Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
World of Ae'oene Ep. 17: The True Self
34 Plays19 days ago
Working Title - How To Get Dimples: A Primeval Guide to Body Modification?
An unexpected visitor leads to Maeve going on an even more unexpected journey to Undor. There, Maeve experiences some of the worst of humanity - the sadistic and the apathetic. And she learns it's much harder to leave Undor once it has you.
This show is written with adult audiences in mind and contains content that may not be suitable for younger listeners.
This episode has the following content warnings: Strong Language, Graphic Violence, Kidnapping, Mutilation, Torture, Psychological Manipulation
We'd love to hear your feedback! What worked, what didn't, and what do you want to hear more of? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
- Want to support the show? https://ko-fi.com/worldofaeoene
- Join our discord community: https://discord.gg/KDtk26XMsn
- Follow us on our socials: https://linktr.ee/aeoene
Our cast:
- Curtiss Woosley as The GM
- Sapheara as Maeve Strongheart
Additional Credits:
- Show graphics by Sentic GFX
- Show editing Rennie Armas and MJ Guenther
- Intro/Outro music composed by Ryan Muns, Owner/Operator of Eyes On The Moon Studios
- Music, Ambience, and & SFX purchased/licensed from Monument Studios, Adrian Von Ziegler, and Michael Ghelfi Studios (https://www.michaelghelfistudios.com).
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Content Warnings
00:00:00
Speaker
Destabilizing Foundations, Episode 17 The World of Eon contains stories with mature themes. Content warnings are in the episode description.
00:00:17
Speaker
World of Eon
00:00:22
Speaker
Thank you for joining us once again for the World of Aeon Stories of a Legend. believe we are on episode 17. We left off on a hell of a cliffhanger. And I've got my cast with me, but it's a little different today.
00:00:38
Speaker
Cast, say hi. Hello. Yeah, that's it, guys. That's it. It's only Saf. Yep, it's only Safira. It is myself and her.
00:00:49
Speaker
We actually recorded episode 18 yesterday and recording episode 17 the day after. This is going to be interesting. It's going to be fun. Y'all stick with me. Obviously, you heard at the beginning that we have mature themes in our show and content warnings are in the episode description. i ask you to look at those now.
00:01:08
Speaker
I don't know exactly how dark or deep today will get. Because, as always, there is a very high level of improvisation to our episodes and to the game in general. But things go anywhere near where I think they will.
00:01:23
Speaker
Today might be a little heavy. So please take a look at that. And if you need to take a break, by all means take a break. And that goes for you as well, Saf. We've already had our conversation, though.
00:01:34
Speaker
You've got the mead. It's going to be good. ah yeah Today's going to be wild. It's going to be It's going to be a good one. It's going to be a good one.
00:01:47
Speaker
um We are a dark fantasy podcast. Just remember that, ladies and gentlemen. But on that note, let's get into it.
Maeve's Initial Encounter
00:02:14
Speaker
Maeve, you hear a couple knocks on the edge of your doorframe, waking you up from the slumber that you had finally fallen into after finishing the report about the day's events previously, about the attack of the ball.
00:02:27
Speaker
We ended the last session with you grabbing for your sword, waking up as you were used to being woken up and checked on on by Sally every now and then, but something feels off.
00:02:40
Speaker
Something feels different. and And sure enough, as you reach over to grab your sword, lifting yourself in the torso off the bed, you look around and there's nothing there. Hmm.
00:02:53
Speaker
She specifically grabbed sword of mourning because it's her favorite. Dad gave it to her. It is pulsing. Oh, shit. I guess she she goes and grabs her second sword. I guess she can't really get dressed into armor or anything. She's just in ah a nightgown, especially if someone's about to attack.
00:03:13
Speaker
Indeed, and as soon as you take both of your feet off of the edge of the bed, about to go grab your second sword, a dagger comes flying in. Luckily, you can't be surprised. You have your Sword of Warning.
00:03:28
Speaker
Make me a dexterity saving throw. Brawling already?
00:03:35
Speaker
That would be a 21. 21. Yes, a 21 is fantastic as you bring your sword up to parry whatever is coming. You just know your sword's warning you.
00:03:47
Speaker
And sure enough, the dagger bounces off your sword into the wall next to your bed. As you look over, in a dark figure is within your doorframe. The beaded doorway cascading across its shoulders.
00:03:59
Speaker
It is in very dark, grayed clothes with a hood over, shadowing its silhouette. and unable to make out any discerning features. I will say it again. Who are you?
00:04:14
Speaker
And she'll get up with her blades and point them at him. You're gonna have to come with us there, lady. Us? And she wouldn't wait for you the response. would attack him.
00:04:28
Speaker
As you go to attack, your sword, still pulsing, hasn't stopped as the sound of an arcane spell whoosh as someone misty steps in the room behind you, attempting to reach their arms around your neck.
00:04:44
Speaker
And it feels like they're trying to put something onto your face. Well, luckily she has two swords and two hands. What do you do? Well, she'd attack, she was reaching out to attack one with one hand, so she has a whole other arm with another sword in it.
