EP. 42 When I Was a Wee Lass

[00:00:05] Speaker A: You are listening to an atomic broadcasting production. [00:00:08] Speaker B: So sit back, relax, and enjoy the feature presentation. [00:00:13] Speaker A: 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 C: Now, where did we leave off? At the cobalt village. The party enjoyed a feast in their honor while the tribe repaired the bridge. As Neros, Val and Zephyr partied by the fire, UVR and Alward retired to a tent to discuss their worries. But Uver felt a rune itching mysteriously on his shoulder. [00:01:02] Speaker D: See, and that's the thing about the english language that I don't like, is because there's the same thing. [00:01:08] Speaker A: Well, here's the thing. We don't know if they're the same thing or not. We can assume magma is the same as lava, but if it's under the surface, what if the pressure of the surface actually changes the structure or something in the. [00:01:20] Speaker D: Isn't that like the same thing as saying the sky can be purple if no one's looking at it? No, we technically don't know because we can't see it. It's not a schrodinger. People not observing it. It feels like a Schrodinger's cat is this quantum magnet. Extra steps. [00:01:35] Speaker E: On a completely different note, the different colors of my marker smell different. [00:01:43] Speaker B: Does one smell like dark green and the other smells like light green? [00:01:46] Speaker A: Thank you for a marker sniff. [00:01:49] Speaker F: So glad. [00:01:50] Speaker E: I actually have a long history of marker sniffing. I was curious, and I was smelling the dark green side of my marker. I was like, I wonder if the other side smells the same? And I sniffed it and was like, oh, it doesn't. [00:02:03] Speaker B: I agree. The purple and the light pink are a little bit different. [00:02:08] Speaker D: Yeah, my purple and red are different, too. It's weird. [00:02:12] Speaker A: I'm wafting the smell. I'm not huffing the marker. I'm not going to huff the marker. [00:02:19] Speaker E: Is there no one else at this table besides me? A marker huffer? [00:02:22] Speaker B: Not normally. [00:02:23] Speaker F: I'm a candle huffer. Candles, I know, but that is a. [00:02:27] Speaker B: Form of substance abuse. [00:02:29] Speaker D: I do love the smell of markers, but I don't actively. [00:02:33] Speaker F: Okay, what about gasoline? [00:02:34] Speaker E: I love the smell of gasoline. [00:02:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:36] Speaker A: I won't lie. I do, too. [00:02:38] Speaker E: When I was a kid, there was a certain marker in our house that I would purposefully just sniff. And I think that says a lot about. [00:02:49] Speaker A: I'm going to say you're not really a huffer. That's different. [00:02:53] Speaker D: There are two types of children in this world, okay? Ones that eat glue and one that huff markers. [00:02:59] Speaker F: If she's been doing this since then, then that probably makes her a huffer. [00:03:04] Speaker D: That sounds rude. [00:03:05] Speaker E: I have an addictive personality. [00:03:08] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:03:10] Speaker F: When I was a kid, we had fruit scented colored pencils. [00:03:15] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:03:16] Speaker E: Did you guys ever have the fruit scented markers? [00:03:19] Speaker D: I love her. [00:03:20] Speaker E: Those are good. [00:03:22] Speaker F: Fruit scented markers are like candy flavored cigarettes. [00:03:26] Speaker D: I hate those. They're just sugar and a stick I bought really hard. [00:03:30] Speaker E: Are you talking about the candy cigarettes? [00:03:32] Speaker B: Okay, candy flavored. [00:03:35] Speaker A: Candy flavored cigarettes. [00:03:37] Speaker B: But they're candy flavors. So last Christmas, I was shopping, and I found some of those. And so my dad doesn't want Christmas presents, but he smokes, so I bought him a pack of candy cigarettes. [00:03:50] Speaker E: That's funny. [00:03:51] Speaker D: I love that. [00:03:52] Speaker B: I don't know if he liked it or not. [00:03:55] Speaker D: I think it's a great. It's okay for the joke. [00:03:58] Speaker F: I got my dad a potato. I'm not kidding. I wrapped a potato and gave it. [00:04:03] Speaker B: To him for Christmas. [00:04:04] Speaker E: Is your dad a vegetable? [00:04:05] Speaker F: No, but he looked at me and said, my kids are stupid. [00:04:11] Speaker B: Well, I mean, potato, potato. [00:04:15] Speaker E: You're a potato. [00:04:16] Speaker D: But you gave him infinite food. I mean, I guess there's so many. [00:04:21] Speaker E: Ways that you can prepare a potato. [00:04:23] Speaker D: And potatoes are so easy to grow, you just cut it in half and plant. [00:04:27] Speaker A: Tell that to the Irish. [00:04:30] Speaker B: That's different. [00:04:31] Speaker E: Period in time. [00:04:32] Speaker D: We are not making jokes about an awful thing too soon. [00:04:35] Speaker E: Don't make jokes about my ancestors. [00:04:37] Speaker A: They're my ancestors, too. [00:04:39] Speaker C: Speaking of foreigners taking all of the good food, let's get back to the festival. [00:04:45] Speaker E: Good food. [00:04:50] Speaker C: We're going to go ahead and pick it up right where we left off with the three partiers at the festival. [00:05:00] Speaker E: It's a rave. [00:05:00] Speaker F: I've got a tie around my head. Don't know where I got the tie, but around my. [00:05:04] Speaker B: Aren't you wearing a tie? You are, like, all the time. [00:05:07] Speaker D: It's Alward's tie. [00:05:09] Speaker F: You heard. [00:05:09] Speaker E: Oh, my. [00:05:10] Speaker F: I don't wear a tie. [00:05:11] Speaker B: I had a tie in my pocket. Why? [00:05:14] Speaker E: Why? [00:05:14] Speaker A: It's actually one of the blindfolds. [00:05:18] Speaker B: There we go. Now I wear it for half blindfold. He's got over his right eye, like an eye patch. [00:05:24] Speaker F: All right, where's the donkey? I need to pin the tail. [00:05:29] Speaker B: Just partying with cobalt drinking my cold brew stop. [00:05:36] Speaker F: It's written in my notes now. [00:05:37] Speaker C: So the party's been going down. It's kind of quieted down a little bit. It was already starting to lose steam a little bit when Uber went to go talk to Alward. [00:05:50] Speaker A: But I was going to say, is that because all the cobalts are passing out. [00:05:53] Speaker E: That was what I was going to say. [00:05:59] Speaker C: Yes. The party is fizzling out because the cobalts are not quite as able to carry as much liquor as Neros and Zafir are. [00:06:07] Speaker E: I mean, they are smaller. [00:06:09] Speaker C: You got to cut them some slack. [00:06:12] Speaker E: But also, Zafir is smaller. [00:06:14] Speaker F: They didn't even know what they had. [00:06:16] Speaker C: Until they lost it. