Transcript
Speaker: I've been following a page on TikTok, which just is all old vines and... Are you on TikTok, Mark? Yes, I am, yeah. How do you find it for someone in their 30s as a platform?
Speaker: Fine, I don't give it anything, obviously I don't put anything on it myself. It's mainly now, and I've just shown you an example now, I've got kettlebell workouts, baby hacks, cooking, more kettlebells, D &D, and gardening.
Speaker: Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop, Bellum Draconis. We are a live play 5e D &D podcast set in the magical homebrewed world of Eryth in the Kingdom of Sleepguard. My name is Mark, and I am the Dungeon Master. And also with us for this week's episode, we have Danny, who plays the half -orc monk Moro to Broken Tusk. Bonjour! We've got Darren, who plays the higher -elf Artifice of Rains. How doe? El Bonjour. We've got Callum, who plays the war -forged Artifice of Alpha.
Speaker: Hello and we've got a new place the Tiefling warlock next corral. Hey. Oh, that was a bit drug away. Unfortunately, I was going for the spider in this the into the spider verse thing with. What drug. The great shoulder touch that all young men now do to their perspective, future partners. Hey.
Speaker: Y 'all know what I'm talking about. You spider fans out there listening to this, you know exactly what scene I'm talking about and you're feeling me right now and I'm feeling you. We're in this together. Fuck everyone else. Fuck the haters. What happened last week? Well, I was just going to give our apologies for Will not being here first, actually. Oh, is he still not here?
Speaker: He's still not here. He's still in the cinema watching Spider -Verse. Just can't get out of it. There's too many verses. He's stuck in the verse. Keep watching that same scene you just talked about and repeat. Repeat. Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Speaker: I don't know what you're talking about, so I guess I'm one of your... Have you never seen Into the Spider -Verse? You're missing out. I'm currently in the Marvel universe, and I've just finished watching... I'm very behind in everything, actually. I've done One Vision, did the Winter Soldier and the Falcon Man. Oh, that's so good. Captain America 2. That's very good. So good. No, Captain America... No, the Winter Soldier. Oh, the series! Yeah, series. Harry Kane.
Speaker: It's all right. It's all right. It's yeah, it's it gave me it feels of boys the boys with the dude is Captain America felt very kind of like Expecting to drink breast milk at some point and shoot lasers from his eyes. So shame. It's not the boys though Oh the boys and then I've just I'm halfway through no no no home the way no way to get back home and
Speaker: Spider -Man no way home no way home, but I prefer your title. No way to get in that way together. Yes, we're halfway through Yeah, watching it episodically. No babies babies wake up. So we just go. No, this is it. We're going about now. Um, so yeah, so we're halfway through that just literally the uh, the rise. Ah, well not only me but the entire fellowship listeners out there will want to know
Speaker: exactly when you get to Into the Spider -Verse and let us know your thoughts and opinions on it because it's possibly the greatest Spider -Man film and it's an argument for the greatest animated film of all time. Stop. No, come on, stop. Chicken run, anyone? Get out.
Speaker: This is a film I haven't thought about for a long time. I quote it on a bi -daily basis. Right, it's fucking great. I don't want to be in a pie. I don't like gravy. I don't like gravy. Everyone knows it. I need to show my fucking kids that. It's got that, yeah, chickens go in, pies come out, what kinds of pies? Apple. Chicken, you idiot. It's fantastic. Mel Gibson, Mel Gibson. Mel Gibson before he went completely crazy.
Speaker: It's just brilliant. I really want to watch that film now. It's fucking Chicken Run. Are we a D &D podcast or a film critic? We don't know anymore. We can be both, but Chicken Run is a solid shout. We've jumped from...
Speaker: Yeah, from the Marvel Universe to Wallace and Gromit, basically, that's our... If we haven't lost anyone, please do feel free to tweet us out your favourite animated film, we'll see. Or, or, or even better, let's just keep it succinct, Chicken Run versus Into the Spider -Verse, let us know and we'll find out what comes on top. There is a right answer here.
Speaker: The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse. The Spider -Verse.
Speaker: All the goblins go in. Pies come out. I don't want to be in a pie. Don't like gravy. Don't bring them up, man. Anyway, we should probably do some D &D stuff. I like these little intercedes sometimes. I feel like it's a look closer instead of the characters at the players and that's deep.
Speaker: And we also get to hear the quiet seething of Darren, is he? No, no, no. I've just done, I've just been on YMDB. I've just been on to IMDB. Into the Spiderverse has an overall rating of 8 .5. Chicken Run has an overall rating of 7 .1. Suck it.
Speaker: The problem is, it's all the vegans, Darren. It's the vegans that are just like... Who fucking owns IMDB? I don't know. Donald Trump, maybe? Like, let's go for the real people. I reckon that's what he meant. Boost on the ground. You all out there. You vote for us. Chicken run or Spider -Verse? Let's hit it. All I'll say is...
Speaker: No, I've got nothing. I've never seen Into the Spider -Verse, so I can't. You really need to see it, yeah. I've got to watch it in order. The only people who have seen both are saying Into the Spider -Verse. Yeah, but you're all biased, you know, fake news. I'm watching them in time chronological order as well, so not the order of release, the time which they come out, because they do that on Disney+. Every time you see Iron Man now, are you just thinking, Reigns, Reigns, Reigns. Yeah.
Speaker: Fair. But, more nuanced, let's say, and different. He doesn't own the stock. Thanks. More nuanced industry. Suck it while we're down in junior. And I mean, the other round, like, Iron Man's the more nuanced version. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. That's fair. He's not plagued by WWE references either, so.
Speaker: This is true, this is true. Plagued! You forced them on yourself like a... You set them up just for me to sometimes have to knock them out the park. I don't even know what a WWE is, by the way, so I don't know what you're talking about. What is a wrestler? He knows what it is. Who is a Ric or a Flair? I don't know.
Speaker: Anyway, I knew someone would do that. So, speaking of flares, we had a bit of a flare of tempers on last week's episode. Or we can segue in as well as segue out. This is a new inclusion into the stock. Anyway, so we did the big round.
