(music plays indicating you
should begin vibing, TUC-style)
- Hello one and all, and welcome
to another exciting episode
of "The Unsleeping City."
I'm your humble dungeon
master Brennan Lee Mulligan.
With me as always are our intrepid heroes.
Say hi, intrepid heroes!
- Hi intrepid heroes!
- Last we left off in
a flurry of dispelling
and some quick history checks.
Our champions of New York City
dispatched the animated armors
at the Arms and Armor wing
of the Metropolitan Museum of Memories
in the sixth borough of Nod.
Having tracked down the unicorn,
one of the three spirits of
our dearly departed friend,
Kugrash, the dumpster druid.
Shout out to Kugrash.
We discovered the unicorn being menaced
and attacked by various
forms of armor here in Nod.
Our champions, of course,
in Nod to survey the threat
to the city and finally get firsthand eyes
on what has been washing ashore
in the waking world from
the dreaming beyond.
Having discovered a dreaming
version of the sword Excalibur
that has now been fused
with the questing blade
to become the new thirsting
blade, Dark Excalibur,
a 275 pound - basically
an I-beam that Cody has
to have a point of contact with the floor
to kind of be able to wield here.
We now see that this new
incredible twisted nightmare
double weapon now exists.
And Ricky went and helped himself
to a fireman's ax from an
emergency case at the stairwell.
- Wait, did you take the ax or the...
That thing.
- The fire extinguisher?
- That thing?
- You know, the like...
Did you take that?
- No, I took the ax.
- Oh damn.
- I took that.
- I wrote down the wrong thing.
Oh right, I forgot.
- On your list of all
the weapons people have?
- I just keep a master list.
I like to keep inventory.
- All of you begin to exit from
the Arms and Armor exhibit.
You now walk, Pete, with
the unicorn by your side.
You see that the unicorn heals itself
and is also gonna go ahead
and heal everybody else here.
- Oh.
- This sparkling creature
again is not like,
is very much one of those
Elven-looking unicorns
where its legs and face
almost looks like a mixture
between a deer and a horse.
It's not powerful and broadly built,
but much like the unicorn
from the tapestries
of the Cloisters looks like a creature
from some enchanted other world.
This unicorn is not only sparkling
with divine and celestial light,
but also appears to have just run
through a cloud of regular glitter
which - so it's sort of doubled up here.
And JJ looks around.
You guys walk back out
to the main entrance hall
where you can once
again walk out into Nod.
JJ points a finger over at you, Ricky,
and goes, "Hey man, I might
dip over to the native wing
"to liberate some of that stuff right now
"if you want to come
check it out with me?"
- Yeah, sounds cool.
- "Cool!"
You see JJ create this,
like, 2D kind of 8-bit portal
and minutes later comes back with Ricky.
He has a bag of holding
next to him that even
from the outside is visibly
stuffed with belongings.
- Nice.
- And he gives Ricky a high five.
JJ also defeated one of the monsters.
You see your friend here is probably
like a fourth level wizard now
and is feeling chuffed, man.
- JJ, normally I'm not a huge fan of fire,
but that was pretty cool.
- "Hey, you know, I feel
like it's the dream realm
"and it's about being,
"but you know what you are right, my man.
"Safety first, I'll be
more careful next time.
"But that was awesome."
- What wizard school is JJ?
- JJ is actually conjuration.
- Oh, okay, cool.
- But his focus in conjuration
is not as a summoner.
It is as a teleporter.
So, he's all about, like,
conjuration as teleportation,
movement through planes,
and also like kind of
communication magic as well.
- Cool.
- I was just gonna ask JJ, like,
was there anything you
were particularly excited
about grabbing or was it just making sure
you got all the stuff that
felt right to take back?
- "Just making sure I got all the stuff
"that felt right to
take for the most part."
- You know, here's the trick with museums.
It's like an iceberg.
Only like 1% of the stuff
is in the galleries.
You gotta go down.
- JJ opens up and goes, "Chill as hell.
"I'm gonna be super right back."
Teleports downstairs.
And you guys hear reverberating
through the Met on the dream side.
"Oh my f*cking god!"
(everyone laughs)
Cool, the rest of you are assembled out
in the great hall with the unicorn.
The unicorn looks and says,
(Brennan sighs)
"Yeah, listen.
"You know, of the three
totems of New York,
"I am the only one that
is a mythical creature.
"So, I've been able to move
freely in Nod for a long time,
"but I haven't seen the spicy pigeon
"or the juicy c*ck in
probably a couple of years."
- A couple years?
Did they get dispelled
when Kugrash ate the bagel?
- You see that the unicorn says,
"It's hard to say.
"We...
"the first time I remember meeting them,
"we all were kind of called to each other
"back in the mid 90s.
"And it was around that
time that shortly after,
"we kind of came to be.
"We were found by Kugrash
"who was able to communicate with us.
"And that's actually, prior to that,
"Kugrash had been living just as a rat
"in the sewers trying to survive,
"but he came into contact with us
"and dedicated his life
to helpin' the, you know,
"the people that New York
kind of overlooks or forgets,
"I suppose.
"And through his devotion
to them and then to us,
"he discovered his magic and his powers.
"Couple of years ago though,
"yeah, when Kugrash left our
connection weakened somewhat
"but there was always
sort of a thread I guess
"that was still connecting us to the city.
"I never knew where it went
"'cause I wasn't feeling as
strong as I used to be but."
The unicorn concentrates,
and a little silvery thread
goes from the unicorn's heart
and faintly travels out
towards one of the members
of your group and lands on Ricky's heart.
And the unicorn looks up and
sees a connection to you.
Anyone here who wants to
can make an insight check.
- In case I crit.
I crit!
(everyone laughs)
- Oh my god!
- Sofia, you look at it
connecting to Ricky's heart
but also connecting to his
Helping Hands Homeless
Outreach Center T-shirt.
- Oh.
Ricky, the unicorn is
connected to you now.
You've kept the unicorn around.
- And with that nat 20 insight,
Sofia, you feel that there's
something else coming
from Ricky's aura.
You could probably match it by, like,
by spending a point of ki to, like,
illuminate something around Ricky's aura
that you can see now that
you're here in dreaming.
- Yeah.
I think I real quick do a
bunch of pressure points
on him to illuminate his aura.
- You see two other
cords of light spring out
from Ricky's heart,
traveling in other directions
and fading as they move out
into the material world.
So, the other two spirits
that are in the waking world
you can see cords of light
connecting Ricky to them as well.
- Ricky, I know that this
is not what you expected
to discover about yourself today,
but I think you're connected
to the juicy c*ck
and the spicy pigeon as well.
- Okay.
(everyone laughs)
- So, Cody is the Jersey devil,
and you're kind of the
leader of the spicy pigeon
and the juicy c*ck.
- Okay, okay.
- Cody tries to lift his
sword to put on his shoulder.
(everyone laughs)
- Just really focus on the fact
that you are representing Kugrash.
- Yeah.
- Like, you're almost,
you took on something from Kugrash
that he couldn't do anymore,
and that's beautiful.
Even if it is a juicy
c*ck and a spicy pigeon.
- I'll admit when I wanted
to sort of honor Kugrash
by taking up this mantle,
I did not assume that I would
also take upon his aesthetic.
(everyone laughs)
And that is something I have
to think about a little bit,
but overall, I feel like
this is a net positive.
- I give Cody the help action
so that he can dance with the new sword.
(everyone laughs)
(Brian groans)
Come on, man.
Come on, man.
I'm spotting you.
- You have to lift more, Pete!
- You see the unicorn goes, "Oh my God.
"That's why we've been able to
hang on without Kugrash here.
"That's really miraculous,
Ricky, I have to say."
The unicorn looks out and
says, "We became very weakened.
"I wasn't really able
to leave the tapestries
"into the waking world anymore.
"But again, I've always had
a very different relationship
"to the city because
of my mythical nature.
"The spicy pigeon and the
juicy c*ck both,"
(everyone laughs)
"Everyone always laughs
when I say spicy pigeon."
- It's honestly the, it's
the combination of both.
It's just knowing that
they're part of Ricky now.
Yeah.
(Emily laughs)
- It's the perfect word for a pigeon
that I didn't know I needed.
(Emily laughs)
- You see that the unicorn says,
"Basically those creatures
faded into the waking world.
"And I believe right now
they're kind of hanging on
"for dear life
"and that they've embedded
themselves in mortal beings
"that they felt the
strongest connection with.
"Similar to how, you know, Pete
"or Kingston were chosen as
Vox Phantasma or Vox Populi.
"I believe that two other beings out there
"in the world have been
chosen as the spicy pigeon
"and the juicy c*ck."
- With my nat 20,
do I know if Perry the pigeon
is the (laughs) spicy pigeon?
- I think Sofia has thought a lot.
Sofia, the year after your bender
you went on after Kugrash died.
- Oh yeah, I hung out
with rats and pigeons.
- Yeah.
Even in your bender, Perry
went to such a dark place
that you were worried
about Perry the pigeon
for a while after Kugrash passed.
(Emily sighs)
- All right.
- So does that mean is that
it could be Perry or not?
- I think that you have a hunch
that it might be Perry the pigeon.
- I think that if this spirit was weakened
and it entered the body of another pigeon
that that pigeon would take
on sort of this burden.
Also Perry was really
attracted to Kugrash.
And I think that also
made him take it hard.
- Gotcha.
Well, I guess we'll
have to figure that out.
We'll have to talk to that pigeon and-
(everyone laughs)
I don't know.
I don't know.
Maybe, maybe then it's I guess
I hang out with that pigeon now or...?
(everyone laughs)
Yeah, okay.
- Maybe it is like a Captain
Planet type situation.
You and the pigeon and the
whatever the c*ck thing is
you put in your hands
and then you have, like,
extra flying powers or some sh*t.
I don't know.
- Here's hoping, here's hoping.
(everyone laughs)
- JJ comes back from downstairs
with a bag of holding
that is now truly, like,
bursting at the seams,
going like, "Woo!
"Man, this-"
- We got it.
- "We got it."
He opens up his laptop.
And looks around at stuff and goes,
"Okay, I don't know what else
you guys wanted to do here,
"but I'm super down to,
"I'm getting some measurements
and readings on stuff
"that Esther asked me to look for.
"But I also know that Pete,
"you have business here in
the dream realm of your own."
(Ally mhmms in agreement)
"but I'm getting some pretty
fascinating readings myself
"on some of the stuff
that I'm looking for,
"like trying to track raw Umbra."
And you see that he turns
his laptop around in his hand
and shows a kind of, like,
orbital version of Nod
that he sort of mapped out
on his laptop screen.
He uses a cantrip to fling the screen out
into three dimensional
space in front of you
and hits a little clock
icon in the upper right.
Boom, boom, boom.
And the clock transforms
into an hour glass
that sand is coming down,
and he makes a swirl sort of
like spiral pattern of the sand
that then begins to show the
kind of celestial movements
become more, like, organic.
And you begin to see as it
slows down almost to, like,
a slowed down heartbeat
rate, like boom, boom.
Boom boom.
You see all the raw Umbra,
and you also see these little tiny flashes
of what you can only describe
as, like, pure rainbow light.
Almost like a firework that has
multiple incandescent colors
of sparks in it, just like.
And they are not evenly spread out.
They are clustering in like
some places more than others.
Looks like they're clustering
a lot near Bryant Park
and the New York Public Library.
You see them kind of clustered
as well way out in Queens
near the Queens Center Mall.
Does anyone want to make
any investigation checks
or ask JJ anything in this moment
as he kind of spreads the screen out?
- I'll just do an investigation.
- Cool.
- Can I do an insight check on JJ
who's now dipped and gotten, like,
a bag full of stuff from this museum?
- Yeah, give me an insight check.
- That's 16.
- JJ looks very excited.
