First Impressions

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[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] Um-- [CLEARS THROAT] 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 don't got to cast aspersions at me. From the director of Mr. and Mrs.

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He posts three times a week every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And I have a little bit about what he's going to post this coming week. I know for a fact that on Monday he is going to be talking about the Killing Joke movie. Yes, the controversial Killing Joke that I haven't read, but I'm sure he has. And he has some opinions on this movie coming out. On Friday, he's going to do a review of a graphic novel from Valiant Comics. And on Wednesday, he told me he's not sure yet. But I'm sure it's going to be amazing. So thank you guys so much for listening.

Go to Google or YouTube and type in Redis101, R-E-A-D-U-S. Or go to our Facebook page where we've been posting these episodes pretty regularly. So you'll find one on the front page somewhere. And with that, enjoy the show. Uh, 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 Valerie. Hi, I'm Valerie. And I play Sora Greywing, the Halfling Ranger. And Kira. Hi, I'm Kira. I play Zoya Rook, the dwarf healer. And Lisa. Hi, I'm Lisa. And I play Elorath Beestinger, the Halfling Barbarian.

And Zach. Hi, my name is Zach. And I play Aveline Bates, the Human Ranger Marauder. And Karen. Hi, I'm Karen. I play Arena Stonebreaker, a mole paladin. And Jane. Hi, I'm Jane. I play Ephini, the Gnome Bard. Last time on the show, guys, you met two-- well, I guess you would think of them as adventurers. After you guys unwound a little bit in some caves in the mountains, kind of getting over the new wall ambush, you were greeted by the sight of two people running from a very large dire bear. You helped them out. Not like you had a lot of choice, because the bear was running right for you.

And you ended up helping them out. It was a pretty tough fight. Aveline almost died outright. Mm-hmm. And Arena got lumped up quite a bit. Actually, the bear put its full weight on her and kind of crushed up her armor here and there. So how's about we pick up right after that fight? Because I would imagine there's some questions for the two people you just kind of rescued. So I will leave things in your capable hands. I was actually going to go and check out Aveline and see if he needed to be healed up. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that was my question to see if I was awake yet or if I'm still down.

Well, it was mentioned at the end that that seemed to be the thing that was going to be the first priority, especially for Zoya, which was, hey, you alive? Like kind of shaky, shaky. So there's no real heal check necessary. Zoya's heal modifier is good enough that we just kind of said, yeah, just pop surges and stand up. The big thing was that that was the end. I do remember that was the end of Aveline's healing surges. That was it for the day. OK, gotcha. All right, I think Aveline, after he got healed, he's going to look up, is Zoya in front of him? Yes.

OK, he's going to look up at you and say, thanks for the heal. You saved my life back there. You're welcome. Why was a bear chasing you? Well, my partner and I, we were given some information that a bear was in the vicinity, and we thought we would go catch it and kill it. That seemed to work out really well for you. He's just laughing at that, still feeling a little bad, a little hurt. Then he's going to say, my name is Aveline. Nice to meet you. Zoya, she'll gesture to the rest of the party. This is Sora and Elorath and Erina. Who's still laying on the ground.

Who I am actually going to heal, since you are-- No, I don't need any healing. Are you sure? I'm just-- I'm catching my breath, and very uncomfortable, because my armor's dented in uncomfortable places. So it's just kind of like laying on the ground, trying to catch her breath, and just decide whether she wants to take off her breastplate or not. Yeah, that would be pinchy and uncomfortable, I would imagine, after-- it was-- yeah, it just kind of stood on your chest and tried to crush that and keep it in. So yeah. Aveline is going to walk over to Ethne.

You'll say, hey, are you all right? Ethne is going to give him a little bit of a whack and say, you nearly got us killed, idiot. But then she's going to grin at him, because she's glad to see that he's OK. Sorry, sorry. He's going to gesture it over to the party and say, this is Ethne, a famous bard. I've never heard of her. What? You've never heard of Ethne, the famous bard? Can we do a check to see if you've heard of her? You could do-- you could do streetwise. Totally do streetwise. I don't want to roll. I already said I hadn't heard of her. Right, no, that's fine.

I think streetwise is actually reasonable that I might have. Sora would have never have heard of Ethne either. Is that for everybody or just Sora? Well, that's just Sora. Everyone can roll if you'd like. OK. Nope. Nope. What's a bard? Elorath's never heard of bards. Yeah, that's-- We only had a couple of them with us. Yeah, we only had them as party members twice. There was just the one. Two now. She wasn't really there long enough to sing for us. No. She was more of a speech writer. So I would say no. A motivational speaker. No. All right, then Abilene will say, wow, while you guys are in for a treat, she tells the best stories.

I love stories. Good. He's going to scan over the party and see what he's looking at. Get a good view of everyone. Do I need to roll a perception for that? Or just notice things about them? Yeah, it depends on what you're looking for, but go ahead, roll a perception. I think at this point, Erina would have gotten up, and I think she would have just taken the breastplate off because pinching reasons. What are you looking for specifically about them? Abilene is just looking to see, trying to see if they're well-versed in battle, to see if they're seasoned.

Well, if you had to take a guess, Zoya would definitely be the member of the party who sort of stays back if possible. The least wear and tear would be on Zoya's armor, clothing, that type of thing. Everyone else looks like they may have seen some shit. Sora and Elrath look filthy, pretty filthy. They look like they've been on the road for a while. Didn't we get cleaned up and cleared up? Well, the armor and stuff is clean. It's just, it's like, you ever look at someone, it's like you have been on the road for a while. Like it's just that, it's just that look that, it's like you could maybe use some R&R or something like that.

Erina looks like she's probably been hit the most out of the party. Like armor-wise, right off the bat, there's some wear and tear on that armor. Some dings and scrapes and dents. Everyone's got some scratches and bruises and stuff like that. So yeah, it looks like they've seen some shit. Okay. Except for me, I don't think I've actually been hit by anything ever. We'll work on that. I know I've currently jinxed myself. No, no, no, no. That's what I was going to say. That's what you look like the one who's like, "Well, she probably stays to the back." Like that's...

You just challenged the gate. No, no. Dude, I did that last game with the bear and failed. That was so cool though. That was neat. It almost worked though. Elrath was proud of you. So close. Avandra was not with me. Oh well. From what I hear, she's not with anybody. Shh. Don't tell that. Spoilers. Evelyn's going to have like a wide smile across his face and he's going to say, "I like the look of you guys." Ew. "You look strong. I like that." What are we, horses? That just sounded really creepy. Are you looking at us for like, "Is that like us?" Right now he's doing that thing where you're looking at something and trying to appraise it.

You have plans for it, he's doing that. Okay. It's your Batman voice. That's the... He's going to like pull open our mouths like a horse. He has a real gruff voice. He's not the most charismatic you could say. The plans for a thing is definitely going to be kind of off-putting and so he's going to take a little step back because that just sounded a little weird and creepy. Elorath will probably step closer to her like, "No." My friend. Do you think I perception them back? Sure. Cool. Both of you just openly gawking at the end? I feel like at this point, Erina would finally just turn her attention to them because she was not to keep harping on it, worried about our armor.

No, no, no. And maybe because you're so worried about your armor, you're a little distracted because that's not a great role. I mean, I was just kind of looking to see if they looked good enough to take on a bear. By themselves, no. There's a reason they were running. But that's not necessarily denoting weakness so much as intelligence because that bear could have shredded quite a few people if it were so inclined, if it really, really had some luck behind it. But basically what you're going to notice is that Aveline looks to be a fairly average-looking human in terms of height, pretty lean, muscular build, and Efni is a gnome.

