Daniel Andrlik (00:30):
Welcome to the Explorers Wanted, we are a weekly Numenera Actual Play podcast. I will be your humble GM, Daniel Andrlik, with me today is Sampson Davis.

Sampson Davis (00:41):
Oh fuck. That's me.

Daniel Andrlik (00:42):
Stace Babcock.

Stace Babcock (00:43):
That's my line.

Daniel Andrlik (00:46):
And Alex Finn.

Alex Finn (00:47):
Who am I now?

Sampson Davis (00:49):
All right.

Daniel Andrlik (00:50):
Okay.

Sampson Davis (00:51):
And our three part Abbott and Costello routine, tell us if it worked.

Daniel Andrlik (00:56):
Who remembers what happened last time? I'm going to pick on Alex.

Alex Finn (01:01):
Okay. In theory, I understand what happened, because we just did it. So Astor was all like, "Hey, you're all going to die." And ChaCha's like, "Yeah, everyone dies. Just like everyone poops." She didn't actually say that, but I feel like that should be another children's book, maybe. So Astor was going to kill Vlad. And Vlad was like, "Hey, maybe, hold your son back." And Dili was amazing, and it was just like, "Yeah, I'm going to be in control," and he was. But then he felt the pain, but managed to climb some stairs.

Sampson Davis (01:40):
It hurt. It hurt.

Alex Finn (01:42):
That's like stairs after leg day, fuck it. You can't do it. And then, start going through some realms tralala. We found a stasis pod, forgot about the three NPCs and stuck what's his nuts in there, Race?

Stace Babcock (01:59):
Race.

Sampson Davis (01:59):
Race.

Alex Finn (02:00):
Okay. Instead of the guy with the half an arm and the other guy who doesn't have half an arm... I'm sorry, that description just sent me and I love it so much. We found a disintegrating jade orb that was like six feet wide. We found some tummy tubes that gave Dili and ChaCha plus one edge to, edge or effort?

Sampson Davis (02:26):
Edge.

Alex Finn (02:26):
Edge-

Daniel Andrlik (02:26):
Edge.

Alex Finn (02:27):
... to intellect, permanently, and we were just like, "Hell yeah, jack me on." And we did not get the mutations, but the guy without half an arm, he did.

Stace Babcock (02:38):
Yes, the guy without half an arm.

Alex Finn (02:40):
That is his permanent description to me now. I'm sorry, and so now he has two heads.

Stace Babcock (02:46):
But it sounds like he's missing half an arm, when the guy without, half an arm is the guy with the whole arm.

Alex Finn (02:53):
That's what makes it so beautiful.

Daniel Andrlik (03:00):
One is named Mika and one is named [Whola 00:03:00].

Stace Babcock (03:00):
The one without half an arm.

Alex Finn (03:00):
Yeah, the one without half an arm.

Sampson Davis (03:02):
Is Whola.

Alex Finn (03:03):
Okay. Well now Whola has two heads.

Sampson Davis (03:06):
No, Mika's got two heads.

Daniel Andrlik (03:08):
No, Mika has two heads.

Alex Finn (03:09):
Oh. But wait, I thought that guy without half an arm jacked on.

Daniel Andrlik (03:13):
Oh, you're right. Yeah, so the guy with half an arm would be Whola.

Alex Finn (03:17):
Okay. So Mika two heads-

Stace Babcock (03:20):
And two entire arms.

Alex Finn (03:22):
Ooh. Yeah. Oh, speaking of arms, Astor and Dili had a little conversation huddle moment, when they found a tinkering bench, they were just like, "Hey, we could do some Doc Ock moments." But then we kept going through the dungeon. We met our super fun, flirty counterparts in the mirror world where we could have souped up powers and Vlad's like, "Man, mine's kind of chunky and evil." And we were all just like, "I'm kind of cool with mine."

Stace Babcock (03:57):
No, we weren't.

Sampson Davis (03:58):
Dili was kind of like, "I don't like what this implies."

Stace Babcock (04:01):
Nix, was extremely hesitant.

Alex Finn (04:03):
Oh, ChaCha was fine with hers, but everyone was just like.

Sampson Davis (04:07):
Oh, we should have pulled out Hubert at that point, damn.

Alex Finn (04:11):
Oh fuck, missed opportunity.

Sampson Davis (04:13):
Dan, can you recon that for us.

Alex Finn (04:15):
Tell us what Hubert looks like in the mirror.

Stace Babcock (04:17):
Dan-

Alex Finn (04:18):
Please. Wait, how would we know what Hubert saw?

Daniel Andrlik (04:21):
You'll have to find another alternate universe mirror.

Alex Finn (04:25):
But, anyway, we made it through the dungeon, and we made it a sweet, sweet freedom. And then, what's her name?

Daniel Andrlik (04:33):
Audria.

Alex Finn (04:33):
Audria. Audria was just like, "Listen, I've been in this cave for too fucking long. I need that sweet, sweet freedom air." Ran out of the dungeon, to look-

Sampson Davis (04:45):
Well, she got it air. She got it air, all right.

Alex Finn (04:49):
... for like an outcropping, so I guess take shelter under, and was immediately taken off by like the great flying eagles or something. And she's like, "Oh no." And we're kind of wondering what's going to happen.

Sampson Davis (05:03):
I choose to imagine it as the eagle from Rescuers Down Under.

Alex Finn (05:06):
Oh yeah. To me, I'm imagining it as like the two giant eagles from the Magic Tavern.

Stace Babcock (05:13):
I like Lord of the Rings style. Just like-

Alex Finn (05:16):
No, that's what they're based off of-

Stace Babcock (05:18):
Okay.

Alex Finn (05:18):
... it's like kind of spoof. Because [inaudible 00:05:21]-

Daniel Andrlik (05:20):
More like the peregrine falcon and Secret Life of Pets.

Alex Finn (05:26):
Oh, yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (05:26):
Apparently, there's a load of those in New York City, I did not realize that, until a few years ago, when I was watching a nature show. They've apparently adapted to using the skyscrapers like cliff faces.

