Whispers in Wregate
Journey back in time with the Time Breakers as they infiltrate the Black Sun Festival, attempting to alter the fate of the city by thwarting a cataclysmic plot. But beware, for a greater threat looms that could overshadow even the consequences of their plane-shifting actions. Can this epic adventure be completed without too many rippling butterfly effects, or will they change the world for the better?? Come along and find out!
Whispers in Wregate
WiW 30: NoTa Night Life
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What happens when past friendships and future destinies collide? Prepare for an edge-of-your-seat episode as we navigate the intricate relationships and high-stakes missions of the Timebreakers. Shimmer and Lord Corvitash venture into delicate territory as they confront his fiancée, aiming to clarify Shimmer's protective motives. Meanwhile, Elise, Thaddeus, and Sarah find themselves entangled in a deadly game inside the Zealous Horse Tavern. Disguised as 'Marcus', Elise faces off with an assassin and two formidable foes, negotiating for her hard-earned reward amidst brewing tension.
Discover the haunting revelations of a dystopian future where cultists reign supreme, and Regate's fate teeters on the abyss. The storytellers from this bleak timeline unveil their desperate mission to rewrite history and prevent the rise of the cult. As they recount their connection to Lady Seraphina and unveil their plans, trust and destiny hang in the balance. Will retelling their story under a Zone of Truth spell alter the course of time, or are some fates sealed no matter the effort?
Lastly, witness the team's wit and resilience as they navigate the treacherous night. Elise entrusts Thaddeus with a significant gold stash, only to face a dagger-wielding gnome in a narrow alley. Quick thinking and clever deception become their lifeline, showcasing the group's impeccable teamwork. With Thaddeus immersed in blueprints and Sarah keeping vigilant watch, the pressure of a ticking clock marking their third day keeps you on the edge of your seat. Tune in to experience a night filled with suspense, clever ruses, and the relentless drive to rewrite history.
Come join our discord, not only to meet the players but to join the City its-self and gain the opportunity to join the party as a guest on their adventures : <a href="https://discord.gg/Y7UNS7aErT">Discord</a>
This podcast uses many sounds from freesound.com, for the full list see here: https://eliselappan.wixsite.com/multimedia/general-5
Opening and closing music Composed by Ryan Muns, owner and operator of Eyes On The Moon Studios. For inquiries, please send an email to eyesonthemoonstudios@gmail.com. Eyes On The Moon Studios can be found on Spotify, Bandcamp, and most other major streaming services.
hello and welcome back on baron battlebred, your guide through the streets and whispers of reggae gather round. You lost folks as we spiral back to the Timebreakers trying to rewrite history and change their fates.
Speaker 2Timebreakers Time Timebreakers.
Speaker 1When we last left off, shimmer had taken Lord Corvitash to his fiancé's house and they were having a chat about trying to explain the whole situation finally as to why they were friends and why shimmer was so interested in keeping them alive, whereas elise, thaddeus and sarah had gone down to the zealous horse tavern, sat on some saddle stools and finally spotted somebody who looked like an assassin and made their way to the vip room. Well, at least did. Thaddeus was still eating and sarah was preoccupied with a bottle of brandy. With 128 hours left until their sacrifice happens, will they be able to complete their plans in time? I don't know. Elise, you have disguised self. You are standing outside the vip room. You are pushing the door open. How are you handling this? What would you like to do?
Speaker 2as far as what elise is, a simple patterned knock, something you might expect from you know, a shady rendezvous like a dun-dun-dun-dun.
Speaker 1Maybe a little. Follow. Your little thieves can't see if you got some secret rogue knocks going on, correct, okay, why don't you roll me a performance? Why don't you roll me a performance? Because you do have. You are a rogue and you have thieves can't, as a language, if there are special knocks, go ahead and add your proficiency bonus. So performance roll plus four, that is 11. Interesting, that was not a good roll for you, no, so you knock. No answer, yeah, still no answer. No shuffling of feet, no voices.
Speaker 2Nothing. Give this another try, a different knock. Must be thinking of the wrong thieves, can't?
Speaker 1Okay, let's see. So you know that your first one didn't work.
Speaker 3It wasn't shave and haircut.
Speaker 1Roll me a history. Check this time and see if you can remember anything from the future or from the past. That is a 16. That's much better. Uh, you know that the assassins guild has their own knock, and you try that one instead, at which point a very kind of like surprisingly lighter than you expected, but also very gravelly voice goes at least we'll wordlessly enter all right.
Speaker 1you push the door open, you step inside inside this room, uh, immediately you can see that there is a the assassin character sitting at a table, a small round table like on the side of the room. And you can see, at a more lavish table there are two other individuals one very well dressed uh like kind of it's a human individual very dressed in, you know, silks and golds and rings and jewelries and way too much, way too much for this tavern, like not even trying to hide it, kind of way too much for this tavern. And you can see, sitting next to him is a smaller, maybe a gnome kind of creature, but they are heavily scarred and you can see a scar that runs across their throat. They are most likely the individual who tried to talk you into coming in just a moment ago. They probably can't speak very well. The human is going to turn towards you and he's going to look at you for a second and he's going to go. Marcus, you have returned With good news, I hope.
