Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
C1 Ep. 134 The Storm’s Ashes Chapter Two
289 Plays5 years ago
The party begins moving forward once again, returning to the site of one of their greatest defeats. But how have things changed and what awaits them?
This episode is brought to you by the generous donations of our amazing Show Sponsors: Laura Pickrahn, Darrin Katzska, Irene Viorritto, Ryan Royce, Darrell DeLaney, Charles Compton, The Kamm Family, David Scrams, Elizabeth Clark, Rebekah Miller, and Michael Clark.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Acknowledgements
00:00:01
Speaker
This episode is brought to you by the generous donations of Irene Villarito, Elizabeth Clark, Darryl Delaney, Darren Katska, Ryan Royce, Laura Pickron, The Cam Family, Charles Compton, Michael Clark, Rebecca Miller, David Scrams, and John Kerry, as well as all of our generous patrons.
Setting the Stage: Eberron Campaign
00:00:47
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Eberron Renewed, a D&D 5th edition actual play podcast set in the Eberron campaign setting. I'm your dungeon master, Eric. I'm Philip. I'm Randy. I'm Jeff. And welcome to another episode. Gentlemen, what happened last time?
00:01:00
Speaker
There was bad news from a new friend, question mark. We met. I like that you said question mark. If only there was some way to verbally express a question. It was there, but the question sound was in the words question mark.
00:01:20
Speaker
Well, because I realized I friend statement question mark. Questioning whether or not there should be a question mark. Anyway, because I said new friend and then I realized maybe and you know what? We've been over 100 episodes. I've never tried to explain myself to you and I'm not going to start now.
New Allies and Shared Threats
00:01:40
Speaker
Yeah, we met a callous we were brought by the dragons a callous star named bemani the dragons are suddenly Very interested in what we've been trying to do because they got some skin in the game now because it turns out that they can also be Corrupted what was the name of that dragon that got corrupted here? Catakas
00:02:01
Speaker
Cook tacos. Does the end of his name include an exclamation mark? Or a question mark? Moving on. Yes, and.
00:02:24
Speaker
Now they have decided to be more directly helpful. They've also decided that whatever minor chance there is of us destroying the world by using the weapons on the plane of Dal Kor, they're no longer concerned about. Yeah, now it's so worth it. Yep. So, you know, I mean, whatever.
00:02:50
Speaker
Oh, not going to anyway. So we need to do that. We need to get the weapons and go to Delcor and blow up the Delcor anchor machine. All right. Can't I just can't just get his tools out and do some scratching? You could certainly try that, Booyah.
00:03:16
Speaker
Maybe we just get the weapons in case. That can be plan A, but let's just have a backup. So we're going to go finish Dex's personal quest line.
00:03:34
Speaker
He's super pumped about it. Finally obtain his friendship.
Plans Against Corrupted Dragon Catakas
00:03:40
Speaker
All right, so, yeah, you all are on the ship. You are still floating above the ocean. And Orgev and Barasha are still there with Bimani. And so is Rickard and Jace and Orianna. And what's going on?
00:04:09
Speaker
But the swords in storm reach. I mean. That sucks. I assume that you know. What state storm reaches in now.
00:04:31
Speaker
Oh, yes, we we've been made aware of the the dyingness of the situation and the amount of progress that the inspired have made. Orgev speaks up and if
00:04:50
Speaker
If there's anything else you wish to discuss with us, now would be the time. But Brasha and I are needed to go hunt down Katakast and bring him ideally back to Arganesson for trial. Anything short of that, execution.
00:05:21
Speaker
You're going to kill him when it isn't it isn't his doing and we're this close to ending it. Well, according to Dex, there's nothing for it. It can't be undone. We don't know what's going to happen when we break this machine.