Speaker: What happened on last week's episode? What's in last week's episode? We're all shaking our head at you. None of you caught the fact that you were saying last week. You just tend to shake your head at me anyway, guys, so I don't know anymore. Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, we've just been back off our goblin adventures. I hope you enjoyed that. A big shout out to some new voices we had in there. A shout out to some brand new voices and also a shout out to some old
Speaker: old familiar voices that we've had back in from before as well. So big up to those guys. Thank you so much for stepping up to the mark with that bit of fab time. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed DMing it. It was a lot of fun. But enough with that. They're gone. They're dead to us. Well, maybe not. But anyway, they're gone for now. And we are returning to our main party, returning to our main group. And after the four or five episodes worth that we haven't seen them for,
Speaker: Danny, our chronicler, our response must be the clearest, the most clandestine, because it is the most important. It's been so long. What happened all those weeks ago on the fellowship of the tabletop? In the last few pages of Bellum Draconis, attempting to reconnect upon rediscovering each other, Nix, Morota, Raines, Emron and Alpha tried to ice break again after
Speaker: tense moments. Confirming the intentions for the five to travel to Dralak to seek out the dragon that had reached out to them earlier in the year, Rains took some steps to prepare him and his abilities for traversing the hot climate that Dralak offers. Unsure whether or not Alpha's body suit would...
Speaker: survive the conditions, questions arose there also. This afforded the opportunity for Nyx and Morota to confirm their intentions to travel with the group. Morota then sought out the distressed Ola. In an attempt to dissuade her from engaging in monster hunting unsuccessfully thus far, the pair exchanged some heated words.
Speaker: Returning to Go Port Keep, we now find Rains, Alpha, and Nyx. And we find them, we find them, we find them, we find them, where we picked up from all those weeks ago. With Moris heading back towards Go Port Keep with Rains and
Speaker: Zelda and Alpha heading towards the forge to try out Rains's leather suit, possibility of death, and Nyx spending a few moments in the last moments of the falling sun of the afternoon to evening. We're going to start off with Nyx.
Speaker: As the sun begins to set, you see a jaunty figure moving towards you and you can hear slight strumming and a lute.
Speaker: as the figure, a wiry, a kind of wiry figure with some unruly red hair and bright blue eyes, a patchwork jacket starts walking towards you calmly at first and then starts to pick up a slightly jaunty attune, almost in time with his step to bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing
Speaker: It takes a double step when the beat gives rhythm to it as he moves closer to you. As he gets closer, he realizes the sombre mood around him and switches into a minor key. Penny for your thoughts, as Cedric Windrider approaches. I mean, if you've got a penny,
Speaker: I am beyond broke. I'm the opposite end of it, actually. So I'm broke. No money, unfortunately. How about a song for your thoughts? Or a note? A note? Bing! That was an E. Yeah, I walked into that one. That was hilarious, by the way, I'd say.
Speaker: Sorry. What's your name? Cedric. Cedric Windrider. Bard extraordinaire. Cedric the Unstoppable. Cedric, the many names, many names to be had. Indeed. And yours, good sir. Next. Next. Nick? Just next? Just next, depending on who you're asking. Any other names you might be known by? I might know one of them. I know many people around the town and many people around the place.
Speaker: No, no, no, just next. For you, just next. Have you been here long? Yep. Spent quite a while in the service of Orndent. Lots of history there, lots of time to spend and talk about it, but suffice it to say I owed him a lot of money because of that. Here I was, held up. So you guys came and saved me. You guys?
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, the metal dude, the burly one and the skinny guy with the beard and the long hair, suit, iron, metal, whatever he calls it. Oh no, what are they called? M -Gron, Raynak. Raynak. Alpha. Alpha, yeah, that's what I'm saying, yeah, exactly. Yeah, they came in, they took this incantation of us
Speaker: Our pact was to death and technically many of us died. They saved us. They killed us. And yeah, we're all good now. We're all good. We're clear of the pact. We're clear of the debt. Hey, that's nice to know that they can save people. Feel a bit of disdain and divorce, man. Observation, I guess. So are you now with them as a group? Are you a group?
Speaker: I don't know, just we're staying here. Thanks. We've got nowhere else to go. So me, Lissandra, Gideon, Isilda, we're just going to help out where we can. We're good people, all of you. You all seem like good people, all of us especially. She's got a good heart and there's not much of that left in Slickard these days. So we've got to hold on to all we know is good.
Speaker: And hell, adventurous stories are always good. Yes, yes, yes, yes. They are mighty adventurers. So are you coming with us to Jallak? Jallak, is that where you're going?
Speaker: I believe that's the plan. Yes, we're all on our way to Dralak. Are you coming with? Shit, that's a dangerous road, that. I've been once before. Yeah, you're telling, you're talking to someone who knows too much about that road.
Speaker: Ah, God, yeah, well, if needs must, I don't think I'll do much good round here. Gideon's kind of got himself a good setup here. He's got some stuff to repay. He's a jack of all trades. I'm master of none except me and my loot, my voice and my good looks and my charisma and my skills with thievery. Apart from that, you know, master of none, you know, throw it out there. There's something so familiar about you, I just can't really put my finger on it.
Speaker: You may have heard some of my songs. I've heard some of my stories and one of the best storytellers in the whole of Aerith. Yeah. Yeah. I know someone who would like songs and stories actually. You know him, Alpha. You should probably go and find him. He would love a story and a song.
Speaker: He does, I've told him many already and he just, I'm going to be honest with you, Nix, Nix, just Nix, just Nix, I'm going to call you just Nix. The issue I have is that he doesn't give much back with the face, he just kind of stares at you like he's going to eat your soul. And yeah, I can deal with any audiences, I'm used to hecklers, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: your shit. You can't sing. Oh, you stole that song from someone. Oh, no. Well, it's great echoes, you know, all kind of made up stuff. Obviously, I know it's true, but I'm used to that kind of stuff. But the but the it's the blanks there like he's just like
Speaker: Like he's writing in his mind everything that I'm saying, that is a little bit unnerving. And yeah, I kind of lose my mojo a little bit telling him stories and I can already tell you're a good person. You know, you do the right things, you know, you nod your blink. Sometimes I swear, Alfa, he stops blinking for like a long time. You really need to be careful for when his eyes turn red instead of the whole blinking thing. Oh God, they go red. When he wants to destroy, they go red.
