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Episode 8: Fall of Magic Game Session pt 4 · Story Games

• Maggie Studio: Hello friends and welcome back to Story Games, a podcast brought to you by Heart of the Dyrna Corn. Story Games is a podcast all about your favorite narrative-driven tabletop role-playing games. My name is Momo and I will be your host. Today, you guessed it, we've got more Fall of Magic coming right at ya. We are about halfway through the series at this point, but if you haven't already, please go back and listen to episodes one through three. I'm so excited to bring this episode to you guys today and I hope you're enjoying them. I really, really, really love this series. Anyway, I won't take up much more of your time. Enjoy Fall of Magic, part four. Hello everyone and welcome back to Heart of the Dunicorn. My name is Momo and I am here with Bloom and I am here with Cruz and we're back for more Fall of Magic. Thank you so much for hanging out with us today. ⁓ I say we just jump right on in. Yeah. Yeah. So we can do a recap of last week. It has been quite a few weeks since we all met. last time on Fall of Magic. ⁓ We were at the Mistwood. We went from Barley Town to the Mistwood where we met Fawn's family. Her 12 brothers and sisters? Something like that. Something like that. It was in between nine and 12. It was an absurd amount of siblings. We had names for all of We got names for all of them. They were all animal names. They were all animal names because it turns out that Fawn and her family can not control but commune with certain. Yes. So Fawn can speak with foxes and now has a little fox buddy that follows her around which is really exciting for me. ⁓ I can't remember if we came up with a name for our fox friend. don't think so. Sully is untrustworthy of that fox though. That is incredibly fair. That is incredibly valid and fair. That'd be cool. We're gonna have a whole character arc. There's gonna be a whole enemies to lovers situation. Or enemies to steed? It's like entangled, Flynn Rider and the horse were like enemies and then they're buddies at the end. Enemies to buddies. Beautiful. New genre who dis? We went to the Hall of the Woods where we met the hospitality of the Grey Rangers who ended up not being super hospitable because they're slowly being corrupted by this corruption that is kind of. seeping into all aspects of this world. So they were chasing down this forest spirit. Right. Which... The thing that was corrupting everybody. Yes. Which we did... In the most horrific way. Horrific way. Horrible things happened. They fought, we fought. And it ended up with the Magus trapping everything into a frozen lake. Yes. Yes. Which is fine. And now we're moving on. ⁓ I had to kill a deer. You had to kill a deer. Yeah, which was also horrific. That was really bad. I had to like, I had to bring the tone down a little bit. It was getting too peppy. Too much fun stuff. Did we leave on a cliffhanger last time? I don't think so. think we were, we're literally carrying the Magus now. Right, because the Magus is passed out. and can't teleport at the moment. Or does what they do. Yeah. Right. Honestly, I kind of felt like, too, because we kind of in the last story, like, went somewhere, came back, and then went back to the lake, I almost feel like it would have been a retcon to like, the Magus actually came to the when we were like, on our way out of like, the mud, and like, actually like, saved us at that last minute to then track it. ⁓ okay. I'm down with that. That works, totally. Cool. Yeah, so we can, I think we did almost everything in the Hall of the Woods, unless there's anything anyone wants to do, or we can move on to the Spirit River. I'm good with moving on to the Spirit River. Yeah, I think so. Okay, cool, so I'll move And then do you wanna set the tone of the sound of the river? Sure, let me take a look at what we've got. The sound of the river, ooh, okay. I can take it. Dark That feels right that feels right. This is not a dark dark game But it feels like we're getting into the serious bits. So the sound of the river so we're leaving the Hall of the Woods we just witnessed this kind of Horrible traumatic event with all of these Grey Rangers being trapped for an indefinite amount of time in this frozen river We're all probably feeling a certain kind of way about it The magus is incapacitated. We're a bit lost, but we're gonna just travel on the direction that we're going in. And we eventually come across the Spirit River. And it's hard to say for sure, but the sound of the river sounds like distant screaming. And it could be. Excellent. It could be remnants of what we just witnessed. Or it could be new, exciting hell. It's really hard to tell what. I could imagine too, it's like there is a difference in the screams. Like maybe not all of them are just like wailing the whole time. Yeah. hear people like whisper or children. it's like overlapping. Yeah. Not quite a cacophony. It's not loud, but it's kind of in the background and it's just kind of like always there. And it's just, yeah, it's screaming, it's yelling, it's whispering, it's... all kinds of things, and it's impossible to kind of point out any one sound or make out any distinguishable words. It's just muffles. And yeah, I imagine it's like probably bare as well, maybe not a lot of trees, or just kind of leaving the forest of the mistwood in the Hall of the Woods. It's kind of the trees are kind of like, you know, getting more sparse as we come across this big river. Yeah. How big of a river? At least At least least two. least That was too big? Okay. Too big. I imagine it's like, not like rapids, not like huge, but it would be challenging to cross it. Right. By just going into it. I imagine there's like, a lot of people have taken this path and there's just like, it's not the most desirable path, but there's still infrastructure. Maybe it's like, there's a little barge that has like a chain winch on it that you can just let go. Like cross the river? Yeah, like it's not an abandoned river. totally. ⁓ Yeah, who wants to start us off? What are our options? We've got, let's see, fishing, a promise you won't keep, drifting, a memory of your parents, tall grass, what hides from view, river fork, what we regret. And that's, in this one, it doesn't come off. I think. These are for this guy. ⁓ I see. Yeah, and then these are for like this guy Yeah Should we roll a die this time to see who goes first? Sure. Sure, like whoever rolls the highest goes first? Yeah. Bloom goes Okay. Well, we could get a tie. Well. Okay, I'm going first ⁓ don't want to lead with the tall grass because that's gonna be fun. ⁓ Swamp Man's in the tall grass. Yeah. Swamp Man. What's in the tall grass is one of my favorite writing prompts I've ever received. Ooh, is that the entire prompt? Yeah. That's awesome. What's happening in the tall grass. That's what Yellow Eyes is based on, is that prompt. I just think of Pokemon. Oh, yeah. Okay, we are going to go with fishing. Ooh. That makes sense. Fishing a promise you won't keep. I feel like after a day of travel, we get to the edge of the river and we decide we're not going to try to cross right now. It's almost sundown. We're exhausted. I've literally been carrying a person the entire time. I've been carrying a frog. We're all exhausted. man, this X weight card, or X weight frog. You actually weigh as much as you did originally. That would be so funny. That's horrible. Your mass remains the same. Super dense frog. ⁓ I just used you as like a little cannonball. I think we did get provisions from the Grey Rangers. I don't remember. No, we didn't because I had to go kill that deer. We did go shopping at Barley Town. It's only been a few days, so we could still have some stuff left, but probably not a whole lot. I mean, this is a great opportunity, like set up camp, maybe not dive into our reserve, because like what we packed is... Like preserved food. So if we have an opportunity for fresh... But we do also just have a... We did have a... Are you carrying a deer and the megas? Yeah. right. Deer and the It's a good thing I switched out my plate armor for... the leather armor from your mom, because I would be just dead. So yeah, I will set down the magus, and like, get a bed roll, get the magus like, settled next to a campfire, and then I will go fishing. I feel like we don't have fishing equipment, so I have a very sharp stick. And I'm attempting to... be a heron and waiting for fish to come by and I'm attempting to stab them. Is this something that maybe you just do to like settle your mind or the situation? Like, I. Let me think it is something monotonous for Harp to do that is something that Harp can do. ⁓ Because we just watched a ton of people