C03 - Ep. 46 - Under Oondar Fire - Smoke and Chimirroras

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A little bit like this fella I love, Orville Peck. I'm going to have a little something like that. A little dangly mask. Is it like matching denim or kind of like mixed washes? I think it's going to come out to be a little bit mixed washes. So there's some little braids. I'm going to have to take in the tonal value across it, you know. And also all the rhinestones and everything like that. So I think it's going to be quite the statement. Yeah. Hey, if Kristen is still looking for a wedding dress, I think we just found. I'm writing ideas, yeah. Yeah, a wedding in the summer of Austin wearing all denim. She won't die. Anytime in Austin, really. I've never seen that before, Natty, and now I kind of want to see it. All right. Thanks for that. Everyone so far, really interesting choices. Toll, if you're up next, I'm curious to see how you're going to put a cap on this. Yeah. Hey, it's me, Blaine Gibson. And hold on, let me look something up. Just the brightest flash on your face. This is not your only feedback. What did you do to make that happen? I turned on my lights, my Legato lights. Oh, you have like performance lights. Okay. Yeah. Because I was like, you reached for something. There was a light ready to blind you. I'm also going to look for something. Hold on. That's a goof just for you guys. Hello, I'm Blaine Gibson. I played Tolv, the male Thaumatic Barbarian. Yoo-hoo. Oh, a wedding. How exciting. Oh, I don't know where to start. I definitely want to wear a cummerbund and a suit, but I think it's important, you know, I need to show up in a way that people will recognize me. Um, and, uh, I don't want to be too shiny, so I have to hide away my Thaumathex skin, even though I will have it polished for the big day. But I'm also going to make sure that I dry clean my Bjorn skin. Um, I don't know what the results of dry cleaning, uh, formerly living flesh would be. Uh, maybe it will give it a nice leather polish. Yes. Or it will make it fall apart and I'll look like a zombie sitting in the crowd next to Captain Grumbles. Who knows? Ha, ha, ha, ha. But very. Very exciting. Hopefully I am a, uh, like some sort of like flower girl boy. I don't know. Whatever you need. Wedding planner. Flower robot. Flower robot. DJ. I could be a photo booth if you want. Whatever. Ha, ha, ha, ha. You're all the tech needs of the wedding. Yeah. Before you started talking about the whole skin addition, the immediate image I had in my head was Bicentennial Man at the wedding in that movie where he was wearing a full suit over his body. His robot body. Yes. That's the Robin Williams one, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I need to watch that. Is it worth a watch? I think so. It depends on who you're talking to. And if you're talking to Barbara or me, it's a resounding yes. Great. Love it. All right. I'll give it a watch. Micah's in chat. Yes. Okay. Okay. But other people might disagree, but I think they need more whimsy in their life. Yeah. I agree. And that's why they're here listening to Tales from the Stinky Dragons. It's true. It's true. Take it away. The most whimsy of the whimsy. A whimsical tale. Natty, your eyes cloud with an otherworldly darkness. What little light was in the cavern is immediately extinguished. As you conjure necromantic energies from the realm of the dead, the veins in your gesticulating fingers pulse with an unnatural purple glow. The corpse's fingers mimic your own, cracking and crinkling to life, like desiccated worms writhing in the dirt. The cadaver suddenly slams its fists to the ground, releasing a cloud of steam all around as it hobbles to its moving feet. Its horned head wafts through the mists. It stares with narrowed, unblinking eyes, locked on Gunther. Ah! You cannot kill Kleiner so easily, croakfolk. I will have my revenge. Without warning, the undead Undarian charges, horns first, straight for Gunther. Kleiner turns the corner and sees a croakfolk field dressing a recently slain gildelix, assumedly for food. Notorious lowers his head of horns and attempts to gore the amphibian, but at the last second, the fair-faced frog jumps high into the air. The undarian's momentum sends his horns forward, piercing the spiralvator with a loud BANG! The croakfolk unleashes his tongue, grapples the lever in the lift, and the whole contraption lowers rapidly, pinning Kleiner and his horns to the ground. Wham! The croakfolk arms himself with a beak-tipped lance and asks, "Where has the Chimera run off to?" "I don't answer to you, mortface." "Then why are you bowing before me, undarian?" Kleiner swings his Cadillac to the frog's legs. The croakfolk carries it with panache. The Cadillac flies into a nearby wall. "You fight with cowardice, undarian. Come face me another day when you have found your honor." The croakfolk turns to leave the cavern, and Kleiner thieves the spiralvator off his head and charges the frog in rage. BEEP! Blood spills on the ground. Kleiner looks down at their gut, impaled by the frog's lance. The beak-tip breaks off as Notorious tumbles to the stained floor. Blackness closes in. It consumes Kleiner's vision. "I should be taking notes, I was really good." So it was self-defense on the croakfolk's behalf, you know. Have we learned what a gildelix is? You probably don't know what it is. It's a creature with like a wolverine body and a mane of pine green hair with a long tongue. A voice echoes deep within Kleiner's soul. "I would welcome you to the Coil, but it seems you are needed elsewhere. Say hi to my wife." And with a crack! BEEP! The frog opens his mouth and his gaze burns with blood-boiling fury as he sees the croakfolk standing before him. "You cannot kill Kleiner so easily, croakfolk. I will have my revenge!" "What?" So he was dead and we reanimated him, so he. or I guess came back to life? "Oh hello, I'm. my name is Gun-" *cough* "He charges horns forward, ready to pierce the frog." "Uh, straight at you, Gunther. Hitting AC." "Oh, I see." *gasp* "No." "My AC right now is 8." "Well, bad news, Gunther. Cause I just saw that roll." "What is it? It didn't pop up on my screen." "It's a nat 20." "It's a nat 20." "Is it?" "Do your wor-" *coughs* "Okay, yeah, the attack hits you, charges right through you, doing 16 points of bludgeoning damage. And it knocks you back into the wall behind you, Gunther. Cause it's such strong fire. Such strong force. You take an additional 8 points of bludgeoning damage from colliding with the wall. Notorious looks around with fury and anger in its eyes. "Hi, um, I'm Natty, and I need you to stop doing that, okay?" "Oh, right, you can command it, right?" "Yeah, yeah, that's my buddy. That's my buddy, my new buddy fighting my old buddy, and I need my buddies to be buddies, okay?" "I'm telling Gunther to stop, uh, bleeding to death and moaning-" "Stop dying?" "Yeah, like, stop it, stop it." "I'm trying to-" "Keep it together, Gunther, you're okay." "I like to think Natty was maybe doing a two-for-one when she said that." "Okay, so I guess it's compelled, it's compelled to listen to you." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like anybody who, who has a taste of Natty's charisma. What's, I don't know what to call you, do you have a real name?" "Kleiner." "Kleiner. Kleiner. Okay, well, Kleiner, what, how, what you doing here? Why, why are you here?" "Searching for the wilder shield." "Okay, yeah, that makes sense. So, your, your party, or whatever, like, group you're part of, your troop, they, they hadn't located it quite yet, but are on the hunt. Remind me, why, why do you guys want it? I know why this dude over here who's bleeding out wants it, but I, why, why do you guys want it?" "The Und army has been summoned here by Infernus because she desires the wilder shield." "Okay, okay, yeah, she's quite a collector." "Where, where were you looking for it? I like, I like the, the pained delivery there." "We have a map, if you want to point, see what you can tell us." "We are scouring the keep. I was searching the lower levels of the mine." "Okay, okay." "Is it, is it definitely in here, or is that what you were told?" "Somewhere in the keep." "Oh, good to know." "All right. Well, how, how many of y'all are around here still? Because we, have we, what other Undarians, we, we, we had the, the three in that room?" "Yeah, this is the, this is the same kind of creature as those three that were in that room." "Cool." "Oh, but it isn't-" "This one was in that room, right?" "Yeah, because we got the one that was let go the previous episode." "The grunt." "Razzleberry." "Razzleberry, yeah." "I guess that's four." "This is a new one." "Yeah, this is a different one. It's not the same as what were up in there." "Got it." "Um, 79." "Oh, god." "That's good. That's a good crew." "Is that including you? Because now-" "It'll make a big difference." "Oh, is it around AD? Was it around AD?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Okay." Around 80 before they, you know, you get killed. Math, do math. Ballpark figures are fine. When it's numbers that high, we don't need to know. We have enough to play ball. Wait, I'm dead? It doesn't change much if you say it's 81. Like, okay, that's a lot. Wait, I was killed? No, no, no, no, you're fine, you're fine. I have a quick question. It's not for Kleiner. Cover your ears, cover your ears. Natty, if you can bring back dead people, right, to Kleiner, Captain Grumbles, Kleiner's over here yappity-yapping. Why haven't we heard a peep from Captain Grumbles? All he goes is, blah. Captain Grumbles, can you talk? Are you choosing to do that? Can you, have you actually been able to talk and understand this entire time? You know, I think I'm understanding him, actually. He just said, Oh, he just said, I am Groot. In combat, when y'all were fighting Captain Grumbles, someone hit him in the neck. It destroyed his voice box, his larynx. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A retcon. But not his ability to swear. It's intent. Yeah. I was coughing up blood. You say you faced someone who looks like me, but like more handsome. Where, do you know where they left off to? Did you see where they went? After they died? After they died? After they died? They definitely didn't kill you. Oh, yeah. He was way more handsome. You look like garbage. I know exactly what you mean, what you mean and who you're talking about. He was here. He was right there. And he points to, by the spiral evader. Where did he go? Up or down. You got a 50-50 shot on this one, Kleiner. Yeah, he don't know. He got, he got this curtain call before Bunlap made his exit. Yeah. Oh. I think it happened right on this level that we're on right now. Where did he go? He's looking around now. We don't know. Listen, listen, listen. I'm going to be. Riven. Nope. I'm going to be. No, please don't. No. I'm going to be, I'm going to be straight up with you, okay? We're kind of full up on party members for us. And I've got a reservation to take care of this guy over here. And I point to Captain Grumbles. But don't worry. You're going to be in good hands, okay? You might have already met my wife. She's a lovely gal. Takes care of her people. And so, you know, this is going to be a short visit. I'm just giving you time to process that. Okay. We haven't even had. We only just met. But before you go there, Kleiner, are there any, like, cool secret passcodes or anything where if we were to encounter your friends, you know, they'll know. We're cool. Because, Kleiner, we're cool, you know? So, like, do you guys have, like, a, you know, a thing? Like a secret handshake or, like, a. Yeah, password. Roll me a check of some kind, Blaine. Roll me, roll me. We're going to see. We're going to call this a luck check, which doesn't technically exist. So roll me a D20. A D20. Ha-da-da-ba. Well. Do you want my, uh. My inspiration? What is it? It didn't show up on my screen. I think this needs to be based. This needs to be based off of Blaine's luck. How did your luck turn out, Blaine? What an unlucky day. That's a one. That's a good thing. He's number one. Yeah. All right, go ahead. Tell me what. Give me something good. Barbara, I appreciate it, but, yeah, we'll let it ride. I don't want to take yours. Or do I? I don't know. Yes, here. And Kleiner puts his head down and gives it to Blaine. He gives you a nasty headbutt. I mean, just, like, full force, straight on, right on. Well, what would be your nose, but you're a thaumatic. Uh-huh. As Doug sees this, he's writing it down in his notebook. Okay. It's just a headbutt. And it causes one point of bludgeoning damage. Okay. Oh, okay, so it's something like this, and then I headbutt him back. Oh, yeah. I was hoping you would just die. Yeah, he falls. He says that and then falls to the ground. I'm done moving. Wait, uh, oh. Oh. Well, I think we've gleaned all the information we need to from him, right, Gunter? You have what you need. I guess. I mean, it better be, because I can't do that again. Yeah. I gotta take quite the risk for that to happen again. Then, yes. Gunter, give him mouth-to-mouth. He can bring him back, I promise you. I think it's good to know that the bunlap is clearly here, and he's looking for the wielder's shield, which also is somewhere here. So, I don't know. Maybe we could try to get to it first, or try to meet back up with bunlap. Well, I feel like if I get to it first, then that might not be. I need to get to bunlap first, and then go with bunlap, because I do not want to anger my deity. Yeah, that's probably for the best. Well, spoiler alert, you already have. There's also, there's 79 Undarians, and we know that they went down the spiral elevator. No, we don't. No, we don't. We went all up or down the spiral of that entire elevator. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So, we don't know. So, don't say facts that aren't facts. This group really runs with those. So, when I was a kid, my entire life savings was in a crappy safe in my closet. But thankfully, there are better ways to save your money now. And you know what? That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people, they're not like traditional old banks who charge fees and gatekeep perks and rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking, all with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. You get, let me just list them all, 5% cash back on Chime card in a category of choice, like gas or groceries, all while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check. 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That's q-u-i-n-c-e.com/dragon. - Can I do a check, like a survival check, to check for bun lapse footprints and any smells or anything that might guide us as to where he went exactly and maybe You can make a survival check if, while you're making that check, I just want to remind everyone, I think we talked about it already, but just to be safe about the ways in and out of this room. Oh, that's a nat 20, 24. Heck yeah. You all came in from the southern end of this room. And then from this room, you can go, there's a corridor to the west, which is caved in, a corridor to the east, and the spiral elevator, which goes either up or down. Just so everyone's got it in their head. So 24, yeah, you, you know, it's, this is not, I'm going to be honest with you, Chris. I probably wasn't going to give you anything here because this is a very difficult room to track in with the water and, you know, the combat that happened and everything going on. But, you know, with a roll that good, you are able to discern that it appears that Bundlap's steps go to the spiral elevator. Now, based on his footprints, is he, is this a formal event or a non-formal event? By that, I mean, is he wearing shoes or not? Very formal. No shoes, got it. Okay, I don't want to take my clothes off. Okay, go. Oh, his grippers. They're out. Oh, no. Is this spiral, it can go up or down? Correct. And, and we, there's no way to discern. Is there a way to discern where, which direction the elevator went most recently? I mean, we could just choose a direction and then explore that. And if that's not it, then go down. You could ask the wilderflower. Oh. You want, you want to have a little conversation? All right, guys. How about we leave it up to chance? How about, how about this? I'll help. I can help. I can help. Ned, Ned, Ned. He has, has, has help. What? Are you going to revive this guy again? No, I got it. Gunther's like, I can't take another one. Ned's like, let me take a quick long rest here. Yeah, let's do augury. Oh, the bones. Yeah. Throw them dice down. We shall consult the bones. Yes. And as a reminder, you receive an omen about a specific course of action that you plan to take within the next 30 minutes. And then you, the DM, say, wheel, whoa. Wheel and whoa are nothing. And those determine. Yes. No. So. Is that dunk boot boon speak? Reel a row or? Yeah. Stop. Listen, I'm working on it. You're perfect how you are. I roll the bones and I say, should we go down? This was in Stardust, one of my favorite movies where they throw the bones up. It is. It's also in Willow. Willow. I haven't seen Willow in decades. I need to watch that again. So going down, wheeler, whoa, the augury, correct? Yeah. Wheel. Yay, we're going down. We should start calling it wheel or no wheel. Wheel, Bob. I would say more wheel of fortune, but, you know, whatever. I'll teach their own. So let's take an elevator down. Going down? By spiral elevator, sorry. Is there like a funny goblin in like a little bellhop suit with a little pill hat? He says, oh, hello, can I take your bags? I will put on the gas. No, the. Scuba diving mask, snorkel mask and my eel skin hat so that I look not like me. So that if we meet on Darians, they will not immediately attack. Sounds good. The spiral elevator. I mentioned this in the previous episode, but I have not mentioned it again in this episode. So I feel compelled to say it again. The spiral elevator is pretty small. I can probably hold about two people at a time. Oh, yeah, you did say that. Who wants to go down? I assume you can go two and two, but you tell me. How are we all going to approach this? I'll go first. I'll, you know, secure the area. I'll go first in case a bundle up is there. This probably makes sense from a size perspective of a big guy, small guy and another big guy, small. That's good. Small Natty. OK, so Tolvan Gunther first, then Doug and Natty. No, Tolvan Gunther first and then Geeky and Captain Grumbles and then Doug and Natty. OK, got it. John, I'm going to kill you. I'm just kidding. I know, it rises and it's like, where do I go? Guys, I'm going to go ahead and read it. So Tolvan and Gunther, you both descend through the spiral elevator. And when you emerge on the lower level, it appears to be a sort of archaeological dig. And you get like a like a waft, a scent of smoke in the air. And on the wall, you see two what appear to be two blue gemstone eyes. Oh. It's scaring the area. Checking our corners, looking around. The eyes pop open and immediately focus on you, Tolv. They're rough hewn through the rock and they're stacked one on top of the other. So, but they're, they're