Speaker: It's quite the marvel to see. Glad I haven't seen that so far. Oh, okay. So you haven't seen it. That's good to know. No, no. So is it like a full on, a full on thing, like destruction mode, baddies come in, corpses come out, that kind of thing. Yeah. Straight up. Monster. Okay. Well, I'll, I'll continue. At least he was. I mean, you know, it's been a, it's been a while.
Speaker: You're familiar. I know you're from somewhere. You said I'm familiar. You're familiar as well. Did you come on a boat? Are you a boat -faring man? A long time ago, I guess. Yes. Yes. Something spells a goblin. It's goblin stories. Do you have something to do with goblin stories? There's something about goblins, isn't there? There is. Yeah, there was a...
Speaker: Oh, that was a long time ago. There was a, there was a play. I was part of a ship called the Esmeralda. Um, the fact that, have they been around here? Have you seen any of their crew? You, you clearly know of the play is, uh, we weren't, we weren't, we're owning a gold. Everybody dies. A true under goblin story. I remember it now. Yeah. It's been selling out. It.
Speaker: It's been one of the only boats still in the port for a while now, the rest are being rebuilt since the attack. Apparently, the solid gold hull actually saved it from a lot of the burns that affected the other ships on the outside. So it's one of the few ships that were there. It's an attraction. People come for their ports. It's called Gold Port.
Speaker: There were no port chips, Eric, that'd be yours. So, and it stands out anyway. So people were drawn to it and now the show's doing well. You were part of the crew. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ah. Ah. Yeah. I'm still part of the crew.
Speaker: I am. They don't know what's happened to me. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure if they knew they'd be coming knocking. So, yes, it's really good to know that the play's sold out. Doing well. I also. Yeah. He kind of looks around, shadedly for a second. You guys had something to do with that. And he winks at you. That Kraken attack. Was that you?
Speaker: I'm sorry, I have these periods where my mind just blacks out. I was close to dying about half a year ago. So I have these moments where everything just goes fuzzy. I don't know what you're talking about. He starts winking really heavily. The Kraken attack.
Speaker: Your winking and incessant use of the word cracking is really kind of off -button.
Speaker: No. I think that was never part of the story or the play. Whoopsie! Must be one of my stories then. Classic Cedric Windwider making stuff up again. Kraken attacks. That's going to be my next story. Ignore me. Must have been a blank in my memory too. Gosh, I'm forgetting things too in my age. Yeah. I believe you. Absolutely. God, it's good to be alive.
Speaker: Yes. Actually, I guess it is. You want a drink? Yes, very much so. With me or with someone else? I understand. I'm a bit abrasive sometimes. Sometimes people can only handle so much of me. So can the ladies. If you get what I mean, you get what I mean. Yeah. Yes. Yes. And Nix puts the crystal ball that he's been staring at incessantly for a long time back in his pocket.
Speaker: I think a drink is a good idea. You have to bear with me, it's been a while since I had a drink, so it might not take a lot. But I forgetful anyway, so let's see how the shots take. Let me let you in on a little Cedric Windrider secret here. I'm actually a super, super, super lightweight, but I can act really sober.
Speaker: So don't you worry about that, my man. Two drinks in, and I want to go to bed. I... I... I... Not like that, not with you, but I mean just... Okay, well, I mean, you know, you're only human? Love is love. Yeah, but not like that. That's not my thing. Well, it's okay. Drink! Yes. Let's go. Less awkwardness, more tales of adventure.
Speaker: He's gonna, I try to hard pat slap you on the back and maybe just accidentally catch this. We're gonna flick you off the shoulder a little bit. Right, let's, here we go. Almost. I just dislocated my shoulder. I've got no muscle mass. Oh, fuck. All right, onwards, lead on, good serve. This is your keep after all. Yes. Yes. Yes, it is. Okay, let's go.
Speaker: Here we go! And he's going to like... behind you as you kind of walk, but just more to himself than like he did before as an invitation. And as you start to head north towards the Great Hall and to drink and to many stories, and no doubt a drinking contest of no infamy at all, given the state of the boat, we move over towards the west, towards the door.
Speaker: And we see rains reaching out as the sun slowly sets for the iron handle of the door that not so long ago, they found themselves embroiled with marota and nicks within. Opening up the door, you see what remains of the forge, which is a well -kept forge. You see also many of the torches have been lit on the edges, tables restoed up, tools restocked. And you see the small, stocky figure of Gideon Blackthorn
Speaker: standing over near the forge, kind of looking into it before turning back to you all. Hello. Gillian, was it? That's right, correct. I should just warn you Gillian, Emeron's quite protective and territorial over this forge. Your assistance and work in this area will be welcome, but
Speaker: I wouldn't start problem until you've spoken to Imran. Oh no, no, that wasn't my job. I was just writing what I see was wrong in terms of tidying up. I didn't mean to take any control over it. I'm just trying to tidy up a bit here. You've done a good job. I'm sure. I appreciate that. The armour over there in that corner and reigns. I haven't touched it, don't worry.
Speaker: Very good. Very good. Neither of them. The studded lever or the tin. Anything that looked important or expensive, so I haven't touched. I think best just to, while we get to know each other, I'll avoid any contact with anything that looks worth any money. Fair enough Gideon. Gideon, I'm about to do something that's known as artificery and you're welcome to stay for the show, but it could be... These things have a habit of
Speaker: be thinking they're not going to be dangerous and then being dangerous. It's entirely up to you. You're welcome. That's very kind of you. I would love to. I'd love to.
Speaker: don't be don't be serene me my name's but my name's reigns it's all good you don't have to serve me brain circle right yeah of course right so i'll i'll i'll just uh put myself in the in the corner um and just uh quiet as a mouse uh anything you need please just you know speak up i can run out and grab another sir
Speaker: He finds there's a small stall in the corner, probably used for some kind of lower level work. He pops himself down and just sits, expects any kind of watching. It's humble, happy to be around, excited to see what's going to happen next. Whilst that's happening, Isilda's been walking around, pacing around the space, looking from item to item.
