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Ep. 102 Echos of Almenora
35 Plays1 month ago
Sometimes answers come from the least expected places. Even more often, the answers you get aren't the answers you wanted. The party gets some long-awaited answers to the questions they've been asking, but where will these answers lead? It seems that everything is at stake, and all paths lead to an encounter with the shadows they thought they had just escaped.
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Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Theme
00:00:16
Speaker
Hi!
00:00:41
Speaker
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Hired Swords. I am your host, and Dungeon Master, and all-around swell fellow, Michael. And my name is Blaze. I play Krigs Galder. And I'm Derek, and I play Devin. And sometimes we talk over each other. like I was waiting for Joxer to go. I think he was going and his mic was muted or something. Yeah, no, something went weird with my mic. But yeah, I'm Michael. I'm Joxer. Yeah, one or the two are both. I don't know. I'm Ash, and I'll be Gwendolyn.
00:01:17
Speaker
Yeah, and and we're here to play Dungeons and or Dragons. And so far we've had some Dungeons but no Dragons in this three year adventure. And so, ah but we're going to continue where we left off and to to do
Snake Battle and Garden Discovery
00:01:33
Speaker
that. To that end, I will remind everyone what happened last time. Last time on the hired swords. a The aftermath of a battle with some snake people.
00:01:45
Speaker
you search the bodies finding some different kinds of, different kinds of vials with some sorts of fluid, like green fluid, things like that in them. ah You also found some, a gemstone shaped like a star. And you... ah finished searching, decided to go ahead and continue on the ah the the path you were taking, come across came across an actual, what looked like like a stone pathway. So you followed it, thinking, you kind of had a little bit of a conversation or debate about whether or not this pathway might lead you to more of these snake people. And you kind of decided, hey, even if it does,
00:02:25
Speaker
I'm feeling spicy. Let's try it out." And so you went down that pathway, found a didn't find any snake people, but you found a garden where you almost poisoned yourselves to death by just wandering around through these statues. Well, first you almost got yourself entangled a bunch into these vines.
Magic Restriction and Runes Exploration
00:02:40
Speaker
And then Gwendolyn was kind and got information from the, the the what's it called? The plants who told her,
00:02:48
Speaker
to leave because they are gone. They're gone. They left. And they're not here. And instead... Small correction. Yes. We didn't do anything. You're right. Gwyndolin almost poisoned everyone. I strongly remember you doing something. All Joxer did was try to get Gwyndolin the heck out as much as he could.
00:03:14
Speaker
while Daven and Krigs just dimension door to the other side of the place saying, forget this, we're not going to mess with this creepy green fog that's hovering around these statues. So in the Serpent Garden, which is what I lovingly call this map we were looking at,
00:03:29
Speaker
they They make their way through, realizing actually that when they were in the very center of this map, they were unable to cast any magic. Then they make it to the backside of the map. They find stairs to walk up to another level. They walk up to this level and it just ends in this pathway with this short kind of stone border to the pathway where there are two green, bra two braziers glowing a magical green light and illuminated in the green light is the statue of an elf in the center.
Rune Puzzle and Safety Concerns
00:04:00
Speaker
of a rectangular kind of carve-out area in the middle of the woods. They're surrounded by thick, a thick forest around this area with trees that are different colors, sparklies kind of floating in the sky, this like magical aura around like like has been in most of the places.
00:04:19
Speaker
that they've been since they went through that portal into this new realm or land or whatever it is they're in. But interestingly interestingly, to the left, as they look at the statue in front of them of this elf creature holding a bow and arrow, they look to the left and there is there are a large collection of a collection of large stones that are glowing with a kind of bluish-green glow off the front of them.
00:04:45
Speaker
And that is where you are standing at the entrance to this little area beyond the Serpent Garden. What would you like to do now?
00:05:02
Speaker
Well, interesting. um So I drew drew a very terrible arrow. Is that the stones you're talking about? To the left? It is indeed. To your left, okay kind of on the the southwest corner in between in amongst some trees. The arrow looks suspicious. Can I do a perception check to see if it's real? Yes. Actually, do a perception check to see if you even see the arrow.
00:05:30
Speaker
Zero. Uh, then that's a no, you do not see the arrow. Well, uh, this seems a little safer than the last spot, which is terrifying. Probably do. Yeah, it actually makes me a little bit more scared. Yeah. To be fair, they said they were gone. Who the, who's gone? I don't know. Well, you didn't bother to ask. I didn't have time.
00:05:59
Speaker
I feel like, okay, maybe there wasn't enough time. Things got pretty hairy pretty quick. um Maybe you can speak to these trees here, um as opposed to the ones that
Elf Statue Examination
00:06:13
Speaker
were trying to hold you down. Let me see if I still have it.
00:06:19
Speaker
ah Does the statue in the center, does it look similar at all to any of the statues that we had seen ah in the mining village? If you'd like to look at more closely, you can make an investigation check.
00:06:30
Speaker
It does not, it's it's the the biggest difference without even even rolling is that it's more life size and less large. Like it's not like the size of an actual person, not larger like ah this other statues you've seen. Does that make sense? and The other statues are like carved to look like bigger than life. This looks like just ah the size of a regular person, smaller. um So who's gonna go check the statue?
