The Mechanics Guild Ep. 6: "Aftermath"

Our trio digs for answers after the Leivewoldium showdown, but are instead met with more questions and cryptic clues.

---

This chapter of The Mechanics Guild is run using Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (2014) rules. 

---

The Mechanics Guild is written and played by Sarah Davis Reynolds, Carlina Parker, Attilio Rigotti, and Clay Westman. 

Guest voiceover by Kyle Burton Lee.

Music is by Clay Westman. 

Additional writing is by Taylor Fagins. 

Theme song is by Arcane Anthems. 

Editing is by Taylor Fagins, Attilio Rigotti, and Clay Westman. 

Album art and logo is by Dan Pindell. 

Character Illustrations are by LaserLazuli.

Produced by Ian Prince. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:04

Darius. You served your guild well. Your quick thinking saved many. I am sure that your mind is racing, but we're counting on you to fill in some gaps here. You were guarding the traversium. Business as usual, and then what happened?

SPEAKER_06 0:24

It it was It's hard to say exactly, Council member. I was holding my post outside Traversium as I have done for years. Seemed like it was going to be like any other night. Quiet. Calm. Boring. And then something in the air changed. Something wasn't right, and then the explosion. Ringing in my ears. Chaos. People coming and going cries for help. My captain told me to go for help for someone I and I did.

SPEAKER_05 1:07

And did you see anyone enter or leave who looked suspicious or shouldn't have been there? No.

SPEAKER_06 1:14

Yes, I the energy in the traversium. I've never seen anything like it. And after the explosion. Bodies. They were taking bodies away.

SPEAKER_05 1:31

Somewhere. Did you feel anything strange before the explosion? If there was something amiss in the arcane energy, maybe you felt it. I I don't I don't know for sure, sir. Do you think if you were more skilled in Arcana yourself, you could have stopped it? I cannot answer that with certainty, sir. You serve this shift often. You hear the navigators come and go. Have you heard any snippets? Any rumors? Expletives? Anything that are concerning? Something akin to foul play. Why would anyone strike at the guild?

SPEAKER_06 2:08

At the navigators. What wrong could they have done? What would anyone want?

SPEAKER_05 2:15

Thank you, Yaris. You've done admirably. We believe this was just an accident, the risk of innovation, but it never hurts to be thorough. I think we have all the information we need. Council member. Do you know what happened? Darius, why don't you take the rest of the day off, hmm? You deserve some quiet, some calm, some boring. We'll be in touch soon about uh accommodations. Your bravery shouldn't go unrewarded.

SPEAKER_07 3:13

Oh, hi everyone! Welcome back to the Mechanics Guilds. My name is Sarah Davis Reynolds. I am your game master, and with me, as always, are Atilio Rigotti, Carlina Parker, and Clay Westman. We fully skipped over who we're playing. All new characters. Let's get it.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

No. If you don't know by now, no, it's fine. Three episodes in better now.

SPEAKER_07 3:38

This is like 13 episodes in.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Oh shit. Oh yeah. Yeah, don't pull that back the curtain. We've only been recording three times.

SPEAKER_07 3:45

Only ever. Um we record four.

SPEAKER_06 3:49

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_07 3:49

This is our fifth or fifth?

SPEAKER_06 3:51

Fourth.

SPEAKER_07 3:52

One, two, fifth, three, four, four. I think four. Four.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

We're gonna cut all of that.

SPEAKER_07 3:59

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yeah, of course. Or not. It's really nice for me to know that I always go in the middle, so I never have to start the names though. That for me, I'm like, someone do it.

SPEAKER_07 4:10

Somebody, somebody will pick this up and I'll go in the middle. All right. Uh last time on the guild report, we had uh a big old combat episode. Um, first combat of first real combat of some thick juicy comb, you know? Big juicy comb where we learned. Do any of us know how to play DD? I don't know. Question varying levels of success. Um we pulled so many dice, and I'm proud of all of us, even though Atelio needs to burn his dice. You both so many at once. That was rough. Uh so, anyways, yeah, you you all were in the Liv Waldium uh preparing for the exams. You know, the written exams um for this phase of the trials are in three weeks. You all went to Liv Waldium looking for different uh preparation techniques and whatnot. And while you were there, the world exploded sort of split. Yeah, it exploded. It was a little kaleidoscopy, if you think about it, where it all just shifted one step to the left and then it jumped to the right, and then you, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Um put your hands on your hips.

SPEAKER_07 5:25

Yeah, I don't know how much I can actually sing before we get copyrights just um and uh you three, along with three other pledges, so six of you total were sort of shifted a little bit. Uh, not into like a void, just you still seem to be in the live wildeum, but everything else was gone and everything was a little bit different. Um and you fought an embodiment of atrophy, of decay, um, of mental anguish, uh, something that doesn't quite have a name that you don't quite know what it was. Uh, and it kind of beat the shit out of y'all for a while.

SPEAKER_06 6:09

Um give it a name, wasn't it like psycho white or something like that?

SPEAKER_07 6:14

No, no, we made a joke name about the because it killed, uh actually fully killed one of the pledges, the druid pledge, and brought it back as a sort of like uh version of it, a smaller version of itself. We called that, I think, necroboy. Uh, that was not that was not what you do not know what this this thing was, this creature was. You know, we can call it necroddy. Necrodaddy. That's so stranger things. That's bad. Um uh yeah, necrodaddy. Uh love it. We're gonna add that to the stab block right now. Homebrew, let's go.

