Bygone

This transcript is machine-generated and may contain errors in names, terminology, or attribution.

[CLINKING] Peacocks. This summer, during the biggest sporting event of the year, Peacock turns to two broadcasting legends for the Olympics coverage you can't find anywhere else. I think they mean us. Oh, [BLEEP] With an incredible duo sure to take home the comedy gold. Olympic highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. New episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, only on Peacock. Coming to Apple TV+ on August 9th. You're the Marine? Yeah. You're the ex-con. Yeah, I did time, but you're only going to cast aspersions at me. From the director of Mr. and Mrs.

Smith and The Bourne Identity comes a new film. It's your first job. I know what I'm doing. It's a little late for a crit change. Starring Matt Damon. Everybody in New England is after us. And Casey Affleck. Go, go, go, go, go. What are you doing? Taking notes. Taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. The Instigators, rated R. Streaming August 9th on Apple TV+. Episode 109 of the DNR podcast is brought to you today by Loot Crate. Guys, the fantasy crates have shipped. Everyone's gotten theirs. And I mean, there is some really, really cool stuff in there. It may be too late to get that one, but you can always get on board for next month.

If you go to lootcrate.com/dandr, you can get a percentage off of your subscription. A ton of the cast has gotten into it. A bunch of listeners have hit us up to tell us how happy they are. We have not had one single person who has been disappointed. So give them a try, at least for a month. Try them out. Let us know what you think. And give them some feedback, because they're an awesome company with some really cool people to work there. That's lootcrate.com/dandr. And just as a reminder, if you do a game at home, if you're hosting a session for friends or family, check out battlebarts.com.

What they do is professional grade music and sound effects, all kinds of chants, things like that. Just things that add a little ambiance to your sessions and stuff you can put in the background. Kind of set the mood, take people there, open up their imagination a bit. They're doing a Kickstarter right now to try to get funded. They've done one before. They did get funded. They produced a ton of professional grade music and stuff. You could check it out on their site. And right now, they're doing another run of it. And they have a program that they use just for set lists and things like that.

So go check them out and tell us what you think. Hey, DNR listeners. So before we get into the episode, just a reminder that you can support the show by going to patreon.com/dandr. At $3,000, you'll get to see just how much better Group 1 is than everyone else when we all go head to head against a group composed entirely of your favorite NPCs. Even just $1 a month can get you bonus content and helps us out a ton. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, our forums, and give us a review on iTunes. Thank you guys so much, and we hope you enjoy the show.

Let's do that thing where we go around the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Jason. I'm the Dungeon Master. Going around the table. Start with Rob. Hey, I'm Robert Mizuhan. I'm playing Malchus Grimnus, Tiefling Warlock. And Dan. Oh, hi. I'm Dan Balp. I play Duncan Joy Batam, a dwarven bard. There was no cut there. Tom. Hey, everybody. I'm Tom, and I play Yandere. And Kelsey. Hey, I'm Kelsey, and I play Diana, Tiefling Mage. And Justin. Oh, my. It's just a mess. I played Darth Fagg, Barbarian Orc. OK. Last time on the show, you guys got to Brightport. You have-- you reached House Dragon's Keep.

There was a little bit of an encounter with Gratic-- Gratic the Wanted in the Filigreed Faun, which led to Yenward trying to assault him, him running, getting to House Dragon's Keep, you guys giving chase. And Yenward, Tessia, and Gratic all ended up sitting down and working out an exchange where you guys are going to get someone else-- a third party is going to be handling the exchange of all the stuff that Yenward wants to sell, and you guys are going to get some goods out of the process. Diana, wandering into House Dragon's Keep, did not deal with the changes there very well.

And she ended up leaving the house pretty abruptly. Duncan tried to talk her down, and she didn't really assault Duncan, but did sort of mentally push him back. So how about we catch up with the group? Malkus would still be in the Filigreed Faun. Yenward, Tessia, Duncan, Gratic, and I'm guessing Darth Ag-- or Darth Ag-- all in the house. OK. So before we catch up with Diana, what does the rest of the group want to do here? Well, Malkus is staying at the Faun until there's a substitute person, because he's not going to let his family's store just go unwatched.

And yeah, that'll be-- she's sending someone over now, so that'll be taken care of pretty soon. So I don't know if Yenward wants to accompany this person over to the shop, and they'll take care of it. When did we meet up with Darth Ag? Because he was wandering aimlessly around the town. Did he find me outside or something? Yeah, yeah, we can go with that. OK. OK, that works. OK, so we're in the house. We don't-- we don't really know what happened with Yenward and Gratic and Tessia and all that. I'm kind of-- Duncan seems a bit out of it. He was just hypnotized.

So he goes up to Yenward and kind of-- he goes up to Yenward kind of breathlessly somewhat and says, so-- oh, sorry. I didn't realize that. We can edit. Sorry. So he goes up to Yenward kind of breathlessly and just goes, so how'd it go in here? Not as well as I wanted to, but I'm going to get something. I feel like I'm going to grease my palm a little bit. Yeah, Gratic's just kind of sitting here with his arms folded. And he's going to get ready and-- he's going to get ready and get up and leave. He's pretty disgusted with the situation. So I don't know what happened.

I don't know what happened with Diana. She seemed pretty scared or upset. And she ran off. I was following her. And then all of a sudden, I was just taken aback. And she was gone. She disappeared completely. So I have no idea where she is. Like, I got something to do. I guess we go find her. Do you want to go find her now, or-- she didn't seem like she was in the best mood. I don't know if we should run after her just yet. Well, OK. I mean, is Tessia going to stick around so we could go and try to find Diana? Well, this is Tessie's house, so yes. She's going to stick around in her house.

So Tessia would be sending a young lady named Elena over to the Faun to take care of the transaction. If you want to go with her, then she'll take care of everything for you. If not, then-- Did Tessia see Diana run out? Did she see her leave? I would imagine she'd pick up on it, yeah. She was in the middle of dealing with Grattic and Yenward at first. It was more of a standoff. But she would have seen Diana walk in, visibly become panicked, and then leave. OK. Did she recognize her? Do I have to ask? Do I have to do an insight check or something for that? I mean, a perception check?

You can do-- that's more of a past tense perception check. You can straight up ask her if you want. Well, OK. Do a perception check just to see if you would have picked up on that. OK. 19. Not so much. OK. OK. Well, I guess also the perception check was mainly-- or was also-- if when I mentioned I said Diana out loud, if there was any kind of reaction or anything, Tessie. Right. Yeah, no. She would be a little stoned based about it by now. OK. So who is accompanying us over there? A young lady named Olenna. OK, can I talk to Olenna real quick? Sure. So one of our friends took off, and we'd like to find her before we go to the shop.

