Session Zero Heroes - A TTRPG Actual Play Podcast
Speaker B: Jasmine, oolong, green and white. Long ago, these four teas were skilfully brewed at the blissful brew. Then everything changed when the shop's popularity threatened its existence. All Mr. Okuron, the shop's owner and tea master, could do was to recruit four teenage orphans to learn his trade and staff his shop. A year has passed since the orphans were hired, and although their skills have progressed, they still have a lot to learn before they can brew anything. But I believe that they have the potential to make the blissful brew the greatest tea shop in the world. Last time on Benders and Brews, an Avatar Legends podcast. The party is in full swing at this point. They have during the opening ceremony, the owner of the house, Mr. Yotaku, he presented a game, sort of a masquerade game. There's a, uh, monetary prize going out to whoever can, uh, sort of be the last mask standing. Madame Yang is pacing back and forth. She's very frustrated about missing ingredients. So I'm filling the teacups. Uh, in my left hand, I have the little bag of tiny rocks. I sneakily put one tiny rock in each cup. As the thing is pouring, I, earth, bend the rock back to me, breaking the cup. Oh, no. Spilling tea everywhere.
Speaker A: I want everyone's attention. Earlier, I discovered there was a mole among our regs, and I have a theory that she was not working alone. So I'm going to have a little sit down with everyone.
Speaker B: You watch as they start walking through the ballroom and over kind of out of sight. Feel free to pick any of the masks that are in the room. I'm going to grab just a regular black and white kabuki mask. You guys are over at the Blissful Brew. With all the failure that hot leaf juice has been experiencing, you guys have experienced a lot of that success. Uh, from that. That guy from earlier, that guy that you saw that looked a little sketchy. He's still kind of scouting around the area, uh, and I just give him, like, a death, uh, glare. I'm going to go confront this firebender. Oh, yes. My name is Timothy. I have a feeling you'Ve got to be here for some reason. No, I am here on behest of, uh, Madame Yang. I'm going to try to nonchalantly follow Madame Yang. What should I be on the lookout for? So you should be on the lookout for some sketchy individuals who might be trying to, at this very moment, steal your tea ingredients from right out of the hand cart. I'm going to take a couple cups of tea and pretend to trip and throw it on the guy. Okay. Hot tea. Back off, or else you're going to get a stick to the head. As you're listening, you can hear Madame Yang through the wall.
Speaker A: Now get back out there and do what I've hired you to do.
Speaker B: I would like to use my Earth sinking ability to trap her underground. Okay, you hear? Sort of a crash. And welcome back to the Avatar Legends Real Play podcast. That is Benders and Bruise. I thought I'd switch it up a little bit there with, uh, kind of saying the title after Benders and Bruise. Yes. Benders and bruise. Thank you, Michaela. Ouch. Harsh criticism. Harsh criticism. I thought you said benders and booze. Oh, booze. Oh, sorry. No. That'll be our Halloween episode. Uh, welcome back, everybody, to episode nine. So, today's question. I've got everybody here today, which is pretty awesome. Uh, two episodes ago, we didn't have our man broccoli Connor playing broccoli. Uh, and then last week, we didn't have Michaela playing Mika. We had boys night. Boys night. I don't know what the one previous to that would have been called. We didn't for it. It doesn't feel right when you say.
Speaker A: It, but I wanted to say it pre boys night. I gave you guys the boys night.
Speaker B: I suppose that is technically true. That is a technical fair point. Without you, we were able to have boys night. Uh, anyways, so, question of the day. What is the best way that your character uses to get a good night's sleep? What is it that they enjoy? Do they enjoy a nice, warm cup of milk? Or maybe, uh, there's a specific soothe or tea. Or tea. Or maybe some specific soothing tune they like to listen to. Maybe they got, like, a little music box or something. Freaks everybody else out, but you enjoy it. Um, what do you got? Uh, Michaela, what helps Mika get a good night's sleep?
Speaker A: Um, well, she doesn't like to. She, you know, just does stuff until she passes. Know, like read a book, take a.
Speaker B: Walk, stare into the abyss as she does. Write poetry. Write poetry? Someone's going to break into her room at.
Speaker A: She doesn't write poetry.
Speaker B: Oh, she does sing, though. We did experience that. Uh, reads her diary. She reads her own diary? Uh, yeah. That sounds almost narcissistic. Like, I wrote it, and I'm going to read it. I mean, I don't know. Unless it's, like, proofreading.
Speaker A: I was sad.
Speaker B: Here's a limerick. Here's a Limerick about my button that I lost while we all kind of mentally unpack that one. Uh, Bill, what do you use? Cameron playing Bill, rather. What do you use to get a good night's sleep? Answering for Bill, not Cameron. But you can answer for Cameron afterwards if you want. Just. I do honestly, picture Bill. He just like lays there. He's one of those annoying, eventually he's asleep.
Speaker A: No, he's one of those annoying people that as soon as his head hits the pillow, he just like sleeps.
Speaker B: That is correct.
Speaker A: How is that m not annoying? We're not going to unpack.
Speaker B: It's annoying because we're all jealous of that. Takes him less than a minute to fall asleep. Goodness. Once he lays his head on a.
Speaker A: Pillow, like a full 10 seconds, he starts counting his sheep on the day one.
Speaker B: I was just going to ask, actually. In that 1 minute between his head touching the pillow and him falling asleep, what does he do? What? What does he do? Yeah, what's he doing? Does he count sheep? Does he mind? Blank. Oh, okay. He just zones fully out.
Speaker A: Yeah. He doesn't dream either. Oh, it's pretty impressive.
Speaker B: Do you do that, uh, thing where he like. No, I'm joking. He actually does have something. He does. Uh, but, uh, uh, he sleeps in the pitch black. Uh, is dark. Uh, but he sleeps with his staff in his arms.
Speaker A: It's like his teddy bear.
Speaker B: It's like his full body soft wee boo pillow. And sometimes he smooches it in his. Does your staff have a name? His staff have a name? Infection? Like how people. No, he does not have a name for his staff. He has a staff and I said it's named infection. Anyways. Anyways. Interesting. Okay, so he cuddles with, uh, his bow staff. I wouldn't really say cuddles. He just feels more secure. That's like a security better way. It's like a secure thing and also it makes him feel safe. Right. Interesting.
Speaker A: Isn't that what secure means?
