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Ep. 61 Lets Touch Base - De Profundis
103 Plays4 years ago
It has been some time since all of our adventurers have been together. In this episode they all take some time to catch each other up on recent events.
Follow us on our Twitters - @FellowshipTable
Check out the Initiative Trackers used in the show - CraftsByClaude
Intro written and produced by Joseph McDade - https://josephmcdade.com/
The Fellowship Party Twitter Pages:
- The DM/Mark - @HastilyRolledDM
- Drago/Ian - @IRolledA1
- Folly/Callum - @TheD20Gamer
- Carstan/Will - @Natural20Will
- Robin/Darren - @DarrenPage06
- Claude/Danny - @totalpartythrlz
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Transcript
Introduction to Fellowship of the Tabletop
00:00:00
Speaker
Am I wrong? No, to be fair, Tali, I think that was about 30 episodes ago, so my memory is not that good.
00:00:33
Speaker
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop. We are a live play 5e D&D podcast set in the magical homebrewed world of Eryth. My name is Mark, hello, and I am the Dungeon Master. And also with us for today's episode, we have Casey who plays the human champion, Helena Sleetguard. Hello. We've got Danny who plays the human cleric, Claude. Bonjour. We've got Will who plays the human bard, Carstan. Hello. Ian who plays the dragonborn barbarian, Drago. What up.
00:00:59
Speaker
and Callum who plays the gnome sorcerer Folly Fizzlebang the ninth. Yeah I never want to go into a tomb again.
Darren's Absence and Character Introduction
00:01:05
Speaker
Unfortunately Darren is under the weather today and he's suffering with a rather awful ear infection so we've heard so um unfortunately he can't join us for today's episode so um we've killed his character.
Exploring the Quarry
00:01:20
Speaker
See you, Robin. I don't care about your backstory. Later, mate. So he's gone now from the podcast forever. Until next week. Maybe. We'll see. So we're gonna have a broody. We're gonna have a broody, Robin, and he'll be musing over many things that are happening in the episode. And what an episode we just had.
00:01:37
Speaker
Because we had a party split not too long ago, there's not very much I want to really be giving away. So I'm not going to really give anything away. All I'll do is set the scene for where we kind of find ourselves right now. What we find ourselves right now is currently through the perspective of Helena and Claude.
00:01:57
Speaker
What we see is that final door open, and as you step through the sound of crumbling rocks behind you. And for each of you, you see this from a slightly different perspective, but you both pretty much get the same image. The glaring sun, the cold air, the blue sky above you, the quarry around.
Drago's Transformation
00:02:18
Speaker
Helena, you see the back of a gnome's head.
00:02:22
Speaker
you see the ground close by you i can imagine that really cool scene in gladiator where the ground is moving fast beneath beneath them and you can see the ground very clearly and you can see the back of his name's head and you can feel him shuffling around you just seem to step through this doorway and you can see quite clearly almost from a stood position the backs of all the characters facing away from you and you can see helena slumped over the back of for these backpack i secured on with some rope
00:02:52
Speaker
For the rest of you, oh, sorry, one thing you also do see is a very, very strange situation happening as your eyes kind of adjust to the light, Helena and Claude, you see a small owl.
Aftermath of the Battle
00:03:05
Speaker
And this owl starts to, almost over a series of seconds, starts to
00:03:11
Speaker
the feathers become scales and suddenly this owl starts to double triple quadruple in size and suddenly you realize this isn't an owl at all as a broadsword starts to form across the back growing larger and larger growing up to eight foot six seven eight foot tall and the protruding snipe of a dragonborn and you realize that drago has in fact been an owl and
00:03:33
Speaker
And it's just returned to his original state. All of them look worse for wear. Robin, Carstan, Folly, Tali and Drago are drained of colour, exhausted, and you can see them panting. Tali's leant over on her knees, just panting away as the dust settles from this, whatever has happened, it's just crushed behind you. What about Kennard? Can we see Kennard?
00:04:00
Speaker
No, you cannot see Kennard. The only people you can see are Tali, Kastan, Folly, Drago and Robin. Well, they also see the can outside. There was the can outside. Oh, yes, but it's kind of still in front of you. Sorry. Yes. And just
Claude's Protective Instinct
00:04:14
Speaker
the other side of them, you can see what looks like some kind of bonfire, something that took place in a corner of this kind of
00:04:22
Speaker
Basically, what you can see, it's like a jutting out part of a quarry, and you're always seeing this quarry, but the rocks behind you seem to be a kind of sandy-colored experience, really. And so this scene happens, and you can hear the crumbling rocks behind you both, and then silence. And you can feel dust, and you can feel fresh air hit you, cold, cold, crisp air, but not another breath of wind, as the sun is now high in the sky. And as Drago returns from his owl form into his dragonborn form,
00:04:52
Speaker
You can see all five of these people kind of turning to each other and muttering. Helena, you would probably start to stir on this backpack, realizing now that you're kind of stuck
Magical Misunderstandings and Resolutions
00:05:01
Speaker
on the back of Folly's backpack, okay? Helena, we'll start with you. What do you want to do? Oh, Claude, I can see Folly. It can't be him. Can it, Claude? Hello? It's not them. It's a trick still. No, I don't know what's happening.
00:05:18
Speaker
I'm not walking. Claude, are you carrying me? Where am I? Where am I? A mysterious voice that leads us? You are five or six steps behind them or you can see her like six or seven feet in front of you. So I'm stood in form and she's lying on her back. Yeah, you're a corporeal, full there, from straight away, like standing on the ground and she is across the back of Folly's backpack.
00:05:42
Speaker
And I can hear Helena, can't I? Yes, yes, you can hear. I'm going to grab my axe and I'm going to put myself between Helena and these images. Okay, in doing so, bear in mind she's on the back of Folly's backpack. Yeah, I'm just going to sort of just like, is he wearing the backpack? He's wearing the backpack, yeah. I'm just going to sort of try and help her off and then draw my sword and protect her. Do I know he's coming at me from behind?
00:06:06
Speaker
You would turn around because you'd hear the mutterings and noises, absolutely. I would be shouting princess as I run towards her. And you're currently tied. There's ropes holding you in place as well, Helena, to make sure you don't move. So you would not be able to get yourself free. Folly, as you hear this noise and the jiggering of moving around of Helena, as you turn around with a backpack, you see Claude, axe in hand, eyes wide, running straight towards you. I cast Hold Person.
00:06:34
Speaker
Okay, um, Claude, can you write a constitution, Folly? Wisdom. Wisdom, sorry, Roth, wisdom. It's a cleric, no fucking chance, mate! 18! You fucker! Okay.
00:06:50
Speaker
In that case then, I'm going to spend a couple of sources of points if I know it's going to be fair. Can I have a turn? Can I have a turn? Can the rest of us do something right? Go on then, Carson, is there something you want to do? You see Claude running, acting hand towards Folly and screaming, princess, princess, princess.
00:07:07
Speaker
Carson had seen Folly felt like mutter words and something going towards Claude. So Carson was like, sort of exhausted going, Claude, it's us! Where have you been? That's what they said last time! Sacred Flame and Folly! Okay, roll the hit. Sacred Flame is a deck save Folly. Okie dokie. Can you roll it with disadvantage as well please, Folly? Only as you've just cast your own spell and everything's just happened.
00:07:37
Speaker
Okay. With disadvantage, 18. Wow, okay. So what happens is, as you cast Sacred Flame, it shoots out of your hand towards Folly. Folly, you manage to, at the last minute, take your right shoulder back away, moving the backpack away with you as well, protecting Helena as this blast of radiant energy fires over your right shoulder. How far away is he?
00:08:04
Speaker
he's probably two or three feet i mean we're this is a tenuous this is a tenuous turn if you will so um we're kind of for cinematic purposes say he's another two or three steps away from you pretty much he's he's yeah barreling down okay i'm gonna cast firebolt on him and aim for his head okay
00:08:21
Speaker
Hey, look, he's launching an attack at me. Are we rolling initiative? I'm not one for the rules normally, but it sounds like there's some sort of order that we can have here.
00:08:34
Speaker
it would have been a good idea okay actually let's let's reckon that you've had your turn each called you are at you were at folly and you are at helena now you're pretty much on them now okay okay i'm gonna just start to try and yank her out of the ropes okay i'll get you out
00:08:53
Speaker
Give me a strength check please Claude. Follow, are you going to be resisting this just so we know what we're looking at? Well yeah I'm going to be trying, all this time I am going to be trying to back away from Claude because as far as I can see at the moment it's Claude but it's a very frantic Claude so I don't know what he's going to do. I don't know what's going through his head. I will be trying to back away from him right now.
00:09:12
Speaker
And from your eyes, he's followed you out of the gallon in hollows because he has appeared pretty much where the entrance was. So as you stepped out and kind of caught your breath suddenly, literally the second you guys left and flew out, boom, these voices are right there, started literally the minute the hollows had shut behind you, pretty much collapsed behind you. What are we doing? 13 on the strength check to get her out the ropes.
00:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, the ropes are snapped. The ropes snap quite easily. You get one grab at them, they snap off quickly, but Folly is backing away. Helena, can you give me a dexterity, just a straight dexterity check, please? To see if you have any grace or decorum on this fall. This is not how I thought this would go. Eight.
00:09:52
Speaker
and you uh unfortunately as the ropes pull off and because folly's backing off you literally just kind of topple bang hit the ground very unceremoniously with your armor on and you're lying now on this dusty cold uh stone floor take take take up arms
00:10:13
Speaker
Claude. What's going on? They're using our names again. Claude. And Drago is, he's got up slowly. He's walking over to Claude with one hand outstretched and the other hand is deep into his satchel. And as he's getting close to the Claude, he's going to pull out the bear that he's given him way back when. Claude, it's us. Look at the bear. Take note. No, no. You know, if you know, you know this bear, there's no ill will in this bear. I need you to have a look at it.
00:10:42
Speaker
If you're the real Drago, what's my middle name? Claude, the first time I met you, I held a sword to your throat. What's my middle name though? Now look at me. This is the bear you gave me. Just look into the bear. This is very important. Why do you think I'm not who I say I am?
00:11:06
Speaker
Because we just fought off 16 of you and then we saw your heads rolling. Okay, but have I got my sword raised or have I got a bear with healing properties in my hand? You've got a bear. I need you to have a look. Does it make sense? Have a look at this bear and tell me what you see. That's my bear. And isn't something meant to happen when you look into it?
00:11:28
Speaker
Have you looked into it already? Haven't you used it? Tell me what's there when you look into it. Nothing, just cute button eyes.
00:11:40
Speaker
The magic's gone. We've just been in a hell of a battle. Look at us. If you wanted to right now, you could defeat us. We're a broken party. Give me an investigation check, Claude, please. And Drago's visibly tired and he's summoning strength here. And as he's talking to you, he's stumbling, he's crouched forward a little bit. He ain't stood strong and tall.
00:12:06
Speaker
I'm sorry, I don't know how that's going to help. I rolled a zero. How did you roll one? And then minus one again. So you failed. As you look at them, they do not look like the part of you. Remember, there is something not right here. They look older. They look different. They are that they paler. Oh, God. And you're almost done. This is because the skin is a different texture. There's there's something not right.
00:12:35
Speaker
There's something not right here! Lord, I think you're looking into something that's not here. I don't understand. I can see them. They're real. I think they're real, Claude. Claude, you are Sir Coldheart. You died and you worshipped Akiva. Is there anybody else outside of these people who would know that? Elf here? He's not here.
00:12:57
Speaker
Not here. Listen, we've all been on a journey, and I don't know what you guys have been through, but we have been through something too. Are we still in the mountains? We're still in the mountains. I'm afraid so, yes. We've got the Onyx Reaver. We've got the Onyx Reaver. No, we have the Onyx Reaver. No, I don't think we've got it, Claude. We did. We finished the Blight. No, Claude. Dali, can you show him the Onyx Reaver? We ended the Blight. You have got a fake Reaver. No, I want to just...
00:13:27
Speaker
Tally walks over, she's been stood next to Robin and they've been quietly conversing and she hears what's going on and takes a few steps towards, but not any closer really. She still stood near to Robin, reaches into a bag and pulls out an old looking ancient dagger. It seems to almost been made up like a dark slate. It seems like almost a paleolithic in design and style with like a metal handle wrapping around this kind of stone like blade. She kind of holds it up sideways
00:13:57
Speaker
towards you for a couple of seconds then puts it back into a bag and carefully deftly shots her bag again. Is this the same blade that Helena was wielding minutes ago? Correct. Well, Helena's going to look at Tali and say, can I just take a look at that please? Can I have it? And Tali then reaches a hand into a bag but then shoots an eye over to Drago and looks back at Robin as well to kind of
00:14:26
Speaker
Let's just talk about where we've all been because... I just need to see the reaver, I just need to see it. Do you need... I trust it's you, Tally, hand of the blade.
00:14:40
Speaker
Okay, but on your head be it. You just be on your guard. I'm ready, Drago, I'm ready. And she's going to, she throws the blade up into the air and Robin waves his hand and catches it with his invisible mage hand and then kind of passes it, pushes it over towards you, Helena, so it appears in front of you, kind of hip height handle first towards you, and you could grasp it if you wish.
00:15:04
Speaker
And I will grasp it. And I will turn to Claude and we'll both look at it together. Does it feel the same? Give me an investigation check, Helena. Fourteen. For all intents and purposes, this is identical to what you were holding not ten minutes ago.
00:15:24
Speaker
Where's your one? It feels exactly the same, Claude. I think it is the same one. I just think we were in a different space or a different time. Where's yours? Well, this is it, Claude. But that's Charlie's. Where's yours? No, Claude, I think you're missing the point. I think we've been in a different space, maybe in my head, maybe in time. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe we need to talk.
00:15:47
Speaker
And I'll hand the bloke back over to Charlie. I know we all want to talk, but perhaps we should do it somewhere that's not on a mountain where it's getting cold and... Wait, if you... Where's Castan? I mean, where's Kennard? He went back down the mountain. Insight check.
00:16:04
Speaker
Okay and I mean you're doing it against King here but do you want to roll persuasion or deception depending on whichever you want to use and don't have to tell them. What did you roll Claude? A natural one. A natural one okay. I rolled a 20.
00:16:18
Speaker
Oh my god. What you fucking did? You are, you're convinced, absolutely convinced that, yeah, he's telling 100% the truth. This is like the most honest you've ever seen cast and be almost too perfectly honest.
00:16:36
Speaker
OK, I'm going to drop my axe, I'm going to sprint to Folly. Folly, I'm so sorry, I tried to kill you. Calm down. I'm going to pick him up and squeeze his little face. You are not going to be able to pick me up. I'm going to try and pick him up and squeeze his little face. As you do that, you feel the inordinate weight of his backpack hold him solidly to the ground. But you managed to get a good squeeze in.
00:17:01
Speaker
I'm so sorry. As he goes to lift him up, Folly's actually just going to slip out of the backpack just so they can have a little hug, I think. Because Folly did also attack. Merry Christmas, everyone. You've created a fucking slingshot out of Folly now because he was held down. Claude tried to pick him up with all his fucking strength. Then you release the backpack. Can you roll a slight of hand to see if you don't fling him into the air?
00:17:29
Speaker
me who's gonna roll it oh nice don't toss me 11 okay yeah just about um as you as you try and pick him up because your main mission was to pick him up you're trying so hard your back is put into it like everything in your body is engaged to try and pull this little man off the floor and suddenly as he frees himself he does this kind of fly up but he managed to catch his leg
00:17:50
Speaker
as he starts to kind of fly off into the end, you pull him back down and give him a nice big hug. And Folly, you've just got like a mouthful of like seaweed beard and plate armor in your mouth as well, as you two embrace. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Folly. I'm so sorry.
00:18:09
Speaker
Mark, is the ashes of Folly's, is the ashes of the thing that was part of Folly's body that I picked up, have they even materialized here? Do I still have a pocket of ash? You can indeed look for them, yeah.
00:18:25
Speaker
So if I put my hand in my pocket, is there still a pile of ash? There's nothing except the one copper piece you had in there. I don't know what you had in there previously, but no, it's not. OK, I won't visit that then. Foley, I'll never try to kill you again. We'll discuss that later. Helen is going to turn to Carstan and sort of what else is happening, and quietly ask him to build his little house or his hut.
00:18:55
Speaker
And Karsten looks quite tired, there are rings around his eyes, and he says, Your Majesty, I don't have the strength. I just thought of a place of, you know, privacy.
00:19:08
Speaker
Never mind. We'll carry on and we'll find a place elsewhere, I'm sure. What's happened? We've gone through a thing. You've got what we think is the Onyx Reaver. What's happened? There was the Onyx Reaver. What's the smoke about over there? We found James's body and we had to burn him.
00:19:32
Speaker
And then that's when Kennard left. When did you start burning him? How old is his body? I don't know how long he'd been dead. Not one. But he... We burned the body before we went into the quarry. How long has he been burning for? I might be able to save him. He's dead. I don't know, he was dead. No! I might be able to save him! Well, he's over there. I think this is far beyond even your skills, they include. I'm gonna go have a look.
00:20:00
Speaker
okay i'm gonna try and inspect the body and figure out how old it's dead for it's been burnt and so it's just the skeleton remaining of his body oh never mind i'm just gonna are the copper peanuts still on the eyes by the way they've fallen through into the they've fallen through into the skull but they're still technically there yeah i'm gonna just then use my um gentle repose to do the thing i do to stop people from turning undead when they die okay
00:20:26
Speaker
And you'll probably take a few moments to do that. And so as Claude kind of goes off and starts muttering his prayers to Akiva over near the pyre, the rest of you are kind of grouped as he does that. Tali, you've secured the reaver. Yes, I've just put it back in my bag for now. I don't know if I'm the best person to really hold this. Would anyone like to? I'm not sure if I'm the safest pair of hands knowing what's, you know. I'll take it.
