This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Jake Blauck: Hello, I'm Jake Blauck, and you're about to listen to Mythic Thunderlute.

[0:03] Jake Blauck: We create our podcast all over and stand on the land of many indigenous tribes, including the Southern Peiute, the Lenape tribe, the Menominee tribe, and the tribes of the Council of the Three Fires.

[0:13] Jake Blauck: The Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations.

[0:16] Jake Blauck: We want to acknowledge those relationships and their history.

[0:19] Jake Blauck: Mythic Thunderlute is brought to you with support from 11th Hour Theater Company, Philadelphia's only all musical theater company.

[0:26] Jake Blauck: Visit 11thhour Theater Company.org for more information.

[0:29] Jake Blauck: If you'd like to support Mythic Thunderlute, join our Patreon by going to Patreon.com slash Mythic Thunderlute.

[0:36] Jake Blauck: With that, here's episode seven.

[0:43] Jake Blauck: Mythic Thunderlute.

[0:57] Steve Goodalunus: Welcome to Mythic Thunderlute, everyone.

[0:59] All: Hello.

[1:00] Steve Goodalunus: I'm Steve Goodalunus.

[1:02] Jake Blauck: I'm Jake Blauck.

[1:02] Lillian Castillo: I'm Lillian Castillo.

[1:04] Michael Darty: I'm Michael Darty.

[1:05] Leah Cotto: And I'm Leah Cotto.

[1:07] All: We are Mythic Thunderlute.

[1:09] Steve Goodalunus: I have a question for you guys.

[1:10] Jake Blauck: What's your question?

[1:11] Steve Goodalunus: For those of you who live in Philadelphia, uh or have lived in Philadelphia, which is all of you except me.

[1:16] Steve Goodalunus: So I've recently become addicted to Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

[1:19] Lillian Castillo: Oh.

[1:20] Steve Goodalunus: That's what the baby wants, and so that's what the baby gets.

[1:22] Jake Blauck: You don't need to say sandwiches.

[1:23] Lillian Castillo: Exactly.

[1:24] Steve Goodalunus: Sandwich is redundant, but keep going.

[1:26] Steve Goodalunus: Okay, so Philly cheesesteak.

[1:27] Lillian Castillo: There you go.

[1:28] Steve Goodalunus: Okay.

[1:28] Steve Goodalunus: And um, there's this place near me that makes uh what I'm assuming is a very good one.

[1:33] Steve Goodalunus: I don't know.

[1:33] Steve Goodalunus: I've never been to Philly, but they always ask me if I want to put marinara sauce on it.

[1:38] Lillian Castillo: Sure.

[1:39] Michael Darty: Is that a thing?

[1:40] Steve Goodalunus: That's a pizza steak.

[1:41] Lillian Castillo: That is a pizza steak.

[1:42] Michael Darty: But that's fine.

[1:42] Lillian Castillo: Some people do that though.

[1:44] Steve Goodalunus: Because like I want to be as legit as possible.

[1:45] Steve Goodalunus: So they're like, you know, peppers, onions.

[1:47] Steve Goodalunus: And I was like, yes, yes, yes, I want all the things.

[1:49] Lillian Castillo: And we respect that.

[1:50] Michael Darty: The original is Cheese Whiz and Onions, which would be known as a whiz wit.

[1:55] Lillian Castillo: That's right.

[1:56] Michael Darty: Yeah, peppers, peppers are not a part of it, which I think is funny when any like people make like Philly cheesesteak dip.

[2:01] Michael Darty: It's a green peppers and onions.

[2:03] Lillian Castillo: I'm like, fried onions, yes.

[2:06] Lillian Castillo: Yes.

[2:06] Lillian Castillo: I'm also a provolone person.

[2:08] Lillian Castillo: I love provolone.

[2:09] Michael Darty: If you do provolone and whiz, you can travel through time.

[2:09] Lillian Castillo: You can.

[2:13] Lillian Castillo: Okay, provolone and whiz.

[2:15] Lillian Castillo: This is good to know.

[2:16] Lillian Castillo: Listen, I want to get it right.

[2:17] Lillian Castillo: It's important to me that I'm teaching this child, even in the womb.

[2:20] All: Yes.

[2:21] Lillian Castillo: How to eat things correctly.

[2:22] Steve Goodalunus: Incredible.

[2:23] Steve Goodalunus: And then next time you're in Philly, we're gonna go get a roast pork broccoli, Rob.

[2:26] Lillian Castillo: Yeah.

[2:26] Lillian Castillo: Because that's the real sandwich of Philadelphia.

[2:28] Steve Goodalunus: Anyway, let's pass it off to our fearless leader and game maker, Michael Doherty.

[2:34] Michael Darty: All right.

[2:35] Michael Darty: Thank you, thank you.

[2:36] Michael Darty: Today on the pod, we have acclaimed theater and cabaret artist Dito van Reigersberg.

[2:41] Michael Darty: Dito is a co-founder of Pig Iron Theater Company, the Philly-based devised physical theater company.

[2:47] Michael Darty: Their plays Hell Meets Henry Halfway and Chuck Off Lizard Brain earned them two Obi Awards.

[2:51] Michael Darty: He was named a Pew Fellow in 2002 and a Knight USA Fellow in 2010.

[2:55] Michael Darty: But most notably, Dito's tall and hairy drag persona, Martha Graham Cracker, has performed at Joe's Pub, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Mayor's Reception Room in Philly City Hall.

[3:06] Michael Darty: And we are so psyched to have him here.

[3:08] Michael Darty: Dito, welcome to the pod.

[3:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: Thank you very much.

[3:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: It is such a pleasure to have you.

[3:13] Michael Darty: So I'd like to ask you first about the inception of Martha.

[3:17] Michael Darty: Now, you actually trained at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.

[3:21] Michael Darty: So did the inspiration strike you there?

[3:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yes.

[3:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: I in some ways, yes.

[3:26] Dito Van Reigersberg: I just heard a lot of hilarious stories about what a diva, Martha Graham actually was.

[3:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: So so I mean, she was like a genius, and she was a diva, and she was an alcoholic.

[3:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: And she was all sorts of interesting things.

[3:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: And also, you know, I love a good pun.

[3:43] All: Yeah.

[3:44] Dito Van Reigersberg: So when I when I realized that Martha Graham Cracker had not been taken, as far as I knew, I was like, that's my drag name.

[3:53] Michael Darty: An excellent origin story.

[3:55] Michael Darty: And we'll get to uh more excellent puns in a moment.

[3:58] Michael Darty: Well, actually, right now, this is a perfect segue.

[4:01] Michael Darty: Just before the pandemic hit, you released your first album as Martha, last but not least.

[4:07] Michael Darty: How did that come about?

[4:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: I was given a kind of a workshop period at the Kimmel Center, and we were to write songs, and I needed to pull together a team, like a supergroup that could really help me.

[4:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: And also, I don't really play any instruments.

[4:26] Dito Van Reigersberg: So I gathered people who are killer songwriters slash instrumentalists.

[4:31] Michael Darty: Well, that's the way to do it.

[4:32] Michael Darty: So, what is the concept of the album?

[4:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's a piece that's about Martha leaving show business to be to become a librarian.

[4:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: And in a way, it's a goof.

[4:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's sort of like a ridiculous thing that she's gonna become a librarian, but also there is a kind of um depth and a kind of claiming of an interiority and a you can say like, oh, this is just a dumb drag queen.

[4:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: But no, I have a lot to say, and I have a lot to think about, and a lot to so it's it's sort of like don't don't put baby in a corner, don't put drag queens in a in a box.

[5:02] Lillian Castillo: Love that, Dito.

[5:04] Lillian Castillo: That's awesome.

[5:05] Michael Darty: Um, are there any upcoming uh Martha performances that our listeners should know about?

[5:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: Why, yes.

[5:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm gonna be with Johnny Showcase.

[5:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: Uh, I'm gonna be at Union Transfer, the first big show I'm doing since the pandemic.

[5:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: That'll be November 6th.

[5:24] Michael Darty: Great Union Transfer in Philadelphia.

[5:26] Dito Van Reigersberg: That's correct.

[5:26] Michael Darty: That's fantastic.

[5:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: Also, you can find last but not least on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon Music, all the places where you get your music.

[5:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Buy it today.

[5:35] Michael Darty: Dito, thank you so much for being here.

[5:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Thank you so much for having me.

[5:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm very excited to play a role I've never played before.

[5:42] Michael Darty: Fantastic.

[5:43] Michael Darty: With that, I am gonna explain how this works.

[5:46] Michael Darty: Here's the deal.

[5:48] Michael Darty: Our four players will improvise their way through a fantasy-style role-playing game of my making.

[5:53] Michael Darty: We will, we're making it up.

[5:54] All: Mm-hmm.

[5:55] Michael Darty: After we record, we add sound effects.

[5:57] Michael Darty: Underscoring full-fledged musical numbers and special guest voices.

