Daniel [GM] (00:00:30):
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] (00:00:41):
Oh, hi. My neighbors are screaming and setting off fireworks, and it is just a little distracting. Just a little. It's not fourth of July, listeners, it's not.

Daniel [GM] (00:00:52):
Marietta Jones.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:00:53):
Well, hello.

Daniel [GM] (00:00:54):
Stace Babcock.

Stace [Nix] (00:00:56):
Hi everybody. I am, tonight, experiencing some impaired cognitive function due to some medication. I practiced this so I could get it all out. But despite Daniel's masterful editing, just know that this episode is a shit show.

Daniel [GM] (00:01:10):
And Sampson Davis.

Sampson [Dili] (00:01:15):
See, I thought we were just going to chalk it up to like the weird non-normal days recording energy we have.

Daniel [GM] (00:01:22):
So before we get started today, we have an important item of business to attend to, and that is we have our first patron on Patreon.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:01:29):
Yeah. We do.

Stace [Nix] (00:01:32):
Who? Who is it, Daniel?

Daniel [GM] (00:01:34):
So a huge thanks to Commoner Nick. That's his handle on Twitter and on the Discord server. It's what he tends to go by online. We've known Commoner Nick since last GeeklyCon. He played several games with us. He even played a fate of Cthulhu game with us before the podcast started which was a load of fun, but yes, thank you so much to Commoner Nick for helping support us in doing this crazy thing that we are doing.

Sampson [Dili] (00:01:59):
Thank you so much.

Stace [Nix] (00:02:00):
Yeah, and for the pictures of the cacti in the Plants channel on Discord.

Daniel [GM] (00:02:06):
Mm, yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:02:07):
He provides a lot of great Plants content.

Stace [Nix] (00:02:08):
That's amazing. I've learned a lot more about cacti, and I just didn't realize they were quite so wonderful.

Daniel [GM] (00:02:14):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Stace [Nix] (00:02:15):
But we're not here to talk about Commoner Nick's cacti. We're here to thank Commoner Nick for his contributions to our Patreon.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:21):
Truth.

Daniel [GM] (00:02:23):
Yes. Yeah. So thank you so much, Nick, for your support. It means the world to us.

Stace [Nix] (00:02:29):
It sure does.

Daniel [GM] (00:02:30):
Who remembers what happened last time? I think I am going to pick on Marietta because Alex is trying to bait me by looking worried, which means she probably knows.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:42):
No, it's the level of screaming has increased, and there are new voices involved in the screaming.

Stace [Nix] (00:02:49):
Alex, put ChaCha away.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:53):
Listen, when I go into character, I involve the rest of the world.

Stace [Nix] (00:02:58):
You're a method podcaster?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:02:59):
Yes. Thank you.

Daniel [GM] (00:02:59):
That's what makes her chaotic lawful. Didn't you see? She set something on fire the other day.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:03:08):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Marietta [Atalia] (00:03:08):
Okay. So, we started the last episode at camp, after Dili had a dream. Is that right? Okay. And then Dili was like, "Ah, I had a dream." And Atalia was like, "Oh, really?" And then he talked about the dream and it was about the perspective on the automaton observing a [sidra 00:03:27] and the interaction. And Atalia was like, "Oh, I wonder if he could have some sort of connection to that." And he was like, "IDK. I would really need to ask Nano about that." And I was like, "Hey bro, guess what?"

Marietta [Atalia] (00:03:38):
So then Atalia scans Dili and we found out that he's a human and he's got a really high intellect. He could maybe use some cardio in his life. But most importantly, there are some nanites spooky action a distancing, probably to the automaton. So there's some sort of connection there, which might explain the dreams in which Dili is experiencing existence from the automaton's perspective.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:04:07):
And then I think we talked about being afraid and we are off to Shallamas. And then we get to Shallamas. It's a big deal. We're supposed to find [Sala's shop 00:04:21], our potentially guardians of the night's hope connection. [inaudible 00:04:25] anyway. So we eventually do find him. Oh, but before that, there's like the spooky spirits all about, and I had a pretty lucky role and assessed that they are some connection to the previous life's existence, and it was pretty creepy. ChaCha was extremely upset. She thinks this is how she's supposed to save the world probably.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:04:49):
And after that, we're like, okay, well we should probably do what we came to do instead of being horrified by these not-horror spirits. Sala really beats around the bush. I guess we don't say the right code words which honestly, Mama Sharon did not tell us the right code words, I guess. It took some convincing before he was like, "Oh, right. You must be those people." So he told us about the caravan and where we would find them, which is near the city that starts with a B, I think.

Daniel [GM] (00:05:15):
It's between Shallamas and [Bodrove 00:05:16].

Marietta [Atalia] (00:05:17):
Okay. Okay. So that's where we would find that. And then also, also, asks us to find a friend of his, [Clemual 00:05:25], I think. Is that her name?

Sampson [Dili] (00:05:29):
Clemual was the leader of the caravan that lost its way.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:05:31):
Oh, okay. And then, she was the one hanging out in the bar, being real sad.

Sampson [Dili] (00:05:36):
Yeah. Sala's friend was the one that's somewhere between Bodrove and Shallamas.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:05:45):
Oh, that's [Stanis 00:05:45]?

Sampson [Dili] (00:05:45):
Yes.

Daniel [GM] (00:05:45):
Yep.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:05:44):
Okay. So the friend is Stanis, Clemual is the leader of the caravan who is scared shitless and drinking her life to oblivion in the Maker's Beard where we went to talk to her. So we're going to go try to find the caravan, I believe, was going to be our next step, though we probably slept. Did we sleep?

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:02):
Yeah. You got a room and you got some rations.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:05):
And this is kind of where my notes end. Did we leave?

Stace [Nix] (00:06:09):
Yes.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:09):
We left.

Stace [Nix] (00:06:10):
Yep.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:10):
Okay. And then what happened?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:06:12):
Oh, we made it to the grove.

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:13):
Hmm.

Daniel [GM] (00:06:13):
Yep.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:13):
Okay.

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:17):
A grove of translucent trees.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:19):
And did we find anything interesting there?

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:22):
In fact, Atalia found something very interesting there.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:06:25):
Something not quite nice.

Stace [Nix] (00:06:28):
What did Atalia find?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:29):
I don't know. But I stopped writing after. Let's go find her at the Maker's Beard.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:06:35):
That tree person.

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:37):
Yeah. She found a body, like crucified on a tree that wanted her to kill her because it was suffering.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:06:43):
Oh, right.

Sampson [Dili] (00:06:44):
I don't think it had skin. I don't remember. I might be projecting.

Daniel [GM] (00:06:47):
The tree had grown through the body, and this person was effectively crucified with branches. And as you approached it, then its head lifted up and it looked at you with blood shot eyes, and it said with intensity, "Kill me." And that's where we ended it.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:07:06):
And I was horrified.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:07:08):
The caravan is in the grove though, right.

Daniel [GM] (00:07:11):
Yeah. Supposedly, the... So what Clemual told ChaCha is that she told the people that she hired for the caravan not to tough the statues. But then somebody did, and then all that was left was the grove, and Clemual heard the sound of bees and ran as fast as she could.

Stace [Nix] (00:07:30):
But we haven't seen the caravan then?

Daniel [GM] (00:07:32):
No. So far you've seen the trees and this individual in the trees.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:07:39):
Wait, you said bees, like ChaCha's vision bees?

Daniel [GM] (00:07:43):
It's definitely the same word. I don't know if they're the same thing or not.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:07:48):
Blatantly lying. Blatant lies.

Stace [Nix] (00:07:52):
What if Daniel doesn't plan anything? What if he just gets his mind maps online.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:07:56):
Oh, right.

Stace [Nix] (00:07:58):
Just googles "mind maps" and then blurs it out.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:07:59):
He just makes the mind map and the blurs it so you can't read any of it, and it's actually just that "llorum ipsum" whatever.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:08:06):
Or it's his grocery list.

Daniel [GM] (00:08:08):
Mind maps are the exact same thing that I send you. I blur it out for myself so I can't cheat later.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:08:17):
Amazing. I think Atalia just backs up kind of horrified like, there's no saving this dude.

Daniel [GM] (00:08:23):
They're just rasping. They're like, "Kill me."

Marietta [Atalia] (00:08:28):
I'll scan the situation first.

Daniel [GM] (00:08:31):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:08:32):
To see if I can learn anything.

Daniel [GM] (00:08:34):
Okay. And you have two edge and intellect now, right?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:08:37):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (00:08:38):
So scan is now free for you. You scan, and this individual is human. The trees are some type of Numenera that is partially extra-dimensional in nature. The tree, from what you could tell from the scan, it's a little bit confusing, so just give me an understanding Numenera roll. The starting target is nine.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:09:07):
All right. I'm trained in understanding Numenera, I did roll a 15.

Daniel [GM] (00:09:12):
Okay. So you're able to figure out from the clues that you see in this scan, these trees must have grown rapidly because this person wasn't engulfed by a tree. The tree grew up through them, too fast for them to get away. All these branches that you see going in and out of their arms and their flesh, it must have been incredibly fast. Normally, you would think a person would die from shock or blood loss from this, but there's something about the tree being embedded through them that is forcing them to stay alive despite all of this.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:09:55):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:09:57):
The other thing that your scan can tell is they are in quite a bit of pain.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:10:03):
Okay. It looks like these trees almost instantaneously grew. I think it instantaneously grew through this dude, but then there's something going on keeping him alive but he's in excruciating pain.

Daniel [GM] (00:10:18):
"Please, kill me."

Marietta [Atalia] (00:10:20):
But the question is, what if the trees were the people or something? What if it could be undone and this thing is keeping them alive, so maybe there's a chance they could be saved?

Sampson [Dili] (00:10:31):
I still have a cypher that would let me ask three questions about a location. I could use that now and inquire, or do we want to poke around a little bit more so I could ask better questions?