00:06:57
Speaker
ah I can go do it. Unless someone stops her. I'm inclined to let you try. I i took the the last Gwen watching duty. it's ah it's the beautiful you can You can go to your heart swim. I still have Dale on my hands and I kind of walk closer and as I walk past these flames,
00:07:27
Speaker
Um, I looked down at Dale. Did do you know who this is? And then I just stick Dale out to look at it. Okay. Uh, you don't, you definitely sense from Dale that there's an inquisitive nature to this like vibe you're getting from Dale and it's giving, it's giving question, like and not, not, it's not familiar. So no, it doesn't know who this is. He doesn't know who this is.
00:07:56
Speaker
Do I know who this is as I start to look around? If you look at the face of the statue, make a or an investigation check. in facts again um mr you're looking at these You're looking specifically at the statue, yes? yeah I'm assuming that these ah torches are like the same magical ones that we'd seen just below, right? Yes, just larger. The the flames look very similar, but the braziers themselves are larger and there's more flame
Transformation and Elf's Request
00:08:21
Speaker
in them.
00:08:22
Speaker
Oh my gosh, 16 plus 18. Cool 18. You definitely see very unique and distinct elven features. I'm talking i'm I'm saying like like like this could this looks like it was either it it must have been carved based on ah a model of a person some actual person because this is like very finely detailed stone work it looks like.
00:08:55
Speaker
ah and Even down to the fingers, the wrinkles and the knuckles. but and it looks It's amazing. you've actually it's You don't know if you've ever seen any kind of like carving or statue, stonework, this this detailed.
00:09:09
Speaker
But you don't recognize the face as anyone other than probably the the ancestry of it, like looking at the the shape of the the ears and the the shape of the jawline and everything.
00:09:22
Speaker
um It's definitely pure ancient, like, elf looking, like the real deal, you know? Not any of these, like, half-hearted elves walking around, greater glintry where you're from. Hail! Mmm. I am going. I won't touch this one. Okay. Because of what happened in the garden. So she's gonna stay a little way around. She's just gonna kind of walk around it.
00:09:51
Speaker
eyeballing it and I'm going to think. OK. Well, she does that. I'm going to move over toward the rocks and see if I can carefully inspect them and why they're glowing. OK, without even a roll, you know do see with them. Yeah, you guys see definitely there is a there are runic carvings in these stones that are glowing a blue color. Gwendolyn, you very obviously see that the blue, the the the color, this statue is the light from the blue. The blue light from these stones is shining on one side of the statue where the green is shining on front of it and it's giving it this interesting like
00:10:32
Speaker
weird little, yeah almost like a trick of the eye, like a 3D kind of trick, and lighting it up in that unique way with the two different colors of light shining on it the way it is. Davin, if you would like to make an arcana check, we'll see what you can see, what you know about these runes. Anyone can make an arcana check, who has noticed the runes? Ooh. That is a 23. That's a good roll, sir. Well, hot dog.
00:11:02
Speaker
I only rolled a nine. That's not as good. Okay. I have a minus one, so I'm, I'm not voting. Yeah, that's a five. So pretty scratch. All right. Derek Daven.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yes. You look at these runes and there you're it's very easy for you to read what they say for some reason. ah Very familiar to you as they seem to be written in a they seem to be written in a language that you didn't, or this runic style that you didn't know you understood, but you do. And it says, serpents in cold stone entombed,
00:11:45
Speaker
until the gem is forfeit. Replace the gem amongst these runes. Return true form, the culprit. and you see a star-shaped indention in the stone in the center of where these rooms runes are written and circle around it. Do we read that again? When you read that one more time, yeah.
Elf's Tale and Personal Connections
00:12:06
Speaker
Serpents in cold, stone entombed until the gem is forfeit. Replace the gem amongst these runes, return true form to the culprit. Well, it feels like some sort of a puzzle.
00:12:20
Speaker
Ah, Droxer, you're a smart guy. Maybe you can help me with figuring out what this means, and I'm going to repeat it to him. and Okay. Does it, uh, it's like some sort of a puzzle, it sounds like. I mean, it, it sounds like someone might've been, cur well, okay. So it is pretty lifelike. It could be ah an actual being, I guess, but what is that until the gem is forfeit. Oh, is that a star shape?
00:12:50
Speaker
yeah And then I'll pull out that little gem that I have. Yes. You found a star shaped gym on one of the serpents that you killed. Now, before you go and and touch that star shaped gym to the star shape. If we should think about this cause the serpents haven't really been kind to us at this point. ah Yeah. I'm I'm, I definitely don't want to be directly in front and get just a knocked arrow. Um, the moment we, if, if it if it does release ah whether that elf or some other beings from somewhere.
00:13:27
Speaker
Yeah, I have no idea what that actually is going to release. It's a serpents in Cold Stone. I'm assuming that's this stone here. And serpents. I mean, there's already serpents that were not part of this though. So is this going to be like their god? Or just the people? Probably the ones the tree's talking about, right? old stone enw We did handle ourselves pretty handily.