Speaker B: Yeah. Uh, m safe, secure. Yeah, basically. I don't know. He always wants to feel like he's prepared, I guess. Right now, anything happens, it's like why you don't sleep nude. Fire starts, you have to run out completely nude and can't relate to that, the whole ordeal. So in case if a robber breaks in, well, he's got his staff, right? Men. The firemen are like, ew, that guy's naked. We're not going to help him. Also, no one plays pranks on Bill while he's sleeping because they're afraid he'll just whack him with his staff while he's sleeping. Classic. Classic. Awesome. Uh, Brock learned that the hard way. Yeah.
Speaker A: Through a rock. In return.
Speaker B: It's fine. I would jump over to Brock for his answer, but I just have a weird thing about the order in the table.
Speaker A: Nobody knows the order.
Speaker B: But you would know the order of the table if you follow our discord and saw the picture that Cameron just posted.
Speaker A: I'm not in it.
Speaker B: You can just assume. Uh, all right. So Dave playing Guohan, what does Guo do to get a good night's sleep? So Guo goes to, uh, the upstairs of the shop. Um, he goes and hangs a hammock in the top rafters above an open window. And he gets in there and he sleeps so he can hear the sound of the passing traffic. Otherwise it's a little too quiet for him. He's used to, uh, the hustle and bustle of a carnival and the weird animal noises. So. Better than nothing. Yeah, it's not quite the same. No, I can totally relate to that. Moving over to the final player, we've got Connor playing Brock. Uh, what does Brock got to do to get a good night's sleep in this dang know, growing up in the fArm, in the farmlands, yes. You got a lot of big critters that could come and try and eat you. Goodness. I know, it's terrible. So the way Brock learned how to sleep from a young age is what, uh, I might affectionately call the Minecraft. First night in hardcore, he earth bends a chunk of earth out of the ground, steps into it, makes himself a little bed and then shuts the top. Oh, my God. As for protection, obviously, from the large.
Speaker A: Do you leave like a little air hole?
Speaker B: No, he suffocates every night. No, you don't need it in my.
Speaker A: That's how he sleeps so good.
Speaker B: Brock enables, cheats so that he doesn't have to breathe. So that's only if he's out in the wilderness. If he's at home, he'll just make a stone bed with a stone pillow and a stone blanket.
Speaker A: It's like a weighted blanket.
Speaker B: Yeah, it's exactly like a weight.
Speaker A: You make your bed every night.
Speaker B: He makes his stone bed, you see, sort of in the morning suffocating. So the stone bed is probably 20ft off the ground and so he'll Earth bend the blanket above him and he'll slam it down onto his torso. So the blanket is now flush with the top of the stone bed. Okay, so his body is inside the rock.
Speaker A: You're like mummifying yourself.
Speaker B: He's, uh, like Han Solo carbonite every night. Is it like one of those kids toys? Not an etched sketch, but the thing. Oh, where you put your hand in it and then with all the little needles stick out. Yeah. The other side. Or like a hot solo and carbonite situation? Yeah, exactly like that. That's how we sleep. We all have put our face into it, even though we know, like, 100 kids have probably had their hands all over that because you're just like, what would it look like? And that way, no one short sheets his bed. That's right. Yeah, that's right. Oh, man. When he goes to the mattress store and they're like, do you prefer them soft or firm?
Speaker A: Called a pin art board.
Speaker B: A pin art board. I want a rock. I want a rock. That's awesome. All right, perfect. Well, with our questions about sleep out of the way, let's get back to where all the characters are actively not sleeping in. Benders and bruise. Uh, Gwao and Bill are both hanging, uh, out over at the blissful brew booth. Uh, we've got Connor. Actually, I'll come back to that. We've got Mika, who is masked and wandering about the mansion, as far as we know, uh, not sleeping. That's correct. Um, in her mask, trying to participate in this strange game that she suddenly has kind of found herself participating in all of a sudden at this rich party. Um, ironically, also wearing a mask and fancy attire, is Brock, who has just managed to drop Madame Yang, who was in another room, uh, through the wall, sort of dropped her into a hole. Is he trying to put her to real? It's a real sleep based episode for how awake everyone is. So I'm going to kick things off with, uh, Brock, just because I'm sure we're all concerned. What are you going to do now that you've got Madame Yang in a hole? All right, so I got Madame Yang in a hole. You got Madame Yang in a hole. I'm going to go into that room. I'm going to go into that room that Madame Yang was just in. Okay. There are two individuals in there with her. Don't forget that. Technically, three. There's the hypnotized, um, employee, and then there's the two that she had that were, like, guarding the door when she wasn't there. Right? So in that case, I still have the lines on the floor. So m I'm going to Earth bend. Just do, like, one of little sidekick things. Sidekick. And conjure a lid on top of the hole that I just put them out of the angle. Okay. From the other side still in my little other room there.
Speaker A: Like your pet.
Speaker B: Okay, so they are about to reach down her two side. Bodyguards. Whatever. About to. Like, they're surprised. Obviously, everybody's taken aback when the hole initially opens up and just swallows Madame Yang into it. Um, so they're taking aback. So before they can respond and grab her hand and try to pull her out, you kick the floor, shooting this rock slab outwards, covering the hole, putting a lid on it, uh, much like you've done a couple times now to, uh, keep dilbert inside of his little, uh, makeshift aquarium you guys have created. They, uh, are very surprised. They are looking about. Madame Yang is furiously shouting from inside of this hole.
Speaker A: Let me out. Let me out this instant. Uh, unbelievable.
