BONUS - Prologue: Nirros

[00:00:05] Speaker A: You are listening to an atomic Broadcasting production. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the feature presentation. And remember, do your part, such as, like, comment rate. And don't forget to tell a friend. [00:00:19] Speaker B: To tune in for an atomic time. [00:00:36] Speaker A: We begin in the city of Joel, one of the largest settlements in the area and the largest city in the kingdom of Southmoor. The city of Jol sits between the Grungir Forest to the north and the Kodar Mountains to the south. It was built on the ruins of an ancient Thessalonian city and to some extent honors some of that heritage, but for the most part is a good, strong, ulfin city. It's bustling with life and variety of travelers coming through, some for trade, some for exploration, others for just cultural enrichment. One of these travelers, though, may have more interesting intentions in the city. Abby, what is this traveler? [00:01:30] Speaker B: So you see a young, fetchling woman. She has kind of wild silver hair, not really kept up. The most notable thing, though, that people will probably notice about her is her hands. They are pitch black. She doesn't cover them, she doesn't care. And that black actually goes all the way up to her forearms, kind of fades into the natural gray color of her skin. And she looks like she's probably up to no good, looking around the city, almost like she's plotting something. [00:02:14] Speaker A: So nearby where we see this Neros, there's a group of mages from the Archonamurum in Absalom. They are your quintessential stuffy, full of themselves, mages. There are a handful of wizards, there's a cleric, there's even a bard. But they are all, as far as Neros has seen, completely full of themselves. I would imagine at some point there's been a bit of a disagreement between Neros and this group. What do you think probably caused that? [00:02:55] Speaker B: Well, since these people are, like you said, full of themselves, neros is very much a free spirit. She doesn't really care about general, I guess, accepted magic practices, I don't know another way to put it. So she probably tried to knock them down a few pegs by public humiliation, more than likely, I can imagine. It's probably her history with them. [00:03:31] Speaker A: So do you have any ideas of maybe specifically what she'd done to try to draw their ire? [00:03:39] Speaker B: Are they like in robes, like being mages? [00:03:42] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Okay, think like if you're at a college graduation and everybody's got their fancy robes on, except at a college graduation, everybody's dressed more practically than these mages. [00:03:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, so go with me here. She probably targeted them long before she approached them. It's like those people, they need to be shown something that they are not all that. And she probably goes up to them in a way that doesn't necessarily look like she's about to cause trouble. Like maybe she's asking genuine questions and at some point somehow she manages to pull one of the robes up. Oh, jeez. You know how some people, they'll pull someone's shirt up and over their head? That's what she's going to do with the robes when one of these guys. [00:04:49] Speaker A: So as you're standing in this open marketplace, plenty of people around these mages are standing, talking, kind of just ignoring the world around them. What's going on outside? Neros? You kind of sneak up on one of them and in one smooth motion grab the hem of his robe and just flip it on over his head. So he is now entangled and blinded in his own clothing, leaving his lower half more or less exposed to all of those around. There is general hubbub and laughter, and the rest of the mages are very confused and kind of disoriented what's Nero's doing as the reaction to all of this is occurring. [00:05:33] Speaker B: I imagine she comes around the front of the group of mages and she's doubled over laughing just in amusement. And she like, spreads her arms and it's like ladies and gentlemen, you see these mages, they put on an air that they are better than everyone, but even they're fools. I mean, look at that guy. [00:06:01] Speaker A: And as you're saying this, the one guy that had his robe thrown up over his head is like struggling and eventually manages to throw it back down around him. He's a bit of a younger mage and he is completely red in the face at this point. And he's just like, how dare you? Such insolence and ignorance and how dare you insulting a mage of the Arkanimarium. And the other mages are just like, I don't know how to describe they're like just floored flabbergasted. You might say they were non plused. But the mund mage who was personally offended by this assault is like checking his bags and pouches and stuff, making sure nothing was stolen. [00:06:55] Speaker B: Oh, nothing was stolen. So I assure you. [00:07:00] Speaker A: So you think this is some kind of a joke? You think this is funny? [00:07:04] Speaker B: Yes, I do. [00:07:06] Speaker A: You will answer to the magistrate for your actions. I assure you. [00:07:10] Speaker B: I've answered to people before. Yeah, same old, same old. [00:07:14] Speaker A: And he moves forward to grab your wrist. [00:07:18] Speaker B: Suddenly she's not there. She's like 10ft away. [00:07:22] Speaker A: OOH, how does that happen? [00:07:25] Speaker B: She casts a little cantrip called warp step. [00:07:28] Speaker A: So he reaches for your wrist and you're just suddenly somewhere else. And he barely catches his balance. And the crowd's like starting to snicker and drawing in closer. Like there's this open ring of people around where all this is happening. And he's just like, now stop fooling around. You're coming with me. And he starts marching towards you again. [00:07:50] Speaker B: She's like, no, I don't think so. And starts running down an alleyway. [00:07:55] Speaker A: As you start running, though, the ring of people like, draws together because they want to see how this all plays out. So at this point, we're going to roll initiative. [00:08:11] Speaker B: For initiative. That is a 16. [00:08:15] Speaker A: All right, in that case, the first thing that happens is this disgruntled mage is, like, Edward apprehend her, and this burly looking goblin steps out from the crowd. [00:08:33] Speaker B: A goblin named Edward. I love it. [00:08:36] Speaker A: He's just got, like, this ripped white shirt with, like, a leather vest over the top of it, and he's just like, Roy, now you're coming with us. And he goes up to you, and he goes to grab at you. So he comes over, and he's, like, reaching out to grab at you. But then as he's lifting up his arm, it catches on a tool that's on his belt, and he just staggers a little bit and trips over a cobblestone, like, just barely catches his balance. Because he has attempted to grapple you and has critically failed. If you would like, you may attempt to grapple him back for free. [00:09:19] Speaker B: Okay, I will. [00:09:22] Speaker A: What is that, an athletics. [00:09:24] Speaker B: Athletics, okay. This is just going to be I have nothing to athletics. [00:09:30] Speaker A: I wasn't expecting Edward to roll a natural one four. [00:09:37] Speaker B: This is great. [00:09:38] Speaker A: So he gets tangled up in his own tools and