People Being Other People - DnD Actual Play

menu close

Cursebreaker | 15 - Glove Swap, Baby

/ 01:34:30/S1:E15
Emry needs our help! Will we have time to save his life before we hit the club and get down to some fresh beats?
Tim / GM:

Last time on cursebreaker. Uli spent some time looking into her magic mirror and woke up the next morning in an unusually chipper mood. This freaked out the party so bad they decided to walk to Margo's and make sure that it wasn't a curse. Later on, Holly led the party through a dangerous part of town to buy important reagents, and found herself confronting painful memories of her sister. Finally, at the brewery tour, the party distracted their tour guide while Tibio discovered a labor force made of flour?

Tim / GM:

Something wacky is going on in there, and that's coming from me.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. How do we play D and D?

Tim / GM:

How do you play D and D?

John / Doran:

What's the D and D?

Maggie / Poppy:

We're, like, 16 sessions in. Yeah.

Tim / GM:

So it's, like, midday. You guys just, finished the brewery tour at the brewery attached to the live life love laugh Mhmm. Juice bar. Bert had found a sample invitation, on the floor in there. Tibio had figured out that the people there are made of flour bags somehow, maybe.

Tim / GM:

You guys got some free tasty drinks, some of you. And you are back out on the street. Let's say it's just after lunchtime. You guys got the rest of the day.

John / Doran:

Check it out. I got our way in. One ticket to the nightclub.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh. Oh. We finally get to wear those outfits I've made.

Speaker 4:

Do we need, more than one invitation, or should should one be good enough for all of us?

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. What does it say on the invitation?

Speaker 5:

This is good for one person only, but I

John / Doran:

I bet I could forge the rest of these.

Maggie / Poppy:

Alright. I have some, paper and, pens. Do you need anything else?

Speaker 5:

I just need a little bit of time to get these ready.

Maggie / Poppy:

Alright. They're back at my place. What else did we have to do today?

Tim / GM:

Uli, you had, loose plans to see Ulrich at some point. He didn't clarify if that meant going to his farm or he would come to see you. Okay. Before you guys go anywhere, everybody make a perception check.

Maggie / Poppy:

10. 18. 7.

John / Doran:

22.

Maggie / Poppy:

9.

Tim / GM:

Alright. Snack. You see a, black raven, perched, across the street right when you guys walked back out onto the cobblestones in Tildreth. Another one. Judging by the state of the feathers, it might be the same one.

John / Doran:

The rock did not work last time.

Speaker 4:

Snack, are you mumbling to yourself? What is wrong?

John / Doran:

Snack jumps into the bush nearby. Yeah. And then, he peeks through the bush and is the raven still there? Yeah. He shoots an elders blast at it.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh my god.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Tibio and I are, like, inspecting, like, snake, what's wrong? And all of a sudden a blast shoots out of the bush. Yeah. Go ahead

John / Doran:

and, roll for that. 17 to hit?

Tim / GM:

Yep. Hits the bird.

John / Doran:

Okay.

Tim / GM:

Roll damage on that bird.

Maggie / Poppy:

Alright.

John / Doran:

16 damage?

Speaker 4:

This is

Maggie / Poppy:

a mystery bird, and you just murdered him. Maybe it was supposed to be like the owl in Zelda and tell us where to go next and how to get into the fountain of magic.

Tim / GM:

Holly, leans in close to the bush to see where a snack was going off to, and, yeah, a, a purply eldritch bolt. You guys can see a little bit of light from inside the bush, and then it just jettisons out, taking some leaves with it. Boo. And then it races up towards the peak of this building where this raven is resting, and you all see the raven before you see it hit. And, this time, the bird disappears, but the legs are still grabbing onto the eaves.

Tim / GM:

Oh

Maggie / Poppy:

my god.

Tim / GM:

And there's just, like, a burst of feathers.

Speaker 4:

Snack, what are you doing?

John / Doran:

I got the spy. He was staring at us.

Speaker 4:

It was a

John / Doran:

We have extra feathers if we need more pillows.

Speaker 4:

Oh my goodness, Nick. What are you doing?

Tim / GM:

Everybody make one more perception check.

Maggie / Poppy:

14 for Holly. 8.

John / Doran:

7.

Maggie / Poppy:

30 20.

John / Doran:

8. 14.

Tim / GM:

30 20, you see, on snacks, I guess, I think left hand, this, kind of sloppy triangle tattoo that he's got. You see a little flicker of light kind of trace the pattern really quickly and then dim out after he casts Elder's Bolt.

Maggie / Poppy:

I didn't realize you had a cool light up tattoo. It did like a a sparkle.

John / Doran:

It is not a tattoo. It is and he he rubs on his scales aggressively. It is a stamp.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, no.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Holly and Bert, you know exactly what this is. It just kind of logged his position in spell casting.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly looks at Bert with, like, concern on her face.

Speaker 5:

Oh, snack. What, my good fellow?

John / Doran:

I can cast spells in the city. I agreed to their terms.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. You can't cause harm on other creatures or things, with magic. So

John / Doran:

What?

Maggie / Poppy:

There is probably a fine, but please, you can't keep doing that. Yeah. No

John / Doran:

magic has

Maggie / Poppy:

hurt peep

John / Doran:

There was a spy. I was hiding in the bush. Nope. They did not see. What makes you think it was a spy?

John / Doran:

I saw it the night before. Did you see it was damaged? I threw a rock at it the other night.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, that bird.

John / Doran:

Yes.

Maggie / Poppy:

The bird the bird that I saw.

John / Doran:

Same bird,

Speaker 4:

Same bird. So this bird was where? At Miss Hollis?

John / Doran:

It was spying on us.

Speaker 4:

And now it is here?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, okay. But, he's gonna get called to court or the the station to have to deal with this, just so you guys know.

Speaker 4:

Could it have been someone's familiar?

Maggie / Poppy:

I don't know. I mean, there's a 1000000 birds.

John / Doran:

You better hope it was just the bird.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. Snack.

John / Doran:

If I gather all the feathers and burn them,

Tim / GM:

will they know?

Maggie / Poppy:

No. No. No. No. No more no more shooting things with magic while you're in Teledy.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay?

John / Doran:

Yeah. You gotta be careful how you use magic here.

Maggie / Poppy:

Why don't we go pick up all the feathers and give it a nice burial? I'll come with you.

John / Doran:

I care not for this bird. It was spying on us. I'd kill it again, but with rocks instead. Next time.

Maggie / Poppy:

Maybe maybe tone down the killing talk.

John / Doran:

I am nervous, Uli. This city is strange.

Maggie / Poppy:

Then that's fine. Let's go pick up the feathers together and we can talk about our feelings. I

Tara / Journey:

see. Tavia's gonna look around to see if there's any other birds.

Speaker 5:

Perception check. Sorry.

Tim / GM:

I was like, do I make a third perception check? 16. You do see another bird, another raven, a black raven, but I kind of watched that one just die.

Tara / Journey:

Am I in its line of sight?

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah.

Tara / Journey:

I try to once I noticed that, I try to kinda sidle my way out of its line of sight. Okay. I get to behind a thing or around a corner or something. Yeah. And then I'm gonna whoever's closest to me, I'm gonna, like, do, like, a.

Speaker 4:

Hello. Bert, Holly. What?

Tara / Journey:

What's up, Tibbs?

Speaker 4:

Come over here.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay.

Speaker 4:

There's another bird. You

Maggie / Poppy:

guys, there's just bird. There's just birds.

Speaker 4:

It's just watching.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Well, why don't we go back to my house?

Speaker 4:

I think that snack is right and we are being spied upon.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. We're not doing anything wrong until it's not killed. Something.

Speaker 4:

No. But we are investigating.

Maggie / Poppy:

Nothing?

Speaker 4:

We are investigating nothing because we are tourists.

Maggie / Poppy:

That's right. Now, everyone, let's go back to my house for lunch. I have a handful of feathers, and I'm handing them handing 1 at a time to snack. And I'm saying, I feel happy because I am with my friends. I feel nervous because I don't know where that bird came from.

John / Doran:

Uli. Uli, please stop this. I do not care of these things you speak of. What?

Maggie / Poppy:

Now you hand me a feather and tell me what you're thinking.

John / Doran:

I am thinking I want to kill more birds. I,

Maggie / Poppy:

That's I mean, that's on the right track. That's not really feeling, but we'll work with it.

John / Doran:

I see. I see. I am giving you this feather, but I do want to keep it. Same thing for this feather.

Maggie / Poppy:

Alright. Yeah. We'll work on it.

John / Doran:

We shall see.

Maggie / Poppy:

Thank you for sharing with me, snack.

John / Doran:

Of course, Willy.

Maggie / Poppy:

Here's your feathers back.

John / Doran:

Yes. Thank you.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. I'll keep one, though, for myself.

Tim / GM:

When you all return to Holly's home. Right? Your home, not your shop?

Maggie / Poppy:

Yep. Okay.

Tim / GM:

You arrive at Holly's home, and, there is a pair of figures, darkening your doorstep, Holly.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, no. Do I recognize them?

Tim / GM:

They're a little too far away. They're they're not facing you, so they're just kind of, like, at your front door.

Maggie / Poppy:

Do I have a sense of foreboding about these people? Vibe check. Vibe check?

Tim / GM:

It's, I mean, yeah, you're not used to people visiting your home, I think.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Why don't you guys all play here for a minute? I'll be right back. Don't leave the spot. Whatever you do.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Holly's gonna go by herself and, just approach the door and try to see what's going on. Okay. Because she is innocent.

Tara / Journey:

I wanna cast find familiar

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Tara / Journey:

And summon my squirrel skeleton to follow

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Tara / Journey:

And keep an eye out.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. Squirreliton. Squirreliton.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. You hear some, like, rattling in a nearby alley and all of a sudden, like, this coupled together like squirrel skeleton comes running towards you.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly approaches the the figures at our door.

Tim / GM:

They turn around and, you do know them. It is, Ulrich and Emery. Oh,

Maggie / Poppy:

it's you guys. I thought it was something else. I'm gonna send a quick message to Uli and be like, well, Rick and Emery are here, our favorites. Yay. I see you back.

Maggie / Poppy:

What has gotten into her? That's the first time Holly's been like, something weird is going on with Uli.

Tim / GM:

You notice right off the bat, Holly, that Emery does not look good.

Maggie / Poppy:

Like

Tim / GM:

He looks like

Maggie / Poppy:

yellowed and just, like, sick.

Tim / GM:

Like, sweaty and kind of like pallid and hunched over a little bit.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, Emery, you look like you've, been through the ringer.