Speaker 1I the mark has been dealt with and you bring evidence of this.
Speaker 2Elise throws a rat and blood-soaked rag onto the table that contains the ear.
Speaker 1Yes, with Corvitash out of the picture, getting to the prince will be so much easier. I take it he was an easy dispatch. Elise gives a simple nod. He would be for someone of your talents. This he's sitting there. This man is like clapping his hands, in short, tiny bursts, just absolutely giddy with excitement. Uh, you're getting a side eye from the assassin sitting at the table and the gnome sitting next to the man is also kind of looking at you a little bit, but not like not too much more than you would expect of somebody who's just untrusting of everybody. Uh, the man reaches under the table and he grabs, he pulls out a large sack of of you. What you assume is gold. As it clinks, as he drops it on the table, he says 13,000 gold, as promised.
Speaker 2Elise knows that the promise was more than that. However and on the one hand she is she is definitely greedy enough to ask for more. However, she's also savvy enough to realize anything she does can compromise the situation. And we'll stand there remaining silent.
Speaker 3Roll me an insight check 13. So hold on. Are you trying to stay silent because you're waiting for them to like accept that you called their check Well?
Speaker 2the way I see it, there are two other assassins here that presumably are expecting a cut of some sort, are expecting a cut of some sort. There is one patron who is offered 20,000 gold but instead placed on the table 13,000. Presumably, one of these other two assassins is a handler. The one that is going to make the conversation is going to call the difference.
Speaker 1And you're right. As you stare at this human man who's placed a large sack of gold on the table, uh, that dagger flies past you into the bag, splitting it partially, and the assassin, who is sitting at the small table, just says you know, that wasn't what we agreed on. Then he's like, he throws his hand up in like, uh, mocking. I don't know what that emotion is.
Speaker 3Kind of a shrug.
Speaker 1What? Yeah, kind of like ah ooh, big scary assassin man. Then he starts laughing again and he reaches down and he pulls. Yeah, dismissive, like, ooh, okay, you got me. He reaches down and he pulls another large sack of gold out from under the table and he says, alright, you got me. There's 10,000 in each. I guess you guys are smarter than you, look, you would have to be in order to do the thing. I would never stiff you, it was just a little joke.
Speaker 2Elisa will walk over, bring the bag slowly from the table of the wealthy patron over to the assassins to offer them the chance to divvy up the coin.
Speaker 1Okay, you hand over, you put the bags down on the small table with the other assassin. They grab the one where that they threw the dagger into and they kind of like you watch as they just kind of weigh it in their hand and then drop it into a bag at their side, uh, where it disappears into what you presume is a bag of holding, and they say, mine's good, yes, it'd be fine.
Speaker 2He knows better than to stiff the thieves guild yeah, at least we'll not take her bag on the side. Um, and she's paying attention to where the ear is going. Uh, who is grabbing and taking the ear?
Speaker 1the uh rough looking gnome is grabbing the ear, uh folding it back up and putting it on an inside pocket of their cloak and the gnome is one of the assassins or one of the patrons uh.
Speaker 1Based on the fact that they're sitting next to uh, the wealthy patron, kind of like as a buffer, you assume that this is a bodyguard rather than a member of like. This person is definitely hired to protect this person, especially when dealing with, you know, hired assassins. So you have currently 10,000 gold in a bag and your business seems to be concluded. What would you like to do here?
Speaker 2Elise will calmly walk out with the bag of gold.
Speaker 1The gnome is keeping an eye on you just because they've only got the one good eye. It's watching you the whole time as you leave. But you step outside, nobody says anything else, nobody tries to stop you. You are successful.
Speaker 2Quick telepathy to Thaddeus. Deal is good. Meet in the alleyway, at least 10 paces behind.
Speaker 4Smart Thaddeus understands the message and he is going to finish up what he's eaten. Make sure everything's all paid up and to go meet Elise in the alley, okay, at the appropriate time, so at least, you specifically said for Thaddeus to meet you in the alley 10 paces behind, okay, at the appropriate time.
Speaker 1So, elise, you specifically said for Thaddeus to meet you in the alley ten paces behind, yes, so you would like to leave first? Yes, okay.
Speaker 2So make sure she's not followed.
Speaker 1Gotcha, you step outside and into the alley. Roll me a perception. Check, goddamn Nine. You quickly glance around and step deeper into the alley, but you don't see anybody. Thaddeus, will you be following?
Speaker 4I will be following and I will be signaling to Sarah to follow as well.
Speaker 3Excellent, Sarah will finally put away her bottle.
Speaker 2Elise is going to tuck herself behind some objects, so she has maximum coverage when she drops Disguise Self.
Speaker 1Okay, so you drop Disguise Self in the alley. Yeah, go ahead and roll me, since you're taking maximum coverage. Why don't you go ahead and roll me Stealth? You know? Because you're hiding 31. That is very impressive. Go ahead and roll some dice here. Wow, okay, I rolled a nat 1. I didn't know my dice were going to do that. That was cool, nice, yeah, okay. Okay, so you hide in the alley and before thaddeus can come out, you watch as the gnome comes stalking down the alley right past you, dagger drawn and just continues.
