Hello, I'm Robbie. I play the speaker on Could Have Been Heroes.
We are a completely independent podcast. Please consider joining us on Patreon and follow
us on Instagram and Twitter at cbchpod. Could Have Been Heroes is a role
playing game podcast where six old friends adventure as six total strangers who, after
missing their shots at destiny, now get a second chance to make a mess
of everything. Nazzy Bindleweather fell sideways as a crackling cluster of fey fire ignited
against Crownlander Cold Iron. The magical energy and magic resistant material had a violent
reaction, and a shockwave put a high ring into her ears. As she
hit the ground hard, she said goodbye to a percentage of sound and rolled
her sore body out of the way of a stampeding Knight's horse. The night
dangled loosely dead in the saddle. What in the name of the Old and
New are you doing here? She asked herself. You spent one night out
drinking with a couple of wannabe heroes and the next thing, you know,
from out of the dust cloud ahead of her, one of the insectile Fay
Warriors came into view, and Nazzy's hate sprang up, stifling herself pity.
She called to the flickering shadow in her mind, and a ghostly gray sinew
of smoke ignited behind the focus of her eye, before slivering through its body.
Everywhere the smoke traveled, it left the Fay Warrior drained and withered behind
it. She launched herself forward with her new found strength, she was still
getting used to being so strong, and kicked the creature sideways in the helm.
Its desiccated neck snapped cleanly, and the creature was dead before she landed.
Its wings fluttering reflexively, the smoke coalesced into the ghostly shape of Chapel
the Cat, though cat wasn't really correct. She'd learned that when the two
of them traveled together to the sacred burial ground at the center of the Grimwood.
Nazy knew that everything would be different when she came back, but she
did not expect it to be this different. She was altered inside and now
her outside were swept up in a full scale battle between the crown Lands and
the Faye. Not that she minded. Revenge was very sweet, especially now
that she and Chapel had joined and he had given her the power to exact
that revenge with her own hands. To her left, Dodor fell the troll,
lowered his shoulder and crashed through a brace of face spears, shattering them
like toothpicks and making an opening for a push of soldiers behind him. To
her right, Ottax, the woodcutter, earned his name cleaving to the core
of an animated tree in an explosion of blood like sap. The little Plush
Captain had mounted a grimwood elk at some point and led a charge of nights
in a lightning quick pass that finally felled one of the mighty Formorians near the
bridge and sent it tumbling into the acid filled moat below. For a moment,
her heart skipped, thinking it was the Black Iron Formorian, but it
was much too small. If her quarry fell into the moat of acid,
how would she have retrieved her love's bones from its stomach. Chapel was clear
that the remains did not have to be intact, had to be whole for
the burial ground to bring her back. The battle raged, thick and bloody,
and even at the Black Iron. For Marian's massive size, it was
hard to pick it out among the fracas, but she scanned again and found
it wrestling one of Bevil's armored giants, both warriors bloodied and broken and weaponless,
rolling and smashing and biting like animals, their huge forms crushing lesser combatants
as they flailed there. It is the dark shadow in her head, whispered,
Go and pour your bitterness into it. Nazzy started trying to push herself
that way when a clap of thunder shook the battlefield, sending bodies of both
factions pitching into the air. Through the battle haze, Nzzy could make out
his arraz Elda Fair and one of the many wicked face sorcerers locked in a
magical battle that her peasant mind had no frame of reference for. The air
around them seemed to break like glass and the old the woman swung her staff
through her opponent, ripping apart into a thousand little bits that turned to ladybugs
and lily blossoms. The Wizardess was in rough shape, her left arm hung
loose and blackened, her thin hair was matted to the left side of her
face with blood, and her fine white garment was shot through with red.
But even still, her sharp eyes or perhaps some other mystical sense, picked
something up and her gaze shifted up the tower. We Yah needed, came
the wizard's voice in her ear. Nausey was shocked and a bit flattered to
have been included in Zaurrazel's wizard whisper. But as the magic swirled and swept
her up, her flattery turned to frustration. Her black iron foe were so
close, and there was no telling where this vortex of wizard magic would sweep
her off to lo As she stared up at the crumbling, gaping hole near
the briar tower's beak, she supposed moves to she could wager a guess.
Lavealene, here, here's what you missed last week. I could have been
heroes. Lavealene has completed her long quest to retrieve and safeguard her lost daughter,
but will likely never see her again. The nearlys are just below the
tower top, which means the greatest dangers lie just ahead. The heat from
the dragon's fire has risen and brought the rain. Legend says, the best
rain knows when to fall. All right, So after a few moments,
the magical energy of the salon heals your wounds again, and Martin Hans popped
back into place, and the impalement. The dragon chard impalement is able to
be pulled out of Xenator's head. However, that eye is always going to
be a little discolored, like a little reddish from now on from the dragon
shards. What about emotional damage that it's lingering an emotional damage? Damage?
Okay, so after a short time, I'll heal back up. The emotional
damage is only amplified by the passage of time. As so much therapy you
have completed. You have completed a major, major objective, one that you
in fact put ahead of your guild objectives, your heroic like world saving objectives,
Like really this was like, well I did, and I dragged them
along with it. I don't know, I know, we remember we had
that conversation where we're like, we are going to help you with this.
This is more important to us than than the saving the damsels. I had
to keep fucking reminding you the Rapunzel is also in this tower and saving one
of the classic fairy tale princesses. I know, but you didn't know that.
You didn't know that at the time. Lavoling goes and pulls the sword
out of the stone base of the fountain. Loveline if you look at your
character sheet, the sword as it lifts into your hand sings in your mind.
This is the singing sword, in fact of the singing sword of legend.
