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Ep. 45 The Price You Pay
145 Plays3 years ago
We know what we must do, but the hardest part may still be yet to come. Hunters here have become so complacent with the way life is lived in Wildhill. It's easy. You take the job, you get paid, and you can sleep soundly knowing nothing more than that. But the happenings in Wildhill are unmistakable. If they can't see what's happening, it's by choice. Now to see if they'll even listen..
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Transcript
Complacency in Wild Hill
00:00:14
Speaker
previously on the hired swords. We know what we must do, but the hardest part may still be yet to come. Hunters here have become so complacent with the way life is lived in Wild Hill. It's easy. You take the job, you get paid, and you can sleep soundly knowing nothing more than that. But the happenings in Wild Hill are unmistakable. If they can't see what's happening, it's by choice.
00:00:43
Speaker
and how to see if they can even listen to reason.
Podcast Blooper Introduction
00:01:08
Speaker
You're listening to The Hired Swords, a dragons and dungeons podcast with
00:01:13
Speaker
Did I do it again? God, you know what I mean. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Hire Sword. Sorry. Oh, my God. Ew. I think we should leave that as the opening.
00:01:41
Speaker
I was ready, man. I was like, all right, when it says one, I'm going for the producer. And then who messes it up? Mr. Producer, man. Okay. Rochelle. Welcome everybody to the Hired Swords podcast. I am your dungeon master, Mike. And with me is Blaze. He plays critics and jocksers played by Mikey. Ash is Gwendolyn. How are though?
00:02:11
Speaker
And Derek is Devin. Gee, hello everybody. Yeah.
Quest for Magical Items
00:02:17
Speaker
When we last left off, we were kind of going around town trying to gather as much information as possible before we confront the chief. Talking to Slim a little bit about some supplies and getting some of that information.
00:02:35
Speaker
The party then headed over to tub the tinkers and they met a interesting character there who kind of gave him a little more information about the chief and some of the kinds of items that have been coming through the through tubs workshop being imbued with magic and sent along.
00:02:56
Speaker
to for other purposes, back to the chief or through Hurley or whatever. And then they decided to go to the longhouse and see what other info they could get. They could get in. Oh, and they also very importantly found a parchment that were blueprints for a helm, a magical helmet that had what looked to be possibly elk antlers interwoven through the metal and
00:03:26
Speaker
The, they showed this to the mage at the log house, the mage that travels with Sariah whose name they've never found out. That's why I couldn't find it. I went through all of my notes for like 10 minutes. I got to see if I have one for him. I think I do, but, um, you'd think after all this interaction you've had, I would have decided I needed to give him a name, but he, uh, anyway, he traveled or he, uh, saw what they were
Gwendolyn's Covert Mission
00:03:52
Speaker
doing. They traveled down to go to the.
00:03:55
Speaker
tower of testing but however before they went to the longhouse Gwendolyn had turned herself into a lizard and she had creepily crawled to the tower of testing and so she made it there a little bit before the others get out of the longhouse so as she's crawling around she hears the chief speaking to someone and speaking to them saying you have to understand it's very simple we just
00:04:24
Speaker
We assign you these jobs and you just take them and you go do what you got to do. Understand? Simple. No more complications. No more conversations. Let's just go. Let's do it. And here we go. And that's about the gist of what she hears. And they, as the party does start to leave the longhouse, they notice a lot of different folks walking back towards the tower of testing. And that is kind of where we left off. A lot of hunters headed towards the tower. Gwendolyn.
00:04:54
Speaker
Make another perception check as you creep closer to the front of the tower. So close. It is in. Sorry, I minimized my lizard sheet. Okay. Oopsie. How's a seven? Seven's not great. So you crawl around to the front and the sound of everyone else coming and approaching kind of picks up and makes it difficult to hear.
00:05:24
Speaker
Plus there's a flying insect nearby that you have to just get. And so you do missing a little bit of information from what maybe what the chief is talking about. But you do see that there are open, a couple of open windows there attached in the tower. If you'd like to try to go inside the tower or however. Is this like the second floor?