He's just liberated a tremendous amount
of cultural artifacts from a
museum where they were just
and now that Iga pointed
out that the truth
that museums only display a
tiny fraction of what they have.
Things that were just
sitting in cold vaults are
now gonna be returned to the communities
and peoples that actually created
and cherish those artifacts.
So, JJ's looking siked.
- Incredible.
Okay, great.
- I got a 16 on my investigate.
- 16 on investigate.
Sofia, you are looking at this,
and you see yeah,
clustering around the
Gramercy Occult Society.
You see some around Queens Center Mall.
You see another where you recognize
the Central Park Carousel would be.
- And the Cloisters?
- Cloisters as well.
- Why is it at the
Gramercy Occult Society?
- Yeah, that is what I'm wondering.
- Would that just be the Umbral engine?
- JJ points at Pete and says
"I think that's right, Pete.
"These flashes.
"So, you can see raw Umbra
moving throughout here,
"and you can see that the
raw Umbra is carrying some
"of these particles that
we talked about before
"or as Ricky said, a New York minute.
"These particles are 60
second increments of time
"that on a quantum level create a sort of
"fractal image of
themselves that is faster
"than the speed of light.
"That has a lot of
different effects to it.
"But the raw Umbra moving it,
"there's always been some
amount of raw Umbra in Nod,
"but you can see that it tends to flow
"to the Gramercy Occult Society
"because the Umbral engine
is grabbing that raw Umbra
"and spinning it into the Umbral Arcana
"to protect the Unsleeping City
and the people of New York."
- But now other people are taking it.
- "Right.
"Well, it looks like...
"I don't know
"how these other sites are
managing to create this effect."
And then you see JJ thinks for a second
about having sent a
portion of his research
with his application into Gladiator.
- What about the Pine Barrens?
Pine Barrens in New Jersey?
Can you see that?
- He's gonna make a check
to try and go see that.
He goes down to the Pine
Barrens in New Jersey.
It does not appear on the map.
And he looks and goes,
"The other side, the spectral
realm above the Pine Barrens,
"which dream - there was
very little dream realm
"in Pine Barrens."
And he lays another filter
to show an infernal layer
over the Pine Barrens
which has also been
collapsed into something
like two dimensional and
maybe even less than that.
- So, something pushed this Umbral out,
and something maybe also
pushed those devils out
like we were seeing overflow?
- Everyone give me a
perception check real quick.
- 21.
- 17.
- 31.
- 31 from Kingston.
- Dirty 20.
- Why do we even roll?
- Kingston-
- I do two things, baby.
I look and see around and within.
(everyone laughs)
- Kingston, you know
where you're gonna find
another infernal level, like
the one in the Pine Barrens.
You scoot over back to New York.
Just like.
Now that you're on the infernal layer,
you see a collapsed infernal
layer, just a tiny, tiny bit.
And as you zoom in,
Cody, the Hot Topic at
the Queens Center Mall
like every Hot Topic
was an infernal gateway.
- Of course.
- As you look here, Kingston, you (laughs)
- This adds up.
- I guess so.
- The world just keeps
validating you, Cody.
- Just like an absolute
moron rubbing his chin
and just being like, yes.
- You crack it wide open, Cody?
(everyone laughs)
- On a 31, I'm not even gonna
make you guys travel out
to Queens in Nod to, like,
investigate this yourself.
You zoom in on JJ's thing,
and you look and see
where this pressure being
applied from the deeper dreaming,
where the tide came in.
Also Kingston, you remember
from three years ago
the lesson you guys learned from Nod
which is that all these other
realms - the reason, like,
is dreaming as powerful as
like heaven or hell or faerie?
Arguable, probably in some ways, yeah,
the devil is stronger or
the arch fae or whatever,
but these places all
started as paragons, right?
Like, faerie became such a
potent dream that it came out.
So, dream does,
whether or not it's the
strongest, it is the oldest
and things originated here
which means that powerful
magics can find the genesis
of places like this.
So, when you attack from dreaming,
you have a way to sever
or attack hell-gates
and other things like that.
And especially in a place
that you still see the
highway hex is active, right?
Even three years later
there's still these highways
that f*ck up the ley lines
and prevent other things from coming in.
Weirdly in this case,
the highway hex seems to
be obfuscating some of this
so that you guys couldn't have
discovered it sooner, right?
You look at that image
and see that this force
was coming in to choke
and suffocate this hell-gate
like it is doing across the
city everywhere to everything.
And as you look, you just recognize that
that force is kind of
a powerful tidal force,
and some fractional amount
of what it was suffocating
and pushing down would have
been extruded to other places.
You're like maybe 80% of what was in
that hell-gate got pushed back into hell.
The 20% would have gotten
pushed somewhere else.
- Yeah.
- Bazathrax just got squeezed out
like toothpaste or something.
- Bazathrax got sh*t out
of hell into your chest.
- Like a sh*t outta hell!
(everyone laughs)
- Bazathrax in your chest goes,
"What's up, dude?
"Are you talkin' about me up there?
"What's going on?"
- Yeah, you just got,
you just got squeezed out of hell.
Is that what happened?
- "What, dude?
"No, I got, well, yeah, kinda.
"I don't know.
"It was like, I was hanging
out near this hell gate
"and there was this like
and I was talking to this.
"There this infernal codex that I found
"that had my name in it.
"And then dude, this
frickin' stuff came in.
"I didn't get squeezed out.
"The book got squeezed out.
"I was like, you know,
"your codex got f*ck',
"and I got squeezed back into hell, dude.
"And I was like, I gotta get that codex
"that has a way to summon me in it!
"And then it was like, I
dunno, like a month or two.
"I was trying to find a way to get out.
"But these highways and sh*t.
"And then you said my name, dude.
"I don't know how you got
your hands on that book
"but I'm glad ya did."
- So, you're just like the
me of hell pretty much?
(everyone laughs)
- "Hey, but you're pretty cool, man.
"That sword looks frickin' awesome, dude."
- Cody swings his sword.
- I give you the help action.
- Go ahead and give me that athletic check
and try to swing your sword.
- Okay, with Pete assisting.
(everyone laughs)
That's an 11.
Even with help.
- You scratch up the floor pretty bad,
but you cannot get the
blade up off the ground
in this swing.
- Dude, don't worry, man.
We'll work out together.
- What I'm wondering is - is this like,
is this like a natural disaster
or is this intentional?
- Or is it an entity that is not,
doesn't have intention
but has power enough?
- I mean, I think we need to figure out
what is in that beyond
that is pushing against all these things.
It seems like something that
is grasping for power but-
- Yeah, something's
coming in with the tide.
- Oh, can we get to Nod?
I would really love to talk to Nod.
- Yeah, it might be time
for you guys to split up.
With that 31, Kingston.
I'm also gonna say that
you perceive in JJ's thing,
in JJ's sort of read out,
a measurement of time that is sort of,
it doesn't look right.
Like, the amount of time
that JJ is measuring
doesn't look right to you.
And on that 31,
I think that Kingston's not
the most versed in, like,
advanced physics, but
you remember JJ saying
that he was studying these time particles,
and you watch, as
everyone else is talking,
you watch the scale of JJ's map,
not of space but of
time, diminish by a unit.
It looks like JJ doesn't notice it either.
But you just watch.
It goes from like, you know,
negative 50.000 to positive 50.000
to like negative 48.000
to positive 47.000.
- JJ, what is that?
- "What's what?"
- What's that?
The number went down.
I don't know what the number means.
Why would it go down?
- JJ looks at it for a second.
"That's not, that's really not good.
"So, I didn't know about raw Umbra
"when I was first
studying New York minutes,
"but basically...
"So I don't know how much, like,
"pop science you guys have
read, but like one of-"
- None.
- "Okay."
- I don't think I've
really read any either.
- I've read a little bit, yeah, for sure.
- You were reading "Mind Breaker," right?
Did they talk about it in "Mind Breaker?"
- No, I mean (laughs)
They're alluding to some stuff.
It's mostly kind of went
over my head to be honest.
I think there were big
chunks of paragraphs
that it felt like I could skip, but yeah.
- Oh cool.
- It's my favorite book though.
(everyone laughs)
- You see, JJ goes,
"One of the biggest sort of axioms
"of quantum mechanics is
that we actually have seen
"that observation can change
the fundamental behavior
"of atomic particles,
of cosmos, of nature.
"You know, for a thing being able to exist
"in two places at the same time.
"And I sort of haven't
put this together before,
"but raw Umbra and the
Umbral Arcana as well
"literally prevents
people from seeing magic
"which would of course
affect the nature of magic.
"Now, in our case, it's good because,
"like you've seen,
without the Umbral Arcana
"if regular people were
seeing magical things
"either they would all
discover the magical world
"and that would shake the
earth to its very foundations,
"or possibly they could
observe the magical world
"and destroy it by not believing in it.
"There's a very real chance that
"if a bunch of people that didn't believe
"in something were able
to see it that they would
"actually change the
magical nature of that."
- Whoa.
- "This belief is a
powerful, toxic substance
"in some cases."
- That happened with my daughter I think.
- I was thinking about
that with the borscht bites
that you were talking about.
- She stopped believing,
even though we had grown up,
like she knows.
She knows that magic is real,
but for a moment she
just did not believe it.
It was very strange and very upsetting.
- Iga, you remember that
Umbra coming out of her eyes,
and JJ looks and says,
"I suppose it's possible
"that with enough of this
Umbra present in the city
"even people that had been invited
"into the Unsleeping City could be so,
"for lack of a better word, poisoned by it
"that they would stop believing.
"You know, depending on dosages,
"you know some amount of
this stuff is very helpful,
"but in the amount that
it's congregating in now
"and this time disappearing,
"it's almost like the Umbra
is not just erasing the things
"but also it's not just occurring in space
"and preventing people from seeing things
"in the space around them,
"but it's also occurring in time."
Pete, give me an Arcana check.
- Ooh!
23.
- You have that same realization
that Kingston had about the nature of time
and the fact that so much
of the dream realm is tied
to potential.
And those Gladiator signs disappearing.
You see a mirroring in JJ's screen,
almost like as something erases the past
it is also mirroring that
erasure in the future.
And the far ends of those
numbers in JJ's scale are time.
And it's a pushing in in
both directions of like,
as possibilities disappear
people forget the myths
and legends and stories of the past.
And as people lose their stories,
they forget what is
possible in their future.
- Is that why with Josefina
we don't know what happened to her?
- You connect that erasing force
to what deprived the museum
of those two Vox Phantasma
and their final memories.
- Wow.
- Can I have a look at my chest
and see if it's changed at
all with us being in Nod?
- You take the chest out.
In Nod it is glowing
with resplendent magic.
As you take the chest out,
all of you see in JJ's screen
all of the raw Umbra is pushed out
of the Metropolitan Museum of Memories.
And you see that a bunch
of the New York minutes
that have been carried on
the raw Umbra, congregate,
and you see JJ's screen flickers out.
And you guys see actual little
floating helixing particles
of light and energy that look
almost like time helixes.
They become visible only
at the last second of their approach.
And, for lack of a better word,
gleefully explode into sparkles
on the surface of the chest.
It's the first time you've seen
that the the New York
minutes are doing something
differently than just
being passively carried
by raw Umbra.
Like, pew pew.
As they do, the wood
on the chest animates,
and you see the wood of the chest shifts.
There is a sudden bodega.
You see the wooden figure
of Sofia releasing a cat
from a cocoon.
You look back,
and you see Pete like flying
through the air over Times Square.
You see Kingston turning
undead on the subway cart
and the zombies collapsing.
You look back and see Ricky jumping
through a burning
building with a young girl
and a teddy bear in her hand.
And as these particles -
pew pew - hit and then stop.
- So, the New York minutes
it feels like they are, like,
potential.
