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] (00:40): Don't mind me. I'm just sniffing skincare like it's normal. Daniel [GM] (00:45): Marietta Jones. Marietta [Atalia] (00:46): Wait, what? Alex [ChaCha] (00:48): Skincare. Let's smell it. Marietta [Atalia] (00:50): How can you smell skincare, though? I guess that's what I don't understand. Alex [ChaCha] (00:54): The fragrances. Like this one smells like tea tree. Marietta [Atalia] (00:57): Oh, so you're smelling lotion? Alex [ChaCha] (00:59): Yes. Marietta [Atalia] (01:00): And moisturizer? Alex [ChaCha] (01:01): Yes. Marietta [Atalia] (01:01): Okay, okay, cool. Cool, cool, cool. Alex [ChaCha] (01:03): Just smell things, everyone. Pick the nearest thing up to you and smell it, even if it's your dog. Marietta [Atalia] (01:09): I just bathed Rubia, so I would love to do that. Daniel [GM] (01:13): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace Babcock. Stace [Nix] (01:15): I've been here the whole time. Daniel [GM] (01:18): And Sampson Davis. Sampson [Dili] (01:20): Hi. I'm back from my audio issue. How are you? Daniel [GM] (01:23): Before we get started today, we have an important item of business, and that is that we have another patron. Sampson [Dili] (01:28): Yay. Marietta [Atalia] (01:29): Wow. Daniel [GM] (01:31): Yes. Even more. Our newest patron is Azueron. Azueron's been in our Discord with us for a little bit now. He's a good guy, very fun to chat with. He actually, I believe, runs some Numenera on his own as well, among other games. I actually also know him from the Fandible fan community. He just recently became a patron, well, recently as when we're recording this, and thank you so much, Ajeron. Your support means the world to us. Marietta [Atalia] (02:01): Thank you. Stace [Nix] (02:03): Yeah, thank you a bunch. Marietta [Atalia] (02:05): Thank you for being part of the Discord. Alex [ChaCha] (02:06): Right? Such a big part of the Discord. Marietta [Atalia] (02:10): Yeah. Really, we love it when you come hang out with us in the Discord. It makes us feel like a community, which is really what we want. So, you know. Daniel [GM] (02:19): Yes. Marietta [Atalia] (02:19): Thanks for being a part of it with us. Daniel [GM] (02:23): So who remembers what happened last time? I feel like it would be only appropriate for me to say Stace, do you remember what happened last time on Explorers Wanted? Stace [Nix] (02:30): Fuck, yeah, I do. No shit, there we were, standing over the corpses of automatons and their huerik live twins. We went to the bridge and we were like, "Oh, shit, we're fucked. There are hueriks all over the place. Also, we never dealt with that containment breach and we need to get the teleporter online." And then Atalia was like, "I know what to do. I'm going to kill all the hueriks by changing the oxygen in this vessel to argon." Oh, Dili- Marietta [Atalia] (03:01): It's a great idea. Stace [Nix] (03:02): Dili and Nix weren't at the bridge yet for this, I remember. All right. Oh, right, Atalia's like, "I'm going to change the oxygen to argon and not tell anybody." That was the decision. So Dili and Nix are in the room where the automatons are and Nix finally understood Dili just a little bit, because she got out of breath. That was the first clue. So I think Stannis came and saved Dili and Nix's ass. I can't remember where ChaCha was in all this. Alex [ChaCha] (03:35): On the bridge. Daniel [GM] (03:36): She'd been called back up to the bridge to help decipher the error message. Stace [Nix] (03:39): Oh, back up to the bridge and, yeah, the error message was related to what we ultimately found out was a lack of fuel for the vessel. So, yeah, we needed to get to the teleporter room and repair it and teleport the fuck off of this vessel, which is going to crash. So Atalia finds a breather. She's like, "Yeah, this is a legit breather. You can breathe within this breather," and Nix is like, "Dope, give me the breather. I'm going to run to the teleporter room and check out this life sign that we're seeing." Stace [Nix] (04:11): So Nix runs through essentially the ruins, which the ship is filled with, and runs to the teleportation room and there's this giant anteater there, 10 foot tall anteater, and on the way there Nix was experiencing some pretty severe debilitating effect and lost two spots on the damage track to what, at the time, Nix/Stace thought was related to the ruins and artifacts. We'll find out more later on that. Stace [Nix] (04:49): So Nix runs in, sees this giant anteater, and is like, "Hey, friend." The giant anteater started coming toward Nix, who then essentially became almost completely unconscious and was picked up by said anteater. So Atalia is back at the bridge and she's like, "Oh, wow, the big dot is moving toward the little dot that is Nix. I'm going to go see what's up." So Atalia just runs into the argon, just knows it hasn't changed back to oxygen yet. It's a real sacrificial moment. Excellent character development. Frankly, it's about time. Stace [Nix] (05:25): So then Atalia runs through the argon- Marietta [Atalia] (05:27): Excuse you. Stace [Nix] (05:32): And runs up in time to see the anteater holding the re-breather with Nix's mouth in its head, but then it surprisingly sets Nix gently down on the floor and Atalia's like, "Oh, you didn't kill my friend? Die now." Marietta [Atalia] (05:53): No. I scanned it. Oh, my gosh. Stace [Nix] (05:56): Oh, right. Sorry. Wow, this time. Atalia's like, " All right, I'm scanning it," when this creature is doing the no, no, no. We've all seen that GIF. It didn't like being scanned. It felt as though it was an invasion of privacy and it's really quite rude for someone who is virtually a stranger, and attacked. And attacked brutally. Atalia got really hurt. Atalia was debilitated, actually, I think. Marietta [Atalia] (06:23): Yep. Stace [Nix] (06:23): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Now the situation is, Nix is unconscious on the floor, debilitated. Atalia's conscious, but debilitated. Briefly, for some reason, debates onslaughting the creature, but then ChaCha comes. ChaCha comes and sees what's up and instead of attacking the anteater, tried to telepathically communicate with it? Alex [ChaCha] (06:49): No. Stace [Nix] (06:50): Damn it. What- Alex [ChaCha] (06:50): I brought hueriks and I was like, "Kill hueriks, yeah." Stace [Nix] (06:54): Oh, right. So ChaCha, like the Pied Piper, drags these hueriks behind her. They're chasing her towards the teleportation room, and as a demonstration of solidarity against the hueriks, kills one, executes one in front of this creature to give it a different target to attack and indicate friendship. It somewhat worked. Stace [Nix] (07:16): Nix was unconscious at this point and so was I, virtually. Then Dili. Wow, Dili. So Dili's up at the bridge with Stannis and Stannis is like, "Aren't you going to help your friends?" And Dili was like, "No, normally I'm a coward." But then he ran out of the room and into the teleportation room and geared up. Alex [ChaCha] (07:38): Yay. Stace [Nix] (07:39): It was a nice moment. Once Dili got to the teleportation room, what happened, guys? Alex [ChaCha] (07:45): We tried to communicate. Stace [Nix] (07:47): Dili tried to communicate through writing, along with ChaCha, with this creature. It didn't really work, and I really thought we were all going to die, but then Stannis rolls up. Stannis rolls up and manages to