die horrifically and then have their spirits get trapped beneath the surface of a lake. ⁓ Just typical razzle-dazzle. Yeah. You know, a Tuesday. We're now at a screaming river. And we're carrying the unconscious body of the most powerful being in this universe presumably Who if we do not save them and save magic this is only gonna get worse We gotta keep you safe, you know, we gotta get away and we gotta go we gotta get across this river We're all going to die ⁓ So this is more of a return to normalcy for Harp or an attempt to return to some version of normal for Harp. I don't think Harp is actually saying very much other than slight curses any time I miss a fish. I imagine Fawn is kind of just watching you. Also at a loss for kind of what to do. ⁓ and is just kind of contemplating. She already misses her family again, which is a bummer to leave them behind. And then that followed by what we just witnessed is a lot to take in for a little fun. Even though she is ⁓ feisty, she isn't unflappable. ⁓ And maybe she's kind of like playing with one of her metal arrows too, and just kind of like spinning it and like holding it and doing something with it. Mm-hmm, but very absent mindedly. So he's gonna walk up to you in the river Kind of try and spot him for you Perfect ⁓ Sharp sticks not the best tool for this, isn't it? Not really I don't know how to craft a fishing pole and I don't think we have any line anyway You've already done so much. You're keeping us all fed. You're really holding down this team right now. I'm just here. I think at that point, Harp is actually gonna look at you, absent mind and limb, and the idea of Harp being the one who's holding everything together, their eyes will shift to you for a second and then shift back and be like, I'm just here. I just need to help you two get the magus where they need to go. I'm a stand-in. You know, I've been feeling lately like that. I might be a stand-in too. Yeah? But, you know, as long as we stick together, keep our what's about, I mean, if you ever see any of us with our eyes fog over, will you promise to do the right thing? very loaded pause as I miss another fish. and then I go and I eat. go for another fish and this one I actually do get. So holding a still-rugeling fish speared on the end of this. I will say no. I can't promise that. Then I pull out my knife and just stab a fish and then waddle away. Just... Insane, actually. We have some fish for tonight. Okay. Damn. ⁓ Fawn will start gutting the fish. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ I guess I'll get some sticks. Good job, team. Damn, starting off somber. I love it. Yeah. To also, just because... clear it up in my brain. You asked me to promise if I'll do the right thing. I am promising that I can't promise to do that. Hell yeah. Thank you for the clarification. I think it would be my go, right? Oh yeah, you want go that way? This way? I think so. I can't remember which way we going before, so yeah, take it away. Alrighty, I'm gonna go to drifting. Since I brought my sports car. Nice. No, Tokyo... Tokyo Drift? Drift, sorry. Tokyo Drift. As I'm gathering the sticks, kind of just watching leaves and debris go down the river, ⁓ and hearing the screams, the whispers, the... Just the inaudible voices. One snaps to me and I hear it, I understand it. That's the voice of my parents. Shit, let's go. Specifically my father. Okay. Sully. He doesn't call me Sully though. But I know it's him. Plot twist. My eyes then go blank. I'm no longer at the river bank. I drop the sticks, they go down the water. I'm back in my childhood. And it's not a great place, you know? It's emotional, it's tense. ⁓ solely, as we know him now, sees his father slowly drifting from him. As a young child, they were really close. He was like his best friend. ⁓ But there's always like an air of like secrecy around them. ⁓ They lived on the outskirts of town. They lived in a little shack. He had a sister with him. But as days go to weeks, go to months, he notices his father, his hair starts. failing his eyes are fading he's getting more aggressive and I Think I'm picking up what you're putting down for where you're going with this, okay, but yeah, go ahead But that's things get to a head one night when he's finally snapped and he's attacking his sister. ⁓ shit He kills his sister And in a fit of rage Sully kills his father ⁓ shit causing the entire cabin to catch on fire and he starts running running into town And that's where he find his last memory of the blood on it blood on his hands And then a woman comes out from the alleyway and says good child come with me And then he comes and then slowly arrives back at the river. Does slowly recognize this woman he does She was the one that captured him on the Oak Hills plot twist. ⁓ my God. Okay. Your character's so deep. I know. God. I've got, that's awesome. Well, not awesome, but you know what I mean? Does Sully come, I mean, does, what does he do then? Does he come back? Does he stay out there for a while? So Sully realizing this, understanding that he recognizes her, he doesn't know what's right from wrong. He doesn't know if this is something that. led him to the Magus if it was the Magus himself that trapped him. So actually, Sully's gonna get up with so much vigor and march down to the Magus as a frog demanding answers. Yeah. Squishy To the Magus laying in the bedroll now. Damn. Grabbing him by the, by him and ask, he, he, he's like. What is going on here? What is the fog? Why are people losing their minds? Does anyone want an answer for the Magus? Do we want the Magus to answer? I is still unconscious. I don't know if... Abathas. Okay. ⁓ okay. On a six, the Magus gives you... On a six, the Magus wakes up. On a five, you still get something, but maybe not a full answer. Do Do we know ⁓ Did I miss something? What has gotten into you? I'm just like bleeding. It was a little stab. was a tiny, tiny. Yeah. We're on this blasted quest. We don't even have our next steps. We're just crossing this river to get away from what we were attacked by back there. Do you know where we're going? He's the only one that has answers. Yes, but I mean. I mean, ⁓ I usually love violence, but not in this situation. I think we a breath. I think we need to breathe together. Will you hold my hand? The fox starts like trying to nip at him. Hey, hey, hey, hey, you. Good, get down. Here, hold my hand. We're holding hands. Okay, let's breathe together, okay? One, two, three. Okay, does everyone feel better? I'm still bleeding. Okay, we'll get you a bandaid. Okay, thank you. Okay. I don't know where to go from here. We're safe, right? We're okay, relatively speaking. You're bleeding, but like that's the worst of it, that's fine. ⁓ We're gonna be okay. I gotta get out of this river. We gotta keep moving. We can keep moving. Do we wanna pick up and go tonight? I don't know if I could stay here. Okay, then we leave. All right. We'll keep going. And we'll start breaking camp. Okay. ⁓ Also, we're safe, no we're not. No we're not. We're okay, no No we're not. It's called a pretty lie, okay? I was like, no. All of these are inaccurate. These are all complete lies. I'm okay with calling it scene unless you guys wanna add anything. ⁓ I think it's a good place to end that scene. Yeah. Yeah. I will leave ⁓ with you getting the feeling that Harp definitely agrees with you. ⁓ Harp is very much like we have to keep them alive, but I would also really like to punch the Magus. I imagine Fawn is maybe more spiritual than I first thought she was and is maybe even a little bit starstruck by the Magus still. and is not quite disillusioned. She still believes that the Magus knows what's best and is going to protect them. Us. Protect us. Do you want to use that as like the, like do you have any insight of maybe we should go south, go north? Let me see. Go to the deep. Try and like, is there someone that would have answers? Maybe. Maybe that's what the, what we regret. I don't know. There's a lot to explore. don't have to go There's a lot to explore, yeah. Let's... Because we still have another prompt, or... Two of them. We still have the tall grass and what we regret. Right. So I don't know if we're quite ready to also leave the Spirit River. I think we're on our way out, but maybe a few things happen along the way. I wanna leave the tall grass for you, because it sounds like you have an idea. Yes, please. So I will say we go to the River Fork, and maybe that's where we decide kind of where to go next. Okay. So we're at this fork in the river. I imagine like we've crossed the river, at least with the big one. And maybe then, okay, so maybe the river like, this is important to me for some reason. There's the big river and the river forks. And then we were over