The Glass Cannon Podcast - Gatewalkers Episode 36 – Missing Moments

Episode Date: May 24, 2024

Mourning yet another loss, the heroes rest. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/R8gcH9XXe_k This episode was sponsored by Demiplane, Foundry VTT and Norse Foundry. Check out Demiplane's Pathfinder Nexus and character creation tools at https://bit.ly/GCNOfficialTools See why tabletop gamers everywhere have made the switch to Foundry Virtual Tabletop at https://foundryvtt.com/gcp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/GCN to get 10% off your first month. Go to https://neoplants.com/GCN to get your 7th pouch of Power Drops free of charge at checkout (note: you must use this link for the discount to apply - look out for the free product that will be automatically added to your cart). Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 TRavel PAcks with your ifrst subscription at https://drinkag1.com/glasscannon. Fora. limited time, use code GCN to get a free gift with your Journey Pack! Head to https://tryfum.com and use to "GCN" to get a free gift with your order today. For more podcasts and livestreams, visit glasscannonnetwork.com and for hundreds of hours of exclusive shows and benefits, make your membership official and join Glass Cannon Nation today by becoming a subscriber at jointhenaish.com. Watch new episodes when they premiere every Thursday at 8PM ET on youtube.com/theglasscannon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You are listening to the Glass Cannon Network, the premier source for role-playing game entertainment. Last week on the Glass Cannon Podcast. Natural 20. Oh, the Joe Duck. Swim. Natural 2. Oh. I'm going to double move down to Talitha to try to help her.

Now it's Hubert's turn. Brother Ramius! Oh, perhaps I could help. And he will pull the potion off of your body. Amazing. OK. All right. Attach a rope to an arrow and shoot it at Talitha.

Just plop in the water. I grab the rope and start climbing. Water splashing up into your mouth. Start drowning. This slug is also approaching us. This thing could very well kill everyone. That's a head. Not up anymore.

Oh, God. Natural 17. Oh, she did it! Yeah, it climbed right up on shore. And I will pull out a elixir of life and feed it to Zephyr. Oh, God. Run. She's going to listen to what's Lisa said and

double runs a little bit inland as I do so. It is the giant snail thing's turn. I'm unconscious and dying. Okay so now you're dying too. Dying too. Dying too. To leave I need a death safe. No no no no no no no. Natural one. Are we gonna stay and try to fight it or are we all going to run? Zephyr! Get away from the water! We must get there! Across the river!

While this thing is feeding on Talitha, we just see all of you jumping from rock to rock to get to the other side. As you're jumping, we just see this thing chowing on Talitha, and you see your brother just reaching his hand back toward you. The adventure continues now I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better

I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better I'm gonna be the one to make you feel better Good evening, everybody. Welcome back to the Glass Cannon Podcast.

Right, right, right. It's tough without a script, isn't it? Novel, I was going to say. Comic book. Welcome back to the Glass Cannon novel. Glass Cannon novel. Glass Cannon newsreel. A podcast of 300 parts.

Couple of hot weeks in the old pretend factory. Hot wheels. Spicy hot wheels. And I've got a loaded question to throw out there. Oh dear. Oh boy. To kick things off. You know I love a good question,

it's an icebreaker. It's not really an icebreaker. It's a very thoughtful question that should be easy to answer, but might give you a second. It's a personal question. The answer is personal. Man, the tension.

Kate loves personal questions. So nervous right now. Why do you play role playing games? You, why do you play role playing games? For me, it's changed over the years. When I started playing again with you, it was, I imagine, based in nostalgia, which you all know I'm a very nostalgic person, Christmas and whatnot, big holiday guy. You lured me into it and I always had that little itch.

You actually got me back into video games. When we were talking after we met at softball, you were telling me about Skyrim. I've never heard of the Elder Scrolls. It sounds amazing. That's it. I had taken like 10 years off from video games. I've been back in it ever since. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

You had moved on with your life in a positive way. Joe was like, no. I was out there exercising, playing softball. Exactly. I was running a softball team. Would you like to have a thousand girlfriends at Joe was like, would you like to? Had 1,000 girlfriends at the same time. Would you like to spend hundreds of dollars

and just sit on a couch? Well, it brings you joy. It brought me joy. And it was certainly the gateway back into this. And when we started playing, and it was the day I met Skid, was the day I came back. It was just like all that joy that I felt as a kid. Whenever I think of the summer, which I hate, I hate the summers, but one of the things

I loved about the summer as a kid is that I would go over to my buddy's house. His weird mom would make us do chores. That's what made it weird. I love that you were hanging out at my house with my mom. Oh, you got your friend in the room. Go clean the septic tank. We would try to get the chores. Here's some masks and rubber gloves.

And you weren't allowed to stay in the air conditioned house. You had to go out in the 95 degree heat. But if we went to the pool house after we finished the chores, we could play Dungeons and Dragons. And I mean, it was the best, the best. And so getting back into it, it was nostalgia-based. But obviously, as things changed, it was like, I wonder if we can do more with this.

I wonder if we can turn this into something bigger. And that bigger became a business. And so yeah, there's obviously a let's support my family. Let's build something here. But for me, it's morphed into something else. I think that there is a really interesting thing you can do with entertainment with these games that is unlike any other form of entertainment out there. You go watch an improv show, not my cup of tea, but you go watch an improv show.

That's very interesting. They've made some TV shows of that. You can have a lot of fun there. You can watch transcendent art happen in front of you. And I think you can do that with role playing games. So that's why I play. I think that what we do can entertain and also inspire. Stop hammering your dice tray.

It seems like you're angry. You hammered it and then you shift it all the way over there. As a man. That's exciting to me. My dice are shifting when you hit it. Yeah, you're hitting the whole, it's like a gavel over there. You're like a judge.

This is why I play. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Why do you play? I would say it's changed for me as well, because when I played as a kid, I don't know why I started. I mean, I know how I began to play.

It was just what my friends were doing. And so I went along. As a follower. As a follower and never a leader myself. And it was so fun. I don't really know how to explain it other than just like the laughter, just like the pure laughter. And that's what it was like a lot when we played together. Before we started the show, it was just like we laughed the whole time. And it was one of the reasons we wanted to start the show. You weren't trying to make transcendcendent Entertainment back in 2015.

You were just like, this is so funny. Like, people should listen. Why are you hitting the table? I'm sorry. I'm fired up. Who's hitting the table? I'm a podcast star. But I think what it's morphed into to me

is very obvious, very front door, but it's that I love making stories. I love stories. I love books. I love movies. I love books. I love movies. This is me getting to make it. I've tried writing.

I'm not very good at it. It's difficult. It's challenging. If we didn't play games, I would write. I would absolutely write because I just love generating story. To be able to do it with the help of other people is really, really fun. What I walk away from now, my favorite sessions, obviously the huge laughs, but it's when you have those moments that

like you said, are transcendent moments of art where you're just like, and it lives forever in your mind as if you saw a movie and then you can think like, I made that. Like that's a really, really cool thing to be able to be a part of. Yeah. You tell war stories about fictional things. Yeah. You tell war stories about fictional things. Yeah. Remember when Gormley fell? Yeah. We talked about that.

When Dell died in Philadelphia. That's why I play role playing games at the promise that any, you have to be there because you never know which session could, you could remember for the rest of your life. You could have that moment. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I love that it's something, my love of it, something that I picked up

as a hobby when I was in third grade. And I'm still enjoying it basically just as much now as I did when I was a little kid. And the fact, but the fact that I like it for evolving reasons, because, you know, when you're a kid and it's just like, oh, I have a Pegasus and a crystal castle. You know, it's kind of the first, I think it started off as like the power fantasy and, you know, the ability to, when you are that age, your world is so restricted, like you're so limited in what you're allowed to actually do. And so the possibility of this artificial place where you can kind of do whatever you want is so enticing.

Just slay all the grownups. Yeah. You can kill every grownup. With your dragon breath. Yeah. And that's the other thing. You do the chores, mom. And then.

I'll cast a spell on you. And it's like we loved our characters and everything, but as I have grown up, my idea of what makes a character and what's fun about playing a character and exploring it has changed so much. And so that's deepened. And one of the things that hasn't changed is,

I was thinking about this on the way here, is I'm absolutely horr this on the way here is I've, I'm absolutely, I'm horrified by actual violence, but made up violence is so fucking funny to me. And that's one, that's one thing that has not changed at all. From what I was in the third grade, it is the funniest fucking thing to me. So, uh, yeah. I, for me, it's, uh, pains pains me to say this but I think we have I have to attribute to Joe's aggressive style of friendship. Yeah.

It's true. He's like the Borg. I mean it was like the Joe treatment I got about playing Pathfinder for because our now wives were friends and we got to be friends every time we go over there I'd be like when I would say okay I wonder if Joe's gonna ask me to play his game again you know it's like we're Joe that loser he's gonna harass me his little game with game I mean we were friends so you were but we were both losers but But there was no real difference there. But yeah, it was like every time.

You've got to be relentless. You're like, it's everything you love. It's storytelling. It's games. It's characters. It's fantasy. Do it. Do it.

