Ch. 45 - Vaydark's Six | Found and Lost (ft. Kingdom Crawlers & Quick I Need a Game)

Transcript

Speaker: Now, let's see. Where were we? Ah yes, that's right. When we last left our heroes, they had returned to Erdeneen after a month of exploring the Anchor's Chain.

Speaker: However, when they got to where the city was supposed to be, they were shocked to find it was no longer there. Before they could investigate, they were approached by a familiar young blue dragon named Krigamon.

Speaker: and his presumably adoptive mother, Aligar Chor. The dragon told them that the previous night he had felt the city's protective ward against dragons disappear and had rushed over to investigate.

Speaker: He also dove down beneath the waves and confirmed that the city had not merely been flooded, but was in fact gone. The party fanned out to investigate the surrounding area and discovered several things, including the same black sand that had been present in the missing princess's bedroom, some trees in mourning, and yet another familiar face, this time in the form of degenerate ranger and alleged true king of Erdney, Halros Fauxia, aka Fletcher.

Speaker: He told a similar story of a sudden rush of wind that uprooted many of the trees within the forest he called home and... Despite his offers to help search for the city, the party elected to send him in the opposite direction, towards the city of Sarposen.

Speaker: Farnalyn was counting on the city being present so that she could resurrect Clay, but now found herself racing against time to get to the next closest city, Sunfall. The group spent the next eight days traveling to Sunfall aboard the Swift, where they had a much-needed opportunity to figure out who the hell everybody was.

Speaker: As their journey neared its end, the waters around Sunfall grew dangerously hot, which wouldn't have been an issue were it not for the nest of harpies lurking nearby that attempted to lure everyone on the ship into the roiling water.

Speaker: They were able to fend off their foes and finally reached the city. They went straight to a temple of Yusik, the god of the night, and met with a priest who told them that the temple had been robbed some months earlier, and thus they lacked the necessary diamonds to resurrect clay.

Speaker: Undeterred, Farnelon loudly proclaimed that they'd soon be back with a copious amount of money, a statement that didn't go unnoticed by a shady-looking member of the clergy lurking in the shadows. Prince Bertram Vestergaard believed his bodyguard and traveling companion, Matilda, may have traveled to Sunfall in order to gamble the prince's cash reserves, an instinct that proved correct as the party entered the Magpie's Nest, a casino operated by one of the numerous gangs established in Sunfall.

Speaker: There they found Matilda, a drunken orc that, while happy to see the prince was alive, had lost all his money gambling. To get it back, she had agreed to help rescue the daughter of one of the gang leaders, an individual known as the Osprey, and reluctantly, the party agreed to help.

Speaker: You already said all that. Who cares? On with the story.

Speaker: Come gather round, travelers, and sit on the stoop. We'll tell you a story about Batsu. Three lovable scamps in our traveling troop.

Speaker: We'll tell you a story about Batsu.

Speaker: It's Supertime.

Speaker: Bird Soup, Bird Soup, we're the best. We put the other podcasts to the test. We make them laugh, we make them cry. We're breaded up like chicken thighs. Give me a P. Prima, who are you and who do you play?

Speaker: hi I'm Prima and I play Bertram Westergaard. Give me a J. Jordan, who are you and who do you play? I'm Jordan and I play Masanya.

Speaker: Give me an A. Alan, who are you and who do you play? I'm Alan and I play Lichen. Give me an S. Shannon, who are you and who do you play?

Speaker: My name is Shannon and I play Fauniline. And I don't know what would rhyme with Fauniline. Fondle him. And give me an A. That stands for and.

Speaker: And give me a P. Peyton, who are you and who do you play? I'm Peyton and I play Juniper and I'm getting over a cold so I apologize in advance for this cool raspy voice.

Speaker: It is a cool raspy voice. so Don't apologize. What is that spell? PJ ASAP. That's right. We're sleepy and we want to sleep. Give us some PJs or else we'll weep and give me a I'm Zach, and welcome back to Bard Soup.

Speaker: Go team! yes One of the more coherent ones in recent memories, and definitely since your tenure on the show, so you're welcome.

Speaker: We join our heroes in Outside the Magpies Nest Casino, in the streets of Sunfall, night has fallen, the streets are alive with vendors and people going about their day or lack thereof.

Speaker: Children run through the streets chasing hoops with sticks and whatever children do in this sort of city. Despite the vibrancy, you can still see that there are numerous shadowy figures lurking in alleys.

Speaker: You see money changing hands, things in small baggies changing hands back, things of that nature. You're following along behind Matilda as she kind stumbles through the crowd.

Speaker: She bumps into somebody and sort of spins off and says, watch where you're going. Behind you all, Bertram sneaks along. I'd say unnoticed by all of you because Bertram rolled a very high stealth roll.

Speaker: After a few minutes, the casino fades from view and Matilda stumbles into an alleyway. And as you follow her down it, you see she turns around and immediately her posture shifts. She stands up straight.

Speaker: Her eyes, which had sort of a glazed over appearance, clear up. And she looks at the four of you and says, are you stupid or dumb? If you're gonna rob the mob, you don't talk about it in their house.

Speaker: Holy shit. I'm sorry. I forgive you. We're very discreet. man i don't know about that, but sorry for punching you. That was mostly a ruse.

Speaker: My name is Matilda. How is it you fell in with my sweet prince? What's happening? I don't feel like telling you things because you called us stupid and dumb.

Speaker: No, I asked if you were stupid or dumb. It's different. It makes me want to call you mean names. You're welcome to. And she kind of cracks her knuckle. She hits pretty hard.

Speaker: Well, he was chained up and I just knew that he needed a massage. So that's how I ran into him. Thank you for asking. You know, I'm just glad he's okay. Whatever he's chosen to do in his absence is none of my business, actually.

Speaker: Oh, I mean, wait. Unrelated events. Does this mean that you... Crazy. Does this mean that you didn't lose all his money?

Speaker: Oh no, it's gone. Oh. But I'm down to get it back. What's the plan? So, are we going after the missing person, or are we... Who gives a shit about a missing mob lord's daughter?

Speaker: Oh, so we are going to rob the casino. Fuck yeah, we're going to rob the casino. Are you kidding me? God. Okay. They know who has her. They know what they want. It's money. And they're just refusing to pay it because it shows weakness.

Speaker: I don't see why I have to get myself killed in the process. All right. I'm back in. I must have missed some things. I'm pretty sure that I got robbed by the casino because all my money is gone. Oh, how much money did you lose?

Speaker: 650 gold pieces. Damn, you could do a lot with 650 gold This is the party's first time hearing that information, right? Yeah. I think yeah. Fodelin, who was drinking nothing, does a spit take, slaps Lycan in the face, goes, like, sorry, sorry, and straightens him out. she's She's like, audibly wheezing.

Speaker: you okay? that, like, a lot? Yeah, is that a lot? I don't see. How much is a diamond again? i don't know. Like less than that, guys. Like, like oh my god. of This is why I don't hang out with poor people habitually. This is insane.

Speaker: You know, you know, it doesn't even matter anymore. doesn't even matter her anymore. you're right You're right about that. Now we can just focus on getting that money, all of the money that Matilda's lost, and maybe a couple of diamonds on the way out of that evil, evil place. While I'm feeling enraged about money, Matilda, let's talk about how you gambled away a prince's entire fortune in one week, and you have the audacity to ask us if we're stupid or dumb?

Speaker: Yes. I do. I'm very audacious. I respect you for owning up to it. Okay, let's go get some money. i can't with you people anymore. Let's just go get some money.

Speaker: i need to be rich again. How are we going to do that? i was i was fully ready to rescue someone. That feels very much within my set of skills. I'm not equipped for this.

Speaker: Well, Lycan, it's all about perspective. Just imagine the money is a person. okay and we're rescuing them from the casino easy same same mission okay so we we kill all the casino people well okay it's not one-to-one they've kidnapped hundreds they kidnapped 650 of juniper's children honey is in many ways more important than people You know what, I actually, I kind of think because we're on the right track here. Yes, 650 of the children are missing and it's our job to get them back.

Speaker: i don't I don't remember birthing that many kids. I'm sure you tune it out after a while. Yeah, probably. Every time you give a massage, you're creating a new what money line.

Speaker: Again, none of my business. I quit! I quit! I knew my mom was right. A lot more weirdly than I did. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. We had settled the debate of whether we're going to rob the casino because Matilda said that they had people to box for cash.

Speaker: No. The prince said that. God bless his soul. yeah we're not doing Fight Club round two. No, knew you said no, no, no. You said that there was someone to rescue and we would go rescue them and then that you there would be a payout. Yeah, that's out the window. Matilda actually doesn't give a shit. Matilda's so saying we're stupid. We're saying we're getting called stupid and dumb because we were actively saying, hey, let's rob the casino while we were in the casino. So there was never any alternative?

Speaker: Oh, no, there is. There is. I'm just electing not to do it. and Oh, a second ago it was like pulling teeth getting you to walk out the door with me now suddenly Oh, yeah, I'm gonna rescue the missing mobster daughter. fucking Holy shit. Forget the daughter.

Speaker: I already have Me and Matilda are on the same page same page same

Speaker: okay And like honestly good good good right hook on on you there that was solid Thank you. Thank you more where that came from I can imagine. We're going to need that when we're robbing the casino.

Speaker: Okay. What skills does everyone have that would make them best at robbing a casino? I'm very sneaky, and I'm also very charming, and I'm also very good at lying, and I'm also pretty good at gambling.

Speaker: I can be a spider. That's so true. I kicked the door off its hinges. That's so true. Zanya? ah I can move pretty quietly and I could probably make a couple of us move pretty quietly too.

Speaker: Somebody else has that skill set, I think, as well. that Matilda, does this casino have a safe? I assume so. Not one that's visible. So I can tell you what I know, but I think we're going to need somebody on the inside to know what exactly i don't know.

Speaker: Okay. sure There we just is... just a couple weeks to get somebody a job. um One of us can work there, way get the lay of the land. i could give massages.

Speaker: That could be good. Okay. That's true. This could be, you know, like maybe if we're just putting things into a time perspective, maybe like a one to three session arc of getting jobs at this casino.

Speaker: I think like a one would be better. Oh, okay. All right. You're right. Speed. Time is of the essence. I forgot that the body is only preserved for a certain amount of time.

Speaker: You're right. Okay, remind me or tell me what's up with this body, because I am really good at playing drunk. So what's the deal with that? ah One of Faunilin's friends unfortunately passed away, but they preserved the body with a magic spell.

Speaker: But we're running out of time before that magic can put a stop to the natural progression of decomposition. So we have to do this quickly. Okay.

Speaker: How many days are we talking? Vonelin? We have five days. Five days. Okay. Okay. I think we need to use as much of that time as we can, get as much information as we can, find a person on the inside, get the supplies we need, and then, uh...

Speaker: And then this time the house doesn't always win. And she looks at the camera and we screen wipe to the five of you walking out of the alley and Bertram, you're just right there. He's dropping. Oh, your majesty. Nothing to see here. We're just off to rescue that mobster daughter.

Speaker: ah Don't you sweat it, my king to be. i heard everything you said. Okay. Talking about it in an alley right next to the casino is not much more subtle than talking about it. Okay, we're like a few blocks It's not right next to the casino. Are you stupid and or dumb? Don't talk to him that way.

Speaker: I mean to you. What? Or you that way. Don't. All right, whatever. can take it. a big girl. um So what is the plan exactly?

Speaker: We need a safe house. save what are you talking about we need to rob a casino yeah and we need a base of operations to make our plan red string ain't gonna string itself up church is pretty empty oh it was empty except for that shadowy figure that was watching us leave what yeah there's a shadowy figure watching us leave after we talked about bringing back a lot of money why did no one bring this up didn't seem relevant at the time Yeah. I didn't i guess every time we leave someplace, I should ask if any shadowy figures were eyeing us.

Speaker: We've all learned an important lesson. Why don't we stay in the casino? Like in a room? Not that kind of casino. h So I guess the boat.

Speaker: Oh yeah, we have a boat. We do have a boat. Boat could work. Okay, boat.

Speaker: but and star wipe So the six of you are gathered in the the helm of the Swift.

Speaker: The map of sort of the the anchor's chain has been taken down, replaced with a blank piece of parchment. And Matilda starts to draw a sketch of the casino floor.

Speaker: She's like, okay. So, based off the time I spent there, which despite what you might think was not as little as it seems, I was doing okay for a little bit and then I, you know, went on a losing streak and then I lost some more and then I won a little bit back and then I lost it all. So I was there for a bit.

Speaker: I've got a decent sense of the overall layout of the place. You go in, main floor, that's where all your games are. Your cards, your dice, your roulette, all it.

Speaker: There's some seating areas, lounging pits, tables, you can drink, whatever, right? Scattered around the periphery. On the western wall, there's a door. Always two guards there.

Speaker: I know they take weapons. Check them back there. Best I can tell, that's also where the money goes. There's a second floor. That's where we met. There's a balcony that kind of goes around the entire second floor. That's where the big bar is, more seating, some other gambling you can do up there, some more like betting, sports betting type of of booths.

Speaker: That's where you can kind of go cool down. There's another set of stairs that leads up to a third floor. It's ah the boss's office, the Osprey's office. I've been up there. That's where we talked about her daughter, about getting her back.

Speaker: The floor in there looks down. It's it's it's transparent. So they can see the entire casino floor from up there. From below, it looks like a you know, one-way mirror sort of thing. Nice vaulted ceiling.

Speaker: Is there anything up there that would help us? i From my limited time, mostly just hindrance, being that there's always going to be multiple people up there keeping a watch for anything shady going on down below.

Speaker: Understood, understood. Can they see into the room with the weapons? No, not from there. And you just said there's just the two guards watching that door? Two guards there at all times. There's other pit bosses, roaming security kind of throughout, but always two people stationed at that door. Another two stationed at the stairs leading up to the office.

Speaker: There's also a secondary, ah an Eastern door. It's like on on the main floor. i think it leads to a storeroom. See a lot of ah staff bringing like kegs over to the bar, bottles of wine, and that sort of thing.

Speaker: Appears to be a storeroom. So we have to give our weapons up at the door. That gets brought to this hallway that's guarded by two people. And our best assumption is that the money is also down that hallway.

Speaker: Best I can tell, the casino's open 24 hours a day. I've been there long enough that at some point I've seen this Osprey go down with handful of staff.

Speaker: She comes back maybe 20, 30 minutes later, and you can tell they're carrying some coin with them. So I assume it's somewhere there. Hmm.

