Transcript
Speaker: and welcome to Eberron, your new natural play podcast setting, the Eberron campaign setting.
Speaker: to ever on new new national play podcast set neighbor eron campaign setting Folks, what happened last time? Hi, I'm Mia.
Speaker: I'm Phillip. I'm Jeff. That's not what I asked. to ask What happened last time is Mia, Phillip, and philiplippa Jeff were introduced before the podcast. That's right.
Speaker: a And we fought a bear. Yep. It's true. Zoriat is here. Big time. don't like it. Yep. Yep. I was not prepared for this. This is not what I thought we were doing.
Speaker: We not pack the correct things. Eric lied to us, is what we're saying. I didn't lie to anyone. Deceived. Said we were dealing with Lamania.
Speaker: You are! You are dealing with Lamania. Planes aren't supposed to cross. Yeah, you got your Zoriad in my Lamania. Right? Frankly, I'm disgusted by it. I literally wasn't saying anything. Oh, I thought you said something.
Speaker: Yeah, she's not talking to you. that I might have been talking to myself, but I'm pretty sure I did not say anything. Fine. So yes, you all find yourselves traveling through Lemania to deal with the sisters, the sister tree that the one Smiths brought here.
Speaker: You have a couple of companions with you. And each of those companions has a companion of their own. You have Mela and her wolf, Barna, and you have rail and her spirit wolf, Balanor.
Speaker: So yeah, ah you all find yourself standing before the sister tree. This tree breaks through the already imposing kin canopy of the Lamonian woods to stand stories upon stories tall.
Speaker: Probably larger than outside of Sharn, any building you would see on a regular basis in the material plate. You also see a large fissure at the base of the tree where some of the larger roots cracked through, bleeding down. This is something that Vrael had communicated to you all that the seed would have burrowed deep down into the earth and you all will have to go down to destroy seed. Lawnsmiths.
Speaker: lawsmith's And the Winesmiths, there are some camping supplies strewn about, but there are no bodies. And it does not look like the camp has been... There's been no one at the campsite for at least a day. I don't... I know we have worked it out, but I don't recall if it has come up in world, like among the characters, the thing that's happening with Zoria.
Speaker: but Have our characters identified this or is this just something that... Valk identified it examining the tree bark. um Right. Okay.
Speaker: And that the bug lady was present. Yes. Okay. That's right. Okay. So, Valk, if it's here... i just want to preface, I'm very stressed out right now. So if we... Was that Valk telling characters or Mia telling us?
Speaker: Yes. Understood. If it's... Nyx takes, like, Nyx takes a moment and realizes that she has nothing in her in her pack for that. Like, there's there's nothing inside Nyx that will solve that. All right.
Speaker: If it's here... And it's in Eberron. Based on what we've seen happening, is it also in Zoriat?
Speaker: Is there a third tree? I don't think there would be a third tree having a direct connection Zoriat would be much stranger.
Speaker: It would be... Very intense. We would have noticed it the moment we stepped in. Alright.
Speaker: So it's more that... Everyone probably would have been dead. You really only have like a good five minutes in there. So... Okay. So what we are dealing with is there's an entity from Zoriat here.
Speaker: Not that the tree has created some sort of juncture, you think. And you are the expert in this, which is why i ask. I'm not the expert.
Speaker: ah Really? Within the space that we are standing in, this fit you are the expert in that. Mayla also... Exposure? and Brief?
Speaker: Well, Barna has, but I think that there was an opportune moment of overlaps in a thinning veil, and I have suspicions that it might have known that I was coming.
Speaker: Potentially? and decided to find a way to get closer. I don't know if this is worse. I think that's worse. It is worse. That's why I'm stressed. No, I, yes. i yeah and Kaz just, you know, likes to try to contribute and seem like he knows what's going on. And much like his portrayer.
Speaker: And so he's like, did you guys see in the fight when that elk kind of disappeared and then reappeared? It wasn't teleport magic.
Speaker: I think it may have been the a plane jump. And that's like... It went somewhere else and came back, you mean?
Speaker: Yeah, like it traveled a little bit in another area. It wasn't a teleport. that's i can tell you that for sure. It didn't just hop from one to the other. Like when I teleport, I just blink and I'm back in a different place. It's not like I travel...