Is there any way that we could do that? I know you're probably busy, and I don't want to hold up your time too much. But if we could just go do that for a few minutes, and we'll meet you maybe over there, if that's OK? Sure. No problem. I'll just be in the shop when you need me. OK. Guys, do we want to get Malkus, or do we want to just start looking? Well, I don't want anybody to steal Malkus's mommy's thing. So let's just go find Diana, and he'll be fine where he is. OK. Well, once Olenna gets there, then Malkus will know that it's fine to leave. Nothing's going to be stolen.

OK, you know what? Olenna? Olenna. Olenna? Olenna. Olenna. Olenna. OK. Olenna. Yeah. There you go. Is that it? Olenna? Oh, my god. It's O-L-L-E-N-N-A. OK. Olenna. Olenna. It's mylanta. That's what it is. Olenna. There you go. Yes. Our friend Malkus is over in the shop. We're going to go looking for our friend. Tell him that if he wants to meet up with us, he can. If he wants to hang out at the shop, he can do that, too. It's up to him. Sure. No problem. OK. Thank you. Taking care of, guys. So where do we want to go look for Diana? Because when-- she just disappeared. Like, just disappeared into thin air.

I have no idea where she'd be. Jenward's going to stop and ponder for a second. He scratches his chin with his hand. And he's going to cover his eyes with a hand and do a twirl. And then he's going to open his eyes and point in direction. All right. Do me a favor. Roll a flat d20. OK. Damn. 19. OK. Set moves. How's about we catch up with Diana? OK. So the streets of Brightport are not the best place on Earth for a lone tiefling to be sort of wandering around, especially in the part of the city you're in. You don't say. I do. I do say. Especially when you have no ties to a house, you don't have any formal protection.

It's just you walking around. And even though you obviously look the part of an adventure, you have weapons and armor and stuff. There are still those in Brightport where greed and racism will trump common sense. So wandering down a specific back alley, Brightport's kind of built vertically on top of itself. And there are sections where there are sort of underpasses. There are bridges that go over the poor sections of town. This is kind of the gutters. So Diana would be passing underneath one of these. So it's really, really kind of shadowed and shaded and a very dangerous place to go walking.

So a couple of humans are going to approach Diana. And go ahead, actually, do me a favor and roll perception for me, please. Oh, boy. Oh, Jesus. Oh, I crit. OK. Diana's going to hear two distinct sets of footsteps, sort of just bootclad footsteps, pretty much lockstep directly behind her. And they are closing in fast. So she was kind of not running anymore, but walking at clearly like a hurried pace. And just when she hears the footsteps, she's going to stop. And then without turning around, say, I suggest that you turn around and leave. One of these guys is going to speak up.

This alleyway is pretty much abandoned, besides U3. Because again, even in broad daylight, this is a crappy area to just go walking around. You know, the streets of Brightport are really dangerous for a lass like you to just be walking around. And this guy's going to pull out a small knife. And he's going to start to approach Diana. She's going to kind of half turn around and look at him. And she is going to smile. Now, that's no way to treat a lady. And I'm going to roll hypnotism. It's OK. 29 against Will. Yeah, that'll hit. You know, that's a nice knife you have there.

Why don't you see how well it works on one of your fingers? You're going to see this guy's muscles visibly tense as he is trying to stop himself from cutting into one of his own fingers. And he is going to cut into the index finger on his left hand. And there's a look of horror that crosses his face. That's A, the realization that he can't stop himself. And B, obviously he's in a tremendous amount of pain. And his friend is going to hear this and then just think, yeah, and then he's going to watch him actually do it. And then he's going to freak the fuck out.

And his friend is going to pull out a knife of his own. And instead of advancing on Diana, he's going to start to back up a little bit. How about we pick up with Malkus here? So Elena would get to the shop. And she would let you know that she's there to handling transactions and the rest of the group is coming. They're on their way, but they're looking for Diana. Do they have any sort of direction? The Minotaur just sort of pointed southwest, and he just started heading toward the docks. It's not a great part of town, though, so don't really know what they plan on doing.

Stupendous. Thank you for coming and watching the show. Certainly wouldn't want the family's things stolen. Malkus will head in the direction of the dock with his rod unsheathed, basically just ready for trouble should something try to get the drop on him. Yeah, he's going to go looking for the rest of the park. OK. Brightport is the largest port city in all of Theria, certainly on the mainland. The port-- the docks in Brightport go on forever, and ships from all over the world trade goods here. And it's also a haven for both surly dock workers, bandits, and pirates.

It is not a nice part of town, and that's specifically saying something about Brightport, which is not a nice town to begin with. I would say that the party and Malkus would join up just about the time that they would encounter Diana. Yay. Yeah. Malkus, you're so-- or not Malkus, sorry. Yinward, you're so smart. You found her. Your tracking skills are stupendous. How do you know that? Yes, I'm just used to keeping you kids out of trouble. That nose. It has found some before as well. Yinward, Duncan. Malkus. So we're looking for Diana? Yes, she ran off. And what about the half-orc, Dirthag?

He's right here. I just point behind him. Oh, he's with them. And he's a full orc. He's a full orc. Yeah, that was a really low perception check. Maybe his eyes are going bad. No, I hadn't heard from Justin in a while. And I was like, I didn't remember that he was with-- OK. Well, nifty then. OK. Retcon, yeah. So any sign of Diana? Yamrit's going to shield his eyes with his hand. And he's going to scan from left to right. And he's going to shrug. Should I run a perception check or something? Yeah, please do. That's 25. You're going to hear screaming. Found her. You're going to hear screaming.

Does it sound like female screaming or male screaming? Oh, this is male screaming. You're going to hear a lot of male screaming. And it's coming from this next alley over. It's a lot of interconnected back alleys that you're traveling down right now. And you can tell that something awful is happening close by. And this is where Ynward surmised that she was heading, like this direction. So whether or not it is Diana or having something to do with Diana, you're not sure. But something is happening to someone. Hey, guys, I hear screaming coming from the next alley.