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Well, they lost something three barrels later. [00:06:23] Speaker C: At this point, we've got maybe six or seven cobalts who are still capable of dancing and about eight that are still conscious but not quite able to dance. [00:06:34] Speaker F: You guys are the goats. [00:06:36] Speaker C: All right, so there are seven cobalt's that are still dancing and eight that are unconscious that are conscious but are unable to dance. The remainder are either unconscious from alcohol or building a bridge. [00:06:49] Speaker B: I imagine as we're starting to die down ourselves and we're starting to head over to bed, I'm going to kind of walk up to the two of them, Zafir and Nero. Zafir and Neros. And I'm going to take them into the little hut, the little guest house that we can fit there. [00:07:11] Speaker E: Room for all of us in there. [00:07:13] Speaker F: But my tent is over there. [00:07:15] Speaker C: So when you're, like, in middle school and they take that big parachute and everybody runs and catches up a bunch of air, and they all sit down, it kind of feels like that there's enough room, but if you move around too much, the structural integrity will suffer. [00:07:28] Speaker B: It's a little fort, and she's got, like, a towel, a little wet, like, washcloth to wipe her face and whatnot. Because it's not a great time in this lava volcano place. [00:07:43] Speaker E: Hot alcohol makes you warmer. Oh, gosh. [00:07:48] Speaker B: And looks at you guys, she's like, you didn't hear my story. Well, we heard it, but we didn't understand. [00:07:57] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:07:59] Speaker B: I feel so sad right now, and I want to talk about it. [00:08:07] Speaker F: From the story? [00:08:08] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:09] Speaker E: Or from the drinking. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:14] Speaker E: It does do that. [00:08:16] Speaker B: So can I talk to you guys about some stuff? Been so nice. [00:08:22] Speaker E: Yeah, go for it. [00:08:24] Speaker F: But do you mind if I ask questions? I have a hard time following, and I have to. [00:08:30] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. It's fine. I was reminded of a lot of stuff after I almost died. And I told story of. I told them about myself, and I haven't really told any of you much about myself. [00:08:48] Speaker E: I mean, we did just meet you. [00:08:50] Speaker B: It's true. [00:08:51] Speaker F: Did you say you almost died? [00:08:52] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:53] Speaker E: With the lava monster. [00:08:54] Speaker F: Oh, yes. [00:08:56] Speaker B: I thought it was story also. She motions to her missing harm. I also almost died. That time, too. I was reminded a lot of my childhood. Um, I. When I was a loss. Have to. I had to. I had to. I killed my mom. When. When I was born. When I was born, I killed my mom. She died during the birth. And my father was out of war, so I was alone. Are you guys okay? [00:09:54] Speaker D: No. [00:09:54] Speaker E: This is Haymar's daughter. [00:09:57] Speaker B: This is Val. Let him cook. I was raised by the village, and they taught me how to love and how to make things, and I felt loved by so many people there. And then when my father came back, he took me away, and he kept me from them, kept me locked away, or he'd make me go with him to the graveyard when he was working. [00:10:26] Speaker F: Did he work at the graveyard? [00:10:29] Speaker B: Yes. He was a grave tender. [00:10:35] Speaker F: That makes sense. I was just working there, but he. [00:10:40] Speaker B: Didn'T really care for the gods at all, so I took that upon myself, and I was bored. So I learned about pharasma and read about all the rights and stuff, but he didn't like that I had a worship of shell in it for asthma. He always tried to control me, but I felt a lot, and I said and I did a lot of things that I regret. And I was only able to actually leave because of Cornelius. He was rummaging through the house, and he offered me a future. And when I almost died, all I could think about was how much I hate my father. And that makes me hate myself some. I swore an oath to be of redemption, and I'm supposed to want everyone to be redeemed, but I don't want him to be redeemed. I just want him to. I don't know what I want him to do, but I don't want him to. I don't know, just get away with it is how it feels to me. When I felt an anger from your locket, a lot of this came back to my mind, back into my head. I don't really know what to do right now. I feel like I keep failing at things since I've been here. I keep messing everything up, and I don't really know who I am anymore. But I finally feel like I found something again, like a family or something with you guys that I really care about. I just keep feeling like I've only ever let you guys down, and I don't really know what I'm supposed to do now. [00:12:48] Speaker F: In our band of misfits, I don't think it's possible to let each other down, because we all make mistakes. I've made many. We just do our best. And hope for the best outcome. Sorry. It's a freudian slip. [00:13:18] Speaker D: Wait, I missed that. What did you say? What was the freudian slip? [00:13:28] Speaker C: Do our best. Hope for the best income. [00:13:32] Speaker E: Okay. [00:13:38] Speaker B: Inval just kind of crying at this point, huddled up in the corner of this small little room. She's very big. [00:13:47] Speaker F: I don't know how you found the corner of a round room, but I will join you. [00:13:54] Speaker E: I'm going to shuffle over. Do you like hugs? Yes. I'm going to hug her. [00:14:00] Speaker B: Thank you. And she wipes away some stuff with the towel and her face paints coming off. And you do indeed see a tattoo under her right eye, just like Hamir's. [00:14:19] Speaker