Every heart infixes deep its relentless twists.
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Find more about Stillfleet at https://stillfleet.com
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@funcityventures is the show on twitter
@funcityventures is the show on instagram
@bijanstephen is Remy, the Sleeper (human) Blooder
@randwiches is Merkis, the Jalasti Banshee
@nicholasguercio is Vynos, the Conscript (human) Tremulant
and @shodell is Beta, the Shoodtha Pir
@taylordotbiz is the harajoon shopkeep, and the bartender.
@mikerugnetta is everything else
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This episode of Float City was recorded in various locations across Brooklyn New York. It was produced, edited and sound designed by Mike Rugnetta.
In futurity, Pixlriffs prophetic sees, that the earth from sleep (grave the sentence deep), shall arise and seek for her maker meek; and the desart wild, become a garden mild
Our music is by Sam Tyndall - https://arpline.bandcamp.com/
Remy's flute playing is by Jake Fridkis - https://instagram.com/flutebros
Our art is by Tess Stone - http://notdrunkenough.com/
Our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kit Pulliam and Kestrel
The voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton
Float City 10: Binding with Briars, Joys, and Desires
[Transcription by Sven Lucke]
[ IC = in character, OOC = out of character ] [00:00:00] [ Intro Theme begins]
> Molly Templeton / “Artemis”: [ IC ] In the far future, faster-than-light travel is possible via portals called Stiffworks. Human and alien civilizations travel this way for millennia. Trade, war, and technology proliferate. Countless societies rise, thrive, fall, and vanish. Eventually, almost everyone forgets the secrets of the Stiffworks. Almost.
300 years ago the Worshipful Company of Stillfleeters is formed on Spindle, a space station of unknown origin. They send fleeters into the void using Stiffworks in search of profit.
It is one hundred million years in the future. Welcome to Float City.
[ Intro Theme ends]
[ Main Theme begins ]
> Mike Rugnetta / G.M.: Previously on Float City, the crew is sent to Gnarcossa to stop the random generation of extra-dimensional Foldgates. In the dispatch of their duties they stabilize a portal to Kakudun, where they are led to believe the Company archivist holding up a trade agreement with the Saffron Anax is located. After an emotional goodbye with their gnomish pals the crew hops through the Escheresque and lands on a peaceful beach in the north-west of Kakudun where they meet the big drink wranglers; a prawnish wetan sub-group that subsists on a thick red algae called ‘red plant’, harvested from the seafloor.
One wrangler gifts the team a derelict conveyance known as the Ambler, which Merkis spends several days repairing while his team sees the sights. The crew is told their most likely destination is Nolaster, a port city with a Company embassy and a swamp region called the Jash, about eight to ten hours drive southeast. But the crew soon realizes their journey across the Kakudunais interior will be no Sunday drive. With guarded borders, highly regulated import-export of items, including red plant, and raiders. We join the team now, having just dispatched a group of roadside aggressors, charting a course more east than south.
[ Main Theme ends]
> Mike / G.M.: Okay, yeah, so you hit the road?
> Jenn de la Vega / “Merkis Imeldar”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Mike / G.M.: You come to the, uh, you come to the forkish arrangement that you turned down to get to the Bonesnatch and this time you go, I believe it would be left, correct? And you go into the region that is next to the Bonesnatch. On the map you can see that this is labeled “Zenthra”. The Bonesnatch itself was pretty barren, it was pretty dry, it was kind of desert-y almost, and as you turn left and you go into Zenthra the trees that were behind you in Molnogg start to disappear. They become less dense. You begin to see like shorter rolling hills and you actually begin to see houses, more houses than you’ve seen in the previous regions, and they’re very big, they’re in the distance. They’re like kind of, they look like these estates. And a lot of the land of these nice rolling hills and in front of these estates kind of looks like it is like landscaped, like it’s professionally maintained.
And the roads transition from this loose dirt to a kind of loose stone. And as you go through this landscape you start to see, in the distance, a kind of translucent wall that’s iridescent. It’s got this kind of green-purple sheen to it that you can see through as you get closer. You can tell that it’s made of these little hexas. It’s a little blurry on the other side. It’s more of the same like manicured landscape, but in the road there’s a small guardhouse, made of white stone, that is set directly in front of this translucent wall. And as you get closer someone comes out of it, there’s a guard in a very nice gray suit, very wide shoulders, and a very boxy jacket, and he’s got a clank rifle slung around his torso. He’s wearing– he’s wearing like a tall pillbox hat. And he just stands as you approach and there is no opening in the translucent border, so it seems like you have to stop and talk to this person. Do you guys do anything before you get there? Do you just approach...?
> Bijan Stephen / “Remy Tester”: [ OOC ] Yeah, Remy’s still asleep in the front seat. I think he’s just, he’s just chilling. He’s not gonna wake up until, unless there’s like something happening.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] What time of day is it?
> Mike / G.M.: I think it’s like probably late morning, early afternoon. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Alright. So–
> Mike / G.M.: It’s bright out.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, okay. So Merkis pulls up to the guard house, you know, slows down and is squinting because direct sunlight is [in Merkis’ voice] very harmful, very
harmful to the sensitive lizard. - [ IC ] Good day, sir! We’re on official business with the Company.
[00:05:00] > Mike / G.M.: He bends down, and he gives you a big smile. He’s an older guy, he’s got like really, sort of like, tan leathery skin, like you know he spends all day in the sun out here at the guardhouse. And yeah, he grins at you, he says - [ IC ] Oh, Company people, I can see that, I can see that, I can see that, I can see that. Uhm, what kind of business are, uh, are you conducting?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Well, we’ve crash-landed here and we are on our way to the embassy in Nolaster.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Aaah, ah, Nola– let me guess - [ OOC ] And he sticks his head kind of further inside the Ambuhleer and he looks at the readout, he says - [ IC ] Navigation system brought you through the Bonesnatch?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] That was a mistake.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, happens a lot, happens a lot. Did you run in any trouble? > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Uuuh, no... [ Mike and Shannon chuckle]
> Shannon Odell / “Beta Commbot”: [ OOC ] Beta is, Beta is looking at Merk–
> Mike / G.M.: Beta is nodding, while Merkis is shaking his head– [ Mike laughs ] [ IC ] Yeah, a bunch of raiders set up there a couple weeks ago. Been causing a lot of trouble for people trying to pass through, but, uh, yeah, I mean, not a lot we can do about it. They’re just, uh, not really worth trying to fight them. We just try to avoid them. So uh, yeah, I understand, it’s a good thing you got out of there with your, with your lives as it were.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Nice drawbridge over there.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmh, that’s one way to put it, it’s true, it’s true. [ Jenn chuckles ] - So you
- [ OOC ] He looks in and he looks at everyone.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis gives a big smile.
> Mike / G.M.: He says - [ IC ] So you, uh, you kids aren’t here for the, uh, the Quartering? > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Sorry? Sir, I don’t know what that is.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, we can, just, we’re getting a lot of traffic for today. Uhm, you know, it’s a, it’s a big day here. Uhm, we have a, like a festival, uh, it’s just, yeah, most everybody who’s coming through today is here for that. You don’t know about this?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Uh-uh.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta sticks her head out the window and says - [ IC ] A festival?
What kind of ... festivities?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Well, it’s actually, it’s something we’re very famous here on Kakudun for. In Zenthra we have, I think what you’d call it is maybe, uh, an oracle? Uhm, we call it the Zeiner. She foretells of your romantic future.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh oh!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta starts like trembling in her hands. [ Jenn, Mike, and Shannon chuckle] And she lifts her hand up and she says - [ IC ] What did you say? [ Jenn laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Yeah, uhm, you come here with your partner or partners, or by yourself, possible, though, you know, it’s a little bit different. And, you know, it tells you what some of your futures might be like. A lot of people think it’s hokum and I, like, I used to, too, when I was a kid. But, uhm, you know I’ve seen a lot of people come through and it makes a big difference to a lot of them. They come, you know, they come all the way from Hauktik, they come all the way from [Armjay?], they even come from [Mosback?], like all around on the day that it’s open to the public. Which is today! So yeah, if you’re just passing through, there might be a little bit of traffic. You might get stuck a little bit, but yeah, as long as you promise not to cause any trouble I’ll let you through. But–
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] No, sir, no trouble! We’d just like to go home.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Enjoy your stay! If you do decide to check it out: it’s a lot of fun, they make you do, you gotta pass a couple tests, uhm, but people seem to like them. They seem to find them meaningful. It’s like, you know, a nice little bit of local culture, but you all ... [ OOC ] And he gets serious for a second. And he’s gonna roll reason. ... [ IC ] You kids have a good time in town. [ OOC ] And he looks directly at Beta, who he can tell is very excited. And he says - [ IC ] I think you’re gonna like it.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis does a tiny salute - [ IC ] Thank you!
> Mike / G.M.: And he goes into the little white stone hut and after a second part of the wall that’s dividing this part of Zenthra from wherever it is you’re headed kinda just like disappears. It just sort of like vaporizes for a second and it’s very easy for you to drive through.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta turns to the group and says- [ IC ] Okay, was it just me, or was that guy totally into me? [ all laugh ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis pushes forward, ‘cause they’re still within earshot. [ Shannon, Jenn, and Nick laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: He’s standing in the middle of the road and finally gives a little salute back to Merkis.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh boy...