It's very very powerful. That sings, fat lip. What the fucking
what? What is it? It sings? It sings. We all just
started three different I like that. Actually, spoiders, where are you you
all? I'm all the spoilers. We're the spoiders. So okay, it's
just absolute chaos. You guys are like jazz musicians, except from bullshit.
Wait, wait, what do you think our comedy is bullshitting? I didn't
mean that direct it? Oh how did you mean it? Josh experimental job?
All right, Kathy, you've seen the powers of the singing sword.
Yeah, but what you said? What do you mean a singing swords attack
can only be used at the listed range range of one and then two and
then three. I thought I had to wait for like a song to be
playing and depending where range like range in at the range of the attacks.
So like normally it's a range to attack you can from space spaces away.
This you have to be, but with as mobile as your character as it
shouldn't be shouldn't be a problems, like, well, how do I know
if a song? Wow? Amazing? Okay, So Laveoline hoists this like
crystalline silver and gold like etched sword, the sword I drew threw her with
for the first time, that like art been waiting for you to get get
your hardly a fair talon's on that sucker. All right. So the women
in the room, these like all these you know, oh yeah, there's
also some other women that need rescuing the budget. Yeah, these adopted.
Suddenly for the first time ever, feel like self conscious about my looks.
This room full of damsels and princesses. In the room, there is a
very disheveled, like pale man sitting at the at the side of the fountain
who you didn't notice before. And as you get closer, it takes you
a minute to notice the scars on the forehead and the like sallow expression of
what has become of the Cambian. And he is like he's like spray.
He's ladling the like water from the fountain into his face. Oh, Gwenny,
don't be jealous of them. They're all hosts. Wait what they have?
All you have the vivacious energy over all of them. They're most of
them have been dead for centuries. So many questions red what uh your no,
no, no, that doesn't work anymore. And now I'm more of
a baal pink a. Right, well are you what is this? Is
this like an you're not how are you? No? No, no,
I'm not involved in this. I came from the lower level of the tower.
I felt demonic energy and I came to try to help with v but
I was too slow because I am half a man. Now, yeah,
how are you holding up? Oh? Not good? Not good at all?
You look great. Yeah, I've been pulled back from the dead.
I think that I I think it's just my human form that was pulled back.
So I feel very weak and not very sexy. Honestly, I feel
like I look kind of like a human gulf from Hume. Gu never mind,
that's a reference for a really old, cheesy horror film that I just
saw. I feel like I sort of looked like a half cool, half
human that, for some reasons named the Hu instead of anything sensible. I'm
just having a very bad time, but I wanted to come to help,
but I'm too late for that. It seems that you have already dispatched,
be at least for the time being. I mean, in typical US fashion,
we put a band ad for a road. In fact, this was
actually at the end of that. This was actually the part of the story
where I I sort of anticipated betraying you in some way, don't Yeah,
I could say that I'm half devil. I have not anymore. I was.
I was sort of planning on like, oh though, you know,
into your head, you're always like, betray them at some point in the
future, don't you love kept kicking the candle, don't you love Mark?
Yeah, we heard the focused on like silly pranks. That's really more it's
really more your thing, Like I don't do pranks. Those would be too
neat. I just have your standard goofs and then you eat, and then
you eat people off screen. Never all right, well, this is sort
of anti climactic part to my story. I'm just gonna stay here because I'm
very tired where we land on the betrayal. No, I'm too tired.
I came here thinking maybe, oh, maybe I'll find an opportunity, but
no, I just don't have it in me anymore. Chin up, man,
I mean, I'm sure you can no, No, betray another day,
yeah, a different betray a different party on a different day. You
just rest, not to worry. I'll just stay here at the ghosts.
Okay, is there like, do you need? Is there anything we can
do for you? Do you need? Like, gentle Martin, you've done
enough. You've all been a real pleasure. You're not like pulling an e
T on us, Like, are you dying? I don't know. No,
probably not. I'm picture no not, probably literally shrilling up before your
eyes. No, I'm probably gonna be fine. I was going to betray.
I was going to kid. That's how the movie shout fingers with us,
and it's like I was down, I'll take the girl kills Drew berry
More's a laser comes out of his little glowing finger. With my last glow
stab at the very far my gosh, disturbing my slumber among the stuffed animals.
That's a really good e t you guys. Yeah, that's how the
movie impacted me as a child. I was so scared of e tys,
very scary, very scary. It just really made me want pieces placement.
Okay, Star Wars action figures, that's all right. So the Cambian bids
his anti climactic goodbyes I'll be right here, and he touches you, and
a pentagram draws in, like I'll always be right here. Oh yeah,
you definitely all can have uh pentagrams draw? Can we say no? Why
does it say motorhead? Never Manda, Daddy's girl? That makes sense later?
That don't make sense later? Why that's my motor and mine says daddy
girl. That's you know, you guys are fucking funny. I'm gonna say
it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and just fucking say it.
Okay, So so you leave that behind and head into the chamber of judgment.
So marked bys to know. We're visiting mom's house this weekend, All
right out, all right? When everyone please make a focused check with a
hidden difficulty? When am I getting grandchildren? My mom knows better than to
ask. She just leans down and yells into a man's vagina. Hey,
hey, haven bare fruit fruit make make just like your mom. That's exactly
what she Yeah, right, all moms are focus. Yeah, okay,
yeah, I rolled a two. That's seven for me. I rolled a
twist. Mark sits on it. Right. Yeah, if you're if you're
close to fifteen, go ahead, And so Martin slips in something, lands
in it, and then stands back up and doesn't think of anything about it
and doesn't realize until later that it was just blood and he's just soaked.
