(dramatic music)
(dramatic music continues)
(dramatic music)
- Hello, everyone, and
welcome to episode four
of "The Ravening w*r"
here on Dimension 20.
I'll be your humble dungeon
master, Matthew Mercer.
Let's go ahead and say hello
to our Scrumptious Scoundrels.
Say hi, Scrumptious Scoundrels!
- [Players] Hi, Scrumptious Scoundrels!
- These wonderful players on the table.
We'll begin on this side
with Anjali Bhimani!
Zac Oyama!
Aabria Iyengar.
Brennan Lee Mulligan.
And Lou Wilson!
- Thank you so much for
joining us- (laughing)
- Better every time.
Well, let's go ahead and jump in.
As a lot has happened as of late.
- Oh! You don't say.
- [Aabria] Whose fault is that?
- A totally normal day.
Just your average Tuesday.
- [Matt] Yeah, some tangled
webs woven, crumbled, burned,
and shat on, let's be honest.
- And attacked while
prone, multiple times.
(laughing)
Though they were projecting images
into your head of kindness and sweetness.
Yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh.
- [Matt] I'm sure it's fine.
- I'm sure it's fine.
- [Anjali] It's fine, it's
fine. Everything's fine.
- You'll be fine.
- But to that point.
Five years of violence shall pass
as bloodshed has now engulfed
the entirety of Calorum.
As the six kingdoms clash
in all out open conflict
with the death of Queen Pamelia Rocks,
Candia formally declares w*r and joins
the Dairy Islands against
the forces of Ceresia,
the Meat Lands and Fructera.
Archmage Lazuli of Candia
has a vision within this time
of a man capable of ending this w*r.
Gustavo Uvano.
Around this same period,
Count Tomaté's attempts
to straddle his positions and
spread his influence too thin
to straddle his positions and
spread his influence too thin
causes the leadership of
Fructera to begin to crumble.
Lady Amangeaux.
- Mm.
- Since you've returned
from that fateful night
and as the gears of
history ever push forward,
please, what have you been up to?
- Well, let's go back
to that fateful night
because as soon as we returned to Comida,
her world view, my world view
has been completely shaken.
And all I want to do is get
my child and run from Comida.
And all I want to do is get
my child and run from Comida.
So, I am going to head back to
the safe house where I have my things.
- Mm-hm.
- Having sent word to Chutney
to go and find the child.
- Having sent word to Chutney
to go and find the child.
I just tell her that he exists.
I'm desperate, I'm afraid.
And I run to the safe
house where I find...
Karna.
- Yeah.
What are you doing?
- I'm leaving.
- No.
What do you mean?
- I mean, I'm leaving.
The world has changed.
The world has changed, Karna.
There's no way.
- How?
- How!
Do you not know what we
have done, what it means?
For all of Calorum.
This is no longer simple
skirmishes at a border.
This is all out w*r on the continent.
- It was always w*r.
- Not like this.
- So you're just going to leave?
Tomaté, we...
We had a deal.
And I want to interpose myself between her
and the door to her safe house.
- [Matt] All right, as Karna slips in
and blocks your continuation to the door.
- Look... We had a deal.
You asked me at Greenhold to get you out.
To get you to him.
I fulfilled my end of the bargain.
And everything I've
built, everything I have
is resting on you walking into that room.
- Karna, listen to me.
- And being his queen.
- Listen to me.
If, indeed, the houses were the same,
the alliances were the same,
as they were at that moment
we would be having a different discussion.
But now there is no way that Candia
is not entering this
w*r after what happened.
There is no way they are
not launching an as*ault
and they will have blamed someone.
Who else do you think they're
going to blame but Fructera?
- A lot of things could have happened.
I swore to protect you and I will.
I will spread as many rumors as we need.
I need you to turn around and walk a-
Go back.
I don't wanna threaten you.
- Go back to what?
Marriage to a...
- It's what you wanted!
You wanted to stay queen.
And I put my life on the
line to give you that shot.
- Then come with me.
- No!
- Come with me!
- No!
I'm not going to spend
my life chasing you.
Hoping that you make enough right choices
to keep me safe, happy.
What is this?
This is a transaction and
you're welching on your end.
So if I have to press, I will.
And I'm going to put my hand on the door.
I'll tell him about your child
if you don't turn around and go back.
- That's funny because I was just going
to tell you about my child.
- I don't have to wait for you to pour out
in little sips the information
you think I should have.
- Well, now that you know.
Do you not understand why I have to leave?
This ruler, this Tomaté is
not going to be on the...
He's weak.
If he has more enemies now,
do you really think that Fructera
is going to rally around him?
- It could, you don't know
what's going to happen.
- No, I don't, and neither do you.
But what I do know is that I have a child
and I need to protect him.
And him being here is
not keeping him safe.
Please, Karna.
Karna, please.
Come with me.
(tapping)
Come with me and-
(hands hit table)
- Why? Where are you going?
Where now?
Whose feet will you throw yourself at?
- My family has a home.
- Of course.
- My family has a home in Uvano.
- And someone will come
after your family there too.
It's been an entire w*r and
the fact that you are suddenly
so terrified because--
- I'm terrified because
of what we've done.
Do you think?
- It was fine when we were
going to k*ll not a noble?
- It was fine!
- That bloodshed was okay?
But because you were born special,
because Pamelia is different.
- No, it's not that.
It's the fact that we all
thought we were special
and we're so not.
There's nothing right about the royalty.
There's nothing that
matters about the royalty.
- I'm glad you finally f*cking caught up!
- I take your hand and I kneel before you.
Karna.
I am begging you with
every fiber of my being.
Please, let me go to my child.
I will never bother you again
if you don't want me to.
I will support you with everything
I have if you want me to.
Please.
This child has no family but me.
And I would hope that perhaps someday
he might be able to look up to you.
Please, let me go, please.
I want to make all of this right.
And I can't do it by marrying that man.
I thought I could and I
was wrong, I was foolish.
I've been foolish this entire time.
- Stop.
I'm going to lose everything.
- You're not going to lose me.
- I'm just gonna like slowly
disentangle my hand from yours
and move away from the door.
Good luck.
And I just turn and walk away.
(mouths 'f*ck')
- And I walk to the door.
I close the door behind
me and I run as stealthily
I close the door behind
me and I run as stealthily
as I can to where my
child is, to the home,
to the Pomegrano house.
- Mm-hm.
It's currently still swaddled, sleeping.
The tiniest little wine grape.
- I take him with me.
I swaddle him in what looks like
a little Baby Bjorn on the back.
And cover as much, we
get as stealthy as I can.
Have as many things on me as I can.
And head to Uvano.
- Okay.
- There is a family home there,
there's no family there?
- Right.
- There is a home.
- Very well.
- The family is here.
- And do you notify them
of you taking this abode?
Or do you lay low even
within your family circle?
- I lay low even within my family circle
because I don't want
to put them in danger.
- A self-appointed hermit
with in a du Peche household
- A self-appointed hermit
with in a du Peche household
in the distant town of Uvano
on the northwestern side of Fructera
is where you move.
- I also use this time as I'm trying
to piece together what has happened.
There are two things that matter.
Three things that matter.
One, that my son is safe.
Two, that I am never fooled again.
And three, that I make
things right somehow.
Somehow, I make things right.
And so I spend as much time as I can,
since I'm buried away here, studying,
reading the tomes in the house.
Anything I can find,
history, anything I can find.
Learning, scheming, whatever I can find
to be just smarter for once,
than I've been my entire life.
- Okay.
So you begin to study the world,
the cultures of Calorum?
- I study the strategies of history.
- Okay.
- I study deception and
intrigue and strategy
of rulers in history.
All of the things I thought were evil,
now I want to know.
Because I want to know my enemy.
- [Matt] Very well.
- Whoever they are.
- If you could make
an investigation check
for me with advantage.
Because you are in a town
center with enough connections
with those you might be able to reach to,
to acquire just what you need to do this.
- Seven plus, what was it, investigation?
- Yes.
- 14.
- 14, that's not bad.
Okay, as the rest of the time goes,
and you carefully, nervously tear apart
a number of erasers.
(laughing)
Your attention deep within
the books themselves
cause the excitement
and anxiety to contrast
within your spirit.
You continue to prepare yourself for
the shadow that still
grows across the continent.
Karna, after that night,
abandoning this relationship,
what do you do in the times to come?
- I'm ruined.
I can't go back to Tomaté.
And I gave up my secret
identity as Ja'Cru.
And I gave up my secret
identity as Ja'Cru.
So, I have to go somewhere
else and start over again.
I think I'm gonna make my way to Ceresia
and see what I can do there.
- [Matt] Okay.
- [Aabria] I need a fresh start.
- [Lou] A fresh start in Pangranos.
(chuckling)
- Very well.
- I do want to keep up correspondence.
Especially with the Thane and Bishop.
I feel very alone.
And I hope they're doing better than I am.
- It's hard here in Pangranos.
Especially with the rise of the Imperator.
Focaccia is a narcissistic warlord
and has rallied, through the
handful of years of conflict,
a ferocity, nearly
fanatical belief behind him
a ferocity, nearly
fanatical belief behind him
of the senators that fear him.
And the general populous of Ceresia seems
to really buy into that nationalistic push
that he's continued to sell.
As he pushes the senate lower and lower
into a level of obscurity that places him
as a near god-king to some.
It's a hard place to climb that high,
but a good time to get
in on the ground floor
in the dirty, dirty streets.
And even amongst a crushed populace,
especially amongst the
murmuring shadow of conflict.
As much as you share that
anxiety with the thousands
and thousands of others.
The impoverished droves
cast out to the streets,
you're still alone.
For even they still look
down on a pepper such as you.
- Uh, on top of that I don't.
We left things off with the FDA
and the Sanctus Putris weird,
but there's something in their beliefs
that has resonated with Karna.
I think she's a true believer.
I think she believes.
Like, she needs to believe that if there
is some way to keep the Hungry One at bay,
there's a weird hope in that.
So, I think she wants to keep pursuing it.
And if she can find a
way to reach out to them
and make them know that she's
still bought in and invested,
she would spend five years doing that.
- I'd like you to make two rolls for me.
A perception check and
an investigation check.
- All right.
(humming)
- Ah!
(laughing)
- 19 for perception.
- Yes!
- Okay.
- And 19, oh no, a dirty
20 for investigation.
- Yes!
- That's great.
Okay, okay.
So the perception is
actually the attention
you are paying to that last meeting
with the Sanctus Putris.
Then at the time the FDA
revealing themselves.
Where you too picked up on an odd scent.
A scent that you caught
a glimmer in his eye
of recognition and worry.
While you're in Ceresia
trying to build your network,
that same smell catches
your attention again.
You're keen on these details.
You've spent your entire life scrounging
for any sort of position or platform.
And so the details
around you are important.
And this is a very particular scent.
And it leads to a
procession before Focaccia,
the Imperator himself, is speaking.
And it's not him, but the woman that seems
to be taking to his side.
One of the senators herself who has fallen
in step with the Imperator's rise.
This is Senator Ariana Gemelli.
Your investigation check leads you to
be able to find where she
most often spends her time.
Taking care of by the
proximity to the Imperator
and him ensuring that
she is both safeguarded
and treated with luxury while
he handles the men stuff.
- Oof!
- You can seek her out if
you'd like to talk with her.
- Oh yes, please, immediately.
(chuckling)
- [Matt] I'd like you to
roll a stealth check for me.
- Yeah.
Come on.
There we go.
- [Lou] Big money.
- Oh it's uh, what's? Uh, 27.
- Woo.
- Pressing along the disparate alleys,
the sound of soldiers
training into the late night,
the various armies
lifting up and heading out
in small sections to be sent
towards the border lands,
to be sent across them to where
the Imperator feels the next
necessary strike must be taken.
You come around to this
comfortable, pillow filled chamber.
The smell of fresh incense burning.
You can see there's large piles of various
sweet fruits that have been confiscated
during their encounters
with Fructera in the past.
And as she sits strewn
about this gentle bed
having her feet rubbed by what looks to be
a maiden to the side, you
see her pasta twist hair
is undone and just sprawled out across
the top of the bed as
she just kind of rubs
her fingers, some sort of lotion on to it.
And all of her--
(laughing)
- Matt, you gotta relax.
(laughing)
Some of us still have dreams
of getting slammed down big style.
(laughing)
- We've still got two
more episodes after this!
- [Aabria] Yeah!
- The clock is ticking.
(laughing)
- The number of armored bodyguards
that have kept the perimeter here
have not caught a
glimmer of your approach.
And you find yourself
rapidly looking through
this opening in the side
of her gentle chambers.
Unnoticed by anyone.
- I would be discreet.
I know the Bishop would
warn me not to use magic,
but f*ck it, we're desperate.
I'm gonna telepathically reach out
and just say, you seem to be
doing well for yourself here.