And that's basically what you're going to pick up with a perception role. It looks like they've been out on the road for a little bit too. It looks like they've maybe spent a lot of time camping, something like that. They've been out and about though. So how'd you run into the bear? Well, I was following the tracks with my partner here and the tracks were so huge it just led us right to him. I saw the bear. I didn't like what I saw. I got out, ran into some very interesting people. So I call it a good find. Was he talking about us? I think so. Okay, cool. He's just smiling the whole time.

Hold up. Okay, Sora's going to look at him and be like, "So you went up to a bear, found out it was really big, like the tracks that you were tracking. Then you run, happened to find us, and you call that luck?" That's right. Pure luck. Well, I call that lucky because Wonder Boy here thought we could take it on. Called him, we couldn't. We were close. Mm-hmm. She's smart. You should listen to her more often. Obviously, Avandra is watching over you. Who's Avandra? Oh, well, Avandra. Is it a butcher? No. We can sell this bear for a good price. Oh my gosh. No. By the way, do you guys want that bear?

Because we did find it first, I'm just saying. I don't want to be that guy. But hey, this gnome's got to eat. He's going to nudge her a little bit. Zoya's continuing to look slightly more shocked and horrified as this conversation continues. Like, "Oh, oh no, oh no. No, no, no." Avandra, huh? Is that a king around here or something? A god? He's going to chuckle. A god. That's a good one. Are you not from this area? Hmm. I guess I'm from Overwatch, but I haven't been in a really long time. So where are you from more recently? Hmm. Well, I wouldn't say I have a home.

I'm more of a wanderer. I just don't really like cities. Large civilizations make me a little... He's going to look away a bit and say, "Uncomfortable." So I usually travel. Zoya's going to look over at Ephini. What sort of facial expression does she have to this whole conversation? She's probably sort of glancing from one to another as you both speak and kind of weighing, trying to weigh the party up. During this time, would Ephini look like... Would it be a thing where as Aveline's speaking, it's like, "Yep." Or is it more like this fucking chuckle head?

I'm trying to get a... How seriously are people taking Aveline right now is my question. I pictured Ephini at certain times he was speaking, particularly with taking on the bear. And that we were doing okay with that kind of thing. I pictured her as rolling her eyes, that kind of thing, to some of what he was saying. But Aveline's dead serious, right? 100%. Okay. Irena's going to look up to Ephini, just kind of dismiss Aveline, and just be like, "How long have you guys been traveling together?" Jason, how long did we stay with him? I can't remember. You said you guys have been traveling together for a little while now.

It's definitely been long enough that you guys know each other, personality-wise. Okay. So Ephini will say, "We've been traveling together a few months now." I was traveling with a band before that, so I did dig the city life, but I decided to give it a break and follow this idiot here. That would be me, the idiot. He's going to smile. Can I incite that? Sure. Go ahead. Okay. Okay. Because I'm looking for whether she voluntarily did it or not. Oh! I was going to say that this whole thing seems like a weird hospice. Oh, no. I see it from that side. Okay, the whole, "Mm, yeah, you guys look good," that kind of thing.

It's like a little hole in the backpack. He's got a gnome stowed in the backpack. That's a trunk, basically, for people who walk around. Right, totally. Okay. During this entire conversation, Zoya has one of those fake smiles. Oh my god, me too! The really stiff, "I don't want to make this person do anything weird." Oh my gosh. Oh, Sora has such a pained smile, she's like, "She doesn't want to be here." Yeah, so we're apparently matching with the frozen rictus of a smile. 25, it does appear as though, as if Efenny's comfortable around him. Like, Efenny, she's not trying to send Morse code with her eyes.

She's not, like, it's not a thing where it's like, "Get me away from him." Like, it's nothing like that. So, like, it seems on the level. Okay. I guess I'm going to relax after that. So, if you're going to take this bear, how do you plan on getting it anywhere? I was thinking I cut off a paw or something, show it to somebody who wanted to pay to have it killed. Make some scratch. What do you say? You want a part of that? He's going to scan over the part of you, see if anybody's interested. No. Sora's going to tilt her head and say, "Why would someone want to pay for you to kill one bear?" Avalon's going to look at the bear and say, "That thing's dangerous as hell.

They probably just want it dead." But did they tell you to go kill it? Some random farmer said someone might pay for it killed. I mean, you're just going to take a paw into town and be like, "I killed this bear. Pay me." Yes. What? No. That doesn't sound good. That sounds weird. I didn't think about that. Like, who's... Is this a special bear? It seems like it's just a bear, isn't it? Just a regular bear? The farmer called it a dire bear, so that might throw a couple coins on it. Everyone do me a favor and roll a nature check. Okay. I forget. What's the difference between a bear and a dire bear and if they're in?

Size, mostly. They're bigger and scarier. Size, viciousness, a lot of things. Yeah, I'm about to tell you now. Wow. Ooh, nice. What's happening? She doesn't care. I don't know shit. Nope. There's somebody else who rolls as bad as me. Yay. High five. Let's see. Zoya, Elorath, Sora, Havilin. Okay. So those four would know the difference. First of all, the difference between a regular-ass bear and a dire bear is, strictly speaking, size and aggression. Bears kind of come in all shapes and sizes and most of the time they'll stick to themselves. You'll find them in kind of dense, wooded areas.

Sometimes they venture out if food's getting scarce, but they don't really harass anybody or do anything. Unless you stumble upon their cave or where they're living or they feel like you're endangering them or their cubs, something like that. Then they'll lash out. Dire bears don't give a fuck. Dire bears, the largest regular-ass bears in Theria, get around that six and a half, seven, maybe seven and a half feet in there. They weigh about like four, four-fifty max, right? Those are big, big bears. Dire bears, yeah, that's pretty big. Dire bears, on the other hand, that one is about eight and a half to nine feet and it's rounding the bases towards about 700, 750 pounds, somewhere in there.

That is fucking huge. And they have been known to kill people, just take people's heads off, clean one swipe. They will attack caravans. They will attack small groups of people. If it's a large group of people, they'll usually leave them be. But, yeah, they will venture clean out of the woods for miles in any direction to get food. So, yeah, that's pretty much the big difference. So, will the farmer be giving you money for it then? Probably not. Farmers don't make shit. Okay. How do you know that anyone has money to pay for it then? I don't. So you're just going to walk around with a bear paw until somebody pays you?

That was the plan. I guess I just don't understand. Okay. It's not just me. Okay. No, no, don't worry. I don't really understand either. So as you're saying that to each other, Evelyn, it just looked like darting between both of you. As you talk, just smiling, just not even realizing you're weirded out. Oh, oh, God. That is stunningly off-putting. Like, I love this guy, but I also hate this guy. Yeah, I was going to say that just the level of obliviousness is funny yet horrifying. Everything about him wreaks stranger danger. Yes. I keep waiting for somebody to just show us on the doll where he touched you.

The thing about it is really creepy. What? That's his laugh. Oh, okay. See, I told you. It sounded exactly the same. So, bear's dead. What are your plans now? Well... Other than, you know, flopping off a foot and carrying it around until somebody pays you. Me and my bard were originally headed to Overwatch for some personal business. Oh my God. Can we just keep you from laughing the entire time? Yeah, right. Okay, thanks. Quick question. On personal business, Zoya took another step back. Quick question. I got... Okay, I need to paint a picture in my head. Effeny. The entire time he's talking, like, how would...