[6:05] Michael Darty: And boom!

[6:06] Michael Darty: There you have an episode.

[6:08] All: Sound good?

[6:09] All: Yes.

[6:10] Michael Darty: Okay.

[6:10] Steve Goodalunus: I'm still not sure.

[6:12] Michael Darty: Well, let's play Mythic Thunderlute!

[6:16] All: Yeah, yeah, let's do it.

[6:23] Michael Darty: Leah, wanna give me a previously on.

[6:26] Leah Cotto: Um previous.

[6:34] Leah Cotto: That went so well.

[6:36] Leah Cotto: So much pressure on that moment.

[6:40] Leah Cotto: Previously on Mythic Thunderlute.

[6:42] Leah Cotto: After being quested to the Dragon Nation Vitrania and lured into the mysterious cave of the forgotten, rock band Mythic Thunderlute finds themselves watching Roscoe's favorite band, Necromantica.

[6:53] Leah Cotto: Lead singer Cindar the Righteous uses their necrotic magic to summon the forgotten spirits of one-hit wonder bands and enlists their help in generating new material.

[7:01] Leah Cotto: Mythic Thunderlute offers their guidance, but instead Cindar challenges them to a battle of the bands.

[7:06] Leah Cotto: Thunderloot accepts and performs a far superior song that floors its listeners.

[7:10] Leah Cotto: As a result, they're gifted the forbidden necklace of Octock Tune.

[7:13] Leah Cotto: All of Necromantica's instruments, and the freedom of the forgotten spirits.

[7:17] Leah Cotto: The next morning, they journey through North Talia Shire, where Mayor Whimsley Woggle makes an impassioned warning against the dangers of southern mining.

[7:25] Leah Cotto: An officer from South Talia Shire chats with Pugface and Roscoe about assassinating the mayor.

[7:30] Leah Cotto: But when the group doesn't act quickly enough, an arrow is fired, striking Mayor Whimsley's right-hand man, Pasco Slim.

[7:35] Leah Cotto: Jocasta attempts to heal him, but it is too late.

[7:38] Leah Cotto: Defeated and divided, the group heads through the mountain pass and into Vritrania.

[7:44] Michael Darty: We begin.

[7:45] Michael Darty: You ride your horses down the narrow pathway known as Vitrani's Pass, with the mountains towering on either side of you.

[7:51] Herman: So we were given three days after our meeting with Zodendra before the fog comes to kill all the crops, right?

[8:01] Michael Darty: Uh yes.

[8:02] Herman: Yes, what day uh day is it?

[8:04] Michael Darty: Well, do we think that it he meant exactly 72 hours from then, or was he giving us three full days to change our sovereign's mind?

[8:12] Herman: I'm gonna guess it's probably 72 hours.

[8:15] Michael Darty: If it is 72 hours, then the fog comes at midday tomorrow.

[8:19] Michael Darty: If it's three full days, then perhaps not until tomorrow evening or the following morning.

[8:24] Herman: Right.

[8:25] Michael Darty: Yeah, good job.

[8:26] Lillian Castillo: Sound like a weatherman.

[8:27] Herman: I you know, Harman, I really appreciate how you're keeping track of this stuff.

[8:31] Herman: Because no one else is.

[8:32] Herman: They call me the human sundial.

[8:34] Michael Darty: That's what they call you.

[8:36] Herman: That's in some circles.

[8:39] Michael Darty: Yeah, that makes sense.

[8:40] Lillian Castillo: Not for the reasons you'd think.

[8:42] Herman: What are the reasons I should think?

[8:43] Michael Darty: I think we'd rather not know, old boy.

[8:46] Michael Darty: You soon come to an opening.

[8:48] Michael Darty: You've made it to the other side of the Vitranian mountains.

[8:51] Michael Darty: Oh goodness.

[8:52] Michael Darty: The diamond-like clouds now hover directly over you.

[8:55] Michael Darty: You look out across a massive desert as Sir Aiden speaks.

[8:59] Sir Aiden: Now, friends, to find the underground city of Kurali, where the cathedral lies, your guess is as good as mine on how to traverse.

[9:07] Sir Aiden: We could continue due west or veer slightly and head southwest or northwest.

[9:12] Sir Aiden: Does anyone know which is faster?

[9:14] Leah Cotto: Safest.

[9:15] Michael Darty: Well, we don't know exactly where we're going to begin with.

[9:18] Michael Darty: So we could literally pick any option and be right.

[9:20] Leah Cotto: Perhaps one of you young people with your your young set of eyes couldn't.

[9:24] Leah Cotto: I was going to say I could always turn myself into like a desert bird of some kind.

[9:30] Michael Darty: You can do that?

[9:31] Leah Cotto: Yes.

[9:31] Michael Darty: Oh.

[9:32] Leah Cotto: We'll all avert our eyes while you do it.

[9:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: I mean, you don't have to.

[9:35] Leah Cotto: I'm just gonna and she just like goes for it.

[9:37] Michael Darty: What kind of bird do you turn into?

[9:39] Leah Cotto: I was actually thinking what is it that they say on uh Monty Python?

[9:43] Leah Cotto: A swallow.

[9:44] Michael Darty: A swallow.

[9:45] Leah Cotto: Swallow, that's what it is.

[9:46] Michael Darty: So you turn into a swallow.

[9:48] Michael Darty: Oh that's impressive.

[9:50] Michael Darty: And fly directly into the air.

[9:52] Michael Darty: And you can see in the far west some rock formations that seem to be a little bit of a different geographical landscape than the one that you currently see stretched out in front of you.

[10:05] Leah Cotto: Directly due west.

[10:06] Leah Cotto: Yes.

[10:06] Leah Cotto: And if I like start surveying northwest and southwest.

[10:11] Michael Darty: If you look to the south, you see you eventually hit the ocean, the Dela Rose Sea.

[10:16] Michael Darty: And if you look north, you see the rocky river that runs alongside Talia Shire.

[10:22] Michael Darty: That creates the northern border of Vertrania.

[10:24] Leah Cotto: Okay, she's gonna come back.

[10:26] Leah Cotto: Tuck herself, little bird self, into her top before she transforms back.

[10:31] Leah Cotto: So she's not wearing any pants, but her top's pretty long, so it's all right.

[10:34] Steve Goodalunus: Oh my word.

[10:35] Herman: You know, in this robe, I don't wear pants either.

[10:38] Lillian Castillo: Oh no one needs to know that, Herman.

[10:41] Herman: It might have been a a wee bit of an overshare.

[10:45] Herman: Keeping it free, you know.

[10:46] Michael Darty: That's why they call me a human sundial.

[10:51] Lillian Castillo: There it is.

[10:52] Michael Darty: I didn't know before why, but I know now.

[10:54] Michael Darty: My words.

[10:55] Leah Cotto: All right.

[10:56] Leah Cotto: Um, Southwest is not the way we want to go.

[10:59] Leah Cotto: There's I mean, I guess there's an argument for going that way.

[11:01] Leah Cotto: Maybe there's like a port town or something.

[11:03] Michael Darty: Now, this place is supposed to be like underground.

[11:06] Michael Darty: That's exactly right.

[11:07] Michael Darty: I would think it wouldn't be near the sea in that case.

[11:10] Leah Cotto: Exactly.

[11:11] Leah Cotto: I don't think we want to go to either water source, actually.

[11:13] Leah Cotto: I feel like due west is the way we want to go.

[11:16] Michael Darty: Very well.

[11:16] Michael Darty: Sounds good to me.

[11:17] Michael Darty: You ride due west, and the red rocks turn into scorching hot sand.

[11:23] Herman: But this I don't know if I can go on anymore.

[11:30] Herman: My throat is getting dry.

[11:32] Herman: My back is getting scorched.

[11:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hold on.

[11:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's just a little further now.

[11:49] Herman: If I don't make it out, one thing just promise me.

[11:55] Herman: I want you to tell my mom.

[11:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: That's not how it's gonna be.

[12:00] Herman: Tell her I was trying to save her.

[12:05] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wish it wasn't up to me.

[12:08] Herman: I suppose you're right.

[12:13] Herman: It's a pickle, isn't it?

[12:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wouldn't I have chosen this for myself in my wildest dreams?

[12:26] Herman: But that's not the way it went.

[12:30] Herman: Fate flowed another way.

[12:35] Herman: Really up the creek.

[12:37] Jake Blauck: This time.

[12:39] Lillian Castillo: So it seems.

[12:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: But there's never been a paddle.

[12:44] Steve Goodalunus: Just follow course of stream.

[12:52] Michael Darty: Hours tick by as the sun punishes you. You squint to notice any signs of an opening leading underground.

[13:00] Jake Blauck: Everyone roll perception.

[13:02] All: Oh yes.

[13:03] Lillian Castillo: Twenty.

[13:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yocasa, although you don't find any underground openings, you do have the gut feeling that you're on the right track.