> Nick Guercio / “Vynos Lysumptuara”: [ IC ] Well, this sounds like a smashing time! I suppose we should stop and get our fortunes told or whatnot. I would like to say, Beta, don’t get your hopes up. Many of these people are nothing more than common charlatans.
> Taylor Moore / “Oat” : [ IC ] Yeah, I’ve had a lot of fortune tellers cross my path and not one has been right about ten percent of anything. No thanks! [ Mike laughs ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Yeah, I suppose we can avoid the traffic by participating–
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes...
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] And Merkis is just looking at the navigation.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh, you should go! If you want to go you should go! I don’t mind waiting.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I won’t take it too seriously, but I, uh, I will. [ all laugh ] > Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh no, that’s fine. It’s fun!
> Mike / G.M.: Like any psychic: don’t go make big life decisions immediately afterwards. But like, it’s a useful thing to think with, right?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] [ chuckles ] Yes...
[00:10:00] > Mike / G.M.: So as you continue down the road through these manicured fields, you see more of these like wild, yet obviously cultivated flowerbeds. It’s wild, and it’s not like, we’re not talking like Versailles here. It’s like half-manicured, actually it’s very pretty.
After a couple minutes you enter, finally, into the first actual town with a center that you’ve seen, I think since you left the sea village, the seaside village with the big drink wranglers. It’s small, you can see at the end of main street, once you get to it, the other side of main street very easily. You can, it doesn’t even reach to the horizon. It’s just a few buildings. There’s a small apothecary, a little diner or restaurant, there’s a general store that seems also to be a bank, and then there are also three company outposts. There is a Worshipful Company of Stillfleeters outpost, there is an [Oucher?] outpost, and there is an [Orthrax?] outpost. So you can do all kinds of shopping and trading.
As the gentleman at the guard tower explained, there are also a bunch of carts, wagons, buggies stopped in the middle of the street. You know, a long line down the road and also just parked on the opposite side of the town, all of these buildings are in one line facing off in one direction, on the other side, there is a bunch of things that are parked off the side of the road. And if you look behind the row of buildings to the plane behind them, there’s also a bunch of vehicles that are parked behind them. And you know, further off in the distance there’s a mountain range. This would appear to be a pretty popular destination today. There are definitely more people here than the number of buildings around would indicate there should be. And yeah, in the distance, at the end of the line of traffic, there’s a large group of people. They’re all facing in one direction. It seems like there’s a stage with like a lectern on it.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, Merkis finds a parking spot right before they head into town. > Mike / G.M.: Do you all pile up? Does everybody go with?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah!
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Yeah.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ OOC ] Yeeeaah!
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta takes a bite of the leaves, so she gets a mustache. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Oh, the rocks.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] The rocks. Oh, that’s the rocks. Yeah, she wants to look her best for... [ Nick and Mike chuckle ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis is still sporting a mustache also. [ Shannon chuckles ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah, she sees this and she’s already been jealous of Merkis because Merkis is basically living her dream. So she’s like: okay, well Merkis is gonna show up all looking good. What, does Merkis wanna get another girlfriend? I gotta do something.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, your face gets itchy and some of the mustache, that you maybe lost in the battle with the raiders, grows back and it sorta like pops back in. And uh, you know? You’ve had it now about a day and you’ve gotten a little bit more comfortable with it and I think it’s fair to say that the mustache is no longer wearing you, give yourself a 2, a bonus of 2 for the next 24 hours. [ Nick laughs lightly ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yees...
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] To what is it?
> Mike / G.M.: Oh, to charm–
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Charm.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] That’s, that’s huge.
> Mike / G.M.: [ laughing ] That’s huge. - What, is it 4? > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah. [ Shannon laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: You guys walk from where you’re parked at the end of town to the other side where the crowd is. You pass by the apothecary, which is this like nice, mostly empty, white stone building that actually looks a lot like it’s a big version of the guard tower that you saw. You pass by the restaurant, which is just the word “Lunch” written in very large letters on a tall, skinny, black building that’s just next to the apothecary. And inside it, yeah, kinda looks like your standard tavern or cantine. It’s mostly dark, there are a bunch of people in there hooting and hollering and having a good time. You pass by the general store / bank. You pass by that and you get to Company shipping and receiving, so this is the Worshipful Company of Stillfleeters outpost. This is like a squat, dark, rectangular building covered in vines. There’s just, like weird cylinders of metal and what looks like cardboard piled outside of it. There are like these five or
six foot tall cylinders with metal caps on them. And if you look inside, you can see all these metal shelves just full of archaetech, and bits and bobs, and pieces of technology, and things coming and going. There’s a female harajoon just hanging out in there behind the counter.
Next is the Orthrax outlet, which kind of looks like a place that just sells old random things. And they’re all just kind of like ... almost like a bad antique store maybe? And it’s just all strewn out. It looks like this building has vomited antiques onto the street and the sidewalk in front of it. And then past that is the Oucher outpost, which kind of looks like a greenhouse. It’s like a clearish dome, a long, skinny building. When you look inside, there’s just all of these tables that have what looks like mostly food on it.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] I think, Merkis wants to go to the Company outpost, because he’s thrown his third boot and lost all the [bowlers?], so like no weapons whatsoever– [ Jenn chuckles ]
[00:15:00] > Mike / G.M.: Sure, yeah. You can head to the Company outpost. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah!
> Mike / G.M.: Uhm, kinda feels like a old mechanics or radio shop. [ bell ringing ] It’s very dark, the shelves are just full of stuff, pieces of equipment that’s very mysterious. A lot of it doesn’t make any sense to you. But there’s an older, kinda like gray-furred harajoon woman in a blue flight suit that’s hanging out behind a counter that’s just piled with stuff. She kinda like peeks out from behind a gap in the things.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as shop owner ] [ voice similar to Oat’s ] Hello! Looking to buy anything? [ OOC ] All harajoon talk like that. [ all laugh ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, hello ma’am! I was looking for some shoes... Or needing to stock up on our way to Nolaster.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Hold on, I’m just letting my, uhm, uh, built-in device translate that for me. Yo, things to cover those things down there? Your ground touchers? [ Mike laughs ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] He is wearing shoes. It’s just, he uses them in other ways.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh, right! Well, I don’t know if you wanna put them over those or if you wanna take those off and put these on, but I think I have just the thing you’re looking for. Now who’s that short drink of water behind you?
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Hello! [ all laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: This is the best possible thing.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Holy shit! [ still laughing ] Oh my god!
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] I’m sorry, I can’t really hang out! I, uh, I gotta help my friend going to a ritual.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as shop owner ] Oh, you’re going to the ritual with your friends? We don’t, it’s interesting that out-of-towners don’t usually do that.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh really? Well, people have been pretty supportive so far of the idea. > Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as shop owner ] Well, I’m not not
supportive of it! I just, I just think it’s interesting. I’m glad you’re here.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh, we’re really glad we ran across this place. The trip here was not fun. [ Mike and Jenn begin laughing again ]
> Mike / G.M.: This is gonna def– this should be a spin-off show.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah.
[ unintelligible talking and laughter ]
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Let’s get you inside, so you can look at these shoes! [ OOC ] That was Oat.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] And then the woman in the shop says like - [ IC as shop owner ] Yeah, that’s a great idea! Come on inside, let’s look at these shoes.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] This broke me. Oh my god!
> Mike / G.M.: She holds up what looks like a very large 1980s sneaker that’s–
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] In a box! She opens the box and says - [ IC as shop owner ] This is what I meant by “inside”. Inside the box that I’m holding.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] [ gasps ] - [ OOC ] Merkis’s eyes are twinkling.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Look at this: if you squeeze this part, it makes a little squeaking sound.
[ squeaking sounds ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] [ inhales sharply ] I think I’ve read about these.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh you have?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Maybe.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Well, it can be all yours ...
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] I’ll take it.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Aaah, but for what? Now there’s the rub, as they say. What would you like to trade in return?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Trade, trade, trade...
> Mike / G.M.: So, the Company, since this is a Company outpost they would take Gilder. I
think this would cost 100 Gilder.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] I’ll take it! [ OOC ] And just starts rummaging through the pockets for various–
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Aaah, finally a vacation from the permanent haggle that has become my life in retail. [ Mike chuckles ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis is not a haggler.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] And neither am I! Currently... Here!
> Mike / G.M.: You have a single, brand-new sneaker boot shoe. It is mostly light gray, but it has fluorescent pink and green accents on the side of it, and small wings embroidered on it.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Oh hell yeah! > Mike / G.M.: Roll reason.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Oh no, got a 2. > Mike / G.M.: What a nice shoe.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Yeees, it’s quite a nice shoe, quite a nice shoe. [ OOC ] And he fits it on the end of his tail and just like–
> Mike / G.M.: Feels great!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] –waves it around, and is like - [ IC ] Oh yeah, yeah...
> Mike / G.M.: Feels good, really fits.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] I wish it matched what I was wearing already, but I’ll take it!
