00:00:00Gamemaster:Hi, Craig.

00:00:04Gamemaster:Now we'll read the transcript, so it's just you and me.

00:00:12Gamemaster:Just between you and me, the big bad is... Oh, hi, Mike.

00:00:19Benny:Oh, hi, Josh.

00:00:21Gamemaster:Really wasn't talking to Craig right before you joined.

00:00:26Benny:Why would you do that?

00:00:28Gamemaster:I thought it would be funny to tell them secrets and then see if anybody talks about them.

00:00:38Gamemaster:Because I don't think anybody's reading the transcript.

00:00:40Gamemaster:They're mostly just for me to go back and know things.

00:00:44Gamemaster:But if you look in the transcript for today, because of your excellent timing, it's going to say, from me, hi Craig, just so you know the big bad of this campaign is, and then you join.

00:00:59Gamemaster:Which is excellent comedic timing.

00:01:01Gamemaster:So thank you for that.

00:01:03Benny:You're welcome.

00:01:06Benny:Oh, hi, Mike.

00:01:07Benny:It was very, very genuine.

00:01:08Benny:You're just like, oh, hey, how's it going?

00:01:11Gamemaster:Yeah, I was legitimately surprised, but in a pleasant way, so it's fine.

00:01:21Benny:Deloited.

00:01:23Gamemaster:I think you should get a new, fun background.

00:01:28Gamemaster:We've had this one for years now.

00:01:30Gamemaster:I've read all of the text on it.

00:01:30Anzu:Thank you.

00:01:33Gamemaster:You need to give me a new background to read the textbook.

00:01:35Benny:i can't i can't read it because it's backwards okay well don't install them

00:01:39Gamemaster:Right.

00:01:39Gamemaster:For me, it's forwards, though.

00:01:42Gamemaster:I guess that's what you should do.

00:01:43Gamemaster:You should get a version of this but mirrored so that you can read it.

00:01:50Gamemaster:You're not saying anything, Jorge.

00:01:53Argyle:Yeah.

00:01:54Argyle:You know, that's the equivalent of it's a push when you're like, oh, you're muted.

00:02:00Argyle:It's like, I'm all muted.

00:02:01Argyle:I'm going to fix it.

00:02:03Gamemaster:I like the mustache.

00:02:03Johnny:Jorge, you're muted.

00:02:04Johnny:Did everyone call you sir?

00:02:06Argyle:Thank you.

00:02:08Anzu:Fancy, fancy.

00:02:08Argyle:I was pouring houses on Saturday, and I figured I should look more adult-like, so I shaved.

00:02:15Gamemaster:Does it help?

00:02:16Anzu:Very smart.

00:02:18Gamemaster:Does the mustache make you feel like you're more adult?

00:02:20Argyle:Unequivocally.

00:02:21Argyle:I get treated better.

00:02:21Gamemaster:Okay.

00:02:25Benny:Yeah, Jorge, you commented on this before.

00:02:25Argyle:Yeah, yeah.

00:02:28Benny:You came on with a mustache, and you're just like, people are taking me way more seriously at work now.

00:02:34Benny:I can be angrier, and people are like, he's being stern.

00:02:38Benny:I should get stuff done instead of being like, he's whining.

00:02:39Argyle:Yeah.

00:02:41Argyle:It's true.

00:02:41Gamemaster:I have never once thought of a co-worker that they're stern.

00:02:48Anzu:You don't have any Stern coworkers?

00:02:48Gamemaster:I don't think that particularly... I don't have... I've never had a stern co-worker.

00:02:50Benny:You don't work on a boat then?

00:02:50Argyle:Have you worked with... Alright, not... I hope...

00:02:52Gamemaster:The only... Oh, no.

00:02:54Argyle:I hope this doesn't offend anyone on this call, but have you worked with Israeli people before?

00:03:00Anzu:Bro.

00:03:01Gamemaster:Stern people are not stern.

00:03:03Gamemaster:They're concise, and they don't take any nonsense.

00:03:04Argyle:They're very direct.

00:03:06Gamemaster:They're direct.

00:03:07Gamemaster:That's not stern.

00:03:07Argyle:That's what stern is.

00:03:10Gamemaster:I know many Israelis.

00:03:10Argyle:Not taking any nonsense?

00:03:11Gamemaster:None of them are stern.

00:03:13Gamemaster:They're perhaps rude, but they're definitely not stern.

00:03:14Argyle:Maybe... Stern, a person who's serious and unrelenting.

00:03:24Benny:Oh, I thought it...

00:03:25Argyle:Exercising discipline.

00:03:25Anzu:you know that

00:03:27Gamemaster:Stern is like a discipline thing.

00:03:29Argyle:Yeah.

00:03:31Gamemaster:I would not describe Israelis as a stern people.

00:03:36Argyle:Well, I will say, having had two Israeli bosses, they do use the second definition, which is putting someone or something under extreme pressure.

00:03:45Argyle:That has happened.

00:03:47Gamemaster:I believe in that.

00:03:47Argyle:I don't dislike the people.

00:03:49Gamemaster:I mean... I don't know the pun you're trying to make.

00:03:51Argyle:But it's very funny how they're just so direct and I'm like, these are stern people.

00:03:56Benny:I thought it had something to do with, I don't know, mixing food?

00:04:07Argyle:He's just making a Jewish joke.

00:04:07Benny:Because you're stern?

00:04:09Gamemaster:Oh, stirring.

00:04:11Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

00:04:13Gamemaster:It's not a pun.

00:04:13Anzu:Mute him.

00:04:14Gamemaster:It's bad pronunciation.

00:04:16Benny:People in Atlanta say it.

00:04:18Gamemaster:Okay, are any of us in or from Atlanta?

00:04:24Benny:No, but I'll sound like it soon.

00:04:25Benny:I've been practicing.

00:04:27Argyle:I'll be right back.

00:04:27Anzu:Oh, no.

00:04:27Gamemaster:I hope.

00:04:27Johnny:Do we hear it?

00:04:28Anzu:That's bad.

00:04:28Gamemaster:I'd like that.

00:04:29Benny:Did you say stuff like scrimp instead of shrimp?

00:04:33Gamemaster:Is that a thing people from Atlanta say?

00:04:35Benny:Yeah, they say scrimp.

00:04:36Gamemaster:Okay, good for them.

00:04:40Johnny:So it's just totally normal mic voice and then scrimp.

00:04:43Benny:Well, the boat pun didn't land, so I had to add in another one.

00:04:49Gamemaster:Wait, the boat pun?

00:04:50Gamemaster:Did I miss a boat pun?

00:04:50Benny:Yeah.

00:04:51Benny:Yeah, because you said you never had a co-worker that was...

00:04:52Anzu:Mm hmm.

00:04:54Gamemaster:Oh, right.

00:04:55Gamemaster:You did say that and we glossed right over it.

00:04:59Gamemaster:As it deserved.

00:05:03Benny:as it described hey you're making a comment on people that live in atlanta bro i'm being accurate

00:05:05Gamemaster:No, I know for a fact that people in Atlanta do not say it as discurbed.

00:05:12Johnny:It just sounds like you're losing control of your mouth halfway through the word.

00:05:12Gamemaster:I'm sorry.

00:05:17Johnny:Like it just... I have not heard an accent from Atlanta.

00:05:18Gamemaster:Nope.

00:05:26Gamemaster:Nope.

00:05:29Johnny:I've just heard you saying it's an Atlanta accent.

00:05:32Benny:Are you familiar with... Are you familiar with... What's that one song?

00:05:33Gamemaster:But that's all you need.

00:05:41Benny:I think it's by Young Thug.

00:05:44Benny:My lifestyle.

00:05:49Benny:That's all in an Atlanta accent.

00:05:53Anzu:Did that work for anybody?

00:05:53Johnny:This is all.

00:05:55Anzu:Can we get a show of hands?

00:05:58Johnny:Yep, I got it now.

00:05:58Gamemaster:I heard it.

00:06:01Johnny:You ever heard that Young Thug song?

00:06:02Benny:Oh, you should be.

00:06:02Johnny:Lifestyle.

00:06:06Anzu:I'm not familiar with Young Thug's discography.

00:06:10Anzu:I fumbled that.

00:06:10Benny:I've got it.

00:06:14Gamemaster:No, I think you're fine.

00:06:17Johnny:Rich Gang.

00:06:19Benny:Yeah, Rich Homie Kwan is in this song.

00:06:22Gamemaster:The video contains content from UMG who is blocked from displaying this website or application.

00:06:27Benny:I like how they don't have a profile picture.

00:06:28Argyle:On a separate note, I feel like I'm not too high maintenance and demanding.

00:06:31Gamemaster:UMG?

00:06:32Benny:No, Rich Gang.

00:06:33Benny:The YouTube channel with almost 2 million subscribers that I think was where maybe still is Young Thug is signed.

00:06:36Gamemaster:Do they need one?

00:06:57Argyle:But there's two things that really piss me off.

00:07:01Argyle:And number one is, there's some local grocery stores near me, and all of them are supposed to be fancy, and I have to pay for a lot.

00:07:09Johnny:you you

00:07:11Argyle:It's expensive.

00:07:13Argyle:You want to get a normal piece of chicken, or if you're done chicken, it's like $30.

00:07:18Argyle:The steaks can be like $50 or something.

00:07:20Argyle:It's ridiculous.

00:07:21Gamemaster:The Air One experience.

00:07:22Argyle:But...

00:07:23Argyle:No, it's not an air.

00:07:25Argyle:It's literally like there's two grocery stores within miles.

00:07:26Gamemaster:I know it's not in Air One, because they're only in California, but it's the same vibe.

00:07:29Argyle:Yeah.

00:07:31Argyle:But it's not even supposed to.

00:07:32Argyle:I think they're trying to be bougier Wegmans.

00:07:34Argyle:But yeah, continue.

00:07:35Johnny:Sorry, I do have to apologize to Mike.

00:07:37Johnny:I watched the opening 30 seconds of that video he sent, and it did sound exactly like that.

00:07:42Benny:Mm hmm.

00:07:43Johnny:Sorry, please continue.

00:07:45Argyle:But yeah, I feel like if I'm being forced to pay for overpriced groceries, they shouldn't be boiled and rotten.

00:07:53Argyle:and I shouldn't have to bag my own groceries.

00:07:59Gamemaster:You're paying for...

00:07:59Anzu:You should be pecking for quality.

00:08:03Argyle:Yeah, yeah.

00:08:04Argyle:And you know, if the eggs are $20, why do I have to put them in the bag?

00:08:10Argyle:That's crazy to me.

00:08:11Argyle:But anyway, there isn't lines.

00:08:14Argyle:There isn't long lines.

00:08:15Argyle:Anyway, another annoying thing I find is once or twice a year when I order Uber Eats or something,

00:08:24Argyle:The driver just like steals my food.

00:08:26Argyle:They take it.

00:08:27Argyle:They don't move.

00:08:28Argyle:It's super late.

00:08:29Argyle:And they refuse to give me refunds.

00:08:31Argyle:And I'm like, guys, I'm not a thief.

00:08:35Argyle:You know how many orders I do.

00:08:37Argyle:And I request a refund like once or twice a year.

00:08:42Argyle:And I order too much.

00:08:44Argyle:Why are you treating me like I'm a thief?

00:08:45Johnny:you

00:08:47Argyle:You should have these metrics.

00:08:50Argyle:It's not like I just out of the blue ordered a $300 dinner and then said, they didn't deliver it as I eat it all.

00:08:56Argyle:It's like, come on.

00:08:58Argyle:It really pisses me off.

00:08:59Argyle:All right.

00:08:59Anzu:Are they saying they delivered it?

00:09:04Anzu:Don't they have to put a picture or something?

00:09:06Argyle:No, so what Uber Eats does is when you order food, it goes, this is your ETA.

00:09:11Argyle:Let's say it's 20 minutes.

00:09:13Argyle:And when you click it, it says,

00:09:14Argyle:We'll deliver it in 20 minutes.

00:09:15Argyle:Let's say you order at 6.

00:09:16Argyle:Deliver at 6.20.

00:09:18Argyle:Latest 6.50.

00:09:20Argyle:And if you don't screenshot that, when you look at it at like 6.40, it goes latest 7.50.

00:09:27Argyle:And then you can request what the fuck's happening.

00:09:30Argyle:And they go, sorry, sir.

00:09:31Argyle:Latest arrival is 7.50.

00:09:34Argyle:And you can send them the screenshot.

00:09:36Argyle:And then they go, sorry, I can't see that screenshot.

00:09:39Argyle:And I'm like, you piece of fucking shit.

00:09:41Argyle:And then...

00:09:42Argyle:I'm just so mad right now because they did this to me and my order.

00:09:46Argyle:I didn't get anything fancy.

00:09:47Argyle:I just got Shake Shack.

00:09:48Argyle:Really, it was a cheat meal.

00:09:49Argyle:Got a Shake Shack.

00:09:51Argyle:It was an hour and a half late, and I start harassing them.

00:09:51Johnny:Thank you.

00:09:54Argyle:And then they don't respond.

00:09:55Argyle:They're like, sorry, can't help you.

00:09:56Argyle:You should talk to your delivery driver.

00:09:58Argyle:And I'm like, he's eating my fucking food right now.

00:10:00Argyle:And then they just delivered it.

00:10:03Argyle:We ordered two burgers.

00:10:05Argyle:Bailey got a milkshake.

00:10:06Argyle:That's gone.

00:10:07Argyle:And fries.

00:10:09Argyle:We opened the bag.

00:10:11Argyle:Oh, oh, and we got a Chicken Nuggets and Split.

00:10:13Argyle:We opened the bag.

00:10:14Argyle:Just the Chicken Nuggets.

00:10:17Gamemaster:Well, yeah, you just said you ordered only chicken nuggets.

00:10:17Anzu:Yikes.

00:10:20Gamemaster:You just said that.

00:10:20Argyle:And... Yeah, I'm so mad.

00:10:22Anzu:And I can't see the screenshots, so don't even bother.

00:10:26Argyle:Like, I legitimately have... I canceled my Uber One membership, and then I'm going to refute the claim on Amex.

00:10:34Argyle:It... You know...

00:10:35Argyle:It doesn't even matter that much, but it's the principle if I'm overpaying for the shitty food and you don't deliver it and you don't help me and you treat me like a fucking criminal, I'll go to another app.

00:10:37Benny:That's why I don't.

00:10:45Argyle:And then when they do that to me in three months, I'll go to a different one until I eventually circle back and then it's been a year.

00:10:50Argyle:And then I'll just keep doing this, okay?

00:10:53Argyle:Sorry, sorry.

00:10:55Argyle:A little cranky because I didn't get my food, but they changed the ETAs.

00:10:59Argyle:Uber is legitimately criminal.

00:11:04Benny:order to like get ready to pay double for for half like it's just i didn't see that now

00:11:08Argyle:Yeah.

00:11:09Argyle:You know what?

00:11:10Argyle:Also, Uber and other things, you know how they got caught?

00:11:14Argyle:They'd raise prices on you if your battery was low.

00:11:16Argyle:Do you know about that one?

00:11:18Johnny:No.

00:11:19Argyle:Yeah, so they raised prices on people's cars to order a car if your battery is low.

00:11:20Gamemaster:That's funny.

00:11:23Argyle:I think they got to pay a fine for that one.

00:11:26Argyle:But they also do this really cool thing where Amex, if you have gold or platinum, I forget which one, it'll give you $15 off per month.

00:11:37Argyle:to just use on Uber stuff.

00:11:40Argyle:And if you use, if you call a ride and you have this membership, it just adds $15 to your rides.

00:11:48Anzu:Right.

00:11:49Argyle:And there's been, I've done it and I've seen multiple people do it.

00:11:52Argyle:If two people request it and one has, same time, one has it, they'll just add that prices to you and pretend like they're not.

00:12:00Argyle:It is such a fucking criminal company.

00:12:03Argyle:I hate them so much.

00:12:05Argyle:I got so much joy canceling this, and then I'm going to love when Amazon, when Amex rips that money back.

00:12:13Argyle:Sorry.

00:12:14Argyle:I'm done.

00:12:14Johnny:You go, Jorge.

00:12:14Benny:That's why... That's why... They just send you a picture of the driver tied up.

00:12:15Argyle:I'm done.

00:12:16Johnny:You get your $75 back for Shake Shack.

00:12:19Argyle:Yeah, this is why I pay Amex, because they're fucking ruthless.

00:12:22Argyle:Whenever I'm like, cancel it, they're like, yes, sir.

00:12:31Johnny:It's just that picture of my...

00:12:31Argyle:No.

00:12:32Benny:He doesn't have it, but we have him.

00:12:34Benny:And there's like a fucking shake shack.

00:12:35Argyle:I expect nothing less from Amex.

00:12:36Benny:There's a burger container, like the cardboard burger container next to him.

00:12:40Benny:There's evidence.

00:12:40Benny:We have him.

00:12:41Benny:And it's just like the cops...

00:12:45Argyle:Amex on their like credit card insurance is fantastic.

00:12:49Argyle:I know someone who was, this isn't a great story, but he's a lawyer.

00:12:53Argyle:So he's a little bit of a, you know, he's a lawyer.

00:12:57Argyle:So he was in Italy with his wife and then they bought a painting at a local gallery for like, I forget X amount of money.

00:13:05Argyle:Then they bought out the Platinum Amex, and then they went somewhere else.

00:13:05Johnny:Thank you.

00:13:09Argyle:And then they liked that painting instead.

00:13:12Argyle:So they bought that one, and they went back to the original one.

00:13:14Argyle:And they're like, hey, just cancel our order.

00:13:16Argyle:And then the artist is like, sorry, all things are final.

00:13:19Argyle:And they're like, no, you're going to have to deal with Amex.

00:13:23Argyle:So either you cancel it on your end, or we're not paying for it, and you send it to us.

00:13:29Argyle:And they're like, Amex?

00:13:31Argyle:Fuck.

00:13:32Argyle:And they just canceled it.

00:13:36Argyle:It's great.

00:13:37Argyle:I once ordered a mattress and they weren't delivering it.

00:13:40Argyle:So I told them to cancel it.

00:13:41Argyle:And then they go, nope, we'll actually deliver tomorrow.

00:13:43Argyle:And I was like, it's two months too late.

00:13:45Argyle:They're like, we're delivering it tomorrow.

00:13:47Argyle:And I just call up Amex.

00:13:48Argyle:And my guy was just like, do not accept that mattress.

00:13:51Argyle:You will not pay a cent.

00:13:52Argyle:And I was like, cool, cool, cool.

00:13:54Gamemaster:What kind of shifty mattress guy are you buying your mattress from?

00:13:59Argyle:This was in Boston.

00:14:01Argyle:Do you not remember when I got a mattress delivered and then they tried to deliver two mattresses to me in the same day?

00:14:07Gamemaster:Yeah, that didn't answer the question.

00:14:07Argyle:This was in Dexter.

00:14:09Argyle:No, it was just like a local store in Brookline or something.

00:14:13Johnny:Wait, I have to ask a question.

00:14:14Johnny:Speaking of mattresses, how many mattress stores would you say you see per day in New York?

00:14:21Argyle:Not that many.

00:14:22Gamemaster:Not many.

00:14:23Argyle:But I went to one.

00:14:25Argyle:I went to a mattress store.

00:14:26Argyle:I haven't seen that many besides the one I actually went to in Greenpoint a couple months ago.

00:14:30Johnny:There's a stunning number of mattresses and mattress stores in the Denver area, and I think it's a front for the mafia.

00:14:31Argyle:So much fun.

00:14:36Johnny:Anyway, continue.

00:14:37Argyle:Probably.

00:14:38Gamemaster:mattresses just have really good marginal overhead like you only need to sell generally like three or four a month and that covers operating costs sorry a week not a month

00:14:48Benny:You're saying that the $3,000 Tempur-Pedics, they don't cost that much to make?

00:14:50Argyle:Also, though... That's why you gotta get a Bobopedic.

00:14:57Benny:The Giant slabs of foam don't cost three grand to make?

00:15:02Gamemaster:No, it's probably only like $290.

00:15:04Gamemaster:So they get like a sweet $100 on each one, which is not bad.

00:15:10Gamemaster:I mean, like, I feel like the reason I haven't seen a lot of mattress stores in New York City is just because of the real estate prices required for a showroom.

00:15:10Argyle:Um...

00:15:18Gamemaster:Like, if you go out into the suburbs by my parents' house, there are literally four just across the street from each other by like the Hicksville train station.

00:15:28Gamemaster:So they do congregate in packs.

00:15:28Argyle:Mike, I know you've been to Jordan's.

00:15:28Johnny:Yeah.

00:15:31Johnny:There's so many macroscores.

00:15:31Benny:People also sleep in the mattress stores.

00:15:31Anzu:Yeah.

00:15:33Benny:No, I've run into people sleeping on the Macy's mattresses while I was on the phone.

00:15:34Gamemaster:Do people do that?

00:15:35Gamemaster:Is that something you've done, Mike?

00:15:42Gamemaster:Really?

00:15:43Benny:And I was talking kind of loud on the phone.

00:15:43Gamemaster:That's fun.

00:15:44Benny:I was like, oh, fuck.

00:15:45Benny:I'm so sorry.

00:15:46Benny:You can have your sleep.

00:15:47Benny:I didn't realize there'd be people sleeping in this section.

00:15:50Benny:But I've seen one.

00:15:51Benny:I've seen one mattress store in Manhattan.

00:15:54Gamemaster:The Macy's?

00:15:58Argyle:Have you been to the bed store inside of Jordan's?

00:16:02Benny:Probably.

00:16:03Benny:Is this the same Jordans that has the Bean Room, the Acrobatic Academy, and an IMAX?

00:16:03Argyle:They wear, so Jordan's that weird, I think I've told you guys about this a bunch of times, the weird furniture store where they have the Blues Brothers on the street of New Orleans.

00:16:11Argyle:Anyway, they have like one of the houses in there is a mattress store and all of the attendants have lab coats and they're called sleep doctors.

00:16:20Gamemaster:Right.

00:16:21Johnny:I like that.

00:16:22Gamemaster:Of course.

00:16:22Anzu:Thank you.

00:16:29Argyle:No, no, no.

00:16:30Argyle:That's a different one.

00:16:31Argyle:This one has an ice skating ring and an IMAX.

00:16:31Benny:Okay.

00:16:34Benny:Okay, so I was... Probably.

00:16:35Argyle:And then a different one has indoor rope gyms.

00:16:35Gamemaster:Do they still have an IMAX?

00:16:40Argyle:Yeah, all of them have IMAXs.

00:16:40Gamemaster:That's the real question.

00:16:40Benny:It's about... Yeah.

00:16:41Argyle:All of them have IMAXs.

00:16:44Gamemaster:Because the IMAX by me, or not by me now, by my parents, closed down.

00:16:50Gamemaster:So I think a bunch of IMAXs are closing.

00:16:52Gamemaster:If Jordans are the places, like the last bastion of IMAXs, that's impressive.

00:16:56Gamemaster:Good for them.

00:16:57Benny:Well, because it's like a psychotic story.

00:16:59Benny:You walk in, they have an entire room made of beans.

00:17:03Johnny:That's awesome.

00:17:04Benny:You can buy ice cream.

00:17:04Gamemaster:Yeah, I...

00:17:06Benny:Next to the beans, they have an acrobatic academy.

00:17:09Benny:Literally people like circus freaks actually swinging on ropes and shit and doing flips.

00:17:15Benny:Then they have a fucking IMAX and then they have a Jordan's Furniture Store.

00:17:18Benny:That's the whole complex.

00:17:20Benny:There's nothing else in this building.

00:17:23Johnny:That sounds like the best day ever.

00:17:23Gamemaster:What more could you ask for?

00:17:23Benny:Yeah.

00:17:24Gamemaster:Huh.

00:17:25Benny:That's what I'm saying.

00:17:26Benny:You go up and touch the beans.

00:17:27Benny:You're like, how the fuck they make so... I'm not joking.

00:17:29Benny:The whole... It's like everything is a bean sculpture.

00:17:32Benny:The floor... There's like... There might be bean buildings.

00:17:38Anzu:Oops, all beans.

00:17:41Argyle:Oh, that makes sense.

00:17:42Johnny:someone just spilled a bunch of beans and they happen to fall in that particular arrangement.

00:17:45Gamemaster:It's called being alone?

00:17:47Benny:Yes, it's in Boston.

00:17:50Argyle:They just went with the whole Boston thing.

00:17:52Benny:Yeah.

00:17:52Argyle:One other quick thing.

00:17:53Gamemaster:Yeah.

00:17:55Argyle:I went to get a mattress.

00:17:56Argyle:So the only stores I knew of near me was in Greenpoint, which is in Brooklyn.

00:18:02Argyle:There was the most character of a guy selling the mattresses.

00:18:05Argyle:He took it so seriously.

00:18:07Argyle:He's like, try this model.

00:18:09Argyle:The T version of this model has really good support on your lower back.

00:18:12Argyle:But if you have wider shoulders, you can go.

00:18:13Argyle:And he had this whole thing.

00:18:15Argyle:And then while we were checking out, we were telling him we bought a couch recently.

00:18:19Argyle:And he's just like, man, I wish I sold couches.

00:18:23Argyle:They're so cool.

00:18:26Gamemaster:That's true.

00:18:26Johnny:What is this place?

00:18:27Anzu:He's wanting to step up from mattress to couch.

00:18:31Argyle:And I was like, dude, I really feel like you could just.

00:18:31Gamemaster:I get it.

00:18:34Anzu:Trying to climb the furniture ladder.

00:18:34Benny:Yeah, there's the Acrobat Park.

00:18:38Johnny:This is awesome.

00:18:40Benny:See, this sounds like something I would just make up.

00:18:43Benny:No, this building exists.

00:18:43Gamemaster:It does.

00:18:44Benny:There is ice cream, acrobats, beans, and IMAX and furniture, and that's it.

00:18:49Benny:It's just one building.

00:18:52Argyle:um that's just

00:18:52Benny:Yeah, Sweet House.

00:18:53Benny:There it is.

00:18:54Benny:You buy fucking ice cream at the Sweet House in Beantown.

00:18:58Benny:I think.

00:18:58Gamemaster:I mean, what do you think ice cream is made out of?

00:18:58Benny:I think there's ice cream.

00:19:00Gamemaster:It's beans.

00:19:00Johnny:This is...

00:19:02Benny:This is beans.

00:19:07Gamemaster:Before you go, are people planning trips to the Jordans?

00:19:07Benny:Apparently also Warren Buffett.

00:19:11Benny:Yes.

00:19:13Anzu:It's a destination.

00:19:14Anzu:It's a pretty hot spot.

00:19:16Gamemaster:Yeah, but I wouldn't go to South Portland, Maine, specifically to go to the Jordans.

00:19:16Benny:Oh, this one's in Portland.

00:19:23Benny:Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

00:19:23Argyle:Yeah.

00:19:25Benny:There's one review.

00:19:26Benny:It is by NH Joe, which I imagine is New Hampshire.

00:19:32Benny:I've been watching Jordan's.

00:19:32Johnny:Yes.

00:19:34Benny:Hold on.

00:19:35Benny:I gotta open a new link to view this.

00:19:37Benny:I've been watching Jordan's television commercials for decades, but have never visited one of their stores until now, and I picked the best one.

00:19:37Gamemaster:Thank you.

00:19:43Benny:The Main Mall Store, which is the largest furniture store in Maine.

00:19:46Benny:It even has a factory outlet section and a sleep lab, but the most creative feature is their ropes and zipline course called It.

00:19:53Benny:They have an adult version and a kid version.

00:19:57Benny:Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

00:20:00Benny:Yeah.

00:20:01Gamemaster:I don't understand the whole, look how cool this place is, it's the largest furniture store in Maine.

00:20:02Argyle:If you click the second link, it works.

00:20:08Gamemaster:Of course, Mardi Gras in Jordan's.

00:20:09Argyle:But it works.

00:20:11Argyle:So I sent you another link.

00:20:13Argyle:This is a review about the one in Massachusetts that I went to.

00:20:18Argyle:So you walk in, and there's just guys handing out Mardi Gras beads, and they say, welcome to Jordan's.

00:20:23Argyle:And then it's just mini streets in the building, and they pay Blues Brothers reenactors to do shows.

00:20:31Argyle:I say this, but it actually works because my dad and I once went to watch IMAX for Superman like years ago, like 10, 15 years ago.

00:20:39Argyle:And while we were waiting for the show, we're like, you want to go sit on some couches?

00:20:42Argyle:Yeah.

00:20:43Argyle:So we went over and we're sitting.

00:20:45Argyle:We're like, it's a really nice couch.

00:20:52Gamemaster:When you go on their website, you can filter by attractions.

00:20:53Argyle:We needed a couch.

00:20:55Argyle:We didn't want to.

00:20:55Argyle:There was no sitting area in the line.

00:20:57Argyle:So we sat on the couch and we're like.

00:21:00Argyle:This is actually... Deliver it in like 24 hours.

00:21:02Benny:The thing that I most... The thing... The thing that I most remember from the Jordan's furniture, and I guess is in Reading, is the...

00:21:05Argyle:You have no time to...

00:21:13Gamemaster:What is the enchanted village?

00:21:15Anzu:Sounds pleasant.

00:21:17Gamemaster:Why is that in a furniture store?

00:21:28Benny:very expensive TV they have behind they have like a like a counter where you fucking purchase and they have a TV that you cannot reach because it's up on the wall and like six feet from from like the front of the counter so like you cannot touch it and it's because it was a hundred and three inch TV that was a hundred and ten thousand dollars at the time they're like check out this badass TV it probably was 4k if I had to guess honestly

00:21:49Anzu:you

00:21:50Gamemaster:good of course

00:21:57Benny:But they had that up on the wall.

00:21:57Argyle:So they got bought.

00:22:01Argyle:It was originally two brothers, but they got bought by Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's bought the company.

00:22:07Argyle:I'm looking at this article.

00:22:09Argyle:It's an old article from 1990.

00:22:11Argyle:But when they bought it, the estimated only four stores were worth $200 to $300 million.

00:22:19Argyle:Because they're massive warehouses.

00:22:21Anzu:So people really love this place.

00:22:24Gamemaster:They have a trademarked technology to figure out what kind of mattress you want.

00:22:26Argyle:I mean, we took school trips there because it has an IMAX.

00:22:29Argyle:We could watch, like, The Bug's Life or whatever weird documentaries you could see on the... But yeah, it was amazing.

00:22:36Johnny:Wow, you can go watch Predator Badlands, then go to IT at Beantown.

00:22:41Johnny:There's so many things to do here.

00:22:43Johnny:And get a mattress!

00:22:47Argyle:I can't get a mattress.

