Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
C2 Ep. 42 Shifting Tales Chapter Four
253 Plays4 years ago
A new ally offers the party help, but will their contentious past get in the way of tracking down the killer?
This episode is brought to you by the generous donations of our amazing Show Sponsors: Laura Pickrahn, Darrin Katzska, Irene Viorritto, Ryan Royce, Darrell DeLaney, Jessica Smith, Charles Compton, Danielle Bramhall-Smith, Nastasia Raulerson, The Kamm Family, David Scrams, Elizabeth Clark, Andy Dossett, Rebekah Gowman, deviouspoptart, Eðvarð Arnór Sigurðsson, Michael Clark, Eric Witman, and Shelby Johnson.
Recommended
Transcript
Opening & Introductions
00:00:00
Speaker
The following episode is brought to you by the generous donations of Laura Pickron, Darryl Delaney, Darren Katska, Deavius Poptart, Irene Villarito, Ryan Royce, Andy Dossett, Danielle Bramhall-Smith, Elizabeth Clark, Eric Whitman, Jessica Smith, Charles Compton, Natasha Rallerson, Richard Cree, The Cam Family, David Scrams, Dustin Troop, Edvard Arnoff, Michael Clark,
00:00:25
Speaker
Rebecca Gowman, and Shelby Johnson, as well as all of our generous patrons.
00:01:17
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Ever Under Need, an actual play podcast set in the Eberron campaign setting. I'm your game master, Eric. I'm Phillip. I'm Trevor. I'm Randy. I'm Jeff. And welcome to another episode. Gentlemen, what happened last time?
Recalling Past Adventures
00:01:34
Speaker
Okay. So like, boy, we put some clues together. Yeah. There were more shenanigans than I expected.
00:01:46
Speaker
Basically, we put it together, thanks to some input from Olive, that the monster that killed, oh, remind me of his name, our shifter that died. Oh, I've got it. Dag. Dag, I should remember that, yeah. That the monster that killed Dag was a creation of Mill Hatch Industries, lower division.
00:02:15
Speaker
After much, much speculation on what LD stood for. I'm just saying, if we'd all been there for the spitball session, we could have come up with a better name. I'm just really hoping for laser's division.
Information Gathering
00:02:28
Speaker
Ooh. I'm just glad it's not Norse and Millhatch Love Doctor. Just dating, sir.
00:02:42
Speaker
Anyway and Olive told us she would she would contact a person inside They might be able to help us get some more information that person came that door was opened and holy crap. It's old Posey Not her name. No and and and importantly none of us have addressed her as such I'm not even sure that our characters have addressed her as such I think that's solely us out of character. I think so. I think the only time you all like
00:03:07
Speaker
the very first arc and then Milo talking at her about, you don't know us. Okay, so yeah, you all are in. Oh, and Milo, Milo did discover that Eris appears to be sleeping in the rafters. Yes, Milo's right together.
00:03:28
Speaker
So yeah, you all are in Olive's lab slash classroom and you all have just seen a blonde human woman walk in. Aeris shifts slightly closer to Olive and grabs a wrench or something off of a nearby table because presumably the Fletcher is across the room.
00:03:51
Speaker
Are you being at all subtle or? Oh no, like she steps closer and brings a wrench up in her left hand. It's okay, it's okay. Eris, I called her here. What? Do you all have some kind of history? Well, that's one way to put it. She keeps showing up. You keep showing up. I'm where I'm supposed to be. You keep showing up in places you're not meant to be.
00:04:21
Speaker
I'm afraid that I would remember meeting a woman as striking as yourself. Yeah, that sounds familiar, short stuff. Hey. You can put the wrench down, Eris. She's a friend. What are you doing, Eris? Eris lowers the wrench slightly.
00:04:51
Speaker
I think Hob just kind of naturally without realizing kind of goes to stand next to Eris just knowing like he knows that his presence comforts her in dangerous situations. So regardless of the fact that she's not particularly pleased with him right now, lizard brain being what it is, he thinks he might chill her out a little bit.
00:05:10
Speaker
So, yeah, she crosses through the warehouse to you all and grabs one of the chairs and kind of sits down and leans back in it and goes, so how can I be of assistance?
Meet Aransas De Caneth
00:05:27
Speaker
I was told I was needed. Yes. Do one of you all want to explain the situation? First, we would love to know your name.
00:05:40
Speaker
Oh, my name is the Rancis De Caneth. What? Oh, Rancis? A-R-A-N-C-E-S De Caneth. You know, that's not what we expected. What did you expect my name to be? We have a few guesses. I personally wasn't expecting anything. We've never talked about it in character as previously elucidated. So I would say...
00:06:09
Speaker
I thought it was gonna be something like Arlene. You know. And what's yours? Yours names? Well, I'm Reynard. Liam. He might be. What was that? He might be. I'm... I don't... I'm Hob. Hello Hob? They're... Milo.