Stace [Nix] (00:10:45):
I mean, whatever we're going to do, we should hurry up and do it because they're clearly suffering.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:10:52):
He's not having a good time.

Sampson [Dili] (00:10:54):
Oh yeah, definitely.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:10:56):
I think ChaCha pulls out her little ray gun and just aims it at the guys head and is like, "We can't leave him like this. This is mean."

Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:02):
No, we're going to see if we can undo the tree thing.

Stace [Nix] (00:11:05):
No, don't waste a depletion on stationary targets.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:11:10):
She then pulls out the dart thrower and puts it against his head.

Stace [Nix] (00:11:13):
Yeah, that's better.

Sampson [Dili] (00:11:15):
All right, so I should use this cypher now probably?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:18):
Yeah, or ChaCha's going for it.

Sampson [Dili] (00:11:21):
Coming into player mode, what question should I ask so I'm not left alone?

Daniel [GM] (00:11:26):
Oh, I see what you're trying to do.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:27):
So what does it say specifically.

Sampson [Dili] (00:11:31):
What it says specifically, I don't know, I'm not on the page. This is what Dan told us, "Three questions about one location." He never specified if it was a yes or no question at the time.

Stace [Nix] (00:11:44):
I assume it's open ended then.

Sampson [Dili] (00:11:46):
That's what I'm hoping for.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:47):
Well, it's all specific to this grove, right? So we could even ask what happened to the caravan.

Sampson [Dili] (00:11:53):
Well, we know what happened to the caravan. They touched the statues and this happened.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:11:57):
So do they become trees? Is that what happened?

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:01):
I think they got embedded with trees. I think it's just some kind of miracle grow situation, as you said, just spilt.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:09):
Atalia will walk around the grove a little bit and see if there's any other bodies embedded in trees.

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:14):
Okay. So I'm holding off on the cypher?

Stace [Nix] (00:12:17):
No, Dili, you definitely should use that ask. Maybe ask if this can be undone, because if it can't, ChaCha might take care of business while you and Atalia figure out what's going on.

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:29):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:29):
(Singing)

Daniel [GM] (00:12:32):
(Singing)

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:33):
Anything else, or should I just?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:12:35):
If it can be reversed...

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:37):
Got that.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:12:37):
Bees?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:38):
What are the secrets of the grove

Stace [Nix] (00:12:41):
Do we care about the grove or do we care more about the shipment?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:12:45):
Well, don't we want to understand what happened? And, it has to be about a location, right?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:12:49):
Where are the bees?

Sampson [Dili] (00:12:51):
Dan, can I analyze my cyhper to get more clarity on what's actually going to happen?

Daniel [GM] (00:12:56):
You know that you'll be able to ask three questions. They can be open ended, but open ended questions also mean that the [Datasphere's 00:13:06] answer may be open ended as well.

Sampson [Dili] (00:13:09):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:10):
Oh.

Daniel [GM] (00:13:10):
Because you're going to be asking the Datasphere three questions, and it gets to answer how it will. It will absolutely answer. It will absolutely not deceive you, it will give you a true answer. That does not guarantee that the answer will be immediately obvious to you.

Sampson [Dili] (00:13:28):
Okay.

Stace [Nix] (00:13:28):
Then maybe ask how it can be reversed, Dili.

Sampson [Dili] (00:13:32):
Yeah, gotcha.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:33):
How do you reverse the tree growths.

Sampson [Dili] (00:13:37):
Right.

Stace [Nix] (00:13:37):
We need to be more specific than that.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:40):
Are there more people in trees?

Daniel [GM] (00:13:45):
What order of operations are you doing this? Are you activating the cypher or are you searching through the other trees first?

Stace [Nix] (00:13:49):
I'd say let's address the cypher first, unless Atalia is wandering away. I would say my personal feeling of urgency is with the cypher.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:13:58):
For sure. My only question is if it's just this one dude or did this happen to the whole caravan?

Sampson [Dili] (00:14:04):
Probably the whole caravan because Clemuel told us that.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:14:09):
Okay. Sure, do the cipher. I will observe from where we're standing.

Sampson [Dili] (00:14:14):
Okay, here we go. I will activate the cipher. I ingest the pill-like form and jack in.

Daniel [GM] (00:14:23):
Okay, so when you first take the pill it doesn't feel like anything is happening, at first. Then all of a sudden, from the rest of you guys' perspective, Dili goes completely upright and frozen. He's not shaking, he's not having a seizure or anything like that, there's no convulsions. But he definitely seems to be stock frozen there. Dili, the scene around you, even though your eyes are open, sort of fades and you see this strange light all around you. You hear something. The actual sounds, if you could call them sounds, are completely unintelligible except that somehow you understand what they mean. It says, "Query, please." And you get this suggestion of a blinking prompt with a "1" next to it.

Sampson [Dili] (00:15:26):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:15:28):
If you haven't guessed, this means that you're completely unaware of what your companions are doing at this time. You are in your own little world.

Sampson [Dili] (00:15:35):
Yep, that's why I asked first.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:15:39):
I'm glad that we were really articulate too.

Sampson [Dili] (00:15:41):
Dili's first question is going to be, what and where is the source of the crystal trees in the groves.

Daniel [GM] (00:15:51):
Input error, that is two questions.

Sampson [Dili] (00:15:54):
Yeah, okay. Where is the source of the crystal trees that constitutes the location known as "the grove?"

Daniel [GM] (00:16:05):
There is a pause, and there's a brief answer that says, "Clarification needed. Are you referring to your current location in space time?"

Sampson [Dili] (00:16:17):
I'm referring to the location that, correct me if I'm wrong, we're still at the edge of it?

Daniel [GM] (00:16:21):
"There are approximately 3,423,00 locations that match 'the grove.'"

Sampson [Dili] (00:16:31):
The grove closest to my location in space time.

Daniel [GM] (00:16:36):
"Query accepted. Please wait." A [monk 00:16:39] comes back and says, "The source is item JX~9." You see an image of these three statues in a shadowy setting. They are all sort of humming. "The source is currently rooted and has been taken into the root system of the grove, where it feeds the grove accordingly." Then the prompt drops down a line and it starts blinking next to "2."

Sampson [Dili] (00:17:16):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Can the source be cut off? Or, no. Can the source be shut off?

Daniel [GM] (00:17:23):
"Yes." The item that is powering the grove and generating the grove can be deactivated, or destroyed." Then it blinks next to three.

Sampson [Dili] (00:17:35):
How many other human life forms exist impaled within the grove?

Daniel [GM] (00:17:44):
"Clarification. Human is referring to genotypes, phenotypes, that match your own designation?"

Sampson [Dili] (00:17:51):
Yes.

Daniel [GM] (00:17:54):
"Checking, please wait. There are currently four other life forms that are embedded by either grove branches or grove root systems. Two have been removed."

Sampson [Dili] (00:18:08):
Clarify "removed," please?

Daniel [GM] (00:18:11):
"They were harvested from the trees by a third party. Thank you for making use of our service. Please come again some time."

Sampson [Dili] (00:18:20):
Bye.

Daniel [GM] (00:18:22):
The next thing you know, you are alert in the middle of the grove with your friends staring at you. From everybody else's perspective, Dili was frozen like that for less than a second.

Sampson [Dili] (00:18:34):
Ah! Hi, how long was I in there?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:38):
Just like, a second.

Sampson [Dili] (00:18:39):
All right, cool. There is a source. It can be shut off, or destroyed. There's four others within the grove that have been, this. Two of them have been, quote, "harvested."

Marietta [Atalia] (00:18:55):
So, dead?

Sampson [Dili] (00:18:57):
"Removed" was another word they used, so there's something else in there.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:02):
Do you harvest things you don't eat or utilize?

Sampson [Dili] (00:19:07):
Why? What? No.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:08):
I'm just thinking the harvest vocabulary makes me think.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:11):
So should I? I'm just going to put him... Them, out of it's misery.

Sampson [Dili] (00:19:21):
Right.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:21):
He just said it could be turned off or deactivated.

Stace [Nix] (00:19:21):
But does that mean that this person will be alive again, though? I feel like that's different.

Sampson [Dili] (00:19:25):
Yeah, there's still a hole through his chest. Their chest.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:28):
There's a difference between dead and living in constant pain.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:33):
Okay, what about living in constant pain with the potential? Either way, let's just destroy the thing. If the thing is destroyed and it just disappears and he dies from the gaping hole in chest and he'll be done suffering?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:19:44):
ChaCha shoots this guy in the head with the dart thrower.

Daniel [GM] (00:19:47):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:19:48):
Fucking whatever. Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:19:52):
He can't dodge, so this is just going to be, since it's a light weapon point blank it's a gimmie. The dart embeds into this figures skull. You actually can't tell if it was male or female. At some point their body is too ruined by this to tell one way or another however they would have presented. The dart embeds and there is a moment where it tears a part of their jaw, and their mouth kind of gapes half open. Then as blood is trickling out of their mouth, you hear this, "Kill me, not enough."

Alex [ChaCha] (00:20:40):
ChaCha shoots him again.

Daniel [GM] (00:20:42):
Okay. This time, the head comes clean off. Slowly, the tree vibrates and sloughs off the body like a snake shedding skin, except wetter and gushier until there is a pile of fleshy goo around the base of this tree.

Stace [Nix] (00:21:08):
Gad. Trees here are wild.

Sampson [Dili] (00:21:10):
Oh.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:21:11):
Cool. Atalia is going to start looking around and trying to find the fourth body, since apparently there was a fourth individual. This one is dead and the other two have been removed.

Daniel [GM] (00:21:22):
To be clear, there were four currently in the grove, Sampson. Two others were removed. There were of those people [inaudible 00:21:28].