Speaker: Well, it sounds like to me between us and a pile of gold is just two to three guards. And Vasanya stands up and pulls her bow out and and pulls the string back. It seems like if we make wool ornaments out of just two or three people, we can get that cash and be gone.

Speaker: yeah yeah he said there's roving pit bosses. Matilda said roving pit bosses. You're going to have to clarify what exactly that is.

Speaker: i did It sounds scary. Look, I don't know. rich but Rich person logic, if they can afford to operate a casino in a place like this that's literally a crime-run state, I guarantee that their defenses are violent, efficient, and thorough.

Speaker: We've got to go stealth mode here. this is This is a heist movie. We're ocean-sixing it. Okay. But when push comes to shove. Listen to me here. Listen to me here. What are the reasons that people go in and out of that room?

Speaker: The money room. Weapons and money? Weapons and money. Do you ever see guards going in and out? Like to stay in for shifts in there. Do you know what I mean? Not that I can recall.

Speaker: We might want to like spend some time scouting that out to make sure, but I can't specifically recall that. ok Here's what I think. Tell me what you all think. Number one, I go into the casino.

Speaker: Some number of us. But I think somebody who's good at deception should lose all their money at the casino and beg to be able to work off the debt. Alor, we have someone who can work in the casino, perhaps as a cleaner. I think we've got to get someone on that top floor to make a mess up there. Because if we can just spill some paint on the ground or something, but we'll workshop that. But most importantly, Juniper can become a tiny little thing and the weapons are carried straight into the money room.

Speaker: So Juniper can be sent right on in. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It kind of sounds like maybe we just need to get some drinks at the bar and send the spider underneath the door to get a little bit more information.

Speaker: But how will a spider carry all of my gold out of the room? Well, that will come later. i think just to get a lay of the land. Scouting, yeah.

Speaker: me You're right, you're right. We could just, Juniper, if you're all right with it, just go in with some weapons today. Maybe we'll all do some observation and um you can just see what goes on in there.

Speaker: Yeah, that sounds fun. I just see it my mind's eye. I see Lycan starting a fist fight. I see me upstairs pretending to be French. I see Vasanya. I don't know. I don't know Vasanya's doing yet. I see... Vasanya's dry pulling the string back on her bow and... Stop it! Stop it!

Speaker: Stop! It's bad for the bow. didn't let it go. didn't let it go. Okay, let's just go do some gambling, yes? Here, everybody, everybody. How much money do I have?

Speaker: Everybody gets three gold pieces. Wow. It's an allowance. Just out of curiosity, is that an even split? Everybody except Juniper because Juniper's not gambling and Matilda doesn't get any.

Speaker: All four of us. You know what? Okay, five. We all get five gold pieces to spend gambling. I am and myself. Here you maybe just keep that to yourself. Okay. Lycan, here's five gold pieces.

Speaker: Bertram, five gold pieces. Spend it wisely. Okay. Let's go do some observation and some gambling. You're welcome. You're welcome. Let's go do some gambling. Wait, I thought I was turning into a spider.

Speaker: Yes. Do you want to crawl onto somebody's weapon? Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh, that's a good idea. Let's do it.

Speaker: Okay. You are standing outside the door, the same bodyguard or bouncer rather from earlier, says in a voice that I'm sure is identical to what it was two weeks ago.

Speaker: Oh, hey, welcome back.

Speaker: Thank you. Decided to test your luck again. Couldn't get enough. Yeah. Okay. Well, you know the drill. And he looks at you dead in the iPhone one. I'll take your weapons.

Speaker: Why you looking at me? You were a real pain in the ass two hours ago. don't have any weapons. I don't, that that's fine. You still were a pain in the ass two hours ago and I don't know what your problem was. I apologize. I had a lot of rage and I took it out on the wrong person. I'm just trying to make a living by working at a mob casino. Okay.

Speaker: I respect that. Incidentally, are you guys hiring? I mean, maybe. My friend here, and I pat Visanya's shoulder, and then I'm like, no, no, no, wait. And then I pat the much more physically intimidating, like, shoulder. like My friend here who is looking to make coin potentially as a guard.

Speaker: He's very strong. I can tell. h That's not the appropriate response. Just say the word, Lady Fereneth, and I'll... Visanya! Visanya! I guess we hand our shit over.

Speaker: Do you have nothing else to say about the potential for someone to join as a guard? Is it just a dead end? Well, no, I was just said I could tell and then I thought maybe they like they'd say something in response, but they kind of just looked at me.

Speaker: liken to the strong sign of type. i

Speaker: I thought we were sharing like a ah tough, like tough guy looking at each other moment. He's perfect for a guard. He stands and he doesn't say anything and he looks intimidating.

Speaker: Alright. Yeah, we could use you. Things have been a little, uh, little bit crazy lately. Don't know if you know much about, ah Sunfall, but there's a lot of gang activity here, and some of the other gangs have been trying to creep into our territory.

Speaker: So, few more eyes on the casino might not be a bad idea. Is there any kind of interview process? but Or as that is that it? You good with a sword?

Speaker: yeah You got any qualms about killing? No. You're hired. Motherfucker.

Speaker: Getting a job in this economy? That's the real fantasy, am I right? Yeah. Well, how about I would like a job. Hmm. I don't know if we could be co-workers.

Speaker: What the hell? What? I just like to keep my personal and professional life Okay, take my take my weapons.

Speaker: Very well. Best of luck. Thank you. you Good luck at your new job. You can start tomorrow. What? He says to you, like not not you. but out No, I know not me. I'm talking to employee.

Speaker: You can start tomorrow night. okay We'll have a uniform ready for you. And y'all venture in You hand over your your weapons, including a crossbow with a spider on it. yep Yep. He takes it There's like a few bouncer types, you know a few staff there, guards at the door.

Speaker: And they take the weapons. He hands them over to one guy who carries them in a small bundle. You're not totally kitted up. And as the four or the five of you venture off into the casino, kind of scatter, start gambling small amounts, keeping an eye on things.

Speaker: Juniper, you feel yourself carried into the casino. The floor is carpeted with this faded red carpet. There's... Lights flickering just enough to see, but it's you know it's pretty dim overall in here.

Speaker: There is the smell of cigar smoke, kind of wafts through the air. It's heavy. you hear the sound of dice rolling and chips being stacked up and ice cubes and glasses clinking.

Speaker: din of people, music quietly playing in the background. And Juniper, you are carried towards this door on the western side. These two guards say, hey, Terry.

Speaker: And the guy carrying you says, hey, guys, just dropping off some weapons. They say, yep, we know you do this like multiple times an hour, bud. He says, thanks. And they step aside and of them opens the door and he carries you in.

Speaker: The noise of the casino floor fades away and you are in a simple little square room. There's a couple pieces of furniture, nothing special, but there are two doors, one to the left, one to the right.

Speaker: And he walks over to the door on the left and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key and inserts it into a lock and opens the door and you find yourself in a room just full of weapons. There are shelves and tables and just daggers and swords and maces great axes. There's a rack of bows. There's just numerous quivers full of arrows.

Speaker: He takes a little tag, writes 18 on it, and the the party received a similar one when they when they walked in, and he kind of just puts it on the bundle of things and sticks it on an open piece of shelf, and then walks away, and you hear the door click shut, and you hear the key lock it, and you are left alone.

Speaker: Okay, I will pop out and get a good look around this room. So just, i saw all the weapons, there was nothing else. It appears to be just weapons, yeah. There's no window, there's like some candlelight to provide some illumination. it's Sort of like an organized chaos. It feels like an archive thing.

Speaker: You get the sense that probably some stuff gets lost here. Doesn't seem like a perfect system, but all in all, it's not a huge room and it seems to be mostly just just weapons.

Speaker: Okay, then I will go ahead and jump off of the crossbow, but like in a cool spider way where like I have like a, like a little string attached. So I kind of like float a little bit out to get more distance faster.

Speaker: And then I'll crawl to the door. Perfect. It's a tight fit, even for a spider. It's not like perfectly sealed, but it is like pretty well built. But you slip under and out into that other room.

Speaker: And I'll cross over to the door that was to the right. Okay. Okay. You see again a very small crack under the door just enough for you as a spider to fit through and you venture under and you see that there's a set of stone stairs that descend down for quite a ways. All right, I'll start my descent.

Speaker: Yeah, it takes you a while. You're you're little, but you know you just you go to the edge of one stair and then down it and then edge of one stair, down it. You realize, hey, I could go on the wall and kind of just go at an angle and it's a little bit faster, hypotenuse or whatever. And you descend for ways.

Speaker: After not too long, the stairs level out and you step into a room. It's maybe 20 feet to a side. There's nothing in here except a couple of torches burning on the walls.

Speaker: And there is a door on the far end. It's made of stone. Okay. Not that I think I'm heavy enough, but just in case there's any traps on the floor, I'm going to go along the wall towards the door.

Speaker: Okay. You do that. You venture across the room over to the door. Can I get through this door? There is a crack under the door. Okay.

Speaker: That was generous. Thank you. I'll slip through You attempt to go under? Yep. Oh, I don't like the word attempt. Yeah. I need a dexterity saving throw.

Speaker: so Oh. Uh-oh. Do I make this with the spider stats or with my stats? I believe because it's physical, it would be the spider stats. Okay. 15. fifteen 15 is what you need.

Speaker: good As a previously unnoticed rune above the door starts to flare with the sickly green energy as a sudden explosion of acid bursts from the door. You start to climb under, but some of it does splash upon you.

Speaker: Oh no. Oh no. You will take half damage. That doesn't matter. 23 acid damage reduced to 11. I'm Juniper.

Speaker: Ow. Acid, your skin is burning. You start to wipe it off as best you can and maybe scramble back from the door a bit. Okay. So I didn't get through the door?

Speaker: No. So you just like started to crawl under and then like you felt yourself start to burst out of your spider form and you're like, i if I don't pull back, I'm going to get crushed. I'm going to turn back into the spider and get out. Okay.

Speaker: Because I don't think I can get through. like do i Well, let me, before I run, do I sense that like it's going to go again if I try again? Give me an arcana check. Right.

Speaker: oh 12. This isn't your area of magic. Nope. You're not really sure. You see that rune that flared up starts to fade away, and you don't know if it is expended or if it's just resetting. Okay. I have to leave because I don't have another attempt, so.

Speaker: Right. yeah Turn back into a spider and go along the wall. back up the stairs, through the door, and then back out into the casino? Um, I'll stay in the hallway for a little while and just watch movement in and out and like, probably for the whole, <unk>ll I'll stay for like an hour or two just to clock, yeah, how often people are going about.

Speaker: Yeah. In that time, that guy, Terry, I guess? Yeah, Terry. We've got two buffoons named Terry in this show now. Seems to say something about what I think is a funny name. And you watch as he comes through kind of just like whistling to himself every so often. He's carrying like a handful, like a belt with like six daggers strapped to it. And he's like, wow, that's a lot of knives. And comes back like 13 minutes later, exactly 13 minutes later, and he's just like carrying this giant double-sided great and he's like wobbling with it. He's like, oh, I hate to be on the wrong end of this. You get the idea. This guy loves his job.

Speaker: And before the wild shape dissipates, we'll say you venture back out onto the casino. floor or perhaps depending on what your your friends decide to do perhaps you hitch a ride on the crossbow again but we will cut outside to the casino floor as the four of you plus matilda actually i'll say matilda doesn't come with you before you go back to the casino she's like i told them i was gonna get her daughter back i think if i keep hanging around there drinking they're gonna get pissed off so i think i might

Speaker: for the planning portion of this, need to keep my distance and we can just rendezvous here, go over the plan before we pull the trigger. And we'll cut back to the four of you.

Speaker: What are the four of you doing? What were the areas that we really wanted to see? Like a better look at this crystal ceiling floor situation. Yeah. You look up, it's like two full stories above you, you know? it is basically just like a mirrored ceiling and you can kind of see yourself there surrounded by this red carpet. Oh, it's like, oh it's like one way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's so sick.

Speaker: Not for our purposes, but it's so sick. Okay, Lady Fairdeath, it's kind of up to you. What the hell are we doing? So in gambling, we haven't observed anything especially interesting.

Speaker: Give me a perception roll. Are all of us rolling a perception? Why not? The four of you, like the whole point is the four of you there to scout. So yeah, go ahead. Make some perception rolls. Mine's not going to help. Or another kind. 21. 8. I got a 14.

Speaker: I just rolled 12. eight twelve Okay, Vassanya, you're really impressed by that mirrored ceiling. And like, you try and scout, but like every couple of seconds you're glancing up there and you're like, damn, it's like the biggest mirror I've ever seen. There I am.

Speaker: How'd I get all the way up there?

Speaker: Lycan and Bertram. I think the two of you really milk it at the we at your respective tables. You really just like slow roll. You just try and make small bets where you can go up a bit. Just try and keep it like you know a reasonable amount of time at any given table before perhaps you you wander over to another one. And in that time, I'll say you observe a shift change.

Speaker: You watch... as from that third floor. this woman wearing sort of a dark crimson suit.

Speaker: She's got dark skin, her hair's kind of poofed up into some sort of like mohawk sort of vibe, you know, the sides of her head are shaved. She steps down the stairs with multiple guards flanking her, we'll say like four guards flanking her. And as she steps down onto the casino floor, you watch as a bartender hands somebody a drink and then walks away and goes to join her.

Speaker: And then a ah dealer, perhaps at the table, like in that you're playing cards at, a dealer rubs his hands on the table and says, so our folks can change dealers. Just give us a second. And he steps away. And like a couple seconds later, another dealer steps in to take his place.

Speaker: But you watch that dealer walks off towards and joins this woman. And then you see one of these security pit bosses that are roaming around, one of them also falls in step with her.

Speaker: And this little entourage that has formed goes towards the guarded door and they step aside and this group steps in. You see that as they go, like dealers collect the coin at the table, hand that off to these various pit bosses. They pass it over to these, this group of people that's going back below this door. It seems like they're loading up whatever cash that they've earned in this shift, taking it with them.

Speaker: This would be like many hours later, so I will say Juniper is no longer lurking back there, that you at some point slipped out. But so Bertram, Lycan, you both observe this.

Speaker: It's pretty seamless. You know, it's like as soon as a staff member steps out to aid with this, somebody fills in and takes their place. A little while later, it seems like there's a like a larger staff overturn, it seems like.