Speaker 2Sounds like she's supposed to be there. She's just hanging out, right they walk.
Speaker 1They walk right past, dagger drawn, paying you no attention, their heads swiveling left and right because they've only got the one good eye and you watch as they make it to the end of the alley. They look both ways down the street and stalk back around the side of the building, and then Thaddeus comes down the alley.
Speaker 4Elise, yes, elise, where are you?
Speaker 3Right here in front of you, Looks down oh.
Speaker 4So how'd it go?
Speaker 2We are now a few thousand gold richer, which is rather exciting, I must say.
Speaker 4Did you find out why and what their motives are they trying to do?
Speaker 2It seems it is a power grant. They're trying to move Lord Corvatash to be able to I'm assuming they're involved with the cult or, alternatively, they're trying to create a power vacuum that they can fill. But, more importantly, they are now in possession of an object that I can cast a spell to find. I'm very familiar with that ear.
Speaker 1Oh you sneaky. You're right, you can't.
Speaker 4Mav Hatter pulls one over the DM Success.
Speaker 1I didn't even think about that. Yeah, you could. Okay, alright, you guys are having this conversation and I assume you're headed home.
Speaker 4Yeah, we'll be sharing additional details. I don't know what are we doing, Elise.
Speaker 2Importantly, we are stashing this gold somewhere where it can't be tracked or can't be found.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's probably safe. As you guys work on that, I know what two of you have a bag of holding at least.
Speaker 4Yeah, actually, yeah, but we don't want to put anything else in that bag of holding.
Desperate Plans to Stop a Cult
Speaker 1Okay. So as you guys are hashing out those details, we're going to jump back over to Shimmer, talking with Lady Seraphina. You sat down and over the past maybe 45 minutes, you have spilled out as much of this story as you understand it. Yeah, I assume you start with the fact that you're from the future, yes, okay. So why don't you give me a brief description of the kind of things that you would say? Just give me a short rundown.
Speaker 5The fact that my group are in fact from the future, a version of the future where the cultists won and Regate was sent to Limbo. She will say that she wasn't in Regate at the time of the sacrifice. She ended up there through other means, so she doesn't know exactly what happened during the festival. She just knows, based on stories and she is actually friends with lady seraphina in the future and that she was actually in her necklace at the time. So she's not entirely sure how they ended up in the past, but they ended up in the past after doing a job uh, for the, not a company, which isn't important right now okay, okay, uh, so you share all this information?
Speaker 1uh, okay, uh, why don't you go ahead and give me a? Uh, a history roll history?
Speaker 1yeah, just for fun, for you know, for me, uh 14 that's not bad, um, based on the information that you have, uh, based on the information that you know, and uh as, since lady seraphina is your friend in the future, you do have uh, you are able to sprinkle in information based on stories that she has told you about her past that make it that much more believable. So, as you're telling these things, first she's staring at you kind of like I mean yeah, sure you're saying these things, but what do they really mean? These are just words. And then you start sharing information that she has told you, and then your story keeps adding up, and then, by the time you're done explaining everything, she's looking at you like, oh my God, we need to do something about this keeps adding up. And then, by the time you're done explaining everything, she's looking at you like, oh my God, we need to do something about this. The question that I have is would you tell her that in the future, corvitash did not survive?
Speaker 5I would if she asked. I'm not going to say it in the story straight away. I'm going to wait for them to ask or say something. I'm going to be a little bit more hesitant whether or not she should.
Speaker 1Okay, yeah, then I guess we'll start in that direction. This is a fascinating tale that you are bringing to me, and you say that you have such an interest in us because we are friends and that you have saved my husband from assassins, as it were. Since you come from the future and you know you are now interfering with events of the past, is this a situation that has come to light previously?
Speaker 5I am not sure you do not know, the uh shimmer is gonna hesitate.
Speaker 1Um well, I based on the fact that he looks just as confused as I was when we started means you also did not share this story with him.
Speaker 5No, I did not. You are the first people that I have told the full story to that any of us have told the full story to.
Speaker 1Yes, I noticed in your story, as you were explaining things, you used many anecdotes from my own past. I noticed you used none of his.
Speaker 5Shimmer's going to hesitate for a moment, sort of glance at him and be like that is because I have never meant it, At least not till now. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1I see, so you have. I guess that means one of two things, doesn't it? That means one of two things, doesn't it? Either A you are lying to me or B that you have effectively changed his fate by saving him from this assassin.
Speaker 5I hope that it was the second. I also hope that it was the second.
Speaker 1I would be quite sad to find that you are not only a liar, but that you let my husband die.
Speaker 5I'm sorry, my fiance not my husband yet. I would also be very concerned to discover I am a liar, but, yes, I hope I have saved him and changed his fate and that this is not something that is related to us trying to stop the cult prematurely, which is a worry that I have had. We don't know.