- She's in the process of
rubbing the lotion and stops.
She kind of looks around.
Do you make your presence known?
- Not yet.
- She looks down at her
maiden who's rubbing her feet.
I'm a sorry, I'm a need a moment
just alone with my thoughts, please.
The maiden.
Of course, madam.
Picks up her stuff, wraps a towel around
and nods and exits.
Kind of leaving a trail of crumbs from her
somewhat crusty dinner roll self
that has been shaped
within the outfit she wears
as she exits the chamber.
The door closes behind
and immediately the Senator sits up.
- I push through the window.
- Okay, she doesn't hear you arrive.
She's still kind of
glancing around the chamber.
And you see her hand going
underneath the pillows.
- Ah, no need.
I'm not here for a fight.
- She glances around and now notices you.
And as she does, she pulls her hand back,
c*ck her head curiously as a moment
of recognition hits.
And why are you here, dear? I have to ask.
- [Aabria] Some very big-
I'm not gonna make eye contact with-
That's a lot.
You're a lot.
(Brennan and Anjali laughing)
Okay, well, uh, ma'am.
A lot of promises were made down there
and I am not feeling the full weight
of the faith and
confidence of our friends.
Like I was promised.
And I figured you would be willing
and able to help me.
- There is this power and control
that she wields around her.
This confidence and charisma that is both
simultaneously alluring and frightening.
And in the moment where
you speak frankly to her,
referring to that
evening, you watch her try
and tangle through the phrase before
she finds the kernel of
what you're insinuating.
And that charisma drops.
She sits up.
- There you are.
- What is it you want then?
- Position.
A chance.
To make something of myself
in all of this chaos.
- Hm, you are new to here, are you not?
You don't dress like a Ceresian.
- No, I'm pretty new in town.
- Well, there's already many who work
in the same kind of dabblings that you do.
- How many of them are in
this room with you right now
under the Imperator's nose?
- Hm.
Maybe there is work for
you here in Ceresia.
- I'm very good.
- Hm, well.
Let's see what we can arrange.
How long do you wish
to build a rapport here
in Pangranos?
- I will stay as long as
there's room forward to grow.
If there's something at
her side, that's good.
I just wanna get as close to
the Sanctus Putris as I can.
I just wanna get as close to
the Sanctus Putris as I can.
- All right.
It's a slow climb, but nevertheless,
within the next year or so you begin
to reestablish a network.
She does notably offer you opportunities
and introduce you to individuals here
that are low level movers and shakers
within the local politics of
the surrounding landscape.
The Imperator is very much off limits.
And every opportunity, any time you ask,
she shuts it down immediately.
And you gather she is very much protective
of her own turf.
Both from a business
standpoint and personal.
But the more you ask
about the Sanctus Putris,
the more she begins to grow uncomfortable
with your prying, with your
curiosity and your questions.
Until one day she cuts
off your inquisition
and leans in close.
I am not the one that
can make this choice.
If you really want to give yourself over
to the Bulbian light
to cleanse these lands
you need to speak with the Archbishop.
- Oh.
Okay, how do I?
Okay.
- I can arrange it.
- Thank you.
I just take like a big sniff
of her while I'm close.
Oh.
- We have a gathering
not too far from now.
They'll reach out to you.
Now go, cute child.
There's work to be done.
- Oh.
And I go to change my pants.
(chuckling)
- You get it, dude.
- Yeah, I get it.
- Yeah, yeah.
I mean, if we learned anything.
- I've been trying to
get it for two years now.
- In the development of
your new relationship
here in Ceresia, and networking
with the tumultuous state of affairs here,
there is the routing of Fructeran forces
in what is to become known
as the Battle of Vinolia.
And during this battle, Count Tomaté
is slain by Vegetanian arms.
And House Uvano emerges
as the sovereign house
of all of Fructera.
And within a moment, as
you receive word in Uvano,
you breathe a sigh of relief
that you hadn't hitched yourself
to very much the wrong wagon.
- I gotta tell her she was right, sh*t.
- I had a question.
What becomes of the hat?
Is it still out there?
- Is he buried with it?
He's probably buried with it.
- I'm gonna find the hat, guys.
That's what I'm gonna do for
my five years. - [Aabria] Yeah!
- Don't worry about it, I got it.
- We'll come to your
narrative in a moment,
so hold on to that.
We'll come around to the hat.
It's important.
- Find the hat.
(laughing)
- With Tomaté's death,
Belvedere Cabbage himself
is finally crowned the King of Vegetania.
- That m*therf*cker.
- Ha!
- And then immediately turns around
and declares an alliance
with Imperator Focaccia.
(sighing)
- Hee.
- Aye!
- [Matt] And together...
- Aye, aye, aye.
- Vegetania and Ceresia stand to create
a terrifying w*r machine that threatens
all of the powers of Calorum.
During this time, Raphaniel,
what have you been up to?
- Oo!
Baby!
Questions coming from
our other two stories.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- When you vanish, do you
well and truly vanish?
- No.
- Okay.
- You know where I am.
- In that case, to get us
through this five year period.
So first of all, after the cave.
After the assassination, after the cave,
I think I'm a husk of a man.
I'm like, the moisture has
drained from my radish head.
I have that thing.
You know when vegetables
in a refrigerator start
to get like a little squishy.
- [Aabria] Oh yeah!
- They're like, why did you get
squishier the drier you got?
You know what I mean?
Like.
- It was load-bearing juice.
- Yes, load-bearing.
I've lost my load-bearing juice.
- That was my band name in high school.
(laughing and clapping)
- So that night, yeah.
But do you come to me?
Do you tell me? How does it happen?
- I think I leave but
I let you know I left.
I get word to you that I left,
but I don't tell you exactly where I am.
I tell you, I will let you know
as soon as I figure out where I'm going.
- I'll go to you immediately after.
- Hell yeah.
(chuckling)
What do you tell me?
- I do call you a lot of
very unflattering things.
- Won't be the first time.
It's just not at court now.
- She has a kid, she ran. I'm f*cked.
I hate this.
What's wrong with you?
Why do you look kind of squishy?
- She has a child, you said?
- Yes.
- Ah.
Fascinating.
She was quite removed during
her period of mourning.
She was quite removed during
her period of mourning.
Perhaps it's something that we missed.
Do you have any confirmation
on the age of the child?
- No.
I would say probably still
nursing or on the bottle.
There was a barf stain on her shoulder
the night I found out.
- Very well.
She has seen fit to
remove herself.
I can't say that I fault her.
She spent longer than many
could have survived under
the scorching light of the
scrutiny provided by court.
Much like a gambler
leaving a house of fortune,
I think that she's gotten
out at just the right time.
Good for her.
The child is not the heir to Greenhold.
- Fair.
I don't know what to do.
Are you gonna go with-
Did she leave without you?
- There is no clue within this letter
as to where she could have gone.
- Huh.
- I think she admires me enough to
keep on my good side and
not leave me in the dark.
And I think she admires me enough
to not let me know where she is.
- We all are beginning
to see who we really are.
Well, if I stay in the
city I'm probably dead,
so I'm gonna go.
- Where does it come from?
- What?
- Ah, you're starting to learn.
- I learned from the best.
What about you?
- How could I know?
Even the heart of this
world doesn't seem to know.
I will return to Greenhold.
There are questions that need answering.
I hope as many times as
I am fortunate to see you
in the future, that we
are on the same side
of whatever comes next.
- Can I roll an insight check?
- Yes, you may.
- I just wanna know if he meant that.
Every time.
10.
- Raphaniel would love
for you to know the truth,
but I can't get lower than a 20.
(chuckling)
- Karna is just gonna hug him.
- I would like to make a perception check
if I'm hugging you.
That is a 16.
Do I feel anything as I'm
embracing you in your body?
- Oh, 100%.
Because we're just after that.
You would feel literal holes in her body.
And like weak, soft places where
the rot has gone through.
- It is a cruel thing, I think,
to discover that our gifts
are capable of devouring us.
- Yeah.
You said a mouthful.
And I'm gonna kind of remove myself.
It's weird to be afraid to die.
When that's already happened.
- There are many parts of the theology
of the Bulbian Church, that it is possible
to accept with their contradictions.
But to echo your sentiment
about having already died,
But to echo your sentiment
about having already died,
I think the element of belief
that has always come easiest to me
is that this world cannot
be the one that matters.
- Yeah.
Good luck, Bishop.
- Good luck, Karna.
- And from there where do you go,
and what do you intend to do, Raphaniel?
- The Queen's escaped my grasp.
The news of a child is interesting.
Karna, with everything happening
with Tomaté and Cabbage
I think me and Karna have been blown apart
by the hurricane of fortune.
And I just know that we're not
useful to each other anymore.
It's just, there it all goes.
And I go and the first thing I try to do
is get audience with
the Archbishop Camille.
- Okay.
Given the current tumultuous rise to power
and the confirmation of the King Cabbage,
the bustle in the vicinity
is already at a fever pitch.
And then the immediate charge around
to join with Ceresia causes
a major wave of tension
to even ratchet higher
a nationalistic fervor
continues to grow and
burn within Vegetania.
Finally rallied behind a
singular king once more.
The throne itself
recognized and confirmed.
And the Archbishop has to have
been present for all of this.
So you are challenged through this time
to be able to acquire any face time.
But as the forces march
northward and westward,
there is an exhale
within the upper echelon
of Greenhold's keep.
And the Archbishop,
before she returns back
to Brightgarden does allow
you to enter her chambers.
When you see the small,
cauliflower clustered head,
the long, kind of saggy
waddle of her bodage
kind of dangling past her robe.
She's not wearing her full raiments.
Just the undergarment.
It's soft and as you step in,
as old as you may feel at times,
she looks frail.
And the closer you approach,
she looks fairly healthy for her age.
You get the sense, as you approach,
that she is allowing a more relaxed glance
at her personage without the presentation
that she often keeps.
And you've not had a casual,
as casual as it gets amongst
the Bulbian Church's hierarchy,
as this conversation now.
As she turns to you as you enter
and the doors close,
leaving you both alone.
Bishop Raphaniel, it is
an absolute pleasure.
I apologize for the delay
in our ability to commune,
but welcome and please,
within the Bulb's light, speak freely.
- Your grace, it is an
honor, as always, to see you.
Thank you for your audience.
I know how busy it has been,
the alliance between
Ceresia and Vegetania.
And King Cabbage uniting the realm.
And well, my closeness with
the former Queen Amangeaux,
And well, my closeness with
the former Queen Amangeaux,
has certainly seen me, (chuckles)
feel like something of
a stranger in this city
of long decades of service.
- How the winds change rapidly.
We must be cautious with which direction
we choose to go with it.
- Which why I've come, your grace,
to seek your guidance.
I take a seat.
I cannot maintain-
I cannot maintain this mask, your grace.
We were there, under
the pyramid, together.
The light of the blueberries
underneath the Great Pyramid of Food.
You had me go and...
Is it?
I spent years, years of searching
for any sign of the fellowship.
Only to discover that this was a ruse.
Sanctus Putris, all of this,
does it further the cause of the church
to see Queen Rocks k*lled?
I cannot imagine how.
To provoke Candia thus.
Help me see.
We have spoken for years of service
about the profligacy, of licentiousness.
Heresy!
A wicked, godless Calorum!
If there was a plan,
why didn't you entrust me as your servant?
Why did you not know that I would do it,
if you only asked.
Please!
Please, let me into the light.
- She reaches out her wrinkled fingers,
grasping the edge of your cheek.
The church exists amongst
the necessity of politics.
The church exists amongst
the necessity of politics.
And it is utilized like a tool
for the great will of the Bulb.
But we do not bow to the
politics of the land.
We are greater than the
ambitions of these godless,
heathenistic entities
that fill these lands.
We who have been given the truth,
the truth long hidden.
It is dangerous to expose our intent
to the light of others.
And so, without enough time to trust,
and knowing you and all of
your years, your patience.
It wasn't right yet to
show you this true intent.
It wasn't right yet to
show you this true intent.
And you've proven quite useful, Raphaniel.
And I am ever thankful.
However...
And you watch as her kindly expression
just drifts from her face.
The eyes kind of widen.
Unblinking, she meets your gaze.
There are things that
exists beyond the shadows
where the light cannot reach.
You are not ready.
You'll never be ready, Raphaniel.
And she stands taller than
you've ever seen her stand.
The crotchety hunch that
she carries, a facade.
As she stretches her shoulders back,
and looks down upon you.
A full five and a half feet tall
beyond the three feet she's carried
in all the time that you've known her.
We do what we must to present
the mask to the world.
To do the true work.
Perhaps in time, should
you live long enough,
I could show you.
But you're not ready.
- Every fiber of my being strains,
as the trained liar that I am, to say,
I accept your vision with grace
and hope that in time I am ready
to see the light and the shadow.