SPEAKER_04 6:50

That that beast also defied all logic, all sense of I mean, it it was death, like it was necrosis.

SPEAKER_07 7:00

Yeah, it was like necrosis. It also was resistant to basically every type of damage except for psychic. Yeah. Um, so like anything physical, even elemental, things like that, it was resistant to a lot of that. Um and it was repeating two words over and over in your minds die and atla. And uh a quick reminder for everybody a quick history check on Darius's part. He was he remembered that um the door next to the door that Darius guarded in the infinite hallway went to the verse of Atla. Um, I don't know what if you have had a time, I don't think you've had a chance to share that information with anybody, Darius, but um, that is the thing that you know.

SPEAKER_06 7:42

But it is the first time all three of us were together, which is a good thing.

SPEAKER_07 7:46

And that is we're celebrating. And that is what we're celebrating. Um, so uh yeah, the the Druid pledge unfortunately died and became a necro boy. Um the melee sort of warrior pledge um was knocked unconscious and had his his life essence drained. So mechanically, he his max HP is zero. Um, so he cannot be healed right now. He is alive but cannot, is basically in a coma. And the rogue-like pledge uh was knocked unconscious but is can be healed. Both of those were whisked away to the um vitalis collegium, the medical center, and the three of you were whisked away to Mervina's office um for discussion of what happened.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Some could say debriefing if this were a more official mission.

SPEAKER_07 8:43

If this were a more official mission, but technically you are not mechanics.

SPEAKER_04 8:47

No, oh, sure.

SPEAKER_07 8:48

Um, you are not even guild members yet. You are simply pledges. Um, so yeah, so the the archivist, uh Gwyn begins to lead you all towards Mervina's office. Uh Darius, even you have never been to Meravina's office. The the guild director's office is very high level. Um, anytime you met with her in the past, it was uh in other briefing quarters. It was never in her direct office itself. So this is um hallways that maybe you don't recognize that much. Um, as Gwen escorts the three of you away, walking with very distinct purpose and not really looking behind her to make sure that you all are following, just sort of dragging you along with the respect she commands. Um, and you look to your left and your right, and these are the folks that you see beside you.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

Oh, I think along that walk with Gwen moving with such purpose, I think uh Argo is going to get a bit lost in his own head, sort of replaying everything that just happened, uh, and and losing um at least one of the, we don't really know the status of the other person that went down, but losing at least one of the fellow pledges um to something beyond his ability to explain is uh is kind of taking its toll on him as he just gradually, unconsciously lingers behind the rest of the group.

SPEAKER_07 10:14

Yeah. Liv, what is running through Liv's mind?

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Um Liv has nine hit points and went down with one hit. Liv is not doing well. This was the first time since coming here, and maybe ever in her life that she didn't feel capable of getting out of a situation alive, even. So I think she's like, I don't know, she's got like blood on her or what, but she's like kind of like doing that um kind of an outdammed spot moment of just like trying to wipe it off on her like dress to get it off her hands. She's like breathing pretty shallowly and maybe shaking a bit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:01

Yeah. And Darius, you rushed into protection mode immediately. You have seen things like this before. Not that not this thing, but like you have seen danger before. You have been in scuffles, um, but not ever quite like this.

SPEAKER_06 11:17

No, and not ever, I think, outside of the infinite hallway. So there's a sense of danger and urgency, I think. And so my Daris' first instinct is to try and get answers from the archivist in front of us.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 11:33

I quickly ask, what was that? You have to know something.

SPEAKER_07 11:38

Roll me an insight check.

SPEAKER_06 11:40

Okay, here we go. Attila's learning again. Uh, inside. I see what it is. I see what it is. There's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_04 11:46

How quickly he shifts to I don't fucking need you guys.

SPEAKER_07 11:49

I got this.

SPEAKER_04 11:51

Hey.

SPEAKER_06 11:52

13.

SPEAKER_07 11:54

Gwen sort of looks uh if you know, if you're sort of stepping to to walk shoulder to shoulder with Gwen, um, she glances over at you. You can see in her eyes that she is being completely truthful about this. Like she is also rattled by what this was. And she says, Darius, you you know we don't have a record of anything like that. I didn't, I mean, I don't even I wasn't there, I didn't see it. All I see is Ash. What you described isn't like anything we've we've heard of or seen before.

SPEAKER_06 12:25

If they are outside of the infinite hallway, we're in trouble.

SPEAKER_07 12:30

If they what are you talk what are you talking about? You've seen it before?

SPEAKER_06 12:34

Not this, but there are things coming out of those doors.

SPEAKER_07 12:41

You need to tell Marvina this.

SPEAKER_06 12:44

I step back from it and I out of the corner of my eye take a glance at Liv as his fellow soldier warrior fighter, like somebody going down is a big deal. And I can see that she's rattled by it. So in the moment of I guess softness you will see from him, he briefly goes, Are you okay?

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Um, I think she doesn't realize you're talking to her at first. Um, and then she realizes she's being perceived and kind of like stiffens up, sniffs, um, and she's like, Yeah, I'm fine. Um, but she's like not meeting your eyes, and I don't think there's any role necessary for you to know that she's not telling the truth.

SPEAKER_06 13:32

But I think there's a moment of communication between us. I do a soft nod and continue walking.