Do it. Do it. He's very aggressive. It wouldn't surprise me if he was running a Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign for his entire neighborhood and just didn't tell me because he knew how bad I would make him feel. He loves organized, he's a big organizer.

He's a big organizer. He had that monthly where we met. He did the monthly like game night down at the bar. He did the Crimson Throne campaign. You're the glue, Joe. You're the friendship glue. He's the glue guy. Well eventually you sent me an email. We're playing this Saturday. It's going to Joe, you're the friendship glue. He's the glue guy. Well, eventually you sent me an email,

you're like, we're playing this Saturday, it's gonna be, you were there, he was like, Troy's gonna be there, this other guy who's never played is gonna be there, I may have told this story before, and then he was like, return, return, okay, why can't you do it? So I literally said to Caitlin, I was like, all right, I think I have to like do this one.

And then I can say, with your friend's boyfriend. Yeah. Your friend's weirdo boyfriend. That's so great. And then I can do the one. And then I can say, thanks, that was a lot of fun, but I don't think it's for me. And here we are 11 years later.

The rest is history. No, but you were right. I hate saying it, but you were right. It is everything I love. Right? It is were right to, I hate saying it, but you were right, it is everything I love, right? It is like, it is the storytelling, it's character work, it's the community building, it's the kind of communal collaborative act of it. And I think also, like when I think about it now,

I was playing a lot of role playing games just without the role playing game as a child. Right. We were just like, we were watching the Anna Jones or Star Wars and then we were just like, be in the world. Play it out. Like, yeah. Oh, 100%.

100%. And making new stories and it was like, oh, and then we would literally be pitching each the world. Play it out. 100%. And making new stories. And then we would literally be pitching each other as we were running around the backyard. And then what if all of a sudden the fence explodes? And then we were just kind of role playing it as we went. I don't think that there was anything that we've done lately that is more relates to my childhood and what I was doing before I was playing role playing games where I didn't realize I was playing role playing games, then when we did the Rambo show, the let's play Rambo show, because I used to run around with my friends and we

would pretend we were in Vietnam. That was the game. You'd have plastic, by the way, black, unpainted assault rifles running around the neighborhood with war paint arms and a pack of matches that he was the real contraband, like you're not allowed to have this. And you'd just be in the woods just like lighting matches and being like, eyes of fire! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

Dropping down on logs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Those fake guns were awesome. They sounded real. It was like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Those fake guns were awesome. They sounded real. It was like, blah, blah, blah. Oh, dude, it was insane. We would sit, dude, I'd be watching all these Chuck Norris movies and shit. We would sit there and be like, all right, now we're in a POW camp.

Right? I mean, it was role playing. It really was. It was so fun, because I remember back then, like, Palladium put out the NOM role playing game, and it was just like, yes, because it was like, so in the moment, role playing game. And it was just like, yes, cause it was like so in the moment there was like Platoon had just come out and a full metal jacket.

And there was a show on CBS called Tour of Duty that I really liked. That's all I was like, I was just talking about that show. That's a really good show. It is a surprisingly good show. It's a really good show. Eric Chandler was in it.

Eric Bruce Cotter was in that show. Yeah, so that was in the mold, but it was, it was something so, and so yeah, then getting to actually play Rambo, because this is not something we ever actually get to do, is like play Vietnam stuff, so that was fun. That was great. I feel like I was also applying like RP,

a role-playing template onto my other games. Like I played, I would be playing a board game and I'd be ball-playing that. We still do that. Yes, we still do that. What's the contagion, of the game you guys play? Pandemic. Roleplaying Pandemic, the fireman game.

Yeah, the fireman. Oh my god. Oh god. So funny. My sister's in there. Yeah. Get away. Shut up, bitch.

I was watching you guys play the fireman game, and you're like, yeah, my sister's in that room. Didn't you sleep with my sister? Super. You literally just have to go and rescue that pond from the bell place. Just move the beast into that space. Skid played by a role player. We all played the game.

This was at Pax Unplugged, like five, seven years ago. The first Pax Unplugged. Sydney, when we found you in a car- Off the street. In a cardboard box outside our studio. Aw. In a box of sweaters. Not being on the board story window every day.

Just a card and sweaters. No, we put up a casting notice. But like we were explicit in the casting notice, you have to have played these games. Because that learning curve is like, if you don't understand the game, it's so much more you have to learn. You need to play for years to like, start to really get it. And clearly clearly I lied

Professional actress Hundreds of people replied and they're all like never played but I'm like did you read the fine? And you were like well, I'm in a shadow run campaign. I've played some fight. I'm like alright. Well, she's using the terms We'll bring her. I remember seeing the shadow and being like, oh, so she's a real loser. Right. That's a lot of her fixes. What's interesting is I feel like similarly, like I didn't grow up playing role playing games, but I played like role playing in all other games.

I just never got to play. I never had a group of friends that played. You know, I missed out on that. So when I started playing, I was, I've told this story before, I was so desperate and I really had this FOMO of like missing out on the community of role playing and people I knew who played TTRPGs. So I went to a gaming cafe in Beverly, Massachusetts. Yo, Beverly.

Yo. And. North Shore. North Shore. And I met with strangers and it was a bunch of dudes, unknown ages, could have been 15, could have been 20, I don't know. They were-

You should know. No. The times you don't though. I think you know. She doesn't see it. I think you knew. Hard to tell. That's a big gap.

But I played Shadowrun and it was like my first time playing and then it started out as like the FOMO thing and I just really liked it. Like right off the bat, I was like, this is so much fun. I'm having so much fun, even with strangers. Like imagine if I had a group of friends and then I had a group of friends. Imagine, just imagine.

No, I got one. Imagine. I got one. Sorry, a group of friends. Still trying to imagine everything. A group of friends. Rubbing a rabbit's foot. A group of friends, comma, who wanted to play games.

Oh, I see, I'm sorry. And then we played 5E and like that was way more fun. So it started off as like missing out and then it turned into like a challenge. And I love a challenge. And I was like, I wanna be better at role playing games. I wanna be really good. And I wanna like raise the bar

of what you can do in role playing games. And then I saw this casting and I was like, wow. This is like. Where did you see it? Where did you see the cast? Backstage, which is like a common casting site. It's actors, I think. Or was it Actors Access?

It was Actors Access. That was before they kicked us off of Actors Access. That's why I didn't see the message, because Actors Access sucks. Yeah. Sucks. Their message system's terrible. But anyway, and I was like,

this is like exactly what I was looking for. I wanna become better, and now it's like a performance. I get to act, but I get to also play. And yeah, similarly, Matthew, I'm like, look at me now. Like, I never thought I would be here where I am now, but yeah, every time I get to play a new character or a new game, I feel that like surge of excitement and energy because it's a challenge.

Like, I get to role play with you guys and you guys are so fantastic. And every time it's like, what's gonna happen? Like, I don't know, anything can happen. And it's so exciting for me. So there's the actor side of me and I think now why I play, the actor side of me and like just the nerd side of me and they both get to like coagulate into this wonderful world that I get to be a part of.

Yeah, totally. It's awesome. And you remind me of like what I think we all experience, which is what is it about this that makes everyone that does it and likes it and gets into it not be able to do it in moderation? Yeah. Oh yeah. Anybody that likes it at all is like, I'm starting up my second campaign next week. They can't just be like, I love Pathfinder, love it, but I can't do it more than once

a month. They want to do it whenever they can do it and how many ways they can do it. I wanted to do it for work. I saw something and I was like, I'd like to actually do that more. I like to actually do that all the time. You see that with everybody in this hobby. You're either all in or all out. I call it phase two.

What's phase three? Like ascension? You come back to reality. Oh, it's up to them. This is too two. What's phase three? Like ascension? You come back to reality. Oh, it's up to them. This is too much. This is too much.

What happened to my marriage? Kate, how about you? Why do you play this nonsense? I do it for the bag. True. I'm here for the money. Up top. Up top.

For the bag. At the end of each session, when the cameras go off, we just hand Kate a giant bag of cash. She's probably a dollar sign. She's probably a dollar sign. She's probably a dollar sign. A bag of cash with the dollars. No, I don't know. When I was growing up, I like playing pretend.

I have a very vivid imagination. I'm one of those people, it's like picture an apple. I'm like, the apple, it's in the living room and it's got sun shining on it. I see the whole thing. When we're playing, I'm in my brain seeing everything, watching the movie. So I've always grown up just playing pretend with my friends and stuff like that. And then once-

And you won't watch a movie in real life. That's why I fucking hate movies. Nothing's gonna beat what's up here. Yeah. That's fair, that's fair. The best movie's in your mind. Yeah. Should see mine.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I know. But, Not. Um. Director one right now. When I discovered like role playing games,

like not so much D and D, but I remember I saw Michael playing Mass Effect 2. And I was like, he was playing one of the dialogue parts and you're choosing the dialogue. And I'm like, what the fuck is this? And he's like, it's the shooting game I play that you're always like not interested in.

