1.09 A Lil Menty B
Cooking a meal together provides a distraction… or so everyone desperately hopes. Gordon runs the kitchen. Fran spins a theory. Ibra & Paz drop the curtain. JJ calls the play.
-- links --
Website: wanderingpathpod.com
Support our show: patreon.com/wanderingpathpod
-- cast & crew --
Created by Mischa Stanton
Produced by Bex Taylor-Klaus, Lyn Rafil, & Mischa Stanton
Gamemaster: Mischa Stanton
Ibra: Bex Taylor-Klaus
JJ: Lyn Rafil
Gordon: Ian McQuown
Fran: Mayanna Berrin
Sound design: Mischa Stanton
Cover art: Lyn Rafil
Transcript assistance: Darby Summers
Music: Independent Music Licensing Collective
Production & House Manager: Erin Bark
-- about --
The Wandering Path is an actual-play podcast putting complex characters, resonant themes and engaging new mechanics at the heart of immersive adventures. We’re making the stories we want to see in the world, one game session at a time! Join us for our first season, as we dive to the heart of the City of New Prosper: a techno-magical metropolis on the rise, where those who seek to craft themselves a new future will first have to settle the debts they owe the past. New episodes every other Monday.
— Transcript —
Ian: On the last Wandering Path.
[Theme music begins in background of recap].
Mischa: Mysteries multiplying! While JJ and Gordon took BG to the neighborhood dog park, they ran across a few citizens experiencing weird, potentially electric jelly related phenomena, and uncovered a minuscule grain of that same bright, warm Astra that they found underneath the bridge. Meanwhile, Ibra and Paz accompanied Fran into a hidden workshop beneath the Dustpan. Fran's got some sick upgrades, but Ibra's only got anxiety about being made of what they now know is a possibly dangerous substance. Will a wraith attack return everything to quote-unquote normal? Absolutely not, because Paz has lightning powers now! Phew, all caught up? Okay, then let's see what's around the bend, today, on The Wandering Path.
[Theme music plays and fades out].
[Music begins: menacing electronic synths]
Mischa: Ibra, the Wraith has lunged 60 feet through the air in a downward trajectory straight at you and Fran. [SFX: ghostly shriek]. It came dangerously close to digging its electric jelly claws into your supple flesh.
[Chuckling].
Lyn: Supple?
Bex: I wasn’t ready for supple!
Ian: That was great, that was perfect.
Mayanna: Okay! “Supple flesh.”
Mischa: And before it can turn around and do you a great amount of harm.
Bex: (giggling) “Turn around and do you.” No.
Ian: I heard it too.
[Laughter].
[Music abruptly ends].
Mischa: Alright, reset.
Lyn: Walk that back. Walk everything back.
Mayanna: Why is, why is it so horny in here?
[Laughter].
Bex: Why did you do this?
Mischa: Let's just start it over.
Mayanna: Okay.
Lyn: Everyone's gotta get less hornt up.
[Laughter].
Ian: Strap in everyone at home. It's gonna be a day.
Mischa: Strap, Ian?
Mayanna: Noooooo!
Ian: Noooo! I didn't– I didn’t even mean to!
Bex: Bonk! Horny Jail.
Lyn: Yeah, Horny Jail. I’m an abolitionist–
Mischa: Everybody's in Horny Jail, we can play the game from Horny Jail today.
Mayanna: Okay, let's do it. We're rolling dice in a cell in Horny Jail.
Lyn: Wow. Tell me more.
Mayanna: No, I won't. [Laughter]. It's a very sexless cell, actually. [Laughter]. It's very dingy and dusty, and there's no sunlight.
Mischa: Aw.
Mayanna: And every once in a while somebody clangs the bars. [Laughter]. But not in a sexy way. In like a chaste way.
Lyn: (Disappointed) Oh.
[Laughter].
Mischa: Alright. Back in it.
[Music resumes: menacing electric synths]
Mischa: [SFX: ghostly shriek] It rears back upon you and makes to strike, but before it can, it is lit up from behind by an enormous bolt of crackling electricity. [SFX: thunder and electric sizzles]
Mayanna: Oh my god
Bex (Ibra): Woah!
Mischa: The thing arches its central branch in pain and screams skyward. [SFX: ghostly shriek]. It collapses to the ground. This thing's been hovering, but it all of a sudden loses its ability to hover and collapses to the ground. And as the wraith drops, 30 feet behind it, you see your childhood friend–
Mayanna: Oh my god.
Mischa: –Paz Voxana–
Mayanna: (gasps).
Mischa: –her hands crackling with electricity, staring down in wonder, surprise, and a little bit of fear, and she shouts,
Mischa (Paz): What the hell was that?!
Mayanna (Fran): Oh my god! Oh my god!
Bex (Ibra): I told you, maybe more than just normal!
Mischa: Ibra, it's your turn.
Bex (Ibra): Special Paz!
Mayanna: (laughs).
Mischa: What do you do?
Bex: First things first, I think Ibra literally cheers. Just involuntary–
Lyn: Woo!
Mischa: Yea, free action.
[Laughter].
Bex (Ibra): Yes! Awesome! Okay!
Bex: So, I think Ibra's going–So the thing's on the ground now, how far away is it?
Mischa: It's right in front of you.
Bex: Oh!
Mischa: Yeah, and I don't know if you know this, but this is a rule of Dungeons & Dragons, when you attack a prone target, you get an advantage.
Mayanna: Ohh!
Mischa: So, that's just, that's just some helpful information in case you want it.
Ian: Extra couple kicks in there.
Bex: You know, I love when that happens.
Mischa: Yeah!
Bex: Oh god, there's so many fun things to do! [Laughter].
[Music shifts: energetic synth music].
Bex: Okay, we should start with a bonus action, and we're gonna Warden's Mark. [SFX: laser ripple]. We're gonna mark the electric jelly that is within 30 feet of me, and because it is within five feet of me, it has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than me.
Mischa: Okay.
Bex: And that's just an extra bonus for when it does get back up, because I'm gonna hit it while it's down!
Mayanna: Heck yea.
Mischa: Yeah, absolutely.
Bex: I'm gonna go with the pop spear in one hand, and shield in the other.
Mischa: Okay.
Bex: And we're just gonna spear it.
Mischa: Yes.
Bex: Absolutely spike it.
Mischa: Stabby stabby.
Bex: Stabby stabby. [Dice rolls]. That's not gonna hit. [Dice rolls]. A natural yeet might.
Mayanna: Nice!
Lyn: Oooh boy.
Mischa: Oh boy. Go ahead and roll damage, and then also add the maximum amount of damage you could do with this attack.
Bex: Oh!
Mischa: The maximum amount.
Bex: So whatever I roll on the die, plus max?
Mischa: Yeah, so this is a d6 plus 3–
Bex: Mhmm.
Mischa:Go ahead and add another 6 at the end.
Bex: Whoa. Okay. Cool! [Dice rolls]. That's max damage on the die.
All: Hell yeah.
Bex: That's 6 plus 6, plus 3!
Mayanna: Woah, woah!
Ian: Dang.
Lyn: (In a silly, deep voice) 15.
Bex: 15 points of damage.
Mischa: You stand over the–hold, hold the fuck on. Sorry.
Bex: Oh no
Mischa: I didn't, I didn't think it was gonna end in the first turn.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Oh my god!
Ian: Yeah that’s what’s up!
Lyn: This is juicy.
Mayanna: Did you just body this wraith?
Lyn: Well, cause Paz bodied it in one hit.
Ian: Right.
Mayanna: Oh! My god!
Ian: Didn’t Paz do 13 damage?
Lyn: Yeah.
Bex: (laughs).
Lyn: Wait, this is gonna be so juicy.
Mayanna: Oh my god!
[Laughter].
Mischa: Bex, do you want to describe?
Mayanna: Oh my god!
Lyn: Oh my god.
Mischa: This–
Mayanna: Oh my god.
Bex: I guess I do! I think that with residual electricity crackling [SFX: electricity sparkins] from the gooey mess on the ground, Ibra takes the pop spear [SFX: weapon fwips through air] and just stabs right into the center [SFX: weapon impacting a body, a ghostly shriek, and electricity sizzling followed by a rumble of thunder] and the electricity shoots right out through the end of the spear sort of back into the sky.
Lyn: Yeah!
Mayanna: Oh my god.
Ian: Whoa That's pretty sick.
Mayanna: Holy shit.
[Music ends.]
[Soundscape begins: ambient sounds of near-silent street].
Mischa: Hey, remember that thing that like almost downed you guys in the first combat and stuff?
Mayanna: Yeah!
Lyn: Yeah.
Mischa: You just bodied it. You just took care of it. You took care of business.
Lyn: That protective instinct..
Mayanna (Fran): Oh my god.
Bex (Ibra): Whoa.
Mischa: The thunder resounds through the empty courtyard. [SFX: thunder rumbling]. For a moment, the air becomes incredibly still.
Mayanna (Fran): Wow.
Bex: Ibra's frozen.
Mayanna: I rush for the box and get the Astra put away.
Bex: I start looking around for the knight.
[Music begins: ominous strings].
Mischa: Across the courtyard, standing at the mouth of an alley. Far away, you spot the knight smiling and nods and holds a closed fist up to its heart and then pulls a short cape around itself and turns to walk away and the cape swooshes around it [SFX: wind]. And the knight is gone.
[Music ends].
[Soundscape begins: desolate wind]
Mayanna (Fran): What are you looking at?
Bex (Ibra): I–
Bex: Ibra's eyes are absolutely transfixed for a moment until they bring their fist to their heart and drop it.
Mayanna: Uh-huh.
Bex: And say,
Bex (Ibra): I think I got an answer that brings more questions.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, great. That's, that's just, that's like, that's just Tuesday for us, right?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah. Oh god, is it still Tuesday?
Mayanna (Fran): It's been like, three days.
[Laughter].
Mayanna (Fran): Everything that's happened to us has happened in the last three days.
Bex (Ibra): We’re gonna have to start processing this aren’t we oh god…
Mayanna (Fran): I know, I know, I know. You know what? That's a great point.
[Laughter].
Bex (Ibra): Okay, so–
Mayanna (Fran): Um, man. Okay, hold on. Let me just get-let me just get my-let me just get my thoughts together. That thing, that was, that thing almost killed us like three days ago. Like, or something similar to that. Almost killed us three days ago, right? And now, you just, you just, what is that, like, the wind? Just, whew. So, are you okay?
Bex (Ibra): Better than I thought I'd be.
Mayanna (Fran): That is very impressive.
Bex (Ibra): Thank you?
Mayanna (Fran): You're welcome. Paz, are you okay?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Don't, don't touch me.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, I won't touch you. I'm not gonna touch you. But are you…?
[Music begins: suspenseful synth strings].
Mischa: You can roll insight.
Mayanna: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [Dice rolls]. That is a 16.
Mischa: Paz is horrified. She's like staring at her hands. She's backing slowly away from you–
Mayanna (Fran): Hey, hey hey..
Mischa: –Any step you take towards–I don't think Paz has ever considered herself dangerous before.
Mayanna: Right.
Mayanna (Fran): Hey, it's okay. It's alright.
Bex (Ibra): You can't hurt me. You, you can't hurt me.
Mischa (Paz): I didn't think I could–c–d–do lightning from my fingers.
Mayanna (Fran): Totally, totally. That's okay.
Bex (Ibra): You want me to show you? Too late.
Bex: I'm gonna give her a hug.
Mischa: Ooh, I'm gonna roll a con save for Paz.
Bex: Go for it. I have absorb elements.
Mischa: You go “too late!” and hug her. And she yelps in fear. And when she jolts, she jolts you. [SFX: electricity zapping] I'm going to go ahead and roll some lightning damage.
Bex: Absorb elements reaction.
Mayanna: Nice, nice!
Mischa: Okay. [Dice rolls].Um, that's max damage on it.
Mayanna: Woah.
Mischa: So that would be, eight halveD to four lightning damage.
Bex: I think that Ibra flinches, but only barely.
Mayanna: Mm
Mischa: Okay
Bex: and pulls Paz just a little bit tighter and breathes out electricity [SFX: quiet electric crackles] just sort of like a crackling as they release and hug Paz just a little tighter.
Bex (Ibra): I told you.
Mayanna: Mm. I'm gonna text Gordon.
[Music ends, wind soundscape continues].
[Laughter].
Mayanna: I text Gordon, I'm just like,
Mayanna (Fran): [SFX: Staticky filter, indicating a text] I’m just telling you what I’m seeing, and what I’m seeing is just like, a lot of closeness. Between Ibra and Paz. Could be nothing, I’m just like… I don’t know, it’s just interesting I guess.
[Laughter].
Lyn: Smash cut to us at the dog park.
[SFX: camera whip].
Ian (Gordon): I just got a weird text.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, what does it say?
Ian (Gordon): Well, Fran just said, here, look,
Ian: And then I show it to you.
Lyn (JJ): Oh!
Lyn: Sorry, (laughing) is your background garlic bread on your actual phone that you just showed me? [Laughter].
Ian: Uh, no, my background is a French omelette and fresh regular bread in my bag. But way to just dox me on the podcast.
[Laughter].
Ian: I think I'd just text back,
Ian (Gordon): [SFX: staticky] Haha, okay, question mark?
Lyn: (through laughter) I can't get over the actual bread on your phone.
Ian: Look, it's an omelette. Look, it's so de–it’s an omelette I made.
Lyn: It looks really good.
Ian: It was really good.
Mayanna: Oh, I thought that was a thing you were saying in character.
Lyn: No!!
Ian: Nope!
Mayanna: Oh my god, it's really bread!
[Laughter].
Bex: His background is bread.
Mayanna: Oh my god!
Bex: I love you.
Ian: It wasn't an inside bit for the podcast, I just really like that photo.
[Laughter].
Bex: I love it,
Mayanna: I love that!
Mischa: Ian's background is bread all the time.
Mayanna: I love it! Oh my god!
