Better Off

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[clink] [clink] Pickaxe. 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 gotta 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. I'm 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+. 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.

Um, I think they mean us. Oh, s***. 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. Arc 2, episode 59 of the DNR podcast is brought to you today by Titans of Altera. We all love D&D podcasts, but sometimes sharing them with your kids can be a little difficult. Especially with explicit podcasts like ours. Titans of Altera looks to fill the gap in creating a family-friendly podcast that every single member can listen to.

Not just that, but it has a fantastic premise for a campaign. Mix Godzilla and Voltron together and then fold in a heaping helping of Dungeons and Dragons. And you got yourself Titans of Altera. Not to mention it's a great group of folks and honestly just a fun bunch of people. Check out Titans of Altera wherever you get your podcasts. Previously for group A, after making a pact with a demon named Darmok, Ambin's body was magically brought back to life. Of course most of the party didn't know this, as they were busy discussing what should be done, Ubo and Clarissa took matters into their own hands.

And that's where we're picking up with things today. 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 starting with Rob. Hey I'm Rob, I play Ubo, the half-orc disappointment to humanity. Wow, we're starting off dark. James! Hi it's James, I play Masoka, the recently resurrected half-elf rogue. Kelsey! I'm Kelsey and I play Aster, the elf archer who has not died or done anything horrible recently. Don't tempt fate, Kels, don't tempt fate. And Michael! Hey I'm Michael and I play Ambin, the half-elf wizard, half-clothed wizard as well.

And Susan! Hey I'm Susan, I play Madeline, Ryoin, the human cleric who may or may not be a little angry tonight. I guess we'll find out how much information she gets. I love foreshadowing. And Xavier! Hey I'm Xavier, I play Donovan, the human fighter, I've got nothing cute to say. That was cute, you did it. That was cute, yeah. Donovan the life giver. Just a fighter. Okay. Just a fighter. Mm-hmm. I love you. Hey, you should have made some joke about how you've got space for rent now that that paladin moved out. Picking Airbnb maybe. Yeah. Let's go back and do it again.

Come on guys, from the top. Oh boy. So we, just, man, there's so much to unpack here. Last time on the show. Most of the group essentially played catch up with each other. They talked about what they should be doing, what, you know, basically what the next step is. While that was going on, Ubo and Clarissa were attempting a resurrection using blood magic. And if you didn't know, blood magic on a sliding scale is essentially making a pact with a demon. For little tricks and spells and things like that, it's almost imperceptible. For the big stuff like resurrection, you basically have to talk to a demon and barter.

This could have gone better. And something happened. We don't exactly know what, but something was bartered away to bring Amvin back. The good news is that everyone's still alive as of now, including people who weren't alive at the beginning of the last session. So that's good. The bad news is we don't know what the bad news is yet, but it's out there. Welcome to 2019. Just like that three we rolled on that flat D20 or something. Didn't we miss that? It's still out there. That's what he's talking about. That, here's the thing I want to clarify, because people were curious about that, essentially, when you guys roll high or low for travel, that just that's just kind of just, oh, something might be out there or someone might approach you or something.

There's a chance of it going negative. It's not always a fight. So while that is out there, you guys might completely miss it. Just a fun fact. But let's pick things up. It's more fun when we roll high. It's absolutely more fun. I suggest you roll high more often because there's really cool stuff. Oh, my God, I love rolling high. We'll take on that good by a minute. Give me a couple of minutes, I'll be right back. Nice. It is the 15th of Ferrior. Let's pick things up. So Amvin is alive. I believe Matty ran into him and that was a fun reunion. That's cool. What is it so fun and cool is that Alex was looking for Clarissa.

And was essentially informed that she's missing and why she's missing probably isn't good news. Let me let me cut, I guess, to Ubo and Clarissa here. What would Ubo be doing? How would how would how would Ubo be dealing with this? So I guess that depends on what Clarissa's state is in the room. Shock, to put it shortly. So obviously, you guys you guys endured a lot of physical pain, you know, fish hooks under the skin and all that stuff. It's very, very Hellraiser, very not fun. I would think that she probably is existing in a state of shock where it's just very quiet, maybe staring off in the middle distance.

Not not not like wailing or crying or anything like that, but just. Was that real? Did what just happened really actually happen type of thing? There's probably a very long silence after the lights go back out. I think I think what Ubo is probably doing is just kind of like. Mostly looking down, but periodically just kind of looking into her eyes and. Kind of that. Just that acknowledgement that we. Share this now. Like we are literally together carrying something terrible. It's just kind of this like look into each other's soul thing. I kind of picture, you know, like you're just right.

You're looking at each other and it's like we both we both own this. Right. I don't want to diminish it, but it's kind of an I know I know what you did last summer type of thing where it's like, oh, we make a pact like it's like it's a it's a weighty thing pressing down that boy that really undercut the scene. Never mind. Scrub that scrub it. Yeah, it's not like any Ryan Felipe movie. Nice. Not even cruel intentions. It's not like any of it. There really wasn't anything else. I don't think so. Do hit wonder. To be clear, too, she's not catatonic. There would probably be that acknowledgement like again, looking into Ubo's eyes and just.

Eventually, probably asking him if he's OK. Because you. You writhed and jerked at those hooks like you you're probably missing a. Significant amount of flesh in terms of like chunks of Ubo have been taken out. To to that question, Ubo looks at her. But no, he doesn't look at her. He actually he looks away and says. I will never be OK again. It's never. Boy. She would probably reposition. You guys were kneeling when this happened, so she probably tipped over a bit. So probably repositioning with that. It's like like that type, but just I can't imagine the pain, like just soreness and stuff in general.

What do you mean? I made you do this. And I was supposed to be the one who paid. That was how it was supposed to go. That was how it was supposed to go. And it didn't. There'd probably be a slight jump. I picture Ubo kind of like pounding on the floorboards, something like that. And there'd probably be a slight jump, like just. There's there's been a lot going on, so like, you know, the loud sudden noise. He didn't make me do anything. I wanted to do this. It's not fair that. Ubo just shakes his head. You would have walked away. You would have forgotten it. If I hadn't come to you.

She would look down for a moment. Maybe. But. Your group, you. You're out there doing good in the world, and I'm just. I feel like sometimes I'm wasting my life, you know, like this is. Tons of research and and planning, and. I'm not using it for anything. And she would try to put a hand on Ubo's arm. Oh, he shrinks away. I would imagine. Yeah. If there was something I could do. To help any one of you. I wanted to try. I would give anything to be played again after what I just caused for you. Do not want to be like me or any of us. Too much. Too much. You could have stayed.

Plain. And it isn't even your. Fault. I. I put it on. I dragged you into hell with me. She would. She would furrow her brow. It just. She wants to fix this. She wants to like, even in the midst of all this, she wants to make you feel better. Oh, that's the worst. That's like. I know. That's her personality, though, like even. It's like she's in a lot of pain. Like you. This is just after all this happened, but it's. You know, she's. She's. You know, she's like, OK, this this isn't making anything better. This is just the worst. Yeah. She's going to try to look Ubo in the eye.

Like, reach out and try to cradle his face. He basically he basically leans away if that can get him out of it. But if he's like so backed into a corner, like he doesn't. He doesn't actually move away from her, but he just keeps leaning away unless he's so pressed into a corner. They can't lean anymore. Right. And it's not. Yeah, it's not an attack or anything. It's more like she's she's not trying to force you into it, but it is just, you know, she's trying to let you know that she's there. I'm OK. Ubo just shakes his head. I don't feel any different. I'm really sore, but.

I'm OK. And if. If that did bring Amven back. Isn't that worth it? Ubo hesitates and looks looks down. There is only. One way. For that to be. OK. And. That's. If I spend. The rest of my life. Undoing what I just did. And putting one foot in front of the other. Will take. Everything I have from now on. Because I. I did not know. A shame. This deep. Existed. She's going to take a deep breath. Well. At the risk of making things worse. We don't really know what we just did. It could be nothing. It could just be. And she's going to. She's going to. Kind of rub at like where one of the hooks were.

The demon might have just wanted to. Mess around with us. We don't know. We don't know. You promised something. Last night. We don't know. What you promised. Not knowing is. Almost. Worse than knowing. In my head. I see. One thousand torments. It could be. And I don't know which one. So how can I get ready? To fight it. Boy, at this point there's probably a look on her face. Like. She's lacking the tools to make this better. Like she's trying to logic it away and that's not working. So it's kind of a, well, I'm out of ideas. She would stand up with some effort. Again, just kind of a.