I'm like, but you get to do this part where you're like interacting with the characters and like choosing if you're good or bad and choosing the dialogue and it affects for later. And he's like, yeah. And I'm like, and that's how I got into Mass Effect and like third person shooters and that type of thing. And reading has always been really hard because I fall asleep, but like creating stories in

your brain is just so fun. And now that I do this, I feel like the reason has morphed into, I think I like improv acting. It's okay. It's okay. It's a safe space. I think I all. The other poisonous toxic hobbies. I like just showing up and things happening.

And you never know how it's gonna end. We all. What other people are gonna do. We all like improv. And you come with a character that's like half baked. Don't come with it full baked, come with it half baked. Yeah, let's bake it here. And you bake it together.

Yeah, yeah. One big cookie. You bring the ingredients, we'll make it here. Make it here. So beautiful, beautiful analogy. That's my journey. We may occasionally not read the last sentence of the recipe.

Yeah. Do we miss, like, the salt, one of the most important ingredients? Sometimes. Yeah. Is the cookie OK? Not really. But are we with friends?

We'll try again tomorrow. We'll try again tomorrow. Cookie's not legal, but we still have a good time. Well, you know, I think a lot of people that watch us, that gravitate towards us, that are loyal to us, they share the same reasons why. They share the same beliefs that we have and why we play these games, why we gravitate towards this, why we enjoy this as a form of entertainment, both as a consumer and as a producer of that entertainment.

And it's important, especially after a couple of tough weeks where, you know, the table can get a little hot and there's like a little character death and stuff like that to just sort of take a step back and remind yourself why you do it and to remind you as well why we do it. Stay tuned and we're going to play some more pretend. That's us here. I'm supposed to talk about something. I really need to get off my chest. Well, I think we should have more bottle caps in Gatewalkers. There, I said it.

Feels good to get off my chest. Actually, it is funny. I've talked about this before, but when I, in my own therapy, when I go in, I have to talk about stuff like that all the time because it's my work, my professional life, my friends and everything. And so my therapist, she's actually learned a lot about RPGs just from dealing with me. We all carry around different stressors, big and small. Then when we keep them bottled up, it can start to affect us negatively.

Therapy is a safe space to get things off your chest and to figure out how to work through whatever's weighing you down." Yeah, it has been so helpful to have someone, especially like outside the professional sphere that I work in, to be able to just unload this stuff on and get a better perspective on it. It's really helped immeasurably. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule.

Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Get it off your chest with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash GCN today to get 10% off your first month. BetterHelp.com. If you were like me and you thought houseplants were just for decoration, think again. NeopX from Neoplants brings science and nature together to create a living air purifying powerhouse for your home. NeopX is the world's first plant microbiome system bioengineered to purify the air in

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Hi! Where dreams go to die. What's that? Actors Access. Oh, they've pulled out. What's actors access? Oh, they've pulled out. It game is so much better. Very exciting. Because of all three. Yeah. I mean, without Norse Foundry, how would my character have died? That's right.

Matthew. And without Demiplane, how could you make a new one? Matthew, let's be honest. It's not Norse Foundry's fault. It's your fault and your bad decision making. Wow. Wow. That's such a nice talk.

Right before the break, we had a warm moment and now we're right back to reality. Hey I've been there. I had a character die actually first. I don't know if you remember. It was pretty intense and like. Even Francis was like, no it wasn't. What was their name? Jim? What was his name? Jim? What was that guy's name? Jim Diamond. Tommy. Tommy. It was Tommy. No, it stinks and it stinks when it because it was the same thing and we talked about this it stinks when it's you rolling the die like you feel as though you've killed your character. Betrayed your characters trust they trusted you to shepherd them to a peaceful and wonderful epilogue. It's really interesting. You bring up a good point. In 2E, they've really put it on the player.

I can kill you with massive damage. How often does that happen? It really comes down to, please roll your final death. Please kill your character. You're still the one bringing us to zero hit points. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Look, I don't want to get into a philosophical talk semantics all day.

Are you proud of yourself? Do you sleep well at night? I mean, I think if you've watched fodder, you all know by now that Talitha died two episodes ago. Yeah. Because you broke the rules. And then fate stepped in, and you died for real then. Yeah, I do feel bad.

I feel bad for a number of reasons. It's still very early in the campaign to lose two characters this early. It's a lot. Have you killed more of my characters than anyone else? Yes. Is it true? You killed a lot of Joe's characters too.

No, boss. I have killed a lot of Joe's characters, but I would say if you add every character. And the animal companions. Multiple shows, if we're counting them. Joe by a lantern. Then I think, yeah, I think it's you. I think it's you.

Certainly across the main show. But there have been some TVKs and other shows that you've been. Well, that tour show, you're on your third character. That's true. Yeah, you are fourth, maybe. I have lost track. that's how many characters. It's brutal. And it's, this is the first time, correct me if I'm wrong, where you've had to abandon the corpse.

That sucked. That sucked. Corpse is a name. I'm saying, you've had. Like when you're- The mutilated corpse. When you're fighting, you forget that like, an option is running away. Yeah.

Well, we were trying. We were trying. We were trying. We were trying. Yeah, it was hard to run away in this map, but like, yeah, once the door was open for us to run, it was open because you die. Well, you left some cool stuff behind.

We're gonna go back and get it. No, we're not. Snow ate me. Oh, you didn't drop it, like we have to do every time we like want to hold something. As I was dying, I was removing my coin purse from my purse and be like, tell my story. Here's my apple. You know what? I didn't even think of that till this moment.

Oh, I was thinking about it immediately. What? Her goggles, her gold. Didn't think about that. I thought about all of it. Well, her gold, sure, but the snails eating her. What if it was Zephyr? She has the key. Oh.

Oh, we would have went. We would have had to go back. We would have. And then what if the snail ate it and you have to kill the snail in order to get it out of its body? Or you go back and the snail is wearing it. Look at my little little little

little idiot floating above the river. Like, for new powers. Yup. Oh. Man, I don't like that dude. I do. Yeah, I don't like that snail. Yeah, it sucks that he's still out there too.

Brother Amias, Talitha had some shiver on her. Oh. He's like, we have to go back. I said. Well, it was tragic. He's like, we have to go back. Well, it was tragic. You know, we thought about it. We played it last week and now we're back to move on like we have to move on.

It's tricky. So, let's open up today with a rap song. Wow. Very tricky. Now we're going to open up today in the imagination copter, looking out the window. And we'll start amongst ruins. Some good ruins music? Never.

The music of the ruins. Ruins.'s a good ruins music. Oh Never music of the ruins ruins dot mp3 music of the ruins I'll bring up something. I'll play something. Okay All right, we'll start among ruins. We see pillars, cracked pillars, remnants of what must have been a wall of a larger building at some point. It's all cracked, broken down to the ground.

We just kind of pan across this until we come to a humble stone archway. Zooming out from this archway, we now see that the area is thick with massive trees and jungle. We hear the sounds of wildlife in the distance, insects buzzing close by your camera here Little behind the scenes we were Trying to say anything to me about this I just know we're in the jungle so I was testing some sounds pre-show and one of which was a mosquito sound and I

Just had it in the background and I thought I turned it off and I hadn't. And we were getting silence pre-show for room tone and just like completely sitting here in silence and then way in the back of my ear I heard as if a literal mosquito had like gone near somebody's mic which is like zzzz in the background and Sydney was like We were all like what the? Because I thought it was also a bug. I was I was like, I thought it was ghost hunters and we had captured like audio. I was trying to convince us it was a ghost. This is very ghost hunters. Lighting that we have today. It was a crying ghost.

Perhaps she's fictional. So we hear the show goes She's fictional. So we hear a fictional ghost. Vroom. Da da da. Distant sounds of wildlife, ruins, gate. And then in this sort of musicality of the scene, a humming vroom.

When we see the gate crackle with electricity, now we go to a different perspective. Maybe we're far away in the sky looking down on this scene. There's trees everywhere, but this where this where the ruins are, where the stone archway is, there's a clearing. So we have a very clear view into this and we see a single person walk through that gate. Even from this far away we can tell they don't know where they are. And now we'll switch to this person's perspective. We see through their eyes, we see them, see flora, every color in the rainbow. Maybe the hands of this person

reach out to touch a multicolored vine that's climbing up on the plinths it supports the Archway plinth nice Proud not me Google a play when right now It's a heavy base supporting a statue nice plinth bro, thanks sweet plinth even left in yep Me flex my plant your legs. They. Nice plinth, bro. Thanks. Sweet plinth. You been lifting? Yep. You can tell. I'm flexing like Plinth. Your legs, they're like plinths.

Your plinth-like stature precedes you. We can tell from the way the hand is inspecting the area. They are marveling at what they see. Maybe this figure spies a small lizard, like a little gecko or something sitting on a branch, turned away, and the figure walks up and the lizard turns and it has two heads. One is like the head of a mouse and the other like a rabbit, and the figure jumps back and the lizard darts off into the brush. This is a very, a mouse lizard rabbit.