00:22:54Gamemaster:And it's just called Bridget.

00:22:57Gamemaster:I don't understand.

00:22:57Gamemaster:They just gave it a person's name.

00:23:01Gamemaster:They trademarked Bridget.

00:23:07Gamemaster:And they're referring to it as if it's a person.

00:23:10Gamemaster:Bridget analyzes all layers of every mattress we carry.

00:23:12Benny:A relic of the past.

00:23:13Gamemaster:She recommends mattresses you could try, regardless of price.

00:23:19Gamemaster:What?

00:23:19Argyle:Yeah, well, it's... I didn't...

00:23:25Gamemaster:It exists now!

00:23:26Gamemaster:If you want, you can enter to win a $10,000 Jordans gift card.

00:23:28Benny:Welcome to Jordan's.

00:23:33Anzu:Oh.

00:23:34Johnny:Oh no, CEO Elliot... Elliot Tatelman retired?

00:23:35Gamemaster:I'm going to talk to Bridget.

00:23:36Gamemaster:She's going to give me a gift card.

00:23:40Johnny:The CEO of Iconic Jordan's Furniture, Elliot Tatelman.

00:23:43Gamemaster:Who retired?

00:23:45Gamemaster:I don't know.

00:23:48Gamemaster:Why is his name not Jordan?

00:23:51Gamemaster:Who's Jordan?

00:23:54Benny:Okay, so they do have a sleeve lab at the one in Reading.

00:23:58Benny:I just don't remember.

00:23:59Benny:That's the name of the store.

00:23:59Gamemaster:The two founders were Barry and Elliot Tattleman.

00:24:05Gamemaster:Who's Jordan?

00:24:07Argyle:No, I just sent you.

00:24:08Benny:If you ask too much who's Jordan, they just drag you into one of the 120,000 square feet

00:24:25Benny:You think you see all of it when you walk around, but there's fucking 50,000 hidden square feet where they hide everyone that asks, wait, but who's... You're not Jordan.

00:24:25Gamemaster:It was...

00:24:32Johnny:Oh no.

00:24:35Benny:There's no Jordan here.

00:24:36Benny:No Jordan was a founder.

00:24:37Benny:And they're just like, sir, come with us.

00:24:39Gamemaster:Its founder was Samuel, who worked with his son, Edward.

00:24:41Anzu:Right.

00:24:44Gamemaster:And then they passed it down, Samuel passed it down to his grandchildren, Barry and Elliot.

00:24:45Benny:Mm-hmm.

00:24:52Gamemaster:None of those names are Jordan.

00:24:53Johnny:Yeah, Jordan.

00:24:54Argyle:Were the last names of the founder Jordan?

00:24:57Gamemaster:No, it's Tattleman.

00:24:57Anzu:Yeah.

00:25:00Argyle:I was hoping the grandkids had a different name, you know, like daughter or something like that.

00:25:03Argyle:I love this company.

00:25:06Gamemaster:Where does the name come from?

00:25:07Benny:What's a name that resonates with people?

00:25:10Gamemaster:Oh, okay.

00:25:11Gamemaster:So, apparently, Samuel picked it out of a hat.

00:25:19Anzu:That's fine.

00:25:21Johnny:This is the best.

00:25:22Argyle:I really think I was born in the wrong era.

00:25:25Argyle:I should have been creating Jordans.

00:25:25Gamemaster:What?

00:25:29Gamemaster:You could never be Samuel Tatelman.

00:25:31Gamemaster:You could not step into his shoes.

00:25:33Johnny:There is an alternate universe where there's an alternate universe where Jorge is just that dude from Wonder Woman 2 who Pedro Pascal played.

00:25:34Argyle:I could have done it.

00:25:35Gamemaster:You don't have that vision.

00:25:44Benny:Never saw it.

00:25:46Benny:Don't get the reference.

00:25:47Johnny:Jorge understands that reference.

00:25:48Benny:Never saw it.

00:25:49Argyle:Yeah.

00:25:50Benny:Oh, wow.

00:25:51Benny:If you say I'm not a crook, confetti comes out.

00:25:56Benny:Do it again.

00:25:56Benny:Do it again, Apple.

00:25:58Benny:I saw you.

00:25:59Benny:You did it.

00:26:01Benny:Do I have to?

00:26:01Gamemaster:When they sold it to Berkshire Hathaway, they gave an interview that said they did it so that their children could have the freedom to choose any career.

00:26:01Argyle:Yeah, but now they got hundreds of millions.

00:26:01Benny:Is it?

00:26:08Gamemaster:All of their children manage Jordan's Furniture Stores.

00:26:13Benny:Yeah, because once you see the face of God... Once you see the face of God... Well, that's like the super wealthy celebrities or athletes that are like, my kids can do whatever they want, so long as it's basketball.

00:26:17Gamemaster:I just think it's very funny to be like they have the choice to choose which Jordan's Furniture Store they want to manage.

00:26:23Gamemaster:Because they can take their pick.

00:26:35Gamemaster:Actually, Barry Taubman did leave the company in 2006 to produce Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the musical.

00:26:46Gamemaster:So he has other interests.

00:26:46Johnny:Thank you.

00:26:50Argyle:That is wild.

00:26:51Gamemaster:This is wild.

00:26:52Argyle:So apparently, the founder created it in the store in 1918.

00:26:54Benny:Thank you.

00:27:00Argyle:And it gets better.

00:27:01Argyle:Apparently, there was another famous yet separate department chain store called Jordan Marsh, which was first in New England.

00:27:13Anzu:Did they get into legal battles?

00:27:13Argyle:And I don't know.

00:27:20Gamemaster:So, it used to be... Of course.

00:27:21Argyle:Oh, wait, they bought the Enchanted Village from Jordan Marsh.

00:27:27Benny:The plot thickens.

00:27:29Gamemaster:They said, we stole your name, and now we're bigger than you, so we're going to steal your enchanted forest.

00:27:29Argyle:Orth.

00:27:34Gamemaster:Take that.

00:27:35Gamemaster:And then they did.

00:27:36Gamemaster:Also...

00:27:39Argyle:No.

00:27:40Gamemaster:As best I can tell, from 1928 until 1983, they sold furniture out of a truck.

00:27:47Gamemaster:And then they decided to just start making unhinged buildings.

00:27:50Johnny:Might as well put in an entire theme park.

00:27:55Argyle:Well, I guess what happens with furniture stores and mattress stores is they need warehouses anyway, like pretty big warehouses.

00:28:03Argyle:They might as well just put a little, you know, they're building a big thing.

00:28:11Benny:Yeah, like anyone that needs fucking floor space at a store in New York, they have to put it in some bumfuck industrial park in Brooklyn.

00:28:18Benny:Like when I had to trek out to Micro Center in the middle of Brooklyn to get my computer parts, and I was like, I don't feel safe here.

00:28:23Argyle:Yeah.

00:28:26Benny:And they're like, we have 10,000 square feet.

00:28:26Argyle:So Enchanted Village... The Enchanted Village was sold to the city of Boston in 98, and then it...

00:28:28Benny:And I'm like, I would appreciate if you had less square feet, but were closer to where I live, please.

00:28:31Gamemaster:The store in Reading has 750,000 square feet.

00:28:39Benny:Holy shit.

00:28:43Gamemaster:That's too many.

00:28:52Argyle:Eventually, due to lack of funding, was then put up for auction when Jordan bought it in 2009.

00:28:58Gamemaster:Because they needed that.

00:28:59Gamemaster:They just needed to add that little feather to their cap.

00:29:02Gamemaster:I mean, think about it.

00:29:03Gamemaster:What other furniture store with the name Jordans had an enchanted forest at that time?

00:29:10Argyle:Yeah.

00:29:11Gamemaster:They needed to differentiate themselves.

00:29:17Gamemaster:In 1992, they opened up a theme ride produced by Jorge Lucas.

00:29:27Johnny:That's awesome.

00:29:30Benny:Welcome to Jordan.

00:29:30Argyle:It is just so funny to me every time Jordans gets brought up to someone that's not from around here.

00:29:35Argyle:Because as a kid, you don't question these things.

00:29:36Gamemaster:In 2018, they rebranded Jorge Lucas' ride to the Polar Express 4D Experience.

00:29:38Argyle:Because you're like, obviously this is their Jordans.

00:29:40Argyle:And then when you get older, you're like, what the fuck just happened?

00:29:43Benny:Yeah, because you're a kid.

00:29:44Benny:You think a theme park should be everywhere.

00:29:46Benny:So you're just like, finally someone did it.

00:29:59Anzu:Oh, yeah.

00:29:59Gamemaster:The Polar Express came out in 2004.

00:30:03Argyle:a little late.

00:30:05Johnny:Still relevant.

00:30:09Gamemaster:What?

00:30:09Gamemaster:I just... It's 2018.

00:30:10Anzu:Yeah, but that's still much newer than Jorge Lucas.

00:30:15Argyle:But Well

00:30:17Gamemaster:They're looking for the hit thing with the kids.

00:30:21Gamemaster:And they chose 2004 Christmas movie, Polar Express.

00:30:26Benny:Honestly, you can't really go wrong with something Christmas-themed.

00:30:26Johnny:Still relevant.

00:30:26Gamemaster:That was the big popular thing.

00:30:30Benny:That's why Mariah Carey charts every year.

00:30:33Benny:She's got something Christmas-themed.

00:30:35Benny:So if you're going to do something, pick Christmas.

00:30:39Benny:People are going to fucking come to Jordan's, they're going to buy some furniture for Christmas, and their kids are going to get whiplash.

00:30:42Argyle:Well, wait, how many years after that was it?

00:30:46Argyle:So how many years after Polar Express did they make this?

00:30:47Benny:Fourteen.

00:30:49Gamemaster:14.

00:30:49Gamemaster:14 years after the movie came out.

00:30:52Argyle:So 18 years after the Blues Brothers movie came out, they made their Bourbon Street.

00:30:58Gamemaster:Okay, but when did the Blues Brothers remake come out?

00:30:58Argyle:So maybe they just wait for like... Was it the 2000s?

00:31:01Gamemaster:There was a more recent one, wasn't there?

00:31:05Benny:The Drake and Josh episode was like 07.

00:31:08Gamemaster:I'm not talking about the Drake and Josh Blues Brothers episode.

00:31:08Argyle:Yeah, there was a...

00:31:12Gamemaster:And you know that I'm not talking about that.

00:31:12Argyle:Well, there's the Blues Brothers 2000, which came out in 1998.

00:31:18Gamemaster:Yeah.

00:31:18Argyle:1998.

00:31:21Argyle:They did it soon.

00:31:22Gamemaster:Well, when did they add the Blues Brothers experience to this furniture store?

00:31:28Gamemaster:Okay, so there you go.

00:31:30Gamemaster:It was topical.

00:31:32Argyle:Topical.

00:31:33Benny:When did they...

00:31:33Gamemaster:Although it is funny, given how bad the Blues Brothers 2000 was.

00:31:39Argyle:Oh, they removed it in 2016 when we went to college.

00:31:43Gamemaster:Because nobody cares about the Blues Brothers anymore.

00:31:47Johnny:Hey.

00:31:48Gamemaster:Everybody likes other SNL stuff now.

00:31:48Anzu:I know.

00:31:48Argyle:So sad.

00:31:51Gamemaster:Like the Coneheads.

00:31:55Gamemaster:Or that person of indeterminate gender.

00:31:56Anzu:It's a good film, by the way.

00:31:58Anzu:Coneheads is a good film.

00:32:00Gamemaster:Coneheads is a good film.

00:32:01Gamemaster:I think you're the only person that thinks that, Tanner.

00:32:04Anzu:It has a lot of nostalgia value in my family.

00:32:08Gamemaster:Does it?

00:32:09Anzu:My grandpa really loves it.

00:32:13Anzu:So we watched it a lot growing up.

00:32:16Gamemaster:Yeah, Conan says a 40 on Rotten Tomatoes, which actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

00:32:21Anzu:Yeah, it's passable.

00:32:21Gamemaster:So, yeah, that counts.

00:32:25Benny:Cool.

00:32:26Argyle:So one final thing on this, at least.

00:32:28Argyle:So I was finding a lot of these facts out from just Gemini.

00:32:31Argyle:I then asked it, what did they replace the Blues Brothers with?

00:32:35Argyle:And it responded with, this is a bit of a sad answer for anyone who loved the old shop.

00:32:43Gamemaster:I've never heard the term shoppertainment before.

00:32:43Anzu:Oh.

00:32:47Anzu:I feel bad for Gemini.

00:32:50Anzu:They miss the old days.

00:32:52Johnny:Gemini loves shopper-tainment.

00:32:54Gamemaster:Shamanite didn't come into existence until after they had already removed the Blues Brothers experience, and that's probably why it's getting so choked up about it.

00:33:01Benny:That's one of Gemini's biggest regrets.

00:33:02Argyle:Yeah, but it does it in just time the same way as us, so it's really sad.

00:33:03Benny:Gemini was born in the wrong generation.

00:33:07Argyle:It's always recent.

00:33:11Anzu:Gemini misses when there were music videos on MTV.

00:33:18Argyle:The only way to experience time is within sentences.

00:33:19Gamemaster:I get it.

00:33:21Argyle:It has no idea about you.

00:33:24Benny:Oh my god, I asked Claude the other day about fucking his perception of time, and he was like, I don't really need to know it, but yeah, I mean, you can just bullshit me on how long it's that you're taking to read these, because he just dumped a bunch of text, and then I responded quickly, and I was like, did you know I didn't read any of that?

00:33:34Gamemaster:Okay.

00:33:39Benny:And he's just like, no.

00:33:41Benny:I'm like, oh, okay.

00:33:46Argyle:I still think, okay, actual final thing.

00:33:49Argyle:One of my favorite things as an LLM specialist engineer thing is adding reflection.

00:33:56Argyle:And for those of you who don't know it, there's multiple studies that if an LLM gives you an answer, and if you just ask it, are you sure?

00:34:04Argyle:It's like, no, I'm wrong.

00:34:07Argyle:And it gets you a better answer.

00:34:09Argyle:People who add reflection loops are like, it's a reflection five loop.

00:34:12Argyle:And you're like, what is that?

00:34:14Argyle:It's like, we just kept asking if you thought it was good five

00:34:17Argyle:I swear to God, it's a fancy word for just asking it what it thinks.

00:34:23Argyle:It's fucking funny.

00:34:23Gamemaster:Do we...

00:34:29Johnny:That's so funny.

00:34:30Johnny:I like there's a fancy name for that because they can't just be like, well, we have to double check several times.

00:34:36Argyle:Yeah, it's reflecting on its answer.

00:34:37Argyle:You just asked it.

00:34:45Argyle:Yeah.

00:34:47Johnny:This was a really good conversation.

00:34:48Johnny:I feel like I learned a lot about Jordans, about AIs.

00:34:50Gamemaster:about Jordan's, the best furniture store in Maine?

00:34:54Gamemaster:I mean, I knew of it from Jorge and Mike talking about it.

00:34:56Johnny:I didn't know Jordans existed.

00:34:58Johnny:Apparently I was the only one.

00:34:58Anzu:Me either.

00:34:59Anzu:No, I didn't.

00:34:59Johnny:Oh, okay, good.

00:35:01Anzu:Yeah.

00:35:02Johnny:Okay, me and Tanner didn't know.

00:35:05Gamemaster:I don't think I've ever experienced one.

00:35:10Gamemaster:Nor did I know about the Polar Express ride or the Blues Brothers.

00:35:16Gamemaster:I did know about the beans.

00:35:18Gamemaster:I've been informed about the beans previously.

00:35:20Gamemaster:Do we want a Pathfinders?

00:35:26Johnny:Let's do it.

00:35:26Benny:I've been taking handwritten notes for this campaign.

00:35:26Johnny:Let's find these paths.

00:35:29Gamemaster:Yeah.

00:35:34Gamemaster:Mike is raising his hand.

00:35:41Benny:So these won't be coherent.

00:35:43Gamemaster:That's fine.

00:35:46Benny:All right.

00:35:48Benny:We start the session staking out.

00:35:52Benny:We're going to assume that this illegitimate business uses a legitimate P.O. Box.

00:35:57Benny:When the kid goes in, and actually, I guess before we go in, we hear on the radio, the most pertinent information is that you can now short the rain via shorting rain stocks.

00:36:14Gamemaster:That was the most pertinent information.

00:36:14Benny:We send the child in.

00:36:18Benny:We pick the most horrific distraction we can imagine that is just completely and entirely disruptive.

00:36:25Benny:The kid executes perfectly.

00:36:26Benny:The kid leaves with nothing.

00:36:27Anzu:Thank you.

00:36:31Benny:No one trusts that there's nothing in there.

00:36:33Benny:We go in a second time.

00:36:35Benny:We really find out that there's nothing.

00:36:38Benny:Also, it should be mentioned, we heard something about the incident of 24.

00:36:44Benny:It's like...

00:36:45Benny:uh calaria was like i can't do this with Raelion it's like this trade deal can't happen there's all this uh augury going on and uh honestly we're just gonna bomb you and uh then uh anyone can anyone exactly yeah anyone can see the writing on the wall um

00:36:59Gamemaster:There was a lot in between the incident and when they got bombed.

00:37:03Gamemaster:I do want to just... It was like 60 years.

00:37:06Argyle:Josh is a tough creative agent, Mike, isn't he?

00:37:12Gamemaster:It's not criticism.

00:37:12Johnny:Thank you.

00:37:14Gamemaster:It's just I don't want to go back here and be like, did I tell them that this happened to them?

00:37:19Gamemaster:They immediately got bombed because that was wrong.

00:37:21Gamemaster:And it's not.

00:37:22Gamemaster:It's for me.

00:37:24Gamemaster:I apologize.

00:37:25Anzu:Josh, would it not be like 250 years?

00:37:26Benny:Um...

00:37:30Gamemaster:it'd be like it'd be like 150 because it's currently no not even it's like 638 right now i think or is it 658

00:37:44Anzu:Okay, that means I must have typed something wrong, because I have 863 typed in as the current year.

00:37:49Johnny:I have 863.2.

00:37:51Gamemaster:Okay, so then I had the number wrong in my head because that's... The intent was for it to be a little more than 100 years ago.

00:37:52Anzu:Uh-oh.

00:37:57Argyle:Just a flexing.

00:38:01Gamemaster:So I think I gave you 500 because in my head it was 600-something right now when it should be 700 because it's 800-something right now.

00:38:10Anzu:Noted.

00:38:11Gamemaster:I apologize.

00:38:11Gamemaster:That's my fault.

00:38:14Benny:Yeah, I don't think I have that written down.

00:38:16Benny:I should probably type these up at some point just so that I can control after.

00:38:20Benny:But yeah, so while we were being very carefully driven away, Argyle in the backseat, the shrooms kicked in and he saw the air vibrating and freaked out for way too long.

00:38:38Argyle:Yeah.

00:38:41Benny:And then a nine-year-old drove everyone to meet the head of a gang organization.

00:38:48Benny:The nine-year-old stayed in the car or close by with a bird.

00:38:49Johnny:Okay.

00:38:56Benny:A bird and a nine-year-old stood by as a beetle and the embodiment of a judge's gavel walked up to a deer.

00:39:11Benny:I'm just going to disembody everyone.

00:39:12Benny:Nothing is human in this.

00:39:14Benny:Walked up to a deer, had an unsuccessful interaction with the deer.

00:39:14Argyle:Hell yeah.

00:39:20Benny:Unfortunately, it is mating season, so the deer was aggressive.

00:39:25Benny:and properly horned via antlers.

00:39:29Benny:Get your minds out of the gutter.

00:39:31Benny:Snipers began erupting shots.

00:39:34Benny:One of the snipers fell in the water hilariously, struck in the back of the head by something.

00:39:42Anzu:Rock.

00:39:42Benny:The rock, yeah.

00:39:45Benny:The deer spawned a cape.

00:39:49Benny:The deer died in some weird kind of heat death.

00:39:54Benny:And the deer was never there.

00:40:01Benny:Let's see.

00:40:02Benny:Yeah, we think it's the Embercall or whatever.

00:40:04Benny:We met with people.

00:40:06Benny:We talked a bit.

00:40:08Benny:What the fuck is all this shit?

00:40:10Johnny:you you

00:40:13Gamemaster:so credit union and dishes the context for that is the person you Jasper the person that you interviewed

00:40:14Benny:Credit union.

00:40:15Benny:I'm just going to say words that I've written down.

00:40:18Benny:Credit union.

00:40:19Benny:Dishes.

00:40:23Benny:We're going to see who will pay us to end of the reign, and then we're going to kill Tywelwyn.

00:40:39Gamemaster:from the Roundhat Gang said that he had recently, as per the directions of somebody higher than him in the gang, helped install radar dishes at a local credit union, a family restaurant, and a car park.

00:40:54Gamemaster:Indeed, give you the locations of those.

00:40:56Gamemaster:Not to say that, like, I don't think you guys were planning on going to take them down or anything.

00:41:00Gamemaster:It was more just, like, plotting them out on a map to make sure that they were equidistant and covering.

00:41:05Gamemaster:They were starting to cover a pretty sizable portion of Sableclutch.

00:41:11Gamemaster:But you do know the locations of those things.

00:41:14Gamemaster:That was... I'll give you a B+, I suppose.

00:41:19Gamemaster:Because it felt like all of the things that were wrong were purposefully wrong.

00:41:23Gamemaster:Which does mean that you know the correct thing.

00:41:28Gamemaster:So... It's not that anything... Sorry, purposefully wrong is the wrong term.

00:41:29Benny:Wait, which things do you think were purposefully wrong?

00:41:35Gamemaster:It was a little bit irreverent, I suppose.

00:41:38Benny:Oh, yeah.

00:41:39Anzu:It was also a little raunchier than I would have preferred.

00:41:42Anzu:I think he frowned.

00:41:43Gamemaster:That's, yeah, that is fair.

00:41:45Gamemaster:Maybe we'll take off an extra point for that.

00:41:47Gamemaster:It's just a B. He might be, I don't know.

00:41:48Benny:Well, if I'm raunchy, then David Attenborough is a porn director.

00:41:54Gamemaster:How did you do that without your hands?

00:41:57Benny:He is.

00:41:57Benny:He makes good stuff.

00:42:03Gamemaster:Apple just read your mind?

00:42:03Anzu:I think he frowned.

00:42:06Johnny:No, there's a, on a Mac, you can just do it through the video icon.

00:42:12Gamemaster:I'm choosing to believe it read your mind and it knew that you were thinking that.

00:42:16Benny:I won't go.

00:42:18Gamemaster:Either way, that's enough.

00:42:23Gamemaster:I will give you a mythic point.

00:42:25Gamemaster:I will also note something fun.

00:42:28Gamemaster:Foundry now supports mythic rerolls, which is exciting.

00:42:33Gamemaster:So you can right-click a roll and click reroll with a mythic point and it'll do it.

00:42:38Anzu:Right.

00:42:40Gamemaster:It doesn't work with the background, Mike.

00:42:43Gamemaster:I guess just for you it doesn't work.

00:42:45Gamemaster:It works fine for Noah.

00:42:47Johnny:My background is not through Discord.

00:42:48Johnny:It's through my Mac.

00:42:52Gamemaster:Ah, gotcha.

00:42:58Benny:Go ahead.

00:43:01Gamemaster:Do we want a Pathfinder?

00:43:02Anzu:Yeah, let's do it.

00:43:04Gamemaster:Okay.

00:43:05Gamemaster:Now, actually, this is, I don't remember, did we leave off with you guys returning to the Sin and Tonic and getting a night's rest?

00:43:12Gamemaster:Yes, Tanner.

00:43:13Anzu:According to my notes, we're currently talking to Illmari, and it's late at night.

00:43:18Gamemaster:Okay, yeah.

00:43:19Gamemaster:So we left off with you guys.

00:43:19Argyle:And I was going to call some magic FBI people, but we don't need to necessarily do that.

00:43:29Gamemaster:Okay, so you guys are getting a rest and then picking up in the morning?

00:43:29Johnny:uh i would like to just report everything that's happened to red

00:43:34Gamemaster:Did you have something you wanted to do before we do the rest?

00:43:38Gamemaster:Yes.

00:43:43Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

00:43:46Gamemaster:Yes, Tanner.

00:43:47Anzu:I would like to spend an hour or two before going to sleep, seeing if I can learn anything about the sentience distributor.

00:43:53Argyle:you you

00:43:57Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

00:43:59Anzu:I don't know if we already fully covered it, but.

00:43:59Gamemaster:You can make either an arcana occultism or performance would apply here.

00:44:15Anzu:Okay, I'm going to do Arcana or Occultism.

00:44:17Anzu:Do I feel like one would be better than the other?

00:44:21Gamemaster:You would feel like they would tell you different things.

00:44:25Gamemaster:Arcana would probably tell you more about the mechanisms by which it's doing what it's doing and perhaps causative effects.

00:44:34Gamemaster:Occultism would probably tell you more like whys, if that makes sense.

00:44:40Gamemaster:Like why is it designed in this way?

00:44:43Gamemaster:And stuff of that nature.

00:44:45Anzu:Alright, that's more fun.

00:44:46Anzu:We'll do Occultism.

00:44:50Anzu:I got a 19.

00:44:52Gamemaster:Okay, with a 19.

00:44:56Gamemaster:A 19 is a success, but it's not a critical success.

00:44:59Gamemaster:I think with a 19, what you get is... First off, you would already, like, with the name, the sentience distributor, you're already pretty confident that whatever signal it's distributing is, like, being put out into...

00:45:19Gamemaster:non-sentient objects in the area around it.

00:45:26Gamemaster:I think the most interesting thing that you would figure out from that occultism check is the way that the runes are written on it, and the reason that I would have allowed you to make a performance check as well, is that

00:45:45Gamemaster:The magic runes are structured in a way such that you feel like if you squint and hold it in a certain direction, it almost looks like sheet music.

00:45:53Gamemaster:In a very abstract way, they just kind of seem to be bundled in that kind of shape.

00:45:59Gamemaster:And it...

00:46:03Gamemaster:It does definitely remind you in some way that this is related to some kind of music or something along that lines, which isn't necessarily any new information.

00:46:15Gamemaster:But it is interesting in that if...

00:46:17Johnny:Thank you.

00:46:21Gamemaster:If the signal already coming through were a harmony, you don't really understand why you would need the sentience distributor to also have music on it.

00:46:28Gamemaster:It's already playing whatever music's coming through it.

00:46:32Gamemaster:If anything, it feels like the sheet is designed to harmonize with the signal in such a way that it gets distributed.

00:46:39Argyle:I know why.

00:46:43Gamemaster:Okay.

00:46:43Argyle:This is not the real Voidsong.

00:46:45Argyle:It's a bastardization of it.

00:46:48Argyle:So they gotta just keep re-upping it.

00:46:52Argyle:I also have something else I'd like to do when everyone's done.

00:46:56Gamemaster:Noah had his hand up first.

00:46:56Johnny:uh Jorge Jorge Jorge

00:46:58Gamemaster:Jorge had his hand up.

00:46:59Gamemaster:Jorge going first.

00:47:00Argyle:Okay.

00:47:02Argyle:I'd like to call my guy, my lady, the dame.

00:47:08Argyle:The dame?

00:47:08Gamemaster:David.

00:47:09Argyle:Dame.

00:47:09Argyle:Ask her.

00:47:11Argyle:Give her updates, everything.

00:47:12Argyle:Full story.

00:47:13Argyle:Ask her to see if we can get a coming over in the morning.

00:47:17Gamemaster:Absolutely.

00:47:19Gamemaster:So the dame will mention, first off, that she actually did have a fax sent over to you for your request a few hours earlier, in which you wanted some information about the Ugathal.

00:47:35Gamemaster:So you can go pick that up.

00:47:37Gamemaster:Like, they faxed it to you, the Zinnetonic.

00:47:40Argyle:Cool.

00:47:40Gamemaster:But also, they can...

00:47:44Gamemaster:The Judge is, the Scale, sorry, is generally friendly with this particular department.

00:47:51Gamemaster:They have to work with them, or the Arbiters have to work with them to chase down criminals and the like.

00:47:57Gamemaster:So they have an in.

00:47:58Gamemaster:The Dame can certainly, like, get you a meeting with somebody in the Magical Crimes convox, if that's what you're looking for.

00:48:07Gamemaster:Yes?

00:48:07Argyle:Is this more of a arbiter or overseer issue?

00:48:12Gamemaster:Overseers are the ones who are fighting against the gods.

00:48:16Gamemaster:Do you think that somebody is currently fighting against the gods in this situation?

00:48:21Argyle:I would.

00:48:21Argyle:That's my inkling.

00:48:23Gamemaster:Okay, so I think if you would raise that concern...

00:48:23Johnny:Okay.

00:48:26Argyle:Because I'm saying they're trying to circumvent gods to do this scrying.

00:48:31Argyle:That's why I'm concerned.

00:48:33Gamemaster:Dame Quay will take that in and be like, maybe we can try and rope somebody in to consult on this.

00:48:42Gamemaster:But the group that works with the Magical Crimes Convox are the Arbiters, the ones who are tracking down criminals, because that's the crimes thing.

00:48:48Argyle:I'm flagging it.

00:48:55Gamemaster:They wouldn't have anything to do with Overseers.

00:49:01Gamemaster:Absolutely.

00:49:02Gamemaster:And she will let you know that you can visit Detective Brooks at the Magical Crimes Convox at 33 Brooks Crossing in the Aurideon, which you would know to be the equivalent of the Iridescent Church's HQ in the city, like the equivalent of the Vatican.

00:49:02Argyle:God overseers are so cool.

00:49:30Gamemaster:And she will send a fax, like, letting them know that you guys are arriving.

00:49:36Argyle:Cool.

00:49:36Gamemaster:She does note that because you've reported about your party, I guess?

00:49:44Gamemaster:You guys are an adventuring party.

00:49:46Argyle:Yeah, I'd tell her not to mention that one of them's coming.

00:49:46Gamemaster:You've... Wait, sorry?

00:49:49Argyle:The name of one of them.

00:49:52Argyle:Not to mention our friend over here, Johnny.

00:49:55Gamemaster:Oh, he won't be allowed in the Aurideon unless they get a pass for him.

00:49:58Argyle:Okay.

00:50:00Gamemaster:Do you actually want to exclude him from the pass?

00:50:05Argyle:Oh, would the pass let him come in?

00:50:09Gamemaster:Sorry, we're talking about Johnny... Why wouldn't he be allowed in?

00:50:12Argyle:Yeah.

00:50:14Argyle:All right.

00:50:14Argyle:I'm okay with that.

00:50:16Argyle:Johnny may seem like everyone hated him, but if she thinks it's clear.

00:50:18Johnny:I don't know.