here and we kind of cross and now we're kind of car doubling back. And then no, that goes like there. Okay, anyway, sorry, that's not important. We're at a fork in the river and we need to decide if we wanna go to Estalia. or if you want to go to the mouth of the D. And? It looks like if we go to Estalia we would still be able to go to the mouth of the deep afterwards. Oh, we could go back. Yeah, we could. We'd go down to the ice rail. Could, or we could go straight into the ocean. Oh yeah, that would be a idea. Yeah. Which I think Fawn has a feeling that the ocean is where we want to be going. Yeah. So she's debating if we go to Westalia, if we go to the mouth of the deep, because that could be something like just kind of deciding on which, or we could even go to like the, it's not called the Underdark, but it's basically the Underdark. ⁓ She's just kind of thinking about all of this and this feeling keeps popping up where she's trying to decide on what to do next, but she's filled with regret instead. She regrets the way that things were handled back there. She regrets leaving her family unprotected. She regrets just a lot of the decisions that's got her up to this point. but she still has faith in the Magus somehow, that the Magus knows what's best and is going to carry us through to the other side. But then she looks over at the Magus and sees that the Magus is unconscious and looks at the fork in the road and is kind of at a crossroads emotionally as well. And- I wanna also say, like maybe the whispers come in. Okay, sure. Do you follow the whispers? We could follow whispers. We could. like the whispers are confusing to Fawn as well because sometimes they come up when something bad happens and sometimes they come up with something good happens. But I think the feeling that she settles on is, the whispers make things happen. And I think things happening is ultimately for the best because we're getting pushed in a direction. So she will decide to follow the whispers wherever they lead. Is there one way that the whispers are kind of guiding us? think the one thing that's like standing out to me is like an unexpected reunion. a strange price with the little symbol on it. What's the, what is the symbol? It's like a, it looks like a... The symbol is change. A leaf symbol indicates a change. Before you end your turn, change or remove something from your note card and describe why your character thinks this is true. This could be your name, your title, or a trait. Gotcha. Ooh, that could be fun. Okay. If it were up to me, I do agree with you that Istalia has some really good prompts that would create some interesting things. I don't need to go to the, what's it called? I don't wanna keep calling it the Underdark. The Deep. The Deepway. Gotcha. So we don't have to go to the Deepway, I just thought it might be cool. ⁓ But we could go to Istalia, down to the Ice Frail, and then backtrack to the Deep and go that way. The whispers point south. Oh, is this north, is this? Yeah, that would be north. So south. So down here? Yep. Okay. All right. So she's thinking about the direction that we're going to take. Everyone is probably really quiet. And I guess Fawn just kind of takes the initiative and says, all right, we're going to go south. You all go with that? I'll follow. Okay. Let's go. That was a short scene, but I couldn't really think of anything else. I think the regret, mean a lot has happened and how it ties into the whispers is a good note to keep in mind. I think the big thing is she's beginning to question the Magus in some kind of way. Not like explicitly yet, but there's feelings that she's uncomfortable with that aren't being spoken out loud that she's starting to grapple with. Why do all my characters always have this character arc? Life is complicated. Listen, Internet, sometimes you have to make a choice. Listen, Internet, sometimes you have religious trauma. As do we all. Does Sully have anything that he regrets from the short memory span that he has? Not stabbing the magus when he had a better opportunity. Fair. Fair. Fair. Does heart regret anything? think Harp is starting to regret being as cynical as they are. Yeah, because this is rough and it's hard to be the cynical person when we're fighting world ending situations. It's hard not to be cynical at the same time. Yeah, but it's not helpful. Fair enough. All right. Then do we make our way to the tall grass? Yes, please. You're so excited. So we're heading south. Heading south. Tall grass. Because we're in a river, I like the idea that we actually do have a boat. Maybe we found a boat. We found a boat, like a little barge, a little river barge. has a very shallow draft, so it doesn't run aground very easily. And it's got one of the little push or pull things in the back for steering. So we're all situated on this and because we picked up and left very late, ⁓ we're on the river as the sun is setting. The skies are still like this misty gray color, but normally with sunsets, we still get a little flash of color from time to time and it like turns the skies like the nice yellow and gold and pink. at least for a few minutes, just for a bit of life in the world. And because we're on river, mist doesn't settle on flowing rivers very easily. ⁓ Internet, I don't actually know if that's true. I'm pretty sure it is. I do not know, do not come from me. And so we can actually see farther ahead than we normally would be able to. the sun starts to set. We pass out of the section of woods and enter these rolling hills of just gray, yellowish gray looking grass. A few shrubs, a few sparse trees, but most of it's just rolling hills of grassland. And does the grass like impede into the river like there's still a there's still a shoreline a little bit but not very much like four feet if even that okay, and it's all muddy and rocky and You do see like some river crabs like scuttling around over there But as we are going through the river it becomes Early quiet the whispers died down into almost a low murmur in the background can't tell what they're saying, but it feels like a blanket. Just kind of rests over top of us. The sun hits the horizon and those colors of yellow and pink and gold spread out over the sky and... Which one of you do you think is keeping the best watch? Cause Harp is pushing people along. Definitely Fawn, being a huntress probably is like scanning the shoreline. Maybe even has like her bow in her hand just in case. Just kind of like alert. Yeah. Is the fox in the boat? Yes. Yeah. Can we name the fox? Still haven't named the fox. I want to name him Bernard. Bernard, got it. You don't notice at first, but Bernard is doing a very low growl. ⁓ shit. And is not standing up like defensive, is backing down farther into the boat. ⁓ no, Bernard. You look around and again, the noise from his growl feels muffled. Okay. I've realized the water sounds muffled. and you look and you scan the shoreline and right where the light from the sunset hits some passing cloud of fog, for a brief second you can see somebody standing above the tall grass. And then you see another and another and another. dozens of people, faceless, not moving, standing above the grass in the dying sunlight. That is fucking creepy. I'm good at what I do. Okay, okay, okay, okay, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, Do you see them? Also as we talk our voices are muffled almost like we're underwater. Okay, that's creepy. That's creepy. Why are they there? Why are they there? Which is weird, but they do have us surrounded I Mean, how are we is the flow like carrying us a little bit or we like slowing down at all? I don't think so. So we're just careening toward them No, they're around us. They're on all sides. Yeah, we're going down the river and on either side is just tall grass. But when I say tall grass, it's like three or four feet. Okay. And then they're like the bottom of their feet are like brushing the top of the grass. floating. They're floating. Oh, that's creepy. Oh, I love that. That's awful. I it's always gonna take a moment and look over the boat to make sure nothing's under them. Oh, good call. Do you want there to be something under them? Do we roll a die? I almost felt like you were setting it up to be like there was something bigger and there's like an angler fish kind of moment. Ooh. But if it was like a snake, like a snake, like a puppeteering snake, I Maybe. I have no clue. It's all up to you, OK, OK. Yeah, you're taking us on a journey. I'm looking over the edge, seeing the rushing water go by, gauging to see like, well, I guess they're not going to walk over the water. But I mean. They could get over here if they wanted to just come my era. I'm just like Looking down into the water I'm gonna give