00:06:39
Speaker
Which one is it? Liam and Milo. Well, since we're all giving our names, it's Milo. Huh. And you? I don't know what's happening right now. You're not usually our friend, and I don't know what's going on.
00:07:08
Speaker
What have I been to you before? Other than somebody that told you you weren't supposed to be where you were. A citizen dealing with trespasses. Uh, listen, you say as much or as little as you want to. You don't have to be influenced by the fact that I came clean. I'm choosing to trust.
00:07:36
Speaker
in Olive's decision to bring Madame De Canath here. Aransas, it's fine. We can be on first name basis. Good, because I've only got the one.
Identity & Ethics Discussion
00:07:51
Speaker
It actually isn't true, but yeah.
00:07:56
Speaker
So do I, Orensis. I just love that play in Hobb's mind of her asking around going, oh, you mean Vaginoth? Vaginoth Hobb? No, he only has one name. It's only Hobb. Do you know any other ones? Right. I don't know who knows my real first name. I assume Eris and Saden and Kath. I don't know. I think Eris called you Vaginoth once in frustration.
00:08:23
Speaker
I believe I recall that, yes. And I'm sure Milo and Reynard know just because it's not like it's a secret. He just, that's not how he goes. Anyway. Uh, we are looking into several, what we now believe are kidnappings and one definite murder.
00:08:50
Speaker
And some evidence that we've found leads us to believe that you could be of help to bring justice to the situation. Okay. And then Hob has to hope that somebody who was involved in the conversation, he didn't come inside when Eris talked to
00:09:13
Speaker
Uh, Olive. So he doesn't really know as much as Milo and Aeris do, but Aeris isn't talking, it would appear. So Hob gets to the end of what he's got, trying to diffuse or bring things together. And then he just kind of goes, and, um, and Randy's, what's about where I'm at? I wish I could remember. Basically what you do, what you do for mill hatch.
00:09:43
Speaker
I, uh, you know, Milhatch works closely with House De Canis, and so I'm a member of the House that worked with him to get him established, get him set up with anything he needed. Much the same way that Olive had a relationship with with Norsin.
00:10:06
Speaker
And also, I mean, my capacity of working with House Kenneth is to establish relationships with third-party establishments that Kenneth might be wanting to do business with or assist. So I'm a liaison, a friendly face for the House. Oozie turned into a lizard. What now?
00:10:35
Speaker
Or has he turned into a lizard? Nobody that I'm aware of. Now... I... Not surprising to me that you would ask something like that because that's why I came to Olive. Because I've... Norsin has a certain level of ambition that, uh...
00:11:04
Speaker
has become concerning, I guess is the best way to put it. And how's Kenneth? We have certain ethical limitations, I'll put it that way, in terms of what we will do to others and ourselves. Norsin does not seem to be hindered by such things in his pursuit of arcane arts.
00:11:33
Speaker
So, who he turned into a lizard, I don't know. But, probably did. I believe you. Eris still has the jacket, didn't she give it to Olive? Uh, she probably showed it to Olive. Okay. Did he go to put it down? I just, if it's somewhere Hobb can grab it, he's gonna grab it. But if you saw it in your hands, he's gonna- There's no reason for it, not to me. Sure. Okay, Randy, were you gonna say
Concerns About Norsin's Ventures
00:12:00
Speaker
something?
00:12:00
Speaker
Oh, yes. We're concerned with the the L.D. branch, I believe it's called, and with potential possibly access. The lower division. Yes. Yeah. Norsin and Salomon gave me a tour last week of their new pet facility and
00:12:31
Speaker
Okay, at this point, I think Hob takes that jacket. I thought it wasn't approved. Eris looks at Olive. What, what the house didn't approve of it. The house doesn't approve it, but some members of the house are more ingratiated with Milhass Industries than others. And she looks at Aransas like, listen, I'm trying to do good now.
00:13:02
Speaker
Uh, no, yeah, I, I was giving it to a more in a, a look at what we're doing. Aren't we so amazing capacity rather than official house business, I guess is the best way to put it. Um, I mean, I'm not as good in only in the circle as all of his brother, but in all of just kind of stiffens a little bit. Uh, hob files that are not my business.
00:13:34
Speaker
Are you looking at Olive, Aeris? Yes. Aeris's eyes are kind of darting between Olive and... I was waiting for Aeris. Aeris hates this day. Wait for Phil to say something. Olive acknowledges your look. Aeris, my brother Jerome...
00:13:54
Speaker
was attached when Norsen first started working with the house as his personal assistant in all manners, artifice. And he's been by Norsen's side ever since. I'm not proud of that fact and not happy about that fact, but I'm not his keeper. And you all would remember, especially Hobb, you remember Jerome.
00:14:21
Speaker
from your fight in the lab. So. Jerome, the one who like kept getting the machine started up again. Yes. Okay. That would be true. So are you all looking to find the lower division?
00:14:45
Speaker
Here's where Hob does the thing he's saying. He takes the jacket. If memory serves, it is bloody and it is torn and it clearly says Milhatch Industries LD.