Speaker: And it's instant. And this was like a timing thing where it like disappeared for the amount of time it would have taken for it to run as far as it ran and then reappeared. So it jumped over into another plane, traveled the distance and then came back.
Speaker: I think so. That's strange. With all the talk of planes, that's the only thing that makes sense to me. But if we hadn't been talking about Zoriat and Lamania being like they are right now, I never would have thought that. Does that make sense?
Speaker: Yes. Was there a BAMF, Eric? There was no BAMF. Okay. That was last campaign. i think so I think that might be what happened. I don't know if that... It's not good that there's that sort of quick travel possible. don't think anything is good right now.
Speaker: Fair. When he's right, he's right, folks. She. When she's right, she's right, folks. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything we can do about the fact that everything's bad right now. I think the only thing we can do something about potentially is the thing we came here for.
Speaker: Do our job and get gone. I love it. If, if it is that simple, we will be fortunate. Sure. Eric wall.
Speaker: Yeah. Is i just remembered something that was true last time. Cause I have a note on my character sheet. but You maintained the escalation die between encounters last time. Is the escalation die still high?
Speaker: No, it did reset at this point because you all are no longer going through a gauntlet trying to get to the sister tree. So, okay. You all have made it. Then Nyx is gradually resuming her normal appearance.
Speaker: As, as the conversation goes speaking of things being bad, you all due to the number of combat encounters you've gone through up to this point, if you all would like, you can take a full heal up and basically camp down before venturing into the sister tree.
Speaker: It's not an ideal spot, but also continuing to push yourselves nonstop is not ideal either. Right. Especially since Valk's eye won't stop twitching.
Speaker: How long does that require? Basically, it would be while, like, sleeping, for the like, resting up for the night. There's no, like, it must be six hours kind of thing. Sure. but I just didn't know if it, I didn't i didn't know how, i didn't know to what degree it is entirely narrative in this in this system.
Speaker: I am... concerned about giving the Wandsmiths five to ten hours, depending on which of us gets to decide what a full sleep is. Yeah. so ah elan I will take it, but I also, during any sort of long break, I can change my spells, but I wish had hands up on that.
Speaker: I have to read on each one's might be more helpful. right now it it will reset a couple of spells that I have used. It's good, like it's desirable. I'm i'm in favor of having The rest, I am worried about the time. Well, I mean, if they're already in there, there're other and they're in there doing weird stuff or they're dead.
Speaker: so but Like I said, there's no... oh go ahead. I guess Nyx would look to Vrael, who seems to know the most about this particular part. Look, we're not in the best shape. Are things likely to get worse if we pause here a moment and...
Speaker: recover ourselves, we did not come here prepared for what has turned out to be the situation.
Speaker: Things under the sister tree will get worse. It's whatever it damage the Wandsmiths were seeking to inflict, they've done.
Speaker: missing You all taken beat before venturing forth is wise. Things are getting worse in the material plane, but It is a slow bleed.
Speaker: So taking some time is a point to make a huge difference. All right. So because there is not prescribed amount of time, I will say that this can be you while taking a couple of hours to steal yourselves,
Speaker: Make sure your gear is ready. you can have any conversations that you want to have while you're doing this, but it does not need to be while camp down for the night. um It's much more that like prep montage before like the big push. Yeah.
Speaker: So Mia, what does Valk do to try and get his stress under control? Well, I had already rolled the dice. So that's a six. Let me get back.
Speaker: So I'm still that's good just ah above half. Okay. i I think he's like probably leaning up or sitting against a tree and just ripping the grass out.
Speaker: But I'm assuming it's growing back at the same stage. Almost instantly, yes. and So he's just occupying his time with taking what little action he can against without actually harming it since it's coming back.
Speaker: Fair enough. And then just breathing. Yeah. Trying to remember the old therapy. All I remember is that I was ripping the grass out. Something about Zelda. Ripping the grass out and breathing. Yeah.
Speaker: Breathing, trying to remember what I said and the therapy practices that have more than likely been misinterpreted. You're talking about Yeah, the Journal of Reflection.
Speaker: oh So now say this in a way to where I can smoothly edit it together. I don't know! i think you in just Just cut it out. skip me. No! skip I'm taking a bow silence just for the next 30 seconds.
