EP. 127 Ring of Truth

[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 to tune in for an atomic time. [00:00:32] Speaker B: No. [00:00:32] Speaker C: Where did we leave off? [00:00:35] Speaker A: Ah, yes. [00:00:38] Speaker C: Deciding to split up and cover more ground in search of the artifacts, our heroes flew to the city of Kalsgaard. Uver departed to use their teleportation circle with Val in tow, while the rest of the party flew back to Joel. [00:00:58] Speaker A: Jordy. Jordy. It's been a long time since PlayStation has started. [00:01:02] Speaker B: It's been a while. [00:01:06] Speaker C: No, I'm not old. [00:01:09] Speaker B: Yeah, you loser. [00:01:11] Speaker A: Xbox. Xbox360 is considered a vintage now, but [00:01:15] Speaker B: not all the others before it. [00:01:17] Speaker A: All the others are older. [00:01:19] Speaker B: 350 times. [00:01:23] Speaker A: I saw that and I went, oh, I bought an original. One whole gigabyte of data for games. [00:01:33] Speaker B: When I got a 360, I didn't have a hard drive. I couldn't save anything. [00:01:41] Speaker A: Old school gaming is like, if I die, that's it. [00:01:44] Speaker B: So my dad got me Halo wars, which is the rts. So I didn't need to save. That's fine. But I rented Halo Reach from Blockbuster. Good days. I couldn't save it, so I had to play through all of it in one sitting if I wanted to beat the campaign. So I tried several times and then I had to stop. But finally the weekend came and I played all the way up to the Pillar of Autumn, the final mission. And then my family was like, hey, we're going to the movies. And I was like, no, wait. And they're like, we have to go. Turn it off and let's go. So I discreetly didn't turn it off and paused it and left it running. They didn't want it running for several hours more, but I did and went to the store. We went to this movie. I don't even remember what we saw. It might have been like night at some museum. [00:02:31] Speaker A: Oh, goodness gracious me. [00:02:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's around the right time. I came back and I rushed up and I was finally able. [00:02:38] Speaker A: You beat it. [00:02:38] Speaker B: Yeah. And then we had to go take it back the next day to Blockbuster. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Oh. So it was imperative. [00:02:45] Speaker B: It was very imperative. I have to spend another like 8 bucks to not finish this game. [00:02:52] Speaker A: Oh, Blockbuster. I beat Star wars force unleashed 1 and 2 by renting them from Blockbuster and playing them all the way through in one setting. [00:03:04] Speaker B: Amazing. We had a game exchange so you could take. It was all about giving games and taking games, essentially. But you know you'd have to spend more money because they wouldn't give you enough back. I played through the entire Spyro trilogy by buying it and then taking it back and getting the next one from them. Playing it, beating it, and then take exchanging it for the next game. And I went through, like, I cycled all of them, like, more than once, Just back and forth. [00:03:33] Speaker A: I'm really gonna age myself here because the last time I played Spyro was at McDonald's when they had those game stations. [00:03:42] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. [00:03:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. For those of you. For you youngsters out there, McDonald's used to have, like, game stations where you could go play, like, gamecube games or whatnot while you ate. [00:03:55] Speaker C: I'd almost forgotten about that. [00:03:57] Speaker B: I don't know if mine ever did have that. [00:03:59] Speaker A: Well, do you at least remember when Walmart used to have. Have the games? [00:04:03] Speaker B: Yes. Everyone remembers that. You'd have to be dead. It didn't work half the time. [00:04:10] Speaker A: No. Because either the controllers were so busted that you just, you know, going in a spiral, or when they did work, your neck hurt because you were straight up. [00:04:20] Speaker D: You're looking. [00:04:20] Speaker B: Yeah. That's where I first played Batman, Arkham Asylum. [00:04:23] Speaker A: It's where I first played Lord of the Rings Conquest. [00:04:26] Speaker B: That's where I became a man. I love Lord of the Rings. [00:04:30] Speaker A: That was so that. That game was one of the reasons I bought an Xbox 360s just so I could play. That was before I got into Halo. [00:04:41] Speaker B: That's fair. Yeah. I had gotten into Halo and then was like, all my friends now having 360. I was like, I want one. Yeah. Lurk's Conquest was the death of Respawn Entertainment, unfortunately. Rest in peace. I'm sad no one else is really taking that format and going with it, because that's a good game