Phantom Nirvana: A Dungeons & Dragons Podcast

S2 Ep14 - Season Finale

• Phantom Nirvana • Season 2 • Episode 14

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In our last episode the caravan fled through the desert pursued by a host of horrific creatures, including the Titan. They make for the stronghold of Kalamesh in hopes of finding peace at last.  This is Season 2 Episode 14: Season Finale.

Music in this episode is by Sun Umbra, Sagey, and Gang Colours. Bells sound by newlocknew

Warning: Contains dark themes that may not be suitable for all audiences. Instagram @phantomnirvana
Email phantomnirvana@gmail.com

SPEAKER_02:

Close your eyes and open your mind. This is Phantom Nirvana, a Dungeons and Dragons podcast. Be advised, this story contains dark themes that may not be suitable for some audiences. And now we present Phantom Nirvana. They make for the stronghold of Kalamash in hopes of finding peace at last. This is season two, episode fourteen. Season finale.

SPEAKER_00:

Your watcher has a secret that shall be his undoing. Stop your caravan and embrace the sorrowing.

SPEAKER_07:

And there's like this shuddering force that emanates from this thing. And it kind of passes through your body, and when you adjust yourself, the you can see that you're back and things are moving normally, and that vision is gone. And you look and you see the Titan there coming ever closer, maybe a quarter of a mile away now, and you turn on the uh Gorok in the saddle to look, and you give it a kick, and you look up, and you can see your homeland. You can see that in the heart of the scorching desert, there is this awe-inspiring sight that emerges, this colossal stone stronghold that is rising from this harsh landscape of gray sand. This ancient fortress is weathered by time and nature's elements, and it stands as a testament to the architectural prowess and strategic brilliance of your people. And you you're overcome, Rehana. You've never seen this, or or have you? I can't recall.

SPEAKER_11:

I was too young to have any clear memories of it.

SPEAKER_07:

That's it. So maybe it's like your mind's eye. You had you had imagined this but never actually seen it in person. And here it is for the first time. And as you approach the stronghold, the caravan moves between this procession of imposing pillars that are standing in symmetrical formation. They're hewn from this rough stone, and they are like sentinels standing on either side of this sandy approach. Um, and they guide you toward the stronghold's grand entrance. And and you can see as you look to the left and right that each pillar has intricate carvings, and they depict scenes of triumph, and there's mythical creatures, and you can see the cephalid on one of them, and and there's a history of the long-forgotten past of your people before they were nomadic. And at the end of the pillared path stands an enormous stone door you see in the distance as you start to enter this procession of pillars, and it exudes an air of impenetrability, the door. It is crafted from a single colossal slab of stone, and it is adorned with um etchings that depict legendary battles, and on its surface is the ravages of time are marked. It there's trials and tribulations. It's like the whole history of your people are on the door to this fortress. Atop the fortress, there are a series of pillars, ramparts. On the top of each one is a bronze bowl, like a like a shallow bowl atop each one, and they are all um glimmering in what remains of the sunlight. And it is just magnificent to see this homeland of yours here in the desert, uh, a reminder of the spirit of your people. As your eyes scan back down towards the um towards the fortress that you are approaching in the distance, you can see that the door begins to open. And from within, an army of snake people, their serpentine forms gliding effortlessly through the through the sand begin to begin to come out of uh Kalamesh. They're leaving the stronghold, heading directly towards you. You are you are heading towards this and they are coming out at you. And there's about a hundred of them, if you had to make a guess. There's like a hundred of these Yuntai um people that are armed, they've got weapons, they've glimmering in the sunlight. It's like they move with sinuous grace, their lithe bodies coiling and uncoiling. Um, their lower torsos are snakes with serpentine tails, and they're propelling themselves across the sand toward towards you in rank and file lines with curved blades and deadly spears. The massive gate to Kalamesh slams shut behind this army of Yontai. On one side, you have the cephalid, this the sturge are all above you and around you, and behind you is this stomping titan. How do you want to proceed?

SPEAKER_11:

Well, we're finally at the gate. Would Rayhana know if the cephalid would also attack and the sturges would also attack the Yuntai?

SPEAKER_12:

I don't think she'd know that. Anybody want to count to 10 and find out?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, I think um at this point, hope is straight ahead of her. She's gonna pull out Stormbreaker and call out to her people to charge ahead.

SPEAKER_10:

Is is Marcus close enough to touch her?

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, you were riding riding next to her, sure.

