Realis 20: The Death Procession Pt. 2
Transcriber: frog (fferaldogs)
Recap        1
Leaving Vortigern [0:08:01]        6
The Fallen Cathedral [0:22:19]        15
A Hunter Arrives [0:34:03]        23
The Golden Knights [0:49:55]        35
Recap
Austin: Realis is a science fiction and dark fantasy series that contains discussion of violence, injury, slavery, cannibalism, and disease. This campaign never depicts sexual violence, always shows you where the sword goes but never what it does, and always airs on the side of maximalism. 
[“Sapryc” by Jack de Quidt begins playing]
Austin: “Empest worker drones always work day and night.” You can hear the sound, the familiar buzzing of the back wings of a group of Empest drones flying overhead. This is not the first time that they’ve shown up, but this is the closest they’ve come to where you are, which in my mind, is sort of a set of these ruins inside of, let’s stay inside of this old ruined town that was already abandoned. 
There were signs that the town had been hit by the Bile, which is this plague that has spread across Sapryc. And so it had been abandoned and quarantined, and then the people there just died, the people who remained there just died. 
-
Austin: Bile is not simply a thing that gives you fevers and boils and carbuncles, but it gives you anger, it gives you ire. That is why it is called the Bile. It is said that those who suffer from it feel anger at others, themselves, and the world, so raw and wretched that sometimes it turns violent. So, there is both the traditional plague-like symptoms, but also a raw anger that is contagious and deadly. 
-
Dre (as Flemming): [sighs] Okay, Mirador, what is it we’re looking for?
Austin (as Mirador): I think that this is, I think that we’re in, uh, a town. We’re in Vortigern. It’s really called Vortigern’s Hollow, but everyone just calls it Vortigern. And if we’re at Vortigern, then I know a shortcut through a little canyon pass that’ll get us there a little quicker. But if we’re not in Vortigern, then I don’t know. So, I’m looking for evidence of it being Vortigern. 
-
Austin: Jud? You don’t remember your arm being this hairy. 
Jack: Uh-oh! [laughs]
Dre: Uh-oh. [laughing] That’s not good!
Sylvi: Congratulations on puberty. 
Jack: Huh. Mm. [laughs] Good work, Jud. 
Austin: But hey, it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. 
-
Austin: I think Mirador yells out like, 
(as Mirador): I found some necklaces. Does anyone want a necklace?
Dre (as Flemming): No. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Don’t think it’d fit.
Austin (as Mirador): More necklaces for me!
Jack: [laughs]
Dre (as Flemming): We are where you think we are. Where do we go next?
Austin (as Mirador): North. North until we see the big tree, if it’s still standing. And then east, down into the barrow. 
-
Sylvi (as Gaje): Let’s get the other two and leave this place. I don’t like it here. 
Austin (as Mirador): All right, all right. 
Sylvi: Were there signs of treatment for the Bile for people in this house that we’re into at all?
Austin: No, what there are is signs that… Oh, that’s actually interesting. Yeah, yes, yes, there probably were, right?
Sylvi: Okay.
Austin: You notice it in small things. There’s, you know, a particular flower shows up again and again across the building, right? Across the house. Again, dried, now ruined.
Sylvi: Um…
Austin: What’s up?
Sylvi: When… Oh, go ahead. I was just going to say, whenever we’re in a place where it seems like it’s a space that’s been used for triage or any sort of impromptu medical care, Gaje is noticeably tenser than he usually is.
Austin: Interesting. Okay, sure. Important notes, for sure. And I will say the thing here is maybe Gaje picks it up in a way that others don’t, because it is hidden here. There is not a corner of a room that’s been turned into a place for care. Maybe you would have picked this up, Flemming, through scanning these books, but in someone’s diary, it explains that the master of the house insisted that they did not have the Bile. And that even if they did have the Bile, they could never let the people of Vortigern know that they had the Bile. Right? And so it was hidden, maybe even from them, that they were being treated for that specifically, you know, at some point, right? Or someone in the household, maybe, right?
Anyway, Mirador shows up wearing three necklaces, three chains with some pendants.
Sylvi: Damn, dripped out!
Austin: Yeah, absolutely dripped out. Wet King.
Sylvi: [cackles]
Dre: [laughs]
Austin: Is ready to go. And heads back out towards the, you know, I think stares down the cathedral part of this and says,
(as Mirador): [sighs] This wasn’t supposed to happen. Ugh. We should get a move on. Gaje is right.
Sylvi: If we’re walking back to where Sacea and Jud are, I am standing outside of that little camp place we found, arms crossed. Which is hard with a giant stake attached to your wrist, but he’s doing it somehow.
Dre: Yeah, you make do.
Austin: Yeah. Flemming, do you notice this? Do you have anything to say about this?
Dre: I notice it. I don’t need to say anything about it.
Austin: Okay.
Dre: What the, you know.
Austin: Yeah.
Dre: What you’re doing is your business.
Austin: Yeah. Uh, yeah. Mirador comes back over. Jud. Sacea.
Austin (as Mirador): How’s the kid?
Jack (as Jud): I’m feeling a lot better, thank you.
Janine (as Sacea): A little fuzzy, but getting stronger.
Austin (as Mirador): Necklace?
Janine (as Sacea): What kind of necklace?
Austin (as Mirador): Well, I got a couple kinds. Yeah, okay.
Austin: Just reaches into a pocket and tosses you a long necklace with a strange pendant on it. What’s the pendant look like?
Jack: I don’t see it, because the moment it touches my hand, I drop it and it rolls under the bed, as though it’s really, really hot. And I say,
Jack (as Jud): It’s not cursed, is it?
Austin (as Mirador): Iunno.
Jack (as Jud): Can you check?
Austin (as Mirador): Yeah, give me a sec.
Austin: And grabs them. He’s like holding, there is a pearl necklace. There is, you know, this is just someone’s big jewelry collection that he has snatched up.
Austin (as Mirador): Yeah, these just seem like necklaces. Let me just do a little.
Austin: Like, passes them between hands. You know, they’re a little tangled up.
Austin (as Mirador): Yeah, no, these seem good.
Jack (as Jud): Okay, yeah, all right. Give it over, then.
Austin (as Mirador): It’s under… I threw it. It rolled under.
Jack (as Jud): Okay, fine.
Austin (as Mirador): One necklace each, I swear. So what about you, Sacea? Pearls or gold? I can’t really…
Janine (as Sacea): If they’re not cursed, I’m not that interested in them, but thanks.
Austin (as Mirador): More necklaces for me, like I said before.
Austin: Pockets.
Austin (as Mirador): You never know. Anyway, I have a shortcut. We just go north, through the barrow, out into the canyon. We’ll be there before this time next week. Ready to get a move on?
Jack (as Jud): Is it safe? What’s the catch?
