Transcript
Speaker: That is a lot of pressure, both as a player and as a character Danny to thrust upon me to name the potential future matriarch of a kingdom.
Speaker: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop, Bellum Draconis. My name is Danny and I'm the Dungeon Master and today we are joined by... Hello! Who's playing the the Druid Dragonborn, Balvalcon.
Speaker: Yes! Yeah, that's right. It's just me, guys. And that is all the players. It is just you and i What an interesting point in this podcast production.
Speaker: I don't think we've done this before. I don't think Mark's done this before. I am racking my brain to figure this out. I don't think there has been a one-on-one to cover what we are going to cover today. But before we get into that, Will, you want to give us a recap?
Speaker: Oh, no, I'll do the thing. I'll do the thing. I never get to do the thing. do the Do the toes, Danny. Do the toes. We find ourselves adrift somewhere outside the scorched sea on a tiny little raft that is animated by a single propeller.
Speaker: This propeller, though, it's not a mechanical propeller. It is a series of fish tethered magically together, just flopping in unison, causing a ah ah small motor to push this little raft further and further out to sea.
Speaker: With no tools or provisions to feed themselves, this lone figure on the raft relies on their toes, their webbed toes, scooping in aggressively, swash after swash, until eventually lands a nine-pound tuna.
Speaker: Old girl, tucking into a new feast.
Speaker: Ooooooo, they're not bad! This beautiful big old sapphire blue ship starts attaching itself to the snowdrop. It's the tide song, and Kennard makes his way on board. He's like, I got your backs, boys.
Speaker: Nix, you get yourself some rest. He tells the whole group that every single kingdom is under attack. Nyx, whilst he is trying to get himself off and clear his head, sees four images in the waves.
Speaker: A captain, a friend, a prince, and a ship. And a voice says, take one back. Just one. And Nyx is all like, shit, I don't know who to pick. So eventually he's like, you know what? Sebastian's probably the best for the group. And it's like some sort of fucking time warp. Sebastian's back and he's doodling on the board and the group's all like aghast. like, what the hell has happened?
Speaker: And... He's this new Sebastian, or same Sebastian, or old Sebastian, who fucking knows? He's all like, by the way, Reigns, there's a new heir to Shadow Man. It's ah pretty much claiming first, boy, and right, so you got a target on your head, boy. And the group's all trying to unpick what's going on the board with Sebastian. They're like, who the fuck is Braygro?
Speaker: Why the six party members involved? What's going on? And Nick's is like, you don't know anything more than that, fuck, I regret my choices. And Sebastian's all like, you guys got to find out what's next. And Nick sees the Esmeralda sinking into the seas in his mind.
Speaker: Take inspiration, Will. You're probably going to need it this episode. after After the clusterfuck of two episodes ago, i will gladly take it.
Speaker: So while the party continue to shelter now adrift the the winged watch controlled snowdrop, which is this dignitary ship that belongs to Sparrowhawk or as we now know him, Sebastian Sleetgaard.
Speaker: You're all taking in the evening silence as old girl rightly identified Nick staring longingly in the distance towards his ship, the Esmeralda sinking into the scorched bay.
Speaker: Seth stands stunned after seeing Sparrowhawk's mysterious reappearance and is accompanied by his fellow head-scratchers, Alpha, Emron and Reigns, who all balance exhaustion with disbelief in these moments.
Speaker: Unsure where to put yourself, Baal.
Speaker: You see Nyx head out.
Speaker: And with this drug and ah dragon egg clutched to your chest, begin to head over to Nyx, or at least in his general direction, before you are intercepted by a gnome.
Speaker: The same female gnome that you encountered on the road while delivering Dribbo to the winged watch. The two male gnomes' identities we we learned in time, but the female we did not.
Speaker: She has this grey and emerald woven robe with this gold belt, all different sorts of component pouches hanging off across her waist. This flaming red hair with these two very long pointed ears sticking out that look like horns at but first glance, all wrapped in this black cape, the travelling leathers of the winged watch.
Speaker: She takes you by the hand. and says to Cooley, come on. Ghostwing says, we got an egg to shift. And within a second, you are instantaneously relocated to the hull of a ship. Not the same ship, not the snowdrop. This is a much larger ship.
Speaker: but you're still in the scorch bay. The heat is still the same. The sounds of the city in the distance are a little bit louder, but they are the same. That Edna Fizzlebang
Speaker: repeated message of return to your homes. the No longer hearing the sounds of of swords clattering stone. Conflict is stopped by the sounds of it, but You haven't moved in time, you've only slightly moved in location.
Speaker: That much you you do ah reliably recognise. The underbelly of this great ship, however, is much more elegant than what you've seen previously. And you're not a seafaring person. i expect the Snowdrop was really your first real um embarkation ah effort ever.
Speaker: There is a considerable amount of activity happening around you. Above deck, there is lots of moving. Below deck, there is lots of movement. You feel to the sides of you motion as well, as well as that general buoyancy of being on a very still sea.
Speaker: But in this room, it's relatively still.
Speaker: The smell, however, that permeates your nose is a smell you are familiar with in a different form.
Speaker: Everywhere stinks of an explosive substance of some sort, almost like things have recently been scorched or or burnt.
Speaker: This, however, is clearly a dorm or a dwelling, but not appropriately sized for a gnome. She's pottering around, opening and closing sort of wardrobes and cabinets, and you're seeing clothing more suited for a human or an elf than a gnome. Nothing here seems to quite match who she is who she is There is a number of locked containers around this room.
Speaker: There's a bookshelf containing articles and arcane studies, some some quite generic tomes and some are completely unfamiliar to you. There is a map of Erith at the foot of this bed, which has considerable stains and scribbles that are prevalent over the kingdoms of Sleetgard and of Shadoment.