format. It. [00:05:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Xbox360 has some peak games. It really did. [00:05:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:10] Speaker A: Look over at the PlayStation guy, Jordy. [00:05:13] Speaker B: I had a PS2. Remember you used to get those demo discs? Did you ever have one of those? [00:05:18] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah. [00:05:20] Speaker B: Here's a disc full of, like, a demo for, like, 20 games, and you just play all the demos. I played Ninja Gaiden 2, I think, for the first time on a PlayStation demo disc. I would just play through it a lot because I thought that was super fun. There was also, like, snowboarding. [00:05:38] Speaker A: Oh, my favorite snowboarding game is actually on the Nintendo 64. [00:05:44] Speaker B: Really? [00:05:44] Speaker A: Yeah. That's my favorite one and only snowboarding game that I've played. [00:05:49] Speaker B: There's a racing game. I can't Find it. I can't find it. I don't know what it was. It had really good destruction physics. Like your. Your car would break apart and stop working. Like enduring a race. Like you'd actually take that level of damage and it was like a pretty quote unquote realistic racing game. [00:06:09] Speaker C: Oh, so not like erasers, right? [00:06:11] Speaker B: I don't think so. And it wasn't like a Need for Speed either. [00:06:14] Speaker A: Mm. [00:06:14] Speaker B: Because we used to play some need for Speed. [00:06:16] Speaker A: It was almost. [00:06:16] Speaker B: It was at a friend's house, so I didn't own it. Yeah. I have no idea what it was. But I remember we would break and I think you would like respawn after a bit, but you would break fully apart. [00:06:25] Speaker A: Was it kind of a lot of off road stuff? [00:06:27] Speaker B: I think so. [00:06:28] Speaker D: Mm. [00:06:29] Speaker A: Did it have the mechanic where if you went too far, like if you got to the edge of the map, it just cannons you back into the map? [00:06:36] Speaker B: I don't know. Oh, maybe. [00:06:39] Speaker A: Oh man. [00:06:42] Speaker D: Spider Man. I played Spider Man 3, [00:06:46] Speaker B: the one where he turned. You could do Black suit. Yep. Spider Man 2 is definitely better than 3, but 3 was pretty cool. [00:06:52] Speaker A: Played 2 on the GameCube. [00:06:54] Speaker B: Oh, 2 is great. Pizza delivery missions. Stellar. [00:06:59] Speaker A: Yeah. 2. [00:07:00] Speaker B: 2. [00:07:01] Speaker A: The swing physics on 2 were peak. [00:07:03] Speaker C: Yes. [00:07:04] Speaker B: I don't think there was a better one till Spider Man PS4. [00:07:08] Speaker A: Haven't played it. [00:07:09] Speaker B: Have you ever played Spiderman Shadows? That one had a whole morality system. [00:07:15] Speaker A: No, I didn't. [00:07:16] Speaker B: Where you could side more with the Symbiote invasion because the Symbiotes were invading everything. Or you could be a hero and there were other characters like Wolverine and such who became Symbiote boss fights as well. You could like choose how dark. You could rule the world one end or you could just be the hero on the other. [00:07:33] Speaker A: I. I remember when it came out. [00:07:35] Speaker D: I never played it though. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Ultimate Spider Man. Spider man has a good video game. [00:07:39] Speaker A: Spider man does have good video games. [00:07:41] Speaker B: We like it. We hear at Sonic broadcasting like Spider man video games. [00:07:46] Speaker A: We like Spider man in general, I think. [00:07:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:50] Speaker A: Don't look at me like that, Sam. [00:07:52] Speaker B: Listen, I like Spider Man. [00:07:54] Speaker C: If you ask me, Spider man is a menace. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Do I prefer Ben Reilly over Peter Parker? Yes, yes I do. Do I like him for the last 20 years? No, I don't. His comics have not been good for a while, but his old stuff, amazing. I have a lot. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Stanley, Original Stan Lee. Spider Man. [00:08:13] Speaker D: That's. [00:08:14] Speaker A: That's. [00:08:14] Speaker B: Did you see the trailer for Spider Man Noir, the live action show with Nicolas Cage. Wow. It's Live action. They have it. You can watch it. It's on Amazon Live. Yes, I did. Black and white or in color? Your choice. [00:08:26] Speaker A: Yes, I did see the trailer. That's a. I thought. I almost thought that was. I almost thought that was a fake one. [00:08:32] Speaker B: The suit looks nice. Like everything looks. Yeah, he goes by Ben Riley as an investigator. It looks pretty interesting. [00:08:38] Speaker A: It does. We need to watch it. Yeah, we should watch it sometime when it comes out. [00:08:41] Speaker B: