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 ‘Van’ Chapman (she/her). Lou Wilson (he/him) as Montgomery ‘Monty’ 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, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh episodes!
We return to Zood as Van holds Marya back from touching the metal man they found in the Ramansu Power Station. Unfortunately, she has her friend and captain by the neck, strangling the poor captain despite her best efforts to regain control of her arm. Daisuke quickly asks, separating the two.
All the dials are in the red. Some of the dials on Van’s arm have even cracked as Van struggles and eventually manages to regain control of her arm.
Marya sobs, confessing her guilt over her lost protege and the haunting retribution she considers Straka to be. The automaton calls to her, drawing upon her engineering prowess and feeding her desire to repair what cannot be repaired. While she cannot undo the past, the potential remains to pay some penance, and the automaton somehow calls to her as a way to even the scales.
Similarly, Van admits that someone in her family made a deal. In exchange for being the best sailors on the sea, they die young. When the curse came for her despite taking to the sky, Comfrey made the arm to keep the curse inside and save her life.
Carefully, Marya studies the automaton, discovering Comfrey’s writing, “So beats a worthy heart.” As they explore the area, they find more writing, translating the signage and clearly showing Comfrey spent an extensive amount of time in the area.
As they study the work, Maxwell offhandedly says, “Iron heart, bad. Gold heart, good.” He manages to win the stone guardians over, convincing them to take him to their Fehujar prisoner, Freyja Ildisdottir.
Freyja rants about Comfrey applying on her business loan application. She compliments Maxwell’s moustache, electing to listen to him in hopes of getting out of her imprisonment. Freyja offers to introduce the crew to the bank elders, and Maxwell pushes the crew to accept her help in finding Comfrey.
As Monty searches Comfrey’s quarters, he discovers paperwork discussing Van, including a letter from Comfrey that states Van cannot come to Zood as she is the last piece of some unknown group’s plan. Additionally, he finds a detailed drawing depicting the cardinal lines of Zood.
After regrouping and convincing Freyja to join their side, they search once more, finding a strange jar.
While they’re there, the crew find correspondence with the Eyeless Hand is a round of confusion, but it does confirm that Mordecestershire joined their ranks and pledged himself to the summoning of their nameless (but apparently named?) god. Monty notes that they refer to the Temple of Katur, calling it the true temple.
Marya uncovers that writing on the Calefactory Biangle, which she concludes leads to the realm of Straka while the Eyeless Hand posits that the Obtenebrate Biangle leads to a realm of their supposed destroyer god. In these same writings, they refer to the Corvus Exitium, their name for Straka. As they piece everything together, the group concludes the Temple of Katur sank into the ocean, and that Comfrey is likely there.
With all areas explored, the crew returns to the automaton, placing the golden heart inside. The metal man introduces himself as Torse, recognizing them each in turn; however, he mistakes Maxwell for his grandfather.
We get a dark Queen of Zern, which aligns rather well with the Queen’s Smog and Mordecestershire. Torse shows the crew the horizon of Zern. Zood and Zern are braided together, looping around and not fully connecting – two massive tubes.
Highlights
Van repeatedly laments that she brought Bert and put him in danger whenever anything problematic comes up. Even as her arm betrays her and Comfrey’s words come out, Van’s first thought remains with her husband, solidifying their place as one of the top 5 cutest Dimension 20 couples.
Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)
While I love when our Intrepid Heroes start putting things together, it’s always a delicate balance to keep the pacing lively while doing massive lore drops. While decent for the first two thirds of the episode, things started dragging around fifteen minutes before the two-hour mark.
Will it matter that the Effulgent Biangle produces light while the Calefactory Biangle produces heat? Probably. Would I have noticed that and kept a record in my head if I wasn’t watching to review? Probably not.
On one hand, there’s not much excitement to put into a lore drop when the true importance of the information isn’t understood yet; however, good story telling should get me somewhat more invested in the purpose and use of the Obtenebrate Biangle than I am in the discordance my brain feels looking at those three names.
Rumors remain as follows:
- 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.
- Daisuke can hold his breath for an hour.
- Zach confirmed this to be a lie, but nothing was said in game.
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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