Mischa: The Venn diagram of Ian and Gordon is a circle.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: I mean, Fran, Fran is just me with extra steps.
[SFX: camera whip].
Mischa (Paz): You guys don't have secret lightning powers too, do you?
Mayanna (Fran): I wish. My god, all I have is this gun. [Laughter]. And it doesn't shoot straight all the time, and that's really on me. Everyone's been trying to make this gun better for me. You know what? I haven't even–I didn't even get to check if it's working better since my experience moments ago. But no, I wish I had lightning powers is all I'll say. I–I'm so jealous of you right now. It's insane.
[Laughter].
Bex: I've let Paz go and I'm sort of keeping her stable by the shoulders.
Mischa (Paz): Okay. Cool.
Mayanna (Fran): This is good. This is, you can…
Mischa (Paz): Alright.
Mayanna (Fran): You can protect yourself.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): You can protect whoever you want.
Mayanna (Fran): You like, you–you are part of the reason this thing is dead right now.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah... Cool.
Mayanna (Fran): That's a good thing. The last time this thing–it hurt, it hurt you the most! The last time we fought something like this.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, this one wasn't fun to fight last time.
Mischa: You guys are like crowding around Paz, like hyping her up, trying to make her not feel quite so weird about this thing. She's just sort of like staring in the thousand yard stare in the middle of distance, like between the two of you. Eventually she stops responding to your praise,
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: And there's like silence in the courtyard again. And then Paz's stomach growls super loud. [SFX: stomach growl]
Mayanna (Fran): (Gasps).
Mischa (Paz): Ugh. I am so hungry.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah. (laughs).
[Music begins: quiet ambient synth strings]
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That sounds. Wow, you know? Now that, like, you know when you just, you just go for a while, and you don't check in with your body, and then all of a sudden you just do and you realize that none of it–
Mischa (Paz): Yeah, and your body has lightning powers all of a sudden?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, that too, that too. Oh! You're probably also super hungry because you have superpowers now. That makes sense, you probably need a lot more than you used to before.
Bex (Ibra): Well, I was gonna say, You remember how you always get mad at me for stealing stuff off your plate after I've been in a training session? It's because I'm hungry.
Mayanna (Fran): There you go. There you go!
Mischa (Paz): Oh.
Bex (Ibra): You're gonna have to steal stuff off my plate now.
Mischa (Paz): okay.
Mayanna: I'm gonna text Gordon and go like,
Mayanna (Fran): (SFX: staticky) Food, question mark?
[SFX: camera whip] [Soundscape begins: dogs barking at the park in the background].
Ian: I look at it, it's food.
Lyn: BG, I'm just petting BG, there’s slobber everywhere.
Ian: Yeah, heck yeah. I think I bought a cola.
Lyn (JJ): (to BG) Who’s a good boy?? Who’s a good boy?!
Ian: I think I bought a cola that I cracked open a little bit ago, sipping on a nice cold cola.
Mayanna: God, you guys are having the best day.
Lyn: Yeah.
Ian: Not a care in the world. So Fran texts me, I go,
Ian (Gordon): Food? Oh my god, you wanna make dinner tonight?
Lyn (JJ): Oh. That sounds so good, actually.
Ian (Gordon): Let's make dinner!
Lyn (JJ): We can make dinner!
Mayanna: Yes! That sounds amazing.
Ian: I just text Fran back a single exclamation point.
Mayanna (Fran): That means yes.
Lyn (JJ): We can stop by the farmer's market.
[Soundscape ends].
Mischa: I think there's probably farmer's markets in neighborhoods all over.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: That like, I don't know.
Bex: It's probably really fun to like, see how different they are. Based on which community you're in.
Mayanna: Yeah. Like, would Minetown have like, the best, the best farmer's market?
Mischa: Well–
Bex: The Edge might.
Mischa: Well, the, the farmer's markets would be populated by the Green Grocers Guild.
Mayanna: Mm. Green Grocers.
Mischa: Which is like the fruit and veg growers guild from the Edge. The Edge is–
Bex: Are their last names green or grocer, or—
Mischa: Stuff having to–
Bex: Grossman?
Mischa: Stuff like that. Yeah.
Mayanna: Mhmm.
Ian: I was wondering if– Yeah, I was wondering if there's like a more permanent sort of produce market out by the Edge. 'cause it's because you have all that farmland, you know?
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: Well that's, so that's the thing is if you want to go anywhere in town, you can find produce. Just like Gordon makes his deliveries, you know, people who grow fruits and veg make their deliveries too.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa:But you know, it's up to you if, if you wanna invite every–you could invite everyone back to your place and do the thing, do stuff there.
Lyn: Yeah. That's the, the real question is,
Lyn (JJ): Wait, where do we want to have dinner? We all have homes.
[Laughter].
Ian: What time is it?
Mischa: It's getting towards sunset. I said that y'all sort of spent the afternoon in the dog park.
Ian: What am I saying? It's my house. I have so much food at my house. I'm a chef-in-training for–I'm a baker-in-training, but I also like to dabble.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Yeah.
Ian (Gordon): No, let's just all meet at my house. I have a ton of stuff. We'll decide what we want to cook.
Mayanna: Amazing.
[Music ends]
Ian: Man, that was a lot of conversation to get to that, but you know what?
Mayanna: No!
Ian: I liked every single second of it.
Mayanna: That's, that's, that's how this works. That's how logistics work.
Lyn: Mhmm.
Mayanna: So I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna grab the bus. I can't fit on the bike.
[Soundscape resumes: empty street].
Bex (Ibra): Are you, umm–
Mayanna (Fran): Don't worry about it!
Bex (Ibra): Are you sure?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, it's okay.
Bex (Ibra): It's, I don't–
Mayanna (Fran): I'm okay.
Mischa: Paz gives Ibra a knowing look, and then goes,
Mischa (Paz): No, it's, it's cool. We just fought a monster. I can call us a car.
[Music begins: slightly unsettling synth].
Mischa: And she pulls out her phone okay. And texts a number and just goes,
Mischa (Paz): Okay, it'll be on its way.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Bex (Ibra): Thanks P.
Mayanna (Fran): Thank you.
Mischa: Fran, you remember how reticent the bus driver was to bring you this far into the Dustpan?
Mayanna: Right Yes. The goat man!
Mischa: Paz looks very unconcerned.
Mayanna: Interesting. I, it's occurring to me in this moment that like Paz and Ibra are obviously very good friends, and I am friends with Paz, but, and, and they were pretty well taken care of in the hospital.
Mischa: Mm-Hmm.
Mayanna: But I don't know a whole lot about Paz's situation.
Ian: It's called the Paz-uation.
Mayanna:The (stuttering) Paz-uation.
[Laughter].
Mischa: Let's not call it that, I guess.
Mayanna: Yeah, I know I didn’t–
Bex: Paz-ology.
Mayanna: Pazology.
Lyn: Mmhm.
Mayanna: Um. Yeah.
Lyn: Are you just now struck by the fact that you're with the two rich kid friends that you know?
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Yeah, it's it's interesting. It's very interesting. I think that Fran doesn't normally think about that kind of stuff because she doesn't really have time to think about those things.
Mischa: Mmhm.
Mayanna: But it is weird, you know, being especially in the Dustpan of just like this very low income area and not having the ability to call a car.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: And have never had the ability to call a car.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: That's really interesting.
Ian: Like you wouldn't even think about it. It wouldn't even occur to you.
Mayanna: No, God, no.
Ian: Yeah.
Mayanna: yeah.
Ian: Which is weird. Cause it's such an easy option when it is an option.
Mayanna: Yeah, absolutely. And I think she is feeling that, I think, for the first time.
Mischa: Valid. Fair. I don't know how to respond to that.
Mayanna: No, you don't have to!
Lyn: Yea, cause well, we mostly all hang out at Boggins.
Mayanna: Yeah, I, like, you guys show up, and I'm working, and you guys hang out, and Ibra's working, and Gordon's working, and, and, before all this stuff happened three days ago, Fran–all Fran dreamed about was going to the Constellation and, like, making these designer things and, like, being a part of that. But like, not realizing how far away she was from that, even with the people around her.
Lyn: Mmm.
Mischa: Yeah. Fair.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Ian: Does anyone else remember how quickly this episode turned from combat to Touchfeels… therapy party? I do.
[Laughter]. [Music ends].
Mischa: Yeah.
Ian: Remember when there was supposed to be a combat?
[Laughter].
Bex: (sarcastically) Sorry.
Mischa: Before I got my shit wrecked.
Mayanna: The dice didn't want it to happen again.
Mischa: Yeah
Ian: It's called pivoting.
Mayanna: Yeah.
[Music begins: ambient synth strings].
Bex: So, I think Ibra has been Really thinking about that night ever since, and kind of in this moment of quiet, not quite feeling what Fran is feeling, not quite feeling what Paz is feeling, sort of in their own space, sort of mumbles,
Bex (Ibra): I don't know if I'm going crazy, but I think I saw someone else.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, this is what you were looking at earlier?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): What'd you see?
Bex (Ibra): A knight?
Mayanna (Fran): Like one from like the, like the armor from our dreams?
Bex (Ibra): And… for some reason they picked up the box.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Bex (Ibra): And opened it.
Mayanna (Fran): What? Wait, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. Because if you're seeing something that doesn't exist, it can't touch stuff.
Bex (Ibra): But it did. And you saw it. Oh, you saw the box open, right?
Mayanna (Fran): I saw the box move, but I didn't see anything.
Bex (Ibra): There was a knight unlatching it. Or at least that's, that's what I saw.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay. Right. Okay.
Bex (Ibra): And I was ready to fight it.
Mayanna (Fran): You're not crazy.
Bex (Ibra): Oh..kay.
Mayanna (Fran): You're not crazy.
Bex (Ibra): Promise?
Mayanna (Fran): Promise.
Bex (Ibra): Thank you.
Mayanna (Fran): You're welcome. I just don't know why that is happening. It's okay. Everything's okay.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah. Everything's great.
Mayanna (Fran): Everything's not great, but everything's fine.
Mischa (Paz): There's like, three or four things that shouldn't be happening that all just happened at once.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah. Yeah, you're right. You're right. You're right. You know what? Yes. Paz. You're right. This shit's fucking crazy.
Bex (Ibra): Mmhm.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay. So, so ghosts, invisible ghosts, moving workshops and, uh, and lightning powers.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, wait, hold on. How did the rest of the workshop go?
Mayanna (Fran): Um… Good, good. Very good. There is something that I have to give up if I want to do this, I have to give up my…memories, Kind of.
Bex (Ibra): Woah, what?
Mayanna (Fran): The feelings associated with memories that I have.
Bex (Ibra): The feelings of memories?
Mayanna: They're not gone. They're just like. Okay, for example, remember when we sang Happy Birthday to Paz? So like, that's kind of like a grayscale memory now.
Bex (Ibra): Whoa.
Mischa (Paz): Oh.
Mayanna (Fran): Like it was in color, and now it's not.
Mischa(Paz): Oh. So you put your memories in?
Mayanna (Fran): To, to tags, yes. and then you put the tags on stuff and then they, and then they kind of carry the will and force of the memories, and then you can use that to conjure abilities and–
Bex (Ibra): Wait, so like, it, so the memory went from being like exquisite armor to mid armor in your mind, right?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): That's so weird. Sorry. Is that weird to say?
Mayanna (Fran): No, it’s okay. you can say it's weird.
Bex (Ibra): It's kind of weird.
Mayanna (Fran): There's a lot of weird stuff going on right now.
Mischa (Paz): There's a lot of weird stuff going on.
Mayanna (Fran): Mmhm.
[Laughter].
Bex (Ibra): Magic is weird. This is all weird.
Mayanna (Fran): It is weird. Man, remember when you were doing work, and I was doing work, and JJ was in school, and Gordon was working on bread?
Bex (Ibra): Remember when I was a bee?
Mischa (Paz): I miss Boggins.
Mayanna (Fran): I do too. I can't believe I'm saying that.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, me too.
Mischa (Paz): Do you really? That's–Wait, hold on, Fran, that's wild.
[Music ends].
Mayanna: (Whispering in disbelief) It is wild, isn't it? [Laughter].God, it's so wild.
Mischa: So much stuff has been going on, but the fact that Fran actually misses Boggins might have been the final straw.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Yeah, yeah.
Mischa: Like, that one? That broke me.
Bex: We're worried about you now, bud.
Mayanna (Fran): Miss the mop.
Bex (Ibra): Aw. The new one?
Mayanna (Fran): No, the old one. I miss the animatronic with the wonky eye. I miss the sticky floors.
Mischa: And it's as you're listing this litany of things that you thought were large problems in your life way before–
Mayanna: Oh god!
Mischa: –the car approaches
Mayanna: Ah yes, new problems, wonderful.
Ian: Oh my god
Mayanna: Incredible
[SFX: Car pulling up]. [Music begins: low ambient synths].
Mischa: Yeah, it's an older car, it's not like brand new, it's not slick, it's not like Ravonna’s car but it's like a sturdy, utilitarian little hover car and a driver, not in any sort of uniform, just like an ordinary sort of, dwarf, just sort of like, as soon as it lands, pops out and holds a door open for Paz and the rest of you. [SFX: door opening with hydraulic hiss].
Mayanna (Fran): Oh, thank you.
Bex (Ibra): Thanks, doc.
Mischa: Paz gives the driver an address in the Edge, for the Baker's Guild headquarters.
Mayanna: Is there room for all of us in the backseat, or is it like a two, is it like a five seater?
Mischa: There's room for all of you in the backseat. Ibra, what are you gonna do about your bike?
Bex: I'm actually gonna close the door behind Paz and Fran, [SFX: door sliding closed] and I'm gonna stay back with the driver and I'm gonna be like,
Bex (Ibra): Hey, I'm just gonna follow you on the bike if that's cool with you. Just try not to go too fast so I can keep up.
