S1 Ep9: The One To Survive

[00:00:30] Speaker A: Hello. My name is Damon Gerard, and I'll be playing Chris Strong, the scion of Artemis. [00:00:37] Speaker B: Hello, I'm Gary, and I'll be playing Oliver Bright, the scion of OGMA. [00:00:43] Speaker C: I'm Cyan, and I'm playing Sarah Baxter, the scion of Vidar. [00:00:49] Speaker D: I am good old heretic. I will be playing Stefan Vargar, the leader of the Fenris wolves. [00:00:56] Speaker E: And I'm termite. I'll be playing Gwendolyn Chambers. [00:01:03] Speaker F: And I'm bloodied porcelain. I'll be your storyteller for the evening. Good evening, players. Hello. [00:01:12] Speaker A: Hi. [00:01:13] Speaker C: Hello. [00:01:16] Speaker F: Damien. Welcome back. We missed you last week. [00:01:19] Speaker A: Thank you. Yes. Sorry about that. [00:01:21] Speaker F: Nothing to apologize for. Where last week? To catch everybody up? Oliver, you woke to find a note from Damien or from Chris? Sorry? Letting you know that he was going to help his Uncle Apollo with something. You and Sarah and Coda congregated with Net for some breakfast, and Net offered to do some light combat training with the three of you. [00:02:06] Speaker B: But. [00:02:09] Speaker F: For whatever reason, you found yourselves well, you found yourselves largely outmatched by your companion until around the final round, when she had the three of you work together. And somehow, miraculously, sarah managed to get in something of a kidney punch against Net. You all were given the opportunity to go back inside. Sarah announced that she had some things that she wanted to talk about with the rest of you, and Net excused herself. Where Sarah? While Sarah proposed a change in her initial plan for how she wanted to handle the question of what to do about Stefan, chris's half brother and the leader of the Fenris Wolves. Rather than kill him, as was originally discussed and expected by most of the gods, sarah proposed a path to potential redemption, a way to serve out a sentence to pay for his crimes, but that would not involve outright all. There was quite a bit of debate that happened. There was a fair amount of back and forth. Coda went and talked to Net, who was less than thrilled, but told her that in the end, it's really not up to Net what happens. She has to follow whatever orders she is given by her pantheon, the celestial bureaucracy. You were visited by OGMA and the Morrigan and Vidar himself, who all had their own things to say about your plan. None of them seemed particularly thrilled at the prospect. But the morrigan did acknowledge that if the circumstances were right and you managed to convince the right people, there was a chance that a member of the Didanin might be willing to step up and not only adopt Mr. Vargher, but to bind him with an oath that would be unbreakable without it costing him his life in order to what's the word? Ensure his loyalty even beyond death. Vidar left, followed by OGMA and the Morrigan. And that is roughly where we left off that night. You all are at what you all go to. Head back to your rooms. Coda informs you that when she got to her room, net was not there, and her things were gone. She seemed less than happy about it. Oliver halfway through the evening, or well into the evening, after you've been in bed for about an hour or two, the door to your room opens, and Chris lets himself in. Chris you spent the day with your Uncle Apollo on a bit of an adventure. It was fun and kind of weird and wacky and wild. You got to go up in the chariot, which was pretty cool. Excellent. But you were aiding Apollo in winning the attention of a young woman that he has taken an interest in. He given the direct ties of fate to the gods. He was not able to approach her on his own or in a normal fashion like he would have back in the ancient days. So he kind of roped you into helping her to notice him and his attentions and go with you to a place where he could actually speak to her without it causing huge ripples in fate. The two of you were able to get in some archery practice. He gave you one arrow that is significantly different from any of the other arrows that you have received. And he did not tell you what that arrow does. He only told you that you should only use it in the most extreme of circumstances if things are really bad and to never, ever fire it too close to one of your friends. [00:08:15] Speaker A: But I perhaps ask him to be a little bit more specific with that. [00:08:22] Speaker F: When you asked him to, he just sort of taps the side of his nose and says, I'm afraid that if I say anything, my sister will kill me. [00:08:32] Speaker A: I'll just kind of stare at him unblinking for a little bit and then shake my hand, go, okay. Like, I'm super pissed off with that answer sort of thing. [00:08:44] Speaker F: You get the feeling that he knows he probably shouldn't be giving you said gift, but he wants to return the favor that you did for him and just knows that if he utters the wrong words and she finds out, he's going to be in trouble. So he's looking to avoid getting in trouble before he absolutely has to. [00:09:12] Speaker A: I'll ask him whether this arrow kind of condenses down like the bow does, because if it doesn't, I now have to carry a single arrow around with me. [00:09:21] Speaker F: He says that if you press the arrow to the bow itself, it'll actually meld into the bow. [00:09:29] Speaker A: Perfect. [00:09:31] Speaker F: So it'll shift to whatever form the bow takes and won't be noticeable. And you notice that when you attempt to combine the two, that there is actually it looks like an arrow etched into the body of the bow. [00:09:48] Speaker A: Cool. Okay. I'll thank him. [00:09:54] Speaker F: And he drops you off. It's pretty late. You guys got to go out and have a drink. You had a pretty good time. But he drops you off. It's pretty late, and you make your way inside. [00:10:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Go back to bed. [00:10:18] Speaker F: In the morning, I'm going to assume that Oliver is the first one up, as usual. [00:10:28] Speaker B: Likely, yes. [00:10:31] Speaker F: Oliver, you wake up, and Chris is in his. [00:10:37] Speaker B: Good, let him sleep, but definitely some things he needs to be informed of. Until then, I'm going to get a little bit of a workout in, get dressed, and then head down and get some breakfast. [00:10:53] Speaker F: Okay. Sarah, you're the next one up. As usual. [00:11:00] Speaker C: Sarah will also get dressed and kind of find a place to work out after yesterday's session and the realization that she needs to train more. [00:11:11] Speaker F: Okay. [00:11:13] Speaker C: And then after she's finished, she'll go to the common area and try to find the others. [00:11:17] Speaker F: We'll go to the really nice dining room that you guys have all been allowed to access. [00:11:24] Speaker C: Yep. [00:11:26] Speaker F: Okay. When you get there, Oliver is the only one there. Oh, you both have a text message on your phone. [00:11:40] Speaker B: Check and see what that's about. [00:11:42] Speaker F: It is from Coda. Kareem called her and told her kind of where Net was, and Coda has gone to see if she can smooth things over with her brand new girlfriend before she's no longer her girlfriend anymore. [00:12:07] Speaker B: Takes me a couple of seconds to fully get the messages. I have to decipher all the emojis. [00:12:13] Speaker F: Yeah, probably Emojis and Typos, but eventually you get it. [00:12:22] Speaker B: What does TTYL mean? [00:12:26] Speaker C: Talk to you later. [00:12:27] Speaker B: That makes sense. [00:12:34] Speaker F: While you two are eating, Chris, you finally start to surface. The room is empty of other people, but Oliver's stuff is all okay. You know where the dining room is. [00:12:50] Speaker A: I'll put on a pair of combats, pair of boots, sort of stripped to the waist tousled hair, and I'll just kind of, like, wander out into the dining room. Yawning. [00:13:03] Speaker B: Chris, welcome back. [00:13:07] Speaker A: How are you doing? [00:13:11] Speaker B: Well, we'll get to that, as I believe we've gone a little bit insane since last time you're with us, but how was your adventure with Apollo? [00:13:23] Speaker A: Yeah, we chatted over a few things. He gave me a little gift. We did a lot of drinking, and yeah, it's pretty cool. [00:13:36] Speaker B: Right? Well, Sarah, you want to fill them in? [00:13:45] Speaker C: After thinking for a second, she'll kind of take a second to explain all that happens. Basic summary stuff. [00:13:59] Speaker A: Well, I don't know whether he'll go for that. He might. I mean, he seemed, like, pretty pissed off with the rest of the gods, so maybe if there is a way back, a redemption arc for him, he might be interested. [00:14:16] Speaker B: That was the crux of our argument, that what he's looking for is a sense of community, a place to belong, and we can offer that to him. If he's interested, then perhaps he can do sort of rhyme with Hercules, do some trials, prove that he's redeemed or something of that nature. [00:14:37] Speaker A: The only thing I could see is that he has control of a lot of wolves at the moment, so he's got this little bit of power. He might not want to relinquish that little power control he's got. So we need to appease that in some way as well. [00:14:52] Speaker B: Right, absolutely. And part of the agreements was also that if he doesn't go for it, then it's back to the original plan, I believe. [00:15:03] Speaker A: Yeah, sounds fair. [00:15:08] Speaker C: Thinking about that, actually. It might be, well, a bit shrewd of us if we were to reframe it, not as a way to redeem himself in the eyes of the gods, but it would be more important to be an agent against all of these different types of apocalypses that we're all suddenly now facing because they're all very real. [00:15:30] Speaker B: Yeah, that as well. However, even if we have to resort to the bad ending, I guess you could say we are sort of still supposed to take him alive because he has information that the gods are going to want, mostly considering how he's sniffing out Scions before they become Scions. [00:15:52] Speaker A: Okay. I mean, it's worth a go. [00:15:58] Speaker B: Yeah. So in the near future, we are going to need to meet with him, and that's where you likely will come in. [00:16:13] Speaker A: Copy that. Anyone got any coffee, bacon, eggs, anything like that? [00:16:21] Speaker F: There's a full spread on the table. Well, on a side table, like a little buffet table behind you. [00:16:31] Speaker A: I'll sit down and start eating as we talk. [00:16:40] Speaker B: Right, well, so should we lay out a plan? Make sure all the ducks are in a row? [00:16:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:55] Speaker B: Right. Then step one then. Need to organize a meeting. You still have his number or a way to contact him, right? Chris? [00:17:05] Speaker A: Yeah, he gave me one of his cards. I haven't put his number into my phone yet, but I've got his card. Hang on, I got it here somewhere. And I'll rummage around in a pocket and pull out the business card and put it on the table. [00:17:16] Speaker B: All right. I think it would be best if you were the one to reach out to him as he was most receptive to you. [00:17:28] Speaker A: Okay, what do you want me to say to him exactly? [00:17:33] Speaker B: That we want to meet, that we want to talk and that we intend to do things peacefully and that we might have a business offer that could be compelling to him that are just an offer in general. [00:17:51] Speaker A: Okay, I'll go and get my phone. I'll give him a call now. And I will I'll go, I'll stand up, go back to my room, grab my phone, and come back into the dining room. [00:18:11] Speaker F: Okay. You head upstairs, grab your phone and come back and you have his card in your pocket. [00:18:22] Speaker A: I'll pull the card out, pull my phone out, tap the number in, and hit dial. [00:18:34] Speaker F: You Stefan. Your phone is ringing, and it is a number that you are very familiar with since you picked up the latest relic phone. [00:18:58] Speaker D: Yeah, I think he will answer. [00:19:04] Speaker A: Yo. [00:19:06] Speaker D: Well, hello, Chris. It's been a while. [00:19:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, simply days. How you doing? [00:19:17] Speaker D: I'm holding up. How about you? [00:19:19] Speaker A: Oh, I'm peachy. Fucking keen, thanks for asking. Look, we all want to have a meet with you. Somewhere public, some where no one, either side is going to try any shitty business. We want to talk. Literally talk. [00:19:38] Speaker D: All right. Where would you like to set up then? [00:19:46] Speaker A: Somewhere open, I think. Lots of people. I don't know, park or something like that. [00:19:52] Speaker D: All right. Now I'm hoping you aren't planning to ambush me. [00:19:58] Speaker A: We are not. And the same goes for you as well. We're hoping you ain't going to ambush us. This is literally we want to talk. [00:20:08] Speaker D: Never. All right, well, when do you want this to happen? [00:20:13] Speaker A: Today. Are you good for noon? [00:20:18] Speaker D: I'm good for whatever time, Chris. [00:20:21] Speaker A: Let's say noon then. [00:20:25] Speaker D: All right, y'all eat yourselves some breakfast. Get ready. I'll see you then. Will text me which park. I have your number. [00:20:34] Speaker A: Yeah, I will. [00:20:38] Speaker D: All right, Will. Tell your friends I said hi and I'll see them later. [00:20:44] Speaker A: I'll catch you later. Hang up. That was probably all on speaker as well. I wouldn't have done it sort of just in my ear. I would have put that on speaker and put it on the table for everybody else to hear. [00:20:56] Speaker F: Good to know. [00:20:58] Speaker A: Should have said that before. [00:20:59] Speaker B: Sorry. [00:21:01] Speaker F: Totally fine. You all heard that conversation. You know what's going on. [00:21:09] Speaker A: So where do we want to meet him? [00:21:13] Speaker B: I think what you were saying, it was a good idea, at least somewhat. I'm slightly concerned as he didn't seem to have too much worry about civilian life in the past. But a large public area is still the best, least for the fact that you can't hide wolves very well there. So a park. That would be good. There's one near the hotel. It's where I met with a bird to carry a message and other things happened, but I've already been over that. Yes. [00:21:46] Speaker C: Probably something further than nearby the hotel. If we need to flee, we need to be able to lose them in the process. [00:21:52] Speaker B: You're right. That's a much smarter idea. [00:21:55] Speaker A: I'll pull up a map on my phone and start looking at parks near where we are. Or nearish. [00:22:02] Speaker F: So you guys are kind of in the middle of the city. Most parks around here are going to be pretty close to civilians. If you want to go somewhere without civilians, you're probably going to have to go towards the outskirts of the city or just totally outside of the city into the suburbs. [00:22:21] Speaker A: I think we want to go to somewhere where there's actually going to be a lot of people around just so that he can't try any shit. [00:22:27] Speaker F: Okay, that's up to you. Somebody said something about not being about him not being concerned for civilian life. So I was just presenting options. So there are a number of parks in and around Atlanta. You can pick any number of them. They're all probably going to be busy at this time of day, as long as they're within the city limits. So I would say that it's not hard for you to find one. I'm going to hand wave looking up a specific one in real life because it's not super important. [00:23:03] Speaker A: So the Mercedes Benz stadium has a park pretty much all the way around it, and that's going to be busy. So that's probably a good place. [00:23:11] Speaker F: That sounds awesome. [00:23:13] Speaker A: Middle of town as well. [00:23:15] Speaker B: Yeah, good option. [00:23:16] Speaker F: Sounds good. [00:23:20] Speaker B: So at that location and a little bit of time before we get there, any preparations you all think we should make? [00:23:29] Speaker C: Well, if we're going at noon, we. [00:23:30] Speaker F: Should probably bring food. [00:23:32] Speaker C: It would also help set a better tone as well. [00:23:36] Speaker B: Could do that. Wise idea. I'm just. [00:23:44] Speaker A: We should probably let people know where we're going. [00:23:47] Speaker B: That is well. But I'm worried about the outcome of this. There's only really one of two ways it can go, which is very bad or fairly well, with a possibility of also things going bad later. And I have an idea, but I'll leave it up to you two to see if we should do it now or wait until more crucial moments. I'll pull out the book, put it down on the table, and just sort of drum my fingers on the COVID I could look into the future a little bit with this, see certain threads where fate could potentially take us. But I can't do it very often, so I could do it now, see what could be in store for us, or we could wait for potentially more crucial moments. [00:24:45] Speaker A: How long does it take you to kind of get that information? [00:24:51] Speaker B: Not totally sure, as I haven't done it yet, but I feel as if I sort of open the book, read what there is to see, I might get a vision, and then from there, it'll either be good or bad. [00:25:07] Speaker A: To me, it sounds like doing that at a crucial moment might not actually give you a lot of time to get information. And if it's going to take you a while to read the book and get a vision, it might be better to do it slightly further ahead of time. [00:25:23] Speaker C: Also, this seems like a fairly crucial moment, so if you don't mind looking ahead so we can prepare a little bit, that would be really helpful. [00:25:32] Speaker B: All right. In that case, let's see what this is all about and I will flip open the book and use prophecy. [00:25:44] Speaker F: Excellent. Do you have written down what your dipole is for that? [00:25:51] Speaker B: I thought