00:13:51
Speaker
ah I'm not against trying it. Yeah, I think we we just we just need to prepare ourselves. I don't want to be, you know, in a place that we wouldn't immediately, you know, get hurt or I would want to avoid that anyway. I'm going to move back to the back side of the statue, kind of stand on like the small wall that kind of surrounds it. OK. Well, do we want to go with speed or strength?
00:14:19
Speaker
Seems like you could get away faster, but I might be able to withstand whatever might happen and with the initial, uh, maybe mishap. If this goes poorly, I'll be honest, I got whacked pretty hard last time. So I don't know if I really want to try and take on another fight. I have seen you cast a few wand and witchery. Yeah. behind you have Yeah. I i have H Hent as well. I can, I could move this and do it from a distance.
00:14:48
Speaker
Well, this seems like a job for the magic boys. I'm just back away. All right. The magic boys. T-shirts on the way. I will. How tall is this little wall around? About four feet. Oh no. Sorry, the wall. Okay. It's about to your, probably just under your knees. Okay. So i I'll stand here and Uh, Gwen just, you might step a little bit further away in case there's kind of an explosion or,
00:15:21
Speaker
o um, yeah I'm sorry. Yes. And so she starts stepping away. Oh, before you do that, um, I'm going to heal myself a little bit. Does anybody else needs healing? I would like some, I feel like I'm still full health. Am I wrong? Like, I don't know. You're right. Are you still at one Gwendolyn?
00:15:41
Speaker
No, shoot. I didn't even think about that. It says 74 in world 20, but I didn't know Davins is wrong. I think so. Yeah. Mine's 48 out of 91. Um, so I'm going to walk up to Gwendolyn and I'm going to cast at a third level, uh, cure wounds. And I'm going to use sorcery points to, uh,
00:16:01
Speaker
to do the thing that I do. Twin spell in it so I can get both of us. Do the thing that I do. You know, that thing. Doing that thing. Doing that thing me do. So Kirwan is three day eight. Three above. Three day eight plus five. Ooh. Tres de ocho. That's 19 points to both of us. All right. All right. I'll take it. Good job me.
00:16:30
Speaker
All right. You have mage armor still? You mage armored, yeah. Yeah, ah I will mage armor again just in case, but yeah, it should be eight hours of some sort. Yeah, it's not been eight hours. It hasn't been eight hours. I will mage hand that little gem and try to place it in the the little slot. Okay.
00:17:00
Speaker
You place the gem in the slot. And once it goes in, the color the the light from the runes vanishes. It goes out. The green lights still flicker from the braziers. You still have the flickering kind of yellow, firefly-like light amongst the tops of the trees. And for not more than a second, probably, but it feels like a lot longer. It's just stillness and silence.
00:17:30
Speaker
until light emanates from the center of this ruined stone from the star gym. And it starts filling the runes with the same green color light that comes from these braziers. And when it does,
00:17:47
Speaker
You see the light shining brighter than the blue light did on the statue. And it's the the stone color starts to fade. And as the stone color fades, you see the color of flesh come to the arms and the face and the color, the the olive skin, olive gray skin, the the color of of um dark brown comes to the hair and the braids of the hair start to give detail and start to move a little in the the movement of air around the the tan brown and green of the of the ah the tunic that this elf is wearing begins to show its color and everything starts to move a little and the the creature the the the elf themselves as they stand there with the bow begins
00:18:39
Speaker
to twitch just a little bit, an arm twitching and flexing. And their shoulders bending backwards and and moving, but dropping the bow and the arrow. And when they drop the bow and arrow, it vanishes, disappears. They lift their hands in the air and they stretch. And then they fall to their knees in just a sob. Oh.
00:19:06
Speaker
oh Looking up, looking around at each of you, they put their hands in the air and they say, I'm not aware of of thine desires, but leave me be. i I request thee leave me be. Is this in common or in Elvish?
00:19:27
Speaker
It is in a Elvish that Joxer and Gwendolyn, you guys, it sounds like I sound, like old English sounds to us. This Elvish sounds like, whoa, I've read, I've seen books with this in it, but like not, people don't talk like this anymore, you know? A little archaic. Yes. And it very much reminds you of,
00:19:51
Speaker
thinking back to the the writing in the temples and the statues that you've seen on your journeys over the last several weeks, this archaic kind of old elven language. I will say kind of getting an impression based on not even being able to like understand him, but just body language. And, you know, I definitely put my my ah sheath, my hammer back to my side again. And like, I try to look as unopposing. I mean, as unopposing as I possibly can. Let me sure let's be honest. Let's be real here. Yeah. And there I go ahead. I'll try to.
00:20:36
Speaker
kind of piece together something in in response. a No harm from us.
00:20:47
Speaker
ah We mean no harm. Yeah. i whoa whoa i i I fought off ah ah far off creatures. they they they they sought me They sought me out. This this was the only answer. ay I did not. I could not make sense of the runes, and so I found that my mind was turned to whatever the form you found me in.