That type of thing. And she would try to reach down and. Pull Ubo up by the arm. He won't make eye contact, but he'll let her do that. And push up from the floor under his own power as she coaxes him. First things first. I'm sure people are worried about us. And if we did do something. We're probably going to have to explain why Amven's back. And she's going to kind of look down and away for a second. Trust me, I think I'm in more trouble than you are here. We're going to take this one step at a time, okay? Yeah, Ubo just kind of gives her a slightest nod. And she's going to start to lead him out of this attic.

Now, this is fun. Rest of the party. What's what? What would you say? Is it like a door to door campaign? Like knocking on doors till you figure out where they went or asking around? What do you think would be happening here? As I recall, only Maddy was gone, right? The rest of us were just waiting at the. The eternal slumber. Thank you. Yes. The Hotel Transylvania. Transylvania 6 5000. Yes. Yeah. And then. Yeah. And then we jumped into Amven. Cool. OK, so yeah, I like as far as I'm concerned, I'm still there. So maybe I can throw that to Maddy for now. I know Maddy ran into Amven and then said, hey, everybody's back at the hotel and then ran off.

So I was making my way to the hotel to get me robes really fast, like whatever's cheap, and then waking everyone up or seeing 30. Yeah, I think Maddy was the one that read off. Yeah, and then as she was running frantically around town, she ran into Alex and said, hey, shit's going down. Yeah, you were very- you didn't mince words about it. It was very panicked. And obviously, the more you panicked, it's like, oh, this is for real. This is bad. Like, yeah. So I could tell you what Alex would be doing. It would start with probably a much more hurried and extreme version of hollering for Clarissa.

And there'd probably be some lights coming on, people like, what is up? What's wrong? Because there hasn't been an attack in town for a couple of years now. But I think that would be the first thing people would- it's like, oh, shit, there's a commotion. What's going on? Followed by her pounding on doors until she found her. Maddy's enough of a panic to actually do the thing. Oh, boy. I know. Can't be- she can't be clear headed right now. So. Susan. Do me a favor, roll a flat d20, and the higher the number, the more likely you are to stumble upon Ubo and Clarissa.

Like, more quickly. The lower the number, the longer this takes. And more of a panic, we call it. Yep. That's an eight. So I'd say you guys are knocking on doors and talking to people. It's like, hey, have you seen that type of thing? Probably canvassing the area for a good, I'd say 10 minutes or so. What time is it? It's later evening. If I had to put a time on it by now, it's probably close to midnight, somewhere in there. Cool. Maybe even after by now, geez. I would say. After the 10, 12 minute mark, something like that, Ubo and Clarissa are going to walk out onto the street.

And they're both like bloody messes, right? Yeah, they look like they've been through it. One of Clarissa's thoughts would probably be, it's like, hey, we need to go get bandaged up. We need to, you know, let's take care of ourselves and take this one step at a time. So the site that you guys would be greeted with, I mean, Ubo probably looks like six shades of crap, right? Because like, first of all, he's missing chunks of Ubo. And on top of that, probably not making eye contact if I don't want to put words in your mouth, but like, there's probably a different stance than he's used to having.

Ubo has the most defeated, hunched, hang dog body language he has ever had in all of his life. Oh boy. And unless he were to fight it, Clarissa would probably still have him by the arm, just like, come on, big guy, that type of thing. Like, let's go. Yeah, it's everything she can do to kind of tug him along. I would say that upon seeing these two, Alex is going to run up and start checking on Clarissa and maybe like to a lesser extent Ubo, because it looks like you guys were in a fight. And just a stream of questions. Are you okay? Are you, it's kind of assertive.

Do you know when a loved one is concerned enough for someone's safety that they sound very angry? Mm hmm. That's the tone. That is exactly the tone. Alexandra is not happy with feeling helpless. So whatever happened to you guys has already happened. It took place. So it's very much like, are you okay? What happened? Where is something after you? Did you fight something? What's going on? That type of thing. She wants to know everything at once right now. Maddie will run up as well. And so instant relief as soon as she sees them. Oh God, they're both alive. There was no trade.

And then, you know, anger. So she's going to run up as well, like instant relief, but then as soon as she sees that they're both breathing it up, she's going to take Ubo by the shoulders and like kind of like push him, but hold him at the same time. What did you do? Ubo can't bring himself to make eye contact or say anything. Clarissa, okay. Clarissa already knows Ubo's state of mind, and she already pretty much guessed what Alex's reaction was going to be to this. Maddie's a bit of a wild card, but Clarissa would probably jump in. Everything's okay. We're both fine.

We're only hurt a little. And there's- man, there's going to be the slightest pause. Where's Amphen? And a look on her face like, oh, please give us good news. I don't want to say fury, but the anger is steadily building on Maddie's face. And then she's going to let go of Ubo and turn to Clarissa like very, like, like very fast. And he's back, but that doesn't justify your actions. How dare you put your faith in demons and blood magic above that of your church? There, there's almost two emotions at once. I'd say like a, like a sigh of relief, followed by a sharp intake of air of like, oh no, like that, like that I'm getting yelled at that type of thing.

Clarissa doesn't deal with being yelled at very well, but like it's, it kind of, she knew what was coming. The entire time, I'd say Alex is very tight lipped and getting very quiet. And she's taking this in like there, there's the rapid fire questions back and forth. And then like, she's getting like, she it's like, oh, you went and did the thing. And she's getting very quiet. And Clarissa would probably start to defend herself. I didn't feel like I had a choice. I wanted- It wasn't fair, Maddie. It was all I could do. Nothing in this world is fair, Clarissa, but that's why we put faith in a monitor.

He shows us the light. You don't turn to demons. You are not fit to be part of our church. You're not even worthy of leading it. Ubo immediately speaks up as she finishes. I made her do it. No, she's had the years of training and the years of schooling. She's been a part of this church as long as I have. She should know better. Maddie, I made her do it. No, you didn't, Ubo. She wanted to do it. She's the one who suggested it. You're just as accountable, Ubo, but she's the one who's been with the church her entire life. You could not have convinced me to do it.

So you shouldn't have been able to convince Clarissa. Clarissa's probably going to motion with her hands to kind of get in between you both. Yelling at each other isn't going to settle any of this. Oh boy. So, okay. I'm pretty sure- You know what, I'm going to roll for it. Because I don't- Oh man. Yeah. Okay. Well, Alexandra is going to reach out with both of her hands and she's going to place them on Clarissa's shoulders fairly aggressively and move her to the right. Like just push her- Not push her, but just like you over here. And she's going to try and throw a punch at Ubo.

Ubo doesn't move. She's going to lean into this. Like this is a wild, reckless punch. Like a- Just- It almost knocks her off balance. That's how much she puts into it. And I don't think she would stop. Clarissa would immediately try to get in between you two. Just- But Alex is just livid. Just absolutely blind fury. After the initial punch, Maddie will probably try and pull her off. And- Oh man. It's like, yeah, she would probably struggle and do pretty much everything in her power to get to Ubo. Ubo looks over at Clarissa and points at Alex and says, "See?

She understands what I deserve." Oh, man. Okay, so Clarissa would- Again, still in between everybody. Just as Alex is being dragged away, just pulled off of Ubo, there would probably be a cacophony of swearing and just- You can tell Alex is placing the blame mostly on Ubo here. And Clarissa would just be insisting that it was her idea, that it's not Ubo's fault, you know, on and on and on. Let's jump back. Because we got more weird, awkward shit to deal with. So- Yeah, let's- I'll take a breath. So Amven, who was previously in pieces of Amven, is about to meet up with the rest of the party, who does not know that Amven is alive.

I mean, say what you will about their prices, but demons, they really deliver, man. That's some craftsmanship. They don't make Amvens like that anymore. He may have even tacked on a couple of hit points. I don't know. Let me check. Customer service really depends on who you get, though. Alright, first things first. I think I have a room here. Or no, I didn't. I left. I died. That's right. I had a room before we left. Never mind. Yeah, that whole death thing. Is that the most Amven thing to ever Amven right there? That was pretty Amven. Don't worry. You made sure to pay the nice vampires before you died.