Marietta [Atalia] (00:21:28):
Okay, so six total.

Daniel [GM] (00:21:30):
Yeah. Also I will mention, the Datasphere pointed out that some of them were in the branches and some of them were in the root system.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:21:40):
Oh.

Stace [Nix] (00:21:41):
Well Nix will start looking for them in the branches.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:21:44):
And I'll actually change that to looking for the statues.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:21:48):
ChaCha is looking, I guess, in the root system for the next people? Just to clarify this as a player, I think it's against ChaCha's morals to just leave somebody to potentially suffer indefinitely on a maybe. Because ChaCha knows what it's like to be in pain and she's like, "I'm not going to just leave you for a maybe you'll get better."

Daniel [GM] (00:22:09):
Sure.

Sampson [Dili] (00:22:10):
And something has already been harvesting, so watch out for that as we go. Where are we going? Are we splitting up?

Stace [Nix] (00:22:18):
No, Nix is just climbing up, or looking up into the branches and trying to find additional bodies to end.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:22:24):
Yeah, and ChaCha is checking the ground.

Daniel [GM] (00:22:27):
You sure you don't want to climb up the tree?

Stace [Nix] (00:22:29):
Yeah, you know on second thought. Nix will try to touch the tree.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:22:35):
With your bare hand?

Stace [Nix] (00:22:37):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (00:22:38):
Okay. Nix you reach out and touch the tree. The skin of this tree is extremely smooth and it is warm, like what we would think of as body temperature warm. It vibrates a little bit, almost like a sap that's presumably running through it is almost running as fast as blood through a body.

Stace [Nix] (00:23:03):
What the? Guys, I think this tree is like a creature.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:07):
What do you mean?

Stace [Nix] (00:23:09):
It's very smooth, it almost feels like... Just touch it. It's not hurting me.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:14):
It's not doing anything to hurt?

Daniel [GM] (00:23:15):
You don't see anything odd happening.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:18):
All right, Dili touches the tree.

Daniel [GM] (00:23:25):
Dili is engulfed! No, I'm just kidding.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:26):
Damn it!

Daniel [GM] (00:23:27):
No. You feel the same sensation that Nix is feeling.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:33):
Ew. We should hurry up and finish this, this is gross.

Stace [Nix] (00:23:36):
Yeah. I guess unless it's going to take Nix a lot to find anything in the branches, that's all she really wants to do. I know Atalia wanted to search more thoroughly.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:23:48):
Yeah, I want to find those statues. They said that it could potentially be shut down or destroyed.

Sampson [Dili] (00:23:58):
The trees are transparent, so if we at least keep an eye out I don't think you have to, or there's a chance you'll at least be able to see it from the ground.

Stace [Nix] (00:24:04):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (00:24:04):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Marietta [Atalia] (00:24:04):
Yeah, I'm not trying to walk miles.

Daniel [GM] (00:24:07):
The Datasphere did give you a hint, Dili, as to where the statues were.

Sampson [Dili] (00:24:11):
We need to go to a shadowy place. Somewhere, I think, in the roots?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:24:15):
Okay. I guess Atalia will look around for any shadowy places. She likes to explore those dark places, is there any explorable dark places about?

Daniel [GM] (00:24:26):
Yeah. Give me a perception roll. Because you kind of know that you're looking for it, the target is only a six.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:24:36):
Okay, and she's trained in perception. That's a 15. This is my 15 rolling dice today.

Daniel [GM] (00:24:42):
Okay. It takes a little bit of looking around, but you find one tree here that is enormous. It's roots stretch out from the trunk, and it's almost like there's this tunnel between the roots leading down. The tunnel is about... It's not perfectly round, but it's also not much bigger around than a manhole cover. It seems to be leading quite far down. Atalia, since you can see in the dark.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:18):
Tier two! Tier two!

Daniel [GM] (00:25:21):
When you look down the tunnel, initially it seems pretty clear farther down it looks more like dim light, but as far as you can tell this thing seems to go fairly far down. It's almost like the roots have grown in such a way that they're reinforcing the sides of this tunnel.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:40):
Wow, that's kind of creepy. It's like a root tunnel.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:25:43):
Yeah, so do we want to go exploring?

Sampson [Dili] (00:25:45):
You want to go down there?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:49):
I could just go.

Stace [Nix] (00:25:53):
Atalia.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:25:56):
That's why I said said it first. I understand that it's high risk and I feel like all of us potentially getting killed isn't maybe the answer either.

Stace [Nix] (00:26:04):
But we would die together. Isn't that what's really important?

Sampson [Dili] (00:26:10):
What?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:26:10):
I kind of prefer living together, but.

Stace [Nix] (00:26:13):
Or dying alone, if we're talking about death.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:26:16):
I'd prefer to die in my sleep and have no awareness of the situation.

Daniel [GM] (00:26:20):
ChaCha?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:21):
Hmm?

Daniel [GM] (00:26:22):
Please make a perception roll for me. Your target is an 18, but you have an asset on it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:29):
Oh, thank goodness because I was just like.

Daniel [GM] (00:26:31):
So it will be a 15.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:34):
What rule is this?

Daniel [GM] (00:26:36):
Intellect.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:37):
Intellect. One level of effort, because we're probably going to get up soon.

Daniel [GM] (00:26:41):
Yep, and what's your edge right now?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:44):
One.

Daniel [GM] (00:26:45):
Okay. That will bring it down to a 12, and it will cost you two points.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:26:53):
Okay. Sixteen, we see it.

Daniel [GM] (00:26:55):
Okay. You see something that probably to somebody else would just look like reflective shimmers from time to time, but you definitely see in those shimmers, and they're not there all the time, but a sort of strange outline of almost a [gentile 00:27:15] that has four legs or three legs. It's about the size of, say, a really large dog. It just seems to be kind of keeping its distance from you guys, but it is definitely kind of following at the edge. It is definitely something that is less than half phased. It is something that is clearly on the other side of whatever dimensional wall this is, but it is slowly following you guys.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:27:45):
I would like to roll animal handling.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:27:50):
That's a 32.

Daniel [GM] (00:27:53):
You can't see it clearly enough to know what it is.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:27:55):
That don't mind ChaCha. She sees the glimmer, she wants the glimmer to come to her, or if it's some sort of creature, if she brings it to the party it's a better chance of them not all dying and killing it if it's evil. Or having extra nano to help figure out what the glimmer is.

Daniel [GM] (00:28:16):
Okay. So you're going to try getting it to come to you?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:28:17):
Yes.

Daniel [GM] (00:28:22):
Okay. This is going to be a 12.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:28:29):
(Singing) 18.

Daniel [GM] (00:28:30):
How do you try to coerce this creature, that even you can't clearly see, to come closer to you.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:28:37):
Well, like any good Bollywood hero, ChaCha throws open her arms like, "Come get this hug," action and gives that smiley, happy, "I'm totally innocent and snugly," face that you give children when you want them to do something you want them to do. Like, "Hey, come do your homework with me! This totally isn't going to suck ass!"

Daniel [GM] (00:29:02):
This figure sort of cautiously stalks towards you.

Sampson [Dili] (00:29:06):
ChaCha, what are you doing?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:29:08):
ChaCha is going to, out of the corner of her mouth, say, Shh! It's coming. Just don't move. I don't think this one wants to eat you, Dili, you'll be okay.

Sampson [Dili] (00:29:19):
Cool, great. Awesome.

Daniel [GM] (00:29:23):
This one comes up close to ChaCha. You can still barely see it, but you can tell it's definitely watching you closely. It is within immediate range, although you still can't perceive it except more as this flicker. The rest of you guys can definitely see this sort of reflective shimmer in the air there.

Sampson [Dili] (00:29:44):
Okay. ChaCha, what are you doing?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:29:47):
It's been following us. It's better that it's with us than to not know where it is.

Daniel [GM] (00:29:55):
ChaCha, there is a moment where this thing seems to shimmer into existence and it's very strange looking. It's got four legs, it's mostly purple with shades of a grayish green. It's face is a mess of tendrils.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:15):
Jeskii's like, kneeling.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:30:18):
ChaCha, I need you to make a speed defense roll of 12.

Sampson [Dili] (00:30:24):
Here come the kisses.

Stace [Nix] (00:30:25):
All the kisses.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:30:27):
Does this count as a running?

Daniel [GM] (00:30:31):
No.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:30:32):
Okay. I got a 15. She's speedy, baby.

Daniel [GM] (00:30:35):
You managed to dodge as it kind of strikes out at you with it's paw. I need everybody to roll [mischiefs 00:30:43].

Alex [ChaCha] (00:30:45):
Aren't you glad I didn't just run off into the woods after it?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:46):
Fine.

Stace [Nix] (00:30:46):
17.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:30:46):
I got 10.

Sampson [Dili] (00:30:50):
15.

Daniel [GM] (00:30:51):
Okay, so it is now Nix's turn. This thing has just appeared and tried to take a swipe at ChaCha.

Stace [Nix] (00:30:58):
Just poof, out of nowhere?

Daniel [GM] (00:31:00):
Yeah. You saw her calling out to it, and then you would have seen the reflective glimmers. Then the reflective glimmers suddenly became solid and it took a swipe at her.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:09):
Okay. How close is Nix to the situation?

Daniel [GM] (00:31:13):
You're within immediate range. You could do whatever you need to do.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:31:16):
I was going to say, The Situation is in Jersey. I don't know how close Nix is to that.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:19):
Huh? You fucking with me, Alex?

Daniel [GM] (00:31:27):
Yeah.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:31:27):
Yes.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:28):
I'm going to try to bite it.

Daniel [GM] (00:31:31):
Okay, so that would be at a hindrance because you're not holding it already. It will be a 15.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:38):
I'm going to use two might efforts.

Daniel [GM] (00:31:42):
Oh, okay.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:42):
Which means what?

