You did WHAT to my Fiance?!

*Check Please!*

"**You did WHAT to my Fiance?!**" is the 16th episode of the first season of *Check Please!* Campaign One. It was first released on YouTube on December 14th, 2019, and in podcast format across multiple services on December 20th, 2020.

*"Last time, our Heroes happened upon a group of Dwarves, who were also looking for the fallen meteorite, as they believed it was made of precious and valuable metal. The group found the meteor, and discovered it was covered in strange runes..."*

## Summary

The Party members are rewarded by the Fey for resolving the situation with the meteor. They return to Wittengen to receive their reward, then begin their journey to Hartenshen. Along the way, they are stopped by Sol's fiance Gro'h, who is quickly shot by Lovette. Passing through the Holy City, the Party members arrive in Hartenshen, are paid by Siva for completing their contract, and are offered further work.

## Synopsis

### Part I: The Friendly Fey

#### It's A Fight! A Real Fight!

Lovette, incensed by Vera's destruction of the "meteor", charges the Druid with her dagger, ineffectually swiping the air. Meanwhile, Sol, speaking in Sylvan (the native language of the Fey), respectfully checks on the nymph's health and explains the situation to her, since the Fey creatures all seem to have returned to normal. The nymph, incredibly grateful for the rescue and horrified by her actions, honors Sol with a tight hug, and explains what little she remembers. Sol requests an audience with the Queen of the Fey creatures; the nymph considers Sol and their friends heroes, and happily agrees, immediately leading Sol away. The rest of the Party, slightly bewildered, follow behind, leaving the distraught dwarves to trudge back to Wittengen.

#### The Hallowed Grove

The nymph escorts the Party along a twisting path to an area of standing stones arranged in a circle, where a large number of Fey creatures of all shapes and sizes are gathered. Many are addressing a figure in the center, who appears to be an older and particularly regal-looking nymph.

Sol, correctly identifying the figure as the Faerie Queene (as she'll be called here, anyway, because Foaly is a dork), kneels and respectfully begins to explain the situation. The Queene raises Sol back their feet, replying that she and her people are in the debt of Sol and the Party. Sol mentions the additional assistance of Hildie, with whom the Queene reveals she is acquainted. The Queene relates the Fey's version of the events of the meteor, further explaining that she is ashamed they didn't take the threat more seriously, since a gnome had warned them about it a year before its impact. The Queene goes on to describe the gnome, who is a perfect match for Lovette's father. Unfortunately, she doesn't know where the Gnome went next.

As collective expression of the gratitude of the Fey community, the Queene bestows rewards upon the Party members: the belt of a satyr, the armband of a pixie (which is effectively a ring), an amulet, a cloak, and another belt. Each item imbues its wearer with a particular kind of powerful magic. The Party members divide up the items amongst themselves. Sol, swapping the new ring with their engagement ring, feels a spark of magical electricity upon removing the latter. Sol attempts to discern the nature of the now-discharged spell that was on their engagement ring, but can't determine its nature.

Preparing to depart, Sol asks the Queene if anything further is required in order for the Fey to return to their normal lives. The Queene expresses concern about the people of Wittengen holding a grudge against the Fey, and Sol promises to spread word of the situation's true nature and the lack of culpability on the part of the Fey creatures for any violence they committed. Sol requests permission to contact the Queene should dire circumstances ever emerge in the future; the Queene agrees. Lovette, still planning to sell the details about how to keep Deepcut Mine safe, suggests they ask the Fey to keep an eye on the miners and help protect them from future 'shroom-related harm. Sol, viewing it as a way to help normalize relations between the Fey and the townsfolk, redacts their previous request, and instead asks for the Queene's protection of the miners. The Queene agrees. Sol informs the Queene that the Party will likely visit Hildie to catch the Serpentes up on events before returning to Wittengen; the Queene instructs Sol to tell Hildie that "Telilah says hello", and sees the Party off with a polite bow.