Speaker: While she's pottering from sort of cabinet to cabinet, stuffing a small side satchel with things,
Speaker: returning to you once or twice to sort of measure up what you're carrying. And at one point just sort of tucks, although I'm imagining both your arms are like held out in front of you carrying this mass, just tucks a blanket ah between your elbow and your and your chest, just tucks.
Speaker: not in a means to try and rap you or call you now, but just as a provision and ah as a precaution. While she continues to putter out the room for a few seconds, is there anything you want to do or say?
Speaker: Um, so yeah, I wasn't expecting kind of this sudden move. There was a load of things going through his mind, obviously with the egg as well. And like you mentioned there, he was making his way towards Nick's before this interruption happened. So his mind is, uh, was originally racing. And now with seeing this, no moving around with seeing those different things in the room and actually taking a chance to almost kind of stop and breathe, um,
Speaker: Baal is still beaten to shit. Like, this is still the same day of the duel of everything that's happened. He very stupidly got several innocent people killed by being a flying crocodile.
Speaker: And so that's... That's kind of partly playing on his mind. He's probably barely managing to hold this egg up as well in his arms with regards to the size and the weight, but he will not put it down. He will not kind of ah relinquish it yet. it's He's cradling it somewhat.
Speaker: um But yeah, he'll just kind of see all this going on and he'll probably kind of sway a little bit on his feet as well, just with the the the weight of everything that's happened today. Could you make a straight concentration check? for her Sorry, constitution check for me.
Speaker: To just see how much... If you can continue to sustain that that level of physical exertion. It's a 19%.
Speaker: Yeah, so you begin to sway a little bit, but after a few deep breaths, just unlock a sustained strength from within your core. um Yeah, and after like seeing this gnome pottering around a bit, he'll just kind of ah wait to kind of catch your attention at some point and just say, i never caught your name, I don't think.
Speaker: Ah, sure. um I'm Ren. ah We can do this on the road. Look, we're going to just... We've got some places to go, and um You need to understand, i didn't have a lot of time to prepare this.
Speaker: um We weren't certain you were going to win or even survive after the whole bloody thing. So um this is the best I could do with a couple of hours.
Speaker: Okay?
Speaker: Definitely. No, I appreciate that. And I mean, just upholding this end of the bargain is, well, it's everything to me.
Speaker: I'll go with you. i'll I'll do what you need. Okay. So
Speaker: she just sort scrambles to this, this map that's on the bed, ah places it on the small table in front of you and just points to three locations. One is in Sleetgard.
Speaker: And this map is disgustingly hard to read from how much it's been worn and abused. You can't really make out where, but somewhere central. Then she points to Dralak, and again, that stain sustains its way, and it's it's not clear where in Dralak she's pointing, but definitely to the east of Dralak, nowhere that you particularly know well.
Speaker: And the last one she can't place, she just like scratches head for a second and goes, ah no, ah puts a hand above the paper, hesitates, lifts up, it's somewhere. And then just does like a big circular motion around central Ereth.
Speaker: It doesn't matter. ah can't read this map, but I promise I know where I'm going. Okay. ah Look, where we're going first.
Speaker: And where we're going second, I'm not so sure you're going to... Well, it's your decision, okay? Three options. That's where I'm going to take you. to Three different places.
Speaker: Personally, I only really trust the third. So I'm going to show you that last just in case you you're happy. we keep it there. We don't have to spend more magic to to go back to the place we visited. um But I'll get ah'll get you to all three. Okay.
Speaker: This looks like I don't know what I'm doing. I do. It's just been an interesting couple of hours. And Ghostwing said, there's a little bit of ah to like urgency to this because there's concern that other people want this.
Speaker: And she points at the egg.
Speaker: Yes, you're going to be able to take us, and he kind of motions ah down at the map. ah His, Baal's eyes are immediately drawn to kind of Sleetgaard, and his eyes pass over the the markings that are there, but also over kind of the Western um areas of Sleetgaard that he knows well and that he was grown up in, or or has kind of grown up in.
Speaker: You're taking us there tonight? Uh, right now. Let's start there. These are all places we think you may want to think about leaving the egg.
Speaker: Right. Can you talk me through them first? Better that I show you. But just remember, the last one is the one I think is going to be the best option.
Speaker: Right, and if I don't... do I wait and decide at the very end if it if it's that one, if if that's your preference? i't I'd see all three. I prepared enough components to do all three.
Speaker: And ah this was all the work I thought about and had time to plan plan for. So um it's up to you. If you want to just drop one off and not want to know the other ones, I don't care. Like your egg your rules. But um I was told to prepare this. I'm going to take you there.
Speaker: Right. I'll ask you questions in a moment, but where we're going first, it's going to be quite cold. So, ah and she just points at the blanket.
Speaker: ah Of course. and And he'll kind of awkwardly start trying to shift it onto himself still without putting the egg down, but then know that it's, it's futile, know that it's stupid and very carefully and cautiously kind of place it down, wrap himself and also try to kind of semi wrap the egg as well um before picking it up and and kind of standing with it again.
Speaker: Okay, you ready? i think so. So, close your eyes. Hold on tight.
Speaker: And she just draws series of symbols in the air above the egg with the tip of her finger. And these symbols sort of stretch slowly and then the space itself in this cabin begins to just expand almost like yeah like how Doctor Strange does it in the in the Marvel Universe. Sort of just draws this and then this other shape appears, this portal that just swallows all all three of you whole.
Speaker: And you are transported instantaneously to an incredibly cold scene, but a place that you would never fail to recognise.
Speaker: You find yourself in the unoccupied layer of Galefire the Sleet.