Speaker B: And they are just unsure what to do. Okay, so how many people did Madame Yang pull, um, out of? I think you said there were like, what, two dozen? Yeah. So how did that. We'll say two dozen. How many did she pull aside before this interaction here? Uh, do you want me to include the one that's in there right now or not include that one? Uh, not including. Okay, so it'd be like three. Like three. Yeah. She didn't get very far. And then, of course, there's one in the room right now who is equally confused, pretty startled. Uh, kind of just backing up and just standing against one of the walls. Just kind of like very. Just like I said, confused, scared. Uh, the person he works for and who is very controlling of him or her, uh, just got swallowed up by a random hole in the floor and then resealed over. The mouth has closed, so to speak. So let's go with. He. He is very confused. All right, so I'm going to walk out of my room. Walk out of the room I'm in. Okay. I'm going to Earth Bend, I should say, not conjure a stone wall on the inside of the room next to me as I walk out and I go and confront the old man again. Okay. So that way they can't get out. Okay, sounds m good. So keeping them from being able to get to the door in the first place. Okay. Uh, yeah, you do that. You do that. So you basically pull up a wall on the inside of this room, causing them to be unable to get to the door. Got it. All right, sounds good. You've essentially trapped them all into, uh, this space for the time being. All part of the plan. I'm going to go talk to that guy, uh, that said he was with Madame Yang in the last episode. Okay, sounds good. All right, so uh, you head out, and sure enough, he's still standing there, kind of eyeballing, uh, the booth from a distance. The blissful brew booth from A distance. Now, you had talked to him before, didn't you? Yeah, I talked to him. Okay, cool. And he says, oh, yes, hello. It's you. You know, um, I actually just met, um, Madame Yang, the woman you said that, uh, you're here. Um, you know, I just talked to her. She's a wonderful woman. We just had a lovely conversation. Uh, she sent me out to come get you. She said she needed you for something. Okay. Um, where is she at right now? Oh, she's, uh, towards the back. Um, I can take you there if you want. Yes, of course. That would be great. Absolutely. This house is amazed as it is. It's so all large and filled with so many rooms. Oh, yeah. I would lose myself if I lived here. Absolutely. Amount of cleaning a person has to do. Yes. And he follows you. I mean, he's just kind of rambling on as you guys walk. Okay, so as we're walking up to it in conversation, I bring down the wall from the inside. As we're walking up, I hide it with a sneeze. With a little. Okay. Like how people hide a fart with a sneeze. Like that. I do that. The old combo. So I open the door, or I let him go first. Oh, okay. I let him go first in there. And, uh, can I just try and close the door behind him and then build a wall on the outside? Okay, let me play this out. Um, so you say, oh, she's in there, basically. Um, you've lowered the wall and everything. He opens the door, and immediately a fist flies out and just punches him right square in the face. And then they grab him. So one bodyguard is, like, on one side inside the door. Obviously, they saw when the wall came down, and they quickly prepared themselves by the door to attack whoever came in. Uh, the other ones on the other side of the door grabs him, who is now, like, kind of stumbling a little bit because he just got punched in the face, pulls him into the room, slams him up against the wall, at which case you reseal. Okay. So they grabbed him and throw him against the wall. Can I go back into my room and listen in? Uh, yeah, absolutely. All right. Do I need to roll for that? Because I think I had to roll last time. Yeah, give me just another. I mean, I'd say between the two activities of, uh, getting the timing just right with the wall and then going and listening. Let's do, ah, um, rely on your skills and training. Is that for bringing the wall down on time or for listening? Let's just go with more listening. Okay. It does feel a little weird because what if you failed or something? Rely on skills and training. Let's focus. So I don't have, oh five. Um, all you're hearing is like, Charlie Brown adult voices. Just. All right. But they don't. I guess, if anything, the one thing that you do notice is that they don't sound. I, um, don't want to say like violent, but kind of like aggressive. They sound like things have cooled down, possibly once they realized who it was to the extent of they're not obviously wailing on him and probably apologizing. Okay, so at this point, I'll just go back into the party and I'll try and mingle amongst the people while thinking of a next move. Okay, sounds good. Uh, with that, I'm going to cut back over to the duo at the blissful Brew. You guys are fiercely serving customers as they come by filling up teacups, filling up, uh, sort of those like side ingredients, whether it be the honey jar or the fruit things along those lines that you can kind of decorate or put into your teas. Uh, whatever the case, uh, the sugar. You guys are trying to keep everything stocked and everything. And then, uh, Mr. Okeron, he approaches you guys. He is like sweating. Uh, he's actually sort of taking the top half of his robe off at this point. Um, he's been both working super know with a lot of physical activity while, uh, he's been making this tea. And then to top it off, the tea is like the big pot is over a fire. So it's very hot. Where he's working from. Mr. Ochros. That's right. So he stands there in front of you in quite a state, and, um, he says, bill, we have a bit of a problem. We're running out of ingredients. It seems that whatever's going on with the hot leaf juice inSide, all the customers have come out here for tea. And I mean, on such a beautiful night as this, I can't imagine why not. And so we've served too many customers and we don't have much left. I'm not really sure what to do. Do you guys have any ideas? Yeah, we're down to our last croc of honey. What a bother. But.
Speaker A: Uh, I love how you conveniently waited. What a bother.
Speaker B: What a bother.
Speaker A: Wait for laughter.
Speaker B: You got a laugh track on this, right? Uh, well, didn't Mika say she stopped somebody from going to the market. So there must be someplace nearby where we could get some more ingredients. You might be right. But the thing I worry about is whether or not they're even still open. It is growing quite late. It, uh, looks like it's about maybe, uh, 08:00 or so. Maybe nine. Do you know where Brock is? I haven't seen him in quite a while, but Miki either. You think she's still having trouble changing into her uniform? Uh, Brock's occasionally. It's been two episodes. Brock's busy stealing, uh, our teacups, apparently. And Mika, uh, is gone. Gone? Mika died. And Mr. Ogron falls on his knees and he starts. You can't tell if it's sweat or tears, but you assume by his coughs of emotion that it must be tears. At this point, I don't understand what could have possibly happened to her. No, uh, I think Mika just got caught up in the party spirit and it's like a night such as this. I'm not going to work. Oh, that is a relief.
Speaker A: Is this all what you think of me?
Speaker B: You had me so worried. Do you just assume that if we just disappear for a couple hours, we're dead, Mr. Okaron? Well, not unless someone looks me in the eye and says that they're gone. Gone for good. Bill, we need to work on your said for good.
Speaker A: You said she's gone, like, really gone.