Daniel [GM] (00:31:44):
Brings it down to a nine, and it will cost you five before your edge.

Stace [Nix] (00:31:51):
Dang. Okay, and that's to hit?

Daniel [GM] (00:31:53):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Stace [Nix] (00:31:54):
17.

Daniel [GM] (00:31:55):
Okay. That's plus one damage. You do seven as a base, right?

Stace [Nix] (00:32:01):
Yep. So that's eight, and it is hindered now.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:06):
Yay!

Daniel [GM] (00:32:07):
Yes, it is. You definitely feel that pulse of venom go down your fangs.

Stace [Nix] (00:32:14):
What does the creature feel like?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:14):
What's its mouth feel?

Daniel [GM] (00:32:15):
The skin of it feels fleshy, but there's this strange electric tingling. Have you ever licked a batter?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:26):
No.

Stace [Nix] (00:32:27):
Yeah, totally. Nine volt is my favorite.

Daniel [GM] (00:32:29):
Yeah. If you've ever licked a battery, imagine feeling that as if it's going through your teeth.

Stace [Nix] (00:32:37):
And it's sort of translucent?

Daniel [GM] (00:32:39):
It's very solid when it comes into being to make it's attack.

Stace [Nix] (00:32:43):
Oh, so it's not see through at all.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:32:45):
She wanted to see that.

Stace [Nix] (00:32:47):
I wanted to see that venom, yeah you're right.

Daniel [GM] (00:32:49):
Okay, so that is Nix's attack. Next up is Dilibrin.

Sampson [Dili] (00:32:57):
Dilibrin will, after seeing this creature attack ChaCha, throw up an illusion making a double of ChaCha, helping her dodge any attacks.

Daniel [GM] (00:33:07):
Oh, I like that. Give me an intellect roll of 12 to see how well you do this.

Sampson [Dili] (00:33:11):
Put a level of effort into that. And I rolled an 18.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:33:17):
Nice!

Daniel [GM] (00:33:17):
Nice. Yeah, you've got a very convincing duplicate of ChaCha.

Stace [Nix] (00:33:20):
Nice.

Daniel [GM] (00:33:21):
Okay. Next up is critter's turn. It just got bit by Nix, so now it's going to swipe at Nix. Nix, it is hindered, so that will be a nine speed defense roll.

Stace [Nix] (00:33:37):
And minus six, changed my armor in the [inaudible 00:33:40].

Daniel [GM] (00:33:39):
Yep, so that's a three.

Stace [Nix] (00:33:42):
Thirteen.

Daniel [GM] (00:33:43):
Okay, you dodge it's swipe no problem.

Stace [Nix] (00:33:45):
Haha!

Daniel [GM] (00:33:45):
Now it's ChaCha's turn.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:33:47):
Okay, I guess we've established it is aggressive, so we can't be like, "Just wait, we'll tame this animal!" Or else that's going to go back as, "Just wait, we'll train this menagerie."

Stace [Nix] (00:33:59):
I mean, you could try, it's hindered. It might be a good time, it's weak.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:02):
Okay. Then ChaCha is going to try to get on its back and ride it like a pony. Because she'll grapple it and then Nix can fight it again.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:09):
Okay.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:10):
Because it will be.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:11):
That's true. Okay, so give me a 12. This will be a might based attack. You're trying to grapple it, so you're not trying to hurt it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:20):
18.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:21):
Okay. You feel like you've got a good grip on it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:23):
She now has a pony, like every little girl wanted.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:27):
Now it is Atalia's turn.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:34:28):
Are we killing it or are you trying to befriend it?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:34:32):
I am up for either to be honest, so whatever the party decides, ChaCha will go with it. There's probably more weird animals we can try and befriend.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:34:42):
I guess I'll just mentally onslaught it then, or attempt to.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:46):
Okay. It's hindered, so that will be a nine.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:34:51):
That's a four.

Stace [Nix] (00:34:52):
Aw.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:53):
Okay, so your mental onslaught misses.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:34:56):
Aw.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:56):
Now we go back to Nix.

Stace [Nix] (00:34:58):
All right.

Daniel [GM] (00:34:59):
This creature is currently being held by ChaCha, and that means it's hindered by two steps. It's up to you what you want to do, because it's got venom in it, and ChaCha.

Stace [Nix] (00:35:12):
Is it actually a pony-type creature?

Daniel [GM] (00:35:15):
It's more like a big dog. It's the size of...

Marietta [Atalia] (00:35:17):
Great dane?

Daniel [GM] (00:35:17):
Yeah, like a great dane.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:35:22):
So in theory, ChaCha could ride it like a pony.

Daniel [GM] (00:35:25):
Probably wouldn't be good for it's back, but yeah.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:35:28):
No. Do not try that at home, listeners. We forbid it. That is not good for doggo.

Stace [Nix] (00:35:33):
Okay. So Nix bit it, blood and venom dripping from her fangs now. Dodged it's swipe, ChaCha is on top of it, I would assume clearly trying to tame it. Is it pretty clear? We don't know.

Daniel [GM] (00:35:48):
She's trying to hold it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:35:49):
Yeah. Bucking bronco.

Daniel [GM] (00:35:52):
We don't know what she's doing.

Stace [Nix] (00:35:54):
Nix will help ChaCha hold it.

Daniel [GM] (00:35:57):
Okay. That is going to be hindered by two steps, so that is a six for you.

Stace [Nix] (00:36:02):
Daniel, what if I wanted to try the first step of taming it?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:36:04):
Oh!

Daniel [GM] (00:36:09):
So you want to try to communicate with it in some way?

Stace [Nix] (00:36:10):
Yeah, so Nix is looking into it's eyes and she thinks that because they, you know -

Daniel [GM] (00:36:16):
It doesn't have eyes.

Stace [Nix] (00:36:17):
Nix is looking into where it's eyes might be. Into it's soul, rather. And she's pretty sure she can get through to this creature. Hasn't she been cool with Jeskii? She's very confident in her animal handling abilities, Daniel.

Daniel [GM] (00:36:37):
So you're using confident outlook is what you're saying?

Stace [Nix] (00:36:38):
I am.

Daniel [GM] (00:36:40):
Okay. Even though this creature is hindered, you're going to be operating hindrance because this is clearly extra-dimensional.

Stace [Nix] (00:36:47):
Ooh!

Alex [ChaCha] (00:36:48):
Can ChaCha give Nix an asset?

Stace [Nix] (00:36:51):
Maybe Nix should give ChaCha an asset on her next turn.

Daniel [GM] (00:36:56):
It's up to you. This is what I will say. ChaCha, you probably know that if something phased in to attack, it can probably phase out, whether you're holding it or not. It just probably can't do it until it's turn.

Stace [Nix] (00:37:11):
I think Nix is going to try to soothe it.

Daniel [GM] (00:37:15):
Okay. This is going to be a straight 12 because it is hindered by two steps, but you are also hindered by two steps because it is so alien.

Stace [Nix] (00:37:25):
And then confident outlook?

Daniel [GM] (00:37:26):
Confident outlook would bring it down to a nine.

Stace [Nix] (00:37:30):
Okay, and you would consider this to be intellect?

Daniel [GM] (00:37:33):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Stace [Nix] (00:37:35):
All right, well, whatever. What are these four? Still haven't figured it out.

Daniel [GM] (00:37:38):
At some point Nix is going to going to have to start investing XP into intellect, because you use it a hell of a lot.

Stace [Nix] (00:37:42):
I sure do. Nix tries really hard, you know. She just can't do it all that often. All right, so six. Okay, here we go. Nine.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:37:55):
Nice.

Daniel [GM] (00:37:56):
It seems to be bucking less in ChaCha's arms.

Stace [Nix] (00:38:01):
Nix is like petting it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:38:02):
Sneak kisses.

Stace [Nix] (00:38:04):
Not petting it, but trying to rub and soothe it.

Daniel [GM] (00:38:07):
Yeah. It's not super accepting of you putting your hands on it yet, but it is bucking less.

Stace [Nix] (00:38:13):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:38:14):
It's Dili's turn.

Sampson [Dili] (00:38:15):
Dili has seen that the tone of this fight has shifted suddenly. Is going to ready his dart thrower and wait for the creature to attack either ChaCha or Nix for him to respond, with the dart thrower. If that does happen.

Daniel [GM] (00:38:31):
That sounds good. Okay. Critter does not use his turn to fade out.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:38:36):
Ooh!

Daniel [GM] (00:38:37):
It seems to be watching Nix very closely, and calming. It seems to be making a little... It reaches out with it's paw, the same paw it was using to swipe, and it's, not a swiping motion but like trying to reach out towards Nix.

Stace [Nix] (00:38:56):
Aw.

Daniel [GM] (00:38:57):
Then that's it's turn. Now it's ChaCha's turn.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:39:00):
ChaCha would like to continue the soothing and making it feel loved and accepted.

Daniel [GM] (00:39:08):
You will have an asset on this. First you're going to have an asset because Nix has already done the soothing, the initial soothing part. You're going to have a second asset because this is the kind of thing that you've basically been exposed to your whole life. This kind of alien intellect. You're going to have two assets to this. It's not necessarily resisting, so right now we're just talking about raw, trying to make the bridge, so it's probably a six.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:39:36):
I got a twelve.

Daniel [GM] (00:39:38):
Okay. It definitely calms all the way down, and it is no longer struggling.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:39:46):
Can we give it kisses yet?

Daniel [GM] (00:39:46):
I will say this, ChaCha, you can definitely tell it wants something from one of you. I'll say this because you guys have been doing such a great job at dealing with this in an unconventional way. Nix and ChaCha you're each going to get an XP.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:40:01):
Yeah!

Stace [Nix] (00:40:02):
Yes. Thank you.