Speaker: You're not allowed to do that. have to spin it. So controlling, Eric. Just keep going. What is Nyx up to, to prepare for the journey ahead? Nyx is, I think probably just checking her, checking her kit, checking the, you know, various straps and buckles on her armor and and her pack and everything like that, that she carries.
Speaker: She doesn't need to check her sword. It's only sometimes here. At some point she says, you know, what's really bad about all this? She says that to the assemblage? Yes. Earlier you said everything.
Speaker: i just thought of something else.
Speaker: Even if we survive and succeed, and we go back Eberron, there's still a death cult in that town.
Speaker: Holy crap. I just got What? It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of this. There's still the death cult. There's a death cult. It's fine. How are you gonna deal with the death cult?
Speaker: Rael says. Well, I was just thinking, well, first we have to decide if it's still under our purview after we fix this other stuff. i'm My go-to is violence. Solid so we plan.
Speaker: And I don't mean to stereotype, but I bet the death cult is as well. Seems likely, yes. They're not a compromise cult. I mean, have they actually done anything to the town?
Speaker: They tried to kidnap Selena. Who's not a part of the town. How you doing, Selina? I wasn't concerned about the town. Great.
Speaker: I think we need to destroy them because they tried to kidnap one of us. They are conveniently located at the town we are returning to. Yeah.
Speaker: Jeff forgot about that part. So yes, Kaz is on board with Tattoo. Okay. One thing at a time. Yeah, we can't do anything about it here. Can we? Hang on. Can we? Okay.
Speaker: Kaz, what are you doing to prep? Kaz has been reliving seeing his old self in his brain and both the amazing slash terrifying thing his old self did, but the fact that they were able to acknowledge each other and figure out what he And he thinks, I need to go talk to Valk about whatever he was saying, and then sees what Valk is doing and thinks, it's not the time Valk is...
Speaker: angrily breathing and ripping grass out of the ground. So I think that Kaz just does what Kaz does, which is kind of try to be... kind of small and out of the way of the people who seem to know what they're doing until he is needed to do something insane.
Speaker: Like, and yeah, like he, he probably like unpacks and repacks his pack just to have something to be doing. Cause he watches Nyx like getting her stuff together and he's just kind like, i am as me as I was when I walked in here. so I'm just going to repack everything.
Speaker: Okay. All righty. Well, you all can undergo a full heal up. Any things that you're allowed to do during a full heal up, go ahead and do like change spells or whatnot.
Speaker: Now full heal up means we can get our dailies back or no, that does not. Yes, it does. Okay. In that case, I roll a new cleric. Oh, you're kidding. You're rolling. You what cleric invocation? i have to roll randomly after turning each full heal up to see which one I get to do, which I believe requires a deep dwell.
Speaker: Okay. Well, Vril stands up and grabs her weapons. Says, I believe it's time to go. And Mela nods and pets Barna as they stand up.
Speaker: We get ahead to the fissure. train So as you all look down into the crack in the earth, there are no convenient stairs or gentle slope down into the earth.
Speaker: Rather, you see a large an enormous crack in the ground. with like massive roots going down and Vraelle begins, grabs a hatchet off of her belt and positions yourself and sinks the hatchet in ah with some rope and begins to tie it around the hatchet, uh, and then starts to lower herself down on the rope, climbing down. I'll go next. ah Okay.
Speaker: Are you just going use the same rope that Braille set up? I'm going to hope so. yeah Okay. lish That's too much weight. The hatchet comes out. and You both plummet.
Speaker: You might as well just kill him now. Braille pulls the rope down behind her. I mean, I will also follow once I've seen. tech Yeah, once everyone else is gone, next we'll go.
Speaker: Okay. So after Mela descends, Nyx joins... And you all begin the descent. I would love for everyone to give me a drink based check.
Speaker: Cause she physically climb Yup.
Speaker: yep
Speaker: Oh, hopefully. That's an 11. 11? Okay. Mix.
Speaker: 15. 15? I got a 23. i've lied. That's why. Yes.
Speaker: Kaz, you are easily and deftly swinging between these giant roots as you all descend deep into the ground. Kaz has the body of a teenager. Tree climbing is built in.
Speaker: Yeah, for sure. Are these in bearhole roots or are these Zoria in Florence? They are very giant roots, but insofar as you can tell at this point, they seem to be normal in a Lamonian context.