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] I think you look great! That’s money well spent.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, thank you, thank you, ma’am! By the way, has any other Company people stopped by recently?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Well actually, no. I mean, we rarely see anyone, especially nowadays. With the difficulties. The Company, I think, is trying to stay away? I think? Or suppose it takes sort of a neutral stance? I’m honestly surprised you’re here.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Difficulties? We were not briefed on any difficulties.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh yeah, this place is a powder keg.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh! Do you have any advice for someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, and how not to offend anyone here in this town?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Uhm, try to stay on the well marked roads, be careful of border crossings, don’t lie to the border guards, uh, [ Jenn snickers ] and uh, you know, keep your head down. Don’t carry obvious weapons. Yeah, I think all the hot action is down in the southeast, so if you’re not gonna go there, you’re probably not gonna see anything, you know, happen.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, we’re not looking for anything to happen. Okay, okay. Thank you, thank you for the help and advice.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] My pleasure. [ intermission music starts playing ]
[00:19:49] > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Hey friends, it’s Shannon, a.k.a. Beta Commbot on the podcast. Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting in your room, listening to this podcast, Float City, and you’re thinking “wow, I love this podcast, but I wish there was more!” Well, friends, guess what? There is more! There is so much more over on our Patreon. I know what you’re thinking: what is Patreon? Well, Patreon - [ chuckles ] - what is Patreon? I’m not gonna explain what Patreon is. But by signing up for our Patreon you get access to so many extra bonus things related to our show. What are those bonus things? Well, you get access to character sheets, you get cut tape. We have a whole other podcast where we talk about this show that you’re listening to right now, as well as the state of the world and lots of other things. You get access to livestreams, we have a Discord, where we’re all chatting and talking about stuff. Ugh, doesn’t this sound great? Yes, of course it does! So go on over to patreon.com/funcityventures and support the show, won’t you? And get access to that extra goodie stuff! That’s patreon.com/funcityventures! Good bye!
[ intermission music fades out ]
> Mike / G.M.: You guys leave the Company outpost. [ bell ringing ] And do you wanna head to
the crowd of people?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis is strutting, now with a mustache and a new sneaker.
> Mike / G.M.: You look fresh as hell, what is that word, what is it? Flaneuring your way down main street Zenthra.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta is like trying to catch up with Merkis and walk at a slightly faster speed, because her jealousy towards Merkis is showing. [ Mike giggles ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] I think Remy is just like admiring the shoe.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, Merkis doesn’t notice. He’s just very stoked about the
sneaker.
> Mike / G.M.: Really everything’s coming up Merkis.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Ya, yeah! [ ‘sings’ a celebratory jingle ]
> Mike / G.M.: So as you walk down the last part of main street you get closer to the group of people, the large group of people. And you can see that they are standing not like in an arrangement, but in groups and it’s very clear that this is like one person and a group of their friends. Or a group of family members. Or two people and a group of people for each of them. Three people and like a number of people for each of them. That there are these distinct little kind of pods and groupings. And it seems like there is couples or sets of partners or individuals who have shown up with like a crew. And everybody’s pointing, everybody’s looking in one direction, at this kind of rickety looking stage almost, with some stairs on the side and a little lectern at the front. And just as you get there, a skinny, tall figure with long, white beard and long, white hair holding a long cane comes out and he’s wearing this pearlescent white dress-thing with like a gold, braided belt around the torso. Sort of hobbles up the stairs, makes his way slowly towards the lectern, and everybody who was talking to one another kind of hushes [ shushing sounds in background ] and then from behind the building that he came out, where he came out, someone else comes out and it’s a tall mantid woman, wearing this drapey blue kind of suit-thing that’s very expertly tailored to her many arms and her like tall, long insect form.
[ mysterious music sets in ]
And she confidently and very quickly steps towards the edge of the deck and as he approaches the lectern, he looks out at everyone and he takes a second, waits for everybody to calm down, and stop talking, and pay attention. Then he raises his cane a little bit and he says - [ IC ] Seekers of the heart! - [ OOC ] And everybody applauds. [ clapping sounds ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh-oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay–
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] We welcome you to our small gifted hamlet for this: the 528th observance of the Quartering. I am the Sentinel Alabaster Zhazh of the [Enfictonites?], your Overseer for this Quartering. My twenty-seventh. I see some new faces in the crowd, so I’m gonna explain the proceedings briefly. Though they are rather simple and short, please be aware that these small trials, that you will undergo for the next few hours, will be nothing compared to the knowledge that you can gain about yourself over the next several days.
Those present with a partner or partners will see glimpses of their many, many potential futures together. The unescorted will be availed of various eventualities concerning partnership, though be forewarned! The mysteries of solitude cause Zeiner to deliver often very opaque imagery after the Quartering is concluded.
[00:25:10] > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta nudges Merkis and says - [ IC ] That’s us!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] It is?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Each participant must complete two trials to demonstrate their fitness for audience with Zeiner. The first is the trial of testimonies. Veraseer Cerulean Xzyzxx - [ OOC ] and he gestures at the mantid woman, who is standing at the edge of the deck. - [ IC ] will hear testimonies from each participant’s clan, of no fewer than three, and no more than six, as to their character. [ Jenn laughs ] Trial of testimonies is as much a judge of the participant’s character as it is their ability to keep good, honest company. Please remember: if the Veraseer does not advance your cause past the trial of testimonies, it is not a reflection of your worth as a person; only an indication of your need for growth ahead of the Zeiner’s deep, penetrating stare. We look forward, in that eventuality, to seeing you at the next Quartering. The second: the trial of basis. Each participant will be asked to simply construct the foundation of a single dwelling to their own specification and using provided materials. Their construction will be assessed by myself and the Veraseer. - [ OOC ] And he again gestures to the mantid woman in blue.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis nudges Beta - [ IC ] Wait, wait, does that mean your diorama experience is going to help you here?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Oh, I hope sooo– [ Mike laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The participants who pass both trials will be led in turn to visit Zeiner. From there we cannot say what occurs, as the experience is unique for each of us. The Veraseer will now collect your names and will find each participant and their clan in town when it is their time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. - [ OOC ] He stamps his cane on the ground and he raises it again and everybody applauds. - [ IC ] And everyone have a most meaningful Quartering. - [ OOC ] And he bows a little bit and starts hobbling back towards the stairs to go down.
And yeah, sure enough, the Veraseer, this mantid woman, is walking very quickly between groups of people and she’s, she looks like she’s got a small kind of like gadget in her hand and she’s writing down names. Writing down something, presumably names.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, Beta, you really wanna do this?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Pleeeeeaaaase! Please, please, please, please, please... I’ve had no
leads. Sure, Algar, I love him, but he’s given me nothing for like six years. [ Mike laughs ] > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Do you really believe in this stuff?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I mean ... yes. [ Shannon and Mike laughing ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay!
> Mike / G.M.: As a scientist: “Yes!”
[ mysterious music fades out in the background ]
The mantid woman talks to a group, is talking to the group next to you. It is a provincial woman and a provincial man, they’re surrounded by a group of twelve people. The Veraseer taking each of their names and she asks them, where they will be found in town, when it is their time. She says that they, you know, she like explains some of the proceedings to them, they talk back and forth a little bit and she comes over to you. She looks at Merkis and Beta and says - [ IC ] Couple? - [ OOC ] She’s talking through her babel box, so you know, she speaks mantid whistle and you hear a kind of mechanical human voice come out of this box that’s attached to one of her arms.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh no, ma’am. I’m spoken for. [ Shannon laughs ] > Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Solo? - [ OOC ] And she’s looking at the rest of you.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh, well, I wouldn’t say solo, I mean ... I’ve said the wrong thing, I can see by the way Commbot has slowly turned and looked at me. I apologize! Goodbye! - [ OOC ] And Oat walks thirty yards away and stands with his back to the activity.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Okaaay...
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] What is the name of the participant in the Quartering?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Beta.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] How many kinsmen have you brought with you for the trial of testimonies?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Uhmmm, four? Is everyone in? Four? > Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Where in town will you be?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Is everybody hungry?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes, I could go for a spot.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Uh, yeah, I could always eat.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Then we shall meet you at the diner.
[00:29:58] > Mike / G.M.: Okay, she types a little thing in the, into the box. Okay, yeah, you guys go to lunch. So you all walk back across town. It, yeah, looks like a cross between a very old-school English tavern, so the ceilings on the bottom floor are low and there’s just like a lot of stuff around. Some of the walls are of wood construction and some are of stone construction. There’s a big fireplace in the back. There are a bunch of rugs just thrown around. But it also kind of has like an Old West vibe to it, too. There are like, the bar is very long and there are a lot of stools in front of it. You walk through those ... what are they called?
> Taylor, Bijan / “The Cool, Interesting Characters”, “Remy”: [ OOC ] [ in unison ] : Saloon doors.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, saloon doors.