SPEAKER_10:

Actually, I don't have to cast message. I'm just gonna yell to her. You are the key. You must reclaim Kalamesh. Pass through the gates. And I touch her and I cast invisibility.

SPEAKER_03:

Ooh.

SPEAKER_10:

And can I slap her Gorok? Giddy up.

SPEAKER_12:

Whoa, okay.

SPEAKER_08:

Do you think it affects her?

SPEAKER_12:

Shian Gorok?

SPEAKER_10:

Shian Kaksel?

SPEAKER_12:

No, she switched to a Gorok.

SPEAKER_10:

Oh, he switched to a Gorok.

unknown:

Nice.

SPEAKER_10:

It says anything they are wearing or carrying, but that's okay. If this Gorok just takes off, maybe it let's say it hits Gorok too.

SPEAKER_07:

I like that. Let's have it. Let's have it hit the Gorok too. They're both invisible. Hell yeah. How does that spell work? Can the can the can the Yontai sense it?

SPEAKER_10:

Uh no. Last for up to an hour. Spell ends for a target that attacks or casts.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_09:

They could still hear or like other senses, but there's other stuff going on. Yeah, a lot of other stuff.

SPEAKER_07:

I think it's really loud. So let's get from the rest of you. You hear her battle cry, she goes invisible. What would each of you be doing, you know, in the I don't know, 200-yard charge towards towards Kalamesh with all of this shit happening around you?

SPEAKER_09:

Sam had been at the back of the caravan, but at this point he's trying to group up with his friends.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_07:

Where where are they grouping?

SPEAKER_08:

I think Josh was near the front and probably has his spear out charging towards the yuntai.

SPEAKER_13:

I think by now Mal has figured out how to stand on the Gorak saddle. Ooh. And and it's just firing off Eldridge Blast at the front lines of the Yuntai to clear the way.

SPEAKER_07:

I love it. And you're you're right there at the front, and Hillroy and Mikael and Sonora and um all the guards are there, and the uh and Rodrigo is there with with his bow t king t king firing him off. You've got um got everybody, Bert, Cresswell, Cole Fires and Minerals, Caleb Pemberton, Peltz Trader, Palima Yoder, Feathers Traitor, Avery Pineda, the cook, Octavia, drunk. I just wrote insane.

SPEAKER_10:

Go, go.

SPEAKER_13:

What about Josh's girlfriend? Yeah, that was it. That's Octavia.

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, Octavia, that's right. Okay. I just wrote insane. Bloodshot. Oh, here, I have more notes for her. Bloodshot Eyes, high energy, female drunk.

SPEAKER_08:

Yeah. That could be checks all the boxes.

SPEAKER_07:

That's it. Bloodshot eyes, high energy, female drunk. That's that would be a great uh like if you're if you had a Twitter account, that could be your description. Your profile. Who else do we got? Robbie Hinton, Thug slash Shepherd, Mitchell Bernard, and Camille Butt. All these characters we never got to meet. I know, I know. All of this stuff, right? Nicole David.

SPEAKER_10:

Camille Butt. This has been rough and interesting.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, Camille Butt. So many different all of the all of the people, Yellow Go, Carol, Darotha, all the old people who were on the council, definitely not at the front charging, I would say. Although I bet Ranolph is there on one of the cards, like towards the front. I'm sure she's. Oh yeah.

unknown:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

Um, he's probably giving you a look, Rayhana. You know, as you as you go invisible, he kind of sees you disappear and it's like. Yeah. Queen Rayhana! Ranolph shouts. Uh his voice echoes across the battlefield, carrying the weight of determination and a glimmer of hope.

SPEAKER_06:

You are the key to unlocking the ancient stronghold of Kalamesh, the gateway to salvation! The hand of the queen is the key.

SPEAKER_07:

And he gestures toward the stronghold, looming in the distance, its weathered stone walls.

SPEAKER_06:

You must enter the stronghold, Queen Rayhana! Light the fires that lie dormant within. Go now, my queen. Sounds pretty good.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, Rayhana. What do you do, miss?

SPEAKER_13:

And does she do with inspiration? Because wow, that was an inspiration.

SPEAKER_07:

Absolutely, right? Yes. 150% inspiration. Yes, please.

SPEAKER_11:

Uh yeah, I charge forward as quickly as I can, dodging any anti in my path.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay.

