Previously on oops All Bards. The combined Independence Day and Commencement ceremony at the
Shalamir University of Magical and Martial Arts aka Maj and Marshall gets off to a
strong start with a triumphant dance performance by Bell's Sirnamil of the prominent Sirnamil family.
Unfortunately, things are mostly downhill from there. As Rick Harrowhold, Marshal
of Jurade Hall, begins to read from the Role of Remembrance, a sudden
thundercrack interrupts the proceedings, immediately followed by what can only be described as an
act of terrorism, An enormous energy dome descends on most of Memorial's stadium,
in trapping the majority of Major and Marshall's faculty, students, graduating class,
and the grad's friends and family. Additionally, four cloaked figures emerge and casts
a spell on those outside of the dome, freezing them in place. As
the giant projected image of the former dictator Phineas Malvaux appears in the sky.
Malvaux, thought to be dead for the last thirty years, demands the immediate
surrender of Uveda's triarchs, thus paving the way for his return to power.
After Malvau's image fades, the hooded figures release those they have been magically holding
in place on the dais, but the dome remains in place as skirmish ensues,
involving members of Major in Marsha's faculty, Acting Secretary of War, Gideon's
storm Collar Triarchislodora, and five would be Major Marshall grads, all from the
Bardic arts pouched in Rucus, Clarice, Sauercloud, Kelonian Stumps, and the
aforementioned Belsernomil and Andrew Harrowhold. The fight ends in what can only be described
as a draw, with three of the hooded figures retreating with a warning that
Malveaux expects complete surrender by midnight tomorrow. And now one question remains. Will
a reduced group of academics and politicians accompanied by five bards be able to save
our country? You wanted monsters all slain by their betters, but you ain't
seen nothing like arts and letters. Look who has answered the cry of distress?
Oops, it's all birds. Oh what a mess. You think we're
a joke, But in truth we're all in. We fight like we learned
it in books because we did. We all survived college with charisma. Impressive.
Oops, it's all Bards, and yes it's excessive. If you're still
confused, we'll explain to you. Thus, there's nobody left, so that's
why they call us. We'll fight or will otherwise roll for successes. Oops,
it's all birds. We hope that addresses all that you have to know
to enjoy listening to our all bard party. Sent off on a mission.
He'll it go. Well, we're sure you can guess. It's alms O
Andrew Carrol Hold, you're a bell Sonamio Blatwie Hall Colonial Stumps, Saluber College
Clarie sour Cloud. It's Palmdge Hall Ruckus, Doc go bananas. Hello,
and welcome to os al Bards, the actual play D and D podcast that
does what it says on the box. I'm your hosting game master, Jillian
Ashley Blair Ivy, but if you call me Jillian, I will assume that
I've done something to upset you with me. Are our bards Bards? Please
introduce yourselves. Hi, I'm Chris Clareki I use him his pronouns, and
I'm playing pooched in ruckus a dogfook graduating from College of Sticks and Stones.
Hi, I'm Anne Coleman. I use sheaher pronouns, and I play Clary
sour Cloud who's graduating from Talmut and she is like a halfling Bard. Hi.
My name is Ashley Banks. My prono ads are she hear hers.
I'm playing Bell Cernamio from Flatley Hall an Assamar Bard Hi am Ross Curry he
him. I play Andrew Carrol Holt. Also he him a reskin of a
College of Tragedy Bard from Eurade Hall. Hey, this is Bob Killian.
I am playing Kelonian Stumps, a turtle Bard folk musician and graduate of Salouver
College where I studied medicine. Thank you everyone. We're also joined by Nate
Runkle, simultaneously the quietest and loudest member of this podcast. Where we last
left off, it was commencement day at Maje and Marshall. Some of our
Bards Andrek Bell and Ruckus were actually attending graduation and the other two of you,
which would be Clarice and Keilonian, had decided for different reasons to opt
out. Belle performed a stirring interpretive dance to kick off the festivities, which
also marked the thirtieth anniversary of Udvada's liberation from the Autocrat fitting a spell vote,
Rucus chased a butterfly friend under the dais, and Andrik was just starting
to read from the Role of Remembrance when disaster struck. An energy dome covered
most of the stadium except for the area where Belle Andrik and Rucus were,
along with a few members of the faculty and some VIPs from the country's government.
All of you but Rucus, who the batties didn't notice because he was
under the stage with his butterfly friend, were frozen in place as a hologram
like image of Malvaux was projected into the sky, and Malvau basically told all
of you that he's back and he expects the country's leadership to surrender so he
can reclaim his position. And then he disappears. And after that, all
of you who are on the dais who were frozen, are unfrozen, and
the hooded mages who seem to have cast that spell that was holding you in
place, attempt to leave, except that the assorted dmpc's on stage, and
then Andrik Bell and Rucus, although I guess Recus to a lesser extent and
tried to stop them to at the very least get more information. Clarice and
Kelonian, the two of you detected something was wrong from outside of the stadium
and joined the fray. Well, I mean, I guess Clarice joined the
fray. Keilonian did Kelonian's thing and tried to make sure nobody got too hurt,
and all of you fight the bad guys. Clarice, in an amazing
moment, managed to enthrall one of the batties with a monologue about sand and
at the same time also managed to learn a lot about the energy dome.
One of the batties accidentally put another one of the batties to sleep while aiming
for either bell Or Andrik with the sleep spell and essentially give you a hostage.
And then after a few more rounds of fighting and some other stuff happening,
including this weird devil baby that came flying in from the sky, the
batties left, but not before reminding you that Malvo expects surrender by midnight tomorrow.
The five of you, along with several of your professors, the acting
Secretary of War, Gideon storm Collar, and triarchisil Ordora, are now more
or less alone if you don't account for the hundreds or I don't know,
maybe thousands of people who are trapped in the energy dome. And that's where
we're going to pick up. As the action begins, Bards, what what's
going on? How are you? How are you feeling? What are you
thinking? Clarius is feeling amazing because she was able to use her ability to
enthrall people with really dumb philosophy, and her uncle, not actually by birth,
but you know, familial uncle Gideon got to see her do something.
Boss. Why great morning. I coumped on a human and then I made
friends with Olive Ark butterfly, and I think we're still in the span of
the charm spell. So it's just talked away in my little hat, riding
along with me. Did you say like our butterfly? Oh? Yes,
yeah? So how else is everybody feeling? Rick still has his foot on
the back of this satyr that has been bound and is taking in the scene,
feeling a bit miffed, not only at the is the dome still up?
Uh? Really just trying to take a moment to process everything that's around.
Has Clarice communicated what she found out from the identified spell given the way
the combat went down. At least Andreiks read on it is that these kind
of like they were strong enough to cast hold person at the stage. Given
what she is relayed about the dome, though, doesn't think these helfulshks were
the ones who cast the dome, and so he's looking around to see if
there are other mages around who have done the dome. Well, I will
tell you it's a concentration spell, so it wasn't them. They were the
castold person. Just long as he's looking for the source of the dome,
weill me a perception check. That's only a ten. You have no idea
where the magic has to be on site based on what Clarice told you about
the spell, but you have no idea where it's coming from. As we
leave the stadium, are there any flowers that I can pick along the way
to share with my new butterfly friend later? Well, we haven't left yet,
but I mean you are going to be walking like very near the gardens
and everything, so probably once we once we get to that, but I'd
like to know I'm going to ready an action for then. Okay, forget
it all right? How else everybody else feeling well, Kelonian's glad that a
peaceful solution was reached. Well, not really a peaceful solution, but everybody
stopped fighting and went away, and that's lived to have peace another day.
I mean, there is still the looming threat of a hostile takeover for from
the former dictator who everybody thought was dead. Very true. We're gonna have
to figure that out. In the meantime. Keilonian is now that the immediate
danger has subsided. Keilonian is a little worried for Angel. Yeah, to
get out there and see what Angel's doing. Do you do you want to
head out and see if you can find Angel if that's okay? Yeah,
yeah, So you walk back out the door that you came from, and
Angel is completely oblivious of everything that's happened over the last few minutes, is
still looking for for grubs and seeds in between the paving stones outside. I'm
going to do another animal handling check to see if Angel will get into the
chicken coop. Okay, come on, Angel, about time to go.
You missed a lot of excitement twelve. All right, Yeah, so that's
that's enough for the twelve. She do you like take the coop down?
Or does she get, do you like kind of lean your whole body over
for her to to climb up into Yeah, lean, lean down and enough
for her to just hop up in there. Okay. And then so you've
got angel, what are you What are you going to do next? Well,
I'm gonna make my way over back to the entrance. I'm assuming people
are leaving, so I would just maybe just wait in the entrance for everybody
else. Yeah, I think that that's that's a fair assumption, Belle.
How are you feeling about everything that's just transpired? Belle is very worried about
her family, so I think for a little while she's just been like finding
whatever. She very rapidly figured out that she personally cannot make a dent in
this dome, so she has been finding any stray pebble or rock that she
can and is throwing it because she figures at some point it's gonna break.
