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C3 Episode 46 Little Boxes on the Hillside Chapter Eight
339 Plays20 days ago
The heroes find the town's solution to be discordant.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Everon Campaign
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Debra Under Nude.
00:00:14
Speaker
radio
00:00:23
Speaker
everyone watch welcome deb under news if No, you start over right Eric. Hello! Welcome Everon, new natural play podcast in the Everon campaign setting. I'm your Game Master, Eric.
00:00:36
Speaker
I'm Mia. I'm Phillip. I'm Madison. I'm Jeff.
Discovery of Danvians and the Argument
00:00:40
Speaker
That was Welcome to another episode. What happened? we We found out that the Danvians have been placing people and also building children.
00:00:55
Speaker
We will now. To perfect society. We've put enough quotes around that. We found and woke up Barnaby, Matilda, Marcus, and good old Timothy. They are now fighting in yep ah two rooms back, um just arguing.
00:01:12
Speaker
And then we found the half-built children ah exporting the fake children.
Encounter with the Harmonizer
00:01:18
Speaker
at phrase. And then there is a nine foot tall, um, inevitable harmonizer.
00:01:25
Speaker
Gentleman currently. Yeah, there's a lot going on. Yeah. who sit Who's terrifyingly calm about the awful stuff that's happened. I don't know.
00:01:36
Speaker
And we set off the compass. Yes. That's true. It worked. And the harmonizer looks sad. Disappointed, not sad. That's right. Yes. That's right. He's not angry. He's disappointed. He's not angry yet.
00:01:49
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah, wait all these swords hit him. Yeah, go ahead and roll for Rending, since that's where we left things off. Yeah, Nyx taps the thing and releases the spell.
00:02:01
Speaker
And a i imagine that in the in the residual manifest zone, an extremely straight and uniform tear opens and a bunch of perfectly identical mass-produced swords fly through at the inevitable.
Battle Against the Harmonizer
00:02:20
Speaker
ah Well, this is a good roll. Charisma plus level. So let's see. 16 plus. That's going to be 20 to hit. to hit That hits.
00:02:33
Speaker
Thank heavens. Little pause you gave. That was concerning. I was debating whether or not to do the bit where I say that misses and freak you out for a second, but 20 wasn't really high enough of a roll for that to be shocking. so Right. That is going to be 24 damage.
00:02:50
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, the swords... strike the harmonizer and cut some of the crystalline skin exposing the gears and the harmonizer extends a hand and ah i'm trying to think of there's i have a visual in my brain for like a movie that i saw where this was a thing it's like like blocks extend out of its arm to create this like massive sword like like as opposed like minecraft
00:03:22
Speaker
No. pis Have you seen Big Hero 6? But like, yes, I have seen that might be it. Big Hero 6 might be it. The little nanobots kind of thing? Yeah, it's so it's something akin to that, but much more orderly.
00:03:35
Speaker
Sure, those nanobots were wild. And a large sword, yeah, comes out of their arm, and we need initiative. Just quick point of order. This is not an extended encounter. I've lost my temporary hit points and all that stuff. yes Correct.
00:03:47
Speaker
Yes. Boy, I'm not looking good. Well, I hope someone else rolls well on initiative, because it's not me.
00:03:58
Speaker
80. Nyx, what'd you get? seven 7. Falk? 18. Selina? 14. Kaz?
00:04:09
Speaker
12. 8. Harmonizer goes first. Then Falk, then Selina, then Kaz, then Nyx. Bless you. Thank you.
Combat Tactics and Strategies
00:04:17
Speaker
But we're not done. Sorry. Nope, you're not getting 2.
00:04:20
Speaker
but I would never ask. Are you kidding me? joe Just selfish. I will say, because of the compass, the environmental effects that would be going on in this combat are not present. So, cha-ching.
00:04:32
Speaker
yay That's very lame for me, but you know, it's fine. Okay, the Harmonizer raises a hand up and you see geometric patterns, like arcane ah geometric patterns come out of its hand and begin swirling quickly. And this is going attack each of you.
00:04:52
Speaker
So Nyx, 20 versus your mental defense. Yes. Valk, 17 against your mental defense. Yeah. Yeah. Selena, 24 against your mental defense. Yeah.
00:05:09
Speaker
Kaz, 20 against your mental defense. What do you think, man? Eight psychic damage to each of you. And all of you are hampered.
00:05:19
Speaker
Save ends. So hampered means you can only make basic attacks. You can still move normally, but you can't do any your cool stuff. You got to just make basic attacks until you save.
00:05:32
Speaker
You know, like good orderly people. Basic attacks are my cool stuff.
00:05:39
Speaker
Well, Pish Tosh. Yeah, what is my basic attack? Yeah, what are basic attacks? They are... I would argue I don't have one.
00:05:49
Speaker
Sidebar. My dagger out. I think your dagger what I got. Your would be your basic attack. That's all I got is my dagger. Basic attacks are using melee attack weapons.
00:06:00
Speaker
I took you up on the train! You could give me a paintbrush right now and I still couldn't paint something. Nyx is teaching me how to use weapons. and it's raw boat I'm just gonna blart out.
00:06:12
Speaker
i have a dagger that I've never used. Nyx is your weapon sommelier. She will find you a weapon you can use.
00:06:21
Speaker
Alright. Any quick actions? No. So, just really like that Nyx has this, like, glowing rune-covered sword that's half her soul, and then behind her, Kaz and Selina pull out.
