A Heaping Helping of Trouble

0:00:00 Brennan: Hello, one and all, and welcome to another thrilling Dimension 20 Side Quest. I am your humble Dungeon Master, Brennan Lee Mulligan, here with a brand new season of this show set in a place that might seem a little bit familiar to some: Welcome to Pirates of Leviathan! I am so thrilled to be joined by our amazing players for this wonderful side quest. I'll go ahead and introduce them right now. First to the table, Ms. Marisha Ray!

0:00:31 Marisha: Oh, hello! [blows a kiss] Thanks for having me.

0:00:34 Brennan: Oh, thank you so much for being here. The wonderful Ms. Krystina Arielle!

0:00:40 Krystina: [waves, without inflection] Hi, I'm excited. Players laugh.

0:00:46 Brennan: Mr. Carlos Luna!

0:00:48 Carlos: Ahoy! Right? Pirate themed, right?

0:00:53 Brennan: Ahoy! You're exactly right! That's Pirate-y. Ms. Aabria Iyengar!

0:01:00 Aabria: Yar. Yar? I'm trying to-- I didn't know it was pirates before I got here. That's very exciting.

0:01:08 Brennan: We are flying by the seat of our pants. You guys have mere seconds to make those characters. Mr. Matthew Mercer!

0:01:16 Matt: Ahoy! Oh, shit, already taken. Uh, hi.

0:01:21 Brennan: And finally Mr. B. Dave Walters!

0:01:24 B. Dave: Thank you for having me, and I hope I pass the audition.

0:01:29 Brennan: For those watching you maybe noticed that we are not in our regularly scheduled dimensional dome. Indeed, if you are watching this years from now, congratulations on consuming a piece of legacy media from the time of COVID! [laughter] We are all very far distant from each other, safely recording in the confines of our lovely homes. Able to reach out to each other not with physical arms or hands but with the power of story itself. Which brings us to the business at hand. We indeed are setting forth on an adventure, not just an adventure, a voyage. On the far seas, and for the first time in Dimension 20 history, we are returning to a world but through a different window. For indeed, in the world of Spyre, a land of myth and legend and high fantasy, we are abandoning the far off land of Solace and its adventuring academies and instead flying over the vast Celestine Sea. Night and stars fade as the sun rises over the cresting waves, lighting the sky with red and orange, blue as gulls caw. Gulls far out on the open seas, where could they nest? And we see over the waves, the cresting mammoth, the Leviathan. A behemoth city of shipwrecks lashed together to and fro. Miles of wood and spires and masts and rigging and sails. The gulls fly overhead, as we see flying Aarakocra with bandanas and pirate-- pirate clothing, gold jewelry, clanging around them, rigging and lashing things together. Up on the vast Helm, the massive palace of the pirate king, whose head is now stuck with a dagger to the central mast in the, in Galleyard, in the city square. We see deep below, the Maelstrom’s Maw, the giant mouth of the city swallowing up wreckage and captured ships to tear apart for spare parts. And we see a metropolis-- more than a million pirates call this city home. Leviathan. The jewel of the sea. The greatest marketplace for stolen goods in all of the world of Spyre, and a home for all the hearties in the wide, wide sea. We descend through Leviathan, through the busy streets of Galleyard where drunkards sway and merrymaking can be heard, and move through the city streets, all the way to the heart of commerce. Here, in the neighborhood of Aftward. Halfway between the marketplaces of Galleyard and the aristocratic seat of power in the fabled Poop City, we see-- that's the name, that's fine-- we see the neighborhood of Aftward. Aftward, of course, is the home to a different kind of marketplace. Not retail locations of course, but these are the changing houses and mercantile estates, warehouses and places where goods are not merely bought for consumption, but bought for sale and resale. Large crates move backward and forward and large amounts of money are exchanged here in this clerk and banking neighborhood. We move now to a trading house floor for the Crescent Moon Trading Company. Through a grimy and yet still very expensive window, we arrive at the trading house floor, where we see an open warehouse that has been converted into several desks where various merchants are taking meetings with various clients to arrange the shipping of cargo. Here's where the real money is made. These merchants understood for quite some time that to work with pirates is better than to work against them. At a beautiful wrought and gilded mahogany desk with a beautiful leather pad on top, fresh ink in a crystal decanter with a long quill pen, we see a beautiful half-elven gentleman wearing red velvet and white lace, cravat, blonde hair slicked back across his head, cut to a very fashionable coif. With a rapier at his side that is gilded but has clearly seen some use unlike many of the rapiers accompanying the merchants in this place. Mr. Langley Sheffield-Harrington looks at a small family of Kenku in front of him. A mother and father with three young children wearing simple, coarse linen pirate clothes. They look like a family of deckhands from Mast Hearth. Their papers are scattered out on the desk in front of them as Mr. Sheffield-Harrington goes over them reviewing these documents here, signing things back and forth. Mr. Sheffield-Harrington is accompanied by an individual that punctuates all of the merchant lord's statements with a certain muscular gravitas. B. Dave Walters, could you kindly describe the gentleman standing behind this merchant?

0:07:37 B. Dave: I would just like to say I wanted to stealth into this place and my very first roll of the campaign was the natural 20 so... [laughter] there's nowhere to go but down.

0:07:51 Marcid: [menacingly] Marcid the Typhoon is eight foot, 350 pounds of lean lethality, and he stands there looming over Monsieur Langley Sheffield-Harrington. Looking down his nose at these wee kenku giving an impressive flex and just oddly tapping the hilt of his yklwa on occasion, should the lord say he wants birds served for dinner.

0:08:20 Brennan: You see that Mr. Sheffield-Harrington reviews something, you see the kenku family can sort of has their feathery hands clasped as they're looking up. And the half-elven merchant looks up, regards them for a moment, looks up at you, Marcid, and says,

0:08:41 Langley: [sighs] My dear Marcid, I've been reviewing these documents as diligently as I can, and I am left the unfortunate assumption that, though indeed it is a heartbreaking tragedy--

0:08:55 Brennan: And here he turns his face to the kenku family,

0:08:57 Langley: -- that your homes were lost in a fire, this was in fact a force majeure, or as we say an “act of God”-- or Gods, I don't mean to inform you, your religious conviction. And as such, the... the policy will pay out to the Trading Company as the owners of this domicile. Although I certainly wish you well and best fortunes in securing a new, I assume, nest? Where do you live?

0:09:34 Brennan: And you see that the kenku family looks up, the father sort of speaks up and says,

0:09:41 Kenku Father: Right sir, but... h-- we knows that we was only renters but-- is-- certainly we understood that there was something that in the case a place were to burn down or something like that, that there would be... some recompense. It weren't our fault at all.

0:09:58 Brennan: And you see that Mr. Harry-- Mr. Sheffield-Harrington says,

0:10:02 Langley: Of course, it was not your fault, but nor was it the fault of the Crescent Moon Trading Company. Certainly-- Marcid, help me out here. Is it right that our Trading Company should-- Should be forced with our margins being as thin as they are to what, purchase a new home for this family? I-I'm trying to do the right thing here.

0:10:28 Marcid: Oh, no, not at all sir. I mean, we'd go broke if we had to pay off every down on the luck sob story that came through these doors.

0:10:39 Brennan: You see that Mr. Sheffield-Harrington goes,

0:10:41 Langley: Yes, broke is exactly right.

0:10:43 Brennan: He starts to unwrap a like gilded chocolate BonBon. He's like,

0:10:47 Langley: We would be-- the degree of misfortune-- we have to make a living somehow. Mmm! A scrumptious BonBon.

0:10:59 B. Dave: While he's doing this I look down at the young kenku and I'm like,

0:11:04 Marcid: Excuse me, you lot speak by mimicry, right? Like, you repeat words you heard.

0:11:11 Kenku: Yeah, right, it's a bit of a nervous tic that we repeat words we heard, words we heard, yes. But, but not generally all the time.

0:11:17 B. Dave: I lean down and I'm like,

0:11:19 Marcid: I'm gonna teach you some words that be useful-- “Alms for the poor. Alms for the poor”. And also, “No sir, I didn't just filch your coin purse. Wasn't me”. [winks]

0:11:35 Brennan: You see the dad looks over. The mom's got sort of a little peasant’s bandana tied around her head. Stands up and puts her baby in the dad's arms and goes,

0:11:46 Kenku Mother: Right here, sir. I understand that perhaps the laws are that you don't need to help us none. But I'll tell you this right now. You don't need to disrespect us. It's enough-- It's bad enough that you're not gonna help us but I won't stand for this and we won't be...

0:12:06 B. Dave: When she does this I just draw the trident, and I just like slam it down butt-first and I'm like,

0:12:11 Marcid: Look, I was on the receiving end of a false dejour-- what was that word you said there, force majeure. Went to the bottom of the very blue sea, I did, and came up with nothing but me life and this here trident. And rebuilt all of it with the generosity, of course, of Monsieur Langley Sheffield-Harrington. You might still fly one day, little birdie.

0:12:39 Brennan: You see that the dad just leans over to the mom. The mom looks like she's squaring up to do something dumb, and you see that the dad, the dad leans in and it's like, you see he says,

0:12:48 Kenku Father: Brigitte, it's all right, it's all right. We'll find... we'll find something to do. Um, thank you. Master the Typhoon and Monsieur Sheffield-Harrington.

0:13:01 Brennan: And he sees that the dad kind of shepherds them out of there with the mom still like squaring up and puffing her chest out,

0:13:11 Briggite: I swear, these merchants, they're worse than honest pirates.

0:13:14 Brennan: And she shoves them out. Marcid waves condescendingly.

0:13:21 Brennan: [laughs] You see that as the family leaves, you see that Sheffield-Harrington looks up at you and says,

0:13:30 Langley: Marcid, you have a way of communicating to these common folk that's just so clear. Honestly, whatever we're paying you we should double it because you just get the point across in a way that I find escapes me most of the time.

0:13:45 Marcid: Well, you know, sometimes you just need the proper punctuation.

0:13:48 B. Dave: And I just kind of tap the trident twice.

0:13:52 Brennan: (laughs) Yes, you see he says,

0:13:56 Langley: Quite a point at the end of the sentence. (high laughter)

0:14:02 Marcid: (laughing) You are witty, indeed as witty as you are intelligent, sir.

0:14:07 Langley: Or more like, more like three points because you know-- Or maybe it's an ellipsis because, uh, um... the joke’s kind of getting away from me. But you see what I mean.

0:14:18 Marcid: Definitely landed sir, very clever.

0:14:23 Brennan: Marching up to you, in a kind of sort of paramilitary, where it’s this naval uniform but it's the private navy of the Crescent Moon Trading Company. This sort of bearded wood elf who has got like one of his eyes is a little bit milky, and there's some like clearly healed wounds. This guy's been through some stuff. But otherwise a very sort of like stoic, bearded wood elf. Handsome looking sort of dark of hair, has sort of sunken eyes a little bit, walks up, he's got a full like flintlock musket. There's a magical bayonet, like a rune-covered bayonet on the end of it. Walks up and you recognize this as Lieutenant Mardres. As he walks up to you, he arrives at the desk, nods to you,

0:15:19 Lieutenant Mardres: Marcid, pleasure to see you as always.

0:15:22 Marcid: Mh, captain.

0:15:24 Brennan: You see, he looks over at Sheffield-Harrington and says,

0:15:28 Mardres: Monsieur, we just received word we--

0:15:31 Brennan: And go ahead and give me an insight check if you'd be so kind.

0:15:37 B. Dave: Hand to god that was a second natural 20. So now there's really nowhere to go, but down. I've expended all luck and fortune in the first five minutes on things that are meaningless. (laughs) But it's the hand to God, that's what happened. So, you know.

0:15:55 Marisha: Save it, save it, B. Dave.

0:15:57 Brennan: Got you.

0:15:59 B. Dave: It's true, first fight-- 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, yep, mh-hm, yeah. Oh wait, I guess with my-- Hang on. With my bonuses sorry, insight, that's a 25.

0:16:10 Brennan: With a 25, well-- a nat 20, my God.

0:16:16 B. Dave: I'm like. (moves in close to stare into the camera)

0:16:17 Brennan: You catch something here. And look, you've been working for Sheffield-Harrington for a little while now. But I would-- I would say probably not longer than probably six months to a year or something like that, probably at the most. You know, Marcid...

0:16:36 B. Dave: [Marcid voice] That, that's 10 years in pirate time.

0:16:40 Brennan: Right, exactly. Mardres is pretty good at... god, on a nat 20 I feel like I need to give you a lot. On a nat 20, Mardres... almost hides it, but stops himself from saying something in front of you. There's something that's being-- there’s something that he knows and that Langley knows, that is unknown to you. Also on a nat 20, I'll go ahead and say, you've always gotten the vibe from this dude that there's a lot more to his past than you understand, and in this moment where he begins to talk, you get the impression that this dude is not from Fallinel, is not from the Elven homeland. The way he talks, you suddenly get an impression of this dude that maybe he grew up on Leviathan, which calls a lot into question about this “military” that he belongs to. You see, he catches himself and he goes,

0:17:50 Mardres: Monsieur Sheffield-Harrington we--

0:17:53 Brennan: Again clocks you, stops himself, goes back and says,

0:17:56 Mardres: --we passed over the site, I would say roughly two hours ago, and came up blank. It looks like it's... gone, perhaps recovered some other time, some other way.

0:18:12 Brennan: You see Sheffield-Harrington gets a rare look-- He's a pretty like, full-of-himself, debonair guy. But he retreats back in this moment where you suddenly see that this is like a brilliant dude you're dealing with and goes,

0:18:27 Langley: Ah, I see. Well, it looks like the easier way to solve this has escaped us for the time being. Does it seem possible that this... asset may have moved in the distant past, or is it more like--

0:18:48 Brennan: And you see that he gets interrupted and on that nat 20 continuing, he gets interrupted in a way where Mardres can tell he's like fumbling for something and helps him get there, he says,

0:18:59 Mardres: Very likely that it was recent. Perhaps as recent as today. Every indication was that it was there as we were approaching.