Speaker: It's getting pretty late into the the night or early in the morning, and it seems like the new staff are coming on now. While this happens, Fonroy, if you're 21, you're up at the bar, perhaps you order whatever fancy cocktail you order, and you're sitting up there, you you stand at this balcony, you watch this woman walk down the stairs with this entourage, you see the dealers collect the earnings, start passing them off.

Speaker: You look down at one of these tables, and you see that there is a dealer He appears to be a human man in his maybe mid 40s. His hair's thinning. you can see skin from above.

Speaker: You watch as he is loading up coins, gold pieces, mostly some silver, a couple of platinum into a bag. And with a very subtle flourish, you watch as he takes one of those platinum pieces and slips it into his sleeve.

Speaker: And it is like a fluid, smooth motion. you barely catch it but you see that that guy just pocketed some money. Significant sum, in fact. How much is a platinum piece worth?

Speaker: Ten gold. In layman's terms, you have no idea. Mm-hmm. You don't know how much money that is to like an active, and and a typical wage worker, but... It's it's like a month's worth.

Speaker: Yeah, it's at least a week. We need 500 gold. Yeah, but you observe that and then people, the rest of that procession happens and maybe 20 to 30 minutes later, the group comes back up.

Speaker: After I see this guy rob something, I want to like catch his eye and hold it and say, you're a very good dealer. You have quick hands.

Speaker: Where are you rolling? Where are you rolling? A little insight for him to see if he catches your meaning. I did, and forgive me, because this is me being needless, but I did paint the narrative of you being on the balcony. Yeah, you're... He, like oh he like looks up at you and says, What?

Speaker: You're a good dealer! You've got best hats! I'll say it later, I'll say it later, forget it, I'll say it later. Okay! Scratch!

Speaker: You watch the group comes back, the staff, the bartender and the pit boss and the dealer who went with her. You see that they just leave for the day. They're done. And that dealer that you watched pocket the platinum piece.

Speaker: You see that somebody comes in to relieve him maybe 20 minutes after that. And if you wish to catch up with him, you certainly can. I would like to. and I would like to say, you're a good dealer. You have quick hands. Amazing.

Speaker: Inside or outside? Do follow him out into the streets? Or are saying that before he leaves? Um, before he leaves. before he leaves. Okay. You press through the crowd, you intercept him, you say that, and you see a look pass over his face and he recognizes you from the balcony and the vantage point that you possibly had and he says, uh, thanks. Yeah, I've been and doing this a while.

Speaker: Have a good night. And he attempts to step past you. Fonelin like sticks with him. Let's walk together a moment. K? What's your name?

Speaker: Terry. How dare you? How dare you? He looks you dead in the eye and says, Lenny. Lenny quanola and ni Quinola. Quinola.

Speaker: K. Hmm. Hmm. It's hard to get a job as a dealer in this city, isn't it? I mean, it's competitive.

Speaker: It's hard to make a living here, an honest living. You could say that. i totally, I totally, totally understand. Lenny, I'm going to be candid with you.

Speaker: i need 500 gold pieces. and I need a wife who isn't related to me. No, listen. Here's what we're going to do. and Lenny.

Speaker: I got it. Okay, Lenny. Okay. Lenny, let's keep this. I don't want to talk to you for much longer. i don't want to talk about it either. Here's what I think should happen.

Speaker: I think I should come in tomorrow. I think I will start with 50 coins. I think I'll play at your table. And I think over the course of the night, I'll have a successful night.

Speaker: Uh-huh.

Speaker: That's what I think. You know what I think? You shouldn't have married her

Speaker: her. I think, uh, I think what's in it for me. What's in it for you? Venny. I won't compliment your quick hands to anybody.

Speaker: i'll let the I'll let your competence as a dealer speak for itself, and I won't have any reason to make any recommendations to any of your bosses or any of the guards. give me a Give me an intimidation roll. I haven't intimidated anybody in a long time.

Speaker: It's a 14. He nods. All right, yeah, you come by my table. Make sure you have a good night. See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow. Okay, insight check. What's this motherfucker planning now?

Speaker: Why'd he say it like that? Okay, that's better than my and intimidation. ah That's going to be a 23 on insight. He doesn't like that you just shook him down, but it doesn't seem like he's planning anything necessarily.

Speaker: Sure. Okay. Shall we regroup? Yeah, I think so. I'll say you gather back at the boat. It's early in the morning. You can see the sun is starting to coalesce above you. the particles are starting to brighten and swirl. You know that Nova's not far away, but you you watch as the streets start to vacate. People go home, return to their their dwellings for the for the day, and you gather on the boat, and Matilda is like, okay, so we got a plan.

Speaker: <unk> Oh, okay. I got a job. Hey, congrats. In this economy? Yes. Wow. Makes sense. If it was anywhere else, it'd be a different economy, I suppose. Yeah.

Speaker: I almost died, but I'm fine. And you would look at her and she's got acid wounds all over her. What the hell? Foddeline starts, like, dabbing you off with a...

Speaker: the hanke Thank you. Thank you. I'll be fine. Yeah, there's there's totally a trap down there. Next time, I'll dispel magic so it doesn't hurt so bad.

Speaker: Hopefully. Yeah, it's messed with your voice, too. I know. Isn't that crazy? It must hit a vocal cord. That's so sad.

Speaker: Anyway, so I think that's probably where the money is because why would they put such a painful trap in front of it? Like it would have killed me if I wasn't so nimble.

Speaker: How would the guards get by the rune? There must be a switch or something. Yeah, that's true. Maybe that red suited lady knows. She seemed like she was in charge. There was a red suited lady?

Speaker: Sorry, I was distracted by the glittering ceiling. I'm sorry, red-suited lady? You mean the osprey? i guess. The woman who has who runs the the the clutch and owns the casino?

Speaker: Oh. Yeah. Her. Yeah. She went in with a bunch of people. you So I guess we probably shouldn't go in there when she's going in there.

Speaker: Yeah, probably want to stagger it, go after she comes out or halfway through a shift rotation. Cool. I know when that is now. Okay, that's good. That's good. That's valuable.

Speaker: I mean, if they've got magical traps, it sounds like, we're either going to need to figure that out real quick, or we're going to need to find, don't know, someone who's been down there who's willing to willing to speak with us.

Speaker: She really keeps mentioning someone on the inside who's willing to speak to us, so that makes me feel like there is actually someone who would talk to us, because she keeps mentioning it repeatedly. Wishful thing. I think I've said it twice. but did one Did anyone talk to anyone? It's it's it's my thought that, you know, we we found someone on the inside that would really ease up a lot of our planning. Yeah, you keep saying that. That makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Well, again, I've said it twice, but yeah I guess technically three times now. but I didn't talk to anyone. I spent all my time playing craps. And let me tell you, letting dice decide your fate is kind of horseshit.

Speaker: Hey, how'd our gambling go, Zach? Did we make any money? Yeah. I want a percentile die for the group. Let's see what happens. 86. Yeah, you do. You make a gold each.

Speaker: Nice. Woo! I take it back. I was playing craps, and let me tell you, letting dice decide your fate is kind of awesome. Pick whichever one you want. yeah I've shared about my plan with Terry tomorrow night, by the way. or Not Terry.

Speaker: Barry. Lenny. Lenny. Lenny. Thank you, Lenny. Juanola. Okay. nola I mean, you think he'd be willing to ah to talk if he's if he's down to steal from the mob already?

Speaker: ah that's a really Oh yeah, why e that's a good idea. Well, why don't we see how tomorrow goes? Because if I gamble successfully enough with his help, our prospects might change. And then at the end of the night, assuming I make any money, I'll give him a cutback and say, you know, pleasure doing business with you. Would you?

Speaker: What can you tell us? how about that? Wait, wait. So the the idea is you're just going to sit at a stable and get heaps of gold by being good at cards suddenly? Yeah. Is that not going to raise any flags? People get rich at casinos sometimes. I mean, people are walking out with what? We were there for hours and I got one gold. You're going to walk out there with how many how much do we need for diamonds? 500.

Speaker: Each. each Juniper lost 650 yesterday. It's not that crazy. Right, right. But now we're going to win 500. Losing is the... seems like the trend. Nobody taught me the rules of the game, okay?

Speaker: I just kept saying green because I like plants. If you were trying to hit 31, you'd do amazing. Not only did they take this fool's money, they also took this fool's money...

Speaker: I guess, well, technically Bertram's money. So I don't know. I just feel like maybe walking out of the casino in a net positive might not be the most inconspicuous thing.

Speaker: People have to make money at casinos, Visenya. Otherwise, no one would go to casinos. oh No, no, no, i ah I get making money, but we're talking about hundreds upon hundreds of gold pieces.

Speaker: exactly We're going to see what Lenny swings. Hey. I just had an idea. Ooh, go on. You were talking about a distraction and it sounds like maybe the osprey we would have their attention drawn by like what we're talking about.

Speaker: Right, right, right. So they're watching... They watch Lady Fairneth win a bunch of gold. And then our new employee of the month here gets into the safe.

Speaker: I don't like that plan. No, no, no, no. Let's not use me as the distraction. i don't want to... I don't want to be the distraction. I want Visanya to be the distraction. But you could talk your way out of anything.

Speaker: Yes, but you are so plucky. We could put Vestania at the table. No, no, no. Okay. Well, okay. Wait, are we doing this tomorrow or are we information gathering tomorrow?

Speaker: Tomorrow gives us four more days. yes We still need to find the diamonds. And yeah. You've also been up all night, I will say. So tomorrow's kind of here, essentially.

Speaker: Oh, God. It's basically sunrise. Nova, if you will. The sun doesn't really rise on Zav. So we really only have like three and a half more days. Is the casino only open at night? 24-7, he said. 24-8. Everything's in octet.

Speaker: everything's in octta Wait, wait, wait, forgetting, a foot wait wait wait okay wait wait wait, wait, wait, wait. What about this? Juniper becomes a spider and instead of sneaking in with the weapons, Juniper gets into one of those baggies that they bring back when they take away the cash at the table. At the same time, I'll use Lenny to get payout, not a crazy payout, but a reasonable one. So money has to come out of the safe. That's Juniper's, o so Juniper goes into the safe,

Speaker: through the rune door, whatever, the poison door, because someone's carrying her in, transforms into a person, she stuffs her pockets. We can make her like a special pocket coat, easy. And then transforms back into a spider.

Speaker: And then when someone comes to make my payout, Juniper calls into the bag. that That's kind of sick. It's kind sick, right? and You hesitated and I got scared that you hated it, but it's kind of sick. That's kind of sick.

Speaker: I like it. I like it. What happens if something goes wrong? While I'm down there and I turn back into Juniper at the wrong time. Then they'll call for the guards. And it's a good thing that we'll have a guard on the inside who can immediately turn the tides of combat by activating his explosive...

Speaker: vest? No, no, no, no, no. That's too much. But who can immediately... sorry, you have a kid even like it, too. What are you talking about?

Speaker: What? I can turn the times battle. Alan's having a baby next week. We got it right like an opposite. Oh my god, just like doing it way too early.

Speaker: Nobody move where this whole place goes. I mean, we have someone on the inside. We station Visania and Bertram around near the doors so that if there's any kerfuffle, then Lycan and everyone can force their way downstairs. And maybe we set up some traps or something. I don't know. I don't know what we're going to do about the upstairs people. But the in and out is kind of kind of elegant to get past the rune.

Speaker: Do we have any way to get out more quickly? Or is this a run for the hills kind of end the game?

Speaker: I have a magic rope. Pardon? That's like my one gimmick. I have a rope that can yoink us places. That's what I'm working with. Anybody else?

Speaker: If I may. You may. I've been here a bit longer than you. i'm going to tell you right now, every plan I've got involves bringing in more people, which inevitably means a diminished payout.

Speaker: You know, another person in the in the fold, another person on the cut. How much do you know about Sunfall? Like, historically.

Speaker: Not that much. Your Majesty, surely you remember your studies? Yeah, I know about it as much as you do. So why don't, would you like to tell? ah Yeah, sure. Did you read the world primer?

Speaker: Because your character should have read the world primer. I'll tell you right now, it's not in the world primer. I haven't sent anything.

Speaker: But I will say, Bertram, you've been prepared. You've been prepped on Sunfall a bit. I think you told your family you were going south and conveniently some some texts in one of your pieces of luggage that Matilda was lugging around for you that had information on the Bosco-Laternion and the peninsula and all the different factions involved there. And there was a section dedicated to Sunfall and its history.

Speaker: And you would know a few things. Of course, famously, the city was destroyed some 20 years ago by the cult of the Phoenix, pulled the sun down from the sky. Everyone knows that.

Speaker: What you also know from some of your readings is that before the city, the name Sunfall was not it was not nominative determinism. It was not predictive of the city's future. It was a name that was given to it after the incident.

Speaker: Prior to that, the city's name was Argath. And it was kind of this large noble city with a good reputation, lots of commerce and industry blossoming out from it.

Speaker: City was destroyed, rubble everywhere. This new city that has been built was literally built upon the ruins of old Argath. So it is your understanding that there is an extensive layer of ruins and catacombs that can span underneath the entirety of the city.

Speaker: You also know that there are numerous criminal elements operating in and around the city, which include five primary factions or organizations.

Speaker: There is the Seawolves, which is the ruling party of the city. individual named Shozar the Seawolf was a pirate who was present at the destruction of Sunfall. She helped save a lot of people upon her ship and afterwards, the city decided that she should guide it going forward. She has now been the leader of the city for some 20 years. She has a crew, but it's also like the city council. She runs the day-to-day.

Speaker: There was the Clutch, which is the organization that owns the casino and the surrounding territory. There's the Ash Road Boys and the Tevichi Mafia. You've heard mention of both of them in your time here. And there is one final faction, or major faction at least, that you would be aware of.

Speaker: and that is the Children of Argath. And it is your understanding that they believe in the restoration of the old city rather than building atop it, making a new city. The old city should be celebrated and should endure, and they live underneath the city. They've got probably the most knowledge of this network, these tunnels. So when Vasanya asks, what's the exit strategy?

Speaker: you are roughly aware that there may be some way out from underneath, but without somebody who knows specifically what it's like down there and how to get in and out, if it's even possible to get in and out to wherever this this vault is, you know, it could be, you could you could just get lost down there and wander around there for the rest of your days.

Speaker: Whoa. Hmm. Bertram will explain this backstory. Of course. To everyone. And that's what I was going to say. Thank you, your majesty. You you did you did study. You're welcome. your Your parents will be most pleased.