It's a very strange place. While this figure is standing here in that moment, the sky goes dark overhead. Something large is flying above this person. The figure looks up and just sees a massive body full of scales swoop by blotting out the Sun for a moment and it's in that moment they also notice deep gouges in the stone nearby, a scat pile the size of a small horse and they

take off running into the jungle pushing branches and limbs out of the way. The sounds of the animals getting louder, the sounds of the buzzings of the insects getting louder and louder, closer and closer to the ears. Maybe we hear this figure heartbeat, sort of out of step with the heartbeat of the jungle, just like noise. And then we black out.

Maybe time has passed. Days. Hours. It's unclear. But yet again, we're way up high looking into a clearing in the jungle as this same figure emerges. How long have they been traveling? We don't know.

But we watch them sort of take in this scene. Look around. And then we slowly come in on this person to reveal their face. It is a young man, maybe 40s. He's got a stubble, gray-black stubble hair, dark hair, with some flecks of gray in it. Perhaps a small scar snaking down his cheek

through the stubble, down into the side of his neck, and his face is Shock ah And we turn to what he's seen a Hill Follow his gaze up the hill to a boulder Which has been carved into the unmistakable likeness of an elf. And then we come out of that scene.

So we're on Castroville. Could be anywhere. It could be anywhere. Who's to say? Especially Castroville. Yeah Who's the self who's to say if it's castorville or not or cast or could be? the you mean the famous alien elven alien elves where the jungle great statue of elves Rises from the jungle foliage. Mm-hmm. Yes

Could it could be? What what's the other option? Castroville. Right. You blew it up! You blew it all up! Aw, damn you! Well, let's have the Imagination

Copter veer now through the sky. Like a Huey flying over the jungle. So he shoots it down. Like the Hueys in Nam. That's right. And it will take us elsewhere because as we fade out of that scene, we now come up on a much different scene. In the current scene, we are on the grounds of a Gothic manor house. There's a wrought iron gate built into this large iron fence which is surrounding the grounds of this manor house.

Tons of acreage. You see a gravel path winding from the gate up to the manor's courtyard where a group of ibises, it's like little flamingo-like birds, are frolicking in a fountain. So we just kinda come in on these birds and then we start looping around the fountain where we see a figure sitting on the fountain's edge.

Maybe they have their back to us. One of the birds flaps its wings and darts off, maybe it was startled and the figure turns towards us with their piercing cat eyes. It's lucky. Me? So crazy how you just jump right into that. Nailed it. I mean, ladies and gentlemen, professional actors.

Yes, and? Go on. You turn to look at the sound of the birds and maybe you see the reason that the birds scattered off someone inadvertently startled them and you see this person, you do that thing where you like make eye contact. You don't know if you're supposed to look away quick, smile or like say hello. They're experiencing that same thing. I imagine you've spoken to this person.

I don't know how close your relationship with them is, but it's still pretty new. And that person is Talitha Breakwater. So you showed up? Ready for our session. Alright. Talitha brandishes her rapier. Alright, well, hold on, hold on. Put it away.

Put it away. I thought we were... I thought we were... We're going to. You have to... You have to do your stance right. How long have you been fighting? I've been fighting a battle in my mind my whole life.

That's very poetic. How long have you had that sword? Bought it in town five days ago. Okay, let's start with the basics. I'm done. No, no, no. I joke, I joke, I joke. Okay, hold on. And Lucky takes her wakizashi that was down,

and she pulls it out of its... So it jumps back. You can't be afraid. Just logical, just stand back from swords. You ever heard the saying, don't bring a knife to a crossbow fight? No. The whole point of having a weapon is you...

Don't bring a knife to a crossbow fight. Is this something people say? It's a really common saying where I'm from. So letha writes it down. Don't have to write it down. It's not important. That was interesting. If you have a weapon, you have to know how to use it. Because if you're fighting someone who has a weapon, they know how to use it better than you do. Probably. Well, especially in your case.

My point is, if you don't know how to use the rapier, don't bring it to a fight. So if you really want to learn, I'll show you. But you have to be... confident. I want to learn. All right, tie your hair up. Otherwise, it's going to get in the way. Tie your hair up. First of all, is the stance. You want to have your weight on your back foot.

Not on your front. So when you pull your sword out, you lean towards the back. When you swing forward, you switch the weight to your front foot. Does that make sense? Got it. Now when I fight with my Wakizashi, it's a little different. And I also have my Kopesh. So you just have the one, right? Just the one. All right, well, let's um, I don't know, hit something. Let's see how you do. Try to hit me.

And she pulls out the rapier and then she goes in for a launch. And Lucky just steps out of the way. And Talitha has like decent book learning technique. Like she's read about fencing. I was gonna say she's like a fencer though. She's like doing like a lot of fencing. Well I think she's never had an actual rapier so she's read books on fencing but she's never actually fenced with an opponent. Okay. Yeah, Lucky steps out of the way.

She knew the thing about the weight distribution, but she was humoring you. It's all theory. So then let's say, maybe it's all theory. Lucky steps out of the way, but she's surprised. It was a good lunch. I had time to study the classics. Huh. All right, let's go again.

And they start sort of, and then they start, they start actually, you know, Lucky is kind of blocking her shots and stepping back and stepping back and stepping back. And she pauses and she says, that's actually quite impressive. You've kind of boxed me in here. I had a lot of time to study. Impressive. You've kind of boxed me in here. I had a lot of time to study. Growing up. Where are you from again? Oh, that's...

The way I like to think about it is that I'm... I'm from the gate I walked out of. Same as you. Huh. I'm not from the gate I walked out of. Alright. As you wish. I'm actually from a small village.

You probably wouldn't know. Try me. Have you ever heard of the mother's teat? We're all knowledge check. National 15. It's... The proper name is Teetha. I've heard of Teetha. In relation to the mother's Teetha?

Yeah, well that's the name. That's its name, but everybody from there calls it the mother's Teet. Because when you're from there, you don't leave. You suck it at the mother's Teet. I understand. but I left you left before you walk through the gate yeah interesting for me I I was a prisoner there was no leaving for me the The gate was my way out. Really? That's interesting. A prisoner of your mind, so to speak, or...?

No, I'm... Oh, you were in a prison. I was not in a prison, but I was not allowed to leave. Sometimes I wonder if that was for good measure. I'm hoping to make a life for myself that is good in the world, thus, yes. So if you, I'm not gonna pry about your personal life and. What did you see in the game?

What? If you don't mind me asking. Sorry, that's personal. I'm curious. All right, but so. I'm curious. No, but I saw... Um, it was, uh, me. Did you see yourself? I did.

Oh, alright. Yeah, it's like a mirror, but like, um... Like it wasn't me. Like it was me but maybe older or I don't know I was powerful. It was me if I had made other choices. I was winning. Do you know what I mean? Winning. I was on top. I was the best. Oh. Is that what you saw?

And you walked through the gate to have that. I thought I would. Why wouldn't I? It was me. Perhaps that's what makes us different. I saw myself crossing a vast plain, exploring a forest, tree house, a compound of homes and a tree. I saw myself in the jungle. I saw myself all the places I had read about my entire life. I never got to see. And yet, and yet I didn't go through the gate for that. I said, that's not my destiny.

What did you go through the gate for? My brother. I couldn't let him, he went, he walked through the gate. I don't know what he saw, but I couldn't let him go alone. You have a brother who walked through the gate, I don't know what he saw, but I couldn't let him go alone. You have a brother who walked through the gate too? I do. He never returned. I'm trying to find him, I want to know what happened to him, where he is.

I understand. Huh. I didn't know that's how the... Die you die or work. I thought it just showed you... My thought of it was, it tricks you. It shows you what you most want. It knew who I was. Do you know what I mean?

It knew my past. It knew what I wanted in the future. It knew what I had done. It's like it was all of that at the same time, but it was telling me that I could achieve it. I could become what I wanted to always become. That's exactly how I felt. I suppose what I admire about you, Lucky,

is that you went through the gate and you sought it. I was too afraid. You did go for it. Yes, I did, I guess. Now here we are and I perhaps, what great adventures lie before us. Perhaps, have you gotten what you saw? No.

But- You are powerful though. It's not enough. I have things I need to do, and I need to be in full control. I need to, I need to amass an army. I need, I need way more power than I think I can ever get. But I think that's the trick of it. But I don't think it was an accident that I met you. I think I needed you. I think we need each other. Maybe that's how you solve it.

Maybe it's not a trick. Maybe it's like a puzzle or riddle. I was never good at riddles. But I know I'm still working on it, figuring it out. Yes. Perhaps you have solved it. You wish to find power and companionship. Fellow...fell fellows at arms,

and we are with you, Lucky. She holds up her rapier and is like, we have much to learn from you. And she takes her stance. Lucky stretches and she has her crop top on. You see her long stomach with her mark of the gate That's almost like branded tattooed on around her her It's gonna say belly button, but cats have

Nipples so nipples along her stomach. I guess I don't know Folk nipples cat folk belly, but I don't know how it works I think half folk have belly button I'm gonna say the catfolk have bellybuttons, cause she's got- Or maybe they have a nipple on each of one of your washboard abs. She's got boobs.