hold the creature telepathically somehow while- Alex [ChaCha] (08:04): She barks at him. Stace [Nix] (08:05): Oh, barks at it first, right. Seems to speak its language, then gets in some sort of weird, I assume psychic standoff with the creature, and then- Alex [ChaCha] (08:14): Nah, just a pissing match. Stace [Nix] (08:15): Do you really think so? Alex [ChaCha] (08:17): Yeah. I think she was just asserting dominance. Stace [Nix] (08:21): Interesting. Asserting dominance over the creature so that repairs to the teleportation device could be made and everyone could be teleported off the ship with the statues and the crystals to a place outside the city. Left Stannis there to watch it, then headed inside the city to Nix's parents' house, which had a note on the outside that basically said it was now property of the queen, which is never a good sign. Stace [Nix] (08:44): So Atalia breaks in. We go inside and there's nobody there. Nix finds the plate upstairs. Doesn't touch it again, because she learned her lesson the first time, and it's clear that it's been searched. Wasn't there a clue about the metal mind being there? Daniel [GM] (09:00): Dili had a vision. Alex [ChaCha] (09:01): Yes. Stace [Nix] (09:02): Dili had a vision, and then basically couldn't find anymore. They went to Mama J's. They're like, "Hey, Mama J, we're back. The statues are with Stannis outside the gate." She was cool with that. Paid us, chunk of money, and then Nix explained about her parents and Mama J basically said, "Sit down, shut up. I have a plan for that." Nix showed her the plate. She said something cryptic about there being many of them around the world and I can't remember quite why I came to the conclusion it was a teleportation plate. It might have been explicitly said. Stace [Nix] (09:36): Then she said something else cryptic about the travelers, the Benevolent Society having a strange idea of freedom, and that's where we ended the episode. Daniel [GM] (09:45): What she had said specifically was, "That's the Society right there, all tied up in synth and ceramic, a form of benevolence and a somewhat twisted vision of freedom." She asked Nix if the plate was a family heirloom and Nix flat out refused to answer or just said, "I won't tell you that." Then she asked about your mother's teleportation tax and then she said, "There are hundreds of these plates all around Navarene and it seems like, with your family, for the first time, they did what they were supposed to do." And that's where we ended it. Stace [Nix] (10:19): For the first time? Damn. Daniel [GM] (10:21): Mm-hmm (affirmative). So that's where we left it. Mama [Jern 00:10:25] has just said that and she is sipping her whiskey while you guys are in her home. Marietta [Atalia] (10:31): So they were just supposed to temporarily transport people to various different planes and parts of the planet and just have them come back after a question mark amount of time? Daniel [GM] (10:43): I don't know enough about them to say for sure exactly what the ambition with it, but there was something about these that was to represent the ultimate freedom of movement. My understanding, you can correct me if I'm wrong, Nix, I'm not a member of the Benevolent Society, but my understanding through the years is that often families are given a plate if one of their own becomes a member of the Benevolent Society but is unable to ever return. Stace [Nix] (11:15): What? Ever return from where? Daniel [GM] (11:19): That, I don't know. All I know is that every time I've seen one of these plates in a family's possession, it's always been they've had somebody who's gone off to join the Benevolent Society and who hasn't returned again. Stace [Nix] (11:31): Yeah, that's interesting. What do you mean that, for the first time, my family did the right thing? I feel like that's our thing is doing the right thing. Daniel [GM] (11:42): No, no, no. I'm not saying that your family did anything wrong. I'm saying this plate is the first time it's worked. Stace [Nix] (11:51): What is it supposed to do? Daniel [GM] (11:51): It's supposed to create somebody with an ultimate freedom of movement, and it looks like it won that in your mother. Marietta [Atalia] (12:00): But it's not controlled at all and it's not like she even knows what's happening. Daniel [GM] (12:06): Maybe it's not done, but I'm just saying this plate has done its work. Stace [Nix] (12:11): Wait, are you saying that my mom is changed forever? Like, there's no going back? Daniel [GM] (12:18): I have no idea. Stace [Nix] (12:20): What if I just break it? Daniel [GM] (12:22): I don't know what the consequence of that will be. Stace [Nix] (12:25): Atalia, will you scan it? Marietta [Atalia] (12:27): Did you just ask me to scan something? Stace [Nix] (12:29): Yeah, dude. I've noticed it's a particular talent and joy of yours. Marietta [Atalia] (12:34): Oh, so thoughtful. Atalia will scan it, but she'll just walk up and do it a lot more quicker and more intentional than she has previously. Daniel [GM] (12:43): Okay, this is a level 21 Numenera device. Marietta [Atalia] (12:48): Whoa. Daniel [GM] (12:50): It is encoded with a variety of energies, but one that you definitely recognize as being very similar to the one scanned in Nix's mom. Marietta [Atalia] (12:58): Okay, so it has the same energy as Nix's mom? Daniel [GM] (13:03): Mm-hmm (affirmative). At this point, I will offer you an XP. Marietta [Atalia] (13:06): I will definitely take that. Daniel [GM] (13:08): Okay, who will you give the other XP to? Marietta [Atalia] (13:11): Nix, because this is Nix's plot line right here. Stace [Nix] (13:13): Aww, thank you. Daniel [GM] (13:15): So, as you're scanning this, all this information is beaming into you and you suddenly find yourself having a weird impression of falling. You look around and you seem to be standing on a ground that is covered in fog on an empty plane. You seem to be utterly alone here. Marietta [Atalia] (13:42): Whoa, that was not what I expected. Can I touch the ground? Daniel [GM] (13:47): Yeah. So you touch the ground. It's somewhat moist, but it seems to be sort of a clay-like soil. Marietta [Atalia] (13:58): And is it night or day time? Like, it's the same time as it would be? Daniel [GM] (13:59): It's very much... Well, it's so misty, it's hard to tell specifics, but you're not sure if it's sunset or sundown, but it is definitely gloaming. It is twilight at one variety or the other. Marietta [Atalia] (14:12): Shoot. I don't know what to do exactly. I guess I'll use my cipher. I'll use mist animator to move the mist away so I can see where I am. Daniel [GM] (14:22): Okay. You reach to activate the mist animator and I assume you're just going to tell this mist to push away from you for whatever your range is. Marietta [Atalia] (14:35): Yeah, I'll just try to move it to the side. Daniel [GM] (14:38): Okay, you are standing on this muddy soil and clearly punctuated all around you are the half-rotten faces of human and humanoid bodies partially buried in this soil all around you. Marietta [Atalia] (14:58): Cool. Cool, cool, cool. I love this. Can I scan a nearby corpse? Marietta [Atalia] (15:03): ... [inaudible 00:15:00] this. Can I scan a nearby corpse whilst using mist animator? Daniel [GM] (15:06): You can try. Marietta [Atalia] (15:08): Okay. It functions for one minute, the cipher. So I guess I will scan a nearby corpse. Daniel [GM] (15:15): Okay. So you scan that nearby