00:06:34
Speaker
Nine. Yes. So that happened. It's your turn, Valk. Do I save now, or do I save at the end of my turn? Or it end of their turn? Well, gee whiz, and we have to fight it.
00:06:46
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you could run. That's only bad. Probably just been rebuilt, though. Yep. Leave it. It's just where we go. Okay, I guess we're going to strike at it. Am I close and enough to strike at it?
00:07:02
Speaker
wait. You can run up and hit it. Platform is only like three feet tall, so you can still whack it at shins. but of you For now, I'm actually going to use another recovery just so I can top up.
00:07:14
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:18
Speaker
Okay. That was 11. What's with 11s? Okay. And then I'm going to just to take my longsword out.
00:07:29
Speaker
Like a good boy. And that's it. Selina. Oh, you roll your save. Sorry, roll your save. It's either going to be really good or really bad. 17.
00:07:43
Speaker
That's good. You just got to get 11 or higher. Yay. Okay. Okay, Selina, apologies. You gonna throw that dagger or stab someone with it? I'll throw the dagger. Okay. What do I
Defeat of the Harmonizer
00:07:56
Speaker
add to this roll? I don't know.
00:07:58
Speaker
So, as a wizard, your basic ranged attack is your dexterity plus your level plus a d20. Okay. That is a 14. That is Okay.
00:08:10
Speaker
that is a I figured. Okay, let's roll a save. 16. Okay, now it Kaz's turn. Kaz looks near death. I have to use a recovery on this one, so that's what I'm going to do.
00:08:31
Speaker
going to rally. Not so hot, not so hot on the dice there. And then I will try my save. I got exactly 11. I had to beat or meet?
00:08:43
Speaker
Nope. Meet it. So, right, great.
00:08:48
Speaker
I feel, I feel the magic I can't identify once again, course through me. And I've got a man. And that's my turn. Okay. That was going to be an aspect of the battlefield is you would get to just pick be your spells, Jeff.
00:09:03
Speaker
Because the manifest zone offsets the chaos. I mean, I feel like it would have been not great for everybody else. the The things that would have happened otherwise. But that would have been neat for a day.
00:09:15
Speaker
Oh, look at their cast.
00:09:18
Speaker
Wait, we won't. It's never allowed. Nyx. Nyx also looks pretty hurt, but she's not allowed to rally, so she's going charge. Why are you allowed to rally? Because of the sword that you gave me.
00:09:30
Speaker
Oh, right. Yeah, it's it's, you know, it's it's awesome, but I just can't rally. Anyway, 20. Modified 20 to hit. Hits. That is going to be 15 damage.
00:09:47
Speaker
Okay. And I will save. I rolled a 17.
00:09:54
Speaker
17. Okay. hey Escalation die is at uno. Harmonizer is going to try to bring the greatsword down upon Nyx. 17 versus your AC.
00:10:06
Speaker
Misses. Dagnabbit. All right. Valk. I am going to gain my focus.
00:10:19
Speaker
Okay. Okay.
00:10:22
Speaker
Is there like, it does it, there's no like range on that sword because it's just kind of floating around. It's like if i step back, did does it, would I have an inkling of like how far that weapon could go?
00:10:38
Speaker
Oh, the great, the big great sword that it's wielding. It's just for engaged people. They couldn't reach you if you stepped away. Yeah.
00:10:47
Speaker
Okay. Okay.
00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah, I will take a step back to try to... If I can get out of his range, I would do that, but I don't want Did you ever step up into his range?
00:11:02
Speaker
I was the first one in the room, but I did not get into, like, his... Didn't you... yeah then youre Yeah, if you didn't attack him, unless you attacked him last turn... No. youre Okay, well, okay.
00:11:14
Speaker
Never mind. I will stay where I am. Cool.
00:11:19
Speaker
Alrighty. Selina... I will try to cast Confusion. Okay, well,
Speculation on the Aftermath
00:11:28
Speaker
no. That's 14 against Mental Defense.
00:11:33
Speaker
No. Yeah, didn't figure. Can I He's got a strong noggin. Yeah. Yep. Can I do Inevitable Fall? Sure. Okay.
00:11:45
Speaker
Seems like a tailor-made spell for this. Please, because this one is the really cool one. That is 26. Yeah.
00:11:57
Speaker
This does expend my focus. so that is... Oh, good heavens. I'll just roll it twice. so That is four d eight Those are sixes. My... Don't worry.
00:12:14
Speaker
I know numbers. sir Okay. 19. That's 19 plus wisdom. So that's 21 psychic damage and five ongoing psychic damage.
00:12:33
Speaker
All right. So this pings off Slainless Confusion. So what does this look like, Bauck? Like... i think Valk would kind of feel like the the magic attempt of confusion and feel it kind of bounce off of the harmonizer.
00:12:55
Speaker
But i i think Valk would kind of try to physically grab the manifestation so it just looks like kind of a blurry spot. And he's going to physically like hold it.
00:13:08
Speaker
over the head of the harmonizer and just keep it. Interesting. So his his face looks a little blurry right now. The harmonizer's face looks a little blurry, right?
00:13:20
Speaker
But it is taking damage. Nice. Kaz. All right. Well, before all this, I rolled a defensive thing anyway, so I am going to... Let's see. I'll let you know if you if you need to know what happens.
00:13:33
Speaker
Oh, hey, that's not so bad. All right. I have a plus two to my mental defense. So I think what happens is Kaz, you just spit ah took a second to you rally and feel better. And I think something about this just... How do I say this?
