The Last Story - Episode 2 - The Coming of The 4

The story of our four summoned teachers continues as they arrive in the world of Phaedos.
Some explanations are given, decisions are made, and a new drink is introduced to the world.



*Agents of the Circle Theme written and performed by Geoff Gibbs

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Transcript

Sphinx Akashaa (01:49)
and welcome back to another amazing episode of The Everbright Archive. It's actually our second episode, so you know, what do we know? It might be amazing. It's gonna be amazing. I'm saying it is. I am, of course, your host, Sphinx Akashaa. I am your current Champion of Bards, although that seems now to be up to some debate, which is part of the reason why we're here.

as my title is under threat by these lovely players that have joined me this cycle to help tell some awesome stories. And I'll go ahead and let them introduce themselves so that we can just get right to it. Starting with Sweet T

Sweet T (02:36)
What's up everyone, my name is Sweet T Super excited to be here.

Sphinx Akashaa (02:43)
Awesome.

Sweet T (02:44)
I'm not sure,

so we're not introducing our characters here, right? Okay, cool. Also edit this part out.

Sphinx Akashaa (02:47)
No, no, no, no. Well, actually,

since we've met your characters last episode, go ahead and tell us who you're playing.

Sweet T (02:57)
Alright fair enough. Hi guys what's going on? name is Sweet T Tonight I will be Malachi Davis.

Sphinx Akashaa (03:06)
All right, and then we have Selkie Cove.

Selkie (03:10)
Hello, hello, I'm Selkie Cove and I am playing Blaidd Laoghaire.

Sphinx Akashaa (03:16)
Fantastic, fantastic, the fantastic Madness Diamond.

Selkie (03:17)
Thank

Diamond Lynn (03:21)
Hi, I'm Madness Diamond, but since you're friends now you can call me Diamond. And tonight I will be playing the... sometimes unlucky, but always usually causing something to set on fire. Lysandra Agni.

Sphinx Akashaa (03:40)
love it. And as always, the incomparable Brynniursa

Brynniursa (03:48)
Yes, that is my official, like that is my name for the moment, for the moment. but I am Brynniursa and I will be playing Jodie Bank this evening or day, whenever you're listening. Yeah.

Sphinx Akashaa (03:56)
Hahaha

Yeah

Awesome, let's get right back into it. When we last left our story, our four isekai'd heroes were summoned out of an assembly at the high school they teach, the Sidney Portier Academy for the Gifted, and appeared...

quite randomly quote-unquote in what looks like a darkened room that is

that in the center of what is, I found it right after we stopped recording, dammit, a fixture called an Apollonian Gasket, which is basically a series of perfect circles within perfect circles, within perfect circles, and in the center circle, which is the circle that they are all now standing in,

Brynniursa (05:01)
And watch your profanity.

Sphinx Akashaa (05:22)
is also carved a sigil of an eye with a pentagram carved into the iris with several spirals moving in kind of a spiral nature out of the eye carved in various symbols and sigils.

also surrounded in some of these other circles are various other sigils as well that have when they were summoned in had only just begun to fade in their glow. They were very nearly accosted by a very confused and slightly overzealous guard captain

who definitely caught the ire of a Blaidd But that guard captain was stopped by a lovely Cambrian woman, blue skin, horns, seemed older and wiser, who introduced herself as Mistress Kalizephron

and then knelt before our four summoned and welcomed them as heroes. So here is where we begin episode 2, "The Coming of the Four".

Kalizephron kneels before you.

Arm up, head bowed

I welcome you, heroes.

And almost immediately the collection of guards behind you, including that overzealous captain, all first stand straight at attention and then kneel behind her.

Sweet T (07:46)
Do we say anything to them or do we just kind of bow back?

Brynniursa (07:55)
Jodie takes a knee to the ground.

Sweet T (08:06)
Malachi will follow suit.

Selkie (08:10)
Blaidd kinda gives a thumbs up.

Brynniursa (08:13)
And she doesn't quite bow, but it's clear like in her expression that and still her arms being up, her hands still being up that she's not even surrendering. It's just a very apparent expression that she's confused. Her brows are furrowed and she's trying to mirror.

Sweet T (08:15)
You

Sphinx Akashaa (08:45)
Excellent. I'll say, Lysandra, as this is happening, you noticed suddenly there's a weight on your head that wasn't there before?

Diamond Lynn (08:57)
I think what also kind of gives them that detail is they have a very nervous habit of just going to like scratch their head and they realize there's something fluffy there besides hair and their head feels heavier so it's both hands on their head reaching up and they start feeling something and they follow it and Lysandra soon realizes

Sphinx Akashaa (09:09)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Diamond Lynn (09:27)
They have now acquired antlers and fluffy ears. And they don't know how to feel about this. And so these guards are just seeing bewilderment and curiosity of like, did I put my mask on before we left? And is like kind of like tugging at them a little bit and just like ow, nope, that's me, okay. And it's kind of just like inspecting what else has changed.

Sphinx Akashaa (09:42)
Ha

Diamond Lynn (09:56)
And then realizing that Lysandra's a lot taller than they were before. Lysandra was maybe about an average, you know, somewhere between like five seven, maybe five nine, if they don't slouch. Now they're standing about six foot tall.

Not counting the horns.

Sphinx Akashaa (10:18)
That's a considerable height difference.

Diamond Lynn (10:20)
I think they're a little too preoccupied with that. Just realize that people are bowing or thumbs-upping.

Sphinx Akashaa (10:32)
And Kalizephron lifts her head, initially like, like kind of getting in their peripheral it looks like that Jodie has knelt. And I'm sorry, you - NO you don't have to do that. We kneel at you, my child. You are. You are.

You are heroes. are, are hopefully THE heroes. And she will rise and she will take you by the hands and she will help you stand up. You don't bow to me.

Brynniursa (11:23)
But why are you bowing to me?

Sphinx Akashaa (11:29)
You, right, right, this must be confusing for you and for all of you. Yes, and then looks at Lysandra. you are, and just kind of gestures at the, at your head. You're changed. That happens sometimes.

Sorry. Why don't we take a walk and I can explain? And she will tap her staff to the floor. The other soldiers will then stand immediately upright and will part like the sea.

Diamond Lynn (12:01)
Sorry?

Sphinx Akashaa (12:22)
The two on the end will open these large stone double doors and light just floods into the space and it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to it as you've been in a dark room now for maybe the last like five ten minutes.

But as your eyes kind of resolve with the light, you see what looks like a town that looks nothing like the place you know.

And Kalizephron still holding Jodie's hands. All of you, if all of you would just come with me and she will lead you all outside. And she will say, first and foremost, I would like to welcome you to the world of Phaedos.

the continents of Anyanwu.

the kingdom and nation of Solim and the rather pleasant town of Dawngate And as you all walk outside, you see that you are in a beautiful, like very picturesque, very, very green, but also you notice there is technology here that is...

For a town that looks like it's shot straight out of a fantasy novel, there is more technology here than you anticipate seeing. There are solar panels on the tops of tile wood homes. There are combinations of bicycles and what looks like they should be horse drawn carriages, but carriages that

do not have any animal attached to it, but they are still in fact shaped like carriages. That just are riding. There's a Driver... as they

move past some of them very much just slow and stop.

and stare for a moment and Kalizephron and just wave and like wave them forward and they will nod and continue going. A couple of them still kind of like craning their heads to kind of get a look at you all.

You are one of many to have been summoned here over the years.

It is clear that you are, like many of them, are not prepped as to the why this happens. So I'll kind of give you the Reader's Digest version. You are familiar with Reader's... Is Reader's Digest a thing you have in your world...

Brynniursa (15:54)
Yeah, and this accent has come out of nowhere to all of you.

Sweet T (16:01)
He he.

Brynniursa (16:04)
Yeah, have Reader's Digest. Yeah, my daddy used to get it delivered every week.

Sphinx Akashaa (16:14)
Okay, that tells me that you are from one of the worlds known as Earth. Excellent.

Selkie (16:22)
Before we keep going... That somehow I can reconcile a little easier up pointing at Lysandra than that. Now pointing at Jodie.

Sphinx Akashaa (16:24)
Hmm.

Diamond Lynn (16:37)
I'm... I think I'm a little bit confused of why you can reconcile the fact that I now have antlers! Better than Jodie just sounds different.

Sweet T (16:38)
We have many questions.

Selkie (16:50)
we just

Well, we just got transported to a different... world, assumingly. So sure, people might look different, but full accent changes! That's a new one.

Sphinx Akashaa (16:59)
That is correct.

Brynniursa (17:05)
Well, you know, you're trying to teach kids to survive and you got to make sure they understand you. And sometimes when you get excited, an accent can muddle things up. are Jodie and the leader still holding hands? Like as Jodie is talking, the hands are just starting to swing.

Sphinx Akashaa (17:24)
Yes.

you are quite animated. You are lovely.

Brynniursa (17:38)
Well, thank you, you're lovely too.

Sweet T (17:40)
So this is how you sound

normally and you've just been speaking in a different accent the whole time you're in school.

Brynniursa (17:49)
I'd want to make sure those kids hear every word I have to say. And they can't hear it if my tongue's heavy for them.

Sweet T (18:00)
Okay?

Selkie (18:01)
Less confused now thank you and Blaidd will give another thumbs up and kind of look back

Sweet T (18:08)
I guess I then have a follow-up question about something that you, points out to the leader, says, you said that we're, you know we're from Earth, but the way you phrase that sentence makes it seem like you also get people from other worlds. How many worlds send people here?

Sphinx Akashaa (18:31)
Presumably all of them, across the whole of the multiverse. And it's not so much that they are sent here, this world takes them.

Selkie (18:48)
Do you guys not make it enough?

Sphinx Akashaa (18:53)
well, that is a good question, and she laughs. That is a very fair question. I suppose I should start at the beginning, then. About six or seven thousand years ago, this world was created by a being called, that we call the Guided Dreamer. No one seems to know why. But this Dreamer...

created this world and all of the various levels of it, and began almost immediately taking people from other worlds to help inhabit it.