Daniel [GM] (00:40:05):
ChaCha, you are going to realize that what this thing is, it was attacking, but ChaCha you have a mental leap, and I need you to make a understanding Numenera roll. Your target before your training is six. So it will be a three.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:40:22):
Oh, thank goodness. I got 16.

Daniel [GM] (00:40:26):
This creature is lonely, and was trying to find a way to take someone back to the dimension where it lives.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:40:36):
Aw!

Sampson [Dili] (00:40:39):
Tentacle Bambi just wants a friend!

Alex [ChaCha] (00:40:42):
Aw. ChaCha is going to give it snuggs.

Daniel [GM] (00:40:45):
Yeah. ChaCha you would probably know that the dimension it comes from is not inhospitable, but there's probably nothing, food and stuff. This thing probably doesn't really understand you guys as entities, it just wanted friends to take over to whatever mirror dimension it exists in.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:41:03):
Well it's now our best friend. I hope you're happy now, Daniel. There are now two doggos in this party.

Stace [Nix] (00:41:11):
Nix is going to try to convey to it, because I think Nix is next? Unless I'm mistaken.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:41:16):
Atalia.

Daniel [GM] (00:41:17):
Next up is Atalia, actually.

Stace [Nix] (00:41:19):
Oh I am mistaken, what a surprise.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:41:21):
I think Atalia will just try to scan it to see if she can figure out any other attributes or what dimension it might be from.

Stace [Nix] (00:41:28):
That's good.

Daniel [GM] (00:41:29):
Good call. You do your scan, and once again it's free for you because you're tier two, when you've got two edge. This is an extra-dimensional entity. However, it also rings a bell for you, because you have come across something that sounds very much like this scans as for you. The phrase that you've heard referred to this is an [exogen 00:41:52]. It's particularly, it can be nasty, but one of the things that you've read from the very few people who have escaped from an exogen's mirror dimension, it's very uncommon for it to happen, is that this creature, it wants company and essentially kind of wants almost, pets. It tries to bring people to the other side. The people who have talked about it, once they got pulled over to the other side, they were basically left alone for the most part, just to live and then they were on their own to figure out. The exogen would visit them from time to time, but it wasn't aggressive in any way once it got them there.

Stace [Nix] (00:42:35):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:42:35):
It literally just wanted companionship. It stumbling on you in the woods, for it, with you guys it was like at an ASPCA adopt-a-thon. It's trying to decide which one of you to grab and bring back home.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:42:52):
It heard World on Fire by Sarah McLaughlin. It knew.

Daniel [GM] (00:43:00):
Yeah. While these things can inflict quite a bit of damage when they want to, they're mostly lonely extra-dimensional creatures and their mirror dimension is very similar to ours, except everything that you see in that dimension is like a shadow of ours. They exist in a mirror dimension, it's unclear if that mirror dimension stretches throughout the entirety of what we consider space time. Or if it's very localized, or if it is literally a dimension that only exists within a certain radius of the exogen. The other thing you know is that it can't stay in your dimension all the time.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:36):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (00:43:37):
There's a limit to how much time it can spend there at any given time.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:40):
Well, I guess I'll share that information with ChaCha, Nix, and Dili. I don't think it can stay here, though, forever.

Sampson [Dili] (00:43:47):
Is it going to take one of us back?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:43:51):
Um, well we could willingly go with it to see if these statues are in here.

Sampson [Dili] (00:43:56):
Oh.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:43:58):
Or it could get us GPS tracker collars and visit us whenever it wanted to.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:06):
Sure, if you can make that work. This is all the data I have at the moment.

Daniel [GM] (00:44:12):
It's been saving up for that microchip connected feeder.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:15):
Yep.

Daniel [GM] (00:44:16):
Make sure you guys don't over eat or steal each other's food.

Sampson [Dili] (00:44:21):
So, can it just hang out with us while we deal with the statues and then we deal with this? Is this connected to the grove, actually? Should we be asking that? Or is this just a coincidence?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:32):
I don't know. We did kind of establish that these trees were extraterrestrial, or extradimensional numenera.

Daniel [GM] (00:44:42):
Yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:44:42):
I don't know if it's from that dimension. It did, in your question asking, you did know that the statues were in a shadowy place, and this mirror dimension is apparently a shadowy version of ours, so maybe.

Daniel [GM] (00:44:56):
Marietta, give me an understanding numenera roll of nine before your training, so it's a six for you.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:45:03):
Got a 17.

Daniel [GM] (00:45:04):
You suspect that this thing was probably drawn by the grove. The activity of the grove attracted it, but it's probably not part of the grove. It's unconnected, but it was drawn to it because of what the grove is. The grove probably extends a little bit into it's dimension as well.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:45:23):
Yeah, so maybe it's mission is part of that, but I don't know. I think they're not related, I think energy of this place drew it to it, you know what I mean?

Sampson [Dili] (00:45:35):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (00:45:35):
It's weird sort of flappy face is looking amongst you as you're talking.

Sampson [Dili] (00:45:41):
Can it understand us?

Daniel [GM] (00:45:43):
But it is definitely relaxed in ChaCha's arms and starts to actually make a purring noise, but it's a purring noise that's got a... It's purring but there's also another level that's of a, almost a higher pitched whine. Not in that it's upset, but that's its version of a purr.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:46:04):
I was going to say, we kind of do that cute baby talk when we see something, like cats talking to each other.

Daniel [GM] (00:46:11):
Yeah.

Stace [Nix] (00:46:12):
Aw.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:14):
Okay, well at this point I feel like we should either go down this tunnel and try to turn off these statues, because I'm feeling like this is where it is. Or we should be like, "Well, they're embedded in trees, so sorry, moving on."

Stace [Nix] (00:46:27):
Wait. So what are we doing with this thing?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:31):
Letting it live it's best life and hoping it returns to be our friend forever, but it can't stay here. It's not sustainable in this dimension.

Stace [Nix] (00:46:38):
All right. Nix attempts to convey that to the creature.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:41):
I feel like the creature is probably aware.

Stace [Nix] (00:46:43):
That they should go back and then they can come visit us whenever?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:49):
Well, I think it's aware that it can't stay here, minimally. But, yeah. Let's be friends.

Sampson [Dili] (00:46:54):
Actually.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:46:55):
Do you know it's language?

Sampson [Dili] (00:46:56):
Quick question before you try. Should we keep it around? Atalia mentioned that this dimension that it goes to is also shadowy, so there's a chance that the statues are in that dimension and this creature might be our ticket there.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:10):
I think it might overlap with that dimension, but from what I've observed, I don't think that the dimension that the statues are in and the dimension that this creature is from are the same. Does that make sense?

Sampson [Dili] (00:47:22):
So you don't think the statues are in that dimension, basically.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:26):
No. I think there might be some overlap with the grove, but I don't think that, at least from what Dan said from my roll, that.

Sampson [Dili] (00:47:33):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:36):
So, I'm feeling like investigate the tunnel.

Stace [Nix] (00:47:40):
Yeah. Just let Nix wrap up this animal thing first.

Daniel [GM] (00:47:43):
Yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:47:45):
It could probably come with us, it just can't stay forever.

Stace [Nix] (00:47:49):
So Nix just acknowledges to the creature its loneliness.

Daniel [GM] (00:47:54):
How would she do that?

Stace [Nix] (00:47:58):
Just like, "Hey, I understand that you need a friend. Friends and family are hard to find and I know why you're here, but you can't stay here. It's not good for you. You've got to go back, but if you ever find us again you should say hi.

Daniel [GM] (00:48:17):
It cocks its head, because it obviously doesn't necessarily understand what language you're speaking. For a moment pauses, and then it cautiously reaches out it's paw, almost that grabbing motion again.

Stace [Nix] (00:48:28):
Nix holds its paw. Well, that's what Nix was going to do next. Like, ChaCha I don't really have anything. That's just Nix's troupe. ChaCha I don't really have anything to give it, do you have anything.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:48:46):
Give it something from this dimension, maybe that will help it find us, if it so desires.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:48:51):
Oh, wait. We can do a telepathic communication with it if we want to use a cypher.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:48:58):
That's a you question. I was thinking like a piece of cloth.

Stace [Nix] (00:49:02):
No, she doesn't have to give it the cypher, she could talk to it.

Daniel [GM] (00:49:05):
Yeah. That's right, you do have that cypher. You have that telepathic ray.

Stace [Nix] (00:49:09):
If it's intelligent, I guess.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:49:11):
I mean, it's trying to steal people. I hope it's intelligent and it's not just like that drunk kid taking animals home and it can't take care of that squirrel.

Stace [Nix] (00:49:21):
That was weirdly specific, Alex.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:49:25):
I have never kidnapped a squirrel.

Stace [Nix] (00:49:27):
Well that clears that up.

Sampson [Dili] (00:49:29):
Can I roll an insight on you, Al?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:49:33):
Yeah, let's use this telepathic ray emitter because why not?

Daniel [GM] (00:49:38):
Okay. So you open up a mental connection with it. I'm going to say you do this in a way, before Nix tries to grab the paw. What it's trying to communicate with the paw is, it understands that Nix is acknowledging it's loneliness. The paw motions are sort of it saying, "Come with me?"

Stace [Nix] (00:49:57):
Oh.

Daniel [GM] (00:49:59):
"Come live home?"

Alex [ChaCha] (00:50:00):
Aw!

Daniel [GM] (00:50:03):
"Good home. Warm. Happy."

Alex [ChaCha] (00:50:06):
ChaCha is going to think at it, "We've got a mission, from God." No, that's Blues Brothers.

Stace [Nix] (00:50:15):
A mission from God.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:50:17):
And kind of make it understand they can't go with it now, maybe once they're done changing the world. And that they should -

Daniel [GM] (00:50:26):
It kind of snorts and give you that... Almost like it's heard the "maybe later" excuse before.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:50:32):
Oh no.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:50:34):
Then ChaCha tries to express, "No, seriously. You can come visit us any time you want and we'll play with you and we'll have brunch." And she'll try and tell it about the awesome meals that Nix's dad makes. And like, "You could be in on this."