you a character beat if that's okay. You don't see Froggy in the reflection. Do you me to describe what Sully looks like as a person? Yes. Alright, Sully looking over, sees himself as he used to be, but as like the man he was is tattered, beaten. His hair is dark black, but like... all over the place, he has a tattoo that goes across his face like that. Nice. Tattoos going up his neck. ⁓ That's what he sees. If, ⁓ Fern? No, Fawn, wow. ⁓ If Fawn were to look over into the water and were to see her truest reflection, what would it look like? Honestly, scared, probably. It looked just like her, but incredibly scared. Harp looks over and sees their dad ⁓ standing behind them in the full suit of armor with Forget Me Not. ⁓ Or is he reaching for Forget Me Not? Holding on to Forget Me Not. Not aggressively, but like, yeah, definitely grasping it. ⁓ Sorry. We keep floating down the river. seeing this and we're realizing that whatever these are, are showing us windows into us. ⁓ Go for it. a man still he notices his eyes are still frog-esque. Oh nice. I like that. and As you're we're all scanning we're looking into the water. We're seeing these reflections. Those are freaking us out We're looking side to side. They're still not moving The Sun is continuing to go down and starting to get darker Okay, okay, I see it as an oppo as like that's me that's how I become me again, okay? Okay, okay splash As the splash happens you jump in There's a very unsettling realization that you can't tell if something's looking at you based on just its silhouette. Like, it looks, it could be facing towards you, could be facing away. These were all facing away from us. And they turn, and there's just one glowing yellow eye in each of them, similar to the colors of the sunset. And as that splash of water happens, they converge. Is it on to us or to each other? Towards us. Because something has entered the river. What entered the river? Just kidding. My guy. If I see them coming towards us, I will loosen arrow. Everyone's closest. What do think happens? ⁓ I imagine they're not non-corporeal. They have mass to them. But maybe it's almost like... the arrow hits them, kind of slows down, and then keeps going. And then maybe the one kind of dissipates that it hit. Gotcha. So it doesn't seem like it was killed, but it just like, whoosh. And maybe you see it kind of together somewhere else. And was that like the metal arrow or was that It was just a normal arrow. arrow. Normal arrow, yeah. Okay. What's the kind of like sounds happening right now? they like still quiet? Yeah, everything, even like the twang of the bow is still so muffled. ⁓ I hate it. I hate it. ⁓ Almost if we were in like a sensory deprivation room where we can also hear our heartbeats way too loud. ⁓ I hate it. Harp is going to. be torn between trying to fish you out and drawing Forgive Me Not and trying to fend off as many of these as I can. ⁓ Can I make a suggestion? Yeah, go for it. What if as you're also reaching for it, like in the reflection you see your dad like stop you from pulling it out? Or do you want to? I'll take it. I'll take it. ⁓ I will stop and I will immediately reach in and begin trying to fish you out. ⁓ Yelling, Sully! Sully! Yeah. Sully There's just a hand like- Sully's sinking deeper, looking down, and then as I'm like going down I see a bigger eye open under us. Yes. I fall into a trance, and as I'm sinking below into it, I see... Myself as a teenager. I'm in ⁓ Stone Guard. Storm Guard? Storm Guard. Storm Guard. Storm Guard. No, I'm gonna say I'm in a stallion actually. Okay. But not the stallion that, you know, the fashion designers are, the chariot racers. This is the working class, below the working class. The underbelly. I literally live under a horse stall. No. As a teen. Fighting, trying to, killing rats to survive. ⁓ But I'm indentured, I'm stuck there. This woman has kept me. For ⁓ teaching me how to survive, but also not being, you know, a very caring guide. But she's preparing me for something. And the days are coming closer and closer and they're all matching together. And I see my father. ⁓ His blood is something that she's been testing and has a chem, alchemist lab just underneath the city of Astalia. And ⁓ she's telling me that we have to go into the dark for the final step of the ritual. ⁓ Gotcha. Damn. ⁓ And then maybe Harp grabs me. Yeah, and I pull you up and. set you down and not worry because you're a frog so you can breathe underwater. Do you think you would have been close enough for me to reach, just reaching in and grabbing you? the river's kind of going a little fast, it sounds like. Well, it's kind of happening. ⁓ if you want it, if you want it to be not wet, then say you could grab me. I know what I'm gonna go for it. Yes, I will dive in to get you ⁓ I'll turn to you and yell as much as I can hold them off. I'll be back And I'll dive in to grab you I also see the eye and I see the ⁓ Also earlier teen years of working in the fields of insert hometown, Barley town, ⁓ with my father. ⁓ And this was a day when ⁓ out of nowhere, a monster attacks. ⁓ And the memory goes from being one of like, fun, we have lemonade and we're working in the fields and it's bright and sunny and. At noon we go and sit in the creek for a little bit to cool off. Very cozy, very picturesque to me running for my life as my father shouts behind me to get to safety. As he fights off whatever this thing is with nothing but a shovel. And it's the day that he earned the title hero of Bartletown. in the day that he received the Forget Me Not. And I think Harp remembers this, used to remember this very fondly, but in this moment is also remembering the fear in their father's voice as this was happening. And it wasn't a heroic, I'll fight this off, you get to safety, it's I'm probably going to die right now, I need to hold this thing off so that my child can. ⁓ But yes, I will grab you, swim back up to the top, flop you over with you like, thump, thump. And I'm passed out now too. I will haul myself up and then I'll go to draw, forget me not, and as I do, the sun finishes setting. So it takes about 10 minutes for a sun to set completely. As soon as the light ends, everything winks out and they're gone. I thought of cool visual. Like when you're actually reaching out under the boat, and it's the river, the eye's glowing, so you see yourself reaching for the frog. But then you see the shadow of the boat above you with the arrows get, and then a bright light comes from the boat, which is the Magus. Ooh, I like it. Okay. As the sets too, Yes. Yeah. It goes from this eerily golden light from the sunset. to it's fading to this gray, this almost like the difference between an eerie yellow to the warm yellow of a candlelight from the magus giving us a light to swim back up to the top. Yeah. Nice. I imagine also maybe the magus is still not entirely conscious, ⁓ but there's something innate in them that sense we were in danger and then kind of gives off this glow. And then once you guys are back in the boat, it kind of like recedes back into it that the Magus has like done their job to make sure everyone's safe. And ⁓ to build off of what happened at the lake has now reverted to maybe like 12 year old child. ⁓ yeah, because it used more of their more of their power. Yeah. Damn. OK, what was that? We need to go. We need to leave. I hate this. I hate everything that's happening right now. This sucks, please let us leave. Okay, give me a second, I can't breathe underwater. Thank you. Are you okay? I'm fine. I'm just, you know, I'm fine. Everything's fine. Uh, Sully? Is Sully dead? Um, I don't know how to... No, he's fine. Okay. Is the Magus... The Magus is a child? Okay. At least they'll be easier to carry. Here we go. and then I will very wearily begin pushing us along. I'll splash to try to help us along. Thank you. I almost envisioned it too. It was in the last airbender, his eyes and mouth where the light came from. Ooh. like it. it. and then I will end the scene with my one creepiness for the day. I gotta do one, I have to do at least one a day to keep myself sane. I'm happy to witness it. Thank you. That was really creepy. That was horrific. Thank you. Thank you for that. That was really cool though. It is what I'm here for. Hell yeah. I like the spooky things. Good thing you're really good at it. All right, so now we're making our way toward the mouth of the deep. A change in temperature. Alrighty. I think that's me, Yeah. Hey, gang. Let's go check out this hole. ⁓ I think as we're going down the river still, towards the mouth of the deep, the change in temperature is because, as before when we were seeing the dusk witches? Sundown witches. Sundown witches. ⁓ the rolling grass hills actually start to change into