Speaker: This is a vast and desolate cavern, deep within the icy peaks of the Skull Road Mountains. It's abandoned, but brimming with the remains of your mother's former reign.
Speaker: The lair itself is carved into the heart of this frozen glacier and its entrance marked by these these jagged icicles that hang like fangs in this maw of the cave mouth.
Speaker: The walls inside shimmer this beautiful bluish glow, much like you found in the layer of Chandra LaCarre. There's this blue um ambient light that seems to be connecting dragon layers in some way. But where Chandra LaCarre masked herself and continues to mask herself, the halls of Geofyre, the sleets, uh, uh, layer were fully illuminated in this blue Northern lights like quality, um, Aurora Borealis glow,
Speaker: And then there is this layer of frost over all surfaces, a very welcoming frost to you. At the center of this layer is where you'll find yourself in the former nesting area of Gale Fire the Sleet.
Speaker: Parts of her sort of core, her tail, her claws, paws, talons, feet still mark an indent and the that the i the icy um structure is still sort of indented to her form.
Speaker: It now lies empty with only few scattered bones and remains of of charred wood, suggesting that that no fire has been lit here for a year, year and a half, two years.
Speaker: Above this ah nesting paladin cavern,
Speaker: those icicle-like teeth, the opening of the cavern, just move just like tight towards the the center of this cavern.
Speaker: And it continues to form this row of very jagged teeth above you. As intimidating as this would be for many,
Speaker: It's not intimidating for you. This was your home, but this is now a hollow place full of memory only. No followers, your brethren, none remain.
Speaker: It is the home of wolves and bears and worse.
Speaker: You'll find yourself in a really small but covered um outcropping of some of these stalagmites that are raising from the floor.
Speaker: Obscured from view, you found you feel relatively hidden here. You step into this space and the cabin in the ship behind you no longer is visible. You you are fully in this space. This is no illusion.
Speaker: The temperature feels the same. your Your full bodily response to this environment is activated in a way that you know this is trick possible.
Speaker: And Ren just turns to you and says, Welcome home.
Speaker: Baal is kind of just looking around, but not with joy and happiness. It's almost like initially the eyes widen. It looks like there's there's the the breakings of a smile, but it falters.
Speaker: And taking in the scene, taking in the emptiness, the abandonment, it just transforms itself into sorrow.
Speaker: I don't understand. I thought there were some who stayed behind.
Speaker: and know kind of... slowly kind of walk around the space as well, particularly to the original kind of um place that he would know well that Gelfar would kind of nest.
Speaker: and just kind of take in some of, like you say, some of the the the historic kind of markings and things like that, like even if it's just scratch markings and things on the floor. And he'd probably kind of take the blanket off, take the shawl off and make like a a small nest of blanket to to place the egg on and just kind of leave it there as he kind of explores the space, that little bit more tracing lines with his um like with his claw um staring up
Speaker: It feels colder than it did now. As you leave her area of reach, you do just feel a small purple light envelop you for a second.
Speaker: And you feel a bit nimbler. ah And you notice as you step, there's no echo.
Speaker: She just says,
Speaker: I understand, but just be quiet.
Speaker: He'll turn and just look back to Ren.
Speaker: I'm looking back around the room now with a little bit more kind of caution. is d i Is anything here with us? Do I notice that there's... Make perception check. Okay. um Come on, Barl. Please be good.
Speaker: It's a decent plus to the roll, but it's a natural 20 for a 27.
Speaker: Makes sense with this being with this being his one true home. Yeah.
Speaker: As you turn and you question why you need to be quiet in your home and then pennies begin to drop, as you're looking in the sort of
Speaker: solid glacial form that is this huge chamber. like It's like you're in an ah hanger i can i can aircraft hangar. You notice above you, inside the stalactites, between the stalactites,
Speaker: thousands of bats not sort of fruit bats but like predator bats roost is roosting what bats do hanging upside down is that technically roosting um nesting roosting i don't know yeah i guess sleeping on themselves because they're not it's coming down there's a lot trickles uh you notice those initially And then you look to the floor and there are, is it the power, like this fresh ish snow. And you know, there's no openings here. This isn't like powder snow blowing in.
Speaker: This is coming off creatures that are, that have recently sort of patrolled or, or walked through migrated through. The smell of raw meat is really quite prevalent and like rotting raw meat.
Speaker: And then studying a bit more in the distance, there are no torches, so this is really relying on the glow of moonlight. But it's bit brighter than you remember.
Speaker: Two, three dozen wolves.
Speaker: on higher peaks at various points in this huge chamber. You're sort of nestled between two relatively decent-sized stalagmites that you're able to feel like you aren't being seen yet.
Speaker: you feel in danger. okay You feel like you are actively trying to hide. Okay. Or it's it's wise to, at least. It'd be wise to remain hidden. Definitely. And with that and taking all this in, he would make his way back to the egg, back to the blanket, back to w Ren,
Speaker: and just say, this is no home now. This is no place for the heir until they're ready to reclaim it.
Speaker: and
Speaker: You don't think it's worth maybe the idea that this is the exact place it should be? that's what This isn't a charged question.
Speaker: I just wanted to propose this idea that if it's the heir, surely they should be in the seat they're going to rule from.
Speaker: That's exactly what I've been thinking these past weeks, the moment I knew of its existence. Ren, this is exactly what I've been dreaming of, thinking of, returning it to this place and now.
Speaker: And he kind of casts his eyes around. It's...
Speaker: and
Speaker: It doesn't seem right. It can't stay here. And he's saying this now with a really, really heavy heart. And you can see him kind of starting to well up a little bit about... I don't know how to describe it other than like... I'm trying tom trying to picture like a movie reference that would that would be ah useful to connect it to here. But like this, he's been dreaming of this for...