You know, gotta make sure everything's off my list. So the first thing he'll do is actually at the front counter, is anyone- he's probably there. Yeah, he's there. Oh yeah. Ask for spare robes, clothes? Yeah, they're- okay. So one, there'd be some concern. Because it's not just like, these are ill-fitting robes. They're in tatters. Like, it looks like you were in an explosion, let's say. So they're, you know, like the night person- I mean, they have no choice but to be night people, but they're just kind of hanging out, waiting for some business, and you come in.

I wouldn't say panicked, but you- there's a little urgency. So there'd probably be some- Jonathan is the one behind the counter. So there'd probably be some, like, uh, yeah. And they would hand you some very, very plain clothes. We're talking shirt, pants, no frills. And it's probably some sort of lost and found type of thing, like, oh, someone didn't clean these out of the dresser. You know what we should do? Do me a favor. Roll a flat- roll a flat d10 for me. The higher the number, the better these clothes fit. Oh jeez. Let's see. This is your first roll for being back.

This is a whole new anven. Oh, please roll low. Welcome back to life. Okay. This is so fitting. Well, actually it isn't. So here's what- okay. What was left behind was a very tasteful blouse and probably a very short skirt. So let's- it's just what they had. It'll cover you up. It'll be fine. This is great. With that, he will take them. He will not put them on. And he will ask, do you know what room Donovan's in? And again, Jonathan would be very, very helpful. Yeah, just up the stairs to the left. Excellent. Thank you. And then we'll go up the stairs and have them in his hands.

He hasn't switched out because he's like, maybe let's try plan B first and then we'll go up and knock on Donovan's door. Well, you can always- here's the thing. You can always put those on under your robes. So it'll just cover up the bits that aren't covered. Well, he knows Donovan. He's gonna try- like he's actually, if out of everyone in the party other than Ubo, I think he's most comfortable between Donovan and- because he's so accepting and maybe Misoka, but he's gonna try him first and then he would probably do it if this comes to a failure. Okay.

We'll see. So you're at Donovan's door here. Now, to be clear, you guys were all just sort of hanging out talking, right? Yeah. Yeah. I don't think you guys adjourned. I did have like- how much time do we have between Maddie leaving and Mving knocking at the door? Oh, I mean, you got at least 10, 15 minutes. Okay. Because I was gonna like, as we talked about this stuff, I think the armor would have come up and yeah, it was just role play this out. Okay. Oh, yeah. So Misoka asked her, do you have the gift we got Misoka for coming back? I'm trying to remember who took it.

I think Maddie actually might have it. I vaguely remember she was the one. Yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah. So I asked her what kind of like, like, Oh, right. I think Maddie has it for him. Of course. Yeah, probably. Okay. Well, you got me a welcome back to life gift. Yeah. It was a farewell gift and a welcome back gift. Yeah, we'll go with that. Yeah, I'll take a look at it. But yeah, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Donnie, you're the best. It's like, oh, you're so much now. I love you, man. Oh, right back at ya. That would be, that would be when? And there's a knock on the door.

Is it that door? Are they Ellen Donovan's room? I think I'm going to work. Yeah. Yeah, I imagine. Because my circle is recovering. The logistics don't matter too much. Yeah. I just thought it would be funny if you're like, is that knocking boards? Not us. All right. Knock, knock, knock. I don't have a soundboard. It's like I have a glass table so it doesn't work. It's open. It's always open. I'll peer in. I'll like open slowly and like peer in. See everybody. Oh, everyone's here. Hey everyone. Hey, Donovan, can I talk to you for a moment? Totally not aware of what this looks like to anyone.

It's like the longest jaw. The lowest jaw. Hi, Zombie here. I'd like to talk to you. Masoko would have been lying down staring at the ceiling and then do that like slow turn, eyes wide open. Like when someone like knocked and opened the door, I was like, they probably got like room service or something. But then when like Anfid sticks his head in, they just kind of like freeze and go pale a bit. Just like what? Like completely like stunned, silent. Yeah. And then after a small pause, Donovan just brings his glass of wine to his lips, takes a small sip and then goes back to being frozen.

And it takes Anfid a moment to realize that I had to tell him that he was dead. Because he was like, he immediately fell into that like, oh, I think I was out, right? I was just out and I was just waiting for me to wake up. Like, no, that's right. I was dead. Donovan just drops his glass like it just goes on the floor, splashing, and he runs up to Anfid and kind of like just like embraces him and lifts him up like in a huge hug and kind of like kisses him on the head. Anfid hugs back, but also holds himself from his bits falling out. He's perfecting that.

Are Clarissa and Alex with us? Yes. Yes. Okay. When Ubo sees Anbun, he just kind of like looks at Clarissa. Well, there are, I'm sorry. No, no, no. Hold on. So there are two different locations. There's back at the hotel room with the rest of the party and then Ubo, Clarissa, Alex and Mattie. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. We're all together. So there's the happy scene and then the not so happy scene. Okay. Continue, continue. Plod A and Plod B. And he kind of like brings you into the room, closes the door with his foot and goes like, "What happened? What happened?" And kisses, like he kisses you on the head again.

"I'm so happy you're back, but what the hell happened?" So good to see you too. Yeah. Aster is still like, like paled. They're actually going to back up a few steps. Like they look kind of spooked at this. I think something big happened. I don't know what, but Mattie kind of had a look of determination. She ran past me with a concerned face. I think we should go find her and Ubo. I don't see Ubo here. Before we go, does anyone have like extra pair of clothes? So you're just back from the dead and that's it? Well, you see, I thought I just got hurt and was just unconscious, but Mattie just told me that I was dead and I've yet to totally wrestle with that.

Right now, I'm just trying to get back to bare necessities, you know, like, "Okay, I'm alive. Let's get everyone there and figure out what just happened." Because I'll just have to take this from a logical side and something happened. We saw Masoka come back. That was religious god stuff. Don't get two shots at that. Masoka was dead too? Yeah. Yeah, we'll talk about it in the morning or just after this, but if Mattie is after Ubo, what are you saying, Esther? Demons all over the city? Something like that? How do we know that you're actually Amvin? Well, I'd show you my research book, but I can't seem to find it.

Yeah, okay. That's a real Amvin. Okay, Donovan scrambles to pick up a short sword that he has and heads over to the door. Masoka will sit up, but his stomach will feel like he did a thousand sit-ups the day before, but he'll struggle up and be like, "Wait, wait, I'm coming too." And Amvin, I'm sorry, I don't think I have clothes that would fit you. You'd better try these on. He points out the ones you have in your hand. Did we establish what Masoka was wearing? Because his clothes would have got...reduced his armor to survive. Let's say for the purposes of roleplay, they probably would have dressed you in some kind of regular, either a very plain robe or very plain clothes, that type of thing.

Okay. And Amvin is completely fine physically, right? No, that's the thing. And to speak plainly about this, in Theria, when you die, you usually stay dead. It is a weird thing. The resurrection is a big deal, there's a risk to it and all that stuff. I know you guys have been pretty lucky recently, but that's not the norm. Usually, if you lose a loved one, they're just gone. So to see them just walk in, like, "Hi!" I would imagine that would be off-putting to some people. Yeah, and especially after Masoka tries to set up and he's like, "Oh, right, he's still in pretty bad shape from all that," Astor's gonna look between the two of them and then look even more suspiciously at Amvin, and they're gonna kind of like...

They look like they are ready to draw their weapon at a second's notice if they need to. It's just really not okay with what's happening right now. Once Masoka's up, he's gonna take his pants off and throw them to Amvin. What are you wearing under your pants? I have no idea. Alright, Amvin, throw him this guy. Right here. Put these on. I've got no shame. Huh. You know, wait a second. Now I'm curious, because, okay, this is... A gas? Like, okay, wait. Is Masoka a freeballer? Is he a commando? What's going on? Like, I don't know. Okay, if you're wearing leather, I would imagine chafing is an issue, so you probably have some kind of undergarments on.

Maybe. Masoka would be the type that would not be, you know, think twice about getting naked in front of people. It would just be like, you know, whatever. He's a free spirit. For Kennen, we did put him... We gave him underwear for the ritual. I was just gonna say we could roll for it. Alright, let's roll for it. Okay. Do me a favor. Give me flat D10. No. The higher the number, the more underwear you're wearing. The more underwear? Well, like, okay. Yeah, I picture, like, 10 would be long johns, and then every layer, it's like, oh, then you have, like, your boxers, your boxer briefs, your tighty-whities, your thongs, your, you know, it just gets less.