Speaker B: Well, I'm sorry, random. I'm sorry, random patron. This, uh, is no discussion. That belongs to you, okay? We'll get you your tea entirely. That's obviously. He doesn't even have a mask on. Because he lost the game already. Yeah, uh, he's just like leaned over like. Well, he did say he's gone gone. Sure. Yes. Also, could I get some more honey? We're down to our last smack roll, apparently. Uh, is that what he says? It's very. A lot of input from this guy and he walks away drinking his raw. As the person who actually, uh, knows nothing about tea, I have zero solutions for this situation. That's okay, Bill. I, uh, uh, appreciate the honesty. Yeah. So I could just leave. Hold on. Can you go find Brock? Can I find Brock? Sure, I guess I can find Brock. I mean, I kind of know what he looks like. He's currently in a disguise, so that's a little weird. Oh, that's true. That's true. We worked together for five years. Yeah, because he showed up and took our tea in a disguise. And then I assumed someone was just stealing our tea, and then Brock was like, no, it's me. And started winking at me under a mask, which I was still confused because a lot of people have been winking at me under masks tonight. Uh, are you telling me that Brock was able to wink at you? Oh, I'm so proud of the boy. He's been practicing his wink. He always blinks instead of winks. And I've tried everything to know. I've held his eyelid open for him. Anything it takes, because he was really intent on learning the wink. And I can't believe tonight was the know. Mr. O'Cryon, have you ever been told that you just do too much for know? Nothing is too much for you guys? Uh, I love all of you so much. Uh, you've brought so much joy to my life. Well, I wish I could have seen it, uh, seeing Brock wink for the first time. It would have been like watching a child learn. Can I leave now? You're going to come back, right? No, I'll be gone. Gone. And with that, Bill just starts walking away with his staff. Such a jerk. And he turns around, he says, watch the shop, guao. Okay, I'll do what I can. All right. So, Bill, you walk off into the, um. What are you said you were just going to go mingle. Yeah, just sort of blend in, keep a low profile. I guess I could probably go back and check out the brew. Sure. Well, then on your way, you actually run into, uh, biLl, who obviously isn't wearing a mask. Um, and he more or less, uh, notices yours. And Bill's a pretty attentive guy, I'd say. So he remembers which mask and stuff you were wearing and catches you. Bill walks up behind Brock and he's like, ah, there's the tea culprit I've been looking for. And it scares Brockle, okay? You steal two glasses, two, what do they call two teacups, and suddenly you're labeled as a criminal. So what are you doing out here? Why aren't you man in the pop up shop? Well, you see, uh, there's been a. How busy is it around us in your immediate space? Um, I'd say you're probably still inside the mansion, so pretty busy. Uh, uh, Bill's going to kind of usher Brock to the side, okay? Under his breath, he's going to say, well, you and Mika have done a great job, because apparently every single customer from hot leaf has just been coming to our stand. Blissful brew. And now we're out of supplies. What kind of supplies do you need? Like, everything. I have absolutely no idea uh, because, I don't know, tea. Uh, Mr. Okran just said we're out of, so. Well, it just so happens I know where some ingredients are. Like the ones you stat ditched for us. Yeah, they may or may not have been launched into the, uh, topiary maze in the backyard. You threw them into the maze? I didn't throw them. I launched them. You launched them. Yeah. That is cooler. I will admit that. Uh, and if I can get a bit meta here. If I recall correctly, my role made it to where they're all condensed in one location. So we find one cart, we can find them all. And then we would not. I mean, the weeds, if that's where, you know, ingredients are, uh, let's just go right there and start looking, I guess. All right. How good are you with wheezes? Oh, I'm a natural. Then, uh, I'll let you wink. Hey, don't weaken me. That's my just. Apparently, you just mastered it. I don't. Oh, yeah. Did Mr. O'Cron tell you? Did he tell you how he held my eyes open? Yeah. What a guy. Right? What a guy. That's one way to describe him. Uh, with that, Bill starts leaving to go to the maze. All right, I guess I'm by myself again. Hey, everyone. Skyler the Game Master, here to share with you another review we received on iTunes from one of our amazing listeners who took a little time out of their day to share their appreciation for the show. Great. Like a warm cup of tea, the story is best described as a slice of life with Dash of crime. The characters and their light hearted antics, which include kidnapping a cephalopod, balances the show's serious foundation of giant corporations obliterating small rivals in a quest to create a bland culture that can be easily commodified and sold. Overall, this show has been a delightful surprise. The premise, a local tea shop's struggle to take back a contract from a national tea chain, creates a fun, intimate, and focused story. A big contrast from the epic adventures of the Avatar franchise on which it's based. A sprinkling of sound effects and voice acting, as well as excellent editing, makes for polished product anyone, not just the fans of the show, can enjoy. We, the cast of Benders and Brews podcast, just want to say an absolutely massive thank you to Willow for writing such a thoughtful review. It's audience response like this that really makes the show and all the hard work that we put into it, totally worth it. If you listen through iTunes or you have an Apple account, it would really mean a lot to us if you would also take the time to drop us a review there and let us know how we're doing. It helps the podcast and assists in promoting the show through the Apple Podcast platform so that others can find and enjoy the podcast as well. And it sure would mean a lot to all of us who spend hours recording and editing the show. Once again, a huge thank you to Willow for this review. Now, let's get back to the show.
Speaker B: Brock, you can follow me if you want. Can I launch you in the maze?
Speaker A: Do it.
Speaker B: No. Then I don't want to go. Okay, well. Oh, wow. Walk through a maze. All right, so, Bill, uh, you head to the back. Mika, what are you doIng?
Speaker A: Yeah, I was supposed to find an outfit so I'd be more in a disguise.
Speaker B: Right?
Speaker A: And then I was going to go into the maze just for kicks and giggles.
Speaker B: Okay, because you've found an outfit at this point.
Speaker A: Well, then I'm in the maze or headed to the maze.
Speaker B: You're headed to the maze. Let's go.
Speaker A: Whatever time goes.
Speaker B: So you are headed to the maze. You have a mask on, too, right? That's right. Uh, um, what kind of mask do you have on? I don't know what you look fox. Okay.
Speaker A: A white.
Speaker B: She's a kitsune.
Speaker A: Yep.
Speaker B: So she's headed to the maze. And you see Bill as he is also approaching the, uh, opening of the maze. And obviously, he doesn't recognize you. You just look, know, a partygoer with a mask on and everything, but you recognize him because he does not have that kind of stuff on. Um, just putting that info out there. I mean, if you want to do something with it or not. Whatever you want to do. Uh, Bill just kind of walks past this stranger, goes, oh, uh, excuse me. And he, like, shimmies past her.
Speaker A: I'm gonna left.
Speaker B: Uh, or right?
Speaker A: I'm gonna follow him like a shadow.
