Episode 16 - Blinded By Science

Intro
Matt: Hello and welcome to Celestial Expanse, a real play D&D podcast set in the Celestial Expanse universe, my name is Matthew, and I'll be your DM for tonight, and playing with me tonight is Ben as Rell... Ben: Hello. Matt: Jason as Theran... Jason: Meka Leka Hi Meka Hiney Ho. Matt: Rebecca as Martle... Rebecca: Okay. Matt: Boston, I mean the brat, Juniper... Boston: Why did nobody trust the low dex wizard? Because he can trip at any moment! Matt: Awwwwwww. No, no no no no. Boston, not you too. Natalia: I like that one. Matt: Ah jeez. And Natalia as Z. Natalia: Sup. Matt: Talk about some short intros today. How's everybody doing today? Boston: Mine was the best.

Episode Description
The Crew survives the attack by the Inquisition and now must see where the next attack is coming from. And more importantly: will 'olive boy' Captain Eric get the date?

Summary
The crew follows Eric at a run to the site of the explosion, and find a chaotic scene. Medics are tending to injured people, and Parliament lawkeepers are at the scene. Going into the building, they see the bomb was specially designed to blow a hole through it without causing a collapse. The device is gone, and Z finds footprints leading out through a door on the opposite side of the building. An elf researcher, Professor Ingan, with red eyes and greenish skin says it was pirates, who held his assistant hostage until he gave them the device. After settling the issue of damages, he says the device is older than anything they have ever encountered in this galaxy, and that even Arula didn't understand the storage capacity it had. Juniper gets angry at his dismissive tone when talking about Arula. He tells her to let the grownups talk, and Z and Juniper both attack him. Eric is conveniently distracted. Ingan says the device is at least 350-400 thousand years old, older than the oldest known civilization. Juniper storms off. The thieves were wearing the colors of the Raiders of Central, who have been harassing all the trade routes of the Paramount Central region. They speculate as to why the Inquisition would have attacked the party while the Raiders stole the device. Hit and run jobs on planets is unusual for the Raiders; usually they attack ships, ones that can handle the loss. Eric says they recently acquired a Raider prisoner, and they were planning on interrogating him to find out the location of his base. He invites them the join, and Martle requests a delay of one day so she can use a spell that prevents him from lying. Eric agrees, and invites her to dinner. Z agrees to dinner, and ignores the fact that she wasn't invited. Rell finally realizes Juniper has gone, and finds her clothes shopping.

For once, Z actually makes an effort to look good. Martle simply readjusts her headband and gets off any dirt she may have on her. Eric sends a text saying he's on his way, and that the restaurant they're going to has very fancy olive juice. Z asks super obnoxious questions about Eric until Martle says she isn't serious about this, and then Z falls to scheming. Both Z and Theran follow Martle and Eric to the restaurant, Z closely and obviously, Theran stealthily from a distance. Eric expresses concern about Z, and Martle reassures him that she's easily puntable, while Z claims she's Martle's wingman. Martle and Eric get a table for two and reject Z's suggestion of a booster seat, so Z sits at the bar. Eric and Martle talk about captaining difficulties. Eric mentions that Parliament no longer wants to find the Raiders themselves, but he promises Martle unrestricted access. Z makes a drunken mess at the bar, so Martle and Eric make their exit.

New Information
The leader of the Raiders of Central is a beautiful half elf woman named Diamia Diamolbra.

Mentaru have blue skin, silvery hair, and yellow eyes (or at least some do).

Memorable Quotes
Ben: I gained so much HP. And definitely not only 2.

Martle: Don't worry, she's easily thrown out of rooms, we'll be fine.

Boston: She's bodily vaping.

Rebecca: Martle has a little bit of concern now.

Trivia
The crew leveled up to level 6 at the beginning of this episode.