta [Atalia] 1:04:39 It's my favorite thing to just like wander around in there. I love the museum. So good. Alex [ChaCha] 1:04:45 You saw that Twitter post. Marietta [Atalia] 1:04:46 No, what Twitter post? Alex [ChaCha] 1:04:48 Oh, I posted a picture of me chilling in my museum in my favorite jumper looking very excited. Marietta [Atalia] 1:04:58 Quality. Alex [ChaCha] 1:05:00 And it's just something that, you know, if it's in your budget, you should check out. Or if it's not, maybe check out people who are streaming it or on YouTube, because it's just a really relaxing time listening to people to talk about it. Marietta [Atalia] 1:05:17 It's low pressure. Daniel [GM] 1:05:17 And with the quarantine, I will say this, it has been a lifesaver for distracting our daughter since there hasn't been any school. Stace [Nix] 1:05:22 And she's learning a lot about, you know - Marietta [Atalia] 1:05:24 Oh man. Stace [Nix] 1:05:24 Cultivation. Alex [ChaCha] 1:05:27 Mmmhmm. Stace [Nix] 1:05:27 Travel. Marietta [Atalia] 1:05:27 e-commerce! Stace [Nix] 1:05:28 Exploiting resources. Daniel [GM] 1:05:33 Yeah, it's more about - the disturbing thing is it's more about capitalism because she started making jokes about "No that'll cost you like 500 bells." Alex [ChaCha] 1:05:45 Oh no. Marietta [Atalia] 1:05:45 Don't encourage the capitalism! Daniel [GM] 1:05:48 And that's the thing like, is - I always think like, is Tom look like starting his own. Like, you know, the whole thin,g like you showed up there and like, "Oh, you don't have any of this currency that we don't exchange with anything else except our own loyalty program." It seems like a scam, except his scam seems to be for you to live a life of friendship and happiness. Stace [Nix] 1:06:09 It's a total scam, cause you're like definitely set up to think you're having this island getaway, where you're on a deserted island by yourself, and you show up and there's two other people. Marietta [Atalia] 1:06:20 Yeah now I have five other people. Alex [ChaCha] 1:06:22 Yeah. So fun fact I learned today, because I was watching somebody stream it, you can like chase villagers out of your village. Like you can be like "You know what, you don't go with my aesthetic. Prepare to be bullied off my island. Marietta [Atalia] 1:06:39 Have you seen the, umm, I think it's like Tommy, like people will put fencing around him and stuff, to like put him in jail. Alex [ChaCha] 1:06:48 Awww. Marietta [Atalia] 1:06:49 It was, it's like pre opening of Nook's Cranny or whatever. Alex [ChaCha] 1:06:52 The little babes! Stace [Nix] 1:06:53 I have to say that it is a little weird that Timmy and Tommy wear aprons and no pants. Marietta [Atalia] 1:06:59 Yeah. Stace [Nix] 1:07:00 Or shirts. Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:00 Hey. They're just porky pigging it. Marietta [Atalia] 1:07:01 It's a little awkward. Daniel [GM] 1:07:02 Are you yucking their yum? [laughter] Stace [Nix] 1:07:04 Uh, they sell food, Daniel. Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:10 They are covered with fur and selling food. Marietta [Atalia] 1:07:13 Yeah where are their face masks and gloves. Come on. Stace [Nix] 1:07:16 They also corner you in the store constantly. Unknown Speaker 1:07:18 [laughter] Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:21 Yes. They're just all about cornering you in the corner of their store like, "Whatcha doin?" Look at our no pants dance, oooo. Stace [Nix] 1:07:33 They wore pants in the beginning, correct? Like before Nook's Cranny was built? Marietta [Atalia] 1:07:38 I don't recall. Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:40 No, I don't think they ever wear pants. I can't find - Marietta [Atalia] 1:07:43 I think we're just like Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:45 I think they were just porky pigging it. Now I have to Google this, gah. Daniel [GM] 1:07:50 Are they raccoons or tanukis? Alex [ChaCha] 1:07:53 Tanuki. Daniel [GM] 1:07:54 Cause tanukis have that thing where they like use their giant testicle scrotums. So like. Yeah, it's like a parachute - Alex [ChaCha] 1:08:01 Testicles? Daniel [GM] 1:08:02 When they're jumping from something. Marietta [Atalia] 1:08:03 Wait, wait, wait, wait. Back it up. Alex [ChaCha] 1:08:08 Okay, they did used to have shirts. They had shirts that they took off for their kinky apron dance. I know. Daniel [GM] 1:08:19 Please tell me it's a leather apron. Stace [Nix] 1:08:22 Which it's only a half apron. Alex [ChaCha] 1:08:24 I mean, I think it's like one of those like cloth aprons that you tie around your waist. I mean, so it could be leather. It could be. We don't know. We don't know their life. So this devolved quick. Stace [Nix] 1:08:40 So play Animal Crossing. Daniel [GM] 1:08:42 That's a good pick. We are a new podcast. And if you liked what you heard, the best thing that you could do for us is to tell your friends and tell them what you liked about our show. Tell them what you liked about ChaCha's conversations, Dili's nervousness, anything along those lines. Atalia's angsty roguishness, or Nix's laid back Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lifestyle. Daniel Andrlik 1:09:20 The second best thing you can do is leave us a five star rating/review on the podcast app of your choice, whether that's Google podcasts or whatever. Particularly Apple podcasts, that helps a lot of people discover us and helps us connect to an audience. So anytime you leave something like that, that makes a huge difference for us. And it only takes you a couple minutes. If people want to talk to us, tell us other things that you like about the show. How could they reach us Marietta? Unknown Speaker 1:09:20 [laughter] Marietta [Atalia] 1:09:50 They can find us on our website explorerswanted.fm or they can find us on instagram @ExplorersWantedPodcast and Facebook Explorers Wanted Podcast and Twitter's just @ExplorersWanted I believe. We're on all social medias. Message us, retweet us, share us, I don't know, interact with us. We just really want attention. We're lonely, lonely people. Just really need that positive reinforcement to keep going. Daniel [GM] 1:10:20 Yeah. It's what keeps us from dying. So yeah, please do reach out to us on the socials. Let us know what you think. Definitely review as if you're going to give us a five star rating. If you didn't like what you heard, or even if you just think it was "okay." Keep it to yourself, you know, write it in a journal or even better: go into a dark room with a smooth stone. Draw circle in salt around you, and just really just give it to that stone, in terms of how much you didn't like or you just thought something was okay. And then, at the end, break the circle and let it all go, let it all go. Throw the rock away or bury the rock in your backyard, maybe a mushroom will grow. Sampson [Dili] 1:11:15 Does that work? Is that a method that works for more than just podcast? Daniel [GM] 1:11:22 That is my personal secret. I can't disclose any more about that. But if you do want to tell us other lovely things, we would love to hear from you, because we all crave attention. You can reach us individually on social media, and you can find me on Twitter @andrlik A-N-D-R-L-I-K. Stace [Nix] 1:11:43 You can find me on Twitter @StaceWindu because like most of us, I'm just a pale shadow of the Jedi Master Mace Windu. Sampson [Dili] 1:11:52 You can keep me from dying @SlamPotato. Alex [ChaCha] 1:11:55 You can see not crimes I'm committing in Animal Crossing @realteaunicorn on Twitter. Marietta [Atalia] 1:12:03 And you can find me on instagram at @imonahike. Daniel [GM] 1:12:08 Okay, thank you so much, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the show. We will be back next week as we will for every week for the foreseeable future. Have a good night and Unknown Speaker 1:12:21 [All together] Byyyyyye. Transcribed by https://otter.ai