Speaker B: Always go right. That's what my papa taught me. Standing outside of the maze is a servant. And they go, oh, are you going to, uh, go into the maze today? Yeah, I'm going right. Uh. Oh, okay. Uh, well, just so you know, is there a map? Uh, no, there is no map of the maze. That would really bring the fun. Maybe more of a natural. Uh, but just to forewarn you, uh, there are rumors that a spirit lives inside of this maze.
Speaker A: We love that.
Speaker B: What kind of spirit? Do you say that?
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: Okay. We love is the spirit. No. Oh, I don't believe so. Okay. They say it is the spirit, uh, of lost things. And they say if you find it, it will help you find something that you've lost.
Speaker B: Only if you can solve its riddle. I'm not really. Okay, I guess I'll solve it. I am a little high strung right now because of a lot of stress in the party and stuff. And, uh, no promises. Anyways, I'm walking in now. Uh, okay. We'll have a nice time in the maze. Nice. Sounds like you could have used Guohan. In the spirit of secrets, isn't Guohan the smart one of the party? Like, you can go get him? Uh, no, Bill, no. He's determined. See, that's the problem with Bill. He's determined to find this crate because that was the mission he was sent out on, and he would feel like he would look like a bit of a doofus if he came back empty handed because of a little spirit.
Speaker A: Uh, can I make this really difficult for you? Because if he's only going to go right. I want to go left.
Speaker B: That's just going to make things really difficult. Bill goes right. Uh, are you actually going to go left? I thought you were following me.
Speaker A: Oh, I was, but then I say left, and you say, no, I'm going right and I go left.
Speaker B: I'm not listening to instructions from a stranger. Bill was taught very well by his parents about avoiding strangers. Basically, I'm not talking about you as the servant. Rich people can still be strangers, Michaela.
Speaker A: They don't look like a servant, is what I'm getting.
Speaker B: The other person was a servant because.
Speaker A: He said, I'm not taking directions from a stranger, much less a servant.
Speaker B: Oh, yeah, correct. Right. Okay, fine. All right, so, Bill, you go to the right, and you're walking along and stuff like that. And eventually, um, you come across, like, another couple. That's. I say another couple, you come across a couple that is walking through the maze very romantically, holding hands, giving each other goo goo eyes. They see you, they're like, oh. And they kind of, um, act like they weren't canoodling or anything until you pass them. Uh, and then you walk a little further and you start to realize that there's a lot of couples in this maze. Uh, because you pass, like, maybe one or two more couples, uh, giggling amongst themselves, things like that. It's kind of awkward. They eye you a little bit weird because you're by yourself. You kind of get the feeling that the whole idea of going into a maze at night is really a couple's thing. Um, I mean, obviously you have a mission, but I digress. Um, at one point, you actually hear someone shout, hey, honey, I found a banana mango over here. What's that doing in this maze? What direction is that coming from? Uh, it's coming from like, it'd be straight ahead of know minus the fact that know hedge walls straight in front of you. Can Bill stick his hand to the hedge wall? Yeah. Does it go out the other side? Um, you'd have to take, like, maybe two to three steps to get all the way through. Ah, can Bill just, like, back up and just jump through It? Since you're doing it this specific way? Uh, I'm going to say push your luck. Nine. Okay, so you successfully just kind of start plowing through, uh, these walls in this maze. Uh, the downside is that you get, like, real scraped up pretty bad. You take a fatigue. Am I on the other side now? As the people who said something on the other side? Uh, yeah. You see a man in a very fine robe. Uh, he's wearing a mask, and he's standing there holding a banana mango. And he's shouting for somebody. And then he's. Oh, he sees you just, like, burst through the maze. Oh, I tripped. Clutches his banana. Mango. I tripped. Are you okay? No, I tripped. Oh, dear. Yes. Yeah. Let me help you up. Here, take my hand. Uh, sure. Bill takes his hand, stands up. Bill just kind of walks around him and then just starts looking for a crate or something. I dare say, sir, what was it that you are looking for? Uh, those mango. The mango thing you got there. Well, uh, I can give it to you after I showed my film. I don't care if you keep it. It's just that came from something else. It came from the ground, so I don't really want to keep it. I don't want it either. I'm just looking for. I'll toss it once I've. Oh, yes. Well, I found a trail of fruit leading just over behind, uh, the corner here. Uh, Bill's going to look around the corner. Does he see a trail? Yes. Is it, like, laid one after another? No. Okay. Bill's going to start. He's going to say, oh, thank you. Uh, that's exactly who I've been looking for. Well, I was lost in this maze. Can't even find my fiance. But I should have helped you find something. I love your laugh. Well, thank you. Okay, I'm leaving now. Bye, sir. Bye. Have a nice night. You got roasted for being single. Yeah. He never actually had a fiance. He's just been shouting for, like, somebody that doesn't even exist. Hey, maybe he'll find someone, uh, else who is also lying about a fiance, and then they will be perfect for each other. He'll have a lovely night with his banana mango. Oh, no. Anyways, we are smoothies. Smoothies. Many smoothie adventures follow the trail. All right, so you follow this. Well, it's a very short trail because you quickly find the crate. Oh, look at that stuff that. It's like, one of the corners is busted. And that's where stuff kind of spilled out as it hit the ground. Um, the fruit itself, for the most part, is intact. Uh, especially the stuff that's still, like, inside the crate. It's just like one of the corners kind of just got obliterated, and some of the fruit kind of spilled out on the trail a little distance just from the impact. Basically, Bill's going to kind of pick up close fruit and then just kind of rub it on his vest, and he's just going to place into the crate. Okay. And then he's going to pick up the crate and then start heading back the way he came. Pick up the crate? Yeah. You're transported to a graveyard. It was a port key. What game are we playing? Uh, we have left Avatar legends, and we have entered Avatar dungeons and dragons. Um, okay, so basically, you start picking up all this fruit and stuff like that. Now, when you say you go back the way you came, does that include plowing through several hedges? No, I would just go back down the way I came, and then I would just hop through the hole I made. Right. And then just go back that way. Okay. All right, sounds good. Yeah. I mean, uh, after a while, it takes you maybe a little bit longer. Like, you have to double back a couple of times. But all things considered, you're eventually able to figure out where it was that you were supposed to be. I'm a natural at mazes. Sure. But whatever the case. Yeah. Okay, so you make it outside of the maze. I go back to the blissful brew stand. On your way back, you, uh, notice a hot leaf juice employee that's walking by, and just out of the corner of their eye, you see them notice you, and see your crate full of ingredients labeled with their logo on it. Oh, is it? Well, I guess I wouldn't know that. I didn't look. That's okay. And turns and starts walking somewhat aggressively towards yoU. Does Bill see this? Yes. Um, he's just going to keep walking the same way. He's this, uh, this