Mischa (Driver): You got it.
Bex (Ibra): Thanks, Boss.
Mischa: Gives you like a, like, tips his newsboy cap.
Mayanna: Wow.
Bex: I'm gonna pat the car twice like an old dad would do or something stupid.
Mayanna: That's so funny.
Lyn: You say that and that's what I do.
Bex: Right. I'm an old dad at heart.
Mayanna: Incredible.
Mischa: And, Fran, you and Paz, enjoy a smooth ride to the edge.
[SFX: car drives off, motorcycle revs to life and follows].
Mayanna: Yeah. Yeah.
Ian: (singing) Livin on the edge, ridin’ to the edge.
[Laughter].
Lyn: That's the smash cut to us in the tuk-tuk, jammin’ to the radio.
Bex: That's what's playing.
Ian: I’m singing full volume. And I got, like, my fist to my chest and I'm like, [SFX: radio bopping in the background] (singing) Ridin’ to the edge! Ridin’ to the edge!
Mischa: And BG's in the back like,
Mischa (BG): (singing howls).
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Oh BG!
Ian: And I get, and I put my hand back and be like,
Ian (Gordon): Good job, BG!
Ian: And then I put my hand out and then he, like, chin fives my hand.
Mayanna: Awww BG!
Ian (Gordon): Ew, ah.
Ian: And it's all wet. And I like, brush my hand out the window and drop the slobber off of it.
Bex: I like to imagine someone's riding by on a bicycle and it's just,
Bex (Bike rider): Oh! Agh!
Ian (Gordon): Sorry!
Mayanna: “This was gonna be my year!”
[Laughter].
[Radio music fades out]. [Music begins: low, peaceful ambient synths].
[Soundscape begins: bugs and birds chirping, plants rustling in the wind]
Mischa: Unlike most of the other districts in New Prosper, life in the Edge is a little bit slower. Everything's a little bit more spread out. As soon as you cross the boundary between Minetown and the Edge, everything sort of sprawls. The air has more freedom to move. Housing allotments give way to fields and crops, and there's a little more room for everything here. As you travel, you leave the shadow of the Upper City behind, and orange light bathes the entire field. Gordon, it's a beautiful, picturesque scene as you drive home.
Ian (Gordon): Ah… The Edge.
[Laughter].
Mischa: You roll up to the Baker's Guild headquarters. [SFX: Tuk-tuk motor]. It's a big silo training facility, dormitory thing. From the outside, do you think that like, people are making deliveries at all hours? Like, do you think you're one of the last people to drive your tuk-tuk back? What do you think?
Ian: I think I'm one of the last people to drive my tuk-tuk back. I think that it probably calms down a lot earlier than you would expect because we all have to get up so early.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: Mmm.
Ian: So I think it's actually, like, pretty low key right now.
[Music ends].
Mischa: Yeah, that's fair. One thing you do notice is as you drive up to the garages in the, the sort of like visitor parking quote-unquote, Fran and Paz step out of a car. [SFX: car door hissing open]
Ian (Gordon): Oh, great. Hey!
Mayanna (Fran): Hey! How's it going?
Lyn (JJ): Hi guys! Oh, wait, can I have some help getting my bike out of the back of the truck? Oh, yeah. [SFX: metal clanging, bike wheel idling] Ah!
Mayanna (Fran): You didn't– Are you okay?
Lyn (JJ): Okay. It's okay. The chain just got stuck. It's fine.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Lyn (JJ): Okay. Hi!
Mayanna (Fran): Hi!
Lyn (JJ): How was the escape room?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah. Oh! it–was so good. Thank you so much for your help. We got out. We escaped, we did it.
Lyn (JJ): Good! I'm glad.
Mayanna (Fran): yes.
Lyn (JJ): Next time you want to go. Let me know. I love escape rooms.
Mayanna (Fran): I will absolutely–We have so much to talk about you guys.
Mischa (Paz): What escape room? What are you guys talking about?
Bex: Ibra's parking their bike and like drops the chain– [SFX: hoverbike powering down].
Bex (Ibra): No, I, we–we'll take you next time.
Mayanna (Fran): Let's just tell them. We, it was a puzzle, and it was, it was bad. I–
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, that's what escape rooms are. [Laughter].
Mayanna (Fran): Totally, no. It was, it was a test. It was the Arcane Masters Guild's test, and I barely passed. And if it wasn't for you, maybe I would not have ever learned anything new at all.
Lyn (JJ): What, did you just have like a few minutes left on the clock, or?
Mayanna (Fran): No, it, no, this was like, this was, okay, it was like a test of will, it was like, Thorgunn, finally trusted me–
Lyn (JJ): Whoa!
Mayanna (Fran): –or I finally earned my keep enough to prove that I was ready to learn about things that were, I don't know, powerful or whatever, and then I, and then I, and then I totally shut down, and then, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't, now know–
Mayanna: And I-I-I hold up like a– I hold up the tag.
Lyn (JJ): Would you like a hug?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, yeah I would.
Lyn (JJ): Okay.
Mayanna (Fran): That sounds really nice.
Lyn: I give Fran a big hug.
Mayanna: I give you a hug and I hold out the tag just like really far away from our bodies. [Laughter]. Cause I just–I just don't want it to touch anything that it's not supposed to, and then I put it back.
Lyn (JJ): Okay, okay.
Mayanna (Fran): Thank you. I might not be very smart.
Bex (Ibra): Take it back.
Lyn (JJ): That–Take that back.
Ian (Gordon): Yeah, take that back.
Mischa: Counterspell!
Lyn: Counterspell!
Mayanna (Fran): Alright, okay.
Ian: BG jumps on you and tries to lick you in your face.
Mayanna (Fran): Oh, okay. you know what? You're right. You're right, BG. You keep me honest. Thank you.
Lyn (JJ): We can talk inside.
Mayanna (Fran): That sounds great.
Lyn (JJ): You are all so sweaty.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, yeah. There was also, we got attacked.
Lyn (JJ): What?!
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, we got attacked.
Ian (Gordon): Wait, what?!
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, let's go inside, let’s go inside!
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, we should get inside.
Mayanna: Before we go inside, I'm, I'm going to turn back to the car really quickly and just like, I'm going to go over to the driver's side window. I'm going to just like, thank him for driving us.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: Yeah, he tips his newsie cap to you outside of the window. Paz does the same. Takes the time as y'all are preparing, like headed across the parking lot. Just like stays behind.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Thanks very much, and that's on the–
Mischa: And he goes,
Mischa (Driver): Don't worry, ma'am, I got it.
Mischa: And starts up the car and drives off. [SFX: car starts and speeds off]. Paz looks to you, Fran and is just like,
Mischa (Paz): It's not a thing I can do all the time.
Mayanna (Fran): Mm, mhmm.
Mischa (Paz): It's just like, very special occasions, but I felt like getting attacked. By a monster. In a really dangerous part of town. And then manifesting lightning powers. I felt like I could call one in, you know?
Mayanna (Fran): Hey, if this isn't a special occasion, I don't know what the fuck is.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): (From afar) Sorry, what was that about lighting powers?
Ian (Gordon): (From afar) What is happening right now?
Mayanna (Fran): Right, so, okay, let's go inside, let's go inside!
[Soundscape ends]. [Music begins: cozy, peaceful ambient synths]
Mischa: You step through the entranceway to the Baker's Guild. [SFX: door creaking open] It's, like, the flour has baked into the concrete bricks of the silo. Like, it just, the smell, even with no ovens going, like, fresh bread and pre-bread and, you know, dough proofing overnight, just fills the space. It's, it's empty, it's calm. Yeah, it probably shuts down pretty early, so like, at sunset, it's probably like, the stragglers, right?
Ian: Mhmm. It's occurring to me that this is a culinary school.
Mischa: Yeah.
Ian: Yes, it's designed for bread.
Mischa: Yup.
Ian: But I was like, oh wait, I live in a dorm, I probably don't have a full kitchen in my dorm, but there's definitely a full kitchen here, and I'm wondering one of two paths.
Mischa: Okay.
Ian: Not Paz. (Over-enunciating) Paths.
Mischa: Got it.
Lyn: Are they wandering?
Ian: They are wand–fuck, I didn't realize I did that.
[Laughter].
Mischa: Heyyo! That's a party point for Lyn.
Lyn and Bex: Yeah!
Ian: Fuck yeah. Here's the first path. The first path is that there are, in the kitchens, like, in one corner in the kitchen, there is either, like, a practice room that you can log you know, you can, like, sign into as a guild member slash student, and, like, do experimental cooking, right? And we can all go use that test kitchen and whatever the ingredients are. And I have a little potential game for it.
Mischa: Sure.
Ian: Or I'm just taking everyone down to the kitchens and raiding the fridge, and then there's risk there. But I, cause I don't know what is, I don't know what's in the world or not.
Mischa: Um, yeah, no, good question. I think that like, the usual kitchen that you sign out every morning, that like, you know, you have your regular, your time.
Ian: Right, oh yeah, I have my bay.
Mischa: Right, so, I think that, you know, just because everyone else is shut down and has gone to bed, like, you could obviously sign out that space late night again if you wanted to, I think.
Ian: Right.
Mischa: There's probably–
Lyn: Like studio hours.
Mischa: Yeah, there's studio hours. There's like, you know, when I worked at the theater studio, there was like a late night attendant. You could sign up for spaces. Yeah, absolutely.
Ian: So if that's the case, if I'm just signing out my own bay, then it would seem to me that we're raiding the bakery kitchen of whatever is there.
Mischa: Yeah, as we know from our previous excursion to the bursar's office, I've been sort of tracking what everybody has been spending on stuff.
Ian: Sure.
Mischa: I think, I think we can just add that. You're right, you're a culinary student. They take it out of your paycheck, they sign out the cost of materials to your account. Absolutely.
Ian: Well if that's the case, y'all, We have a lot of options. And over the past five minutes, I've been writing some of them down.
[Music ends].
Mayanna: Oh my god.
Mischa: Okay. All right.
Lyn: Your notebook is wild.
Mayanna: I can't wait.
Mischa: I'm like fully losing control of the podcast. But go for it.
[Laughter].
Bex: You like it this way and you know it.
Mischa: I do, it's true.
Ian: My name's Ian McQuown. I'm the new GM of this podcast.
[Laughter].
Mischa: You made a game?
Ian: I, I, I, I think on the spot just now, I made a game.
Mischa: Okay
Ian: I have no guarantees that it will work.
Mayanna: I can't wait. Do it.
Ian: But I have an idea. Unless you have a game that's actually a game.
Mischa: I'm, yeah, I'm the Game Master. I have come up with game content for you–
Ian: Mmhm
Mischa: –but do you want to tell us about your game?
Mayanna: I can’t wait.
Ian: Okay, here's my game.
Mischa: I'm so thrilled you made it. [Laughter]. Tell us everything.
Lyn: Show and tell.
Ian: Okay, I have four, there's four people who are not me around. There's Paz, right?
Lyn: Mmhm.
Mayanna: Yes.
Ian: Included. So I've broken up the ingredients into four major sections. With four options a piece.
Mayanna: Wow.
Ian: So my pitch is that I'm going to lay out all the food we have on the table and then we'll go around and everyone can roll one d20 to determine what of the four options we get to pick in each category. And then, as a group, we can talk about the dish that we make with those four options.
Mayanna: (Gasps) Oh my god
Lyn: It's like chopped, but randomized.
Mayanna: I love this.
Bex: I love this
Mayanna: so much.
Mischa: Yeah. Listeners, I'm learning about this game in real time. Ian, you know we have like production chat where you can tell me about things you want to do? Nope, learning about it real time online.
Ian: I just came up with it right now!
Mischa: Incredible.
Mayanna: The Inspiration struck.
Lyn: Yeah.
Ian: It really did.
Lyn: That's another gold star.
Mischa: That's a gold star.
Ian: Fuck yeah! (Singsong) I'm just marking down my gold star. Okay. So.
Mischa: Yeah. Okay. Walk– It's your show, man. [Laughter]. Let's play this game!
Mayanna: Do it!
[Music begins: upbeat synth]
Ian: Okay, so, guys, here's the master list of all the things that we have that I pull out of the school kitchen.
Lyn: Mmhm.
Mayanna: Wow.
Ian: We've got chicken.
Mayanna: Woah
Lyn: Mhmm.
Ian: We've got eggs. We've got fish. We've got eggplant. Those are our main ingredients. like our, our primary ingredient options.
All: Mhmm.
Ian: For our secondary ingredient options, we've got bread. We've got rice. We've got various like green veggies. And then we have potatoes.
Mayanna: Mmhm, woah.
Ian: For our, third, which would be like our third ingredient. It's not quite the garnish, but it's maybe like–
Lyn: It's the support or side.
Ian: It’s the support component. Yeah, exactly. We've got, like, peppers and spice, i.e. cayenne. We've got citrus components. We've got yogurt, or we've got alliums, like scallions and onions–
Lyn: Mhmm.
Ian: –and I don't know if garlic is in there.
Lyn: Garlic's an allium.
Mischa: Yeah it is.
Bex: Boo.
Ian: Yeah, and garlic. Did you say boo? [Laughter].
Bex: Yeah.
Mischa: Toxic for Bex's,
Bex: Bex irl.
Mischa: But Ibra's stomach okay.
Bex: Ibra's fine.
Bex: What about Paz, though?
Mayanna: Oh, Paz has dietary restrictions.
Ian: Oh!
Mischa: That's true!
Ian: Oh, what are Paz's dietary restrictions?
Mischa: Paz can't eat wheat and rye, starchy beans, cabbage, mushrooms, stone fruit, and artificial sweeteners.
Ian: Oh man, so if we roll bread, we're, we gotta, we gotta–
Mayanna: Cause we did like a non-gluten cake.
Lyn: It was sourdough though. So it has some–
Ian: We're gonna all work together and we're gonna, we're gonna cook it with whatever we roll.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Ian: And then our fourth is sort of like the, the garnish or the finishing. We've got soy/ginger. We've got butter. We've got just fire, just straight flambe. And then we've got herbs, fresh herbs.