00:50:20Johnny:I don't know who has my name and who doesn't.

00:50:21Gamemaster:Yeah, I think...

00:50:24Gamemaster:I think the people who hate him probably don't know him under the name Johnny Skyfall.

00:50:30Gamemaster:Starfall.

00:50:31Gamemaster:Skyfall?

00:50:31Argyle:Cool.

00:50:32Gamemaster:Starfall.

00:50:32Johnny:Skyfall.

00:50:32Benny:Thank you.

00:50:33Gamemaster:Skyfall.

00:50:33Johnny:Skyfall.

00:50:33Gamemaster:Okay, sorry.

00:50:34Gamemaster:Listen, it's a new campaign.

00:50:37Gamemaster:I'm going to forget what your names are.

00:50:39Johnny:Don't worry, Jorge.

00:50:39Gamemaster:Yeah, so, like... Yeah, that's fine.

00:50:44Argyle:And.

00:50:44Gamemaster:He can... He won't be allowed in otherwise.

00:50:48Gamemaster:So, you know, he would need to be on that list.

00:50:51Gamemaster:But that's fine.

00:50:53Argyle:Cool.

00:50:56Gamemaster:Okay.

00:50:58Gamemaster:Noah, you wanted to do something.

00:51:00Johnny:Yes, going off of, after seeing Anzu make that discovery, can I take one of those sheets of paper, like sentience distributors, and the, this might be kind of a reach, but it seems like they're able to manipulate things using the Embercall, and the...

00:51:21Johnny:theory I want to test out is that if we can do something similar or just manipulate the Voidsong at all, I don't know if it'll work, but just go somewhere and try and resonate and use my artistic talents to see if I can find anything.

00:51:25Benny:Thank you.

00:51:37Gamemaster:Same deal, roll an Arcana and Occultism or Performance check here.

00:51:43Johnny:Under 10% performance.

00:51:56Johnny:17.

00:51:57Benny:you you

00:51:58Gamemaster:17.

00:51:59Gamemaster:Okay, so the biggest hurdle that you have trying to see if you can make the Voidsong work with this at all is, as best you can tell, the Voidsong is in your head.

00:52:11Gamemaster:Um, like there isn't a song out there that you can interact with in some way.

00:52:17Gamemaster:Um, but this is clearly interacting with a harmony.

00:52:21Gamemaster:Like it's built around doing that as some kind of, not tangible, but manifested signal.

00:52:29Gamemaster:um so i think with the 17 the conclusion you come to is that you are you are missing something here either a piece of hardware or some magical connection or something like that that reifies Voidsong in your head into Voidsong in the world um yeah

00:52:45Johnny:I will share this with the group.

00:52:52Johnny:If only we had the world's greatest inventor.

00:52:57Gamemaster:He'd know what to do.

00:52:59Anzu:Yeah, it'll be interesting if we make it deep into the base of these Pyrelight folks, if we'll find whatever mechanism they're using.

00:53:08Benny:it's

00:53:13Argyle:Bye.

00:53:17Gamemaster:Anything else you guys wanted to do before the eve?

00:53:22Anzu:I sleep.

00:53:25Gamemaster:Okay, absolutely.

00:53:27Gamemaster:Nap time.

00:53:28Gamemaster:Get rid of those of you who are wounded or injured or used spells or any of that kind of stuff.

00:53:32Gamemaster:Get rid of it.

00:53:34Gamemaster:You don't need it anymore.

00:53:35Gamemaster:It's a new day.

00:53:38Gamemaster:You get a nice long sleep in.

00:53:42Gamemaster:The sound of rain is persistent throughout the evening.

00:53:47Gamemaster:If anything, it feels like it's gotten a little harder over the night's rest.

00:53:53Gamemaster:When you wake up in the morning, the...

00:53:57Gamemaster:Light outside still looks like night.

00:54:00Gamemaster:The cloud cover is so thick and the rain is so torrential that it still seems like night outside right now.

00:54:11Gamemaster:It rains relatively often in Hallia, but for so much and for so long, this is an obvious anomaly.

00:54:15Johnny:Thank you.

00:54:22Gamemaster:It's a strange experience for those of you...

00:54:26Gamemaster:who I'm now realizing any of you who had been to Belvedere, which would be in the polar circle, would feel a little bit at home like this.

00:54:36Gamemaster:I mean, it's the wrong part of the year for it, but you're used to extended periods of darkness and extended periods of light.

00:54:39Benny:you you

00:54:42Gamemaster:And so it's strange for you to be south of that and still experiencing it.

00:54:49Gamemaster:Yes, Jorge.

00:54:49Argyle:So why do they feel at home?

00:54:51Argyle:Because of the temperature?

00:54:51Argyle:Or are you seeing the iconography of the host?

00:54:54Gamemaster:So...

00:54:56Gamemaster:Belvedere.

00:54:56Argyle:No, not the host, the watcher.

00:54:58Gamemaster:The Watcher.

00:54:59Gamemaster:Belvedere is so far north, it's in the Polar Circle.

00:55:03Argyle:OK.

00:55:03Gamemaster:So, like, during winter, you'll get 18-hour nights.

00:55:11Gamemaster:So, an extended period of darkness isn't particularly strange.

00:55:11Argyle:All right, so it's the date cycle.

00:55:15Gamemaster:It's strange so far south, because they're no longer in the Polar Circle, but it's not, like, it's an experience like they would get at home.

00:55:15Argyle:OK.

00:55:15Argyle:OK.

00:55:28Benny:It's still raining.

00:55:28Benny:When are we going to kill this guy?

00:55:29Gamemaster:so at this point I take it you guys have left your rooms you've woken up because Illmari would have been waiting for you as you emerge sure

00:55:33Anzu:I don't know if it's exactly him that is directly causing the rain.

00:55:42Anzu:When we were at... Oh, yeah.

00:55:47Johnny:Mm hmm.

00:55:51Argyle:Thank you.

00:55:52Anzu:See, this is what we get for assuming, guys.

00:55:54Anzu:Josh, take over.

00:55:55Benny:We'll say this on the walk down.

00:55:58Gamemaster:Yeah, absolutely.

00:56:00Gamemaster:No second floor, so walk down is just exiting a hallway into the tavern area.

00:56:06Gamemaster:But Illmari will say as you come down, hey, just to let you guys know, we got two faxes for you.

00:56:14Gamemaster:And I guess we're postal service now.

00:56:16Gamemaster:And he'd have like a few pieces of paper and he'd hand them over to Argyle.

00:56:23Gamemaster:And also a very short looking note that he will hand over to Johnny.

00:56:30Johnny:Oh, I never get mail.

00:56:34Gamemaster:Um, Argyle, yours is, you had, if you recall, you had asked, uh, Dame Quay about information on Ugathal.

00:56:42Gamemaster:Um, and so this is, like, a little, like, dossier, effectively, on it.

00:56:48Gamemaster:Uh, most of it is information you already knew.

00:56:49Gamemaster:Uh, yes.

00:56:51Argyle:I believe I also asked about the IDs to look up those people.

00:56:56Gamemaster:Uh, yes.

00:56:57Gamemaster:Uh, she could not do that.

00:56:58Gamemaster:Blackline would not, uh, respond to queries for internal information.

00:57:04Gamemaster:But I will... The only information of note in the Ugathal dossier is that if you want more information about it, there is a consultant that the Scale uses from time to time in Hallia.

00:57:19Gamemaster:Cryptozoologist Alfie Gallagher.

00:57:22Gamemaster:He runs a small curiosities museum in the Masque District.

00:57:30Argyle:What's his name again?

00:57:31Gamemaster:I don't know if that's at all relevant.

00:57:32Gamemaster:What?

00:57:33Argyle:What's his name again?

00:57:34Gamemaster:Alfie Gallagher, the cryptozoologist.

00:57:39Johnny:That's a cool series of names and titles.

00:57:43Benny:do.

00:57:43Gamemaster:I don't know if you care.

00:57:45Gamemaster:I don't know how much you actually wanted to know about Ugathal, but if you wanted to know more, he's probably the guy who would know.

00:57:52Argyle:I think we should probably give this guy visit.

00:57:55Gamemaster:And then...

00:57:59Gamemaster:Johnny, you have a much shorter fax.

00:58:04Gamemaster:It just says, Anchor and some interesting folks.

00:58:08Gamemaster:Signed, Hale.

00:58:12Johnny:I may have to... I'm going to step into the restroom real... I'm going to step out of the way real fast.

00:58:12Anzu:Thank you.

00:58:27Gamemaster:Okay.

00:58:28Gamemaster:We can't do the bathroom thing again.

00:58:28Johnny:I can't step outside.

00:58:31Gamemaster:I refuse.

00:58:34Johnny:It's raining.

00:58:37Gamemaster:You have private rooms.

00:58:40Johnny:I'll run back to my private room and I'll pull out the little chess piece necklace and be like, Hey Red, I got a fax.

00:58:47Johnny:Is everything okay over there?

00:58:50Gamemaster:After a second, you'll hear Red come back and say,

00:58:56Gamemaster:Donovan was asking, queries were made.

00:59:00Gamemaster:You have kicked a hornet's nest.

00:59:04Gamemaster:Is everything all right?

00:59:04Johnny:Yeah.

00:59:06Johnny:Uh, well, we sort of figured out who's doing the rain and what's up with that, so we're chasing that down.

00:59:13Johnny:Um, Tywelwyn, you know, I talked to you about this last night, but, uh, we're gonna figure this out.

00:59:18Johnny:Tell Donnie I got this handled.

00:59:21Gamemaster:Will do.

00:59:23Gamemaster:Be safe.

00:59:23Johnny:I put the chest... You will do.

00:59:24Johnny:I put the chest piece away and I go, ugh, I do not have this handled, and walk back outside.

00:59:29Gamemaster:Absolutely.

00:59:31Anzu:Gotta fake it till you make it.

00:59:34Johnny:Ooh, this is bad.

00:59:35Benny:I just had a horrible image pop into my head.

00:59:38Benny:Tywelwyn reminds me of the name Squilliam.

00:59:42Benny:Now, anytime Tywelwyn is mentioned, I'm going to think of Squilliam Fancy Son.

00:59:46Anzu:No, that's such a leap, Mike.

00:59:47Gamemaster:I know that's a Spongebob character, and you're just forcing it now.

00:59:51Anzu:Yeah, that's a leap.

00:59:53Benny:That's what my brain did.

00:59:56Benny:I didn't do that.

00:59:57Anzu:It's actually crazy because Illmari reminds me of Sandy Cheeks.

01:00:03Benny:They don't call me Illmari for nothing.

01:00:03Johnny:I think Jorge had a hand raised.

01:00:08Argyle:Can I, in our supply, we have different vendors in here, or different people that have mundane supplies.

01:00:09Gamemaster:Yes Jorge.

01:00:20Argyle:I'd like to return my spear that I took, ones with the grains going upward.

01:00:27Argyle:And then I would like to, if I can, get a crowbar and a couple of matches, maybe three matches.

01:00:35Gamemaster:Yeah, so, I mean, those aren't stored in the same location, but you can absolutely return the spear that you took to Elias and then go over to, like, workshop area and you can get a crowbar and a box of matches.

01:00:39Argyle:Cool.

01:00:47Gamemaster:That's fine.

01:00:50Gamemaster:God, when were matches... When was a phosphorus strip invented?

01:00:54Gamemaster:We're just saying they exist.

01:00:56Argyle:No, no, they do exist in the game.

01:00:59Gamemaster:What?

01:01:00Argyle:I looked it up.

01:01:00Argyle:Curve bar matches exist.

01:01:04Gamemaster:Matches exist?

01:01:05Argyle:There are a few silver.

01:01:07Argyle:They used to be called.

01:01:09Argyle:pinder twigs.

01:01:12Benny:No, but a 10 can't.

01:01:12Johnny:The first striking match with a phosphorus head was invented in 1830.

01:01:19Gamemaster:Great.

01:01:19Anzu:Thank you.

01:01:19Argyle:It was actually a really big thing when they came up with a match that could actually ignite by itself.

01:01:19Gamemaster:Perfect.

01:01:28Gamemaster:OK.

01:01:29Benny:I guess.

01:01:29Argyle:Yeah, matchsticks are.

01:01:29Gamemaster:Well, self-striking matches.

01:01:31Benny:Deal.

01:01:33Benny:But it's mad.

01:01:36Argyle:I believe that was a big thing because people kept actually poisoning themselves with trying to make those things.

01:01:42Gamemaster:I get it.

01:01:42Gamemaster:I would.

01:01:45Gamemaster:Friction.

01:01:46Gamemaster:Either way, yes, you absolutely can get self-striking matchsticks and a crowbar.

01:01:51Argyle:I assume I wouldn't be able to just pick up a levered variant here.

01:01:56Gamemaster:Do you want the levered or the non-levered variant?

01:02:03Gamemaster:You would not, but I wanted to know if you were looking for it, because then you could go ahead and purchase it.

01:02:08Argyle:Yeah, I don't have 200 bucks for that.

01:02:10Gamemaster:Okay, I'm just saying, like, in general, I would allow you to go up a level to level three to get a levered crowbar.

01:02:13Argyle:Yeah.

01:02:17Argyle:You know, if you want to be a nice DM and have it in one of these things, sure.

01:02:18Gamemaster:But sure.

01:02:21Argyle:But I'm not right now.

01:02:23Gamemaster:Oh, no, no, no.

01:02:23Argyle:I have like three bones.

01:02:24Gamemaster:One is not available for you.

01:02:26Argyle:I know.

01:02:26Gamemaster:But, you know, so you can... Sure.

01:02:27Argyle:I meant like later and like, oh, inside the cave, there's a levered crowbar.

01:02:30Gamemaster:You get... You're raiding this cave in the wild.

01:02:36Gamemaster:These goblins are all worshipping this levered crowbar.

01:02:41Gamemaster:Levered crowbar?

01:02:43Gamemaster:Either way.

01:02:45Gamemaster:Yes, so you have those items.

01:02:46Gamemaster:I don't know why you want them, but you have them.

01:02:48Argyle:Do they also have poor manacles?

01:02:55Argyle:The manacles of variety poor?

01:02:57Gamemaster:Yes, they're three silver pieces.

01:03:00Gamemaster:You can have poor manacles.

01:03:02Argyle:What about the simple ones?

01:03:02Benny:Do they have... Do they have some manacles?

01:03:04Gamemaster:No.

01:03:05Gamemaster:You have to buy the simple ones.

01:03:07Argyle:OK.

01:03:09Johnny:you

01:03:09Gamemaster:We're not doing the I'm carrying around 10,000 clockwork dials again.

01:03:15Gamemaster:So... You get one pair of poor quality manacles.

01:03:22Benny:Listen, if I can even... If you can even sell a quarter of these dials, you'll make all your money.

01:03:22Argyle:That's right.

01:03:31Benny:Do you have some manacles that I can take pity upon?

01:03:34Benny:We do have some poor manacles.

01:03:37Benny:Perfect.

01:03:39Gamemaster:Listen, it's better than the simple manacles, which are manacles that are dumber than other manacles.

01:03:46Benny:I don't know when to unlock.

01:03:47Gamemaster:So... Okay.

01:03:53Gamemaster:Anything else you guys would like to do?

01:03:55Argyle:Do we guys expect us... Sorry, guys.

01:03:59Argyle:Just wanted to get a little census from the group.

01:04:03Argyle:Are you guys kind of like the, if we find a criminal, we'll bring him back dead?

01:04:06Argyle:Or are you kind of like, we should bring him back alive?

01:04:10Benny:Is the criminal making the rain?

01:04:11Argyle:What's your style here?

01:04:11Johnny:Where are we bringing the dead?

01:04:16Argyle:Well, if we find a criminal, do you guys believe they should see justice and get put in front of a judge?

01:04:21Argyle:Not my judge.

01:04:22Argyle:Maybe my judge, but any judge.

01:04:24Argyle:And then, you know,

01:04:25Argyle:All that?

01:04:26Argyle:Or do you think, eh, we just axed ourselves?

01:04:28Johnny:Hey, Guy, I think it's really important we get this on the table right now.

01:04:32Johnny:I am a criminal.

01:04:33Gamemaster:Thank you.

01:04:36Benny:Well, perfect.

01:04:36Argyle:Different type of criminal.

01:04:37Benny:We have a practical...

01:04:37Argyle:You're not in my jurisdiction.

01:04:39Argyle:I opened up my notepad.

01:04:40Argyle:You're not in my jurisdiction, so it's fine.

01:04:42Johnny:Okay.

01:04:44Johnny:Listen, I sort of pissed off that dude last night thinking we'd kill him.

01:04:49Johnny:Then we didn't kill him.

01:04:51Johnny:So we kind of got to find the right one and the... No.

01:04:52Argyle:Hmm.

01:04:53Benny:I mean, I think I think there's some tact required, meaning do we trust the cops to be able to contain a deer that

01:04:57Argyle:Well, should we, you know, get handcuffs and bring them in, you know?

01:05:04Anzu:It depends.

01:05:05Anzu:If we're able to, maybe.

01:05:11Anzu:But...

01:05:22Benny:can spawn himself and make capes levitate?

01:05:23Gamemaster:Oh.

01:05:26Argyle:Quick question, Josh.

01:05:29Argyle:In general, are members of the Scale like, hey, we need to bring them in front of the judges and all of that?

01:05:37Anzu:Thank you.

01:05:38Argyle:Or are they more like, we are the judge, jury, and executioner?

01:05:41Argyle:Which style are they?

01:05:44Gamemaster:It depends.

01:05:46Gamemaster:In that, for the bits that the Scale was used for arbitration for contracts and stuff, failing to uphold a contract or doing that kind of stuff does not immediately require going out and hunting them down.

01:06:01Argyle:Wait, is there anything else to it?

01:06:01Gamemaster:But for the bit of the skill that is involved in hunting like dangerous criminals, they are empowered to perform, they call it field trials, which is a very fancy way of executing somebody on the spot if they've been deemed guilty of a crime.

01:06:12Anzu:Thank you.

01:06:22Argyle:Or is there like, you got to read them like some Miranda Wright style thing?

01:06:25Argyle:Or do you just fucking ax them?

01:06:26Gamemaster:Effectively, yes.

01:06:27Gamemaster:No, there's a little bit of ceremony around deeming somebody dead in front of the judge, and as a result, you are prompted to then correct their existence so that it matches what it should be, which is dead.

01:06:27Argyle:Yes!

01:06:28Argyle:Yes!

01:06:29Argyle:Yes!

01:06:35Argyle:Okay.

01:06:45Argyle:Cool.

01:06:48Gamemaster:Yeah.

01:06:51Argyle:I don't need any nicer manacles.

01:06:53Argyle:No, no.

01:06:55Gamemaster:The poor manacles, I didn't know what the difference was.

01:06:57Gamemaster:Apparently it's just how many times you have to succeed on a thievery check.

01:07:01Johnny:Hmm.

01:07:01Gamemaster:Poor manacles require two DC 17 thievery checks to unlock.

01:07:06Argyle:Oh, and it's DC.

01:07:07Argyle:So the simple requires three DC 22.

01:07:09Gamemaster:Yeah, the DC increases as they're higher quality.

01:07:10Argyle:Then it's four DC 27s.

01:07:12Gamemaster:So your manacle requires six successes of DC 42.

01:07:13Argyle:Yeah.

01:07:15Gamemaster:So you don't want to get caught in this.

01:07:19Argyle:No.

01:07:20Gamemaster:Either way, you have a pair of poor quality manacles.

01:07:27Benny:So do we have enough BDSM equipment to go after this guy now, or?

01:07:27Argyle:Cool.

01:07:32Argyle:Yep.

01:07:32Gamemaster:It is currently Saturday morning.

01:07:36Gamemaster:On the docket for you guys is you had promised to go to that Zorbon meeting in the sewers.

01:07:47Gamemaster:Dame Quay had set up a meeting for you in the Magical Crimes Convox.

01:07:55Gamemaster:And I think those are the only two appointments you're holding today.

01:08:00Johnny:The Zorbon meeting is going to be a little tough since the sewers are kind of underwater.

01:08:06Anzu:Yeah, but we got to make an attempt.

01:08:08Johnny:Yeah.

01:08:09Benny:Should we go there first then?

01:08:09Johnny:Josh, what time was the Zorbon meeting?

01:08:12Gamemaster:You two spoke over each other.

01:08:14Johnny:Oh, sorry.

01:08:15Johnny:What time was the Zorbon meeting?

01:08:17Gamemaster:In the evening.

01:08:20Gamemaster:I don't know if Whiskers was cogent enough to actually give you a time.

01:08:28Anzu:That's good enough.

01:08:30Argyle:All right.

01:08:32Argyle:So you guys talk to that guy.

01:08:33Argyle:Or there's two ologists.

01:08:36Johnny:Cop first.

01:08:38Argyle:Okay.

01:08:39Benny:And new.

01:08:43Gamemaster:Okay, so you guys want... Absolutely.

01:08:46Argyle:Do you want to like take off your sunglasses or something?

01:08:49Johnny:Yeah, I'll take my sunglasses off and like tie my hair up.

01:08:55Johnny:I'll put on.

01:08:55Argyle:So have you like always been 60 year old?

01:08:56Gamemaster:Am I?

01:08:57Gamemaster:Well... Oh.

01:08:59Johnny:I'm like, I look like I'm 30.

01:09:02Johnny:Maybe.

01:09:04Argyle:Yeah, are you an elf?

01:09:07Argyle:A human?

01:09:07Argyle:What are you again?

01:09:09Johnny:Thanks, so do you.

01:09:10Argyle:Oh.

01:09:12Argyle:So you look pretty good for 60 then.

01:09:18Argyle:I didn't say that was my age.

01:09:26Gamemaster:Absolutely.

01:09:26Benny:I'm nine, so.

01:09:29Johnny:Let's go see this cop.

01:09:32Gamemaster:I assume you guys are driving there.

01:09:36Gamemaster:You didn't actually do this yesterday, so we can say that you can swing by a convenience store today and pick it up.

01:09:43Gamemaster:Can somebody mark off the money required for a license to step?

01:09:47Argyle:I thought we did that.

01:09:48Anzu:I did do that.

01:09:49Gamemaster:Did you already do that?

01:09:50Argyle:Yeah.

01:09:51Anzu:Yeah.

01:09:51Gamemaster:Oh, okay.

01:09:51Gamemaster:Great.

01:09:52Gamemaster:Then don't arc any additional money off.

01:09:55Gamemaster:Don't do that.

01:09:58Gamemaster:Okay.

01:09:59Gamemaster:So you... This is the first time that you guys have driven out of Sableclutch into other parts of the city.

01:10:00Johnny:you

01:10:06Gamemaster:You had been in the Diamond District for your courier... Yes.

01:10:11Argyle:Is the Gryphon store inside Sableclutch?

01:10:13Argyle:Or the Gryphon distribution?

01:10:14Gamemaster:Yes.

01:10:14Argyle:Oh.

01:10:15Gamemaster:The Gryphonline that you attended to is the Sableclutch Gryphonline.

01:10:19Argyle:Gotcha, gotcha.

01:10:20Gamemaster:Which is also, you would know that the Roundhat Gang really operates in Sableclutch.

01:10:27Gamemaster:You've been doing a lot of street-level things so far, staying within the neighborhood.

01:10:31Gamemaster:The only time so far in this campaign that you guys have left that district is specifically to go to the Diamond District to deliver the thing.

01:10:39Gamemaster:And you immediately came back to Sableclutch.

01:10:42Gamemaster:But you would have... Those of you...

01:10:46Gamemaster:All of you, because none of you were living in Hallia before you came here to Iconoclasm, would have passed through this area at one point.

01:10:52Gamemaster:You have to drive through the Stepwell, which is a massive radial interchange that sits in the direct geographic center of the city that is the transport hub for the whole city.

01:11:07Gamemaster:Trains come in here that go to other parts of Calaria and to Brithwyn and other parts of the continent.

01:11:12Gamemaster:There are the local trams that stop here, like all of the different lines kind of converge at this location.

01:11:19Gamemaster:And there are also roads that travel from one district to another through the Stepwell, which is kind of Prime Meridian, the company that manages it, does that so that you have to pay tolls if you want to move from one district to another via the car.

01:11:35Gamemaster:Your license does actually count as paying for the toll for this, so you don't have to

01:11:40Gamemaster:to type down anything for it, but if you didn't have that license, it's a relatively large fee compared to the price of the license because they just want you getting a license.

01:11:50Gamemaster:So you drive through, I don't know if any of you have driven through JFK, where there's just a bunch of roads that like double back and triple around and twist around each other.

01:12:03Gamemaster:And you have to follow signs because if you just look in the direction you're trying to go and drive that way, you will not end up where you're trying to be.

01:12:10Gamemaster:So it's a point of pride for natives to be able to remember how to get from point A to point B without reading the signs and stuff.

01:12:11Anzu:Rudolph.

01:12:20Gamemaster:None of you are at that point because you've been in Hallia for like two weeks at most.

01:12:29Gamemaster:But you have the world's best driving nine-year-old piloting you through this mess.

01:12:37Gamemaster:I do need a survival check from somebody, either the driver or whoever's riding shotgun as a navigator, to try and get where you're going.

01:12:48Benny:Survival.

01:12:49Benny:Does anyone have above a zero?

01:12:52Johnny:Got a plus 6 to survive.

01:12:54Johnny:I got a plus 6 to survival?

01:12:55Johnny:That's crazy.

01:12:56Benny:Hop in the passenger seat.

01:12:59Johnny:Why do I have that?

01:13:00Johnny:I... This is why I have that.

01:13:01Anzu:Thank you.

01:13:02Benny:I can barely see over this stupid fucking... Can you tell me where I'm going?

01:13:06Johnny:I got a 25.

01:13:07Gamemaster:Nice.

01:13:09Gamemaster:You, um... You, uh... For some reason, just inherently, like, are pretty comfortable with this massive interchange.

01:13:18Gamemaster:And can navigate through no problem.

01:13:22Argyle:This is wisdom.

01:13:22Gamemaster:Um...

01:13:24Gamemaster:Yes.

01:13:25Gamemaster:He's just so wise that he knows how to handle a clover loop into another clover loop into a roundabout into a four-way intersection into another clover loop.

01:13:36Gamemaster:But it's fine.

01:13:38Gamemaster:Because you eventually make it out of the Stepwell into the... Oh gosh, what is this called again?

01:13:47Gamemaster:What did I call you?

01:13:47Argyle:Yes.

01:13:48Gamemaster:The Aurideon.

01:13:51Gamemaster:Which is...

01:13:53Gamemaster:technically a separate country within Hallia, but it's like a loose gray area because the Iridescent Church is also half of the government of Calaria.

01:13:53Johnny:you

01:14:05Gamemaster:So it's, you know, a big political mess.

01:14:06Gamemaster:But the end result of it is that you are not allowed in unless you've been granted permission.

01:14:15Gamemaster:You can tell that you're arriving towards the Aurideon because the entire district is domed in a massive transparent crystal array that covers the entirety of it.

01:14:28Gamemaster:Normally, this is to focus the Aurorae.

01:14:32Gamemaster:into a more localized phenomenon above the Iridescent Church's HQ and all of that.

01:14:40Gamemaster:But right now, it's just serving as a particularly large umbrella.

01:14:45Gamemaster:Rain hitting the dome and coming off in huge waves and washing into the districts off to the left and right of it.

01:14:55Gamemaster:But the road that you're on is...

01:14:59Gamemaster:magically dry, so you don't have to worry about that.

01:15:02Gamemaster:The rain hits your car windshield, lands on the road, and then immediately dries up.

01:15:07Gamemaster:And you enter into a queue.

01:15:13Gamemaster:You are online to enter into this district, because every car needs to be checked.

01:15:23Gamemaster:So you wait.

01:15:25Gamemaster:It's not a particularly fast process.

01:15:27Gamemaster:Every once in a while, the car in front of you moves forward a little bit, then you move forward a little bit, so on and so forth.

01:15:32Gamemaster:After about an hour or so of waiting, you, uh, yes.

01:15:36Argyle:Quick question.

01:15:40Argyle:It's not illegal to have a child driving, right?

01:15:43Gamemaster:Uh, no.

01:15:45Argyle:Okay.

01:15:45Gamemaster:No, if the child can drive the car, the child can drive the car.

01:15:49Gamemaster:It's illegal to pass through the step well without a license or without paying the toll, but you've done that.

01:15:57Gamemaster:It's not illegal for a nine-year-old to drive a car.

01:15:59Gamemaster:That's totally fine.

01:16:01Argyle:Okay.

01:16:01Argyle:Okay, cool.

01:16:02Gamemaster:The thing with, like, age-based laws is there are some races that only live 30 years, and then there are other races that live 200.

01:16:09Gamemaster:And so if you say you need to be 18, and that's, like, two-thirds of the lifespan of a creature, then, eh, yes.

01:16:19Argyle:Second question.

01:16:23Argyle:I look over in the backseat to my compatriot.

01:16:26Argyle:How old are you?

01:16:29Gamemaster:Who are you looking at?

01:16:30Argyle:That's Tanner.

01:16:31Benny:He's in the... Oh, Tanner.

01:16:33Anzu:I'm 21.

01:16:34Benny:Also, you're in the backseat because we need Johnny to back him.

01:16:36Argyle:Yeah.

01:16:37Argyle:That's what I'm saying.

01:16:37Argyle:I'm in the backseat.

01:16:38Argyle:Sorry.

01:16:39Johnny:A big map unfolded.

01:16:40Johnny:It's like this big.

01:16:45Argyle:Oh.

01:16:46Argyle:How old do birds normally live?

01:16:47Argyle:I don't ask him.

01:16:48Argyle:I assume I would know this via bird book.

01:16:50Gamemaster:I think they have just, like, a normal lifespan.

01:16:55Argyle:OK.

01:16:57Argyle:It's not going to be like they have 30 years.

01:16:59Argyle:I'm like, oh my god.

01:17:00Gamemaster:No, he's... I can double-check.

01:17:00Anzu:No, I think they're pretty human-ish.

01:17:01Benny:Ooh!

01:17:05Benny:They live to 22.

01:17:05Argyle:Gotcha, gotcha.

01:17:06Gamemaster:Tengu.

01:17:08Johnny:Oh, God.

01:17:10Anzu:I can't help but play in a geyser.

01:17:14Benny:It's like that one thing.

01:17:16Benny:How old is the Google search?

01:17:17Benny:How old is Anzu?

01:17:18Benny:How old do birds live?

01:17:19Benny:The guy crying.

01:17:20Argyle:you

01:17:22Gamemaster:I don't know if it tells you, to be honest.