Daniel [GM] (00:50:54):
It doesn't really understand the foods that you're envisioning there, but it understands it's something that you like. ChaCha, give me an intellect roll.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:51:04):
ChaCha's going to get tooken.

Daniel [GM] (00:51:06):
Of 12.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:51:07):
Guys, when ChaCha gets taken, somebody has to change the world for her. Oh thank God, I got a nat20.

Daniel [GM] (00:51:17):
Nice. I have an idea of what I would do for a major effect, but you go ahead and tell me your suggestion first.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:51:22):
Listen. It's what we've all been wanting. We want this to be our new best friend that visits on the weekends. What's your suggestion though?

Daniel [GM] (00:51:30):
It's kind of the same. It understands in that moment that it doesn't have the kind of food that you eat, and it doesn't have an easy way of getting it. It's realizing that if it takes you to its dimension, it doesn't have a way to take care of you. But, it does like you guys, and it seems to be acknowledging that impasse and that it wouldn't mind. It says, "ChaCha like, friends?"

Alex [ChaCha] (00:51:59):
Yes. We're friends, best friends. Then she also pulls up a picture of lone shark guy, and she says, "This is also friend."

Daniel [GM] (00:52:08):
"That friend come live?"

Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:09):
No. He has to run the bar. And she picks up a picture of the Queen's Spittoon. But you can go visit them too, they'll be cool. Just show them you're with me.

Daniel [GM] (00:52:24):
It gives you the sensation of a blink. It doesn't actually have eyes. It nods and seems to understand the situation and seems to be kind of... Then it looks up at you and in this mental thing you get this, "Play game?"

Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:40):
Yes. Play game.

Daniel [GM] (00:52:41):
"What game?"

Marietta [Atalia] (00:52:43):
Find the statues!

Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:43):
I know, I'm just trying to think of a good way to do that, like fetch?

Sampson [Dili] (00:52:49):
Treasure hunt?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:49):
Treasure hunt?

Sampson [Dili] (00:52:49):
It's like fetch.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:52:50):
Hide and seek? What's a good way to phrase that in a game?

Sampson [Dili] (00:52:55):
Could you just say "play hunt?" Very simple. It's a hunt, but we're playing.

Daniel [GM] (00:53:03):
You've got a telepathic connection to this, so you can be relatively, you know.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:53:07):
I think she's going to kind of illustrate that the game is going to be finding these statues. Does ChaCha know what the statues look like?

Daniel [GM] (00:53:16):
She doesn't, but she knows that there's three of them.

Sampson [Dili] (00:53:19):
Dili can also throw up an image of what he saw, his memory of what he saw.

Daniel [GM] (00:53:24):
That's true.

Sampson [Dili] (00:53:25):
Gives ChaCha something to work on.

Daniel [GM] (00:53:27):
There is recognition on the exogen's side. It points its head down at the ground below you and paws at it.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:53:39):
Atalia was right.

Sampson [Dili] (00:53:41):
We're going in.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:43):
You okay buddy?

Sampson [Dili] (00:53:45):
No. Not really.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:53:47):
Aren't you excited to explore new places? Learn new things?

Daniel [GM] (00:53:52):
The exogen kind of looks at ChaCha and looks at the tunnel, and then looks up at you. How long does your telepathic emitter last, again?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:54:01):
I don't have how long it lasts, just that it's within 200 ft.

Daniel [GM] (00:54:07):
Okay. It's meant to last for an encounter, or something like that. You probably don't have much longer as this telepathic connection. It suggests to you, "Faster way?" And in your mind you see this image of it going across its dimension and then coming back out somewhere else.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:54:28):
I think ChaCha agrees. Like, "okay."

Daniel [GM] (00:54:32):
It kind of hops around happily, and then motions with its paw again towards each person to come close.

Sampson [Dili] (00:54:40):
Have we been hearing this conversation at all?

Daniel [GM] (00:54:42):
No, you haven't.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:54:43):
ChaCha is going to be like, "He's got a shortcut, so we just need to go into his home and then it will take us to the statues. But he totally understands that he can't care for us because he can't make food like Nix's dad."

Stace [Nix] (00:55:00):
Oh, okay.

Sampson [Dili] (00:55:01):
What a smart puppy.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:55:03):
I vigorously pet Jeskii's head.

Daniel [GM] (00:55:07):
Yeah. Jeskii is a little bit nervous, but is willing to follow along. So is everybody getting close to this creature?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:14):
Yes, we are falling for this trap.

Sampson [Dili] (00:55:16):
Hesitantly, but yes.

Daniel [GM] (00:55:18):
ChaCha, you get the feeling that all of you need to be touching it for this to work.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:23):
Like, everybody big group hug or else somebody's going to get an arm left behind.

Sampson [Dili] (00:55:28):
Oh no. Dili touches the thing.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:55:31):
Atalia will as well, holding on to Jeskii.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:55:34):
What about Nix?

Stace [Nix] (00:55:39):
Nix has been holding its paw.

Daniel [GM] (00:55:39):
There's a strange twisting feeling and you guys find yourselves somewhere else. You can see the place where you were, but it's like faded, misty images of it. It's not as dreary or as terrifying as, say, the upside-down in Stranger Things, but it's got that sort of same shadowy version of what the world is. The exogen kind of prances around and leads you, starts walking away and then turns back and motions with his head for you guys to follow. Even though this perspective does not make sense to just be walking in this direction, you suddenly see these shadowy images fade and you see the shadow of some sort of strange cavern deep underground, with these three bright lights in the center. The exogen comes over next to you guys and seems to motion as if for you guys to touch it again.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:56:41):
Okay. I do that.

Daniel [GM] (00:56:43):
And you guys appear back on the other side, in clearly your dimension, in this shadowy cavern. With these three statues of humanoid figures, except their faces are almost grab like, that are glowing in the center of this room. From them are where all the roots connect at one point.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:57:08):
Fascinating. Atalia will scan the statues to see if there's any way to deactivate them, but not touch them.

Daniel [GM] (00:57:21):
Okay. You're going to scan them. They're ancient, very, very ancient. They are powering the grove of these ruins. This grove of trees, they are what's supplying all the power, it's what's keeping them growing, it's also clear to you that it's also what's keeping anybody who's connected to that grove system alive.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:57:44):
Okay, so yeah they're just going to wind up dying, that's a bummer. But we should probably shut this shit down.

Daniel [GM] (00:57:50):
With your scan, I'm not going to make you roll Numenera, because you've got enough that it will be a gimmie anyway at this point, that shutting it down is not going to undo the grove. The grove will just slowly wither and die without it's power source.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:05):
Okay, but we should still kill the power source is what it sounds like.

Daniel [GM] (00:58:08):
Yeah. The question is, do you want to deactivate it or do you want to destroy it?

Alex [ChaCha] (00:58:12):
Deactivate.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:13):
I feel like if we destroy it, then it can't function again.

Sampson [Dili] (00:58:17):
Yeah. If we deactivate it, it's possible it could still get to Momma Jerrun.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:58:23):
Yeah, I was like, didn't Momma J want these? Or somebody wanted them.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:27):
Oh, she wants these?

Daniel [GM] (00:58:30):
The caravan was bringing these to Charmonde as secretively as it could.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:36):
Did she ask us to bring it to her?

Stace [Nix] (00:58:37):
Oh, yeah.

Daniel [GM] (00:58:38):
Yes, she did.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:58:40):
We were supposed to find out what was wrong with the caravan.

Stace [Nix] (00:58:41):
And if we couldn't, we were supposed to bring back the caravaneers if we could, but item wasn't optional.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:58:50):
Ah. I guess I'll study them further and see if there's any way to shut them off without touching them.

Alex [ChaCha] (00:58:55):
ChaCha would like to give an asset for that.

Daniel [GM] (00:59:00):
Okay. With an asset, that brings it down to a 15, Atalia. Then you are trained, so it's a 12. Do you want to spend any effort.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:10):
Yes.

Daniel [GM] (00:59:11):
Okay.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:13):
Yeah, I'm going to do that.

Daniel [GM] (00:59:14):
If you're spending effort, are you spending one level or two levels?

Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:19):
Two levels.

Daniel [GM] (00:59:20):
That will cost you three.

Marietta [Atalia] (00:59:26):
Ten.

Daniel [GM] (00:59:27):
You think you could deactivate the statues. It will require some odd uses of your assetaries, but you think you could effectively turn off these statues. They were activated in error by, apparently, some curious caravaners, but you think you can turn it off. Given about an hour to safely do a shut-down sequence, you could turn them off and maintain their effectiveness. Alternatively, you're very clear there is a way you could disable them so they wouldn't work again and just shut them off. Disabling them would only take about 30 minutes, or you could take about an hour or two to do a safe shut-down sequence.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:16):
I'll share that information with them. I don't know what you want me to do. It just seems really dangerous, especially with a lot of people.

Sampson [Dili] (01:00:20):
How big are the statues? Could we carry them?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:23):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (01:00:24):
You would need a cart.

Stace [Nix] (01:00:28):
We can deactivate them though, right? So then they could be reactivated later? Or if we deactivate them, do we still need to not touch them?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:36):
Could I touch it if I...

Daniel [GM] (01:00:38):
Atalia with her understanding role, she knows how to deactivate them and she would know what to tell you guys not to do to risk them turning on again. She could point out the no-no zones that you should not touch the statues.

Stace [Nix] (01:00:51):
All right.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:00:52):
Yeah, so if you don't touch any of these obvious looking buttons, it would have been fine.

Stace [Nix] (01:00:57):
All right, cool. What else do you need? What do you need us to do?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:02):
So I'm deactivating it, not destroying it, just to be clear. We're just going to give her these weird statues that eat people.