And so, well, from what we know of the legends that happened, that came about of this, these people were given one task and one task alone to free themselves from the world because they couldn't leave. No matter how much magical power they seem to have upon arriving here,

They could not bring themselves, they could not unsummon themselves from the world. And unfortunately, it seems the only way in which to acquire the means to do so is to reach the being known as the Guided Dreamer and kill him.

Thusly, in the 6,000 years that this world has been in existence, no one has done so. And so those who haven't died in the attempt or have simply given up settled here and began creating societies.

kingdoms and such. Many of the people that you see here are actually descended from heroes. And as you look around, you'll see many types of people. There are your run of the mill humans, but there are also elves. You see dwarves, gnomes, there are beast folk.

people with cat faces and features, there are raccoon folk and mice folk even, there are other Cambrian folk, demonic folk with horns and wings and such, there's even what look to be various species and subspecies of bird folk wandering about kind of happily tending to their affairs.

and Kalizephron will kind of lean in and say many of them many of these the differing species were already native to this world but sometimes and gestures to Lissandra some of the summoned get transmogrified and some of them

in very, very obvious ways, gestures again to Lysandra, and some in ways that are slow and kind of...

progressive.

But again, it doesn't happen always but it's a thing that happens.

Diamond Lynn (23:01)
Lysandra just kind of looks at Mistress Kalizephron and it's just has this like bewildered look of

and then points to the ears, points to the antlers, and then the rest of them. And just says, so you're telling me I'm not the only one who looks like this then?

Sphinx Akashaa (23:26)
That's correct. Yes, you are not alone.

Diamond Lynn (23:28)
That is

actually very comforting. I did not teach my students to plan for this.

Sphinx Akashaa (23:39)
No one really is able to plan for it, unfortunately. But, and while the Lapin folk are very, very, populous, Lapin with antlers are exceedingly rare.

Diamond Lynn (24:01)
I am still a weird spe- part of a special even in this world. That is entertaining. And you just kind of see, like, the furrowed ears, like, meh. If- because if you've ever seen Lop Bunnies, because that's the kind of ears that Lysandra now has, whenever they get disgruntled, you can tell by their ears, because their ears twitch and then relax. And that's what Lysandra does in this moment, hearing that they are still weird, even among-

Sphinx Akashaa (24:09)
It's...

Mm-hmm.

Diamond Lynn (24:31)
Lapin folk.

Sphinx Akashaa (24:36)
It's very very possible that should you manage to be the ones to defeat the guided dreamer that you will return to your natural born state once you are granted the ability to go back home. And that's kind of the hope for everyone because you see the legend states that when should you defeat

The Guided Dreamer. You wouldn't just be freeing yourselves. You'd be freeing all of us.

Brynniursa (25:18)
So, you need

us to save you?

Sphinx Akashaa (25:26)
If we were able to, we would do it ourselves, but...

We do not have, and then she will gesture to the hand that she's holding, but right on schedule. And looking at your hand, all of you will notice that there is what looks like tattooed onto the back of your hand. This

glob that seems to move like an inkblot. It has not settled into shape and it is just moving.

Sweet T (26:13)
gosh, Oh No! And Malachi just starts shaking his hands like, get it off, get it off.

Sphinx Akashaa (26:20)
It's...

it's... it's alright. It's okay. It is part of...

what makes you a hero. Looks at Blaidd. I am sorry, are you licking? Licking the...

Brynniursa (26:38)
Blaidd

Sphinx Akashaa (26:44)
the tattoo.

Selkie (26:47)
Does it taste?

Diamond Lynn (26:55)
For our audience at home, our storyteller just flipped a coin. With a very piece of luck.

Sphinx Akashaa (26:58)
in

I

sure did.

It does seem to have a very distinct taste to it. Almost like a cold metal.

Selkie (27:18)
like metal.

Sphinx Akashaa (27:22)
I have never even... I've never seen anyone do that, but I will take your word for it.

Selkie (27:33)
Okay, there are options.

Sweet T (27:36)
Why on earth would your first instinct be to lick it?

Sphinx Akashaa (27:36)
as you

Selkie (27:40)
What else am I gonna do?

Brynniursa (27:42)
Well, sniff it first, did you sniff it first?

Sweet T (27:43)
Not that.

Selkie (27:47)
I kinda sniffed it during.

Brynniursa (27:49)
Well next time you gotta sniff it first, that's the first rule of survival. You give it a little sniff and then you taste.

Selkie (27:54)
Well, it's...

it's... it's... in me either way, so I figure any damage that would be done by licking might already, you know, be a problem.

Brynniursa (28:08)
or you could rush the problem by injecting it to a different area of your body.

Selkie (28:14)
BET! It just goes in for another lick.

Diamond Lynn (28:17)
I feel like the...

Sphinx Akashaa (28:19)
Kalizephron is like watching this. kind of both of you make very good points.

Diamond Lynn (28:24)
I feel

like...

Sweet T (28:25)
Malachi will try to like grab their hands like, no, don't, stop licking it.

Brynniursa (28:29)
Stop licking the thing!

Diamond Lynn (28:29)
Lysandra just kind of like, Lysandra just pats

Jodie on the shoulder and is just like, you make a very good point because one thing I had to teach my students in home economics is to sniff the milk jug before they drink from it. Cause I have made that mistake many a time.

Brynniursa (28:46)
Exactly.

let's see. It's all right. It's just it. Wait, does do they have take out here? Jodie looks very concerned for Lysandra.

Diamond Lynn (28:51)
I live off of takeout, it is fine. You sniff the takeout.

Sphinx Akashaa (29:05)
Well, there are a good deal of eateries here and all over the place that do... I've heard it called take out, I've also heard it called take away.

Diamond Lynn (29:19)
that works as long as I don't have to cook for myself. And then realizes that they're slipping into Jodie's accent and then they test something and they're just like, someone else start talking, please. One of you two.

Brynniursa (29:22)
Alright.

Sweet T (29:38)
Hello?

Diamond Lynn (29:40)
Continue.

Brynniursa (29:43)
Yeah, I thought you'd do some Shakespeare theater, teacher.

Sweet T (29:48)
Do you want me to go into a monologue?

Sphinx Akashaa (29:51)
And at that, like, Kalizephron raises an eyebrow that almost touches where the base of her horn starts. You are all teachers?

Diamond Lynn (30:06)
Yes.

Brynniursa (30:07)
and

Sweet T (30:08)
Yes?

Brynniursa (30:09)
yipperoonie.

Sphinx Akashaa (30:11)
That is different.

Sweet T (30:15)
Okay, so this was an error then.

Sphinx Akashaa (30:19)
don't know that it's necessarily an error, well, I'll say this. Generally these things work on a schedule or a cycle. The four of you seem to have arrived earlier than you were supposed to.

We weren't expecting you until next summer.

Sweet T (30:49)
But we were expected.

Selkie (30:51)
Huh?

Sphinx Akashaa (30:53)
Yes, yes, there is a cycle. It usually happens every 10 years.

Selkie (31:07)
I'm gonna repeat...huh?

Diamond Lynn (31:08)
You were telling me I still could have gone to the Burning Patch Festival and not been here. That was two months away. I could have gone to Burning Patch, but instead I am here with horns.

Sweet T (31:10)
So.

Diamond Lynn (31:26)
and fluffy ears.

Brynniursa (31:29)
So.

every 10 years you get an older set that comes

Sphinx Akashaa (31:41)
Every ten years we get students. Generally high school students, from what we're told. When they come from Earth at least. Or one of them.

Brynniursa (31:54)
But it works.

Sweet T (31:54)
How early

were we?

Sphinx Akashaa (32:00)
11 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days.

Selkie (32:06)
we weren't even to the month.

Sweet T (32:10)
out of character, we were ready for this, we were ready for it happening today, right? Like, what the heck is going on? I have so many questions. Sorry, okay, back in, back in character, sorry.

Sphinx Akashaa (32:16)
Yep.

Hehehehehe

Brynniursa (32:22)
Hehehe

but you weren't expect- so you weren't expecting us older folk

Sphinx Akashaa (32:33)
No, no, not at all. Usually like I said, usually it's younger people that get brought here from across the multiverse.

Brynniursa (32:47)
Where have they gone?

Sphinx Akashaa (32:50)
The ones who survived, or the ones who gave up, they are all over the world. All over Phaedos

Brynniursa (32:59)
you're right, you've said that. I just... Does that mean...

some didn't?

Sphinx Akashaa (33:08)
Some didn't survive. Yes, that is unfortunately correct.

Selkie (33:13)
So this world has been summoning high school students to go to their deaths.

Sphinx Akashaa (33:22)
It is most unfortunate. Yes. We prepare them as best as we can and...

Selkie (33:32)
Do you let him grow up first?

Sphinx Akashaa (33:36)
9 times out 10, yes that is generally the case, but there are other organizations here in this world that

does not take kindly to heroes being summoned.

or want to kill the heroes to take their ability to challenge the guided dreamer for themselves.

Selkie (33:58)
Alright, so we're starting with these groups and working our way up because bastards have to die.

Brynniursa (34:02)
I agree.

Diamond Lynn (34:03)
I do

Brynniursa (34:03)
I agree. I'm with you.

Diamond Lynn (34:03)
have a question. I do have a question. Is this not the only place where your heroes are then summoned?

Sphinx Akashaa (34:07)
Hmm.

This is usually where they are summoned. They have occasionally been summoned to other floors of the world. But when they are summoned on this floor, they are summoned at this temple. And just to the temple, which you now see is this large, beautifully like golden gilded, white and cream domed structure with a

Diamond Lynn (34:22)
You did mention that.

Sphinx Akashaa (34:44)
large, metallic symbol of what looks like a sun spouting rays down onto presumably the earth, but in the center of the sun, etched along the circle, is a dragon.