And in my heart of hearts, I commit myself
with every breath I have until my last,
to destroy this woman
and burn every aspect
of her and her companions
from the face of Calorum.
And I will spend all
of the rest of my life
warping the church to burn her
and her vision of it from this land.
- Okay.
- Bam, bam, bam.
- Okay, like a chill reaction.
Sure.
- As that heated flame
(imitates fire igniting)
burns in your chest,
staring into her eyes as she withdraws.
And that glare curls
back into that soft smile
and she reduces back to
her presentery persona.
(whooshing)
Tearing, blades, viscera,
blood, shadow, blood, tear.
Metallic drills, teeth,
teeth, tear black, blood.
Shadow of darkness.
Her face once more.
And she smiles.
You may leave, Bishop Raphaniel.
- Your grace.
That night I take my years of notes on
the Fellowship of Destiny's Architects.
What might after all this
time have just been a joke,
a ruse, a farce, a wild goose chase
to send me down the wrong path.
And it's full.
You know.
♪ Beata Maria ♪
Like, whoa.
Like, fire, just me losing it.
And just cackling in an
empty, abandoned cathedral
outside of Greenhold.
Burning my notes, burning everything.
I cast Heroism on myself
to hold my hand in the fire
and let it burn.
And just go.
Outside of this world is a
steel not made of any food.
Meat, fruit, vegetable.
In the great blender of the
void can all things be made one!
(fire burning and crackling)
- Oh!
- That's wild!
- That's amazing!
- And I pull scrolls on
the Ramsian Doctrine.
I pull scrolls on the eschatology
and study of apocalypse.
And the Sanctus Putris
has committed themselves
to introducing rot to the world
to keep the Hungry One at bay.
And I go deep into a monomania for years
And I go deep into a monomania for years
of needing to trigger the apocalypse.
And in a bizarre way,
Raphaniel becomes devout
for the first time in his life.
Having seen the heart of the world,
he is like it is real.
I have too long not dwelt on it.
This world is wicked
and the great conflict
between Bulb and Hungry One
must be brought to pass.
- Oh.
- And we must be devoured.
The smoothie of this world must be blended
and made ready to be
devoured in one fell gulp.
(Zac mimics sound of drinking smoothie)
(laughing)
- Brain freeze.
- And when I level up,
the next level of bard,
I think I think about
the Heart of the World
and think of the shame I felt when
I told the Heart of the
World about the teeth
I see in these visions.
And it didn't know what they were.
Like, there's something so wrong with me
that even the Heart of the
World doesn't know what it is.
And the spells that I get when I level up
are Nondetection and Speak with Dead.
And I think that I move magically unseen
and begin to find out
about the Sanctus Putris.
Not relying on living
networks of informants.
Just moving through crypts and
catacombs throughout Calorum.
And I think the last thing is,
I get the f*ck out of Greenhold.
- Okay.
I would like you to either choose
to make an investigation check,
or a history check based on
the spells at your disposal
to try and find any information about
the Sanctus Putris.
- I'll go ahead with investigation.
- Okay.
- [Lou] Yeah!
- [Anjali] Can I help him from afar?
- Not good.
That's gonna be a 14.
- A 14, that's not bad, that's not bad.
- That's what I got.
We're still twinkies.
- There you go.
- You do begin to find individuals
that historically were tied
to covert assassinations
with no real attachment,
politically, to the reasoning.
No sign of being hired by enemies.
You begin to see patterns
through the past 150 years
of Calorum's history.
Of moments that remind
you of what pulled you
and your previous allies
together for that fateful night.
You begin to exhume some of the corpses
of these would-be K*llers and assassins.
And you confirm, they've been
around for quite some time.
And the ascension of these individuals
seems to be based in those that survive,
those that show true, complete belief
into the cause of the Sanctus,
and acquire enough pure political power
without drawing attention directly
to be gifted a mask.
- Do I ever find a corpse
that actually wore the mask?
- I'll say no.
Not with a 14.
(chuckling)
Actually, that's not true.
You do uncover some of the individuals
that may have worn masks,
not the actual body at all,
but of people that worked with them
and discovered who they
were before they were k*lled
and had no one to tell.
- Yeah.
- And the names that you
hear don't ring any bells.
And you look into it and
research them feverishly.
A lot of them are servants.
- Wow.
- Some of them are informers.
Some of them are
chancellors, guild merchants.
They are the people that sit close
to the high positions of power
and prefer to stay in the shadows
and push and pull from the sides.
Across the spectrum.
- Chasing them down and
doing it in this way.
And like, the informants I gather.
I think when I first start
speaking to the dead,
I reach into that vision.
I've never understood my own magic
and I think there's a
weird thing of connecting
to that world heart, or
connecting to that thing of like
decay that we found in that place.
And I start a catacomb in
the new cathedral where I go.
I'm such an old member of the church
and there's so many
people that I sponsored
and moved up through the ranks,
that I think for the
first time in a long time,
I start calling in favors.
I know I can't stay in
Greenhold because I've made
political enemies there.
I think I start looking for a transfer
elsewhere within the church.
And using a combination
of Speak with Dead,
Nondetection, Detect Thoughts,
I start to find people
that I feel like I can start to create
a faction within the church that will,
because we need, I need,
if I get k*lled or axed,
I need to know.
And it's the kind of thing where I will
only use people in the
church that I've done
a Detect Thoughts into
and gotten confirmation
that they are not in the Sanctus
and not being used by them.
- Make a deception check for me.
This is gonna be a contested roll.
- Cool.
- [Anjali] (whisper) Get it get it get it
Uh, 22.
- Oh, yeah!
- Rolled a natural 18 to a 25.
- [Anjali] Oh!
- That's what it feels like.
This?
That's what that feels like.
- Your subtle movements
through the Bulbian Church
don't go unnoticed by the Archbishop.
And you begin to seek an optimal place
to shift and build before suddenly
you receive a church missive informing you
that your skills and
abilities are best suited
beyond Vegetanian borders.
And you are being sent to Comida.
To spend the rest of your days
as they begin to build a
proper Bulbian presence there.
(sighing)
- Well, I've heard that
Saint Arugula is beautiful.
- The other unique element
of this missive you receive
is you are being demoted
from bishop to archdeacon.
- Oo!
- Ha!
- Are you okay?
- [Lou] Are you gonna be all right?
- I think that time
when I arrived to Comida
- I think that time
when I arrived to Comida
as an archdeacon, I'm demoted.
I'm discovered.
I know the Sanctus Putris
knows what I'm up to.
I think that I get to the city and venture
on my own as an old man,
not wearing my vestments
and return to the cave
on the Glucian Road.
- Okay.
- Oh!
- It's a long journey on
foot, but you make it.
You eventually recognize the bridge.
- I think I wouldn't do
it without protection.
- We will return to this
beat as we come over here
to Colin Provolone.
Now.
- Come on, Provolone.
- A lot has happened on
the scale of the continent
since this event.
Is there anything specific the night
that you all return to
Comida that sets you
on a particular path, a direction?
And where do you go from there?
- I think immediately after
our meeting in the temple
Colin would try to have
a conversation with Deli.
- [Matt] Okay.
- It already feels sad.
I don't know what it's about.
I don't feel good about it.
- All right, yeah, and
I think you'd find Deli
in whatever safe house we're staying in.
I think just holding his spear.
And looking into whatever fire he's made
to keep himself warm.
- Is this how you saw this going?
- We could have had no idea
how this was going to go.
They are the architects.
We are their implements.
From here we'll return to Carn.
Knowing that they are behind us.
That we have their support.
And we'll move.
Swiftly, aggressively.
There's no need to hold back anymore.
- I think that there's
value to holding back
after what we just did.
- I stand up.
I'm trying to intimidate you.
This is not friendly.
I stand up.
There can be no holding back, Colin.
This is the moment.
You heard Raphaniel, you heard the bishop.
w*r is about to come.
And the Meat Lands will be united.
And we will stand and we will fight!
And you will be there with me.
- I think Colin's just gonna undo his belt
that has his sword and his
dagger on it and just drop it
on the ground in front of him.
You know, I think for a long time
You know, I think for a long time
I...
I thought these secrets that
they were threatening us with
were just about the worst thing
that could possibly happen.
were just about the worst thing
that could possibly happen.
People knowing about these.
Knowing about my secret.
I know now that this is so much worse.
At one point
I promised the Chieftess
that I would watch your back
I promised the Chieftess
that I would watch your back
and she wanted me to do this because she
thought you were good at this
and that you would make a great leader.
I do think in some ways you're
good at whatever this is,
but I don't know that I
agree that is the kind
but I don't know that I
agree that is the kind
of leader that I wanna be with.
- If you are unsure,
then I am not the kind
of leader that needs you.
I have given you everything, skáld.
And if you want to turn your back
on whatever this is, that's fine.
I don't need you.
In fact, I'm better without you.
- Colin's just gonna get up to leave.
But before he leaves he's
gonna look back to you and say,
my grandfather tried to,
tried to lead the people
of the Dairy Islands
against some royals who were
putting their boot in
the neck of the people.
And for awhile it seemed like
he might actually make a difference,
but then everyone turned on him.
And in the middle of Lacramor
he was melted down, screaming.
In front of everyone.
And then...
No one knew that he had a secret child.
Who was my father.
And he raised me on
the streets of Lacramor
without anything and I
had to steal and cheat
and do everything that my
horrible father wanted me to.
And then one day he let everyone,
all of his drinking
buddies know on accident
that he was Fontini's son.
And then the same fate happened to him.
And so I've been scared this whole time
that people would know that
that was the truth of me.
And I just don't care anymore.
You can keep your skáld.
I hope you find what you're looking for,
but I don't think I can be a part of it.
I drop my cheese-rind
dagger on the floor for you.
- I think Deli just kicks the dagger hard.
- I think Deli just kicks the dagger hard.
Turns, you should go.
- Yeah.
And I think the only thing he cares about
is figuring out how to get back.
How to make a difference with the people
who did this to him.
So, it seems like the only,
the smartest person, unfortunately,
he knows in this situation
is (sighs) the Radish.
(chuckling)
- [Aabria] The Radish!
- So you, along with this slowly,
crumbling, psychosis holding radish,
crumbling, psychosis holding radish,
you, in the following years to come,
kind of fall behind.
- I don't-
I think he's not gonna go
back to the Dairy Islands.
He's definitely not going back to Carn.
Just gonna slowly make my
way over to the radish.
- I think we have run-ins.
But I think that we
connect-connect at my lowest point.
When I get to Comida as archdeacon.
Like two years into the rest of the w*r.
Like, 1192 or whatever.
And I think, like I ask you.
Colin, I have been thwarted at every turn.
There is a rot within the
church and within this world
that I've been trying to cut out.
And every time I raise my
hand it is swatted away.
Would you come back with me to the cave?
- Just like the two of us, or?
- I mean horses, you know,
star fruit, whatever.
Do you not?
- No, we should go.
- I cannot imagine that I would be brought
to the threshold of great fortune
only to be taunted and maddened by a Bulb
that saw fit to give me these gifts.
How could I be allowed to
see the Scroll of Destiny
and not write on it!
- I'll go with you, but I don't...
Let's just be clear on some things.
I am not worried about your
impact on this history.
- What are you looking for, Colin?
- I've never felt as powerless as we did
when we were in the bottom of that pit.
And I wish to end whatever the
Sanctus Putris seeks to do.
- Then we are of one mind.
Yes, we are of one mind.
You are gifted with skill at arms.
Not trivial in these times
of this Ravening w*r.
I can shroud you in gold and let your hand
be the hand of this church.
Such that you need not
worry to produce steel
and meet out what vengeance you see fit.
- If that's the path forward
for us, then let's do it.
- Sir Colin Provolone.
- I already hate it.
(laughing)
- And yeah, I think I'll head to the cave.
But I'll already write
a glowing recommendation
to induction into holy
orders of church templar.
- Which does not need to go through
the Archbishop, thankfully.
And through your previous
connections and allies,
and others that still,
while they make rank equal
or slightly above you, you've kept many
of thumbs on them through the years.
And many a secrets that allow
a little quid pro quo if needed.
And it doesn't take very
much to receive response
that indeed, Colin Provolone,
your knighthood has been
accepted and recognized
by the great Bulbian Church of all
of the kingdom of Vegetania.
And of the great King Cabbage himself.
- Come on, Provolone.
- Come on!
- Come on Provolone.
(laughing)
- As the two of you, marching across
the Fructeran countryside, midday,
a nice breeze blows
through from underneath
the calm skies, the dappled bits
of soft, cotton clouds above.
You push past the strawberry grasses,
the familiar road, and
eventually come upon
a very familiar bridge.
And using that, once you get over
the flash of odd memories,
seeing this dark space
that connotates such a terrible
shift in your own lives,
that connotates such a terrible
shift in your own lives,
it's oddly peaceful and beautiful here
in the midday Bulbian light.