00:05:02
Speaker
Right. Well, do me a favor, as this person is trying, has now misty-stepped and is attempting to grab onto you, do me a athletics check to try to stop the grapple that this person is attempting to do on you. 15.
00:05:19
Speaker
fifteen Ooh, that is better than he rolled. That is for sure. As the momentum you had gained, ah thrusting you forward to attack anyway, helps you as you're able to smack with your other sword, essentially, smack him with the broadside against his head behind you, stopping the grapple from fully taking place. Whatever they were trying to put across your face, you get a strong smell of something, but you can't exactly tell what it is.
00:05:46
Speaker
Go ahead and also roll me to attack. Okay, so initial attack was with the Sword of Mourning.
00:05:55
Speaker
That is a 12 to attack, first attack.
00:06:01
Speaker
Unfortunately, the distraction works and he in the that attack does not hit the shadowed man in your doorway. You don't have to make this more difficult than it is. Oh, I think I do.
00:06:12
Speaker
As he will then slash out with a dagger.
00:06:17
Speaker
And i can't remember what your AC is, but he got a 17 to hit. Well, I'm assuming she's not wearing armor, sir. Let me just take my armor off.
00:06:29
Speaker
She would not be wearing armor now. Yeah. um So yeah, that would hit. Okay. You take five piercing damage as he slashes out with the dagger,
The Attack and Capture
00:06:40
Speaker
just grazing your arm, managing to find home in the flesh, your nightgown ripping.
00:06:45
Speaker
And as you're lunging forward and it hits you, it ends up sending blood dripping onto the ground in the hallway in front of your bedroom as the guy behind you then attempts to then push you forward.
00:06:57
Speaker
Which he is going, he ends up rolling 15 for an athletics check to push you. were Roll me a dexterity saving throw. Lots of rolling here to start the episode. Eight. Eight.
00:07:10
Speaker
Eight, so yes, unfortunately that that push that he does on the athletics is going to send you careening into the wall in front of your bedroom as you feel the impact cave in the weak wall there just a bit. taking the Taking the breath out from you.
00:07:24
Speaker
She would um probably go back, turn around a swing again as soon as she can catch her breath. She probably wouldn't catch her breath. She'd just be like, attack. Okay, go ahead and roll to hit if you would as well, and I'll give you two attacks, so roll twice. Because as you are attacking, you notice that the one you are not actively attacking seems to be casting a spell, and all of the sound in the area seems to disappear. You can't even hear the sound of your sword making contact.
00:07:52
Speaker
Okay, so two attacks, you'll go longsword of warning first. Fifteen? Fifteen hits. Nice. One of them.
00:08:04
Speaker
Six damage. Okay. And I might smite just for funniness. Ooh, shit. Because, you know, paladins.
00:08:17
Speaker
As you smite, the searing the searing pain of it hits him and you see his mouth open as if as if if screaming a bit in pain, but you don't hear anything come out. So it's 2d8.
00:08:31
Speaker
It's not a fiend or undead, is it? So we're just doing a divine smite. Indeed. Cool. um So it just be 2d8 then. Okay.
00:08:46
Speaker
And that is another eight. Damage. That's my bonus action. so I'll attack one more time with the other one. um Also that creature now has disadvantage on its next attack rolls for funnies.
00:09:02
Speaker
And short sword. I attack again. oop that was a nat 1. Oops. its Yeah, so with a nat one, you see as your sword actually ends up hitting the door frame of your door as you're attempting to swing around to hit the other guy.
00:09:19
Speaker
Ends up bouncing off one side, hitting the other side of the door from taking a chip out of it. And in that moment, the one that was trying to put something across your face attempts once again put something across your face, attempting an athletics roll to grapple you. So you can give me an opposing. Ooh, that's much better.
00:09:38
Speaker
Is it poing opposing athletics oh um seventeen or? 17. 17 total? Yep.
00:09:49
Speaker
Dang, that's unfortunate. I rolled an 18 before the modifier.
00:09:54
Speaker
As he manages to grab a hold of you around your neck and stuff some sort of cloth or some sort of material that is incredibly potent and as far as its smell goes. And as soon as you take a breath, just heavy breathing from immediately being in a fight, you can't help it.
00:10:13
Speaker
Your head, it begins to get dizzy and your vision starts to blur as things become harder. Your next attack roll and anything from here on out is gonna be a disadvantage.
00:10:24
Speaker
As you see, the other guy, having finished his spell, is now approaching dagger in each hand.
00:10:35
Speaker
I would say something, but I can't because it's silent. um I guess we're just going to attack again. ah ah where i'm fully gra Am I fully grappled or just... You are you are currently grappled.
00:10:48
Speaker
Cool. Okay, so I've got a ah try to try out of the grapple again. Indeed. Yep, so just a left athletics check. Yep. 24. Ooh, dang, I rolled good too, and that's still higher. Nice.
00:11:04
Speaker
So you you get out of the grapple as this man is approaching you, and you see as he he is bringing out something that he just, like, rubs on his one of his daggers as he comes towards you.