Mayanna: Amazing. Wow.
Lyn: Incredible.
Ian: Okay, roll for initiative!
[Cheers and laughter].
Mayanna: Oh my god, yeet!
Mischa: Nice
Ian: You yeeted?
[Cheers]. [Music ends].
Mayanna: I yeeted!
Bex: Nice!
Ian: Oh my god!
Lyn: Yes!
Mayanna: Yes!
Ian: Okay, so, great, so who's first Fran is first–
Lyn: 14.
Ian: 14.
Mischa: She got a 3.
Bex: 15.
Ian: Paz is last. We've got, Fran first, then Ibra, then JJ, and then Paz.
Lyn: Nice.
Ian: Okay, so Fran, roll a d20 and I will tell you what of the four ingredients we will use. We've got chicken, eggs, fish, or eggplant.
Mayanna: Okay. [Dice rolls]. It's a twenty again!
All: Whoa!
Mayanna: Holy moly!
Mischa: Wowee.
Ian: Hot dice.
Mayanna: Okay, so yeah, I rolled a 20, so is it a random like, is it like between 1 and a certain number?
Ian: I marked it, yeah, so 1-5, 6-10, 11 to 15…
Mayanna: Okay, sure.
Ian: Alright. you picked my least favorite ingredient as a human, I'm so excited that we're gonna cook it. We are cooking with eggplant as our final ingredient.
Mischa: Okay.
Mayanna: Wow.
Ian: Oh, that's, yeah, I should've done that. Great.
Mayanna: Holy moly.
Ian: Okay, great. I'm changing spice, that'll be the end. So, tomatoes, citrus, yogurt, and alliums.
Bex: [Dice rolls]. 18.
Ian: 18! We are cooking guys with eggplant and yogurt. That's what we know so far.
Bex: Interesting.
Lyn: Mediterranean.
Bex: Yeah.
Mayanna: Very Mediterranean.
Lyn: North African also.
Ian: Great. I did these in the wrong order. Great, awesome. JJ, you're up. Now we're dealing with the secondary ingredient, which I skipped, which is bread, rice, mixed vegetables, or potatoes.
Mischa: We're running a game. It's harder than it looks, huh?
[Dice rolls].
Ian: Fuckin A. I'm already tired.
Lyn: I rolled a 15.
Ian: 15! Ooh, veggies. Okay, bonus question: What kind of green veggies are we working with?
Mayanna: We got eggplant, we got yogurt.
Mischa: I feel like, um.. arugula?
Ian: Ooh!
Mayanna: Yeah, that makes sense.
Mischa: Rocket, for our British listeners.
Mayanna: Rocket, yeah.
Ian: Okay, anyone else got something to add to the arugula? I mean, like, there's a ton of green veggies in here.
Lyn: Yeah. Broccolini.
Mayanna: Broccolini's fun.
Bex: Asparagus.
Mayanna: I could do a broccolini.
Bex: Makes your pee smell.
Ian: Broccolini or asparagus? Let's choose.
Mayanna: Should we roll off for it?
Bex: Yeah!
Lyn: What are we rolling for?
Mayanna: Above a 10, it's broccolini. Below a 10, it's asparagus.
Bex: Cool.
Lyn: Yeah.
Mayanna: What did you roll?
Bex: 11.
Mayanna: 11? [Dice rolls]. That's a 7.
Bex: Oh!
Mayanna: Yeah.
Lyn: So what does that mean?!
[Overlapping chatter]
Bex: I love this game.
Mayanna: You know what, you rolled higher, so we'll go with asparagus. My rule was dumb.
Bex: Asparagus is closer to 10 and yours was further from 10.
Mayanna: But it should just be who rolled higher gets what they want. [Laughter]. My thing was dumb. I overcomplicated it.
Ian: It's hard running a game, isn't it?
[Laughter].
Mayanna: It’s hard running a game! Thank you, Mischa. For running a game!
[Laughter].
Mischa: My pleasure.
Ian: The worst part is that I didn't tell you that there's a third vegetable in this alternate universe called asparalini.
Mayanna: What?!
Bex: Ah! It's asparalini. The whole time it was asparalini.
Ian: Okay, back to it. Final. So this is our finisher ingredient.
Mischa: Yeah.
Ian: For Paz.
Mischa: Okay.
Ian: We've got soy/ginger, soy ginger. We've got butter. We've got just fire.
Mischa: Mhmm.
Ian: And then we've got spice and herbs.
Mischa: Okay.
Mayanna: Ooh.
[Dice rolls].
Mischa: 8.
Ian: That would be butter.
All: Oh,
Ian: And then I'm gonna do a bonus roll [gasps] for me to add an ingredient from the section.
Mayanna: Oh my god, amazing.
Ian: Okay, I'm gonna do two. One to see what section we roll in.
Mayanna: Okay.
Ian: [Dice rolls]. 20 it's more finishing ingredients and then it's [Dice rolls]. Herbs. Herbs and spices.
Mayanna: I do love herbs.
[Music begins: rustic acoustic strings]
Ian: Okay, so here's what we've got to work with, ladies and germs. We've got eggplant, arugula, asparagus, a rustic yogurt.
Mayanna: Nice.
Mischa: Okay.
Ian: Butter, and like, herbs, and pepper. So here's the question. Does that violate any of the dietary restrictions of anyone in our group?
Mayanna: I don't think so.
Ian: Any allergies or dietary restrictions?
Mayanna: No. If they can eat butter, Paz can eat butter.
Mischa: Paz can eat butter.
Mayanna: Cool.
Ian: Okay.
Lyn: There's a Middle Eastern dish, I'm trying to look at the pronunciation, but it's, sheikh al mashi.
Ian: Okay.
Mayanna: Oh.
Lyn: Which is literally stuffed eggplant in a yogurt sauce.
All: Whoa!
Lyn: It's usually stuffed with like pine nuts and meat.
Mayanna: Okay.
Lyn: But there are vegetarian versions.
Mayanna: So we could stuff it with the Broccolini, maybe puree the broccolini?
Lyn: It's asparagus.
Ian: It's asparagus, stop whining, I know you pitched broccolini but you didn't get it.
Mayanna: Sorry, sorry, sorry, you're right. Asparagus.
Ian: Work with the ingredients you have.
Mayanna: Sorry, you know what? You're right. I have to let it go.
Lyn: But it could be like a side salad type of thing. Like, they might not necessarily be the same. They don't need to be the same component. I'm thinking like, Chopped, where sometimes they'll have like, multi courses.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: Yeah, wow.
Ian: Okay, so, so what we've been talking about is coring out the eggplant, using some of the inside of the eggplant, too, for the stuffing, along with, like, probably very, very small, chopped (in a French accent) asparagus,
Mischa: That'd be elvish asparagus.
Mayanna & Bex: (In exaggerated French accents) Asparagus!
[Laughter].
Ian: Okay, so then, so then if it's asparagus and roast eggplants so far on the inside, we have herbs and peppers to work with. What would be good in there? You know, what kind of herbs?
Lyn: I mean, that could also be stuffed with it.
Bex: Yeah, peppers and seasoned peppers.
Ian: I know, like what kind, like, so like spicy chili peppers? Like red bell peppers?
Lyn: Let’s see. Bell pepper would definitely work.
Mayanna: I think bell pepper makes sense.
Ian: And like chives maybe.
Mayanna: Yeah, I like chives
Lyn: And/or like dill. Dill would also work.
Ian: Ooh, dill, I like dill!
Mayanna: I like that.
Bex: Dill!
Mayanna: We gotta do dill with the yogurt. Yes.
Ian: Okay, great. So we've got stuffed eggplant with eggplant, asparagus, dill, red pepper.
Lyn: Mm-Hmm. Yeah.
Ian: And chives. And then we have a yogurt sauce underneath. What does it say about the yogurt sauce?
Lyn: It's cooked in the yogurt sauce usually.
Mayanna: Whoa.
Lyn: And it can be stuffed with pine nuts and stuff too.
Mayanna: Cool.
Lyn: So yeah. If we have pine nuts anywhere else.
Ian: Oh, that can work for herbs. I love that.
Mayanna: Yeah, I like that.
Ian: We'll rustle up some pine nuts.
Mayanna: That's awesome.
Mischa: Hey listeners. I don't know about you, is anybody else really hungry?
[Laughter]. [Music ends].
Lyn: We said like episode one–
Mayanna: Fan art! Food fan art.
Lyn: Food fan art! And recipes.
Mayanna: Fan art of the food!
Mischa: I'm gonna, you know, Lyn, text this to me, I'm gonna put the recipe for this in the show notes.
[Cheers].
Mayanna: Oohh!
Bex: Yes!
Lyn: I’ll Also check some of my friends to see if they have a family recipe for this.
Bex: Oh yay!
Mayanna: That is so fun. Oh, I hope somebody out there makes this dish and tells us how it is somehow, so if you're out there listening, and you're the one person who decides to make this dish, I hope you let us know that that happened sometime in the future.
Mischa: Yeah.
Lyn: Yeah. Post it on Instagram. Tag us in it.
Mayanna: What a gift you gave us with this.
Lyn: Mmhm.
Mayanna: This is such, that was such a delightful, experience we all just shared.
Mischa: Yeah, thank you so much Ian for making a game for us on the spot.
Mayanna: That was really special. I really liked that
Bex: I loved that.
Lyn: I loved that.
Ian: I hope it was impactful.
Mayanna: Nah, I really enjoyed it.
Bex: It was.
Lyn: That's how I'm gonna cook my dinner from now on.
Mayanna: That really warmed my heart.
Ian: Yeah, just roll dice and pick ingredients.
Bex: That's really fun.
[Midroll theme plays and fades out]
Mischa: Hey there, it's Mischa. This is the rest stop. Come take a break beside the path with me. Just until we catch our breath. First up, as usual, I want to say a huge thank you to our patrons at patreon.com/wanderingpathpod. We got our biggest influx of new patrons yet this week. That is amazing news.
Thank you so, so much to The Queer Mess, Patrick H., Sparrow, and Asa V. for signing up. And of course, a huge shout out to our Voyager level patron, JWX! We love you so much! I don't think it's a coincidence that so many of you joined up with us after the last detour, where we broke down how many hours go into making this show. It's a lot, but I love to do it, and it really does mean the entire world to us to have your support doing what we're good at and what we love. So if that's worth anything to you, even just a couple dollars per episode, and you want to bring us life, sustain us, and bring us to new seasons, sign up with us at patreon.com/wanderingpathpod.
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That's it for now. Let's get back on the path and back to the show.
[Midroll theme plays and fades out].
Mischa: Yeah, I think this is just a food podcast now. [Laughter].
Mayanna: Wasn’t it always a food podcast?
Mischa: No, no, we'll tell a story. I guess we'll tell a story. Okay.
Bex: But we'll tell it with food!
[Music begins: rustic acoustic strings]
Mischa: Yeah, so, it's a quiet early evening in the Baker's Guild silo.
Ian: Mmhm.
Mischa: And you've got your usual kitchen to yourself. You're laying out your ingredients. You've got things laid out for somebody to help you with prep, somebody to help you with the cook, and somebody to help you with finishing and plating.
Ian: Love it. Okay, so here, so I take the biggest eggplant, because we're all going to be sharing stuffed eggplant, so it's like a football sized eggplant, right?
Lyn: Hell yeah.
Mischa: I love an image of Gordon in front of just a large bay, like a large pantry cabinet.
Ian: Yeah, and like I've just, it's all laid out, and it's all at a cooking school, so it's all perfectly ordered.
All: Mmhm.
Mischa: While you guys are waiting for Gordon to give you jobs.
Lyn: Yes, chef.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Heard, chef.
Bex: Yeah, sure.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Chef yeah.
Ian: Dish area, immediately.
[Laughter].
Mischa: There's so much that's been going on for the rest of the world that like, yes, making dinner together is a wonderful distraction, but like, there's quests to be had, there's new powers gained, there's feelings to be processed?
Mayanna: Feelings to be processed, period.
Mischa: Maybe? Okay, great, good. I'm proud of you. Does anybody feel strongly about any of the cooking positions? Do we want to roll for it?
Mayanna: Let's roll for it.
Mischa: Do you want Ian to assign you?
Lyn: Let’s roll.
Mayanna: Let's roll for it.
Ian: I think we're rolling for it.
Lyn: Yes, chef!
[Dice rolls].
Mayanna: 4.
Bex: 8.
[Dice rolls].
Lyn: 13.
Mischa: Okay. JJ's on prep. Ibra's on cook. Fran's on finishing.
Mayanna: I love that.
Bex: Sick.
Ian: Spectacular.
Lyn: That feels right, weirdly.
Mayanna: Yeah, it does feel right, doesn't it?
Bex: I like fire.
Ian: I guess I'm just overseeing everybody, right? Walking from person to person? Or what am I doing?
Mayanna: This is so fun.
Mischa: I, so, I mean, you tell me, but in my mind, Gordon's actually doing most of the work.
Ian: Yeah, great, great, great.
Mischa: Hold on. Now, actually, I'm gonna go back. Rest of the party, Gordon always does, like, a majority of the cooking or, like, takes you out. You, you've previously handed over free will at restaurants so that Gordon is gonna order for you. How much cooking do y'all do on your own?
Mayanna: Damn, great question. I think Fran is a, like, Cup Noodle girly.
Lyn: Mmhm.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: She does not, she has no time.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: Yeah, I think Fran's about convenience and efficiency.
Mischa: (laughs).
Bex: I think Ibra's not creative with food, but can cook it.
Lyn: Mmhm.
Bex: I think Ibra's actually a meal prepper.
Mischa: Yeah.
Bex: Only because of training. Usually if, if it, when it comes to anything not meal prepping for exercise, Ibra's not so good at it, but when it comes to, like, what they've got on their docket, on their scheduled food, they can make it really well.
