The Search

*Snake Eyes*

"**The Search**" is the 2nd episode of *Snake Eyes* Campaign One. It premiered on May 29th, 2021 on the Check Republic's Twitch channel, and on YouTube on May 31st. It features the first appearances of Lavi, Jaculus, and Pringle.

## Summary

In the Zhash Basin, a Harpy searches for her missing sister; in Sejun, a Serpentes is captured by assailants of unknown intent; and in the Holy City, a cultist of Mephistopheles helps eliminate a breakaway religious sect, only to find her own people simultaneously wiped out.

## Synopsis

### Part I: Lavi

#### The Search Begins

Lavi quits her home in the Saerrican Mountains in desperate pursuit of her beloved younger sister, Pidge, who has suddenly disappeared without a trace. Traveling into the bog of the Zhash Basin, she encounters a boggard fisherman who claims to have seen Pidge. The fisherman barters his information on Pidge's whereabouts in exchange for Lavi's assistance catching mudfish. Lavi spends a mucky day helping the boggard, but the two are attacked by stirges as they finish their work. The pair are able to fend off the three creatures. Having sustained heavy injuries and now owing his life to Lavi, the frog-man remorsefully confesses that he lied and in fact never saw Pidge. He provides Lavi lodging for the night in the relative safety of his hut, and prepares a rudimentary dinner of the mudfish, belately introducing himself as Baurgaof. He also supplies Lavi with basic rations for five days of travel. In the morning, the boggard directs Lavi to the only local settlement, reasoning that it would have been Pidge's logical destination; Lavi departs the hut, flying east.

#### Mirefield

Lavi soon arrives in the town of Mirefield (landing in the Siltbog district) and begins to question the local peasants, but no one has seen her sister, and the townsfolk in general appear uninterested in helping. On the verge of giving up, Lavi literally knocks into Jupp Ratsk, aka "Lonebrew", a man in the process of quitting his job at the local tavern, The Sinking Ship. Jupp introduces himself as a moonshine crafter; Lavi introduces herself in return and explains her quest. Jupp recognizes the description of Pidge's feathers as matching ones he found outside of town while gathering ingredients. He leads Lavi to their location.

#### Clues

Jupp and Lavi arrive at a nearby patch of swamp, where Lavi discovers more of Pidge's feathers amidst signs of a) a struggle; b) a trap baited with fresh fruit; c) heavy footprints leading to the east; and d) wagon wheel ruts in the ground. Lavi deduces that someone laid in wait to successfully capture Pidge, and announces her intention to pursue her sister no matter what. Suddenly, the two are attacked by a crocodile. They are able to fend off the creature, but Lavi is wounded; Jupp boosts her health with a high-ABV potion, and offers his companionship and assistance on Lavi's quest. With a warm (albeit teasing) bond already forming between them, the two head off together, following the trail east to in renewed search of Pidge.

### Part II: Jaculus

#### On the Road

Elsewhere in time and in Obeddore, the serpentes Jaculus departs the town of Hacisi in Sejun, hitting the road after the death of his guardian in search of an end to his existential boredom, which he hopes to find in the southern city of Qedariyya. Along the way, he comes across a merchant being accosted by four sword-wielding bandits. Stealthily approaching, Jaculus engages the bandits in combat, but heavily injures himself on his first real attack. Brandishing a club, the merchant also joins the fray. Two bandits are quickly felled; a third is taken down by a woman in orange and yellow robes, who slips into the battle unnoticed. The battle continues, and the merchant becomes heavily wounded. Jaculus fumbles with his weapons, but with the woman's timely assistance, the bandits are finally defeated.

The rogue proceeds to shake down the merchant for his coins; he acquiesces and then stumbles away. The woman gives Jaculus 12gp as his "cut" and introduces herself as Samira. Jaculus explains that he is searching for "something to catch [his] interest". Samira promises to introduce him to a set of "interesting friends". Thus enticed, Jaculus agrees to journey with her, and the two travel together towards Qedariyya.

#### The Jewel of Sejun

Jaculus is immediately entranced by the opulence and splendor of the city, with all of its new and exotic sights and sounds. He is also still heavily injured from the earlier battle, although he pays this no attention. Samira leads him to a nondescript house where they are admitted only after a secret knock and password are given. They head to the cellar, the "base of operations" for Samira's "friends". Samira reveals a stylized hand symbol tatooed on her chest, remarking that these "friends" (euphemistically established to be part of the same organization represented by the symbol) took her in and trained her from a young age. She introduces Jalal, identifying him as the leader of the group; he in turn indirectly identifies another individual present, Jamileh. They posit that Jaculus's appearance suggests a great change in fortunes.