SPEAKER_11:

Not just goal is now a door.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay. As you reach the door, you can hear a massive battle erupt behind you. They're stomping, screaming. I mean, it is like all out war. You don't even look back, but the cephalid is swooping down, sucking up yontai, taking, taking your caravan people. The um the titan has reached the battle and has grabbed one of the pillars and is like swinging it down, smashing the carts and you know, bashing the yuntai with his feet. It's like this terrible, awful battle going on behind you. Reach the door, Rehana, and there is a hand-shaped cavity in the massive door to Kalamesh.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, I put my hand directly into the hand-shaped cavity.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, so you place your hand inside the cavity, there is a distant bell that begins to ring within the stronghold. It rings deep and low. And Mal, you hear this ringing, and you freeze in place. Suddenly, despite the battle going on all around you, you are transported to Sunday morning at your home, your childhood home, with where you lived with your father. You're in your room and you hear this bell ringing, and it is the church bell. You live next door to a Baptist church, and on Sunday mornings it would ring.

SPEAKER_13:

Mal tried to get out of the house whenever possible before even singing or running into her dad in the house.

SPEAKER_07:

On this particular morning, as you peek out of your room, you can see that he's he's definitely there, and he's got his hand on his head, and he's in the process of pouring a drink at seven air in the morning.

SPEAKER_13:

Yes, the heat of the sun is all the more palpable.

SPEAKER_07:

That's it. I think that's it, yeah. And uh they kind of give you looks, and as you look around at them, they their shapes change, and now they have snake-formed bodies, and some of them are covered in blood, and and then you look around and suddenly you're right back in that battle, and uh it's all around you.

SPEAKER_13:

I think Mal inadvertently casts disguised self as Mal. So instead of her gray skin and pixie hair, she looks like her real-world self just for a second, and maybe her high school self at that.

SPEAKER_08:

Do you think anybody sees it? Josh's passive perception is 15. It's pretty good. That's pretty good. I think maybe Josh could see it.

SPEAKER_13:

Okay, so Josh sees it.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah. Is it your high school self?

SPEAKER_13:

Oh, yeah. It's the self who crawled out of the window that morning.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, that's great.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

So Josh.

SPEAKER_13:

That was probably like Rockabilly Bangs black box die shoplifted from the CBS kind of energy.

SPEAKER_08:

So Josh, like mid-battle with a Yontai soldier, just like sees this and freezes jaw open and then keeps fighting.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, so inside the stronghold, uh, Rehana, you are you feel like your home. You feel like you know this place, and you move through the labyrinthian corridors uh into the depths of the fortress. It appears to be empty as if every single uh Yontai that was within uh had left to go and fight. You pass storerooms and armories and barracks and uh and homes, just you know, places where people lived, you know, little um rooms with light streaming in and and they it stinks. I mean, there's a stench of like a hamster cage, you know, it's just this awful sort of everything is overgrown. The plants that would hang from the sort of viny plants that would hang from the eaves are overgrown and down the down the sides of these. I man I'm imagining courtyards and things at the center. Beautiful, beautiful courtyards like Bulganvilia kind of growing down, and but it's like rotted, you know. You can see that walls are adorned with tapestries, vibrant colors, and but some of them are torn or or um have been uh destroyed or or painted over, that kind of thing. And as you walk through the the past that you'd always heard about sort of echoes in your head, finally you reach this lavishly adorned chamber. It's big, high, high ceiling. There is a central pillar, and beneath the central pillar, extending from the ceiling, your eye is drawn to a a chilling centerpiece. It is an ornate altar, and it is crafted with meticulous intention. The design leaves no doubt, as you approach it, no doubt that it was proposed for the solemn ritual of burning a body, evoking an undeniable air of macabre's significance. The altar is raised on a dais of what looks like obsidian, and it commands your attention. It's smooth and polished, and you can see there's this faint residue of soot and ash on it. The edges of the altar curve gently upward, forming a basin-like depression, as if designed to cradle a body. There are carvings etched with precision and care on the side of the altar, and the motifs depict mournful figures. Their faces are etched with sorrow and reverence. You see, in particular, a mother and a child wreathed in flame. And the scenes unfold with intricate detail, portraying the journey of a soul from mortal existence to ethereal transcendence. There is a trough that is around the outside of that depression that is filled with what looks like a liquid, a stinking sort of oily liquid. And there is a crude etching above the altar that is cut in the stone that really mars the beauty of the chamber, and it says, The curse of the undying light is the curse of King Somer. Royal blood must burn.

