Ep. 49: The Eleventh Hour - Chapter Nine/Transcript

Transcript by the lovely volunteers at TAZscripts.

Griffin: Previously, on The Adventure Zone…

Griffin: Quickly emerging from the ground, you see three very large, very purple worms. The-These three little piggies just cry the whole way home. Just like cryin’. Doin’ a sad--a sad little purple worm cry-

Clint: So I’m the bad guy?

Griffin: -as they run away. The thing that most catches your eye on this main drag is the statue. This figure standing behind them is uh, tall, and muscular, is wearing a robe. A bright crimson red.

Travis: Oh, like the bad guys.



Justin: Okay, I turn right.

Griffin: She gets like really, she's nose to nose.



Griffin: And the uh, the metal sliding hatch that uh, you saw over the top of Shaft A, uh, that hadn't been shut, uh, is actually shut over this hole. So it's covering the entirety of- of Shaft B. And you see June in front of you and she's young again. And she falls to her hands and knees and the cup rolls away from her and lands perfectly at your feet.



[THEME MUSIC: "Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson]

[Justin/Griffin snorts with laughter, Clint giggles]

Justin: Ugh.

Griffin: Okay, so, last when we left off you just sort of beat the offer given to you by the Temporal Chalice and June. You’re back at the top of Shaft B. And June has sort of collapsed after giving up the cup and it fell and landed at your feet. Before we get to what you guys do next, there’s like a quick off camera cutscene. And it shows a few folks around the town of Refuge.

You see Cassidy [clattering] sneaking out of the crack in the wall in her cell and she makes her way outside, she kinda shakes her head and closes her eyes and looks kind of confused. And then you see everybody in The Davy Lamp and The Davy Lamp just falls silent and Ren stops polishing glasses for a second and kinda looks confused.

And you see Brogden, in the bank, kind of sit up with a start and then she flips a switch under her desk in the bank and it drops these heavy metal gates over the entrances into the bank. And you see the Liberation Brigade and Redmond, their leader, stop their march into Refuge and kinda shake their head like they’re remembering something and they head home. And there’s this air of confusion as everybody in the town of Refuge starts to remember the things that have happened in these past loops.

Travis: [sheepishly] Oops!

Griffin: But there’s also a lot of [laughs], yeah -

Clint: [also sheepishly] Oooh.

Travis: We did a lot of things, assuming they were erased from time! Oooh!

Justin: Oh no.

Griffin: But they also look, they also look kind of afraid ‘cause each of them knows what’s about to happen to their city, and down in Shaft B, you know the truth and that is that the Temporal Chalice is laying at your feet, it is no longer active, and this is the final loop.

Travis: I wanna do something cause I've been meaning to do it since I think episode maybe 46? Or maybe 47, it's hard to remember. I pick up the chalice and I look at stupid what's-his-face in his face--

Griffin: Isaak.

Travis: And I say-



Griffin: Uhhhh–

Travis: Ok. Yeah I just really want to make that clear, ‘cause he didn't believe us at first.

Griffin: Isaak is kind of in shock. Isaak is laying on the floor, after being thoroughly sacked by Roswell, and he doesn't respond to that– but Roswell, uh, picks Isaak up by the shirt collar, and just kinda holds Isaak right up to their face, and reaches down and plucks off Isaak’s sheriff badge, [sounds of being impressed] and attaches it to themself.

Travis: Fuck yeah!

Justin: Yeah!

Griffin: Uh, and just drops him back down on the floor with a thud. And Roswell looks at the three of you and says



Griffin: Just to describe the room again, it's- it's almost identical to Shaft A, only the hatch on Shaft A was open, and there was a lever there that hadn’t been deployed. In Shaft B the hatch is closed, there's a little platform that June is on. June is now again, I think we said she was like 8 years old when all of this started? She's a little girl again. She's not the old, old shriveled up person that you saw in the white space.

Travis: And what time is it?

Griffin: Uh, you would estimate that it is about, uh, it's like right before 11:30.