eyes or they're blue gems? They're blue gems that appear to be like eyes. But one on top of the other? Yeah, almost like a like, like a squared off eight, like, you know, like you like an LED clock. You know, the two boxes, one on top of the other. They're like, oh, like they're rough. They're right on top of each other. They're kind of cross-eyed. I wouldn't say they're even cross-eyed. They're like vertically one on top of the other. They look like eyes, but they're not necessarily eyes. Correct. Yeah, that's good we think of it. But they just opened? Yeah, they're open and there's like a blue glowing light out of them. And they're, they're fixated on you, Tolv. This is what Trevor sees when he comes into my, into our bedroom when I'm already getting ready for bed. And I'm just like, welcome to the bedroom. Come hither. I turn my head sideways to greet them. In a way that they can see us, me eye to eye. And I say, yoo-hoo, it's me, Tolv. Hello, blue eyes. My blue eyes. Hi, Frank Sinatra. What are you doing here? They, uh, they just blink at you. I blink back. Blink. Nothing. OK. Is there anything else in this space? Yeah, are there any like dead bodies? Does this seem like a security system of any sort? Make a, let's call it an intelligence check. Oh, OK. OK. Is that a bus, sir? Yeah. That is a 16. A six. You begin looking around, trying to see if it's, you know, like you're trying to work on your theory that it's a security system. And it doesn't seem like there's much else of note. Nothing that would appear to be like, it's like a security system, uh, like you're thinking. OK. And as you're, as you're thinking about this, poking around, trying to figure it out, uh, the rest of the party comes down to Spiral Vader and, uh, joins us. Hello, guys. There are some blue eyes. It's a white dragon, but, uh, you know, just, just be aware. It's a Yu-Gi-Oh reference. It's a very funny laugh. Laugh. Very good. Yeah. Uh, it doesn't-- I've already made the reference. Do I have to laugh when you make it, too? What? Yeah. I'm like, "My blue eyes." Yeah. She made-- Did you? Yeah. It's OK. It's funnier-- You were thinking of Frank Sinatra. Yeah. It's funnier when you deliver it. Oh, man. I believe it's a pet. I think it's a pet. I think it's a pet. I think it's a pet. I think it's a pet. It might be a security system, but it doesn't seem to pose a threat. I don't-- I'm gonna go up to it and maybe touch the top one. What the heck? As you get closer, the, uh, the eyes seem to track you. And you go up and touch it. And right as you're about to touch it, the eyelid closes. So you touch the wall. And then as you pull your hand away, it reopens and is still looking at you. This seems somewhat familiar to you, Tolv. Is it a similar blue hue to my shield that allows me to see? Oh, it's recognizing me! 'Cause I'm a thaumatech. Your shield is glowing. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Are you-- are you-- hello? Is this-- is this one of you my brothers or sisters? Without a doubt. What? Which one? Norm? Ed? D.Va? Trey? Fyra? Fim? Sex? Stu? So we have a nickname for sex. We'll get into that later. Stu? Atta? It is certain. Atta? Do I need to go backwards? Yes, definitely. Okay. Good. So good to see you. Why do you look this way? Are the eyes similar to the size of Tolv's? For some reason in my mind, I'm imagining them large. But I guess, is it just like-- is it just like two normal thaumatech eyes? Yeah, I thought they were big, but-- I mean, they're kind of big. Why aren't they really answering you, though? Like-- Yeah. I mean, who they are? They don't-- they don't have a mouth. That you can see? Yeah. I just mean, like, you're-- you're asking which-- Wait, wait. Which sibling they are. Follow-- I want to follow Chris's logic. They weren't answering because of a mouth, but they were talking. So how are they talking? Yeah, okay, that's fair. Okay. Yeah, do I see any-- is this another NeoTO situation where there are body parts missing? You can only see eyes. Can I try something? Yeah. Go for it. I have this thing. It's called the Octopod of Obscura. Turns water into inquisitive ink. Dribbles some out. Ink flows towards hidden things and area. Oh, that's cool. Mm-hmm. And see if-- can I try that and see if there's anything hidden in this room that we're missing? Yeah. Or, like, there's more body parts or anything? Absolutely. Do you have to, like, say what you're looking for? Or just, like, it just flows to things that are hidden, right? It just says, yeah, things that are hidden. And I roll-- I have four d6, I think, per long rest. So I'll roll. Let's see if it uses one of them. It's a three. So does that mean it's used up? One to two exhausts it. So no, three does not. Oh, OK. Yeah, so you pour out the Octopod of Obscura on the ground, and it slowly flows. I was going to say rolls. It flows in the direction of the wall where the eyes are. And just as a reminder, this level is carved out. It looks like an archaeological dig of some kind. So this is like that other leg that we found way, way back. We need to-- maybe the rest is still in stone. It's time for a dig. Dig. Yes, uh, uh, dear family member, blink twice if you need, like, to be freed because you're trapped in this wall. Outlook? Good. Oh, no. Okay. I think, uh, guys, I think that they are in a bit of a crisis situation where they're not thinking or responding correctly. So if you guys wouldn't mind helping me get my family member out. I don't know. I don't know how well it's coming across, so I feel compelled to mention it. Every time it's replying, it's a different voice. Interesting. So is it multiple family members? Okay. Or something weird's happening with, like, his voice box? Yeah, it's a real bumblebee from Transformers situation. Yeah, I mean, Doug, I feel like you would be very helpful for this. Do you have any sort of machinery, like, gambot to do anything to help me excavate my family member? Yeah, absolutely. Why don't I take a look? Permission to come check you out, Ada? As I see it, yes. Okay. That was a verbal yes, so I'm coming over. Could Doug, like, I guess, check out mechanically how this is functioning and if there's, like, a piece out of whack or anything like that? Because, I mean, he has spent time with Tolv and also Neo, Tio, and all those other siblings, so I feel like Doug would have a pretty good understanding of, like, how the Thaumatite. Thaumatech form would be and all the parts and pieces and stuff. Yeah, I think that it's a, you know, it's technology that's, I don't want to say it's beyond Doug, but it's, like, it's very complicated, very powerful technology. But like you said, you have spent a lot of time with it. So while you don't have the ability to build a Thaumatech per se, you understand the ins and outs and, like, more or less how it all connects and how everything works. So, you know, you poke around a bit and, you know, try to see what's going on. Take me an intelligence check, Doug, with advantage because of your Thaumatech knowledge. Okay. Yes, I have caught Doug looking at me when I am in a trance. Yes, I'm studying. Uh, 21. Nice. 21, that's really good. Yeah, you know, you trace the outline of the eyes and, you know, try to touch the wall and ascertain what's going on around you. And from your perception, what appears to you is that this Thaumatech is buried in the wall. And only the eyes have been excavated so far, that if you continue the excavation behind it, that you will uncover more of it. Okay, I think I have in my inventory, let's see, I could have sworn I had, like, a pickaxe, but maybe I don't. Yeah, yeah, I have a, I have smithing tools and I have a, uh. I do have a pickaxe, okay. You did buy some from Claudia. Yeah, and anyway, I got a drill. Yeah, I already have a pickaxe, smith tools, and I think also a heavy-duty drill as well in my inventory. I believe you got that pickaxe under Fort Andridge, if I'm remembering right. I did, yeah. I think, yeah, uh, you got that a long time ago. And I have a war pick, a wafting war pick. Could I gently try to, like, excavate the rest of, uh, this Thaumatech? Yeah. Tolv, I promise I'll be gentle, okay? I won't hurt your sibling. I'm not worried about it. No, you are very gentle. It's okay, dog. I'm, I'm gonna help in any way I can. I'm just gonna provide assistance. Yeah, uh, you begin slowly, uh, picking at it. You know, it, yeah, as you begin uncovering it, you start to realize the scope of the work. And you think it's gonna take some time, you know, to get it all done. It's not impossible, but it will take a little bit of time working at it in order to get it all excavated. Well, I mean, I got time. Okay, yeah, you begin picking at the rubble around Ada and make me a. Dexterity saving throw, Doug. Saving throw, okay. Gonna use my inspo, Doug, 'cause I was an 11. Whoa! Yes! A nat 20 for a 22. Ooh, okay. Yeah, as you're picking at it, you feel a small, a slight rumble in the wall and in the ground under your feet. And you dodge out of the way just in time as a large piece of the ceiling falls and collapses right where you were standing just a second ago. I, I swear I didn't do that. Uh, how was that, uh, are they further buried into the rubble, or was this just a. No, that frees Ada. The collapse of the ceiling causes part of the wall to fall as well, which allows Ada to roll out from the wall. And now you can fully see Ada before you, and you see Ada has a sphere-shaped body and is cart-sized, and appears to be made out of some kind of black metal with a central circular display of two square eyes made of sapphire, with one on top of the other, and Ada begins rolling around, moving around the ground. Did Ada always look like that? Ada sounds like a Star Wars droid. Yeah, they do. Oh, Cho, what's up? How are you? I go in for a hug. You go in and, and feel the cool metal, uh, sphere that is, uh, your sibling, Ada. Oh, so good to see you. What, what are you doing down here, Ada? The eyes just blink. Do I remember if Ada's always had difficulty communicating, or is this a new, like, symptom of something? I, I'll say this. You look at Ada, and they reply to you. Concentrate and try again. Are they like a magic, they're a magic 8-ball. They're a magic 8-ball. I just got it now. They're a orb with the eyes on top of the other, looking like an 8. With an 8. 