Ep. 19 - One Way or Another

A wild Squid appears! Do you: Fight? Run? Sing? Dance? Scream while they tear apart your very reality and feast on the grey matter inside your dome? Well, we may just find out!

## Plot

Raz'ul sneakily calls Splash.

Squid is still confused by the trio, but is summoned away by an unknown voice. A door spirals closed behind it as it leaves.

Behind them, the bards hear 'the pitter patter of fishy feet. Raz'ul calls out "blee blop bloop bloop", to which there is no response.

He also heals Yashee, Randy joins in and they do a 'rock circle', inspired by Lindby's real-life post-show tradition.

Then the bards try to shake awake the miners, starting with Erin. She is groggy at first. The bards explain that they got 'mind-slapped'. Then Boom Queen reminds Raz'ul that he called Splash .

The three tell Splash everything that just happened. He recommends they get out while they can. After a chat, Splash hangs up.

Erin expresses concern ... Boom Queen accuses the bards of being some sort of top secret government agents or something, Randy gets caught up in the fantasy but is reminded that no, they're just mortals. Randy also explains his 'Eddie origin story' to Trish briefly when she asks about Zil.

The group takes a short rest to recover their strength. Afterwards, Yashee returns to her normal size.

The miners stay in the room while the bards venture forth towards the noise. They find two lines of Gils. Each holds a slate with a letter in elvish script. The slates spell D-U-M-M-Y on the left and V-O-Y-E-U-R on the right. It is unknown if the words are spelled according to an Elvish or Common word. Side note, WHAT does that mean because I googled the definition of voyeur and uh ... weird. Let's leave it at that. There is a doorway to the left, slanted down, with a waterfall sound. There is a door across from them with a slight incline.

Randy uses Zil to investigate the slates by having him tug the slates. When Zil is unable to, Raz'ul helps him out and tugs the 'D' of DUMMY from the Gils. Raz'ul experimentally breaks the slate and immediately regrets it. Yashee suggests using some Zil-ooze to 'glue' the slate back together. When Randy asks Zil to 'ooze a bit', Zil uses part of a spear it still had to cut itself and squeeze out some ooze for them. Raz'ul put the slate back together using the adhesive ooze and returns the slate to the Gil.

Randy returns to Zil's shoulders to avoid the wet floor.

The next room is onion-shaped, with water pouring from the ceiling from a hole into a second hole on the ground. Some of the water is spilling, creating a slightly rough terrain. Yashee, Raz'ul, and Zil cry because the room is pretty. The bards collect some Zil-tears. There is another hole leading up across the way, some rubble on the ground, and a closed door to the left which leads back into the containment-room-with-miners. There is also a glass dome in the room lined with metal. The glass has a green hue and is about 15 feet tall and around, with liquid inside it. Yashee and Raz'ul investigate the dome, But Randy notices that there seems to be a door built into the metal at the base of the dome.

The bard hear the miners knocking on the door behind them (previously to the left) and the sound of fish-people.

They find the DUMMY-VOYER Gils and see a new line of Gils. The miners are backed up against the door, confused and afraid. Raz'ul sees that the new Gils' slates spell out B-R-E-A-D-C-R-U-M-B C-R-I-E-S. They worry that the Gils might be teasing them for crying in the other room. The bards invite the miners to check out the room with the dome.

Erin deduces that this room is the cause of the water problem. The bards climb up to the hole in the ceiling - or rather, they climb the dome and have Yashee throw them. Raz'ul grabs the edge of the hole, and manages to pull himself and Randy up into the room.

There is a coil of rope tied to some furniture. The room is long and curved. They can hear water at the far end. There are three Gils - one facing the water sound, and two facing each other. There are also tools, a suspicious chair. It could almost be a deadly salon. The rope is tied to a craftsman's chest. Zil attempts to follow Randy. Randy tells Zil to obey the miners while they investigate the rooms.The boys help Yashee up with a rope.

Raz'ul walks up to the Gils, who remain unresponsive. Raz'ul hears his father's voice behind him, which says: "Ah, my little Raz-berry, how have you been?" Raz'ul doesn't acknowledge the voice.

The bards decide to return to the miners but when they try to leave, the Gils attack them. The bards run faster.

The blank-eyed Gils watch the bards and try to attack them while the bards are atop the dome.

The bards explain that they heard water in the room. Boom queen wonders if she can unleash a controlled demolition from in there, but Erin says it would be easier to stop it 'from the inside', lamenting their inability to swim up a pipe.The bards offer to use their magic to try to stop the water. Instruments aglow, the bards create a magical dam which slows and stops the flow of water. Then, the slates of the Gils in the other room crash. Some of them enter and point outwards.

The miners say that the bards should go face Squidvicious. Raz'ul muses on potential taglines for the cards on the way.

The Gils are pointing the way back to the room with the eviscerated Gil, which Yashee compares to the 'breadcrumbs' written on the slate. The other porthole in the room has ropes leading upward, which the bards follow.

The come up in a level hallway, arcing to right with Gils on both sides. There is darkness toward the left and three archways to the right, which the Gils are all pointing towards.

Beyond, Squidvicious is talking to a large pink mound, guarded by many armed Gils. Squid notices the bards and tries to talk to them, but is interrupted by the voice which proclaims Squid's incompetence and says 'WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF THE ILLITHID!"

Raz'ul recognises the mound as a brain. Specifically, an Elder Brain, the central hivemind of the mindflayers' societies. It rises out of the juices, with many tentacles, and says "CERA WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS."

## Song - "Dam Dam Dam"

### Chord Dice (Major Key)

* C
* G
* B diminished
* D minor

### Drum Roll

* Heads - 26: Rock 10
* 67: Rock 14

### Lyrics

**Whoa the water flows*
Give it nowhere else to go

It’s gotta hold

How will it hold?

I said a dam

We’ll make a dam

I said a dam

We’ll make a dam

Whoa it starts to slow

The pressure’s getting low

It’s gonna hold

You know that we’re believers

Even though we ain’t no beavers

I said a dam

We’ll make a dam

I said a dam

We’ll make a dam*