D: Trying to gaslight us into break and believe that it's not Hamir's daughter. [00:14:24] Speaker B: I was going to wait longer, but this felt like a good moment. [00:14:30] Speaker E: Oh, what was your father's name? Just out of curiosity. [00:14:35] Speaker B: I'm not supposed to tell you. [00:14:37] Speaker E: Why? [00:14:38] Speaker B: Because I'm not supposed to. Cornelius said it'd be easier if I didn't say anything. [00:14:44] Speaker E: Okay, well, you've already spoken about your family sort. Yeah, you have. I'm just curious. [00:14:53] Speaker B: I don't want to lie to you guys because I like you all a lot. Yeah. My father was. Same here. I guess you guys traveled with him and that felt really weird. I don't want to ever be. I thought you guys might hate me if you thought I was related to him. [00:15:21] Speaker E: No. [00:15:22] Speaker B: He's so awful. [00:15:23] Speaker E: We wouldn't hate you. [00:15:24] Speaker B: He did abandoned him a lot. [00:15:27] Speaker E: He abandoned us looking for her. [00:15:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I heard he is looking for me, and that made me scared. [00:15:37] Speaker F: So, were you in Joel this whole time? [00:15:40] Speaker B: No. I've been out traveling with Cordelius. We've been doing things. [00:15:46] Speaker F: I need to talk to my informant. [00:15:51] Speaker E: So, have you been purposefully trying to cover your tracks so he can't find you? [00:15:58] Speaker B: Cornelius said he'd take care of. [00:16:03] Speaker F: He. He has all eyes. He's been kind of keep his eye on things. [00:16:11] Speaker B: He's been more trustworthy than Haymir was. But Cornelius isn't always the best at things. But, yeah, my real name is Hertha, not Val. [00:16:25] Speaker F: So why did you go with Val? [00:16:29] Speaker B: I don't know, really. Just felt like the right thing to say. My bird Sigrin. I named her after my mom because I feel safe when I'm with her. [00:16:44] Speaker F: Well, if it helps, my name wasn't always with fear. [00:16:50] Speaker B: Oh, it seems so natural for you. [00:16:53] Speaker E: What are you. She crying again? [00:16:57] Speaker B: Yes. [00:16:59] Speaker F: I mean, I changed my name, too, when something traumatic happened. [00:17:05] Speaker E: What? [00:17:06] Speaker B: I'm so sorry. [00:17:10] Speaker F: It wasn't too much different. It was Zephyr. [00:17:18] Speaker D: I love that. [00:17:20] Speaker E: My gosh. [00:17:21] Speaker B: That's a beautiful name, too. [00:17:23] Speaker F: Thank you. [00:17:24] Speaker B: They ever tell you you have kind eyes? [00:17:28] Speaker F: I think so. Actually. A few days ago, maybe a week, when I first met you. [00:17:36] Speaker B: All right. I remember that. [00:17:38] Speaker F: I do too. I don't get a lot of compliments, mostly. [00:17:43] Speaker E: Well, they are. Red can be a little bit jarring. [00:17:48] Speaker F: They're the most colorful part of my body. If you don't count white as a color. I should say gray. [00:17:56] Speaker B: Do you ever feel like other people have grand ideas for you and you're just like a painting that other people filled the canvas of and there's no room for your own work? [00:18:12] Speaker E: Is that the way you feel? [00:18:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:18:14] Speaker E: Okay. [00:18:14] Speaker B: Sometimes. [00:18:15] Speaker E: I'm sorry that that's how you feel. Sorry that you don't feel like you can do what you want? [00:18:24] Speaker F: Well, I say forget that. We don't need instructions. I say color outside the lines. If something happens, just leave and do what you want. Do what drives you. [00:18:35] Speaker B: I guess that's kind of what I've been doing. [00:18:37] Speaker E: Who are you referring to that has these grand ideas for your life? [00:18:41] Speaker B: Hemir is always very controlling, but also Cornelius. [00:18:45] Speaker E: Cornelius. [00:18:46] Speaker B: He's always just kind of had something to do next. I just follow him along and he's always got something. So next thing after the next we went to find you guys was the first time he didn't just have another thing for us to go do. [00:19:01] Speaker E: Well, maybe this is your time to do what you want to do. [00:19:07] Speaker B: I guess so. Now Verasma seems like she's got all these things for me to do, and I don't know how to feel about that either. Shellen's been kind of quieter, but Verizon's been more active. Feels like. [00:19:28] Speaker F: Did you know about us and the history with your father before you came to seek us out? [00:19:37] Speaker B: No. Tarav never mentioned it, but. Well, you guys mentioned it pretty quickly after I met you. [00:19:44] Speaker F: Well, it was pretty quick before we met you. That it? So. [00:19:48] Speaker B: Right. That's what I heard. I'm very grateful for that. [00:19:54] Speaker F: We haven't had a lot of leadership since. Same here. [00:19:59] Speaker B: What about alert? He's so smart. I thought he was the boss. [00:20:04] Speaker E: He's smart. [00:20:05] Speaker B: He signs contracts. [00:20:07] Speaker E: He's got to be leadership. He's a nervous man. [00:20:10] Speaker F: He has an element and he stays with that element. [00:20:15] Speaker B: Sophia, you're very driven. [00:20:18] Speaker F: Only when it involves certain things. [00:20:25] Speaker B: We've all got different strengths. [00:20:28] Speaker F: We do. But sometimes it does feel like all of our strengths are pulling at each other we don't quite have. Well, I don't know why I'm bringing this up. I just feel that without Hamir and you talking about just we don't have a great lead. [00:20:51] Speaker B: Oh. That seems kind of harsh because I thought Alord was in charge and he seems pretty good to me. And now maybe he's not. I don't know. [00:21:03] Speaker F: Do you think Cornelius could help us with. [00:21:07] Speaker B: He has a lot of ideas. Cornelius has always been good about leading me around. He's always got plans upon plans, it feels like. So maybe he has ideas, but he's not a talker and he can be awfully rude. [00:21:25] Speaker F: I mean, I can too. [00:21:28] Speaker B: That's true. We can all be kind of mean. Does Uve remind you of Hamir? Sometimes. He kind of scares me sometimes. No. Okay. [00:21:40] Speaker F: He's really harmless. I mean, he scares me too, but he is