corpse and the mist goes out. And when the light comes back to you, you feel like a pain in the back of your head and you hear something that you don't really understand, something like recursion error, and it's at that point where you feel something curling around your left ankle. Marietta [Atalia] (15:39): Is it a snake? Daniel [GM] (15:40): It appears to be a hand, long fingered, four joints for each finger coming up out of the soil and gripping your ankle. And you feel it tugging on you. And even though the soil is clay-like and should be hard, you can definitely feel your foot getting pulled down into it as if it was just mud or water. Marietta [Atalia] (16:04): I'm going to onslaught the thing. Daniel [GM] (16:07): Okay. So this'll be a nine. Marietta [Atalia] (16:10): Okay. Yeah. I'm going to spend a level of effort. Daniel [GM] (16:17): Okay. Are you using physical or mental by the way? Marietta [Atalia] (16:19): Physical. It's 12. Daniel [GM] (16:23): Okay, so you hit it very hard. It does not like that and you see and hear all of these half-rotten faces on the ground, has to come out the ground. They all open up their skeletal mouths and start letting out a hissing screech. Marietta [Atalia] (16:40): Oh, yay. Even better, even better. Did scanning the body tell me anything if this is arcana? Daniel [GM] (16:49): You got a recursion error. Marietta [Atalia] (16:51): Okay. Daniel [GM] (16:53): And as they're all screeching, you feel a tap on your shoulder. Marietta [Atalia] (16:57): I'll whiff around. Daniel [GM] (16:59): Standing in front of you is a woman dressed very simply, but with very nice well-cared boots. She's about 50 years old, short, dark hair. She looks at you and she says, "This gate isn't open to you." And she pushes against your chest. And for a moment, it just feels like she's putting her hand there. And the next thing you know, you're back in Momma Jerrun's home. Daniel [GM] (17:27): From everybody else's perspective, Atalia flickered for a moment but didn't actually ever leave. Marietta [Atalia] (17:33): Jeskii? Daniel [GM] (17:35): Jeskii is with you. Marietta [Atalia] (17:36): Yeah. So I don't know what that was. That was pretty strange. Daniel [GM] (17:41): Incidentally, your mist animator is unused now. Marietta [Atalia] (17:43): It hasn't been used? Daniel [GM] (17:45): Yeah. Physically, it's like nothing that you did there happened. Daniel [GM] (17:49): So real, whatever that was. I thought I was just teleported like what happened to your mom. But I felt like I was falling and then I was in a misty field. And so, I used this unused cipher to move the mist away so that I could see where I was. And it was like marshy field. And there was all these decaying, rotting corpses of various different species in there. And this hand came up from the ground and grabbed my ankle. And so, onslaughted it and then all of the corpses started screaming, but they're dead. So it was like a gasping scream. It's really fucking creepy. Daniel [GM] (18:26): And then someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around and it was a spooky lady, maybe 50 or so. I don't know. But she was like, "This gate isn't open to you." And then she booped me and I was back here. Sorry. I thought I had to say it all or maybe it wasn't real, but maybe it wasn't a real. But that's what my experience was. Stace [Nix] (18:45): No, you definitely had a teleportation attack, dude. You flickered over here. Marietta [Atalia] (18:52): Yeah. So I don't know. That felt like not ... felt like somewhere else, maybe. Sorry, I just meant that are there other dimensions and worlds or something? I don't know. It was just really creepy and ... Daniel [GM] (19:08): Momma Jerrun just kind of murmurs to herself and says, "More than you can count," and takes a drink. Marietta [Atalia] (19:11): I just don't know if I've ever seen a place like that before. Maybe she's not always going to other places on this world, you know? Stace [Nix] (19:19): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (19:20): Nix, does your mom ever told you that? That she'd ever been to some dead marshy place? Stace [Nix] (19:26): Is that something Nix would remember or no? Daniel [GM] (19:30): Your mother never described that scenario. Stace [Nix] (19:32): Nah, I have never heard that one, but she has been in some pretty weird places. It's pretty bonkers, the places she's been. Sampson [Dili] (19:41): Second question, where do the tenets of your society come from? What are the origins? Stace [Nix] (19:48): Oh yeah. So there was this lady. Her name was [Mordaiken 00:19:53] and she founded our order way back in the day and our technique. Marietta [Atalia] (20:00): Was she 50 years old? Stace [Nix] (20:03): I'm sure at some point. She's been dead for a while. Sampson [Dili] (20:08): I asked about the tenets because one of them is something about like your family always travels with you. Momma J said something that these plates go to the family, so ... And Dili gestures towards the plate. Is this where your tenets come from? Stace [Nix] (20:23): Oh, I don't know. Dili, when I touched that, I had a seizure. Sampson [Dili] (20:27): Was it because you are already in the order? Stace [Nix] (20:30): Nix looks at Momma J. Daniel [GM] (20:32): Momma J looks at you and says, "I don't know everything. Yeah. I don't think I can answer every question that you might have about anything in the ninth world. Mordaiken didn't have anything to do with the plates. Those came later." Stace [Nix] (20:49): So there was another traveler in our family, so I guess that's why we have the plate. Daniel [GM] (20:57): I take it they disappeared one day. Stace [Nix] (21:01): Yeah. I don't know. I never really knew her. I guess she was around when I was like really young. Daniel [GM] (21:06): Interesting. Sampson [Dili] (21:07): So then, do travelers have an expiration date or something? Stace [Nix] (21:11): God, I hope not, Dili. That would be a surprise. Daniel [GM] (21:15): I don't think they have any more of an expiration date that any other human or humanoid. We all have that built-in on some level. Sampson [Dili] (21:23): Yeah, that makes sense. Marietta [Atalia] (21:25): That's pretty weird. Stace [Nix] (21:26): What should I do with it? I can't touch it. Marietta [Atalia] (21:30): Here, I'll hold onto it and I'll pull out some, like a shirt and wrap the plate in it. I feel like if we don't touch it with our skin, you know? Stace [Nix] (21:40): Yeah. I put it in the pillowcase but I didn't come anywhere close to it, so ... Daniel [GM] (21:44): Yeah. It's interesting that it caused you to have a seizure, Nix. I find that very puzzling. Stace [Nix] (21:49): Yeah. Marietta [Atalia] (21:50): Well ... Stace [Nix] (21:50): It was real weird. Marietta [Atalia] (21:52): Was that before or after the change occurred? Stace [Nix] (21:55): Yeah, it was after the [inaudible 00:21:56]. Marietta [Atalia] (21:59): What happened if one of you guys touched it who wasn't me? If you would get teleported in the same place, or if you could teleport at all? Alex [ChaCha] (22:04): ChaCha puts out her hand. She'll touch, lick, whatever. Sampson [Dili] (22:09): Damn it, ChaCha. Alex [ChaCha] (22:12): The more, the merrier. Marietta [Atalia] (22:14): It's Atalia's fault for even proposing the idea. Daniel [GM] (22:19): So you hand it to Chacha, I take it? Marietta [Atalia] (22:21): I'll pull back so just a side of it is exposed so she could