Speaker: Oh, where do you need me then? If I'm supposed to be hearing you stopping me from dying? I stand back and if, let's not say when, let's say if, if something goes wrong, come forth and save me. Very well, I'll...
Speaker: stand next to Gideon and I'll be primed and ready to go. Alpha, do you know anything about what he's going to do? He tried to explain it to me about armor, but I didn't listen particularly well. Alpha stood at the door at this moment, just as you go into the forge. I was whatsoever. I'm afraid what Rains may be trying, I am unaware of. It is more of an artificially
Speaker: The outcomes and the procedures are unknown to me at this stage. However, I am here to study what may happen. Great. So none of us are none the wiser. No. This would not be the first time either. I have a slight hypothesis of what will happen, which is everything will just go dandy like rich cotton candy. But if it doesn't,
Speaker: Well, that's that's where we're gonna we're gonna just gonna need someone just to pep me up now and see Where are you and then see we'll just fly out of one of the corners and see his primes to deliver one of his special healing teeth I'm not entirely sure which one of you he delivered that to during that little scuffle between us But it's quite it's quite potent and can bring someone back from the but the thing is if I go down I don't know what happens to NC is his his
Speaker: is, what's the word, animism, is, is, potentially, I don't know this, depending on me. Have any of you ever met a sorcerer before? It's very different to a wizard now.
Speaker: No. I can't say I have so, no. Well, the main difference between a sorcerer and a wizard is that a sorcerer embodies the fact that magic is a part of them. And now, interesting fact, that's true for everyone. You, me, Alpha, anyone you can think of, that's true. Magic is a part of what we are, our organs that they're powered by.
Speaker: something sends signals from our brains. It's basic evocation magic. It's boom, spark, energy, and that's what powers our brains. When you cut your finger, that's abjuration magic. The little bits of abjuration magic in there will kick in, and your immune system, as it's known, will start to heal, or your skin starts to mar it over. Anyway, deja vu, some people say that that's divination magic working in ways in the way that the brain can't process yet.
Speaker: The point is, is that artificery is just acknowledging the fact that magic is, well, it's around us and it's a part of us. And I'm going to use, and I have been able to use my brain to turn these things, and he'll point to the two suits of armors well into more than what they are.
Speaker: Anyway, there's a few things that I've done just to prove I'm not reckless to make sure that I don't do anything particularly stupid. NC, can you get out the contingency protocol that I asked you to do? And what NC will do is that NC will go over to the studded lever armor and we'll just, kind of like a dog when it picks up its toy, we'll just get one of the gauntlets in its mouth and we'll just drag it as best as it can.
Speaker: And what it appears to be is that this gauntner is notably different to the rest of the suit of the armour. As you look at this studded leather, it's mostly very, very rich brown. There's some gold in basing into it. You can see on the chest there are two sinks here, the gyno sinks and the lande sinks of the lines of House Halloween and the Cardano -Elvin family line.
Speaker: that's also reflected on each shoulder where these things seem to class this very fine brown what appears to be almost like a hooded robe. That is almost if you think like something in June is something that effectively allows someone to travel through sand and to keep the sand off them as is needed in the great triangle. But what NC is dragging out is not this shade of like greyy rich brown, it's just something that's bright red.
Speaker: and I'm just gonna, it's brains is just gonna go to NC. Really, NC, I said, make it different so I don't accidentally shoot the floor again like I did the first time I did it. So I remember where this, the evocation comes from. And what you've done is if you've given me one bright red gauntlet and Raines will just hold that up and go, thanks for that, NC.
Speaker: I suppose I can argue you've done what I asked you to do. Anyway, this is part of the armor and Raines will pull on the bright red gauntlet and we'll just look at the tin suit where you can still see in the rusty red gauntlet on that. The Rubik's Cube is still just humming and turning. Now, it's been long enough for me to just be able to transmute this straight over, but I can't do that whilst I need to be in the armor for this to work.
Speaker: Well, everyone just wants to stand back, just for a second. Gideon stands up, even though he's against the wall, and kind of processes himself against the wall. Isilda is still, through that whole kind of lecture, has been stood with her arms crossed, staring back at you. She doesn't move. Okay, fair enough. Or stay where you are, I suppose, that that's permissible as well.
Speaker: Rachel just put her thumb up towards Asilda. And what he will do is he will just all of a sudden take a deep breath and go, okay. Are the fissering suits of armour? Let's go for...
Speaker: Mark II and what's going to happen is as he says that the suit is just going to drop to the floor the tin suit that he's been using up to this point as the Rubik's Cube just launches itself towards the belt buckle on the studded leather suit and what happens is that it bypasses that and just all of a sudden the studded leather buckle just attaches itself to reins and then all of a sudden the studded leather suit of armour that is standing on the
Speaker: armor stand is just going to disappear and out of this red gauntlet the armor is just going to start to manifest and form around reins. Oh okay this was weird oh I don't like this oh god and all of a sudden range is going to be completely covered in this studded leather armor.
Speaker: the brown shawl is just going to run from underneath Rains's shoulder and what it's going to do is it's just going to start to run itself under Rains's face and almost give him like a a shredder style uh cover from the nose and the mouth and the final thing that happens is that these shadow mendian sand gauntlets that Rains always has on his head it's just
Speaker: a kind of keepsake, just kind of lower and just start to glow with that pulsing blue that went through the suit. And you can see around the belt buckle there are these two blue pulses. There's also these blue pulses down in the boots as well. And all of a sudden, Raines is just going to take a step back. I think it's worked. I don't think I'm dying. I think, you know, I think this works.
Speaker: And then what happens is that the face masks and just pulls back and the gauntlets, not the gauntlets, the goggles just lift back up onto his forehead. And all of a sudden, Raines is just going to look at them both and go, well. Gideon is going to just burst into a round of applause. Thank you, Gideon. And it's all just going to walk up to you quite methodically and then just
Speaker: I don't know if you can sarcastically do a spell, but she's going to sarcastically do lay on hands and give you eight points of healing. Oh, that's good, because I actually took damage in that fight earlier today and actually do need some healing. So I'm going to actually take that and recover the four hit points that I've lost. So thanks for her sarcasm. You didn't die. This is all very impressive.