Speaker 1I feel like your story is so convoluted, right Like you know anecdotes of my past, which means that if you have been spying on me, then you would likely have been spying on him, and it would be very silly if you did not include him in that information, if you had that information, but the fact is you did not, which means that he was not part of any investigation that you may have had into me to get my trust. So, as near as I can tell it's the only thing that makes sense is that you are from the future, we're trying to stop a cult and that we are friends.
Speaker 5Yes, I am also willing to retell the story under Zone of Truth if you wish. It is also. I'm going to turn to Court of Attach. That is also why, when we went to the castle that day, the first day when I was warning you, I resisted the Zone of Truth spell because there were some truths I needed to get around when telling the story due to well being from the future yeah, you were under a little suspicion about that, but uh, it was a lot easier with your friend, just kind of gave it all up.
Speaker 1So clearly he didn't know about this, or I guess maybe he did, we didn't ask the right questions.
Speaker 5You didn't. It's more a case of didn't ask the right questions. It's more a case of didn't ask the right questions. Every one of us of my group are from the future.
Speaker 1All of you, even the little robot thing. Yes, that thing's so cool.
Speaker 5The robot is Thaddeus' little war machine.
Speaker 1Thaddeus is the lady with the hair right.
Speaker 5No, it's the man, oh yeah, the man with the hair right.
Speaker 1No, it's the man, oh yeah, the man with the hammer. That makes sense. Yes, the man with the hammer made the robot thing. I get it.
Speaker 5We usually wouldn't be around them, but they're kind of stuck together given the predicament.
Speaker 1Why wouldn't you be around them? They seem like good people.
Speaker 5Usually they're not my type of people, Usually they aren't. We don't usually run in the same circles Usually, you know oh.
Speaker 1I'm going to be honest you don't really look like you run at all.
Speaker 2Wow.
Speaker 5Damn, I'm athletic, I have Colin, we're fat, I have a plus four to acrobatics. How dare you.
Speaker 2Like I said, I have this acrobatics rating.
Speaker 1I mean that's great and all but like.
Speaker 5The unrelated.
Speaker 1For my own sanity, just because I said that Shimmer, what kind of shoes are you wearing?
Speaker 5I Right now I'm wearing servant shoes because of disguise okay, but uh, for the most part.
Speaker 1What kind of shoes do you wear?
Speaker 5I not running shoes. What kind of shoes would nobles normally wear?
Speaker 1probably something with short heels yeah, so that basically like, uh, you know, like those those two inch thick heels, something that makes them a little bit taller uh, probably something like that.
Speaker 5Yeah, she like oddly enough, she wasn't like, yeah, she would be wearing like some kind of short heel normally, but like it would be like it wouldn't be disconnected. I don't think it would be like it wouldn't be disconnected. I don't think it would be like a platform, a fully connected.
Speaker 1Like a pump or a wedge yeah, a wedge, Anyway. So if what you are saying is true and I am firmly believing that it is because at this point I have to then we are in quite a predicament. Indeed, they have taken the lizard, the only other person that we knew we could trust. The guards themselves turned on my fiancé, and that means that we know none of them can be trusted. They took a powerful magical artifact, something that, within its space, completely dispels the magic. That is also not good. And we have until the end of this week-long festival in order to find spells the magic. That is also not good. And we have until the end of this week-long festival in order to find and put a stop to them. And our greatest source of that, the lizard, has been kidnapped.
Speaker 5Yes, my associates are currently looking into the assassin that attacked Lord Corvatash. Hopefully they have some answers.
Speaker 1Well, you know, if they ask too many questions it will be very suspicious.
Speaker 5Indeed.
Speaker 1Let's hope they know this.
Speaker 5I believe they know what they're doing.
Speaker 1I hope so, but from what I can tell here, it sounds like that we are. What is the saying that they use? We are up a creek without a canoe.
Speaker 3That is accurate.
Speaker 1So how can we help? If we are all that we can trust, then we must be able to come up with a plan in order to protect ourselves and the rest of the town. What can we do? So do you have a plan?
Speaker 5The plan right now. We need to get the lizard back. That is the most important thing right now.
Speaker 1Okay, we need to obtain the lizard Louis-Ignatius' affair most likely went willingly. While he is a fighter, he sounds like he was trying to protect my fiance, which means that he may have traded his own life for his. That is something his dumbass would do it is noble, but it is foolish and it wouldn't have worked.
Speaker 5Either there was either the stonewall spell would have sealed him in there or the assassin that stayed behind. She's just going to shake her head.
Speaker 1Absurdity in every direction. Apparently, that's okay.
Speaker 5But that is why our part of why we are looking into well the assassins. If they know where the lizard is, the better.
Speaker 1Okay, so your team is checking in with the assassins to see if we can find where they may have taken the lizard. Perhaps we should investigate into this cult. Huh, throw out some feelers. Check with the few connections that we have that we believe we can trust.
Speaker 5There's. I've seen a play tell about this, so I check with the few connections that we have uh that we believe we can trust there's uh do I? I've seen a play tell uh about this, so I what I I know about the wagon jumpers right roll me a history check like uh 22 uh, yeah, uh.
Speaker 1You know that there is a group of adventurers out in the city right now also working on stopping this cult in their own roundabout way.