00:13:49
Speaker
order is not what works for Kaz. And I think it some of his magic is fighting against this and cloaking his mind to protect him a bit.
00:14:00
Speaker
it told He has nothing to do with it, but he's glad that it's happening. He can feel this happening. So my mental defense went up a bit. And I will draw another defensive spell. Son of a gun. All right. I am not doing anything today to help.
00:14:15
Speaker
And that is it. and That is all. Cool. Nyx. You know, even though she has other options, the think Nyx is going to stick with trying to hack it into pieces.
00:14:27
Speaker
Good. 20. Okay. okay Yeah. Finally. It's so good. I think I've really done this once, and I don't remember what if this is different. Do I roll double dice, or what is the...
00:14:40
Speaker
I think the way we've been doing it for this campaign is you get max damage on a die and then you roll an additional die just to make it to where you roll your additional die after that, just so you don't get a lame crit roll.
00:14:55
Speaker
So I get max damage on one. So I roll two dice because I'm level two now and I'm at credit level two. So one of those is max damage. And then I roll two dice. You're still your your first your first die is max and then roll the rest of them.
00:15:08
Speaker
Okay, so this is going to be pretty good. Alright, so that is 17 on dice, but now that I have crit, plus 15 from the sword for the rest of the battle. So, yeah that's going to be... ah So, 17 plus 15, 32...
00:15:27
Speaker
plus fifteen thirty two Plus my regular four. So... 36 damage. Describe the destruction, Nyx.
00:15:39
Speaker
I think... So I think it's it's like what's happening with Kaz in a sense that something in innate in Nyx is warring against this, but it's not... It's like the form of... Nyx would be aligned with the other end of Don V town with the the the unpleasant...
00:16:00
Speaker
tyrannical end of Don V town. um Not the not the benevolent paternalistic end of Don V town. And so I think the the the devilish features of Nyx are are in full display.
00:16:16
Speaker
Her eyes have gone, you know, sort of vertical slits and her horns have elongated and the sword ah just begins to, it's almost like the sword loses its materialness and just becomes a blade of light.
00:16:31
Speaker
And she just, just jams it through the chest of the inevitable and looks like it leans in close and just snarls, Chaos does always win.
00:16:45
Speaker
And then just rips it out and steps away. Nice. The inevitable crumples onto the platform no and then is washed in pale golden light and the body disappears. Now I feel like the other and kind that I feel like it's going to come back if the other ones try to repair it itself.
00:17:08
Speaker
Well, we've shut down the... planar element of this. Do we need to... Well, I mean, is breaking it any good? Will they not just be able to repair it?
00:17:20
Speaker
Perhaps the experiment having failed, its superiors in whatever hellish bureaucracy it's from won't repeat the experiment?
00:17:30
Speaker
I don't think it technically failed, but I understand the logic. I... I mean... I don't know what more we can do. We've dismantled the beam and shut down the machine.
00:17:45
Speaker
Can I check and make sure that the that there's nothing weird going on
Return to the Surface and Town Changes
00:17:50
Speaker
in this room? I retrieved the compass. Yeah, saying it out loud right now.
00:17:57
Speaker
Disappeared. just want to make sure the runes aren't re-glowing or there's beam of light showing up somewhere and it's regenerating. Yep, go ahead and give me a wisdom-based check.
00:18:11
Speaker
With paranormal. Yep. That thing jumped out of the tray. We could just get the anarchists up top to bring some sledgehammers down here. I'm going to try.
00:18:21
Speaker
um Also, also works. 20. 20. Yeah. twenty Yeah. yeah Valc looking around, you are confident that between the compass and then the, the harmonizers absence, there's all of this is inert now.
00:18:40
Speaker
Okay. All of these runes and even the conduits like leading out of this room to other parts of this underground compound are all not be glowing any longer.
00:18:51
Speaker
Okay. I suppose it's sword disappeared. Physically the machines are done. It's sword did disappear within us. i Sorry. I think it's possible that somebody up there just saw a bunch of kids die.
00:19:05
Speaker
Like, or or something to that effect slump over. I feel like maybe we need to get a... I know... We need to look around here, but also something... i don't know what's going on up there.
00:19:16
Speaker
Nyx turns and walks and just mutters, children die all the time. was It wasn't me this time. Starts walking back up the... coach On her way, she will grab the wrench that the other one hit her with because she's got to take a weapon home.
00:19:34
Speaker
Is there anything of interest in the rooms that could be taken? Because this is more paranormal stuff. Yeah, no. Loot the heck out of this place. i mean, you could take one of the crystal conduits for investigation later on down the road.
00:19:47
Speaker
I will do that. Selina's going to go pick up her dagger that she terribly missed with. It's on the other side of the room. Yeah. She's going quickly, hoping nobody notices.
00:20:00
Speaker
acting like she's like looking at Saru's like oh yeah the ones over here also look really really you know as she goes the door Nix turns around and says and the rest of us all need to carry weapons from now on and just walks out the door I do have a weapon and because out like all I stole this just have I just can't use it that's not a weapon that's a dinner utensil oh so what what did you grab Valk I'm sorry one of the crystal conduits okay okay This is my PC now. Oh, it is also possible that back on the river piddle, Kor just watched your cousin die.
00:20:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I'm just throwing things out that we may need to address when we can. I think we have a lot of smart people there who could figure out that something was not quite right.