00:05:51
Speaker
No, currently you're crawling around near the porch area on the first floor. Okay. Um, yeah, I'll go through the window. I want to make myself go all the way up to the top. That's my goal in mind. I want to find the chief's office. Okay. So I am scurrying and trying to stay in the shadows and in the nooks and crannies if I can. All right. So you, as you make, or start going
00:06:20
Speaker
You go into those front window, that front window area, and inside there you see the three tables along the wall on the right-hand side, the big red rug and some tables and bookcases on the left-hand side. And there's a couple people in there that look like they're cleaning up from breakfast, and it's the young women who had kind of always been around there kind of serving the chief. And yeah, so you see the stairs on the left-hand side,
00:06:48
Speaker
And in front of you, you remember you know this because you had seen it before. But the the tower kind of has like a two balcony levels above it on the top. And you see you can see kind of the foot board of a bed at that first level. And the top level is blocked off with like a makeshift wall. So but yeah, you're you're able to go up.
00:07:18
Speaker
crawl up if you'd like to try to crawl up anywhere.
Uncovering the Chief's Plans
00:07:22
Speaker
I would like to go try to see if I could find a little hole through that wall or does it seem like it's not impenetrable? That's a hard word to say. Up high? Up high? Yeah. Okay. If you're going to climb all the way up there, we're talking probably a 40 foot climb, 50 foot climb for your little lizard guy. Why don't you make a stealth check as you start to scurry up there to see if you can
00:07:45
Speaker
Stick to the shadows and avoid being seen by some of these people cleaning up. Oh my gosh. That's a natural one. Okay. So you definitely notice that this dwarven woman as she's cleaning the tables looks up and, how did that get in there?
00:08:06
Speaker
She's looking up at you and she kind of shakes her head and goes back to her work. She definitely noticed you, but she didn't seem to care that you were in here or figure she'll handle it later. She just saw a little lizard on the wall. So she goes back to her job and you crawl up to that wall, make another perception check as you look to see for somewhere to climb in. Using a different D20. I've been cursed all night.
00:08:38
Speaker
Oh, how's the 13? It's good. Okay. So Gwen, let me show you something real quick. Let's see if I can do this here. Ooh, spoopy secrets. You'll see the second floor of the chief's tower, the tower of testing. Do you see it?
00:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, so you're crawling up there you see the double bed with a chair a couple couple chests nearby with a little wall like a makeshift wall dividing another two little rooms with single beds with trunks at the end of them almost looks like an in but you can see that they are lived in permanently just by looking around and noticing
00:09:24
Speaker
the way the sheets are and the way things are kind of taken care of. Everything looks very nicely neatly kept and taken care of, but this seems to be where there's a nice double bed and then two single beds and a ladder on the back wall going upward as well from inside this space. This is the second floor, the first balcony above the main floor of the tower. I'm gonna try to climb up
00:09:52
Speaker
these ladders, because based on my guess, I don't feel like this is the room I want to be in. Okay. So continuing to scurry up, you scurry up the ladder, and you're able to go up one of the handles kind of the ladder. And you're able to get up to where the it's like it's like a storage area. And you see several just kind of boxes and bins and
00:10:21
Speaker
barrels and a big rug. You see across the way a small table with some just metal pieces of something, you know, out on it with a toolbox next to it. And this this little space, it looks like a little workshop area up top. And then there's a small and this whole place is only about 30 foot, you know, 30 feet across and 30, you know, 30 foot wide. But it's this kind of weird, weird
00:10:50
Speaker
shape almost like a parenthesis shape in the kind of corner of this octagonal tower. And yeah, so that's kind of what this room looks like with nobody seeming to be up here as you kind of easily crawled up through the little crack in the trap door that went up to this space. And there is one single window on the back wall overlooking outside. I think I would start with
00:11:19
Speaker
climbing on the tables to see if there's any paperwork, anything else leading to where these horns might be. Okay, make a perception check or investigation check as you do that. Okay. Investigation is... I believe it's intelligence. Plus proficiency if you're proficient. 16 minus five, so 11. Well, you have minus five to insight.