I did, but I might not. [00:25:58] Speaker F: I believe it's something like it's an occult or something, or perception. An occult? [00:26:06] Speaker B: Let's find out. My bet I forgot that this one had a pool. That's my bad. [00:26:19] Speaker F: Looking. Sorry, guys. You can read the Fates once per story. Rolling. Intelligence plus fate plus your mystery purview, basically. So intelligence plus however many dots you have in that particular purview. [00:26:37] Speaker B: And does epic intelligence apply to this. [00:26:39] Speaker F: Or no, you do not get bonus successes. [00:26:45] Speaker B: All right? [00:26:46] Speaker F: You get to reroll total failures and divide any resulting successes between mystery questions and prophecy visions as they choose. There you go. I'm just going to copy paste this into your thing. Hold on. There you go. It is in the game's general chat where you can see it. [00:27:13] Speaker B: All right, thank you. So intelligence plus eight, would it be? [00:27:27] Speaker F: Yes. [00:27:36] Speaker B: That is one success. [00:27:40] Speaker F: I see. One success. You get to ask one question or for one vision, can we confer on. [00:27:51] Speaker A: The question, or does he have to just pick it? [00:27:53] Speaker F: Now, I will allow you to confer because this is a once per story thing, and I don't want to screw Oliver out of the thing that he gets only one of. [00:28:08] Speaker A: So we could ask something like, is this meeting going to go badly for us? Or will it devolve into violence? Or something like that. But I don't know whether that's specific enough. [00:28:19] Speaker B: Yeah, when I'm looking at here, things are foggy to me. I'm not used to this yet, so I can either kind of look and see something that might happen, or I can ask and get an answer. And we could ask, will this go well or will it go violently? But that might be too vague. [00:28:43] Speaker C: Or something like, what appeals would be most effective to be successful in our goals? [00:28:54] Speaker B: That would be a good one. What would appeal to them most? That sounds like a fairly good question to me. What do you think, Chris? [00:29:05] Speaker A: Yeah, it's not bad. [00:29:09] Speaker B: All right, that case, I'll go back into my book and focus on the question, what will appeal to the most for things to go in our favor? [00:29:20] Speaker F: Are you asking specifically for Stefan? [00:29:27] Speaker B: Yes. [00:29:29] Speaker F: Okay. So you stare at the pages of your book while focusing on the question of what will appeal most to Stefan to win him over to your side. And as you focus on this, you begin to see lines appearing on what was once a blank page, and it begins to fill with ogham writing. It's kind of a jumble. Even with your ability to read it, it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense at first. And then bits and pieces of it begin to disappear. And you notice that something that was at the bottom corner of the page will disappear and then reappear at the top corner like it's rearranging itself. And you get the answer. You get a couple of words. You get belonging and family. And heretic I will allow you to contribute one word. [00:30:55] Speaker D: Protection. [00:31:08] Speaker B: I'll nod. He wants to belong, he wants a family, and he wants to be protected. Those are all things we can use. [00:31:24] Speaker C: That was actually really helpful. Okay. I can think about this. [00:31:33] Speaker B: Also gave me a massive headache, but I'll manage. No, I'm definitely not doing that again anytime soon, but it's good. [00:31:47] Speaker A: I got something in my room that'll help that headache. Want to go and get it? [00:31:52] Speaker B: Depends on what it is. [00:31:53] Speaker A: We'll go and get it. I'll go away and come back with a bottle of whiskey. Whiskey? [00:32:00] Speaker B: Tim just a handle of whiskey. Maybe later. Maybe later. I'm going to put it in my satchel. [00:32:13] Speaker F: Oliver as you looked up from the book at the rest of them, you realize that the first thing that you notice is that there is what looks like a shining golden manacle around your wrist that runs from your wrist to the book. The second thing that you notice is that the fate threads that you have been seeing extending between yourself and your companions seem thicker today. Like extra fibers have been added and they have been woven a little bit more tightly. [00:33:01] Speaker B: I touch the manacle. Does it feel, like, real to me, like, physical? [00:33:06] Speaker F: Your finger passes through it. It's not physical. You can tell that this is a visual manifestation of fate itself, just like the fate threads are. [00:33:24] Speaker B: Well, that's ominous, but, yes, I'll consider the whiskey for later. As you know, I don't drink, but not for reasons you probably think. It's just never really felt like the right time yet. But who knows? Today is a new day. [00:33:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:47] Speaker C: Smoking, drinking, fighting. You're really leaning into this whole thing, aren't you? [00:33:53] Speaker B: Define this whole thing. [00:33:58] Speaker C: Not to be disrespectful, but the whole Irish stereotype. [00:34:04] Speaker B: I was told by a god to learn how to fight, so I couldn't exactly say no to her. As for the smoking thing all right, you have a point there. And I haven't drank yet. And I'm also avoiding swearing still, so yes. Wait, no. Stereotype does not hold up yet. [00:34:29] Speaker C: Look, if I don't get to see at least 1 bar brawl from you, then I'll be disappointed. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Violence should be a last resort in any situation. [00:34:47] Speaker C: And Sarah's going to start trying to find supplies to put together a picnic. [00:34:54] Speaker F: So there aren't a ton of supplies to put together a picnic, but you are staying in a very high end hotel with pretty extensive room service and various things. Like, they've come by and picked up laundry for you guys and had them cleaned professionally, so it doesn't take much. All you've really got to do is call the front desk and ask if they can have the kitchen put together a proper picnic lunch. Cool. [00:35:33] Speaker C: She's also going to grab the alcohol that they got from the cave. [00:35:40] Speaker F: Okay. The wild blueberry flavored hooch. [00:35:46] Speaker B: Got it. No. Is that really the best thing to share over a picnic? [00:35:56] Speaker C: Do you have any better suggestions? [00:36:00] Speaker B: Sparkling water. [00:36:04] Speaker A: Get the fuck out of here. [00:36:06] Speaker F: What are you doing? [00:36:07] Speaker B: I like it. [00:36:12] Speaker A: Of course you do. Sparkling water has, like, the least flavor, the least color, the least of anything. Of course you love it. [00:36:24] Speaker B: No, I like the flavored ones. [00:36:26] Speaker C: It's just like drinking TV static. [00:36:29] Speaker B: That's not fair. [00:36:34] Speaker A: It's not fair to TV static. [00:36:36] Speaker B: Hey, you know, I enjoy it, and that's all that matters to me. [00:36:45] Speaker A: Dude, have a Coke and a smile, okay? [00:36:48] Speaker B: I smile plenty. [00:36:50] Speaker A: No, literally, have a Coke and a smile. [00:36:57] Speaker B: Is that, like, also a drink that I'm not aware of? [00:37:01] Speaker A: I mean Coca Cola. It's a drink. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Well, I know about coke, but smile. Is that like a brand or something, or do you mean a literal smile? [00:37:11] Speaker A: I mean, just try something else other than sparkling water, man. Come on. [00:37:17] Speaker B: Fine. Put a Diet Coke in the basket, and I'll have one during the picnic. [00:37:22] Speaker A: Dude, steady. You want to go away to Diet Coke? You want to maybe get there a little bit slower by squirt or something? [00:37:35] Speaker B: I'll have you know I smoked a cigarette. So what? [00:37:42] Speaker A: All of one? [00:37:44] Speaker B: Part of one. [00:37:46] Speaker A: There we go. [00:37:52] Speaker B: I'm capable of being adventurous. Let's say that. [00:38:07] Speaker F: Yep. [00:38:07] Speaker C: Sarah will try to go find the Diet Coke and then head back okay. [00:38:14] Speaker F: While Oliver's friends bully him for his drink choices and Sarah goes to find him a different drink. We are going to pivot now to somewhere else in an undisclosed nondescript location where two people are having a conversation. Stefan, you have just hung up the phone with your half brother and are making arrangements to go and meet with him. [00:38:53] Speaker D: Indeed, I believe Stefan will approach whatever room Gwen Chambers usually stays in. [00:39:02] Speaker F: Are you going to I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [00:39:06] Speaker D: There it. [00:39:10] Speaker F: Know. I know. I'm fired. I get it. [00:39:15] Speaker D: And he will knock politely on the door. [00:39:19] Speaker E: Gwen will walk up, open the door. Yeah. [00:39:25] Speaker D: Cody. Gwen. Hopefully your day's been going well. [00:39:30] Speaker E: Well, it's been going pretty well so far. [00:39:34] Speaker D: That's good. I wanted to let you know that I'm probably going to be heading out for a bit. [00:39:43] Speaker E: Where are you going? [00:39:46] Speaker D: I believe I'm going to a park. [00:39:51] Speaker E: Why? [00:39:54] Speaker D: Well, our little friends wanted to have a talk, so I think I'm starting to wear them down. [00:40:04] Speaker E: We'll see. You're not going alone? [00:40:08] Speaker D: Well, I think I'll be fine alone. It's a public park. [00:40:16] Speaker E: That wasn't an offer. [00:40:22] Speaker D: I mean, you can come, I guess. I don't. [00:40:29] Speaker E: Plan on interfering, but you're not going alone. [00:40:37] Speaker D: All right, well, I'm going to be. Well, no wolves are coming with us because it would spell quite a bit of problems for the people in the park. [00:40:51] Speaker E: I didn't plan on bringing any wolves with me. [00:40:56] Speaker D: All right, well, it's happening at noon, so I'm going to go get ready, I guess. [00:41:06] Speaker B: Good. [00:41:11] Speaker D: All right, well, let's try and be a bit cordial if we can. [00:41:20] Speaker E: Oh, I don't plan on interacting with them at all. One of them knows me, and the others have seen my face, so. [00:41:33] Speaker D: I'll. [00:41:33] Speaker E: Be watching from a distance, making sure nothing untoward happens. [00:41:40] Speaker B: Sure. [00:41:41] Speaker E: Nobody does anything stupid. They don't try to pull anything. If we try to pull anything, you're not doing it alone. [00:41:50] Speaker D: Yeah, they said they are not going to ambush me and they can't really lie to me, so worst they could do is poison me, which whatever. All right, well, I'm going to go get ready. I'll let the wolves know to hold back. [00:42:19] Speaker A: All right. [00:42:22] Speaker E: Be careful. [00:42:25] Speaker D: I'm always careful. [00:42:32] Speaker F: Excellent. Okay, that happens. And we will pivot back to our PCs as they gather their things to head out for their little meeting with Stefan. [00:42:55] Speaker B: So how stereotypical are we getting this? Should we get a blanket, a basket. [00:43:01] Speaker C: All of the above? Yes. [00:43:03] Speaker B: Okay. A kite? [00:43:09] Speaker A: No. [00:43:20] Speaker F: Okay. Assuming that you have food packed, or I should say that the hotel packs up a lovely lunch, you guys end up with what is essentially like fried chicken and potato salad and that sort of thing, and are sent on your way with the notion that your rooms will be cleaned and refreshed by the time you get back. [00:43:52] Speaker A: Before we go, guys, we should probably let someone know what we're doing, where we're going. [00:43:59] Speaker B: Yes. I'll text Kareem and let him know what we're up to so if things go particularly bad and he'll know. In addition, when we begin the conversation, chris, would you think it's a good idea for you to take lead on some of the points that were mentioned, since one of them was indeed family and he sees you as that? [00:44:27] Speaker A: Yeah, certainly. On some of it, though, I think you guys have threshed out a lot more on this whole thing than I have, so you might want to take the lead on that. [00:44:36] Speaker B: Indeed. I agree. Just your presence needs to be known for him to be properly motivated, I think, or swayed. [00:44:44] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, for sure. [00:44:47] Speaker B: In case I'll pull up my phone and text Kareem to let him know what we're about to do. [00:44:56] Speaker F: Are you telling Kareem exactly what you're planning, or are you just telling him where you're headed and that you're going to go talk to Stefan? [00:45:06] Speaker B: Just where we're going and what we're about to do. [00:45:09] Speaker F: Okay, cool. You get a smiley face emoji back and that's it. [00:45:20] Speaker B: Great. I'll talk at the phone. I think we're all good to go. [00:45:30] Speaker F: The park that you picked is not terribly far away from where you guys are when you arrive. There are indeed quite a few people. There mostly looks like tourists, but it looks like there might be some people from nearby businesses and whatever who have just come out to enjoy a crisp but very sunny afternoon for their lunch break. You all are able to find an open picnic type table that is nearby other people, but not so close that you can't have a private conversation. And that is where Stefan will spot you guys as he comes into the park. [00:46:29] Speaker C: As Sarah sees him approaching. She's going to pour out everyone like a little everyone except Oliver, like a little glass of the blueberry moonshine. [00:46:46] Speaker B: As he's walking up. I would like to activate Brejan's Eye to get more of a read on him. Spend a legend for this and I rule a pool. And based on how many successes I get, it lets me just add more people to it, but lets me godge, a scion's. Highest virtue, their lowest virtue and their nature. [00:47:07] Speaker F: Excellent. Go ahead and roll. [00:47:11] Speaker B: 1 second. As I knock off another point of willpower. [00:47:17] Speaker A: I'm probably going to do something as well. [00:47:19] Speaker F: Okay. [00:47:20] Speaker A: Just trying to find it. Hang on. [00:47:25] Speaker F: Oh, that is quite a few successes, Oliver. [00:47:28] Speaker B: So if there's five scions in the area, I can do this five times. [00:47:32] Speaker F: I mean, you can do it to your two companions and Stefan. [00:47:37] Speaker B: I'll do it. Yeah, too my friends, since I don't really know what their natures and virtues are. And Stefan and I'll let you decide this, but if Gwen's near enough in the area, it might proc. [00:47:51] Speaker F: But if she's hiding, Gwen is not in your eyesight, so I'm going to say that you cannot tell. [00:47:58] Speaker B: Fair enough. [00:48:01] Speaker A: Yes, I said I'm going to use subliminal warning just to make sure that when he turns up, that we're not going to be ambushed. So hopefully it might help me find if he's got anybody hiding around watching us, it might help me find them. [00:48:19] Speaker F: Okay. [00:48:21] Speaker C: Can I do that, too? [00:48:23] Speaker F: Yes. While I am setting all of that stuff up, we are going to have you guys go around the table, starting with we'll go with Chris and then Sarah, and then Stefan, if you could please give Oliver your highest virtue, lowest virtue and nature, please. [00:48:49] Speaker A: My highest virtue is expression. If I have joint lowest virtues, does he get all of them or does he get one of them? [00:48:57] Speaker F: He would get just one of my choice. Yeah, one of your choice. I think that makes the most sense. [00:49:05] Speaker A: Vengeance and my nature is visionary. [00:49:16] Speaker F: Sarah. [00:49:19] Speaker C: Her highest virtue is endurance, her lowest is expression and her nature is judge. [00:49:31] Speaker D: Stefan's highest virtue is courage. His lowest is vengeance, and his nature is a rebel. [00:49:47] Speaker F: Excellent. Subliminal warning does not ping for either of you. [00:49:51] Speaker A: Okay, thank you. [00:49:56] Speaker F: Stefan, would you like to give us a hint of how you are approaching, how you are presenting yourself today? [00:50:05] Speaker D: Yeah. He's wearing his usual clothing. He has, as usual, quite a bit of jewelry and stuff on. He will approach and wave to the group. Seeing that they set up a picnic, which is kind of surprising. [00:50:26] Speaker A: I will lift a glass up to him, not as if to say, hey, come over here and get a drink. [00:50:35] Speaker D: All right. It is nice to meet you, Miss Baxter. Oh, sorry. Mr. No, I think I was right. Mr. Bright. That's it. And Miss Baxter. And hello again, Chris. [00:50:54] Speaker A: Hey, man, have a seat. [00:50:59] Speaker D: All right. This is a quaint little meeting spot. [00:51:01] Speaker A: I know, right? Pick a drink. We haven't drunk from any of them. You get to choose that way. Well, whatever you don't want, we'll have. And we might be worried that we might have poisoned you, and we have not. So choose one of them. [00:51:17] Speaker D: You got sparkling water? [00:51:21] Speaker B: Do we have sparkling see? [00:51:25] Speaker A: Fucking shitting. [00:51:26] Speaker B: Me is a man who knows good beverages. [00:51:29] Speaker D: You're pretty bad picking drinks. [00:51:31] Speaker A: We have some La Croix here for you, dude. The most beige of drinks. No, we got that for Oliver. [00:51:41] Speaker D: I would assume so. I can smell it on him. [00:51:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:46] Speaker D: Now, what are the other two? [00:51:50] Speaker A: You got some unopened cans of I don't soda and shit here. [00:51:57] Speaker D: I'm going to drink the mystery liquid. I don't know what you all got. [00:52:01] Speaker A: But think of some kind of moonshine. [00:52:05] Speaker B: Wait, so you weren't being serious about the La Croix? [00:52:08] Speaker D: Not right now, no. I apologize for having fooled you, Mr. Bright. [00:52:19] Speaker