They want to be stories.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Do you think, Iga, that
we could take your chest
to the memories section
of - here in the Met
and maybe use it to protect us
and try to see more memories
than we would if there
was a lot of Umbra there,
like, congesting it?
- Yeah, let's see if it works.
- 'Cause I would love to
see maybe the final moments
of Josefina or Hans Fischer
or maybe see if Tony's
memories are in here anywhere.
- Yes.
Yeah, let's do it.
- I remember when I encountered
that shadowy figure,
the vision that it gave me
was of Nod being pulled away
from me almost as a tide.
So, was that maybe the threat
of me losing my belief in Nod?
- Give me an insight check.
- Ooh.
Insight, 15.
- Either you, yeah.
I mean, you think it's both.
You think it's you losing
your connection to Nod
and whatever's out there.
And Pete, I think you have a feeling
that whatever is out
there physically in Nod
in the same way that you
are able to go to Nod
in your dreams with your dream self,
things that exist
physically in the dreaming
still can appear mentally in your dreams.
And when you think, like,
losing my connection to Nod,
you just feel the horrifying power
of losing your connection to things
and look through one of the windows
and see the stars in the sky ripple.
And a few fade out.
- Wow, f*ck.
- But you and Iga do have the chest,
and you can go to the
museum to look specifically
for those memories.
You also know that Nod is
still somewhere off here sick
in the dreaming.
- Yeah.
- But for anyone else,
I guess if the whole party
wants to go move and do that
that's totally fine as well.
- I'm just feeling like Ricky's
gears are turning faster
than they ever have.
He is thinking of ways
that he's never thought of.
It feels to me like
if the particles are behaving differently
when they're viewed
that Gladiator is viewing
it on a massive scale.
And I'm curious to see, like,
what is beyond the research,
Like, is there any other nefarious, like,
who is making that happen?
You know?
- Oh god.
Do they have a streaming service?
(everyone laughs)
- Yeah.
- That they're gonna use to like.
- It's got great shows.
- Gladiator Prime.
- Is it the energy drinks too?
Can people get in your brain?
- It keeps people from dreaming.
- Yes, it keeps people from dreaming.
But I also think if
Gladiator is observing magic
not as magic but as something
that's useful to them,
that might be a form of disbelief.
If they're using it not to dream
but to serve their own
purposes in a different way.
That could be a form of
observation that is disbelief.
- Well, like, if people
dream, then they can,
then it's not Gladiator's.
Right?
- They want to steal the dreams.
- Like, if they take people's dreams
but use the potential source of it.
- To do something else.
Like, to treat it almost
like science or a resource.
- Yeah, a resource for sure.
- Yes, so they can sell the dreams
because dreams are free.
Dreams have always been free,
but if they can sell it,
then you can monetize the dreams.
God, what a nightmare.
- I mean, Cody you were right all along.
- Yeah.
And honestly.
(Murph laughs)
I'm just gonna say, Ricky
that was really smart.
- Yeah, Ricky.
- Ricky made some cool, you know.
Hey man, I put my hand on Ricky's back
and I give him the help
action to wave his ax.
(everyone laughs)
Your heart's not in it, man.
I give you the help action
to have your heart be in it.
(everyone laughs)
- It doesn't feel like a
good idea to wave this thing.
This is really sharp, and
this part's definitely sharp.
- That's true.
- Yeah, for sure, man.
(everyone laughs)
Should we split up and some
people go to the memories,
and I go with Nod with some people?
Or should we stay together?
- I need to head out to JFK.
I have a date at a
Cinnabon with Alejandro.
He said that he had something to tell me.
So, people are more than
welcome to come, I'm sure.
But I think I do need
to make a stop there.
- I'll be honest.
I probably shouldn't go to JFK, but I mean
if I say I'm not going to,
I'm gonna stop there anyway.
- Do you wanna go with me to the memories
and look at the Tony memories?
Maybe you would recognize
some stuff as the ex-Fist?
- Oh yeah, I could do that.
I mean...
- You seem like wanna go to the airport.
- Sounds like you wanna
stealth to the airport
like two steps behind
Kingston the whole way.
- You can just walk
alongside me if you want.
- Just in Kingston's shadow.
- I just feel like you
can probably tell me
what the memories say of Tony's.
- Yeah, definitely.
- So that's decided.
They go to the-.
- Pete, I do have something
that I need you to ask for Nod.
Does everyone mind if I
just have a private moment with Pete?
- Yeah, of course.
- No, sure.
- Pete, I was wondering
if when you talk to Nod
if you could ask them
something personal for me?
- Yeah, definitely.
- I was just wondering
if you could ask them
if in this place of potentiality
and becoming and dreams
if there's any way to bring someone back?
- Dale?
- I was thinking Kugrash.
No obviously Dale.
- Oh cool.
- Obviously Dale.
(everyone laughs)
- Yeah, definitely.
- Just, you know, maybe ask.
That's all.
- I get it.
It's hard to talk about your
ex in front of your new crush.
(Emily laughs)
- You know, I just,
I figure you owe me one since
you turned me down so hard.
(everyone laughs)
- No, yeah, I will
definitely ask Nod that.
- Thank you.
- Pete, did you say that
Nod needs medical help?
- Oh f*ck, right!
You should be there, Kingston.
- Can I hit Nod on the way to JFK?
- Yeah, I think that probably, like,
Pete would probably have to fly
you guys up to where Nod is.
So, looks like the three big
tasks ahead of you are, like,
going to snoop around in
the Museum of Memories,
heading to go deal with Nod,
and then heading to JFK.
- What about you guys go to JFK,
we do the Metropolitan Museum of Memory,
and then we meet to the point
where Pete has to fly us where to Nod is?
- Yes, Iga, yes!
- Can I do some sort
of arcana link with Nod
and see if it's pressing that
I get to them immediately?
- You already can feel that they are
in recovery and doing okay.
You saved them from the bad situation,
and Nod while being a sweet little child,
they are also a powerful
monarch of dreaming.
And you know, they can take some licks.
- Great.
- Cool.
Pete, Iga, Ricky, Cody, and JJ
are all going to head deeper
into the Metropolitan Museum of Memory.
- Actually at the last minute,
I think that after asking
her selfish thing of Pete,
Sofia is gonna do what she
thinks is the right thing
and stick around here and not go to JFK.
- Copy that.
What's going on in Sofia's heart
as she thinks about going to JFK
or thinks about not going to JFK?
- I think that she feels like...
She feels like she just
heard Alejandro talking
about paradise
and the whole conversation
with Dale was kind of like,
I don't want you to be
living for breaking out
of heaven all the time.
I think she also knows she has this box
of Sour Patch Kids that
she needs to attend to,
but she's also like not sure
if she finds out the results of that,
if it would just be more
hurtful to tell Dale.
- Kingston, give me an insight check.
- It's only a 15.
- I think Kingston maybe notices
that Sofie is deep in thought.
And I mean, he certainly notices
that she changes her mind.
But cool.
Kingston takes off at the front door.
I will say this though.
JJ actually says,
"Should somebody go with Kingston
"just to make sure he's okay?
"I can go with Kingston."
- Okay, fine.
I'll go with Kingston, okay?
(everyone laughs)
Kingston!
If anyone's gonna f*cking
go it's gonna be me!
- You see JJ goes, "Whoa!
"I am sorry."
- Cody was starting to go.
- Sorry, I know you're scared of me, JJ.
I'm not a scary person.
- You see that JJ looks
over at you, Ricky,
who's the only person that he's told
that he finds Sofia scary and he goes,
"What the f*ck, dude?"
(Emily laughs)
- Can I talk to Sofia really quick?
- Yeah, go for it, Pete.
- So I'm like, hey, you
should go to JFK if you want.
But also as somebody who is
working through some stuff
with some kind of unhealthy fallout
from stuff like that we
could like, you know,
keep each other accountable.
- I appreciate that, Pete.
I'll just be straight.
I might be pregnant.
And I feel like if I am, I
probably have to tell him.
And I don't.
So I'm just kind of,
you know, figuring out.
It's maybe more complicated, right?
- I have three bricks
of cocaine in my bag.
(everyone laughs)
- Okay, okay.
- Just bricks on bricks,
and I'm supposed to sell it.
And I should honestly just flush it.
We need to go to a bathroom right now
and I just need to f*ck' flush it.
- Why are you trying to-?
Yeah, no, let's do it.
Let's go to a bathroom
and you flush the cocaine,
and I take the pregnancy test.
(everyone laughs)
- Okay, let's do it.
Let's go.
- So, right before you
guys are about to split up,
Pete and Sofia have this tearful thing.
- Ricky's like, they have to
go to the bathroom right now?
(everyone laughs)
- I was described as having left.
So I'm just like wandering away.
- I think it's fine.
I'm really fast and can
catch up if I need to.
- Kingston's just wandering
away towards the subway.
- Kingston, they just went
to the bathroom real quick.
They just had to stop.
- Oh.
- Just a second!
- You've been in there like 20 minutes.
What's going on?
- Yeah, Pete and Sofia-
- If you need some prune
juice I have some in my bag.
- So, Sofia you're in a stall next to Pete
who's on his knees flushing cocaine.
- I take out a knife and I
just rip both bricks open,
and it's the most counterintuitive thing
I've ever done in my life.
I'm just flipping them
inside out into the toilet.
- You're also in Nod.
So this toilet sprouts two eyes and goes,
"Yum yum yum.
"I'm always hungry."
- Oh sh*t!
I'm sorry!
I don't wanna get you high!
(Brennan makes slurping sounds)
- "Woo!
"Holy sh*t!
"Oh my God!
"Oh my God!"
- Don't make it look fun, toilet.
Whatever you do don't make it look fun.
- "No, no, I'm not having a good time!
"I don't feel like I'm having fun.
"I just feel very productive.
"You guys wanna write a screenplay?"
- Yes.
- Toilet usually eats sh*t.
You don't have to feel bad.
It's fine.
- Okay, you're right.
Okay, I like, I dump everything in there
which is absolutely an
insane amount of drugs.
And then I wash my hands really
quick, so I don't lick them.
And then I just stand there like this.
(Zac laughs)
(Emily and Siobhan laugh)
- Cool.
Pete, awesome.
- I should absolutely roll for
whatever the f*ck that was.
We're good.
- Cool.
(everyone laughs)
And Sofia.
- Oh.
- One second.
- Gotta roll for pregnancy?
- I just want to say, Pete,
I just want to say
thank you for doing this
because I think the thing
I was dreading the most was
taking it alone because, you know,
there was a time when
Dale and I were trying
and the idea of finding it out
by myself was really, really-
- Yeah, that's really major.
- But I'm still gonna minor
illusion it just to be, like,
Sour Patch Kids, just a
stick of Sour Patch Kids.
- You're just peeing into Sour Patch Kids.
- I'm still not fully
there with this experience.
So I need a little bit of-
- So if it's a purple Sour
Patch Kid, it's a positive.
And if it's a yellow one, it's negative.
- I figured if like one at
the top smiles, it's positive.
(Lou laughs)
- Hey, Pete, as you're
done flushing the cocaine,
Sofia steps out of her stall
with a smiling purple
Sour Patch Kid popping
out of the top of the box.
- Okay.
- Do you think that, do
you think that, you know,
I fill him in on what me and
Dale's last interaction was.
Do you think that it is
in his interest to know?
Or is that me wanting him to know?
Is it for me, me telling
him, or is it for him?
Is it good for him?
Or is it bad for him?
- I think you need to prioritize yourself
in this moment maybe.
- I mean I'll tell him eventually.
- You have me and other
support if you want.
Or if, I'm just saying it doesn't sound
like he's necessarily in a place
to provide consistent
support for you right now.
- Yeah.
- Also, sorry.
I kept like being like, are we flirting?
I just don't have very
many like female friends
and especially not in recovery.
I'm just kind of in
like a weird free fall.