Speaker: like I said, since Prego made that pact with him and since being like, right, I'm going to find this egg. I'm going to take it. I'm going to return it. It's going to be this kind of hero's return. Um, the only thing that I can think of in my head, I'm i'm thinking like Gears of War two. I'm thinking, uh, not Marcus. Um, I can't remember his name, dom the other character. That's it. Dom and Dom finally finding what he's been looking for all that time. And then come into that realization when no, this isn't right.
Speaker: Hmm. And ah he's devastated by that. Like actually devastated that this is, it can't, it can't, he can't leave it here.
Speaker: And now he's thinking, well, why I don't know where else it could go. Like it's literally shattered the the dream that he had with no backup plan, no nothing. So he is a hundred percent reliant on kind of Ren right now.
Speaker: And he'll just look to her and say,
Speaker: no, not here.
Speaker: You can take us on. Please do so. But
Speaker: just before we leave, there's something that I need to leave here, but it might draw attention to us. Can you move us on quickly? I can.
Speaker: And with that, he's going to
Speaker: unhook the shield from his back.
Speaker: The shield that is continually burning, his flaming shield that is kind of crafted from the undead scale of Galefather Sleet, his mother, the one who inhabited this den, who kept this realm safe for decades, centuries.
Speaker: And it does emit a light. It's like a torch. So he's not going to be slow about this as much as he'd like to make this kind of a reverent kind of moment for him. It's almost like he's placing ah a tribute to a god in some way, but he's going to have it unhooked and he's just going to place it on the floor of this lair, this burning effigy to his...
Speaker: mother to his heritage to his whole being before the blight robbed that from him and he's just going to place it there he's not going to kind of look down at it look back at it linger on it he's just going to have it there as this is where it needs to be even though it's a reminder of the,
Speaker: ah it's a reminder of her death, but it's also eternally burning. He has cast that continual flame on it when he first kind of had it pretty much to kind of be symbolic of this burning away of this burning passion within him of this kind of fire will always overcome.
Speaker: He's leaving that here. It makes sense for that to be here, that piece of her to be remaining in his lair. And he will take the egg once more and kind of nod to Ren.
Speaker: And as Ren begins that incantation, only takes a couple of seconds, that second where you begin to feel so yourself leaving this location, you just hear your name whispered in a light breeze back at you in your mother's tongue.
Speaker: And becomes apparent that you need to take this blanket off as you begin perfusing urgently. And perfusing urgently? I missed my what i missed my ah missed the word out.
Speaker: You begin what's the sweating. What's the word? There it is. You begin sweating profusely with urgency. It becomes super clear that you are going to need to derobe as you begin to sweat profusely.
Speaker: urgently as you step into this next environment. You're taken to desert sands that you have never walked before. feel confident saying that, but you know you are still in Dralak, for you'd never mistake that that that low resonance that shakes every grain of sand in this kingdom whenever your sovereign mother, Shondralakar, speaks.
Speaker: You stand gazing upon this metallic structure that is surrounded by shifting sands, those those sand streams that that you've encountered at previous points in the desert that that move and act like rivers but continually reshape their their direction and purpose.
Speaker: You look further up and this structure is obscured by by desert storms. It's impossible to get a sense of the complete architecture of this building because you can't see the top and you can't see the foundations for all of this shifting desert environment.
Speaker: The gnome just holds you quite tightly against this wind and shouts, This is the vault of Lord Varsin! in her loudest possible voice. you It's barely, it's just audible to you.
Speaker: Noticing this, instead she opts to speak telepathically instead and says, we can only go further if you wish to proceed.
Speaker: But struggling in this nonverbal means of talking to you just beckons you to come down to her level, sort of pulls you down at the same time.
Speaker: Yeah, Baal will kind of ah will do that, but immediately he's going to be shaking his head to her. No, not here. It can't be here. It can't be in Dralak.
Speaker: It is not safe. I know my sovereign mother has taken in many of my kind, but this this is a potential future ruler to another kingdom.
Speaker: It cannot stay here and certainly not with one of the lords of these sands. Not in his vault.
Speaker: Take us on. Can make...
Speaker: make a straight charisma check to see if you were even audible in that moment? Yeah, no worries. My charisma is balls. So that's a three overall.
Speaker: Three. She sees your mouth moving and she's like squinting to try and hear what you're saying. She begins casting something but pauses and waits because you look quite animated about this.
Speaker: um
Speaker: And she looks again and just shakes her head and goes...
Speaker: Like picture someone trying to really scream to be heard over storms. But i can't even gesticulate with his hands because he's carrying the egg. So he would go for like the gu of the cutthroat knot and then point to the floor here if he could, but he can't even do that. So he's just kind of ah still trying to mouth out the words. But yeah, I don't think he's but going to be able to get that through.
Speaker: really uncertain instead she goes to the sand and just begins to write in it and goes what am i doing i can speak telepathically nod your head if you want to proceed and see what's going on here or is are you not good shake your head of head he shakes it kind of vociferously she sort of sighs reconjures a spell again would you like to go somewhere else
Speaker: nods his head in equal fervent ah nature.
Speaker: Okay. And then just in this gasp where you're all trying to shout and she's dipping in and out of doing it telepathically and audibly, again, just contesting the sand. At this point, as she's drawing that same portal, um just make a dexterity saving throw for me as this wind is quite heavy and you're carrying a very weird object away from your center of gravity.
Speaker: Come on, come on, come on. Oh, fuck off. It's a natural one. No. No.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: As she's drawing this out, you sort of fumble it. I was only going to do this on a natural one. No, don't don't do it. Don't do it, Danny. You don't need to do it.