The younger nymph who had previously guided Sol and the Party to the Grove volunteers to lead them to Hildie's Cottage, introducing herself as Arastia. Vera takes a few last moments to ask the Queene about the dilapidated Temple of Melifera, but Telilah cannot shed much light on it, her people having largely left it alone. Led by Arastia, the Party depart the Grove, with Lovette particularly glum as Sol and the nymph happily chat. As they arrive at Hildie's cottage, Arastia gives Sol a lock of her hair that grants the High Elf magically-enhanced performance abilities. Sol and Vera pass over the remaining bottles of Hildie's antidote, in case the feral effects ever recur amongst the Fey. The nymph departs on excellent terms with Sol.

#### Hildie's Reward

Sol informs Lady Hildegarde of the Party's success at resolving the situation with the Fey. Hildie is delighted, and invites the Party members in for tea. Vera takes Lovette aside to begin to mend fences after their altercation over the meteor. Meanwhile, Sol catches Hildie up on recent events. Hildie gifts Lovette a magical compass, explaining that it can be used to find someone. Lovette opens up a little about her family's financial issues; Sol makes clear that they are willing to help, but only within "good morals". Lovette agrees, and the frosty air between the two warms a little.

#### Wittengen

As Markus considers the next steps in the "soul-searching" suggested by Hildie, the Party makes its way back to the village. Lovette uses her new compass in an attempt to locate her father; it directs her towards the northwest. Arriving in Wittengen, the Party finds the miners ready to riot now that their drinking money has run out. Just in time, the Party informs Graf von Bergen that Deepcut Mine is now safe and that the iron trade can resume. Von Bergen, delighted, awards the agreed-upon sum of one thousand gold pieces to each adventurer, plus an additional two hundred and fifty each as a bonus. Lovette explains that the hallucinations were caused by spores and advises that the miners take precautions should they encounter them again, and Sol notes that the Fey have agreed to help protect the miners in the future. Lovette negotiates to have small shipments of iron dispatched under her name to the blacksmiths whom she'd consulted in Hartenshen. Much to Sol's horror and despite their repeated objections, von Bergen proclaims that he will erect a statue in the town forum in honor of the Party's heroism. He shocks them further still by informing them that someone in the tavern had been asking about the High Elf.

Sol, panicking, places their engagement ring in Lovette's shiny new compass, in an attempt to locate their pursuer; unfortunately, the engagement ring counts as their own possession. Vera deploys Hummel to investigate the tavern, but he detects no sign of a silver-haired High Elf; Lovette, taking a peek of her own, also doesn't see any familiar faces. Relieved, Sol and the Party retrieve their horses and carriage and leave the town, heading north towards Hartenshen and a reunion with Siva. Back in The Broken Pick, Biff, performing for the partying miners, is deeply disappointed at having missed Sol.

### Part II: Shooting, Searching, and Shopping

#### The Road to Hartenshen

The Party members journey towards Hartenshen along the same road used before, which will first take them through the Holy City. They have barely left the mining town before Markus and Lovette alert Sol and Vera to the solitary figure they've spotted walking along the road towards them from the opposite direction. Sol sees that the unknown figure has white or silver hair, and begins to worry. They ask the other Party members to ready their weapons. Confusion takes hold of the Party over whether or not to turn the carriage around, as the figure draws ever close – close enough to be fully recognized by Sol, who freezes up, panicking. Lovette begins the timer to deploy Archie.

As Sol attempts to disguise themself, Markus politely calls out a greeting to the unnamed figure, who is now visibly distinguishable as a male elf with silver hair in blue traveling clothes. The figure calls back in response, politely greeting the Party and calmly stating that they are travelling with his friend. Sol gives up their attempt at disguise and reluctantly begins to converse with the Elf, addressing him as Gro'h. Gro'h insists that while he has given Sol space and been patient, the time has come for them to return home and take up their (unspecified responsibilities). Sol insists they don't see a need, which Gro'h describes as a conversation Sol should have with their mother. Lovette asks Sol to "say the word" if Sol wants the man gone, but before Sol can respond, the half-gnome raises their crossbow, takes aim...