SPEAKER_07 13:38

And soon the hallway turns, you go up a very wide staircase, and two very tall, you know, basically ten-foot tall double doors, push inwards, and you enter into a moment of peace and serenity. Uh, this is the waiting room to Mervina's office, essentially. There is a sort of reflecting pool in the center. And if you look inside, there are little wisps of of arcane energy that look like fish, but they are not real. Um, their purpose is, you know, unclear at the moment. There are several plush benches to wait on. There is greenery. This is clearly an area that receives important visitors. And Gwen ushers you in, sort of motions to some of the seating, uh, and says, uh, we I've let I've let the guild director know that that you're coming. Um, I'm sure she'll be with you soon. And she sort of grabs each of your hands, you know, just very briefly, squeezes it a little bit, and goes, tell her anything you can. We're in this together.

SPEAKER_04 15:08

Argo nods absent-mindedly and plops onto one of these comfortable seats and lets out the air in a similar way to how he feels right now.

SPEAKER_06 15:18

Darius makes his way to a nearby wall and crosses his arm and leans against it.

SPEAKER_07 15:24

And Gwen walks out and closes the doors behind you.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

Have you have you seen something like that before?

SPEAKER_04 15:37

Not like that. But you're you're a world guard, right? You you've seen things. I I've read a lot, I've never heard of anything like that.

SPEAKER_06 15:51

Neither have I. Not outside of the infinite hallway.

SPEAKER_04 15:54

Argo's eyes grow wider behind his glasses, and he sort of drifts his gaze back down to the floor again.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

I'm curious, how are our instructors like um handling that there's a world guard among us? I know that this is a rare occurrence. Is this somebody that we have maybe heard of but not necessarily interacted with?

SPEAKER_07 16:21

Darius, you're a little infamous here in the guild.

SPEAKER_06 16:24

But I think it's mostly internally, that's what I mean. Like, I think within the guild, they all know of him. And I think you guys know of the world guard, but I don't know if we know, right?

SPEAKER_07 16:34

Yeah, I think um, Liv, I'll also leave that up to you of like what rumors have you been listening to or listening for?

SPEAKER_02 16:45

I think information is always power, so any glimpse into my other pledges would only be beneficial to making sure that me and my friends get through. I think if this is a rumor that's going around, I would have noted it and maybe not have introduced myself to him personally. But on hearing that um Argo is like, oh, you were royal guard, um, I think this is a moment where she like kind of like her ears prick up again and she kind of stops fidgeting and like precivating her like outfit. It's like, oh, I've heard about you, and I think she kind of like stands and like gives like a gesture of respect to be like, thank you for your service and for what you've done to help save us today.

SPEAKER_06 17:39

I just did my job, and he sort of looks off. My name's Darius.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Lavinia Oslik, I will lift a hand.

SPEAKER_06 17:54

And I will look at the hand very confusedly.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

But again, and seeing that he's not gonna do anything with it in a manner that's very much like, ah, whatever. She kind of just like flicks her wrist and like bows her head and like places it back in her other palm.

SPEAKER_06 18:10

I look towards Argo.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

We both shady goose over to the sorry, that's an inside joke. We both just kind of look over and just like, and you. Hmm? W me what? I'll hold my hand out to him. My name is Lavinia.

SPEAKER_04 18:28

Uh are you okay? Is there something wrong with your wrist?

SPEAKER_02 18:35

She just kind of like giggles. And just no, um, just introducing myself officially.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Oh, uh Argo, Argo, uh, hull. Sorry. I couldn't get to you sooner.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Get to me?

SPEAKER_04 18:53

Uh back there. On the the balcony, you were far away, and when you went down, I I tried to get there as fast as I could.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

Oh. And she's like, no, of course, I I haven't gotten a chance to properly thank you for that. I that was a very selfless thing to do. You're very brave.

SPEAKER_04 19:23

That's all he can say.

SPEAKER_07 19:28

Dying. And as you are all introducing yourselves, um, you hear the double doors again burst open pretty loudly, and um, a man strides through them, does not even like look over, pay attention to the fact that there are other people here, um, and is walking very, very quickly towards the back where the doors clearly lead to maybe in a specific office. Uh, Liv, you recognize this man, you saw him at the feast. Um, and Darius, you would also know who this is. This is Zaskin Harmout. Um, he is a uh he's one of the ambassadors on the council. He um is not ahead of anything in the guild, but he is the sort of religious um ambassador on the council because he is a cleric of Issin. He is the nephew of the original founding cleric of the guild, um, and was the other name and consideration for the guild director position when it was when Mervina was selected. Um, so you I think had a like a brief moment with him at the feast and would recognize him. He is not paying any attention to you, uh, but strides in clearly with purpose, walks straight into Meravina's office without knocking and closes the door behind him.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

Oh, is this this didn't strike me as kind of an open door kind of thing?

SPEAKER_06 20:56

It isn't.

SPEAKER_04 20:58

Ah. Then who the heck is that guy? He couldn't, he shouldn't be in there. Uh Argo stands up.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Um, I'll just place a hand on his shoulder and be like, no, I'm sure they're all just sharing information.

SPEAKER_04 21:11

Argo sits back down.