SPEAKER_11:

Rahana's going to pull out her sword, slice her hand over the altar so that blood spills into the altar. And then she's going to see if the oil will light fire.

SPEAKER_09:

Okay, do you have something to make fire? Uh do you have any more scorching ray?

SPEAKER_11:

No, I can only cast that once a day.

SPEAKER_13:

Also, DM, did we all get held up at the gate? Are we all in this scuffle at the gate and she's all on her own here, or are we trailing behind?

SPEAKER_07:

Do you think you would want to go in there after her, or would you want to say Mal's in hot pursuit? Is anyone else going in there? Yeah, Marcus. Marcus, okay. So maybe you arrive 40 seconds after she is in there, right? As she's trying to look for a way to light fire.

SPEAKER_13:

I've got a fireball, Mal says.

SPEAKER_11:

Royanna whips around. Ranolph said to light the fire. I think this is what he meant.

SPEAKER_13:

And I snap my fingers and cast fireballs.

SPEAKER_07:

The blood catches fire and it leaves this black char mark on the altar as it burns up quickly. But nothing else happens, and as you kind of look around to see what else might be in this room, you notice that this uh slender rip begins to appear in space, this sort of hum sound in the back of your mind, this tear in space starts to sort of uh like a zipper in front of you in space starts to sort of open up.

SPEAKER_11:

I think Rihanna, seeing that nothing's happening, can she do an inside check to s to see if there's any other items that Ranolph could have been, or a perception check, or some sort of check to see if she can figure out what Ranolph was asking her to light.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, make a perception check.

SPEAKER_11:

Ooh, and that one. Uh so four.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, I don't think you're maybe take advantage, because is it okay? Is it safe to assume that Mal is helping you to look? Absolutely. I cast this firebolt and then I'm like, what what's happening? Yeah, I can't imagine that you would not be engrossed in every second of what's happening here.

SPEAKER_11:

These are the bad rules time. It's now a 10.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, I think 10 would be enough. A G next to the altar is Can Mal just take a gander?

SPEAKER_13:

Like you said, there's kind of a trough of liquid of some kind.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, around the around the top of the altar, there's this trough.

SPEAKER_13:

Sensing that Rihanna is like searching for what to do next.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah, so as you look around, you're seeing that there are a couple of burlap bags that are lent up against the backside of the altar.

SPEAKER_11:

Uh, Rihanna's gonna open one of the bags to see what's inside.

SPEAKER_07:

Bones. You want me to light these up? It is bones. There are bones and uh skulls.

SPEAKER_13:

Well, what happens if I fire firebolt at that trough you described?

SPEAKER_07:

I think you you you are assuming that it is a flammable liquid.

SPEAKER_11:

This seems barbaric, but what if we add a bone to the center of the trough? Great idea! Okay, I'm I'm just gonna grab this femur.

SPEAKER_13:

And Mal's gonna grab a skull, just two fingers and eye holes and under.

SPEAKER_07:

A bowling ball grip?

SPEAKER_13:

Yep. Put the thing down there.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay. Yep. You put it down on the altar.

SPEAKER_13:

I look to Rayana like, are we doing this again? And at that shrug past firebolt. At the bones over the black streak of the burned blood of the queen of the tribe of undying light.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, the um the bones basically just get this black char on them, but they don't really burn up anymore. You can tell that they had been burned already.

SPEAKER_11:

Has the oil been lit around the trough?

SPEAKER_07:

Uh I think that, yeah, let's say the oil gets burnt up, but then a new river of oil sort of comes and fills it up. Like a does that make sense? Like a little reservoir around the outside of the altar.

SPEAKER_13:

Mal's gonna do a quick 360 and see if there are any riddles on the walls that will tell us what the fuck is happening. She's like looking around, like, is there a plaque that says what to do?

SPEAKER_03:

Is there a an OSHA guidelines calendar on the wall?

SPEAKER_13:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

How many days since we had an incident? For a six-hour workday, you're allotted how many minute breaks?

SPEAKER_10:

So and so can Marcus kind of snap out of it and wow. What and I just point. I mean, I don't know how to describe the universe opening up in front of me, but just uh yeah.

SPEAKER_13:

Uh uh, what she doesn't see it.

SPEAKER_10:

She sees it. Oh, I turn and look. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_13:

I'm just disappointed in your lack of communication skills.

