Issue 17: Going Off the Rails

If you Pirate this issue, you go to Hell when you die

Train Map Here: https://imgur.com/a/O6yui5K

Cover art: Adam Rebottaro

Intro music: Mathew Mozzoni

Background music: Ian Fisher

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:30

Face front true believers, we're back with another exciting issue of the reboot.

SPEAKER_09 0:36

That's right. An issue where we get to go on a train.

SPEAKER_04 0:41

On a ghost train.

SPEAKER_09 0:45

That's right, baby.

SPEAKER_04 0:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 0:46

I know it's been like a month since we were last recorded, but.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

So actually, since it's been a month, why don't we get a little recap from our friend the voice in Ryo's head?

SPEAKER_09 0:56

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 0:57

Uh. And he uh the voice has to input. I'm not telling you anything.

SPEAKER_09 1:09

Yeah, it sounds about right.

SPEAKER_04 1:11

Uh meanwhile, you three, plus two extras, uh have been tasked by one uh Tobacco Slim the Hobo King, uh, who has received a missive from his friend Boxcars Erasmus, the Hobo King of Oklahoma City.

SPEAKER_09 1:29

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Boxcars Erasmus. I remember his highly literate ministrations delivered through, frankly, what was Tobacco Slim's best vocal performance he has given in many a fortnight.

SPEAKER_04 1:46

Uh who has uh who has uh made contact with a member of uh uh Tobacco's son Picante Slim's uh traveling party. Uh long story short, uh in his quest to find the sword of the one true hobo king, has taken him to the afterlife. Yeah, you know. And so you, uh Lot, the three of you, uh plus Paige Turner and uh King Arthur have uh ventured into the afterlife as well, uh, in uh seeks of finding a place called Madame Rand Cirque de Fantôme. And uh in your journeys, you have arrived at a train station and gotten your tickets, which you always had.

SPEAKER_09 2:31

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_04 2:33

Uh and uh you are about to board a train that has just started pulling up.

SPEAKER_06 2:41

Oh gee, I hope it's like a normal train.

SPEAKER_09 2:45

I hope nothing spooky happens. Uh I hope none of us play Final Fantasy.

SPEAKER_06 2:54

You know, if I had a nickel for every time there was some sort of weird train in Final Fantasy XIV. I'd have like a handful of nickels.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

Yeah, it's weird that it's happened so many times.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Uh Rio's the one in the kitchen.

SPEAKER_04 3:14

Rio keeps getting jump scared by ghosts. Yeah, Rio Rio uh wandered onto the wrong platform and uh uh is is is it's frightened by the uh um by the signs directing her to the correct platform instead.

SPEAKER_09 3:39

I'm sorry. It's literally raining sideways here and it was getting inside.

SPEAKER_04 3:44

Oh my god. Um okay, so uh the uh train uh has pulled up. Um as I said last time, in case you have uh forgotten there are no tracks until the train appears. Oh my god.

unknown 4:06

I forgot.

SPEAKER_04 4:07

Uh the the the tracks appear about, you know, maybe fifth ten to fifteen feet in front of the train and ten to fifteen feet behind the train. Right. Uh which you can't see because there are a number of of cars attached to the uh the uh front of the train here as it pulls up. Uh it is a an immaculate, splendid looking train. Um just like this this uh like bright red wood paneling, gold trim around the edges. Uh you see um a plaque on the front of the uh of the engine car at the front uh bearing the train's name. Uh and it says, ironically named uh in this beautiful cursive letters, it says the living luxury.

SPEAKER_09 4:56

Nice. Nice. Incredible timing with that with that thunder.

SPEAKER_04 5:00

Yeah. Um the train uh comes to a stop, the brakes screech as it comes to a stop, um, and uh the doors open and you hear uh the staff inside go uh give out their standard Oh uh and you are allowed onto the train along with a handful of other ghosts that have uh have also joined you on this platform.

SPEAKER_09 5:28

Uh yeah, there's like a moment of kind of anxious looking around.

SPEAKER_04 5:37

Holy shit. That was just Terror's recording.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Uh that was like right next to us.

SPEAKER_06 5:55

Now we can hear the rain. That's crazy. It's uh that lightning bolt like take out part of your building's roof or something, and then it's just letting water in.

SPEAKER_09 6:05

You would think that it just like put a hole in the whole house. Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 6:11

That's nuts.

SPEAKER_09 6:12

That's crazy. It is calming down downstairs.

SPEAKER_04 6:17

Um gosh, sorry, I got thrown off. You're you're all good. Uh yeah, the train so the train is here and you are allowed to allow to go on.

SPEAKER_09 6:24

Yeah, there's that moment of like hesitation, and then Ryo kind of looks back at at uh Pluto and Ollie, and it's like, well, I mean it's going where we're going. I've never been on a train before.

SPEAKER_06 6:38

Neither have I.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

You know? Neither are I.

SPEAKER_06 6:42

That's not how they talk. That's not how they talk now. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

That's right. It's been it's been a while.

SPEAKER_04 6:46

Uh their youthful exuberance came out for a little bit. That's all. Yeah, because you're going on a train, you feel like a little kid going on a train.

SPEAKER_07 6:51

Yeah, I think I think we were just like, neither have I.

SPEAKER_06 6:55

There we go. That's more.

SPEAKER_09 6:56

That's better. Uh and yeah, there's kind of like a I mean, it's a weird feeling. It's uh almost excitement, because like, you know, train, but also you know, they are kind of all in the underworld, I guess. So uh yeah, no. Ryo grabs the like the little handles on either side of the door and then just like hoists herself up inside, right?

SPEAKER_04 7:20

Uh yeah, you see you see one of the crewmen in like, you know, in the like uh a neatly pressed, like red and gold trim uh uniform. Uh and he he uh is standing is standing tall and and uh very formal as he he gestures out for you to board, he welcomes you in, and he gives you all a smile. Uh he he gestures out, and uh you get the interior, you get to see the interior of the train, which I happen to have. Right? Um hold on one second here. Uh since I lost all of my uh Discord good boy points.

SPEAKER_06 8:03

That's right, our PayPig era is finally over.

SPEAKER_09 8:06

Discord paypig era is over. I was never a Discord pay pig.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah, let's be fair. Uh one. But I also that era.

SPEAKER_09 8:16

I also uh did rely heavily on Ben and Saturn being Discord pay pigs.

SPEAKER_06 8:21

I was a Discord pay pig for uh I think nine years.

SPEAKER_09 8:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 8:26

There, that's better. That'll fit now.

SPEAKER_06 8:28

I was a Discord pay pig when they first let you be a Discord pay pig because I was like, I like this service, I'd like them to have a little walking around. The train. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_09 8:38

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_06 8:39

Wow, that's a big map.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

Um so I obviously did not want to fit this all in one long thing. So it goes in a in an S pattern. So the end of the car on the on the right uh leads to the next uh the next row uh start of the train on the left.

SPEAKER_09 8:56

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:57

Uh so it it's kind of it's kind of snaking a little bit that way.

SPEAKER_09 9:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_06 9:02

Um it it it is, I will say, it is very I like I've never seen this map before. But it is very funny looking at it and remembering the time I did a train heist for Blades in the Dark and being able to tell that this person and I definitely referenced the same maps of trains. Of like actual train actual train car layouts.

SPEAKER_04 9:26

Shout out to Tom Cartos, who also did the school map when we did our live session. Oh he is a a cornucopia of good map designs that it will be featuring prominently in this campaign. Yay! Um you all have entered on the um the uh fourth car here, so the dining cart here is where you're allowed, where where your entrance is. There's another there's other entrances where the other ghosts are getting on board, but you're uh on here. Um and you are kind of uh uh led you know to sit wherever you want in the meantime. Um your train ticket, as you notice, says that this trip will take a couple days, so there are sleeping carts uh that you can uh you will be able to travel through, uh private uh rooms for that. Um and you don't have any real luggage to take, but other ghosts do have luggage and they're those are being carried off by the uh um the train uh crew to show to put in the the last two cars for storage.

SPEAKER_09 10:31

Ryo slowly leaning over to Ollie to mutter, I guess you actually can take it with you.

SPEAKER_06 10:39

I don't get it.

SPEAKER_09 10:44

It's a saying about mortality and how uh you know I mean you you know you can't take anything with you when you die, you know?

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Um there there are there are a couple uh ghosts already on the train uh who just aren't getting off at the stop, but you see, uh kind of like when you were at the ticket booth, you see people from every era. You know, there's there's people dressed in Victorian style, uh more modern outfits. You actually see one or two people that are in fact wearing makeshift superhero costumes.

SPEAKER_09 11:18

Oh, that's rough, buddy. It's a hard place.

SPEAKER_04 11:22

There's a few that uh that that gave it their all, and their all was not enough.

SPEAKER_09 11:26

Right.

SPEAKER_04 11:27

Um anyone who looks familiar? No, no one looks familiar. Uh but um yeah, you know, it's not that small of a world, but uh and then as after all the passengers are on, uh the doors close behind you, and uh the train starts up and it it starts taking off, and uh uh Ollie, you feel someone tap on your shoulder. Um and it is uh one of the one of the crewmen of the train, uh, and he he nods politely at you and he says, uh first time I take it.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

There's not usually a whole lot of return trips, are there?

SPEAKER_04 12:12

No, not uh not as it is, as it were, but uh if this is your first time riding the trains, I would suggest you make your way to one of the uh one to the uh seating car and uh keep an eye out the window. It's quite a show.

SPEAKER_09 12:32

So uh what exactly is this uh Cirque du Phantome place we're going to anyways? Do you know anything about it?

SPEAKER_04 12:40

Ah, Cirque de Phantom, yes, yes, I am I am aware of the name. I personally have not been, but this train does make stops there occasionally. Uh it is um he kind of thinks of the best way to describe it to those who are still among the living. Uh he says, Well, it is um I mean the name describes it pretty well. It is a a ghost circus. A uh what you would expect, a a kind of carnival, a traveling circus. There's acts and performances and all kinds of of sights to behold, rides on occasion. It is uh for it is a place where people go to be entertained. Um like all places it has its fair share of secrets. Uh he kind of gestures at you at U5 and he's like adventurers, I take it.

SPEAKER_09 13:32

Yeah. Something like that, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:34

Uh Pluto looks at one of the uh armored ghosts accompanied them, and uh it kind of shrugs, and then the other another one nearby just kind of like nods tentatively.

SPEAKER_04 13:45

Uh he says, I see. Uh yes, Circle Phantom is a place with its secrets as well, so I'm sure you're bound to have uh an adventure or two there. I I think you'll have a quite a good time, actually.

SPEAKER_09 14:00

Good to know. I think like as they're you know, kind of going from the dining car to find us a place to sit, Ryo is like, why the heck would Picante Slim go to a ghost carnival? Like I don't understand.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Listen, I'm not I'm not gonna be too judgmental about about what the kind of person Pacante Slim might be, but I imagine if you had a dad like Tobacco Slim, you've probably seen all there is to see in life, and might need a little more excitement than just going to like what constitutes a theme park post-reboot, you know?

SPEAKER_09 14:51

I mean, this is kind of the only way you can ride a roller coaster, which is crazy, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_09 14:57

The only way you're gonna be able to ride a roller coaster after the reboot, I suppose. So that's one way to do it. Also, oats, you're like a little quiet.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah, my oh wait, hold on. Uh is this any better? Much better. Uh Mike shifted a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 15:13

I I could have s I I I could have sworn we were in a roller coaster before when we got in that uh that minecart with with propulsion man.

SPEAKER_09 15:22

I mean, yeah. That is what I think.

SPEAKER_06 15:26

That's what he called it anyway. Is that not is that not what that is?

SPEAKER_09 15:29

It is kind of similar, but it's usually not so terrifying.

SPEAKER_04 15:34

There's a little there's a little uh caption bot uh bubble in the bottom of the panel that says, see Minecart Madness one shot, true believers.

SPEAKER_06 15:45

If you were if you keep up with the comic, you f you remember the cover for that, which is nakedly like an edit of one of the Minecart levels from Donkey Kong costume, but with the cast of reboot.

SPEAKER_04 15:56

Including Ollie for some reason wearing a red necktie that she did not wear in that issue.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Right, right, right. I I was gonna say, like, uh I think we also had in our um in our notes for time skips, uh Ollie did take them to one of the last remaining, like, wooden roller coasters.

SPEAKER_09 16:14

True. Right. We got up to a lot of stuff in a two-year time skip that we have that we came up with to reference. And Eddie Green was just kind of like nodding along, like, yeah, yeah, no, maybe the roller coasters. I mean, it's not like they're gonna kill ya. Maybe the roller coasters in the afterlife are way crazier, right?

SPEAKER_04 16:36

Mm-hmm. Uh, could be, could be.

SPEAKER_09 16:41

And then they kinda I think she kinda leads the charge to go find some seats.

SPEAKER_04 16:46

Yeah, so there's so the sixth cart, as you can see, as you walk past the the bar, and for folks, I'll put this this map in the show description notes so you all can see it as well. The sixth cart is kind of like a seating area, and then the seventh cart is a uh more private seating area.

SPEAKER_09 17:02

Right. I see. Um Yeah, I think just with they just grab the first seats like available to them, you know? Okay.

SPEAKER_04 17:13

Uh as you guys walk past the bar, the five of you walk past, you know, the the dining cart, the there's a little bar cafe there, and then the public seating area, uh you're getting a lot of stares.

SPEAKER_09 17:27

Um I mean, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

None of them seem judgmental or suspicious, but they're you are getting the uh the the curiosity stares. The there's there's people that are just oh.