00:05:50
Speaker
I'm sorry, but Dex did say we don't know of any way and this is the first time you've taken my amount of knowledge with any sort of way. It feels like maybe this was predetermined and now you're using me as some sort of a backwards
00:06:08
Speaker
Proof texting, is that a concept you end up ever on? Backwards proof, I don't know if that's a concept in this world. Proof texting, backwards proof. Well, okay, it's backwards in, sorry, some sort of backwards that I couldn't make something and I switched it to proof. You know, I don't have to explain myself to you guys. So anyway,
00:06:40
Speaker
Well, either way he needs to answer for the crime of committing treason against Arganesson. Is it treason if you're coerced? The expectation amongst all of Dragonkind is, no matter what kind of coercion, torture, threat, you don't betray your people.
00:07:11
Speaker
So if we screwed up.
00:07:20
Speaker
we have much to lose. And if we have reasonable intelligence that he is still in Sarlona, his Vistlethar has not been seen for some time, but if she is there we will hunt her down as well.
Journey to Stormreach: Risks and Allies
00:07:40
Speaker
So that's
00:07:42
Speaker
We will go and try to speak to Kotakust, but anything short of returning to Agnesen with us, things will get nasty. As you kids say. Let me say that. That's not what we mean. Okay. Okay, Jace, take a storm reach.
00:08:12
Speaker
The boat rocks into motion. All right, Captain Booyah. You guys, you guys know what's in storm reach, right? That's why we go storm, Rojace. I have no idea what's in storm reach. Enlighten me about what's in storm reach. The inspired have taken it over. You still want to go? I think we go take it back.
00:08:42
Speaker
Want isn't the right word, Jace, but yes, we are going. But, Mani, I show you they are more than capable. So, Orgev and Barashia regard you all and then turn and begin to run towards the stern of the ship. You enjoy my book, Orgev?
00:09:11
Speaker
Um. Oh, I'm trying to think of what you would say. Uh. As he's about to jump off the back of the boat, he just shouts back, nope, put in the vault, threw it at the bottom of the ocean. And then they transform and take off. Man, I'm really starting to sour on those guys. Yeah. There it goes back to sit at the front of the ship again.
00:09:44
Speaker
I guess I, well, uh, Bhimani, I hope you can forgive my ignorance. Nope. Not saying that part. I don't hope you can forgive my ignorance. Cause I was going to say, I was going to ask if she slept, but I was like, she would like a place of her own anyway. So, uh, I'll, I'll show you to a spare room down below deck if you'd like to follow me. Oh yes. That'd be excellent.
00:10:17
Speaker
So take her to the room reserve for. Take her to record room. Sorry, but we got a new. I mean, yeah, Charlie and Cassie and just left. So there's just there's an open room, spare room. Yeah, I think I asked her, though.
00:10:37
Speaker
So are you still in a door? Like, did you come here from there? Yes, yes. We are destined to be on the front line of the fight unless a great need pulls one of us away and knowledge that Catakost had turned to turn towards the dreaming dark
00:11:05
Speaker
uh, was a grave enough, uh, occurrence to where I made the trip to Oganesson. Um, what's it, what's it like there now? She takes a moment to think through her words.
00:11:36
Speaker
It is... It is worse than you left it. The... Growing up there, you know that the re-edrants always viewed a DAR as the...
00:11:55
Speaker
the greatest threat to their rule, sharing a continent. And they obviously have brought Adar down enough to feel comfortable spreading their forces out to other continents on Eberron. My order and my people are doing what we can, but honestly, Adar is no longer a threat to the reedrons.
00:12:33
Speaker
I'm sorry. But that's why I am here to try and. Correct that. What? Where where where are you guys? And by you guys, I mean the has to retain. Where do you stand on what's going to happen to, let's say, for example,
00:13:04
Speaker
My brother, well not my brother, cause we're probably gonna have to kill him to get the weapon. Let's say any of the other people who have been, you didn't like infected, right? I picked up on that, corrupted. If we go in and we take out this machine and everything goes, let's say the right way for us, where are you guys standing on what's going to happen to all these corrupted people here?
Personal Stakes and Sacrifices
00:13:36
Speaker
It's difficult to say. I'm sure that you have already mourned the loss of your brothers as you knew them. Oh yeah, long ago. And that is a wise decision.