touch it. Daniel [GM] (22:25): Okay. It's still glowing faintly. ChaCha, when you touch it, it just feels like a normal plate. It's a little cooler than the rest of this room for some reason. You're not sure why. But otherwise, it just seems like a normal plate. ChaCha, please make a perception check. It's going to be an 18. Unfortunately, nobody can help you with this because it has to do with your special abilities. Alex [ChaCha] (22:52): 19. Daniel [GM] (22:54): Nice. Okay. So we'll talk about the minor effect in a minute. You can see, in addition to glowing, there are fluctuations of something else that you would associate not with the horrors directly, but of their world, kind of being it's almost like that stuff is kind of trying to travel past as it normally would, but it keeps getting sucked into an orbit around the plate. And it spins around the plate for awhile before it finally speeds up and escapes. And then more stuff comes, so there's like this swirl of this extra dimensional energy that kind of flows around it. It's the kind of thing that you feel like if you could see more clearly, you might be able to tell more, since you got a 19. But it's the kind of thing that you feel like your own brain gets in the way of trying to look at it in any more detail here. Alex [ChaCha] (23:51): Are you telling me to do the drugs, Daniel? Daniel [GM] (23:55): I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm just telling you what you see. Alex [ChaCha] (23:58): I think this is when ChaCha is going to do the drugs. Marietta [Atalia] (24:02): What drugs? Stace [Nix] (24:04): The drugs she has instead of a rope. Alex [ChaCha] (24:07): Yeah. I don't have any gear. I just have drugs, fuck. Marietta [Atalia] (24:11): Okay. Stace [Nix] (24:11): That's what we call positive peer pressure. Alex [ChaCha] (24:15): Yeah. Daniel [GM] (24:16): ChaCha, if you're going to go to that point, I'd prefer you not do it here. If you have what's in your bag that I think you have, it can be messy. Alex [ChaCha] (24:25): Dili already power washed your floor once. It can't be that bad. Daniel [GM] (24:31): I suppose that's true. Actually, give me a social role of, normally it'd be nine, but I'm going to give you, make it a six for you because she likes you. Alex [ChaCha] (24:38): 20. I'm never closing this app again. Stace [Nix] (24:43): No, don't. Daniel [GM] (24:43): So major effect, what would you propose as a major effect? Alex [ChaCha] (24:50): That she doesn't shit herself. Daniel [GM] (24:53): Okay. So you're looking for real dignified high. Alex [ChaCha] (24:57): Yes. Daniel [GM] (24:58): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (24:59): ChaCha is the classic kind of fucked up. I don't know, maybe like that 300 oracle where they're just so high on gas. They do like weird seizures. Daniel [GM] (25:11): Yeah, so no razor-sharp crystal underneath your eye or anything. Alex [ChaCha] (25:14): No. Daniel [GM] (25:15): Okay. Yeah. Momma Jerrun says, "Okay, well come over here. It's probably best if you have a seat at the table and does anybody need a scone or anything? My understanding is these drugs tend to last a while." Sampson [Dili] (25:29): Can I get a refill? Daniel [GM] (25:31): Yes, that can be ranged. Marietta [Atalia] (25:34): Why is this a necessary thing? Stace [Nix] (25:37): If you want to know what's wrong with the plate, you see beyond. Marietta [Atalia] (25:42): And drugs are required for this? Alex [ChaCha] (25:45): It stops my brain. Marietta [Atalia] (25:47): Okay. Daniel [GM] (25:48): Momma Jerrun looks at Atalia and says, "It's not uncommon for those special few like ChaCha to use other tools to enhance their vision." Marietta [Atalia] (26:00): Ah, I see. Daniel [GM] (26:01): It just takes a while. Marietta [Atalia] (26:03): Okay, guess we'll be here for a while. Atalia will sit down on a couch or whatever with Jeskii and pull out her Understanding Numenera book and ... Sampson [Dili] (26:15): Dili actually pulls out a notebook and starts writing stuff down. Wink, Patreon, wink. Marietta [Atalia] (26:20): Wink, wink, wink. Stace [Nix] (26:27): Would ChaCha check on her friends though, before she got high? Alex [ChaCha] (26:30): That's a good question. Daniel [GM] (26:31): Stace is such a spoilsport. Stace [Nix] (26:34): Alex mentioned it in the Discord, and sometimes I forget crucial characters. Daniel [GM] (26:40): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sampson [Dili] (26:40): She can do that when she's on the fishing quest. Daniel [GM] (26:41): No, no. It's okay. Sampson [Dili] (26:42): Checking on their souls. Alex [ChaCha] (26:44): I think ChaCha's just assuming they're dead and that she's going to go check on their corpses, to be honest. Daniel [GM] (26:53): Yeah. It was pretty fatalistic, the sort of interpretation at the time. Alex [ChaCha] (26:57): Yeah. So she'll just get high as fuck and then drag herself to the queen's platoon. Daniel [GM] (27:04): Are you using the mushroom or are you using some of your own supply? Alex [ChaCha] (27:09): ChaCha's getting high on her own supply. Daniel [GM] (27:12): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (27:12): But if any other character is just like, "No, no, no. ChaCha don't get high," she won't. Also, how often do people see people getting high on drugs? That this is just like, "Okay, let's just sit and watch." Daniel [GM] (27:25): It depends. Stace [Nix] (27:26): Well, everyone knows that Nix is a teetotaler, so ... Daniel [GM] (27:29): Yeah. Stace [Nix] (27:30): Well that's not true. She drinks alcohol. Daniel [GM] (27:32): And definitely, ward Ana has a lot of people doing ... Alex [ChaCha] (27:35): Drugs. Daniel [GM] (27:35): ... very cheap, dangerous drugs. From Dili's sessions, zero. There were a lot of people shivering and shaking on the streets from the effects of drugs. Daniel [GM] (27:43): Yeah. ChaCha, what do your drugs look like? Are they herbs? Are they a fluid? What are they like, the stuff that's in your supply? Alex [ChaCha] (27:53): I feel like with her backstory, it would be herbs just because that would be what a mountain forest child would be able to get easily. Daniel [GM] (28:03): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (28:03): And that's something a horror could easily point out and be like, "Eat that child. See what happens." Daniel [GM] (28:11): Okay. Alex [ChaCha] (28:11): And then she just wakes up in a field days later, craziness happened. Daniel [GM] (28:15): Okay. So ChaCha, you chew these herbs that are bitter. But as you swallow them, they're never pleasant to consume. And you know it takes you a little while. I would say ChaCha probably knows enough about she's done this enough, that in a pinch that she knows kind of to put herself into sort of a meditative state. And as you guys are watching, ChaCha is sitting there still. And she's got her usual ChaCha expression. And then I would say, Nix, you noticed that ChaCha's eyes suddenly dilate incredibly wide to the point where her eyes look like they're almost all black. Daniel [GM] (28:55): And ChaCha, it's at that moment that this room becomes something very, very different. The room where Nix and Dili and Atalia are and Momma Jerrun, that's all shadowy and indistinct, like an echo of itself. Momma Jerrun's still there present and as solid as ever, although your friends are bare wisps. And then when you look at this plate, you see that mist that was there, you see it as