#### I Am Not Throwing Away My Shot!

... and fires a bolt at Gro'h, which strikes the High Elf in his right side. Sol, horrified, leaps from the carriage and runs to Gro'h's aid. Gro'h, horrified, insists that Sol needs to return with him; Sol refuses. Gro'h begins to cast, and the other Party members prepare to fight – but the elf simply disappears, crossbow bolt still lodged in his innards. Sol crumples to the ground. Vera consoles them, while Markus berates Lovette for their rash actions. Sol defeatedly returns to the carriage as the Party members bicker, and the carriage continues onwards.

#### The Holy City

Two days pass on the road, during which Sol barely communicates with anyone. When the Party arrives, the members seek out Samuel Tellic at the city library, who greets them all warmly. They update him on their adventures, and Samuel in turn praises them for their heroic efforts. He informs them of his slow progress in regaining his ancestral title, but remains hopeful about the situation despite the bureaucratic delays. Sol gifts him a thousand gold pieces to help speed up the process by taking care of the necessary fees; Samuel, grateful and delighted, rushes off to get the wheels back in motion. Meanwhile, Sol searches the library for insights into their village, but finds nothing. Markus, meanwhile, searches for information on Zel, and finds a book: "Scales and Heart of Gold: The Story of Zel". Unfortunately, it's a not particularly useful, since it was apparently written (partially in rhyme) for halfling children. Lovette sees what information has been written about the Steam Isle.

#### Hartenshen

Departing the Holy City and passing through Neinan without delay, the Party members arrive back in Hartenshen, and seek out Siva at The Heartstring Taproom. Lovette explains that the group has successfully reopened the mine. Siva is delighted at the group's success, and rewards them with the agreed-upon two thousand gold pieces per head – plus a bonus, for a total of nine thousand gold pieces (enough to cause Lovette to start hyperventilating). The Party members divide up the gold, and Siva informs them that she has another contract, inviting them back to the Taproom that night to discuss the details, and encouraging them to enjoy their victory. Sol asks Siva if she's seen Gro'h, with the crime boss answering no; Sol describes him and requests Siva keep a wary eye out.

The Party members separate, each running their own errands. Sol acquires a new chain shirt, visits the Amphitheater of Symphonia, and seeks out a blacksmith to improve Symphonia's Wit with an enchantment (not necessarily all in that order). Lovette visits a number of blacksmiths as well, letting them know that the iron shipments from Wittengen should soon resume. After visiting the Tower of Commerce to acquire copper, she commissions a smith to manufacture a scope for her crossbow. Vera visits a leatherworker to acquire leather armor for when she is not in her Melifera's Boon form; Lovette also acquires an armored and enchanted leather vest.

Vera visits the Southern Slums, a particularly poor area of the city (as the name would imply), and does her best to spread the good word of Melifera and gain followers for the deity from amongst the downtrodden wretches of the gutter. She makes little progress. Meanwhile, Lovette seeks out Sol at the Amphitheater and asks for the bard's fashion advice. Lovette drops Muse and buys a new top hat, among other fancy new pieces of wardrobe. Overriding Lovette's protests, Sol pays. The two exchange apologies over the situation with Gro'h and the, you know, shooting of him. Lovette gifts her handmade music box to Sol, who is touched.