His whole bag is soaked in. I don't know, but inquisitive, weird
and naturalist. Inquisitive will help you out here. That's ten, shrewd and
instinctive. There's like a weird coppery smell in this hall It's blood, Yes,
it is blood I always wanted. There's also the crackle of like phosphorus
of like fire magic and lightning magic have been cast in this hallway. You
recognize that like kind of crackly ozone smell and smells like instinctive wild opportunistic.
I think half an opportunistic, but the rest should be great. Yeah,
okay, inquisitive gives me to eleven if that helps them get if another ten
helps us twenty one A whoa, all right, there was a battle.
There was a battle ahead. And as you find some of the bodies and
you find you are able to quickly identify them as those survivors from Abernaffy that
you met in the forest nearby that you spend the forests on the south who
were very much after Xenotaur. So you recognize some of the like black and
like crackled like shapes on the ground. When you were in the Swamp of
Sorrows, there was a black knight there with a with a sword, you
know, a very spooky sword, and his weapon left like black crackles like
that behind. Also, a lot of these bodies are like eviscerated, like
chopped up, split open, gutted, and like disturbingly like splayed out,
which reminds you of the story of the death of William William Guys. I
wish we had the capacity to do like a William Guys like themes like Sir
Robin from like my Python, like William Guys, William Guys. Is he
him or other than this guy? Yeah? Second, is it him or
just a disguise Willium Guys? Okay, so the yeah, we'll figure out
the servants. So the servants of Want and the servant of me, we're
we're here fighting the survivors of Abernathy. And in fact you hear an explosion
from down the hallway, and however, underneath several other bodies with her high
roll vow is able to uh see there is a survivor. And you push
a body off of a young woman like clutching onto a broken a broken staff
with a dragon dragon silver popper holding a gem. Her name is Kosa and
she is the young young mage who is leading bandage her page. So you
go to uh bandage her and and she almost it's kind of weird. She
almost has like a shame thing like don't don't look, don't look down.
But as you move the body off of her, you can see that like
her entrails are like hanging out of her mid section. Uh and a disc
is really embarrassing. She should almost like like Jesus, But yeah, ridiculous.
This is this is my fault. I brought them here. I thought,
I thought we I thought that they could be convinced. My magic located
a brisbane in the tower, and I brought them to this chamber. I
thought it was you, your brother, He's not as reasonable as you are.
What happened? He killed them all? Why why would he even fight
them? Is he is one of the servants. You shouldn't. You should
get out of this tower. Still have work to do. Best of luck,
Okay, so zedator realizes she's dying, and he reaches into his pack
and pulls out her glove that he got when they when they met, and
puts it in her hand and closes her hand and holds her hand until she's
gone. And so she looks down, realizing that that like encounter was very
meaningful to you, and that's why, you know, kept to this momento
and and and you can see like in her eyes like just regret, just
so much regret for she tracked you all this way and she finally catches you
up up with you, and that just was all for nothing, Like what
was the point of it all? You can see just nothing but but terrible
regret in her eyes. As the light goes out, and then the sounds
of battle from ahead, and there's an explosion and then a little bit of
a glimmer of a shadow and you hear a voice as a bald headed man
steps out of the shadow as the sort of slinky, crazed looking like wild
eyes of Silick, and he looks down, Oh my, look at how
much your brother loves use any All right, so last time you saw Silac,
he was covered in the blood of William Guy as having eviscerated him.
So yeah, he runs his hand over the top of his head. He
is covered in blood again, but now it is the blood of the Abernathians.
A Hi, guys, boom boom, No, don't enjoy it.
Boo oh. I enjoy everything. I have a rare disorder that doesn't allow
me to feel pain or shame or regret. Everything's nice for me. So
so you're a publican, nips, it's called it's called publican. I just
I just love the signs of brotherly love I see in the carnage in this
hallway. I don't think that's what that was. Well, well, well
I did it. We did it all for you, senator. It's all
for you. Dan's all for you. He's vamping, bump rushing. Well,
if you're so dedicated to my preferences, why don't you stand down,
absolutely, sir, And he does a little bow and he like steps back.
You know his knives are sheathed. Uh, you're looking for the entrance
to the next floor of the tower. I take it right, come right
this way, right this way over the bodies. Don't slip on the blood
again. And their sweet mutain too late, send and entails and ravaged bodies.
Knife didn't the mouth, knife didn't the throat Jesu Christ and he just
goes skipping down the like lane or the alleyway full of bodies towards uh what
appears to be like a viewing platform. Uh so you it's like a seating
area, like an almost like an amphitheater that looks down and you can hear
the clanging of metal on metal down at the bottom of the amphitheater. Two
big men are the only ones alive. Their blades flash wildly huge blows that
would take the head off a war horse. Meeting one another. The older
man you now recognize as Seriva the ranger's father. You're so Sereva was one
of the rangers in you or was the ranger in your your adventuring party's or
it is her father okay, whose name is Saravan, legendary hero in his
own right, fighting with your brother Krrik in a suit of black armor with
a black, smoldering sword that you you've never seen before. Sarahvan is holding
sever the family the Brisbane's family sword, so he must have obtained it in
the battle or in the aftermath of Abernathy. And that's why. You know,
he has been carrying it around and lots of people mistook him for your
brother Krick because he had the sword and of his great size. So,
however, Saravan is starting to show signs of fatigue. He has wounds on
him, his blows are coming slower, his blocks are coming slower. Carrick,
on the other hand, is somehow changed. He's he's more than human.
His movements are faster, and he is showing no exhaustion whatsoever, even
though he is slaughtered, you know, for people, his wounds. Saravan's
wounds are like pouring blood out where Carrick's are only trickling. The ranger begins
to howl and wail, realizing he will not win with the blade, but
instead shouts out to Karrik, you would defend him still after all he's done,
and the Carrik just coolly replies, I do. He is a monster.