Austin (as Mirador): Well, the catch is it’s Sapryc, isn’t it? If it were safe, I wouldn’t need you.
Leaving Vortigern [0:08:01]
Jack (as Jud): Okay, I’m ready to be strong. 
Jack: [laughs] Jud sarcastically gets up. Arm still in a sling. Hairy arm still in a sling. 
Austin: Mm-hm. Itchy, hairy arm still in a sling. And then yeah, you begin to head north. Until you find the—unless anybody else wants to do something in Vortigern’s Hollow. I don’t wanna pull us past it too quickly if people want to do other—not downtime really, right? That’s not really how this game works, but. 
Jack: I mean we could take Vortigern’s greatest treasure. We could go hunting for Vortigern’s treasure. 
Austin: Sure. 
Jack: But, you know. Maybe that’s not something that appeals to others. 
Austin: [chuckles]
Jack: I just—I have memories [Austin: Mm-hm.] of this person. And it might lead us to glory. 
Austin: Yeah. 
Jack: And I am terrified. Jud, I think Jud is sort of—Jud does not have access to the lore that we do. [laughs]
Austin: Mm-hm, yeah. 
Jack: I think what Jud thinks is happening is that he is being possessed in a kind of retribution by not just his master but his master’s line.
Austin: Sure. 
Jack: There is some sort of Macbeth-style witch magic happening here, you know?
Austin: Yeah. 
Jack: And we know that the mechanics of what is happening are different to that. They might manifest in a similar way. And so, I think that faced with these kinds of memories…hm. 
(as Jud): Before we go, I don’t—Gaje, can I have a word?
Sylvi (as Gaje): Mm? You’re not gonna—you’re not feeling sick or anything, right?
Jack (as Jud): Wh—are you worried about getting sick?
Sylvi (as Gaje): No, I’m just worried about you vomiting on me.
Jack (as Jud): I’m not—
Sylvi (as Gaje): Your arm, you know?
Jack (as Jud): Oh no, no it’s fine. It’s better now, Sacea did—Sacea found something. Besides, the Blight, I don’t—if you’re worried about the Blight that’s, you know…
Sylvi (as Gaje): Just don’t like places like that. 
Jack (as Jud): I just, before we move on, I think there’s something really, really, really powerful here. Like, good. Like, like a kind of a strong power. 
Sylvi: Arching an eyebrow at him. 
Jack (as Jud): And I wanted to check in with you before, I mean if—like, before or if I go off and find it because I know that we’ve had our disagreements in the past about me going off and looking and finding things. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Where are you thinking of going?
Jack (as Jud): We need to find a grave. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Do you know which direction it’s in?
Jack (as Jud): No. 
Austin: How open is this conversation?
Sylvi: Jud, how far away did you pull me?
Jack: Just like, ten feet. A very Jud move right? Of like, come and talk to me but we’re just going slightly over there. [laughs]
Austin: Yeah.
(as Mirador): My friends! We are headed out. And if you wanna see a grave, I’m leading you to one. 
Jack (as Jud): No, no, no, special grave. We have to find the powerful thing. 
Austin (as Mirador): Do you think they build barrows for little men? I’m not gonna get a barrow. I’m too little. They’ll put me in a tomb, maybe a mausoleum if I’m lucky. 
Jack: In a mausoleum with all his necklaces. [laughs]
Austin: Yeah. 
Jack: Aw, remember when Leap got all those rings?
Austin: I do. I was thinking about that. I’m almost always thinking—
Jack: This is Leap Cantata. [laughs]
Austin: I was thinking about that when I decided this was necklaces and not rings, in fact. [laughs]
Jack: [laughs] Oh sure. 
Sylvi: Yeah, that’s always special.
Jack: The team-up of the century.
Austin: Oh yeah. 
Jack (as Jud): Wh—where’s Vortigern—?
Austin (as Mirador): What do you know about old Vortigern?
Jack: That is a good question. What do I know about Vortigern? You know, I see a plowing team disappearing into a thing. 
Austin: Mm-hm. 
Jack: And then I can feel through the ages of the—sort of through the…cannibal genealogy.
Austin: Mm-hm.
Jack: By which I don’t mean the genealogy of cannibals, I mean the study of genealogy as through eating people. [laughs]
Austin: Mm-hm!
Jack: Through the process of cannibal genealogy, I can feel the sort of respect and terror and awe and power that this family line feels towards this person. 
Austin: Mm-hm. 
Jack: And so, what do I know about Vortigern?
Austin: This is—it’s what I basically already summarized for—
Jack: Yeah, in the book, right?
Austin: For Flemming. Yeah, and that was, I would say that that was a hagiography, right? In the sense that it was all of the good stuff, none of the brutal, oppressive conquest delivered in the way it was brutal and oppressive. All of it delivered in terms that were heroic and—
Jack: Laudatory. 
Austin: And laudatory, exactly. You…you know, it’s coming to you in flashes and not in clear pictures, [Jack: Mm-hm.] but Vortigern, a brutal leader. Sacrificed hundreds, thousands, willingly. Eagerly, to get Sapryc conquered. In some ways this was the message that he took from the deaths of the plowmen, the plow team. [Jack: Hm.] Was like: yes, and you don’t stop plowing, do you? Sometimes—
Jack: Get more men, get more oxen. 
Austin: Yeah, uh-huh. The earth must be tilled, right? Great parades in his honor, got to meet the suzerain at one point, you know? Was knighted, was given a hero’s welcome back in Leo town, in town Leo. [laughs] In the kind of Leo homeworlds. And died peacefully, right?
Jack: Hm. 
Austin: Did the thing. Came to a place, conquered it, put it under heel, built castles and cities, retired to the country, gave up rule to one of his children, and lived out his final days here in Vortigern’s Hollow. And then eventually was buried north in a—I mean, you don’t—he doesn’t know where he was buried. Right? Though, someone who ate him does! [laughs]
Jack: Yep! [laughs]
Austin: And maybe that’s part of it, right? Is in his later days, someone came to him and initiated him into the Cult of Internitas. He had done everything else and it was in search of a way to extend his life that he joined the cult. He was told that the elders of the cult know things, and elders means many different things. Leveraged his power and allowed them to come here and build things and become part of his later days administration, in order to—in his court basically—to allow him to be inducted into the cult. And become part of it. 
He was also—he was also afraid of something. He—you have these flashes of what are hard to know if they’re real or if they’re memories of nightmares. He had a recurring nightmare maybe? But it’s not clear if the nightmare was just him working through a thing that really happened or not. Where he seemed to fear a group of people where it’s hard to place them as being part of a particular—they’re like hunters. 