SPEAKER_02 21:12

Or should I should I inside check to look like he knew he was supposed to be in there? You can, yeah. I assume, knowing who he is, that he is allowed to do that. That's a 15 on the die. And what am I adding to shit? Two, 17. Oh, wait, no, more than that. Plus six. 21. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 21:35

Yeah, the way he was striding in, this is not the first time that he has done this. Like, um, but it was very much has important things to say. And even if there was a line in front of him, would have cut the line to say these things. Um, so it's very clear that, like, yeah, what he's saying is important, or at the very least, he thinks it's important. And he thinks that a lot.

SPEAKER_06 21:58

Can I try and listen to this?

SPEAKER_07 22:00

You can.

SPEAKER_06 22:01

Lift up a finger carefully to everybody, and I make my way towards the door and press my ear against it.

SPEAKER_07 22:08

Okay. Roll me a stealth check.

SPEAKER_06 22:11

Ooh, guys, I have a plus two. I have a plus three. Oh boy. Oh god.

SPEAKER_07 22:14

Are you wearing what armor are you wearing, by the way?

SPEAKER_06 22:18

The most silent type of armor.

SPEAKER_04 22:20

I love that. Great answer.

SPEAKER_07 22:22

You have disadvantage. So I don't know what level you're at.

SPEAKER_04 22:25

That's one thing that we we asked during the fight uh last episode. I know I'm not wearing any armor. I don't remember.

SPEAKER_07 22:32

I think darkest is always armored. Yes. Okay. But the question is, are you in your full plate or are you in your like padded?

SPEAKER_06 22:38

I think I'm in my padded.

SPEAKER_07 22:40

Yeah. Because that's your like daily, every day.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Yeah, you wouldn't have worn the full plate to the library.

SPEAKER_07 22:45

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_06 22:46

Yeah, and I think I think also Alpharanis are usually it's padded armor because of the.

SPEAKER_07 22:52

Because you're a more dexterous field, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 22:55

All right, let's go. Do it so I don't have to be a bit of a.

SPEAKER_07 22:58

No disadvantage. Just wanted to declare.

SPEAKER_06 23:03

I got a two. Oh boy, oh boy. The hits keep coming. A two plus a two is a four.

SPEAKER_07 23:11

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Um burn those dice, dude. Can I just get like a super advantage because of a cool soul?

SPEAKER_02 23:18

I just I think you just need to put more love into your dice. They feel like you hate that.

SPEAKER_07 23:23

You need to like read them poetry or something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:25

I think this mat is cursed.

SPEAKER_07 23:26

That's my theory. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Might be the math.

SPEAKER_07 23:29

Um, I'm gonna. So you go up to the doors, you go to listen. I think you notice that the door wasn't Zaskin didn't fully close the door behind him, so it's cracked a little bit. Yeah. So Zaskin comes in, Mervina welcomes him again, like she expects him to come in like this. Like, this is not this is not an unusual thing for him to do. Um, I think, Darius, you maybe already know this, and then, or at least a little bit, you might guess this, and hearing this conversation confirms that like Mervina relies on Zaskeen. He doesn't have necessarily an official head position, but she kind of treats him as a second hand um a lot because he was the other name in consideration and she trusts him. Um so she welcomes him in, asks what news from Vitalis. Zaskin says, Um, stable, though showing signs of atrophy, the likes of which I've only seen once before. And of that, no change. Let us send word to Ambassador Denneth. We may need to be creative with our attempts. Have Alaterum try to hone in on his organic signature, wherever it may be. And tell Kabar to activate whatever notes have been installed on Atla. We should have a contingency for if they cannot be reached. Uh, going dark like this, I I don't like it. I don't trust it. I know Saskine, but this is not above our capabilities. Let us send for General Haydenhole. We need a report from the hallway. And as you hear that, I think you the doors open a little bit, you slip a little bit and slam the door shut. Uh and because I'm like the worst in the world.

SPEAKER_02 25:11

Like it literally I pulled and you fell into the room.

SPEAKER_06 25:14

I'm supposed to be the elite guard and it consistently.

SPEAKER_07 25:18

You're doing hey, don't you aren't you dealing with shakes right now?

SPEAKER_06 25:22

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I'm old at the excuse how I get away with it.

SPEAKER_07 25:25

Yeah, a tremor happens and it like sl and it and pushes the door shut with a bit of a slam.

SPEAKER_04 25:30

Darius is used to guarding doors that are closed, not open. Yeah, not open a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 25:35

Very good. Um, so you accidentally slam it, you stop hearing the voices, you hear footsteps walk towards the door, and the door opens, pushing out to you, and you see Zaskine opening the door uh and goes, Oh, God hazard, I didn't see you there.

SPEAKER_06 25:54

Ambassador.

SPEAKER_07 25:55

Mervina, I believe you have guests outside. And Mervina goes, Oh, of course. Bring them in. And Zaskine opens the door all the way and ushers you, Darius inside, peeks his head out, sees Liv and Argo on the benches, and goes, Well, the door's open, might as well come in now.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Uh, right. She nods, raises, and walks forward. Argo just stays right behind Liv.

SPEAKER_07 26:22

And you enter into Mervina's office. This is a multi-room office, and I think you probably gather from it that this is also her quarters. Um, this is sort of the like receiving area of her quarters. She does not really leave this area. Um, because the guild director's work is never done. And uh Mervina is sitting in a very high-backed chair in front of a large, um, dark, like ebony wood desk with gold features. You see a floating parchment with a quill that is writing on its own um and recording everything that is said in this office. Uh, I'm not even gonna make any of you roll for it. The magic in this room is potent. Um, you see maps and charts on the wall. Some of them look like the ones that Darius, you have seen in the Traversium. They are active, like some are printed, some are clearly illusion. Magic is making things move. It is tapping into things. You see another sort of hidden behind a tapestry. You see a wall like peeking out from this very thick velvet tapestry. This wall of crystals that I think Argo, you probably clock this. Looks like the result of a lot of the scrying crystals is like they're being sent back here.