trips, and you try to grab at him, but he just steadies himself, and he looks at you, he's like, I'm fine. Thank you, though. Thank you. [00:09:48] Speaker B: No, I wasn't helping. [00:09:51] Speaker A: That is his turn. It's now your turn. [00:09:56] Speaker B: Okay. With this wonderful failed attempt to grapple each other, I would like to try and warp step away through the crowd. Like, back behind the crowd. [00:10:12] Speaker A: All right, let me check one thing real quick, because that's a newish spell to me. Yeah. So it does have the somatic trait. So if he has an attack of opportunity, he could take it just to make sure you know, that okay. [00:10:26] Speaker B: I still want to try. [00:10:27] Speaker A: You're going to do it? [00:10:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:29] Speaker A: All right. So you see space begin to contract in front of you, and, like, the path that you have chosen just seems to be shorter than any other path around you to get to that same place, and you can move. [00:10:46] Speaker B: So I'm going to move. Yeah. Probably try and get behind the crowd a little bit. Like bob and weave. [00:10:54] Speaker A: Okay. [00:10:54] Speaker B: Try and get away from Edward the. [00:10:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Since the crowd is actively invested in seeing how all this turns out, I'm going to ask for a tumble through on this. So it'll be an Acrobatics check. [00:11:08] Speaker B: Okay. Already established. I'm great at Acrobatics natural 20. [00:11:18] Speaker A: So I'm going to say that you can go ahead and get, like, a full 10ft into this ring of the crowd. But how do you do that? Is there any stunts, or is it just, like, impossibly fast motion, just, like, passing through everybody before they have a chance to react? [00:11:35] Speaker B: She's pretty accustomed to going through crowds to get away from people, so I imagine she's built that up in her skill set, able to get through and, like, no. Pardon me. No coming through here. [00:11:48] Speaker A: Nice. So I'll say warp step. Two actions to get to the crowd and then one action to tumble through to get through the 10ft through the crowd. Okay, I'm going to need you to roll a will save. [00:12:02] Speaker B: OOH, eight. [00:12:09] Speaker A: So that is a regular failure. As you feel like just like an ice cream headache, just like a pinching feeling in your brain and you're just like, staggered for a little bit and you take two mental damage. Being a caster yourself, you likely recognize the effects of daze when you feel it. [00:12:34] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:36] Speaker A: As the red in the face angry mage is just like, angrily striding over to the edge of the crowd. And he's like, get out of the way, fools. Get out. Get out. And he's able to clear out one space worth. So 5ft of people start moving aside. So you're still in the crowd, not in the ring, but you're not quite as deep in the crowd as you were previously. Okay, now it's Edward's turn, and he's determined to redeem himself. So he comes running up and he attempts to push his way through the crowd to catch up to you. Since the crowd wants to see this continue, I'm going to give him a little bit of a bonus to the check, but we'll see where that goes. So he starts coming up and he's like pushing through and a couple of people start stepping out of the way to let him move. And this one other guy is just like, yeah. And he's just, like, not paying any attention, just standing right in the way. And Edward's like, trying to get around him, but can't find a way around. He's going to try one more time to slip under his legs. And he just slides and the guy just steps at just the right moment and Edward just like, slams into his leg and the guy's like, oh, sorry, little dude. [00:14:00] Speaker B: Oh, Edward. [00:14:01] Speaker A: Nero, since your turn. [00:14:02] Speaker B: Oh, Edward. Okay, so since I failed, that the thing on Days, does that do anything to me? [00:14:11] Speaker A: Just the damage. [00:14:12] Speaker B: Just the damage. Okay. [00:14:13] Speaker A: If you had critically failed, then you. [00:14:15] Speaker B: Would lose an action on gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. All right. Is like, in front of me still like a bunch of people, or is it towards the edge of the crowd? [00:14:26] Speaker A: You're towards the edge of the crowd at this point, it's probably more like difficult terrain. [00:14:31] Speaker B: Okay, so was it the mage? The mage was casting days. [00:14:35] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:36] Speaker B: Okay. [00:14:36] Speaker A: How far away is he at this point? Let's say, yeah, 20ft. [00:14:44] Speaker B: Okay. So she kind of looks behind her at the mage and she's like, two can play that game, sir. And she cast days. [00:14:54] Speaker A: Nice. So he'll make a will save. Oh, wow. He got a 25. [00:15:02] Speaker B: Oh, okay, cool. [00:15:10] Speaker A: I'm less worried about revealing stats in this one on one setting, so I'll let you know. He got a 19 on the die. [00:15:18] Speaker B: All right, good for him. She's like, oh, all right. [00:15:22] Speaker A: That didn't work, and I believe that's a critical success, right? [00:15:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:27] Speaker A: Okay. He's just like, you can't try to use my own magic against me. I know all of the ins and outs of these spells, and one of the guys behind him just, like, rolls his eyes. [00:15:41] Speaker B: Really? Because your superiors don't think you do. [00:15:45] Speaker A: You have one action left. [00:15:49] Speaker B: I think with that, she is just going to try and still get away from this group of rude people. [00:16:00] Speaker A: All right, so your speed is 25, correct? [00:16:03] Speaker B: Yes. [00:16:04] Speaker A: Okay. So you can make it another, like, 10ft through the crowd, and at this point, you're, like, at the edge of the gathered crowd. So if you would do any further movement, it's going to be normal. Just movement. [00:16:16] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:17] Speaker A: But they do have one last chance. They've got one more turn before you can move again, and if they get closer, then we'll stay in counter mode. If they can't get any closer, they're not going to have a chance of catching you. [00:16:30] Speaker B: Okay, cool. [00:16:31] Speaker A: So the mage steps up to the crowd, and he's like, step aside, step aside. And the crowd just starts laughing at him, and they're, like, totally ignoring him. [00:16:47] Speaker B: Was he trying to intimidate them? [00:16:49] Speaker A: Yes. And oh, you are still within range for day of days, so he's going to try one more time. So go ahead and make a will save. [00:16:56] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:59] Speaker A: 1919 is a success. So you will take yeah, it's a basic save. You take one damage. [00:17:09] Speaker B: Okay. [00:17:11] Speaker A: All right. That is the end of his turn. Edward has his last chance. Edward just, like, rolls up, like, the little fringes of the cutoff sleeves of his shirt, and he's like, right, step aside. I've got some business to do, and starts trying to push his way through the crowd. [00:17:27] Speaker B: I think it's funny that you guys, all these powerful mages, you have a goblin to do your daddy business. [00:17:34] Speaker