employee, this HLJ. Sounds so weird to say it. Like that employee approach or manages to catch up to you, and they're like, hey, what do you think you're doing with that box? Um, taking it to my stand. Roll. A trick. I know you might not intentionally mean it as a trick, but the way you phrased it, technically, I mean, you could be like, five. Okay, uh, he sees that you have the blissful brew uniform on, and he says, what are you doing with our fruit? This must be the fruit that's been missing all day. Uh, Bill's going to quickly, uh, obviously, glance at the side of it, where he now sees for the first time it's got a clear logo on it. He goes, oh, well, I found it in the maze, and I figured something lost in the maze clearly isn't being used. So I figured, uh, my tea company, I was using the maze and I was like, hey, my company could use this. I feel like you guys must have taken it and stashed it in the maze until later. If we wanted it, why didn't we just take it? Because then people would have seen the big old logo on the box when you guys first started and would have been like, hm, what's up with that? I didn't actually see this logo. Uh, so clearly that would have been a problem earlier. Yeah, well, now that you've seen it, you know that it doesn't belong to you. Now give it back. Yeah, he seems like he's getting kind of upset and he starts to grab the box like he's going to try to rip it out of your hands. Uh, hey, buddy, um, no one likes your guys'tea. Well, because we don't have all our ingredients. That's not what I've been hearing. I've been hearing it just tastes bad. And honestly, because we don't have all our ingredients, they're all coming to our stand. And I've already had a couple of your friends trying to steal our tea. And I had to beat them off with a stick, this stick. And he kind of like motions with the stick behind him. He goes, yeah, so I want to do it to you, but I will do it to you. Just Let go of the tea and I'm going to leave you alone. All right, roll and intimidate nine. I'm going to do it to him. If he does anymore and he has to pick one of these options. But he gets to pick, uh, yeah, he's going to attack you, but he's off balance. So I'm going to mark a condition for this hot leaf juice employee. Exchange. Exchange. Okay. So he is marked angry. I know an action I want to do. Okay. But I don't know what it would fit under. Okay. Uh, when he advanced to me to toss the crate at him so that he would catch it, and then when he was going to catch it and he would be off balance by the weight he's quickly catching, Bill would take out, uh, his staff and then sweep his, um, let's say. Let's call it a strike, because one of the options on strike is to have them mark a condition. And so what you could do is mark a condition to have them, uh, basically stunned. Yeah. Uh, okay, that makes sense. Okay, sounds good. He's also going to take the advance and attack option. But, uh, players, I believe roll first. So feel. Go ahead and 1212. Oh, wow. Okay, so you get to pick, like, give them a double check here. Yeah, you get to choose. You can, uh, mark one fatigue to use a learn technique. You can use one practice technique, you can use two basic or mastered techniques. So you have quite a bit of options here. Honestly, if you wanted to, you could just do, I think, technically speaking, you're not supposed to take the same one twice. But I don't see an issue with it, especially given the way that you described it. If you wanted to strike twice, since the first one is to essentially throw the box at him, could I, for example, strike him, which knocks him to the ground and then pressure him? Yeah, definitely. Okay. Yeah. If I do that, then I knock him to the ground. And then, uh, because my idea was after he fell into the ground, he's got this crate in his hands, kind, uh, of like stumble around. Maybe he even dropped it. We, uh, could say that he's trapped, but he took, since you can mark a condition, you could say he's trapped. I don't care which one it is, because regardless of how he lands, Bill's then just going to point the staff at the side of his head. Okay. And he's going to say, I'll be taking that box of crate. I'll take that crate now. Okay. So I'm just going to say, yeah, okay. So you throw the crate at him like you said you would. Him being ready to attack you, it throws him off balance. He's not expecting it, so he catches it, but in the process falls backwards. Now this, like 80 pound, 70, 80 pound crate of fruit is on top of him. Uh, and he's just like, laying there practically sprawled out. He's trying to push it up. You put your bow staff up to his head, and you say, I'll be taking that fruit now. And he, yeah, yeah, go ahead, dig. It really hurts. Okay. And then Bill's just going to give him a look that's like, don't mess with me. And he's going to slide the staff back onto his back and then, uh, just pick up the crate off of him. Okay, sounds good. You pick up the crate. Uh, the guy kind of lays there for a second. I mean, he's kind of just, oh, gosh. Trying to catch his breath, essentially. So he's not bothering you. Okay. Bill's going to just kind of pick up the crate and he's going to start walking away. Okay. Eventually you do see that you kind of, like, look back and you notice that he does stand up. He looks pretty beat up, and he just kind of limps back into the mean. Bill assumes that won't be the last of him, but he already has a plan. So now that he knows that there's a marking on that, uh, Crate. He's going to turn the look at them around the box. Was it only on one side of the box, or was it, uh, I'd say, like one on each side? On the wide sides or. Yeah. Okay, so he's going to hold it on those logos. That's how he's going to hold it. So his hands are like, kind of covering those logos. And then when he gets to the crate, he's going to be like, oh, Mr. Okron, look, I found some fruit. Maybe we can make more fruit teas. Uh. Oh, my gosh. Where did you find this fruit? Funny enough, I found them in the hedge maze. What? Apparently, I think it was part of a game. I don't know for sure, but kind of like the mass game. I figured fruit and tea sounds good, obviously. Yes. Let me see. He reaches over hold, um on, and he takes Bill then walks over to the cart, sees an open spot, and he's just going to turn the cray over, flip it over and just dump all the fruit into the, don't. We don't want to bruise. Oh, it's fine, it's fine. This fruit's been through bot after he's like, oh, take a look at it. See, it's pretty good. When Mr. O'Cron looks down, Bill's then going to snap the sides of the box. On the sny sides of the box when he's not looking. Oh, okay. He's sure he's going to hear and he'll look up, he'll be like, oh, ah, the box was bad. I'll, uh, get rid of it. And Bill just starts taking pieces and he finds like, you want to throw him in the fire? Yeah, he finds a fire. Yeah. And he just saves me on a trip to go get more. Would find the fire, tosses them, and they walks back. He's like, yeah, there you go. Strange. These ingredients are exactly what my recipe calls for. Oh, wow, this is quite the strange. Did they plan this explicitly for us? I feel like they planned it for us. In hot leaf juice. They had said, oh, let's take their ingredient list and let's get them a restock and hide it on the guys. These rich people, Bill, I tell you what, I don't know, but the rich people that were in the hedge maze really were loving these fruit one guy wouldn't shut up about. So he did open up this game to the whole so, but I felt know fruit in a maze versus fruit that's accessible to all in a tea would be slightly better. So that's why I kind of took it for myself. I didn't ask anyone. Maybe I should have asked, like, Steven with a V, but, you know. Yeah, well, we're here. Mean, why else would a crate full of fruit be in a maze? That's what I thought. That's too ridiculous to possibly be, like, a storing place. I mean, some of these fruits have to be kept cold. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It just seems ridiculous. Anyways. Well, fantastic find, Bill. You did very good. I'm very proud of you. Thank you. Oh, thank you. That means a lot. Oh, yes. Absolutely. Calling me blown away. Anyways, uh, let's get to work. Let's get this tea going. All right? And Bill just kind of takes up his usual position in the front, uh, to serve customers, and I guess he's now promoting the fresh fruit tea that they just got right on in stock. Now, Guo, out of curiosity, while they were gone, we'll do a little bit of backtracking. Is there anything you were up to specifically? You had a lot of customers coming by. They wanted tea. Uh, you were kind of, like, training just the little bit left you guys had in the pot. I mean, you might have even been, I don't know, watering some down, maybe adding a little extra water to it to make it last. Uh, Mr. Okaron obviously is just doing his best to really just maximize the ingredients that you guys have left. Um, yeah, Guo was, ah, he was doing, like, flights of tea samples to make the most use of what they had. Sure. Um, yeah. Uh, some of the people would walk by, and they'd be like, oh, um, is this alcoholic tea? Uh, I mean, it can be if you supply your own. By O. D. Bring your own drink, you say? Yeah. And then, uh, he calls out. He's like, yola, seven, bring us Raspberry cold. Jill, he's talking to me. No, he's talking to, like, just a passerby. Uh, servant. The servant says, yes, right away, sir, and brushes off back into the house, and shortly after, brings out a bottle of, uh, this wine, which he then takes, uh, some flights of your, is that what you call them? You just call them flights. Right. Yeah, the glasses. Right. Okay. He starts pouring just a little bit of wine in each one of them, and, um, he starts kind of, like, handing them to, um, some of his friends that he's gathered around him. He's like, oh, let's try. This is quite delectable. Uh, I could heat that up for you if you wanted to. Sure. Yeah. He takes it, uh, he puts it in, uh, a pot and heats it over the fire, um, to allow it to kind of, like, fully mix into itself. Okay. Raise everything. Quite the experience. I made this for you. Drink my tea wine. The irony of the situation is that it's actually brought more customers over because, uh, now you've got these people, these high society people that are just, uh, uh, excitedly sipping away at this tea wine that they've kind of, uh, helped discovered, and they're like, who do you serve? Do you serve this at your tea shop? Is this, uh, one of, like, the late night specials? It's kind of a secret menu item. You ever heard of that? Uh, no. I mean, I've heard many secrets, but not about a secret menu. Only those in the know can ask for it, you know? Well, does that mean that I now know, and I just tap, uh, my nose? Oh, he taps his nose back. He says, oh, and, uh, is that guy who asked for the cordial still around? Yeah, he's the one you're talking. Yeah, sorry. Uh, he's kind of taking the lead on this one. Hey, would you mind, uh, we're actually running low on, uh, some of our supplies. Would you mind getting that servant to bring us some more of this cordial? Oh, of course. Excuse me, servant. Could you supply them with, uh, whatever you need? Uh, I would like to make sure that this drink is kept on tap all night long. Thanks. I appreciate that. I mean, I'm a little young to be asking for that. He'd probably think, yes, of course. I see. It's funny. Yes. No. Uh, if you guys keep this coming, I tell you what. I'll make sure everybody stopped from this whole party stops by your booth. When I left the stand to lift Guohan in charge, I did not expect it to come back to it turned into a bar. He's running a little. He's running a distillery over there. He's gone for 15 minutes. This is what Guohan dreams of doing when Mr. Okaron gives the shop to him. Eventually, you know what the real dream, it all started with him giving that one really weird drink to that drunk guy and how it's dreaming. He liked it. What else can I make? Well, and then I think that the real humor to this, too, Is that, uh, Glo's idea to make tea wine is obviously greatly receptive by people, but Glow's idea to hold a block party got shot down pretty dang fast because beating people up and stealing from rich people is way that was Guo secretly trying to get, uh, his alcoholic tea out there. We shot it down. So he's like, I've got a different way. I'll wait till they're all gone. Dan, this is going to be, like, the next big thing. Uh, Mr. Okuron is so focused on trying to make sure that all his ingredients last and whatnot that he has no idea that Guo is doing what he's doing. Um, but obviously, uh, it's working. Yeah, well, he's stoking the fire. Guo is just, like, pouring the wine into the kettle right next to him. He turns his bag, and he pours them in. It's okay, everybody. Here's an adult. I'm spiking the tea. Oh, gosh. Well, we are going to have to. Okay, well, uh, after. People prefer this over hotly. Yeah, that's right. They got more than they were bargaining for. So you continue to do that, Brockman, or eventually Bill comes back. This is what happens when we have two characters that both start with could come back. Um, well, yeah. Bill returns to blissful, uh, brews Booth to find that there are even more people there than when he left excitedly getting drinks. Right now at your booth, you're almost confused as to where is it all coming. So, uh, yeah, you had that conversation with Mr. O. And I'm like, oh, some of this fruit would be perfect for a garnish, this new drink I came up with. And, uh, Bill's going to kind of take a little Gua to the side with the furries. Go, hey, what's this special order they keep asking for? Like, they keep coming back, asking for seconds and thirds and I don't remember this secret menu. Oh, yeah. Also, by the way, uh, Bill, every time someone asks for the secret menu, I swear, do they wink? They wink. Oh, come on. And they tap their nose. They're asking for a secret menu and winking at me. What did you do while I was gone? Don't tell Mr. Okeron, but we were running out of stuff, and, uh, I was trying to stretch it as much as I could. I was doing, like, samples and flights of different kinds. And then this one guy, that guy right over there. Oh, the guy in line for his fifth, you just hear the one staggering. He, uh, asked for some wine, some cordial, like fruity wine. Obviously wine's fruity, but extra, uh, strong. He was putting it in his drink, and that gave me an idea. Maybe we could heat that up. So I did. And that's what's in the ketle right now, you see, like, Mr. Okerhan happily, you. Oh, I fully understand now. Okay, you know what? I love this idea. I think it's going to bring even more customers. Yes, it has. Uh, we really need to keep this hush because I'm pretty sure Mr. Okaron does not have a liquor license. Uh, yeah, especially if he finds out a, how you say, minor was the one serving the liquor. I think that might be even more of an issue. But worst comes the worst, Gohan. I'll take the blame. Don't worry about it. And, ah, Vil just kind of turns around and goes, uh, ah. Special order coming right up. And Bill gives them a wink. Wonderful. And I'll work on making some fake mustaches, just like we keep you around, Guawn. You're the man with the plan. Bill's going to turn around, looking nice, mustache, cut a little bit of hair off of his head, and just fashion stuck it to his upper lips. We're, uh, going to transition real quick over to, uh, Mika. Uh, Mika, who is currently wandering through the maze.