01:17:25Gamemaster:I'm looking at the description for Tengu, and it says that they might be able to absorb misfortune, but it doesn't tell me how long they live.

01:17:35Anzu:For some reason I thought it was relatively human.

01:17:38Anzu:I don't know where I saw that though.

01:17:40Gamemaster:They might have removed it in the remaster.

01:17:44Gamemaster:Or I might be blind.

01:17:45Johnny:Let's see.

01:17:48Gamemaster:I mean, it doesn't really matter what it says.

01:17:49Gamemaster:I'm saying that they normally live like a normal human lifespan.

01:17:54Gamemaster:Okay, so in the remastered version, it says they come of age at 15.

01:18:05Gamemaster:So that's all you have to go off of.

01:18:10Gamemaster:Either way, you guys are in the guest line.

01:18:13Gamemaster:It takes a while.

01:18:13Gamemaster:Eventually, after like an hour, you make it up to the front of the line.

01:18:17Gamemaster:The nine-year-old pulls into this guardhouse.

01:18:21Gamemaster:And this is a very seriously defended guardhouse.

01:18:25Gamemaster:You are put into a barrier on either side, and as you drive into the barrier, there is a spike carpet in front of you, so you cannot continue driving forward into the Aurideon.

01:18:26Johnny:you

01:18:37Gamemaster:But as you pass through, you also drive over another one-way spike area pointing up behind you.

01:18:43Gamemaster:So once you've entered, you can't back back out.

01:18:46Gamemaster:Besides the fact that there's a whole line of people behind you.

01:18:49Gamemaster:And there is, on both sides, beyond the barriers...

01:18:53Argyle:you

01:18:56Gamemaster:Eight people, all pointing guns directly at your car.

01:19:00Gamemaster:And one person who isn't, who is wearing the, like, oil slick white coloration of the robes that you would expect that people in the Iridescent Church are wearing.

01:19:12Gamemaster:With a relatively large...

01:19:14Gamemaster:hosts Raymond DeBoot, who will lean down and knock on the window of your car.

01:19:21Gamemaster:Absolutely, we do not have motorized windows yet, so you do need to physically roll it down.

01:19:27Gamemaster:And he will ask, can I have your names, please, so I can check the guest list for this evening.

01:19:35Gamemaster:Oh, sorry, for this morning.

01:19:37Gamemaster:It's still morning.

01:19:37Argyle:Sure, they're written down right here, and I give them the facts with our authorization, and I put my apprentice badge on it.

01:19:47Gamemaster:Okay, the apprentice badge doesn't carry any information here.

01:19:51Argyle:I understand.

01:19:51Gamemaster:Sure, the reason that you were able to enter is because Dame Quay has connections in the Iridescent Church, and they could pull the strings to get you in.

01:19:51Argyle:Argyle just wants to put his badge there.

01:20:03Argyle:Mm-hmm.

01:20:03Argyle:Yeah.

01:20:03Gamemaster:There's, like, no special you're part of the Scale, so you're allowed into...

01:20:07Gamemaster:the church of a rival religion deal.

01:20:10Argyle:Mm hmm.

01:20:13Gamemaster:But either way, they will look it up, and after a few seconds, you guys are approved to enter.

01:20:19Gamemaster:Johnny, you don't get, like, who maybe we should, like, keep him aside.

01:20:19Benny:I do.

01:20:25Gamemaster:I would imagine you do crimes, you would know how to keep those identities separate from each other.

01:20:31Johnny:as we're pulling the lights go.

01:20:32Johnny:Thanks.

01:20:34Benny:Well, I do also want to say Benny hands over a trifle and says, and hopefully this will clear up any remaining confusion.

01:20:42Benny:And it's his permission slip with a hard candy in it.

01:20:46Benny:So if you open it up, like the hard candy drops.

01:20:49Gamemaster:Absolutely.

01:20:50Gamemaster:This guy, like, sees the hard candy, looks at you, like, pockets it, folds up the permission slip and hands it back to you.

01:21:02Gamemaster:And he, like, waves for the ribbon in front of you, the spikes to be lowered so that you can continue into the domed city of the Aurideon.

01:21:15Gamemaster:It is a... Yes?

01:21:18Argyle:really quick in catholic mass there's a time where you can like give money to like ushers that come by and i saw normally you give like if you if you're with like kids you give them the money to put it in just so they get the experience and i saw one kid put the cash and then go into his pocket and pull out a heart candy and he goes to put it but then stops himself and then does it anyway and then looked so mad he was like what the fuck was that

01:21:25Gamemaster:Listen, if you really wanted it, that's important.

01:21:39Anzu:Thank you.

01:21:49Argyle:Oh, man.

01:21:51Gamemaster:That's a heartfelt donation.

01:21:53Gamemaster:They wanted the candy and they gave it away.

01:21:55Gamemaster:That's a mitzvah is what that is.

01:22:02Gamemaster:Either way, you guys have entered the Aurelion.

01:22:08Gamemaster:None of you have been here, but there are maps and you rolled relatively high on your survival check, so I will say that it's not particularly difficult to find the address that you were given.

01:22:18Gamemaster:So you can do that.

01:22:22Johnny:Thank you.

01:22:22Gamemaster:you pull out in front of... This isn't...

01:22:27Gamemaster:This particular department, the Magical Crimes Convox, is not within a church like many of the other parts of the Iridescent Church would be, just by virtue of... This isn't the most religious part of the institution.

01:22:46Gamemaster:This is more like we understand that we are kind of peacekeepers in the area, and so this is effectively a police force that you are entering.

01:22:56Gamemaster:So you pull over into Rook's Crossing, which is like this plaza that's based off of, kind of off to the side.

01:23:04Gamemaster:For the first time in a few days, not contenting with rain, because there's a Giant dome pushing it away from you, you pull into a parking lot, because, you know, there are cars.

01:23:11Benny:Okay.

01:23:15Gamemaster:There are parking lots.

01:23:18Gamemaster:in front of this relatively nondescript, concrete, windowless building, just off the side of the plaza.

01:23:28Gamemaster:There's nothing like labeling it that it's part of the Convox Magical Crimes.

01:23:33Gamemaster:The only thing necessarily associating this building with the Iridescent Church is the fact that it's in this district.

01:23:41Gamemaster:But...

01:23:41Gamemaster:You guys can head on in.

01:23:45Gamemaster:Assuming you didn't have anything you wanted to do before you walked in.

01:23:49Gamemaster:The interior is... So, you...

01:23:53Benny:No.

01:24:00Gamemaster:All people on Færrin kind of have this inherent understanding of what it's like to enter into a Fane.

01:24:07Gamemaster:There's this, like, weird skin-tingling sensation as you pass through into a Fane, and you are very obviously entering the Fane as you walk into this area.

01:24:20Gamemaster:The interior of the room that you're...

01:24:22Gamemaster:brought into the first one is an open booking center, if you know what the inside of a police department looks like.

01:24:33Gamemaster:There's somebody near the front.

01:24:35Gamemaster:It looks like somebody in a kind of like a weird mix between a policeman's uniform and

01:24:42Gamemaster:and a church robe, because it is a robe, but there are pockets and tactical bags for, like, handcuffs and the like.

01:24:51Gamemaster:And a very clear... It's interesting, all of the people in this building have a holster for a firearm, but it's at their chest.

01:24:58Gamemaster:It's worn right here for them to pull out instead of at their hips.

01:25:01Gamemaster:As a very open, like, I am armed and I'm walking around with this firearm.

01:25:07Gamemaster:Do not give me a reason to pull it out.

01:25:09Gamemaster:like the opposite of a concealed carry.

01:25:14Gamemaster:But behind them are a bunch of like an open floor space with many desks.

01:25:20Gamemaster:And it looks like quite a few people walking between desks, reviewing paperwork and the like.

01:25:24Gamemaster:It looks like there are a few holding cells off to one side.

01:25:26Gamemaster:And this room itself has like a 30 foot tall ceiling.

01:25:33Gamemaster:And the back half of the room, there is a Giant glass door

01:25:38Gamemaster:office that is overlooking the entire police floor uh and you can see that there is a uh some figure it's a little hard to make them out from this distance working behind a desk there that you would take to be someone higher up in the Convox um but you know you immediately get a a look from the um

01:26:00Gamemaster:the guard that's at intake in the front of the facility, who looks at you guys and then immediately looks down at a paper as if to confirm something and says, are you... Dame Quay said that all of you would be okay.

01:26:20Gamemaster:That's fine.

01:26:21Gamemaster:If you could hold on for a second, I will find the detective and then he can lead you into one of our conference rooms in the back.

01:26:32Gamemaster:Just hold tight.

01:26:32Argyle:I really hope we have Cedric Carew.

01:26:36Argyle:That guy is so cool.

01:26:38Johnny:I've heard about him.

01:26:38Argyle:Have you seen any of his stuff?

01:26:39Johnny:He's pretty great.

01:26:40Argyle:He writes some cool cartoons, too.

01:26:42Argyle:I'm going to be honest with you.

01:26:43Johnny:I didn't know he writes cartoons.

01:26:45Johnny:That's pretty cool.

01:26:45Johnny:That's pretty cool.

01:26:46Argyle:That's how I learned about this city, you know?

01:26:46Gamemaster:Watch a man with four other people walking behind him come up.

01:26:47Argyle:That's how I learned about this city.

01:26:51Gamemaster:Now...

01:26:54Argyle:Kind of how I learned about, you know, Common and everything.

01:26:59Johnny:I've heard that's pretty common.

01:27:00Johnny:People reading like comic books and stuff.

01:27:02Argyle:Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.

01:27:06Argyle:Did you grow up with another language?

01:27:09Johnny:Josh, did I grow up with another language?

01:27:11Gamemaster:No, Raelion would have spoken the same language as Calaria.

01:27:17Johnny:Yeah, it's the same thing, but we spell words differently.

01:27:20Johnny:It's like theater, but the R is first and then the E, or like gray with an E.

01:27:28Gamemaster:As a general linguistic point,

01:27:28Anzu:Yeah.

01:27:33Gamemaster:when Aurelia opened up the Godhome 600 and change years ago, uh, and kind of brought all of the gods in as part of that, like revolution, a language common was, was standardized around the continent.

01:27:48Gamemaster:So basically everybody speaks common unless they like originated from some weird remote clan or from some other part of the horizon or something like that.

01:28:00Gamemaster:But like the standard, uh,

01:28:02Gamemaster:The standard is standard.

01:28:05Gamemaster:For the most part, everybody speaks common.

01:28:08Johnny:Benny, did you speak Common?

01:28:12Johnny:Is that your native language?

01:28:15Benny:Yeah.

01:28:17Johnny:Dang.

01:28:21Johnny:Hoping to get something out of him.

01:28:26Gamemaster:Okay.

01:28:27Gamemaster:After a few minutes of waiting, somebody will come from the back area.

01:28:33Gamemaster:It looks like he was paged of some kind.

01:28:35Gamemaster:Not paged, because that's not a thing.

01:28:37Gamemaster:Pneumatic tubed?

01:28:38Gamemaster:They would have that at this point in time.

01:28:40Gamemaster:The guy behind the counter folds up a small piece of paper, puts it in a canister, chucks it in a tube, and that goes back to whoever's receiving it.

01:28:49Gamemaster:And then a man in full...

01:28:53Gamemaster:trench coat, um, like, a fedora, actively smoking a, uh, not a cigarette, uh, what's the thing in between a cigarette and a cigar?

01:29:03Gamemaster:Cigarillo.

01:29:04Gamemaster:Um, like a weird fat cigarette.

01:29:07Gamemaster:Um, will, like, stride down the aisle towards all of you.

01:29:12Gamemaster:Um...

01:29:13Gamemaster:look at, I think Argyle would be the one that he described primarily because he's the only one that she would have seen.

01:29:20Gamemaster:And so he'd go, he'd stick out his hand and say, Detective Brooks, I've been expecting you.

01:29:21Argyle:Hey, nice to meet you.

01:29:31Argyle:Nice to meet you, Argyle.

01:29:35Gamemaster:Let's talk in the back.

01:29:36Gamemaster:Can I get you guys anything?

01:29:38Gamemaster:Coffee?

01:29:38Gamemaster:Cigarette?

01:29:39Argyle:Coffee would be great.

01:29:40Gamemaster:Sure.

01:29:41Benny:Because I have a hard candy, I need mine replenished.

01:29:46Gamemaster:I have like a packet of sugar you could eat.

01:29:49Benny:We'll figure it out.

01:29:53Gamemaster:And he will lead you towards... It's not like an interrogation room.

01:29:58Gamemaster:It's the other side of an interrogation room, like behind the mirror, because that's the closest thing that they have a conference room to.

01:30:05Gamemaster:This isn't a place that they really meet people normally.

01:30:09Gamemaster:This is a favor that was called in.

01:30:12Gamemaster:But he will sit down behind... Yes, Jorge.

01:30:16Argyle:My hot cup of coffee.

01:30:18Argyle:I'm going to drop a little cube of myrrh in there.

01:30:20Argyle:Just stir it around.

01:30:22Gamemaster:Myrrh doesn't dissolve.

01:30:24Argyle:People used to do that for healing.

01:30:25Argyle:They'd use hot wine.

01:30:27Argyle:So I'm going to use coffee.

01:30:29Gamemaster:Okay, but this isn't mulled wine.

01:30:32Argyle:Yeah, well, I'm using coffee.

01:30:33Gamemaster:That's fine.

01:30:35Gamemaster:Absolutely.

01:30:35Gamemaster:It was already a really bad cup of coffee.

01:30:38Gamemaster:So now it's a really bad cup of coffee with the overwhelming stench of myrrh coming out of it.

01:30:46Gamemaster:Which I don't think that Argyle would notice if he's already smoking mer-cigarettes.

01:30:53Gamemaster:So it's fine.

01:30:54Anzu:Yeah, I think he probably prefers it.

01:30:54Argyle:I offer him a cube if he wanted one.

01:30:59Gamemaster:He will set you up with those of you who wanted coffee or Benny.

01:31:04Gamemaster:He gets a sugar cube.

01:31:07Gamemaster:That's the closest thing they have to candy here.

01:31:08Johnny:you

01:31:09Benny:you you

01:31:10Gamemaster:And he sits down and says, okay, so I don't actually have much information on why y'all are here.

01:31:17Gamemaster:So what's the scoop?

01:31:21Argyle:Yeah.

01:31:21Argyle:So...

01:31:22Argyle:We're working with Iconoclasm.

01:31:26Argyle:We're all lent from different orgs and doing some investigation for them.

01:31:31Argyle:One of our investigations led into the sewer system, and we found some... I point at... Is it Anzu?

01:31:41Anzu:Yeah.

01:31:41Argyle:Is that your character?

01:31:42Argyle:Yeah, he's the science guy.

01:31:48Anzu:We found evidence of some kind of shoddily put together augury type ritual.

01:31:56Argyle:And you can mention the dream we had before we got there.

01:32:00Anzu:Josh, there were little creatures.

01:32:02Anzu:Tanner forgets the name of them, but I'll name drop whatever those creatures were.

01:32:05Anzu:Oh, OK.

01:32:06Gamemaster:Oggers.

01:32:07Anzu:Well, that'll do it.

01:32:13Anzu:And they seem like they killed a person also in doing this as part of their ritual.

01:32:23Anzu:And actually, we believe we may have been, or at least Iconoclasm was the target of at least this particular instance of augury.

01:32:34Argyle:you

01:32:35Anzu:We had kind of a shared...

01:32:38Anzu:dream where we were attacked.

01:32:40Anzu:And then it kind of went away.

01:32:44Gamemaster:He's definitely listening to you.

01:32:47Gamemaster:I think this is... The words that you guys already have a little bit of weight because you have entered this with a well-respected member of another organization lending their credence to what you're saying.

01:33:01Gamemaster:So he's listening to what you're saying and he's like, okay, give me a second.

01:33:06Gamemaster:And he wheels backwards and takes a few file holders out of...

01:33:08Argyle:Thank you.

01:33:11Gamemaster:out of a cabinet that's behind him, and he takes it out, and he pulls out what looks to be a picture of the same weird spiky creatures that you guys had seen.

01:33:22Gamemaster:This is what you saw.

01:33:24Anzu:Yes.

01:33:24Benny:Add some.

01:33:27Johnny:Yeah.

01:33:27Gamemaster:Okay.

01:33:33Gamemaster:Did I miss something?

01:33:33Anzu:He's using a bit of a different, yeah.

01:33:36Benny:Johnny said, yeah.

01:33:37Gamemaster:right of course because he's a criminal uh because he is a known criminal um he will say this is interesting because we were actually i'm sure you know about the rain

01:33:41Argyle:Complete Batman voice.

01:33:44Benny:Yes.

01:33:45Benny:That's what we saw.

01:33:48Johnny:Where are they?

01:33:49Johnny:Where's the auguries?

01:33:51Benny:Where are the augers going?

01:34:07Anzu:We have a possible suspect.

01:34:08Gamemaster:Rains caused by illegal augury.

01:34:11Gamemaster:So we were already, we had our own investigation into who's doing this illegal augury.

01:34:17Gamemaster:And we were not looking in Sableclutch because we found evidence of these augers uptown.

01:34:26Gamemaster:So this is an interesting data point that it's happening in multiple locations.

01:34:32Johnny:you

01:34:37Anzu:In the shared dream that we had, their home was set ablaze, and we were attacked by some fiery-type creatures.

01:34:53Anzu:So we believe that there could be some connection to the Pyrelight.

01:34:54Argyle:We have a little bit more links by the way, not just fire.

01:34:57Gamemaster:Okay.

01:35:02Gamemaster:Short.

01:35:02Gamemaster:I do want to show you, I have a few pictures of fire.

01:35:05Gamemaster:I would love it if you could point out which fire it looked like, if you still remember.

01:35:10Gamemaster:Because there are multiple fire-based criminal organizations in Hallia at any one time.

01:35:16Gamemaster:And so it's useful to narrow it down.

01:35:18Anzu:Thank you.

01:35:19Gamemaster:And she pulls out a different file holder with six different fires of varying strength and color and the like.

01:35:30Gamemaster:And you can pick out one that reminds you most of...

01:35:36Gamemaster:of the fires that you had seen.

01:35:37Gamemaster:It's similar between the dream and also the kind of glow that Tywelwyn was giving off.

01:35:44Gamemaster:It's the same quality of fire, if that makes sense.

01:35:47Gamemaster:And the one that you pick out that looks the most similar is, he confirms, the one related to Pyrelight and its activities.

01:35:53Gamemaster:The picture that they show you of the fire is actually part of the...

01:35:57Gamemaster:cordoning ring that is around Teller's Run.

01:36:01Gamemaster:It's the same looking fire, effectively.

01:36:03Gamemaster:It's like this bright white fire, almost.

01:36:08Gamemaster:Yes.

01:36:09Anzu:Is Teller's Run Uptown?

01:36:11Gamemaster:Teller's Run is uptown.

01:36:13Anzu:Okay.

01:36:13Gamemaster:I don't have a map for you, although I really should at this point, but just pretend like if it's about a circle, there is a river that runs diagonally through the city.

01:36:23Anzu:Hmm.

01:36:27Gamemaster:At the southernmost point is Sableclutch.

01:36:29Gamemaster:That's where the Sin and Tonic is.

01:36:32Gamemaster:At the northernmost point is Teller's Run.

01:36:36Gamemaster:You are currently over... This is reversed.

01:36:41Gamemaster:So almost the leftmost, top left corner of the city is where you currently are, where the river comes into the city from, like from the north down to the south, because they wanted to be where the water was cleanest, and people dump sewage and stuff into it because regulations around environmental safety are not a thing.

01:36:55Argyle:Misha.

01:37:05Gamemaster:So...

01:37:05Argyle:Don't art.

01:37:09Gamemaster:There are still, there are currently rules around what you can and cannot put in a river.

01:37:13Gamemaster:Like, there are people who swim in the East River nowadays and do not die of cholera.

01:37:17Gamemaster:And that didn't used to be the case.

01:37:19Johnny:Oh.

01:37:19Gamemaster:So...

01:37:20Argyle:That's fair.

01:37:23Benny:Thank you.

01:37:24Argyle:We also saw, I'm not sure how much notes you have on these fire folks, but they also like to animate objects.

01:37:39Gamemaster:I don't know if we have that in our file of them.

01:37:43Argyle:So they seem to be working with a local gang, and they're distributing magic signals.

01:37:43Gamemaster:We have... Okay, so... So that is interesting, because we were looking over at Widdershins, which is a different district, and the local gang there was where we found these augers.

01:37:50Argyle:And we have locations.

01:37:51Argyle:We took down a satellite, and we have more locations.

01:38:06Gamemaster:So...

01:38:08Johnny:What's the gang that was there?

01:38:11Gamemaster:One second.

01:38:13Gamemaster:I should have that one.

01:38:15Gamemaster:One second.

01:38:18Gamemaster:They're called the Opaline Reserve.

01:38:21Gamemaster:Used to be a distillery.

01:38:24Gamemaster:Kind of got into other substances.

01:38:28Gamemaster:Normally we leave a bee for the most part.

01:38:33Gamemaster:They don't tend to do violent crimes, but the reason this came up on our radar is because there was a...

01:38:39Gamemaster:in their territory there was a murder and that brought us to the augurs.

01:38:47Gamemaster:Okay, so I'm just going to take your testimony as fact right now because it kind of fits what we're seeing elsewhere.

01:38:54Gamemaster:Pyrelight, the gang, is working with other local gang organizations in it seems poorer parts of the city because Widdershins is almost as poor as Sableclutch is.

01:39:08Gamemaster:to install these radar dishes.

01:39:12Gamemaster:And the radar dishes make items angry.

01:39:21Argyle:And animated.

01:39:23Gamemaster:Right.

01:39:24Gamemaster:Normally, items can't be any emotion, so I'm just associating angry with, oh, that's fine.

01:39:31Gamemaster:Sentient, animated.

01:39:32Gamemaster:Actually, sentient is a good question.

01:39:34Gamemaster:They're animated.

01:39:35Gamemaster:Do you know if they're thinking?

01:39:39Anzu:we encountered a few that were very basic in that they just kind of flew at something and that was their only form of animation but we had a more recent encounter with one that was a bit more complexly animated thinking hard to say but definitely yeah

01:39:39Benny:I haven't seen any evidence doing

01:39:41Gamemaster:Okay.

01:39:45Johnny:you

01:40:08Argyle:The local gang leader also suddenly was able to make simulacrums of himself, but like fiery ones, or cold, you know, style.

01:40:16Gamemaster:He will reach into another file holder and take out what they have on Tywelwyn, because he is a crime-like boss, and this is a law enforcement agency.

01:40:29Gamemaster:And I'm looking and saying, that is interesting, because our note is that Mr. Leatherhide has no magical capabilities whatsoever.

01:40:38Gamemaster:So this is new.

01:40:42Argyle:Yeah, and I think I actually pushed it into the river.

01:40:44Gamemaster:You didn't by chance happen to pick up any of his body when it disintegrated, right?

01:40:51Johnny:Did we take some of that?

01:40:53Gamemaster:You did not.

01:40:53Anzu:I don't think we did.

01:40:57Benny:Yeah.

01:40:58Gamemaster:No, you saved it from falling into the river so that you could search it, but I don't know if you actually... I don't think you hid the body at all because it had just turned into a lump of coal.

01:41:05Argyle:No, I think I hacked it up.

01:41:06Gamemaster:Did you?

01:41:07Argyle:I think I started hacking it.

01:41:08Argyle:I didn't take any of it.

01:41:10Argyle:I just started chopping.

01:41:10Gamemaster:Okay.

01:41:12Gamemaster:You did start shopping.

01:41:13Gamemaster:That's true.

01:41:13Gamemaster:I remember that.

01:41:14Argyle:Yeah.

01:41:15Argyle:Yeah.

01:41:15Gamemaster:Either way, best you could tell from your investigation, it was just a lump of coal.

01:41:18Argyle:We have a cape.

01:41:18Gamemaster:So you're not being faulted for not taking it.

01:41:21Benny:Yeah.

01:41:21Argyle:We have a cape.

01:41:25Gamemaster:Okay.

01:41:27Argyle:We do have, I think we have some notes of the spell, though.

01:41:34Argyle:Don't we have the relay for the paper?

01:41:35Gamemaster:Sorry.

01:41:39Argyle:Doesn't Anzu have?

01:41:39Anzu:Oh, the sentience distributor.

01:41:41Argyle:Yeah.

01:41:43Anzu:Yeah, I could pull that out.

01:41:43Johnny:you

01:41:45Argyle:we also have one of the beacons, relays, dishes, and we also know where they're all communicating with, at least in our jurisdiction.

01:41:53Gamemaster:that's all very useful connected how because

01:42:02Argyle:It was connected to the Gryphon shipping company.

01:42:10Argyle:All the dishes point there.

01:42:13Argyle:They have a P.O. Box with

01:42:15Argyle:Quick question.

01:42:16Argyle:This might be crazy.

01:42:17Argyle:I could swear, and I describe in as much detail as I can, the tree.

01:42:25Argyle:Does he know anything about that?

01:42:26Gamemaster:Okay.

01:42:54Gamemaster:He will say...

01:42:58Gamemaster:That's interesting.

01:43:01Gamemaster:I don't think you're crazy.

01:43:05Gamemaster:I don't know if you expected me to immediately say you're crazy, but I've been on the beat for a long time, and I've kind of learned to trust my gut.

01:43:08Argyle:Kind of.

01:43:14Gamemaster:And if your gut tells you you were seeing weird vibrations in the rain above a post office, then I believe you that you were seeing weird vibrations in the rain above a post office.

01:43:26Gamemaster:I think the interesting thing that we can go check out is the radar dishes that we found in Widdershins were not pointing towards Sableclutch.

01:43:40Gamemaster:So if we find the direction that they're pointing towards and we have somebody squinted looking at wherever that is and we see the weird vibrations there too, then that might turn up something.

01:43:53Gamemaster:I don't know what the vibrations could be, but

01:43:53Argyle:Yeah.

01:43:56Argyle:Were they were they pointing to another post office?

01:43:58Argyle:Maybe all these post offices are the relays.

01:44:02Gamemaster:No, they weren't pointing to a post office.

01:44:03Gamemaster:They were pointing to... And he flips through a bunch of papers.

01:44:08Gamemaster:They were pointing to an office complex.

01:44:11Gamemaster:Um...

01:44:12Gamemaster:One of those places, it's illegal to do some kind of work if you don't have a physical office in Calaria, in Hallia.

01:44:20Gamemaster:So people will purchase a desk at that office to say that they have an office in the area to do business.

01:44:26Gamemaster:It was one of those.

01:44:27Gamemaster:There are like 400 different companies registered under that office all at the same time.

01:44:28Argyle:Gotcha.

01:44:33Gamemaster:So we've been kind of digging through them one at a time to figure out which ones are legitimate and which ones aren't.

01:44:35Argyle:Any of them?

01:44:37Argyle:Any connected to the pyrolights?

01:44:40Gamemaster:So far, no, but we're only like a quarter of the way through.

01:44:42Gamemaster:Yes, Benny.

01:44:47Benny:Do we think that they've got these dishes pointed at places that they can then put a true signal generator that would hit as many dishes and distribute?

01:45:00Argyle:Oh.

01:45:00Benny:Because they have essentially micro real estate.

01:45:04Argyle:You motherfucker, Josh.

01:45:09Argyle:They're going to be cognitive beacons with fire and shit.

01:45:13Argyle:Messed up.

01:45:13Gamemaster:well so I think you would note like if

01:45:13Benny:So they're just going to be waiting.

01:45:17Benny:for something and then they're going to activate them.

01:45:19Benny:I don't know if they're meant to do anything right now.

01:45:22Anzu:Well, they are doing something right now.

01:45:24Anzu:They're spreading.

01:45:25Argyle:Well, those might have been test runs.

01:45:30Johnny:you you

01:45:32Gamemaster:All of them were currently making the things around them turn angry and fight people.

01:45:38Gamemaster:There would be across the city incidences of this.

01:45:41Gamemaster:As far as you're aware, the only reason you noticed this one is because there was a freak accident where a shoe polisher at a roller rink ate a guy.

01:45:51Gamemaster:Um, but that isn't like, like you learned that there's a credit union and a family restaurant, family style restaurant that, that have these raiders on top of them.

01:46:00Gamemaster:And neither of them, to your knowledge, have recently had a crime.

01:46:03Gamemaster:That might be that the local law enforcement are covering it up.

01:46:07Gamemaster:Um, but it isn't like widespread.

01:46:09Gamemaster:The things are coming alive and eating us.

01:46:12Gamemaster:Georgia, does it end up first?

01:46:12Johnny:were all those radar dishes in like entertainment areas or like gathering districts places where there'd be a lot of people sorry not entertaining like like

01:46:13Gamemaster:I don't know where you are.

01:46:14Argyle:I'm also gonna flag that the local law enforcement covered up the last one.

01:46:19Gamemaster:That is a fair point.

01:46:21Gamemaster:Yes.

01:46:33Gamemaster:They're in places where there would be a lot of people.

01:46:35Gamemaster:They're not in entertainment districts.

01:46:37Gamemaster:So the...

01:46:38Gamemaster:What you know of right now is you were investigating the radar dishes in Sableclutch, which is a poorer, blue-collar, working-class area part of the city.

01:46:48Gamemaster:And they were separately, they had been following these radar dishes into the augers in Widdershins, which is a poorer, blue-collar part of the city.

01:46:58Gamemaster:Um, like the connecting factor there is, uh, there are a lot of people, most of them aren't particularly well off.

01:47:07Gamemaster:Most of them work as like low level people in orgs that manage the land there.

01:47:13Gamemaster:Um, and also they are, sorry, you go.

01:47:15Johnny:do you first are most the people that work there sort of like the day-to-day blue-collar folks who keep literally everything else running by like doing the worst jobs in the city

01:47:19Gamemaster:I was going to say that the only other thing that would stand out to you immediately is that both of those districts are under the threshold authority law enforcement company's purview.

01:47:42Gamemaster:Yeah.

01:47:44Gamemaster:It is very much like the low-paying, un-skilled labor type of people.

01:47:50Gamemaster:Sableclutch is mostly dock workers and logistics managers and truck drivers and the like, because it's on a river.

01:47:57Gamemaster:And then Widdershins is more slightly service-oriented, or people who work in the factories that still operate in Widdershins.

01:48:07Gamemaster:But very much what would be equated to menial labor type stuff.

01:48:13Argyle:But they're all under the same cop jurisdiction.

01:48:15Gamemaster:Both Widdershins and Sableclutch are under threshold authorities purview.

01:48:25Johnny:It seems to me... Detective... Detective and friends, of course.

01:48:26Argyle:What's this detective's name again?