B: It's all right. [00:52:21] Speaker A: That happens a lot. [00:52:25] Speaker B: I just get excited when other people share my interests. Be that literature or decent beverages. [00:52:33] Speaker A: The most beige of beverage. [00:52:35] Speaker C: You haven't even tried the moonshine and you've decided that it's not a decent beverage. [00:52:40] Speaker B: I haven't tried any alcohol. Ever. [00:52:47] Speaker A: See what we're working with here? [00:52:50] Speaker D: I do. It's not the most he is a teacher, after all. He has to set a good example. [00:52:56] Speaker A: I mean, to a point. [00:53:00] Speaker D: Indeed, he could learn how to drink responsibly. [00:53:03] Speaker A: But, I mean, it doesn't mean he has to be beige than beige. [00:53:06] Speaker B: I'm sitting right here. [00:53:08] Speaker A: I know. [00:53:12] Speaker B: And what do you mean? You were the one that called us beige and confused. [00:53:18] Speaker A: It's a good name. [00:53:20] Speaker B: It is. So why are you saying beige as if it's a bad thing? [00:53:28] Speaker D: I don't mean to be rude, beiged and confused, but I would like to ask why you have called a meeting with me. [00:53:41] Speaker A: That's fair, right? [00:53:44] Speaker B: Yes. We have something of an offer for you. [00:53:52] Speaker D: Well, this is getting more interesting by the minute. [00:53:59] Speaker C: It is dependent on a couple of extenuating circumstances. However. [00:54:09] Speaker A: We do have the buy in of the powers that be, though reluctantly, but we got their buy in. [00:54:19] Speaker B: They were far more receptive than we could have imagined, which is really saying something. But getting to the points, it was Sarah's idea initially, so I'll allow her to pitch it for you. [00:54:36] Speaker C: Well, I mean, I've sort of dealt with these kinds of situations before, and I suppose just to get to it, I was wondering if you would be interested in a chance of joining us in this fight against the end of the world. [00:55:01] Speaker D: We'll look at you for a moment. So you're telling me you're the one who decided to try and bring me on over? [00:55:16] Speaker C: Well, when everyone in the room is screaming for your head, at least someone had to consider other options. [00:55:28] Speaker D: Most don't. But I am appreciative of your openness. [00:55:38] Speaker C: Well, I mean, it's more than likely that you've been surrounded by nothing but tricks and other such manipulations for a while, so figured this would be the best effective communication. [00:55:54] Speaker D: Manipulation is a strong word. I slightly chose this out of necessity. [00:56:08] Speaker C: Would you care to elaborate? [00:56:12] Speaker D: Sure. Before this, I was a firefighter in Mississippi. I lived a normal life. I had friends, family. I had a mother. My blood happened to be kind of wacky. You fight enough fires, your blood starts to boil, apparently, and you become the son of a god. However, I've never been too good at gambling, and so I drew a real bad hand. It hunted for a few years, you run into some wolves, and lo and behold, the wolves seem to like you a little bit more than they do the others. [00:57:19] Speaker C: Have you ever had a chance to actually speak with Loki? [00:57:24] Speaker D: Never met the man in my life. [00:57:29] Speaker B: Well, you say you do this out of necessity. Stefan, what if you didn't have to? What if you had a second option? A place where you could belong with people like us, where you can be part of something greater. Help people do the right thing, Oliver. Have a family. [00:57:57] Speaker D: I appreciate the thought. I am already trying to protect people. I was not the only cyan of Loki. Well, Chris ain't the only one I've met. There were a few others. I am. I don't need protection. I'm trying to protect the rest of them. I've met a total of four scions of our shared parentage, Chris. I've watched a total of three die. I'm the only one left. I'm the one who survived. So took it upon myself to go out, you know, make myself the biggest target. [00:59:06] Speaker B: And what if we could extend this offer to them as well, then? [00:59:12] Speaker D: Well, if you could stop the pantheon, or at least give somebody a chance to take them all in, I would accept it in a heartbeat. [00:59:22] Speaker B: It would start with you. If you can join us and prove that you're capable of being a model of being, proof that it can work, they might be receptive enough to allow other scions of Loki to do the same. [00:59:41] Speaker A: I mean, they were willing to let you do it, so I think they're receptive to it. [00:59:48] Speaker D: Let's hope, because it might just be because I'm strong and I have information they want. [00:59:56] Speaker C: Which would be a point of, well, negotiation. [01:00:04] Speaker D: Indeed it would. I have a few other parameters that I'd like to bring up. [01:00:12] Speaker B: In the spirit of total transparency. Many of the gods are still not particularly happy with you. This will not be an easy thing to accomplish. There may be things you need to do. But it's possible my own pantheon has extended the hand. You can say there may be an oath involved, or, well, not maybe there will be an oath involved, ensuring that you remain loyal. But if you prove that that oath is not even necessary. It'll still go a long way to show the merits of what you can accomplish and what value the other scions can be as people, not just things to be hunted. [01:01:04] Speaker D: I'm not opposed to wearing a leash if that means the rest can be free. But do realize that there are more people that are in play in this. [01:01:21] Speaker C: Like who? [01:01:23] Speaker D: I believe you have met my niece, Gwen. [01:01:28] Speaker B: We want to extend the offer to her as well. [01:01:31] Speaker D: That might be a bit tricky. [01:01:35] Speaker A: Why? [01:01:37] Speaker D: Well, she did not turn her back on nobody. There's a very specific person out there who does not, or well, was abandoned by miss Gwen when she came to be under my surveillance. [01:02:07] Speaker F: Sarah, will you roll me? Let's do one moment. Opening up your sheet. Widths plus. Let's do I don't know, width plus investigation. There's no real role for a memory check. That's pretty good. Okay, he says Gwen, and you immediately think back to that night at the motel when Oliver and Chris blew up one of the fenris wolves and the woman who knew your name. And that face goes through your mind, and you realize that that wasn't the first time you had seen her or even the first time you had interacted with her. You are reminded of a prosecutor named Gwendolyn Chambers who met you in court on more than one occasion. [01:03:51] Speaker C: Out of curiosity, Gwen, you don't mean a woman who goes by the name Gwendolyn Chambers, do you? [01:04:01] Speaker D: Boy, howdy you must be an investigator. [01:04:07] Speaker C: In a sense. [01:04:14] Speaker D: Yes. That is the gwen I speak of. I do not think this world has been very kind to her. [01:04:32] Speaker C: Storyteller. What else would I remember about Gwen's disappearance or them leaving? [01:04:41] Speaker F: Charmite, would you like to fill Sarah in on what she remembers about your character and the circumstances behind you kind of disappearing off the face of the earth? [01:04:55] Speaker E: Well, I think. [01:05:00] Speaker B: One thing that definitely. [01:05:01] Speaker E: Sticks out is there was a point a few years ago where Gwen kind of stopped losing cases. She seemed to. [01:05:16] Speaker B: Weirdly. [01:05:16] Speaker E: She seemed to be able to get witnesses on stand to admit things that probably would be against their better judgment. But she was ruthless. Anytime she had the chance to pull a piece of information out, it came out with minimal resistance. And then one day, she just kind of stopped showing up. Her name wasn't ever on anymore. She was never assigned to anything. [01:06:07] Speaker D: Her. [01:06:12] Speaker E: It'S it's almost like disappeared. She was gone. The people that had dealt with her were either not didn't know anything or were too scared to say anything about her in case she decided to come back and somehow turn things against them. That's kind of the main thing. She essentially disappeared, and anybody that knew her was terrified of her, be it her work in the courtroom or just her as a person. [01:07:11] Speaker F: Sarah, every lawyer you've ever met has a case that they know they should have won, but they didn't, and they've never been able to let it go. You had two in one year. Both of them were against Gwendolyn Chambers. And it's one of those things where you're pretty sure the only reason you didn't recognize her in the moment was because of how tense and terrifying everything was. And it would have been completely incredulous for you to have seen someone like her in that situation, in that moment in the middle of the night in a motel halfway across the country. It's the only reason you didn't put two and two together as far as you can think of. [01:08:18] Speaker C: Well, her joining up with the Titan spawn is a strange place for her to reappear, but I remember her being a very impressive adversary in court. [01:08:34] Speaker D: You know, I can't tell you much about that time as I didn't know her, but I think overall, she's probably a good kid. [01:08:52] Speaker C: I mean, if anyone could act as backup in defending against the God's intended punishments for you all, she'd be a wonderful addition. [01:09:05] Speaker D: Yeah, well, that would be a pretty hard ask, but I could definitely try. [01:09:14] Speaker C: That is, if she's interested in rejoining, I suppose. [01:09:21] Speaker D: Well, she was part of it for a while, unlike me, so that's a you know, it's I just want to make sure she's safe, even when I'm bound up. [01:09:41] Speaker B: It sounds to me like she likes to fight. If she were to come over to our side, she could very well still do that, but only in this case, she'd be fighting to postpone the apocalypse rather than bring it closer. [01:10:00] Speaker D: I don't think she fights to protect. [01:10:06] Speaker B: I'm not saying she does. I'm just saying that sounds like she enjoys it. [01:10:13] Speaker D: Stefan will look around as he knows Gwen followed him. Could I try and find her wherever she's taken up her vantage? [01:10:28] Speaker F: Gwen, are you still around or did you leave? [01:10:31] Speaker E: No, she's still around. [01:10:33] Speaker F: Yeah. You know where she is. You've got crazy, crazy high perception, so I'm not even going to make you roll. You know exactly where she is. You've also been working with her long enough to know what her positioning would have been. [01:10:48] Speaker D: Yeah. I will wave a hand in the direction as if to call them overload. [01:11:04] Speaker E: Slowly walk over. [01:11:10] Speaker D: Take a seat, and eat breakfast. [01:11:19] Speaker E: Gwen sits down. She doesn't touch anything. [01:11:28] Speaker C: Sarah will offer a smile and just say, it's good to see you again. [01:11:36] Speaker E: You didn't seem terribly happy the last time I said that we'd meet again. [01:11:40] Speaker C: Well, you happened to be holding two very large knives and be accompanied by a couple of wolves that were trying to eat us, so I feel like you might understand why I wasn't as joyful then. [01:11:58] Speaker E: I suppose, given circumstances. [01:12:11] Speaker B: Well, assuming that you are listening into the conversation. Heard anything? Thoughts, comments, concerns? We're looking to hear from all parties here. [01:12:24] Speaker E: You don't want to hear my thoughts. [01:12:26] Speaker B: Recession? I think I do. [01:12:31] Speaker F: Yeah. [01:12:31] Speaker C: Try us. [01:12:45] Speaker E: Gwen is going to look at Stefan and then her eyes are going to sweep across the group. Trust me, you don't want to know how I feel about it will not end well. [01:13:17] Speaker C: Sarah's just going to raise an eyebrow and leave the floor open. [01:13:22] Speaker B: Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But if you don't wish to share, we're not going to force it out of you. We've made the author known. We've said the terms. We've heard your side, Stefan. We've heard you out on what you want. We believe that this is possible, that good can come from this, and that all sides can leave happy, live happy. You don't need to decide now. But we do hope you actually take the time to think about it. [01:14:00] Speaker D: Let's go ahead and flip this a bit. What are you all hoping for? [01:14:08] Speaker B: A peaceful resolution? [01:14:12] Speaker D: Is that it? Because I believe there are a few of you that don't. Miss Massacoy isn't even here. [01:14:23] Speaker B: She had other things to see, too. But she was in agreement with us. [01:14:31] Speaker A: She was part of the whole discussion when everybody decided on this. [01:14:39] Speaker B: Keep in mind, you have still done some very bad things, but the fact that people are still willing to hear you out, to give you a chance, should tell a lot. [01:14:57] Speaker D: I have done irredeemable things. And that is why I am confused. [01:15:09] Speaker E: Want to use us as a tool to get their own end. [01:15:15] Speaker A: You mean like they're using us as a tool? [01:15:19] Speaker D: Exactly. [01:15:23] Speaker A: Look around. Look around this park here. Look at all the people. Look at all the workers. Look all the people in suits. You tell me that not one of them is a tool? Everybody is being used by somebody else. Everybody. That's just the way the world works. [01:15:38] Speaker C: I choose to be the tool that keeps the world safe. [01:15:46] Speaker E: Keep putting more people through this, creating more tools for an endless war, people that don't even want to fight in it. [01:15:59] Speaker A: I mean are preaching to the converted here. I don't want to fight in this either. I just want to make music. That's all I want to do. I want to tour with my band and make music when that's not the shit I'm in right now. So I got to make the best of what I've been given. And I do not want to die fighting some of the motherfuckers war. [01:16:21] Speaker B: And are you implying that you're not a tool now, Gwen? That these Titans aren't using you? [01:16:31] Speaker E: I did what I did by my own volition. I did not have it forced upon me under threat of death if I were to step out of line. I made a choice. You had your choices given to you. [01:16:58] Speaker B: And we made a choice to be here, to give you another option rather than just kill you like was originally planned for us. We made our own choices. And if you were to come to our side. Sure, there would be some limitations, but you will still be able to make your own choices. You expect it's? [01:17:26] Speaker E: Me come back, your side, come crawling back. [01:17:33] Speaker A: No, there's no crawling needed. We don't want you to crawl back. That's the point. [01:17:40] Speaker E: After my bitch of a mother put me through hell for the first 20 years of my fucking life, all because of who she was, what she was, you want me to come back, submit myself to that again? Just from different people this time? [01:18:06] Speaker B: It doesn't have to be like that again. [01:18:11] Speaker C: What did she do that was so bad that. [01:18:20] Speaker E: At this point, Gwen is going to pick up a glass or like one of the are they like, plastic cups? [01:18:29] Speaker C: No, they're from that they're probably glass. [01:18:32] Speaker E: Okay, go ahead. [01:18:34] Speaker F: They're the really nice high end plastic, but they're still plastic because you asked for a picnic. They're not going to send you with really nice glass stuff. [01:18:43] Speaker E: That is fair. [01:18:44] Speaker C: Damn, they skimped out on us. [01:18:46] Speaker E: She picks up a glass and the liquid inside starts to freeze in her hands. You think if I come crawling back and submit to whatever the fuck they want to put me through, that it's not going to be the same? I'm not going to be looked down upon just because of who I am, that I didn't choose at first because my mother is a half desiccated corpse. I'm not coming back. [01:19:46] Speaker B: I'm sorry about the way life has treated you. And I'm sorry about the way that you feel. And I can't speak for all the gods. I can't even speak for all the Scions. I can't speak for the other two people here with me, but I can speak to myself, for myself. And I can say that although you've likely done bad things, I do not look down upon you. I don't look down upon anyone. Everyone's life is different. Everyone experiences are different. And because of that, every experience is valuable. Every experience creates a new skill. And everyone has something to share and teach and learn from those skills. And through that, we form a community. We form people who learn to laugh and love and feel with one another. And that's something we're trying to offer. That's something you could have. You could find other people like you. Within the scions. There's too many different pantheons to assume everyone are the same. There will be people who likely feel very similar to you, a group that you can be part of and fit in with. You just have to be willing to take the step to have it. You're scared. I get it. But nothing good in life comes without a little bit of fear, without being willing to be afraid, but then take another step into the darkness anyway. [01:21:27] Speaker E: Would you like to know fear, oliver. [01:21:30] Speaker B: Bright I've known fear my entire life, and I'm just now starting to realize that I was ignoring it, that I was running away from it. I can't say that my fear is the same as yours. Yours is probably much worse. If I were to tell you mine, you would laugh at me. But I'm learning to live with it. I'm learning to actually be willing to push past it, because that's how I'm choosing to live my life. [01:22:11] Speaker C: At this moment, Sarah is on high alert. If Gwen is, like, rearing back to do something, she's like getting ready to step in front of