Stace [Nix] (01:01:09):
Yes.

Sampson [Dili] (01:01:10):
I think if used properly...

Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:11):
Okay, and we trust Momma Jerrun enough. Cool, sure, yeah. Atalia will be like, "Give me an hour." And she'll start methodically, safely, all safety procedures, deactivating.

Sampson [Dili] (01:01:24):
Dili will help.

Daniel [GM] (01:01:25):
Atalia pulls her goggles out of her bag.

Sampson [Dili] (01:01:29):
Dili will help if he can.

Stace [Nix] (01:01:30):
D5 rated goggles.

Daniel [GM] (01:01:34):
Yes. It takes a little bit of time, but it does take about an hour and a half to go through the safety routines, but these do power down and they stop glowing. The roots stop glowing, and you definitely feel like the grove doesn't have power anymore. The grove is, for lack of a better word, dying.

Sampson [Dili] (01:01:57):
Hooray!

Marietta [Atalia] (01:01:59):
Why do I not feel excited?

Sampson [Dili] (01:02:00):
Because you still have to deal with four bodies somewhere, suffering, in the grove.

Daniel [GM] (01:02:07):
Yeah, those bodies are not going to last long without the power. They're probably toast by now.

Sampson [Dili] (01:02:15):
But are they dead?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:02:15):
So, how are we going to get these back to Momma J is the real question. We didn't bring a cart with us.

Daniel [GM] (01:02:20):
The funny thing about that is that a [riot 01:02:22] can craft things if they have materials, and it doesn't just have to be crazy Numenera shit.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:02:27):
Put down some sparkle trees?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:02:31):
There are sparkle trees.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:02:32):
Like a sparkle cart?

Daniel [GM] (01:02:34):
I think Dili knows what a cart is.

Sampson [Dili] (01:02:36):
Yes.

Daniel [GM] (01:02:38):
If you wanted to try to use the materials of these trees, I think that would be a salvaging roll.

Sampson [Dili] (01:02:45):
Ugh, all right. Can I build a cart without needing IO, just because that should be fine, right?

Daniel [GM] (01:02:52):
Yeah, you don't need an IO for a cart.

Sampson [Dili] (01:02:52):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (01:02:54):
But you could salvage them to try to see if you could get something better than just... Essentially you have an extra-dimensional Numenera forest. You could absolutely just take raw implements of it and essentially try to build a cart out of what's effectively extra-dimensional CPUs. Or, you could try to salvage them to see if you could also get something else that's of use out of them.

Sampson [Dili] (01:03:18):
All right. Let me see what I can do. Can we get the statues out from beneath the tree? Or is that going to be it's own task?

Daniel [GM] (01:03:26):
It would be very difficult if the exogen wasn't so willing to help you guys. I think you guys could probably communicate to it that you're trying to get it out and it could help you, the same way it helped you get in.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:03:35):
Yeah!

Daniel [GM] (01:03:37):
There are a lot of ways that exogen encounter could have turned out, and I'm delightfully surprised this is how it came out.

Sampson [Dili] (01:03:43):
I guess Dili is going to pop outside to the home dimension outside the tree and start gathering materials to build a little cart wagon thing.

Stace [Nix] (01:03:54):
Nix is just very happily carrying the heavy things for Dili.

Daniel [GM] (01:03:58):
Dili, you for sure will get the pieces that you need for the cart. That is not in question at all. You could build the cart. It will take you a couple of hours to actually build it, but optionally you can attempt to salvage some of these trees to see if you can get something else cool out of them. It's up to you if you want to do it. It will take you at least 15 minutes each attempt.

Stace [Nix] (01:04:31):
Can I help Dili at all?

Daniel [GM] (01:04:33):
You probably have an inability in salvaging.

Stace [Nix] (01:04:39):
Okay. JK, nevermind.

Daniel [GM] (01:04:40):
Dili also has an inability.

Sampson [Dili] (01:04:42):
Yeah. So say it again, I can get the pieces for the cart, but to do extra salvaging would be 15 minutes?

Daniel [GM] (01:04:50):
Yep, each time you wanted to try it.

Sampson [Dili] (01:04:52):
Yeah, once he has all the pieces piled up he will try, at least once, salvaging Numenera. See how that goes.

Daniel [GM] (01:05:01):
Okay. It's going to be a salvaging Numenera roll of twelve. You have an inability, so it's a 15.

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:07):
I will put a level of effort into that.

Daniel [GM] (01:05:09):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:09):
Seven.

Daniel [GM] (01:05:13):
You are unable to get any item from it, but you were able to get some very interesting synth that's quite durable.

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:24):
How many units?

Daniel [GM] (01:05:26):
Two.

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:27):
All right. This is the responsive synth?

Daniel [GM] (01:05:30):
No, that would be IO.

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:32):
Oh, right.

Daniel [GM] (01:05:34):
If you had passed your salvaging role that might have been the item you got, or it might have been something completely different.

Sampson [Dili] (01:05:39):
Since that doesn't work, Dili is going to go back to crafting the wagon, or the cart.

Daniel [GM] (01:05:45):
Okay. We're going to do a crafting Numenera roll. This is pretty easy to do, we're just trying to figure out the amount of hours. There's actually a rule for how long that takes. I think a cart, we'll say you could do it in a day if you do it well. We'll do it rolling a crafting Numenera roll to see if you could somehow speed that up if you wanted to.

Sampson [Dili] (01:06:11):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (01:06:12):
Let's say, give me a nine crafting Numenera roll before your skill, which brings it down to a six.

Sampson [Dili] (01:06:20):
And then I also have crafting tools. Does that give me an asset at all?

Daniel [GM] (01:06:23):
That does give you an asset, it brings it down to a three.

Sampson [Dili] (01:06:24):
All right.

Daniel [GM] (01:06:26):
Good thinking.

Sampson [Dili] (01:06:28):
Then I'm making a ten face, I'm going to put a level of effort into this to give me a three.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:06:32):
I think I'm trained in tinkering with things to make them work, at least work for me. Could I assist?

Daniel [GM] (01:06:39):
Yeah, but he's building something. He's building something brand new.

Sampson [Dili] (01:06:43):
I'm imagining I'm asking Nix to chop the dimensional wood for me, and she's just going around like Minecraft, just pop pop pop pop pop.

Daniel [GM] (01:06:51):
Yeah.

Stace [Nix] (01:06:51):
Oh yeah.

Daniel [GM] (01:06:52):
You finish this project in ten hours instead of the whole day.

Stace [Nix] (01:06:58):
I'm sorry, I want to imagine Nix is doing it like Animal Crossing style. Before you have tools you're just shaking the trees.

Daniel [GM] (01:07:06):
Yeah. Just getting little branches to fall, occasionally getting stung by interdimensional wasps.

Stace [Nix] (01:07:13):
Ew.

Daniel [GM] (01:07:14):
Did you guys ever see that video of the person in Animal Crossing? They shake the tree, the wasps fall, and they manage to freeze it so they can bring up the typing screen so they can go "Oh, shit!"

Alex [ChaCha] (01:07:28):
That was amazing.

Sampson [Dili] (01:07:28):
Nix, you're having a lot of trouble with those tarantulas over there, are you good?

Stace [Nix] (01:07:32):
Never could catch the damn tarantulas, Dili. Never not once.

Daniel [GM] (01:07:38):
You guys now have a perfectly serviceable cart.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:07:42):
Is it sparkles?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:07:43):
Wow, I am so impressed. This is amazing. It even seems like it's going to function!

Stace [Nix] (01:07:51):
Guys, I hate to bring it up, but am I pulling the cart? Or?

Daniel [GM] (01:07:59):
That's right, you guys haven't established how you're going to move the cart.

Stace [Nix] (01:08:01):
Because I can, probably.

Sampson [Dili] (01:08:05):
How quickly do we want to get to Shallamas?

Daniel [GM] (01:08:08):
You also haven't found Stanis yet.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:08:11):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (01:08:12):
And there is a looming mystery of the two that were harvested.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:08:18):
Yeah.

Sampson [Dili] (01:08:18):
Oh, right. I mean, it took 10 hours so maybe ChaCha and Atalia went off and...

Alex [ChaCha] (01:08:23):
Tried to find harvested people?

Daniel [GM] (01:08:28):
Yeah, we can canonically split the party. That's fine.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:08:31):
Yeah, let's do that. Let's go. Atalia and ChaCha, finding the harvested bodies.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:08:34):
And Jeskii.

Daniel [GM] (01:08:34):
That would actually be kind of cool because we haven't seen much of Atalia and ChaCha doing things together.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:08:41):
All right, we're looking for bodies, alive or dead. We're trying to get a full count and description so we can bring them back. Do we get a full roster of who was there with the cart?

Daniel [GM] (01:08:53):
All you know was what Dili was able to determine, that there was originally six people embedded in the grove. Two of them had been harvested by a third party.

Sampson [Dili] (01:09:01):
So there should be three left.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:03):
Okay.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:09:04):
Searching.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:05):
Okay, well Atalia will make notes of what the one dude that's for sure dead looks like. Even in his very sad state.

Daniel [GM] (01:09:13):
You definitely find two other dead bodies embedded in the grove. You find another dead body that is in the roots that is not dead yet. It can't speak, but they're clearly heaving like they're on their way out.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:30):
Atalia will just slit their throat.

Daniel [GM] (01:09:34):
Atalia pulls out her forearm blade?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:36):
Yeah, retracts, slit, we're done.

Daniel [GM] (01:09:39):
I felt the need to point that out, because I just love that Atalia has a forearm blade. I love that detail.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:43):
Of course it's a forearm blade. She has no other weapon.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:09:46):
Exactly.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:47):
That's her only weapon, is a forearm blade.