You swallow that and then use your ability
to track exactly where
your footfalls took you
in that panicked state to
escape from being discovered.
Then in a short time you
find that same crevasse.
You go down and find the same bushes where
the strange entity was slain.
And you recall very vividly the cavern
where you stepped through and
touched this consciousness.
And it's closed.
Filled with stone and rock.
Partially grown over in the time since.
It's like it was never there
or has been long covered.
- I'm gonna start tearing at the rock
and the foliage and whatever
vines are on the cliff.
Open to me. Open to me!
You let me in once!
And I'm gonna cast Shatter, not subtly,
against the rock wall.
(thunderous boom)
(rock crumbling)
- Stones go flying in all directions.
You feel a number of them pelt your body,
leaving heavy impact and bruises.
You do take seven points
of bludgeoning damage
from the proximity of just
the stone flying from it.
- You k*lled him, man down, end scene.
- Wild, okay.
- I'm going to cast Detect
Thoughts in this moment.
Just like reaching into the rock.
And screaming and I'm
like smashing my fists
until they're bloody, into the rock wall.
- You hear, oh sh*t.
(laughing)
- You feel no thoughts
beyond the piercing stone.
You see no drop in the wall
of rock that greets you.
This tunnel has closed.
- I fall to the ground and
just weep and go fetal.
(heavy breathing)
- I'm gonna
Just like, kick you a little bit.
(Aabria laughing)
(Clapping)
- Ah!
What?
- Really that weak?
- [Lou] Mm!
- I heal myself.
And stand up.
To hell with all of this.
To the pit of the Hungry One's stomach.
Mysteries and magic, secret societies.
If they wanna play their
game, let them play it.
Perhaps I've taken too much
of the bait for too long.
They want to skulk in the
shadows, let them skulk.
I think it's time to
vanish from their concern.
They've humiliated me, demoted me.
Sent me to Comida as an archdeacon.
If they want me to stop
hunting them, I'll stop.
Foxholes often have
more than one entrance.
It's time to turn our
attention to the w*r.
- Can I make a pit stop while we're here?
- Certainly, yes of course.
- I wanna see if I can track down anything
about the Banana who I found.
(laughing)
- Oh, baby!
- Make an investigation check for me,
if you don't mind.
- [Aabria] What a callback.
- [Anjali] Oh, sweet boy.
Okay.
- That's a 15.
- In about six or seven hours
of walking along the road
and the river itself, you come upon
a small cluster of Fructeran homesteads.
You can see these small huts.
These simple farmlands that stretch out
on this side of the orange
and lemon dappled hills.
You can see the soft thatch pulled
from the tops of long set
and leathered pineapple skins
that have been laid in these beautiful,
kind of arrays to give shade
to the interiors of these homes.
And you watch as a small banana child runs
in a pair of overalls across this field
before stopping and looking at you and go,
Hello?
- Hi.
Is this where you live?
- This is where we live, yeah.
- I found this outside.
And just give him a little bag of gold.
(grunting)
Somewhere.
I don't know where it came from, but uh...
I think uh...
I think it must be yours if
it's on your property, so.
- As soon as you kind of see
this child kind of look confused
at the look of the shininess of the coin.
Not quite fully understanding
at this young age
what the worth of it is.
- Take it to your parent.
- Right as you say that, you glance up
and see in the homestead
there in the open doorway
what looks to be a woman
with a grapefruit skin
texture to her body.
Kind of long, deep red hair.
And she kind of just glances past over
in your direction about
80, 90 feet from you.
Come along, Jerry.
We do not talk to strangers.
- Listen to your mother.
- Okay.
(scraping)
He starts like dragging it behind.
- I walk away.
- Mommy, Mommy!
A strange cheese man gave me shinies!
- No, I didn't.
(laughing)
- Ew, you're nice.
- Aw.
- From there as you both step out
into the next stages of your attentions
of the conflict that continues to brim
beyond these peaceful moments.
Delissandro, in the dark after light
of this separation of
the night of the return,
where has your life gone
in the time that comes?
- The next day I think he silently.
And I'm assuming, maybe
the last person to leave
it sounds like, by the time
I wake up the next day,
everyone is some version of gone.
Goes to the boat that Colin had arranged
for the following day.
And takes passage back to Carn.
And I think the whole time
is by himself and alone.
And ruminating and playing
moments from that night
over and over again.
The attack on the queen.
The moment with Colin in the cave.
And the feeling of the Heart of the World.
And it's just that over
and over and over again.
For the day's ride to Carn.
For however many days it is to Carn.
And I think as he steps off the boat,
he is filled with the
resolve that he is alone.
And that that is freeing.
That no longer does he carry
the weight of his family,
that he is the one who
is the tool of destiny.
He is the one who has done
the work that needs to be done
to unite the Meat Lands.
And it is he who must be taken care of.
And there is no one else
who needs to be considered.
So I think as he arrives back in Carn,
I don't go find anyone of my clan.
I think I spend the first
couple of days there
trying to catch a sense of who, like,
my mother has not proven to be
a seemingly viable candidate
to be the leader.
Who else is available?
- In the times of the
ever shifting conflicts
that the Meatlanders
continue to fall into,
one figure is rising to prominence.
A figure that you've known
and not met in person,
in the times that you've
grown in these lands.
Your mother being the individual
to make these meetings
over in the center of Carn.
But Basha Myaso is quickly being pushed
and considered the rising warlord
of the Beef Clans to unite them.
And in the time that
comes, is beginning to
take meetings from foreign dignitaries.
Both on the sides of conflict
and possible alliance.
Do you interface with Basha?
- As soon as possible.
I think as soon as I get
a sense that he is an end,
even in that he is doing the things
that my mother did not like, or avoided.
I think I see it and I'm like, this is it.
This is the one.
And yeah, I seek to meet
with him as soon as possible.
- Your boldness and
ambition is infectious.
And frightening for those
who had encountered you in the past
and do not recognize the
man they see before them.
It doesn't take long for
the rising warlord, Basha,
to eventually have a meeting with you.
As you step in to see the
thick, beefy, ruddy boy himself.
This marbled, dark meat
skin with long, red hair
and this kind of handle bar mustache
that comes to these two kind of bone rings
that sit at the edges.
Looks up at you, his massive
bacon steel ax laying
against the side of his seat.
Glances into your eyes.
So, tell me, Thane,
what is it brings you
to the front of where I stand?
I hear word that you have been about.
- This is true.
I have friends all over the continent.
In preparing for the times to come I have
been making arrangements with them.
And I have returned now,
here, to the Meat Lands.
Because I believe it is
you who will unite us.
And I would be there at your side.
- Hm.
Not your Chieftess?
- No.
My Chieftess is not the one.
She cannot be the one.
She lacks what is necessary.
Her temperament.
Her lack of desire for the politick.
It's necessary, it's important.
She cannot be the one.
And if it is not her, then I
cannot give her my allegiance.
And if it is not her, then I
cannot give her my allegiance.
- Then I will have yours.
And perhaps, others will fall in line
if they see the vision.
Someone as strong and
traveled as you can see.
Someone as strong and
traveled as you can see.
- Tell me where to go, what to do.
We will make it so.
- I believe we will.
And in the times to come, you
begin to move in lock step
with the warlord Basha.
For sometime you begin
to really feel respect
from your peers around you.
You do not walk in the shadow
of your tangled clan family.
Your mother...
Stops talking to you.
Primarily not recognizing this
sudden shift in allegiance.
But when you are granted the title
of chief of your own clan,
she is absolved of hers.
She leaves and walks northward.
And is not seen again.
(sighing)
And it's not long before the
Princess Sapphria of Candia
travels in secret to these Meat Lands.
To the metropolis of
Carn, seeking to implore
the attention of the Speaker of the Hen.
- During this time I
would have loved to be
sending missives with Karna.
And I think in this moment of someone
of such great import visiting the city,
I do, I think Delissandro's having ideas
and requests your presence there.
- No hesitation.
- And I think whenever
we arrive and you settle,
Karna thank you so much for coming.
It's good to see you.
- I just wanna say,
like, she's gone from 16
to like fully an adult.
And has been hanging out in Ceresia.
She has had a hot girl glow up.
- Wow!
- Like, long, curly red hair.
She's learned about
lotion and perfume now.
And is fully in her hot b*tch sh*t, like.
- And I won't lie, Delissandro, same tip.
- [Anjali] Yeah!
- Fully is now into
like hides and shirtless
and is honestly more battle scarred
and has gone full Meat Land.
There's no more kind of
splitting the difference.
He's still got the bread
parts, but he is a Meat Lander.
- Hi.
- You look, well.
- Thanks.
You too.
- Yes, as you know the
Princess Sapphria is here.
- Yeah.
- I seek to k*ll her.
- Oh.
- I believe it will give
Basha the juice he needs
to rally the tribes
and turn all of our attention to Ceresia.
- You're not wrong, my chief.
- I think there's a, like, you know,
I'm already pink.
I don't think I can not blush.
I think there's like, the
scowl and everything remains,
but there's just a bit of red.
Indeed.
Would you aid me in this?
- You never had to ask.
- Ha, ha.
This is too hot.
(laughing)
I think, for Deli.
I think there's just like, I
don't even know what to say.
I think I'm just...
- I'll find out what I can.
And I'm going to pull
whatever resources I can
to figure out like what her,
I know it's supposed to be
sort of a secret meeting.
But just trying to get wind of where,
like what her pattern is going
to be here in the Meat Lands.
- Okay, make an investigation check for me
if you don't mind.
- I'm gonna use my big girl stats now.
That rolled so much for a natural 19.
24.
- 24 is quite good.
Now, you haven't spent
a terrible, long period
of time in Ceresia.
But since you have allied
yourself with the senator
and have begun to build
your network once more,
though being definitely
still kept at arms length
for your larger ambitions of note,
you are able to reach
through your whisper network
and know that she has largely
curved through the Pulp Bay
around the Dairy Islands and
comes up the Sangre River.
And is due to arrive within a week.
Easily enough for you
to track her movements
and perhaps intercept before
she can even arrive in Carn.
- The question then, Chief,
how discreet do you want us to be?
We can k*ll her before
she reaches Carn at all.
- No.
The world needs to know.
- Good answer.
- In doing so, you let her arrive in Carn
and actually speak to
the Speaker of the Hen.
Implore for aid and unity.
The speaker seems distant.
Seeks to contemplate on her
words and leaves her for a week.
Drifting, waiting for a response.
Intimidated in a land
she doesn't understand.
The perfect time.
And it doesn't take much.
A small tug.
The life leaves her body.
And is discovered not but four hours later
in a place of your choosing,
where you knew it would
have the most impact.
The immediate ripples
carry across the city.
And Basha immediately rises in fury.
Goes to the Speaker of the Hen
and justifies a challenge to the Speaker.
They battle to the death.
And at the end of it, with a crack,
the Speaker's neck is broken in two.
(bone snapping)
And the true warlord title
is risen up to Basha.
With this momentum and his fury
he unites the disparate Meat Land clans
and immediately calls for vengeful as*ault
upon their previous Ceresian allies.
A united front from the north against
the ever shrinking front that Ceresia
has spent so long building.
During this time Citrina
seeks to entreat peace
with King Cabbage and Vegetania
and is near simultaneously
martyred in the streets.
This prompts peace talks
between King Cabbage
and Lord Uvano of Fructera.
And for the first time since this began
all those years before,
Fructera and Vegetania
are no longer at w*r.
And not just that.
With the loss of Citrina,
this pious, lauded figure
within the Bulbian Church
and an ally considered within that order,
Vegetania withdraws
entirely from the conflict.
Laying their arms down.
With the death of so many
prominent Candian figures,
Candia rises and drives their forces along
with the united front against Ceresia
through the Battle of Gum Drop Pass.
Fighting the Ceresian
armies until eventually
they push into the
heart of Ceresia itself.
Now, five years since the
death of Queen Pamelia Rocks,
the combined forces of Candia,
Fructera, and the Meat Lands
and even the Dairy Islands
have reached the exterior
of the capital city of
Pangranos in Ceresia
to prepare their final as*ault
to end this Ravening w*r.
It is here, in the following morning,
as the Bulb of light slowly
crests over the horizon,
the distant plumes of still burning smoke
of the standing city before you.
The soldiers begin to rouse.
Gathering their arms and armor.
Sharpening their blades.
Taking what may very well be
for many, their last meals.
Making jokes to break the mood.
Saying their prayers to the Bulb
or whatever spirits of
various pagan religions
that still exist before the
Bulbian Church cast them out.
They speak to their patrons.
And the various generals gather and move
between their tents to inform each other
of what is to come.
You, Lady Amangeaux.
What has transpired since
your self-imposed isolation
and what has brought you here
to the Battle of Pangranos?
- So, as she calms down
over the course of time
and starts to really understand
the situation she was in,
she realized a few things.