- I can't tell you how convenient it was
because my mother keeps trying
to set me up with people.
And when we went home
from Kingston's party,
she was pointing out attractive men.
And I was able to just say, hey
I took a hard pass for Pete.
It didn't work out.
I got rejected.
And so now she's gonna cling
to that for a little bit.
- Great, great.
We can really play that
up, but you know, I yeah.
Okay, cool.
We're just homies.
- Yeah.
(everyone laughs)
We are.
- Just me trying on new,
like, friend language
with my cool female friends.
I don't have a lot of female friends
which is kinda crazy
'cause I do have that POV
in there somewhere.
- Yeah.
I guess I'm sorry if
this was really intense
to experience such a female moment.
- No, no, it was cool that
we went into the men's room
for all of this.
(everyone laughs)
- I did do it in a urinal, which felt-
- It was cool, yeah.
- It feels like, you know,
it feels like when you take
an unexpected pregnancy test,
it should be in the stupidest
most depressing way possible.
- Absolutely.
One leg up on a urinal just rocketing in.
- Peeing on a box of Sour Patch Kids.
- Two eyes sprout up on the urinal and go,
"I just want to say congratulations."
- Thank you so much.
I shake its hand by flushing it.
(everyone laughs)
Okay, all right.
Then I'm gonna go with Kingston,
but I'm gonna go with Kingston,
but I'm not gonna try to find Dale.
I'm not!
I'm not!
I'm serious!
- So, you're just gonna go
to hang out at the airport?
- Well, Kingston needs detail.
(Ally hums skeptically)
(everyone laughs)
- I just think you're gonna
have to roll the dice a little
on that choice, but it's up to you, Sofia.
- Okay, I'll stay here.
And I will process the many,
many emotions I am feeling
from this result.
Thank you.
- That's a lot though.
That's really major.
That's really f*ck' major.
I've never been through
something like that.
- Yeah, I didn't expect it to be this way.
- Yeah, f*ck.
- Anyway, so yeah, JJ,
if you want to go with-
- JJ's just in the bathroom peeing.
- Can I cast jump on JJ to
try and give him a head start
so he can catch up with Kingston?
- He goes "Woo!" and begins
bounding down the streets,
like "moon bounce!"
Cool.
- I'm a dead man.
But yeah, cool.
(Emily laughs)
- Kingston.
- Yeah.
- You're like halfway
to the subway right now.
And JJ comes bounding
after you and just goes,
"Hey, what's up, man?
"I just wanted to make sure
that you had some company
"on your exped-ish, unless
you don't feel like you-?"
- Oh, JJ, you're more than welcome, man.
Yeah, come along.
You ever wanted to see what heaven's like?
- "What?"
He said, "I thought
you were going to JFK."
- Here JFK is heaven.
It's pretty, come on, man.
It's the Unsleeping City.
It only gets crazier.
- Kingston, as you say that
train pulls into the station
and takes off like a rollercoaster
over the Manhattan skyline,
just rails floating in sky.
And you take off.
We're gonna scoot on down to those of you
in the Metropolitan Museum of Memories.
Everybody who's in the
Metropolitan Museum of Memories,
go ahead and give me either investigation,
perception, or arcana based on
like what you're looking for.
- What are we looking for?
- Yeah.
- I'm not sure what we're...?
- I mean, I'll look for memories of Tony.
- Cool, I'm gonna look
for memories of the Vox
that disappeared.
- Hell yeah.
- On an expedition past Nod.
- I'll look for the pigeon.
- Cool.
- Yeah, I want to look for memories of,
is this just stuff in New York?
- This is just stuff in New York,
but you could look for other
types of memories if you want.
I think I would like to
look for the other, like,
other stories of Polish
people coming to New York.
- Hell yeah.
- And I rolled a nat one, so
I'm gonna use a luck point.
- Oh my God.
- Can I also keep an eye out
for the thing that I asked
Pete about to ask Nod about?
If there are any memories like that?
- Yeah.
- I rolled a two.
(everyone laughs)
- Yeah, I rolled a three.
- I rolled a 19 arcana.
- Cool.
- It's technically a nine.
- I think that Cody is now,
I think the only way with which
he has any kind of insight
or anything is in, like, sort
of like a conspiracy type way.
And so I think, like,
it's starting to hit
him like what JJ's doing
with like getting back cultural artifacts,
the things that like
Ricky was saying to him,
all of this stuff, and then all
of the stuff with Gladiator.
I think Cody is like
realizing a little bit
that he doesn't actually know anything
about any of the things he's using.
So I think, I don't know
if it's a memory thing
or I think Cody is going to kind of
self-consciously go to the exhibit
and just like read the things.
- Incredible.
Incredible.
- 'Cause he's like I'm a
f*ck' cultural Gladiator dude.
f*ck!
(everyone laughs)
Like, he's like realizing it a little bit.
And so like still with his
cool sword is just, like,
dragging it just like,
yeah I think there's some
f*ck' memories over here
or whatever.
And then just gonna go try to read stuff.
- Yeah.
Well, you know, your
weapon is basically only
now these like mythical magical blades.
You begin putting back all
of the historical weapons
in their spot and sitting down
and actually looking at the time periods
and places that all this stuff came from
and begin to see the artistry
of all these different weapons, materials.
Cody, go ahead and give me a
history check with advantage.
- 17.
- I think Cody walks away
with a lot of appreciation
for all these different time periods
and the historical reasons
that shaped the artistry
and the styles and why
things were this way.
And you begin to see the stories
around all of these different kind of
like warrior traditions through the past.
And I think have a long moment
of reckoning with, like,
you have been, like, absorbing
all of this stuff second
and third hand through
media, you know what I mean?
And you have this giant, like,
double weapon on your back.
Yeah, I think you probably look at, like,
the swords, like all the
history of the swords
and then being like, yeah,
like, these sorts were
made to be effective
and like a lot of the, you know,
like here's some like
peasants weapons from the time
and here's the advance
that brought this around
and the status and culture
afforded to different weapons.
A lot of these were like,
a lot of the heavy armors
were just for aristocrats
who were the only people
that could afford them.
And others are like, oh, like,
the reason that this
intense steel process had
to happen this way was
because of the type of iron
that was available in this land.
And you're seeing too that like,
the plethora of different
cultures that have these weapons.
It's like, oh look at Damascus steel,
look at this other kinds of like
from all over the world
in different places.
And I think Cody probably feels
like a more centered place
with a lot more
appreciation for this stuff
rather than just like scanning Etsy
for whichever weapon has
like the most spikes on it.
- I think this is such
like a short amount of time
that I think Cody is just like,
all this does is make him realize
that he doesn't know what
the f*ck he's talking about.
So, he's just like furiously
taking pictures of things
to Google later to like read about.
- Hell yeah.
Did anyone else get above
a 15 on their check?
- I got a 19.
- And Ricky's looking for
Perry the pigeon, right?
- Yeah, just curious if
there's any info there.
- Yeah.
You see Perry and see
more recent memories.
Perry is living in a
wonderful coop in Brooklyn.
You see that it's like a kind
of like Brooklyn-y food co-op,
there's like a garden and stuff.
But you see that Perry is
living in a lovely little home
that is protected by the Umbral Arcana,
so it looks like a sort of multi-animal.
There is a pigeon coop
with some like pet pigeons
that are being kept.
There's a rabbit coop.
But around that you see
that there's actually, like,
a small little village
and there's a little wooden hutch
where Perry is happily living
with a rabbit together.
And you see that he's got a
little two year sobriety chip
next to him.
And you see he's got tiny
little like acorn mugs.
And he and this rabbit are sitting
on a little love seat made out of, like,
dollhouse material together
each reading a newspaper
and kind of leaning their
heads against each other.
The Tiny Animal Gazette.
- Did you say Brooklyn
co-op pigeon village?
- Yeah, Brooklyn co-op pigeon village.
(Emily laughs)
- True clowns.
Brooklyn co-op pigeon village.
(Emily and Ally laugh)
- Awesome.
- Can I do an investigation
check to see if there's, like,
a cute little magnet or
a bookmark or something
that I can bring back to my kids?
- Yes, absolutely.
Go for it.
- That I also rolled a nat one.
Boy.
- Oh no!
- Get him out here.
- Get him out.
- My rolling today.
- Can I help you guys?
- I will say Pete, you're
looking for Vox stuff, right?
Iga and Sofie.
Sofie got a nine.
And what did Iga get?
- I also got a nine.
- Cool.
You're looking for
memories of Polish people.
You're having a hard
time looking at memories
because your chest is super
charging this wing of the Met.
You see that memories are
flooding out of the chest
into this wing,
and you can feel,
again whatever is inside the
chest is powerfully connected
to memory.
And you see, actually,
I'm gonna let everyone that
didn't roll with advantage
roll with advantage
because of the presence of the chest here.
- I rolled another two.
- I'm gonna f*ck'
use my last luck point.
I rolled a four.
I don't know what is
happening to me today.
- Terrible, terrible.
- I rolled the same
exact thing that I did.
- Oh there we go.
I rolled a 20.
There we go.
- Is that a nat 20 for real?
- It is finally a f*ck' nat 20.
- Hell yeah.
- Two luck points and advantage.
- Oh my god.
- Iga, a bunch of memories
are flooding out of the chest.
You can see that, like, once
again the magic of the chest.
You also see that the chest
now is existing in two layers.
You see the old Polish forest
is underneath the city.
It's not gone.
It looks like the city is
molding around it to protect it.
That there is like this...
It's like developing a
double layer of, like,
exoskeleton to protect against something
that is trying to erase
the city and the forest.
Something is coming for both.
You look, and you can tell
that the time is approaching.
Like, the secrets in the
castle are waiting for Iga.
In terms of Polish people in
New York, you see tons of them.
You see Greenpoint neighborhood,
Polish bakeries opening up.
I think you also see a powerful
magical connection from here
to a place.
You see that your chest is
protecting not only itself
but this wing of the museum
and a number of other places out there.
And as you specifically
look for other Polish people
that came to New York,
you see it's protecting
Greenpoint in a very real way,
but also you see farther out
through window of the Met.
You see a couple of museums,
a couple of memorials,
and places throughout the
city that it's protecting.
And you see that there is a
source of tremendous friction
where it looks like the chest is most
actively fighting something.
You see Ellis Island.
And as you think about, like,
the Polish people that
have come to the city
throughout the centuries,
you see that something is
that the biggest, like,
battle front of your chest
is over at Ellis Island.
For Sofia on that nine,
the memories you most want
to find of other memories
of things that happened
like this in the city,
you find none.
You do find memories of Tony.
You do find some memories of young Tony.
Tony, young guy.
It's the 1980s.
He's in his early twenties.
See he's got a wedding band on his finger.
- Did he have one when I met him?
- No, he did not.
You see him showing up
looking bleary-eyed,
intense, angry, violent.
You see him getting arrested
for public brawling.
And you finally see him.
He can't sleep.
He's like an intense insomniac.
Every time he goes to sleep,
he can't find any rest.
And he gets to a point of insomnia
where he's been awake for so many days
that after about three days of being awake
he begins to see the Unsleeping City.
And you see him find the fire escape
above Spaghetti's Bakery and climb up
and find the Monastery
of the Midnight Sun.
You see he quickly becomes obsessed.
He burns a house down in Staten Island.
And you see crazy pushups,
up all night studying the scrolls,
quickly becomes the
First Fist of the Order.
And you see he gets into a
screaming fight with Jackson Wei
as he's First Fist.
Jackson Wei is like two or
three years younger than him.
But Jackson Wei joins, like, late 80s.
Like, late 80s, early 90s around there
after Tony's already been at the Order
for a couple of years.
Jackson is yelling at
him about going too far,
about like, it's like
for you it's a vendetta,
it's personal, your judgment is blinded.