00:20:52
Speaker
And again, Tally will shoot a really quick look over to Drago. Even Folly would look at Drago at this point, just with a raised eyebrow. How about I'll take it for now and then we'll talk about your experiences with this and then I'll give it to you after we understand what's going on.
00:21:13
Speaker
I'm not sure why you don't trust me. Because Claire Claude just tried to kill us and I feel like all of us need a catch-up with what's been going on. Right. Sure, you take it. Just for now. You take it.
00:21:30
Speaker
and then Drago goes over Tali and takes the next reaver. Tali has actually, Robin at this point has kind of walked past Tali and kind of taken the reaver off to offer and is just passing it over to you and as he walks over to you he'll just hand it to you Drago blade first and look you in the eye and just say I'm going to need some time to process this just
00:21:53
Speaker
give you some time and he's just going to take a few steps away and then just plop himself down facing that into the quarry and he's just going to pull off his bow and just start realigning the string and just kind of overseeing his equipment pulls like ghostbane gives it a sharp and just tidying up the blade but kind of taking himself away for just just some time you've seen this look before he needs some time to to protest i will i'll return from the the right and rejoin so
00:22:22
Speaker
who who's going to go first well do we want to do it up here mark is it getting all what kind of
00:22:29
Speaker
situation are we in you are in a kind of a mid-afternoon sun still quite warm probably two three o'clock it's a clear sky your if you cast your minds back to the last conversation you had with kennard not a day ago less than that even before the pyre before he went to settle his business with james's family and do right by him in the pub in goldview he mentioned about the great siphon which was
00:22:59
Speaker
Yeah, the giant pulley system off to the north, which you can quite clearly see now, a monolithic instrument which took all the minerals off the mountain down nearest to High Haven. And he said that it doesn't work yet, but he gestured over to Folly and said he'll be able to figure it out, I'm sure, before kind of leaving.
00:23:23
Speaker
there is a path that kind of skirts along the edge which may get you closer to it but Ken I really didn't mention anything about the the best way of getting there but you can you can literally see it it's probably a couple of hours walk if you were to start walking now I was just trying to evaluate sort of how long we had before any weather or that lot exposures clear skies clear skies cool air appreciating if you will
00:23:47
Speaker
I know we've got a lot to say, but do we need to have this story when we're drier and safer? Is anybody hurt right now? We all are. I think everybody. Okay. One moment. I'm going to cast Mascuri something. What's cool? Mascur wounds. Has everyone got myself?
00:24:13
Speaker
It's going to receive 24 points of healing. I wish I had high level spells also.
00:24:21
Speaker
It's all right. Folly's got loads apparently. Yeah. Sourcing points. I think when you cast that, you see casts on some of his bruises and that lot might heal up a bit more. He still looks tired and it's almost like I think Claude would probably recognise it as that. How drained you feel when you cast lots of magic. You feel like part of you is drained. That's probably the tiredness he looks. You see dry rows.
00:24:48
Speaker
Chess start to breathe a bit easier and he's standing a little bit more upright and more himself from this it's almost like he's just shaking his head a bit and Taking its deep breath for like the first time in a while and he's Robin's turns calm Sorry Robin turns his head around through halfway through sorting out ghostbane and just looks at you Claude just nods his head to you and kind of a thanks and Continues back on his sword
00:25:15
Speaker
Well, let's find somewhere where we can rest and then let's tell you all about how we ended the blight. Yeah, this sounds like a very interesting story.
00:25:26
Speaker
What's the plan then? Did you go to the jungle in the mountains already? Was that where we're going now? That was burned down. That was a long story. Okay, another one we're parking for later. Where are we going now that the jungle is ablaze? I believe that if memory serves, we're to find a plant for Helena.
00:25:50
Speaker
No, no, I think we've got that. Those are the crystals around the Atlantic Reaver. Tally reaches into her bag and pulls out these orange rocks that seem to almost look like precious stone, really. They're kind of a very kind of amber-y colour and holds up quite a few of them in her hands, quite large, fist-sized, almost in her hands, and kind of gestures them towards the group like, I don't really know, before putting them back into her rucksack, into our satchel.
00:26:18
Speaker
I would like to take a look at them, but I understand that we need to get somewhere more private before we start to have a talk or discussion. We're at the top of a mountain, there's nowhere more private than where we are right now. We all do respect, I believe that even the cast lands had certain moments where he believes we are being watched even on this mountaintop.
00:26:39
Speaker
Hi. Magic is just more in closed place away from here. So we're looking to move on. Everyone agree? I hate to say we move, move on quickly, but still be on your guard, people. We should head to the siphon. That's what Kennard said. We could maybe get working to get us down the mountain quicker. OK. So we no longer need to be up the mountain? I think so. I can't cast the magic to create a tent that will keep us alive if the temperature plummets. We're done on the mountain, just to be clear.
00:27:08
Speaker
I do believe so, Claude, yes. Yeah. And did you find Elf here? That's part of the catch-up that we'll have. Okay, okay, okay. I will just walk blindly into danger and won't ask any more questions. If we're all out of it, I'm okay with it.
00:27:27
Speaker
OK, yeah, so everyone gear up, be on your guard, as Folly says, and we'll make our way down and we'll catch up. And just as you finish that drag, Robin puts his bow over his shoulder and walks past you and just says, follow me and starts leading the way along the path in front of you. Charlie's quite up close next to him. And again, they seem to be in just in a conversation of their own at the front.
00:27:54
Speaker
Drago is going to watch everyone walk off, bit by bit, and he's going to purposely make himself at the back of the building. And Drago, as you do, as you finally look back towards this ancient entrance of the Gallaudin Hollows, which is now caved in, the sandstone which seems so out of place now is nothing but rubble now in front of you with the dust still settling, those memories of what has happened in there in a matter of minutes that happened in there still sit
00:28:23
Speaker
very, very recent in your memory and everyone else's as you start to make your way along the path to the Great Siphon. The path leads off its skirts around the rim of this impressive quarry towards this intricate and gargantuan Polish system which arcs off down the mountainside to the east. From your current location it will probably take a couple of hours to get to it.
00:28:47
Speaker
But you've got a good amount of sunlight still. The sun is high in the sky. It stays high, given your locale up a mountain. But it is cold. It is very cold, but sunny as well. There's barely a breath of wind to move this still and rigid air. And the breath, your breath, and the warmth of combat and the warmth of everything that's just happened leaves this interesting and intricate small wisp of mist behind the group as you make away single file along the abandoned path to the giant police system.
00:29:17
Speaker
The path comes to a fork. One of the forks off to the left leads you down into the quarry. The one to the right keeps you up on the edge of the quarry towards the great siphon. Robin would automatically take the right path now as he continues along that way.
00:29:34
Speaker
along the walk could i use the robin's at the very front so i'll just do a quick perception check for him on actual twenty gotta be happy with that would make it there's nothing nothing seems to take notice literally no movement no life appear at all there's no
00:29:50
Speaker
there's no vegetation, there's no animals, there's no human, there's nothing up here. Save just the abandoned quarry in front of you as you look to the left. I will, Claude will sort of maybe after the first hour of this eerie silence between, well, the last time we were ascending the mountain, Carstan was playing music, everyone was quite, not necessarily jovial, but the tone was lighter. I'm just going to walk side by side with Helena
00:30:20
Speaker
Princess? Yes. Are you convinced that these are actually our friends because I don't feel like they're very friendly at the moment? This is very quiet by Claude standards. Karsten hears everything. Thanks. Yeah. I do. I don't have anything
00:30:40
Speaker
I don't think they're then not going to be our friends. You don't think we're still in that place right now? No, it feels different. It feels very different. I just think that they've been through something that we don't know of yet. I just, please don't be so hasty with them at the moment. I understand. And I was the same when we first saw them. It was difficult and I didn't know where we were. It was very blurred and I felt strange.
00:31:08
Speaker
But it felt stranger being inside my head. Yeah, I understand. Yeah, how did I get there?
00:31:15
Speaker
I don't know. I reckon, I reckon Folly will know. No, he won't. He'll say something really complicated. Just don't ask everybody just yet. Wait. No, this is, that's your bit to tell. I'll talk about the fact that we saved the world. Okay. I still don't know what part of time that was, if it was time at all. If it was, but dreams do, don't they?
00:31:41
Speaker
Was it a dream? I don't know. Dreams feel real. That's what I mean. So just maybe be open minded. It might not have been the real time. It might not have been the future, the past, even the present. Well, but they wouldn't give you the reever. That's the only thing I don't understand. I don't know how I can.
00:31:59
Speaker
feel it, see it, it felt the same, it looked the same. I don't know how I'd know that without seeing it before. Yeah. And how would my brain think of that stuff? I feel like it was a prophecy that it's you that did the thing that we weren't mentioned yet because we're not sharing.