00:14:03
Speaker
The manner by which the inspired and the dreaming dark corrupt people is not... It's not like people think it is. It's not you touch an obelisk and all of a sudden you are possessed and no longer yourself. I hate the word.
00:14:31
Speaker
but the term infection may be correct because it just takes a thought, a notion, an idea, that the redrins and the inspired through their
00:14:47
Speaker
through the words that they use, the way they talk, corrupts the mind, takes people down a darker and darker path to where they truly do believe the hatred that they speak. And it is a corruption of character, more than a corruption of the mind. These people are, they believe, they believe in the cause.
00:15:18
Speaker
and short of convincing them that they are wrong, that their desire to dictate how other people live their lives is wrong, then it's, we, my people, do not foresee it being a magical switch that is flipped once
00:15:47
Speaker
Once people like myself and the other Kalashtar achieve our goal and Kashtai dies, we don't believe that all of a sudden there will be a moment where they will awaken once this time is over and realize that
00:16:03
Speaker
they had gone down the wrong path and they had done wrong and begin to view the world as the rest of us see it. Where we are now is another stop on a long road that we've been on for some time. I'm sorry.
00:16:33
Speaker
no and i guess i should be clear i was not asking for the sake of my own brothers um just so you know the sort of skin we got in this game just so you know that we come to this fight with some um i don't know to say we mean it uh two of the three of my brothers are dead now at the hands of my compatriots with more than my own
00:17:03
Speaker
tacit agreement to letting it happen. So I'm not asking that question to let you know that I hope my brothers come back. I'm asking that question to let you know that I and as much as I can speak for them, which is not much, Booyah and Berwick understand the necessity of ending this thing.
00:17:32
Speaker
But if we were to find out there was a way to do that and still reclaim the lives of those who've been corrupted, infected, what have you, we're gonna try to make that happen too. I understand. And I appreciate the hope that you have in that possibility.
00:18:00
Speaker
And I'm assuming that you kind of stopped in front of the room that she was going to be occupying. Yeah, yes, OK, I'm standing in the doorway keeping her from going in until I'm satisfied. No, that's a joke. Well, she actually gestures like she steps into a room and gestures for you to follow her. Yeah, sure, and she shuts the door behind you and says. Now.
00:18:30
Speaker
Dex, I know that we've just met, but you being from my part of the world, from my nation, and I from yours, I trust that you understand the severity of stopping the reedurance and the inspired.
00:18:52
Speaker
Um, and the necessity of it, uh, even more so than your companions, even if they understand it very well, they did not grow up in the environment that the reagents created. Of course. I only bring this up because the Kalashtar
00:19:18
Speaker
We know that upon achieving our goal, it will cost us our lives. And this eldritch machine is in Dal Kor, and we will make the journey there. I will accompany you if you let me.
00:19:47
Speaker
I can't. Go ahead. No, no, no, no, please. I can't promise any of you of return passage. Oh, I don't think any of us necessarily are planning on making it through this. We sure want to try. Eric, Eric's pretty much already decided he's going to die. Uh,
00:20:17
Speaker
Uh, I hope he's wrong. We're going to find out. The, the amount of magic that we're talking about unleashing is significant. So I just, I want, I want to make sure that if it comes to it, you and your companions won't blink in the final moment.
00:20:48
Speaker
I can't imagine that that's something we need to worry about. We've already given up our lives for this fight in the sense of abandon to them to pursue this. We all know what could be waiting for us. And not a one of us believes that our lives are more
00:21:17
Speaker
Precious or worthy to be saved for as much as any Okay, not any of us me mainly me as much as I might joke The gravity of this mission or mission silly no one gave me this the gravity of this task is not lost on me If we don't succeed There's that much greater of a chance that it everything is gonna be destroyed
00:21:47
Speaker
And I'll die for that. Good. Well, um, but that's, that's definitely plan B, right? Uh, well, I mean, it's the only plan for me. If we succeed, the only way that I come out of this live is if we fail, which I hope that that's not lost on me. And I hope you understand that. I appreciate your willingness to sacrifice as much as I hope you appreciate ours, considering the fact that yours is
00:22:18
Speaker
Pretty much guaranteed if we definitely guaranteed if we succeed. So thank you for being willing. Not a lot of people. I believe would be. Well, if.