Tim / GM:

He just nods, and Ulrich says, yeah. He woke up in kind of a bad spot and it's it's getting worse.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, did he tell you he was cursed?

Tim / GM:

He looks Emory up and down and says he did not.

Maggie / Poppy:

So that's why we needed you to watch him. Good job, by the way. He didn't get out.

Tim / GM:

That feels like something I should have been told.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. You know, in hindsight, we probably should have mentioned it. But, again, thanks for babysitting. I'm glad he was good. You kept him mostly alive.

Maggie / Poppy:

So, you know, how much do I owe you for the night?

Tim / GM:

It's no trouble, really. He did do some work yesterday.

Maggie / Poppy:

He Okay.

Tim / GM:

Complained a lot, but he got some work done.

Maggie / Poppy:

So proud of you, Emery. But you look awful. I better get you some some medicine, some water. What sounds good?

Tim / GM:

He Emery just kind of, like, gestures towards the door like he wants to be inside.

Maggie / Poppy:

We all yeah.

Tara / Journey:

Yeah. Scurry on up.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh my god. Ulrich. Hello. Good morning. Right.

Maggie / Poppy:

Afternoon? Afternoon. Right? Before we continue this conversation, I'm sorry to interrupt. Everyone, come inside.

Maggie / Poppy:

Come inside. Holly's gonna kinda push everyone inside the doors, and she's, like, looking around behind her back to make sure there's nothing. But she does.

Tara / Journey:

Tibbio's eye in the sky.

Maggie / Poppy:

Are there any birds around that we see?

Tim / GM:

You can check. Check. Bird check.

Maggie / Poppy:

Bird check.

Speaker 4:

Bird check.

Maggie / Poppy:

Bird check. 17.

Tim / GM:

Check.

Tara / Journey:

6.

Tim / GM:

You don't see any birds?

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Does

Tara / Journey:

Holly see any birds? Nope.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Good. She shuts the door behind her and, like, draws the curtains.

John / Doran:

Is Uli's all friendly? I'm gonna walk behind her and just kind of shrug my shoulders for Ulrich. Like Oh. I don't know. Yeah.

Tara / Journey:

He and I are like,

Tim / GM:

Ulrich had nothing to say in response. He's just got his, like, face kind of open, like his eyes open wide staring at Uli as she walks inside.

Maggie / Poppy:

I give him a huge hug.

John / Doran:

Aw.

Maggie / Poppy:

It is so nice to see you today.

Tim / GM:

You guys, anyone looking at, Uli hugging Ulrich, you can see that Ulrich is in, like, a, like, ready to grapple pose and his arms are stiff.

Maggie / Poppy:

Like, he could spring at any moment. I mean, I'm not like out of my mind. I would assume I'd noticed him.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. He's he's tense. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. I'm gonna play grapple him.

Tim / GM:

He kinda, like, rocks back and forth with you, and he says,

Speaker 7:

hey. You feeling better today? Better mood?

Maggie / Poppy:

I feel fine. Normal. What's up? Hi. Why are you here?

Tim / GM:

Well

Maggie / Poppy:

I don't have any info for you yet.

Tim / GM:

No. No. That's fine. I just had some things I need to clear with you, and, I I don't think I can watch your boy anymore.

Maggie / Poppy:

He's not my boy, but that's fine. We'll we'll keep him.

Tim / GM:

Good. Let's, I'm gonna step inside to talk here.

Tara / Journey:

Further in.

Maggie / Poppy:

We're inside. Take a seat here. Take a seat here. Holly, like, gets everyone seated in the living room, and every little seat cushion and puff is full of people. Anyone want a spot of tea to drink?

Maggie / Poppy:

And she rushes into the kitchen before anyone can answer to grab some some beverages for everybody.

Tara / Journey:

Fabio turns the legs of his skeleton around so that they bend backwards, and it crouches down and it is now a skeleton chair.

Maggie / Poppy:

I hate it.

Tim / GM:

Got his own furniture. Mhmm.

Maggie / Poppy:

I saw Ilya in the city.

Tim / GM:

Oh, I suppose that didn't, merit much conversation, did it? What? She's not a talker.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, no. She definitely let me know though that she's in trouble. So that I thought you should know. What do you

Tim / GM:

mean she let you know she's in trouble?

Maggie / Poppy:

You know, the oh, that's right. It was just a girl's thing. We had like a secret language growing up.

Tim / GM:

Oh, okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

I mean, mostly we used it to talk about you guys behind backs. But, yeah, so she let me know that she's in a spot of trouble and to get out. It's bad situation. Okay.

Tim / GM:

Okay. 2 dwarves. I'll I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Maggie / Poppy:

I know where she's staying if you want to go see her.

Tim / GM:

Not bad information to have. Where is she?

Maggie / Poppy:

The sunny cat.

Tim / GM:

Oh, god. It is

Maggie / Poppy:

bad. Why? I feel like we should go there and see.

Tim / GM:

That's that's you don't wanna go there, Uli. It's that's a grim place.

Maggie / Poppy:

It I don't believe you, but all right.

Tim / GM:

Anyway, couple things I need to talk to you about, Uli. 1, that kid is dying. I know what sick looks like, and he is not good.

Maggie / Poppy:

Emery's just sitting next to him just like just like, I'm sorry. But he's just, like, in the room with you just like slowly turning into a corpse. I can't say I'm sad about it, but I think we should take care of it. Probably.

Tim / GM:

I mean take care of it.

Maggie / Poppy:

No. Silly. I volunteer. No. Take the curse away.

Tim / GM:

I like that guy.

Maggie / Poppy:

This is the worst day of my life.

John / Doran:

Yeah. This looks like a guy who needs a curse breaker.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. I need my sword.

Maggie / Poppy:

No.

Tim / GM:

I'm gonna die. Goddamn it.

John / Doran:

We should probably take him to bingo.

Speaker 4:

He is Emily?

Maggie / Poppy:

Bert, he's dying.

John / Doran:

Just one fun thing before it gets there is lots of old people about to die playing bingo. So

Tim / GM:

Bert just loves bingo.

Speaker 4:

Embry, the sword is what is killing you.

Tim / GM:

Not having it now is what's killing me. Trust me. I you're right. It's cursed and I'm cursed, but if I don't have it, I'm gonna

Speaker 5:

die. I'd like to do a medicine check on Emry.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Speaker 5:

12.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Emery looks like he's, the victim of, a vampire or something that would do some kind of necrotic effect. His his life is sort of being sapped away from him. So there's something, almost like a parasite is draining Emery.

John / Doran:

Yeah. This isn't really like anything I've seen before. It's like he's being drained of his life force. Ew. Does Snack have a wish still?

John / Doran:

Yes. Emery?

Tim / GM:

Oh, a kobold.

John / Doran:

My name is Snack, but you can call me kobold if that is not in your vocabulary. Emery, I have much appreciated your ability to, push people around and, use aggressive force. It's relatable. I I, I feel like we have a bond, yes? I suppose.

John / Doran:

Alright. I have a proposition for you, Emery. You swear fealty to me, snack the kobold, and I shall free you of this curse.

Tim / GM:

Emre looks around at the rest of you. His We collectively shrug.

John / Doran:

I think I'm looking at everyone else like, can you do that?

Tim / GM:

He actually he looks straight at Holly and says, can he do that?

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly is just walking back in or she just walked back in the room with a tray full of snacks and, tea, and, her chameleons, like, eating a cookie on the tray. And she sets it down and she looks at snack and looks at him and says, well, probably I actually have a wish to, but, I'm saving it for something. But I mean, if Genie can eat curses, he probably

John / Doran:

Snack Snack can do this thing.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, I mean, he has a magic lamp that gives him the wishes. So,

Tim / GM:

Yes.

Maggie / Poppy:

But, I mean, he's using his wish. I can't

Tim / GM:

do it. Is yes. If you can do it, then

John / Doran:

Yes. Excellent. Are are you sure about this, mister Snack? I am so sure. Yes.

Maggie / Poppy:

You're gonna be stuck with him forever.

Tim / GM:

If I listen, I I'm probably not gonna make it through the rest of the

John / Doran:

Genie. And I rub the lamp.

Maggie / Poppy:

Snack. Just be careful with your wording on this because, we still have the sword. Well, Dean. You know, it might be a good idea to try to, like, destroy the sword.

Speaker 5:

Well, we don't know what that

John / Doran:

will do either. Could transfer the curse to somebody else. Genie will know, I think.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Okay.

John / Doran:

But we'll see. Is Genie big on loopholes? I don't know.

Tim / GM:

What is it, snack? Did you need me for something?

John / Doran:

Genie, look. Behold my new servant. And then I gesture towards Emery.

Tim / GM:

He, pops one eye out of the top of the lamp and says, he's a big boy. He is

John / Doran:

big and strong and he's very he's ruthless, genie. He will do wonders for us and our cause.

Tim / GM:

Little greener on the gills. Did you get him on a discount snack?

John / Doran:

Yes. Yes. He's desperate and he must he must do my bidding now.

Tim / GM:

Oh, I see. Well

John / Doran:

I have my wish, Genie.

Tim / GM:

Oh, very good. What is it?

John / Doran:

I must use careful words as Holly said. Genie, maybe I should have your your guidance here. Emery is bound to this sword that we have hidden somewhere. I can't recall. It's on someone's character sheet.

John / Doran:

And and, this curse is sapping his life force as Berta said, and I want to use my wish to cure Emery of this bind and free him, but keep him alive.

Maggie / Poppy:

I see.

John / Doran:

Can can you do such a thing, Ginny?

Tim / GM:

Yes. Snapping a curse or 2 is within my, repertoire. Let's take a look here. And, he, like, slowly effuses out of the lamp, and he's actually in sort of like a snake form, and he just starts snaking around around the room, and he starts spiraling around Emery, just giving him a good look up and down. And, he turns to his kind of standard genie form with his bottom half trailing back to lamp and, puts his hands on his hips and he, lowers a conjured pair of spectacles and says, I can give it a try.

Tim / GM:

But, snack, this one's, pretty good and stuck. He's been cursed a long time, hasn't he?

John / Doran:

Yes. Well, if he dies, it's it's it is what it is, Genie.

Tim / GM:

Very good. Do we want to do this in here? It could get a little rowdy.

Maggie / Poppy:

You can use my workshop. It's actually bulletproof, fireproof, ice proof, bludgeoning proof. And she just keeps on going through the list of all the damages. And the table, can really withstand quite a bit.

Tim / GM:

That sounds dope as hell. Let's go.