00:32:15
Speaker
you know so why wouldn't they give it to you is this it you know is this are we still in that place these aren't our friends i'm worried no no no no they i'm sure they are our friends claudia have a strong feeling about this okay let's just just let's just get to the place where we feel safe and it's a bit private and then we can have a talk okay okay yes right
00:32:39
Speaker
As you continue to walk up towards the Great Siphon, the size of this monolithic structure continues to grow and grow and grow. It's made of solid oak by the looks of things, a dark, dark wood, very similar actually in terms of darkness to the handle of the blade which killed the guard back in blackmouth.
00:32:58
Speaker
And this was obviously where they got it from, the verdant, unfortunately, which now has been burned down. As you approach it, it's a large four-sided structure, probably standing about seven feet tall. And there's a wooden staircase up the side with one door entering into the space. It's probably kind of square footage about 40 feet inside, so 20 foot by 20 foot. So big enough for you to take refuge if you can get inside it.
00:33:24
Speaker
there's a staircase up the side leading to the very top of it where there seems to be a kind of a canopy on top. To the left as you walk up you can see these huge swathes of stone that have been tied around with giant chain links to hold it in place and this is almost a counterweight too as you see these huge massive thick almost metal lined ropes arcing off into the distance to kind of additional
00:33:48
Speaker
smaller towers further into the distance down the mountain, quite a sheer way down. Obviously, this is a return and send service of these large oversized minecarts that could carry huge amounts of rich veins of resources down to civilization. You can see, as you look down, literally hundreds of these containers dotting off into the distance until the mist and fog lower down the mountain shields them from your view. As you approach closer, you
00:34:17
Speaker
Again still continue to have a sense of absolute silence cast on you especially and you no longer have those whispers You no longer have any noise it is Deadly silence almost to the extent cast on whether you imagine actually there's something wrong with your hearing and your perceptive skills because You're picking up nothing that's whatsoever
00:34:36
Speaker
There is one door near this staircase that leads on the outside, there's one door to the inside which is made of a similar wood that is currently shut as you approach. Robin gets close and kind of stands off to the side again, rather standoffish speaking with Tally as Tally looks back at the group and looks towards you and maybe gestures towards the door with her head.
00:34:59
Speaker
Shall we go and have a look at this mechanism, Folly? Kennard seemed to think that you might have an idea of how to fix this thing. Well, I totally hope so after all of this.
00:35:10
Speaker
let's go and finally he's going to push his core to navigate the door just to see if it opens up. Yep and it literally just opens up no lock no mechanism nothing at all the door opens and inside you see a small wooden room wooden floorboards on the bottom it's a single story obviously this place was used as almost like a uh think of it like the person who works in a in a lighthouse there's room for one person to maintain that
00:35:38
Speaker
Tower and obviously this is where that person used to be there's an old straw mattress off to the side a couple of tables and a chair with a bookcase and a couple of old books on there and none of real notes off to the left there's a small staircase of stone leading down as you enter the room.
00:35:56
Speaker
Does the building, sorry, is it kind of like the top of a ski lift? Is it that kind of thing? Pretty much. Okay. Yeah, pretty much visualization. Um, yeah. Think of it like an old mine version of a ski lift. Pretty much. Yeah. So instead of cheering, he's basically got minecart. Huge, huge industrial style. Yeah. Jobbing. Looking around, do we, do we see any, do we see anything that if I start to investigate, is there anything like mechanism or anything like that?
00:36:24
Speaker
In the room, either using a perceptive investigation, there's nothing there. However, you would envisage if there was going to be any mechanism, it would be lower or higher. I think we need to go further down, Folly. Okay, okay, no problems.
00:36:37
Speaker
Are we all in the room now? Yep, we're all kind of slowly filing in as this realisation takes place. There are a couple of candles. Tylee goes over and uses control flames to light one or two of the candles, lighten the space up. It feels a little bit warmer in here, you're protected at least from the cold. And Tylee, there is also a small area for like a fire where obviously the person who used to work here
00:37:01
Speaker
cooked food until it goes over and creates bonfire on that, the space instantly becomes slightly warmer, cozier and brighter. It hasn't been touched for a while. At least if it takes too long for us to fix this or we don't think we can do it tonight, we at least have some place to stay that's out of the wind. I agree. I think that we should stop with the silence now and perhaps share while everyone is in a bad grumpy grump.
00:37:25
Speaker
I mean, we're not grumpy, Claude. We're just tired. I would like to know why. Because we fought Elphir and whoever his boss was and hundreds of undead. Hundreds? That's the long and short of it, yeah. Okay, let's do the long and I can tell the short to my friends when we get back.
00:37:43
Speaker
I will be telling the show to anybody Robin shuts the door of the of the room So there's a bit of bit of cold air now stopping coming in these walks over and grabs a book off the bookcase and just starts thumbing Thumbing through it nonchalant listening to the conversation as it takes place Robin. Are you sure you meant to be touching books again? Oh I'm fine. Just tell the man what happened. Oh
00:38:07
Speaker
I mean, so I mean, do you want to just know what happened in the hollows or do you want to know what happened? I don't know what happened. Someone stole all the stuff and then everything went dark and then I was in your dream. So.
00:38:23
Speaker
Right, so after we fought the creature and you disappeared into the ground and there was a voice and it got a bit weird. What did the voice say? I don't know. That's not helpful. I can't remember. Well, you were there. It was Akiva, wasn't it? He told you to go and save Helena. Did you not remember that? That was just to me. I didn't think any of you heard Demaster's words. No, we heard that too.
00:38:51
Speaker
We all heard that. Yeah. And then you went to save Helena and we went to retrieve the Onyx Reaver. Where did my body go? It was a choice. You came to save me and you came to save me. Well, of course. Your body disappeared. It's like you were sucked in. Yeah, Helena stayed with us. But you dissipated and almost like were just vanished, really. But we were told that you were going to save her.
00:39:21
Speaker
Oh, who told you? Who told you? Akiva. Of course he did. So we, okay, so we disappeared. Hold on, why does this all make sense to you and not to me? Because the master is very powerful and he made sure to let them know we were going on a little break to your place and that we would be back. Oh, we would. Clearly.
00:39:45
Speaker
All we were told, Helena, was that you'd been touched by the Blight, and you needed rescuing, and Claude was the man to do it.
00:39:53
Speaker
Well obviously he was successful. Then we put Helena on Claude's backpack and I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on. I checked him on
00:40:23
Speaker
I should have said the backpack. I consider it its own thing, capital T and everything. We checked Helena over. I used my mind finger to check she was alright. She seemed to be in a weird place but we think it was okay. So then we travelled towards the verdant.
00:40:40
Speaker
the verdant had been on fire and it had been deliberately set on fire but it's okay because it looked like it was growing back so that's a good thing and hopefully the verdant was being able to there was like the blight was affecting the ground there was like a blackness associated with the blight there but we managed it looked like the plants were were were fighting it back i don't know whether it seemed like tiriani may have blessed that place
00:41:09
Speaker
Well, so who sets on fire? We think Elphir. Elphir. So how did you get around a burning jungle on top of a snowy mountain? It was out. It was smoldering by that point. But it was growing back. So that's good. But you didn't check it before we left? Well, we did. Folly wanted to take the plant that was growing back out of there. But I told him to leave it behind because it was Tiriani's place. And, you know, it wasn't right for us to take it. Maybe I should hear from her.
00:41:36
Speaker
Then what? Then we left the verdant and we... Was there anything at all of interest at the verdant? Other than that it had been left on fire? Other than that it had been let on fire deliberately? No. Where did you find the crystals?
00:41:52
Speaker
around the Onyx Reaver. Okay, so continue? So we then traveled and then we found Jamus slumped by the entranceway to the Galanin Hollows and... The Galanand Hollow? Yeah. Okay.
00:42:11
Speaker
And he had his diary there and it said, I knew he would come for it, the creature from my dreams. It seems like something had been affecting James's dreams. Went there to save the Onyx Reaver and it looks like Elphir killed him. And you know it was Elphir that killed him. He looked like he was punched to death and Robin and Drago said that that's kind of what Elphir did.
00:42:36
Speaker
It was Elthea that killed him. After that, Kennard was understandably overcome with emotion at seeing his best friend's body. So we told him to go back down the mountain and secure everyone else and make sure that he was okay. We carried on into the... Well, no, we put James' body onto a pyre and folly lit it up. He gave him a proper funeral.
00:43:04
Speaker
Yeah, Jamis had left a letter for Kennard, so he read it and left. But we tried to make sure that Jamis had at least some kind of send-off, because I think he may have delayed Elphir enough so that we got there in time. OK, and then you went, did you go into Gil Galah's hollows? I went into the governing hollows. Yeah. And there was a statue and there was writing that said
00:43:30
Speaker
Earth here is a weapon of great power, and we had the soul. We found the Onyx Reefer in there. But we also, there was then a temple to Tiriani in there, and the whole place was alive with life. What sort of life? As in it was green, it was healthy, it was a garden, a paradise inside the mountain, which is why I think the verdant is blessed by Tiriani. I knew it. So I left an offering for Princess Helena,
00:43:59
Speaker
on her behalf because she wasn't there and I thought it was something that you might like, Your Majesty. Thank you, Castan. Did you leave anything for Claude? Well, I didn't think... Yeah, but I took some mops to other people other than Akiva, so I only said something for Helena. Sorry, Claude. It's all right. What did you say, Castan, if you don't mind me asking? I just asked for Tiriani's blessings and left an offering of water because I thought that and said this is on behalf of your servant, Princess Helena.