00:21:20
Speaker
going on walks around to the front to see her and in Elvis she goes, where's your home? My home and they drop they they they they been dropped and hunk like hunched over kind of in a sob and you know and almost not crying but just this like exhaustion and weep weeping of exhaustion almost and then that but somehow they find a even deeper uh lower position when you mention home and they say i am no longer welcome in mine home banished from almanora not sure how long ago now i was expecting her to be like um my house is to the west yeah i was not and and then she says almanora they're still talking like elvish stuff because i'm like they are
00:22:17
Speaker
You definitely hear Almanora. That's an elvish word, but an elvish name that I just like when you hear Miguel, you're like, I know what Miguel means. Yeah. Yeah. Flat out, I just like look at Devin with like an expression like, oh, like I heard a tool. I heard a tool. I heard a word. Yeah, I just kind of just look at her. Oh, oh, and she just kind of just puts Dale by her. Do you do you know?
00:22:48
Speaker
where Al Menorah is from here. And as he says that, she pulls out a journal and puts it next to her? Yeah. Ah, yes. And just points. i My home is not far. i who Who are you? What? Who are you? What are your wishes in this place?
00:23:11
Speaker
wow How are you here? We are protected here. They are protected here. I am no longer one of them. We we have journeyed far through darkness and now into this light. And I can only say that it was from more happenstance that we were delivered to this area.
Almanora's History and Darkness
00:23:37
Speaker
ah you My name is Joxer. You cannot. You say Joxer. You cannot say to me these these words of walking through the darkness. The tales we hear of the darkness speak to us of the dangers there. We stay away, for the dangers are too great.
00:23:56
Speaker
This is why I am where I am. I know you do not walk through the darkness. You enter the darkness never to return from there. This I know if you've been in the darkness, you before me would not stand today. We we were delivered into the darkness on on a mission and only through the seeker were we given a chance to escape the darkness. we We fought many and and saw many terrible things there, but it it was only through turmoil and and faith that brought us here. There was there was a mine. It was a an el an elven mine that that had very interesting soft jewels.
00:24:51
Speaker
When you say blind when you where you start, you notice as you're talking, their eyes start to go wide, like in recognition. And ah they they they they start to sit up a little bit and they say, the tales are ah tails tails are,
00:25:12
Speaker
Have you proof of this? These tales are true? Have you proof of these tales? That is why I so have sought this. Tell me this is, tell me you have evidence. You have proof of this. Gwendolyn grabs her face. Okay. And then takes her hand and then puts it on her ear. And she just like looks at her face. look put Puts your hand on their ear or puts their hand on your ear?
00:25:42
Speaker
I'm trying to see this. i go up just go your So I go up and I'm taking both my hands and I put it on her cheeks. Okay. And I'm just having her focus on me. Okay. And then I take her hand, her left hand and put it on my right ear. ah huh My father grew up in Almanora. It's not real. Tell me it's not real. Cause I've been told it's not real. All this is an Elvish by the way.
00:26:10
Speaker
Yeah. um Their face just kind of contorts like in confusion. And say and and they say, see, you you say to Almanora, you've been, but you speak of it as it's myth. You say you've been to the land of the gems and the mines, but yet you speak of it as myth. Almanora, you have not been there if you speak of it as myth. It is true.
00:26:37
Speaker
We are just no longer there. Almanora is the darkness? As the conversation gets a little more heated, but I still don't understand what's going on. I look at Daven with a o look on my face like I'm hoping this is going well. I don't know how this is going. Yeah. Are you telling me that the darkness was Almanora? The darkness was not Almanora. The darkness happened to Almanora.
00:27:03
Speaker
She pushes the darkness came. The dark pushes her pushes him. Oh, pushing yeah, I'm angry. ah I am angry. I am confused. She's going through a lot of emotions. I put my hammer back out and I back away. Yeah, I will. I'll i'll like ah run up to try to help them up. ah I'm sorry. There there's a lot to explain here. I also think.
00:27:29
Speaker
I try to like stand between Gwen and them because I can tell tell she's quite upset, but also, I don't know. I feel like I'm trying to- Yeah, in response to being pushed backwards, they stand up and you see they they're six feet tall. I mean, taller than any of you. That's not scary to me.
00:27:52
Speaker
there they are they have the Their skin is like the color of birch, like a all like a b light gray olive mix color. Their eyes have this emerald green hue, that um and they have this long, ah long lightb browned ah dark brown hair that goes down their back long. But the real question is, are they hot?
00:28:16
Speaker
um whoa ah I don't know. I don't know. Actually, it depends on what ah it depends on what softens into, you know, ah this the stone said cold. True. That's true. Cold stone. They have lightweight.
00:28:32
Speaker
like green and and leather like brown leather brown and green like ah cloth like wo wove woven woven woven woven armor on like tunic and armor on and moving yes and they've got there's ah a quiver on their back empty as if they would have carried a bow but it's empty does does that Tunic or that quiver have um like the visage of ah a tree on it anywhere um ah Make a perception check as they stand and you're in kind of in the chaos here i's got standing in the middle of this arm for just looking at somebody Yeah, what perception is
00:29:25
Speaker
Yeah, so I rolled i rolled a a six. it It was terrible. That passes, but what ah you looked at them. What's your passive? Oh, my passive is a passive is 11. Okay. Well, on the bottom of the quiver, as they stand, it it kind of flops up as they stand up quickly. And as it kind of flops up, you see the tree emblem on the bottom of the quiver.