Sometime. Yeah. [00:08:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Get us out of here, Jordy. [00:08:45] Speaker B: We're done. [00:08:48] Speaker C: And we. And as that music plays, the camera soars down from the sky. Sky. As we see u walking up the road into Calsguard. And Val, a little bit further down the road, walking behind him. [00:09:07] Speaker B: I was flying too. [00:09:09] Speaker C: Oh, flying. I forgot. Cuz the castle wasn't fully landed. [00:09:13] Speaker B: It's true. U slow down. [00:09:20] Speaker A: U doesn't respond. [00:09:22] Speaker D: He. [00:09:23] Speaker A: It's almost as if he's lost in thought, but he's still hurrying. And he hasn't. Didn't really pick up on what that was. [00:09:30] Speaker B: Val is just going to like fly up next to you and land like there. [00:09:40] Speaker D: Val. [00:09:42] Speaker A: What. What are you. [00:09:44] Speaker B: He just left without me. [00:09:47] Speaker D: I was going. Why are you. I didn't know you were coming. [00:09:54] Speaker B: How did you not know he was coming? I thought. Well, I guess you weren't. I don't know. I mentioned it. I thought. [00:10:00] Speaker A: He. He looks back to see if the castle's still there. [00:10:04] Speaker C: The castle is beginning to fly away, off to the south to Joel. [00:10:11] Speaker A: He look usually look at it. [00:10:17] Speaker D: Well, where you. We better get going then. [00:10:23] Speaker B: All right. Yeah. [00:10:27] Speaker D: We need to go talk to the court mage in order to gain access to the teleporter. [00:10:35] Speaker B: All right. [00:10:35] Speaker D: That way we can go to Tarkasmuk and as efficient a timetable as possible. [00:10:41] Speaker B: All right. Efficiency. [00:10:44] Speaker A: He looks again at the Cloud Castle now probably a dot in the sky. [00:10:49] Speaker D: Let's go. [00:10:51] Speaker B: All right. [00:10:53] Speaker C: As you make your way through Kalsgaard, it is far more, very obviously far more wealthy of an area than Joel. Joel is kind of, you know, the big city for the area, but it's a very poor area. Kalsgaard is the intersection of several different trade lines, both by road and by sea. And even some air travel comes through this area. And having access to a teleporter circle, there's a lot of commerce that goes on here. So there's market stalls with exotic wares as you're going by. You see, it's mostly humans, of course, mostly the Olfan people here. But you're also seeing occasionally, you know, there's Some lizard folk. And there's some people from Gurund. Just, you know, exotic people passing through. Probably the most diverse population in the land of the Linrim Kings. [00:11:43] Speaker A: No particular lizard folk. [00:11:46] Speaker C: No, no, no. Kobolds. [00:11:49] Speaker A: You don't see any kobolds. [00:11:51] Speaker D: Good. Didn't want to see them anyway. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Wow. Better be home in bed. [00:11:57] Speaker C: If there's a specific cobalt, you're thinking about traveling 30 miles an hour on a flying castle. Makes you really hard to track. [00:12:05] Speaker D: Good. [00:12:06] Speaker A: They should. Whomever it is, should be in bed at a certain time. What? Uwe enters the city and takes a moment to orientate himself. Perhaps he pulls out out of thin air because he has his library staff. A book. Probably an older book than what you're used to. One that's been very well used. And flips through to the first pages and you see a. A rough drawn sketch of this. A city. And if you can read Dwarven, I can. Oh, well, then you. Then you see that it says Calsguard. [00:12:48] Speaker B: Oh, a map. Is that not a map? [00:12:57] Speaker A: Just how you said it. [00:12:58] Speaker D: Okay. [00:13:03] Speaker A: U kind of looks up a little bit when you say that. Just something about the jovial, almost innocent way that foul said it. She's so excited about something so simple. He gets a small frown, but then a little smile that is almost instantly gone. [00:13:26] Speaker D: Yes, I came through here. At least I remember many, many, many years ago when I first came to this area. Actually, at the time I had just started to really keep track of my adventures and things that I learned. So I made them happen anyway. [00:13:50] Speaker A: And he looks back down on his book. [00:13:53] Speaker D: The court, I believe, is this way. Unless it's changed in the last hundred or so years. [00:14:01] Speaker B: All right. That's a nice looking map. Is that before you lost? Before the whole rune thing or after all that? [00:14:09] Speaker A: Uvaire's already walking and I assume you're joining him and he looks back. [00:14:15] Speaker D: I think he forgets Valset. I don't remember losing my memories. [00:14:19] Speaker B: Right. There's not a