Speaker: Yeah, the children of Argath, are they like hostile or are they just like, they just live underground? Probably depends on who you are. Tourists? It sounds like, from your understanding, and it admittedly it's an outsider's perspective, the Ashroad boys stay the fuck away from those guys. They are crazy. They're Mad Max freaks out in the the wastelands surrounding the city. Yikes.

Speaker: Comparatively, the children of Argath, you think maybe are a little more neutral. They wouldn't do it out of the goodness of their hearts, but they would probably do it for enough coin. Likely wouldn't be a kill on sight sort of thing.

Speaker: Yeah, because wouldn't they be happy that we're stealing from the people that are trying to build on top of their old city? he Potentially.

Speaker: Or we could just, if they're if they want to like restore the old city, maybe we could just pretend we're really interested in the history. Find out what building was underneath the casino.

Speaker: Find like a floor plan, a blueprints. A map. map would be nice. How do we contact them? Do we just go into like a hole in the ground?

Speaker: Does Bertram know how to go how to find them? I'd say contacting criminal organizations was not in the literature your parents provided, unfortunately. o But, I mean, if you're trying to find a bird, maybe you go flying. this is If we just jump in a hole in the ground, we might find them.

Speaker: Oh, okay then. Perfect. That sounds way too easy. Yeah, but I got that job real easy, too, so this could just be working out for us. We should probably sleep first, though.

Speaker: Oh, what if you guys could like get underground to be there for the escape? You know what I mean? That's what I was thinking. If I do get in get the money and then you're just there somehow already, like like maybe through a hole in the wall or something that I have to get through. But you know what I mean?

Speaker: What if we just go behind the casino and dig a hole and we'll land in the tunnels under the casino? We have four days to do this. Well... You can look at my spell list.

Speaker: yes Might not be impossible Druid. I don't know what they would necessarily add to our plan, though, I guess. Other than a bunch of unknowns and variables. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: I think there's already an unknown. We know that there's a door and that the money's behind the door, but we don't know what else is behind the door either. I guess we're not even sure if the money is even there.

Speaker: Did we see money go in? You did see like the dealers like kind of sweep up the earnings, you know, put them in bags and like hand them off to the the group that was going going down there. Well, that was the only other door other than the weapons door, so I would assume. Okay.

Speaker: Pretty safe to assume. Yeah, you don't know what happens after it gets past the first Past the door. Okay. There's at least three doors that you're aware of. Mm-hmm. That's a lot of doors.

Speaker: is I swear to God, if there's more doors down there. A door door. Through the stone door. Yeah. Through this door, there's two doors.

Speaker: And one more only tells the truth. Oh, I've already done that. You weren't here for it, unfortunately. But I did think about it. I really thought long and hard. I'm like, what if i ran that bit again? my gosh.

Speaker: I've got money behind me

Speaker: about this? Bertram, we've struggled to integrate you meaningfully into any of the casino robbing plans because your skill set has not yet become overtly apparent to us. I can punch people.

Speaker: That's all my skills. We've yet to see that either. I'm just thinking about the combats where Bertram got his ass whomped on a boat and then boil my water and got dragged around by a bird. that'ss true That's true. That's true. it's true That's um a month in captivity. Okay. Yeah. That's true. Your muscles are recovering. Yeah. Okay. What if you devote the next day to trying to find out about these underground people?

Speaker: and Lycan's going to have training at his new job. I want to run down that thing with Lenny and see how the fake gambling goes and see if I can establish a rapport. I don't think it would be a bad idea for someone to try to get up into that office to look for paperwork, maybe there's specs on the runes, but you you know you know, that kind of thing. So there's a few things, Visenya, Juniper, any ideas about where you'd like to go?

Speaker: I just keep thinking that if any parts of this go wrong, we need to be able to help either lichen or juniper. If one part of their job starts to get mucked up, then then maybe we need to do a bigger distraction.

Speaker: Okay. I mean, shattering that glass ceiling would probably... that crossed my mind. bit Would be cool. Just not sure how to get anything up there without my bow.

Speaker: Could you go on the roof? Yes. We have a rope. We can lower someone in Mission Impossible style. The magic rope. The magic rope. Interesting.

Speaker: What do you think about that, Matilda? Can we get up on the roof? Oh, well, I think if the prince wanted to break a glass ceiling, he could pay me better. But barring that, nah, it's okay. If he paid me better, I'd gamble it away. It's fine. I deserve what I make. Yeah, we've established this.

Speaker: I mean, yeah. I mean, we don't know, right? Like, don't know what is up there, like on the roof. If there's access into the office from there, you've been inside. It's not like a lit area. Like they keep it dark. They don't want you to know what time of night it is.

Speaker: Right. So it's possible there's like some skylights up there or something. For sure. But okay only only one way to know. I mean, could be could be worth a shot, but I don't know what the risk versus reward is on it.

Speaker: Yeah, well, maybe it's better that I'm on the floor with with these guys and just ready to act. It might be safer, because then what's the chance? I take the rope up there and I get caught and then... Okay, run me through what's the broad strokes of the plan right now? Because it sounds like we're sending the spider person in to get a diamond and then they come out with said diamond and what are the rest of us do? If that's the plan, we can run it Well, we need Juniper to be at the table when a cash out is going to happen.

Speaker: Right. So that they can get in the bag and be brought to the safe past the rune. Yeah. That's step one. Yeah. Then Fondland's going to keep gambling until they want to cash out.

Speaker: And then hopefully by then... Juniper will have a chance to hide with money. And then when the person comes to cash out, they climb back onto that person and then go out through the door again, passing the room.

Speaker: I think it's pretty clever. And it kind of sounds like something Glimke would come up with. it I don't know who that is. Who is that? That's shame.

Speaker: That's a damn shame. So i I guess I'm confused because like don't don't they're not using chips. Yeah.

Speaker: So a cash out would just happen when like somebody loses too much money at the table. Uh oh. Or just during shift change, because they take all the money and put it in when they change shifts.

Speaker: Okay, well, then the idea still kind of works. Okay, we just go shift change to shift change. yeah so we're Yeah, and then hopefully Juniper gets a ride out on somebody.

Speaker: Or we access the tunnels as a backup escape route. And we're we're we think that the tunnels connect to the safe somehow?

Speaker: Is that where we're going with that? so At least maybe be near them, the safe. But I can't imagine it goes directly into the safe because that would be a really unsafe safe. yeah You know what I just thought about?

Speaker: From the way you described it, it kind of felt like that safe room didn't even fit with the whole casino's aesthetic. No, it was totally underground and down a lot of stairs and spooky and dark.

Speaker: Maybe it's part of like whatever was there before. Yeah, probably. Maybe they used part of the ruins of old Argath to build the safe and then the casino on top of that.

Speaker: e So maybe there are tunnels that connect directly there. Or at least they would know what it is and how it works. Well, I guess if some people want to do the tunnels thing, sounds like it might be Birdie's job.

Speaker: You trim tunnels? Sorry, just the enrichment task. that's Birdie tunnels. I was just hoping to be on the floor as backup, but like I could help Birdie with the tunnels.

Speaker: Visenya, I think you should figure out how you might smash the big glass ceiling if we need a big distraction. I could something really hard. Like straight up in the air? I don't know. Unless I could... Hold on.

Speaker: What if... now Now I'm trying... This is just me trying to see if we can break the game here a little bit. What if you use the shaft of my bow as a walking stick and I bring in the string separately and I can string the bow when we're in there when we need it?

Speaker: They confiscated walking sticks before, though. Yes, they took my stick. But what if it's Lycan on shift and then he takes your bow and can bring it back to you?

Speaker: Oh, that's good, too. Oh, my God. Lycan. Okay. My boy, I need you to somehow deliver my bow to me at the tables discreetly whenever you're able.

Speaker: Is it a short bow? It can be. As a guard you of the casino, as a guard of the casino, won't like, can just be able to carry his own weapon.

Speaker: Yeah. yeah you but so you just need to be, we just, you just need to somehow be close enough to me to hand me a bow at some point. And then we will deal with the repercussions afterwards.

Speaker: Oh, and the arrows, probably. And the arrows. Right. Let's just put you in a big poofy skirt and we can strap a bunch of arrows to your legs. I think, well, I think Lycan's just going to be wearing it as his kit.

Speaker: Okay, fair enough. Okay, before we do all these cool, awesome, dangerous things, can we please sleep? I'm really hurt. Yes, yes, yes, yes. You're melting right now. A little bit, yeah.

Speaker: Okay, everybody sleep. Get a good rest. Tomorrow we rob a casino. The five of you split find different parts of the ship to sleep.

Speaker: I do want to say I want to use my Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow, which I will touch a point in the boat to create an invisible 30-foot sphere that grants a plus 5 bonus to stealth and perception checks while within it and light from open flames within it can't be seen.

Speaker: Oh, nice. And then I'm going to take a I'm going to sleep. I'd say you do that. And the light of the sun does not penetrate the deck of the ship on this day.

Speaker: And you're able to sleep through the day. Your sleep uninterrupted. It feels dark and cool and comfortable because of this. And you all wake up.

Speaker: The sun is beginning to glow orange in the sky. It's nearly supernova once again. And you have all benefited from a long rest.

Speaker: Okay, so for my own understanding of the plan, and it's important to me personally that I understand the plan. Yeah. Bertram, tunnel duty. You're looking for a way in from below.

Speaker: isn Lichen, you've got a shift. You're integrating yourself with the guards. Perfect. Juniper, eventually going into the vault, going in as on a piece of money.

Speaker: Trying to slip in. And then what, sorry, what's the exit strategy? You are going to like hang out there until the next group comes in and just hitch a ride yeah on ah someone's shoe?

Speaker: I guess. And if not, I'll turn into a bear and make my way out. Okay. Perfect. Perfect. I'll try to, because I think it's good cinema, I'll try to time my win to give you an out. Because I think that's a cooler yeah sequence of events. We were talking about this when you were when you were gone. We talked about this. Because they're not using tokens, Lycan believes that there won't be a cash-out time.

Speaker: They're only taking the losings in. So you'll win what you win at the table. You win what you win at the table, but when they're changing...

Speaker: and um Maybe they need to be topped up. Like, maybe they need to be topped up at the table. That's true, yeah. if you win Money never comes out. Money comes out. Money comes out. But it's not like we can time it to be like, haha, give me my money. I see. I see. I guess it depends on how much I win. Exactly. Maybe Juniper just hitches a ride on the shoe. Okay.

Speaker: yeah That makes sense. And, sorry, what's... it Are you going in today? Or is it the plan to do, like, another another day of scouting to... We only have three half days left. Baby, we're at a time. What more are we going to plan? We have three and a half days left. What would you like us to plan further, Matilda? Yeah, we've got three and a half days left. I don't know. I mean, I'm just saying if we rush this and we fuck it up, we're all dead. Or at least you're all dead because I won't be there. thought we were talking to Zach. You're all dead. I need to get this done in one session. You fucked that up. You're all dead.

Speaker: What if i we just do a test run where I just write see if I can even ride in and just ride right out? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Test strategy. Testing. All right.

Speaker: Then we have two days left. That'll even work. Yes. That was a good idea. Probably a good idea. I kind of want to go through orientation so I don't mess up. Actually, that yeah, you're right. If we do the orientation, we get that we test going through the thing, then we can also see what gear you can have on you when you go on your shift.

Speaker: Then we know how many additional weapons we could give you. What if we just get you up? Everybody, you put a rapier on your hilt, you got a bow, you got, you know, and just see if they're like, that's a little much.

Speaker: Or maybe they're like, damn, this guy comes prepared. Could be. Can I say something now that we've talked about it? I don't think Visanya shooting an arrow straight up into the sky is going to generate enough force to break an entire glass window. You've never seen me shoot an arrow straight up in the air.

Speaker: Actually. Like, you might need to get up there. I'll go up to the second floor. Hey, dear. What if, what if, how fast can you climb a rope? 25 feet maybe.

Speaker: were guess. No, that's that's good. You shoot the rope into the air and then you climb up the rope while it's flying up into the air and then you like punch the ceiling, right? That's what you're saying? What the hell? Are you stupid or are you dumb? Stupid. That's not how physics work.

Speaker: Oh, my bad. I feel like we might want to get up there. If we're not doing it tonight, then I think someone should try to get up there for information. But let's act decisively because we're only two hours into this recording session.

Speaker: I mean, how much do you want to risk someone get if we're doing another test? Just lie If we're doing another test, like this is what does one of us want to try go up to the third floor just to see what's up? And if we get kicked out of the casino, oopsie. 100%. But not you need to run the table.

Speaker: I'll be running the table. Visenya, you go up there. Juniper's doing a dry run to get in there. Lycan is doing professional orientation. looking for holes in um hands and and and looking for holes in the ground. And Visenya, come up with a reason to get up there. Or I think it's not impossible that we could use the magic rope and get it to be like hiding along the corner.

Speaker: and then it could like drop. Does that make sense? You know, it was like we could leave it overnight and it would be like running along the ceiling and it would be like hooked to something on the third floor. Maybe that's crazy. Just lie. Let's try it. Okay.

Speaker: Well, and Matilda sticks her hand in. Oh, are we doing a thing? Okay. okay. I'll put mine in. Three, two, one. Da-da-da-da. Same. Oh.

Speaker: Tides of Taragos is an actual play D&D podcast inside of an entirely homebrew realm featuring homebrew items, such as the Spanking Spoon. What is that item?

Speaker: Oh my gosh. The Katana of Virtue. I know I need to control my sword. or even some glass slippers that give plus five to your initiative. Season two has three players, all of which have never played D&D before. So if you're interested in learning how to play D&D, why don't you learn with these three players as they are sent on a mission to kill a god.

Speaker: Whether we're trying to steal from somebody else's mom, Killsick continues to walk menacingly towards Ace's mother, or we're pulling from the deck of many things, Only fools draw from the deck of many things.

Speaker: No whammy, no whammy, no whammy. We always strive to have a good time. Feel free to check us out on YouTube or anywhere else that you would listen to a podcast. You can find us at Tides of Tarragos.

Speaker: We cut to Bartram. You're looking for a gang of individuals who cling to a way of life that is no longer available to them.

Speaker: How is it that you intend to find the children of Argath? Does this city have like sewer holes, pothole? Oh, this city got potholes for sure. Sewer holes? Yeah, as well.

Speaker: I try to go into the sewers like episode one. Okay. You know what? You do that in Erdeneen. Other individuals maybe had to bluff their way past some guards, promise that it was for a noble cause.