00:20:56
Speaker
Yeah. and Barnaby just, in theory, just kind of like slumping or like just folding. um
00:21:06
Speaker
I guess who knows? um Do we, I mean, we're going back through, right? Like, as are this are they still arguing in the first room when we get there? Yeah, i mean, they're still fighting with each other.
00:21:17
Speaker
In fact, you see that Marcus and Barnaby wrestling on the ground. Nick's just shoulders through them. Yeah, morons and heads on. That's the passage.
00:21:29
Speaker
I think Selena just says, guys, we're going to go. And they probably don't hear because they're fighting. Can I also just throw in that technically the casino was sold and now an orphanage, so you're not making any money? That might kind of help get you back up.
00:21:46
Speaker
Topside. My casino was sold? but to I didn't sell it. Yeah, you sure did. yes you you yeah You sure did. If you'd been listening earlier when we were explaining the whole thing that's been going on, look, Eddie turns to everyone, look, I don't want to say that guy was right, but these people suck.
00:22:03
Speaker
That guy wasn't right, but these people suck. But it works for them. Begin to lumping up the stairs. Yeah, Marcus is walking with a sense of purpose to go beat up sister Constance Weatherby for taking over his casino. Sure, sure.
00:22:16
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. So you all emerge and there you see quite a few people like meandering about the town with like a look of confusion on their face.
Planning the Next Steps
00:22:28
Speaker
You hear some shouting like in the distance in the town, but it you really kind of just get the sense that everybody's walking around in a hate. Nyx is on a beeline for the orphanage.
00:22:40
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. to se it yeah Just for ambiance purposes, I'm sure that the town didn't suddenly get dirty again, but have the roads that were like weirdly straightening started to revert, but like, have they reverted back or that is that a thing that's going to take time as well?
00:22:55
Speaker
Yeah. And then that you, you're not noticing difference there. Yeah. We've lost all of a sudden because the roads. So you are headed for the orphanage. You see a woman come running out of the orphanage.
00:23:07
Speaker
ah Beelines it to to you all because you are the closest people that seem to walk with a distance purpose. It is Constance Weatherby. And she's like, I i didn't. i I don't know what happened. I just I woke up and there were so many kids laying there. i can't wake any of them up. I don't know what happened.
00:23:28
Speaker
like that What? What? What's that reaction? You better get out of town. nick push This is rough for you. Nyx has no response. She walks, she pushes past her and is walking to the... Okay. You'll be fine. It's fine.
00:23:40
Speaker
How is it going to be fine? They're not real children. That's a wild thing to say about orphans. Amazing. amazing Kaz is sticking with Nyx because after saying kids die all the time and then being so desperate to get to the orphanage, I gotta see what this is about. So if if if she doesn't turn and snarl at him, Kaz is sticking with her.
00:24:05
Speaker
Nyx is completely withdrawn at the moment. She's just moving. Yeah, you... You walk in and yeah, you see a room full of a couple dozen what look to be children lying inertly on the floor.
00:24:20
Speaker
I check all the rooms. Is anyone in here alive? No. Nyx kind of stops after coming back out into the main room and is just staring down at the construct with which she had a conversation. And yeah, she just stares at all of it and then walks back out.
00:24:43
Speaker
I think we're done here. oh yeah how Let's get out of here. Like, Kaz knows that these aren't real people and is thoroughly creeped out by the thing he's seeing still. I mean, it is a disturbing looking scene.
00:24:55
Speaker
Sorry, just to backtrack a bit, there was nothing else in that. Like, that was the last room. Yes, there was no further their doors. Correct. Okay, but we did go through the tunnels underneath the tomb.
00:25:10
Speaker
Sorry, what was that? We went through all of the tunnels underneath town, or was it just like... Yeah, you went through the the the the tunnel the underground network of rooms.
00:25:22
Speaker
Okay. I'm just going back to the... There were two separate people looking for things underground, but that was recently built by the Harmonizer, so... I don't know if there was... We're all ready. We left, so I mean...
00:25:36
Speaker
out The stuff was recently built. We don't know if the passages were all new. There might have been other purposes for them before. attempt i don't know. Okay.
00:25:48
Speaker
So you all head out of Pella's Watch? it If it was illicit stuff, it may have been carted out by... mean, Nyx is not going to not going to ditch her companions, but yeah. nix is Nyx is ready to not be here anymore.
00:26:02
Speaker
I don't feel the need to say goodbye to anybody. No, we can go. They're not going to remember that we met anyway. Right. Okay. I wonder if Sammy retains the ability to read.
00:26:13
Speaker
So you all make your way out of Pella's Watch. The important question that i have for you all, though, are you headed back to Star Alaskar to hop on the lightning rail, are you headed to Batheuron so you can go cross paths with that bunker that was on the map?
00:26:28
Speaker
I would mention the bo bunker. I was going to say that, yeah. Okay. Are you guys okay with... going a little farther away from home, home, ah and checking out another one of those bunkers. I mean, I want to, I don't know if it'll come to anything. It's just, it's really interesting. And the resolution to this blows because those people are awful.
00:26:53
Speaker
Erica was near Vathorand. Cause that's on our way back. That's the, that's the border town we came through. Oh, man, where did I put that? Oh, wait, no, it's not. Yeah, it was a question. Yeah, but yeah, that's the question.
00:27:05
Speaker
It's between Pella's Watch and Batheron, my understanding. So we would take the lightning rail. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah, never mind. i understand.