You want to go check it out? OK. Onward. How about you, Dirtha? Sure. Let's go. OK. So we start heading over to the next alley. Diana, what would they find when they were on the corner here? The first thing is blood. A lot of it, pretty much, it's kind of everywhere. And right before they turned the corner, the screaming would have cut off. And there are two bodies on the ground that have been clearly somewhat mutilated. We're in a lot of pain. And Diana is kind of a bit further, like a couple feet away from this. And she is kind of sitting on the ground and just curled up with her head between her legs, not really noticing anything.

Like what-- I mean, I'm not looking for like graphic description. But like what-- in the broadest of terms, what kind of mutilation are we talking, like popped heads? No. Like these look like bodies that were gruesomely tortured before they were killed. So this doesn't look like self-defense so much as-- Yeah. --some care and time was taken. Yeah. OK. Dirtha is going to start by walking forward and looting bodies. Malchus will go past him to Diana and say, are you all right? She is not going to respond. Duncan goes up behind Malchus and kind of passes through him or passes by him and kind of just like slowly reaches over and touches Diana's shoulder.

At that, she's going to kind of look up, like raise her head and look at them. But like her gaze-- like she's-- her eyes are kind of glazed over and she's clearly like not focused on them. Do you want to maybe go somewhere and take a break? Break? You seem like you've been through a lot. She's going to kind of get to her feet and just a bit shaky, but there is no break from this. Should we leave? She's going to take a couple seconds. She's going to look over the bodies and just-- I don't know. What do you think? Let's find somewhere-- tavern, something like that, where we can sit down and-- Duncan turns to Malchus and just goes-- shakes his head.

Diana's-- I'm sorry, for you. And he just kind of takes his hand off his shoulder and looks down and just kind of slowly backs away. And then I kind of go up to Malchus and I go, Malchus, I think this is way above us. I don't understand. I don't think this is something that we can figure out or help by sitting around and having a conversation. I think she has something that she needs to do. Oh, I'm just suggesting that we not be here over these mutilated bodies first. At that front day, I'm just going to kind of walk past them and just kind of walk in directions.

Yes, let's go for drinks at the tavern. That sounds like an excellent idea. And she's kind of smiling, but it's not really like-- it's kind of like very clearly fake smile. But it's not like she's trying to be like cruel or sarcastic or anything. It's kind of like that. Yeah, Malchus looks at Duncan and gives him the something is obviously very wrong look. I nod and I say, why stop following her now? And I just continue on behind her. These would be some of Dirthag's and Malchus's first impressions of Diana, really. OK. Well, there's a bar nearby called Safe Haven, which would be the closest tavern to you guys.

Not the nicest tavern. There is one called the Rusty Nipple. That does exist in Brightport. Also not the nicest bar in Brightport. It sounds lovely. So Safe Haven would probably be your best bet in terms that it's close. Yeah, Diana would just head towards the nearest bar. Yeah. Some rough customers hang out there. But again, you're an adventuring party. They're probably not going to fuck with you in broad daylight. And yeah. So let's go ahead. I was going to say, so we pull up seats? Yeah, I would say. OK. Malchus kind of looks the party over real quick and says and looks at Diana and says, you had said before we got here, you had business in Brightport.

Do you have any other business? Have you done what you needed to do? Oh, you mean that? No, no, that wasn't business. She's going to kind of look a bit like for half a second, just look a bit like shaken and then just immediately snap back into faux happiness kind of expression. All right, look, since you brought it up, let's go on. I don't know what happened in that alley, but I need to know is anything happening that you're refusing to tell us a danger to those of us who are traveling with you? It's-- it should not danger you. Duncan the whole time has just been kind of staring at Diana and trying to get a read on her.

So Malchus hasn't been traveling with you and he may not realize this, but you-- this isn't how you normally act and I can tell something's going on. But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But you need to tell us if you need our help. She's going to turn towards Duncan and just look at him. Why do you want to know? Because I've been traveling with you for a while and we've done a lot for each other in battle and you're not a bad person. You did the right thing with the orphans and you did the right thing with the archmage and I just-- I just think that if you need help, then maybe we can give you help.

I don't like seeing you upset. She's going to kind of look away from him and just kind of frown. It's-- I'm not sure how to even go about explaining. You're wrong, though, about me. But-- No. No, I'm not. Because if I was wrong about you, then you would have stolen the money. Or if I was wrong about you, you would have not cared about what happened to the Vials and you cared about both. So I can't be that wrong about you and I'm not asking you to explain everything. I just need to know if you need our help and if you're going to be OK. I don't know. And I know that you laughed at me when I asked you if you needed time to rest, but I was more talking about if you needed time to think.

And if you need that, then we can give you that time. I thought she's going to kind of shake her head. No, I've spent far too long thinking about this. I just need to do it. OK, well, we're supposed to meet a girl over at Malchus's mom's shop. Do you want to come with us? That would be fine. Afterwards, can we return to House Dragonkeep? He looks around at the party. I don't think that'd be a problem. Does anybody have a problem with that? I need to go by there anyway. Touch base with mother. Dirtha is going to shrug. [LAUGHTER] Uren's going to make a really childish face under his breath, make fun of Malchus.

Make fun of mother. [LAUGHTER] [HISSING] [LAUGHTER] You guys have never been present with those two in the same room, have you? No. [LAUGHTER] No. It's going to be fun. It should be fun, yeah. [LAUGHTER] OK, well, then why don't we go over to the store, and then we can go over and Diana can blow up the house or whatever she's going to do. Is that OK? [LAUGHTER] She's going to find who murdered those two guys, right? [LAUGHTER] It's a murder mystery. How much did I get off those guys? Those guys were not traveling super, super deep. You got about 50 gold off of them.

That's pretty good, though. Damn that. For two bodies you didn't have to kill? Yeah, sure. I do. I want to pocket that money, though. That's an infinite value to effort ratio. Yeah, exactly. You had 50 times your investment. [LAUGHTER] Had to bend down. My knees aren't what they used to be, though. [LAUGHTER] Ork knees are like Labrador hips dysplasia. It's just-- [LAUGHTER] They fit in pretty much. Yeah, that's the problem. I figure as we walk to the store, I'll hang back behind the party and explain to Dirthag about how all Tieflings kill people all the time. [LAUGHTER] Seems like that.

Are they getting someone to hide on churches? I was going to say that Diana was going to hang back at the back of the party, so I don't know if you-- No, I'm not talking about staying around. I mean, I'm just like, while the party walks forward, me and Dirthag are 10 steps behind or something. Yeah. Just-- OK, fine. I'm just-- whatever. I'm just next to Dirthag. I'm just around Dirthag, and I'm going, OK, so don't worry about when you see a Tiefling and a bunch of blood everywhere, because that's just what Tieflings do. They kill a lot of people all the time.