I'm confused now. Yeah, this is what's confusing. I'm getting in the weeds. She stretches. I wanna figure this out. Maybe she's just wearing a whole shirt. Where is it in the player core? There's a right answer and I don't wanna know it.

So she stretches. Is there one nipple where your belly. No, no it's not. Maybe she's wearing a coat today. We don't know what's going on down there. Grab some sash. She picks up her kopech that was off the edge of the fountain and her wakizashi, and she kind of does the cool thing

with the curved blade of the kopech where she runs it along the walkie-talkie And then takes her her stance with her two weapons now, and she goes all right. I'm not gonna hold back Please don't and then they start going again like the end of rocky 2 Exactly like the end Like the end of Robin Hood. Exactly like the end of Robin Hood. Freeze frame. There's no way that doesn't end like the end.

Well, those two sound like they have a bright future ahead of them. Very exciting. And then Lucky turns to the camera and goes, I'm going to live forever. I think we know why you both died. You were training to live forever. Self-defense.

Don't disparage her. I didn't know I was using a teacher befell by a mere fox. A common fox. A common fox. It crit on me. But wait, the fox then turned into a druid warrior, right? No. Surely.

Just a fox. It would have been a 10th level fox, right? At least, T'leetha- It was just a fox. Really strong fox. Hats get killed by foxes all the time. Unfortunately. That's why you shouldn't let them out. It's true.

At least T'leetha was killed by an unbalanced creature we weren't prepared for. Yeah. Yeah. True. One was killed by a fox and one was killed by a snail. And that is what the histories will say. Giant snail. Giant snail.

And legs. And it's happy legs. And legs and friends. It has legs and many friends. It can shoot parts of it at us. It can shoot its friends at us. Well yeah, take that all in. Flashback from the past and we'll be back right after this quick break. Oh, hey, it's your old pal Troy LaValley.

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It's freaking awesome. I'm just happy to have Fume to bring with me on like tour and stuff because when we go out, we're having fun, we have a few drinks, and that is when my willpower will just crumble and I'll fall back into the same old habits. But Fume gives me a legit alternative that is safe, doctor approved, and as I said before it can be used anywhere. Fume has served over 300,000 customers and you can be the next success story. For a limited time you can use our code GCN to get a free gift with your journey pack. Head to tryfume.com that's t-r-Y-F-U-M dot com and use our code GCN to get a free gift with your order today. We're back. We just had a lot of laughter. You can't know but.

Secret laughs. Helicopter cuts through this conservatory. Secret laughs. Secret laughs. You laugh conservatory. During our time with Professor. Before we went off together. Yeah, it feels like maybe we kind of just met. Like, they didn't know each other that well yet. Yeah, and I think that the thing. Usually some. We knew each other.

It's like you had a few conversations. She knew I fought. And I felt like that never came up in the show. Like, I felt like at some point you were going to help her train or something. That never came up. I think it was a continuation. I think every so often, Lucky would help Talitha train. help to leave the train. Right. So I was wondering if that manner

was like in seven arches or something. And but yeah, this was actually the events of the real sense manner of episode one, the manor house, manor house, free story. You know, we talked so much about the are wise with-playing. I wanted to focus in on sort of the Wise of the characters as well. And starting with these two departed characters is a good way to go. But let's stay in this scene. Maybe it's the same time concurrent with that scene. Maybe it's previous, maybe it's after, but it's the same location or on another part of the estate, a garden perhaps, and we just see a row of flowers. And then there's one flower that is like broken,

maybe somebody trampled over it. And we see a hand come in, like a grayish hand, lift the flower up, dig at the dirt a little bit, mound some fresh dirt over to make the flower stand up. And it's Brother Ramias. And Brother Ramias is working at this garden somewhere on this estate. You hear a voice pipe up from behind. Thank you for that.

Oh, so sorry. Uh, stand, give me a moment. Stands up slowly, turns around. You turn and you see Dr. Edward Riddleson. Oh, Dr. Riddleson. Hello. How are you? Good, good. Brother... Ramius. Ramius, right.

That's right. How are you finding your time here? That is quite excellent. The grounds are beautiful. Truly an impressive garden. Thank you. Yes, my family. They did a lot to make it look this nice. I try my best to keep it as well as they kept it. I'm not sure if I've had the time to speak with you before. To just honestly say how grateful I am for this opportunity to stay at this lovely place. As you know, I've been a bit without a home for some time, and a little transient, and so this is, it's wonderful again to be able to lay one's head on a soft pillow and get a good night's sleep.

Yes, well, now that we're all in the same boat, as it were, everything that has happened to you has happened to us, although we don't really know what that was, so I'd like to thank you as much as you thanking me. Hope you don't mind me saying so, but I've noticed since you arrived you've been mainly keeping to yourself. Yes, well I do love the gardening. I do love the plants and the fresh air. And I haven't made many friends, is all. But I'm sure that comes with time. made many friends as all but I'm sure that comes with time. Yes. After I returned from the gate I felt isolated as well.

I kept to myself. I just felt used. Abused is probably a strong word but it's like something had come to me in my sleep and violated me, not knowing what happened. On the other side, walking through, losing that time, I was ashamed. But I soon realized that in order to expiate these feelings, I needed to find others who experienced what I experienced. Now you've done half the work just by coming here.

That's brave. That's very brave of you to do that. Um, but now I would suggest you reach out and try to forge bonds with the other people here. The time may come when I will need to assemble a group of you to send you out into the field for research. I need... I need... I need leaders like you.

Most of the people here, they're too young, too green. I can tell that you have experienced a lot in your young life. Um... Well, in all honesty, I've... I've led a very... ...clustered life. I... This is why I have trouble talking with some of the folk here.

They... they don't... We have very different experiences. The friends that I made before were more family than anything. I've never built a friendship that wasn't based around people I was already living with, already sharing a strong faith with, doing chores day in and day out with, with one sort of, I don't want to say single-minded, but a very clear focus on why we were all there.

Folks here are here for so many different reasons. You could say that there is one grand reason that brought us all together, but for each one of us, it must be so different. Why we pursue this. And so I just ask that you grant me the honor of, despite my honest lack of experience, my honest lack of experience. The honor of going on whatever active quest you put together to make this happen, because I must do something. I must try. I cannot just sit around here waiting. I understand. I hope you don't mind, but when you arrived I looked into your abbey to learn more about you and

I can't find any records of it. Yes, it's very small and specific faith. It is not very popular in Afghanistan and therefore most people, it does not ring any bells for them. And we were far out in the country and mostly kept to ourselves. Our focus was on writing, reading, on copying the great works and texts of Gruhastha, elevating his writing. and texts of Gruhasta elevating his writing. And while we wish, of course, for everyone to know and understand the light that can be gained from faith in this incredible man, there is a certain lack of active preaching or missioning that we do. And so I feel that we are still very small, not well known.

Maybe as you're gesturing or something, you're gesturing with your hands, he notices like a burn scar or something. I don't know where they are on your body. I don't know how much you've talked about it. Mostly on his back, but yeah, they can run up his arm for sure. He just kind of looks at that. Maybe you see him looking at that and I don't know how much you've talked with him about what went down, but he's like, if I'm asking too many questions you don't feel comfortable

with, feel free to just deflect but Were there others who survived Yes, there were some survived But too few doctor to few There were many of us it was a small Abbey but there were There were 11 many of us. It was a small abbey, but there were... There were 114 of us when the fire struck. And only five survived.

And I don't know why I did. On the night of the missing moment, something compelled you to walk through? Yes. Have you shared it with anyone? I have not. It... it was too painful a memory. I don't know that it needs to be shared. Have you shared your gate moment with everyone? No, no.

Growing up my family had a riverboat called the Mossmaid. It's nothing too fancy, but they were great patrons of the arts. And always throwing these must-attend parties here, both at the estate house and on this riverboat. They would host galas to raise money for the local university here in Leverstadt. They were the toast of the town for a long time. Very generous people and I would attend these parties even as an adolescent. But on the night of one of these riverboat parties I had fallen ill. I was bedridden. Terrible sickness which I obviously recovered from. I was in and out of sleep that night,

and I awoke to the sounds of far-off screams. So I just, I used what little strength I had in my weakened condition to pull myself out of bed and rush to the porch where I looked out toward the river in the distance and saw the mossmaid engulfed in flames. Oh no. It had to be a nightmare. I thought to myself. I tried to shake myself out of it, a fever dream, perhaps, but it wasn't. I just, I darted toward the shore as best I could, praying that perhaps the

water would put out the flames before I got there. And when I'd reached the edge of the water, I watched the entire boat go up in smoke. My entire family was aboard the ship that night when it burned down. This was left to me, but it means very little. I imagined you would trade it all. That is what I saw in the gate. I'm so sorry, Dr. Wilson. It's such a tragedy. I know how it feels.

