Probability of Demise

Welcome adventurers to Probability of Demise, the podcast where critical fumbles meet critical facepalms. Join us as we delve into the darkest dungeons, slay the stupidest gremlins, and roll enough ones to make a beholder weep. Forget epic storylines and heroic deeds. Here we celebrate the chaotic beauty of bad roles, questionable decisions, and characters with more charisma than sense.

We'll be your dungeon masters of disappointment, guiding you through campaigns where the only guaranteed treasure is a mountain of laughter, and maybe some psychic scarring. So grab your nat 1 dice, strap on your anxiety helmets, and prepare to witness the glorious trainwreck that is our D& D journey.

Because, in the end, it's Even if your character dies face first into a pile of pudding, at least you'll have the Dice God's permission to laugh your ass off.

Welcome to Probability of Demise! The podcast where pods pod. And we are so glad to be back here and getting, going with our return of the of ridiculousness. Um, you know, the weird things have been happening. So it'll be super fun to see all that play out. But before we jump into that, we have the most important segment of the beginning, which is the end of the day.

I'm the best part of the beginning.

Welcome, fellow adventurers, to the wonderful, best part of the beginning, which is word of the day, with me, uh, in this magical, mystical corner of our campaign, I roll a amazing d100. Once again, brought to you by Jason, uh, to figure out what our word, uh, will be. This word can add flair, uh, to whatever tales you're gonna tell, um, maybe some wit into your upcoming quests.

And so, we're gonna ready our minds, we're gonna sharpen our wits, and I'm going to unveil today's word of the day. Today's word of the day is

Let me get out my sheet. Also, I rolled 92.

Tee hee. Today's word of the day is coppish. Uh, it is, uh, excessive, excessively refined and, uh, a high taste and manner. It's spelled F O P P I S H and used in a sentence like this. The foppish noble strutted into the tavern, his extravagant clothing and polished manners drawing amused glances from the battle hardened adventurers.

Ta da! Welcome back to our lovely fair city of Overton, in the sprawling magi industrial metropolis where steam and etheric byproducts intertwine in a dance of progress, a new age is dawning. Floating cities loom on the horizon, their very existence a testament to the relentless march of magical technology.

Yet, as these marvels of engineering rise, so too has tension between those who wield power and those who yearn for its redistribution. The Ascended, with their dreams of godhood, cast long shadows over the city's spires. Their pursuit of divine ascension has driven them to hoard magic and power, treating it as a precious commodity to be guarded at all costs.

In opposition stand weavers. champions of magical democratization who believe that the arcane arts should flow freely through the veins of society empowering all amidst this ideological clash a more tangible tangible divide grows the wealthy have been accumulating all this magical might While the poor find themselves bereft of both arcane and mundane resources, the city's landscape itself reflects this disparity as entire neighborhoods are claimed through eminent domain, the residents displaced to make way for the foundations of floating marvels that few will ever set foot upon.

It is in this crucible of change and conflict that our intrepid investigators find themselves embroiled in a mystery that threatens to shake the very foundations of Overton's power structures. Of the last heir to Grand's Brands, a name synonymous with mercantile legend, has sent ripples through the city's elite circles.

As the final chapter closes on this storied trading dynasty, questions arise that few dare to voice aloud. Was this truly the end of an era? A natural conclusion to a family's grand saga? Or Does something more sinister lurk beneath the surface, a conspiracy that could unravel the delicate balance of power in Overton?

As our heroes delve deeper into this labyrinth of intrigue, they must navigate the treacherous waters of a city on the brink of transformation. Each clue they uncover, each secret they unveil, brings them closer to a truth that may redefine not just the fate of Grands Brands, but the future of Overton itself.

The stage is set. Our players are in motion and the city holds its breath. In the shadow of rising skylines and whispered incantations, our investigators sit in a tavern visiting with their

friend, employer,

pen pal, Sticky Beak. Dear Sticky Beak, I'm sorry, you're sitting right here. My bad. Oh, well. Just, uh, as soon as you catch me up on all the things that have been happening, so, uh, I

feel starting with Dear Sticky Beak was good. And, um, so. You slew

a creature of legends in Underton. Allegedly. Allegedly. Uh, you witnessed a member of the Watch destroy one of the rooms in the Hall of Records. Not allegedly. Heard it. You were almost kidnapped by some kids from Underton.

Seems as if the, the Mage Academy is not having its best of days. Yeah. Daesh. Daesh. I'm glad you caught yourself there. Uh, and um, you stole something out of the Hall of Records. Allegedly. Any other tidbits? I just took the book out and like, put it on the table. So, four minds to solve this problem? I haven't actually looked at it yet.

No. Um, I wasn't there. I'm gonna like, flip it open and see if I can identify this last little spell. A puff of dust rises up and gets up into your nose.

I need everybody to roll a Charisma Saving Throw. I almost said Gesundenschniffel. You should have. It would have made it even better. Rick, I'm so sorry. What is it we're doing again? Rolling a Charisma Saving Throw. Just one. Just one. Pick one, Larissa. I want the one that's really hard to read in the dark, actually, in general.

You! Oh dear. Okay, well.

Not good for me. Still not as a solid 10. What about 18? Uh, 16. Uh, 16?

I got you all. I even got Sticky Beak. Jesus, that's not good. 18 didn't do it, really? No. I thought for sure you would pass it. It was a, well, you have a weakness to this, so you'll find out in a second. No worries. Yeah, no worries. It's fine, I'm sure. I'm sure it'll be great. As G'sundan Schniffle sneezes at the dust, you all, first Seraphina and then the rest of you definitely, this happens at the same time.