Number one, I cannot hide in this house
with a child forever.
That's a pretty obvious thing.
And she's too, since I was too afraid
to try to seek out either
Karna or the Bishop,
I went to our longtime family friends,
the Uvanos.
And threw myself at their feet.
Saying, I have fled Vegetania.
I have no friends.
I have no allies.
I have nowhere to go.
Can you please.
Can you please give me safe passage?
Can you please give me
a safe place to stay?
And the Uvanos graciously take me in,
as they are longtime
allies of House du Peche.
But they put me to work
and I happily take it.
Because I no longer want
to be, not only queen,
I no longer want to be a lady.
I no longer want anyone to be able
to take power away from me
in anyway, including my name.
- And indeed, Lord Gustavo Uvano,
a stalwart, handsome,
armored grape of a man
looks upon your face as you make
these proclamations and promises.
And says,
do not worry, Lady.
Understand all of us put in the work.
For there is much to come,
and only through strength
and union and honesty
can we work together to
bring a brighter future
to a non-fractured Calorum.
- I have one more confession to make.
- Hm.
- She begins to speak
in her native Fructeran.
There was a dark time.
A dark time when my husband had been...
...had fallen
and I didn't know what I was to do.
I didn't know if I could be safe.
He was fallen ill.
I came to a friend, you may remember.
Van Pinnonoir.
- Yes, of course.
We've crossed paths before his passing.
- I came to him for solace.
And he provided it one night.
One night only.
And I fled in dark of
night back to the castle.
The timing was unfortunate,
but that one night produced a child.
- Oh.
- I could not share the news with anyone.
I could not tell the Vegetanians
because I did not know
what they would do if they
thought it would be the king,
if they thought it would be an heir,
or if they thought this would
be a child out of wedlock.
And I did not know what
he would look like.
Obviously Van and my late husband
are slightly different in build.
- You could say that.
They are radically different
sides of the spectrum, yeah.
- So here's the favor I
ask, and it is a great one.
And there is nothing I will not do,
for you to help me with this.
Would you raise him as
a child of the family?
He resembles you more than anyone.
Raise him as a nephew, a niece,
a long lost cousin, whatever it is.
He will be safe with you, but not with me.
- He kind of furrows his brow.
The kind of pencil dark mustache across
his upper lip kind of
curved into a brief frown
before it rises into a smile.
And his eyes meet yours once more.
This house is open to a wayward child
of such esteemed lineage.
And as long as I draw breath,
it will be safe and cared for, I promise.
- Then my hand is yours.
And it does seem that I have acquired
a certain amount of skill and knowledge.
At least in the last year of hiding.
- Good.
Then we will hone it in the weeks to come.
Let's see what you can do.
And indeed, some of the
royal guard captains
across the different divisions
of the Fructeran army
begin to pull you into training along
with the other soldiers.
And with the months and months that pass,
you begin to hone yourself
into quite the warrioress.
- Let's go.
- So I assume you come
to the front lines here
under the banner of Uvano?
- I do.
- And Fructera? Very well.
- And I would like to also say that
I believe that because of,
I don't believe it, I know it.
It's my story.
Because of the guilt that she has felt,
the long lasting guilt that she has felt
over that night on the bridge,
when the Candians were potentially coming
to build an alliance with the Fructerans,
I urged Gustavo, I helped
to broker that deal.
And make sure that the two allied
so that I knew that our
houses would be as one.
- Fair enough.
Easily done, and there is
immediately a strong bond
through mutual loss and ideals
of unity across the lands
between the remaining
members of House Rocks
and House Uvano.
And within a short time, indeed,
that alliance is made quite strong.
You yourself being one of the handful
of important figures in that.
And here you now come alongside the armies
of House Uvano and Fructera
to the outside of the city.
Karna, what have you been
up to since your dalliances
across these lands?
Your blades left deep
in the shadow and blood.
Left sinking into the alleys.
What has happened and brought you back
to the city of Pangranos?
So if not you've been here ever since.
- Yeah, as long as you never
saw fit to turn me away.
- I would not.
(chuckling)
- To Karna, Delissandro is the first thing
she has ever desired
beyond her own survival.
So she stands by his side and will reach
the front lines with him after
years of fighting beside him.
Yeah, she's a fully ripened
Carolina Reaper now.
So, she's like bright red.
Again, with like the curly hair.
And she has a whited out eye
with a long scar through it.
During one particularly nasty battle,
he took some very heavy wounds.
And in her fear for his life,
she slashed her own eye with her blade
she slashed her own eye with her blade
to sacrifice it to the Hungry One.
He must feed.
And if it was enough of a sacrifice
to keep him alive, she doesn't
know if it worked or not,
but she was willing to do anything.
- Well, it seemed to work
because he still remains.
Delissandro, in the time
that has transpired,
what have you accomplished
and then what brings you here
to the gates outside of Pangranos?
- I think Delissandro has requested to be
in the vanguard of whatever force marched
from the Meat Lands on Pangranos.
And so I think, whatever
tribe I've assembled
of likely unfamiliar
faces, this is excitedly
the biggest fight in a series of battles
that has just been ongoing.
It has been, I think
Deli has only known w*r.
For many months, if not
years, at this point.
- Mm-hm.
And indeed, Warlord Basha Myaso grants you
both guidance over one
of the many generals
that are handling the
actual in field combat.
And often calls you to
his side to discuss many,
and very important tactical discussions
and alliances that are to
meet here on the b*ttlefield.
Stay close, before we leave by
the end of this morning light
there are conversations,
perhaps uncomfortable,
but necessary ones.
- Of course, Basha.
- Stay close.
Raphaniel, Colin Provolone.
Sorry, Sir Colin Provolone.
- Put some respect on that name!
- Come on, Provolone.
- Where have your journeys
taken you in the years since?
And what brings you to the
gates outside of Pangranos?
- I think Colin, under the tutelage?
(laughing)
Of Raphaniel has sort
of risen in the ranks
of this Bulbian order of knights.
It just means nothing to
him, the Bulb, really.
It's just a means to an end.
He has risen through those ranks
and will really just follow
Raphaniel wherever he deems fit.
and will really just follow
Raphaniel wherever he deems fit.
- I think Raphaniel follows Colin.
- Mm.
- I think what happens.
- They've just been doing this for years.
- Well, I think he realizes his obsession
- Well, I think he realizes his obsession
with the Sanctus Putris and this new found
kind of religious devotion to eschatology,
to like the end of the world.
And to not only destroying
the Sanctus Putris
as an institution, but also
destroying their theology.
Like wiping their ideas off the world.
He spent his whole life being patient
and then when he learned the truth,
he tried to speed run it.
- Mm-hm.
- And I think in the
depths of his humiliation,
he goes, maybe it doesn't
happen in your lifetime.
And you have to be okay with that.
And I think he stays up
all night, every night
writing theological
doctrines and treatises
about the Profidian Heresy,
and why the idea of the
Sanctus Putris is wrong.
Just making his essays that he would nail
to the door of the church,
but is just keeping them
secret for right now.
And being like, patience.
And I think, appears to learn his lesson
and completely refocus on mundane power
that would look to the
outside world just like,
oh look, a power hungry
f*ck' archdeacon.
Like, you know, just the most banal.
And I think that in all of the bloodshed
following Uvano's ascension
and everything like that,
I think it's like your order of knights
coming to the rescue in important battles.
Like, freeing prisoners
and kind of beginning
to ring the bell of what comes after.
Of like, the people have
suffered so long under
this w*r and the Imperator
wishes to conquer all.
And aren't all of our nations
united under the Bulb?
Aren't they united under the Bulb?
And I think following Colin's success,
he just becomes a state
craft clergy member.
Of like, backing Uvano,
backing the Lady Amangeaux.
Who I think, when you re-enter society,
he connects with you again and is like,
yes, we should absolutely
ally with Candia.
We should absolutely ally
with the Dairy Isles.
And I think privately is like,
we found a way into, like
Gustavo Uvano is a devout man.
And the person who was most anti-church
within Castle Candy was m*rder*d by us
on a bridge years ago.
- I bet Colin would have a
conversation with Raphaniel
that was more like, you
know, I think ambition.
You're obviously ambitious, but I think
there's such a thing
as being too ambitious.
And there's a lot of power
in being able to wait.
- Yes.
I've waited...
So long, Colin.
The problem with waiting
is not the act itself.
It's that if you are
waiting for the wrong thing,
it just might never come.
- Mm.
Well, let's just hope we're right.
- I think the last thing
I'll do before heading
to Pangranos and kind of hitching my wagon
to this very capable knight,
and this very capable house,
and not church forward but being like,
the Church is here to help Uvano
and help the alliance and the good guys.
And isn't the Church kind of just like
a helpful little old pal?
He sent a letter to Deli
after the ascension of Basha.
These lands are fractured.
Fire, ruin, w*r.
It will take something great
to heal what is broken here.
It will take something great
to heal what is broken here.
Nature taking its course,
there will be grudges,
hatreds, the land is soaked with blood
in every one of the Six Kingdoms.
The only bet I would make on
unity and peace after this,
is something that unifies us all.
I would not hold much hope
for your warlord Basha Myaso.
If he cannot sing the same
song as the rest of Calorum.
- I think I share the letter with Karna.
I do not believe him wrong,
but I believe there will
be a proper time and place
to push this on Basha.
I think it has been enough
to unite the Meat Lands.
I think introducing a
new religion is too much.
- You know best what to do here.
But I think there is an opportunity,
if Basha isn't enough, you could be.
- Oh.
- Be bold.
- Uh, those words ring in my head.
- I think before we move
on from here as well,
I think we have to have this meeting.
- Yes, I want to propose something.
- Yes, tell me.
- Your dalliances with House Uvano
and coming under their
wing has removed you of,
intentionally, by your own right,
the political influence that you've had.
And you have now joined
as a trusted soldier
with more access than anybody
else within the Uvano armies.
You do not see sight or really maintain
any communication for some
time as you follow this path.
Out of fear of being noticed.
And then as two years have passed
without contacting Raphaniel,
you kind of lose the thread and interest.
And it isn't until you're
traveling northward
with the regiments along the
road that you catch sight
of Sir Colin Provolone.
And not far from him, Raphaniel.
- When I see them,
immediately my stomach drops,
my heart starts racing.
The first thing I'm taken
back to is that night.
And I'm, as we're heading north,
I'm kind of clocking where are we?
All the fears from that night come back.
And then at a glance, I see Raphaniel
looking somehow smaller than he was.
Maybe a little bit frailer than he was.
And I think of the day
that we left Greenhold
for the last time to go
to the Eggamere Festival.
And when I saw him and ran into his arms
after the death of my husband.
And how he embraced me.
And I immediately,
everything else falls aside
and I ride slowly up beside Provolone.
and I ride slowly up beside Provolone.
Well met, friend.
- Hi.
It's good to see you.
- And you.
- What do we call you these days?
- Amangeaux is fine.
- Well, it's good to see you, Amangeaux.
- And you, from what I
hear, and what I see,
seems to have moved up in your station.
- Yeah.
It sucks.
(laughing)
- There he is.
- Don't tell them that.
- I understand.
They say heavy is the
head that wears the crown,
but in your case, the helmet.
- I think that works.
- How...
How fares my old friend?
- Well...
He's getting stranger.
(laughing)
I don't know if I'm the best one
to talk about whatever
is happening with him.
He has changed, for sure.
(Brennan mumbling and gurgling)
I think he took being
bested harder than most.
(sighing)
- Can I make an insight check?
- You don't have to roll an insight check.
You've known him long enough.
He's not beyond reproach.
He's just been in his mind for the length
of a long, tiring journey.
Especially for a man of his
not youthful physicality.
- Is he astride a star fruit or something?
- Yeah, it would be actually
a very poor choice of a ride,
but kind of for your own
personal penance makes sense.
It's like a small durian fruit.
- Oh.
- [Lou] Oo!
- [Aabria] Stinky, bro.
- I think there's a small cut.
It smells insane.
(laughing)
- So he's slightly lower
than I imagine I am on my star fruit.
- [Matt] Yeah.
- So I dismount.
And I hand the reins to you and say,
Would you?
And I walk quickly, but not so
much that I would shock him.
Um, your eminence.
- Ah.
Ha, ha, ha.
Oh, Lady Amangeaux.
And I'm gonna get off my nasty durian.
Ugh.
Uh, pungent.
Yes, my steed is as fragrant as they come.
My Lady, you look resplendent.
(chuckling)
- She knows full well she does not.
And I know full well I do not.
You see that she has her
hair that used to be full
and curled and luscious is
pulled back in tight braids,
low ponytail, very practical.
She's wearing leather,
studded leather armor over
a tunic and very practical pants.
But you also see that
she looks more herself
But you also see that
she looks more herself
and that there's no fear in her eyes.
For the first time you've ever seen her.