harmless. [00:21:46] Speaker B: Okay. [00:21:47] Speaker F: Except know things. He's killing. [00:21:49] Speaker B: This is such a weird group. I thought you guys were going to be so much more organized when I was told about you. [00:21:54] Speaker F: Who told you? Oh, wait. Trov. I'm sorry. I was listening to Trov. [00:21:59] Speaker B: I don't mind what I've got here with you all, but it's just not what I was expecting. [00:22:03] Speaker E: I feel like he stretches the truth sometimes. [00:22:05] Speaker B: He's such a nice man. [00:22:09] Speaker F: Well, none of this is what I was expecting. [00:22:12] Speaker B: Helped me find my arm. [00:22:14] Speaker F: Your arm? [00:22:14] Speaker B: My new arm? Yes. [00:22:16] Speaker F: What happened to your old arm? Like, where is it? [00:22:18] Speaker B: It lost it. [00:22:20] Speaker F: How do you just lose it? [00:22:21] Speaker B: It was eaten. [00:22:24] Speaker F: Sorry. [00:22:25] Speaker E: Yeah, that could make you lose an arm. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Bitten right off by. [00:22:31] Speaker F: I think she's relived plenty of traumatic events. [00:22:34] Speaker E: Oh, sorry. I was just curious. [00:22:36] Speaker B: I don't really remember. Maybe just. I don't just. I know it's missing. Obviously, I could just. Because I'm drunk. [00:22:51] Speaker E: You are that. Sweetheart. [00:22:53] Speaker B: I've never been drunk before. [00:22:54] Speaker E: You've never. Oh, no. What have I done? [00:22:57] Speaker B: Cornelius said it wasn't a good idea, but that he could. Because he wasn't protecting me. I was protecting him. [00:23:04] Speaker F: Well, what did I tell you? Make your own path. Color outside the lines. Do what you want. [00:23:09] Speaker B: It's true. [00:23:10] Speaker F: It makes life more interesting. [00:23:12] Speaker E: It does? [00:23:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I guess so. Thanks. You two have been so kind and really starting to feel like a family. Like I had when I was raised by my dad, not my father. [00:23:29] Speaker E: That it's a dysfunctional family. [00:23:32] Speaker B: I don't really have a good basis, so it's functional to me. [00:23:38] Speaker F: I mean, aren't all families dysfunctional? [00:23:42] Speaker B: In a way, maybe I don't know. You don't write? You don't know? [00:23:48] Speaker E: I couldn't tell you. [00:23:50] Speaker F: Well, now, how did you. We're just spilling it out on the table today. [00:23:54] Speaker E: How did you grow up near us, in an orphanage? [00:23:57] Speaker F: Well, you had the orphanage family, didn't you? [00:23:59] Speaker E: Sure. [00:24:00] Speaker F: I mean, unless it was an orphanage of one. [00:24:02] Speaker E: No. [00:24:04] Speaker F: Or at least two. Hopefully there was a parent. [00:24:07] Speaker E: Don't know if I really want to get into this. [00:24:10] Speaker B: That's okay. [00:24:12] Speaker E: No, that's fine. [00:24:13] Speaker F: We can't make this all about you. [00:24:15] Speaker E: I mean, we can. [00:24:16] Speaker B: It's true on both accounts. [00:24:21] Speaker E: No. Do you know the basics? I was left at the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a baby. [00:24:29] Speaker F: I gleaned some when we were looking at an envelope and Uvair was looking at it and I was trying to see it. [00:24:36] Speaker E: I don't remember. [00:24:37] Speaker F: Anyway, one mention of Uvair and I don't remember. [00:24:40] Speaker B: I don't remember. [00:24:41] Speaker E: I do not understand. Okay. I was raised in an orphanage. All that as a baby, I was left on this doorstep of an orphanage. All I had was a letter with a seal on it, which was the. [00:24:58] Speaker F: Letter that I saw. [00:25:02] Speaker E: So I watched other kids leave with other families. I never did because. And she loves her hands because of these. [00:25:13] Speaker B: The people that. I think they're really beautiful. [00:25:16] Speaker E: No. The main reaction I've gotten from them is fear. Yeah. This started happening when I was a young kid, and I never really knew why. And then one day I could suddenly cast little bitty cantrips. [00:25:37] Speaker B: Val kind of leans over a bit. She's like, I think they're beautiful. I think they add to your beauty and are very unique and interesting. [00:25:46] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:25:48] Speaker F: I think they're pretty rad. [00:25:51] Speaker E: But it wasn't fully like this. I mean, it started with my fingertips. And the older I've gotten, the more of my arms the black has consumed. [00:26:03] Speaker F: Do you think over time it'll spread everywhere? [00:26:08] Speaker E: I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. Maybe. [00:26:12] Speaker B: Are there many Kyle that look like that? [00:26:16] Speaker E: I don't think so. [00:26:18] Speaker F: What do I look like? [00:26:19] Speaker B: You'll look like that, but not. You don't have the black. You look more grayish, translucency and small. [00:26:30] Speaker F: Going to ask you about the hair dyeing thing, do you think would work on mine? [00:26:34] Speaker B: I really like your hair as it is. I think it's fine. But I think you could probably go for, like, a gold or a black work. [00:26:46] Speaker F: Maybe this whole monochrome thing going on. I mean, besides the. The red. [00:26:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:53] Speaker C: I think a blue would look nice. Says a cobalt. Who's walking in the tent doors with three blankets. [00:27:00] Speaker F: You understand common. I mean, skull? [00:27:04] Speaker G: I do. [00:27:06] Speaker B: That would have been nice earlier when we needed the translator. [00:27:11] Speaker E: I'm sorry. [00:27:12] Speaker B: She takes the blanket. [00:27:15] Speaker F: Did they send you specifically because you could understand us? [00:27:19] Speaker B: Yes. Let's not get too distracted by our friend. Please join us. [00:27:24] Speaker F: Would you like to sit down, too? [00:27:26] Speaker C: I brought an extra blanket for me. She wraps it around herself. [00:27:29] Speaker E: Would you also like to share your traumatic backstory? [00:27:33] Speaker B: Well, you see, it's okay. [00:27:34] Speaker C: I'll wait my turn. [00:27:38] Speaker B: So then you got too old for the orphanage? [00:27:43] Speaker E: Aged out. [00:27:44] Speaker B: Aged