Whispers from the Heart - Chapter Three

> "*I'm just going to mouth the word 'Fuck!' and continue to run down to the basement.*"
> ― Butylene O'Kipple
>
>

**Mommy Sharks** is the fifty-fifth episode of Queens of Adventure. In it, the party discover a shocking scene and deal with its repercussions.

## Synopsis

At the doorway to the armory in the basement of the Golden Palace, a group is discovering an unsettling scene. Arson Nicki and Butylene O'Kipple remain cloaked under an invisibility spell near their friend Cher Noble. Londyn Bradshaw, shaped as a parasite, hides insider Cher Noble's body.

Briny water spills from the vault where ghosts dance around the Portable Party altar. One child, Chaz Noble, lies on the altar while another child, Jo Ramshackle, leads the ghosts in a dance.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the penthouse, Fraya Love has just awoken Belfry Ramshackle who is alarmed to realize her daughter is missing. Fraya offers her a towel to mop up silver fluid coming from her porcelain mask. Stepping into her office, Belfry asks Gnomi, Karin, and Patrick if they've seen her daughter. Patrick recalls seeing her in the vault. Belfry grabs a bracer from the wall and heads to the elevator, blasting a hole in the wall before dropping down the shaft.

Fraya drops into the aquarium to swim down to the basement, passing the merfolk who are still alarmed by their recent shark encounter.

Down in the vault, Arson and Butylene notice sealife growing all around the vault, which is filling with water, but everything looks and acts like it is already under water. Belfry emerges from the elevator shaft and addresses Cher Noble. She tries to keep the warforged guardian calm but Cher Noble only wishes to rescue Chaz.

Arson and Butylene try to sneak into the vault to destroy the vault and save Chaz, but make too much noise. As Belfry asks who is there, Arson drops invisibility and explains what little they know.

As Cher Noble prepares to destroy the altar, Belfry suggests she can talk Jo out of the vault, but Barb the devil arrives. He does not want the heart destroyed. As he is a devil, he is immune to the power of the Old Gods, of which the Kracken and the Kracken Priest's Heart contain. Cher Noble refuses to let the devil take it. Arson suggests destroying the heart as a secondary plan.

Fraya steps out of the airlock that connects to the aquarium and heads down the hallway, joining the others by the vault.

Jo suddenly sees her Mom and shifts the song from Baby Shark to Mommy Shark. She ignores her Mom's pleas to come to her and hops onto the altar to dance. The queens try to convince Jo to come outside with them to meet Alighieri and hear stories about Trixie LaBouche. Their attempt doesn't work.

Londyn stealths out of Cher Noble, wriggling across the floor to try and reach Jo. Cher Noble sees her leave and more infuriated, she charges across the room. As she passes through the ghosts she takes damage.

Belfry, unable to talk Cher Noble down before she knocks Jo off the altar, commands her "Enough. You are not Cher Noble. You are Grinder Unit 108 and you are malfunctioning. Under the authority of the Fist of the Sea, you are to shut down immediately." The paladin's eyes grow dim and she falls immobile.

Fraya suggests Barb take action, but he refuses to deal with ghosts. So Fraya *shapes water* into a pillar of ice. She uses it to vault over the ghosts to land on the altar. Fraya casts *light* on her Dark Lady necklace to try and distract Jo, but the ghosts snatch it away from her.

Arson shouts in an intimidating voice for Jo to head to them. She starts moving towards them, shifting the song to the Daddy Song verse, but the ghosts wont let her pass.

Fraya asks if Barb can go get the ghost light from the theater. He suggests sending his imps Pip and Squeak (currently rats in his pants), but Butylene offers to go. Barb joins her. They run upstairs into the theater, where Augustus is studying lines. Butylene casts *friendship* and takes the ghost light, not wanting to waste time persuading him.

Londyn, seeing the immobile Cher Noble, recalls seeing a bank of switches inside and returns to Cher Noble's body to find them.