0:19:11 Brennan: You see there is that sort of like, (drums fingers)

0:19:14 Marcid: With respect my lords, I realize you got your privileged business and whatnot, but ya’ ain't gotta tiptoe around the fun on my account. Perhaps I can be of some assistance, and if not... loose lips, sink ships.

0:19:30 Brennan: (laughs) Cool,

0:19:32 Langley: And we wouldn't want to sink any ships, now would we. Marcid, you have requested oh so politely for an invitation into a deeper circle of trust, and I must say I'm inclined to grant you access. Lieutenant Mardres was referring to an asset that we were looking to acquire by means of... well, some operatives. The operatives have come up with their hands empty. There was a... object of some deep value to us, um... I don't know how to say it, on the ocean floor, and Leviathan would have passed over it earlier this morning, during the wee hours. Now, we've come to find that it's not there, and we must ask ourselves if it has been missing, which we think is unlikely, or perhaps if some enterprising souls within the Leviathan might have gotten their hands on it. This asset is of great importance to the Trading Company. You wouldn't happen to know of any local junkers, scavengers, salvagers that might be able to point us in the right direction, would you?

0:20:51 Marcid: I only know all of them, m’lord. And I also have some capability at locatin’ objects on me own, if I can get a... description of what we’re after.

0:21:05 Langley: We're looking for some wreckage of a shipwreck. Um, I don't know that I'm gonna go into too much detail, but um, is there someone specializing in undersea acquisition that you trust?

0:21:23 Marcid: Mm, trust is a strong word, but I've worked with effectively in the past, aye.

0:21:30 Langley: Well, my dear Marcid, let us away.

0:21:37 Brennan: And you see that-- looks like Sheffield-Harrington gets his stuff together, Mardres gets some merchant marines, and they are gonna follow you to a contact of yours, which is going to bring us-- Oh go for it, yeah.

0:21:51 B. Dave: And I do like, as they sort of like gather like this party here, I'm like,

0:21:54 Marcid: ’Ey, ‘ey, ‘ey, we don't want ‘em to think that we're coming to invade and shut her down, all right? We need to come in smooth.

0:22:05 Brennan: You see that, Sheffield looks over at Mardres, Mardres goes,

0:22:10 Mardres: Of course, Marcid. These are merely to accompany us through the dangerous streets of Leviathan. When we arrive at your contacts we will lessen the size of our party.

0:22:25 Marcid: Mm, right, it would be a tragedy if something were to happen to you out here in the shady bits, aye. Come on, try not to clink your boots too loud, eh?

0:22:37 Brennan: You see that, Sheffield-Harrington turns to Mardres and says,

0:22:40 Langley: Lieutenant, I believe you have that business at the Gold Gardens, yes?

0:22:43 Brennan: And you see that the lieutenant nods and Sheffield-Harrington says,

0:22:47 Langley: Very well, Marcid, lead the way.

0:22:49 B. Dave: No, please. I was just gonna say I do in fact, lead them to my dear, dear, Myrtle’s establishment. However, when I'm leaving, I keep an eye out for the kenku. I wanna know where they end up. At least what direction they go so I could try and find them later.

0:23:04 Brennan: Awesome, you see the kenku-- Oh, because they were dealing with their burned down house, you have their address, or at least where their house used to be, so you know the neighborhood they lived in. And actually, you see that Sheffield-Harrington puts that address back in his desk, he locks it, but that's not the biggest obstacle to you in the world. And locks his desk up. As you depart from there we wend our way away through Leviathan, falling through the streets, going down, down through the darkness. All the way until we reach the waterline, where the sea laps in through the very bottom of the Leviathan. [Timestamp 23:47] (B. Dave groans, Brennan laughs.)

0:23:55 Brennan: Yeah, as you approach Marcid, you see, yeah as you get during this deep, lantern lit, subterranean ship’s passageway and see--

0:24:02 Marcid: (groaning) Right...

0:24:09 Langley: Marcid, are you nervous about this…?

0:24:13 Marcid: No, just the plague rats. You see, down in here, one nip on your toe, take your leg clean off.

0:24:22 Brennan: You see that, your Trident of Warning speaks up, you can hear her in your mind. Alycon, your trident goes,

0:24:29 Alycon: (anxious, nearly hyperventilating) Marcid, I'm very worried. If we go into here there’s a very great likelihood that you could die. You could drown! You can't breathe underwater, you know, and the potions could wear off.

0:24:39 Marcid: No, we'll be fine, Alycon, we ain't drowned yet. We won't drown today, although I hate the water.

0:24:47 Alycon: If you feel yourself begin to drown, you know what you must do: scream for help as loud as can.

0:24:52 Marcid: No, swim is what I must do, Alycon, I must swim.

0:24:55 Alycon: I have no arms and legs! I can't swim, I'm an object!

0:24:59 Marcid: You d-- You don't need to breathe.

0:25:01 B. Dave: I do very much like, tiptoe over every puddle and things, which is difficult but I've tried to make it seem like I'm just being sneaky. I'm like,

0:25:10 Marcid: Ah, they put trip wires down here, you know, one false move, right?

0:25:15 Brennan: You see-- you get to the place where the puddle becomes an open, rotted floor that goes into dark water. And the aquatic neighborhood of Jetsam, you and the other marines are passed potions of water breathing-- gulp, gulp, gulp-- with a splash, Marcid and the merchant marines of the Crescent Moon Trading Company leap into the water. Marcid looks very displeased about this, making faces and wiggling his hands in discomfort. We cut to a vast shrine. The rotting wood of Jetsam, the bottom most part of the bulk of the Leviathan, where the wood is pushed into the seawater deep below the surface. This “neighborhood” is cold and dark. The shadow of the bulk of the city above it blocks out any type of light other than small little streetlamps in the rotting wood of bioluminescent algae and faintly glowing coral. Within a vast chamber, we see floating kelp mixed with holes in the wall and floor where the actual ocean itself can be seen. Passing shapes flicker, and this place is filled not only with the glow of algae, but also braziers of undersea flame, blue, watery fire. And in the back, a throne of coral. Sharp and spiny. We see here in this temple to the dark Goddess of the undersea strange relics, piles of shipwrecks, debris sorted into glittering silver and gold and perhaps mysteries far greater still. And the mistress of this shrine awaits. Aabria, could you please describe your character for us?

0:27:30 Aabria: Myrtle is hovering in the back of this temple. She moves slowly and catches just a little bit of the blue brazier light. And you see this like dark teal green that flashes with like, silvery blue scales, and the top half of her is fairly humanoid with these long beta fish-like fins sort of creating this big crown, and like, long tendrils coming off of her elbows. And then the bottom half of her extends into this long almost eel-like bottom, and she's 12 feet from top to tip. And she sort of glides around and wraps herself around her treasures. And as she kind of slink-- slinks away from the brazier light, you can just see two little pinpricks of like golden light from the center of her pupils.

0:28:30 Brennan: As Myrtle swims throughout her combo temple-slash-storefront--

0:28:40 Aabria: (she holds her hand out, looking offended) It's a temple. (Brennan laughs)

0:28:43 Brennan: You-- times have been not as-- It's been a little while since you've found a really good shipwreck to scavenge supplies from. You found one earlier today. A bunch of summoned like, eels and sharks and stuff helped you get this stuff up out of the ocean. But it had-- You haven't like, had even a minute to go through it yet. So there's just a huge chunk of like, the wood from the hull of the ship and some chests and stuff. I'm not gonna lie, it was a smaller ship, with mostly like, dry goods and cargo that have spoiled and fishes gotten to it, it was not like the haul you were looking for, but there are some chests that you haven't opened yet and stuff like that. But that's all in a corner, your sort of goods for display are here. And you see over the corner a giant barnacle. A huge like, crustacean thing opens, and a barnacle merfolk emerges from the shell. So its like, long tendril comes out of this barnacle that is fixed to the wall but has the torso, arms and head with its little antenna on it of your acolyte, who is a barnacle merfolk named Rory. You see Rory looks and says,

0:30:09 Rory: Hello, mistress of darkness. Um. Do you need help sorting through this wreckage from below?

0:30:17 Myrtle: Yes, Rory I-- This is a-- Even a meager donation, a gift, an alm, to our dark Goddess is appreciated so.

0:30:28 Aabria: And then she just kind of scoops up a big pile of... trash. Sort of litters him in it.

0:30:36 Myrtle: Yes. Sort through, find the prizes.

0:30:40 Rory: Oh, okay. I love prizes, and I-I also revere, um, the Queen of the Undersea, Umberlee, Mistress of Storms. Hooray, destruction.

0:30:52 Brennan: And you see that Rory begins to file through trash. You see approaching coming into-- you hear sort of approaching footsteps coming towards your shop. Or not footsteps, I should say, but the bubbling of air breathers approaching. Approaching the front of your shop, Marcid.

0:31:23 B. Dave: I would say something to them before we get there. Also, just for the record I would kill and die for Rory. (they laugh) As-as we're approaching the shop, I just look back at them, and I'm like,

0:31:34 Marcid: Mind your manners, lads, they call her Myrtle the Bitch for a reason. If you slight her, she'll bury it down in the silt.

0:31:43 Brennan: You see one of the older pirates in kind of like a naval uniform, sort of like-- they have a sort of little air thing that appears around the nose and mouth from the potion. You see he just goes like,

0:31:54 Guard: They call... they call her what?

0:31:57 Marcid: I think you heard me, lad, and if you didn't, you will soon.

0:32:01 Brennan: You see Mr. Sheffield-Harrington says,

0:32:04 Langley: Very well, Myrtle the Bitch, let's go.

0:32:07 Brennan: And you see that the pirate looks over at like, another one of the guards, and is like,

0:32:11 Pirate: Am I-- are we allowed to say that? Is it part of her official--

0:32:13 Marcid: No, that is-- that is our word. You don't get to use it.

0:32:18 Pirate: Oh, good, I was not comfortable, so that's-- that’s fine with me. I’d prefer not to.

0:32:25 Brennan: You see another pirate goess,

0:32:25 Second Pirate: (stammering) Wha-- you-- swear words? That's where you draw the line? I watched you burn a village.

0:32:32 Marcid: Yes, anyone could have burned that village, alright? Now, stone face.

0:32:37 B. Dave: And I just kind of slap him in the chest. I'm all like,

0:32:41 Marcid: Chin up, stiff upper lip, right?

0:32:44 Brennan: Myrtle, entering your temple is an old friend, Marcid the Typhoon, accompanied by Monsieur Sheffield-Harrington, and I'll say two other guards with him.

0:32:59 Aabria: Mhm. She looks at the people she doesn't recognize, and then her eyes alight on Marcid, and she immediately rushes him, and is sort of like, in that eel way like, wrapping herself around him and gets weirdly close to his face like,

0:33:13 Myrtle: You're still alive. That's fine. How are you, Marcid?

0:33:19 B. Dave: I say to her in Primordial,

0:33:22 Marcid: I'm here on business, love the fun stuff will have to wait.

0:33:28 Myrtle: (making a face) Fine.

0:33:28 Aabria: And she sort of unwraps herself and then like, drifts back towards her stuff.

0:33:36 Myrtle: Welcome. Welcome to my temple.

0:33:40 Brennan: You see that, Monsieur Sheffield-Harrington looks over at this and is like,

0:33:44 Langley: Marcid, you didn't mention that we were making a social call as well.

0:33:49 Brennan: And Rory, who's like sifting through trash in the corner says,

0:33:52 Rory: Whenever Marcid comes over I hide in my shell for a good 20 to 45 minutes.

0:34:00 B. Dave: I grab the trident, and I just throw it like, and impale it in the wall next to Rory. (laughs)

0:34:06 Brennan: He just sucks into his shell.

0:34:09 B. Dave: Yeah.

0:34:12 Myrtle: He's a good lad.

0:34:16 Marcid: Mmm. We're here on business, mistress Myrtle. We need someone to locate something from the depths of the sea, and I've been told you're the best there is.

0:34:30 B. Dave: And I do give her a wink.

0:34:33 Myrtle: Thank you. Yes, I love scavenging the depths for alms to my dark mistress. Anything I find, I'm willing to part with... for a price. So what do you need finding?

0:34:54 Brennan: You see Monsieur Sheffield-Harrington purses his lips, looks over at one of the-- there's like a floating vase with runes on it, that’s sort of like, attached to a piece of kelp that's like, holding it in the storefront, and you see he looks and finds a little like chunk, a little chip of coral with a price written on it. And he's like,

0:35:15 Langley: Yes, quite a... temple you've got going here.

0:35:22 Myrtle: Do you have a problem with the way I serve my god? Because I can drag you down to meet her if you want.

0:35:32 Langley: I’ve stepped in it, and that's my fault, your worshipfulness. If anything, I'm stunned because I wish that more religious organizations worked this way. It's a way that I'm intimately familiar with.

0:35:46 Marcid: Well, they all work this way. Just some aren't quite as overt as dear Myrtle. Matthew taps the side of his nose with a knowing look.

0:35:55 Brennan: You see, Sheffield-Harrington approaches you, Myrtle, and says,

0:36:03 Langley: Your eminence, your holiness, I was wondering about a possibility that you might have recovered... some manner of salvage or wreckage, perhaps within the past 6 to 12 hours. I can't help but dart my eyes over to the corner, I noticed that you seem to have some fresh findings here.

0:36:33 Myrtle: Oh, those are just, you know, a trifle for Rory.

0:36:37 Aabria: And she kind of tries to block it a little bit. Can I do an Insight check to see...?