Speaker: You sort of fumble it. um But it's still within her reach. So when
Speaker: this portal takes form and you lose the sands entirely, some of the sands travel through and you you find yourself inside a store cupboard, tiny cubicle squeezed between a gnome and about now two feet of sand and this egg
Speaker: just about to hit the door. let you Make another dexterity, see if you can just grab it before it falls straight out of this ca this this small cubicle you're in.
Speaker: How much do I get for DM inspiration out interest? D6. Okay, and okay, okay. Let me just roll that sweet, sweet six. but Thank you for the DM inspiration.
Speaker: That's a 12. twelve
Speaker: Knowing that you fumbled it, you're instinctively just trying to regain control. And before this can sort of fall out of the space, you you hold onto it with sheer might. But the sand around you has caused like an absolute flurry.
Speaker: And before Ren does anything else, she just slams her hand over your face and does the same gesture, pursed lips herself to you.
Speaker: and once you catch, we'll catch a breath from the shouting.
Speaker: You look around this cupboard. You're in a pantry.
Speaker: There are foodstuffs on one wall, jarred and pickled goods on another. And then you're standing on glass in both forms because there is now three foot of sand below you that you brought with you from the desert, but also broken glass by nature of you all just appearing in this space.
Speaker: And as Ren keeps that hand over your mouth, you just watch as she appears through the small crack in the two doors. Like this this is about the size of a card or a matchstick. There is not much to see. It's like looking through a keyhole.
Speaker: You gaze through as well or you're just leaving it to Ren? There's not much else motion to move unless you actually physically open that door. ah Is there room for me to be able to see alongside... There's a tiny gnome and you're a dragonborn. There's plenty of room for you to tom that top it. Yeah, I'm definitely having a look.
Speaker: Definitely having a look. You see this very small kitchenette area, which opens into a much wider barracks behind it. There are maybe a dozen figures inside.
Speaker: All of which... are wearing purple cloaks of the Upchriscra.
Speaker: The room is warm.
Speaker: And there are two, three different fire hearths in this room from the angle you can spy that are fully lit. Upchriscra agents are moving with pace and purpose.
Speaker: They are processing and and communicating instructions like it's like it's a war room. you're you're hearing a lot of the rear repeating phrase in in, they dip in between Elvish and Common.
Speaker: Do you speak Elvish as well? I don't think I do. I'm going have a super quick look. Nope.
Speaker: Okay, so you're hearing about half the amount of language, that half about the information that's being communicated, but it's all about reports of objects in the sky, creatures from the sky, creatures of stone, creatures of metal, and then just a series of different kingdoms.
Speaker: um And it's it is it is every capital kingdom in in Western Ereth that you're familiar with that has been announced in that list, but you're losing half of it because you just don't speak Elvish.
Speaker: The gnome takes her hand off your lips and reaches into a pouch and produces this very small, docile moth. And she taps it with a finger imbued with light and then tries to just push it through the small gap in the door.
Speaker: And then she looks back in anticipation, hands sort of spread over this door, both eyes alternating in a sort of urgent panic.
Speaker: A few moments pass by.
Speaker: member of the equation comes really close to the pantry door. They lay a hand on it. And just before you see the hinges move,
Speaker: a single deafening voice above this cacophony of urgency shouts, I need the room.
Speaker: And within seconds, all the activity is just siphoned out of that space and one figure remains at the farthest point in this room.
Speaker: Ren clocks eyes with you.
Speaker: takes a deep breath, pushes open the door.
Speaker: And about two foot of sand spills out into this small kitchened area. She moves into the room and then you sort of lose sight from from where you are. What would you do? this far.
Speaker: Fuck you and fuck Wren. Is there room within this cupboard for the egg to remain safely on the floor and out of sight? Or is it going to kind of slip and slide out? Would I be able to like... You could you could make like a little perch, like dig into the sand a little bit, make a little reverse plinth.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, I've got um Mold Earth as a cantrip with that fancy ring. Within six seconds, you could create a super place in the cupboard for it to stay surrounded in sand.
Speaker: Baal doesn't want to come out with the egg in his hands, basically. And the the the frustrating thing is he's still really fucked up from the day. He has a single spell slot left. He's in a position where he's questioning what the fuck is going on.
Speaker: He would initially, like rage would be bubbling within him initially. And then he'd try to be kind of reasoning with it as like a, no, look, this is someone who works for the winged watch. This is someone who's taken you these places and given you these options.
Speaker: There is a reason for this. I'm sure there's a reason for this, but yeah, he is. He's not willing to just go out there with, with ah the the egg in his hand. So if he can, he'll kind of keep the egg where it is safely so that it's not going to fall away or roll away or anything like that, but then follow out and stay right next to the cupboard. but And there is a warmth to these sands that sort of has an incubatory-like property as well.
Speaker: Not it's going to last for long because that's quickly going to acclimatize, but yeah, it's it's sort of a
Speaker: it's it's probably the safest you could provide in this in this small kitchen area before it opens out to this wider room and then do you step out yourself yeah i do with uh my back to the cupboard staying quite close to it cupboard remaining open or shutting the cupboard i mean you wouldn't be able to shut the cupboard because all the sand spilled out no i wouldn't i wouldn't come for you to just sort of scoop it back in Although, Mulder. wouldn't actually. That's true.
Speaker: I'm not shutting the cupboard behind me, but I'm staying in front of it in a, ah not like ah in a war stance in any way, shape or form, but more just kind of remaining close.
Speaker: but Yeah, just because he's not sure what what the hell is going on.
Speaker: As you take in more of this room, so this is a small kitchenette that fills into this sort of 40 foot by 30 foot rectangular drawing room, really, of some sort of stately home style manner.
Speaker: There is a window, an open window to the right of you.