Mischa: Well, that, and that makes sense, because, like, we've covered your diet is prescribed by the doctors that own patents on your body.
Bex: Yeah.
Lyn: I think JJ cooks, like, not as much as they'd like, because it gets expensive, but they actually probably cook more to save money, and their grandmother would kill them if they didn't cook at home.
Mischa: Yeah, that makes sense. Absolutely.
Lyn: (laughs) JJ, I think, is the pendulum swing of both. It's like, it has to be either convenient or cheap.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Lyn: And then like, like, sometimes we'll nail good in the middle. But it's like, sometimes JJ eats brown cube and kind of likes it.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Yea, When I worked at a movie theater–this is Mayanna talking– I would. They had, they discounted all the food. So I would, I would have $2 chicken strips every night that I had a shift.
All: Ooh.
Mayanna: It was not a good situation, but it was the situation that made sense at the time.
Lyn: Exactly.
Bex: Sustenance.
Mayanna: Sustenance, exactly.
Mischa: And very much how it would be in the Barra.
Mayanna: Absolutely.
Mischa: Where like, all of the leftovers are, it's all leftover bar food.
Mayanna: Yep, it's all this, yeah, it's like discounted food at Boggins, or like, yeah, whatever's around, or like whatever people are giving out at the end of the night.
Bex: The veggies you're getting are like, crudités, fried pickles and fried brussels sprouts.
Mayanna: Yup, Fran's diet is rancid. [Laughter]. It's terrible.
[Music ends].
Mischa: That's why she needs that good skincare routine. [Laughter].
Mayanna: Truly, it’s something I gotta, I gotta, thank god for genetics, man, you know?
Ian: It's pronounced “Francid.”
[Laughter].
Lyn: Wow.
Mayanna: Francid.
Bex: I think you get a party point for that.
Mayanna: You know what, I resent it, but yeah, that's absolutely a party point. That is a unanimous party point.
Ian: (singsongy) And it's on the board.
Lyn: Get a begrudging–a begrudging party point
Mayanna: Absolutely. Francid diet. [Laughter]. Put that on a t-shirt, us.
Mischa: Yeah. So silly.
Mayanna: Francid vibes.
Mischa: Okay, Gordon, you lay out all your ingredients on the prep table, and, you tag JJ in and get to work.
Ian (Gordon): Okay, so what we're going to be doing is we're going to cut the top off this eggplant, we're going to scoop out the insides, and then we're going to chop up the inside of the eggplant, as well as the other veggies we have.
Lyn (JJ): Yes, chef! Heard, chef!
[Music begins: quiet, calming piano and synth]
Ian: I take my sharpest, like, 8 inch chef's knife. [SFX: knife being unsheathed]. Maybe it's a 10 inch chef's knife.
Mayanna: Woah.
Lyn: Ooh I'm a dwarf. [Laughter].
Ian: I take my 10inch,
Lyn: Okay. Just checking.
Ian: And I, and I cut like the first sort of like, inch off the top of it sideways, right? So now laid out it's like a boat, or it's going to be a boat on its side. and then I take my paring knife and I run a little, like, outline of what we're gonna cut on the inside. And then I hand the eggplant and a very big spoon to JJ so you can scoop.
Lyn: Great.
Bex: Yeah, Dungeon Meshi is playing behind my eyelids.
Lyn: Mmhm.
[Laughter].
Bex: It's great.
Mayanna: Not sponsored.
Ian: And I think while you scoop, I'm gonna chop the asparagus. [SFX: scraping against eggplant] How's scooping the eggplant, how's that going over for you?
Mayanna: Do you want to roll for it?
Lyn: Fine?
Mayanna: Roll for it.
Mischa: Yeah, why don't you go ahead and roll a–
Mayanna: Roll for scoop.
Mischa: –sleight of hand.
Lyn: Great. [Dice rolls]. 13.
Mischa: Okay, you reach in, like the eggplant is, the biggest eggplant that Gordon could find and he's using a lot of like human tools. I think with a 13 you do a decent job of scooping out the eggplant itself. I think maybe you don't manage to salvage all of the innards and make a little bit of a mess around the kitchen. Which it being after hours.. Ehh..
Lyn (JJ): I'll clean it. It's fine. Clean as you go.
Ian: Yeah, heck yeah. And you know what you didn't do, which you could have done, the beginner move is like, you scoop too deep, and then the spoon goes through the side of the eggplant.
Lyn: Oh no, I think the problem is I was erring on the side of caution.
Ian: Which is great, I love that.
Mischa: Classic JJ.
Lyn: You can always scoop more.
Ian: Yes, you can. You can never scoop less.
Lyn: Yeah.
Bex: I think, like, Ibra's coming in with a trash can to help out, and is like–
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, no, one of my teachers, one of my, trainers was teaching me about a French phrase, I think it's (deadpan, aggressively American accent) mise en place.
Lyn: (restrained sound of frustration).
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Ooh boy.
Lyn: Oh, I hate it.
Mayanna: Okay.
Mischa: Oh, that's so wrong that it might just as well be right.
[Laughter].
Mayanna: No.
Mischa: Okay, Fran.
Mayanna: Mhmm.
Mischa: Gordon and JJ are cooking in the kitchen. Ibra and Paz are just chillin out in the Baker's Guild hall.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: What are you doing?
Mayanna: Hmm. I think, you know, I'm watching all of this happen and I'm… Like between the car and the fact that I'm realizing I don't cook a whole lot and that, you know, my life is just constantly moving. And I think I like that it's constantly moving because when it stops for any reason, all of these things come up that I try not to think about.
Mayanna: We still just have no clue what we're doing. And I think like it's easy to just keep trugging along and not think about that. But like, you know, when I was driving with Gordon the other day, like, who knows what's out there? Who even knows, who knows what lies beyond this mortal coil? And just like, while we're currently in this current mortal coil, it's just like, there's so many forces beyond our control. The city feels increasingly large to me. And, I've never had to worry about that before. I never had to worry about any of this before, and, and now, on top of that, I also have to worry about, like, this thing that I always dreamed about, this thing that I was hoping that Thorgunn would one day bestow upon me, is also rife with sacrifice and-and yeah, I guess… I guess Fran's in this moment wondering, like, when's it gonna, when's it gonna make sense?
Mischa: I don't know.
Mayanna: Yeah.
Mischa: I don't know.
Mayanna: I don't know. I, I'm not even asking you. (laughs).
Mischa: Yeah.
Bex: And also, what, what else are you gonna have to sacrifice?
Mayanna: Yeah.
Bex: And what do you choose to sacrifice?
Mayanna: Yeah, I'm thinking about all my cherished memories and, like, which ones are next and which ones could be useful to this bigger thing that's beyond me, and like, am I willing to do that? And of course the answer is yes, because like, I'm just one person. And if my prom date or a birthday party or the time my mom gave me a gun is something that can build something more important than me, why wouldn't I give that up? And so I guess I'm like taking stock of that as well, of like, what am I willing to put on the chopping block for the greater good?
Mischa: Yeah. Yeah, do you vocalize that out loud to anybody?
Mayanna: (sighs) I think I'm going to go over to Paz and Ibra. I think I'm just going to see what they're talking about. I think, I think that in this moment, I, I want to think about something else for a little while.
Mischa: Okay. Ibra, what are you and Paz talking about?
Bex: Ibra really wants to talk about what happened, really wants to talk about electricity, really wants to talk about the night, and is trying to gauge Paz's emotional state–
Mayanna: Hm. Yeah.
Bex: –and dancing around, like, dancing around in conversation just to feel Paz out before figuring out if it's the right time to dive deep or not. Should I roll insight?
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: Ooh.
Bex: [Dice rolls] 15.
Mayanna: Nice.
Mischa: 15. She is just like, shaken and exhausted. I think as soon as y'all get settled and Gordon and JJ start getting to work, I think she sort of wanders over back to the pantry and grabs just like, a handful of like, walnuts, just, just was incredibly hungry and is like, letting that be her focus, and is like,
Mischa (Paz): These walnuts are really good. They have so much food here.
Lyn (JJ): Gordon, is everyone like, really tense right now?
Lyn: I say, scooping poorly. Or mid-ly.
Ian: Gordon was like literally humming while cutting like,
Ian (Gordon): (Singsongy humming).
Ian: And he stops, and he looks up, and he notices how quiet the room is.
Mischa: Yeah.
Ian: He's like,
Ian (Gordon): Yeah, it is really tense in here.
Lyn (JJ): It seems like something really big happened, and they all look kind of upset.
Ian (Gordon): Yeah, good point. I feel like we should go ask them.
Lyn (JJ): Should we go… eh…
Ian (Gordon): Okay, when we pass off the food, we're– let's bring it up just casually.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah. Let’s do that, yeah. We'll be super normal about it.
Ian: And then I think back to the text that Fran sent me earlier, where it said that, Ibra and, Paz were getting close and I like, start to put together like,
[Music ends].
Ian (Gordon): Wait a second, people didn't.. k-kiss or something, like, what's happening?
[Laughter].
Bex: Just armpit sniffing.
Ian: And I'm like, looking from Paz to Ibra.
Mayanna: I love this.
Lyn: And they're making meaningful eye contact with each other.
Mischa: Yeah, they're sitting together at a table.
Bex: Ibra looks super concerned.
Ian: Can I roll? It's not an investigation, it's perception.
Mischa: No, that's insight.
Ian: Insight.
Mischa: Yeah, go ahead and roll insight.
Mayanna: I love a classic misunderstanding
Ian: [Dice rolls] (laughs) I rolled a 2!
[Cheers and laughter and whooping].
Bex & Mayanna: Yeah!
Mayanna: Misunderstanding! You guys want to tell a story?
Lyn: I'm so happy!
Mischa: You look over and catch Fran sort of, like, contemplating thoughts and then shake herself out of it. And, like, she's sitting off on her own, and you see Paz and Ibra sitting very close to each other, like, at a coffee table. And just like, sort of whispering to each other, sitting really close, and, yeah, and Paz is sort of leaning on Ibra a little bit–
[Music begins again: quiet, contemplative piano]
Lyn: Sharing some walnuts.
Ian: And I'm watching them. And at that second, I've taken my focus so off the cutting board that I like cut my finger just a little bit. [SFX: slicing].
Mayanna: (gasps).
Ian (Gordon): Ow! Ooh!
Lyn (JJ): Wash it off, wash it off.
Ian: Yeah, it's like a teeny little cut.
[Dice rolls].
Mischa: One slashing damage. [Laughter].
Ian: Damn it! I did that to myself.
Mayanna: That's great.
Bex (Ibra): Hey, what happened? Are you good?
Ian (Gordon): (Curt) I'm fine.
Ian: And I'm staring at you and Paz.
Ian (Gordon): (Stiffly) How are you guys?
Mischa (Paz): Um… I'm okay.
Ian: That sounds so guilty. That sounds like the guiltiest thing of all time. [Laughter]. And I go,
Ian (Gordon): Great! Okay! I'm just gonna go put a bandage on this!
Ian: And I stomp out of the room. [SFX: creaking hinges]
Mischa: Whoa.
Mayanna: I love this so much. Oh my god.
Mischa: Friends are fighting! Oh no!
Mayanna: Oh my god, I love it.
[Music ends].
Lyn: I'm holding a spoon, continue.
[Laughter].
Bex (Ibra): Oh, maybe, I'm gonna go over there and I'm gonna help out while he's bandaging himself.
Mischa (Paz): What?
[Laughter].
Ian: PS, now I’m not in the room to help guide us in the cook.
Mayanna: Oh here we go
Mischa: That’s so true!
Bex: I’m coming in to help guide in the cook. [Laughter].
Mischa: Okay, go ahead and roll a survival check.
Bex: Yay! [Dice rolls]. Oh, yay.
Lyn: Oh, no.
Bex: 14!
Mayanna: Nice.
Lyn: Ooh.
Mischa: Okay, decent.
Mayanna: Solid.
Mischa: It's an eggplant, what could go wrong?
[Laughter].
Mayanna: Meal prep!
Bex (Ibra): This one doesn't have salmonella when I cut into it raw, it's probably fine.
Mischa: It's probably fine.
Lyn: It'll be okay.
Mayanna: We're chillin’.
Lyn: We washed it already.
Bex and Mayanna: Yeah.
Ian: It's an eggplant, what could go wrong? [Laughter]. That's the t-shirt. [Laughter]. That's a party point for Mischa.
Mayanna: Yeah. That is.
Mischa: Yeah!! Ibra, you, you jump away, leaving Paz and Fran at the table.
[Music begins: calming synth chimes]
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, hmm, how are you doing, Paz?
Mischa (Paz): Like, really tired. I do think you were right about lightning powers maybe taking ener–Energy, I just got it.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah. Yeah.
Mischa: She like, eats another handful of walnuts.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, you keep doing that. You're probably gonna need to eat different from now on, would be my guess.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah. Fran, what is going on?
Mayanna (Fran): We're really in over our heads here, and I think no one really knows what's going on, and the people that do are keeping secrets from us, or don't remember what's going on. And I think we think we know what's going on, but we don't really know about anything that's going on.
Mischa (Paz): I think the city's under supernatural attack and that there's more even to it than that on the surface.
Mayanna (Fran): I think, yeah.
Mischa (Paz): And that… Maybe I'm part of it now?
Mayanna (Fran): I think you're unfortunately part of it now. And I'm really sorry about that because this is terrifying.
Mischa (Paz): I feel like cosmic forces are amassing.
Mayanna (Fran): Yup.
Mischa (Paz): Like there's like a, like clouds are getting darker.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep. The sun is eclipsing the moon or something.
Mischa (Paz): And my umbrella’s made of lightning.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep. Mhmm. And you were the star in our dream.
Mischa (Paz): Yep.
Mayanna (Fran): Yup. What was the-what was like the hardest thing you dealt with before today?