0:36:40 Brennan: Yeah, give me an Insight check.

0:36:43 Aabria: Just a general sense. Oh, I got the opposite of Dave's roll. That's a 3. I got an 11.

0:36:50 Brennan: You go to look at this dude and do your like, sea witch like, ‘I'm gonna look into your soul’, and you see he says,

0:36:59 Langley: I believe a price could be arranged.

0:37:02 Brennan: Snaps his fingers, four more guards drag, floating behind them in the water, an enormous Crescent Moon chest. He says,

0:37:14 Langley: We will of course be paying cash as time is of the essence.

0:37:20 Myrtle: Oh, well, yeah.

0:37:20 Aabria: She completely drops the act, and her like, fins kind of like, calm down a bit.

0:37:26 Myrtle: What specifically are you looking for? I just pulled this wreckage in earlier today, and I haven't had a chance to go through it yet. And Rory sorts (clapping her hands to punctuate) so! Slowly! For a boy with nothing else to do but be on a wall and touch stuff.

0:37:41 Rory: (muffled) I'm sorry mistress, are you and Marcid done? Can I come out?

0:37:48 B. Dave: I do go and I just yank the trident out of the wall, and I'm all like-- in Primordial, I say to Rory,

0:37:54 Marcid: We're gonna have to discuss when you keep things to yourself, Rory.

0:38:01 Brennan: He pokes his head out of a little opening in his shell, and you see he goes,

0:38:07 Rory: Well, I'm sorry, there's a lot I don't understand about romance between other people. Everyone in my species can only breed with someone if they're within 50 feet.

0:38:19 Marcid: I mean, all species can only breed within 50 feet, Rory. Just-- (Brennan and B. Dave laugh)

0:38:23 Myrtle: Fair.

0:38:31 Aabria: And Myrtle is cracking up at this conversation that the rest of the group can’t understand.

0:38:36 B. Dave: I do-- I have been here before even though I deeply hate getting in the water. I would like to look around to see if I clock something that looks valuable because I actually may help her try and hide it if I see it.

0:38:53 Brennan: Go ahead and give me a Perception roll.

0:38:55 B. Dave: That's a 24, and I'm eerily effective right now. So now I'm like, ehh, I'm really afraid of our first fight. Yeah. But it's like, as like I go and I yank this out, I do sort of like, scan to see if I see what I think they want.

0:39:11 Brennan: Cool, you see that, Sheffield-Harrington says,

0:39:14 Langley: My dear Myrtle, would be all right as my men were to browse?

0:39:19 Myrtle: (groans) I can make allowances for Marcid, but... do you trust the others?

0:39:28 Brennan: You see that he rests a hand on the giant chest and says,

0:39:32 Langley: Also, could we put this down somewhere? We have several others like it outside.

0:39:38 Myrtle: Go ahead, take your time. If there’s anything I can help you with, just let me know.

0:39:44 Brennan: Um... just roll. Okay. Marcid, you see a couple of Sheffield-Harrington's guys go over to the wreckage. You see that there's some stuff in here. You definitely spot what they're looking for. There is a chest in here which is still locked, and you see that one of them goes to like, undo the lock-- they're having a hard time because they're air breathers as well, and they're like floating around under water. They go to this chest, you see them messing with it. One of them pops the top, brings it over to-- brings it over to Sheffield-Harrington. You see that there's just some waterlogged, algae-rotted can-- something wrapped in canvas. On a 24, you see that all Sheffield-Harrington has to do is open a little flap of the canvas, his eyes go wide, he closes it and motions for the man to close the chest, and he says,

0:40:41 Langley: What incredible good fortune. My dear Myrtle, it seems that we have become rather lucky. This is actually the item we are looking for. Would it be possible for us to make an exchange?

0:41:00 Myrtle: Let's talk price, yes. We found your artifact-- what-what was it? If I may inquire.

0:41:09 Langley: A... family heirloom of tremendous sentimental value.

0:41:15 Brennan: You see that he snaps his fingers for the people to open this. They open the chest, undo the rotted canvas on it, and you see this is a fragment of a-- almost like a cameo, or like, a fresco like-- like relief. It's like, a partial statue carved into section of wall. You see it is of a beautiful like, young woman looking up to the sky in this dappled blue-white marble. Looking up, clearly an air breather, gazing up, and then cracked around the edges from being like, moved out of a wall or something. Obviously magical.

0:42:02 B. Dave: I very slowly approach it, and I just hold my hand up, and I'm like,

0:42:04 Marcid: My Lord, may I? It will help me find it if it should go missing, and perhaps others like it.

0:42:13 Langley: Please, Marcid.

0:42:16 B. Dave: And I do just like, slowly touch it, fully expecting to be shocked to death. (laughs)

0:42:23 Brennan: Give me a Wisdom saving throw.

0:42:25 B. Dave: Gahh.

0:42:26 Aabria: Oh, no.

0:42:29 B. Dave: Let's-- let's see hang on, hang on. It's-it’s-- my luck might have just run-- no, it's holding! It's holding! That's an eight-- wait, hang on. Let me-- I looked at the wrong thing. Sorry, now I'm nervous. That is an 18.

0:42:39 Brennan: 18? You feel rumbling in your chest, like when loud fireworks go off, but a distant thunder.

0:42:52 Marcid: Well, I hate the water.

0:42:56 Myrtle: Rude.

0:43:00 Marcid: There's two--

0:43:00 B. Dave: I'm sorry what did you say there?

0:43:02 Myrtle: Did you learn nothing from your time at the bottom? Your glorious moments, a fleeting life, as the last bubbles of air drifted to the surface, and you joined my mistress’ dark embrace?

0:43:17 Aabria: And she's crying in the water, there’s just-- (mimes tears falling) denser drops.

0:43:21 Marcid: I learned the only thing worth entering the sea for is money.

0:43:26 B. Dave: And then I turn and look at her and say,

0:43:29 Marcid: And treasure.

0:43:33 Brennan: Incredible. You see that Sheffield-Harrington looks up and says,

0:43:36 Langley: Your worshipfulness, time is of the essence, and these potions don't last forever. We'd love to strike a deal with you right now, if we could. Name your price, if you'd be willing.

0:43:55 Aabria: Yeah, how many chests did he come in with?

0:43:58 Brennan: He has one here, but he said he has more outside.

0:44:00 Aabria: Yeah. She's gonna gesture at whoever's holding this chest to open it, and like not even make eye contact just to get a-- just to get a little sneaky peek at how much loot we're looking at.

0:44:14 Brennan: This chest has 4000 gold pieces in it.

0:44:20 Aabria: [intrigued] Oh. And she looks at the chest then looks back at him, and then starts fingering the like, large pearl in her choker. And I would like to cast Identify on like, whatever this object is that's worth so many thousands of gold that I'm about to get, that she's like almost drooling.

0:44:42 Brennan: You hear whispers coming back.

0:44:46 Whispers: This is the daughter of storms, daughter of storms, daughter of storms.

0:44:50 Brennan: And you see an image of the distant mythic past of a princess running across the oceans, her feet touching the surface of the water. And a storm cloud that begins to take the face of an old bearded king, reaching a grasping hand after this girl fleeing on the surface of the ocean. Frozen in stone, this is an artifact. It is an object of deific power, and it can call storms when it needs to.

0:45:37 Aabria: And I think she starts muttering in Primordial again, just so Marcid can hear.

0:45:45 Myrtle: There's only one rule. She only gives us one rule. Nothing that affects the sea or the weather on it. Ah, fuck. Maybe she'll be happy with the gold. Probably not.

0:46:04 Aabria: And she begins again in Common,

0:46:04 Myrtle: And what if I told you that this artifact is no longer for sale?

0:46:13 Langley: I would say that the chests outside are filled with platinum.

0:46:17 Myrtle: Ooh...

0:46:20 Marcid: Myrtle, come on.

0:46:20 B. Dave: In Primordial I'm like,

0:46:20 Marcid: You could retire, you could build her a proper shrine. Please don't find a conscience now.

0:46:27 Myrtle: Ohh.

0:46:34 Marcid: I'll help you steal it back. (record scratch)

0:46:39 Myrtle: Four more chests and we have a deal.

0:46:40 Aabria: And she sticks out her hand.

0:46:40 Langley: Done!

0:46:44 Brennan: He shakes, the chests come in, and they take the object. Sheffield-Harrington looks at you, Marcid, and says,

0:46:52 Langley: Marcid, we have another pressing engagement. I believe that Lieutenant Mardres should be done with his little journey.

0:47:00 Marcid: Right, I need to go and dry off.

0:47:04 Brennan: As you leave, Myrtle, you look at all of your gold, platinum, everything. You feel the water get colder. The floor and the chests sink away into darkness. And your temple is filled suddenly with a 15 foot tall face. And you see Umberlee herself [growls] in spectral light go,

0:47:41 Umberlee: There was one rule!

0:47:48 Myrtle: I'm gonna get it back and destroy it.

0:47:53 Umberlee: Well, do I know you'll get it back? Dark forces are at work in Leviathan, and even now, I can feel them. [Timestamp 48:03]

0:48:07 Brennan: And from there we cut to: five, six, seven, eight. (He mimics a trumpeting tune) We flash from Jetsam all the way across the city to the Gold Gardens, the premier venue of all things pleasurable, entertaining, and in good taste. Within the Gold Gardens there are hookah lounges and giant cabarets and tap dances; places with fiddle music and tavern; massage parlors; private rooms for those that wish for a more intimate audience; giant rowdy bars where some where fighting is recommended, some where fighting is not allowed to the dealer's choice. We arrive though, in the heart of the campus of the Gold Gardens, small tables with candlelight. This is up in the Galleyard district, the Red Light district. We see alchemical spotlights hit the stage, a drum roll starts, a band leader hits the baton, and we hear an announcer come over with a magically enhanced voice, a little bit of Thaumaturgy enhances their voice, and you can hear them say,

0:49:18 Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen and persons of all persuasions, gather ‘round, the moment you've all been waiting for: The Pearl of the Gold Gardens, Sultry Songstress of the Seraphim. You know her, you love her. You've all been waiting.

0:49:32 Brennan: You see one old pirate who's got like-- missing some teeth, he's like 90 years old, he's got little bandanna, goes like,

0:49:38 Pirate: I've been saving up me whole life to be able to come and see her perform.

0:49:44 Announcer: The one, the only, Barbarella Sasparilla Gainglynn!

0:49:54 Brennan: (He continues the trumpeting tune and mimes drumming for a few seconds.) Krystina, what does this adoring audience see as the curtains part?

0:50:00 Krystina: As the curtains start to part, you see a very buxom lady standing on the stage, and she's got these gorgeous golden wings, and a dress that’s got gold and black, and it goes down, and it almost looks like the colors are swimming together. It's really delightful. As the spotlight comes up, you see Barbarella, that’s me, but you can call me Bob.

0:50:26 Bob: (singing) So they say the devil on your shoulder’s a bad influence I bet they've never met an angel like this. I'm the pearl of the necklace, the jewel of the sea, The goddess of Gold Gardens, baby, that's me. The mistress of seduction in a palace by the sea, Drop a couple of dragons if you want time with me. So strap in, Sailor, it’s my boat to row, The goddess of Gold Gardens, says baby, let's go. The goddess of Gold Gardens, on with the show! (audience cheering)

0:51:21 Brennan: The crowd goes wild. That was incredible Krystina, you see the old pirate in the back, his eyes go wide he blushes, and you see he goes (he grunts and claps a hand on his heart) and starts to fall back out of the chair, and you see someone goes like-- You see the proprietor of this place, Garthy O'Brien, the half-orc aasimar impresarex of this full establishment, looks over and goes,

0:51:46 Garthy: Right, someone get that a medic, can we heal this--

0:51:48 Brennan: And you see the old pirate goes,

0:51:49 Pirate: No, no. This is how I want to go. Let it happen!

0:51:55 Brennan: And you see, Bob, your Celestial radiance, your wings extending, motes of light-- you see this little old pirate on the strength of your song alone, only you can see it, but almost like, Looney Tunes style, a like, little angelic version of him kind of like, floats out of his body. Halo, wings, he's got a little harp. And you see just-- only to you, goes,

0:52:25 Pirate: I have never felt a greater sense of gratitude. The best show, brava, brava!

0:52:35 Brennan: (imitates twinkling chimes) And begins to fly away. You see that Garthy looks at this dead pirate's body and goes,

0:52:43 Garthy: Right, not again. Okay, it's happened again! Someone's-- the song was beautiful enough that someone passed. Let's get someone in here.

0:52:52 Brennan: And the audience roars, the band strikes up, and incredible show. Bob, after your performance as you are walking off backstage, you can see Cullen, this Dwarven bartender with like, he's got a mohawk and the shaved sides of his heads have like cool Dwarven tattoos on them. He points at you and starts making your favorite drink for you. And a beautiful like, sort of like magenta and then with like, deep purple Indigo hair, curling horns coming back, tiefling. You see that she's got a little like, beauty mark tattoo, black tattoo in a little heart on her cheek. Bright red lipstick, wearing clothing you know that there is a cantrip active. It is the only thing that keeps the clothes that she's wearing in place on her body. It is a force of magic to keep her decent as she runs throughout the Gold Gardens. She runs over to you, this is your best friend, Trixie! She runs up to you and goes,

0:53:53 Trixie: Doll, you were incredible. Your voice, oh my god, when you hit that high C, I thought the whole place was gonna go. You're so special, I can't b-- I'm so glad that I wasn't on shift and I could come see your performance, doll.

0:54:09 Bob: I only lost one customer. It's an occupational hazard at this point, but you know, it was really nice, he stopped and said bye on the way out.