small entities in this sort of liminal space that are sort of floating by get caught in its gravitational field. And they struggle and they fight until they get free. And this plate is circling and circling and it's got weird bursts of light coming off of it that seemed to be going in all sorts of different random directions. The light has a quality that is similar to the quality of Nix, but not there. And you can see the light occasionally reach out towards Nix as if it's moving towards something it knows but then ... Daniel [GM] (30:03): Towards Nix, as if it's moving towards something, it knows, but then it recoils as if in terror. And you see a couple of things, you see one of those snake creatures with the distorted faces try to slip into this room, but not... It doesn't look the same. It's almost like... It's the kind of thing that you probably wouldn't have seen it normally. It tries to slip into this room. It stops. It looks at Mama Jaron. Mama Jaron does not look at it or acknowledge it or anything like that. Daniel [GM] (30:29): And it just stops, freezes, and backs out very cautiously as if not wanting to be detected. And for a moment, you think you see, at the edge, something that looks like buddy cop. It's not buddy cop. Maybe some similar species, or maybe a different member of the same species, but you can see them kind of watching from afar and making some sort of strange movement with its hands that you interpreted as scoffing at the plate. And then for a moment, you see a face on the surface of this plate of a woman, about 50 years old, short, dark hair. Not much... You don't recognize her at all, although you think she might have... Maybe she and Nix have a similarity around the nose. And then it's just that kind of over and over. And meanwhile, for the rest of you, ChaCha has been staring at this for about two hours. Marietta [Atalia] (31:30): Hasn't blinked once. Daniel [GM] (31:32): Basically stuck still. Yeah, stuck still. And Mama Jaron is like, "This is going to take awhile. Can I get you guys some scones, something? I mean, this usually lasts at least another hour if she took what I thought she took." Marietta [Atalia] (31:47): I mean, can you tell us the plan to get my parents or? Daniel [GM] (31:55): Oh, I don't have a plan yet, but I want to make sure that whenever you do plan to do, that you are going to figure it out with me, as this is a very delicate time. And before you go charging in, we need to make sure that you're going to do it in a way that isn't going to cause more trouble for yourself, your family, and to a lesser degree, for me. Marietta [Atalia] (32:13): I'm glad you're so concerned. Stace [Nix] (32:15): Me too, honestly, Daniel [GM] (32:16): I am. I've invested a lot of time into you guys. This would be a terrible time for things to go South now. Alex [ChaCha] (32:25): Side note, did we decide that ChaCha can't remember anything after she does drugs? Daniel [GM] (32:31): We did not decide that. Alex [ChaCha] (32:32): Because I feel like that was part of the discussion. Stace [Nix] (32:34): That would be funny though. Daniel [GM] (32:37): She gets these amazing visions and then she cannot explain it whatsoever. Stace [Nix] (32:41): The whole plot laid out. Marietta [Atalia] (32:44): And we all have to pretend we don't know. Stace [Nix] (32:46): We have to separate player and character knowledge. Daniel [GM] (32:51): Yeah. I have to deliberately make you guys take off your headphones so I can tell Alex exactly what the whole storyline is. And then she has to pretend she doesn't know the rest of the time. Marietta [Atalia] (33:00): Oh, God. Alex [ChaCha] (33:01): Oh. Great. Great. Stace [Nix] (33:02): All right. So let's say during the first couple hours that ChaCha is under, I guess, Nix has pulled out her maps. She's thinking really hard about the plan. And then once Mama J... Or she brings it back up, she goes, "Yeah. So here's my plan Mama J. This is what we're going to do. We're going to go over to Dr. Oz." Ask Dr. Oz like, "What happens when people get arrested by the queen?" And then like Dr. Oz is going to- Daniel [GM] (33:34): Dr. Oz... Stace [Nix] (33:35): Yeah. Yeah. Dr. Oz is going to tell us, and then we'll have a plan. Daniel [GM] (33:40): And you think Dr. Oz is going to help you, why? Stace [Nix] (33:42): She's been real nice, Mama J. She's been treating my mom every month. And like- Marietta [Atalia] (33:48): You mean ripping you off every month. Stace [Nix] (33:50): I mean, she's expensive, but that just means that she's good. Marietta [Atalia] (33:55): It doesn't seem to be helping the situation. Stace [Nix] (33:57): No, it did Atalia. After she would come by, my mom would do better for awhile. Daniel [GM] (34:04): How do you mean that she would do better for a while? Marietta [Atalia] (34:06): She would have less attacks. Daniel [GM] (34:10): So... Oh man. I'm trying to decide how direct or knowledgeable Mama J would be about this. Because I don't feel like Mama J... Like to be clear, Mama J doesn't know everything that's happening under this [inaudible 00:34:26]. It's not like she's... She's not omniscient. Sampson [Dili] (34:29): I don't believe you. Daniel [GM] (34:34): Yeah, but she does know a lot. So Mama J would say... So she just goes less often after she has a visit from Dr. Oz? Stace [Nix] (34:44): Yeah. Daniel [GM] (34:46): Like a few days or weeks or... How long would pass between... How much of a difference did it make? Stace [Nix] (34:55): It would be pretty good for a week, and then it would just sort of get worse until... That's why she came by every month. Daniel [GM] (35:03): Well, I haven't met your mother so we can't make a sitcom out of it. Alex [ChaCha] (35:07): [inaudible 00:35:11]. Sampson [Dili] (35:07): It wouldn't age well anyway. Daniel [GM] (35:12): Yeah, but I would assume that if your mom isn't getting better better, if it's just a temporary better, that Dr. Oz is just siphoning off some of the excess energy. Stace [Nix] (35:25): Oh, I mean... But that's still helping. Daniel [GM] (35:29): It seems to. I guess the thing I would ask you is, have you known Nanos to waste anything? Stace [Nix] (35:36): Atalia. Marietta [Atalia] (35:37): Hey, you know my opinions about this lady and I've been upfront and forward about that from the day I met her. Stace [Nix] (35:43): No, I mean, do you waste anything? Marietta [Atalia] (35:48): Dear God, woman. No, I don't waste things unless I'm trying to be nice [inaudible 00:35:56] to Dili. Sampson [Dili] (35:58): What does that mean? Marietta [Atalia] (35:58): I gave you [inaudible 00:00:36:00]. Stace [Nix] (35:59): Harsh. Sampson [Dili] (36:01): We were attacked by war moths. I'm sorry about your face, but what was the proper response to that? Daniel [GM] (36:15): Nix, and I'm saying this without any certainty of knowledge, okay? I'm not trying to be cryptic here. I'm not trying to be... I'm honestly telling you, I don't know exactly what's going on there, but I would suggest that you consider the possibility that Dr. Oz is getting something out of the deal that is more than just 300 shins every time they come. Alex [ChaCha] (36:41): What the hell? That's so many shins. Why does she need more? That's- Daniel [GM] (36:48): The only thing that's more valuable than 300 shins I can think of is at that point, you're getting into Newmanara or the heart of Newmanara, the thing that powers it. She looks at Dili, the aisle if you will. Alex [ChaCha] (37:03): Huh. Can I take a look that plate real quick. Daniel [GM] (37:06): Yeah, sure. She turns to Nix while she motions to Dili and says, "Nix, I will tell you, utter sincerity, I have no idea what the full end goal is or exactly what's happening with your mother, but I do know based off of what you've told me about your mother and what I see in this plate and what I've heard about these plates, that they are connected to one another and what's happening to her is connected to it. And I don't know the whole details about what's happening here. I don't know what the consequences of breaking this plate would be. I don't know what the consequences of keeping it would be, but it is definitely connected to your mother's condition, and I would caution you that anybody that serves the court as closely as Dr. Oz does rarely does things without ulterior motives, especially because from everything I've heard Nix, 300 shins is cheap for her services." Stace [Nix] (38:06): What? No. What? See Atalia, she wasn't ripping us off. Marietta [Atalia] (38:13): Oh my gosh. No. She was just getting something else that she valued more out of it and you don't know what that was. Stace [Nix] (38:21): Probably the energy that she was syphoning off, I'm thinking. So you're saying that we shouldn't talk to Dr. Oz? Daniel [GM] (38:29): Well, I don't know if you should, or you shouldn't. I would just say be cautious with how you place your trust. What I'm just saying is, it's unclear what their motives would be in this scenario. And to be honest, I just want you to be careful because I don't want any more hardship on your family, and I want to make sure that you all safely get through whatever you're dealing with right now. I honestly wasn't expecting to be back in Sharman so soon. And I haven't had time to make the preparations that I normally would. Stace [Nix] (38:59): Oh yeah, traffic was light. We made good time. I guess, I don't know. Are we breaking my parents out of prison or are they going to be killed and executed? That's sort of my question, and maybe if I could just find that out. Daniel [GM] (39:16): I don't think they're going to be executed. I think the queen is trying to draw you back in. I don't think she actually has any doubt in your parents. Your family's been loyal servants for a long time. What I think the queen has doubts about is you. Stace [Nix] (39:32): Oh yeah, no. I've been a loyal servant, I guess. Daniel [GM] (39:36): Right, but now there's this bounty out on your head. Not for anything that crown is concerned about, but the problem is, is that your bounty has been connected to another bounty of someone who tried to set fire to the palace. So now the problem is you've been connected with what the queen sees as a potential terrorist attack on the palace. It's around now that Chacha is starting to kind of come to. Alex [ChaCha] (40:02): You know Nix, those travelers aren't very good people. Stace [Nix] (40:06): What? They're cool as fuck dude. Alex [ChaCha] (40:08): The plate is feeding on energy from horrors on the other side. And it's got some lady trapped in there, so I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with that. Marietta [Atalia] (40:20): What'd she look like? Alex [ChaCha] (40:21): Old, short brown hair. Kind of has Nix's nose. Marietta [Atalia] (40:25): Does this sound like the same person I saw? Daniel [GM] (40:29): It does. Marietta [Atalia] (40:30): Yeah. That sounds like the person that I saw by the marshes with the corpses. Stace [Nix] (40:35): Oh, probably my aunt, or whatever. Alex [ChaCha] (40:38): They trapped your aunt in a plate. That doesn't sound benevolent. Stace [Nix] (40:41): Well, we don't know that they trapped her in the plate. I will admit this is weird and maybe we should go... Well, but this isn't going to help with my parents, I don't think. Well, what if we could use the plate to get to my mom? Alex [ChaCha] (40:57): You can't use the plate because it doesn't like you. So that's why it probably picked your mom. Close enough. Stace [Nix] (41:03): Well, maybe you could use it to get to my mom if it's connected to her, or... Alex [ChaCha] (41:10): I don't think it likes me either. Sampson [Dili] (41:12): So while Dili was looking at the plate, he was going to use his new scan iotum ability to get a sense. So rules as written, this is supposed to help with salvaging tasks, but can I kind of bend it a little bit to get a sense of what kind of iotum this thing runs on? Daniel [GM] (41:28): Sure. Sampson [Dili] (41:29): Okay. Daniel [GM] (41:30): Read me the description of your scan. Sampson [Dili] (41:32): Using a device or some kind of unique sense, you scan the area equal to size of 10 foot including all edges blah, blah. [inaudible 00:11:39]. Daniel [GM] (41:39): Are you using a sense, or some sort of tool that you have? Sampson [Dili] (41:42): I'm using a sense. Marietta [Atalia] (41:44): Are you going to touch it? Daniel [GM] (41:46): If you're using a sense, that's enough for me. So you're using the sense and you find yourself on a foggy plane in the middle of nowhere. Sampson [Dili] (41:57): Oh shit. This wasn't supposed to happen. Daniel [GM] (42:02): You also hear a familiar sound in the mist, like teeth being sucked. Like [inaudible 00:42:11]. Sampson [Dili] (42:09): Oh, I hate this. Oh, God. Dili will start backing away from that sound, wherever it's coming from. Daniel [GM] (42:16): Yeah. You trip over something. You don't fall down, but you definitely stumble over something. Maybe it's a rock in the mist. Sampson [Dili] (42:22): Oh shit. I'm sorry if there's any dead bodies. I don't mean to step on your face. I'm sorry. Oh, old lady. Hello? Anybody? Daniel [GM] (42:32): You hear that same sort of teeth sucking, but it's coming from three different directions now. And then you hear something moving ahead of you on the ground. You can't see it in the fog, but you can feel it sort of like a creaky movement, like a disturbance of soil and a squeaking of not sure what, but something stirring over there. And you feel a hand on your right shoulder. Sampson [Dili] (43:05): Wow. Daniel [GM] (43:06): And it says... A woman's voice says, "Don't turn around. You mustn't turn around." Sampson [Dili] (43:15): Oh, not turning. Looking in the one direction I'm already looking at in. Daniel [GM] (43:20): The voice gets a little bit closer to your ear and says, "Keep looking forward. Don't look around. This is not a gate that's open to you. Why are you here?" Sampson [Dili] (43:30): Trying to help a friend. Daniel [GM] (43:32): Don't look around. Sampson [Dili] (43:34): I'm just responding to you. I'm looking straight ahead. I'm trying to help a friend and her mother's teleportation attacks. Does that mean anything to you? Daniel [GM] (43:42): You feel breath warm against your left ear. This woman's voice murmurs, "It's a gift." Sampson [Dili] (43:51): For who? Daniel [GM] (43:52): The voice gets a little bit closer. You can feel the breath close to your ear. And she says, "It's the gift, the ultimate freedom." Sampson [Dili] (44:01): Who are you? Daniel [GM] (44:02): "Don't turn around, Dili." Sampson [Dili] (44:04): How do you know my name? Daniel [GM] (44:06): "You came here. You reached out, shook my hand and embraced me like I was your own, but you're confused, and I can make allowances. In a moment Dili, I am going to make you turn around." You hear the sucking of teeth in all sorts of different