00:44:29
Speaker
That's sweet, isn't it? That was very kind. Thank you, Castan. OK, so you prayed to Tyrioni, you went to the greenhouse in the mountain and then what? And then we turned the corner. I saw Elphir and I cast a fireball at him. You saw Elphir and you cast a fireball at him in a temple full of lovely greenery? No, no, this is in a different corridor. Different corridor. So there were multiple corridors in this lovely place. Yes. And you decided to set one of them on fire.
00:44:56
Speaker
Was this after or before you took the crystals and the Onyx Reaver? Before. Elf there was in the room with the Onyx Reaver and there was this tall creature with horns and dark skin and a giant sword and he killed someone. He killed Thrace Dan. Thrace Dan? The demigod. He's the one who brought us here.
00:45:23
Speaker
Was Freya Stan there as well? Yeah, everyone was there. Why do I miss all the big, like, godly stuff? Did he have a name? This tall, dark shadow with horns? I didn't catch his name. We were too busy fighting him and Elf here. Or mainly Elf here. He just liked to sit on the throne and laugh at us.
00:45:44
Speaker
Yes, it sounds like. OK, that sounds very familiar, doesn't it? Yes. Yeah, OK. And then so clearly everybody managed to complete that skirmish without incurring injury. What happened to our used to be beloved Elthir? I was going to say there was a great injury during the battle. So tread lightly here, Claude.
00:46:11
Speaker
Please tell me. At this point, at this point, sorry, Robin has shut the book and has walked towards the door and just gives a look to Robin, sorry, gives a look to Drago, opens the door and just steps outside of the room. Drago nods as he steps out.
00:46:28
Speaker
during the battle with Elthir and this god as I'm starting to understand he is. Remember when me and you were on the mountain before this happened and you asked if we could save Elthir, we'd save him? Yep.
00:46:45
Speaker
I tried everything in my power to save Elthea. My power wasn't good enough, so I used Akiva and the bear that you gave me to try and bring Elthea back from under the control of this demon god. It was towards the end of the battle we were close to death at this point when I spoke to Akiva and hoped that he'd bring Elthea back.
00:47:11
Speaker
and I swear that there was a moment while I was looking into the eyes of Elthea where he returned to us just a moment and then the demon god took him back to wherever he resides and let us go saying that he had killed Threestan and that was his reasoning for bringing us here as well to test us to test how strong we had gotten so far
00:47:38
Speaker
And he said we still weren't powerful enough to face him, didn't he? He said that we were still... You see, Drago's eyes harden and he clenches his fists at these words, Castan. As you all see, as Drago's retelling this story about Elthir, that this is not an easy story for him to tell, it's very measured. He's trying to keep a lid on his emotions. And when Castan says that he's not strong enough, you see,
00:48:08
Speaker
those perceptive among you would see Drago's fists clench as if his veins are pumping with blood. And as you're retelling that, Tali has slowly, her head is now in our hands pretty much. She just kind of tries to cover her eyes as you retell the story.
00:48:26
Speaker
As I'm led to believe, Mark, Thrace Dan is the brother of Akiva? Correct. Yes. Okay, thank you. So, this horny devil... Yeah. ...killed Thrace Dan. I mean, I don't know how God... Claimed to have killed Thrace Dan. He saw him use his sword and obliterated would be a good word to use. Are there any remains of Thrace Dan?
00:48:53
Speaker
There was nothing there. Are there any remains of Elphir? Or did Elphir and his horny devil go somewhere else? They went somewhere else. Yeah. But he's alive.
00:49:04
Speaker
If he's alive, and this moment that you spoke about that happened, that's all the evidence I need to know that we can save Elthir one day. I know that we can save Elthir. I don't believe it. I don't wish it to be true. I know it to be fact that we can save Elthir because I saw it in front of me.
00:49:33
Speaker
So all that happened, there had been a lot of fire, a lot of fighting, and we got the Onyx Reaver back, and we collected the crystals that we think is the Keltrad that you were looking for, Princess, because we were told it would be found around the weapon, and that was the only thing that was there. And then we wanted to explore further, because this temple was, it was strange, it was really old, Claude, this temple had predated even Sleet Guard,
00:50:01
Speaker
even any of the kingdoms and it wasn't right that the dagger was just in this small room so we went to explore further and then there were the dead well please before you go on can i
00:50:14
Speaker
Can I be holding? Can I hold them? The crystals. Yeah, I think everyone grabs them. Tali reaches into her bag and pulls out kind of a fist-sized one and just kind of holds up to you and then kind of tosses it over towards you in an underarm arc towards you, Helena, which easily you can catch and hold. And I can keep this one. Sure, I've got five of them. They're all for you. What do you use them for? Hi, we only pick them up for you. You can have them all. I don't know what they're good for.
00:50:43
Speaker
Yes, I would like them all, please. Can I have them all? Was there more? Could we go back to this temple? The temple's destroyed. So as we grabbed the Onyx Reaver, as we grabbed the crystals, and we tried to explore some more, we got overrun by undead. Trust me when I say we barely escaped with our lives. Some of us, God forbid, didn't even escape in their original forms. They went in.
00:51:09
Speaker
sorry drago i had no apologies needed i understand what you did i don't want to talk about it again but you do have my thanks you did look quite cute didn't i don't know don't call him cute that won't make you very happy no kustan i owe you a drink kustan saved my life yeah that's why i owe him a drink not because of the joke because of that
00:51:31
Speaker
But we almost died in there. I feel like we saw the pain. We saw the probable outcome, actually. The temple has collapsed, though. It's just a return to why we can't go back and get some more. There's nothing to go back to.
00:51:50
Speaker
There was a voice though, as you and I, Drago, as we were fleeing the last ones, when we went into the central chamber with the statue, a barrier came up and there was a voice and it spoke. I think it was some kind of, it was a god or someone I'd never heard of before, Claude. The master? No, it wasn't a Kiva. Well then it's not a very important god. It's a name I've forgotten because it was a long monologue from Mark and I didn't get to take many notes.
00:52:18
Speaker
We were trying to escape at the time.
00:52:22
Speaker
survive I wasn't myself and it was it was I had it was a hell of a hell of a fight and if you want cast and give me a history check and I will regale to you what it said if I if I wrote it can I aid him in this game manage for my you could I was there I don't know if you could aid him but you could roll separately could roll your own history if you want I roll the one so I ain't normally shit okay I will I will I will dive into my memory banks while I was a pigeon
00:52:52
Speaker
My roll went good. Coo, coo, coo. We did shit.
00:52:58
Speaker
I got a four, so obviously my brain had shrunk to the size of what was a small owl and I can remember who, who, and that's it. I got a 13. This is an extra 13. I'll say that. Folly, you, the only... Were you even there when the voice happened? No. No, you would have heard it though. You would have heard it. Give me 22 seconds. Don't time me well. I know you're timing me.
00:53:26
Speaker
It's actually a case that's timing you. Fucking Casey. It's the real betrayal here. Folly, you're the only one that remembers. The only thing you can remember from that whole thing, and you could hear it echoing out, was the name. It sounded like a name. You think it's a name. It's something in Istaban. And then there was some other word afterwards. It feels like it's a first name. And there was another name after that, but you don't have any memory of anyone who called Istaban, really.
00:53:51
Speaker
OK, as he heads, obviously Carson and Drago just try to fumble over the words, try to remember the name, Folly would basically just say Istaban. Yeah. The name they said was Istaban. And Istaban was the one who put up some sort of help for you in the Temple of Doom.
00:54:09
Speaker
There was a statue and that must have been of him but the entire place was built to contain the Onyx Reaver and there were tests to check whether we were worthy to have it and as the undead entered the central chamber where his statue was, this blinding light and it stopped the undead from chasing us out and then the whole temple collapsed.
00:54:31
Speaker
behind us that's our story what's yours and then you were at that place where we saw you and i let you try to kill me yeah that's where we've got to now so how about more there's no more keltrad we could get nor do you think this is enough to save your mother yes i don't know what what's what's the right amount i would take anything this is fine thank you can we have what happened
00:55:01
Speaker
Talia has just piled up the remaining rocks of Keltrad onto your lap, pretty much, as she gets out more. As she's just been talking, she's just been kind of laying more and more out, five, six, seven, eight rocks of this stuff. It's like a decent mound of it now, kind of on your lap. And then she kind of reaches through and gets a couple of crumbs of the stuff out, and it's quite powdery. And she kind of sprinkles that on top, and sits back down.