They usually get summoned to this temple, which is the temple that I have stewarded for several generations now.

Diamond Lynn (35:27)
I am most interested in the fact that you all have dragons.

Are they nice?

Sphinx Akashaa (35:33)
yes, some of them are.

Diamond Lynn (35:37)
Jodie, I now wish to meet the nice dragon.

Sphinx Akashaa (35:39)
This

one.

The one that we serve, worship, invoke, is one of the kinder ones, the dragon Solim, for whom our kingdom is named.

Selkie (35:58)
So you worship a dragon.

Sphinx Akashaa (36:02)
Technically, it is only believed that he is a dragon. He is also believed that this dragon is the sun, so take your pick.

Selkie (36:14)
I mean, why not both? That is so metal.

Sweet T (36:19)
When is the last time people have seen this dragon?

Sphinx Akashaa (36:23)
in person.

Sweet T (36:24)
Yes.

Sphinx Akashaa (36:26)
The last known sighting of Solim... It's been about 300 years, give or take.

Selkie (36:36)
You also said in person as though there's another option.

Sphinx Akashaa (36:40)
Well, and gestures to the sky where you do see the sun.

Selkie (36:48)
Gonna stare directly up at the sun since it's being gestured to.

Sweet T (36:52)
No, no,

don't, don't, gosh. They're trying to shield their eyes.

Sphinx Akashaa (36:55)
And it

is a funny thing that when you do that.

there is a message that suddenly like appears across your eyes.

Not... I'm blanking on the word now. "Unadvisable". "Please do not stare into the sun as it will damage your eyes".

Selkie (37:25)
The sun gave me a message. The sun's message was do not look at it.

Sphinx Akashaa (37:32)
right, that is not the sun giving you that message. That is another feature of you being heroes. And she will reach out and will then turn her palm over. And what looks like a digital screen appears above her hand.

that has various numbers and words and what looks like statistics from a video game.

If you do what I have done and focus on, I'd say, what helped me when I first came here.

is reciting the line, "know one's self".

Diamond Lynn (38:37)
You are a summoned as well.

Sphinx Akashaa (38:42)
Yes, I am.

Diamond Lynn (38:44)
Have you been here since you were young?

Sphinx Akashaa (38:49)
Yes, I have.

Sweet T (38:53)
Did you also come from Earth?

Sphinx Akashaa (38:57)
AN earth yes

Diamond Lynn (39:05)
Lysandra, once again, looking at the forming tattoo thing that they've been just kind of tracing their fingers on, seeing if they can manipulate it to make something cool, instead turns over that same hand and does what, Mistress Kalizephron has, has said of "know one's self".

Sphinx Akashaa (39:29)
And just as what happened with her, screen appears, all digital. And you can see Lysandra Agni, they she, hit points, mind points, Dex might, insight, willpower, weaknesses.

strengths, various delineations of numbered statistics for each one of those things. Spells? Unknown. Weapons? None. Armor? None.

Class, none. Or no, class, unknown

Diamond Lynn (40:31)
Can you all see this? And, like, Sandra's going to turn their hand to show the others.

Sweet T (40:38)
just about to ask if we could.

Brynniursa (40:40)
Do we?

Sphinx Akashaa (40:41)
Everyone else can see what's on Lysandra's screen, but you can't read it. It looks like gibberish.

Sweet T (40:56)
I see a bunch of squiggles.

Selkie (40:59)
There sure is something.

Diamond Lynn (41:02)
So.

Sweet T (41:04)
Still kinda cool though.

Diamond Lynn (41:05)
Only

we can read our screens then.

Sphinx Akashaa (41:10)
That tends to be, or has tended to be the general case in this situation, yes.

Diamond Lynn (41:18)
they are going to close the palm of their hand. Does it take the screen away?

Sphinx Akashaa (41:24)
Screen winks out.

Diamond Lynn (41:26)
that is very interesting.

One of you try it next?

Brynniursa (41:36)
Alright. And Jodie...

looks at her hand.

Sphinx Akashaa (41:47)
You get the same thing but for yourself. Jodie Bank. She Her.

HP MP

Classes, none. Dex, might, inspiration, willpower. Items, none. Or rather, classes, unknown. I also forgot to mention you all have a level counter next to your name. And currently it says level zero.

Brynniursa (42:27)
all right. were you level zero too, Lysandra

Diamond Lynn (42:36)
It told me I was either level zero or everything else is unknown.

Brynniursa (42:43)
Alright, I see we're on the same level, which is zero, and you just did choo, and she shuts it too.

Sphinx Akashaa (42:52)
Yes, one.

And Kalizephron nods, yes, when I was summoned. I was also at level zero.

It is an interesting scenario to be placed in. And I apologize for the abruptness of it for all of us. And again, I must apologize. I've apparently been rude and...

I have told you who I am, and I have not asked of your names.

Brynniursa (43:44)
Well, seeing as we're so close together now, and she's still holding the hand. I'm Jodie Bank.

Sphinx Akashaa (43:49)
yes.

Greetings and welcome, Jodie.

Brynniursa (43:57)
greet greetin's and welcomed. Consider... I consider myself welcomed right now.

Sphinx Akashaa (44:04)
And you see that when you say your name, the guard captain straightens a bit and head goes to one side.

Brynniursa (44:16)
Can I help you?

Sphinx Akashaa (44:20)
The guard captain looks at Mistress Kalizephron and Kali, yes, of course, and Jodie, not Jodie, the guard captain relaxes and takes off their helmet. And you see cream-colored skin that resolves into kind of piercing blue eyes.

very kind of a-lined angular face, shock of blonde hair that is shaved at the sides and kind of spiky into kind of a pixie cut at the top. Very beautiful woman, very severe looking woman. Yes, my name is also Jody.

But my last, my surname is Hearth Captain Jody Hearth at your service. And she bows.

Brynniursa (45:27)
Well, and Jodie bows a little back. Why is it so surprising to make somebody else named Jodie? We've kind of common name.

Sphinx Akashaa (45:43)
Well, it isn't quite that common here. You'd be surprised at the variety of names that we have here on Phaedos.

Brynniursa (45:54)
Well, guess we'll be close, too. We got a hand, and fellow Jody will make a club. Club Jody.

Sphinx Akashaa (46:04)
and Captain Hearth kind of has a blank expression for a moment and then side of the mouth quirks into a bit of a smirk. Yes, I think I would like that

Brynniursa (46:22)
Alright, we're gonna have ourselves a party once I stop freaking out so much.

Sphinx Akashaa (46:30)
Kalizephron gives you a bit of a gentle squeeze of the hand. Well, that is natural, yes.

and then turns to the rest of you, and who might you all be?

Selkie (46:48)
Blaidd is gonna kind of nudge the theater teacher next to them. I don't know. Who are you?

Brynniursa (46:59)
Hey

Sphinx Akashaa (47:01)
Hehehehe

Sweet T (47:03)
You know who I am. don't know why you're... Malachi!

Selkie (47:09)
I have no clue.

Sweet T (47:12)
Malachi Davis at your service.

Sphinx Akashaa (47:17)
It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Malachi Davis.

Sweet T (47:23)
The pleasure is all mine.

Sphinx Akashaa (47:27)
a teacher and a gentleman. How lovely.

Sweet T (47:31)
as I've been

called.

Sphinx Akashaa (47:35)
and then looks to Blaidd And how about yourself, young man?

That was me.

Selkie (47:51)
like Blaidd is  gonna hold out a hand and go Blaidd Lagohaire It/Its

Sphinx Akashaa (47:51)
though.

and Kalizephron for a brief moment release. One moment please releases Jodie's hand puts the staff in that hand and then reaches out their other hand and pleasure to meet you.

Selkie (48:15)
instead of making them go through that effort, because they see that it's going to involve releasing Jodie's hand, they go, And, Blaidd reaches forward and shakes the hand that is holding Jodie's hand instead.

Sphinx Akashaa (48:33)
that is highly unusual. That is a new one for me. Pleasant, but new.

Selkie (48:41)
And then there's that one. My personal favorite arsonist.

Diamond Lynn (48:45)
I am not an arsonist.

Sphinx Akashaa (48:47)
arsonist

Brynniursa (48:49)
How many arsonists do you know?

Selkie (48:52)
Several.

Sweet T (48:53)
Also

a good question.

Diamond Lynn (48:54)
I am not an arsonist. I promise.

Sweet T (48:57)
Not intentionally, anyway.

Diamond Lynn (48:59)
I am just accident-prone. But it is what it is. But no. And Lysandra makes a big show about it, of giving this very deep and kind of elegant bow, because the height difference is something to get used to. And bowing down to be eye level with Mistress Kalizephron, and says, Pleasure to meet you, I am Lysandra Agni.

Sphinx Akashaa (49:27)
Lysandra Agni and Kali bows a pleasure to meet you as well. I know that this is all a sizable adjustment for the four of you.

I do hope you're able to make the best of your time here on Phaedos, and I do hope that you are, in fact, even if selfishly, I hope that you are in fact the ones who will free us.

Brynniursa (50:03)
I think we will be, because we ain't sending no more children here to die.

it's gonna end.

Sphinx Akashaa (50:19)
I rather like the way you think.

Well, and she turns to Jody, Jody Hearth, Captain Jody Commander Hearth.

Brynniursa (50:28)
Hehehehe

Sphinx Akashaa (50:37)
Quest for you. you are to go back to the temple and you are to contact Mistress Varo Let her know that the heroes have come and that it would be most beneficial to send

Emissaries, Duke and Miss Arnac would be especially handy here, as soon as is possible. And Jody straightens, I will contact The Circle at once then. And Jody like...

fist to chest as salute a quick bow to all of you and will heel turn and walk into the temple.

Brynniursa (51:40)
See you in our first club meeting.

Sphinx Akashaa (51:43)
And she will stop, will turn slightly, and will just very like slowly and awkwardly wave. Yes. See you later. And then will turn back and like walk a little bit faster inside.

