Daniel Andrlik (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 Finn (00:00:41): Hey. I'm just choking on a gummy bear, not sugar free, so I'm not going shit to myself while recording. Daniel Andrlik (00:00:47): Stace Babcock. Stace Babcock (00:00:48): You guys, after the events of last episode, does that mean that Nix now has a jade leg? Daniel Andrlik (00:00:59): And Samson Davis. Sampson Davis (00:01:00): In my notes, and I'm going to talk about that, I did accidentally write down, "Nix is going to lose an egg," before realizing, "Oh, leg." That's funny. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:12): Well, speaking of which, who remembers what happened last time? I think I'm going to pick on Alex. Alex Finn (00:01:19): Okay. Well, luckily enough, we remembered this time to be like illusion, we're disguised and there's a wall. You can't see us, but rolls weren't that great. Dili got the hiccups and it turns out Deuces can hear heartbeats? I'm surprised we didn't find any ... What are they called? Prosthetic ears on him. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:42): Incidentally, that was set up in Dili session zero that Deuces could do that. Alex Finn (00:01:43): Oh, I forgot. Sampson Davis (00:01:47): Oh, that's what he was doing. Fuck. That was so long ago. Alex Finn (00:01:51): God damn. You GM's and the long burn. Fucking call back to session zero, bitches. Anyway. We were discovered and ChaCha made a bad decision because she thought she could do a controlled burn on the egg goo and it went up like an implosion and we got pretty banged up. Oopsy-doodle, my bad, my bad. I will own that, but I feel like I had to do it after getting the Nat One thinking it could be a controlled burn. I had to do it. A. Alex Finn (00:02:24): The Nix threw a fire grenade, which was dope and got him pretty good. Then we started combat and we did manage to kill Deuces. We are narrowing down Dili's hit list that he doesn't classify it as a hit list, but we're using it as a hit list. But unfortunately one of the side goons got Nix in the leg and after killing everyone besides Doc Taraz, the one time we chose non-violence it turns out, oopsy-doodle, Nix is going to lose that leg, but we were just like, "We can fix her. We can make her better." Alex Finn (00:03:03): We did more surgery after making a deal with Doc Taraz to get a better joint connecto, Dili cut off Nix's leg and put on a new bionic leg. Oh, I have to take that off my character sheet. We no longer have Deuce's leg as a meat club or Ace's leg. Damn. Stace Babcock (00:03:23): Oh my God. Nix's crippled Aces, causing him to have to have the leg. Alex Finn (00:03:27): Full circle. Fuck, yeah. That's poetic. Stace Babcock (00:03:32): Daniel. Cunning. Alex Finn (00:03:34): That's poetic as fuck. Daniel Andrlik (00:03:37): I'm waggling my eyebrows at them. [inaudible 00:03:39] obviously can't see that. Stace Babcock (00:03:40): I tip my hat to you, sir. Alex Finn (00:03:41): Are you wearing a hat? Stace Babcock (00:03:42): I'm tipping my proverbial hat. Sampson Davis (00:03:45): What a weird way to get around the medical industry. Stace Babcock (00:03:50): Sorry. It was called back to a conversation we had before recording. Alex Finn (00:03:53): Aw, fuck. Now, I'm distracted. Then we thought everything was going to be amazing and hunky dory, but then the green light after Doc Taraz hit a wall, turned red and we're now in an uh-oh again. Yeah, I think? Daniel Andrlik (00:04:14): Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:04:14): There was a force field surrounding her. Alex Finn (00:04:16): Yeah, she has a force field. We do not. Oh. Stace Babcock (00:04:19): It was green and then it turned red. Right? Alex Finn (00:04:22): Alex, the person is now suspicious that Doc Taraz is stealing energy through those jade eggs. Stace Babcock (00:04:29): I don't know how else to ... Yeah. Alex Finn (00:04:32): I don't know how to feel about addicting eggs that are machine laid and it's slurm, it's slurm, it's slurm. Daniel Andrlik (00:04:41): ChaCha is free to inspect any of the eggs that she wants. Of course, this wall is flashing red and Doc Taraz has just said, "Uh-oh," so it's up to you guys what you want to do now. Alex Finn (00:04:51): Uh-oh, what? Daniel Andrlik (00:04:53): It appears the struggle in this room has triggered some of the automated defenses of the ruins. Sampson Davis (00:05:01): A bit of a delayed reaction, I would say. Daniel Andrlik (00:05:03): I was trying to be careful. Anyway. I would strongly suggest you exit the ruins. Stace Babcock (00:05:11): Egg-sit? Sampson Davis (00:05:11): Oh my god. Daniel Andrlik (00:05:18): I am so ashamed that it took me so long to catch that. I would strongly recommend that you guys exit the ruins as soon as you can, because the countermeasures are about to kick in. Sampson Davis (00:05:34): Oh shit, all right. Nix, how are you feeling? Alex Finn (00:05:37): Oh yeah. I could run. Sampson Davis (00:05:39): That's good. Alex Finn (00:05:40): I can sort of run. Yeah, yeah. Yo, Doc, I'll catch you around. Daniel Andrlik (00:05:46): Well, we won't see each other until I need to call on the favor. Right? Alex Finn (00:05:50): I'm not going to try to find you, but our journeys ... Daniel Andrlik (00:05:54): Nix, by the way you, did take four of my damage from that surgery. Stace Babcock (00:05:58): Oh, well luckily Nix had regained five, so she's not impaired. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:04): Where's she at? Stace Babcock (00:06:06): She's at 1,4,9 for her pools. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:09): Nice. Okay. Stace Babcock (00:06:10): Yeah. Nix is running. Nix is out of there. Alex Finn (00:06:13): Can ChaCha swipe an egg as we run by? Daniel Andrlik (00:06:16): Yeah. I think ChaCha could do that easily. Alex Finn (00:06:18): Fuck yeah. We're doing it. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:20): Especially since she's trained in running, you could grab it without a roll. Alex Finn (00:06:24): Sweet. Hey Nix. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:25): You grabbed one of the slime covered eggs and start. Dili is running along. It's not his specialty, but he can run along next. Nix, like I said, you are impaired for a little bit with this leg, but you are already starting to feel like the impairment seems to be because this leg, it's a little bit longer than your right leg, but the control system seems to be automatically compensating for that by the way it bends its knee. The challenge that you're finding that you're slightly impaired about right now, is that it seems like it has more propulsive power and it's synthetic muscle than your other leg. Stace Babcock (00:07:07): Nice. Daniel Andrlik (00:07:09): Essentially Nix has an over-clocked prostetic. Sampson Davis (00:07:11): Oh yeah. Water cooled, double threads. Stace Babcock (00:07:14): Nix starts to bound on her improved leg. Daniel Andrlik (00:07:18): Yeah. So are you guys heading out the way you came in or are you trying to go out some other way? Alex Finn (00:07:24): I wonder if we should try a different way because that one magnetic room and Nix's new leg? Sampson Davis (00:07:30): Oh, that's a good point. Alex Finn (00:07:32): I don't want to rip it off. Daniel Andrlik (00:07:36): I would say this, Nix, you seem to be okay with it, but the rest of you do smell a faint scent of burning flesh where the connection agent is cauterizing the final connection against Nix. Nix doesn't seem to notice that pain though. Alex Finn (00:07:51): I'm hungry. It smells like barbecue. Yeah, I know. Sampson Davis (00:07:55): So if we want to avoid the red cylinder room, we basically need to make this decision now. Do we have to pass through the ruby arch to get to the other doorway? Alex Finn (00:08:06): No. Daniel Andrlik (00:08:07): No. There's a way around it. It's not convenient, but there's a way around it on that route. Sampson Davis (00:08:11): Okay. Because following the map, we basically need to take the other door in the ruby arch room. Alex Finn (00:08:16): I feel like we also disabled the arch anyway, didn't we? Sampson Davis (00:08:20): Oh yeah. I also got a bunch of shit for that, that's right. Still, that's our only other way. Daniel Andrlik (00:08:26): Okay. Incidentally, because I'm a kind GM, I will tell you that I have started a clock with three wedges. Alex Finn (00:08:35): Let's try the other door. Stace Babcock (00:08:37): Yeah. Let's fucking go. Pitter-patter, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:08:41): All right, yeah. I'm walking behind just to the side to her. Let's go. Daniel Andrlik (00:08:44): Okay. You entered this other room and you see that there are racks of devices in this room that glow with red light. They have activation sequences that are clear, like on/off buttons. I would say that especially Chacha and Dili with immediately recognize them