SPEAKER_07:

It's like the digital, it's like a digital rip in space opening up. Like you recognize this from the the last painting that you were inside of. You you you have a sense for what this what is happening, and that opening is sort of extending down from up high at the ceiling, kind of opening all the way down towards the ground, and and and it begins to kind of like crack open.

SPEAKER_10:

So Marcus says Hilarian.

SPEAKER_11:

Can Rihana do an insight check to see if she has to sacrifice herself?

SPEAKER_07:

Where what would you cast insight check on?

SPEAKER_11:

I think just looking around and putting all of the clues together in the room to see if she would come to that conclusion as a likely solution to the problem at hand.

SPEAKER_07:

Uh no, you cannot cast insight on that.

SPEAKER_11:

Okay.

SPEAKER_13:

Is Rayana climbing onto the altar?

SPEAKER_11:

She's staring at the big plaque above that says that royal blood must burn to end the curse.

SPEAKER_13:

And by the way, just to check, TM, there wasn't anything when I turned around in the room to see if there was any other information we could gather.

SPEAKER_07:

No. I described pretty much everything.

SPEAKER_13:

That's very generous of you. Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Well.

SPEAKER_13:

So Mal is just looking back and forth between this rip in space and time and her new best friend falling apart. And maybe hyperventilating.

SPEAKER_11:

Rihana's putting together Ranolph's reluctance to come back to Kalamesh and reclaim it. His shouting that she was the key. And seeing that she is the last of Salomir's blood to end the curse and save her people. She's thinking that perhaps a self-sacrifice might be what is needed. So she turns to Mal and kind of glibly says, Well, if this doesn't work, we'll just give it another shot. It's been wonderful, my friend, but I need you to help me with this and save my people. And then she takes off her bag and she hands her the gem, takes out her sword, and stands shaking on the altar because she's so scared.

SPEAKER_07:

The firebolt shrieks across, hits the oil, encircles the altar, and it rips up and engulfs Rehana's body instantly. And she is immolated. She just crumbles to the altar. She seems calm as her body basically melts. And there is this mystical energy that sort of starts to glow within the chamber. It stirs within the stronghold's ancient walls, and you can see that light streaks through high windows above and splashes onto that rip in space, which dissipates. There is this unseen light glowing. Torches ignite simultaneously throughout the chamber. You can see that there are more windows that were covered over with soot. They drip down, opening more light within. You can see that a stream of fire goes up the side walls, and from outside of the stronghold, as you look up at Kalamesh, you can see that those low bronze bowls at the top of every parapet and spire ignite with fire like uh the Olympic flame, like that. Five, six, ten of them on every highest point of. Of the stronghold. And suddenly this beam of flame from the highest spire fires off across the desert and smashes into the chest of the Titan, and it is blown back. The wall of sand, dissipating the Titan, crumbling into stone, boulders, forever silenced. Again, this beam of scorching fire engulfs the formidable cephalid, its hood melting into wax and spattering across the grayish sand. The creature's monstrous visage twists and contorts. This silent screaming, the sturge dissipates, and you can see that the caravan cheers all around you. Josh and Axel and Sam, outside, you can see that the caravan has turned the tide, the Yontai begin to run. The serpent people, once confident with their dominion, find themselves engulfed in flames, and they are driven out across the desert. Amidst the chaos and destruction, the stronghold stands resolute, now illuminated by a renewed power. The forces of darkness, once nestled within its depths, have been expelled, their malevolence vanquished by the very flames that they sought to wield. The stronghold's rebirth is marked by the expulsion of its fiery adversaries, leaving only echoes of their demise and the newfound strength radiating from its walls. And back within the chamber.

SPEAKER_13:

Mal is frozen facing Rayana's form. Clenching her fists by her side.

SPEAKER_10:

Marcus walks over to her and just puts a hand on her shoulder.

SPEAKER_13:

I think she starts and then turns to him and just grabs him and starts crying.

SPEAKER_10:

Is the tear in the universe still there?

SPEAKER_07:

No, it's gone. And I think at that point Sam and Axel and Josh have all come rushing in with smiles on their faces, I would guess. You can hear cheers in the distance.

SPEAKER_08:

Yeah, you you don't mess with Stockton as Josh comes rides in.

SPEAKER_01:

Axel is no longer a camel. He's extremely hurt. And like kind of collapses and like starts starts a long rest so he can regain his hip poison.

SPEAKER_08:

Josh similarly, probably coughing up some blood, but uh is smiling amidst that. And says uh it seems like the Titan's gone and the cephalid's gone and the Yontire running away. I think we've done it. Where's Rahana?