I mean, just picture the tavern you're in, it's cozy, it's dimly lit, wooden beams and the scent of ale in the air. You've all settled into your seats, Stickybeak's there, you pull open this book. Lickering. Light from fire lit. I mean that this isn't this is like a true like throwback tavern because they don't even use mage lights, which are just abundantly available in this city and suddenly a shimmering veil of gossamer light Sweeps across the room and yourselves and as it passes the tavern that you're within transforms the wooden beams Twist and bend taking on an organic tree like form Luminescent fungi sprite, sprout?

Sprite 2. Sprout from the walls, casting a soft ethereal glow, changing out from fire lit interior to this more bioluminescent experience, and the scent of ale is replaced by the intoxi intoxicating aroma of nectar and wildflowers. And where once sat gruff patrons, You now see perched creatures of myth and legend.

A satire strums a liar in the corner. You see where before bioluminescent tattooed children kind of scuttled between tables, you now see pixies flitting from table to table. Leaving trails of glittering dust in their wake and the bar keep once a stout human now appears to be a leprechaun. Oh, . Do I remember him now that I'm here?

Nope. Okay. The drinks in your hands have shifted and changed as well. Your mugs have become goblets filled with shimmering color changing liquids that sparkle. Like liquid starlight. And outside the windows, instead of the mundane street of Overton, there's a vista of an endless twilight forest with fireflies dancing between ancient trees.

You've all heard stories, people have talked about a portal to the fey realm deep in Underton, and you're very aware that this is not. As it should be.

How hard did I sneeze?

always a funny one. And the leprechaun behind the bar snaps their fingers and all the fake creatures go into a stillness, you see across from you sticky beaks eyes just without, um, the SRA of an iris to to, to indicate where they're looking. You still can somehow tell that. The eyes are just drifting between you, Gus, and this Leprechaun individual.

All

it took was a sniffle, G'sunden. Uh, do I, do I know you? Ah, it's best you don't, but uh, looks like you have a problem. I do have a problem. Stomping past the bar, this individual. Walks up to you, and as they get closer, they seem both more enormous and tinier. Ah! You friends of this fool. Yes?

Cool. Uh, yeah, I certainly wouldn't consider him a fool. Fool, but he is my friend for sure good good good friends of my gesundheit son And he slaps you on the back really hard in a way that you shouldn't slap an older gnome of any stature. Oh Yeah, that's right you age didn't you That's what happens I pity are you sure we haven't met You seem to know me.

Oh, we've met, we've met, but uh, you know. Aged, hazy memories I'm sure you mortals deal with. No problems. So. The book.

What about it? Well, that's what you were looking at. Uh, yes, I believe it's been altered and we're trying to get the original back. Great. I just kind of nudge him and I'm like, Ahem, ahem. We're in We're not in We're not in Kansas anymore.

We're not in, uh, Overton anymore, so Yeah, but if Even if this person claims to know you, if you don't know him, how do we know that we can trust him? Well, if he tries anything weird, I will just Eldritch Blast him in the head. Oh, I would love for you to do that. That would be a delight. Has anybody ever told you that you're weird?

Yes, you did. Several times. Right. I'm starting to think maybe I don't remember you because I blocked you out, but continue. Ugh. And as he moves forward, you see that like, Sticky Beak is really concerned about you. I'm reaching towards the book.

Well, let me just put my hands on it, and we'll see what ripples away. Um, why? Well, how else will I dispel all the spells on this? Uh, can I, can I do a, uh, some sort of a something to see if he's, uh, Like that insight check? Yeah, to see if he's really trying to help us, or if he is trying to, like, weasel his way into something he can't have.

I would also like to do an insight check to see if he's, like, on the up and up. Okay, so, um, either one of you do it with, uh, advantage, if you're both going for the same goal here, or one of you, or each of you roll separately, up to you all. How's your wisdom, Jess? Because mine's not great. I have a good one.

Um, and I also now have, um, a fancy new thing called Ear of Deceit, where if I make an insight check to determine if someone is lying, it does something. I don't know if it's gonna help, but. You go ahead, because I have a plus one bonus on insight, so. Um, so, this is, okay. And I'm doing a insight, right? Okay.

Okay. Just remember that what Herefore Deceit does for you is when you roll that insight check, if you roll anything lower, 7 or lower basically, but anything lower than an 8, you count it as an 8. Yeah. So you can't roll lower than that plus your modifier. Yeah. Come on, baby. Roll well. Come on.

Wait, did I, do I get advantage? That's, yeah. Yeah, that's right. Okay, can you think of it? I don't know. Can you think of it? Oh my god, so much better. Okay. Plus

21. Okay. Um. It. He. He. Reading the Fae is next to impossible. And. For. All you can figure in this moment of, of, of it's like, there's nothing deceitful about what they're doing. Their motivations may be different, but they seem like they are legitimately there to do something to the book to reveal its secrets.

Um,

I'm, I'm gonna lean into Ulua and Gus and just be like, he, he seems to want to actually unveil the book. He might have, you know, motivations of his own that I don't know of, but. At least we might also know what the book is actually saying, like the, you know, the report,

so. I have a suspicion who this person is. Um,

I think we should let him do it.

Alright, I,

alright. Don't seem to have a lot of luck with people who just randomly show up and ask about the book, but.

You'll have the book in your possession for a day and already, like, the first couple people Gah! Ugh. I recognize the seals. This is old magic, but it's not that old. And they, um, go forward in explaining to you that the unlock requires for this last seal here, your mortal intuition and fey magic. And they look at you directly, Gus, and they say, You could have probably handled this all on your own.

You've got plenty of that fey magic in you. But I thought it's time I got to know you a little bit better before our final deal is done and the bell tolls and all that good thing. So, let's uh, make a circle around this book. You too, Feathers. Alright. Um, kind of everybody looking to you, Gus, I think, and a little bit to Jess.

We're sitting at a table, can't we just put it in the middle of the table? Sure. Ah, no! Paint Magic likes the circle! Alright. You know, I would tell you to take off your shoes, dig your feet into the soil, but this is, uh, redwood. These shoes don't come off, so I I don't like my bare feet touching things. That isn't like my own house.