like rock faces and we're actually in more of a canyon now. The water's seemingly getting a lot faster ⁓ as we get into this canyon. It's dark, we're losing light, it's hard to see, it's hard to navigate, rapids start forming and as we look down, we see the magus as a kid pointing straight as we're, a, what's your character's Harp. That's Harp's trying to like manage the vote. I don't know how I just forgot that. I keep forgetting yours as well and I'm like, it's not like we haven't played this game for eight hours at this point. Yeah. ⁓ Harp is like trying to manage the boat, keep it on track. ⁓ Fawn is making sure that the fox doesn't go over and slowly is incapacitated, but taken care of maybe in a little basket at this point. Ooh, cute, I like that. Yeah, little pupus. Yeah, but the magus is not a phase at all as this child. They're like pointing straight ahead. Harp can kind of trust. the direction even though at this point they're unsure of them, it sounds like. Since they've turned into a kid it might be easier. It's easier for Harp to be like, okay, this thing needs protecting. But at the same time, it's like, we just, in the past 48 hours, we have seen some horrific shit and, We have no idea what's happening. This isn't even explaining the thing that happened in Barleytown with the giant rabbit. Right. Or like the creepy things that were happening in the forest. We still have no answers and Magus being a child. just means that I feel like now I can't yell at them. As they're pointing, you see ahead a sharp drop in the river as we're about to fall into the mouth of the deep. ⁓ no. Roll initiative. Everybody roll a dexterity saving throw. ⁓ So it looks like a huge drop. We hit it. We start going down, but instead of going straight down, we flip inverted. ⁓ And then the water is completely fine and we're in kind of like a grotto. There's actually moonlight directly into this one grotto pool as we come up and it's the stalactites and stalagmites are also inverted. ⁓ my God. The water is dripping upwards. And then there's like a little path that we could see going further into the deep. Cruise your brain. That's a time. That's beautiful. I love that. That's sick. Okay, Fawn almost throws up, but doesn't quite. She manages to keep it in because that was a lot of vertigo all at once. ⁓ What? Where? I didn't think that was possible. I didn't think that could happen. Where? I don't know where to go. I'm lost. We were just attacked by floating witches. ⁓ This isn't phasing me too bad. Okay, well I'm glad. Vegas is actually pulling the boat to the shore. ⁓ god. say that's the change in temperature. Damn. We're all soaked now, aren't we? Hell yeah. All right, I'll get a fire started. Yeah. ⁓ I guess I will go to making camp and I'm going to insist. Fawn's gonna get out of the boat. Maybe she helps the Megas kind of drag it onto this like shore question mark. It'd be like a limestone grotto. So there is like an edge and like almost like a cenote if you've ever seen what that looks like. It's just like. Stone, okay, then got it really deep elevation changes. That's really jagged. Okay, ultimately it is pretty moat. Okay, cool Well, she'll help the magus kind of get the boat onto at least solid something ⁓ And then she's gonna insist we need to make camp I Cannot go on I need to sleep. I need to rest. I need to process what has happened. We're gonna make a fire somehow and we're going to rest. And without waiting for anyone to say anything, she's going to start ⁓ pulling stuff out of her pack and looking around her. You've kind of already described the shape of this cavern, how it has like, it's like inverted, and then it's like the elevation changes. There's like rock, I imagine it's like mixtures of like smooth and jagged rock. So like the... the light, that whatever light source we have, maybe we light a torch or something to kind of look around, the light plays off of the rocks in really weird, interesting ways, because sometimes it's like reflective and other times it's not. So maybe even some of the rock are like so smooth that they're like mirrors. And it's really, really disorienting. And there's like a, yeah, it's like a grotto. So the moonlight is kind of shining down onto us too. ⁓ And it's just disorienting. It's weird, it's unfamiliar, and it's freaking fawn the fuck out. Yeah, like with the water droplets from the slag tides going up. Yeah, like nothing makes sense. We're in crazy town. I don't know what's happening. The drips of water are actually like, they sound in reverse. It's not like bloop, it's like whoop. That's how that sounds. Just fix an end post. I'll fix an end post. I'll warp? Yeah, just, yeah. to pull a Missy Elliot and just. Yep. Yep, and then she's going to pull, are there sticks on, like in with the rocks? Do we have fire making supplies? Maybe she makes a fire somehow out of something? The boat? The magus? The magus just, fire. ⁓ no, I was saying we burn the magus. ⁓ we burn the magus, I see. No. We're at that point. Yeah, and then she's going to sit down and she's just going to... Harp will ⁓ strip off as much as they can to get it dried. ⁓ We'll pull out a mostly not damp blanket and I'll put it over top of you. That's cool, it still has lights. Yeah. How is Sully looking? Sully's crawling out of the basket like what? I will give you a little thimble of whiskey ⁓ That I down there that was crazy I I I Big big eye yes like eyeball glowing yellow I think whatever it was was what was actually in charge of The rest of it And... I saw some stuff. I don't know if you saw anything. I was reminded of my past. It's coming together now. I'm not quite sure what it all means at this point, but I know we're on the right track. And maybe our humanity can be saved down here in this dark hole. How did we get down here? ⁓ Well, the... Magus directed us through the river. It woke up for a while and directed us through the river. And ⁓ failed to inform us that there would be a sudden drop, like a waterfall. ⁓ And we went over said waterfall, ⁓ screaming. And when we reached the bottom and went under, because you know, waterfall and boat and mass and falling, ⁓ we instead resurfaced on the other side. Like when we fell, we fell to there, but as you can see, there's no thing to fall through. And then, then Sully's gonna look around and be like, so we pass through the azimuth? The what? Yes. It's the lore drop. Lore drop. So a little bit of what's going on from those memories. Can you repeat what that was? The Azmyth? Yeah, it's the border between the spirits and us as humans. We're not normally supposed to pass through it without a protection spell or something. Or a charm? Maybe. So we're in the underworld right now? More like purgatory. But more like a playground for spirits, I would say. But you know, we should probably be on guard because as we go deeper, you can't pop in and out in strange places. And you know this how? ⁓ Well, I was reminded by this eyeball we saw in the river of my teen years, my youth. My Your tadpole days. Wasn't always a tad full, apparently. Well, that's good, right? You're getting your memory back. That's a good sign. I think so. I think this was the answers that I was looking for. Okay, okay. Well, that's good, right? That's a little, that's good. Speaking of answers, and Harp will turn very aggressively, we need, to the Magus, we need... Just any information. Something. Anything to go off of. Where are we going? What is happening? What? Why are you a child? Why are there spirits and giant monsters chasing after us? Why are we in the underworld right now? We'll just lead off with those. It's the Azmyth, actually. Sorry, thank you. Why are we in the Azmyth? Do you want to take the kid? Sure. I imagine the Megas sounds like a child, but still like an androgynous child. ⁓ There are a lot of things I cannot answer yet for I myself am not entirely certain. I will say all will be fixed as soon as we find the egg. That is our top priority. We are searching for the egg. Our destination is wherever the egg is. Again, I do not know. where that may be for the egg, has a mind of its own. There is a corruption. The source? is hazy to me as well, but it's getting worse because the magic is dying. I am a child because my power is waning and what power I do use saps me of my experience and of my maturity. It will come back. I do need to rest. I may leave you for a time. I will return. I need to gather my strength because this is only the beginning of what is to come for you adventurers. Can I add some flair to it? Please. Grabbing the stick from the fire, they start drawing with the light and then we go into like their kind of like the history of the things as well. ⁓ think I want to keep what you said, but I think I would like