Speaker: I think I actually did take some damage earlier, which I think you've managed to heal. So, uh, well, thank you for that. You're very welcome. Can I, uh, go? That's okay. I've got, Oh yeah. Um, check on the Sandra and any, any chance of my brain stopping, I think is, has, has, has, has, has surely passed now. So yep. Thank you for that. You are very welcome. Um, see you later alpha.
Speaker: Goodbye, Sudo. See you later. Raines will go to follow her and I'm not realised that the suit has empowered his steps and he's now a couple of steps quicker and we'll just kind of bump into her again. Like they bumped into each other earlier and this time he's behind her. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. It turns out that it's quicker than... It's okay. She's going to step to the side and allow you to kind of go first. If you're going, then you can... Oh, I was just...
Speaker: Yeah, that's what I was. And Raines will start to walk and then realise as well that the muffled steps, because it's now studded leather, started to, oh, I'm also quieter as well. Like, look, it'll just start to rustle and the suit doesn't seem to make too much noise as it has these kind of muffled infusions now that make it quieter, quicker and quieter. That's a discovery. Are you catching this, Alpha? Indeed.
Speaker: It looks like your experiment was a success. Well done. Hey, thanks. I think so too. Are you impressed? Oh, she's gone. I'm afraid she left quite some time ago. Yeah. Not dead though. That's good. That is indeed a positive from the situation. Very impressive. Very impressive. I thought you excellent.
Speaker: artistry. You did very, very great with the gauntlet. Very impressive work. Yeah, it's bright red now. My squirrel did that. I don't have much of a say on that.
Speaker: Yeah, very, very, very good. I will if you be so conscious. It's been a very long day and I have died today. I'm going to tell myself. Oh, it was you. It was UNC brought back. Yeah. Yeah. Either the squirrel or the demon. Yeah, that was me. No demon. It's a taxidermy. That's the word. Sure. Absolutely. You have to understand, sir, as it was the first thing I saw in my rebirth after my death, you can imagine only that. I imagined it was a demon.
Speaker: squirrel, for all intents and purposes, pissing on me was a strange thing to wake up to from the afterlife. Nonetheless, I'm very grateful for it, so I will. Yeah, sorry that that was needed. Oh no, of course not. The whistling missile things. Don't worry, I would have done the same if I could do all the things. You were trying to stab me. I was. I was mitigated by that. Absolutely would have stabbed you as well if you hadn't done that. So yes, it was very much needed, much appreciated anyway.
Speaker: But for now, sir, I will just tell myself, sorry, I keep saying it, it's a range. I'll tell myself why it's a range, and I will see you in the morrow. Have a pleasant evening and night. Anything you need, please come and find me. I will be at yours and your friends and your colleagues' behest for your stay here at Goldport Keep. Good night. All right, Gideon, you're a very nice man. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. And he's going to nod, bow, and then bow again, and then walk into the doorframe, and then take himself back.
Speaker: As he goes, Rains is going to go. So what do you think of our new friends, Alpha? Hmm. I've not given them much thought so far. I believe they could be helpful around the keep. But aside from that, I have not made any judgments. What, you think they could all be helpful? They all have the potential to be helpful. Whether they choose to or not is their choice.
Speaker: even say that Sarah bullshit the one who was telling you sir bullshit I can't remember you mean Cedric Cedric Cedric Windrider I believe he is delightful he has many adventurous stories that he has regaled me with so far I look forward to listening to many more hmm
Speaker: It's always like a child -like delight. You're able to pick up from Alfa at this stage. His stance has changed. His hand movements seem to be a little bit more jittery than normal from a more stellar kind of person. He's gone from kind of antsy teenager yesterday to being much more aloof and childlike again. And Reigns is just taking that in. You seem happier.
Speaker: Hmm. I suppose maybe I am. I am unsure. How do you feel about Nix and Marola being back? I am grateful for their return, most certainly. It has been... unusual without them. Hmm. Okay. What is your...
Speaker: decision on their return. How do you feel? It's difficult to say, Alfa. I always wondered if we could have done more. But I was never particularly close to them. But you seem to take what happened to them
Speaker: quite bad, quite, it seemed to affect you is what I was saying. So I'm happy to, I mean, the road is very useful. And nicks in very, very manageable doses can be quite entertaining, from what I remember, but
Speaker: I mean, Emron is right. I know he's stormed off to Goldview in one of his broods, but he's right. We're not dealing with just forces on this plane anymore. There is something otherworldly about why they're here. The law of physics alone suggests that because
Speaker: they should be dead. Perhaps normally one would be grateful that they aren't. I do not understand your hesitancy in their return. Look, when we first came to this part of the world, we knew we came here with
Speaker: the stakes being considerably higher than just travel and adventure and then I ain't ever been one for soul or saloon or any of the other deities that you could read about from other parts of the earth but the two people that come back like that against all odds just makes me think there might be more at play than any of us could fathom but I am
Speaker: I'm supposed I'm grateful that their lives weren't lost pursuing vanity monster projects like poor Yandas and Magnuses. This is very true. I do recall many an adventure I have read, however, where the heroes do seem to return just in time to save the day. Perhaps this could be one of those situations.
Speaker: yeah you've read more books than i have perhaps uh perhaps there might just be a world where two people is complicated and well unlikely i suppose
Speaker: could be as you see. And as Rain says that, he's going to just let the gauntlet, he's going to shake the gauntlet, and what's going to happen is the suit will just start to manifest back on the armor behind him, on the stand behind him, and the brown shawl will remain, the traveler's shawl will remain, and the gauntlet, that's all that's left as he just disarms this suit. It's going to be much easier for me to travel than this. But as you see,
Speaker: Perhaps there's a world where those two and the three of us just work together to be, as you put it, heroes. It's a nice thought, isn't it? I do like it. It follows on along my adventures quite well. Hmm.