And around like 1991 or so,
Tony gets into a big fight
with the then-abbess of the Concrete Fist,
with Jackson, with a young
Solomon at that point.
And there's clearly a
lot of comradery here.
You're seeing the negative moments
that you're kind of looking for.
But basically, you know,
Tony goes like, you know,
"You should all f*ck'
think about it, all right?
"You should do this!"
And they go like, you
see Jackson going like,
"Tony, what the f*ck
is the matter with you?
"Look, we have a job to protect the city.
"You don't give a sh*t
about the city anymore.
"Look what you f*ck' did to yourself."
And he points at Tony who is shirtless,
and you see that there is a
big scar over Tony's heart.
And you see that Tony
has this confrontation
where he says he's gonna move out
and start his own order somewhere.
It's actually gonna
look to get the job done
and finish what they started.
- Do I get a sense of what
"get the job done" means?
- You see Cindy having
a very tearful thing.
And after that confrontation,
Tony comes and apologizes to everyone
and makes amends and is like,
"I'm gonna step down as the First Fist.
"It's clear that, you know,
"Jackson is the superior monk to me,
"and we had this disagreement
"and it became too quarrelsome."
But basically it's this
thing where you see Jackson
and Cindy having kind of
a tearful conversation
where Cindy's like,
"Tony's a good," like,
"Isn't Tony a good guy?"
And Jackson goes,
"I don't know what the
f*ck 'a good guy' is.
"Look, we have to be pragmatic.
"We have to stay rooted in what is real.
"We all know that Tony has a lot of pain.
"Pain makes people do
some things sometimes
"that are ill-advised.
"We protect New York City
from beings of the dreaming.
"That doesn't mean you should go in
"and change your own body, your own soul,
"so that you don't dream anymore."
And you see that what
Tony did to himself is
found something in a scroll
somewhere in the monastery,
did something some ritual
involving a pressure point
or some sort of like ritualistic scarring
of his own heart tissue.
And you see him go out and
you remember the name he gave
to his order in San Francisco was
the Order of the Ironheart.
You-
- Does it seem as though
he chose not to dream
because he saw the dreaming
as the source of his pain?
- Pete, you rolled a 19, right?
- Oh no, I re-rolled with advantage.
I have a 26.
- There's a third Vox Phantasma.
- I knew it!
- There's a third Vox-
- Is that the wedding ring?
- Heather Simos.
(everyone gasps)
- What?
What?
- Yeah, exactly.
- Heather Simos was Vox
Phantasma for three days
in the 1980s.
Nod chose her.
She was a Cindy Lauper, Staten Island,
1980s, out at the club every night.
And Sofia and Pete,
you meet up where her
and Tony's memories meet.
And Tony was not awakened
to the Unsleeping City.
He was head over heels
in love with Heather.
Heather was chosen by Nod,
and you can see Nod trying to warn her,
but Vox Phantasma throughout
history have all had problems
with chaos and recklessness.
Heather was immediately
like, "Who the f*ck are you?
"What the f*ck is this?"
And when she looked out
to the greater dreaming,
she had a spirit of wild
impulsive curiosity.
Did not, like Pete saw
before with Josefina Gatsby,
did not have a Kingston Brown,
did not have a Ricky Matsui,
did not have a Sofia Lee.
And she ventured out into
the deep, deep dreaming
past the shores of the sixth borough.
- Can I see the moment that she got?
Can I see what happened to her?
- Iga, you come through.
Pete, the only reason these
memories are being returned is
because Iga's chest is here.
Iga's chest is a more powerful
attachment to the past
and memory and story than even this museum
in the land of dreams.
And it is replenishing
everything that is here.
The three of you now stand and look out
and see Heather flying
in this 1980s, like,
disco light ball, high hair,
crazy like purple eyeshadow.
The huge bangles.
Like, "This is f*ck' awesome!"
- She's beautiful.
- I used to look like that.
I can still do it.
I cast-
(Ally laughs)
Disguise Self on myself?
So I look like what I
looked like in the 80s?
- Beautiful as well.
- Iga, wow.
- You know.
- Heather Simos flies out.
And Nod, the gray orphan,
is reaching their hand out
to them being like, "Heather,
stay within the six borough!
"You still have much to learn!"
And you see Heather
goes like, "It's dreams!
"Anything's possible!
"Let's make more!"
And starts creating more city
out in the deep, goes deeper and deeper,
creates a sky of even
more stars and purple.
Pete, you see very small
in the nighttime sky
some of the purple begins
to fade as a spot grows.
A gray spot.
And as it approaches and enlarges,
it is a silhouette of
a figure wearing a suit
that approaches.
It extends a hand to Heather.
Heather goes, "Hi, nice to meet you.
"I'm the Vox Phantasma.
"My name's Heather."
Reaches a handout.
The hand extends.
Does Pete know what an angler fish is?
- Yeah, definitely.
He's seen "Finding Nemo."
(everyone laughs)
- So, that's the little lantern.
- What you thought of,
Pete, as being this entity,
the little silhouette human shape
that bleaches out the color behind it.
That's just a little lantern
of something you cannot see.
Heather reaches out a hand and vanishes.
She turns around to look at Nod
as she's being erased from the feet up,
tears bursting and running her mascara.
And she says, "Nod, I don't understand!
"Tell To-"
And is gone.
- So, we're saying
that Tony k*lled the Nod
of San Francisco, right?
That seems like it's probably
a thing that happened?
He's out for revenge,
and he's out to k*ll
the monarchs of dream?
- I think it could be possible.
- That could be possible.
- I think that there's a part
of me that holds on to a hope
that we might find Heather still.
- Yeah, possibly.
But that doesn't stop
Tony from being broken
by this, you know?
- And that's what almost happened to me
with the banishment run in,
with the angler fish.
- If you had rolled a 19.
- Yeah, yeah.
- For sure.
- So, does that mean that we can assume
that's exactly what happened
to the other two Vox
Phantasmas that disappeared?
- Yeah, Pete, on that 26,
you see the lives of Josefina and Hans
from their time periods.
Hans was just the Vox
Phantasma for a lot longer
before he eventually was like,
I want to go on an expedition
into the deeper dreaming.
I just want to see for myself.
He was not reckless about it.
Josefina was a little bit sadder.
In 1929 she just resigned herself
and was like, there is
something out there.
And it was almost a sense
of vertigo from her.
She was like, "I know
this thing is out there.
"Isn't it going to get me eventually?"
And there was just a deep despair,
and she had nothing anchoring her anymore.
Pete, you see,
what led Josefina there was the fact
that whatever this thing is,
it's outside of Nod,
but it is also somehow in
the waking world as well.
Like, this thing works
on people in the same way
that dreams work on people
even when they're just asleep.
And it hit Josefina with
isolation, loneliness,
a severing from real
people and real things,
a sense of being adrift in a
world she did not understand.
Until eventually she
just physically came here
and left into the deeper dreaming
until she was found by this thing.
- I have a question because
I know some people believe
that dreams are your brain
filtering short-term memory
into long-term.
Is that something that might
be like grounding to people
and like combat this
sense of like rootlessness
and depression and despair?
Are they like, do dreams
combat this horrible, like,
yeah, I don't know.
- I think, Pete, give me an arcana check.
- Baby, that is a 28.
- Pete, I think cracks this.
I think Pete goes like, yes,
dreams do help fight this
but it's almost like
people need an attachment
to three different things at the same time
in order to be able to fight
this feeling of isolation.
They need the ability to dream and hope
and imagine a better future,
which is a magic that Pete
is intimately familiar with.
They need an attachment to
the real and, like, the people
and communities and the beating
heart of the real world,
the moment that they are in
and a sense of belonging.
And you think of Kingston.
And you look at Iga's chest
and think about memory
and think about the past and
an idea of reckoning with,
but also understanding
and knowing the story
of where you came from
or where the people
that you love came from
and what has happened in the past.
- Whoa.
- And I think Pete knows
that there is a Kingston,
that there's a Vox Populi
and a Vox Phantasma,
but I don't know that,
you know that there's not another Vox.
You know, that sort of duality.
- There's just a box.
- Hey, a box and two Voxes.
A Vox on box.
- The box Phantasma.
- The box Phantasma, yeah.
Yeah, I think Pete feels
that other thing though.
- Whoa.
- We're gonna cut from here
and your guys' awesome moving
through the hall of memories.
Kingston, you take a
long ride out with JJ.
You get to the sky train
which is the little heavenly train
that connects this line to JFK.
And you get to a kiosk.
JJ's looking around.
And you see that there is
an angelic attendant looking
and being like, "Oh, hello, Mr. Brown.
"Are you here to claim your ticket today?"
- No, no, no, no.
Me and my friend here are
just visiting Alejandro.
Meeting him at the Cinnabon.
- "Oh, understood.
"Okay, well we will."
You see that she looks down and goes,
"There's actually there
are two tickets waiting
"for you here."
Obviously you need a ticket
to be able to proceed
into the terminal.
- Yes.
- "Huh?
"It's a very short flight.
"Are you and your
companion taking a flight
"from JFK to LaGuardia?"
- I guess so.
- "Okay, that's a seven minute flight."
(everyone laughs)
It's like the cheapest
ticket Alejandro could buy
to like let you get into the terminal.
"A direct flight JFK to LaGuardia."
- Didn't even know it
existed, but here we are.
- "Honestly, sir, I did not either."
You and JJ move to the terminal.
And so, this is like the airport,
and you see up like the pearly
gates up above in the clouds
and the planes going up there.
So, you're kind of in this,
like you're on the doorway of
heaven here in the airport.
You see tons of people looking
around excitedly to fly off
to their final resting place.
People, you know, meeting other people
and saying, hello and hi.
And you go to a Cinnabon
and you see waiting there
with a big cinnamon bun in front of him
and two others waiting is your
old friend, Alejandro Ortiz.
He gets up.
A pair of wings sort
of flash off his back.
Both angelic but also kind of wizardly.
There's sort of abjurative
runes that surround them.
He goes, "Kingston Brown.
"I knew you would think of me
"to summon me to help
you, my good friend."
- Hey, had to bring you out of retirement.
I know you still can shake it, all right.
- "Right before you summon me,
"I look at Maria and I say,
"I'm getting too old for this sh*t.
"And it was so cool."
- There you go!
There you go!
I hope you're ready to say it again.
You know, that's something
I can do on the regular now.
So, you probably gonna be
back in action sometime soon.
- "Kingston, I cannot wait.
"This will be a true honor to come back.
"You know it,
"You look, you look great.
"Can I say something to you, Kingston?
"You have a little pep in your step.
"And I mean that in an arcane way.
"There's like a little bit
of levitation around you."
- Oh, well, you know,
I'm spending a lot more time with Liz now
and things are going well, you know.
And I don't know.
I'm taking a little bit more time for me.
And I think it's paying off in a big way.
Also by the way, this is JJ.
JJ, this is Alejandro Ortiz.
He was the old head of the
Gramercy Occult Society
before he died.
- You see JJ goes, "Oh my God.
"Alejandro Ortiz, you're legendary.
"It's an honor.
"It's an honor to meet you."
Alejandro smiles and goes,
"Oh, this is young JJ.
"A pleasure to meet you, JJ.
"Esther is of course a master wizard.
"You're in great hands.
"And I am very glad
that she is reaching out
"to promising young
wizards such as yourself.
"Where is your spell book?"
JJ sort of waggles his laptop.
Alejandro gives Kingston
a very knowing look.
And he's like, "Kids these days."
- These kids these days, right?
I don't know what to say, you know.
- He's like, "For me, I like
the must of an old grimoire.
"You know a tome that has the smell of,
"but you know that's-"
- It's the same reason I'll
never buy an iPad, you know.
IPod?
Is that what they call it?
JJ, is that what they call it?
Is it an iPod?
- "Two different products actually.
"You can get an iPod or an iPad."
- See, it's something
about holding it, you know?