He's just going to be nodding his head lightly, just constantly eyeing her up. [LAUGHTER] Oh, OK. I thought he was taking notes. Just like, yes, I understand. Yeah, yeah, it's like, oh, oh, oh. But he's also keeping an eye on her, because apparently she just mutilates people. OK. [LAUGHTER] While they're walking to the store, Malchus will kind of sidle up along Diana unless she actively tries to not have that happen. No, she's thinking clearly, just as they're walking, not paying too much attention to the surroundings. The two in the alley. Did they deserve it?

She's going to kind of shrug, just they're human men in Brightport. For the record, they attacked me first, but that doesn't really make much of a difference. If they attacked you first, then they did have it coming to them. And I want you to know that in this company that you're part of, we're no stranger to taking justice into our own hands. But you might want to be careful with how elaborately you disfigure things. I thought she's going to kind of give Malchus a look, like just kind of a bit angry, but not really. If she wasn't still kind of out of it, it would have been registered.

Look, whatever you believe about sanctity of the dead or whatnot, it draws undue attention. It's one thing to defend yourself against criminals, dispose of them. It's another thing to make it look like there's a serial killer on the loose. Don't talk about things that you don't know of. Can't very well know anything until you explain yourself, and he'll just walk on ahead. Yeah, we would like to kind of say out loud to nobody, "You've become such a funny daddy. First you can't steal, now you can't kill people. Don't make a mess, car." [LAUGHTER] Duncan didn't hear the conversation, but he heard a yin word and he goes up to him, and he's like, "What'd I miss?

Are Malchus and his sister fighting about something again or something?" Malchus is our mom now. [LAUGHTER] Always wash behind your horns. [LAUGHTER] OK, how's about we do this? It's OK. [LAUGHTER] The group is going to make their way back to House Dragonkeep. Oh, I wanted to pull a side-- Oh, yes, sorry. Yeah, they're making their way back to House Dragonkeep. You wanted to talk to Dirthag on the way back? Yeah. So Malchus kind of sidles up alongside Dirthag and says, "You don't talk much, do you?" I've been trying to find the best way to fit in. And I've been biting my tongue on something, actually, recently.

Go on. Back at that other town, what was it called? Aldmor. Aldmor. No, he's asking. Oh. Aldmor, I think. Is it Aldmor, Jason? Yes. I went to go purchase those damn horses, because the group was taking way too long on what they were doing. I go up there to buy them. I start talking to them that night for a little bit. And then suddenly, he breaks the conversation and runs right for the church, screaming at the top of his lungs. What happened? You were gone when I wanted your help. I should have informed you earlier. I don't often think about assumptions people are going to make about me without knowing my history.

There are people who don't like me, Dirthag. And admittedly, with good reason. The reason that gentleman went running after me is because I am responsible for a great many of his people being killed. He was human. No, I'm afraid he was something called a warforged. I thought he was just a human with a lot of armor, feeding horses. Warforged are-- how do I put this? They are alive, but they're made of material unlike ours. They're made of metal and fiber and things like that. OK, so he's going to start struggling with what you're saying, because that's a lot of words.

And he's going to furrow his brow, and he's going to try to put it as simply as he can. So they're walking suits of armor that have magic sprinkled on them. It's a reasonable way of putting it. Although technically considered alive, not just animal or construct. They're not just a goal. And you killed them all. Yes, Dirthag, I did. Well, as you saw, not all of them. But you killed them-- It was an act of war. It was a defensive preemptive strike as they marched on the city that I was helping to defend. You killed them all by yourself? With the aid of magic, yes.

But you're the one that swung the weapon, right? Yes. Then you shouldn't feel bad for it. If you killed all those things, then you shouldn't feel bad about it. You did what you had to do, and they were too weak to fight back. Dirthag, I have a feeling if we keep talking, we're going to get along all right. It did have to be done. But there are many who disagree with that judgment. Perhaps they have a reasonable argument, but I have no interest in being killed for what I've done. So OK, when they died, did they die whole or were they broken up to pieces? Could you use that metal for weapons, armor, anything?

As far as I know, they were damaged beyond any sort of use. I'm told they suffered greatly as well. If I could have done it in some way that had the result and didn't let them suffer, would have, but that was not the tool that I had at my disposal. I remember when I was younger, my grandpa was also suffering with forgetting who he was and who his family was, people they saw every day. It hurt a little bit when I lopped his head off to end his suffering, but I felt better afterwards because I know I did something good. Malchus kind of bites his lip for a moment and gives a little solemn nod and says, is that the orcish way?

Yeah. He had a funny look on his face when I did it. Like when his head hit the ground, it looked kind of blissful, but stupid at the same time. That's all I can remember from that. He was kind of funny. Do you think he accepted that it was time to go? Had he voiced acceptance for how this happened prior to becoming forgetful, becoming incapable? Not really, just he kept forgetting, just kept forgetting who he was, what he was about. At that point, he was just taking up resources, so we just couldn't use him anymore. So this is a survival measure, the orc's practice.

Kind of. Keeps able-bodied people eating the food, doesn't spend resources on people who can't contribute. Exactly, yeah. No need for weakness. So you're out and away from your people to see how others live? Kind of, yeah. Do you have a goal to return to your people at some point? Not really, no. I was exiled. I kind of lied to the group. I was too ashamed of it. Well, are you going to try to be upfront and open with this group? I don't know, maybe. All the times. Malchus kind of raises an eyebrow and says, well, I hope that'll turn into a more adamant yes soon.

But for the time being, just be aware how loudly you use my name in public. Because if you're associated with me and you draw attention to that, certain people might create trouble with you to create trouble with me. Fair enough. He's going to put his arm around him, really tightly like, there you go. And he's going to say, well, as long as you're with me, I don't think there's going to be a problem with that. If you're able to kill off an entire species, then we should be able to fend off anybody that comes towards us. Malchus just says, I don't think I can do that twice.

That was an unusual circumstance. But I appreciate your pledge. Onward and forward. Yes. Plain. One day we're going to fly off to the Bahamas together, Dirthag. We'll get away from all of this. Like an old Vietnam movie. We've been walking a really, really long time. I know. The rest of us just like dead silence on this. It's just all the rest of us are up at the door, tapping our feet, waiting like Sonic outside the door. We're just moving circles around this place. I like how we move from the Deadwood all the way to Uminyuro. And later that day, they got to the place.