Speaker: The object in the sky ah so much further than it has been from your perspective in Dralak. But one of the 12 tethers coming out of it is really quite immediate from where you are.
Speaker: This room is well kept. It's had of a lot of activity in recently. There is this and a series of very large tables that seconds ago had stacks and stacks of documentation that has now been stripped bare.
Speaker: There is no um paperwork in this room at the moment. The walls... have really um beautifully woven tapestries on them, not tapestries of like um family lineage or anything like that, but just sort of floral and decorative ones.
Speaker: You can't necessarily get a sense of this architecture either. It doesn't really resemble interiors in Dralak or Sleekard, which are the two really spheres of reference that you possess. You haven't been into any other kingdoms.
Speaker: And it's a,
Speaker: Fires are needing to be on, but windows are open. like the it's It's temperate here. It's not the cold north. It's not the boiling hot suns. This is is somewhere in the middle. And the perspective on where the object in the sky is has really just sort of thrown you off a little bit.
Speaker: The furthest point in this room is the largest table. And there is a figure. You see the sort of purple outline of ah deck of the cloak hunched over the table.
Speaker: Too broad that you can make out any any figures. And because there is a fire... place right behind them it's sort of projecting them in shadow and that long shadow runs across the table but Ren seems relatively comfortable in this room and goes and sort of sits on the table perched and looks looks really at you and out the window looks a bit little bit um upset really at what's going on outside and a lot of her focus is over there while you're taking your time to adjust
Speaker: You're stepping over sort of half-eaten trays of food, um loads and loads of candlesticks that have just sort of burnt through their... So they're just like the candle holders, like the candles themselves have burnt through.
Speaker: There's like wax everywhere, inkwells and quills, like... this is This has been a room of activity for for a long time and and a lot recently.
Speaker: The smell of like tobacco is really thick in this room as well.
Speaker: And there was just this silence.
Speaker: Do you approach the table? Do you approach the window?
Speaker: like seeing Ren's state as well, he's, Bala isn't going to be comfortable at all. And obviously, like, like you mentioned, he's not going to have too much of a knowledge of trying to even work out where he is. He's casting his mind back to the map or the initial ideas that Ren had written when he was back on the boat, when he'd been kind of the very first teleportation um before she'd taken him to these two prior places.
Speaker: And he's trying to go right where, Where on earth could that be then? If the object is that far away, but chances are we're not going to be in Dralak anymore, but it's going to be one of these one of these areas.
Speaker: um But that's racing through his mind at the same time as him just kind of looking at Ren, looking at this figure, and he's just going to go, red please just explain what is going on.
Speaker: She just nods at you.
Speaker: And he's really distracted by what's happening outside and out in the sky.
Speaker: And just at the same time that you you ask that, she sort of mumbles to the figure, you're not going to tell me what you know, are you?
Speaker: And the figure grunts and there's a half chuckle.
Speaker: Sorry.
Speaker: This is Baal.
Speaker: We're hoping you can help us, she says towards the figure.
Speaker: The figure stands taller. You see more of their silhouette. They're missing an arm.
Speaker: And as they walk around the table, single arm using a sort of a prop becomes clear they aren't king organically. Like there is a real stagger to the walk and the figure just moves into a ah better view so that the light from the fireplace behind him, illuminates him better.
Speaker: And Ren just clears her throat for a second.
Speaker: Baal. This is horrible. I wonder if I get this right. Former general of the Hailstorm, Serge, firstborn to King Leopold and Queen Elsa Sleetgard, hero of the retaking of Clearguard, Vanguard, of the lead spiritmon readout, and just begins to read off a bunch of these things, he's just interrupted.
Speaker: I'm Lucian Blightbane.
Speaker: Baal recalls Seth talking about this person. He recalls Reigns as well with this the conversation that they've had about this person, this figure. Other than that, he's got a kind of minimal reference points for it, but he knows full well how much Seth looks up to this figure and
Speaker: would be immediately comforted were it not for the purple robes around them. But there there's, it's, it's, it's a bittersweet comforting ah with still a little bit of of kind of confusion that he's thinking, is this subterfuge? Is this what I, I so i just don't understand.
Speaker: And he'll kind of nod and say, I've, I've heard of you.
Speaker: Most have.
Speaker: Thank you, Wren.
Speaker: I imagine you have questions, but... Chiefly, imagine you have questions about the egg.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Wren said this was the best option, but told me nothing further. i yeah I heard you don't like up Kriska on the first pass, so I thought sorry for the deception.
Speaker: Right. No, you're right. I probably would have instantly turned it down had I heard it initially.
Speaker: Why is this the best place?
Speaker: Well... We don't know, and she gives a really harsh look in Lucian's direction, what the criss-crow are doing with these eggs, but he assures us
Speaker: it's not harming them. It's not. We're not harming them.
Speaker: I wish I could tell you more.
Speaker: after the After the blight,
Speaker: I took a position with the Chris Graham.
Speaker: I knew something bigger was coming. We all felt it.
Speaker: I can't tell you what we're doing with these eggs, but
Speaker: but I can tell you this one
Speaker: I understand why this one needs to be protected.
Speaker: Can I make an insight check? I feel like this is one of the most important. You can see more of his his facial features now. and yeah You're certainly seeing the battle-scarred general of of legend. like This is one of the most famous humans in popular Arithian culture.
Speaker: Yeah. Strikingly famous more so because the amount of limbs he doesn't have left. um But his his legs have been remade, not just mechanically, but organically as well. But he's still missing an arm.
Speaker: And this this face looks a lot like Seth's at this point. It is it is burnt, it is scarred, it is bruised irreparably. so But still retains...