SPEAKER_02 27:52

Her security wall.

SPEAKER_07 27:53

Her security wall, yeah. Uh, exactly. And uh, she is just sitting at the table. Um, does not appear to be incredibly vexed or bothered by anything that is happening. Um, you notice that she does a little conducting thing with her finger, and the quill pauses for a second. Um, there are several seats, not as high backed as hers, but other seats in front of the desk. And uh she gestures to them and she goes, Oh, please take a seat.

SPEAKER_06 28:29

I do so. I just stand.

SPEAKER_07 28:32

Dardius, I know you're more comfortable standing and at alert, but please, you've had a long endeal.

SPEAKER_06 28:37

I'm still stand. This is serious. I'm not gonna go sit down here.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

Oh my gosh. This is a guildmaster. Shut the fuck down. You respect our mommy.

SPEAKER_04 28:48

Yeah, Argo takes a seat, but he knows how to listen to mommy.

SPEAKER_07 28:51

He wasn't a mommy.

SPEAKER_04 28:53

Mommy murv.

SPEAKER_07 28:55

Uh, she doesn't ask a third time. Yeah, correct. Um directs her attention at all of you and says, now, I I hear that we had quite an event today. What happened?

SPEAKER_04 29:11

There, um well, there was a he Argo starts sort of trying to say something, stuttering, and then he just kind of stops and and looks at Liv.

SPEAKER_02 29:25

How dare! How dare already?

SPEAKER_04 29:28

I think I think it's the first time something like this happens, and I think it is the instinct born out of immediately seeing how much better she is at talking to everyone else.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

That's so funny. I think Liv's entire plan was just to come in here and just like kind of fade into non-existence, knowing that he was a talker and that Darius had a you know a relationship with these people, but being like, shh, whoa.

SPEAKER_06 29:54

I point my finger over at the scrying wall and go like, didn't you see all of it?

SPEAKER_07 30:01

I didn't.

SPEAKER_06 30:03

That's not good. And you know it.

SPEAKER_07 30:07

Exactly. That's why we need to know what happened. No one but you three and your fellow pledges in their various states saw what happened. Now, would someone like to give me answers?

SPEAKER_02 30:23

I um I wasn't conscious for most of it. Um I saw something appear, and then we were somewhere else, but not really. And then I got hit. I I heard I heard him screaming, and then I was out, and I I don't really know much of what happened after that.

SPEAKER_06 31:01

I perk up at the mention of screaming because I thought I was the only one. And I go, what did it say?

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Die Atla.

SPEAKER_04 31:13

The whole world shattered, it it broke. The the the walls it seemed like our dimension splintered at the seams, and we were we were nowhere, we were adrift. There was uh inky void all around us, and and it was like it was like being underwater.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Far, far, far down.

SPEAKER_06 31:41

Hmm. I look at Mervina to see if she caught or any reaction from her.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

I would have to- I know I was gonna say that because you said that she didn't look she didn't look necessarily upset in the room, so it's really interesting. That was interesting to me.

SPEAKER_06 31:54

I would like to see if she's like But at the yeah, the mention of Atla, that's what I want to catch.

SPEAKER_02 31:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 31:58

Uh yeah, roll me inside. Come on. Well, that was ass. Bliss, bliss, bless little dice. Just a 10. 14.

SPEAKER_07 32:09

Uh yeah. Um, you were you heard her say when you were eavesdropping on the conversation. One of the things she said was tell Kabar to activate whatever notes have been installed on Atla. And she said, let us send word to Ambassador Dennet. You know that that is the ambassador on the council for Atla.

SPEAKER_04 32:31

Let's probe her a little further. Clay says, not Argo.

SPEAKER_07 32:38

Argo in the room.

SPEAKER_06 32:41

So I wouldn't know what Atla is.

SPEAKER_07 32:43

So I'd be like, You know what Atla is. Yeah. So it is it, I mean, any of you would. It is a public verse. Oh, there is a door established to there is a counselor on like an ambassador on the counselor from Atla. It's not a hidden thing. I think that Argo and Liv may not have heard of it until they came here and started researching because the verses that are established aren't incredibly public knowledge unless you know they have dealings outside of the guild. But um, it's not a secret that this is a verse that we have that Solara has established communication to.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

Point of order. I remember rolling a history check and not knowing what Adla was.

SPEAKER_07 33:23

So I think it's then yeah, you you you probably haven't. That's not what you've been researching while you're here.

SPEAKER_06 33:28

No, of course not.

SPEAKER_07 33:30

Argo might.

SPEAKER_06 33:31

What's happening with Atla? I asked Mervina.

SPEAKER_07 33:34

She goes, Well, right now we don't know. We are going to send a patrol and ensure that everything is in order. First steps.

SPEAKER_06 33:45

So this isn't the first time this happens.

SPEAKER_03 33:49

This attack.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

How did a creature like that get in here?