Brynniursa (52:07)
what a filly.

Sphinx Akashaa (52:11)
Captain Hearth is...

Sweet T (52:11)
Never underestimate your ability to

discombobulate someone.

Brynniursa (52:15)
What?

Sweet T (52:17)
never underestimate your ability to discombobulate someone.

Brynniursa (52:20)
I'm discombobulated. If I'm discombobulated, everybody out here is going to be discombobulated. No, I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm feeling myself calm and, and she's still swinging her and Kali's hands together.

Sphinx Akashaa (52:34)
Well, this is... Yes, you are... You seem very calm. Much calmer than some of the others summoned. As one set of... One group of individuals noticeably stated, you are not quite losing your shit.

Sweet T (53:00)
Well, we're not children.

Sphinx Akashaa (53:02)
Well, there's also that.

speaking of which, I should get you lodging, and, Are you hungry at all?

Diamond Lynn (53:18)
Absolutely.

Sphinx Akashaa (53:19)
Yes.

Sweet T (53:21)
I suppose I could be a tad peckish, yes?

Sphinx Akashaa (53:26)
Very well then. Follow me. And still holding Jodie's hand, she will lead the four of you to a inn that is not quite attached to the Temple of Solim, but is just situated behind it. And as you...

kind of move around that corner.

you get a very distinct whiff of something... animal?

And if you look in that direction, you will see that there is a stable next door and that there are

They look like giant.

Birds?

but you notice that these birds have four legs and four feet, claw, clawed feet.

and look, they're fluffy and are varied in color. There are seven of them in this stable, all pecking away at what looks like a combination of like seed and vegetables and chunks of meat.

Selkie (55:13)
Your birds here are so much cooler than the ones we have back home.

Sphinx Akashaa (55:21)
you do not have these.?

yes, Zephyr Birds are what we have used for many, many years for transportation. Granted, the technology has been increasing and progressing so that they are not needed nearly as much, but we like to keep them on hand. The heroes that get summoned here tend to like them.

One of them, one group said that it distinctly reminded them of... I might say this word wrong... A chocobo?

Diamond Lynn (56:13)
a chocobo.

Brynniursa (56:15)
Chocobo.

Sphinx Akashaa (56:17)
Yes,

yes, do you have chocobos?

Diamond Lynn (56:19)
They're

not real, they're a story in a video game.

Sweet T (56:20)
We

Yes.

Sphinx Akashaa (56:27)
video

game. I have heard of these video games. They seem to be very entertaining, if not violent. Which, well, violence is not a new thing here, but simulated violence actually is also not a new thing here. She leads you into this tavern.

Diamond Lynn (56:38)
Some of them are.

Sphinx Akashaa (56:58)
and inside it seems to be a lot quieter than what you would expect for a tavern. Very rustic wood, dark woods, nice little fireplace, and a very large, very well-built orc man.

Big grey beard, big tusks, kind of turns around. Kalizephron! Welcome back! Is it lunchtime already?

And Kali looks... No, no, Oghram It is... We have guests and gestures to all of you. We have heroes.

and Oghram looks at you all kind of holy shit heroes truly

then looks at like a, what looks like a calendar on the wall, kind of rustles with the page. There, Kali yes, yes, I know they are very early. But they're here now.

Well, we're getting them settled in while we wait for help from the Circle. Well! Come in! Welcome, welcome! Come, sit! My name is Oghram Many folks call me Oghram the Mighty, Oghram the Brave. This one just calls me Oghram the Kind, because, well...

It's not an inaccurate statement. But you are hungry, so welcome. Welcome to "Uncle Og's".

Selkie (59:23)
There's a look on Blaidd's face, like it's fighting to not say something it knows it shouldn't say. And you're- all three of you are very familiar with that look, as it's just... I could... I could say it. I won't... I could say

Sphinx Akashaa (59:38)
Hehehehehe

Selkie (59:47)
But it does manage to keep itself quiet for the most part, though it starts snickering to itself.

Sweet T (59:57)
We thank you for your hospitality.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:00:00)
You're most welcome.

Brynniursa (1:00:04)
What does it smell like in here?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:00:08)
Ooh, it smells l-

It smells like f-

Fresh warm bread.

open fire at the fireplace like a like a well-used hearth.

Brynniursa (1:00:34)
as these smells are coming in and it's it's good it's suddenly reminding Jodie that she's hungry it almost looks like her hair moves slightly just like something shifts in the strands and then slowly you see two antennae kind of lifting as though to get a better smell of the air

very greatly resembling a moth's antennae. They are very... they almost looked like they were highlighting the gray of her hair but as they rise they look blonde-ish.

fluffy moth antennae just at full attention as she smells this bread and fire and just all the warmth in here

Sphinx Akashaa (1:01:33)
Now that's something that you don't see every day.

Brynniursa (1:01:40)
I I mean, I know I'm still young, but you know, some people gray early.

Sweet T (1:01:47)
J-J-Jodie, Jodie Go-go like this. He's like rubbing on the top of his head.

Brynniursa (1:01:55)
She slowly rubs the top of her head, but it goes between her antennae.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:02:05)
a bit to the left or the right, either way.

Sweet T (1:02:07)
You

look like side to side.

Brynniursa (1:02:10)
Alright. What is...is...what is... Well it feels nice- Why do I feel so-

Sphinx Akashaa (1:02:12)
There you go.

Brynniursa (1:02:22)
she runs, well not runs, but just kind of shifts over to a window.

She touches the antenna, kind of shivers a little bit.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:02:43)
Now I'm gonna guess

that you didn't have those before you got here.

Brynniursa (1:02:55)
No, I did not. Very good guess.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:02:59)
and Kali looks at  they're from one of the Earths. that explains it. And then looks over at Lysandra, right, that means that those aren't normal for you either.

Diamond Lynn (1:03:15)
No,

not at all. I am not usually this tall either, but I am slowly getting used to it. Yes.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:03:22)
You're shorter than this.

Well, that's something.

Diamond Lynn (1:03:27)
Yes.

I wonder if I'm going to hit my antlers on many a doorframe.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:03:36)
That's usually the way it works, yeah. It'll be quite funny for a while, and then it'll just get annoying until you get used to them.

Diamond Lynn (1:03:37)
you

maybe I will be Lysandra the Clumsy instead of Lysandra the Arsonist. Looking directly at Blaidd

Sphinx Akashaa (1:03:51)
You

Brynniursa (1:03:55)
I can smell my hands through my hair.

Diamond Lynn (1:03:58)
I cannot do that.

Selkie (1:03:59)
That's a neat party trick.

Brynniursa (1:04:02)
(confused sounds)

Sweet T (1:04:04)
Okay.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:04:05)
Well,

Selkie (1:04:06)
What does it smell like?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:04:07)
something to look forward to. If you're becoming what I think you might be becoming, you might sprout a set of wings next.

Brynniursa (1:04:19)
What am I becoming?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:04:23)
Right, you're not from here, so you wouldn't know the terms. The Larvum, they're the moth and butterfly folk.

Brynniursa (1:04:36)
I'm gonna be a moth. I'm gonna be a butterfly. I'm gonna be, I'm a, am I gonna lose my legs?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:04:46)
No, no, of course not. They have legs. Of course they have legs. They're all, they're still, I believe the word is humanoid.

Brynniursa (1:04:52)
How- how-

how- how many legs will I have?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:04:58)
Two.

Brynniursa (1:04:58)
How

many legs does a moth have? Ow, ow.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:05:01)
Well, a standard moth has many legs, but the Larvum have two.

Brynniursa (1:05:06)
EEEEH!

Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm going to be a Larvum. I won't have many legs and I'm gonna be a Larvum. I'm gonna be a moth or butterfly. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be and...

Sphinx Akashaa (1:05:12)
Yeah.

Sweet T (1:05:16)
I

Sphinx Akashaa (1:05:30)
And Algrim is just shaking his head, nodding his head,

like, along with you. Yes. And Kalizephron is just kind of like, ugh.

Sweet T (1:05:39)
I believe a full-grown moth has six legs.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:05:44)
How about we get them all some soup and maybe some tea or some wine or something?

that is that doable? Right right. Do like bread with your soup?

Brynniursa (1:06:06)
I lack my soup in bread.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:06:10)
Soup in bread. I got something for you. Awesome. Soup for everybody. Any dietary restrictions? Do we have any vegetarians in the house?

Diamond Lynn (1:06:25)
I really like spicy food.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:06:29)
Extra spicy for you. Gotcha.

Diamond Lynn (1:06:30)
I very much would appreciate

spicy food.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:06:35)
might explain the arson.

Diamond Lynn (1:06:36)
I am not an Arsonist!!

Selkie (1:06:38)
Told you.

Diamond Lynn (1:06:38)
I am not an Arsonist

Selkie (1:06:39)
Blaidd. I was gonna laugh. was gonna- I was gonna jab Malachi. Kind of once again. And smile this shit-eating grin while looking up at him and just gonna go, So when are you gonna start changing? What are you gonna turn into? I can't wait.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:06:50)
You

Brynniursa (1:06:58)
Okay.

Sweet T (1:07:00)
Well, hopefully I won't be changing at all.

Selkie (1:07:04)
Uh-huh.

Sweet T (1:07:08)
What about you? What are you gonna change into? I would. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't.

Selkie (1:07:11)
Wouldn't you like to know?

Brynniursa (1:07:18)
Hehehehehe

Sphinx Akashaa (1:07:21)
And Kali sits next to you all, or Kali rather gestures you all to a table where she sits with you all. Well, once again, it's not always that everyone changes. Some do, and sometimes no one changes. We did get a group about 10 years ago, the last group that came here, that remained human.

There were five of them that time. They were an interesting bunch. They had a talking cat with them.

Very odd.

Sweet T (1:08:04)
What, like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:08:08)
I do not know that reference. But the cat did speak. It had a British accent, I believe. At least that's what they call the accent. British. I don't know what British is, or where it is on your world, if you have a British.