00:15:00
Speaker
We also identified the person, or we found something. We found the person as an Arcanist who was the head of development. I don't have a name written down. We did not have a name. There was not a name written down on it. Okay, I think Hob takes the jacket.
00:15:21
Speaker
She's sitting down, right? She said she can't chew and had a seat. Well, Hob doesn't sit typically. So I think Hob has the jacket and he takes it. And I don't think he's gonna put it in her lap. He's not a monster. It's covered in blood. He's gonna toss it at her feet, hoping that it lands with that insignia for Milhatch Industries face up. He's gonna say, we have a witness.
00:15:51
Speaker
Who saw a man, he didn't see the transformation, did he? No. Who saw a lizard creature wearing a white coat attack and kill an innocent shifter. We found this at the scene. The lore division has
Investigating Mill Hatch
00:16:14
Speaker
created a monster.
00:16:18
Speaker
Are you going to? I'm sorry. A lizard monster. Specifically a lizard monster. Along with this, we found the piece of paper with the information about your head of development down there. We need to stop this before it kills another innocent person. Yes. And then they are taking other shifters.
00:16:45
Speaker
I mean, I don't feel like I've been, I got very serious all of a sudden. Your tone is very, a lot of gravity to it. Well, in my defense, I've been quite serious about it the whole time. A person died. It is quite serious. It didn't become quite serious. It was immediately quite serious when the person, when the shifter died.
00:17:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I know where it is. Like I said, I can lead you all there and show you where it is. The only thing is, I mean, right now, it's gonna be crawling with mill hatch people. It's working hours still. So we'll need to go after hours to break in to figure out what's going on. I mean, I don't know who this lizard where person is. That'd be weird if it was a lizard that was a were human.
00:17:40
Speaker
It turns into a human on the full moon. Next from Mill Hatch Industries. Lonely, have a pet? Want to have a friend every full moon? So yeah, we can head down to the cogs and
Solomon's Ambitions & Ethics
00:18:05
Speaker
I mean, I know that it's secure. It's a large warehouse. It says mill hatch on the side. But as far as the house knows, it's a storage facility. So. But he put his name on the side and thinks that's inconspicuous. And then thought his abominations were safe. Ambitious. Stupid, even.
00:18:33
Speaker
He's got him and Solomon have it in the heads that they can take on the house. Who is Solomon? About, if not, maybe a little bit taller than your big friend here. No, I know which one is Solomon. Yeah, he was with you when we broke into the other lab.
00:18:59
Speaker
Oh, he was long gone by the time I saw you, so I wasn't sure that you saw him. Right. Yeah, he's a newcomer in town. He's a big player in terms of money, funding projects, trying to assist people in their own ambitions, but mostly what Solomon wants is power. He's not interested in
00:19:29
Speaker
Artifice or arcane Nothing like that. He just he wants to be the person behind it all You might might say he wants to be like a like a king pen Potentially be weird thing. Yeah, but we already have a king. So I don't know what right there's like a It's like a crime a crime king
00:19:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I don't know how much of what we're doing is illegal. It's certainly frowned upon, but I don't know if there's laws on the books. Are you saying it's okay to turn people- Are you saying it might be illegal to turn people into monsters? If they're willing.
00:20:18
Speaker
Nothing in the rules says a dog can't play basketball. Yeah, I can go down there with you. We can break in and take a look around. But it is down in the cog, so we will need to head down there and probably get a lay of the land. Before attempting any. B and E.
00:20:47
Speaker
but I'm ready to go whenever you are. I got nothing on my schedule for the rest of the night, sadly.
Questioning Plans & Intentions
00:20:55
Speaker
Well, shall we? Got Milo's moving as if to go. Have you noticed anything of a demonic nature?
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah, is everybody still coming on this? Is it really the sort of thing that Faroo needs to be a part of? Could be a demon. What could be a demon? Faroo, I need a lizard person. I need you to level with me. Yes. Supposing it's not a demon, but it is a problem. Are you going to be with us?
00:21:37
Speaker
I intend to go with you. Are you gonna fight with us if we need to if it's not demon related? Keep it in mind, avenging a death. Yeah, if it puts myself or you in danger, then sure. I'm not going to murder anything, but I won't strike first, but I will strike back. Does anything ever actually end up being a demon? Yes.
00:22:04
Speaker
We have a millennia's old organization dedicated to fighting aberrations and demons. There's lots of millennia old organizations that, you know, were founded to deal with, you know, this and that. And, you know, no one really expects to find one anymore. And it's just become kind of a club.
00:22:29
Speaker
I mean- Don't find them because we do our job. We've- We've met Tieflings, right? I mean, Rathan is a Tiefling. That are canonically of demon blood, dissented, at least. I mean, theoretically. Eris is a woman of science.
