Weaver Fever

*Check Please!*

"**Weaver Fever**" is the 14th episode of the first season of *Check Please!* Campaign One. It was first released on October 31st, 2019.

*"Last time, our Heroes ventured into the mountains to determine why the iron mines of Wittengen had closed, and ran into feral Fey creatures. They then visited a kindly, reclusive witch, who seemed to know a thing or two about the situation."*

## Summary

The Party members rest with Hildie, then briefly visit the Deepcut Mine before attempting to gather ingredients for the antidote for the Fey creatures. After battling weavers, they return to Hildie, rest again, then finally head back to the Mine, where they begin to encounter odd enemies before finally losing consciousness.

## Synopsis

### Part I: Snakes & Spiders

#### Rest & Story Time

The *Check Please!* Party prepare to make their way to the location indicated by Lady Hildegarde, which will take them past the Deepcut Mine. Realizing that they need to rest after all the exertion of their recent battles, they ask Hildie if they can spend the night at her cottage; she is happy to oblige them. The Party members quickly drift off to sleep in the comfort of the guest room. The following morning, Sol rises from their short meditation session and attempts to prepare a simple breakfast.

Over the meal, Hildie asks the Party members about themselves. Sol gives a limited account of their life, as does Lovette, who is excited to hear that Hildie encountered her grandfather, Desmond, approximately 80 years prior, and another gnome of that name (along with an elf) only a year prior to the present day. Hildie promises to look up the encounter in her journal to refresh her memory of the events, and to discuss it with Lovette when the Party returns from the task at hand. Markus explains his own backstory to Hildie. Hildie just stares blankly and nods, before dismissing his story as impossible and offering to use her powers to provide more accurate insight.

#### Markus's Reading

As Lovette and Sol eavesdrop (and Vera hangs around in the garden eaves), Hildie inspects a drop of Markus's blood, which leaves her perplexed and disturbed. She describes Markus as being "not right" and "not there" in the same way that other living creatures are, with a soul that doesn't seem to actually belong to him. She warns the other Party members to keep an eye on him. Markus desperately asks if Hildie knows anyone who can shed more light on his situation; Hildie directs him and the Party to seek out Zel, the guardian of halfling community in the Merry Valley. The Party members leave Hildegarde's hut. Just prior to their departure, Vera apologizes to Sol for misjudging them.

#### Deepcut Mine

Heading southwest, the adventurers finally arrive at the Deepcut Mine. It is a maze of caverns and passages, with the bodies of miners strewn about. They see no indication of any dragon, immediately discounting at least one of the stories told to them by the four surviving miners; on closer inspection, none of the miners have any burns, cuts, or other visible wounds, and it appears that they all simply dropped dead.

#### Back to the Forest

Electing to search out the necessary reagents for Hildie's meteorite "antidote" prior to exploring the Mine further, the Party members head back down into the forest. Moving into its depths, they enter an area devoid of animal sounds; venturing further, they discover a great deal of webbing, and in one web, a horrifically distorted deer. Lovette and Vera prepare to put it out of its misery, while attempting to avoid unleashing any of the baby spiders they assume to be inside it. Lovette fires a crossbow bolt, piercing the deer's head and killing it instantly. Nevertheless, the deer continues to move. As the Party members try (at considerable length) to figure out the best way to get a strong fire going in the damp wooded area, and what particular item they're supposed to retrieve for Hildie, three child-sized spiders burst from within the deer carcass, and combat ensues.

#### Arachnid Attack

As the Party members (with the aid of Hummel and Archie) fight the vile creatures – which Vera identifies as weavers, far from their usual territory in the Jagged Torrents – the battle takes several increasingly unpleasant turns: first Sol is paralyzed from a bite, and shortly after they're healed, Vera is paralyzed. One of the weavers then clambers up Vera's body to do something too awful to fully describe, but which involves a deposit making its way into Vera's body. Twice. Which Sol then has to remove by sticking their hand down Vera's throat to trigger her gag reflex. The two deposits emerge: something that looks like a softball-sized wad of chewed-up gum, and something that looks like an enormous ball of mucus.