SPEAKER_06 17:42

There's someone going, oh man, they still have all their skin and meat, and it very clearly looks like Griffin McElroy.

SPEAKER_09 17:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:50

Um Yeah, you know, just people noticing that you are uh uh definitely not the normal kind of company they have gotten used to seeing. Uh they've seen a lot of strange people, but not not so many that still have uh still have blood in their veins, that kind of thing. Oh, they're meat myths. Yeah. Uh as you to as you take your seats, um it's it's not long after that that you hear the uh the the train whistleblow. Uh you hear the churning of of the the engine. Um and you feel the sudden uh or the not sudden but uh but the shift of movement as the train pulls out of the station. Uh and as you look out the window, uh you see the the the station itself, and there's still that that kind of like fog uh overlaying everything. Um and as the train picks up speed and that that station becomes smaller and smaller, um the field itself starts to uh fade away as well. Almost like the train is picking up so much speed that you can't actually see anything in front of you anymore. Uh you kind of lose your perspective on you you you lose like your focal point on like what you can kind of like see to determine like how fast you're going and what direction you're going in. Um and there's this these kinds of like flickering lights that are piercing through the darkness, but they don't last long enough for you to actually kind of get a lock on them. And the the fog uh enveloping the train starts to dissipate, and uh you know you see that those twinkling lights are what appear to be stars, and uh the fog all at once just is gone, and uh you can see more clearly than anything you have ever seen in your life. Cool. You are in a pure, endless midnight ocean. The only light coming from these what you can assume are stars, but there's no way there can you're not on a planet anymore. You're in the afterlife. They can't actually be stars. Yeah. But that's what your brain is telling you. There's these twinkling lights just in this vast expanse. There's you can tell where there's a sky. Uh, and you can see the faintest, thinnest line of a horizon, but the ocean that you're on is so perfectly still that it's just this complete perfect reflection of the sky above you. You you you have to squint to be able to tell where the water ends and the horizon starts.

SPEAKER_09 20:52

Cool.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

Very cool. Uh the train is not touching the water. The tracks are elevated. You can kind of see because there's no splashing or anything like that. Uh, but the train tracks that the train is riding on now are like slightly elevated above the water. And all you have to go on are these stars and the internal and external lights of the train itself.

SPEAKER_09 21:15

Awesome. Uh yeah. I think Ryo is like as much like she can have her face against the glass as she can, uh, and like looking down, it's just like. So, what do you think's in the water? Like evil spirits and stuff?

SPEAKER_07 21:34

I mean, we could climb out the window and find out.

SPEAKER_09 21:37

I don't think they're gonna stop the train for us if we fall out like a like a little tiny cruise ship. We just kind of get left behind.

SPEAKER_06 21:49

Hmm. I guess I could always stop the train.

SPEAKER_09 21:53

Let's not stop the train. We just got here. We was we can start trouble, uh If necessary.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Why don't we Why don't we wait for us to get to our destination first, and then we can ask that question on the way back?

SPEAKER_09 22:09

Good question. Oh, do the windows open though? I think Rio I think Rio does kind of give like an experimental jiggle of the frame.

SPEAKER_04 22:17

You you can open the windows, um, but they are definitely not you you can't open them enough to climb out.

SPEAKER_09 22:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 22:28

They they only open about halfway.

SPEAKER_06 22:30

Do they open enough that Pluto could could stick their head out like a dog? Oh, absolutely. Pluto does that.

SPEAKER_09 22:35

Yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

Um. The air. Pluto, tell me what the air smells like.

SPEAKER_06 22:43

What does it smell like in this strange water void that we find ourselves in?

SPEAKER_07 22:52

Um. Thinking, thinking, thinking.

SPEAKER_06 23:01

I feel like I I I I for a second I'm like, I am I hearing my own heartbeat in the audio? What the fuck is this? There's just like a thumb in the background music. Yeah. Um, I think it smells like oh god. I'm trying to think of of the thing here. It's like a it a very gentle, like some sort of industrial fluid almost. Like it's uh like a silver chemical, right?

SPEAKER_09 23:29

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:30

It smells like like uh like film acetate.

SPEAKER_09 23:34

Okay. Sure. I buy that.

SPEAKER_06 23:36

Interesting. Not that Pluto actually knows what that smells like, but that that is how that is how like it would be described by like the narrative voice. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 23:48

Like being on the like being inside a blockbuster.

SPEAKER_06 23:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 23:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:53

Or uh I or more appropriately, uh like being inside of a place where they store film reels and uh being deathly aware of how flammable it all is.

SPEAKER_04 24:03

Ah, interestingly enough, as you stick your head out, by the way, um, you don't feel the force of air on your face. Huh.

SPEAKER_09 24:17

Huh.

SPEAKER_04 24:18

You can tell you're moving.

SPEAKER_09 24:20

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 24:20

You know, but you're like, like you aren't, you know, when you when you stick your hand out of a car window, you can feel the air pushing against your hand. You just feel stagnant. You you you don't feel that.

SPEAKER_09 24:31

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 24:32

It kind of feels like you are just like like driving in in in a coach, like when you have the windows up. You you can feel yourself moving, but you can't feel anything against you.

SPEAKER_09 24:44

Interesting. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 24:45

Um Pluto just says, there's no air drag out here, though I guess it's not like ghosts need air.

SPEAKER_09 24:53

I'm not going to worry about us being able to breathe, because clearly we are. Um, but I'm just gonna chalk it all up to some magic. It's all magic.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Yeah. Um also you see, you see, Paige Turner also kind of has her face pressed against the window, and she is just like, holy shit. And like, like, just like her eyes are like, they're literally sparkling. She is magic. Like, they can do that when she gets excited.

SPEAKER_09 25:28

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 25:28

Um meanwhile, Arthur is sitting as far into his chair as he can, and he is clutching the sides of the chair like his life depends on it.

SPEAKER_06 25:41

He he looks over at Pluto and he sees one of the night ghosts like trying to like push Pluto out of the way so that they can also shove their head out the window.

unknown 25:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:51

He is he is something about this don't feel right to him, and he is not enjoying it.

SPEAKER_09 25:56

Sure. It's too much magic horse shit for the magic horse shit guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:00

Yeah. Um so yeah, you are, and you know, the the there's people around you, they're they're they're kind of chatting amongst themselves or carrying on normal conversation. Um and uh you're still getting a few stairs, but you are free to do as you please for for for now. Train's on its way?

SPEAKER_09 26:21

We get to mosey.

SPEAKER_04 26:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 26:24

We get to mingle. We get to mingle.

SPEAKER_09 26:27

So do you think a ghost train? I mean, they had a dining cart, but like would they even have food for us?

SPEAKER_07 26:36

Is it ghost food or is it food food?

SPEAKER_09 26:38

Is it people food?

SPEAKER_07 26:40

What if it's both?

SPEAKER_09 26:42

Uh is it gonna no longer turn us into it? Yeah, but what if it turns us into ghosts? Well I mean we're kind of already in the afterlife. That's kind of a It won't really affect me.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

It's fine.

SPEAKER_09 26:54

Fair. Good for you.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

I don't think it'll affect me either. Ollie just sang this out her ass, by the way. She has no idea.

SPEAKER_09 27:05

And Pluto just going along with it.

SPEAKER_04 27:07

Ollie be like, I'm pretty sure I'm immune to ghosts.

SPEAKER_06 27:12

I'm not sure if I actually have like a soul or something, so like I think maybe I'll be okay.

SPEAKER_09 27:17

I think I'm immune, I'm immune to ghost stuff. Uh yeah, I think I think Ryo's gonna go splore. She's gonna go exploring uh and kind of snoop around uh the dining cart and see um what the food and drink situation is.

SPEAKER_04 27:39

Um okay, yeah, so you uh you mosey over to that cart. Um there are there are a few people sitting at the at the bar here. It's kind of like a it's it's a bar slash like cafe. Like you can order your food there, and if you want to you want you can go to the next cart and actually sit down at a table and eat it, or you can you know eat at the bar, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_09 27:59

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 28:00

Um there is a bartender, there is, you know, a bartender at the behind the the counter there, and he's uh got his white shirt, black vest on, you know, bow tie, that kind of thing. He's polishing glasses and ming and talking to the the few patrons that are sitting there.

SPEAKER_09 28:20

Um I think Ryo kind of just sidles up into the bar and is just you know kicking your feet a little. It's like, so do you guys have things for the living, or are we kind of on our own for the next couple days?

SPEAKER_04 28:33

Uh you see that he his eyes like widen uh as he sees you. Uh again, not in a not in a judgmental way, just in a curiosity, like, oh, how peculiar.

SPEAKER_10 28:42

Oh my god, a person.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

Um and the the the patrons there also also kind of give you a a little nod. You're getting a little bit more attention than maybe Ryo wants, but sure.

SPEAKER_09 28:52

I think she kind of awkwardly like looks at the other patrons at the bar and like waves with her fingers like hi.

SPEAKER_04 28:59

Uh he says, he says, um the the bartender kind of uh strokes his chin a bit and he says, Well, I I see no reason why our food shouldn't shouldn't say GHU. It's food is food after all. Uh what would you like?

SPEAKER_09 29:18

Oh she has to think about it for a second and she's like, oh my god, there's too many. Uh can I get a martini?

SPEAKER_04 29:35

Uh he says, certainly, and he he he goes and he goes uh mixes that up for you. Uh the I can't believe I'm gonna say this. Uh the bottles are labeled spirits.

SPEAKER_09 29:50

Yeah, oh yeah, of course they are.

SPEAKER_04 29:52

And um as he but as he is pouring them, uh there is this kind of wispiness to the fluid that comes out of them. Like a little bit, no, he pours it into the into the shaker, uh, and you can kind of see like like a little bit of of this like wisp of like fog like energy coming out of the bottle as well.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Um they put carbon dioxide in the drinks before they mix them. That's cool.

SPEAKER_04 30:23

Uh but he he shakes it and he pours it to you uh and he hands it to you, and uh go ahead and give me an overcome. Oh boy!

SPEAKER_09 30:32

Oh boy, let's go! Um so statisti, quality, and power.

SPEAKER_04 30:44

If you can justify a power in drinking a martini.

SPEAKER_09 30:47

I don't think I can. You have to do an unarmed uh untrained, which is just a trained d4, so it'll be a six, four, or a four, eight, and a six for um Witch of Eden. We'll use that quality if that works.

SPEAKER_04 31:06

I think that's justifiable. You are a witch and you are in a magical uh realm here.

SPEAKER_09 31:10

Yeah. Uh uh two fours and a six, so a four.

SPEAKER_04 31:19

Okay. Um you uh you take a sip of this. I'm not gonna give you a minor twist for this, but I will say that the taste is off. It's definitely a martini.

SPEAKER_09 31:40

Wait.

SPEAKER_04 31:41

What?

SPEAKER_09 31:42

I forgore because of the way the rolls went. Um I start this issue with a negative two ender.

SPEAKER_04 31:54

Oh you rolled a two. That's true.

SPEAKER_09 32:00

Yeah. Well.

SPEAKER_04 32:09

This tastes like a perfectly normal, good martini. Interesting.

SPEAKER_09 32:17

Great, great mix up there, dude. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Uh this tastes pretty good, actually.

SPEAKER_09 32:25

Oh. Uh, yeah. I think Rio looks impressed. Um she, you know, hasn't had very many. One, she's only recently been 21, and I like the idea that Ollie has enforced that while like the two years they've been hanging out, like, made Rio wait until she was 21. Uh-huh. Um, so she's only recently 21, so she literally hasn't had that many martinis.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

Um I like to think also uh that during the brief time you and Diana were together, um Diana did at one point try to be the cool mom and give you a beer.

SPEAKER_09 33:09

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_06 33:12

Things that would also make Ollie go. Your daughter is is only 20, by the way.

SPEAKER_09 33:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 33:18

Things that only forgot.

SPEAKER_09 33:20

She could only reinforce Ollie's opinion that Diana is a deadbeat. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:25

She's like, no, she would have been like, I know, I know, I'm trying to be cool. Trying to be like, it's it's cool, I'm I'm hip with it. No. It's a bonding moment.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

I guess not. She tried, bless her. Ollie just like, you keep this up. I'm gonna start calling you Jing.

unknown 33:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:45

No, Diana's in her life. Diana did raise her.

SPEAKER_09 33:53

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Not during any of the times Ollie has taken care of this wayward child.

SPEAKER_09 33:59

This this lost child, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 34:02

Uh Pluto attentively to the bartender goes. I've heard stories from a friend of from a friend of ours named Commodora of uh of something called the Long Island Ice Tea. I was wondering if you had any of those.

SPEAKER_04 34:17

Uh he says, uh, he says, um, he kind of gives you a once over and he says, Well, considering you're alive, I don't normally enforce this, but in your regard, uh I'm going to have to say only one per evening.

SPEAKER_07 34:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 34:37

And he does he does go and pour you a long island iced tea. Fantastic. Uh Pluto get sippin'. Go ahead and give me an overcome roll.

SPEAKER_06 34:47

Which is uh while while I decide what I'm rolling here for it, uh uh the uh strange bit of character development in the last two years that now that Pluto is more physically human, they actually enjoy alcohol.

SPEAKER_09 34:59

Oh, that's so good.

SPEAKER_06 35:02

Or they did not at all the time they had it at before the time skip. Um I don't know if I have well I do have one of my powers is absorption. Oh my god. Go for it. Okay, so I have power absorption and then quality. I feel like alertness is probably more appropriate than my RP thing question mark. So it would be I'd be rolling a six, a six, and a six.