Hunters who are wearing really fancy hunting equipment, fancy hunting gear. Fancy might be the wrong word. Hunting gear that he’s never seen before. They look like—if we’re looking at it, it looks like they’re dressed for the wrong setting. We are really deep in medieval Realis right now and they look like they’re in Jodorowsky’s Realis. It looks like they’re in The Incal, it looks like they’re in Moebius Realis. You know? Layers of bright color. We are seeing color here, because it’s your memory. Interesting colors layered on top of each other, pinks and oranges and blacks. They look like sci-fi bounty hunters, right? 
And they are like—it’s like a home invasion dream that he can’t quite shake. Someone’s looking for him and he had a vision of his death from this. And it turns out that’s not how he died, right. He died warm, in a bed surrounded by loved ones. And you know that he was then buried and then his corpse, part of his corpse taken from the barrow just north of Vortigern’s Hollow. The barrow that Mirador’s leading you to at this point. Because through the barrow is the way into the canyon pass that will lead you to the Cloister of the Hollow Heart. 
Jack: Hm. Oh well, I mean if he’s buried there…
Austin: Yeah. 
Jack: I mean if we’re going— [laughs] Yeah. I mean, I think—
(as Jud): Yeah, okay, right, we’re going to the barrow but…when we go and look for the treasure, you wanna go and do it together, Gaje?
Sylvi (as Gaje): Better than you going and doing it on your own. 
Jack (as Jud): Yeah. [chuckles] Yeah. And my arm’s fixed now, so you know. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Mm. 
Jack (as Jud): Yeah. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Sure. Just give it a little longer, yeah?
Austin: Mm-hm. 
Jack (as Jud): Okay. 
Austin: Mirador leads the way. Passing through the edge of this little village, walking around this vast cathedral on its side, part of this cathedral elevator. And at this point you pass part of it that is the elevator part. The part that is, you know, broken cables and polished metal. Completely out of place here. [Jack: Huh.] The sort of metal that nothing on Sapryc is made of. Huge tube, giant tube. It’s as big as a city district. And it has just flattened part of the ground here. It’s, in my mind, these kind of wide shots of your little cart and your donkey and the four of you and Mirador heading towards this thing that Mirador seems surprised by. But not that surprised by, because of course, “the ruins of the cathedral always contain other ruins.” 
Jack: [laughs]
Austin: And so, having landed flat in front of the entrance to the barrow, is an entrance to a chapel. A chapel seems to have fallen on top of the entrance to Vortigern’s Hollow itself, the barrow itself. And I think they scratch their head and they go like, 
(as Mirador): Ah, of course. [sighs] Well, I was hoping not to have to go into any of these, but it looks like there’s no choice. Ah, I don’t know that the door is big enough for Scrundle though. 
Dre (as Flemming): Why didn’t you want to go into one of these?
Austin (as Mirador): Ahh, eugh. Church gives me the creeps. 
Dre (as Flemming): [flatly] Why?
Austin (as Mirador): Why’s the church give me the creeps? They’re creepy! They’re liars, they’re hypocrites, they’re…people like us, they string us up, don’t they?
Sylvi (as Gaje): He makes a good point. 
Dre (as Flemming): Let me rephrase, is this superstition or is there actually something concrete we should be aware of?
Austin (as Mirador): Eh. You know when we were leaving and we saw those gold, gold-plated skull knight guys? Yeah that’s, they come from the church. Guys like that, they can show up anywhere, can’t they? They were walking into the fire. You know, the bugs, the Empest, ehh, you kill ‘em, it’s not a big deal. You fight ‘em, you hide from ‘em—they’re bad, I don’t like ‘em. But these guys scare me. Right? They scare me. It’s not superstition, it’s history. 
Dre (as Flemming): I agree, that’s why I asked. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Alright, guess I’m going in first then. 
Austin (as Mirador): I think we’re all on the same page. Yeah. Can we—it’s a small door, can we open the door more? Can we get the door bigger for Scrundle? I don’t wanna leave Scrundle here. 
Sylvi: Is it—do—[laughs] I could try and break the door to be wider. 
Dre: Hell yeah!
Austin: Yeah, go for it. 
Jack: Also, just to clarify—
Sylvi: Cool.
Jack: Do we need to go through the barrow…or why is Mirador leading us into the barrow?
Austin: Because the route out into the canyon pass that they say they know is on the other side of the barrow. 
Jack: I see. Okay cool. 
Austin: You’re like descending through a dungeon to get to like the rear exit, right?
Dre: Mm. 
Jack: God, it is so funny that that is not the concerning bit for Mirador, the concerning bit is ‘go through the chapel that has become the lobby of this horrible dungeon.’
Austin: Uh-huh, yeah. 
Sylvi: What I think I’d be doing here is, just like fictionally, [Austin: Mm-hm.] is since these are ruins, I would look for some sort of crack in the wall?
Austin: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Sylvi: Or some sort of structural, noticeable structural loss of integrity. 
Austin: Yeah. 
Sylvi: And then just take a big swing at it with my stake. 
Austin: What is your—what are you using? 
Sylvi: The Sentence I’m gonna be using is 0 reality, [Austin: Mm-hm.] “I always carry an unstoppable weapon.”
Austin: Boom! Breaks through. 
Jack: That’s a door opening weapon if ever there was one!
The Fallen Cathedral [0:22:19]
Austin: The whole fucking front of it collapses inwards. And [chuckles] you see inside. And inside is a collection of broken furniture, broken pews and other seating. Bodies, from the people who were praying when the cathedral fell. And an altar that’s already broken too, a marble altar that’s broken at the front of this chapel. And then behind that is a rear hallway that would have connected this chapel to some other part of this cathedral. 
And that hallway…that hallway leads to some turns, some twists and turns, that it’s very clear will itself then lead to—I mean, it’s not clear. You’re hoping will then lead to the barrow entrance. But who knows, right. But it’s clear you’ll have to pass through part of the cathedral to get to the barrow proper. And Mirador comes up and gives you a little nice tap on the, I don’t know what he can reach up to, like the side of your arm?
Sylvi: Yeah. The elbow. [laughs]
Austin: Elbow, is like,
(as Mirador): Damn good, Gaje. Every time. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): It’s what you’re paying me for. 
Austin (as Mirador): Come on, Scrund. 
Austin: [laughs] Uh-huh. And Scrundle begins to kind of clop in, da duh da duh da duh, stepping over the dead. And heading towards the labyrinths of the cathedral. Who is taking charge here? Because as you go inside it begins to get dark. I mean it’s dark outside already, right? But there’s no starlight, or there’s no moonlight [Sylvi: Yeah.] here even. 
Sylvi: I don’t have any way to produce a source of light so this is—someone else is gonna have to solve this one. I did the door. 
Dre: Ga—or Jud, do you have any sense for if we are heading towards where wherever you’re drawn to is? Like is the path that we are going on, is it taking us closer or further from this thing that you’re drawn to. 
Jack: Let’s see. So, this is going to be, let me read the…what is the cannibal cult called again, Austin? They’re called the In…
Austin: Internitas. The Cult of Internitas. Which I don’t remember if they’re on your chart. I don’t think you’ve—
Jack: They’re in the book. 