[13:17] Steve Goodalunus: My son dial weathers, and since we don't have a compass.

[13:23] Jake Blauck: Hold firm here and hold firm. We're gonna pull through somehow.

[13:36] Lillian Castillo: Jojo, don't you think that we're just watching aimlessly?

[13:45] Dito Van Reigersberg: As far as I can see.

[13:52] Michael Darty: I know. We just gotta hold on now.

[13:56] Lillian Castillo: I know it's bleak. We should have a quip ride here.

[14:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: But all I've got is faith in you and me. Do you trust me, Pub?

[14:16] Steve Goodalunus: Of course. And trust me when I say.

[14:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: I got this feeling. Deep inside me. It's drawing me forward. Flowing on like the course of a stream.

[14:38] Jake Blauck: Shall we continue this direction then?

[14:40] All: Yes.

[14:41] Jake Blauck: So you continue along due west for another hour or so when the sun begins to set. Now tomorrow, we shan't rest until we find the underground city of Kurale.

[14:52] Lillian Castillo: Alright.

[14:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're also all feeling quite dehydrated right now, having been in the heat for a while.

[14:57] Michael Darty: For sure. No one has any water?

[14:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: When you check your water jugs, you notice that you're running pretty low.

[15:03] Lillian Castillo: Oh no.

[15:04] Steve Goodalunus: Oh dear Vinicius, we forgot to fill up Intalia Shire.

[15:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yeah, we did.

[15:08] Steve Goodalunus: Oh, Aiden!

[15:09] Lillian Castillo: Well, it was a bit of a thing, wouldn't you say?

[15:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: I think so.

[15:12] Steve Goodalunus: Oh well, I think being a knight of the king's god and all that, you should at least know how to I've let you down, my friend. You know what happens if you die of thirst out here.

[15:22] Lillian Castillo: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Can we dig to find like a water?

[15:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: We can try. It looks rather dry, my dead dog.

[15:29] Michael Darty: Are there any plants anywhere near us?

[15:32] Lillian Castillo: You are surrounded by only sand.

[15:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Don't go near the water source, they said. Guys, I'm gonna die soon. I can feel it deep in my chest.

[15:40] Steve Goodalunus: You're not gonna die.

[15:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: He's gonna die, and then we're gonna have to eat his body.

[15:46] Lillian Castillo: No, no, knock it off. My friends, I would like to say that in the name of water and food conservation, I'm going to bed.

[15:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: But Roscoe, here's some jerky to tide you over. Don't eat too much, or you shan't be able to shit.

[16:00] Michael Darty: I eat the whole thing. As soon as he answers me, I eat all just wait out the night.

[16:08] Jake Blauck: Right. And see what tomorrow brings.

[16:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: Y'all. Things ain't quite as bad as they might seem. Well, team, do we want to build a campfire or call it a night?

[16:25] Lillian Castillo: A fire? It's a thousand degrees out here.

[16:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yeah. Won't it get cold though? I mean, I've never been in a desert. I have no idea how the temperature works out here.

[16:32] Michael Darty: Hot during the day and freezing at night. Makes no sense.

[16:36] Lillian Castillo: You know, we could all just lay really close together and conserve some like if it that way if it gets cold.

[16:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Cuddlefest.

[16:43] Steve Goodalunus: Oh Jesus.

[16:44] Lillian Castillo: I mean, not cuddlefest so much as like sleeping close together.

[16:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm so sorry. Herman, that's inappropriate. You go sleep on your own, sundial.

[16:52] Steve Goodalunus: You got it. It can always get worse.

[16:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: I mean, it's true, I'm sorry. If you've got that attitude, Roscoe chap. Let me tell you that. Ain't no use spreading now.

[17:06] Michael Darty: My dear companions. Sweet dreams. We just push on tomorrow. Follow the course of the stream.

[17:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: I under kept watch over the sleep.

[17:31] Jake Blauck: Alright. Alright, uh song's over, Aiden. Please, please, please. You rest for the night.

[17:36] Michael Darty: Roscoe, as you sleep, you dream that you are surrounded by herb smoke once more. The same aged halfling from last night emerges from the smoke and stares at you.

[17:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: He holds up two fingers and whispers the words.

[17:52] Michael Darty: Can you roll perception for me?

[17:54] Lillian Castillo: Yep, a 16.

[17:56] Michael Darty: You realize that his voice is the exact one that was coming from the small metal box you found in the cave.

[18:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: Could you give me some more details?

[18:04] Lillian Castillo: Please, sir.

[18:05] Michael Darty: He holds up a finger to his mouth and is consumed by the smoke once more, and you jolt awake. It is morning.

[18:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, did everyone sleep?

[18:15] Lillian Castillo: Horribly.

[18:16] Steve Goodalunus: It was freezing, like I said. I feel like that jerky might be backing me up.

[18:19] Aiden: Good news, team. Well, yesterday was punishingly hot. It seems today is only swelteringly hot.

[18:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, thank you, Aiden. Shall we continue on then, Fred?

[18:31] Michael Darty: Yeah, Aiden.

[18:32] Lillian Castillo: Sure, sure. Let's do that, Aiden. You mount your steeds, who are looking a bit thirsty and worse for the wear. And you head off.

[18:40] Jake Blauck: Sorry, Nick Fowles. Now, due to the lack of remaining water and the hotness of the sun, I'm going to need exhaustion checks every hour of travel in the sun.

[18:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: Nice.

[18:52] Lillian Castillo: 18.

[18:52] Michael Darty: Okay, Joe Costa, you soldier forth, not succumbing to exhaustion.

[18:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: 21.

[18:57] Steve Goodalunus: Hug face soldiers on, not succumbing.

[18:59] Lillian Castillo: I got a natural one.

[19:01] Michael Darty: Oh.

[19:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: And what about you, Edgar?

[19:03] Lillian Castillo: Okay.

[19:04] Michael Darty: Roscoe, you start to feel the heat kick in, and then you see in front of you, just ahead, a thin, tallish halfling walking through the desert haze.

[19:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: Does anybody else see that guy?

[19:16] Michael Darty: You look around you and you no longer see your party mates.

[19:20] Lillian Castillo: What the f before long, you realize also you're no longer on Tutoroso, and that the halfling is none other than the late Pasco Slim.

[19:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: This can't be right. Your dad and I had nothing to do with it. Nothing.

[19:36] Michael Darty: He places his hand upon your chest, and before you know it, you've switched bodies.

[19:41] Lillian Castillo: Oh, this is horrible. Everything is so high. You suddenly find yourself at the grotto, the brew pub where you and Pasco met six nights ago.

[19:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: What is happening to me? As you take in your new surroundings, someone roughly bumps into you.

[19:55] Michael Darty: Hey, hey. It's you.

[19:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hey, buddy, watch where you're going, would you?

[19:59] Lillian Castillo: Watch where you'd go in, you little.

[20:01] Steve Goodalunus: Oh, whoa. You're not from around here, are you?

[20:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yes, I am. I live right here.

[20:05] Michael Darty: What's your name?

[20:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: My name's Roscoe Pasco?

[20:08] Michael Darty: What the hell kind of a name is that?

[20:10] Lillian Castillo: You didn't say my name was Pasco, his name same resume.

[20:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh North Talia Shire. I get it now.

[20:16] Michael Darty: No, I don't live in North Talia Shire.

[20:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: So look, look, look. Maybe you didn't realize, but uh, you're not welcome here, pal.

[20:23] Steve Goodalunus: Oh, you better settle down, buddy. It's the you're the one that's not welcome here.

[20:26] Lillian Castillo: Edgar Hawk comes running up from behind this version of you attempting to intervene.

[20:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, Rosco, perhaps we should leave. We've had quite a lot to drink.

[20:37] Michael Darty: Look, Eddie, I'm fine, I'm fine. It's this asshole that's the problem.

[20:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: And these versions of Edgar and yourself vanish into blasts of sand.

[20:45] Michael Darty: I haven't even smoked this morning. What the hell is going on? And whirl together into a large crowd before you chanting, Whimsley, Whimsley, Whimsley!

[20:55] Lillian Castillo: Oh god. You see the back of Mayor Whimsley standing in front of you, and in the distance, you see yourself and your bandmates.

[21:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: Joe Costa rushes toward the stage while the rest of the band stares up at a tall wooden watchtower.

[21:09] Michael Darty: I don't even know what to do anymore. By the time you notice the watchtower, Roscoe, you see an arrow flying toward you.

[21:15] Lillian Castillo: I dive out of the way. Give me a roll for it.

[21:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's a four.

[21:19] Michael Darty: Okay. The arrow pierces your neck and you fall to the ground choking on blood.

[21:24] Lillian Castillo: Mayor Whimsley appears over you. Pasco? Pasco, stay with me. You've got this old boy.

[21:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: No, I don't. Suddenly, Jocasta appears over you, fraught with worry. She places her hands on the arrow, and as she yanks it out, external awakening.