Speaker: Here, someone ah sees you open up the manhole cover and says, nice, sewer bath. And they start to take their shirt off. um Yeah. How about you go in first and test the waters and I push them into the hole? but Oh my gosh!

Speaker: Yeah, they fall, you hear a splash, and then the snapping of teeth. Okay, get cool, not that one. I close that hole and I i go two blocks over and i open a different manhole cover. Perfect, yeah. touch's the You peer down and it's ah you know it's dark, but you can see it's like there's a rickety ladder leading down into the into the sewers.

Speaker: Do I hear snapping teeth in this one? You do not hear snapping teeth in this one. Okay, then I go down. Perfect. Your boots hit some water, splash.

Speaker: It's cool down here, quiet, just a bit of moving water, dripping. And you begin to wander, I imagine, looking for signs of life, signs of inhabitation.

Speaker: Yeah, I guess just in the general direction of the casino, I guess. Yeah. Give me a survival check as you attempt to navigate underground through a sewer system.

Speaker: Is Matilda with me? If you want her to be. and rolled an eight. Would you like Matilda to be with you to give advantage? Yeah. Such a nice DM. I want to ask her to to navigate the sewers for me.

Speaker: Yeah, she rolls a four. Ooh. I'm going to say you wander through the sewers for hours trying to find your way towards the casino area.

Speaker: It is quiet. At one point, you walk past a just... you see red moving through the water just like mixing with the water and you see a scrap of cloth identical to the shirt that the guy was wearing before you pushed him in and you're like nope not that way and you you turn around you wander for a while i'm gonna say like ah multiple hours and you find no signs of life and you start to wonder

Speaker: What if I'm not looking for life? What if I'm looking for like structures that look like an old city? like yeah I mean, either way. Either way, you wander around and it is there's sewers, but it seems it's not it's not it's not going through ruins. it's It's pipes. It's, you know, a sewer passage. it's It seems you you get the sense that perhaps it's disconnected from what you're searching for. Does a casino will have like bathrooms that connect to the sewers?

Speaker: I think we've really stretched what the medieval sewer system is capable of in this show. And I'm going to say, nah. Nah, man, you want to take a leak, you go outside.

Speaker: That's an awful setup in the casino. Cool. I'd do that for hours, I guess. Matilda looks at you and says, I don't know. something Something stinks down here.

Speaker: Yeah, it's the corpse of that guy. Oh, yeah. There might be another way in, but I don't think it's through the sewers. Okay. What about we look around for one more hour and then we go find another way in?

Speaker: Sure. da la da And we cut over to Lycan. You are standing in front of the casino. You are wearing a brand new uniform. It fits decently well. The sleeves are perhaps a little little short on you.

Speaker: This Goliath man who you've been interacting with each time you've come to the casino is like oh, look at you. You look you look fantastic. Thanks. Um... You're okay with me having all these weapons?

Speaker: Well, sure. How else are we going to kill rival gangs when they try and rob our casino? That's true. And like and like tightens his belt that now has long sword, a rapier, a hand axe. So good. Shifts his shoulders with like two quivers, crossbow, a longbow. That's good. That's good. You sound like a coin purse.

Speaker: So would do i what do I do? Well, not too much. You know, you you stand here, you look intimidating, you keep an eye out for any any troublemakers. We've got some support on the roof, which helps out. Some snipers up there.

Speaker: And so, you know, few we we count on them. They count on us. And, you know, if anyone else is showing colors of another another gang, if if they've got, hey, I'll tell you right now, if they're wearing like a pinstripe suit, they're smoking cigars ah to Vici Mafia, not allowed. If they're carrying pamphlets saying we got to return to the old ways and they look like a mole, then absolutely not. Children of our gap. Not welcome. If they've got skulls, they're just wearing skulls everywhere. Way too many skulls.

Speaker: Ash Road boys. ah Bad news. No way. And if they're with the their Seawolf, hey, maybe. Maybe we let them in there. They're their chill. They're chill. But, you know, if they come at you, you come at them first, you know, and ah we come together and it'll be good.

Speaker: So if they if they OK. Yeah. And someone shows up with weapons. We take them and you'll you'll take them to the lockup. And he he hands you a ah key.

Speaker: Says, yeah, so you go in. There's two guys. You turn left. There'll be two guys guarding the door. They know you that you're starting. I told them what you look like. You go back there. You turn left. Weapon lockup is in there. You drop them off. You put a tag that matches the one we give them that they can get their stuff back. We just don't want any trouble inside. You know, we're not trying to shake people down. We're just trying to keep things safe and fun for everybody while we take their hard earned money.

Speaker: Right. And are there signs? Because I'm not great with directions. Left left. Okay. If at any point you go right, you're either going to wind up in the storage room where the wine is kept, the boss's office where the boss is kept, or the vault where the vault is kept, and you don't want to go down there.

Speaker: Not without the right escort. Gotcha. Gotcha. Alright, to work then, I guess. Guess so. Clink, clank, clink, clink, clink. minutes in, a guy wearing nothing but a skull, like a loincloth, starts to walk up to the door confidently, and the Goliath looks at you says, okay, so what do we do?

Speaker: Um, come at him first, and I punch him in the face. Perfect, perfect, there we go, that's good, that's good, alright! A guy steps over him wearing a pinstripe suit and, hey, I'm here do some cards, see?

Speaker: All right, so, again, what do we do? Cut his head off. I mean, might be a bit of an escalation, but i like where you're at. Let's leave his head on his shoulders for now. But the guy hears that. He's like, ah my father will hear about this.

Speaker: That's Papa Tavici to you. And he turns around and walks away. And then a second later, a very old woman with a cane and just these thick glass bottle glasses. says, I'm here to spend my pensioner's check.

Speaker: All right, so... Lycan like slowly winds up, looks at the Goliath for like validation and then he like slowly shakes his head and brings the fist down and lets her in. That was good. A lot of people fail that one.

Speaker: And he points over to like a pile of dead gold. Oh my gosh. Yeah, good job. You're going to do all right here. You're going to do all right here. Named Gerardo, by the way.

Speaker: Don't think I ever introduced myself. Nice to meet you, Gerardo. I'm, uh, Viking. Viking. Nice. Cool name.

Speaker: la da We cut to Vassanya, because I think both Matilda and myself don't really understand what you're going for. So we can cut to you.

Speaker: You show up at the casino. You watch Lycan punch a guy, talk to a guy in a suit, start to wind up to punch an old lady. And then you're next in line and you you step up to the casino door.

Speaker: I'm here to gamble. Please don't punch me in the face. Yeah, just and he like leans in close. He's like, just don't wear any pinstripe suits.

Speaker: Got it. you You got it. All Have a great first day. too, citizen. We're friends. We were here yesterday together. Right. Sorry.

Speaker: All right. See you later. I go in the side, I guess. Guess so. Lycan takes whatever weapons you got, I guess. Lycan's already got the weapons I got. Oh, yeah. There we go. the The glass like, thanks for not bringing any weapons. a lot of people keep bringing weapons. We keep having to take them. Appreciate you following the rules. It's my third time. I'm learning.

Speaker: There we go. Third time's the charm. Best of luck in there. Hope you win. He turns to you like him. They never win, but they like to hear it. Yeah, I go in. nice What are you doing?

Speaker: Good question. I think Sonia takes a nice look around the room, tries to find the stairwell up to that second floor bar.

Speaker: Very easy. It's right by the doors. There's two of them. And then i guess wait for time when we see the Osprey come down from the door and just kind of like observe where do they go and how long they're on the floor before they go back up to the room.

Speaker: Yeah, you stick around for a while, you know, you you drink, perhaps you you play some cards just to make sure you don't stand out. And after a time, same as the day before, the Osprey comes down the stairs, she's wearing a different a different outfit. She doesn't always wear the same outfit. She's not a cartoon character.

Speaker: Yeah, it's still red, but it's different. It's clearly different clothes. And what are since we're on clothes, what are all the other guards wearing? and the pit bosses and the people coming down and escorting them. Yeah, like dark you know suits primarily, maybe like ah red ties. They got some weapons, visible weapons on them, hand crossbows, swords. Mm-hmm.

Speaker: Okay. and you watch as she once again comes down with this escort, and you watch as same as the day before, people start assembling little like coin bags, pass them off to this entourage, and you also see the three different staff members.

Speaker: This time you see a server. She's got a tray of drinks. She sees her coming downstairs and she sets it down. And another server comes and picks it up and starts handing them out. But she joins in with this group. You see that one of the musicians, there's a band playing.

Speaker: You see this guy with a cool saxophone. He goes but um and sets it down. and Everyone's like oh, nice, nice solo. And then he jumps in with them. And you see, you see a guy, he's sweeping.

Speaker: And he's just, he's just sweeping up some, a broken bottle and he puts his broom down and jumps in with the group and ventures down past that past that door. So how many of them total are there in the group?

Speaker: There's Osprey plus three? Plus seven. Osprey, four guards, and the three additional individuals. But the three from the floor that they presumably need for something.

Speaker: Something. And I guess in answer to your question, how long before they return? My question is to you, Peyton, is Juniper trying to hitch a ride?

Speaker: a I mean, yeah. Yes. Fantastic. It's time. Okay, so I will say that we will get back to you, Vassanya, once we see how things go with Juniper, just to ensure that, hey, you know, if if she turns into a bear and eats the osprey, guess what? She's going to be down there forever.

Speaker: She ventures down out of sight, and we'll actually cut to Faunaan first. You take a seat at that card table where Lenny is dealing. He sees you and keeps a straight face, gives a polite nod, says, Evening ma'am, here to play some cards.

Speaker: Yes. Perfect. Shall we begin? Yes. Okay, perfect. And he starts, he starts dealing.

Speaker: And I'd say over the next couple hours, you get a few bad hands, but you start to win some as well. Like you're winning more than you lose by far. And i would say you, maybe after like two or three hours, you reckon you're making about a gold piece an hour.

Speaker: So just 500 more hours. Yeah. Finally, like, elbows the guy next to her. She's like, I really thought that this table would be luckier tonight. Don't you feel that something better than this has got to happen tonight?

Speaker: This guy next to you, he's like this big pudgy guy. He's got a bald head with a couple moles and just like these big jowls. he's like, I'm down 20 gold pieces. Sounds like you're doing pretty good to me.

Speaker: Okay. This is the... Fondalyn looks Lenny dead in the eyes and says, this is the best luck I can expect tonight, isn't it? Well, ma'am, I reckon if you were making more than this, it might start to draw some unwelcome attention.

Speaker: I feel like you're doing pretty good. i don't know. I feel like I'm dealing you some pretty nice hands. Were you hoping for more luck tonight? i was hoping for 500% more luck tonight.

Speaker: That's a lot of luck, ma'am. I don't know if I can do that, but stick around. maybe i can Maybe luck will turn your way. I'll stick around. Okay. You start to win.

Speaker: You start to bet a little bigger. You start to win on the hands you bet big. You maybe still lose a couple when you when you pull back, make smaller bets. In the next hour, you make 20 gold pieces.

Speaker: The guy next to you the bigger guy, he's like, Wish I had your luck. That's it for me tonight. You folks have a good time. And Lenny goes, hate to see it. Hate to see it.

Speaker: Well, you want to keep playing? Is it just us at the table? There's also an old lady and she's like, well, I really needed this money to pay for bread and water this month, but I'm sure it'll turn around. It's a seaside town. She'll be fine.

Speaker: There's literally water in the ocean. I hadn't thought about that. yeah

Speaker: Lenny, Lenny, if I win too much, I'm going get killed. Is that the gist of it? A voice from behind you says, yeah, that about sums it up.

Speaker: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Ma'am, if you wouldn't mind coming with me. Ruh-roh. You see a couple of guards in these these suits. they're They're big guys.

Speaker: Lenny, you too. He's like, hey, hey, hey i'm just I'm just doing my job. He's like, nah, no. Let's go, both of you, upstairs. To the top floor?

Speaker: To the top floor. All right. I really don't want to go up there. Yeah, I bet you don't. I bet I don't. Let's go quickly now.

Speaker: Miss Anya, you watch as Faunolin and this dealer are escorted up the stairs and then up the second set of stairs to the third floor.

Speaker: It'll be fine. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. Oh, by the way, I saw that one. I think I saw that one stealing coins off the table. You better bring her up, too. I don't know you. Give

Speaker: me a deception roll.

Speaker: Who? Me or her? Yeah, who? Contested. Contested. a really good liar. And I rolled an 18. God damn it. I rolled 14. god damn it i roll a fourteen I got it. I have a 27.

Speaker: oh all right. Grab her too. What the hell? Like he grabs it. Perfect. Nice. What? Come with me, citizen. Oh, they got us.

Speaker: Lycan, you bring Vassanya upstairs with Lenny and Faunelin. The guards move aside and all of you step into this office.

Speaker: You see that it is well decorated. There's gold inlays and brass. and There's these vases with these beautiful green flowering plants in the corner. There's this massive desk with this woman. She's got, like I said, but different, different, gotta emphasize different, crimson suit. She's got dark skin, this cool haircut.

Speaker: Faunolin, you see there is a portrait on the wall behind her. And it is of this woman and somebody who looks like her.

Speaker: She's wearing different clothes than you've ever seen her in. But you immediately recognize the person in the painting as Elektra Voon. oh Oh, yes. You see that this woman, she's sitting there in this this large chair and next to her, like on either side of the chair are these large, like similar to like bronze or brass coloring. These large, they almost look like claws. Like they look like these gloves with sharpened edges and they're just, they look heavy and they're just sitting there. You see that she's got some pretty beefy looking forearms.

Speaker: You see that there are numerous other individuals. kind of There's like kind of like a ring around the outer section of this room with other desks. You see like a classic accountant type with the green visor and they're just counting you know up little stacks of coins and writing in a ledger. And you see there's also these two individuals who are peering down through this glass floor in the center looking at the casino floor below and just keeping a sharp eye on everything, kind of just constantly staring down, pacing around.

Speaker: One of them mutters, table six has been a little light tonight. Maybe we want to ah keep an eye on that. The other person watching is like, yep, noted. And you step into the room and the people looking through the glass don't really look at you.

Speaker: But the woman behind the desk looks at you and says, So, Lenny, after we've all we've been through, you decide it's not enough?

Speaker: You got a take from me? Give it to who is this? Your new little friend. Hey, it's ah it's not like that. It's not like that. She made me do it.