00:22:35
Speaker
If you do make it out of this live, then I will tell you where to go to find the temple of my people so you can at least witness the memory of
Mission Readiness and Personal Feelings
00:22:48
Speaker
us. I believe I'd like that very much. All right. Barak, are you on the ship brooding?
00:23:03
Speaker
I am up on the deck near the bowels of the ship. Yes. Okay. Booyah, what are you doing? Um, Booyah is explaining to Rickard what we're doing. Oh, um, we are returning to storm reach. Yes. No, we have to go get other weapon.
00:23:34
Speaker
Very well. Depending on the state of things and more precisely how we leave them, I might return to my mission, Booyah. Do you ever tell Booyah this mission?
00:24:02
Speaker
I thought we had discussed it, perhaps not. The members of my order are tasked with bringing the light and the flame to those that reside in the jungles of Zendric and helping in any way that we can. Okay, I'm a member of this talk.
00:24:32
Speaker
I haven't really felt entirely comfortable or found the correct moment to express any of this, but I've been carrying with me a great deal of shame about the fact that I abandoned my mission for my own personal safety. There are countless people, beings, and creatures that I'm sure have
00:25:00
Speaker
have suffered and died in my absence. And I feel like I need to go check up on them and see if any of them have survived and those that have continued to serve them. I know that on occasion I have helped you and your friends in a battle here and there, but I
00:25:29
Speaker
I am meant to be a servant to those around me. And I do not feel like I have been living up to those expectations I hold to myself. Booyah understand this. We go on. Hope we have success. So more people know light. Yes.
00:26:00
Speaker
Otherwise, I'll be lost. Indeed. But it's important that we carry our light to others, that we keep it shining. Otherwise, we...
00:26:26
Speaker
we emit darkness around us when we let our light extinguish. And I feel like I've been emitting a certain level of darkness during my time on the ship. Booyah, understand, make sense, you need ghost, spread light, share light, help people. Booyah, try hard, help people. Booyah, wish good luck.
00:26:55
Speaker
You do a good job at helping people, Booyah. You certainly have helped me from time to time during my time on the ship. Okay, Booyah missed record, but we spend more time as ship go storm reach. All right, sun's good, Booyah.
00:27:20
Speaker
and we are leads record to his thoughts at some point worry on it being near barrack um barrack just says are you ready to go back i don't know i i don't suppose i was ever going to be totally ready but
00:27:52
Speaker
I always figured it would be on my terms. It still can be. I also figured it'd be, uh, and she stops herself and kind of shakes her head and lowers it and stops herself from speaking. It'd be what? It's just stupid.
00:28:25
Speaker
I doubt it very much. And in any case, we're going back to Stormreach to steal a hammer from a changeling possessed by a giant dream lobster. So the bar for stupid sounding things is pretty high. I always figured it would be a big ship.
00:28:54
Speaker
with an army behind us and you and her by my side, born else screaming as we disembark the ships and fight in some big battle. Well, we could do it that way. They'd come.
00:29:26
Speaker
yeah but if we do it right none of those people will be in danger yeah if we do it that way some of that large some of that grand army even if it's not the people we love some of that grand army would die
00:29:49
Speaker
Listen, I said the idea was stupid. You don't need to remind me why. It's not stupid. It's probably smarter than what we're doing by a pretty substantial margin in terms of likelihood of success. By pragmatic terms, what you and I are about to do is immensely stupid. It's a terrible risk reward ratio.
00:30:20
Speaker
We're doing it because we're not doing it because it's smart. We're doing it because, as you know, some of the people on those ships would be people we love. And sometimes we do stupid things. Immensely stupid things to protect people we love.
00:30:55
Speaker
She might be mad at us. Oh, she most certainly will be. Sometimes you have to do that too. Sometimes the only way to do right by someone is going to result in their being angry at you. Yeah.