0:54:20 Trixie: Oh my god, that's so special. You know honestly, what you do for these guys is a gift. Honestly, I wish that I could have that with the people that I work with.

0:54:31 Brennan: And you see that she looks over waves at someone. You see that Garthy walks over at this point and goes,

0:54:38 Garthy: Darling, Bobby, oh my sweetheart. Incredible performance, we love it. Listen. I was wondering if you could-- if you wouldn't mind going up again at the midnight show? We have a bunch of tourists coming in from out of house, from High Court and Solace, and they just showed up. Do you think a double performance... you'd pull it off? I don't wanna ruin your voice, wherever you feel comfortable, yeah?

0:55:05 Bob: Well, I really was planning tonight to-- to study my books, because I think I'm really, really close to becoming a pirate.

0:55:16 Garthy: Darling, Bobby. Listen, piracy is... You've got a real gift, lovey. Your voice, it’s sensual, it's holy, it connects us with the primordial and the celestial, darling. I know that you want-- you have this dream to be a pirate, and ultimately, look, I support you whatever it is you want to do, but I can't help but feel like... Well, maybe I'm just sad because the thought of losing you breaks my heart, lovey.

0:55:53 Bob: But just think about it. I could sing on the sea and... Oh, oh I'd just have so much fun and so many adventures. But if you need me here I can, I can stay. I don't have to go now.

0:56:08 Brennan: You see that Trixie gets on the other side of Garthy and puts her hands on Garthy’s shoulders and is like,

0:56:14 Trixie: Garthy, come on, don't be such a strict disciplinarian. Why can't Bob go on an adventure on the high seas? I bet she'd learned a bunch of new songs. Come on, but listen, we can take you upstairs and convince you if you want.

0:56:29 Brennan: You see that she puts her-- her mouth close to their ear and goes,

0:56:34 Trixie: Haven't you ever wanted a devil and an angel on each shoulder? Bob giggles.

0:56:42 Brennan: You see Garthy sort of raises their eyebrows says,

0:56:46 Garthy: Listen, if we get 20 minutes free, I'm not opposed to it, we can all put each other on each other's tabs, yeah? But for right now, let's focus, we've got some work to do.

0:56:57 Brennan: You see Garthy moves away to go handle some more business, and you see Trixie looks over you and says,

0:57:05 Trixie: Listen, I was talking to some people that might know some other, you know like um, pirates that are looking for crew. I know that you've been wanting to go on an adventure for a while. I'm gonna organize a meet as soon as I can, but I got to go upstairs. I got this guy coming by my room. This guy is loaded. I've been seeing him for a little while. So I'm just gonna go take care of that. I'll be like 20 minutes, and I'll meet you down here to tell you what I found out, okay?

0:57:33 Bob: Just, just make sure that you say something really nice that makes him feel good about himself because if he thinks a really happy thought while you know, the stuff, then he's gonna feel more inclined to like, like ya’.

0:57:54 Trixie: Sweetie, that is-- Listen, the guys who come for you, I'm sure want that. The guys who come for me want me to beat the absolute shit out of them and call them nasty names. So, you know, six in one, half dozen in the other but honestly, we should like switch up some time because I'd like to see you try to do my thing and I do your thing because that would be, I don't know, I think that would be fun. (laughs)

0:58:20 Bob: Huh?

0:58:22 Brennan: You see she gives you a kiss on each cheek and says,

0:58:24 Trixie: I'll be right back down.

0:58:26 Brennan: She scurries off to go to her room. Bob, as you are in your dressing room, beautiful vanity, flowers, notes, people are coming by to drop off fan mail, more flowers, chocolates, gifts, all manner of things, people that have watched your show. It's been about like, an hour, and Trixie is not back. And Trixie is not normally like this. Trixie is, you know, the Gold Gardens is a very small campus. What's on Bob's mind as Trixie does not return?

0:59:08 Bob: I'd like to go and talk to Garthy.

0:59:12 Brennan: Garthy pokes their head in,

0:59:12 Garthy: Yes, lovey, what's wrong.

0:59:16 Bob: I haven't heard from Trixie in a minute, and we're supposed to spend some time together. Um. Could you check on her?

0:59:25 Garthy: Um, lovey, I'd love to, I'm a little busy. Here, take this.

0:59:29 Brennan: You see Garthy hands you the key up to the suite, up to Trixie's suites.

0:59:36 Garthy: I’ve got to run. Come let me know if she's not up in the rooms, all right?

0:59:42 Bob: All right.

0:59:44 Brennan: As you are looking, investigating, you've got the key here. Are you gonna go check on Trixie's bed chambers, her boudoir?

0:59:52 Krystina: Yes, I'd like to go and check on Trixie. I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna tap on the door.

0:59:56 Brennan: Tap, tap, tap, no response.

0:59:59 Krystina: I'm gonna unlock the door,

0:59:59 Bob: Trixie, are you decent?

1:00:04 Brennan: You open the door. In the center of the room you see that there is a-- there's a beautiful like, mosaic stained glass lamp, like a hanging candle holder made of stained glass that has strange runes on it and is broken and shattered on the ground. Very clearly magical.

1:00:31 Bob: (brief pause) Trixie, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're not in here.

1:00:35 Brennan: (laughs) You go and find Garthy.

1:00:39 Garthy: What I'd like you to do--

1:00:41 Brennan: And you see they scoop up the broken lamp, wrap it in a little bandanna, and hand it to you and say, you see they say,

1:00:46 Garthy: Forget about the second show tonight. You know Trixie best, you know her friends, you know her likes, her dislikes, where she might have gone. Take this to my friend.

1:00:55 Brennan: And you see they write down a name on a piece of paper.

1:01:00 Gathy: There's an elder pirate up at the Ramble, yeah? They will know what this is, they will know how to find it, and they might be able to use some kind of magic to find Trixie, okay? Can you do me that favor? Alright?

1:01:13 Bob: I can do that.

1:01:14 Garthy: Alright, lovey.

1:01:15 Brennan: They give you a kiss on each cheek,

1:01:17 Garthy: By the way, you were wonderful tonight. Incredible. Be safe, um, try to do this errand without sort of getting a taste for adventure more largely in your mouth and getting sort of addicted to the lifestyle. You know what? Honestly? One task at a time, just go talk to my friend and-and we'll worry about the rest later, alright?

1:01:38 Bob: Sounds lovely. [Timestamp 1:01:36]

1:01:42 Brennan: You depart, and as you depart, we go up, up, up through the sky, into the neighborhood of Riggaba, which is the rigging-- huge gondolas full of buildings, houses, windows, all manner of places that are suspended in the thousands and thousands of sails that propel the city of Leviathan. We move away from the Gold Gardens to, in the morning light scintillating in the sun, the ropes hanging, the creaking of the jibs and boom arms of this neighborhood ever present. We go to a house with no door. Instead, the entrance is a little sliding curtain on a balcony because nobody needs to access this house from the ground because everybody who lives here can fly. Within a kitchen, where a lovely little breakfast of bread and butter and things are being made, we see a wonderful family of blue and yellow parrot aarakocra. A mother, a father, a group of siblings, the eldest of which is only 18, and we see that the family is--- some members of the family are singing as they like, wake up and get to work, in a round. They're singing a little happy song. There's a big symbol of Sol the sun god up on the wall, and no hooks or pirate or treasure to be found. This is a family of honest sailors, and as they sing,

1:03:19 Family: (singing) Begin! Begin! Begin each day with joyful hearts! The day ends well that joyful starts! Begin! Begin-- (Marisha joins in) Begin! Begin, begin, begin each day with joyful--

1:03:38 Brennan: Marisha, could you please describe your character for us?

1:03:41 Marisha: Yeah, you see, just this kind of scrappy looking, young, youthful pirate-- or sorry, not pirate. A parrot person who loves and respects Sol, the family's chosen deity. We all love Sol just sol much. That's the joke, we say in the Biscotto family. And you see a teenage aarakocra who has her feathers kind of pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she's got a little bit of like molting happening but she doesn't like to talk about it, so try to be respectful. She's trying to clear it up, but, you know, puberty. And she's got kind of scrappy pirate-looking garb, but her parents think she's just going through a phase. As well as braces that look like they were kind of... mish mashed together to make “braces”. But it's just kind of wire and some chunks of wood that are kind of wedged in between certain teeth. This is Sunny! Sunny Biscotto! And Sunny starts picking up all of the dishes and looks at her mom, Polly and Roger, and says,

1:05:09 Sunny: Is everybody done with breakfast? You guys know, I have to go and do some missionary work in town for wonderful Sol. (laughs)

1:05:21 Brennan: You see that your mom Polly turns around and says,

1:05:24 Polly: Oh my goodness, that's so exciting, Sunny. Yes, is everybody done with breakfast?

1:05:29 Brennan: And all your four siblings go,

1:05:31 Siblings: Yes, mom.

1:05:31 Brennan: And you see that they, she says,

1:05:34 Polly: And what do we say when we're done with breakfast?

1:05:36 Brennan: And you see all your siblings put their hands together and go,

1:05:39 Siblings: Thank you, Sol, for this wonderful breakfast and for our wonderful lives, keeping the city of Leviathan with wind in its sails and sun on its decks, amen.

1:05:54 Sunny: Oh my-- you guys are getting so good at that prayer, I'm so proud of you!

1:06:00 Brennan: You see, you see that your littlest brother, Dante, goes,

1:06:06 Dante: Last one to get to the toy chest doesn't love Sol with their whole, whole heart!

1:06:09 Brennan: And they start piling over each other. And you see Roger shakes his head and goes,

1:06:15 Roger: All right now, kids, just remember, everybody loves Sol with their whole, whole heart.

1:06:21 Brennan: Your mom goes over and puts a feathered hand on your shoulder and says,

1:06:24 Polly: Sunny, I just want you to know I'm so dang proud of the work you're doing and-- And Sol knows, we would love to meet the pastor that's helping you out with this missionary work sometime. When are we gonna get to meet this gosh dang mission group?

1:06:42 Sunny: Oh! Yeah, you know... Gosh, we're just so busy, you know, and um... Sol demands our full attention, you know? So you know, maybe at the next... (hesitantly) bake... sale.

1:06:59 Brennan: She see, she nods and says,

1:07:02 Polly: Great, the next bake sale. And I just want you to know that the fact that you've been going on these missions for almost eight months now and we haven't met anyone and we don't have any physical proof that it's happening-- none of that bothers me and your dad because when your heart’s full of faith, you never have doubts.

1:07:27 Sunny: That's so true, right? Like, faith is just the best.

1:07:35 Polly: It sure is, kiddo. Can't wait to meet the pastor. You have a great day out there.

1:07:39 Brennan: You see your mom stuff some snacks in a little satchel. Your dad sort of straightens your stuff out, and he says,

1:07:46 Roger: Oh, that's my sweet girl. You go out there and you spread the word that hey, it's okay to live a life of simple hard work and never go on an adventure, and never get any respect, and just work, and completely vanish from the world with no great deeds to your name and no bounty and no treasure. That's a good life because then we all get to be together simply and humbly in Sol's light.

1:08:16 Sunny: I agree. What more could anybody want when we have this family, right?

1:08:25 Roger: Yay! We’re all alike!

1:08:25 Brennan: In the other room all you siblings go,

1:08:28 Siblings: We’re all alike!

1:08:30 Sunny: (strained) We’re all alike...! (laughs)

1:08:35 B. Dave: Uh, I'd like to Yellow X due to my Southern Baptist upbringing, thank you very much. (laughs)

1:08:43 Brennan: You see-- Sunny you take off from your family's wonderful home.

1:08:51 Marisha: I just kinda, I grab my, um, I have a little bit of a staff that I have fashioned with an old pirate hook and kind of wrapped it with some rope onto a long stick, and I grab a rum barrel lid that I fashioned into a shield, but I just kind of take it and hope that mom and dad don't really notice, and then you know, on the way out just say like,

1:09:17 Sunny: Better safe than sol-rry. (laughs) Am I right?

1:09:24 Brennan: (laughs) Um, Sunny.

1:09:28 Marisha: Yes.

1:09:29 Brennan: You take off out through the skies of Riggaba fly throughout, you can feel--

1:09:35 Marisha: As I'm, as I'm flying I just kinda, [a long sigh] let out an exasperated sigh.

1:09:46 Brennan: You alight on a balcony on the newly constructed Ramble. The old Ramble burnt down. The Ramble burns down all the time, when people try to destroy the Ramble. The Ramble is a 12-story tavern. Not structured like a skyscraper, like a house that they just kept building more house on. It is a monstrous, teetering Howl’s Moving Castle-esque abomination of porches and balconies and chimneys, and you land on one of the balconies. You can still hear hammering and wood other things like that. And again, none of this is like fresh lumber. This is like, recovered shipwreck they're building this all out of, almost like, very "Walrus and Carpenter" from Alice in Wonderland (mimics frantic banging and hammering), putting it all together. You alight on a balcony where you are planning your rendezvous, and you see above the balcony a figurehead that you can see is from the mast of a ship and it's an old ship. Ships like this are very rare these days, it's very few pirates who keep the old ways, who keep their word and the code and who revere the Shining Ones, the first pirates. Now most of those first pirates, as you well know, were cutthroats and scoundrels and of a more villainous sort. But you see this figurehead is your deity, and you see that it has clearly been placed here waiting for your next arrival by your old friend. You see Jane Wren, goddess of the horizon, freedom, and adventure. Her divine arm stretched and pointing to that faraway place which some say is the setting sun, some say is the Northern Star, and some say is always the next adventure. You see that a voice booms out from the shadows as you alight says,

1:12:04 Voice: Young mistress Biscotto, I thought you might enjoy this latest find.