Oliver. [01:22:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I must admit, I'm starting to see the anger rising, and I'm getting ready as well, just in case. [01:22:34] Speaker B: I'm remaining calm and relaxed, and I'm meeting Gwendolyn's eyes and keeping an expression of sort of not so much understanding, but definitely one that shows empathy and compassion. [01:22:51] Speaker E: There is nothing but endless anger in her eyes. [01:23:00] Speaker C: Hey, if you want to hit something, hit me, not him. [01:23:05] Speaker E: If I wanted to hit something? All three of you dead already. [01:23:14] Speaker A: Just smile. [01:23:17] Speaker D: Go ahead. I'm going to be very serious right now. [01:23:27] Speaker B: Oh, please. [01:23:28] Speaker E: Go ahead. Be serious. [01:23:31] Speaker D: You got to try and distance yourself. They already know you. They already know your voice. I almost died a couple days ago. [01:23:58] Speaker E: Don't worry. They're going to know I look like they're going to what I look like. I'll make sure of that. [01:24:10] Speaker D: I'm gonna say a few words that might make you a bit mad at me. Gwen. [01:24:17] Speaker E: We're well past that point already. [01:24:19] Speaker D: Stefan, you're acting a bit like your mom. Very, very cold. [01:24:32] Speaker E: The cup in her hand shatters. [01:24:39] Speaker D: We gotta try a bit harder to be different. I mean, hell, even Sarah Baxter, I thought she was gonna be a bitch like her dad. [01:24:59] Speaker C: Sarah's trying really hard to hold back a laugh. [01:25:06] Speaker D: I want something better for you, Gwen, than to die in the war of the gods. At this point, that's probably what your mom wants. Why would you give her the satisfaction of being what she thinks you are? [01:25:36] Speaker E: Really think if I turn tail and run life I've chosen, that I'm not going to die in this war? [01:25:48] Speaker D: We are all going to die, Gwen. Adrias doesn't be how she wants you to. [01:26:04] Speaker E: I will die on side that I've chosen, not turn and run like a coward. [01:26:16] Speaker D: Then I will cry at your funeral. I'm not going to fight you, Gwen. You know that. I can't not the coward's path. If I can secure an actual safe haven for the children that are dying, I'm going to take it. I already planned to die for this. Hell, I even plan to fight the gods if I had to. What's a leash to this. I hope you know I include you in my family, Gwen, even if you don't. Me. [01:27:37] Speaker E: Just because we're related by blood doesn't mean that we're family. That bridge has just been burned. Gwen is going to stand up. She's going to look at the table she's going to focus on Oliver and. [01:28:14] Speaker B: BP. [01:28:14] Speaker F: Should I do it? I think at this point, if you don't do it, I'm going to be really sad. [01:28:22] Speaker E: Yeah, I figured. All right, I'm going to go ahead and spend point of Legend to activate inescapable vision. [01:28:32] Speaker F: Okay. You have to burn Legend and a willpower. [01:28:35] Speaker E: And it is willpower. Yes. All right. [01:28:44] Speaker F: And I assume you are walking away. [01:28:46] Speaker E: After that, Gwen will simply say, we'll see if you truly knew what fear was, Mr. Bright, and then turn and walk away. [01:28:58] Speaker F: Excellent. Okay. Oliver gwen walks away. And for a moment, you don't really understand what she's talking about. You just watch her leave, watch her back moving off into the crowd of people until she's gone. And then you turn your face towards your friends and you turn specifically towards Sarah. And it's not Sarah. It's Gwen. And as you kind of blink a little bit and turn your eyes elsewhere to try and get an idea of what the hell is going on, kind of tried and clear your vision, you realize that every single woman you see has Gwen's face. [01:30:20] Speaker B: Are Chris and Stefan still the same? [01:30:24] Speaker F: Yes. [01:30:27] Speaker B: Are the two of you seeing this? [01:30:30] Speaker A: Seeing what? [01:30:32] Speaker B: Every woman around me right now is Gwen? [01:30:42] Speaker A: No. [01:30:47] Speaker F: You get the feeling that you could maybe suppress this if you focus hard enough. Mechanically, that equates to spending a point of willpower. [01:31:04] Speaker B: And what happens if I don't? [01:31:07] Speaker F: You will continue to see this. [01:31:15] Speaker B: It I'll suspend it for now. [01:31:19] Speaker F: You're going to suppress it? [01:31:21] Speaker B: Yes. [01:31:22] Speaker F: Okay. You spend a point of willpower out of character. You cannot regain any willpower while this effect is active, not even while you're suppressing it. [01:31:42] Speaker B: Got you. [01:31:45] Speaker F: I am going to send you the text for this power so that you understand what exactly you are dealing with. But I'm only sending it to you. [01:31:53] Speaker B: Okay. [01:31:57] Speaker C: Am I like Gwen in my clothing? [01:32:01] Speaker E: The only thing that has changed is the face of whoever he's looking at. [01:32:10] Speaker D: I apologize for what's about to happen. [01:32:14] Speaker B: Yes. Some extra information would be very helpful. [01:32:18] Speaker D: I don't mean whatever's going on with. [01:32:26] Speaker F: Uh, Termite. [01:32:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:32:32] Speaker F: Does Stefan know that Gwen has this? Believe would she have ever used it in front of him is what I'm asking. Or in a way that he would be aware of what she had done? [01:32:50] Speaker E: I don't think he has any way of being actually aware. But he's heard that she's done stuff like this. Yeah. [01:33:03] Speaker F: Okay. There's the answer to your question, Stefan. [01:33:08] Speaker D: Thank you. [01:33:11] Speaker F: So kinda yeah. [01:33:15] Speaker D: I believe you're not going to have a good time for a bit, Mr. Bright. I don't think any of us are. [01:33:22] Speaker B: I kind of rub my forehead so if I focus hard enough, I can sort of blur the lines and see things for they actually are, but it's not doing any favors on my headache. [01:33:36] Speaker A: That sucks. [01:33:39] Speaker B: It does. [01:33:42] Speaker D: That is not how I wanted that to turn out. [01:33:47] Speaker C: Well, in that we are in agreement. [01:33:51] Speaker A: So who was Gwen's mom then? [01:33:56] Speaker D: Well, there's only one half corpse in the pantheon. [01:34:01] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I have no idea who that is. [01:34:05] Speaker D: Hell, goddess of the underworld. [01:34:12] Speaker A: Okay. [01:34:16] Speaker D: Also, I believe you all should probably inform your friends that the next few days and or hours are going to be very hectic. [01:34:32] Speaker B: Likely as. [01:34:34] Speaker D: I don't think she's just going to go silently back to the wolves. [01:34:39] Speaker B: No, that doesn't seem to be her style. No, especially after what she had just done to me. [01:34:46] Speaker D: Man, you fuckers got me in trouble. All right, well, I am not there to stop them from attacking civilians anymore. [01:35:03] Speaker C: You don't have some kind of residual command? [01:35:07] Speaker D: I mean, there's a chance I could get some of them to come with me, but by God is it slim. [01:35:17] Speaker B: And I don't think the gods would like it very much. Human science, we can convince them, but Fenris wolf's? Probably not. [01:35:33] Speaker D: There are a few have known for a while. I could try and get them if you'd like. [01:35:40] Speaker A: I think Annie is better than Mean. [01:35:43] Speaker B: Especially if things get violent. Having some more troops in the units couldn't go well. Did I say that right? I'm going to look at Sarah. [01:35:55] Speaker F: Sure. [01:35:58] Speaker B: Great. [01:35:59] Speaker D: Well, it's more wolves than a pack, but, yeah, sure. Well, I do want to see what you all are capable of. If it gives a chance to actually help the children of Loki. [01:36:20] Speaker C: If that's your goal, then I'm behind you 100%. [01:36:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:36:27] Speaker B: However, as previously said, the gods aren't all going to be very happy about this. And something worth knowing is, since you were never visited by Loki, do you have any birthrights that you took from other oh, well, he'll look down. [01:36:55] Speaker D: All right, so I would rather here, I'll give a bit of a this will be my gift to you. As a sign of my cooperation, I will hand back Net's phone. [01:37:15] Speaker F: He hands back a phone that looks almost exactly like the phones that you all were given, except that hers has a bubblegum pink case. [01:37:29] Speaker B: Any others? [01:37:31] Speaker A: I don't strike you as being a bubblegum pink guy. [01:37:34] Speaker D: Well, I'll take whatever color I can get. [01:37:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:37:39] Speaker D: He will show an absolute assortment of random items on his body. [01:37:49] Speaker F: Go ahead and share with the class if you're going to turn them all over. [01:37:55] Speaker D: All right, so I got to look at my purviews to see how many I have. All right. He will show at least a single ring for each of his fingers, except his thumbs. I only use these when I have to. They're decorated in different symbologies and designs from different pantheons. He will pull out his belt. We'll show that it has what looks to be it looks kind of like a serpent wrapped around as. If the world serpent. He will take off the wolf talisman and show it. You can see it on the. Art. It's a wolf talisman, and he will just keep pulling, like, small trinkets off of himself. [01:39:10] Speaker F: By the time all is said and done, there's probably a good seven or eight various items, not including the rings, which are their own, like nine that he lays out on the table in front of you. [01:39:24] Speaker D: Well, I hope you realize I'm keeping these until the deal's finalized. [01:39:31] Speaker B: That's what I was about to say. Stefan, trust is a two way street. You should hold on to them for now. I agree, until everything's done. But it would probably go a long way if you were to personally return them to the god of the scion who you took them from. [01:39:54] Speaker D: A few of these were from the scions of Loki, so I'm going to be keeping them. [01:40:00] Speaker B: Those ones make sense then, I suppose. But assuming this goes all according to plan, your new parents may wish for you to discard them, but they also might not. It depends on who you get, Billy. [01:40:18] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess. I this is hard for me to do. I am going to head back as fast as possible and see if I can well, either figure out if anyone will follow me or leave quite quickly. [01:40:44] Speaker C: Yeah, I'll go with you. [01:40:48] Speaker D: Miss Baxter, I would rather you not die, at least not after Wright meeting you. [01:41:01] Speaker A: It'd probably make more sense if he goes on his own. He's got to go and see his people. Probably not good if there's any of us kicking around at the same time. [01:41:10] Speaker B: In addition, where he's going, there's probably a large number of wolves, only a small portion of which, if any, will continue to stay loyal to him. The rest would probably tear into you immediately. [01:41:24] Speaker C: Well, fine. At least we need a way to contact one another. [01:41:28] Speaker A: Oh, we do agree. [01:41:32] Speaker D: Yeah, I have an actual phone. I just took Net when the building exploded. [01:41:39] Speaker C: All right, then. [01:41:42] Speaker A: He's got my number, if anything, so. [01:41:46] Speaker D: I got to text you something, Chris, just in case I die. [01:41:53] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:41:55] Speaker D: Also, don't go fucking anything up for me. Don't be starting fights. That would be annoying. [01:42:05] Speaker A: Dude, I'm a lover, not a fighter. [01:42:08] Speaker D: Yeah, but I don't know what the hell y'all are going to do. [01:42:11] Speaker A: Yeah, it's true. [01:42:14] Speaker B: We tend not to most of the time either. [01:42:19] Speaker D: Yeah, well, I can follow you wherever you go. Don't know what you're going to do, so don't make it hard for me to get back. [01:42:26] Speaker B: I guess we'll try our best. [01:42:30] Speaker A: As far as I'm aware, we have no plans of leaving city right now. As far as I'm aware. [01:42:38] Speaker F: Stefan, when he says that, I think you've got enough experience and have been keeping a good enough eye on where they're going and staying. Just because you didn't want to attack the very nice, very warded Hotel doesn't mean that somebody with less desire to be subtle wouldn't. It might be a good idea for them to bail from the city and meet you elsewhere. [01:43:10] Speaker D: Now I can find you wherever you go. Really? Me personally, I've got this scent enough to find you. [01:43:19] Speaker A: So do the wolves find us wherever we go? [01:43:26] Speaker D: I bet the wolves can. [01:43:29] Speaker A: Okay. [01:43:32] Speaker D: I will say I would jump out of your hotel or whatever. All right, take a shower, do whatever. Just leave when you can. [01:43:49] Speaker B: Thank you, Stefan, for being open to this. It's good to see. And I'll hold out my hand to him. [01:44:03] Speaker D: You will shake your hand. [01:44:09] Speaker A: I'll stand up as well and say, you know, I never actually had any brothers or sisters in my real life, so you're the closest I've ever got. And I kind of open my arms as if I'm going to sort of like, offering a hug. [01:44:28] Speaker D: He will turn his head to you suspiciously, but will accept. [01:44:32] Speaker A: But it will be like the manly sort of a hug where we clasp hands and then slap each other on the back and then break again pretty quickly. [01:44:39] Speaker D: Indeed. I believe we're both quite strong. [01:44:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:44:44] Speaker F: You are adorable. I love that. [01:44:49] Speaker A: It's that commando moment. [01:44:53] Speaker B: While no one's looking, going to quietly crack open my Diet Coke and take a small sip. [01:44:59] Speaker D: I look over. [01:45:01] Speaker A: Easy, tiger. [01:45:02] Speaker B: I'm, like, halfway in the middle of taking the drink and it's okay. [01:45:10] Speaker D: Mr. Bright. It's a bit rude not to celebrate a new alliance, don't you think? [01:45:22] Speaker B: Where is this going? [01:45:24] Speaker A: Oh, I know what he's doing. I'm immediately going to grab a glass and put some moonshine in it. [01:45:30] Speaker D: I'm the child of a trickster. Mr. Bryant. Take a drink. [01:45:41] Speaker A: You go, ali. [01:45:43] Speaker B: I've been waiting well, one moment. I've been waiting a long time for my first drink because I've been not avoiding it, because I don't like it or I have any qualms against it because it's never felt like the right time yet. But this the dawn of a new day, a new future for scions who have been discarded in the past so that they might finally have the peace and belonging that they deserve. Maybe this is the right time and I'll take it and just shoot it back. [01:46:26] Speaker F: Okay. I would like for you to roll. Goodness. Stamina fortitude. [01:46:42] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:46:46] Speaker F: Negative one, die. [01:46:48] Speaker B: Negative one, die. Oh, no. [01:46:52] Speaker F: This is your first encounter with alcohol. You don't have the advantage that the others have where you've been doing this for a while. [01:46:58] Speaker B: That's one automatic success. Otherwise, nothing. [01:47:05] Speaker F: So you don't fall on your ass, but you immediately start spluttering and coughing and it burns on the way down. And you don't know how this could possibly taste like blueberries to anyone because you're not sure that you have any taste buds left. It feels almost like you just drank rubbing alcohol. [01:47:34] Speaker B: It feels like there's lit gasoline in my esophagus. [01:47:37] Speaker A: I'll stomp him on the back a few times and then pick up the sparkling water, open it and hand it to him. [01:47:44] Speaker B: I'm just going to start drinking that. [01:47:50] Speaker F: For reference. The rest of you, I assume, have all tried. It tastes like blueberries. It's good. It's dangerous, but it's good. It's got that perfect amount of burn and bite that moonshine should have, but it's not so overwhelming that you can't taste the blueberries. [01:48:09] Speaker D: Miss Baxter. [01:48:13] Speaker C: Sarah is really okay, but yes, fine. [01:48:17] Speaker D: Sarah, I do wish to truly thank you for having a bit more of an open mind than your dad. [01:48:28] Speaker C: I'm just glad we were able to convince a couple of the powers that be to have a more open mind. [01:48:38] Speaker D: Yeah, well, I angered quite a few, so I wish you all luck. I better get going. Well, it was nice meeting you. I guess. Goodbye. And he will leave also trying to steal the bottle of blueberry moonshine as he goes. [01:49:08] Speaker F: Well, that sounds like a role. Let me look. [01:49:17] Speaker A: Are you going to try and do it openly or just are you actually going to try and surreptitiously do it? [01:49:22] Speaker D: I mean, he'll be holding it like after taking a drink and then just walk away with it. [01:49:29] Speaker F: Okay. You're not trying to lift it. Got it. [01:49:35] Speaker A: I'll let him take it. We've got more, I believe, haven't we? [01:49:37] Speaker F: I think you only got the one. [01:49:39] Speaker A: Did we? [01:49:40] Speaker F: Yeah, I'll let him take it. You have a full canteen of it. [01:49:43] Speaker B: But he just took oh, Coda's not going to be happy. She trade weed for that and then probably got more than her mind. It's fine. [01:49:53] Speaker A: It's fine. She'll be okay. Consider it going to a good cause. [01:49:58] Speaker B: That it. [01:50:02] Speaker F: Okay. Um, so you guys have a few moments after Stefan leaves to have a discussion. [01:50:13] Speaker B: So Gwen is most certainly still going to be gunning for us. Yeah, and we need a new place to lay low in meats, because