00:31:31
Speaker
Well, suppose we just need to get on with it then. Suppose so. And then sometime later, Barrick will find Dex or encounter Dex and say,
00:31:58
Speaker
Listen, if we survive this thing that we're about to do in storm reach, I'm going to need you to help me with something. All right. Listen, man, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm going to say, uh, yes. So why don't you go ahead and tell me a little bit about what you need. When the time comes, I need you to help me and capacitate Orianna. Take the spear from her.
00:32:29
Speaker
and prevent her from following us into Dalekor. I hate that, but I also understand I'm here for what you need. And, you know, luckily I know that you don't mean to hurt her. Uh, so we have a, there's
Rickard's Personal Mission and Decisions
00:32:51
Speaker
someone else here with us now. You trust who doesn't who knows
00:33:00
Speaker
Enough about their life to be willing to risk it. Rationally. Well, and can wield one of these weapons. Yeah, the matter of fact, I'll just fill you in a little bit on. She and I just had a bit of a conversation and she fully. Like you know how we know we we might die, maybe even would likely die while we're doing this.
00:33:27
Speaker
Right the the the catch on her end is that if we win she's guaranteed going to die and she seems fine with that So that's the kind of person we need to take that's exactly right. Oh Riana doesn't know she has things to live for Like Yeah, I don't want her going either Because if we win she can have a life
00:34:16
Speaker
even if we don't
00:34:30
Speaker
Um, and then I think, but actually I will also go and find a boot. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Dex, what, what do you need something? Uh, no, um, that's not Dex.
00:34:56
Speaker
That this is Berwick. Booyah say Bex? Sorry, Booyah in the middle of a good story, Booyah. You all right? Booyah in the middle of a good story, sorry, Berwick. That's quite all right. Are you feeling all right again? Yeah, Booyah just kind of embarrassed about what happened. Booyah no like that.
00:35:25
Speaker
No, I can't imagine. But better now. Good. Listen, I'm going back to Stormreach. It's probably a bad idea, but I'm going to ask you to do it anyway. We'll get there well before they could, so there's probably no risk of this. But just in case we fail,
00:35:55
Speaker
We should tell Paulo what we're about to do. That's probably a good idea. Paulo and perhaps Borneo, if you have the ability to do two sendings. Borneo can make ready. Yeah, before we go, we should tell them what we are going to do, because at the very minimum, we're going to kick the hornet's nest. Yeah, we kick nest hard.
00:36:25
Speaker
and that the best scenario will perhaps create an opening for them. So. Yes. Yeah, we ask. We tell. We send message. All right. I appreciate that. We're going to let you know Ariana going to one fight. Yes, and I don't.
00:36:53
Speaker
know that I have very much chance of stopping her from this. I appreciate that. Stay close, sir. Thank you. Well, I suppose just any time before we arrive, it's fine. And as long as you make it clear what we're doing, I don't suppose particular wording will matter very much.
00:37:24
Speaker
Yeah, make clear word. Yes. I'll let you get back to your story. OK. And Beric returns to his spot. All right. Anything else anybody would like to do before we reach storm reach?
00:37:53
Speaker
Did you have some time? Yeah, I'll probably spend more time with Rickard before we get there. OK. OK, well. If there are no other conversations, then after some time. You all see the continent of Zendric.
00:38:24
Speaker
getting ever closer and closer. May I interject that at some point in the travels, I'm sure Booyah would tell Dex and Beric about Rickard's plan to leave. Okay. And explain it to them. Okay. Would either of you like to express reaction?
00:38:50
Speaker
I think Barrick is probably relieved because he's had an increasing sense of dread about the number of potential collateral damage people, collateral damage victims that are hanging around us. And so the more people who decide to go their own way to safety, the more relieved Barrick will feel. Yeah, Dex is just kind of
00:39:21
Speaker
There's something poetic about it, like it being the three of us and this new stranger going into this, and he likes Rickard and certainly appreciates what Rickard can bring, but he also...
Approaching Stormreach: Strategy and Caution
00:39:41
Speaker
It feels an end to...