Mischa (Paz): Well, my health has not been very good.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): And that usually it's just like a struggle doing normal stuff.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Navigating infrastructure, getting around, finding seating in places with standing room only.
Mayanna (Fran): Mmhm, yup. Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): I have not had to deal with lightning-ified wraiths attacking me. It's a-it's a whole new caliber thing. I feel very unprepared.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): I, I'm really glad that I have you guys who at least know like a little bit of what to do when something very dangerous happens.
Mayanna (Fran): And we just found out about that three days ago. So you're going to learn fast ,because we did. I think what I'm realizing is like, people are capable of a lot more than they think they are when they have to be. I'm just sorry you have to be.
[Music ends].
[Music begins: low, menacing synth chords]
Mischa: Yeah, Fran, you think about Thorgunn and the look on Thorgunn's face when you mentioned that danger was coming. And you remember Fuller's face, impassive though it normally was, when he was talking about preparing for unnamed dangers on the horizon. And you think about the books that JJ and Gordon have been seeking out in these libraries that seem to leave them with more questions than answers. Where do you think the answer might be next? Like, where would Fran start looking?
Mayanna: Yeah. I really want to know more about this Astra. I really want to know more about where it comes from. I want to know what it is and what, Fuller said that Astra is like thoughts made real or wants made real, but we don't know where those wants come from. And I guess I kind of want to know where, I want to know where this fucking Astra is coming from. Like, I know, I know we, like, they're like, you can buy it and everyone has it and there are these depositories or whatever, but like, where, what are these things, like, why are they so integral to our lives, and I don't really know how they get made, and I don't really know what goes into, like, if I had to sacrifice something to make a tag, What the fuck are people taking that makes Astra so available to everybody?
Mischa: Great questions. There is a big, giant pit in the center of the city where you might find those answers.
Mayanna: Yeah, mhmm, yeah, and I think like, we drove past that pit, right, when we were going to the church?
Mischa: You drive past that pit anywhere you can go. It's pretty visible throughout most of the city.
Mayanna: Yeah, I–yeah, and I think like, as a civilian, would we know that that's where the Astra comes from.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: We'd be like, we're like, that's where Astra comes from. And you go like, yeah, like, like when you point to a factory and you're like, that's where electricity comes from or whatever the fuck.
Lyn: Yeah.
Mischa: I mean, yes, it is. It is the Astra mine. Okay. It is, it is the mine that Minetown was built or like the, it is the central thing of the city.
Mayanna: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So I think like I, I, I turn to Paz and I'm like,
Mayanna (Fran): (sighs) I don't know what's going on. I don't think any of us know what's going on, but I do want to find out. And I'm really sick of wondering, so I think we gotta go to this pit. Do you wanna go to the Pit?
Mischa (Paz): You're just gonna jump right to the Pit?
Mayanna (Fran): I mean, I don't want to jump into it, but like, I think that's next. That feels like that's what's next.
Mischa (Paz): (sighs) There's no hiding on the sidelines anymore.
Mayanna (Fran): No.
Mischa (Paz): If we gotta dive in, we gotta dive in.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
[Music ends].
Mischa: She looks down at her cane and she's like, I think I'm gonna need like, several more rubber tips if we're going into a mine.
Mayanna (Fran): I'm gonna, can I get your cane? Can I look at it?
Mischa (Paz): Yeah, sure.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, I'm gonna like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make this better for you. And that's not gonna be a problem anymore.
Mischa (Paz): Oh, okay.
Mayanna: And I'm gonna start running schematics and trying to figure out what, what arcane master things I can do to make this like more durable or more efficient.
Mischa: Yeah.
Mayanna: For Paz.
Mischa: Sure, absolutely.
Lyn: Oh, hell yeah.
Bex: Multi-tool cane.
Mayanna: Yeah, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna start sketching frantically. [SFX: pencil scratching against paper]. And I think if we're sitting at like a table or whatever, like the cane is like in between us and I'm just like I'm just in it.
[Music begins: ethereal ambient synths].
Mischa: Yeah, finally, a task that Fran can get her mind around.
Mayanna: (content sigh) And everything feels right with the world for just a second.
Mischa: Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): JJ, where did y'all go today?
Lyn (JJ): Huh? Oh, we were at Faris Park, you know. Yeah, there's a dog park there.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, that's fun.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, did you take? Oh You took BG!
Lyn (JJ): Yeah we took BG there. some training and stuff, which was cool.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, sweet.
Lyn (JJ): And, yeah, it worked out pretty well. I mean. You know, Gordon talked to like, one million people there while I was filling out paperwork, but it's no big deal. Yeah, um, are you okay? Is, what, what happened? Fran's talking about a, a test of will, and, and, and y'all are saying something about lightning powers? Paz’s…
Bex (Ibra): Oh. Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): What happened?
Bex (Ibra): Oh, okay, okay.
Lyn: I'm gesturing wildly with this spoon in hand.
Bex (Ibra): So… Oh! I got a little bit of eggplant cream in my eye.
Lyn (JJ): Sorry! Uhh..
Bex (Ibra): It's all good. Don't worry about it.
Lyn (JJ): Wipe that off.
Bex (Ibra): All good. So basically, the escape room wasn't an escape room. It was the–it was the test to, to the… whoever the cool magic guys were. And we walked down into a place that shouldn't have existed, like down a whole bunch of stairs. And then we got down there and there were a bunch of weavers.
Lyn (JJ): Uh-huh.
Bex (Ibra): And they were like, pulling the strings out of people's heads, and like it turns out that the strings are memories. But like only the feelings of the memories
Lyn (JJ): O…kay…
Bex (Ibra): And so like I think Fran said like they were grayscale now? So I think Fran's a little scared about, like, the cost of the magic. But, yeah, I wasn't there for that, because the guy was talking about how Astra is dangerous, and I don't know how much I've told you, but I'm basically all Astra.
Lyn (JJ): Uh-huh. Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): And so I had a little bit of a–Yeah, it was a panic.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, a little menty b?
Bex (Ibra): Little menty b.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, uh-huh.
Bex (Ibra): This is just a little b.
Lyn (JJ): Cool. And, and the lightning powers?
Bex (Ibra): Oh, that's important. Yeah, Paz was calming me down when all of a sudden the, somehow, we dropped the box with the, with the crystal in it.
Lyn (JJ): Uuhhhh.
Bex (Ibra): And then I saw a knight open the box, and nobody else saw the knight, but everybody else saw the box open.
Lyn (JJ): Uh-huh.
Bex (Ibra): And then, because it was open, I don't know, all of a sudden it was like the wraith was like, “Yo, I'm here, I want th–”
Lyn (JJ): Sorry, there was a wraith?!
Bex (Ibra): It showed up as soon as the box opened.
Lyn (JJ): Okay, so you got attacked?
Bex (Ibra): So we got attacked. Fran and I got attacked.
Lyn (JJ): Uh-huh?!
Bex (Ibra): It was okay, we didn't get hit.
Lyn (JJ): Good.
Bex (Ibra): Paz was like, “Don't touch my friends!”
Lyn (JJ): Uh-huh.
Bex (Ibra): And, or “leave them alone” or something super awesome like that and, and, and just zap! Lightning out of, out of her fingers and, and it shrieked and fell down, and I stabbed it, and it caused lightning to go up and thunder to crash. It was crazy.
Lyn (JJ): Cool. (voice high) So what you're telling me is (voice catches, clears throat)...
Lyn: That's in character.
Lyn (JJ): So what you're telling me is that there's a secret society of… Some kind of magical weavers–
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): –that are doing something with Fran. That you're made of Astra.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): And Paz has powers now, which is sick.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mayanna: Which is tight as fuck!
Bex (Ibra): And they, they're strong, they hurt. Technically, she hurt me a little bit when I went to go prove to her that she couldn't.
Lyn: Just gesturing, like, mouth agape with the spoon. Like, white knuckling the spoon.
Lyn (JJ): And this all happened while we were just at the dog park?
Bex (Ibra): Apparently, yeah. But the dog park sounds nice.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, it was great. It was very cool and all. Very eventful. We did find a piece of Astra. That was actually, no, that was–
Bex (Ibra): Did you get a wraith?
Lyn (JJ): What? No.
Bex (Ibra): Oh.
Lyn (JJ): We would have told you if we had been attacked right away. That's what I'm– (sighs)
Bex (Ibra): Sorry.
Lyn (JJ): I'm not upset with you. I'm upset that y'all were possibly in danger, and you didn't tell us.
Bex (Ibra): It was so fast! I'm, I'm really sorry.
Lyn (JJ): Did you have a whole car ride here?
Bex (Ibra): Well, I was, I was driving.
Lyn (JJ): Okay, yeah, don't text and drive, actually, that's a good point.
Bex (Ibra): You get mad at me, when I–
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, yeah, I, I will continue to get mad at you and–
Lyn: I'm now threatening you with a spoon. The spoon is very important to the character now.
Bex: I'm honestly threatened by this spoon right now.
Lyn (JJ): I just, a lot has been going on.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): And, it's a lot to take in and, I'm much more nervous about us keeping things from each other instead of relying on each other when shit goes down. None of us are in this alone now. We had a weird prophecy dream, but even if it wasn't that, like, you are my friends. And it's, I'm very, very grateful for that, and I don't, I don't want to lose that when things are fucking going haywire. I'm here for all of you. And I know that you're all here for me. And–
Bex (Ibra): Always.
Lyn (JJ): –yeah. And so… No secrets, okay?
Bex (Ibra): Deal.
Lyn (JJ): And I think I hit you with the spoon a few too many times, I'm going to go wash it.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, that's okay.
Lyn (JJ): Because that's not sanitary for use while cooking.
Bex: I already, I've got the napkin, I'm starting to clean up the little bits on the counter. I've already–
Lyn: There's so much eggplant now everywhere!
[Laughter].
[Music ends]. [Music begins: quiet, contemplative piano]
Ian: Okay. So Gordon has walked back in. [SFX: door creaks on hinges] I have a totally different demeanor than when I left.
Mayanna: Oh.
Ian: I walked out all stompy and pissed, and I walked back in sort of serene and like, contemplative. I walk past like, them having an argument, I don't even notice because like, all the stuff in the kitchen's not done, and I just start doing the rest of it, right?
Mayanna: Woah
Lyn: Yeah.
Ian: I pick up some of like the stray eggplant that's like all over the counter, scoop it into a bowl, [SFX: utensils clinking against a bowl] put it in a blender with the yogurt and some salt and pepper, and I blend that up to be like a whipped eggplant yogurt for the base. [SFX: blender whirring].
Mayanna: I love it. Amazing.
Ian: I take the chopped vegetables that we did earlier, I throw them in the pan with butter on super high heat, [SFX: sizzling] and I get the asparagus and the eggplant and the red pepper like a nice solid like char on it, you know, really good. [SFX: whoosh of oven starter] turn the oven up to 500 as high as it goes. Pop the eggplant in. [SFX: door closes]. I think the recipe said we cook it in the, in the yogurt. So the yogurt sauce is some of the yogurt sauce in the bottom that's roasting away. And while that's all cooking, when it, when it finishes, I'll take that out, put the sauteed in, cover it and finish it. [SFX: gentle sizzling, occasional chopping, utensils against a cutting board] But it's like very seamless, right? It's like. Chopping, hm, hm, oven open, oven closed, turn the heat on, little flip of the veggies. And I'm just thinking to myself, and then eventually I say,
Ian (Gordon): You guys, what if it's a spell?
[Music ends].
Mayanna (Fran): What do you mean?
Lyn (JJ): Wai–wh–wha?
Bex (Ibra): A spell?
Lyn (JJ): A spell?
Ian (Gordon): Right, let me go back. So.
Bex: (under their breath) Yes!
Ian (Gordon): I walked out of the room, and I won't tell you what I was thinking about, but I was thinking about, you know, someone being under a spell,
Ian: And I'm like looking up at Paz, and like, looking from Paz to, to Ibra being like,
Ian (Gordon): You know, someone putting someone else under a spell of some sort, against their will.
Mayanna (Fran): Wow. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Lyn (JJ): Okay?
Mayanna (Fran): Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[Music begins: low, thoughtful, eerie synth].
Ian (Gordon): And as I was wrapping up my finger, I was thinking about that, and then all of a sudden it occurred to me. What if no one can remember anything in town because they're under some kind of mind control spell?
[Gasps].
Bex (Ibra): Woah.
Ian (Gordon): Is that possible?
Ian: And I like, look to JJ, I'm like,
Ian (Gordon): Is that something that's even possible?
Lyn (JJ): I don't know, there's a lot that's like, apparently possible that I thought wasn't possible.
Ian: Still waving the spoon around!
Bex (Ibra): There's nothing left to be flung around.
Lyn: Now I'm scratching my head with it.
Mayanna (Fran): Mass amnesia? Well, the war, there was magic and like, they used magic to end the war, right?
Ian (Gordon): Not mass amnesia. A mass forgetful spell. A mass mind control spell.
Lyn (JJ): I mean–
Bex (Ibra): But who, like, why would they choose different people to target and not everybody?
Mischa (Paz): Yeah, why is it some people and not everyone?
Lyn (JJ): So, oh, you two really need to pay more attention in your magic classes.
Bex (Ibra): I haven't–
Mischa (Paz): Were we supposed to be taking magic classes?
Bex (Ibra): I didn’t go to school for–oh crap.
Lyn (JJ): Okay, fair.
Mayanna (Fran): I didn't go to college.
Lyn (JJ): But there, there's very few magical capabilities to completely override one's willpower. you can contest it. You can fight against it.
Mayanna (Fran): You can will against it.
Lyn (JJ): You can will against it, and depending on what happens, sometimes it's just like, you know, luck of the draw, roll of the dice, that some people can break through spells like that. But it could be that like, some kind of enchantment or something is happening or some abjurative wards are placed, but some people, it might not affect everyone that it comes into contact with. But I don't know how. It'd have to be something that either is imbued in an object or is perpetually inherent to something that would–
Mayanna (Fran): (gasps) Oh fuck…
Bex (Ibra): What?