It's just like knowing that
the music is right there
in your hands, you know?
- Alejandro has JJ take a seat and says,
"But it is an honest pleasure.
"And I'm glad to know that
the society is in good hands."
Alejandro looks at you,
Kingston, and goes,
"Yes, it has been a busy three years
"since I was unfortunately my passing.
"But also I was 92 years old.
"That's a great run."
- You did it well.
You did it well.
- "That's wild.
"The amount of dangerous
situations I found myself in.
"The occult world I was
ensconced in for 70 years.
"I mean, that's wild.
"That's a long time."
JJ smiles, and Alejandro
looks at you and says,
"You are growing even
more powerful, Kingston.
"To be able to ask for aid from paradise
"and to have me appear is
quite a feat, my friend."
- Yeah.
I don't know.
It seems like the city is
in real trouble right now.
And I don't know.
I think there's part of me that,
I think the city recognizes it.
I think we're up against
something tremendous.
You know, speaking of which, you know,
I think there's a lot
that we need to be doing.
So, you know, as I am
so excited to be here
and catch up with you,
is there something you
wanted to talk about?
- Alejandro nods and says,
"Well, I want, I have
a request from a friend
"who no longer is able to
travel in other places as I am
"to please check in on Sofia.
"There is much love sent
from the other side.
"He specifically asked
not to mention his name
"for fear of upsetting her,
"but just for you to look
after her and ask after her.
"Also I wanted to check
in with you to ask,
"I know that you will handle business
"in the side of the waking world.
"You of course are speaking on behalf
"always of the people of New York.
"However even in paradise
were the reverberations
"of your declaration of w*r heard.
"And I want you to know that
if there's anything we can do
"from paradise to aid you,
"I am still a resource in that way.
"My eye,"
Pew.
His golden eye appears.
"Sees much."
He says, "What is it you
are planning on doing?
"And maybe there's some way I can help."
- Well, I mean, we've come to understand
that Gladiator is in some way aware,
and it is interacting with
this greater force in dream.
And I mean, at this point,
I think we have a lot
of questions with regard
to what that thing is,
what that entity is.
I mean, if there's any
illumination you can provide
with regard to that, this
thing, this deeper dream,
I mean is there?
Yeah, that would be.
- Alejandro looks and says,
"There is much that the gray
orphan will know that I do not
"about the nature of this deeper entity."
Alejandro taps his head,
pulls out his Juul.
- You know I hate that.
- "My lungs are made of light!
"I cannot get popcorn lung!"
- It just says something though.
It's just a choice that you're making.
You know, meditate.
- "You want me to meditate?"
- Yes, I want you to meditate.
- "I'm going to go to paradise
"where everything is literally perfect
"and I'm going to meditate."
- You know how many gurus are up there
that you could be working with?
I mean, you could work with the greatest.
- "JJ, can you believe this?
"Can you believe this man to speak
"to his elders so disrespectfully?"
- You can probably
actually talk to Buddha.
You could go find Buddha
and learn from him.
You have that opportunity.
- "I talk to Buddha all the time.
"Buddha is everywhere!
"Buddha is completely, we are.
"Okay, listen."
- You know.
- "I hope you know, okay.
"Kingston, for you I
will put the Juul away,
"but I will say this,
"your young friend Pete and Sofia as well
"and the rest of your companions
have their work cut out
"for them.
"In the history of New York City
"it has always been the
waking world marching forward
"and the dream world in this
relationship of encroaching,
"approaching, infesting, et cetera.
"And not really until we encounter Pete.
"And he is so heroic to
save Nod and join with you.
"And we have the Vox
Populi and Vox Phantasma
"at the same time.
"Do we see, no.
"The denizens of the dreaming
are New Yorkers themselves
"as well.
"The Concrete Fist was too aggressive.
"The Gramercy Occult Society we were,
"I wish when I was still
alive I had known more
"about the sixth borough to know,
"hey, this is not merely
a chaotic place of danger.
"This is a realm.
"We learned that the gray
baby was themselves an ally
"that helped us defeat the American Dream
"and reseal it back
behind the golden door.
"We learned all these
things three years ago.
"The dream pushes always
on the waking world
"but now we know better.
"My advice to you, Kingston
Brown, my old friend
"from a wizard - pewww - is this:
"Dream can push on the waking world.
"Maybe it is time for the waking
world to push on the dream.
"The things you do with
the real people of New York
"can push back the tide
"just as strong as this
tide coming from here.
"This I know."
- That's not bad.
That's pretty good.
That's pretty good.
- "This is why you keep
a guy like me around."
- I mean, a hundred
percent, a hundred percent.
I give him a big hug.
And then I think we just enjoy
Cinnabons for a little bit.
(Brennan laughs)
- Hell yes!
- And yeah.
Can I get a bunch of little,
can I get a big old bag of bits?
(everyone laughs)
They travel better, you know?
- These are, by the way,
in this sort of sixth
borough version of JFK,
you know these Cinnabons are next level.
- I'm assuming it's just like the top,
but like three times in a row.
(everyone laughs)
Rather than a full bun.
- It's mostly cream cheese frosting.
(everyone laughs)
- Yeah, you see you, JJ,
and Alejandro just load up.
Alejandro has big bags.
He goes back to his flight with
a big arm full of Cinnabons
and goes, "Kingston, good luck out there.
"And you know if you ever need me,
"you need only say my name three times
"and also cast that spell.
"That's also necessary."
- Yeah, I'm on it.
And hey, thank you for
your words, Alejandro.
I think you're gonna feel us.
- He kind of goes, "Ooh!
"So ominous in a cool way!"
- Yeah, right.
Okay.
- He walks off.
JJ, kind of, as you say
that JJ kind of like bobs
with a little bit of a strut
just being next to you.
Like yeah, that sounded badass.
- Yeah, they gonna feel us.
They gonna feel us.
- "They are gonna feel us, yeah."
You guys head out.
The group meets back up in Brooklyn
underneath this giant cloud,
and Pete flies all of
you up to Nod's bedside.
You see pizza rat is still there.
He goes, "Hi everybody.
"Good to see ya.
"How are y'all doin'"
- Hey, pizza rat.
- My son showed me your video.
It's very good.
Very funny.
- "Yeah, it's like hey only in New York."
- Only in New York.
- "Yeah, a rat with a slice of pizza.
"Anyways, so."
And Kingston, you see the
gray orphan getting bedrest.
They have one of those
old, like, Victorian,
like, you know, like, hot water bags
or I guess cold water bags
with like a little screw cap
on it, kind of on their head.
Go ahead and give me a medicine check.
- Oh, what if I did just so-
- Can I give you the help action?
- Yeah, can I help?
- Yeah, go for it.
- Yeah, everyone get in here.
That'll be a 23.
- Hell yes.
Kingston, you walk up.
And Pete, as you give the help action,
Pete just conjures up
a table of glittering
like some plastic gloves, some swabs,
a little thing of like different medicine.
- Some PPE.
- A little PPE.
And you - I'm going to say too,
that Iga, you see that,
you watch a little like
swiff of magic puff
out of the chest as Pete is
collecting this dream material
and become a little IV bag
that Kingston is able to
put to work right away.
And Pete, that sh*t
you said about memories
you realize is true.
Like, about dream's
relationship to memories
because you go like
experiences AKA the present
become memories and stories AKA the past
which is the raw material you
need to imagine the future.
And there's this thing of
sweeping up Iga's box becomes this
like sort of jiggling colorful bag
of dream phantasmagoria material.
But there is a thing that Pete goes like,
yeah, like legends and stories and myths
and things like that are
kind of the raw grist
we use to create the
phantasms of dreaming.
Like, all of these things exist
in this cohesive ecosystem.
And as Kingston gets this IV bag
as basically like liquid food for Nod,
you see Kingston, as you touch Nod's arm
they sort of open their
jet black eyes and look up
and smile at you, and you
see reflected in their eyes
the dream you had that
made you levitate earlier.
And it feels purely good to you.
Your coat whips up.
And Kingston, you feel that
you could fly right now.
- I mean, I think I choose not to
'cause I'm actively inserting
things into a child,
but I do like I hold
onto that very tightly
and will take it with me
probably from this place.
- I love that.
Nod looks up at all of
you and says, "Thank you.
"Thank you for coming here.
"Thanks, Pete.
"Good to see ya.
"Sorry I got got like that.
"Thank goodness you came
and rescued me, huh?
"I'm back now."
You see Nod looks down.
You see Times Square in the distance.
There are now two more
Gladiator billboards
down there amongst the others.
Nod looks up and says,
"Well I'm finally back and awake.
"Looks like y'all could
use an explanation."
- Please.
- "Okay.
"There's a lot of other monarchs
kind of like me out there.
"And they're really powerful,
"but we're kind of the
small ones, you know?
"Because like,
"so Nuria, they were the the
Monarch of the Bay of Slumber
"and..."
- Bay?
- What is that call in the waking world?
- The Bay area.
(Brennan laughs)
- Was it called San Francisco?
- Nod nods.
Yeah.
And they say,
"I'm really not gonna try to brag
"but of my siblings that,
"we kind of like people and
we kind of like dreamers
"and we're not really like
afraid of the waking world
"that much.
"We kind of want to be as
close to it as possible.
"And of my siblings like that,
"there's sort of a,
"well, I don't want to brag,
"but because New Yorkers
don't really sleep that much
"and the city's sort
of awake all the time,
"it's really easy to
have our dream realm be
"very powerful here.
"And other places are
really, really magical
"but some places are more
tied to like a faerie realm
"or other places are more tied to heaven
"or hell or other places
of myth and legend.
"But every place still has
people that go to sleep.
"So, there is like a dream
version in every place,
"but some people say that
I'm the greatest of them
"but you know, that's, I don't."
- Brag it up.
- No, go ahead, Nod.
Go ahead, Nod.
- Brag it up!
- Go ahead, Nod!
- "Okay well, yeah.
"But New York has a unique
relationship to the dreaming.
"So, a lot of times I try to
send help to my other siblings
"like Nuria in the Bay of
Slumber or others that are around
"when they're in trouble.
"We also have older siblings
that are way bigger than us.
"And they don't really depend on dreamers.
"They're big,
"and they don't come near the
waking world most of the time
"which is really a good thing.
"One of our older ones
is out there right now.
"And basically,
"I went out to help Nuria in person.
"And I left the sixth
borough for a little while
"and I went out there
"because the Bay of Slumber
was kind of falling apart.
"It was sort of in a bad way out there
"but also because there
was someone out there
"that really, really hates me
"that I feel like I owed something to."
- Was his name Tony?
- And it was because of Heather?
- Nod looks up and weeps
and weeps and weeps.
Jet black tears streaming down their face.
- I put Nod in the baby
bjorn that I brought.
- You get a baby bjorn for Nod.
Nod goes like, "Heather was-"
- The Nodle, the Nod swaddle.
- Yeah, I noddle swad.
- Nod goes,
"Heather was so beautiful
and strong and wild.
"And I knew that she,
"I knew that it was,
"I just thought with a little more time,
"I thought if we could get over,
"get over that first rocky period
"where she was gonna be learning
"that she would have been a
really wonderful Vox Phantasma.
"I guess I wasn't fast enough
to give all those lessons.
"And I feel so awful.
"She wasn't even here long
enough for any of her memories
"to make it into the museum."
- Maybe we saw some of her
memories in the museum actually.
- "Really, how?"
- We explained the chest and its power
and how Umbra's pushed away.
- Nod looks at it and goes,
"That's what started it."
Nod looks up and says,
"So what happened was I
went to the Bay of Slumber
"to help Nuria,
"which means that I had to
travel through the deep dreaming.
"That's always dangerous to do
"because some of our older siblings
"and brothers and sisters,
they can find us that way.
"But I was being really careful.
"But when I got out there,
"I saw that the Bay of Slumber
has been in a lot of trouble.