1:12:10 Brennan: A towering, 11 foot tall minotaur in a captain's coat, enormous tri-corner that's bent a little bit from the bulge of his horns coming out. You see his eyes have gone a little bit milky, he can't see as well as he used to, his fur is graying, he's got like, that sort of cow’s tuft beard from his big old bull’s head. You see that he marches out, giant-- you see that his flintlock is just a small cannon that was put on like, a stick with a handle sort of under his side. Greying, again. And he has an old walking stick. His normally 11 foot tall frame is more like about eight or nine feet tall, he's stooped over with age, but he walks over and goes,

1:13:00 Tulwar: My dear Ms. Biscotto.

1:13:04 Sunny: Tulwar!

1:13:05 Brennan: (laughs) Yes, indeed you see this is your wonderful friend. This is Tulwar Zuhari-Royce, Admiral of the Blood Fleet and Captain of the Lady of Sundering back in the day, but now he sits in the Ramble and tells stories.

1:13:23 Sunny: Tulwar! I’ve-- (changing to a “pirate” accent) Tulwar, I've wanting to-- I've been practicing my traditional accent (dropping the accent) but that's not important 'cause wha-- You gotta-- Look at Jane, she’s so beautiful.

1:13:37 Tulwar: I thought you would enjoy, it's very rare to come across these old figureheads. Pirates mostly don't keep to the Shining Ones these days, the demigods of the open sea, but I thought Jane's beautiful face would inspire some... I don't know. Something in you. I know that you've been looking for an adventure for some time.

1:14:04 Sunny: Yeah, she's incredible. Oh... Wow... Well, what are we learning today?

1:14:14 Tulwar: Today, we'll be learning patience, I'm afraid.

1:14:18 Brennan: And you see that he pulls out, pulls out a bunch of scrolls, pulls a table out here, and pulls a chair up and says,

1:14:25 Tulwar: You know, my eyesight isn't great, and me and the other elder pirates have to go through-- James Whitclaw burned the old Ramble down, we're building this new one, and since there's no pirate king here--

1:14:35 Brennan: You see he puts this stuff out, says,

1:14:39 Tulwar: There's no pirate king anymore. Back when there was a monarchy at least stuff was a lot faster. Now, there's all this insurance information and we have-- we have to get the Ramble insured, and it turns out there's not that many banks that want to insure anything in a pirate city.

1:14:59 Sunny: I don't remember anything in the code about insurance. I just think we just need to go back to the pirate code.

1:15:08 Brennan: You see, he nods and sort of from memory says,

1:15:11 Tulwar: Right, the only contracts are signed either in blood or occasionally in spit, but for the most-- but that's not how these trading companies work, I'm afraid. Uhm, so listen, today I was wondering if you could help my old eyes. I--

1:15:32 Brennan: And you see he looks up and can sort of see your face as like another day is going by without like, an adventure or a quest. You see, he looks up at you and just goes,

1:15:47 Tulwar: Sunny, I'm-- I'm very sorry. You know the world changes and-and I know you believe in Jane with all your heart, but-

1:15:59 Sunny: Well, yeah, I mean she was a real person, right? She was, she was a real person, right?

1:16:05 Tulwar: No, she was absolutely. Oh, the pirate demigods were all real people who either conned, bartered, or just pirated their way into deityhood. It's incredible, you know the stories.

1:16:10 Sunny: Yar, yeah.

1:16:14 Tulwar: But Jane Wren was the only of those pirates who... saw fit to share her... wealth with the common folk to make the sea a brighter place for those in need and--

1:16:31 Brennan: and you see that as the radiant light kind of wraps around you in the setting sun and he says,

1:16:36 Tulwar: -- and you clearly wield her magic, it is obvious to see.

1:16:43 Brennan: He says,

1:16:43 Tulwar: But you know, there hasn't been a miracle from the Shining Ones in ages. Adventures don't just barge in through the door like they used to.

1:16:56 Brennan: Barging in through the door is Barbarella Sasparilla Gainglynn. Bob, you have come all the way up to the Ramble to see this beautiful balcony. There’s a table with a bunch of paperwork, and you see this ancient piratical minotaur and this sort of scrappy, heroic, young-looking parrot aaracokra with a rum barrel lid as a shield and a hook on a stick. The name Garthy gave you on this piece of paper was Tulwar Zuhari-Royce, and you have been directed through the Ramble to this balcony.

1:17:41 Sunny: [stuttering, in her pirate accent] Oh, hello, yarrg, hi young maiden. Welcome to our humble abode. [normal] Am I doing it right, Tulwar?

1:17:53 Tulwar: You are doing great. I think-- I think the accent is a stretch? It doesn't-- I don't wanna denigrate the work you've been doing on it, but it just feels like you're kind of reaching for almost every word you're saying. Like, I don't have that voice you know, I don't...

1:18:11 Sunny: But you kind of d-- I mean sometimes-- I mean, sometimes you can't hear yourself, so I g-- but you do a little.

1:18:17 Tulwar: Little bit, yes, I understand. It kind-- you know what it's one of those when it comes situationally, like when you're pillaging you kind of, you know, like when you've-- it's-it's very hard to say “Avast!” without sort of saying avast like that, but--

1:18:31 Sunny: Right, okay, you need a situation. I got-- okay.

1:18:34 Bob: (softly) Excuse me.

1:18:36 Sunny: Hi, sorry.

1:18:39 Bob: Hi. My name is Barbarella Sasparilla Gainglynn. You can call me Bob. Um. I just needed a little bit of help. You see I had this friend, and she's my best, best friend, and we work together in the Gold Gardens. And I went to her room, and she wasn't in her room anymore, she was supposed to be up there-- she had a friend over for a visit, if you know what I mean-- and so I really needed some help to, to find her 'cause she disappeared. I thought that she was gonna still be in the room 'cause we were supposed to spend time together, but when I went back to the room she wasn't in the room, she wasn't anywhere to be found, and I found this on the floor. And so there was this, but I'm on a mission because I need to find out where Trixie is, and I don't know where to start, but I thought maybe if I came here, maybe you could help.

1:19:23 Sunny: Did, did you just say a mission?

1:19:27 Brennan: You see Tulwar looks at you, Sunny, and goes,

1:19:29 Tulwar: Easy, easy, we don't know what's happening yet.

1:19:34 Sunny: (excited whispering) Tulwar this could be a chance, this could be it.

1:19:38 Brennan: Sunny, your like, Paladin Divine Sense, you see that the sort of like, lacquered wood of Jane Wren's figurehead eyes, you could swear for a second the figurehead turns to you and cracks a smile. And you see Tulwar says,

1:19:46 Tulwar: Alright.

1:19:53 Brennan: You see also Tulwar looks at you (Bob) and he says,

1:20:01 Tulwar: Oh my God, you’re Barbarella Sasparilla Gainglynn. I'm a huge fan. I'm an enormous fan. Incredible, I can't believe-- oh my God, I just-- my eyesight is not great as I approached about the lamp that's amazing. Um. Wow, okay.

1:20:16 Sunny: I'm, I'm a big fan too.

1:20:21 Bob: What's your favorite song?

1:20:25 Sunny: (a pause) (haltingly) Iiii love that one that you sing about ships! And Leviathan, and... ships.

1:20:38 Bob: Oh, “The Ships They Go A-sailing”, I love that song. It’s great.

1:20:41 Sunny: That's the one, it's so good. It just speaks to me.

1:20:48 Brennan: Tulwar looks at the lamp in your hand for a second, and he has to get real close. He has that thing of like, this giant Minotaur head and sort of you know, like big animals near you moving or like, woah, he just sort of has this weight to his movements, comes down. (sniffs) Sort of snorts and sniffs the lamp, and as he does so, he looks up and says,

1:21:13 Tulwar: This is... this is infernal. Very powerful. You would need to find some sort of dark cleric to appraise or identify this. This is... this is bad, bad magic.

1:21:29 Brennan: Um you see, he says,

1:21:29 Tulwar: I know one I could send you to, but it's a risk.

1:21:37 Brennan: You see he looks up and says,

1:21:37 Tulwar: Miss Gainglynn, the woman I'm thinking of lives in Jetsam, deep below the water. I wouldn't recommend going there if I were you, it's dangerous.

1:21:48 Sunny: Yeah, very dangerous.

1:21:52 Bob: You could come with me. You could come with me, and um, it wouldn't be as dangerous because there would be more than one person.

1:22:01 Sunny: Were you pointing at me or him. Or both, but he's just so big. It's kind of how-- it's in your field of vision.

1:22:10 Bob: You know what they say about minotaurs with big paws. (a pause)

1:22:13 Brennan: You see he says,

1:22:14 Tulwar: (laughs)--

1:22:15 Bob: They don't have fingers!

1:22:17 Tulwar: (laughs) That's right. They do say that, and I never knew why.

1:22:23 Brennan: You see Tulwar looks at you, Sunny, and says,

1:22:27 Tulwar: Sunny, if you feel that you can, go ahead and accompany Miss Gainglynn. I wouldn't dare to stand in the way of Ms. Jane Wren and her wishes.

1:22:42 Sunny: (squeaks) Oh, wait, um, sidebar one second, Ms. Bob. (whispering) You're not gonna come with me?

1:22:52 Tulwar: I'm so old. I'm so incredibly old.

1:22:57 Sunny: That's ageist to yourself. You’re healthy!

1:23:03 Tulwar: I'm what-- healthy-- no, I'm big! Big is not healthy. I'm very infirm. I'm-- listen, I'm incredibly strong, but if I tried to run I would probably break a bo-- I'm so old!

1:23:15 Sunny: This is so demeaning to yourself, Tulwar.

1:23:19 Tulwar: No, well, okay how about this: also, I don't want to. How about that?

1:23:24 Sunny: Okay. That’s fair.

1:23:25 Tulwar: I'm going to go inside and get some brandy and smoke a pipe and talk about cool stuff I did when I didn't hurt all over.

1:23:32 Sunny: Here's the thing, um. Being an aaracokra... we're kind of covered in feathers, and feathers and water... Have you ever seen those-- have you ever seen like a seagull like, get wet and covered in oil and stuff? It's not good.

1:23:52 Brennan: You see that Tulwar says,

1:23:54 Tulwar: Oh, very well. Well. Perhaps staying in Riggaba your whole life is for you. Perhaps this... adventure is past what you can--

1:24:08 Sunny: I'll go. (laughs)

1:24:11 Brennan: You see Tulwar turns to you, Bob, and says,

1:24:13 Tulwar: Very well, you have some accompaniment on your mission, Miss Gainglynn.

1:24:18 Brennan: You see, as the two of you get ready to head out, You see Tulwar calls after you and says,

1:24:26 Tulwar: And you know, Sunny. If it gets to be hard going, remember there are plenty of people who would have loved to have been up here in the air and the Crow’s Keep this whole time, so it's never too late to turn back.

1:24:43 Sunny: I can't tell if you're trying to encourage or discourage me.

1:24:48 Tulwar: Ha ha ha! It's always both. [Timestamp 1:24:44]

1:24:48 Brennan: And you see Tulwar turns to walk inside. And as those words echo of the people who have longed to be up in the Crow's Keep, we cut all the way down. Deep, deep, deep in the bowels of Leviathan, and there is a series of three holes in the deck. So we're three layers down below Galleyard. And in a tiny, ill-bedecked room, looking through a telescope all the way up at the Crow's Keep and the Compass Points Library with all of its tomes of lore and wizardcraft, we see a little room decorated with star charts and symbols and all the little scraps of things that could have been gathered. And we see a little boy looking through a spyglass up at the places far, far above. Carlos, could you describe your character for us?

1:25:50 Cheese: Yeah, I guess if I had to, you know, describe myself. You know, I'm a thinker, I'm a planner. You know, I carry my, my keeper everywhere, I got my little trapper keeper and Velcro sticky.

1:26:05 Carlos: I think the camera pans over and shows like all his little trinkets on his shelf like carefully placed, like little figures, like pirate figures facing each other about to do combat. Two orbs that are used for like arcane focus are also there. They're put together like a yo yo. And he's in his shorts and his shirt from Cannonball High, which has like a mascot on it and his pirate coat and hat that are two sizes too big for him are on his bedpost as he looks up.

1:26:44 Brennan: Cheese, you're looking up, there's the Compass Points up there. For some people, the path to wizardry is an easy one, but you have only ever had the scraps you can find, your trapper keeper, and Cannon Court can be a hard place. And speaking of being a hard place, the door to your room flies open. Wearing a little pork pie hat with big bushy mustache is your father, Fitlock Stormcrank and behind him in a gown that's honestly way more expensive than anything in your room is your mother Keydum Stormcrank. Your father bursts in and says,

1:27:25 Fitlock: [gravelly, shouting] Cheese! What the hell are you doing lookin up through that dang ding dang, that thing spyglass?

1:27:31 Carlos: Cheese scrambles, he's just like trying to like put it— put it away and like put it,

1:27:34 Cheese: [panicked] Oh, yeah, sorry. Yeah, I was I was just about to find, I was just about to come out and find you. [laughs nervously] What's going on Pops?

1:27:41 Fitlock: Your mother and I are gonna go see dinner and a show and have a nice date. We're getting some escargot and some caviar and some other things. But I don't understand for the life of me why you aren't out there working.

1:27:55 Cheese: I'm, this thing. I'm working way later on tonight. I mean, we're not even. What time is it. How long have I been, oh, no, I'm sorry. I'm late, I'm late, I'll go. I'm heading out, um, don’t worry!

1:28:07 Carlos: And he's like putting on his coat. And he's like, putting on his hat.

1:28:11 Fitlock: That's right, what in—

1:28:11 Brennan: and you see that your mother comes over and says,

1:28:14 Keydum: What in the dang, what is this?