- Raphaniel looks like sh*t.
- [Aabria] Oh, buddy.
(Matt laughs)
He looks like sh*t.
- I lean over to you
say, it's not the durian.
- Oh!
(laughing)
- If only I had taken Prestidigitation
as one of my cantrips.
- [Aabria] Oh no.
- He has new vestments in Fructera
which is a little bit more ostentatious.
And so he just looks
like he's being crushed
by his own vestments.
They're like heavy, and
he's become frailer.
And I'm just gonna go.
Yes, well, as you know w*r does take
a terrible toll on us all.
And...
(coughing)
The road is long to Pangranos,
but we walk as always,
in the light of the Bulb.
- Now I do wanna do an insight check.
Because he just looked so straight
and weirdly into my eyes.
- Okay.
- I want to see, does it seem like he has
any kind of ulterior motives here
to do anything other than
fight for the Fructerans?
- Make an insight check.
You can make persuasion
or deception, your call.
- Oh sorry, persuasion or--
- No, no, he's making a persuasion
or deception based on the--
- No, nothing, no.
- 26.
- Yeah, no, that's a no.
I don't see anything.
I see nothing.
- Riding in the direction,
similarly affected
by some of the previous
tragedies and challenges
you have no reason to think otherwise.
- I'll look at you, lookin' at me.
- Ha.
- And I'll smile and go,
the night that you ran,
it was very kind of you
to let me know and to
understand that I would
have worried if you had simply vanished.
- I'm so sorry I left you behind.
I'm so sorry.
I could have taken care of you.
I could have done something.
- But you didn't.
- I had other responsibilities.
- Ah, yes.
Congratulations, though belated.
(sighing)
- And I immediately know
that Karna told him.
There's no question.
Duh.
Thank you.
And I'm sorry again.
- When you left,
you gave no way to reach you.
To contact you, to find you.
And I have long wondered these many years,
was that for my protection, or yours?
- Both.
- Hm.
- Not knowing how you would judge me or,
treat me after knowing.
And not knowing if it
was safe for you to know
anything more than you already did.
The child has been my greatest
joy and my greatest weakness.
But you, you are here.
Fighting alongside us.
- Oh, I don't imagine
I will be doing all that much fighting.
I am a man of the cloth.
After all, I am here to
minister to the spiritual needs
of those brave soldiers who
fight for an end to w*r.
of those brave soldiers who
fight for an end to w*r.
- Oh, am I gonna do this?
Yeah, I just lean in and look
him straight in the eyes.
And I say in his head.
We both know you are much more than that.
- I'll say back in your head.
I don't know how long that will be true.
- Then we must make the most of it.
- I hold your hand with papery,
little, old radish hand.
- And I'll just walk with him.
- Colin is just watching them silently.
- How long do I have to hold
this f*cking star fruit?
- It feels loaded.
(laughing)
- The last thing I'll say in your head
as we go is, you carried the child
during a period of mourning.
When was the child born?
- Eight and half months after
the death of my husband.
- Mm.
Do you think the child to be his?
- She doesn't say anything.
- Ah.
Still some secrets.
- A woman must have her allure.
I have not completely left the court.
- I hope there are those in this world
who know what a gift it is to have anyone
that knows the whole of their heart.
- And as you continue to
make the trek northward,
along with the rest of the regiment
that you've been assigned alongside,
the memories of those
gatherings bring us back
to this fateful morning.
The red-orange bulb rise,
giving the shadow of
the skyline of Pangranos
that still inhale, in held
breath of the fight to come.
The sound of rousing soldiers.
As you, Chief Delissandro Katzon, hear
a heavy pounding on the
side of your tent flap.
As an arm pushes it
aside and there you see
warlord Basha Myaso step in.
Chief, it is time.
I need you to be at my side as I treat
with the other generals.
- We'll go now.
Would you allow me to
bring my skáld, Karna?
- He looks down for a
second and back to you,
I trust your judgment.
- She will come, I will summon her.
- As Basha leaves, you begin to assemble
your arms and armaments
for the day to come.
Please, how have the years
treated you, Delissandro?
- [Aabria] Yeah!
- Uh, w*r torn.
I think Deli now stands taller, bulkier,
I think Deli now stands taller, bulkier,
but has many scars and wounds from battle.
They're little, they look like bites.
(laughing)
He has lost his right eye as well.
And wears a mustard eye patch that covers
where his eye once was.
And he has abandoned his shield.
He now fights only with his spear.
Which will have a name.
I just can't decide what it is.
So for now we'll just call it his spear.
- [Matt] That works well.
- Great.
- You gather your things and
you step out of your tent.
The red-orange light of the sky above
and that smell of crackling fire,
early morning meats and the familiar scent
of distant death on the wind.
That feeling of iron that will
taste your lips and tongue
in the days to come.
You look over as the warlord rushes by
and gives you a look to follow.
You stride through, seeing
the soldiers stepping up,
beginning to stretch.
Some of them cough.
Some of them just kind of
stare into the crackling flames
of the morning fires, the
cold, trying to fight it
and come to terms with
their own looming mortality.
Eventually you come to the
back of the splayed out,
organized army settlements
to a massive w*r tent
that is surrounded by guards.
You step up as Basha kind
of gives a hand signal up
and looks back to you.
Stay outside.
You may listen in, it is
important for you to be.
But this may be a tense conversation.
Perhaps it is best that a familiar face
to these scattered interests
speak with me directly.
My eyes are yours.
- Of course.
- And he steps into the
tent, the flap closes.
You stand outside there,
shield at the ready.
Just kind of taking in,
surveying the coming fight to be.
Sir Colin Provolone.
How do you prepare for
this battle as you awaken?
- Mm, Provolone has changed from the years
in that he's heading this
sort of knight order,
but he's still kind of has
these like rogue-ish roots.
So he's not wearing full armor in the way
that probably the rest of the knights are.
He's wearing a breast plate.
He's a little scarred from,
he hasn't lost an eye like...
(laughing)
- Couple of us are out here
really scrapping, all right?
- I was scrapping.
- Were you?
- Whatever, Sir Provolone.
- Sure. Sir?
- I mean, I just made sure people missed.
You know, just like, get outta the way.
- It's just important to have.
- It seems kind of like you're
a babysitter to Raphaniel, but all right.
- I've lost my eyes.
- Both of them.
- Both of them.
(chuckling)
- He is looking as nice as
Colin Provolone can look.
You know, he has combed his greasy hair.
He is sitting upright.
Trying to not, you know,
slouch like he is wont to do.
And kind of constantly
correcting that, but yeah.
- Okay.
So you begin to place all
your armor and equipment on.
You begin to hear some
voices kind of shouting out
low level orders for
people to begin to rise,
get yourselves ready, get yourselves fed.
Can't be too long.
You begin to step out of your small tent
and kind of look for not
just the rest of the regiment
but also Raphaniel, who
is kind of partially still
a mild companion on this journey.
But also, an individual you know you have
to keep an eye on as he's
getting up in his years.
You head over to the tent, not too far
from where you are.
Where Raphaniel has made his space.
Raphaniel, how do you
prepare for the day to come?
- I have been awake all night.
Completely still.
(laughing)
- Cut!
- Just making freaky little noises.
(laughing)
- One tent over.
Hearing little noises.
- At some point in the night
I came into Colin's tent
and just looked at him and I went-
(skittering mouth sounds)
- Ah! Do you need something?
- No, no. No, no, no.
- Go away.
(laughing)
- I like that you have to shoo him.
Go on, get.
(skittering)
- He skitters away.
- Eat a snack or something. You're okay.
(laughing)
You throw up?
- A little, a little, yeah.
- Jesus!
(laughing)
- I think he's been for awhile now
been having a really
hard time going to sleep.
Just every time he closes his eyes
he just sees teeth and tearing.
- In that whining scream
and grinding sound.
- It's coming.
- You almost begin to hear a name.
Something that feels like sound.
A mouth sound.
(exhaling)
Grinding again.
(growling)
- I will focus and double my attention
and stay all night trying to close my eyes
but not falling asleep to see, the thought
that the thing that has been haunting me
my entire life might,
after all these years,
have something to tell me.
I just hone in deeper and deeper,
focusing as hard as I can.
- Okay.
And in that moment of
focus here in the morning,
not realizing that the Bulb has arisen
and you're not sitting
here in the quiet, calm
of your solitary night, the flap opens
as Sir Colin arrives to check on you.
- Ah!
- Ugh.
- What have you done?
- What?
- What!
- It's about time.
- Ah!
- So, you wanna stay here, right, or...
(laughing)
I'm gonna get, we gotta go.
You probably should, you're good here?
- Teeth and blood and
grinding, secrets, secrets
of the dawn of time, or the ending.
- Hey, hey.
- Colin, oh.
- We need you to lock it in a little bit.
(laughing)
- It's just the worst time possible.
It's the worst time for that.
(laughing)
I can get you some water.
I can get you a little...
- Oh, sweet Colin.
- Please, not with the
shaky hand towards the face.
- Sweet Colin, my dear.
Hey.
- Hi.
- Come on, Provolone.
- Hey, come on, Raphaniel.
Right?
- Yes.
- Come on.
- Yes, some celery water, I think.
- Okay.
- And the Bulb.
The Bulb has risen, ah.
- Mm-hm.
- [Brennan] There is time.
You know.
Do you think somewhere, sometime,
someone might have ever
made a little smoothie
with cheese and radish in it?
(chuckling)
- Yeah.
(laughing)
You know, I think...
I think that someone maybe was just
trying to figure out,
to try something new.
And that happened.
And there was a cheese and
radish smoothie and it was good.
- Yes.
Just full crying. Yes.
- Hey, hey, we have work to do.
- Yes.
- We're not done yet.
- Oh.
(grunting)
There's still time.
- There is.
- Sweet boy.
- Okay. Okay, okay.
- And I'll walk out of
the tent with Colin.
- Amangeaux.
- Yes, fine.
- You felt the energy already awaken you
within the darkness of your tent,
just as the Bulbrise began to crest.
You begin to place your armor
on, prepared for the day
and you already hear the
voice of Lord Gustavo Uvano
beyond your tent begin to speak
to some of the nearby soldiers.
As you step out you see him adorned
with kind of a light, leather armor.
You know, a small cap on top of that.
His round, strong,
smiling purple grape face
with his mustache, once
thin, now kind of grown bushy
around the edges into a small beard.
He's there with a long bow that is strung.
This beautiful looking carved long bow.
And to his side a heavy
quiver filled with arrows.
As he looks about and goes, countrymen!
Today, much will be asked of
each and every one of you.
But you do not fight alone.
For the first time in a very long time,
many of these kingdoms come
together for a common cause.
And should we be willing
to make these sacrifices,
we will be six as one.
I will come and speak more to you.
Come, have your meals.
Prepare and know that
I fight alongside you.
A few of them kind of, hurrah,
lift their weapons and stuff.
And he turns and nods
and sees you and goes,
Amangeaux!
How do you fare in preparation?
- Ready as ever.
- Mm.
- Ready to serve.
Ready to fight.
I'm ready.
- Good.
I might discuss some tactics
that have been passing around
with some of the generals.
May have proper use for you.
Come with me, I have to
have a quick meeting.
I'm looking forward to it.
Well, parts of it, at least.
And you escort him over,
heading towards the w*r tent,
at the back of the armies.
Karna, you receive word in your
rush to go to the w*r tent,
but you did send a missive out guiding you
to meet up with Delissandro
towards that side of the armies.
And as you gather your things,
and head in that direction,
is there any specifics
of your presentation that has changed
as you prepare for w*r?
- I think her outfit is a mixture
of all the places she's been.
She is Fructeran, so the cut is Fructeran
but it's embroidered
with that gold like wheat from Ceresia.
There's elements of Vegetania throughout
because that's where she
spent most of her time
and then it's lined with that heavy,
sort of imposing, like meat
lining that would mark her
as part of the Meat Land tribes.
- You gather your materials and you begin
to weave quickly as you do so well,
through the various open
elements of field and road.
And eventually approach the
exterior of the massive w*r tent
seeing there, armored and at
the ready, Delissandro Katzon.
The Chief of his beef clan.
(clearing throat)
- Chief.
- Skáld.
- Oh, damn.
She kinda preens a little bit.
- How fares your morning?
- I'm ready.
Are you?
- Of course.
I've waited long for this day.
- It's going to be momentous.
- You hear some footfalls
begin to approach
and as you kind of glance over you can see
a tall, looming man of deep
orange-yellow skin tone.
Cleanly cut hair of the soldier
and a finally crafted suit
of cheese steel ring mail.
A heavy blue and white cloak
pushed over one shoulder,
weapons at the ready, gauntlets on.
You recognize this figure
as Prince Tarthur Cheddar.
Who approaches the exterior of the tent
and kind of glances over.
Well, good morning.
- Morning.