I know how alone and cut off you must have felt. Yes. So when I saw my family alive in the gate, I couldn't help but walk through. So many others here have been tempted by visions of everything they've ever wanted in life. And yet that time has been taken from us. Whatever that was we did not get, or did we? We have no idea. Some power from beyond has duped us and stolen our lives, a chunk of our lives. All of this is to say, I know what it is

to lose people close to you. And I can tell you from experience, having something to attach yourself to can help in the healing process. I suppose I've jumped from cause to cause over time, seeking these things, trying to walk in the giant footsteps that my parents left behind. This consortium was perhaps born out of this need to know. But all of us who have suffered this invisible pain of the gates, our markings, he shows the markings on his neck, are a constant reminder of that time that was taken from us.

We can heal, but we must be active participants in that process. Yes, I appreciate you saying that. I've been working hard. At the Abbey, I was pretty strictly worked the grounds. I helped with the hunting and with the grounds keeping. And I was an apprentice there to that for many many years and I had no skill of training whatsoever in the physicians building and ever since the disaster and my recovery I've learned a great deal about the body and its healing process. And so I've been working, trying to learn more about how to help people that are hurt

and patch these things up. And Gruhastha is, bless him, guiding my way as well. So I would be very eager should you put a team together. I would very much like to help. I think that I could offer my aid as a medic of sorts. I would love to try, at least. It's good to know. Thank you.

Did you plant drugs in my garden? A flail leaf bush? It is, oh, is that a A fly leaf bush. Is that a fly leaf bush? I didn't even notice I was working the daffodil in front of it. We'll talk about that. Sniffs the air. I always thought if you were gonna go grow some serious weed.

It always just made perfect sense to me. Just grow it in the garden in front of a manor house. Around the right side with a bunch of other flowers around it. Up at the cloisters. Right, right, exactly. Just go for the cloisters. Plant weed at the cloisters. You know those little weird parks in Manhattan that are just like a triangle that are like 25 feet long. Really weird little tiny gardens. It's like, why doesn't somebody who lives in this

apartment building just grow weeds in there? Nobody would ever look, nobody would ever notice. In amongst the other weeds. Yeah, all in amongst the other bunch of junk, bushes and stuff like that. Harvested at night. Exactly. All right, so from there, let's cut to maybe the gates. I mentioned the gate, the wrought iron fence, the gate opening. We don't see anybody there. Then we pan down and see a goblin.

Oh, the two buckles. Two buckles. I don't know. In your mind's eye, how did you imagine you came to Lepestadt to come to this manor? I don't know. I don't think he has any memory of what he saw or maybe that might all... It's all a blur. He came out and just found himself here.

I think the last memory he has, like I picture him in this garden, just literally chasing butterflies. Like he's just chasing, he's like chasing butterflies around. And I think he might, like if there's a tree or something, if there's a tree or something, if there's a tree, he seems completely carefree, just running around after these bugs.

And then he sees a tree, like something strikes him. And he just stares up at this tree, the branches, thinking about something that he was told before he came here. And that sort of stops him in his tracks. And you're staring up at the tree when a voice pipes up, Pardon me, Mr. Buggles, is it? And he just sort of shyly turns around towards the source of the voice. It's a tall man.

He's dressed in like a butler's outfit. And you met him when you arrived. He's the majordomo for the estate. His name is Alwin Kivirak. I said, sorry to bother you, Mr. Buggles. I understand you've been here for some time. Dr. Riddleson is trying to ensure that your accommodations are appropriate for you. We've had a lot of people arrive as of late and it's been a struggle trying to make sure everyone is situated. We want to make sure that you are most comfortable here.

Oh, yes. Yes, Mr. Albert, yes. Quite generous, thank you. I hope you're not offended by this question. You are the only one of your kind here at the estate at the moment. Is there any type of cuisine that you prefer? Anything, any delicacies that you require? Oh no, I am accustomed to eating whatever is popular.

Excellent, good. And again, our apologies for the dogs. We've moved the hounds into a kennel. They won't be roaming the grounds. And we've stabled the horses as well. I know – This breath catches. We've killed all the horses. We've murdered all the horses. Slain all the horses. We're eating horse food into the sea. We understand you were startled by these beasts. It is something

that we take for granted. And we do apologize for that, Dr. Valdisclav. I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. No, no trouble at all. We just want to make sure that you feel safe here. I know you are a long way from home. Where is it you are from again? And he just sort of like clams up, just kind of purses his lips together,

and he just looks up and sort of shakes his head and shrugs. Anyway, well, I will I will be with you shortly to attend any needs you may have. Dr. Riddleson is gathering everyone for a meeting later today. If there's anything you need in the meantime, please just let me or the others know. And he just sort of shakes, nods his head rapidly. And he walks away, but as he leaves the frame, you see in the distance, sitting alone alone a young half-elf Just you doing there you chilling smoking a cigarette Boiling

Probably like I don't know how you tend to a bow but like tending to it oil it Yeah, it's a wooden, probably oiling it. Just finding something to do. I feel like she's bored in this limbo of being at a manor and not being out. RIP, Zephyr's bow. Zephyr's bow. Yeah, remember that bow?

The real loss of that episode. It's true. Wow. Zephyr's bow. Am I right? Zoom in on the bow. Did we lose anything else? Ugh, I don't know. Wow. Am I right? Zoom in on the bow. Did we lose anything else? I don't know.

Bow. Yeah. 2024 to 2024. Yeah. Yeah. I'll be doing that. In the arms of the bow. Some buckles.

You see this half elf, you assume? You see the ears. Looks elf, maybe elf. Just oiling up a bow. So yeah, Buggles sees her sitting over there and he studiously kind of is avoiding looking at her, but is sort of trying to casually get closer and closer to her. So he's sort of pretending to be wandering aimlessly, but it's just sort of like getting

closer and closer, like as he wanders about. And he's sort of like picking flowers, like any like wildflower, like dandelions, like anything like that. You know, not anything that's curated, but he's just grabbing any little clovers and dandelions. And he sidles up to her with his hands behind his back and says, hello. Oh, hey. with his hands behind his back and Hello, oh Hey What what are you doing? Oh

Just up keeping my bow while we're You know Got some downtime and needs to be tended to so that it stays good. Oh. Oh. Yeah. Just so it's made of wood so I just keep it oiled so it doesn't stay flexible. Oh, that's good.

Yeah. Hmm. What are you doing? I'm a guest of the doctor's. And he sort of like just clams up again. It's kind of person flips. So awkward. Me too, actually. I've seen you around, we haven't met.

I'm Zephyr. I've seen you around, we haven't met. I'm Zephyr. Oh, and he reaches out his hand to, reflexively to shake her hand, and it's the hand full of those flowers. And... Oh. Like, oh, and he gets like, blushes like a dark green,

and he's just like, he hands them to her. I think she is surprised but laughs like that. She's like, oh, thanks. This is very pretty. I thought you might like them. Yeah, I do. I think he's into you. Hey, is this guy bothering you?

The sponsor comes over. is this guy bothering you? The bouncer comes over. Is this guy bothering you? The problem here. Do you like puddings? Pudding? Yeah. Who wouldn't like pudding, right? I like pudding.

I like chocolate pudding. Oh. Chocolate pudding. I was never allowed to eat chocolate pudding. Oh. Looks good. Maybe if they have some here, we can make some. What?

Try it. I'd like that. Yeah. All right. Goodbye. All right, bye. Can you like, to carry away? Yeah. We just feed.

Just like watch as you leave, like, goes back to. Were you eating plain pudding? Right, what flavor were you eating? Unflavored. Unflavored pudding. Vanilla. Vanilla, yeah. Vanilla was very popular in Arcadia.

Arcadia. Yeah,illa pudding. The cocoa bean has not made its way to the island. Well, it was, they had it, but it was not for the staff. Ah. One of those. I love vanilla pudding. Yeah, that's good.

I think I'll take it over chocolate pudding almost every time. I would not say that, but... No, no. Matt had the reaction I had, what the hell? Vanilla is underrated, but it's properly rated beneath chocolate. It's a delicate flavor. I have a real aversion to people using vanilla as an adjective to mean like plain and uninteresting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because vanilla is a really interesting flavor that's really expensive. We've just ascribed it to a really popular flavor. In our decadent society, we've become accustomed to such luxuries. Yes. And we've become accustomed to such luxuries. Yes. And we've lost appreciation. I think also there's the faux vanilla versus real vanilla, which is like a really wonderful flavor, but a lot of the vanilla flavored things are like not what vanilla actually tastes like.

So I'm not disagreeing. I just like chocolate better. I love a Stoli vanilla. You're kind of with a diet coke. Oh, yeah. You have one right now. It tastes like a cream soda. No, I'm getting the lunch.

Oh, yeah. A Stoli. Stoli You have one right now. Tastes like a cream soda. No, I'm getting the lunch. Oh, yeah. I stole it. Stole the vanilla all the way. Dude, that's how we executives do it, the two stole the vanilla lunch. That's awesome.

I'm in. Stole the vanilla and diet. So Buggles walks away and Zephyr's just left holding these flowers. And we see those flowers just sort of fade and turn into some other type of flora. Same colors, but much different. Grass and weeds and vines all gnarled. And instead of being lit by the daylight sun of Lepestadt, they are lit by the flame of a campfire.