00:29:48
Speaker
i I roll out the ah the ah the the and and I pull out the leather armor with a tree symbol. Yeah. What is going on here? Gwendolyn's backing up. She's having a complete meltdown. She's just gone. No, I look down. Should we are we fighting?
00:30:09
Speaker
She turns into a grizzly bear and stands there. Oh God, I pull my shield out. I literally pull my shield both hands and I'm trying to like growls. Yeah, I will. I will look at everyone. Please just just hold on. um Apparently the the darkness was Al Menorah that used to be or is, but something terrible happened there.
00:30:35
Speaker
I snap my finger at Gwendolyn and point just like like ah you would at a dog. Like, no, she screams back at him. Like this is something Gwendolyn's never done. She's like a bear just. ra She is angry. I am fully cowering behind my shield now at this point. I will cast a jar of honey in front of her response. Oh, sorry, David. it What? Nothing good.
00:31:03
Speaker
Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking over to you. I apologize. In response to the to the bear ah it's showing up, first of all, and then we're just roaring like that, um they back up and they they hands up back up and until they they kind of back into one of those stone, ah one of those stone, like short walls and sit just sit down on it, sitting down where their knees almost go up to where their shoulders are because of their long legs.
00:31:30
Speaker
and ah Sitting there, ah they just put their hands in their face and begin sobbing again in response to this. Gwen will seize this and just kind of just growls at her again and then kind of gets on all fours. Okay. Gwen, would you mind me like changing back and telling us what the heck is going on right now? I i tried to reiterate, or I guess ah warn yeah or you, know there's a lot of information that's that's being given, but apparently the darkness in Al Menorah are the same place. What does I have to do with this person? they girls They're from Al Menorah. Well, why is, and then why is Gwen upset? I'm so confused. Why, why is she a bear? She just growls.
00:32:22
Speaker
um But yeah, I will present that, uh, that tree armor, uh, uh, next to them as they're, they're sitting. We, in El Menorah, as you say, we found this. and And I believe we do have some of the things that we we took, um and and some spices. I don't know how to prove without showing you what we had been, but the door we came through is not there any longer. They look up and they look at you and they say, did you find any one? we we there There was no sign of
00:33:00
Speaker
of, ah I'll call it, elf or human actual life. We we thought we ran into a group um and then relived their death, essentially. ah it was Is I can't even explain it. it was The darkness, the shadows bring many confusing traits and attributes to what's around you. Having seen these things with mine own eyes, I believe that you've been there. They look up at the the bear and put their hand out towards Gwendolyn as the bear and say,
00:33:40
Speaker
i I know not what it is that angers you. I am only here in this place because i I took the gym. The serpent statue became the serpent and I became the statue. I was seeking a way to be welcomed back home again. I'm sorry. It it is an accident that you have rescued me. This means these serpents somewhere have become stone again.
00:34:10
Speaker
Gwen stays as a bear, but tears are going down her face. There are there are some some things that we've been searching for, and that one thing was Al Menorah. In where we are from, it is not here, and by any means. Al Menorah was a fairy tale, and that is what we were told.
00:34:38
Speaker
When we met that darkness, we did not expect it to be, or potentially be, Almanora, as you say.
Personal Stories and Survival Strategies
00:34:46
Speaker
ah Tell her about Gwen's dog. Tell her about Kerik. And Gwen, um her dad is supposed to be in Almanora. That's where he he's from, and and I guess traveled to when she was much younger.
00:35:03
Speaker
ah Gwendolyn, as the bear, goes and gets Dale with her mouth and walks over to her and drops Dale into her hands. like okay She's like, can I give this to you? And I transfer back with like streams of tears down my face and elvish. Almonore was real and now it's not.
00:35:30
Speaker
and You're saying it was real and i I was there and all there was, there was death. shareers day They look at Dale and look up at you with like a confused face and then their hands close around Dale as if like ah accepting, right? Not lot like, oh, this is mine now, but just like, okay, I can snuggle this thing, whatever. um And then looks at,
00:36:02
Speaker
looks in your eyes and says, Almanora is not gone. Almanora is just no longer where it was. Almanora is we. Well, was me. But now is them, the people. The people of Almanora. That is where I was banished. That is who banished me. No, Almanora is not a location. Almanora is who we are. Did you just make me turn into a bear? Do what?
00:36:28
Speaker
It's like, did you just, I'm telling, I'm telling her, not you.
00:36:34
Speaker
Um, so Gwendolyn, she's just so frustrated. The darkness was where the people of Almanora did reside. One more time. I lived. I'm five. yeah I, I. Health years, kinda.
00:36:54
Speaker
When I was but a child, not a child, but an adolescent, a young young one, before my adult years, I lived in a village where we turned gemstones.
00:37:11
Speaker
into powder and created magical items there. That was one of the tribes of the Almanora. There was many of us tribes. There were many of us all serving the same purpose, contributing to the other tribes so that we could do what we do best.