[21:39] Michael Darty: You are on Tutoroso, still traveling through the desert.

[21:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, what the fu You okay, bud?

[21:44] Michael Darty: I don't know. I feel like I was transported inside the body of Pasco Slim, which was awful.

[21:50] Lillian Castillo: You're dehydrated, buddy. It's fucking hot.

[21:52] Dito Van Reigersberg: Meanwhile, Edgar, you see through the desert haze an elderly elf wearing a crown. By the time you approach him, you realize it's your late father, El Genitor Quindalari.

[22:04] Michael Darty: Oh, you are suddenly in the Car Sultan throne room on the day you abdicated the throne, nearly 1400 years ago.

[22:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: So you're choosing a music career over leading the people of this nation.

[22:21] Michael Darty: Yes, I'm choosing a music career over leading the people of this nation.

[22:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: Why? But the people need you. Use your charisma to lead your fellow elves instead.

[22:31] Michael Darty: Leave that up to Castani. Algenator suddenly looks very sullen, and you don't remember this part of the conversation.

[22:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, I can see I won't be convincing you otherwise. All I ask is this, Edgar. Whatever you do, do it with a selfless heart.

[22:48] Michael Darty: You are about to have a nation of people who resent you, prove them wrong by being kind. And do right by the ones around you. Whoever they may be.

[22:58] Dito Van Reigersberg: You just wait until we invent folk rock, father. I love you.

[23:01] Michael Darty: Your father crumbles into sand, along with the entire throne room, which shifts into the nation of man on the brink of war twelve hundred years ago.

[23:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Humans run and scream all around you as dragons fly overhead. This was a bad day.

[23:16] Michael Darty: A voice calls out behind you. Edgar, come on! We need to set sail!

[23:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm coming!

[23:21] Michael Darty: You turn around to see Wendell Stump, drummer of Elf Mother, on the deck of the ship that took you to Fovor on the brink of the Great War.

[23:29] Dito Van Reigersberg: Come aboard! If we stay, we die!

[23:32] Michael Darty: But me to come aboard? I don't know.

[23:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Maybe we should go find Tanner Braided and see if he wants to get on the boat.

[23:38] Michael Darty: I don't know who the hell that is, man. You need to come aboard!

[23:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright, I'll just get on the boat because obviously it's better than the dragons behind me.

[23:45] Michael Darty: As you head toward the boat, you hear a human call out behind you. Stay, Edgar! Use the Thunderloot for good!

[23:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm really sorry, but I'm going to get on the back.

[23:55] Michael Darty: And with that, all of the humans burst into flame and scream.

[23:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: See what I mean? Reality falls to sand again.

[24:02] Michael Darty: Do right by the ones around you. Followed by a series of images. The fifty Kingsguard being melted into skeletons. You standing in the Borstead dungeon saying I suppose that the people that I vaporized were in fact people.

[24:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Then mythic Thunderloot huddled together in the Cave of the Forgotten, and you saying We have to kill them. What I didn't really mean it.

[24:25] Michael Darty: And Jill Costa flipping you off as she leaves the cave hurt. Come back, Jacosta. Don't flip me off.

[24:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Do right by the ones around you. You finally come to you are riding Nick Foles through the desert surrounded by your companions.

[24:39] Lillian Castillo: Are you okay?

[24:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: What is happening?

[24:41] Michael Darty: Blockface.

[24:42] Lillian Castillo: Huh?

[24:43] Dito Van Reigersberg: What day is this day?

[24:44] Michael Darty: Don't ask me. I don't know.

[24:45] Lillian Castillo: I don't know my own. Are we still we're still a band?

[24:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: Of course we are. Everyone roll perception as you continue to look for the city.

[24:52] Michael Darty: 17 for me.

[24:54] Lillian Castillo: Nine for Roscoe.

[24:55] Dito Van Reigersberg: Ten.

[24:56] Michael Darty: Nineteen.

[24:56] Lillian Castillo: Okay. Pugface and Roscoe. You look for paths underground, and all you see is haze. Edgar and Jocasta, though it might be a mirage, you spy something specific and large in the distance. It seems to be a very oddly shaped rock.

[25:11] Michael Darty: My friends who have not succumbed to exhaustion yet, please give me another constitution roll.

[25:16] Dito Van Reigersberg: Fifteen for me.

[25:18] Jake Blauck: Pugface, the heat overtakes you.

[25:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: No.

[25:21] Jake Blauck: And you suddenly find yourself back at home, surrounded by your six older brothers who are once again in their teen years.

[25:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: They're being incredibly loud.

[25:33] Jake Blauck: No matter what you say, you notice that none of your brothers are paying attention to you.

[25:37] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, they never do.

[25:38] Jake Blauck: They continue to play and you feel a hand on your shoulder.

[25:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: And it's your father Rikio.

[25:45] Jake Blauck: He leans in close to you and says, "You know something, my little pug? Your brothers may not let you get a word in edgewise, but that doesn't mean that what you have to say isn't important."

[25:55] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay, okay.

[25:56] Jake Blauck: "Just never be afraid to speak your mind, no matter how hard it may be."

[26:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wait, you know what?

[26:01] Jake Blauck: Enriqueo begins to play a gemstone and dance around the living room.

[26:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: What do you say we get up and move?

[26:09] Jake Blauck: I'm not in the mood, Dad.

[26:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Follow me, pug, start feeling the groove.

[26:15] Jake Blauck: The groove for what?

[26:16] Dito Van Reigersberg: Bigger and bolder every day.

[26:20] Jake Blauck: Well, I don't know about that.

[26:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're growing in the most badass way.

[26:26] Jake Blauck: Come on, Dad.

[26:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're a cool teen on the scene, and I get it, keen to be seen with me.

[26:34] Jake Blauck: But you're wiser than you think. Don't second guess, don't blink.

[26:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your brothers are bigger, but the way I figure your heart gives you it.

[26:45] Jake Blauck: Speak your mind, peek over that ledge.

[26:49] Dito Van Reigersberg: Quicker than a guitar lick.

[26:52] Jake Blauck: Clearer than a bell.

[26:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your lyrics will fit the songs right now.

[26:59] Jake Blauck: Sing that loud as hell.

[27:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: You grow and change, my little pug.

[27:07] Jake Blauck: Can always dance with me.

[27:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: Share that heart with the world.

[27:14] Jake Blauck: You show them what I see.

[27:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: What I see.

[27:20] Jake Blauck: What I see.

[27:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: I hear you, Dad.

[27:26] Jake Blauck: I wanna write.

[27:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: Scream and wail like anchor haul.

[27:35] Jake Blauck: When I'm on stage, my set is tied.

[27:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: I can play until the world is aright.

[27:47] Jake Blauck: I'm an ace on the face, but it's all that is face in the face of a place with no music.

[27:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Words don't pop like they should. I know I'll be misunderstood.

[27:57] Jake Blauck: Music gives you that will always be true.

[28:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: Speaking life the way you do.

[28:04] Jake Blauck: When we jam just me and you take it, pucky.

[28:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, come on, I know you can.

[28:16] Jake Blauck: Quicker than a guitar lick, there you go.

[28:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: Clearer than—come on, Buggy, you can be louder than that.

[28:28] Jake Blauck: That's it, Pug Face.

[28:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'll show them what you see.

[28:44] Jake Blauck: We can a guitar lick.

[28:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: I leave to fit the song as I will sing them loud as hell.

[28:59] Jake Blauck: Louder for the kids in fact, this is who you can be.

[29:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: Don't ever let them drown you out.

[29:09] Jake Blauck: Be more than what they see.

[29:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: What they see.

[29:16] Jake Blauck: What they see.

[29:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: And what they see.

[29:21] Jake Blauck: Never let them drown me out.

[29:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm more than what they see.

[29:27] Jake Blauck: No matter what you do, my pug, you're everything to me.

[29:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Thanks, Dad.

[29:36] Jake Blauck: You got it, sweetheart.

[29:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay.

[29:40] Jake Blauck: Well, I have something I'd like to say to you.

[29:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay.

[29:43] Jake Blauck: It's about autumn.

[29:44] Dito Van Reigersberg: I hate her.

[29:47] Jake Blauck: I don't like her.

[29:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: I've never told you that, but you need to know this.

[29:51] Jake Blauck: His jaw drops, and then he crumbles into sand, which swirls back together to become Byron Crane.

[29:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your favorite professor at the Sacular Edenia, the non-religious elf-run higher learning institution from which you've recently graduated.

[30:05] Jake Blauck: You find yourself before your entire draconic studies class about to give an oral presentation.

[30:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: So Professor Crane calls out, "Remember to breathe, pugface."

[30:18] Jake Blauck: Okay.

[30:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hello, everyone. I'm going to talk about dragons.

[30:24] Jake Blauck: As you struggle to find the words, some of your fellow students begin to snicker at you.

[30:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hey, public speaking isn't easy. It's a skill learned in time.