> Mike / G.M.: Saloon doors. You walk through some saloon doors. You know, there’s an old upright piano on one side. There’s a bunch of sawdust on the floor. There’s a lot of people inside having various drinks, eating lunch, hanging out. So you guys can, yeah, do whatever you want.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Remy sidles up to the bar and asks for a menu. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, Merkis sits next to him.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as bartender ] Well, we don’t have menus. [ all laugh ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Fuck! I knew it! > Mike / G.M.: Good, good.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Way it works is, uh, you tell us what you’re in the mood for and we try to get as close as we can.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Well, I would love, I would, I would love some raw meat and also the strongest drink you have.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Well, that’s easy as hell. [ Mike and Nick laughing] - [ OOC ] He bends down. There’s like a really thick wooden box with a rope handle on the top lid, lifts it up, it creaks, he reaches down in there. You hear some things knocking around and he comes up with a big wedge of, uhm, what is clearly like, you know,
butchered animal flesh. And he also takes a completely spherical pod, it’s sort of covered in like brown hair like a little coconut, and puts it next to it. But he pushes it down the bar hard enough [ cracking sound ] so the bottom flattens out, so it doesn’t roll everywhere. And then he hands you a metal straw and he says - [ IC ] Alright, we’re on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. [ Nick chuckles ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] This is the best bar I’ve ever been to. [ Mike laughs ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] [ laughing ] I know, I’m killing it! [
all laugh ] - [ IC ] So nothing then? The sliding scale is all the way to the left for you–
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Oh, you actually wanted money, I see! I thought you were, I couldn’t
tell, if you were fucking with me. Yeah, I got, I got ... I can give you some Gilder–
> Mike / G.M.: It’s a Company town, so yeah, they’ll take Gilder.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, I’ll give you, uh ... how much do you think this is worth?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Well I’m not allowed to say. [ all laugh ] You gotta tell me.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Alright. Well, how about this? I won’t pay anything for the food, but I will give you a tip.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] That’ll do.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Thought it might. - [ OOC ] He pays him, I guess ... 15 Gilder? I
don’t know how much things cost–
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Woooow! 15 Gilder? I quit! - [ OOC ] And he takes the 15 Gilder and walks out. [ all laugh ] - [ IC ] No, just kidding. That’s just a joke I play on people that are passing through.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Oh, that’s your joke, okay. Okay, yeah.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] 15 Gilder, 15 Gilder is an appropriate
tip about.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, yeah sure.
> Mike / G.M.: I think that’s true.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] I can’t quit.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Are you not allowed to?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] I could. [ Shannon laughs ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, yeah, I know, I mean I feel like it seems pretty easy to quit.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Nah, I got a good life here. I like working at the bar.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Mhh, uh-huh. You mind if I gunch up here?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] You might wanna do that in one of the
bathrooms.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, okay. Just checking, just checking, thank you. I’m gonna go to the bathroom.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] That’s not me judging you. That’s just, you know–
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] No no, it’s just practicality. I’m gonna go to the bathroom. I’m gonna eat this and drink this, so keep it ... warm. I don’t know, whatever you do, just don’t make it weird.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] I’ll make sure no one messes with your food, sir.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Thank you. - [ OOC ] And Remy goes to the bathroom and gunches up.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Vynos leans in and says - [ IC ] I would also like to order, good sir! Do you have anything with the piquant, but succulent, taste of the berry of [Iosgnoir?]?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Not familiar with the berry, but I think I can do succulent and piquant.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Well, that will have to do then.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Now, is piquant the same thing as
picayune?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Perfect! [ Nick, Jenn, and Mike laugh ] I’ve got exactly the thing!
> Mike / G.M.: Please tell me what it is. I have to know.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Alright, he goes into the back for a second. And then he comes back out and he opens up a gigantic glass jar. It’s like one of those like high school football stadium pickle jars, with the footballs as big as burritos. Do you know the jars I’m talking about?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh... > Mike / G.M.: I do!
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] By the way, quick aside, had a friend one time take a Greyhound bus ride from Birmingham, Alabama, to Washington, D.C., she sits on the seat and then in the seat next to her sits down this woman who is wearing a backpack. She takes up the backpack, puts the backpack in between her legs. As soon as the bus takes off from the station in Birmingham, she opens her backpack to reveal that there is only one thing in the backpack.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Oh no...
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Can you guess what it is?
> Mike / G.M.: A single large cucumber?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] A gigantic jar of circus gage pickles. [ all laugh ]
[00:35:00] > Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Oh my god. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Woooow!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She is about to have the ride of her life.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] I’m happy, I’m happy for her.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] This is not what you want on a bus though, Bijan!
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] No!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Nooo...
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Not next to you!
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] For like twenty hours!
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Nooo!
> Mike / G.M.: Did she, did she eat them or did she–
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] She ate! She ate every pickle– > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Nooo!
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] God damn it!
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Okay, I take it back. I don’t like that now.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] I love it.
> Mike / G.M.: I mean, I’m impressed. [ Taylor laughs ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] So, uh, he opens the jar, reaches in, and takes one of these, like, like a kind of a burrito-shaped and looking thing. And he brings it out, puts it on the counter, and unwraps it, so you see that the outer layer was just sort of this inedible plant matter. Inside, however, is a bunch of sort of like, uhm, not slimy but congealed is fair, congealed small black orbs. And then the smell hits you. And it’s not bad. - [ IC ] You ever had these before?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] I don’t know if I have! Let me give this a try. - [ OOC ] Vynos takes a bite.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Hold on, hold on! Hold on! Uh, I don’t know your physiology, can you process glutamates?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] I believe I can.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh, buddy, I’ve got great news for you.
First bite’s on the house.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Vynos takes his first bite, his eyes get real big, and he goes - [ IC ]
Quite, quite good! - [ OOC ] And he slaps down 20 Gilder for the black berry type tomalley. > Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Yeah, we got plenty more where that
came from. Not many folks around here like them, so you know, eat your fill.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] I like everything. I’m used to having all my food grown in a lab. [ Bijan and Mike laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: Vynos, citizen of the world. > Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Remy walks back from the bathroom at this time, watches Vynos eat. And he’s just very loose, he’s feeling loose.
> Mike / G.M.: Thank god.
> Nick / “Vynos” : [ IC ] Gunched up, isn’t he?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Doing good? Feeling good? Is that good?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] This is quite good, you should try it!
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, I don’t think ... I gotta, I have some meat here. I gotta eat that first.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Okay–
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ]I can’t process glutamate, so I think that is a no-go for Oat.
> Mike / G.M.: So as you all are sitting, eating your snacks, and Remy tuck into your uncooked meat and strongest drink in the house. Probably like twenty, twenty-five minutes pass and eventually, and you know, you see in that time the Veraseer come in and grab other people and leave, and come grab other people and leave, and probably like the third or fourth time she comes in she walks over directly to your table. And she holds up her little gadget and says - [ IC ] Beta and kin, follow me.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta drops a glass. She wasn’t holding one, but she picks up one and drops a glass. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: A little robot comes out of the wall [ whirring sound plays ] and cleans it up, because it’s the future and you have to have something like that at some point, right? [ Shannon and Mike laugh ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as bartender] I love that little guy. [ Mike laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: If you follow the Veraseer, she will take you behind the row of buildings that make up main street into the plane a little bit. You can actually see where you’re headed from a little bit far off. It kind of looks like a gazebo, like a little hut kind of thing? Like a cross between a small chalet that’s been chopped in half and something that looks like it should be dropped in the middle of a park somewhere. Covered in a lot of very pretty flowers and these kind of scary, spiny, dried vines. And when you get right in front of it you start to smell tea and snacks. And it looks like there’s food and some drink here, if you want it, if anybody is still hungry. And the Veraseer takes a seat on one side of this small table that’s in the middle of this weird gazebo thing and she kind of like takes up that whole, like really just spreads out. Makes it clear that that’s her side. And she gestures at the other side and sure enough, there are enough seats for all of you. And yeah, do you want to sit down?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay. When you’re all sit, the Veraseer looks at all of you for a second, and checks some of her notes, and looks up, and she says - [ IC ] During the trial - [ OOC ] And this is in mantid whistle, so you know, you hear this like clicking whistling sound and then a robotic human voice coming from a box on her arm. - [ IC ] During the trial of the testimonies we ask that the participant not speak. Is this understandood, Beta?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And she just stares and nods up and down. > Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Is this everyone’s first Quartering?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Yes, ma’am.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yup!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Are you familiar with the trials?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] As it was explained earlier by the Overseer, yes.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] As Veraseer it is my job to judge the truth of statements. Do you understand?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Uh-huh.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] How do you feel about participant Beta?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Pretty good, she has a mustache. I like that.
[00:40:04] > Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] You won’t find a truer heart on this planet.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] It’s true, she has been a vital part of our crew.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] We’ve actually never hung out one-on-one. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ] > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Being honest... [ Jenn laughs ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, that’s fine. I have! I can vouch for her. She’s, she’s a delight.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] She’s the first to ask if anyone is hurt during battle.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Kind of her job, let’s be honest.
[ uncomfortable pause ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, with that said, I think we’re good.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Do you need more? Is that–
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Should I say more than one thing? I thought I said it all in one sentence. But I can do, I can go on.
> Mike / G.M.: She looks at her gadget, and she looks up at Vynos and she says, and then she looks at Beta, she looks at Vynos again and she says - [ IC ] I think that would be good.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, more, I guess...