Speaker: She stands up from behind the desk and walks over to him and pats him on the cheek. I'm sure she did. I'm sure she did, Lenny. And then she just reels back and punches him in the stomach.

Speaker: To the vault with him. What happens in the vault? She looks at you and says, nothing good. I thought the vault was where the money goes. It is.

Speaker: Amongst other things. Oh. Is it like a they come in, they don't come out situation? Precisely. Because of monsters. Who can say?

Speaker: what you Sit Lenny down. Give him a drink. We'll take him down in a second. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. hang on definite I did make him do it.

Speaker: And honestly... It took you forever to fetch me. i was waiting down there. I thought, how obvious could I possibly be?

Speaker: i mean, i could not possibly be cheating anymore, obviously. When on earth is she going to finally send someone down here to get me? Anyway, thank you for catching the hint.

Speaker: My name is Faunilin Veydark, and I'm sure you know Elektra sent me. Mm-hmm. Did she know? Has she written to you?

Speaker: No, because you see she's recently been taken by the bastards in the Tavici Mafia.

Speaker: hate you, Zep. this Is this her mom? Furthermore, if you were a true friend of my daughter, you would know Electra is not her given name.

Speaker: Merely a pseudonym she uses when she goes out to do my bidding. Well, yes, Farnaline is not my name either, but I didn't really see the need to be throwing around private information.

Speaker: I'm terribly sorry to hear that she was apprehended. Last I had spoken to her, she actually was not immediately planning on coming back here and she had given me a message to convey. it seems I did experience some delay. It seems that we did a switcheroonie and um you know what? I am so sorry about all this kerfuffle then. If you've already spoken to her, then you don't need to hear from me and um sincerest apologies.

Speaker: How about i give you that 20 back since I really, you know, I don't need the money, obviously. I only did all of that to get up here and talk to you. So I just really wish she told me she was planning on coming back here, but that's so like her, you know, she's so methodical, but just sometimes, sometimes she can change up the plan. You know, sometimes. Indeed. It's that brilliant mind of hers. Just, yes, just always conniving, but then sometimes you she leaves you out of the plan.

Speaker: Although maybe, you know what? You're not saying a lot, so I'm just gonna keep talking. You I was getting ready to speak, but no, please keep, keep going. No, it's fine. It's fine. I'll keep going. Maybe this is part of her plan. I mean, can you think of a reason why she would send trusted allies such as myself? And we go way back. You know, that naval battle I'm sure she told you all about. I was there fighting on her behalf in that battle, actually.

Speaker: Killed the prince. I'm the one who slayed the prince, dealt the final blow to him. Well, technically the dragon did. I'm sure you heard heard all about it. Which prince would that be? Why are you saying it like you don't know? Now I'm all confused.

Speaker: You know. Wink, wink. I'm going to stop you right there. It is obvious that you are no close friend of my daughter's. Is that obvious? It's all obvious. What are these?

Speaker: I'll tell you this much. My daughter, some time ago, over a month ago, set off for Erdineen to hunt down an individual who thought they could escape the vault.

Speaker: She was supposed to bring him back, so he could be punished for his crimes she was seemingly delayed decided to spend more time there than she had originally anticipated something about the missing princess i gather she returned to the city e little under a week ago from what i understand from those who are present She was severely injured in her time abroad, and in her weakened state, she was captured by members of the Tavici Mafia.

Speaker: They are now demanding a handsome sum for her return, and I am in the process of getting her back. Although, and she calls out to the man with the visor, if that orc doesn't hurry up, we're going to have to find other agents, because this is getting a tad ridiculous.

Speaker: So, please, tell me. If you've been spending time with my daughter killing princes, I would love to hear about it. Farnalyn. Okay. Farnalyn.

Speaker: Yes, Visenya? he We may have a situation.

Speaker: We don't want people to go into the vault, right? That sounds bad. Am I right? Yes. agree. You understand? I was thinking, you know what? I'm saying, what is your name?

Speaker: Lady of the casino. You can call me the Osprey. The Osprey. Okay. The Osprey. The Osprey, I confess to you, my friend here has absolutely nothing to do with this.

Speaker: I actually don't even know this woman. i Don't know them at all. Never heard of them. Really? Because she was just calling you by name. No, no, no, no, no. That was... We introduced each other on a way in. four times okay I just said it. Context clues. Context clues. Context clues. I just really got to get out of here.

Speaker: Yeah, maybe my friend can go. She wanders back to the desk and puts her hand into one of these heavy metal claws. or yeah And she just kind of begins to scrape the edge of it along the desk. It leaves this thick gash in the wood.

Speaker: Go on. Okay, my name is Farnelyn. I met, and I'm just going to speak quickly for no particular reason. I met Electra at a party. She was hunting down Prince Elling Malfourth. I personally hate that man. He tried to kill me and my friends. We danced together, Electra Voorn and I. We talked. We established a quid broco and we would exchange information because she became interested in something called the Missing Princess. I'm sure you've heard that the Missing Princess of Aredne is gone and the King is off at a boon.

Speaker: So my friends and I went looking for the missing princess. She went looking with Sir Clotier for the missing princess and we sort of exchanged information here there. Anyway, long story short, both of our stories led us to the same place, which is outside Bogotier. We commenced a massive naval battle wherein um our ships united along with a different ship. Doesn't matter who was on that ship.

Speaker: to fight um Prince Malfurth. Prince Malfurth was killed. Anyway, at the end of the fight, Elektra and I agreed to be good friends, our best friends as we should always have been from the beginning. Frenemies, like I said. And she said, you know what? I'm very, very badly wounded.

Speaker: I'm not sure I'm going to get home very quickly. I might have to stop. Would would you go and would you tell my mother that I've killed Malfurth? Well, you've killed Malfurth, but we've contributed together to killing Malfurth. And also... everything that we've discovered so far about the missing princess because I'm sure my mother would be very invested in this boon, potentially something that my family could benefit greatly from, especially with the broader vision of re-escalating Sunfall to the ah great nation that it has always been out from the heel of Onos and the bastards therein. Something along those lines, yes. ah Is that what you were looking to hear?

Speaker: She says to one of these ah these these watcher types, the one of the two people looking down, or I'll say one that one the two people looking down the floor, like kind of looks up during this this monologue of yours, and then looks at the offspring says, She knows of the knight, Keldar.

Speaker: It matches what his squire said, more or less. So you're telling me, Prince Elling Malfurth, of Onos is dead. If not by your hand, then by your contributions.

Speaker: Yes. but

Speaker: ah Oh, my daughter. She's always been good. Gentlemen, please send word to the Seawolf that we may be having enemy ships upon our shores in short order.

Speaker: I doubt Onos will take this lying down.

Speaker: And one of these attendants nods and hurries out of the room. Fabulous, fabulous. Well, you did steal from me. i will require that back.

Speaker: course. As a sign of good faith, I would appreciate, uh, an equal contribution to ensure that you, uh, truly meant me no harm. ah Of course. And do you know what? I was actually going to go one step further and offer, I heard that there was a ransom for your daughter.

Speaker: Some 500 gold pieces. i was going to offer to deliver it. Your daughter's safety means the world to me. Absolutely not. Okay. We do not pay ransom. Just stop all your head. The only ransom that we shall pay is their blood.

Speaker: h Right. Right. Right. Well, Lemmy... And she stands up. Time to die. No, no, no, no, no. Hi. Hi.

Speaker: Because he can't be trusted and we've been suspicious that he's been pocketing money for months now. Just fire him. Don't be crazy. don't You don't want to make a bad impression on me, okay? I'm very rich and important. just You're right. We will fire him. Just chill out. From this mortal coil.

Speaker: Sorry, Lenny. Like in grebs, Lenny. Sorry, Lenny. Stop!

Speaker: He looks at the camera and goes, pop up pa um and you pull him out through the door. Very well. Thank you for this news.

Speaker: Thank you for returning my money. You may go. Enjoy a drink at the bar. Compliments of me. Thank you. That is so kind. ah There was one thing.

Speaker: I believe did Electra, did you you didn't have a chance to see Electra before she was kidnapped, right? No. Never mind. You know what? I'll come back and we'll talk about it once you have Elektra back. There was this thing about like debts will be paid, you know, never we never leave a debt unpaid, whatever, whatever. but we'll come back to that.

Speaker: Very well.

Speaker: do

Speaker: Well, you know, I'd want to have you, but it's just a thing because um because, you know, because Electra, because, because you know, Electra, um actually one of Electra's very good friends was slain in the combat. And then I had spotted Electra 500 gold pieces for a diamond to draw to resurrect that friend. And then Electra had said, no, not to worry when we're back in when we're back in Sunfall, my my mom.

Speaker: will you know We never leave a debt unpaid. But you know what? Not important right now. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, while I believe your larger story, I do believe...

Speaker: I require my daughter to verify it. So once my daughter is returned to us, then we can sit here and we can have a drink and enjoy some of the local delicacies. Did you know that the ocean boils here? So the fish is always rancid and cooked through.

Speaker: don't really like it here, I'm going to admit. Okay, nice chatting with you. Don't leave town. Stick around. I'll make sure you get your money. Okay, let's go. Thank you. Okay, nice meeting you.

Speaker: Visanya, we've got to get Juniper. We've got to get Juniper now. She's going to die down there. And I think we're going to modify my prior statement, which is you watch Visanya, the Osprey go down the stairs, guards fall in line, the musician and the server and the sweeper join join the ranks, but also Lycan and this other dealer whose scoreman are with them. Wait, was I not in the room? Well, no, you were originally, originally when we described, you were just like hanging out in the casino. Now you're like, you know, following them down the stairs, watching them go alongside Faunal. Like it. Good job at your new job.

Speaker: Make sure only the people that supposed to go in the vault go in the vault. Don't think I can be any more clear than that. All right, I'm going to go get a drink. Like in like talks to Lenny, he's like Who's liking?

Speaker: Am I right? Fuck. I don't... i Hey, man. First off, I don't know who you are. i don't recognize you.

Speaker: I'm biking. It's my first day. Hey, you're going to love it here. Just don't, you know, step out of line or you're going to wind up like me, I guess. Word of advice. The house always wins.

Speaker: But we're part of the house. Hey, yeah, I'm part of the house. I'm part of the house. starting No, no, no, you're fired. We're going to kill you now. So we're heading to the vault with Lenny.

Speaker: You head towards the door. Juniper, you watch as this procession is is forming. I assume you came in as a spider. Yeah, well, I would have timed it if if we knew when this was going to happen. I would have, like, stepped out, spidered, and came back in, and, yeah, crawled up into a bag.

Speaker: Yeah, because I don't yeah i don't know any different, so I'm just going to continue with the plan. Yeah, give me a give me a stealth roll, please. Okay. We'll say with advantage, in fact. Okay, 16. You climb onto a shoe and then up ah up a leg and into one of these coin purses. Mm-hmm.

Speaker: The procession, I guess at this point from Lycan's POV, Lycan being the the proxy for the audience, you watch as these two guards step aside, the group steps into this side room, they turn right and go down that set of stairs.

Speaker: into that stone room. The Osprey steps to the front of the group in front of the guards, stands in front of the door. And she says, with empty hands, should no man Osprey's allure.

Speaker: You watch as this rune above the door flares green and then fades, and she puts her hand on on the knob. The guards that are with her, each of them grab, there's these two torches on the wall, they each grab one, and you watch as they just, they smother the flame, and everything is cast into pitch blackness.

Speaker: Then you hear the door open. Furbulgs, no, no, no dark vision, no right? Yeah. Lycan, you can't see shit. Oh, it's a... the back out really dark.

Speaker: How am I supposed to know where to bring the Lenny?

Speaker: You hear Lenny say, so if you could just take me back up the stairs, that's, yeah. And another voice that you don't recognize like, shut up, worm. We're going to the vault.

Speaker: Hey, new guy, walk down this hallway directly in the middle. Do not vary even, in fact, hey, put your hand on my shoulder. Oh, okay. Do not, do not vary.

Speaker: One hand on the guy's shoulder and I guess one on Lenny's collar. Perfect, yeah. You begin to step into this hall and you feel the air grows rapidly cold.

Speaker: It's like stepping into a freezer. You can't see the source of this temperature change, but it is frigid in here. And you just kind of shuffle in a straight line as best as you can.

Speaker: And after not too long, you hear another door open and you step through it. and then those torches are re-illuminated. you hear a strike of little tinderbox, little flint and steel.

Speaker: Torches light up again, and you see that you are standing It looks like you're standing in a house. It's like this wooden sort of like rotting wood, dilapidated house.

Speaker: And you see that there's this set of stairs that lead down and this procession goes forward down the stairs. Another door opens and you step out of ah what looks like just a simple residential building.

Speaker: You find yourself on a cobblestone street. There is nothing but stone above you. But it's like you're in a city street, just entombed.

Speaker: You see that there is this cobblestone street that extends off beyond the light of the torches. You see various other buildings kind of crumbling in disrepair. Stacks of rubble, collapsed stone, collapsed walls, broken carts just kind of flank this street.

Speaker: And without pausing, the procession continues forward. Off in the distance, you hear chattering in a language that you don't recognize. You just hear like little, multiple little voices kind of going back and forth.

Speaker: And then out of an alleyway, hear so like a little little bit of rubble fall. And then this gray skinned humanoid voice.

Speaker: They got stringy black hair. They're wearing the same uniform as the casino staff. This like dark suit with the red tie. But like they're this hulking individual. You see that they've got the stringy black hair and their eyes.

Speaker: There are no eyes. They just have a layer of skin where eyes would be. But all the same, they look directly at the Osprey and in sort of a broken common, it says, Mistress, we've cleaned the bones.

Speaker: And she says, yes, very good. You've always cleaned the bones. Thank you. we we your your Your work is appreciated. ah There's going to be more bones soon, so stay ready. Lichen, Juniper.

Speaker: What is the thing each of you desires most? Oh my god. Should we message you? Would that be fun?

Speaker: Sure. Love that. going to write down my guess. Good luck. A new massage table. dam it That was my guess.

Speaker: Lycan, you are limited in your eyesight. You can only see the radius around these torches. You start to feel like the thing you desire most is somewhere ahead down that street.

Speaker: Juniper, you're in this little coin purse. And similarly, you can almost feel like an invisible string. You just feel like... not exactly a pull, but like a confidence that the thing you want most is waiting for you somewhere outside this bag. You can feel it's just like this. It's it's Christmas Eve and you're going to wake up tomorrow and there's going to be a present and it's going be exactly what you want. And you know, it's out there waiting for you. And it's so close.