Yes, it's gross.

Eventually, having killed or disabled most of the weavers, the Party members grab one of the carcasses and, in technical game terms, GTFO. They return to Hildie's hut, where they find her expertly fending off two feral pixies and a feral satyr, easily rendering them unconscious.

### Part II: Witchy Business

#### Cottage Conundrums

Hildie greets the Party members, who aren't particularly pleased with the serpentes witch having put them in harm's way. They present her with the weaver carcass. Hildie admits that they didn't actually need to bring her anything back – she just wanted the weaver pod wiped out, and has already brewed up the antidote for the Fey. As Sol sobs at this revelation, Hildie justifies her actions by explaining that she prefers to let adventurers gain experience by not solving all of their problems for them. Sol continues to break down, then finally takes themself and Lovette for a bath. Meanwhile, Vera, assisted by Hildie, extracts two poison glands from the weaver carcass, as Markus quietly sips sweet tea.

As Sol reenters, they exchange barbs with Markus, then go to rest in private. Vera assists Hildie with administering the antidote to the Fey creatures still passed out on the cottage lawn, and gets the sense that Hildie is checking up on her. Hildie admits that she was scrying on the Party and on Vera in particular during the Party's earlier misadventures with the weavers, to make sure she suffered no ill effects from the odd substances she nearly ingested.

Lovette, plagued with questions and unable to rest, seeks out Hildie (first stopping for a brief and incomprehensible exchange with Markus) and again raises the topic of the gnome and elf who visited Hildie a year prior. Hildie checks her diary and recalls that they stayed for tea and a meal of rabbit before continuing their journey west, and that they mentioned something about a lake before their departure.

#### Rest & Recuperation

Sol polls the Party to find out what they want to do next: try to directly solve the meteorite issue, or further investigate the Mine? There is still a lack of clarity in the Party on how exactly the two issues connect, and Hildie outlines her assumption that the meteorite impact probably set events in motion in the mine as well as disrupting the behavior of the local Fey. The other Party members decide to return to the mine, but Lovette surprises them all by announcing her intention to split off and head west in pursuit of her presumed family members. Sol convinces her to stay a little longer, reminding Lovette of her business obligation to help restore the iron trade in the region.

The Party rests away the day at the cottage, with Sol meditating in the fairy ring. The Fey creatures revive, and the satyr, now returned to normal, serenades the Party with panpipes. Vera wisely pockets a few bottles of antidote. Sol cooks breakfast (for dinner), making a surprisingly good job of it. Hildie gifts the Party with onions that will enable them all to breathe better down the mine.

#### Back to the Mine

Returning to the Deepcut Mine, the Party members once again observe the dead bodies strewn about the area with no apparent cause of death. They send Archie on ahead to light the way and provide a first alert for any dangers. As Archie leads them deeper into the mine, the members consume a little of the onions provided to them, and keep an eye on Vera's canary. Sol drops a tab of muse.

#### Here... Come... the Drums!

Lovette and Vera both begin to hear drums in the deep. They each take a little of Hildie's antidote, which does nothing to quiet the alarming sound, although eating a little more onion does help Vera. Lovette decides to fall back on her Plan B, consuming some of the vast amounts of ale she purchased in Wittengen (and also taking a bit more onion). Sol notes the odd behavior of their companions, but (thanks to the muse) remains upbeat about their surroundings and quest. The Party moves onwards and inwards. As they explore further, the Party members notice that their canary is not doing well, but continue their dungeon delving, with Archie scouting ahead. Sass flies between various individuals. It's awkward. Suddenly, Markus begins to hear the drums as well, and begins to panic and flee. As he runs, he begins to hear a deep rumble, and sees a massive dragon. Meanwhile, Sol finally begins to hear the drums as well. Attempting to convince Markus that the dragon isn't real, Lovette fires a crossbow bolt at it, and combat ensues.