You've picked up a couple of strange foot fetishes, haven't you, my friend? What? What? Don't take off your shoes. They don't come off like that. Hang out with somebody who doesn't like their shoes. I can't. You can't. It's not a choice. Wait. Well, Gus, wait. Gus, you can't take your shoes off. Not for

60 years or so, do you Have I never seen you take your shoes off. Do you sleep in your shoes? I do. Maybe not the time. Lula, did you realize this? I didn't realize this. I mean, I I will say, Jess, you're the one who identified the shoes and told me I couldn't take them off. So Sorry, I was hiding them off. I don't remember this now.

One of these two actually did the identification. That was me. I don't remember this. I don't know if we, if Either I was there, or if I was told about it, I don't remember. Um, but specifically, you asking Ulua if I've ever noticed if Gus is taking his shoes off, the answer would be no.

Alright, we can hold hands, or we can not hold hands, but you'll probably want to hold hands. Okay.

I just want to point out that I go, when I go to hold, uh, Gus's hand, cause I'll go between Gus and Ulua. Serafina. When I go to hold Gus's hand, I do like the mitten grab, you know? Like, fingers together. But then when I go to take Serafina's hands, I'm gonna intertwine my fingers. Serafina blushes. Serafina, you reach to Sticky Beak.

Yeah. Or not. No, I will. And, and you see Sticky Beak holding hands with this fey creature individual, and then they reach to you, Gus, to hold hands. Okay. Grinning outrageously, they try to intertwine their fingers in yours. I'll allow it, but not happily. Fun fact. There's a look on my face right now. Fun fact, uh, is a nevermind.

Nevermind.

So, we all have to contribute a memory. Nothing too precious. But. It, yeah, you gotta navigate, a memory, it can't be just a, it can't be the last poop you took. It has to be something that's, you know, a good solid memory. What if the last group I took is a good, solid memory? Well, remember every inch of

it from inception to release. And if it doesn't work out in the end, we'll know whose fault it was. Sorry, that was just right out there. Someone had to say it. Uh, does it have to be a happy memory? You said good, but do you mean good as in happy or good as in As in really a memory. Will I still remember it when we're done, or do I have to give it away?

That's a good question. That is a really good question. We'll find out! I'm gonna change mine. I remember

A not so young individual came to me not so long ago. Kinda shoved here. One in a line of people shoved here. Seeking to impart Themselves upon the great weaving and I thought they're interesting. Seem to have a good, solid life. They probably won't abuse things. I'll give 'em a shot. And I watched that little fellow tot all off and hadn't seen him until barely recently.

Tom, I'll contribute that memory and as he says this, you see silvery threads and I would like anybody in the group. To roll a, um, Arcana check or a Perception check. Arcana. Ooh, I'll do it. I have a good Perception. I was gonna say, Jess should probably do it. I have a good Arcana. I have a plus five to Arcana.

I get advantage on it.

Oh, hilarious. I rolled the same thing. Luckily it's good. It's like a reverse karate chop. Hi ya!

I got 22. 22? Serafina the only one who rolled? Great. I rolled a dirty 20. Dirty 20? Oh, great. Okay, so with the two of you, you, you watch as these, um, golden threads spiral out and Serafina, you catch sight of it first. You see, like, if you could rewind time 60 plus years on Gus's face. It's not from the poster.

And switch it out from Gus as the, um, kind of curmudgeonly individual to one who's aspirant, seeking something. Not yet a person who has experienced life in the Watch. Not yet stained with paint. And, and you see this memory of watching this Gus walk up the stairs. to this fey creature and ask a question.

And then the memory gets absorbed into a growing little pearl hovering above the book. What is your favorite color? Gus, you also see this.

Ah, my beard wasn't even gray yet. Next!

I'll go. Um, I will I choose the memory of the second time in my life I was sold from a merchant who purchased me as a child and sold me into my first comb share house. So as you contribute this memory, I want to ask, are you trying to keep this memory obfuscated from those around you, or are you just passing it through openly?

No. So Gus, Serafina, Sticky Beak, and this individual all see clear as day this memory being transmitted. Uh, that takes us to Sticky Beak and you watch Sticky Beak, um, pass a memory and it's a memory of starlight somewhere outside of Overton in the light pollution of the city. And This is a different memory than some of yours so far because it's not as much visual because you do get the starlight, but there's something about a warm hand.

And as the memory slips from Sticky Beak's grasp, you get a flash of a singer that you all started out this investigation and this partnership, resolving that murder, or at least finding at least some of the culprits.

Next! I suppose I'll go. Um, so, uh, Gus's memory is going to be his very first high profile arrest and it's a, it was like a high profile, like, politician who had murdered his own brother and then Gus got, like, a lot of credit for catching him. Like, he obviously did the investigating and stuff to get, to get to the point where he knew he was guilty, but he got, like, a lot of credit for catching him because the dude was, like, a very large, like, baby heart troll or, like, something like that.

And Gus is Gus, but the reason that he was able to catch him is because the guy turned to run from the watch and ran directly into the wall and knocked himself out. Nice. I like that. That's the memory that Gus gives.

Alright, next! At last! Um,

I have a memory that I, I just don't want to lose it.

Um, Okay, I'll just, I'll give the one I was thinking of. Um, Um, One time, Um, Me, And my brother, and my sister, Were playing a game, And, Um, My little sister went to go hide, And, And, My brother was pretending to be Gus, and I was his assistant, and we had to go and follow the clues that my parents had set to find my little sister.

And we found her. You see a couple of very confused faces looking at you. You don't have to tell us the story, you just have to think the situation into the book. I just shoot him a glare, as in like, shut up. You, you didn't give us that instruction, shut up. Roll an intimidation check. Oh yeah, I'm sure this is going to go over well.