Speaker: The creature with the skin for eyes says, very good, very good. We'll clean the bones. Yes, yes, yes. Very good, very good. If any of you would like to join us, it's very fun to clean the bones.

Speaker: and And there's like a general polite like, no, we're good. We're good. Thank you. Thank you. It looks at you like, would you like to clean the bones with us? Are the bones that way?

Speaker: It turns its head down the street in the direction you're pointing. No, no, the vault's over there. We take the bones out of the vault and then we clean them.

Speaker: The bones, we make a pile. They're over here. It's a very nice pile of bones. Mm-hmm. Okay. Would you like to see it? And the osprey's like, no, no, that's enough. We're going into the vault now. This man needs to die. We have a deposit to make. Very important work.

Speaker: We'll send somebody to look at your bone pile soon. I promise we've just been swamped up there. all right, very good. Thank you. Thank you, madam. And turns and walks away. And once again, the procession continues.

Speaker: Out of the darkness, you see a building begin to loom large, comes into view, and you see, and least Lycan, you can see the torchlight flickers off the facade of this impressive structure. It's got pillars, cracked and crumbling stone stairs leading up to it.

Speaker: You see an inscription above the door that says First Bank of Argath. Upon the roof, you can just barely see the light flickering off a shattered glass dome that was once part of the ceiling.

Speaker: It's completely caved in and the Osprey leads you into this vault or into the into this bank. You see that the floor was once this nice marble. It's cracked in a thousand places, barely keeping together. Despite all that, this area in particular is surprisingly clean, perhaps by the efforts of the bone cleaning creatures outside. You see fallen pillars and piles of rubble and stone throughout.

Speaker: think Lichen would be like picking up his pace and like when you're walking with a group, but then you walk a little bit faster and you kind of skirt people on the outside, maybe until he's like right behind the osprey.

Speaker: Okay. Do you wish to say anything to her? So we're going to go in there. We're going to see it? Yes. Feels good.

Speaker: Yes. Are you new? Um, yes. Um, biken. Hello, biken. There's one detail that I left out, and it's that as you step into this into this bank, you see that the walls are in various states of collapse. The ceiling above is in tone you know is is is broken through. You can just see the stone above through the shattered glass ceiling.

Speaker: And to the left of you, you see the door of a vault, and it is open. And you feel more certain than ever that the thing you desire is in there.

Speaker: Yeah, and I'm new, but ah so but we get to go inside the vault too, right? I mean, I have to bring, and he brings up Lenny. this This guy has to go in there. I can bring him in there.

Speaker: Do you gesture towards the vault? Yeah. ah Yeah, you're new. that's That's not the vault. What? That's, um, all right. You're new. I don't want to tell you too much, but if you're going to be sticking around.

Speaker: Has he signed the non-disclosure? ah not yet. Uh, he's going to. just after after shift. We were a little swamped. There's Azure. I don't care. I don't care. There's a creature down here. It can manipulate the space around it.

Speaker: Fill your head with whatever you wish to see. It's doing a very convincing job. Sigh. Let me guess, you see a vault door right there. It's open. Yeah, it's right there.

Speaker: Okay, yes. No, that's that's that's a dark hole. It's inside. ah You can actually go up to it. You can bring Lenny with you. But then make sure you come right back.

Speaker: Can I roll something to, to like... resist or try to see the true nature of this thing? I'd say... Now that it's been, like, yeah spelled out for me.

Speaker: I think it's not necessarily something you need to resist. Like, you can just resist it. There is this compulsion, like this itch, but you don't have to scratch it.

Speaker: Okay. It still looks like a vault door, but you are capable of believing her when she says that it's not. Okay. Okay. So it's not real?

Speaker: No. No, it's not real. A deterrent. In case thieves would come in. Got it. Yeah. That probably should have been obvious.

Speaker: Perhaps. Or perhaps not. It's a rather ah devious devious design, I must say, for a security. We keep the creature fed. We have a no shortcoming of you know, thieves or saboteurs or spies or what have you that we can easily drag down here to keep it satiated.

Speaker: And in exchange, shit make sure we have no unwelcome visitors. Oh. So is that what I'm doing with him? Mm-hmm. Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind, in fact. Again, just come right back here afterwards.

Speaker: Right. And I guess he walks over to the vault door and throws Lenny in. You let him go, and perhaps you expect him to run, but he turns to look at you and says, there's a lot of money in there.

Speaker: I'm going to be real rich.

Speaker: And he runs in full sprint. You see something dark move in the gloom. Tentacle lashes out and wraps around him. And pulls him in.

Speaker: You hear the crunching of bones mixed with Lenny's laughter and delight. And what do you do? i don't turn away from it, but I just back up slowly until with the rest of the...

Speaker: Perfect. Perfect. All right. No more Lenny. That's good. Can strike him from the payroll. Everybody, if you don't mind. And you watch as this musician and this server and this custodian step forward and walk to the far wall, like the northern wall, if you will.

Speaker: Direction means nothing down underground, but we'll say the northern wall. And they each pull out a similar looking key and insert And you think it's solid stone, but they just insert it into the wall and turn and suddenly a circle...

Speaker: It kind of just becomes visible to you. It's like your eyes clear and you see that in fact there was a vault door the entire time and collectively they pull it open and inside you see a collection of treasures beyond anything you could imagine.

Speaker: just piles upon piles of gold pieces, gems, and artwork. You see little treasure chests and satchels, and you watch as the various staff walk up and take these bags of money that they've been handed and toss them in. Whoa, that looks like it probably is really secure, is especially, like, I thought we were going to put Lenny on the inside because, like, no one could get out of there, right?

Speaker: No, no, we're not cruel. No slow death for Lenny. A quick a quick one. Dang. ah

Speaker: Okay, I'm glad we didn't put Lenny in there, because that would be rough and difficult to get out of. Yes, yes, no, impossible, in fact. Yeah, impossible to get out of.

Speaker: Yes. a Dang. Yes. Perfect. Alright, close the door.

Speaker: All right. Juniper, you feel the world spin around you as this bag that you're in goes flying through the air. It hits and you hear just like a clank of coin all around you.

Speaker: You hear Lycan dropping mad hints from outside. ok Oh gosh, guys. Okay. Okay. Can I ok first of what can i get out of the bag really quick? Yep, you definitely can. You're a spider. You slip right out. Okay, can I look around? is there ah any Are there any diamonds within eyesight of me right now? It is so much money.

Speaker: Okay. And there's not like a single diamond sitting on this pile. Okay, so it's just money. There's chests and there's s sacks. And like maybe in one of these sacks, there's a diamond or one of these chests, there's a diamond, but there's not one immediately visible to you. It'll take some time to search through this all.

Speaker: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I hate this so much. All right, guys. Wish me luck. I'm just going to stay in there. They'll have to come back another time.

Speaker: The door closes with a resounding boom. Oh my gosh. And you are entombed. Nice. In the vault. Nice.

Speaker: This could go so bad. The return trip doesn't take long, maybe 10 minutes. You walk back down the street, a different individual, similar looking to the first one you saw, wearing the same suit, also does not have eyes. The hair's a little bit tidier, perhaps. It's a bit of a bob. And they're like, hey, guys, want to clean some bones?

Speaker: heard some crunching over there. There's going be some dirty bones in there. They look at you, Lycan. Hey, new guy! Bones! You wanna? You wanna? Lycan is, like, walking and just looking frantically. Like, not, like, trying to be nonchalant, but he's just checking, like, the back of everyone's, like, collars, like, the their boots, like, just looking for any spiders.

Speaker: He's like, uh, no, I'm okay. Okay. Ah, you're lost. More bones for us. And you continue past. You do not see a spider, and you are led by torchlight back down this street into this building up these stairs. The torches are once again extinguished.

Speaker: You step into this other chamber. The room grows cold. You shuffle through it. It's a procession. You realize you're not the only individual who cannot see in the dark, and you you make it through there back out into that stone chamber.

Speaker: torches are lit back up the stairs out onto the casino floor and the Osprey nods you and says, all right, good job. Good job with Lenny. He needed to die and you killed him. Real good. Thank you.

Speaker: And she walks away with her guards. The other staff dissipate and you see Honestly, I think Fondlin and Visanya, you two are kind of like escorted out. It's like, thanks for coming, but like, it's time for you to go. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Speaker: So Lichen like we're returns to his post at the front. Yeah. Yeah. You go back outside and Fondlin, Visanya, you see Lichen a little while later step out, perhaps looking a little panicked, a little shaky.

Speaker: So only Lenny went in there, right? I don't really know. he like holds out his hand. He's like, Juniper, if you're on me somewhere, could you crawl onto my hand?

Speaker: could be someone else.

Speaker: Juniper, if you're on me, it's time switch back.

Speaker: Where is Bertram in the sewers still? where Okay, kate thought okay no this is good. If Juniper's in the vault, then she'll just grab some money and um we'll pick her up. You can do the same thing tomorrow. We'll we'll incriminate someone else.

Speaker: The Goliath leans towards you. Hey man, it's chill if you want to like chat with your friends, but like, you know, you really should take a break before you do it. It's just a little unprofessional, you know? It's like, I don't mind. Like I'm i'm like a cool manager, like, you know, I just like, kind of reflects a little poorly on me. So if you want to take five, you know, just like go, go take a smoke break or whatever. Like you can, you can do that. Just like ask first, you know?

Speaker: Okay. Okay. Could I take like a smoke break or whatever? Yeah, for sure. Like said, I'm a cool manager. Smoke too if you want. Okay, I don't. Okay, thanks. Here, you can have one of mine. I know I literally my mom.

Speaker: Okay, I'll be back in five.

Speaker: People inside. I don't. Okay, there's a lot that just happened. So the vault's not behind that stone door that Juniper saw.

Speaker: It's like past a bunch of what I own, can assume, are traps, and then into the actual ruins of Argoth, and then the vault is actually the the vault of the bank of Argoth, and there's also a creature in there.

Speaker: That's what kills people. the vault? That's what people get out. it's It's kind of like next to the vault. Oh. It's like a vault booby trap.

Speaker: Oh, okay. So like, I don't know what happened with the prince, but I think the prince got out of there. Right, right. Oh my god. Hmm. So the tunnels thing was actually a really good clue.

Speaker: Yeah, I'm sure Bertram's like already found his way there. Yeah. So you're saying that that thing lives in the tunnels? but It lives in the bank. Yeah, but if Bertram's down there looking for a way in Oh yeah, if Bertram finds the vault, he's gonna die.

Speaker: Oh no! Oh man, gotta Bertram. Oh no! Whoa! I think we should have a word with Madilda, because maybe... Hmm... Maybe rescuing the daughter was actually the smarter option.

Speaker: Yeah, mean, you guys will have to do that. I only have three minutes left in my smoke break. Oh no...

Speaker: You can take another five if you want. i Like I said, cool manager. It's fine. Like it's it's slow right now. You watch as a guy with just like a flaming skull for head starts running out the streets like, you're gonna die. Everybody's gonna die. And like the Goliath just steps forward and like punches him across the streets. And he's like, see, slow day. Okay, so we need to find where Bertram is before he finds whatever creature you're saying is down there waiting for him.

Speaker: And i guess one part of the plan worked. Juniper's in the vault. I hope so. Or if not. i She could be anywhere.

Speaker: Yeah. And maybe we can just hope next time we see them they have a whole lot of cash or a couple of diamonds. Look, let's all go back to the boat. If Juniper's there, that's great. But all things considered, you'll probably like and you'll probably have to go down to that vault a few more times tonight. So just to find a way to linger, say something like, do you see any spiders? They're good luck, you know?

Speaker: and then and then get And then give Juniper a second to crawl onto your leg or something and then just get out of there. And if Juniper's in there, we'll have the money and everything's fine because there's no way she would be in the vault and not take the time to grab money, right? So then, then and then that's perfect. And then if if Juniper's not with you, then we'll meet her at the boat and it's all good because at the end of your shift, you'll come meet us too and then we'll do the whole thing from the top tomorrow. Okay, but we need to find Bertram.

Speaker: shit, yeah, Bertram. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. Yeah, you keep doing your shift. I like that part of it, but we're not going back to the boat. We have to figure out where Bertram is before he runs into whatever creature that he thinks is down there.

Speaker: But what if Bertram just, like, is fine? No, we both know that sounds okay. Okay, let's go find Bertram. Oh, when you guys go down there, there are these weird creatures that have, like, no eyes.

Speaker: They seem friendly enough, but they work for the casino, so just be aware that. Okay, all right. right Anything else about this creature that we should know about? What are we looking for here? It's going to look like a giant vault door, and you're going to want to go in But don't because it's not as I've said, it's a creature.

Speaker: Okay. So if you find what you think is the vault, it's not the vault. That's the creature. So then what is the vault? I'm going to have to show you. I can't explain it. It looks like a wall. Oh God. Okay. and I'm like, yeah. And so like, and I don't know how to tell the difference between the two walls. It was dark and we only had like torchlight.

Speaker: Okay, okay, okay, okay. Let's save Birdie. The two of you run off while Lycan returns to his shift. The Goliath says, hey man, you actually took six minutes there. i like i know I said you could take an extra five, but like that means you can't take five later. I'm sorry, like rules are rules, man. like It's not me, it's it's the it's the employee handbook. You read it, right? Yeah.

Speaker: yeah Alright, then you should know better. this i'm I'm afraid I do have to give you a formal ah verbal warning. That's not cool. Hey, sorry, man. We can be friends after the shift, but right now I have to be your boss.

Speaker: And we... Tough but fair. Bertram, you have been wandering around the sewers for hours. Oh no. It is dark.

Speaker: It is cold. oh You're starting to think, I might be lost. I might live in the sewers now. I might need a third character. okay No.

Speaker: But you keep pressing forward and you feel a draft. You go forward it a little further and you see that there's a large chunk of pipe missing.

Speaker: You can see stone beyond it. o Kind of a stale breeze coming through. Is it big enough to climb through it? It is. Okay, I'd do that.

Speaker: Matilda says, in for a penny, in for a pound or whatever. And you step in. You squeeze for a while. it gets tight, but still not so tight that you think you need to turn back.

Speaker: And you see that after a little while, the floor opens up before you. A hole leading deeper into the ground. You think you've found what you're looking for. Cool. What does it look like?

Speaker: Standard hole, you know, oblong circle, a little uneven. Can I see the bottom? Yeah, you can. In fact, it looks like it opens up onto a roof. Onto a roof?