00:27:17
Speaker
Yeah, basically, yeah, it it would it would take more time to go to Star Lasker, take the lightning rail to Batheron, and then double back again. Like, it's just. Gotcha. Okay. right.
00:27:29
Speaker
It is also nighttime. So did you all want to stop and rest on the road? I mean, it's good. it This track is going to take you at least at least a day so you all can go ahead and rest up.
00:27:44
Speaker
Assume we'll need to rest eventually. Yes. Yeah. I still look like crap. I guess I could have put that in the starter focus. I'm still looking really hurt. twitter My recovery did not go like I needed it.
00:27:58
Speaker
Okay. Who would like to keep first watch while you all make camp on the road? Next one. I can.
00:28:06
Speaker
It's too late. yeah I'm doing it. yeah okay that Okay. Give me a wisdom-based check to keep watch. Enhance. 18. 18. eighteen 18? Okay.
00:28:19
Speaker
Nyx can take second watch. cheap Yeah, that's about right. That is a natural one.
00:28:26
Speaker
Nothing happens. Okay. You all wake up the next morning having taken a long rest or a little something.
00:28:36
Speaker
A quick rest? Full heal up.
Investigation of Command Post
00:28:39
Speaker
There we go. Yeah, it's called a heal up. Yeah. I also do not get inevitable fall back. Okay. Jeff, roll a d12 for me for the first leg of your journey.
00:28:48
Speaker
You got it. Four. Oh, no. Four. Four. Yeah, four. I still don't know. Madison, roll a d12 for me. Four. Okay.
00:28:58
Speaker
Noted. I'm making note. Eric pretends. Still and roll a d12 for me. Eleven. eleven 11. Okay. see somebody approaching you on the road as you travel, and it's a halfling that bears a similar resemblance to Barnaby Finch. Not an exact...
00:29:20
Speaker
tremblance It's a copy! Just a film family resemblance. He's a halfling with a big floppy hat to block out the sun, a slightly too large walking stick, and a long one coat.
00:29:32
Speaker
um And he like nods at you all as gets close. He's like, y'all coming from Pella's watch? Yes.
00:29:45
Speaker
Ah, good. i I'm headed back there myself. So anything notable going on there? I've been gone for... it My brother lives there. It's been about eight months since I've last seen him. Oh, well.
00:29:56
Speaker
It's a little chaotic. think that's Perla's watch for you. You know? You all have a harrowed look about you, so I'm trying to leave you be. just It's going to be a lot like you left it.
00:30:12
Speaker
I'd hope so. It'll be cleaner. It'll smell nicer. Don't go into the casino. Just stay out of the casino. Out of this place?
00:30:23
Speaker
Don't open dead inside. Alright. I'll steer clear.
00:30:31
Speaker
as long as the As long as the broken bottle's still going.
00:30:35
Speaker
Probably. i think so. all right i You didn't see it while you were there? Was that like that the dining hall? Yeah. They went through a rebranding for ah ah ah a very brief rebranding.
00:30:49
Speaker
So some of them changed. Yeah, so are they. Yose has been running that place for a decade now. Yeah, it's still there. there I'm sure it'll be back to normal by the time you get there. Yeah. All right.
00:31:02
Speaker
You see, it was taken over by a strong entity NetherPlay and it forced to be orderly for a while, but now it's all back to normal. Is that what you want? We're giving you the information you need. that be that i promise you, not you don't want any information that we have.
00:31:16
Speaker
Kaz doesn't say any of that. Well, thank you, Jeff. Enjoy. Enjoy your time in Pella's watch. And they keep it moving. Alright. Pella. Nick didn't even stop.
00:31:30
Speaker
I was just imagining Radagast and I was very distracted. So, you all reach the spot on the map and after a investigation find a stone door affixed the side of one of the hills and you all able to navigate and get inside as you all descend the steps. There is a thick layer of dust thicker than the previous bunker that you encountered because the door wasn't broken on this one. So the air is very stale.
00:32:01
Speaker
There's no sense of circulation until now that you've opened the door. just sure You find yourselves in a much larger space than the first bunker. In fact, Nix, you would kind of immediately clock this as less of a bunker and more of a fortified command post.
00:32:17
Speaker
There are a few different stations but laying around. You see a med bay in along one of the walls. This looks like it would have been used for wartime effort.
00:32:30
Speaker
um In the center of the room, you see a small pedestal ah similar to the first bunker with a small slot. that a spell shard can fit in and you you see a spell shard sitting next to the slot.
00:32:45
Speaker
If you would like to investigate the room further, you can, but that's what you initially see as just walking down. I would like to investigate the room further. I'm not going to activate the spell shard just yet. i want to make sure everything is okay relatively okay.
00:33:02
Speaker
Yeah, give me a wisdom-based check to look around the room.
Uncovering Past Corruption
00:33:10
Speaker
As you're investigating, Valk, you find yourself near what looks to be like a strategy station, it like a small table that has a like carved into it map of the continent of Corvair.
00:33:27
Speaker
any kind of markings or anything that would have been put on there have been lost to the, the sands of time as it were. But you do find underneath the table, a fragment of a page, like a piece of parchment.
00:33:42
Speaker
As you look at it, the text is ever changing. Oh, I don't watch it. Like the text kind of shifts in the surface of the page glows with shifting runes underneath the type of,
00:33:56
Speaker
does then that me money and i And this, this is, a you would recognize it as a, as a magical item. What would be classified as a wondrous item.