And then once the information was finally relayed to her about the fact that somebody
nearby is cass seeing the spell, she immediately all of her energy turns to
finding whoever is in charge. So I would like to also do investigation perception
perception, are you actively making any kinds of emotions that would indicate that you
were searching. Oh yeah, she like we we went from like pebble,
pebble, pebble to fall on They're here and it is just well after your
perception check, Clarice is going to make her way over to you because obviously
we go back and it's going to offer some additional information. So perception that's
a six. You have no idea where this magic is coming from. You
know that it's on site based on what Clarice's told you, but you have
you have no idea where the casters are bell. So like there's more that
I figured out about the spell, and like it's they're safe right, Like
they can't use their magic right now, but like as soon as all of
the caster's concentration is broken, they will be like completely fine, Like they're
just they're they're safe in there, and they're like you know, they're just
sort of waiting for when they're let out again, so like nothing's going to
harm them and they can't do any magic while they're in there. Ew I
know, right, But like the other things that I learned were like there's
we're not getting through this, like it's it's legit okay, So first of
all, hear me out, we need security at these events from now on,
I know, right, Like that's three yeah, like one for every
important person and a spare just because any way, yes, first of all,
no magic you. Second of all, what if they all inside through
pebbles? So like from from what I got, which again like this is
not a spell that I have seen before, I just like yeah, I
mean I think I would remember, right, So, like from what I
got, like the whole like China, power your way through it, like
all that stuff is just like an interminable exercise. So like they can do
whatever they want to entertain themselves. But like, remember they're together, girl,
Like they're safe, they're together, and like what we need to do
right now is like make our parents proud, because you know, like you
know that they're not going to forgive you if you don't make this into a
moment. So Belle's just like nodding along, and she's definitely being like inmnibible,
she's like that's a word, I definitely know. But then she focused
on the we got to make this a moment, and she's like, yeah,
okay, you're right, Let's go find these jerks and show them what's
what. As we're leaving, can I do a perception check to see if
there are any outhouses inside the dome? Yeah? Thirteen, No, it
is an emergency. We have to get those people out right now. It's
gonna get real bad, real fast in there. Yeah, you can,
you can see, but it's it's kind of like if you've ever been at
a campfire and you're like looking at people on the other side of the campfire,
Like you can see, but there's a lot of it's like this these
waves of energy or if you think of you know, like the the glass
balls that you would see it like a science museum where you could put your
hand on it and it would move. The static would like move the little
lightning inside kind of like that. But we dance so you can see through
it that it's very hard to make out details. How has Rucus communicated his
concern to nobody? But like, the outhouse is not one of the twenty
park so he and I have spent a lot of time together. And is
it your sense that Ruckus is like demonstrating distress in any way? I guess
you'd be talking his head to one side as he kind of walks by like,
no, go help, So I could say yeah, many no go.
Clarice is gonna say, yeah, they're stuck, ruckus understand help,
question Mark no help, Clarice, ruckus understand good Okay, having not picked
up on an extra ernal castor I think Rick's next instinct is to kind of
like do a quick survey of the dignitaries who are on the stage, to
try and very quickly clock might this have been an inside job? Well me
in inside check? And do I need to tell you who? Am I
just doing a general light? I'll let you choose two of them. I
want to read on Thistle and Gideon. Okay, am I doing separate inside
checks? Or am I doing a single in Chipe? Do a single inside
check? Not? Good? What did you? That's a yeah? As
far as you can tell, they are very upset by what's happening, And
in fact, they've all kind of gathered in a corner near the stage,
you know the days, and they're looking at each other and looking back at
the four of you who are still here, because Kilonian has gone outside,
looking at each other, looking at the four of you, and Philamine is
going to walk up to you and say like, I think it's probably going
to be for the best if you all come with us now, please,
thank you? Okay, yeah, obviously, and Clarice is going to like
performance check on whether or not Clarice looks important in this moment, and like
if she is recognized, she she's like trying to like hold her jaw like
her dad. Right now, that's a fourteen. I think that that's plenty
because Gideon is there and has kind of told everybody, like, at the
very least, she knows that your parents are friends with Gideon. She might
not not not know yet who your parents are, but she knows that your
parents are friends with Gideon, and therefore, like, yes, you you
must come. But also the five of you, and in Kilinian's outside is
really the four of you are pretty much the only students and they'refore some of
the only magical users who are around right now because everybody else is under the
dome. Graduation is a big deal, especially when it was this holiday.
So they want you to come with them, partly because yeah, you might
be of some help, but also they don't really have a choice. You
weren't going to give them one anyway. Rick is looking around for that there's
this still a sleep satyr who's been right and is like starting to starting to
lift up one arm and is looking for little help to drag this help.
It sounds like I'm a big bug ball. You're trying to get out of
here, Ruckus help christ Mark? Yes? Please? Good? So Ruccus,
do you take him by the other armory? You just like scoop him
up and fireman and carry this. I think I could probably just do it
myself. I mean if you just like strength check, do you want to
strength check? Yeah? Just a strength check. That's a straight up ten.
I mean, satyrs aren't that big. I think that that's that's fine.
You're going to struggle with him a little bit. He's he's, you
know, a link body. I will like once I see what Rugus is
doing, I would kind of like help, like then heave a sader onto
a right, okay, so we'll call that help action. Do you want
to roll your strength check again? Oh? Yeah? So you you pick
him up? You don't just fire him and carry him, You like drape
him over your shoulders like a shawl. You help Ruckus? Good? Thank
you and you're welcome? Yes, so are you? Are? We all
following the uh, the officials out is gonna because I'm locked in on the
sayer. Okay, Clarise is going to follow, but she is deliberately going
to hang a little back and be scanning as they're going to see if there
is a natural way for her to sort of swing by the coffee shop get
away. You know, she's not sure that this is the right course of
action. She can't say five yeah, she she is very interested in sending
a letter home and finding out if like, obviously Thistle Door is not campaigning,
but like, is it even okay to like be around her right now
because this is not going to help the campaign that her dad is working on
actively, and just like being a part of the what is likely to be
a media circus in the coming days is not on her list of things to
do. Now that Ruckus has taken the bound Sleeping Satyr the loop on the
session. As we follow the professors and dignitaries out, I want to take
a look at do a quick read on how the folks trapped within the dome
are they like pounding to get out? What what are the folks in the
dome doing? Let's do an insight check. Four well, you can't get
like can help you, you can turn them over to the dome in shaking.
I don't. Yeah, I don't think that that's really no. I
think so. I think that you can't tell how they're doing, but what
you can you can see, like physically what they're doing is really what I'm
oh, okay, then investigation check. Sorry I thought that you're okay,
that's better. That's a dirty twenty okay, Yeah, sorry, I thought
I thought that you were trying to get like, how how are they spiritually
dirty twenty? On investigation to find out what they're doing. It's it's not
easy to see clearly, but what you can see is a group of your
classmates have who you know to be casters, have gotten together and are trying
to figure out if they can shoot a combination of effects at the dome to
see if they can break it from the inside. And for a dirty twenty,
I will say, you also see a fighter that you know from school,
or somebody who assumed to be a fighter coming up with a very large
budgeting weapon and they strike at the wall and as the as it hits it,
they go flying back and like the wall has hit back at them.
I do also imagine that there are some family members, one of whom is
a literal mayor, who is probably like working through the crowd to like impose
some sense of not panic. I think that there are, Yeah, there
are some officials that are there who are trying to kind of calm things down.
You can see that there are already maybe some like some there's some organizing
that's happening, Like we're gonna have to dig toilets, We're gonna have to
figure out can we like make food happen in here. Magic doesn't seem to
really have much of an effect in here. Oh my god, poor Mint.
Yeah, so Clarice, you were just asking if there was a way
for you to sneak away. Yeah, Like, I am not sure that
I should let my face be associated with whatever statements they're gonna put out,
And I feel like it is not the best idea for me to just like
salute adorra, like what else. So you are all going to file out
of Memorial Stadium towards Sovereign House. It's not very far and it does take
you through the town square where Sacred Grounds is through. So if you want
to like truly sneak out, you can stealth check. If you want to
try and persuade someone that there's a reason that you need to just duck in
quickly, you can try that. I am just gonna walk slowly and try
to stealth my way away, all right, do a stealth check. That's
a not twenty with a plus six modifier. Wow, kind of were across
the continent before anybody notices. Hell, just fall on having a conversation with
Laries, and then then the clariceism. There just never notices. So okay,
the everybody else, the administrators and the politicians are pretty far out ahead
of the group. Rucus is carrying this adversary on his shoulders in front someday,
like what you thinking, Rucus? So okay, but so Raucus has
the satyr over his shoulders, And I think, Andrik, you were,
what where is your head at as you're following, I'm diligently following. I
didn't pick up on what the source of the dome was. I didn't pick
up on, you know, this being an inside job from one of the
professors. I think I'm still walking a little bit skeptically, okay, but
I am following stumps. How do you feel about having been looped in on
all of this. Well, I'm real worried about all those people in that
dome there. They you know, don't have anything to eat, you know,
don't have anybody to use the toilet. They gotta figure out how to
get out of there. We got to get him out of there. Okay.
I want to be part of the help want to be one of the
helpers. That's right, Okay, where the people are? Ye? Still
dancing? All right? So Clarice on that, on that not twenty plus
six? You you stealth away. You're hanging in the back. What what
happens when you get to enchanting grounds. I'm gonna let myself in and then
lock the back door behind me again. Okay. I'm gonna make myself a
really really large, just like twenty ounce cup of espresso shots. And given
that you are what three and a half feet tall, that's a lot of
cup. I'm not planning to drink all of it right now. This is
like going in the water bottle, so I can just you know, take
it as needed. This is her long rest, and that I'm gonna start
writing messages, okay, And there are three messages that I'm going to prepare.
Okay. The first is going to be a letter addressed to MJ.
Bus Broo. And yes, that is my mom, but that is not
how I will be greeting her in the letter, Okay. It is going
to be as cloaked as I can. Okay, So it's just gonna say
I'm J. Bus bro And inside the note it will say dear MJ.
Weird events had to leave work wondering how the job is going. Let me
know if you need me to join you eagerly awaiting your reply, okay,
and it's going to be signed CS. Okay. This is not something that
I'm going to mail immediately because nobody is in the town, but I have
people are going to be milling about it. But I'm going to be looking
for an opportunity to get this more expediently to my mother. Okay. The
next note that I'm going to write is one for Gideon. Okay. And
this is going to get folded intricately. It's specifically if you're interest. The
sheet of paper will be folded once hot dog style, then again hot dog
style. Then it will be folded into a right angle. Then that long
strip which forms now an L is going to be tucked around the triangle formed
at the corner until I am able to lock one end of the note in
and then the other, reading a tiny folded football. I remember folding notes
like that. Yes, I'm trying to make it as small as is reasonable
without it becoming illegible. That it will say Gideon on it okay, And
the note is going to read Uncle g Is this where I'm supposed to be
Give me any kind of signal, A nod or a shake of your head
will do. Just let me know if I should be helping with this.