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Well, Beta is, uhm, a true romantic! She pines for–
> Mike / G.M.: She gets a very, she like, you can tell her eyes like perk up and she, you know, is interested in whatever you’re about to say.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] In all the years I have enjoyed, which is many more than those that I have lived, I have never met someone who is so keen and ready to be with one that she loves most, that she can look into the eyes of and understand and hold and love.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis fawns at this. - [ IC ] Oooh, Vynos... [ Jenn giggles ] She has studied many stories of ancient civilizations passed, of their mating rituals, courting rituals, and, uh, I guess what they called their dates?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Doc, she really wants it. [ Shannon laughs hysterically ] I want it just for her.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh, you know what? Here is one thing: she gives everybody a shot. She never assumes that you suck or something. She always wants to know about you and is always willing to start off on the right foot. That’s a good, that’s a good quality!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] That is a good quality.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] And she also always asks people ... if she were allowed to speak right
now, she would ask you: “What is the oldest thing you remember?”
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] True, she’s always asking me that. But it’s not like ‘cause I was frozen for a while.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] She also can speak with the people inside their brains, which can make them go crazy. [ Shannon and Mike laugh ] But a dangerous trait that would need to be stamped out at once in the hands of someone who was lesser, who had less noble of a heart.
> Mike / G.M.: She taps into her machine when you say this.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis is looking around like - [ IC ] What are we supposed to do?
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Are you waiting on us to say like one bad thing to prove that we’re being honest?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Is there a bad thing that we need to say? I can’t think of anything bad to say about Beta. And so you’ll have to wait there a long time.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Doc, I do have one question for you: can I gunch up in here? [ all laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: She taps into her machine.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta, like, glares at Remy.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] That was a joke! I was joking. Holy shit, I thought, you know, you weren’t saying anything, no one was saying things, it was getting weird, you know? Man, man, can’t take...
> Mike / G.M.: This lady cannot get a read on you. [ Nick and Mike laugh ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Ma’am, if I may say: we are employed together as a crew, but I will
say that over the last time that I spent with Beta we are now a lot like a family. > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] A family’s, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You are co-workers?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Yes, that’s true.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Do you know participant Beta’s family? > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Never met.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] We do not.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] No, family’s not a, I mean that’s you know, you’re making a lot of assumptions there.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mh. - [ OOC ] Yeah, she taps into her machine a few, a couple more times and she lets a few more seconds pass. If no one says anything else then she’ll say - [ IC ] The trial’s concluded as soon as you deem it so.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Okay!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] There are no other testimonials for participant Beta? You can be on your
way and we will locate you and let you know, if she has passed this trial.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Thank you, ma’am.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Many thanks!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Beta, don’t say anything. [ Nick and Mike chuckle ] > Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] That went great! [ Nick laughs ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] We walk out of the gazebo thing. > Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] [ groans ]
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, uh, you walk back the like couple dozen meters or whatever to get back to the main road.
[00:45:02] > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Beta, did we do a good job? I don’t know.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] You all did a great job. I was, I was touched! It was a beautiful testimony. I don’t know what else they could want to know about me. They asked a lot about my family. I don’t really quite remember.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] You don’t remember your family?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I was born so long ago.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes, I suppose it was a while ago, wasn’t it, yeah. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] What should we do?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] I could always eat. [ Nick laughs ]
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Are they gonna look for us back in the diner again or ... ?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] We should probably find a place to sleep though at some point, right?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Should we check out those other outposts? I heard them mention companies that might be of interest to us.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] I say let’s do it.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you can head, you head in that direction and you walk towards the greenhouse thing. And as you’re walking you can see the Veraseer approaching various people and, you know, she’s talking to them, and some of them she talks to and they look very sad and then they walk back towards a buggy and get in it and drive off. Some of them, they perk up a little bit and seem to be very happy. You sort of see this happen in the town square that like, you know, some people are being cut loose and some people have been told that they passed the trial. If you walk into the Oucher greenhouse, it kinda looks like, it’s weird to say this, like a super-future farm stand whole foods...? You see some figleaves, there’s a couple here, there’s like a thing that kinda looks like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple [ Jenn gasps ], there is this like strange kind of kohlrabi but if the stalks were kind of like limp and jangly, as opposed to more like celery, if that makes sense? [ Jenn snickers ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Uhm, Merkis wanders to the front and is just kind of like - [ IC ] Helloooo? - [ OOC ] So is somebody like at the counter or something?
> Mike / G.M.: Oh, sure, yeah.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] [ laughing ] Is there?
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah! - [ IC ] [ soft voice ] Hey.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] We’re new to this area, what is the specialty of this shop?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Uuuh, I mean, we, uh, we mostly specialize in, uhm, like ethically grown vegetables, there’s also some handmade gifts in the back.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh...
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You might have heard that we’re not like Orthrax, you know we don’t do the, uhm, the indentured servitude. It’s kind of like our thing.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh yeah, I mean if it’s ethically sourced, why would you have indentured servitude?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] That’s what I’m saying all the time.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Ah, interesting, interesting. We’re not really familiar with the other
company ... like we shouldn’t go over there?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, I mean, you know, you do whatever you want. I’m not gonna stop you, but you know, they’re ... not great.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Got it, got it, got it! Thank you, thank you! What’s your favorite item in here?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Uhm, I’m a, I’m a big fan of the jangles. - [ OOC ] And he points at the weird kohlrabi thing.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] The jangles? I’ll take one!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] That’s 5 Gilder.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Okay! - [ OOC ] Merkis pays the 5 Gilder.
> Mike / G.M.: You have a, you have like a weird octopus-like green vegetable.
After you purchase this, the Veraseer Xzyzxx is walking by this shop and she looks in and she walks by the door and then turns around and comes back. Hold on, I need to roll some dice in secret, how am I gonna do that?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Oh?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta sees her come by and is, and was like leaning on a wall and now is LEEAANING on a wall. Like kind of adjusts herself to kind of look sexy up against the wall. She doesn’t know, if that will help, but she’s trying.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis wanders back to the group and explains like - [ IC ] Yeah, so I guess the other company uses indentured servitude. At least that’s what the guy at the counter told me.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Hm.
> Mike / G.M.: The Overseer comes into Oucher and she approaches Beta directly. And she says - [ IC ] Participant Beta, I have some good news. You have passed the trial of testimonies. Just barely. [ Nick and Shannon laugh lightly ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Just barely? - [ IC ] Thank you!
> Mike / G.M.: She looks, she looks at the rest of you ... [ laughs ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Oat is giving two big thumbs up.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, what? Was it what I said about the gunch?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] A pass is a pass!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Merkis claps, yeah, Merkis claps, he says - [ IC ] Hush puppy, hush puppy! That’s good! [ Shannon giggles ]
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The trial of basis will begin in fifteen minutes. If you could please just be at the meeting area then, that would be great. - [ OOC ] And then she leaves.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] You hear that? I’m gonna find out my whole future!
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Well, well, well, come now, Beta, what did we say? This is supposed to
be for fun, not for deciding your whole future. That doesn’t work that way.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] And I’m gonna have fun deciding my future. [ Shannon, Nick, and Bijan laugh ]
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Okay...
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] You’re gonna what now?
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Wait a minute! Vynos, you can literally see the future.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] I can, yes, this [ Shannon laughs ], it’s a complicated process, though. And it doesn’t typically work in this sort of ... way.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] There are more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in your philosophy, Vynos.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] [ sighs ] Too true, too true... You are pretty wise-
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Really?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] You are pretty wise.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] I just made that up! [ Mike and Shannon laugh ]
[00:50:02] > Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Well, it actually matches my experience perfectly.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Oh, well, look at that! See, maybe it can be done! See, there is hope after all, Commbot!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She’s not really paying attention to anything anyone’s saying. She’s kinda like, you can see her kinda like looking out, kinda like thinking about what she’s gonna do for whatever the next thing is. And she goes - [ IC ] Oh, I know what I’m doing. I’m gonna get there early, in case I can get my eyes on any of the materials or anything, so I’m like ready to go.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, we should go then! > Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes, let’s-
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Let’s do it.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay, yeah, so you guys leave the shop that you’re in and the meeting spot in front of the deck is just to the right of this shop, so you go out. All of the participants are standing in front of the deck, but none of their kin are standing by. Everybody’s like kind of across the road and the Veraseer gets up on the deck and she says - [ IC ] Participants, gather, come close-
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] And Merkis is doing like bulby thumbs up, like: you can do this! [ Shannon lets out a wholesome laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: And if any of you follow close by, like follow Beta, the Veraseer puts her hand up and she says - [ IC ] Participants only, thank you for your interest. - [ OOC ] You know, your support has been noted. She gestures to like the area where that weird gazebo was that she took everybody to do the trial of testimonies. And you know, in the last however long it’s been, maybe just thirty minutes or so, it seems like they have put out at repeating, like consistent distances
from one another these walls of shiny bricks, like big, shiny, metal, large bricks. And they’re built into a wall. And there’s maybe like twenty of them or so? Twenty of these walls made of these big bricks. And you look around and like sure enough, there is maybe twenty participants left. Or twenty groups of participants. And the Veraseer explains that - [ IC ] The trial of basis will begin shortly. Everybody will be taken to the materials provided. You are to construct the foundation of a single dwelling to your specifications. There are no wrong answers. Myself and the Overseer will assess your construction in your absence and let you know, if you may go see Zeiner. Is that clear?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Yes.