Ehhh Two! I do have high charisma, so maybe

Thirteen. Hehe. Totally unflapped. I'm, I'm molested by your glare. But! Your glare is obvious enough that Seraphina definitely saw it.

Um, okay, I'll, I'll just Speaking, speaking a story, think of it while you're speaking it, I'm sure it's The book's just fun. I make a face like, mm mm mm, and then I just think it into the book. Ah! Poop story! Great! Alright, so. And as you watch the story that Seraphina had spoken spiral in to that pearl, it glows a bit stronger, and all of you hear, It's King of the Leprechauns, I release you!

And a etheric figure, um, like a younger version of this individual that's in front of you, unwraps itself from the book, and you just hear a high pitched voice go, Reeeee!

And a spirit of a leprechaun. leaps out into the Feywild, released from the prison that it was within. As that occurs, the book is revealed to you and all of its information is just transparently there. And a lot of it you've already figured out, but now you can read it and see all of the bits and pieces put together in a much more precise way, including things like, at a quick glance, without even having to roll for this or anything, The Mirror of Recording never got tagged into evidence because the widow was so distraught over losing a piece of her husband's, um, prized possessions.

Well, I suppose you can read it, and I think I've, uh, dealt with another one of my deals. G'sunden schniffle, I owe you one. Do you now, um, could you tell me what our deal is, cause I really have no idea.

I've kept her safe for ya,

promise.

As he says this, he steps away, and as he steps away, you see your wife.

What? She's

not quite looking up from some chore that she has in the tavern.

She looks Healthy.

Uh, Clara? Hello? Turning and looking.

He said it wasn't time! Oh, it's not. Um. What are you doing here? Well, that

thing's been happening and apparently you made a deal to protect me at all costs?

But you were with the other, uh, Tanzanite then.

Yeah. Tanzanite. Traded me when they came for me. I'm just gonna grab Seraphina by the shoulders and like, and just walk her back out of the world. As Seraphina and Ulua and Stickybeak kind of pull back with a book in hand.

So, he didn't tell you, okay, well, um,

He's ascended. The, you know, the people in the spires? Mm hmm. They found out what you were looking into and they started trying to find leverage against you. I see. Well So In life and in death, I've got protection, I guess. Thank you? I appreciate it. Yes, I made a really sweet deal

Okay, I'm just gonna like reach out for her hands You reach out her hands seem real they seem physical I Can't leave here Okay. Oh, I'll come back when I'm done. I have to Finish what I'm doing only when you're ready because If you make the final step here It's the final step. Well, either it'll be made for me or I'll make it one each time.

And she just kind of collapses into you. As she used to, which is weird because she's so much taller than you that the collapse into you is She's actually not. She's, um, like six or eight inches taller than me, which is still pretty Yeah. But like Still pretty tall. Still pretty tall compared to, but like, this isn't, this isn't the collapse.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. She's not. But I was going to say like, she's not, uh, collapsing into you, like into your chest. She's collapsing into you. Over me. It's a familiar hug.

Oh, I don't want to rush you. Can you take care of this? Because If they keep coming after me,

I'm going to have to do something drastic. Alright, like what? Well, the Fae realm is not where I belong.

But I think I could make a home here if I need to, but you might not like who I become if I have to do that. Alright, well I will do my best to stop them. Yeah, kinda get on that, would you? Oh, I'm working on it. I know you are. Not as dry as I used to be, but I'm trying.

Well, now you know how I felt. And she kind of like pulls up an old joke about her hitting 81 and having both started off younger than you, but ended much older than you.

Yeah, I think, I think I finally do.

I think as much as I hate to go, um, we probably should get back to it. Um, perhaps I'll see you again. We seem to, I thought you were gone forever, and I've seen you twice in a few weeks, so that's cool. Um, Hey Anna, you see Dick Brady?

You can just take him out now.

Um, he's She's gotten up to some things you should really know about and with that she hands you, um, who knows how she has it, but she hands you a packet that is very much an evidence file.

Um, I maybe made a deal while I've been in here, but don't try not to make any more complicated. What was your deal? Ew.

Well, um, What's your deal, God? There was a fawn in the material plane that died suspiciously and Mom was really unhappy about it and uh, we've colluded together to get this back into the material world.

Alright. Dick hasn't stopped planting evidence.

Okay. Oh, and uh, be a little careful 'cause it's now Captain Dick. I assumed it would be major Dick by now. She just laughs. She, she thinks your jokes are funny. Somebody does . She, she's in the corner laughing at that poop jug the whole time. Well, I need to go do other things right now and you have to do other things right now.

This is really weird. It is. Um.

Okay. Okay. I love you. Um, I will see you soon. One way or the other. Not too soon. You have unfinished business. And then as she says unfinished business, uh, you kind of watch as most of the tavern begins to fade away. The only thing that stays visible is, um, the Leprechaun King. And she's like fading. I'm gonna like run forward and like go up on my toes

As you get up for the kiss out of the corner of your eye, you catch sight of the Leprechaun King looking at you quizzically. Who? And now I need everybody to roll another Charisma Saving Throw. Roll higher than a 15 at this point. Yeah. Um, can I ask while we do this, I guess this is mainly for Gus, but what, what, what does she look like?

I don't know. Uh, um, she is,

I had like a picture of her in my head at one point and now it's just kind of gone. Um, she was like, she was human, but she's like, so she's like four and a half feet tall. And then, um, she has like longish, like dark hair. And like, I don't know. I, I Thoroughly sketched her out in my head. I just Cool. And, uh, could, did everybody roll their roles?

Uh, 26. Great. 24. Great.

You don't remember a thing, but Gus. Sniffle and sticky beak all retain memories from what just occurred. Welcome to Gus's whole goddamn life. And Gus, with that 26 Gus, as the fade through happens, you hear, remember, you'll rescue me if they ever catch me coming from the king.