Maggie / Poppy:

Emery, Holly kinda helps Emery down the stairs into and, like, sort of helps him sit up on the table when we get down there. She showed us shoves. Like, she tries to get ahead of him too and sort of, like, throws a cloth over the dragon scale stuff so he doesn't see it because she doesn't trust him. And so she wants to try to, like, keep that out of sight as much as he can too.

Tim / GM:

Genie, has you guys clear off one table of of stuff so that we can lay out Emery, like he's about to have surgery. And, Ginny cracks his knuckles real quick and, starts circling the table. There's a bright overhead light that's shining down on Emery now, and he says, clear the room. It's time for surgery.

John / Doran:

Fine. And I go up the stairs, but then I, like, stop at the top and kinda peek around.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

John / Doran:

Yeah. The top of

Maggie / Poppy:

the stairs. Holly just backs away but sits on the bottom of the stair the bottom stair.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Genie says, okay. Here goes nothing. And, sorry if he dies immediately. Zip a dee doo.

Tim / GM:

And he, like, kind of bears down on it, and the room goes immediately dark except for just Emory that's glowing a little bit in the darkness and, Jeanie's face is now taking up about half the room as he's just staring down at Emery. You see Emery's chest kind of buck into the air and this bright yellow line of arching energy snaps between him and Holly, and Holly again and again it keeps snapping at you and you feel this intense like pulsation that's hitting you but it's not hitting you. It's hitting something on you. It's your pack of privacy. This arc is just repeatedly stabbing it.

Tim / GM:

You can see all these burns start to form, and it's actually scorching your clothes, and it's starting to shock you a little bit. What do you do?

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly knows it's the sword in her pack, and so she's gonna, turn her pack over and dump it all out on the floor. Okay. And try not she's not trying not to avoid, you know, she's trying not to touch the beam.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a little chaotic and a bunch of other stuff that's in the pack, comes falling out too. Sal, the cat comes out and just crashes on the floor and snaps into pieces.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh. Ow.

Tim / GM:

And then the sword, clangs to the ground and it's it's furiously yellow at this point giving off as much light as Emery is. And, you can see Emery's skin start to crack, and you can see some blood start to run down his skin. And it's it's this Bert was able to regurgitate his curse because it was, you know, fresh in him. It was all contained still, but this thing has metastasized into Emory's being. Holly, you know that if the ritual continues any farther, then Emory is

Maggie / Poppy:

going to die. I think Holly probably wouldn't try to stop it because it's just too much. Like, I don't think she would. So she's just, like, in shock of what's happening, but doesn't I don't know what to do.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. So Okay. You can only hear Emery screaming from the basement.

John / Doran:

So Sneck is in the room too. Do I notice anything of

Tim / GM:

I mean, you can see the light kind of change in there, and you can hear that Emery is, you know, in death row so that he's screaming, shrieking.

John / Doran:

I don't have knowledge of arc Arcana. I don't know if I can do anything. I mean, Snack definitely wants him to live because he wants to have a servant, but I didn't know if if I can take, like, a a check to see if I know of any way, you know, being magical to help?

Tim / GM:

Yeah. You can make an organic check. Okay.

John / Doran:

Alright. Tim.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Nothing springs to mind, unfortunately.

Speaker 5:

I think the 3 of us hearing screaming downstairs might at least go where snack is and peek downstairs.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah.

John / Doran:

I don't think he'll make it to everyone. What do we do? Stop? Stop it. No.

John / Doran:

We must free him of this curse so he

Speaker 4:

There's there must be another way. If Ginny cannot do it, we must talk to Marco Bingo. Snacks, stop them.

Maggie / Poppy:

I push down the stairs.

Tim / GM:

Uli, when you come down there, you see Emery floating a few inches off the table. His skin is splitting in oddly geometric ways with his white light showing through, but you can see blood dripping down onto the table from all over him.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh my god. Stop. Stop.

Tim / GM:

Genie, again, he's like enormous. He's taking up half this room and his eyes are the size of melons. And he looks at you and he says, I said, genie, though he's in control here and he's powerful, Uli, he looks at you like he's scared.

Speaker 4:

Snek, you must stop him. You must stop the genie.

John / Doran:

Snek, come get your boy.

Speaker 4:

Please, Snek.

Tim / GM:

This is it, Snack. A decision.

John / Doran:

Stop. Stop. Please stop.

Speaker 4:

That's very good snack. You you did the the right thing.

Maggie / Poppy:

I I don't even know.

Speaker 4:

Holly, it is okay. Come upstairs.

Tim / GM:

I'm sorry, everyone. I'm I've embarrassed myself, and he disappears back into a lamp.

Tara / Journey:

Oh, sheepishini.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Emery is still kind of bleeding out on the table.

John / Doran:

I'm gonna do another medicine check on that guy. I'm rolling really bad. 9. Although I'm guessing

Tim / GM:

you don't

John / Doran:

need a medical degree.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. He's insane. He's probably still gonna die unless you do something.

Maggie / Poppy:

I go and I

Tara / Journey:

mage hand pick up the sword.

John / Doran:

Okay.

Tara / Journey:

And I'm gonna place it on top of Emery.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Woah. You see him, like, kind of like surfacing from water after being held down for a long time. He just

Speaker 4:

Emery, I I need to know when I can take this shirt away again. You are not supposed

Tim / GM:

have it. Oh, please. Just a moment longer.

John / Doran:

I don't like this, Tibio.

Speaker 4:

This is the only way. We cannot kill him.

Maggie / Poppy:

What if we strapped his sword to him but restrained him?

Speaker 4:

I don't know if it will make the curse worse, but having nut on him makes him sick. I don't know what to do.

Maggie / Poppy:

Maybe we should try to find Margo. I feel so bad. We're banging our door every day, but I don't I don't know what to do.

John / Doran:

Well, we got a we got a real bonafide curse this time.

Maggie / Poppy:

I think she is a curse breaker. Right? Yeah. Or knows them. Probably part of the reason.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly's, like, crying and she's trying to pick up the pieces of her bag of holding and shove it back in. Mhmm. And she probably didn't stop him because she wanted to see if it would be breakable, from the genie because she has a wish for the genie too. So part of her probably was, like, hoping.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Oh, I see. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

I'm I'm gonna sit next to Holly and, like, put an arm around her, help her gather some stuff. And I want to hand her my tankard and say, you can use this if you need to, but it's okay to cry. Thanks. Holly, takes out a crystal out of her pocket and, holds the pieces of Sal that she could find in her hand and mends Sal up if if possible.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. You, mended up. And, when you do, you go to, like, put it back in the pack and you hear, what is this now? A beautiful room. Oh, he doesn't look so good.

Tim / GM:

Holly Hyacinth, is is that man okay?

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, Sal, he's cursed. Do you know how to break a curse?

Tim / GM:

Oh, no. A great many curses I've seen, Holly Hyacinth, but never have I been able to break them.

Maggie / Poppy:

Do you know how to get rid of them?

Tim / GM:

I've seen some be gotten rid of. I've seen some come to be, but, no. I'm afraid my knowledge is quite limited.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, thanks, Sal. I gotta remember to bring you out more often. And she puts them back in her pack as he freezes up. Yep.

Tim / GM:

He's already stiff. Yeah.

John / Doran:

I'm gonna

Speaker 5:

use a healing spell on Emery and use my great medicine skills to stop bleeding or whatever.

Tim / GM:

Okay. So, yeah, he's stabilized at that point and, back on his feet. So the, in immediate bleeding is staunched. Emery.

Maggie / Poppy:

Mhmm.

Tim / GM:

He's, like, holding on to the sword like it's the only warm thing in an arctic tundra.

Speaker 4:

Emery, this is very important. I need you to listen to me.

Tim / GM:

His eyes are closed and he's shaking a little bit, but he nods his head.

Speaker 4:

Emery, this curse will kill you one way or another. We need to remove it. I know that you cannot have the sword far away, and I know that you cannot be allowed to roam around with the sword. I want to put you in a figment of death to preserve you so that no further harm will come to you from this curse while we summon miss Bingo to get her expertise. She's a curse breaker.

Speaker 4:

She removed a curse from Bert already. We think she may be able to help. Will you do this thing?

Tim / GM:

I will, but I want you to hear me out first.

Speaker 4:

Of course.

Tim / GM:

I want you to let me go. I want you to let me leave here as I am with the sword when I'm healed. I've been learning. I can tell my own thoughts apart from the thoughts of this curse. I know what it sounds like and I know what it wants me to do, but I don't have to listen to it.

Tim / GM:

I've denied it before, and I can deny it again. What it does do for me is lend me the strength to do the right thing. I know I haven't done that in the past, but I know I can. I still feel like Joe is my responsibility. He's my goal.

Tim / GM:

He's my target. He's not here, and I wanna chase him down. What's the difference between me and that kobold?

Speaker 4:

You're cursed.

Tim / GM:

He's drawn up a deal with this otherworldly magic thing. So have I.

Speaker 4:

It is not the same.

Tim / GM:

Do you think that kobolds in control himself, or is it the genie?

Speaker 4:

I think if the genie were in control, things may have been very different today. I think that if miss Bingo tells us that she is in agreement with your with how you feel about this, with you being in control of the situation, then maybe maybe I will talk to the group. I will advocate for you, but I cannot make a promise until I know that that curse is not something that will continue to do harm. Okay.

Tim / GM:

Knock me out, doc.

Speaker 4:

I promise I will do my best for you, and then I cast feign death.

Tim / GM:

Okay. And we die. It's on the table.

Speaker 4:

Fake dies. Everyone, we need to summon miss Bingo. We need to go someone needs to go get her and bring her here.

John / Doran:

Hold on. Are we gonna are we gonna do everything you said? Are we gonna let him go with that sword?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, we can talk about it but why don't you send one of your favorite, notes to bingo?

John / Doran:

Oh, don't mind if I do. Dear Margo, sorry about the intrusion earlier today.

Maggie / Poppy:

And right now.

John / Doran:

But this time, we've got a real ass curse on our hands. It's a doozy, but I know you're up for it. Thanks in advance, Bert.

Tara / Journey:

She doesn't know where to go.

Maggie / Poppy:

So she's coming here, Bert?

Speaker 5:

Well, just a second.

John / Doran:

Dear Margo.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yes. Bert is very bad at writing lies.

John / Doran:

Me again. Can you come to Holly's place?

Tim / GM:

Bert, after you scratch out those messages, you see on the, same piece of paper, the following message shows up that says, be there in 5 minutes. Excellent penmanship.

John / Doran:

I like her.

Tara / Journey:

Just says, yeah, dude. See you.

Maggie / Poppy:

It says,

Tim / GM:

a new journal. Who dis?