"There had been these
monks from the Ironheart
"that had really been destroying
a lot of the connections
"to this place.
"And there was something else
that was like working there
"to help that happen.
"There were like."
And you see that Nod creates
this vision of this like-
- Gladiator headquarters?
- Gladiator headquarters
in Silicon Valley.
And a tremendous population of,
you see that the unicorn
who's with you goes,
"Oh my goodness.
"There are so many people that
everyone's just ignoring."
You see like a bad homelessness crisis.
And you see that feeling
of like pain and isolation,
a problem of people just
ignoring their neighbors
and suffering.
And I think Kingston, you see that too,
of like people looking,
and you see incredibly
like rising rent costs.
And you see Tony and his monks
in the midst of all this
f*cking Gladiator encroachment
like fighting the dream realm
and like turning their
attention to this other thing.
- But at that point, he's
fighting a dream world
because of his personal vendetta.
Not because he's actively
working with Gladiator yet?
- Yeah, looks like it.
As the unicorn mentions,
like, look at all those
people being ignored.
Pete, you put it together in your head.
This entity out here that
Nod was able to keep away
for so long, one of the older siblings,
was during a time that Kugrash was alive.
And while Kugrash was alive,
these people were specifically not being,
the force that is menacing
this place is a force
of isolation, erasure,
and people feeling unseen,
invisible, forgotten.
And you realize that this thing has like,
whatever was keeping it
from seeing the sixth borough out there,
as these three spirits
that Kugrash was tending to
and his particular, like,
ministry to these people,
his particular like
helping of these people,
was helping to defend the city
from this extraplanar threat.
- Because people were
feeling seen kind of en masse
and yeah.
- Yeah, there is a,
and Kingston, I think you see
that as Pete remarks on it
and see that part that Alejandro said
about the relationship of
the waking world to dreaming.
That the more these people are forgotten,
the more that these entities of isolation
and separation enter in.
You see a fight at Tony's
monastery in San Francisco
where there are shadows
everywhere like Tony said.
You see the shadows are
Nod and Nuria trying
to save the monastery
even though it's devoted
to destroying them.
And Nod says, "We knew it was
dangerous to try and help,
"but even a monastery like
Tony's is still magic.
"And even if they're trying to...
"Even if Tony hates me it was
still in a way his dream."
And you see the thing that
cracks Tony's monastery in half
and kills the last monks that are there
and Tony crawling out of the rubble.
You see that as something unseen eroding
the very foundations of the monastery,
and you just see pure
pockets of emptiness.
The shadows don't do anything
to destroy the building.
The shadows are trying to stop it,
and pure emptiness and vacuum appears
at the heart of the
monastery, cracks it open,
and it is destroyed.
As that happens, Nod flings back,
watches every light in
the Bay of Slumber go out
and escapes rushing back
to the sixth borough.
And you feel whatever it was
that devoured the Bay of Slumber
starting at the center of Tony's monastery
notice Nod fleeing through deep dreaming
and begin to move after them.
- And when this like nothingness
cracked the monastery
did it look like things
were losing their color?
- It did, yup.
- Okay.
- And is this nothingness
a sibling of Nod?
They've referred to
like the older siblings.
Is this a sibling that would
go after their own sibling?
- Nod looks up.
He goes,
"I don't want to say a name.
"They don't like it when
you give them names.
"The older ones."
Pete, give me an arcana check.
- Nat one.
- Can I give a help action?
- Tides of chaos!
Tides of chaos!
- Yeah, you can.
I think you can give a
help action here, Sofia.
We can roll with advantage.
- Oh great.
There we go.
22.
- Hell yeah.
Pete, you look at Nod.
They say,
"I'm afraid I know which one found me.
"It's the oldest one.
"It's so big
"because it used to be everything.
"It existed before time,
"and time is an insult to it
"because it doesn't want anything."
- Is it just a void?
- On that arcana, Pete,
Nod says that they don't want
to give a name to this thing.
And you immediately are like,
I need to go find a name for this thing.
Because a name for this thing is
what's gonna help us be able to fight it.
- Totally.
- What if there was a way to turn back?
To reach into the past and
change some of these moments?
- Nod looks at you and says,
"Well, the city hasn't had a connection
"to its past in a long, long time.
"The last keeper of the past
hasn't been around since 1994."
- What happened in 1994?
- Oh.
- What happened in 1994?
- The dragon of Bleecker Street died.
- The unicorn looks up and says,
"Are y'all talking about the
dragon of Bleecker Street?"
- Yeah.
- "That's the spirit that called
forth me and the other two.
"He said he was gonna be gone.
"But while the dragon is alive,
everything is remembered.
"That's the dragon's purpose in the city,
"to be the city's living memory,
"to cherish all the stories of everyone
"and everything that's come before.
"And the dragon had to set things up.
"The dragon created the three of us
"and said tend to those
that are overlooked,
"tend to those that are forgotten,
"tend to the people that have
no one else to tend to them.
"And then said there was one more person.
"They needed a mortal.
"They needed a human being
to look after the city
"and its people."
- Did they ever find that person?
- That's me.
That's me.
It's me.
- I wonder if they ever found someone.
- Pete, it's me.
It's me.
- Oh, got it.
- It could be Cody.
Cody, when were you born?
- Okay.
(Emily laughs)
- Were you born in 1994?
- Honestly, Cody, when were you born?
- I think you were born in 1994.
(Emily and Ally laugh)
- It's all adding up.
- It's 2021 right now.
You were born in 1994.
(everyone laughs)
- I like pull the eternal
token from like, you know,
underneath my sweater.
And I'm like, Cody, I'm sorry,
but unless you have this it's not you.
- Are you giving it to Cody?
(everyone laughs)
- No, I'm not making that mistake.
- Be careful.
It might choose Cody.
- Exactly.
- Ricky just kind of looks away.
- I'm like, it's pretty tense.
My grip on it is real tight.
It's not getting away.
I don't want any questing
blade kind of choosing action.
Yeah, I tuck it back away.
- But if we found another
keeper of the past-
- I mean, I do,
I don't know about stories.
I don't know about keepers of the past,
but there's a potential way that I have,
that I could maybe turn
back one element of time.
But it is dangerous and it is risky,
and it is a risk for all of us
that we would, I don't know.
And I pull out of my coat
a different tarot deck
than the one that Sofia knows.
- Yes.
- And I just sort of shuffle it a bit.
- Hell yeah.
You feel a tremendous power
around this tarot deck.
Nod looks at it and says,
"Yeah, that makes sense.
"My oldest sibling is out there
"and is strengthened every time anything
"anywhere is isolated
or alone or forgotten.
"Be it people like the people
"that Kugrash was looking
after and the three spirits
"or whether it's the memories
and stories of a place
"like the dragon of Bleecker
Street was looking after.
"But we don't have Kugrash
and we don't have a dragon."
Iga, you're holding the deck there.
The chest is glimmering with light,
and Nod looks like wide
eyed with understanding of,
you know, all of the threat
that is now posed there.
And Pete, you're holding
on to that thing of like,
you look out into the dreaming
and feel like you could find a,
if you went looking,
you could find a name.
- I have a second question
for Nod really quickly.
Do you, I, okay.
So I have kind of a crazy idea,
but I've been, I have this,
you know, magical teapot
with like this, like,
it just seems like I
have this like herbal tea
that very much seems like the antithesis
to Cypher energy drink.
Is there some way for me to
do some sort of thing in Nod,
like adding this to like
the water supply of New York
or somehow start to like combat
and get people dreaming again to help?
- I think so.
I think that could be a good
downtime activity for Pete.
That would be a thing
that would have to be done
probably over a process of,
you'd have to figure out
some powerful magic to do
to make that work.
- Okay, okay.
I'll just stick that in
my pipe and smoke it.
I won't.
Not anymore.
(everyone laughs)
- Ricky's probably gonna
talk to the unicorn and ask,
does it make sense?
Should I track down the other two spirits?
- You see that yeah, the unicorn says,
"We were a lot more powerful
when Kugrash was here.
"I think if all three of us were together
"we might even be able to,
"I don't know, reach
out to him in some way."
- To Kugrash?
- "He's so, he's everywhere now
"but he's still out there in a way.
"Yeah, I think all three
of us might be able to."
- Whoa.
Okay.
- Awesome.
What do the rest of you do in this moment?
- I'd love to talk to Nod
privately if that's possible?
And go on a little baby bjorn walk.
- Cool.
Do you take everyone else
back down to the ground?
- Yeah, well what does
anyone else want to do?
I just want to do that eventually.
- Yeah, I guess I just track
down these other spirits.
Feels correct to me.
- And you would know
that those spirits are
back in the waking world.
- Yeah.
I mean, does the tarot deck,
like, does that feel like
something that we would use now
or after we figured that other stuff out
or in conjunction with that?
- What does the deck do?
- So, each of these cards in
the major arcana is a gift
or a curse, and we don't know which.
There are a couple of cards in here
I think we could help us.
But you draw without knowing.
- Does this sometimes go
by... the deck of many things?
- It is similar to a deck of many things,
but some say it was re-skinned.
(everyone laughs)
- Oh.
- Sounds super rad.
- Oh, interesting.
I guess I've heard that word before.
- Cody's hands are trembling.
(Siobhan laughs)
- Iga, you have the cards in your hand.
- Cody, are you okay?
- Would you like to take a reading?
- I have to do it.
I'm sorry.
I'm gonna do it.
I have to do it.
I have to.
- Someone has to do it,
and I do not feel
emotionally there to do it.
So yeah, I'm gonna shove Cody forward.
(everyone laughs)
- Yeah.
I give Cody the help action
to hold the sword in one hand,
so that he can pull with the other.
(Murph groans)
- How many cards would
you like to draw, Cody?
- Oh, don't make me do this.
Oh my God.
Oh, we'll just do...
(Murph groans)
I'm gonna - should I roll a d4?
(everyone laughs)
- Yes.
- I think you should, Cody.
- Okay.
I would like three cards please.
- Oh no!
Oh!
- The first card I want you
to think very strongly, Cody,
about what it is you're wanting.
- Oh, no.
- The first card is The Lovers.
- You may cast the warding bond spell
on a target of your choice
without expending a spell slot once
during the course of the following year.
It's pretty good.
- Okay.
- Okay, cool.
- It's pretty good.
Not particularly useful for
what we're doing right now,
but pretty useful.
- I'm sweating.
- I'm sweating b*ll*ts right now.
- Oh my God.
There's just like, no,
like as Murph I want to draw one card,
but as, like, you throw
a magic deck at Cody
unless someone tackles him
and says only get one
card he has to take a few.
(Murph sighs)
- Nobody tackles Cody.
Cody keeps going.
- I'm very annoyed that
they have pulled this card.
This card is The Sun.
You gain 50.000 hit
point experience points
and the wondrous item appears
randomly in your hands.
- Oh my god.
- What?
(everyone laughs)
- Could've been Kingston.
- Cody gains 50.000 XP
and a wondrous item,
which the DM determines,
randomly appears in your hands.
- Does it add to the sword?
- Yeah, a third blade erupts
out of the middle of the sword.
(everyone laughs)
- It's essentially, like, what
do you use in the kitchen?
- Like a mandoline?
- It just looks like a giant,
it's just a giant sword fork.
(everyone laughs)
- Would 50.000 XP have taken
Kingston up to level 17?
- I think it's like 80.000.
- Okay.
- Yeah, I don't even know
if it'll get me a level.
- Okay,
- 100.000 til we're 12.
- Card number three, Cody.
- [Ally] Oh my f*cking god.
(Murph laughs)
- This is the second time I've drawn this
in this campaign is The Tower.
- That's gonna be a bad one.
- And it's not a good one.
- I'll read this one, Siobhan.
All forms of wealth that you carry or own
other than magic items are lost to you.