Speaker: If you'll excuse me, please reigns. Now you have no longer have any need for me. I believe I have a shade to construct for our journey. Yeah, if you need any help with that, Emrom will be back. Thanks. Thanks as always for documenting that. Perfect memory of yours. And congratulations again. Thank you, Alfred.
Speaker: And Raines will just let Alpha go. Indeed, and Alpha is walking away. And as Alpha you can do to walk away, Morita, you've come back along your trail down the path towards Gopor Keep, and you've approached the main area of it. The sun has set now, and it's kind of dark. A few of the torches have been lit by Gideon and Plasandra around the place. So it's relatively well lit in the kind of small kind of corridors, the outside corridors between buildings, giving some sense of light across the space. What would you like to do?
Speaker: Rota is just going to sort of see if there's any activity or group sort of dynamic and just sort of latch on.
Speaker: A loud voice from the Great Hall, when you recognize to be the voice of Cedric Windrider, and he's talking to someone, and that's someone you hear a voice returning. So it's a conversation less than a talk, him doing his talking act. And so, you know, there's more than one person there. The other buildings, most of the other lights are right around the other side. They're kind of the sleeping quarters. Most of the lights are right. You can assume some of the guys have bedded down for the night. It has been a hell of a long day.
Speaker: And you do notice over your shoulder, as you were walking back away from your conversation with Orla, that she has stood up and has been walking back, but purposely staying at a pace behind you, not like close enough to it to be awkward, but a good a good 40, kind of 70, 80 feet behind you, a good distance away, so it's not awkward. But she also was making her way back out of the dark. Yeah, but the main hall would be your probably first port of call. Yeah, I don't know if I'm
Speaker: investing in them yet. So I think just seeing that there's generally, they seems to be like a winded, wound down vibe. I think she'll find a place to meditate probably down by the lake again and just spend some time resting before sort of bedding down for the evening. Okay, cool. No problem, no problem.
Speaker: As you continue through away from the keeping everything, you might see Alpha walking out as you head down towards the lakes. He seemed to do this before, so he knows to leave you to it. But Ola does take a line in towards the into the Great Hall. And just so I know roughly where people are going, Alpha, where are you heading post Forge? In all fairness, if he steps out,
Speaker: If he sees Nick, he might start to approach Nick's. You would definitely see her walking if you do want to try and approach her.
Speaker: Yeah, I heard that too. Sorry, sorry, I thought you said C, Merota. Yeah, Nick does have some feminine qualities, to be fair. As he walks away, there's a quite like, from the hips, a little shimmy. No, sorry, I thought, in my mind, it was a Merota and Alpha Crossing pathway. I didn't even listen to you say Nick's apologies. Nick's is already in the hole with Cedric, so that might be where you'd have to head.
Speaker: No, that's fine. If he sees Marota, he's not really had a one or more with either Nick or Marota at this stage. He's not going to be blanking Marota. So if the paths do cross between them, then yeah, that's... Alpha would probably attempt to engage a little bit with Marota. Well, then engage a little bit with Marota. Very well, I shall. Hey, Marota. It's creepy. Indeed. Yeah, I know.
Speaker: regret it already. As I get closer, he would stop dead in its tracks. Morota, if I may have a moment of your time. Of course. Thank you. I would just like to say it is an absolute pleasure to have both you and Nips back as part of our group, as it were. Yeah. It's good to see you too.
Speaker: How do you feel about being back? I have yet to find the words. Is that for happiness or apprehension? I honestly, I do not know. There seems to be some good energy, let's put it that way.
Speaker: I suppose, considering certain circumstance, that might be all we can take for now. I don't really know what we expected when we came back. Just that, you know, we sort of caught on that you all might have been a spot of bother with Vaunton and
Speaker: Just lots of incentives to swing by, really, with the dragon offer too. And you know, Nick still wants that gem that you keep hold of. Oh, I see. And doesn't know the goblins. How are they? Are you being a good clan chief? They are doing well, although it has been
Speaker: possibly a week since I last spoke to them a week okay indeed just don't don't neglect your goblins now that's you know that's a important thing that people around here say just don't neglect them hmm you raise a good point please excuse me for one moment
Speaker: and Alfred's going to kind of reach into his satchel and just pull out a very smooth pebble -like thing with just some runic inscriptions on it. He's going to hold it in his hand and... I don't know if I verbally communicate this, if it's just in my head. If I can do it in my head, I will do, otherwise it may have to be verbal.
Speaker: But you're just going to see Alpha stand there for a moment, holding this stone in his hand. In his head, he's basically saying, Alpha Clan, people may be after you, be careful, stick together. Working to provide more opportunities for gold and weapons, return soon, Alpha.
Speaker: Basically, I'm using one of my infusions. I've got a pair of sending stones so I can send a message to somebody at the Alpha Clan who's probably kind of high up in the hierarchy of the actual clan who have been just communicating back and forth since the adventures with Nix and Marota up there. They can't send one back to me though.
Speaker: I can only send one there way, I believe. Not a problem. Cool. Okay. Yeah, that all seems to work as you expected. Yeah, I do get a solid notification that they've kind of received it. We're probably like, the drop down icons that you get on phones just comes down on Alfred's mind. You should go check him out next. You know, he'd be glad to know you're good.
Speaker: Very well, I shall. Do you have any idea of his current whereabouts? Erm, Murruta, there's a strong sniff, and then points to the Great Hall. I would have counted as a gradual turn. Thank you, Murruta. And I will continue walking towards the Great Hall. Alright, head to the lake.
Speaker: Fab. Thank you very much. Alpha, as you enter into the Great Hall, you see, well, Ian, sorry, Nix, what is happening in the Great Hall with yourself and Cedric? Well, Nix is proceeding to get drunk and I assume this would be the first time that alcohol was past his lips for quite some time. So it wouldn't take long. So you're probably looking at the worst drinking competition you've ever seen. Amazing.
Speaker: And Alfa as you enter, Cedric turns around and is handing over another drink towards Nick's and having one of his own. He misses the table for a second, Cedric. And his elbow misses the table and he slips off before writing himself again, his head bobbling a little bit more than it usually bobbles with his right foot.