Travis: Okay.

Griffin: You do hear some rumbling in the other room, over in Shaft A. And June says,



Travis: Alright boys. Let's think this through.

Clint: That's gonna be a switch.

Travis: I know but we’re in the same room now so. I think we’ve been in the same room the whole game, don't worry about it.



Griffin: Isaak says,



Griffin: Uh, she stands up and dusts her little yellow dress off at the knees and-

Clint: [interrupting] Does she look like a Fanning? Can we say she looks like one of the little Fannings.

Griffin: [crosstalk] She looks like a minor Fanning.

Travis: One of the minor Fannings?

Griffin: Yes. One of the lesser Fannings.



Griffin: [interrupting] This is June talking.



Travis: That’s the Chance Lance.

Griffin: [laughs] Oh, okay.

Travis: I don’t have a good sound for it yet! [falsetto singing] Chance!

Griffin: [crosstalk] Yeah, we’ll keep working on it.

Justin: [similar falsetto] A-h-h-h! Lance!



Griffin: He says, and he walks over to the lever of Shaft B and he says:



Travis: Destroy New.



Justin: And I hit the lever.

Griffin: Okay, yeah, you hit the switch and the hatch over Shaft A closes over the bubble that was placed there and the hatch into Shaft B opens up. Uh, and while Shaft A was kinda like a straight shot down, it’s like that was where they found the original motherload of diamonds and they just bored right down into it, Shaft B you can see is kind of more of an exploratory shaft. Like they were using Shaft B to look for where more diamonds might be?

And so the cart track that you’re standing on goes into that shaft and kind of spirals all the way around it, branching off into little tunnels here and there as these tunnels were sort of them just looking, just trying to find more as they go. It kind of looks like a roller coaster down there of minecart tracks. Um, and as you open up that shaft, there’s a small hole sort of at the start of the track and four minecarts roll out into them. Um, and Roswell doesn’t hesitate for a second. Roswell runs and jumps in one of the cars and says:



[Clint giggles]



Griffin: He goes to the three of you and says discreetly like:



Griffin: And all of a sudden, June is behind him with her hand outstretched like:

Griffin: And before he can finish, the hole you just came through in the barrier expands and the purple worm sails through it. The purple worm sails through the side of the bubble-

Travis: [interrupting] I pull Avi down.

Griffin: You grab Avi and pull him down and this- it’s like a train going over you, like it casts a shadow over all of you and sails over you for probably a good 15 seconds before it skids to a halt just past you. And without missing a beat, it whips its head around and readies another fireball in your direction. But just as it’s about to incinerate you, you feel a rumble beneath your feet and from all around it- from all around the purple worm, three smaller purple worms burrow up from the ground; and it’s the ones that you fought at the beginning-

Travis: [interrupting] And spared, might I add! Fought and spared.

Griffin: And spared at the beginning. And these three purple worms are all whining this sound that is- they sound overjoyed, but it’s a horrible noise and the mama worm looks at these three little worms and then back at you, and then back at the baby worms and then it roars - but not the like anguished scream that you’ve heard, y’know a dozen times or so now, right before Refuge was destroyed, it’s a roar of joy. And it wraps itself around its three children and pulls its head high up into the sky, and then slams down into the ground, burrowing away with its family.

Clint: [singing] It’s a mother and child re-u-u-u-nion~! You guys have heard that song before right?

Travis: Nope! But I get the point of it, it was pretty straight forward.

Griffin: You literally said the thing that happened.

Travis: [crosstalk] You did it to music.

Clint: Well, Paul Simon did originally, I was just quoting.

[The track “The Purple Worm” plays as Griffin goes into commercial break. {48:19}]

[Commercial break ends at {54:44}]

Griffin: Avi is just white as a sheet, he’s paralysed in fear.



Griffin: He doesn’t respond to you, he is just, he is just like-

Travis: [interrupting] I slap him.