What would Effeny's facial... Okay, when he said, "We have to take care of personal business." Like, what? What? Is Effeny just so used to him that it's like, "Yeah, that's just how he talks?" Or is it like, "What?" Like, what? Because that, I would imagine, that would sound... What would that sound like to you guys? Creeper city. Okay. Everything about it seems creepy. That's fair. Slightly off-putting. Just a tad. Because it could sound like he's off to solicit prostitutes, or he's off to kill somebody... Hey, you never know. Both are... Yeah, he's got a murder spree lined up in his back pocket.

Maybe both! He's killing, you know, prostitutes. Jack the Ripper, just a murder prostitute. With his thighs. With his thighs! So far, this is the guy that you see on the news later, after the horrible killing spree, like, "Oh my god, I should have known." "I have to get rid of some dirty, dirty girls." Oh! Gotta use that one. Yeah. Effeny? Is Effeny, like, doing anything? I think Effeny is fairly used to him by now, but I think what he just said then, and I think she would probably be picking up on the fact that you guys are perhaps feeling a little bit uncomfortable, I think she probably would cringe.

I think she's probably gonna interrupt and say, "So, what are you guys doing out here?" Like, try a topic change. Walking? Yeah. I don't know if we're traveling. I thought you said you weren't very fond of big cities. But you're going to Overwatch. I am. I wouldn't go there if I didn't have business. Personal business. Very personal, apparently. Well, we could tell you guys, I kinda like you. You know, most people just walk away by now. For some reason. I imagine a collection of shudder over the entire group, and he's like, "I kinda like you guys." Yeah, no kidding.

Like, at this point, I'm not sure how much further Zoya could have backed away. I feel like we're all closing ranks. Everyone's hiding behind me. Yeah, I was gonna say, slowly drawing back. Looking at the bear, figuring you chose the wrong side. Yeah, no kidding. Like, "Oh dear, I healed this guy." What was the last thing said? I'm sorry, I forgot. I believe it was, "Heh heh heh." It was something to the effect of, "I like you guys, I could..." Oh, that's right, he was like, "I guess I could tell you." Okay. Yeah. Then he's gonna look down at Efrain for approval.

See what she thinks. Efrain's gonna look at you like, I don't think she's quite following you, so she's looking at you. Alright. He's gonna look back up and say, "It couldn't hurt, could it?" I'm a hunter by trade, and I used to belong to a hunting company called the Moonflower. A couple years ago, we broke up, and I decided I wanted to recreate it into a guild. And now, we're going to Overwatch to recruit people and whatnot. Matter of fact, he's gonna smile wide and beam at you guys. Oh, is he just gonna let it hang there? Okay. Yeah, he's letting it all hang.

Should we roll an insight? Yeah. Nice check. Yeah. Should I be using my pepper spray check? Yeah, that's the... So, I'm just gonna roll an insight, if that's okay. Go ahead. Yeah, what would we roll to see if we know about the Moonflower hunting group? I imagine that'd be another streetwise, like it's not... Yeah, we're just going on... It's not... Is this guy on the level, or is he really terrifying? Or is he actually crazy? Oh, good lord. Nope. Screw you, too nice. Yeah, none of you guys know any of that. None of that rings a bell. Yeah, when the person who thinks gods talks to or thinks you're weird...

And the fact that none of us have heard about it just further cements the creepiness. Right. And it's a big world. I mean, it's totally... It's like a small hunting company would totally... I mean, it's not like you ever heard of Albury. It's like... No, it's like a small hunting company type thing. Like, that could totally go under the... But it's not helping his case. Like, listening to him... Yeah, he's... He's interesting, but it does sound like he's telling the truth, for the most part. At least he believes he's telling you the truth. Wholeheartedly. Mm-hmm.

He's genuine. Okay. So you guys just leave it in silence, because they'll say something else. Oh, God. Yeah, he's gonna keep... Yeah, I think Irina's just waiting. Like, she's letting him dig his grave. Yeah. Alright, let's do it. So he's... Own it. He's gonna look over at Anthony and say, "She's my first member." As you can see. Oh, God. I can acquire... It's a cult! I can acquire a famous member. Oh, I thought member, and immediately my mom went to dick. He's just gonna collect all the dicks. I went to dismember. That's a good one. So I'm like, "Oh, this is the first person you plan to hack up in a bathtub." You're first member to dismember.

This is my first sacrifice, guys. After Zoya rolled her insight check, so she, you know, knows that Avalon at least thinks he's on the level, she's kind of going to turn her attention away from him a little bit to talk to Efony, who seems slightly less deranged. What made you decide to join a hunting company if you're a bard? Well, I figured it'd be... I like to write, so I figured it'd give me new material to write. Plus this guy kind of really needs some assistance, you know, with people. "Some assistance." Yes. Some could say she's my life partner. Oh, dear.

No change in face at all when he says that. Freezing. Efony's gonna cringe just slightly and is like, "We're friends." Yeah. Yes, we're partners. Mm-hmm. In life. So we're life partners. Right. And Efony's giving him a look like, "Dude, come on." And like, "I'm really gonna need to speak to you later." Oblivious. She'll just whack him on the leg. Ah. He's gonna fall down a little bit, then get back up like it didn't happen. That's what I think. Irina's kind of over this. Right. She's gonna be like, "Well, you guys are a little late to the recruiting party, so thanks, but no thanks." Ouch.

Well, I guess we'll just pack up all our shit and go. Well... Can you guys have something already, then? Well, not... We're white ravens, so we really can't be joining any hunting party. Mm, well, that's too bad. You look like seasoned warriors. Does that mean he's going to eat us? See, you keep saying these things, and they're really creepy, dude. Just so you're aware. I'm saying creepy things? Not saying creepy things, but the way you're saying them... I mean, that might be why people keep walking away. Just for your knowledge. He's gonna turn to Ethene and have a face like, "Is that right?

Am I being creepy?" Just with that face not actually saying it. And she'll pause for a moment, but then she'll just give a little nod. Ah. Sorry about that. Sometimes I don't know how to control my words in conversation. I get overeager. Oh. Is it just the two of you? Yes. We travel as a small group, going wherever we can, trying to recruit people. Hasn't worked out quite yet, but our luck is sure to change when we get to Overwatch. Elorath will probably look at the other people like, "Should we tell him we're going to Overwatch?" I mean... Yeah, Zoya's still...

She's just going to shrug and leave it to you three. If you guys are just over there looking ponderous, Evelynn will say... Weary. Weary? Okay. Okay. Evelynn... After a while, if there's just a moment of awkward silence, she's going to say... "We mean you no harm. As you can see, we just went through a fierce battle together, so... Maybe I got a little too overly friendly. But I assure you, I'm harmless, and so is my companion." I mean, she's just kind of had her eyes narrowed at Evelynn since forever. And she's just going to kind of glance down at Elorath and Zora, and just kind of like shrug and...

Well, if you want to have some company, we are going to Overwatch. But if you come with us, you walk ahead. Evelynn's going to smile brightly and say, "What a coincidence." Yeah, you're definitely walking ahead. Oh, with bait? Bait? No, I just... I have dented armor, and I don't want to take any chances. That is true. You took quite the hit on the battlefield. How are you feeling? Me? I'm fine. Nothing that I haven't dealt with before. Impressive. You impress me. Oh, God. Are those... Oh, would you say that the Dire Wolf left a bigger dent than the werewolves did?