Speaker: I know what you're talking about. That was a perfect, perfect pirouette off the elbow. That's how I elbowed that goblin bar in the face, right on the nozzle, in the nose, in the schnoz, if you will. He didn't see it coming. Didn't see it coming. I'm taller because goblins, goblins, they're the shorts and I'm not. They are short and short in temper too. Oh, Alpha, just the man. Nick's not having a chat. Alpha, come over here. He's not a pan.
Speaker: Not a man thing. He comes towards them.
Speaker: We're going to have a storytelling. We're going to have a story off, if you will. Wasn't that right, Nix? We agreed. I said it, and you said no, and I said yes, and then you said, and I took that as a yes. I can't remember, but yes. Story tell off. Simple story. Story tell off. What happens is really simple, Alpha. I tell the story, and Nix tells the story, and whichever story is better. You are objective. You are unbiased. You love me, but he's close to you. So it's unbiased because it's even.
Speaker: You don't tell us which one is better okay me or this fool over here. Yeah. Yeah, it's not for you agree. Do you disagree? What are you gonna say? What are you gonna say for boy? What are you gonna say to us? Yes, I know the Knicks this guy look at him. Yeah, you won't say no alpha loves the story. Don't you alpha? I do indeed So we aren't for a deal that Knicks you in
Speaker: No, I mean, what's the wager? I feel like there should be a wager. I feel like something should be won to the victor. That is decided by Alpha. You tell us what should be the prize, Alpha. Or Nick, you tell, I will do everything. I have everything. I have money. What do you think? Money's good. Money's always good. Gold is good. We like gold.
Speaker: I like you, man. You got a good soul. You got a good mind. Yeah. First, I need another drink, though. You got one here. You've been staring at it. It's right there in front of you. And with that, Nix will take it and down it. Oh, God. Alpha, what's the wager? I believe gold was agreed upon. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, everyone. How much are we talking here? How much are we talking here? I'm afraid I do not have much gold to wager.
Speaker: How much gold is between both of you? Well, I'm not very fluid with gold right now. Everything was taken off me. It's a big wrong story. Yeah. So I still haven't made up money. Very well. I shall wager my share of our recently successful monster hunting bounty.
Speaker: for whoever is able to offer the most entertaining story.
Speaker: You room for the story of a lifetime. Hang on. Okay, I'm ready. The story unfolds in the ancient city of El Doria, a place steeped in mysticism and forgotten lore, deep within the labyrinthine catacombs, a snake that snaked beneath the city, an ancient evil stirred. It was in the depths of the catacombs that I,
Speaker: Cedric Windrider stumbled upon a hidden chamber adorned with these weird, eerie symbols and ancient runes. A foreboding presence loomed in the air as if the very darkness himself whispered long -lost power. A cautiously ventured forth, the room suddenly became alive with a blinding light revealing a tower. A towering figure of a shadow of malice.
Speaker: It was the dreaded necromancer, Lord Gongroth, a master of forbidden magic and the bringer of death. His skeletal minions rose from the shadows, hungry for the souls of the living, but I, Cedric Windriding, would not be deterred with a flourish in my lutes and a powerful incantation. I unleashed a symphony of radiant energy, banishing the darkness and sending his minions back to their depths from whence they came.
Speaker: The very vibrations of my music shattered the necromancer's vile spell, reducing his power to naught, but whispers on the wind, yet he was not so easily defeated. With a wicked, grinning conjurer, a spectral blade poised to strike me down, but I fueled by the undying heroism and spirit of the living, made his gaze with no fear.
Speaker: with lightning -flast reflexes and a little cheeky wink to him as well. A parrot is below, clash of steel echoing through the ancient chamber. The duel raged on, but in a final act of bravery, at least a crescendo of sound. A sonic wave shattered his spectral form, the chamber reverberated with the force of mind music, causing the very walls to tremble.
Speaker: and that Quaranta's essence was dissipated, vanquished by the sheer force of heroism and the power of my lungs. He hits himself in the chest and coughs. And as the dust settled.
Speaker: All rejoiced, freed from the clutches of darkness. I, Cedric Windrider, became a legend ever forever etched in the annals of the city's histories. People hailed me their savior, the bard who stood against the forces of death himself. There you go. Woo! Ah! Most entertaining Cedric. The crowd goes wild!
Speaker: anymore they come from. So, Nix, top that. That's one of my best. Good luck. That's a good story indeed. My story takes place a long time ago. Alpha, you like treasure and stories and you know my background with the Esmeralda and the crew on there, correct? Indeed.
Speaker: Have you ever heard of me talk about the best treasure on the seas that all the pirates were hoping to garner for themselves? Not to my recollection. I am of course talking about Nerani's heart. Do you know about the story of Nerani's heart? It is not one that I am familiar with. And sit down or stand
Speaker: or wheel and just listen. Narani's heart is this beautiful golden necklace called after this beautiful pirate called Narani and it was given to her betrothed Bethnal and they were two pirates in love
Speaker: And to celebrate that love, Narani gave her this necklace. And it was gold, the shape of a heart. And in the middle of the heart, all this red ruby gem. And you look into it, and your eyes just split as the fragments glare back at you. It was beautiful. Or so they said it was beautiful. It was near impossible to attain because Bethnal wore it all the time.
Speaker: my captain, Captain Hildegard, the best captain on the seas, and he sails the Esmeralda, to which, as I've said, I was the crew. Caught wind of this story, this treasure hunt, and heard about Narani's heart, and was moved to ask us to steal it. So, off we go.
Speaker: Sailing the seas many nights to a plan called Palladia. We arrived at the docks of Palladia and Alpha. What's your favourite environment? Trees? Jungles? All of it was there. Waterfalls. It was a paradise. Beautiful place.
Speaker: You could taste the flowers just in the air. It was so just flowers everywhere pollen. Oh, you could smell it. It was great. It was a vibrant place to be. A lot of drink was had. A lot of sully creatures was there. It was a place where the truth is hard to come by.
Speaker: But a place where pirates like to have a party, if you know what I mean. And so happens that on the day that the Hildegard, Captain Hildegard dropped us off, was a massive party. And Shindig, like no other, held by Narani and Bethnal to get into the party.