Speaker 5I know that there is another team working on this. From this time, from this timeline, the original time, I believe they're called the Wagon Jumpers.
Speaker 1That is a silly name.
Speaker 5I don't understand it. I think they tried to do something like jump a wagon over another wagon.
Speaker 1I mean, if you're going to get a name like the Wagon Jumpers, you would have to do something as such.
Speaker 5But they worked to try and stop the cult. I know they exist.
Speaker 1Well, you know they exist and we know that the cult I know they exist. Well, you know they exist and we know that the cult Succeeded, which means that somewhere along the way they failed.
Speaker 5They failed. But if we know who the wagon jumpers are, we know that they're people who aren't with the cult, so at least that's that's another group of people that we know are firmly on our side.
Speaker 1Okay, I've got it. Then I Lady Serafina Altmund as I am, since we cannot send my husband out as people think he was assassinated. Correct, Correct. Okay, I will send some of my most trustworthy people to find these wagon jumpers, my most trustworthy people to find these wagon jumpers and hopefully I can obtain more information for your team, perhaps, and maybe even give them enough information as to why they failed, and hopefully this time we may succeed With two groups working on it. It may be enough manpower, who knows?
Speaker 5I hope so, don't we all, especially with knowledge of the future. I know Thaddeus and Elise were in the city at the time so they know more about the actual events, but they weren't in the festivals, didn't participate in the festival itself, so they have a lot more limited information than people who did so they were basically cooped up at home. I believe. Correct Out of character, correct, is that, if I remember it correctly?
Speaker 3Yeah, sounds about right Interesting.
Speaker 1Well, there is not a lot that we can probably do this late in the evening, but I suppose I do have a question. Noble to noble, of course. If you are from the future and we know that the city gets a little bit destroyed, do you know who survives? What businesses do you think I should maybe invest in?
Speaker 5Oh, be not come. Shimmer immediately gets a shit-eating grin over across her face and said the biggest company in the future is called the not-a-company. I have already put in a preemptive investment in them from in this time.
Speaker 1You can't come back to the past without trying to keep a little money. Huh, Obviously not.
Speaker 5I'm actually involved with them in the future as well, so they are very good people, okay.
Speaker 1So I should look into this. Not a company, huh.
Speaker 5Indeed.
Speaker 1A little less than you know, trying to save the world and stop a cult, but I will look into them a little bit. Yes, fascinating, of course, right. Well then, would you like to stay the night here, for it is getting very late.
Speaker 5It is late, yes, and I would like to stay. Keep watch, make sure things go well here before heading back out to my team.
Speaker 1Okay, you may stay in one of our guest rooms. I will get my fiancé cleaned up and I suppose we shall see you off first thing in the morning.
Speaker 5Thank you, my pleasure.
Speaker 1I can tell we are going to be very good friends.
Speaker 3Indeed.
Concealing Gold in an Alleyway
Speaker 1And we're going to jump back to Elise, Thaddeus and Sarah. You've got 10,000 gold in a bag. Did you figure out what you were doing with it yet? Nope, yeah, at least it doesn't have a bag of holding. I believe Thaddeus does.
Speaker 4I have one bag of holding on my persons and I have another bag of holding that's in Sarah, but we do not want to use that bag of holding.
Speaker 1Got it, but you have one on your person, which would be the current safest place to put a bag of gold. Uh, if you know, that's how you want to do it.
Speaker 2I need you to understand Thaddeus. This is more trust than I've put in anyone in my entire life. I will give you this bag of gold for you to store it safely.
Speaker 4Yep, Okay. And then Thaddeus pulls out the bag of holding. He just holds it open. He's like chuck it in. It takes at least a couple seconds to part hands with this tremendous amount of gold no-transcript.
Speaker 2Eventually she drops it in?
Speaker 1Yeah, I believe it. Since this is taking a few moments for you to do this, are you doing this still in the alley, or have you made it back to Thaddeus' house, or what's going on here?
Speaker 3We're still doing this in the alleyway.
Speaker 4Yeah pretty much.
Speaker 1Excellent, sarah. Since you're probably not, you're probably the closest one to where this is happening, go ahead and roll me a perception check.
Speaker 3Thank you.
Speaker 1Sarah, as they're doing this, especially since both of them are kind of focused on these two bags, you see at the end of the alley a short figure stalking towards the group. I pull out both of my figures and interpose myself between them, as is your right, as you guys are putting the gold in the bag. You guys watch as Sarah steps, probably around you, I hope.
Speaker 1Yeah, and drawing both weapons and draws both of their weapons as Elise. You turn to look at this and you see the gnome stalking back down the alley, just kind of looking left and right, dagger out. This is is this the same gnome as before? This is the same gnome as before it's fucking hilarious.
Speaker 3He's still looking left and right, so he still hasn't seen the entire group of people standing in front of him but more more like he's not concerned with this group of people.
Speaker 1Right, you don't look like the person he's looking for. You're not his problem.
Speaker 2Does Elise see this happening?
Speaker 1Yes, since Sarah stepped around you guys and is drawn and ready Telepathy to Sarah.
Speaker 2Stand down this gnome, do not engage the gnome.