00:11:19
Speaker
I'm guessing we're not technically doing full initiative order because it's just me. Correct. We're just kind of we're just kind of free-forming it Free-forming? Perfect. I guess she's just going to attack again with her blades.
00:11:32
Speaker
ah The guy with the daggers this time. We'll go short sword first. a twelve 12. 12 is not going to hit.
00:11:43
Speaker
Damn it. Okay. um Long sword as well. Go for it. I'll allow it. It is at disadvantage, remember? Oh, jokes. Yep. Give me two seconds, that was 16. Well, 16 was disadvantage.
00:12:00
Speaker
16 with a disadvantage? Yes. Dang, okay, that'll hit. As the longsword ends up hitting him, slashing him across the cheek, as he it it throws him off balance as he wasn't quite ready for it, as he brings his hand up the po where the palm of the dagger is.
00:12:16
Speaker
As he grabs onto his face for a moment, he goes off kilter and has to put his hand onto the wall to catch himself for a moment, of smearing blood onto it.
00:12:23
Speaker
As he rides himself back up and comes to approach you once again. That's another four damage. ah He also has disadvantage for his next attack. Okay.
00:12:36
Speaker
That's crazy. Uh-oh. So he's had advantage on his rolls because there's been two of them flanking you, right? Yeah.
00:12:48
Speaker
So I rolled one this time because disadvantage makes it a normal roll. I rolled a natural 20. Yeah, as the dizziness and the waviness of whatever they put it in front of your face, you had you kicked out of it and got out of the grapple, but it's it's it's affecting you with everything so blurry. It almost seems like there's two of this guy coming at you and you seem to feel like you're you're dodging his attack from at least maybe one of them, but it's almost as if there's two.
00:13:15
Speaker
And sure enough, you dodge the the one that's not there as the dagger that he just coded finds its place in your shoulder and he leaves it there as very quickly you can feel a pulsating in your shoulder and consciousness seems to to fade.
00:13:33
Speaker
She just She'll make a ah face like she's screaming, but with the Silent Spell you wouldn't be able to hear it. And she'd fall to her knees while trying to reach up and grab the blade in her shoulder, but with losing all of her strength, she doesn't quite reach it.
00:13:51
Speaker
And as you fully fall to the ground prone, at the edge of your consciousness, you can't even hear the impact your body makes against the floor. The last thing you see looking up is one of the two gentlemen casting a healing spell on the other, fixing the slash across his face as they pull out a bag from one of their backpacks that seems large enough to put you in before darkness takes hold.
Imprisonment and Threats
00:14:21
Speaker
nine Night night. ah
00:14:27
Speaker
When you come to, you have a searing headache, pulsating at the front of your skull. You don't know how much time has passed, and as the first shed of light makes its way into your eyes, it's it's piercing. It hurts.
00:14:42
Speaker
And it's not even that bright. It's just the little ray of moonlight coming through a barred window that's at the top of... It is essentially a stone cell. It's bitter cold.
00:14:54
Speaker
can see you've been given a wool blanket that's about half covering your body. You look down and realize you've been stripped to just your undergarments, your chemise. There's a small plate with a piece of cornbread on it and a little bit of looks like half frozen gravy, maybe.
00:15:12
Speaker
And as you kind of peer in and out through the dim light, you look across and in the cell across the hallway. You can see a pool of coagulated blood and a limp body at the center of it.
00:15:25
Speaker
As you look around taking in the room again, you it's it's it's too cold here for much to be living plant wise or even really a lot of mold.
00:15:39
Speaker
The wool blanket you have, the only thing really keeping you alive is you can barely feel the edges of your fingertips. near the jangling of... I'm not sure if it's armor or keys or maybe both, as a silhouette seems to fill the space, blurrily, at the edge of your vision, in front of your cell, behind the bars.
00:16:01
Speaker
Hmm. You're finally awake, I see. Who are you? but What have you done to me? Preparations are almost done now.
00:16:13
Speaker
If you think it's cold now, it's even worse outside. and just wait till you get where you're going. Of course I won't be there for you then. No. Reninza will be the one to take you there.
00:16:27
Speaker
But in the meantime, we get to run some experiments with you. Part of the deal we made, you see. She slowly tries to sit up to look at him and get a clearer picture of who's speaking while covering herself with the blanket as much as possible.
00:16:48
Speaker
Through the dim light, you try to make out details and it's hard to. Luckily, the dim light coming through the window at the top of your cell does help with the direction those the light is shining in at and it's very shadowed.
00:17:06
Speaker
You can sharp nose, toothy grin. The skin is incredibly pale. And you don't know if it's the shadow or if it's you're you imagining it, but you're pretty confident his eyes are just black. He seems to be human.
00:17:25
Speaker
Maeve would slowly stand up and wrap the blanket around her, if she can. Who do I have this fine pleasure of speaking to?
00:17:38
Speaker
um Slowly make her way to the bars. Ah, I mean... Look at us already making acquaintances.
00:17:50
Speaker
He kind of looks up at the rays from the moonlight coming in. You can call me Luno. My, what a lovely name you have, Luno. And she, um, makes her way through the bars where he is.