He is, but I have to believe. And the blades are clanging
and springing off of each other. Again, I have to believe that the
Glorious are not beyond goodness. I have to. And as the group finally
like takes their positions at the top of the amphitheater, the ranger swings the
Brisbane family sword once more, too slowly, Karrik's sword flashes twice and the
man's arm falls apart. The Brisbane heirloom is once again in Brisbane hands.
Please, you loved her, you must avenge her, to which Kerk replies,
I will do better than that. I will bring her back. The
glorious will return her to me. Seriva's father's eyes bulge, you're mad,
You're a fool. Kark nods love and family make fools of us all.
And then he slides his swords together and the man's head comes off, and
the phantoms that you and the phantoms that you have been watching disappear, and
the man's headless body is laying there like cold and still. You were seeing
an echo of something that happened maybe fifteen minutes ago, twenty minutes ago.
Was it a parent that it was an echo? I was trying to do
it like an invasive psychic vision, but I love it so at the end
of it, you like try to cry out and then realize, like your
voice is silent, like you're in like a dream or nightmare. What were
you trying to say? Though? Out of curiosity? Spare him? Yeah.
So when the vision fades, it's like your voice like rings out and
the echoes are gone, and then the man's body is just laying there,
headless, this expression of just agony and anger on his face. And the
big man in the black armor is sitting at the back of the arena,
just like on a boulder or something like an overturned piece of rock. It
looks like stones were laid in a big circle around the center of the amphitheater,
and he's just sitting on one of those. And you know, he
has like a black cape that's like just kind of flapping in like a low
wind that is blowing through the chamber. Now that there's a big hole in
the side of the tower down below, there's a breeze in here. And
Sarah sort of giggles behind you, and you can't help but feel like the
ghost image was like was his doing? I love that love and family make
fools of us all. It touched me so much. I just thought you
had to see it. Fuck off? What did you do to him?
How dare you accuse me? Accuse me of being such an artist. I
would never take credit for something this beautiful. I'm scum. I'm I'm a
wirre who did Then he thinks the Glorious are gonna help him. He trusts
you, trusts you can't deliver on your promise. That doesn't have anything to
do with the Glorious. Oh, I think you're missing a step. Time
for a family reunion. Any emotions like down the stairs. I could never
stand in the way of something like this. All right, then let's get
to the bottom of this. So Krik in his black plated armor, some
of you have encountered him before, and I think we're a little bit coy
about the possibility of his identity, and we haven't really had time to kind
of process that whole thing. Those of you who were in the swamp met
the man in black armor who looked, Oh it looks just his eyes look
suspiciously like that of Xanotaur's. But you kind of put it out of your
mind. I didn't really think about it. And what's that the barricade,
the barricade new Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right, So thanks for
the heads up. Oh I forgot sorry important, what's the big deal.
We're fine. I got the family sword back, he says, like leading
his palm on the pommel of the beautiful like elegant blade known as sever and
his own his own sword is sheathed, but you can still see like smoke
smoldering up out of the out of the out of the sheath where it's put.
Is it really you? Sort of? Is that? Really? You
looks like most of you? It's most of me? Why are you so
short? Really? I think that happens when you lose like thirty percent of
your body moisture. Oh it's a moisture issue. Oh good. I mean
I don't think my legs were like cut off or anything. I thought for
sure they were missing parts of you and you just sort of collapsed. If
you, I'm even bigger than I was before. I've grown like four or
five inches. Good for you, my lady, I presume thirsty. So
yeah, he doesn't lose a launch break in between a catastrophic emotional event and
she's our already, Like, how big that dicky? I talked to my
husband on my lunch breaktyle. Yeah, the straight agenda is killing people.
It's cat Yeah, you don't get to talk about your how dear husb all
right? Uh? Cut that that's trash, okay. So it is so
good to see you it's good to see you too. I just wish it
was under different circumstances. Let's just give that a moment, all right.
His eyes just are like bright and shiny for a few moments, like while
he just enjoys it. I thank you for I mean, you were only
there for half of it. I but thank you for making sure I was
only there for half of it. Yeah, do he look He like doesn't
doesn't seem to be able to like really process that. It's not gonna matter.
None of it's gonna matter after today. It's all gonna go back.
It's all gonna go back how it was. You're gonna get your body back.
We're gonna get the team back. Abernathy is going to rewind. It's
all Carrick, We're gonna make it go away. Never could that possibly be
true? What are you talking about? It's a stitch, it's a it's
a hook it it's like a bird in time. The sheet can be sort
of pulled back. They showed me how it worked. It's it's going to
we're going to undo it. It's gonna go back. The Glorious showed you
that this one particular member of or he's gonna put it back how it was.
Do you know what happened to me? Do you know how I'm back?
Has anyone told you that neckermanc Er she was here, snuck away,
slipped away. She did it. I assume right she did. For the
guild. There's this sacred curse. All five of us have it. They
brought us back to fight the glorious. Mm hmmm. That definitely seems like
a good idea spooky, crazy things. But there's this one that is I
don't want to say good, but there's this one that it's it's gonna put
everything back for us. Why why would it do that? It's it's it's
really hard to explain. I can show you, but you have to like
open yourself up to it to see what it shows you. And it's really
hard to explain unless you've seen the light that it shines. It's you can
trust it. I know you can't. It's it's like a bargain. You
give, give it something, and then it can give you anything, anything
you want. And I'm I can get I can get Cereva back from the
abyss where she is. You look like you don't believe me. I believe
I believe that you believe that. How many fucking times have we told mad
men? I believe that, you believe it, But I'm I'm not crazy.
I've I've seen it. I've seen things unwound, things put back.