00:22:52
Speaker
In a world of magic. Magic is science. But yes, to answer your question, Eris, I personally have dealt with a demon before. And they literally can come out of anywhere. Mostly the demon wastes, but anywhere. There's Demon Mart, Demonville. That's over in the Demon District.
00:23:21
Speaker
They actually hate the demon waste. They would rather live somewhere else. But anyway, as long as I know that, you know, more hands is more hands. Yes. I mean, yes, that is a statement. Eris switches into goblin. Eris switches into perfect, unaccented goblin. It's taking along another person that we don't know.
00:23:53
Speaker
I have no reason to believe Früh doesn't speak goblin. This is just what Eris has got. Yeah, I mean, Früh is listening. Hob's goblin is still rudimentary. Sure. So he says something akin to... You make him stay? Make him stay. Sounds good. That did sound like... without being caveman. I like that.
00:24:22
Speaker
I would like to go though, he says in Goblin. I belong to an ancient organization and it's the most ancient language on this continent. What do you think I'm going to speak? You're from a part of the continent which didn't what the Empire would know. And I thought maybe, I don't know. Hobbes says, between the two Hobbes goes, that's a point. Can we go now?
00:24:53
Speaker
Aransas says at the door. Eris turns to Hob again and in Goblin again because she's fairly confident. She's hopeful about about Aransas, at least. Thank you for using the name. I heard the P. Yeah. I don't know if it's a good idea for a good idea for her to meet Tasha.
00:25:23
Speaker
Tasha did run her over. They certainly have met. I think Hob says.
00:25:38
Speaker
I'm not going to waste a lot of effort. Maybe she, as a ranking member of the house, is in possession of some sort of transportation. The reason there was the pause is I'm putting too much effort into trying to sound like broken goblins who are just saying what I want him to convey. The idea that Hob gets across is, well then let's leave Tasha, take her vehicle, and perhaps another.
00:26:03
Speaker
We don't, I say, I think, this is how Hobb says it, not meaning to sound this way. He says, your tricks need the boat? Because he generally doesn't know, is there something you need Tasha along for the ride for one of your gizmos to work? No, it's all right.
00:26:28
Speaker
You hear from the door Aransas start shouting nonsense words but including the term dog frying pan great spear as she's just making goblin-esque language noises. And she says, can we go? Look, if we don't leave soon, she's going to do something terrible to that dog. Don't know why she's bragging about her spear. Doesn't even have one. As far as I can see.
00:26:58
Speaker
So, Hob says in common, you driving to Aransas? Sure, yeah. I have a skiff you can take. How many of us are there? If all comes, that's like nine. Yeah, more every time I look around. I'll have to clear out the back seat, but it's fine.
Journey to the Cogs
00:27:20
Speaker
What's it got a back seat for? Is it not just an open door, open deck?
00:27:26
Speaker
Yes gifts, open deck. Of course it's open deck, it's a boat. Come on. What are you designing? Let's go. She's got one of those Paul Allen yacht. No, it's not huge and assuming, but like the back half of it is like an enclosed cabin space for people to sit in with windows and things like that where the wind doesn't rush past you. So yeah.
00:27:55
Speaker
So she walks in and picks up some papers and stuff like that and shoves it into a side pocket of the of the cabins like, okay, hop in. Milo hops on. Eris climbs aboard. Faroo sits in a middle seat with his axe in between his legs.
00:28:18
Speaker
Uh, Jeff has genuinely been trying to figure out if hob gets in first and lets the rest fill in around him or if he squeezes in last to where he fits. So he, Harris is going to stay on the exposed part of the boat. Harris is going to stay out on the deck. Uh, yeah, hobble as well. Okay. So, uh, we are in the boat, uh, a racist boat. She's driving.
00:28:43
Speaker
taking the path down to the cogs. You all waited until well after all those classes were done. So we're gonna say it's probably late-ish evening, like eight or nine o'clock at night. So. I think, though, on the way down, Hob definitely wants to get a couple of just lay of the land questions out of the way with Aransas. He's gonna ask her, for example,
00:29:13
Speaker
What sort of man to security does, uh, Norsen put around his more high priority, uh, high priority is the wrong word. His, his more, I don't want people to know what's going on in here kind of properties. Yeah. I gotcha. Uh, honestly, in terms of man security, none. Cause once again, ambitious and stupid. Uh, he thinks his arcane traps are more than enough to deal with any trespasses. Okay. So after a certain time, uh, it's, it's a ghost town in there.
00:29:43
Speaker
Were you privy to any of the security when you had to tour it? You know, they mentioned the state of the art security, some scrying stones that can keep an eye on the place. They can access them whenever they need to if they have reason to believe or they just want to keep an eye on the place.
00:30:02
Speaker
You know, arcane traps that can cause creatures to be immobilized. The really secure areas have petrification traps to where they'll just potentially turn you into stone if you step on them. So, but that's in the way, way back. I don't think to access files in the lab that we're going to run into anything like that. It's only if you want to steal some of the arcane implements that in the vault is where you would need to contend with those.