out. [00:27:45] Speaker E: And I left. [00:27:45] Speaker B: Just been on your own? [00:27:47] Speaker E: Yeah. I mean, I've had a couple of friends here and there, but, yeah, mainly been on my own for a little bit now. I've been trying to figure out who the heck my family is, right. And it's kind of hard when all you have is a letter and a seal on the letter. [00:28:09] Speaker B: Lock it. [00:28:10] Speaker E: Yeah, I didn't get that till a little bit ago. Just kind of showed up. I told you. [00:28:16] Speaker B: All right. Corvus the psychopomp. Assuming it's assuming the alleged. [00:28:24] Speaker E: The alleged, yeah. [00:28:26] Speaker F: May I see the seal? [00:28:29] Speaker E: Sure. [00:28:29] Speaker F: I don't think I ever got to see it. [00:28:31] Speaker E: Yeah, I'll hand it over. [00:28:34] Speaker B: I guess I should look too jordy. Do I recognize it at all? [00:28:40] Speaker C: Make a society check. [00:28:41] Speaker B: Do I recognize it? [00:28:43] Speaker C: Make a society check. [00:28:44] Speaker B: Can I just recognize. [00:28:48] Speaker E: Are you turning in a hero point for that? [00:28:50] Speaker F: No, I was turning. [00:28:51] Speaker A: No. [00:28:53] Speaker B: Don't judge me. [00:28:55] Speaker E: I don't want you to waste the hero point on that. [00:28:57] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:28:58] Speaker B: Those are the 19 extras from. I don't think I've made society check on 22. If I roll a third time, it's better. [00:29:06] Speaker C: 19 and a 22. Unfortunately, you don't recognize it. [00:29:11] Speaker F: What does it look like? [00:29:12] Speaker E: It's a black seal. It's very simple. It's of a raven flying over a moon. [00:29:18] Speaker F: Kind of looks like Rustford. [00:29:20] Speaker B: Looks like cigarette. [00:29:22] Speaker E: So, yeah, when you showed up with a bunch of raven regalia, that's why I had a bunch of questions. [00:29:27] Speaker F: Rustaford, do you recognize this symbol? [00:29:30] Speaker C: Rustford pokes his head out, looks like a raven flying over a moon. [00:29:36] Speaker B: He's no help. [00:29:39] Speaker F: Get back in there. [00:29:41] Speaker B: No, the raven stuff, I've just always felt drawn to for asthma towards this particular animal. And then I think she blessed me with cigarette. Who saved my life in the barrows. And so now I've just been even closer to them. [00:29:57] Speaker E: How do you save your life? [00:29:59] Speaker B: I was fighting an undead creature, and he broke my weapon. And I was on the ground, and he was about to kill me, but Sigurin flew in and knocked a glave over. This glave over so I could grab it and use it to defend myself. And then I killed the creature with it. [00:30:22] Speaker E: It's a good bird. [00:30:24] Speaker B: Yeah. She saved my life. And I've always felt so safe with her, so I named her sigurd. [00:30:31] Speaker F: This is a sensitive question. Okay, but what happens if we run into your father? [00:30:41] Speaker E: Oh, that's a good question. [00:30:42] Speaker B: Though I hope I can maybe just sidestep and hide. He might not even recognize you. [00:30:47] Speaker F: May want to cover your face markings up again. [00:30:51] Speaker B: I usually do. I do believe with my face paint. [00:30:55] Speaker F: It'S come off a little. [00:30:57] Speaker B: Oh, that makes sense. I washed my face with a wet towel. What about you? [00:31:04] Speaker F: Oh, I don't wash no face. [00:31:06] Speaker B: I haven't heard much about your family or how you grew up. [00:31:11] Speaker E: I haven't either. [00:31:12] Speaker B: Sophia, to be honest, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. [00:31:16] Speaker F: Well, info dump time. So many, many years ago, when I was a boy. When I was a boy, it was actually about 1015 years. I can't remember exactly. I'm going to skip the story for now. They are no longer with us. [00:31:58] Speaker B: Val pulls you any of her a. [00:32:00] Speaker E: Closer hug, any of them. [00:32:03] Speaker B: It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. [00:32:06] Speaker E: Well, are you an orphan, too? [00:32:09] Speaker F: I think I skipped that step. [00:32:12] Speaker B: I was too old to be an orphan. [00:32:17] Speaker F: See, after I discovered them, I left immediately, and I've been on my own since. [00:32:30] Speaker E: How old were you? [00:32:33] Speaker F: Twelve. [00:32:34] Speaker E: Yeah. You're an orphan. [00:32:35] Speaker F: No, I skipped that step. [00:32:38] Speaker E: How do you skip that step? [00:32:39] Speaker F: You don't become guardian. [00:32:44] Speaker E: Just know you're an orphan. If your child and your parents and your family dies, you're an orphan. [00:32:52] Speaker B: So, in a way, we've all kind of had to grow up alone. [00:33:00] Speaker F: Yes. [00:33:01] Speaker B: Albert's lucky. He's got a nice family. [00:33:07] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:33:09] Speaker F: Did you know what happened to his father? [00:33:15] Speaker B: No, I don't. I only bravefully met his family. [00:33:21] Speaker F: So it was Hamir that actually killed Alwood's father. [00:33:30] Speaker B: I feel so bad. Don't tell Alward, please. [00:33:35] Speaker F: I think he already. [00:33:40] Speaker B: No, I don't know if that would go well for. [00:33:42] Speaker E: No, your secret's safe with us. [00:33:45] Speaker B: I don't want that. [00:33:47] Speaker F: Unless you get drunk again. [00:33:49] Speaker B: That's true. [00:33:51] Speaker F: I can't stop that. [00:33:53] Speaker B: So it's two families that Amy has taken from people. [00:33:59] Speaker F: At least if there were eleven others. [00:34:05] Speaker B: What? Maybe I'm confused. [00:34:09] Speaker F: So the story goes like this. When he was a boy. [00:34:16] Speaker E: Wait, I thought we were talking about Zafir. [00:34:18] Speaker F: No. See, Hamir, I believe something came over him when he was doing the war thing, and he ended up killing eleven others, I think. Or maybe they killed themselves. Well, amongst themselves. One of the other. Domino effect, really. The best assassination plot I could think of. But the moral of the story is there were a lot of families that were torn apart that night. And I believe that he would have not done that if he had the chance. [00:34:59] Speaker B: I see. War has been awful gruesome to