missing gap for you. [00:14:23] Speaker D: No. I've had by runes for almost 300 years in my memory. [00:14:31] Speaker B: So you remember having them when you were Barn? You're like 300, right? [00:14:37] Speaker D: No, I. How I recall that I got my runes is in one of the great libraries of Tarasmo. In one of the older sections I pulled out a book. And while I was reading it, I woke up and had Cesarons. At least that is how I recall it. Nothing flashy, nothing so grand and I [00:15:07] Speaker B: don't know it poignant. [00:15:09] Speaker D: But ever since then they have been a Part of me, at least in my memories. [00:15:18] Speaker A: So Eddie walks up to a door, or to a door to, I'm assuming a large building. [00:15:26] Speaker C: Yes. And an armored figure stops you and then kind of is just like, oh no, you've been cleared already. Come on in. [00:15:37] Speaker B: Did you send word ahead? [00:15:40] Speaker D: I'm guessing that's Eagle Guards. Yeah. [00:15:42] Speaker C: Yeah. What did you think? Never seen you before in my life. [00:15:47] Speaker D: No, you wouldn't have. I don't think you were born when I last came through. [00:15:53] Speaker A: He says that casual as he walks through. [00:15:55] Speaker C: And he like kind of just squints and watches you. [00:15:57] Speaker B: And then dwarves as far as he remembers. In theory you might actually meant. Thanks [00:16:06] Speaker C: people. You make your way into this impressive building. It's made with both of a combination of locally quarried stone and large old timbers. So it has a feeling of simultaneously like a castle and also just a very large lodge inside. As you ask around, you're quickly pointed in the direction of the west wing where you can find the court mage Arnkatla. [00:16:36] Speaker A: Arn Catla. [00:16:37] Speaker C: Arn Catla. So you head towards the door that the servant house staff points you towards. And as you open it, it opens into a dimly lit wing. There's candles lighting it. That's the first thing you notice. But then you also see that there are candles hovering near the rafters, kind of like Harry Potter style. And a blazing fire in the fireplace with a big black like. What is that breed? It's a dog. It's like an English sheepdog, but it's all jet black and it's just splayed out in front of the fire, just snoring away. And in the back of this room you see a tall red headed woman who's beginning to gray and she's working over some kind of alchemical workbench. [00:17:27] Speaker A: U is going to get close enough that they can communicate, but not too close in order to prevent accidentally startling her by walking up on her. [00:17:36] Speaker C: So you, you make a few steps into the room, but before you even get as close as you were intending, the dog just kind of like sits up out of its sleep and just makes a little oof in your direction. And the woman stops what she's doing and looks back and is like oh, guests. Wipes her hands off on an apron. [00:17:56] Speaker D: Are you Archmage Arn Katla, court mage? [00:18:02] Speaker C: Yes. What can I do for you? [00:18:04] Speaker D: We were hoping to make use of your teleportation circle in order to traverse to Tar Kasmuk. [00:18:11] Speaker C: That shouldn't be too difficult. There isn't too much Demand for it this time of year. Let me just get the papers in order. And she crosses over to the other side of the room and starts going through a desk and looking for some paperwork. May I ask what your business is with the teleporter circle where you're going [00:18:28] Speaker D: to travel to Tarkasmuk? [00:18:30] Speaker C: Oh, yes, that's right. You just said. And let's see how many people are going. [00:18:36] Speaker D: It will be myself and one other. [00:18:40] Speaker B: Hello. [00:18:43] Speaker C: All right. And she hands over the papers. I'll need your full names put down here, the duration of your stay, when you intend to return, as well as declaring any items or goods that you'll be taking with you on your journey. [00:18:56] Speaker B: Huh? [00:18:58] Speaker A: Uver quickly fills out the form of Uwe Sterkvind. His name, and I mean other than a staff of library and his staff of. The name escapes me. That's not the name of it. [00:19:17] Speaker C: Atmospheric stuff. [00:19:18] Speaker A: That's the one. I'm not gonna write down everything. He's good. [00:19:23] Speaker C: You basically, you just copy over from your character sheet [00:19:28] Speaker A: pretty much as Val [00:19:29] Speaker B: goes to, like, sign it. She writes Val, and then she's like, uber. I never gave myself a last name. Is that okay? Can I just put Val? Is that fine? [00:19:43] Speaker A: He looks at it, at your paper and at you, and quickly reaches over and just writes, struck wind. [00:19:52] Speaker B: Okay, all right, that's