Lovette's shot bounces off the dragon's armored hide. She makes to retreat, only for a massive force of orcs to suddenly charge at the Party. Archie takes out one, but another injures Sol, who slowly becomes less convinced that this is merely an illusion. Vera, meanwhile, sees none of this happening, but does notice the canary has go to join the bleedin' choir invisible. As Sol confusedly tries to explain what they're perceiving, and Vera activates her Melifera's Boon form, Markus begins to hear the sound of something skeletal on stone.

#### Well, We're Boned

Vera has barely finished transforming when another shot of Lovette's goes wide, and she takes a crossbow bolt right to the back. She is understandably less than pleased. Meanwhile, whether imaginary or not, another orc heavily injures Sol, and the dragon goes to take a bite out of Lovette, seemingly mortally wounding her. Markus (now convinced that zombies are arriving) is able to offer a little magical healing, as does Vera, but the situation is still extremely dire. The dragon moves in closer. Sol, in desperation, sends Dancing Lights to the cave entrance in a last-ditch effort to draw the attention of the as-yet-unknown individuals they believe are pursuing them. They then attempt to flee, but are taken down by the dragon.

Vera sneezes, and suddenly finally finds herself surrounded by the adversaries whom her allies have apparently been fighting. Failing to save Sol (who is not simply dying, or even mostly dead, but in fact appears completely dead), she fends off an orc, while the dragon tears Markus to shreds. Vera enters into combat with the dragon, which quickly obliterates her, leaving every Player Character dead, an apparent TPK.

... or is it?

#### Strange Awakenings

An unknown amount of time later, the Party members, somehow still alive, suddenly return to consciousness, finding themselves in an odd cave filled with bioluminescent fungus and surrounded by apparently-sentient vaguely-humanoid mushrooms.

Muse sure is one hell of a drug, kids. Just say no.

## Key Points

### Plot & Lore

* This episode introduces the spider-creatures known as Weavers for the first time. Beardy describes a weaver as being slightly larger than an average gnome, and looking like "a cross between a spider and a spider... a centaur-spider combo [made] as horrific" as can be imagined. They also move in a way that denotes a certain degree of intelligence, and are both highly aggressive and dangerous.
* Hildie met Lovette's grandfather back in the day, and has seen her parents relatively recently.
* More hints are given as to Markus's true nature.
* Zel, the self-appointed protector of the halflings, is identified by name for the first time (having previously been mentioned indirectly by Lord Bernhardt Tellic). The Merry Valley is likewise introduced for the first time.
* The canary purchased in "Breaking the Law" (C1 S1 E12) gets a mention.
* Sol meditates in the cottage's mushroom fairy circle, and discovers it's a particularly powerful area of Hildie's land, with a strong connection to the natural energies of the world. Beardy jokingly suggests it may connect with Aedron's ley lines, seeding later revelations about the world's Litho-Gates.

### Character

#### Sol

* Sol vastly prefers the comfort of an actual bed to sleeping on the floor, but is generously willing to take a bedroll if necessary.
* Sol shows kindness towards Lovette, lifting them into their bed when they're finished meditating.
* Sol describes themself to Hildie as a traveling musician who dropped out of school because it "wasn't for [them]". They also note that they have potentially-unpleasant people following them – although when faced with imminent death, they are willing to attempt to contact those individuals for aid.
* Sol identifies their school simply as "elf school", showing an unwillingness to offer too much detail about their early life.
* Sol once again describes Biff as "gross".
* Sol's spring blade appears for the first time. Definitely more useful than a sling staff.
* Sol walks with a stompy trudge when they're upset.
* Sol seemingly hasn't yet gathered that Lovette's interest in them isn't strictly platonic.
* Sol notes that "not a lot of guys" in their life "have been great", implying that their romantic connections and liaisons with male-identifying partners have been limited and/or problematic.
* Sol is still taking muse.