Speaker 3I will put away one of my weapons and shield out and keep an eye on them as they're walking past us looking for their prey.
Speaker 2Elise will also thinking on her feet. Start to drum up conversation about the festival with Thaddeus. Did you hear that they're bringing in a float? It's supposed to be magnificent, what? And she's like pushing the bag away so it's out of sight. Yes, they're using arcane crystals to energize the float. It's supposed to be a magnificent display, okay.
Speaker 1Are you high? At least roll me a deception check.
Speaker 2Oh motherfucker. That one a 12.
Speaker 3That's not bad.
Speaker 1I know it's a dead one, but it's more than a 10. I'm going to see what happens. You got so lucky, you got a 12. I rolled a 10 flat on my insight. Nice, the gnome is going to move past you. He's going to hear what you say, so he hears you say that they're bringing in a float. It's charged with arcane crystals, and he's going to turn his head towards you slowly and he's going to say what did you say?
Speaker 2There's a float. It's something with the festival, Something fancy with arcane crystals. I heard it from a float. It's something with the festival, Something fancy with arcane crystals. I heard it from a rumor. I don't know if it's true or not. Why is it called a float? Because it floats likely Flying machine. Wouldn't be the first time. I'm sure there's mages and they're flying machines all over the place.
Speaker 1He's gonna start to walk off and then he's gonna turn around around and he's going to be like, hey, how long have you been standing here?
Speaker 4I look back at him and I say you wouldn't happen to sell soup, would you?
Speaker 3What the fuck.
Speaker 1No, I am looking for a human in a cloak. Have you seen him?
Speaker 2Doesn't sound familiar, but I might check that alley. That way she points in the opposite direction of Thaddeus' house. Yes, I probably should.
Speaker 1If you see him, though, tell me immediately.
Speaker 4Well, if you happen to see a gnome selling soup, please let me know.
Speaker 1So, thaddeus, this is the second time you've brought up the gnome-selling soup. Please let me know. So, thaddeus, this is the second time you've brought up the gnome-selling soup, so I have a question for you. Are you attempting to confuse this man? Uh, are you just kind of like making small talk towards him, like a performance check, are you?
Speaker 4I'm genuinely inquiring about soup from a gnome. That soup the uh first day smelled really good.
Speaker 1Why don't you go ahead and roll me an insight check?
Speaker 4please tell me he's also, I'm completely confused by elise's uh sudden conversation.
Speaker 1Switch to uh floats go ahead and give me an insight check, we'll uh we'll see what happens.
Speaker 4Two for a total of nine.
Speaker 1Yeah um, you're absolutely confused, uh, by the whole situation suddenly changing around you.
Speaker 4You, you haven't quite gotten elise's subtle hints also that I did have a lot to drink and he was at the bar for hours drinking you don't quite see the look of anger in this gnome's eyes.
Speaker 1And he just says I don't sell soup.
Speaker 4Yeah, I got that buddy. Have a great day.
Speaker 1If you see the man in the cloak, you let me know.
Speaker 3And he turns to leave.
Speaker 4Yeah, sure, whatever.
Speaker 3Jesus, fuck Thaddeus.
Speaker 1Thaddeus, what's your AC? Hey, yeah, what a jerk. Thaddeus. Thaddeus, what's your AC. Hey, yeah, what a jerk Thaddeus. What's your AC?
Speaker 2Thaddeus says all gnomes look the same.
Speaker 1Hang on, hang on, thaddeus. What's your AC?
Speaker 4My AC is 13.
Speaker 1Okay, there is now a dagger in your boot.
Speaker 3I am going to rage and attack.
Speaker 4Like, did it actually cause me damage?
Speaker 1No, it's like right between your toes, okay.
Speaker 4Before Sarah has a chance to rage and attack, I simply say don't worry about it.
Speaker 3It's too late.
Speaker 1He effectively threw a warning shot.
Speaker 3Specifically say that I still have my sword and shield drawn as I'm watching this guy, so he's now going to throw a death saving roll yes, he is who is.
Speaker 1I am raging and I'm attacking oh, you're going after the gnome, okay, yes, yeah, okay, um, we're just gonna make this. So I guess, uh, okay, is there anything we can do to? Stop this from happening.
Speaker 2We're just gonna make this. So I guess, uh okay, is there anything we can do to stop this from happening, because, like this, screws up the entire plan?
Speaker 1Okay, so, currently there in terms of alignment, not in terms of like. In the way that this goes, there's Sarah, and then Elise is next to her, and then Thaddeus is next to her, and then thaddeus is so, and then thaddeus, and then the gnome is at the end of the alley. Now, who has just thrown a dagger at thaddeus as a warning for making fun of gnomes so effectively?
Speaker 1sarah has to move past as far as he was concerned, you are. Sarah has to move past elise and thaddeus in order to get to the gnome. Um, so I guess the easiest way to do this is with an initiative role, because sarah is going to move first, like because they're actively trying to move first. I need need to see if Elise or Thaddeus is fast enough to get their reaction in to try and stop her. So I would like an initiative roll from all of you, please. Nine, did you say nine? Yep Boy, that's unfortunate. Sarah, yes, elise, I'm afraid to tell you that. No, um, at least, I'm afraid to tell you that, no, with a 22, there is nothing you can do to stop sarah right now. Um, sarah has to move past you, sarah is moving past you all. So, technically speaking, you have a reaction if you think there's something you can do, but Sarah is also moving faster than the gnome, so this would be an attack of opportunity If such reactions exist.