we also need to inform Kota where we're going. Should we go somewhere isolated or safe? Like Damon's farm? [01:50:37] Speaker A: Well, a farm is probably going to be safer, but I don't want to put him in trouble. [01:50:42] Speaker B: Exactly. If the wolves can sniff us out and make it there, then it would be dangerous for everyone there, but it might buy us more time. [01:50:52] Speaker A: Maybe we should take some advice from our handlers. [01:51:01] Speaker B: That we could. Assuming Coda has managed to smooth things over with nets, we might be able to see what she thinks. Yeah, or we can talk to Kareem. [01:51:15] Speaker A: Kareem might be a good idea. He's a little bit more level headed than Ned. [01:51:19] Speaker B: Is that's true? [01:51:22] Speaker C: As well as resourceful. [01:51:23] Speaker A: Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Okay, so why don't we leave here, make sure we get away, just in case Gwen is watching us. And then one of you can make a phone call to Kareem and let him know. [01:51:40] Speaker B: I can message him to see if there's any other suitable location where we can lie low. If not, at the very least we can make a quick pit stop at Damon's to get everyone together and then find somewhere else that won't put him in danger. [01:51:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:52:01] Speaker B: In that case, I'll take out my phone and text Cream again. Things went somewhat better than expected. However, the hotel is a bit compromised now. Are there any other locations where we could hold out? I'll send it to him. [01:52:23] Speaker F: You get a dot, dot, dot, frowny, face, emoji, and then your phone rings, and it's net pick up. [01:52:37] Speaker B: Hello? [01:52:39] Speaker F: What do you mean things went better than expected? What did you do? [01:52:45] Speaker B: Well, we have him on our side, but him who? [01:52:52] Speaker F: Also, before we continue this conversation, are you on speaker so that the others can hear, or is it just you? [01:53:02] Speaker B: Sure, I'll have it on speaker so the others can hear. Actually, before I do that, can I make sure we're still in private and then no one else is? [01:53:07] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, you're at a park. There are other people around, but they're all kind of doing their own thing, as far as you can tell. Nobody's nobody's closer listening in because you are on speaker. I would like everybody to roll me. Perception and awareness, please. [01:53:27] Speaker B: All name? [01:53:30] Speaker F: Um. [01:53:36] Speaker B: Two. Item no, five. [01:53:44] Speaker F: Oliver, you're more focused on net's voice than anything else, so you don't hear it. Sarah, you hear what sounds like a motor roaring in the background. And Chris, you hear squealing tires, but it's not like in your background. It's in the background of the call. It's coming from the phone. [01:54:18] Speaker A: Are you okay there? Do you need help? [01:54:22] Speaker F: Yeah, no, we're good. Coda's with me. We're safe. But what did you guys do? And does it have anything to do with the five very large wolves that are chasing me through the countryside right now? [01:54:37] Speaker B: Probably not. I don't know. We met with Stefan, and he's willing to listen to the offer. He's on our side so long as we can help protect those that he cares about. But Gwen, the woman is still very mad, but she just now left. How long have you been pursued by the wolves? [01:54:56] Speaker F: They popped up a couple of minutes ago. [01:54:59] Speaker B: That might be gwen, then. [01:55:02] Speaker F: I haven't seen a person. [01:55:03] Speaker B: Just wolves. [01:55:06] Speaker F: Hang on a second. And you hear Koda's voice, and the phone kind of sounds like it gets dropped for a minute, and then you hear the blast of shotgun fire and the rush of air outside of a car window. [01:55:27] Speaker B: Just shoot through an open window while driving. [01:55:31] Speaker F: You hear Coda's voice. She's not driving. I'm driving sort. [01:55:36] Speaker B: Okay, wait. She doesn't know how to drive. Are you sure you're okay? [01:55:45] Speaker F: Desperate times, teach. Desperate times. We're fine. We're fine. She's got this. [01:55:51] Speaker B: Okay, where are you now? [01:55:56] Speaker F: I don't know. Middle of nowhere. We were just going for a ride, and then there were wolves. [01:56:06] Speaker B: Well, we were meeting with the general and the lieutenant of the wolves until a couple of minutes ago, so I don't think it has anything to do with them, but can you shake them? [01:56:23] Speaker F: You hear Net's voice? Yeah, I'm working on it. I'm working on it. Hang on. [01:56:28] Speaker B: It's fine. Do what you need to. Stay safe, please. But the hotel no longer is safe. We need a new location. We were trying to find one. [01:56:38] Speaker F: Go to the farm. [01:56:40] Speaker B: Okay, we'll go to the farm. [01:56:50] Speaker F: You don't hear Net talking anymore. You hear the blast of gunfire. You hear occasionally you hear Net kind of yell about something, sounds like probably in Japanese. And, yeah, there is the sound of driving. Coda kind of half panicking because from what you can pick up, from what you can hear in the background, it sounds a little bit like net is controlling the speed of the car with her feet. She's the one with her feet on the pedals. And Coda is doing that thing where you reach over and drive with one hand because the other person's hands are busy. And Net's not really watching the road because she is hanging out of a window with her gun and her sword. [01:57:44] Speaker B: Okay, I'm going to hang up now before I have a conniption. Stay safe. See you soon, Casey. [01:57:49] Speaker F: Later. Bye. [01:57:50] Speaker B: Click. So, I think we're going back to the farm. We should go get our belongings as quickly as possible and get there. [01:57:58] Speaker A: Let's go. [01:58:00] Speaker F: Yep. Okay. [01:58:03] Speaker B: Wait, who's driving? We've all been drinking. [01:58:06] Speaker F: Me. [01:58:09] Speaker B: Is that safe? [01:58:10] Speaker C: I'm always a better driver after a couple of drinks. [01:58:14] Speaker B: I don't know if that's how that works, Sarah. [01:58:17] Speaker A: I mean, Ollie, you had, what, one mouthful? If that you're probably okay, good point. Good point. [01:58:27] Speaker F: You would think that he'd be okay, but as he stands up and starts walking towards the car, you can tell that he is not quite walking in a straight line. [01:58:35] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I forgot, you don't drink. [01:58:37] Speaker B: Okay, hold on. Give me a second. All right, I'm good now. [01:58:44] Speaker F: Okay, you guys pile into the car and head back towards the hotel. Chris, as Sarah is driving, your phone chimes in your pocket with a text message. [01:59:00] Speaker A: I'll have a look. [01:59:02] Speaker F: It is from Stefan. You get the one who finds the kids. Irish accent, horrifying face, white fur cloak, whitewood staff with cracks filled in by something. And they speak to Garm. And I'm going to send you the text for this. [01:59:23] Speaker A: Perfect. Thank you. I'll repeat that out loud to the group. Kind of quizzically. [01:59:32] Speaker B: That sounds like another person involved in all of this. Maybe they're the one that sent the wolves after Ned and Coda. [01:59:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:59:51] Speaker B: It'S more think bound and consider. Do you think we should tell Stefan to meet us at the farm or wait until we have another location? [02:00:01] Speaker C: Another location? [02:00:02] Speaker A: Yeah, another location. [02:00:03] Speaker B: Agreed. Agreed. [02:00:09] Speaker C: Remember the possibility of Molotov cocktails I mentioned on the drive over? [02:00:18] Speaker B: Yes, and it sounds rather appealing. [02:00:24] Speaker C: I think after we grab our stuff and hightail it out of the hotel would be a good time to go get the supplies for those. [02:00:32] Speaker B: All right, yeah. Now that we have the one who controls fire on our side, that would be a viable option again. [02:00:47] Speaker F: Okay. You guys make it back to the hotel relatively quickly. You're not super far away, and it is a crowded day in the middle of the city, so it's not exactly where you would expect the wolves to show up unless you absolutely force their hand to you. Get inside the hotel. Head up to your rooms. Sarah? Yes. Perception and awareness, please. Minus one die. It. [02:01:33] Speaker C: Four successes. [02:01:40] Speaker F: Okay, you get to your door, and you're about to slide your little key card into the slot, and you are pretty sure you hear someone on the other side of the door. [02:01:59] Speaker C: She's going to draw her pistol and just slowly open the door. Just kind of ducking down to try to stay out of immediate line of sight to see if whoever's on the other side is hostile. [02:02:13] Speaker F: Are you looking inside or are you just opening it? Okay, so when you look inside and kind of around the door, you see a familiar face. Lily is sitting on the edge of your bed, looking nervous and vaguely terrified. Whoa, whoa, whoa. [02:02:36] Speaker C: What happened? And she'll reholster her pistol or revolver. [02:02:40] Speaker F: Hi. Sorry, I didn't want to break in, but you weren't here, and I didn't know what else to do. [02:02:49] Speaker C: It's fine. What's going on? [02:02:54] Speaker F: I don't know where Lucas is. And they tried giving us these items, and and then there were people, and they were acting all weird and, like, half out of their minds and chanting, and then one of them climbed up on this altar thing, and they stabbed him through the heart with a knife made out of bone. And we panicked, and we ran, and we got separated, and I didn't know where to go. And they're going to come looking for me. [02:03:39] Speaker C: Do you have any way to contact them? Phone, pager? [02:03:44] Speaker F: They sort of took all of our stuff. This is all I've got. She gestures at herself, and she's in this weird sheath, like, dress with just, like, a belt around her waist and, like, sandals. It's very plain, very simple white outfit. [02:04:09] Speaker C: Okay, well, it isn't safe here either, so we need to head out and regroup with the others so we can get to looking for your brother. [02:04:19] Speaker F: Okay. Why isn't it safe? I mean, obviously it's not safe here because they knew I was here before, right? Oh, God, it was really dumb coming here. I'm sorry. I didn't want to get anybody in trouble. [02:04:33] Speaker C: Just give me a second to grab my stuff, and we need to go. I don't think you should be alone right now. It's very dangerous. [02:04:40] Speaker F: Okay. Um she just sort of stands there looking awkward and then looks over at Coda's half of the room, which still has all of Koda's stuff. Do you want me to get where's your friend. [02:04:59] Speaker C: Elsewhere right now? And yeah, that would be really okay. [02:05:02] Speaker F: Okay. And she kind of runs over and just starts grabbing anything that vaguely looks like it might be Coda's and shoving it into Coda's bag. Coda is going to have pamphlets from restaurants and magazines. Basically anything that isn't nailed down is going into Coda's bag because she is blind with that level of panic right now. [02:05:25] Speaker C: Yes, that's fine. And once we got everything, sarah's going to head back down to the car with Lily. [02:05:32] Speaker F: Okay, boys, are you guys doing anything in your room, or are you just gathering your stuff and heading down? [02:05:37] Speaker A: I actually want to go in there and have a look to see whether anyone's been in the room, see whether anything has been moved from where I. [02:05:41] Speaker F: Left it first before packing intelligence and investigation, just to see if you've memorized where everything is settled or was settled. [02:06:02] Speaker A: Two successes. [02:06:04] Speaker F: Everything looks like it's still in the place where you left it. [02:06:08] Speaker A: Perfect. Start packing. [02:06:12] Speaker F: Okay. Anything else you guys are doing, or are you headed down to the car? [02:06:16] Speaker A: Pack? Head to car for me. [02:06:18] Speaker B: Yeah, not a whole lot of time. [02:06:20] Speaker F: Okay. You guys get to the car, and Sarah is there, but also so is Lily, who you didn't expect to see again. [02:06:29] Speaker B: Lily. [02:06:30] Speaker A: Oh, hey, Lily. [02:06:31] Speaker F: And she sort of spots Chris, and he immediately throws her arms around his waist and is just sobbing uncontrollably into his chest and babbling about her brother and not knowing where he is and somebody getting stabbed in the heart and who are those people? And how could that possibly be? Like, how could her father possibly be one of them? And yada yada. [02:06:54] Speaker A: I'll kind of just put my arm around her and stroke her hair and then just look at Sarah and MALV kind of what? [02:07:02] Speaker B: Nod. [02:07:04] Speaker C: Lucas is missing. They got separated after fleeing some kind of ritual, I'm guessing. [02:07:12] Speaker A: God damn. [02:07:14] Speaker B: Was it in the city? [02:07:17] Speaker F: No. [02:07:20] Speaker B: Do you know where it was? [02:07:25] Speaker F: Not really there. We were in a jungle, and I ran into, I guess, a temple looking thing, and I went through a door, and it spit me out in a 711. And then I got on a bus, and we drove for, like, a day, and then I found my way here. [02:07:53] Speaker B: All right, we're going to get you somewhere safe, and then I might be able to do something. It's not going to tell me exactly where he is, but it'll give me a trail to him if it works properly. [02:08:07] Speaker F: Okay. [02:08:09] Speaker B: It's going to be all right. [02:08:13] Speaker F: She doesn't look like she believes you, but she's going to get into the car with everybody. [02:08:17] Speaker A: I'll get in the back with her just so that she feels safe. Let Ollie get in the front with Sarah. [02:08:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [02:08:27] Speaker F: She's just weeping openly, but seems very comforted by the fact that you are. [02:08:33] Speaker B: There, by the way, how long has it been since I last used my. [02:08:41] Speaker F: It'S? It hasn't been that long. You're still that first hour. [02:08:47] Speaker B: Gotcha. [02:08:52] Speaker F: Okay, who is driving? [02:08:54] Speaker C: Sarah will hop in the driver's seat again and while Oliver's doing his thing, she's going to gas up the car. [02:09:01] Speaker F: All right, Sarah baby driver. Oliver, what are you planning? [02:09:10] Speaker B: Assuming we're picking up supplies along the way, whenever we kind of start stop to gas up or whatnot, I'll head in and get what Sarah tells me to. [02:09:23] Speaker F: Do. [02:09:23] Speaker C: They sell kerosene at gas stations, probably. [02:09:28] Speaker B: Nice. [02:09:29] Speaker F: Yeah. You're in the south, so most likely you stop at a backwards enough looking gas station outside of the city. It's not too hard to find some weird shit. [02:09:42] Speaker B: I'll get some of that then. [02:09:46] Speaker C: Yeah, and thin glass bottles, if you can find them. And we'll need rags. [02:09:52] Speaker B: Maybe not buy that all at the same place. [02:09:55] Speaker C: Or just buy a bunch of other stuff, too, like firewood gum, jerky fair. [02:10:02] Speaker B: Okay, I can do that. Yeah, I'll make sure to get the kerosene, glass balls and some washcloths, but then also, as Sarah said, firewood gum. Anything else that would make it look like we're going camping? Basically. [02:10:16] Speaker F: Yeah. The glass bottles that you end up getting end up kind of being the thing that sticks out, but it's because you're buying this kind of really high end designer water stuff that just happens to come in glass bottles. Because just buying empty glass bottles is not something you're going to find at a gas station. But you find these super snobby snooty bottles of designer bottles of water and the guy behind the counter looks shocked that anybody has bought them. You get the feeling that they've probably had these for a while and had just given up on them ever selling, so they were just permanently sitting in the cooler. [02:11:05] Speaker B: Smile. I'm a fan of sparkling water. [02:11:09] Speaker F: Yeah, that's not surprising. And he just sort of brings you up, like, looking utterly nonplussed. [02:11:20] Speaker B: So I've been told. Once that's all done, I'll head back to the car. Looking a little bit solemn, but not that bad. [02:11:42] Speaker F: Okay, you guys get back into the car and you are driving. What was it that you were planning to do, Oliver, to help find Lucas? [02:11:54] Speaker B: I have Ariadnes thread, but I might wait until we get to the farm to do that because what it does is just basically lets me declare a target, being that a person place or a thing to track. And once I use it, it'll basically make a thread that leads me to the person for a number of days, equal to my successes with a minimum of one day. [02:12:16] Speaker F: Got you. [02:12:17] Speaker B: Okay, then I can extend the day each additional day by spending a legend point, but I am broke on those right now, so I can only do it once for now. [02:12:26] Speaker F: Okay, well, getting outside of the city is easy. You guys stop for gas like, on the very outskirts of the city, kind of leading into the suburbs. That's where you pick up your quote unquote camping supplies and you guys are just kind of breaking past the suburbs and out into the country when you hear the first howl. [02:12:59] Speaker A: God damn. [02:13:00] Speaker F: And Lily is immediately like, she had managed to stop crying and she is sobbing again and is just sort of hunkering down in her seat. [02:13:14] Speaker B: Sorry, we've done this before. Can we tell how men they are based on the house? [02:13:23] Speaker F: Everybody can make me perception and awareness rolls. We will see. [02:13:37] Speaker B: One. [02:13:42] Speaker C: Seven. [02:13:45] Speaker F: Chris and Oliver, you're