Griffin: He doesn’t respond to you, he’s just. Paralysed.

Travis: I slap him again.

Griffin: … He doesn’t move or respond to that ‘cause he’s- he’s paralysed.



Griffin: Okay, you take turns slapping Avi-



Griffin: He doesn’t move because he is literally paralysed, and you realise he’s outlined in red light. And from behind him you actually see sort of, apparate behind him the red-robed figure that you've encountered a few times now. [creepy music begins] And it really quickly holds a finger to its lips, and then waves its hand in a circle, and your stones of Far Speech, they go dim, they go dark. And the red-robed figure says:


 * Magnus, Taako: Nothing.
 * Magnus, Taako: Nothing.
 * Magnus, Taako: Nothing.
 * Magnus, Taako: Nothing.


 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.
 * Merle, Taako: Everybody.



[All three say “No!” and “Hell no!” a bunch of times]



Griffin: As you say that, that you don't trust him, it, it - this apparition, this basically red-robed ghost - or, it's a lich - floating in front of you - it starts to lose its composure. It starts to lose… And I mean that literally, like, the spectral form starts to jerk violently, and a bolt of energy kind of like, whips off of it. And actually, Merle, make a Dex save.

[Dice rolling]

Clint: [crosstalk] Nat 20!

Griffin: That’s a.. That’s a nat 20. You dodge out of the way, actually, as a bolt of red energy whips off of this Red Robe and sort of moves past you. And this red robed figure falls to its knees, and he's muttering to himself, like he's trying to calm himself down, and it doesn't sound like it sounds every other time he's spoken to you. It sounds like a guy's voice. And he says to himself:



Griffin: And he calms down, and the sort of distortion that was happening to him kind of fades, and he stands back up and says:



Griffin: And he disappears. And, immediately, Avi says:



Griffin: And is unparalyzed.



[Everyone laughs]

Griffin: Um, you all notice that actually, the bubble is still up in front of you. Like, the bubble did not come down. In fact, the hole that the three of you and the worm came through has closed back up. Refuge is still surrounded by this enormous, magical, opaque barrier. Um, but you see Istus’s reflection inside of the barrier, and she talks to you. And she says, uh:



Griffin: She says, um:



Griffin: She says. And Istus disappears, and the bubble goes transparent. And you see Refuge and its citizens on the other side. And they’re moving extremely quickly because time is moving really fast in the bubble. You see like almost a white strobe light effect and it’s because the sun is rising and setting a few times per second. And the whole town is gathered near the edge of the bubble, near where you’re standing. And you watch in timelapse as they quickly erect a big wooden sign, which they decorate and ornately paint with a single word. And the sign just reads: “Thanks!”

And under the sign there are three clay figures that some kids are crafting up and they do it in timelapse really quickly and it’s modeled after you. There’s these three little clay statues that kids are making. And as you move, as you watch this fast forward scene in front of you, every time you move, the kids like instantly reshape these clay statues to kind of like, mimic you, like they’re playing a game with you, even though time is passing at wildly different  speeds.

And nearly 7 years pass in ten minutes. And you see it all. You see midsummer harvest festivals and Candlenights celebrations. You see a few weddings, you see a couple of funeral processions. You see good days and you see bad days. But the whole town and its inhabitants seem happy, like the events of all those loops brought them together in a strange way. And after ten minutes or so, time inside the bubble slows down until it’s nearly at real time. And the town gathers around the sign they erected in your honor, and without a sound, the bubble pops.

And Refuge, and everybody living in Refuge is there, and they’re cheering. And they quickly sort of envelop all four of you. There’s a lot of folks who want to know more about Avi, who they haven’t met. He’s just this mystery man who they’ve watched through the bubble for seven years. They pull him in and just start asking Avi all these questions, like “Oh, we had bets. We had a theory that you were their boss and you were the one that really helped ‘em bring the bubble down.”