fine. [00:19:56] Speaker D: You're adopted granddaughter. Great granddaughter. Great great granddaughter. [00:20:02] Speaker B: Thanks, pops. [00:20:06] Speaker D: Don't call me that. [00:20:07] Speaker B: Okay. I've never had a grandfather before for stuff. I've got drums. I've got a vial. I've got penpipes. I've got a couple of things. Arm. Two chalices. [00:20:24] Speaker A: Arm. [00:20:25] Speaker B: Wait, I have an extra arm. [00:20:28] Speaker A: That's right, you do. [00:20:29] Speaker B: There you go, ma'. Am. I think I'm done. [00:20:32] Speaker C: She takes the paperwork back from each of you and looks them over. Particularly when she gets to Val's paperwork, she's just kind of frowning a little bit. [00:20:39] Speaker B: Sorry, my penmanship isn't great. [00:20:42] Speaker C: Interesting. And you both verify that all information on these forms is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge [00:20:50] Speaker A: for [00:20:51] Speaker D: the purposes of travel? Yes. [00:20:56] Speaker C: Interesting. Well, you see, as Court mage, it is also my responsibility to ensure that no incursions occur between our nation and others. So, to authorize you for use of this teleportation circle, I do ask that you answer any of my following questions with absolute honesty. And she reaches into her drawer and pulls out a thin strip of brass that hangs a little bell at the top of it. And she sets the stand on her desk so it's Just hanging the bell between you all. Merely a formality. I'm sure you're aware. [00:21:34] Speaker D: Ask away. [00:21:37] Speaker C: In that case, what is the purpose of your visit to Tarkasmuk? [00:21:42] Speaker D: To visit an old friend and pick up an item. [00:21:45] Speaker C: THE bell RINGS Very good. And how long do you intend to stay? [00:21:53] Speaker D: No more than a few days at most. We don't have much time to spare. [00:21:57] Speaker C: The bell RINGS AGAIN Interesting. And do you anticipate any harm coming to anyone because of your journey? [00:22:08] Speaker A: Because of the journey or during the [00:22:10] Speaker C: journey as a result of your journey? As a result of your visit to Tarkasmuk, do you anticipate any harm being caused to anyone? [00:22:18] Speaker D: Yes, but mostly just to our party. If we can help. [00:22:22] Speaker B: Wait. I thought we were just going to talk. Well, I didn't. I don't expect us to get in any trouble. [00:22:28] Speaker C: Each of their remarks. The bell rings after their remarks. [00:22:34] Speaker B: We were doing this to avoid people getting hurt, right? I don't think we. [00:22:38] Speaker D: Yes, we are doing this to avoid people getting hurt, but that does not mean that we ourselves cannot get hurt. [00:22:44] Speaker B: I. I guess so. I thought. I'm now more concerned about what we're doing. [00:22:49] Speaker D: If you haven't been concerned before, Val, this is your time to learn. [00:22:54] Speaker B: Well, no, I mean, like I thought, we were just seeing your friend. [00:22:57] Speaker D: We are. [00:22:58] Speaker B: Then we should be concerned about your friend. [00:23:00] Speaker A: No. [00:23:01] Speaker C: The bell just keeps ringing. If we could please stay focused, I will ask you each again. Uwe Sturkvind, you confirm that all of the information presented on your paperwork is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? [00:23:17] Speaker D: Yes. [00:23:17] Speaker C: THE bell rings and Val Sturkvind, you confirm that all the information presented on your paperwork is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? [00:23:25] Speaker A: No, [00:23:29] Speaker B: I don't have a last name. [00:23:31] Speaker C: The bell has remained silent. [00:23:33] Speaker A: No. I said no. [00:23:37] Speaker C: She didn't ask you. [00:23:40] Speaker B: I should specify. I've. I don't currently go by a last name. I just give a vow. THE bell RINGS I have had family situations that I don't want to be associated with anymore, and I haven't really taken the time to think about a new surname. [00:23:56] Speaker A: The bell RINGS AGAIN and so I [00:23:59] Speaker D: decided to give her one for this trip in order to avoid unnecessary questions. [00:24:04] Speaker B: But I can't handle that pressure. [00:24:06] Speaker D: So, [00:24:09] Speaker C: Arn Catla, like, kind of stacks the papers between her hands while she's thinking. Val, while I sympathize with your concerns, for the purposes of our paperwork, we do need to be able to identify you should we need to reach you afterwards. What would be the Family name by which others would be able to recognize you. [00:24:34] Speaker B: Let me think about that. I think I have three last names right now. My current name, Vile, doesn't have a surname to associate, so nobody's going to associate me with