00:11:49
Speaker
That's our investigation. Well, that's the lizard, right? You're you're supposed to keep your that's right. Isn't she supposed to keep her head? Your intelligence, your Gwyn. Yeah, physical stuff is the lizard, but you're like intelligence and all those base intelligence and wisdom would be you as Gwendolyn. 16 plus two. Okay, much better. 18. That's a lot better than 11. Yeah.
00:12:16
Speaker
you go around on the small little shelf table over to the side and all that's there just little trinkets actually there's a couple of
00:12:23
Speaker
little carvings kind of like what Hurley made that are there. And then you can crawl over to the other table when you get up there, you see a couple of gears and things like that. And these gears are broken into pieces. And there are some papers underneath there kind of folded up and sitting in the corner of the table, just kind of sitting there. And then, yeah, besides that, that's what's out on the tables, but then you have the,
00:12:53
Speaker
Trunks and stuff chests and barrels over to your side of some crates sitting by the trapdoor you came in on on the back wall I'm gonna try as a little lizard Bear with me. I am going to do that thing where I try to look out of one eye to try to see if I can Decipher what is being said in these markings letters Okay, so you unfold a little
00:13:18
Speaker
letters and make another investigation check as Gwendolyn as you try to read this. I'm just tapping with my little slimy lizard paws. I guess they wouldn't really be slimy, but maybe. Not necessarily. 17 plus two, 19. Okay. Investigation, 19. So you are able to kind of, it's kind of funny cause you can kind of read it like a word at a time just because of the size of your eye can only take in that much at once.
00:13:45
Speaker
but as you look, you kind of make out the idea. Some of these are like plans, things he's trying to work out and build, and it doesn't look like he's very good at it. They also, you see some receipt type of items, and they just kind of list off fangs, and one of them says three fangs, two talons,
00:14:13
Speaker
you know, and then, you know, 24 gold pieces. And it just, it's kind of got prices for things and pieces. And then you find a third, you know, kind of category of document on this table that is like a purchase order almost, but it's kind of in the form of a letter. And it says, it just says, I need something.
00:14:43
Speaker
that will burn away the inside of a lock. Just send it with the sewers when they come through. And there's no name on it. There's no name. I kind of want to turn back in the Gwen, but I also don't. Sure. I am going to try to remember this letter. OK.
00:15:11
Speaker
And I'm going to leave this place right now. Because I assume, and tell me if I'm wrong, but Gwendolyn's in her head thinking that this is possibly a note from the guy that's in the northern town that we're supposed to go and see. And so in her mind, she's just feeling we should probably go north. We need to go see this guy Harley was talking about.
00:15:38
Speaker
I need answers. And so one is going to still in lizard form. She's going to go down the ladder again. And I assume that there's an upper floor. This is the, this is the highest floor. This is the highest floor. You literally can, if you look right up, up, you see like the canopy roof with the wooden beams underneath it just above you. I was thinking that there was another room on the other side. Well,
00:16:08
Speaker
With that information, Gwendolyn is probably going to go out towards the window and slither down, at least as much as she can, to get close and listen in to what's going on. Okay.
Saraya's Confrontation
00:16:25
Speaker
Make another stealth check as you go that way. Just try to hide down in the... Fourteen.
00:16:34
Speaker
All right, you successfully make your way to the outside kind of top front of the tower of testing and kind of up high still. And as you're up there up high, you're able to see the the
00:16:54
Speaker
group several groups of or a group of hunters kind of standing around and and you see the chief is standing on the steps just just around this time Davin jocks are in Craig you guys kind of come down to following the
00:17:10
Speaker
the mage that you were following down and uh you see him talking to you see the chief that is talking to these other folks the the are these Sarah Sariah Toba standing there next to him just kind of looking around and uh as they're chatting you know other hunters are starting to just kind of show up and drop into the in
00:17:35
Speaker
Basically, they're kind of standing around and listening. Nobody seems to be involved or trying to get involved in the conversation. Everybody make perception checks as you approach to try to hear what's going on. Oh. Nope. Six. Nineteen. Seven. Craig, as you walk in, as you walk up the mage,
00:18:05
Speaker
The mage gives you a nudge and points up to the chief and to Sariah and says, I've never seen him talk to each other like that. This seems interesting. And you can see Sariah's face is very angry as she's looking at him and talking with him. And you can hear her as she
00:18:32
Speaker
just kind of calls out to him and raises her voice as she raises her voice, the chief kind of like puts his hands up, like, shh, like hush. And she says, she says,
00:18:43
Speaker
She says, your riches are not important enough for the lives of the men and women I've been hunting with for the past years. It is not so important that you pad your pockets. And she's just starting to kind of lay into him a little bit. And he's like, you got to calm down. You have to calm down.