8, yeah. Guys, I, I, I should tell you this. Ada is, uh, a little quirky, okay? They're not very straightforward, but they're very good people, okay? Everybody say hi to Ada. Hi, Ada. Hello, Ada. Say hi to Ada. Nattie goes up and, and shakes Ada. You gotta ask a question when you do it. Yeah, and says, "Are you gonna come to my wedding?" And then, Nattie waits. It is decidedly so. Oh, great. Also, what does the head count at your wedding, my god? Inviting people willy-nilly? Hey, Ada, have you seen a, a very, very-- It's your family. I'm sorry. It's your family, Tove. I'm inviting your family, and you're mad at me? No, not at all. I, I hope you can invite all 11 of my brothers and sisters, but gee whiz, like-- Exactly. That's a ton of people. That's very expensive. You, you must have come from wealth. Blaine would know firsthand how expensive having a lot of guests at a wedding is. Is it plated, or is it like, you know-- Uh, uh, uh, Ada, have you by any chance seen a very, very, very handsome frog-like guy-- Walking around here? Yeah, not that one. Not-- Yes. I mean, you know. I, I did say very, very handsome. Stars. Point. Yes. Oh. I didn't realize you had lungs. Don't count on it. Oh. Can I, can I examine Ada? Like, I know that they're, this is how they communicate. Are they damaged from this? You, you think this must be some kind of new symptom, right? Like, Ada wasn't always like this. That, uh, Ada used to be able to talk more. This, something must have happened to her. kind of new symptom, right? Ada used to be able to talk more. Something must have happened. Okay. Hmm. Should I continue checking out their voice box? That's something I could do. And if you need any spare parts, I will donate any of them. Blaine's doing the robot as he sits there. He's doing the C-3PO is what he's doing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you want, you can make some kind of check on that. Intelligence? I'm trying to see what would make sense. I guess intelligence would make the most sense. Okay. 19? You get through there, you know, take a look at the workings of Ada's voice box and try to see, you know, how everything connects to each other. But it doesn't quite make sense to you. Everything is wired the way it should be. You know, you can see that it's working and you can't just figure out why the vocabulary is limited. Hmm. Typical IT problem. Yeah, typical. Does this seem like something that's like a life-threatening thing or is this just kind of a new thing that they're going to have to deal with? I mean, Ada's rolling around and seems, from what you can tell, seems fine. Just limited speech. It's BB-8 ball. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It flicks out a lighter and gives you a thumbs up. What did they say earlier about if they saw Bunlap? They said. Signs point to yes? Yes, yes. Okay. Signs point to yes, but yeah. Ada, would you want to join? Oh, by the way, quick catch-up. I've run into some family members. Elva, Neo, and Tio, they're in good health. Things are going well. Here are their body parts. You know who? There's a finger. We've been doing a cute little trade thing any time we run into family members. We'll worry about that later. Let's get you out of this cave eventually. But you and I can do a little trade. That way it's like we have a little piece of each other to continue our journeys. So, yeah. Yeah, as you're saying this, something enters your memory banks. Oh. And your vision goes a little wonky, Tolf. Your vision changes, and you get a little further information. You understand a little bit more about Ada, I should say. Hold on, buffering. Hold on, hold on, buffering. We just see his eyeballs with the little swirly thing of loading. 63%. 70. 71. 80. 82. 90. 99. 100. Okay, player it is. Okay, okay. You should have buffered on 99 for about 10 minutes. I could tell Sean was seething. I didn't want to do it. You see the last few seconds of reality that you experienced, but slightly different. The places where Doug and Gunther are standing are swapped. - And this is something that Tolv sees happen? - Only Tolv sees, yeah. - So I get a, is it, and it's from Ada's perspective and it's. - It's your perspective. Like you're standing there in the same spot, but from what you can see, Doug and Gunther are in different spots. They swapped places and then you catch back up to reality and you look at them and they're where you remember them being. - Okay. - Could we sense if there's any like, like something in the air or in this like area that we are in that might be like infecting? - Are you asking if there's something in the air tonight? - I mean, it's still in my head, guys. I can't shake it. - Question to Nadi. Did Gigi put a fridge magnet on the back of my head and I just can't see it back there? I'm feeling a little loopy. - What is it you just experienced? Because I don't know what it is that you just experienced. - Yeah, so I just noticed that Ad is a little off and I was looking at Gunther and Doug and I think that they just swapped places, but then they swapped back. So I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I don't know what's going on. - Like a glitch almost. - Yeah. - Was it like we swapped where we were standing or the things that we were. - Yeah, you swapped where you were standing, yes. - Okay. - Maybe look elsewhere and see if it happens again. - Make a history check for me, Tolv. - History check. Oh, not bad, 17. - Am I Doug? - You got the fur on still. - You wish. - 17 on the history check from Tolv. Tolv, you recalled that Adda was built and designed to predict the future. - Oh, okay. Yeah, I share that with the team. So. - What is that? I mean, are we. - There's no fate but what we make. - What's the. - Yeah, I think that's it. - Well, yeah, 'cause like if he did that and then we're like, oh, well then let's switch spots. - Let's switch spots. - I guess so. - Should we change clothes too? - Well, I don't know if I wanna wear your underwear, Gunther. - Okay, okay. Just get in your wedding attire. Yeah, you two switch spots, but nothing seems to happen. Tolv, you suspect that maybe it's a slight malfunction. Maybe Adda's not seeing the future correctly, question mark? - Maybe Adda's seeing possibilities. - Or just that their visions of the future is somehow being manipulated or skewed because of like some type of malfunction. - Well, yeah, yeah. I think that's part. If Adda is a computer, is a robot, and has a computer mind, and Adda was designed to see the future, then what a computer can do is just take all the data that's coming in and make predictions. But that prediction process would involve them making all the predictions and then narrowing it down to the most likely one. And so if they're not. - Hold that thought, Steve Wozniak. Oh yes, what's going on, Adda? - I think they have a virus. - It's Giggys coughing uncontrollably. - Oh, that's okay. Just give him a second, he'll get it out. - Did you eat more gold? - I'll just pack him on the back. - He spits up a saliva-covered rock. - Oh. Is it gold? - No, it's just a plain rock. - Oh, 'cause wasn't he eating all the gold before to keep inside him? - Normally he don't cough it up. Normally he passes it pretty well. - Well, earlier when we were talking to Adda, they started going, "Ah, ah, ah." - Could I look at the rock? - Yeah, Doug. By the way, we're taking inspiration after remembering that. That's pretty good. - Also, I think, Gunther, you're also a pretty big expert on rocks, so you want to take a look at this with me? - I do like pebbles. - You do. But this seems immortal. - Oh, pebbles. - Yes. - Giant pebble. - It's a big rock. - That's a Dwayne Johnson. - You go over and take a look at the rock, and it appears to be like a brownish-red rock with almost like a swirling sort of texture. - Gunther, do you recognize this? - Do I? Do I? Can I, uh, I don't know, what would be a history or a? - Nature check. - Nature, nature, okay. 14? Not bad. - You don't recognize it, but it does appear to be similar to other rocks in the area, in this excavation area. Natty, make me a perception check. - I have a feeling these rocks are making us sick. - 13 plus three, 16. - Giggie seems like he's acting kind of weird. - Giggie, you want to talk to mama? You want to try, you want to try to tell him what's going on? - He's sitting on the ground with his arms outstretched. It seems like he's trying to reach towards the ceiling. - I think he wants up ease. - Like, directly up and, 'cause, up ease is more like arms towards the person you want. - It's not up ease. He's like grabbing at something that you can't see. - Okay, Natty would look up in that direction to see if she could follow his line of sight. - You follow his line of sight and he's just, there's nothing there. It's just a plain patch of the ceiling. - Okay, here's what Natty's gonna do. Natty's gonna pick up Giggie. Is the ceiling, is