Session 112

General Summary

• The party returned to the outpost in the swamp to find that Strider, Eunectes, and Barry had been fighting simulacra that had swapped places with them. It seems that they were transported through time, but stayed in more-or-less the same location.
• They took a long rest for the night. During his watch, Dazki spoke with Strider to try to get more information from him.
• Though Strider doesn't know him directly, he has heard of Finnigan Perry. He claimed that Finnigan met up with the Du'Radi long ago, before this relatively new tunnel existed, and that he was one of the few "colonists" to have journeyed through the Underdark to get to the other side of The Wall™.
• Strider doesn't know exactly where the tunnel is, just that it's "in the shadow of the Great Serpent". He also wants nothing to do with it if "that troop ends up resurrecting the Great Serpent".
• The next morning, while making plans, "The Metronome Man" chatted with the party again, this time speaking from nowhere visible, to make his same request: he wants the Rotor of Return.
• Dwardazik suddenly sprouted a tentacle from his ear with an eye at the end, then attacked a specific spot, claiming that he could see him.
• Marvin tried one more time to get Strider to help them, hoping that he could appeal to Strider's friendship with Roamer.
• Strider revealed that he can read minds, and he's been communicating with Roamer for a while now — Roamer can apparently use Sending.
• Ultimately, Strider just left with Eunectes, without giving much further help.
• The party got their bearings and started heading out on rowboats towards The Wall™.
• At the first rest stop, Dwardazik's Turmoil passenger seemed to be causing him troubles, even going so far as to attack the other party members with the remains of a barricade that he had set up.
• The situation seemed to resolve itself, and Dwardazik explained that the nature of his "passenger" / "companion" means that it's started to act differently so close to The Wall™.
• Grogery warned the "passenger" that it would be tolerated unless and until it harms Dwardazik or others.
• "The Metronome Man" visited once more overnight. He said some of his usual cryptic stuff, then swapped in a large monstrosity with a screaming man inside of it.

Full Recap

Dwardazik, reading the note left behind: "Thank you for showing the villagers how to disassemble a Custodian Engine"... you know, I feel like I was being manipulated by him, but at the same time... fuck that guy. I'm not gonna let those villagers just die. Especially when I know that this is all just a test by "The Metronome Man". As far as I'm concerned, we learned something just as valuable.

Dwardazik: Hey, is that Eunectes, or is it just some wild animal? I'd rather not find one of those while we're going through the wilds...   Dazki: That's Eunectes.   Grogery: OK, so, we were in the past... sort of?   Dwardazik: Dazki seems to believe it was the past.   Grogery: Well, we know of "The Metronome Man" doing things that can move people / corpses (/ robots) through time as well, but it always required having to switch places with something.   Dwardazik: It bugs me... I thought he would have to have Rotor of Return to even do these things?   Grogery: He might have the other pieces. The Hounds Guild have two pieces of the Orrery, and the House of Cards thinks they have one. Is there anything about the Rotor of Return's magical abilities that would make it "return" to us, after a time? Kesmet was attuned to it for a while... but then again, you'd expect it to "return" to him, not the bag... but then again, we were all unconscious for a while...   Dwardazik: The last option that we have — and I don't say this lightly — is to use the Rotor. If all avenues fail, use it as a last option.   Marvin: Use it to do what?   Dwardazik: That's the problem... we don't know what it would do.   Dazki: For now, I think we rest and reconvene in the morning.   Dwardazik: I agree. Hopefully, no more of "The Metronome Man"'s minions will appear.   Grogery: Dazki, before we go to sleep, I think it would be a good idea for us to investigate to see if he switched places with people in the past while the whole "storytime" thing was going on.   Marvin: "switched places"?   Grogery: If it appears that we have, then that presents an interesting limitation to "The Metronome Man"'s abilities.   Dazki: OK, how do you suggest we do that?   Grogery: This entire place is covered in moss and stuff. If there's markings on the floor, from people with different shoes (different sizes?), then... I don't know, the thought just occurred to me.   Marvin: You mean like how the android swapped places with Kerro Schene, then in a similar fashion, did we experience the exact same thing but backwards?   Dazki: We can try that.   Marvin: Then the real question would be, did he bring us back there because he wanted — like, we heard the comment that now we've shown people back there how to disable them —   Grogery: He's trying to make us sympathetic to his cause while also accomplishing a side goal of helping to right some of the wrong he made by having powerful people like us demonstrate to the people back then that "here's how you can help save yourselves".

Grogery: So, this is where that Custodian battle took place, but there may have been simulacrum versions of ourselves down below that were then teleported — this is getting confusing... either way, that's interesting to know. It does also mean that we're very close to The Wall™.

Grogery: So if Strider would have thrown the thing into the swamp, then He would already have had minions down there ready to grab it, and that's probably what Eunectes is going at right now.   Dazki: Yeah, that makes sense.

Dazki bursts out.

Dazki, bursting out of the hut and yelling: Hey, those tend to explode!   Dwardazik, taking his shield out and running to get in front: Back away! As the elf has said, it explodes!

Dazki: Hey, are you all right out there?   Strider: Where did you guys go?! This is... if you could teleport the whole time, then why even get me involved at all?!   Grogery: We can't —   Strider: Or either of... ugh...   Marvin: Hey, we just killed a "Custodian Engine", all right?   Dazki: So, all right. You know how we mentioned "The Metronome Man", right?   Strider: O... OK? Sure?   Dazki: He is the one who wanted the Rotor of Return, and he decided to teleport all of us back in time. And then back, after a short period of time. After we had to defend ourselves against a giant robot from the war hundreds of years ago. It sounds entirely ridiculous, but I promise it's the truth.   Strider: ... ... ...wut?   Grogery, gesturing to the remnants of the simulacrum: And he also likely planted those to make this happen. We do have experience with these, and they will explode, so there's probably more down there, so be careful.   Strider: Nah, man, like — these things didn't show up until you randomly left.   Grogery: Yes, that's how he works.   Dazki: Also, we had no control over the "leaving" vs. "not leaving". It was done to us against our will.   Strider: Why does that matter?   Dazki: We didn't choose to leave you to fight these things. That was done to us.   Strider: Yeah, yeah, of course it was. Yeah, all of this, totally a part of some "Big Plan™".   Grogery: Also, does Eunectes need some help? I can heal her a bit.   Strider: Don't touch her.   Grogery: OK.   Strider: None of you touch her!   Kesmet: Does she have any wounds that need cauterizing?   Grogery: No, don't do that!   Dazki: Kesmet, no!   Grogery: Not the time!   Marvin: I think the damage did all the cauterizing for you, Kesmet.   Dwardazik: I appreciate the gesture, Kesmet.   Kesmet: How come no one ever wants me to cauterize wounds?   Marvin: When I need cauterizing, you'll be the first to know. Don't you worry.   Kesmet: Thanks... I suppose?   Strider: Well... great. Whatever you think. But I'm not staying in this hut.   Dwardazik: Explain to us what happened during the period of time when we were "gone"?   Strider: You vanished, some shiny dudes showed up, your humany fella — who you didn't bring with you — ran out of the hut (started yellin' a bunch of stuff), shot into the building, and then we just kinda... I dunno... tried to defend it?   Dwardazik: When you say "shot into the building", ...he attacked you guys? I don't understand.   Dazki: No, Barry shot into the building trying to attack the things.   Dwardazik: Oh, that makes more sense. OK.   Kesmet: Holy shit, where's Barry?!   Grogery: Where is Barry?   Marvin: Yeah, where the hell is Barry?   Editor's note: yeah, where's Barry?