And you're back in the tavern. Cozy sounds, the smell of ale, the flicker of fire, real fire. So Seraphina doesn't even realize that she's been gone. She's She was sitting there and now the book is open and unlocked and Me not realizing she remembers nothing, I'm like, Well, now that we have the full report, I think we should go to the crime scene and You know, match them up and take a look around.

Ah, yeah, that sounds like a good plan. The full, the full unlocked report, now that we can definitely read it all.

Jess, you don't know it's unlocked because you don't remember, that's why I'm doing this to you. But, oh yeah, I guess I wouldn't have remembered any of that, like literally any of it, not even that part. Dang! I want to boycott that well.

But what, what do you mean? It's, for some reason your fingers are entwined. In ulu? I don't let go, as I say. Uh, no, we got, we still have to unlock it. We still don't know the last bit. We just did, uh, the did what? Unlocked it. The leprechaun king helped us. When, who? You were there. The leprechaun. The leprechaun.

We went to the Fey Realm and came back just now. I want to take my hand, my other hand, and put it on his forehead. Just be like right here. Wait. Are you sick? I think I know what's happening. This happened to me when I got my, my, magical abilities. Um, sometimes when you go to the Fey Realm, you will not remember being there.

That's why I, until five minutes ago, I had no idea what my deal was or with who. That gave me these powers. But, I think that just happened to you. Sorry. But we did unlock the book. Okay, so we I like turned the book and pushed it to her so she could see. Oh! And like as I'm looking at it, be like, Okay, so we saw a leprechaun.

You made a deal with the leprechaun. And he unlocked the book. And my wife was there. You briefly met her. But, um. I met your wife? You did. Dang it! You don't remember Clara? Her name's Clara? What a pretty name.

I'm just like, kind of, I'm just like, kind of like rubbing her back, trying to like, console her, but I don't like, I don't know what to say. So I'm just trying to, Help her not, like, help her through it. Currently. Sorry. Um, Everybody else seems to remember? Yeah, it's certainly not as if we could have just not, you know, rubbed it in, and now I give Gus the same kind of glare I was giving the Leprechaun King.

I wasn't trying to rub it in, I was excited that I saw my wife. your wife. That must have been really nice. It wasn't. It's weird because I I haven't seen her in many years and now I've seen her twice in as many weeks. Um, or months. I don't know how long this campaign's been going on. Um. Time is irrelevant.

Ah. Here we go. Two greens.

Alright, he was murdered at home, right? So we gonna His house? Yeah, just mansion, whatever. Yeah. Alright, I'm gonna pack up the book. Um, can we take a quick pause so I can grab something to drink? No. Yeah, fine. And drink.

I think Gus, with this experience, this interaction, you actually are able to now recall Luton's name. And that you promised that if he's ever caught,

that you would just drop everything to go help rescue him. And as part of that deal where he gave, he channels to you power, he promised that anything happened to the thing that was most precious to you, he would also intercede on your behalf. And that ended up being Claire in the, in his interpretation of things.

Joined her out of the afterlife. He, when she was about to be pulled in to be questioned, um, They like, Casting speak with the dead on like her corpse or something? Jesus. She's been dead like 40 years. It's really messed up. Then they forget to ask her the third question like in the D& D movie. Just sitting there.

Just bored. You know the funniest thing about that spell is, and some DMs have used it to comedic effect in the past, is that it has to be a clean skull. Is it actually better that it's an old skull? But like, in some of the ways that DMs run that, and I think that might be a 4 or a 2. 5 version, but like, you had to clean the skull of the person that you had killed.

So it kept a lot of people from using it. I don't think it's, is that a 5 thing? I don't know if it's in 5 or not written that way. No, I've used it before. Well, I never hold to it. A corpse of your choice within range, it doesn't say anything about that. Okay, that's much better. A corpse must still have a

That usually works. Still has to have a mouth. So you always gotta go find that jaw. Barbarian smashed. You make your way to Gran's mansion. Um, Stickybeak bids you farewell. Other leads to follow. So as you part from Stickybeak, you make your way to this bar. I'll pick up some paper and I'll just write Dear Stinky Beak on the top in preparation and then fold it away again.

Dear Stinky Beak. I feel like Stinky Beak isn't even out of my eyesight when it's happening. You are walking away right now and we miss you. We'll see you soon. That's funny. Um. Feathers. Cool.

Sorry, I interrupted you. Go ahead. No, it's fine. I needed a moment to find the map again. Uh. Yeah, so as you leave this tavern, uh, many might think that Grands live in one of these sky citadels. They're amongst the Ascendant, but that is not their way. That is not who they are. Um, and instead they own a townhouse, a large, generous townhouse just south of the Whispering Bazaar.

And, as you Get into that location. It is Serafina for your reference, um, to the Northeast of where you, uh, grew up in the Cobblestone Commons. So you may have passed the townhouse or the area where the townhouse is on your way to the Skyway Strip where you did your tinkering, um, and such, but you will get there and.

You see that the front of, or the façade of the townhouse is draped in black silk. And it is clear that somebody is making a production of the morning.

I'm gonna go up and knock on the door.

You hear it kind of echo. And you hear some singing.

And then the door opens and there is a Tiefling woman. Uh, Tiefling woman. green of skin in what looks like a maid's outfit, or at least it was a maid's outfit. But um, the parts that would be lighter colors have all been traded out for darker colors. So it's just tonally black on black on black. And peeking past her into the entry hall, you see that anywhere it would make sense to change out the linens.

They've all been changed to black.

Uh, welcome. Uh, we're Us in mourning. So, um, please state your business and then be on your way. Uh, yes, we're aware. Um, we have been sent by Dickie B. He said that he sent word ahead that we'd be coming. Gus. Uh, we're here to investigate the, uh, the crime scene. Yes, yes. Never done. Huh. Right this way. Why don't you sit in the waiting room for a moment and I will

let Madame know that you're here. Of course. Thank you.