SPEAKER_09 35:27

Okay. Well, how perfect.

SPEAKER_06 35:29

Where's my roller?

SPEAKER_09 35:32

Good old DD dice roller.com, baby.

SPEAKER_06 35:36

I had a different one, but actually now I'm like, I don't don't tell me. Okay, no, it still exists. Uh I rolled a two, a four, and a six.

SPEAKER_09 35:46

So you rolled another four. Okay. You don't have a you didn't have a a hinder, so.

SPEAKER_04 35:51

Yeah, you're good. Um Pluto's never had a long island iced tea before, right? Uh not that I know of.

SPEAKER_06 36:00

Not that Pluto remembers.

SPEAKER_09 36:03

I mean, it's one of the side effects of Long Island ice tea, but you know.

SPEAKER_04 36:07

Yeah. Uh this to Pluto, you can't tell if it tastes bad because you don't like Long Island iced teas. Or if it's because it's incompatible with your physiology, or if it's because you're not dead. Hmm. But it's addicting. Like you you ever have that thing where like you take a sip, you're like, this isn't very good, and then you finish it all anyway? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like it's it's it's just not good enough that you're like, well, I'm not gonna waste it.

SPEAKER_09 36:44

Uh they have many potions and concoctions that have done that to them before.

SPEAKER_06 36:49

A thing that I will describe happening that will be over the course of the next period of time is that every time you see Pluto in another panel, they look visibly more flushed. Uh and there's visibly less Long Island iced tea. I think one of the armored ghosts is kind of like looking over at their shoulder at it expectantly, and Pluto literally goes, Ar your own!

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Uh Ollie, um Ollie seems to be deliberating uh and talking to themself for a little bit before going, okay. I know what I want. Just give me a canny old can of beer, just like a pint of beer. Some breaded chicken using tonko.

SPEAKER_04 37:42

He says, Well, I can provide that drink for you now, but I'll uh send this to the back for our chef to prepare. Um and he he sends uh an order for fried chicken to go back to the uh to the back. There's a kitchen a couple uh uh cars uh forward uh where they can prepare that for you. Um He sends it on he he there is one of those little like those uh those tubes, those communication tubes. Yeah, pneumatic tubes.

SPEAKER_09 38:11

Oh yeah, like a pneumatic tube, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:12

But like the one like the kind that you speak into, and then it like uh that's what I see. I thought he was like loading some instructions into like a little capsule and just goes. Oh no, no, just like those those old timey things where like you would speak into the tube and it would go across the table.

SPEAKER_09 38:24

Oh yeah, like the little horn-shaped thing that they had, like old-timey houses.

SPEAKER_04 38:27

I don't know what they're called, but those things.

SPEAKER_09 38:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:30

Um he he puts that order in for you, and as he as he gets to work, and he he kind of ruffles around the uh the behind the bar uh and he produces a uh a tall boy.

SPEAKER_06 38:41

The bar the bartender just like, you know, I've been working on this train since uh time immemorial, and I could not for the death of me tell you what that tube thing is called.

SPEAKER_04 38:52

We just we just know we all know what it is, we just never bothered to find out the name of it. I'm sure someone on here would know, but not me.

SPEAKER_05 39:00

I mean, I could I guess I could always pull it up on Ghost Wikipedia, but what's the rush?

SPEAKER_04 39:09

Yeah, when you have when you don't have to have a time limit anymore. Like you you don't bother necessarily learning new things at a at a you know at a clip.

SPEAKER_09 39:17

I guess that's true, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Uh Ollie, go ahead and give me your your overcome role for drinking a beer. Alright. We're gonna use If you have to make an overcome to drink a beer, something's gone wrong.

SPEAKER_09 39:31

It's because you're accepting spirit food. This was a huge mistake, but I wanted to try.

SPEAKER_01 39:37

We're gonna like Okay, we're gonna use telepathy, big sister, and the status die. I think that I think that tracks. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 39:45

Do you have a principle that's relevant to drinking a beer?

SPEAKER_00 39:49

I do have principle of the future, which it would be extremely funny. Could you imagine? Do you have visions or knowledge of things yet to come from drinking a single tall boy?

SPEAKER_04 40:00

I'm gonna say not for a tall boy. I know. You need to you need to mix a real cocktail to get the food person.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

But we're not we're not doing that anyway, because uh I think I think ultimately, um, and I'll I'll explain it once we're done. Once I'm done rolling. Hold on. That's 3d8. Uh 567. Wow. Um Yeah, I mean it's a light beer.

SPEAKER_04 40:32

It's kinda it's a little skunky. Like you look at the can, uh, and there's a date that's like 1987 on it. Ah, I was gonna say I think I realize what's up. The bartender kind of like shrugs.

SPEAKER_06 40:49

It's all expired.

SPEAKER_09 40:51

It's all old. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_06 40:53

Not even just old, it's all past its expiration date. Well, the food had to the food had to get its ticket punched.

SPEAKER_09 41:00

Yeah, exactly. I guess that's a good point. That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Yeah, it's expired food on the expiration train.

SPEAKER_09 41:08

On the expiration, yeah, that's funny. That's good.

SPEAKER_06 41:12

Um suddenly feeling very dubious about this upcoming fried chicken.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Yes, order a chicken. Just like turning to the others and like, listen.

SPEAKER_07 41:24

Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Getting beer in a can is really hard to do without a lot of electronic mechanical stuff. And you literally can't make ponko without electricity. Well I miss shitty creature comforts.

SPEAKER_09 41:46

Bar food.

SPEAKER_06 41:48

Pluto's just kind of silently standing there, half smiling, like shoulders uh bobbing a bit as they like kind of like sort of gyrate on their feet.

SPEAKER_09 41:57

Wobbling on the bar stool, just kind of like, woo, yeah, a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 42:01

On on that note, actually, Ollie, um you three look around, and uh you see that the you you kind of it kind of all dawns on you at the same time. This train car is illuminated.

unknown 42:15

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 42:16

Not like with gas lights or anything.

SPEAKER_04 42:18

It's like like there's there's lights, and as you look closely, you see that the there are light bulbs. They aren't from a distance, it looks like they're just lit up light bulbs, like regular light bulbs. But as you look closely, you see more of that sort of like ethereal wispy energy inside each bulb. It's it's like a facsimile of electricity made of some kind of like spiritual energy instead. Made out of phantom warbs and ghost shit.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Yeah, it's all electricity.

SPEAKER_09 42:47

It's all made out of ghost energy.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

Well, yeah, electricity's dead on on on topside, so you know, we're we're see we're they're used like so they're allowed to use the ghost of the electricity.

SPEAKER_04 42:56

Yeah. Um you you see eventually, by the way, as you're waiting for your chicken to come out, um you see uh um Paige Turner come in uh and she is furiously scribbling notes in her spell book.

SPEAKER_09 43:11

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 43:12

Uh as she's observing everything around her, and you see Arthur stagger like his knees and elbows can't bend. Like he's so tense that like he just can't like even like bend his uh his joints as he marches to the bar, leans on it with both elbows, and just goes, mead. Picture of mead.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Well, you don't want to do a whole picture, man.

SPEAKER_04 43:43

And and the bartender Let him do a whole picture. The bartender looks looks him up and down, uh, and he sees the sword on his back, and he goes behind the behind the counter and he pulls out like a wooden mug. Like an actual Like an actual flagon that he pours meat into.

SPEAKER_09 44:06

And Arthur just goes up, Artie.

SPEAKER_04 44:08

Thank you. Arthur just kind of he kind of like you can hear the creaking of his neck as he turns it to face you. And he's just like I don't like how fast this thing goes. Wait, is that the thing that's got you all messed up? I don't I don't like cars. I don't like motors.

SPEAKER_06 44:36

Ben, can I can I tell you something a little off topic that is making this uh uh so recently I watched the newest season of Baki, which is about them using evil science to resurrect Miyamoto Musashi. And as far as uh I can tell, his only weakness is that he gets really uncomfortable when he's in cars because he doesn't like how fast they go.

SPEAKER_04 44:57

I mean, this is this is Arthur Pendergan, the once in future king who was resurrected post-reboot.

SPEAKER_06 45:04

Exactly. I just think it's I just think it's a funny, funny resonance.

SPEAKER_04 45:08

The fastest thing he's ever been on is a horse. He doesn't like this shit. But what if it was a really fast horse?

unknown 45:17

That's true.

SPEAKER_04 45:18

I mean, even then, like he feels like you have like control over it. You're not in this metal box that could crush you. Horses can't go like 90 miles an hour.

SPEAKER_09 45:26

I mean, everybody here is already dead. I don't think anybody's gonna get crushed.

SPEAKER_04 45:30

I'm not.

SPEAKER_09 45:31

Well, I mean I guess that's true. Listen.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

He'll get over uh Paige kind of like claps him on the back and he she just goes, he'll get over it.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

Well he has every right to be afraid of fast moving vehicles.

SPEAKER_09 45:51

Are you telling him to be afraid of coach?

SPEAKER_01 45:54

Oh yes. He should be terrified of coach. I already am. I don't like that thing. Yeah, yeah, Papa made him that way for a reason.

SPEAKER_07 46:05

Yeah, he messed out Am I supposed to be afraid of Coach? I thought Coach was my friend.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

No. You have mastered your fear, Pluto.

SPEAKER_07 46:15

I I don't think I was ever afraid of Coach.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Then you have mastered your fear, Pluto.

SPEAKER_04 46:22

Oh. The uh a a uh waiter brings uh the fried chicken out to you, uh brings it to the bartender, the bartender presents it to you. Looks like ordinary fried chicken. Just a panko cr panko encrusted chicken.

SPEAKER_06 46:38

Oh Pluto is is is watching it with like eager desire.

SPEAKER_09 46:47

The same way a dog watches you eat chicken.

SPEAKER_04 46:50

Just like you're gonna give me a chance. Yeah, like like I I think I think Ryo and Paige are also just like doing that. Paige is doing the thing where like she glances down at it and doesn't say anything. But she's like looking at it and like looking away.

SPEAKER_09 47:06

Rio's like kind of looking over Ollie's shoulder, like trying to see if it just looks like normal chicken when she bites into it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:15

Uh Ollie, so you you bite into it, I assume? Yes, of course. Do I do another roll? No, no, no, no. This one, you uh since you're since you are all now familiar with the quote taste and the effect of of uh ghost food. Uh-huh. Well, at least the fluids, at least, but for but the food you bite down to it, it has some give. It's got some flavor. Um but as you swallow your first bite, you don't feel anything in your stomach.

SPEAKER_09 47:47

Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 47:50

Um but you've also you've been here for a couple, you know, an hour or two at this point. None of you feel any hungrier.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

At least it still tastes a bit as close as I can remember it anyway. Hey Pluto is.

SPEAKER_04 48:10

It's it's good. It's good. You know, it tastes it tastes fine.

SPEAKER_01 48:13

Hey Pluto.

SPEAKER_04 48:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Come here. Pluto obediently comes there. Listen, I'm I'm gonna give you a nice little bite of something that you could never have because you got here after this kind of food went extinct, okay?

SPEAKER_07 48:31

Oh, who extincted it?

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Um, the Rebo, technically. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_07 48:36

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

It's just gonna taste like chicken, except for the crunchy part. That's that's the thing I'm talking about. How here, have a bite. And she like delicately like spoons it into um into Pluto's mouth. Uh Pluto, tell me how it tastes.

SPEAKER_06 48:55

Well, it it it's ponko fried chicken, right? Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm just trying to think about how Pluto would react to it, considering that they're they they probably have, I would say, a uh compared to the uh present-day American, very little experience with like quality fried food. Uh I mean I get like I know you can do oil frying like thing, but you know, it's not exactly not not this kind.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Right.

SPEAKER_06 49:24

I I I think Pluto, uh, drunk as they are, just kind of like I I like they're they've they've been bobbing around, right, on on their their feet and they kind of like stop and like they're like they're like just very slowly trying to to dissect the flavor in their mind. And after like a moment, they just look at you all e and they just sort of nod enthusiastically.

SPEAKER_01 49:50

Right. That's good. It's it it's just it is indescribable.

SPEAKER_07 49:57

I mean people used to eat this all the time. God, you're so lucky.

SPEAKER_01 50:01

I mean, you can still make s most of this, because like it's it's bread and eggs and like ground up wheat and stuff to make the breading, but the way they they the this ponko stuff, this crunchy stuff, you used to have to run an electric current through uh a dough after you leaven it a little bit to make it that surprise guest star Cash!

SPEAKER_04 50:36

Never before heard on either podcast.

SPEAKER_06 50:41

Maybe Mama Cat's outside is with haunting.

SPEAKER_09 50:48

Ollie's interruption is interrupted by the sound of a wailing cat somewhere on the train. Yeah, that's it. And while Ollie is trying to tell Pluto what Bonko is, Ryo has already stolen one for herself.

SPEAKER_04 51:02

You just see a spectral cat kind of idly float like they're not in control of their floating.

SPEAKER_06 51:11

I'm imagining having I'm imagining the cat is like kind of chubby and then has like one of those little like triangle headbands that they always put on like on like on Japanese ghosts and cartoons and video games and shit.

SPEAKER_04 51:22

It's just kind of it just kind of floats past like it's not really in full like control of its faculties as it kind of like tries to scramble across the car the the car you're in.

unknown 51:35

God.