A: He just leans forward just like football tackle against the leg of that big guy. The big guy just doesn't move, and he's just like, oh, you want a hug? He just, like, leans down to pat Edward on the back. Edward's like, move, you whale of a man. [00:17:55] Speaker B: Oh, isn't that sweet? [00:17:58] Speaker A: As the guy's, like, patting him on the back, edward's going to try to take advantage of the opportunity and slip around behind him to run through the crowd. And he makes it. He makes it around the guy, and he is now at the edge of the crowd, where it's difficult terrain to catch up with you. [00:18:17] Speaker B: Okay. [00:18:17] Speaker A: But that's the end of his turn. Okay, it is now your turn again. [00:18:21] Speaker B: Going to keep going, so I'm going to spend all my actions to just go. [00:18:27] Speaker A: Gotcha. And are you using warp step as um yeah. Gotcha. So with using warp step to shorten the distance between yourself and your destination, edward has no chance of even catching up with you, much less keeping up to see which turns you make as you leave him behind, because he's still trying to push through the last remnants of the crowd. He's kind of short. He can't see through everybody. So by the time he makes it to the edge of the crowd, you are long gone. [00:18:56] Speaker B: Nice. As she's running away, it's like she turns around for a second. It's like nice try. Catch you later. And she keeps going. [00:19:05] Speaker A: Nice. So mischief managed, as they say. I don't know if that's trademarked, so they don't say that. [00:19:18] Speaker B: I don't know. Harry Potter universe. Is that trademarked? [00:19:22] Speaker A: No, it's probably public domain by now. [00:19:25] Speaker B: They've been around long enough. [00:19:27] Speaker A: It's not like it's a big franchise. [00:19:29] Speaker B: No, there's not fans worldwide. [00:19:33] Speaker A: So your miscreations achieved. [00:19:38] Speaker B: Miscreations achieved. [00:19:42] Speaker A: TM we then turn our attention to what brought Neros to Joel in the first place. [00:19:50] Speaker B: So for the past few years, neros has just been, like, traveling with no real goal, basically just going from town to town, causing trouble wherever, as we just saw. But lately, she has rediscovered her main thing that she wants out of this world. So she is probably wandering around to businesses and stuff, and she has a letter that has a seal on it, a broken seal. The seal is of a raven flying over a moon. And she has never seen this seal before, or this is the only instance she's ever seen it. So she's going around two businesses, being like, do you know what this is? Have you seen anything like this before? Can you tell me where it's from? [00:20:49] Speaker A: Yeah. And as you've been traveling through various small towns and cities and such and asking everybody if they've seen it, no one has. But many of them have directed you to Joel, saying that there is a large library of local culture and including some ancient culture and such, some of them suggesting that it could be like from a fallen house, from ancient, like, you know, just kind of sketching ideas and saying, hey, we wouldn't know this here in our small town. But the library and Joel, they know a lot of stuff, and even if they don't have any information on what the seal is, you might be able to eliminate what the seal isn't and move from there. [00:21:30] Speaker B: Okay. All right. So with that, she's going to go find a library. [00:21:38] Speaker A: The library itself is an imposing structure built primarily out of, like, limestone quarried from the nearby Kodar Mountains. There's various different statues. Like how in America, it's kind of traditional to have lion statues outside of libraries. These ones are linorm statues, kind of celebrating the culture and heritage of the area. Like, lots of steps leading up the front, columns leading in. It's a very grandiose arrangement, but once you get inside, it seems like perhaps the construction was anticipating a larger collection than they had accumulated. [00:22:17] Speaker B: Okay. [00:22:18] Speaker A: There's a lot of open space, and even the shelving that's there doesn't really have as much on it as you might hope. But shortly after you come in, a librarian comes up and is like, can I help you find anything? [00:22:32] Speaker B: Yeah. So she digs through her pack and takes out that letter and presents it to her. And it's like, I'm looking for this seal. [00:22:45] Speaker A: Yes. Allow me to examine it briefly, if you wouldn't mind. [00:22:52] Speaker B: She hands it over, but you can tell there's definitely, like, if she tries to take it or if even if she looks like she's about to destroy it, we're going to have problems. [00:23:02] Speaker A: And she kind of takes the letter. So with the letter, is it like, one piece of parchment that's been sealed that has the writing on the other side, or was it, like an envelope that has a letter tucked inside the first one. Okay. [00:23:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:16] Speaker A: So she takes it and kind of starts looking at the seal. And then she goes like she's going to unfold it and read the other side? [00:23:22] Speaker B: No, just the seal. [00:23:24] Speaker A: Oh, my apologies. And she closes it back and starts looking more closely at the seal. This is a very interesting seal. The design definitely does seem to be more local. She's looking closely at it. I don't recognize the seal, though. Please. She hands it back to you. Would you mind waiting a moment? [00:23:46] Speaker B: Of course. Yeah. [00:23:48] Speaker A: And she goes off into one of the massive walnut bookshelves and just goes off in there. And you're kind of just struck again with the sense of, like, they're really trying. They just don't have anything here. After a couple of minutes, she comes back with a couple of scrolls. And as she unrolls them out on a desk, it's like heraldry and, like, records of family crests and seals and stuff like that. And she's going through them and kind of searching back and forth. And occasionally she'll point out one that has some similar elements and such, but it's like, clearly it's not the same, but she's like, hey, there's a raven in this one. A lot of times, like, family crests and such are composited out of the families that join together. So you might check in this area and see if anybody knows anything about it here. As they're going along, though, she finds nothing entered that matches the seal exactly. And as she's rolling it up, what's your perception bonus? [00:24:50] Speaker B: Give me one moment. Four. [00:24:54] Speaker A: Okay. You kind of get the sense that she's, like, unsettled by something, a bit bothered by something. It's not just like, well, couldn't find anything. Like, she feels like she ought to have found something. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Okay. So as she's rolling up the scroll, neros is kind of running her hands or her thumb over that seal because that seal is almost becoming her entire life. She's like, why do you think no one knows what this is? [00:25:32] Speaker A: Well, it could be of a foreign descent, possibly even from across the oceans, then, of course, we would have no record of it here. It does strike me as OD, though. The materials used, the quality of the parchment, the wax itself, and the seal that is impressed into the wax, it's all constructed as if for one of great wealth. So I'm a little bit surprised that I have no records of ever having seen this seal before for one who had such an influence in society. [00:26:13] Speaker B: Nero'S kind of sighs, and it's like, all right, well, thank you for helping me at least. [00:26:21] Speaker A: Of course. Now, I beg my begging your pardon, but my interest has been piqued. How came you buy this? [00:26:29] Speaker B: Let's just say it's a family. [00:26:35] Speaker A: All right. A family ably. Write that on your inventory sheet for you? [00:26:45] Speaker B: I haven't had enough coffee yet. Let's just say it's a family island. [00:26:57] Speaker A: So are you thinking perhaps that this seal is somehow related to your family? [00:27:01] Speaker B: I assume so. [00:27:04] Speaker A: Well, if I hear anything, I could attempt to get a message to you. Could I take down a name and address, perhaps, that I could send the message to? [00:27:13] Speaker B: It might be a bit difficult. I don't really have a home. She thinks for a moment. [00:27:19] Speaker A: Well, I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean any offense. [00:27:23] Speaker B: No offense taken. I just have been wondering for a while, mainly looking for whoever this belongs to. She's like, well, there isn't a place, I guess you could send it. And she gives her the address of the orphanage that she grew up in, and she's like, well, if you send it to Neros at this address, I'll eventually go back there, I guess. [00:27:51] Speaker A: All right, well, I will be sure to send anything we find, and hopefully, as we draw upon our connections through the academic world, we might be able to find an answer to your question. [00:28:03] Speaker B: All right, well, thank you again, but of course. [00:28:07] Speaker A: You have a lovely day. [00:28:08] Speaker B: You too. [00:28:10] Speaker A: She leaves outside. It's early afternoon. It's beginning to warm up as it's starting in towards March, so it's still cold out, but not like, bundle up or you're going to die cold, which it does get in the winter, and. [00:28:28] Speaker B: Not like the past few days here in southwest Missouri. [00:28:33] Speaker A: The audience doesn't know when we've recorded this. [00:28:37] Speaker B: They do know. Well, that didn't go how she wanted it, especially since people have been telling her, go to Joel, go to Joel. They might have answers. Nothing. [00:28:50] Speaker A: It's definitely more leads than you'd gotten, because she had, like, that entire registry of all of the Heraldry Joel knows about, so now you it's. They were in this area, but there's no record of that family crest or that seal or whatever it is being used in this area, which is odd. [00:29:10] Speaker B: Especially since she said that it came from a family of great wealth and great influence, and they have no record. That's weird. [00:29:22] Speaker A: So, of course, being someone who how do I put this in polite ways, someone who takes part in the less straightforward parts of society. You're probably already thinking in terms of, like, well, maybe it's someone who's forging something. What if somebody had commissioned to get a fancy stamp made that doesn't line up with anything but would fool people? So that's a possibility, but that's a lot of money to go into fooling people. [00:29:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:29:58] Speaker A: Anybody who doesn't know stamps probably wouldn't know what to look for in a fancy stamp. [00:30:03] Speaker B: Yeah. Very OD. Very OD. All right. What time of day is it? [00:30:10] Speaker A: Early afternoon. [00:30:11] Speaker B: Early afternoon. [00:30:13] Speaker A: You've probably got about four or 5 hours of daylight left, given the time of year and how far north you are. [00:30:21] Speaker B: How long was she at the library for? [00:30:26] Speaker A: Maybe an hour. [00:30:28] Speaker B: Okay. So enough time that the kerfuffle has died down, probably. Okay. It's not evening yet, so there's no point in going to any sort of tavern or anything yet. [00:30:40] Speaker A: Well, you could always get an early start. [00:30:43] Speaker B: Could, but early afternoon is bit too early of a start. She doesn't really have anything like plans. She kind of did what she wanted to do, ask around about the seal. She basically wastes time until certain hour hits and then she's going to go to a tavern somewhere. [00:31:06] Speaker A: All right. So as you're kind of walking around town, catching the sights, poking at an old thessalon ruin that everybody tells you to leave alone, maybe kill a skeleton that pops out, normal stuff, the use. After all that's said and done, you're heading down one of the main roadways that's going along the Skierim River, not the Skyrim River, the skirm River. [00:31:32] Speaker B: Is it spelled the same? [00:31:33] Speaker A: No. [00:31:34] Speaker B: Okay. [00:31:34] Speaker A: It's S-K-I-R-I-M it's so close. skirm along the skirim river. There's like this main roadway, and there's kind of like docks and stuff. So there's plenty of activity going on as everybody's kind of bringing the ships in, the boats and stuff for the end of the day. So there's plenty to look at. But as you're kind of walking along, you notice that there is an inn a little ways down the road that's already lit up and there's already noise and people talking from the inn. [00:32:04] Speaker B: Yep. She's going to go there. [00:32:06] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. This inn is called the Jewel of Skyrim. [00:32:11] Speaker B: The Jewel of Skyrim. [00:32:13] Speaker A: The Skyrim Jewel. [00:32:15] Speaker B: The Skyrim Jewel. [00:32:17] Speaker A: And inside it already seems to be busy and bustling with various dock hands and travelers and all sorts of merchants. Anybody who's been using the river for travel, who's looking for somewhere to spend the night on their way through town. As you're stepping in, you're like, it's busy in terms of the level of energy, but not as busy as it could be in terms of space. Like, it's a really big area, but it's not super busy. And you kind of quickly get to the realization that it's like it's too early in the season for there to be a lot of people traveling by water. [00:32:55] Speaker B: Got you. [00:32:56] Speaker A: There's definitely a lot more room to draw in a bigger crowd. [00:33:01] Speaker B: She can make that happen. It's happened before. But in the meantime, she's going to go up to basically the bar, be like, what's your strongest bro that you've got here? [00:33:15] Speaker A: And this burly bearded guy turns around and the way his beard is done is he's got like the lamb chops, like the sideburns, but they're like braided and they come down like a foot down his face. And then in the middle is completely clean shaven. [00:33:32] Speaker B: Interesting look there. [00:33:34] Speaker A: And he's just like, well, we got plenty. We've got imported drinks from the south, we've got imported drinks from the north, but the best one the strongest liquor we've got, we call it Witch's brew. It's brought straight in from Irison. And he like, slams a bottle on the counter in front of you. [00:33:54] Speaker B: I'll try that. [00:33:55] Speaker A: Right. And he pulls out the tiniest little glass and he pours like a half an ounce in and slides it over to you. [00:34:03] Speaker B: That's all you got? It's a bit stingy. [00:34:06] Speaker A: Better start easy. You don't want to get too deep into the glasses this early in the evening, do you, miss? [00:34:13] Speaker B: I suppose you're right. [00:34:17] Speaker A: She drinks it just for fun. What's your fortitude bonus? [00:34:25] Speaker B: Fortitude is a plus five. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Nice. So you knock back this drink and at first you're expecting the way it was presented is maybe like you're expecting a whiskey or something. And as soon as it hits your bloodstream, it's just like you drink it and you immediately warmth in your gut. You feel on fire and you're kind of woozy for just a second from just the strength of the drink. But you're like, this is good stuff. [00:34:52] Speaker B: I'll keep that in mind for later. Thank you. In the meantime, though, just a mead. [00:34:59] Speaker A: Keep it easy, right? Start with a kick and then follow it up with something smooth. And he hands you a whole tanker to mead. [00:35:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, but don't get me wrong, we're back for that later, right? [00:35:09] Speaker A: I'll keep it open for you. They're not open. I'll keep it nearby, keep it handy. And he puts a cork in the bottle. [00:35:19] Speaker B: Just reach back and like, it's mine now. And I think she'll wait until it gets a little bit later. More people might be coming in, maybe eat something, since she has a bit more money than what she started with. [00:35:38] Speaker A: Yeah, so the food is good. It's like a roast fish dish with a lot of potatoes and various other vegetables and stuff grown outside of town. It's well cooked, nice seasoning, leaves a little bit to be desired, but just the quality of the food kind of makes up for that. [00:35:59] Speaker B: It's food. [00:36:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:01] Speaker B: Might be better than what she's had in a while. [00:36:02] Speaker A: So she'll take it quite possibly soon enough. Night is beginning to fall and a few. More people, a few more dock hands and such are kind of beginning to roll in. And the room, the common area for frivolities is maybe three quarters of the way full. [00:36:20] Speaker B: Okay, cool. Is there a bard in the corner? [00:36:25] Speaker A: There is, but I have a quick question I forgot to ask. Have you rented a room here? [00:36:29] Speaker B: No. [00:36:30] Speaker A: Okay. [00:36:32] Speaker B: Not yet. [00:36:35] Speaker A: The room is beginning to fill up, so you're kind of thinking, if I want to stay the night here, I might need to book now. [00:36:43] Speaker B: Okay, let's go ahead and do that, then. [00:36:46] Speaker A: Okay. [00:36:46] Speaker B: So she actually has a place to sleep for the night. [00:36:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Take care of all of the adult details. No, hold on. Take care of all the adulting details. Very important. [00:37:00] Speaker B: Very important. [00:37:02] Speaker A: This is a children's show. [00:37:06] Speaker B: Made the wrong character for that. [00:37:11] Speaker A: So as the room's beginning to fill up, you stop by, the bartender hand him a few coins, and he points out, second room on the right. That being settled. You turn, you see this bard in the corner. He's like a youngish guy, ginger hair, and he's just kind of picking away on a loot, just kind of strumming out a little tune. [00:37:33] Speaker B: Oh, you can do better than that. She goes over there, and it's like, sir, you've got to know more songs than whatever you're playing right now. [00:37:42] Speaker A: I know a few. [00:37:45] Speaker B: Okay, do you know any good drinking songs that will get this place riled up? Because right now, I just got to be honest, it's kind of boring. [00:37:54] Speaker A: Well, I mean, yeah, I guess I'll ensure. [00:37:58] Speaker B: Oh, come on. You can do it. [00:38:02] Speaker A: I'm not a very good singer, though. [00:38:04] Speaker B: Oh, dear Lord. All right, hang on. Give me one moment. I'll be right back. [00:38:10] Speaker A: Okay? If you know a song I can play and you can sing oh, I know a song. [00:38:14] Speaker B: Hang on. I've got to get back up. Hang on. You keep doing whatever you're doing. I'll be back in, like, five minutes. [00:38:21] Speaker A: And he just starts vamping. [00:38:24] Speaker B: Vamp. So she's going to go around the room and try and gather some people. Like, Guys, come on, come on. We can make this into a party. [00:38:35] Speaker A: Come on, let's go make a diplomacy check. [00:38:40] Speaker B: Okay, that didn't count. Oh, my gosh. Okay, did you see that? Seven total. [00:38:55] Speaker A: So you're going around the room trying to egg people on, get them involved. There's a couple of people who are like, yeah, sure, but nobody's eager enough to get up and follow you or get anybody else going, too. [00:39:10] Speaker B: Well, there's only one way to do this. She gets up on top of a table, regardless if there's people there or not. [00:39:20] Speaker A: My beef. [00:39:21] Speaker B: Sorry. Yeah, you might want to move that out of the way. Hang on, just take a second. She gets up on the table, and it's like, good people of the what was this place called again? Jewel of Skiram. All right, look, I know you're probably tired. I know you've been traveling all day. You just want to eat and sleep and do whatever. [00:39:40] Speaker A: I threw my back out today. [00:39:43] Speaker B: That's terrible. However, despite that, I'm sure we can turn this into a party. Now in that corner over there, that sad excuse for our Bard. I'm sorry, sir, but I know you can do better. He's going to play us a drinking song, and I want everyone to join in. I want this entire place to just be, oh, popping. [00:40:08] Speaker A: The Bard. Suddenly everybody's looking at him and he's. [00:40:12] Speaker B: Just like, oh, it's okay. And then she gets done off the table. It's like oh, sorry. Pardon me. All right. And she goes over there and she puts her arm around Owens like, all right, strike it up. [00:40:26] Speaker A: So we don't have the budget to do a musical number. Well, that's fine, but what theater is the subject of the drinking song that you engage them in? [00:40:41] Speaker B: I'm just picturing like a general, just like, good old Irish drinking song. However we want to construe that. [00:40:50] Speaker A: Got you. Go ahead and make a performance check. [00:40:55] Speaker B: Come on. The two on the I 405. [00:41:12] Speaker A: So you get the song going and the nerdy guy on the loot is kind of picking up and he keeps hitting the wrong chord because he thought it was going to go somewhere else and it didn't. And the crowds, they start kind of like, oh, I know the song start clapping along. And then they're like, those aren't the words that we're familiar with. That starts kind of like, beginning to collapse. And right at that moment when you're thinking, okay, maybe we'll switch songs. Right at that moment, the doors open and in walk the mages from earlier today. [00:41:48] Speaker B: Oh, that's not what I wanted to see. So it's like a sad excuse for trying to get everyone riled up and walks the encounter from earlier, and she's like, good grief, erasma. Help me imagine. She makes eye contact with the mage that she pulled the robe over earlier. [00:42:12] Speaker A: Yeah. And he just stares at you and you've stopped singing as you notice them. And the bard just like, looks at you. And now everybody's looking. The mages that have just walked in and the one guy like, the guy that you humiliated earlier, he's just like, you. [00:42:37] Speaker B: You. Yeah, it's me and it's you. [00:42:41] Speaker A: And he starts striding purposefully into the room. He only makes it two steps before somebody else stops and puts his hand on his shoulder and pulls him back and shakes his head no at him, looks at you. You did not see this mage with the group earlier, but you recognize him. We're going to do a little bit of a flashback, which I don't think is going to be an acted out flashback. It's going to be more of a filling in flashback. Back in Yanderhoff, you had gotten into a bit of some trouble after you'd pulled a prank on one of the dwarven priests of Torag. They didn't take it well. There was like this group of scholars who were all debating something about magic or something like that. What kind of prank do you think you would have pulled? It's a similar situation to this one here in town, but it's less of like hoity toity magicians who are like, we're better than everyone else, and more like religious snobbery. [00:43:54] Speaker B: Are they like the people, like if you worship someone other than Torag, you're wrong? [00:44:01] Speaker A: No, they wouldn't have been bigoted. They might have been more indulgently tolerant in a condescending way of like, oh, sure, sure, you worship rasmub. Not really. I mean, come on. [00:44:24] Speaker B: Do they have the holy text of Torag with them? [00:44:28] Speaker A: Yeah. So in the flashback yeah, they're probably like debating something over the texts. [00:44:35] Speaker B: Okay, so she goes up behind this group of dwarves and is just like, yeah, that's interesting, but have you read this pot? And she takes ink and smears a page of the text with the ink. [00:44:55] Speaker A: Got you. So after that went south and you're kind of expecting them to just be upset, you weren't expecting them to immediately grab you and take you off to jail. But after you'd been thrown into incarceration for your slate against Torag. Not long after this other mage whom you've recognized here in the tavern showed up and mentioned that he understood where you were coming from and he'd been able to talk the other Dwarves know, kind of viewing it as more of a childish prank and let you know that he'd paid your bail and that you'd be free to go, but that if you ever met again, that he might ask you a favor in return. [00:45:43] Speaker B: Okay. [00:45:45] Speaker A: And now in the present, that is the mage that you see standing before you, salazar Wells. [00:45:51] Speaker B: Salazar wells. Okay. [00:45:56] Speaker A: And now the entire tavern is dead silent as the awkward bard has stopped picking at his loot. Even the drunkest of sailors have stopped trying to continue singing the drinking song. And everybody's just standing at these mages who have bustled in. You're like looking at them. Salazar has put his hand on the younger mage and is no, no, just stay out of it. And now there's just like everybody's just looking at this whole awkward meeting. [00:46:26] Speaker B: Well, I would say, it's nice to see you again. And she like points, like staring at the younger mage, but it's not just going to be making my way out. Pardon me? No, going around it. [00:46:45] Speaker A: Salazar turns to the rest of the mages and he's like, go get yourselves some dinner. This young lady and I have something to discuss. [00:46:54] Speaker B: All right, never mind, I'm not leaving. [00:46:57] Speaker A: Well, if you wouldn't mind, I wouldn't mind stopping and having a chat. It's been a while since we've caught up with each other. Not since Yanderhoff am right. [00:47:06] Speaker B: Uh, yep. I think that was the last time. [00:47:08] Speaker A: I saw you and he, like, glances around after that and notices everybody else is still watching. And he's just like, Go about your business, people. Nothing to see here. Gestures to the boy with the loot over by the fire and he's like, Play us a tune, something snappy. The rest of the crewmen, sailors, dockhands, they kind of just, like, shrug, go back to their meal. Unfortunately, in their opinion, there's not going to be a fight. So they go back to what they were doing. Salazar pulls out a table at a. [00:47:46] Speaker B: Table here, have a seat. [00:47:51] Speaker A: He shows you to one of the citelians. Salazar pulls out a chair at a table and, like, gestures set it for you to sit down and takes a seat opposite. [00:48:04] Speaker B: So what do you need to talk to me about? [00:48:09] Speaker A: Well, it seems you'd possibly run afoul of one of my companions earlier today. [00:48:14] Speaker B: I mean, it was kind of funny. [00:48:18] Speaker A: Well, as I cannot speak to the humor of the situation as I did not, unfortunately, witness it myself, I must take your word for it. [00:48:27] Speaker B: I mean, there were a lot of people there that saw it. You could ask any of them. They were laughing. [00:48:34] Speaker A: Well, I was able to talk him out of pursuing any legal action, saying that I would address the situation with you myself. And as our group is going to be splitting up the next few days, I was wondering if you might accompany me on a bit of an expedition. [00:48:54] Speaker B: What kind of expedition? [00:48:57] Speaker A: The kind and as the barmaid walks by with a tray of drinks and stuff, he grabs a mug off and she just kind of, like, looks at him like, dude, what? Takes the mug, sets it down in front of him, and he's like the kind that involves some mystery, some adventure and perhaps a bit of danger. [00:49:19] Speaker B: She thinks for a moment like, all right, I'm intrigued. [00:49:26] Speaker A: They say that just our ways to the southeast of here in Copper Burkett. It's an old copper mine that's been open for who knows how long. They've been digging around down there. And occasionally they'll stumble across a forgotten crypt of some kind. And most recently, they've broken into the darklands and have had all sorts of trouble with duragar springing up and trying to take over the mines. But more engagingly, more interestingly, very recently, a couple of the miners had stumbled into a forgotten crypt of some kind that they described as a sort of room full of runic writing that none of them could read. Of course, they naturally refused to go any further until professionals could be called. I madam. He stops and strokes his beard and thought, I'm one of those professionals called in to investigate the matter at hand. However, I am not much use in a fight. My skills lie in the arcane and those of the academic world. So I was wondering if you might come along with us as part of the detachment involved in ensuring the safety of us on this expedition. [00:50:42] Speaker B: You think I'm skilled enough to keep you safe? [00:50:45] Speaker A: Well, I've seen you handle yourself against several untoward encounters with irrational individuals. I imagine that those arranging for the group might be hiring more than enough brutes to keep the beasts of the wilds at bay. But if we were to run across perhaps some pesky miners who don't understand the situation or duragar coming up from the darklands, it might behoove us to have one who might