00:18:07
Speaker
You get closer and you can see he's bundled up in a heavy, heavy coat underneath a thin layer of leather armor. You can see the glint of a scimitar on each side of his hips.
00:18:18
Speaker
But they, you're trained, you can tell. they They don't even look like they've seen the light of of a battle.
00:18:26
Speaker
How close is he to the bars?
00:18:30
Speaker
He's about a step away. Um, Maeve goes up to, to the bars and she goes, since we've made such quick acquaintance, um,
00:18:44
Speaker
I think ah you you wouldn't happen to have spare blanket or something. No, no. That one's just fine. It's keeping you alive, and that's all we really care about.
00:18:59
Speaker
what a What a shame. Actually, she um I want to reach out and try grab him to slam him into the bars. Okay, make a roll to hit.
00:19:10
Speaker
Unarmed attack. Ah, no, attack. Would it be grapple first, or...? Because I'm grabbing him I'll just allow you to just roll to him. 26. 26. I rolled a 19.
00:19:25
Speaker
Okay, yeah, no that'll do it. You pull him in and slam him suddenly, so quick, he did he wasn't ready for it. His face hits against the bars. As you come back, he realizes that you just broke his nose, and it's and it's gushing blood at this point.
00:19:40
Speaker
almost freezing as it hits contact to the concrete at the bottom.
00:19:46
Speaker
You bitch! How fucking dare you! Fuck you, Leno. ah oh You're gonna pay, you fucking bitch! He, like, licks the blood that's forming over the top of the bridge of his upper lip.
00:20:03
Speaker
and
00:20:06
Speaker
You're gonna taste the same thing. It's gonna be great. Such fine acquaintances. Now fuck off.
00:20:17
Speaker
You'll change it tune soon. You'll change it. I promise. And he walks off. The flash of anger he had from you doing that gone. Replaced with the cool calmness. The eerie calmness.
00:20:32
Speaker
You hear outside of your view from your cell a door open. You hear, what the fuck happened to you? And for a moment it doesn't close, so you can hear a swing, but it doesn't close, and then it closes, and you hear footsteps once again coming down the hallway.
00:20:46
Speaker
Bundled up, but much less. Bundled up in just really a light coat. Hooded down, you see the first thing you notice is the glint of the moonlight off of the kyanite horns. As you see the pale blue skin that's similar to Yellen's. Hey, sorry I had to do this to you.
Renenzo's Justification
00:21:04
Speaker
You're not sorry. But you will be. No, not truly.
00:21:10
Speaker
I'm sure. Listen, this is just a job to me. I tried telling your friend not to get in my way. This one landed too. I didn't want to take you. It's just... It's what I get paid to do.
00:21:26
Speaker
I know the assholes here, the Mortifer Pactum, but listen, I'm not gonna let that guy come in here again, alright? More for his safety. Oh yeah, I guess with what you just did.
00:21:38
Speaker
Name's Renenzo, by the way. So is that Renenzo, or...? Renenzo Corvinero. Well, I assume you already know my name, so there's no point introducing myself. You did kidnap me, after all.
00:21:53
Speaker
Uh, Maeve or something like that. Sure. Yeah, they wanted Piara, but I told them that wasn't going to be possible. You were the next option. Why? Why? Well, we almost had you once, and you seemed well connected.
00:22:09
Speaker
They were pretty dead set on me getting PR'd, but I'm not one to take a job I'm gonna get killed on. So, I told them, this lady Maeve, she's the one who organized the event.
00:22:20
Speaker
She seems well connected. If y'all want money, I'm sure that somebody put up a ransom. You did see what happened when you took sure us.
00:22:31
Speaker
Don't say that was me. i I made sure it happened. i was not a part of it the actual physical taking. All right. He like kind of smiles, chuckles a bit. It's because you're alive.
00:22:44
Speaker
Well, yeah, y'all did a number on them. I guess that's why we're here now. Like said, it's just a job. I really don't take it personally. The Aethicrow, I work with them a lot.
00:22:55
Speaker
Got a lot of family in there, but I told them that you're the one who put on that damn ball and was bringing stuff against the Zorogog and shit, and they that's what got them to take notice, all right?
00:23:08
Speaker
Hmm. Now what? Just keep quiet. Don't make a mess in yourself. I'll do my best to keep them Mortifer guys out of here. They like to torture, they like to experiment.
00:23:21
Speaker
I can't be around all day, so... Sorry for what might happen to you. They like it when you fight back, though. I'm sure they do. If it wouldn't get me killed, I'd do something about it.
00:23:33
Speaker
It's a pity. They're an unfortunate ally. Well, not of mine, but of the Aether Crow, just out of pure convenience, to be honest.
00:23:46
Speaker
And you don't worry, don't know, kidnapping me won't get you killed? Hmm. Well, out of work, it's always a possibility. Surely you know that. I've read your history.
00:23:59
Speaker
I do research on my jobs. Although I had to do it real quick and rushed on yours, but, you know, all the... All the paperwork on between yours and... what' was her name? Sally?