Alex Finn (05:36):
Oh, that's pretty nice.

Daniel Andrlik (05:38):
They hunt pigeons, mostly.

Sampson Davis (05:39):
Good for them. Good for them.

Daniel Andrlik (05:41):
Yeah. You've just seen Audria get taken away by this huge bird like creature. She got impaled with talons, who went through her body, and she got carried away, off and heading towards the clouds above. Her scream is still echoing.

Alex Finn (06:01):
Wow.

Sampson Davis (06:03):
I imagine all of us just standing there in a line, just like silent watching that happen. Just like, oh-

Stace Babcock (06:08):
No, Nix has got her little notebook out, she's writing it down.

Alex Finn (06:13):
So I'm assuming we don't want that to happen. Yeah?

Sampson Davis (06:17):
Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Alex Finn (06:18):
Cool. Cool.

Stace Babcock (06:19):
That's a-

Alex Finn (06:21):
Wow, that is a new one.

Stace Babcock (06:23):
Yo it's knight's world.

Sampson Davis (06:24):
Right, knight's world. I think Vlad and I can probably provide us cover, but I'm running on fumes right now. Can we make camp please?

Stace Babcock (06:35):
How about we do it just... Wow, that orb is... It's kind of cold out here.

Daniel Andrlik (06:41):
Nix, you are starting to feel a bit sluggish.

Sampson Davis (06:44):
Because you're cold.

Stace Babcock (06:44):
Nix slowly sits down. How much warmth is she getting from Hubert the second?

Daniel Andrlik (06:50):
It's probably the only warmth you're feeling. It's very comforting against your chest right now. You think you'd almost like be tempted to just go to sleep, if it wasn't for Hubert cuddling you. And it's partly the warmth and then partly you don't want to miss any of this, because it feels really good.

Stace Babcock (07:08):
Oh my God, no. Daniel, what are you planning? If I ask, you have to tell me.

Alex Finn (07:17):
Is Hubert the second a cop? You have to tell us.

Daniel Andrlik (07:20):
Hubert the second appears to just be an adorable furry sphere.

Alex Finn (07:27):
Insight check.

Daniel Andrlik (07:28):
That really likes Nix.

Stace Babcock (07:30):
I don't think Nix would feel a need insight check this adorable little guy.

Alex Finn (07:36):
I guess for making camp. Who's doing first watch.

Sampson Davis (07:39):
I can.

Alex Finn (07:40):
I mean, you should probably go to... I feel like, Dili, you should just sleep. You did get some major upgrades today. And like we have Vlad who could take your place. Right?

Sampson Davis (07:55):
How many watches in a night in Numenera? Is it four?

Daniel Andrlik (07:59):
Up here on the mountains, if you want to be only moving in daylight, you probably need at least three watches. At least at this time of year, with the constant snows.

Sampson Davis (08:09):
Okay. I don't mind taking first watch, just because I think I can at least stay awake for a little bit longer, but then once I go to sleep, I'm just going to be dead. So I don't mind taking first watch.

Daniel Andrlik (08:19):
Dili, why don't you do a half watch and I'll relieve you? Vlad says.

Sampson Davis (08:23):
Sounds good to me.

Stace Babcock (08:24):
I probably shouldn't do watch, unless we build a fire.

Daniel Andrlik (08:30):
Fair enough.

Alex Finn (08:33):
I'm on that.

Stace Babcock (08:33):
ChaCha's going to use her pyromaniac skill to start fires, safely.

Daniel Andrlik (08:38):
And Vlad says, between Dili and I's watch it shouldn't be a problem, we'll probably have to put out the fire by the end of our watches. But Dili and I should be able to cover up the fire with an illusion.

Sampson Davis (08:47):
Yes.

Stace Babcock (08:48):
All right.

Daniel Andrlik (08:49):
So Dili, give me a perception roll of nine.

Sampson Davis (08:53):
Perception is intellect, correct?

Daniel Andrlik (08:55):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Sampson Davis (08:56):
All right. Free level of effort will bring it to a six, get a four anyway.

Daniel Andrlik (08:59):
Your watch passed without anything interesting happening, you think.

Stace Babcock (09:03):
Oh, no.

Alex Finn (09:04):
Oh, no. I'm so nervous.

Daniel Andrlik (09:07):
So Vlad gets up to relieve you Dili. You're not exactly sure how he knows, it's almost like he wakes up almost on like a timer, but there's no obvious way of keeping that time.

Alex Finn (09:19):
He built an alarm clock.

Daniel Andrlik (09:20):
And he wanders over to you and says, why don't you got to sleep? And you already feel like his power shaping an illusion that matches yours, so that you can drop the one that you have. And he looks at you and says, everything been okay, I'm worried about you.

Sampson Davis (09:38):
I mean, I'm alive, which is pretty good. I may have taken on more than I wanted to down there, but despite that it seems like communication between me and Astor has eased a bit, which I think might be a good thing. So I guess we'll see. I guess we'll see what happens.

Daniel Andrlik (09:56):
I guess as long as you can maintain control, yourself free of any negative influences,

Sampson Davis (10:03):
Right? Yeah. Yeah. We'll see. Lucky for me, Astor doesn't have a whole lot to work with. And Dili just kind of shows his not incredibly athletic body.

Daniel Andrlik (10:10):
Vlad looks at you up and down and says, I'm not so sure about that. Dili, you want to know how I took care of that barrier that was keeping us from moving forward in the tunnels.

Sampson Davis (10:21):
Yeah. Yeah. You just like touched it and then, poof.

Daniel Andrlik (10:23):
I didn't touch it. I used illusions for a while, but I figure it out, what frequency that whole solid wall depended on, and I made a tiny illusion, no bigger than a pinprick, that disrupted that pattern. It took time, but I'm telling you, it's something you could do too.

Sampson Davis (10:43):
Dili kind of furrows his brow, like, what was that wall made of? Was it just like solid light? Was that how were able to do that?

Daniel Andrlik (10:49):
It was solid light. But while those things are extremely resistant against force, you finesse the right approach, that pattern is fragile. Not many can do the thing that you and I do.