1:28:17 Brennan: You see, she picks up your trapper keeper and says,

1:28:20 Keydum: [mockingly] You looking at your runes and your spells again? You gonna be a big time magic mancer, huh? No! No magic mancy in this house, all right. We focused on things that are real, like crazy doodads and machines that do cannon stuff and blow up, okay.

1:28:41 Cheese: Um, yes, yes ma’am but, but some things don't have to blow up. Some— sometimes you know, sometimes you can just move it and like you don't have to put a hole in it or break it or— or try to sell it. Sometimes things are just good and—

1:28:54 Fitlock: [angrily shouting] Oh, oh okay! You don't want things to blow up? 'Cause it seems like you want your old man to blow up, Cheese.

1:28:57 Cheese: No, no—

1:29:01 Fitlock: I'm about to blow up right now.

1:29:03 Cheese : No, sir. No, sir. I wasn't. I wasn't looking to upset you at all. I completely understand. I mean, yeah. [scoffs] Are you kidding me, I'm totally into blowing stuff up. I was just, I was just pulling your leg. I blow stuff up all the time! Um, I shake up— I shake up the soda before I open it. I don't even care anymore. [rakes a hand through his hair, trying to act cool] It's just, I don't even care, man! Brennan laughs.

1:29:23 Brennan: You see he says,

1:29:23 Fitlock: Yeah, I bet you don't care. Look, you get to work, all right. Raising a kid is expensive, okay? How are me and your mother supposed to raise you without an income?

1:29:38 Cheese: You're 100% right. I've been slacking. I'm a slacker! But you’re setting me straight, Pops. I totally get, I appreciate it. Don't get– don't give up on me, sir.

1:29:50 Carlos: Roll my hat, put my coat on.

1:29:53 Brennan: You put on your hat, your stuff. He says,

1:29:56 Fitlock: Don't you forget it. This family,

1:29:57 Brennan: You sees he says, you see your mother goes,

1:30:00 Keydum: [dabbing at tears] If your brother Spaulding was still with us, you know he would have taken care of the family. What a beautiful boy. Oh, perfect boy, so perfect.

1:30:12 Brennan: Your dad looks to you and says,

1:30:14 Fitlock: Spaulding knew what he had to do and what it took, okay and you're wearing his hat, and you're wearing his coat. He wasn't messing around with magic. Go get paid, we are gonna go see a show, good night.

1:30:26 Brennan: And you see that, slams the door and they take off. And Cheese, you see over in a corner of your room. There's still the little portrait of your older brother Spaulding who has been you know, MIA for some time. And you see he's got you as a little, little guy like on his knee in this portrait. And unlike your terrible parents, is smiling and rustling your hair and as he always did, a wonderful older brother. Cheese, work awaits! What's Cheese thinking of doing as he– as he walks his way towards his work in Cannon Court.

1:31:11 Carlos: Yeah, I think it's a, like a Charlie Bucket scene, right? Like he's running through, saying hello to everyone. Like, but like, perfectly in sync with the city, right? Like as soon as he's running, like it looks like he's gonna hit this guy, but that guy always bends down to water his flowers at this time, you know. So he's like able to jump over him, you know, he's saying hello to like, the trash guys. There's always like four trash guys. I always picture like, [ticks off on fingers] Heart, Dash, and the Ians.

1:31:42 Brennan: [gesturing to indicate big space] Yes, you see, Cannon Court is a big mechanical neighborhood. All the cannons of Leviathan are made here. [waving to indicate moving chains] There's chains and foundries and smelting. [whooshing] There's like tons of dwarves and gnomes here, so you're like sliding underneath moving chains, there’s like conveyor chain belts of like buckets of water and coal moving around. You see a bunch of dwarves shoveling coal into a giant furnace all go,

1:32:04 Dwarves: [deep, accented] Oi there, Cheese, good luck today!

1:32:07 Cheese: Good luck to you folks too!

1:32:07 Carlos: [reaching his hands up] He's like warming his hands as the coals are like under him, like,

1:32:10 Cheese: Ooh, ooh! [rubs hands together] Warming up! Cheese mimes running.

1:32:12 Brennan: You run by just like, there are two gnomes that are like [lurches forwards] pilloried in stocks. You see that they have like their head and arms like in the public stocks. This is Milo and Winnie who are like, they're almost always committing crimes and so in these stocks for some reason, but they're a great neighborhood gossips. So you see they both look at you and go like,

1:32:29 Milo and Winnie: [oafish, waving] Hi there Cheese, late again it seems.

1:32:32 Cheese: I'm always late Milo and Winnie, hey! I've been working on, I've been working on Sparkle Darts, check it out! Cheese leans to the side and waves his arms.

1:32:36 Carlos: And like you casts, like Magic Missile but he doesn't know like the name of Magic Missile, you know and like- he like- he like calls it Sparkle Darts.

1:32:45 Milo and Winnie: Wow, that’s incredible! Also looks highly dangerous! Be careful with that, my friend!

1:32:49 Cheese: It's gonna be great! It's gonna be great!

1:32:52 Brennan: You squeak through. As you squeak through your arcane focus, your magical yo-yo made out of cracked crystal orbs begins to glow. Go ahead and give me a Perception check with disadvantage.

1:33:09 Carlos: Ooh. So that is a 11.

1:33:09 Brennan: Cool.

1:33:09 Carlos: And the other one is- yeah, 11.

1:33:15 Brennan: Cool, you dip off to the side. Your globe starts to glow a little bit, indicating the presence of a nearby magical artifact. And normally it like flickers or like, like [sparking] spritzes a little bit with some sparks at like, a scrap or whatever? It illuminates the entire passage that you are in. [whooshing] Something big, not just a scrap, something big is nearby. You're late, but you have never seen your orb indicate anything like this before.

1:33:54 Carlos: So he kind of stops in his tracks- Cheese just like stops in his tracks and he's just like,

1:34:00 Cheese: Um, ooh, uh. I need to- This is, um, bah- Oh, I know! The Waldo!

1:34:08 Carlos: And like that's- he casts the Waldo, which is Locate Object. So I wanna see if I can find exactly where this is coming from.

1:34:20 Brennan: You, [whoosh] you detect a powerful piece of magic up through a little grate in the ceiling up above you, you can sense the object through that grate. It's in a sort of locked off private dwarven foundry. Even a regular sized gnome couldn't get through this hole, but you're like a scrawny 16 year old kid. You think you could dip through here if you needed to.

1:34:44 Carlos: Cool, I start like stacking like little boxes from- that are, like misplaced or whatever and try to like, [miming] crawl up into it.

1:34:54 Brennan: Cool, awesome. You crawl up into it. There's a place that like, where the thing ends? But you see it there is an area of rotted wood. There's like a, a plank of rotted wood that is like partially folded into the space that you could dip your head in it. You’d have to like sort of crawl up on the spar of wood, but you can peek out. You are up. You're like about 40 feet up above this massive foundry floor. They have like [miming hammering] riveted steel into the floor to have big crucibles, like we're talking like huge 30 foot tall crucibles like giant foundry works. There are all these dwarves here that are, you see all of them are like, like Leviathan dwarves that have been here for a long, long time. So they don't have, they're not wearing like armor or dwarven clothing. They've got like tons- They're like punk dwarves. They’ve got like tons of gold earrings in, nose piercings. Their beards are all dyed like wild pirate colors like cerulean or lime green but still braided, tons of rings and jewelry. You see, there's this massive dwarf who is talking to a group of people. There are about 30 elven, half-elven, and human naval officers along with a bearded musket and bayonet wielding elf, a lordly looking half-elf, as well as a bugbear that we're pretty familiar with. Marcid, another stop on the way, you and these other soldiers have teamed up again. Lieutenant Mardres is here. At the back of the group, Cheese, you see it. There is a chest. The chest is closed, but not locked. And you know that the artifact is in that chest. This could make all the difference in the world to you. You see the scene unfolding beneath you, though, and immediately get that little that sort of childlike thing of like oh, I'm seeing some serious grown up stuff. Marcid, you see that Langley is speaking to one of the dwarves here.

1:37:32 Carlos: Can that Dwarf be wearing a My Clerical Romance shirt? Brennan laughs.

1:37:38 Brennan: Yes. 100%. Wearing a shirt that says My Clerical Romance. You recognize this dwarf as Bowser the Broad. Bowser is this sort of the foreman of this foundry. You see that uh, so, Sheffield-Harrington looks over and says,

1:37:53 Langley: My dear Bowser I assure you, this will be the last such task that we require from you. You've been paid handsomely and I understand the crises of conscience do play a part in business. But let's please be reasonable, I can assure you that the bodies will come to no harm at all.

1:38:16 Brennan: You see, Bowser goes,

1:38:20 Bowser: Right, it is what it is. This is the last one, aye.

1:38:25 Brennan: The dwarves go and carry this huge 15 foot carved copper like tube but you see it's like sealed on the end, almost like minarets, and there are runes carved into it. And there are, the runes are carved into the tube all the way so they're almost like a cookie cutters looking into the inside of the hollow tube. Such that if a candle was lit inside it would illuminate all these open runes in there. You see that, Marcid, you watch and Cheese you're seeing this as well, that the captain of this sort of naval fleet motions. There is a woman in a deep cloak, cannot see her face, cannot see her body. But you see, the lieutenant shoves a figure that is bound and gagged. That was on her knees. You see a very familiar looking tiefling. Trixie is thrown to the floor. The woman grabs her hand and doesn't look trying to do this but drags her across the floor. Trixie has been like blindfolded, gagged, hands tied behind her back. The dwarves bring this tube out and you see that the woman draws a black serrated dagger. Takes Trixie's hands that are behind her back. Stabs quickly into the palm of her hand, draws the blood across her mouth. Trixie like wriggles her way out of the binding the gag and goes,

1:40:12 Trixie: I don't know what all your problem is, but when Garthy and Bob find out that you did this y'all gonna be in a heaping helping of trouble.

1:40:20 Brennan: The woman just says,

1:40:20 Woman: I'm afraid all of Leviathan is in a heaping helping of trouble.

1:40:30 Brennan: [growls] And lashes this forked tongue out of her mouth that stabs into Trixie's neck. And vomits this flame; the giant 15 foot copper tube fills with fire and then settles. The inside is filled with a helix of this like stable magical flame, casting light from the runes. The soldiers come grab that from the guard. And you see that Trixie is alive but just staring ahead and just goes,

1:41:05 Trixie: Bob? Bobby? Bob.

1:41:14 Brennan: You look at, Sheffield-Harrington looks over, looks at the woman and Mardres and says,

1:41:23 Langley: Take her body to the Sternwood with the others.

1:41:23 Brennan: And says,

1:41:27 Langley: Men let's go and get that tube placed, shall we?

1:41:31 Brennan: Cheese, you can tell that they're wrapping up and can still feel that incredibly powerful artifact in the chest. You know something very bad is happening. Is there anything Cheese is thinking of doing in this moment?

1:41:42 Carlos: Are they all distracted from the chest? Are they all...

1:41:44 Brennan: It looks this big mag... actually when that big magical thing is going on, that seems like the best time for you to try to do something if you want to.

1:41:52 Carlos: Yeah, I want to try to sneak down there be a little sneaky, sneaky.

1:41:55 Cheese: Oh god. Okay, Cheese, Cheese, Cheese. Get down there.

1:42:03 Carlos: Was trying to like hype himself up. His brother, like his brother has always led the way. His brother was super brave. He was like well known in the neighborhood unlike Cheese is definitely a soft boy. He's definitely a little cheez whiz. So he's gonna try to, he's a gouda boy. He's definitely gonna try to like, like hype himself up while he's in that like little like, vent or whatever. And try to sneak down there.

1:42:33 Brennan: Go ahead and give me a Stealth check with I'll say make this with advantage.

1:42:38 Carlos: Cool, 19, oh 21.

1:42:42 Brennan: 21, little wizard boy you, like the zip on your yo yo snap it back into your hand. You go over the chest, not locked. I'll say that same Stealth check lets you open it. You see the daughter of storms. You see this statue underneath, it looks big but you, you would probably be like your full encumbrance to carry it. But you probably could lift it if you needed to.

1:43:12 Carlos: Can I get out of this room, did I jump down or?

1:43:15 Brennan: You did jump down but you could climb up back the way you can.

1:43:21 Carlos: Okay, Cheese's like

1:43:21 Cheese: Oh, oh, oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.

1:43:27 Carlos: Like looks, darts left and right and then like, and then like heads heads back.

1:43:34 Brennan: Cool, you're like. Go ahead, I'm gonna say. Go ahead and give me an athletics check and then I'm gonna say give me, give me an Athletics check first.

1:43:43 Carlos: 5.

1:43:53 Brennan: Give me, okay, give me a Stealth check with disadvantage.

1:43:57 Carlos: There we go. First one is pretty good. Second one, 10.

1:44:08 Brennan: Okay, I'm gonna be generous here. Cheese--

1:44:10 B. Dave: And that is under my passive perception. (laughs)

1:44:16 Brennan: 10 is under almost everybody's passive perception. I'm, Cheese I'm gonna be generous here. You make it all the way up back to the hole up near the roof that you climbed out of. You've got this thing like strapped to your back, this giant block of stone. You get up, pull yourself in but that rotten piece of wood fully collapses. You are hanging into the wall and a huge chunk of the wall just collapses and slams into the floor. The entire foundry turns and looks right at you. Hanging 40 feet up in the air with the stone, Langley goes,

1:44:57 Langley: Oh, the stone. Marcid my good man, could you catch and kill that child?

1:45:08 Marcid: Absolutely, sir.

1:45:08 B. Dave: I hit him with Hunter's Mark. (laughs)

1:45:18 Brennan: Um, Cheese, you see this bugbear hit you with some spell, you're marked, and what do, Cheese what do you do?

1:45:26 Carlos: Do I still have the stone on my back?