00:24:11
Speaker
She was the one that was standing next to her? Yeah, I read her papers too. Don't worry, she's safe. We didn't do anything with her. Just had to make sure she wasn't going to wake up.
00:24:24
Speaker
So, what do you know about me?
00:24:28
Speaker
Well, Maeve Strongheart, his father that legendary adventure. I didn't have to do any research to know that one. Put on the ball. You saw the events with the Mistborn, whatever was going on there and the other side of Nitro Tare.
00:24:45
Speaker
And ever since, you've been doing a lot of research into the Xerogog and this weakening connection between the Primordial Plane and here. Made a lot of friends, seemed to have a lot of know a lot of people in powerful places.
00:25:00
Speaker
And now I know your face. That's fine. As soon as I get you through the other side of this portal, you won't ever see me again. Just gonna take a bit of time before the portal to Eta Obscura is ready.
00:25:15
Speaker
It's, uh, cost a lot of money to take the take the official route. There's a back entrance that... That's not technically a back entrance. Essentially, these portals to the primordial plane, they're pretty volatile.
00:25:28
Speaker
And sometimes there'll be little mini ones that, like satellite portals that'll pop up just nearby. Why they have such a large area for it, but essentially we'll be looking out for one of those and we'll take one so we don't know how to pay. We don't have to be on record as having made that jump.
00:25:44
Speaker
Just hang out until then. I'll get you over there and then whatever the Aethicuro is going to use you for, that's not on me. It is, but you don't care. It's just a job. Keep telling yourself that. I'll get you another blanket. I know it's cold as fuck.
00:25:57
Speaker
um Well, at least for you.
00:26:01
Speaker
Much obliged. Yeah. Do what I can. Regardless. i got I got shit to take care of. I got other jobs going to try to do to make some money while I'm here, so... Like said, keep your head low. If you fight back, they're just going to want it more.
00:26:18
Speaker
Guess you didn't read my file well enough. Well, I guess hurry up and get that blanket, please. fucking luno or whatever he's ah one of the worst around at least in this eye doubt ah try my best to keep him out of here can't say i'll succeed but i'll try well and guess har can get that blanket please Yes, ma'am.
00:26:45
Speaker
Walks away, comes back a few minutes later and opens up a little little door, essentially, like an access hatch in the in the bars and slides ah an even thicker wool blanket through.
00:26:59
Speaker
ah She grabs it. I also want to look and see if he has any like keys on him or anything. who and you Anything that might help with a escape. Yeah, only perception check.
00:27:11
Speaker
should have that with the first guy when I grabbed him, but it is what it is.
00:27:19
Speaker
Fifteen. Fifteen? You don't visibly see any keys on this guy. You get sense from what he was saying, you're in a hideout for the Mortifer Pactum.
00:27:31
Speaker
This isn't his place. He doesn't control it. Thank you. She'll say just coldly, with like, no actual gratitude. Do me a favor and survive. If you're dead, i don't get paid. That's on you then.
00:27:47
Speaker
Yeah. Like i said, i'll keep I'll try to keep the worst of the riffraffs out of here. Anyway, stay warm. Turns around and begins to walk back out.
00:27:59
Speaker
The smaller blanket. How small? It's enough to, like, if you're laying down, it'll cover your body pretty easily. Okay. Is it weak at all?
00:28:11
Speaker
No, i mean, it's a wool blanket. It's it's still, it's ah it's ah a solid wool blanket. The one you got from him is more like a wool comforter. Where this one's more like a wool like throw blanket that you use on the on the couch.
00:28:24
Speaker
Is there any ah sharp objects around at all, like a rusty nail or anything? Yeah, I would say using the same perception you had with a 15, I'd say you could probably find like an old, where there used to be manacles in the cell, you could find like an old like bolt that's a little rusty and has a sharp edge on it.
00:28:43
Speaker
I would like to go and try to make a hole into the smaller blanket and DIY a poncho. Yeah, it'll take you some time, but you could do that. 100% you could do that. Thought it would be a bit easy then.
00:28:55
Speaker
Walking around. yeah Yeah, absolutely. You're able to do that.
Experiments and Torment
00:29:01
Speaker
Some hours go by as you're doing that, and then after you finish making your little makeshift poncho, you that door swing open again.
00:29:14
Speaker
This time you can hear the wheeling of something as you hear the ah crash of not necessarily a crash of it falling, but the impact of something going down a set of stairs that's not made to go downstairs, something on wheels.
00:29:26
Speaker
And a moment later, you see like a cart, just a small and hand driven cart and a dark elf pushing it of some sort, a very tall woman, lanky in a very, very large, oversized coat.
00:29:43
Speaker
On the cart, it's just a series of rocks.
00:29:49
Speaker
Oh! Hello, dear. I guess they were right, you are awake. Hello. Hi, yes, no. Hello, my name is Regina. I'll be working with you today.
00:30:00
Speaker
Now, if you'll excuse me, i i I need you to step back as I come in. And she takes out a key and turns the lock and opens so it opens the gate to be able to fit the cart through. so She'll step back and let her All she pushes this card in with just this random assortment of like 12 to 15 different rocks on it. Mabel will keep an eye where she puts the key.