Dazki: Hey! It's all right, Barry, it's gone.   Barry: I thought you guys left me forever!   Grogery: No, we were teleported away against our will. But we got back.   Marvin: Which is interesting...   Barry: You guys always say that!   Grogery: That's because it keeps happening to us!   Marvin: We don't like this any more than you do, Barry.   Kesmet: In fact, we like it decidedly less.   Marvin: Yeah, Kesmet's right. We like it a lot less.   Barry: Well, I mean... you can't turn into robots and attack people, man!   Dazki: We certainly try not to.   Dwardazik: That damn "Metronome Man"...   Grogery: Have they stopped attacking people, or are they still down there?   Barry: I don't know, man! It seems quiet? Ish?   Dwardazik: That bastard... basically gave a bunch of mechs to try to attack our allies...   Grogery: Or at least keep them busy so that we would be doing... whatever we were doing... and "The Metronome Man" could get away unmolested.   Dwardazik: No matter which way you cut it, the damn bastard ambushed us after we had a clear rule to just talk! There will be no more talking to this bastard.   Kesmet: I tried to shoot 'im!   Grogery: Just make sure you know that it's him before you go swinging, OK?   Dwardazik: I'll try.   Barry: Yeah, wait, where did that guy go?! I thought he either turned into a robot or vanished with you?   Dazki: He probably vanished into a little bit of whatever scrap he uses to make his simulacra out of.   Dwardazik: If only we could trace this magic. He must be based somewhere. And we will find him. And when I find him, I will make sure he is punished for the actions that he has done.   Kesmet: Yeah! Punishment and vengeance! Mostly vengeance.   Grogery: It sounds like he's already trying to make amends for what he's done, but he's going about it in not the right way. Trying to change the past instead of trying to make the future better. Well, five of us teleported, and you guys found two simulacra, right?   Barry: Uh, three? Three.   Grogery: OK, well, there's probably at least two more somewhere. Probably underneath the swamp somewhere.   Barry: You guys look awful.   Grogery: Yeah, we had to fight a giant fire robot in the place that "The Metronome Man" put us.   Marvin: Yup.   Grogery: I almost died again.   Dwardazik: It was an arcane construction.   Marvin: Yeah, it came down like a fuckin' meteor.   Dwardazik: Truly an abomination. If that's what the times of old were like, I have to admit I'm quite glad not to be living them.   Grogery: It tried to light us all on fire, both intentionally and unintentionally.   Marvin: Yeah, it was big.   Kesmet: And it appeared not to be harmed by my fire.

The party discusses what to do about the other simulacra. They decide to just make camp elsewhere for the night.

Dwardazik: Should we invite the two? (He calls out) Hey! Eunectes and Strider! Why don't you prepare for potentially two more of those guys under the hut we were at? You can either join watch with us or fuck off into another hut!   Marvin: That was rude...   Strider: I dunno man, I'm kinda interested in fucking off to another hut! Especially with those sort of words.   Dazki: That's fine. If you need help, yell and make some noise. We will come and do what we can to help fight off the automatons.   Strider: No, I don't like that idea.   Dazki: Why not?   Strider: No, because if I can yell for your help, then that means you can yell for my help, and I don't want to get involved in your shit.   Marvin: We're just offering...   Dazki: Unfortunately, you're already involved. And if we hear you fighting those things, we're going to help regardless. Call it the "colonist mindset", if you will.   Dwardazik: To be fair, I would pass that up, but... I mean, we'll do it anyway...   Strider: Fine.   Dazki: All right, well, good night. Hopefully, we will see you in the morning.   Strider: OK, fine.

Long Rest

First Watch: Dwarf + Fish

Dwardazik: All right, Barry. It's up to us. I want you to keep a good eye out on the water underneath that hut, and let me know if you see anything strange!   Barry, skeptically: Yeah... uh-huh... "strange"...

Second Watch: Fish + Kesmet

Dwardazik: I don't trust that water over there, under the hut. But otherwise, I haven't seen nothin'.   Kesmet: I never trust any water.

Kesmet: Hey, Barry?   Barry: Yeah?   Kesmet: Did you guys find anything on Dwardazik's watch?   Barry: No...?   Kesmet: Hmm... ... ...OK. Hey, check out this really cool boot that I found!

Kesmet shows Barry the boot, then walks over to the hut where he found it and picks up the second one.