to add some lore just in general to us maybe. yeah. Take it, take it. ⁓ So like in the, as we're seeing these glows, we kind of get this like glowing past and history where these, the main creatures of the world were actually the ones like shaping it, building the rocks, making the rivers. Each animal obviously was in charge of making its own realm. So like water with fish, forest, fox, deer, elk. And we see them as giant creatures just like. in the wake of their existence creating life. But as they were doing that, man comes in and tries to harness this to then create the world that they see fit. Killing the fire deity. Maybe let's say a hawk? Hawk, something that flies, something close to the sun. I like that. Killing the hawk. giving way for then the Magus to actually be the next one in line. ⁓ But the Magus, being more diplomatic, actually wanted to bring all of the creatures to a safer place, which is then where they created the Azmuth. So the Azmuth is kind of where these animal deities kind of dwell? Yeah. Okay. And now that the magic is failing, holes are given poke holes. ⁓ So these spirits are escaping. Okay, I also like the idea of because we broached this idea of like these demigods. Yes, I like to make us as a demigod of the bird the the Raven spirit ⁓ And that maybe other demigods are kind of vying for power. Yeah, but there's also this corruption that's happening to them as well So maybe there's like a friendly rivalry of who's going to be the next Magus or take the Magus's spot But because of this corruption that's happening for some reason these demigods are becoming like overcome with like rage and like murderous intent and what used to be a friendly competition of becoming the next Magus is turning violent instead. And then maybe as they're done with their like waving the stick like creating these kind of like illustrations for us to see when we come back to reality maybe they're out there. Yeah, ⁓ Adding a little bit more flavor, it's revealed in this that the eye that we saw would be the demigod of the deep, which is a giant catfish. I love that. Ooh. Catfish I love that. You did. ⁓ Guardian of the Of the deep, yeah, of deep places. It's a catfish. Catfish, I love it. Jinx. Damn it. You can't talk anymore for the rest of this. Fawn is just mute now. I can't do it. I actually don't have it within me. ⁓ Beautiful, I love that. I love this lore that we've created. I think it's so cool. And there's like multiple things happening, which I think is cool. Yes. Okay, so that was scene? Yeah. Yeah, that's what the grotto looks like. Yeah, cool. Okay. I see an opportunity to do something else that is creepy. Of course you do. ⁓ I mean, you only had a quota of one. Doesn't mean you can't do Can't go past. It's true. Unfamiliar sound. for Dark Dwellers. Ooh. Because the Dark Dwellers has music, the music. What does that mean? Exactly. ⁓ You've been rolling pretty high today too. Know what, yeah. I'm gonna go over to Dark Dwellers. As part of the instructional that the Magus gave us. ⁓ When the Azmuth was created, ⁓ it wasn't created whole cloth out of nothing. It wasn't like a bubble that popped into existence. It was actually more of a scoop. Like they went and scooped out something and created a little demi-plane apart from everything else. But like if you go and just scoop up dirt, there's going to be things in the dirt. And... That's where the Dark Dwellers come in. ⁓ How are they like beasts? ⁓ I think it's music one, but what draws them close? Eee. Dang it. Yeah. Can Fawn get a rest? God damn it, Fawn is about to lose her shit. wasn't it? No, was a six. No, was, yeah, ha. Whoa. The music. Wow, a six. Oh no. What, yeah, internet. We read it wrong. We rolled a six. It was a six Six is very close to five. They're very similar shapes on a dice. Yep. This is a six-sided die. Yeah. Okay, the music. So, I... We actually start to hear the echoing from this. And it sounds, at first, almost like ⁓ wind chimes a little bit. But it becomes more discordant. And there's deeper notes as well. And it doesn't seem to follow any set pattern of ⁓ rhythm or melody. But you can still tell it is music. It has intention to it. And. Because we are not supposed to be here, it itches like the little lizard part of our brains that is saying, you need to hide. ⁓ It's almost like seeing Uncanny Valley, but with music. ⁓ I love that. That's great. The Dark Dwellers, they are drawn to not life force, but a will to live. because they were cut off from the rest of the world. I feel like this is a place of the dead and their living things that survive in a land of the dead and deceased and the, ⁓ what's word I'm looking for, stationary. ⁓ Like they don't change, nothing changes here. Stagnant. Stagnant. ⁓ Which has gotta be hard on a creature that is alive and wants to live. And so over time, they began to seek out the things that have a will to live like themselves in order to siphon that off. Or to remove it as a, like, if I can't have this will to live, you can't have this will to Maybe each one has their own motive. Yes. Yeah. ⁓ But they found a way to sort of discombobulate and stun things that end up here. And that is the music. Got it. ⁓ Which is, again, discordant chiming sounds and gonging sounds and ⁓ also some sounds that you definitely can't hear but you definitely feel. Ooh, like a reverb almost. Awesome. It's always gonna be like, we should probably enter the water again. Okay, yeah. We need to fully submerge right now, guys. I say as I'm putting my armor back on. I'll pick up Bernard. We'll rest soon, you ever held a fox underwater? What's that like? We're gonna find out. Well, you can communicate with. I can communicate with. I'm like, okay, we're gonna play a little game. It's gonna call. Do we lose Bernard? We do not lose Bernard. Excard that. Denied. Slap We're keeping Bernard. ⁓ We're gonna play a little game, Bernard. It's gonna be super fun. We're gonna hold our breath and we're gonna see how long we can hold our breath underwater. It's gonna be great. Just crying. ⁓ Okay, and then I'm gonna splash into the water and just wait for these things to pass. I'm gonna flip over the boat so that we can hide underneath it a little bit. That's a good idea. ⁓ I like the idea that we do not see the dark dwellers. Yeah, I like that too. We just hear the music recede. And that's it. There's no sound of footsteps, there's no sound of splashing, no snarls or grunts or hissing, nothing. Just music and then not music. It's almost like the procession of the fairies, but fucking awful. Yeah. Awesome. Scene? Scene. Scene. Great. Love that. Whose turn is it? Is my or is it What runs? feel like I wanna just say we rest for the evening. Totally. Maybe not any particular prompt, but get ready to like, Do we wanna go into the? Yeah, I think so. What time are we at? 3.30? 3.30. 3.30? Wanna go till four? Is that okay? That sounds good. Flip it. So I do wanna show this off real quick. We are playing on this beautiful scroll, handmade scroll, by the way. And then we have this little icon here, which means we flip. The scroll and continue on the back of it, which is so cool. Okay, so we're gonna do that now. Can you move the dice? We're gonna neep. We pop out there? I think so. I think there's only one. There's two. This one? Yeah. That one. Because then we would keep going that way. We. would pop out back here. I ⁓ okay. Yeah, so we continue on this way, we go there, and then we come out on this side, and then that's kind of the end of the game, actually. Yeah. We're close. We're almost to Umbra. We're almost there. Wah. Wah. Wah. Tighten this one up. Yeah, good idea. They don't wanna see too far at, ho, ho, ho. That looks like Dracula's castle. I can't tell if those are arms or they are arms and legs, but they're mechanical mechanical arms and legs. Oh, this is gonna be sick Excellent. Is that the catfish? That might be the catfish. Oh shit Okay, so um We can think we to go to the Hanging City. Yeah Yeah, I didn't even think I didn't know that was gonna happen, but it's upside down your brain Hell yeah. Okay. So we settle in for the night, up in the morning, have some more deer, I guess. Yep, some deer jerky. Deer jerky. And then, slowly is gonna be like, I think the next path, like if I remember correctly, we just follow the path. Okay. I'm assuming the magus is now poofed away to rest. Yeah. So I don't have to carry a child anymore. In my brain, yes. Excellent. But you also don't get answers. I also didn't get answers. No I Imagine in my brain. I imagine the Magus isn't omniscience omniscience Omnipotent Omnipotent. No, I think you're right with the first one. think it's omniscience Omniscience like sees all knows all right So I think there is some stuff the Magus genuinely