Sampson Davis (11:02):
That's incredible. I never thought these solutions could do anything except just kind of draw over what was already there, does that makes sense?

Daniel Andrlik (11:10):
Yeah. But the illusions are light, the drit doesn't change people's perceptions, it changes the light in the eye.

Sampson Davis (11:19):
That's the thing I always struggled with, because I... And Dili pulls out like a glow globe, and just turns to face inside of the cave and lights it as its lowest setting. See, I can do this, and then he like casts a black box over it. And it's like, you can't see the glow globe, that's covered. But you see how like the glow globe's light is still coming through.

Daniel Andrlik (11:41):
He nods and says, well, there are two options. And he reaches out a finger and it touches the edge of your black cube, and all of a sudden that cube shatters and the light comes out. And he says, or you can do this, and he reaches past the cube and touches your hand, and you feel a moment of connection and you can see the illusion, the light, reforming until it becomes a perfect black cube holding in the light, and your glow globe is not shining and beyond. It's not something you feel comfortable like you could do, practically, yet, but you can feel almost like you're riding copilot as Vlad does it. And he says, you'll get there. And he pulls his hand back and the cube vanishes, and there's just a glow globe there.

Sampson Davis (12:35):
Holy shit. How did you learn how to do this?

Daniel Andrlik (12:38):
Hard work, and I had a mentor, but she passed long time ago. We're not the only ones, Dili, that can do this, but we're rare.

Sampson Davis (12:48):
I think Dili just continues to stare at the glow globe, just reeling with what this could mean. Thank you for showing me this.

Daniel Andrlik (12:56):
Get some sleep Dili. I know you need it.

Sampson Davis (12:59):
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. I'm going to go to sleep.

Daniel Andrlik (13:02):
The rest of the night passes without incident.

Sampson Davis (13:04):
Nice.

Daniel Andrlik (13:05):
It is now morning, if anybody wants to make the recovery rolls through those 10 hour recovery rolls, go nuts. You look dissatisfied, Sampson.

Sampson Davis (13:14):
I'm just a little worried, that's all.

Alex Finn (13:16):
I mean-

Daniel Andrlik (13:17):
Why worried?

Sampson Davis (13:18):
I'm just worried, it's fine.

Alex Finn (13:20):
Do I need to tear up and help you?

Sampson Davis (13:25):
No. No, this could be fun. This could be fun.

Stace Babcock (13:28):
What's the situation, Sampson?

Sampson Davis (13:31):
Just single digits across all pools, it's fine.

Stace Babcock (13:33):
What?

Alex Finn (13:34):
Damn, Dili.

Daniel Andrlik (13:35):
Even after all those roles?

Sampson Davis (13:37):
I already had the action 10-minute hour recovery rolls spent. I got impaired at some point. I think it was... was it-

Daniel Andrlik (13:45):
Oh, right, yeah.

Sampson Davis (13:46):
... the skinless [boffnits 00:13:49]?

Daniel Andrlik (13:48):
Yeah.

Sampson Davis (13:49):
Yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (13:49):
Yeah, the goats.

Sampson Davis (13:50):
Yes. Dili wakes up feeling like shit. God, I could feel every wire.

Daniel Andrlik (13:55):
Yeah. You can still feeling it burrowing through your flesh.

Sampson Davis (13:59):
Ah, God.

Stace Babcock (14:00):
Yikes.

Daniel Andrlik (14:01):
Occasionally, you can hear a happy sigh from the back of your head from Astor.

Sampson Davis (14:08):
Oh God. I just had the... Nope.

Stace Babcock (14:11):
Nope.

Sampson Davis (14:13):
Get your mind out of the Hentai gutter, Sampson.

Alex Finn (14:15):
Sorry, it lives there sometimes, ask me, Alex. I'm like, Pennywise from It, in the Hentai gutter, beckoning you to come play.

Daniel Andrlik (14:26):
We can all float down here.

Sampson Davis (14:28):
Don't ask on what?

Alex Finn (14:32):
Oh man. Now I really do want to Garrus [inaudible 00:14:34] pillow. Don't judge me.

Stace Babcock (14:39):
I'm not.

Daniel Andrlik (14:41):
Keep going, you broke Stace.

Sampson Davis (14:42):
Would your husband even be mad, Stace, if you just had Garrus body pillow.

Stace Babcock (14:49):
Yeah, because he would probably view that as a betrayal of my love for Liara.

Alex Finn (14:55):
True. I'm going to find a Liara body pillow for you.

Daniel Andrlik (14:59):
I don't think that are officially offered, which is bullshit. I think they just offered Tali.

Alex Finn (15:04):
No, no. I mean on Etsy, if there's a Liara body pillow on Etsy. Okay, back to what we're supposed to be doing. God damn.

Stace Babcock (15:14):
So we were lamenting Dili's impending death.

Alex Finn (15:17):
Yes. There we go.

Sampson Davis (15:19):
Yeah, sure.

Daniel Andrlik (15:21):
So it is that morning and Vlad says, I've been looking, as best I can, when there's been a break in the clouds at the stars, I'm pretty sure that we are still along the riage in Thaemor, and he points at a map. And to these people says, this is roughly where I think I am. And they look, it's like, oh, our village is a little bit from here, but it's nearby. It's where this river meets the foothills.

Sampson Davis (15:52):
All right.

Daniel Andrlik (15:53):
And Vlad says that's farther than we'll be going, but we'll travel with you until the fork in the path.

Alex Finn (16:01):
Fair.

Daniel Andrlik (16:01):
So it takes about a day or two of travel, probably, closer to two days kind of stretching the length of the day. You guys are getting down to where there's less snow, and there is definitely like a branch in the path that people are following here. It's not a great path. It's still pretty shit. But these NPCs, these Mika and Whola are heading down the path to the right, and you guys would be going down the path to the left, according to Vlad. And Vlad says, as the other two lead, obviously, Race needs attention. We need to get him to a safe house.

Alex Finn (16:39):
Isn't he still in the pod?

Sampson Davis (16:40):
Medical attention Chacha?