Diamond Lynn (1:08:27)
and more concerned about the talking cats coming with people.

Sweet T (1:08:29)
Mm.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:08:37)
It is... The first for us too. Well, at the first for me.

But again, not everyone changes. Well, not physically. Being here can change a person in ways they don't expect, personality-wise. But I think overall, as long as you all stay true to who you are, I don't think you will have that problem.

Brynniursa (1:09:19)
Well...

I don't think it could be a problem, we're all meant to change and grow after all.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:09:31)
That is a wonderful way to look at it, Jodie.

to blossom and spread one's wings very much like a butterfly. Or a moth.

Brynniursa (1:09:38)
thanks.

Diamond Lynn (1:09:46)
or a bat.

Brynniursa (1:09:48)
Yeah.

Bat?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:09:58)
Sometimes they're vampires. Most of the time they're not.

Sweet T (1:10:03)
I'm sorry, there are vampires here.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:10:05)
there are all kinds here, yes.

There's a man that will be coming through The Circle. His name is Duke. He's a werewolf.

Diamond Lynn (1:10:21)
Is he single?

Brynniursa (1:10:25)
(Laughter)

Sphinx Akashaa (1:10:27)
You know, I don't know. I don't know, I'll have to... I'll... I'll...

Selkie (1:10:27)
saying what I'm

Sphinx Akashaa (1:10:32)
I can inquire for you if you're...

If you're interested in that sort of thing. This was not where I thought the conversation was going to go, I'll admit.

Diamond Lynn (1:10:45)
it is not my type,

but it might be somebody else's, and it's like elbowing Blaidd.

Brynniursa (1:10:53)
Awwww.

Selkie (1:10:55)
Blaidd has it has been doing for most of the conversation, vastly avoiding looking at you, but massive smile across its face and kind of jabbing back.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:11:13)
Well, and Oghram comes back and has four bowls made out of bread, out of like delicious looking bread filled with soup. And the soup is very like rich and creamy. And Lysandra, yours you can smell.

the spice and the chili wafting from your bread bowl.

Diamond Lynn (1:11:44)
Lysandra just has this excited look upon their face and then they realize there's something thumping behind them while they're sitting.

Brynniursa (1:11:56)
No.

Diamond Lynn (1:11:57)
and they ignore it. And it's the realization they have a tail.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:12:06)
And Oghram absolutely notices and you'll get used to that.

Diamond Lynn (1:12:11)
i do

not think i will, but this looks amazing i- i used to be a fire eater, actually

Sphinx Akashaa (1:12:17)
Doesn't it though?

that explains it. That, that, that, the spice. Yes, yes. We get fire eaters that come through here every so often, usually from Anthem. But yeah, yeah. Good times.

Diamond Lynn (1:12:39)
Yes, I used to be a fire eater. I can also blow fire with certain accessories. I was a fire dancer as well. And I used to wear a mask that looks a lot like I do now. So I'm wondering if there might be a tie-in.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:13:02)
And as you say that, there is a tingling sensation on your hand where that blotchy mark was. And you see that mark begin to shape itself into what looks like the stencil of a flame.

Diamond Lynn (1:13:20)
I sniff it.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:13:24)
Smells warm.

Diamond Lynn (1:13:25)
I lick it.

Brynniursa (1:13:27)
Well done.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:13:31)
It tastes like warm wood.

Brynniursa (1:13:31)
Thank you for sniffing first at least.

Diamond Lynn (1:13:32)
I sniffed it first.

It does not taste like metal, it tastes like warm wood. And it smells warm and spiced.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:13:46)
Hmm.

Sweet T (1:13:50)
Why do we keep licking things?

Brynniursa (1:13:52)
Well, wait a minute, I? May I? And Jodie licks Lysandra's hand. Alright, and may I? Ask for Blaidd's hand.

Selkie (1:14:13)
Blaidd just absolutely sticks it right out.

Brynniursa (1:14:18)
And Jodie licks it as well. Can Jodie taste what they're tasting?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:14:26)
Yeah, absolutely she can. There's the taste of warm wood from Lysandra and there is the taste of cold metal from Blaidd.

Sweet T (1:14:39)
Malachi just throws this hands in the air, like, I guess we're just licking everything now.

Selkie (1:14:43)
Blaidd is looking over towards Malachi with that smile!

Brynniursa (1:14:48)
Yeah!

Sweet T (1:14:52)
I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Selkie (1:14:54)
You

Brynniursa (1:14:58)
now you don't understand Malachi sometimes, and she takes a step forward. We need to do things in order to understand them, to make sure that we understand what's going on. Cause you know, if one tastes like fire, one tastes like metal, our little fire starter and

our resident engineer of basically everything. I wonder, mean, just, just my, and she leaps and like tries to get in and hold

Sphinx Akashaa (1:15:41)
Ha

Selkie (1:15:43)
CHEERING. CHEERING.

Sweet T (1:15:46)
you just straight glomp and Malachi's like, oh god!

Brynniursa (1:15:49)
Just like,

get him Blaidd get him!

Selkie (1:15:54)
There's this sudden stop of cheering like, we're tapping, oh god, then Blaidd

like leaps in.

Sweet T (1:16:07)
This is highly unorthodox!

Selkie (1:16:11)
IS ANY OF THIS EVER ORTHODOX?

Brynniursa (1:16:12)
Just

Sweet T (1:16:17)
you

Sphinx Akashaa (1:16:20)
You are

licking Malachi's hand as you're saying that? Awesome. So you get two things. get scent and you get taste out of this. The scent is of...

Brynniursa (1:16:20)
You

Selkie (1:16:24)
Yes.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:16:38)
Mint.

like spearmint

The taste is...

of spearmint and also lavender?

Selkie (1:17:02)
Blaidd comes back up like gasps for a second goes you tastes dainty

Sweet T (1:17:13)
Dainty! How dare.

Selkie (1:17:16)
You smell and taste of mint and you taste of lavender. You are dainty good sir and like steps back-

Sphinx Akashaa (1:17:16)
taste.

Brynniursa (1:17:16)
and

Diamond Lynn (1:17:19)
But this way. You are very dainty. That seems to fit

very well for you.

Sweet T (1:17:28)
And he like, looks at his hand he's like, really? Mint and lavender.

Diamond Lynn (1:17:31)
Taste it!

Selkie (1:17:32)
Taste yourself.

Brynniursa (1:17:33)
Why don't

you take a look?

Sweet T (1:17:36)
Malachi gives a little lick.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:17:36)
and you smell and taste

exactly the same thing.

Sweet T (1:17:42)
Not bad.

Diamond Lynn (1:17:42)
See, you're just

as weird as we are.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:17:43)
And as you do that, as you do that, you notice that your splotch is also changing and it's shaping into what looks like.

Sweet T (1:17:46)
out there.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:17:59)
A microphone with wings.

Sweet T (1:18:07)
Interesting... Hmm...

Sphinx Akashaa (1:18:13)
And Kali looks over. Well, I've never seen that before.

Sweet T (1:18:20)
Like this happen or this specific symbol?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:18:23)
that specific symbol.

Sweet T (1:18:27)
Does that imply that you've seen their symbols before?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:18:34)
I've seen the fire symbol before. It tends to intonate that the wielder has some proficiency with fire or fire magic of some kind.

Selkie (1:18:47)
Arsonist, arsonist!

Diamond Lynn (1:18:49)
I am not an arsonist.

Selkie (1:18:53)
Your tattoo says otherwise.

Diamond Lynn (1:18:53)
I am not a Arsonist

I am adept with fire.

Brynniursa (1:18:56)
No.

Sweet T (1:18:56)
Look, again,

we know it's not intentional.

Brynniursa (1:19:00)
They're, they're, they're fire breather. I, that was Brynn forgetting the name for what they said earlier.

Diamond Lynn (1:19:04)
The correct terminology would be fire dancer or a

Sweet T (1:19:06)
Fire eater.

Diamond Lynn (1:19:10)
fire artist is another way you could put it. But I'm a fire eater, breather, dancer, aficionado. But I'm not a arsonist

Sweet T (1:19:24)
You forgot Fire Setter.

Diamond Lynn (1:19:26)
I am

not the fire setter, I'm just accident prone.

Sweet T (1:19:33)
I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive.

Selkie (1:19:38)
Blaidd is going to attempt to give Lysandra some mercy on this and is going to look over to Jodie and kind of gesture towards Jodie's hand and go, does yours smell or taste? Is yours looking like anything?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:19:45)
You

Brynniursa (1:19:59)
Jodie lifts her hand and kind of startles just a little bit as it seems instinctually these antennae come down and sniff for her. Does it smell like it? Does it?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:20:17)
I like that. I like that.

You specifically get the scent of...

old paper like old books that like musty old library smell

And as you look at it.

Brynniursa (1:20:46)
and

Sphinx Akashaa (1:20:51)
your blotch of ink forms the shape of a shield.

But on the inside of the shield, is the shape of a book.

Brynniursa (1:21:12)
And her form seems to calm as though the smell of paper is something familiar to her that she can grasp, shoulders unslumping.

a deep breath and then she licks the book shield.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:21:39)
You get the taste of leather binding mixed with...

cold steel.

Brynniursa (1:21:53)
Well...

It smells a bit like home. I got a lot of books in my den you see and it the paper has the scent especially when the sun comes in through the windows that's what kind of smells like right now. And hey I guess we could form a club too because I taste a little bit of steel there but sprinkled with some

leather to it.

Selkie (1:22:29)
Kinky.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:22:31)
And Kalizephron like nods I understood that word

Brynniursa (1:22:33)
wha-

Kali

Sphinx Akashaa (1:22:43)
What, everyone has to get down sometime. Just because I'm a priestess doesn't mean that I'm not worldly.

Diamond Lynn (1:22:52)
I'm liking this place better and better.