[30:35] Jake Blauck: That word, time, echoes as the sands shift once more to show you a series of images.

[30:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: You standing speechless as your father tells you he's getting remarried.

[30:45] Jake Blauck: You crumbling under pressure on the witness stand two days ago.

[30:49] Dito Van Reigersberg: And finally, saying nothing as Officer Gord tells you of his assassination plans and walking toward the fateful watchtower.

[30:58] Jake Blauck: You gasp for air.

[30:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: You are once again on Delilah, riding through the desert with your companions.

[31:05] Jake Blauck: Oh, Pugface, it's okay.

[31:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: Did it happen to you, too? Did you see the dreams?

[31:10] Jake Blauck: I just don't like to speak in public.

[31:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: I just don't like it.

[31:13] Jake Blauck: What is happening?

[31:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: I know it's okay. You don't have to speak in public.

[31:17] Jake Blauck: It's okay.

[31:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's okay.

[31:22] Jake Blauck: Edgar, relax.

[31:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: Herman leans into you, Jocasta, and says, "Huh, looks like you and I are the only sane ones around here."

[31:29] Jake Blauck: Shut up, Herman.

[31:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: As he says that, Jocasta begins to shrink along with Smelly until the two of them vanish.

[31:37] Jake Blauck: Oh no.

[31:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your party mates are no longer around you, and you realize that you're shrinking as well until you are the size of a toddler.

[31:46] Jake Blauck: You see your mother Minerva standing in front of you, looking decades younger.

[31:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: Mama.

[31:50] Jake Blauck: She smiles at you and comes running toward you.

[31:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, yay!

[31:54] Jake Blauck: Suddenly, a ferocious bear appears behind her and roars.

[31:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, oh no.

[32:01] Jake Blauck: That would be a five.

[32:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: You find that you've been paralyzed with fear.

[32:06] Jake Blauck: Minerva turns to see the beast, acting intuitively, she brandishes a blade.

[32:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: She stabs the bear in the gut, and the bear transforms into human form, and Minerva lets out a gasp.

[32:18] Jake Blauck: Oh no.

[32:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Minerva begins to weep over the now dying man.

[32:22] Jake Blauck: Oh no.

[32:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: You remain frozen as Minerva and the man crumble into sand, which forms into Officer Gord nearing the top of the watchtower.

[32:30] Jake Blauck: You finally regain control of your body.

[32:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Try and stop him.

[32:34] Jake Blauck: She's gonna take off towards the stage again, hoping to get there faster than she did last time.

[32:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright, you book it toward the stage. Give me an athletics check.

[32:44] Jake Blauck: Six.

[32:45] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright, so you're making it toward the stage again.

[32:48] Jake Blauck: The arrow flies over your head and stops directly above you.

[32:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: She's gonna try and grab it out of the air.

[32:53] Jake Blauck: You grab the arrow, which crumbles to sand along with all of your surroundings.

[32:58] Dito Van Reigersberg: You snap awake, once again on Smelly, with Herman right behind you, humming quietly.

[33:03] Jake Blauck: Oh no.

[33:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: It happened to you too, didn't it?

[33:06] Jake Blauck: We gotta go.

[33:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, like it.

[33:08] Jake Blauck: I didn't act fast enough.

[33:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: You ride vigorously toward the geographical oddity, and before long, you have reached the rock!

[33:17] Jake Blauck: Which all of you can see has been singed by a dragon flame.

[33:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, you now see the word "curly" written in draconic upon it.

[33:26] Jake Blauck: Oh yeah, it says Kurali.

[33:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, look at that. We found a sign.

[33:28] Jake Blauck: We just have to find the entrance, right?

[33:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Indeed.

[33:32] Jake Blauck: She starts pushing on the word itself in hopes that there's like a secret button or something.

[33:37] Dito Van Reigersberg: Jocasta, as you inspect this side of the rock, nothing is happening.

[33:41] Jake Blauck: Great. We're here. Who are you calling for?

[33:43] Dito Van Reigersberg: She's gonna move around.

[33:44] Jake Blauck: Jocasta, as soon as you cross to the western side of the rock, you discover a large stone staircase leading underground.

[33:52] Dito Van Reigersberg: And sitting just in front of it is a baby dragon.

[33:56] Jake Blauck: Oh.

[33:58] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, you guys! What the world is that thing?

[34:00] Jake Blauck: Oh my gosh, it's so—No, no, don't touch again.

[34:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: Am I hallucinating now?

[34:04] Jake Blauck: No, no, no. Pugface, can you speak draconic?

[34:08] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, yeah, yeah, I can, but this is a little baby.

[34:11] Jake Blauck: Oh everyone, dismount. Let me become the boss.

[34:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: You guys, I don't want to lie. I've always wanted a little pet. Can we bring him along with you?

[34:20] Jake Blauck: What if that's somebody's? It depends on how your conversation with the dragon goes.

[34:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: I walk over to the little fella.

[34:25] Jake Blauck: Okay.

[34:26] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, the baby dragon cautiously approaches you. It looks lonely and in need of love.

[34:31] Jake Blauck: Hi, little guy. My name is Pugface.

[34:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Are you speaking in draconic?

[34:34] Jake Blauck: Yeah, I am.

[34:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: I am.

[34:35] Jake Blauck: The baby dragon comes even closer to you and kind of lights up and recognizes the tongue in which you speak.

[34:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: Um, I like it.

[34:42] Jake Blauck: I don't know. Can we just walk past it?

[34:44] Dito Van Reigersberg: I mean, the baby dragon squeaks out to you, Pugface, in draconic and says, "Mama."

[34:50] Jake Blauck: Oh.

[34:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: You guys, it thinks I'm sweet—no.

[34:55] Jake Blauck: No, I have to keep it.

[34:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, no, you're not.

[34:58] Jake Blauck: No, please.

[35:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, at least when we walk through.

[35:01] Jake Blauck: How about yes?

[35:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: So I pick it up and I wrap it where I have a scarf.

[35:05] Jake Blauck: After you do that, Pugface, it starts rubbing on your shoulder affectionately and purring.

[35:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh no, this is bad.

[35:11] Jake Blauck: You're gonna get your scent on it.

[35:13] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, what are you gonna name it?

[35:16] Jake Blauck: How about Lulu?

[35:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, what is it?

[35:19] Jake Blauck: I like it.

[35:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: Little Lulu.

[35:22] Jake Blauck: You can't name it.

[35:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: Roscoe, what is it doing to you?

[35:25] Jake Blauck: It's not what it's doing to me now. It's what it's gonna do to me later.

[35:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: Has anyone else noticed that there's stairs too?

[35:30] Jake Blauck: You want to leave it for God?

[35:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Now we're gonna take it and we're gonna have to feed it.

[35:34] Jake Blauck: Well, we don't even have any water.

[35:35] Dito Van Reigersberg: Aiden, you're in charge here. What do you think of all this?

[35:38] Jake Blauck: No, he's not in charge.

[35:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: I don't care what we do with Lulu. I say we get down these stairs so we can continue with our adventure.

[35:45] Jake Blauck: That's what I was saying. I feel like there's stairs.

[35:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: Let's go, Aiden.

[35:49] Jake Blauck: Alright. I say we leave our horses up here under the shade of the rock.

[35:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yeah, let's leave the horses up here and take the dragon.

[35:55] Jake Blauck: What a great idea.

[35:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: You place your horses in the shade and you descend the staircase.

[36:00] Jake Blauck: Who is walking behind Jocasta currently?

[36:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: Roscoe.

[36:03] Jake Blauck: Roscoe, you start to notice a citrine glow coming from Jocasta's bag.

[36:08] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hey, Jocasta?

[36:09] Jake Blauck: Yeah.

[36:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: Could you do me a favor? Could you just maybe check in the bag and see what's glowing for me?

[36:14] Jake Blauck: Sure.

[36:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: That'd be great.

[36:15] Jake Blauck: She pulls her big fat bag off her back, puts it on the stairs, and starts digging through.

[36:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay, you soon see that the source of the glow is the necklace of Octock Tune.

[36:24] Jake Blauck: Oh.

[36:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: Didn't know that thing glowed in the dark.

[36:26] Jake Blauck: I have to say, the necklace is probably here in the depths of this ancient draconic city at its most powerful.

[36:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: If we find like a nice resident chamber down here, we have to put this thing on and try it out.

[36:40] Jake Blauck: Let me just put it on.

[36:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Get away.

[36:43] Jake Blauck: Why shouldn't I wear it? It's mine after all.

[36:45] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's ours.

[36:47] Jake Blauck: Was it gifted to you when you were a child thousands of years ago? Did you lose it and finders keepers somebody else?

[36:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: And right now you sound like a loser and a weeper.

[36:57] Jake Blauck: See, I don't like what this necklace does to us. Look how we argue.

[37:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: Sally forth.