00:19:03
Speaker
and and you see Tomba kind of getting jittery as he stands there kind of looking around a little bit anxiously and the other hunters are starting to kind of get a little anxious too and she turns and she storms down the steps and the the mage that you're with kind of continues to walk over and he he makes his way over towards his the the other members of his group that have been kind of with him all along and Sariah walks down the steps and over towards them and
00:19:33
Speaker
And she says, come on, we have to go think. We have to talk about this. And the chief says, the chief calls out, you don't want to walk away from this, Sariah.
00:19:44
Speaker
and looks around at all the other hunters that have started to gather as more and more start to show up. And now you've got this kind of courtyard in front of the Tower of Testing with the statue of this elven warrior standing in the middle of this courtyard with his bow and his sword. And you have these other
00:20:08
Speaker
hunters all arriving and pretty soon there's quite a quite a large group
Struggle and Strategy
00:20:13
Speaker
of different kinds of fighters and warriors and soldiers all just kind of gathered here in this area and they're just really interested in what's happening they you know you assume they came for a job but this this commotion has kind of got them stirred up a little bit and there's it's pretty tense right now so what are you guys gonna do
00:20:35
Speaker
First thing I like to do is seeing the tension cast mage armor on myself just to be safe. Noted. I think at this time Gwyndolin is going to see Kriegs and her bag. And so she's going to slither down and Kriegs is walking next to a tree and she's going to go around the tree and then try to transition back.
00:21:04
Speaker
And behind Craig she's just going to be like, can I have Dale now? Of course. And I just hand the bag over. Thank you. I said I wouldn't be long. He took care of you as she's looking at her bag. Where is Sariah walking towards and in correlation to where we are?
00:21:32
Speaker
Yeah, they're walking away from the Tower of Testing, kind of down towards where that statue is. That's like in the courtyard just right outside the door. So it would be, if we're coming from the northern side of town, I would assume they're walking technically away from us towards the southeast. Yes, that's right. They're walking down kind of south-easterly, kind of down towards where the camp
00:22:01
Speaker
the hunters camp is set up. The other hunters around are just kind of talking amongst themselves, milling about. You see the one of the other leaders, the dwarven leader, kind of get his group around him and they're just kind of talking. And so there's just kind of this general bit of hubbub and conversation going on. What is her stride currently? Like is she,
00:22:30
Speaker
Picked up pace walking intently or did she take response to the chief saying she doesn't want to walk away from this? No, that didn't slow her down at all. She's still kind of walking away in a huff aggressively, almost marching down towards where the camp is. OK, did the mage catch up with her or is he still with us? He caught up. He's with the group now. He was standing there. He had passed you guys up and gone down to the group while they were while she was still fighting with the chief.
00:23:00
Speaker
OK, kind of talk to now you see Mick was staying. That's what I thought. I just wasn't sure. I'm going to look around at the others and kind of have a expression of like now is our chance to to speak with her. Look on my face like. OK, we should follow. I look at Craig's. Do you see sovereign? I I don't.
00:23:30
Speaker
Assuming I actually don't. Make a perception check. Well, that's 19 as well. 19 total. OK. You kind of look around and as you're trying to trying to spot Salarin, you you don't see
00:24:01
Speaker
her in the crowd of hunters and
Safety Concerns and Action Plan
00:24:03
Speaker
you just you kind of don't know really where to look and you just don't you don't catch a glimpse of her anywhere right now at least. I just not with her group for sure. I don't mean to fuss but but I heard Saraya to talk about how she doesn't want to lose any men or women. I am very worried. Let's stop her before she gets too far away. Agreed.