Maggie / Poppy:

It just says k, period. Yeah. Dot

John / Doran:

dot dot. Come

Tara / Journey:

on, Marty. K.

Maggie / Poppy:

It's just like I

John / Doran:

know you've seen it.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. I think, I think she shows up onto the scene and sees the blood on the table and sees dead Emery and just says, I take it you attempted to break a curse yourself.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, we had a little help with the magical entity, but it didn't work out. And, well, we were all pretty shaken up, and we luckily, someone stopped it before it got out of hand. And, yeah. So apparently, he can't break curses with, magic.

Tim / GM:

You most certainly can. And she, slips off her gloves.

Speaker 4:

Well, I guess not the

Maggie / Poppy:

kind of magic we were trying to use.

Speaker 4:

It was just a little too strong.

John / Doran:

You can probably tell this, sword is wicked cursed. I I tried to break

Speaker 5:

the curse remove the curse myself earlier, but, you know, I'm not as good at this as you are.

Tim / GM:

She, looks it up and down and holds her hand near it without touching it and says, you're right. It's wicked cursed. Tell me what you saw.

Maggie / Poppy:

There was yellow light. The between the sword and Emry, our friend here.

Tim / GM:

How did he react when you attempted to break the curse?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, it it it was like he was cracking all over, but with different shapes, like a pattern. And then he started to bleed and, convulse, and then we stopped it there before it could go any further because we didn't think he would make it.

Tim / GM:

I see. Well, I'm afraid to tell you, straight to the point. It's likely fatal, this curse. It's at the point now where they have a symbiotic relationship of keeping each other alive. If you try to remove the curse, I think Emery won't have the energy left to survive.

John / Doran:

This is just like friendship. Ship.

Tim / GM:

Tell me about it.

Maggie / Poppy:

Is is every curse like this?

Tim / GM:

Not every curse. This happens to be a particularly nasty one.

Speaker 4:

Excuse me. Excuse me. Miss Bingo, I had a talk with Emery before I put him into this fain to death.

Tim / GM:

Oh, good. He's not dead.

Speaker 4:

No. He is not dead. But he said that he can control the curse now. That he can that he has separated himself from it to some extent and he wishes to be left to his own devices and allowed to go on his way. I I told him I would ask you because I know you are an expert, and I want to know would this be possible, would this be dangerous, not just to him but to others?

Tim / GM:

I'm sorry, Thibio. It's it's a complex answer. It is possible, but it is dangerous to himself and others. But it's also his only way of life from here.

Speaker 4:

Is there a way to help him? To not remove the curse, but to give him more of a chance against it? Yes. More control?

Tim / GM:

There are some options to mitigate the effects of the curse and the times at which it has a strong control over him can give him tools to shake out of it. But, in some ways, it does rest on you to decide his fate and the impact he has on the rest of the world. Not your responsibility, and I know it's not fair, but it does fall to you. We can talk more about curses and curse breaking. I'm quite in the middle of some things.

Tim / GM:

I want you to stop by tomorrow at some point. I want you to, meet a friend of mine, Benjamin Blanc. He was at the guild meeting.

Speaker 4:

Yes. He was very rude, I believe.

Maggie / Poppy:

He can

Tim / GM:

be a little terse, but he's one of the best we have.

Maggie / Poppy:

So should we just let Emery go? What do we do with him? I

John / Doran:

would Let's bury him somewhere. Somewhere.

Speaker 4:

No. What? Neck, no. What happens to the sword and to the curse if Emcary dies?

Tim / GM:

Well, the direct technical answer is that, typically, when the host body dies, the curse would, have no choice but to revert back into the sword and wait for a new one.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, that doesn't do us much good.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. We don't want that to happen. If Emrys kicks it, we just got a whole new problem with somebody else.

Tim / GM:

Well, at that point, you would try to destroy the sword or hide it away somewhere.

Speaker 5:

But destroying the sword will kill him, right?

Tim / GM:

Right? Yes. Right now it will.

Maggie / Poppy:

Would it be helpful if we had a way of knowing where he was at all times?

Tim / GM:

That's one step towards responsibility.

Maggie / Poppy:

I mean, Maisie seems safe here.

Speaker 4:

Yes. And she is no longer cursed.

John / Doran:

Are you suggesting feeding Maisie to Emery?

Maggie / Poppy:

I am not, Snack. No. That's, we should dress another time, maybe.

John / Doran:

I'm thinking about it. But, yes, go on.

Maggie / Poppy:

I I would like to avoid feeding our friends to anybody ever, probably. But I could go get that ring, and then I would always know where Emery was. I didn't think this had a like, I didn't think this was where my life was gonna go, but that's fine.

Speaker 4:

Is there something that we could give him so that he could warn us if he is in grave danger so that we would know to confine the sword?

Tim / GM:

There are some tools of communication, but that might require his, input. Something similar to Bert's whisper quill.

Speaker 4:

I think that we should let Emrig go. Even though he is cursed, he has one single-minded mission to find and defeat Joe, which is something that we cannot do right now because of the events here in Tildry. But you have to go to court and you may be you may be going to jail. And and, Uli, your brother, he is maybe overthrowing a government. And Holly, you have a star and Snook.

Speaker 4:

Snook, I'm not sure, but maybe the birds will get you in trouble.

John / Doran:

No. I have ambition responsibilities. I cannot take care of this creature, this Amory.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, just remember, I agree with you, Tibeo, but I I feel a lot of responsibility for anything that he does and anyone he harms. And the curse still lives on, so we need to figure it out still how to break it eventually, but I just hope I don't hear of great trauma or travesties that he he creates because we all have to live with that.

Speaker 5:

Well, don't forget, he was deputized, same as

John / Doran:

the 5 of us. And if it's true that he is really after Joe, I think he

Speaker 5:

could be a valuable ally.

Maggie / Poppy:

I, for 1, would be happy to see him go. It's no Emery off my back. But I would like to keep track of him.

Speaker 4:

Snek, what do you think?

John / Doran:

I think I am bored of this, and yes to anything that we decide.

Tim / GM:

Likewise. I really have no skin in this game and I'm now 15 minutes late, so I'm going to leave.

Maggie / Poppy:

As she walks back upstairs, Holly follows her close behind, to usher her out. And then she's like, but but before you go, bingo, I was just wondering, so I was I was wondering, can you tell me if this is cursed? And she quickly pulls, Henri out of her pocket, and Henri was, like, sleeping, and his little squinty eyes looks up and, like, blinks in the light.

Tim / GM:

Margo says, oh, he's cute.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. I don't know how to tell if something's cursed.

Tim / GM:

Hold hold it still. And she gets real up close to it. She takes out a a series of, little spectacles, out of her pocket and, just kind of like flashes them over over her eyes testing for different magical properties. She says, no. Not cursed.

Tim / GM:

Bewitched, though.

Maggie / Poppy:

Bewitched? Yeah.

Tim / GM:

It's, transmutation. Big stuff, though. This is, Holly, this is, 9th level.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly, like, both is simultaneously relieved and, like, can't believe it because she wasn't sure if Henri was her sister, and she feels like this confirms it for her. And she, like, gets a big smile on her face. She's like, transmutation. I should have known. Oh, bingo.

Maggie / Poppy:

Thank you so much. And she gives bingo a huge hug and, like, kisses her on the cheek, and she's like, good luck out there. And then she kinda ushers her out the door.

Tim / GM:

It's clean work too. It's it's hard to make a polymorph permanent.

Maggie / Poppy:

Permanent?

Tim / GM:

Yeah. If you can maintain concentration long enough, a true polymorph spell can last indefinitely. It's cool stuff. I'll catch you again, Holly.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, oh, bye. Holly looks at, Henri and holds her up, and is just like, what are we gonna do?

Tim / GM:

Henri licks an eyeball.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh. Please choose how cute. Holly puts her back in her pocket. Permanent. Oh, no.

Maggie / Poppy:

Maybe unpermanent someday. Oh, no.

Tim / GM:

I think we'll kind of, fast forward a little bit until that evening. And

Maggie / Poppy:

Just getting ready, montage.

Tim / GM:

It's it's about time for you guys to get your club outfits on, and, there's a little bit of hustle and bustle in Holly's place and a little bit of excitement.

Maggie / Poppy:

There's one bathroom.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. And kind of in the beginning of that, snack, you feel your lamp, vibrate at your hip.

John / Doran:

I'm busy, genie. I I more important things to do than deal with a inept genie.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, Oh, no.

Speaker 5:

Oh, shit.

Maggie / Poppy:

Them's fighting words. Oh, damn.

Tim / GM:

I understand. But snack when you do have a moment, I I would love to speak with you.

John / Doran:

I am curious. I snack sets the lamp down and hops in, And then he, walks off the landed rug and then goes back and wipes his feet and then continues into the.

Tim / GM:

He's got the big table out again, so you can tell this is another conversation. But he's got your seat pulled out for you with a glass of water.

John / Doran:

I did kill today, genie, and I'm sorry if that's what this is about. It was just about though this time.

Tim / GM:

Oh, snack you can hunt? That's fine. Aren't you in a city?

John / Doran:

Apparently it's bad. I don't. I don't know. There's been no consequences or hints yet that it's bad, but

Tim / GM:

I don't understand the world these days. Snack. I I owe you an apology. I I couldn't fulfill your wish, and it's a strange feeling, snack. I I am not a great and powerful genie, Snack.

Tim / GM:

I'm I'm a sham. Mhmm. I wanted you to think that I could do anything, that I could move the moon, but I can't. My Snack, my power is limited to what you feed me. You don't depend on me, Snack.

Tim / GM:

I depend on you.

John / Doran:

Can can you make me into a a dragon someday though?

Tim / GM:

Yes. Snack, I can. I can someday make you into a true dragon. Good. I promise you this.

Tim / GM:

But I don't have enough power, Snack. I it's hard enough just to keep the lights on and the all the, like, little fire lights in the room flicker a little bit. You see, I I have a very particular diet snack, and everything I do depends on that diet. Just being outside of the lamp is difficult sometimes. Not when I'm fed, but when I'm hungry it is.

John / Doran:

I have spoken to Bert of this book place, Genie. And he seems to know of this water you seek.

Tim / GM:

So you know where I'm going with this?

John / Doran:

No. But this is good.

Tim / GM:

And, Snack, you're a great and kind kobold and someday a truly impressive dragon. Thank you. And, and a ferocious combatant snack. I it humbles me to ask have to ask you for favors, but, yes, we can grow together in power. If only I could have a sip from that fountain.

John / Doran:

Excellent. Yes.

Tim / GM:

I don't know that I can peel this curse from Emery. It's a complicated task.