this room like fairly tall? - No, it's pretty small 'cause it's being excavated out. So it's a pretty low ceiling. - Give me a height. - Six feet. - Oh, very, very. So, okay, well then I'll just pick him up. - I had mentioned it only in passing, I think in the previous episode, but these passages are small. Like almost, like they were carved out for small folk. - That makes sense, in a mine. Yeah, you don't carve out more than you need. - They called it a mine. - I'll lift him up. See if like his hands reach what they're reaching for. - Yeah, he grabs something that you can't see and then just starts like shoveling it into his mouth. Like he's eating the air. - Is there a chance that Natty could try to touch what it is that like he's grabbed? Like is it tangible to Natty? - Yeah, you reach out there and it seems to just be air. And as you do that, Giggie begins slapping your hands away. - Oh. - Oh. - Does he just wanna eat more of the rock? - Make me a medicine check, Natty. - All right. That's another 13. What's my medicine modifier? Nothing, 13. - You think that maybe he's under some kind, seeing things that you can't see. Almost like there's some sort of hallucinogenic effect that he's suffering from. - Okay. - Oh. - Hold on. - Even though he spat out the rock? - Yeah. - So maybe if Giggie's seeing something, Tolv, maybe you're seeing something and- - Did you eat rock? - Yeah, did you eat rock? - Did you eat rock? I want that on the shirt. - I don't know. This is really perplexing. We got Giggie glitching out. We got Tolv glitching out. And we got a new robot buddy. - Gunther eats the rock. - All right. - Willingly. - Gunther, you go and eat the rock. - I don't normally eat rock. - Yeah, because we're organic creatures. - Am I gonna be the only sober one here and have to take you guys all through like your trip? - Tolv, hit us with your mushroom glove. - You see your friends in front of you, staring at you in disbelief as you eat this rock, Gunther. And you're looking at Atta, and Atta looks weird. - Can I voice what I see? - Let me slack it to you. - Okay. That way they can, party can hear. Oh, guys, I see Atta. They are growing arms, eight arms, like octopus. And, uh-oh, uh-oh, oh no. Watch out, there's blood flowing out of the walls. There's blood flowing out. Oh, oh no, everyone, the blood is everywhere. Swim, put on your goggles. - I think you're hallucinating. You're hallucinating, Gunther. Spit the rock out. - Doug will try to do the Heimlich maneuver on Gunther, trying to get it out. - You grab Gunther. I'll say there's no problem, 'cause he's a little freaked out right now. And begin squeezing at him, and he spits the rock out onto the ground, and it dribbles around. - Okay, there you go. Oh, cough it up. Good, good. - Oh, I was freaking out, man. - I've got a pet, and if you do and you're like me, you love 'em, and you'll do anything for them. You don't even think about it. In my case, small dog. In your case, maybe a dog, maybe a different animal, maybe a big dog, who knows? But you know what it's like. You're their world. You're all they have, and you're probably willing to do anything for them. You know I am willing to do anything for my dog. Well, today's episode is sponsored by the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program. If you've ever found yourself awake at 2:00 a.m., phone in hand, Googling things like, "Is this normal for dogs?" Or, "Do I need to call the vet right now?" You're not alone. 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propels you propel with gatorade electrolytes so you you have described like the rocks around this area in that that a similar like hue description of reddish it's like reddish red and so in but you said this one the rock itself had a swirl to it is that swirl consistent with other things in the wall or does that rock seem to be different from the rest of the general detritus when you see these rocks they all kind of have that similar kind of texture okay and it's not every rock it's like you know there's different kinds of rocks in the wall and different you know ores and uh veins but it's not it's not uncommon it's not uncommon right okay it's it's pretty common yeah hey ada yeah i couldn't get you said ocho a second ago it broke my brain ada that's their nickname that's what friends call them yeah yeah that's fine that's fine it works do you perhaps know anything about these rocks you seem to have spent a lot of time on them i don't know i don't know a lot of time with them a little too much time if you're asking me wait wait wait one moment dove were you always purple no wait hi there it's me doug yes why are you green green i mean natty you're blue and i don't mean sad but like literally blue why is everyone different colors i think i think he's still kind of tripping out he might have licked himself to add compounding and uh natty you asked ada if they knew anything about these rocks or they'd seen these rocks i just said they knew anything about them i know this is a yes and no kind of situation so we're gonna have to narrow it down my reply is no okay okay we we came down the spiral vader and we obviously immediately were interested in these eyes in the wall is this a closed off room is this the end of the mine or is there further corridors out of here so is this closed off mine are there further corridors out of here like our did we come down the elevator and this is just the room is this and there's no exits other than going back up the the spiral vader yeah it is certain i wasn't asking this i like that i was asking gus this and i got ada answer that's why i was like that's why i restated your question to try to shape into yes or no okay okay that makes sense wait so then what did you say yes to because i think i asked more than uh what are we in a closed off room this is the yeah okay okay okay thank you broke my brain oh so there's a little joe pesci from lethal weapon 2 there okay okay okay okay uh can tolv tell if the i just spit all over my microphone if the red rocks are what is causing ada's kind of like dysfunction or if this is a sub if this is something more to do with their do we just need to like blow on ada a lot that's a good question take them out of here yeah that's a good question also make a medicine check tolv okay robot medicine robot medicine 12 well for tolv it's just medicine you think that it's something separate the rocks probably have nothing to do with ada's current state okay i think we should uh scooby-doo out of here is a okay so gigi was tripping because gigi ate that rock same with gunther so we know there's a high chance that these rocks have like some sort of psychotropic properties to them so let's just keep that in mind gigi gigi only eat you can eat everything but those rocks okay you get you i've i don't say no to you on anything but i'm saying i might be worded a little differently oh make a roll to see if gigi listens yeah i'm gonna make a check i i this is i this is um natty normally doesn't like to say no to her baby her perfect angel her light of her life the guy the little the little man who could do no wrong but you know i gotta worry about him having you know he's a little young for drugs he can do a little wrong dang it i rolled a two rock's going in yep all right okay uh i'd say that the current rock is out of reach since uh gunther spit it out natty she takes the leash and does that thing where she wraps around her hand a couple times yeah just to really like short the dutch maneuver yeah and get a good grip on it to like she just knows she's gonna have to pull this child away real fast gigi isn't very receptive to you telling him no but that's fine natty this might be a prime opportunity for a life lesson with gigi oh no what they might it might help you know reinforce that sometimes he has to listen even though he doesn't agree with you or he doesn't want to do what you say that sometimes maybe mama knows best for him i'm i'm conflicted because that's not how natty parents but this was a one-time exception this was a different thing how about this if natty doesn't want to tell gigi what to do necessarily on a regular basis but natty wouldn't mind gigi understanding the effects that certain things can have on him so then he can make a choice of what he wants to do if he wants to eat the trippy rocks as long as he understands what they're going to do to him you know sure so this is maybe um this is this is a hard lesson a hard lesson okay because this is uh like you said this isn't something that's normally necessary in the wheelhouse of how you how you approach this it's like the more you know about like taking large amounts of information in and figuring out the consequences good or bad is it possible for uh doug to put gambot next to gigi so natty could teach both of them this lesson you can program your little dude you literally have you literally made him well i just feel like a motherly touch would be nice for gambot all right yeah we'll do a separate upgrades with gambot uh later dc 16 wisdom check yes what is natty's this is advanced doomsday philosophy for those keeping track at home natty has no wisdom modifier plus zero all right 16 that's a 13 okay he ain't learned anything new today but he's still perfect gigi goes back to the rock grabs it and just holds on to it is it kind of like when a child is like threatening something where they go ah no he's just like defiantly holding on to it just like it's his that's fine that's fine that's fine with me okay you want that rock you can have that rock okay just don't give it a gun through anymore i'm