lots of people. And maybe that explains a bit about him. But it doesn't excuse him, things he's done. [00:35:12] Speaker F: I don't think it is him. [00:35:14] Speaker B: What? [00:35:16] Speaker F: Anytime that he expressed any type of violence or anger, he always had this weird aura about him. A green fog, a haze in his eyes. He didn't seem like himself. He always seemed to try to do the right thing. But when this happened, he just turned into a different person. [00:35:41] Speaker B: I saw that once with his chows. [00:35:46] Speaker C: Yes, exactly. [00:35:47] Speaker B: Always felt like he cared more about it than me. But he always seemed a little not there. Or like he was talking to someone that wasn't there. [00:35:56] Speaker F: 13 others, if I'm not mistaken. [00:35:59] Speaker B: What, he was being haunted or something? [00:36:01] Speaker F: In a manner of speaking, yes. [00:36:03] Speaker B: I see. So he came home, found out his wife, my mother, was dead, stole me away from my. I was happy and just ignored me and wanted to control me while talking to a bunch of ghosts and holding on to a chalice that spews green mist. That makes him different? [00:36:28] Speaker F: That pretty much sums it up, yeah. [00:36:31] Speaker B: I don't like it. [00:36:34] Speaker F: I didn't either, now that you mention it. It wasn't ideal. I don't know how to move on from that subject, so I'm just. [00:36:45] Speaker B: I'm getting tired. [00:36:47] Speaker F: I'm sorry. [00:36:48] Speaker E: Me too. [00:36:49] Speaker B: I love you guys. Thank you. [00:36:56] Speaker E: She is that kind of drama. [00:36:58] Speaker B: The three of you? The three of us. Oh, yeah. The cobalt. A big hug. And then she kind of leans back, falls asleep. [00:37:05] Speaker C: The cobalt kind of startles awake from the hug, but then readily accepts it. [00:37:10] Speaker B: And then she just falls asleep. [00:37:13] Speaker E: Remind me never to encourage her to drink again. [00:37:17] Speaker C: And with that, we'll switch over to the other two. We're going to pick it up right where they left off. Uber had just felt an itching sensation on his shoulder. One he had only felt previously, right after discovering the room full of runes at the beginning of the story. [00:37:37] Speaker A: As Uvair suddenly feels that sensation. I imagine he remembers the last time it happened. And Alward, you'll see him suddenly, just at first. It'll just be like a moment. Then suddenly you'll see him stop and put his. Or his hand on his left shoulder. And you'll just hear him. [00:37:59] Speaker G: It's happening again, but in response to. [00:38:05] Speaker A: And you'll see him just kind of pull his robe down just to expose his shoulder and kind of like realizing Howard's there. [00:38:19] Speaker G: The runes on my body are reacting somehow. It happens the same as in the room with all the other rooms being the room chicken. Room. [00:38:37] Speaker E: Chicken. [00:38:38] Speaker D: I know what room you're talking about. I just don't remember it occurring there. I don't think you mentioned anything. [00:38:44] Speaker G: I didn't mention it, but when I walked into that room the first time, I felt a feeling that they reacted of some sort. It feels like a burning itch. [00:38:57] Speaker D: Is it still itching? [00:38:59] Speaker C: The itch is sort of subsiding now. [00:39:02] Speaker A: Yes, but can I tell which rune on my shoulder was itching? [00:39:06] Speaker C: It is immediately adjacent to the previous rune that itched. [00:39:11] Speaker A: Doesn't match the one on the brooch. [00:39:13] Speaker C: It does not. [00:39:16] Speaker G: He points to it, says, this one here is the one that I feel now. The one next to it was what I felt when I walked into the azar room. [00:39:25] Speaker D: What I'm about to say might sound oD, but please understand what I'm about to ask. I'm doing so in the most respected and professional manner. It can. Can you take off the rest of your shirt? [00:39:47] Speaker E: Take it off. I'm sorry. [00:39:52] Speaker A: Uber far from looking like, what the heck is that question? Or looking offended or anything, actually understands what you're asking. [00:40:02] Speaker D: And he's like, of course. [00:40:04] Speaker A: And you see him, he kind of just peels off the top layer, like. [00:40:08] Speaker D: Oh, how old are you? [00:40:11] Speaker B: How wrinkly is your skin? [00:40:13] Speaker A: 300. And it doesn't look like 300 year old. [00:40:17] Speaker D: He's a very ripped troll. [00:40:20] Speaker A: In fact, I would say he does actually look very much in shape. Something you would see. A dwarf of 150. Yes, a dwarf that's not quite in his prime, but spray. [00:40:34] Speaker F: Young man. [00:40:37] Speaker C: Middle aged physique. [00:40:38] Speaker A: Yeah, a middle aged physique. [00:40:41] Speaker D: We don't have much time. We still need to get sleep tonight. But I'm going to see if I can't find any rune on your body that matches what's on this brooch and then any rune on your body that matches the one rune I was able to transcribe. [00:40:54] Speaker G: Please try if you can find something. [00:40:56] Speaker A: And he just kind of gestures to like, well. [00:41:00] Speaker D: I need you to t pose. [00:41:05] Speaker C: Arms up alward as you make your investigation, I'd like you to roll a perception check. [00:41:15] Speaker F: While he's rolling a perception check. So that means uvair has a dad BoD. [00:41:20] Speaker E: That's exactly what I was thinking. [00:41:21] Speaker A: Half his age, I mean, define dad BoD. [00:41:26] Speaker F: Not scrawny, not fat. [00:41:28] Speaker B: Just kind of a little bit of a gut. A comfortable center. [00:41:33] Speaker A: Think natural. [00:41:34] Speaker D: 20. Heck, 30 at most. [00:41:38] Speaker F: Nice dead body for the win. [00:41:42] Speaker C: Alward, comparing with your notes, with the part you were able to transcribe, you're, like, going along looking at a spot on Uvair's back, and then just something, just like an instinct, a feeling, makes you stop and you turn your notes upside down, and then you see a match. [00:42:02] Speaker B: All this time, I need you to. [00:42:05] Speaker D: Flip upside down your hand. [00:42:10] Speaker C: And because of your critical success, you get a flash of insight and you realize that with the rune that you're comparing