As the three of you go in. Yeah. No, no, no. Go ahead. Go ahead. You might answer my question. Nevermind. As the three of you go in, right off of this foyer area is a small parlor. It's not huge and ostentatious, but keen eye. This is really high end furnishings. Maybe not what you'd expect. From a family that owns such a vast trading empire, but everything is of the highest quality

Could I get you anything before I find madam? I'm I'm fine. No, thank you. Either of you.

Thank you. Oh, okay Silent, okay

and She walks out the space And it's

a solid ten minutes. So if you had anything you want to share with each other or Start fillin our pockets with stuff. I'm just kidding. Uh, I must say, uh, that's quite a, uh, foppish display of grief outside. Eh? Eh? Eh?

Uh, yes, it's Yeah, sure. I did it!

Yes, the, uh, trans are, are known for their stage presence.

Um, while we're just waiting, can I, um, I just wanna like, look around, um, see what there is in here. You know, sort of like, A little kid, like, in a fancy library or something, like, just, like, looking around at all the stuff. Not necessarily looking to see if anything is, like, out of place or anything, but just a general nosy check.

Uh, sure. Um, are you, like, looking or are you just looking? You know, I might, like, pick up a book, there's a book, or Okay, roll an investigation check.

Investigation.

I got the shirt. It's been a minute since we've had an investigation roll. Let's see. It's been a minute since anyone's worn the investigation shirt. I also have one, I've worn it a lot. Investigation. It's a good shirt.

Um, wait, that wasn't right math.

27. Wow, I forgot. I rolled a 16 and I have plus 11. Yeah, you, um, yeah, looking through this,

this is very much a room set up to impress people with the grand's brand's brains. Looking through the text, you are seeing evidence of the success of their trading empire. That both includes. books about their successes and the various lineages. You're seeing, um, framed paintings and magical capturings of the various grands.

It is set up to look like Oh, it's a friendly house. Welcome to grandma's where you get to learn all about the grands. But it's very clear to you as you check through and you see all the things really well appointed. Everything here speaks to their power, history, and success as a mercantile empire. The casual observer might not ever understand more than, Oh, it's kind of like a, uh, waiting room with a lot of knickknacks.

But, anybody who was truly aware of mercantilism would quickly see all the evidence to support the grand success.

It is after a while that you hear coming down the stairs, just a little too slow. Grrr. Grrr. Grrr. Ahhhh. And then walking in, a tall woman in her fifties. Wearing a black lace dress down to her ankles, her hair up under a veil, pulled away from her face, also in black.

You're here to look once again upon the worst tragedy to befall this family.

Yes, uh, hello, my name is, uh, Gusunden Schniffle. Uh, these are my colleagues, Ulua and Serafina. We're very sorry for your loss. Yes, well, it is all of our loss, really. I don't know how the city will move on. Indeed. Meanwhile, in the background, you hear, uh, extry, extry, new empires rise. The approaching Sky City appears to be seeking trade opportunities.

Yes, everything's ground to a halt, family, the city. Only finding the killer could possibly bring any light of hope to these halls and to those streets. But we'll, uh, we'll do our best. I would, I would like to do two sets of insight checks. Yeah. I want to do one now to check her sincerity and then I want to do another one when she thinks.

We aren't paying attention when she thinks we aren't looking so I want to give you that heads up so that you know when to have me roll it.

I gotta do the first one now. No, I'm gonna use the purple one. Shoulda changed my mind! Uh, still not bad. 16, although my passive is 17.

You rolled lower than your passive, wow. I rolled a 9 and I have a plus 7. Nine. It's clear to you that there's a level of training that goes into how she's behaving. Kind of like if you think about the royal family, there's a lot of training that goes into how they're supposed to behave. You detect that there's an edge of true grief, but it is also clear that this is what she's expected to do.

She's following what is expected. I feel like as a, like a Combshare. Ulua also has like a level of society training and may be able to spot it slash empathize identify with it. I don't know. That's part of why her DC was where it was at.

Um, if you could direct us to the location where it happened, um, if you don't want to go in there. No questions for me. Um, maybe afterwards. I'd like to, I'd like to look at the, the scene first and just get the whole picture. This is a different approach. Certainly. Okay. Um, Is there something you want us to ask you?

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We have the report, um, the undaunted report from the Watch, uh, so we do, I'm sure they've asked you many of the things that we would ask anyway, um. Well, if you have the report, you'll be aware that they mostly asked. Would you allow us

to see the mirror? The mirror of recording. Certainly. As long as it doesn't leave here. But that is honestly the only thing that cleared my name. They were decidedly prejudiced against me. It's clear they assumed I had something to do with grandstaff. There's a certain

type of investigator that will just always assume it's the spouse and not look further. It's a lady tactic. Yeah, if you read any book, it's always the spouse.

I feel like we don't read the same books. Oh, I don't actually read very often. That's too bad. Do you read a lot? I hear that reading, of course, I didn't. I wasn't born into it.

And Roll your other insight, Ulua, because this is an unguarded moment. You have thoroughly disarmed her. My awkwardness and weirdness has worked. Much better. Uh, 21. 21. Um, there's a keen mind behind all this. And, um, there's a deep worry about what's going to happen in the future. She feigns repercussions across the city and all this.

She says all these words. You can tell that she has great fear for something, not just herself, but for something a little bit larger than just herself.

It's right through here, um, and you'll see the mirror, it has the Muslim cloth over it. Alright, um, we may have some questions afterwards, um, if you would like to wait in here, we can come find you. Be across the hall now, and she looks at Yusuf in the library. She turns, sitting a little bit straighter. And without a rush, walks into the library and you can, yeah, you, yeah.