00:55:24
Speaker
thank you charlie if we have a fire and um mark could i sort of do a survival thing to see whether this place would be okay to stay the night in absolutely yeah give me a survival check it's not great but it's all right uh i've got a nine
00:55:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it was a five to see. It's solid. It's a good structure. There are no visible door. There's one door, no windows. The wood is of good thickness as well. The fire burning actually warms this place quite well. There's quite a few candles. There's enough room for everyone to lie down. It seems just about a bit small enough to be defendable as well. You'd think it'd make a pretty decent place to lay low for a bit.
00:56:07
Speaker
I know we've got lots of stories perhaps hearing their story would be easier if we if we all did it whilst resting rather than i mean this thing it's up to you you can rest easy because the blight's over i think i've clawed i don't think it is i agree castan i i think we should rest here if everyone's happy to
00:56:28
Speaker
And the DM has noted that the long rest begins, don't worry. Yay. Instead of telling us why you believe the Blight's over, how about you begin from entering Helena? From the very beginning. Excuse me? Excuse me? No, please. A mind. A mind. That means I'm very different.
00:56:50
Speaker
Well, I think it's only fair that we're talking about the mind of the princess, that the princess sort of starts because I don't want to say anything because they might be her regular dreams and I don't want to offend you. What do you mean? You were there with me, you know... Yeah, no, I was here in that one, but you must have had at least 20 dreams before.
00:57:10
Speaker
But I'm only talking about the dreams that you were in. Yeah, I know. But if they're all like that one, I don't want to say something insensitive. It's been a very, very long few days, guys, if we could just really kind of get to the main essence here.
00:57:23
Speaker
Lights over, jobs are good, and see you back in Goldfield, yeah? I asked for that, I asked for that, and I did, I did. It's been a while since I seen you, Claude. I woke up in my own mind. It was dark, there was lots of whispering voices that I didn't recognise, and then, lo and behold, up pops Claude when I thought I was on my own. I don't know why you were there, you don't know why you were there,
00:57:52
Speaker
The master sent me to help you. But I'm sort of glad that you were. Me too. And we faced a few demons, all of which were mine, I think. But the main thing was we entered a room. It was like a maze, wasn't it, Claude? What's that fancy word for a maze? A labyrinth. A labyrinth.
00:58:14
Speaker
elaborate labyrinth labyrinth it was one of those right and there was a room that we entered that had what would you say a podium or something what was it it was like a monolith sure okay
00:58:30
Speaker
with a book okay oh no that one yes oh yeah podium or plinth or whatever yeah okay uh with an open book and i because in dreams you would automatically do the things that you probably wouldn't do in reality so i touched this book as it was it was open and there for me to
00:58:52
Speaker
investigate but as I as I touched its pages it sucked us into a different a different reality or non-reality so it was sort of an inception dream within a dream world that we were in and it was outside a castle was it at night time it was and there were undead everywhere it was a big war ground there was a war ground yes giant creature big horns like the one you described came from a shadow
00:59:22
Speaker
Big, though. I'm talking a lot bigger than all of us stood on each other's shoulders. Big sword. Big sword. Sword like a castle. It was massive. Yes, and we were told... It was my brother who was in... Both brothers? Yes, they were both there, telling me to do... What were they telling me to do? And your dad was there? Yes, but he wasn't the one... Didn't find mum, did we? No, Claude. But it was my brother who...
00:59:51
Speaker
It was, he was telling me to do something, he was telling me to take the book. The book. And we took the dagger? Yes, the book is important. If anyone is making a note who can write, to end Blight, what we did is we had the Onyx Reaver in your one hand, and this book
01:00:13
Speaker
this book what had it was very old in your other hand and you stabbed the book well i was told to do that as soon as i went into the castle yeah right and so we had to wade through
01:00:25
Speaker
these undead and we had to fight them. And then when we got to the castle. And then we waited through, no, before the castle. Oh, that was, yes, but that was in the, that was in the labyrinth, Claude. You didn't catch the name of the book, did you? I didn't, I can't read. You didn't, like, look at the book, ever. It had fancy, what's the thing, like, artwork on the cover. I mean, I could look in your mind and you could show me, but that might be a bit weird. We did get, well, I mean, I would give you, it was Lucian.
01:00:52
Speaker
Yes, it was Lucian that told me to do this. Yeah. I thought it was. That was the place, wasn't it? Svensberg Citadel, I think it was called. No, that's not the book. That was the place. That was the place where we went to when we finished The Blight. There is a place called Svensberg Citadel. Yes, that was the sort of castle thing, wasn't it? That's where we went when you stabbed the book with the onyx reaver and then the blight ended.
01:01:20
Speaker
Right, but we had to, and we had to wade through. Millions of undead. To get there. But when we were in there, it was a vast, well, the, the, the, the height of it was, was unexplainable. We were miles in the sky. And we felt like we were in darkness and, and in sort of emptiness. All of Eryth was black.
01:01:43
Speaker
And when I stabbed, I opened this book to stab this book, as I was told by my brother. And then the blackness started to creep up my arms. And you saved me, Claude. Yeah, I did. And I don't know what this blackness was. Well, I would only imagine it was the blight and it was working quickly to destroy me. But Claude, what spell did you? Pretty much everything I could. And you stopped it.
01:02:08
Speaker
yeah and then we that's when the blight ended and then we were which is what we thought we were then moved back into the library library library labyrinth the back into the library labyrinth and we then had to get out of the labyrinth but it changed and then
01:02:27
Speaker
we went round the corridor and you were there pointing at Folly and Drago and cast down yes but listen they weren't they weren't there were they no your head's bodies were two separate bits we were wading through your heads they were
01:02:43
Speaker
We were picking them up. I saw Folly's head first, and then yours, Drago, and Kastan's, and Tali's. Little Tali's head. Oh, that's unsettling. Yes, I didn't know what it meant. Maybe it meant that it was close that you were... You might have been close to death, but maybe you were able to save yourselves, we were able to save ourselves, and maybe we should just feel grateful that we got to the other side. But maybe, if it's the future, it means that there's lots of death
01:03:12
Speaker
that's not very positive I just I would like to just ask you all how what you think I mean I don't oh there was a man remember right before we left there was a man in a chair what needed us to go up to that mezzanine name yes that's what we'd said before the man with the horns yeah
01:03:33
Speaker
And he was the big, big guy and then he shrunk down to a regular sized person. Where did he want to show? Well, he gave me two options. And he said that in my lifetime or something in the near future, I will face two options, two decisions or one decision that I have to make with two pathways. And one would be to save my mother from the blight.
01:03:58
Speaker
and the other would be to destroy the blight altogether. Wasn't it Claude, I think? I think that's what he said. I understand that that was a very tough decision for me but... We didn't pick either door. We didn't pick either door. I think he lied, I think we can do both. Find our way out. So, to catch up to where we are right now, it sounds like... Yeah, so we escaped the library and then lots of
01:04:27
Speaker
evil looking spirits were hurting us while we were there and then we appeared on a mountain top and we thought you were spirits so I decided I decided to try and kill folly thinking he was a spirit and then I just decided to hug him and apologize well we didn't know what was reality and what was not seen as though we've been in so many different realities within my brain but in that reality we finished the blight job done
01:04:53
Speaker
so we can do it in this one we can do it in this one to clarify we need to get to the top claw to clarify you don't believe that the blight is ended right here right now we don't have the book okay that's important that's important and you believe that we're who we say we are
01:05:11
Speaker
I believe that when we had the chat, yeah. So we're all on the same page and reunited. Except Robin who's left. Okay and with that Drago takes the Onyx Reaver off his hip and walks over to Helena. It's good to have you back.
01:05:30
Speaker
is the dagger and now you have now you have a dagger and a and a lap full of uh keltrad but what about what about the book because it seems like the book seems really important yeah i get the impression as well that helena i'm sorry the princess has has to be the one to stab the book and end the blood i don't know maybe it's just that we'd found it
01:05:57
Speaker
Before it sounds like we needed an Onyx Reaver to kill the Blight. Now we need the Onyx Reaver and a book to kill the Blight. So we're trying to find a book. Any idea where this book is? Can I ask if I can sort of investigate my own brain to see if I remember any more information from this book?
01:06:19
Speaker
You can give me a history check, yes. As you cast your mind back to that awful place, you remember the heave that's up old sea shanty echoing in your ears of a voice far away that never gets closer. You remember the light blue ceiling that seemed to pulse and shimmer as you walked along the thin corridors. You remember the faces of the people you saw and your skin crawls with the memory and thoughts of the place.
01:06:49
Speaker
as you mentioned that you referred to as Svengberg Citadel. You cast your mind back to the larger room with the marble plinth within the centre of the ornate stone lectern and the glyphs and symbols that were on it. You remember seeing the book of a deep red colour and white etchings upon it. And you just remember there being lots of dust, lots of dust everywhere and it wasn't in common. It wasn't in any language you had seen before.