Third Watch: Elf + Marvin

Dazki: Hey. I wanted to talk with you a minute, if that's all right?   Strider, flustered: What? Wh— I didn't even notice you come over here!   Dazki: Oh, sorry about that, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you.   Strider: All right, all right. One second.   Dazki: Yep.   Strider goes back to his imaginary conversation for a bit.   Strider: OK, what? What do you want? You gonna give me the thing, so I can finish my quest?   Dazki: I can't give you something that I'm not in possession of. I've said that before. What I am going to do is let you know that, while we are here to deal with The Hounds Guild, there is another reason that I'm here, at least. I'm looking for someone: a man by the name of Finnigan Perry. He was a scholar, a researcher, who came down here a while ago. I was reading some of his research and following up on some things related to that, and I ran across his daughter. She wanted me to give a message if I was able to find him, while I was here. Have you heard of a colonist who uses that name at all? It's a longshot, I know, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask?   Strider: I'm thinking. Give me some time to think.   Dazki: Yeah, of course!   Strider takes some time to think.   Strider: I'm not the greatest with colonist names. They're really weird, like, they don't mean anything.   Dazki: That's fair. Definitely very different than names from this region.   Strider: But I am aware of a colonist. He was dealing with Du'Radi before I was, though.   Dazki: Can you tell me about him?   Strider: I don't know much about him, but I do know that he was one of the few that were allowed on the other side of The Wall™.   Dazki: Interesting — you said he was dealing with the Du'Radi before you were? Must've been a long time...   Strider: Not really.   Dazki: You're fairly new at dealing with them, then?   Strider: It's a little complicated. I'm kind of — I'm a son of two tribes.   Dazki: Really? Apologies for being ignorant, but what does that mean?   Strider, taken somewhat aback: That means — ...I don't know? I don't know what that means. Well — they teach you that it takes two people to make a third person, right?   Dazki: Yeah.   Strider: OK! I don't know with you people, if you learn natural stuff or if it's just all machines with you.   Dazki: No, no, we learn some of that stuff too.   Strider: Well, I am from one Monghoul and one Du'Radi. I have stakes in both clans. But I think I prefer the Du'Radi more. But I'm still learning! Because I wasn't raised with them, so I'm new.   Dazki: OK. Is that looked upon as... acceptable?   Strider: Yeah, it seems fine. I haven't been part of the Banished, so...   Dazki: OK, sorry, I'm just... dumb colonist, asking dumb colonist questions. Not meaning to be offensive, just trying to be a little bit less stupid.   Strider: I'm not being hunted to death, if that's what you mean?   Dazki: Yeah, no, I more meant, are you accepted as a member of both of these tribes?   Strider: Yeah, for the most part. But I'm not really interested in all this war stuff, and their angers are getting so much worse, and I prefer the more peaceful nature of this one.   Dazki: Why are they getting so much angrier? Have there been more incursions by the colonists or something lately?   Strider: No, colonists hardly even come out here! But they just seem so riled up.   Dazki: And you don't have any idea what's causing it?   Strider: I mean, I'm not entirely sure. You're colonists, right? So, maybe you could tell me?   Dazki: So, what we have been looking into, and what we're trying to figure out, is the thing going on with the colonists that killed Kesmet's family that are a guild of criminals and thieves and smugglers working out of this area. On top of that, there have been people using the power we colonists know as Turmoil to try and summon some god from another plane (or something like that) recently. I don't know if that has anything to do with local tribal politics, though.   Strider: No, Terra's forces are her own.   Dazki: There are people, colonists, that have been trying to control it and have made some success and progress in doing so. And my companions and I have had an encounter with a being from another plane of existence who has been trying to control and manipulate that as well. It seems this other creature has had some success too.   Strider: Well, if that creature is having success, then it must be of Terra. That's the only way.   Dazki: I mean... maybe? My concern is that we don't know everything there is to know about this power. So, we don't know that it's necessarily something that is from Terra. We encountered it in a different plane of existence.   Strider: But if it can manipulate Terra's forces, then it is of Terra.   Dazki: I mean —   Strider: Regardless of where it has been flung now, it is of Terra.   Dazki: I think that is probably a reasonable assumption, but I am just saying that we can't rule anything out. At least, my companions and I are choosing to engage with other options as well.   Strider: OK, you can not believe me if you want.   Dazki: I'm not saying I don't believe you. Indeed, I think your explanation is the most likely. But we still have to keep in mind possible alternatives. We can't singlemindedly focus on the permanence of one idea. We have to allow our ideas and our beliefs to shift as necessary.   Strider: Yeah. So, about that researcher. You weren't overly interested in how he was allowed over The Wall™?   Dazki: Yes, I am interested. You didn't seem like you were going to be forthcoming with it, and I wasn't trying to push you. But if you're willing to share that with me, I'd very much want to know.   Strider: Well, you're about to make a ton of mistakes, so I think I should at least let you know about them.   Dazki: Thank you.   Strider: There have been paths under The Wall™ before this new — and very convenient — tunnel. Always under, way under. The convenience of this new tunnel — it's great! Short. But there seems to be some sort of fanaticism about it. It seems to have sparked more talks of war, of regaining parts lost.   Dazki: And how has a tunnel through The Wall™ done that?   Strider: I don't know, but I don't believe in coincidences. With all this extra activity, colonists and tribesmen working together to restart a war so close to the Great Serpent, and now a tunnel shows up (more convenient than ever) to spread forces? A lot of people are getting optimistic again.   Dazki: I see.   Strider: Before, the only way to go under The Wall™ was to go deep, deep under. There was never a convenient way back through the Swamp. You would go through... whatever the... hm, if this is the "up above", then you would use the "down below". But the path was long, treacherous. You would usually end up far outside of the territory of the Swamp. Maybe even outside of this colonization. And then you would have to trek all the way through the wasteland that you people call home, to get back to the sacred grounds that you were searching for, only to find them to be destroyed. It would be disheartening by the time anyone would come back!   Dazki: And I would assume that this new tunnel is much shorter and much more direct?   Strider: It is! It's not the Underdark, it just goes right under The Wall™. Straight through. I don't know how!   Dazki: And how does this relate to that researcher?   Strider: He would've had to go the long way.   Dazki: I see. He was around before then. Interesting.   Strider: This tunnel is new. But, supposedly, he made it. Now, whether or not he tried to come back, I don't know.   Dazki: I mean, he had a family. I would think he would try to come back?   Strider: Maybe, much like this other man that you seek — this grief-stricken spirit — he has finally agreed, for once?   Dazki: That's fair... I don't know if he would or not, but that's incredibly fascinating. So, you said that I was going to make a bunch of mistakes, being a colonist. What are some of these mistakes that I am going to make, so that I am aware of them, so I can try to avoid them?   Strider: Well, just, I don't understand what you're seeking, to be so adamant to be taking a path that I don't know if any colonist has come back from.   Dazki: I want to find him to help people. One, his daughter, but two — I have a friend who has been affected by Terra's power against their will. They have forgotten loved ones, and it's transformed them in a way that they're not whom they used to be. They want to be something of that person again. This researcher was doing research on how to do that.   Strider: Well, that researcher is no longer on this side.   Dazki: All right. Sounds like if I want to try to help my friend and deliver a message, I need to figure out a way through The Wall™.   Strider: It's going to be tough. A lot of colonists have gone that way recently, and none of them have come back.   Dazki: Well, none of them have had expert advice like yours.   Strider: I don't know, they've been working with tribes. I'm not the cleverest.   Dazki: No, you're not the cleverest, but —   Strider: HEY!   Dazki: — I'm gonna go ahead and say that you don't have any ulterior motives, whereas some of those other tribes likely did.   Strider: OK, but if you take that totally unguarded and hidden tunnel, then that's clearly — you're not gonna come back.   Dazki: Well, could you mark both of the tunnels on a map for us?   Strider: See, "maps" are a weird thing... like, they're just used to mark off stuff that you think were there, or that other people have. So, I don't really... get them.   Dazki: It's a way to avoid getting lost.   Strider: But the paper stays the same. If the world doesn't stay the same...   Dazki: Yes, but generally, the world changes in such a small incremental fashion that the paper remains accurate enough to be useful. Once it is no longer that accurate, a new map is made.   Strider: That just seems like memorizing with extra steps.   Dazki: It's memorizing, but also sharing it so that other people can have that knowledge as well.   Strider: You only need the knowledge when you're there, so you can just mark the area. Later, you don't need that knowledge... unless you're planning an assault or trying to take land?   Dazki: Not true! What if, let's say there is a lake in my homeland that I found in the woods, and that I enjoyed. If I didn't have a map, it would be more difficult for me to find my way back there.   Strider: If you had such a great time, you would remember where it was.   Dazki: I might remember the general area, but maybe not exactly how to get there. It's a way of helping me in the future, helping share that with others.   Strider: Nope.   Dazki: No? Why not?   Strider: Just no. Listen, maps are not gonna help you find a hidden tunnel. It's hidden.   Dazki: OK, well, can you help us find a hidden tunnel?   Strider: I only know roughly where the tunnel is. It's in the shadow of the Great Serpent. But that's not gonna help you much. And frankly, I don't feel like leading a bunch of people to their death. So, even if I did know...   Dazki: OK. That's fine, I don't want to try to force you into helping us with this. You've already helped significantly. So, thank you.   Strider: My gosh.   Dazki: What?   Strider: You really shouldn't be going forward. You should go back. You should leave.   Dazki: But, if I go back, I am fearing the change that may come from going forward.   Strider: No. Your words, they're complicated, and they don't make any sense. I'm telling you: it's really dangerous, war is coming, and you need to go.   Dazki: Will you help us stop a war from coming?   Strider: "Will I help us stop a"... who do you think I am?!   Dazki: I think you are a good person. A good person who doesn't want innocent lives to get —   Strider: Great! That's great. Fantastic! You can stroke my ego all you want. But at the end of the day, if that troop ends up resurrecting the Great Serpent, I'm not dealin' with it!   Dazki: Wait, who said anything about "resurrecting the Great Serpent"?   Strider: How did you know about that?!   Dazki: You just mentioned it.   Strider: ...shit, that was the inside part.   Dazki: What "troop" is trying to resurrect them?   Strider: ...I'll give you a guess... I can't — I'm not — I've said too much. The way I see it, you go through the tunnel and deliver the sacred object to exactly where it's supposed to be, and then a bunch of bad shit happens. Or, you don't, and then the Great Serpent gets resurrected, and then we get all our land back. We get a more normal life.   Dazki: But... then "a bunch of bad shit" would happen to some other people.   Strider: Yeah, that's why I don't want to get involved. That's why you're gonna make a bunch of mistakes by getting involved.   Dazki: But if you could do something to help people, and you don't...   Strider: If I don't, then what? Their fate is in their hands.   Dazki: Why? If you can help them, why is it in their hands?   Strider: Sometimes, it's best to just leave something alone. Sometimes it's best to have the world decide what will happen. Sometimes, you're not good enough to do anything that would help, and trying to help would hinder something that could do it better.   Dazki: But you don't know if you're not good enough unless you try.   Strider: Well, I'm not taking the chance of finding out.   Dazki: All right. Certainly not going to try to make you, but thank you for your help. Thank you for the information you shared with us.   Strider: I didn't give you any information.   Dazki: Thank you for... not giving us misleading information.   Strider: Oh... that was an option... wait, can we do the conversation over?   Dazki: Unless you can erase my memory, I'm afraid not. Well, I'll let you get back to it. Thank you.