My body will destroyed. They rewound it. They gave me back my limbs
and my legs. Keric. Even if that was something that they could do
for me, I can't go back. The sacred Curse is the only thing
that lets us fight them. So even if even if all that is true,
and this one Glorious is is playing straight with you, you can't bring
me back. I've got more work to do. We need to make sure
that they don't invade again. That's not it doesn't work that way. We
we it's like we undo it, we undo the day we go back,
and we just could and we change it. So we defeated cabal. He
I mean, he's in on it. It's all his fucking idea. Basically,
he'll let he'll lay down for us on that day and we win and
then none of this happens, and maybe the whole Glorious invasion doesn't even happen.
Your brothers, No, it's Glowie's not it's not his fault. But
none of this that you're saying is how this is gonna go. I hate
to break it to you. What about the Queen of Spite's curse, the
the ritual tonight it won't matter because after today I get my deal done,
and it will everything will be different. Nothing will happen the same. It'll
it'll like rewrite the whole the whole timeline, right, so so we'll have
another chance to stop it. But we'll have our friends and the people of
Abernathy and every everything will be will be good there, and so it'll never
happen. It'll never come to this. The Glorious will never never do really
putting all your eggs in one basket, get there. This is what happened
after any though the guild they they sacrificed all the heroes in order to lock
the Glorious away, and they had they had to do that because nobody could
fight them, right, But we won't have to fight them because you won't
let them in this time. I know that you will be stronger if you
get another chance. I know you'll do it right next time, and you
won't and you won't you won't let them in. But that doesn't mean that
we'll be that will have the power to stop them, right. I mean,
are you telling me that their entire plan, their only way into our
entire world hinged on me trying to use the amulet you you broke away in
and once they got in and more of their servants were able to affect more
plans and more places. We'll get ahead of it this time. We'll do
it. We'll do it right this time, because because we will know.
And so he's like looking around at everyone else's faces. All of you who
are like wide eyed and like have kind of seemed like you've like given up
or written off or like not listening. He can kind of read the room.
You're looking at me like I'm one of those people I used to hunt
down and kill on a professional basis. Well, you're sounding like that,
I would like to I think senator is not. I think senators like,
actually, he's addressing that at you at your companions. Sound nuts, man,
What do you mean not? Come on, senator? We'll hear him
out. I mean, what if we could undo this stuff, maybe I
can remember who I am. When motives like that get personal is when shit
gets fucked up. I mean, maybe you can fix things with Grandma name
she's dead. No, let's actually, Gwen is right. We need we
need to be calculating about this. We can it cannot be clouded by our
emotions. Can you repeat the part, Gwendolyn, Yeah, you were right
about that, but you But everything that the Guild has done so far has
been a desperate attempt to come up with any plan to stop them. If
Kerk is right that there is a way to go back and have it off
at the pass with the knowledge that we have now, including creating near Le's
with the Sacred Curse, I mean, is there anything about going back that
would preclude turning everything that we've done into Plan B, but actually taking another
crack at Plan A? But didn't he say cabal was in on it?
How? And what's in it for them? Why would they like? Why
would they cooperate? I think he's saying a different glorious. Who's the other
glorious? It just made me sound I don't know the Prince, it doesn't
have a name. It's different than the other ones. We haven't seen anything
different about any of them. They all just seem hell bent on dominating and
destroying. I think this one or to the extent that they're different. They're
creepy as fuck, like that guy. And I think I think this one
is selfish or predatory towards the others. It doesn't like the others. It's
like if you even talk about the others, it gets angry. I don't
know, I don't know why, but it's willing to put us back.
Wouldn't all of you like a chance to do this differently, to try again.
You could rewrite your pasts this is you could find out who you are.
You can make different decisions, You could work together to change things.
This all sounds really great if it goes the way that you think it's gonna
go. I think that there's way too much risk of loss and additional destruction.
What if we go back and we never find each other, and we
never gain the powers and knowledge and experience that we have now and the glorious
whin What if we're on the hard path, but the one that we're supposed
to be on, and going back just throws away everything that we've worked for.
I can assure that this path has been more than hard, and it
doesn't end here. This is still just another step where we loop backwards and
we do it right this time, and we get we get what we want.
You're presuming that we get to retain our understanding when we go back,
right, that's your understanding. There's gotta be some way we can garrit so
you don't even know. This is getting riskier by the second man, even
if he lies to us. There has to be some way, some way
to send a message or right, What if this is the loop? What
if we are in an endless loop of hell and the only way to get
out of it is so if you stopped making the decision to try to go
back. Sorry, I just I just in my head, I just had
it like he was gonna be like, shut up, shut up. See
actually but I did. But but I actually think that. So his face
that has been calm and sort of desperate this whole time, contorts in like
anger finally flashes up on his face and he gets his teeth together. Shut
up, shut up, you fucking slut. You don't know anything. You
ruin everything you fucking touch. Don't you fucking take this from me. You
can't ruin this for me too, Carrick. It's wow, this is the
end of the rope. All we have to do to win is nothing.
All we have to do to win is stay here in this room and let
whatever happens happen, and then we go back and we can do it right.
No, no, we're not doing that. Krot the Queen of Spite.
Her ritual is going to kill half of all the humans and then it
gets undone. Don't you see that it won't matter, nothing matters. Your
boys messed up. Well, I don't know you're really buying this. You're
buying this time travel, go back and kill baby Hitler. Bullshit. I
believe that my brother thinks that it will work. Yeah, just because you
believe that he believes it doesn't mean it it's rooted in any kind of truth
or logic. I believe that you believe the space needle is real? What
is the space needle? That's crazy, that's just crazy to think that that's
just insane. Operation kill Baby Hitler yep. Just to let me show you
that you can. You can look into the light. You can meet the
Prince. You can see, you can see him, and he will show
you. He's desperate, he's been wrapped up in some ship. Look at
him. He's like a madman. He is clad in like black like nightmare
armor, and and it's just his like dark beard and face and familiar eyes
peering out of black spikes and plates and shadows. Like it's like it's like
he's alm. It's almost looks like he's being swallowed by by like his armor.