- Who's arrived at the meeting so far?
- The court at present
is Warlord Basha Myaso.
- Mm-hm.
Why is he always the early one?
(clearing throat)
Pushes the tent entrance aside
and enters past the two of you.
- The moment he arrived
I think I am in your mind
just giving you the down low
of everything I know about him.
Like, I'm in your ear without
having to speak aloud.
I give you any information I have.
- So "The Devil Wears Prada."
- 100%! I was gonna say
it and I didn't wanna.
- God, you are so Anne
Hathaway to his Meryl Streep.
- [Aabria] Yes!
- Lady Amangeaux.
- Mm-hm.
- As you accompany Lord Gustavo Uvano
and as well as one of the side
guards into this w*r tent,
what about your presentation,
your warrior getup,
has changed from what we have seen?
- She's definitely pared everything down.
Like, there is nothing extra.
Including her actual body.
She's wiry now.
She's a little bit slimmer.
The curves have kind of hardened.
So that's just over time.
And then she is in her full
studded armor with a cloak,
And then she is in her full
studded armor with a cloak,
she's got a crossbow on her back.
She's got her rapier at her side.
Hair tightly pulled back and braided.
And just very,
she looks very suspiciously around.
Even though we are among allies,
she's always on the lookout for anything
that might be awry because
she's seen too much sh*t.
So you just, what you notice about her
is that she's noticing everything.
- Fair enough.
- We're in Ceresia, so
there should be a rye
somewhere nearby.
(chuckling)
- What do you want from me?
What do you want me to say?
What do you want me to give?
What? What am I supposed to give him?
You're his best friend now, right?
- Give him 20 dollars.
(laughing)
- Fine, fine, sh*t.
I'm gonna Venmo you.
(laughing)
- Sir Colin Provolone and Raphaniel,
as you step out of your
tent you immediately see
Lord Gustavo Uvano
stepping by with an armored
and ready Amangeaux at his side.
And you catch a glance of the two of them
immediately stepping
out to meet your gaze.
- Uh, I...
I have to go.
Be safe.
Keep an eye on him.
- Telepathically.
Is everything all right? Do you need help?
- Knowing you're here is help enough.
- Do you know yet what the
Lord Uvano will ask of you?
- I assume what I've offered.
Strategies, his hand.
- I shall remain close by.
If there is anything that is asked of you
that is dangerous, we will come and help.
- There's a lot being
said with looks right now.
- And I'll say out loud.
Ever the protective one.
And I continue on with Gustavo.
- [Matt] Very well.
- And just nod to Colin.
- Sir Provolone, let us promenade
throughout the encampment.
- Yes, let's go for a walk.
- Blessings!
(laughing)
But I'll stay within
telepathic range of Amangeaux.
- Understood.
As you kind of fall
behind and Uvano who is
giving this warm smile and
waving and acknowledging
some of the Fructeran forces nearby.
Kind of glances back at you
with a very serious look and goes,
are you ready?
- As ready as ever.
- When we arrive I'll need you
to stay outside of the tent
while we discuss the plans for the day.
Listen and see if anything is, um,
of interest or worry in the horizon.
Let me know immediately if you
see something out of sorts.
- All right.
- That will be important to,
well, anything from Pangranos.
All right.
As he approaches he glances over and sees
the rest of the currently standing guard
which includes the two of you and kind of.
Good morning!
- Lord Uvano, good morning.
- Ah, it is a pleasure.
You are Chief Delissandro
of Katzon, right?
- Yes.
- I have heard of your heroic deeds
and your significance at the
side of the warlord Myaso.
- I appreciate your kind
words, and who is...
- Lady Amangeaux Epicée.
It is a pleasure to meet you.
- Can I make an insight
check on Lady Amangeaux?
- Yes, you may.
- Okay.
- [Matt] What are you looking for?
- [Anjali] What do you wanna know?
- I'm trying, why.
I, uh...
I guess there is a, when Deli sees her,
he's surprised by her visage,
but the choice to act like
we have not met before
strikes me as strange.
So I'm trying to figure
out if she is slighting me
or talking down to me in any sort of way.
- Okay, persuasion or deception.
And then we will see what the numbers say.
- f*ck, 17.
- My lady.
And I'm going to cast
Silvery Barbs on you.
And give you advantage.
On your next roll.
- [Matt] Next roll, not this one.
- So Silvery Barbs
means I have to re-roll?
- [Matt] Yup.
- Natural 20, so now--
- Oh no, you take the lower roll.
- Oh, a seven.
But it was a natural 20.
- What is yours?
- 13.
- Okay, hard to read.
Hard to read.
She is far more battle
harden than you expected
and there's kind of a, as
much as your taken aback by,
you also can't help but
respect this change in her.
Uvano kind of nods.
Ah, I guess it's time to see
how we tackle this beast, huh?
You know what that is like.
- Ha, ha, yes.
- There are beasts where you are from.
Anyway.
And he heads on inside
the tent and pushes past.
At this point, you also hear
a smattering of footfalls
coming from the opposite side.
You immediately see a towering woman
of dark, chocolate skin,
white hair and kind
of a polished bronze
colored Candian armor.
A long, thin blade with a basket hilt
that is sheathed to one side.
She steps forward, flanked to her right
by a massive, broad shouldered, seven-foot
young Candian warrior
of pink pop rocks skin
bearing a smoothly bald head.
And a thin, green chin strap beard.
- Ah!
- I know him!
- I immediately throw over Deli.
I'm like, who's this guy?
(laughing)
- I don't f*ck' know,
but we k*lled his sister.
And his mom.
(laughing)
- The woman approaches
having this kind of presence
of strength and it overwhelms
the confidence and charisma.
And the silence in approach.
Looks upon you all.
And I suppose that this is where
we're all supposed to be meeting?
- You've found the right
place, General Rococoa.
- It is a pleasure to meet
you, Delissandro Katzon.
Chief of your beef clan.
- Well met, as well.
I've heard much of your exploits.
- I've heard some of yours as well.
- Mm.
(sighing)
- Well, are we ready for this?
She glances over to her
brother to the side.
You see like, he's youthful,
but what exuberance
might be there in this princely man,
this early adulthood is gone.
Instead replaced with a hard determination
and a grit that belies a
simmering thirst for vengeance
that you have seen in many
a people in your land.
He looks to her and goes,
I've never been more ready.
Let's take as many as these
Ceresians down as we can.
And she kind of looks to him.
Does he have to come?
And you see behind there is this squat,
like two and a half foot tall
chunk of crumbled cheese,
with this long mustache behind.
And he's like, sorry I'm late!
(squishy footsteps)
I slept in a bit!
Wasn't gonna miss this.
(clapping and delighted laughing)
- I love it.
- You see what you recognize
is Prince Amethar go,
I mean, like he's my buddy, you know.
We've been through a lot getting here
and I told him he could be present.
She's like, he absolutely
cannot come inside of the tent.
I can get you in there, but he can't.
He's like, all right, all
right, sorry about that.
I had to have my morning bourbon.
Alright, so, we doing this?
She turns and goes,
you're not coming, Jack.
Well, more drink for me.
And he reaches behind him,
the small jug he has on his side.
And Prince Amethar goes,
hey, I'm sorry, buddy.
I really tried.
Just, I guess, hang
tight, if you don't mind.
He's like, sure, I mean.
You do the talking better than me, anyway.
(chuckling)
They both walk into the tent
and the flap closes behind.
He sits there, aye.
(gulping)
Who the f*ck are you?
- Uh...
My name is Warlord Katzon,
who the f*ck are you?
- I'm Manta Ray Jack of the Dairy Isles.
Sailed the Great Milk
Seas for a long time.
I've slain many a soldiers
across the border.
I'm a little drunk and
I've gotta take a sh*t.
I'll uh...
- I'll hold your flask.
- If you don't mind, aye.
Be right back.
And he kinda walks off a bit
kinda clutching his backside
and kinda saunters into the distance.
Both of you kind of watching this distant,
this kind of odd reunion
here in this space.
- I think this is our
first time seeing Deli
and Karna in a long, long time.
- I immediately telepathically say to her,
I thought it best for all of us
for you not to have known me before.
- Rude, but understandable.
Motherhood seems like it
was rougher than expected.
How are you?
- I think your life has
treated you quite well.
And I see it has brought you a companion.
I'm just gonna come closer to him and say
the same thing that I
said to her in her head.
I thought it best that you
not have known me before
in my previous station I was not as useful
to you as I am now.
- It is fine.
- It is good to see you, both of you.
And to see you well.
And together.
Little, little, little...
- Awkward.
- [Anjali] A little Yenta moment.
- We are not, she is my skáld.
And I am her Chief and...
- Oh no, I'm just seeing you
together at the same time.
- Oh, yes, well it's
good to see you as well.
And the armor is fitting.
- I've heard much of your exploits.
- We haven't been quiet.
- Raphaniel, Colin what are
your passive perceptions?
- 17.
- Oh, 15.
- 15, okay.
It passes you by, but
as you're watching this,
towards the back of this w*r tent
which has just a faint
bit of army gathered
behind the back of it to make sure
that they aren't on the front lines
for a possible as*ault.
You can't help but see
one of the small hills
just beyond that, a shadow of movement.
At first glance you're
like, assassin? Deserter?
And you briefly see this kind
of withered, spindly form.
- Oh!
- This weird, flash of
bone across the face
before it descends behind the hill.
(whimpering)
- Drink your celery water.
(laughing)
(slurping and sputtering)
- Burp.
(gasping)
- [Aabria] Are you okay?
- And I book it.
And I also now, I know this is wild.
As feeble as I am, I
now have Cunning Action,
which I didn't have before.
So I f*ck' haul a*s.
I've been like sort of
hobbling around and I just pew!
- Colin sees this and is like, sh*t!
And like.
- [Anjali] Go, go, go.
- Are they away from us?
- Yeah, are we with you?
- No.
- You're not with them.
You both are just like
off to the side of this
and you're like watching.
- As I'm leaving then, Amangeaux,
you hear my voice in your head saying.
The creature!
The creature from the cave!
- And I immediately
just look around to see.
What do I see? I see him booking for it?
- Yeah, you glance over and you just see
this tiny, withered old man just full on
like Flash sprinting outside of the rest
of the army's gathered space.
- Do I see Colin anywhere?
- You're not keeping
hidden and you probably--
- I'm chasing after him.
- You're chasing after him, all right.
- Cling, cling, cling.
- I look back at the
tent and I look at him
and I am paralyzed.
I have no idea what to do, genuinely.
Uh, uh...
- This is our chance! This is our chance!
- What's wrong?
- [Lou] What's happening?
- I say, I'm in his head, stop now.
Stop!
- I will immediately
switch to Karna and say,
the creature, the cave!
The creature in the cave.
- Chief.
- What?
- Charlock's here and
he sees the thing again.
- What? Where?
- May I go?
- I'm coming with you.
- Okay.
And I just turn and like,
where, where, where?
- From my voice I just yell, follow me!
(laughing)
- Oh my gosh.
- And I also cunning action dash.
- I'm like running left,
right, being like, where?
Just looking for the turnip head.
- While either of you don't see him,
you do see kind of the Road Runner cloud
that follows behind in the
shape of a withered turnip.
- He's like a little durian fart.
- Do I see any of my seconds around?
Do I see anybody that
I can put in my place?
- Yeah, you aren't the
only guardians here.
This w*r tent has a number of soldiers
with each of these arrivals
of the various generals of the armies
other seconds and
guardians have approached
and kind of are stationed.
So you are amongst many.
So, it doesn't lie unguarded.
- Okay, in that case, I am gonna
take cunning action as well
and I'm gonna book it after him.
- Okay, you all.
- We all took levels in rogue.
(chuckling)
- I mean, that's all there was.
- There's no universe in which
we didn't take the same thing.
- I guess I'm a little behind.
- You're like, uh.
- I took mobile, so I have 10 more feet.
- Oh, all right, there
you go, there you go.
- That's cool, I have
mobile and cunning action.
(laughing)
- Aren't you on a?
You're on a star fruit.
You're probably faster than all of us.
- So Provolone, you catch
up quickly to Raphaniel,
but as you seeing all
this, you look above,
and this creature you can see.
The hill that you saw it duck behind,
it isn't a natural hill.
Much of the kind of the grain and oats,
and chunks of like bagel and various bits
of macaroni are like pushed
up, like it's fresh earth.
And you see it kind of
pushing more on top.
And it kind of sees you,
and then just, poof.
Vanishes behind.
- Raphaniel is not in this world anymore.
Like I am, like I see the grain,
but I'm not seeing the grain.
The only time in my
entire life I've ever felt
loved or welcome was in that cave,
in that Heart of the World, where I felt
like there was a chance for
something to understand me.
And I reached out and I shared the thing
I was most afraid of and
it didn't recognize it.
And all I'm doing is going,
it's learned since then.