gonna say though that in order to grab the rock gigi is finally going to drop the rock what this is now more important to gigi the whole time oh my goodness yes and i pick up the axe and i give it to captain grumbles so that he has an axe and shield now oh nice all right cam grumbles you gotta hold on to that because i'm pretty sure if i remember correctly we're supposed to give that axe back eventually to its owner so now it's in your care and now captain grumbles refuses to drop it rigamortis has set in yeah from one child to the other his arm is straight out just holding it yeah before before we go could gunther collect a couple more of those rocks just to there's addicted guys you absolutely can but just so you know chris left gunther they're everywhere they're they're a common stone you've seen them in every room in the mind you've been in okay well yeah i'll just take a cup not for me it's for a friend okay okay yeah grab a couple rocks and hold on to them as you were picking up these rocks gunther one rock in particular stands out it's slightly different than all the other rocks oh it's an unusually smooth stone and it feels out of place compared to every other rock you've seen here everything else is very rough you know it's all been excavated this one is very smooth and it's got names etched into it croak folk names etched into it near the names of those who fallen in battle oh do i recognize them the names you don't recognize the names necessarily but you do know that this is a tradition uh over from bygone grotto in fly flats is is it maybe something that bunlap had on him that he dropped you must have you can if you want to read some of the names you can read some of the names yes i will honor them yeah that's up to you yeah yeah yeah no yeah i will okay okay but are you gonna slack them to me or no no it's you make them up oh oh yeah that's why i was like it's up to you no no yeah yeah yeah yes yes slonker slonker slonker yes and then slonker and puddle whack was puddle whack killed by a goggle no no no it was a great tragedy puddle whack what happened is he was out and there was a construction error and he was crushed while just in the walking around tragic tragic and then pickles pickles yes who could forget pickles i honor them all just the three well no i think i'll continue uh it's uh it's peaches on there i think i see at least seven uh count count con con count he was a count count i'm writing these i don't know why i'm writing these down i don't know i can hear typing i can hear so much typing this is importance lord and gunther's people and then and then of course harriet harriet oh yes i heard she was a spy yep there it is spelt with a z i'm glad you're writing down because i wasn't and i'm i got it i got it well may they rest in peace yes they have gone now to give themselves to the wilder flower should we maybe take this rock and and give it back to bunlap when we find him i could give it to him okay because you know i think he might be really thankful that you know someone found it and maybe he'll give them a hug he wants to give a gift to the hot frog i was wondering what the angle was he wants bunlap to like him listen you can't take bart out of me ever that's really funny i well i think what we have ahead of us is a couple of options but the main ones we just gotta go back up because there ain't nowhere else we can go down here but we can go back up to the level where we met our good friend uh kleiner you know i honestly blaine's joke has helped me remind remind me of that guy's name recliner kleiner kleiner and there was a there was a path there that we hadn't explored yet so maybe we could exhaust that before we go up up to the cape what y'all say about that i'm super diggity down ada do you want to join us not likely oh i haven't had enough told well that's too bad because i need to get you to the surface to make sure you're safe at okay error error error wait ada do you want to stay down here in this hole some say yes some say no hmm how very insightful ada you're so quirky oh my god what a hoot and a holler ada do you want to leave this hole but not with us like you got other plans most likely okay okay okay i get it you you know we all need our alone time we all got our own our own things to do tov did you do a swap you already no um i guess ada you know that's if that's your thing i guess we freed you i know you're very capable of handling yourself so um is it cool with you if we swapped components that way when you see our you know brothers and sisters and siblings they'll know we we encountered each other and i can show off proof of life it is oh big hug big hug what what components are there on ada i'm trying to think of oh i saw john i saw john pennebaker pantomiming over there chris i don't know what's wrong with you well your butt cheek is round uh but john's pantomiming to his eye yeah i'd be down for that ada is he comfortable with that if we switch ocular components cool i don't remember that one on a magic eight ball that one i i laughed and i farted a little bit i'm gonna let you know you john or natty that was john that was john saying i laughed and i said i farted giggie you want to see something crazy i take off the bjorn mask and i remove he begins clapping and i remove an eyeball which one my right one okay he starts reaching for the left one i was gonna say he's trying to eat that eyeball and i push them away if giggie's hands weren't full with rock right now he maybe he would be doing that all right so you you pull your right eye out and swap it with ada yeah all right so yeah now you've got a like a blue sapphire eye in your right eye you got some heterochromia cool an eye for an eye but like the good kind like it's cool yeah yeah all right anyways okay well i give ada one big hug and then i also relay where elva neo and tio are that way if they want to regroup with them and uh i i wish them safe passage good good luck on your journeys no more getting caught in any more caves okay ada yes definitely okay all right carry on see you later pal let's rock and roll do their rocks and then at the rolls that's pretty good i didn't you like that that was a whole like a a really stacked pun that you had there gunther it's so multi-level yeah nice nice all right what's the plan here what are we what are we doing back up to kind of level does it go down a little bit down deeper but there's no other places down here because i we were told or it was hinted at that he was or bunlap was seen down here but i guess he could have easily gone somewhere else or upwards so yeah there are no other exits other than the spiral vader to go back up i guess we technically asked should we go up or down and they said down but that that meant maybe we should go down to get to help ada or just yeah maybe that's where he had saw bunlap at one point and then no no clina clina didn't know to be very clear clina didn't know where bunlap went guys i missed clina we asked augury and augury was like yes right my bad that's fine just want to clarify when i can see confusion happening i'm like let's let's unravel this let's unravel yeah and and in augury's defense you did find evidence of bunlap being here too that's true yeah i got i got to rock all right so what order are you guys going back up the spiral vader is it the same sure okay uh yeah so we got uh tolv and gunther first then captain grumbles and giggy and then thank you natty and doug have you guys noticed how fortunate it is whenever i encounter a sibling it's in numerical order going backwards isn't that isn't that fun isn't that cool the universe is a weird place isn't it yes it is what does that mean eight that is eight oh i didn't know that yeah so far we've had elva neo to and now i love when we meet tolv siblings that's my favorite well also barb uh it plays into the whole eight ball thing yeah yeah it's sometimes barbara operates at a slower speed certain days that's one of today's first i had it in my head that atto was one for some reason i don't know why it seemed like a very one number that's ed you'll run into ed later they're a hoot and a holler hmm you all get back up to the i guess what you'd call the main level of the spiral vader the middle level of the spiral vader uh and you reconvene there the body of client is still there doug i don't know what it is you're getting kind of kind of peckish a little hungry oh what else is new maybe it's all these these people eating rocks for dougie to rock do you want the rock as a meat grinder you're a bad influence right now on me gunther i saw what it did to you but that is looking quite delectable maybe i just had a bad one these are different i mean you don't have to eat a rock but i mean rocks right can i just pick it up and just give it a little lick to this man go ahead i just want to just a little just i mean what bad could a little just a little taste do yeah there might be blood on the walls well i'll try not to take one of those rocks take the rock from gunther and hold it and regard it and uh you give it a try for science right you know of course science yeah i'm experimenting your vision changes oh guys i don't feel so good is the room swirling and changing for anyone else and just is that snow i i thought we're underground that doesn't make any sense it could be snowing in here it's all over the ground now trees are spouting up oh trees are nice oh my oh and they're so tall they're reaching the sky these are really big trees i feel really small right now and that's a rarity guys i don't feel is anyone there all right we are here am i am i here i think