Portable property vanishes.
Businesses, buildings, and
land you own are lost in a way
that alters reality the least.
Any documentation that proves
you should own something lost
to this card also disappears.
Now it says other than magic items.
So, the truth is Cody's life
was structured in such a way
that this is not too big of a hit.
- You lost the $235 that was
in your checking account.
Cody, I'm sorry.
- Oh my god and my duster
and all of my cool stuff.
- I will say Cody is-
- It is personally devastating to Cody
because all of his like sword,
all of his cosplay stuff
and everything, all of his video games!
Just all of his stuff is gone.
I mean, he's just left
with his big stupid sword.
Oh!
- Cody, I think this
is maybe good for you.
I think it's gonna hurt for a little bit,
but maybe it's time for
a rebranding of Cody.
- Yeah, I mean the idea of The Tower
'cause you know I've pulled it
before so I've looked it up.
The idea of the tower is actually a time
to re-examine the beliefs that
you built your life around.
So, it might actually
be really nice for you.
- Your foundation isn't sturdy.
And so it gives out underneath you.
- Maybe it is a poetic
moment for you, Cody.
- Is Cody just nude?
(everyone laughs)
- Butt naked.
- It's okay 'cause his sword is so big,
it's covering everything.
- Is Cody actually naked?
- Cody is fully naked.
- Naked with a three pronged sword.
- I minor allusion him just
like a pair jeans and a T-shirt.
- I give him like an actual coat.
- Thank you.
Thank you, Kingston.
- So Cody, you are completely
without any belongings.
Luckily you're renting an apartment,
so you still have a place to live,
but you don't have a bed there anymore.
All your stuff is gone.
(everyone laughs)
Moped is magically summoned,
so you have a moped still.
But you're naked.
And you look at the three
prongs of thirsting blade
Dark Excalibur Mega Genesis,
which is your (laughs)
- Mega Genesis!
- But you can cast warding bond
and you do have a lot of XP.
So, that's good.
(everyone laughs)
- Cody deserves all of this,
and I'm so glad he didn't
get another good card.
(everyone laughs)
- Iga, all that stuff gets
sucked into the chest.
Like, Cody's belongings all
disappear into the chest.
And Kingston, give me a perception check.
- That is a 19.
- You observe the chest.
All the glittering stuff
that went in there,
Cody's money, a bunch of
posters, video game cartridges,
belongings, all got sucked in there.
And the magic happens in a way.
The last time you saw things
carried away on the wind
just like that, you were standing
on the uptown bound 4/5
platform, Brooklyn Bridge.
- Okay.
Can I, so is that perception check,
does this magic that's
coming from within Iga's box
resemble the magic of the
dragon of Bleecker Street?
- 100%.
- Okay.
I think as like a naked Cody is, like,
is, you know, is being tended to,
I think I like make contact with Iga
or make eye contact
with Iga, and I'm like,
can we step away for a second?
- Yeah.
- Now I understand, you know,
this box has come into greater play
with regard to everything going on
than you had ever wanted it to be.
But do you truly know what's in the box?
Like, in the box?
- No, I...
For all of the generations of my family,
we've always said it's too dangerous.
We don't question it.
And I think I'm the first one,
I mean, I know I'm the first one of them
to be questioning it at all.
But no, I don't know what it is.
- Back in '94, when I, you know, first met
and came into what I am now,
you know, I met the
dragon of Bleecker Street
and I dunno something about
that moment, your box...
I think he's inside of there.
- That is kind of the time
that I did come to the city.
But you said he died?
- I mean, hey, you know,
I'm just a guy.
I don't know.
I just went and hung out with my dead,
I just ate a bunch of
Cinnabons with my dead friend.
So, I mean, death is just a
word I use to describe a state.
I mean, I don't know if he's not,
maybe dead's the wrong word.
Gone is maybe a better word.
But where he went-
- Maybe then it is time.
It's time for us.
I can't go in there
until I've had a sleep.
I'm old, I need my rest.
- Great.
Well then let's get you a
sleep, and then I don't know.
Let's take a trip.
- Let's take a trip.
And I would like,
we should maybe take my daughter as well.
It's important for her to see.
And she's very curious about it.
- Cool.
Let's do it.
- Awesome.
Kingston and Iga, you
feel a profound sense of,
like, the significance of this decision.
For the rest of you,
you've come here and you've
ticked off all your boxes.
Pete wants to go have a
private walk with Nod.
For the rest of you,
this was probably the best
version of this mission
that you guys could have gone on here.
You got the information that you need.
So, for the rest of you,
is there anything left
or is it return to the waking world?
- I mean, I think the question is, like,
do Kingston or Iga tell us about this or?
- Oh, 100%.
I just didn't want to put
pressure on Iga, like,
in a group setting to,
like, do the box thing.
So yeah, I think when we come back,
I think I like kind of
communicate the, like,
that essence and that
moment of associating it
with the dragon and then a
possible plan to go and find him.
- Yeah.
I mean, I'm down with that
because it seems like this,
and it also seems like,
it seems like Alejandro
implied that work we do
in the waking world can have an effect
on the dreaming world.
So, even going up and maybe, you know,
obviously doing wonderful
things like helping hands,
but also f*cking up
Gladiator a little bit.
- I think that sounds about right.
- Can I do an arcana check
to see if there's something
in Iga's deck that would
bring someone back to life?
- Go for it.
- So, 21.
(Lou laughs)
- I think on a 21, you
don't think there's anything
within Iga's deck that
could bring someone back
from the dead.
- Okay, cool.
- Cool.
So you guys, are you guys
going to wait for Pete
or head back yourselves
while Pete's finishing up
business in the dreaming?
- I think we'll wait for Pete.
We'll give Pete his space,
but I think it would be better
to all, you know, in
case anything went wrong.
- Cool.
Pete, you're going on a
little swaddling walk.
You've got Nod in the Noddy swaddy.
- The Noddle.
- Excuse me.
The Noddy swaddy?
- The Noddy swaddy.
- I've got Nod in a sex swing.
(Emily laughs)
- Pete, you're walking along with Nod.
Nod is leaning their
head into your shoulder.
"Thanks so much, Pete.
"You're the best."
- Of course.
Yeah.
I wanted to ask you
about the possibilities
of bringing someone back to life.
- "People come back to life
all the time in dreams.
"Are you asking about
dreams or the waking world?"
- The waking world.
- "Oh.
"That's pretty hard I think.
"I could ask about it.
"I could try to find out.
"I mean, if you're talking
about bringing someone
"back to the waking world,
"I feel like Kingston's
probably the best person
"to ask about what
magic's possible there."
- True.
Yeah.
Okay.
- Give me an investigation
and an arcana check.
- Investigation.
Arcana is 28.
Investigation is 17.
- Holy sh*t.
Your arcana was 28?
- Yeah, it was a 19.
- You find yourself way
downtown in Manhattan
near where, like, the court house is
and a lot of the sort of
civic marble buildings
swirling around.
Snow kicking up.
You feel a whisper.
Something nearby.
With that 28 arcana,
the thing out there past the
stars in the deeper dreaming
hates names.
This thing is trying to
erase everything, right?
You think finding a name
for it will give you,
it's very dangerous proposition.
Pete feels an opportunity nearby
to maybe find a name
of what this thing is.
But you also know that
doing so will be a risk.
It will be a provocation.
So, Pete feels a potential for access
to an incredible resource
but with a chance of danger.
- Okay.
Can I take the baby bjorn off
and ask Nod to just go back to their bed?
Like, get some rest.
- Nod smiles and says,
"Okay, hey, I'm feeling better now.
"Kingston really healed me.
"So, I'm pretty tough.
"You don't have to worry about me."
(Ally laughs)
- That's great.
Now get out of here.
(everyone laughs)
- Nod does their little -
bwwzzt - glides off in the mist.
You look up and see a
bunch of Latin written
on one of the civic buildings.
The words you see inscribed there are
"nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet aevo"
- "Nobody dies if you remember them?"
- Holy sh*t, Siobhan.
(Brennan laughs)
- Siobhan, what's up, dude?
What's up?
You're a f*cking archaelogist.
- How often do I get to use the fact
that I took five years of Latin?
"nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet aevo"
- No day shall erase you
from the memory of time.
- What was the thing that
the guy said on the train?
- Yeah, I was thinking about that.
- Oh, I have it written down.
What if anything stays?
No.
- Yes.
Like, what if anything remains.
- No day shall erase you
from the memory of time.
Yeah.
- Pete, go ahead and
give me a history check.
- Okay.
Okay.
That is an 18.
- Cool.
You actually using memory of
some of the Voxes before you
that spoke Latin, know what this means.
No day shall erase you
from the memory of time.
I'm going to need a charisma saving throw.
- Is Pete near us or no?
- Pete's gone on a little bit of a walk.
- Okay, that is a 24.
- Pete, you begin to see the words fade
and the stone goes smooth.
Going from the back towards the front.
So, "aevo" disappears,
"eximet," "vos," "memori."
Moving along.
You watched these words being erased.
What is Pete thinking about
watching this act of erasure
as this sentence just starts to go away?
- Can I cast true sight?
- You cast true sight.
Right as it's almost done
erasing the last word.
It has erased the fifth
letter of the first word.
Only the first four letters remain.
- Null, nothing.
(Brennan yells)
- The stone erupts.
Pure void.
Cities gone.
You see buildings flying up into the sky.
Nod turns around, a tentacle
of pure invisibility
around their throat rips them
into the deeper dreaming.
You on a 24 succeed.
Off in the distance the rest
of you watch the neighborhood
that Pete was walking into
begin to disappear into the sky.
- f*ck.
- I guess we run to try to find Pete.
Pete, is this normal?
Is this normal?
- Pete, what are you,
you watch Nod's face look
at you, tears streaming,
disappear into the darkness
just like you saw in your vision.
Give me an arcana check.
- Ah, Jesus f*cking Christ.
Okay, that is a 16
- On a 16, you don't see a thing to fight.
You do not see-
- Okay, can tides of chaos?
Since actually, since I
haven't used that yet?
- Sure go ahead and reroll.
- Gotta get out of here.
- Ah no!
Even less.
Okay, 16.
- Pete, you are looking around.
There is no enemy here, but
that word rings in your head.
"Null."
And you feel the provocation.
Your true sight stopped
the erasing of this thing.
You have a name.
- Yeah.
- But you do not see what to fight.
This thing, this is like,
you're like the most proficient
scuba diver in the world,
but you're in the water
with a f*cking Megalodon
prehistoric shark, right?
- I run to my friends.
- You guys all are running.
You see Pete running away.
As he's running,
street and building is sailing
up behind him into a tear.
As emptiness begins to rip open
like a giant monster ripping open
like using its claws
to peel open the walls
of a building it's entering.
You see it before you,
Pete, as you're running.
The rest of your friends go here.
Right before you,
all of you see a little
flash of something.
There is a moment of like blue light,
pink light, a skull, a fragment of spine,
blood, musculature.
Suddenly two broad swords.
Stephen Sondheim appears in front of you.
You see, he looks at you, Pete,
and says, "Not much time left my friend."
Cuts a hole in reality to
the waking world and says,
"Follow me!"
And leaps through the hole
into the waking world,
waving to the rest of you.
- Stephen Sondheim?
I'm a big fan.
(everyone laughs)
- I love "Into the Woods."
- All of you leap through the
portal after Stephen Sondheim.
You flash into the waking world,
and that's all for this episode
of "The Unsleeping City"
- Jeez.
- Sondheim's back, baby!
- Sondheim's back!
- I knew he'd be back.
(everyone laughs)
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08x10 - Nulla Dies Umquam Memori Vos Eximet Aevo
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A tabletop role-playing game show produced by and broadcast on Dropout and created and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master.
A tabletop role-playing game show produced by and broadcast on Dropout and created and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master.