That's why it didn't let me
back in when I went back.
It took time, but now it's ready.
It came back to find me.
And it's just a...
I am unraveling as I
sprint after the creature.
- You finally see this,
what he's going after,
as it vanishes behind.
And you catch up to the side of him,
just as he begins to like bee
line to where it vanishes.
And he's continuing to go.
- Just slow down for a second.
What are we trying to do here?
- The cave.
The cave, the cave.
The cave has come back.
And I just will take
Colin's hand and lead him.
I saw the creature with the mask.
The one Delissandro slew after the bridge.
It's returned. It's come back.
It's come back, the cave has come back.
It hid itself from us when we returned.
- I don't think it, uh...
- Raphaniel! Raphaniel!
- When he says it hid itself from us.
- Subtle, subtle, subtle.
- Just remembering what
happened in the pyramid
where Dishless was talking to someone.
Can I roll like an insight
check to think if like,
did the church cover this up
or did it hide itself from us?
- Make an intelligence check.
Just to recall the information.
- That's gonna be a 12.
- 12 isn't too bad.
The collapse looked natural.
There wasn't like a detonation
or any like scarring on the
rocks of any fiery expl*si*n.
So, it looks like it collapsed naturally
or was filled in naturally.
- Okay.
- That's the best you can ascertain.
But as you kind of step up and approach,
you can see this kind
of bulge in the hill.
It's not a hill, it's a ring.
There is a freshly dug opening,
kind of bursting out of the
middle of the Ceresian ground.
About three and a half, four feet wide.
That you can see descends
at about a 45 degree angle
beneath the Ceresian earth.
(cackling)
- What is our goal, though?
- To find the cave!
And I'm gonna just start
crawling into the earth.
- Make him stop.
- Stop, stop!
- Make him stop.
- I'm gonna go grab him
and just hold him in place.
- All right, make an athletics check
and an athletics check.
- If I can't hold this
mother f*ck in place,
then I should.
- He's such a little wiry radish.
- What the f*ck? Why are
you rolling badly today?
- 16.
- Oh my god, you totally
slip out of my grasp.
- Driven, he pulls from your grasp.
- I think, like you grab
at the hem of my robe
and I just sh**t through
the neck hole of my-
I'm so tiny that I just, whoop!
- We just see fresh a*s.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
- Ah!
- Too much, too much.
- I don't think you've ever
seen legs connect to lower back
and have a butt hole in the middle.
And be like, there is no butt.
It is legs to back with
a butt hole in the middle
and no a*s.
- I hate that I'm about to follow this.
- [Anjali] I don't like this image.
- Just a little puckered radish butt hole
being like, follow me!
- He said that out of his a*s.
(laughing)
- [Anjali] All right, I guess we're going.
- Can I make a perception
check on the hole that, uh...
That Raphaniel just crawled into.
- Make a perception check.
- Ascertain any details of the
surroundings and the hole itself.
- [Aabria] Check his hole!
- That's a, just a 16.
- Yeah, looking around it looks like
its been freshly opened.
Like, probably within the
last half an hour or so.
Probably even sooner.
This creature just
emerged from this space.
- We haven't seen the creature.
We just watched Raphaniel crawl into it.
- He was yelling that he saw it.
So, I passed that unto you.
- Okay.
Do we think it's in there?
- Yeah.
Are we wasting time on this?
There's a whole w*r we're about to finish.
- I have to agree.
- When I touched that thing
it was something else.
Um, if there's a chance.
It's maybe not a complete waste of time.
- Okay.
- I'm just gonna make a perception check
for anything dangerous nearby.
Any traps, anything.
- Sure, make a perception check.
- Please roll well.
- [Lou] Colin, you already went in?
- I chased him in.
- Come on, little.
No, it's not rolling well.
- I don't know how big.
- What is this perception?
- [Matt] Perception.
- Oh, 19.
- 19 is not bad.
It doesn't appear to
have any sort of danger
of it collapsing.
You know, it's dug pretty well.
You do see on the horizon,
on the other kind of base side of where
the army is setup, another
similar little bump.
- Ah.
- Like there's another
opening similar to this
quite a ways along the
back side of the army.
Raphaniel.
- Mm-hm.
- As you are pushing
through it begins to widen
and widen to the point
where you can eventually
get to your knees and crawl.
And then eventually get
back up unto your feet.
And as you do, you begin to
see that same glowing light.
As it begins to curve around and you see
the thinnest little filaments
of this glowing root-like
growth on two different sides
of the hill just kind of standing there.
- I reach out to Deli,
if he's within 60 feet of
me still, with telepathy.
- You kind of stop for a minute
and kind of take this in.
It gives you a little
bit of time to catch up
and Colin Provolone is
a lot closer to you.
You're like right up
against him at this point.
- Slow down, slow down.
- I'm gonna reach.
I just reach out to Deli and I go,
Delissandro, it's here.
It's here.
We don't have to be afraid.
It's come after us.
- Uh-huh.
I'm going to.
I'm gonna go in the hole.
I'm gonna get in the hole.
- Can I insight check him?
Because I don't think we've talked about
what happened in there.
And I never thought to ask.
- Make an insight check.
Make a persuasion or
deception, your choice.
Based on your truthfulness or not.
- m*therf*cker! 14.
- 25, persuasion.
But like, I don't think would deceive you.
I think there is just a, it was a feeling
unlike anything I've ever had before.
And the chance to understand it more,
would be something I would be intrigued.
So I don't think you see any
sort of like, secret, secret.
It's more just like, it's there.
I actually do want to know more.
- I think then, it's just
a matter of Karna seeing
your demeanor be very invested.
And she immediately softens.
Okay, I will follow.
- I'll follow them.
- All right.
- Somebody bring the Radish's clothes.
- Oh, I've still got them in my hands.
- Wild.
- Pass 'em up.
(laughing)
- You begin to stumble down.
Seeing the threads of this
growing, root-like filament
across the walls, winding
between the rock and stone
and chunks of weird, old,
stale bread, and crust.
and chunks of weird, old,
stale bread, and crust.
You turn around this
large bend that continues
to go further down and
down, like a spiral.
And then back towards the
direction of the city.
And as it opens up you see,
it breaks off into another tunnel
that leads off in the
direction of where you noticed.
And you can see three of these creatures.
They're in the process of digging away
and gathering the stone.
And they look up and see you.
- Subtle spell, or not even subtle spell.
Just Detect Thoughts and
just open arms, not a threat.
- Make a persuasion check along with that.
- 22.
- The three of them holding the stones,
they kind of like drop the earth
and you can see them.
They're like these elongated, weird,
asymmetrical beings of just clustered,
withered fungus and mold.
These kind of long, protracted
fingers at different lengths.
These eyes that are offset.
No visible mouth.
These odd, amber eyes peeking through
with bright bursts of
color that are varying
and change from all three of them.
They seem to vary in the types of fungus
that make up their form and body.
They wear these masks
constructed of broken bone,
or scavenged corpses.
And they all look like they're wearing
some semblance of armor that
is a varying patchwork chunks
pulled from other
battlefields and other armies.
And there are weapons at their side,
and they all just kind of look at you.
As you Detect Thoughts,
the surface thoughts you
get don't make sense.
There isn't communication
that you can understand here
beyond just flashes of emotion
that remind you of anxiety, worry, flee.
Oh no, ah.
- No, no, no.
It's all right.
It's all right.
I'm not here to hurt you.
The cave.
The cave told me.
I wasn't ready.
I am ready now.
I am ready.
I am ready.
- The rest of you are starting
to stumble from behind
as you see the butt naked
Raphaniel standing like Mr. Burns.
- I immediately run up to
him and put his clothes on.
- [Aabria] Yeah, 100%.
- Putting his clothes
on. Like, put these on.
- No, it's all right, it's all right.
I should be naked!
- But you also see these
three fungal creatures
that are all kind of
standing in an odd standoff.
- Deli, Deli.
Do you remember?
- It's them, it is them.
- You, it is the same.
I'm hearing their
thoughts, but they can't...
They can't think in words.
They're thinking in feelings.
They're afraid, do not be afraid.
And I'm gonna get on my knees.
Do not be afraid.
- I am going to attempt to
use Telepathy with them,
but instead of using words,
I'm going to remember
the feeling of holding my child.
And just the warmth of
when I'm holding him
and cradling him in safety.
- Okay, make a persuasion check.
- f*ck me!
14.
- 14, okay.
Two of them kind of take a step back.
While the smallest of them,
that's not the closest to you,
kind of in the middle of
them, begins to approach.
And you see as it comes,
its eyes are sunken lower in its body.
And the top of its head
crests into these caps
that have multi colors across them.
Bits of like gray and white
fuzz, mold kind of forms
across the upper part of the torso
as it slowly kind of
like, waddles over to you.
It gets within about five feet of you.
And where its mouth is kind of.
(gasping)
These spores emerge and
engulf your face and body.
- Yes!
- You inhale them into you.
(inhaling)
- Whoa.
- And there's like a faint
tinge of burning in your lungs
as they find purchase on
the inside of your body.
And there's this rush,
this odd excitement,
this adrenaline burst that
goes through your system
and these weird alien thoughts
that you were kind of glancing off of,
these bursts of emotion from
this one before you begins to.
(gasping)
Welcome.
- I...
- You shouldn't be here.
- Why? Why would you say that?
I am ready, I...
- We are forbidden to be seen.
- I understand.
Last time the cave in Fructera.
I had audience with
the Heart of the World.
And I...
I panicked and I shared something
I shouldn't have shared.
It was a weakness that I wasn't ready.
But now you can tell.
You can tell the Heart of
the World that I am ready.
And if you will give me this power,
then I can destroy the enemies.
Whatever you have, yours and mine.
You can do this.
- You get this sense of being overwhelmed.
And this creature it doesn't meet you
on an intellectual level.
As it's more of just based
in reactionary emotion
and not a lack of intelligence,
but just a simple view of the world.
A lot of that just kind
of glances off of it.
As its kind of head c*ck to
you and you hear once more,
kind of through your mind.
- The heart of the world that you,
you touched the mycelium.
And it kind of glances over
towards the pulsing light
that's kind of moving through
those veins that run through.
The heart of the mycelium
is the Heart of Saprophus.
The heart of the mycelium
is the Heart of Saprophus.
The heart of ice.
- I am going to telepathically reach out
to Deli again and say, I
need to know what to say.
I can feel them withdrawing from me.
This is my last chance.
My body is dying.
- Pulling from my memories of the moment
with the, what we call
the Heart of the World,
or the heart of the mycelium.
I remember being taken with
this feeling of warmth,
but that gave me a sense of fear.
What were the images associated with that?
Or I'm trying to recollect this.
- You're trying to recollect it.
It's like stepping into
a welcoming presence,
and the presence says, you can't be here.
- Mm.
- So it wasn't a please come.
It was just a sense of
belonging and connection
that said, not, not now.
It wasn't denying you
or shunting you away,
it was just not ready.
- Raphaniel, I...
I think they are trying to protect us
from something that we should not have.
- We should have it!
And I say that with my voice.
We should have it!
- As this happens, like, all
of these creatures pull back
and the one that was talking to you says,
Saprophus must be protected.
They promised.
They...
- Say it again.
What must be protected?
- Saprophus.
As it kind of steps back a bit,
and you're here in the
middle of the tunnel here
a voice go, how's it going?
Is it done yet?
And you see emerging from
around the tunnel a figure.
Maskless but wearing a familiar set
of brown, tan, and gray robes.
The robes of the FDA.
Of the Sanctus Putris
emerging around the edge.
Straight into your merry band.
Before going...
Oh, f*ck.
- Shatter.
- And that's where we'll pick up
on the next episode.
(cheering)
- Incredible.
- [Brennan] What the purpose
of the Heart of the World,
your beloved mycelium
could be, I cannot know.
There is wisdom here beneath the earth
that I have been too much a fool to see.
- I'm sorry, is there
an issue going on- Oh.
sh*t, indeed.
- I'm going to take your face!
I'm gonna wear your clothes.
- Ah!
- I'm gonna be you! Ha, ha, ha!
- Oh god.
- We're back together again.
- What the hell?
- I don't think we've met, but Raphaniel
you can still talk to dead people, right?
- Sir Provolone, may the Bulb
shine on what you must now do.
- You're going to die down here.
- Ah.
- Yeah, c'est moi.
- Wow, so she's in this cult, cool.
That's awesome.
- She's really.
She's proven herself in a lot of ways.
- Yeah, so have I.
- Your eminence.
It's time for someone to take care of you.
For once, trust me.
- People have been
telling me I am not ready.
Not included.
Not to be given mask or robe.
You had a chance to have me as a friend.
And now I'll pull your roots
out of this wicked earth myself!
- Shh.
No words for the Bulb down here.
(somber piano music)
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17x04 - The Light and the Shadow
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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.