As Butylene and Barb leave the theater, they see a crowd forming around the aquarium. Inside, more sharks, larger than any of the others, are swimming furiously and attacking the merfolk. In meta-conversation, Londyn argues they should throw a bomb to blow up the aquarium, but Fraya and Butylene argue against such a move.

In game, Butylene runs back down to the vault and thrusts the ghost light at the ghosts. Arson casts *dancing light* to amplify the light. Butylene, joined by Barb, sing This Little Light of Mine. Clearing a path, Jo walks towards them and Belfry wraps her in her arms. Fraya grabs Chaz and heads through the gap as well.

Inside Cher Noble, Londyn finds a core unit. She flips the switch. Cher Noble's eyes begin to flash on and off, to the confusion of the others. Londyn begins to reconnect some circuits. As the final ones connect, a bolt of electricity flows through her parasite body. She blacks out for a second.

Suddenly, Londyn is looking out from Cher Noble's eyes.

### Characters

#### Party

* Arson Nicki - drider warlock
* Butylene O'Kipple - tiefling alchemist
* Fraya Love - water genasi cleric
* Londyn Bradshaw - firbolg druid

#### NPCs

* Cher Noble
* DJ Cyberpreppy and the Woo Ghosts
* Chaz Noble
* Jo Ramshackle
* Belfry Ramshackle
* Gnomi Malone
* Karin and Patrick
* Mystie Seaport and the Merfolk
* Barb
	+ Imps Pip and Squeak
* Augustus Crimweath

## Episode Notes

### Lore

* Cher Noble was originally known as Grinder Unit 108 during her time with the Army of the Fist.
* Belfry has a connection to something known as the Fist of the Sea.

### Memorable Quotes

* "I am not trying to roll *anything* to brace myself down an elevator shaft!" - Fraya Love
* "I'm just going to point out we missed several exposed shaft jokes." - Arson Nicki
* "The times in the past where we have been shifty about Barb and been like 'I don't know if we can trust Barb!' it has come back to bite us in the butt. If my memory serves me." - "If my memory serves me we're kind of dating now." - "Ooh?" - Arson Nicki, Butylene O'Kipple, and Barb
* "Londyn, what is the parasite doing?" - "Hi" - DM Matt and Londyn Bradshaw
* "I'm okay with that." \*rolls dice\* "I am not okay with that." - Fraya Love
* "I have *never* tried to expand inside. I should try to expand inside." - Londyn Bradshaw
* "So do I roll for something?" - "I wouldn't say there's a roll-" \*dice rattles\* "Well *now* you do!" - Londyn Bradshaw and DM Matt
* "Does anyone have anything to tell me about anything treacherous or hazardous?" - Fraya Love
* "You can't do that!" - "He literally can; he's the DM!" - Londyn Bradshaw and Arson Nicki

### References

* Ant Man and the fan theory of how he could defeat Thanos
* Kate Winslet in Titanic
* Car Hazards

### Name That Tune

* Baby Shark
* This Little Light of Mine

## Behind the Queens

This episode and the next will be shorter due to the release of Queens of Adventure Legends and the editing work needed for its first release.

This was the last episode to be released before the massive renaming and renumbering of the podcast.

DM Matt announces the cancelling of the upcoming March 2020 Portland shows, but also announces the upcoming Live Stream with new queen Bosco.

**Greetings From Fire Island**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - **The Show Must Go On**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Operation Watersport**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - Ch7 - **Trials**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Ghosts of the Coast**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - **The Devil's Due**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Special**: The Story So Far
**The Beautiful Place**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - **A Dance in the Dark**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Drama in the Deep**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - **Whispers From the Heart**: Ch1 - Ch2 - **Ch3** - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6
**Danger Rangers!**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6
**Mist Connections**: Ch1 - Ch2
**Unreleased**
Lost: Camp Crystal Light - Pax West 2018 --  vs the Lizard People
Live Shows: Seattle Style -- Minneapolis Style