00:30:33
Speaker
uh but yeah that's like i said stationary traps in hallways on doors things like that uh scrying stones to where they can keep an eye eyes and ears on the place um and the the initial door is actually uh monday the front doors are just
00:30:57
Speaker
Kunderak designed really, really, really, really, really good non-magical locks so that the spell magic couldn't just, you know, turn them off. Interesting. I think Hob says, short of a unanimous decision, no one goes in the vault. And if you do go in the vault short of unanimous decision, you're on your own. If there's a demon in the vault, I will go in the vault.
00:31:31
Speaker
I don't quite believe there will be, but fine. As Hob said, you will be on your own.
00:31:50
Speaker
Don't go binning over backwards to convince yourself there's a demon in the vault. If we see clear and present evidence of a demon, then I think you'll have a case, but otherwise, you're not getting the votes. If there's a monster in the vault, then we should leave the monster in the vault. That's a good place for it. Well, but who has the keys to the vault? Somebody that wants to unleash a monster? Well, maybe it'll eat them.
00:32:19
Speaker
It could be a demon. Could be. Well, we've certainly all wasted enough time on this hypothetical. Don't go in the vault. Let me just make a quick note. Monster in vault. Yeah, right. So yeah, Aransas parks her skiff a level above the cogs and says, OK, we're going to walk from here because I don't want to park my car down there. Park my boat down there. Park your what?
00:32:51
Speaker
But there's an elevator not too far from here that we can take down to the cogs. So let's go. So after a few minutes of walking in a relatively short elevator trip down, it opens up and you get the smell of ash and burnt meats and just
00:33:20
Speaker
dirtiness. It's not a well-kept garbage and stuff like that. As you all initially step out of the elevator, you do see a long line of people seemingly from a different means of entering this district of the city.
00:33:48
Speaker
passing by a couple of booths that are set up, but the front and foremost one that you see bears the House Tarkhanen crest on it.
00:33:56
Speaker
And you see these people walking by and there's a couple of people standing there with pamphlets and small loaves of bread, handing them to people entering the cogs. And you actually see a knoll. Hob is taking notes. Yeah. You see a knoll wearing a waistcoat and a top hat. Just talking to the people as they walk by the House Tarkannon booth saying, three meals, easy pay, join House Tarkannon today.
00:34:27
Speaker
Become part of something bigger. Become part of a dragon-marked house. And yeah, so that's... Does the nil have an apparent aberrant mark?
00:34:38
Speaker
Oh, not house tar cannon. God. How's the rash? I got my wires campaigns crossed. Sorry. Jeff knew what I was talking about. Well, it was the thing where I was like, I was pretty sure I knew what you were talking about, but also I know better than to try to correct somebody about this stuff still. So yeah. So yeah. After I take a moment as Jeff to just spend a little more time picturing a Noel in a top hat, uh,
00:35:07
Speaker
Yeah, I'm glad Hob noticed that. You do also see another booth. I mean, Aransas is moving.
Encounter with Grom
00:35:17
Speaker
She's walking towards where you all need to go. Yeah. You all see another booth set up with a sign that reads Delvers.
00:35:27
Speaker
and you see a couple of people at that booth and one of them, they're also talking to people, talking about joining the Delvers and finding
00:35:41
Speaker
finding arcane secrets of a lost age and come join us and find things long forgotten and earn good money doing it. And in fact, one of the Delvers recruiters, who is a halfling, steps in front of U-Hob and says, interested in joining the Delvers? Become part of the clan?
00:36:06
Speaker
I'm flattered that you'd consider me. But no, thank you. We are, uh, I'm otherwise employed. Thank you. Oh, oh, okay. Well, I mean, claims good pay, claims good people. Uh, no, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna, I really thought about passing him on to Faroo. Um, you know, he's new here. Uh, no, I, uh,
00:36:35
Speaker
No, thank you. I'm thank you. Thank you. Um, you hear a voice from the booth. Hob say, we don't want their kind anyway. Does anybody look at the source of the voice? Oh, ha ha ha reflexively. You see a very like Riley smirking grum in the booth, like smirking at you. Yeah. Uh,
00:37:04
Speaker
Wow, gosh, Hob liked Grom. I think, you know, I think Hob- Past tense. What did Grom do? Well, we haven't seen, we haven't seen each other for a while. Yeah. Like how I liked you guys, but we haven't seen each other for a while. In the before times? Before the off times. I think Hob just, some off handed joke of, you know, well, I wouldn't want to work for any place that would have me anyway. What are you all doing down here?
00:37:34
Speaker
Are you okay? Yeah, I'm in the cogs. Which you are too, so I think we're both doing about as well. Are you okay? Are you okay, Eris? Eris looks and... No, not especially. What's going on up top? Oh, just everything.
00:38:03
Speaker
That's same old, same old. It's all terrible. There's been some issues with the org chart that none of us are too pleased with. We all answer to Vigo now, which is, as you can imagine. Also, he hates us and keeps sending us on suicide missions that we seem to be narrowly escaping. And hey, that can't last forever. I can thoroughly empathize as I gesture at my life now.