SPEAKER_01 51:36

Um yeah, uh we can try and make something similar to this. It just won't quite it won't have the same bite when you chew into it. Ah okay, that was pretty good.

SPEAKER_09 51:49

Ollie looks back down at her plate and realizes one of their uh pieces is missing, and Ryo's just next just next door, just like, mm-hmm, that's really good, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:00

You didn't want to wait for me to to feed you like I did Pluto, huh?

SPEAKER_09 52:03

Ah, I can feed myself.

SPEAKER_01 52:04

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_07 52:05

I feed myself, but it's fine.

SPEAKER_04 52:09

Uh as you as you the you guys kind of settle in, uh as Arthur gets some meat in him, he kind of relaxes a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 52:19

Hell yeah, brother.

SPEAKER_04 52:21

Um you uh you are eventually uh the the some of the two of the ghosts next to you, uh these two elderly elderly looking gentlemen, uh one has a cane leaning up against his stool. They're he's wearing like a a tweed jacket. Uh they're both they both look like they're in their in their nineties, the or were in their nineties. Uh wispy graying hair, one of them's wearing those little like the news boy cap. Um and he uh taps Pluto on the sh on the on the arm to get his atten get their attention. And he says, um excuse me, I I I I hate to be rude, but I uh my my partner and I were must know you five, you're you're alive, aren't you?

SPEAKER_07 53:16

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_09 53:19

I don't know, this Long Island I see stuff kinda making me d making me question it, yeah. Uh we're alive, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:28

And he he goes, Oh that's so nice. It's it's that's such a treat to see. I have I've never I've never actually seen anything like that. Have you, Sebastian? And Sebastian shakes his head. Uh he says, My name is is Willie, and this is my partner Sebastian. We've uh been in been in uh he gestures around in this state for for uh oh what would you say it's about uh eighty or so years now? And the other one nods, he says, Well, you know it's kind of hard to keep track of those kinds of things after a while. There's no uh sun or moon to count the days, but yes, uh about eighty or so years feels about right.

SPEAKER_09 54:15

Um, have you been trying to get to this circus thing for like 80 or 90 years?

SPEAKER_04 54:21

Uh he they they both kind of chuckle, oh no no, no, we uh this is just uh we just wanted to go to the circus. We'll be there in a couple of days or so.

SPEAKER_10 54:32

Oh thank God.

SPEAKER_04 54:33

He says, uh Oh of course you wouldn't you wouldn't know any of this, but uh yeah, this is uh most of us refer to this and he gestures out the window to the the the endless ocean uh there. He says We we call this place the uh the tracks between. Uh there are a number of of locations of of camps or settlements or or cities of places, sites, interesting sites, all all across this uh the the afterlife, as it were, and you're free to travel amongst them as as you see fit. Ghost towns. Literal ghost towns. They both laugh, they said, Yes, ghost towns. That's a good way to put it. Ghost towns. Um he says, Oh uh you're all obviously new here, so you I'm sure to you this all looks somewhat uh normal, yes. You were on a train, there are tracks, there's a bar, seats, uh other passengers. That's because you know you're you're comprehending things in a way that your mortal brains probably can.

SPEAKER_09 55:50

I suppose. Yeah, I mean it seems like a train to me.

SPEAKER_04 55:56

He says, uh well for those of us that have been here a bit longer, we start to, you know, uh gain a better understanding of how these sorts of things work. Uh I can see things and I can decide see that they're a tra I can picture it in my mind that this is identified as a train, but it's not quite the same as what you would see it as. It's becoming a bit more clear what the nature of of this afterlife really is.

SPEAKER_07 56:30

What is that?

SPEAKER_04 56:33

Uh and uh Sebastian says uh he kind of taps his cane on the ground and he says, Well, it just is. Everything just is Huh.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

Ollie nods gently and finally takes a second sip of her beer.

SPEAKER_09 56:56

Pacing herself versus Pluto, whose Long Island I see is now long gone.

SPEAKER_04 57:01

The uh the bartender kind of nods along and he says, Yes, yes, that's that that is about right. Uh but you won't have any I won't have to worry about any of that. I'm sure you five are going back, as it were.

SPEAKER_09 57:16

I definitely hope so, yes. Um no matter what happens at this uh this circus thing, I sh I would like to go back, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 57:24

Rio, I've been meaning to ask something for a very long time.

SPEAKER_06 57:29

Pluto says, uh head rolling over to look at you expectantly and uh with all the tension in the air, uh just sort of asks, Well, what is a circus?

SPEAKER_09 57:42

Oh thank god. Reno who has half her mouth full of chicken finger, and was just like, please don't do this right now.

SPEAKER_04 57:55

The panel lighting was getting like red.

unknown 57:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 57:58

Like there was-like, it is like the most like romantic confession inbound framing in the world, as Pluto just sort of plainly adds.

SPEAKER_08 58:07

I was really hoping to have figured out from like context clues or something, but I have no idea what a circus is.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

Um it's like uh it's a form of entertainment that's kind of before our time. Thinking about it, actually.

SPEAKER_09 58:29

It's got like well, I mean, I don't know. I mean, normally they have like animals and rides, and um well, you remember the county fair we went to. Um kind of like.

SPEAKER_08 58:41

Pluto's like I Pluto's just sort of like, I I think I remember the county fair.

SPEAKER_09 58:46

C issue something, something.

SPEAKER_06 58:51

See C issue. Uh it literally is like in drunk text. C issue something something.

SPEAKER_04 58:57

C issue. And then it just cuts off there.

SPEAKER_09 59:01

Just trails off. Yeah. Uh well, I mean it's it's kinda like that. Um but you know, with more stuff, and this thing is, I guess, bigger. I don't know. I've never been to one either. I've only ever seen them in like books and stuff. Um I definitely was not a circus family.

SPEAKER_01 59:21

Yeah, they um they kind of stopped doing them except for that that one French one where they like have people just doing death-defying jumps from like 50 feet up in the air and nothing else.

SPEAKER_07 59:36

What's French?

SPEAKER_01 59:39

That's a thing we will talk about later. We can't say anything about like we can't talk about them in front of Arthur.

SPEAKER_04 59:45

When you're older.

SPEAKER_09 59:48

Arthur halfway through his flag and of me, like, oh, the French!

SPEAKER_06 59:55

Um I mean, I guess Arthur wouldn't know them as the French either, though. It would have been like the they would have been like the Normans, maybe.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:04

Yeah, but I mean like he's British.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:05

I think you know how like in fate when you summon he's absorbed his cultural revulsion towards the French on the throne.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:14

Arthur was, yes, I've absorbed that. It's called common sense. One of the nice things about being resurrected here in America is I don't have to deal with the French.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:28

Uh editor's note. In about three volumes, Arthur is going to learn what Louisiana is.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:36

Um the other ghosts, like the ghosts that you're talking to, kind of go on, they say uh um he says, uh You know, it wasn't always a train. Oh? Yes, well, obviously, trains are a relatively new invention. It wouldn't have been around in the you know, you wouldn't expect a train if a if someone died in say the uh 1300s or such, you wouldn't expect them to ride a train, they would have no idea what it was.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:10

I was kind of liking the idea of some sort of prehistoric proto-human showing up on a train and just sort of like screaming.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:22

Uh well before the trains there were they were uh great ships that would sail this ocean, and before the ships there were just carriages, and before the carriages, people just walked. There's it's an endless infinite abyss for us to to migrate to and fro and settle where we please. We can do whatever we want here. It's up to us to shape this world as we see fit. If you want to call it heaven or hell or purgatory, that's entirely your prerogative.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:02

Hell is what you make of it, huh? Yes, exactly. And then another. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:11

Well I don't know what to make of all that, honestly.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:16

He he says, uh uh Willie says to you, he says, um I'm telling you all this because you are alive, and I don't want you to be concerned. You may see some strange or un inexplicable things around here, but none of it can harm you, I'm or or do anything in any way that might uh might attack you or or anything like that. You're perfectly 100% safe here.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:47

Oh, I don't think I'm gonna die any day anyway, so like that's okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:55

I don't think considering um the guy we're looking for has gone missing here in the afterlife, I I do kind of slightly worry that that is not the case.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:11

Oh, yeah. Have you have you seen a guy who looks like he would be the son of a hobo king?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:18

They both look at you completely blankly. Damn. I thought that would work. I don't know anyone up like that. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:26

Have you have you heard anybody talk about another living traveler in the last like year or so?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:39

Uh they both they both look at each other and and uh the bartender also kind of thinks back a little bit. He says, uh they both shake their heads now, but the bartender says, Well, I heard there might have been a living and his friends aboard another train. I I think they were also headed for Madame Moran's, so you're on the right track, as it were.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:04

Well, that's all I needed to know, take just down to the entire SCP here.

SPEAKER_09 1:04:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:09

Oh, one more thing. Don't don't tell the bartender I was asking you this. Pluto says at full volume.

SPEAKER_09 1:04:15

In front of the bartender.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:16

Is do you think there's any way could trick them into giving me more Long Island iced teas?

SPEAKER_04 1:04:23

Uh Pluto, give me uh a persuasion style overcome. Persuasion style overcome. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:35

Put the overcomes to him, persuasion style.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:38

I don't think I have a relevant power, but I do at least have a relevant quality. So I guess we're doing a D4, a D8, and a D6. Because I'm going to be using uh destroyer princex as their uh their Imperious Charisma that they still have, even though they no longer have any kind of social powers to speak of. Uh so what did I say it was? D4, D8, D6. D4, D8, D6. My mid is a four.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:05

Uh Sebastian goes, bartender, one Long Island iced tea, please. And the bartender, clearly seeing this, like this exchange happen, just kind of goes and pours him in Long Island iced tea, hands it to Sebastian, and Sebastian hands it to you.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:33

Uh Pluto accepts this with grace, as as they say your names will be engraved on my pyramid.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:41

Uh your your minor twist in this regard uh is that there's a lot of soda water in it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:49

Yeah, it's not nearly as strong.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:51

Yeah, that's okay because it the carbonated soda water only increases the speed at which the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:01

Yeah. Um yeah, you guys are you guys are now are are free to continue on. Um Is there anything else you want to investigate while you're here or or do you want to skip ahead a little bit?

SPEAKER_09 1:06:14

Um hang on, I want to look at our map again.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:17

Yeah. I really want to see what that that mysterious cargo is and that and the the is this the one of the cargo holds the one of the cargo holds, the one that's just with the chained up item in there. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:31

Uh it could be it could be anything like a ghost gorilla.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:35

Yeah. Grape gorilla, no!

SPEAKER_06 1:06:38

No, he's fine. Oh, oh, don't worry. I'm not grape. I'm not grape gorilla. I am his arch nemesis, ape gorilla.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:44

No, I was gonna be Saturn. The perfect layup for that is I'm his mortal nemesis, Grave Gorilla. I was gonna say, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:52

Shit, when he when he dies, he'll become Grave Gorilla. Um okay, so yeah, you uh you make your way to the end of the end of the train, like for the the passenger carts uh cars at least. Um there are uh two ghostly guards standing in front of that door. And by guards I mean they're they're standard staff, but they're just blocking the door. Uh they hold up a hand and say, uh, no, I'm sorry, uh uh uh authorized personnel only back here.

SPEAKER_09 1:07:28

Um damn, even in the apocalypse, you gotta have clearance to get places.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:38

Are we unauthorized?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:40

I don't think we are. I think we're definitely unauthorized, yeah. But listen. I'm alive, so I've got everything to lose, right?

SPEAKER_09 1:07:54

Are you gonna like try and fight your way past a bunch of ghost guards who have been super nice to us?

SPEAKER_04 1:08:00

Tell me how you want to handle this.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:03

Um, I think Ollie is just um going to attempt a Jedi mind trick while like uh slightly buzzed.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:11

Give me an overcome with a negative one uh hinder.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:15

I I think uh Pluto's status is completely red-faced. I think just like resting their chin on Rio's shoulder or something.

SPEAKER_09 1:08:22

Yeah, no, Ryo, I wanna know, tell you that I think the way this looks is that Ollie is currently talking to these guards while Ryo is standing kind of further down the hall, just like watching this go badly, with Pluto also leaning on her. Just like, we gotta find you a bed. We gotta find you a sleeping car.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:45

Go ahead and give me an overcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:46

Okay, so we're gonna do with a negative one hinder. Yeah. Okay, so we're gonna do this with telepathy, uh, leadership, and uh status dice. That's uh eight, ten, and an eight. Minus one. We have a four, a five, and a four. So they're all fours. Hey, that's that's uh that's four is appropriate luck.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:08

Succeed with a minor twist. Uh what do you succeed on?

SPEAKER_01 1:09:13

Um I succeed in at the very least just satiating her curiosity where being allowed to peek in. She's just like, I just want to make sure I just want to make sure that nothing in there is damaged. That's all. Just just a peek and then I'll be right back to my to my to my my my bunk bed. I'm tired.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:42

The uh the two guards look at each other and they look back at you and they kind of whisper to each other a little bit. Um they kind of give you a quick up and down, and one of them goes, um Are you a superhero?