And less. Oh, long johns. Oh, yeah. Thick long johns, too. You're ready for winter. What season is it? It's spring. Maybe it's like a yoga pant kind of thing. Okay, yeah. Alright. Keeps getting them. Works out. That's the rogue in him. Yeah. Yeah, that's getting hot anyway. Donovan holds the door open and a portion for people to go. I'd like to roll an insight check to see if I can tell if Aster, like, see the suspicion from Aster. Is freaked? Yes. Do it. Let's see how into this. Nope. Nope. See, that should prove that's Anven. Oh, my God. You're in rolls, Michael. Look at that modifier.

It's wonderful. It's so much fun, but you still rolled it spinning. Hey, James, roll for underwear. Sure, tan. I'm going to be better when I roll for hit points. We're just, okay, what we're doing is you just came back to like, you're cleansing out your system. It's a lot of like, you just it's like sentiment. It's build up, you're going to get rid of it, and it's just going to be nothing but crits. I'll put the blouse underneath the robe. Then it's like, I don't have to hold that up. If it falls off, it's okay, but all right. All right. And then rushing out to help.

I look at it like any port in a storm. Like, there might be a couple of people that's like, well, that's weird, but it's not, you know, it's like, whenever you're covered up, I think you'd get more looks being naked. Yeah. Anywho, so the team is leaving and we're reuniting the parties, right? Yeah, assuming we find them in no time. Well, they're out in the middle of the street yelling, so I don't think it'll be too difficult, but let's, while this is going on, let's cut back to the fun party. I would say that after the initial outburst, Alex would probably calm down a bit, at least not trying to punch Ubo.

And she's probably mad at herself that she let her temper get the better of her in that moment. But at the same time, she's just furious that... Just... She's not sure of the consequences yet. It's like, do you even know what you did? That type of thing. Alex is very much a what you see is what you get person. So very uncomfortable with the idea of blood magic. Jason, is there any like, okay, so I know I have a tabard with the monitor symbol on it. Is there any like, like insignia or pen or something that signifies which temple I belong to? Because I'm sure there's like a temple in Winterhaven.

There's one in Aubrey. There's a crappy one in Brightport. Yeah, that's like it's almost like a class ring type of thing. Yeah, I'd say yeah, there'd be something like, oh, this is like it's the same same logo, but like, there might be writing above or around it that would signify it's like, oh, you know, it's like, okay, you know what? Worst, worst example, Hard Rock Cafe. So it's like, oh, Hard Rock Aubrey. Like it just be like beneath it. Well, Maddie will take off her hard rock pen. No, whatever, I guess a ring or I guess I would make the most sense.

Sure. Maddie will take it off and throw it at Clarissa's feet. Oh, shit. I feel bad for making jokes. Oh, good. Yeah, so I will not be part of any church that you belong to. Jesus. Okay. Clarissa is going to look tremendously hurt. Almost like you, you. It's almost like she just was punched in the stomach. And just, um, I imagine there'd be this recoil. Maddie, you can't mean that. So, you know that fury we get to where it's like you're just almost like deadly calm? Yeah. That's where Maddie's at. You put your faith in demons above that of a monitor. I will never follow you.

Jesus. Yeah, she's devastated. I'd say one of the first things she does is pick up that ring and move toward Maddie, just kind of putting a hand on her shoulder if she's moving away to stop her. Just and very frantically, without breathing, explaining her position over and over again. I just wanted to help. I felt helpless. It's all I could do. It's on and on and on. Maddie will probably cut her off and just act like she's not there. Ubo, let's go find our friends. That's harsh, right? Yeah. I'm so sorry. Damn, no, that's good, Susan. It's good. It's just like, damn, that hit me.

Uh, woof. Uh, Ubo says, "I'll catch up later." No, you have to face Amven. Then... Still deadly calm, like... You should tell Amven to come here, where I am staying, with Clarissa. Oh boy. So... Okay. So, okay, here's the thing. Alex would be a bit upset at that. Alex and Clarissa are in a relationship and they live together. So this would be news to Alex... I wasn't trying to imply that I was going into their house. I was like... No, no, no, okay. Yeah, I'm hanging out here in the street with her. Okay, in the street. Okay, I thought you meant, "Oh, I'll be staying here at their house." And it's like, "Did you run this by them?" No, no, no.

Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. No! Okay. No, no, no. I'm not following Maddie back to where she's going, but also, like, I'm... Yeah. Okay, cool. I would say, under the best circumstances, inviting a friend to stay without telling anybody else, it's like, "Oh, that's gonna be tense." This is the worst situation to do that in. Yeah. Okay, so... Oh boy. This isn't gonna get better. Alex is going to take a deep breath. And... Probably wait for... Yeah, Maddie, Clarissa, and Ubo to say their piece. And then she's going to look Clarissa dead in the eye. I'm going to take a walk.

I may see you tomorrow. And she is going to turn and just start walking for the edge of town. Very much like balled up fists, that weird silent rage that's even worse than someone yelling at you. At least they're feeling something if they're yelling. The silence is like, that's 10 times worse. So Maddie and Alex are in the same spectrum of rage right now. Yeah, which is like, beyond. It's like, "Boy, you done fucked." But by the way, double devastated. Clarissa is probably at this point sobbing and just like, she's... She gets it, but doesn't. To her, it's like, "Okay, Amven's back, we're fine, it all worked out." Obviously, where everybody else is seeing it, it's like, "Yeah, but it could have not worked out.

Also, you don't know what you did." I would say, about that time... Amven and the rest of the party are going to hear yelling. Oh boy. Yeah, I'd be running towards the yelling. Yeah, this is... So I would say, you guys are walking up to Ubo, Clarissa, and Maddie just as Maddie's walking away and Alex has walked in the opposite direction toward the border of town. Would Maddie be gone as we get there? It didn't sound like Maddie was walking away. It sounded like she was like, "Okay, let's go find our friends." And Ubo was offering some resistance to that.

Okay. So does Maddie hear them running out? Yeah, I would imagine it's all out in the view of everybody. It's a public street. And honestly, I didn't really throw this in there because it was uncomfortable enough, but you'd probably get a few looky-loos peering through the curtains, that type of thing. They probably were out on their porch. It's like, "Oh, this is super awkward." We live next door in real life. Me and Elle, we had our bedroom doors open, our windows open, and the married couple that works together, one of them is the boss and one of them isn't.

That was a horrendous argument we listened to for three hours. It was the worst. Three hours? Three hours, and that's when they decided to go inside. I would never... Anyway, that kind of like, "This is awkward. I wish I could leave, but we live here." So it's probably there's some people who are just like, "Are they still yelling?" "Yep." And just kind of... Yeah. For the record here, Mazovia is not running. He's probably got a hand on his stomach and he's just walking as quickly as he can behind everyone. Yeah, that makes sense. That actor would help Masoka out.

They want to kind of stay behind because they want to keep an eye on Anven anyway, so it works out. But it's like, yeah, they're not just going to let him hobble by himself behind everybody. That's very nice of you. Oh, how nice of her to help out Masoka. That's so cool. Why am I okay and he's not? Yeah, Davide should be exhausted too. He'd probably power through it, but yeah, I guess he's super exhausted, but he'd be running in a small jog, I guess. Yeah. Sweating. So Anven easily wasstrolls through without any question? Yeah! My knees are bad. You can fly now.

These wings? I don't know. I woke up with them. Thanks, Darmog. Yeah, okay, so as soon as Donovan sees Matty, he kind of like, hurries the pace a bit. Matty! Matty! Anven's okay! What happened? Where's everyone? Hey, Ubo! Oh, jeez! What happened to you? Because I'm sure he looks... Ubo, I imagine is still on his butt from being punched down by Alex, so he's just like sitting there, you know, on the road or in the dirt or whatever it might be. Ubo, like, as soon as he makes eye contact with Anven, there's that clear, like, his stomach kind of dropping out from under him kind of look.

And he manages to say, "It's good that you're back." But it is abundantly clear he doesn't entirely mean it. Ooh, I should've inside that. I only, because I really want it to be low again. Honestly, I think that would be pretty much on the face of it. Ubo's full on wallowing. Yeah, like, he's, what do I want to say? Like, he's saying it because it's the thing you're supposed to say right now. Like, that's like the vibe you're getting from him. Yeah, Donovan's gonna pick up on that. And Clarissa's still starving, right? Yeah, it's probably not like openly crying in the street, but that kind of thing where she'd probably turn away.