Speaker: we needed to disguise ourselves. You see my blue skin and my eyes and my tail, it's really hard to disguise myself, but I did. By sheer wit and determination, I dressed myself up like a gentleman. And I get myself into the party by talking my way in, because I used to be quite good at that.
Speaker: And me and Kinro, Kinro was this girl that I met at a bar beforehand and she had VIP tickets and I turned out to be her plus one just by my pure charm. And we make our way to this party.
Speaker: and it's hosted, as I said, by this Narani, and she stands there. At the very front, this great manor, made out of trees and woodlands, not a house, just like a manor made out these trees that bowed in, and canopies blocking the sunlight. There's people dancing to the left, there was people drinking to the right, and up the dirt track was Narani herself, framed by this beautiful,
Speaker: Head of hair lifted really high. It was red, ornate, and then this dress that was just beautiful. She welcomed us all as her friends, fellow pirates, just to have a good time. And she introduced her betrothed Bethnal.
Speaker: And there you could see for all to see was the heart of Narani around her neck. But how to get close to her when I had never said hi to her before? Well, I didn't. I waited. I had a night with Kinro who turned out to be a rather wonderful, beautiful girl herself. And we danced and we laughed and we danced some more until we snuck off.
Speaker: into the night to fall asleep by the sea. In the dead of night is when I awoke to do my dirty deeds. And I managed to walk my way back through the trees to the great manor in the canopy. And I found where Bethnal and Narani were sleeping.
Speaker: and I crept in. Not as sound as my feet padded against the dirt. And there was the necklace right in front of me. But how to get it off her neck while she was asleep and without Narani noticing, as I just slid my hand
Speaker: under the weighted part of the necklace, the heart itself, and I grasped it. This curious thing happened, and I went invisible. And as I managed to lift this necklace around her, still grasped in my hand and put it around myself, I swear I know it sounds like bullshit, but I was invisible.
Speaker: and I just walked on out of there again. Back to the Esmeralda where I gave it to my captain and as I took off the heart and gave it to him and he took it, received it, he went invisible. It turns out some magic had been placed on this necklace and it was worth far more than the duel that Captain Hildegard originally wanted this for.
Speaker: And there's my story of Narani's heart. The invisible necklace. Anciente. And Cedric stands up and starts vociferously applauding. Bloody good story, man. Bloody good story. Very, very nice. Fantastic. But now we come down to the final decision here. It's getting late now. Alpha.
Speaker: Who wins? This bloody good man with his bloody good story about an invisible necklace in Narani's heart? Or my excellent story of my defeat? Or a necromancer? Hmm. Who's it gonna be? Both were indeed excellent stories. And I enjoyed both. Don't dilly -dally on the fence, my man! Very well, if you insist. On this one occasion, I preferred Nix's story with regards to the new topic. Fuck.
Speaker: I have never heard of a story above Nirani's heart. It was most fascinating and very interesting to me. I really hope it's still on the ship. Well, best one one, best story one, and he extends a hand out to you to shake your hand. Aye, very good, and it's been a while since I've forgave such stories.
Speaker: That felt good. Gonna shake my hand or you gonna leave me hanging like a bitch? I will shake your hand, my friend. And as you shake his hand, he grips you and then as you feel like the handshake's gonna finish, he kind of grips it all tighter and pulls you in a bit closer and looks in your face. When he talks about your ship, you came alive. We'll get you back. We'll get you back. And then he releases your hand and walks off to get another drink.
Speaker: And as he does that, and you can hear the lutes music playing as he slowly regales songs to himself as what kind of starts to settle into their events for the night. That is where we are going to end it for this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop. Thank you very much, guys. Sorry, Ian, for putting on the spot there with a little bit of a storytelling off. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. Wonderful story. Excellent, excellent work. Well done. Well done. Very good. Very good.
Speaker: I think I'm going to do a thing now, telling stories of that. It could be. Alpha will listen intently to every single one. We can come up with some more Cedric stories. I need to quickly write down some of the names that I put in there. There is Narani, there is Bethnal. They were together and I was with a girl called Kinro. You were. There we go.
Speaker: Got more down, man. Got more down. Good memories. But you know, what if, what if people wanted to ask you more about the story of the, the Narani's heart, the invisible necklace? Where might they contact you in order to do that? Thank you for helping me with the segue there. Cause I was floundering. Um, but Mark is right. If you wanted to keep up to date with the podcast, you can do so at our Twitter page, which is at fellowship table, which leads me to say, thank you for tuning in, listening to us and making us a party every day week. We love you for it.
Speaker: I don't think I shouted this out the other day I'm not sure. I'm talking like next at the moment with a slight like. I think I might actually be a little bit drunk.
Speaker: We did quite well on the old Apple iTunes chart in the UK not so long ago, where if you, I got a notification where if you were in the, if you went to Apple iTunes and you went under the category of podcasts and you drill down further into the category of games and entertainment, we were out of the entire UK. It's not a big thing, but I like to kind of, I'm quite proud of it. We were 63 out of the entire country.
Speaker: Um, which is down to our listeners. So thank you all very much. You, I tune listeners out there, um, and like, and tell a friend because that was, it was pretty cool to see. Um, there's a lot of podcasts and a lot of D and D podcasts out there. And to know that we were, you know, number 63, obviously critical role was number one, you know what I'm saying? But to be 63 out of the entire UK, that's pretty good because those, um, there's a lot out there. So.
Speaker: And considering we don't really flock our way as much, we all have very, very busy lives outside of this that aren't D &D and this is our outlet. The fact that we got, you know, you guys listening in is insane. Yeah. And shout out to the new ones and the long time listeners, because there's some people that have been there from the start, which is crazy. So we see you and we see you new ones.
Speaker: Just tell a friend and give us some reviews and get in touch. And like I said, if you wanted to do that, Twitter is the best way. Individually, I can be found at iRoller1, Darren can be found at Darren Peugeot 6, Callum can be found at TheD20Gamer. Everyone's waiting for it.
Speaker: Danny can be found at Total Party Thrills And our lustrous DM can be found at Hey Silly World DM Until next time guys, chicken run