Speaker: that royal imagery that that yeah you've seen Sleetgaard when Leopold and Alyssa were in good health and pre-blight times.
Speaker: You know the the the law of that kingdom that that Lucian abstained from from from um his lineage. shows So Helena is the heir to the throne, not him, despite him being the firstborn.
Speaker: You recognize the name, of course. You recognize what the face was once in like tapestries ah around gold view or all like just, just the idea of the Royal family image.
Speaker: This is a very haggard grizzled two decade later version of that face, but just about the same face. And with that role, you're checking to see how much you believe that message of, of safety. What did you get? 16.
Speaker: sixteen
Speaker: You believe he's telling the truth. Okay. You don't necessarily feel like the eyes are going elsewhere, like he's hiding or masking something. He speaks with authority. speaks with um sincerity in your eyes.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Some of the people I travel with now...
Speaker: would do anything for you. They look up to you as the pinnacle of humanity.
Speaker: And if he is willing to put that faith and trust in you with everything that he is,
Speaker: it gives me hope
Speaker: And Baa will kind of turn and head back to the cupboard and withdraw the um dragon an egg and kind of carry it back over to where Lucien is.
Speaker: You know of the importance of this. You know who and what this is.
Speaker: Tell me, and me be certain.
Speaker: This, as far as I am aware, is the only heir
Speaker: to my mother, to Galefirest the Sleet, to the dragon who once served and protected Sleetguard for centuries.
Speaker: this and kind of have it in his hands looking down at it could well be the future saviour of that kingdom
Speaker: there was seven in your mother's final brood six relocated
Speaker: None as large as this one.
Speaker: Regretfully, not all of them survived our relocation.
Speaker: But we're better at this now.
Speaker: That's the last piece of at least the Sleek Guard puzzle.
Speaker: You have my word for as much weight as that carries with whoever hears it.
Speaker: I can't tell you where it's going to go, but I will protect it. It will be safe in a chris-cris-cris hands.
Speaker: Baal kind of moulds this over. And he is
Speaker: yeah I think were he not almost on death's door himself, there might be slight differing reaction here, but this is taking into account everything that has happened, even in the last 48 hours, let alone the last 24 hours.
Speaker: ah The loss, the development, the attack, the everything, the guilt, the success, just...
Speaker: He's kind of
Speaker: almost hating himself that he's going to be going along with this purely because of of everything that he feels he believes in and that he knows with regards to the Akriska, which is constantly being turned on its head.
Speaker: But he kind of once again takes in Lucien
Speaker: You say you can't tell me what you're doing. You say they won't come to harm.
Speaker: I don't question you and your loyalties and your word.
Speaker: I just question the robe.
Speaker: I know you're doing what you feel is best for the people. I know to a lot of an extent the Upchriscra feel the same in general, but there are so many branches of your organization that are evil.
Speaker: And I don't know if These will remain under your protection. I don't know whether you will pass them off to someone else that you feel you can trust and that's not necessarily the case. I am just...
Speaker: I'm taking a chance.
Speaker: I don't have many other options left.
Speaker: And I...
Speaker: Do not say this as a threat, so please do not take it as such, but if your word falls through, I will do everything thing in my power for the rest of my days
Speaker: to put it right.
Speaker: Everything you said
Speaker: I understand. The Upchristra got an awful lot wrong in its early days.
Speaker: We got our enemies wrong.
Speaker: We got our activity wrong.
Speaker: we grew at an unsustainable rate.
Speaker: But the sky is falling.
Speaker: And we have to prepare for what's coming next.
Speaker: This egg its siblings,
Speaker: and its cousins in other broods from other mothers, are going to play an enormous part in the next chapter of our lives.
Speaker: I know I'm asking you to trust me with very little to go on.
Speaker: But this egg will hatch one day. Your home will be returned to you. And as long as i
Speaker: draw breath, he points to the egg.
Speaker: Who that one will become,
Speaker: i will personally return home.
Speaker: and restore what I understand was once a really important place to you and to your brethren
Speaker: and to me.
Speaker: I don't know much about it, but my father, my father does. The relationship between a kingdom and the dragon that really owns it.
Speaker: I'm the only other person on Earth other than yourself
Speaker: who would give their life for that egg.
Speaker: And my cause is so much foggier than yours.
Speaker: because I don't know why. I just know it's an important piece in everything.
Speaker: I'll understand if you aren't convinced. I understand the doubt these colours have in some people's minds.
Speaker: The decision is yours.
Speaker: If you two depart and the egg goes with you, we will not come hunting for it.
Speaker: I promise you that.
Speaker: Baal kind of throughout this has been staring at Lucy and kind of unblinking, just taking everything he's saying, kind of slowly nodding somewhat.
Speaker: and with the previous mention of kind of potential brothers or sisters still there. Not obviously knowing that there was sort of ah six or so, not all necessarily able to be kind of transported intact, but knowing that this is not the the kind of the very end of the line. That is obviously that's news to Barr and that is hopeful, that's encouraging.
Speaker: He believes what Lucien's saying and he's kind of, yeah.
Speaker: He's nodding.
Speaker: And what he'll do is he'll kind of...
Speaker: He'll have the the egg with him still. He's good like he's's again cradling this thing. And he'll place it gently down. and just kind of get on one knee next to it and just place his forehead kind of against the egg now.
Speaker: And just with like his eyes closed, pressed closely tight next to it, um he's just going to be kind of saying things in draconic to it.
Speaker: um
Speaker: He's... within Draconic, just going to to basically say,
Speaker: it's over to you now.
Speaker: There is a lot resting on your wings.
Speaker: And when you are ready, I shall take up arms beside you, my kin.
Speaker: And he's going to just hold that moment there with it.