Like, she's very happy to see, Jesus, she's very happy to see Anven, but her whole world seems to be falling apart very quickly. Um, actually Donovan's gonna notice that and that Maddy's walking away from her, so he's gonna kind of hustle over to Clarissa and like, kind of stand as close to Ubo and Clarissa as he can. What happened? Oh boy. To both, Clarissa and Ubo. Ubo just looks down at the dirt. Did we notice the ring on the floor? She picked that up. Oh, she did. But like, it's, geez. Okay. I think everybody has had that feeling once or twice growing up where you fully expect to be in trouble with either a loved one or a friend.

And what you get instead is the, "I'm not mad. I'm disappointed in you." Or, "You've lost my trust." Like, the way it's phrased, it's, "Oh, you screwed up so badly. We'll never be friends the same way again." Or, "I can't look at you the same way again." That is so devastatingly impactful that it just shakes you. And I think that's the way Clarissa's taking all this. Like, it's like, "Oh, everything screwed up forever." So I don't think you'll be getting much of a statement from her. Did you both bring back Amthen? She'll nod her head. He's gonna hug her.

Huh. And not say anything. Just stay still. I... I don't want to leave this up to a roll because I feel like it's more an 80/20 chance that she'd hug back. Yeah, it's not really the intent of the hug. Right. But to her, it's like any port in a storm. It's like, that's the first... You know what I mean? So she probably would hug you back. And he'd say really softly, close to her head, "Thank you." Aww. I feel like when Astor was supporting Misoka coming out, they were probably holding him to some degree. Just that kind of support because he would be able to feel, or at least close enough to see, they're just looking at Ubo and Clarissa.

And the chunks and everything, and just kind of the opposite reaction to Donovan. They're just, again, that same kind of tension and distrust that they have towards Amphen right now as well. They're not gonna say anything, but they are watching all three of them very closely. Okay. Would Misoka pick up on this? I mean, probably. Yeah, it doesn't sound like they're trying to hide it. No. Okay. He'll just sort of turn his head a little to them and say, "Sometimes people make mistakes for the right reasons." How's about... Okay, I'm gonna give you guys a choice.

We could either keep going with the scene and see what comes of things, or we could fast forward a few hours and have it be morning. And pick up with everybody that way. There's a few things I'd like to tell Ubo now more than wait a whole night. Okay. Let's do it. I think Misoka too. Did Nati walk away? No, she's there. No? She's still there? Okay. I asked her in response to Misoka, we'll kind of nod, like, "Yeah." And then they'll... I've seen people make these kinds of mistakes before and they weren't the same person that I knew in the end. We don't know what happened here yet.

Not fully. I don't trust anything right now. Yeah, I know. Sometimes impulse makes us do things that we think are right and we can only hope some good came out of it, which I think it did. But we'll see. Yeah, we will. Anyone has told Amven how he came back? Yeah, Amven's just like, "Hey!" Like, "Yeah, cool. You guys resurrected me. That's cool. I must have done great. I feel great." The general error is... Other than something... then realizing something happened, but what? He doesn't know. So he's trying to put that together. But I think we get the idea that it wasn't necessarily done a good way.

Yeah, he's getting that realization and concern is starting to go there. He's trying to think of all the ways you can come back. Which isn't many. Yeah, Donovan will let go of Clarissa and kind of step back a bit and look at Ubo a bit more now. Still talking at both. And say, "So I don't know much about what I think you did, but what I was told is that there was always a price to pay. What was the price?" Oh boy, that is the exact wrong question. That is the... She probably would have stopped crying at some point in the hug. But with a sniffle or two still lingering.

We are not exactly sure yet. Maddie takes a big deep breath, like... but holding it in. And you could probably tell that that isn't what she would prefer people focus on. It's like, "But, Amven's back!" Like that, you know. Yeah, actually he's gonna nod and go like, "Well, that's not great, but it's not all bad either for now." And he'll look at Amven too and Masoka and he'll squat down. I assume Ubo's on the ground still? Yeah, he hasn't bothered getting up I guess since he was knocked over. So Adarva's gonna squat at your level and tell you, "Alright, Ubo, what I'm gonna say is gonna sound a bit wack, but hear me out." Out of all of this, I think Masoka and Amven are the two who suffered the least.

So, a lot of good has been done today. He absorbs the first half of what you said, like, pretty like, "Yeah, okay, same page." But when you say the second half, he just kinda like... Disagree! Yeah, he just scoffs. Look at these faces! Masoka told me he held no resentment against you at all. Amven just showed up in our room as if nothing happened. When the whole thing went boom, they were gone. They didn't feel their own flesh burning. You, however, seem like you've been through the wringer way more than just from guilt. And two days ago, if you asked me, I was gonna tear into you too for doing that, but if I'm being honest, I wanted to shake that card just as much as you did.

You were just faster. Things happen. There's a wise guy in Winterhaven that told me that in this line of work, dying was something to be expected. You can't take all of what happened just on you. We all share what happened. And I know just me talking to you won't change how you feel right now. I understand that and I appreciate that too, but... You showed us that you're strong like the mountain, right? And there's a fire in you that I don't want to see. Donovan. Yeah? You weren't there. You didn't see the price. So stop. Just stop. Okay. I have one final...oh sorry.

Oh no, go ahead. Keep hanging out with me, alright? And if you follow me, I'll help you accept some things and forget others and we'll drink and we'll sing and we'll eat until you're ashamed of something completely new that's way easier to handle. I just don't want that fire to disappear completely. As Maddie would say, that light. I don't think Maddie would mind a little less light from Ubo right now. That's when Maddie will walk up. She won't crouch down. She'll stand over Ubo, looking down at him. You feel shame right now? Expecting an answer. He doesn't answer.

He doesn't make eye contact. You feel guilt? You regret what you did? Then make it up to him. Be there for them. Make sure it doesn't happen again. And that's when she'll lean down and hold out her hand. Uhh...Ubo will stand up without taking her hand. Fine. Not happening again isn't enough. Then protect them. Be there for them. Uhh...Ubo gives a little nod. You were given strength by the mountain. Use it. Now let's go get you cleaned up. Yeah, Ubo will follow. Slowly. I gotta ask, even though I know I'm not gonna get the answer I want. Does Maddie say anything to Clarissa on the way away?

No. Ughhh! My heart! I agonized over this decision for weeks, guys. Woof! Okay. And then, okay, if this scene's over, Maddie's gonna collect her things from the temple and stay at the inn. Okay. Yeah, just before leaving, Donovan will make sure Clarissa's okay. She's got a place to stay if she's okay to be on her own. As okay as anybody would be in that situation. Obviously she has a home in town, but it's just... It's that thing of like, yeah, I'm gonna go home and sit and just obsess over this and worry and yeah, it's a mess. You know Maddie. She's like that.

She'll... tomorrow's another day. Maddie, Maddie, just like the sun rises every morning. Did that sound right? I thought it was pretty cool. I liked it. Ah man, I... I think in that moment she'd just be so torn apart that it would just keep coming back to... I just wanted to help, that type of thing. And it just... nothing's adding up. It makes sense. I thought the demon part would be the hard part, not this part. Yeah, I try to be as comforting as I can. And in the end, we'll try to help you. You helped us with Amvin, we'll help you back. That's a guarantee.

So Maddie collects her things and doesn't stay at the church, which Ubo realizes like, oh, I was staying here and now this is no longer like Maddie's room to give. So Ubo just kind of asks whatever authority is watching the temple at night if he can just stay in that room one more night. Yeah, they wouldn't turn you away. There'd probably be some questions like, hey, where'd that body go? But yeah, that's probably not something they would level solely at Ubo. It would just be, you know. Yeah. And Maddie will heal up Ubo too. Maybe as they get into the main temple part, she heals him, go grab her stuff, and then he's like, where are you going?

Anywhere but here. And leaves. So let's kick things off by picking up the next day, right? So we're gonna, wow, you got off really light. The Berkalu's Pack is 16 gold. So as we were discussing, you guys are going to have to re-outfit yourselves because a lot of your stuff just burned up in the fire. It's just easier. Now, Tupou and your dagger combination, that's fine. But Amvin did lose his diamond. We rolled for it and that's what's going on. So, so, Amvin's got to replace his 50 gold diamond and a 39 gold diplomat's pack. And I'm assuming you're going to want some clothes that fit.