Austin: They’re in the book, but they’re not—don’t look in the book, don’t look in the book. 
Jack: [laughs] 
Austin: No, no, no, no, close the book. 
Jack: [laughs louder]
Dre: Yeah, cheater. 
Austin: Look at your moon list and your faction list. What do you know, what does Jud know, about the Cult of Internitas?
Jack: Let’s see…
Austin: I don’t think you have anything written down. 
Jack: I don’t—no, I don’t think I have anything about them. I suppose what I’m looking for is what the kind of sense experience of this connection is like. Other than—yeah. 
Austin: It is what I’ve described to you in this conversation. You, you, are not trained as part of this cult. 
Jack: Yeah. 
Austin: This shouldn’t have worked at all. 
Jack: No! And this is part of the reason that they’re mad at me. 
Austin: [lightly] Mm-hm. 
Jack: Hm…
Austin: You are having flashes of—you can try to use—you can try to use a means to try to direct the group, is what you could try to do. As far as you know you have flashes of memories of Vortigern and then of whoever ate Vortigern, right. [laughs]
Jack: Yes, yes absolutely. I have a memory of somebody laying the body of Vortigern on a dais. On like a stone bed. Vortigern died in his bed, we’ve established that, and in a—in an homage to that, the stone of his memorial was also a bed. There are those great drawings of—drawings. There are those great medieval tombs in Europe of knights lying with their head on a pillow and a dog at their feet, kind of symbolizing that they made their way to the end. So, I have that flash of memory of the man who ate Vortigern’s finger laying him to rest on this bed. And I have the Moon Sentence “I always find somewhere to rest.” And am drawing myself back towards the place that that corpse lies.
Austin: Is this a Moon Sentence or is this a personal Sentence, a Class Sentence?
Jack: Sorry, it’s a Class Sentence. 
Austin: Alright, so your intent is to find the body of Vortigern. Or is it to lead everyone through the barrow to the canyon, which is a—
Jack: It is to find the body of Vortigern! 
Austin: [snorts]
Dre: Fuck yeah. 
Jack: And gain the treasure! The problem is that I’m 15 or 16. [laughs]
Austin: Yes. 
Jack: And I have seen an avenue for power. 
Austin: You sure have. So that is the means you are using, you’ve declared your intent to find the body, you’re using the means “I always find a place to rest” which is a rank 0 Sentence. I am going to counter that with a Sentence from the ruins of the Cathedral Omphalic, which reads: “the ruins of the Cathedral Omphalic always confuse those without color and light as their guide.”
Jack: Ah shit, have you ever met anybody with less color and light? [laughs]
Sylvi: [laughs]
Austin: I’m marking it right now as a question mark question mark question mark ??? Sentence. I don’t remember how we’d been doing tokens, do you—did we—were we doing you could spend them, you declare that you spend them—
Jack: Doesn’t matter. Don’t have one. 
Austin: Oh, you don’t have one. Right, ‘cause you spent one earlier. Right, doesn’t matter, you don’t have one! Mm-hm! I do want to know for the record though. My own stupid game, we haven’t played in forever.
Sylvi: I feel like we were using them preemptively is how I remember it.
Austin: I think that’s—that feels right to me. “When a player declares a means they are using to act or counteract, they may also declare that they are discharging their token.” Yes, so it’s, “because the owner must announce the use of their token in this way, counter-actors always have the advantage because they know whether the actor is boosting their means rank.” Yep. Yep, there it is, black and white, like the world. 
So yeah, “the ruins of the Cathedral Omphalic always confuse those without color and light as their guide.” You certainly don’t have color [chuckles] whether or not you have light is another question, but you find that your—so I am countering this Sentence, I’m gonna cross it out for now, for the rest of this scene. 
Jack: Mm-hm, and—
Austin: If you’re doing this in pen and paper you would of course just put parentheses around it, that’s probably easier to erase. 
Jack: I’m gonna put a mark next to it. 
Austin: Yep. You go ahead and mark it, that’s the second mark on it, right? You are being led in, and here’s the thing. The parts of this that are the Cathedral Omphalic are painted. Do you remember earlier when you were like, oh the thing wouldn’t be blue if the thing was in the game and not just a reference. The thing wouldn’t be blue, it would be an ashy light gray or something, right? The walls here, the carpets, the—on top of it being ruins that have been splayed across the world—there was some sort of system to this place. 
Jack: [laughs]
Austin: That the monks and sisters and the—those clergy who lived in the Cathedral Omphalic, the incomplete space elevator that they were living in, would follow. And you need to be able to see the color to know which way to go. And you can’t even begin to decipher that system without seeing the color. And so, you can’t see it here. These are the parts that would have been up among the light of Realis. That would have gotten—the parts above the Trunk, above the planet of Sapryc where they would have had color. Here they do not. 
So even with light, even with your memories of trying to draw you closer, you are not able to get much closer here as it stands. So those are the consequences, you have been led deeper into the parts of the cathedral and not into the barrow part. And I think at some point Mirador says, 
(as Mirador): Kid, I don’t know that you know where you’re going. 
Jack (as Jud): No, no, we’re on the right track. We’re on the right track. Just keep, just trust me. 
Dre (as Flemming): How do you know?
Jack (as Jud): Wha—I—‘cause I can tell. I can feel it. 
Dre (as Flemming): How? What feels right, what feels wrong?
Jack (as Jud): Well, it’s—it’s—I’m getting closer to death. To the place of death. Not to the place of death, like when you die and you can rest and that’s where they put his body. And that’s where the powerful thing is. 
Austin: How much do people know—and this is a real ‘we haven’t played in four months’ thing—
Dre: Mm. 
Austin: How much do people know about your cannibal cult memories?
Jack: Umm…
Sylvi: I don’t know if it’s come up explicitly before. 
Jack: I don’t think it’s come up. 
Sylvi: I don’t remember us talking about it. 
Janine: Yeah, I think—it feels—
Austin: I don’t think it’s come up! Yeah. 
Janine: It feels like it’s been a secret, right? 
Austin: Yeah, uh-huh. 
Janine: Or maybe the thing that we know is like, oh, Jud killed the guy. Period. Right?
Jack: Oh, I think that’s what you know. Yes, yes. 
Dre: Sure. 
Jack: This is why I’m on the run. 
Austin: Yeah, but you didn’t kill this guy. You didn’t kill the ancient, legendary—
Janine: No, no, no, no. No.
Jack: No. 
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know on the run because you killed the person you were squired to. The knight you were—
Janine: Boss killer. Yeah.
Austin: Right. Boss killer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Jack: Boss killer Kalvin Brnine. 
Austin: And then had some weird shit happen with Exhalate, Unspoken Death, which is to say, maybe there’s some other magic stuff going on with you but who the fuck knows. Right?