Daniel Andrlik (16:41):
Yes. The other two go down their way and Vlad leads you down to the left, and you guys travel for a day and you make camp. And Vlad says to ChaCha, are you okay if we bubble? I need to explain some things to these two.

Alex Finn (17:00):
Yeah. I mean, yeah. Yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (17:02):
Any requests?

Alex Finn (17:04):
Maybe some chill mountain tunes would be cool.

Daniel Andrlik (17:07):
All right.

Stace Babcock (17:09):
Some John Denver.

Daniel Andrlik (17:13):
Would good food smells help, or would that just be worse?

Alex Finn (17:16):
I mean, I think I would come out of the bubble hangry then.

Daniel Andrlik (17:19):
All right. And your head suddenly has a bubble around it and has mountain music, essentially. As we think of it in the Ninth World, it's a mixture of string instruments and strange percussion instruments.

Alex Finn (17:33):
Awesome.

Daniel Andrlik (17:34):
And there is an ongoing smell of lavender all around. And Vlad turns to Dili and Nix and says, okay, first things, first, Nix, I noticed you've been journaling lot, and so have you, Dili, Nix, can I ask a question, is that actually your traveler journal?

Stace Babcock (17:56):
Oh yeah. I only have one journal. Yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (17:59):
And did you have any mentions of the guardians or details of individuals in there.

Stace Babcock (18:08):
Man, I'd have to read back.

Daniel Andrlik (18:09):
Do you, by chance, write your journals a cipher of any kind?

Stace Babcock (18:15):
No.

Daniel Andrlik (18:17):
Okay. Depending on what you find, when you look through it, you might have to remove some pages. We are a secret organization. And as I understand it traveler journals all make their way to the library at the proofing ground, but we can't have risks of our organizations being mentioned there. And let's prioritize teaching you some of our official ciphers, and how we write in code within the organization. Might be good idea long-term, to get a separate journal one for sort of generic traveler information, and one for you're trying to take notes related to guardian activities.

Stace Babcock (18:53):
Man. Yeah. All right. I mean, I get what you're saying Vlad, but two journals is like a lot of journals. I might just not write anything down about the-

Daniel Andrlik (19:04):
Well, I mean, obviously we want to gather the knowledge, but if worse comes to worst, I'd rather you not write it than write it in a journal that somebody else could find it and deduce our identity.

Stace Babcock (19:16):
Yeah, legit.

Daniel Andrlik (19:17):
All right. So let me explain a few things. I don't want to overwhelm you with details, but we can at least talk a little bit about the structure of the guardians. If it's anything similar to what I've experienced from other callers, you guys are probably coming in with only sort of a vague sense of what the organization is structured like.

Sampson Davis (19:41):
Yeah. I think Mamma Jerrun has possibly mentioned something about proctors or maybe you did.

Daniel Andrlik (19:48):
Yeah, probably both of us. So proctors is sort of a management layer. They oversee all the other parts of the organization. We, typically, don't need to go so far, unless we're doing something drastic, in terms of approval. They tend to be almost more auditors than anything else. However, there are some divisions of them that are a little less scary than the auditor's.

Daniel Andrlik (20:16):
There's the financial division, some of us call them shin eaters, but I wouldn't do that to their face. There's the librarians they are our archivists, and they have been studying everything that's been returned to try to figure out more information about what's through the door, as well as any other threats. There are, I like to call them, horde sitters, they're our special proctors that are in charge of guarding important treasures. And like I said, there's auditors, which, hopefully, you'll never have to deal with.

Sampson Davis (20:48):
The horde sitters are usually... they look at like installations, ruins, or artifacts that can't be moved or just ones of extreme importance that-

Daniel Andrlik (20:57):
It could be either.

Sampson Davis (20:58):
Okay.

Daniel Andrlik (20:59):
There's not a canonical list, it's need to know about the horde sitters and where they're located.

Sampson Davis (21:05):
Right. Yeah, of course.

Daniel Andrlik (21:06):
I'm not even 100% sure if the proctors know absolutely where all these things are or if it's something that they have to consult specialists in their area. Then, of course, beneath the proctors, we have a couple of different situations. We have the callers, who are recruiters like your Mamma Jerrun. We have the guides who do most of the continuing education and training of guardians, but they are typically not part of the field operation. They tend to exist only at staff houses. Currently, because you have a contractor, we don't have a lot of flexibility in terms of sending you somewhere where it's easy access to guides.

Daniel Andrlik (21:50):
Then we have guardians and special guardians. Guardians or divisional members and special guardians are, we run cells, essentially. None of us know exactly how many cells deep we operate. I run my own. I report back to a specific person. I have no idea how many cells removed I am. I have met with proctors in person, but never the same proctor twice. That's important to know. Secrecy is important for our survival.

Stace Babcock (22:22):
Who's after us? Who are we hiding from?

Daniel Andrlik (22:25):
Well, one thing is, because of the nature of part of our activities, which is of course filling the armory to protect humanoid kind, that's a massive amount of power. Which most rulers in the Steadfast, I assume other places as well, but definitely the Steadfast, would take issue to another organization having that much technology and power behind them. And we have competition for that information.

Sampson Davis (22:55):
Yeah. You're talking about like the Dialogue and the groups that broke up into.

Daniel Andrlik (22:59):
Well, the Dialogue is no more, all that's left from the Dialogue are words, but all the words take up elements of what's out there. Our real competition, the most unified competition, is the Amber Papacy and the Order of Truth. They seek knowledge for its own sake, which is a noble endeavor, but they focus so much on maintaining the peace in the Steadfast, to feed the Amber Pope's obsession with neighboring realms, like [Lilstray 00:23:35]. They lose sight of the bigger picture. And things that go to them are often wasted or used as political capital, and maintaining peace at the Steadfast at the expense of the world.

Sampson Davis (23:50):
Does that mean the guardians are like a worldwide organization, not just in the Steadfast?