00:24:31
Speaker
Devin will go jogging off her direction. Same. Jockster will definitely make good use of his legs. I'm going to follow with a quick pace, but I'm also not going to make it so obvious that we are creating kind of a scene, but also I want to lag behind a little bit to see if I can pick up anything else if, you know, there's other things being said as we're walking out. Yeah, Gwendolyn's walking, but her head's kind of down. She doesn't. Okay.
00:25:02
Speaker
So as you guys were walking out, you're trying to listen to see if you hear anything else. Yeah. I'm sticking behind, but also headed the direction of the mall. Yeah. Make a perception check as you start to walk through the crowd and pick up what the conversations are. Okay. Where were these roles? That's a natural 20. Oh man.
00:25:27
Speaker
I'll take them. Yeah. So you, as you're walking, you keep your head down and you hear, I know, I know it's been, it's been days they haven't returned. And there's, there's stories of last year, another party went and the whole party never came back. I can't believe he wants Sariah to go now. She's one of his, she's one of his most, and that's kind of where it cuts off as you walk away. Okay. Um,
00:25:56
Speaker
Gwen, where are you in conjunction to where I am? I'm in front of you, probably. I'm probably not really listening, but I'm aware of my surroundings, or I am trying to be. All right. I'm just going to catch up to you and kind of catch your eye, I think, as we are walking and just trying to keep pace with the others so we don't get too far off. OK. So are you guys heading to try to catch up with Sariah?
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah, I was trying to chase up to her so we can stop her from just leaving. OK, as you kind of approach her from behind, she turns, she hears you coming and turns with like an aggressive stance, you know, and then when she sees who it is, she just kind of lowers her shoulders and she says, she says, I don't have time for you right now. What is what? You'll want to make time for us right now. And then Joxer will look over towards the wizard.
00:26:54
Speaker
He'll say, it might interest you, boss. Maybe you could just give him a minute. She looks at you and she says, okay, as quick as you can, please. I'm trying to decide what we're going to do. Let's get out of direct sight, but Devon, if you wouldn't mind. I do mind. I don't know what you're talking about.
00:27:24
Speaker
The, the, the paper if, uh, of course, of course. Uh, and then Devin will bring out the blueprints and he'll hand it off to Sariah and he says, the chief can't be trusted. He's using the things that we killed to make things like this. I don't know what, uh, what's going on here now. It seems like you're a little upset with him. So maybe you have a slight tinkling what's going on, but we can't trust this man. She tucks herself back behind a, uh,
00:27:52
Speaker
uh, the first kind of one of the houses there and summoned you guys to come over behind her or behind there with her. And, uh, she waits till then and then unrolls the scroll and, or the parchment and looks at it and she says, what am I looking at? And she holds it out and, and the mage leans over and she's, and he says, it's, it's an enchanted helmet. It will, uh, I can't tell the, the,
00:28:19
Speaker
The runes are just activation, but whatever powers, some of the powers that the animal whose antlers who had these antlers, whatever powers it had that some of its powers will be a part of this, uh, this helm now, whoever wears it will be able to, to, to use that power. She just, you're not getting your fair share when it comes to the missions you're going out for now.
00:28:46
Speaker
We kill the great elk, an elder of this forest so that he can make this helm for himself or for his own gain. Whatever it is he's not sharing. I... I don't know if I understand. He would make something this powerful and sell it? We are destroying this forest so that he can get put extra gold in his pocket. Extra gold that he is not telling us about.
00:29:17
Speaker
I find it disgusting. It's disgrace. This is why I didn't like asking questions. You never, you never like the answers. But we also don't like the death of our friends, do we? An entire party sent to the north
00:29:46
Speaker
They were sent three weeks ago. They have not returned. They did this last year. Another party. And now he wants me to go check it out. I'm not going. I'm not risking my men. Who was in this party? It was, you know, the, the short one, the magician, um,
00:30:15
Speaker
He had a staff with, with a gemstone on it. It was his group. They left to the first day to explore the caves of the, uh, in the lonely hill in the north. And it's, it's too far north. I told him it's too close to the untouched lands, but the chief is convinced there's something down there that's powerful. And now I know why he wants to explore it.