Gwen, all of you, I know what's common. I have to
look. I owe it to him. Really, you have to look.
What if the light swallows you? Yeah? What if this is a trap,
then end me? No? What? No, that's not I know
you're all. If there's one percent chance that this plan could work, we
need to know. Okay, but what about if there's a twenty one percent
chance that the plan we're already working on is going to work. Why would
you derail all of that and turn your back on all of this for a
one percent possibility. Where's the logic in that our plan? Yeah, mister
logic Harber. I'm sorry, I know I don't know you people that much,
but I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, go off
Farber. Our plan as it stands right now, as far as I can
tell, is for the five of us to personally hunt down and kill every
Glorious before they overrun fari tall and they're not going to just be sitting back
doing nothing while we do it. Our plan is desperate, absolutely, you
know, Hail Mary, desperate, and it's worth it because it's the only
plan, that's the only shot that we've had. But if we can improve
our odds, we gotta know. I just think that this only leads to
you being taken from this world, and that is a risk that I'm not
willing to take. So if I have to trap you in vines, I
guess that's what I have to do with Gwyn, don't. I don't know
if it's shut upon. I don't know if it's your decision. I mean,
just like Glovelying had to make her call, like I don't know,
I think Senator, to be fair, Senator kind of made Laveline's call.
Lovelyn did not want to leave that kid, and Senator talked her out of
it, and I was team Laveline and now I'm team Gwinn. I'm team
not sending Xenator off with this depraved lunatic talking about time travel or whatever bullshit
to go back to go and restart. And it's not crazier than anything else.
It's crazy. I mean it literally is crazier than anything else that we've
heard so far. But I mean not that much. I get what you're
saying. It's crazier to split up and roll this kind of dice knowing how
we roll than it is stay together and stay the course. I don't care
if that means that we are together fighting Gloria's forever and that we never die.
We need to split up because we can't risk all five of us looking
how about nobody looks. We have to look. We have to have all
the cards on the table so that we can make the best choice. Otherwise
we're guessing. Even if it is that being true, I don't know if
I could make the choice to do this all over again. Yay, Well,
our democracy should we vote? I vote no? Not a democracy,
I vote no. You know how I feel about this, And now I
can't say anything more or I will be very upset. You're doing the wrong
thing. That's my brother. Yeah, I killed my own grandmother and raised
me. Today we're all making fucking sacrifices. She was wrong, and I
think he's wrong too, But we knew and was wrong, and we don't
know if kerk is I think we have to give him a chance. Whatever.
Mark, I'm just I don't know where you are. I mean,
I get where you're I get you your perspective, do you because you're not
being very supportive right now. Well, just because I'm not siding with you
doesn't mean I can't see you're either with me or against me. Well,
then I guess I'm against you all right out wordlessly walks over and stands next
to Quinn. Okay, yes, the party is splitting. Where do you
fall, lovely and get on the record, lady, Well, I mean
out of game. I don't think it matters because I literally can't do it
every once? Right, But yeah, yeah, for her, it's like
I I couldn't do this again, not even asking you to do it.
All I'm asking you to do is support me and finding answers. We can
revisit the decision about whether we do it or not after we know. I've
heard that before. Fine, you're just gonna do whatever you want to do
and put all of us at risk, and that's that's fine. Go go
look at your light, Go have fun, Go have one with your crazy
brother, Go look at your light. Take Martin with you. The same
people are stay over here, I'm gonna I'm not going with him. I
just is this how you want to? You wants taking this friendship. It's
easier if I'm mad to say goodbye to you. It's just what it just
you described this as being like the hail Mary plan. That's impossible. And
if we lose you and this is all we have, then here we are,
and you will know, and you will be gone and we will just
be left to deal with it and to keep fighting the glorious. That's that's
my two cents. I mean, it's not that I don't support you finding
the answers, but it's all really too good to be true. The right
thing and the hard thing almost always the same thing, and and pine the
sky. It's just not. All I can say is Sarah is screaming in
my head to fucking chose some sense and do the hard thing and just plow
ahead, all right, So Carek extends his hand. If there's a glimmer
of light in it, just look knowing that's never wrong. I don't know.
It's a fucking trick man. You're about to die, so why don't
you just speed it up? Figure out your ship. I'm going to We
can have it all back, brother, God, it can go back,
we can. This is so not good. It's so not good. I'm
gonna it's gonna kill us all. You're gonna kill it, though I'm not
gonna kill you all, like kill myself, which basically dooms all of us.
How about I look? What nice? Yeah? So good this mission.
I've already lost everything. I'm gonna look. No, I'll look.
No, no, wait, wait, that's so fucking good. Because if
it's if we need to know, if we need to look, then let
me look. And if it isn't, we can't sacrifice. If it is
arguably the most valuable person at this table, for whatever deep fucked up curiosity
you've got, I'll look because if I go, you can still live and
you can still defeat the glorious. But if you go, I don't know.
Man, If this isn't some reaching for absolution or redemption, and it's
really the right logical, tactical decision to make no. I feel like I
would find him and then I'd run and looks so that he can't go look
but I because he's not gonna accept me. Disagree with your assessment that the
four of you couldn't fight the glorious with all me. You absolutely could.