Daniel Andrlik (23:57):
Oh, we extend farther than that. That I know. Obviously, I don't know all the details, but I know that one of the priorities of the guardians has been exploration and expansion. Obviously, we can't cover everything, but there are so many places, so many rich territories beyond the Beyond. And there are, from what I understand, even worlds beyond that. And we've made an effort as an organization to expand that far, but if we're going to remain secret, there's only so much any individual can know.

Sampson Davis (24:34):
Is there a central authority or I guess more like an organizer, I guess, who kind of keeps all of this going in the same direction? Does that makes sense?

Daniel Andrlik (24:42):
The proctors, collectively, solve for that. Most proctors are an elected position, but that being said, I don't necessarily know anything about where the other proctors are coming from. So it's quite possible, but maybe I'm voting for somebody in my division, and maybe the rest of them are plants. I don't know.

Sampson Davis (25:04):
How do you guys keep yourself honest then?

Daniel Andrlik (25:07):
The auditors.

Sampson Davis (25:09):
Who audits the auditors? Sorry.

Daniel Andrlik (25:09):
It's difficult to answer that question. All I can tell you is that the auditors are very focused on everything following the exact rules of the organization, and they are not forgiving. And I can't think of anything in the Ninth world that I'd be more terrified to stand in front of than one of the auditors.

Stace Babcock (25:38):
So are we stuck in your cell forever or-

Daniel Andrlik (25:44):
Not if I can help it.

Stace Babcock (25:45):
All right. Yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (25:47):
First of all, I prefer to operate closer to Shallamas, but as long as you are in my realm, my cell, essentially, that's not an option. We can't take you into Navarene unless there is a serious need.

Sampson Davis (26:02):
Well, how serious is serious? Because I think Nix has some business to take care of in the north of Navarene, that's where the training grounds are. Didn't you have some questions that needed answering, Nix?

Daniel Andrlik (26:14):
What questions? Vlad turns to Nix.

Stace Babcock (26:16):
Personal questions, Vlad, like personal.

Daniel Andrlik (26:20):
All right. Are you sure you want to go there? I mean, from what I understand, they're looking to find you and turn you in. They're trying to acquire you at this point.

Stace Babcock (26:29):
Yeah. One of them definitely was, but not to be rude Vlad, but why do you care?

Daniel Andrlik (26:37):
There's a pause, and he says, the caller recommended to you and I trust her. She said that you were confused, but that you had a good heart and you would find your way, given time.

Stace Babcock (26:50):
Wow. I really thought I... Confused, really, she said confused.

Daniel Andrlik (26:56):
Yeah. She said you had a lot that process and not to push you too hard.

Stace Babcock (27:02):
Yeah-

Daniel Andrlik (27:07):
Nix I'm being honest with you because I get the feeling that you're the kind of person that doesn't want things shared with you sugarcoated.

Stace Babcock (27:16):
No, not really. No.

Daniel Andrlik (27:18):
So I'll tell you this, the caller said that you were confused, that you had great potential and you needed to find your way, and that to be patient with any missteps. And I'm doing my best to honor that.

Stace Babcock (27:34):
You're not doing great.

Daniel Andrlik (27:35):
That may be mutual then.

Stace Babcock (27:39):
You want me to be patient with your missteps.

Daniel Andrlik (27:43):
I mean, in terms of general performance, I'm doing my best to be patient, Nix, but you've demonstrated a repeated resistance to common sense, and worse, you've been, potentially, a bad influence on Dili. Dili has real potential within the guardians.

Sampson Davis (28:05):
Hold on, I would not be alive if not for Nix and Chacha. These two have been the only thing that's been getting through these like past two months.

Daniel Andrlik (28:13):
Vlad says, the fact that you believe that Dili, that you think that's the reason you're still alive, and not your own abilities, that's what scares me.

Stace Babcock (28:22):
Yo, Vlad, I don't know what you're like trying to do here, because you came in here hot already, apparently, disliking ChaCha, and do you ask what happened? Do you try to find things out? No. You just make assumptions that we're out here trying to do a bad job, when we're just out here trying to do the best that we can. And you want to yell at us, or be upset that Chacha absorbed a fricking artifact. Well, two people just ran through a machine room and became part machine, Vlad, on your watch, you were there. So shit happens, and maybe instead of making assumptions with people you just met, you actually do your job, and you teach us the guardian way of doing things. But, I don't know, man.

Daniel Andrlik (29:06):
Dili he say anything before Vlad response?

Sampson Davis (29:09):
It does feel like there's some bias, sometimes, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Daniel Andrlik (29:14):
What is it really saying in terms of mentioning the bias? What is he trying to hint at?

Sampson Davis (29:19):
Think Dili acknowledges that the three of them... like after being reprimanded for letting Chacha absorb nature, we got away with some shit, seemingly scot-free well mucking around the ruin.

Daniel Andrlik (29:36):
Yeah. And later on, I have to observe what you're doing. I was upset that you left ChaCha absorb that artifact, because we don't know what effect that will have on the greater world. And fucking hell you guys, she said that she wants to open the door.

Sampson Davis (29:55):
Yeah. We didn't know that was a thing until she said it, so that was new to us as well, actually.

Daniel Andrlik (30:01):
So that would be deception, because ChaCha has definitely talked about opening the door in front of Dili.

Sampson Davis (30:07):
When? When did that happen?

Stace Babcock (30:07):
A while back.

Daniel Andrlik (30:09):
A long time back, shortly after buddy cop told her what happened. That'd be a 15 deception roll, if Dili really intends to see deceive Vlad.

Sampson Davis (30:20):
I would argue Dili forgot, since I forgot, because I didn't think she mentioned a door.

Stace Babcock (30:24):
Well, we didn't know that it was that door. We just knew it was a door.

Sampson Davis (30:29):
Okay.

Stace Babcock (30:29):
So it didn't have any context.

Daniel Andrlik (30:31):
I think Dili would have to be pretty stupid not to connect the two.

Sampson Davis (30:35):
Fair enough. All right. Dili, I think, kind of catches themselves then midway, we never told to... oh God, we've been through a lot of shit in two months, fuck.