[Someone, probably Justin, snickers]

Griffin: And Avi’s just sort of graciously hanging out with them. Um, and they whisk all of you away to a big feast they’ve prepared in your honor. And I guess before heading out of Refuge, who in town do you want to say goodbye to? Who do you want to check in on seven years later in their time?

Travis: I wanna check on Paloma?

Griffin: Okay, yeah, Paloma is right there. Like, Paloma’s ready, she’s much, much- she looks much older, she’s an older woman now. And she hands all of you just like a giant basket of baked goods, like a ridiculously large basket of baked goods.

Justin: [crosstalk] Hell yeah.

Griffin: Which you, Taako, you appreciate the craftsmanship that went into these. And she says,



Clint: I want to check on Cassidy.



Griffin: Um, she starts to walk back into the crowd but before she does, she grabs you, Taako, she says,



Griffin: She pulls you away from the group. She reaches out her hand and she hands you a crystal. And, uh, she- it has a prophecy in it, and you see it and her eyes kind of roll back and she says:



Clint: [laughs] Just-?



[Snickers]

Justin: And I reach my hand up for a high five. And she’s like-

Griffin: She instantly goes up and highfives you, [Justin bursts out laughing] she is rolling laughing.

Justin: [laugh] I knew she was down!



Griffin: Uh, you run after Junebug?



Griffin: Okay, we’ll do- let’s do Dad and Cassidy first and then we’ll do you and Junebug. Yeah, you find Cassidy, she has been exonerated of all guilt for the crime of blowing up the temple.

Travis: [crosstalk] Hopefully, after 7 years, yeah?

Griffin: Yeah, no, she’s been a good member of town and in fact, when you find Cassidy, [Travis: yes] she’s wearing like a nice suit. She’s wearing like a nice suit and she has a top hat on and you find her in the elder’s manor because she has been made the elder of Refuge. And she says,



[Justin laughs]



Griffin: She reaches into her pocket and she says,



Griffin: You stretch out your hand, and she drops a couple of root beer barrels into your hand. But they’re all sticky and they’re covered in lint and stuff ‘cause they were in her loose pocket just kind of floating around.



Griffin: Uh, okay.



Griffin: You find Junebug in The Davy Lamp. And she says um- she’s like, what, she’d be about fifteen now so she’s a young woman now and she’s working at The Davy Lamp. And she’s working with Ren who also greets you happily as you all make your way into town. And June thanks you effusively, she seems wise beyond her years now because she went through something magical and sort of inexplicable. And she thanks you, and Magnus, she says:



Griffin: And runs up to her room in The Davy Lamp, and when she comes back down she hands you a tube, and it’s the type of like tube that scholars might store scrolls inside. And she says,



Griffin: And the tube has your name scrawled on the outside of it, like a gift tag or something like that and she says,



Griffin: [crosstalk] She says,



[Clint laughs quietly]

Griffin: Magnus, you are in a little corner of the dining hall, which is a big massive communal space for the Bureau. As late as it is, there’s nobody else here, that gives you the privacy that you need to look at what’s inside of this tube one more time. And you pop it open and unfurl it.

[The track “Disrobed” begins to play as Griffin speaks]

Griffin: And there’s something strange about the parchment inside of this tube, which is that you can see it. You can see what’s on it. But when you try to draw conclusions based on what you see, when you try to understand what it is you’re seeing, your mind turns to static. And it’s an incredibly uncomfortable sensation. So, what you see inside the tube are two sheets of paper: and the first one is a design for the statue that stands in the middle of Refuge depicting Jack, June and the broad-shouldered Red Robe standing between them.

Griffin: And it has a date etched in the corner of it. The other piece of parchment, when you look at the date you can tell this was an older draft of this statute- an older design of the same statue. And in this sketch, in this earlier sketch, Jack and June look exactly the same, but the Red Robe’s hood is pulled down. And you can see his face. And it’s an incredibly familiar face, Magnus. Because it’s your face. This figure in this red robe, is you.

[THEME MUSIC: "Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson, plays into the Maximum Fun outro]