i'm disappearing dog you're no you're here did i accidentally take my gashes form potion again oh no oh dog i think i'm floating away guys somebody hold on to me i get in doug's face and go nightmare nightmare nightmare cut to reality and natty is just holding doug's hand and like walking along with him and he's just like saying all this as his head is like rolling around everywhere they're getting dragged along the floor yeah yeah yeah you're holding me i i think i missed i got you i got you buddy i got you it's just gonna you're gonna ride this out okay i'm gonna perform a procedure that you might find uncomfortable no i'm back I'm good. Oh, you are? Okay. Sorry, I sensed you were about to give me mouth-to-mouth. It was not mouth-to-mouth. Oh. Well, actually, okay. Let's see what it was. The danger was not worth it. Get Bunlap to do the mouth-to-mouth quick. Okay, I think I'm okay. But, I mean, Gunto, if you want to try it, you're going to try it. Well, I don't. No, not if you don't need. If the rock has passed, then I will not do it. I think it has. Boy, that was kind of cool, not going to lie. Freaking out, man. Weird show. Could we, since we're now at level lobby, can we go to see what that passageway leads to, to the east? Okay, yeah. You look to the corridor to the east, and it appears to be an excavated corridor that's well-finished. It's a high ceiling, and it's exceptionally warm and moist. There's an old wooden ladder leaning against the wall, and it leads to the sound of, Like scampering footsteps and some kind of clicking. Tell us more about this ladder. Is it like a diagonal ladder or a B-Downies ladder? No, no. It's just, it is no diagonal ladder, diagonal stairs. What was the thing? It's a diagonal ladder. It was a ladder. He was saying that he could walk down a diagonal ladder with a bow and hand. And you go, diagonal ladder, yes. You mean stairs. No. Diagonal ladder. You pass through into the next room and you find yourself in a great hall. Via the ladder or past the ladder? You find it past the ladder. Okay, so above the ladder we heard skittering, past the ladder into a great hall. No, past the ladder you hear the skittering. Okay, thank you. It's just the ladder's leading there by the corridor. You pass the ladder into the great hall and you hear the scampering of footsteps and the occasional clicking sound. It's a painting of sparse treasure vault hanging on the west wall and a painting of the Sleen Sea leaning on the east wall and a fishing rod handle dangles from the fishing line that disappears into the vaulted ceiling. Some of those Goliaths you met earlier frantically come and go in and out of the hall. Seem like a gathering place with a bunch of stuff that they've stacked up in here. Maybe, yeah. Is this an alternate entrance into the great hall that we saw that Natty did the whole deception thing to the Ugarians? No, that was a banquet hall. Oh, silly me. I'm so trash person. It's like a mediocre. It's a mediocre hall. Out of this room, you see for the exits, of course, there's the corridor you came through. There's a tunnel to the east and what appears to be a water slide in the northwest. Wow. Tunnel to the east. Water slides. Okay. Go up the Goliaths that are there. Yeah. Are they the ones we saw before or are they new ones? This is not the one you saw before. Oh, man. I was hoping. Sleepy Z. Hello. One of them stops and looks at you and says, What are you doing here? Yes. Are you here to take our gold? Not at all. We are here to help you find your leader, Belder. Belder? How do you know about Belder? Well, because we're here to help find them. That's how I know. I could not find someone that did not know who I was looking for. I was wondering, have you seen a frog that somewhat looks like me? Why don't you make me a deception check to lead that off there, Chris? He uses somewhat very liberally because, I mean, it's night and day. I mean, this other frog. Wow. Ten out of ten. Yeah, you would remember this one. I trust me. Eleven. Oh, no. Hmm. I don't think you're here for Belder. I think you're here looking for that frog. Well, the frog might know where Belder is. So I'm trying to find the frog to then. I love the circular logic. Ah, from Gunther. Chris, make me a luck check. Let's call it a luck check. Roll me a d20. Oh, another luck check. Luck, luck, luck. Also, if you met this frog, you would want to be looking for them as well. Trust me. Ooh, 17. Very lucky. Oh, looks like you, but way more handsome? Exactly. Glad we're all on the same page here. Yeah, yeah. The last I heard, he was upstairs somewhere in the keep. He's staying away from our gold, as you would be wise to as well. For sure. For sure. And do you know who took Belder? Well, no. If we knew that, we'd be able to find Belder. That's fair. That's a good point. But you're here to find Belder, so you say. Wink. Yeah, well, indirectly. Yes. Indirectly. Anyone else have any questions for. What was your name? The name's Rooster. What's your name? Chase. The name's Rooster Cockfeather, which seems a little. We're going to go with Rooster. Yeah, I'm Gunther. Gunther. Friends of Sleepy Z. Oh, you know Sleepy Z? Yeah. Oh, I see more like acquaintances. What's he up to? Is he sleeping? Probably. He gives you a fist. He puts out his fist for a fist bump. I do it and it knocks Gunther back in. Hey, what's that for? Now he points to the fish hook. Oh, that's very important to us gold chasers. You see. That allows us to summon the golden rod. Skull chasers, you said? Gold chasers. Gold chasers. Gold chasers. I heard. Ain't that like a weed? Is it? Golden rod? Yeah, it's a weed. Oh, I thought you were asking gold chasers. No, no. No, no. That summons the golden rod. Yeah, that didn't answer my question. Is that a weed? Is that a person's name? Oh, I see. I thought that was John making a comment that golden rod was a weed. Totally misunderstood. You don't know of the golden rod? Oh, you're in for a treat. That's a very important deity to us. God, it's just popping up everywhere like weeds. Yeah, now that you're looking at it, you can see this fishing rod, like the handle that's dangling from a fishing line that disappears into the ceiling. And the rod itself, now that he says that, you realize the rod is made of solid gold. And it's going up? Yeah, the fishing line disappears into the ceiling. And occasionally, as you're looking at it, the rod like whirs and zips and clicks. And, you know, makes noises. This is an actual physical thing that's in front of us? Yeah, it's hanging from the ceiling. So there's a painting of it, and then there's also the physical rod itself. There are, so there are two different paintings. There is a painting of a sparse treasure vault hanging on the west wall. And there's a painting of the Slean Sea leaning up against the east wall. The fishing rod handle is dangling from a fishing line that disappears into the ceiling. So there's a painting on the west wall, painting on the east wall, fishing rod dangling from the ceiling. So. Roaster, what would happen if I pulled that rod? Well, if you reel it in, you would summon the golden rod. Am I allowed to do that? Because I'm quite curious. Well, that's up to you. Don't, you know, it would be wise to not waste the golden rod's time. Well, I'm not a time waster. That's very presumptuous of you to think that my time is a waste of their time. Well, you all are wasting my time right now. And we've reached the point where Gus bleeds into the water. And we've reached the point where Gus bleeds into the character. You know, I think we should meet this here golden rod character. We have a friend who is in the market for a new deity. I was going to say, maybe you guys meet this golden rod and I'll just kind of hang back. I don't want to give the wrong impression. No, no, no, no. I have the sea drinker. Me and the sea drinker are like besties. Oh, my God. The best. So, like, I think you would be cool if you got out there and met a new deity. I don't know. I don't know. A wildflower would like that. I wonder if the wildflower's not here to see anything. They will see it. They know all things. No, they're fine. You're fine. Go ahead. Okay, let's go to the golden rod. Give me golden rod. Natty jumps up and starts reeling it in. Okay. Rooster sees you start reeling it in and he makes himself busy walking to and fro doing various things in the room. You can begin reeling in the reel and it's like you're reeling in a fish. It gives you a little bit of fight, but eventually you're able to get it in. It's okay. I've played a lot of Stardew Valley. I got this. I got this. Is there like a meter that you have to press? Yeah, there's a little up and down. Oh, a little treasure chest showed up. I got to get that too. Let me see. Uh-oh. Every game's fishing mechanic is different. It's so funny. It took me a long time to get the one on Stardew figured out. I was terrible at it for a long time. You eventually reel it far enough and out from the ceiling pops a tiny fish with its mouth hooked by a floating golden rod. You got the golden. Howdy. Why? Do you think? Summon the golden rod. I'm already a fan of you. I got to say that. Well, of course you are. Wow. Are you talking like that because you got the rod or like the hook in your mouth or is that just the way you talk? I'm a little tongue-tied at the moment. Need some help down there. Could I unhook them from the hook? No, no. Oh. Thou shall not puff the golden rod. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. It's cool. It's chill. Hey, golden rod. My name is Tov. This is my friend. Have you met my friend Gunther? No. I'm Nunther. No, his name's Gunther. Don't, don't. He's real shy. Golden rod. You should meet my friend. Pleasure to meet you, Gunther Nunther. I don't care. It's not a pleasure to me. You're displeasure. You are not my patrons. Why do you summon the golden rod? That is for sure. I guess the golden rod would look at you, Natty. You have the rod. in your hands. I'm just like waiting for these. These two kids. So, you might have, you might, you're probably familiar with, you seem to be one of the great gods, right? Like, a real important god, yeah? I'm getting that vibe off you. It's wafting off of you. None are greater than the golden rod. There you go. There you go. We're in the presence of something amazing. Praise beats the golden rod. No. So, you ever met the steed? The silent steed? The silent steed. Thank you very much. We run in similar circles. Oh, do you? So, in what way? That makes me curious. We are work acquaintances. Okay, okay. Well, I'm, that's my wife, and so, I just wanted to kind of make that connection so you know I'm not just a rando. You're right, I'm not your patron, but I ain't just, I ain't just anybody, you know? So, we can maybe have a little bit of a conversation. Regarding? Do you know of the Wilder Shield? It's a very important artifact that's involved with the Wilder Flower, a lesser god, we'll say. Why, don't, hey! The Wilder Shield? That seems like something you would talk to the Chimera about. Is the Chimera another god, demigod, creature, bartender? The Chimera is a creature you will find here in Chimera Keep. I have a question, how many toes does Chimera have? Oh, one of those guys, huh? The Chimera has 17 toes. 17? Is he also purple, by any chance? No, the Chimera is not purple. Okay. Why are you asking purple? I don't, I don't think it's the guy you're looking for. Oh, oh, oh. Okay, and Chimera, what? Up in their keep right now, not down here in this mine area? Wandering around. Okay, okay. Wait, the 11-toed person that Gunther's looking for is also purple? I believe he said he was purple. Yeah, he said that. They have purple feet. Have we considered that they might have been stomping grapes right before the murders? Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Okay, so why does the Chimera, what's the association with the Chimera and the Wilder Shield? Because you're not the first person who said that. I care not for the Wilder Shield. I care for gold. Perhaps the Chimera, who spends time in the keep, will know more of what you see. Okay. Well, final question. You doing okay? Oh, you know, it's not too bad. Yeah? It's been pretty good, you know, just hanging out. And this isn't uncomfortable? This is like your thing? Like it's a piercing that you're cool with? This is the Golden Rod. Okay, and you're the Golden Rod as well? Yes. Do you eat gold? No. Oh, okay. Okay. Well, Natty would like flick, would like hold a gold coin. He's like, may I pay tribute? May I pay tribute? Oh, that's interesting. So you want to give? I want to live on good terms. So you want to give a piece of gold to the Golden Rod? Yeah, they said they like gold. Okay. Gold. And that's exactly where my brain went, Blaine. How much are you giving? I don't have a lot. See, I gave it all, 11 gold. You give 11 gold. So you're like, God, Natty, Natty, this is why we are always having to lend you money. Saving up for a marriage. Think of the wedding. Good Lord. You're inviting everyone. You guys keep worrying about it. You do understand that my wife is the god of death. She's got resources. More like your sugar mama. I mean, come on. Should we invite Rooster and Sleepy Z and Razzleberry? Oh, hey, Golden Rod, do you want to come to my wedding? Oh, my gosh. Oh, yes. Absolutely. Oh, great. Okay. She's just inviting everybody now. I feel like special. No, this makes sense. Ignore them. Ignore them. Okay. Bring a good gift. And so I give 11 gold to the Golden Rod. I say it's not much, but it's all I have. So it's a lot to me. Okay. Yeah. So he takes the 11 piece of gold to the Golden Rod, and with a flick, he tosses it over to the painting of the vault. Oh. Oh. So it's like a Mario situation. Yeah. Kind of. Yeah. What's on the other painting? It's an ocean or something? The Sleen Sea. Sleen? Yeah. S-apostrophe-L-E-E-N. Well, Natty would turn around to her party and be like, "Is there anything else you guys need to say to Golden Rod? Are we good here?" I'm good. Got anything to say? I say, uh, nothing. It was a good day. It was a good day. Yeah. Yeah. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. Bye! We're gonna work on that. Okay. Thank you, Golden Rod. All four of you make me a perception check. 16. 21. Nat, 24, 23. Five. I think Gunther's avoiding eye gaze, 'cause he doesn't want. you're like. yeah, you're, like, looking down at your feet. Yeah. Yeah, the Golden Rod kind of dives back into the ceiling and disappears. And as you're, you know, you're looking at the Golden Rod disappearing back into the ceiling, everyone except Gunther, there's some motion in the water slide that catches your attention. You see almost like a reflective image in the water, a beast of some kind looking at you. In the water at the bottom of the water slide or the water, like, rushing through the water slide? The water rushing through the water slide. Could I go up and take a closer look? Yeah. You go up and. And as you're approaching it, the beast begins, like, pacing back and forth, and then it slowly steps out from the water before you. Whoa. And it appears to be, like, a large fusion of three different beasts made up of some kind of multifaceted glass. Oh, the chimera. It's three-headed, two-winged, and one-tailed, and it looks at you, Doug, locks eyes with you, and with all of its heads, lets out a cacophonous, hideous animal roar. Ah! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Ah! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Aw! Aw! Aw! Aw! Aw! to get those and much more on sale. And did you know that the ultimate competition in Stinky Gaming is here? Four contestants, Blaine, Barb, me, and Gus, we face off each month in various games and battle for points all year long until one wins the Stinky Cup. It sounds grosser than it actually is. Join us each month in a different game with special bonus rounds available only to big stinkers and up at StinkyDragonPod.com. New episodes of Tales from Stinky Dragon premiere every other Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts and on the Stinky Dragon YouTube channel. Tired of waiting for the next adventure and looking for a quest? Join the ranks of the Stinky Dragon patrons at StinkyDragonPod.com to get early access to episodes and unlock a horde of exclusive treasures and powerful artifacts. For example, super stinkers and above get access to our members-only live streams and stinky community events. Come gather around the virtual heart with us and your steadfast companions for times of merrymaking, audience guests, and digital contests of Stinky. You can also receive a coveted shout-out on the show just like Thomas Grace, Otto Zamudio, Mori Mochi, and Dustin Badger. These patrons directly support the show and get access to all these perks and more on our Patreon, so stop missing out on the adventure. Become a patron today at StinkyDragonPod.com. Some NPCs were named after patrons from our Stinky Dragon Discord and some of our friends provide voices in this tale, including Bunlap, voiced by Devin Finn, who's at Devin underscore Crothers. The Silent Steed, voiced by Jessica Visami, at Jessica Visami. Kleina, named after Logie Jokelson, voiced by Corey Akagi. Atta, voiced by Mally Rust. The Golden Rod, voiced by Kristen Young, at Xjin Young. The Arrow this week was submitted by SmarshEqualsKing. This episode of Tales from Stinky Dragon was produced by Ben Hertz and Micah Reisinger, written and composed by Micah Reisinger, and edited by Alina Lekorchak. Join us in the tavern next time for another adventure of Tales from Stinky Dragon. Tales from Stinky Dragon! I guess ocho does mean eight. She's catching up from the last hour. What's funny, she has, like, really good memories, so you're, like, recalling everything we've said to them. Yeah. All the signs were there. It's like memento. It's all making sense. Wait, I don't want to be that guy. But this is the opposite of memento. Because he doesn't remember anything in that movie. Except all the photos. Well, those, yeah, they help. Make them connect. all the dots did you watch memento recently or something no it's it's probably been two decades since i've seen that movie that's an old movie don't believe his lies endless summer escapes start here travel the worlds of netflix irl inspired by fan favorites like stranger things and squid game brave the upside down face off with the front man play leveled up arcade games shop exclusive merch and enjoy themed food and drinks beat the heat play eat and shop on repeat at netflix house at galleria dallas bring your crew and save get your tickets today at netflix.com slash house labor day savings are happening now at the home depot with select appliances starting at 399 plus save up to an extra thousand dollars and get free delivery on appliance purchases of 998 or more get a whirlpool laundry tower you featuring industry-first uv clean technology designed to reduce bacteria in the wash without fading fabrics plus with great prices at the home depot you can save on select appliances designed to make laundry day easier shop labor day savings at the home depot today offer valid august 27th through september 16th us only see store online for details