Fourth Watch: Elf + Grogery

Grogery: Anything interesting happen? Have any of those simulacra shown up again?   Dazki: Nothing interesting with the simulacra. I had a nice long conversation with Strider.   Grogery: Oh! Was it anything about Barry, or...?   Dazki: A little bit. A little bit about tribal politics, where the tunnel is, stuff like that.   Grogery: Probably stuff that's best gone over with the whole group, then?   Dazki: Yeah. Let's just say it's, uh... worse than we thought.   Grogery: OK, then. Definitely whole group stuff. Sure. All right.   Dazki: Also, the ticking sound has stopped. It was ticking a little bit during the last couple of hours, but it's not ticking anymore.   Grogery: I wonder if he came back and got the last two, or if they just can't function very well under this much water...   Dazki: Or if they just left.

The Next Day

Dwardazik: Damn. That was one of the rougher sleeps I've ever had. This damn humidity.   Grogery: Your beard does look curlier than usual.   Dazki: I've gotta agree with you there, Dwardazik. I am not a fan of this weather.   Kesmet: It's a little wet, but otherwise fine.   Dazki: Oh, by the way, Dwardazik, I wanted to say something to you.   Dwardazik: Hm? What's goin' on?   Dazki: I'm proud of you for not attacking the simulacrum of "The Metronome Man" when he came in to speak with us yesterday.   Kesmet, probably:

  Dwardazik: Oh. Well, I thought we might be able to grab some information, but I appreciate you thinkin' I did somethin' right!   Dazki: And I also wanted to let you know that — I realize you probably didn't notice this, but a lot of the times when we're in situations that seem a bit risky or dangerous, where you immediately go on guard, I try to be ready too. With a dagger in my hand. I just try to be more subtle about it, because if you let the enemy know you're afraid, you give them more power over you. Giving them permission to act more aggressively. So that's why I try to be a little bit more collected in situations like that, not quite as aggressive. It's not that I'm trying to play it off as "not dangerous", just that I don't want to give anyone the power over me that being on guard like that gives them.   Dwardazik: I can't help but feel like you overcomplicate certain things. Let's face it, if they're looking at me with my weapon and my shield (and my anger), they're not looking at you with the dagger in their back.   Dazki: I suppose that's one way to look at it.   Dwardazik: Just keep some cautious eyes. That goes for all of us. I have a feeling where we're goin' isn't gonna be anywhere friendly.   Dazki: You have no idea...   Dwardazik: Well. Why don't we go ahead and have something nice, before we end up in the inevitable swamp? You think those two stooges over there are interested? Easier to make one large meal. Maybe we can figure out what they're gonna be up to.   Grogery: They seemed to think, when we were offering them assistance last night, that it's transactional: that if we offer to help, it's necessarily requiring them to pay us back if we get into the same situation. So I'm fine with asking, but I'm not sure if they'd take it.   Dwardazik, yelling out to them: Hey! Strider! Eunectes! You want some food?   Strider, yelling back faintly: I think it's... the morning!

Dwardazik takes the lead on cooking breakfast for the group and asks for Marvin to tell a tale.

Grogery: Actually, Dazki learned some interesting information last night.   Dwardazik: Oh?   Dazki: Yeah, and I think this unfortunately takes precedence.   Marvin: Aww, man!

Dazki gives a brief summary of what Strider told him last night, over breakfast.

Grogery: Well, that's not great.   Dwardazik: So, we know for a fact that Strider knows where the entrance to this tunnel is.   Grogery: He's probably not gonna tell us.   Dazki: He knows roughly where it is.   Dwardazik: ...I can't believe the Swamp has done this to me, but... I know for a fact that Marvin can weasel it out of him by force. Are we at that point?   Dazki: I think Marvin can do it using his silver tongue, not necessarily magic. I would try to avoid that at all costs. He seems to be friendly enough to us that I don't want to risk burning that bridge.   Marvin: Well, what kind of angle should I take on it, though? He's gonna know that we're obviously all talking, clearly.   Dazki: Yeah. I don't know what angle you could take, to be completely honest.   Marvin: So, he didn't explain why he might think this war is going to happen?   Dazki: It has something to do with the new tunnel that they found, and a group that's attempting to resurrect the Great Serpent.   Marvin: Right. Oof. Heavy stuff.   Grogery: So, wait, this tunnel is new. And it's through a Modern Marvel of Magic and Engineering™. And we know who designed this Modern Marvel of Magic and Engineering™. And it's a man who has recently started to take action about things.   Dazki: Yes. That summarizes my thoughts as well.   Grogery: If we at least get to the hole in The Wall™, then that's a place that he's at least either been, or interacted with people who have been there.   Dazki: And we can't forget the other reasons why we're here. We have to take care of the Hounds Guild for Kesmet, —   Kesmet: Priority number one.   Dazki: — and see if we can't find a way to help Barry.   Kesmet: Oh right, that's also a thing.   Grogery: I feel like the Du'Radi might be a good avenue to take for that one, at least. They are people who have been influenced by Turmoil in the past. They might have inroads to people on the other side of The Wall™ who deal with that sort of thing.   Dazki: Seems reasonable. So, do we try to see if Strider will take us to meet with some Du'Radi elders, or do we go directly to The Wall™?   Grogery: Well, the Du'Radi elders might be in the direction of The Wall™.   Dazki: That's fair...   Grogery: They might even be on the other side of The Wall™, and — oh, OK, this is going to be kind of awkward. Are they going to consider Barry a colonist?   Dazki: I get the impression that they're not, on the other side of The Wall™.   Grogery: Oh right, it would be kind of hard to maintain tribal politics on either side, when the only way to get through in the past was this huge endeavor.   Dazki: Yeah. Although, who knows — they could have relocated recently, with the new tunnel.   Dwardazik: Too much speculation. Need more information.   Grogery: We could just go ask Strider. "Hey, are there Du'Radi? Are they in the same direction as The Wall™? Cool, now you don't need to get in trouble for taking us closer to there."   Dazki: We could try it.   Grogery: Also thinking that it might be interesting to see if Strider knows anything about the Red Desert. Probably not, but, you know, just in case. He's had interesting insights on the Turmoil and how people here view it.   Dazki: Worth an ask.   Metro, from nowhere visible: I thought you guys were currently more interested in dealing with the Hounds and Kesmet's weird backstory?   Dwardazik, startled: Who said that?!   Dazki: A man can have several interests.   Dwardazik: Who speaks?!   Marvin: Get out of my head... get out of my head!!!!   Kesmet: Is it another salesman?   Metro: I'm not in your head. Trust me, nobody wants to be there.   Grogery: Baxton would agree with you.   Metro: I'm willing to aid you. I do not care which of the two routes we take, and helping you would get me closer to finishing my contraption.   Marvin: Why would we want to help you?!   Dazki: A favor for a favor.   Metro: Tell me, what do you desire? What do you want?   Marvin: For this Turmoil shit to stop!   Metro: Somebody more reasonable?   Dwardazik: Are we really just gonna accept this shit goin' on right now?   Grogery: I want people to stop using these Turmoil occurrences to sacrifice other people for the sake of their own... guilt? Regret?   Metro: And what drives you, then, if not the fear that you could be doing better?   Grogery: That doesn't mean I'm going to hurt people.   Metro: Just moments ago, we were talking about manipulating yet another innocent victim.   Marvin: I was going to have a conversation with the man. I wasn't going to manipulate him. I've learned that that is not exactly the way to make friends.   Metro: Well, if I were you, I'd hurry up. This area won't stay secure for long, and I would really hate to see you fail to achieve... some semblance of your goals.   Dazki: And what is it that you, exactly, need from us? Other than the piece of your contraption, obviously?   Metro: That's it. That's all I need from you.   Dazki: And if we turn around and leave?   Metro: That would be nice. Yes, do that. I have other ways of getting the piece.   Dazki: But as long as we're in possession of it, they will not work. For now, at least.   Dwardazik, audibly frustrated: Stop talking to this manipulator. We're comin' for you!   Metro: I'm right here. OK, fine. Stay on your pedestals for now. Let me know if you need anything — I'll be listening.