Stace Babcock (30:45):
Yeah. Well-

Daniel Andrlik (30:47):
That's my concern, Dili, I mean, and Nix. The caller recommended that I give her a chance as a contractor and that, again, you guys were contracted with her, you are responsible for her, but I'm deeply, deeply concerned about this debt she says she owes. What if you can't say, no? What if her debt is that she opens the door and she can't refuse.

Alex Finn (31:15):
These are all good questions we should have asked.

Stace Babcock (31:18):
I mean, what are you doing, though, to like help with this situation, or figure it out?

Daniel Andrlik (31:25):
I'm asking you guys, this is your contractor, what was your end game here?

Stace Babcock (31:30):
Well, first of all, we are new here, Vlad, not really sure what everything entails, or we know the first part of what the door is about or whatever, but-

Daniel Andrlik (31:42):
What are you prepared to do if things reached their logical worst conclusion? If she stands in front of a door right now and you're there and she says, she's opening it, what do you do?

Stace Babcock (31:56):
Man, if it gets to that point, that means that we've already done everything that we could-

Daniel Andrlik (32:02):
That's unfortunate, Nix.

Stace Babcock (32:04):
What do you want me to save Vlad? That we would kill ChaCha in that moment. You've told us virtually nothing about what we're doing here. We got the recruitment speech, it sounded nice. But, honestly, if it sounds like this is something you're willing to just write off as an inevitable conclusion and write off a whole entire person, I'm not really down. So I sincerely hope, Vlad, that what you're saying, isn't what it sounds like you're saying.

Daniel Andrlik (32:30):
I'm not saying you do anything now. I'm just saying, if things go south, what will you do? But you've already given me your answer. And he looks at Dili, what are you prepared to do?

Sampson Davis (32:40):
Prevent things from going south? You mentioned someone named Prentice who could also see things.

Daniel Andrlik (32:46):
Yes, Prentice is very similar to ChaCha.

Sampson Davis (32:50):
Could we talk to them or at least get ChaCha to talk to them. Maybe, Prentice knows more about what ChaCha can see and can give her a better context.

Daniel Andrlik (32:59):
That is something I've been thinking about as well. But that, wasn't the question I asked you Dili. If ChaCha stands at the door ready to open it, what would you do?

Sampson Davis (33:11):
At this moment? I trust Chacha more than the guardians. So I would trust ChaCha in that moment, but I don't want to get to that moment. So I don't have to make that choice.

Daniel Andrlik (33:22):
And that Dili is the thing that holds you back from greatness. He drops the bubble from ChaCha and says we should rest, it's been a long hike.

Alex Finn (33:32):
ChaCha's going to try and read the room.

Stace Babcock (33:35):
Nix is giving Dili, just like a straight, what the fuck look.

Sampson Davis (33:40):
Dili is kind of in his own head, but I guess notices Nix's looked, just like, what?

Stace Babcock (33:45):
No, not at... Just like, what the fuck just happened? What the fuck, it's not at Dili.

Sampson Davis (33:49):
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Dili's just like shrugging, just like, I don't know, man.

Daniel Andrlik (33:54):
But not accusation, comradery.

Sampson Davis (33:56):
Okay-

Stace Babcock (33:56):
Right.

Sampson Davis (33:57):
... cool. Cool, cool. Yeah. Dili just shrugs and just like wanders off a little bit to think.

Alex Finn (34:02):
You guys have weird conversations when I'm in the bubble, don't you?

Stace Babcock (34:06):
Yeah. Honestly, ChaCha, you might've made like... you keep doing you ChaCha, and just let us know if any hordes or whatever show up.

Alex Finn (34:15):
I mean, they've been pretty quiet, which is concerning.

Stace Babcock (34:20):
Do you see any of them ChaCha, at all?

Alex Finn (34:22):
Does she?

Daniel Andrlik (34:23):
Give me a six perception roll.

Alex Finn (34:25):
15.

Daniel Andrlik (34:26):
You see that sort of pale, furry, wraith like figure at the edge of the tree line where you are coming out of the mountains. It's not huge, it's just like a small grove of pine trees before the next sheer cliff face. That same figure that you saw in the cave beneath the hives, though, not buddy cop.

Alex Finn (34:49):
I mean, not buddy cop's here, but I feel like they share custody and watching me. This is not buddy cop's weekend.

Daniel Andrlik (35:00):
This wraith like figure motions to you ChaCha asking you to come in here? They are about a short distance away, so probably 60 feet or so.

Alex Finn (35:11):
I'm going to have my own conversation, you guys get bubbled. And ChaCha jogs over there.

Daniel Andrlik (35:18):
This wraith like figure it looks at you, ChaCha, says, we worry.

Alex Finn (35:24):
I mean, I know, but I'm not dead yet.

Daniel Andrlik (35:26):
Will you know what to do, when the time comes?

Alex Finn (35:30):
I mean, it's kind of one of those things where, we're like on the 50/50 point of, if this door needs be open, because I still do not know.

Daniel Andrlik (35:40):
The door must not be opened.

Alex Finn (35:43):
Okay. But there is a favor that is now owed.

Daniel Andrlik (35:47):
We know.

Alex Finn (35:47):
So-

Daniel Andrlik (35:47):
We can see it on you.

Alex Finn (35:47):
Right, so like-

Daniel Andrlik (35:54):
And their gaze looks down to your left wrist.

Alex Finn (35:55):
I don't think I can get rid of it like this easy, unless something bad were to happen to buddy cop, and he needs to call in the favor for me to help him.

Daniel Andrlik (36:11):
Yes. If the favor is too small, it turns into multiple favors.

Alex Finn (36:11):
Listen, I'm not hinting you should do something to your co-parent of me. I'm just saying, if things were to happen to buddy cop-

Daniel Andrlik (36:18):
No co-parent ChaCha, just an interested individual. I'm so sorry it's gotten to this point.

Alex Finn (36:28):
I mean, you take the good, you take a bad, the facts of life.

Daniel Andrlik (36:32):
I suppose that's true. I feel like somebody told me that once, in a song.

Alex Finn (36:41):
Sorry, I'm just watching Stace's brain work, and she's like-

Daniel Andrlik (36:44):
Yeah. That's the same thing I was doing.