SPEAKER_07 33:57

Well, that we don't know. I mean, many things happen here all the time. That is the consequence of being at the center of everything, but has an embodiment of decay ever attacked Six Pledges in the Livoldium? No, that's never happened here before.

SPEAKER_04 34:11

She's so stone cold. She's such a badass. Stop being so attracted to I can't help it.

SPEAKER_06 34:20

I can't help it. But we've seen other creatures like this before.

SPEAKER_07 34:26

Not to my knowledge, no. I don't I still am not sure what this creature was. You've yet to provide a description.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

It was uh decay. It it floated off the ground. Uh its its fingers were long and and and decrepit, and it it took one of the other pledges, it killed them, and then brought them back in a body like its own.

SPEAKER_07 35:02

Well, uh the remnants of the departed, um both beings, the original end and the pledge, um, have already been sent to the Vitalis Collegium for study and observation. Perhaps we will learn more about what material has formed these beings.

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Has anything happened like this before? I I mean, I know not a creature of decay, but has there been any fracturing?

SPEAKER_07 35:37

It's Argo, right?

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Uh yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_07 35:42

Here at the guild, we make it our business to be involved in fractures. To be involved in fracturing. It happened long before us, it is our job to make sense of it. So has it happened before? Perhaps not like this. But I don't believe we can ever fully know in every way that our world may fracture at some point. As mechanics, we learn how the world fractures, and we learn how to deal with it. That is our charge.

SPEAKER_04 36:21

The idea of uh going into a lifetime of scenarios that do not have a rule book sort of sends Argo into a quick and tiny tailspin. Uh a little panic attack, a un petit panic attack.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

I think up until this moment, um Mil Mervina's lack of like worry has been suspicious to Liv. But at that statement, it becomes clear that this is just a general leading her army into war, and you can't be, you can't show weakness when that is happening. So I think that actually was a bit of an insight into her mind, and Liv breathes a little bit easier. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:15

Counselor, one person is dead, and one may not ever wake up. You need to give us more than this. Are we safe? Is this going to happen again?

SPEAKER_07 37:25

Are any of you familiar with the Torian trade dispute?

SPEAKER_06 37:30

Trade, you said history? I've been locked in a hallway for 20 years. I got nothing to say.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

With my dad being a very famous trader, would I just know this? You may roll history. Oh, can I get advantage? Sure.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

I only have a plus two to history, so I need it anyway.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

But uh that's a 15 for your boy.

SPEAKER_07 37:56

Oh that's a 10. No, neither of you have heard of this. Shift. Like, really? Damn. Really? Surprise. Surprised that Argo doesn't know something. He is.

SPEAKER_04 38:09

He's he has so yeah, again, he leans a little bit further forward on his chair, goes, the the Tularian what?

SPEAKER_07 38:16

The Taurian trade dispute. And I will give this a bit of information. Tor is another verse. Looking at all of your sort of clueless expressions. Mervina stands up and sort of walks behind her chair and looks out the windows that are behind her. And again, we're underground. These are not real windows. They are illusory windows, but she is sort of surveying it as she recounts this story. Several years ago, an arbitration crossed my desk. Seemed that Vian traders delivering goods to Tor, managed by a consortium of Solari couriers, were consistently not delivering on their promise of quantities. Tor grew tired of being shafted and demanded an investigation. There were three parties involved. The Vian traders, shipping off barrels of their native firefold powder, the Solari couriers, employed by the council to ensure ethical trade between verses, and the Torian distributors, claiming their fulfilled orders only contained half as much powder as they were promised. When questioned, each party's accounts were detailed, confident, internally consistent. The Vians claimed to send as much powder as they had promised. The Solari swore no interference had occurred during transit. The Torians insisted shipments were lacking by numerous methods of measurement. People wanted to know things. The council wanted action. If we could not settle this trade dispute, they did not speak well of our ability to manage interversal relations. They called for sanctions, seizures, a public ruling, anything to steady the markets. I declined. Instead, I waited. Three days later, a fourth account arrived. Not from a witness, but from a mechanic's field notes. While exploring the coastal shores, this mechanic discovered that the atmosphere on Tor affected the rules of physics specifically in regard to solids existing as particles. It appeared that particles became significantly compressed, retaining the same mass but taking up significantly less volume. Every party had told the truth. None of them had understood it. Had I ruled when the council urged, an innocent party would have been punished, and the assumed disappearance of product would have continued without explanation. Everyone would have learned the wrong lesson. And at this she turns to look at you, her hands are sort of folded in front of her. She has maintained this calm demeanor throughout all of it. Her eyes hold your gaze. You are eager for answers. That is not a flaw. But rushing to any answer very rarely grants you the solution you seek. It merely grants you the first one. And the first answer is almost never the most important.

SPEAKER_04 41:27

Holy shit, that rocked. That fucking rules. Should I not do shit like should I not? I don't want to deflate the energy in the room. We'll cut all of this, obviously, but that fucking ripped, Sarah. Fuck! Okay, let's keep going. That response deflates Argo a bit. Always one for immediate explanation and answers. But it also makes him curious at the strategic example. But it also makes him curious at how much he could learn from this woman and this guild about strategy.

SPEAKER_06 42:09

I have now interacted with Mervina enough in my lifetime to know that this is one of her mic drops that will get no further information from.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

So um uh oh man, I thought you said you would know the Una reverse for that part. You're just like that.

SPEAKER_07 42:25

That's I don't think Mervina has the UNA reverse.