00:34:09
Speaker
that good you I would also like to invest, I'm sorry, did I interrupt? Are you gonna, I guess you're not gonna explain what the item is yet. We gotta figure that out until somebody picks it up and investigates it now.
00:34:22
Speaker
the Can I do that? Yeah, I mean, picking up, you mean intelligence check. That's better. Oh, that's a good one.
00:34:33
Speaker
27. Okay. okay I'm just going to give you the meta data on this as opposed to trying to say in fiction. The name of this is this the shard of Yanya.
00:34:45
Speaker
ah It is spelled J in with the little squiggly over it. A tilde. N-A. Tilde, thank you. I like the little squigglies.
00:34:57
Speaker
That's what it's called. it So, little squiggly. yeah That's why I'm called N-A. So while you are holding this item, or you're able to wear it on a chain if you can affix it to be worn, you gain two abilities with this magical item.
00:35:15
Speaker
Once per arc, This is called living index once per arc. You may ask the page a yes, uh, a yes, no, or a multiple choice question about a mystery or puzzle in the current arc.
00:35:33
Speaker
And I'm the GM. I must answer with either. Yes, no unclear, or you're answering or you're asking the wrong question. Okay. Then and additional property, once per arc, you may declare that you are using the shard to draw on lost knowledge when making an intelligence skill check.
00:36:01
Speaker
Roll twice and take the better result. If your second roll is a natural 20, you also gain a flash of future insight.
00:36:12
Speaker
Okay. And that can be just whatever I feel like throwing out at that time. So those are the two elements of the shard of Nyana. I would like to investigate specifically the med bay.
00:36:26
Speaker
Kaz is thinking the one thing around, one thing in here that constantly is updating is is medicine and science.
00:36:37
Speaker
And so hoping to find something he wouldn't recognize, but can describe to someone smarter to maybe date some of this. Okay. Yeah. Is that in intelligence? Yep. Well, it's not great. Let's see what happens.
00:36:49
Speaker
That's a 12. No, I'm sorry. That's a 14. you You can tell that the techniques that based on the the implements here and things like that...
00:37:01
Speaker
The techniques outside of magical healing are wholly foreign to cats. Like, not not even like the the threads of current medicine in Eberron would have some kind of attachment to like what you're seeing here. It's all very alien and confusing to you.
00:37:19
Speaker
So, incredibly old. like Okay. Yeah. is Is there something that sticks out that I can... Ask Bawk to draw or or or or or or take back, take with us that might, I could i could research or I could have ask someone else that's smarter to research.
00:37:37
Speaker
Just so we can place, I mean, I know very old is yeah is is great, but that was a guess that Kaz already had the dust. Yeah. So you find... Again, it was a 12 of that.
00:37:48
Speaker
Yeah. You simply find some notes, some medical, like, once again, very old parchment that have to handle very, very carefully. But the primary concern seems to be some kind of corruption that is infecting ah soldiers.
00:38:06
Speaker
But it's ah it's in common. It's written in common. Yes. Okay. Okay. Were there any other areas of interest in this room other than the shard itself? Was there a main shard, I'm assuming?
00:38:18
Speaker
Yeah, there was a shard hustle middle the room. Selina, are you looking around at anything? What other areas are in the room? So there's the the area with the map and things like that that Valc went over to. There's the med bay.
Discovery of the Magical Sword Zimriel
00:38:30
Speaker
There's also a small alcove in the back that is a looks to be kind of a A writing desk, you would guess for like leadership to like log things that like troop movements, supply lines, things like that. But that it's kind of a nook tucked back in the back that you could go look at.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah, I'll go back there. Give me a wisdom or intelligence check. That is a 15.
00:38:58
Speaker
Oh, 15. You investigating back here, like I said, there's a small writing desk. You see like an inkwell, but there's no quill or anything near it.
00:39:09
Speaker
And there is, you can see scratchings where somebody would have like been fidgeting or just like taking out some kind of like anxiety on the wood surface with some kind of implement.
00:39:21
Speaker
um But you... don't know. As you get closer back here, Selina, you feel some kind of like resonance back behind the desk.
00:39:33
Speaker
it And as you kind of look, you see like bluish glow illuminating from behind the desk. Is it to where I can get to it and see more?
00:39:45
Speaker
and mean, you could scooch the desk a little bit. like Okay, I want to do that. You hear some light scraping against the wall as a sword that was kind of propped up behind the desk slides down and the hilt falls out from behind the desk.
00:39:59
Speaker
ah And you see a The sword, its blade is covered in runes and it seems to be made of, it's a shimmering opalescent blade that you see, like the the hilt is silver, but it has almost like a sheen to it, like the Aurora Borealis, like the the colors kind of emanating over it.
00:40:28
Speaker
At this time of day? What? Aurora Borealis at this time of day? and this far south? I would call Nyx over. Nyx is just there.
00:40:41
Speaker
but was like, somebody perked up. Nyx has said nothing this entire this entire time. And then, sword? Yeah. I mean, Nyx, you see, it is a longsword.
00:40:53
Speaker
Nyx, you know weapons. Does this look familiar? Like, do you know anything about this? Nyx will pick it up and try to understand it through any
00:41:07
Speaker
Yeah, give me give me a intelligence-based check. it Okay. But with your Shabarath touched. Great. So that's my level 20.
00:41:19
Speaker
20. Yeah, Nyx, you can tell that this is a sword designed not just for martial combat, but also... Well, okay, let me ask you this, Selena.