> Mike / G.M.: Someone raises their hand and they’re like - [ IC ] Wait, but how- Are we allowed to- [ OOC ] And she says - [ IC ] There are no wrong answers. [ Shannon giggles ] - [ OOC ] Beta, yeah, you, you know, the whole group of you is taken by the Veraseer to the first group of wall of bricks that’s been laid out and she tells one group to stay there, go to the next group, the next wall and one group is told to stay there and so on and so forth. You know, after about the sixth or seventh she points at you and she says - [ IC ] Here you go, do what you please. - [ OOC ] It’s like a ten foot tall wall that’s made of these very large, very shiny metal bricks that are maybe about the size of, I don’t know, [ slightly distant from the microphone ] about yea big. [ Shannon makes an acknowledging noise ] And you have been instructed to build the foundation of a single dwelling. Whatever that means.
[ mysterious music sets in ]
> Mike / G.M.: What’s everybody else gonna do, while Beta is doing this?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Vynos would like to watch. I mean, I know he can’t be close, but can we watch?
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you can watch, yeah.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Okay, cool, Vynos is watching.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think, Remy wants to like go get a sixer or the equivalent and just sit and watch. [ Nick giggles ]
> Mike / G.M.: You can go back to the bar, sure. [ Mike and Shannon laughing ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ OOC ] Get some carryout, carryout beers, some session stuff ... yeah.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] How long is this going to be, do you know? How long do they ... > Mike / G.M.: Uh, two hours?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Okay, yeah-
> Mike / G.M.: I think, you could, maybe she would have explained like, you know, you should be done within two hours, but when you’re done, you’re done. So if you finish before that, that’s great.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Okay, yeah, Merkis wants to go to the other shop to like just look around and then he’ll come back and watch.
> Mike / G.M.: Beta, what are you up to? What are you doing? What’s your first move here?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay, her first move is to pick up a brick and see if she can bend
it.
> Mike / G.M.: It’s kinda hard to get one brick. The wall is tall and the bricks are heavy. So just roll combat for me to try to knock a brick off of the wall.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Sure. Oh, I got an 8.
> Mike / G.M.: You very expertly knock exactly one brick off of the like top right corner of the wall and you do not disturb any of the rest of the bricks. It makes a very loud thud, when it hits the dirt of the plane.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uhm, she goes over and she tries to pick it up. Is it very heavy? > Mike / G.M.: It’s very heavy. You can, you can pick it up. Roll a d4.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] 2.
> Mike / G.M.: Picking it up takes 2 grit.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Oof. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Whoa!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay. So she takes it and, uhm ... is there anything nearby? What’s in the nearby area that she-
> Mike / G.M.: Nothing.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Nothing.
> Mike / G.M.: Dirt, some flowers.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She puts it by the flowers. [ Nick chuckles ]
> Mike / G.M.: Okay.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Now, she’s thinking: in her experience, what is like the smallest sapient that she knows about?
[00:55:07] > Mike / G.M.: Oh, interesting. [ Jenn laughs ] Maybe the fex? You just saw a fex, they’re like a meter and a half tall. So they’re like the size of a small child. In a certain mode of thinking the morgul are small, since they’re like, you know, floating skinny informatic beings.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay, that’s ... doesn’t help. [ starts laughing ] She’s trying to make maybe a house for a tiny, teeny-tiny sapient, since these things are heavy! Uhm, okay, she’s going to try a different approach, and she’s going to ... what’s she gonna do? She is going to... [ Mike chuckles ]
> Mike / G.M.: Back to the bar.
[ mysterious music switches to bar ambience ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Do you have lighter alcohols, but in multiples?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as bartender] It’s funny you should ask, ‘cause I can’t sell you all of the brown balls again.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, is it- is it a legal thing?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Yeah, it kind of is. > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, yeah, I don’t-
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] They’re, uhm, what’s the word I’m looking for? They stack exponentially. [ Mike laughs ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Oh, got it, got it! That’s fair, thank you for looking out for me. > Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] What are you looking to feel? > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Just, uh, just some mild, a mild intoxication.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh, yeah, okay, alright. - [ OOC ] Yeah, he opens a flap underneath the counter and you see a flash of shiny metal as he grabs a scoop and he slides it into a thing that sounds like roasted coffee beans, but looks like big pearls. Big, like, pearlescent irregular spheres, puts it in a sort of thick metal coffee mug shaped thing, brings out a pestle, grinds it into a paste, squirts a sort of grayish liquid into it, mixes it up, gives you one [ sound effects for all of those ] - [ IC ] Well, how about that?
> Mike / G.M.: Cut back to Beta. [ ambience switches back ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uhm, Beta is going to use “Find Clue” to find a clue about how to build something out of these bricks.
> Mike / G.M.: Sure. Okay, Shannon-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh?
> Mike / G.M.: I mean this very earnestly: there are no clues. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] There are no wrong answers.
> Mike / G.M.: There are no wrong answers.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay.
> Mike / G.M.: Shannon Odell, what would Beta do?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Hm, got it. Got it. [ starts laughing ] So, Beta is going to, uhm...
> Mike / G.M.: I’m also not going to charge you for that clue. [ Nick chuckles ] So like you don’t, you know-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay, cool! [ Mike and Nick laugh ] So, Beta hasn’t, also hasn’t really eaten all day ... and she’s been so nervous- [ Jenn starts laughing ]
> Mike / G.M.: Ooooh!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] So she’s gonna take that brick that she has on the floor, and just
kinda like lick it. [ Nick chuckles ] How does it taste?
> Mike / G.M.: It’s delicious! It’s like, yeah, it is very well made metal. It is totally solid.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She takes a bite out of it.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, it’s great, yeah. This is like high quality stuff, they should be serving this at lunch!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] It’s really good! [ laughs ] She’s gonna go over to the pile and then she’s gonna start eating it. [ Jenn and Nick join her laughing ]
> Mike / G.M.: Alright! Beta starts gnawing on the wall of huge metal ingots.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She’s getting like overwhelmed at the idea that she’s not really sure how to pass this test and she really wants to. So she’s just kind of like eating, and just like [ anxious, struggling noises ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Nervously eating... [ Jenn and Shannon laugh ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Nervously eating the wall. ... Does it feel good? Eating the wall?
> Mike / G.M.: I mean, it’s really, as far as metal goes it’s very, very tasty. I think, insofar as Beta would have preferences and opinions about what metal tastes good and what metal does not, this is like, yeah, gourmet stuff.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] So as she’s been eating at the wall, has any extra like fell down? Any bricks or anything like that?
> Mike / G.M.: Nah, they’re very heavy.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Hmm...
> Mike / G.M.: Unless you’ve tried, unless you push them, they won’t fall down.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Then she like looks around, she can’t really see anyone else and what they’re doing...
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, I mean, you can see some people. They’re close enough that you can see some folks make like an empty square. And some people have just worked really hard to push the wall down, so that there’s like a big scatter of all the bricks around. Some people are working very thoughtfully to plot out what is effectively a floor plan, you know, with like different rooms in it. There are a couple people that you can see, who haven’t even figured out how to get one brick off of the wall, like they’re still struggling to get something down, ‘cause it’s so heavy.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She’s like - [ IC ] Okay, I gotta actually do something. - [ OOC ] She’s gonna kind of like eat her way like through the bottom of wall, so it’s like a little less sturdy and then just gonna push it over.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And then all of her bricks fall down, yeah? [01:00:00] > Mike / G.M.: Yeah, gimme, gimme a combat, just roll combat for me. > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Alright-
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you spend a couple minutes like trying to gnaw at some exposed edges in the wall of metal ingots to try to make it a little, even less sturdy. And then, yeah, you wanna push it over.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] I rolled a 7.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, whatever you want to happen happens.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] I want to just push over. [ sounds of bricks grinding on one another and finally crashing into the ground ]
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, so there’s like a sort of scattered pile of gnawed upon metal bricks on the flowered plane of this town.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And she’s like looking around and she’s like - [ IC ] Okay, well, this one looks different. - [ OOC ] And then she’s going to take the bricks and she’s gonna take a bite out of every single one of them.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay, you go brick by brick. Back at the bar. [ noises of a busy bar ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC as bartender ] It’s called [brother of?] pearl. [ Jenn laughs ] I think you’re gonna like it.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Well, cheers! - [ OOC ] Remy slides a couple Gilder over the counter and walks out.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Thanks. Wait! Before you go, uh, let me ask you something. Now, you know, you and your friends got every right in the world to go through the Quartering. And of course you’re welcome in here anytime, my friend. Believe you me. But, uh, don’t see a lot of folks passing through and don’t see a lot of folks passing through with such a sort of carefree attitude. Do you mind if I ask, where you’re going?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Yeah, we’re meeting, we have some Company business in Nolaster. > Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] That’s a rough place.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] I have no idea...?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Oh-
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Do you have any exposition to give me?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] That’s cute, that’s cute-
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Don’t, no, seriously though, what should we know? Or should we know anything?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Well, kind of a serious ordeal, my friend. You got briefed on the, uh, the difficulties, right? By the Co?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Uh, somewhat...