John / Doran:

Yes. We let Emery go. So that is done. That is okay. Plus, I owe Harley a wish in the near future.

Tim / GM:

Yes. I, I I don't have the power to give you another wish now snack, but I do owe you one. I do. Next one's on the house.

John / Doran:

It is okay, Genie. I will take you to this water that that you seek, tomorrow though. Bert wants to do other things now. The party, we are we are doing other things, but soon.

Tim / GM:

Very good. I Snack, I'm sorry.

John / Doran:

Genie, you have Genie, I would probably be dead now. I I am almost 7 years old at this point. As far as, my previous lifestyle and skill set, I think. We are perhaps more than allies, Genie. Friend you're my friend, Genie.

Tim / GM:

Genie, is kind of struck speechless, and he stares at the table and smiles a little bit. And behind him, out of the corner of your eye, you can see that white lotus flower in the corner of the room grow a petal, a big one.

Maggie / Poppy:

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Wait. Didn't it grow into a tree? Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

It grew another Branch. Yeah. Fresh Yes. With the petal on.

Tim / GM:

I'll see you tomorrow, snack.

John / Doran:

Of course. Farewell.

Tim / GM:

There is a, a hot hot energy in Holly's house as you're all scrambling around getting your makeup on and getting your duds. Yeah. You can hear it now.

Maggie / Poppy:

Do we have to pick our cost or

Tim / GM:

Holly had, laid them out. But, yes, tell me what they all look like. Everybody

John / Doran:

do this?

Maggie / Poppy:

No. You guys get to decide what it looks like, but Holly provided the costume. So it can be but it can be anything your imagination wants.

John / Doran:

Nice.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly Hyacinth can do it. I think I know what I'm wearing. Tell her. Do it. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Lily's wearing a skin tight leather catsuit, like, bodysuit all the way down with mesh, like, paneling and huge stompy combat boots.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

What color? It's all black. Nice. Shiny club, like, bodycon black. But she's not gonna wear makeup because she doesn't do that.

Maggie / Poppy:

She does not know how.

John / Doran:

Even happy Uli is not there.

Tim / GM:

We pan around Uli doing up the the zippers and the creaking leather as she, like, tightens it over herself. Yeah. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

And it's just like like I'm pretty much busting out of it.

Tim / GM:

Just flexing your biceps in the mirror like

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, it's sleeveless.

John / Doran:

Oh, yeah.

Tim / GM:

That's right. But yeah. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Who's next? Tibio comes down the stairs

Tara / Journey:

and throws off the trench

Tim / GM:

cloak,

Tara / Journey:

and his skeleton is painted in glow paint.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh my god. Yes. Yeah.

Tara / Journey:

Just covered in glow paint. Yeah. And, Tibio, the gnome body, is wearing,

Maggie / Poppy:

a

Tim / GM:

A diaper.

Speaker 5:

I'm sorry.

Maggie / Poppy:

Cut that post.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. I

Tara / Journey:

will. Alert. Alert. No. Tibio the gnome is wearing neon green shorts and a tank top.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Just the party animal inside the bone cage? Just shiny bones.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Brave gnome. Mhmm. I feel like Holly would wear, kind of like, she always wears skirts. So she's wearing, like, a a more of a short skirt, but it's all tually.

Maggie / Poppy:

So it's almost like a a tutu. Mhmm. And it's like, like a very light light pink, and it's got stars in it. So it, like, lights up and twinkles, when she dances. And then, she's wearing, just some, like, tights with it and some cute shoot cute booties, like, little shoes.

Maggie / Poppy:

And then she has, up top, I don't know, probably just like a tank top or something that's kind of more simple. Mhmm. But yeah. She just wants to be like basically a cute ballerina club girl with, like but it has, like, some lighting effects. It's fun.

Maggie / Poppy:

And it kinda plays. It's all pink and bubblegum princessy and it plays off her pink hair really cute.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. And then she actually has a little oh, yeah. And, she has a little, one of the things called the go around. Bandolier. A bandolier pouch to, like, carry things in.

Tim / GM:

Oh, sure.

Maggie / Poppy:

So she has some crystals, but then she has a special little compartment that's see through for Henri to sit in. Oh, cute. It's got, like, mesh breathing. Yes. And so and then she has, like, a couple of little pockets where she just has some magic things.

Maggie / Poppy:

But Anri sits in there.

Tim / GM:

Anri's been watching you dress up, and Anri has, like, 8 different colors right now. And he's looking at you and, like, it's, like, this color and like, no. And it just changes color. This

Maggie / Poppy:

color. Cute. Yeah. And Henri looks awesome too in all those colors. Snack, what

Tim / GM:

are you doing while everybody's putting on strange clothes?

John / Doran:

Snack is going through, Holly's supply closet of of miscellaneous things, and he finds some shoes that are strange but make him taller. So let's say they're probably platform shoes. Probably easy for him to walk on. Yeah. Yep.

John / Doran:

And then he finds these things that make his nails longer.

Speaker 7:

Oh. Yeah.

John / Doran:

Yeah. And he attaches those and washes his loincloth. And that's as far as he thinks he's good at this point. Yeah.

Tim / GM:

And, Bert.

Speaker 5:

Bert's got a solid purple silk suit Okay. With a he's got a red ascot with little white polka dots on

John / Doran:

it. K.

Speaker 5:

And, platform shoes.

Tim / GM:

Nice. Alright.

Tara / Journey:

This is the weirdest.

Maggie / Poppy:

I love

Tara / Journey:

it. It's like disco and rave and

Tim / GM:

Bert, you had another task on your shoulders as well. You had to make 5 live life, love, laugh, douce bar. It's gonna be a important role, Bert. Okay. So I need you have we have we dealt with your calligraphy before, your penmanship, and

Maggie / Poppy:

how it's played out?

Speaker 5:

No. I believe I have proficiency in a forgery

Tim / GM:

kit. Oh, perfect.

Speaker 5:

But then I don't know what other if there's another, like like, stat that

Tim / GM:

So, yeah, having the kit, gives you proficiency in that. And then, it's it's just rooted in a stat, which I believe in this case is intelligence.

John / Doran:

Yeah. Intelligence makes sense.

Tim / GM:

Yep. Okay. So let's do,

John / Doran:

Am I doing 5 of them?

Tim / GM:

5 of them.

Speaker 5:

Or 4, I guess.

Tim / GM:

Well, you'd have to because they have to be addressed. They have to be for the person. Gotcha. So let's do, let's do just 2 roles. 1 for, penmanship, one for, accuracy of print, like putting all the right pieces on there.

Tim / GM:

9. For penmanship?

John / Doran:

Yep. So

Tim / GM:

I I I

Maggie / Poppy:

don't I mean,

John / Doran:

I was looking up rules on this.

Tim / GM:

I don't know. Yeah.

John / Doran:

Yeah. So it looks like you get a plus 8 if you've seen the thing you're trying to forge

Tim / GM:

Oh. Before. Oh, there you go.

John / Doran:

Great. Yeah.

Tim / GM:

You've got it in your

John / Doran:

hands. 17? Yeah.

Tim / GM:

Thank you, John.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. I should have looked that up.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. 20 6. Jesus. Okay. So the first two cards that you wrote, they were for Holly and, Uli.

Tim / GM:

They're a little shaky. You realized a little too late that you started a little too far in on on the penmanship, so it's a little

Maggie / Poppy:

off center.

John / Doran:

Yeah. I know how big letters should be.

Tim / GM:

So, yeah, they they look like they were miscut or something, and that's how you're trying to play it off. But you're pretty confident with that 26, the accuracy, it's all there. These will pass.

John / Doran:

Some of my best work. It's possible, though, it's 3.5 rules, but sorry. It's not too late. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

It's all a little

John / Doran:

Seems legit.

Maggie / Poppy:

It's all d and d.

John / Doran:

If anything, 5 e would

Speaker 5:

be, like, nicer than 3 Yeah.

John / Doran:

5. Right? Yeah. I would yeah. Let's go with that.

John / Doran:

Yeah.

Tim / GM:

That's true. Yeah. In most cases. Alright. So you all you all gather at the bottom of the stairs in your various takes on what tonight is gonna be about.

Tim / GM:

And, Lurek has just kind of spent the afternoon here eating snacks.

Tara / Journey:

He's like, what the fuckity fuck is

Maggie / Poppy:

that? Yeah. Yeah. Wait. Why was he here?

Tim / GM:

He came to deliver Amberly and talked to you.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, okay. Okay. I assume we would have had a conversation if he needed to. Yeah.

Tim / GM:

He says there are there is a couple things he wants to talk to you about, but it can wait.

Speaker 4:

Okay. Yeah.

Tim / GM:

You all approach the, the 4 l Jews bar, which is a different scene at night, on the corner of the working wheel and the bricks, I think.

Speaker 5:

I think this is gonna work.

Maggie / Poppy:

Man, we look great. Holly's, it's dark now. Right? Yeah. Holly's skirt is just like twinkling away, and looks really, like, lighting up the sidewalk as we as we walk along.

Tara / Journey:

Tideo's fucking dazzled.

John / Doran:

Everyone remember the plan.

Maggie / Poppy:

What's the plan? I don't did we

John / Doran:

Wasn't it someone's job to come up with a plan?

Maggie / Poppy:

We have a plan guy. Snack, what's the plan?

John / Doran:

The plan guy. We have these fake tickets that are going to get us into this juice. What?

Maggie / Poppy:

No. They're real. Real tickets.

John / Doran:

Ah, yes.

Tim / GM:

A few people in the line at the bar look over at your little crowd.

John / Doran:

We are here to make friends. Do not stare at us.

Speaker 4:

Good good snake.

Tara / Journey:

Very good.

John / Doran:

Yes. The plan though. Perhaps we should huddle and be close. Bring it in.

Maggie / Poppy:

What kind of club is this? Do we know?

Tim / GM:

You can hear music from inside. So it's like mandolins and, like, tambourines. So, yeah, kind of like classic, like, bardic music, except behind all of it is this constant, like Awesome. Do you hear, from the, alleyway right across from this place?

Tara / Journey:

Holly.

Speaker 4:

Nope. Nope. Nope. Holly.

Maggie / Poppy:

What? Yeah?

Tim / GM:

You see, Margo peeking out just a little bit from the alleyway.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, hey, Em. What's up?

Speaker 5:

What's Margo wearing?

Maggie / Poppy:

She

Tim / GM:

is not wearing club clothes.

Maggie / Poppy:

Just a second. Saying she's

Tara / Journey:

not wearing clothes. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

She lost her clothes. Holly. That kind of thing. I'm naked out here.

Tim / GM:

I got stuck.