01:07:19
Speaker
Okay, thank you. So then I shall relay that to the boys. And then Tali had a hand up. Oh yes, I have had it for a while. Oh I forgot what I was going to say now. So Tali slowly puts her hand up looking slightly quizzical at the group waiting for someone to pay her some attention. I think Tali's got something to say.
01:07:40
Speaker
Yeah, I distinctly remember Kelsan back in Evershire telling us when he first told us about the Onyx River that we needed some kind of holy book as well. I'm pretty sure he said something about, am I wrong? No, to be fair Tylee, I think that was about 30 episodes ago, so my memory is not that good.
01:08:01
Speaker
That's pretty much almost a year ago, pretty much, since we had that. Yeah, finally. Luckily, I write all mine on Google Drive. Google Drive, you get over one gigabyte, absolutely free. I mean, hopefully, hopefully, else there wasn't maybe at the time, so he doesn't know this.
01:08:19
Speaker
I wish we were. We'd make loads of money from Google. Please. No, we'd be big sellouts and can't sell out. No. And so she kind of says that as she kind of thumbs through a small journal she has. Yeah. Yeah. I remember he said he said lots of F bombs. He swore a lot. And he was an asshole. But he said that he was an asshole.
01:08:40
Speaker
We need the Onyx Reaver and we need a book, a holy book, but he said one of the old ones. I don't really know what you meant by that. So do we know where we can find this book? I mean, a library perhaps?
01:08:55
Speaker
Great. No. I mean, there are lots of books in one of those places, though. Where are we going next? A holy book. If it's a holy book, would it not be more likely to be found in a church or some other kind of religious place? I thought the same, Folly. Well, where is the biggest church in Sleetgard? Is it in Goldview? What if it's not in Sleetgard? But it could be anywhere. But we could start there. Good plan. But do I know this, Mark?
01:09:24
Speaker
The biggest holy place, there's three of them, one for the faith of Attinas, one for Alido and one for Tiriani, all three, and sleep guard are in gold for you, yes. The master might also know if we ask him.
01:09:39
Speaker
Well, there are three different places to go in Goldview, if you want to go there. I've not been back since I got fired. I mean, it's one of the best things to go. It was going to be our next destination. Why were we going to go to Goldview before? To get to the Blight, was that? We're going to go there and then get to Spiritmont, what do you call that? We're going to go on the other side of Sleetguard, okay.
01:10:05
Speaker
We've been after the Onyx Reaver for so long. I've forgotten. Yeah, but this seems like as good a step as any. Maybe we could go back to the hailstorm and I can let Madam Arcord know that we've got, or at least I could send a message to her tomorrow that we've got it. Send a message to her. She might know where to look for the holy book. It'd be nice to go to a proper city.
01:10:30
Speaker
Hey, it would. I know I've got loads of characters lined up. No, I keep blending DM and... But Tari is gonna say, it's just, was there nothing about this book, Helena? Anything you can tell us that might set it aside from, you know, are we looking for a book for Tyrionys? Because you might know where that is, or anything you can remember. I remember its colours, and I remember that it was some sort of holy book. I would have only imagined it could have been Tyrionys, but I'm not so sure.
01:11:00
Speaker
My notes don't reflect anything. I mean, red, Kasten. Kasten can dive into your mind. I mean, I can if... That's disturbing, but... If you feel very disturbing, I wouldn't say yes to this. I mean, I could have a look. I don't have to go too far, though. I will permit you to delve into my mind.
01:11:24
Speaker
Just don't give Robin any information for his game. It doesn't make Helena happy when he plays that game. Okay, so Kastan will walk over to Helena and he will then touch her on the temple and I will cast Detect Thoughts. Is this like, you know X-Men future present past thing when the two Patrick's, the two Charles X-Day's come together? Is it like that? Is that how you do this?
01:11:53
Speaker
So I'm gonna cast detect thoughts and Carson's gonna look at how and say I just want you to think about The book everything you can remember about the book hold it in your mind's eye
01:12:02
Speaker
And then, because I'm just doing the initial surface thoughts, Mark, the idea is to make me see what is most on its mind at that moment, hence asking about the book. The wording of the spell, sorry, Will, the wording of the spell, what does that actually entail? I'm pretty sure it's surface level emotion, isn't it? You initially learned the surface thoughts of the creature, what is most on its mind in that moment.
01:12:28
Speaker
As an action, I can either shift my attention to another creature's thoughts or attempt to probe deeper. If I probe deeper, it has to take a saving throw. I then get to know its reasoning, its emotional state, and I basically get more information. But the idea is that surface level is literally what it's thinking about at that moment. I can't sift through the thoughts deeper.
01:12:49
Speaker
Helena, could you give Karsten your initial thoughts? Aiming here, I'm letting you decide really, but it wouldn't be a description, but I'm thinking more your emotional state, your emotive state at the moment. At the moment. Yeah, at this moment, yeah. And thinking back to that place, how you feel about it now.
01:13:09
Speaker
I'm probably thinking that, well, I'm reflective and I'm trying to really, I'm probably pressurising my brain a little bit to try and get to the bottom of my memories, to make sure that that is prominent so that you can see it. Maybe a little bit too much. Just try and imagine what the book looked like. I'm relieved now that I'm safe and I'm glad that I'm not in that time anymore.
01:13:37
Speaker
I'm not being, we're not fighting, our lives are not at stake. Look, Carstan's going to keep asking about the book because the wording of the thing also says, questions verbally directed at the child creature naturally shape the course of its thought. I remember it being a very old book. And in that moment, as Helena mentions, you do just get a flash of dust for a second, Carstan, as it seems to, the connection seems to be working.
01:14:02
Speaker
or imagine how it felt in your hands, imagine its weight. Yes, it was heavy, it was thick.
01:14:09
Speaker
And another flash of kind of almost black pages, red cover, white etchings. They don't look like the common tongue. And again, just a really light flash. And the feeling of the paper in your hands, how did that feel? It was old and crinkly. Again, I didn't recognize the language that was on any of the pages. But when I opened it, that's the first time I saw its pages truly. And the Onyx Reaver went into the pages
01:14:38
Speaker
And hold on to that moment just before you stab the
Karsten's Visions and Helena's Panic
01:14:41
Speaker
dagger. Hold on to it in your mind. Hold that image. I just get a feeling of emptiness cast down. It's dark.
01:14:50
Speaker
Can everyone except for Karsten and Helena take care of yourself, please? In that moment, Karsten, as you start to have these flashing images that start to kind of sit and set more fervently, as your impulse to push deeper and really get to grips with what has happened, doesn't push you into that deeper inquisitive state, but you do start to push the boundaries slightly to try and really get to the bottom of it. You have a series of kind of really quick, vivid, very vivid images kind of appear.
01:15:20
Speaker
You see a circular plinth in a large dark room with a blue aura in the ceiling. You can hear this whispering and this sea shanty that you know called Heavus Up, which is a song all about Lucian Blightbane echoing in the distance. This
01:15:37
Speaker
marble area emanates a magical aura and it really gives off this feeling of power but also of dread and you can see this plinth ornate stone lectern and glyphs and symbols drawn into it suddenly the image jumps over and you're over Helena's shoulder and you can see her grab this big thick red covered book and as she opens the pages and you see these white etchings across it just flash up and then suddenly the image disappears again
01:16:06
Speaker
You also then see this giant swirling ring of energy forming above a tower, a huge tower pulsing, sparking, emanating heat that feels like it's burning your skin. You hear a voice shout, a command, and that image flashes and disappears again. You see these giant doors flanked by a flaming entrance to a huge tower get pushed open by a large armored figure.
01:16:35
Speaker
and a monolithic chasm is within this tower, deep and wide, filled with groans and screams of something, of millions of something. You can feel it kind of crawling over your skin and you can see in front of you, almost through Helena's eyes, this book again almost pulsing this white etchings as the dagger is driven into it. As the dagger is driven in, it goes through the pages and instantly you see this black almost
01:17:05
Speaker
imagine it to you looks something similar to if you get frostbite and it starts to kind of rot and kill and basically deaden parts of your body and it moves with incredible speed up both her arms and is pushed back with a blinding light to her fingertips and is pushed over her arms again and in literally seconds you can feel her start to panic more and more and more as this blackness seems to move up and her fingers start to fall away as it continues to move up our arms the cold starting to overtake her body
01:17:34
Speaker
Helena, you're feeling this overwhelming, you're reliving this memory, this thought as it goes on in your head. You can feel your heart start to absolutely race, sweating, cold sweat. And as you come to and will bring the others in, you will have kind of stood up, I think, and just kind of
01:17:50
Speaker
just thrown everything that's on you, this pile of kale trout that Tylee's put on your lap, throwing it onto the floor and you'll just kind of be covering your head on the floor as cast and as you kind of come to and realize the depth in which you were kind of probing to really get the answers out.
01:18:06
Speaker
Um, the blackness that I saw calling on Helena is the blackness I saw at the Virgin. Correct. Yes, it is. All you guys have seen is, um, Kastan is always coaching Helena through remembering a thought. And in literally a split second, Helena has become almost para, um, apoplectic with fear, uh, has become like hyperventilating, sweat pouring off her face. She stood up and kind of.