Jack: Right yes, but you know I think that you could definitely explain Jud getting weird senses of ancient stuff by being like, a monster fed him death. 
Austin: Yeah, yes, totally. 
Jack: You know?
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nevertheless, Mirador’s gonna say, 
(as Mirador) You never really told us how you knew where you were going or that you thought that there was treasure here anyway. 
Jack (as Jud): The man who ran this place, Vortigern, he, uh… My master knew, uh—my master had a history with him and his line, and I picked up stuff here and there from my master, and now I know that he’s here. And what great man wouldn’t be buried without the source of his power?
Austin (as Mirador): And your master told you how to move through the barrow by instinct?
Jack (as Jud): Look, I’m tr—you’ve never been a serving man, have you, Mirador?
Austin (as Mirador): I’ve been a lot of things. 
Jack (as Jud): Yeah, well. You learn to think like the person you’re serving, or anticipate the way they think. So that you can—so that you can serve them. And so, you know, I suppose my master must have known something about this and I sort of, I sort of picked it up. 
A Hunter Arrives [0:34:03]
[“Hunting Dog” by Jack de Quidt starts playing]
Austin: He’s about to say something skeptical when, for the first time here on the planet, color comes into view. Soft, golden glow. And with it the voice of someone muttering to himself under his breath. What do you do? Actually, let me be direct, because that’s how this works. Can anyone counter the Sentence, “I always ferret out the rebellious”? Someone is looking for you. Their intent is to find you. Their intent is to locate you and their means is “I always ferret out the rebellious.”
Jack: And there’s a breadth of reading of Sentences that we can apply here, right?
Austin: Say what you mean. 
Jack: We don’t necessarily need, you talk about this in the book, we don’t necessarily need a Sentence that’s like, for example, Jud’s “I always protect those traveling with me.” Instead, it could be something that could lead us…it could be something that could speak to the kind of safety we seek, or like—
Austin: Totally. I think everybody here has Sentences that could counter this. Or could attempt to counter this. 
Janine: Yeah, I was gonna say. 
Austin: I think it’s a really broad, how do you deal with this. And I think most people have different means of doing it, even. I don’t want to say things right, but you can imagine how you might apply things differently tonally for something like this. 
Janine: I mean I’ve got stuff but it’s stuff that we’ve done before, so I don’t know if anyone else wants to do stuff. 
Dre: Hm. 
Jack: Yeah, I’m in a similar place where I can easily use “I always protect those traveling with me.” My suspicion, facing somebody who is glowing in color, is that that Sentence will fail at that point, but I also want to give other people an opportunity to use their means. 
Austin: Let’s think about just, who would act? 
Sylvi: I am drawing—I would draw my weapon the [Austin: Mm-hm.] first sign of this light and if I’m hearing any of the muttering as well, [Austin: Mm-hm.] that’s just what I’m here for. I’m here to protect who I’ve been charged with protecting.
Austin: Oh yeah, sure. So, what are you doing? Are you just drawing the weapon?
Sylvi: I’m drawing the weapon until, unless like—I’ll pause to give Flemming a moment, Dre, if you’ve got anything, but if not, I will move in and commit violence. Like— [laughs]
Dre: [laughs]
Austin: Yeah, yeah. I remember something about how you learn about—how you learn new things. 
Sylvi: Yeah! Yeah, I was thinking of doing some studying. 
Jack: [laughs]
Dre: Hmm. Yeah, I could—hm. Hm hm hm hm hm hm. Hm hm hm. 
Austin: Tell me what you’re thinking. Speak into the microphone the thoughts you are having. 
Sylvi: Yeah, let’s talk it out!
Dre: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah well, I’m trying to decide, how does Flemming react to this?
Austin: Yeah. 
Dre: Flemming, I don’t think Flemming has ever seen anything like this. And so does Flemming react with a lie, of course I have seen something like this. 
Austin: Ah sure. 
Dre: Does he react with: I have never seen something like this and this is exciting, or is it: I have never seen anything like this and we can’t just be poking it with a sword. 
Austin: Mm-hm. 
Dre: I think it’s one of the last two. And so, I think maybe Flemming sees Gaje go for their sword and says, 
(as Flemming): [scolding] Ah ta ta ta ta!
Austin and Jack: [laugh]
Janine: Good lord.
Sylvi: Glaring at you, oh my god!
Dre (as Flemming): It’s not the worst idea, Gaje, but it’s maybe not the one we need. [calling out] Um, hello?
Austin: [snorts, laughs] What are you doing?! Okay, are you countering with something?
Sylvi: What are you doing?
Austin: What are you countering with?
Dre: Yeah! Let’s see, I am countering with “I always project an image of unerring wisdom.” We are not rebellious, we are civilized. 
Jack: Ohh, oho!
Austin: Okay. 
Dre: Come on, we can talk about this. 
Austin: Alright. Okay! I actually think that this works in an interesting, weird way. 
Sylvi: [sighs heavily]
Austin: I mean, let’s finish the thing here. We’re gonna compare our Sentences.
Dre: Yeah, mine is reality 0. 
Austin: Yours is reality 0, so is mine. Mine gets cancelled. This is Socratio Keith’s—not Keith, not Keith. 
Dre: [chuckles]
Sylvi: [laughs]
Austin: Socratio Ketteth’s [KEH-teth], or Ketteth’s [KAY-teth], “I always ferret out the rebellious.” 0, it gets countered. It also gets marked, and I think the thing that’s happened here is yes, he’s found you. As a reminder, Socratio Ketteth was the shithead priest, the inquisitor, who wanted to escape the city in the very first episode and wanted to bulldoze his way into the elevator out of the city. [Dre: Mm.] But who you managed to push away, basically, and let regular folks up onto the elevator instead of just him and his group. It’s been quite some time now, as you might recall. 
And I think, instead of—you know, his intention was to find you and put you into deeper trouble. And instead, I think seeing you, his entire agenda changes. And the yellow glow is around—he comes into view. And he is wearing a sort of metal collar that is like a high collar, goes up to his chin and then comes down and it’s a collar that covers the top of his breastbone too. Like a piece of armor, like a metal, you know, there’s a word for this type of—
Dre: A gorget?
Austin: A gorget is exactly right, yes. 
Janine: Yeah. 
Austin: Yeah. He has on this gorget and at the center of the gorget, just under his neck, just at the top, above the solar plexus, is a topaz that’s glowing yellow. And is this kind of golden glow that’s surrounding him and giving him color. And seeing you, Flemming, he says,
(as Socratio Ketteth): The wizard. H—help me, help me get this off. Help me get this off! 
Austin: And then as he gets closer you see floating behind him, six other of these topazes floating in the air projecting this colored light. 
Dre: Mm. 
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): Help me get this off!