John / Doran:

I'm in a jam.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly goes over to her and is like, what's up?

Tim / GM:

She says, I I think I've got a way for you to get Fizzle out without causing problems.

Speaker 8:

Awesome. We needed a plan.

Tim / GM:

What? Don't

Maggie / Poppy:

worry about it. What's the what's the plan?

Tim / GM:

She, you see her take out a handkerchief and, like, wipe her forehead, and she goes, oh god. Listen. Okay. This will help. I promise.

Tim / GM:

And she hands you a a white glove, a single right handed white glove.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, a right white

Tim / GM:

Right white.

Maggie / Poppy:

Glove. Glove. White handed.

John / Doran:

Once per day, you can summon Michael Jackson. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

I think you wore it

Speaker 4:

all left

Maggie / Poppy:

hand or was it the right?

Tim / GM:

No.

Maggie / Poppy:

This is

Tim / GM:

a a right handed one. She says, put it on. I'll I'll show you what it does. It's pretty cool.

Maggie / Poppy:

She tries to put on her left hand and giggles, and then she's like, just kidding. And she puts on her right.

Tim / GM:

Margo reaches out reaches out and shakes your hand for kind of a long time. It's like like almost 18 seconds.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay.

Tim / GM:

She's, like, shaking your hand up and down, and then all of a sudden, you're staring at Holly Hyacinth.

Maggie / Poppy:

Woah. Is she wearing my current outfit?

Tim / GM:

Yes. Everything.

Maggie / Poppy:

Even the chameleon?

Tim / GM:

She holds up a, a dagger, like a shiny dagger, and she shows you your reflection, and you look like Margot Bingo.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holy shit.

Tim / GM:

It only lasts for 10 minutes. You need to get clear. Okay? You need to shake his hand for, admittedly, a weirdly long time.

Maggie / Poppy:

But

Tim / GM:

if you can swap him and then drag him out like he's your drunk friend, that should do.

Maggie / Poppy:

This is so awesome. How often can I do it? How many chances do I get?

Tim / GM:

Well, realistically, just one. Right?

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, god. You're right. Okay. Sounds sounds good.

Tim / GM:

What? Trade me back.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. And she just pats her on the back with the glove.

Tim / GM:

You you, pat her on the back and you guys switch back. Good luck in there. And, don't don't start a fight. Don't hurt anyone. Just get him out of there where I can see him.

Tim / GM:

I'll deal with the rest.

Maggie / Poppy:

K. Let's go Yeah. To club.

Tim / GM:

So you guys, wait through the short line there, and then you get to the bouncer who looks at, Uli's, card.

Maggie / Poppy:

I pull it out of my top.

Tim / GM:

Yep. And, he kind of like shakes it a little bit in the air to dry it off.

Maggie / Poppy:

I wasn't sweating.

Tim / GM:

It's actually really chilly out tonight. Some of you who are underdressed are like, oh, God, let's just get in the club. The bouncer at the front door looks at your invitation, Uli, and then gives you, like, a big eyebrow. This is a, he's a fire genasi. And so, you can see, like, little licks of flames coming out of his eyes every now and then.

Tim / GM:

It says, you ever been on fire before?

Maggie / Poppy:

I have actually, And it was fun.

Tim / GM:

He, he gives you a little wink, and when he does, it shoots a couple sparks out of his eye. And, he, like, gestures his head to let you in.

Maggie / Poppy:

Wow. What was that? Oh, that was fun. See you inside.

Tim / GM:

He's like continuing to take invitations. And so, like, Tibeo, I think, comes up next. He gives it a moment of scrutiny and he says, enjoy your time.

Tara / Journey:

I smile. I smile real big and I say, and I walk in.

Tim / GM:

Bert comes up next and he says, to the nines, my man.

Speaker 5:

Wouldn't have it any other way.

Tim / GM:

He says, don't even bother with the invitation.

Maggie / Poppy:

Woo hoo.

Tim / GM:

Oh, I'm just kidding. I do need to see that.

John / Doran:

Oh, that's fair.

Tim / GM:

Okay. You're good. Okay. Thank you.

John / Doran:

Alright. I moonwalk into the

Maggie / Poppy:

closet. Holly hops up with a snack by your side and, like, hands over the invitations.

Tim / GM:

But a lovely couple.

Maggie / Poppy:

Thanks. He's my son.

Tim / GM:

Of course. What was I thinking?

Tara / Journey:

That's weirder.

Maggie / Poppy:

Just kidding. We're just friends. He kind

Tim / GM:

of, like, kneels down to snacking the head and says, you have a great time. Thank you.

John / Doran:

I am going with my mother now to the club, and we are a couple.

Maggie / Poppy:

And we're friends.

Tim / GM:

You just hear him

Speaker 5:

go like, Biden's America.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Yeah. And, and you guys are in.

Speaker 7:

Nice. Love.

Maggie / Poppy:

And laugh.

John / Doran:

Prestidigitation.

Tim / GM:

Yeah, the music is kind of oppressively loud here. It's just, thumping and thrumming. You guys can see each other between pulses of light. It's, there's a good good thick crowd of people in here. There's kind of a main club floor with a bar and then there's this upper mezzanine, this, kind of, upper runway that circles the whole place.

Tim / GM:

And there's only one other kind of way out of here that leads down a long hallway. But yeah, this place is hopping. It's a big, club atmosphere, and, you guys immediately kind of get, forced into the throngs and almost separated.

John / Doran:

Wow. It's very loud here.

Speaker 4:

What?

John / Doran:

I kind of hate it.

Speaker 4:

What did you say?

John / Doran:

I said it's very loud.

Speaker 4:

I'm sorry. It is too loud.

John / Doran:

It is like a battle, but nobody's dying.

Maggie / Poppy:

Why don't I get a drink at the bar, and I'll, keep an eye out, you guys. And Holly winks and, heads over to the bar. Uli, come on.

Tara / Journey:

Tibia winks but doesn't know why.

Maggie / Poppy:

I will go to the bar.

Tim / GM:

Okay. So, a few of you go up to the bar and you're able to procure, drinks for yourself. It's all fizzle stuff here.

Maggie / Poppy:

Fun. Can I just get a water? It's a little hot in here. Holly asked the bartender.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. You wanna fizz water?

Maggie / Poppy:

Can I just have tap? Oh, Yeah. Cool. Thanks.

Tim / GM:

And, yeah, they just, set out a a water for you. Any other, drinks? Log.

Maggie / Poppy:

Water would be great.

John / Doran:

Log.

Maggie / Poppy:

Thank you.

Tim / GM:

Wow. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly leaves a small tip just for the waters.

Tim / GM:

He picks it up and he, like, stares at it, and he says, this has never happened before.

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, well, thanks for the the cups.

Tim / GM:

He has no idea what you just said because the music picked up again, but he just nods along and walks away.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly nods back and just like, yeah.

Tim / GM:

So some of you are getting kind of pushed around, snack. More than once already. Somebody has stepped on your tail and just say, oh, sorry, buddy. I

John / Doran:

will not forgive this site if you do it again. Get away from me.

Tim / GM:

They are already so far away

Maggie / Poppy:

from you.

Tara / Journey:

Tibio is in the middle of the dance floor. He has lost himself to the beat.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. Somebody has handed you these 2 wands that are just glowing for no reason.

Maggie / Poppy:

Them.

Tim / GM:

Yeah.

Tara / Journey:

I got glow sticks stuck everywhere on my skeleton too because other other people around me are just like, oh, that's hilarious and, like, put a a glow stick.

Maggie / Poppy:

You have, like, the glow ring. Yeah.

Tara / Journey:

They're, like, clipping things that are shiny to me. Like, I'm On her room. Yeah. I'm everywhere. I'm just having a blast, and I do not remember the mission at all.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. A few of you look across the room, just trying to find Thibeau, and you can see him kind of tall and lanky sticking up in the middle of the crowd now glowing like a beacon, just like slow motion dancing, like twisting his hair side to side, like sweat, like, flying off into the crowd.

Maggie / Poppy:

It's like when you see just the skeleton dance scene in the Halloween costumes, you can't see anything else, but just a glowing skeleton. There's

John / Doran:

a there's

Maggie / Poppy:

a little lights go out.

Tim / GM:

There's a glowing skeleton with this maniacal neon green gnome trapped inside of it.

Tara / Journey:

Just jamming. Yeah. Just feeling it. I'm vibing.

John / Doran:

Wow. Tibio's really blending in.

Maggie / Poppy:

I'm just kidding. Tibia out. I dance up to them. Yes.

Tim / GM:

Uli. Yeah. Somebody, takes a misstep near you and gives you a hard elbow, and your entire water gets knocked onto the ground.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, not cool, man. And I turn turn around and figure out who did it.

Speaker 7:

I'm so sorry. I'm just Uli.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, no.

Tim / GM:

Uli, it's Dave.

John / Doran:

It's Dave

Tara / Journey:

from lamplight. Oh, my god. Dave.

Speaker 7:

I thought you were heading out this way. I didn't know that I'd see you.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. We're here. We're having a great time. How are you? You look great.

Speaker 7:

I'm good. Yeah. I was trying to find Buster, bud.

Tim / GM:

And he just kinda like holds up his hands. I know. He's continuing to kind of bounce and dance, but he's like, I don't know.

Speaker 7:

I couldn't find him.

Maggie / Poppy:

Beal's Beal's gonna do what they gonna do.

Speaker 7:

I guess. But I'll find him one day.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah.

Tim / GM:

Why are you here? Dancing. He doesn't say anything. He just nods his head real hard up and down a couple of

Maggie / Poppy:

times. Yeah. All my friends are here too. Come say hi. Guys, it's Dave.

Speaker 7:

He goes, cool. Cool.

Tim / GM:

And he sees Snack, and all of a sudden he, like, stops and, like, takes a couple steps, like, rapidly backward. And he says, it's that guy.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. That guy. That's Snack.

John / Doran:

He's too nice.

Maggie / Poppy:

He's too oh, he's too nice?

John / Doran:

Snack is scowling at someone who stepped on his tail, like, ink and then doesn't even notice Dave yet. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

I forgot about about that whole thing.

Speaker 7:

Listen. Anyway, I was trying to check this place out because, there's a guy who works here. He's kind of the head hon show. His name is Fizzle.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 7:

Anyway, he's in the same group as Joe. They're both part of the MLM.

Tim / GM:

They're both part of the magical liquids market.

Speaker 7:

No. Anyway, I thought I'd be able to track down Buster through him and but, no dice. Can't get to the guy.

Maggie / Poppy:

You trying to you you doing you trying to work for him again?