not sure. Chris, you're busy with a crying girl who is losing her mind. Oliver, you have no idea. Sarah, you're not positive on an exact number, but, you know, it's not a small amount. You're looking at at least five in the immediate vicinity. [02:14:16] Speaker C: There's at least five that I think I heard. How close are we to finding this kid? He might be in danger. [02:14:24] Speaker B: Do you want me to do it now? [02:14:28] Speaker C: Once we get to the farm, we may have to hunker down, so it's probably best that we do it before. [02:14:33] Speaker B: All right. It won't tell me the exact distance, but it'll lead us to him. So we're going to just have to hope he's not too far away. I'll pull up the book and then use my last point of legend to do Ariadne's thread to see if we can find Lucas. And that is is there a role. [02:14:56] Speaker F: Associated with that or does it just. [02:14:58] Speaker B: Automatically the role number of successes determine how many days it stays active? [02:15:02] Speaker F: Okay. [02:15:05] Speaker B: Two. [02:15:07] Speaker F: All right, so for two days, this is active. You have no idea how far away he is. But you know that the thread is pointing north, says north. [02:15:25] Speaker C: Are we heading north? [02:15:28] Speaker F: No, the farm is kind of more west than north. Like, it's slightly north. It's like north by northwest, essentially. [02:15:41] Speaker C: Okay, cool. Then at the first chance that she gets, sarah's gonna turn the right direction by pulling the parking brake and just flipping the car to the. [02:15:54] Speaker F: You immediately freak out oliver but, yeah, it's not hard the first time. There's a road that is headed more firmly north. You turn north and I'm going to assume you continue to drive as long as you possibly can without stopping. [02:16:15] Speaker C: Yes. [02:16:17] Speaker F: Okay. I would like we're going to do another little mini another little mini skill challenge like we did last time. I would like Sarah's obviously going to roll Dex plus drive, but you guys can contribute to her driving role in whatever way you can think of. [02:16:51] Speaker B: All right, since I already have the book out, I'll flip the page again and do trading fates to give Sarah some bonus die. This will harm me later, but since I don't have any legend points right now, might as well, because I can still use it without legend. [02:17:08] Speaker A: Okay, if he's doing that, then I guess I need to be the spotter trying to tell her about upcoming hazards. [02:17:16] Speaker F: I mean, it's probably for the best anyway. You've noticed that Oliver's not great on picking up on things, so perception, awareness. [02:17:24] Speaker B: Sarah gets three extra dice that she can use throughout this scene. [02:17:32] Speaker A: Seven successes. [02:17:37] Speaker F: Okay. Goodness. So that's going to be Sarah. You get three extra dice for that. And Oliver, what does your thing do? [02:17:49] Speaker B: Trading fates. It works basically the same way as Bona Fortuna, which is I use the spell to make it so for the rest of the scene, I get a pool of extra dice that I can use throughout the scene until I don't have any left. Both trading fates. I do it for another person and however many successes I get will be dice subtracted from me next time, I use a roll that relies on a legend point. [02:18:12] Speaker F: Okay. Interesting. Sarah, go ahead and roll your roll. Thanks. Okay. You easily keep it on the road. You are pushing this car as fast as it will go without the worry, before you start to worry that it's going to kind of shake apart because you're going faster than it was meant to handle. Hold on one moment. I'm looking at some stuff. You are able to keep ahead of the wolves for now, but they are in your rear view. You can see them. And Chris, you are looking, like, out the windows of the car, kind of keeping your head on a swivel. Looking in all directions. You can see wolves pacing the car in the trees on either side of the road. They are darting between trees and they are keeping up with you. But Odly, for now, do not seem to be trying to get at the car yet. [02:20:02] Speaker B: Alrighty. Is it possible these are maybe Stefan's wolves? [02:20:09] Speaker A: Stefan wolf? [02:20:12] Speaker B: The wolves that belong to Stefan, like you said. [02:20:16] Speaker A: Want to be wild. Dude. [02:20:21] Speaker F: Sorry. I'm so sorry. [02:20:27] Speaker A: They're probably gwen's ones. I mean, she's probably got control over some of them, so she's got them to come out and fuck with us. [02:20:37] Speaker B: That's what I worry. But since they haven't attacked us yet, I was wondering if there was alternative spots. Let's not risk it all on that quite yet. Yeah. [02:20:49] Speaker C: Lily, are you any good with ranged weapons? [02:20:53] Speaker F: What? [02:20:55] Speaker A: No. I'm guessing. [02:21:03] Speaker C: If they get any closer, Chris, we're going to need covering fire. [02:21:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:21:08] Speaker B: All right. Emily, just so you know, you are a Scion. You have skills that are useful. If you're scared, that's all right. It's okay to be scared. But know that if things get bad, there are people who need you. Do what you can, but don't push yourself too hard. [02:21:32] Speaker F: I can't do anything. [02:21:37] Speaker B: You're capable of way more than you think you are as a person or a Scion. [02:21:45] Speaker F: She looks confused and overwhelmed, but just sort of, like, nods because she's not sure what else to do. [02:21:56] Speaker B: Right. [02:22:01] Speaker F: Um, i. Would like. And I'm sorry, I'm rolling dice in the background as we speak. Okay. Another roll from Sarah. I will allow you to keep the same bonus you had before. [02:22:31] Speaker C: Eight this time. [02:22:33] Speaker F: Goodness, you really are baby driver. It's crazy real. A wolf darts out from the trees ahead of you as if trying to cut you off, and you pull a move that at the same time you're doing it. You are almost positive it won't work. You hit the gas at the same time you pull hard on the handbrake and whip the car around. And it's this OD kind of slow motion moment for everybody in the car as the car kind of spins and skids at the perfect angle to pass between this thing's legs and end up on the other side of it facing in the direction that you were going. And then you drop the handbrake back into a neutral position and hit the gas again and take off. Lily, for her part, is in the back seat and just screamed throughout the whole thing. [02:23:44] Speaker A: Grab hold of her hand just so that she's got a connection to someone. [02:23:51] Speaker F: She death grips your hand but does not let go. And then she's just like we just you just that was. [02:24:07] Speaker C: I mean, it's been a while since I've done any drag racing, but it's coming back to me. [02:24:12] Speaker B: You've done that before? [02:24:15] Speaker F: What kind of a lawyer are you? [02:24:18] Speaker C: The good kind. [02:24:23] Speaker B: I'll accede to that. [02:24:35] Speaker F: Chris. [02:24:36] Speaker B: Yes. [02:24:39] Speaker D: Hold on. [02:24:40] Speaker F: Sorry. You see, Lily kind of turn to look back at these wolves and something happens that you don't expect. There is a moment where some sort of shadow passes between you, between the car and the wolves. And it's like you can only see part of the wolves and one of them sort of lash like jumps like he's trying to grab the back of the car before it can get away. And it completely whiffs it as it bites down in where the car it seems like the car should be. But all there is is like darkness and shadow. And you watch as a shadow that kind of mimics that passes over Lily's face and then it's gone. [02:25:59] Speaker A: I'll nod and keep watching, remembering to ask her about that later. [02:26:04] Speaker F: She doesn't seem to have noticed what happened, for what it's worth, she's just watching an abject horror and it just sort of happens, as far as you can tell. Doesn't look like she's knowingly willing it to happen. [02:26:18] Speaker A: Okay. [02:26:22] Speaker F: One more roll, sarah, see if you can get away. [02:26:29] Speaker C: Same bonus. [02:26:33] Speaker F: Yeah. Assuming that the boys are going to continue to do what they've been doing to help you. [02:26:38] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. [02:26:41] Speaker F: Then, yes. [02:26:49] Speaker C: Nine this time. [02:26:50] Speaker F: Jesus. Seven, eight, nine. What the yeah, so that's not even a question. Between that and the wolves inability to snatch the back of the car before it gets too far, you manage to distance yourself enough that you pull ahead and put significant difference between you and them. And as that is happening chris, your phone rings. [02:27:22] Speaker A: I'll answer it on speaker. Yo. [02:27:26] Speaker F: Hey. Coda called me and said I'm supposed to take down the barrier so that y'all can find the place. [02:27:39] Speaker A: Yes, please. [02:27:42] Speaker F: How far away are you. [02:27:46] Speaker A: Sarah? How far away are we? [02:27:48] Speaker C: We're not even heading in that direction yet. We got to find the kid. [02:27:52] Speaker A: We got to find the kid first. We'll be heading your direction soon, so don't bring it down yet. Hey, I'll text you. Well, someone will text you when we get a bit closer. How about that? [02:28:04] Speaker F: All right. What kid? [02:28:06] Speaker A: I don't have no, no, not that. Young Lily and Lucas, two new scions we got lily, we're just trying to find Lucas, but we're going away from you right now because we're just trying to lose a pack of wolves. [02:28:23] Speaker F: All right, you let me know when you're on your way then, I guess. [02:28:26] Speaker A: Yes, sir, we'll do. [02:28:29] Speaker F: And he hangs up. Okay, so I'm going to give you guys the opportunity to all do one thing to see if you can shorten the amount of time it is going to take to find Lucas. And this can be in addition to what Oliver already did. [02:28:57] Speaker B: Can I pull up a map to see what's northward for any possible ideal locations where he might go? [02:29:07] Speaker C: Yes. [02:29:10] Speaker B: I guess that's what I'll do. [02:29:12] Speaker F: Okay, Chris. [02:29:17] Speaker A: Maybe I can use my inspirational figure knack, charisma based knack with Lily to calm her down and to get kind of coherent information out of her that we can actually use to pinpoint where Lucas might be. [02:29:35] Speaker F: Absolutely. Go ahead and make your role for that. [02:29:38] Speaker A: Okay. [02:29:39] Speaker F: Sarah, what are you doing? [02:29:42] Speaker C: Actually, Sarah, if she can, she's going to try to call around using the car's bluetooth to places like hospitals and police stations to see if Lucas turned up at any of those places and try to locate him. [02:29:59] Speaker F: Okay, let's go with yours would probably be manipulation, investigation, because you are trying to gain information from them, but also not give away why or who you are. [02:30:16] Speaker C: She'd probably say it was because he's a client in a domestic or civil domestic case. [02:30:24] Speaker F: So you're going to give out your name. [02:30:28] Speaker C: She'll give a fake name? [02:30:30] Speaker F: Yeah. That's manipulation and investigation. Okay. [02:30:36] Speaker A: I got one success. That was it. [02:30:40] Speaker F: Okay. [02:30:41] Speaker C: Yeah, I got two. [02:30:46] Speaker F: Int and investigation, please. Actually. Int and survival. [02:30:52] Speaker B: Okay, that is six successes. [02:31:03] Speaker F: God damn. Okay, and how many did you get, Sarah? Two. Okay. Chris, getting Lily calmed down is taking some time. It is working. It is a slow process. You have to be very gentle with her because at one point you don't even mean to. The car swerves for a moment and your voice goes up a little bit, gets a little bit louder, and she kind of immediately kind of shrinks back and sets you back a little bit. But she is listening. She is receptive, and she is attempting to work with you. Part of the issue that you are running into is the fact that this is all very new to her. And there was obviously magic of some sort involved when they fled, so she's not 100% sure where he could have ended up. [02:32:05] Speaker B: Okay. [02:32:08] Speaker F: Oliver, you got how many. [02:32:11] Speaker B: Recount? [02:32:12] Speaker F: Yes. You got a lot. I'm sorry. It was Sarah that didn't get as many. How many did you get, Sarah? [02:32:17] Speaker C: Two. [02:32:18] Speaker B: I got six. [02:32:19] Speaker F: Okay, you call around. Sarah no one has him, as far as you can tell, but there was a report of a young man who was wandering, kind of lost and bewildered a few towns about an hour north of the city earlier today. And he got reported to the police, but he wasn't doing anything wrong, so they couldn't bring him in, and he was not willing to go with them. But based on the description, it sounds like him. Oliver it takes a hot minute, and at first you're like, well, maybe he'd find, like, a restaurant or a diner or something, especially listening to what Lily is saying in the backseat. And then you spot a building that looks like it might once have been, like a group home, like an actual facility style group home that has been it looks like it's been abandoned for some time. That's about an hour north of the city in a small town. [02:33:50] Speaker B: Lily, you and Lucas used to be in a group home, right? [02:33:54] Speaker F: Yeah, I have an idea. [02:33:57] Speaker B: And then I'll just kind of show where on the map to Sarah be like, here might be a good bet. [02:34:05] Speaker C: Okay, I'll start heading there. [02:34:08] Speaker F: All right. There are a couple more times where you guys kind of have to play chicken and avoid wolves and whatever, but based on how you roll, do you handle it pretty easily. And just to be safe, you sort of circle this town where the screw pome is a couple of times to make sure that you're not about to drag wolves into a place full of civilians. But you don't seem to see anymore for now. And you end up pulling up outside of an old, kind of derelict, abandoned building with, like, boarded up and honestly, most of the windows don't even have glass in them anymore. They're just boards over where windows used to be. And there is a heavy chain and a padlock on the front door. [02:35:01] Speaker B: Two things. One, I assume by the time I get there or we get there, I have to spend another point of willpower. [02:35:06] Speaker F: Yep. [02:35:07] Speaker B: All right, I'll do that. And then two, if you want to. [02:35:10] Speaker F: Fight down the effects, you don't have to. [02:35:12] Speaker B: I would like to. And then two, since I still have Ariati's thread active is it pointing towards this building? [02:35:20] Speaker F: It is. [02:35:20] Speaker B: Okay, well, it's in the direction of that building, so think we're close. [02:35:29] Speaker F: As soon as you say in the direction of that building. Like, you confirm that that's where your spell is going. Lily is climbing over Chris to get. [02:35:39] Speaker D: Out of the car. [02:35:40] Speaker B: Be careful. [02:35:40] Speaker F: Be careful. [02:35:41] Speaker B: We don't know if there's any dangers yet. And then I'll very carefully climb up the car and go as if to look like I'm about to survey the area, then turn to the other two. But one of you want to check to see if there's any traps or anything? Yeah, sure. [02:36:04] Speaker F: Okay. Would both of you make me perception and awareness, please? [02:36:16] Speaker C: Just one. [02:36:19] Speaker B: That is a rough roll. [02:36:23] Speaker C: It's okay. My luck had to run out at some .4. [02:36:30] Speaker F: Okay, Chris, you have a look around. As far as you can tell, there are no traps. You do see evidence of someone having broken in after you. Like, you kind of loop the building. It's kind of the only way that you can get Lily to stay still for a minute is to prove that you're actually doing something. So you kind of do a jog around the building, and one of the back doors has been forced open. [02:36:57] Speaker B: And while they're looking for physical traps, I'll actually use unlited eye to see if there's any magic or fate around this place. [02:37:04] Speaker F: There is fate. You can see a very thick it looks like obsidian wire that is passing from the middle of Lily's chest into the building. [02:37:20] Speaker B: All right. [02:37:21] Speaker A: A door has been forced open around the back. [02:37:25] Speaker B: That's probably the way he got in. And, yeah, further confirmation. I looked into fate a little bit more. It seems like he is indeed in there. Let's be wary, but I think it might be good enough to go if he got in there without any problems. It's probably okay, let's move. [02:37:43] Speaker A: Like we got a purpose, though. We might have wolves behind us, so let's go. [02:37:52] Speaker C: And Sarah's going to run through the door, probably after Lily. [02:37:56] Speaker F: Okay. Yeah. Lily takes off the second she's kind of allowed to and is, like, yelling for her brother. And you guys are in the main hallway of this rather large building when he steps out into the hallway, and she spots him and just takes off and throws herself at him and is sobbing, and he's, like, hugging her, and they're babbling back and forth in Spanish. And, Oliver, you get the general. The general gist is that they both thought the other one was like, neither one of them understands what happened. They went through the same doorway but ended up in different places, and he basically just looked for a place to hide that he thought she would think to find him at. [02:38:59] Speaker A: Let's go. We got to go. [02:39:01] Speaker B: I'm rubbing my forehead as my head. [02:39:03] Speaker A: Let's chat in the car. [02:39:04] Speaker B: Yes. Agreed. [02:39:05] Speaker A: Oh, you get in the back with them. [02:39:07] Speaker B: All right, I'll text Damon, then. [02:39:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:39:13] Speaker