Dre (as Flemming): How did you get it on?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): [shushing] Shh, shh! Y—you can’t—you have to get this off. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Take a step back. 
Dre (as Flemming): How did you get it on?
Sylvi: And I’m pointing my weapon at him. ‘Cause I don’t like this. 
Austin: Uh-huh. 
(as Socratio Ketteth): They sent me to find—they sent me to find you. But I know that you are a powerful thaumaturge and that you could help me. Get this. Off. 
Dre (as Flemming): [flatly] How did you get it on?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): They put it on me!
Dre (as Flemming): What is it?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know. I think that they can—they can—[whispering] they might be—
Dre (as Flemming): Well why do you need to take it off?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): It is—it’s—I can’t breathe. 
Dre (as Flemming): I think you may be having a panic attack. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): Mirador, take a step back. Get behind me. 
Austin: Mirador does. 
(as Mirador): Hah, yeah. I don’t trust these people, what did I say!
Dre (as Flemming): I believe you are having a panic attack. 
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): I’m panicking! I am panicking. 
Dre (as Flemming): Just take a deep breath, we don’t need to do anything hasty or rash that we will come to regret. Especially considering there is five of us and one of you. 
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): I’m not threatening you!
Dre (as Flemming): Why do you need to take it off?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): [quietly] I think…I think they will use these to come after you. And I will die in the process. 
Dre (as Flemming): How?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): They aren’t who they seem to be, are they? They’re someone else. They aren’t from here. And they’re not from the church. They’re not. 
Sylvi: Who, did he mention who he’s talking about?
Austin: He’s gesturing at the Death Procession here, but he has not said their names in any way. 
Sylvi: Okay. 
Dre: Hm. 
Austin: I think you could make that connection maybe?
Sylvi: Yeah, I think in character though I would be tired of him talking around it and would be like, 
(as Gaje): Stop, who are you talking about? Who is ‘they’? Be specific. 
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): The ones in the masks. The Death Procession, that’s who they call themselves. Without access to—without being able to talk to the See directly, I can’t verify that’s who they even are. 
Austin: One of the topaz gems floating in the air behind him—and it’s large, the ones in the air are larger than the ones in the gorget—begins to hum and glow. Quietly at first, but gaining in power. 
Dre (as Flemming): Hm. Has it done that before?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): Ohh, no! You have to get this off of me. I can’t—if I—please disenchant it! Please do something. 
Dre (as Flemming): Okay hold still, I’ll take a look. 
Dre: I’m not doing anything here. 
Austin: [chuckles]
Dre: I don’t understand what this is yet, so I don’t want to touch it. 
Austin: Okay. 
Dre: So, if someone else wants to be more direct and impulsive…
Austin: I thought you were just saying like, I’m gonna make him think I’m doing something but I’m really just looking. I’m not actually gonna try to help. Which maybe is also true. 
Dre: Oh, I mean I would help eventually. 
Austin: Yeah, okay. 
Dre: You know, I’m just—there’s ground rules here. 
Sylvi (as Gaje): This is a liability, is what this is. Why are we—what are we doing here?
Sylvi: [laughs] I’m saying this to Flemming most directly, like—
Dre: Mm.
Sylvi (as Gaje): What are you hoping to get from this right now, Flemming, cause all I can see is you putting us in danger.
Dre (as Flemming): Oh, I’ve never seen this before! Hey, I didn’t take us here. We could leave. I have no love lost for this person. Now if what he says has any truth to it, it might behoove us to get in front of our nemeses. By understanding who or what they are.
Sylvi: [chuckles] I have one way to learn things, out of character. 
Dre: Mm, yeah. 
(as Flemming): Mirador, have you ever seen a necklace like this? You were very interested in necklaces earlier. Would you like to take it off?
Austin (as Mirador): [laughs nervously] Uh…I couldn’t? Ehh, I couldn’t do that. Someone else could but I’m not interested in touching that thing. 
Dre (as Flemming): Mm. What happens when you take it off?
Austin (as Mirador): I don’t think I can. 
Austin: Says—
Dre: Not Mirador. 
Austin: Yeah no, sorry, 
(as Socratio Ketteth): I don’t think I can!
Austin: Says… says—
Dre (as Flemming): Have you tried?
Austin (as Socratio Ketteth): I’ve been too afraid to. 
Dre (as Flemming): You should try. 
Sylvi: Alright, wait. 
Janine (as Sacea): That’s a terrible idea. 
Dre: [laughs]
Janine (as Sacea): Where in your books does it say that?
Sylvi: Everybody take a few steps back, ‘cause I have figured out how I’m gonna learn about this. 
Janine: Oh boy. 
Sylvi: I’m just gonna try and rip the gorget off of this guy’s neck. 
Austin: [groans quietly]
Dre: Sure.
Janine: Ahhh. 
Sylvi: Like, pull it in half. [laughs]
Janine: That’s the same idea, but worse because you’re close. 
Sylvi: Oh yeah. 
Janine: Okay… [chuckles nervously]
Sylvi: It doesn’t have to be a good idea, but—
Janine: Hmm.
Dre: Hell yeah, it doesn’t!
Sylvi: If this thing is potentially dangerous to us in the future, [Austin: Yeah.] we’re—Gaje is like, well we’re not gonna be getting out of here as long as we’re dealing with this nuisance. 
Austin: Uh-huh. 
Janine: Uhh… I guess. 
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Sylvi: Yeah! This is just how he thinks about things. 
Austin: Oh, we are really in Friends at the Table. All right, what are you using? What are your—what is your intent? What is your intent?
Sylvi: I think I’m gonna—my intent is to tear this thing off of him. 
Austin: Mm-mm. Narratively, what are you trying to get? Are you trying to save him? Are you trying to learn something? Are you trying to—like what are you—
Sylvi: I’m trying to get him—I’m trying to get this to be a thing that the party doesn’t need to address anymore. 
Austin: Okay, yeah. That makes—that, to me, is a pretty clear intent. So, you’re trying to—I mean, I think it’s actually kind of a vague intent, but it’s a direction. Are you trying to destroy this thing so he can go his own way and not bug you anymore?
Sylvi: I think—I’m trying to destroy this thing because if what he’s saying is true about this being used against us, [Austin: Yes.] destroying it seems like the right move. 
Austin: Okay. I get your—I get the—what is the narrative outcome you want from this?
Sylvi: I’ll be honest, I’m not expecting it to go well. 
Austin: Totally. But what is it that you want, so if it doesn’t go well, I know what doesn’t get to happen? You know what I mean?
Sylvi: Um… oh!
Austin: In other words, if your intent was to stop this ritual, whatever the glowy thing is happening, then that wouldn’t get stopped, right? Or if it didn’t work. But if your intent was to keep him from dying—you know what I mean?