Or like bigger scratch marks or something? Well, the werewolf stuff get buffed out. She's talking about the Dire Bear. Oh, the Dire Bear. Oh, yeah, did it leave... Oh, did it get buffed out? I know it got cleaned, but... Yeah, we got it cleaned. I don't think the werewolves did much damage to the armor itself. Yeah, think of the werewolf damage as more slicing attacks. Like, they will rip and tear and maul, whereas the bear is much more brute force and trauma. So I imagine a lot of places are kind of caved in a little bit, and there's definitely some claw marks, because I got swiped at a couple times, but definitely places in the stomach area probably just pushed in.

Probably the top of it up by her neck is probably a little dented too. Just very... Not usable, just very uncomfortable to wear. Yeah, because armor is essentially meant to deflect weapon attacks and things like that. Not that much force and weight, necessarily. So maybe the werewolf damage is more cosmetic then? Yeah, probably a lot more. Well, it depends on what kind of armor you're wearing too, because if it's arenas, there will be cuts and there will be a lot of claw marks, things like that. If it's leather armor, there will be bits of leather armor that just get shredded.

What I really like in my character art is that my cape is a little torn. It's got a little thread thing that I've noticed. It's the little detail that's so cool. I imagine that was from the werewolf fight. My cape got a little snagged. So, what's with the party? Are you guys moving? Well, I think before... Aveline will look over at Anthony and ask, "Are you okay with traveling with him? It would be safer for us on the road, if nothing else." And she'll look at him and say, "I would definitely appreciate the company, because I'm not really built for dealing with bears." Good, so be it.

He's going to look at the party and say, "I will walk ahead if that makes everybody feel a bit more comfortable." That would be ideal, I think. So, okay. Are you going to cut this bear's paw off before you go? Well, the thing is, you told him it was a stupid idea. He does listen to people. Okay, I just wasn't sure if you were taking a little... You're just still set on selling the bear paw. Should I? I mean, the bear paw was for proof that it's dead, basically. Karen's not going to influence you at all on that. Whatcha thinkin', Zach? Yeah, he'll do it. He doesn't care.

Something about a bear paw just entices him, I guess. So, I guess Aveline's going to take a few seconds and hack this bear paw off. The whole time he's just grunting like, "Mm-hmm, yeah." No, no, no. Zoya is going to be just sitting there in the background muttering prayers to Avandra that, "Wait, they don't all die from this creepster." He's a hunter, come on. Both hands are cutting, right? It's not like one hand disappears. Both hands are cutting. Oh, he's getting all in there. No. Zoya, back to the base. Can I say something, Zach? Yes. At some point, you were alone and practiced this voice.

The shower. Okay. Like, 15 minutes before this. You know what? I like this voice. I couldn't stop doing it in the shower. I was like, "You know what?" It's like, "Come on, my charisma's so low, he can't be the cool guy." So, I had to, you know what? Let's go for it. Dude, I feel the need to hand you a shovel. Hey, that's the life I chose. I just... I don't regret it. He's so defective. I like him. While he's hiking up this bear paw, I mean, it's gonna, like, motion Efony over. He's stable, correct? She's gonna smile at that, and she'll nod, and she'll say he is.

You really don't need to worry, but I do understand. He's just not very good around people. He's been on his own a lot. So, he's totally going to want to insight check that, just to be on the side. Jesus! I know, hey, Harrowlove. God. Probably I wouldn't, but come on, in this particular situation... Are you sure he's not a fucking creep? Yeah, I was gonna say, are you sure he's not going to chop us up into little bits? Is he making you lie? Like, blank ones for yes. Give me another insight check, then. That's one, but... That's your insight? Yeah, that's my insight.

But how? Goddamn. For the listeners, I rolled a three, but I have a plus 19 for insight, so... Wow. Nothing I have is that high. Jesus. Nothing else I have is that high, either, so... Again, that's gonna seem on the level. Like, it doesn't seem like Efenny's trying to lie to you. Like, try to, like, maybe there's a touch of trying to put your mind at ease? No, it's, you know, once you get to know him. That type of thing. But not trying to openly lie to you. Okay. So, that will actually set Zoya's mind at ease. So, she'll nod. Okay. Have you guys had any potential guild members?

Or has it just always been you two since you started this? It's just been us two for a while now. So, okay. The entire time you guys are having this conversation, in the background, it's like, "Ugh." While he's cutting? Yeah. Okay. We're slowly talking slightly louder, trying to figure this out. Weather! Serena's got her, like, fingers up by her temples, just like, "Oh my god." Oh...kay. Like when you're watching something embarrassing happen to somebody else, and you're like, "Oh god. Secondhand embarrassing." Oh honey, no. Oh, I hate that feeling. That is the worst feeling.

So, after a few seconds, I would say that Avalon would finish and get this bear paw off of the rest of the bear, and you guys, I guess, would be on your way? Is he still dripping with blood or anything like that? Well, the bear paw would be, yeah. Get a little baggy. Put a little baggy. I would imagine it'd be like, wrap it in some kind of cloth or something like that. This is a big fuckin' paw, too. Yeah, if anybody wants to hold it, he's fine with it. Nope. No. Okay. He's gonna kinda like, shove it out at people. Huh? You wanna hold it? Alright. Just like, shove it like...

I'm good. Suit yourself. Thanks. I half expect him to go, "Aargh!" and just like, bite down. No. He's one step removed from crazy homeless guy. Yes. So, on your way to the Overwatch, you guys are currently in White Wolf Valley, sort of walking around this path. You have a bit of time before you get there, so this would be, you'd still be hours away. Who would like to do me a favor? Roll a flat D20. I'm actually feeling really adventurous. I will totally do it today. Get it, Kara. I believe in you. You got this. Alright. How do I roll a flat D20? It's right down there.

No mods, no nothing. Just like, fla. Flick it in. Hey, at least it's above a 10. That's true. Respectable. And it's a nice d- no it's not. It was probably- it was raining. Nevermind. Wait, what? Oh, okay. I thought you were gonna say something else. It was not raining that day? It was not raining that day. No. Bring your neck back. To three years ago. Like it. Yeah. No, I was gonna say, wasn't it raining though when we set out? It was a rainy day. Yeah, so- yeah, it wasn't, yeah. It's starting to clear up. I was gonna make a joke, at least it was a nice day, right? And I was like, no, it wasn't actually.

Pretty shitty. So, you guys, let's see here, 12- okay, that's not bad at all. In this area right now, it's been fairly quiet as things go here. Again, this entire area, as you're walking around, it was the site of a major, major battle just weeks ago. So this, I mean, the area is still pretty decimated. Like, it's- the impact of this is gonna be felt for a very long time. And if you were to crane your heads just to, like, if you're walking the Overwatch, if you were to crane your heads to the west at all, and look, the treeline of the Evergreen normally would be this gorgeous site.

It just extends for miles in any direction. There is a swath cut out of the center of it that was burned down completely. Oh no. Just completely burned down. Gone. Like, it is ruined, for lack of a better term. There's hundreds of acres of treeline gone. Which is a problem, and kind of puts a strain on this area. We'll get into things, but yeah. But hours are gonna pass by, and eventually you are going to reach the gates of the Overwatch. Everyone do me a favor, roll a perception check. I'm just on point today. Hey, dang. Bow. Yeah, right? Yeah, she did pretty well.