SPEAKER_01 1:09:59

Why yes, I am. I'm um we're uh we're traveling to to the circus uh to try and find a um a lost in wayward still living soul who somehow got lost over there. So we're uh we're uh doing some official cape business.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:20

They uh they kind of look back to each other and they say one of them says, um Well If you're a superhero, then I guess it couldn't hurt for you to take a quick peek. Uh they they let you in a little they let you stand in the entranceway to kind of look into into the car. Uh and yeah, there is this car is entirely taken up. Uh the only thing in there is this giant met uh uh metal and concrete box that looks about uh the size of like a like a sarcophagus almost. Um it has heavy chains wrapped around it to keep the lid shut, and like the image shows, uh it has chains holding it in place in the middle of the car, elevated between like in the middle midpoint between like the roof and the ground of it.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:20

What's in there?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:22

Pluto, it looks like your bed. But like like, you know, not bucket shape, but it like it has the the the kingly vibes, you know.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:32

Is it chained up for a reason?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:35

Probably to keep something bad from escaping it. Is that right, uh, officers?

SPEAKER_04 1:11:40

They they both they both say, uh, or one of them says, uh Truth be told, I don't know what's in it. We don't know what's in it. Uh it was loaded on here with explicit instructions to never open it. Uh, and to ensure that it gets to Madame Arand's completely 100% intact. I don't even think the uh conductor knows what's in it.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:03

That's spooky.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:04

Uh Pluto Pluto's just do you wanna find out what's in it?

SPEAKER_04 1:12:08

Uh at Ali saying that's spooky, he goes, Yeah, we're ghosts.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:14

I mean he's right.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:16

Uh Pluto Pluto looks at at the at the officer plaintively. He's like, Do you wanna find out what's in it? Uh Pluto, give me an overcome with a negative eight hinder. Um, alright, what's my uh this is something persuasion-y as well, right? Yes. Um, let's see. We're gonna call this unwinnable roll.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:38

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, officers. Was was spooky insensitive? I didn't mean to.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:44

No, it's just it's just a fact of afterlife. We are kind of spooky.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:49

A six. Uh God, I can't roll a one when I would want a one. Uh I did, however, my mid is a three, so uh negative five.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:57

Okay. Uh action utterly spectacularly fails. At at someone at Pluto's saying, Do you want to see what's inside of it? Both cards guards at the same time say no.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:08

It just gently nudges pass back.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:11

But it looks so openable. No, it does not.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:15

Listen, listen. Yes, it does. You don't know me. Pluto, Pluto. What? We're going to the same place as the sarcophagus. They're gonna open it there anyway. We just gotta wait until Christmas Day.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:30

But someone else will get to open it. I wanna open it.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:34

Okay, we'll there's there's a there's a caption, by the way, in the panel where Ollie says it's like Christmas Day. It says, fun fact, in the reboot world, Santa is real.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:44

And he's King Arthur's arch nemesis.

SPEAKER_10 1:13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:48

You've been a very naughty boy, Arthur. No presents again this year.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:54

What is a king even supposed to do with coal?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:58

Well, actually, in the reboot, in the post-reaper world, coal is probably a pretty hot commodity. Well, you can't generate electricity, so but not really.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:05

I mean, it burns well. You can use it to cook things. Yeah, newspapers also burn well. But coal burns cleaner.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:13

Yeah, and burns a lot longer.

SPEAKER_09 1:14:15

We're not having this argument right now.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:17

That's fine. Stop questioning the narrator. Anyway.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:23

I need questions whatever I want.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:25

The guard the the the two guards shoo you out. Um curiosity sated. Uh please be on your way now.

unknown 1:14:33

I mean.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:34

They don't want me to open their evil looking box.

SPEAKER_09 1:14:37

They don't want you to they're they don't want you to open their box. They could do it. I know you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:49

But what if Picante Slim is in that?

SPEAKER_01 1:14:52

I don't think Picante Slim's in that. Yeah, yeah. Because they just they just told us they heard he was on a different train.

SPEAKER_07 1:15:00

Yeah, but what if he was on a different train so they could put him in a concrete box?

SPEAKER_09 1:15:05

This conversation is happening, by the way, as like Rio is gently steering Pluto to the to the sleeper cars. Just like, come on, let's go. Where are we going? We're going to find a bed. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:20

Your your tickets uh have room numbers marked on them so you know which ones you're going in.

SPEAKER_07 1:15:25

Okay. Um why are the numbers on our tickets different?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:30

I was about to make the exact opposite joke.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:32

Oh, Rio, that's so sad. You're sleeping in a different box than me and Pluto.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:42

Actually, that is kind of funny that both Holly and Pluto have like one sleeper car assigned to them, and Rio gets assigned to another sleeper car. I mean, I can sleep in there with you guys, but I mean, I wouldn't have a bed.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:55

Well, Ben said we all had different numbers, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:57

Although there's there's there are bunk beds in there, so you probably you share two to a room.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:06

I mean, I can come in with you guys. It's fine. I uh I didn't know that Long Isle and Ice would do this too. This is actually kind of funny. Who knew you had this kind of a weakness? It's kind of cute. Uh that that doesn't mean we should do it all the time, though.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:24

Cool. Um and then she she uh finds their room and just thinks, like, boy, I hope Arthur isn't going too hard on the mead right now, and Page Turner isn't sticking your nose into too many things.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:40

Uh it it does cut back to the two of them. Arthur's still at the bar. Uh he's our King Arthur Pendrigon, King of the Britons.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:49

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:50

The man can handle his mead.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:52

He can hold his mead, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:54

He's like four in, and he's like not even tipsy.

SPEAKER_06 1:16:57

Arthur's like, I believe I will have another, and the bartender's like, you're going to make me go broke.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:03

I only have so much mead.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:04

He has relaxed, but he's nowhere near drunk. Sure.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:09

Do you have any idea how much ghost shit I mean, mead I've had to empty for you already?

SPEAKER_04 1:17:17

Meanwhile, yeah, Paige Turner is just like you d there's just like a like in every panel of Arthur drinking, Paige Turner's in a different location.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:26

In the room.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:26

Like scribbling notes and like chatting with ghosts and stuff. Sure, sure, sure. Um But what what kind of us like ostensibly counts as night starts to fall on this area?

SPEAKER_09 1:17:39

The lights like a plane, they dim the light.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:41

Yeah, the lights dim, everyone kind of gets you know, it there's no real passage of time, but everyone still kind of gets tired around the same the same time. Um and they all shuffle off into their into their quarters, or a few of them stay up late to continue chatting. But you know, it's it is at this point night time, and people are allowed to go and sleep and uh and and recover. Um you sleep without much issue. Everything you know, you the the ro gentle rocking of the train, the the clacking of the wheels lulls you into a deep sleep. Uh you wake up feeling Saturn, give me an overcome roll to see if you're hung over.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:25

Oh good. Uh I actually think I have an appropriate principle for this. Uh which is hold on, actually, wait, is this the actually a different one than I thought I was going to do. I'm going to invoke the principle of strength to overcome using brute force.

SPEAKER_09 1:18:42

Just slap yourself on your cheeks as hard as possible.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:46

Go for it. Alright, it's going to be power strength feels appropriate for the role. Uh quality destroyer, princess, status dice. Uh, so it's gonna be a 12a to 6. Actually. Even though I'm reinforcing it, it should probably be absorption for the power, shouldn't it?

SPEAKER_04 1:19:06

By the way, Saturn. Yes. Because you're so drunk, we're gonna say you're in yellow.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:12

Yay! How sweet! So funny.

SPEAKER_06 1:19:15

Um, so I guess since absorption would probably technically be the better power, even though it is uh significantly worse. Uh, I will do a six, an eight, and an eight is what I'm rolling. Okay. So I rolled a four, a six, and an eight. And because you're invoking a principle, you use your max. Max die, so I'm rolling, so I roll an eight. Uh good work. Action completely succeeds. Uh Pluto. I I imagine Rio's like waiting outside of a room, like, damn, I wonder how like hungover Pluto is. They just went extremely hard. And then Pluto comes out looking like like nothing ever happened.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:54

But what happens is there's a panel of Rio asking, like, I hope Pluto's not too hung over, and then there's a panel from outside the door where there's just a text bubble of Pluto inside going and then Pluto comes out completely fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:10

I I just love the idea of Pluto also like dead silence, and then Pluto coming out and just like golden light emits behind them with like pigeons coming out looking like beautiful morning uh hair. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Immaculately beautiful, yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:25

Force of will your hangover away. Uh good work. Otherwise, you'd be taking some serious overcome or uh hinders for what's going on.

SPEAKER_09 1:20:34

That's funny.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:35

Um there's there's the normal morning chatter, you go to the bar, you go to the uh the um bar cart and you can order uh some breakfast, you know, you kind of settle in, get some get some ghost coffee, and yeah uh light, it's very light a ghost coffee. Like it's it's it's very pleasing. Again, again, nothing satiating. You're not hungry, but it does taste good.

SPEAKER_09 1:20:56

Sure, totally, that makes sense. Yeah, you're just there for the flavors.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:59

Yeah. Um people are chatting, there's just normal conversation going on. Um while you while you uh are all kind of settling in uh for another peaceful day. The uh entire train car you're in, the train itself, lurches to the left and then settle slams back on it to the track. And just as everyone is like recovering, there's there's people like yelping and and you know trying to like the clattering of dishes and whatnot. Relax, you're not in any danger, you're already dead. You you hear it again, just this deafening thud, and the the the train lurches to the side and then clatters back onto the tracks. Uh you and everyone else rush to the windows on the right side of the train and skimming across the water. You see uh like waves are splashing up. You see an honest to God ghost pirate ship.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:18

Hell yes! Fuck yes!

SPEAKER_04 1:22:21

Of course. It is a a wooden pirate ship. The sails are torn to ribbons. Sure. Black sails with just the effect similarly of a skull and crossbones on them, completely shredded. There's no wind to propel this thing. Why would it need an intact sail? I guess that's true, yeah. Instead, there are phantasmal green flames emanating from open portholes on the side of it that is launching the ship forward.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:53

Awesome. It's like a rocket-powered ghost ship.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:56

It rises out, leaves the water for a second, and crashes down again. This thing is practically skipping across the water. And you see those those two heavy thuds you felt, you can see, are harpoons that have stabbed into the side of the train attached to chains connected to the ship itself. And already swinging on to uh swinging on using those to uh carry themselves across are uh skeletal pirates.

SPEAKER_09 1:23:31

Yeah, I think there's this moment where they're all at the window and then Ryo whips around to look at the two old men who are at the bar again, I'm just going to say. Oh yeah, for sure. And looks at them and goes, Oh, so nothing can hurt us here? Are you sure?

SPEAKER_04 1:23:43

Uh they both they both go. I I had no idea there were pirates!

SPEAKER_09 1:23:50

You think I've been here for like 90 years!

SPEAKER_04 1:23:52

Yes, and all of our train rides have been have been rather calm.

SPEAKER_09 1:23:56

Great, fantastic. The first time we come to the afterlife and we have to deal with skeleton pirates. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:03

Uh the reason why this is brand new, by the way. Because you can see uh stepping out onto the deck uh is the man who has to be the captain of this ship.

SPEAKER_09 1:24:18

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:19

He has a a long flowing gray beard uh that half of it is burnt. Like solid black with like uh burnt curls on the edges of the beard. Uh he does not wear an eye patch because it wouldn't fit, because uh the skin on like a quarter where like his right eye eye is, the skin is completely gone, showing only his uh bare skull.

SPEAKER_09 1:24:51

Sweet.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:52

And there's no eyeball in the socket. Uh he's got the tricorn hat, he's got this flowing uh ripped to shreds, uh dark maroon uh cloak, uh like a leather, you know, leather coat uh with gold pauldrons on it. He's got a chipped saber with a uh a small skull in the hilt in one hand, gigantic flint uh flintlock pistol in the other, and he goes, That's right, you scurvy devils! You'll be bored in by the one and only Captain Ramshackle! And that name is familiar to you.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:36

Is it?

SPEAKER_04 1:25:38

You fought this guy before.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:41

What?

SPEAKER_04 1:25:42

He was alive, obviously.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:44

Yeah, no joke. Pluto just slipped.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:47

This is Alright. This you flash back to a very similar battle of of this guy when he was fully intact and alive, standing on the hood of his armored semi-truck.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:03

Yeah! Okay, alright.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:06

And instead of uh it's the it's it's the the panels are framed like mirrors of each other with a panel of the three of you like looking up at this guy, and then a panel of him on the deck of his ship, then flashback of of the three of you on an open freeway with uh La Commodora with you instead of Paige Turner and and Arthur. Paige or uh La Commodora just looks exhausted, like completely f- Yeah. Uh this is Captain Ramshackle, a surly truck driver before the reboot, who after the reboot uh became a uh the scourge of the highways. The highway, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:26:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:54

Full pirate decked out his uh reconfigured his semi-truck to run on to run entirely on fuel, much like Coach uh fucking Mad Max the shit out of it. Uh, and had been hounding La Commodora for years now. And apparently, in the year since you last you know, year in change since you last saw him, uh, something got him. Something got him. You don't know what, but obviously he got got. Like, oh my god, I got fed up with you!

SPEAKER_01 1:27:26

I was genuinely like joking before we before he like Ben even brought it up. I was like, this has gotta be a guy like those like Lakomotoris. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:27:35

Pluto just looks at looks at Holy and Rio, like, I don't remember, did I get this one or is that that later?

SPEAKER_09 1:27:40

No, I don't think you got this one. I think he he drove away, remember? We scared him off.

SPEAKER_06 1:27:46

Oh, right. That guy. Pluto leans out the window. Hey Astel! I'm gonna ruin your cool boat like I did your car!

SPEAKER_04 1:27:55

He looks down and he sees you, and first he looks like he looks like f- But then like realization hits, and he goes, ha! So we're on even level even level then. Something got you too. Oh no, we're still alive.

SPEAKER_06 1:28:10

You're the only one who's gonna have a lot of money.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:16

Well then I'll be changing that, won't I?