00:41:30
Speaker
How much of your independent research have you communicated to the rest of the group about using magic and martial fighting in tandem? I don't think I've... I think if anything, I've maybe mentioned Nyx that I might be interested in learning a little more about combat.
00:41:51
Speaker
But I don't think I've communicated my research to them yet. Gotcha. So, Nyx, you can tell that this is the sword... If somebody were an arcane paladin, like an an Eldritch Knight, a Magus, this would be their preferred sword.
00:42:11
Speaker
And as Nyx is holding it up and examining it, Selene, you actually recognize some of the runes on the blade from your research. So I think... you can So it Nix's deal with swords is... Swords have personalities. Like that's Nix's deal with weapons. His weapons... I have have something for you in that regard.
00:42:35
Speaker
Well, I'll pause my thoughts and the wait for you to finish reading things. Do you get a strong sense of stoicism? Mm-hmm. Devotion to duty?
00:42:47
Speaker
even at the expense of personal emotion or personal pain. Duty above all. Just personality you get off of this blade. does Okay, so the the weapon that I absorbed...
00:43:02
Speaker
It had... I mean, it had a personality almost... I guess not quite an intelligence, but it had... Is that the case here? Is that just the case with magic items in this system? Like, magic items always have...
00:43:15
Speaker
All magic items in 13th page have quirk personalities them. Okay, got it. Where if you get too many magic items, you start acting like the magic items you carry. yeah That's fun. Okay.
00:43:26
Speaker
So Nick's steps enough... ah so This is a large-ish space? Yeah. Nick's steps enough aside to move the sword a little bit without you know pointing it at anyone too hard and i just kind of test the balance and the and the flow of it and that sort of thing and then think what Nyx does is turns back around
00:43:55
Speaker
flips the sword over over her hand to hold it with the hilt and says holds it out towards Selina and says this one's yours can you teach me how to use it yes Okay.
00:44:11
Speaker
And as you take the sword, Selina, you know that this sword's name is Zimriel. to Z-I-M-R-I apostrophe E-L. Your sword's name is cooler than mine.
00:44:26
Speaker
Mine looks like Van Derrick. It's by Van. Klaus Van Derrick. Okay, there are three properties to this. Well, it's it's a plus one magic sword, so plus one to your attack and damage bonuses.
00:44:39
Speaker
You do not want to go on a date with Van Derrick. Wait, like Van's a nickname in front of a guy named Derrick. Yeah, because his Vans. Once per battle, ah you have Winter's Reversal, which is when an enemy... i i will send all of this to you, Madison, also. Okay, great.
00:44:58
Speaker
Just for posterity on the show. When an enemy rolls a natural 16 or higher on an attack against you or an ally you can see, you can activate this as a free action. The attack resolves, but then the enemy takes cold damage equal to your level plus your intelligence or wisdom modifier, your choice. Okay. If if they are staggered after this damage, they become weakened, save ends.
00:45:24
Speaker
Then there is a passive... When you take the intercept action and succeed, the attacker takes a minus two penalty to their attack roll.
00:45:34
Speaker
And then lastly, another pass ability, Light of the Standard. When you rally, each nearby ally who can see you gains a plus one to attack rolls until the start of their next turn.
00:45:47
Speaker
Okay. Sick. So, yeah. That is Zimriel. So... At that point, you all feel very confident you have examined all the different areas of the bunker.
00:46:00
Speaker
I think Grubb has hopped out of my little pack and is holding up the spell shard. Yes.
Activation of the Corrupted Spell Shard
00:46:06
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Grub slams the spell shard into the slot. Unlike the first time with the spell shard where you saw a visual manifestation this time there, there clearly was some kind of visual to it, but it is so corrupted that you just see kind of like orangey wavy lines, but you do begin to hear something emanating from the crystal.
00:46:29
Speaker
Burned through three more convoys this week. The mountains are no longer safe and the ice fields have collapsed again. I can't keep pace with the sickness anymore. It's not just wounds. Whatever the overlords are doing, it's rot beneath the skin. Roots that tangle in the soul.
00:46:44
Speaker
Healing spells unravel before I even finish the incantation. Then focus your efforts on those with more superficial wounds. If the corruption impedes healing and drains you, then the cost is too high. Too high? The cost is never too high. The dead won't rest.
00:46:57
Speaker
Their spirits linger and become twisted. i guided a mother and daughter two nights ago, said the rites, laid the coin. But they turned on me in the veil, snarling, clawing, blackened with some... other.
00:47:16
Speaker
It's like their spirits were... rewritten. Then stop wasting time on the dead. We need you for the living, Taurant. You're a healer too. Focus part matters. Don't you dare.
00:47:27
Speaker
Those people mattered. That child, Miri... She laughed when I gave her a blossom. She was no soldier. I tended her wounds not three days before she... each tore her mother apart.
00:47:41
Speaker
I watched. She is dead all the same. We need to keep our eyes on the front. What do you want me to do? Watch them suffer and call it strategy? want you to remember that the cost is always paid in blood.
00:47:55
Speaker
Feel it if you must, but don't let it slow your hand. Then maybe you should start feeling it too. they and shock me know just and i your They were civilians, goblins, children burned to ash while we were stuck defending crates of rations in a depot no one will ever remember. And if we hadn't held that depot, we'd have lost the entire western flank.
00:48:19
Speaker
Five outposts depend on that supply line. At what cost? Do you hear yourself? There's blood in the grain sacks. You told me the Alliance valued lives. Was I mistaken? You were idealistic.