Mayanna (Fran): Is it the Astra?
Lyn (JJ): Um..
Mayanna (Fran): Everybody has Astra. They carry it with them all the time.
Lyn (JJ): But we’ve–
Bex (Ibra): But JJ, but remembers JJ carries Astra,
Mayanna (Fran): But, but, but JJ might be immune.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): What the fuck?
Lyn: And JJ sits down, and is like,
Lyn (JJ): Okay, well we, we, we know that like spells can be replenished. We have enchantment magic, you know, like the funiculars or, like how we get electricity through things or… I don't know air fresheners that are constant prestidigitations, like, so there are ways that we have spell repeaters.
Mayanna (Fran): But what about the, what about the Astra we just found? If-if- what if-what if that's the thing that they're trying to get? Like, if they're running out of whatever Astra they need to use, the specific spell that you're talking about, Gordon, they would need to harvest more. To keep everybody forgetting stuff.
Lyn (JJ): It also begs the question of, like, what opportunity is presented when people forget things.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, that's exactly right. Because one of the people who's affected by this magic is the Magistrate.
Bex (Ibra): Whoa.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): That has to be on purpose, then.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, that would be my guess.
Bex (Ibra): So Ravona not being affected is also on purpose, so she could–
Mayanna (Fran): She has an axe that's the same color as the Astra we found!
Lyn (JJ): Well, okay, okay, let's run it back real quick.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep.
Lyn (JJ): Okay, clearly, there are probably multiple people in the city that are being affected by it, and it doesn't necessarily correlate with everyone's power or position or status in this world, but for some people, it does.
Mayanna (Fran): But Ravona also has access to the Magistrate.
Bex (Ibra): And can influence the Magistrate by telling her things that may or may not have happened because she can't remember.
Lyn (JJ): But Ravona answers to the Governor.
Mayanna (Fran): What?
Bex (Ibra): Wait.
Lyn (JJ): She's in the Governor's office.
Mayanna (Fran): Fuck!
Lyn (JJ): We don't know how deep this goes.
Mayanna (Fran): Fuck!
Bex (Ibra): Wait, um…
Mischa: Everybody in the room roll insight.
Mayanna: Oh my god.
Bex: Can I get an advantage?
Mayanna: No! No!
Mischa: Ibra, you don't have to roll.
Bex: Yeah. No, Ibra immediately is like, uncomfortable.
[Music shifts: metallic percussion with low menacing ambient synths].
Mischa: Yeah.
[Dice rolls].
Lyn: 24.
Ian: Oh, fuck.
Mayanna: It's a 5.
Ian: An 8. Not good.
Mischa: JJ, as you guys are like, coming together with this theory, like having this brain blast moment, you look askance at Paz, and this entire conversation is making Paz incredibly uncomfortable.
Mayanna: Oh no.
Mischa (Paz): I just think you're assigning motives to people really, really fast, okay?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah. Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Just like, maybe it's not all an evil conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, is all I'm saying. Maybe it only goes up to the middle, maybe there's just like, weird supernatural for–I don’t–
Bex (Ibra): And maybe the top isn't in control, maybe the top is a victim as well, we don't know. We don't know what's happening.
Mayanna (Fran): Paz, I don't know you that well. What do your parents do?
Mischa (Paz): My mom works in publishing. She publishes books, and I live with her, and I've lived with her my whole life. So it's really just been her and me.
Mischa: And she looks at Ibra, and her voice is shaky.
Bex (Ibra): Paz's family is Paz's mom. Paz's family is me and her mom and the guy who–
Mischa (Paz): Because my dad wanted nothing to do with us, okay? It's..
Bex (Ibra): Yeah. He's also, um..
Bex: And Ibra kind of looks with raised eyebrows and a pleading, apologetic look.
Mischa (Paz): My dad's the Governor.
Ian: (under his breath, through laughter) Oh my god. Oh my fucking god.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay. And so the car.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah,
Mayanna (Fran): We drove over here.
Bex (Ibra): That's why it's–
Mayanna (Fran): Is a favor from the governor.
Mischa (Paz): I guess?
Mayanna (Fran): Did you call your dad to pick us up from the Dustpan?
Mischa (Paz): No. I called the car company, and I told them to bill my dad.
Mayanna (Fran): But they know that they picked us up in the Dustpan.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): Okay.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Bex (Ibra): It's okay.
Mayanna (Fran): It's fine.
Bex (Ibra): It'll be okay.
Mayanna (Fran): We didn't know. We didn't know that. Oh my god.
Mischa (Paz): He really-he really doesn't want anything to do with us. He’s really–
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah, until he puts it together, because the Magistrate filed that we're an official organization now, right?
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, and your name's also on that list.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): That is information that will be shared with the special forces, you know, I don't know, the whatever–
Mayanna (Fran): That's why the workshop moves.
Bex (Ibra): That's why the workshop moves.
Lyn (JJ): We'll need to cover our tracks a lot, I think. Thank you, thank you Paz.
Mayanna (Fran): Thank you for telling us.
Lyn (JJ): I'm so sorry.
Mayanna (Fran): Thank you for telling us.
Mischa (Paz): I'm sorry I kept it a secret.
Mayanna (Fran): Don't apologize. Hey.
Lyn (JJ): It's okay.
Mayanna (Fran): Don't apologize. It's okay. That's okay. That's–no one's, anyone's business.
Bex (Ibra): Hey, It's not our fault where we come from.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): It's not our fault.
[Music ends].
Mischa (Paz): Oh my god. What is he going to say now that I have lightning powers?
Mayanna (Fran): It's okay, it's okay, it's okay!
Bex (Ibra): He doesn't have to know.
Mayanna (Fran): He doesn't have to find out about that if you don't want to tell him. If you guys don't talk.
Mischa (Paz): I don't want to tell him. I don’t want to tell him.
Mayanna (Fran): Don't tell him. Okay. Don't tell him.
Bex (Ibra): He do–you don't owe him anything.
Mayanna (Fran): No.
Bex (Ibra): Do you think he'll recognize your name if it's not using his last name?
Mischa (Paz): He knows my mom's last name.
Mayanna (Fran): Oh my god. Oh my god.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, but he's such a narcissist. Do you think he'll really pay any, enough attention? I'm sorry, I'm reaching.
Mayanna (Fran): Also, if they're investigating these things, you're one of, you have, they're, oh my god, fuck.
Lyn: JJ goes silent.
Ian (Gordon): Okay.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Ian (Gordon): Get it together.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep, absolutely.
[Music begins: ominous ambient synths]
Ian (Gordon): JJ's probably right.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep.
Ian (Gordon): If we are this connected, they are probably watching us, and we're gonna have to do a better job at covering our tracks.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Ian (Gordon): Second point.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Ian (Gordon): What do we do with this information?
Mayanna (Fran): That's a great question. Well, for one, Ravona was looking for–
Mayanna: And I like, Paz has seen it, right? Paz has seen it at this point?
Mischa: Yeah, well Paz saw it when it fell out of the box.
Mayanna: Right.
Mayanna (Fran): Ravona was looking for this.
Mayanna: And I'm gonna hold it out.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, JJ and Gordon found some, I haven't seen it.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, we found a fleck, we put it in one of your vials.
Bex (Ibra): A fleck?
Mayanna (Fran): What?
Bex (Ibra): What’s a fleck?
Lyn (JJ): It’s just a small–Well, a fleck of Astra.
Mayanna (Fran): And it's the same color as this one?
Lyn (JJ): Yes.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Ian: I take it out, we hold it right next to it.
Bex (Ibra): How did you find that?
Mayanna (Fran): Oh my god.
Lyn (JJ): BG found it.
Mayanna (Fran): Good boy.
Bex (Ibra): Good boy.
Mischa (BG): Woof!
Mayanna (Fran): Good boy. Good boy.
Bex (Ibra): Extra scritches.
Mayanna (Fran): Whatever this is. That's what someone's looking for, and, oh my god, what if it's the governor's office that sent the mech?
Lyn (JJ): I don't, I, I think, Paz, actually, you're–you are right. We can't assign too much motive to anyone because as soon as we declare a motive, we'll have blind spots.
Mayanna (Fran): Right, you're right. You’re right.
Lyn (JJ): Because there are many people in this city that do not care for the way that things are right now that also have just as much incentive to take things down. There are a lot of opportunities when people can't remember.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep.
Lyn (JJ): It's the same as people not being able to see or–
Mayanna (Fran): What do the attacks have in common? They attacked Boggin’s. They attacked the Dustpan.
Ian (Gordon): They attacked the bridge, too.
Mayanna (Fran): What? The bridge? Areas that attract a lot of energy?
Lyn (JJ): There's the dog park in Minetown. There's the major freeway artery.
Mayanna (Fran): Mhmm.
Lyn (JJ): There's Boggins, which is kind of at the heart of the Barra. Yeah. And we have that list from Gwen of all these other places.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): The factory, the mansion.
Mayanna (Fran): Astra powers all of that, right?
Lyn (JJ): Astra powers everything.
Bex (Ibra): Astra powers me.
Mayanna (Fran): Astra… It's gotta be alive, right?
[Music ends].
Lyn (JJ): At the very least, possible, truth.
Mayanna (Fran): And it’s pissed at us?
Ian: That's a, that's, that's a little far.
Mayanna (Fran): Maybe you're right.
Bex (Ibra): I gotta ask some doctors some questions.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): I think I need to talk to my family.
Mayanna (Fran): I think we gotta go to the Pit.
Ian (Gordon): I think we gotta go to the governor's office.
Lyn (JJ): We gotta take some baby steps before we reach most of these places because, I don't know if any of you all know, the Pit is really fucking dangerous!
Ian (Gordon): We're not going to the Pit. Who said we're going into the Pit?
Mayanna (Fran): I said we were going to the Pit.
Ian (Gordon): We're not going to the Pit, are you serious?
Mayanna (Fran): We have to go to the Pit. That's where all the Astra is!
Ian (Gordon): We're gonna get so killed in the Pit!
Mayanna (Fran): I don't wanna, I don't wanna die in the Pit, okay?
Bex (Ibra): I think we should–I think we should do some training first before we go in the Pit. Can we do a little training first before we go in the Pit?
Lyn (JJ): We have a lot of different leads, is what I’m saying.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, fine.
Ian (Gordon): You guys were all upset about all this stuff. I'm upset someone said we're going in the Pit!
Mayanna (Fran): Sorry! Sorry!
Lyn (JJ) : You said the governor's office! Do you know how many–
Bex (Ibra): That’s scary too!
Mayanna (Fran): That's like the Pit of our society!
Bex (Ibra): That's the Pit of bureaucracy!
Ian (Gordon): We can't sneak into the governor's office after dark and collect some evidence?
Bex (Ibra): That's the Pit!
Mayanna (Fran): I could make a lockp–
Lyn (JJ): Okay, tell me how you're going to reach the Constellation!
Mayanna (Fran): Oh.
Ian (Gordon): Oh, it's in the Constel–
Mayanna (Fran): Cecilia! She'll be back in a couple days. She would, she's gotta give us her pass now.
[Music begins: ethereal ambient synths].
Mischa: Gordon, you look down at your compad. [Gasps] And you have a text from Cecilia.
Ian: Oh, great. I thought I had her keys or something with her pass on it.
Lyn: No.
Mayanna: That's so funny.
Mischa: That was so easy. But you do have a text from Cecilia.
Ian: Great, what's my text say?
Mischa (Cecilia): [SFX: staticky] Young Gordon, how goes the deliveries?
Ian: Man, what do I say to that? I think I look up to Fran when I see the text, and I, and I, I look up to the whole group, and I say,
Ian (Gordon): How badly do we need to get up to the constellation?
Bex (Ibra): I have a travel pass to see my family as often as I need to, and I believe I can travel with one guest.
Mayanna (Fran): How many guests can Cecilia get?
Ian: Do I know that information?
Mischa: It's been three days, and Cecilia is the only person who went.
Lyn (JJ): Yeah. Based on everything that Cecelia said before, it sounds like she doesn't have a guest.
Mayanna (Fran): It sounds like it might be Paz and Ibra.
Ian (Gordon): And if I could get Cecilia's pass from her, that could be three of us.
Mayanna (Fran): Yup.
Bex (Ibra): If you could get a way to help her. Tell her that everything is here, and if she needs help, you can go.
Mischa (Paz): Or do we try to get passes for all of us?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah..
Mayanna (Fran): Is that possible? I've been trying for months.
Lyn (JJ): We can also see if Gwen can get us in anywhere.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, well, yeah, we work for the Magistrate. We can see if the Magistrate can send us up there.
Lyn (JJ): It just means that if we go that route…
Bex (Ibra): It's official.
Lyn (JJ): It’s official and on the books.
Bex (Ibra): Fuck.
Mischa (Paz): Or, I mean, this is the fate of the city, right? It's the fate of everything, right?
All: Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): Other people have passes.
Bex (Ibra): You want to st–
Mayanna (Fran): You want to steal?
Mischa (Paz): I don't know! This is my first day in whatever you guys are doing.
Mayanna (Fran): Hey, hey, you're doing great, by the way.
Bex (Ibra): No idea is a bad idea.
Mayanna (Fran): For your first day? You're doing great.
Ian: No, but I look at it and I go,
Ian (Gordon): That's what I'm thinking.
Ian: And I text Cecilia back. Man, is four days too far away, I wonder, to steal passes?
Mischa: Time has been moving so strangely in this campaign, in this show so far.
Ian: Yeah.
Mischa: I think that's up to you as a player, my man.
Ian: Okay, well, that's my plan at the moment.
Ian (Gordon): [SFX: staticky] It's going so great, Cecilia. I can't wait til you’re back. Let's get lunch, question mark?
Mischa (Cecilia): [SFX: staticky] Absolutely. I'm gonna get the whole debrief as soon as I'm back.