00:30:22
Speaker
Okay, yeah. No, she you can see the key just goes into a satchel that she carries. She closes it and locks it again, locking herself in there with you. ah She reaches like through the gate and locks it from the other side.
00:30:34
Speaker
She turns back around. All right, now are you ready for your your session today? It's going to be a great time. I told you my name's Regina. I know your name, but why are you here? Oh, I'm here to learn.
00:30:46
Speaker
We both are. About?
00:30:50
Speaker
about yourself, honey. And these rocks? Oh, those are just the tools to do my job.
00:31:00
Speaker
Maeve slowly walks up. Like this one, she picks up... She picks one that's black, and as she turns to it, you can see a rune that's like a slight glow of red. Like this one. Yes.
00:31:11
Speaker
Here, catch. And she just throws it at you. Mabel step away from the side because she's seen rooms before she does not trust it at all. Okay. You step to the side and it it flies and it hits the ground and where it makes impact, fire erupts out of that spot in like a swirling fashion and as quickly as it swirls, it is gone.
00:31:35
Speaker
What a waste. That was one of my favorite ones. What a shame. What a shame indeed. See, but this one, and she picks up a pretty round rock looking like almost like ah it's white, like a piece of softball-sized hail.
00:31:47
Speaker
Very jagged. This one, this one's my favorite. She walks over to you. This one, this one's magical. And she reels back and she smacks you across the face with as harsh as she can.
00:31:58
Speaker
Could Maeve contest that by grabbing her wrist? You can surely try. I rolled a really, really bad. You grab her wrist and you feel that although she's lanky and not exactly the most muscular woman in the world, fairly fairly skinny, you can feel the strength behind the swing as you go to stop it.
00:32:20
Speaker
You manage to stop it almost like she lets you as you feel just how weak you are in this moment, having not been fed. Don't know the last time you got a drink is besides the cornbread that was sitting next to you that you haven't even touched yet.
00:32:34
Speaker
Honey, what are you doing? This is all part of the process. We're just going to get to know you You at your core. While she's talking, because she's grabbed her arm across, I want Maeve to do one of the ah really basic technique she learned when she was five, where she just takes her leg behind the other chick's leg and pushes her to trip her over.
00:32:59
Speaker
Okay, yeah. she's talking. Go. Yeah, roll me. We'll just say an arm strike just to roll to 30, 20. Okay. It was almost a one and then it flipped. That's awesome. no need No need to roll damage or anything. As you flip her over, she smacks her head against the bar on the other side of the cell because this is not exactly the largest thing in the world.
00:33:20
Speaker
oh Oh, that was a good one. That was a good one. I see yoga ah you're to be a fun one, aren't you? i um Because I still have a wrist, I want to hit her with the rock.
00:33:31
Speaker
ah Well, before you can do that, she snaps her fingers. i I need you to make me a wisdom saving throw. The DC's 22. Well, yeah, 13.
00:33:45
Speaker
Yeah, doesn't seem like you can move. Oh, great. As she very arrogantly stands up and points at a little ring on her finger. You see, ah have access to certain tools of my own for my own abilities.
00:34:02
Speaker
Gifts from those above me who helped me to do my job just miraculously. She grabs that rock out from your hand, reels back and smacks you across the face with it, this time with you, unable to do anything.
00:34:15
Speaker
And you find out this rock's just a rock. There's nothing wrong with this one. Nothing terrible. It doesn't have a rune in it. It's just a jagged rock. as blood erupts out of your cheek from a cut that it makes.
00:34:29
Speaker
Don't worry, honey, we're gonna have such a good time. And she reels back and hits you again with it again. You can feel a crack in your jaw on this one. Hmm, okay, whew.
00:34:40
Speaker
I saved that one for my own amusement. If I'm gonna be honest, let's do the real experimentation. She puts it down, she grabs a little tiny crystal, she like forces you to sit, places it in your lap and it starts to glow and you can feel it feel your cheek begin to heal.
00:34:54
Speaker
Okay, now the real work can begin. She grabs another stone. This one blue, smooth, and polished. You can see it has three different runes in it.
00:35:05
Speaker
All right, now open up. And she pulls your jaw down and shoves it in your mouth. And she goes, okay, now here's the deal. I'm going to need you to swallow. no No? Oh, you're not going to swallow?
00:35:21
Speaker
You know? I'm okay with that. It's so much more fun when you don't actually. She picks up the basic rock again, just the straight rock and smacks you directly in front of your face. Oh fuck.
00:35:32
Speaker
On the front of your lips, on your mouth. Oh. She looks at your broken teeth now, opens your jaw and try to look and go Ah, there it goes. There it goes. Okay. Okay. I'll be back tomorrow.
00:35:44
Speaker
We'll see. We'll see how it goes. She takes a little cart, opens the door, and goes to leave after locking it again. And as soon as the door closes, whatever was holding you leaves where you can move again. And she'll just like fall and just like curl up in a shit ton of pain.