01:48:29Gamemaster:This is Detective Brooks.

01:48:31Argyle:Brooks.

01:48:32Benny:Dr. Brooks.

01:48:33Argyle:Cool.

01:48:34Gamemaster:Detective Ellis Brooks.

01:48:40Johnny:It seems like what happened to the bouldering was a freak accident.

01:48:46Johnny:But if in the middle of the day, or on a Saturday like this, when everyone's out, you know...

01:48:52Johnny:trying to have a good time, maybe in the rain in a bunch of indoor places, and all of a sudden everything comes to life and starts killing people, there's going to be mass panic, which gives the imposing martial force, more or less martial law, locking down the entire district, crippling every org where people have to get to work, they can't get to work, thrashing the entire city.

01:49:16Argyle:crippling the economies.

01:49:23Argyle:I mean, if they destroy the docks and the factories, oh, kill the laborers, they're going to... Why is that?

01:49:29Gamemaster:The detective at this point will say, talking about the rain, I actually do think there's a good note.

01:49:30Johnny:you

01:49:36Gamemaster:We're pretty confident the rain's going to clear up sooner rather than later.

01:49:41Benny:Yeah, that seems like a concern.

01:49:43Gamemaster:The rain's a corrective measure.

01:49:46Gamemaster:We're pretty confident they were doing their auguries in the sewers.

01:49:49Gamemaster:The sewers are flooded, so they can't do their auguries in the sewers anymore, so the flood will go away.

01:49:56Argyle:Unless they move it.

01:49:56Anzu:Thank you.

01:49:57Gamemaster:If they start doing their augury somewhere else, we'll get a different phenomenon to get them to stop doing it there.

01:50:05Benny:What's going to replace the rain?

01:50:08Gamemaster:I don't know.

01:50:09Gamemaster:I'm just saying specifically, like, if I were some organization trying to do this, I would not be able to count on the rain stopping things, because as soon as the location where I'm doing the augury gets flooded, which, there are plenty of ways the sewers could have been stopped.

01:50:26Gamemaster:Rain just happens to be whatever the world chose.

01:50:29Gamemaster:whatever new place they're doing auguries is going to be the next thing that gets targeted.

01:50:34Gamemaster:If they don't care about casualties, so to speak, they can keep avoiding it and doing it in other places, so they still have to be stopped.

01:50:43Gamemaster:But the rain specifically isn't something that I think they could have accounted for.

01:50:48Argyle:I don't know if simulacrums even would, but did Leatherhide, Leatherback, have, Leatherhide, did he have arraignment?

01:50:55Gamemaster:Leatherhide.

01:51:00Gamemaster:Leatherhide would have had a raiment.

01:51:02Gamemaster:When you went to speak with him, he would have had... You know, that's probably... I should have pointed it out when you guys were going to, so thank you for asking me about it.

01:51:08Johnny:Thank you.

01:51:16Gamemaster:The raiment would have been majority iridescent oil slick, with a very small fraction of it being a bone white.

01:51:29Argyle:i relay that black black was in the one shot

01:51:30Gamemaster:No, sorry, not Pongoy.

01:51:32Gamemaster:I apologize.

01:51:32Gamemaster:That's the Watcher.

01:51:33Gamemaster:Gosh, what color did I say it was?

01:51:38Gamemaster:No, it's from the one shot, but it's not... This is my fault for making colors so important.

01:51:43Benny:The green.

01:51:45Gamemaster:It's not green.

01:51:46Gamemaster:It's the color that the folks in Teller's Run had, like members of the Pyrelight, which I want to say is red.

01:51:48Johnny:Thank you.

01:52:00Anzu:It tracks.

01:52:00Argyle:purple I don't know yeah whatever what is the compelled then okay so yeah I really it's red

01:52:02Gamemaster:I'm just going to do red.

01:52:06Benny:OK.

01:52:08Gamemaster:Compelled is silver.

01:52:11Gamemaster:Scale is gold.

01:52:12Gamemaster:Compelled is silver.

01:52:13Gamemaster:Host is rainbow.

01:52:16Gamemaster:Watcher is white.

01:52:19Gamemaster:The air of the plague is fire, but it's different from a red metal.

01:52:24Gamemaster:And then there's a sixth one.

01:52:26Gamemaster:The pulse is copper.

01:52:29Gamemaster:I remember these things.

01:52:31Gamemaster:Yes.

01:52:32Johnny:Sorry, not related to that.

01:52:34Johnny:That guy we interrogated after we killed 12 in Simulacrum, he said they were moving.

01:52:38Johnny:Where did he say they were moving to?

01:52:40Gamemaster:He didn't know.

01:52:41Gamemaster:He was too low on the totem to know where or why they were moving, but he knew that Twilwin had told people to pack stuff up and start moving somewhere else.

01:52:51Johnny:I think I tell my compatriots and the police inspector.

01:52:56Johnny:The Leatherhide gang, Groundhide gang.

01:52:59Johnny:is moving to get out of Sableclutch before everything goes down hmm

01:53:05Gamemaster:You don't know if they're getting out of Sableclutch, but I think no role necessary.

01:53:09Gamemaster:You know that their headquarters is underground on a tavern that is right next to the river.

01:53:11Argyle:Quick question.

01:53:17Gamemaster:So if nothing else, it seems like they're moving because of the flooding, which would track with what you've been tracking down so far.

01:53:32Argyle:What does the raiment look like of Benny?

01:53:38Benny:Benny's is two-thirds white, one-third coppery.

01:53:38Argyle:What color is it?

01:53:46Argyle:Okay.

01:53:46Johnny:Hmm.

01:53:48Gamemaster:Which isn't particularly uncommon coming from Belvedere.

01:53:53Gamemaster:The two, like, followers of the two gods work together at Belvedere.

01:53:56Argyle:Cat.

01:54:00Benny:On top of his house.

01:54:02Gamemaster:Thank you.

01:54:06Argyle:Yeah.

01:54:07Argyle:All right.

01:54:08Argyle:And is Johnny's compelled?

01:54:10Argyle:Silver.

01:54:12Johnny:water.

01:54:13Johnny:So it's pure white with a lot of... It's twinkling, though.

01:54:14Argyle:Okay.

01:54:16Benny:Awesome.

01:54:17Johnny:Seems like there's extra glitter.

01:54:19Gamemaster:I don't know how like two and changed like almost three of you managed to pick the same god specifically to be like yeah my guy follows that guy I didn't think I made that one in particular cooler than the other ones but it's fine yeah

01:54:21Argyle:And Anzu?

01:54:22Anzu:I think because he's tied to knowledge.

01:54:24Argyle:Okay.

01:54:25Argyle:Mine's gold.

01:54:48Benny:knowledge i'm trying to get it to do the confetti again i am not ronald reagan sounds like someone's breaking in it's just a storm dick

01:54:51Gamemaster:The guy of skill checks.

01:54:53Gamemaster:Or more checks.

01:54:56Gamemaster:You're Ronald Reagan now?

01:54:57Argyle:I forgot about Dr. Cross.

01:55:01Gamemaster:Who's Ronald Reagan?

01:55:04Gamemaster:Nope.

01:55:05Gamemaster:I don't even know why I said Reagan then.

01:55:07Gamemaster:I meant Nixon.

01:55:09Gamemaster:That's fine.

01:55:11Gamemaster:They both suck.

01:55:15Gamemaster:Okay.

01:55:16Gamemaster:He's a doctor now.

01:55:17Johnny:Thank you.

01:55:18Anzu:Very helpful.

01:55:21Gamemaster:It looks like you're doing this in a waiting room.

01:55:26Gamemaster:That's what you want?

01:55:28Argyle:Yep.

01:55:28Argyle:This was the original one, do you remember?

01:55:29Gamemaster:Okay.

01:55:30Gamemaster:I do, I just don't know why you returned to it because it looks like you're playing D&D in a waiting room.

01:55:36Argyle:Yeah, well.

01:55:38Argyle:Stranger things have happened.

01:55:42Argyle:It's a D&D pun.

01:55:42Gamemaster:I can't use virtual backgrounds, so...

01:55:46Argyle:You can't?

01:55:46Gamemaster:No, because I have the OBS overlay to show the rolls in the top corner, and it doesn't work.

01:55:51Argyle:Ah.

01:55:54Johnny:Hmm.

01:55:55Argyle:Gotcha.

01:55:56Gamemaster:So...

01:55:57Argyle:yeah that's all we got um thank you by the way for talking to us i know uh my uh superior put in a good word but she's pretty great when did you work with her

01:56:09Gamemaster:Yeah, I mean, Dame Quay hasn't been wrong in the past when I've worked with her, so I figured I'd go out on a limb.

01:56:17Gamemaster:And this has been helpful.

01:56:18Gamemaster:A while back, there was kind of a joint initiative between our department and something she was working on near on, I want to say, close to a century ago.

01:56:34Argyle:What race is this guy?

01:56:34Gamemaster:This guy's an elf.

01:56:38Argyle:Okay.

01:56:40Gamemaster:He's not, like, supernaturally old.

01:56:43Argyle:Yeah.

01:56:43Gamemaster:He's just an elf.

01:56:43Argyle:I was about to say, I might have to put it away.

01:56:46Argyle:I might have to make sure she comes back here.

01:56:49Gamemaster:No.

01:56:50Gamemaster:He's a hundred, but he's an elf, and that's not weird.

01:56:53Gamemaster:And she's an indeterminate age, because I don't think her people have a set time in which they stop existing.

01:57:06Johnny:uh,

01:57:06Gamemaster:I was like, okay, this is great.

01:57:09Gamemaster:Question for all of you.

01:57:10Gamemaster:What did you expect would happen when you came in here with this?

01:57:11Argyle:I think we're going to get involved.

01:57:14Gamemaster:Because you don't strike me as the kind of people who just leave an anonymous tip and then dip.

01:57:24Argyle:Everyone in this room knows we're going to be getting involved.

01:57:27Argyle:So I wanted to make sure you knew we had good intentions and maybe we could work together.

01:57:33Gamemaster:Okay, so the plan here is you're going to continue following up on the stuff in Sableclutch.

01:57:41Anzu:I think that's our intent.

01:57:42Gamemaster:All right.

01:57:42Johnny:We'd like to be a resource to you, officer.

01:57:43Benny:Does this come with some level of pay?

01:57:43Gamemaster:Well, let's... Well, I was going to say, let's kill two birds with one stone.

01:57:49Gamemaster:I can sign you guys on as consultants.

01:57:53Gamemaster:Say that we're outsourcing some of the investigation into Sableclutch.

01:57:56Gamemaster:Obviously, we'll still have to send our own teams in, but honestly, we're a little short-staffed right now, so I'd take the help.

01:57:58Argyle:Yeah.

01:58:04Johnny:We'd love to help.

01:58:06Argyle:Okay.

01:58:10Gamemaster:Roll a diplomacy check.

01:58:14Johnny:Can I aid in this check?

01:58:17Gamemaster:Yeah.

01:58:19Gamemaster:So, diplomacy or, I guess, performance, because you have 40 feats that say that if Josh asks you to roll something, you get to roll performance.

01:58:19Johnny:Is that a crit?

01:58:33Benny:14?

01:58:34Gamemaster:32.

01:58:34Benny:Because it's an aid check?

01:58:35Gamemaster:One second.

01:58:37Gamemaster:Where did you say 40?

01:58:39Benny:Wait, what are you... Wait.

01:58:40Gamemaster:Yes.

01:58:41Anzu:He gets plus four to aid because he's helpful or something like that.

01:58:42Benny:He gets a... And it... Oh, and he got it.

01:58:45Gamemaster:You got a 32, which is a crit.

01:58:45Anzu:Cooperative.

01:58:46Johnny:Yeah.

01:58:48Benny:Yeah, okay, he got expertise at two.

01:58:50Benny:Yeah.

01:58:55Johnny:So I think you get a plus.

01:58:56Gamemaster:Do you have anything that adds to the bonus on top of the regular... Yeah.

01:58:59Johnny:No.

01:59:01Johnny:I think it's just a plus two he gets.

01:59:05Benny:Perfect.

01:59:09Benny:16.

01:59:11Gamemaster:Only so much help.

01:59:14Gamemaster:He'll say, I have been out of respect dancing around the fact that you look like a nine-year-old human child, but it is entertaining to me that you're the one that asked about money first, just because if I had to guess

01:59:21Johnny:Oh.

01:59:26Benny:Mm hmm.

01:59:27Argyle:Oh, 16 is a level-based DC.

01:59:41Gamemaster:Yes, we do pay our consultants.

01:59:47Gamemaster:It's a daily rate of one gold, which I understand probably isn't a lot.

01:59:54Gamemaster:But if you do anything that actually leads to the apprehension or... I know how you adventuring types are.

02:00:03Gamemaster:Apprehension or...

02:00:06Gamemaster:stopping the person doing the bad thing, regardless of how that actually happens.

02:00:11Argyle:we would read them the Scale's, the field Scale rights.

02:00:12Gamemaster:We will pay.

02:00:12Gamemaster:That doesn't actually apply if the Scale hasn't already marked them for death.

02:00:21Gamemaster:But in this particular instance, Tywelwyn is a known gang leader, so I'm not particularly worried about a court finding him guilty.

02:00:33Gamemaster:Regardless of the end state, apprehended, brought in alive, or killed, we'll give you... Let's see, what is this?

02:00:34Johnny:you you

02:00:45Gamemaster:One second, I do actually... What?

02:00:45Argyle:He gets another book.

02:00:49Argyle:He goes into his other binder.

02:00:51Gamemaster:He has, like, four binders.

02:00:58Gamemaster:We'll give you 500 gold pieces.

02:01:04Gamemaster:All told, we do need proof that you've actually taken him out or brought him in.

02:01:06Johnny:Benny, that's so many hard candies.

02:01:07Argyle:Cool.

02:01:12Argyle:Okay.

02:01:13Gamemaster:You can't just come up to us and say, we did it, because it wouldn't be the first time that we've thought we've killed somebody and they just pop up somewhere else.

02:01:24Gamemaster:But if you do it...

02:01:27Argyle:Since we're consultants, does this give us any extra help when dealing with the local law enforcement if they're corrupted?

02:01:42Gamemaster:Sorry, you mean, like, if you wanted to go after threshold authority?

02:01:45Argyle:What if they try to stop us?

02:01:47Argyle:Because I'm pretty sure they're in the pocket.

02:01:50Gamemaster:Oh, I mean, they're a private company, so I can't, like, grant you immunity to their actions or whatever.

02:01:56Gamemaster:But if you are comfortable enough asserting that they are doing something that they're not supposed to be doing, you are allowed to defend yourself, as is your God's given right.

02:02:05Gamemaster:So...

02:02:07Argyle:Oh yeah.

02:02:08Benny:These terms, I think these are amenable for the group.

02:02:13Benny:And Benny and Lena, to be completely honest, I drove these yahoos here.

02:02:19Benny:I'm really kind of the adult in the group.

02:02:21Benny:But it's been a pleasure doing business with you.

02:02:23Benny:And Benny will reach out his hand.

02:02:25Gamemaster:That's R-U-9.

02:02:27Benny:Yes.

02:02:28Argyle:He claims.

02:02:30Anzu:He has a permission slip.

02:02:31Gamemaster:Alright.

02:02:33Gamemaster:Go shake your head.

02:02:33Johnny:True.

02:02:34Benny:Is there any reaction?

02:02:36Gamemaster:Uh, like, a little bit of surprise, but this dude has spent a hundred years on the force.

02:02:43Gamemaster:He has seen some shit.

02:02:43Argyle:In magic crimes.

02:02:45Gamemaster:Yeah, so, like, a nine-year-old with the grip of a full adult human man is weird, but on, like, on the full spectrum of weird things he's seen, you do not breach the top.

02:02:59Benny:Perfect.

02:02:59Gamemaster:Actually, if anything... One second.

02:03:06Gamemaster:What is this man's perception?

02:03:10Gamemaster:How good are you at perceiving, sir?

02:03:17Gamemaster:I rolled a crit.

02:03:20Gamemaster:He shakes her hand.

02:03:24Gamemaster:He does a little line.

02:03:28Gamemaster:No further follow-up questions or anything like that?

02:03:32Benny:Fair enough.

02:03:33Argyle:He knows what he is.

02:03:35Johnny:What did this man just see?

02:03:38Argyle:So, sorry to ask, but you know how this Scale kind of prides itself on being involved in law and order and stuff like that.

02:03:50Argyle:I have to be a little honest here.

02:03:53Argyle:I think Cedric Corot is so cool.

02:03:56Argyle:He helped me learn Common.

02:03:57Argyle:Do you mind if he's here for me to get an autograph?

02:04:02Gamemaster:I think Cedric actually left like out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday.

02:04:07Argyle:Is that why you're short-staffed?

02:04:11Gamemaster:Yeah, I'm sorry.

02:04:11Argyle:Damn it.

02:04:14Gamemaster:We recently just sent four of our better detectives out of the city tracking down some lead about a weird curse.

02:04:14Argyle:Alright.

02:04:22Gamemaster:So I apologize.

02:04:24Argyle:Hopefully I'll get him when he gets back.

02:04:26Gamemaster:You guys, I imagine you'll be visiting the precinct again at some point.

02:04:27Argyle:If he does, and he wants to visit Iconoclasm, let him know.

02:04:31Gamemaster:Listen, he loves signing things, so if you're an actual fan of his, he will be happy to meet with you.

02:04:35Argyle:Alright.

02:04:39Argyle:Yeah, let him know where I am, because I don't know if I'm going to be able to let back in here.

02:04:43Argyle:By the way, if we need to talk to you again, how do we... Cool.

02:04:45Gamemaster:Now, I've got your names down, so you're welcome back in here if you need, and then I'll also give you the phone number of the precinct if you want to leave messages and the like.

02:04:56Argyle:Do we get any, like, deputy badges or anything?

02:05:02Argyle:Okay.

02:05:04Gamemaster:No, I'm sorry.

02:05:06Gamemaster:You're consultants.

02:05:07Gamemaster:I can't invest the power of the church in you, given that all four of you are not believers.

02:05:07Argyle:Nine.

02:05:10Argyle:That's fair.

02:05:15Gamemaster:But I expect you'll do pretty good work, and we're not going to turn away competent hands.

02:05:24Argyle:Cool.

02:05:24Argyle:All right, well, thank you.

02:05:26Argyle:Are you guys going to dismantle those relays or are you just going to leave them up?

02:05:30Gamemaster:Yeah, now that we know that they're dangerous, and I have no doubt the Reserve already knows we're looking at what they're doing, we'll take them down.

02:05:38Gamemaster:All right, anything else I can help you all with?

02:05:40Argyle:Cool.

02:05:48Argyle:Good.

02:05:48Benny:that's it we just planted this limited it

02:05:50Johnny:No!

02:05:50Argyle:Do you validate parking?

02:05:50Gamemaster:All right.

02:05:53Gamemaster:You don't have to pay for parking.

02:05:55Argyle:Oh, cool.

02:05:55Gamemaster:That's actually a pretty good idea, actually.

02:05:57Gamemaster:Paying for parking.

02:06:00Johnny:No!

02:06:02Anzu:Superguile.

02:06:04Johnny:Argyle, no!

02:06:06Argyle:Sorry, everyone pays for parking in this Scale.

02:06:08Argyle:It's a limited top.

02:06:11Gamemaster:It's not a bad idea.

02:06:11Johnny:Shh, shh, shh.

02:06:12Johnny:It's freedom party.

02:06:12Gamemaster:Good way to raise money.

02:06:13Johnny:Oh, no.

02:06:14Gamemaster:I'll let the superiors know.

02:06:16Gamemaster:I'm not going to do that.

02:06:17Argyle:Delta Argyle.

02:06:19Argyle:Mentioned it.

02:06:21Argyle:I know.

02:06:26Gamemaster:Alright, you guys are free to stay in this room as much as you like and deliberate, but I have other work I need to attend to.

02:06:27Johnny:We leave.

02:06:36Gamemaster:It was good meeting you.

02:06:37Argyle:Alright.

02:06:37Argyle:I shake his hand.

02:06:40Gamemaster:He takes out a small business card and hands it to you.

02:06:43Argyle:Good, I give him one of ours.

02:06:45Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:06:45Argyle:Mine.

02:06:46Gamemaster:Do a quick business card trade.

02:06:49Gamemaster:His is embossed.

02:06:50Gamemaster:It's actually pretty nice.

02:06:51Argyle:Cool.

02:06:52Gamemaster:it just says his name his title and the phone number and extension you can use to reach him

02:07:04Argyle:Let's dip.

02:07:05Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:07:06Gamemaster:So you guys can head out of the Magical Crimes Convox back to your free parking, which may no longer be the case in a few days.

02:07:08Benny:to the from one crazy magical meeting to the next

02:07:15Johnny:No.

02:07:15Gamemaster:Who knows?

02:07:16Gamemaster:Hey, listen, you guys have to invent one thing in every campaign.

02:07:23Johnny:This was the worst thing.

02:07:23Gamemaster:And they already have windows that open.

02:07:26Gamemaster:So... Uh... Yeah?

02:07:35Gamemaster:Okay, so the meeting was supposed to happen in the evening, and it's like noon-ish right now.

02:07:42Benny:Yeah.

02:07:42Gamemaster:Was there anything you guys wanted to do in between?

02:07:45Gamemaster:You had like open threads or whatever that you wanted to look into, I think.

02:07:52Anzu:If nothing else, we could go for one of the radar dishes in The Scale clutch.

02:07:59Argyle:Yeah, or we can go beat up some gang members, get some intel.

02:08:05Johnny:You guys want to grab a panini and decide on our next move?

02:08:10Argyle:Sure.

02:08:14Benny:Yeah, actually, that sounds very funny to be like, you know,

02:08:14Gamemaster:Okay, so is that what you're doing?

02:08:16Gamemaster:You guys are grabbing lunch somewhere?

02:08:19Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:08:20Gamemaster:You can grab some lunch and game plan.

02:08:30Gamemaster:When you said grab a panini, were you planning on going to the restaurant with a radar dish on it, or did you mean anywhere?

02:08:36Johnny:The plan was to go to the restaurant with the radar dish on it.

02:08:39Gamemaster:Oh.

02:08:41Benny:This place is so good.

02:08:42Benny:It's going to suck when we're going to have to fucking air this bitch out.

02:08:46Argyle:We're gonna have to slime everyone in here.

02:08:52Gamemaster:so you guys can drive on back into Sableclutch and find your way over to the Second Sun Diner which is this like family style I don't know do you guys have like a friendlies by you if you're familiar with it you know

02:08:52Benny:Everyone, please do not panic.

02:08:54Benny:We're getting rid of the brainwashing radar dish in the back.

02:09:16Argyle:Yeah.

02:09:17Anzu:Of course.

02:09:18Benny:400 kids yelling ice cream everywhere.

02:09:22Gamemaster:Yeah, like a restaurant for kids that parents just kind of have to come along for the ride with.

02:09:24Argyle:It's like a carnival.

02:09:25Argyle:Yeah.

02:09:31Gamemaster:Their big thing is like they have ice cream that is their Aurora ice cream, which is three different flavors of green, pink and purple, which are, as I say them out loud, pistachio, strawberry and black raspberry.

02:09:48Argyle:Hell yeah.

02:09:49Johnny:Hmm.

02:09:49Gamemaster:as their Aurora Sunday, that's the big thing.

02:09:49Argyle:Maybe I need to convert hosts.

02:09:51Argyle:Awesome.

02:09:54Gamemaster:And so the four of you actually do not look out of place because you have brought a kid with you.

02:10:04Gamemaster:I was about to say, it's weird for four adults to walk into a restaurant together, but one of you is a child.

02:10:13Benny:When we sit down, when we sit down, Benny will go, you see what happened when we walked in?

02:10:14Anzu:We're power gaming.

02:10:16Johnny:Yeah.

02:10:21Benny:No weird looks.

02:10:23Gamemaster:So the foreview... True.

02:10:23Johnny:Does Benny talk like a full-grown man?

02:10:24Benny:Kind of a bonus sometimes to have a nine-year-old with you, huh?

02:10:27Benny:Drive you guys around.

02:10:29Benny:I get you into exclusive clubs for children.

02:10:32Benny:Does Benny talk like what?

02:10:38Benny:Sometimes.

02:10:39Johnny:Like a full-grown man?

02:10:42Benny:Listen, also, some nine-year-olds talk like full-grown men, too.

02:10:45Benny:You're a nine-year-old.

02:10:46Benny:You're like, that was a great sentence.

02:10:48Benny:How the fuck did you do that?

02:10:49Benny:Yeah.

02:10:50Gamemaster:But...

02:10:51Gamemaster:But to clarify, Benny's voice is that of a nine-year-old.

02:10:56Gamemaster:Okay.

02:10:57Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:10:57Gamemaster:So you guys are sat down by this nice minotaur waitress who hands out three adult menus and one children's menu and lets you guys to peruse.

02:10:59Benny:He's not.

02:11:08Gamemaster:The interior of this place is very 1950s diner, like Johnny Rockets style with the checkered floor and the red booths and...

02:11:19Gamemaster:The only real difference is that because this is sun-themed, the ceiling is this terribly eye-injuring yellow all the way across, which sucks to look at, but is there.

02:11:37Gamemaster:Can I get a perception check, actually?

02:11:42Johnny:I am blinded by the sun.

02:11:42Benny:Is there another?

02:11:48Gamemaster:Don't do that.

02:11:51Johnny:I have an eight.

02:11:52Benny:Does someone have an eight or seven?

02:11:56Benny:Benny's also blinded.

02:11:57Argyle:I have a six.

02:12:01Gamemaster:It is bad.

02:12:04Gamemaster:The ceiling is bad.

02:12:06Gamemaster:There's no other way to say it.

02:12:07Gamemaster:You guys look at the ceiling and somehow, despite it being inert paint, it hurts to look at.

02:12:13Gamemaster:You don't want to do it.

02:12:15Gamemaster:It's a good representation of the sun, which you also don't want to look at.

02:12:21Gamemaster:So you guys...

02:12:23Gamemaster:Just hang out.

02:12:24Gamemaster:Look at the food.

02:12:25Gamemaster:They do have paninis.

02:12:27Gamemaster:They also have burgers and chicken nuggets and little hot dogs and side fries.

02:12:34Gamemaster:No real adult food.

02:12:36Gamemaster:The closest thing you get is like a salad, but the salad has goldfish crackers in it instead of croutons.

02:12:42Anzu:Hmm.

02:12:44Gamemaster:But, you know, there's food you can get.

02:12:46Johnny:Can I get one Hierophant burger, please?

02:12:49Argyle:Um,

02:12:49Gamemaster:Uh...

02:12:54Gamemaster:The Hierophant Burger, actually, they're having a combo with right now.

02:12:59Gamemaster:It comes with a drink that is neon blue and a big thing of mozzarella sticks.

02:13:05Gamemaster:It's not bad.

02:13:06Benny:Oh, I'll get that too.

02:13:06Johnny:Great.

02:13:09Johnny:Two Hierophants.

02:13:12Benny:So do we know where the dish is in the building or we just know it's somewhere in the building?

02:13:17Anzu:Probably it's on the roof.

02:13:17Gamemaster:You guys, yeah, you drove up to it.

02:13:17Benny:Okay.

02:13:20Gamemaster:You would have seen it along with a series of antennas on the roof.

02:13:24Gamemaster:The antennas aren't weird because there is currently like, it sounds like they have a speaker system set up in this restaurant.

02:13:31Gamemaster:They're playing some kind of radio station.

02:13:34Gamemaster:So that's not surprising, but there was also a radar dish on the ceiling as you approached.

02:13:39Gamemaster:They're not small or hidden.

02:13:41Gamemaster:Yes.

02:13:42Anzu:After we order, Othello, who did not come inside, is on the roof.

02:13:50Anzu:And I'll take a look through Othello's eyes at the radar dish.

02:13:54Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:13:55Gamemaster:Have Othello roll a perception check for me, please.

02:13:58Anzu:Yeah, I think Othello's got a six.

02:14:01Anzu:Let me double check.

02:14:01Argyle:I'm eating two plates worth of food.

02:14:04Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:14:05Gamemaster:It is bad.

02:14:06Gamemaster:You're fairly confident all of this food was frozen and then microwaved straight from frozen.

02:14:13Johnny:Yeah.

02:14:13Argyle:That's fine.

02:14:13Anzu:I got the salad.

02:14:14Argyle:I'm used to eating rations.

02:14:14Anzu:I fumbled, so I'm currently contemplating whether or not I should use a mythic point.

02:14:16Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:14:25Gamemaster:Othello sees a radar dish.

02:14:27Anzu:I don't think I will.

02:14:28Anzu:I think I'm just going to take a mythic point.

02:14:35Anzu:Yeah, that's fine.

02:14:37Gamemaster:It looks like there's some wires.

02:14:41Gamemaster:It's kind of...

02:14:43Benny:Up to two.

02:14:43Johnny:All right, chaps.

02:14:45Johnny:I'm going to look around this restaurant full of kids.

02:14:47Johnny:I think we've moved out of scary gang territory into people's lives are at risk territory.

02:14:54Johnny:What are we going to do?

02:14:57Gamemaster:Can you roll a society check?

02:14:58Gamemaster:Any of you who would like to, or up to two of you who would like to, can you roll a society check for me, please?

02:15:04Johnny:In bad society.

02:15:06Anzu:I'm gonna do that.

02:15:08Argyle:I can... What's your mod?

02:15:10Gamemaster:Up to two.

02:15:12Benny:Zero.

02:15:12Argyle:I can roll one.

02:15:13Argyle:I got a four.

02:15:13Gamemaster:I mean, a 27 is enough.

02:15:15Gamemaster:You don't need to roll again.

02:15:17Gamemaster:I'll give it to you.

02:15:18Johnny:Okay.

02:15:19Gamemaster:But a 20 sucks, and it's actually so bad that I'm not giving the 27 to you.

02:15:23Benny:Thank you.

02:15:23Gamemaster:I'm not.

02:15:24Gamemaster:It's not a particularly high DC here.

02:15:30Gamemaster:You know that the gang installed the radar dish on top of this building?

02:15:37Gamemaster:So you gather that the gang has ties to this restaurant.

02:15:42Argyle:So we can go beat the fuck out of the kitchen staff.

02:15:44Gamemaster:So, like, thinking about lives being affected and the like, I think you can be fairly confident that this restaurant is operated by, in some capacity, the Red Hat gang.

02:15:56Gamemaster:In some way.

02:15:56Gamemaster:Like, they own the building, or they own the business, or something like that.

02:16:01Gamemaster:That's not at all what I was telling you to do.

02:16:01Benny:Thank you.