00:38:32
Speaker
where I was sent because of ego, so... Well, are you saying that you were falsely accused? Falsely accused of stealing from the clan? Yes, yes, that is exactly what I'm saying.
00:38:46
Speaker
I've never done anything. Yeah, no, that's a fair question. I'll be straight with you. I didn't, I would have never assumed, but I also, I mean, I'm not surprised when anyone who works for a criminal organization does an extra criminal thing on top. So I guess that's fair. No, I don't know. They produced some documents proving that money was taken from the black lamps and that I was apparently the only person who had access to such funds and therefore
00:39:15
Speaker
Could not possibly be anybody else. So, here I am. But, you know, it's not bad. It's a lot more honest, honestly, than what I was doing. I'd go steal stuff from dead people now. It certainly beats the alternative. Clean living, yeah. They don't need it anymore, do they? That's what I'm saying.
00:39:46
Speaker
But Lady Briar's good people, a lot better than Viggo. Eris walks away from this conversation. Okay, good to see you.
00:40:00
Speaker
Well, listen, Grom, I am glad to see that you're as well as one can be in your situation. But we are in the middle of something, so good luck on your recruiting. Would it be alright with you if I came down and picked your brain about what things are like in the cogs? I've got a bit of a side quest I need fulfilled. Sure. Yeah, you can...
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah, come see me. I'm, uh, if I'm not here, then I'm somewhere where you don't want to follow me. So, uh, I'm, uh, I'll be out. Uh, I'll be here for the rest of this week and then the following week I'll be on an expedition. So, um, about another week. I will catch you in a few days. Sounds good. Good to see you, Hob. And Raynard, Milo, Cass, big fella, blonde lady. Bye, Aris.
00:40:55
Speaker
Hey, and all of us. Um, okay. So Eris has already taken off ahead. Um, so, uh, I don't know that Eris knows where we're going. So Eris is just left. Yes. Eris left that conversation. I don't know that it's ahead because I don't know where we're going. Okay. Towards the big sign says mill hatch industries. Aren't you listening?
Environment of the Cogs
00:41:21
Speaker
So yeah, Aransas is leading you through the streets of the cogs. You all see, I mean, A, you're on solid ground right now, which is kind of weird. And you also see rivers of lava flowing through this district of the city. At one point you have to walk over a bridge of it and the heat is very intense.
00:41:44
Speaker
Um, it's clear that there's like, you would expect in a different part of the city, if there was a river of lava, there would see be some kind of arcane protection against such things here. If you trip, you're just going in a river of lava. Um, and she kind of points down the street that you're on and says about, I would say, uh, thousand meters that way.
00:42:14
Speaker
kilometer that way is where the warehouse is, just kind of a straight shot from here. So it's an easy exit of the district. You can make it to this elevator real quick. Granted, this is kind of a busy hub and there are people kind of walking
00:42:34
Speaker
Uh, about, um, and so, I mean, yeah, we can just, uh, kind of make our way down here. Like I said, there's going to be people working, but it probably would be a good idea for you all to case the joint, uh, before we, we make our move. Um, so I guess we can head that way. What are we looking for here?
Refining the Plan
00:43:01
Speaker
I assumed you wanted to find your killer.
00:43:06
Speaker
I wasn't asking you. Okay. Well, that's what I figured. We were looking for the perpetrator. I was more under the impression that we needed a dead to rights evidence as to what Millhatch is doing. And I think if we go, I understand that we know
00:43:36
Speaker
I mean is that is that what Satan wants us to do I'll be honest at this point Jeff is unsure of what Satan wanted us to do it was it was figuring out what's going on to his shifters right I feel like we figured that out right I mean sorry hang on
00:44:02
Speaker
Because because if we're supposed to stop it then that's gonna be a lot more No, I don't know that we know what we believe but and we're pretty certain we're correct But it would be nice if we had some hard proof to go along with it. I Agree I I would like for the job to be
00:44:31
Speaker
unassailably done, so as to not have to... How does Hop say this? The more ironclad what we have is when we go to Satan, the less likely it is that we'll have to continue pulling on threads with this, more than we personally want to for whatever reason.
00:44:56
Speaker
And if this lizard happens to be there, I would assume possibly in the vault to keep it out. I mean, I don't know. If we should come up with something neat to call it. Because, you know, if it gets in the newspapers or something, I don't want it to just be the lizard. You know, that feels... It's kind of boring.
00:45:28
Speaker
So what are you thinking, like, scale guy, or, um, lizard man, skink, skink boy. Um, um, that sounds like a really good insult. The gecko. I want to keep that one. A reptile disruption. Shut up, skink boy.
00:45:56
Speaker
That's the headline. Yeah, it's a good one. Chameleotron. Chameleotron's pretty good. You know, let's put a pin in it. I think these are all, you know, no bad ideas in the rainstorm. Except for Raynard's, evidently. That I barely got to hear before you called him Skinkboy.