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: If your intent was I’m gonna keep him from dying and that succeeds, then he doesn’t die but something else might happen. Or if your intent is to keep him from dying and you fail then maybe the other thing doesn’t happen but he still dies. You know what I mean? Does that make sense?
Sylvi: Yeah, um… I think… definitely his dying or not is not front of mind. 
Austin: No, I know, I was just trying to give a really clear black or white example. 
Sylvi: Yeah, it’s a very good clear one. [Austin: Yeah.] I think the intent is to neutralize the possible threat of the gorget.
Austin: Yep. 
Sylvi: To us, not necessarily to him. 
Austin: Yep. Ah, okay. Good. 
Sylvi: Yeah.
Austin: What is the means you’re using?
Sylvi: Well, I was wondering if by doing this I would be [laughs] able to learn what the…gorget actually does [Austin: Mm.] and the—I don’t know if tearing this thing in half with my bare hands is quite extreme enough to justify me using that Sentence. 
Austin: I think that that’s not extreme violence. This is the problem.
Sylvi: Yeah, I thought of it at first, then I was like it’s extremely hard to do, but it’s not bloody. 
Austin: Yeah, you have—
Sylvi: It might be “I always hurt those close to me” here. 
Austin: Oh, that’s interesting. 
Sylvi: And I might use my token for it. 
Austin: To boost it to +1.
Sylvi: To +1, yeah. 
Austin: Okay yeah. I think, as a note, you realized your Sentence “I always learn through violence” and it’s become “I always learn through extreme violence” [Sylvi: Yes.] which I think narratively prevents this from being that. 
Sylvi: Yeah, I think you’re right. 
Austin: I think you would have to be hurting or killing this guy for it to be extreme violence, right?
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: And that’s not what you’re doing so I really like “I always hurt those close to me” here. 
Sylvi: I’ve untapped, or I’ve tapped my token on my sheet. 
Austin: You have, so it’s become a +1. I am going to counter this. With—
Sylvi: Yeah, how—is it like a +2?
The Golden Knights [0:49:55]
Austin: It’s a +2. [Sylvi: Yeah.] “When one of their collared hounds locates their prey the Death Procession always arrives, killing the hound in the process.” You begin to pull on this thing, you’re yanking on it, you’re trying to rip it off. It won’t break for you. It is locked on there. It is cutting into the back of his neck. You don’t feel like it will give way, it’s supposed to give way. You put both of your hands on each side and begin to pull apart and you can— [Sylvi: Yeah.] a second one of these gems starts to glow, and then the one under your hand begins to glow and vibrate. And uh…it explodes. 
Sylvi: Ow. 
Austin: And in its place is a figure in gold armor, lit in the gold light that it is emanating now. Actually no, for a split second what you see is a form, is a humanoid form in crystal. It explodes, and the topaz is there in the crystal, taking shape, until it finds the shape of the Death Procession. One of these holy knights with the kind of golden skull helmets. Long capes, golden armor. I think you might have lost your hand, Gaje. 
Sylvi: Fuck. 
Austin: Yeah. Friends at the Table’s back!
Dre: We’re really Friends at the Table, yeah. [laughs]
Austin: That’s right!
Sylvi: Yeah!
Austin: Go ahead and mark that Sentence.
Sylvi: Shit, wait. Which hand, Austin? Left or right?
Austin: Which was on the front? Like if you were trying to pull it apart.
Sylvi: Yeah okay, I think the way we know that Gaje lost his hand is that his stake falls to the ground. 
Austin: Ohhh.
Jack: Oh my god. 
Sylvi: Cause the right hand came off and that’s the one it was attached to. 
Dre: Well, that’s bad. 
Austin: Fuck.
Jack: That’s a kind of freedom. 
Austin: That’s a kind of freedom! I’m gonna strike out that Sentence.
Sylvi: And he picks it up right away. 
Austin: Yeah, sure. But there are these figures now and Mirador, seeing this, goes, 
(as Mirador): No, no, no, no, no. Uh-uh! 
Austin: And just starts running. 
Jack: [laughs] Okay!
Sylvi: I’m also going to say,
(as Gaje): Everybody out. Now.
Sylvi: [laughs] Like—
Austin: And you just—where are–
Sylvi: Bellowing it and everyone to run. 
Austin: Yeah. 
Sylvi: To go back the way we came in. 
Jack: Back the way we came?
Sylvi: There is—I’m picturing—
Austin: There are hallways here you could turn or—
Sylvi: Oh, there are hallways? Okay. 
Austin: There are hallways. Again, it became labyrinthine as you got past the chapel, yeah. 
Dre: Hm. 
Sylvi: Okay then—
Austin: You’re running through kind of the interior of this cathedral looking for the entrance to the barrow. 
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: Looking for the way into the place, looking for the other haunted ruin. [laughs]
Dre: Sure.
Sylvi: The way that the party is sort of lined up now, I was—I’m the closest to this thing, so I’ll—
Austin: You are—you’re—there are six people here. In armor [Sylvi: Yeah.] and just drawing their swords, right?
Sylvi: So, I’ll be like, what I mean is I’ll be following wherever you guys run, so if you want to decide to take a different route, go.
Austin: Yeah.
Sylvi: But that’s…
Janine: I was thinking about exerting my will over the atmosphere with my perfumes. 
Austin: Mm. 
Jack: Woah!
Sylvi: That is also a great thing to do. 
Dre: Mm!
Austin: Not a bad idea. Just to make—put a point on something, one of the ones who’s—the front one, the one who appeared and blew up your hand and also Socratio who’s just dead now. Points a golden sword towards the group and says, 
(as Golden Knight): [angrily] Cantata! 
Jack: Oho!
Austin: You know, making a clear target. You’re gonna do what now, Sacea?
Janine: Uhh, “exert my will over the atmosphere with my perfumes.”
Austin: Ah, in order to do what? What are you—what is the intent? What are you trying to get done?
Janine: The thing that I want to do is make the air very pea soupy.
Austin: Mm. 
Janine: And to the degree where it’s not just…I wanna leave us a trail, sort of, that spreads out. But pea soupy to the degree where it’s not just like, oh the visibility’s bad. [Austin: Mm-hm.] To the degree where it’s like, thick to breathe. 
Jack: Ooh!
Dre: Mm. 
Janine: Where it’s almost a sort of liquid air. That’s my will. 
Austin: That’s a fucking—
Janine: For the atmosphere. 
Jack: [chuckles]
Austin: That’s a good will. There’s nothing stopping you from doing this. Nothing is—ah, hm. Is that true? I guess given the distance, they have melee weapons. They aren’t shooting at you or anything, so you’re able to do this pretty cleanly. And they don’t have anything that is—I think at this point, this is just happening. I’m not gonna stop this from happening. This, I think, also just colors the scene extremely well. 