against Uvair's back and the one that was engraved on the brooch, you realize this isn't just letters. The primary usage of this runic language seems to be more lexigrams. So one rune would be an entire meaning of a word. [00:42:38] Speaker B: I had a feeling. [00:42:39] Speaker C: And the brooch seems to be an exception that it has one letter. [00:42:46] Speaker D: Upon seeing this hour is just going to sort of stare at your back for a little bit, and you're going to notice he stopped moving. And he's sort of just, like, trying to trace one line on your back and then one line on my page, and he's sort of forgot that you're a person. And he's like. You're just like a wall. And then he's like, they're not letters. So each one of these, which makes a lot of sense, but each one of these most likely can mean a whole thing, if that makes sense. Like, this one could mean the whole concept of a battle or a small. [00:43:29] Speaker G: Story that makes a lot of sense. Like a lexigram. [00:43:36] Speaker C: I don't even know if that's the real word. [00:43:37] Speaker F: Is it? [00:43:38] Speaker B: Well, fix it so I can. [00:43:40] Speaker C: Yes. [00:43:41] Speaker B: Okay. [00:43:42] Speaker G: Like a lexicram or something. A way where each rune is its own meaning. [00:43:51] Speaker D: And you said the last time. When was the last time this happened? [00:43:56] Speaker G: When I was studying. A few minutes ago when I was studying Sabroch with you, talking with you. [00:44:03] Speaker D: Sorry. When was the last time before that? [00:44:06] Speaker G: The only other time that a singular rune reacted in such a way was after we saw zet room of runes. Say that three times fast. And every other time I've had a reaction of sorts, has been rather unpleasant. But when I put on the helmet, all of them reacted as if they were angry. I don't know a good way to describe it. And honestly, that is not a nice memory. [00:44:44] Speaker E: Sorry, I'm freaking out, girl. [00:44:46] Speaker C: We should have done this. Closed. Abby's thinking. She's figuring too much out. [00:44:52] Speaker B: Actually, these would have been interesting. Closed without eye revealed. [00:44:57] Speaker C: Anyway. [00:44:59] Speaker G: Only somewhat more recently, whenever this happened. [00:45:03] Speaker A: And he casts shield and you see the Arun on his other shoulder light up, actually kind of green like power flows from it, and you see the effects of shield. [00:45:14] Speaker D: Now, I could be just shooting in the dark. In fact, I'm almost positive, because I don't know what any of these mean. But what if, in place of your memory, that's what these runes are, if that makes sense. [00:45:38] Speaker G: I suppose that could be. But I didn't really gain a memory from when I could be able to use this rune here, which I suppose we can assume means something about protection or something. I haven't noticed another effect. I haven't had memories suddenly come back. I wish they did. [00:46:07] Speaker D: I'm saying that every memory you've lost would be the. It's fine. Like I said, it was most likely a shot in the dark. [00:46:18] Speaker G: Well, it is not. I don't think it is a bad shot. I just have no way of adding to it, unfortunately. [00:46:28] Speaker D: Also, we have a slight progression and maybe eventually being able to transcribe these with. And then I point to the brooch, because I'm rather sure this is just a letter, an initial. [00:46:50] Speaker G: If that is. [00:46:52] Speaker A: He gestures for the brooch. [00:46:55] Speaker G: This is silly. [00:46:57] Speaker A: He kind of feels like he says, but he starts holding it up too close to that room. That was feeling itchy. Just to see if anything would happen. Like if the two got closer, it would meet or whatnot. [00:47:09] Speaker C: There doesn't appear to be any reaction. [00:47:11] Speaker D: I don't know why. I legitimately thought you were going to. [00:47:13] Speaker B: Say the tent explodes, the brooch melts to your. [00:47:17] Speaker A: And you see him chuckle a little bit and says, look at me. [00:47:22] Speaker G: That I was hoping that would do something, but I suppose that would be a bit too fortuitous, all of these runes. [00:47:34] Speaker A: And he pulls out a book from his pack, he flips to a few pages, and you just suddenly see these runes, just transcribed row by row on the page, not chicken scratch. [00:47:51] Speaker C: So, Alward, you actually do see that the runes were transcribed. Well, to you, it's just like finding them properly, seeing them on Uber's skin, seeing on the wall in the bean room, he's holding out a notebook of perfectly transcribed runes. [00:48:08] Speaker D: When did you do that this. [00:48:14] Speaker G: Shortly after, I had some appear around my body many years ago. [00:48:20] Speaker A: You can tell this is kind of an old battered. The outside's battered, but it's a pretty solid book. [00:48:29] Speaker G: Shortly after I had these runes appear, I told you when that happened, I transcribed all of them that I could see and in memory, until the room with the statue and all on the walls, they were the only type of zizaroons that I could find. I have not found some anywhere else. Granted, that doesn't mean that's true, but in the recent memory, in my recent memory, that is the last time or the first time I have ever seen these runes off of my own body, outside of my own body. [00:49:15] Speaker A: And he pulls out a blank page and just quickly, very quickly, transcribes one of the runes just like, off his arm. And it, once again, is perfect. [00:49:25] Speaker D: Can I try to transcribe one of. [00:49:26] Speaker F: The runes off his arm? [00:49:27] Speaker G: He's just saying, see, I can transcribe these just fine. [00:49:31] Speaker A: And he holds it up to you. [00:49:34] Speaker C: Albert, go ahead and make a society check. [00:49:38] Speaker D: 27. [00:49:40] Speaker C: You and Uvair are both aware that your transcription is chicken scratch, but obviously. [00:49:47] Speaker G: You can't, and I don't. Wait. Do you want to play? This could be a foolish little practice, but can we try something? You have a book, right? [00:50:05] Speaker D: Howard looks in his backpack and there's like, three books. Do you want a blank one? One that I've written in, one that's probably magical? [00:50:14] Speaker G: You have a special