It's like, we're taking like 5, 10 minutes to get to this one fucking place in Brightwell. Obviously, it took days. But I mean, if you want to roleplay during that, I'm not shutting you down. Yeah. OK. Hour four. Ever so briefly on that subject, yeah, I appreciate the wisecracks because that took a while. But we need to be able to make time to say what we need to say. Oh, you're always interacting. No, no, no, no. It's fine. It was a joke. It's good. Roleplay. It was really good. I liked it a lot. Yeah, there was no problem. Yeah, I liked it. I just thought it was cute.

Just thought it was cute. Don't hold your hands. We're skipping down the road. No, not that. Just the thought, the idea of me and you and Yenward sitting there. Just waiting. Looking at our wrists. Do we stop them? No, just-- And they're just walking in circles. They're just hanging Malchus embraced in a manly hug. Ship it. Yes, there you go. So getting back to the door of House Dragonkeep. At this point, I'm guessing Malchus is leading the way. Yeah, he needs to get in and talk to family and things like that. Right, so you could just walk in. There's no need to knock and do all that.

There's no need to ride on the ceremony thing. You've been here before. Cool. Yeah, Malchus enters the house. And I take it-- who's the butler guy? David. David. Is David there? David's always there, yeah. He's always sort of floating around. So after Malchus walks in, I kind of hold the rest of the party back a little bit before they go in the house. And I look at Diana and I say, he has some stuff to take care of with his mom. I don't know if you want to go in now or if you want to wait until he's done. She's just going to kind of shrug for the rest of her to speak up.

Just past the threshold, Tessie would still be around. She didn't really retire and go back to what she was doing yet because she had a feeling that your business wasn't done there. It was pretty clear. Right, I guess my thing is I didn't know if Diana-- it would make sense for Diana to be in there while Malchus is just chatting with his mom like it. Right, well, this could be a party thing too. Yeah. OK. Unless it's specifically like a private thing that Malchus is trying to do, like just-- I could wait outside, like me the person. Malchus, do you need us?

I mean, do you not want us there or what? No, it's-- I don't think it's a matter that you can't be present for. OK. Then we'll head in with them. OK. Come on, Durthag. So crossing-- coming back inside, Tessie would still be in this living room area. And as soon as she sees Malchus, she's going to stand up pretty abruptly and cross the space between them and wrap her arms around Malchus really tightly. The last time that they had spoken, it sounded like either A, she was never going to see Malchus again or it would be a great deal of time that passed before.

And-- Malchus hugs his mother back and says, so, turns out I'm a terrible bookkeeper. A huge mama's boy. [LAUGHTER] She's-- she's-- she's going to stop hugging you and pan back, sort of take on a little more professional demeanor here. She's-- she's running this house, and it's-- it's, you know-- well, it's-- it's just as well. I'm glad to have you back. I've met some of your party already. They seem interesting. And she's going to look over to Yenward again. Yenward's going to hold up his big sack of gold and shake it. [LAUGHTER] I trust everything worked out then?

Mm-hmm. I don't think that you'll be seeing Gradic anymore today. He's currently off sulking. That's probably for the best for all parties involved. Upper Yenward. [LAUGHTER] Um, yeah. I-- turns out it is not so easy to hide from this crew. I-- I was discovered again in Uminyuro, and they convinced me to give it one more try. So here I am. Sorry, where are my manners? Everyone, please come in. Have a seat. Can we get you anything? Food? Drink? Oh, I think something to eat. I think we could all use-- use something. Do you have any stew? Quick question, Jason. Does Diana recognize Tessio or vice versa?

Yes, they would recognize each other. OK. OK. If only-- obviously, Diana was not a fixture in Brightport when Tessia took power here. Yes. From the faun, you'd recognize her from there. And Diana would be recognized from other work she did in Brightport while she was here. So we'll get to that, though. Yeah, OK. Just checking. Tessia's going to nod over to David, and David is going to disappear into the kitchen and start to assemble you guys a bit of a meal. So she's going to-- she's going to take a seat in this sort of overstuffed chair that's in between these two really large couches.

Sort of a metiary position. Like, that's something that she's used to doing here at the house. So what brings you back here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, of course, but-- I mean, there was other business within our party in Brightport. So I just thought it would be fitting to drop in. Just-- yeah. There's going to be a beat. And do me a favor, roll Perception. Just Malchus this time. Perception or Insight? Perception this time. Perception. I'm bad at that one. [LAUGHS] You'll do fine. See? 15, so you're not going to notice this. That's fine. You know, you just missed your brother.

Thales was here. Him and his party actually just left about two days before you got here. I've been curious ever since he and I crossed paths on the other side of the continent. He was furious at me. But with all of the things going on surrounding the war with the Overwatch, I never really had time to figure out why that was. Admittedly, I was a bit standoffish myself. Do you know what-- do you know what he thinks of me? Do you know what he has against me? We've talked about it. Like, she's trying to-- she's trying to form this in the most diplomatic way.

Malchus, he's not your greatest fan. I think you already knew that, though. And one day, I would love to have the three of you in a room and speak to you. But now might not be the greatest time. So I should steer clear of him for the time being? She is-- she's-- there's going to be a pause, and she's thinking about that. I don't know about that, but before you try and hash out any history between you two, just give it some thought. Maybe do it in a public place. Malchus nods. And what of Erolove? I actually just got a letter from her a few days ago. She was working with the Overwatch until very recently, and that didn't work out like she had hoped.

But currently, she's working through some things. I'm hoping that she takes a trip here in the near future. But reading her letter, I doubt that's a possibility. Why would she associate with those-- I mean, they were human supremacists, weren't they? Most of the city, yes. She worked with a man named Patrick Grace, and what I'm gathering from her letter was that he was pitching an Overwatch to her that was fully integrated eventually. That, as you know, didn't happen. Malchus nods. That would be a story that would be better told from her perspective, though, I'm guessing.

And did you say where she is now? Do you know? I have no idea. There are a great many things that I've put off doing what I did in the fight against the Overwatch. But with all of that, at the very least, not bearing down on me and breathing down my neck, I was hoping to figure out what was going on with certain people that I had connected with and with certain people that I had forgotten to connect with. And needless to say, finding my own party and finding they didn't want to put my throat to the sword, he looks around the room and looks at his friends and says, has somewhat emboldened me toward that task.