Ian (Gordon): [SFX: staticky] Great. Sounds good.
Mischa (Cecilia): [SFX: staticky] No issues?
Ian (Gordon): [SFX: staticky] None.
Mischa: Can you roll me Deception with Advantage?
Ian: Cause it's through text?
Mischa: Cause it's through text.
Mayanna: Smart. Oh, that's great.
Lyn: You don't text like JJ.
Bex: (laughs) You don't text with your heart on your sleeve.
Lyn: Yeah.
[Dice rolls].
Ian: That's a natural 20.
[Cheers].
Bex: Oh!
Lyn: Yeah you do!
Ian: Wait, I have a better idea.
Mischa: Okay.
Ian: What if I lie to her and tell her everything's terrible so she has to come back immediately?
Bex: Why would you do that to her?
Ian: So that we can get–
Lyn: You’re gonna get fired.
Bex: You're gonna get so fired if you do that.
Mischa: Well isn't this the fate of everything?
Bex: Don't you wanna get fired?
Mayanna: Damn, dude.
Ian: Because we have to get up there.
Mischa: This is such a fucking juicy story moment that I'm willing to go back and retcon this moment.
Bex: Hell yeah.
Mischa: What do you say to her?
Ian: I think I say,
Ian (Gordon): [SFX: staticky] Honestly, Cecilia, this was a little bit of a big job for me. And it hasn’t been going great. If at all possible, you might want to come back for some… damage control.
Ian: And then a fire symbol.
[squeaks and gasps].
Mischa: There's a long time before she responds again.
Bex: Natural 20.
Mischa: I think she just says,
Mischa (Cecilia): [SFX: staticky] Disappointing. I'll be back in the morning.
[Gasps].
[Deep groans].
Ian: Oh, that hurt more than I was expecting it to hurt.
Ian (Gordon): Now I'm nervous about my plan.
Mayanna (Fran): Don't be. We stood up to Ravonna. We fought a mech.
Ian (Gordon): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): She'll understand.
Lyn (JJ): And this food is delicious.
Mayanna (Fran): And also it hasn't been going bad.
Bex (Ibra): It's been going great.
Mayanna (Fran): You've been doing great.
Ian (Gordon): Okay, great.
Mayanna (Fran): This is all a lie!
Bex (Ibra): But you're right, it is too much.
Ian (Gordon): Okay.
Mayanna (Fran): You didn't actually fail.
Ian (Gordon): You're right.
Mayanna (Fran): You're just doing this to potentially save our entire town.
Bex (Ibra): She-she's probably going to be pissed for a lot of reasons, but we're trying to save everything.
Ian (Gordon): Okay, great. I'm gonna meet up with her tomorrow, I'm gonna try to grab her pass, who else's passes can we grab?
Mischa (Paz): And I'm not supposed to call favors from my dad, right?
All: (shouting) No!
Mischa (Paz): Okay!
Lyn (JJ): Oh, we sounded really aggressive.
Ian (Gordon): Okay, one more time.
Mayanna (Fran): Sorry.
All: (sympathetically) No.
Ian: Yeah, yeah, do it one more time.
Mischa (Paz): N-no, I get the, I get the idea. Thanks.
[Laughter].
Lyn (JJ): Sorry, Paz.
Mayanna (Fran): from here on out, you probably can't ask your dad for any favors.
Bex (Ibra): I don't wanna say that entirely. I think we have to ask him for favors really strategically.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay. You're right.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah it's like it's, it's like–
Bex (Ibra): In a way that benefits us.
Mayanna (Fran): You're right. Would Thorgunn have a pass?
Bex (Ibra): Hang on. I have siblings. I can steal some. I have dinner tomorrow night.
Mayanna (Fran): Oh my god. [Gasps] You're gonna rob your family?
Bex (Ibra): I have a mandatory meeting. I'm not robbing my family, I'm robbing my siblings.
Mischa (Paz): Okay.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, That is a lot of things you just said. uhh–yeah.
Bex (Ibra): I'll get it back to them.
Mayanna (Fran): For sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that wasn't what I was worried about.
Mischa (Paz): Yeah, and we can do that. Yeah, there's, I mean, there's two of them and two of us.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): And Gwen can't help at all?
Lyn (JJ): I mean, I can ask. It's just, again, it'll be on paper. Which–
Mayanna (Fran): Oh, right. We can't do that. We can't do that. Damn it.
Lyn (JJ): You know, for better, for worse, it's available to us, but it’s a risk.
Mayanna (Fran): we can't do that. They can't know what we're doing, man. Okay. So here, okay. So here's, here are the options. We could, we could rob Ibra's siblings.
Mischa (Paz): They each have a pass and they get plus ones like you, right?
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): And you already have yours.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): You already have one.
Lyn (JJ): Let's count seats. Cecilia has one seat.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Bex (Ibra): I have two seats.
Lyn (JJ): Ibra has two seats.
Mayanna (Fran): Two seats, that’s three.
Bex (Ibra): Brahma has two seats, and Hema has two seats.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, so that's six.
Lyn (JJ): That brings us to a total of seven seats that we can get if we steal your siblings’.
Bex (Ibra): How many of us are there?
Lyn (JJ): There are five of us.
Mischa (Paz): So we only need one from your siblings.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): Oh.
Mischa (Paz): Even easier.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Bex (Ibra): Oh, that's even easier. One of them is the one that uses it. One of the ones just stays up there. We'll just steal the one that stays up there.
Mayanna (Fran): Well, that sounds great then.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mayanna (Fran): That makes a lot of sense. I'm sure nothing will go wrong in that situation.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah, no way.
Ian (Gordon): Ibra's gonna steal one pass from siblings.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep.
Ian (Gordon): I'm gonna steal one pass from Cecilia.
Mayanna (Fran): Mhmm.
Mischa (Paz): Yep.
Ian (Gordon): And then–
Mayanna (Fran): We're gonna go to the Constellation.
Lyn (JJ): And then what? There's so much stuff going on down here. What are we gonna do when we get there? We're gonna go to the Governor's office and we're gonna what, knock on your dad's door and be like, tell us what the conspiracy is?
(Bex, Mayanna, and Ian overlapping)
Bex (Ibra): Yeah…
Mayanna (Fran): Damn it. Yeah, that's about it, yeah.
Ian (Gordon): Yeah, that sounds kinda bad, doesn’t it?
Lyn (JJ): I know I'm often over-cautious.
Mayanna (Fran): You're not. You're being smart. No, if anything, I think you know what to do more than you think you do, which is why I always tell you to finish your punctuation with a period, not a question mark. You are really fucking smart.
Lyn (JJ): Okay. Thank you.
Mayanna (Fran): You're welcome.
Lyn (JJ): You're also very fucking smart.
Mayanna (Fran): Thank you.
Ian (Gordon): What do you think we should do, JJ?
Lyn (JJ): I think we have some leads we need to follow down here before we make bold moves of stealing. Like, there's a lot of increased security on all of the funiculars right now.
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): Like, that's a really big risk and we don't even know what the end goal is going up there. We don't even know if we're gonna get attacked while up on the funicular as far as we know.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay.
Lyn (JJ): I think–
Bex (Ibra): With our luck at this point...
Mayanna (Fran): We follow the leads. We follow the trail?
Lyn (JJ): I think there are a lot of leads here to get a better understanding of our, I hate to say it, enemy.
Mayanna (Fran): Yep.
Lyn (JJ): (shudders) We do have leads, and Fran, I'm really stuck on what you're saying about Astra being this unknown thing. Do you want to talk to my family?
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah.
Lyn (JJ): We've been miners and tinkerers forever.
Mayanna (Fran): Yeah. I do want to talk to your family.
Ian: I toss Fran the vial with the tiny piece.
Mayanna: Okay, I catch it.
Ian: And I go,
Ian (Gordon): Show them that so you don't show them the big piece.
Mayanna (Fran): Got it. Who should carry the big piece tomorrow?
[Music shifts: gentle piano]
Bex (Ibra): I'm going to the Constellation, so not–
Mayanna (Fran): So not you,
Bex (Ibra): Yeah.
Mischa (Paz): I'm out then as well.
Mayanna (Fran): Alright, I guess I'll hold on to it.
Lyn (JJ): Or, Gordon, do you wanna?
Ian: Everyone looks at me?
Mayanna (Fran): No, no, no, you have to go talk to Cecilia.
Ian (Gordon): I disagree, I think you should pass it to me.
Mayanna (Fran): Okay, do you have your backpack on you? The backpack that you keep all your muffins in?
Ian (Gordon): Mhmm.
Mayanna (Fran): Can I have it, really quick?
Bex (Ibra): You sure it's gonna fit in the muffdolier?
Mayanna (Fran): I think I am positive it's gonna fit in the muffdolier.
Ian: I look very dubiously at the muffdolier.
Mayanna: Yeah, I take the tag out and I press it onto your backpack.
Mischa: The tag is laid across the front of the bag, slightly diagonally across the zipper, shines cold white, [SFX: metallic shimmering] and then like, sinks into the bag itself, and like, fuses with the bag. All of a sudden, as you're carrying it around your shoulder, as you always are, even when you're cooking? Question mark?
Ian: Mhmm. Every time.
Mischa: Yeah. As, even as you're carrying it, all of a sudden, the weight of the bag, it's not a lot, it's just carrying muffins, but like, the weight, it goes like, anti gravity, like the weight of it kind of disappears off your shoulder.
Lyn (JJ): Wow.
Mayanna (Fran): We don't have time. We have a lot more storage space now.
Bex: Wait.
Ian: (excited whooping).
[Music ends].
Mischa: Gordon, your muffdolier is now a bag of holding.
[Cheers].
Bex: Whoa, holy crap!
Ian: (shouting) Yes! Yes! Yes! I've got a dog! [Laughter]. I've got a bag of holding! This is Gordon's world, baby!
[Laughter].
Bex: I think Gordon's now the permanent carrier of Astra.
Ian: Woo!
Mayanna: Yeah.
Ian: Wow, that was cool.
Lyn: That was sick.
Mayanna: I'm gonna, I'm gonna like, just get very close to you, Gordon, and I'll just say,
[Music begins: somber, bittersweet synths].
Mayanna (Fran): This was Paz's birthday party, and if anybody should hold on to that, it's you.
Mischa: You look over at Paz, and Paz looks back at you and nods.
Ian: I think a single tear comes to Gordon's eye, but he does not let himself get overcome with that emotion, because that feels rude. (sniffles) And he, you know, sniffles it down and wipes the tear. He says,
Ian (Gordon): Thank you.
Ian: Ding! [SFX: oven ding] The oven goes off and I pull out a perfectly charred eggplant boat that–
Mayanna: Wow
Ian: In, in a lovely, like cooked whipped eggplant yogurt sauce, and I ladle the cooked vegetables in. and I place the little eggplant bonnet back on and then– I lied. We're not gonna use chives. We're gonna use cilantro. And I like sprinkle cilantro over the top I don't even–I lied, I don't put the bonnet back on so it's like exposed with the stuffing and then fresh cilantro over the top.
Mayanna: Ah, gorgeous.
Mischa: Incredible, delicious.
[Music ends].
Mischa: The quiet rings out as Gordon sort of wordlessly plates the stuff and places it in front of you as each of you individually considers your next moves. [SFX: utensils clinking on plates]. And as soon as you place the final plate and sit around, the five of you at a table, Paz looks down at her meals like,
Mischa (Paz): I'm sorry, the hunger is overtaking the awkward.
Mayanna (Fran): Please go for it.
Mischa: And she just immediately dives in.
Mayanna (Fran): By all means.
[Music begins: cozy, rustic acoustic guitar]
Lyn (JJ): Oh, thank you for breaking the seal.
[Laughter].
[SFX: clinking of utensils and plates].
Mayanna (Fran): By all means.
Bex (Ibra): I'm so glad you said something (gobbles food).
Ian (Gordon): I'm so glad. I thought you were going to say you were allergic to eggplant.
Mischa (Paz): No, it's, oh my god, it's so good.
Mayanna: (laughs)
Ian: Oh, I go,
Ian (Gordon): Wait!
Ian: And I run to the kitchen, I pull out a bottle of white wine.
Mayanna: Ah.
Ian (Gordon): Assyrtiko?
Mayanna (Fran): Yes
Ian: And I pop it. [SFX: cork pops]. It's got like a tiny bit of effervescent, and I pour it in glasses.
[SFX: drink pouring].
Mischa: Oh, Nice.
Mayanna (Fran): Amazing. Thank you.
Mischa: And as the food fills your bellies, your minds turn away from dire tasks just for a minute, and just to enjoy a meal with each other. This excellent meal that your excellent chef friend has concocted.
Mayanna: Amazing.
Bex (Ibra): Round of applause for the chef. (Applauds).
Lyn (JJ): Cheers to saving the world, you guys.
Mayanna (Fran): To saving the world.
Bex (Ibra): Let's do this.
[SFX: glasses clink]. [Music ends].
Ian (Gordon): Cecilia's gonna be so mad at me.
[Laughter].
Lyn (JJ): Yeah, she is.
[Theme music plays].
Mischa: The Wandering Path was created by me. Mischa Stanton, and produced by Bex Taylor-Klaus, Lyn Rafil, and me. This story was game mastered and sound designed by me, Mischa Stanton, and was played and performed by Bex Taylor-Klaus, Lyn Rafil, Ian McQuown, and Mayanna Berrin. Cover art by Lyn Rafil, transcript assistance by Darby Summers, and music courtesy of the Independent Music Licensing Collective. Our production and house manager is Erin Bark.
If you like what you're listening to, please tell your friends, and let them know where to find us. Our website is wanderingpathpod.com, where you'll find links to subscribe and follow us wherever the path leads. We're also on Patreon, patreon.com/wanderingpathpod. We're so grateful for anything you can do to help us keep making this show. Thanks for wandering with us. Till next time!
[Theme music fades out].