Marvin: I hate it... I hate it! Dwardazik, what did you eat last night?!

Dwardazik suddenly lunges at a seemingly random spot in the room, attacking the empty space furiously. His weapon impacts the ground, slightly cracking some of the wooden floor.

Dwardazik: I CAN SEE YOU, YOU COWARD!!!   Grogery attempts to subdue Dwardazik, but it fails.   Kesmet: Wait, Dwardazik, do you see Dennis?! Where is he?!   Dwardazik: I CAN SEE THE DAMNED CREATURE WHISPERING TO US!!!   Grogery: Dwardazik, stop it! What are you doing?!   Dwardazik: I can see it! I can see the creature who's whispering these lies into our ears! My mace cannot hit it! (He points to that same random spot he just attacked.) Can't you see it?!   Grogery: No!   Dazki: I can't see anything. It looks like an empty space there.   Marvin: And what the hell is that thing growing out of your ear?!   Dwardazik: What?   Marvin: Your ear! Feel it!   Dwardazik: Why are you concerned about my ear?! Can't you see this demon in front of us?!   Grogery + Marvin: No!   Marvin: Either you've gone mad, or you're the only one who can see this. ...is that an eyeball on that thing?!   Metro just laughs.   Dwardazik: Can you... not see... —   Marvin: NO! We can't! We've said this! We can't see this!   Kesmet: I believe him. He shoots a firebolt at the spot where Dwardazik was swinging. It impacts on the ground.   Marvin: It's not that I don't believe him!   Dazki: I cannot see whatever it is you're pointing at, Dwardazik.   Kesmet: Dwardazik, did I get it?   Dwardazik just sighs.   Metro: Well, this was certainly enough of a distraction, and it's certainly bought me enough time for now. But do let me know if there's anything I can do for you!   Dwardazik: I'm coming for you. And I don't care where you hide.   Marvin: What did this thing look like, Dwardazik?

Dwardazik describes this guy:

Marvin: Was this thing's mouth moving, just as we heard that last line?   Dwardazik: Yes.   Marvin: OK. You can apparently see this guy. All right.   Dwardazik: I could not help but to be so furious in his constant meddling in our affairs, that I just had this moment of sheer anger. I just wanted to see where this bastard was. And then all of a sudden, I could!   Dazki: To be fair, we're meddling in his affairs as well...   Kesmet: Fuck his affairs!   Marvin: I agree with that!   Dwardazik: I am in control of myself. But the demon is real. We must find a way of being able to kill it, the next time it comes towards us. Wait a minute, so what the hell was this about my ear?   Marvin: Feel your ear, man!   Dazki: Yeah, you've got something coming out of it.

Dwardazik touches the tentacle, which immediately retracts back into his ear. He reacts as if he has regained hearing in that ear, and an editor didn't want to bother creating a whole new secret just to balance out the fact that the temporary deafness was technically only mentioned in a different secret.

Marvin: I think I'm gonna be sick... that's nasty...   Dwardazik: If you'll excuse me, my friends, I might need a few minutes to meditate. To calm myself from my rage... and my PURE... HATE...   Dazki: Deep breaths. Deep breaths. You got this.   Marvin: Aren't you concerned that there's a slug that just went right back into your brain?!   Grogery: Is it... permanent?!   Dwardazik: I must find the answers before I can answer them. (He sits down, cross-legged.)   Grogery: OK.   Dwardazik: I am in control.   Dazki: You just said that you were so filled with rage that the tentacle popped out of your ear, and you had to attack this creature floating in the air. That does not sound particularly "in control" to me.   Marvin, whispering to Dazki: Hey, man, just let him have this one, all right?   Dazki: All right.   Marvin: OK, well, I have an idea how to get through to Strider. I can go try to talk to him.   Grogery: We should probably try to take Barry. That might help.   Marvin: Do you think him being from the area will actually help me get through to Strider a bit?   Grogery: Well, I mean, it's more a "hey, we sort-of know what you've been through, because we have a companion who's definitely been through way more than that".   Marvin: Hmm.   Grogery: Maybe not the "losing an arm" thing, but...   Grogery: We're also trying to talk to Strider to see if we can get some in-roads to Du'Radi or possibly tribal people on the other side of The Wall™ who might be able to help us with what's going on with Barry. At least understand it a little bit better. Possibly find a way to reverse it.   Marvin: I'll take that approach as well.   Dazki: I mentioned it to him, and he didn't seem particularly concerned about it.   Marvin: Well, shit.   Dazki: But seeing Barry and having all that... might not hurt?   Marvin: OK. Well, he's seen him, though.   Grogery: I don't know if he's seen Barry's true form.   Dazki: We can talk to him about it again.   Marvin: OK.

Marvin approaches Strider and Eunectes.