Yeah. So let's say, well, okay, how fancy do you want to go with your clothing? That's a good question. I'll go practical because I'm going around. I'd say travel worthy. As much as he'd love to be in his Umin-Yuro finest, he's just gonna go whatever gets him comfortable and doesn't get in the way of his writing. Just in case. Okay. So it's two gold for one set of just regular ass. This is stuff that'll stand up to the weather and stuff like that. Cool. So in a diplomat's pack, I get a set of fine clothes. You do? Yeah, because that's your Sunday best. Like, well, I got to put this on to go talk with the count or whatever.

So that's where the price goes. That's yeah, because the burglar's pack 16 gold because Masaoka don't give a shit what he looks like while he's stealing from people. It's fine. So let's subtract all that. Maddy said that she was covering the diplomat's pack? Yep. And I already minused it. Okay. So we just got to pay for that diamond and those clothing. That's 52 gold. Okay. I'll take that out of your account. Oh, that leaves you with 20 gold. Yep. That's a lot. But you're back. There you go. How much does a girl fund me? So Masaoka is sitting on 603 gold. Hey, you weren't supposed to tell them.

Well, I'm sorry. Okay. You didn't know you had 603 gold a second ago. So you're getting re-outfitted, right? You're... 16 gold. That's not even a penalty. And then the next day, Maddy will approach Donnie and be like, let's give Masaoka what we picked up. Yeah. Oh, that's a great idea. Can I take a look at it? Yeah, of course. And she'll take it out of her pack. Hand it over. Donovan's just gonna give it a quick look through. Just judge it armor-wise. Does it have anything special? Does it have any signature to it? What can you tell me about this armor? Oh, we're talking about...

You guys lost me. I was like, what the hell are you guys talking about? Are we talking about from the cart? Yes. Oh, geez. Okay, so get ready for this. This is your silver lining. This is how we're ending on a happy note. Okay. This shit is amazing. It is made of a material that feels kind of like bits of leather in places and silk in others. It is a crazy breathable fabric, it feels like. It is a very dark shade of purple and there's some black mixed in there. It looks like Prowler's armor, basically. It looks like it was made to be worn at night. There's also a hood.

There's kind of two parts to it. There's a hood that just goes up over the head, it's kind of billowy. And then there's this sort of recessive portion of the hood that completely covers one's face. Cool. That's nice. Can you tell me about the craftsmanship of it? Oh, just 10 out of 10. Would buy again. It's good stuff. Have I seen... Sorry, I'm just going all conspiracy here, but have I seen anything like this in Artemis' shop? Like this? Like the way it's been sewed or the way it's been fabricated now? Well, okay. Give me an intelligence check. Oh, great. Just give me a raw, just like you're deducing.

Oh, it's going to be a real raw. That's not bad? Yeah, that's pretty good. So I would say Diamond gets around. He's a guy who's traveled. He's seen some sights, right? Looking at this armor, you would know that there are probably only a handful of people on the continent who could have made this. This took time and effort and no expense was spared. We're talking John Hammond levels of spared, no expense. And our Artemis would be one of the people that would probably spring to mind. But it doesn't mean he's the only one. He'd make the short list of probably five or six.

Yeah. And then Maddie, having been preoccupied these last few days, suddenly realizes the last time they got armor, it was possessed. So she just wants to do a quick check to see if there's like possessed or cursed. I picture Donnie putting it up to his ear and being like, "Hello?" "Sherplan, meet your new friend." I just don't want to stall us too much, but if I can grill Artemis for information about if he did this... I will totally model it for you. I'll ask Maddie. What if Artemis made this for the Countess? Or what if the Countess has some dealings with Artemis?

Or how the vampires in the city... Am I looking into other people's business too much? I don't know. I don't remember him being too friendly with any of the vampires here, but I honestly wasn't looking for it. And you know, the last time we picked up armor, it was possessed. There might be a reason this was in a box, in a field, in a cart, right to explode. I mean, if we go by previous experiences, I have many, many more armors that weren't cursed. The ratio is a little in favor of not cursed. Maddie will let out a small chuckle. But have you ever picked up an armor in a locked box in a cart that was rigged to explode?

Do you want to go ask Artemis himself? Let me just see if I can get a feel real fast. Like, see if I can feel anything. Did you already give it to Masoka? No. It would be like... Okay, because it would be on by now if you did. I was about to say, yeah. No, this is an aside. We were going, "Oh, let's give him a gift." And now we're both like, "Oh, sh... wait, let's do this thing out first." I love that this only occurs as you're getting ready to hand it over. Like, you're digging in your packets like, "Oh man, you're not going to believe." Wait a second. Okay, so I'm going to give you an option.

We can roleplay this out, or we can just throw some dice at the table and see what happens. How quickly do we want to get out of town, guys? I want to get out of town by the end of this episode. Okay, let's roll. Let's say you go in, and Art3mis would probably give you a spiel about, "Oh, that's confidential. I can't let you know what I've made for other people." Which is horseshit, because he will for a price, and he will for... I would go the intimidation route. Okay. Okay, give me an intimidation check. We can all imagine what it would look like. Before you do this, can I do the good cop to your bad cop?

Like, "Hey, Art3mis, we've known each other for a while. You can let me know." Also, Maddie would probably be one of the few people that Art3mis probably wouldn't hit on at least too much. Because as persistent as he is, it's like, "Ah, if anything were going to happen, it probably would have happened." And Maddie's sister probably punched him back in the day. Probably. I mean, if we're leveling with each other, Art3mis has been punched a lot in his life, probably. So does that give me anything if Maddie helps? So I guess... Okay, so Maddie would basically be like, "Hey," and he would give you the, "Oh, I can't tell you that, blah, blah, blah." So give me an intimidation check, and we'll take it from there.

Yeah. Oh, that's pretty intimidating. That's an 18. Oh, boy. He would probably buckle and just give you a very, like, "Okay, I worked on some of it. I didn't do the whole thing." But when I got it, it was half a suit of armor, and apparently the guy came from Brightport that worked on it before him. Okay, why the explosive cart? That would be completely... It's like, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Like, I didn't. I just made armor. Who did you deliver it to? Excuse me. Who did you deal with? I think he'd give you a little resistance at that. I think it would be...

I think it's like, "Look, man, I don't want to get in any trouble. I just kind of... Like, if I... They were a very well-paying customer. I don't want to piss them off." That type of thing. Can I reroll intimidation if I lift him up the ground? Yes. Yes, you can. Little man. Oops. Oh, so you swaddle him. Yeah. There you go. He's a little older than me. No, this is much nicer. I think he would... It would be a firm stance. It's like, "Hey, I can't screw over. I can't screw over my client base. They paid lots of gold. I can't. Sorry." And then Matty will lean in. "Oh, come on.

We're friends. Who would I tell anyways? You know me. I don't talk." So you're going the charming route. But not like seducing. No, no. We've been over that. Yeah. Give me a... Give me a... I guess it's persuasion. Give me persuasion. Okay. Thirteen? Old friends? He would just... He would just... I think it'd be like, "All right, fine, but just keep this to yourself." Are you still holding him up? No. Oh, okay. I didn't know if it was like just he's dangling there talking to Matty. So I think he'd like kind of like smooth out his shirt. Just like, "Oh, man." All right.

You didn't hear this from me. But there's a guy named Eric. Little red-haired dwarf guy. He's been hanging out on the outskirts of town probably a week or so. He may be waiting for one more item from me. And then just like he's going to make this motion like, "Nope, my lips are sealed. Can't say any more." All right. And then Matty will casually ask, "This isn't cursed, right?" And he would almost be like, "I do not make cursed items, madam." Like that... Yeah, he'd probably say something like, "Oh, it's a blessing." Some bullshit like that. Kind of give you a wink.

Okay. Just had a check. All right. Well, thank you, Artemis. And next time I come back here, your business better not have killed two of my friends. Goodbye. Artemis gets threatened so often. Yes, he does. He's cool with us having the armor that he made for someone else? I mean, he... He's kind of like stuck. That's not his problem. He just made... He did everything he was supposed to do. It's out of his hands. That's how he looks at it. Well, okay. Let's do some unpacking here. Zip around town. At a certain point, Alex would have come home and anybody inquiring would have probably heard yelling into the early morning.