Signed your niece, quote marks around niece CC okay CC is spelled C I
s I okay okay CC. He will know what this means. And then
that final note that I'm going to write is for the university President Filamina,
and this is going to be the one that I spend the most time on.
I'm going to keep it very formal and not coded at all. Dear
doctor Blunderstool, it has come to my attention that many current and former students
of the university appear to be in danger in your role as university president.
I address you now with an exhortation to muster the alumni body in pursuit of
the criminal element who have so grievously attacked our commencement ceremony. Your actions will
speak to whether or not Chalimir lives in infamy or in the pages of history
as a worthy institution. Signed a very concerned alum. Oh, and this
I'm going to seal in a letter, and I am going to put in
the first male drop box I can find. This is going to becoming anonymously
and I'm just gonna note that I, on this last one will have put
the insignia of my college, which is an arms shield or gold color with
a chevron between three sinquifoils in jewels and red, and I will have sketched
this on the seal of the envelope indicating the College of Whispers aka Talmadge Hall.
The final thing I'm going to do before i make my way to Sovereign
Hall is I'm going to go to the back of the cafe and I'm going
to put some provisions in my satchel. In addition to a couple snacks for
me and my bottle of pure espresso. I'm going to put three bananas,
a crust of bread, and I am going to go into my boss's office,
dig in the drug and alcohol drawer and get some unidentified tablets that may
or may not be identifiable to somebody like Bell. Okay, are the stone
tablets? Are a slate tablet? To be clear, I mean pills.
Yes, we're talking about piers. Okay. So with that, now I'm
going to make my way to Sovereign Hall. But I am not going to
use the front entrance. I am going to you go around. I hope
that I know enough about Sovereign Hall. Okay, you definitely sent some time
there is a kid. Yeah, so I'm going to go through the Legislative
Aid entrance to the side. Okay. Can I just say I imagine that
at whatever point you rejoin our group that was still talking to you, I'm
hoping to rejoin the group in business like not make it clear that I'm entering
the room. So I will also need to do a stealth check upon re
entry, because it is my intention to basically slip straight back in. Yeah,
and to just put the biggest is actually a sleight of hand check.
I need to get that note into Gideon Lappel. Well, and you also
want to get the note to film in a into the mail and I'm hoping
that I can just loop past a mail dropbox on the way because that one
is not as pressed. Yeah, I mean, the Sovereign Hall is very
close to where like all of the main parts of the university are, so
you don't have very far to go. Do you an investigation check to see
if you find a mailbox? Fifteen? Yeah, I think that you encounter
a mail drop just you know, kind of unmanned one sort of on a
corner on your way. And we're going to pause on Clarice and everybody else
is walking through the very very quiet streets of Shallow Mirr and eventually you come
upon Sovereign House. Sovereign House, the meeting place of the Grand Council,
UT's legislative party, sits near Magen Marshall. During the reign of the autocrat
Phineas Melvaux, the Council was disbanded and the building was left to rot,
but over the last thirty years it is restored to its former glory. Outside
the building, the sculpture of a wing sphinx looks out over Lake Tannon and
the Monument to Knowledge, where the peace accords that officially ended the Malvoux rain
were signed. Normally the red granite facade of the Sovereign House with its gilded
inscription added after the Revolution for the spirit of unity, we uphold the law
is the sort of place that citizens enter with a sense of wonder and awe.
But today the bards are led through the patina copper doors and straight into
the legislative chambers. As you are entering the doors, somebody actually, what
is everybody's passive perception other than Ann fourteen also fourteen eleven, so Keilonian,
you are going to notice as you as you walk through the doors, just
this very faint vertical cut in the doors, and like the doors are copper,
so this was no eaz feet. It looks like it's relatively fresh because
the patina that would be there has actually kind of flaked away. So you
see this like sliver where it's it's truly copper colored rather than that patina color.
So you notice that that is there. But that's all you really are
going to see. This is the entrance to the Sovereign Hall to the legislature
fell and do the people who are at the head of the group seem to
notice this or stop at all they're in a huge hurry. Okay, then
Kilonian, Okay, well, I guess I should do like an insight here
is this? Does this seem to be an indication that there's like a uh,
there's been a break in in there to an investigation check eleven. It
could be one of any number of things, but it's definitely fresh. Then
Kilonian is gonna to jog up to the front of the group. There whoever
is in the front, Who do we think is in? Uh? I
mean I think I think that Thistle is probably the person in the front as
one of the parties head or one of the country's heads. Okay, oh
hold on there, miss Thistle. I don't know if you noticed, but
there's this big gash in the door. Looks like it could be trouble.
What I not not right now, dear not, It's we have bigger things
to worry about, can I do I hear this? Yeah? You're we're
all pretty close together. Yeah, Belle with all the audacity that can only
come from being raised as a only child of only children and very wealthy,
will say we were all just attacked. Maybe we should be aware of potential
traps that's going to take out I don't know a third of our leadership.
Thistle size loudly, and she looks at Fala and just kind of points her
chin toward the door. Feyla is going to come. She'll do an investigation
check of her own. But that's a NAT twenty And so with that,
she's looking very closely at the door, and she can tell that this is
this is made from just a regular knife. It was. It was clearly
done with quite a bit of force, quite a bit of strength. And
she also sees that there is just a tiny corner of like a sheet of
paper that is sticking out of where that gash and the door was. So
it seemed that somebody had tried to drive a letter of some kind into the
door. And this break in the door seems recently made. Yes, from
Stumps's from Keilonian's check, he could tell that the patina around that gash had
been had kind of flaked away. And I would say, also based on
what Fela has seen with her NOT twenty, the piece of paper that is
lingering there, it doesn't it's not yellowed, it's not weather beaten. It's
it's a piece of paper that has not been exposed to the elements. So
with that, Gideon's going to kind of I guess someone was trying to leave
us a note, and they're going to continue in as you follow down the
halls, is nobody gonna take Well, it's just it's just the corner of
a piece of paper. There's not. Yeah, we're just going to keep
working the way as the campaign grinds to a halt, because it's it's not
it is not a note. It is it is the remnants of a note.
So either the note has blown away or somebody has already collected it.
So as the as you all continue on inside, you're going to see a
collection of legislative aids. These are the people who, like truly are keeping
the government running, so they don't get to take time off to go to
a graduation ceremony while all of their bosses have gotten to go to the ceremony.
And they're simultaneously not important enough and too important. Yeah, so they're
kind of nervously standing around just inside the door. They when the thunder happened
and the sky went dark, they went outside and they were close enough that
they heard they heard Malvo's likeness giving that very ridiculous speech about wanting to be
back in power, but they didn't dare leave their positions because they don't know
what sort of danger awaits them. So now they're just standing around. They're
very nervous waiting to find out what happened, and they're going to surround Thistle
and she's going to just walk through them. Clarice romys stealth check at this
point that wash chret fail. I do have a plus six modifier, but
I don't know if you want to with your crit fail. You're going to
come running in from the side, pretty out of breath, and you are
going to collide with Thistle. I where have you been? Uh anser to
you, but I do recommend you respect our leaders more. And as he
helps up, this is where that nat one comes into play. I get
to regain the Bartic inspiration that I previously expected. And Clarice is going to
turn towards Thistle o'dora and UH do the most scathing glance up and down as
though she is taking Odorra's measure and finding her insufficient. And then without any
other words, she's gonna walk directly over to Gideon, take the note out
of her pocket, and very obviously tuck it in his lapel pocket and give
him a kiss on the cheek. Thistle's going to look at you as she
kind of dusts herself off. Right, So you're the bus Baro girl.
That's not my name. You are correct that I am a daughter of the
Buspera family. But I have made my own name, thank you very much.
It's Clarice sauer Cloud and you will call me that. Well, okay,
then follow me, Clarice soer Cloud. Why do we have to do
this here if you'd like to take it elsewhere. I'm down, that's not
what I just want us to be in a slightly more private space. That's
all you did, just bowl the triarch over. Perhaps you should move on.
Oh I'm moving, And Clarice just sort of skirts around a Dora and
starts walking as though she knows where she's going because she toats. Does I
love that you call her by her last name too, like just the not
not Triarch Odorra, just Odorra. So all right, Clarice kind of knows
her way around Thistle Odorra is going to continue walking toward the legislative chambers.
Is there is there any performance check necessary for the absolute false confidence that Clarice
is currently. Yeah, okay, yeah, sure, let's I was just
gonna I was just gonna have ignore. But sure ye have a that's a
sixteen per performance. This is going to look you up and down, just
like you can leave. I'll stay for now. But I don't think this
means you have my vote. Okay, well just just follow me. Well,
while this exchange is happening for me, given what the grand illusion had
said, what might we recall about like Thistle and like her break with her
family, and like how how she might have played into the overthrow history Check
fifteen. So Thistle was a very young child. She's in her forties early
forties, so she was pretty young when the autocracy fell. Her parents were
mid level pureacrats. They were not elected officials, there were no elected officials,
but they had no real power, but they were very much sickophants of
Malvo's. If Malvo wanted an order executed, they were amongst the first to
make sure that it happened. Whether they were doing this because they truly supported
the regime or whether they were afraid of ever defying him is unclear, But
Thistle knows that her life changed quite a bit when the autocracy fell. Her
family that had been very wealthy and respected to the point of being feared.
Is it was practically exiled and she has She ran on a campaign where she
talked about having really come from nothing to get to where she is today and
has been very clear in her own opposition to the source of policies that were
implemented under the Malvox autocracy. And if I could just do a follow up,
so it is her, but it's her realm more, I'll say,
in the militaristic side, the environmental side, you know, finance and administration,
what is what's her baliwick. So what Clarice knows is that Odorra is
a part of the National Congress, the Green Party. The National Congress is
trying to be an of the people by the People Party. Clarice uh is
connected enough family wise to know a little more about Adorra and sort of how
she works with her legislative staff and things like that. And that's what's causing
Clarice to be extra caddie. But it's also because in the Green Party,
the Solodora is one of the youngest leaders. My mother is far more senior
in the party. Yes, yeah, so so mj is is her?