00:36:04
Speaker
She had taken the crystal off of your lap that was healing you just a little too soon. And while like most of your teeth had healed and you're not quite bleeding like you were, there was still a little bit of pain and a little bit of damage that did not heal from it.
00:36:18
Speaker
She just lays there for a bit, just trying to figure out what she was forced to swallow and feel it inside her, I guess.
00:36:30
Speaker
And just kind of waiting to see what happens. As you wait, try to focus on it, you begin to feel a little bit of a warmth in your stomach. And how cold the area you're in is, the blood having frozen to your face from the bleeding.
00:36:44
Speaker
it's It's kind of nice. That is until you breathe, and instead of seeing your breath, like the foggy fogginess of the humidity in your breath, you go to breathe out, and and this time you begin to choke as you try and breathe.
00:37:00
Speaker
As you feel like you're choking, you swear you can feel movement, something crawling up your throat, many some things. And you finally get to the point that yeah you you just can't help but vomit and out outcome locusts, a whole swarm of them.
00:37:16
Speaker
Um, what the fuck? Maeve would just be completely still while they swarm, I guess. It continues for an hour. You shit.
00:37:29
Speaker
just barely being able to get breaths in through your nose, feeling like you're suffocating as locusts fly out of your mouth and filling the area in a room before finally whatever enchantment or spell that's doing this ends. You can finally get a ah deep breath for the first time in that hour.
00:37:48
Speaker
oh Yet the air filled with the buzzing of locusts. She just kind of, um,
00:37:57
Speaker
She leaves the locusts alone and she just kind of curls up under the big blanket ah completely so they don't attack her or anything. I think at this point she is ah very, very weak and tired.
00:38:13
Speaker
Nobody comes in the rest of that evening. You're left alone. what's ah What's going through Maeve's head?
Reflection and Struggle
00:38:22
Speaker
As the locusts slowly, the sound of them buzzing slowly stops as they find places to perch or some of them die from the cold.
00:38:29
Speaker
and Every now and then you just hear a little buzz of one, but for the most part it's eerily quiet in here. Just, uh, things her dad used to say to her as a child and she can picture his voice quite clearly of don't give them anything, don't just all the lessons and memories of when he left her in the forest by herself when she was young too to make it back home.
00:39:00
Speaker
And she'd just be thinking about the team and hope they're doing okay and they weren't attacked and Lots of pretty much any other scenario of if, what if they grab the others? What if, what if they ended up killing anyone? um Keeps just kind of going through her head on repeat.
00:39:25
Speaker
Time goes by. Does Maeve get any sleep this night? I don't think it would be a good sleep, but I think with the lack of oxygen and the lack of food, ah she but would not trust their food at all.
00:39:41
Speaker
She probably would go unconscious for a little bit, but I wouldn't was like a sleep sleep. It would have been just like her body. Like, I need to shut off right now. You are lying down at the end. I don't know if that makes sense.
00:39:54
Speaker
It does. The night goes by and what you think could be morning? You don't know, because sunlight doesn't reach here like it does the rest of the world. It rarely ever gets any sun, and if it does, it just peeks across this the horizon. So when you wake or as time goes by and you are waiting for the sunlight, it never comes.
00:40:12
Speaker
After a while, the shining of the different colors of moonlight from the three moons of Aeon, those shift as they do every night. Even even at one point, it starts to become muddled as you're able to look out the window and you see a haze of ash and s sulfur begin to block even the direct ray and glow of the moon.
00:40:31
Speaker
plunging your cell even into further darkness. At one point you fall unconscious and you wake back up and as you begin to take it all back in you you see the silhouette of Luno sitting cross-legged outside your cell.
00:40:43
Speaker
you barely make out the tape on his nose as he's just staring at you. What are you a pervert? It's too dark to make out his facial expression but he just stands up silently and walks out.
00:40:55
Speaker
You can hear the swing of the door open and close. Uh, she just gets like a shiver down her spine because he freaks her out. Some hours go by. You can maybe assume it might be the next day as Regina makes her way back in, the cart slamming down the stairs once again.
00:41:13
Speaker
honey, you're looking swell today. Sorry, could I just state during the night with the poncho she made, would she be able to fray a bit off and make like a little bit of a rope?
00:41:25
Speaker
She can start that process, yeah? Yeah, Yeah, absolutely. Very small. I wouldn't be able to get. ah Yeah, so it'd probably be a small one, but you could probably start that process. Yeah.
00:41:36
Speaker
Yeah. It's not for climbing. Exactly. As Regina goes to start unlocking the door. You're looking swell today. How did how did last night go? I see. Locust was your choice.
00:41:49
Speaker
Interesting choice. I haven't seen that one in quite some time. Quite some time. What did you put in me Oh, says a lot about you. I gotta say, gonna have to leave it in. I don't have a way of getting it out, so it's gonna hurt coming out the other end.
00:42:05
Speaker
ah but don't don't worry. It'll maybe a week or two. She's just not... Reacting. Lighten up. Not amused. ah Lighten up. we're gonna have We're having a great time. We're learning so much about you.