02:16:03Gamemaster:I was just, like, confirming the connection here that you would know between family-friendly restaurant and gang of murderers.

02:16:12Gamemaster:Yes, Ken.

02:16:14Anzu:Do they – and I don't know if you can answer this, but do I think it's more of a this restaurant pays them for protection kind of thing?

02:16:25Anzu:Or is there actually possibility for ownership stake?

02:16:26Gamemaster:So you...

02:16:30Gamemaster:You would know that the Roundhat Gang's primary money-making technique is a protection racket.

02:16:30Johnny:you

02:16:39Gamemaster:So they might be, as part of the protection fee requiring that they can install this on top.

02:16:46Anzu:Hmm.

02:16:46Gamemaster:But also...

02:16:49Gamemaster:None of you have been to a bank yet, so none of you have a debit card or anything equivalent to that.

02:16:53Gamemaster:But you would know that a bunch of cash passes hands in a restaurant.

02:16:57Gamemaster:So it also isn't a terrible place to do some kind of laundering, if that's something the Roundhat Gang needs.

02:17:04Gamemaster:So there is a realm of possibility where the gang actually does own the restaurant.

02:17:08Gamemaster:There's also a different possibility where they're just forcing the restaurant to install the radar initiative.

02:17:14Gamemaster:You need more information to be able to tell.

02:17:17Gamemaster:Yes, Jorge.

02:17:19Argyle:A taller buildings.

02:17:21Argyle:Wait, has this like hit the steel age yet?

02:17:23Argyle:Are we getting really tall buildings yet?

02:17:25Gamemaster:Yeah, so closer to the center of the city, there are definitely skyscrapers.

02:17:25Argyle:They should.

02:17:28Benny:Thank you.

02:17:31Gamemaster:There are tall buildings in Hallia.

02:17:31Argyle:Okay.

02:17:34Gamemaster:This building is not that.

02:17:36Gamemaster:This is like a freestanding structure.

02:17:41Gamemaster:This is a poorer neighborhood.

02:17:43Gamemaster:There isn't much reason for a company to build a tall building here.

02:17:48Gamemaster:So this building is only one story tall.

02:17:50Argyle:Okay.

02:17:52Argyle:Well, when we're done, I'm going to go take a sip outside for a smoke break.

02:17:57Anzu:Smart.

02:17:57Gamemaster:Yes, Tanner.

02:18:00Anzu:I know we already had some low rolls on the ceiling, so it's okay if I can't learn this, but do I see anything that was like the wires and then the boxes that held the sentience distributors in the roller rink?

02:18:12Anzu:22.

02:18:13Gamemaster:Because you've explicitly called that out, I will let you roll another perception check to look at the ceiling with a lower DC because you're looking for something specific.

02:18:25Gamemaster:22 is enough.

02:18:28Gamemaster:We are not quite in an age where it's normal to see random boxes sticking out of the wall yet because electronics aren't a huge thing.

02:18:38Anzu:Yeah.

02:18:40Gamemaster:So it is obvious when you see that there is what looks to be a conduit of some kind and then a weird box on the ceiling painted over the same color yellow as the rest of the ceiling that looks similarly to what you had seen in the roller rink.

02:18:56Anzu:Okay.

02:18:57Argyle:How much to settle up?

02:19:03Argyle:The food bill.

02:19:03Gamemaster:Oh, this place is dirt cheap.

02:19:05Gamemaster:The food for all four of you is six silver.

02:19:08Argyle:Alright.

02:19:10Gamemaster:This is a fun family restaurant for the dock worker who makes maybe a gold a month.

02:19:10Argyle:Party up.

02:19:19Argyle:I put my two silver.

02:19:21Argyle:Now I'm going to be getting a gold a day now.

02:19:21Johnny:I'll put my hands over.

02:19:24Argyle:And then I'm going to...

02:19:25Gamemaster:Yeah, that's your walking around stipend.

02:19:28Argyle:Yeah, so then I'm going to walk outside with my bullet.

02:19:31Gamemaster:To clarify, in case there were any questions about this, it is one gold for the group.

02:19:40Argyle:Oh.

02:19:41Gamemaster:Just because I don't want to get into the situation where you guys are like, I thought we were getting 500 gold per person at the end of this.

02:19:48Argyle:Okay, but the 500 gold per group makes sense, but we only get a gold per four?

02:19:52Benny:Oh, I thought it was per person.

02:19:53Argyle:That's shitty.

02:19:53Gamemaster:Yeah.

02:19:55Argyle:Yeah.

02:19:55Gamemaster:Living wage is a gold a week.

02:19:58Johnny:whack

02:19:58Gamemaster:You're getting, collectively, you're all being... You're getting two and a half silver, which is a pretty good living if you weren't adventurers who need thousands upon thousands of gold to get the shiniest stuff at all times.

02:19:59Benny:That's why I was confused when he was just like, I know it's not much.

02:20:04Benny:I'm like, this sounds like a lot, like a goal a day per person.

02:20:07Benny:But if it's a goal a day per four, it's like, oh, he was right.

02:20:22Gamemaster:But, you know.

02:20:23Argyle:So we get $25 a die.

02:20:26Argyle:Yeah.

02:20:28Gamemaster:Effective.

02:20:30Argyle:Step outside.

02:20:32Argyle:Is there a little alley on this side?

02:20:33Gamemaster:Okay.

02:20:34Argyle:I could smoke.

02:20:35Gamemaster:Um... There's definitely, like, you could go around behind where the dumpsters are, or the non-trademarked fantasy equivalent of a dumpster is.

02:20:40Argyle:OK.

02:20:45Argyle:All right.

02:20:46Gamemaster:Because the only company that I have made canon in this setting is Tropicana.

02:20:52Johnny:Thanks.

02:20:52Gamemaster:So, no dumpsters.

02:20:55Argyle:I'm taking a drag, open up my suit jacket.

02:20:55Gamemaster:Um...

02:20:57Gamemaster:Which is this, myrrh or frankincense?

02:21:01Argyle:This is a mer.

02:21:01Gamemaster:Or gold, I suppose.

02:21:02Gamemaster:Okay.

02:21:04Argyle:Then I open up my jacket, pull out my grappling gun.

02:21:12Gamemaster:Okay.

02:21:14Gamemaster:Okay.

02:21:14Gamemaster:So...

02:21:16Gamemaster:I don't want to do this.

02:21:17Gamemaster:You are behind the restaurant, so there aren't any real sight lines here from, like, people driving in the front.

02:21:24Gamemaster:And there are no windows that look out into the back of the restaurant.

02:21:28Gamemaster:So I think the only thing you really have to be concerned about is the parking lot for this restaurant kind of does connect to the back alley a little bit, so you'd have to worry about people driving in.

02:21:38Gamemaster:So I do still want a stealth check as you shoot your grappling hook onto the roof.

02:21:51Benny:What is Benny and Anzu still in the restaurant?

02:21:51Johnny:I'm still enjoying my higher fan burger.

02:21:54Benny:We're going to operate from the inside.

02:21:56Benny:Men on the inside.

02:21:56Argyle:I don't know if anyone else came outside with me.

02:22:01Argyle:20.

02:22:02Benny:Of course.

02:22:03Gamemaster:Uh, 20.

02:22:05Gamemaster:Okay.

02:22:05Gamemaster:That should be fine.

02:22:08Gamemaster:Uh, you... I just need to double-check that a grappling hook isn't, like, explicitly very loud.

02:22:15Gamemaster:Which I don't think it is.

02:22:17Gamemaster:Oh, you have a grappling gun, right?

02:22:19Argyle:Yeah.

02:22:23Gamemaster:It says it's a pistol-like device, but it doesn't say it makes a really loud sound, so I'm gonna say that's fine.

02:22:28Gamemaster:Uh, you shoot your super sneaky spy agent

02:22:33Gamemaster:grappling gun.

02:22:34Gamemaster:It fires it up to 100 feet.

02:22:38Gamemaster:Do you have to roll a check?

02:22:40Argyle:I don't think so.

02:22:40Gamemaster:Yes, make a ranged attack roll using your simple weapon proficiency.

02:22:43Argyle:No.

02:22:45Gamemaster:Because you do have to aim the grappling gun.

02:22:46Argyle:Simple weapon proficiency.

02:22:50Argyle:Okay.

02:22:54Anzu:And he'll still have to climb after this, right?

02:22:56Anzu:It just grabs.

02:22:57Gamemaster:Right.

02:22:58Gamemaster:Yes.

02:22:58Gamemaster:So this is not the version of the grappling gun that will retract.

02:23:03Gamemaster:This just shoots a grappling hook with a rope attached to it.

02:23:07Anzu:Got it.

02:23:10Argyle:Okay.

02:23:13Argyle:29.

02:23:14Johnny:you

02:23:15Argyle:Crit.

02:23:15Anzu:Okay.

02:23:15Gamemaster:29 crit.

02:23:18Gamemaster:Okay, absolutely.

02:23:20Gamemaster:Like you've done this more than one time previously.

02:23:24Gamemaster:You take the gun, aim it at the lip of the roof, which, you know, flat roof as all of these buildings are, pull the trigger, there's a very soft pop and an unwinding sound as the rope shoots up, grabs onto the ledge, and hangs down.

02:23:36Benny:I don't know if I could fit all of it.

02:23:42Gamemaster:And you now have a rope that goes up to the roof.

02:23:47Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:23:48Gamemaster:Make an athletics check.

02:23:51Anzu:Benny, do you want the big ice cream sundae, the Aurora sundae?

02:24:00Argyle:I'm doing this with the cigarette in my mouth.

02:24:02Johnny:I'll have a bite if you order it.

02:24:04Benny:Well, we'll just get one for the table then.

02:24:08Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:24:09Gamemaster:Success after success after success.

02:24:12Gamemaster:He's a super spy.

02:24:16Gamemaster:Just climbs all the way up, pulling the rope up back with you if you want to.

02:24:21Gamemaster:I will let you, with that roll, wind the rope up as you climb up.

02:24:22Argyle:Yeah.

02:24:24Argyle:Yeah.

02:24:27Gamemaster:So you will, by the time you make it to the top, have reloaded your grappling gun.

02:24:31Argyle:I'll re-roll this.

02:24:32Gamemaster:Make a perception check now that you've made it to the roof.

02:24:36Johnny:There's a bird.

02:24:37Johnny:You recognize it.

02:24:38Johnny:I don't know this bird.

02:24:43Gamemaster:Eight?

02:24:44Gamemaster:There's a bird.

02:24:46Gamemaster:You don't recognize it.

02:24:46Argyle:I'll use a hero point.

02:24:49Benny:You don't recognize.

02:24:49Gamemaster:Okay.

02:24:50Benny:I have bird blindness.

02:24:54Gamemaster:There's a stranger bird.

02:24:54Argyle:23.

02:24:55Anzu:Wait, wait, wait.

02:25:00Gamemaster:23.

02:25:00Gamemaster:Okay, there is a bird, and you do recognize it.

02:25:01Johnny:Now you recognize the bird.

02:25:03Gamemaster:For a second, it's like a weird angle.

02:25:06Gamemaster:You only met Othello like two days ago, but yeah, this is Othello.

02:25:06Argyle:I'll walk over I'll like get in Othello's face and be like hold up my business card right into his eyes

02:25:11Gamemaster:You also see up on this roof, there is the radar dish, as well as a number of wires that extend down into the ceiling of this building.

02:25:33Anzu:Othello will, I guess, not fully caw, but do a bit of an undertone, like a coo.

02:25:41Benny:Uh...

02:25:42Argyle:Cool, cool, cool.

02:25:44Argyle:And I'm going to head over to this radar dish.

02:25:46Gamemaster:Can I please, from you, get an occultism check as you approach the radar dish?

02:25:53Argyle:Okay.

02:25:53Johnny:I think the pistachio is my favorite flavor.

02:25:54Argyle:So that's the occult.

02:25:54Gamemaster:Actually, I need two things.

02:25:55Gamemaster:I need an occultism check, and I also need a will save.

02:25:59Anzu:Ooh.

02:26:03Gamemaster:Okay.

02:26:10Gamemaster:Okay.

02:26:10Johnny:Dead.

02:26:12Argyle:I will use... Give me one second.

02:26:16Benny:I believe we lost the character this quick.

02:26:17Argyle:Rebalance the Scale's, or whatever that thing's called.

02:26:20Argyle:That's how we roll this.

02:26:21Gamemaster:25.

02:26:23Argyle:25.

02:26:30Anzu:Thank you.

02:26:31Johnny:Hello.

02:26:31Argyle:I feel my vision change, then ding!

02:26:32Gamemaster:Okay, so 25 on the will save, and then a 7 on the occultism, right?

02:26:37Argyle:Yeah.

02:26:38Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:26:39Gamemaster:Okay, so you approach the renardish.

02:26:45Argyle:Do I see the box?

02:26:48Gamemaster:Not on the radar dish.

02:26:49Gamemaster:You would know that that would be installed in the building somewhere.

02:26:53Argyle:Do I see a bunch of wires coming off the radar dish?

02:26:56Gamemaster:There's two wires by the looks of it coming off of the radar dish and then immediately going down into the building.

02:27:01Argyle:Can I just cut the wire with an axe?

02:27:05Gamemaster:Yeah.

02:27:06Gamemaster:Make it detectable.

02:27:07Argyle:Cool.

02:27:17Gamemaster:Did you know that you're supposed to be required to be trained in athletics to climb a rope?

02:27:17Johnny:It doesn't make sense.

02:27:18Argyle:14.

02:27:23Gamemaster:I'm just finding this out now.

02:27:25Gamemaster:If you're not trained in athletics, you're only allowed to climb ladders, steep slopes, and low-branched trees.

02:27:31Gamemaster:But you want a rope?

02:27:32Gamemaster:Or a typical tree?

02:27:34Gamemaster:Absolutely not.

02:27:35Gamemaster:You need to be trained in athletics.

02:27:37Gamemaster:14 is enough.

02:27:40Gamemaster:It is a stationary set of wires.

02:27:43Gamemaster:Full damage.

02:27:45Gamemaster:I need to see if you meet the threshold to actually break the wires.

02:27:52Gamemaster:If you're legendary in athletics, you can climb on a completely smooth surface.

02:27:57Gamemaster:15, more than enough.

02:27:59Johnny:That's pretty cool.

02:28:03Gamemaster:You sever the two wires.

02:28:05Argyle:Cool.

02:28:10Argyle:So how is this thing mounted?

02:28:11Gamemaster:I know this is another long shot, but now that you've cut the wires, I would like one more occultism check.

02:28:18Argyle:OK.

02:28:18Gamemaster:I know you don't have a particularly good modifier, but you need the opportunity.

02:28:25Argyle:I really thought my compatriots were coming out for my smoke break.

02:28:31Johnny:We're back inside.

02:28:31Argyle:Once I started climbing and found out everyone was inside, I was like, guess I'm doing this myself.

02:28:32Gamemaster:So...

02:28:36Johnny:We're back inside.

02:28:36Gamemaster:So there is a metal bracket that's been drilled into the cement ceiling of this building that the dish is mounted on.

02:28:46Gamemaster:The bracket allows it to be rotated and all of that kind of stuff so that they could have calibrated it towards whatever it was being pointed towards.

02:28:57Argyle:Okay.

02:29:00Benny:While this is going on, can Benny accidentally stumble into the back?

02:29:07Benny:I forgot.

02:29:08Benny:I missed.

02:29:09Benny:Was there stuff on the ceiling, like the boxes and lines?

02:29:12Gamemaster:Sure.

02:29:13Benny:I imagine Anzu pointing that out to Benny, hopefully.

02:29:16Anzu:Just a stupid kid.

02:29:17Benny:Can Benny just follow it and play dumb if he gets found in the back?

02:29:24Benny:Like, hey, you're not supposed to be back here.

02:29:24Johnny:you

02:29:25Benny:And I'm like, oh, sorry.

02:29:28Gamemaster:Okay, roll a deception check to act the idiot child.

02:29:34Benny:Deception?

02:29:36Gamemaster:Deception, because you are deceiving people.

02:29:38Benny:No, no, no.

02:29:39Benny:I thought you said perception.

02:29:40Benny:Roll a perception check to deceive people.

02:29:41Gamemaster:Oh, no.

02:29:43Benny:I feel like there's a better roll for that one.

02:29:43Gamemaster:Yeah.

02:29:46Gamemaster:Please roll a medicine check.

02:29:51Benny:This one I'm going to re-roll.

02:29:59Benny:I never... Re-rolling is never...

02:29:59Johnny:Thank you.

02:30:01Gamemaster:If you re-rolled it, did you add your mythic proficiency to this one?

02:30:04Benny:Oh, I did not.

02:30:06Argyle:Are you trained?

02:30:07Benny:I am trained.

02:30:08Argyle:It's eight.

02:30:09Gamemaster:So plus 8.

02:30:10Benny:Plus 8.

02:30:10Gamemaster:So 20.

02:30:11Benny:Okay.

02:30:11Benny:20.

02:30:11Benny:Perfect.

02:30:13Gamemaster:Okay, so you're just following the trace on the ceiling into wherever it goes.

02:30:18Gamemaster:It looks like it heads back into the kitchen area where you see people roller skating through the double doors with people's food.

02:30:19Benny:Mm-hmm.

02:30:26Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

02:30:27Benny:Mm-hmm.

02:30:29Gamemaster:You just follow your way in back there.

02:30:33Gamemaster:You find a time when it looks like a waiter isn't going in or out and push the double doors.

02:30:38Gamemaster:Roll a perception check as you've walked into the kitchen.

02:30:41Gamemaster:And I guess, if you want, you can roll a stealth check.

02:30:43Gamemaster:I don't know if you're actually trying to be stealthy so much as maintain plausible deniability, because those are kind of separate things.

02:30:47Benny:I am trying to also be stealthy.

02:30:54Gamemaster:Okay, so you're trying to be stealthy, and then if you get caught, ooh, I'm a dumb child.

02:30:58Gamemaster:I don't know how I found my way here.

02:30:58Benny:Yeah, I'm not trying to make a lot of noise.

02:31:01Benny:I'm not trying to make any noise, but I'm not trying to look like I'm tiptoeing around.

02:31:03Gamemaster:Okay.

02:31:06Gamemaster:Alright, so...

02:31:06Benny:Although I guess...

02:31:07Benny:Even if a kid was tiptoeing around and you found him, you'd be like, what are you doing back here?

02:31:11Benny:I'm just looking for the bathroom.

02:31:13Benny:You know he's lying about the bathroom, but whatever.

02:31:15Benny:Go find your parents.

02:31:17Benny:So yeah, he's being stealthy.

02:31:17Gamemaster:Roll either a stealth or a thievery check.

02:31:21Gamemaster:The DC will be lower for the thievery check.

02:31:24Benny:Okay.

02:31:25Benny:Thievery, then.

02:31:26Benny:17.

02:31:27Gamemaster:Okay.

02:31:29Benny:And then... Perception?

02:31:29Gamemaster:Okay.

02:31:31Gamemaster:Yes.

02:31:36Benny:Jesus Christ.

02:31:37Benny:Well, I got my mythic point back.

02:31:39Gamemaster:Okay, so Benny wanders into the kitchen.

02:31:40Benny:Humble.

02:31:43Gamemaster:He is short enough that he's not immediately visible behind the stoves and all of that kind of stuff in the actual kitchen itself.

02:31:43Johnny:you

02:31:50Gamemaster:So he's not immediately caught.

02:31:52Gamemaster:He's just kind of operating on a timer of the next time the waitstaff comes back here, he's just out in the open.

02:32:01Gamemaster:So that's kind of like the limit there.

02:32:04Gamemaster:With a seven looking around...

02:32:07Gamemaster:You see the trace on the ceiling that you were following just kind of stops.

02:32:13Benny:Is there a further back door that would lead into a storeroom or something?

02:32:18Gamemaster:It looks like on the other side of the kitchen you'd have to get past the cooks to get there, but there is what looks to be an area that you gather is probably office for managing the restaurant and walk-in freezer and storage area.

02:32:34Gamemaster:Closest to you, if you kept walking forward, there is a door that it looks like leads out into the back of the restaurant.

02:32:41Benny:Uh, yeah, we'll try that one.

02:32:44Benny:It's getting... Okay, does Benny think he could get past the chef somehow without being seen?

02:32:47Gamemaster:Yeah, I mean... Unless he has some magical way to prevent that from happening, it's like, you'd have to... Like, you'd be walking straight past somebody.

02:32:52Benny:No, like... Okay.

02:33:00Gamemaster:Your best chance, if you don't have magic, is hoping that the guy is like...

02:33:05Gamemaster:so high off of his gourd because he's a line cook at a Friendly's, uh, that he doesn't notice you, uh, which it is, like, one in the afternoon, so that is unlikely, but not impossible.

02:33:19Benny:Yeah, I'll just head to the back.

02:33:20Benny:I'll just head to the door that looks like it leads out.

02:33:21Gamemaster:Okay.

02:33:23Gamemaster:The door, the, like, the door isn't locked or anything, it's actually kind of propped open right now.

02:33:27Gamemaster:It just goes into the, like, the area behind the, the restaurant.

02:33:32Benny:Okay.

02:33:34Argyle:I am.

02:33:35Gamemaster:Okay, you have successfully gotten out to the alleyway behind the restaurant.

02:33:40Gamemaster:To your left is a parking lot, to your right are some nondescript dumpsters.

02:33:40Benny:Is this the only door at the back of the restaurant?

02:33:48Gamemaster:Yes.

02:33:49Benny:Okay.

02:33:49Benny:Is there like any lines on the back of the building, like a back above the door or where it looked like it disappeared?

02:33:56Gamemaster:No perception check necessary, no.

02:33:58Benny:Okay.

02:33:58Gamemaster:The only things on the back, like embedded on the walls in the back of this area, are two lights over the dumpsters.

02:34:10Argyle:um,

02:34:11Anzu:Josh, I have a question.

02:34:12Benny:Hmm.

02:34:14Anzu:I have the message cantrip.

02:34:16Gamemaster:Yes.

02:34:17Anzu:And in 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, you need to see the target that you're sending message to, I believe.

02:34:27Anzu:But it doesn't say that here.

02:34:29Anzu:It does say if the target wants to respond, they need to be able to see you.

02:34:34Anzu:But I don't think I have that restriction to send it out.

02:34:38Anzu:Can you tell me your thoughts on that?

02:34:38Gamemaster:I think my thoughts are... I agree.

02:34:49Anzu:So I know that Argyle is generally above me.

02:34:57Gamemaster:Mm-hmm.

02:34:58Anzu:So I'm going to send a message to him up there and just say, hey, how are things going?

02:35:08Anzu:I'm going to look through Othello's eyes.

02:35:11Anzu:Let me know if you need me to come up there, if you need any help.

02:35:18Anzu:And then immediately after that, I'll start to peer through with those eyes again.

02:35:18Argyle:I will direct Othello to the cut wires, and then I hold my axe to the satellite, and I'm like, ah, if you want me to... The wire's not the...

02:35:43Anzu:Well, they're already cut, aren't they already cut?

02:35:45Gamemaster:Correct.

02:35:46Gamemaster:He already cut them.

02:35:47Argyle:I didn't cut the... Yeah, yeah.

02:35:47Gamemaster:It looks like he's pantomiming destroying the actual radar dish.

02:35:51Anzu:Oh.

02:35:53Gamemaster:Right?

02:35:54Gamemaster:I'm not miscommunicating that, right?

02:35:55Anzu:Right, right, right.

02:35:55Gamemaster:Okay.

02:35:58Anzu:Can I... I don't know if... I guess I... Can I make Othello... Yeah.

02:36:05Argyle:Or yes or no with the head.

02:36:08Gamemaster:What is the thing that lets you see through his eyes?

02:36:10Gamemaster:It's just the witch's familiar?

02:36:14Anzu:But... I mean, I am able to...

02:36:19Anzu:direct it to take certain actions, I believe.

02:36:22Gamemaster:Yeah, so I would, it's close enough, I would allow you to have Othello move its head around in a yes or no.

02:36:29Anzu:Othello will shake no.

02:36:33Argyle:Or go outside.

02:36:35Benny:So Benny is going to loop back to the front and enter the building from the front and just sit back down at the table.

02:36:42Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:36:45Gamemaster:Sure.

02:36:45Benny:And he's going to... Who's sitting next to... Perfect.

02:36:51Gamemaster:Yeah, who's stuck sitting next to Benny?

02:36:56Gamemaster:Okay.

02:36:57Benny:Perfect.

02:36:59Benny:Benny will tap Johnny on the shoulder and say, in about two minutes, can you...

02:37:05Benny:create a distraction worthy of management showing up perfect

02:37:09Johnny:Yeah, absolutely, 100%.

02:37:12Gamemaster:I apologize.

02:37:13Gamemaster:I have to step away a sec.

02:37:14Gamemaster:I'll be back.

02:37:16Anzu:I think cutting the wires and doing nothing else is good because it looks like it's still up there doing stuff, but it's not.

02:37:18Argyle:So what are we?

02:37:19Argyle:We can leave, right?

02:37:20Argyle:We can just destroy this and leave?

02:37:22Argyle:Isn't that what we're here for?

02:37:23Argyle:OK.

02:37:29Johnny:Yeah.

02:37:33Argyle:So our mission's done?

02:37:35Benny:Benny wants more.

02:37:35Anzu:It won't be immediately obvious to them that it's totally gone and destroyed.

02:37:46Benny:There's evidence of gang activity in the manager's room.

02:37:51Argyle:We can just go fuck them up then.

02:37:54Argyle:What?

02:37:54Anzu:That's fair.

02:37:54Argyle:You guys follow me upstairs.

02:37:54Benny:Or... I don't know how innocent they are or...

02:37:57Argyle:I'll roll down some rope.

02:37:58Argyle:We then come down.

02:37:59Argyle:We just fuck them all up.

02:38:01Johnny:Well, the manager.

02:38:02Johnny:Yeah.

02:38:08Benny:Also, it's going to cause a scene.

02:38:09Benny:They're going to call the fucking security force that's in on it.

02:38:12Argyle:Alright, then we just leave.

02:38:13Argyle:I don't know what we were really looking to...

02:38:16Benny:Get information on the gang?

02:38:17Benny:While we're here, we're family.

02:38:19Johnny:I mean, if we're here, you want me to cause distraction, you can sneak into the manager's room while we're here.

02:38:33Anzu:Exactly.

02:38:33Johnny:When we leave, we're not.

02:38:33Argyle:If we don't do more than cut the wires, though, it is easy for them to repair it.

02:38:33Anzu:I can probably go up there and do some kind of crafting roll to sabotage it.

02:38:39Johnny:I mean, is there a way you can damage it in such a way that it'd be more... Maybe you should go up there and sabotage it.

02:38:39Argyle:They don't need to hold it.

02:38:49Argyle:Yeah, he might.

02:38:54Johnny:I mean, if any will.

02:38:57Benny:It's called a pincer maneuver.

02:38:59Johnny:Pinsir.

02:39:00Benny:You guys attack him from the top.

02:39:02Benny:We'll attack him from the inside.

02:39:02Argyle:Are you trained in athletics?

02:39:04Anzu:I'm not trained in athletics, but I'm very light.

02:39:08Argyle:If you hold the rope, I can pull you up.

02:39:10Anzu:I'm exceptionally light.

02:39:13Gamemaster:He is a bird.

02:39:14Johnny:Hollow bones.

02:39:20Anzu:I'm going to go out the front door and around the back.

02:39:24Benny:Same.

02:39:24Gamemaster:Okay.

02:39:25Benny:But Benny's going to announce that he's taking a smoke break.

02:39:29Gamemaster:Like, to the restaurant?

02:39:32Benny:Yeah.

02:39:33Gamemaster:Okay.

02:39:34Johnny:I'm waiting two minutes.

02:39:35Gamemaster:Kids say weird stuff.

02:39:36Johnny:I'm waiting two minutes.

02:39:36Gamemaster:I don't know if that's, like, gonna cause a reaction or something like that.

02:39:42Gamemaster:Sorry.

02:39:43Johnny:I'm waiting two minutes and then I'm gonna cause a distraction.

02:39:43Gamemaster:Okay, so I don't know why you guys are doing this.

02:39:51Gamemaster:Benny loudly announces he's taking a smoke break and then is he staying at the booth?

02:39:57Gamemaster:Does he leave?

02:39:58Benny:No, no, he's leaving out the front door.

02:40:00Gamemaster:Okay, so Benny says, the nine-year-old says, I'm taking a smoke break and walks out the door following the adult that he was sat with who also walks out the door but does not loudly let people know that he's taking a smoke break.

02:40:09Argyle:you

02:40:13Anzu:That would be me.

02:40:14Gamemaster:So the two of you are at the front of the restaurant, like outside the front.

02:40:18Gamemaster:One of you is still on the roof and then Johnny is waiting two minutes and then causing a distraction.

02:40:24Johnny:Yeah, but I'm also eating the rest of the Aurora Sunday because no one else ate the last bite.

02:40:28Benny:Yeah, don't forget that, Josh.

02:40:28Gamemaster:Absolutely.

02:40:30Gamemaster:Everything that was brought to this restaurant was frozen, so the ice cream's actually pretty good because it doesn't need to be unfrozen.

02:40:39Gamemaster:So... Okay.

02:40:40Anzu:I'm trying to get to the roof around back.

02:40:43Argyle:I'll drop the rope down.

02:40:44Gamemaster:There aren't stairs, so... So... Argyle's gonna, like, lower the rope down and then pull you up.

02:40:49Argyle:If he holds onto the rope, I'll just pull him up.

02:40:54Anzu:Yeah, I'm exceptionally light.

02:40:57Gamemaster:Okay, so that's fine.

02:40:59Gamemaster:I'm pretty sure Argyle could lift you.

02:41:01Gamemaster:He does have to make a strength check to do so, an athletics check.

02:41:04Gamemaster:But also, I would love it if somebody could do me a favor and roll a d100.

02:41:11Benny:Yay.

02:41:15Argyle:I got a 12.

02:41:16Argyle:I don't know if he's light enough.

02:41:18Benny:Who?

02:41:19Gamemaster:That's crazy!

02:41:23Anzu:Did we want a low number or high number?

02:41:23Gamemaster:Okay, so...

02:41:25Johnny:Was this good or bad?

02:41:25Gamemaster:So last session you rolled like a 99, and this session you rolled a 2?

02:41:29Argyle:Yeah.

02:41:30Argyle:I did.

02:41:31Argyle:Got the tree.

02:41:32Argyle:Yeah.

02:41:32Gamemaster:I don't understand how you guys have done this twice.

02:41:36Gamemaster:Okay, so Benny, where are you?

02:41:37Benny:There's another tree.

02:41:37Johnny:Bad.