00:30:44
Speaker
That's what has me bothered. He's just throwing their lives away, just like the war. It's the same. We thought this was different, but it's the same. And she starts, she gets, she's quite agitated and she's kind of looking at the other, the other men in her group and they're, they're kind of following her lead and starting to kind of mill about with a little bit of a anxious.
00:31:08
Speaker
anxiousness and, and nodding at her as she says, you know, it's the same and, and, uh, you, the tension's kind of ramping up again from her kind of leading the charge here, leading the way. Do you have any idea what is to the north?
Cycle of Exploitation and Change
00:31:24
Speaker
What it is? He's sending these people after what he wants you to go after. We've, we've never had anyone come back. They just go and they don't return.
00:31:37
Speaker
And then the next year another group goes and they don't return four years in a row. And now he wants me to go. But Denaldi, he returned. See, I was told that he went up there and he found something. I remember those creatures that we saw in the forest, that bear and the blood boar that we talked about. Those were created by Denaldi and by something that he had found and up in the North, he had found a way to make them.
00:32:03
Speaker
I can't think that's a coincidence that he wants you to go back up there. I think there's some sort of a connection between something that he wants you to get and something that's that all the already has or had. Or maybe he has a connection up there. I don't know what's up there. The stories tell of almost a whole new world beyond the explored lands of the wild, the wilds, but
00:32:34
Speaker
You know, I don't believe in fairy tales. I've got to decide what we're going to do. We're either going to leave, or I have a mind to... I don't know. Sariah, I think you're needed here more than ever. We need to go talk to the Chief. I agree. I tried to talk to the Chief. You saw what happened. He ran me off. Sariah, in battle.
00:33:05
Speaker
Would you ever leave a soldier behind? Of course not. Not if I could help it at all. That's not that different than what the Chief is doing with these lives. You know that, and you have a chance maybe to right that wrong.
00:33:36
Speaker
You have the respect of all these hunters. What are you going to do with it? I don't know if I like what you're saying. I don't like having to say it. It was so simple. Just days ago. It was so simple. Why do I always start simple?
00:34:07
Speaker
Yeah. You hunt, you kill, you come back, you drink, you go hunt again. But you're right. What starts simple doesn't always stay simple. She looks at Krigs. Like the war. Just like the war. It's like a cycle. I'm stuck in a loop. Over and over the same story.
00:34:38
Speaker
you have the power to stop that cycle more than anyone else here in Wild Hill these hunters look up to you and respect you and whatever whatever you've built here they need there's not much of a world out there left for those who are stuck in that cycle of war and death but they found a life here in Wild Hill and
00:35:08
Speaker
It can be simple. It doesn't have to be such destruction and such manipulation and absolute cynicism against the rest of the world. It can be so much more. There's a whole world out there that would be looking for people just like you and your party here to achieve
00:35:35
Speaker
potentially great things, but if you listen to these whispers in the shadows, it's just going to be that same cycle over and over until we're all dead. If you want the simple life back together, then maybe the chief has to go. He's the one that's complicating it. She starts to nod as you say that. I don't know if
00:36:06
Speaker
We could get all the hunters to agree. I... fear we may have a fight on our hands if... we try to make this happen. Well, I think that's up for them to decide by themselves. But they're here now. No better time for it to bring up and get it all out in the open. Do you think that any of the hunters that are out there...
00:36:29
Speaker
Would would be okay being cheated by the chief, knowing that the the share of money that they're receiving is is not nearly as high as they should. I mean, forget, forget being cheated. I understand it's it's about the money. Imagine being a pawn. And I understand we all have a place in this world. We're all a pawn to something. Something is always going to be telling us what to do. Trust me, as a soldier, I knew that the most, but
00:37:00
Speaker
The cycle doesn't have to continue. It's not, by all means, use the money, but the back alley dealings that's happening here, their lives are being absolutely toyed with.
Confrontation with the Chief
00:37:13
Speaker
There is no simplicity at the end of that path. The wilds themselves are falling apart. That livelihood, that simplicity is going to be gone before long. Sariah, I'm here to help.