So, there’s this pea soupy fog that sets into place in here. Again, it’s already sweaty and gross out. [laughs] I guess actually I specifically said that there was the air conditioning inside of the other place. I don’t think that’s happening here. That chapel led into an area that was gross and sweaty, that has continued. So yeah, the fog descends. What’s this allowing you to do? What is—again I should’ve been more clear—what is your intent here, narratively. Not just changing the atmosphere, but moving the narrative forward. 
Janine: The intent is for it to make people who are behind our main group struggle to follow. 
Austin: Yeah. Okay, totally. So yeah, then I think you continue deeper into the—you take off after Mirador, who you can hear running ahead, and you can hear the sounds of the group of soldiers, the group of the Death Procession from behind. Though also I need to know, Gaje, what are you doing in this moment? Are you chasing after the group? Are you—they don’t seem particularly interested in you. 
Sylvi: If they are trying to get to Mirador, I think I’m trying to slow them down. At the very least. 
Austin: Yeah? Okay. What’s that look like?
Sylvi: Shit, I mean I just lost a hand. [laughs]
Austin: Yeah, you did. You really did.
Sylvi: So, I think it’s kind of clumsy, cause I’m using my off hand now to wield my weapon. 
Austin: Yeah.
Sylvi: And I’m using it more…he usually holds—the way he’s usually held it is at the end of it, at one end, right? [Austin: Mm-hm.] But I think he’s holding it in the middle this time and sort of using it as a bar to at least shrink the space that they can get through. 
Austin: Mm-hm. 
Sylvi: It’s not—I don’t think it would hold very long. I think—
Austin: But is your goal—your goal is to hold them long enough that the rest of the group can [cross] get somewhere safe and together. 
Sylvi: [cross] At least get a head start. Yeah. 
Austin: Okay, yeah. What is—are you spending—you already spent your token. 
Sylvi: I did already spend my token, yeah. 
Austin: You did. Uh-huh. 
Sylvi: Hm. 
Austin: And what are you—you’re using “I always carry an unstoppable weapon?”
Sylvi: I think so. I think that’s the one that makes the most sense here. 
Austin: Yeah. 
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: The lead of this Death Procession is countering you. And slashes the sword down at you, the golden blade that he has, and it of course unfurls into a whip that wraps around the big stake and then with both arms pulls it down and disarms you. You can only hold it—it’s your off hand, it’s what you talked about, right?
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: This is “I always wield an unpredictable weapon.” And that is, it’s only a rank 0. It’s only a reality 0 Sentence, but in defense it wins here. So go ahead and scratch that one out too. 
Sylvi: Yeah…
Austin: And then just shoves you against the wall and says,
(as Golden Knight): I have no interest in you. 
Austin: And begins to walk into the fog with the others behind him. 
Sylvi: Question about these—they are still human, yeah? As far as we know?
Austin: I don’t know! What makes you think that?
Sylvi: Well shit, let me find out. 
Austin: Ohoho! Uh-huh. 
Sylvi: How do I do this without—
Dre: Hey, how do you find things out?
Sylvi: Show where the sword goes but never show what it does…
Dre: [laughs]
Austin: [chuckles]
Sylvi: The last member of the group feels a hand grabbing their helmet, [Austin: Uh-huh.] and then feels the pressure of that helmet squeezing in on them right before they make contact with the wall. 
Austin: Well, that’s your intent. 
Sylvi: That’s my intent. And I would like to learn whether these things are mortal or not.
Austin: Yeah okay. Whether they’re mortal or not is an interesting question. Yeah, okay. And this is a—this is a +1 Sentence? Right? Yeah. 
Sylvi: Yes, this is—I am learning through extreme right now. I’m doing a little biology class. 
Austin: Mm, mm-hm, mm-hm. 
Dre: Mm. 
Austin: The—as you reach for their back shoulder to grab them, they wield—they turn and wield, and in this case, what was a sword shifts and changes to be a small gun that they try to pull and aim at you, but you are winning this one. This is a reality 0 Sentence. They are countering you with “[The Death Procession],” which I have put in brackets on my own side, “always fights with weapons from another time, another place.” 
It’s only reality 0 so they are losing. They pull the trigger and like, Star Wars ass violet blaster bolt goes over your shoulder. And as you throw them against the wall with all of your force, they hit the wall, fall to the ground, and then break and crack as if they were made of glass or crystal. And their whole body shatters. 
Sylvi: Is their weapon still here?
Austin: Yeah, totally. 
Sylvi: Can I take that and does it count as Ephemera?
Austin: Yeah, it’s definitely Ephemera. 
Sylvi: It sounded like it would be. 
Austin: You lean down and grab this blaster. Yeah, uh-huh.
Sylvi: Okay, cool. 
Austin: So yeah, there is another Sentence. I’ll start adding these to the sheets for you in a second here. 
Sylvi: Cool.
 Austin: So that’s, “The Death Procession always fights with weapons from another world.” And then the leader of the Death Procession had something different which was, “I always wield an unpredictable weapon.” And then also had, the group had, “When one of their collared hounds locates their prey, the Death Procession always arrives, killing the hound in the process.” Which was a 2 rank Sentence. Boom, added. 
Sylvi: I made just like a placeholder for the Ephemera on my sheet. We can figure out the specifics of that.
Austin: Oh yeah, awesome. We’ll figure out what that is. 
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: As soon as you need to use it. If you’re like I’m gonna shoot these people, go for it, but—I mean in a way it should be, hm. This is one of the things that’s interesting about Realis. You would think it has to be a rank 0 Sentence, because the Venerant Zealot that I’m using as a placeholder for this Death Procession group—sorry that’s the wrong one, I’m using it for the leader. For the Death Procession thing that I have written says, “The Death Procession always fights with weapons from another world.” That’s rank 0 so it should—the sim version of this game is like, that’s a rank 0 thing. But it’s not simulated, we’re not simulating a world, we’re simulating fiction.
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: And Gaje, who has just lost one of his arms, or one of his hands, and his weapon has been—he’s been disarmed from his big stake weapon, picking up a blaster gun—
Jack: Yeah!
Austin: Is fictionally more powerful than these bad guys’ swords turn into guns sometimes. Right? There’s something happening there in the narrative of the Berserker picking up a gun. 
Sylvi: Yeah. 
Austin: So I think it’s actually probably a rank one or rank two thing, we can talk about that [Sylvi: Cool.] when we—in the future. But yeah, Violet Blaster. So okay, let’s wrap here. Gaje, you have killed one of these members of the Death Procession, [Sylvi: Yep!] quote unquote. Who seem to also be crystalline beings. Sacea, you have provided the cover to get away though maybe at this point, we’ll see how much people get lost in the depths of this place. Mirador certainly didn’t fucking wait for y’all. And then the rest of you are, you know, all together trying to find a place to be safe and escape these strange other-worldly crusaders, question mark?
[“Sapryc” by Jack de Quidt plays]