a last name. [00:24:51] Speaker C: The bell rings. She tilts her head. Very well. And she crosses out Sterkvind. Okay, I'll consider this form complete. [00:25:03] Speaker B: Thank you very much. I'm so sorry that that happened. [00:25:07] Speaker C: No, no, it's. It's fine. It's not every day you get to have as interesting paperwork as we've had today without an arrest occurring. [00:25:15] Speaker B: Oh, and to be specific, the arm I wrote down is my prosthetic arm. Not like an extra arm in my bag. [00:25:21] Speaker C: That was my assumption, but I'm glad you've clarified. [00:25:24] Speaker D: She is young, but she is honest. As am I. [00:25:29] Speaker C: The bell rings. She sets the papers down and starts getting her wax seal ready. These papers will be good for the remainder of the day, as long as you present them to the guards at the teleport circle. They will allow you to pass should you be delayed in your journeys. And you need these papers renewed for tomorrow. You will have to come by and see me again. [00:25:51] Speaker D: Thank you, Arn. [00:25:54] Speaker C: She hands the papers to you and just like, looks you dead in the eye. Arn Catla. Please. [00:26:00] Speaker B: Is that one word? Is that one word or two words? [00:26:03] Speaker C: It's my name. Oh, is it Arn Catla. [00:26:06] Speaker B: Oh, I thought there was space. [00:26:07] Speaker A: Oh, I thought there was. I thought there was space. No. [00:26:12] Speaker B: Sorry. [00:26:13] Speaker A: Whoops. [00:26:13] Speaker B: Thank you, Arnka. [00:26:15] Speaker C: I thought you were trying to give her a nickname. [00:26:18] Speaker A: No, no, I was not. I thought it was Arn Space. [00:26:25] Speaker B: I wrote that as well. [00:26:25] Speaker A: Me too. [00:26:28] Speaker B: No. All right. [00:26:29] Speaker A: Well, one name. [00:26:31] Speaker B: Thank you. Arne Kotla. Do people ever call you Cat? That'd be a good name. [00:26:35] Speaker C: My friends call me Cat. [00:26:36] Speaker B: Oh, that's nice. [00:26:38] Speaker D: And have a good day on Katla. [00:26:40] Speaker C: You as well, Mr. Serkfind and Val. [00:26:43] Speaker B: Thanks. I like your dog. [00:26:46] Speaker C: The dog's tail thumps and the bell rings. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Ufer turns around and starts walking out the door. [00:26:56] Speaker B: He's a little impatient, it seems today. I'll go catch up. Goodbye. [00:27:01] Speaker C: The bell rings again. She frowns and puts it away. So now, with your approval for the teleportation circle in hand that expires at the end of the day. It's Now, I think, 10 in the morning, probably by this point. [00:27:17] Speaker B: Time for a long rest. [00:27:21] Speaker A: Uvaire makes a beeline to the teleportation circle. [00:27:27] Speaker B: I will keep up. I am much faster than him. [00:27:32] Speaker C: This is true. [00:27:32] Speaker A: This is very true. [00:27:34] Speaker B: You know, Uvaire, you don't always have to comment about how young I am. I feel like you're always saying, oh, she's young, whenever I do anything. [00:27:46] Speaker D: You are young, Val. But being young isn't a bad thing. In fact, it can be used as a shield in some cases. [00:27:57] Speaker B: That's fair. It always feels negative when people say it. You're old. I don't. We don't talk about how old you are. Wait, well, I take that back. Actually, it's kind of a point of discussion oftentimes because how old you are. See, I'm normal young, but you're odd old. Sorry, I don't mean to, like. I don't. I don't want to, like, disparage your age or anything. I'm just, you know, I'm sure you're more aware of it than I am with your age. [00:28:26] Speaker A: Uvaire Chuckles has just been chuckling as you continue to dig this hole. [00:28:39] Speaker D: Stay as young as you can, Val, and enjoy the innocence that youth provides. [00:28:45] Speaker B: Well, I think I lost a lot of that already. [00:28:50] Speaker D: You have, and I wish you hadn't. [00:28:55] Speaker A: Any turns? I won't say, obviously, but in a way that you can see he's ending the conversation and continues to walk on in silence. [00:29:07] Speaker B: Thanks, Uber and I will continue in silence. [00:29:13] Speaker C: So, the journey between Arn Catla's quarters and the teleportation circle is not far. They keep a very close eye on the teleportation circle, so it's near the center of politics and business and everything. Although it's well fortified around. You know, you never really want, like, a demon just materializing in the middle of town without a moment to do something about it. But the guards inside, you know, when you present their papers, you're very quickly, speedily brought through to the teleportation circle without too much fuss. [00:29:47] Speaker A: We got through the. The magical