She works with the Greens. But I assume I Andreid don't know all of
that, right, But I would know then that National Congress and that she
is the Greens, right. But I assume I Andreid don't know all of
that, right, but I would know then the National Congress and that she
is because you know in the backstory that Jill has provided there's like a very
clear of the people narrative that's also consistent with the party. Yeah. Yeah,
so that's what you know about the Slodora. So she is going to
and it should be noted the triarchs don't like this is this is where the
legislature meets. This is not where the triarchy meets. In fact, the
triarchy is based in another city, which was done on purpose to keep in
case anything like today happened, to keep the executive and the legislative branches separately
so that the country wouldn't grind to a halt. So Thistle is there really
in a ceremonial capacity and does not have the other triarchs with her because they
tried never to have the triarchs in the same place at the same time.
Plata yes, yes, Platama is it's like the second US government literally does
the same. It's it's well, I mean, the US government, we
still have the executive in the legislature in the same city, but this is
it's it's lat Toem is basically considered the city's second capital. And because this
is it's more of a it's more of a parliamentary structure than like a congress
a congressional structure. The country runs just fine for the most part, having
the legislature doing their thing and the triarchs as more figureheads. But that's I
think that's probably more than more than you needed to get out of your history
check. So Thistle is going to guide all of you towards the legislative chambers
and look at all of you and say wait here, and look at Clarice's
especially you. Clarie just rolls her eyes and pretends to chew gum. A
pretends to chew gum, open mouthed. I love it, smacking it.
So with Thistle, Odorra and Gideon storm Collar, you're also getting your your
higher up from the university who are going into this chamber with them. You're
sitting in basically just an anti chamber. It's like a reception area to this.
There are there's not a lot of grandeur here. It's not like really
the rest of the building. It feels like a secretary's office. There is
a sofa and a couple of chairs, and there's a desk that is currently
unoccupied, although that's probably where the Secretary of the Legislature would be sitting.
And you are just being asked to wait, what do you all do?
So for those who are not at the table, Anne and I just immediately
looked at each other because apparently Bell and Chloris are going to start some shit.
And for additional context, dear listeners, Bell and Clarice have known each
other forever since childhood. Since childhood, they're not particularly close. Now,
they respect each other. They've worked together and made opportunities for each other while
in university. But this is not a friendship so much as a partnership,
a partnership forged as children in legislative buildings such as this one, finding things
they should not find, doing things they should not do, and knowing things
they absolutely should not know. I love it, So what are you thinking?
So? First of all, Belle's immedia instinct is how dare you?
Like? They invited us? And then they're just like, oh, wait
here forget that. So the question is and she's gonna look too freeze and
she's like, so do we listen in or do we just go do our
own thing? Why not both? It's a vide and conquer. Okay,
all right, be back synchronized, watch us back in five. Bell is
going to pull like reach into a bucket and pull out a watch, and
they're synchronizing their watches. I think probably we've got like three four minutes if
she's just gone into the secure phone room. Yeah, but can you still
fit in that vent? I mean, look at this? Yeah? Okay,
So Belle is going to walk over to the close the wall on the
opposite side of the room, and there's a vent up like you know,
an air vant up toward the wall, and she's just going to like position
herself and be like and Claris, without a second thought, no concern for
all of the people watching them right now, is going to take two steps
back, run forward and do essentially a cheer jump onto Bell's hands. What
am I rolling as acrobatics? Can I can I do the help action?
Yes? You absolutely are helping here. So that was that's definitely it's a
nineteen Yeah, so you hop up there. How do you do does the
vent already open or do you have to? I am while standing on bell
in a cheer stance. Okay, I am going to do what I have
done before, apparently to this exact event, because it is inappropriate. How
easily I can pry the screw out. But it's a flatheaded screwdriver. I
use my thumbnail, twist it fifteen to thirty degrees, and it immediately swings
open. The security of this building is just embarrassing, to be fair,
The screws were positioned so that unless somebody is sticking their thumbnail in it and
turning it fifteen to thirty degrees, the vent's never going to come loose.
So okay, so you open that, and then I am going to feel
around. What do you do with the cover of the event. So I'm
just swinging it down. Okay, So if you imagine the pivot point on
the left where that screw has not been unscrewed, I'm just taking the actual
event cover and against the wall, swinging it down ninety degrees so it's flush
with the wall, and I'm going to feel around and in there is going
to be a lock picking set that I'm gonna pass down to Belle, who's
gonna be able to tuck it in her cleavage? Oh yeah, she doesn't
even You can just drop it and it's just which is a feature that they
did not have when favorite children. And I know you're gonna make you real
for it. Just yes, And then I'm going to put my arms both
in the shaft and I'm going to say I'm three, Are you ready to
push me? One? Two? Three? And then I'm gonna giggle from
inside the shaft because I really haven't done this in a long time. Stealth
check. I'm twenty four. Somehow nobody hears you. We just can we
take a moment to see what's happening for our three fists in the room we
are We are literally about to do that. Kilian looks said that the other
you guys because phillas, what are we doing to contribute to this situation?
But that being said, Belle, we still haven't had a bathroom break and
you were drinking so much water. So will you please do a constitution check
for me? Sure checker saving throw saving throw cool. I don't know why
I asked. It's the same modifier ten. As soon as you get clarice
off your shoulders. You do like a little jump to celebrate, and then
you're like, gotta go, gotta go. Okay, cool, Uh,
she's just gonna shout out BRB, all right, be right at the bathroom,
She's just gonna zoom out of the room. Do me, do you
a history check to see if you remember where the bathroom is. The nearest
bathroom is fourteen. Yeah, I think you you remember where there is a
bathroom. You actually don't remember where the nearest one is. So if you
had rolled at fifteen or higher, there's a bathroom like attached to this room.
Cool. You instead wind up walking out the door you came in and
you go down the hall. It's only about twenty yards, Like, it's
not that far, but it definitely was not optimal. But right, yeah,
you know what she made. She made some she made decisions, yes,
and you commit to your decisions. Yeah. All right, So with
the three of you, let's say that the sator, whatever kept the satyr
asleep through the whole walk is a bit of a mystery we will never know.
But the sator is now beginning to stir a little bit on Ruggas's shoulders.
What do the three of you fellas do ruggas. Do you want to
put that filla down? Make sure that has a very different term for dogs.
I'll say, uh what, and I'll flop them unceremoniously down on Is
there a stool somewhere nearby? There? There's there's a sofa that well,
unless you guys have any other ideas, I think I'm going to try to
try to keep this filla calm. Oh, okay, raucus help and I'll
add the help action to whatever you're about to do. Great, I am
going to draw the long sword that I have not interfering, but just in
case he does not stay calm okay, glad you're waking up, my friend
and joining us here. I hope you're feeling all right, your head's clear.
We're going to ask you a couple of questions. Now, won't you
help us out? Old pal? And that is the calm Emotions spell?
So is there a saving throw for that? Yes, Charisma saving throw thirteen.
So then because it's a saving throw, the way that's going to transfer
is that this is going to be rolled in a disadvantage. Oh that's a
ten. So you succeeded. Huzzah. Yeah. So he's sitting on the
sofa. He's looking groggy and kind of mollified like he's he's looking suspiciously at
you all, but he's not trying to like get out of his bonds.
He's not trying to to stand up and hurt anybody. He is also covered
in glitter. He is also covered in glitter. So now there's going to
be glitter all over the sofa in this this anti chamber. Not my problem,
and it wouldn't be the first time. Let's be real. So okay,
so you've got this this calmed, still groggy satyr. What are you
doing while while Bell and Clarissa are doing their things? Good morning, Well,
Eddie Ruckus waves. Some of my companions have some very dear friend who
are enclosed at the moment. Up could really use some insight onto how to
break the dome. He scowls at you for a minute, because being calm
does not being I mean being happy. He scowls, that's above my pay
grade, so is your pay grade? Death shall we say, and brandishes
the sword. Be careful there, buddy, that's good. End the spell.
If you threaten him, this cause is far greater than me. You
can attack me, but many more will follow. I've heard legends of the
hydra. Why are we talking about hydras? I'm just talking about those of
us who believe in Malveaux. Hey there, fellow, you know a lot
of people who are trapped under that dome, and imagine you wanted that as
a sort of a threatening situation, sort of a get get what your folks
looking for. But I don't think making people not have stuff to eat or
whatever, Like, why don't you why don't we make sure they're nice and
safe under that dome? Can you provide any safety to the folks that are
under there? Ruggus chimeson says you can't bananas? Question mark bananas? Thanks
Rugas. What he means to say, my power, Ruggus is are you
going to feed the people in there? We will make sure that all of
the people are taken care of. Their needs are going to be met.
Oh good, that's one thing I was wondering. Thanks for cooperating. You
can ask me to play a song if you like taking requests? Taking requests?
Why would I do that? I don't know. Just figure that offer.
I mean, unless you want to play Phineas Melvow is our Glorious Savior.
I cannot think of a song that I would like you to play.
You know, I don't find it fully appropriate, so might not play that
one for you. He just is going to scoff, and then he's going
to go back to glaring at Andrik, who's still brandishing the sword. Yes,
just holding it casually. At this point he's put it down. He's
only just holding it casually at a side. It's a casual brandish. You
can threaten me all that you want. I only know what I know.
Ooh, I'm gonna say I can test the bark button is n O.
But I can say you no question mark. That's what I said. We're
very curious about what you know what either persuasion or intimidation. Check. I
think with the sword out, it's going to be intimidation. I will use
the help action. That's an eighteen intimidation. Yeah, that'll that'll do it.
Listen, I'm serious. I only know what I know. They told
me that I was in charge of freezing all of you. I don't know
how the dome works. I don't know who's in charge of it. Who
is they Malvo's people whose names are I only know what I know. Do
you know their names? Question Mark? No, We've tried to keep things
very secret in case we are captured, so no one's going to miss you.