Alex Finn (36:46):
I know I said it wrong, because I'm a little too drunk.

Daniel Andrlik (36:49):
No, you did it correctly. I just enjoy watching the world through Stace's pop culture filter.

Stace Babcock (36:55):
I have no idea guys.

Sampson Davis (36:58):
Dili leans over to Nix, is she singing over there?

Alex Finn (37:00):
I mean, in the end, it's working out because I have Dili and Nix.

Daniel Andrlik (37:09):
Not if you open the door.

Alex Finn (37:12):
I know, and that kind of pushing me towards anti door, because I got to keep Dili and Nix, but for things to happen to Dili and Nix, I mean, I no longer have a nuclear option, so I have to go beyond nuclear.

Daniel Andrlik (37:28):
I see. They pause a moment and they hold out a hand. It's almost thick, it's almost like a bear paw, almost.

Alex Finn (37:38):
Oh, does he got the little toe beans.

Daniel Andrlik (37:39):
Yeah. And in the middle of all those tow beans, there is a small cube of almost insubstantial synth, you look at it and you can definitely see it's not there, but it's something that you could pick up, still, all the same.

Alex Finn (37:58):
I guess, ChaCha's going to pick it up.

Daniel Andrlik (38:00):
You pick it up at this wraith like figure looks at you and says, I think you'll make the right decision. This is the first step, and they fade away. And ChaCha, you're standing at this edge of the tree line all alone.

Daniel Andrlik (38:15):
And Nix and Dili you are standing back with Vlad, and you were talking to Vlad about whatever, just the basics of how we're going to set up camp for the night. And Nix you hear a static-y flash, and standing there in the snow, pale, and clearly with eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, deep bags under her eyes, your mother stands there in the snow, and says, They're coming. It's not safe. They said your name. And then she vanishes. And that's where we'll end this episode.

Alex Finn (38:55):
Oh, fuck.

Sampson Davis (38:57):
Fuck.

Alex Finn (39:00):
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.

Stace Babcock (39:01):
They're coming, you're not safe. They know your name. That's what... What?

Daniel Andrlik (39:06):
Yeah. I told you.

Sampson Davis (39:08):
I told you he was a bad idea. I call it.

Daniel Andrlik (39:09):
They're coming. We're not safe. They know your name.

Stace Babcock (39:12):
Oh, we're not safe.

Daniel Andrlik (39:12):
Yeah.

Stace Babcock (39:13):
Not, you're not safe. She was saying that she-

Daniel Andrlik (39:15):
mm-/.

Stace Babcock (39:16):
okay.

Daniel Andrlik (39:17):
Yeah. So eeny, miny, moe, Alex, something about this episode?

Alex Finn (39:23):
I liked all of our tangents. I'm sorry, I do. How we just like stopped what we were doing and looked at pillows Etsy and Amazon. We all forgot what we were doing and went to look at body pillows.

Stace Babcock (39:41):
Jokes on you, I didn't know what we were doing in the first place.

Daniel Andrlik (39:45):
Jokes on you, I have no idea how much of that will make it to the final cut.

Alex Finn (39:47):
I just hope-

Stace Babcock (39:51):
Daniel there are some things that need to be cut.

Alex Finn (39:53):
Yeah. But yeah, that Elon Musk body pillow needs to be cut. It was a horde.

Stace Babcock (40:00):
Both from the episode and-

Alex Finn (40:03):
Etsy-

Stace Babcock (40:04):
... into pieces.

Alex Finn (40:05):
Yeah.

Sampson Davis (40:05):
Yeah.

Alex Finn (40:06):
That rocket-

Sampson Davis (40:06):
From reality. Yes.

Alex Finn (40:09):
I don't yoke anyone's yum, but that was just, wow.

Stace Babcock (40:12):
It was just, wow.

Daniel Andrlik (40:15):
So 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 weekend it is Alex's turn. Alex, what would you offer our listeners an XP to check out?

Alex Finn (40:29):
Okay. We're going to the weird side of my brain, and I'm going to recommend the movie Ghost Ship. People have described it as the spiritual successor to 13 Ghosts, because it is the same director. I think it was... I need to look up when it came out. It came out in 2002, and it's just like, it's like, holy shit. It's actually really fun to watch in a weird, disturbing way. But, yeah, it's a horror movie about ghosts and ships.

Sampson Davis (41:05):
Go on.

Alex Finn (41:07):
So a better summary is that the main characters are ship salvagers. So basically, they go out into the sea and find abandoned ships and bring them back and get paid for that. So think of it as like recycling, but sometimes it's illegal recycling, and just like, I don't know, there's something that happened that had these ghosts on this ship. I can't-

Stace Babcock (41:32):
Is it a space ship?

Alex Finn (41:34):
No, it is similar to like the Titanic and it's an ocean liner. I think the idea was kind of based off of a lot of the ye olde stories of like, you just find a ship like floating out there and nobody would be on onboard, and you didn't know what happened.

Sampson Davis (41:53):
Is Billy Zane in this movie?

Alex Finn (41:54):
Is he?

Sampson Davis (41:56):
Is he? Because I'll fucking watch a Billy Zane ghost movie.

Alex Finn (42:02):
It's got Julianna... that woman from, ER.

Daniel Andrlik (42:06):
I can't think of Billy Zane without thinking of either the Phantom or Zoolander.

Sampson Davis (42:12):
I think of The Wheel of Time short, that was just like showed up on the internet one day.

Stace Babcock (42:17):
Nice.

Alex Finn (42:18):
No Billy Zane, but it is worth watching, if you can find it. People might disagree with me, but it is a well done movie and the effects are really amazing. I realize in my old age, I'm having a harder time watching modern horror movies, because the gore is over the top and it's not tasteful. It's like, we're doing this, because we want to see how far we can take it. Kind of like that one persona game, one of the persona games, to change into the whatever you call it, they shoot themselves in the head, because they wanted to see if they could get away with it.

Sampson Davis (42:57):
Damn.