be able to talk the situation down rather than face it with steel. [00:51:20] Speaker B: I see. So you need someone of the more diplomatic persuasion. [00:51:26] Speaker A: To put it bluntly, we need a silver tongued scoundrel. [00:51:29] Speaker B: Ah, well, you've come to the right place, sir. All right. I guess another question is, does it pay quite well? [00:51:43] Speaker A: This mission is being funded by the two opposing mining companies in the region, and neither of them want to appear stingy. [00:51:52] Speaker B: So they're competing for it. [00:51:54] Speaker A: Indeed. They believe that whoever funds the mission the best might win the favor of the detachment who will be surveying the land to determine whom the cask belongs to. [00:52:06] Speaker B: That could end quite well. She seems to think it over for a second, like. Well, all right, I'll come along. I've got nothing better to do, I guess. [00:52:17] Speaker A: That is most wonderful. We shall be leaving in the morning. We'll be meeting up with the group in the town of Tomgrove. It's about 20 miles from here. [00:52:28] Speaker B: What was the town's name? [00:52:29] Speaker A: Tom Grove. [00:52:31] Speaker B: All right. [00:52:33] Speaker A: It's a bit of a small town. Used to be a copper mining town. Sort of fell into disrepair recently with just becoming sheep when the mine shut down. But it's been reopened recently. But we'll get to more of those details on the journey over. Now, have you lodgings for the night? [00:52:50] Speaker B: I do, yeah. [00:52:51] Speaker A: Most excellent. It's bodacious indeed. I don't know why. Most excellent. Just made me think of Bill and Ted. [00:53:08] Speaker B: All right? [00:53:12] Speaker A: Yes, most excellent. Now, if there are any other matters of academic interest that you wish to discuss, I do have a few minutes to spare. [00:53:24] Speaker B: Yeah. Takes out the letter with the seal, shows it to him, but doesn't give it to him. It's like do you recognize this? [00:53:36] Speaker A: That does appear to be a sealed letter. He takes a sip of his mead. [00:53:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm talking about the seal. Do you recognize that? Like the symbol on it? [00:53:49] Speaker A: I can't say that I do. It does seem to be formatted like that of a noble house. You'd see, the element of the raven and the moon and the way that they're positioned with each other might exemplify that there was a noble house of a raven that had married into a noble house of a moon. Or is it quite the opposite, a moon that marries into the raven? I'm not quite sure. If only it had color, it being only in relief makes it quite difficult. If it had color, that would make it easier to identify. [00:54:21] Speaker B: All right. Thank you. [00:54:26] Speaker A: Of course, Heraldry is one of my hobbies, you must know. He takes a second sip of the mead and then grimaces, and he's like, this isn't milk. [00:54:38] Speaker B: What did you think it was going to be? [00:54:41] Speaker A: I distinctly remember ordering milk. [00:54:44] Speaker B: I'm sorry, but the tray that you took that off of, that wasn't for you. She was just walking by you. [00:54:52] Speaker A: Pray excuse me. I must go apologize to the establishment. He stands up quickly and walks off. [00:55:00] Speaker B: It's an OD fellow, that one. Well, with the failure to get the tavern riled up like she wanted to, she's probably just going to retire and go to her room for the rest of the night. [00:55:16] Speaker A: So as you head into your room, it's a nice cozy space. It looks like, well maintained. A quick glance around at, like, the furniture and stuff. It's like this is really sturdily constructed. It's not, like, fancy. It's just very well made. As you enter the room, you notice on the little table next to the bed, there's something small and glittery. [00:55:45] Speaker B: Okay. She's going to go look at it. [00:55:49] Speaker A: It appears to be some form of locket. [00:55:54] Speaker B: Interesting. Is there anything, like, on the front of it? [00:56:01] Speaker A: No, it's like I forget the term for it, but where there's the very fine engraving of just, like, general designs, it's not like an image on the front. It's just, like, concentric lines and stuff. The locket itself is circular, kind of like a pocket watch shape. [00:56:21] Speaker B: Okay. [00:56:22] Speaker A: But the whole thing, like, size wise, is about the size of a quarter. Of course, thicker than a quarter, but. [00:56:30] Speaker B: Lock it with the thickness of a quarter. [00:56:33] Speaker A: Can you open it? [00:56:33] Speaker B: Can you open that? I need a needle. All right, she's going to open it. See what's on the inside. [00:56:43] Speaker A: Inside you see a painting, and there's a man and a woman. They are both fetchlings, and even though you have never seen them before, you know that these are your parents. [00:57:02] Speaker B: What. [00:57:11] Speaker A: Interesting, there's just that visceral sense in your gut of, like, I know who these people are. [00:57:22] Speaker B: Okay. What? I have so many more questions. How did that end up there? [00:57:28] Speaker A: As all of these questions are racing through your mind, you hear a voice from the other side of the room that says, your parents would have wanted you to have that a lot sooner. She whirls around on the other side of the room, standing, like, in the corner. Is it's a raven? But it's about the size of an eagle. On its face is like, a tooled leather mask and at, like, the I don't know what you would call those the wrists of the wings. It's got little claws, like a bat wing. [00:58:11] Speaker B: Okay. She glances between the locket and the raven. All right. Who are you, and how do you know me? And that these are my pet. What? [00:58:36] Speaker A: I'm a friend. [00:58:37] Speaker B: A friend? [00:58:38] Speaker A: Yes. Of your families? Friend of the family. [00:58:47] Speaker B: All right, well, who is my family? [00:58:51] Speaker A: Well, it's a difficult question. [00:58:54] Speaker B: It's really not. At least not normally. [00:58:59] Speaker A: I mean, your families, yourself, your parents, those related to you. He kind of cocks his head birdlike to the side. [00:59:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I get that. But who are they? The only thing I've got. And she takes the letter out again. Is this. This is all I've got. Who wrote this? And I swear, if you say it was my family, I'm going to punch you out that window. [00:59:28] Speaker A: I was really considering you said that. Okay, so you pull out the letter and you're like, this is all I have. Who wrote this? And he's like your father did on the night he had to give you up. [00:59:48] Speaker B: Well, what made them give me up? [00:59:54] Speaker A: They had to go away. It was going to be very far, very dangerous. And then they didn't want you to get hurt. I questioned their decision many times. I did, but I understand it. [01:00:16] Speaker B: Where are they now? [01:00:19] Speaker A: I'm working on it. [01:00:22] Speaker B: So when they left, there's no trace? Is that what you're saying? [01:00:31] Speaker A: There is a trace. But your father made me promise not to tell you. He didn't want you getting yourself in danger on his account. If it's any consolation, I think he was a fool. And I'm trying to right those wrongs. [01:00:52] Speaker