See, everyone's gonna see the city come into view. Those big doors are still being worked on. And they're still kind of adjusting things, repairing things. The walls are... It's gonna take some time to get things back to tip-top shape, and it's kinda giving people something to focus on while the city readjusts. Again, besides the treeline, that big thing, and obviously the site of this major, major battle, the entire valley has been ecologically fucked up for a long time. But, Soarin' Avalon, I would say, would notice the huge swell of people going in and out of the city.

How long would you say it's been since Avalon's been in the Overwatch, or to the city? More than ten years. Oh, god, yeah. So, that is a new site. 'Cause people weren't really allowed to just leave and go through the city without there being checks and balances. You'd have to have a good reason for leaving or coming back or whatever. You'd have to have business there in the city. So, it's not like a city like Winterhaven or Esterholt where you can just go and come as you please. It's much more micromanaged. So, this is kind of a completely different site.

It would even look different than when Sohr and Elorath left. When Sohr and Elorath left, Liara just took over. Things were still in the very early stages. So, this would be a different site. Lots of activity, lots of people moving and working and things. And it looks like there's kind of people of all races working together. But as you approach the gates, people are going to take notice of you coming in, but not... If you were to try walking into the city a couple of months back, that would have been way different. This is just kind of people looking up, stopping what they're doing for a second, kind of assessing the group and then going back to lifting, digging, hammering back.

That type of thing. Would this be a thing where you guys would just walk in? Probably. Yeah. Yeah, I think there's no reason not to. As we walk in, Evelyn will say, just kind of open to everyone, "This is the Overwatch. This is nothing. However, remember it." It's kind of changed, but did you hear about the war? All that? Yes, Hethne told me about it. I don't keep up with such things. Kind of a big deal. Okay. Evelyn is kind of like, he's kind of shifty-eyed a little bit. You don't say. No kidding, really? So is it more like he's eyeballing the city is what you're saying?

Ah, okay. I think you meant just in general. That too, but you just... I look like 10% more shifty. Oh god. Alright, so yeah, walking through the city, you're going to get a... Okay, look. Tolerance, acceptance, things like that are new concepts to a lot of people in the city. The problem is it doesn't look like it's going back to the way things were anytime soon, and people are adjusting, albeit slowly. And there are people in the city who are like, "Well, okay, yeah, I'll work with a gnome or whatever or a dwarf, but those fucking halflings." They just have preconceived notions about certain people, and so you will be walking and every 10, 20 feet, something like that, you'll get at least one person kind of looking at one of you, just like, "You disgust me." Like that kind of thing.

"You're a miracle." That type of look. Yeah, just fucking scumbags. Like, the wall just got 10 feet higher type of thing. Is that noticeable to everybody? Oh, they're not hiding it, no. Okay, because if Irina's going to be noticing that, she's just going to stand up really tall and just try to be as timidy as fuck. Oh dude, I like how she's going to puff up so big. And the thing is, you'd be able to kick most of their asses, like, unless it was mob rule. These are just people, these are just folks. There's like, "I sell pumpkins for a living." "I fucking hate moles." That type of thing.

They're just racist assholes. It's not like they're warriors necessary. And don't get me wrong, there's a few of them who can fight. They were probably in the army, they were on the losing side. Now it's like, "Okay, I guess we've got to adjust." That type of thing. I think it's definitely one of those things where Irina is very used to looks like that. So she just kind of like, you know, just keep your head held high and... You know? I forgot where I was going. Don't look at anybody. Yeah, you just kind of like, you know, just stay focused. People are going to look, they're going to do what they're going to do, and I'm just going to stay on my path and try to dissuade anybody from approaching, really.

Elorath will probably heft her flail up a little bit. She's like, "What, bitch?" Like kind of puff up. Just like, "Tried to look intimidating for being three foot eight?" Do me a favor, roll an intimidate check. Oh god, no, why? [laughter] Alright, sure. You got this. Yeah. Hey! Luxie! Boy, that is not a big modifier. No, it's not. You're adorable. Yeah, that's her thing. She looks so cute, but she's like, "No, I'm not!" Stop it. Big. Fuck off. There would be... Okay, I would say most of the people that you walk by would be like, "Fucking what?" And they'll see you carrying weapons.

They see your adventures, right? Not to be fucked with, necessarily. And it does look like you guys have been through some shit, so it would be like, "Fucking whatever, better keep walking." Kind of go back to their business. Every once in a while, you'll get the guy who's like, spit on the ground, try to make a big show of how tough they are, that type of thing. And yeah, that's just gonna be par for the course here. Another thing you guys are gonna notice while you're walking through this, this bustling city, when you had left, the city was kind of in tatters.

Like, day-to-day life was completely in shambles. There were a couple of, obviously, freestanding structures. The market was kind of going and stuff. Now, it appears as though there's all kinds of stands and kind of a huge flea market right now. A lot of the buildings have been either destroyed or damaged, but people are out in force selling goods. And it's people of all kinds, right? You got humans and stuff selling stuff. You got your farmers and stuff selling goods, but you also have people... You got dwarves and gnomes and elves, all kinds of stuff selling things from their region specific to them, right?

Their food, weapons, armor, stuff like that would be specific to their culture, and that's how they're making a living. It's like, "Hey, you guys haven't seen this shit before." Kind of just like, you know, this brand new market has opened up. And as a result, this place is kind of bustling like a huge, busy flea market. It's wall-to-wall people, just kind of like bustling, jam-packed. It's kind of claustrophobic in the middle of the city. And it's going to take you guys a while to kind of slip through. Every once in a while, you might have to get a little physical, like kind of push past, like, "Excuse me," that kind of thing.

Because, let's be honest, there is a chance that there are a few individuals in the city who would take that as an excuse to maybe bump your shoulder or kind of check you a little bit, because they're assholes. Son, go fight. [laughter] But eventually, you guys are going to make it to the other side of the city, and that would be where Castle Overwatch is, which is this massive, gaudy type of tower, which reluctantly would be where Liara is. What would you guys like to do? I think Irena would just kind of defer to Elorath and Sora, because this is kind of their mission.

Yeah, they're the White Ravens in the group, so technically Irena and I aren't even recruited. Yeah. What would, I mean, would Sora probably want to lead in there, or? I don't think she would care if someone else would lead, but she definitely thinks that we should just go in there. Okay. So the plan is we need to check in, what, with Liara or with Po or somebody just to get a new mission and report about- Problem is Po's in Lockfort. Oh, that's right. That's right. Po's in Lockfort, Brie is MIA, and the only tie you have left is Liara, really. Oh, didn't we have a message for Liara?

Yeah, Jadzia gave us something. Oh, Jadzia gave us something too. That's right. So I guess we would try and find somebody to direct us to Liara, really, or we'd try to go into the castle, I guess. Before you guys go, Aveline is gonna inch up to you, one of you guys, and go, "Thank you for traveling with us so far. I personally enjoyed your company." "We came here to seek an audience with the leader of the White Ravens, and it seems you are reporting to the leader?" He's kind of asking. Uh huh. "Good. We were hoping if we could join you in meeting this leader of the White Ravens." I don't see why not.