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Find it hard to believe the Co sent you out here and didn’t tell you what was going on. My god, things have gotten pretty bad on Spin, I guess. Look, you need to be much more careful the way you all walk around here. Don’t flash around money, don’t be drinking too much in public, you understand?
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Sure, yeah, sure. Thanks for the-
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Alright, listen, I’m not gonna ask you any more questions, I’m just gonna give you one piece of advice: I don’t know why you’re really here, I’m not gonna ask you, but if it’s got anything to do with the pirates, you’re better off turning around and going back to whatever gate got you here. You understand? That’s just friendly advice. I’m not tryna tell you what to do.
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Uh, sure, pal. Yeah, thanks for the advice.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ IC ] Alright...
[ bar ambience ambience fades out and switches back to mysterious music again ]
> Mike / G.M.: Beta, you’ve taken a bite out of every metal brick.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And she kind of looks at it. She goes - [ IC ] [ sighs ] Not my finest work - [ OOC ] And then she goes - [ IC ] I’m done!
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you can just leave.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And she leaves.
> Mike / G.M.: They will take your exiting of the general area of your zone to mean that you are done.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] And she tries, and she goes and meets up with the rest of the group.
> Mike / G.M.: As you walk in, you see the bartender that gave, what does this guy look like, Taylor?
[ background music fades out ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] The bartender? > Mike / G.M.: Yeah.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Uh, he looks exactly like I do. [ all laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: Okay, you see Taylor Moore-
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] No, come on, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I think he’s like very, very tall with an extremely narrow face. If he’s human, he’s been modified in some way. But he’s like sort of almost like a lurch-like figure.
> Mike / G.M.: You see this tall gray colored man giving what seems like some, like delivering some grave information to Remy, who’s just standing there with some drinks in his hands. And Remy nods and turns around and heads towards the group. I assume you’re all like sitting at a table nearby.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Mike / G.M.: You guys, Beta approaches, you haven’t seen her in a couple hours, you know
that she’s been doing some weird trial.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] [ overexcitedly ] Aaaah, here she is! The woman of the evening, moment, day! How did it go?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Weeeell, let’s just say I am very full. [ Shannon and Nick laugh in character ]
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Okay, that is not what I would have expected you to say. > Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Yeah, what does that mean?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yeah, I don’t know what that means.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Oh, why are you full?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Well, I ate the challenge. [ Nick laughs ] > Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] What?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] You mean-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I literally-
> Mike / G.M.: As they say on TikTok: she ate that.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I ate it! I don’t know...
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] You ate all the bricks?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] I ate a piece of each of them. And I carry each of them with me, inside of me. Which-
> Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Is that supposed to be profound, or were you just hungry?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Which I was working at it to be profound, but I didn’t quite get what
I was doing. But I figured, the Veraseer probably could figure it out, what I was doing. > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] I mean, it’s definitely confusing. I like it.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Thank you.
[01:04:57] > Mike / G.M.: The Veraseer has definitely got that art school instructor energy, who will find deep meaning in anything, if she has to, so... [ Jenn laughs ]
Yeah, so you guys, I think, you can hang out at the, you know, do you wanna give me a montage of like the hour or so that you spend at the bar? Before the Veraseer, you start seeing her walk up to people and either dismiss them or let them know that they have made it to be able to see Zeiner and you know, they get very happy and she leads them out of the room. You know, you see that start to happen. Do you guys just sit there and drink and chat?
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Yeah, Merkis is trying to toss, I don’t know, some shells of something into a glass.
> Mike / G.M.: You play that, yeah, they have the, what is it? The hook and ring game? That extremely irritating bar game?
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Yeah- > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Oh yeah, I love that game.
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Oh, it’s great. > Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] I can’t figure this out! [ Shannon laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: The secret is, you gotta spin it when you throw it. You gotta give it a little [ clicks his tongue ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] I have to throw it? - [ OOC ] He’s just holding it. [ all chuckle ]
> Mike / G.M.: After a while, yeah, the Veraseer comes in and she has the Overseer like in tow, he follows behind her. She moves much faster. And she approaches the group of you and she says - [ IC ] Participant Commbot - [ OOC ] And the Overseer comes and catches up and walks next to her and looks at you and he says - [ IC ] In all of our years of performing the Quartering, we have never once had someone-
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] So great!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Consume the materials. [ Shannon and Nick laugh ]
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] Which is good!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Frankly ... it is brilliant.
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] See!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Yeeeaaaah!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC as Veraseer ] If you will join us, we can take you to see the Zeiner immediately.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Thank you, thank you, thank you. Do you hear that? > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Congratulations!
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ IC ] Very proud of you.
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes, you have done it! You’re off to see the wizard.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] [ laughs ] Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
> Taylor / “Oat” : [ IC ] I never doubted, I never doubted you. I knew the second, 45 minutes ago we discovered this ritual [ all laugh ] that you were gonna be doing great at it. I knew it.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Listen, I might find out that the love of my life is sitting in the town next and, and then I will never see you again [ Nick laughs ], ‘cause I will have to go after them. [ Jenn also laughs ] But hopefully that doesn’t happen and I’ll meet you guys back here...?
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ IC ] Yes, we’ll be waiting for you. Can’t wait to hear about it. > Bijan / “Remy”: [ IC ] Sure.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Okaaay, bye bye.
> Mike / G.M.: The Overseer and the Veraseer have started leaving, so you catch up to them outside and they take you back to the meeting area, where the deck is. And on the other side of it, there’s like a couple trees and on the other side of those trees you actually find another kind of bramble that looks something like this strange half gazebo that you sat in for the trial of testimonies, except this, the vines and the flowers are not attached around the structure. They kind of are the structure. There’s like this weird tent made out of dried plants and these colorful flowers. And the Veraseer and the Overseer stand on either side of the entrance of this strange hood that’s placed very unceremoniously and they gesture for you to walk in. Do you walk forward?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh.
> Mike / G.M.: So, what you see, when you get to the edge of this thing, is a set of stairs that go
down into the ground. Do you walk down?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She goes down.
> Mike / G.M.: You can feel the first couple steps are made of stone and as you walk down you feel the presence of the Veraseer and the Overseer walk behind you. You can hear them stepping and sort of rubbing along the sides of the wall. It gets darker and darker, and colder and colder. After a few steps the floor goes from what feels like semi-finished stone to, like, almost dirt, like it’s not gonna crumble, but it feels softer and it’s a little bit harder to keep your balance. And as they, as you walk down this wide staircase, you know, you go for like maybe thirty seconds. It’s like a bunch of stairs. You’re going deep underground. And after a while, both of the seers stop walking and the Veraseer says - [ IC ] You may continue down on your own. Just keep going straight, even if you can’t see. You will know when to stop. - [ OOC ] And they like do a little
bow. And you can see them go back up. You know, there’s like a distant pinprick of light at the top of the stairs. Do you keep going down?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta keeps going down.
> Mike / G.M.: Go down and down and down, it gets colder and colder. It gets kinda damp and like a little weirdly humid and you start to be able to smell more, like, earth and rock and it smells almost sort of like a cellar, like it’s very earthy down here, of course. You put your hands on the sides of the wall, you can feel like, you feel some roots and you feel the jagged edges of rocks sticking out from– Or whoever dug this strange pathway down into the earth, who knows how long ago. You eventually get to flat ground, it’s no longer stairs. And it’s pitchblack. You cannot see anything. You cannot tell if there is wall a foot or an inch away from your face. The only way that you know where you go, is to feel around.
After a while you come across, you see a little bit further ahead of you the dullest gray light. Very, very dim. Like a wall of slightly reflective gray. You get closer, closer and it actually does approach you, you can kind of see it. How far away do you stop from it?
[01:10:33] > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uhm, I stop like two feet in front of it.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay, you can kinda see yourself a little bit. It’s hard, it’s hard to see yourself, but like, you can kinda see your reflection. It like is a little smoky, full of blurry. You stand there for a couple minutes and then in an instant it turns [ snapping sound ] perfectly mirrored. There’s no sound, there’s no feeling of any kind. It just becomes perfectly mirrored. And you’re looking at like a strange kind of oval? There’s no border to it. It just is this reflective surface and it, you’re looking at yourself.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Beta thinks to herself - [ IC ] I look pretty good. [ Jenn and Shannon let out a short laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: What does Beta look like?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Oh, you’re making me do this? [ Shannon, Nick, and Jenn laugh ]
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] I knew it.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Oh, what does Beta look like? She ... okay, let’s start from the top, no, let’s start from the bottom and work up.
> Mike / G.M.: Sexy. [ laughs ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yes, it’s truly sexy.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Sax riff! [ Jenn and Mike laugh ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uhm, she’s a pretty, you know, she has like a, you know ... she has two feet. [ Shannon, Nick, Jenn, and Bijan laugh ] Okay, okay...