TSA pretty well. [00:29:50] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. They use their telekinetic hands and give you a pat down. [00:29:54] Speaker B: My bird, Zigger, also is on the list of things I'm bringing. I forgot to even mention her. [00:30:00] Speaker C: That's fair. That's fair. [00:30:02] Speaker B: She's been hanging. Flying around. [00:30:05] Speaker A: Giant bird hanging with the Eagle Guard. Be as big as them. [00:30:12] Speaker C: Aren't they close to. [00:30:13] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:30:15] Speaker C: So you. As you pass the final layer of guards, the final check, you enter a room. It's fully walled in tightly quarried limestone all the way around, with a really high wall. And on a raised dais is the teleportation circle with the runes and lines and charts and everything all glowing with some sort of turquoise ish blue. Just glow. [00:30:41] Speaker B: I'll make sure before we fully get through everything to call Sigourn down. So she's with us since I don't want to just leave her here. [00:30:49] Speaker A: U Before he walks into the circle, he looks over at Val. [00:30:53] Speaker D: You didn't eat anything recently, did you? [00:30:57] Speaker B: No, we didn't have breakfast. We had the whole Eagle Guard thing happened. [00:31:03] Speaker D: Good. That'll make it a little bit less of discomfort. [00:31:08] Speaker B: Is it more intense than the usual teleport? [00:31:12] Speaker A: He looks back and has a small smile before he walks into it. [00:31:19] Speaker B: All right, cool. She looks before walking in. She's like, thanks, everyone. And then she'll head into the circle. [00:31:30] Speaker C: And as you step across the circle, nothing happens. And you just step into the circle. And then one of the attendees nearby looks up from what he's doing and just holds up a thumbs up. You ready? [00:31:47] Speaker A: Over. Just gives him a nod. [00:31:50] Speaker C: All right, all right. Okay, hang on. Sealing paperwork. Okay. Walks over to a table and, like, pulls out a compass and does some calculations. No, I'm just kidding you. Waves his hand with some magic. The runes glow even harsher. And then suddenly there's a flash of light and you find yourselves no longer standing in this walled room of quarried limestone, but in a massive cavern where columns and supports have all been etched out of the living stone. The floors are covered with rich scarlet carpets, and you are now standing in a teleportation circle in an entirely different part of the world. In the sky citadel known as Tar [00:32:37] Speaker A: Kazmuk, Uver takes a deep breath, maybe smelling a little bit of ozone. Looks around and then looks at Val. [00:32:53] Speaker D: Welcome to my home. And walks out of the teleportation circle. [00:32:59] Speaker B: Feel like I need to throw. I have no food or something. [00:33:03] Speaker C: Val was actually rather pleasant. Like, it wasn't like, ooh, that feels good. But like, it wasn't. It was fine. [00:33:10] Speaker B: Okay, Val, just kind of taking it all in for a moment, admiring all the craftsmanship. She's like, hey, I don't know. She's like, I gotta catch back up. [00:33:26] Speaker C: As you are both descending from the raised dais here that holds the teleport circle, you're stopped by a dwarf who's wrapped in a deep blue toga and has a hood pulled up with a silver pin like brooch pinned at his throat. And he's just like, halt. State your names and business. [00:33:51] Speaker A: From his library staff, Uvaire summons paperwork that Val has never seen before. Oh, not our normal Paperwork and hands it to the dwarf. [00:34:05] Speaker C: He takes it. You see? What have we here? Sven. [00:34:13] Speaker A: He's from here. I figured he has paid work from here. [00:34:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:18] Speaker A: He's my Tarkaz MOOC driver's license. Magic license. [00:34:22] Speaker C: Looking at this paperwork here. It's Uwe Sturkvind. Is that right? [00:34:27] Speaker D: Yes. [00:34:29] Speaker C: Your library card is a hundred years expired. [00:34:34] Speaker A: No. [00:34:37] Speaker C: There's also a book you checked out and you never return. [00:34:41] Speaker D: I had an understanding with a librarian. I thought he wrote it down. [00:34:48] Speaker C: He died a week later under mysterious circumstances. [00:34:54] Speaker A: That has absolutely nothing to do with me. Old man Tarvak had very peculiar tastes [00:35:02] Speaker D: when it came to practicing magic. [00:35:04] Speaker A: That is his own fault if one of his experiments. Experiments? [00:35:07] Speaker D: Overloaded. [00:35:07] Speaker A: Not mate. [00:35:09] Speaker C: That does sound like him. That's true. [00:35:12] Speaker B: Maybe. [00:35:12] Speaker C: I see your paperwork from wherever it is he came from. [00:35:16] Speaker A: Flash Library staff hands it. [00:35:19] Speaker C: And he starts looking him back and forth. [00:35:22] Speaker D: Are you gonna put on your monocle? [00:35:25] Speaker A: You've been at the same teleportation circle [00:35:28] Speaker D: for 200 years and you've never put on your monocle? [00:35:30] Speaker C: I haven't been here for 200 years. I've been holding this job for 14 weeks. I don't know. I count in weeks. [00:35:39] Speaker A: 14 weeks. [00:35:41] Speaker C: 40 weeks. 