We're all going there. Good. Good. Lead on, then. He'll kind of back up to a safe space, because he knows how you guys feel, so he'll take a step back. I'm starting to feel really bad, guys. I'm not. I'll be that guy. Like, no, I'm sorry. Just, the bubble is cool. Keep the bubble. Jason, there's a place to park a horse? Oh yeah, there'd be one. There'd totally be places near one horse. I just kinda want to, like, maybe pay somebody to keep an eye on it? And my stuff? Oh, dude, if you're putting it next to the castle, no one's touching your shit. Okay, cool. I just want to make sure.

In the middle of that free-for-all, there might be a chance someone gets ballsy and tries... but no one's touching your shit next to the castle. Okay, cool. There would be a guard standing outside. There are these large double doors that would lead into the castle, and there's a guard standing out there. Looks kinda sunburnt. Like, maybe has spent a lot of time out in the sun. Human, but yeah, he looks to be alone. Okay. So I guess we would just, like, walk up to him, right? And just be like, "Uh, we need to see Liara." He's gonna look down. Oh, sure she's short.

Okay. And this guy's, like, average height. He's like, I don't know, 5'7", 5'8", somewhere in there. Like, pretty average. I'm not just gonna let you in. You don't just get to see the queen because you want to. We got stuff. We got a message for her. Like, damn. You ain't gotta be like that. She doesn't understand why they wouldn't just let him in. Let her in. Right. Yeah, Sora's going to turn out her left arm where she has her arm guard, and on it is the white raven insignia into it. He's gonna straighten up. Because he's kinda, like, when you approached, like, I would imagine him having this kind of relaxed demeanor.

Like, maybe being a little on guard in case you were trying to rush the front door or something like that, but mostly this guy kinda acts like a secretary. And he's just like, "No, you know, I'll just walk in." And then you show him that it's like, "Oh. Are you the group from Lockford?" Some of us are. "Uh, give me one minute." And he's going to lean in and open the door. Very, very excited. Just shouting, "They're here!" Like, he is shouting into this building now. What? We're famous. And two more guards are going to come clamoring to that front door. The one that was standing there is going to open the door wide.

The other one's gonna open the other door, and they're gonna gesture for you to walk just right in. The third guard is going to say, "Queen Brios asked us to usher you in immediately the second you got here." "You guys see what traveling with the famous bard gets you?" What? Oh my god. So much side-eye. Yeah, just like, "What?" Ephin is side-eyeing him as well, and she's gonna whack him and tell him to shut up. Walk it? Like, that's right. Thank you. This place... Do me a favor, everyone roll a Perception. He's so good at these. Oh my goodness. What is my guy doing?

What is up with... Damn, Avalon. Oh wow, okay. How did you manage to be so perceptive, yet so... He's just looking for different things. Lots of dust. There's a lot of rope hanging up. I would say most of the party would just notice the overall busyness here. Like, a castle like this looks like it should be a house for dignitaries or muckety-muck. Very, very stuffy folks. Right off the bat you're gonna pass this long hallway that leads to this spiral staircase that just goes up forever. But as you're walking through this big castle you're gonna notice there are families here.

There's a lot of stuff going on. This looks like a place full of people. At least in the first few floors. And as you climb up that's gonna get a little less and less. There are guards scattered around and the security gets a bit tighter the higher you go up. And eventually you're going to be led to a long hallway with another set of double doors. With another set of guards. One of which is a tiefling, one of which is a dwarf. And they are going to be looking at you as you walk in and this guard is going to vouch for you. Lean in and whisper something. And they are going to open these doors right away and usher you into this throne room.

There is an urgency too. There is like, holy shit. Like, if you had to guess it's probably because they thought you were dead. Holy shit! Only like, you! Four out of six. Right. I'm not saying the... Well to be fair it is true. Yes. No. Very true. We did only have a 33% survival rate. It wasn't great. And that's just kind of the original members. Yeah. I'm guessing you guys are going to wander on in? Oh yeah, sorry. I want to ask about that tiefling. But that's just me being a meta-gamer. Okay, nevermind. So he is totally going to stick close to Irina. Just because, you know, not really a white raven.

But also still pretty wary of Avalon. Right. Yeah, and I'm kind of hanging back. Avalon just walking proud looking at Anthony like, yeah, this is what it gets you. Just walking through like she's the reason this is all happening. I feel a beat down coming in the future. It's so cute. He's so proud of her though. He's like, yeah, she's fucking famous. Mm-hmm. Like that's true. That is really adorable. So cute. Oh God. Into the throne room we go. So walking in here, well I guess it'd just be Elorath and Zora that would recognize Liara. There's this long table. This entire thing is set up like a war room.

There is a throne. There is decorations that you would find in a throne room. But it doesn't look very used. This whole little war room set up in the center of the room looks much more used. That's the thing that looks like it gets--there's papers out everywhere, there's maps, there's-- That's the stuff that looks like it's getting play, not the "I'm going to sit in the throne" that type of thing. And the second the doors fling open, she is going to look over like, who the fuck is this? Kind of on edge actually. And then she's going to recognize Zora and Elorath and she's going to drop what she's doing and walk over and greet you.

Do we-- She's like a queen, right? Oh yeah, she--yes. Okay. Elorath will probably kneel then. 'Cause, yeah, I mean she's like not only the leader of the White Raven, she'll probably just like drop to a knee. I don't know if--is that the custom? Sorry, I guess I should ask, what's the custom? Is there what? Well, it--when you're greeting royalty, that type of thing, like take a knee real quick, bow, something like that. The second you were to do anything approaching that, she would essentially like knock that shit off right now, like right away. For two reasons.

One, it makes her deathly uncomfortable. And two, it's like, you don't owe me shit. Like that tone of voice, like that is up front. And she would grab Elorath by the shoulders and pull her in for a hug. Oh. Aww. Hug her back. Like be really surprised for a second, just like, "Oh, oh, queen, okay." Hug the queen. Right, but it's more of an aggressive bro-huggy type thing? Yes. The one arm, like, the closed fist, like, yeah, like, boping against the back. Right. Yes. And then she would pull back after a second and do the same thing to Sora. Okay, good, I thought she was just neglecting.

No, not at all. Abilene would start creeping up like he's next in line for a hug. Oh my gosh. Oh no, I'm gonna grab his shoulder and be like, "No, you're not going anywhere." Okay. Alright. I was gonna say, Ephiné would be pulling him back as well. Yeah, I'm just gonna leave my hand on his shoulder, just like... And the second all that's over, she'd kinda compose herself. Everyone, please, come in. Take a seat. Okay. Sure. Yeah, I mean... You. Firstly, I can't tell you how sorry we all are here about what happened to you while you were on the road. We got your messages and...

Brianna gave us a full report of what happened and we had no idea the situation was that bad in Lockford. And we can't apologize to you enough. Well, they're gone now, so... The werewolves, of course. So, that's good. She's gonna take a seat at the table too with you guys. How bad did it get? Look at Sora. Yeah, Sora's gonna chuckle a little bit. She'll say we were trapped in an attic for... what, like two days? I think? Yeah. A long time. Three? I know it was like overnight. It was a while. You guys were trapped in Lockford for days. Yeah. At least two days. Yeah.

Yeah, we were just in an attic for a few days and we were finally able to escape but we had to just flee into another building. She's gonna be looking down just more angry than anything. We should have sent more people and that is absolutely unforgivable. Well, I mean, it's not like you knew and you're like, "Go take care of this." 'Cause we were just supposed to be like looking around and stuff and then we got trapped, so... Not your fault. Just kinda happened. I... And she's going to abruptly change the subject. Just kind of... I see you still have a full party though.