does not know yeah, but they do they just know their mission Well, they've only been alive for this cycle right? Yeah So there's yeah, there's stuff that they're in the dark about too, which is frustrating ⁓ okay, take it away. All right hanging city hospitality hospitality of the Ragdraggers. Yeah Interesting interesting. ⁓ wait, is someone missing? ⁓ yeah. Thanks The hospitality of the ragdraggers OK, so we actually are coming in. And I would say like gravity, even though it makes sense, it doesn't always make sense in the deep. You could walk on walls in some places, kind of like the mystery spot in San Francisco. The what? The mystery spot in San Francisco. I've never heard of that. Yeah, it's like, it's a, it's I get into it. OK, OK, I'll just ask you about it later. ⁓ So ultimately, you know, A hanging city makes sense, like you could scale the walls, can rappel down. But actually the hospitality of the ragdraggers, we come to their gate and it's kind of actually ⁓ decrepit. It's fallen apart. There's actually, the last time Sully was here, he remembered it being a lot more green, more moss. ⁓ It seems almost like a ⁓ storm has blown through. Some of the buildings have fallen to the ground. Can I add little flavor to that? Of course. Because gravity is weird. It's just like broken apart buildings floating in the middle of the air. But it is like detritus and like it's just suspended. Love it. love when someone uses the word detritus. Same. As we pass by the gate... The, what are they called? The Ragdraggers. Ragdraggers. Ragdraggers. We're the Ragdraggers. They have a Creole accent. Yes, yes they do. I'm kind of a little at a loss of what I want. I mean, I feel like it's decrepit, it's like, are they just living life? Are they surviving? I they're doing their best. I think they're scavengers, maybe. you know what? Actually, good on scavengers, but I think they're also. ⁓ really defensive. They don't like when things enter their world. Okay. Yes. Especially with the dark dwellers. ⁓ They have to be like on guard. Yeah, ever since like they used to be like an open city where you could come in but then have slowly closed it off, closed it off and now they're just isolate. ⁓ Okay. So they're not too keen on us being there. But they're not aggressive. ⁓ They're just wary. Yeah. Okay. And do they look just like people? ⁓ No, good question. ⁓ They kind of resemble that goblin we ran into earlier though. That was really furry. This one. That one. Yes. You can't really see this. You might be able to. I did a little doodle. Do you want to describe? ⁓ So it's think a goblin, except for more cat-like, covered with fur and their ears stick straight out with little... little tufts, really big eyes, little short snout, kind of like a pug. Probably on drugs, like they constantly look high on something. Drugs. Drugs. Drugs. Like, that's the vibe. That's the currency. ⁓ no. I didn't bring any drugs. Dammit. How am I supposed to participate in commerce? As we pass the gate, ⁓ one of these little characters comes out and they, if you want to call the voice, I think we're gonna need a trade for something just to enter. Yeah. But it's not like an official trade, it's a bribe. It's really just a prank. Stop there. What do you have to trade? Got some deer meat? I would not like to a deer, whatever that is. I've got an arrow. It's solid metal, and it's very rare. Yep, ⁓ no, I don't ⁓ know that's too heavy. No, thank you. No. Thank you. It is damn it Hmm does harp have anything ⁓ actually I have some lock picks What is this lock pick you speak of it's a shiny metal pokey thing shiny metal pokey I like pull it out. It's like his size, like perfect for him. They were child lock picks. ⁓ Denies it. How many more do you have? That is the one. The only one? Every, I've seen. You don't have one? I don't have one. They're super rare. Also you're talking down to me because I'm a frog. Any more? They're super rare. We only found one of them. There's only one in the whole other side of the world. Turns to the fox. Do you have one? Do you have one? I don't lockpick, no, sorry. That is the only one in existence. Yes. Wait. Okay, come on in. I can't believe that worked. I just, I'm not good at lying. You have to You're just like, write your head. You're sweating. I'm not talking. I'm not talking in this. Don't worry, I lie all the time. I got it, I got it, I got this. Is that a lie? ⁓ no. ⁓ no. I will strut in like I own the place. Yeah, and I would say scene, we could go to the next thing now. Perfect, yeah. I was not planning on a goblin eating a lockpick. of your home. The only other thing I could offer was a black tunic, which then I'd be naked again. ⁓ I just have like normal supplies. I guess we could have done like an infiltration thing there too. Yeah. was funny. I liked That was fun. We need more quail. More quail More quails and more furry goblins. ⁓ That's the unexpected visitor or whoever one of them. Ooh. I really don't want to do this now though. Temple of the Sightless, a question of your faith. Ooh. I think I wanna get some lore. I wanna like find what's good. I feel like we were led here. I don't know why we're led here. Okay, we will make our way to Temple of the Sightless then. But first... Oh, that's funny. Is that us? We kinda just did that. We did kinda Oh yeah. Who enters the city? Who enters the city? Who enters? Thank you. Kettle bottom. Dirty Dirty job. I'm trying to percolate. We could go to the market. That might be a good idea to kind of see what this place is about and see what supplies we can get. Yeah, maybe this guy's taking us somewhere. Yeah, we'll go to the hanging market. So this is us climbing up the ropes, like? Yeah, I imagine maybe the ⁓ guard friend was so pleased with the lockpick that he was like, come, come, come, come, ⁓ I will show you to the market where I may sell this rare lockpick. ⁓ I can't do a Creole accent. That wasn't a Creole accent. This accent, this is nothing. Whatever it was. Yes, follow me for the lockpick. That's right. Okay, so maybe he takes us to the market ⁓ and we're obviously new in town, so ⁓ maybe he will introduce us to some people at the market. I think he's just gonna, because they don't like when new people are ⁓ that's right. They're not gonna be very hospitable at Yeah, at all. So maybe we also try and convince him that, hey, can you just give us a pass, or maybe something of those regards. Yeah, yeah. Maybe on our way to the market, we're conversating with him. ⁓ Him, them? And yeah, we're like, Fawn will be like, so, what's your name? Why do you need to know? It's polite. It's polite, you know. My name's Fawn. That's what they call me. What do call you? How funny do we want to be with this? I want to be pretty funny with him. Some call me Egg Sandwich. So you guys, you have eggs down here? What's an egg? You're an egg, I guess. Then yes, we do. That's why his name is Egg Sandwich. Keep up, Sully. Is it? It is. Oh. Never had Egg Sandwich. It's a beautiful name. We could have traded that. have. Ooh. Traded what? An egg. I thought you talking about an But I'm an egg. You can't trade me. Oh, this is a side conversation, egg, please. Oh. This is really cool. That being said, we are new to your city. Is there anything we should know about it? Well, we don't have eggs, that's for sure. Okay. We don't have lupix either. ⁓ What's with the detritus? The what? Why are there floating buildings that are broken? Because they're broken. Did they fall? No, they float. I have two speeds, ladies and gentlemen. This is fine. I'm trying to get answers. You know what? know what? know what? Maybe we don't need to stay here very long. They don't have any eggs. We're looking for the egg. Maybe we just go to the market, we get some supplies, and then we leave. Is there a tavern nearby? I need a drink. Absolutely. You know what that is, okay. Yeah, who doesn't know what a tavern is? I could also use a drink. I imagine the alcohol down here goes crazy. ⁓ it's hard. It's hard. Yeah, do you want to describe the hanging market for Ooh, okay, yes. the hanging market, I imagine it's very colorful. There are like tapestries and... ⁓ Ragdraggers. Ragdraggers, yeah. Maybe they've like tied a bunch of like tapestries together to create like these like, not flowing, because there's no airflow down here. ⁓ But these just like very colorful fabrics just hanging all over the place. Maybe there's like a net below too to catch any ⁓ items that may fall from the market. So it's a little less scary than like the houses, because there's nothing underneath the houses, but there's like a net underneath the market. ⁓ Trying to Yeah, exactly. Maybe there's like a series of like rope ladders. to kind of connecting everything. It's all very, it's all