Speaker 7:

No. No. I'm just trying to get a lock on Joe.

Maggie / Poppy:

So are we.

Speaker 7:

Cool. Cool. If you figure anything out, you gotta let me know. Okay? Sharing information and all that.

Maggie / Poppy:

Ditto.

Speaker 7:

Anyway, if you're trying to get to him, I already struck out, but he's down that hall and up the stairs.

Maggie / Poppy:

What do you mean he struck

Speaker 7:

out? I just tried to go see him, and, well, they wouldn't let me.

Maggie / Poppy:

I mean, I might have better luck. What? It's nice talking to you.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. It

Maggie / Poppy:

is. I dance over to my friends. Wait. Isn't that that guy that you, you know? That's old news.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Okay. But he's here too to find the same guy. And probably because he likes you. I mean, I don't think he followed me here.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. Whatever you say.

John / Doran:

Wait. He's looking for Fizzle?

Maggie / Poppy:

Shit. Yeah. Oh my god. Yeah. That guy.

Maggie / Poppy:

I feel like

John / Doran:

I think we can yell Fizzle because we're at Why are you

Maggie / Poppy:

Have you all been dancing? It's so much fun.

Speaker 4:

Do you have any water?

Maggie / Poppy:

Alright. HollyAnne, whatever. I have some water. Here you go.

Speaker 4:

Thank you.

Maggie / Poppy:

You look like you're having a great time.

Speaker 4:

I am having a wonderful time. What, what, I I met someone who was dancing, and they said that were having a fizzle drink, and then I remembered that we were here for a purpose.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. Why don't we take a quick seat in the booth over here? Booth table service. Let's go. Let's go.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. So you guys are able to sit at a booth where the music isn't as oppressive, and we're able to talk normally for a while.

Tara / Journey:

Not that that wasn't delightful.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. So Dave is here. He told us Dave a minute ago? Yeah. Our old friend.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, you know, Uli's old friend. Old friend. Definitely a friend. Nothing more. He's here looking for Fizel.

Speaker 4:

Why is he looking for Fizzle?

Maggie / Poppy:

Apparently he and Joe work for the same organization. The

John / Doran:

I knew it.

Maggie / Poppy:

MLM magical what? Like

Tim / GM:

MLM? The magical liquids market.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. Yeah. That.

John / Doran:

I knew it.

Maggie / Poppy:

I don't know what that is, but, he's trying to track down Fizzle. And I got the secret glove from Margo. I need to shake hands with Fizzle, but it needs to be a place where we can get him out the door.

John / Doran:

How are we gonna get to him?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, he's back down in that hallway according to our menotar friend. Mhmm. And Holly points to the one hallway that, like, I'm guessing, like, restrooms are at the start of the hallway, and then further down, it just, like, goes into storage or, like, out

Tim / GM:

the stairs. Yeah. So you can see down this hallway, there are a few, like, private rooms on either side of this hallway, just kind of, like, closed off by curtains. And then at the end of the hallway is a staircase that goes up to a door.

Maggie / Poppy:

K. I gotta I gotta get up there, but I I have no idea how. Maybe we just try and see what happens. Use your feminine wiles.

John / Doran:

Remember my idea from the, from the brewery tour?

Maggie / Poppy:

What?

John / Doran:

Pretend to be some sort of big shot businessperson to do deal with Fizzle. I think the only way we're gonna get to him is to appeal to his greed.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. But Joe knows us. If Joe's there, I mean,

John / Doran:

well Joe's not here,

Maggie / Poppy:

is he? As far as we know, he's not in the city yet. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. So we haven't met Fizzle yet? Sorry. Just making sure we met a lot of people.

Speaker 4:

Bert, I think you are the only one who could pose or Holly could pose as a business person. Would you be recognized, either of you, by Fizzo?

John / Doran:

I don't know.

Maggie / Poppy:

I don't think so.

John / Doran:

I was thinking Holly could pull it off because of her, you know, business acumen. She could

Speaker 5:

talk all the numbers and

John / Doran:

How many numbers do you have? Really stoke his interest. I

Speaker 4:

know. How many how many numbers do you know?

John / Doran:

I am 7.

Maggie / Poppy:

That's that's a lot of numbers. We can't drink these fizzle drinks, you guys. Holly, like, looks at the empty cup of water sadly. Alright. I think I I think I got a plan.

Maggie / Poppy:

So Margo is waiting out back to take Fizzle. I just gotta shake his hand for 18 seconds if I can get him to agree to my deal.

John / Doran:

Sneaky was trying to count on his fingers.

Maggie / Poppy:

And shake his hand. I think I can turn in to Fizel and he turns into me for 10 minutes.

Speaker 4:

Okay. So you shake his hand, He becomes you. So you would stay behind and no one would suspect, and then we would take Fizzle, who looks like you, to the alley.

Maggie / Poppy:

You gotta knock him out though or something.

Speaker 4:

Oh. Oh, I don't know if I could hit him.

John / Doran:

Well, if he looks like you, I mean, we just grab him. Oh, well, Uli just grabs him.

Maggie / Poppy:

I can just grab him. Okay.

John / Doran:

He starts yelling. Everybody thinks it's just some 2 drunk friends who are, you know who had too many drinks.

Maggie / Poppy:

Gotcha. Okay. Yep. Yep. Yep.

John / Doran:

Are you gonna go alone? Should someone go with you? Why don't I go with you? Okay.

Speaker 5:

I can

John / Doran:

be your business associate.

Maggie / Poppy:

Sure. Do you have a briefcase? No.

Speaker 4:

I'm just kidding. I think Oli should go with you as well as the

John / Doran:

Yes. 11.

Maggie / Poppy:

You guys stay here and dance.

Speaker 4:

I would love to dance. Snack, have you danced yet?

John / Doran:

I hate how everyone is moving up and down. Why don't they just stand still?

Speaker 4:

Would you like to be on my shoulders?

John / Doran:

I do like I do like being higher.

Speaker 5:

You can try to keep an eye out for us, though. I

Speaker 4:

yes. Definitely, we will do that. K.

Speaker 5:

Fine. Alright. So

Tim / GM:

who exactly is going down the hall? Me. Just Holly?

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly,

Tim / GM:

Bart, and Lee.

John / Doran:

Okay. Okay. Yep.

Maggie / Poppy:

I'm gonna stand outside like I'm the muscle. Like, I'm her bodyguard or something.

Tim / GM:

So when you step down this hallway, when you take a few steps down, the music drops off at a, an unnatural rate. So that when you're just a few steps into this hallway, it's immediately down to a muffled thud as if you had closed the door behind you. And, the atmosphere is very different here. It's very low lighting. You can hear some, like, quiet conversation and giggling taking place behind these curtains.

Tim / GM:

You also notice along the way here, kind of interspersed with the candles, are these cages hung from the ceiling. Some of the cages have birds in them. Some of them have, like, monkeys in them. And the last cage before you come near the staircase has a chameleon in it.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly sees the chameleon, and she's just gonna, like, take on the band, her, Bandolier. Bandolier pouch she has wrapped around her and she just, like, kinda twists it so the chameleons on her back instead of in the front. So that's a little more hidden from

Tim / GM:

you Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

From anyone that she sees straight away. Mhmm. So

John / Doran:

What kind of birds

Speaker 5:

are in the cage?

Tim / GM:

Like exotic, like macaws and, like like Okay. Yeah. Very colorful, like, rare import kind of things. Yeah.

Speaker 5:

I'm gonna cast guidance on Holly.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Okay. So when when you get to the bottom of the stairs, you look up and a figure turns to look down at you. They take a few steps forward to the top of the stairs so you can see them clearly. It's a female half orc.

Speaker 4:

Fuck. You

Tim / GM:

hear from the top of the stairs. Damn

Maggie / Poppy:

it. Hi, Ilya. How will we go over here and talk?

Tim / GM:

Right. She, walks down the stairs.

Maggie / Poppy:

It's really nice to see you.

Tim / GM:

Julie, when you're in a place like this, you can't just take anything that people hand you. Okay?

Maggie / Poppy:

I'm aware of that. Thank you. I have my own drink. I have a I have a cask of Bansal.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Well, why the mood then?

Maggie / Poppy:

What mood? Why does everyone keep talking about this? I feel great. I feel fine. I'm normal.

Tim / GM:

Listen, I I don't know why you're here, but it ends now. Right here. Turn around and leave.

Maggie / Poppy:

No. We're here to make a deal with Fizzle. Where is he?

Tim / GM:

What do you mean a deal?

Speaker 4:

A deal.

Maggie / Poppy:

Silly. It's a deal, you know, business. You wouldn't understand. But if you're his bodyguard or his lackey, we need to get to Fizzle.

Tim / GM:

I'm risking a lot by saying this, but this is bigger than Fizzle.

John / Doran:

What's bigger than Fizzle?

Maggie / Poppy:

The MLM. I think we kind of know.

Tim / GM:

Let me put it this way. I don't work for Fizzle. I work for Judge Tonberry. Oh.

Maggie / Poppy:

That's very disappointing, Ilya.

Tim / GM:

I didn't know it was all through contracts and it

Maggie / Poppy:

was That's very disappointing. Oh my god. I thought that's what you said and no one laughed and I was like, nope. She didn't say that.

Tim / GM:

It's too late to get out of it now for me. But

Maggie / Poppy:

Well

John / Doran:

You can still let us through.

Maggie / Poppy:

And we know people, and we're really good at solving problems. So I mean, we didn't say really good, but mom Listen. We're here to make a deal. I don't know who you are, but I'm guessing relation because that's every half orc we meet. Not every.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. But almost every. And we have a plan. And Holly is, like, looks at it ever like, sober at Bert and she's like Thumbs up. We have a plan.

Maggie / Poppy:

Mhmm. Get us to fizzle and we can at least solve this piece of the puzzle.

Tim / GM:

And how do I know that I'm gonna be safe?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, you're family. You're family, yeah.

John / Doran:

And if you're anything like Uli, you can take care of yourself.

Maggie / Poppy:

Maybe a little too well.

Tim / GM:

Alright. One of you is gonna have to knock me out then.

Maggie / Poppy:

I've been waiting for this moment. And I bopper them head.

Tim / GM:

She, dodges your first blow with, like, no problem whatsoever. And she goes, is one of you wearing Lyria Luna fragrance?

Maggie / Poppy:

I mean, I have it. I I didn't spritz it yet.

Tim / GM:

Sorry. I'm just I've grown sensitive to that stuff. Fizzle loves it and it he's just he keeps it in his office all the time. I can't stand it.