Somewhere in this jungle, you've escaped the snail. You've got to safety. You now have been attacked twice by these strange creatures, these amalgamations of other beasts that would have been just mundane to you in the past. Monkey scorpion, snail centipede. What is everyone doing in this moment? I'd say it's probably been a few hours. Maybe you had to really trek. You've gone off what little path there was to just find some place that seems safe and

away from danger, carefully moving. So it's slowed down your movement, but you've found a place that through Zephyr's scouting perhaps, you feel like safe enough for now. What's everybody doing? I think Buggles, once we have like a moment to breathe and to think, he's sort of just lying on his side, sort of quietly weeping like Pippin after after Moria is clutching Talitha's hand crossbow. Sephir is probably like nearby. She's not going cry with you, but like a few feet away so that you know she's nearby and also just like crying to herself probably.

Ramious is just rubbing one hand into the other, staring into the fire, just like flickering in his eyes and there's a darkness in his eyes and he's got a cigarette in his outer hand, his finger that's like just burning long ash on the end of it. He's just grinding his hands together and his jaws clenched tight. And Asta, her fur is still kind of wild and puffy after being in the water and all the humidity and after trudging through the jungle. There's just like sticks and stuff. She looks rough in this white pristine fur that's glowing more like orange and dingy

in this campfire light and she has these red sort of tassely things that are she has like one around her waist and one that's on her katana and she seems to be slowly like weaving one kind of braiding it in some sort of fashion next to Ramias at the fire and they're both doing the thing where they're like doing an activity together but not talking like they're tending the fire together and she's just sitting there maybe like stare thousand-yard stare and maybe like humming almost inaudibly and kind of like just like rocking, staring at the fire. What are you humming?

The thong song? Yeah. Yeah. Ah! Ah! Ah! Very, very hummable song. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I can't even think of how to hum the thong song. You can't like gently hum that song. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So in a program, for the room, can't like gently hum that song. Yeah. So inappropriate. For the rest of the song.

The Gulerian version of the thong song. She's dead! She loved thongs. Uh... Yeah, she's just uh... It's like... Yeah, it's just like... Hmm, hmm, hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm.

Hmm, hmm, hmm. You can't tell what it is, but... It feels sad. It just feels, I don't know, maybe like a folk song or something. But it's a little sad. It just feels, I don't know, maybe like a folk song or something, but it's a little sad. Song of the Forests. Is it nighttime? Yeah. Zephyr's definitely like in between crying, like taking her hands down and just like looking up at the stars and just getting more and more frustrated and sad because she looks up and she does not know where she is. Nothing up there looks familiar.

Cause it's Castroville. Cause it's cast. We don't know where we are. Right. It could be still on Galarian, but she does not recognize the constellations. I can't, we keep saying Castroville and I do think we're on Castro. Yeah. What is my, my knowledge of Castroville, the planet is informed by my star finder playing. So what is my my knowledge of castravel the planet is informed by my starfinder playing so what is like our Is it common knowledge on glaring that elves are from castravel is like that all this is what I asked I think I don't oh no, it's an uncannoned fodder. Yeah, I asked a cat a fodder like what Troy believes is the common knowledge of people of our education level of the solar system.

Yeah. Like right now. We probably know the name of the planet. Imagine the learned among you are familiar with the planets. And kind of would know the elves came from Castrovel or at one point there was an elvish planet. I don't know. Yeah.

I guess that kind of very basic fact you would probably as a semi educated person know something about. And certainly Zephyr in you know in her histories I'm sure your parents were like, I can tell you about our history. It could like point out that like the star in the sky, it's just like we came from there. Yeah I'm sure that kind of, not folklore, but that oral tradition had been handed down to that star is where the elves came from. There have been stories of people visiting from Galerion to Castorvel. It's not impossible to make that travel for people who are very, very powerful. There have been stories of

that. It's kind of like a sister planet to Galerion in many ways, but it's nothing like a mundane run of the mill human being gets to go visit Castorville, not unlike what it would be for us to try and go to the moon right now. I was gonna say, like, Jeff Bezos going to outer space. Yeah. I'm sure there's some rich magnum-arm merchant who is like, I'm going to Castorville next week. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't think the normal, I don't think almost anyone would know anything about what Castorville is actually like right now I would guess yeah, maybe you know

But I mean you could wage your probe telling us that but I believe that we like treasure like serious like really rich Expeditions that have gone like treasure-seeking out there You know you've heard stories, but it's not like you have a buddy that of a friend of a friend of a friend that has visited Castor. Well, so well here's a good. Here's a good question. I think they could put it in perspective is is how many like 17th level Casters do you think are in the world that I think about that a lot. I do too. Yeah Yeah, so I go back and forth between six. Oh, here's a thousand. Well, here's a question. It could there be

Zero for multiple generations? You know what I mean? And then there's one in a, you know, every few generations. I prefer a world where they're incredibly rare, but I think that like Pathfinder generally leans more towards this stuff is more everyday common. I don't like thinking that way. I would rather not play in that world. I'd rather play in a world where this kind of stuff is extremely rare and notable. So if you were a 17th level caster, you could teleport to Casterville.

So it wouldn't be that strange to have either super rich people have access to this kind of stuff, or have some of the most incredible learned wizards ever in the world could have visited it and described it or written about it in books, you know. Yeah. But then are they making, do you trust that source? Totally. So yeah, that's like what kind of knowledge would we have?

As many or more people could write just complete bullshit. So it's like, yeah, I've been there. It's all frogs. You know, you just step on them everywhere you go. Frogs all the way down. Back to the frog. Back to the frog. Back to the frog.

Don't go there. It's just frogs. Sucks. Sucks. It's just frogs. That's the Google review. One star. Too many frogs. I think, um... It all started at check-in.

I think Ramious could speak up here. The ash falls. The ash falls. Maybe on the end of his hand he flicks it off. He has kind of like an angry look to his face. He's just mad that this happened. He can see the series of events that led to it. Not paying enough attention to the details.

Takes a breath and breathes the smoke out and join the fire smoke. It's just like, perhaps, perhaps, would anyone like to say something about Talitha? Would anyone like to say something to honor her memory and send it up with smoke? May ease our minds. Well, I know I'm new here. Oh, Jesus Christ.

I like to think that Sister Talitha and I... Brother, brother. Brother, brother Talitha and I. Well, you told me to say sister, but yeah, no, brother Talitha. We've grown a little close, I think. Not quite sure. Well, it's like to be close with someone with lungs. It's going well. She was very tall, very tall, had pretty eyes, very nice eyes, kind eyes. She patted me on the head once. I think she was pushing me out of the way, but I took it as a pat. Gentle. I think she might pushing me out of the way, but I took it as a pat. Gentle. Think she might have liked me. Excellent, thank you.

Thank you for your kind words. Sexy. Sexy. Long legs. Would anyone else? Smelled like me, mom. Like to say anything? Zephyr.

You look at her and Zephyr like looks away. Buggles. Buggles kind of pulls himself together, pulls himself up off the forest floor. He's still clutching this hand across bow to his chest, walks over to the fire. the Sahandacrossbow to his chest, walks over to the fire. Talitha was very kind. She was one of the first people I met as a free person. She was very, very kind to me. She also soon proved to be very, very brave. She was the smartest person I ever knew. I will miss her." And he takes the hand crossbow out reverently and drops it into the fire.

No, just kidding. Sparks like breaks it over his life. He thinks about it and he, but he just hold it. He can't bear to this. I mean, this is really the last. This is all we have left of her, is this hand crossbow. So he just like, sort of grips it tight and sort of backs away, sits down on a log. intelligent you could see it in her eyes her knowledge on subjects so far-ranging very impressive she must have been very well read I wish I had spoken to her

more I know that I I haven't been with you as as long and I didn't know Talitha as well. But I do feel... If... If we had been... Together a little longer, I think she would have been a great friend of mine. And I do feel very close to her. It's a strange feeling. And she kind of just like, touches her face around her eyes. Her eyes.

I feel like I have a piece of her still. So... And when we... When we went into the... The chamber... I feel like I saw... What she saw. And I don't... I'm sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for. I never got to know her very well.

She seemed kind, I guess, I don't know, very guarded. She was very guarded. I think she was protecting me. I think she was protecting... I think you're right. Whatever secrets she carried... I hope she wasn't burdened by them. Burdened too much. Buckles, you were right. She was so brave. But she was also a little...

...eccentric. Remember? Which was also a little eccentric. Remember? Remember Bolan? She ran him through so quickly. I don't know what you're talking about. That was so cool. Did you like that? Yeah.

Why? Because she was mad and she did what she wanted to do. We were all mad. Lucky died in that fight. And yeah, he deserved it. Perhaps he did. Yeah, he deserved it. Perhaps he did.

I... I would have been... I think we could have been rewarded by a little more restraint. But... Perhaps just... Going with what you feel whenever you feel it... Is... Okay. It's just not how I was taught, that's all. whatever you feel, whenever you feel it, is okay.