What right? But if if that's the way that we can move forward with
consensus, with a group decision. Eric starts to like, like he furrows
his brow. What did you're saying? I must I need to show you,
Xanator, I don't care about the rest of them. I need to
convince you that I'm not crazy. And you can convince Gwen. It'll have
convinced me. It's not for her. She's not worthy. Now you were
you going to dive in there, Gwen? Did you hear earlier? Because
he's starting to like, like back his hand away. Oh if I jump
over and grab his wrist. Wait, then you look in and this light
flares up in your eyes, and then it's real quiet, and it's just
Christine, crystalline white everywhere you look? Am I the only one seeing this
right now? You're just all alone in a white void with strange edges and
panels here and there. God damn senator not listening to a reason, and
I'm stuck in this fucking giant voile. God, I'm so fucking mad at
him right now. And you hear pitter patter of small bare feet on stone
or glass. Hello, Hello, You're not the one I was looking for.
You were looking for Xenator, weren't you. I was ready for Xenatore.
What's your name? The Child, the Prince? I like those names
a lot. Oh well, hello the child, Nice to meet you.
My name is Gwen. Gwen, I am a colleague of Xenators. Oh
but I need Senator may I ask why you're too full? That's rude.
There's too much in you to be you. Okay, so you wanted to
bring Xenator down here so you could become him. I was going to show
him. And the footfalls are always right behind you. No matter where you
look, you turn it, you catch periphery vision of something small and glimmering
gold just out of the corner of your eye. You're freaking me out,
little man, I mean, the child, buddy, what did you want
to show him? He sent me to just check things out between you and
me. I am the smartest and the strongest representative of our traveling party.
And so you really are gonna want then. I'm glad you're here right after
all. Yeah, So I'm incredible. I can make things right. And
you see in front of you this like folding upon folding upon folding of like
time and reality and everything like crickles and crackles backwards. Do you make that?
Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?
What would you like to try again? Can you show me my mother?
And then things crack and fold and twist. And you're on the beach by
the little lake in the woods and your mother is swimming around and you hear
that pop pop pop of the paddle of her tail whenne gwennye coming for a
swim, darling. It's so nice in here. She's got a little bit
of a list from her buck teeth. And you're in your little bathing suit
and you're along the side of the river and you see this like strange golden
figure like dipping its toes in the water, and it's kind of like off
in the distance again just in your periphery vision, like it's this little golden
silhouette. It's just like dipping its toes in the water. Mummymummy. Whenny
and I having a swim, it's almost time for lunch, don't you think?
Gwenny's growing go? I am very hungry. And then you remember this
is the day. You remember the suit that your mom is wearing, or
a little beaver outfit she's got like a little like little frog suit on,
and or you know, sorry, diving suit on because she was diving down
for like clams and things at the bottom of the little lake. Gwenny,
come and give mommy a hug. Then the golden and the golden silhouette at
the corner of your eye lifts up its hand. You can make it different
this time, gentle lug Okay, and it will all be different. Okay,
I can do it. I can do it. I can do it,
and then everything will be different. From then on, everything story changes.
If I want that, Guddy, you're hugging too hot, glitty,
glitty, I don't know if I want everything to change. Do you want
to change your story or not? This is the worst thing I know.
I'm so sorry. It's so fucked up, especially knowing that if you're you
literally are making the decision to kill your mom. No, no, you're
making I'm sorry. I don't want to do that. You're making the decision
not to change the past. Yeah, I'm not changing the past, but
I also will think that I have Here's the thing I'm approaching this, here's
how I'm approaching this, and this is kind of meta, but I'm talking
through where my head's at as Gwen. Since everything that built and went down
between Gwen and Grandma Ninn, I've had suspicions about what actually happened on that
day, and so I don't want to change the past because I want the
truth and I want to know if it really was me that ended my mother's
life. And also I'm proud of the life that I built and I don't
want to give it all up. Do you not remember I was very young
and I was told about this day more than I remember experiencing it too hot,
Gwinny, too hot? And then there's this sort of cracking sound as
the vision snaps back into the white void. You left it, you left
it the slam. Yeah, but I've never really understood the end of that
story. Can you take me back just to witness the rest? I don't
want to hurt you. You don't want to hurt me. What do you
think would hurt me? I have hurt myself and been hurt so much that
how could you, creepy, beautiful little child, make it any worse?
I just want to know the truth about my past. I don't do truth.
I do change. What do you want to change? I want to
change what I know from not enough. I need something to be different.
Yeah, what would be different is how much information I have inside of my
brain. This is not what we're supposed to happen today. Well, we
all have to adapt, don't we. You'll learn that as you get older.
So are you gonna show me or can I just go back? The
little shape waves its hand and you see just this montage of you being swept
away from the lake, and then Grandma nin dragging your mother back to the
cottage where she kept her in a back room until your mother was like pumping
her full of drugs and medicines, and your mother was begging just let me
go, and instead she was experimenting and trying more and more dark and arcane
things, trying to trying to fix her, until your mother was like all
twisted and like screaming out that she hated the two of you and wanted to
kill you, and it was an ugly thing. There. Are you happy
now? No? But I am appreciative that you showed me. Send me,
Senator, I'll try send me back, and I'll see what I can
do. I think you're well, there's no way to know unless you send
me back. We're just stuck here. I'll stay here with you forever.
If that's what you like, I'll peel your mind open. What go ahead,
I'd love to know. I see dead people, I see two of
you. Okay, that's pretty common among our crew. You're not really telling
me anything new or exciting. You're a very vexing person. And I could
do this all day, you little shit. I always hated kids. Did
you do now? Though? If you really want editor, you're not gonna
get him by having me down here. When you're done fling open my mind,
you go ahead and send me back, and I'll see what I can
do for you. No promises, I'm not a liar. What you're gonna
do, little kid? TikTok? Time is just going. You get the
annoying that when it like waves its hand and sends you back, it's more
like it's just like, I don't want to deal with this person anymore.