Alex Finn (42:58):
I feel like this is kind of tasteful in the gore where it's not over the top. There's one kind of plot device I find very problematic, where they use sexual assault as a plot device. And you're just like, did it need to happen? And that does not happen to my knowledge. And so I appreciate that. That's like one way to get me out of your series to have as a plot device. Not even a "good one" where like, no, this meshes in the story. Ghost Ship.

Daniel Andrlik (43:32):
Well, if people wanted to reach out to us and tell us what they think about Ghost Ship or the podcast, how would they do that, Sampson?

Sampson Davis (43:40):
Well, if they had to memorize one URL, it would be www.exploreswanted.fm. From there, they can find all our social medias, and I think also the transcripts for episodes if they want that. Is that also a thing? Yeah.

Daniel Andrlik (43:52):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yep.

Sampson Davis (43:53):
So you can find that there. On Twitter, we are @ExplorersWanted, on Instagram and Facebook, we are @ExplorersWantedPodcast. If you want to hang out with us in our Discord, you can find that at exploreswanted.fm/discord. Additionally, if you wish to give us money, and it's within your means, patreon.com/explorerswanted, where you can find character journals and episodes that only patrons can access. We also have merch, TeePublic.

Daniel Andrlik (44:19):
There's a link on the website, for sure, for TeePublic, and Redbubble, but we've been using TeePublic mostly, because we have more designs there. If you want to check out cool things like Fridays for hangovers or the GM motto, it has to be [inaudible 00:44:36] I get bored.

Sampson Davis (44:37):
Famous mantra. Yeah, all that at explorerswanted.fm.

Daniel Andrlik (44:40):
Excellent. And if you liked the show, even if you can't support us financially, the best thing that you could do for us is to leave us a five star written review on a podcast directory, specifically, Apple Podcast or Podchaser. I'm very serious. This makes a huge difference. We would love some new reviews. It makes a big difference to people checking out the show, and, honestly, when we see that kind of feedback, it makes our heart sing.

Daniel Andrlik (45:05):
If you didn't like the show or if you just thought it was mah, well, I just want to remind you that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Start there and climb up under the rib cage to get to that sticky, sweet muscle hidden in his chest.

Daniel Andrlik (45:20):
If you want to reach out to me individually on social media, you can, you can find me on Twitter @Andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-K.

Stace Babcock (45:29):
You can find me on Twitter @StaceWindu.

Sampson Davis (45:30):
Fastest way to my heart is through the floorboards, I'm @SlamPotato.

Alex Finn (45:35):
I need people to tweet at me the aliens meme. You know the one I'm talking about, Sampson, aliens, @realteaunicorn on Twitter, and just like come into my Twitch chat and say aliens @teawithaunicorn. I'll get it, or I'll be super confused and it'll be hilarious.

Daniel Andrlik (45:53):
Okay. That's it for us. Hope you enjoyed the show. We will be back next week for every week in your foreseeable future. Have a good night, day, weekend, or whenever you're listening to this. And bye.

Alex Finn (46:04):
Bye.

Sampson Davis (46:04):
Bye.

Stace Babcock (46:04):
Bye.

Alex Finn (46:39):
No, if there's a Liara body pillow on Etsy, I just have to... oh my God. Why? Why?

Sampson Davis (46:46):
What rabbit hole have you fallen down?

Stace Babcock (46:48):
Yeah. What'd you look up Alex?

Sampson Davis (46:50):
Come on, share with the class. Come on.

Alex Finn (46:59):
It's an anime style, Elon Musk body pillow. Do you want the cursed image?

Sampson Davis (47:10):
Yes.

Stace Babcock (47:14):
No. Sampson, what are you doing?

Sampson Davis (47:15):
Put it-

Stace Babcock (47:15):
I understand.

Sampson Davis (47:17):
... memes. Put it in memes supply.

Alex Finn (47:17):
Oh, my... I'm going to put it in the chat. Don't click on it if you don't want to see it.

Sampson Davis (47:24):
I need to see this.

Stace Babcock (47:25):
I'm going to look there, fuck.

Daniel Andrlik (47:27):
Now that the link is there, I have to click it.

Alex Finn (47:30):
Jesus Christ.

Stace Babcock (47:31):
No.

Alex Finn (47:32):
Jesus Christ.

Sampson Davis (47:35):
Oh, my god.

Daniel Andrlik (47:37):
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Alex Finn (47:38):
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Sampson Davis (47:42):
Wow, incredible.

Alex Finn (47:43):
Yep. That's a spaceship.

Daniel Andrlik (47:46):
Okay.

Stace Babcock (47:47):
It's-

Daniel Andrlik (47:48):
We need to get him to a safe house.

Alex Finn (47:51):
Isn't he still in the pod.

Sampson Davis (47:53):
Medical attention Chacha.

Daniel Andrlik (47:55):
Yes. I'll leave you to discuss that, while I step away.

Stace Babcock (48:00):
Race needs taken care of. No, ChaCha, put it away.

Alex Finn (48:04):
No, don't push the pod over a cliff.

Alex Finn (48:08):
Oh man, I got super distracted by that body pillow.

Sampson Davis (48:13):
It's harrowing to look at. I'm going to share it with all my engineering friends.

Alex Finn (48:17):
Yes.

Sampson Davis (48:21):
Can you get the Garrus body pillow and then just put him up in the back of your Twitch stream?

Alex Finn (48:25):
Yeah. You think I won't?

Stace Babcock (48:27):
No, we know you will.

Sampson Davis (48:32):
I just want to make sure.

Alex Finn (48:33):
Listen listeners, this is how you get the deep dive into us.

Sampson Davis (48:36):
I forgot we were recording for like a solid two minutes. Hi everyone.

Alex Finn (48:43):
Hi, we're back, after staring at blankets and body pillows. This is why we can't get shit done.

Daniel Andrlik (48:51):
And bye.

Alex Finn (48:52):
Bye.

Sampson Davis (48:52):
Bye.

Stace Babcock (48:52):
Bye.

Alex Finn (48:54):
Oh, my God. We are so off rail, it's like, holy shit.