Speaker: Before kind of standing back up with it and almost initially sheepishly, because Lucien's got one arm, but i'm going to kind of offer it over and then kind of take it back and go,
Speaker: i leave it in your protection.
Speaker: I recognize the sacrifice.
Speaker: I recognize the trust.
Speaker: Before you part,
Speaker: the air of Gale Fire the Sleet needs a name.
Speaker: ah Only fitting that their strictest Guardian.
Speaker: Bear that name.
Speaker: Baal will kind of... Yeah, he'll falter at that.
Speaker: That is a lot of pressure, both as a player and as a character Danny to thrust upon me to name the potential future matriarch of a kingdom. And I wish I had that in my head already like this, because I don't even know whether this is definitely going to be a matriarch or whether it is, i mean, are all these eggs, a ball would probably know, are are the eggs kind of predominantly going to be female or are they?
Speaker: It's impossible to tell. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: a ah do i Do I have to do this now? Can I ponder on this?
Speaker: Trying to think of something cool.
Speaker: Trying to think of something cool.
Speaker: yeah Ah.
Speaker: God damn it.
Speaker: I will kind of look over it and ah kind of look over at the egg. Think about what it means. Think about how it's come about as well. Think about what it's what it can do. Think about the fact that it is um it is effectively like a new hope.
Speaker: And Baal is all about this idea of kind of, yes, fire, but also through fire, rebirth. And
Speaker: he will kind of just... think within Draconic about this name for kind of rebirth and ashes and kind of like the this idea of the phoenix and thing like that and he will just go
Speaker: Valkareth born from ashes
Speaker: and look up for kind of approval.
Speaker: And it's interesting.
Speaker: As you speak that name in that moment,
Speaker: every fire in this well-lit room flickers in unison.
Speaker: as the name is spoken. And there is just
Speaker: the faintest shake of the egg, the smallest wobble.
Speaker: You feel a small gnomish hand take yours.
Speaker: Are you sure?
Speaker: I'm sure.
Speaker: Let's get you back to your friends.
Speaker: But will nod. Look to Lucien. Look to Valkareth.
Speaker: Kind of a sad smile.
Speaker: almost like you see his shoulders kind of drop, but not in melancholy, not in sadness, almost like a weight has left him.
Speaker: And whether it's because he is kind of still battered and bruised or not, it's almost impossible to tell, but,
Speaker: Baal is changed.
Speaker: And he'll take Ren's hand.
Speaker: And those symbols appear again in front of you.
Speaker: And seconds later, you find yourself in the pisnut.
Speaker: In the training room.
Speaker: untouched, repaired from your last session in there, let's say.
Speaker: And Ren just says,
Speaker: that must have been difficult.
Speaker: You have no idea.
Speaker: But
Speaker: I trust your judgment, Ren.
Speaker: think I'd trust Lucien.
Speaker: I just thought it was the best of the three options. like
Speaker: i
Speaker: If I had more time, and might have been to think of some other places, but really, where else could I go? You could have gone to the most secure place in all of Eretz and you didn't even want to look inside.
Speaker: You didn't want to take it home.
Speaker: Your entire people are displaced like you. There is no
Speaker: there is no organization
Speaker: That wouldn't just sell it. That had the means to hide it.
Speaker: No, I know.
Speaker: I know. I thought I knew where this was going. I thought I knew fully what I wanted, but it's what's best now for Valkyraeth.
Speaker: If you would to say to me a month ago what I had just done,
Speaker: would rip out your throat.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: If we'd have known a month ago that that thing in the sky would try and kill us all, and there's demons from the hells, and
Speaker: Everyone's after your friend with the mechanical body.
Speaker: This is a really different world. It is. and I was brand new to it to begin with. I
Speaker: but was going to kind of quizzically look at her.
Speaker: You seem like you know a fair amount.
Speaker: Honestly, might mix sense I just roll with the punches at this point.
Speaker: I've seen more of your kingdom and more of this world than many who've lived here for centuries have. But that's a story for another day.
Speaker: Rest.
Speaker: Thank you, Wren.
Speaker: I'm just doing what I'm told.
Speaker: I'm sure it's not just that.
Speaker: And Bal will kind of nod to himself and turn away his mind on what he's done, the choice he's made, but that's only part of it.
Speaker: The other half of his mind, the focus now is on his group, on his party, on the promise that he made to Prego and then fulfilled.
Speaker: But now with a renewed sense of purpose, this idea of he's protected the egg.
Speaker: Now he's going to protect his group.
Speaker: And that is where we're going to end this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop, Brelam Draconis. oh Oh, shit. And there is no one else to contribute to the ad lib here. So it's all your perspective.
Speaker: Dude. Oh, man. Like, it's it's weird. It's a one-to-one. It's like a Baal special. I love it. ah But also just that, oh, did I can't.
Speaker: da You have this ability, Dani, to tear out a character's heart and just fuck with it and throw it back and be like, there, deal with it, bitch.
Speaker: And it's amazing. It's beautiful. It's frustrating. It's incredible. And the story that you're weaving, I'm so here for. um And obviously incredibly grateful to be able to kind of explore this as well, this this shift, this character. I feel like...
Speaker: I feel like but I know that he has gone on a journey, but just in this one episode has gone on a big fucking journey. And yeah, it's, uh, it's, it's amazing.
Speaker: Well, thank you for the inflation of that ah ego for me. If you want to inflate our egos, listeners, then ah you can do so by getting a touch. We are at Fellowship Table on all the socials. and I'm not going to plug everyone who's not here. Will, we can find you at?
Speaker: Yeah, Fellowship NPCVC. Awesome. ah You can find me at Total Party Thrills. You've been listening to Fellowship the Tabletop. Until next time, guys, farewell. Farewell.