Marvin: Hello, Eunectes! Strider! If I could have a moment of your time? Something I wanted to ask you about.   Strider holds up a finger as he finishes yet another conversation he seems to be having with nobody in particular. Marvin waits.   Strider: OK, what? What is it now?   Marvin: I know you're probably sick of talking to us by this point, but I did mean to ask you about Roamer and how that all went down, with him rescuing Kiirni. I guess I wanted to clear something up about what the intentions were, there, and it sounded like you and Roamer were friends? Are friends?   Strider: Kind-of "were", on-and-off, you know?   Marvin: I see. And that's who you were originally supposed to meet?   Strider: That's what I was told.   Marvin: Aren't you concerned about where those two might be now?   Strider: No.   Marvin: No?   Strider: I'm definitely more concerned about where you are now, than where they are now.   Marvin: Right, because colonists in the area and all that.   Strider: Uh-huh.   Marvin: Got it. Well, I was just really surprised how — yeah, at first, Roamer attacking us was not great, but at the end of the day, Dazki and myself, we were trying to help Kiirni get out of that situation ourselves! Her situation was clearly horrible, and it clearly seemed like they were just gonna kill her. Either by the hands of the evil torturer dude, or her people were just gonna kill her if they ever got a hold of her. Which is apparently —   Strider, holding up a finger: Wait, hold on, one second. (He turns his head away and speaks quietly, with pauses in between, again as if holding a completely separate conversation.) I literally can't talk to you right now. [...] I'm talking to someone else. [...] (He resumes talking with Marvin.)   Marvin: So, obviously in the moment, we were quite upset with almost dying at the hands of Roamer, but at the end of the day, I felt for them and their situation. Even though they kind of messed us up, I'm actually kinda glad that they got away and that they're possibly doing OK. They probably don't realize that we feel that way, but it was kind of ironic... I thought you might know more about their situation and where they might be? I'm not looking for them, I just —   Strider: I don't, — why are you telling me all of this, though?   Marvin: Because I thought you knew Roamer really well.   Strider: I do, but why do I... like, what's your end goal, mate? We can just do the end goal part. Because I really don't want to stay here all that long. There's no way that this is going to stay unoccupied.   Marvin: Just want to know, are they all right? That's all I wanted to know. Clearly, the timing and everything, if they're not already here, then... but if you don't know where they are, then —   Strider: OK, fine: yes and no. There you go.   Marvin: "Yes and no"? So, Kiirni's still in danger from her clan.   Strider: Well, if she's alive, then she's in danger.   Marvin: That's a shame. Real damn shame. Is there anything that we can do to help? Or is staying out of their business help enough?   Strider: OK. Listen, though. Like, I've already accidentally said a bunch of stuff, and I've made a ton of mistakes. And I'm gonna have him get mad at me. So, I'm gonna shut my mouth.   Marvin: "Him"? Roamer?   Strider: Him, currently. Maybe her later, who knows?   Marvin: Is that who you're talking to telepathically? It seems like you're regularly able to telepathically communicate with people.   Strider: Oh, I can read minds, but Roamer's found some Sending. So that's cool. He does not like you, and... and that's it. That's all I'm going to say. Nope.   Marvin: That's understandable, but... I mean, if you're in communication with him, I would like to apologize for trying to grab him as a bird with my big hand. I'm actually glad that they got away.   Strider: OK. Cool. Great. I can't Send, though.   Marvin: That's OK, I could Send to them if I wanted to. I already Sent to Kiirni once after they got away. She also seems upset at me, for whatever reason. I just — it was a tense situation, and —   Strider: Why are we doing this right now?   Marvin: Sorry, I thought you were more connected with Roamer and Kiirni.   Strider: OK, well, I don't want to stay around this camp any more than I have to.   Marvin: So, can you communicate telepathically with just straight-up anyone? How far does this go? Sorry, this is a really interesting ability you have!   Strider: OK... yeah, I can read people's thoughts if I think about it.   Marvin: Wait, can you read my thoughts? Right now?   Strider: I mean, I guess?   Marvin: OK, I'm thinking of something. Go for it! (He starts thinking of a nice hot turkey dinner.)   Strider: Yeah, I'm not really sure about the whole bird situation, though.   Marvin: What's the range on that?! That's amazing!   Strider: I dunno, just, mind-hearing distance? What do you want from me?!   Marvin: Can you, like, Send back to people?   Strider: No!   Marvin: But you've been, like, talking under your breath —   Strider: Yeah, people are Sending to me. TO ME!   Marvin: That's... wow, that's really impressive.   Strider: Yeah, yeah, totally, it's really great. Um, you'll never be able to do it, —   Marvin: Aww, man!   Strider: — but that's OK, I'm sure you have a bunch of colonist powers or something, I don't know.   Marvin: Colonists don't just... natively "have powers".   Strider: Oh. Sucks to be you then, huh?   Marvin: Yeah, yeah it kinda does.   Strider: OK, well, I'm gonna leave.   Marvin: OK, Strider, sorry I took up so much of your time. We should probably get moving soon too.   Strider: Great. OK. And remember, I told your friend not to do any of the things, and to just go home. So, maybe you should do that, too? You can convince him. You seem convincing.   Marvin: Well, we can't, though.   Strider: ...oh yeah... you can't, can you...   Marvin: No. We can't.   Strider: All right! Well, have fun being lost in the Swamp. (He turns and starts walking away.)   Marvin: You know, I'll be honest, we could get out of the Swamp faster if we finished what we were trying to do sooner. Which would benefit you —   Strider, still walking away: Don't want to be part of your deaths. Bye.   Marvin: That would just solve your problem faster! If we were to just end up dying, then your problem gets solved quicker, wouldn't it?   Strider, stopping: It's not that you're a problem, all right?   Marvin: Sounds like we are a problem for you. You keep telling us to go home, and we're still here.   Strider: That's very problematic, yes. But at the end of the day, I'm not gonna force the issue, man.   Marvin: All right, well, when we go see the Du'Radi, we'll tell 'em you sent us.   Strider: OK. Will do. OK, talk to you later. Bye. (He starts walking away again.)

Kesmet replaces his old shoes with his new boots, as Marvin returns to the rest of the party.

Grogery: Hey, Marvin, did you talk to Strider about the Red Desert?   Marvin: He is a brick wall, that one.   Grogery: OK, then.   Marvin: And he can read all of our minds with no struggle, period.   Grogery: So, he probably already knows about Barry, then.   Marvin: He has absolutely zero trouble. You know how, normally, you can kind-of resist it? Nah, it just, cuts right through. No problem.   Grogery: He just eavesdrops on your thoughts?   Marvin: Yeah, he can totally just do that. And apparently, there's hardly a range restriction on it.   Kesmet: So, the entire time, he's just been hearing my mind, going "Dennis, Dennis, Dennis, Dennis, Dennis"?   Marvin: If he chooses to, then I'm sure!   Dazki: I was able to talk with him somewhat last night. He didn't seem like that much of a brick wall. He certainly didn't want to help us —   Marvin: That's what I was getting at.   Dazki: OK.   Marvin: No, he just wants us gone. Period. I told him we'd go find the Du'Radi, tell them he sent us. We should do that.   Dazki: And how do you propose we do that?   Marvin: Let's figure it out! I dunno.   Dazki sighs.   Marvin: What are our leads at this point?   Dazki: Our only "lead" at the moment is to go to The Wall™. And I have no idea what direction that's in. Plus, as Kesmet mentioned earlier, he can fly above the treeline. It didn't seem like a great idea at the time, because we were trying to stay together for the night, but —   Marvin: Yeah, it's light out now, so that's certainly an option.   Dazki: So we can figure out how to get to The Wall™, but then there's finding the tunnel somewhere near the Great Serpent and dealing with all the tribal politics and the tribes between here and there. It's gonna be a shitshow.   Marvin: You'd better believe it! Well, let's find out where that Wall™ is.   Dwardazik rises from his meditation.   Dwardazik: Something about finding where The Wall™ is?   Dazki: I guess? I wish we could have talked Strider into at least, you know, letting us see some of his tribal elders or something like that to see if we can get some assistance navigating. But, (he motions to Marvin) apparently, that didn't work out too well.   Marvin: He has no interest in helping us. Colonists and all that, right?   Barry: I mean, you did call him lazy last night.   Dazki: All right. So, I guess we need to figure out which way The Wall™ is, and see if we can use any of these rowboats or something, instead of trudging and swimming through this water. Marvin, Kesmet, one of you have the ability to fly, right?   Dwardazik: Are we doin' that scouting idea?   Dazki: We need to at least figure out which way The Wall™ is, because that's the direction we need to head. So if one of you guys could fly above the treeline?

Kesmet flies up. Kesmet returns to the party.

Kesmet: So, there's a big-ass snake — and I mean, really of the big-ass variety — with a giant sword through its head. Also, I think The Wall™'s thaddaway, because there's, like, a wasteland.   Dazki: OK, and we are looking for the part of the wall near the "big-ass snake". Based on this paper we found earlier, probably somewhere near the thirteenth rib, or something? It has the number thirteen. That's probably where the tunnel is.

Dazki: And who here is good at rowing ("piloting"?) a boat?   Dwardazik: If you need someone to row a boat, it's not much more difficult than simply following a tune. If you've ever heard a shanty or any other kind of tune in a bar, then you know how to row a boat.   Marvin: Well, in that case, you've got just the guy!   Dwardazik: I'll show ya how to do it.

They set off on a pair of rowboats.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Dwardazik: Well, at least it's not as bad as it could be, right? I mean, ... ...bah, this sucks.   Dazki: I think it's the best we're going to be able to get here.   Dwardazik fashions a makeshift... thing that he can sit on.   Dwardazik: Ugh. Might as well make the best of it. Let's secure the perimeter, check for the driest section possible. Dazki, do you see anything in the surrounding trees that might be of concern? Kesmet, do you think you might be able to assist in drying out some of this soil in the surrounding area? Marvin and Grogery... um... do what you do best?   Dazki: How about if Marvin and Grogery start getting to work on setting up the tents? See if you can get a campfire started.   Marvin: Sure. Well, we'll get the wood for it... we've got Kesmet for... yeah...   Grogery: While we're setting up the tents, Marvin, I need to talk to you a bit.   Marvin: Of course.