Speaker 4I press Sarah's off button.
Speaker 3You had to hit my AC to press my off button.
Speaker 1Yes and no. Okay Rapple probably. Okay, okay, uh, grapple probably. Okay, okay. So Elise is closest, so Sarah moving out of their range is the first thing. So I need a strength check from Elise and a strength and an athlet no athletics. I need athletics from Elise and athletics or acrobatics from Sarah, as opposed rules.
Speaker 3It's going to be acrobatics.
Speaker 2Yeah, it would be great if I could go the other way, but no.
Speaker 1Okay, 15 is not bad. It's not bad 20. That's not good enough, though. At least you reach out to grab Sarah as she goes charging down and you're like you get a grip on her for just a second, but she shakes free and she's moving past. Thaddeus. Thaddeus, you said you wanted to go for her off button. The off button. Okay, how are you going for the off button?
Speaker 4I'm going to press it.
Speaker 3Okay, you have to get to it. I'm sprinting past you. Okay, tackle me.
Speaker 1So, first, first, I'm sprinting past you. Okay, tackle me. So, first, first, I'm going to need a dexterity roll from you, thaddeus, and we're going to put this at 12 or higher, just to move quick enough to make the move. That's unfortunately not going to make it Alright, so you're not moving quick enough. So roll ahead, roll to hit to see if you can hit her button as she moves past you, since I can't use any other skill since you're not fast enough.
Speaker 4Unarmed strike right my.
Speaker 3AC is 25, you have to get in that 20.
Speaker 4Uh-huh, yep, so wait, what's your AC 25. Oh yeah, I do have to get a nat 20 to get this to work. Yep, you would need a nat 20 in order to stop her. So it needs to be a nat 20, right? So I can't, you know, just like roll anything else.
Speaker 1No, unfortunately that was what the dex check was for. I tried so hard.
Speaker 4I know I'm going to go ahead and roll.
Speaker 1And just to be clear, it has to be. I'm kidding, you got a five percent chance of winning, but oh, that's so close. 23 23.
Speaker 3Well, that gnome's gonna 23. It does not hit my ac with my shield unfortunately it does not.
Speaker 1Oh, that's so bad. I charge after this gnome. Yeah, okay, sarah charges after the gnome. Sarah, this is a surprise round. Your friends tried to stop you. I have advantage. No, right, you are raging, right. Yeah, I don't have the reckless attack, oh, okay, well then, no, you don't have advantage because he's off on his own at the end of the alley. Nine Does not hit.
Speaker 3I just got here okay.
Speaker 1Uh-huh. Okay. So you run up and you take a swing at him and he's going to kind of shout, kind of hiss at you and just go, and he's going to throw a smoke bomb on the ground to obscure vision. And then he's going to throw a smoke bomb on the ground to obscure vision and then he is going to hide, with a total of 21 nah, I don't know, I don't see him yeah, okay, with a six perception check from sarah, he is gone, plus five the way.
Speaker 1Yeah, with an at one perception check from Sarah, he is gone. All right, I'm going to be looking around and the smoke is going to slowly clear. Elise Thaddeus, you guys watched Sarah charge into this gnome. A smoke cloud appeared. You heard him hiss kind of, and then nothing. And as the smoke slowly clears, all you see is a scroll lying on the ground where he was.
Speaker 3Sarah's going to pick up the scroll and open it, which is a very smart idea totally.
Speaker 1All right, go ahead and roll me a dex check.
Speaker 3Yep dex save.
Speaker 1No, dex check.
Speaker 3And that 20 for 24.
Speaker 1Excellent. You go to open this scroll and as you do so, you break the wax seal that's attached to it without damaging it, and all you see written inside of it, written in common, is just now. I'm watching you.
Speaker 4I always feel like somebody's watching me.
Speaker 1That's all the note says.
Speaker 3Okay, she's going to shove the note in her storage how big is sarah's storage compartment? Not very because now we've got a bottle of brandy, a bag that's kind of crumpled up and and now the note I.
Shimmer's Midnight Watch and Blueprints
Speaker 1I think that that's probably your limit on how much stuff you can stuff in there right now. Yeah, okay, uh, you, you stuff the gnome in your bag. The gnome has disappeared. Elise and Thaddeus, you don't see him anywhere. Sarah doesn't see him anywhere. You guys watch her pick up something off the ground and shove it in her chest compartment Thaddeus will shout Great Sarah, you got him, now can we go.
Speaker 3Of course Thaddeus.
Speaker 2Telepathically. Elise will mention to Thaddeus that was the mark the bodyguard of the fellow who hired an assassin.
Speaker 4Thaddeus will just kind of look down and kind of mumble to himself like, yeah, yeah, I kind of gathered that, and then he'll shout as Sarah's walking towards sorry about that, have a nice day, uh, okay hey, sorry, my robot tried to murder you.