00:46:22
Speaker
Listen, Arancis, this is the process. She is just staring at you all dumbfounded. I... No, no, no. Look, I watched you from behind a box while you tried on six different poses waiting for us to come out. You don't get to be judgy about how we do this. I just... One minute the tone is very serious because there's lives on the line and the next you're joking about what you're gonna call the guy in the paper. So I'm just confused. And she turns and walks down the street.
00:46:52
Speaker
And Hob says, it's called gowl's humor as he catches up with her. Yeah, I mean, you all find, I mean, you see the warehouse, it has the Mill Hatch Industries logo on the side and above the door. You see there are some windows high up.
00:47:16
Speaker
and the lights are on. You can pretty easily tell. There are two doors, a large set of double doors at the very front. No windows on that. They are solid wood and metal doors from what you can see, very large handles.
00:47:33
Speaker
Um, but as you all are walking, you do see a couple of people exit out of there swinging the doors open. Uh, they're both wearing white coats, uh, and just kind of talking to each other as they exit and start walking past you all down the street towards the elevator. How long does augment last? If I were to cast it on myself just for the safety of it.
00:47:59
Speaker
I mean, it, it lasts a number of rounds, which outside of combat mean nothing. So, okay. Okay. Yeah. So I can't pre it's not like pass without a trace or something where I can kind of. It lasts as long as you're concentrating on it. Yeah. Um, which is a maneuver. Right. So, okay. It is kind of, you know, wait and see if we get in a scrape and if I can get one off before I just need to start punching.
00:48:24
Speaker
Yeah, Genesis is one of those systems where there's things you can do in narrative and things you can do in structured and you can't really cross those wires. You'd think like 60 episodes in, I tried that by now and learned that lesson, but here we are. We're still in the 40s, it's fine. Okay, so yeah, you all can each, if you want,
Assessing Mill Hatch Warehouse
00:48:49
Speaker
Uh, make a check to represent you all quote unquote casing the joint, uh, to provide yourself, uh, potential advantages or setbacks later. I would like to skullduggery. Okay. Um, so skullduggery is going to be, oh, I need to reset the story. There we go. Um, skullduggery is going to be a three purple difficulty.
00:49:18
Speaker
Three threat. Could I use... I just don't have a lot of good skills for this stuff. I've suddenly become a conversation style player. I'm trying to figure out a way I could use Streetwise or Knowledge Underworld to look for
00:49:43
Speaker
Not like, you know, thieves can't markings, but some equivalent, something I may have noticed before, maybe even at the other place we broke in secret door, maybe. I mean, if it's a, if it's a front, it might have, uh, some sort of extra entrance. So I'm just knowledge under world. I could get some, I could read some stuff out of that if I gave it a shot. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Well, real quick, let's, let's resolve, uh, Eris this check real quick. So no, you're good.
00:50:12
Speaker
Um, you succeeded on your skill degree check. Uh, so what, what do you notice about the place? Oh, um, uh, it really is very dilapidated. It has, you know, like.
00:50:35
Speaker
In its frontiness, it's an old building and the window locks don't work. Okay. Okay. Um, yeah. And with those three threats, um,
00:51:10
Speaker
The three threat I'm going to dictate that there will be a rotation of people, and this can be something that you all would assume, like, so basically in your head you think they might be, but they might not be.
00:51:32
Speaker
There is a rotation of a security team that does man these scrying stones, so those will need to be dealt with if you encounter them. Okay. Hob, you're doing Knowledge Underworld? Yes, I am. How hard is it?
00:51:54
Speaker
It is going to be, uh, you know, it's an old district of the city. It's a pretty bog standard warehouse. It's not anything super special. Uh, so we'll go with two purple. Okay. Trying to rely on your innate knowledge of underworld activities. Yeah. No upgrading necessary.
00:52:16
Speaker
Should your successes upgraded? One threat. Okay, so you do not succeed on establishing anything about the area. With the one threat,
00:52:41
Speaker
While you're thinking hop hop hop hop hop does whatever he says he's gonna do to go case the area and he comes back And he goes tell you what some of those doors a lot of magic And that's it
00:52:57
Speaker
Uh, so yeah, you know that normally, uh, like Phil kind of said that there would be a warehouse never has a single door in it. Um, and so as you were going to work, look around you much to your chagrin discovered that whatever work they did do on the warehouse, one of those things was closing up any additional.
00:53:17
Speaker
uh, means of entrance. So the front door is the only door available, um, for entrance. Well, the only door available, not the only point of entrance. So, um, cool doors. What about just a straight perception? Okay. Yeah. Perception works. Um,
00:53:40
Speaker
It's a busy, stinky, loud part of town. Lots of people walking by Milo. So it's gonna be too purple with an additional too black on top of it. Good night. And it's dark down here. I mean, most of these, most of the people that live down here have dark vision, like just naturally. So the lighting isn't a huge concern for most people that live down here.