Then I didn't say that Drick is ready for blood. There's a knock
at the door, not from the legislative chamber, the door from the lobby
where you came in. What do you all do when you hear the knock?
Andrew is still keenan on the sater. Okay, I guess I'll turn
to uh to Colonia Colina, say ruckus go look question Mark? Oh yeah,
go for it, buddy. What I'll go across the room and open
it up. I'm gonna say hello. So standing in the doorway is an
orc who's got a named badge, like a lot of the legislative staff do.
The name on the name badge is Clarva Dasham, and they are going
to just kind of stand in the doorway look around. Who's that? I'm
gonna point and say this, no dog funck. Oh you bring up a
great point, that Clarva. We never even asked your name. What's your
name there, Pale? You only know what you need to know. That's
a strange name. This is a long it takes a long time to fill
out forms. I imagine Clarva is going to to look around. They told
me Clarice and Bell were here. Where are they? H So, yeah,
we're gonna we're gonna leave this anti chamber for now and we're going to
go back to Clarice. So Clarice is making her way through the duct work
and remembers that in the soundproof cloak room there is duct work, and so
she's going to try to follow voices. Okay, So Clarice wants to listen
in on the meeting that is happening without us, right, Yeah, it's
not it's it's not a cloakroom. It's like it's the it's the legislative chambers.
So the intention is to get as close to the legislative chambers as possible
without being exposed. Okay, so you're hoping that if you're like in the
adjacent cloakroom, you can you can spy, but you will be undetected.
Yes, will be another cell check. That's a twenty four. Nobody knows
that you're there. Great, So Clarice is listening and is going to continue
to monitor her watch because she doesn't want to stay so long that she hears
them actually prepare to go back outside. So on the clock, she and
Belle had agreed that they would have three minutes once they got into position.
She's going to extend that she's going to take a little risk here, so
she's going to tell herself four minutes and thirty seconds of listening, okay before
I tell you what She overhears Belle, what happened to you when you So
Belle went to the restroom, and that was I hope I don't have to
roll very successful. Her bladder is emptied. Yes, she does at some
point ditch the graduation ropes fully because she thinks that she's more charming and esthetically
pleasing in her dance outfit. She's certainly more noticeable, yes, and where
Clarice handles subterfuge, Belle doesn't. So Belle, just with all the confidence
in the world, strides into the pool of aids who I assume are still
sort of waiting for any sort of instruction, and starts making friends. And
she's like, oh my god, I haven't seen you in so long,
how are you? And probably like some of them have letters or recommendation that
have been written by her parents and some of them she has given tickets to
the festival in the past, and you know, she just knows them and
she's friends with them, and so she's going to start pumping them for information
on what has been happening since the storm cloud, but also see what she
can do to start getting them to start putting out feelers regarding like what areas
are very vulnerable and like who actually not be able to be trusted. She
will also pick the aid that has the most like the one that she trusts
the most, and get them to send a message back home to make sure
that they're aware that things are amiss and make sure that they're ready to protect
the people who live there. Great, let's go back to the duct work
above the legislative chambers. First, Clarice, so you you got your stealth
check. They don't know that you're there. But now I'm going to need
you to roll a perception check to determine how much you can hear. There's
a five. Okay, carrots and carrots. So given Clarice is channeling her
childhood self and feeling a little embraced imboldened. If I perceive that I am
failing to hear correctly at a five and that I'm just not really understanding anything.
I am going to try to creep yeah, okay, because with a
five you pretty much are just like the one word that you can really even
make out is malvo. Okay, that's not going to be very helpful.
Now, so I am going to shock you do a stealth back. That's
a twenty five. Okay. So, and to be clear, what I'm
trying to stealthily do is actually it's gonna look real silly, but I'm trying
to just look like a boring legislative aid and just like walk down to get
some papers that are sort of nearish but inconspicuous. Okay, well, first
you have to get out of the duct. Yeah, so that is going
to be another acrobatics check. Okay, that's n eighteen. Okay, you
very quietly get out of the duct. Work. Are you still wearing your
academic ropes? I was never wearing them. I was in my clothes.
And so it's it's an all black coffee shop class. So I think then
you you come out of it, you're the duck that you're in. That
you were you're coming out of is very near to that door to the cloak
room. Nobody would be coming in and out of the cloakroom per se as
an aid, but it wouldn't be unusual for you to have been there because
you were dropping, you were putting something away in the closet. You were
So if you just open and close the door, you can get away with
just being an aid. I think everybody is going to notice the door open
and turn and look at you, but they're really in the midst of something,
so the fact that an aid is coming through does not really raise an
eyebrow. And nobody is with what you rolled. I think nobody's really going
to take too much note of you. So what are you doing? So
I'm gonna grab a stack of paper from the nearest legislator desk in the room,
and I'm going to walk down the aisle that is closest to the cloker
entrance, And can I just ask how many tiers there are if I was
trying to get to the people who are talking, what kind of distance am
I trying to cover? Here's like rows of seats, Yeah, twenty okay,
So I am going to just move twenty five feet and sort of swap
out some papers, sit down, looking beleaguered and grab a pen. So
it looks like I'm writing do a performance check. That's a twenty two.
Yeah. I mean they mostly told the aids to leave them alone for a
minute, but you seem to be doing something really important and none of them
are going to take the time to ask the other if they know who this
person is or why they're there. So you're just you're in the room.
Security in this place is it's real, real bad. It's real bad.
I mean, the country's been in peace for thirty years, clearly not very
well deserved. So what you are going to hear, I'm not going to
have a very long conversation with myself because nobody needs to be subjected to that
from our audience. So I'm just going to give you the highlights. You
hear this Ale telling everybody that we can't let fear cloud our judgment here and
that our first and foremost priority is to protect the people of Udvada. So
what that exactly means right now, She's not entirely sure, but she is
pretty clear with It seems pretty clear that Gideon is trying to urge her to
take a decisive martial action, and Gideon also notes that Malvo if that really
is Malvo is a weak old man, and so he should be pretty easy
to take if they gather the troops and fight. Feyla is going to add
to this that we don't actually to say that we don't even know that it's
Malva at all. We don't know how weak or how old he is,
because we don't know what kind of magic is at play here. Everybody saw
this man die. He was hanged in a public square, So we have
no idea what is happening here that has precipitated this at least presumptive return.
Thistle is going to turn to Fala and ask if she has any idea what
kind of magic could be at use, and Philis is no. Oh,
I told you it could be any any kind of magic. I'm just a
professor. You've got experts here, And thisle is going to say, yeah,
but a lot of those people were under the dome, and the ones
who aren't here are a day's journey are more away. So I need you,
and with the words I need you, I need you to rule an
insight check that's say thirteen. There's a flicker of some history between them,
but it's not something that you were ever the party too, and you're thelonious,
our little, our gnome druid who's the chaplain for the university, and
he's just under his breath. He was spirits of nature granted Seluce in my
guide us to this daunting night. Banish our fear and infuse us with grace.
Protect us now in your tranquill embrace. And Timmany is going to look
at me like prayers aren't helping anyone. Felnius, give it a rest.
I should try thoughts instead. A world, a world that has divine magic,
which you use via prayer. Book of Philhemina has been listening to all
of this, She's violences, So what do we do. Some of the
most powerful people in Udvada are trapped under a doom of energy on my campus.
It's a spell I haven't encountered before, and my faculty and my students
are all under it. And Sisa is going to cut her off and say
she's already sent a message to the other two triarchs and they should be on
their way, but they need to buy some time. Getting an answer to
Malvo's people by midnight tomorrow is going to be in near impossibility, and we
need to buy some time and we need to send in some negotiators. Hearing
that Clarice is going to try to channel the most charm she's got. Okay,
she is going to walk directly over Okay, and she's going to say
it sounds like what you really need is a strategist. All right. So
we're gonna leave Clarice having just outed herself in the legislative chambers, and we're
going to move back to the anti chamber, where Andrik, Raucus and Stumps
are with the satyr, and also Clarva Dasham is still standing in the doorway
trying to figure out what is going on. And the Satyr is going to
speak up and say, I need to use the bathroom. How do you
all respond? You go, I don't think we should let him go unattended.
Question Mark Clever. Are there any guards or anyone that can oversee a
prisoner escort to the facilities. There's kind of a national emergency happening right now.
I suggest that you take care of him yourselves. I'm sure we can
all use a trip to the restroom. Just been in a big fight,
so why don't we all go. The nearest bathroom is through this door right
here, and I don't think you can all fit in there at once.
I would recommend one of you take the sat. It's been a while since
Andrik and Ruckus have really been together, and it just kind of looks at
I hope you'll forgive the question, but do you use indoor facilities? What's
good? Good? Why doesn't the dog take the stator to the bathroom?
Does Rucus find that offense in the dog? Whats Ruckus? Dog? Sorry?
Why doesn't dog folk take the sator to the bathroom? I'll go with
in mind to the door while you score dor new friend. You can stand
on the outside of the door and Clarva is going to open the door and
reach kind of around and turn on the sink so that the sound of the
running water hopefully muffles some of the sound between the bathroom and the ante chamber.
So after the door closes and Recaus in the SADR, go inside the
bathroom. And Andrew, can I ready an action? You absolutely can write
an action if the if the Sator does anything other than go to the bathroom,
I'm gonna grapple. So we'll get back to that in a moment.
I figured, don't worry, we'll have some potty time. So after the
door closes and Andrek is positioned outside of it, Clarva is going to kind
of size both of you open. So as I was saying or asking,
where are Belle and Clarice, I'm sorry? Who your classmates? They came
in with you? I saw them? Oh? Is that their names?
There's honestly no reason to play dumb here. Oh I thought everyone was playing
dumb here. This guy certainly is pointing into the bathroom. Is he dumb
or not? You rock us? Is he dumb or scared? Oh,
he's stubborn, he's playing dumb. That might be the case. I didn't
have a chance to talk to him yet. Anyway, Belle and Chlorice,
do you know where they are? Oh? I'm not really sure exactly where
they are at the moment they left the room. As you can see,
they are not in this room. They are somewhere else, And I don't
know where that is. Am I like right off the like I can hear
this is running in the bathroom. So let's do a perception check. Then
fifteen. Okay, so with a fifteen you hear parts of what is being
said, but the water is there, and Clarva has a very kind of
low pitched voice, so it's not it's not necessarily something that you're catching all
of but if you're catching enough that you're hearing, like the words Bell and
Clarice, what are you going to do? Ruckus? No? Whoa?