Brynniursa (1:22:53)
Jodie

picks up her bread bowl.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:22:57)
You

Brynniursa (1:22:59)
Just the bread bowl is suddenly so interesting. It's just, wow, this is, this is, this is gourmet right here. This is what, this is gourmet. So delicious. And she drinks the soup before she can say anything else.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:23:02)
Ha ha ha ha ha!

And for Blaidd, I'm gonna spend an Ultima point right now. And I am going to invoke that this entire time, you haven't noticed it until just now.

But you've been carrying your skateboard with you. Your skateboard came with you.

And as you make that realization, there's a tingle on your hand.

and there is the skateboard that forms on your hand and what looks like the outline of a set of goggles.

Selkie (1:24:07)
is gonna kind of readjust the skateboard in the other arm, like now realizing that it's there, and being like, shit, that's my prize position, okay, and like making sure to carry it properly, and then looking back and like, huh.

actually gonna sniff it this time since i already know what it tastes like

Sphinx Akashaa (1:24:34)
I was hoping you were going to do that. You smell cold steel and the wind.

Selkie (1:24:36)
god.

The wind is in my hand.

What does this one mean? And it's gonna like hold it out?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:24:58)
Kali kind of takes a look.

Well, if I had to make an educated guess...

The last time I saw someone with goggles like that...

They went the way of the tinkerer.

Your friends here did say that you have a knack for building things. So that would make sense. And then she smells your hand.

Brynniursa (1:25:28)
you

Selkie (1:25:40)
I'm lucky that's a perfectly normal sentence.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:25:46)
I only know of one other person who...

smelled of the wind.

They were able to create and ride machines of very unique quality.

Selkie (1:26:12)
Unique how?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:26:16)
Well, I believe they called it a mecha.

Selkie (1:26:26)
That's an option here.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:26:30)
yes, there are, there's an entire... There's... So varying forms of technology all over Phaedos. There is an entire floor that is dedicated to what we call Magitech.

Selkie (1:26:50)
ho...

Sphinx Akashaa (1:26:52)
combination

of magic and technology into wondrous and sometimes terrifying machines.

Selkie (1:27:04)
So... OH! Vehicles...one thing!

it props one of its legs up kind of onto the table and pulls that pant leg up to reveal like the fake leg and it's like...

Can This be more than this?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:27:55)
Define more.

Selkie (1:27:59)
Well, this currently doesn't do very much. It sort of just kind of knocks it on the table. It's kind of just very hard plastic that just sits there. But if...

Sphinx Akashaa (1:28:11)
So

you want it to be functional.

Selkie (1:28:14)
Yes.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:28:17)
Yes, there are multiple people that I could point you in the direction of. That actually, and her eyes kind of go wide as she's remembering something. I know of a very talented maker who specializes in

Magitek Items and

I believe I've heard it called Robotics or Cybernetics?

Selkie (1:28:56)
Blaidd puts one hand on each of the people who are closest to it and just starts shaking them

Sphinx Akashaa (1:29:07)
I could have them sent for as well. They also work for The Circle.

Selkie (1:29:15)
Yes. A hundred times yes. Yes.

Diamond Lynn (1:29:19)
I think you have said the magic words.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:29:20)
Right, well,

I think I might have. Give me just a moment. I'm pretty sure that, Karrera would be most excited to meet you as well. and she gets up and, looks over at Oghram Oghram take care of our friends, love. Make sure you get them rooms. And Oghram kind of gives two big meaty thumbs up. You got it, boss.

And can I get you guys drinks? Do you do drink? You guys do drink, right? I mean water, mead, wine, ale, tea.

Diamond Lynn (1:30:05)
Can I just have whatever your favorite is? Just give me whatever your favorite is.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:30:06)
We got this new thing called Soda.

Alright. He brings to you, he pours like beautifully like gold colored liquid into a large stein. Brings it over to you and places it. This here is well it's it's, you like things spicy. It's a ghost pepper honey wine.

Diamond Lynn (1:30:16)
surprise me.

I am so excited and unafraid and Lysandra goes deep into it. Just start.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:30:51)
You should be.

What about for the rest of you? I'm gonna get some folk to get your rooms together but what else would you like to drink?

Sweet T (1:31:05)
Water would do me just fine, please.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:31:08)
Water for you.

Brynniursa (1:31:10)
you said you had soda.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:31:14)
Yeah, it's something new that just came down from the capital city. We're trying it out.

Brynniursa (1:31:21)
What flavors do you have?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:31:25)
Let's see. There's this stuff called, hang on, I don't have this memorized yet. He goes back behind the counter, pulls up what looks like a menu.

something called Mountain Dew, root beer, how you make beer from roots. Well, I guess it is possible to make beer from roots. It's not the most unheard of thing, but it's not actually beer. Well, there's an alcoholic version that is actual ale, but this is not that. This is the non-alcoholic version. In any case, root beer. There is something called Cola, Cola, Cola.

and sprite not the fairies just sprite

Brynniursa (1:32:21)
Alright, and do you have ice cream?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:32:26)
yeah, of course we do.

Brynniursa (1:32:30)
I would like a root beer float. So you take you take that root beer and you Okay, okay, you take that root beer, right? You put it in a nice kind of tall glass. And then you put some scoops of that ice cream. Actually, no, I told you the reverse. You put some scoops of ice cream in the tall glass. And then you pour the root beer.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:32:35)
And he definitely looks at you like confused.

Brynniursa (1:32:56)
on top of this ice cream till it fills up and it makes this nice little like creamy texture and naturally chills the root beer in addition to this. It's very delicious and I would like that.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:33:09)
That's...

that sounds both bizarre and the most delicious thing I didn't think of. Let's try that! And so he literally runs behind the bar, grabs like a pint glass, runs into the kitchen, comes back with like a tub, like a big ol' like tub of ice cream. Alright, okay. Takes a spoon, like shoves like a big ass spoonful.

Brynniursa (1:33:19)
Let's try it!

Sphinx Akashaa (1:33:38)
into the pint glass takes another shot probably not that much half of that half half that and then pours like looks like he reaches down like beneath the bar for something you hear a door open and then close and he's got a pitcher he pours into the pint glass and then

Like he watches like he's, no, too much, too much froth, too much froth, too much froth. And then he stops and he waits for the froth to go down a bit. Right, right, okay, all right, all right. And then he does a slow pour over the ice cream. And then, right. How do you eat the ice Of course you need a spoon, spoon silly. And then puts like a smaller spoon on the inside.

A straw would probably work with this too. Reaches back behind the bar, shoves like a metal straw in there as well, and then comes back like holding this like big ass pint glass of root beer float. There you go. I hope it's good.

Brynniursa (1:34:55)
do you want to try some with me?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:34:59)
hang on, runs back behind the bar, grabs a spoon, runs back. Okay, right. It's gonna be fine, I like root beer, I like ice cream, the two of them together. Why didn't I think of that? That's brilliant. he, right.

Brynniursa (1:35:11)
Alright.

Alright!

Sphinx Akashaa (1:35:21)
takes a scoop, making sure to get some of the root beer and the ice cream and he very very tentatively takes a bite. You see him make a bit of a face, he kind of swishes it around in his mouth and he swallows and you just see his eyes get wide.

Brynniursa (1:35:27)
Mm-hmm.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:35:45)
This is the best thing I've ever done.

Brynniursa (1:35:48)
Well, I'm glad you like it. It's my favorite.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:35:52)
I'm

going to have to be very careful about this because I will eat way too much of this but this is gonna sell. You don't know what you've done kid. He walks back and starts like, it looks like he's got a notepad and he's like taking notes and things like gonna put that on to the menu. my gosh.

And then he looks back up at Blaidd. right, right, you. Blaidd, right? Yes. Something to drink.

Selkie (1:36:32)
Blaidd was so ingrained in its soup that just soup-o-o-o-o

Sphinx Akashaa (1:36:37)
Hahaha

Selkie (1:36:59)
and then whipped cream on top with maybe a gummy bear too, you know, just for flavor.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:37:06)
Cream soda. Liquor. Gummy bears.

Selkie (1:37:13)
and ice cream.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:37:14)
and ask, you are going to, you're gonna make me a mint. You four are, I don't know what to do with myself. And he goes back, like he makes the concoction, like that's the whipped cream and everything. like, this looks amazing. I'm gonna make one for myself in just a moment. He puts it down in front of you. like.

Yes.

Selkie (1:37:40)
Blaidd looks over at Jodie, and goes, this, this is all thanks to you. And like lifts it up to like, cheers to Jodie.

Brynniursa (1:37:53)
Jodie lifts hers up and happily taps their glasses together with a merry TING!

Selkie (1:37:58)
You

Sphinx Akashaa (1:38:03)
And then Oghram comes back a little bit later with Malachi's glass of water. Are you sure this is all you want, fella? I mean, they've got some pretty... Water? Just water for you? You sure?

Sweet T (1:38:16)
Hmm, perhaps you're right. Water does seem little plain compared to the rest of them. You know what? Let's... Why don't we *zhuzh* things up a little bit? I would like a lemon slice with my water.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:38:19)
I can get you something else.

You seem like a wine gentleman. You seem like a gentleman.

Sweet T (1:38:36)
I'm living on the edge today.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:38:36)
lemon a

lemon slice with your water

Sweet T (1:38:42)
I know, I know it's a bit much, but you know, we're all getting fancy drinks today.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:38:48)
a bit ma- you know what?

You got it. Reaches back under the bar and grabs. It is the shape of a lemon. It is the color of a lemon, but it is the size of a cantaloupe.

And then he reaches underneath the bar pulls out a cleaver Slices that in half Slices it into quarters and then just because this gingerly cutting them into like stripped slices So that looks like it's cut the way Oranges would peel apart

And then he takes one of these now long slices of lemon and he brings it over and very gently sits it in your water glass so that it is like it is the length full on the length of your water glass. And he's just, there we go. All right.