00:54:05
Speaker
So, would you like to spend a story point? Yeah, let's spend the story point. Okay. That gives me like, it gives me an extra green. Do you have all yellow already on your? I have one yellow. So would it upgrade a green to a yellow? Yes. So how do I get rid of an extra green? Click on the green. It'll remove it and then click on the yellow. There it goes. All right. That was easy. All right. Rolling.
00:54:39
Speaker
Two failure, four advantages. Okay, so yeah, you don't notice anything, you don't perceive anything looking at the building from the street level. It's just, it's too, there's too much going on, there's too much commotion, you can't really focus or concentrate. So, but you do have four advantages. So what are we gonna do with those?
00:55:05
Speaker
That's a lot of advantage. Um, what about some of it that, I mean, I don't know if anybody would notice us anyway, but that we're, how about we're just extra sneaky at getting in. Would that work? Um, like there's not going to be, yeah, I'll let you establish, there's not going to be a whole lot of people on the street when you all are trying to, to approach the building. Fair?
00:55:33
Speaker
Yeah, sounds good. So there's less likelihood that you get spotted. Okay, Reynard. What would you like to do to case the joint? Well, I think my highest thing would have been skull digger as well. You can you can repeat. There's nothing saying you can't. Okay. Gonna be three purple difficulty.
00:56:01
Speaker
And why not? I'm going to spend a story point, upgrade one of those to a red. Okay. So two purple, one red. Yep. Sounds fun. Zero success, one threat and a triumph. Yay. Okay. So, uh, so no successes. So your skullduggery doesn't yield you anything. Um,
00:56:28
Speaker
Huh. Uh, but so no successes, one threat. So my one threat, um, with your, uh, with your school degree check. Um, I'm going to say that there is additionally, um,
00:56:54
Speaker
basically where you all need to get to, to learn who the head of development for LD is or what this monster is, stuff like that, there's going to be another mundanely locked door, much like the front door. So, but you have a triumph. So this is a big thing that you can dictate about
00:57:23
Speaker
Not even necessarily the situation that you're dealing with, but something else.
00:57:32
Speaker
No, it can't be. Aerosphere gives you, though, sadly. It's like the rules rules of Bruce Almighty apply. You can't affect free will, so. OK, but we're still outside the building, right? Yeah, you're in the streets. OK, we're casing it.
00:57:53
Speaker
I mean, I want to just make it as easy as like we successfully get in. Well, what about on the way out? Maybe just bypass one of the security measures maybe. Well, since didn't errors notice that the windows don't lock? Not well, yeah, the locks are locks are faulty. Can I mean, one of them just be open?
00:58:24
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you can, you can just have an open door or an open window. Yeah. Yeah. I'll, I'll, I'll further codify it. There is a window that is open that will get you past 50% of the security measures in the warehouse. Okay. Nice. That's fair. And how many windows are we choosing among for which windows? How big is the dartboard we're throwing this dart at?
00:58:55
Speaker
No, essentially like it'll get you past all of the security measures that weren't overtly addressed in this casing the joint thing. So it's not going to get you around any of the stuff as a result of these roles, but most everything else, you're going to be fine. OK, so yeah, you all are doing your thing casing the joint kind of meet back up to relay information.
Potential Conflict with Desk
00:59:19
Speaker
But as Milo,
00:59:26
Speaker
as you're kind of reconvening with the group, you feel a kick in your back. And presumably you turn around to- Yes, Milo turned around- Someone kicked Milo in the back? You see a lioness-looking shifter.
00:59:52
Speaker
long kind of golden brown hair going down his shoulders with a not insignificant amount of other people kind of flanking them. And he's got this massive club that he kind of points at you, Mylon says, I recognize you. You're one of them boar my boys from up top, aren't you? You're in desk territory. You all can see this happening. But
01:00:30
Speaker
Thank you all so much for listening. If you want to be part of the conversation surrounding this episode, you can head on over to our Discord, which you can find on our website, geekpantheon.com. We're also on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, all under the Geek Pantheon title. You can find us there. We also have a Patreon, patreon.com slash Geek Pantheon, with all kinds of tiers, starting $1.
01:00:45
Speaker
We're going to roll initiative at the start of the next episode.
01:00:52
Speaker
that allows you to ask us questions on our reviewed episodes, get special access to channels within our Discord community, and all kinds of other cool stuff. So definitely check that out. We also have a YouTube channel, youtube.com slash thepantheon, where I post DM tips, player tips, stuff like that, videos like that a couple times a week. And we have another actual play show over there called Kyber Shards that Philip is the GM of, that you definitely want to check out.
01:01:21
Speaker
And yeah, that's all I got. Thank you all so much for listening. Once again, I've been your Dungeon Master, Game Master Eric. I'm Philip. I'm Trevor. I'm Randy. I'm Jeff. Game Jeff. See you next time.