00:39:45
Speaker
Antithetical may not be right. For us to try to force someone to fight with us that doesn't want to considering right? Yeah hypocritical. Yeah, bring as much light as record can before world end. That's a good way to think about it.
00:40:12
Speaker
All right. Yeah, you all see Jace heading towards the Skyfall Peninsula and towards Stormreach. Unlike when you left it, there are no longer columns of smoke or signs of battle raging in the city. It seems much like it did upon your first arrival of a
00:40:39
Speaker
A quiet port city on a faraway continent. Did it seem quiet when we got there? I mean, from a distance. From a distance, yeah, OK.
00:40:53
Speaker
Um, so yeah, you all get closer. You see, um, the sad site of reedron flags flying over the ports. Uh, very, very large, like you all aren't up on the port yet. Um, and Jace begins to slow, uh, the approach.
00:41:12
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's, it's clear that we're not going to like just pull up to a dock, right? Like that's, I just want to make, I want to say that out loud before, before any assumptions get made about our storm reach. So I'm just going to pull up. Okay. Uh, no, no, that's, that's a bad idea. Um, so yeah, Jay slows down and, and, uh, leaves the wheelhouse. And so, uh, what's the plan here, buddy?
00:41:45
Speaker
Well, I think we should go down and approach on foot from the land. All right. I don't like the idea of taking the ship in to, you know, range of whatever might try to blast it out of the sky. That is a good idea. How far do you want me to land the ship?
00:42:15
Speaker
What's close enough that we can be sure the jungle moves us? Well, you know, that's always kind of a guessing game in terms of what the jungle is going to do. Oh, Rickard. Yes. Advise us on this question. You, who are a ranger who hangs out in Zindrick,
00:42:48
Speaker
Yes, I suppose the...
00:42:54
Speaker
The closest obvious place that we could try to swing the ship far south and then come back up north over land, we could reasonably start just outside of last chance and head north from there. Typically the path between last chance and storm reach is at least consistent enough to where you won't get lost. That sounds like an excellent plan.
00:43:25
Speaker
and a poetically named town for our purposes. Indeed. Make it so.
00:43:39
Speaker
All right, so yeah, Jay swings the ship south and flies a few hours south and then cuts, pulls a U-turn and flies pretty low over the canopy of the Zendrick jungle until you all reach, you pass just over a small clearing with some buildings and small towers that seem to be made out of obsidian.
00:44:06
Speaker
Um, but you fly over that. Um, and you're about a five. Do I know, we know what that is. No, just one of those things. Um, you know, one of those things, one of those things you see when you're flying low over Zendrick. Um, cool. There's a time where we would have stopped and explored. Yup. Yup. Yup. Yup. Nope. It's cool. Um, I mean, we're only like,
00:44:35
Speaker
I'm so mad about this. Beric would not allow us to stop, even if anybody else wanted to. No way Beric would do it. Proceed. I like that. I like the idea that that was Beric's internal monologue. All right, we're about a five minute walk south of Last Chance.
00:45:06
Speaker
Sounds about right. All right, so just quick question. What do I do? Keep the ship safe. Keep yourself safe. So ambiguous. Should I just wait here?
00:45:29
Speaker
Or I think in the air would be better
Mission Preparations and Closing Remarks
00:45:33
Speaker
because you at least have a greater opportunity to, you know, flee that way. Okay. Uh, well, good luck out there. We'll be in touch.
00:45:58
Speaker
And we trudge into the jungles. Dun dun dun dun. End of episode.
00:46:05
Speaker
Thank you all so much for listening. If you want to be part of the conversation, head on over to the Facebook group, the Geek Pantheon. We're also on Twitter and Instagram at the Geek Pantheon. If you enjoy this episode and want to be part of our awesome Patreon community, head on over to patreon.com slash the Geek Pantheon and check out all the tiers there. And yeah, that's all I've got. So once again, I'm your dungeon master, Eric. I'm Philip.
00:46:55
Speaker
I'm Randy. I'm Jeff. We'll see you next time.