Title: Cloudward, Ho!
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Emily Axford (she/her) as Marya Junková (she/her). Zac Oyama (he/him) as Daisuke Bucklesby (he/him). Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Vanellope Chapman (she/her). Lou Wilson (he/him) as Montgomery LaMontgommery (he/him). Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Olethra MacLeod (she/her). Brian Murphy (he/him) as Maxwell Gotch (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout
If you missed them, catch up on our review of the first and second episodes!
We return to the Zephyr in the aftermath of our crew’s first combat. Marya exclaims in wonder, seeing Olethra in the now working MechLeod.
After celebrating the working machine, Olethra slips out, sharing what she found in the secret compartment. No one recognizes the script or the keys. Marya also figures out that the sextant has four cardinal directions. Instead of those we know, they’re vex, vim, nox, and nef. With the information from Comfrey MacLeod’s distress call and the sextant, Marya believes she can locate where the Biangle will appear next. As she studies the sextant, nox and nef seem to be directional and looping while vim feels absolute like an equator. Vim and vex, while absolute, are not magnetic points or fixed points.
While the crew review the items, Marya pulls Van aside, revealing there’s a rumor of a kill switch in the MechLeod. Van shares a rumor in turn that Olethra is a robot.
While the crew splits up, with the Gotch brothers persuading the crew to stay with the truth of their adventure while Olethra gets some time with her favorite author, Montgomery, as they patch the balloon. As the crew images what awaits them in Zood, they head to the South Pole.
They arrive to a ship turned station which produces its own floating surface of ice. As Marya searches through frequencies, she can only find a frequency playing an old record, but the keys start to bend upward toward the pole.
Finding coal, the group also discovers that the original crew left in a hurry, which feels Van with concern. The more they find, the more concerned Van becomes, and when Olethra messes up with the mech, she notices separate explosions, finding vessels approaching from beneath the waves and ice.
Caught, their enemy attacks. The Zephyr comes as low as it can, taking an entire silo while Montgomery pushes Van into a lifeboat to get her out of danger and back up onto the ship.
Marya and Maxwell do one last rush. They find a large door which had been airlifted into the pole, and one of the keys jumps up. Opening the door, the pair finds a circular chamber with an ash handprint rests on the door as if someone had attempted to escape. Against all sense, Marya dives in. At the base of the massive well, she sees strange light and fire. However, when Maxwell looks into the whole, he sees a small ceramic machine which he promptly takes.
Siobhan absolutely tore through Brennan’s riddle, bullying ahead faster than the DM could have expected. Despite his best attempts, she was absolutely focused, and even a sudden storm couldn’t stop her genius.
The power of Ramansu is not given freely
All must pay the price when the moon is full
The bill comes due for all who wield the light
Reading it aloud, she activates the clay tile, sending a beam of light into the Biangle. The doorway opens. Turtles fly past as our crew enters the mythical land of Zood.
Highlights
The introduction of rumors, a mix of true and false spread among the players, adds an interesting element to the story. We’ll track them as the series progresses. Considering how much improv we see, there’s a good chance something made up on the spot and lied about may be caught into our collection, but we’ll keep them around for fun.
Rumors:
- There’s a kill switch in the MechLeod.
- Olethra MacLeod is a robot.
- Pappy was lost at air for six months.
- Van is secretly working with the Confederate Republic.
- This rumor came from a member of Marya’s and Van’s old crew.
- Van denied it, noting her family money means she would never need to take a bribe.
- Van won the Grand Kabilian Toe Wrestling Championship.
- Confirmed by Van.
Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)
As a fan of quotes, which you can find in a few listicles on this site, I always pay close attention to Emily Axford’s throwaway lines. “I like the way you write me better than I do,” from Marya to Montgomery absolutely resonated.
With rumors flying and our crew arriving in Zood, there’s no telling what awaits. Let us know what you think in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Dimension 20
The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network
The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.
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