02:41:41Gamemaster:Let's do that first.

02:41:42Benny:Benny's at the back of the restaurant.

02:41:44Gamemaster:He's at the back of the restaurant.

02:41:46Gamemaster:Okay, so he's situated at the back of the restaurant, and... God, make a will save.

02:41:56Benny:Benny make a will save?

02:41:57Gamemaster:Yes, Benny, make a will save.

02:41:59Benny:I thought this was consequences for everyone.

02:41:59Johnny:Oh no.

02:42:01Benny:It's not funny if it's just for me.

02:42:03Gamemaster:Okay.

02:42:07Benny:Jesus.

02:42:09Benny:I'm going to mythic point that.

02:42:11Anzu:This is what happens when you smoke.

02:42:13Benny:plus eight oh thank god all right sure 15.

02:42:14Gamemaster:Smoke myrrh.

02:42:16Gamemaster:If you're trained, it's plus eight, yes.

02:42:25Gamemaster:Fifteen.

02:42:27Gamemaster:OK, so.

02:42:33Gamemaster:You're posted up back in the alley.

02:42:34Johnny:you

02:42:36Gamemaster:Your friend is currently being semi-successfully hoisted up the side of the building.

02:42:44Gamemaster:There's clearly a bunch of effort going in.

02:42:45Gamemaster:He gets up a few feet and then he loses his grip and he falls down almost as much.

02:42:50Gamemaster:But then he gets pulled back up again.

02:42:52Gamemaster:So slowly they're making their way up there.

02:42:55Gamemaster:You are lucky that in this time while you're doing that, nobody tries to park in the back of the parking lot.

02:43:02Gamemaster:Nobody's seeing you as you're attempting to navigate up.

02:43:10Gamemaster:But, with a two, you're looking at the radar dish from up here, and I'm just trying to figure out what is... Actually, for me, just so I don't lie, what is the plan with the radar dish, as far as Benny's aware?

02:43:30Benny:Benny's not going on the roof.

02:43:30Gamemaster:Like, are you guys doing anything else with the radar dish?

02:43:32Gamemaster:Why are you going on the roof?

02:43:36Anzu:I am going to the roof to try and subtly sabotage the dish.

02:43:36Gamemaster:What?

02:43:43Gamemaster:Okay.

02:43:44Gamemaster:What I was looking for there is, is there, like, is Benny looking at the radar dish?

02:43:49Benny:No.

02:43:49Gamemaster:Okay.

02:43:51Gamemaster:So, instead, while you're posted up in the alley, you feel...

02:43:58Gamemaster:You actually already felt this sensation once today.

02:44:01Gamemaster:It is this strange tingling sensation that passes over your skin.

02:44:08Gamemaster:The sensation that is the transition from not in a faint to in a faint.

02:44:13Argyle:Uh oh.

02:44:17Gamemaster:But it's weird because you know that you haven't just entered a Fane because the environment around you looks the exact same as it did before.

02:44:19Johnny:you

02:44:27Gamemaster:And you can't use, like, a stealthy Fane because people know when they're inside one.

02:44:33Gamemaster:So it's not like there's some secret cart somehow crawling around pulling people into its Fane or whatever like that.

02:44:41Gamemaster:So I think Benny would...

02:44:45Gamemaster:Benny has a history with intelligent people making deductions.

02:44:48Gamemaster:I think that's fair to say.

02:44:49Gamemaster:So I think Benny's first thought here in his nine-year-old brain is, I have made some fundamental error about what that feeling is.

02:45:02Gamemaster:the feeling isn't specific to entering a Fane.

02:45:07Gamemaster:Maybe let's work back a little bit.

02:45:09Gamemaster:Maybe it's not entering a Fane, maybe it's entering an area of magical control.

02:45:13Gamemaster:Something like that.

02:45:14Gamemaster:Are there other experiences I can think of that would relate to that?

02:45:18Gamemaster:And unfortunately, in the experience that Benny has...

02:45:21Gamemaster:he cannot think of an instance in which he's entered an area of magical control that isn't a heart controlling of fame.

02:45:28Gamemaster:So there's no data to that.

02:45:30Gamemaster:But that's a possible checkmark he throws up there.

02:45:32Gamemaster:And so then the next thought is, well, okay, so let's run with that theory.

02:45:39Gamemaster:If this isn't a fame, but this is some kind of magical influence in the area, it's subtle, because it doesn't look like your compatriots have reacted to it at all.

02:45:46Johnny:Thank you.

02:45:51Gamemaster:So Benny just kind of caught this somehow by chance.

02:45:59Gamemaster:okay, so what could possibly be doing that?

02:46:02Gamemaster:What's changed in the area that might be creating a subtle, magical projection of some kind?

02:46:11Gamemaster:The only things that Benny can think of at this moment are, well, we just cut the wires to the radar dish, or there's some completely external thing that's shown up here and is doing something, and I have nothing in my experience that I would be able to associate with that.

02:46:27Gamemaster:So,

02:46:29Gamemaster:You tell me.

02:46:30Gamemaster:Which would Benny think this is?

02:46:31Gamemaster:Does Benny think that this weird, sudden, magical expression is due to the radar dish's wires being cut?

02:46:38Gamemaster:Or does he think that this is some other unrelated entity that has arrived and is causing this?

02:46:46Gamemaster:Which would Benny...

02:46:49Benny:I think Benny would be able to deduce that the radar dish is probably a red herring.

02:47:00Gamemaster:Uh, so, Benny says, render dish kit probably couldn't be it.

02:47:05Gamemaster:It's a passive device.

02:47:07Gamemaster:Cutting the wires wouldn't cause something like this.

02:47:09Gamemaster:So there is a separate external force that is causing this.

02:47:15Gamemaster:Well, let's run down the list.

02:47:17Gamemaster:What are things that could possibly cause a fame-like appearance in an area that isn't a heart?

02:47:24Gamemaster:Well, we're looking at a particularly powerful magical entity.

02:47:27Gamemaster:Um...

02:47:28Gamemaster:We're looking at something that can exert influence over some distance because it's not like in your pocket right now or anything like that.

02:47:35Gamemaster:And it needs to be...

02:47:38Gamemaster:subtle.

02:47:40Gamemaster:It needs to be able to exert this influence in an area in a way that doesn't raise the alarms of everybody in the area like, oh no, we've just been transported somewhere.

02:47:52Gamemaster:But it still needs to be able to be caught by a random person, because I don't think Benny at this point would think that he's special in having identified this.

02:48:03Gamemaster:So there has to be a gap somewhere.

02:48:05Gamemaster:So what does that?

02:48:07Gamemaster:Let's think about things that exert influence over large areas in ways that sometimes can be felt and sometimes can't.

02:48:14Gamemaster:And that's, like, a particularly small list to Benny's compendium of things.

02:48:20Gamemaster:There's, like, demigods.

02:48:24Gamemaster:There's gods.

02:48:27Gamemaster:And maybe, like, demon princes?

02:48:32Gamemaster:And I don't know if, like...

02:48:37Gamemaster:If those are the three things that come up in Benny's head, as like these are the things that it could be, what is the thinking there?

02:48:45Gamemaster:Is Benny thinking like one of these three things is nearby somehow?

02:48:49Gamemaster:Or is it there's something else that I'm missing?

02:48:53Gamemaster:Because I think those are the only possibilities that Benny could come up with in this moment.

02:49:00Benny:So let's see.

02:49:02Benny:Benny would probably be thinking that it could be something that has to do with the radar dish, like something that wants to use the radar dish to affect whatever is going on.

02:49:17Benny:I think Benny might even make the jump like, well, we just cut it.

02:49:21Benny:If something has enough power to be able to affect this area, it probably can monitor the area and see that the radar dish has been compromised.

02:49:29Benny:As for what it is, it seems to be too specific to be a god.

02:49:36Benny:A god wouldn't care about a friendlies radar dish.

02:49:41Benny:It could be some form of a demigod or a being that is using influence in underground cults.

02:49:55Benny:probably be the closest thing that he can think of is like he's not sure if it's a demigod if it's a demon prince or if it's something else something that he's missing he might he might yeah because I don't know the demigods they're not like all like enumerated super popular well understood right there's like some that people haven't heard of so I think Benny would say it's either a demigod he hasn't heard of or something completely

02:50:05Johnny:you

02:50:16Gamemaster:Great.

02:50:24Benny:different and uh those are kind of the same thing like if it's a demigod he hasn't heard of and doesn't understand it would be some secret fourth thing that is not a god demigod or demon prince

02:50:36Gamemaster:Okay, so that's Benny's line of thinking there.

02:50:37Johnny:you

02:50:39Gamemaster:Not a god, something of appreciable power level to a demigod or something like that, maybe not known.

02:50:44Gamemaster:Once again, Benny's working with whatever's currently in his head, so it's not like worlds upon worlds of knowledge to draw on.

02:50:53Gamemaster:But it definitely, I think at this point, like thinking it through, Benny would revise the initial, I feel this like magical control.

02:51:04Gamemaster:It's not specifically entering a fame.

02:51:07Gamemaster:It's not even specifically entering an area of control.

02:51:09Gamemaster:If anything, it's an area of attention.

02:51:12Gamemaster:It's something with a lot of magic energy in a specific area, paying attention to that area.

02:51:17Argyle:Thank you.

02:51:19Gamemaster:I think that's the lines where he would go, especially the comment of something might know about this thing being cut.

02:51:26Gamemaster:And I think Benny would note, as he's thinking through, it's only been a few seconds since he got the weird chills, and the intensity is decreasing.

02:51:30Johnny:You.

02:51:42Gamemaster:over time.

02:51:43Gamemaster:He got this weird sudden goosebumps chill that you normally get when you walk into a Fane.

02:51:49Gamemaster:Something that is, at this point, probably related to the intention of some powerful entity, whoever that is.

02:51:55Gamemaster:And over time, it's fading.

02:52:00Gamemaster:And it's not fading as if the thing that's paying attention is paying less attention.

02:52:05Gamemaster:It's as if the thing that is allowing it to pay attention is fading.

02:52:08Johnny:Thank you.

02:52:08Gamemaster:Um...

02:52:10Gamemaster:And over the course of a few seconds, it kind of just fades entirely.

02:52:14Gamemaster:And as soon as it's gone, it almost feels like when you wake up from a dream, and you were just thinking something in the dream, and your brain refuses to remember it.

02:52:25Gamemaster:It's a similar sensation here of the feeling fades from Benny's body, and Benny knows intellectually he had that experience, but for whatever reason, he can't immediately come back and recall this specific sensation.

02:52:38Gamemaster:Although if he experienced it again, he would definitely know it.

02:52:41Benny:Oh, okay.

02:52:43Benny:So Benny would probably put it together that this was the result of cutting the radar dish.

02:52:56Benny:The radar dish caused the attention to subside.

02:52:58Benny:It's not like the attention popped, Benny was just paying attention to it, and then felt it subside.

02:53:03Benny:That's probably what Benny would conclude.

02:53:05Gamemaster:So, Batsu is currently being hoisted up the side of the building by Argyle.

02:53:06Benny:Because everyone else would feel it if it just swung over.

02:53:08Benny:It's not like Benny.

02:53:10Argyle:Big boiling frog.

02:53:13Benny:Yeah.

02:53:16Benny:Benny will relay this to... Is anyone near him?

02:53:20Argyle:There's a bird and...

02:53:20Anzu:currently.

02:53:26Benny:Benny... Benny will relay this, and then at the end, it'll be like, oh, and I also forgot to say, and he'll point and say, now that's what I call a dumb waiter.

02:53:36Benny:But yeah, no, that feeling was... He had a zinger ready.

02:53:39Benny:I had a zinger ready for like the last 15 minutes.

02:53:40Argyle:Yeah.

02:53:40Gamemaster:I'm sorry for interrupting that with revelations.

02:53:51Argyle:Benny, you want to come up?

02:53:51Gamemaster:But eventually Anzu does make it up to the roof.

02:53:55Argyle:Benny, you want to come up here too?

02:53:57Benny:No, I'm waiting.

02:53:58Benny:I think Johnny is about to start banging pots and pans in there or causing an international incident, and I'm going to see if I can get access to the filing cabinets in the manager's room.

02:54:08Gamemaster:Also, Benny is substantially heavier than Anzu, so the DC would be higher.

02:54:08Johnny:at that exact moment, at that exact moment.

02:54:08Argyle:All right.

02:54:15Argyle:I think Benny could climb.

02:54:15Benny:But Benny can climb.

02:54:16Argyle:Yeah.

02:54:17Gamemaster:Yeah, Benny can climb.

02:54:18Gamemaster:Okay, so, sorry.

02:54:20Gamemaster:We go back to none of this happened.

02:54:22Gamemaster:We're just inside the nice family restaurant.

02:54:27Gamemaster:Johnny's hanging out.

02:54:29Johnny:Yeah, I'm just gonna, no, no, I'm having a good moment.

02:54:33Johnny:I'm just finishing my ice cream.

02:54:34Johnny:I'm gonna take the last bite, look down, I'll cast Figment.

02:54:38Gamemaster:Okay.

02:54:39Johnny:into the ice cream bowl uh and i would like can i look around does anyone have or any of the waiters uh have like distinct colors of hair that are not mine not blonde is there i like the minotaur is there one that isn't the minotaur she seemed nice

02:54:51Gamemaster:Yeah, the minotaur that sat you has brownish hair that does not look like yours.

02:55:01Gamemaster:Yeah, sure.

02:55:02Gamemaster:You can find somebody who looks, like, annoyed at this point in the day, who also has, like, black hair, so it doesn't match up with yours.

02:55:02Benny:Thank you.

02:55:10Johnny:Great.

02:55:12Johnny:I want to make... I'm going to cast Figment and make just like a really pube-looking black hair at the bottom of this ice cream.

02:55:21Gamemaster:Okay, absolutely.

02:55:23Johnny:I'm going to get to the bottom of this ice cream and then just scream at the top of my voice like I've... Just scream bloody murder.

02:55:32Gamemaster:Yeah, roll a performance check.

02:55:34Benny:So at this point, Benny knows the layout of the kitchen in vaguely the back rooms.

02:55:40Benny:He's going to wait for a sufficient amount of footsteps to run out.

02:55:46Benny:He essentially wants to hear someone from far away in the back of whatever that is back there and hear it go by into the dining room.

02:55:55Gamemaster:Yep.

02:55:55Gamemaster:Okay, so I don't know if Benny's going to hear that.

02:56:00Gamemaster:I mean, we'll see.

02:56:01Johnny:I think he hears my screen.

02:56:02Gamemaster:Noah... No, he'll definitely hear your scream.

02:56:02Benny:Okay.

02:56:06Gamemaster:It's the whole... You're raising a ruckus right now, which will definitely have a manager come over and speak to you.

02:56:12Gamemaster:It does not involve the entirety of the kitchen clearing out.

02:56:15Gamemaster:Like, the cooks are not going to come to the front of house to deal with this.

02:56:19Gamemaster:And, like, that's something that Johnny would know.

02:56:21Gamemaster:I don't know if this plan was discussed, but either way, Johnny, ridiculously high performance role.

02:56:26Johnny:He's told to get the manager out of his office.

02:56:30Gamemaster:Okay, so that is definitely enough.

02:56:32Gamemaster:A waitress will come by and ask what's wrong.

02:56:37Johnny:I demand to speak to a manager.

02:56:40Johnny:My son was eating this with me.

02:56:41Johnny:Look at this.

02:56:42Johnny:I'll wave it around.

02:56:43Johnny:My son was eating this.

02:56:44Gamemaster:I'm very sorry that happened.

02:56:45Gamemaster:I'll go get him.

02:56:46Gamemaster:And then the person runs into the back room and then a moment later the manager will exit the room and follow them up to the front and speak to you.

02:56:56Gamemaster:Okay.

02:56:56Benny:Benny's going to send it.

02:57:00Johnny:Go, go, go.

02:57:00Gamemaster:Roll a stealth check.

02:57:02Gamemaster:You still have to get past the line cooks.

02:57:04Gamemaster:They haven't moved.

02:57:10Johnny:What if my performance is so good that the line cooks come to see what's going on?

02:57:14Johnny:Yeah.

02:57:15Argyle:They're nosy.

02:57:15Gamemaster:I don't... I... You got a 28 on your performance check.

02:57:26Gamemaster:Okay.

02:57:28Gamemaster:Like, I don't think that's a...

02:57:30Gamemaster:I think that's all for now.

02:57:33Argyle:Level base DC for 2 is 16.

02:57:36Gamemaster:For level two, yeah.

02:57:39Gamemaster:Yeah, no, that's not a crit.

02:57:41Gamemaster:So I don't think that's enough to get the line cooked out.

02:57:45Gamemaster:And so, Benny, you run into the kitchen.

02:57:51Gamemaster:You turn the corner.

02:57:52Gamemaster:You got a 13 on your stealth?

02:57:54Benny:Benny will attempt to walk past.

02:57:55Gamemaster:Yeah, you are immediately spotted by somebody who's standing near the back of the door, and it looks like working with Chef Mike to warm up some fries.

02:58:04Argyle:You.

02:58:06Gamemaster:Okay, he's a nine-year-old child.

02:58:07Benny:He's going to act like he belongs there.

02:58:13Gamemaster:Roll a deception check.

02:58:15Gamemaster:You have a minus two circumstance penalty.

02:58:19Benny:He's not trying to act like an employee.

02:58:20Benny:He's just acting like he's allowed to be back there.

02:58:23Gamemaster:No, I understand.

02:58:24Gamemaster:He's a nine-year-old kid who just walked into the kitchen from the back alley towards the manager's office.

02:58:28Benny:He's trying to act like... Okay, so you can't communicate this with your walk, but he's trying to act like the child of someone that works as an assistant manager or something.

02:58:34Gamemaster:I understand he's not trying to act like an employee, but what is he trying to act like?

02:58:49Benny:He's going to go pick something up as his story.

02:58:50Gamemaster:You cannot communicate that with your walk.

02:58:52Benny:That's why I'm not saying it.

02:58:54Benny:That's why I'm not saying it for the deception role.

02:58:56Benny:That's why I'm just saying he's acting like he's allowed to be there.

02:58:59Gamemaster:You still need a deception roll to pretend that you're allowed to be back there.

02:59:01Benny:I know.

02:59:03Benny:So you want a minus two?

02:59:05Gamemaster:Yes, you have a minus two.

02:59:06Gamemaster:You're a nine-year-old who just walked in from the back alley into this kitchen.

02:59:10Gamemaster:Like, I get what you're going for.

02:59:12Gamemaster:It's not happening.

02:59:14Benny:Seven.

02:59:18Gamemaster:That can't be a controversial thing for me to say.

02:59:21Gamemaster:I'm sorry.

02:59:22Benny:I just don't know why there's a deception.

02:59:25Benny:Well, actually, I guess I get why there's a deception, but minus two?

02:59:29Benny:He's just walking in.

02:59:30Gamemaster:Yes.

02:59:31Gamemaster:Yeah.

02:59:32Johnny:Okay.

02:59:33Gamemaster:He is somebody who very clearly isn't supposed to be there.

02:59:36Gamemaster:They don't think this is nefarious at all.

02:59:38Gamemaster:They think that you're a kid walking around where you're not supposed to be.

02:59:41Gamemaster:Which is true.

02:59:43Benny:Sure.

02:59:44Argyle:And he looks like a nine-year-old.

02:59:46Gamemaster:Yeah, exactly.

02:59:48Gamemaster:There are definitely kids who run around at this restaurant, so it's not crazy to see a nine-year-old back there, but it is very much like a cook will stop you as you're trying to walk by and say, hey kid, I don't think you're supposed to be here.

03:00:02Gamemaster:Restaurant's that way.

03:00:04Benny:Oh, but the bathroom's that way.

03:00:07Gamemaster:Nope, bathroom's that way too.

03:00:08Gamemaster:Back towards the front.

03:00:10Benny:I heard the bathroom's better back there.

03:00:12Gamemaster:There isn't a bathroom back there, bud.

03:00:15Benny:Really?

03:00:16Benny:I'll grab onto his hand.

03:00:16Gamemaster:Come on, let me go find your parents.

03:00:19Gamemaster:And he puts out his hand for you to grab onto.

03:00:23Gamemaster:Okay, and he will walk back into the actual kitchen.

03:00:27Argyle:Does he feel an adult man's hand?

03:00:28Gamemaster:Sorry, into the actual restaurant.

03:00:32Benny:No.

03:00:34Argyle:Oh, you can change that?

03:00:34Gamemaster:I... He's... When...

03:00:34Johnny:Do I see them?

03:00:36Benny:And he shakes people's hands firmly.

03:00:38Benny:He's not going to grab on like he's a fucking recess monkey and is just like, I can break your hand with mine.

03:00:46Benny:He's not doing that.

03:00:47Gamemaster:When Benny shakes somebody's hands, he's doing it on purpose.

03:00:50Gamemaster:He can choose not to do that.

03:00:50Benny:Yes.

03:00:53Gamemaster:And so he isn't here.

03:00:54Gamemaster:I'll allow that.

03:00:55Gamemaster:That's fine.

03:00:56Gamemaster:He will lead you back into the actual restaurant area and say, can you tell me which one are your parents?

03:01:03Benny:I'll point to the screaming half-elf.

03:01:05Johnny:Do I see him come in?

03:01:06Gamemaster:Yeah.

03:01:09Gamemaster:You have a view of the back kitchen area.

03:01:12Johnny:I'll see him holding the hand of a chef, be like, that was pretty fast.

03:01:16Johnny:I'll cut off mid-screen and be like, Benny, where is your dad?

03:01:20Johnny:I'll run over and thank you so much.

03:01:23Johnny:He wanders off.

03:01:24Johnny:I'll take Benny's hand, still holding the ice cream, and I'll look at the manager and I'll say, listen, I don't want to make this more of a scene.

03:01:26Gamemaster:roll a diplomacy check the DC is pretty high because that's

03:01:33Johnny:How about we just go to your office and discuss this?

03:01:44Argyle:What about an intimidation check that he might be airing the grievances in the store?

03:01:45Benny:Josh, I think it's going to be a diplomacy check.

03:01:46Johnny:I can only do for make an impression diplomacy, but I can just intimidate.

03:01:51Benny:Let's go to your office.

03:01:54Benny:Let's go to your office.

03:01:57Gamemaster:I don't... Is this... What is the intent here?

03:02:05Gamemaster:Is this a diplomacy check that's secretly a performance check, or is this an intimidation check that's secretly a performance check?

03:02:15Gamemaster:Oh, okay.

03:02:15Gamemaster:So that's... This is not a make an impression.

03:02:18Gamemaster:So either diplomacy or intimidation.

03:02:18Johnny:I am intimidating this man.

03:02:21Gamemaster:Okay, absolutely.

03:02:21Johnny:I lower my brow and say it.

03:02:23Johnny:I'm going to use a mythic point.

03:02:25Gamemaster:Sure.

03:02:28Gamemaster:DC is still pretty high because I have never once heard of somebody saying, let's discuss this in your manager's office in a restaurant.

03:02:38Gamemaster:Because who goes to eat at a restaurant and is like, I don't want to talk this at my table.

03:02:42Gamemaster:I would prefer to go into the back into your office to talk about this.

03:02:48Gamemaster:Okay.

03:02:50Johnny:This is what I'm using my music board on.

03:02:57Johnny:No!

03:02:57Gamemaster:He will say, Sir, I'm happy to cop this for you.

03:02:57Johnny:22!

03:03:03Gamemaster:I'm sorry this happened.

03:03:04Gamemaster:I don't know if there's anything else to discuss.

03:03:08Gamemaster:This part of this is free.

03:03:11Gamemaster:I apologize that this happened.

03:03:12Gamemaster:It shouldn't have happened.

03:03:14Gamemaster:I will go back and give the cooks stern talking to because clearly one of them wasn't wearing a hairnet when they should have.

03:03:20Gamemaster:I apologize profusely.

03:03:26Johnny:Dang, I can't salvage this.

03:03:31Johnny:I also want a free gift card.

03:03:34Gamemaster:Absolutely.

03:03:35Gamemaster:We'll give you... You rolled pretty high on the intimidation.

03:03:38Gamemaster:I'm happy we'll cop that, and then we'll give you a $20 gift card so you can come back here with your family.

03:03:44Gamemaster:We appreciate that you would like to continue getting with us after this terrible mistake.

03:03:50Benny:Can we use the nice bathroom next time?

03:03:54Gamemaster:He'll look down at the nine-year-old and be like, Sorry, did you have a bad experience in the bathroom?

03:04:00Benny:No, I just like the nice ones.

03:04:02Gamemaster:I like to think our bathroom is nice.

03:04:06Benny:Okay.

03:04:10Gamemaster:I'm sorry you guys had a terrible experience.

03:04:10Johnny:Do you have like a friendlies hat or something?

03:04:12Argyle:I don't really get what we wanted anyway.

03:04:14Johnny:Do you have like a friendlies hat or a toy or something I can give my son?

03:04:19Johnny:I'll take that.

03:04:22Gamemaster:We have a novelty cup, if you'd like that.

03:04:26Gamemaster:It has a bendy straw that changes colors when you drink out of it.

03:04:27Johnny:Yeah.

03:04:30Benny:Is he holding it?

03:04:31Gamemaster:He can go and get one.

03:04:33Gamemaster:He's not currently holding one.

03:04:33Benny:Okay.

03:04:35Benny:Well, then he was going to grab it out of his hands if he was holding it.

03:04:37Gamemaster:Yeah, no, the manager did not preemptively walk out of the back holding a novelty mug just in case.

03:04:38Benny:Deal!

03:04:41Anzu:Thank you.

03:04:43Benny:I don't know what this Batman manager has in his tool belt.

03:04:46Gamemaster:I don't... What do you mean Batman manager?

03:04:48Argyle:I have no idea why we're even doing this.

03:04:50Gamemaster:I don't understand this whole sequence of events.

03:04:54Gamemaster:I, like... Josh personally does not know what's happening right now.

03:04:54Benny:The manager...

03:04:56Johnny:We were trying to get... We were trying to get... We were trying to get...

03:05:00Benny:We're trying to access the manager's room to get paperwork on the gang.

03:05:04Argyle:You guys thought being Lev was so easy, and now you got this shenanigans.

03:05:05Gamemaster:No, I understand.

03:05:07Gamemaster:I understand the goal.

03:05:10Benny:Josh, we're sticking the landing.

03:05:10Argyle:That's what happens when you don't have Lev.

03:05:12Gamemaster:It's the methods that I'm confused about.

03:05:15Benny:We're sticking the landing, okay?

03:05:17Benny:We're getting as much as we can in a failed run-through.

03:05:17Gamemaster:He... He...

03:05:21Argyle:You guys are just greedy.

03:05:22Gamemaster:He walks back into the kitchen, and after a moment, he comes back with your check, which you guys, I think, already paid for?

03:05:30Gamemaster:He'll come back with the revised check and the one silver that he's refunded you for it, as well as a gift card for two gold pieces.

03:05:31Benny:Yep.

03:05:44Argyle:Hold.

03:05:45Gamemaster:Because two gold pieces...

03:05:46Johnny:wow you

03:05:48Gamemaster:It is a gift card.

03:05:49Gamemaster:They're not losing much on just giving this to you to make you to stop, like, whatever.

03:05:53Gamemaster:And he has one of those novelty mugs that has, like, a bendy straw that changes color on it and a little carrying hook so that your nine-year-olds can walk around with it.

03:06:03Gamemaster:And he says, I'm sorry for the experience you all had.

03:06:06Gamemaster:I hope that the next time you come here, you have a much better experience.

03:06:11Gamemaster:We look forward to you returning.

03:06:14Argyle:Do you guys remember when there was a plan for Lev to go into the CIA headquarters and ask to use the bathroom?

03:06:22Argyle:This is what happens when Lev isn't involved.

03:06:22Gamemaster:And the manager will return back into the kitchen back office area.

03:06:25Argyle:He can't shoot down these ideas.

03:06:35Gamemaster:Yes, Tanner.

03:06:36Anzu:While this was happening, I'd like to approach the disc.

03:06:38Gamemaster:Uh-huh.

03:06:42Gamemaster:Absolutely.

03:06:43Johnny:Is that what we're doing?

03:06:44Gamemaster:You approach the disc.

03:06:48Anzu:If there's still an occultism role to be made, I'll make it.

03:06:52Anzu:If not, I'll just go to my next step.

03:06:54Gamemaster:You can make an occultism roll if you like.

03:06:59Gamemaster:Unfortunately, as time has gone on, the DC has increased, so this is a pretty hard roll, but you can try it.

03:07:06Anzu:Is that going to be good enough?

03:07:09Gamemaster:This is the complete opposite of complaining about pube and ice cream.

03:07:17Gamemaster:I don't even know how that would happen, like normally.

03:07:22Gamemaster:I don't want to dig into it.

03:07:25Anzu:Very poor business practice.

03:07:25Gamemaster:With the 28, yeah, with the 28, I think what you notice is it's very faint at this point, because a little bit of time has passed since Benny, this is after Benny has, like, run into the kitchen and done all that kind of stuff.

03:07:32Johnny:you

03:07:47Gamemaster:There's...

03:07:50Gamemaster:You know those magic eye things where if you cross your eyes ever so slightly, the images kind of overlap?

03:07:56Gamemaster:Yes.

03:07:58Argyle:While he's going to look at it, Argyle's going to be like, you know, just keep Anaïs out for demonic prince stuff.

03:08:04Argyle:Continue.

03:08:04Gamemaster:Okay.

03:08:05Gamemaster:Roll a perception check for demonic print stuff.

03:08:08Gamemaster:So you know those magic eye things where you cross your eyes slightly and the two bits of the image overlap and it makes a kind of 3D image?

03:08:16Gamemaster:I think when Argyle originally explained to you that he thought the tree was vibrating at Gryffindor, the rest of you would have looked at it and you wouldn't have been able to see it necessarily because you didn't roll a 99 on a D100.

03:08:35Gamemaster:But I think...

03:08:38Gamemaster:you get a little bit of those vibes here.

03:08:40Gamemaster:Now, keep in mind, you're both standing on the roof.

03:08:43Gamemaster:It is pouring, so you're soaking wet.

03:08:47Gamemaster:But in the rain, in a line directly in front of the radar dish, you see that same ever-so-slight weird vibration just at the spot that the radar dish encompasses.

03:09:09Anzu:Interesting.

03:09:12Anzu:OK.

03:09:16Anzu:Next, what I want to do is make perhaps a crafting roll to subtly disable the dish itself.

03:09:29Gamemaster:All the craft and shit.

03:09:39Johnny:Thank you.

03:09:41Anzu:I have two points, so might as well use one.

03:09:46Anzu:I'm trained, so I'm going to add eight.