SPEAKER_09 1:28:19

You know what? We set ourselves up for that one, yeah. You know, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:23

Uh give me one second, I realize I don't have my dice set up on your right. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:27

I just I just love the idea of it.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:32

Just heckling this pirate out of the windows of like a moving train. Yeah. Of course, while you are heckling him, uh the uh skeleton pirates, the pirate skeletons, uh are boarding the train.

SPEAKER_10 1:28:50

Oh crap.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:51

We probably should do that. So here's how this is gonna go down.

SPEAKER_09 1:28:56

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:58

Um You are your environment, by the way, is the living luxury. You have the uh the train cars to travel in. Movement is a free action unless the train is occupied by skeleton pirates.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:16

So you you are free to move as many as you want until you hit that. Um The Harpoons are in. They have embedded themselves in uh the ninth car, which is one of the sleep the which is the second sleeper car on the third row.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:41

And the uh kitchen car, which is the third car on the top row.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:48

Uh so I'm gonna put that here. I have a s I have a spreadsheet to keep track of all this.

SPEAKER_06 1:29:53

And we're in the fifth one right now?

SPEAKER_04 1:29:56

Yes, you are in the bar car. Okay. So.

SPEAKER_09 1:30:00

We're gonna have to get a roll 20 if we uh keep this up.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:04

Yeah, I might I might in the future when these continue getting complicated. I uh might be doing that.

SPEAKER_09 1:30:11

Then we can have little roll 20 icons of our little girl plays.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:14

Yeah, I'll draw little tokens forever. So, how this is going to go down, you might even end up like making these like uh video podcasts if it gets that complicated. Uh how this is gonna go down is uh you can't see this right now, but I'll just tell you there are three uh ghost uh pirate skeletons in each of the harpooned cars right now.

SPEAKER_07 1:30:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:36

Uh Ramshackle is on his ship, uh the Mastbreaker. He is out of range for your attacks right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:43

Uh for fucking long. Cox gun.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:46

Your your goal is not necessarily to defeat him. Your goal is to get these things, get this this connection severed from the train and clear out whoever's still in here.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:07

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:08

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:10

You have one green, three yellow, four red.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:14

Ooh, exciting.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:15

Because shit's already going down. There are already pirates uh sneaking on board.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:20

Sure. Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:23

Uh turn order is U3. Uh, plus the uh pirate skeletons, plus the mast breaker itself. Oh the ship itself.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:37

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:38

The ship itself, by the way, is a uh is counts as a lieutenant.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:43

Uh and you can try to do targets to it, but it's a it's a big honking ship, so you know, good luck, it's got advantages to those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:51

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:54

Alright. Okay. Who wants to go first?

SPEAKER_09 1:31:58

Um so we're kind of evenly split. I think uh Ryo kind of whips around to look at the other two and um says, like, I'm gonna go handle one of the the the one that hit the dining or the the sleeper car and um kind of takes off with the you know like the suggestion that maybe one of you should handle the one in the uh dining or in the kitchen car. Right?

SPEAKER_06 1:32:27

Well, uh I think Pluto's going to volunteer for the kitchen car. Cool. Pluto has a good uh skill set for dealing with uh uh those that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:37

Right, same. Right. I and I think Ollie is going to let's see. There's one of two ways this can go. It's either follow Ryo so that Rio has backup or follow Pluto so Pluto doesn't do anything bad once all of the enemies are done.

SPEAKER_09 1:32:58

Like try and go fight. I mean you can follow Rio. Cause mostly because I think we should let Pluto uh before.

SPEAKER_08 1:33:07

Make mistakes.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:08

Yeah, yeah, it's more fun that way. So right, right? We should let, you know, maybe let ourselves have a little fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:16

Also, Rio needs a little help.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:19

E well, not so much anymore, but you know, it's uh it's a thought to count.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:24

I don't know about that one.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:27

Uh then yeah, uh, think Ryo is gonna take off first and head for the uh the harpoon stuck in the in the ninth car. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:37

Uh you make your way over there. Uh there are three skeletons blocking your path as you make your way to that car. Um the the doors are barricaded, uh, or like the they've been locked, like the the passenger cars. Um the door like the the doors to each private room are are blocked. Um but you can tell there are still people inside some of that. So what do you do?

SPEAKER_09 1:34:10

So this is like the car before the one that's been harpooned, basically.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:14

Oh no, this is this is the one that's been harpooned. You've made it to the ninth car.

SPEAKER_09 1:34:17

Okay, so I made it to the ninth car. Okay, just making sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:19

You'll you are s you are stopped if there are skeletons in that car.

SPEAKER_09 1:34:25

Okay, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:26

You can't move any- you can't move past this car.

SPEAKER_09 1:34:29

Okay. Um, then yeah, Ryo is going to attack with Leyline Burst. Um, so basically she bursts through the door and see these skeleton pirates like turn to look at her, and all she says is, you know, I was really enjoying this whole train vacation thing. Um, and then she sweeps her arm and like little golden spikes from like the cracks in her arm come flying out to try and uh pierce the at least two of the skeletons. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:03

So uh you can can how many can you attack with that move?

SPEAKER_09 1:35:06

Two. Okay. So just any two of the the skeletons. So that is duh. Gravity. Um gravity, so six, eight, ten, the usual. Okay. Right. Um six eight. Uh really? That's a three.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:36

Your mid's a three?

SPEAKER_09 1:35:38

Yeah, my mid's a three.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:39

Okay, they might lose that still.

SPEAKER_09 1:35:41

Yeah, it's fine. I take uh I also take three damage.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:44

One of them does not make it.

SPEAKER_09 1:35:47

Oh wow. He's instantly splintered.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:49

Uh he's a skeleton. He's there's not much holding them together.

SPEAKER_09 1:35:52

Sure, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:54

Yeah, so one of them manages to hold on to most of his bones. But the other one there just shatters immediately. Um. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:12

Who wants to go next?

SPEAKER_09 1:36:14

Um, I'm gonna let the skeleton I just attacked who didn't die go next.

unknown 1:36:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:36:20

And the skeleton who did not die.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:22

So well, okay, so to be clear, there's gonna be a lot of these guys. The skeletons are all going at once.

SPEAKER_09 1:36:30

Oh, so even the ones that like are in other rooms?

SPEAKER_04 1:36:33

Yeah, that are in the other cars. So they the ones that are in other cars are also free to move where they please. And on and on their turn, they will roll a chance to replenish their ranks.

SPEAKER_06 1:36:45

May I humbly request instead letting a Pluto go before skeletons? Absolutely. Okay. Pluto, uh, similarly, is going to uh march to the other uh uh harpooned car as uh as far as they are allowed to.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:59

Okay. Alright, go ahead. You you make it. You can you're freely, you're like I said, you're free to travel as many cars as until you run into one with skeletons.

SPEAKER_06 1:37:08

Okay, so I get to the harpooned car. Are there skeletons in here already? Yeah, you're in the kitchen car there's already like like the last one, there's three skeletons in this one. Okay. So I'm realizing that I don't actually have like any area of effect stuff for Pluto until uh red zone. Um, instead, uh Pluto, I'm going. I think Pluto is going I'm going to use an overcome here. Okay. Um, Pluto is just going to go for the harpoon and ignore the skeletons. Uh, I'm going to invoke principle of the indestructible. Overcome in a situation where you charge headlong into danger. Ooh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:49

So I will say good point on that, because yeah, in order to remove the harpoons, you will need to make two overcomes. Great, to accomplish this. This goes for all everyone.

SPEAKER_10 1:37:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:38:00

So I think that the first one is Pluto doing that to get to the harpoon to actually like have it in their grip and just like dealing with the fact that they are going to be covered in skeletons when they're doing this. Gotcha. Okay. Um I'm going to in uh appropriately, I'm going to use uh actually, I'll be a little bit more uh flavorful here because I like this idea. Pluto's going to use their power nightshade. Uh and and as well as the quality destroyer prince and actually no, close combat would be good here for reasons I'll get into in a second. Nightshade close combat and their status die of six. Um, the go- the armored ghost knights who are with Pluto are going to uh run interference and like keep the skeletons off them as they make as they make their way there. Um, so that's a 10, a 12, and a 6 I have to roll. So uh 10, 12, 6. Uh well, I'm overcoming with my max since it's a principle, and my max is a 10.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:58

Sweet. Hell yeah. So a 10 means action completely succeeds. You are uh without any penalties whatsoever. Pluto grabs onto the harpoon, and just with pure physical strength, you manage to push this thing out of its anchor about halfway. Radical. Uh it's still there, but like it's starting to wobble a little bit.

unknown 1:39:29

Cool.

SPEAKER_06 1:39:29

Oh, I sh I should mention, because I forgot, I've used two different principal that overcome this thing. Two hero points total.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:38

Two hero points.

SPEAKER_06 1:39:40

Because I've used a strength and indestructible both.

unknown 1:39:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:39:44

On different occasions.

SPEAKER_06 1:39:51

Does Ollie want to go next, or should we pass the skeletons and then Ollie?

SPEAKER_01 1:39:54

Um, it won't matter either way, because Ollie's not also not going to be attacking skeletons.

SPEAKER_06 1:39:59

Okay. Let's pass the skeletons. It seems appropriate time for skeletons to get their revenge.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:04

Okay. Uh. The two skeletons that are still in Ryo's cabin. Uh just watch their friend get uh crumbled powder. Uh they're going to draw their sk their uh their little scimitars, uh, wave them and kind of like uh rattle me and charge at you.

SPEAKER_09 1:40:25

Skeleton accent, yeah, of course. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:26

Skeleton voice. You know, every f every skeleton in the world sounds like uh skeletor. It's just how it works. Then? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:32

What would a skeletor accent it? Skeleton. How do you how do you thread the needle and have them also do a pirate accent at the same time? Okay, good. Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:45

Younger meaties! Listen, they don't have tongues, they're not very vocal. But it's funny. I'll have you walk the poop neck! These things, uh, they're barely sentient as it is. Like Ram Ramshackle has like 10,000 of these guys. They're not very bright.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:08

I just imagine every single one of them are like that one that one like ancient YouTube video of a guy, like having taken a photo of his petigana just bobbing its head and then waddling towards you at at like speed.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:21

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they just uh they're just gonna charge at you with their with their rusty uh chip scimitars and just uh whack you one wax you for two, one wax you for one.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:32

Okay, that's fine.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:34

They just smack you with their with their swords, and Rio's like, ow, ow, stop it.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:38

No, that's fine.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:39

Jetic ass. Uh the three that are um uh the so you the uh the spectral knights ran interference once, but these skeletons can at least manage to uh crackle their way around that now.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:55

Hey, sorry, I have to invoke something real fast.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:58

Yes?

SPEAKER_09 1:41:58

When you are hit, uh Wrath of Paradise, when you are hit with an attack at close range, the attacker also takes damage equal to their effect die. Ooh, okay. And because they just hit me for that much damage, I'm already in yellow, so um that that immediately procks.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:19

Um both of those skeletons have to roll their effect die for damage. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:27

Uh this is gonna be weird. Okay, so I have to roll that and then I have to roll the defense with the same die. Interesting. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:35

No, the attacker also takes damage.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:37

Like, I There's no defense.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:39

There's no resisting.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:40

Oh, okay. Well then, I mean. Hmm, that's interesting because I don't know how this would work for because it's pass fail for minions.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:51

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:52

They don't know.

SPEAKER_06 1:42:56

Well If there's no HP, right? Right?

SPEAKER_04 1:43:01

No, because that's they always have a chance to succeed. Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna split the difference on this one. Okay. Rather than like a uh a save die to roll.

SPEAKER_09 1:43:24

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:25

So I'm gonna say that we're gonna go with their mid. So one of them was knocked down to a d4, one of them at a d6. So they have to beat a three or a two and a two.

SPEAKER_09 1:43:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:37

Uh one of them does not. One of them the whiplash immediately crumbles that one too.

SPEAKER_09 1:43:43

One of them strikes Ryo, and um yet again they are uh absolutely pincushioned by gold spikes.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:51

It was it was the one that was already had already taken a hit earlier. So when he goes to swing at you, the sword hits and then his arm just falls off.

SPEAKER_09 1:44:00

Yeah, and then he just collapses into a pile into a little pile of mold.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:04

And the rest of him goes with it. Um the other three that are that are with Pluto are going to attack attack them now. Uh hoochama. That is 10 damage.

SPEAKER_09 1:44:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:22

Uh total?

SPEAKER_06 1:44:23

Yeah, they rolled good. Um, hey. I'm still in green. Wow. That owns! Good for you.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:31

Um we love a tank. And then after that.

SPEAKER_09 1:44:37

I guess that's why you let Pluto go off on their own. They can handle it, it's fine.

SPEAKER_06 1:44:42

That's why my that's why my approach is Pluto doesn't actually care that much about these minions.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We are going to roll um. Let's. Since we're still in green, I'll keep it simple. Two and one. One more skeleton boards, uh, suddenly uh scales the the harpoon in Rio's car and appears uh there. And two more appear fru uh in uh Pluto's car.

SPEAKER_09 1:45:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:21

So five and two. So there's five in in Pluto's car and two in Rio's now.

SPEAKER_09 1:45:27

Sounds good. Uh I guess that means it's Ollie's turn.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:32

Well, that's what Ben's what Ben wants. There's Ollie's.

