Episode 70 - Past Wounds

Stinger
Rebecca: I'll repeat what I said earlier: Matt, you bitch.

Intro
Jason: Hello, and welcome Celestial Expanse, a real play D&D podcast set in the Celestial Expanse universe. My name is Jason, and I'll be playing everyone's favorite heretic elf, Theran. Tonight, you'll witness much chicanery, tomfoolery, explosions, ballyhoo, and if you are lucky, maybe even some skullduggery. But now I want to introduce the Prime Minister of Sinister, the Foreman of Fornicating Skyward, the Numero Uno of rolling numero uno, Matthew. How you doing tonight, Matthew? Matt: Pretty good. Jason: We have Ben playing Rell. How is our favorite one handed man? Ben: Great. Jason: Boston, whose food order was wrong, is playing our favorite shrub Juniper. How are you Boston? Boston: Oh woe. Rebecca, who I'd like to formally apologize to for not getting pronouns correct so very much, a great friend, and I apologize, is also playing the kind and generous Martle. How are you Rebecca? Rebecca: I'm doing really good, thanks for the apology. Jason: Natalia, playing Z, how the hell is it hanging Natalia? Natalia: Nice and - nice and loose, I guess. Jason: Get it checked out by the doctor. Mitch! Playing Zarial, who didn't blow things up last episode, how are you doing Mitch? Mitch: Some scared. Jason: Yeah. Scary time. Matt: That's a fair reaction. Jason: Back to you Matt.

Episode Description
The Crew go investigate the explosion at the facility that Zarial went to. There they say hello to an old friend.

Summary
The episode begins just after the battle at the end of season 1. A strange, giggling light floats above the wreckage. Barnabas's voice picks out which ones he will take. His halfling form appears. He touches the crystal in the chest of Eric, and his palm lights up. Next he visits the old CEO of Abaddon Systems. He's coughing blood into a handkerchief, slowly dying from a disease. Barnabas hands him the Allforge, and says he has designs against the crew of the Torog. As the CEO asks what he wants, the Harlequin bursts in and is immediately surrounded by crystals. Barnabas says he'll do nicely. The darkness inside him will make the item Barnabas holds much more fearful.

After the explosion in the underground city of Agora, Theran unmutes Zarial and asks if it was him. Zarial yells that it wasn't as he pulls out his sniper rifle and casts Fog Cloud at the figure in white armor. Using his Fogvision, he fires at the figure, but misses. They fire a poplight, a fragmentation grenade that uses laser radiation, and it stuns Zarial. Zarial's driver is also stunned, or possibly killed, bleeding against the side of the van.

The moment of the explosion, the rest of the crew hear the dragonborn, Marcule, demand what's going on. Rell overhears that the building housing the Fabricator has been attacked by a figure in white with a shark-like grin painted on the helmet. There are casualties everywhere, the building is on fire, and the status of the Fabricator is unknown.

Theran tells the dragonborn Zarial is there and under attack, ignoring Martle's indignation and explaining Zarial's presence there as anticipating such an attack. He dodges further questions by saying they should get there and stop the destruction of the Fabricator as soon as possible, and on the way tells Martle Zarial went there to provide extra security. They get in Marcule's personal vehicle and fly there at top speed. They see a huge fire engulfing the site of the factory.

The Harlequin is ignoring Zarial, busy mowing down everyone around while laughing. Suddenly he stops, and turns to Zarial. Zarial casts Detect Thoughts on the Harlequin, and hears a jumble of voices. One says, "Why is he here? He shouldn't be here!" The other says, "It's a playtime, it's for my toys." A third tells the second that he didn't send him to have fun, though he loves hearing him slaughter souls for his army. He sent him to make sure the party members Lilith loves so much don't get this device. The second voice says, "Fine, Barnabas, fine." When Zarial tries to dig deeper, he feels a backlash of psychic energy, and everything goes black. Before him appears a halfling covered in crystal and jewels. He's sitting, while Zarial is held up, arms extended. He asks who Zarial is. Zarial is too terrified to answer. Barnabas asks, "Cat got your tongue?" and Zarial's tongue appears in his hand. Barnabas threatens him, and Zarial answers telepathically, "Just a nobody from a nobody race." Barnabas says he's part of the group Lilith is interested in. Zarial says he doesn't know who that is, and doesn't care. Barnabas introduces himself, and names his children as the Abyssal Crystalline. He says Zarial's group shouldn't be here, they should be looking for the other weapons of mass destruction. He calls himself a god, and restores Zarial's tongue. He says takes and gives things, and he thinks it's time to take the galaxy for his children. He'll leave it up to his champion, the Harlequin, to decide what to do with him. Zarial is back where he was, face to face with the Harlequin.

The rest of the party comes into view of the Harlequin pointing his gun at Zarial. Martle jumps out of the vehicle and asks what he wants. He says he's just here to have fun, and maybe help his new friends, the three giant crystal golems, get in. Zarial puts his hand over the mouth of the Harlequin's grenade launcher and casts Scorching Ray to destroy it and the grenade pouch, also activating his armor's Absorb Elements. Lelia asks what's going on over the intercom, and gets a very rapid and slightly cryptic explanation from Martle. Lelia figures it out, and asks for 10 minutes to get there. Zarial swings at the Harlequin with his sword, barely damaging his armor. The Harlequin throws him at the crew, and Martle catches him. Theran fires his bow. The arrow, made of radiation, passes through an energy shield that springs up around the Harlequin and strikes his helmet, partially shattering it. He seems human, but with part of his face covered in cybernetics, and crystal is over the eye. Martle doesn't recognize him, but she feels something calling to her. She subconsciously casts Divine Sense, and she can tell there's another person in the same body. She gets feelings of familiarity, and one thing sticks in her mind: olive juice. Theran looks through the monocle. The timer is black, like this person should be dead, but there are symbols around the circle as if they're keeping it from breaking. He also sees another circle, bright white as if they're dead, and their soul is stuck in this body. He sees Eric attached to the crystal, floating behind the Harlequin and yelling at him. Martle fires at the Harlequin, but the shield absorbs it. He teases her about the date "they" had, and Martle fires again, but misses. The Harlequin mentions that his old boss, who is now renting him out, likes money. He refuses to name his current boss, but introduces his new friends: there's a huge explosion in the ceiling, and a giant crystal golem emerges. A golem throws a giant crystal globe, which releases hundreds of crystal golems like in the Iepetus cave system. They start hearing laser fire, and the dragonborn calls to move out. Juniper slows the golems down with Wall of Fire, and they retreat. As they go, Martle hears "Martle, I'm sorry," in her mind. She does not look back.

Memorable Quotes
Matt: Does anybody remember what happened last time? Ben: Shit's on fire.

Matt: There's casualties everywhere while the building is on fire, and the status of the Fabricator is unknown. Ben: Cool. This is fine.

Matt: Theran, you said you wanted to shoot him, right? Jason: Yeah I always want to shoot him. Just assume that when it gets back to my turn I'm gonna shoot him.

Rebecca: They can't have meth.

Natalia: They just called you a bitch! Matt (giddily laughing): Who, me? Rebecca: Yes! Natalia: Yeah! Rebecca: You bitch, how dare you!

Rebecca: You don't do this with people that Martle loved.

Trivia

 * Zarial could taste Barnabas's hand, which tasted like a salt lick.
 * The explosion of the grenade launcher did 49 laser damage, half with a successful save.