Stace [Nix] (01:09:50):
Yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:09:50):
She's a nano!

Daniel [GM] (01:09:52):
You guys reach the edge of the grove and you hear a strange... Incidentally, your exogen is no longer in this dimension. They had to go back. The three of you, Jeskii included.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:05):
Jeskii!

Daniel [GM] (01:10:07):
Are there and there is a strange buzzing sound in the air.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:13):
ChaCha, there are some bees. We hear bees. Didn't she say something about bees?

Alex [ChaCha] (01:10:20):
I don't think ChaCha has told anybody about the vision bees.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:25):
Oh. Well, the lady mentioned the bees though, didn't she? The Clemuel lady?

Daniel [GM] (01:10:31):
Clemuel did say she heard the sound of bees, yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:33):
I guess Atalia will start getting a little spooked and be like, "Didn't Clemuel say she heard some bees right before she turned tail and ran away?"

Alex [ChaCha] (01:10:41):
Yeah.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:10:42):
Did she say anything else about them other than, "Ah, bees! Run!"?

Daniel [GM] (01:10:46):
Well, as you guys are having that conversation, you do see off in the distance by the edge of the grove, bees buzzing about. They're strange almost half-phased bees, which in some ways is comforting for ChaCha. But, is probably a little bit unnerving for Atalia. Some of them have been buzzing around the grove and they appear to be upset, like they were coming to the grove to presumably harvest and pollinate. They are buzzing about and they appear to be unhappy. You see, this is behind them, a figure about 12 feet tall, roughly humanoid in shape, but seems to be made of a mass of living bees. As the bees seem to grow more upset, this figure kind of turns its head, once again completely made of bees, and begins stalking towards the boarder of the grove. And that's where we'll end this episode.

Sampson [Dili] (01:11:55):
Fuck.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:11:55):
Daniel, have you watched Hannibal?

Daniel [GM] (01:11:56):
I haven't.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:11:58):
Okay. I meant the TV show, to be specific.

Daniel [GM] (01:12:00):
Yeah, no. I've heard great things about it, but I haven't watched it yet.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:12:04):
Okay.

Daniel [GM] (01:12:04):
It's on my list.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:12:05):
I don't really think you need more fodder for your creepy plot lines, but if you're ever like, "I really need some good, dark aesthetic TV."

Daniel [GM] (01:12:15):
Yeah. Alex, was there anything that stuck out from this episode for you for ChaCha?

Alex [ChaCha] (01:12:19):
I think it was really fun that we came together as a team and we got a new friend. We weren't just like, "Guess what? Everyone's murdered!"

Stace [Nix] (01:12:32):
Yeah, which really seems like...

Marietta [Atalia] (01:12:34):
And it worked.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:12:36):
I know!

Stace [Nix] (01:12:37):
Not our usual thing.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:12:39):
We did straight up murder that one dude.

Stace [Nix] (01:12:42):
What? Which dude?

Alex [ChaCha] (01:12:44):
The guy who wanted to be murdered.

Stace [Nix] (01:12:46):
I...

Marietta [Atalia] (01:12:47):
That was you, my dude. That wasn't a "we." That was you.

Stace [Nix] (01:12:49):
I feel like that's a nuanced situation that didn't meet the technical definition of murder.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:12:57):
We humanely euthanized him? Well, not humanely, because.

Daniel [GM] (01:13:01):
Whatever helps you guys sleep at night. So, we have a segment that we do each week called "Player Intrusions," where we offer you, the listener, an XP to check out something that we think you would absolutely dig. This week it is Alex's turn. Alex, what would you offer our listeners an XP to check out.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:13:23):
This is going to sound really weird, but weight training. Most people who know me know that I have loose ligaments, and the only way to help my ligaments not be like, "Guess what? Fluff you!" Is to actually weight train. Especially in quarantine, that was super hard. Now that things are re-opening and I'm able to weight train, it's made my life so much better. It's one of the few things that you could actually pick up that you will be able to consistently see yourself progress in. You can either see yourself progress in the volume of weight that you're able to lift, or how easy it is. It's a nice thing. It's something you should do for your health, if you're able to, because it helps establish stronger muscles, which help your bones. It's a good thing to do as safely as possible. You don't need to go out and do what I did and do an incline sled of almost 200 pound squat. You can do, "I'm going to use these 5 pound hand weights because I don't have a spotter."

Daniel [GM] (01:14:39):
Right.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:14:40):
I think if you have access, you don't need to get weights. You can be like, "Here's my gallon of milk I'm going to use as a hand weight," or "Here are these text books for college that they won't buy back because I used it for a month." Congratulations, you now have a fancy hand weight.

Daniel [GM] (01:14:58):
Or all your RPG source books.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:15:00):
Yes. I was using those for weighted glute bridges so much.

Daniel [GM] (01:15:05):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Alex [ChaCha] (01:15:06):
So yeah.

Daniel [GM] (01:15:07):
It's good. Does somebody else on the podcast do weight training?

Stace [Nix] (01:15:10):
I occasionally pick up heavy things and put them back down again.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:15:14):
I usually do more body weight stuff, or yoga.

Daniel [GM] (01:15:18):
I've been doing more body weight since quarantine.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:15:21):
Do you know that you can exercise without a gym? That's what quarantine taught me!

Stace [Nix] (01:15:26):
For when, because I've found at times that weight training can be kind of hard to get in. Obviously during quarantine, but even before. Maybe you can't get to the gym three days a week, but you could get in two. Resistance bands are a good alternative for those off days. I use the shit out of resistance bands.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:15:45):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Stace [Nix] (01:15:46):
Yeah.

Daniel [GM] (01:15:46):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Stace [Nix] (01:15:47):
You can kick your own ass with resistance bands.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:15:50):
Definitely.

Stace [Nix] (01:15:52):
For sure.

Daniel [GM] (01:15:53):
Very cool. That's a good pick. If people wanted to reach out to us and tell us about what they think about the podcast, or if they are into weight training and want to tell us about cool things that they've found for people to work their way in, as long as it's not cross fit, because I have enough people in my life that tell me about cross fit. How would they do that Marietta?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:16:13):
Oh man! Well, they should start at the source, which is our website. It is explorerswanted.fm. There's links to everything on there. We are pretty active on Twitter, we are @explorerswanted there. We are on Instagram @explorerswantedpodcast, we're on Facebook, we're Explorers Wanted Podcast there. We are very active on our discord, which there are links to on all of the social medias and our website. We would love if you'd come hang out with us, dude. That's the best way to interact with us, especially on the reg because we're all in there all the time. But, the thing that would really help us pretty concretely would be if you'd back us on our Patreon, which is a thing that we have now for Explorers Wanted. Like our good pal Commoner Nick.

Sampson [Dili] (01:16:59):
Woo!

Daniel [GM] (01:17:00):
Yeah, we would truly appreciate any support you can provide to us to help us cover the bills. We also have some stretch goals there of additional content we want to do for you guys. Like livestream one shots and things like that. Although honestly, if you can't support us on Patreon we totally get it. Honestly the best thing that you could do for us right now, since we are a new-ish podcast is tell your friends about us if you enjoyed it. Tell them what you liked about the podcast, why they should listen to it. That is huge. The second best thing you could do for us is leave us a five star rating or review on a podcast directory. That makes a huge difference, particularly if it's a written review, because that really helps people find us. In fact, we recently received our first written review. What was that, Stace?

Stace [Nix] (01:17:54):
Yeah, our very first written review on Apple Podcasts, from R. Blank. It is a five star rating, and we greatly appreciate that, but even better, R. Blank tells us what they like about it. It's titled, "Great chemistry and weird story." "Just stumbled on this podcast a few days ago and I am already through five of the episodes, I love it. The players are all fun at getting to the story, the story is weird and twisting, great editing and fun sound effects that really add to the story. I can't wait to see where this story goes." Me either, honestly. Also, R. Blank, if you've listened this far, you said here you've been through five episodes, let me know when you've been through 14 and tell me what you think at that point. Okay?

Marietta [Atalia] (01:18:40):
He will update this review to three stars just for [crosstalk 01:18:50].

Stace [Nix] (01:18:50):
"I can't believe they did that, that was clearly not where they were supposed to go."

Daniel [GM] (01:18:55):
Yes, thank you so much for the reviews. If you didn't like the podcast, if you hated the podcast, don't bother leaving us a review. There's a better option for that. Go to your local aquarium or zoo and look for an otter exhibit. First of all, otters are super adorable, except when they eat. But most of the time when you visit them they'll be swimming, playing, or sleeping and you won't have to think about those sharp long teeth. That's the easy part. Now find the glass in the exhibit that shows the under water portion of where the otters live and press your ear to it. If your hearing is key, you'll be able to hear them playing beneath the water. And if you're very lucky, you might even hear one say your name. If so, congratulations, the otter has claimed you, and you won't have to wait long before they finally come to collect. If you want to reach out to us individually on social media, you can. You can find me on Twitter @Andrlik. A-N-D-R-L-I-K.

Stace [Nix] (01:20:00):
You can find me on Twitter @StaceWendy.

Sampson [Dili] (01:20:03):
You can tell me how much you can squat in terms of bees @SlamPotato.

Alex [ChaCha] (01:20:08):
You can tell me what encourages you to run, especially away from @RealtyUnicorn.

Marietta [Atalia] (01:20:15):
You can tell me to remember how to be active on Twitter @imonahike.

Daniel [GM] (01:20:20):
Okay, that's it for us. I hope you enjoyed the show. Have a good night, or day, or morning, or whenever you're listening to this. And bye!

Marietta [Atalia] (01:20:28):
Bye!

Alex [ChaCha] (01:20:28):
Bye!

Stace [Nix] (01:20:28):
Bye!

Sampson [Dili] (01:20:28):
Bye!

Sampson [Dili] (01:20:28):
(silence)