Samira suggests that she and Jaculus get to know one another better – by stealing shit. Jelal names a local warehouse as the target of the group's next heist, describing it as being stuffed with a vast amount of extremely valuable saffron. Jaculus is uninterested in the money involved, but agrees to participate in the heist out of pure boredom.

#### The Heist

Samira and Jaculus head to the nearby warehouse, where Jaculus is unable to smell any saffron. He voices his concern about the tip being faulty, but Samira assures him that it came from a reliable informant. After Jaculus picks the door's lock, the pair enter the warehouse... which is empty save for a couple of chests in the middle of the room. Jaculus tail-whips one; it falls over as if empty.

#### Stolen Property

Suddenly, four armored and armed individuals enter the room, all wearing clothing emblazoned with the hand symbol; a fifth person, their apparent leader, enters and commands their thugs to "take it alive". The thugs converge on Jaculus, who surrenders. The leader renders him unconscious.

Some time later, Jaculus awakens in a small cage. All of his equipment has been stripped from him, and it seems like multiple days have passed. Samira enters and, seemingly ashamed, tells Jaculus that this wasn't her idea. She offers to help Jaculus escape, in exchange for a kiss. Jaculus attempts to comply, but Samira moves back at the last moment, taunting him before leaving. Three days pass.

#### On the Road (Again)

Eventually, Kobra reappears and informs Jaculus that he's been sold. The two trade verbal barbs before she again departs. Three cloaked and masked figures enter, and use magic to make Jaculus compliant with their instructions. Under their influence, he boards a covered wagon and is locked inside another cage. More time passes. Jaculus attempts to get further information from his new captors, but they give him no answers, and eventually render him unconscious again to rid themselves of his whining.

#### Meeting the Harpy

The next time Jaculus wakes, he finds himself still caged, but now in a large warehouse. There are other cages, all of which are empty except for one adjacent to his, which contains a crying figure. Jaculus extends his tail and speaks softly to the other individual. The crying figure, a harpy, introduces herself as Hester. She notes that she believes that the food she's been given has been altered in some way, then shamefacedly lays an egg – something which has been happening far more often than is normal. Jaculus vows to find a way to get them both out of their awful predicament, and promises to never leave her.

### Part III: Pringle

#### Holy Orders

In an unrevealed city, the Fel known as Pringle is worried. She has been handpicked to accompany Sister Superior Consentia and Brother Illmadar on an important mission for the Church of Mephistopheles, to which they all belong: they must hunt down and destroy a group that has laid claim to parts of their territory within the city. Consentia enigmatically identifies the individuals of this sect as "servants of the traitor" - apparently, some form of breakaway sect of their own church. Together, the three cultists travel across the city to a plain-looking building. Entering it by force, Consentia proceeds to torture the location of a secret door from the guard, then instructs Pringle to kill him. Pringle, overjoyed to serve her god, gleefully complies, using her weapon of choice: a mace dubbed "Lover's Mercy".

#### The Safe House

Consentia leads Illmadar and Pringle into the hidden safe house located beneath the building. They soon encounter three humans dressed in strange robe-apron garments stitched with an unknown symbol. Illmadar channels negative energy at them, doing very little damage; Consentia misses with her heavy mace. Pringle quickly downs one of the enemies. The combatants exchange various missed blows; finally, Consentia, losing her patience, channels negative energy and drops both remaining men. Pringle gets a closer look at the symbol stitched onto the dead men's robes: a forge with an anvil under it. The group continues to explore the safe house, encountering little further resistance. They find themselves barred from the next room by a hidden door with a disguised locking mechanism. Consentia orders Pringle to try to open it. She's unable to do so with her hands, but manages with her tail. The group proceeds into the room beyond this gate, which they find to be empty.

The room is laid out as an office and lodging for an unknown high-ranking member of the breakaway sect. A miniature forge made of bone and silver sits on the bedside table; Consentia recoils from it, explaining that it is a "beacon of the traitor's energy" and that she finds it spiritually painful. She goes on to explain that it is the purpose for their mission: Mephistopheles gave her a vision commanding her to destroy this artifact, and to bring Pringle with her. Pringle is overjoyed that her god specifically requested her presence. Before destroying the item, the group doubles back to check for any last members of the sect.