directions. "Are you ready, Dili?" Sampson [Dili] (44:27): Do I have a choice? Daniel [GM] (44:29): You get the sense, even with... You can't see, but you get the sense of a smile by your ear, even though you can't see it. "No, this way is closed to you and you're trespassing." And then you feel the hand on your right shoulder tugging to turn you around. Sampson [Dili] (44:46): Do I see a face? Daniel [GM] (44:47): You do. You see a woman about 50 years old. Sampson [Dili] (44:52): Right. Daniel [GM] (44:54): With Nix's nose, short dark hair, but only for a moment. Sampson [Dili] (44:58): In that moment, I'm going to use my memorizing skill to fix in Dili's- Sampson [Dili] (45:03): -use my memorizing skill to fix in Tili's mind, like her face exactly. Daniel [GM] (45:06): Fair enough. But she looks at you and says, "It's not for you Dili," And then there is a strange warping, grotesque transformation where her skin turns gray and her eyes turn yellow and red, and you see her mouth open wider and wider until it looks like the mouth of a lamprey. And she stares there at you, this lamprey, in their well cared for boots and she makes this sucking sound and presses against your chest. And then you're back in mama [inaudible 00:00:43], and that's where we'll end this episode. Sampson [Dili] (45:47): Oh. Stace [Nix] (45:47): What the fuck is going on, Daniel? Daniel [GM] (45:49): I don't know what you mean. Stace [Nix] (45:50): Just casual stuff. I don't know what you're talking about. Sampson [Dili] (45:53): Yeah. Daniel [GM] (45:53): Okay, how about Samson? Something for this episode for you? Sampson [Dili] (45:57): It was pretty chill right up until the end there, and then it got a little heavy. Oh man. Yeah. I don't know. I think Dili is still kind of digesting everything that's happened because this is probably the first downtime that we've gotten in a while. Daniel [GM] (46:12): That's true. Dili's been... Well, I mean, I guess he probably had some time in the wild, but that's probably not the same thing. Sampson [Dili] (46:19): Not for Dili, at least. Wild it is on time for him. Back in the city, chilling in Mama J's place where we're probably safe. So yeah, I don't know. I need to think about it. Daniel [GM] (46:33): Okay. Does anybody else have anything that they want to point out? Stace [Nix] (46:37): I feel like I made a mistake in my recap by not really emphasizing Dili's character growth during the last episode. So, I think it's kind of cool to see a more, I don't know, confident. I don't know if confidence right word, I'm probably just inferring confidence because he ran out, but daring maybe? A little bit more willing to take a risk. Daniel [GM] (46:58): Yeah. Stace [Nix] (47:00): Yeah, and then with the scanning IO thing, I thought that was really cool to be able to get that out of... Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (47:09): I didn't think I'd get that. I thought I would just be like, "Oh yeah, it seems kind of like this IO," and that'd be it. Daniel [GM] (47:16): Okay. We have a segment that we do each week called Player Intrusions. That's where we offer you, the listener, an XP, to check out something we think you would really dig. This week is my turn. I will offer you all an XP to check out the Locked Tomb Trilogy, which is by Tamsyn Muir. She is an author from New Zealand. Well, as the blurb would put it, it is lesbian necromancers in space. Alex [ChaCha] (47:40): Ooh. Daniel [GM] (47:41): The first book in the series is Gideon the Ninth, and Gideon is a swords woman who has been essentially coerced to help with a necromancer who has been her essentially rival since childhood, to go to the house of the undying emperor, the necrolord prime, who actually first created necromancy, first figured out the resurrection and things like that. It is an opportunity for the necromancer Harrowhark to become a lictor, which is an immortal being that assists the emperor in all of his doings. And Gideon has kind of gotten tricked into this situation. Daniel [GM] (48:29): It is really fun, it is. So the first book is very much sort of like a gothic horror house mystery in space, as these necromancers are going through the house of the emperor, trying to understand the secrets of becoming lictors, but they're all competing with each other because they all come from different houses that were established that have different focuses in necromancy. It is just really delightful. Don't get me wrong, Gideon and Harrowhark are both assholes deep down, Gideon's saving grace is that she's kind of funny. She's just amazing. It's lovely hearing her, reading the sword fight scenes with Gideon, kind of getting to do what she does best at. Harrowhark is just so over the top, it is delightful. Daniel [GM] (49:25): The other thing is that the world building is fucking insane. They talk about a little bit in the first book, but the second book Harrow the Ninth, also kind of covers this, is that the whole idea is that something, and I presume it's yet to be revealed in the series... Something nearly wiped out humanity and the emperor, as part of his own resurrection, also resurrected all of humanity as a species, our sun and the planets that remained and this necromancy tradition began. There was some sort of war going on with humanity and someone else and also there are resistors out there. So the first book is very much got that Gothic, haunted house mystery thing going on. It is both funny and strange and deliberately scary in parts as they go through trying to solve this and deal with all these things that were left behind, either as tests from the emperor or bad memories within this place. Daniel [GM] (50:27): The second book, you get a much broader view of this universe beyond just the ninth house, which is where the main characters come from, which is basically a tomb world where the whole job is to guard this one locked tomb that can never be opened and sort of broadens out into what's happening on the edges of human space. So it's very good, I've read these books like multiple times, they're so much fun. In both books, the endings are both exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. Daniel [GM] (51:01): But yeah, so I would highly recommend you check it out. I love the world that it's created so much that I kind of want there to be an RPG of it. There's so much systems underneath the scenes of necromancy that I think could be very cool to build out, but that's not a task I'm going to take on because IP licensing. Anyway, has anybody else read either of the books Gideon the Ninth or Harrow the Ninth? Sampson [Dili] (51:24): I've heard the first one? It was just because I couldn't like read it a whole lot at first. Daniel [GM] (51:30): It's okay if you didn't like it. It is okay. Sampson [Dili] (51:33): No, I really liked it once I got into it, once I got into, "Hey, what if Clue but also Gormanghast with sci-fi and necromancy," then it was like, "Hell yeah." Daniel [GM] (51:42): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sampson [Dili] (51:43): But my only complaint was that I feel like it should have been an anime, something like Killer Killer or something. Daniel [GM] (51:48): Mm-hmm (affirmative) Yeah. Stace [Nix] (51:50): I might give it another chance now that you've given it some context. I think I started reading this one blind Daniel, I think you just dropped it in the chat and I was like, "All right." And I am