For the Queen (All Games No Masters episode)

"For the Queen" is the eighth episode and season finale of the first season of All Games No Masters. This episode aired live on March 17, 2021 on the Saving Throw Twitch channel and The Fantasy Network, and is archived on the YouTube channel. Of note, this episode was streamed remotely due to precautions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary
The Queen rules over a vast desert kingdom with the help of some powerful magic. Serving her is the Retinue, a group of former-humans-turned-animals that advise her and carry out her bidding. As the Queen plans a supposed peace pact with a rival kingdom, peace does not seem guaranteed, and the events that carry out will test the loyalties and devotion of her followers.

Introduction
The Queen commands over a vast desert kingdom using her magical powers to help conquer her enemies. Also helping her is the Retinue, consisting of Sorl the bull, Theras the raven, Legua the scorpion, and Suvie the sand cat.

Legua's Punishment
The Queen orders Legua to scout a safe path for her. At first, Legua is doing fine, but soon becomes disoriented and cannot return to the Queen until early morning, when he goes back to the Queen with no info on a safe path. Legua begs the Queen for forgiveness, but she puts him in a cage as a humiliating way of reminding everyone of Legua's failure. Soon after, Suvie comes along and speaks with Legua, telling him that she doesn't understand why Legua was sent to scout when she could have done a better job. After a heated conversation, Suvie leaves. Later on, Theras appears and speaks with Legua, trying to encourage him while also subtly and unwillingly mocking him.

The Queen's Protection
As the Retinue treks through the desert, the Queen uses her magic to drain life from the cacti and other life surrounding them. Bone structures pop out of the ground, shielding them from the desert. This scares Theras, who goes to Sorl for comfort. Sorl tries to motivate Theras by telling him that fear should become his source of power. Suvie mischievously goes behind Theras to scare him.

Suvie's Plan
It is disclosed that Suvie appreciates artistry, including in the form of drama. To that end, she asks Legua to fake an attempt on the Queen's life, but Legua cannot promise that it will be fake. Suvie explains the plan, and Legua guarantees her that this will remain completely confidential.

Legua's Respect
It is disclosed that Legua is not originally from the kingdom, but he still has the greatest respect and adoration for the Queen since she seems practically immortal, and as an assassin, he has the ultimate respect for that. Legua talks to Sorl, mentioning that Theras can be a threat if he applies himself. Sorl asks Legua if he wants to be remembered, to which Legua replies that he wants to be remembered in connection with the Queen's legacy.

The Double-Cross
It is disclosed that Suvie and the Queen are secret lovers. She had arranged the fake assassination attempt so that she could save the Queen, double-crossing Legua in the process and earning his hatred for her.

Sorl's Hope
It is revealed through a conversation between Sorl and Theras that Sorl comes from a nomadic tribe of bulls that lived across the desert. The Queen had commissioned them as part of her army, and would let them roam around. However, the tribe was soon assimilated into the greater culture of the kingdom, and were no longer nomadic. Sorl is excited about the Queen's plan to broker a peace deal with a rival kingdom, as that would permit their tribe to roam around once more. However, they are not so sure that the Queen will keep that peace. The conversation ends with Sorl promising to teach Theras how to more effectively eye-pluck the enemies.

The Queen Berates Theras
The Queen reminds Theras that he was once a peasant child (as will be disclosed later, all of the main characters were once humans, but the Queen turned them into animal forms), and would be nothing without her, berating him. Despite this, Theras still looks up to her.

Suvie's Ex-Husband
It is revealed that Suvie was once married to a merchant husband. Then, Suvie started having an affair with the Queen. As a result, Suvie's husband became a pawn, as the Queen is fickle. One day, Suvie's husband committed a minor slight against the Queen, and so she killed him. Instead of being upset by this, Suvie actually saw this as a good thing, since it was a demonstration of the Queen's love for her.

Not Too Much Attention, Not Too Little
Theras was pecking at a cactus when he stabs himself with a needle. Legua joins in to talk to Theras. They talk about how Suvie used to be a person and had a husband, and this is where it is disclosed that all the animals were once human, but were turned into their animal forms by the Queen. After, Legua gives Theras advice to basically not catch too much of the Queen's attention, but also not too little, in order to survive.