Is your friend? Quite all right? No? Yes, oh he's all
right. That's just Rucus. Ruggus and I have pals. We like to
play bug ball sometimes. It's just a fun game that you play. Well,
Angel can't play Kleilonian motions to the chicken and the coop on his back?
Is that a chicken on your back? Yes, that's Angel. Interesting
choice anyway, Bell and Chlorice. I really do need to speak with them.
Ah well, perhaps if you tell us where you can where we can
reach you, then we can let them know when they get back. Or
perhaps if you want to stay here and have a conversation with us and just
shoot the breeze, then we can wait around until they get back. Can
you do a charisma check? Oh you bet I can seven. That's with
your modifier boxing. I rolled it for as I was saying, there is
a national crisis happening. I can't just hang out here and be chummy with
you well suit yourself, if you have business to attend to, or perhaps
if we can help in any other way, then we'll be happy to do
that. I am going to subtly point my finger up towards the shaft that
I saw them climb through, because to my knowledge, that's that's the less
place I know where they went. And I'm gonna cast message. I think
more I'd be more inclined to do so at Clarice. Well, Clarice is
the only one who went through the vent. Remember Belle walked out the door
to go to the bathroom. So but I'm going to point towards Clarice,
towards where I last saw Clarie. So I don't know if this is going
to work or not, and attempt to cast message. We have a company
here. Where are you? What are you doing? So remind me what
the range is on message? One hundred and twenty feet. Yeah, I
think that even though you kind of point up toward the vent and Clarice is
no longer there, you're pointing at least in the general direction of the chambers.
So Clarice, do you and I'll say, the specs say you can
cast the spell through solid objects if you are familiar with the target and know
what is beyond the barrier. Yeah, so you're definitely familiar with the target.
So Clarice, how do you respond? But here are the things that
block this stage? Okay? Yes, magical silence which doesn't come into play.
One foot of stone, one inch of common metal, a thin sheet
of lead, or three feet of wood. So if any of those things
are in the way, then the spell doesn't work. And if there's like
magical silence on the important chamber where people are having secret meetings or like they
could have just cast it here, it's like in their divine a full zoe.
So you had been in the soundproof closet, you tell me? Is
the knowing that that closet is soundproof? Is the chamber soundproofed? Also?
Okay, So I'm going to say that there's magical silence and you're you're not
going to be able to get through there by the way that was and nodding
and nodded. So we're not going to be able to get through there.
Let me do a little perception check for Clarva to see if Clarva clocks you
pointing up towards them. But I'm trying to do it like as subtly as
I can. And I was going to say, do you mind if I
also do a perception check to see if I notice it? Because if I
do, I might try to distract Clarva to Yeah, sure, why don't
you do that first? Okay? Eleven? All right, I'm gonna I'm
going to roll a perception check if you. If you beat my perception check,
then we'll say that you are able to cause a distraction if not,
I noticed the point. And should I be doing this a sleid of hand
check to contest? I think probably that's a good idea. Eleven. Yeah,
you beat my perception check, so you succeed on the slide of hand.
You succeed because I rolled a six. So Andreik's slide of hand passes.
Your performance check passes. How do you distract Clarva? Could you describe
Clarva a little bit? Clarva is an orc so quite tall, very sturdy
looking tusks, you know all the traditional orchestra features. Clarva is in their
mid twenties, so not that much older than all of you, but has
this air about them that makes them seem much older. They're very serious,
They've got glasses kind of perched at the tip of their nose and roll me
an investigation check. All right, well, I'm getting all these low rolls
out now. Nine. But the nine you can see that there are some
smudges of ink on Clarva's fingers, which indicates that Clarva is probably in the
legislature in some sort of clerical role. Oh, the cleric class. Yeah,
Clarva is actually a wizard. But you don't know that yet. But
you rolled high up on performance that you're distracting Clarva. So what are you
doing to distract Clarva? Oh, Clova, I haven't shown you any of
the music I've been Writing's not a sheet of music shows it to Klarva in
the opposite direction of of Andrik to get Clarva to turn giving his best crisp
pine impression from the exactly. Look, that's very nice, I think,
But I can't read music. I thought maybe you'd be into that. You're
very clerical. I see you've been writing a lot to get me inks,
much as here I take notes for the legislature. Why would that tell you
that I can read music? Well, well, you just you know,
I write music, and it's written down, and you write things down,
and I write things down, and we both write things down. I thought
that would be, you know, a nice connection between us colony, and
I'm sure this gentleman is very important and very busy. Is there a message
you would like to like us to give to Bell and Clarice if they return?
How do I know I can trust you? Why wouldn't you trust us?
We were just lying to you a second now, in case you didn't
know, the three of us very much helped to ensure that the remaining dignitaries
able to get out of the stadium. Yes, but getting them out also
meant getting yourselves out. How do I know that wasn't just an act of
self preservation. I don't think we would have escorted them here if we were
purely in it for ourselves. I would have taken off running elsewhere. I
was trying to stay out of trouble. Endrick is a person of great honor.
I don't know if you know this, but Endrick was reading the role
of remembrance at the graduation ceremony. So we're going to do either a joint
persuasion check or one of you can give the help action to the other what's
your Let's do our individuals. Let's see what happens. Thirty twenty nineteen.
Pretty good, bad time, Bob. All right, So Clarva is going
to look at both of you, and you're going to see the Clarva just
kind of wilts a little bit. It's been a very very stressful morning.
And as they do, they're going to sink down to the sofa and look
at you and both say and they'll look at They will look at you both
and they will say, I was the one who found the note. Oh,
Clove, that must have been a difficult experience for you. I can't
believe this is happening, Glove. It seems like that must have been something
very difficult. But we're not really We don't really know what the note was
all about, Can I trust you? We just established that you could absolutely.
I write a lot of songs, but I don't write songs about things
that are private to other people. Clarva is going to look up at both
of you and, with shaking hands, hand you the note. I take
the note all right up to read it. So written at the top is
printed the words from the desk of Lucinda o'cour attache to the premiere in exile,
Phineas Melvio, do a history check fifteen with a fifteen you have you
remember that Lucinda o'cour was the Minister of propaganda under the Malvo administration, also
in elf so also very long lived, and you've definitely seen footage of her,
the same way that we might have seen footage of Gerbels or another minister
of propaganda from another very very stringent regime. And so you as you read
the note, you can kind of hear it in a voice that is familiar
to you from those those histories that you've you've seen. Attention, traitors,
the time has come for the return of his glorious eminence, Phineas Malvaux.
You've already seen that he is with us still and noted the power of those
who support him. I warn you do not cross us. Our demands are
simple. At midnight tomorrow, the usurpers Thislodora Harry and Cantrell and Carlotta Abeldown
are to present themselves in the center of the monument to knowledge, alongside any
legislators who are fortunate enough not to attend today's festivities. There they must abdicate
their powers if they do this peacefully and of their own volition, they will
stand trial for treason before the remaining members of the Obsidian Court who have agreed
to reconvene after a thirty year recess. The trial will be fair, of
course, although the charges are quite serious and the evidence is overwhelmingly against them,
and as you no doubt know, treason is punishable by death. Of
course, if the so called leaders if Uva do not surrender themselves, there
will be consequences. War will be declared on Uva immediately, and the unyielding
energy dome that contains many of the most powerful people in your country will be
sent to another plane. Nobody will be harmed. But good luck finding him,
said Lucinda o'kou ps. We know you're probably wondering if Malva is really
still alive, but do you really want to gamble on the lives of all
your citizenry Keiloonian looks up at Well, Actually, I probably would have read
it aloud. Yeah, if that's okay, Yeah, yeah, I think
so, all right, then I would have read it aloud so that Andrew
could hear it as well. And afterward Kiloonian would just shake his head and
look up at Angel in the coup on his back, say Angel, these
are dark times. Indeed, we got to do what we can to help
this place, help these people. Clarva is going to look up at you
from the sofa and they will they will say to you, how how can
you help? I think, reading it out loud, I would just have
eyes on you the whole time, like listening at the bathroom door. But
old friend, I don't think pacifism is going to get us out of this
one. Let's go into the bathroom, oop boy, The Adventures of Oops
All Barns going to the bathroom. The Adventures of Poops All Bards go into
the bathroom. So just on the other side of the door where Andrik is
standing, there is a small bathroom. It's one stall, so there is
actually a stall there separate from the sink, but it's still very small,
like it's clearly meant for one person. And Ruggus is in the bathroom with
the satyr. Satyr is going to stand there and kind of look at you.
Rugus, can you please do an insight check to see if you can
tell why that satyr is just looking at you, oh boy fourteen, So
you can tell that the satyr needs his hands if he's going to use the
bathroom or he needs your help. How do you handle this? Does this
trigger my ready to action? Given that he's not going to the bathroom,
I mean he needs to go to the bathroom. I don't think he's not
trying to do anything else. He's just standing there waiting for an assist because
his hands are tied behind his back so that he can't sure. So I
will I open the door to the stall. I take a sniff. Smells
terrible, and I gestured to the toilet and say you go. Question Mark.
Yes, I would like to, but my hands are tied behind my
back and I can't do any of the things I need to do before going
question Mark. I'm gonna have this saty roll a quick insight check because he's
trying to get a read on Rucus. Probably hasn't encountered myny bark button equipped
dogfook before. Probably hasn't met any dog fold before period. All Right.