Speaker: yeah They're not normal, but they are expected. Say the nuance there. Also, these roots are like, the ground has opened up. So you all are almost in a cavernous opening underground as opposed to pushing your way through the dirt like roots normally would be.
Speaker: You all are needing to so some roots will stop and then roots will continue further down. you all are needing to navigate. far enough down to find someplace where you no longer need to climb anymore, a landing down here.
Speaker: So I'm gonna initiate little bit of skill challenge. So I'm gonna put it to you all to pitch to me how you can utilize your skills to navigate this situation.
Speaker: Like I said, there are large gaps in the routes. You all are having to hop kind of from route to route at times. And it is the path forward is not super clear. ah There is still some light shining down from above.
Speaker: ah You all have not gotten so far down that light ceases to be an aid. but yeah, anybody have any skills they would like to pitch? I think Nyx has lot of experience finding...
Speaker: having to improvise back ways into places as a smuggler. So I would like to propose using my black marketeer background. Okay.
Speaker: Love it. I mean, but Kaz's privilege to mischief has absolutely led him to climbing fences and hopping walls and, you know, sneaking through...
Speaker: guarded areas, uh, lightly guarded security guarded or mall sick, mall cops. Uh, so, but you know, it's been like, it's especially like hopping a fence or doing little basic parkour kind of move to get up to a window ledge kind of stuff. So I would like to use my privilege to mischief in that. Okay.
Speaker: Real quick, Philip, what skill are you using with your sac ground? I guess intelligence okay seems like the logical one and my result is a 20, no level, so 25.
Speaker: twenty five Okay. Awesome. I think might would be dexterity for sure. Okay. With this one.
Speaker: a too Go ahead. Not, I mean, again, what'd you have with these? 21. twenty one Okay. Tien. Mia, what what is Valk doing to help navigate all of this?
Speaker: I think after observing the Zoria-influenced trees outside, I think he would try and almost unnaturally grab the bark to try and and widen.
Speaker: what Not really widen, but in case somebody slips to be able to have another i can step. I could use... I'm just assuming that's just generally exposed to Zorriette.
Speaker: Yeah. So just the intelligence from observing the So that would be wisdom or intelligence.
Speaker: I think wisdom. Okay. Yeah. I was giving an out to the one that didn't have all of the bonuses. I live with what you pitched initially. Don't be mad at me. That is a 24. 24. Okay. No, I think you all are able to quite dexterously navigate all of this, making your way down.
Speaker: And you all got enough successes to make it through. So you all find yourself landing on a soft patch of grass down here.
Speaker: It's an outcropping. There is like large dirt walls all around you as like this cavern continues to go down. ah but a route leads you to right above a a fairly sizable grass landing, which is weird to find down here.
Speaker: You. at this point there is no longer you're about 300 feet underground you would estimate based on how long you've been traveling down sunlight is no longer something to age you at this point uh now that you're this far down but there are enormous rush mushrooms sprouting out of the walls of the cavern on this landing and even out of some of the roots that give off a faint bioluminescence
Speaker: It's somewhat peaceful and beautiful down here. You see that there is a crack, a large crack in the dirt wall next to the landing.
Speaker: And you hear some soft cooing is not the right word, but it's.
Speaker: It's, it's, it's a bird call of some kind, but it's very soft and small in fate. I will take a and it's coming from this, this hole in the wall.
Speaker: I will take an intelligence based check with any relevant backgrounds to identify this bird song. Not from Zoriat. So Zoriat touch is not applicable.
Speaker: It's not spooky. i mean, it's. You all are in a strange place. Is it Thelanus? Not spooky in that way. Jeff, I will say that Thelanus is applicable here.
Speaker: Okay, sit. And I'm sorry, what was the check? What was the skill intelligence based? That's a 19. That's a 19? That's 30. I got natural 19. Nice. thirty they got a natural they got a national nineteen place Well, it just sounds like there's some birds up here further down, right? Kaz, you have a brief moment of... Maybe the familiarity is somewhat comforting to Kaz a little bit, but that is very clearly clearly gives way to another feeling.
Speaker: You recognize this as the call of an owlbear cub. Owlbear cubs are very cute. Owlbear cubs are never left unattended for very long.