Pringle, Consentia, and Illmadar enter a room with a large, ornate altar stylized as a forge, which is giving off painful heat. A cleric and two more worshipers engage the three in battle. Consentia, channeling negative energy, quickly drops the two worshipers and injures the cleric. Pringle attacks, injuring them further, and Illmadar strikes the final blow. After ensuring that the three are all dead, the group returns to the room with the beacon.

#### Destiny

Consentia takes a moment to give Pringle one final look, then smashes the beacon, releasing a burst of purple and black energy that is absorbed into her body. She falls to the ground, her body magically beginning to turn black and crumble away. Consentia takes her final moments to assure Pringle that Mephistopheles has a plan for the Fel, and charges her to return the papers recovered from this room to their convent. She dies. Pringle gathers up all of the papers, and she and Illmadar make their way back outside into the city – now revealed to be the Holy City in Vil. Together they return to their secret convent, known as the Sanctum of Mephistopheles, which is hidden in an old bookstore called The Bruised Apple.

#### Retaliation

Venturing into their base, Illmadar and Pringle find it in disarray, and their fellow worshipers slaughtered, with signs of recent battle spread throughout the various rooms. The two remaining followers of Mephistopheles surmise that the attack has been carried out by enemy members of the same dissident sect whom they themselves just finished attacking. The rooms have been ransacked, and all members, including Mother Superior Rawl[*validation needed*], have been killed. Pringle is drawn to a set of papers, on which hidden words have become visible:

> My dear child,
> Due to the blessings of our Master, the events of this day were revealed to me some time ago, and though things seem dire now, rest assured this is all part of the Master's plan. Those who have attacked us are servants of the traitor. Their plans must be revealed and stopped before they can succeed in whatever twisted goals they have in mind. Our network believes they act out of a base of power in the city of Xerith. I know little more, save that our Master has always instructed me to guide you in particular. It appears you have a destiny, young one. Gather yourself and make your way to Xerith. You may need to trick locals into aiding you, as the way is long and dangerous. I can only hope the best for you, and that the Master guides your path. Farewell, my child.
>
>

Accepting her new mission, and with Illmadar slipping into despair and thus of little use, Pringle gathers her belongings and sets out on her own, vowing to fulfill her quest.

## Key Points

Some of the major elements, references, and foreshadowing of story continuity and character development in this episode:

### Plot & Lore

* The Zhash Basin and the nation-state of Sejun, along with some of their respective settlements and peoples, are introduced for the first time.
* The Holy City makes its first appearance in Snake Eyes, having previously been a prominent location in the Check Please! Campaign. Keni, recalling its strict laws about religious tolerance and equality, has an "oh shit!" moment on realizing the full ramifications of Pringle's murderous actions towards a rival cult within the city's borders.

### Character

#### Lavi

* Lavi is established as single-mindedly and selflessly focused on her younger sister's safety and happiness, even at the expense of her own.

#### Jaculus

* Jaculus initially appears vain and wholly self-interested, driven only by the desire to sate his desire for entertainment and stimulation of one kind or another. He is also overconfident in battle (though this can at least in part be attributed to some very unlucky dice rolls; see below).
* That said, he is later shown to demonstrate great kindness towards Pidge, indicating a greater depth than had before been visible.
* Jaculus is not motivated by money and finds it a boring reason to undertake a task.
* Jaculus is accustomed to people praying to him, and to being considered a "good luck charm".
* Jaculus enjoys the chase aspect to courting partners, preferring the curious aloofness of Jalal to the less-fun obvious interest of Samira, whom he considers too easy a prospective target.
* Jaculus mentions having lived with an historian.
* Jaculus is described by one of the individuals to whom the Silent Hand sells him as making a "reasonable catalyst" for some unknown ritual.

#### Pringle

* Pringle's formal knowledge of her religion is limited (reflected in Keni's choice to put no points into a Knowledge (Religion) skill), due to her "not giving a shit" about specific church dogma and doctrine (despite being absolutely devoted to Mephistopheles himself).
* Pringle will do anything for Mephistopheles, up to and including happily and eagerly torturing and murdering in his name.
* Pringle doesn't like anyone else using her Lover's Mercy.

## Running Gags & Callbacks

* As became a common refrain on Check Please!, Sarah Mclachlan's song "In The Arms Of The Angel" makes an appearance when Lavi and Jupp are jumped by a crocodile.
* "It's me, ya boy." x1
* Perception checks continue to go poorly for everyone but Pae'dor.