SPEAKER_06 42:28

All right, Mervina does this when we get to this uh great tongue twisters of arguments we know that Mervina has reached. There's nothing more to be said. Uh and we will get nothing out of it. So I tie in my cross arms and I just uh embrace my silence.

SPEAKER_04 42:50

Her experience has eclipsed our curiosity.

SPEAKER_06 42:53

Correct.

SPEAKER_07 42:53

Ooh, tattoo to your body. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_04 42:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 42:58

Poetry.

SPEAKER_04 42:58

Argo is gonna say then, well, ma'am, is there anything else you need from us?

SPEAKER_07 43:08

I do have one curiosity. Why do you presume you six are the only ones who witnessed this shift?

SPEAKER_02 43:20

I assumed it was based on proximity. It could have happened to anyone, anywhere. It was us because we were there. There were others in the Livaldium, were there not?

SPEAKER_04 43:33

Yes. You don't mean to imply that this could be in some way t targeted, right? Or worse, coordinated.

SPEAKER_07 43:45

I am not implying anything. I am curious as to your thoughts on this.

unknown 43:52

Uh uh.

SPEAKER_07 43:53

I have no suspicions or hypotheses of my own.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Argo looks between himself and his other two cadets and says. I I'm not important enough to be r r wrapped up in in in something as big as I I think.

SPEAKER_07 44:07

Let me stop you right there. You are here. Therefore you are important.

SPEAKER_04 44:15

Argo blushes, um shuts his trap, and sits back in his chair. Thank you, ma'am.

SPEAKER_07 44:25

This is an open forum. I am curious as to your hypotheses. Darius, she's kind of looking straight at you.

SPEAKER_06 44:35

I think the logics of transversal travel escape the minds of a simple world guard.

SPEAKER_07 44:46

Not a world guard anymore, Darius.

SPEAKER_06 44:50

I think you would have a better answer to that than we would. Grand counselor.

SPEAKER_07 44:57

I think there is a lot of value in being the ones who have experienced something. Much knowledge can be gleaned from that. Do not discredit your own account.

SPEAKER_03 45:10

Well then, what whatever the reason, I I look forward to uncovering it.

SPEAKER_07 45:17

As do I. And she sort of claps her hands together, uh, clearly indicating that like time is up. Uh she looks at the three of you and says, Whatever it was, something has brought you together today. Look out for each other. I fear we are just at the base of the hill.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

Well, thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

Um, I hope we were helpful, and I hope should you come across any information that you think pertinent for us to know, as those who are now experienced, you would be kind enough to share it before more questions are asked.

SPEAKER_07 45:59

Likewise, Miss Oslick.

SPEAKER_04 46:03

Uh are they okay? You heard back the report from the Vitalium?

SPEAKER_07 46:09

Vitalis Collegium. Very close.

SPEAKER_04 46:12

You you are they okay. You heard back the report from the Vitalis.

SPEAKER_07 46:18

They are stable. They will be well taken care of, though I am unsure if they will be able to continue on their pledge journey with you. Only time will tell.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

Could I possibly get a list of their names? I think it I don't know, I feel called to pray for them.

SPEAKER_07 46:39

Ah, Miss Oslick. I was not aware you were a woman of faith.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

Well, I wouldn't say specifically of any faith in particular, but when is prayer not helpful? At least for hope.

SPEAKER_07 46:55

Roll me an insight really quick. Why what? Because Zaskin is still in the room, too. Like he's been in this room.

SPEAKER_00 47:06

Oh shit, he's still here.

SPEAKER_07 47:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Shitfire.

SPEAKER_07 47:09

I never said he left it.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 47:11

Okay. Insight is only a 13.

SPEAKER_07 47:15

Okay. Uh yeah, Mervina doesn't seem phased by this again. Like she handles everyone of every kind. This is, you know, if faith is something that you feel called to, then, you know, she would support that in any way. Um, you do clock Zaskeen clock this, though.

SPEAKER_02 47:31

Mm-hmm. Cool. Interesting. Oh, cleric. But yeah, my yeah, I just want I would love to get a list of the other pledges' names if I didn't know them already.

SPEAKER_07 47:44

These were three pledges that you had not met. I think especially you, Liv, I don't want to speak for you, but especially with Jackson Kalen here, y'all have been sort of your insulated group and you haven't necessarily met a bunch of other folks yet. Um, so these were three that uh you had not met. Um, the druid was a um uh sort of a, I guess we should use this is so interesting whenever I want to say species, because we are playing DD, which means I feel called to use D D species, but we are also playing in a system agnostic world, which means there are species that are not D D and there are other things in it. Anyway, so, anyways, um a tiefling slash inferous like um uh sort of sort of thing. Uh named Okay Fulmer. Homeworld is D D. Yeah, named Fulmer, F-O-L-M-E-R. And that is the one that is deceased. That was the druid. That's necroboy, that's necroboy. Oh um uh the melee one who is now in a coma um was a human-like named Vostra, and the rogue was a um halfling slash hobbit-like. Can we say hobbit? No, that's that's technically copyrighted. That's why they're that's why they're halflings. Um was it was a light foot um um uh named Thayden.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

She has me curious now with why was it you? And I think the first step for that is to know who the other people are. Smart.

SPEAKER_06 49:26

I would check on the door to Atla guild director and the world guards guarding it.

SPEAKER_07 49:31

As I said, we will send a patrol. And we've I've already summoned for the general.