00:37:28
Speaker
I think the confusion must be the idea of Al Menorah as a location, as a place, when in reality it has always been who we are. So we' and we we fled in response to the darkness, and I have been banished from our refuge here in this place. So the residents of the tribes are somewhere here, and you've been banished from them for reasons. That's where emotion starts to rise up again. And they they get a little choked up as they say, I tried to stand tired of hiding. Some of us desire to return, but there's too much fear. So they told me to leave. As I was the one causing, they said, causing the
00:38:24
Speaker
the others to feel like there might be a way to make our way back to where we're from. But instead, they have decided this is where the Almanora shall remain forever. But not me, I am not welcome any longer. I just wanted to see my dad. Tell me again the name of your father? In Elvish, she stumbles out. Carrick. Carrick. That is a name I know.
00:38:53
Speaker
It is a name that has not been heard amongst the Almanora in a long time. In fact, we're not allowed to say his name. Karthonakt won't allow it. She wipes tears from her face. What do you mean? Karthonakt. He has made it illegal, against the law, punishable by death to speak the name of Kerik the Caring. Why?
00:39:18
Speaker
Carrick the Caring is responsible for the writings and the teachings that I follow, the writings that say there is a place for us that is not here and that we must go there. Karthonaktas said,
00:39:34
Speaker
These writings, these sayings, are not welcome, and therefore neither am I. Gwendolyn's just kind of stunned. is Did something happen to Kerik, or was he also banished? I'm not sure. Kerik has not been seen for... Time is different here. I'm not sure how long. We actually have a temple in our current... Where where where the Almenora stay now, there's a temple. only Only the select are allowed in. I've never been. But the entire story is written on the walls there. Just as the story of our people was written on the walls at the temple near the gemstone mines.
00:40:20
Speaker
can i get like an update on what's going on because I don't understand. anything but same And you guys turn around and you see Devin's ah used mold earth and he's just built like the coolest sand castle behind you guys. I totally forgot we had other friends here. Drawing in the dust on my shield like little faces and a small battlefield. and So a TLDR. Carrick Mayer may not be alive. There The Almenora are a people and they do they are here. I'm going to guess that we're not wreck we're not very welcome because Kerik is not allowed to be spoken the name. but Her dad cannot be spoken of because he was more of a prophet, I guess, or a leader than this Karthinek.
00:41:16
Speaker
um Okay, so basic heresy. um Am I picking that up correctly? are we yeah Yeah, something to that extent. All right. I'm used to that. So ah the Almenora used to live where the darkness is now. They ran here. Karthanakt says this is where they stay. Karakk said that there is a proper place for them. Karakk probably meant that figure out a way to get rid of the darkness. Which, I mean, you know, give or take if they can figure that out. well Didn't we get rid of the darkness? I mean, sort of. I'm sorry, what? one what and we I guess we didn't really get rid of the darkness, did we? we can know No, no. Well, actually, we don't know, to be to be fair. We killed that thing. Maybe that was the source, but honestly, we'd have to go back and it doesn't sound very good.
00:42:08
Speaker
To me, what have we done, honestly, at this point? I would accomplish anything in the three years we've told each other. Gwendolyn looks at the hunter and just is like probably an elvish because it seems like that's the only thing she understands. Do you have people of your own? Are there more outsiders like you? I'm not sure in my eye.
00:42:34
Speaker
would have known if some were banished for it would have been my duty to keep them out. So no, I believe I am the first, uh, unless Carrick is out here, but I don't imagine, I imagine someone, and knowing Karthanakt as I do as the former captain of the guard, Karthanakt is the type to keep an enemy like that close, not send him out to rise up against in another and another time. Does that make sense? If it's possibly possibly he's alive, then and she's not saying this in Elvish, she's saying this, then we have to go.
00:43:19
Speaker
Well, hold on. and So you're saying that Carthon act might be just training Carrick
Plan to Reach Almanora's Wall
00:43:26
Speaker
somewhere so that he can't leave or exist. If he's alive. Yes. He will be a alive. She says, but so are there any areas that, that were set up by the Al Menorah, not directly in wherever you are staying that could be considered, I don't know, ah A place where prisoners or ah derelicts were... No, I... I'm not sure what goes on in Karthanax. Well, I would call it a layer now. She's gonna take us there. Excuse me. She just interrupts. You're gonna take us there. I can take you as far as the wall, but the wall will not let me through. The wall will not let you through either, depending upon your motives. We will at least understand where it's at.
00:44:18
Speaker
and then make plans um accordingly. Does that sound fair, Gwen? Yes. If you can, I'm not sure, but if you've made it through the darkness. You now hear just this little sizzle, I've set up a campfire and I've started cooking some mushrooms with peppercorns. And then they say- It's four hours later. And they say also, and then common, they say, also, would you prefer to speak to in a way that your friends would understand?
00:44:51
Speaker
Hey. That's fantastic. Yes, that's great. I've been on the entire time? This whole time? Well, it's been a while. When no one shrugs. It's been a while. They just learned it in the time that we moved. Hey, you know, honestly, it's so nice to meet you. Carrick. The name's Craig Scalders. Carrick. You know, when I was a child, we traded with- All right, not one for introductions. Dwarves.
00:45:15
Speaker
I apologize. Uh, yes, yes. Sorry. Not much for, um, not much for interpersonal relationships. My name is the Lindra. Nice to meet you. thra And again, I was saying, we did we did as a young one, i I prepared carts and traveled a couple of times to deliver goods to the dwarves and to some of the humans during the war that brought the shadows. um So I had to learn to speak with them as I speak with you now.