very, what's the word I'm looking for? Wimsical. Wimsical, yeah, it's wimsical. It's scavengy, people have scavenged a whole bunch of stuff. It's all very mismatched. And it's very chaotic as well. This whole place is extremely chaotic. It's like a beautiful dumpster. A beautiful dumpster. With festoon lighting. Yeah. That's what the tavern's called. A beautiful dumpster Yeah, and the way that we get around is through these like rope ladders and kind of like police systems, maybe ⁓ And there's a bunch of stuff being sold Mostly things that don't make sense There are no lock picks, but there are various cheeses somehow get your cheeses. Yeah get your cheeses here ⁓ There are fresh hot cheeses right off the press The cheese is debatable, I would not trust the cheeses. There are like twisty metal rods. Get your rods, yeah. That probably have some kind of purpose, but the purpose is very unknown to us. Transatlantic ragdraggers, one was. Oh my god, yes. Get your rods, yeah, fresh hot rods. Ooh, there's a bunch. They're all hot. The busiest stall, the busiest stall by far, is a stall that sells gears. Nothing. No gears connected to anything, just like floating gears, like ranging from like this big to like this big. ⁓ And the citizens of this place fucking love them. They love these gears, these like little interlocking pieces ⁓ and they're haggling, they're yelling. a, what are you A stock market. Mom, mom, can we get a gear today? We have gears at home. Not this gear. Love it. Yeah. One of ours has value. ⁓ good, I completely forgot about the whole fucking prompt. ⁓ He stopped cursing. ⁓ maybe a child, little child runs up to. Harp, yeah, I was thinking harp. Definitely the least threatening of the group. Yeah, runs up to Harp and kind of just tugs on your cloak a little bit. Yes. Hi. Hi. Your sword is pretty. Thank you. It's really shiny. It is. Can I have it? No. Are you sure? Yes. Can I see it? Yes. Wow! I imagine this society loves shiny things. the under, as, forget me not, is unsheathed, the forget me not that's in the pommel, or in the cross guard, like catches the different glinting light from the different reflection, and it's just like, ding ding ding ding ding. What? It loses their mind. Just after a bunch of other, the mom comes over, a bunch of other kids come over, they're all just like, oh my gosh, it's, excuse me, it's so pretty. As this is happening, Sully's kind of like watching the chaos unfold, maybe hops up onto Fern, Fawn. And then as I'm like looking, like kind of scanning the area, I see that there's actually like several ragdraggers that are not as keen and they're like kind of lurking in the shadows, like watching us. I see one of them like whisper to the other one and then he runs off. Drama. I imagine the kid is now looking at their reflection in, forget me not. I keep forgetting me not very, very. You should. If I let you continue to look at the sword, we just need supplies. Mom, do we have supplies? What's the supplies? ⁓ Food. He's a child, watch out! Yeah, the mom comes over, you see it over there. Child I need you to go get us What do you need? Just food for a few days walk if there's any information you may have as well We may have some other shiny objects to trade For information on do you know what eggs are then a giant gong hits cool? and then everything closes. Yeah. And then ⁓ as that happens, Ragdraggard, similar to the one we've seen, but actually now he is five feet tall. ⁓ Jacked. Yes. Comes out. He's very heavy. And he's like, the boss would like to see you, if you want to say that. The boss would like to see you now. And our value. if you don't mind me. They have a side quest for us. Okay, I love a side quest. ⁓ The thing that VARS that they value is our skills. They know we're outsiders and this is a risky job. they don't want to risk anything. Got it, okay. I like that, that's good. I like it. This one's name is jalapeno popper. They love... They have no they don't know what it they don't know that any of these are food Only food names. Oh my god Yeah, that's so J popper They call me J popper they call me J popper Beautiful I think that's a good scene then does the boss would like to see you now That could be actually a good place to end it because I feel like if we go on this side quest It'll take us probably on a journey. Yeah So we could call it here. We could do a little closing out session. Yeah, but I think this is a good place to end it. What do you guys think? Yeah, that's good. And then I think probably only one more session. One or two, depending. Because we do have... We only have gone one place in the here. Right. True. We've got here, and then we do have... The big... The big final. I imagine this would probably take us a whole session. Yeah. So yeah, maybe one more session to get through the under. Yep. Under. And then one more session to do the, to wrap everything up. Yeah. Cool. Cool. Yeah, do you want a debrief? Yeah. What you think about this one, Lois? I liked, I really liked all of the imagery that came up during the session. sundown witches was so cool, so awesome. And then with you like inverting and going underneath, like that was really cool. So both of you guys did an amazing job. The idea to have this be not the afterlife, but like the resting place of the gods, good call. That gives this place so much more gravitas than it just being, ⁓ this is underneath everything. ⁓ Yes. I really am also really liking Fawn's growth as far as you being. very aggressive and straightforward and yes, this is the right thing to do to what's happening. Yeah, she's having a crisis for sure. Yeah, like not only is like the main quest getting like tossed, turned, inverted, but I think we're all doing a these different avenues to explore into it. So I think it's gonna be, it's turning out to be a quite ⁓ awesome story that we're all crafting. I love all our characters. I really like our characters too. I'm really excited to see what the fox will do. Yes, Bernard, I need to utilize Bernard, his fullest power. Did you write him in your inventory? So we remember the name. Bernard. Bernard the fox. What's an egg? What's your surprise? Can I eat it? All the voices this time around, superb. As always. Yes. Yeah. I think we're telling a really cool story. And yeah, we have like a lot going on. ⁓ And it's cool to see how it's all gonna come together. I'm really excited to see like where this ends up. Because there's so many different things that can happen. And I'm just excited to tell a whole complete story with you. Yes. Yeah. I love it. Also random extra thing. I don't remember when it happened, but we split the the death of magic and the corruption from What's happening on going on with the demigods like the corruption is something separate that's happening I Imagine that the corruption is affecting the demigod. Yes. Yeah, like at some point in this game We split those because previously they were the same was it yeah, there was something going on with the demigods I see it was causing the corruption or the corruption was- I could metaphor a bit? Yeah. In my brain, the way I thought things were going was that woman was causing the corruption. Because we keep kind of like pulling back to her and that group and with like the eyes going white and the kidnapping, like I thought that she may be more powerful than we thought. And she may be, maybe she is a demigod. Ooh. I actually do have- You have ideas? You have ideas for her. Got it, okay. Can I also add a little cut scene post credits? Sure. It goes back to the grotto where we first came in and another boat falls through and it has the people that were following you in it. Love that. Sump. That's what we did last time too, right? I think so, yeah. I yeah. They're just like tailing Yeah, they're just following. Yeah. Okay, cool. Well, good session everybody. Thank you so much for hanging out with us today. If you would like to get a copy of Fall of Magic for yourself, I will have the link down below. We sell it on our website. We make it in our workshop. We handcraft this entire game. It is wonderful and amazing. And yeah, we'll see you next time. All right, see ya. Watch out for the witches. ⁓ God. Those sundown witches, man, they freaked me out. Bloom is very good at what he does. Anyway, I really hope you're enjoying our Fall of Magic playthrough. It has been so much fun to be able to share it with all of you. If you would like a copy of Fall of Magic for yourself, you can get it through our website, heartofthedirinacorn.com. Also, feel free to follow us on social media. We are at Dirinacorn or Heart of the Dirinacorn on most platforms. That's gonna be it from us today, guys. So thank you so much for hanging out with us and we'll see you in the next episode. ⁓