#### Vera

* Vera apologizes to Sol for misjudging them. Sol is touched and delighted.
* Vera also attempts to stabilize Sol when Sol is seemingly dead.

#### Markus

* Markus's backstory is not simply mocked, but actually described by a very powerful spellcaster as impossible. This, along with Ann-Lysse Tellic's remarks, casts even greater suspicion on the halfling's true nature – suspicions confirmed when Hildie analyzes his blood.
* Markus continues to be spiteful towards Sol.
* Markus loves pancakes.

#### Lovette

* Lovette is keen to suggest that the smallest Party member share the bed with the tallest – meaning that she would end up bunking with Sol.
* Lovette had been under the impression that Sol's use of a disguise in Hartenshen had been to try a new look and to avoid Biff, missing a few points Sol made in conversation with Siva about being followed.
* Lovette makes a breakthrough in her search.
* Lovette remains extremely awkward around Sol, with Sol unable or unwilling to glimpse the nature of their affection.
* Lovette is still convinced that Sol remains under a contract with them.
* Lovette claims to be unfamiliar with caves, which Hildie, in a somewhat "racist" remark (according to Beardy), describes as "nonsense" – possibly a very early hint about the half-gnome's Dark Elf heritage.

## Running Gags & Callbacks

* Screwy plays Markus as a "curious individual", hatching possible plans that could lead to disaster – in this case, the idea of using Door Sight to investigate the forbidden shed without technically entering it.
* Along those lines, the incident with Markus's curiosity getting their last friend killed (the ring incident) is mentioned.
* Sol is not the best at making breakfast, although they occasionally get inspired/lucky.
* Vera eats flowers.
* Xeno takes pun damage (at least, in theory) for a Morris/Moray eel pun.
* Hildie, like everyone else, doesn't believe Markus's account of his own backstory.
* Yet more puns on "Sol"/"Soul"-searching.
* Bees are not bugs.
* Vera is still hoarding a cigar from the Tellic house.
* The fact that Lovette's name is pronounced both *Love-et* and *Love-ay* is lampshaded. Beardy semi-seriously notes that he in fact makes a deliberate point of going back and forth between the two.
* Lovette attempts to load her crossbow with one of the pixie swords liberated in "BEES" (C1 S1 E13).
* Word of God would later state that serpentes give the best hugs. It's unlikely that Sol would agree that such hugs are worth the icky price paid here.
* Did you know Markus once fought a Will-o'-Wisp? If not, this episode should enlighten you.
* Sol's use of muse often comes at somewhat inopportune times.
* Beardy refers to Hildie's onions as "The Onions of Fresh Breath". Not a running gag or callback, just a giggle-worthy line given how little protection or utility they offer, and the fact they're, you know, onions.
* Markus/Screwy gets a lot of shit; given the character's attitude towards Sol, Sol/Keni is delighted by Hildie's revelations, since they provide more ammunition.
* Vera's horrific metamorphosis into her Melifera's Boon form is once again likened to a transformation sequence in a magical girl anime. When it occurs later in the episode, appropriate sound effects are even dropped in, with Beardy narrating the action.
* Sol loves using Dancing Lights.
* Keni makes some "feat"/"feet" wordplay; pun damage isn't directly assessed, but a bunch of orcs do suddenly appear.
* Lovette is trigger-happy, and someone accidentally gets shot. This will not be the last time.