00:45:57
Speaker
But that'll definitely make things a lot easier than than going back and forth. I think these two were starting to lose their mind. Sure. I noticed. I noticed and I apologize. Starting to. be clearing to my elbow To be clear, Thalindra.
00:46:15
Speaker
is obviously very sharp with their, there you could tell by looking at them as a hunter, their reflexes, their all of this, like a very tall, very trained, very strong.
00:46:29
Speaker
um there's You've definitely caught them at a weak point, right? But they very much, you can tell as they're starting to gain their,
00:46:41
Speaker
little more confidence in who you are and your story and what's going on. You can see they're starting to get more confidence in themselves as well. And you could see like, this is someone who could very well take care of themselves. um And they say, I, as I said, I could take you as far as the, as the wall, but the vines and branches of the wall are unique.
00:47:09
Speaker
And you won't even know you're there unless the wall is willing to accept you. Does that make sense? It makes enough sense from what we've seen. Yes. It's something Karak put up before Karthonak started their conversation. Maybe his conversation maybe because Karak set it up, Gwen may likely have some access, but there's no guarantee. It's hard to say, but it keeps us out as much as it keeps us in. Does it go around like the entire city? or um Sounds kind of like a dumb wall. I mean, just from a door of an engineering perspective, that's not good walling. Oh, it's the same wall.
00:47:58
Speaker
Here is, here is- Sorry, that was- What do you mean it's the same wall? It's the same wall that, whatchamacallitwasseen? Yeah, Marlowe. Marlowe, yeah, okay. So we're clear, if you are not mint, I could take you to the location where I was forced to exit.
00:48:22
Speaker
At that location, I will see no wall. But if any of you are welcomed by the wall for any reason, it will become apparent to you that that is where you can enter and you will see the opening immediately. Well, that's how this scene works. We haven't seen anything ourselves personally, but we do, we did meet a man named Marlow who said that he saw the wall. Does that mean he's welcome? You met someone outside of here.
00:48:51
Speaker
Well, yeah, he was fla like that direction, probably half a day's walk or so. But that's impossible. He said that he was teleported in here by a spell, kind of a banishment spell of some sort. and How unfortunate for him. This is not, this realm is not supposed to exist. Yeah, he's, he's doing his best. I definitely, maybe we can all find ways.
00:49:20
Speaker
to get out of here at some point. think studies from like taania or something like that so thoughts Well, I'm unsure of that location, but if he saw the wall, did he try to go through it? No, he's like a homebody. He doesn't like to leave his little area. I see. No, I thought i I was pretty sure he said he'd tried his best to go around it and it It just, it was endless walls, so i I assume he was not welcome. I just thought I was distracted by the tea. That's unique. Very good tea. That's unique because as soon as I was sent out from the wall, when I turned around, there was just forest. Well, I could take you there and you could see for yourselves. I guess you can't really, can't really see the forest for the trees. y'all this um This place is very unique.
00:50:13
Speaker
It takes the magic that the Almanora are able to conjure and it basically puts it all into one. It fills everything here with that magic. Any magic that you could do wherever you're from will be more powerful here in some ways. So it's hard to predict, especially if you're not from here or haven't been here as long as I.
00:50:35
Speaker
It's hard to predict what you might see, but I do not recommend going back through the gardens for there are statues there that could poison you. ah you don't say So we should go through the forest this direction, they say. i Yes. I wonder when we were, ah well, we've been traveling for a while. Should we maybe sit down and, and whether it be take a camp You know, and, and eat. I, I'm sure you're, you must be hungry. I'm still, I'm sitting here just eating a plate full of mushrooms. Like, uh,
00:51:12
Speaker
sure i I'm good. You were, you were, you were cooking for all of us, right? Oh, was yeah the one has the last bite left on his fork.
00:51:26
Speaker
Oh, man. Yeah, no, you you were making a second whenever we were done with this conversation, clearly. Oh, I mean, eaten have you tried peppercorns? I asked you to ask them. Gwendolyn, I go ahead. and No, I don't want to. I was just going to i answer the question. Yeah, go ahead. But the lender just says, yes, of course, of course, I've had them. Well, all right, then.
00:51:52
Speaker
ah I guess I'm the idiot and I start making another but a batch of mushrooms. but like i'm Well, I'm happy to two remain for a time. I see the lights of the lights have been in the sky for some time now, meaning the the northern light northern lights, or not the northern lights, but like the you know The colorful kind of display that happens in the sky and the timing that seems to be kind kind of what is understood as nighttime here has been going for since you got into this garden at all.
Reflections and Rest for Journey Ahead
00:52:25
Speaker
and so They say, if you desire a camp and some so some rest, that is fine. I feel as though my body is fully rested, but emotionally, mentally, I am pretty exhausted.
00:52:38
Speaker
Honestly, same. I get it. But as soon as we all feel fully rested, I will lead you there. It will only take a day to travel. but Do we want to take a nap? Go to sleep and then do the first thing in the like guess morning, if you call it that? Gwendolyn just nods her head to Daven's question and kind of gets Dale from, I want to call her Thunder. and She just caps it.