Seeking Approval
It is revealed that the reason why the Queen made the Retinue into animal forms is that by creating them, she sees them as strong, brave and magnificent. As a result, the Retinue value that the Queen saved them for a purpose. However, the Queen doesn't always use the kindest of words. When Theras brings her an almost-dead animal to seek her approval, the Queen says "you could do worst", and instead of taking this as a slight, Theras is ecstatic and takes it as a compliment. Suvie and Theras then have a conversation about the Queen's new love affair that doesn't seem to bother Suvie, with Suvie even revealing that she may be engaging in an affair of her own.

The Approval Feast
The best way to get the Queen's approval is for the Retinue to succeed in the tasks that they are given to undertake in the arid world of the desert. When they succeed, feasts of mana sprout from the plants, and everyone can eat and not fear for their lives. In this particular task, the Retinue had to fend off trespassers and succeeded in doing so, thereby the food grew and they could eat. After, it is disclosed that Suvie has a large amount of respect for Sorl, not just because of their strength, but also because of their artistry.

Theras in the Cage
Theras reveals to Legua that he took a piece of paper from the Queen, which shows a drawing of the jewel on the Queen's scepter. They suspect the jewel is the source of the Queen's power. In order to not get caught with it, Legua rips up the piece of paper. Fast forward to Theras being locked in the cage, the same one where Legua had been locked in at the beginning. Suvie stops by and asks how she can help, but Theras is hesitant. Suvie warns Theras to know who can be a good friend to him, and lets him know the harsh reality that he is not the first peasant that the Queen has saved, and he won't be the last. Theras argues back that he will last longer than those before him.

No Peace
Sorl has the realization that there won't be peace after all. Suvie goes up to Sorl, and they both talk about their battle experiences. Suvie also makes it known to Sorl that they are scaring the others. Sorl then warns that if they all continue to do the Queen's bidding, then Sorl's tribe won't be able to roam the sands once more.

The Lush Kingdom
The Retinue is now travelling to the rival kingdom that has magic comparable to the Queen's. It is described as a green, lush oasis on the border of the desert. Legua is uneasy, because if the Queen has so much power and she is only one person, then what good could come from two people holding that power. While on this journey, Legua reveals to Sorl that he saw a note with a drawing of the jewel on the Queen's scepter that may be the source of her power. If it is removed, he posits, it could remove the Queen's power and return their humanity.

The Ambush
A traveller from the lush kingdom spots Theras and figures Theras is no ordinary bird. The traveller calls on Theras and begins talking about how the kingdom they're from has heard of the Queen's destructive powers and the carnage she has left behind, and how they are planning to take her down. The traveller also mentions that if Theras helps them, they could find a way to give him back his humanity. Later on, the Queen is ambushed by this same traveller, who bubbles and explodes when the Queen points her scepter at them. Theras is uneasy after this, as he knows that he is in great danger if the Queen were to find out about his scheming with the traveller.

The Final Moments
In the final moments, each character must choose whether to defend the Queen or not. Sorl defends the Queen, but hoping to be struck down so that they don't have to live with the shame of not keeping the Queen alive. Legua does not defend the Queen. He walks into the Queen's tent where he sees her with Sorl, and makes a dash to get the jewel out of the scepter. Theras only half-heartedly tries to defend the Queen. He was not prepared for the intensity of battle, so he cowers behind fallen soldiers. However, he manages to put on a show and bring down some of the assailants. He sees Legua, and knows that he's planning to get the jewel, so he goes to Legua. Finally Suvie defends the Queen due to her fanatical devotion. She sees Theras and Legua going for the jewel, and starts running towards them when the episode ends on a cliffhanger.

Locations

 * The Desert Kingdom
 * The dominion of the Queen
 * Filled with cacti that would be wiped out whenever the Queen summoned the bone structure to shield the Retinue when out on expeditions
 * Rival of the Lush Kingdom
 * The Lush Kingdom
 * a green, lush oasis at the edge of the desert, ruled by a ruler with the same power as the Queen of the Desert Kingdom
 * Rival of the Desert Kingdom

Main Cast

 * Sorl the bull, played by Aki
 * Legua the scorpion, played by Max Isaacson
 * Suvie the cat, played by Amanda Powers
 * Theras the raven, played by Randy Alvarenga

Trivia

 * It is at the end of this episode that a second season of All Games, No Masters is confirmed with the same cast.