Tessie's going to look at the rest of the party now, calling attention to the rest of them. Well, I am in a position where I can offer some help when I can. Is there anything that I can do for you or your party that would help you on in your journey? Malkus thinks to himself and says, I mean, relating specifically to my tasks, it's mostly hoping to touch base with people and, of course, perhaps continue to do this roaming, adventuring thing, provided it continues to be profitable. But I mean, I suppose any help to my friends is as good as help to me.

Is there anything-- Malkus looks to the rest of the party and says, what-- I mean, come to think of it, we really haven't deeply discussed it among ourselves. What are we-- what do we aim to do? What do we aim to be? And Duncan, Inward, Diana, Dirthag? Duncan kind of looks around the room and glances for a decent amount of time over in Diana's direction to see if she does anything. She's clearly waiting for the rest of the group to respond before she says something. OK. And Duncan speaks up and says, I have things that I need to take care of. And we're still finding our way right now.

I don't know how much you could be of help to me personally. But he looks over at Diana and says, I think that you might be able to help her with something around here, possibly. Tessie's going to look over to Diana. I imagine I could. And she's waiting for Diana to speak up. But that doesn't appear like that's happening. Diana's kind of-- like, she's looking at Tessie kind of just like warily. And then, yes, that was my intent of returning to the city. I would imagine you're looking for some information. She'll nod. How much-- and she's going to look at the rest of the party.

How much of this were you making public right now? Is this something that your party should be privy to as well? Or should we do this in private? She's going to look at the group. And then her's going to kind of stay on Duncan for a couple of seconds before returning to Tessie. It's something they deserve to hear from me for the moment if we could talk privately about this. Absolutely. And she's going to stand up. Why don't you come with me to my office? I'll share with you any of the information that I have that still remains from Darkspane. She'll follow her.

Is this the same office that-- Oh, yeah. OK. So I'm presuming nothing else happens along the door of Dory. Well, yeah, they're going to-- OK, so Diana and Tessie are going to walk to her office. Meanwhile, David's going to come out with two different trays where the stuff-- him and another guy are going to bring out two trays of food for the group here. There's all kinds of little finger sandwiches and little things like that. And a couple of large serving bowls of this really thick soup. It's almost a stew. Thank you. [LAUGHTER] How'd you know? They aim to please here.

They have a very large kitchen. He told you. So going into Tessie's office, she is going to reach for a book off of the shelf immediately before sitting down at her desk. She's going to place it kind of ceremoniously on the desk and then have a seat. She's going to motion for you to sit just across from her. Diana is not going to enter the room. She's-- when they approach-- damn it, Justin. But when they approach the door, she's going to kind of hesitate and then kind of freeze outside. And to the rest of the group, or at least those who have known her long enough, it would have been kind of obvious that she's off her game.

I mean, ever since then, but especially in here. And then as soon as she approaches that door, she's going to kind of noticeably-- bit of color is going to drain from her face. She's just going to kind of glance towards Tessie and just, can we do this somewhere else, if you don't mind? She's going to look puzzled for just half a second and then kind of put two and two together. She's going to stand up and grab the book and join you out in the hallway, of course. And she's going to try and take Diana by the hand if she'll let her, unless she pulls away or gives resistance.

She won't give resistance. She'll stare at it like she has no idea what this is, just kind of like-- but she's not going to pull away or anything. And they're going to go down the hallway a bit into this library type of area. This is a pretty huge place just for books. And there are a couple of really large leather chairs and a fireplace in there. So it's much more cozy than her office, really. And she's going to motion for you to have a seat. She'll sit, yeah. And she's going to have this large book on her lap. Where would you like to start? I don't-- at the beginning, I suppose, I don't have any frame of reference for any of it.

When I took over this house, it was given to me by a group that left the city shortly afterward. I spent as much time as I could trying to pour through any records that the Archmage had left, trying to figure out what resources that I had at my disposal. How long did you work with him? She's going to close her eyes just for as long as I can remember. He kept records of the people he was attached to. There are records of an Archmage, Lower Weaver, King Carter, and several other people. And there's a great amount of information on two people in particular.

And one of them is you. She'll nod at that. And then for what it's worth, I'm sure you know that Carter's dead. We also took care of Lower Weaver, just so you don't worry about that. I know about the King. I didn't know about Lower Weaver. That's actually quite comforting. Thank you. Do you remember when you came here, where you came from? I know nothing aside from my life here. Well, and again, this is just according to these records. You were acquired in the city of Esterhold. Thermac wanted an apprentice, someone who could-- I don't think he was looking for someone to take over for him.

But he did want a right hand. And after you had left, there was a young woman named Laura Cree, who we actually acquired from right here in Brightport. Sadly, she met a very grisly end in this house. I'm glad you didn't meet the same kind of fate. She's going to look up at Tessie Jones a bit, make slightly shocked at them. How much do you know of my activities in Brightport as they were? She's going to meet your gaze. I know enough to know that you probably regret a great many things. That she's going to look away. I am sorry about this Laura as well. At least he's dead too.

The best I can help you do is help you find out about your past. And hopefully you can put some of this to bed. I don't know how I'll ever be able to put any of this completely aside. The entirety of who I am was made in this house. That would be incredibly helpful. She is going to reach over and put her hand on top of one of Diana's. She's going to do the same thing she did when Tessie took her hand earlier, just kind of look down on it. Right. Yeah. The important thing is you're still alive. You're using your talents for good. You've done good things in the city of Overwatch.

You've taken care of a great deal of evil people. It may take some time, but you can. You can make up for the legacy of what you've done here. I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe that, but those words do mean something. Thank you. She's going to give this slight smile. Dear, I'm the mother of the Butcher of Brightport. I know firsthand what a reputation can mean in this city. She's going to slightly smile at that and just, yes, I suppose you would. She's going to hand you the book that she was holding. There's a great deal of information about you in here, and I would imagine that would be a good starting point for you.

Thank you. Yes, this is everything to me. Is there something I can do to repay you for this? She's going to gently shake her head no. Just do your best to take care of yourself and the people who obviously care about you. Trust me, that's a rare thing. Believe me, I know. How about we catch up with the party here? Oh my god. I'm about to cry. That was so sweet. So Stu-- Stu. Who's Stu? Who's Stu? Is that-- Stalmore's new character. Stu Grimness. Stu Grimness. Page character. The never talked about dad. That's the Stu. If you work an hour, shut up. It's fucking-- Yeah, I wonder if I'm going to die of Grimness.