It's just not how I was taught, that's all. That's what made her cool, that and she saved me. I think you said you didn't know her that well, yet you've traveled together, all of you. And I didn't know her that well, and I didn't know Lucky. Maybe we should all say something about ourselves. It's dangerous here, and... I don't know, it would be good to know...

each other? She like kind of shrinks down as everyone looks at her quietly I think that's, I think that's an excellent idea, Asta. I think it just comes from a very good place Yes, I think all of us know for one reason or another why we've come here. We are after all gate-walkers. But I know very little about all of you. I don't know if it helps us in this place to know more about each other, but it certainly couldn't hurt. other but it certainly couldn't hurt. I'll go first. I'll go first. And he just puts out the cigarette, puts a gentle toe on it, crushes it into the forest floor, the jungle

floor. A bear wearing a hat steps up behind you and falls back. I move so desperately seeking what happened the night of the missing moment? Because I saw something in the gate that I greatly feared, but also loved very deeply. I saw my brother. My brother died. Or maybe didn't I'm sorry when I was very young

when we were very young and I believed him to be alive. He had fallen. And on a cliff's edge, there was a violent sea there, but there was space, space where he could survive. My parents, the entire village, no one ever found his body. And they presumed him dead, but I, I knew that he lived. I could feel it. He was my twin. And I kept pressing this. And I'm afraid I may have hurt my parents with my belief that he was alive.

Anyway, what happens happens. But in the gate, I saw him. But he was my age. He had grown. He was alive. I knew he was. And I thought at once that I was right. All these years I was right.

And so I went to him to find him. And we all know what happens next. I'm left wondering, as Dr. Riddle-son said to me once back at the manor, if it was just a cool trick, playing on what I wanted, what I loved, just to draw me in, or whether he still lives, that feeling is deep within me that he does, deep down. But it has grown so weary with age, so decayed that I can't trust it anymore. Sorry, but that is why I want to get through this jungle to that place. That is why I want to get back home, or at least back to those who can help us find out what happened when we walked through the gate.

He starts reaching into his robes and sits back. Oh. So sorry. Didn't mean to... No, it's good. It is a weight off my chest. So sorry. Didn't mean to. No, it's good. It is a weight off my chest. I'm glad. And he pulls out tobacco and some book papers. And Buggles comes up and sort of lays his hands,

his little three-fingered hand on your hand as you're trying to roll the cigarette. He's just like patting it. Thank you, Buckles. You are so comforting. And Asta kind of looks at Zephyr. And everyone looks at Zephyr. What? What?

You want to know more about me? I would be honored to know more. Doesn't matter, I shouldn't be here. This is a mistake. I knew where we were, I would leave. I don't know why the gate opened for me, why it lured me in, what happened when I was in there. It was wrong.

This was the wrong choice. I shouldn't have gotten sidetracked with trying to figure out what happened. I should have just stayed on my original track and not veered from that. This was a mist. I shouldn't be here. What was your original track? I was looking for, I don't know if you've heard of it, it's a kind of elusive monastery called the Stellarium Sagittari.

It's where monks who are really good at bows train. And I thought I was good at bows, and I thought I would get better. And then I went through the gate, and then I kind of got worse at everything I do. I just, I went through the gate, I came back. But you are excellent with bows. No, there's something different. There's just like something like underneath, just underneath my skin.

Just like, like coursing through me that I can't control. That just makes everything a little unwieldy ever since then. And now I've gone so far backwards from where I imagined I would be, where I should be. I have nothing now. And she like looks at her hands like empty hands, no bow. Like. And she like looks at her hands like empty hands, no bow. So I'm sorry. When I, when I brought this up, I thought it would be like our favorite foods or colors.

I didn't realize everyone. Buggles and I really like pudding. We do like pudding. I just want some chocolate pudding. It was really good when we made it that one time Wasn't it? It was really good. It was really good. I was trying to lighten the mood. I didn't think it Tastes so good. I was really sorry. It's good to do things with friends Great idea, Asta

I didn't... I just wanted to go home and have some pudding. It's okay, if you just go back in your brain and pretend you're back at the house and we'll be making pudding together. I wish Talitha was here. And we'll eat it. She's not, she's dead! She'll have my pudding again! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've never really told anyone this.

Oh god. But I pee and poop out of the same hole. Jesus Christ. Is that wrong? You have more than one? Are you supposed to do that? Is it weird? Do hedgehogs have cloacas? I think something is very wrong with you.

What was that? You just wanted to share something. Did I do it right? Did I do it right? Did I do it right? Everybody roll a perception check. Forgot we were playing a game. I stole into everything. What are these dice doing here?

21 for Buggles. 15 for Brother Ramius. 13 for Zephyr. 22. 22, all right, so... Asta, you hear this in Buggles. Your crying is disturbed by like your sixth sense. You hear a rustling in the bushes nearby.

Everyone's let their guard down in this moment, but you two hear rustling in the bushes. Asta grabs her katana immediately. Sheesh. And walks towards the bushes. Quick break in the action. Oh. We're totally healed up, for the record. Okay. Okay.

Got it. We've done that. If this is night time, then we have continual recovery, medicked all up. That's awesome. I didn't even look. I did have to hit points when we left off so cool Cool, thank you. Put that out there gone. We just yeah wounded conditions gone. We just did that Off screen. Yeah and cut to the cool part She Bushes Russell

And a man emerges. I stab him. God damn it. Right. Yeah, I agree. You run him through. Describe your death. Describe your death.

Give him it, I gotta build a new character. Another guy walks up from behind. Please don't stab me. He was good. I'm good. Thank you,. Another guy walks up from behind. Please don't stab me! He was dead! Thank you, he's been pursuing me for dead! A similar looking man steps out from behind. A very similar looking man. No, Oso just points the katana at him.

What does this man look like? Brother Amias jumps up off this rock, stumbles back. You see a tall, human man. He's well built. One might even say strapping or handsome. Ooh, let me write that down. Or hot. Oh, a hot man.

Whoa. Dashing, we'll see. I wasn't expecting a hot man. I wasn't expecting a hot guy. You see the hint of a tattoo peeking out from under his left cuff, that's my right cuff, this is right cuff, left cuff. He's my right cuff. This is my right cuff. He's wearing a long coat. You can see lots of tiny little pockets,

one of those where you can stash little bits and bobs away. The kind of coat I've always wanted my whole life. It's long and flows in the wind really awesomely behind you. Like a duster? Yeah. Well, not like a duster, but like a trench coat, but not... Does it have pockets on the inside? Yes. Like a pedophile.

Yeah. Oh, me. I go, no. You're ruining it. You're ruining the pedophile. This is the second time you ruined this location. Oh my god. Wait, do pedophiles have lots of pockets inside their jacket?

That's where they keep the cans. What do they keep in there? In my mind, I was like, I was like a salesman, Where they keep the can A salesman and then my So you consider salesmen I don't know what they're selling. We're not interested in pedophiles. We don't want anything. I don't want any of that. I'm not interested. You don't want it. Oh, jeez.

Sidney ruined it. Kill my character. I understand the coat. Cool coat, man. He's got like cool Star Wars boots, too. Oh, sweet. Oh, okay awesome Yeah, he's in his 40. I'm gonna get back into it reset

pause for edit no more out of you At least look it up words up with addiction we say Oh no! Sidney's gonna talk! Sidney's gonna talk! I crack myself up. Oh god. Go on. So you'd guess he's probably in his 40s. He's got salt and pepper hair, salt and pepper stubble. He's got one of those dramatic, like, you know, walking through the jungle, so his hair's a little sway. He's got one of those dramatic forelocks, making him look like a 90s heartthrob.

He's got a scar. We've heard about this before. Snaking down from his cheek, kind of through the salt and pepper stubble and down the side of his neck. And he is carrying- he's got piercing blue eyes and he looks at you, and he's carrying Zephyr's bow. Oh! Shit! Uh, pardon the interruption. blue eyes and he looks at you and he's carrying Zephyr's bow. Oh shit. Pardon the interruption. I think this might be yours. And we'll see you next week.

Oh, come it on right there. Whoa. Wow. You gave me the pause, I had to take it. Yeah, that was perfect. Chunky pause. Chunky pause. Chunky pause.

Who's the used car pedophile? I wanna know, not this guy. I'm out to know. I want to know. I'll have that next week. I'll have that next week. Everything's ruined. Oh, sorry Matthew. He works so hard and then Sydney ruins it! It's time to make your membership

official. Become an official member of the Naish today at JoinTheNaish.com. That's JoinTheNaish.com, where you'll get access to exclusive podcasts and live streams you can't find anywhere else. See what everybody's talking about and join the Naish today at JoinTheNaation.com. Welcome to a journey into the heart of the Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation's largest and rowdiest celebration of medieval fantasy. But what lurks beneath the facade of tights and turkey legs? Well, we dove deep into the empire to uncover a history marred by mystery and misconduct, murders, assaults, and other

crimes that tarnish its legacy. This isn't just a fairy tale, it's a cautionary tale of power, fantasy, and the consequences that follow when they all collide. Search for Crime Waves Renaissance Texas on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening now.