Maggie / Poppy:

Good to know. Holly pulls it out of her, one of her pockets in her bandolier thing and

Tim / GM:

Please. No. God, take me now.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly quick squirts it on her wrist and her

John / Doran:

Do it, Ollie.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. She's overcome by the scent. I waste no time.

Tim / GM:

Alright. Yeah. You give her a a sisterly clock in the face and, she takes a tumble.

Maggie / Poppy:

Sorry, not sorry. Alright.

Tara / Journey:

Tim clearly doesn't have sisters.

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. And, do you let her just fall on the ground? Yeah. Okay. Never never mind.

Tim / GM:

She she just collapses.

Maggie / Poppy:

And then I lovingly drag her off to the side.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Yeah. Didn't seem to ring any alarm bells there.

Maggie / Poppy:

Do we just leave her here? Do I stay on guard? She's gotta have deniability. Leave her here. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Cool. Let's go.

Tim / GM:

You, open the door and inside is, just one person alone at a desk writing something. And, they look up and you see this dark haired male human, in his late forties, perhaps. He's, pretty tall. He's got, pretty severe widow's peak. And he just looks up at you and says, uh-huh.

Maggie / Poppy:

Mister Fizzle?

Tim / GM:

That's me. And he goes back to writing.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly's not very good at flirting, but she, she feels like bolstered by the, Fleur de Lune or whatever her perfume is.

Tim / GM:

Fleur de Lune?

Maggie / Poppy:

Fleur de Lune. Sorry. What am I trying to say? That was a weird combination of memories in my mind.

John / Doran:

Fleur de Lune. Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

Fleur de Lune.

Tim / GM:

And nom de

Maggie / Poppy:

ploon. She, like, stands up a little straighter and she's just, like, it's a pleasure to meet you. And she walks up and offers her hand for him to, like, kiss.

Tim / GM:

He gives you a big skeptical eyebrow and says, have a seat.

Maggie / Poppy:

And she sits down and she's like, my associates.

John / Doran:

Wow. The great mister Fizzle. I can't believe we finally get a chance to speak to you.

Maggie / Poppy:

And I am pulling on all of my intimidation to just look really mean by the door. So I'm gonna cut right to the chase. Holly doesn't even let him talk, and she is trying to use her hands a lot because she sprayed the perfume on her wrist.

Tim / GM:

Oh, sure.

Maggie / Poppy:

And so she's, like, gesturing. She's, like, now you have to listen to my proposal. I have heard all about you around town. I know Joe. I, worked with him in Lamplight Landing a little bit and, you know, I like what you guys are doing.

Maggie / Poppy:

I wanna be a part. I want in. I got a shop already set up in Tildry. I have associates I can hire out to get your products, move it faster, move it safer. I mean, look at this muscle over here.

Maggie / Poppy:

And Holly's like again, she's just, like, gesturing and moving her hand. Now I'm only gonna ask for 5%, but I'll pay for all my own people, all my own movement, and you won't have to do anything.

John / Doran:

Wow. Are you sure 5%? That's so generous.

Tim / GM:

Please, spare me the dog and pony show. This is this is straight up and down too good to be true, and you know that, so what's your angle? What do you really want here?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, I'm really just looking for my foot in the door. You know, I wanna run with the big dogs. No more of this chump change.

Tim / GM:

He, he smirks to himself at the mention of the big dogs. Says, so you're part of the MLM already?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, you know, here or there. I may have moved a few bottles, but

Tim / GM:

That's a no.

Maggie / Poppy:

Nothing serious.

Tim / GM:

Listen. I'll tell you straight. I don't make the potions. That's all some guy in lamplight. K?

Tim / GM:

We just, keep up a good front here. We're more in the, how did you say, strategic business. We're a bit of a go between. How do you feel about that? I could use somebody with your acumen.

Maggie / Poppy:

Kath, I'm open.

John / Doran:

Whatever it takes.

Tim / GM:

Whatever it takes. Tell me, what did you tell my, guard at the door to

Maggie / Poppy:

get in? Oh, we knocked her out. Alright.

Tim / GM:

You might be the right kind of person, Ashley.

Tara / Journey:

Tim scrolls past all of the

Maggie / Poppy:

Yeah. I don't really like to, you know, let things stand in my way. If I want something, I'm gonna get it. And Holly, squints her eyes at him and then she, like, gives a little wink.

Tara / Journey:

But she doesn't know how to wink so she kinda

Maggie / Poppy:

blinks really hard. Bert, I need

Tim / GM:

to need you to make a perception check. Love

Maggie / Poppy:

them. Love them. Know them. Gonna roll them.

Speaker 5:

Looks like a 1.

Maggie / Poppy:

I was like, is that a 1? No.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

1 or a 7. It was a 1. I am also in the room.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. But you don't have the same frame of reference. Okay. It's it's just weird.

Speaker 5:

I'm just starstruck by Holly's fast talk.

Tim / GM:

It's weird, Bert, that you've seen Fizzle's dead body in a morgue yourself and you're seeing him here now talking to you.

John / Doran:

Mhmm.

Speaker 5:

That is weird.

Tim / GM:

You're one of the few people who ever confirmed that fact that he was dead dead right next to Kuma's body, filed away in section 7, f through f.

Maggie / Poppy:

F through double f. Yeah. So we got a deal. Holly, sticks out her hand with the glove on it to shake his.

Tim / GM:

Tell you what. You make one hell of a charisma check, and you got yourself a deal.

Maggie / Poppy:

Sounds great. Pull it. Okay. What is guiding? Yeah.

Maggie / Poppy:

What do I get? You can

John / Doran:

add a d 4.

Tim / GM:

You have guidance and you have plus ten from Leerio

Maggie / Poppy:

Luna. It's fucked. Guidance is a d four. I think it's plus 221.

Tim / GM:

Okay. He, says, okay. Listen. I don't make a lot of deals. This Let's call it a trial.

Tim / GM:

Okay? But you've got that. You've got my interest. I'll give it a shot. And he holds out a hand.

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly takes it, and she, pulls him in closer. And, she, like Hey. She gets up really and she's shaking his hand and she won't let him go and she gets up really close to the side of his ear and she whispers, you're never gonna regret this and you're always gonna remember this moment as the day your life really began our journey together, and she, like, pulled away.

Tim / GM:

Okay. Okay. So that's we're gonna say that's about 6 seconds there, a round of you talking. Yep. During the second round, he goes, okay.

Tim / GM:

And he, like, tries to pull away kind of half heartedly.

Speaker 5:

I'd like to do something if I can.

John / Doran:

Yeah. If you you can get that rolling.

Tim / GM:

This is the second round.

John / Doran:

Yeah. Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

Am I, like, a grapple?

John / Doran:

Yep.

Maggie / Poppy:

I can also do a thing. So Group hug. That was not good. What what save do I use, I guess?

Tim / GM:

So this is a contested grapple check. K. And so this time he's got disadvantage because he's a little bit surprised by you, but it's gonna get tougher. So you would contest it with your strength.

Speaker 4:

My six.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Maggie / Poppy:

And I can bend luck if you would like. And it's not gonna do a lot. But

Speaker 5:

I can try my thing

Tim / GM:

if, Yeah. Let's have Thomas do his. He spoke up first.

Speaker 5:

I'm gonna channel divinity and read his thoughts.

Tim / GM:

Oh, okay.

John / Doran:

He needs to do a wisdom saving throw.

Tim / GM:

Okay.

Speaker 5:

And there sure appears to be no negative consequences of him beating. Or, like,

Tim / GM:

he's not

Speaker 5:

like He's

Tim / GM:

not gonna figure it out.

Speaker 5:

Hey. You're reading my mind.

Tim / GM:

So he scores a 12 on his wisdom check.

Speaker 5:

Those foremost in its mind, reflecting its current emotions and what is what he is actively thinking about.

John / Doran:

Also, I can

Speaker 5:

use my action to end the effect and cast the suggestion spell on the creature without expending a spell slot, and they automatically fail that saving throw.

Tim / GM:

Wow. Dang. Okay.

John / Doran:

So let me get a few thoughts.

Tim / GM:

Yeah. So his his surface thoughts are he's okay. He He's thinking, oh my god. Why is she holding me so close? I kinda want it to stop, but I kinda don't.

Tim / GM:

She smells so good, and this offer is too good to be true. Why are there 2 people? Why did she get in here? What I don't understand what's going on, but, god, if this is real, the boss is gonna love this, and I'll get to see more of this lady.

Maggie / Poppy:

And, man, it

Tim / GM:

really wouldn't be too bad.

John / Doran:

Okay. Let me use suggestion and

Speaker 5:

say, keep shaking that hand, pal.

Tim / GM:

He he kind of, like, straightens out his posture and he, like, shakes it harder. And so, Holly, I'm gonna have you take advantage on your roll for this.

Maggie / Poppy:

Do I have to roll one more time? Yep. Do the last round?

Tim / GM:

This is for that same round, actually.

Maggie / Poppy:

Oh, because

Tim / GM:

you were gonna fail that one.

Maggie / Poppy:

Okay. That was better. 16.

Tim / GM:

Yep. Okay. So you guys have made it through round 2. This is 12 seconds of pure handshaking. Okay.

Tim / GM:

And, this last time, he just goes to, like, yank his hand away. He's like, what are you doing?

Maggie / Poppy:

Holly puts her other hand on top of his, and she's just like, Fizzle.

Speaker 4:

Just

Maggie / Poppy:

no. I am so excited to work with you. And she's, like, holding. Oh, and she's like, I think this is gonna be the start of something great.

Tim / GM:

Okay. This is the last one. Roll your die.

Maggie / Poppy:

14, and I'm gonna use Ben Luck on that one. Okay. So add a d 4.

Tim / GM:

Nice. Where's my d 4?

Maggie / Poppy:

Hi. I'm Ben Luck. 17.

Tim / GM:

17? Mhmm.

Tara / Journey:

Oh my god.

Tim / GM:

Holly Hyacinth says, what's going on?

Maggie / Poppy:

Well, don't you worry. Why do

Tim / GM:

you why do you look like me? What is this? What is going on?

Maggie / Poppy:

I go up and knock him out. Knock out. Knock out.

Tim / GM:

Thanks so much for listening. I'm Tim, your DM and your genie.

Maggie / Poppy:

I'm Hannah playing Holly Hyacinth.

Speaker 5:

I'm Thomas. I play Engelbert f f Wisherspoon.

Tara / Journey:

I'm Tara, and I play Tibio Famer.

John / Doran:

I'm John. I play Snack the kobold.

Maggie / Poppy:

And I'm Maggie playing Uli.

Cursebreaker | 15 - Glove Swap, Baby

headphones Listen Anywhere

More Options »
Broadcast by