## Memorable Quotes

### Part I: Snakes & Spiders

* "No, you can't sleep in my yard! Get in here!" "Yes, ma'am! I'm so sorry!" – Hildie, offering her hospitality to Sol and the Party, with Sol's sheepish response.
* "Oh my god, I love her so much!" – Keni, on Hildie, once again.
* "If he makes me feel insignificant, he's dead to me." – Keni, on Biff and NPCs in general.
* "I'll love Hildie once the art changes." "Damn. I can't wait to draw her!" – Xeno and Keni, on everyone's favorite serpentes (so far).
* "I can't wait to see Magical Girl Vera." "It'll be disgusting." – Grem and Xeno.
* "Also, the flowers smell better than they've ever smelled in your entire life." "I start eating them." – Beardy, establishing the flavor of the scene for Xeno/Vera, who is clearly a fan.
* "You know that's all kinda crazy, right? [...] Magic don't work like that. Dimension Door spells don't jump from universe to universe in that kind of way." – Hildie, on Markus's backstory.
* "Well, don't worry, a spirit's already told him he has to do soul-searching, and how he's not really who he thinks he is." – Sol, on Markus.
* "Character development! I like this!" – Screwy, tempting fate.
* "Critical damage!" "Critical damage? Okay." – Screwy, tempting fate again over a simple scratch for a drop of blood, with Beardy almost game for it.
* "That boy ain't right. He ain't there. I mean, not in the same way that y'all are. Look, I've been around a long time. Like, a *long* long time. And this is one of the freakiest things I ever seen. So... maybe y'all keep an eye on him? Best way I can say: it's like ya don't got a soul. It's like what he do got's borrowed." – Hildie, on Markus.
* "OHHHHHHHH GOD! WHAT?!" – Markus/Screwy, taking the news well.
* "I think your friend's eating my flower bed." – Hildie, on Vera's odd appetites.
* "By the way: I"m sorry that I misjudged you." – Vera, to Sol.
* "I told you we were going to be friends." – Sol, to Vera's back.
* "Don't worry: I still think you're annoying." "Same to you, Markus." – Markus to Sol, trying to ruin the moment, and Sol, not having it.
* "I kill Markus." – Xeno/Vera, unintentionally foreshadowing.
* "Listen, I didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world's been turning." – Xeno/Vera, calling down the wrath of Beardy.
* "I want to leave now!" – Sol/Keni, encapsulating how it feels for an arachnophobe to revisit this episode.
* "And then [a weaver drone]'s going to... how evil am I? How evil am I gonna be today? Yeah, I'll be pretty evil." – Beardy, preparing to choose violence.
* "Is it too soon to say 'fuck that snake lady'?" – Xeno, disinclined to think kindly of Hildie during the weaver combat.
* "I think we should retire [from] adventuring and just live nice calm lives looking at libraries." – Xeno/Vera. That's it, folks. That's the end of the show.