Dazki looks through the trees, Kesmet dries out what Dwardazik asked him to dry out, and Dwardazik places a bunch of sticks down as spikes for a makeshift barricade. Marvin and Grogery start their preparations as well.

Grogery: So, Marvin...   Marvin: Yeah?   Grogery: What happened this morning was a bit of a shock to a lot of people, I think.   Marvin: You're talking about the slug in the ear?   Grogery: Yeah. So, I don't know what sorts of tricks bards have available, but if it comes down to it, do you have something that would do a better job of immobilizing him? Keeping him distracted?   Marvin: Oh, I can make him dance for as long as we need to. That's surefire. I can try to immobilize him too like you, but I can make him dance.   Grogery: Does that work if people are attacking him?   Marvin: It'll work for at least a short duration, after which he might be able to get out of it. If he can't, he just keeps goin'.   Grogery: OK. If one wants to make a threat, it doesn't really mean a lot unless the threat has teeth, you know what I mean?   Marvin: Absolutely.   Grogery: I've been concerned for a while about what would end up happening if something happened to push Dwardazik too far.   Marvin: That is concerning. Very little can stop that man.   Grogery: There are things that can stop him. I think if it was a straight fight between the two of us, we would probably tie.   Marvin: Hmm... never thought about it that way...   Grogery: He can keep swinging, but I have tricks that I've never had to use on people before.   Marvin: That's also concerning. (note to self, don't fuck with Grogery) But I can get him to dance for a little bit. Just let me know.   Grogery: I honestly don't think it's ever going to get that far, but it gives me a little more confidence to know that there's someone else in my corner, you know?   Marvin: Same. I really hope it doesn't come to that. But you can count on me, though.   Grogery: OK. And here's hoping it doesn't come to anything like that. I really don't want to have to do anything like that, but I honestly... is it too prideful for me to say that I'm probably the best person to make the decision if...   Marvin: I dunno, Grogery, is pride a horrible sin in your religion?   Grogery: Part of the tenet is to always aid. If you put yourself before others, then that hinders that.   Marvin: OK, so, nothing wrong with being prideful?   Grogery: It's just a personal hangup for me, because as I'm coming to learn, when you're surrounded by people who don't respect you, you tend not to respect your own authority on things. But now I'm no longer in that situation.   Marvin: I would certainly hope so. You definitely have our respect around here, that's for damn sure.   Grogery: OK, I need to do a bit more thinking on things, but, thanks.   Marvin: All right, Grogery the Mighty.   Grogery: Ha.

Dazki heads over to Dwardazik and shakes him on the shoulder.

Dazki: Hey, Dwardazik? You there?   No response from Dwardazik.   Dazki, snapping his fingers in front of Dwardazik's face: Hello? Hey! ...(He calls out to the others.) shit, guys, I think we've got a problem!   Marvin, coming over: He's just sitting there?!   Dazki: Yeah, he's not responding.   Marvin plays his mandolin loudly, right in front of Dwardazik. Nothing.   Kesmet: Maybe he has a mind wound that needs cauterizing?   Grogery: Stop.

Dazki reaches for Dwardazik's hammer. As he does, the muddy surface around Dwardazik erupts into hundreds of wooden stakes that go every which way, as if the area was trapped, but everybody dodges all of them.

Marvin: Shit, weren't these the spikes he was working on?!   Dazki: Yeah... that's what I'm gathering... (He reaches for Dwardazik's hammer again, and this time he is able to take it.) Yeah, something's definitely wrong. Grogery, could —   Grogery: I don't have anything to help with this!   Dazki: — could you see if there's, I don't know, medicine or something?   Marvin, angrily: Oh, I've got something that'll wake this asshole up!   Dazki: No, let's see if it's something that's not magical, first.   (Medicine 24) I dunno, he seems fine.   Grogery: Yeah, this is entirely what's going on with the Turmoil. I don't have any magic that can counter that. Healing stuff, but...   Dwardazik stands up.   Dwardazik: I'm sorry for that.   Marvin: Yeah, you mind explaining the shish kebab attempt?!   Dazki, holding the hammer back far away: What's going on? You had us really scared for you, there. What's going on, man?   Dwardazik: The best way to describe it... Dazki, you tell me over and over again that I need to be a better dwarf. And, I think you may not be merely speaking to me. There is no other way to describe it than that I have a passenger along with me. And I have done my best to teach them lessons from all of you. And at this time, due to the proximity of The Wall™, they have grown faster than they perhaps would have expected. And because of this, I am struggling to teach them certain lessons... and in this case, I think the most important lesson is what I just said: of trust. Dazki, if you don't mind, I would be fine with you holding onto that hammer for the rest of this evening.   Dazki: Um... if that's what you want, sure. If something happens, if you need it back, I'm giving it right back to you.   Marvin, slowly and cautiously: Why would he need to hold onto it for the rest of the night, Dwardazik? What would happen if he doesn't?   Dwardazik: When you joined us, Marvin, did you trust us? With your life? Surely, you were a bit wary. Were we not just strangers?   Marvin: Absolutely. I didn't know you guys at the time, but I've grown quite fond of this group, here. That's for damn sure.   Dwardazik: And we've all lived through terrible things, struggled, and my life has been saved by you folks more times than I can count. ...well, I can count, but...   Dazki: I get the sentiment.   Dwardazik: I trust you guys. Sometimes, I don't say it, but I trust you guys. With my life. And sometimes you have to lead by example. My companion — which is how I will refer to the passenger, the Turmoil entity inside me — is not an enemy. It's learning. It needs guidance and care. So I would ask that you treat them as someone who needs encouragement and trust, so they may learn as I have learned how to entrust my life with you folks. If you would be willing to take that risk for me.   Marvin: You trust this guest that much?   Dwardazik: It's a part of me.   Marvin: Well, trust goes both ways...   Dazki: All right. You ask for my trust, Dwardazik, you have it implicitly.   Dwardazik: Please overlook this moment.   Kesmet, urgently: Does this passenger know anything about Dennis?   Dwardazik: ...perhaps... that is something that can be explored, later... but for now, with the closeness of The Wall™ and our surroundings, it is simply a very difficult and violent time.   Kesmet: Hmm... OK...   Dwardazik sits back down in the mud.   Dazki: Are you and your passenger going to be able to keep watch tonight? Do you think that would be reasonable? Or should we prepare for watches without you?   Dwardazik: Why don't you prepare a watch without me...   Dazki: OK.   Marvin: We can adjust accordingly.   They adjust their planned watch order, Grogery being last and alone.   Grogery: I'm fine with this, but before I go to sleep, I have something I need to say to the companion.   Dwardazik: Speak to me and it would hear.   Grogery: All right. I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to whatever it is that's living inside you, OK? I don't know if you're intelligent or if you can actually mentally respond to anything I'm about to say, but if you can understand anything, understand this: there are only two reasons why we've allowed you to continue being here. Firstly, we care about the safety of Dwardazik as a free and living being. And secondly, we care about other people's safety and agency, and you have not (to my knowledge) caused any net harm in that regard.   Grogery (cont'd): But if you make it clear that letting you stick around is going to cause problems for either of those things, then you simply will not be allowed to stay. Dwardazik has a soul and will go to whichever afterlife suits him best, but I would prefer if you did not force my hand. Nothing would make me happier than for you to be a force for good — being a cleric of Pelor means striving to make the best out of every situation, and being a member of this party means trusting my allies, including you and Dwardazik — however, there are lines that we don't allow other people to cross, and I won't allow either you or Dwardazik to cross them either, all right?   Dwardazik: You make it afraid. I honestly thought, perhaps, better of you, Grogery. But I appreciate your sentiment and keeping me safe. The companion does not mean me harm.   Grogery: Whether or not it means you harm is only half of the equation.   Dazki: I think what Grogery means to say is that, if it refuses to learn the lessons — to respect others, to do good into this world — if it chooses to actively cause harm, then his hand will be forced. That he doesn't want to do it, but that he will, to protect himself and others. I don't think it's meant to be anything to frighten your guest, I think he's just saying that there will be tough love, if necessary. It doesn't come out of a place of anger or hatred, it comes out of a place of wanting to love and preserve everything that is. Is that a fairly accurate assessment of what you were trying to say, Grogery?   Grogery: Yes. Everything about this journey since we started in Muckwater has been about making difficult choices, and sometimes having to deal with harsh decisions. I just wanted to make it known that I'm not going to stand idly by and let something continue to cause harm if I can help.   Dazki: That being said, we are here to support and to help you, and to help your guest learn.   Dwardazik: I appreciate it. It's going to be, perhaps, a trying few days. It will work, and we will defeat our enemies. We will survive this.   Dazki: We don't even necessarily know that we need to defeat them. We might be able to come to an understanding with them. I'm hoping we will be able to try peaceful solutions first. Call me naïve for believing that, but I really think we should try.   Marvin: While I don't think "The Metronome Man" has good intentions here, I do see that he's probably powerful enough to have already attacked us if he wanted to.   Grogery: His intentions seem to be to reverse the decision to put up The Wall™, in some way.   Dazki: I think he has good intentions, but as we've seen with the others that have been helping this Mirage Prime: good intentions, poor methodology.   Marvin: Let's be real, if this time travel nonsense can actually... clearly, something happened to us just a day ago, but trying to change the past? As horrible a thing that may have happened, I think the consequences of changing the past would be even worse.   Dazki: Yeah, no, I'm saying he wants to undo the damage that was done. That is a noble goal, to fix your mistakes. But the way he's going about it — by trying to change the past — is, I believe, a poor methodology.   Grogery: If you can change the past so that a mistake like this never happened, then you're just asking for someone to come along and make the same mistake in the future. If he undoes The Wall™, and then someone with just as much brilliance as he had comes along and decides to put up A Wall™, then the exact same thing still happens.   Dazki: Yep. Work towards fixing the future, not changing the past.   Dwardazik: I believe my companion is all right, and I believe we all understand. Thank you all. We should focus on our next actions.   Marvin: Is there a name, or is it just going to be "companion" / "guest" / "visitor"?   Dwardazik: "Companion", for now.