Um, so what I want to do is go through the report and then like contextualize it visually, like with the scene and just like try to paint a picture for Gus in his head of like what may have happened. Go ahead and roll that investigation check. Um, you have time. And. Low to no distractions. So go ahead and roll with advantage based on your own history as an investigator

Son of a bitch. I rolled a one and a three so that's an eight Whatever it's important. I roll like shit. It drives me crazy

It's not your fault that you're struggling this report has so many items mentioned that aren't in this room. Possibly they were brought in as evidence, but just a lot of the items in the previously falsified report aren't here. The placements are wrong. Whoever wrote the unfalsified report was clearly underqualified.

Sloppy detective work. The only thing that matches the report is the mirror of recording, but it's not even the same place the report indicates. I'm going to walk up to the mirror and just like pull the cloth off of it. Yeah, you pull the cloth off of it and reveal a mirror. Do I know how it works? Is there like a rewind button?

Uh, go arcana check to see if you know how it works. Nope. Also a three. Well, it's controls aren't familiar. Uh, sheriff Ena, do you know how this thing works? The old man can't program this. VCR

uh, you're on mute, dear. I said move aside. Grandpa lets me do it. I know how it works. . Uh, I don't know. Do I know how to use it? Can I roll? Rolling A icon check. Uh, so much hubris

icon

characters. I rolled Arcana, but then I rolled again. Hey, hey, hey. There we go. Okay. Hi. Hi. Hehehe. In

21?

Yes, you found the rewind button. What is this thing? Uh, it is a magical construct. A magical, uh, an enchanted object. Uh, and you rewind back to, um, the first Show me Grandin is graceful. You rewind back to a moment with the maid throwing the sheet over the mirror. But it's in reverse, so you kind of see the sheet magically floating up into her hands.

And then being folded in a most interesting way. Um, then you see the, um, woman you just met, uh, tears dried on her face.

gesturing and then the two of them walking out backwards because it's in Rewind. Um, and then a day night cycle, and then you see the room filling in reverse order. Various investigators, including Sticky Beak at one point, you go back further, and before Sticky Beak arrives, so like Sticky Beak like is there and then rewinds back out, um, I do want to pay special attention for, even in reverse, like somebody planting evidence or moving evidence, like anything like that.

I just want to keep an eye out for that specifically. Okay. As it's rewinding, go ahead and roll that investigation check. Much better. That is, uh, 3020. Great. Uh, so, as it rewinds, um, you get to a place where you see, um, let me pull this up.

You see Captain Dick Brady.

Um, you also see, uh,

you see Bloodgaze Johnson, Tarred Bloodgaze Johnson, and they were the first on the scene.

You run a little bit further back and it goes back into a night cycle before, um, the alarm was called and you see the wife screaming. And as that rewinds out, you see the maid. And as that rewinds out, you see

a tiefling man,

Serafina, it's your brother.

He's holding a long blade in his arm

and with him is a tall woman. And as her gaze turns, Ulua, it's you. You see your friend.

You see the sincere house mistress herself. And as it rewinds further back, you watch Seraphina as your brother wipes blood from his blade. And, Aloy, you watch as your friend and compatriot Oksana is putting on clothes, and you rewind further. And you quickly piece together that there's some sort of attempt at seduction that failed.

And on its failure, coming out of the shadows, Seraphina, your brother, stabbed Grant through the throat, into the chin, and Oksana broke his neck to ensure he was truly dead.

And the two of them Step through a portal to nowhere.

Uh, uh, Seraphina's gonna run outside. Like full on, like, panic attack. Can I try to grab her? Okay, as you panic attack, Seraphina, roll your dexterity check against Ulua's strength check. Yeah. You're a sticky bean. That's not gonna be good. It ain't good, brother. Dexterity, you said a dexterity saving throw?

You're a sticky bean. Or just a dexterity check. Uh, like a dexterity check. Just a straight dexterity check. And Ulua, it can be either athletics or pure strength. It's up to you. You

cat. Say what you rolled! This is not a Oh my gosh, I'm gonna murder you all. I'm done. I'm taking a break. 70 minutes. See you tomorrow. Tomorrow. It's a podcast! For those listening at home, I rolled a natural 20. Did you get a tone gap? No, I did the pew pew pew pew. Silently. I only rolled an 18. You actually never know, I could have just done it really loudly and my mic could have cut it out.

But sure. That's true. Okay, so, you're able to restrain her. She is not able to run out into the street. Much less out of this room. Thanks for listening. I'm gonna, like, hustle over and close the door. I'm actively, like, fighting her, though, even though I can't get away. I'm just, like, screaming to, like, you know, like, Get off of me, let me go!

Kind of a I'm gonna close the door and I'm gonna turn back, be like, Sheriff Hina, stop. We have to, we have to talk about this. We have to figure this out. Nothing to talk about! We know who did it!

Sweetie, sweetie.

Both, both of us just saw, like, Both of us just saw something that is very upsetting. But we have to remember It's entirely possible that that wasn't them, that it was maybe someone disguised as them somehow. We have to, we have to, we have to take a moment. I, I need to watch this again. Um, if you want to wait outside, you're welcome.

I'm gonna calmly step away and I want to try to go to the library. Like, go across the way.

That's what I want. Before, as she goes to walk away, I just I'm like, holding onto her hand and I just like, take one moment to like, stop her so that she looks back at me and I go, just don't run away. Before she goes, I'm gonna say, Sharifina, is your brother right or left handed?

Shit, dude, I don't know. Let's see. 1 to 10, left. Oops. 1 to 10, left. No. Yeah. Anything to 20, right. He's right handed.

After she goes, I'm going to play through it and see which hand he uses to hold the knife. Are you staying there, Ulua? Yeah, but I just want, I just promise you aren't going to leave.

No, I'm not going to leave. Me neither. Seraphina,

you head across the hall and there is the Madam of the House. Um,

we'll definitely try to talk to you. But before you talk to her, I'll just say that you see, while tidy, There is a lot of work being done in this room in terms of study. She's had a lot of different scrolls pulled down. She's writing ferociously in a ledger. And it's clear that she has used, is using this library as a war room for making some big decisions.