It's Tessia, Malkus, Valis, Ereliev, and Stu. That's-- Pa never did have time for fancy names. God damn it, Malkus. How many times do I have to tell you never to come to great? Oh my god, wouldn't that be great if it was his dad? I have that coming. If Yanmer dies, can I be Stu Grimness? [LAUGHTER] So what would the party be doing right about now? Probably finishing up their food. We were chatting. Nothing. Unless-- I don't know. Personally, I think that Duncan, at this point, in all honesty, would probably just be drilling Malkus about his family. Because now he's really confused because he thought Diana was his sister.

And now that his mom's there, he's just completely lost about the whole thing. Malkus is desperately trying to explain the concept of, well, dwarves don't come from the same family, do they? So therefore-- They don't? Look, I've met-- one, two, three-- I met like five Tieflings. And three of them were you. And I don't understand what's going on. I just thought the Grimness family was huge. But it can't be that big because that's not her mom. So where is your dad, anyway? Your guess is as good as Bobby Nunn. Did you ever know your dad? No. Oh. Well, that sucks.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-- I killed my dad. Does that help if I-- You what? I said I killed my dad. Does that help at all? That must have been difficult for you. Eh, kind of. I mean, I didn't like seeing him die. But I knew that he was going to get killed when he left anyway because he joined the Overwatch. So I just thought that if someone were to do it, it should be me. And if he needs to come back, he'll come back someday. Malchus just kind of cocks his head at that. What? Why are you cocking your head at that? If he-- do you suspect there's some plan to bring him back?

I mean, I came back. And Grana came back. People need to come back. They come back. It's not as common as it may appear based on your choice of profession, Duncan. That's not the most common thing. Duncan kind of gets a little, like, tight faced. And he looks over at Ynward. What does he mean, Ynward? Ynward is going to shake his head. Nothing. He'll come back. Go, K-Malchus. Whatever you say, buddy. Yeah, Malchus just lets it go at that point. Oh, but I guess he wasn't-- I mean, you know he wasn't my real dad, right? I had an inkling. OK. Yeah. He doesn't go on from there, though.

That's where he stops. I would imagine Diana's rejoining the party by now. Yeah. Malchus stands up and says, did you find what you were looking for? She's going to kind of smile like that. And this would probably be the first, like, genuine smile that Malchus has seen on her. Yes, I did. Malchus nods and says, you look like you did. Good. Duncan scoots off the couch and kind of goes over to her and looks up and goes, so everything's OK now? She'll nod. It's not everything. I don't know if everything will ever be OK. But Tessia helps a lot. And I will explain soon.

Just need time to think of how to tell you. But you feel better? She'll nod. So Duncan looks over at the party and goes, so Malchus brought up a good point earlier. What are we going to do now? Yes, it's been kind of wearing on my mind. Certainly, Diana's had her motivations and the degree to which those can be served here. Seems they have. I mean, what are we all here to do? As in the wake of all the things that happened regarding the Overwatch, we had so much focus on the immediate future. We couldn't prepare for things long term. We just had to work to counter the Overwatch.

What are we trying to achieve? We've got time to think about not just reacting to some great force of evil, but aspire to whatever we want. We're an impressively powerful group of individuals. Surely, we can make something of that. Duncan listening to this, just kind of not looking at Malchus, kind of just looking straight ahead. And he looks over at Dirthag. Dirthag, you don't like dwarves, right? There's things I like doing with them. Killing them, that's always nice. Dan Riddick's going to nod his head, but he's not going to say anything. You guys want to kill some dwarves?

Yeah. Malchus kind of pipes up, is there any special reason we'd like to turn an entire culture against us? Well, it's not all the dwarves. We're not killing all the dwarves, just certain. Look, I'll fill you in a bit, but maybe we should go somewhere a little bit more comfortable to talk rather than this place. There are giant sofas and finger sandwiches. What more do you want? This place-- Let's go find a cave. I think that this place would be fine. In fact, it might be to our benefit to stay here for a few days, rest up, and decide where exactly we're headed.

She's going to kind of look at the large book she's holding in her hands and just-- I have some research to do before we head out anyways. Malchus looks to Tessie and says, what do you say, mom? Can the friends sleep over? Yeah, mom, can't we? He's smirking to herself, like just big old smirk. Purple stuff. Sunny shoes. Yeah. Of course you're welcome to stay. I will warn you that the group that Valus is traveling with could be back any moment. If that happens, maybe don't speak to Valus by yourself. Do you think he'd try to hurt me in front of you? I absolutely think he would try to hurt you in front of me.

Valus's eyes widened at that. Should it come to that, you won't be standing alone. We got your back. Hey, here's a thought, guys. We could stay in Brightport, but maybe we just shouldn't stay in here in Brightport. So you got sandwiches. Tessie's going to hold her hand up. Trust me, he has some things that he's dealing with. I'm just taking every precaution here. I'm sure that we can avoid violence. I'm comfortable staying here, and I'm the one who apparently is going to be the victim of fratricide. So let's stay. Yeah, I'm just going to take a bite of a sandwich.

Uncomfortable sandwich. Is Grattik still here somewhere? He's sulking, though. He's not-- there's going to be a knock at the front door. David's going to go ahead and answer this. And there is going to be a pretty large male lion foal on the other side of it, which is quite a rare sight in this part of the country, specifically in this part of the continent. But on this continent, that's a pretty-- that's a pretty rare thing. Lion folk are pretty much specifically indigenous to a continent called Talor, which rests pretty far to the east. You'd have to sail for a while to get to it.

So I'm going to hand that over to Delmar. You are the one they call David, yes? He's going to give a slight bow. Can I help you with anything? Yes, I am here to see the lady of the house. He's going to give a glance back to Tessia and then step aside and motion for you to step in. I'm going to come in. Yeah. I'm going to ask that you keep your weapon sheathed. Character-wise, he actually doesn't brandish his weapon, and it isn't a sheaf. It's in a very small sheaf, and he's got a giant shield on his back with a lion's maw, like silhouetted behind like a giant sun.

And Tessie's already standing there with the party. Can I help you with anything? Yes. You are, madam, Tessia Grimnus. I am. Good. I have the right place. They sent me here from Hammerhand. My contract with them is complete. I'm looking for new employment. And what exactly is it that you do? He's going to look down at himself, like he's decked head to toe in this play armor, which is of an iridescent color. So it gives off this yellow, purplish tint. And he says, I fight. And she's almost going to give a reaction like, OK, that was a dumb question. I meant more specifically, we don't really have much need for fighters.