book. You wanted to try that one. [00:50:18] Speaker D: And I pull out the probably magical book. [00:50:21] Speaker G: If you don't mind. Am I asking, why did you want to try writing these runes in that book? [00:50:29] Speaker D: What's a language that you know that I don't? [00:50:32] Speaker A: Yotin. [00:50:32] Speaker D: Yotin. Okay. Can you write some Jotun down for me? [00:50:39] Speaker F: Sure. [00:50:39] Speaker A: And he just scribbles out, hello, my name is Uber. [00:50:43] Speaker D: I'm going to flip to an empty page and pass the draconic I've been writing down and mimic your writing. And as I do that, every time a phrase or a letter or however the book translated is written down on the page opposite it, it translates it into Taldane. [00:51:05] Speaker G: That is interesting. That is a wonderful book. [00:51:10] Speaker D: It was a gift. Well, an heirloom. [00:51:12] Speaker G: Really, truly. Well, I don't know if this would work. It has to be you that writes it. Yes, I suppose. [00:51:20] Speaker D: I assume. I haven't really tried it with anyone else. It comes from my father and his line of family, so I'm protective of it. I don't really like people to touch it. [00:51:34] Speaker G: Would you be so kind? [00:51:37] Speaker D: He. Albert stops and thinks for, like, way longer than it should. To answer that question. [00:51:42] Speaker A: Uber just patiently waits. [00:51:45] Speaker D: Sure. And he hands it over. But when you go to grab it, he's, like, holding on to it really tightly. [00:51:55] Speaker A: Is there like, a little desk or something? A little chair? [00:51:58] Speaker D: Oh. This whole time, Alward has had a floating disc of magic. [00:52:03] Speaker A: Just, oh, perfect Uve. Just slowly places it on there, looks at the two runes that have had a reaction and tries to start writing in the book or transcribing those two runes in the book. [00:52:18] Speaker C: So you begin moving, say, the quill, down towards the page of the book. And the closer the quill gets, the more you have, like, a growing sense of unease, like you're doing something you really shouldn't do. Like, there's a sense of just impropriety about what you're undertaking. [00:52:37] Speaker A: Right before the quill is going to touch the page, you see this frown just starting to form on Uber's face. And you see him kind of shake it off, and he's about to write, and then he just stops and he. [00:52:53] Speaker G: Says, this isn't right. I don't know what about this isn't right. But I don't think any good would come if I tried it. [00:53:06] Speaker D: If it helps. When I did the charcoal rubbing, it just made a black page on the other side. I can't show you because it's gone. [00:53:14] Speaker A: But he hands you the quill, and then he grabs your hand. [00:53:22] Speaker D: So forward. [00:53:24] Speaker A: And then he says, humor me. As he takes your hand, and, like an adult teaching a child to write, starts trying to transcribe the rune on the page using your hand. [00:53:43] Speaker B: He's combined it out of all of. [00:53:46] Speaker C: The things that I thought you guys were going to do, which rune are you transcribing? [00:53:55] Speaker A: You said, I'll say the episode. In the episode, we'll say the one that recently had a reaction since it's fresh on his memory. [00:54:03] Speaker D: The one that, like, was just itchy. [00:54:05] Speaker C: All right. As you do that with intense focus, you're guiding Alward's hand, and everything is pulling together. The rune is looking right to Uber. The rune is looking right to Alward. You're feeling like a sense of sluggishness, like you're trying to push through like pudding to write. But you're able to complete writing the rune. And then slowly, more slowly than ever, in a very dramatic slow motion, the opposite side of the book writes out the word teacher. I need both of you to make will saves. [00:54:42] Speaker E: Oh, no. [00:54:46] Speaker B: What did you do? [00:54:47] Speaker E: I don't know. [00:54:52] Speaker B: Good thing neither of you are good at will. [00:54:57] Speaker D: I'm going to give away that one. [00:54:59] Speaker E: I'm freaking out. [00:55:01] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:55:03] Speaker D: So it went from a two to an 18 plus twelve. [00:55:08] Speaker A: So 30, 25, you both pass. [00:55:13] Speaker C: So you only take four mental damage. [00:55:15] Speaker E: Each. [00:55:18] Speaker C: As you feel like your brain is a sponge that someone just stuck a funnel in and then put a hose in the funnel. Like, there's just too much that's being forced into your mind and you both pass out. [00:55:30] Speaker B: Whoa. [00:55:32] Speaker D: I don't like that. Now I get memory problem. [00:55:36] Speaker B: Too much to drink, eh? [00:55:39] Speaker C: Everything goes black for a bit and we just hear in the blackness. Scrape, scrape. Petite is dreaming. [00:55:54] Speaker B: Oh, no. Go. [00:55:59] Speaker D: I'm not. [00:56:03] Speaker C: Scrape, scrape. Out of the blackness. Slowly, a bit of a light comes on. It's not really enough to really see, but you can make out the silhouette of a long, grotesquely overly long hand with, like, three inch long sharpened fingernails just scraping the top of a writing desk. And you hear a familiar voice. So, little rabbit, you think you found yourself a new family. Well, you'll never have a family unless you speak with me and the grotesquely long fingers. Snuff out a candle and leave us in darkness. And we'll see you all in the next episode. [00:57:02] Speaker D: All right, all for killing the big gross. [00:57:09] Speaker F: My right leg has goosebumps. [00:57:11] Speaker E: Only that. [00:57:15] Speaker B: Oh, that was amazing. [00:57:18] Speaker C: All right, Sven, you got the hero point for this episode, for genuinely coming up with a solution that I had not thought of and unlocking story development way earlier than I had planned. [00:57:29] Speaker D: Yay. Break the game. [00:57:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm really happy I was able. [00:57:37] Speaker G: To surprise you, GM, but now I'm really worried. I'm going to go think in a. [00:57:46] Speaker C: Corner and we'll see you all in the next episode. 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. [00:58:24] Speaker B: This is Val. It's not Helvetica or whatever, but let me keep talking.