as on/off buttons but your abilities within there are simplistic, glyphs that have been passed down through multiple worlds. There are variations on them, of course, but this is an unknown variation. There are two doors here; one forward and one to the right. Alex Finn (00:09:26): Sampson, what does the map say? Sampson Davis (00:09:29): Both are not going towards where we entered, so I'll just go right? Alex Finn (00:09:35): Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:09:35): Yeah. Nix is already through that door. Sampson Davis (00:09:37): All right, all right. Daniel Andrlik (00:09:40): You're going to the right. Are you doing anything else in this room before you go? Sampson Davis (00:09:41): Nah. Daniel Andrlik (00:09:43): Okay. You enter another room. There is a door to the left, a door forward and a door to the right. There is a small pool in the middle of the room filled with a yellow liquid. Alex Finn (00:09:59): Nature check? Daniel Andrlik (00:10:02): Okay. It would be a 12. Alex Finn (00:10:03): We probably should double-check before we run through it. Daniel Andrlik (00:10:07): Yeah. It'll be a 12 understanding Numenera, which I think you have training in, which should be- Alex Finn (00:10:11): Yes I do and I got 17. Daniel Andrlik (00:10:14): Okay. You're not exactly sure. This fluid doesn't appear to be dangerous, but it does appear to be in an odd sort of stasis. You think that were you to touch it, your own body heat would probably turn it to gas. Alex Finn (00:10:28): We can go through. I don't think it's dangerous, but it might turn into gas if we run through it. Stace Babcock (00:10:35): Can we go around? Daniel Andrlik (00:10:35): Oh yeah. You can easily get around it. Stace Babcock (00:10:38): All right. Nix goes around it to the right most door. Daniel Andrlik (00:10:42): The right most door, okay. Stace Babcock (00:10:46): The right. Daniel Andrlik (00:10:46): Your goal is to make three rights until a left essentially. You see a room here with a door to the left, no other doors. Stace Babcock (00:10:55): Damn it. Daniel Andrlik (00:10:56): You see these green crystal cylinders filling this room. The crystal cylinders are not empty. You don't know exactly how many of these crystal cylinders are in here. There's a lot of them. In each one of them, are several small humanoid, but unrecognizable creatures. There must be thousands of them in this room floating in these green cylinders. Sampson Davis (00:11:24): Oh, I hope these aren't what's in the eggs. That could be problematic. Alex Finn (00:11:27): We'll find out in a minute when we get out and ChaCha holds up the egg. Daniel Andrlik (00:11:31): Anybody who wants to can make a perception roll of six. Alex Finn (00:11:36): Yes. Stace Babcock (00:11:36): Oh, 14. Alex Finn (00:11:36): 18. Sampson Davis (00:11:37): 12. Daniel Andrlik (00:11:39): The cylinders are exactly the same color as the eggs. Alex Finn (00:11:43): ChaCha is going to have a baby? Wait, are we implanting babies in people? Sampson Davis (00:11:49): We are doing none of that. Doc Taraz is the [brew weather 00:11:52]. Alex Finn (00:11:51): I'm very concerned now that we should have killed Doc Taraz. Stace Babcock (00:11:57): You know what ChaCha? I don't think, but you're wrong, honestly. Shit. Sampson Davis (00:12:05): We'll tell Mamma Jerrun about this one, right? Stace Babcock (00:12:09): Yeah. We're going to tell Mamma Jerrun about this. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:11): Okay. You hear a rumbling from far behind. Alex Finn (00:12:14): Let's start going and ChaCha runs to the left door. Stace Babcock (00:12:19): It's technically the right most door. Sampson Davis (00:12:24): Nix, stop going the long way around these rooms. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:29): Okay. You enter a room that has blue rods lining both the walls to your left and right. There is a door on the far side and that's the only door. Alex Finn (00:12:41): Onward. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:42): Okay. As you go crossing it, Nix, you had a feeling that you should have taken longer for this leg to connect to your system, but it seems to stabilize. Stace Babcock (00:12:57): Nix will hop on it. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:58): Dili and ChaCha and Nix, you will also all know that you're extremely exhausted. Anybody who wants to can do an understanding Numenera rolls of nine. Sampson Davis (00:13:11): I think we'll try to do that for your level of efforts. Alex Finn (00:13:14): 15. Sampson Davis (00:13:16): Eight. That should be good. Daniel Andrlik (00:13:18): Okay. Is Nix rolling or not? Stace Babcock (00:13:21): Nix. Daniel Andrlik (00:13:23): Okay. Dili and ChaCha, you realized over the course of crossing this room which only took you a minute, you realized that your bodies have physically aged one day. Alex Finn (00:13:32): Oh. Sampson Davis (00:13:33): Oof. Daniel Andrlik (00:13:34): You go through that door and you see a stairway leading up. All along the surface on the way up, you see these indigo colored spheres, and as you go up the stairs, they seem to light up in response to your movements. You can all make a perception roll of 12. Alex Finn (00:13:53): Yes. Stace Babcock (00:13:55): 15. Alex Finn (00:13:56): Two. Sampson Davis (00:13:56): I rolled a one. Daniel Andrlik (00:13:58): Okay. There are some floating sparkling dusts that seem to be floating around this room, going up the stairs. ChaCha rolled two. Nix, you rolled a what? Stace Babcock (00:14:11): 15. Daniel Andrlik (00:14:12): You walk into one of these and they sparkle around you and you feel a little bit stronger. In fact, you feel like you might be a little bit at ease in things that you try to do. Stace Babcock (00:14:26): Aw, sweet. Daniel Andrlik (00:14:27): However, anybody who gets close to Nix notices that they feel weaker. Stace Babcock (00:14:32): Oh. Sampson Davis (00:14:33): Cool, cool. Daniel Andrlik (00:14:35): Like they're hindered. Dili, you rolled a one. Sampson Davis (00:14:39): Yeah, I did. Daniel Andrlik (00:14:40): Dili, one of these slows around you and has a very different effect. You feel weaker, much weaker. In fact, like you're hindered by another two steps, but people who are close to you feel invigorated. Sampson Davis (00:14:56): That's just how he does it, man. That's just his life. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:00): Yeah. You guys go up these steps and you find yourselves in what looks to be a standard cellar. There are racks of wine bottles along one side, as well as jars of canned food along the other. There is a staircase leading up to a door that is currently closed. Stace Babcock (00:15:20): Oh, Nix helps herself to some of that food. Alex Finn (00:15:24): Yeah, ChaCha is also grubbing down. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:26): Are you just eating it or are you trying to stuff it in your bags? Stace Babcock (00:15:29): Stuff it in a bag. Alex Finn (00:15:30): Both. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:34): Okay. ChaCha, evens or odds? Alex Finn (00:15:39): Even. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:40): Samsung roll a die and tell me if you get even or odd. Sampson Davis (00:15:43): Odd. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:44): Okay. Most of the food is okay, but some of it seems like the seal may have been breached and it makes you a little sick to your stomach. You're hindered for the next step. Alex Finn (00:15:54): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:56): As you go up the steps, you find yourself coming out of door onto a ground floor of a familiar building. This is absolutely ... Nix, you would recognize this door. You've walked past it several times when you've come to pay Doc Taraz. You were in Doc Taraz's home. Stace Babcock (00:16:13): Yo, she's busy down there, you guys. Sampson Davis (00:16:16): I feel terrible. Well, there was the butler set, but was there another person? Another employee? Stace Babcock (00:16:24): Yeah, yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:25): The maid. You haven't seen him yet. Sampson Davis (00:16:27): Right. Wait, what was your plan? Alex Finn (00:16:30): Walk out the front door. Sampson Davis (00:16:32): Loot and scoot or what? Daniel Andrlik (00:16:33): There is further rumbling and a pale green glow coming up from the basement/ Stace Babcock (00:16:38): Yeah, let's just go. Yeah, let's just go. Yeah. Alex Finn (00:16:42): The front door is fine. [crosstalk 00:16:43]. Stace Babcock (00:16:42): Yeah, the front door is good, Yeah, we like it. Alex Finn (00:16:44): Let's go find a place to sleep. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:45): Okay. Before we leave the building, disguises. Okay. That is disguises for three, so spin the intellect points for that. Okay. Who are you disguising them as? Alex Finn (00:16:58): And what's their names? Daniel Andrlik (00:17:00): You're an artist Dili. You've got to be thinking about this. Sampson Davis (00:17:04): I am also not feeling great. I am hindered by four steps, at the moment, so I'm not exactly the feather whites but people of that social class. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:16): Feather whites, if they walk through radioactive wastelands, like that one guy that gets splashed with the toxic waste in Robocop. Sampson Davis (00:17:25): Yeah, yeah, yeah, like the first incarnation of the Simpsons before they were a real show where they're a little unsettling. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:31): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stace Babcock (00:17:31): Oh God. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:33): Yeah. Okay. You guys go out the front door of this house and you were in ward Maras. Obviously Nix, you know exactly where you are. What would you guys like to do? This house, there's definitely a rumbling sound all around you. This has been a very bad night for Ward Maras. Stace Babcock (00:17:57): Right? It's not going to be the ... Oh my God. We should buy a house here shortly after these events, house value. Yeah. They're going to tank. Alex Finn (00:18:08): Properties Flippers. We flip the cyphers, we flip the property. We got this. Daniel Andrlik (00:18:13): That's the experience from that Detroit resident right there. Sampson Davis (00:18:17): I don't think we're going to have time because we need you to leave. Really Mamma J is going to get us out of town because we're a little spicy at the moment. Alex Finn (00:18:26): But you could rent it. Stace Babcock (00:18:29): Yeah. But honestly at this point, it should be scared of us. Alex Finn (00:18:33): No, you rent the house to the Mamma J as a new safe house in a better location and we make bank. Then we look for more ciphers to sell back to Mamma J to make more money. Stace Babcock (00:18:48): Let's become an economy SIM. Alex Finn (00:18:50): Yes. Sampson Davis (00:18:51): There's a whole book for that. Stace Babcock (00:18:54): Didn't Mamma J say we should report ASAP? Sampson Davis (00:18:58): Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Avian. Alex Finn (00:18:58): That room took a day from me. I don't remember what happened anymore. Stace Babcock (00:19:03): Oh, oh my God. I thought it was accelerated aging. Daniel Andrlik (00:19:06): Yeah. You guys have just had Christopher Plummer tell you that he's taken a day of your life. Sampson Davis (00:19:12): I think in terms of timeline, it's probably early morning right now. Yeah? Daniel Andrlik (00:19:15): Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:19:16): To Mamma J's then, all right. Sampson Davis (00:19:18): Smiley face. Stace Babcock (00:19:20): God. Dili, you did a heck of a job on this leg. Sampson Davis (00:19:23): Oh. Just wait until I'm tip-top shape. You could put a fucking rowboat in there. I mean, rocket. Stace Babcock (00:19:30): That would be convenient. Oh, a rocket. That would be more convenient. Sampson Davis (00:19:34): Yeah. Alex Finn (00:19:35): We should probably buy new clothes. Daniel Andrlik (00:19:37): Nix, you can definitely run faster. Before, if you had gone out for, say, a morning jog with a seskii right? You guys would have kept pace with each other, but you would have been certain that a seskii could naturally run faster than you. You're not so sure that you wouldn't win a dead on sprint with a seskii now. Stace Babcock (00:19:56): Oh yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:19:58): Nix, Your base movement is now short. Stace Babcock (00:20:01): Oh! Daniel Andrlik (00:20:03): You effectively have fleet of foot. Sampson Davis (00:20:04): Fucking god. Stace Babcock (00:20:06): Oh my god. It's like Christmas for Stace. Daniel, you didn't? Daniel Andrlik (00:20:16): I did. Alex Finn (00:20:17): Stace is so happy, listeners. She's crying almost. Oh my god. It's hilarious in a horrible way. Sampson Davis (00:20:28): It's just the one leg though. Right? Literally fleet of one foot. Stace Babcock (00:20:34): One foot? She's got a rollerskate on the bottom of it. It's disconcerting to watch because Nix is just super fast, then normal, then super fast, then normal, every other step. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:45): What's that fucked up, the Thomas, the Tank Engine sexual fan fiction from Andrew Lloyd Weber? Alex Finn (00:20:53): Oh. Starship Express, right? Daniel Andrlik (00:20:55): Yeah, exactly. The one where everybody has to perform on rollerskates. Alex Finn (00:20:58): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:59): One of the most injuries in performances ever. Stace Babcock (00:21:01): Starlight Express. There we go. Sampson Davis (00:21:03): More than Spider-Man? Daniel Andrlik (00:21:04): Yeah. No, it was Thomas the Tank Engine. Stace Babcock (00:21:06): Yeah, they're all trains. Daniel Andrlik (00:21:09): Andrew Lloyd Weber got obsessed with it. He wanted to do a musical about Thomas, the Tank Engine and he couldn't get the rights for it so he did this instead and it's all these horny trains. Sampson Davis (00:21:18): No, no, I understand that. I thought Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark had more injuries or the Lord of the Rings. Daniel Andrlik (00:21:24): Oh, that might be. Alex Finn (00:21:24): I'm sorry. What? Daniel Andrlik (00:21:27): I'm sorry. I was thinking if the West End, in the West End, it had terrible injuries in London, like so many broken fingers. Alex Finn (00:21:35): Well, yeah. As somebody who's done roller derby, if you fall on skates, those digits are going to get smushed. And apparently it feels like wet grapes when you go over them. Daniel Andrlik (00:21:44): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alex Finn (00:21:45): They just pop, but they don't pop in reality. It's feels like you're going over grapes. Daniel Andrlik (00:21:53): What a coincidence. That is a very much like what Dili's experience sewing Nix's leg. Sampson Davis (00:21:55): It's like cutting through a tomato. Alex Finn (00:21:57): Yeah. Can we get new clothes? Stace Babcock (00:22:00): Aw, did Nix leave her boot behind? Yeah, she did. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:05): You only have one of your nice boots on. The other boot is attached to a leg currently, somewhere underground. Stace Babcock (00:22:17): Dang it. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:17): Are you guys go in anywhere or are you just hanging out? Alex Finn (00:22:19): I think we need to go clothes shopping. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:21): Dili, please make an intellect roll of nine. If you are remembering details, we'll make it a six. Sampson Davis (00:22:28): Cool. For your level of effort will make it three, 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:31): You didn't notice it before, but now that it's out of place with Nix only wearing one boot, that boot looks familiar to you. It is a well-worn, well-crafted boot, not this dissimilar from some creatures that you encountered in Ward Anna when you first ran away from the Nix House. Sampson Davis (00:22:50): Oh shit. Stace Babcock (00:22:52): Oh my god. Sampson Davis (00:22:53): Hey Nix, also, we're walking and talking while we're doing this. Hey Nix, do you- Daniel Andrlik (00:22:58): Where are you going? Sampson Davis (00:22:59): Mamma J's, I thought. Alex Finn (00:23:00): I thought we wanted to get more clothes. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:02): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:23:03): ChaCha, I need to take a breather. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:07): Yeah, Nix looks very pale right now. Don't get me wrong. The leg is helping, but Nix has lost a lot of blood. Alex Finn (00:23:14): You win some, you lose some, legs. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:16): There's quite a bit of that blood on Dili's face, by the way, despite his best efforts. Sampson Davis (00:23:22): Even through the disguise. Alex Finn (00:23:23): ChaCha is also covered with blood. Wait, no. No. Did ChaCha clean up after surgery? Daniel Andrlik (00:23:29): ChaCha probably definitely got some blood on her. The disguise is probably hiding it, but you guys are aware that the blood is there. Sampson Davis (00:23:37): Hey nix. Do you have a chapter house in Ward Anna or something? Do your traveler of benevolence societies have a chapter in Ward Anna? Stace Babcock (00:23:50): No, our way house, you know where it's at, you've been there. Sampson Davis (00:23:53): Right. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:53): Yeah. It's closer to the entrance of the city. It's not in the center of any Wards. Sampson Davis (00:23:59): Oh yeah, oh yeah. I remember now. Do travelers go missing often? Stace Babcock (00:24:04): Oh yeah. Yeah. We wander. Some of them go to the beyond and wherever. We try to send letters and do all that stuff. We have our journals of course, but sometimes people go in a dungeon or delve and they don't come back out. It's life, it's happens. Well, it's death, actually. Sampson Davis (00:24:25): Right, yeah. Well, maybe it's both. I bring it up because something about the light sparked a memory. But the night that I first ran from the Nix House, I ran into some leech lamprey eel looking characters who were trying to eat me and it was in Ward Anna and they were wearing boots very similar to what you have on right now. Stace Babcock (00:24:49): Honestly, Dili, I'm not surprised. These are really good boots, super popular with travelers. I bet all sorts of people to use them. Sampson Davis (00:24:59): Are they boots available to the public or is it special traveler only boots. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:04): Nix, you would know that this design is one of the traveler's specialties. Some travelers where other boots that they acquire from cheaper rates if they have to, but these are the kinds of boots hat are from the list of travelers certified craftsmen. Stace Babcock (00:25:24): It's a very popular style Dili, with travelers. Yeah. Sampson Davis (00:25:27): But just travelers, right? Stace Babcock (00:25:29): Well, no. We buy them from certain boot-smiths, cobblers. Sampson Davis (00:25:45): Got it. There are boots-smith in the ninth realm. Stace Babcock (00:25:46): Yes, there are boot-smiths, fuck it. Sampson Davis (00:25:46): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:25:47): The society buys our boots for us, so they definitely have certain people they like us to go to because they know it's a quality boot. You get used to them. You don't really want to change it up. It's going to be kind of a pain in the ass to get a matching set, a matching boot because I definitely took my boot allowance in advance this year. Sampson Davis (00:26:12): Why do you need a matching set? You've got a robo-leg now. You don't need a shoe for that one. Stace Babcock (00:26:18): Well, but isn't it weird to just wander around boot-less, you know what I'm saying? Sampson Davis (00:26:24): I have no concept for what's weird anymore. If you feel it's weird, then sure. Stace Babcock (00:26:29): I just don't want to draw attention to my jade leg. Sampson Davis (00:26:31): So you're just going to cover it with one boot? Stace Babcock (00:26:34): And pants, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:26:36): Oh right, sure. Daniel Andrlik (00:26:38): I do like that you mentioned jade leg because it does occasionally light up with jade light, suddenly, just in a few spots as diodes light up. Sampson Davis (00:26:45): I'm going to check to make sure there's not any of that jade egg business. I'll do that later, but someone remind me. Daniel Andrlik (00:26:53): By the way, behind you, there is a green glow and Doc Taraz's house collapses in a blast of white energy before it goes dark. Alex Finn (00:27:05): Cool, cool, cool. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:05): You hear city alarm bells go off. Alex Finn (00:27:08): Ah. We should run. We should run. Stace Babcock (00:27:12): No, we've got to act cool ChaCha. That's the secret is you got to act cool, just going about our day. Alex Finn (00:27:17): But wouldn't a normal person run if they were just next to a collapsing building? Stace Babcock (00:27:22): We're kind of far off aren't we, at this point? Alex Finn (00:27:24): I think we're in front of it. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:28): You literally have come out the door and were talking, so you've had maybe like a minute to talk. Stace Babcock (00:27:31): Oh, I thought we were walking and talking. Sampson Davis (00:27:31): Yeah, walking and talking. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:34): Even if you're walking and talking, you've only had a minute of talking. You're not that far. Stace Babcock (00:27:38): Oh, Nix goes. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. No, we totally would. Wouldn't we? All right, yeah. Sampson Davis (00:27:41): All right, let's go. Stace Babcock (00:27:42): Yeah, yeah. That's what normal people would do. Alex Finn (00:27:44): I don't want to be the person thinking of normal things. Sampson Davis (00:27:47): You have the most blood still inside of you. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:49): Okay. Give me a stealth roll to see if you guys appear to be down the script as you leave Ward Maras. This is going to be a stealth roll of nine. Dili is trained. Alex Finn (00:27:58): 20. Sampson Davis (00:28:01): 13. Stace Babcock (00:28:01): 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:02): What'd you get, Dili? Sampson Davis (00:28:03): 13. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:04): Okay. Everybody passes. Chacha, I will entertain a major effect proposal. Alex Finn (00:28:09): What's a good major effect? A good major effect is that we can slip into the shadows or everybody in our party gets an asset of slipping away into the shadows, negative assets to everyone trying to detect us, negatives to everyone. Sampson Davis (00:28:29): Unseen by both guards and criminal organizations that may want to eat us? Alex Finn (00:28:33): Yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:34): That would be a very wise major effect. You guys slip out of Ward Maras without anybody noticing you. You are confident that you have casually strolled out with your disguises. Dili, you think even without your disguises, nobody even really made note of the people that you were disguised as. It is a perfect getaway. Alex Finn (00:28:57): Hell, yeah. For once. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:00): You guys reach Ward Anna. You reach Mamma Jerrun's door. Sampson Davis (00:29:06): Knock, knock. Alex Finn (00:29:07): Because we knock. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:08): Okay. Dili knocks on the door. There's a moment and Mamma Jerrun opens it and she says, "Dili, Nix, ChaCha, come in. I've been worried sick about you." Alex Finn (00:29:16): I had to perform surgery. Dili did too. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:20): "That's wonderful. Come inside though." We shut the door and then she looks down at Nix's leg and she's like, "Nix, what the hell happened to you?" Stace Babcock (00:29:29): Nix's new kicks. Yeah. Or kick, actually. That was me choking on spit. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:38): I almost want to penalize you for that. Stace Babcock (00:29:42): Takes five intellect damage. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:46): Nix takes five intellect damage and just passes out right in front of us. The datasphere gods have reacted to a terrible pun. Stace Babcock (00:29:56): We found the artifacts, Mamma J. Alex Finn (00:29:58): And then it blew up. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:00): "Yes, and?" Stace Babcock (00:30:01): We killed three additional Knyxos. Alex Finn (00:30:05): Oh yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:06): "Okay." She takes a moment and she goes over to that chest that she had, but before she goes in, she takes out a notebook and a pen and she starts jotting in those data, "Three additional Knyxos. Anyone of note?" Stace Babcock (00:30:19): Deuces. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:21): "Oof. That'll be a problem." Stace Babcock (00:30:22): It will? Alex Finn (00:30:23): Now, I've got two guns and I'm going to give one to Dili. Sampson Davis (00:30:27): Oh, thank you. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:28): I'm just saying Aria is going to have an issue with that. Stace Babcock (00:30:31): Well, I don't know that anyone knows that we killed him. You know what I'm saying? Alex Finn (00:30:36): The house blew up, so the body's hidden. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:39): Aria has her ways. Sampson Davis (00:30:41): Wait, who's Aria? Daniel Andrlik (00:30:43): She's the primary assassin of Knyxos. She and Deuces have been an item for couple of years. They were planning on exchanging vows later on this year. Stace Babcock (00:30:54): Tough business in a tough world. Damn. Sampson Davis (00:30:56): Of fuck. Stace Babcock (00:30:57): I feel for him kind of. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:59): You should be fine as long as Minos doesn't have any way of connecting you to Deuce's staff. Presumably he's the only one who would be able to tell her. Alex Finn (00:31:08): Only Nix. The rest of us are okay. Right? Sampson Davis (00:31:11): I think we actually did pretty good on that, on covering up our involvement. Alex Finn (00:31:14): Yeah. The building imploded. Sampson Davis (00:31:16): That happened, yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:18): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:31:18): Yeah. And I left my leg down there though. Sampson Davis (00:31:21): Right. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:21): That's problematic. Stace Babcock (00:31:23): But the building imploded. Alex Finn (00:31:25): Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:31:27): I'll grab my leg next time. Sorry. That's that's on me, Mamma J. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:30): "Okay. I'll tell you what, why don't you guys sit down? You all look terrible. Well, ChaCha, you seem pretty invigorated." Alex Finn (00:31:39): I'm scrappy and I lost a day of my life. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:43): "Okay." She pauses for a moment. She looks at you and there's this long stare and you definitely see her pupils dilate. She's like, "I see." Alex Finn (00:31:53): It was probably a boring day anyway. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:56): "Right. Well, the good news is that I've got some scones coming out of the oven in about 10 minutes." Stace Babcock (00:32:02): 10 minutes you say? Daniel Andrlik (00:32:03): "And I have fresh aneen butter that I purchased just yesterday." Now that she says that, it does occur to you, you can all smell the scent of something baking. It is definitely the scent of bread, carby and cinnamony. Stace Babcock (00:32:19): Oh. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:22): She pulls out, in 10 minutes as she has you to sit down, these scones that are steaming. They're full on cinnamon crunch scones from Panera or something like that. Alex Finn (00:32:36): I appreciate that. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:38): Not necessarily most amazing scones you'll ever have, but definitely optimized for flavor. Sampson Davis (00:32:45): These are delicious. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:46): It takes a couple of moments while she gets them organized. She makes you all some Jasmine tea. She brings over a scone each and they're steaming. She passes you all this cup that is full of this soft butter. Sampson Davis (00:33:03): Thank you. Dili starts eating. Stace Babcock (00:33:03): Yeah. Nix digs in. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:07): When you break open a scone to butter it, steam escapes from the inside and you can see the little pockets in there. The inside of these scones, it's like a scone as we think of it, except that it also has all these nooks and crannies, almost like an English muffin. As you put the butter in, the butter soaks into those nooks and crannies, and as you take a bite, it is fucking amazing. It is carby deliciousness, cinnamon and sugar and butter. It is the decadence of a child's favorite breakfast. Alex Finn (00:33:42): Fuck. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:42): You will each immediately regain three of my points. Alex Finn (00:33:46): Fuck yeah. Stace Babcock (00:33:46): Yes,. Sampson Davis (00:33:46): Oh my god. Stace Babcock (00:33:46): And three cholesterol points. Alex Finn (00:33:49): Hell yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:54): Well, that's more long term, we'll talk about that. Alex Finn (00:34:01): [crosstalk 00:34:01]Yeah. ChaCha got to fit into these costumes. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:05): Exactly. ChaCha has to be careful with this. She can't do it every day. Mamma Jerrun says, "So tell me about the artifact and what happened." She looks at Nix's leg, "I can't believe that it went well." Alex Finn (00:34:17): Jade eggs are controlling people. Chacha whips out of jade egg. Sampson Davis (00:34:23): We don't know that for sure. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:24): "Please keep that a distance away from me." Stace Babcock (00:34:28): What does it do Mamma J? What does it steal? Daniel Andrlik (00:34:31): "I can't remember. Anybody who's used one before has trouble remembering what it was like, just that they wanted it again. Sampson Davis (00:34:39): Okay. Well, there's a lot of those down there, and Dili throws up a little miniature illusion of how they were being produced. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:47): Mamma J brings a hand up to her face and closes her eyes. She covers her mouth and she's like, "Can you put that away please?" Sampson Davis (00:34:54): Yeah, man, it's gone. Stace Babcock (00:34:55): Chacha puts the jade egg in her pocket. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:58): She opens her eyes again and she says, "Thank you." Alex Finn (00:35:01): Do they turn into monsters? Because we saw monsters. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:03): "I volunteered at one point to figure out what she was doing and it was bad enough that I knew I had to hide myself from them at all costs." Alex Finn (00:35:14): Oh no. Stace Babcock (00:35:16): We should have killed her, guys. Alex Finn (00:35:17): That's what I've been saying. Oh my God. Why does no one listen to me? Daniel Andrlik (00:35:22): "I'm just saying These things are ... There's nothing like anything I've seen in the normal world." Stace Babcock (00:35:27): So Doc Taraz survived. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:30): She survived? Sampson Davis (00:35:32): We don't know that. Alex Finn (00:35:33): She had a force field. Stace Babcock (00:35:34): Well, she had the force field Dili, I assume. Sampson Davis (00:35:38): I guess we don't know for sure if the ruins are blown up, we just know that the house- Alex Finn (00:35:41): Imploded. Sampson Davis (00:35:41): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:44): "I guess we'll have to figure that out at a later time. I don't think it's wise to send anybody nearby now." Sampson Davis (00:35:53): Right. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:54): "Merrick's busy cleaning up one of the safe houses anyway. He needs to do some sweeps around it. You said that one of them was compromised? Alex Finn (00:36:06): Just a little. It was just a little. We were going to buy you a new house. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:08): "Dili?" Sampson Davis (00:36:08): Hi? Daniel Andrlik (00:36:09): You hear a voice in your head. Sampson Davis (00:36:11): My son. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:12): "Who is this, father?" Sampson Davis (00:36:13): Internally, Dili just says, "This is my employer." Daniel Andrlik (00:36:19): "She's not like Minos. There's something old about her." Sampson Davis (00:36:24): Yeah. I think- Daniel Andrlik (00:36:27): "I can learn a lot from her. Give her to me." Sampson Davis (00:36:30): That's not within my power, nor a thing that can happen if it was just that object. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:38): There's a long sigh. "One of these days father, you're going to have to grow a spine and understand you need to do what's right for you and for your family." Sampson Davis (00:36:49): That was a very proud back sentence that I am going to address later. I got nothing, I got nothing for that. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:55): "Fine. Whatever. I'll circle back to it later. It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere." Then there is a deliberate silence in your head. The feeling as if you were sitting in the same room and somebody turned their chair deliberately to look away from you. Alex Finn (00:37:11): Rude. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:11): And honestly Dili, it feels a little lonely. Alex Finn (00:37:15): You get used to the voices. Sampson Davis (00:37:17): Dili doesn't let it show on his face that he feels lonely. Then he comes back to reality. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:23): In the meantime, none of the rest of you have noticed anything about Dili. All that happened in the speed of neurons. Stace Babcock (00:37:29): Yeah. Got stabbed in the leg. Had to amputate my leg. Dili did it. Sampson Davis (00:37:36): I put it back. Sorry. I gave her her robot leg. I didn't cause it to be required to be replaced. Stace Babcock (00:37:43): Yeah. This is Aces's leg. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:45): "So, you didn't saw off Nix's leg?" Alex Finn (00:37:47): No, he did, he did. Sampson Davis (00:37:49): No, I did do that. Alex Finn (00:37:50): He didn't stab Nix to make her need a new leg though. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:53): "All right." Sampson Davis (00:37:56): Thank you. Sorry, I spaced out there for a second. Alex Finn (00:37:56): But I got to put in Dili's spleen. Sampson Davis (00:37:59): Yeah, that happened. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:00): "Oh, that's good." And she looks down at her pad of paper and she writes something else down. Stace Babcock (00:38:05): What are you a chronicling this for Mamma J? Daniel Andrlik (00:38:08): "I'm going to have to file a report. This sounds pretty severe. The proctors will need to know." Alex Finn (00:38:15): But my little hands. Stace Babcock (00:38:16): Nix will proceed to give her every detail that she can remember for her report. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:20): Okay. Mamma Jurren jots it down. Sampson Davis (00:38:23): Dili also throws up helpful visuals. Alex Finn (00:38:27): I made a pseudo friend. I think we're acquaintances now. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:31): "Who's the pseudo-friend?" Alex Finn (00:38:33): It's a red metal tree that eats ... Well, it doesn't eat them. It sucks all the juices out of people. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:40): "Oh, one of those. Okay." And she jots that down. She says as she's jotting it down, "B34, okay." Sampson Davis (00:38:50): B34. Bingo. Alex Finn (00:38:51): Yeah. It wasn't that friendly. It was more like, "Eh, I don't really like Minos, but I'll take a body if you've got one laying around," so easy body disposal. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:04): "Yeah. That's in character for them. Okay." She jots it down. "ChaCha, I have to ask you at this point, what are your feelings about taking an oath?" Alex Finn (00:39:15): It's one of those things where I have a voice in my head. I have friends I owe favors too. It's more of, you've got to weigh the options there. What is the favor is I let them in this house because I know how to get in this house now. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:31): "That's fair." Alex Finn (00:39:32): And what is the voice in my head is an evil voice in my head and they're just being a really cool evil, like those kids who want to get you to smoke after school. They try and come in there with their smooth talk and their jazz and they're all like, "Hey, you want to try this?" And you're like, "Well, I guess, because you're super nice to me," and then bam, you're addicted to something. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:57): "Wait, are we talking about the eggs?" Alex Finn (00:39:58): No. I got a different friend in my head. Maybe they would know about the eggs. But when a boy charged the battery, it got too much for that voice, so they're hiding in my head, but I'm pretty sure that they've been aware of everything we're doing. Daniel Andrlik (00:40:19): "All right. Dili ..." she pauses and she looks at you and then she looks at ChaCha and she says, "Would you mind?" Sampson Davis (00:40:27): Oh, the ball thing? Daniel Andrlik (00:40:28): "Yes, please." Sampson Davis (00:40:29): Absolutely. ChaCha, do you mind? Alex Finn (00:40:31): Yeah, go for it. Sampson Davis (00:40:32): Any requests? Alex Finn (00:40:36): Something a little bit more fun than last time. Stace Babcock (00:40:39): Clown music. Daniel Andrlik (00:40:40): Just Calliope music of Rigby. Stace Babcock (00:40:40): The Age of Aquarius, just playing on loop. Sampson Davis (00:40:46): This is one of Master Ace's favorite. He throws up Age of Aquarius around ChaCha's head. Daniel Andrlik (00:40:52): Okay, cool. After the illusion pops into place, Mamma Jerrun turns to you and says, "Nix, Dili, we need to get you the fuck out of the city." Sampson Davis (00:41:03): Do you mind? That'd be great actually. Stace Babcock (00:41:05): I kind of like it here, but whatever. Daniel Andrlik (00:41:07): "No Nix, this is bad. I understand that it might be a situation you can deal with, but you're a guardian now and there's so much attention on the three of you, the proctors are becoming concerned and they're starting to doubt my judgment in bringing you in this order." Sampson Davis (00:41:29): And the proctors are your bosses? Daniel Andrlik (00:41:32): "They're all of our bosses. They are an elected group that ensures that we're actually following the processes that we set out in our policies. Think of them as an internal board of directors, a group of auditors, if you will." Stace Babcock (00:41:49): Yeah. We wouldn't want to piss off the auditors, certainly. Alex Finn (00:41:53): Take out guns. Stace Babcock (00:41:54): Where do you want us to go? Daniel Andrlik (00:41:56): Well, I've been working on trying to find you a guardian to serve as your supervising agent. The challenge that we have is typically when guardians are inducted, they go to one of our ..." she looks at ChaCha to make sure the illusion is still intact and she says, "One of our fortresses for proper training. The problem is you friend here. I can't direct her in any way to one of our fortresses and she hasn't taken an oath in front of the fire. I've had to make do. It's not that your supervising guardian would be ineffective or incapable, both of those things that are quite effective. They're just inconveniently located." Sampson Davis (00:42:49): Where are they? Daniel Andrlik (00:42:51): "They're to the Southeast along the Black Riage and the foothills. There was something recently. I believe the proctors have informed them to wait for you. There is a small village there by the name of Mountains Bone. In three weeks, which is roughly how long it should take you to get there, you should be able to find them at the inn there. The call sign that you will use for them is Icarus. Look for somebody who responds to Icarus and that'll be your assigned guardian." Sampson Davis (00:43:23): All right. Daniel Andrlik (00:43:24): "If somebody asks you, "What is the door,' you know your answer. Sampson Davis (00:43:29): Dili doesn't know it off the top of his head. Stace Babcock (00:43:32): Yeah. It's, "But the first, the entrance and exit, hope and despair." Daniel Andrlik (00:43:38): Fucking A, Stace. Way to go. "All right. Just remember that if you answer that question, you shouldn't do it in front of ChaCha." Stace Babcock (00:43:45): Yeah. Sampson Davis (00:43:46): Right. Stace Babcock (00:43:46): Yeah, of course, Mamma J, yep. We'll have to leave her outside or whatever. Daniel Andrlik (00:43:51): "Well, what you do with her is your call. She is a contractor who does deals. So what she's paid, how you handled her, is up to you." Stace Babcock (00:44:02): Do we get paid actually? Daniel Andrlik (00:44:05): Your supervising guardian will explain everything you need to know in terms of your budget. Until then, operate with the budget that you have based off on what you've retrieved. Stace Babcock (00:44:16): I got seven shins, but I lost a boot. Alex Finn (00:44:19): You have more than that. Remember you're holding a bunch of shin. Stace Babcock (00:44:23): Those aren't Nix's shins. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:25): "You could probably sell that light for a pretty penny." Sampson Davis (00:44:27): Can you tell us the name of the inn that we're going towards? Or is there only inn in Mountains Bone? Daniel Andrlik (00:44:33): "There's only inn in the city. I don't know its name, to be honest." Sampson Davis (00:44:36): Okay. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:38): "Whatever it was, it was something mundane. I didn't remember the details. Stace Babcock (00:44:42): All right. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:43): "It should be obvious once you get there." Stace Babcock (00:44:45): We'll find Icarus. We'll do you proud Mamma J. Those proctors won't have nothing to complain about, probably. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:51): "Oh. I hope so." She looks over at the fire. She says, "It should take you on average about two and a half weeks to get there. If you're not there within three and a half weeks, you'll probably miss your supervisor and have to return here to get a new assignment." Stace Babcock (00:45:11): We'll put some pep in our step, for sure. Alex Finn (00:45:13): Just carry Dili and it'll be fine. Stace Babcock (00:45:15): Daniel, how close is Mountains Bone to the society's proving ground? Daniel Andrlik (00:45:21): It's in the opposite direction from here. Stace Babcock (00:45:23): But the proving ground is also in the foothills. Sampson Davis (00:45:25): So Northeast instead of Southeast. Stace Babcock (00:45:27): Oh, I see. Okay. I thought you meant completely the other way. Daniel Andrlik (00:45:30): Sorry. It's not completely a cardinal difference, but the proving grounds would go to the North. Probably it would take you two weeks to get there. Stace Babcock (00:45:39): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:45:41): This village rather, is to the Southeast instead of the Northeast. Stace Babcock (00:45:45): Cool. Well, I guess we'll get walking then. Actually Chacha, you want to do some shopping? We got to sleep somewhere. Alex Finn (00:45:52): I'll just look up bubble. Stace Babcock (00:45:55): Oh, ChaCha's looking at bubble. Daniel Andrlik (00:45:56): "Please don't go shopping. I need you guys to lay low and then get out of town as soon as possible because the Knyxos are looking for you. Alex Finn (00:46:06): Someone pointed out our ruined clothes? Daniel Andrlik (00:46:10): "Word on the street is that Salianna is still looking for you." Sampson Davis (00:46:15): Why is she looking for us? Stace Babcock (00:46:16): Damn, she survived? Shit. All right. We'll start walking now, Mamma J. Sampson Davis (00:46:21): It might be a good idea to get out while everyone's focused on Ward Maras. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:25): "All right." She actually packs up some scones for you and hands them to you and says, "Here, take these. They'll help, especially in this first day." Sampson Davis (00:46:35): It's dangerous out there. I'll take this. Stace Babcock (00:46:37): Take these scones. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:40): She looks at you all and she says, and obviously ChaCha is still in her bubble, "I don't know if I'll see you all again. I've done my part for bringing you to the organization, but I hope I do. I will warn you: the queen, while young to some, has a long memory and I would stay away from Charmonde as long as you can." Sampson Davis (00:47:01): We'll do our best. Stace Babcock (00:47:04): We'll do our best. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:05): "All right. I don't know what kind of business arrangements you need to make with Chacha, but you probably want to let her out of her bubble now." Sampson Davis (00:47:12): Dili drops the bubble. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:14): ChaCha, you come back and you've just been, I don't know, maybe ChaCha has been humming a tune to herself the whole time. I don't know. Alex Finn (00:47:20): She's just been grooving with that song. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:22): She's been humming the Age of Aquarius. Alex Finn (00:47:23): Yeah. If anyone looked over, she was just doing those little hands by the side of her head, grooving like little kids do. Sampson Davis (00:47:29): You up for a walk, ChaCha? We are taking a hike. Alex Finn (00:47:35): Is it on the map of no-no Zones? Sampson Davis (00:47:37): Oh. Alex Finn (00:47:38): Maybe bubble up and here's my map. Sampson Davis (00:47:42): Is where we're going okay? Daniel Andrlik (00:47:44): There are several no-no zones along the way, but the village in question that you're going to is not a no-no zone. Sampson Davis (00:47:51): Okay. Dili will drop the bubble again. It's like, We're good. We'll be good." Alex Finn (00:47:55): Okay. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:56): So are you guys heading right out of town? Alex Finn (00:48:00): We were told we couldn't shop. Sampson Davis (00:48:01): Do you think we can get an hour of rest in? Daniel Andrlik (00:48:01): Where would you like to get an hour rest in? Sampson Davis (00:48:02): We can't get an hour of rest in here at Mamma J's? Alex Finn (00:48:08): The safe house is probably the closest she'll let you do. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:11): I don't think she's willing to host you for an hour. Sampson Davis (00:48:14): Damn it. All right. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:14): I mean she already gave you scones which regenerated some of my points for you. Alex Finn (00:48:18): Oh Mamma J, do you have spare clothes because mine got burned in the explosion, and ChaCha turns around and shows the melted costume. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:28): "I don't necessarily have anything in your size, but ..." she pauses. She goes into one of the other rooms and comes back out with a coat. It is very comically big on ChaCha. She's like, "This is probably the best thing." ChaCha puts her arms through the sleeves and her hands barely reach the edge of it, and the coat drags along the ground, like a cape. She's like, "This is the best I can do." Alex Finn (00:48:50): This will work. At least my ass isn't hanging out now. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:53): It is a lime green in color, not the same color as the eggs. Alex Finn (00:48:58): Fuck, yeah. Chartreuse or lime green? Daniel Andrlik (00:49:00): Lime green. Stace Babcock (00:49:03): All right. Well, Mamma J, it's been real. If we do see each other again, but if not, totally understand. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't let those proctors get you down, and have good life, I guess. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:13): "Good luck, all three of you." Sampson Davis (00:49:15): Thank you. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:16): How are you explaining to ChaCha what's going on? Alex Finn (00:49:18): We're just going on a walk. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:20): Come on, ChaCha. We're just going for cigarettes. We'll be back in no time. Alex Finn (00:49:23): Yep. Stace Babcock (00:49:24): This is what people do when they say they're going for cigarettes, ChaCha. They just start walking. Alex Finn (00:49:31): Okay. It'll be fun to be on the other end this time. Sampson Davis (00:49:33): Oh. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:38): You guys are walking towards the edge of town. Sampson Davis (00:49:40): Disguised. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:43): Okay. How are you disguised? What do you guys look like? Alex Finn (00:49:46): Hippies. Sampson Davis (00:49:47): Not hippies. I'm thinking starting adventurers, average looking like tier one, we just got back from our first job and now we're going to go out and do it again. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:58): You're heading out again and maybe nobody will ever see you again. Sampson Davis (00:50:01): Yeah, yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:02): Probably some of the people that you saw once who came in to trade the stuff that they had found but never came back again. Sampson Davis (00:50:10): Exactly. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:11): Okay. Not that there'll be any consequences of this, and I say this honestly, but could we say that one of those images is a steampunk Dracula? Alex Finn (00:50:21): Yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:21): One of those people that went out, stood up once and brought you stuff and then never came back again, just for giggles? It's not trap. Stace Babcock (00:50:26): You say that ... Sampson Davis (00:50:30): It's only because Salianna saw that face is the issue. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:33): Oh, right. That is a problem. Okay. That's fine. Sampson Davis (00:50:36): But I do like that that's right next to steampunk Dracula. I'm going to keep that one. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:39): Okay. So you guys are heading out of town. It's at this point, I have an offer Nix another XP. Stace Babcock (00:50:44): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:45): Who will you give the other XP to? Stace Babcock (00:50:48): My advancement, bud. Sampson, we're going to level, whether we like it or not. Sampson Davis (00:50:52): Fuck yeah. We've been through a lot today. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:58): On your way out of town, you notice a couple posters that you necessarily saw in the distance earlier and you didn't really make anything of, but now you see one closely and it is a bounty order by order of the queen to find these traitors to Navarene. There is a drawing of a Lashir Sladek, Nayo Sladek, and Nix (Sladek). These traitors to the crown are being offered a dead or alive bounty of $5000 shins each. Sampson Davis (00:51:35): Nice. Daniel Andrlik (00:51:35): At retrieval of all of them, will include an additional boon from the queen. Alex Finn (00:51:42): Oh shit. Daniel Andrlik (00:51:43): That's where we'll end this episode. Alex Finn (00:51:45): Oh shit. Stace Babcock (00:51:47): Nix goes to Qi. Gets her parents, goes to the Queen's palace, gets the $15,000 shins, asks for the boon, which is pardon, win the game. Sampson Davis (00:51:57): Checkmate. Now here's the thing; that boon will work, but only for one of your parents and now you have to make a Knyxos choice. Stace Babcock (00:52:06): Oh my god. A Knyxos choice. Daniel Andrlik (00:52:06): Yeah. Only one of your family, because you remember there are three bounties. Stace Babcock (00:52:14): Well, we spoke it into the world and we killed it all in 30 seconds. Sampson Davis (00:52:22): Yep. Daniel Andrlik (00:52:23): Say something about this episode. Stace Babcock (00:52:25): Daniel, Nix's base speed is now a short distance. That is fucking ridiculous and amazing. It's a dream. It's a real dream come true, Daniel. I'm so fucking happy. Sampson Davis (00:52:38): Do you believe you should have chosen? Stace Babcock (00:52:42): Well, I don't know about should, Daniel. I like to do seven damage. You know what I mean? And be trained without armor. Daniel Andrlik (00:52:48): That's fair. Now you get both. Stace Babcock (00:52:50): Yeah. It's the best of. Alex Finn (00:52:53): I was