And presumably they probably went to get some sleep at some point and they'll pick it up later. There's definitely problems there, but hopefully they sort it out. I guess I got to ask this question. Does the group meet up the next day or... I mean, are you still taking it as, hey, we have a job to go do or... Are there extenuating circumstances? Well, yeah, I'd like the group to go meet up with Ubo, see how Ubo's doing, see what headspace Maddie is in today. She seemed pretty all right so far. Yeah. Yeah, all things considered. She's pretty cool headed right now.

I was about to say, okay, is it the creepy thing where Maddie's pretending like nothing happened last night or just... It's more so I said what I had to say and I did what I had to do. Now let's keep moving. Okay. That's the best I think we could have hoped for. The other thing where someone's pretending like everything's fine. That's so unsettling. Yeah. So how is Ubo doing? So where are we finding this out? Where are we? I guess the church, right? So is everyone coming to the church to pick Ubo up? Yeah. Well, if everyone wants to, but I'm there. Okay. And the intent is to set out on our original mission?

Sounds like it. Okay. Where is Clarissa? At home. At home. Okay. Ubo needs to talk to her one more time. I'm not sure if he waits for everyone to find him. Well, I guess he'd have to know that everybody intends to leave to continue the quest before he'd be like, "Oh, well then I need to go talk to her." Okay. So I guess, do you want to roleplay out everyone coming to find Ubo first or do you want to cut to him going to Clarissa and needing... Let's do the group first. Okay. Yeah. Ubo's in Maddie's former room then. Can I have Hemvin who last night was coming to the realization that he lost everything and was trying to put together some of his rough outline notes that he wants to send mail for future protections?

Oh, like a backup? Yeah. Basically coming to the realization that he can't own everything himself because it could be gone. Where's the mail going to? To the General. Okay. Makes sense. Yeah. He's not on good terms with his dad to send it there. Fair. He actually addresses it to... because he was working with a bunch of researchers before he left to the head researcher there. Yeah. For now until he can really trust him. But basically it's the General Gates that he's researching and some of the big things he's found out except the big battery thing that he just learned.

He's yet to let that go and he's fine if he dies, that goes away because he's not yet trusting Ueniro that much for that much power. Got it. Okay. And then he'll meet up with the group as he has rough night's sleep. Yeah, I'm guessing most people did. Oh. So you're walking in and you see Ubo. Good morning. You ready to get out of here? Is it just Amven or is it the whole party? Donovan's there. Whole party, let's say. Ubo... what can he do? I can't quite decide what he does. It's tough, man. Yeah. Yeah. Where are we going? Well, we did inherit a mission that we've yet to complete.

I'd love to get that done and move on to maybe another one that's maybe a little bit nicer. And I'd love to check in at Ueniro, but we have Don Hurst ahead of us. Who will look after Clarissa in case something comes for her? I mean, there's Alex and the church and... This town, for the long time I've been here, tries to support itself and help each other. I can't really guarantee that as I think about my mom. If you say that out loud, Ubo kind of nods like, "Yeah, that's... I too feel like that's not enough." Kind of nod. I... I should go see her. I don't know if I should leave.

I need to talk to her. And Ubo gets up and just walks past them and starts heading toward Clarissa's house. Is Astra still staying a distance away from me? Absolutely, yeah. Do I pick up on that yet? I mean, eventually, right? I don't care how dense someone might be about a current situation. Eventually it's like, "Hey, what's your deal?" I go sit against the wall to lean over and be like, "So?" And then she pushes herself off like 20 more feet or something. There's Lofia. Okay. I know what happened to me was insane and I'm still trying to unpack that, but Astra, why...

Are you... You seem distant. I'm picturing a camera shot zoomed out and showing Astra's a dozen or more feet away. Yeah, but I feel like they're just gonna give him a look. It's like, "Yeah, no shit." It's not... He's very literal. Yeah, it's... And they'll probably like... They're not making eye contact with him and just kind of shrug and just... A lot has happened all at once and I'm not really sure what to think of anything yet. I'm wary, I guess. Good. I always need to be on the lookout, otherwise things blow up. I actually appreciate it. And we can do everything we can to verify that I'm 100% me and not any percent anything else.

I did. Last night I tried to see, but I can't really... I'm not... It's not... It's a spirit. It's not really an arcana thing that I can figure out. Well, I can tell you, you smell the same. Thanks. I think. And is Maddie here? Or... Yeah, probably. Yeah, she asked. We'll glance at Maddie then. They kind of want to ask if she would maybe be willing to do some religious stuff, but they... Maddie does not on her game right now, so they're not gonna... Maddie was probably planning on doing it anyways, so she'll pick up on your glance. And walk out to Anvin. We'll let's see if there's anything different.

And put her hands on his shoulders and kind of like tune in, I guess. See if there's anything demonic. I guess. That would be religion, right? Yeah. Holy shit! And you want to just make it cursed. Are you an angel? Maddie's not picking up anything. He doesn't have a soul. Yeah. There is no heartbeat. I don't... Nope. I'm not picking up anything. Seems like the same old Anvin to me. Ah, and Donovan just takes him with one arm like, "Yeah, I knew it!" But for a moment, Maddie will let doubt flash across her face because she feels like she's out of whack. Like, she feels...

If anybody's just like paying attention to her, they'll pick it up, but not like... It's nothing huge. But she does let doubt go across her face for a second. Cool. I want to roll to see if I pick up on that. Because I'm having such a... There's just one time you'll pick up on it. Yes. Holy crap! That's a 23. So is it pretty much like, "Yeah, I checked him out. He seems fine, but what the fuck do I know? I don't know anything." Looks like a pained expression, like... Because Maddie's just left the temple she had her whole entire life, so she's pretty much doubting her religion right now anyways.

Like, her abilities. Got it. So that makes him not let in... He's like, "Alright, gonna talk to you later." "A. I'm concerned for you and B. I'm totally not sure I'm in the clear yet." Cool. So that's that. But he lets everyone else keep on believing. No reason to make something... yet. And I think Ubo makes it to... Clarissa? Because we're all in this awkward... It's like Ross Island. I'm like, "Yay, everything's good." Yeah. Unless Esther, you had more. No, they don't have anything to say right now. Cool. Let's do it then! Let's... So... I have a little aside. I want things to move on, but I have a thing I feel like I need to do.

Okay. First side note, I put my gold back up to 603, because it was actually at 619, and I had already subtracted. Oh! So sorry. Okay, no, it's fine. I think at some point during this conversation, Ahsoka would turn to Maddie and just say, "Hey, uh... Where's Father White?" He's, um... He's in his chambers. In the temple. Do you think we could go see him? I could check. I got this info. It's still fresh. I feel like I need to talk to him. Okay. How about you all meet up with Ubo, and we'll go see if we can see Father White. We'll meet up somewhere? Town Square? I don't know.

Yeah, we'll meet up by our cart. Okay. We'll see you in Donor's. Yeah. Okay. Hey, we can make the party again. We want to get out of here. I know, I know. I'm working on it. Because we just kind of dropped it last time. Yeah. Okay. So let's pick up with Ubo first. Okay. I guess I'm at Clarys' house? Yeah, if you asked where it was, it wouldn't be hard to find. Okay. So Ubo will go up and knock. Boy, I'd say that there'd probably be a good minute or two, and then you'd hear someone motion to the door. And Clarissa would open it. Probably looks pretty bleary-eyed. Like, not a lot of sleep last night.

And the first words out of her mouth would probably be, "Is everything okay?" "Nothing new is wrong." Well, that's the best she could have hoped for in the moment, I guess. Is there anything I can do? Everyone said it's time for us to go. To keep working on what we left to do before... Before... What I did. She would probably correct what we did. That too, but you didn't break the cart. Oh, that. Yeah, that was you. Ubo's like, he kind of like can't help but let out the tiniest laugh in spite of it. Right, just kind of like it. Yeah, I know. Yeah. That's not like...

She's not trying to... It's more like, yeah, that, I wasn't involved in that one. Fine. Like, it's... Yeah, there's probably been a lot of arguing and defending herself tonight. Yeah, yeah, that is factually accurate. I don't think this town can protect you if he comes to collect. I think I should stay. Not in your home, but near. So that... So that if something bad happens, someone is here to fight. She's gonna nod along for a bit. That's... It's very sweet of you to offer. You... You have a place. And that's... That's not in Aubrey, Ubo. Ubo shakes his head and says, "I don't have a place.