[37:01] Jake Blauck: You continue down the stairs, Pugface. Part way down, you see carved into the wall a draconic phrase which you read as "Who do you serve?"

[37:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: Who do you serve?

[37:10] Jake Blauck: Well, not Vinicius anymore, I can tell you that. I'm really kind of open to whoever, you know, is—the whole reason we requested here is to request the help of the dragon gods and serve them.

[37:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay, well then I guess it's them.

[37:24] Jake Blauck: Great. Well, that was easy.

[37:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: In that case, I think Jocasta, you know, maybe you should put that necklace on and I do think somebody should put it on.

[37:35] Jake Blauck: I think it should be Roscoe.

[37:37] Dito Van Reigersberg: Uh sure. I mean, I'm always up for a good time.

[37:41] Jake Blauck: Roscoe puts on the forbidden and legendary necklace of Octoctue.

[37:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: Don't know it's gonna be so mad I can never find out.

[37:48] Jake Blauck: And you finally reached the bottom of the stairs and find yourselves in an enormous cavern.

[37:53] Jake Blauck: The walls of which are charred black with cracks of red magma glowing through.

[37:58] Lillian Castillo: Large yellow stone buildings line the walls with no sign of life or light within them.

[38:03] Jake Blauck: And before you stretches a long stone bridge leading to an enormous stone cathedral, upon which is carved a mammoth dragon's head.

[38:12] Michael Darty: I'm imagining we're gonna make our way towards that cathedral with the mammoth dragon's head.

[38:16] Steve Goodalunus: Now, on either side of the narrow bridge is a massive drop off into a lake of lava.

[38:22] Jake Blauck: So if you move slowly, you should be able to traverse without an issue.

[38:26] Lillian Castillo: Right.

[38:26] Steve Goodalunus: Take it easy.

[38:28] Jake Blauck: You traverse the treacherous bridge. Is everyone moving carefully?

[38:31] All: Yeah.

[38:31] Lillian Castillo: Very carefully.

[38:32] Jake Blauck: Okay. While notably cooler underground, you can feel the heat from the lava below, and eventually you reach the cathedral's entrance.

[38:40] All: We did it.

[38:40] Lillian Castillo: Is it like open?

[38:41] Jake Blauck: It's wide open, you separate in.

[38:43] Lillian Castillo: Oh, good.

[38:43] Jake Blauck: Within, you see a raised circular platform with a thin stone lectern jutting out from the center of it.

[38:50] Michael Darty: Lining the circular wall of the cathedral are twelve evenly spaced hexagonal floor carvings.

[38:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: Have any of you actually summoned a god before?

[38:59] Steve Goodalunus: About thirteen of them, yes.

[39:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, my word.

[39:02] Jake Blauck: Well then do your thing, I suppose.

[39:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, now we could sing a song.

[39:06] Lillian Castillo: Ooh, very good.

[39:07] Jake Blauck: What's it going to be, gang?

[39:09] Michael Darty: I don't even know what kind of music dragons like.

[39:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: Easy listening.

[39:13] Steve Goodalunus: Easy listening.

[39:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your dad was really into easy listening, wasn't he?

[39:16] Michael Darty: That's right.

[39:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: I always remember.

[39:18] Michael Darty: I always remember like Peritomo and the two tones.

[39:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: Maybe with just a little bit of rock and roll in it, so it feels a little more like Feely Stan.

[39:20] Steve Goodalunus: Feely Stan.

[39:26] Dito Van Reigersberg: They were so innovative.

[39:28] Michael Darty: You're getting it.

[39:29] Dito Van Reigersberg: Sing on then, my bod.

[39:30] Jake Blauck: Alright, what's the name of this song?

[39:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Autumn in Vritrania?

[39:34] All: Autumn in Vritrania.

[39:35] Dito Van Reigersberg: Autumn in Vritrania.

[39:36] Jake Blauck: Alright, everyone give me a performance check.

[39:38] Michael Darty: Puckface has 10.

[39:40] Lillian Castillo: 13.

[39:40] Steve Goodalunus: 13, yeah.

[39:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Natural 20.

[39:43] Jake Blauck: Okay, Roscoe, because you rolled so well and because you're utilizing the necklace of Ach Tach Toon, you're able to lead the band through this really satisfying easy listening tune.

[40:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: When it's autumn in Vritranya, you'd like a cold more than marine and when it's autumn in Vritranya, you'd like an empty pasta but there's no food chain. All you get is desolation. But the stars are shining bright. It's cold as fuck, but just your luck.

[42:55] Jake Blauck: A column of shimmering light shoots out of the hex directly in front of you.

[42:59] Lillian Castillo: There is a blinding flash, and then before you, you see the imposing diamond-like god known as Vitrani.

[43:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: You can feel his power radiating.

[43:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: God of all.

[43:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: Who dares to disturb the draconic pantheon?

[43:17] Steve Goodalunus: Ahaya, we're Mythic Thunderlute. We're here on behalf of King Cyrus.

[43:20] Lillian Castillo: And we need your help.

[43:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: And some water.

[43:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: I see.

[43:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, the flesh-skinned mortals have historically loathed our kind.

[43:31] Steve Goodalunus: But I see you bear the necklace of Octock 2.

[43:35] Lillian Castillo: Oh, yes, ours.

[43:38] Steve Goodalunus: And we don't loathe your kind. In fact, we're protecting one of your kind as we speak.

[43:43] Dito Van Reigersberg: I see. Caretakers are our young.

[43:46] Steve Goodalunus: That's right.

[43:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: What is it you seek from the Draconic twelve?

[43:50] Lillian Castillo: Oh well, the old gods um have called upon us to help our community believe in them again and come back to them.

[43:58] Steve Goodalunus: And when we told the king about that, he felt that maybe we should come to you and ask for your help.

[44:04] Lillian Castillo: Because the elven gods have sworn to destroy us.

[44:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yes.

[44:08] Dito Van Reigersberg: We need you to protect us from them, old chap.

[44:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Please.

[44:11] Lillian Castillo: Don't call me old chap.

[44:14] Michael Darty: Shut your mouth.

[44:15] Lillian Castillo: Maybe you shouldn't do any of the talking.

[44:17] Michael Darty: Don't call him old chap.

[44:18] Steve Goodalunus: Now you and Herman at the same time.

[44:19] All: Guys, guys, guys, I got this.

[44:21] Steve Goodalunus: Now, Herman Herman.

[44:23] Lillian Castillo: Let Herman speak.

[44:24] Steve Goodalunus: Fuck this up, Herman.

[44:26] Lillian Castillo: It's Herman's time to do his thing.

[44:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh my god.

[44:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: My god, get him.

[44:32] Lillian Castillo: Shut the fuck up.

[44:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Herman.

[44:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Please stop.

[44:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Stop that monk immediately.

[44:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: That's the last time we bring you this monk as sacrifice.

[44:41] Lillian Castillo: No, no.

[44:42] Lillian Castillo: We also bring you this Virgin, Rosco, as sacrifice.

[44:47] Steve Goodalunus: That's not true.

[44:49] Lillian Castillo: We're not bringing any sacrifices.

[44:51] Steve Goodalunus: No, and I am not a virgin for the record.

[44:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: If you seek our protection, I shall summon the twelve.

[45:00] Jake Blauck: Okay, great. That's what we need.

[45:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: Or as you mortals call us, the ancient gods.

[45:05] Lillian Castillo: That would be very nice.

[45:07] Jake Blauck: Just saying.

[45:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: And with a move of Vitrani's head, the other eleven hexes become pillars of light.

[45:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: Each one a different gemstone color.

[45:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: From them emerge eleven different gods.

[45:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Vitrani, the diamond god introduces each one as they appear.

[45:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Uh uh. We gotta do this again.

[45:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: Up first, the ruby god, Perrin, lord of war and agriculture.

[45:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: But we live in a desert, so not a ton to do.

[45:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Next, the emerald god, lord of land and nature.

[45:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: You know, Gaia Desk gets a lot of credit for making this continent.

[45:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: But you know who made the desert?

[45:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: Me, baby.

[45:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Hematite God, Mamona.

[45:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh Lord of wisdom and insight.

[45:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: I can tell you are under duress and underhydrated.

[46:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: I shall heal you and your steeds.

[46:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, and with that, Mamona closes her eyes, and with a silver shimmer, your exhaustion is cured.

[46:11] Lillian Castillo: Thank you so much.

[46:14] Lillian Castillo: You have no idea.

[46:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Pearl God, Niola, Lord of Fortune and Chance.

[46:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: I sense your fortune has not been strong of late.

[46:26] Michael Darty: I mean, that's basically true, yeah.

[46:29] Dito Van Reigersberg: No, nothing gets by you.

[46:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Granite god Felma, Lord of Death, and the afterlife.

[46:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're closer to death now than you've ever been.

[46:40] Lillian Castillo: Okay, that's everyone is like you're born, and then you're dying for the rest of your life.

[46:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: So that is literally true.