00:37:33
Speaker
I think we've spoken enough. We've talked enough. I think we need to go one last time with an ultimatum. Loud and obvious. I think you're right. This back alley dealings and speaking in the shadows has to end. We have to bring what happens in Wild Hill to the light.
00:38:00
Speaker
so that hunters fight for hunters and not for some man in a tower living with his three wives and apparently maximizing profits and letting no one else in on it. I assume you're all with me. She looks at all her men and they nod vigorously. Let's go see how the rest of them feel.
00:38:28
Speaker
When we look around, did it look like the hunters have already dispersed? Are there still quite a few hunters still hanging around? Yeah, it definitely looks like most of them are still kind of milling about, whether they're still waiting on jobs or they are just waiting to see what's going on. They're still kind of there talking, speaking around, speaking up to each other. Daven's going to start heading back toward the chief. I'm going to blend. Yeah, go on.
00:38:57
Speaker
Gwendolyn looks down at her bag and she's like, Dale, they already did the encouragement speech. Yours wouldn't be as good anyways. She's with us. I want to hear Dale's input. You want to like it. Bonus features. Yeah. Bonus features. Sariah, there's one thing that I know in the end of all this.
00:39:27
Speaker
For you and yours, you deserve your equal share. For me and maybe the others here with me, I can't imagine a world where the items and things that they're creating are run rampant and powers that be or powers that may not have even been imagined yet come in contact with items and
00:39:51
Speaker
powers they don't understand. It's a whole facet that none of us have considered really until this point. The wilds are dying, and you know it to be true from what you've seen. I think it's time, like you said, to make our stand. Before or as we're walking up, Joxer is going to do a minor illusion and make the sound of like some epic drums as we're walking up.
00:40:19
Speaker
Like right behind the statue. So as these drums, the sounds of these drums start to fill the air and the Sariah kind of leads the way with her party lining up behind her in kind of a defensive shield wall almost formation walking as if into battle. She walks towards the tower and her hands, she's kind of wringing her hands
00:41:02
Speaker
the chief is still standing on the top steps of the tower and she just walks just a little ways past the statue and her group lines up behind her and she stands as they stand in a straight line behind her. And do you guys kind of fall in line with them or how do you guys approach as you approach the tower with Sariah and her group? I personally am going to stand directly adjacent
00:41:10
Speaker
as they fall down
00:41:31
Speaker
to Sariah right next to her. Just kind of out of solidarity. We've been here since however long we've been here and created so much of a ruckus. I'm not going to back down from whatever is happening here.
00:41:48
Speaker
All right, Joxer. I'm going to take an opposite flank, kind of creating that curve in for, I guess, not so much intimidation, but definitely trying to bring focus to the center point where Sariah is at. OK, so Joxer hanging out on the left flank, just about 15 feet away from Sariah Gwendolyn.
00:42:16
Speaker
I'm probably a little bit behind because Gwendolyn doesn't like Sariah because of the way she's behaved in the past, but she is supporting her to change. And hopefully this talk with Chief would be good. So Gwendolyn's kind of lingering back, but her arms are crossed and she's got her resting beef face on. Okay. Just ready. All right. What about Daven? Daven's going to walk right up to the steps and he's going to call out, Chief.
00:42:45
Speaker
Tomba. Citizens Wild Hill. This town was built on contracts. And what is contracts but trust written down on paper. But there is a trust that has been broken by the chief here. For he has been building things like this and I'm going to use minor illusion and five feet above my head I'm going to make an image of the helmet that's on the blueprint.
00:43:06
Speaker
From the things that we were killing, he is making magical items that he can sell for profit for himself, that he is not sharing with the rest of us. The contracts that you have are lies. As he puts that above his head, I'm going to cast Summon Steed and have the Spirit of the Great Elk right up next to him. Those drums get louder.
00:43:32
Speaker
Now how you feel about this is up to you, but for me and my people, and I look back, and Sariah and her people, it's time for us to make a change. The Chief here has not been trustworthy, and in my opinion, he is not worth being in here, being the leader. If he can't be honest with us, then he does not deserve to be the one in charge. So Chief, tell us the truth of what's really going on here.