## Key Points

### Plot & Lore

* Sylvan, the native language of the Fey, is introduced. It is described as melodious and beautiful, especially coming from the mouth of a nymph.
* The Faerie Queene describes Gnomes as tending to be single-minded. Sol doesn't disagree.
* More of Lovette's father's journey and motives are revealed.
* Despite being acquainted with Hildie and knowledgeable about the region, the Queene has no knowledge of the Shrooms.
* Sol tells Arastia about their adventures, specifically mentioning the Tellic House and what transpired there for the Party.
* The Sylvan word for "soul" is at least vaguely a homophone with Sol's name, allowing for the wordplay to still be valid across the language barrier with Vilish.
* The nymph practice of granting magical favor with a lock of their hair is established.
* Grem suggests that Sol track down Biff for a "battle of the bands". The two bards do seem destined to jam together someday. As it transpires, Biff was searching for Sol in The Broken Pick, but Sol's reluctance to enter kept the two from meeting on this occasion.
* The character of Gro'h, Sol's previously-mentioned pursuer (and the fiancé of the episode's title) appears for the first time, beginning the arc of the two characters, which extends through the rest of season one of *Check Please!* and is more deeply explored in the *Yes Please!* companion show.
* Screwy is (out of character) reminded of Hildie's earlier suggestion about Markus seeking advice from Zel.
* Von Bergen promises to erect a statue in Wittengen featuring Sol, Vera, Lovette, and Markus (with the latter two Party members requesting that creative liberties be taken with their depicted heights).
* Beardy establishes that the southern border of Vil is a little more dangerous than the areas of the Nation-State that the Players have explored thus far.
* Samuel Tellic's quest to regain his family's status is significantly sped up by Sol's donation of a thousand gold pieces.
* It is established that despite the Holy City's larger population, Hartenshen has superior crafters and artisans.
* Sol writes "Sol was here" on one of the Holy City library's bookshelves. This has not (yet) been revisited.
* The music box plays the original composition that Sol performed at the Tellic House.

### Character

#### Sol

* Sol can speak Sylvan, as can Vera.
* Sol is still "a little classist", dismissing the opinions of the copper dwarves as unimportant.
* Sol tells Lovette, to her face, that the half-gnome seems money-hungry, and speaks in circles.
* Sol swaps their engagement ring with a Ring of Fire Resistance. Given their past interest in the fire-bending Sorcerer Siva, and the fact they could wear more than one ring at a time if they so chose, this is a powerful statement.
* Removing said engagement ring triggers an unknown and unexpected spell, making it an even more important moment.
* Despite removing the ring, Sol is unwilling to part with it, and repeatedly unconsciously reassures themself that it has not left their possession.
* Sol has begun treating Vera's suggestions as more important than Lovette's.
* Sol once again makes friends easily – in this case, with Arastia. Sadly, the fact the High Elf is quick to give their trust will not always serve them well in future.
* Sol receives a lock of Arastia's hair as a token of the nymph's favor, granting them magically-enhanced performance abilities, among other useful effects.
* Sol makes it clear to Lovette that they are not under any contract with her, and that although they are eager to help, they won't compromise on their moral values.
* Sol still thinks too highly of Siva to pay much attention to the latter's criminal behavior, or even suggestions about it.
* Sol, gleeful with the Party's success, casually mentions how happy they feel as a result... and that "this is what it" - happiness – "feels like". Seemingly a throwaway line, until you consider how unhappy they've clearly been up to this point given the backstory revealed in the previous episode, and in light of their demonstrated reliance on Muse to artificially stimulate happiness that was not otherwise abundant. Poor Sol.
* Sol is still attempting to keep a low profile, and loathes the idea of being depicted in a permanent statue. They might not want to listen to season two.
* Sol predicts that using the compass with their usual hair feather would lead to their mother, implying it belongs to her and not to Sol.
* Sol (and Keni's) beloved horses Kaya and Rain once again appear, by name.
* Sol slips into their more formal, sophisticated tone of voice when speaking with Gro'h.
* Sol questions, by title, the need for a Protector for their village.
* Sol grows closer to Vera in the wake of their fiancé getting shot.
* Money still means very little to Sol, as shown in their disinterest when receiving their reward money, and their lack of hesitation when purchasing Lovette's new wardrobe.

#### Vera

* Vera, like Sol, speaks Sylvan.
* Vera takes the time to inform Lovette that she hadn't intended to destroy the meteor or to disregard the wishes of the other Party members.
* Vera expresses faith that a person can improve, and admits to having made unspecified "mistakes" in the past.
* Vera reassures Sol that she doesn't hate them.
* Despite Sol's apparent assumption to the contrary, Vera can read.
* Vera tries her hand at preaching the good word of Melifera.