right before they're going to first leave their planet. Daniel [GM] (52:06): Oh yeah. That's before the good stuff happens. Yeah. Stace [Nix] (52:09): I was real confused. Couldn't place the genre and I'm like a genre reader, for sure. But now that I know that as the lesbian necromancers in space, I'm definitely picking it back up. No question. Daniel [GM] (52:26): Yeah. Sampson [Dili] (52:27): I will say occasionally their assholery gets a little bit too much. You're just kind of like, "All right, you two shut up and just move on." Daniel [GM] (52:33): Yeah. Although in retrospect, when you realize their long history and all the baggage they've got carrying with each other, it's justified. Sampson [Dili] (52:41): No, it absolutely makes sense. Daniel [GM] (52:44): Yeah. Alex [ChaCha] (52:45): It is available on audible. Daniel [GM] (52:47): It is available on audible and the reader for it is very good. In fact, my only complaint about the audible version is that it's not from one of the audible studios that does the whisper sync with the e-book. Stace [Nix] (52:58): Oh, yeah. Daniel [GM] (52:58): So, you kind of have to pick one or the other as you're going through it, but the reader is very good and it's the same reader for Harrow the Ninth as well. But I'm super excited for the concluding volume next year, which is going to be Electo the Ninth. Daniel [GM] (53:12): But yeah, the first one is great for Gothic mystery, things like that. The second one, I don't even know how to characterize it. It's so strange and turning, but you get a bunch of stuff with the emperor in that one so you get to a lot of insight into what's going on with the emperor and the lictors. So it's very cool. Daniel [GM] (53:31): Anyway, so you should check out the Locked Tomb Trilogy. I really hope that they make an RPG out of it someday or at the very least, some sort of anime style movie of it, because I don't want to see the terrible CGI that would happen if somebody had to try to do the crazy shit that they do in it. Because in anime forum, I think it would be cool. In CGI form, I think it would be horrifying and not in good way. Sampson [Dili] (53:56): I think it depends on the CGI because I've seen some CGI anime that's like, "Yeah, all right, you know what you're doing with this." But then others it's like... Daniel [GM] (54:05): Yeah, I know what you mean but I recently re-read Gideon the Ninth after reading Harrow the Ninth, then I read Harrow the Ninth again. And I realized that I think that some of the stuff that Harrow, who is the necromancer, specifically a bone necromancer, so skeletons are her thing, does with skeletons both dead and alive is pretty fucked up. Sampson [Dili] (54:25): Oh, has anyone ever watched Hellsing Ultimate? It's about vampires, shut up Dan. A lot of their vampire magic is very abstract, it would never work in a 3D environment. It's definitely a 2D kind of presentation. Daniel [GM] (54:45): Okay, cool. Yeah. So anyway, read the Locked Tomb Trilogy. It is fun, it is strange. You get to see a combination of badass warrior women. Stace [Nix] (54:59): Fuck yeah. Daniel [GM] (54:59): Bad-ass sorceress women, and sometimes they like each other, sometimes they don't. There is all sorts of drama and strange interpersonal stuff going on, but there's still badass battle scenes and so many skeletons. Good stuff like that and it's just delightful. Anyway, it's, it's a really good series. Daniel [GM] (55:23): Tamsyn Muir is brilliant and strange, she kind of effortlessly shifts between sort of horror and humor and sci-fi in the same stories. She's done some really amazing queer-centered stories and things like that, that I think is very, very cool. Anyway. So yes. Check out the Locked Tomb Trilogy. I think they're great books and I love them so much. Daniel [GM] (55:49): If people wanted to reach out to us to tell us about what they think of the podcast or the lock tomb trilogy, how would they do that, Marietta? Marietta [Atalia] (55:56): A great place to start would be our website, which is explorerswanted.fm and there are links to us on all the social medias. We are particularly active on Twitter, where we're @explorerswanted and we have an Instagram @explorerswantedpodcast and we're on Facebook as Explorers Wanted Podcast. If you really want to hang out with us, the best place to do that is going to be on our Discord, which there's links to on the social media and on our website, we're pretty active on there. We would love to have you be part of our community. And then if you're looking to financially support us, which we do have some goals that we'd like to achieve in that realm and you have the means, we would love it if you'd support us on Patreon. We are on there as Explorers Wanted. Yeah, come hang out with us, please. Daniel [GM] (56:43): We would love to chat with you, to hang out with you, chat with us and other fun people in the community like [inaudible 00:56:50] and Martin and Nicholas and all the sorts of people we've talked about before. Our other patrons are in there as well and there's all sorts of other people as well, that are just wonderful people. We are really excited about the community that we're building. Daniel [GM] (57:03): If you like the podcast, the best thing that you could do for us is tell a friend about us and tell them why you like us and why they should listen to us. The second best thing you could do for us, is to leave us a five-star review on a podcast directory, specifically, Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Podchaser. Those three directories, when you leave a written review there, it makes a huge impact on people finding us. And it's not about the charts or anything like that, it's about, if somebody is looking around, do they have enough context from their views to know, is this something I'd like? So specific five-star reviews are huge. It only takes you a few minutes, but it makes such a big difference for people trying out the show. And we want to build out a great audience that can become part of our community. Daniel [GM] (57:51): If you didn't like the podcast for some reason, this is normally where I say something creepy or possibly awful, but we're recording this on September 24th and things are not looking great. We've seen the passing of Justice Ginsburg, we've seen great miscarriages of justice in the case of Breonna Taylor and a president who has expressed out about allowing a peaceful transfer of power. I don't know what the US looks like when you're hearing this, but I have a hard time envisioning anything that doesn't include more tragedy. Daniel [GM] (58:27): So instead of my usual creepy thing, I just want to say, please take care of each other. Take care of your family, take care of your neighbors, take care of everyone you can, and please don't stop fighting for what is right. If you want to reach out to us individually on social media, you can. You can reach me on Twitter @Andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-L. Stace [Nix] (58:49): You can also find me on Twitter @stacewindu. Daniel [GM] (58:51): You can find me @slampotato. Alex [ChaCha] (58:54): You can tell me about your vision quest or just your visions of the future @ realteaunicorn. Marietta [Atalia] (59:01): Can you tell me how I should really have figured out Twitter by now @imonahike. Daniel [GM] (59:04): Have a good night, day, afternoon, weekend, or whenever you're listening to this, and bye!