There have been some need in the past for guards, but that's not really your realm of expertise, I'm going to guess. Guard work, protection work, whatever needs to be done. I am just in need of current employment. The city, it drains on you. Are we there? Yes. Is it OK if maybe I step forward? Sure. OK. So I step forward and I go, hi, my name is Duncan Joybaton. I don't know if you've heard of me. I didn't catch your name. I'm sorry, what's your name, sir? I am Isum Sunafeh, protector of my people, sword to my enemies, shield to my nalai. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Isum, Isum, did I say that correctly? I'm sorry. Isum Sunafeh. OK. We're a group of adventurers. Have you ever thought about getting into the adventuring trade? I have done many works. This will be new for me. We're more freelancers than contractors, really. We can always use an extra sword, an extra person watching our back. What do you specialize in? At that point, he is going to take the shield off his back, put it on his left arm. Then from what looks to be a sheath or a dagger, he's going to slowly pull out a sword. And then as he pulls it out, it becomes a long sword.

And it's this kind of shiny-- it looks like an ordinary iron long sword with a couple engravings on it. But it's also kind of shiny. And he slaps the sword against the shield. And he goes, this is what I specialize in. Darth Vader's going to take out his weapon. Yeah, David's going to tense up because he asked you to do one thing when you came in here. I told you one thing. Diana's also going to-- I mean you no harm, please. He asked what I specialized in. And he's going to put it back. Yeah, Tessie's going to hold up her hand. Yeah, relax. It's OK. Um, so I-- do you mind if I talk to my party for a bit?

And then I'll come back. I think we might have-- I think we might be able to help each other out. That is acceptable. OK, so-- He's just going to stand silently in the corner. So Duncan goes back to the party. Guys, he seems like for real. Like for real, for real. He's a giant alley cat. We don't need him. Diana's going to kind of look over the rest of the party. It can't really hurt at this point. Strength in numbers. He seems like he'll work reasonably well, provided he's treated fairly and compensated. We already got this one with us. He's going to point it to her.

He's going to scowl. Dirthak, do you not want him with us? Because it's OK. You can speak up and tell us. I'm just saying, if you guys want him along, fine. I don't even know what kind of comment he was speaking. Malchus-- oh. Go ahead. Go ahead. No, you're fine. Malchus. Malchus steps up to-- OK, I swear I'm going to botch that Navy. I'm sorry, your name again? Isun Sunafei. Isun Sunafei? Yes, horn man. You have it correct. Malchus Grimace. Any problems with claustrophobia, compunctions against vigilante justice? I am decked out fully in heavy armor. I am comfortable in small spaces.

I will bring down rage and anger upon any enemy you call. Satisfied with an equal cut of the treasure as your payment? I am not motivated by money, but if it comes with the job, therefore I will accept. What does motivate you, then? I have many things that motivate me, but for now, my need to fight outweighs a lot of things. And you pledge loyalty to us and our crew and our missions? I pledge loyalty to my family, my clan, my people, my pride, but I will lend you my sword and aid you in any just cause. Malchus holds up a finger and says, a moment. He goes back and stands in the corner.

Walks back to the party and says, I'm on the fence. He seems a little clean for our crew, to be honest. Well, he's certainly exuberant. Look, you guys said that you were going to help me on my next thing, right? Right. Why don't we bring along and see how it works. And right now we'll call it a job. And if it works out and we think we can work with them, then we'll keep them around. Does that sound good? Bit of a trial run. That's what I'm thinking. If he was working as a mercenary, especially for Abraham, odds are he's seen and experienced far more than that iridescent garb of his let's on.

OK, if he likes to kill that much, then I mean, I guess he's OK. He's not he can't be that bad. I vote, yeah, and Malchus just starts looking around the circle for everyone else's votes for a trial. Might we'll reevaluate if anything looks like he might be a bad fit? Well, why don't I pitch it to him first, because I don't want him being taken aback by the idea that. Well, but we should see if we all approve before you go. Yeah. OK, well, I'm in for a trial. As am I, Diana. I as well. Genward? I'm not scared. You can come. And Dirthag, you said as well? Yeah, I said yeah.

Malchus looks at Duncan and nods. OK, so Duncan hasn't told anybody this yet, but he turns around to him and goes, we're about to make a trip into Bandit's Rest. Would you be willing to come along? And if things work out, then you stick with the party? He's going to look at Tessia Grimness. Then he's going to look back at Duncan, and he's going to stoop down to his level because he's seven foot tall. He'll be sitting on the ground at that point. He just really bends off really, really far. And he says, this is a test. Is-- yes? Oh, it's just to see how well we work together as a group.

It's a test as much for you as it is for us. If you don't like our style, then you're free to leave, of course. He's going to look back at Tessia one more time. Lady Tessia Grimness, I came to you seeking employment. Is it OK if I am employed by these people? She's just been kind of observing this whole thing. I think that would be a better fit, to be honest. Thank you. He looks over back at Duncan. You are the leader, yes? Jertheska will laugh at that. David's going to straighten his back. No. And I point over at Ianward. And I go-- No, I go, we don't really-- none of us are really the leader.

But Diana is kind of the one that does most of the talking for us. So OK, he looks at what he assumes to be Diana. I mean, that's a female name. So he looks at Diana. He takes a knee. And then he, again, moves his sword, but not in a threatening manner. And he cuts off a piece of his mane. And he hands it to her and says, so be it. She'll take it and just kind of look at Duncan real quick and just then back at him and nod. You disgust the Marine for my people to give a part of ourselves to a new leader. And you are now my new leader. Accept this. I will be honored to.

All right. And then he gets up. And pretty much, he's going to go around and shake everybody's hand. Hi. Hi. How's it going? Hi. And we're going to hear this custom. And he's going to pick his teeth and wipe it on Duncan's shirt. Wait, am I your leader now? When he gets to Yenwood, he's going to give him a firm handshake, like a good grip. Squeeze back. Let's do it. Wait, is he coming to Duncan for a handshake? Oh, yeah. OK. Duncan normally would just put out a fist. But he's trying to be accommodating. So he just kind of holds out his hand and stares at it for a second.

I grab your arm. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] Just puts it like as straight as possible in his hand. And it goes up and down. [LAUGHTER] Guys, I think it's a pretty good time for us to wrap it up for the night. To call it an evening. Yeah. It was a good session. It was fun. Yeah. That was real solid. I like that. We've been knocking him out of the park recently, guys. I think-- And that one's a home run. That's why we got ourselves in the back.