#### Markus

* Hildie reiterates that Markus "has some searchin' to do", and Markus takes this to heart, making loose plans to eventually visit Zel in the Merry Valley, and researching the dragon further in the Holy City.
* Markus seems insecure about his height.
* Markus is suspicious of Siva's motives.
* Markus again considers improving his sling staff, but elects to acquire items that provide magical enhancements instead.

#### Lovette

* Lovette's father warned the Queene about the meteor a year before its impact.
* Lovette insists her motives for her obsession with money are not selfish, but initially remains deeply hesitant about going into them. She finally opens up later in the episode, explaining that she is desperately trying to keep her family business afloat during unspecified hard times for which she feels personally responsible.
* Lovette receives a magical compass from Hildie to aid her in her search for her father; it directs her to somewhere northwest of Wittengen.
* Several items of Lovette's clothing have been passed down to her from within the family, for sentimental rather than financial reasons. Her tie belonged to her father.
* Lovette is relieved to know conclusively that the two people she seeks are both alive, or at least were recently.
* Lovette is able to get iron sent to the blacksmiths back in Hartenshen.
* In contrast to Markus, Lovette requests her depicted height in the statue be reduced.
* Despite their statue appearance, Lovette doesn't feel comfortable being called a hero.
* Lovette still blushes whenever Sol gives them physical reassurance or praise.
* Lovette finishes the music box she's been constructing over the course of the journey.
* Lovette ultimately decides to give the information about the marked and sealed area of Deepcut Mine to Siva for free, rather than trying to charge her more (the half-gnome's original plan).
* Lovette isn't a fan of Gro'h. Given the crossbow incident, the reverse can also be assumed true.
* Sufficiently large quantities of money can cause physiological reactions in Lovette.
* Lovette acquires a top hat. She is destined to create one for Hummel, many years hence.

## Running Gags & Callbacks

* The insistence of the Players on each NPC having their own name will not go unpunished in future.
* Keni lampshades the frequent "Sol"/"soul" punning when regaling Arastia with stories of their earlier adventures.
* Grem has Archie pick up Markus and carry him inside Hildie's cottage, making light of Screwy's occasional absences from the game.
* Markus has fought a Will-o'-Wisp. Just in case that wasn't clear.
* Hummel enjoys a pint of mead, or five.
* Screwy again calls for pun damage on Beardy after the latter's "Imagine(d) Dragons" wordplay. The DM declines.
* Screwy puns on "Pathfinder", with his other Party members calling for pun damage; it's unclear if any was assessed.
* "Love it"/"Lovette", resulting in "she's right here". A related bit of wordplay occurs often in season two, with "Reason"/"R'issen".
* The first instance of the phrase "murderhobos" to describe the Party.