Speaker A: Uh, I'm not wandering. I know where I'm going.
Speaker B: She knows exactly where she's going. Where are you going, then?
Speaker A: The center of the maze.
Speaker B: Okay, sure enough. How would you know? You're there.
Speaker A: Sure that there's some, like, elaborate thing in the middle of the maze. That's how most fancy mazes are. Once you get to the middle, there's something cool.
Speaker B: That's where all the people, the crates, never ended up. In the middle of the maze.
Speaker A: M they're not looking for the crates.
Speaker B: You just went to wander?
Speaker A: I'm trying to hide from everybody.
Speaker B: I think she assumed Bill was going through the maze.
Speaker A: HLJ is looking through the maze.
Speaker B: HLJ's out together. I think she's, like, racing bill secretly.
Speaker A: No, I'm not racing. I literally am going into the maze so people can't find me.
Speaker B: That's, uh, smart. Well, you got to be prepared for some riddles and also for a lot of people making out. Yeah, there's a ton of probably in the middle of the maze.
Speaker A: As long as I don't have to make out, that's fine.
Speaker B: I would certainly hope not. Because your character is under 18, right?
Speaker A: No, she's, like, 1817.
Speaker B: I think we all agreed everyone here is 17, but Guohan, who is 15.
Speaker A: Yeah, I'm 17, so I guess I'm still a minor.
Speaker B: That's what I, uh, thought. So the last one who should be serving alcohol. That's why Bill was like, I'll take the blame, if anything, because a 17 year old serving alcohol is a little more forgiving than like, yeah, whatever. 17. A 14 year old serving alcohol. Uh, okay, so Mika, I'm going to have you roll and assess the situation.
Speaker A: You just can't take it that I'm so good at what I do.
Speaker B: Well, one of the questions in here is literally what is my best way out, in or through what's assessed the situation? It is creativity.
Speaker A: Creativity. Oop, that's 1111.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: So you can actually ask two questions out of the list. So the list includes what here can I use to blank you? Insert the blank. Uh, who or what is the biggest threat? What, uh, should I be on the lookout for and what's my best way in, out or through? Oh, and then there's also who or what is in the greatest danger.
Speaker A: Well, I obviously want the best way in, outer, through, right.
Speaker B: To get to the center. Okay, yeah. Um, you're able to essentially, uh, deduce your way through, um, to the center of the maze.
Speaker A: What should I be on the lookout for?
Speaker B: Okay, actually, I'm going to use that. So part of what, since Mika is literally just on her way to the center of the maze, with the idea of just trying to avoid people finding her, um, basically what she's on the lookout for. It's less about what she's on the lookout for, more what she finds. Um, she finds a strange glowing, sort of like wisP, like a cloudy wisp that leads her through the maze. If she chooses to follow it.
Speaker A: Uh, yeah, why not?
Speaker B: So as you follow this weird, strange, glowing blue Wisp, you are able to find your way to the center of the maze. And in the center of the maze is a spirit, uh, it resembles sort of like, ah, one of those eye eyes. A-Y-E-A-Y-E. They're kind of like almost monkey looking. They have huge eyes, they're very small, and it's sitting there wearing clothes. And, um, as you kind of look around you, you can keep it. Well, uh, we'll get to that. I'm glad, for one, that Bill Dore did not run into the spirit. Bo staff would have probably hit it if it tried to jump.
Speaker A: No, it would have just went right through it.
Speaker B: I, um, don't think these are real spirits. Something that you, something that you notice as you approach this. You look around, you've been really focused on this mist, and obviously the walls of the hedge maze kind of obscured your view. But as you've stepped out into the center, the world and the sky around you do not look like they did red. Um, more like an Auburn, kind of a burnt orange color. And something just feels really foreign about where you've stepped into. And this spirit being actually, uh, is sitting facing away from you, but its head turns like an owl all the way around to look at you with its giant eyes.
Speaker A: That's what it was.
Speaker B: And it says, hello, my name is Ushide.
Speaker A: Welcome to the center of my maze.
Speaker B: And with that, we will call episode nine to a close. Thank you so much for listening to our show. Of course, don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast through whatever podcast site that you're using, such as iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and others. Additionally, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Just look for the social media icons following us on social media gives you access to all news, announcements, and of course, new episodes as they are released. You can check out our website, bendersoandbrews.com, which will feature all of our episodes as well as news, announcements, and even cool character and player profiles. It's a great hub of information for the Benders and Brews podcast. And finally, we would be truly humbled if you would be willing to take the time to leave us a review. If your podcast site allows you to do so, such as on iTunes or in the case of YouTube, you can hit the like and subscribe button and drop us a comment. Tell us about what you thought about our podcast episodes. It sure would mean a lot to us. Avatar Legends is a tabletop role playing game created by Magpie Games, Nickelodeon, Avatar and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of UH Viacom International, Inc. All rights reserved. I also want to thank the following artists who you can find on Fiver for their amazing creative work on this podcast. Character art was done by Alicio Papa Draw, background art by Konichi, music by Joe Tims, two one five. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you on the next episode.