00:53:06
Speaker
and grabs their journal and just kind of walks a little bit away from the camp. And she sits down next to her and just kind of being reclusive now. Yeah. And she's just drawing in. OK. Gwendolyn sitting and drawing. Jockster, what are you up to? um ah I guess at this point, I'm I'm pulling out what we have ah from from the previous village. So I think we had gotten a map and and kind of talk about where we went through Talk about, you know, the adventures that we did have there just to see if there's any correlations concepts that, that we can understand. Okay. Uh, and I'll just give you the kind of rundown real quick. As you look through the map, it's very, very familiar to the Linda and they, they explained to you how they had this.
00:53:57
Speaker
this independent economy for years, where the almanora, these elves, would serve each other. All just every area of this forest where they were, there was this mining operation that Would mind these gemstones that would give to another village they would send them to another village which would it chant the gemstones. These gemstones would then be enchanted and they would be either ground up in the potions or they would be put into weapons or they would be used as is to do different magics and that there is farmland that these elves would grow food to distribute to all of the other ah all of the other.
00:54:40
Speaker
um ah villages and the some of the magic items were developed were distributed to all of of the villages so that they could help with their different jobs. The spices would help with the food being better tasting and all they they all served each other each of these I think six it was different um different ah villages would all serve each other in that way and and how they all kind of had this this what do you call it? This like symbiotic relationship with all of them together. And yeah, I found it now. You have the the the wheat and the the fruit and you had like foragers and pickers, what they called pickers, which would like harvest. um they You had enchanters, you had gemmers or gemstone miners, spicers and growers. And they all served each other. And
00:55:34
Speaker
They speak of this time and as they do, their countenance just livens and lightens up. And like this memory of of these times, it's like this is how it was meant to be. This is how it's supposed to be. And then they start to kind of get quiet.
00:55:53
Speaker
and say and then the trading began with the warring peoples. This is when everything started to go poorly. I was young and I just remember the first time I loaded a cart full of a collection of things from all of the villages just to help. I remember walking with them to deliver to this strange group of men dressed in what I now know to be metal armor with swords and helmets. They took these items and in in response, they they gave us more of these metal swords and weapons as ah as a as a trade. And nothing was ever the same since then until finally
00:56:44
Speaker
Carrick arrived and we fled. Do you know what brought that darkness? I don't know. We say the war brought it. It was the war that we call it the war that brought shadow or the war that brought the shadows. But what happened to make that the reality, it's unclear. Yeah, I've seen and heard of wars, but that is not the end result of a normal war. i Were there any thoughts on how to get rid of it, from Kerik or
00:57:21
Speaker
Or was Kerik's thought to find a place other than that area and this area, I guess, for you? Kerik told us, Kerik arrived after the darkness had began to make its way towards us. When he arrived, he told us the time had come for us to cease our trading with the warring People's and when we did that they were unhappy and so we fled we fled to here in the conversation then.
00:57:56
Speaker
The promise then from Karak was that time worked differently here. And when we arrived back where we came from, we would have experienced a lot of our lives, but we would not have missed anything but the war when we get back. So he brought you here on purpose. Yes. This is where this was created to be our refuge. That's what he told us until Karthanakt came.
00:58:23
Speaker
and said, this is where we've belonged all along and that we should stay. How did you get here then? How was it created? Well, we all made our way to the Gemstone Mine Village. We were told there was a door at the bottom of the mine and we went through it. Families, walking with families, spouses with their spouse, partners partnered up, children with their siblings and best friends. and Karak was the Karak and Karthan act were the last ones through. It wasn't until we were here for some time that Karthan act began to check, take charge as Karak began to grow older and seemingly according to Karthan act, lose his mind. Do you know what the plan was on how to get back? That is, that is just it. As soon as that conversation began, no one heard of Karthan act any longer. Nope.
00:59:20
Speaker
No one heard of Kerik any longer. Gwynn's listening, but she just is drawing. Yeah, I think it's very important that we we do try to get in there, and and I would bet that Kerik is being silenced and hidden in some manner.
00:59:42
Speaker
If we're going to do that, you all need to be at your best strength and ability. Are you there now or is this rest truly necessary? I know we ran through some of that poison. I just look super offended as I'm finishing up the last touches on my mushroom dish. ah Okay. and yes this is um I think it would be worth, you know, taking a short rest, at least for myself.
01:00:10
Speaker
Um, if nothing else, uh, we, we did take a ah small battle with, with some of the serpents, uh, prior to finding you, that is unless you have any restoration magics. ah Unfortunately, my magic, my magic has only really exists to hurt people or honestly same to commune with nature. um So you understand. i I had a very specific set of skills.
01:00:39
Speaker
i give them I give them a wink. As soon as you guys start talking about what you'd like to do, Philindra walks over beneath a tree, sits crisscross applesauce, cross-legged, and just begins to meditate. And that's really the episode.
01:01:09
Speaker
Thank you so very much for listening to the Hired Swords. What a 2024 it has been. We're looking forward to the coming year and wrapping up season three of the Hired Swords campaign with you guys. We're so grateful for all of you who listen to our podcast and we hope that you will continue to listen and tell some friends so they can join us on our adventure.