## Memorable Quotes

### Part I: The Friendly Fey

* "(casually) That's my blood." - Sol, not holding grudges.
* "You came here to save us?" "Yes! ...well, at least, I did." – Sol, throwing some shade at the dwarves, and certain other Party members.
* "You do not kneel to me. If what I've heard is true, then we all owe you a great debt." – The Faerie Queene.
* "Did you think he was crazy?" "Well, all gnomes share some traits with insanity." – Sol, hitting on a bit of a streak of prejudice in the Faerie Queene.
* "A satyr walks up." "I happily wave at him." "He gives you finger guns." "Nice! I love this satyr!" – Beardy and Keni, having some fun.
* "Then what *do* you mean? You always speak in circles!" – Sol, exhausted by Lovette's crypticness.
* "(quietly) Gold's a very good conductor, but I wouldn't know this." – Xeno/Vera, on rings and electricity.
* "Should Lovette get the [Amulet of] Natural Armor? She's kinda small, and runs into things." – Keni, not inaccurately (considering the half-gnome's previous encounters with the Weavers and the hallucinatory cave Dragon).
* "To Hildegarde's, my dear nymph. Do you have a name?" "(long, awkward silence)" – Sol, with Beardy's response.
* "I've only ever been known as Feral Nymph 1!" – Grem, as Arastia, and tempting the Wrath of Beardy.
* "And then, a ghost came upon Markus and said he needed to do some soul-searching!" – Sol, in full bard mode, telling the epic story of the Party's Tellic House adventures.
* "I was a little bit worried about giving this to you – it's a bit extreme – but I already gave somebody the ability to turn into a bee person, so fuck it, good taste and sense are out the window at this point." – Beardy, on the magical properties of Arastia's gift to Sol.
* "I do hope I'll never have to stab you again." – Arastia, making friends with Sol.
* "I have a nymph best friend!" – Keni, rather pleased with this outcome (and honestly, who wouldn't be?).
* "I'm not trying to be a bad person." "I don't think you are." – Lovette and Vera.
* "I know what it's like to lose someone, and know that they're out there somewhere, but no matter what you do, you can't find them." – Hildie, dropping some interesting character background hints.
* "Sol, you were very honest with us earlier, and I suppose I can at least give you a modicum of my trust." – Lovette, digging herself ever deeper with Sol.
* "I just want to get one thing straight: I want to do things with you because I'm your friend, and **not** your employee." – Sol, making things very clear with Lovette on where they stand.
* "I just love it when y'all adventurers have these bonding moments." – Hildie, shedding a single tear.
* "I am so happy right now. This is what it feels like." – Sol, rather tragically.
* "I think you're possessed by a demon." – Lovette, not pulling any punches as Markus contemplates his existence.
* "They celebrate the ends of all their drinking with some more drinking." "Yeah, that's the kind of people they are." – Lovette/Grem and Beardy, on the miners of Wittengen.
* "All right, you look around the room, but it is dark, smokey, and you're short, so you don't see shit." – Beardy, bringing to life the results of a poor Perception roll.
* "Meanwhile, in The Broken Pick, poor Biff is waiting to say 'Hi!' to Sol again." – Beardy, breaking our collective hearts.

### Part II: Shooting, Searching, and Shopping

* "Do you need acid poured on you?" – Keni, to Xeno, with a non sequitur opening for the ages.
* "We're the ones in control here." "Yes, but I can be rather annoying." "Wait, you can stop, though? I didn't know it was an optional thing." – Vera, Markus, and Lovette, sparring.
* "Ah, shit. Fuck!" – Keni, recognizing the white-haired male Elf.
* "Can I borrow your hood?" "No." "I need to borrow your hood!" "NO." – Sol and Vera.
* "Hello, travelers. I see you're traveling with my friend." – Gro'h, rather more friendly and polite than Hildie had implied.
* "I think this entire adventure has gone on quite long enough, don't you think?" – Gro'h, with a pitying smirk, now living up to Hildie's description of him.
* "I'm not going back." – Sol, to Gro'h.
* "What the hell are you doing?!" – Sol/Keni to Lovette/Grem, the lines between worlds rather blurring in that unexpected moment.
* "I was so hoping I got him between the legs." – Grem, on his warning shot only hitting Gro'h in the torso.
* "Is this really what you want?" "I didn't want you to be hurt." – Gro'h, to Sol.
* "Of course I don't hate you!" – Vera, reassuring Sol. Those two have come a long way.
* "Apparently, it seems being the last scion of a noble house is not exactly the most financially beneficial position, being that most of my family's lands are currently in a necromantic apocalyptic wasteland." – Samuel Tellic, staying positive.
* "You're able to find a travelogue of an explorer who went to the Steam Isles [sic] to kind of see it and write about it. It's filled with inaccuracies and assumptions, so much to the point where in certain places it says that he believes that gnomes eat rocks and drink steam." – Beardy, not quite satisfying Lovette's desire to see her homeland accurately depicted in Vilish books.
* "This is highly inaccurate! Why is it smiling?!" – Vera, unimpressed by a book on bees and pollination.
* "It was a valiant effort. We should burn it." – Vera, continuing to grow on Sol.
* "Mafia waifu, save me!" – Keni/Sol, describing Siva perfectly.
* "You're a paranoid character in a Party of murderhobos." – Beardy, to Screwy.
* "We're not quite murderhobos." "You shot a guy 'cause you got a feeling." – Grem and Beardy.
* "He looks like some sort of edgy douche." – Lovette, not warming to the man she shot.
* "I'm gonna go be religious and shit!" – Sol/Keni, sober and devout in their spiritual practices.
* "I'll play my music, and you can go do your bee stuff!" – Sol, offering genuine encouragement to Vera.
* "So, strangely enough, the people in this downtrodden hovel are not really interested in crossing the entire length of the kingdom in order to live in the woods." – Beardy, on the public reaction to Vera's first attempt at preaching.
* "I love that Vera's pitch is basically 'Life got you down? Join a cult!'" "Yeah, 'Come join a cult! Come live in the woods with me! You can live with ten million bees!'" "'We have a lot of members already. Quick side note: they're all bees.'" – Grem and Beardy.
* "Vera dresses like a hobo, so I can't really ask her." – Lovette, on why she chose to approach Sol for clothing opinions.
* "Don't kink shame." – Sol/Keni, earning a reproachful look from Xeno.
* "That's nice and sappy and adorable. This gets to be you guys' emotional high point, before the gut punch." – Beardy the Sadist, on Lovette's kind gift to Sol.