Yeah, we made some new friends. I mean, Erina here, she came with Bree with the paladins and stuff and Zoya is our new friend. We met her leaving Lockford and then we just met these two people outside of Overwatch. And she's going to... Okay, so she'll look at Erina and as you're talking about that she would nod towards Erina like kind of a thank you, like "Thank you, dude. You've done us a huge solid" type of thing. Total nod back. Yeah, and Zoya, same thing. And then you get to the two that you met and then like... You mean you met them today? Yeah, they were running from a bear.

A big... Well, all bears are big, but big, big, bigger bear. Right? Right, guys? And she'll probably look at Sora just like "Right? Big bear." Yeah, Sora will kind of nod seriously back. "Yeah, it was a big bear." Well, it's nice to meet you all in any event. So this whole time, Avalon has just been smiling in like non-breaking eye contact with Liara. Not saying anything, just letting everybody speak. Oh god. But he is looking. Is he blinking at least? Or is it like... Sometimes it's like... Is he trying to like stare down? Stare down in her one eye? It's kind of like...

His attention is on her and it's not breaking. That's... Okay. That's one of those things I feel like because of the circumstances she would let fly for a while, but if that keeps up, that's gonna get addressed. That's gonna be one of those things. Because this is a solemn moment. This is being taken seriously. But if that keeps up, it'd be like "Do you have a fucking problem? Like, are you okay? Like, what's up?" That type of thing. Is that like noticeable to everybody else? I... The way he's describing it... He's not hiding it. Yeah. Okay. I don't know how to hide it.

Like, I really want to stop next to him and she's gonna fucking kick his chair. Like, knock it off. If she does that, he'll just go "Mmh!" and just like kind of look down or something. Is there like a plate in front of him or is this a blank table? It's just kind of a... It's just this long table. It's mostly like papers and stuff sitting around. He'll grab a paper and just kind of stack it. It doesn't matter what paper. Right. Just snatch one. And she would kind of like... She would side-eye at that real quick. Like, "That's not for you." But like not say anything.

Just like "Okay, at least you're not fucking boring a hole through my skull anymore. Awesome. Cool." "I can't help but notice that Bree isn't with you. Is everything alright? Did... What exactly happened in Lockford?" She hasn't contacted you since she sent the report? No. I... The... Last I heard... They arrived in Lockford and the situation was taken care of. But I haven't talked to her directly about anything. I figured she'd be with you. Oh no. She was when we left Lockford. But she left on the road before we even got to Fair Bay. She... She didn't happen to tell you in her report that she was injured.

No. What happened? When myself and the Paladins got to the town, we fought the werewolves off into the woods. And then we decided to finish it. And we tracked them into the Silver Glade. And we fought their Alpha there. And while we were fighting, she was bitten. By a werewolf? I would just ask that openly, just blurting in. Yeah. By a werewolf. Wow. He's gonna look down again. The entire time you're telling this story, like her jaw's gonna tighten, you can tell it's like, "Please don't go where I think you're going. Please don't go where I think you're going." And then you get to it, and she is going to abruptly stand up.

How many days ago was this? Four days ago. Do you know what direction she was heading in when she left the group? Oh, shoot. East? Wait, no. I mean west? No, we were going west. I think... Didn't she say... Okay, so we were heading towards Spare Bay. Mm-hmm. So she kind of... Let's see. She went north? Excuse me for a minute. And she is going to walk back towards these double doors and call over a guard. And she is going to aggressively whisper something in the guard's ear. And the guard is going to take off running. And she is going to take a deep breath and then rejoin the party.

But not sit down. More aggressive short-burst pacing, like back and forth. Alright, we're gonna send some people out to try and find her. Because she can be pig-headed and stubborn and not send for help when she needs it. What? Bree? No. Sounds about right. Is there anything else I should know about? I'm sorry, I don't mean to grill you. It's... Oh, oh, oh! We talked to the mayor lady. Ms. Mayor Lady. Jadzia Grace. Yeah, yeah. And she sent a message for you. She's gonna have an expression that's like, "Mayor?" Surprise! Surprise! Oh. Yeah. Alright. Thank you. And she would, if you're offering the note, she would take it.

In any event, we are more than happy to see you back. And of course you're going to get a hero's welcome. We can plan a banquet in your honor if that's something that you would be into and... The arena's like just shaking her head like, "No." That would be much appreciated. Damn it. I knew it! That lady just comes around like, "What? Hmm? We just killed that fucking man." Zoria's just cringing in the background this entire time like, "This is so uncomfortable." And then the other half's gonna look at you like, "What the fuck did you do?" At this time, like, Evelyn has like a full stack of paper now.

Just keeps filing it. Like, very much like, "Mmm, look at this." Like that kind of... Just like anything but... Yeah, just stacking it just because. We'll have something small. It doesn't need to be a big reception. Just... Thank you. Every time you speak, she's going to stop mid-sentence and just look at you and just squint just a little bit like... Uh-huh. And then go back to what she's doing. Just... She's... She's trying to read you. It's like, "Who the fuck are you?" Just trying to read you just every time you speak. For now... Honestly, we can use you around the city.

And I'm reluctant to send you out anywhere after what just happened. So... What do you say you stay here and maybe tackle some smaller problems? And take a break from the road? Sounds good to me. Can we get a bath? She's gonna... She's gonna kinda chuckle. Yeah, absolutely. I think you've all earned one. Yeah. Sora. Elorath. Yes. At some point, and I don't want to push this, I would love to hear about the werewolves. What it was like to fight them. Behaviors, patterns, that type of thing. Okay. Sounds reasonable. Erina was there for the big fight. For most of the fighting, actually.

So she could help too, maybe? I would love to give my input. Absolutely. That would be very appreciated. We could swap stories. Yes, I was there for the bear. So if you need any tips for that, I'm here for you. I'm sorry, who are you again? My name is Aveline. It's nice to meet you. This here is my lovely partner, Ethel. I mean, Ethany. I don't know, why is that Ethel? Ethel? How long have you guys been traveling for? It's actually even better if it's just totally fucked up. You're just starstruck like this. This is my friend, the famous bard, Ethel. You remind me of my mother.

That was when we tried to do the accent and it didn't work at all. I liked it. You remind me of my mother, Ethel. She would glance down at Ethany just really quickly and then back up at Aveline. It's nice to meet you. I'll just say thank you. And then she's going to look back to the rest of the party. Was the bear a particularly hard fight? It was a bear. But, I mean, it banged her up pretty good pointing at Erina. Yeah, it really messed up my armor pretty good. We'll have someone take care of that right away. Oh, I don't want to inconvenience you. I'll just find out before.

Trust me, it's the least we can do. And it'll put some people to fucking work around here, to be honest. Well, it wasn't just any bear. It was a dire bear. You want to see? He's going to eagerly take it out of his own. Take the bear paw out of his wherever he was carrying it and shove it at her. Not get up, but in her direction. Right. It's dripping all over the table. Right. She is going to move over and sort of slap the paw away from the paperwork. Like, just fucking...really, dude. Like that kind of thing. Not like it's gross. More like, I've got shit here.