### Part II: Witchy Business

* "Oh, welcome back, sug'! I see y'all had some fun there in the south!" – Hildie, with an unpopular definition of the word "fun".
* "Lovette needs to take a bath and go to bed! She smells really bad!" – Sol, sobbing out their sorrows.
* Markus, to Sol: "Did you enjoy your tantrum, diaper-baby?"
Xeno: "Roll initiative."
Beardy: "Not the right move."
Sol: "Well, Markus, at least I have a soul."
* "Y'all haven't dealt with a Will-o'-Wisp yet." – Markus, not quite on the same page as the rest of the Party.
* "He's like a toy with a drawstring: you never know what he's gonna say!" – Beardy, on Markus, not inaccurately.
* "I will shoot a little old message into your little old head!" – Hildie, reassuring Lovette that she'll be in touch if she remembers anything else.
* "Little do you realize: Markus is slowly becoming an NPC." "Like, that's what his true body's from anyways – he was just an NPC originally and that's why he has tendencies to just spout off shit sometimes." – Beardy, with a guess from Keni that hits rather close to the mark(us).
* "I mean, fuck this canary, am I right?" – Sol, perhaps a little too trusting of Hildie's onions.
* "Pancakes are an anytime meal!" – Markus/Screwy
* "I swear, if I grow a tail, I'm coming for you." "Yeah, if you grow a tail it's not even your body, so who cares?" – Markus threatening Sol over their cooking, and Sol not taking any prisoners.
* "I'm not too familiar with caves, so I don't think about these things." "Nonsense!" [...] "That was Hildegarde stopping herself before she said something mildly racist." – Lovette and Hildie/Beardy, dropping hints.
* "Thanks, Hildie! We'll be back to deal with the meteor, maybe, one day." "Don't die!" – Sol and Hildie, exchanging farewells.
* "Beardy, can I cast 'Detect Sass'?" "Yeah, you're detecting extreme amounts of sass." – Screwy and Beardy, cantripping.
* "I've seen where this went! It does not end well for the short people!" – Screwy, genre-savvy on what happens to halflings in mines.
* "You see... A GIANT 'D'!". – Beardy, deploying a new token for the dragon.
* "Vera, if Lovette dies, can I have Archie?" "I mean, Lovette's not really going to stop you." "True!" – Sol and Vera, ever-confident in the survival of their teammates.
* "Alright, so here's where we get to roll initiatives." "WHAT?! NO! UGH!" – Beardy and Keni, both clearly equally excited for combat.
* Screwy: "Beardy?"
Beardy: "Yes?"
Screwy: "Would you say we are currently in a dungeon?"
Beardy: "This is a dungeon, yeah."
Screwy:"And would you say that that is a dragon?"
Beardy: "That's a dragon there, yeah."
Keni: "Oh my *god*, guys."
Beardy:"What are you implying?"
Grem: "Are we playing Pathfinder?"
Beardy: "Are you implying that we're playing Pathfinder? Because it sounds like we're playing Pathfinder."
* "Vera: you're standing holding a dead canary." – Beardy, keeping combat moving.
* "Do I look like I'm bleeding? Can you lick me?" – Sol, making perfect sense, at least to themself.
* "I KILL LOVETTE." – Xeno is not a fan of friendly fire.
* "I'm gonna heal you, but I'm gonna run." – Markus/Screwy, summarizing their pragmatic approach to combat and to Party loyalty.
* "I don't like that we're gonna end this episode with everybody dead except for Vera." "You think Vera's getting out of here alive?" – Screwy, tempting the wrath of Beardy.
* "Can I touch myself and feel like I'm okay?" – Keni, slipping a double entendre in at the end.

## The Dice

*These are estimates, since not all rolls are called or broken down out loud.*

* Judging by the Player reactions, it is likely that several rolls during the weaver combat were either Nat 20s or Nat 1s; however, they were not announced.
* Xeno's critical hit apparently automatically confirms. The roll that led to it is unclear.
* Screwy rolls an unspecified 1 during combat in the Deepcut Mine, but it's unclear whether this is a D20 roll.
* No attack dice roll is announced, but Grem does apparently roll and confirm a critical miss for Lovette during the Deepcut Mine combat.