SPEAKER_06 49:36

I gave her a nod. Here comes the general. Sorry. I look at uh Saskine. I go, ambassador, and I leave. The conversation's done.

SPEAKER_07 49:49

Everything's done, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:51

Argo does a triple take between Mervina and the now open door and him walking away back and forth, back and forth, trying to figure out what the social cue is, and then stands up and then realizes again uh he's not the only one in here, and he might have a uh realizes again he has a lifeline and looks to live.

SPEAKER_02 50:12

No, she'll stand, she'll say thank you for your time. Um until next time, I guess. And uh she gives a little bow. She gives another bow to um Zaskin in the corner of the room and will glide out.

SPEAKER_04 50:29

Argo clumsily bows and follows.

SPEAKER_07 50:33

Great. Uh so you all head out. You see Zaskin sort of walk behind you and close the doors behind you and remains in the office with Maravina.

SPEAKER_04 50:41

Once we're alone, like the second we're alone, Argo's gonna whip around and look Liv Dead in the eye and go, that was so smart asking for the names. Do you know any of them? Do you know where they came from? Do you know what they could have something to do with us? How could we be connected to this?

SPEAKER_02 50:55

Um, I think she's surprised that someone's found her out so quickly. Um And I think she's just like, well, I think it's always helpful to know who you're dealing with. And also it'll be easier to visit them should they recover.

SPEAKER_04 51:16

Argo nods quickly and then looks to uh Darius, who's I think halfway down the hallway. At least 20 feet ahead.

SPEAKER_06 51:24

Yeah, literally up to my quarters.

SPEAKER_04 51:26

Oh, wait, wait, you were in the world guard, right? You might know more th about all the things that have been happening. Look, I know you don't say much, but what's Atla? I I I I I I'm not very familiar with it, and that thing wants it dead. And I don't want to end up like um well, the that other pledge.

SPEAKER_06 51:45

I stop on my tracks. I turn and I look at uh Argo fixedly. There is a hallway at the center of the guild. In this long hallway are 38 doors. Of those, 29 open to worlds some of us have never even seen or know about. Sometimes those doors open and we travel and we go in. Sometimes those doors open and things come out, and us war guards are the only ones to stand in the way of those. Atla is one of those doors. Atlas one of those worlds. If a thing wants a whole world dead, this is no laughing matter.

SPEAKER_03 52:44

Uh I'm sorry, uh I'm not I'm not laughing. I I I'm not I j I just I thought you might know, and I Okay.

SPEAKER_04 52:55

Okay Yeah, Argo uh starts like kind of shaking his head as he's replaying the conversation and everything that you just said, uh as his eyes just sort of drift to the floor and he adjusts uh his glasses on his nose.

SPEAKER_02 53:10

I think seeing Darius get a bit heated about it, um I think Liv's first instinct is to she was just gonna let them walk away, but I think hearing history of Atla kind of brought like a couple like thoughts and like questions to your mind. I think she will pick up her skirt and kind of scurry back over. She'll place one arm, one hand on the back of each of them and just say, gentlemen, I think maybe finding somewhere a little more convenient for this conversation, and I think we'll just steer them to somewhere a little bit farther away from here, knowing that there's not going to be people people passing by or eavesdropping.

SPEAKER_06 53:50

Can I do a roll? I feel like sorry, this is where my ankle is going to. Yeah. I would like to roll. Well, no, I would like to roll if I know a place where there wouldn't be any scrying crystals.

SPEAKER_07 54:02

Uh is this history? Yeah, roll me history.

SPEAKER_06 54:07

I don't know. Why not roll you both? I'll give you advantage on this. Or athletics. Why don't you roll you athletics? What do you roll athletics?

SPEAKER_07 54:13

You can have advantage on this.

SPEAKER_06 54:14

Okay, wait, I didn't know that dice. 18 plus zero. 18. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 54:24

There, it is the guild's job to know what happens in every corner of this establishment. Just based on what you have been told and what you know of the guild, there are probably no areas that have no scrying crystals. There are some that have fewer. One of the one of the places you know have very few scrying crystals, if any, is the uh village that the world guard retired to.

SPEAKER_06 54:49

How far is it?

SPEAKER_07 54:50

It's I mean, it's all within this mountain. It's not like it's gonna be a half day's journey. It is a bit of a trek.

SPEAKER_06 54:57

Yeah. And would I uh assume correctly that it's not like we're in control of our schedule, so it would have to be like see you at midnight.

SPEAKER_07 55:06

You are in a prep period. The written tests are in three weeks. Right, right, right. So right now it is sort of like finals week, where it's like as long as you show up at on time for the test, what you do before that is up to you.

SPEAKER_06 55:21

This is really Hogwarts, but dungeons and dragon hogwarts with a lot dying. It's called Strix Haven here.

SPEAKER_07 55:31

Come on.

SPEAKER_06 55:34

There is one place. It's a walk, but we should be free from scrying eyes. And we head off towards it.

SPEAKER_01 56:06

The Mechanics Guild is lovingly created, produced, and played by Sarah Davis Reynolds, Taylor Fagans, Carlina Parker, Ian Prince, Attilia Ricotti, and Clay Westman. The theme song is composed by Arcane Anthems. Be sure to follow us and the Mechanics Guild on Instagram, TikTok, and all major podcasting platforms to stay up to date on all things guild related. Okay, bye!