He he takes a look at you, and he knows that he can't get
away with a run. You are too big. You are pretty much blocking
the door at this point. It's a very small room, so I'm half
of it. You're taking up at least half of it. Are you on
on your hind legs or are you on all fours right, you're on your
hind legs. So yeah, so he definitely he knows that there's no way
he's going to be able to get through the door there. The Sater is
going to have him roll a little acrobatics check to see if he can do
that thing sometimes where like you have your hands behind you, but you like
manage to squat down and step through so that your hands are then in front
of you around them. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, So he's going to
see if he can he can kind of jump rope his own arms, and
he has no no acrobatics ability, So this is a straight up rolls of
four and he's just going to turn his back to you and kind of like
lift his arms slightly away from his back. Can you please help me?
I do truly need to go to the bathroom. Rucus is going to say,
what good. Rucus walks into the stall. He lifts the toilet seat
up, and he turns to the satyr and gestures at the satyrs sat wearing
a shirt and pants. The Saedar's wearing robes over like, probably not only
wearing robes, there are probably at least pants underneath there. Okay, great,
so I'll I'll reach down, I'll say, I'll say, Rucus help
question mark Satar is going to kind of roll his eyes had I guess,
okay, great, So well, we'll reach down. We'll gather the robes,
lift them up the legs, and then gather them in a bundle behind
like kind of near his rump, and then tuck them over top of his
hand, and then tuck them over top of his hands so the robes are
out of the way and amazing. Rucus will daintily undo the little the little
draw string that's around the pants and he'll pull them down very gingerly, and
he'll point at the bathroom and say you go good. Do pants go all
the way down to his ankles? Of course? Okay, great, So
we're paying like a three year old boy. The satter is first going to
roll a performance check to make sure he doesn't miss, wow, we are
really led to five before you did already say this bathroom smells. It's sticky
in there. So he's going to because he can't like hold anything to aim,
He's just going to kind of walk as close to the toilet as he
can and kind of straddle it. But there's still going to be stuff that
doesn't make it into the toilet. And while that is happening to rating,
that's that's what I'm saying for stuff. Rucus, can you roll an investigation
check to see the toilet, see what else happening with the theater A four.
He's very much struggling to get this to happen, and he's going to
look behind him. This is extremely embarrassing. Can you like at least turn
your back or something. No, Ruckus greens Ruggus doesn't trust the satter.
This is the Sata that like tried to escape and also tried to fight him
like fifteen minutes ago. Yeah, I think that's that's totally fair. And
at this point we're going to say that that calm emotions spell has worn off
completely. Great, let's do it. Listen to me, you stupid,
stupid dog. I need help here, Ruckus help question Mark, Yes,
good, Rugus is very confused. Nicky thinks he already left them. Oh,
Rocus understands. So now that he's finished peeing, I'll take the robe.
I'll undo it. I'll drop it again and I'll pull the pants back
up and i'll tie it daintily with the little drop it. You're dropping the
rope before you pull his pants up? Oh? Absolutely, yeah, because
I forgot too. So that's now what we're doing. Now it's canon.
So if you're doing that, then once the robe is down, you have
to kind of get like down on the ground in order to pull his pants
back up, like get up under his robe to pull his pants up.
I'm going to say you don't have to roll for this because you're very very
close to his legs at this point, and you're going to see that there
are bruises all over his legs. Oh oh, how do you respond?
Knowing that the satyr didn't take any damage in your encounter because he got put
to sleep really quickly, how do you respond? I mean, you know,
he was also trying to attack and kill my friends, so there is
that. But I suppose i'd feel a little, you know, sad about
that. Maybe I could give him a little healing word to make the bruises
go away. Okay, great, let's cast healing word. Okay, I'll
reach down and before I pull the pants up, I'm just gonna generally go
oh, just like in the general direction of the bruises on the legs,
and some little like pink little musical notes will come hitting from Ruggins's mouth and
we'll heal him from one D four plus three I rolled a six. Does
is six healing words enough to make his bruises go away? It's not enough
to make his bruises go away? Holy crap, serious bruises. Well,
I will tell you above table. This sater normally has forty hit points,
and he was down to twelve. Good job, everybody, No, no,
not, good job everybody. He took no damage in the fight.
Oh? Then how was that bad job at twelve? That's an es co
worse. He looks at you and says, thank you that what did you
do it? It hurts a little bit less ruckus many good rugushy tail.
I'd like to ask a question about the world. Yes, so Clarice knows
a decent amount about dog folk from their role in the rebellion and things like
that. How close to general knowledge would it be for this sator, for
example, to have just received healing. Would they be able to understand that
something particularly unique has occurred? I mean the Satyar is a wizard. So
the sator understands that there is magical healing. But what I'm asking is it's
very unusual for a dog folk, oh to be able to perform magic.
That is a very excellent point. I think that this sator, the satar
is, was born after the revolution. He's young. He you know above
table, this is like a seventeen year old kid. So he probably hasn't
been exposed to dog folk, but he probably also so like he probably doesn't
know, Okay, that magic is unusual for them. Got it? Yeah,
great question. So you said, Rucus's tail is wagging. Yeah,
ruckus, good dog folk, do an insight check for me. Twenty one
with a natural twenty so with a twenty one, not twenty you said,
not twenty so twenty one total. You as you wag your tail, you
kind of caught your head to one side, and you take the measure of
this this stater, and you notice that he's a he's a pretty young kid.
He's he's younger than well, he's not younger than you in actual years,
because dog folks mature faster, but he is younger than you in terms
of life experience. This is a teenager, and he looks really sad and
a little scared. And he can also from the way that his eyes are
beginning to well up and his lip is quivering, you get the feeling that
maybe it's the first kindness that he's been shown in quite some time. Oh
great, you know a little bit of a silver learning here. But I'm
also look down at my bark buttons that the twenty poultry block buttons sadly and
think I don't have the vocabulary equipped to handle this kind of psychological distress.
So I will knock gently on the main door behind me, where I know
Andric is stationed, and I will say, you come help, question mark.
I look at Klonian and Clarva uh, because I guess you fit reading
the note by this point, and I will open the bathroom door and look
without going in because you've told me there's not a lot of space in there,
but kind of just pop my head in. Everything okay, ruckus no.
And then I'll point down at the bruises that are slightly less bruised but
still bruised on the uh, on the on the satyr's legs, and I'll
say, fuck, no good, I think I think we established that that
this one's no good, Louck, and I'll point again at the bruises.
Specifically, Ruckus REMI a performance check, Andrew Romi an inside check twenty four
six. I think the disparity in your roles Ruckus is so high that even
with that six you you start to take stock of what Ruckus is pointing at,
and you see the bruises on his legs, but you don't notice that
this sayer is looking scared and vulnerable. Okay, how do you respond when
you see those bruises? Did you just do that? I'm going to point
and say this, No, Rucus, no you I didn't rough him up
like that. No. Now, I would look up at the satyr's face.
There's something you're not telling us. Good, good, many good,
Try something here? What's your name? And he starts to give you that
line that he's been giving you about how you don't need to know that,
and he as he opens his mouth and he kind of like starts to lift
himself up and get stronger. He then just immediately his shoulders sloop. Can
you keep me safe? Your name? If you can keep me safe,
I will tell you anything that I can. Rucus smiles and says, ruckus
help good, wagged his tail? What's my read? Is he playing us?
Or does he seem momust throw me an inside check? And actually,
I'm gonna have you roll with advantage because Rucus has already figured out some of
this stuff the better roles in nineteen okay, yeah, Well within nineteen you
start to notice the same things Rucus had noticed. You see that this is
a scared teenager. You see that his eyes are kind of welling up with
tears, that his lip is quivering slightly. He looks scared and defeated.
I'm going to try something here. I'm gonna cast minor illusion and from like
in the bathroom, like kind of right next to the sat or since I
heard it, I can replicate the sound of Malvo's voice saying you failed me
to gauge his reaction, I'm gonna Rucus's ears droup and goes, oh,
I'm going to have him roll an insight check to see if he can tell
that that is you or if that is real. He rolled a twelve,
which I'm going to say is high enough to know that that is an illusion.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't flinch when he hears the voice. Yeah,
I wasn't looking for him to like have a total breakdown. Yeah,
I didn't want him to have a total breakdown. Can we We'll do the
best that we can. Can we go back to sit somewhere more comfortable.
I'll tell you my story, Rucus wag's tail? What many what? You
look excited? Can you pull my pants up? First? Well? I
was trying to, and then there was this whole thing, of course.
Yeah, reach down, pull the pants up, tie them gingerly with the
little drawstring. I don't suppose you would consider unbinding me already in action.
If he tries to do anything, I'm gonna grapple it. What do you
think, Colonian? Have you already? Have you already let him out of
the bathroom at this point? Are you gonna holler up? I would step
back like there's not a would I would step back out of the doorway.
And Clarva is also in the room. Who guess Clarva's opinion? Maybe they
know, but having looked in the bathroom, Clarva, I don't suppose there's
any cleaning staff around here. We'll have someone take care of it. Please
close the door, though it's beginning to smell in here. Every thirty minutes
somebody comes in. I'll step aside and allow Rucus and the satyr to come
back into the main room. Okay, why don't you tell us a little
of your story and then we'll consider unbinding you. That seems pair and the
sator is going to sit on the sofa and try to get into comfortable position,
even though his hands are still tied behind his back. Rugus will go
sitting next to him and put his paws underneath his bum in a comfortable position,
hopefully showing that you can sit that way. And it will be terrible,
and they'll say, look, Ruckus, good question mark. He gives
you a very sad little smile and shifts his position a little bit to see
if maybe sitting like you are helps. It does not. He's a satyr.
Your anatomy is completely different. Try my best. He's going to look
around the room. Will you keep me safe? We'll do our best,
Rucus, help beg. My name is goff Dromiore. My great great grandparents
served the Malvo family. My great great grandmother was his nanny. My family
had been with the Malvos for more than a century, but then after the
oligarchy fell. My parents did not go into hiding like many of the Malvo
supporters. Instead, they decided to join the Corner Turning Project, which allowed
certain individuals who were close to Malvo to re enter society if they could prove
their worth. Seventeen years ago, when I was born, my parents were
living a very normal life, and I had a very normal life. After
a few years, my parents realized that I had a magical gift, and
they tried to nurture that. They sent me to school. They gave me
the best life that they could, and about six months ago, I came
home from school and found my house ransacked. My parents were gone. I
didn't know what to do. I waited up all night hoping that they would
be back, and they didn't. And he would see that his eyes start
to tear up even more, A single tear starts to roll down his cheek.