1:45:28 Brennan: You have the stone and you, no one else can get up here quickly. So you have your runaway passage. You can run if you want to.

1:45:36 Carlos: Yeah, I'm going to cast, I don't even know if I have time to do, Ctrl Alt Delete. Invisibility. Run as fast as I can like, like start shimmying through because I know they can't go through that like they're way too big to go through this opening.

1:45:57 Brennan: Yeah, Marcid is gonna have to find another way to get through here. So you've got a big head start but you got some spell on you.

1:46:03 B. Dave: Yeah.

1:46:04 Brennan: Terrifying bugbear by the way, the moment Marcid moves he is vanished from your sight, right.

1:46:17 Cheese: Okay Cheese, you trained for this

1:46:18 Carlos: It's like he's freaking Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" going through a vent.

1:46:24 Cheese: You got this, you got this.

1:46:26 Brennan: Incredible, you just flee into Leviathan just like looking for a place to hide. You can't go back home, your parents will probably kick you out onto the street if they find out that you stole something that a person’s coming to hunt you. You're just like fleeing as you can. You run as fast as your legs can carry you all the way through Cannon Court. Just terrified out of your mind until you arrive in a neighborhood in your have never been in before. You're in The Bilge. This is the dark, rotten, underbelly. This is a neighborhood that some say is haunted. This is where the people that can't exist under the daylight come and hide away. Here's where the lycanthropes, the vampires, all manner of folks that live better away from the light of the sun. You're running, you get to a part of The Bilge that you feel cold, and there's like mist. You're deep in the shipwreck city, like you're probably like five, six, seven decks below the surface. And you begin to hear music lilting. Lilting around you, you can't even tell necessarily who's singing it but you hear this song begin to echo throughout from these ghostly voices.

1:48:00 Voices: (singing) Unlucky Jack is a cursed man, and at night he makes his way, For to break his heart on the Bilge's wall, still he reaches final day, It's a haunted man who can hear the dead and heed their mournful cry, Even more that they should bow their heads to see Jack still alive, Unlucky Jack is a cursed man, the one the Gods forgot, Don't need his eye but just give thanks that poor Jack you are not.

1:48:41 Brennan: You hit something as you're running, and a towering figure in the cold mist turns around to regard you. Matt, could you describe your character for us?

1:48:59 Matt: As you look up in the kind of darkened atmosphere, the mist just barely parting as you see this towering shape, slowly turning around to kind of meet your direction you see about a six and a half nearly seven foot tall, humanoid rat, one of the various ratfolk that live here on the Bilge, and in the Bilge, but on the Leviathan as a whole. But this is the largest rat man you've seen in your time here on the ship. You see his, his legs themselves are long and spindly but the torso itself widens toward the shoulders meet with this giant muscular upper body. You see bits of kind of tattered deckhand clothing and this kind of long gray mustache that drags from the end of the older rat's snout. This, this is a ratfolk in there's, his later years. Probably in what would be the human equivalent of his late 50s or so. With the green rag tied over the top of his head kind of sunken dark haunted eyes and you see kind of held by the right hand hanging over the shoulder a massive thick piece of wood. Almost like a like a support or part of a mast that he kind of clutches and hangs one arm over as he spins back over looking at in that direction he goes,

1:50:13 Jack: Right, right, so... Hello?

1:50:19 Cheese: Hello, excuse me, I'm sorry. I seem to be a little lost right now. You know you, you look busy so I'm sorry, sorry, whatever you're, you're building a house or something, I gotta go.

1:50:38 Matt: Right, as you go to turn the other hand kind of just reaches out and grabs the top of the stone and just holds you in place as he goes,

1:50:45 Jack: No right, right, just wanted to say hello.

1:50:52 Cheese: Hello, my name is Cheese. My name is Cheese. What's your, What's your name?

1:51:01 Matt: You see like a small smile kind of curl across the face.

1:51:06 Jack: My name is Jack. You, you ain't running from me are you?

1:51:14 Cheese: No sir, no sir wasn't, I wasn't running. I wasn't running from you at all. Just I haven't been in this neighborhood before. So you know, haven’t seen anyone around, there were also carolers or something? I don't know.

1:51:33 Brennan: As you say the carolers thing you see the mist kind of swirls. Jack, you're grabbing this stone and you flash to something for a second. You just flash for a moment. First of all, you see for a moment translucent hands place themselves on your hand wrapping around the stone. Cheese, for a moment you feel the stone become lighter. Two years ago. [crashing sounds] Jack, your ship is in pieces. You cannot tell which way is up. You cannot tell where the air is. It has become more than water, it is foam and wreckage. The waves in the sky have intermingled lightning and thunder is everywhere. You can't tell where to swim to get air. All of your dreams, your life everything. Something is moving away from you in the madness, chests, crates, cargo. A chest you don't recognize, it opens for a second. You see a face in stone. You see a face in stone and then the wave is on you and the mast that saves your life in your arms. This moment of horrifying relapse of a vision of this traumatic experience. You're back: your hand on the stone as you look beneath it, you see the face you saw in the water in that stone.

1:53:23 Jack: All right, you little one. Where did you, where did you find this?

1:53:29 Cheese: I just, I picked it up. I found it. It was in a chest I, but no one was there. I mean it's probably mine. You know it, they called me, yelled for my, for my name, you know I should be on my way.

1:53:47 Matt: At this point you watch as Jack kind of puts his hand over the mouth of the child for a second.

1:53:50 Jack: Shhh.

1:53:53 Carlos: It's like my entire face like he just palms my head like a basketball.

1:54:00 Matt: Jack kind of stands up a little more upright from his hunched position, his usual posture and glances around the space.

1:54:07 Jack: Shouldn't be out here holding onto something quite as dark as that. Come with me,

1:54:13 Matt: And kind of releases his face. And without dragging him just kind of lumbers off to a nearby alley. (laughs)

1:54:24 Brennan: You begin to move.

1:54:25 Cheese: The scenario is really weird, but okay. (laughs)

1:54:32 Brennan: You begin to follow this dude who seems to recognize this stone somehow. As you are walking through the neighborhood you begin to come through an area that is less kind of catacombs and more full ship’s hulls that have been hollowed out and are now filled with shacks and tenements. So weirdly, it's almost like a hilly neighborhood again because the swell of like ship’s inner keels, like the inner hull of the ships, makes it a more natural geography. And this little ramshack- like there are some tenements with multiple apartments. Jack, as you walk along, you see that there are like little buckets of tar that have been left out and like hammer and nails have been left out in places. Cheese, as you look over you see that a mother wrassling, like this rat folk woman. Who's wearing like a washer woman's dress and has sort of a little bonnet around her head comes out with a little linen shirt sort of pirate shirt and little shorts, little rat boy. They come out with a little mending kit as well as a crust of bread on a plate that they— and you see the little boy has the plate and you're probably like half a block away from this. Little boy walks out to the sort of curbside, as much as this like wooden street has a curbside. And he goes to put the plate down and looks up and Jack the little boy meets your eyes and goes [gasps] and you see the mother just quickly pinches his ear and says,

1:56:20 Mother: Don't look at him boy. Just leave the food, leave the mending kit and walk back inside.

1:56:27 Brennan: And you see that the boy sort of mutters an apology and says,

1:56:30 Boy: Mom, I'm not cursed, am I?

1:56:32 Brennan: She says,

1:56:32 Mother: No no, just get back inside.

1:56:35 Carlos: Yeah, Cheese is just following behind. He's super nervous and when he's nervous he keeps talking and chattering. I imagine it's something very similar to like, you guys ever see the movie "Dick Tracy"? Dick Tracy with the kid. Like where the kid just keeps talking like that's what's happening and like,

1:56:53 Cheese: Um, so this where you hang out, this is a pretty cool spot.

1:56:57 Carlos: And then like sees like the kid runaway he's like, oh my god. (laughs)

1:57:03 Matt: For every major question that comes up, too, the only response it gets is [grunts].

1:57:10 Cheese: Pretty cool, pretty cool like a lot of nails. Nails are cool they hold stuff together. Are we going far down, are we going out, do we have, should I call someone? Should I? Maybe I should.

1:57:25 Jack: You're a bit far to be calling someone around these parts here, child.

1:57:31 Brennan: As Jack passes these offerings, what sort of what's, what's like the expression on Jack's face as he's passing these places? And is he stopping or is the stone sort of more important to him right now?

1:57:45 Matt: I mean, he gives a sidelong glance and kind of, his step pauses for just a moment and he gives us the tail end of a mild sigh. Before he picks up his step once more. Kind of takes a piece of the bread and keeps walking.

1:58:03 Cheese: There was a whole plate of muffins, we should, I mean, it looks good. I would have take it. I haven't had muffins in forever. I mean, you can't really afford those types of blueberries where I come.

1:58:13 Jack: I have lost my appetite, let's just say. Keep walking child, lest you be taken.

1:58:21 Brennan: You move further into The Bilge and you arrive at a small dwelling place. Matt, what do we see when we enter Jack's dwelling place here at the edge of the Bilge.

1:58:35 Mattt: This ragged hovel, that constitutes largely one singular chamber of about 10 by 12 feet. It is, it is not too terribly dirty necessarily. It's just rough, it's barren. You see a single bed that is obviously too small for this, this poor fellow. You see, it looks like a portrait on the wall of two older ratfolk that itself is kind of just weathered and starting to mildew on the bottom. You see there are, bits of rope slightly sagging from one corner to the next. Where little trinkets hang from like fragments and in pieces of broken wood. And you see there is what looks to be one rather unsightly collection of kind of a greenish brown mold that is gathered on the far corner across from where the bed is settled. There's a table with a single chair and a couple of small kind of scattered boxes. It is, it is a very sad space. (laughs)

1:59:40 Brennan: You enter the sad space and again the temperature around there's, there's just kind of chill in the air. And for a moment in the port like sort of the sheen or whatever metallic substance there is here. It's burnished like sort of brass. So it's not like a clear reflection but for a moment almost looks like there's other figures in the room in the reflection from the small little candle holder. You, this sort of this dank smell and you see over in a corner there is a thick growth of mold of this like again thick, just like lack of care in this place and you hear a voice say,

2:00:26 Stimey: [gravelly] Oh welcome, welcome to the master’s return.

2:00:31 Brennan: And the mold, you hear a little like [wet sticky sound] as two eyes open up in the mold and a mouth kind of [wet sound] peels open and you see that this mold looks up and goes,

2:00:45 Stimey: Master Jack, back so… Oh a visitor! Well, let's put out a spread! [laughs]

2:00:56 Jack: By all means, Stimey, but we've got seemingly important matters to discuss. Close the door behind ye if you don't mind, chap.

2:01:01 Stimey: Aye, aye.

2:01:06 Brennan: You see that Stimey, like you know how mold is like if you can see it, there's way more behind it that you can't see? You see Stimey grunts with effort and some fungal stuff in the hinges of the door like [closes fist] pulses like muscle and closes the door. Carlos makes a disgusted expression and blows out a slow breath. Brennan laughs.

2:01:26 Cheese: [uncomfortable, hesitating] Okay, love, love what you- love what happened to your place. This is, uh, pretty cool, hey um, I'm, your friend's name? My name's, my name’s Cheese-

2:01:47 Jack: Have a seat.

2:01:47 Matt: And he kicks the one chair over in your direction and it kind of [screeching noise] skids right towards you. He turns the large piece of mast over and sets it on the ground with a [sound of a heavy impact] and then sits on it like a bench and goes,

2:02:00 Jack: Name's Jack Brakkow, I’m a handyman. I've seen that stone on your back there and, ah, I don't like it. How did you come about such a strange artifact there, boy?

2:02:18 Cheese: Well, I'm new to it. It's, it, it’s brand new, so I haven't had time to like work- work out anything so how it's gonna affect people, I didn't know. I honestly didn't know so I apologize in advance if you're, if it somehow offends you in some way. I can’t read all those things on it. I [improvising] found, found, found it. I found it. I found it because it's mine. I found it because it's mine. Carlos shrinks back.

2:02:44 Matt: He leans in a bit and the faint bit of candlelight kind of just quivers and darkens ever so slightly as it kind of under lights the older rat face as it leans towards him.

2:02:56 Jack: You carry a piece of ill omen, you do, boy. Wherever you found it, either you be placing it back or keeping it far from the hands of those here on the Leviathan, lest it befalls the fate as I have.

2:03:11 Brennan: As you say ill omen, Cheese, you hear sort of off in the distance like, [Brennan hums shanty softly]. And both of you hear [thunder cracks] rumbling of distant storm clouds. Myrtle, you are within the temple. The vision of Umberlee filled this space with rage. You see that she, [bursting] as she begins to sort of fade, says,

2:03:53 Umberlee: Find them. Find them who have it. And find who it was that brought it on this ship in the first place.

2:04:03 Brennan: And vanishes. You see Rory looks over and says,

2:04:07 Rory: Aye, mistress, it looks like the lady with the big head was so angry.

2:04:13 Myrtle: Yes, Rory. She was justifiably filled with rage from the ill omens, the bad magic. I [clears throats] will do as our mistress commands. You stay here, guard the—

2:04:32 Aabria: And she kind of looks at like the hole in the bottom of her temple.

2:04:37 Myrtle: -crevice, and I'm going to go find that stupid stone.

2:04:45 Brennan: You see that, as you say that, you see Rory says,

2:04:49 Rory: Okay, funny stone that. Lots of funny things today. Funny name for a ship too.

2:04:56 Brennan: You see that Rory reaches out and pulls a chunk of driftwood out of the refuse. You have a piece of driftwood of the name of the ship that sank with the stone.

2:05:02 Myrtle: Oh.

2:05:08 Brennan: You see on the side of it, it says "The Late Bloomer.”