Sweet T (1:40:02)
Not what I was expecting, but you know what? Let's go with it.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:40:07)
What, the lemons? Do you not have lemons? You said lemons, so you must have lemons.

Sweet T (1:40:14)
We do have lemons. They're just not this large where we come from Yeah, the lemon it yeah, they're like like this sounds like a small tennis ball

Sphinx Akashaa (1:40:20)
You get teeny tiny lemons? That's a thing?

How do you eat it?

Sweet T (1:40:36)
Well, I mean, depending on the recipe, but typically we use it for more of a garnish and anything. mean, guess there's some people that just straight up eat lemons, but that's... Yeah.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:40:49)
Yeah, and he just takes the

lemon like rind and like a piece of the lemon the rind and all

Sweet T (1:40:56)
I- yep, just, just, just like that.

Diamond Lynn (1:41:00)
You can also candy that if you boil it with sugar.

Sweet T (1:41:06)
This is also true.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:41:08)
pulls the notepad from his back pocket and is like, boiled with sugar, candied lemon.

Diamond Lynn (1:41:14)
Yes.

You can candy most edible fruit rinds, especially ones that are citric. Do you know what ceviche is?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:41:17)
That sounds amazing.

I have not heard of this.

Diamond Lynn (1:41:31)
Do

you have seafood?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:41:35)
yeah! Fish, crab, shrimp, oysters, dolphins.

Diamond Lynn (1:41:35)
Okay, there's-

So if you...

dolphins. Shrimp. So you take shrimp, you clean them, as per usual. You cut them up. You put them in lemon juice. The citric acid will cook them. You do not have to use heat on them.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:41:44)
yeah!

Sweet T (1:41:45)
Hehehe

Sphinx Akashaa (1:41:57)
just to-

Diamond Lynn (1:41:59)
and can put them in tacos.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:42:01)
Huh.

Tacos, I've heard of tacos. Yes, that sounds delicious.

Diamond Lynn (1:42:05)
Yes.

Yes,

you can put them in tacos. I highly recommend it. Especially if you want to put a little bit of spice in them, then you can put peppers in your ceviche and then everything is spicy.

Some people like cilantro, other people think cilantro tastes like soap.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:42:19)
I like it.

Sweet T (1:42:23)
Hmm.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:42:28)
Cilantro. I do not know of this cilantro business, but I will look it up.

Sweet T (1:42:28)
You could also.

You could also try zesting lemons. Have you done that?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:42:40)
That's where you just like shave bits of lemon off into a thing.

Diamond Lynn (1:42:44)
Yes.

Sweet T (1:42:45)
Yes, basically, and it's good with like most vegetables or maybe some certain rices.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:42:52)
I see. Not many folk ask for that kind of thing here, mostly townful of simple folk. But I will have to try that.

he just starts a writing things down like eyes wide. god you kids are gonna make me a mint I swear. Goes back behind the bar. So you've not been around the town very much.

When did you lot arrive?

Diamond Lynn (1:43:30)
We just

got here.

Sweet T (1:43:33)
Like, yeah, like less than an hour or so ago.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:43:37)
you guys are the weird flash of light that happened.

Diamond Lynn (1:43:43)
Yes. Nothing caught on fire, right?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:43:45)
Gotcha, gotcha.

Right. Not that I'm aware of. I didn't hear any yelling or screaming or any sirens or anything, so I think you're good.

Diamond Lynn (1:43:49)
Alright. See? Not an Arsonist

Selkie (1:43:51)
would be

fitting.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:44:01)
You've muted.

Brynniursa (1:44:05)
Jodie reaches over and knocks on the wood very quietly.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:44:09)
hahahahah

I have heard that expression. Knocking on wood for luck.

I wouldn't worry so much. I wouldn't worry about the luck thing, the fires so much here. We've got a pretty decent fire department system here, that's run by a group of spiritists that can conjure water elementals.

Brynniursa (1:44:21)
I am chasing away the bad ones.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:44:49)
Yeah, did... did not tell you that magic's a thing here?

Selkie (1:44:58)
Hearing about it is kind of one thing and then hearing the extent of it is kinda...

Sphinx Akashaa (1:45:06)
right. Yeah, a lot of the you Earth types, from what I understand, don't really do magic. A lot of our goods and services kind of depend on it. We have an entire tradition... not traditionary...

Selkie (1:45:06)
Cool.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:45:26)
We have an entire mail system, a postal system that relies on it. Like I said, our fire department is comprised mostly of folk that can summon water elementals and arcanum Don't summon any of major arcanum though, that can get messy.

Selkie (1:45:51)
messy how?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:45:54)
I was not alive for this, apparently there was a time where one of the member of the fire brigade accidentally summoned one of the water titans and flooded the town.

Selkie (1:46:11)
I guess the fire was put out.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:46:13)
The fire was definitely put out, but everyone, including the water titan, was highly annoyed. From what I understand of it. Again, before I was born.

Ooh, if you get up to the, to the seventh floor, you might get a chance to see the, the Earth Titan, too.

There's no missing the Earth Titan.

Selkie (1:46:38)
That actually-

That actually brings up a good question. What floor are we on?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:46:46)
This is... Anyanwu is the fourth floor of Phaedos.

So there are 12 floors total of the world.

Sweet T (1:46:52)
And how many... I was just about to ask.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:47:03)
There's only that we know of one, two, three floors that are, you know, inhabitable. There's this floor, the seventh floor.

and the 10th floor. The guided dreamer lives on the 12th floor according to legend, so I guess the 12th floor is also inhabitable, I suppose. But yeah, the 10th floor is called the Corona. Not the 10th floor. The 7th floor is called the Corona, the 10th floor is called the Obsidian. The 10th floor is the floor that Kalizephron was talking about, with all that cool, like, magical tech stuff.

Selkie (1:47:47)
Right. Right. How do you travel between floors?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:47:53)
there are gateways, stairs, depending on where you are, portal, well they're called portcullises but they're actually just portals, and they move, so it's...

It's a bit hard to gauge where they're going to be from a moment to the next. If you've got yourself an airship or something, there are doors within the ceiling of the sky.

Sweet T (1:48:33)
I'm sorry, how?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:48:38)
the sky has a ceiling and there are doors in the ceiling.

Sweet T (1:48:45)
So we're in like a dome.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:48:50)
way I've heard it, it's like an egg that is shelled like a capsule.

Sweet T (1:49:01)
Malachi just looks up like, but we can see the sun.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:49:05)
Yes, but if you look past the sun, there is a ceiling. Every floor that is inhabitable has a sun and a moon. Well, the corona has sort of a moon. It broke about a year and a half ago. And some of it fell into the ocean.

Selkie (1:49:22)
it.

Diamond Lynn (1:49:25)
They broke the moon?

Sweet T (1:49:26)
THE MOON BROKE?!

Sphinx Akashaa (1:49:29)
Yeah, so was the whole thing.

Diamond Lynn (1:49:33)
Who broke the moon?

Brynniursa (1:49:35)
Do you know why it broke?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:49:39)
I know someone sent a crew of investigators out to figure that shit out, no one's told us anything, or at least I don't know anything about what they found out. But yeah, about a year and a half ago, big loud cracking sound during the full moon, but from what I understand, like the northeastern hemisphere of the moon basically shattered and fell into the sea.

caused a lot of weird shit to happen.

Selkie (1:50:12)
Uh-huh.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:50:13)
Yeah. Like one of the islands started to sink, another of the islands nearby started to rise up out of the sea. It's a whole thing. They thought that the Earth Titan did it, but the Earth Titan was on the other side of the corona when it happened, plausible deniability, I guess.

Selkie (1:50:36)
Hmph.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:50:37)
Yeah.

Selkie (1:50:40)
Is this moon gonna break?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:50:44)
I certainly hope not, there's a dragon in there.

If anyone breaks the moon.

Sweet T (1:50:52)
I'm sorry,

Brynniursa (1:50:52)
Wait.

Sweet T (1:50:52)
so

both the moon and the sun are dragons.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:50:58)
According to legend, yeah.

Brynniursa (1:51:02)
Well, do you wanna know a fun fact?

Sphinx Akashaa (1:51:05)
I love fun facts.

Brynniursa (1:51:09)
Well on earth, and there's a bit of playfulness, again that y'all very much at school there is a serious aura to her, she is there to teach her children, so you're getting a glimpse of just a little bit of playfulness. On earth, we got something in our moon too.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:51:39)
Is this that? I think I might have heard about this. Is there like cheese? I heard somewhere that like one of the earths has a moon that's made of cheese?

Brynniursa (1:51:48)
no, not in fact this earth. This earth has a rabbit in our moon.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:51:55)
Really? Is this like a rabbit rabbit or a rabbit like one of the the Lapin like a rabbit person?

Brynniursa (1:52:05)
Well, it's interesting that you say that because the rabbit was a person. However, okay, so you know how you have a sun and moon here, except the one that just got destroyed. So there were these there were two warriors that had to prove their bravery. And to prove it, they had to go into fire. The first warrior

Sphinx Akashaa (1:52:15)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. Yeah.

Cool.

Brynniursa (1:52:35)
Couldn't do it. Ran away.

The second warrior went in no hesitation and they were rewarded by becoming the sun.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:52:51)
Ha

Brynniursa (1:52:52)
The second warrior, however, went into the fire because they weren't about to be outdone. But instead of becoming the sun, they became a moon. And in that moon, you see a rabbit running away.

so that everybody remembers how they ran.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:53:22)
Huh.

Interesting.

As far as I know, we don't have any rabbit folk in our sun or moon. Just, you know, dragons. But that's really cool.

Brynniursa (1:53:40)
Yeah, I was trying to play a trick on you and then I actually taught you a real story there.

because he already knew the cheese thing.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:53:48)
Well, there's the cheese thing, yeah. One of the other folks from the last group that came here talked about the moon being made of cheese.

Brynniursa (1:54:00)
Well now you know they were just playing with you. told you the real story. It's really legend there. It's a real legend. I'm serious. And this is Brynn being serious.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:54:03)
Huh.