The next morning, a man came and he said that he worked for
MALVO and that I had to come with him if I wanted to see my
parents again. He said I was going to a new school, but it
wasn't to school. It was a camp and there were other young powerful children
of former Malva supporters there only they were there voluntarily. Their parents had remained
loyal to Malvo even after the oligarchy fell. They said they were going to
reform me, and that they were going to teach me to use my magic
for the betterment of our country. Sounds like a fashionst to me. Every
night the others in my bunk beat me. They made me swear loyalty to
Malvo. You saw them. You saw how they treated me at your graduation.
You know that I'm telling you the truth. I never want to go
back there. I just want to find my parents and live a normal life.
I will tell you anything that I know. Can you help me?
I think I need to do another insight check to see if I'm buying this
or if this seems like a cover story. I think you can roll it
with advantage given your proximity to him. Thirteen. There are at least parts
of his story that seem like they're the truth. Well, listen, we'd
like to help, certainly, but I can't really do that if we don't
know how to take action or where to go. Perhaps, if there's something
you could tell us about how we could put a stop to Malvo's malicious machinesians.
Then we could help out Rucus. Not yes, Rucus, you still
have an action ready grapple if he tries anything. Yeah, all right.
If I can see that Rugus is in position to react if necessary, well
take my belt back. I will unbind. I'll tell you anything that I
can. You dog folk, question Mark, I'll kick things are strong.
I assume that you are a dog folk, and that is why you are
asking. But as you can see, we do not look anything like each
other. So no, I am not a dog folk. I am a
theater. Ruckus. Understand you're weird, question Mark. Not that that's necessarily
a bad thing, just an observation. Good. You told us your beginning.
Maybe let's try working backwards from the end. Where did you come to
the stadium from? Are you familiar with the Alcazar? Am? I?
I don't know. History check? Yeah, history check with advantage, because
you would have heard that word earlier in the day. Melvio used it when
he appeared twenty four. Yeah, so you remember that the Alcazar was Malvo's
summer home. It is in the woods, just north of Shallowmere. It's
not that far, maybe by foot half a day or less walking It was
kind of left to rot after Malvau was deposed, but some kids like to
go hang out there are there are rumors that it's haunted. It's still a
very beautiful place, even in its state of disrepair. It's an old stone
building. It predates the autocracy by a few centuries. It had been held
by the royal family when there was a royal family, and then in the
time between the end of the monarchy and the rise of the autocracy. It
had been used as a school and as an asylum before Malvaux decided to have
it converted to be his summer home. So you know all of this,
and you also know that it is allegedly uninhabitable. And who are you there
with? There are others, how many enough? I don't know their names.
I don't know what they do. But if anybody wanted to try and
negotiate, use diplomacy, plead for your lives. The people there are the
people who might be able to help Clarva. Could we perhaps trouble you for
some parchment and the quill. So we're going to leave you in the anti
chamber. I think that we need to go back into the legislative chambers and
check in with Clarice. Yeah, so everybody was aware that you were in
the room, but they were not aware that it was as you in the
room. They thought that it was just a staffer. They were very preoccupied,
which is funny because there are at least three people in that room who
actually know who you are, but nobody clocked you because Clarice is very sneaky
and small and small. Thistle is going to look you up and down.
I'm sorry, did you have something to say? Ugh, Saul Eldora,
you wouldn't even have this job if it weren't for strategists. I am very
aware of that. Your mother is a brilliant strategist. She helped me get
here. I don't understand the hostility and just saying you told us nothing,
You lacked us in an ante chamber, and you know that we could be
helping right now to your kids with degrees. Philamine is going to interject say,
well, you know, technically you didn't get your degrees because the graduation
was you know, interrupted. But I can tell you Thistle, that Clarie
is amongst one of our most successful students, very very talented, very very
powerful, and it seems that you know her mother. So you know something
that I don't know, Clarice, why don't you just go rejoin your friends?
I clearly have an idea, don't you want to hear it? I
heard everything you're saying, and you guys can't even come up with an idea,
like of the beginnings of an idea, like like I love you,
Geteon, but like come on, you don't even know what you're fighting and
like Fela, I'm with you, yes, like we don't know what's happening.
We don't know if Malvo's back, but like that is exactly why I
walked over here to tell you that you need a strategist, and like none
of you are qualified for this. Roll an insight, Chuck, I rolled
in eighteen. You notice that Gideon is being very quiet and he's not making
eye contact with you, which is unusual because this is a man that you
think of as your uncle and he's usually very warm towards you. Uncle Gideon
gey in. Okay, if you're not gonna talk to me, then I'm
just gonna tell everybody Uncle Gideon just wants to fight people. It's not that
at all. Tell them what is it? I should tell you that I've
already reached out to your parents through the Whisper tubes, and they're safe.
They're on their way back to Platysma. They have asked if you would join
them, but they also know that you probably won't. There's something more inside
Check twenty non natural. Gideon's going to hand you a small slip of paper,
and it's the type of paper that is only used in the Whisper tubes.
The Whisper tubes are what connect government buildings and certain other important sites in
the network. They were installed after the Malvo administration. They're basically like countrywide
pneumatic tubes, if such a thing were possible, and they allow the fast
transmission of important communicay. They're very expensive, they're very difficult to install,
so it's not like something that is in just like every household, but it's
it's the way that news can travel faster than any animal, faster than any
spell, and safer than any spell because the tubes are so deep underground,
and they're enchanted in such a way that if one tube was cut, the
entire network would go down. So you know that nobody can be intercepting messages
across the tubes. Because the tubes are still functioning. Do you look at
the note. I'm going to glance at it to see if I recognize the
handwriting. I will tell you without rolling that it's your mother's handwriting. You
saw her handwriting earlier today, so you're very confident in that. Thank you.
I will look at this when I have time. But I think you're
missing the point. I don't think I am. I am. I'd recommend
that you read that. Why did you read it? Is it for me
or for you? Are you reading my mail? Uncle Gideon? That is
so creepy. I know you know how this system works. I'm just saying,
is it for me? Yes? Fine? But like, okay,
before I read this, I would like the record to show that every single
one of you here, yes even you Filimina, needs my family in order
to make whatever you're trying to make work happen, because none of you,
and I do mean none of you know how to broker a deal. You
are all far too ambitious. Okay, So like I just I'm gonna read
this note and I will be back. So you're going to take the note
me. Before you start to read the note, roll me a history check
with advantage. Good. Thank you for the advantage. It's a non it's
a twenty three, but not an end okay. Because you're of your parents'
position as political operatives, they frequently correspond in code, and they taught you
from a very young age what this code is. You've got and they don't
even use the same quote all of the time, But you have ciphers.
You've memorized a lot of their their codicies, and so you know that this
letter, which on the surface says, dear Clarice, promise you for safe,
Love you very much, Mom, you'd be safe too, Okay,
What the note actually says, de Clarice. There have been whispers about Melville
being alive and amassing strength for some months now. Those in power have chosen
to keep it a secret. I don't know why. It could be a
conspiracy, or could be an attempt at controlling a narrative, could be something
else. Entirely. Use your skills to see what you can learn. You
are in a position of power here. We love you. Be careful who
you trust, mom. How they fit all that into the sentence characters having
read this, Clarice is gonna spin on her heel again. So she had
spun on her heel to read the note. Now that she's read it,
she's gonna put it away. She's come back and excuse me, who are
you talking to? Literally all of you, they just all look at you.
Yeah. So here's what I'm gonna need. I'm gonna need you to
let my friends out of the anti chamber. I'm meann need you to provide
us with some resources. And I'm going to need all of the intelligence that
you have on the suspected uprising, all the whispers, every single record that
you've kept this ale. I'm going to need you to stay apart from the
other triarchs. I think that's nonsense that you called them over to join you.
That is only going to help anybody who's trying to conspire against us.
And Flamina, maybe just like take your professors and go work on the ice
Dome, the energy dome. Yeah, well, I actually know a little
about it, so I can give you some information if you would like,
since you clearly were ill equipped. You know, She's right and get in
looks at everybody, and this will kind of rolls her eyes because they are
opposing political parties and I don't frequently agree on much and Filmina takes a read
on the tension that is just erupted, and she goes, all right,
well, I think the first thing we should do is just go get your
classmates. So yeah, and she's just going to walk over and open the
door. When she opens the door, she sees a crying satyr sitting on
the sofa. She said, Andrew colonial and Racca standing around him, and
Clarva Dashim is there as well. What she does not see is the fifth
member of your party. And as she looks around, she kind of does
the math in her head and then she looks directly at you and says,
wait, where is Belle? And that's where we're going to leave off.
Please join us in two weeks for the next episode of the Barbecue, where
we'll be talking about the episode you just listen to. I've been gm Gillian
Ashley Blair Ivy and for all of us at OOPS All Bards, so long
and thank you for listening. Oops All Bards is created, GMed, and
directed by Gillian Ashley Blair Ivy. This episode was produced, edited, and
sound designed by Nate Runkle. OOPS All Bards stars Ashley Banks as Bell Cernamio
and Coleman as Clarice Sauerkloun, Ross Curry as Andrek Harrowhold, Chris Klinecki as
Pooched and Ruckus, Bob Killian as Kilonian Stumps, featuring Page Clinecki as the
voice of the bark Buttons. The Oops all Bard's theme song is by Bob
Killian with additional lyrics by Jillian Ashley Blair Ivy. Oops all Bards is executive
produced by the porch Room. We are part of the porch Room Network on
Spreaker Prime. For more information, visit oopsalbards dot com. Thanks and be
sure to subscribe to Oops all Bards on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your
podcatcher of choice. We'll see you next time. How'll it go? Well,
We're sure you can guess. Oops it's almos oh on no