secretly hoping that Nix would somehow fuse her legs together and then become like snake lower half. Sampson Davis (00:53:02): I was kind of in the same boat, but I was thinking, "Oh, if she loses this leg and then just goes like full- Alex Finn (00:53:05): Snake. Sampson Davis (00:53:06): Lamia, basically. Alex Finn (00:53:08): I was hoping the Lamia route was where we were going. Stace Babcock (00:53:11): I'm pleased with where we're at. Alex Finn (00:53:16): But then you could just fleet of foot in the water because snakes run fast in water. Sampson Davis (00:53:21): Snakes don't run. They don't have legs. Stace Babcock (00:53:24): They slither. Sampson Davis (00:53:25): Trick question. Daniel Andrlik (00:53:27): I have some good news for all of you. There's been a huge advancement and several plots, both major events, artifacts implanted in a colleague, artifacts found, cyphers discovered, as well as overall arcs explored. You each have an additional four XP. Alex Finn (00:53:55): Fuck yeah. Taking that advancement right now. Fuck yeah. Sampson Davis (00:53:57): Fuck. Alex Finn (00:53:57): I'm fucking taking an advancement right now. Daniel Andrlik (00:53:58): Are you sure you don't want to hold on to it? You might want to re-roll later. Alex Finn (00:54:06): No. Stace Babcock (00:54:07): Well, I'm only taking one advancement so that leaves me two. Alex Finn (00:54:10): Oh. Stace Babcock (00:54:10): Can I also say another moment because I definitely just took the ability, but also Doc Taraz being a character that was born in Nix's session zero, that I didn't even have a name for and her just being ... Crazy, Daniel. You're doing fucking amazing, I'm having so much fun. Daniel Andrlik (00:54:29): Thank you. 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 and conveniently enough for listening to this far, all of your listeners have some additional XP as well. Alex, what would you propose our listeners spend their XP to check out? Alex Finn (00:54:47): I would suggest they check out the RingFit Adventure for the Switch. I've actually been really putting it off because I was like, "Oh, that's too fucking gimmicky. I don't want to pay $80 for a gimmicky thing that I'm going to use twice." Well, I have used it twice, but I didn't pay $80 for it. I'll tell you what. It's currently cheaper on Best Buy. If you choose to use it at Amazon, it's $10 cheaper or so, I don't remember. Alex Finn (00:55:17): But anyway, as somebody who's really into fitness, lifting weights, dancing, etcetera, I was ready to be like, "You know what? This sucks at coaching form," blah, blah, blah. But no, it's actually pretty good at coaching form. There's a couple things that you might do wrong if you aren't experienced in fitness. But from what I can tell, nothing that you will do wrong will grievously injure yourself. I will go with grievously instead of seriously, because man, if you don't tuck that pelvis, your back will tell you. Alex Finn (00:55:57): But yeah, it was recommended to me by a listener member of our Discord, Brian, also in our not-so-secret second Discord, Account-a-Bill-a-Buddies. If you ever want to try some fitness stuff with people, we'll send you an invite to our Account-a-Bill-a-Buddies and our Explorers Wanted to score. But yeah, it's just fun. It has a really smart mechanic where it forces exercises on cool down so you can't just squat your way through the levels. Alex Finn (00:56:25): And if you live in an apartment, instead of doing the jogging, which is what I'm doing currently, you can squat to run. If you need something, that's no jogging and you're okay with squatting, there is a low vibration/noise mode and they let you set your difficulty setting and it'll check in with you every time you play it saying, "Hey, how did you find last time? Was it too hard, too easy? Were you sore? Do you want it to be harder? Do you want it to be easier?" And they have built in warmups and cool downs. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:00): Oh, that's really fucking cool. Alex Finn (00:57:01): It's actually really well designed. I was quite surprised and pleased by this. So yeah, if it's in your budget and it's not even trying to get you to lose weight, you just want to have fun exercising. That's what it wants you to do. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:17): Yeah. Just break a sweat a little bit. Alex Finn (00:57:19): Yeah. It's not trying to get you to lose weight. It's not going to tell you your BMI. It's not going to have you weigh yourself if you don't want to. It's one of the few exercise related things I can recommend to people that I don't foresee to be triggering to people. It's just a fun game where you happen to be doing body weight exercises. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:42): Cool. Alex Finn (00:57:43): And you level up and get bonus attack and defense points and get more hearts. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:47): Yeah, you might've sold me on this. Alex Finn (00:57:50): And also the villain is kind of hot in a weird way. Sampson Davis (00:57:54): Well, I guess that's the last straw. There we go. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:57): That's that's the clincher, right? That's the closer. Alex Finn (00:58:01): I double dog dare anybody to tell me why if they also agree with me, if the villain's kind of hot in a weird way. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:07): Okay. If people wanted to tell us what they think of Refit or the podcast, how would they do that, Sampson? Sampson Davis (00:58:15): First of all, they would Google RingFit villain and find this Drogo. A lot more teeth than I was anticipating. Alex Finn (00:58:22): But yeah, look at them abs. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:25): Oh, fuck yes. Sampson Davis (00:58:26): I don't know. the teeth ... Stace Babcock (00:58:30): I think that is weirdly hot. Yeah. Emphasis on weirdly. Sampson Davis (00:58:34): Well, anyway, after they have spent their lunch hour gawking at him, they can find us that Explorers Wanted.fm. That is where you can find all our socials, all the links, all the profiles, our bio profiles. You can find us there. Specifically though, our highlights, if you go to Twitter, you can find us @ExplorerWanted. If you go to Instagram and Facebook, you can find us at Explorers Wanted podcast. We are active on our Discord, so if you want to talk to us there, join us there. You can find is at ExplorersWanted.fm/discord. That should give you the Discord link and do all the Discord stuff that you need to. If you feel that we deserve money for these shenanigans and it is within your means, you can find us at patreon.com/explorerwanted for us there. Daniel Andrlik (00:59:19): Awesome. And if you liked the podcast, honestly, the best thing that you could do for us is to tell a friend and tell them why you like the show and why they should listen to it. Daniel Andrlik (00:59:29): The second best thing you could do is leave us a five star review on a podcast directory, specifically, Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, or Stitcher. Those reviews, honestly, give podcasters life. They make such a huge difference. Please review us there. Review all the podcasts that you love there, because it makes such a difference for people trying out the show and building up their listenership. Daniel Andrlik (00:59:55): If you didn't like the show, or if you just thought it was bad, well, then I want to remind you that while a jumping spider has a brain, that's the size of a sesame seed, there has been research that shows that they're still capable of true cognition. In studies, scientists have noted that these arachnids can plan complex routes in advance and even handle detours that come up to the route within their working memory, even if they can't see the original route from their position, which just goes to show that even if you run, they can and will eventually catch up to you. 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 Babcock (01:00:44): You can find me on Twitter @StaceWindu. Sampson Davis (01:00:47): You can throw rotten fruit at me @slampotato. Alex Finn (01:00:49): You can wonder if that sesame seed sized brain would taste good with me @realtyunicorn on Twitter and more of these wonderful border thoughts at Q with a Unicorn on Twitch. Would they taste good? Daniel Andrlik (01:01:08): Okay. That's it for us. Hope you enjoyed the show. We will be back next week, as we will for every week in the foreseeable future. Have a good night, day, weekend or whenever you're listening to this. Bye. Alex Finn (01:01:19): Bye. Stace Babcock (01:01:19): Bye. Sampson Davis (01:01:19): Bye. Stace Babcock (01:01:53): Actually ChaCha, you want to do some shopping. We got to sleep somewhere. Alex Finn (01:01:56): I just look up bubble and the dog is farting. Stace Babcock (01:02:00): Oh, ChaCha is looking at a bubble.