SPEAKER_09 1:45:39

Oh right, it gets its own turn.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:42

Um We'll let Ollie go. Sounds good. Um It's a good thing Ben brought it up, because uh I'm actually just she's just literally going to break open a window and it would just take a pot shot at the um the ship. Okay. Um we're just gonna use a good old precise shot, um, which is attack using your signature weapon, ignore all penalties on this attack, ignore any defend actions, and it cannot be affected by reactions.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:13

Simple and easy. Um 10-8 and 8. Uh we got three eights. Nice! Wow.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:24

Uh as far as the response goes. It passes.

SPEAKER_10 1:46:33

Wow!

SPEAKER_04 1:46:34

Shot uh so Mastbreaker, uh, one of its moves is sturdy, is uh reliable, I mean. Which means it inherently uh gets the Sentinel's equivalent of advantage on all rolls. Uh so any any basic action. So response to an attack, uh any basic attack, any basic defend, etc., gets advantage on those rolls. So I get to roll D2, die, and pick the better one. So eh, you fire.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:05

And that's an inherent.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:06

Yeah, it's an inherent, it just it just is always in effect.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:09

Damn.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:10

Uh you you you line up, take your shot, and the bullet just ping bounces off the ship. You think you can scratch my ship with that pea shooter!

SPEAKER_01 1:47:22

You're you're right, buddy, you're right. I remember last time.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:26

Let me sh- Let me show you what a real gun can do. Ah, jeez. Uh. And it's going to make a basic attack. A cannon is going to pop out of one of the portholes. Uh, and take a shot at you know what since since Rio is is or not uh since Ollie is peeking out the window.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:52

Mm-hmm. Yeah, easy target.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:55

Uh roll that again. Oh. Hey Ryo. That's a little busy. What's up? Better move away from the windows.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:06

A a cackling skull-shaped cannonball fires out of the cannon, laughing, engulfed in green flame, and it smacks Ollie in the face for four damage.

SPEAKER_09 1:48:22

Ollie just immediately getting like knocked out of the window and across the train car.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:28

Uh and then it it it cackles as it like fades away as well.

SPEAKER_09 1:48:33

Great.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:34

Uh end of the round, it's the environment's turn.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:39

So we've got ten, eight, a ten, and eight.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:57

I love this ice roller box.

SPEAKER_09 1:49:00

I'm so happy. So good. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:04

A five, a two, and a ten. So a five. Alright. Oh yeah, that's easy enough. We'll go.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:19

Ooh, this'll be a fun one. Uh we'll invoke Take another step and she dies again. Uh Ryo, in your car. Uh, one of the skeletal pirates has broken down the door of the uh private cabin. Uh-huh. And it grabs this Victorian lady with its arm and it's pointing a saber at her head. Oh, jeez. Uh, this car, all heroes have a negative one hinder until the train car is cleared out.

SPEAKER_05 1:49:54

Oh dear, I have no idea if this is supposed to bother me or not. I was told I could not be harmed! I prefer not to lose my head even if I would survive. Honestly, this doesn't actually in dang I'm not actually in danger from this at all, but this is how I died in real life, so I am very upset.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:13

This is quite a bother. And they did break down my door, which means I'm now lacking in any form of privacy. Uh okay. Top of the turn order. Um We're going to give it to the mass breaker again.

unknown 1:50:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:50:35

Uh and That's right, I get to go a second time.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:37

And yeah, this time uh Ramshackle at the at the front of the ship. He's literally like like at the at the the the very front of the ship, like standing on the ma uh the the um the headpiece of it.

SPEAKER_10 1:50:50

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:51

Uh like one foot on one peg leg on there, uh like cackling away. He's going to raise his sword and he's going to try to mor uh boost the morale of his uh of his loyal pirates. So we are going to say that is a boost for them.

SPEAKER_09 1:51:10

Ooh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:12

That's a four. So all of these skeletons get a plus two boost.

SPEAKER_06 1:51:20

Since we've established their non-safety, and I'm just imagining he has decided that they're allowed to be happy.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 1:51:28

His normal per his normal thing is that they have a sort of grouseing personality.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:33

Right. Uh the the eye sockets in their skulls like flare up with green energy and they feel like a little bit revitalized.

SPEAKER_10 1:51:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:41

Uh but they're just kind of they're just kind of like waving their arms mindlessly and cheering like like with weird screechy groans.

SPEAKER_10 1:51:48

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:49

Uh and we will pass that over to Pluto.

SPEAKER_06 1:51:54

Uh Pluto, really simply, while still being uh actively swarmed by bothersome skeletons, is just going to go ahead and overcome uh this will probably be principle of strength again, uh not to like obviously invoke any more hero points since I've already done both. Okay. Um but uh Pluto's just going to try and kick that fucking harpoon loose.

SPEAKER_03 1:52:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:52:13

Uh so it's going to be strength. This is going to be close combat since they're in close combat, and it's going to be their status place, which is. Well, I guess now we're in yellow, aren't we?

SPEAKER_04 1:52:21

Yes, return or yellow.

SPEAKER_06 1:52:24

I forget to say does that mean that I can I know that means I can use yellow moves. Does that mean that I am in the yellow zone, quote unquote?

SPEAKER_04 1:52:31

You can use you are so you are not in yellow. Okay. But you have access to your yellow moves because the environment or you are it are in yellow. Okay. That's the important important distinction.

SPEAKER_06 1:52:45

I want to make sure. You use whichever is lower. Okay. Well, I'm going to be rolling a 12, a 12, and an 8. Uh. Okay. And my highest is an eight.

SPEAKER_09 1:52:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:53:01

Uh, an eight. Dude. Action completely succeeds. Alright. Uh. You manage to force the harpoon the remainder of the way out. It falls from the side of the train car, splashes into the water, uh, and is now being dragged along by the ship itself. Uh, the harpoon tip, by the way, is completely busted. It no longer has an anchor point on it. So he's not able to fire that one again.

SPEAKER_06 1:53:41

Yay! Cool. Uh Pl-Pluto just like cur has a skeleton gnawing on their shoulder. Just like, I guess I should get back to the bar. And uh, we see them start to make their way back as we pivot to whoever's next. Um, which I guess do we w- do we want Rio, do you want to go next or do you want to let skeletons go next?

SPEAKER_09 1:54:02

Uh let's let skeletons go next. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:05

All five of those skeletons just saw them lose one of their anchor points. Uh, and they're going to attack you, Pluto, before you can make your way out.

SPEAKER_06 1:54:14

So I do need to say, if, depending how you're rolling, uh, I need to know the first skeleton's damage before you roll anyone else's thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:22

Sure, I will roll one first.

SPEAKER_06 1:54:24

That's a two. Okay. I'm now in yellow zone. This is important, because any other skeletons attacking me each individually uh do two less damage than they roll.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:36

Good to know. Uh I need one more D S.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:41

There you are.

SPEAKER_06 1:54:42

Uh, this is due to the power which is inexorable or damage resistant, which might sound familiar, except it's reduce any physical or energy damage by two when you're in the yellow zone or three when you're in a room zone.

SPEAKER_09 1:54:53

Much better!

SPEAKER_06 1:54:54

No longer do I have to ask Ben, hey, is it the specific type of damage? Right. If I'm in the yellow zone, I simply take two less damage.

SPEAKER_04 1:55:01

Those two do nothing. Uh three, three, and two. So eight. You take eight damage total.

SPEAKER_06 1:55:12

Okay. Uh so. Well, the damage resistance is reduce. When I take damage, it reduces by two.

SPEAKER_04 1:55:22

Yeah, these are five individual attacks. That's what I mean. I reduce two by each. I I rolled I rolled five D si d6. Two of them were a one and a two, so they do nothing. Right. Two were fives, one was a four. Okay. So you have three and two.

SPEAKER_05 1:55:39

So.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:55:49

No, it's three, three, and two, which is six plus two. Which is eight. Okay, yeah, you're right, you're right. Eight.

SPEAKER_09 1:55:55

I'm streaming. Streamer brain.

SPEAKER_06 1:55:58

Tired. It's uh Pluto's doing this brain math very badly while skeletons are gnawing on them as they walk back to the bar.

SPEAKER_09 1:56:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:56:06

Um, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:10

Um what about the skeletons in the other car?

SPEAKER_04 1:56:14

Oh yeah, those those have to go now. Uh two of them are also going to attack you, Ryo.

SPEAKER_10 1:56:21

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:22

For full damage. Oofa doofa! That's a t that's ten damage.

SPEAKER_09 1:56:28

Um, no, that's fine. It's uh again, it's physical attacks. Wrath of Paradise is going to proc yet again. When you are hit with an attack at close range, the attacker also takes damage equal to their effect die.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:39

Is that an inherent or uh it's a reaction? Reaction. Oh, this is a new round, so yeah, you can use it.

SPEAKER_09 1:56:45

Yeah, it's a new reaction. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:47

Uh they both pass their save to deflect that.

SPEAKER_09 1:56:51

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:52

These ones are these ones are sturdier. These ones got some grit to them. They've got those green eyes. Yeah, they're excited. Oh, that's right. Oh, that's right, they get a plus two to that. They have a plus two, they had a plus two boost to all that. So actually. Uh-huh. Rio Pluto takes another six damage. Oh, uh Pluto gets to go immediately to red zone.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:15

Oh. Yeah. Great.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:17

Because they because they all their attacks that they negated the the negative two. Uh and so that means Ryo takes 14 damage.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:30

Awesome.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:31

Good god.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:32

That's fine. No, that's fine. I've been looking forward to this.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:35

They still meet meet their meet their quota for that, though.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:37

Yeah, no, that's fine.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:39

But now they don't have any other boost anymore. So.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:43

Well. That's fine. I uh I I kinda have a plan for that then. Okay. Do you want to go next? Yeah, Sarah, uh, do you need to. Did that put you in the red at all?

SPEAKER_09 1:57:55

Yeah, that does put me in the red. Although I don't mind being in the red, I will say.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:58

My my re my uh my question is, um do you want to take a gamble and see if it puts you back into threshold for yellow?

SPEAKER_09 1:58:11

Sure, I want to see a new thing, so absolutely. I mean, if it just kind of bumps me into the yellow, that's fine. If it just keeps me slightly higher in the red, that's also fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:21

Yeah, exactly. We're gonna we're gonna we're gonna do a gamble. Sure, go for it. On on seeing uh pulling herself out of the rubble after the the cannonball and seeing uh uh Ryo having a bit of trouble has um Ollie decided to um pitch in help out rather than um hoping that Ryo could handle things like or could cover her, um, and decides to use the manifold lullaby. Um I boost, hinder, defend, or attack using telepathy. You and all nearby heroes in the yellow or in the red zone recover health equal to your min die.

SPEAKER_09 1:59:03

Oh, okay, cool. Yeah, let's let's gamble.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:07

So what we're gonna do is um I think it doesn't say uh whether or not I can it doesn't it doesn't specify if it is multiple or single target. Um, but I was just going to use it as a hinder. Do you Ben, would you write that as a single target or as multiple targets?

SPEAKER_04 1:59:29

Boost hinder, defend, or attack using telepathy. You and all nearby heroes. That doesn't it doesn't qualify whether it's an individual or because it's AoE on because it's AoE on the second half, so I don't really know how to how to Yeah, so I would say Well because yeah, because you you have an option to I guess because you have an option to hinder to defend as well. I would say that the text since the text is vague, you can use it on multiple targets.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:59

Okay, that because that that kind of helps me narrow down what my my option or what I want to pick out of the options. Okay. Uh so we're going to hinder um all of these skeletons and see if we can get them back down a little bit. Okay. So it's uh telepathy. Um and I got three, an eight, and a six. So uh both Rio and Ollie heal for three. Nice! Um, and I guess they uh Hinder for six are Hindered for six, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:44

Okay, that's a negative two.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:47

Alright, so it can out.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:49

That cancels their boost, nice. And it keeps me in the red.

SPEAKER_04 2:00:52

Well, their boost already went away because they attacked.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:55

Oh, right!

SPEAKER_01 2:00:56

Ah, even funner.

SPEAKER_04 2:00:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:59

Okay then.

SPEAKER_04 2:01:01

So now it's Ryo's turn, right?

SPEAKER_09 2:01:03

Yes, because skeletons have already gone. The ship has already gone because they led with the first. Okay, so it's just Rio's turn.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_09 2:01:11

So Rio. Go Rio. Ryo is going to um one. I know I had to declare this first. Uh I got last session we got plus two in hero points from stuff we did. I turned that into a uh a buff called plus two years experience.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:29

Okay. Nice, nice, nice.

SPEAKER_09 2:01:31

Um and I am gonna use it uh to use principle of great power to get this uh uh harpoon out. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:01:40

Go ahead and make your one overcome, your first overcome.

SPEAKER_09 2:01:43

One, two, three, come on. So that is a seven. Damn, I was really hoping to roll higher for that. Actually, you know what? I can roll to I can try to roll higher.

SPEAKER_04 2:01:57

Um, you also have a negative one hinder because of um wait no because of the um effect, the environment effect.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:05

Right, and I can't use my dang reaction because I already used a reaction this turn. Right? Is that how that works?

SPEAKER_04 2:02:15

Yes, your reactions only last for the round.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:18

Okay, but and it's you only get one reaction a turn.

SPEAKER_04 2:02:22

You can use one re you can use a reaction once per round.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:27

Okay, just make it.

SPEAKER_04 2:02:31

Uh, you know, as many as you are able to.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:34

Oh! Then I can do this!

SPEAKER_04 2:02:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:37

Um, I am going to take a damage, butt myself back down to eight to re-roll my dice pool.

SPEAKER_03 2:02:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:46

Um. And that is also a five. Are you fucking kidding me? Whatever.