Night

First and Second Watches: Barry and Dazki

Nothing of interest happens.

Third Watch: Marvin and Kesmet

Dazki: Hey, do you guys think Dwardazik's going to be all right?   Kesmet: Oh, fuck no, he didn't seem like Dwardazik at all.   Marvin: I'm about 50/50 on that. I'm preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.   Dazki: All right. I guess we should just — as much as I hate to say it — keep an eye on him and be careful?   Marvin: Yeah. Can't imagine what he's going through right now.   Dazki: I'm hoping whatever it is, we can be there to help him with it, but we should unfortunately definitely make sure to watch ourselves.   Marvin: Gotcha.

Metro: I get it, OK?   Kesmet immediately shoots the salamander with a fire bolt. It dies, but continues to speak.   Metro: You guys are such a strange and vast crew. It's strange, a group of individuals far-flung, somehow getting together to ruin specifically my plan. You spoke earlier of coincidence, but that just seems... orchestrated. I mean, your timelines sing so beautifully together.   Marvin: You know, we're trying to rest here. Do you mind?   Metro: You're not resting.   Marvin: No, but our companions are.   Metro: I'm speaking through a small salamander. I will not wake them. My power is great here.   Marvin: OK, yeah, clearly. I would try to make a joke here, but I believe that statement, and I don't want to egg you on. So, what exactly is it you want?   Metro: I would like the Rotor of Return.   Marvin: That's it?   Metro: That's it.   Marvin: And you're going to undo the past with this?   Metro: I would really wish that you guys never met each other. Honestly, the song produced is so beautiful that one might be brought to tears, but such beauty cannot exist forever.   Marvin: And so you'd rather undo something than have it happen and remember it?   Metro: You guys just... ugh. I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to help you be emotionally satisfied. And I'm not understanding what I can do to help you.   Kesmet shoots another fire bolt.   Marvin: OK, is there... you want the Rotor of Return. You're going to stop The Wall™ from ever being built with this? Is that right?   Metro: Mmm... I don't think I have the power to do that.   Marvin: So what are you going to do?   Metro: I feel like, if The War had gone a different way — if I were less of a monster — then the world would be better. And though I can't seem to figure out how to get back to stop myself, I feel like if I manipulate the song of time enough, things will be remedied.   Marvin: Obviously, it caused a lot of death and pain for a lot of people. But having it go the other way will just cause a lot of death and pain for a different group of people.   Metro: And doesn't that balance it out, though?   Another fire bolt from Kesmet.   Metro: Those slayers being slain? Those slain, the slayers, doesn't this all cancel out?   Marvin: No, the scale is just tipped on the other side. It doesn't balance out.   Metro: You only hear one melody. You do not hear the harmonies within.   Marvin: You would hear both melodies, everyone else would just hear the one that you want to make.   Metro: I do not care of but one instrument in the chorus.   Marvin: You don't care that no one else will hear the pain from before, only the new pain. You just care that you, personally, would be satisfied by the change? Why not change today? Why not change what happens now?   Metro: That's plan B. That's if you don't give me back the Rotor. And yet, I would still be the villain, for this war can be restarted. It can be rewritten.   Marvin: So, you just want death and pain?   Metro: I want what I want. What do you want?   Marvin: I want no more death and pain caused by Turmoil. That's what I want.   Metro: No more death and pain?   Marvin: From Turmoil. I want this Turmoil nonsense done with. This whole Mirage Prime thing? The Red Desert? And everything? No more of that.   Metro: The Desert? We don't need the Desert. We have a perfectly good plane here. Why have him travel to a different dimension when we can keep him here?   Another fire bolt from Kesmet.   Marvin: "Him"? So you do want to bring this old god to our plane?   Metro: "Bring him"? He's here.   Marvin: In the form of Turmoil everywhere?   Metro: No, no, that's just some extra stuff. Uncontrolled. Most things have a god watching over it. This does not, but what if it did? Hehe... what if it did, though!   Marvin: Honestly, I think the very people that you're trying to save would also just end up dying. The very people whose song you want sung so brilliantly would have a depressing chorus.   Metro: Well, since you so despise death exclusively caused by Turmoil, then I will give you a gift.   Marvin: I don't need anything from you.   Metro: Sounds like you do! Now, there are many a demon and devil and monstrosity not cooked up by this mysterious force you so fear and blame everything on.   Marvin: I don't blame everything on this. But people like you, clearly using it for their own selfish purposes, yeah. I can clearly see how you're getting a lot out of this.   Metro: And fire isn't being used "selfishly", either? Or the wonderful powers of healing, not being used "selfishly"?   Marvin: Are you trying to equate Turmoil to natural phenomena like fire?   Metro: Yes.   Marvin: You see how that metaphor just doesn't work, right?   Metro: Nope. But that's OK. Nothing has to really make sense, does it? For example: this man I'm about to bring you is definitely going to die, but I know you need information. Just because the song of time demands his death, there's no reason why I shouldn't let him discuss stuff with you before he dies!   Marvin: ... ... ...what man?