B: Okay? She tucks the letter back away and she's like, still holding on to the locket. It's like, well, what's your name, at least? Do you have a name? [01:01:02] Speaker A: You can call me Corvis. [01:01:04] Speaker B: Corvis. Okay. How do you spell that? [01:01:10] Speaker A: Corvus. Okay, new question. [01:01:16] Speaker B: Have you been following me often? [01:01:20] Speaker A: I've been checking in on you ever since your parents left. [01:01:26] Speaker B: So you watched me grow up? Is that what you're saying? [01:01:29] Speaker A: Yes. [01:01:31] Speaker B: Creepy? [01:01:33] Speaker A: Possibly. I'd like to think it's not. You can think of Mimoto as a godfather. A godfather? [01:01:40] Speaker B: Okay. All right. So I assume you've seen me thrown in jail a few times. [01:01:51] Speaker A: Well, yes. To be honest, I doubt I was there for all of them, but I've seen more than a couple. [01:01:58] Speaker B: Yep. I assume whoever my parents are, they wouldn't have liked that. [01:02:06] Speaker A: Your mother wouldn't. [01:02:13] Speaker B: All right, then why hasn't anyone seen this seal then? Why does no one recognize it? What's the deal around that? [01:02:25] Speaker A: Can you make a perception check? [01:02:27] Speaker B: Maybe? With the way I've been rolling, who's. [01:02:30] Speaker A: To say you are using Jacob's dice? [01:02:31] Speaker B: You gave me cursed dice. What? Was I rolling? Perception 14. [01:02:37] Speaker A: Okay, so let's see. Sorry, what exactly was the question again? [01:02:43] Speaker B: Why hasn't anyone seen the seal? [01:02:47] Speaker A: Everything like that when you ask him that. You don't know if he's struggling to find the words or if he's trying to come up with a lie. But he doesn't seem to be answering directly as he's like, it's not a very well known seal. There's not many who would recognize it these days. [01:03:09] Speaker B: You don't say. Ever asked? No one knows what this is. I even went to the library today. They had no idea. [01:03:17] Speaker A: I honestly doubt you'll find any records of it. [01:03:20] Speaker B: And why is that? [01:03:25] Speaker A: It's complicated. I can explain later. [01:03:38] Speaker B: All right? [01:03:39] Speaker A: And I would like to reassure you, neros gets the sense that he's avoiding giving out information just as much as Abby gets the sense that I am avoiding giving out information. [01:03:47] Speaker B: Yep. Well, Corvus, promise me one thing. If you can if I can? If you find out where they went, or if you could suddenly tell me where they went and why, please do. [01:04:09] Speaker A: I promise, as soon as you are ready, I will take you to them. [01:04:15] Speaker B: What does that mean? I told you, I'm ready. [01:04:18] Speaker A: They've gone somewhere dangerous. If I were to take you now, I cannot guarantee your safety. [01:04:24] Speaker B: All right. [01:04:25] Speaker A: As he finishes saying that, you hear a knock at the door to your room. [01:04:32] Speaker B: 1 minute, 1 second. Hang on. [01:04:34] Speaker A: And the door begins opening. [01:04:35] Speaker B: Well, I just said hang on. [01:04:38] Speaker A: Are you turning around or anything? Yeah, it's the Bard from earlier, the scrawny redhead guy. And he's like, hey, I got so many more tips than usual, and I thought that I should share it with you because it was a good night. Oh, sorry. Were you in the middle of something? [01:04:57] Speaker B: Yeah. It's usually what someone means when they say, hang on. You don't open the door yet. [01:05:02] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I guess you're right. [01:05:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:05:05] Speaker A: Sorry. And he starts closing the door again. [01:05:08] Speaker B: You're already in. [01:05:09] Speaker A: Just come in. Sorry. And he opens the door the rest of the way, and he hands you, like, two gold. [01:05:15] Speaker B: Oh, well, thank you. Appreciate it. [01:05:18] Speaker A: Yeah, you gave me a new song, and everybody liked it, so I thought I should pay you back. [01:05:23] Speaker B: Good. Well, use that for later, I guess. [01:05:27] Speaker A: Yeah, probably every night until people get tired of that one. [01:05:31] Speaker B: Don't use it. No, that's not what you do. What's your name? [01:05:36] Speaker A: Tim. [01:05:37] Speaker B: Tim. [01:05:41] Speaker A: Are you laughing at my name? Not like I have a funny voice or amusing characterization. [01:05:51] Speaker B: No, just thinking of money. Python and the Holy Grail. What? My name is Tim. She'll bring us a shrubbery. A nice one, but not too expensive. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Sorry. That was just funny. Sorry. [01:06:21] Speaker A: That's fine. [01:06:23] Speaker B: All right. Tim. Great name. What was I going to say to you? Oh, yeah. Don't use the same song every night. That's not how you keep a crowd engaged. You got to change it up. [01:06:38] Speaker A: That's a really good idea. [01:06:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:06:41] Speaker A: I'm going to go make a list of the songs that I know. [01:06:44] Speaker B: Yeah, make a playlist. [01:06:46] Speaker A: Thank you. He turns around and heads downstairs, like, counting on his fingers. He hits three, and then he stops and starts over again. [01:06:55] Speaker B: He only knows three songs. Okay, well, she closes the door and locks it so people don't just come in the door. She turns around. Is Corvus still there? [01:07:11] Speaker A: Predictably, he is not. [01:07:12] Speaker B: Of course not. [01:07:15] Speaker A: All right, but you still have the locket. [01:07:22] Speaker B: I think. She sits and looks at that for a while, actually getting to see, like, an image of her parents at least. I don't know, maybe it fills in one of those puzzle pieces she feels like she's missing. [01:07:39] Speaker A: And as you're looking at that locket, the camera, like, slowly dollies back out through the window and starts a long shot zooming out from Joel, and then turns to look at the mountain peaks in the distance to the east, and there's, like, a well lit, like, pit in the ground that we can only assume is the mine of copperbergate. And that's where we'll end this prologue. This has been an Atomic Broadcasting production pathfinder. Galerian and the Lost Omens world setting are copyright of Pizzo. More [email protected] music in the show is from Monument Studios collection, as well as assorted artists with some original tracks composed by Jordy Hake. More details in the description. If you enjoyed the show, please remember to share with a friend, and we'll look forward to seeing you again next time. My spell checker wants me to rewrite it as Skyrim. [01:08:49] Speaker B: That's amazing. Even spell check is like, you spelled it wrong. It's skyrim, not skirm. Who do you think you are? [01:09:00] Speaker A: It just works. [01:09:03] Speaker B: It's okay. My spell check apparently wants me to write gray with an A instead of an E, and I'm just like, both are right. It's like, I'm sorry that I use the English spelling. [01:09:14] Speaker A: This is america. [01:09:17] Speaker B: I use the English spelling on a lot of things I've noticed as I'm writing, and I'm like, oh, well, it's fine. [01:09:23] Speaker A: So in the center of this room, enter spelled C-E-N-T-R-E. [01:09:33] Speaker B: As it should be spelled it.