I never had a place. I didn't have a place with my parents. I didn't have a place with the orcs. I didn't have a place. And I still don't have a place. But right now, when I am ready to die, you are the only one who knows what I know and lived what I lived. Last night. And I can barely look at you. But you are the only one who knows. So I feel bad leaving you without help." She would probably step forward out of the doorway and close the door behind her. And I'd say it's a pretty cool morning. So there might even be like a chill. I have a lot to answer for here.

And I think it's gonna take a while for me to make it right. If... If I can make it right. But I'm gonna be safe. I've got the church. I think I still have Alex. I'll be fine. And I think she'd probably... She'd probably try and hug Ubo. Ubo just kind of like stands there and lets it happen at first. But then he kind of puts one hand around her as well. You're... You are the only one who understands. Because you were there. We did it together. And now you're the only one who understands. And... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you have to understand. No matter what happens.

I... I want to thank you for doing that with me. Ubo shakes his head. He's really uncomfortable but he doesn't say anything. He shakes his head at that. Right. I'm serious. I don't... I don't know what's gonna happen. But for right now we're all alive again. And your group's whole. And it may take a really long time for Maddie to forgive me but... I think you're all gonna do really good things. And I feel better knowing that... Maybe the world's gonna be just a little bit brighter because of you. I think it's gonna take all of you. Ubo kind of slowly nods. I will go then.

But if I hear even the littlest thing. That there is something bad happening back here. I will come back to Aubrey. Or I will die on the way. Nothing that does not kill me will stop me. As grim as that sounds she's probably gonna give just a little bit of a smile. Because that's just Ubo's style really. Yeah. Just please take care of yourself. Okay? And the rest of the group. And when you guys are done doing what it is you need to do in Dawnhurst maybe you could come back through and... Maybe enough time will have passed that we could all get together again.

Ubo nods. And pats her one more time on the shoulder and says, "Okay. I will go." Be strong like the mountain, Clarissa. She's probably gonna smile a little bit and take a deep breath before opening the door. Good luck, Ubo. Yeah. Ubo leaves. In that time I would imagine that Mattie and Bissoka would have... you wanted to visit Father White, who is still, I mean, for lack of a better term, pretty much comatose. So while you probably... they're gonna keep an eye on you, you'd be allowed in. Well this is awkward. I said goodbye and now I'm back. Right. Sorry.

So... Okay. Can he talk at all? Or is he... He's basically just laying there. Imagine... Yeah, basically imagine visiting someone in the hospital who's in a coma. Okay. Now, Mssoka's had some pretty crazy things happen to him lately. But he felt he needed at least to be here in his presence. And if he knows he can't talk to him, he wants to at least sit down beside him and grab his hands. Basically to see if a monitor might work through him or something like that. Break that down to me again? Well, to see if, I don't know, maybe a monitor can help him? I mean, he doesn't know.

This is all brand new to him, right? Right, right, right. I just wanted to make sure, like I didn't want to misinterpret. No, no, no, it's... Mssoka's had an open channel with him before, so... Right. So maybe he just feels like it's like, yeah, so you just talk to God. He'll talk back. Let's get this sorted. Exactly. I don't know what you church people are doing all the time. This must be a normal thing that happens in the church, right? Right. Like, why would you be special type of thing. Exactly. You know what? I'm gonna leave it up to the dice. Okay. Do me a favor.

Mssoka, give me a religion check. Religion check, oh boy. Let's see if that godly juice is a-flowing. Okay. Gross. That sounds gross. Yeah, sorry, never mind. What the fuck? Yes! I was crossing all my fingers. That would figure. Mssoka is the anti-me. I feel like we just have to... We just have to start calling him the prophet Mssoka now. He's the prophet of the new, of the, like, the reformation of a monitor's church. Wow, that is amazing. Open channel. That is, that is unprecedented. I would not have bet. On that. But yeah, that's a 21. Okay, here's what I'm gonna do.

Are you, okay, is this a thing where you're just kind of sitting by the bedside type of thing? Yeah, he would have taken a place beside him, sort of grabbed his hands and sort of looking him over. And like trying to, trying to channel a monitor. Which he doesn't know how to do, but just like, you know, he's like, he's like, he's like, you know, like, I don't know, he would just like flex or something like that. I don't know. Flex it? I don't know, right? Because it's like, maybe just start humming? I don't know. Wow. Okay. Here's what I'm gonna do. Let's make a deal.

Okay. There are three doors in front of you. I want you to pick a door, essentially one, two or three. And based on what you pick, that role is going to manifest differently. But something good is about to happen for Masoka. Okay. Okay. Okay. Which one's speaking to you? Is there any info about these doors? Like is one flowery? Is one shiny? No, no, no. This is all metaphorical. This is the three plain doors. The metaphors can have a description. Yeah. Okay. Fair. Okay. These are metaphorically speaking three plain doors. But like I said, there's something good waiting behind each and every one of them.

It's just how a monitor chooses to work through Masoka. Who apparently, what you're saying it worked, is the chosen one. What the fuck is happening? A monitor's best friend, Masoka. Fire Amati, I'd be so pissed. No, this is my choice. This isn't like he's presented with something in his mind. No, no, no. This is James' choice. Okay. Okay. I will go with three. Okay. A couple of things are going to happen for Masoka. Almost as if new knowledge is being presented to him. Like someone's explaining something, but it's just instantaneous. Like flashes in his mind. Like it's like, "Oh, I feel like I've always known this somehow." That type of thing.

One, you are going to know that what has been used on Father White is a slow-acting poison. And you will instantly know how to create an antidote for that. Now, the herbs that you'll need, it's a bit of a trek. But it would be on the way to Donnhurst. It would be in the Divide. Okay. That's one bit. Two, almost as if it's this warm feeling. Just imagine complete and total assurance that you just know a thing. Like you're being presented with this knowledge and it's like, wow, you could feel it's like something's happening. That's weird. Haven't felt that before, except when I was praying the other day.

That was weird. So, speaking of Donnhurst. There's something about Donnhurst. It's almost like you're getting a warning. That there is something waiting for you in Donnhurst that has not been presented to the group as a threat yet. It's not like when the job was being described to you. It's like, "Yeah, I mean, the demons have been dealt with and all this." And it's like, you kind of know what you're probably going to have to deal with. You're probably going to have to deal with squadgers and you're probably going to have to deal with something like that.

But there's something else. Something maybe a bit more fantastical. Maybe something a bit more demonic or arcane or something. It's just something almost like C'thulian. You're like, "Okay, that's weird. Something's very much up." And you're going to get a very bad feeling about Donnhurst all of a sudden. Okay. I think that's a pretty good time for us to stop for the evening. And we will pick up with you guys leaving Aubrey again. Take two. You wanted to end on a high note. I did. Yeah. James, can you teach me how to pull off bullshit like this? Since you started with Masocha, I just want to say you have spectacularly crit on the table a few times.

You've torn the heads off wolves. You've spoken to God twice. At least maybe not spoken to God, but he's definitely passing you notes in class. I don't know. I don't know. It's like taking chances this time. And so far it's worked out. I can't explain it. I can't explain it. You need to pass me some of that luck. Especially at hit points. I'm more than happy that it's working out. I'm going to get you good rolls for Christmas, Michael. I'm not looking forward to when it does run out. Well, it did it for a bit. Well, you did die. Yeah. Did I? No. I'm not going to tell them the luck, though. [Laughter] Whew!

I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. We are actually busy editing a bunch of stuff for this month. We got a brand new Vampire the Masquerade campaign, which debuts this month on Patreon at patreon.com/dandr. We have two awesome episodes coming out this month. We've got a Group B next week and a Group C the week after that. And of course, we're doing our extended rest, which will be live the last Friday of the month. Like we said at the top of the show, don't forget to check out Titans of Altera. They're actually really cool. I've talked to Josh over there for hours on end.

Really cool guy. Don't forget to mark your calendars. April 20th, guys. April 20th starting at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be 12 hours of Dungeons & Randomness. We are busy getting the schedule together now. We're trying to get everyone to play. And barring that, just have a bunch of groups get together and sit down. Obviously, that is also when our Kickstarter launches on April 20th. That's when you can finally back the book and we'll be well underway. Thank you guys for all your support, your reviews on iTunes, all that good stuff. And we'll see you next week with a brand new episode of Dungeons & Randomness.