00:44:00
Speaker
The crowd's murmuring as you wrap up your little speech and you hear a cry from the group to the left of you. Somebody calls out, somebody calls out, what are you talking about? And the chief walks up to the top of the steps and he kind of lifts his hands for everybody to stop murmuring.
Chief's Dismissal and Challenge
00:44:25
Speaker
His face kind of shows a, just like a amazement almost. He looks at the helm that you've kind of created. He looks over at the elk and he kind of looks at all of you and he looks down at Saria and he says, seriously, seriously, you've come to accuse me with them?
00:44:52
Speaker
As soon as he says that, Gwendolyn jumps, transforms into a direwolf in front of Saria. Okay. So you are a direwolf standing in front of Saria. And I just bark at him, like snap. Okay. I hope to intimidate. He, all right, make an intimidation check. Oh no, I shouldn't have said that. You straight up said it. I know. Yeah, I hope to intimidation check him.
00:45:22
Speaker
Oh snap yo, it might work. I did roll a 17. So Gwendolyn, you just, you know, as a dire wolf and the chief just looks past you at Sariah and he says, if you've come to challenge, then challenge me. And she says, she cries back out and she says, I have not come to fight you or challenge you.
00:45:51
Speaker
I have just come to make those who hunt with me aware of what is really going on in this city." And he says, what's going on is you are making money because I am making money. You have somewhere to use the only skills you've been given because I have given you that place to use them.
00:46:17
Speaker
Now, do you want jobs or not? If so, fall back in line. If not, then perhaps we have something further to discuss. And you hear that same voice from the left say, call out, come on, boys, we've got to get a job. And a group of six of these men start to kind of stand up next around the around the steps.
00:46:44
Speaker
of the tower and they're kind of led by this dwarven fighter who is standing really tough looking and as one of their leaders standing there with them and kind of taking a protective stance near the chief, near these steps there. I try to have my gaze go towards these men. Okay.
00:47:12
Speaker
I'll say we've only come here for answers. Everyone deserves a fair chance at knowing exactly what's going on. Now you say that we have money and you have money, but my understanding is it's supposed to be a fair, fair deal. And I don't feel like you are being honest and fair. What about the others? Sarai calls out to him. What about, what about the hunters who've died?
00:47:41
Speaker
because you continued to seek something that may never be found. Why could you keep sending them? Our friends. Friends you fought with before this. The chief kind of looks around and he looks down at her and he says, you don't understand what we have going here.
00:48:13
Speaker
It all falls apart. As soon, as soon as the flow of items stops, this whole thing falls apart. This whole thing falls apart when that forest dies and you have nothing left to hunt. Gwen barks after Draxr says that.
00:48:40
Speaker
Devin will point at the giant elk next to him. He says, this is not some normal elk. There's not many of these in the forest. In fact, this could have been the very last one. What happens when they're all gone? When we last went to where this beast fell, the forest was gray. It was dying just because of a special item for you. You won't be able to make those items.
00:49:07
Speaker
These aren't indefinite beasts. Where do they go? What do you do with them? These magic items? The crowd is kind of murmuring like asking each other. Yeah, I want to know. And then some of the other ones you may hear him saying, you know, who cares? Why does this matter? You know, and the chief kind of looks around and he looks down at you all and he says, I don't answer.
00:49:34
Speaker
your questions anymore and he turns to start walking away and when he turns to start walking away an arrow flies from behind everyone and the arrow hits a post on the porch next to him and he turns and he looks to see if he can see who did it and
00:50:05
Speaker
He looks up in a tree behind everyone, behind the statue, and up in this tree, he points and he calls out and he says, child, I'm in no mood.
Arrow Fired - Solrin Revealed
00:50:21
Speaker
Handle this. And he looks at the army next to him, not army, but the guys next to him.
00:50:28
Speaker
A couple of them pull out bows and they start to fire at who you now can turn and see a Solrin, Chris Farron in a tree behind you up in the wood, up behind you in a by the by a building. And she fired that first arrow and she's knocked another arrow and she fires two more to try to hit a couple of guys. It's all role initiative and see where we go from here. Yeah. Oh, geez.
00:51:06
Speaker
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00:51:16
Speaker
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