## References

* There is (arguably) a nod made to the 1985 Disney film *The Black Cauldron*.
* Keni riffs on some of Lovette's dialogue with the song "Cotton-Eyed Joe".
* Hildie's "That boy ain't right!" comment parallels a repeated line of Hank Hill's from the show *King of the Hill*.
* In response to Beardy (as Hildie) describing Zel as a "dragon guy", Grem pipes up with the obligatory Trogdor reference.
* Keni drops a "Kali Ma!" chant from *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom*.
* On entering an eerily quiet area of the forest, Keni jokingly asks if the Party is about to find the Master Sword, referencing the powerful weapon in the video game franchise *The Legend of Zelda*, which is first found in a mysterious wooded area.
* Xeno flawlessly deploys a lyric from Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire". Beardy fails to appreciate it.
* After learning the name of the spider creatures, Keni sings a few lines from Gary Wright's song "Dream Weaver".
* Grem considers whether the friction between arachnids and insects can be likened to that sometimes seen between fans of *Star Wars* and *Star Trek*.
* Xeno and Beardy describe one of Xeno's combat actions as resembling the careful maneuvering needed in the videogame *Tetris*.
* Screwy, joking about Markus's random phrases, quotes "Nice day for fishing, ain't it?", presumably a reference to Baelin the Fisherman.
* Following the catchphrase mockery, Beardy drops "There's a snake in my boot!" from the animated film *Toy Story*; Xeno continues "Have you heard about the soldier from Hammerfell?", a paraphrase of a meme-level catchphrase from the video game *The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim*.
* Keni drops a "Press F to Pay Respects" line from the videogame *Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare*.
* After Sol unveils their breakfast with a flourish, Screwy quips "Thank you, Vanna White", referencing the charismatic long-time co-host of the TV game show *Wheel of Fortune*.
* After departing Hildie's cottage, Screwy makes a link-based reference to the famous "Have fun storming the castle!" line from the film *The Princess Bride*.
* Keni/Sol names Vera's canary "Blooregard Q. Kazoo", a reference to a character in the animated TV series *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends*, noting "For anyone who got the reference, I love you." Sadly, Foaly had to look it up. :-(
* Grem blames having pollination on the brain as a result of playing... something. The dialogue isn't clear.
* Beardy promises bonus XP to anyone who gets his "Bitter Mountain Rush" reference when describing the taste of Hildie's antidote potion. Several years later, the prize remains unclaimed.
* Keni mentions it being a good thing the Party has "this gillyweed shit", referencing a magical plant that permits a person to breathe underwater, which appears in a media franchise that will go unnamed. References to school houses from the same franchise are also subsequently made.
* Screwy notes that hearing drums in the depths of a mine doesn't tend to end well for "short people", referencing events in *The Fellowship of the Ring*, the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel *The Lord of the Rings*.
* Screwy/Markus distinguishes the dragon from a lizard by emphasizing that "it's not doing that tongue thing!", a reference to a line in the Disney animated film *Mulan*.
* The death of the canary leads to an inevitable reference to Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch.
* Beardy at one point refers to Markus as "Marky Moo", an unclear allusion; Keni adds "and the Funky Bunch", a reference to Mark Wahlberg's short-lived early-90s hip-hop band.
* Screwy suggests Vera say "come with me if you want to live", a famous line from the *Terminator* franchise.
* After Markus's brutal pasting, Grem jokes "Did Markus finally go to his home planet?", connecting the running joke of the Party's disbelief in the halfling's backstory with a reference to Poochie's exit from *The Simpsons*.

## Trivia & Notes

* Biff is described as Beardy's "best friend".
* Grem finalizes the name "O'Morris" for the longtime family rivals of the McKinney-Bodwin clan.
* The first version of the Obeddore map shown to the Players is described by Beardy as a photograph of a hand-drawn posterboard, with some lines drawn in digitally for clarity. A fully-digital version would later be generated using Inkarnate, a software tool specifically designed for creating fantasy maps.
* None of the players like spiders. Neither does Foaly. This is not a fun episode to write up.
* Grem mentions an earlier Campaign in which Keni's character also had to flee from spiders.
* Keni assumes that at least one of the two deposits made in Vera's throat were spider eggs, but Beardy implies they were something else.
* Sol's Inspire Courage bardic performance doesn't work on Hummel. It's unclear if it does affect Archie.
* A critical hit with a scythe (such as Melifera's Sting) does x4 damage. This will become particularly important in a later episode, during an incident with Karis.
* This will not be the last time that Hildie has a dripping corpse on her table.
* In contrast to their characters, it was clear to all the Players that Sol did not view their relationship with Lovette in the same way Lovette did her relationship with Sol.
* Keni wonders aloud why the Party hasn't leveled up.
* Keni reveals that they're left-handed, and thus have a tendency to always go left in games involving labyrinths or dungeon exploration.
* At the end of the Deepcut Mine combat, Markus is reduced to -79 HP. That's got to be some kind of record.