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] I picture you talking to the police officer, [ Mike laughs ] like identifying the suspect. [ imitates Shannon ] She’s pretty, yeah, the two feet. [ stops imitating, but laughs instead ]
> Mike / G.M.: [ also imitating Shannon ] Looked like a, looked like a lady! > Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] And they just pull up a chair and just, yeah-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay ... two, she has two thin, thin pipes for legs. They’re like pipe-like. They’re so tiny. It almost looks like it shouldn’t be able to support the top half. But somehow, at the same time, she looks really sturdy. You know, she hasn’t seen a reflection of herself this good in quite a while. You know, she’s seen herself in like reflections of buildings and things like that, but not so quite, so clearly. It kind of reminds her of a time, when she was younger and she kinda gets a flashback to a younger memory, when she first joined the Company and they, she was out on a job on a planet that had very still water, that was so still and clear, that you could really see your reflection really well. She kinda has a flashback of her like young, young fleeter days. But she realizes that she hasn’t really aged that much outside of maybe her ... eyes.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] She has eyes? [ Jenn giggles ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Which aren’t really eyes, [ Shannon and Jenn almost start laughing ] so much as– While she has a bag head, you can kinda tell where her eyes are. By the energy that’s coming out of them.
> Mike / G.M.: Uh-huh.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Those spots on her head, you can tell that’s where her eyes are. Even though, again, you can’t really see them. It’s energy. So she can see a little bit of that age in her eyes, kind of that energy is kinda like dulled a little bit. She looks down and looks back at her body. She looks pretty good, a little bit bloated, she did eat a lot of metal bricks. A lot of them. [ Nick and Shannon laugh ] And, uh, you can tell, as she kinda unzips her exosuit just like a tiny
bit to kinda like do a little stomach check, like you do with a beer. She’s like - [ IC ] Hoho, I am bloated! - [ OOC ] Then zips it back up. [ laughs ] Do we need more description?
> Mike / G.M.: I’m not gonna stop you. I mean-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She looks at her hands and then looks at her hands reflected back,
kind of marbles at them, thinking about how old she is. And yet they still-
> Mike / G.M.: What do they look like? Does it, are they, are we talking like duct tape hands?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah! Really like shiny, metal, silver duct tape hands. But they look good.
> Mike / G.M.: That’s important.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Like tight-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] They look tight.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Like tightly wound tape?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] I didn’t-
> Mike / G.M.: Could be a shoodtha hand model?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah, but even in spots where there’s like a little bit of imperfection, it kinda, she kinda wears the hell out of the imperfection.
> Mike / G.M.: Roll your charm.
> Jenn / “Merkis”: [ OOC ] Hell yeah!
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Okay... I got a 5.
[1:14:57] > Mike / G.M.: While you’re looking at yourself and thinking about your hands and how much metal you have just consumed, you start to feel this urge to, like, touch the mirror. You know, touch your hand to your hand.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] So she does that.
> Mike / G.M.: As soon as you do it you feel the cold, it’s like touching cold glass. It’s hard, it stops your hand. And then after a second your fingers kinda like seep into it a little bit. Like it just, in that, in that section turns slightly liquid. And you feel this– It’s hard to describe, it’s kinda like electricity, it’s like a little bit of an impulse of some kind, like a kind of excitement or something? That goes from your fingers up your arm, up your shoulder, and into your brain. And you can feel it going into your brain. And you feel compelled to think a very specific thought, which is: Beta, what is the oldest thing you remember? [ Jenn laughs surprised ]
> Taylor / “The Cool, Interesting Characters” : [ OOC ] Boom goes the dynamite.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She remembers, uhm ... not so much. It’s a, it’s a short memory. It’s not so much that she recognizes the two people as her parents as much as like she knows it’s her parents. Not because she has no other memory of them, but she hasn’t really thought about them. And, uhm, it’s them walking down a ... street.
> Mike / G.M.: What does the street look like?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] The street is kind of like a dirt road and on the sides of it are a
field.
> Mike / G.M.: What are you thinking about this? The energy that’s moved up your arm and into your brain gets like kind of even more excited, when you arrive at this. And when you mentally think like: oh yeah, I wanna think about the oldest thing I know, it’s this. And it’s that kind of satisfaction and having found something that you were looking for, it’s like “ah, I don’t have to worry about this anymore.” Like “I don’t have to, I can move on now.” And that’s what you feel, you feel compelled towards that emotion, however you would describe it. And then the excitement and that energy moves from your head down your neck and your shoulder, out your arm and you can feel it kind of retreating. And it goes back into this mirror surface and the mirror then lets go of your fingers and retreats from them, so that the place where you’ve touched, now there’s just dirt. You’re just touching the other side of whatever this surface was. It’s just dirt wall. And the mirror is retreating from your hand and it gathers in the middle of this empty space that’s directly in front of you. And it floats in, like, sort of ever-changing like
cuboid kind of thing. It’s like, you know, multiple-sided geometric figure is moving towards you from this wall. And it kind of stops in front of you. It kind of floats. Totally silent, not making any noise.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She puts her hand underneath it.
> Mike / G.M.: When you put your hand underneath it, it turns into a very strange 3D representation of the dirt road next to the field with the two people and a blurry figure that is you.
And if you move your hand around you can rotate it, you can turn it around. It’s kind of like you’re holding a, like what we would describe as a 3D model. And when you move your hand, you can just spin it. And if you move your other hand close to it, you can enlarge it a little bit, you can make it a little bit smaller. Roll reason-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Ah, it’s a 10 plus... 11!
> Mike / G.M.: You are able to learn one thing about this memory that you maybe otherwise
would never have been able to know. What do you learn?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Like what’s the question I wanna ask? Or what did I learn?
> Mike / G.M.: No, you just, there’s a thought that you know is true that pops directly into your brain. What is it?
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uhm, the thought is ... that, is that she, uhm, she knows from this memory, she knows that her parents did not like each other.
> Mike / G.M.: [ pause ] The 3D scene turns back into the shape, pushes back up against the wall, recreates this mirrored surface, you can see yourself again very clearly, it stays like that for maybe ten seconds, turns dark gray again. It’s dark. Nothing’s happening anymore.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] She goes - [ IC ] Welp, I guess that was it. - [ OOC ] [ laughs ] She starts making her way up.
[01:20:01] > Mike / G.M.: You walk back up the stairs? > Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh.
> Mike / G.M.: It’s a long journey, it’s a lot of stairs. You knew it was a lot going down, but it’s even more going up. You’re tired by the time you get to the top-
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] It’s harder going up, because there’s nothing to look forward to. > Mike / G.M.: Yeah. Do shoodthas sweat? I don’t even know like, you know, if you sweat, you
sweat.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Ya, I don’t think so.
> Mike / G.M.: Uhm, you get to the top and the Overseer and the Veraseer are waiting at the top of the stairs and they have a very sort of like, they have a serious look on their face and the Overseer looks at you and says - [ IC ] We hope you had a meaningful experience. Zeiner will visit you two times. How, we can not say. [ Shannon gasps quietly ] And what you will learn in those visits, we do not know.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Whoa-
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Congratulations. You have completed the Quartering.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ IC ] Thank you very much. I didn’t know I would get the two bonus visits!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You can visit your pals. They’re probably at the bar. [ Mike, Jenn, and Nick laugh lightly ]
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I’m going to the bar-
> Nick / “Vynos”: [ OOC ] Uh-huh.
> Shannon / “Beta”: [ OOC ] ‘Cause I figure that’s where they live now. [ Main Theme begins ]
> Mike / G.M.: You are now leaving Float City. Thanks for listening and if you like the show and wanna help us keep making it, head on over to patreon.com/funcityventures. Five dollars a month gets you access to a whole other show we do called Fun Chatty, gets you access to our rad as heck Discord full of very weird, very nice and smart nerds, it gets you access to music playlists and more. It is a wild deal, you know you wanna: patreon.com/funcityventures. And of course thanks to all of our current patrons for help keeping this ship afloat.
[ Main Theme ends ] [ End Theme begins ]
> Bijan: Hi, I’m Bijan Stephen, and I play Remy Tester on Float City. You can find me online on Twitter @bijanstephen, B-I-J-A-N-S-T-E-P-H-E-N, on Twitch at the same name, and on Instagram @bijancakes, B-I-J-A-N-cakes.
> Jenn: I’m Jenn de la Vega, I play Merkis Imeldar. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @randwiches. That’s the word sandwiches, but replace the S with an R.
> Shannon: This is Shannon Odell, I play Beta Commbot. You can find me on social @shodell.
> Nick: Hello, this is Nick Guercio and I play Luxe on Fun City and Vynos on Float City. You can find me @nicholasguercio on Twitter and @nguercio on Instagram. You spell Guercio G-U-E-R-C-I-O.
> Taylor: I’m Taylor Moore and I play all the cool, interesting characters. You can follow me @taylordotbiz. [ Taylor chuckles ]
> Mike: My name is Mike Rugnetta, I am your G.M. and you can find me on Twitter and Instagram @mikerugnetta.
You can find the show on Twitter and Instagram @funcityventures. Float City is played in a soon-to-be released system called Stillfleet, which you can find on Twitter and Instagram and Patreon @stillfleet. This episode of Float City was recorded at various locations around Brooklyn, New York. It was produced, edited, and sound designed by me, Mike Rugnetta. In futurity, Pixlriffs prophetic sees, that the earth from sleep (grave the sentence deep), shall arise and seek for her maker meek; and the desert wild, become a garden mild. Fun City’s music is by Sam Tyndall, Remy’s flute playing is by Jake Fridkis, our art is by Tess Stone, our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kit Pulliam and Kestrel, and the voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton.
[ End Theme ends ]