Speaker: And these are all things Kaz knows. Yes. okay With a 30, Kaz knows owlbears. For some reason, you tell me why Kaz knows owlbears.
Speaker: I would say it's our high school mascot, but that'd be ripping off Dimension 20.
Speaker: Kaz definitely got deep into owlbears at some point as a kid. I mean, that's, you know, it's like being into Tyrannosaurus. I had Ranger Rick magazine, whatever the Eberron Ranger Rick magazine is.
Speaker: It's Ranger Rick. It's just spelled with a Y. Yeah. It's Rager X, but he just talks about how he got in a fight with all the animals because he's that kind of ranger. Yeah. With a 19 Valk, you recognize the owlbear bird call, but you don't have the additional context of that Kaz has having studied owlbear so extensively as he did at an early age.
Speaker: But I need initiative from you all. Oh, no, that's not what I wanted to hear. But he also has all of the incorrect things that one hears about animals. They're killing. You can't touch the owlbear baby or else it's mob will reject it. It's a 22. 18. as 24. Ooh, rough.
Speaker: Whoa. Much better for me.
Speaker: when it's eighteen mightus say twenty four real o what's so rough with switch betterder swing make
Speaker: Okay. Our initiative order is the owl bear. You got a natural 20 on his role. Then Kaz, then Vauk, then Mela, then Nyx, then Braille. So because
Speaker: Nyx is the least aware currently based on the role. going to say the owlbear leaps down onto Nyx from one of the roots overlooking this landing in a shocking surprise attack.
Speaker: So this is against your AC Nyx. Cool. That is a 20 versus your AC. A 20 does hit my AC.
Speaker: Okay. That is 16 damage. Ouch. What was the natural melee roll? Nine.
Speaker: Aha. That's eight damage.
Speaker: We'll find it. And then, Did an owlbear just, like, land on me? Am I on the ground under an owlbear? it, like, slashed at you. You kind of were able to step back as it, like, it didn't pin you down.
Speaker: You are, however, you do have a condition. Hampered. Hampered means you can only bake make basic attacks. pink You can only make basic attacks.
Speaker: While you are engaged with the owlbear. So you can try to disengage and then you'll be able to. Does it is have like a thousand eyes? No, it seems like an owlbear.
Speaker: Okay. What size of shopping mall would you compare it to in size? It's not the size of shopping mall, it's the size of a Buick, which is normal for an owlbear. Yeah, uh, Kaz, you tell me if Kaz would say this out loud, because we apparently have decided that owlbears are Kaz's hyperfixation.
Speaker: Kaz is pleased to see that this is a great horned owlbear, bladed upon Nyx. Pulls out his, pulls out his monstrosity birding book. Oh! It's Kaz's former hypermix agent. And as such, she goes, oh, great horns. He just says that. oh Thank you, but not the time. Yeah, right. Okay, so now it is Kaz's turn. You have seen a great horned owlbear.
Speaker: Do you want to try to befriend it? let me think No, because I learned enough to know that that's not a thing you can do. And unfortunately, I'm guessing the great horned owlbear is more grizzly than black bear. You can't just scare it away.
Speaker: Typically, no. Punch it in the nose, right? That'd be a barn owlbear. the this snow The snowy owlbear is much more docile. In the inverse of bears. The white owlbears are the ones you actually want to see. yeah it's funny you actually There is actually a burrowing owl. You could have had a burrowing owlbear we couldn't have given you crab like we did the lion. but Maybe you couldn't.
Speaker: Well, fair enough. Phillip's crab giving those no master. He can do whatever he wants.
Speaker: I have to be true. Just the standard, I'm going to... Actually, first I'm gonna do my quick action. um I have to do my clerical indication. This particular it has to go during the first route.
Speaker: So I am going to use the fact that I know a lot about owlbears because I passed that check earlier. It's the domain of knowledge and lore is the indication that I rolled earlier.
Speaker: um It gives me a quick glimpse of the battle's future. So I think I might know a bit of how owlbears, great hornbears, attack when they're Basically, i have to roll a d6.
Speaker: four once the s If the Escalation Dive makes it to four, one of you guys can re-roll a miss with a plus two bonus. But I would love if if we if we wanted to narrate it as, yeah, Kaz just knows enough that he's able to, well, if we get to that point, we'll screw it up. Anyway, Kaz attacks.