Huh.

Hahaha

Well, the next time I see that crew... Who was it? What was that guy's name? Aaron Strum... Weirdo. Next time I see him, I'm gonna give him a talking to.

Brynniursa (1:54:35)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because you can't just go around saying that there's cheese in the moon.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:54:42)
Well then there's that other- there's a woman with him, trying to remember her name. Avalee, I think? That also said that the moon might be made of an oatmeal raisin cookie?

Brynniursa (1:55:03)
Well no, and I feel like I should tell you something else as well. That is only one story of the rabbit in the moon. There's many stories some people say because nobody will for every group this rabbit did something different.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:55:15)
There's more stories about the rabbit?

Brynniursa (1:55:28)
There's some that say that the rabbits in the moon has a reward for their selflessness. There's some that say that.

it was in there because of sacrifice there's some that say that it is the champion of the moon

So, started out trying to trick you with the cheese thing and here I am teaching you all about all the rabbits that are in that moon.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:55:59)
Well you learn something new every day, I like learning stuff.

And it's around that time that Kalizephron comes back into the inn. Right, well, got it on good authority that the folks are coming down from Dawnseed, which is on the other end of the kingdom, but they should be here in a day or two. Two, one.

Brynniursa (1:56:05)
Okay.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:56:35)
to meet you all, two, to kind of give you a bit of an assessment, an assessment of your skill and you know what your affinities might be, and three, they're escorting my friend Karrera, who I mentioned, the very gifted, talented maker and tinkerer.

It doesn't quite hold a candle to her younger brother, but her younger brother's been missing for a little while, so that's unfortunate. They're a close-knit pair.

In any case, they should be here within the next day or so. So!

I would invite you to get comfy, get cozy, and we're going to have more visitors who are not in fact you. One of them will assess your combat abilities, which should be interesting, and they're gonna be here for a while, because it's gonna take some time to get you all kind of prepared. Neither of you look like you are...

And please don't take any offense by this, this is simply an observation. Have you been in a fight? Well, it looks like you.

But

Sweet T (1:58:19)
Excuse

you, but I have years of stage fighting experience.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:58:29)
and Kalizephron gives you a bit of a smirk and kind of like leans in. Young man, we do have the theater here.

In one of the... Earthers? I suppose that's a better name for them for now. Actually brought quite a bit of knowledge of a man called Shakespeare? And another by the name... well no, a pair by the name of Gilbert and Sullivan?

Are we familiar with your theatre?

Sweet T (1:59:14)
Well, that's fantastic for you all then.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:59:19)
there's an entire nation on the 7th floor that's dedicated to the arts.

If that is something that you are interested in, that might be worth visiting on your journeys.

Sweet T (1:59:39)
I suppose I'll have to make a stop up there.

Sphinx Akashaa (1:59:43)
Yes, they just had recently had a, well, within the last five or six years, a changeover in leadership. The king, King Bootsy, I guess, recently relocated his granddaughter. And his granddaughter basically saved their kingdom and he abdicated and she took the throne and is now the new king of Anthem.

Sweet T (2:00:14)
Sorry, I'm just, for my notes. Did you say Bootsy or Boopsy?

Sphinx Akashaa (2:00:18)
Bootsy as in Bootsy Collins

Sweet T (2:00:24)
You?

Sphinx Akashaa (2:00:30)
It's Bootsy, baby! but yes, Bootsy still lives there and apparently is quite fond of creating, it's called the program that he blares out over the speakers and anthem called Radio Free Bootsy.

Sweet T (2:00:58)
Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.

Sphinx Akashaa (2:01:01)
Yes, it's apparently quite entertaining. But yes, I highly recommend that you visit Anthem. It is, And it looks at Lysandra for you as well, you being a dancer and all.

Diamond Lynn (2:01:18)
I mean I'm not the classically trained dancer who does like the tango or anything. I usually just dance with like fire or like staff on fire. okay. As long as no one's trying to make me do a waltz.

Sphinx Akashaa (2:01:29)
Yes, they have that there too.

No, no, no, mean, yes, that exists there as well, but no one will make you do any of that.

Diamond Lynn (2:01:43)
That's as nice.

Sweet T (2:01:45)
sure you could learn how to waltz.

Diamond Lynn (2:01:49)
Are you going to learn to be weird? If you learn to be weird, I will learn to waltz.

Sweet T (2:01:49)
is not difficult.

Why aren't we all in our own ways a little weird?

Diamond Lynn (2:02:00)
I

have horns.

Jodie has antenna.

Sweet T (2:02:06)
Fair.

I can't...

Diamond Lynn (2:02:08)
Blaidd is Blaidd.

Brynniursa (2:02:09)
Jodie is stroking her antenna.

Sweet T (2:02:12)
Blaidd is Blaidd, yes. Fair enough, I will find a way to match your weirds.

I don't know how yet, but I'll think of something.

Diamond Lynn (2:02:27)
You have a quest.

Selkie (2:02:28)
You are really doing the team's work.

Sphinx Akashaa (2:02:28)
And...

So, Oghram kind of is nursing their own bowl of liquor'd cream soda float. Listen, healthy is the group who learns to match each other's freak.

And with that, we zoom out and away from this tavern. And as we zoom out, we see the city of Dawngate or rather the town of Dawngate, at the very southern tip of the nation of Solim. It is a beautiful temple town surrounded by

Homes and small farms. Many of them normal food farms, but a good deal of them are wind farms and solar farms. Homes that are covered in various plants and vines that bear fruit. Several stories, well not several stories high, like usually no bigger than about three stories high. The Temple of Solim is in fact the tallest building in this town.

But we zoom out and away from there. And we zoom up a river, the river that is, that the city is connected to up north through the Luminarium River. And we follow that path as it runs perpendicular to a winding

a row of mountains known as the Serpentine, until we come all the way to the far north into a town called, not a town, a city called Dawneseed, a bristling large metropolis with very hilled

with homes that are built into many of the mountains and hillsides there. Large cobblestone roads, very much like a maritime city. is on the northern coast of the country.

There are also islands floating just above the city, where a gleaming, sparkling collection of spires that everyone knows as the capital city castle, where the king of Solim resides. But we're not, we see that, but we go back down towards the city, towards a maybe three or four story tall brick building.

with tiled roofs that have plants kind of draping down from the roof. Plants across every window, bearing things like herbs and fruits. Small, strange looking mammals, unlike anything you've seen on your earth before, crawl up and down grabbing some of the smaller fruits and going about their way. And...

we find the door engraved in the door is a circle.

an eye, and in the center of the eye, within its iris, a pentagram, and coming from the eye itself, spirals.

We go through the door and there is...

A large man, dark skin, hair cut close to his scalp, close cut beard with patches of gray, same with the hair graying at the temples, wearing what looks like a large leather overcoat with fur lining.

He looks both large, very like mus- well muscled, and also very comfortable. He stands at about six foot seven. and he kind of is standing near a counter, that has- that looks like it's been abandoned, and not used for some time.

Not like massive dust or cobwebs, but it's just really beginning to get to that.

He looks at it, kind of gives a sigh, walks over to a table where a woman sits wearing a collection of silver and white and gray robes. She is also dark skinned, long hair. One side of it is shaved and the other side just kind of trails over.

one side of her face. On the side that is shaved, you can see that she has a pointed ear, and smaller tusks come out from her lower mouth. She is very beautiful, and it seems fairly unassuming. As the man walks up to her, she looks up. hello Duke.

can I do for you? Are you... Did you get the message too? Is that why you're here?" The man, apparently Duke, looks down. Right, yeah. Apparently Iki's got some news for us here. And there is, from alongside them, a clinking of legs.

along the wood as the camera pans to a young green skinned woman. Looks like she's maybe in her early 20s. Both sides of her head are shaved. A shock of green hair up top in kind of a...

Not quite a pompadour, not quite a mohawk. Kind of faux-hawky territory, but not really. Beautiful jade green eyes. She sits in a, what looks like a brass chair with mechanical spider legs coming from the sides. The legs kind of click, click, click, click, click.

And she says, no, it sounds like the, how do I say this? and she seems nervous. She's like very nervously kind of fidgeting with her hands. She's wearing a kind of leather pants that stop at like thigh high boots that are like black leather.

There is a vest that she wears that is also corseted at the underbust down to her waist. And there are tools hanging from various pockets and chains and doodads attached to the vest. She wears a pair of workers gloves. She kind of fidgets.

no, I think from what I understand is that we got heroes. And both Duke and the other woman kind of turn in unison.

Duke kind of gets down on one knee to be at eye level with this girl.

You're shitting me, Karrera. We got heroes.

But that's not meant to happen for... and Karrera nods... and the other woman, the half-orc... for another... almost a year.

That's... This is highly unusual.

and Karrera nods. Yeah, yeah, very unusual. Absolutely. You're definitely not wrong, Desi. It's weird.

I think that's why we're here. And a door opens not far from where Karrera's come in. And a tall black woman with a shock of white curly hair that halos about her. Beautiful blue brocade jacket robes actually flow over what looks like a pantsuit.

of like black leather. She walks over to everyone with a very kind of serious look on her face, at which point both Desi the half-orc and Duke both stand at attention and both put hands to their chest. Good to see you, Guildmaster. What's the word?

And the guild master looks at the both of them.

Karerra's right. Heroes have come.

I need you, with all speed, to head down to Dawngate.

Give them your assessment. And get them ready.

Because we're not the only ones who know.

And if I'm not mistaken, shit's about to hit the fan.

And as everyone looks at the guild master, that is where we will end our episode.

So tune in next time, where we will get, I believe, a training montage. And the first real combat of this campaign. Yep, I'm calling it right now. As we figure out what's going on and we...

get to find out what our heroes are capable of. So, until then.

Stay tuned, stay safe, take care of each other and of course yourselves. And as always, stick to the storied path and may the dice roll ever in your favor. We'll see you next time.