01:18:34
Speaker
All the culture that Talia piled on her lap falls to the floor. She kind of screams and covers her face and her head in her hands. Karsten suddenly takes a deep breath in as his eyes kind of blink once or twice from a glaze back to kind of now as his eyes start darting around the space.
01:18:52
Speaker
We were shouting into the rift. It was Lucian. He was shouting at me to do it. And there was these souls and they were screaming. They were dead. And she's looking all over her hands. She's passing all over her arms. She's checking her body. It's gone. It's okay. It's okay. It's gone.
01:19:08
Speaker
and Karsten's like scrabbling into his, he's dropped his satchel, he's scrabbling into that and he's trying to pull out sheets of parchment and almost always like beautiful mine desk, he's got these parchments around him and he's scrolling the glyphs that he can remember onto these pages as quickly as he can. Helena, you're back, you're back, it's okay.
01:19:29
Speaker
I... I don't know. Am I? Listen to my voice. Listen to my voice. Take deep breaths. Okay. Everyone's here. There's no plight. Look down at your hands.
01:19:38
Speaker
And she,
Deciphering Ancient Symbols
01:19:39
Speaker
yeah, she does and she, she started to see the crystals in your lap. Well, on the floor. And she, while she's trying it, she's picking them up. She's picking them up as she's going. Tali goes over and helps. Here, Princess, I'll help and start to pack, pick them up too. Thank you. You should never see me like this, Tali. I'm, I'm sorry your Majesty, Carsten, I'll say, as he sort of looks up. I'm sorry I had to take you through that. Are you hurt, your Majesty? I, I was, I was there again, Claude. It was, it was horrendous.
01:20:08
Speaker
Yeah, it was. I don't know how we did it. I don't know how we got through it. There's so many questions and there's so many things that need answering. Was it just like it was before? Exactly the same. Cast down, did you do this to the princess last time? Do what? Send her to that place. No, I didn't. He didn't do that to me. He helped me
01:20:30
Speaker
But he can do it to you now. Well, he visited my memories and steps spurred on the memory. Did we get what we needed? Maybe. And Castan's still drawing. I know that Helena's sort of looking at what you're drawing. What do they mean, Castan? Your drawings? It's what was on or in the book. If I write it down, I can try and read it. But it's hard. I just need to write it down.
01:21:00
Speaker
And then if you let me know, and then I'll write it down, Mark. And then at some point, either during this long rest when we've not got stuff to do, Carson will then try and read it. I'd say it takes a bit of time to write it down, but there's a quiet, as everyone kind of fervently sits around needing, you know, waiting for this piece of information. Helena, Claude, everyone, Tali's there.
01:21:24
Speaker
Looking over your kind of shoulders as you move the sheets of parchment around to kind of a line and that's not right moving around is your memory recalls this this one image of all this writing the schools you can remember to everyone else this looks like he's gone insane these are just markings of an ancient nothing that ever looks like any kind of language so this is what i imagine this is this is what claud imagines.
01:21:48
Speaker
normal writing is like just just squiggles and like just weird but like there's something there's something scraggly about it either the way in which Kastan is writing it or something about the language itself it seems sharp it seems edged it seems aggressive uh in some way and as you find sorry am i right in recalling that uh if i could read i'd know exactly what all this says
01:22:09
Speaker
Yeah, but you shouldn't know that. No, but didn't we say didn't we say in the episode, because you were like, you're like about to say, Oh, Claude, you would know this says and I'll say, well, I can't read and then we just poo pooed it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And as as cast and you get this all kind of aligned to the best of your memory, it's kind of there and you're you're quite happy with the order that it's that it's in. Yeah.
01:22:31
Speaker
OK. At that point, I would take out a pinch of soot and salt and sprinkle it over the paper. And I'm going to cast comprehend languages. OK. Do you need to know what language it is or just what it says? For the duration, I understand the literal meaning of any spoken language. And I understand any written language that I see. And as long as I'm touching the surface that the words are written on. The spell doesn't code secret messages.
01:23:01
Speaker
or any glyph such as an arcane sigil that isn't part of written language so if there are arcane sigils that aren't actually part of a sigil because they're a sign i wouldn't know what that means but if there are words of any language you can understand it okay lovely so as you i'm gonna take a liberty on this how this spell works so as you cast the spell you take the pinch of salt and you and you
01:23:22
Speaker
you can you cast the spell and the minute the salt hits the parchment the candles in the room turn to a dark red flame the fire in the corner turns to a dark red flames the room is plunged into this dark red light
01:23:38
Speaker
and the markings on the page start to come alive and start to move as the words and letters, this only is for cast and by the way, no, everyone else that you see, nothing change, as the the the actions you've made start to move and position themselves more forming circular shapes and start to form something you would recognize as common.
01:23:57
Speaker
until finally it falls and rests into a position. And as you scan from left to right across it, you see what you've written. Firstly,
Prophecy of the Great Flame
01:24:05
Speaker
what you assumed was a sentence of something within the book, and then below it you wrote what you assumed was the title, the top of the book. And you can read, Unto the master we did turn for guidance, and unto the mortals did we turn for their souls. The great flame will come and cleanse the land.
01:24:26
Speaker
And as your eyes scan down to what you saw at the very top of the book on the cover, you see the words, the world away. And just as that happens, how long does it stay that way for? I can, this spell will work for the next hour.
01:24:44
Speaker
okay so i mean i'm assuming you could probably write it down somewhere in in common yeah so i'd write it down um and then if you could send it to me so uh so karthdown will sort of look and his as he speaks first of all it's almost like he's speaking tongues to start with as his mouth has to then readjust to um to to to speaking
01:25:07
Speaker
And then he then reads it out to him and goes, it said, unto the master did we turn for guidance and unto the mortals did we turn for their souls. The great flame will come and cleanse the land. And the book, the title called The World Away. Yes, I remember it now. That rings a bell. Oh, that would have taken a lot of pain out of me. It would have done, but I hadn't made it clear in my notes.
01:25:34
Speaker
That rings a bell. What does the rest of it mean? No, that's everything. Sometimes the whole book only says that. Reading is hard. That's just what Helena could remember and see. I could only see what Helena could see. So what does that collection of words mean? I don't know. I mean, you talk about a master a lot. Maybe it's talking about a believer.
01:26:00
Speaker
the master well that's what it says the master the master did we turn for guidance and then unto the mortals did we turn for their souls and then something about a great flame
01:26:13
Speaker
So just to pause you there, Folly and Karstan, you would be aware of an event that took place in Aerith 41 years ago, where Faith of Mixawas summoned this demon, which was referred to as the Great Flame, which caused, basically, it's a big and traitorous event where Faith of Mixawas turned.
01:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, turns on everyone, released this demon, everyone who's anyone decent in Aerith went to fight it on Traitor's Bay, and Lucian Blightbane was there, and Roth Hawkes was there, all the big names of Aerith were there, managed to finally kill off this creature. So this is a, seems to be a book in some way dedicated to the Great Flame, which was the name, the nickname almost, given by the people of Aerith to that creature, that for all intents and purposes is gone.
01:27:09
Speaker
I don't know whether
Planning the Next Steps
01:27:10
Speaker
this talks about the great flame coming back or or what I don't know but
01:27:16
Speaker
I don't know whether this is probably the book maybe we're looking for. At least we have some direction now. Tali stands up at that and kind of nods to you, Karsten. I think you're right. I think we've got it heading. We need to go tell Robin. And as she goes to the door and opens the door up and you see the low sun shining in from the outside at the top of the Scales Road Mountains, you see Robin off on the distance just turn around to look at Tali as she opens the door. And that's where
Episode Conclusion and Social Engagement
01:27:43
Speaker
we'll leave this week's episode of The Fellowship of the Tabletop.
01:27:46
Speaker
I thought you were going to say he jumps off a cliff. It's been outside for far too long. Yay! We're back! And we've all caught up with each other so we can move on from that. That was a great walk and talk, folks. Great walk and talk. That was a great walk and talk.
01:28:07
Speaker
It's good, though, because it helps clarify it in your mind, clarifies it in my mind, clarifies it in the listeners' mind. Yeah, hopefully it's clarified everything for you. And if you need further clarification, I'm sure you can find... Well, actually, no. If you need more clarification, please DM our DM on his Twitter page. And you can follow us all on our Twitter page. In fact, we have one massive collective Twitter page, which you can follow at Fellowship Table. And then, like I said, if you want to DM our DM,
01:28:36
Speaker
You can do so in his specific Twitter page, which is... In a while. Yes, that was weak. At a hastily rolled DM. You wanted to follow me, you can do so. I'm at irodo1, Calum is at... The D20 Gamer. Casey's at... Unicorn Crit. Will is at... Roll 20, Will. Robin is at the... Darren Page 06. Brilliant. And our dastardly devious Danny is at...
01:29:03
Speaker
total party thrills. I stumbled my way through that, but we got there in the end. Until next time, guys. Farewell.