[46:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Kyanite god, Satelli, Lord of Time.

[46:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: Y'all, if you could see the fourth dimension like me, you'd just be like, you know, what's the rush?

[47:00] Jake Blauck: Alright.

[47:08] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yeah.

[47:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're good at that.

[47:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're very good at your job.

[47:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Nailing it.

[47:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: The turquoise god, Volo, Lord of the Sea.

[47:16] Dito Van Reigersberg: Splish splash. Am I right?

[47:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Kunzite god, Dogor, Lord of Love and truth.

[47:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: Be honest with each other, and more so with yourselves.

[47:29] All: Yeah.

[47:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: The Amethyst God, Hermeli, Lord of Travel, Bounds, and Trade.

[47:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Ooh. Travelers.

[47:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: You know, this may shock you, but we actually don't get a ton of guests.

[47:43] Lillian Castillo: No, it doesn't shock us at all, actually.

[47:45] Dito Van Reigersberg: Uh happy to be here.

[47:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: And finally, the Citrine God, Bravolos, Lord of Music, Dance, and Creation.

[47:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hmm. Dope jewelry, friends.

[47:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Way to keep those vocals toy.

[48:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: These mortals seek our protection from the elven gods.

[48:05] Dito Van Reigersberg: Tell us, mortals, what you shall give us in return.

[48:09] Lillian Castillo: What is it that you might want?

[48:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, I know I've spoken out of turn already, but if I may, my friend.

[48:15] Steve Goodalunus: Listen, Aiden, we're putting you on a short leash.

[48:18] Lillian Castillo: Alright.

[48:18] Steve Goodalunus: Well, King Cyrus himself hath commanded that we shall forsake the god Venetius and worship the Draconic Pantheon instead.

[48:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: Very well.

[48:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: If so, kneel and swear.

[48:31] Steve Goodalunus: Sir Aiden drops immediately to his knees.

[48:33] Lillian Castillo: Aiden kneels on behalf of a sort of a surrogate for all of us, sir.

[48:37] Dito Van Reigersberg: If you do not kneel, I cannot know that you are pure in your intention.

[48:41] Lillian Castillo: I am kneeling in that case.

[48:43] Steve Goodalunus: Alright, whatever.

[48:45] Lillian Castillo: Puckface is kneeling slowly.

[48:47] Steve Goodalunus: Costa would have kneeled right away.

[48:48] Lillian Castillo: Herman steps forward.

[48:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wait.

[48:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: This is my moment to finally stand up.

[48:53] Steve Goodalunus: And Sir Aiden just yanks him down by the cow.

[48:56] Lillian Castillo: Yeah, come on, Herman.

[48:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Vitrani looks to his fellow gods who seem to communicate with him telepathically.

[49:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: If and when the Elven Pantheon comes to destroy you, we shall protect you.

[49:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: At that point, we expect your nation's undying worship.

[49:13] Lillian Castillo: Yes.

[49:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: Should you come to need to save us from the Elven Gods?

[49:18] Lillian Castillo: We will promise to follow you.

[49:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: Very good.

[49:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Any other questions before we depart?

[49:24] Steve Goodalunus: Uh, is there any way that we could get some sort of escort back across the desert?

[49:29] Lillian Castillo: It was a bit of a harrowing journey, or at least like a very well.

[49:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Once you reach the surface of Kurali, you shall have escort.

[49:39] Lillian Castillo: Very nice, thank you.

[49:40] Lillian Castillo: May I ask something?

[49:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Why did the diamond clouds suddenly appear over this nation to begin with?

[49:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh.

[49:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: We have an old enemy in the red gods.

[49:52] Dito Van Reigersberg: When he was recently reinstated into being, it triggered the great awakening of the dragon gods and the dragons themselves.

[50:01] Lillian Castillo: So all the dragons are back, like all of them?

[50:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: The youngest usually awake first.

[50:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: They're waking up now.

[50:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: As we speak, the entire cathedral begins to rumble and bits of sand fall from the ceiling.

[50:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: But there is another conflict that should concern you.

[50:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: One that brews in your very streets.

[50:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: One of you has family you must never see again.

[50:24] Lillian Castillo: What?

[50:25] Steve Goodalunus: Please tell me it's Giovanni.

[50:26] Lillian Castillo: I think it might be Edgar, because we already know he's been benched.

[50:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Yeah, no, that's me.

[50:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: That's me.

[50:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hello, hello.

[50:33] Dito Van Reigersberg: Two of you have family in grave danger.

[50:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: Once again, please tell me it's Giovanni.

[50:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: And one of you has family that you do not yet know.

[50:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: Learn who they are and find them quickly.

[50:50] Dito Van Reigersberg: They will be the key in the final battle.

[50:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wait, wait.

[50:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Are we gonna need their help in order to stop the mining?

[50:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Is that what you're trying to say?

[50:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm saying certain things have been set in motion.

[51:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: Protect your loved ones, but above all, find the lost family member.

[51:08] Dito Van Reigersberg: Where am I supposed to find? The cathedral is shaking more than ever?

[51:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: We gotta get out of here.

[51:13] Dito Van Reigersberg: Thus ends this gathering of the twelve.

[51:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: And with another move of Vitrani's head, he and his fellow gods disappear in shimmers of light.

[51:21] Jake Blauck: Let's go.

[51:22] Jake Blauck: You leave the cathedral and come to the bridge to find dozens and dozens of dragons coming out of the large stone buildings and taking flight.

[51:36] Jake Blauck: When they reach the top of the city, they bore through the ground, causing light to shine down upon you.

[51:50] Jake Blauck: Run! And Sir Aiden begins dashing across the narrow bridge.

[51:55] Lillian Castillo: Aiden, you take care of yourself.

[51:57] Lillian Castillo: I'm gonna walk across carefully.

[52:00] Michael Darty: Great.

[52:00] Michael Darty: Is everyone else walking carefully?

[52:02] All: Sure.

[52:02] All: Yes, great.

[52:03] All: Alright.

[52:10] Jake Blauck: Sir Aiden makes it safely across to the other side.

[52:14] Jake Blauck: But as you traverse slowly, a dragon suddenly bursts to the bridge in front of you.

[52:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, some down!

[52:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: Jesus!

[52:29] Dito Van Reigersberg: You're going to have to jump, my friends.

[52:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Come across.

[52:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright.

[52:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Herman is going to jump first.

[52:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Springtime, babe!

[52:38] Dito Van Reigersberg: The dice totally turn to successfully land on the other side.

[52:44] Dito Van Reigersberg: Joe Costa's gonna turn into a bird.

[52:53] Jake Blauck: Alright, you successfully make it across.

[53:03] Lillian Castillo: Roscoe just kind of like runs across, and it is a 17 feet.

[53:08] Lillian Castillo: Which is time when the dice don't fail to fly you up.

[53:13] Lillian Castillo: Rosco, you haul yourself across and you successfully land on the other side.

[53:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright, here I have to jump.

[53:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: 18, baby.

[53:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, your little gnomish body just hurls and flings across successfully to the other side of the gap in the bridge.

[53:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Just as hard with this summon animal sexuality in the Well everyone, I guess it's up to me.

[53:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: Come on, Edgar, you got this podcast.

[53:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Edgar sort of like, you know, bends his legs and sort of like swings his arms.

[53:45] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alright.

[53:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: When it's all and uh he jumps in the dragon labs and rolls a seven.

[53:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Edgar, you fall just short of the other end of the bridge.

[54:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: You start plunging toward the lava when suddenly the baby dragon flies out of Pugface's arms and clutches Edgar by the scruff of his neck.

[54:13] Dito Van Reigersberg: Clapping its wings, it brings you back to the bridge's surface.

[54:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: You fuckers wanted to leave, little Lulu.

[54:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: That's right.

[54:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: Y'all didn't want to keep Lulu and now you know.

[54:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: Quickly, my friends, up the stairs!

[54:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: Let's go, let's go, and I've talk.

[54:27] Jake Blauck: You continue across the bridge and up the stairs.

[54:29] Jake Blauck: You make it to the top and find that your horses in the shade look healthier than ever.

[54:39] Jake Blauck: Let's go.

[54:40] Jake Blauck: As soon as you mount your horses, a giant red dragon lands roughly in front of you and roars.

[54:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: All you'll get is desolation.

[54:58] Dito Van Reigersberg: Right.

[55:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's hot as fuck.

[55:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: When it's auto, Mother Dragon pox a wicked fireball.

[55:18] Dito Van Reigersberg: When it's auto hammer.

[55:27] Lillian Castillo: Joe Costa looks at Pug Face and goes, Pug Face, it is time to let go of the baby.

[55:34] Lillian Castillo: I know that.

[55:35] Lillian Castillo: Come on, you've had her for like two hours.

[55:37] Lillian Castillo: Don't rush me.

[55:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: Rocks of red and sands of gold.

[55:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: Amber Embers at your little feet.