SPEAKER_13:

Mal cries harder.

SPEAKER_10:

She had to sacrifice herself to save her people. And unfortunately, Mal had to help her. She's gone.

SPEAKER_13:

I think at that Mal stands up and starts to get herself under control.

SPEAKER_07:

So as you uh exit the chamber over the walls of the stronghold, you can see that the sun is setting and it's casting a warm glow across the interior of this city, this walled city. And the people are f are weary, but they are filled with exultation. And they approach you as family. They they bring you in, they embrace you, kind words, they help heal your wounds. Many of them are dust covered and battle scarred, but they stand tall, their spirits are unbroken, and they are already beginning to make their ancestral home their own again. There are cheers and a sense of triumph, singing, and uh a feast that night, a feast of abundance, a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of the people of the undying light. And they wonder if they ought to give themselves a new name. The tables are laden with food and drink. There's laughter and joyous chatter filling the air, intertwined with melodic strains of celebratory music. They share stories of valor, the victory that day, the things they'd endured, camaraderie, the echoes of victory. They embrace each other, there's gratitude, there's dancers, people who dance with twirl and they twirl with grace. Their movements are a vibrant tapestry of celebration, musicians play melodies that resonate with the triumph of overcoming insurmountable odds. Every corner of the stronghold reverberates with collective jubilation. But amidst the festivities, Ranolph, with his long gray beard, scarred, wearing a robe, stands at the center. He raises his goblet and he delivers a heartfelt speech expressing gratitude for the bravery of the people of the Undying Light. And of you, each. Sam Campbell, Mallory Reed, Joshua Ames, Marcus Burkhead, and Axel Johnson. Heroes. But most of all he speaks of Rayana, her sacrifice that she made to save her people. There isn't a dry eye in the house. Their spirits soar as they think back on her as a leader, as a queen, as a friend, as a warrior. And they vow to live a life in Kalamesh that was better than it ever was before. The stronghold would become a haven of shared joy, where tales of valor and survival are interwoven with laughter and embraces. As the night deepens, the celebration continues, echoing through the grand halls of the stronghold. The resounding echoes of their triumphant revelry carry across the desert. Together, the people of the undying light stand united in their victory, ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead with renewed hope and determination. Rayhana, I'd like to have you roll a D20.

SPEAKER_11:

Five.

SPEAKER_07:

You open your eyes, Rayhana, and you are standing at a desk with a glass in front of you. And there is a line of people on the other side of the desk waiting, looking at some objects in their hands. Illuminated objects. And you look down at yourself, and you're quite a bit taller, with long hair, and on the desk there is a sort of metallic object with an illuminated screen. And just as you're trying to decipher what that could be, one of these people steps forward, just to the other side of the glass from where you stand and says, Yes, I'd like to deposit this check.

SPEAKER_11:

You want me to check what?

SPEAKER_07:

I'd like to deposit this check in my account, please.

SPEAKER_11:

Uh of course. Yeah, let me help you with that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07:

And you start to look around, and you can see that there is a man with his arms crossed, standing about 15 feet behind where you are. He's got long dark hair, and he's got his arms folded across his chest. He's got dark features, and you don't recognize him, but he's got kind of a wild look in his eye. He walks over to where you seem to be sputtering with what to say to this woman who's approached you and says, uh, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to talk to her for just a minute. Can you excuse us? And he leads you by the arm, Rayhana, back to uh some kind of small glass room, and he gestures to uh a chair, and as you sit in the chair, it sort of leans back and wobbles, and he sits on the other side of a desk in in a similar chair and says to you, Well, you died. It's a shame though, things were going pretty well for you. Very brave what you did. I'm glad my friends could help you out. I'm Lucas. So you're here. This is a bank.

SPEAKER_11:

Like a river bank?

SPEAKER_09:

Like a like a river bank.

SPEAKER_07:

That's great. Listen, I know this is all very different, but I don't want you to be afraid. I can get you back, but you won't be the same. Rahana, there's no easy way to say this. You're going to have to die here while concentrating on the exact location where you left off with your friends. Remember, you always have to start at the end. Good luck.

SPEAKER_02:

Our cast is Reagan as Axel Johnson, Michael as Joshua Ames, Ben as Sam Campbell, Kevin as Marcus Burkhead, even as Reagan, as a dungeon master, and myself recording as an Hillary read.