Speaker: Kaz rolls a natural one. Good thing I had that quick action to be doing something useful. you're You're so, you never you never thought you'd see a great horned owl bear.
Speaker: Like, yeah, no, I subconsciously right now can't bring myself to her. You're in awe of this creature. I am. And I'll and grab my next thing to see if i have to roll stuff. And I do not. Well, I do, but nothing that matters right now.
Speaker: Okay. And I guess, I think I'm going to be, two to play along with what we just said, I am rooted in place. I'm not moving anywhere. i'm I am so stunned by, except I do want to look around. Can I see the baby?
Speaker: Or is it like hidden in some brush or something? You look to the the opening in the dirt wall where you heard the calling come from. And there's, like I said, bioluminescent mushrooms and things like that all about.
Speaker: So you see from the darkness just two giant eyes. Okay. Like very cute puppy dog-esque eyes with like the bioluminescent shining off of it. Okay. So it's not like in danger. It's just this is where Mama stashed it to go do something else. and we walked This is the owlbear cave. Yeah. yeah Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha.
Speaker: 300 feet under underground where owlbears live. You know. Kaz does. Like we've said, they're throwing owls. This makes sense. Don't worry about it. Valk. vouchk I'm going to... I need to gain my focus.
Speaker: but I will also... For once, once per arc, wield my sword. um And I'm going to move towards... If there is an... um Away from the babies, close to like an exit. The exit is more roots going down further. I said what I said. That's an exit.
Speaker: Yeah. I was just like, you know, yeah, for sure. That's all I got. Okay.
Speaker: It is Mayla's turn. Mayla is going to... touch the symbol hanging around her neck and her eyes flash a bluish green color as she looks at nyx and she blesses nyx so nyx you gain a plus two attack bonus until the end of the battle cool and no that that's the way she cast it so That is, and then Barna is going to run up and is going to eat the baby owlbear, I assume, like based on every dog I've ever encountered.
Speaker: Barna is going to run up next to Nyx fighting the owlbear and that's all we can do this turn. Nyx.
Speaker: Nyx doesn't, I have all sorts of thoughts about maybe just running away from this, but Nyx knows nothing about owlbears apparently. And so she's going to try and kill it. So Nyx, as she's sort of thrown against the wall of the cave or again of the the passage down, Nyx will turn, drawing the sword out of the air and swing at the owlbear.
Speaker: Well, I got all kinds of bonuses, so maybe that roll is not going to be entirely useless. Okay, so... 15 plus... ah Yeah, I think 19 to hit ah AC.
Speaker: 19 to hit the AC, that will not hit. Wow, okay. Did you add the plus 2 for Mela? I did, yes. And the plus 2 I got for rolling an even number on the initiative, so...
Speaker: put all the pluses, but I rolled a natural four, so it's hard to hard to climb out of that. Okay. Any quick actions, Nyx or Lunemits? I guess I do engage it, so and I have them all back, so I will activate my demonic violence.
Speaker: And it will take six damage. Okay. Alrighty. Now you could, you are currently hampered. You could disengage, make a disengage check with your movement to try and disengage from it just so you are no longer answered going into your next turn.
Speaker: If you want. Then I won't be in a position to kill it. And the viewers will never forgive me if I leave the dog to face the, to face the owlbear alone.
Speaker: fair fair okay this is only until the end of the next albers turn so but if you don't want to that's totally fine i will stay okay then it rail's turn rail is going to try to shoot the owlbear going to use her sybaris mark of handling to make it everybody's friend no she She does not.
Speaker: So there. feel like somebody could handle this. Thanks, Jeff. That was a 21, which does hit. Okay. It is now time for the Escalation Dye to go up to a 1.
Speaker: but And it is the Owlbear's turn. so The Owlbear is going to continue to attack Nyx. Sure. Why not? It's going well. That is only 15 versus AC.
Speaker: 15 does not hit my AC. I'm going to do better lessons. Okay. Because that was a miss. Yes. So that's a... Where am I? Page of my own. I sp hey do not know. legendges Yeah, i'm I don't know either. i just, I'm new here.
Speaker: That's a 22 against mental. this sense Yes, that will do it. Okay. I'll take that. And again with the dice, I'll just blow these choices. So it's 13.