[55:57] Dito Van Reigersberg: Britronia is your re home.

[56:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: But I will dream of you.

[56:05] Dito Van Reigersberg: A hero.

[56:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: Remember me.

[56:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: Stay sweet.

[56:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: And I walk up slowly to the big dragon.

[56:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: The large dragon bends down, and the baby dragon hops aboard its head.

[56:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: Take care of yourself now.

[56:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: The mother dragon looks at you and softens and says.

[56:52] Dito Van Reigersberg: No then.

[56:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: Your escort awaits.

[56:55] Dito Van Reigersberg: And with that, a shimmer, the color of diamonds, falls across you all, and you find yourselves at Vitrani's pass.

[57:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: Night has now fallen.

[57:05] All: Nice.

[57:06] All: Wow.

[57:06] All: What a day.

[57:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: We had a day.

[57:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: I have a question.

[57:10] Dito Van Reigersberg: Would anyone be willing to give up a piece of clothing?

[57:13] Dito Van Reigersberg: Because when I decided to fly from one side to the other, that means I left both my big fat bag full of stuff and my clothes on the other side.

[57:23] Lillian Castillo: I've got uh Justice Costum.

[57:26] Lillian Castillo: I've got a uh I have a scarf you can wear as a skirt.

[57:29] Lillian Castillo: I got an extra pair of pants I never wear.

[57:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Okay.

[57:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: I will take uh Roscoe's pants.

[57:35] Dito Van Reigersberg: Uh I'm gonna take the scarf and make it into a tube top.

[57:39] Lillian Castillo: Crafty.

[57:40] Dito Van Reigersberg: Come, my friends.

[57:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: Let us find a place to rest for the night.

[57:43] Dito Van Reigersberg: I can send a Karen to our sovereign in the morning.

[57:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: As you head off, you hear a loud thud behind you in Vitrania.

[57:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface in Draconic.

[57:53] Dito Van Reigersberg: You hear someone call out.

[57:55] Dito Van Reigersberg: No.

[57:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: Huh?

[57:56] Dito Van Reigersberg: You turn around to see the mother dragon.

[58:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: You've shown kindness to my child.

[58:03] Dito Van Reigersberg: May this protect you in the days to come.

[58:06] Dito Van Reigersberg: And she cranes her head back and grabs something from her back, which she tosses at your feet.

[58:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: It is a ruby red breastplate.

[58:14] Dito Van Reigersberg: You guys.

[58:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: The mother dragon calls out.

[58:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: Don't I'm gonna put it on.

[58:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, you hop off your horse and you put on the ruby red breastplate.

[58:24] Dito Van Reigersberg: Look at me!

[58:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: As soon as you do, the mother dragon snorts out a blast of fire which strikes you.

[58:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Pugface, though startled, you find you are completely unharmed.

[58:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Gain plus three to your AC, and you are now resistant to fire damage.

[58:43] All: Nice.

[58:44] Dito Van Reigersberg: You continue through the pass and back into North Talia Shire.

[58:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: Now, although Mimona gave you your strength back, you find that you and your horses are in desperate need of rest once more.

[58:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Tutoroso's tired.

[58:55] Dito Van Reigersberg: North Talia Shire seems a rather peaceful village at night.

[58:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: And everyone give me a perception roll.

[59:01] Lillian Castillo: 18 for Roscoe.

[59:02] Lillian Castillo: 24 for Jocasta.

[59:04] Lillian Castillo: Six.

[59:04] Lillian Castillo: Fifteen for Pugface.

[59:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh shit.

[59:16] Dito Van Reigersberg: You do spy an inn in the city square with a sign hanging that says the humble halfling.

[59:22] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, I didn't know they were talking about me.

[59:27] Dito Van Reigersberg: Let's definitely go rest in here.

[59:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hello, hello, hello.

[59:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: You go inside where you awaken a dwarven woman sitting at a desk.

[59:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh!

[59:35] Dito Van Reigersberg: Hello, dear ones.

[59:37] Dito Van Reigersberg: So will you be staying the night?

[59:39] All: Yes, please.

[59:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: On night if that's okay with you.

[59:41] Dito Van Reigersberg: It's five Gelder each.

[59:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: I've got two rooms left with four beds apiece just down the hall.

[59:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: Room seven and eight.

[59:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: The dwarven woman takes the gelder and slides you two keys.

[59:52] Dito Van Reigersberg: You go down the hall, you rest for the night.

[59:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Roscoe, you dream yet again that you are surrounded by herb smoke.

[1:00:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: The aged halfling emerges from the smoke once more and stares at you.

[1:00:04] Dito Van Reigersberg: This time, he holds up three fingers and whispers.

[1:00:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: I is my okay.

[1:00:12] Dito Van Reigersberg: And as he's enveloped in herb smoke again, you are rudely awakened.

[1:00:17] Dito Van Reigersberg: Herman comes bursting into your room.

[1:00:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: Wake up, everyone!

[1:00:20] Dito Van Reigersberg: The first plague is upon us.

[1:00:22] All: Oh no.

[1:00:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: We run outside.

[1:00:25] Dito Van Reigersberg: Outside, you see through the fog the silhouette of a halfling sitting on the small stage in the square.

[1:00:30] Dito Van Reigersberg: Everyone roll perception.

[1:00:31] Lillian Castillo: On that 20.

[1:00:32] Dito Van Reigersberg: Edgar, you realize it's Mare Whimsley.

[1:00:34] Dito Van Reigersberg: Mayor!

[1:00:35] Dito Van Reigersberg: You get his attention, and he wanders over to you and says, Ah, the Southerness.

[1:00:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: Jo Costa, I took your advice.

[1:00:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: I decided to take the night and think on how best to handle the escalating tensions.

[1:00:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: Oh, that's good.

[1:00:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: And?

[1:00:49] Dito Van Reigersberg: Well, I awoke to discover this unnatural red fog, and to find that my followers hadn't the patience you instilled in me.

[1:00:58] Dito Van Reigersberg: The town's been abandoned.

[1:01:00] Dito Van Reigersberg: The town's been abandoned?

[1:01:01] Dito Van Reigersberg: Where do they all go?

[1:01:02] Lillian Castillo: Herman's jaw is agape, and he points just behind you.

[1:01:07] Lillian Castillo: That's not fog.

[1:01:09] Dito Van Reigersberg: And you turn to see a column of black smoke coming from South Talia Shire.

[1:01:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: And that's where we will end our episode.

[1:01:23] Dito Van Reigersberg: Tune in in two weeks on Monday, November 15th, for episode 8, the Battle of Talia Shire.

[1:01:28] Dito Van Reigersberg: And make sure to leave us a review and subscribe.

[1:01:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Mythic Thunderlute was conceived by Jake Blauck, Michael Darty, and Steve Goodalunus.

[1:01:36] Dito Van Reigersberg: Jake Blauck serves as our guitarist and the voice of Edgar Hawk.

[1:01:39] Dito Van Reigersberg: Lillian Castillo is the voice of Joe Costa Stormwood.

[1:01:43] Dito Van Reigersberg: I'm Michael Darty, the editor and head writer, aka the game maker.

[1:01:47] Dito Van Reigersberg: Steve Goodalunus is our resident drummer and the voice of Roscoe Chubb.

[1:01:51] Dito Van Reigersberg: Leah Cotto is the voice of Pug Face Doodle Op.

[1:01:54] Dito Van Reigersberg: Dan Cazimi does our underscoring, arranging, synth, keyboard mixing, and mastering.

[1:01:59] Dito Van Reigersberg: Alex Kuyper is our co-producer and chief story editor.

[1:02:02] Dito Van Reigersberg: She did the sound effects for this episode.

[1:02:05] Dito Van Reigersberg: Course of the Stream was written by Jake Blauck.

[1:02:07] Dito Van Reigersberg: More than what they see was written by Jake Blauck and Alex Kuyper.

[1:02:11] Dito Van Reigersberg: And Autumn and Vitrania was written by Dan Cazimi.

[1:02:15] Dito Van Reigersberg: The drums for this episode were mixed and tracked by Rob Kapluitz.

[1:02:19] Dito Van Reigersberg: Our production manager is Molly Foy.

[1:02:21] Dito Van Reigersberg: Social media assistance from Sarah Royds, marketing consultation from Judd Mellinger Blau, imaging by Lee Cortapassi and Daniel Kantz, and web design by Campbell O'Hare.

[1:02:31] Dito Van Reigersberg: Shout out to some of our Patreon supporters, Steven Scott Stark, Megan Wynch, Jeremy Gable, and our newest supporters, Roberto Castillo, Campbell O'Hare, and Mike McKeon.

[1:02:42] Dito Van Reigersberg: Join us on Patreon to get an early glimpse of our next episode.

[1:02:46] Dito Van Reigersberg: Or find us on Bandcamp.

[1:02:48] Dito Van Reigersberg: We'll catch you next time on Mythic Thunderlute.