00:48:31
Speaker
We make hard choices. I've made more than I can count. Hard choices. 67 dead. Orion and flinching. Dorne and passioned. Noted. You didn't see their faces.
00:48:44
Speaker
You sat in that tower calculating while their bones blackened and for what? A tactical win on paper? We are playing a long game, Captain. We lose the present to save the future. and the future's not worth saving.
00:48:56
Speaker
You're both wrong. The truth's somewhere between your corpses and your cargo lists. Perhaps if we had evacuated the goblins to- may have a way to tip the scales. There's a contact.
00:49:06
Speaker
Someone beyond this war. She has influence, power, maybe enough. A contact? You kept this from command? It's not time yet. She's complicated.
00:49:19
Speaker
Complicated. Marked. right ah another da and a little well You took the full brunt of it, didn't you? Right in the chest.
00:49:30
Speaker
ah Sit still. It wanted me. Whatever that magic was, it called my name. Not a voice. A pool. And we just let that stand?
00:49:41
Speaker
We should be tearing their keeps down with our bare hands. This isn't war anymore. It's desecration. Zoroway, look at him. We can't win by fury alone. she saved that forward flank, held the line when others broke.
00:49:55
Speaker
And look what it got us. Another twenty pulled into the black. These monsters are unraveling life itself, and we're still pretending this is a normal war. The more we rage, the more they win.
00:50:07
Speaker
Peace has to begin somewhere. Peace is a song for graves. I want vengeance. We strike where they sleep, tear down their fortresses, let them know we can be chaos too.
00:50:19
Speaker
If I die, don't let me be one of them. Then get up and fight, or they'll come for your spirit next. wo it's right pet up thisu you fit okay that is that you tackle you po me Look, see the way the weave bends?
00:50:35
Speaker
The corruption flows like molten ore, but it can be cooled, reshaped. If we fuse it with etheric steel, we want to take the overlord's rod and put it in a sword. Are you mad? This is worse than reckless.
00:50:47
Speaker
It's profane. We have codes, principles. Even war has lines we do not cross. And yet it's the only thing that ever gave them an edge. Maybe it's time we stopped pretending virtue wins wars. You don't see what I see, Dal.
00:51:01
Speaker
The way it spreads. The animals sense it fast. Even Balanor won't go near those battlefields anymore. Or maybe we learn to tame the fire instead of burning in it. Look at the forge.
00:51:11
Speaker
Even the flame obeys when the bound correctly. And if it slips the binding? If the rot infects our weapons, our soldiers? Then we learn from the failure. At least we tried something beyond prayers and wishful purity.
00:51:25
Speaker
I've watched trees bleed sap like blood. Birds falling mid-flight. This is not nature. It's abomination or evolution.
00:51:35
Speaker
then the glow fates. And the crystal grows in her. who We should
Reflecting on Historical Lessons
00:51:40
Speaker
take that with us. Yeah, that was a lot. Can the shard reactivate or is it just dead now? No, if you take it out and put it back in, you would restart the message.
00:51:49
Speaker
like Would we need this specific console? Yeah. No. Okay. Henrik was able to take the map shard from the original. Oh, yeah. you said Okay. I will put it in my bag and we'll take it with us. But is there was so a rot. Are we not going to? Yeah, the overlords rot. Oh.
00:52:09
Speaker
It's a long time ago. Some kind of war. Do you seem to know a little more about this? It's you. War doesn't change. It's always this sort of thing.
00:52:21
Speaker
Like a magical kind of parasite zombifying transformational war? Doesn't sound like a normal war.
00:52:32
Speaker
Tell that to the Karnassi army.
00:52:36
Speaker
I mean, we we all... you know, um know about the I mean, the the dragons, the elves, the giants, the wars. I mean, there's lots of crazy things that we've never seen before that happened in the past, but I don't know. I want to learn more about this. It feels different and I don't know why.
00:52:59
Speaker
Nothing to do with us. Just curiosity our employer is interested in. What's left behind a sword? And it's not yours. No. No, it's mine. Yes. And you got your shard. That's pretty cool. I have these papers that say yeah like a lot less, but the same thing the shard does. So and he puts the papers down.
00:53:22
Speaker
were you were you watching Were you watching me? Oh, did you not? I'm sorry, I didn't realize you didn't make thing out it. Then yeah, I guess I- Silently trying to affix this to its already existing crystals.
00:53:34
Speaker
she like Silently. Just the clanking of rocks. Just clinking together. got it. Okay. All right. Are y'all heading out? Yes. Seems like we've got to go here. Okay.
00:53:47
Speaker
okay So y'all leave the bunker and begin to head towards Vatheron to take the lightning rail, take the lightning rail home cancer. And we'll call it an episode there.
00:54:00
Speaker
Thank you all so much for listening. you want to be part of the conversation surrounding this episode, you can head over to our discord, the link, which is in all of the descriptions of the podcast episodes, as well as on the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Pantheon.
00:54:13
Speaker
No luck. Also on YouTube and Spotify, you can find Tales from the Laughing Tree, where we have another actual play called Blades and Banners. I'm the GM. Eric's a player. It's Pirates in Eberron. Yep.
00:54:25
Speaker
We also have a Patreon, patreon.com. If you want to financially support the show, you can do so over there. Thank you all so much for listening. I have been your Game Master, Eric. I'm Mia. I'm Phillip.
00:54:36
Speaker
I'm Madison. I'm Jeff. We'll see you next time.