Holy shit, you guys have outplayed me, so all right, rush back
into yourself with the full knowledge that this thing can very much change the past,
but with this weird feeling that it has obviously has more that it wants
from that transformation, like it was willing to change your past just right now,
like what it's anyway, So it's sinister. It's sinister. The I'm
going to be honest with you. The ability appears to be real. He
offered me a choice. I chose not to change the past. I don't
know what would have happened if I had tried to change it. So I
can't say. All I can say is going down there made me a whole
lot less keen on accepting this proposal. It's not right. He wants you
in particular, he wants to do something to you or with you. It's
personal. It's not about the glorious, it's not about the group. It's
about you. And that's keric. What's she talking about. I don't know.
I don't understand. I just know that I was I was supposed to
get you there. It wants to talk to you. And as soon as
it gets personal like that, we know that something is not normal. It's
not safe. I mean, none of this is safe, but it's less
safe. Well, I think that we've all Silac is like tiptoeing down the
stairs behind you. I think We've all diddled and dickered around just enough.
So why don't we all have a sleep, have a nap, chill out
and let this stop talking or what? Or we'll kill another glorious? Oh
I don't think so. Something starts to like crackle and change in his face.
Goddamn god, damn it or something. Anyway, his face is sort
of twists and changes a little bit. Silac, Stop. We do not
have to kill them. They are going to stay where they are and they
are not going to ascend the tower. Still want to go with your brother,
And if they think that they are going to fight us, that's ideal,
Caeric, but it is not the end of it for us, because
you are going to waste so much time fighting us that you are never gonna
make it up there in time. Not if you help me, have what,
help me put this thing down, show me where your allegiance is,
if you want to fix this. This is how I cannot after everything.
You do not know what I have done to make this happen. I cannot
go back now. It is too much to take. Whise Silence here important.
Sorry, you're asking why Sili is important. I'm asking you to fight
alongside me against this evil piece of crap. It won't matter. It'll take
too long. You don't have time for a whole It won't matter if we
fight together against him or it's not going to nothing is going to change,
and then everything's going to change. Do you get it? I told myself,
even if you have to kill him again, it'll all go back.
You can have it back how it was. So even if I have and
it's like starting to like stand up. Even if I have to kill you
again, it's okay because I'll get you back again, just like before.
We haven't said no to your plan. Thenk carefully if this is what you
want to do, because you might not be able to beat us. I
don't have to beat you. I just have to slow you down, unless,
of course, they had someone else to do the fighting for them.
And oh god, this is so awful. I'm so sad. Captain dark
Dodor fell nausey into leather and ottacks. You can and the cambia and are
up at the top of the stairs. Yay, friends, that it storm
to repay a little bit sy debt or two. I'm pretty scared, if
you admit, But why don't you leave? He's too long to us,
and you go upstairs and end this. So he's ripe. You don't have
time to fight them and make it to the top of the tower, so
gonna have to split up. Casting me you, I'll do my best not
to kill your brother if I can just kill him, don't Sam. That
was extremely undiplomatic. I know I told you I will do my best not
to I'm no promises. We looked, we weren't convinced. I'm gonna go
stop that curse. If there's any way to revisit after that harm has been
avoided, we can talk about it. Otherwise, I'm so sorry, Kerk,
and I'm the head towards the door, all right, Silic moves over
towards the like now like rounding combatants. By the way, Nazi Bindal Weather
has a bunch of undead cats and bears and badgers swarming around her. She
looks bad. She she looks kind of emo. No not your bear,
no, no, No, bears are fine. Yeah, she's got sort
of a pet cemetery worth of monster animals like swarming around her. So she's
been through a whole side story thing, all right. So Doderfell and Silac
like square up on each other, and Silac calls over the massive like Dodofell's
shoulder to you. As you think your group like heads for the lift up
to the next floor. If you leave, you're never going to see any
of these friends of yours ever again. I don't believe you. Guess we
will. I'll turn back around. Carrick. You should kill Silk and I'll
turn back around again. Don't go, there's your bad guy. Don't take
any more from me than you already have. You're a hero, Carrick,
You're a Brisbane all right. The door of the lift shuts behind you,
and the sounds of terrifying battle reek out from the chamber the bridge we will
The lift opens and it has begun to downpour. Outside. The bridge is
wide and stretches from this tower to another tower hidden in the sky that is
like the final stretch of this place. The dragon wheels in the sky around,
and the clouds leaving pulses of red light. The rain slicks the bridge
in front of you, and at the midpoint of the bridge a king stands,
and next to him his loyal hound hunter standing there, and he points
at the queen where she is, Your majesty, just as promised. Magic
mirror on the wall, show me the one to whom I call mother.
Mother, are you there? I found her at last. My hound has
found her. Found where she will be in but a few moments. But
Mother, my wizard, it is dead. And many of my best guards
are dead. And well, I know that they were expensive, mother,
but I needed to use them to get to her. She was in the
Briar Tower. Mother, don't yell. I know the Briar Witch is one
of the matriarchs like you, but she took my wife. And but I
want to be the one to hurt her. Mother. I've been hunting her
for weeks now, and she belongs to me. I will take her back
and make her suffer for humiliating me. Mother. I need more power.
I need a warrior strong enough to deal with her companions so that I can
take her. I know you've given me so much already, but Beverl is
withdrawing and everything is just chaos. Mother. I just need a little more.
But Mommy, I want to kill her, and if you don't help
me get her, I may never fight her again. And if she gets
away, I will never forgive you. Oh, thank you, mommy,
thank you. That is perfect. I'll make you proud when you next come
to visit. We will drink her blood from silver goblets, and you can
help me pick out just the right place to mount her head upon my wawn.
Thanks for listening to Could Have Been Heroes. Production and editing by Aaron
schoenrock theme song by Bo Hoover and cover art by me Robert Knutsen. Could
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