SPEAKER_04 2:02:58

Uh, that's fine. Who cares? Five. I mean, five is a success with a minor twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:03:03

Yeah, it's a six, technically. So.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:06

Well, it's a it's a five because you have the negative one hinder. Don't forget that.

SPEAKER_09 2:03:09

Well, but I also gave myself a plus two from using.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:13

Okay, so it's a six?

SPEAKER_09 2:03:15

It's a six.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:16

Okay, then that's still a minor twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:03:18

Yeah, alright, just make a sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:19

You uh so what does Ryo do exactly to get this, try to get this uh Harpoon out?

SPEAKER_09 2:03:24

Um, Ryo is going to touch the side, like the wall of the train, and it's going to kind of ripple with like those same kind of weird gold cracks that are all over her body. Um, and then the train itself is going to kind of like the floors are going to ripple like you just shook out a blanket, right?

SPEAKER_03 2:03:50

Ooh, okay.

SPEAKER_09 2:03:51

Yeah, so it there's like a kind of a rolling wave effect to try and get the uh to get the harpoon out, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:03:58

Okay. Yeah. Uh you manage to get you manage to do this, and it before Ryo kind of loses her grasp on manipulating an environment like this, it's still ghostly, so she doesn't have full control over it.

SPEAKER_00 2:04:11

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:04:12

You know, if this were if this were back in the living world, then you'd be able to do this no problem, but you you the material makeup is different here. It's a little more ethereal. So you only get it out about halfway before you have to stop and lose your focus on it.

unknown 2:04:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:04:25

Uh, as far as your minor twist goes, let's um.

SPEAKER_09 2:04:37

Well, for the principle of great power, it's how do you restrain yourself from using your full power? Um basically to keep myself from tearing this train apart.

SPEAKER_04 2:04:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 2:04:47

Um. Let's see. You know what? I'm actually- Can I make a suggestion? Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:04:53

You're going, go, you go you first.

SPEAKER_09 2:04:54

Uh, you kind of colored it the right way. Can I make the suggestion that I lose access to plants? Because Ryo's realizing she's uh not in a place where plants will grow.

SPEAKER_04 2:05:08

Uh, that seems more like a major twist thing.

SPEAKER_09 2:05:11

You think so? Damn.

SPEAKER_04 2:05:12

Just turning off one of your powers. Yeah. So my minor twist is what you kind of did with this rippling effect to do that, it worked to get part of it out, but now the wall that the tray that the harpoon was embedded in and the harpoon itself are kind of fused together. So the next overcome roll someone makes to try to move to get the the harpoon out all the way, uh, that roll itself will have a negative two hinder.

SPEAKER_01 2:05:45

Ah, I think that's a fun one. Okay, that works.

SPEAKER_09 2:05:50

Um. Yeah, so I guess it's the environment's turn now.

SPEAKER_03 2:05:55

Okay. We are in the yellow for the environment. Ten, ten, and eight. That's a five, a five, and a nine. So five is a minor.

SPEAKER_04 2:06:22

God, there's so many notes. There's so many tabs to go through. Ah, okay. This train car is about to get crowded. Oh boy. Uh, roll the environment die ice again. Take the mid-die, which is five. Uh five more skeletons slide down this remain the chain of this remaining harpoon.

SPEAKER_09 2:06:53

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 2:06:53

Uh, and make their way into the train car with you. There are now seven skeletons in here.

SPEAKER_06 2:07:02

That's far too many.

SPEAKER_09 2:07:03

That's far too many.

SPEAKER_06 2:07:05

We're going to need more than five or six samurai.

SPEAKER_04 2:07:10

Perhaps a seven. Perhaps, hmm. I wonder how many they'll recruit by the end. Um, that's the environment's turn. Uh, Ryo went last. Who's going to go first? Uh, we are still in yellow, by the way.

SPEAKER_09 2:07:26

Yeah. Sorry. I'm thinking. Fuck it. I want to use this. I haven't had a chance to use it yet. Let's go if let's go for it. Uh, I'm going again. Okay. And I am going to use Axis Moondi. Finally.

SPEAKER_01 2:07:41

Oh, oh no. Do I need to be holding on to something?

SPEAKER_09 2:07:47

Yes, you should. Uh Axis Moondie, aka Final Wrath, slightly modified, um, is attack multiple targets using cosmic. Use your Max Plus Mid plus Mintai. Take a major twist. Ollie may take her reaction in response.

SPEAKER_04 2:08:04

Yeah, remember Ollie, remember, uh, dear uh faithful readers. Back in the Heraldopia arc. That's right. Ollie became Ryo's uh unofficial uh leash holder.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:17

Minder, in a way.

SPEAKER_06 2:08:19

So And now Sarah just needs to invoke that so that she can get a bonus on this role.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:24

Oh, that's true.

SPEAKER_06 2:08:26

That is true.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:28

I kinda, yeah, this is a a reminder. Like, Ollie knows what this looks like. She's seen this before. Yeah. Um so yeah, this is cosmic, and in that case, what this looks like is so the uh the train and the ship are both like cruising like through the water, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:08:47

Um so the water is actually moving for once. Uh so yeah, the ship is so the ship is manipulating the water, like waves are coming off of it, you know, there's there's the ocean spray, but the the train is still above the water. The tracks are still above the water.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:59

No, no, no, that's fine. That doesn't matter. Um all of that stops. Um everything kind of stops dead in its tracks, and there's like this weird ripple, and um in front of the like the the train and the boat, this uh it looks like kind of a gold portal. It opens up and uh it's just blackness, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:09:26

Ooh, okay.

SPEAKER_09 2:09:27

Um and because the the Noble Phantasm title subtitle I give it is The World Turds at My Command. Um so this is Ryo taking complete control of the environment for just a moment, um, and forcibly making it into like her domain. Um, and when that happens, it's just like gold spikes start bursting out of everything, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:09:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 2:09:54

Um so yeah, that's how we color this big attack that attacks everything.

SPEAKER_04 2:09:59

Hell yeah. Give me a roll to attack seven of these skeletons.

SPEAKER_09 2:10:03

Yeah, and I guess the boat too. It's everything.

SPEAKER_04 2:10:07

That's true, yeah. You might be able to actually deal damage to the boat with a m with a f with three dice roll. Can you deal damage to my skeletons too? I mean, yeah, actually. Oh, you are taking a major twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 2:10:28

Let's have it be a roll against 12 skeletons in a boat. Come on!

SPEAKER_09 2:10:33

Skeletons in a boat!

SPEAKER_04 2:10:34

I'm gonna- I'm gonna say you do this. You can do this.

SPEAKER_09 2:10:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:10:42

What's your current HP? Eight. On top of the major twist, if you want to clear if you want to wipe the board, as it were.

SPEAKER_09 2:10:54

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 2:10:55

Do you want to take half damage on top of your major twist?

SPEAKER_09 2:10:58

Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:11:00

Go down to four.

SPEAKER_09 2:11:00

Yeah, totally. Okay. Uh, alright then. Let's uh let's roll these bones.

SPEAKER_04 2:11:06

Literally.

SPEAKER_09 2:11:08

Yeah, so this is cosmic. Oh my god, right, it's also my status die. So this is Witch of Eden, Cosmic, and Status Die in the red. So eight, ten, twelve. I never get to know this. I'm so excited. Eight, ten, twelve. Um that was a low roll.

SPEAKER_04 2:11:40

Yeah. You know. Okay, so none of the skeletons can beat that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:11:45

Um they all turn into the skeletons in the Terminator movies. Just exploding against the movies.

SPEAKER_04 2:11:53

Okay, so The Mass Breaker can't even beat that!

SPEAKER_10 2:12:02

Eat shit, loser.

SPEAKER_04 2:12:06

Every skeleton on here is dust. Yeah. Crumbles immediately. There is not like like when when the green goblin threw the pumpkin bomb in Spider-Man 1, and then those like businessmen just like atomized immediately.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:26

Totally. Or or uh the the politician in Bumblebee when he goes up against a Decepticon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:12:32

Uh just nothing. The ship itself takes uh a significant amount of damage and it was keeping pace with uh the train is now starting to flag behind. That chain is still connected though. Sure. You are at four health.

SPEAKER_09 2:12:56

Yeah. And also take a major twist.

SPEAKER_04 2:13:02

Time to think of a really good major twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:13:06

It's the first time I've ever been able to use Axis Moundie. I didn't want to use it fighting a bunch of skeletons, but fuck it. It's been I have been sitting on this move for like four months.

SPEAKER_01 2:13:19

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 2:13:21

I am interested in hearing thoughts about a major twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:13:29

What major damage do you inflict in the process of saving the day is the is the the great power major twist, which kind of works, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_06 2:13:44

I have a suggestion that's in keeping with that. Uh we lose part of the train, it's the front car.

SPEAKER_10 2:13:55

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:13:56

Okay, I have I have two based on that. Okay. One, you have caused significant damage to the systems that maintain the train.

SPEAKER_09 2:14:07

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:14:08

Which will require some more overcomes during this battle than to fix that. That's an immediate uh mage twist that can happen right now.

SPEAKER_09 2:14:16

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 2:14:18

Or the sarcophagus stirs.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:27

We are wait, we're in the we're in the back um passenger cars, right? Yeah. So that means s that means Ollie and Ryo are like within spitting distance of that sarcophagus.

SPEAKER_04 2:14:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 2:14:42

I kinda love that one.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:43

That's my vote.

SPEAKER_04 2:14:44

That's my vote. This will have ramifications on the future of this volume.

SPEAKER_10 2:14:52

That's my information, baby!

SPEAKER_04 2:14:57

Yeah, let's do it. Okay. So Captain Ramshackle has just lost his ship, basically. It can no longer keep up with that. It's it's being dragged along by the train itself at this point.

SPEAKER_09 2:15:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 2:15:16

Uh as he's cursing your name uh and fli and uh fading off, the chain goes taut, completely taut, like uh in that you hear groaning, uh, and like I said, how the how the harpoon itself and the wall are fused.

SPEAKER_09 2:15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:15:37

The harpoon tears out, like the a chunk of the wall tears out and separates from the train. And the cursed afflamed vessel uh the of the mast breaker slowly fades off into the distance.

SPEAKER_09 2:15:59

Nice.

SPEAKER_04 2:16:00

The battle is over. And uh he curses your name and swears he'll get his revenge someday on you. Sure, sure, sure. Last thoughts there. And as you guys are winding down, I think Rio is about to collapse. Yeah, no, Rio sits on the floor and just kind of is just like We Everyone kind of gathers their bearings, um, the the the crew or the the you know the the employees kind of go make their rounds to make sure everyone's doing okay.

SPEAKER_06 2:16:35

Um Pluto shows back up, uh covered in in skeletal bites. Uh yeah, I feel like actually there's a moment where at first like there's so much fog pouring into the the car you're in from the adjacent car that you're wondering if there's more ghost shit about to bother you. And then Pluto walks in, it's just all coming out of Pluto. Sure.

SPEAKER_09 2:16:55

Oh true, because they've been thoroughly gnawed on by all of these uh skeletons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 2:17:01

Uh you guys are well it's not even like they're covered in in new ghost dust, it's the it's the stuff in them.

SPEAKER_09 2:17:08

Right.

SPEAKER_06 2:17:09

It's like it's coming out like it's like water. Right. Right? Like it's thick.

SPEAKER_09 2:17:13

Because you were in the red too, right? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:17:16

Uh everyone kind of uh of takes a sigh of relief, they they start to recover, people are putting you know, putting things back to the way they were. The last few pages of the of the issue, we cut back to inside uh the 11th car, the cargo with the sarcophagus in it. And it had been motionless before, you know, suspended in the air by those chains. As as the uh conductor kind of gets the train back uh back under control um through some kind of internal force, the sarcophagus starts to sway back and forth in its chains. And there are the gold cracks that Ryo has on her skin are starting to form in the concrete around the sarcophagus. And that is where this issue will end.

SPEAKER_09 2:18:15

Yay! Yay! It's my favorite thing.

SPEAKER_05 2:18:25

Yay.

SPEAKER_01 2:18:26

I'm gonna die.

SPEAKER_09 2:18:28

It'll be fine. Well, folks We're already in the afterlife. How bad can it be?

SPEAKER_01 2:18:32

Yeah, we are- Oh yeah, you know what, you're right.

SPEAKER_04 2:18:34

We are back. It feels good to play reboot again.

SPEAKER_09 2:18:39

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 2:18:40

Uh we'll be back relatively soon to see uh what Rio broke.

SPEAKER_09 2:18:45

It'll be fine.

SPEAKER_04 2:18:46

It'll be fine.

SPEAKER_06 2:18:48

It's just a major twist.

SPEAKER_09 2:18:50

It's all a major twist. Sure. Don't worry about it.

SPEAKER_04 2:18:56

Um yeah, if you are listening to this early, that's because you're a patron, which we appreciate your support on patreon.com slash thegorge. If you're not a patron, you can get this issue early by donating $3 a month at patreon.com slash thegorge. And if you are somehow listening to this and don't also listen to The Gorge, uh do that.

SPEAKER_09 2:19:14

Yeah, please. Um and join our Discord, please. It's always fun.

SPEAKER_04 2:19:18

To talk about this and other things that we do. Um Yeah, that'll do it then. Uh we'll catch you next time.

SPEAKER_09 2:19:28

Good night, everyone.

SPEAKER_04 2:19:29

Good night, everyone. Good night.

SPEAKER_01 2:19:31

Enjoy.