F: They both climb into the car with you. After a moment. You guys do get a chance to see that Lucas is wearing kind of plain white slacks and, like, a sleeveless white. It almost looks like an old tunic where it comes down to his waist. He's got, like, a brown belt around it and it's split on either side from the hip down to make it easier to move in. But there's really nothing that makes it not plain, except that it's just weirdly out of place given the modern time. But it odly enough. Looks like it was almost made to match her outfit. Okay. [02:40:01] Speaker B: Are you all right, Lucas? [02:40:05] Speaker F: Yeah. I don't know how you found me, but I'm glad you did. [02:40:09] Speaker B: I'm full of surprises. And then I'm going to text Damon. [02:40:13] Speaker C: Sarah's going to be peeling out towards the direction of the farm. [02:40:17] Speaker B: I'm going to text Damon on our way. Can I tell how far away we are from our current distance? [02:40:23] Speaker F: Well, it took about an hour to get here. You're probably looking at about 35 to 45 minutes to get there. [02:40:32] Speaker B: I'll text me our way about 45 minutes out. [02:40:47] Speaker F: Okay. You get a text message back that is a thumbs up emoji. And he says, text me when you're about two minutes from the entrance and I'll make sure that the barrier is down. The girls say that there's wolves everywhere, so I don't want to pull it down early. [02:41:10] Speaker B: I go to write, okay. And then I just send a thumbs up emoji back. [02:41:16] Speaker F: You're learning. [02:41:21] Speaker B: My head hurts too much to spell. [02:41:26] Speaker C: You know what would really help with that? [02:41:28] Speaker B: Are you going to say alcohol? [02:41:31] Speaker C: I was going to say weed, but alcohol would help, too. [02:41:34] Speaker B: I don't think we have any here with us. [02:41:39] Speaker C: That's where you're wrong. [02:41:43] Speaker B: Let's not smoke up. The car. [02:41:50] Speaker C: Fine. [02:41:59] Speaker F: It okay. You all continue your drive back towards the farm. You do realize the further you get away from that small town and out into the countryside, the more plentiful those glimpses and the sounds of the wolves get? Chris, you get a voicemail? [02:42:39] Speaker A: I'll put it on speaker. [02:42:40] Speaker F: Your phone doesn't ring. It's just a voicemail, stefan, what does the voicemail say? [02:42:50] Speaker D: Well, I think I ran into a bit of a problem. I'm going to be heading your way because I don't really got anywhere else to go. None of the wolves are under my command anymore, so good luck, I guess. [02:43:12] Speaker A: I'll send a text back that says, we've just met a shit ton of wolves. Working out a location now. Standby. We'll text soon as. [02:43:33] Speaker F: It is. Up to you. [02:43:34] Speaker D: If you answer, Stefan, all right, you will text back. Okay? Period. [02:43:47] Speaker A: I will lean back to Ollie and say, hey, man, looks like Stefan has had been shit out of luck with Gwen. He's on his own. I haven't told him where we're going. Can you ask Damon whether or not it's going to be okay to let him know or what the fuck we should do? [02:44:10] Speaker B: Looking at how things are going? It looks like bulls are popping up by the dozens. Things are getting hairy. We're probably going to have to fight at the farm one way or another, so I'll ask Damon to see if he's okay with it. But Stefan's probably going to have to come with us. [02:44:28] Speaker A: I know, but I don't want to give Stefan Damon's location without at least asking for his permission first. [02:44:34] Speaker B: In that case, I'm going to call Damon. [02:44:38] Speaker F: It takes a minute, but he answers. This is early. You said I had more time. [02:44:45] Speaker B: We're not there yet. We're not there yet. I need to call to make sure you're okay with something. Things are getting bad. Apparently, as I'm sure you're aware, there's another person who's with us, but used to be on the other side, but is now on our side. And I want to ask make sure it's okay if he comes into the farm as well. [02:45:06] Speaker F: Fuck. [02:45:09] Speaker B: It'S your residence, so I'm not going to violate what you say and you have final word on this. [02:45:15] Speaker F: All right? But laws of hospitality, he's your guest, you're responsible for him. [02:45:22] Speaker B: That's fair enough. Thank you, Damon. [02:45:26] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, just let me know when you're close. My understanding is that Net is well, she'll be here when I need her to be here, but she's on her way. And she's got your friend with her. [02:45:39] Speaker B: Yeah, she's not going to be happy with this guy. So maybe have them in opposite sides of the room in the house if we end up sleeping there. [02:45:50] Speaker F: Okay. Wait, is this who I think it is? [02:45:57] Speaker B: Yes, but he's had a change of heart, let's say that. And we have reason to trust him until we don't. Like I said though, we're going to keep a close eye on him. [02:46:06] Speaker F: Yeah, I'm sure you can trust him about as far as you can trust Zeus to keep it in his pants, but I'll see what I can do. [02:46:15] Speaker B: Again. Thanks, Damon. [02:46:17] Speaker A: Was that on? [02:46:19] Speaker F: Yeah. [02:46:19] Speaker B: Yes. [02:46:20] Speaker A: So, Damon, if he ends up fucking up, then I think we'll join you in offend the motherfucker. So it's on his head to be a good boy. [02:46:31] Speaker F: Good to know. All right, call me when you're close. [02:46:37] Speaker B: You got it. [02:46:39] Speaker A: So what I'll do is I will pick a location that's just down the road from the farm. The text that Damon said earlier was let us know when you're two minutes out. So I'll pick kind of a point that's a couple of minutes down the road and say, meet us there. [02:46:58] Speaker F: Okay, I'm assuming that Stefan will get that and agree. [02:47:03] Speaker D: Yeah, he will meet them there. [02:47:07] Speaker F: You all continue to drive. Sarah, I would like you to make one more driving check. You can have that, plus three bonus from Chris. [02:47:22] Speaker C: Four? [02:47:24] Speaker F: Okay. At one point, you guys run into another batch of wolves and they are desperately trying to catch you and you attempt another fancy maneuver to get around it. By going under its legs. And unfortunately, you overestimate just or overcorrect just a little bit when you're in the spin and you end up slamming the back side of the car, like the back passenger side of the car into one of its legs. Everybody hears the leg break, but you also feel the whole car, like, wobbling afterwards. You've definitely messed up the suspension. You think it'll hold, but you're going to have to get that looked at or it's likely to fall apart. [02:48:22] Speaker D: Pushing. [02:48:24] Speaker A: Nothing special about this car, though, is there? [02:48:25] Speaker F: We could just no, this is just a mundane car. [02:48:28] Speaker B: Okay. [02:48:28] Speaker F: Which is why it didn't take that well. [02:48:31] Speaker B: Right as we're still going forward. Are they still, like, behind us chasing? [02:48:36] Speaker F: Except for the one that now has a broken leg? Yes, they are still chasing. [02:48:41] Speaker B: I don't think this plant is going to work all that well, but might as well try everything we have. And I'm going to reach into my satchel, take out a bag of marbles I bought a while back, and then just open it, roll down the window and just toss them out so that they spread on the ground behind us to hopefully trip them up. [02:48:56] Speaker F: Okay, for shits and giggles, Termite, will you please roll me eight dice? Holy shit. That's a lot of nines. Okay, so one of them kind of slips and ends up kind of toppling over in its attempt to kind of keep itself upright, but the others run over your bunch of marbles like it's nothing. [02:49:42] Speaker B: Like I said, wasn't the best play in the world, but it was something. [02:49:47] Speaker F: And as you guys have this pack kind of gaining on you because the car is not holding speed as well as it was, now that it's taken a little bit of a beating. Oliver, you're in the backseat. The twins are sitting next to each other and they kind of lace fingers with each other and look back through the window and you get to watch as Lucas does this thing where he's talking to his sister in that very kind of rapid fire Spanish. And he points at one of the wolves and from he's pointing at him and he goes, yeah, but look at that one right there. And he shakes his hand and it's like he's not actively trying to do anything, but as he does, this burst of brilliant gold light kind of shoots out of his hand, out of his finger, directly into this wolf's eyes. And the wolf howls and kind of literally throws itself backwards. It's so shocked by the brightness of it and so thrown off that he kind of yanks back to try and avoid the bright light in his eyes and ends up taking out, like, two of the wolves next to him. And then Lucas just sort of pauses and looks at his hand like, the fuck was that? And then looks over at. [02:51:31] Speaker B: Um, I. [02:51:33] Speaker F: Didn'T mean sorry, I don't know. [02:51:37] Speaker B: Good job. Very good job. Good job. [02:51:43] Speaker C: What's happening back there? [02:51:45] Speaker B: Lucas is finding himself. [02:51:47] Speaker F: You saw something very bright in your rear view, but you have no idea what it was because it was so blindingly bright that it was just light. That's all you got from it. [02:52:01] Speaker B: If you think you can manage it, do that again at the wolves. [02:52:06] Speaker F: I don't know what I did. And he's just sort of looking down at his hands. And Oliver, you can see that there is what looks like a fresh tattoo or brand on the inside of his wrist, and it looks like a. [02:52:26] Speaker B: Lucas um look at what we are. Ties us to this weave of fate. Everything is planned out and predetermined, but that's not scary. That means it connects us to very powerful things, things that we can harness to do miraculous things through our divine ichor, through the blood in our veins, from our gods. That is what you did just now. So want you to look inside yourself, feel that ichor. Imagine it flowing through your body, and push all that connection to fate outwards and see if you can do it again. [02:53:13] Speaker F: He kind of blinks a little bit, but then nods slowly and turns. And he points his hand, and he looks like he's concentrating really hard. And then he makes this little, like, half grunt noise in the back of his throat, and nothing happens. [02:53:35] Speaker B: It's all right. [02:53:38] Speaker F: I don't understand. [02:53:42] Speaker B: None of us really understand. Sometimes these things just happen, but you can do it. Maybe not today, but if you keep practicing, you'll learn. [02:53:52] Speaker F: Okay? [02:53:54] Speaker B: Try one more time and think about something happy. Think about something that made you feel warm. A nice summer day, spending time with your sister. What do you like to do? [02:54:11] Speaker F: He looks conflicted and like he's not sure. And you get the feeling you've had enough students that you know this look. This is the look of a kid who has never had almost anybody other than that one person, his sister. You could just tell nobody other than her has ever really believed in him before. And he lacks all of that self confidence and self assurance. But as if she kind of understands what you're trying to get at, lily leans in and whispers into his ear, and he just sort of closes his eyes and nods and then holds his hand back up, but he's not pointing this time. He's just putting his palm out and not really looking at them anymore. And there is another bright burst of light. But rather than it being like a beam like you saw before, it's this wide fan out the back of the window. Sarah. It's intensely fucking bright. It hurts your eyes, what it reflects off of your mirrors. [02:55:20] Speaker B: I'm going to smile at him and nod. There you go. Good job. You did great. [02:55:29] Speaker F: And it doesn't immediately stop. It keeps going for a few seconds until his sister kind of reaches up and wraps her hand around his and forces his hand closed, and then it stops. Okay. [02:55:49] Speaker B: You had injury. [02:55:51] Speaker F: I don't even know what it is, but and the wolves have kind of dropped back at this point. Enough of them kind of got the flash from hell and have kind of pulled back just because they can't see, and they were running into each other. And after a few more minutes, chris will recognize that you guys are just a couple of minutes out from the farm. [02:56:24] Speaker A: Okay, start looking around for Stefan. [02:56:29] Speaker F: You pull into the location that you picked, which is a little like a way station for semis that looks like it hasn't been used in years. And there is a beat up pickup nearby. [02:56:49] Speaker A: Does it have Stefan in it? [02:56:50] Speaker F: It does. Sorry, I sneezed so I took my finger off of the thing. Sorry. [02:56:59] Speaker A: I'll nudge Sarah and point over at the pickup truck. [02:57:03] Speaker C: Yeah, she'll pull over when she gets out. She can see Stefan. She'll say, So you're completely on the outs with Gwen and the huh. And if I can, I want to try to use judgment to see if I can kind of tell the truth in that statement. [02:57:28] Speaker F: Okay, let me scroll up to where that is. [02:57:36] Speaker D: Judgment. [02:57:46] Speaker F: I mean, that's kind of not what judgment does. Judgment tells you if somebody is guilty of a crime that you believe that they've committed. [02:57:56] Speaker C: Okay, then probably just regular paying attention to see if there's any tells for lies kind of thing. [02:58:04] Speaker F: Wits plus empathy. [02:58:07] Speaker B: Could I try to use my singing stone to help her out there? I know it's normal intelligence, but still like to ask? [02:58:14] Speaker F: No, because this is wits and empathy. Stefan, how will you reply? [02:58:21] Speaker D: Well, they were already kind of fucking gone when I got there, so didn't really get the chance. [02:58:31] Speaker F: Your room at the HQ where you normally stayed was trashed. [02:58:39] Speaker D: Yeah. So I'm assuming I'm kind of out of the loop. However, sad thing for them. My tracking goes both ways. Also, your car is fucked up. [02:59:01] Speaker C: Thank you. [02:59:02] Speaker F: I know. [02:59:02] Speaker C: I'm the one who fucked it up. Yeah. [02:59:05] Speaker F: There is blood and fur on the side of the car where it connected with that wolf's leg, by the way. Yeah. As far as you can tell, Sarah, he seems truthful. He doesn't seem to be hiding anything from you. He doesn't have any of the typical tells that you would expect of a liar. [02:59:24] Speaker D: Would you find men and ladies like a ride to wherever the hell you're going? [02:59:34] Speaker B: Well, seeing as our current mode of operation or movement is not going to get us much further, that would be most appreciated. [02:59:44] Speaker A: I don't know whether we want to leave our car here, though, just in. [02:59:47] Speaker F: Case they can track. The car will get you there. It's just not going to take you on any long trips until it's fixed. [02:59:53] Speaker A: I don't know whether we want to leave our car here, though, just in case it can get tracked where best thing is, we take both cars. You follow us, Stefan, and we'll take you there. [03:00:02] Speaker B: Worst case scenario, we can use it for parts to do whatever we need to once we get there. [03:00:08] Speaker D: All right? Sure. [03:00:11] Speaker F: Okay. [03:00:13] Speaker B: I'll call Damon and let him know that we're very close. [03:00:17] Speaker F: All right. Damon promises that he will be there to let the barrier down. When you arrive, you guys pile back into your vehicles and hightail it the rest of the way to the farm. At first, it seems like there is no farm. Like you're on the wrong road, like you've completely misremembered where you're supposed to go. And then there is this shimmer in the air off to the right hand side of the road as you were coming up on it, and you see the archway that leads into the farm. Sarah, despite the state that the car is in, knows that you guys have seconds to get in before he has to throw the barrier back up or you're risking being leading the wolves directly into his home. Kind of whips into this fishtail turn and inside and you guys spot Damon kind of like standing near that archway. And his hand is kind of up on the etched wood that marks the entrance. And he sort of waves with his other hand and looks like his typical stoner self, but there's just the slightest hint of extra worry around the corners of his eyes. And Stefan, as you guys drive in, your perception is high enough that I'm not even going to make you roll for this. You spot women that you very quickly begin to realize have to be like dryads, kind of tucking themselves between trees and peeking out from bushes and that sort of thing, and watching the vehicles as they come in. And then after your truck passes through, the man at the gate takes his hand off of it, off of the archway. And there's another shimmer and a ripple. And though you can see the road perfectly fine, you watch as several wolves just sort of bound by, and they don't seem to notice any of you. [03:02:37] Speaker D: Nice. [03:02:40] Speaker F: And now you understand why they sort of dropped off the face of the earth when you were trying to track them before. There is some sort of magical protection here that at least temporarily kept them shielded from you. [03:03:00] Speaker D: Well, he will drive to wherever they allow him to stop. [03:03:06] Speaker F: It kind of only goes one way. You follow a long, kind of winding driveway up towards a large house and a handful of barns, and that's about where I assumed they would stop. I don't think they would go any further onto the property because there's, as far as they know, not much out there. And then as you