Speaker: Actually, no, wait, that is the wrong one. That's why we don't scroll. No, it is still 13 and Nyx gets 13 temporary hitlings.
Speaker: Wow. Nice. Okay. And because it missed its attack.
Speaker: Nyx, I mean, all of you see this, Nyx, you just have a front row seat for it. It swipes its claws and it attempts to like bite you with its beak. And as you step out of the way, you see the momentum of the force of this owlbear swipe.
Speaker: Its arm continues to extend, but the feathers kind of stay in place as like the the skin of the owlbear's arm. And it is it like reaches forward. Its like face kind of stretches back.
Speaker: And then the feathers pop back into place as it like snarls and snaps at me. feel like you lied to me when you said this was a normal owlbear. I said at the time it was! You're just a faint sa sorry. Sorry.
Speaker: So i get I do retain my focus. Nice. I'm checking now. Okay. That was the owlbear's turn. Kaz, you just saw some body horror. Yeah. Okay. So Kaz is he's still trying to draw on what he knows about owlbears and like what happens when they're young or threatened. How close am I to the mouth of the cave or where the baby is?
Speaker: You're nearby. You could get there in a move. Okay. Kaz is going to run towards the baby. And then when he gets there, he is going to cast Shadow Dance.
Speaker: And at that point, he and the Mama Owlbear are going to switch places. So that she is there and reunited with her cub, and we are all away from... they She's closer to her cub than anybody. Interesting. Now, she does take some damage, but that's what happens when you freak Kaz out with your body horror.
Speaker: She's going to take... 10 points of damage, but that's just collateral from the teleporting. What are you going to do about that? Nothing you can do about that.
Speaker: Nothing I could do. And so, yeah. And so now, the lay of the battle is i have run two per young, as close as I could get. In a place that like if if the if if the baby's on a mushroom that the mama would collapse.
Speaker: yeah like you know i I'm using my judgment there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get that. but so's So trying to reunite mama and baby and then I swap the two of us with the teleport spell. Nice. I like that. This is very cool. i like that.
Speaker: And I think it's a a kind of ugly teleport spell where at first a very hulking Kaz and then kind of shrinks down to his size. Like, um, yeah. Kaz, give me a roll.
Speaker: think? something to try and like imbue the magic of the celebration with kind of a calmness, like trying to calm it. Okay. I made a role for the owlbear's disposition and it it is favorable in, in your direction.
Speaker: Okay. I mean, like I feel like it has to be charisma. That's what my magic plays off of as well. So no, I like that. Yeah.
Speaker: I don't think to petition to add fate touches to it. That feels like hats on hats. So, okay. Not bad. 22. Yeah. 22. Okay. yeah twenty two okay Yeah, you hear from the cave mouth as the mama owlbear swap spots with Kaz.
Speaker: You're kind of a snarling and a hissing coming from there, ah but it is no longer like actively rushing out to attack you all. So that means we move, right?
Speaker: Yeah. Yes. Vraelle's already hopping onto to one of the routes and beginning the descent. through Same. Time to go. Nyx will stay put with herself between the cave entrance and everyone else until everyone is moved and then we'll go down.
Speaker: Okay. You all begin your descent further down. Eric, when do I lose temporary eight points? ah At the end of the battle, which is now.
Speaker: Just check it. Yep. cat Cass makes an allusion to the fact that if we had killed that mama, we were going to suddenly... It was going to be incumbent upon us to learn how to train a baby owlbear. was thinking that too. was like, Eric has just saddled us with an infant on our way to this encounter.
Speaker: This is where Nyx's heel turn begins. Okay. So you all... um
Speaker: Reach a another large cavern and you see a translucent orb floating in the air. It looks like a large seed.
Speaker: It is clearly not physically there. Eric's going to get a prop. He's got like a big giant floating translucent orb stashed somewhere in the room. He's going to bring it out here because he he misses the the at the table experience. He's got of those dome shaped mirrors that makes a fake hologram.
Speaker: I have my fushigi orc. They're coming back. Are they really? Yeah, unfortunately. Hey, in here, they never left. All right. we ah Me and all of my cousins received those for Christmas one year to great hilarity. you i It couldn't have been the year Labyrinth came out. You would have been too young. No, you know, it was somewhere in the probably honestly early 2000s. They were not recent by that point. Hey.