I want to leave you with that image to ponder and think about for a moment. We'll go back to the rewind of, or the play forward of the Mirror of Record. Yeah, I'm going to play it through like probably a bunch of times, um, looking for signs of that it might be a doppelganger, that they might be under a magical control, that they might, um, you know, that they, for example, like if they look really like grease stricken as he stabs him in the throat.

You know, stuff like that. Um, I think if they're being coerced in some way and not actually wanting to do it or just like, I'm just looking at like, or all the details to figure out if it's really them and if there's any kind of like motive that I can figure out just from the video.

Yeah. Um. The video. The recording. The video. The recording. The mirror recording. The recording. Uh, are you watching it with him? Uh, yeah. Um, I, him saying the thing about the hand makes me, I'm trying to think of, you know, Any sort of,

um, habit that, or, or tick or tell that Oksana would have that I, I would be able to, um,

to see if it's, if it's her or not. So I want you to roll an insight check and Kassandra roll an investigation check again. Staring at my light and now I'm not going to be able to read my dice. Stop looking up when you think! 19. Um,

there are a lot of inconsistencies. Just in the sequence of events, uh, it looks like this mirror of recording wouldn't have been facing, if it's right where it is right now, facing the angle of the bed. The bed had to be dragged over for it to be where it is right now. And that means that they staged this.

Like, not just staged this, but they staged this. The other thing you notice as you watch it back, it's not Seraphina's brother or Llew's friend that catches your eye. It's because you're looking for someone who's being bespelled, Grand is bespelled. Why would this powerful figure who probably has access to all the training in the world they would need for self defense, probably needed it, probably learned from a young age, why would they just comply with all this?

You look a little bit closer and you realize Grand, of Grand's brand, has a ton of magical artifacts, ancient artifacts, some things from the Timeless Trio, and there isn't evidence of a single thing on his body. It's like he's been stripped of every magical defense, enchantment, and otherwise that he has.

And you doubt to your core that anyone that lives in the precarious balance between the Ascended and all their ridiculousness, the government of this town, and international trade ever be caught without their defenses present.

So to you, Gasundan,

it's not necessarily the presumed perpetrators that are problematic. It's the victim. Something had to have happened previous of this in order for Gran to be vulnerable. Ulua, what'd you roll? Uh, 17.

It's tough. It really does look like her. As you look even more closely at Iksana, and you just recall just the other day, her shiftiness,

it feels like it could be her? It's her.

But then in one of the, like, imagine it as, like, frames, when Gesundhezen pauses it to look closely at Grand, you catch something's wrong with her eye. Just for a flicker of a moment. As that flicker of the moment passes, and Gesundhezen resumes the play,

it's gone. Whatever it was, it's gone. And it looks like her again. It's acting like her. It is her. But, you're suspicious.

Okay, after we've played it a bunch of times, I want to turn it all over. I think we need to talk to Misha's grand, and then we need to go find your friend.

Yeah.

Was there anything that made you think it might not be her? There was a moment, but Can we try to, can we watch it back one more time to see if I can catch it? You like frame by frame in the mirror of recording? Play pause, please. Play pause, please. No, I accidentally liked it. Roll a dexterity check. I accidentally shared the murder footage.

My bad. You like, shared, subscribe to Probability of Demise. Hey, put in a plug. Uh, roll a dexterity check. Or dex check. Just check. Unless you're using something specific about your dexterity to play Paws. Are you working together on this? Or is one of you on the play and one on the pause button? Dirty 20.

She's really good with her fingers. That helps. Probably. Yeah, Seraphina would know. But um, Sign him. Uh, you get to that moment again. And there's just something about the eyes. Um, Both of you roll a history check. History

18.

Wait, on intelligence against magic Nah, it doesn't work. I have advantage on intelligence saving throws against magic, but that's not what this is. Nevermind. It's not a saving throw, but it's also Nevermind. I was just trying to give myself hope and realize how stupid it was as it was coming out of my face.

So There are a lot of creatures in this world, Ulua, that you're aware of, and Gasundan you're aware of, that can wear the shape of others. Um,

You're aware of all sorts of simple creatures that just change themselves. You also are aware of people who have the magic capacity to be someone else. Illusions don't show glimmers. Illusions don't show glimmers. of what lies underneath without the entire illusion being dispelled. So you are aware that this is a shape changer of some sort.

There's a very small tribe of changelings in Overton.

They just have not been very successful in the world at large, and they usually keep to private enclaves. To themselves, but you, you are aware that there's a one tiny little enclave in the undercroft that might be a lead there's also many other beings that can change their shape, but you don't have knowledge of those.

So it could be fairly sure it wouldn't be like a potion or like a mask or many phases or anything like that. I think Crescendent Sniffle with your role, you're, you immediately can roll those out. And with Ulua's role, she actually has some, the opportunity to go through this Rolodex. But like Ascendant, you know it's not a doppelganger.

It's not a simple shape changer, whatever this is. It's not an illusionist. And while there's history in this case of an illusionist being involved, This particular situation, Oksana at least, that's not an illusion. Something else is going on there. Was Gassan to anything with the, the dagger in the hand that he happened to stab him with his left hand?

Uh, Seven with his right, I rolled two.

I wasn't able to help you clear anybody or indemnify anybody.

All right, with that! We're going to close this session next time we're going to come in. Serafina is going to start us off with this wonderful and scintillating conversation in the library of the grand of grand's brands with the widow brand. Thank you all for joining us. It's been a grand time.

Wonderful having you here. I have my pod. You don't get to steal them, but you can borrow them occasionally with a small fee of 5, 000 bajillion dollars and find your own pod. Like subscribe and all the other things we hope you have a good time