## The Dice

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

* The Party's reaction to Screwy's Knowledge (History) roll in the library suggests it was a Nat 20, but it was not called out.

## References

* Grem compares the dwarves' stunned reaction to the loss of their valuable starmetal to a similar scene of burning wealth in *The Dark Knight*.
* Keni jokingly suggests that upsetting the single group of dwarves would likely upset the entire race via "*Dragon Age* logic".
* Keni compares navigating the Fey path through the woods as being like finding the Master Sword, once again referencing the powerful weapon in the video game franchise *The Legend of Zelda*, which is first found in a mysterious wooded area.
* Screwy drops "And there was much rejoicing. Yay.", a direct quote from *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*. This editor is mildly surprised that it took sixteen episodes before a reference to the film came up.
* As in "BEES" (C1 S1 E13), Screwy quotes from the Oprah Winfrey "BEES!" meme video.
* Learning of Hummel's love of booze, Grem states his mental image of the bee is now essentially the character "The Dude" from the film *The Big Lebowski*. Where's the honey, Lebowski?!
* Xeno jokes that he and Keni are "Method acting" during their interview scene with Hummel.
* Beardy references the pop rock band Imagine Dragons when discussing the hallucinated creature at the Deepcut Mine.
* Screwy puns on the title of the game we're all playing. No, not D&D.
* Keni describes Sol's energetic presentation of Lovette as being like the presenter on the television game show *Wheel of Fortune* (Vanna White).

## Trivia & Notes

* Sol expresses their gratitude to the Faerie Queene by directly saying "thank you" (several times). Traditionally, this would be a serious faux pas when dealing with Fey creatures, but it's not clear that the Fey of Aedron work by the exact same rules as those of Earth – and even if they do, given the enormity of the service Sol and the Party had just rendered the Queene and her people, it still follows that she'd be willing to let it slide.
* Sol likewise thanks Arastia the same way, without the nymph taking offense (for what can be assumed as the same reasons).
* The magical gifts of the Queene, in Pathfinder terms (with who took each item in parentheses): an Amulet of Natural Armor, a Belt of Dexterity +2, a Cloak of Resistance +2, a Belt of Giant Strength +2, and a Ring of Minor Energy Resistance (Fire) 10.
* "To be honest if it wasn't for the fact that Lovette hit Gro'h with a crossbow bolt Sol would have never gone to communicate with Gro'h further feeling bad about the injury" – Keni
* The Party reaches Level 4. Beardy reveals that the Party completed the quests out of order, and would have reached Level 3 had they completed the Deepcut Mine quest first, and Level 4 after dealing with the Fey.
* In a very small retcon, the Party mentioning Hildie's assistance to Graf von Bergen is slipped into continuity at the beginning of Part II.
* The Steam Isle is called the Steam Isles in this episode.
* Grem upgrades Lovette's heavy crossbow with a scope; upgrading to a heavy repeating crossbow was also an idea, but did not fall within the half-gnome's weapon proficiencies.