## Memorable Quotes

### Part I: Lavi

* "He blinks a few times, not quite understanding what you mean by 'take a bath'." – Beardy, describing the limits of Baurgaof's available hospitality.
* "This is great. I'm doing great. What a great day." – Lavi, through clenched teeth.
* "And now I'm all like 'Is this what [Xeno] feels like when he rolls?" "Excuse me?!" – Keni, on their newfound fear of poor dice results, with a quiet background audio cameo from a mock-offended Xeno.
* "I try to give all my good days to my sis. She's everything to me." – Lavi, being a very good big sister.
* “Hell yeah!” “Hell yeah!” “Hellllll yeah!” “Hellllll yeah!” “Helllllllllllllllll yeah!” “Hellllllllllllllllll yeah!” - Beardy and Keni, enthusing.
* "♬ In the arms of the angels / May you get / Demonetized. ♬" - Keni, smoothly avoiding a copyright strike.
* Beardy: "Okay. Well, he's heavily injured..."
Keni: \*sobbing\*
Beardy: "... and he's gonna try to bite you..."
Keni (meekly): "Uh huh."
Beardy: "... and he's gonna hit..."
Keni (life force draining): "Okay..."
Beardy: "... [he] hits you for seven damage..."
Keni: "Great... so good..."
Beardy: "... he also gets a grab attempt..."
Keni: \*sounds of their soul dying inside\*
Beardy: "... [at] which he will succeed..."
Keni: \*sobbing intensifies\*
Beardy: "... so you're now in the mouth of a crocodile."

### Part II: Jaculus

* "Hello, boys." – Jaculus (first lines).
* "Look, I'm terribly bored right now, so I'll do it, but I don't really want anything. I guess I just feel like it." – Jaculus, committing to undertaking grand larceny simply for lack of anything better to do with his time.
* "There is a good old elevator eye happening right now." – Keni, describing Jaculus's roving gaze when it comes to the attractive Jalal.
* "Jaculus: he's an asshole." – Keni, on Jaculus's personality, particularly when it comes to sex.
* "Such good rolls. I'm doing great. I feel great. Everyone sucks other than Pae'dor! Ugh!" – Keni, losing patience with their low Perception rolls.
* "Would you like to open one of the chests?" "Can I kick it first?" "Um, with what?" "My... OH MY GOD." – Beardy, offering a gentle reminder to Keni about Jaculus's anatomy.
* "Damn! I was going to go willingly, bitch!" – Keni, displeased with Jaculus having been knocked out.
* "I could never kiss a monster." "Oh, that's cute, sweetheart. You think *I'm* the monster." – Samira, verbally sparring with Jaculus.
* "Living with a historian was less boring than this!" – Jaculus, on his captivity.
* "Your destiny is greater than you realize." – One of the abductors, to Jaculus.
* "I'm gonna kill so many people with Jackie." – Keni, reacting to the mistreatment of Pidge.

### Part III: Pringle

* "You've always been a poor student, you know that?" "And you've always been a bitch." – Consentia, near to taking her final breath, and Pringle's loving response.
* "The traitor must be stopped." – Consentia's final words.
* "Oh, shit. We just killed a religion in the Holy City. Oh, fuck! OH, FUCK!" – Keni, the full weight of Pringle's actions becoming clear.
* "What used to be my favorite is now my enemy." – Keni, on Perception checks.
* "Wait, was mine ransacked?" "Nope, they left yours alone. They must have thought it was a lavatory." "Rude!" – Keni and Beardy, on Pringle's bedroom.
* "Oh, I'm touching myself tonight." – Pringle, knowing that Mephistopheles is watching and guiding her steps.

## The Dice

 5
 Lavi
 Pringle

* Lavi's unconfirmed critical hit in the first battle is a 22 (19+3), with a 6 (3+3) as the failed confirmation.
* For Jaculus: since both a Nat 20 and a Nat 1 roll were part of the same attack move, and the first critical miss was confirmed and preceded the potential critical hit, that first nat 20 is not counted as a critical hit roll, since the critical miss negated it. *This happens in two distinct attack rounds; in the second round, the Nat 1 negated **two** Nat 20 rolls.* Astonishingly cruel dice.
* The bandits in Jaculus's first battle roll several Nat 20s and Nat 1s, but those are not tracked here.

## Trivia & References

* Keni namechecks the film "The Road to El Dorado".
* Jaculus began his campaign with 50gp.
* Keni notes that they only had two skill points to spend when rolling Pringle, and used them on Bluff and Diplomacy.

## Notes

1. ↑ Though not identified in-game or in player conversation, the shadowy criminal organization to which Samira belongs can be identified from the YouTube episode release as the Silent Hand.