2:05:12 Rory: Funny name that, "The Late Bloomer"! [laughs] Blooms is the thing flowers do, anemones as well, more- more familiar with anemones than other things.

2:05:25 Aabria: She, she wants to be mad at Rory but he is really cute. And now that there's no one else around she's just kind of like, aw, you dummy. I love you.

2:05:33 Rory: I'm not very bright, am I? [laughs]

2:05:38 Myrtle: No, you’re brilliant. I-

2:05:40 Aabria: And she's gonna go and grab it. Do I have any, like, would I recognize this name at all?

2:05:47 Brennan: You could cast Identify on it and maybe get some more information out of it if you wanted to.

2:05:56 Aabria: Yeah, let's do that.

2:05:58 Brennan: Hell yeah. As you’re casting Identify on it, amazingly, two more air breathers walk through into your temple. Sunny and Bob, both of you walk- have gotten water breathing potions from Tulwar. You are down in Jetsam and you both walk through into the temple to see Myrtle here.

2:06:23 Aabria: As she's busy casting this spell, I think this sound of like—even underwater, this like echoey sound of bells beginning to toll—starts kicking up. And she looks, and she looks up and her eyes are jet black as she is beginning to cast Toll The Dead 'cause she wants to be left alone for two seconds. But she'll stop.

2:06:41 Myrtle: Yes?

2:06:46 Brennan: Bob and Sunny, you are in this crazy underwater temple with these artifacts floating around and see Myrtle and incidentally Rory in the back.

2:06:50 Bob: Hi Myrtle!

2:06:55 Sunny: [pirate accent] Oh, ye be the mistress we've been looking for. [normal] Maybe Tulwar’s right, I don't know if the accent is really working.

2:07:06 Myrtle: Honestly, it's kind of a lot. I am Myrtle, Templar of Umberlee, the sea bitch. What can I do for you?

2:07:14 Sunny: I’m Sunny.

2:07:22 Bob: Why act like we don't know each other? I saw you a couple of weeks ago, you came to look at my show. You looked so sweet, you didn't even say a word you just like didn't even do the whole Myrtle the bitch thing. You just came right in and it was so delightful to see your face.

2:07:38 Myrtle: God damn it. Hi, Bob. I'm, I was trying to do a thing for the, for the parrot-

2:07:44 Bob: For the boy?

2:07:46 Myrtle: Yeah, [clears throat] come— come in. Do you, do you need a top off on the breathing thing that you all do so often, you good?

2:07:52 Bob: Sunny?

2:07:58 Myrtle: Yeah, come Sunny. Come on. Come on.

2:08:02 Marisa: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sunny is also like, very awkwardly just trying with her feathers wet and trying to like flap swim over in this very uncomfortable situation.

2:08:16 Myrtle: So you're not really descended from those birds that dive underwater are you?

2:08:21 Sunny: No, no I didn't. Yeah, that's not us, yeah.

2:08:27 Myrtle: Well now that my cover is blown, hello Bob. Hello Sunny, what can I do for you?

2:08:35 Aabria: And she just kind of chucks the piece of driftwood to the side.

2:08:43 Bob: So, we're looking for Trixie. You know, Trixie, my friend. She's really really sweet with the thing.

2:08:52 Myrtle: Yeah, says mean things if you give her enough gold, yeah. I'm aware.

2:08:54 Sunny: What?

2:08:56 Bob: Oh, yeah. I forgot you guys are familiar. Sunny here is coming with me, we're on adventure and we're trying to figure out what this is for. Because this was on the floor in Trixie's room, someone took her or I don't actually think somebody took her. I think she ran off to be a pirate. So I decided I'm gonna run out to be a pirate too. So I'll go on an adventure myself and I'm gonna take this here bird with me. You want to come too?

2:09:28 Sunny: We're trying to uphold the pirate traditions of the olden days. You know, just like it's really hard to find good pirates these days and just, it feels like a valuable thing that we should have as a society and it just feels like we've really like lost our place. You know in Leviathan, sorry.

2:09:55 Myrtle: You’re good, that's fine. You want me to find, you want me to be a pirate with you? I got lost, there was a lot of words.

2:10:06 Bob: We kind of, we kind of make it up as we go along.

2:10:10 Sunny: Yeah.

2:10:11 Bob: It's just kind of an idea 'cause you don't really lose your friends that often to the point where you just don't see them anymore. And you just saw them like maybe twenty minutes to an hour maybe before, and then all of a sudden they’re gone but we can't...

2:10:23 Aabria: Okay, I'm just gonna swim over and put her hand over your mouth just,

2:10:26 Myrtle: Okay. Wonderful, yeah okay. If I say yes will you talk less?

2:10:37 Sunny: Well, you see I just feel like you know to Bob's point we're making it up as we go along and spirit of adventure you know, that you just kind of don't have any more. So, I can't really make any promises and I don't want to speak for Bob. Of course, I'm, I think there's lot to talk about.

2:10:58 Myrtle: [attempting to interrupt] I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Yeah, okay yes, I have some work to do in and around Leviathan so I'll come with you and help you be a pirate.

2:11:13 Brennan: Myrtle, you can detect through your pearl the faint glowing magic of the broken lamp that they've brought here as well. And I'll let you do one Identify and double up on the driftwood and on this thing as well.

2:11:28 Aabria: Okay, yeah and I think she kind of like swims around and gets very low and close to this lantern. And kind of like touches it and like takes it and what is this? And yeah, I cast Identify.

2:11:44 Brennan: So, starting with the broken lamp, powerful infernal magic here. It looks like there was something here that was like bringing out some explosive infernal fire magic. And also you sent some enchantment magic around it such that like it seems likely to you that if there had been someone with infernal blood or some kind of infernal heritage that this would have been like, enchanted them with something from the enchantment school of magic. Bound them potentially in some way or another. It's also very interesting because you look at the sort of workings of this. It looks like this was mass produced, made. That there were, that there was something fairly— and you see a small little stamp on the bottom of it. The idea of someone making magical items in a assembly kind of way. It's pretty offensive. I think just to your like whole vibe. A little mark of a crescent moon stamped into the base.

2:13:00 Aabria: Crescent moon, and I think as she looks up from it and makes eye contact with both Sunny and Bob, she inadvertently like crushes it in her hands. And it just sort of drifts down and becomes part of like the drifty rubble in her temple.

2:13:16 Sunny: Oh, I— oh, we were, it's fine.

2:13:20 Myrtle: It's something that if— where did you, where did this come from?

2:13:26 Bob: That's what I was trying to tell you. When we went to look for Trixie, it was on the floor.

2:13:32 Myrtle: This has powerful compulsion and enchantment magic. I, and that crescent moon. Where do I, where have I seen that?

2:13:42 Bob: Oh, like that company. The crescent guys, you know, the guy with the big guy and the other guy that work in the town. Crescent uh, crescent… You know is that, moon is it?

2:13:59 Myrtle: Yeah, looks like we need to go find my friend Marcid and get to the bottom of this.

2:14:06 Sunny: Do you guys like, how does everyone in this town know each other. I haven't met any of you all before.

2:14:10 Myrtle: I get why we haven't met. I'm assuming you live in a cloud or something.

2:14:21 Sunny: Riggaba, there's I mean, there's really only clouds on certain like low pressure you know, storm front days but I wouldn't say I live in a cloud.

2:14:34 Brennan: Myrtle the last bit of your Identify is you also get the last owner of the ship because you have literally where the name was on the prow of the ship. The last owner was a man named Jack Brakkow. Who you know because you love cursed things. This is one of the most cursed dudes in Leviathan.

2:14:58 Myrtle: Oh Jack, it's finally time for us to meet. This will be sweet. All right, I'm in.

2:15:12 Brennan: Which, which lead are you kind of heading after first. Are you heading after Marcid or are you heading after Jack for the moment?

2:15:19 Aabria: Let's go find…  Shit. I like Bob a lot, I'm gonna, I'm gonna follow up on Marcid and get to the bottom of Trixie being gone first.

2:15:31 Brennan: Hell yes. You take off after Marcid, sort of again using magic to find your way there. Your, your pearl’s good at finding treasure. And because you gave Alycon, the Trident of Warning, to Marcid, you can always just find Alycon. 'Cause Marcid’s impossible to find. So, Marcid, you have arrived in The Bilge. You are approaching Jack Brakkow’s place. You know your quarry is in there.

2:16:00 B. Dave: [growls] Can I-

2:16:01 Brennan: Yeah, go for it.

2:16:02 B. Dave: Can I see the kid through a window?

2:16:05 Brennan: Jack, I don't think, would you have windows in your spot, or, no?

2:16:08 Matt: No windows, just straight wood.

2:16:10 Brennan: Just straight wood, it's like a sad fucked up cell. You're looking at a not great living place.

2:16:19 B. Dave: Mm. I need to wait for them to come out because basically everything I do relies on the element of surprise. [laughs]

2:16:28 Brennan: Well, how about this, speaking of the element of surprise. Speaking of the element of surprise, you are pretty damn surprised to watch Myrtle, Barbarella Sasparilla Gainglynn, and Sunny Biscotto, walking up with the look of people, almost like people that have like a GPS thing on their phone of like, [holds up hand, miming checking a phone and looking around] “It’s around here!”

2:16:52 B. Dave: Then if, if I know they’re coming and they're gonna ruin everything. The Hunter’s Mark, do I know like the nearest wall that it is near?

2:16:59 Brennan: Yes, you do. You either have to do the hard thing of like busting through the wall, or you have to, you can wait for this kid to come out because it looks like, yeah-

2:17:10 B. Dave: I know she'll- she'll find me. [laughs] Well actually, I get in position. I feel, 'cause I really cannot overestimate- Everything I do requires the element of surprise. So the moment they tip anybody off that I'm here, I'm kind of ineffective.

2:17:29 Brennan: So awesome, Jack and Cheese. Hey, jack cheese! As you are, as that thunder rolls, you begin to hear voices outside of Myrtle, Bob and Sunny all approaching.

2:17:46 Sunny: Yeah, this neighborhood, man, it’s a really creepy neighborhood. I haven't really been down here.

2:17:54 Cheese: Are those your friends?

2:17:55 Aabria: I just wanna clarify that Myrtle is in like a little watery sphere and she's curled up in it. And she's kind of driving it like a little watery rascal and she looks like, like all of her stuff are droopy and saggy and her makeup is the opposite of waterproof, it's not air proof so it's all like melting off of her face and it's just... awful.

2:18:18 Matt: As he's asked this question, you see Jack has perked up, kind of ears turning that direction goes,

2:18:24 Jack: Sorry, child, I don't have friends. Stand back.

2:18:28 Matt: And kind of puts a big arm out in a motion to kind of get the child behind him with the stone.

2:18:33 Brennan: Rad, cool. You guys are approaching. So you three are looking for Marcid but Myrtle, you also know this 'cause you're like, why are we near Jack right now. You know you're near Jack as well, so Marcid, you see them approaching. Looks like the people inside are not coming out. Go ahead, I'll just say give me a DC, it's not, it's pretty rotten. So just give me a DC 15 Athletics check to bust through the wall.

2:19:10 B. Dave: That is 19, so aye.

2:19:14 Brennan: Incredible, Marcid, you bust through the wall rather than rolling initiative. I'm gonna look, go ahead and say let’s resolve this attack really quickly, but I will say make your attacks with disadvantage because Jack put the kid behind him— put Cheese behind him.

2:19:37 Carlos: I will say Cheese has his yo yo out and he's like building up steam like walking the dog like waiting for it.

2:19:45 B. Dave: Is 22 enough to hit you.

2:19:46 Carlos: Hit me?

2:19:48 Brennan: Almost 100% yes.

2:19:50 B. Dave: Right.

2:19:51 Carlos: Yeah, he’d hit me twice with that number.

2:19:53 B. Dave: Butt of the Trident though like, boom. For 28 non lethal.

2:20:03 Brennan: 28 non lethal is exactly enough to put Cheese out. They call him Marcid The Typhoon for a reason. He blows down the wall, knocks the kid out with the butt of a sphere and in the sort of spray of debris and rubble Myrtle, Sunny and Bob are all framed in the hole in the shack wall. Being like, oh my god, Marcid's here.

2:20:32 B. Dave: I just look at him for a second and I'm like,

2:20:35 Marcid: Jack Brakkow. It's been a dog's age, mate. Laughter.

2:20:42 Matt: Jack has after kind of sitting up to push the child behind, watching Cheese just get knocked the fuck out by— Seeing Marcid, immediately just reaches out and grabs the mast and picks it up in a defensive position and goes,

2:20:56 Jack: I ain't gonna ask, but I'm certainly gonna return.

2:21:01 Matt: And I'm gonna go after Marcid. Laughter.

2:21:06 Brennan: Sunny, Bob, Myrtle, you watch as Marcid the Typhoon and poor Jack Brakkow go at it, mast and- you see Alycon the trident say,

2:21:18 Alycon: Master, I think we are in a great deal of trouble. You've lost the element of surprise, and this man is cursed to be virtually unkillable! [laughs]

2:21:27 Marcid: I- I think I know that I might be in danger, girl. [twirls trident]

2:21:27 B. Dave: You know. [laughs]

2:21:33 Brennan: And with that we are going to conclude our first episode. As all the pirates of Leviathan have come together deep in the Bilge, around the Daughter of Storms. And our poor Cheese is unconscious. Laughter.

2:21:48 Carlos: [shakes head] Poor Cheese!

2:21:51 Brennan: What new adventures wait? Tune in next week for Pirates of Leviathan. Yar har har! (upbeat music) [NEXT EPISODE - Episode 2: The Daughter of Storms]

2:21:51 Transcribed by: Kyber Bonsai

2:21:51 Edited by: Tillie the Paladin, Kyber Bonsai, Matzoballmonk, Sola, Catherine, gluegunshots, solsys