Speaker: There were infomercials like crazy for those orbs. Um, so anyway, you all land and it is very clear that this is not the seed itself.
Speaker: This seems to be, um some kind of projection. of the sea. And after a moment, as you all kind of land on the grassy surface of this landing, you see the orb disappear for a moment, and then it comes back into view from whatever this projection is being carried by three individuals who are in, like, artisan clothes, not adventurer clothes, not armor.
Speaker: One smith. Yeah. putting it in its place. And then you see the mark of handling that you all reportedly heard about that, that was on this orb glowing bright.
Speaker: Everyone give me a either wisdom or intelligence check to notice something about the mark. So whatever relevant backgrounds you think would be applicable.
Speaker: Nix, I know this guy's going away. This guy's going away. What'd you get? rolled a natural. Oh. Switching dice. Don't worry. It's just Mia against Math.
Speaker: don't worry it's just mia against mass
Speaker: I don't like those odds. I would either. I don't like those odds. 20, 30. I think had paranormal investigator.
Speaker: This makes just too much sense. What, what'd you get Kaz? 13. Okay. So as the mark of handling glows bright, Valk, you spot something at like one of the,
Speaker: junctions of the lines within the mark of handling, you see something that doesn't quite belong as it's like glowing bright and etched into the lines here, very faintly, but you see a different mark that is imbued in there.
Speaker: The dark mark. You see, you recognize that it, it is Zoriat in nature. Like this mark of handling was corrupted somehow with a 30.
Speaker: You also, perhaps from the first time, perhaps not about you, you've investigated Zoriat for a long time, much like the, the mark of handling clearly has some kind of tie to Lamania.
Speaker: you recognize that this mark that you recognize as Zoriat magic pulsing off of it is the mark, the dragon mark of detection that's been imbued in gear, but it's imbued with Zoriat magic.
Speaker: So there's like a dragon mark of detection marked on the mark of handling. Yes, but very faking within it.
Speaker: But Valk spots the Zoriat magic. So... so To, to just paint the full picture with a roll of a 30 Mia and you may have already put a lot of these pieces together, but it's very clear that at some point before this seed was brought into the woods, into the whispering cops and into Lania, somebody put this Zoriat mark on it to carry the magic of Zoriat with it. This was an intentional sabotage of some kind.
Speaker: or an intentional corruption of some kind. But all the weird stuff going on with Zoriat is not a weird confluence. It's not a mistake. ever It was on purpose.
Speaker: And it's not me. It's not you. I'm recovering something from the king. This version of you? Yes, absolutely. One of your besties has a different version of him showing up from time to time doing weird stuff. Who's to say there isn't another Rob running around up there? He said we're besties. You have to abide by it.
Speaker: I said one of. I have a few. that Kaz would have asked for in his wildest dream trooper. One of his best friends. but Ouch.
Speaker: Yeah, Valk, communicate that however you will, or keep it a secret. Or, Mia, forget what I said and lie to everyone about what just happened. wrote that down. That suggestion? i think this was... Valk is almost, like, squinting and getting maybe too close to the production.
Speaker: Just really, like, analyzing what's going on, and then... Like, using his hand, he'll like, his finger, he'll like, draw out the subtle corruption.
Speaker: And then just start kind of saying this out loud but to himself, but also not really caring if somebody else hears. It's more kind of self-soothing that someone has corrupted this with Zoriat.
Speaker: It's not me. i'm okay. Someone else got to this. If that's why it's weird. It's not me. End of episode.
Speaker: Thank you all so much for listening. If you want to be part of the conversation surrounding this episode, head on over to our discord. The link to which is in the show notes. but We also have a YouTube channel, youtube.com slash the geek panion. If you want to watch some TTRPG related videos, Philip.
Speaker: On YouTube and Spotify, you can also find Tales from the Laughing Tree where we have another actual play called The Queen's Blades using the Legend in the Mist system. Correct. but We also have a Patreon, patreon.com slash the pantheon. If you want to financially support the show, you can do so over there.
Speaker: Thank you all so much for listening. I have been your Game Master, Eric. I'm Mia. I'm Philip. Object! We will see you next time.