Speaker 1uh, peace towards. Sorry about that. Have a nice day, okay.
Speaker 3Hey, sorry, my robot tried to murder you, peace.
Speaker 1Okay, I'll give you three options here. You can give me persuasion, intimidation or deception. However you feel like this, have. A nice day is coming out.
Speaker 4Well, considering that all three are zero, can I roll Arcana?
Speaker 1Okay, hang on. Hang on If all three of them are zero? If all three of them are zero, can you properly argue? Any other skill?
Speaker 4Well, you see, the thing is is that when I'm saying have a nice day, I'm saying it with a kind of a magical intonation similar to using Arcana.
Speaker 1Oh, God, you know what, just because we're nearing the end of the episode, go ahead and go ahead and roll me a D20 to see if you convince the GM.
Speaker 2Roll your gaslight, check Gaslight.
Speaker 1Yeah, just a flat D20. Let's see if you can. Let's, let's see if you convince me with a four, you do not know. No, arcana, nope, how about? Uh performance or survival.
Speaker 4Uh, survival works Sure See. Now this is really cool because this is a really awesome GM. Who's actually giving me the benefit of the doubt? Just not Arcana, Not Arcana.
Speaker 1You weren't casting a spell.
Speaker 4Okay, Just for the sake of curiosity, I do want to see what it would have been if I just at this point, I want to see what the dice would have landed on if I rolled a persuasion. Another four.
Speaker 1All right, let's go ahead and take this 10 for survival. Okay, I'm going to keep a note of that, but you guys make your way back to Thaddeus' house and he said it genuinely too, like he wasn't trying to be sarcastic. Are you guys just going to bed For the rest of the evening? Are you planning on making some moves During the night? What's your goal here? How long are you going to stay up waiting for Shimmer?
Speaker 3I think we'll just do our normal raptures.
Speaker 1What time is it now?
Speaker 4I would say that it is currently Probably we're getting just late enough, around 10 o'clock at night well, while that's going on and they're figuring out what they want to do, I'm gonna repair my boot uh, are you using a spell or are you tinkering with it? Uh, we are in fact tinkering because I don't know, I do not. Yeah, we're tinkering actually. All right, dang it, I should have used shield. I keep forgetting that. I have that as a reaction.
Speaker 1I'm sorry. Are you telling me that you had the ability to bypass this whole situation being a problem the whole time?
Speaker 3It was still not even a problem, because he attacked him.
Speaker 4I refuse to answer at this time.
Speaker 1Uh-huh, All right, so you guys handle your evenings. You're waiting. You wait a little bit for Shimmer, but in the end I assume that you all end up falling asleep.
Speaker 4Is this true? Well, no, I stay up and I study my blueprints, because we've woke up in the afternoon, so I'm going to be up all night.
Speaker 1Okay, then I guess you can spend the next couple of hours, uh, studying your blueprints. Sarah is going to keep watch, all right? Uh, at least what are you doing, since everyone's you know, sleep schedule is a little fucked up?
Speaker 4That's a good question. Oh, one thing I do do, uh, though, is I go outside and those two masks that are in front of my window, yeah, I just kind of move them away, smart, because they are freaking me out.
Speaker 2Okay, just probably play Solitaire Honestly With your cards.
Speaker 4Just be sure it's the right deck and not the magical deck that creates crazy things.
Speaker 2Yeah, one of the two magical decks that create things.
Speaker 1Okay, yeah, alright. So, sarah, go ahead and roll me a yeah, yeah, one of the, the two magical decks that create things. Okay, uh, yeah, uh, all right. So, sarah, go ahead and roll me a perception check and we'll see how well the night goes I know it feels right okay, I will keep a note of that. Uh, elise is doing their own thing. Thaddeus is studying his blueprints. Uh, so that brings you a couple hours closer to understanding them.
Speaker 4Thaddeus yes, and it seems that I can apparently, if I attach an energy source at this particular location here, I can actually increase the weapon's output by a lot. Enough to vaporize things like baby yetis.
Speaker 1Shimmer is staying at Lady Artman's house in the guest room. Shimmer, you also said you were keeping a watch on them, correct? Yes, so go ahead and roll me a perception check for you perception.
Speaker 5Where are you? 13?
Speaker 1got it. I will keep a note of that, but this is where we're going to draw the end of the episode. Today everybody has made it back safe and sound. There's about an hour left until midnight hits, so day three starts next episode.
Speaker 4That clock is just ticking away, it is.
Speaker 1Tick, tick, tick, tick. Gonna be down to 120 hours here shortly. Hoo, hoo, hoo buddy. But that's all for now. When we return next episode, I'm sure that the Time Breakers will continue to impress us. Time Breakers. Time Breakers, you can come join the Discord the link is in the description and help us build the city from the inside. You can leave a rating, leave a review and tell us how you really feel about Shimmer splitting the party at such a crucial moment. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 4I feel fantastic.
Speaker 3Totally shimmer, 100% shimmer's fault, nobody else's fault, shimmer's. Thank you.