Like I'm working. See, that's why I stacked it for her. Now it's all messed up and she's just, "Oh, wow. Okay." Well, he'll just pick it back up and put it wherever he was holding it. They'll say, "I am from a guild called the Moonflower Hunting Company, and... ...here is my trusty, trusted member. First member, by the way. And we were wondering if we could work for the White Ravens." In what capacity? Well, we are...how would you put it? Savvy in the ways of combat, and we would travel or whatever you would have us do in the name of either the Overwatch or the White Ravens specifically.

Whatever you choose, and in return, you help us find members in Overwatch. Or we can just spread our name through Overwatch with your consent. You're smiling big, by the way. Right. She's going to look back to the rest of the party. Two questions. One, did they help fight this bear, or did you rescue them? Two, how many times did the bear hit him in the head? Um, it hit him a few times. I don't know if that had any effect. I did heal him. The bear almost killed me, but yes, she did heal me and saved my life. I owe her a great deal. A great deal. No. So he's like hiding behind her veil at this point, like just...oh my god.

At any rate, they were somewhat useful during the fight. She's going to sit back down. Definitely say he chops off bear paws with gusto. And then, Aveline will reach around and take out the bear paw. No. No. Okay, if you stop him, he doesn't do it then. We need to talk about the whole Raven initiative thing. When Bree started it, I was all for it. It seemed like a great use of resources for the city. Her heart was definitely in the right place, but we lost almost all the ravens we sent out. And clearly this area is in far worse shape than we thought. I would...I think I would let some time pass before we sent you out anywhere.

And at the very least, make sure that you're better equipped and ready to deal with something that might crop up on the road again. So I actually is going to kind of interject at this point just out of curiosity. I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'm not from this area. What's been going on around here? Is there trouble? In the city itself? Or the area that you feel that you would need the extra assistance with? And she's gonna kind of sit back like, "I don't even know where to start with that." Well, we could start with the city. There have only been two assassination attempts this month, so that's an improvement.

People are less than receptive to the idea of the integration of other races in the city. And we've had to deal with that accordingly. We're still rebuilding parts of the city that have been completely demolished by the siege. We're still trying to reach out to other towns and cities to let them know that things are changing. And on top of all of that, people are very much against me changing the name of the city. You're changing it? I'd like to, yeah. What's she gonna call it? And she's just like...there's kind of a smile just like...because you sound so excited about it.

I am, actually. Both of us are. We were just gonna change it back to its original name of Overdale and...try to start rebuilding and forget the last two decades ever happened. Or make amends for them. If you go further north, the orcs have been attacking more and more rapidly in the Deadwood. We've lost all communication with Winterhaven. We have no idea what's going on within their walls. And to be honest, after everything that's happened, I don't blame them. We're still rebuilding Durran Hollow. There have been multiple vampire attacks in Aubrey, which I would go take care of myself if I could get away from this goddamn room.

Oh, I forgot she's a monster hunter. So in short, we have problems. Yeah, we saw those vampires a little when we were in Aubrey. Yep. You fought vampires too? A couple. There was one really big one though that like...heck shit, it almost killed me, right? Don't you remember that, Sora? The big one? Yeah. But actually, Bree, she kind of saved my life and all of our lives, and then we kind of holed it up in a cave. But yeah, I almost forgot about that because of the whole werewolf thing. Every time you tell her about more shit that's happened to you, it's like, Jesus Christ, this is a disaster.

Please take a few days off in the city. You have free run. Anything you need, please come to me. You are more than welcome to stay in the castle. Oh, thank you. I would love to stay in the castle. Again, she admits it and then just look over like...like her lip tightens up just a bit. She slow blinks. So he's going to just side-eye him and then just turn to the yard again and...I'm sorry, I don't want to bother you, but will we be safe in the city? You mentioned there's problems with integration. You'll definitely be safe in the castle. If you go out, be careful.

We're doing everything we can, but the reason we couldn't send people out with you is because most of our attention is focused within our walls. There's just nothing we can do about... There's nothing we can do to speed this up. It's going to take time. And there will probably always be some kind of pocket of individuals in the city that are always going to hate people like you. And I apologize for that. No, I understand. I just wanted to have a better idea of the situation. I don't really want to add to your troubles, but there are a few things that we ran into on the road that you should be aware of.

More good news, I'm assuming? No. Recently, on our way here from Esther Holt, we ran into a band of Nuval Slavers. And we found some communication that suggests that they are recruiting. Well, not really recruiting, but taking people. We took care of the one in the mountains, but there seems to be a few more to the east. And she'll kind of hand over that communication. The other big thing, because it is huge, there is a black dragon on the loose. The Nuval thing is like, yeah... There's going to be a look at everybody and be like, yep, saw that coming. We drove him out of Durn Hollow.

Yeah, okay, that's a new problem. When you get to the black dragon, it's more like, oh, come the fuck on. They're all dead. Are we bringing back problems from the grave? Just a single eye roll. Just like, fuck it, really? It passed right over us when we were on our way into Esther Holt. It's huge. Huge? It's the biggest black dragon I've ever heard of. And we think it may... She is female. We think she may have been connected to Strahd. And she was on her way to Odysseia. Lovely. It's not that far of a fly. And you should be aware that that's something that could be looming.

The paladins are aware of it. And Craig was very confident in their abilities to deal with that. But should that fail? If it makes you feel any better, we did at least dispatch some of the slavers. Okay, that does make me feel better. Alright, here's what we're going to do. You are going to take some time off. All of you. Just get comfortable in the city, reacclimate yourselves, and when you're ready, come to me and we'll put together a threat assessment and see what our biggest problem is. Alright? Sounds good. Not you. Oh, I thought you meant me. I'm just going to look over at Liara.

I will keep an eye on that. When you say that, do you mean him? Yep. So I was going to ask Liara, I know you've talked about not following up with your White Raven initiative, but I had hoped I could officially join with the party. At least as far as assisting them and their mission. Is that something that will be okay with you? I'm more than okay with you being a party. I gotta ask why. Oh, Evandra told me that they needed my assistance. She thinks gods are real. Zoya's just going to glare at him. You're saying this to Liara, like she knows it's not real either.

Like, come on. There would be kind of a slow blink. Like, she's wondering how to take that. Take that? Do you mean... assign something like that? Oh, uh, no. I was told that they needed my assistance. And so, until I'm told otherwise, I want to offer it in any way that I can. Okay. Alright. You know what? Honestly, I don't care. As long as you want to do good and the party doesn't mind, I'm fine with it. Okay. Thank you. Not at all. Is there anything any of you need? About that bed situation. We can work that out after this. You gonna be here after? You hanging out?

Oh my god, ew. She's gonna cock her head like a dog, just like, "I'm pretty much always here." Ah, it's good to know. I'll just ask you later about it. You're probably busy. And he's still stacking papers like he's a secretary for her at the moment. Why do you keep talking? Alright. You're banged up, and she's gonna point to Erina. If you like, there's a building next to the castle. Go talk to a man named Fletcher and he will give you brand new gear if you want. Any of you are welcome to it. Take whatever you need. That's the very least we can do. That's more than, way more than I was expecting.

I just wanted to touch. But thank you. If he gives you any shit, you tell him I sent you, alright? Can do. Go get some rest. Guys, I feel like that might be a good time for us to sit down. Oh my god. I just can't get up now. Why are you so creepy? I don't know. You know what? I came to this session with a completely different mindset. But that's just where my voice went. Hey guys, this is Jayme from Group 4. Really hope you enjoyed the episode. If you did, please head to iTunes and give us a good review as this really helps us promote the show and bring in more listeners.

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