guys pile out of the cars, nymphs kind of slowly start to creep. Out from all directions. Chris, your best friend from last time you were here, kind of throws herself at you. [03:03:52] Speaker A: I'll pick her up and swing around. [03:03:54] Speaker F: I was worried. He told us that you were running from the wolves and that there were kids. And she kind of looks around you at the twins, who kind of stare at her all wide eyed because she is like a half plant lady. And she just sort of smiles and looks back up at you and goes, I should have known not to be worried. [03:04:16] Speaker A: Yeah, we're good. At least for the moment. Ton of wolves, though. Holy shit. [03:04:22] Speaker F: Yeah, we noticed. They're everywhere. They're all over. It doesn't matter which boundary of the property you go to, you can see them through the magic. [03:04:35] Speaker A: Damn. Yeah, we pissed them off good. [03:04:39] Speaker F: We heard from Net. She said that when things die down a little bit, she'll head this way. Okay. And she's got your friend. And apparently your friend is okay. [03:04:53] Speaker D: Cool. [03:04:56] Speaker F: Are you guys hungry? Yeah, maybe. Want a joint or some beer or something? You guys look a little stressed out. [03:05:12] Speaker A: Yeah, it's been a day. [03:05:16] Speaker F: Okay, come on in. We'll get you some food. We were going to make burgers, if that's okay. [03:05:23] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [03:05:25] Speaker F: Excellent. You seem like a grill master. You can grill and she'll cut a head for the back of the house. Oliver, your friend also shows up. She doesn't throw herself at you the way that Chris's did there. She sort of stands a few feet away and just kind of gives you a little smile and a wave with the tips of her fingers. [03:05:53] Speaker B: Good to see you again, Asterope. [03:05:56] Speaker F: You too. Are you okay? You look a little worn. [03:06:06] Speaker B: That's one way of putting it. My head's killing me and I feel drained. [03:06:16] Speaker F: Let's see if we can help with that. Yeah. And she'll hold out a hand. Do you trust me? [03:06:27] Speaker B: That I do. I'll take it. [03:06:30] Speaker F: She'll kind of nod and start leading you kind of away from the others, kind of off to the side. Sarah. [03:06:45] Speaker C: Yes? [03:06:46] Speaker F: There are two Nymphs who have come over and thrown arms around you. You only had one last time, but there's another one who looks suspiciously like the other. Could be sisters. Could just be a coincidence. Hard to tell. [03:07:05] Speaker C: Is at least one of them the same one from before? So I get a dreamy look on her face and say, oh, I thought it would be longer before I saw you again. [03:07:18] Speaker F: So did I. Can't say I have any complaints. I love it when more Scions come to visit. [03:07:29] Speaker C: I love visiting. [03:07:35] Speaker F: Damon shows up and sort of takes the twins under his wing. Like, it's obvious that the Nymphs are all going to be very occupied for a while. So he kind of takes the twins under his wing and kind of leads them inside. Stefan, there is a Nymph nearby. Who her hair is it's vines that are very deep, like almost jungle green, kind of dark, and they are dotted with deep, deep purple and white blooms. Could you make me an intelligent survival role? [03:08:35] Speaker D: Okay, I have no survival then. [03:08:41] Speaker F: Just intellectual. Or you could also do academics. [03:08:47] Speaker D: Could I do a cult? [03:08:51] Speaker F: M sure. I will allow it because it actually probably would have some occult uses, now that I think about it. [03:09:12] Speaker D: Three successes, I believe. [03:09:14] Speaker F: Do you have any epic intelligence? [03:09:17] Speaker D: No. [03:09:18] Speaker F: Okay. It takes you a minute, but after a few seconds of kind of studying those flowers, you realize that the flowers that are literally growing as a part of her hair are a combination of white oleander and monk's hood, which are both very poisonous. And she's just sort of watching you. You're the one everybody was worried about being here. [03:09:59] Speaker D: That would be me, I presume. [03:10:03] Speaker F: Hmm. People always worry about me going places too. [03:10:17] Speaker D: I'm not too worried. Poison's. Poison. It happens. [03:10:28] Speaker F: You're sure? [03:10:30] Speaker D: Yeah, I've had worse. Try and kill me. [03:10:37] Speaker F: Everybody calls me Natine. [03:10:42] Speaker D: Stefan. [03:10:46] Speaker F: And she'll kind of reach over to offer you a hand. [03:10:51] Speaker D: He seems very uncomfortable with the situation, but will accept. Trying not to be rude in this. [03:10:58] Speaker F: She shakes you and then lets it go. It doesn't look like she's trying to tug you anywhere or whatever. It was just an offer of a handshake. [03:11:10] Speaker D: All right, well, I am going to go inside, if that is allowed. With your. [03:11:21] Speaker F: Of course. I think everybody's going in. And she'll kind of gesture to the door, like offering you a clear path. [03:11:39] Speaker D: He will head in. [03:11:43] Speaker F: She will kind of tag along after. But she is giving you your space. You all head in. It looks like there were the beginnings of fixings for burgers and whatever. There's a big bowl full of minced beef or ground beef, and it's got, like, onions chopped up inside of it and stuff like that. And there's kind of an array of fresh veggies and jars of pickles and what looked like homemade hamburger buns kind of everywhere. They were obviously in the process of prepping some sort of meal when everything kind of went crazy. And so you kind of walk back in and they have to work on picking up where they left off. You guys are free to role play amongst yourselves for a little bit, or you can ask your hosts questions or whatever you would like. [03:12:51] Speaker B: I'm going to go into the kitchen. Damon, where do you keep the glasses? [03:13:01] Speaker F: Which ones? [03:13:03] Speaker B: The nice ones. [03:13:06] Speaker F: Like wine glasses? [03:13:09] Speaker B: No, more like the scotch kind. [03:13:17] Speaker F: Over there. And he kind of points to, like, a liquor cabinet. [03:13:22] Speaker B: I'll take one of those, reach my satchel, take the whiskey that I was given, and pour myself a drink. [03:13:30] Speaker F: He looks surprised and kind of looks over at Chris like, is this this is new? [03:13:38] Speaker A: I'll just just nod at him, smiling. Hey, Oliver, don't drink all of my whiskey, man. It's just good stuff. [03:13:46] Speaker B: No promises. You say it's stopped my head from hurting, and that's what I aim to have it do. [03:13:51] Speaker A: In that case, man, you drink as much of it as you want. [03:13:54] Speaker B: Thank you. [03:13:56] Speaker F: Astoripe is sitting nearby and kind of giggling to herself and rolling rather fat blunt as you begin to drink. Anything else anybody wants to talk about or do? While Oliver works on getting blasted. [03:14:21] Speaker B: I. [03:14:21] Speaker A: Got asked whether I want to be the grill master. So I'm going to go and find the grill, assuming that it's a barbecue outside, and start prepping it and getting it ready to receive meat. [03:14:32] Speaker F: It is. It is just outside of the back door on what turns out to be a rather large and very well appointed back deck. And your friend is hanging out with you. She brings you a beer. [03:14:46] Speaker A: Excellent. Then I will spend time with her and sorting the grill out, flirting, and. [03:14:54] Speaker F: Preparing to make food for everybody. Gotcha Sarah. [03:15:01] Speaker C: She's actually going to try to join Oliver, but just get a glass of whiskey as well and then head outside and try to do a raise your glass by throwing the glass and alcohol in the air, but catch all the alcohol with her mouth and then catch her glass with her hands. [03:15:23] Speaker F: All right. I don't even know what kind of a role that would be. Dex plus goodness. Athletics. Okay. Actually, hold on. Are you taking the girls with you? Are you going to have them come along to be to witness this? [03:15:58] Speaker C: Yeah. I want people to see the sick tricks. Otherwise they're not sick tricks. [03:16:02] Speaker F: Okay. I will give you two extra die, one for each. [03:16:07] Speaker B: I'll head outside to watch as well. [03:16:13] Speaker C: Four successes. [03:16:15] Speaker F: Yeah, you don't get every single drop, but you do manage to get quite a bit of the whiskey in your mouth and the glass, rather than landing, unfortunately, rather than landing, like, opening up lands kind of opening down, and you hear this popping noise as it sort of almost half seals itself to your forehead. Cool. [03:16:41] Speaker C: She'll just do a bow and catch the glass as it falls off. [03:16:47] Speaker F: The girls are like they look impressed and a little confused, but they're clapping. Thank you. [03:16:54] Speaker C: Thank you. I'm here all day. [03:16:59] Speaker F: That's new. Never seen that before. [03:17:03] Speaker B: Quite impressive. [03:17:07] Speaker C: I've been reinvigorated. [03:17:12] Speaker B: That's great for you, Stefan. [03:17:15] Speaker F: You get to watch all of this, by the way. They showed up after running for their lives and dealing with the wolves and immediately set into just goofy, they've all immediately kind of started treating this place like it's home, like, Chris is getting ready to cook. Oliver's drinking heavily. Sarah is doing weird drinking tricks. [03:17:38] Speaker A: If Stefan's outside, I'm going to break off a can of beer from the six pack and just kind of throw it at him gently. [03:17:46] Speaker D: I don't think he would be I think all of this makes him very uncomfortable. [03:17:51] Speaker F: Oh, okay, well, he is inside. Is there anything you would like to do? Anyone you would like to talk to? Damon is also inside. He is helping to oversee all of the sides and things. [03:18:06] Speaker D: I don't think he would actively start a conversation, but he is going to pop open the moonshine and drink heavily. [03:18:14] Speaker F: Okay. [03:18:21] Speaker D: Go ahead. [03:18:23] Speaker F: It's one of those things where he kind of just glances at you every so often but is giving you your space. He's just not sure what to do about the fact that the enemy is in his house. It's kind of where he's at right now. [03:18:39] Speaker D: Indeed. Stefan will drink until there is either none left or he is too intoxicated to keep going. [03:18:52] Speaker F: Make me stamina plus fortitude. [03:18:56] Speaker D: All right. [03:19:09] Speaker F: Holy shit. [03:19:11] Speaker D: That is eight, I believe. [03:19:15] Speaker F: You go through all of the moonshine and barely feel it. And once it's clear that it's empty, natine just sort of sets another rather large bottle on the table next to you and glass and then walks away. [03:19:39] Speaker D: All right, I will just keep going. [03:19:46] Speaker B: Once Chris starts actually grilling, I do the thing that every guy has to do, which is stand near the grill and just talk about how great these burgers going to be. Excellent. [03:20:03] Speaker C: Sarah would go in and check on Stefan, and seeing all of the alcohol, she would try to grab him a glass of water, just set it next to him and leave him be. Just kind of as a if you need to talk, I'm here gesture. [03:20:22] Speaker D: The water ain't going to do anything. If it's not helping now, it ain't going to help later. [03:20:30] Speaker C: It could. [03:20:40] Speaker D: I guess. I think I inherited my drinking like a sailor, so I'm not too worried. [03:20:56] Speaker C: Is that just an acer thing? Because then I definitely came by it naturally as well. [03:21:04] Speaker D: Maybe. I don't know. Mr. Bryant didn't seem very much like he could hold it. And I'm pretty sure most of the author did. The nine can hold their liquor quite well. [03:21:24] Speaker C: Well, we are all still human, sort of. We can't all be like the deities that we respond from. [03:21:37] Speaker D: I believe that this place is nice. [03:21:45] Speaker C: It is. It's just unfortunate it's only temporary. Just the calm before the storm makes me uncomfortable. That it's nice. When was the last time you were able to spend any time in a place like this? [03:22:20] Speaker D: Well, I don't think I have. [03:22:31] Speaker C: Well, if you feel so inclined, there'll be food outside in a bit. It might help you feel better to be around others. It might not. I'll leave it up to you. But if you need anything, I'm here. [03:22:44] Speaker D: I'll be out there. Nothing I drink here is going to put me down, so I'm just going to wander. [03:22:53] Speaker F: One of the nymphs looks over and goes, I wouldn't be so sure of that. [03:23:07] Speaker D: Stefan will begrudgingly stand and go outside. [03:23:14] Speaker F: As you're outside and you're standing there talking to people, you get a chance to kind of look around and you realize that most of the fields that this place has are weed, and the women that you keep seeing everywhere are dryads. If there's any place that can provide some sort of chemical assistance that would actually affect you, it's this place. [03:23:46] Speaker D: I see. Maybe later. [03:23:53] Speaker F: Okay. You all are able to have your burgers. Chris does quite well as the grill master, so to speak. Many beers are drank, several bottles of hard liquor are gone through. Blunts are passed around. Whatever people want to partake of is there. And eventually after dinner and everything is kind of done and people are hanging out mostly on the back know, there's like tiki torches are lit and people are kind of sitting around just shooting the shit and chatting. Damon comes outside with his phone in his hand and just sort of frowns a little bit. Well, I hope you guys are ready. [03:24:55] Speaker B: All right. Wolves? [03:25:00] Speaker F: No, not wolves. Bigger, scarier than wolves. [03:25:09] Speaker D: Jewels. [03:25:14] Speaker F: Any of you ever been to Asgard? [03:25:17] Speaker D: Fuck me. [03:25:18] Speaker A: Only my dreams. [03:25:21] Speaker F: Well, it's going to be your reality tomorrow. No, I'm kidding. You're not going to asgard. You have to go back to Anvil, but people from Asgard are going to be there among the other pantheons. As a, you've been summoned to a summit, and your new friend has to go with you. [03:25:49] Speaker B: All right. Also, since we've gotten here, I have to ask, has an hour gone by? [03:25:55] Speaker F: Yes. [03:25:57] Speaker B: Okay, then I use my last willpower. [03:26:06] Speaker F: As you expend that last little bit of self control, Oliver, you feel like the light and the color in the world has just been drained from it. You are tired emotionally and mentally exhausted. You are kind of at the point where you just don't want to keep doing this anymore. You recognize that you don't have a choice, but you don't particularly want to. [03:26:56] Speaker B: Sort of sit down somewhere secluded and rub my temples. [03:27:15] Speaker F: Esterope comes over and just sort of sits down next to you. [03:27:24] Speaker B: I don't know if I can do this. [03:27:31] Speaker F: You can. [03:27:34] Speaker B: I'm tired. I'm really tired. [03:27:40] Speaker F: I know. [03:27:43] Speaker B: I thought I knew so much. Thought I was happy that I was in the right place, that I that I was just I knew I was smart, but wasn't realized I was just staying in a little cave where my whole world was the shadows of fire in front of me. And since I knew it, that was all I needed. Now there's a whole other world, and I know nothing about it. And if I don't know anything, what good am I? [03:28:29] Speaker F: Well, I've been around for a long, long time, Oliver Bright. I've known a lot of people. I've known a lot of men. Haven't known many who seem as good as you, and I haven't known many who seem as smart as you. I think right now you're just tired. I think something or someone got inside your head. [03:29:06] Speaker B: I think that is the case. She did something. Well, one thing I have is I'm not scared. Told me I'd be scared. Instead, I just feel I just feel useless, like I can't do the things that I've always prided myself on being able to do every day recently is just making them more and more true to me. Supposed to inspire, supposed to teach instead. Kind of a joke sometimes. And I'm happy that my friends are happy at my expense, but it still hurts a little bit, you know? [03:29:57] Speaker F: Yeah, I get that. Come on, you're tired. I'll tuck you in. Come on. She sort of reaches out to take your hand. [03:30:15] Speaker B: I'll take it. [03:30:19] Speaker F: And she will lead you inside. She will pause on her way through the house to grab what looks like a little box, hardwood box off of a table in the study and then leads you upstairs. She will give you the fattest blunt you have seen even in pop culture references and essentially have you smoke enough to just knock yourself the fuck out. And then we'll tuck you into bed. [03:30:59] Speaker B: Or I'm fully out and gone. You can stay if you want. If not, it's fine. Go have fun with the others. [03:31:08] Speaker F: Of course I'm going to stay. [03:31:12] Speaker B: Thank you. [03:31:15] Speaker F: And you will fall asleep with your head in her lap and her playing with your hair, but nothing inappropriate happens. The rest of you are able to wrap up your evenings as you wish, if you choose. You will have at least one nymph each to go to bed with. They all seem quite thrilled. The only person who doesn't immediately get an offer is Stefan. Natine kind of hangs around, and if he shows interest, she will happily go along. But she does not push herself onto him or be too overt about it. It's sort of I'm here, but I'm not going to beg kind of thing or come on too strong. And that is where we are going to wrap it up for the evening, because it is midnight. Join us next Friday for our next episode, wherein our scions will have to convince a great many divine beings that Stefan and his information are worth keeping alive. We'll see you then.