40 weeks. [00:35:44] Speaker B: That's almost a year. [00:35:45] Speaker C: It's almost a year. [00:35:47] Speaker A: Ooh. Fair squints at him. [00:35:50] Speaker D: Do you have an older brother? [00:35:53] Speaker C: I got an old brother looking down at my dwarf name. Generator. Here. A buck hick got me snickering. [00:36:05] Speaker B: Maybe his dad worked here. [00:36:08] Speaker C: My dad did. Nelderir. [00:36:09] Speaker A: Oh, Nelderir. That's. [00:36:11] Speaker D: That's what? That's who was here last time I came. [00:36:13] Speaker C: Now you're just making things up. [00:36:16] Speaker A: What are you talking about? You can see it as my age. [00:36:19] Speaker B: He's like 300 years old. [00:36:21] Speaker C: Yeah. I thought that was a little bit weird. Thank you for pointing it out. [00:36:24] Speaker B: It is weird. And it's something we're investigating. [00:36:27] Speaker D: I drink my greens actively. All right. [00:36:30] Speaker C: Hold your horses, Popeye. As this dwarf just peering back and forth between the two pages very obviously just trying to find a discrepancy to send you away. Another figure approaches, dressed with the same sort of blue tunic, sash and silver pendant brooch on it. But otherwise very differently. But I think. Right. There might be a good time to stop this episode on this before it gets crazy. Yeah. [00:37:06] Speaker B: Just this random personal person from across the street who also happens to work here. [00:37:11] Speaker C: I'll give you a spoiler. This figure is not a dwarf. [00:37:16] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:37:18] Speaker D: Wow. [00:37:23] Speaker B: Listen, as far as cliffhangers go. [00:37:27] Speaker A: All right. [00:37:28] Speaker C: Okay. So this figure walks up and opens its mouth to say something. [00:37:33] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:37:43] Speaker C: And the hero point for today's episode goes to Sven for [00:37:49] Speaker A: It's all right, we all know default because Sam's full up and I will be full up after this, so I don't know. [00:37:57] Speaker B: Yeah, at least I tried to talk to you this episode. You shut down every conversation and just kept moving. [00:38:06] Speaker C: I want everybody to get on the discord and give me reasons why Sam deserved the hero point. [00:38:12] Speaker A: Hey, hey, hey, hey. [00:38:13] Speaker C: Unless you think Sven deserved it, I want you to tell me if you think that this was the right call. [00:38:18] Speaker B: I need you to know how much time we spent looking up a name that didn't exist because Sven couldn't remember it. He didn't have no reason to remember. [00:38:27] Speaker A: You could remember either. I didn't want to. [00:38:30] Speaker B: I had no reason to. [00:38:33] Speaker C: Well, we will see you all in the next episode, and I am going to go ahead and spoil it now. We will have a guest player in our next episode. [00:38:42] Speaker B: So who's he playing? He? [00:38:44] Speaker C: You're assuming I'm looking at him. [00:38:49] Speaker A: Is he with us now? Is he in the room with us? [00:38:53] Speaker B: Other players coming from inside the house. [00:38:55] Speaker A: Jordy, get us out of here. [00:38:58] Speaker C: All right. Teleportation. [00:38:59] Speaker B: Go. [00:39:03] Speaker C: This has been an Atomic Broadcasting production. If you enjoyed the show, make sure to give us some support by liking, commenting and following. These things really do make a difference in getting the word out and helping our community grow. Also, make sure to check us out on threads and check out the Discord server where you can chat with other fans and discuss all the recent developments and happenings. Links to all these good things in the description below. The Written and the Lost is an original story that uses trademarks and or copyrights owned by Paizo, Inc. Used under Paizo's Fan Content Policy. Atomic Broadcasting and the Written and the Lost are not published, endorsed or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo, Inc. And Piezo products, visit paizo.com. hope to see you all in the next episode. Until then, have an Atomic Time. [00:39:55] Speaker A: Default. Hero point. Yay. [00:40:00] Speaker B: Our favorite kind of hero points.