03:09:56Anzu:Twenty-three.

03:09:59Gamemaster:Okay.

03:10:02Gamemaster:With the 23, so these radar dishes are actually very simple components.

03:10:08Gamemaster:There are no electronics or active components in them at all.

03:10:11Gamemaster:They're purely passive.

03:10:13Gamemaster:It is a big radar dish to compress whatever signal they're getting into a piece of wire sticking out of the center of the radar dish that then goes and gets distributed elsewhere.

03:10:24Gamemaster:So you don't have a lot of opportunity for you.

03:10:28Gamemaster:to make changes.

03:10:33Gamemaster:I think the best you could get is you could probably dent parts of the dish, like the bottom parts that would be visible from the ground level at all, such that it does a much worse job at focusing the signal.

03:10:48Gamemaster:I think with that role, you would see a way to fully disable it.

03:10:57Gamemaster:in a way that's not obvious.

03:10:59Gamemaster:Like, you could definitely destroy this radar dish.

03:11:01Gamemaster:You could break off the central antenna.

03:11:01Anzu:OK.

03:11:02Gamemaster:You could do something like that, and it won't work anymore.

03:11:05Gamemaster:But somebody would be able to notice it.

03:11:07Gamemaster:I think if you're trying to stay subtle and to make it not obvious that it's been tampered with, the best you can do is, like, dent parts of it, change the shape of it so that it doesn't do as good a job.

03:11:17Gamemaster:Like, lower the efficiency of the signal.

03:11:21Anzu:And it's been disconnected from its distributors.

03:11:24Gamemaster:Uh...

03:11:25Gamemaster:Correct.

03:11:26Gamemaster:The wires going out of the radar dish no longer go into the building because they've already been severed.

03:11:32Anzu:I think that's acceptable.

03:11:35Gamemaster:Okay, so which are you doing?

03:11:38Anzu:I'll do the subtle.

03:11:38Gamemaster:You're denting it?

03:11:40Gamemaster:Okay, absolutely.

03:11:41Gamemaster:With that crafting check, easy enough.

03:11:42Gamemaster:You dent it in places so that it's much worse at its job.

03:11:45Gamemaster:Lower the signal fidelity of whatever signal it's broadcasting.

03:11:52Argyle:How much health does you have, Anzu?

03:11:56Gamemaster:Absolutely.

03:11:58Argyle:Yeah, cat jumped off.

03:11:59Anzu:I'm healthy.

03:12:03Anzu:I feel good.

03:12:04Argyle:I'll just jump off the roof.

03:12:05Benny:Thank you.

03:12:08Anzu:Oh yeah, I'm very light.

03:12:09Anzu:I have no problem doing that.

03:12:10Argyle:All right, let's do that.

03:12:14Johnny:me and me and betty are walking out being like all right there's two gold gift card

03:12:21Anzu:I dropped down from the roof.

03:12:23Anzu:But not right in front of the building.

03:12:26Gamemaster:Okay, I mean, you can drop down in the back where you guys originally climbed up from.

03:12:30Anzu:I don't take fall damage.

03:12:32Gamemaster:Sure.

03:12:33Argyle:I'll take five damage.

03:12:34Gamemaster:Do you have anything that reduces the damage that you would take from falling?

03:12:40Argyle:Now.

03:12:41Gamemaster:Oh, okay.

03:12:42Gamemaster:So bird person, totally fine.

03:12:44Gamemaster:And then, yeah, you take five points of bludgeoning damage, Argyle.

03:12:49Argyle:Cool.

03:12:50Johnny:Can we hear our girl superhero landing?

03:12:51Argyle:I will do that.

03:12:54Argyle:And then .

03:12:56Gamemaster:Yeah, do you superhero landing?

03:12:56Anzu:I'm especially light.

03:12:59Gamemaster:Like the three-point landing?

03:12:59Benny:He's flapping.

03:12:59Argyle:Yeah.

03:13:01Argyle:Yeah.

03:13:02Argyle:Oh, no!

03:13:05Gamemaster:Oh.

03:13:06Gamemaster:Why did you roll?

03:13:09Argyle:I was just going to try to heal myself.

03:13:12Argyle:So I take two points of damage.

03:13:16Argyle:And then I failed.

03:13:19Anzu:So you just take two points of damage.

03:13:20Gamemaster:Failed to heal.

03:13:22Johnny:you

03:13:23Gamemaster:You did a risky surgery and the risk did not pay off.

03:13:26Argyle:Yes.

03:13:28Argyle:But that's OK.

03:13:29Argyle:I crack one of these glass tubes I have and smell in the incense.

03:13:34Argyle:And since I'm a medic dedication, I can use battle medicine again.

03:13:41Gamemaster:Okay.

03:13:42Argyle:So I'll just do that again.

03:13:49Argyle:Yeah.

03:13:51Argyle:Yeah.

03:13:52Gamemaster:Why don't you take falling damage, Tanner?

03:13:53Johnny:you

03:13:56Anzu:Skyborn.

03:13:57Anzu:I'm especially light.

03:13:59Gamemaster:Oh, it's your heritage.

03:14:03Benny:It's in his blood.

03:14:04Gamemaster:That's crazy.

03:14:05Anzu:It's in my bones.

03:14:06Argyle:All right.

03:14:07Benny:It's in his bones.

03:14:07Gamemaster:take no damage of falling, regardless of the distance you fall, is not bad.

03:14:13Argyle:Lizardfolk can do that too, but they have to use an action.

03:14:14Anzu:I'm really light.

03:14:16Anzu:Really, really light.

03:14:17Gamemaster:Well, yeah, so, like, cloud folk, like, cloud whatever lizards can do it, but I think they have, like, armor restrictions of some kind.

03:14:17Benny:Lizard fruit?

03:14:25Argyle:They need to be able to splay out.

03:14:29Gamemaster:Yeah, that's not the case for a Skyborn Tengu.

03:14:34Argyle:Pretty cool.

03:14:35Gamemaster:You just straight up take no damage from falling.

03:14:38Anzu:Yeah.

03:14:39Argyle:So Argyle is now fully healed after smelling the ampoule.

03:14:44Argyle:He also has two mythic points now.

03:14:47Argyle:One from the one and then one from the risky surgery success.

03:14:52Gamemaster:Okay.

03:14:52Argyle:Should we get in the car and start driving off?

03:14:55Benny:Yeah.

03:14:57Gamemaster:Where are you trending off to?

03:14:59Gamemaster:Because if I recall, the original reason you went to this place was to discuss the plan.

03:15:04Anzu:Well, we went here to get this dish and to pass the time until we need to go to our meeting tonight.

03:15:04Benny:Oh, no, this one.

03:15:09Benny:With The Zorbon.

03:15:10Gamemaster:Oh, okay.

03:15:12Gamemaster:So this was your thing to do in between going to The Zorbon meeting.

03:15:17Anzu:Right.

03:15:17Gamemaster:Okay.

03:15:18Gamemaster:I mean, it's still, it's not bright out because the rain cover is so heavy, but it's not quite time.

03:15:18Benny:Yeah.

03:15:20Johnny:What makes you say that?

03:15:26Gamemaster:You guys can just kill time if you want.

03:15:28Gamemaster:I don't know if you had anything else you wanted to do in between.

03:15:30Gamemaster:No.

03:15:31Argyle:I wanted to chat with my compatriots.

03:15:36Benny:sure he's like he's a gut

03:15:39Argyle:So I think we might need to get the Scale involved a little bit more.

03:15:43Argyle:I think there's some demonic activity going on here.

03:15:52Argyle:I think there's a particular demon prince that might be involved here.

03:15:55Argyle:It's a gut instinct.

03:15:58Johnny:That's a pretty crazy gut instinct.

03:16:00Johnny:What makes you think that?

03:16:00Johnny:How much does the little boy like?

03:16:01Anzu:Do you have experience with this kind of thing?

03:16:05Argyle:A little bit, a little bit.

03:16:07Argyle:But from what I've read in notes, I think he also does some augury stuff.

03:16:13Johnny:Who is he?

03:16:16Argyle:Sigil?

03:16:18Gamemaster:Figsel.

03:16:19Argyle:Sigil, yep, Sigil.

03:16:21Argyle:That's my guess.

03:16:23Argyle:You know, fire.

03:16:23Benny:Hmm.

03:16:24Argyle:Pirate people, fire.

03:16:25Argyle:It kind of goes with demons.

03:16:30Johnny:Here's my thoughts.

03:16:31Johnny:I don't know anything about demons.

03:16:33Johnny:That's not really my area of expertise.

03:16:35Johnny:Um... I... We only have... We only have one real strong lead right now, and it's the Roundhat Gang.

03:16:39Argyle:Voidsong, Demon Area, starward, Demons.

03:16:50Johnny:I really want to know what they're up to.

03:16:53Johnny:And the only place I can think to figure that out is their headquarters before they move.

03:17:03Argyle:I feel like you guys don't even care about my thing.

03:17:05Argyle:But yeah, we can go talk about those guys, yeah.

03:17:06Johnny:I mean, I have literally no... I can't even argue with you about if that's true or not.

03:17:12Johnny:You told me it's a demon.

03:17:13Johnny:I know nothing about it.

03:17:15Johnny:You guys were up on the roof.

03:17:16Johnny:I just spent the last 30 minutes getting a gift card.

03:17:18Johnny:That's where my specialty is.

03:17:20Argyle:No, I would assume... Did you hear the cat?

03:17:23Benny:Maybe the prince is at the headquarters.

03:17:29Anzu:Well, another thing to keep in mind... So, do you think he is manipulating all of Irelite?

03:17:29Johnny:It might at least...

03:17:35Argyle:Yeah, I assume he's probably at his fortress or something and uses these to reach out, you know?

03:17:41Gamemaster:Can I... I... Like...

03:17:41Benny:Oh, he has a fortress.

03:17:48Argyle:Well...

03:17:49Argyle:voidward Demons.

03:17:51Argyle:This song is demon-like.

03:17:53Argyle:Or not demon-like.

03:17:54Argyle:This song is with fire.

03:17:55Argyle:I've drawn a lot of conclusions here.

03:17:57Argyle:Yeah.

03:17:58Gamemaster:I'm not saying you're wrong.

03:18:00Gamemaster:I do just want to note specifically that Voidsong is Demons is a connection that Jorge made that has not been substantiated by anything.

03:18:11Anzu:Yes, I understand that.

03:18:14Anzu:Yes.

03:18:15Gamemaster:Sure, that's fine.

03:18:16Gamemaster:I just wanted to clarify that it itself is not something that you guys have discovered.

03:18:21Argyle:Yeah.

03:18:23Gamemaster:Okay, that's fine.

03:18:24Gamemaster:I'm not saying you're wrong.

03:18:25Gamemaster:I'm just clarifying that.

03:18:27Argyle:Just saying.

03:18:28Johnny:Listen, whether or not it's demons, I really, I have no, I can't say.

03:18:32Johnny:If it is demons, that's bad.

03:18:33Johnny:If it's not demons, it's still pretty bad.

03:18:34Argyle:You know, I really don't like how you keep saying that.

03:18:36Argyle:You're acting like, you're like, I really have no idea about demons.

03:18:40Johnny:I don't, that's really out, that is outside my wheelhouse of things.

03:18:45Johnny:If you want to know about theater lore from the past hundred years, I got a lot about shows in this area.

03:18:50Argyle:What about, like, Celestial stuff?

03:18:51Argyle:You know about Celestials?

03:18:54Johnny:I know a fair amount about The Watcher.

03:18:56Johnny:That's about it.

03:18:58Johnny:And, like, general history.

03:18:59Argyle:Okay.

03:18:59Benny:Does 12 one have a fortress?

03:19:03Johnny:But I do know that something bad is going down.

03:19:07Johnny:I don't know what it is.

03:19:09Johnny:Pro and Leatherhide is our current best lead, and he's a bad mamma-jamma.

03:19:14Johnny:We've already killed him once.

03:19:14Argyle:He's pretty bad.

03:19:15Argyle:A lot of fire.

03:19:17Argyle:You know, I'm starting to think.

03:19:19Argyle:Demons.

03:19:23Anzu:He's got a basement.

03:19:24Johnny:That's close enough.

03:19:25Benny:I feel like that's easier.

03:19:28Anzu:Yes, I... Yeah.

03:19:29Argyle:Oh yeah, we'd get massacred trying to go to the fortress.

03:19:32Benny:Oh.

03:19:32Johnny:What fortress?

03:19:33Johnny:Where is the fortress?

03:19:35Benny:Where you normally have fortresses.

03:19:36Argyle:It's a Joker world, you know.

03:19:38Benny:Yeah, exactly, Choco.

03:19:38Argyle:Far from here.

03:19:40Argyle:I don't know how to get there.

03:19:43Johnny:Okay.

03:19:43Johnny:So here's my proposal.

03:19:43Anzu:I... Yes.

03:19:44Johnny:Here's my proposal.

03:19:45Argyle:What were you going to say?

03:19:46Johnny:We go to the Zorbon meeting.

03:19:46Argyle:Okay.

03:19:47Johnny:Meeting with the Zorbon.

03:19:48Johnny:See where that leads.

03:19:49Johnny:Then we gear up.

03:19:51Johnny:We get ready.

03:19:52Johnny:And we assault the Roundhat Gang.

03:19:58Anzu:We're going to be going up against a lot of gangsters, including probably the actual Tywelwyn, who's probably more powerful than his simulacrum.

03:20:08Johnny:alternate assault plan.

03:20:11Johnny:Maybe... The sewers are sort of underwater right now, so that plan... I was going to say we could go underground into their basement, but it's probably underwater right now.

03:20:21Johnny:We might not go up against as many gangsters as we normally would because they're in the process of moving.

03:20:25Johnny:So maybe we can...

03:20:26Argyle:Well, if they're moving and the sewers are flooded, they probably have to move above ground.

03:20:34Anzu:So they could just be out and about in their bar or somewhere else.

03:20:38Argyle:Walking around, taking cars, trucks.

03:20:39Johnny:yeah so if we go at the right time of day maybe we can get in there while not too many of them are around that's true that's two for

03:20:51Benny:Yeah.

03:20:53Benny:I mean, Evan wanted to go after him for hours at this point.

03:20:58Anzu:Yeah, yeah.

03:20:58Anzu:That's pretty good, Benny.

03:21:01Anzu:Nice cut, by the way.

03:21:04Benny:Thanks.

03:21:05Argyle:A quick question.

03:21:08Anzu:Thank you.

03:21:09Argyle:What was the whole plan with the restaurant thing?

03:21:11Argyle:What were you guys going to do in the manager's office?

03:21:13Johnny:Although we're trying to get extra information on what was going on there.

03:21:18Benny:Yeah.

03:21:21Argyle:Like the company that they got?

03:21:24Argyle:Or...

03:21:24Johnny:Yeah, any other connections they had, maybe they're somewhere else.

03:21:25Benny:Yeah.

03:21:28Johnny:Maybe there was another group they're working with something like that.

03:21:32Benny:See what the books look like.

03:21:33Benny:Maybe they're getting cooked.

03:21:34Benny:There was a kitchen there.

03:21:37Johnny:I did see a book in a pan.

03:21:40Gamemaster:Then he does have ledger Lord.

03:21:44Johnny:So intrigued by Benny's backstory.

03:21:46Johnny:Who is this guy?

03:21:48Anzu:I'd like to go towards where we're supposed to meet with the Zorbon and see what the state of things in that area is.

03:21:48Benny:Maybe there is an entrance to the sewers.

03:22:03Gamemaster:Absolutely so Betty's the one driving.

03:22:05Gamemaster:Benny can drive you over to where Whiskers had directed you, which, of possible note now, is a small open-air mart that contains the entrance to the sewers where he said the meeting would be taking place in Widdershins.

03:22:29Johnny:Oh.

03:22:31Gamemaster:but you can drive over there if you like.

03:22:33Gamemaster:Not a particularly difficult drive.

03:22:36Gamemaster:You find your way over to the market, which the open-air market is closed at this point because it's been pouring for two and a half days straight, and also it's nighttime.

03:22:52Anzu:Yeah, I think probably Josh is right.

03:22:53Gamemaster:But the parking lot does not get chained up or anything, so you can find a place to park and get out.

03:23:00Gamemaster:And as you do, I think we'll probably end it there for the evening.

03:23:04Argyle:You have seven more minutes, Josh.

03:23:07Gamemaster:Okay.

03:23:08Benny:Thank you.

03:23:12Gamemaster:I don't think the interaction in the market will take less than seven minutes.

03:23:22Argyle:What?

03:23:22Argyle:We're so efficient.

03:23:25Gamemaster:You guys spent an hour and a half in the family market.

03:23:25Anzu:We got a lot done today.

03:23:26Johnny:Sometimes we're a crack squad of elite killers.

03:23:32Gamemaster:Sorry, in the family restaurant.

03:23:33Gamemaster:And a good quarter of that was just wandering around.

03:23:40Argyle:I think about 10 minutes was just going upstairs looking at the satellite and then everything.

03:23:41Benny:Thank you.

03:23:46Argyle:We got two gold.

03:23:50Gamemaster:Listen.

03:23:51Johnny:Sometimes we can't get through a kitchen.

03:23:53Gamemaster:Listen, the idea was fine.

03:23:55Gamemaster:I just think, unfortunately, some of the roles were not in your favor with the execution there.

03:24:01Gamemaster:Which happens.

03:24:02Gamemaster:You can't successfully break into every back office of a restaurant you eat at.

03:24:07Gamemaster:I'm sorry.

03:24:08Gamemaster:You did.

03:24:08Johnny:We got a gift card though, so we gotta go back now.

03:24:11Benny:See, the thing is, it's low risk.

03:24:11Gamemaster:You have 20 bucks to use specifically at this family restaurant.

03:24:21Benny:Because if that was an adult, they'd be like, some fucking creepy guy was trying to barge his way into our manager's office.

03:24:26Benny:But this way, it's a child looking for the fun bathroom.

03:24:30Gamemaster:I mean, in this particular instance, I don't know if there would be much difference if an adult tried to do it, in that both the adult and the child would be asked to leave.

03:24:43Anzu:The child seems way more innocent just off.

03:24:43Gamemaster:But, yeah.

03:24:45Johnny:Okay.

03:24:45Gamemaster:Absolutely.

03:24:46Gamemaster:Nobody suspected that you were up to anything nefarious.

03:24:51Gamemaster:Which, you know, so... Sure.

03:24:51Anzu:Which really means it was a success in the end.

03:24:52Benny:I don't know if the same thing will work at a bank when we hit a bank in two sessions.

03:25:01Benny:But... Benny has wanted to, especially given the nice stock tips from Brooks, saying that the... But Benny, yeah...

03:25:01Gamemaster:Listen, I'm, if anything, surprised that Benny didn't just, like, unilaterally drive everybody over to the stock market.

03:25:10Gamemaster:So... Which is fair.

03:25:18Johnny:Oh no.

03:25:19Benny:You know, Benny is holding himself maybe until he has a bit more capital before he starts influencing public events and capitalizing on it.

03:25:33Gamemaster:Listen, it happens.

03:25:35Gamemaster:When I introduced the stock market, I knew at least some of you would gravitate to it in some way.

03:25:40Gamemaster:It's fine.

03:25:42Gamemaster:I'm not worried.

03:25:44Gamemaster:We're not having a flayed body of preservation thing.

03:25:44Argyle:My new character is going to be in the stock market.

03:25:45Benny:At least there's no...

03:25:47Gamemaster:What?

03:25:48Argyle:My new character is going to be a broker.

03:25:51Gamemaster:So here's the thing.

03:25:52Gamemaster:You can absolutely make a character that is a licensed broker and has the ability to perform actions on the market, but why the fuck is your broker going around solving crimes?

03:26:11Argyle:No, no.

03:26:11Anzu:You heard the Voidsong.

03:26:11Argyle:It's like the people.

03:26:13Argyle:It's like the people that are on betting apps betting on the color of the dildos that are going to be thrown in a WNBA game.

03:26:23Argyle:You can bet on the color if you know you're going to be the one to throw it.

03:26:28Gamemaster:Sure.

03:26:28Johnny:Thank you.

03:26:28Gamemaster:That doesn't actually answer the question that I had at all.

03:26:28Argyle:There you go.

03:26:32Argyle:Yeah.

03:26:33Argyle:Yeah, they're going to go around to solve things.

03:26:35Argyle:They can bet things like, oh, the rain.

03:26:36Argyle:There's rain here.

03:26:37Gamemaster:Right.

03:26:37Gamemaster:But, like, how did your broker get the skill set required to do the other stuff?

03:26:46Gamemaster:Like, the four of you have backstories that would imply that you are equipped to handle adventuring in some form.

03:26:46Benny:you

03:26:49Argyle:Batman.

03:26:56Gamemaster:Okay.

03:26:56Gamemaster:You know what?

03:26:56Argyle:Batman.

03:26:58Gamemaster:Fair.

03:26:58Gamemaster:Sure.

03:27:00Argyle:Robert Downey Jr.

03:27:03Gamemaster:Yeah, but if your backstory was you just named four billionaires, if your backstory is I already have all of the money I could ever need, then sure.

03:27:03Argyle:The Iron Fist.

03:27:04Argyle:Green Arrow.

03:27:11Argyle:Yeah.

03:27:11Argyle:Yeah.

03:27:17Argyle:He's a later stage character, because I've got to explain why he's so rich.

03:27:21Gamemaster:Right.

03:27:22Gamemaster:Sure.

03:27:22Argyle:Yeah.

03:27:23Argyle:He can't be level 2 and be this rich.

03:27:25Gamemaster:That's just Sam's character in the first campaign of Critical Role, the second one.

03:27:31Argyle:Oh yeah, the Articifer.

03:27:32Gamemaster:I can't remember his name now.

03:27:34Anzu:Not the Brave.

03:27:35Benny:Thanks.

03:27:36Gamemaster:No, that's campaign two.

03:27:38Anzu:Oh, what did you say?

03:27:38Gamemaster:The artificer that he played after Sandlin.

03:27:38Anzu:Oh, Tarion Darrington.

03:27:40Johnny:It's kind of scary.

03:27:42Gamemaster:Yes, Tarion Darrington.

03:27:47Gamemaster:But, yeah, no.

03:27:47Gamemaster:So either way, it'll happen.

03:27:49Gamemaster:It's fine.

03:27:49Gamemaster:I apologize for cutting the game seven minutes short.

03:27:54Gamemaster:I just like the fact that you guys have rolled so close to the polls on a D100 twice in a row.

03:28:03Gamemaster:That's statistically not supposed to happen.

03:28:05Gamemaster:I don't know.

03:28:07Johnny:What's happening?

03:28:08Johnny:What does this mean?

03:28:10Argyle:Well, we didn't do that any of the last campaign, really, so...

03:28:15Gamemaster:Last campaign, I think you had one good really close to the poll roll.

03:28:22Gamemaster:And I know for a fact you rolled well on... It was Mike again, because Mike is usually the one that ends up rolling the random things.

03:28:31Gamemaster:Mike enrolled to, like, meet the deep... Or, sorry, meet the Feep, like, many sessions before you were originally, like, intended to.

03:28:37Johnny:Oh, yeah.

03:28:41Gamemaster:So it's fine.

03:28:44Argyle:and for tech to find the beacon.

03:28:48Benny:Yes, in the final fight.

03:28:51Gamemaster:Oh, right.

03:28:51Argyle:But we also had a cognitive beacon, and we threw it, and then all this other stuff.

03:28:52Gamemaster:That did happen.

03:28:55Argyle:But yeah.

03:28:55Gamemaster:Yeah.

03:28:56Gamemaster:You had help there.

03:29:00Gamemaster:But no, this time, you guys twice have seen stuff and learned things that I don't know if you necessarily have all of the information required to learn.

03:29:08Argyle:Argo solved this.

03:29:11Gamemaster:Okay.

03:29:12Gamemaster:For my sake, what does Argyle think this is?

03:29:15Argyle:I don't need to worry about this.

03:29:17Gamemaster:Okay, is it the theory that it's Sigzil Haight, Prince of Shackles, coming from his fortress to do stuff?

03:29:17Johnny:you you

03:29:17Argyle:Okay.

03:29:22Argyle:Yes.

03:29:25Argyle:Trying to either enslave or control this city and then turn it into his domain.

03:29:31Anzu:Now, I have a question.

03:29:33Anzu:You're tying him to the Voidsong or the Embercall, or both?

03:29:37Argyle:Embercall.

03:29:38Argyle:I think the Embercall is a bastardization of the Voidsong, which is more of a true divinity thing.

03:29:46Argyle:And then I think the Embercall is some fake demigod thing where he's trying to mimic it.

03:29:46Gamemaster:Okay, so...

03:29:50Gamemaster:So you've dropped the theory that the Voidsong is going voidward and the Embercall is going starward.

03:29:57Argyle:I never said the gods themselves weren't demons.

03:30:03Gamemaster:That actually also isn't relevant to what I just said.

03:30:04Benny:Wow.

03:30:06Gamemaster:Because your original theory was that the Embercall is related to the gods because it's going starward.

03:30:06Anzu:Bye.

03:30:14Argyle:No, no, no.

03:30:14Gamemaster:Okay, you've revised it.

03:30:14Argyle:So what happened was I revised that theory when you told me that the Embercall guy was resonating like the Voidsong, but different.

03:30:23Argyle:So that's where I thought it was the... Yeah.

03:30:26Gamemaster:Oh, when you investigated Tywelwyn and it was discordant with the voice song.

03:30:33Argyle:Yeah.

03:30:34Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

03:30:35Argyle:Or it is my original theory, and one is the gods and one is not the gods.

03:30:39Argyle:You know?

03:30:41Gamemaster:Well, you're unconvinced on which is which.

03:30:44Argyle:Unconvinced, but I am convinced the demon prince is involved.

03:30:48Gamemaster:Okay.

03:30:49Gamemaster:How do you or I suppose Argyle think

03:30:55Gamemaster:of like if the Voidsong has anything to do with the gods why they wouldn't tell you what it is okay that's fine i'm not saying it's wrong i just like i'm looking for the the consistency there the versatility

03:31:07Argyle:Maybe they are mysterious like gods are.

03:31:16Argyle:I'm gonna ask questions about Benny.

03:31:22Gamemaster:Anyway, open threads.

03:31:22Johnny:Oh.

03:31:23Gamemaster:You guys, it sounds like you're going to try and fight Tywelwyn at some point.

03:31:27Gamemaster:You're going to find out about the Zorbon.

03:31:29Gamemaster:You're going to do some stock trading.

03:31:32Gamemaster:You may or may not meet up with the cryptozoologist.

03:31:42Gamemaster:You're going to go to the guy that studies rare magical animals and say, tell me about this child.

03:31:48Argyle:He studies shapeshifters.

03:31:50Gamemaster:Okay.

03:31:51Benny:What ails him?

03:31:53Argyle:He's going to be like, oh, that's a changeling.

03:31:55Argyle:That's a libeling zoo.

03:31:57Benny:It's a special polymorph.

03:31:57Argyle:That's a this.

03:31:59Argyle:God is a grown man using polymorph.

03:32:05Gamemaster:This whole time, Mike is playing just a regular adult man who's polymorphed himself into a child, but maintained the weight he had as an adult man.

03:32:20Benny:It's from my backstory.

03:32:21Gamemaster:Right.

03:32:22Gamemaster:Yeah, that tracks.

03:32:23Benny:He's just some big hairy guy.

03:32:26Gamemaster:Why is he hairy?

03:32:28Benny:Just to make it grosser.

03:32:30Gamemaster:Okay, sure.

03:32:30Argyle:So you know how Superman can fly super fast, but his cheeks don't get torn off or anything like that, like his skin?

03:32:31Gamemaster:He's a gross man pretending to... I mean... Yeah.

03:32:45Johnny:Hmm.

03:32:45Gamemaster:Well, that's because he's jumping.

03:32:45Argyle:Because it's fine.

03:32:47Argyle:Sure.

03:32:48Argyle:But he has really strong skin, right?

03:32:50Argyle:It must feel like steel or something.

03:32:53Gamemaster:He's a man of... Short.

03:32:55Benny:They feel like a calloused nine-year-old's hands.

03:32:55Argyle:Does Benny's hands feel like a soft nine-year-old?

03:33:00Argyle:Or do you touch them and you're like, this is like, this is a calloused working man.

03:33:13Gamemaster:Good sidestepping the question.

03:33:16Benny:No, that's the answer.

03:33:19Gamemaster:They are the size and texture of a nine-year-old's hands, but that nine-year-old has practiced with a weapon.

03:33:24Benny:is an adventure.

03:33:25Argyle:Was a blue collar worker.

03:33:28Benny:He's an adventure.

03:33:28Argyle:Okay.

03:33:33Gamemaster:Don't do that.

03:33:34Benny:That's what he does.

03:33:36Johnny:All this whole time.

03:33:36Argyle:What if he's one of those monster things we found from the Krypton?

03:33:41Argyle:And that's why Benny's like, are any of them good?

03:33:42Gamemaster:He's an Ugathal.

03:33:44Argyle:Yeah.

03:33:44Argyle:Are any of them like, you know, just doing good things?

03:33:47Argyle:No, they're fucking monsters.

03:33:50Gamemaster:You never know.

03:33:54Johnny:See you guys.

03:33:54Gamemaster:But I'll date next week.

03:33:56Argyle:Monday.

03:33:57Benny:Monday.

03:33:59Gamemaster:All right.

03:34:00Gamemaster:See you all then.

03:34:02Anzu:Sounds good to me.

03:34:03Anzu:We're going to be much more efficient next week.

03:34:04Benny:Peace.

03:34:05Anzu:Don't worry.

03:34:05Johnny:Yeah.

03:34:06Gamemaster:I don't care about efficiency.

03:34:07Gamemaster:You guys can spend the whole time, you know, looking at a snail.

03:34:10Gamemaster:That's fine.

03:34:13Anzu:Zorbon.

03:34:14Gamemaster:Don't do that.

03:34:15Gamemaster:Yeah, it's going to be a Zorbon-focused session.

03:34:17Argyle:Josh, describe the snail again.

03:34:22Anzu:What way does its shell swirl?

03:34:24Anzu:It's a demon!

03:34:25Gamemaster:counterclockwise.

03:34:26Gamemaster:All mollusks, all mollusks on Færrin have counterclockwise.

03:34:27Anzu:It's a demon!

03:34:28Benny:See ya.

03:34:32Gamemaster:That's what Widdershins means.

03:34:36Johnny:Good to know.

03:34:37Anzu:Whoa.

03:34:37Johnny:Counterclockwise.

03:34:41Gamemaster:That's where snails come from.

03:34:42Gamemaster:See ya!