Speaker: little slate roof. Okay, I gesture for Matilda to go first. Ladies first! Remind me not to steal from you again. thank you. Okay. She just blushes. Alright. And ah hawks hops in onto this roof. it kind of You hear a couple shingles slip loose and fall, cracking against whatever lays further down below. And she's like, yeah, it it'll it'll hold. Okay, I jump in after her.

Speaker: You find yourselves on this roof and you see that there's an opening down below. it almost looks like there's a couple of houses kind of entombed within the rock here. And you see like there's a gap between them that you could slip down onto almost like an alleyway.

Speaker: So you slide down onto that and you step out. You see you're kind of surrounded in this network of tunnels, bits of old buildings stick out from the rock. You can see semblances of a former civilization here that's all been covered up.

Speaker: And as you start to look around, the ground beneath you begins to shake. And you see a humanoid form meld through the stone.

Speaker: It's a woman. You'd recognize her as an earth genasi. She's got sort of terracotta skin, though with your dark vision, it's more in shades of gray. She's got sunken eyes and thick black hair.

Speaker: And she ah kind of peers before you, crosses her arms, says, Well, well, well, got some interlopers, huh? Hope you're ready to pay the toll. What are you trying to get to, friends?

Speaker: Uh, hello. Are you a child of Argath? Yeah, yeah. Very astute guess. Woko Sampha at your service.

Speaker: Woko Sampha. Yeah, I've been looking for you. For hours, actually. me specifically. ah Just a child of Argath. I'm very interested in the history and wanted to see the tunnels for myself.

Speaker: Okay, well, like I said, if you wish to pay a toll, you can you can have a little look around. Uh, sure. If you're interested in history, there's a lovely a little museum up on the surface, kind of dedicated to the old city. It's inside a a bed and breakfast, also doubles as a blackleaf den, but, you know, something for everybody.

Speaker: um But I'm sure it's not as educational as seeing the the city itself. What's the price for the toll? let you in for a gold apiece unless you're trying to get somewhere specific, and then we're going to have to talk a little bit more seriously.

Speaker: ah Yeah, actually, um I left all my money on the surface, but if you can show me through the tunnels, I can definitely pay you back later. I owe you tough friend.

Speaker: Never know what could happen to someone down here. Sometimes they get swallowed up by the earth. The Zav, if you will.

Speaker: Does that happen often? More often than you think. Whether by accident or by the industrious efforts of my friend Kamula. is's a He's good with a trap, let me tell you.

Speaker: This place is rigged. Oh, well, surely trulyly you know your way around. course. Won't be much of a guide if I didn't. I'm actually looking to get to a specific place. You said there's different prices to get to specific places?

Speaker: Yeah. What's the place, friend? Well, I'm really interested to see what parts of the city are under the the casino. Mm-hmm.

Speaker: Mm-hmm. What parts might those be? The right under? Perhaps the vault? Yeah. Uh... Hey, Uggsmear, we got another one. Another would-be heister.

Speaker: And you see coming down this tunnel, this elf woman. She's got spindly arms and pale skin and wispy hair. yeah Must be the third day of the week.

Speaker: You really think we would have named them at some point? Make the whole thing easier. It's the beginning of the new month. I'm going to explain it. People always got rent to pay, so need a quick fix.

Speaker: I don't know who you are, and frankly, I don't care. My name is Uggsmere Burlesque. I don't care who you are. I don't know why I told you my name. But I will say, don't you think that if it could be done, it would have been done?

Speaker: So what you're saying is you've tried to find the vault and you can't find it either? No, we know where it is, but it is you do firmly entombed. There's a lot of rubble between us and it.

Speaker: Whatever access points were available, the Clutch made sure to cover up long ago. Beyond that, I'm not so sure we want to invite open war with the Clutch. We have a understanding, and as such, they use us to navigate through Undercity, and...

Speaker: So far, we don't rob their little vault. But you've got other ideas, Just looking for information. no one said anything about robbing. Uh-huh.

Speaker: Right. So when you decide to rob this casino... You're gonna have to get out of there real quick. And I don't think you'll be leaving through the front door. So, I tell you what.

Speaker: Things are heating up on the surface. The Tavici Mafia is going at it with the clutch. The Ash Road boys are as bloodthirsty as ever. The whole city is ready to burst.

Speaker: who And if it was a phoenix that destroyed Argath to begin with, perhaps a second fire will allow it to rise from the ashes. We'll help you.

Speaker: But we want half. Half? Half. Do you know how much is in there? The total? Not much for gambling myself, but they've been running that operation for years, filling up their war chests.

Speaker: I imagine they're full to bursting. If you help me, then by all accounts, it's all yours. I'm just looking to get my own money back. The rest of it belongs to the city, which I guess is you.

Speaker: Okay. So let me be clear. How much of your money is at this casino? Bertram looks to Matilda.

Speaker: How much money did you bring with you from Airdenine? Okay. About 1,200. 1,200. That's it. it. No. Okay. So you want 1,200 and we take the rest.

Speaker: Yeah. I offered you 50-50. What is this? is this Raphim doesn't need this money, he just wants

Speaker: it. What?! Where's she gonna put it? Literally a game-breaking amount of money. You could rebuild the lost city. If have money, Matilda's gonna gamble it in no time That's valid. That's character. There's other people involved! He's saying he's gonna burn the thing down!

Speaker: ah Alright. a free-for-all after that. Shake on it, shake on it, shake on it, everybody shake on it. She sticks out a hand.

Speaker: Yeah, show me to the vault, Ayah Sheik.

Speaker: The two of them turn around and lead you down a tunnel, and you are guided through just a spelunking network. You are climbing up through these tight little chimneys, sidling through these passages. At one point, the cavern that you're in kind of opens up, and you find yourself on this precarious ledge, kind of sidling along.

Speaker: You pick up more people as you go. including this grizzled looking kobold. He's got various boxes and cages attached to him with straps, different flasks on his hips.

Speaker: He's got an eye patch covering one eye. And he says... Welcome. Good to see you. She says, good to see you, Kamula. And you see that several of these individuals, almost like unspoken, like you see like there's just like little, little flourishes of hand signs go out and other individuals roll up carrying these powder casks and you traverse through the dark. Juniper.

Speaker: Juniper. Juniper. I'm so scared of so many things right now Yes. How can I help you? You are in the dark.

Speaker: Yeah. But you are a spider. And right now your eight eyes allow you to see. When you go back to having two, you'll be in pitch blackness. Okay, okay.

Speaker: You are on a tremendous pile of money. Okay, as a spider, I'll spend... Okay, okay, before I say anything, do i remember how much time I had in between them changing, taking the money?

Speaker: Six to eight hours, maybe? Okay, I can work with that. As long as I don't get Jack Sparrowed when I touch the money. We'll find out. um hey I'm going to stay as a spider for three hours, just trying to locate a diamond first.

Speaker: Okay. Okay. You identify several chests. They're like these small little chests. They remind you of life back on Bogatyr when a tourist would come to the Amethyst Valley and they would buy a geode and it would be this beautiful purple sparkling rock and it'd be put into a chest similar to this.

Speaker: And then, you know, they take it and they'd go off and they'd be oh so happy. You find a few. that kind of remind you of those. Okay, what are the odds I have a torch in as part of my supplies?

Speaker: I think good enough. Okay, I'll turn back into Juniper in the pitch black, and then I'll take out my torch and use Druidcraft to light it, and then I'll try to open one of those chests.

Speaker: Perfect. You stick this torch into a pile of coin and it it stays there and you grab one of these chests. Legend of Zelda music starts to play as you begin to crack it open.

Speaker: You're in the vault. I'm so scared. Everything that you want is in the vault. Uh-huh. But he's out there. Uh-huh. You can feel him.

Speaker: Uh-huh. He's right outside these doors. Okay. Okay. You open the chest and you find a diamond.

Speaker: Okay. It is large and it looks expensive. Okay. You pick it up. so scared. And as you do, yeah I need you to make a wisdom saving throw. Oh boy. oh Okay. I'm i'm a sh druid. I'm a t druid.

Speaker: I like wisdom. Okay. 15. 15.

Speaker: If there was a camera in this vault, it would show firbolg with a table strapped to her back, stick a torch into a pile of money, grab a chest, open it, pick up a diamond, hold it to the light.

Speaker: Perhaps a smile would cross her face as she found what she was looking for. And then suddenly she and the diamond would disappear. Ha ha ha.

Speaker: You're cast into pitch blackness. You take a step and you hear a crunch under your foot. No. You hear the gurgling of a creature.

Speaker: For a second, it's stupid, but you think it might be lichen? Oh. Tentacles begin to reach out for you.

Speaker: Okay. What? Okay. I need you to roll initiative. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my god. Oh, that's not true. That's wildly cute that like, I think we both were like, what we really want is the other person. Wow. Don't break our hearts, Zach. It's nine. a nine.

Speaker: It got a five. Okay. Okay. Tentacles begin to reach for you. Can I run and, and is there, so weird question, is there stone anywhere? Can I just run into a wall? 100%. I'm going to melt into stone and just into the wall. Oh, nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go.

Speaker: How far can you go with that? Like, is it like a, you know, 10 feet per round sort of thing? Or is it just like you can move through stone as if you going just stuck in that spot, honestly. yeah Okay. But but I'm going to take some time to assess my situation from that spot. for yeah yeah I'm going to count out until I think the people will be back probably in that spot.

Speaker: Because I can be there for eight hours. Amazing. Oh my god i Do i have the diamond in my like I have the diamond with me? You have the diamond with me. Then I'm just going to try to wait until I think the people will be back. Oh my god. And that's when I'll step out. Ah!

Speaker: Tentacles lash against the stone that you're encased in. Oh my gosh. I just wanted you to have a happy ending. Please help.

Speaker: Juniper, you hear the tentacles slapping against the stone trying to pull you out. You don't know how it pulled you out of the vault in the first place.

Speaker: You don't know if it can do it again. You don't know if you have eight hours. Lycan, you are standing outside the casino. Geraldo is offering you another cigarette.

Speaker: and don't smoke. All right, buddy. All right. Plus, you said I can't take another five minutes. and Why are you offering it to me if I can't take the break?

Speaker: here You know, guess I was doing a bit of entrapment and that's on me. And I'm sorry. Why don't you take the rest of the night off? Go hang out with those friends of yours. You mean it?

Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, you've done enough. You fed a guy to our vault monster. You've done enough for one day. Yeah, it was my first day. Yeah, no, i believe me. My first day, added a couple old ladies to the pile. It was tough, I'll tell

Speaker: right, well, thanks, man. You'd be pretty cool. Thanks, man. I try. I really try. You know, I really want to be a cool manager, so. And Mican's like huffing it down. like It means a lot to me! Trying to catch up to his two friends carrying a bunch of weapons.

Speaker: yeah You have everyone's weapons, so good. faunelin vasanya you reach the boat hoping to find matilda the briggin ox a few of them scowl at you a few of them smile it seems like still a bit of a mixed bag aboard the ship boof yeah no no she's gone off with off off with that prince no they're they left hours ago something about going down into the sewers something about a sewer bath

Speaker: The two of you sprint away, looking for a way down into wherever Bertram's gone. Bertram, you don't know when it happened, but there's about 20 people, most of them very pale, kind of following you. A lot of them seem like oddly moist, like their hands slap against the walls. And you're like, that's why are you so wet?

Speaker: We're not in the sewers. It doesn't need to be this wet. And there's kind of like a chant going. From the ashes, Argytha rise. From the ashes, Argytha rise. The city burns, the city burns, the city burns tonight.

Speaker: And that's where we'll stop tonight's session of Bard Soup. Peyton, Alan, thank you so much for being here. Hey, you wanted to stay and now I won't let you leave. Make that just the way. And I appreciate you both bigly. And Peyton, where can the people find you? You can find me playing D&D for an actual play show called Kingdom Crawlers. We have episodes that come out every week and plenty of shenanigans that come out on TikTok and Instagram as well. So check us out.

Speaker: amazing and alan hey hey where'd we find you where did the people find you at the hell where are you alan where are you okay okay jeez i'm on two shows i'm on we open with where we take one shot ideas and turn them into a one shot adventure in one sitting and then also quick i need a game where we create ttrpg elements using a time limit and game show mechanics and i love it so

Speaker: Thank you so much for joining us for chapter 45 of Bard's Zip. As always, I have been your little dungeon master, Zach Meikle, joined by Prima Jow as Bertram Vestergaard, Jordan Johnson as Vassanya, Shannon Meikle as Fawn Lynn Veydark, Peyton Payne as Juniper, and And Alan has liked If you are new to the show, welcome.

Speaker: We hope you are enjoying it. Crazy that you're hopping on at episode 45. Highly encourage you to go back the beginning. It's all good all the time from the beginning. But yeah, thank you so much for being here.

Speaker: We really appreciate you checking our show out. If you are enjoying what you're hearing, consider leaving us a five-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And while you're at it, follow us on Instagram or TikTok at Bart underscore soup.

Speaker: There's a lot of really good content out there right now, and it's just going to keep coming, so make sure you don't miss it. We'll be back soon with chapter 46, the end of this little casino adventure.

Speaker: And until then, stay frosty, and we'll see you then. Bye-bye. You're leading people on a coup of the city? For 1,200 gold, remind you.

Speaker: It's not even my money back. Yeah, we're not going to have enough money for the diamond once you repay Peyton.

Speaker: She's in the vault. She can grab them all. Not anymore. I'll give you half of the riches of an entire city. I'll do you one better. You can keep all of it. I only want 20 bucks. Maybe 10%.

Speaker: ah Dude, when you melded into the stone. or That was awesome. That was an Alzheimer's spell use. Oh my gosh. I stopped it because had a feeling if something went wrong, stone would be around. was going to hide. That's great. That was smart. That's why I was sitting there for a while on my phone just going.

Speaker: can i do because took a long rest i was like what lightway what should i stock yeah it's so funny too that we were like i guess bertram can go in the sewers that sounds kind of weird but you have fun and now bertram is actively leading like a correct like a plausible mission to burn down the city okay yeah sure meanwhile our well thought out plan yeah And wait, and wait, sorry. Can I just confirm that I said lichen and lichen said juniper? Is that what I heard? Oh, wait.

Speaker: Oh, that's so sweet. So I told them I would I'm the first bard soup romance. my first character Excuse me? Who are you thinking of, Jordan?

Speaker: ah ah <unk>s You had it an affair, i think.