00:42:17
Speaker
Learning so much about you. You see, she kind of like has a little journal on the on the cart this time and she like jots down something. Okay. Okay. Let's see. What are we going to do today? What are we going to do today? Well, let's start it off strong.
00:42:30
Speaker
She takes the rock and begins to step towards you. Mabel step back. Honey, honey. You know what happens the more you're going fight it.
00:42:42
Speaker
She doesn't have a rope truss yet, does she? Next night. Wouldn't be very long. you you could have like a You could have a thin, like a piece it need to be long? Yeah, so you could have a piece of fabric. I wouldn't be withw woven like a rope by any means, but you could have a piece of fabric that you ripped off. Okay.
00:43:02
Speaker
So she's opened the door, come come in. Yeah. Maeve's, I guess, gonna... She's tired, actually. She's... He said you weren't meant to hurt me.
00:43:14
Speaker
but Who said that? Who do you think? well How are I supposed to know? not See, here's the thing, is pain is just so temporary, you know? Hurt you is one thing. It's about whether it's lasting pain or whether it has a purpose. Pain with a purpose, there's not a problem with that.
00:43:31
Speaker
Pain can be useful. We're using pain now to find out who you are. um Ugh. It's okay. Not everybody understands at first, and that's okay. That is okay. Regardless, please accept this gift as she steps towards you with the rock again.
00:43:45
Speaker
Could I cast Command? You can certainly try. It is a Wisdom 15 saving throw.
00:43:55
Speaker
God, I'm rolling so bad. That's incredible. I roll the three before any modifiers. She's going to say, uh, flop. Flop. Flop.
00:44:07
Speaker
She hears the power of the word and she flops to the ground. Uh, Mabel will run to grab her bag with the keys. Okay.
00:44:16
Speaker
Oh, fun one. Okay. Oh, honey, the key's in the third pocket. The third pocket. Can I grab a rock too and throw it at her? Yeah, absolutely. she Is she just laying down? Is she not doing shit?
00:44:28
Speaker
No, she flopped. and she is She flopped? Yeah, she flopped. Okay. Cool. I'm going to grab a key. The key. Okay. Grab the rock and smash her over the head with it. Yeah, roll hit.
00:44:41
Speaker
Roll to hit. 14. 14. fourteen 14? Not be enough. As she moves her head, she literally, she doesn't move her entire body, she just moves her head to the side as the rock hits the ground next to it.
00:44:53
Speaker
Honey, if you're gonna try to escape, you better get going. Fucking psycho. Thank you. And she just gets up and unlocks the gate and legs it.
00:45:04
Speaker
um she She'll keep the rock with her as a weapon. Yeah. The gate swings open and you make a run for it. You see on the right, it's a dead end. Easily on the left, there's a small set of stairs and then there's a doorway at the end on the right that you have heard. You haven't seen, but you had heard open and close several times.
00:45:19
Speaker
She runs up, tries to open the door. Yeah, door swings wide open. And as you look out, you realize that you are staring out into the icy tundra. From your current viewpoint, that's all you see.
00:45:31
Speaker
you see You see two twin volcanoes in the distance erupting, spewing gases into the atmosphere. Does Maeve know where she is? Roll me a history check. Maeve's pretty educated. and I'll even give you advantage on it.
00:45:43
Speaker
Advantage? Yay me. You're so nice to me. Glad I got that advantage because the first one was a nat one. And Dirty 20. Dirty 20?
00:45:55
Speaker
Yeah, you would know, looking at those volcanoes, it it gives you a quick and easy interpretation of where you're at and the fact that the only place in the world that has twin volcanoes like that is the country of Undor.
Escape Attempt and Recapture
00:46:05
Speaker
Those volcanoes sitting not very far from the northern pole of the world.
00:46:10
Speaker
I'm assuming if she goes out into the tundra, she will definitely freeze to death and die. Might be a good assumption. A little little bit. She is ah in a makeshift poncho after all.
00:46:23
Speaker
Right. Now, that is what you're looking at just from your viewpoint from the doorway, mind you. So the the volcanoes are in a they're very far away, like very distant. Well, I guess she's going to go in and get some clothes, something warm to leave. Turn back in and and the only thing you see in here are cells.
00:46:41
Speaker
You would have gone to the right outside of your cell, about three other cells, and it's just a stone wall and it's cells on both sides of this entire building. seems pretty basic. There's no weapons, no clothes, no anyone inside the cells.
00:46:55
Speaker
There was the dead body in the cell across from yours. did Is there anything? It did seem to have clothes on. Looks like I'm walking back to the crazy lady with the key. Okay, well, she'll have to walk back to the cells. She'd be prepared for a fight. She has a rock.
00:47:09
Speaker
Okay. You see Regina has stood back up and is dusting herself off. Oh, what? You didn't... you're You're not a fan of the cold? Or did you just decide that you do want to know yourself on a deeper level?
00:47:22
Speaker
Which is it? I know myself just fine. Well, did you know you would have chosen locusts? I didn didn't think so. Choose shit. Oh, you did. You did. Even if you don't know it.
00:47:34
Speaker
She'll walk up to the... She has a key, so she'll walk up to the gate and lock Regina inside. If she's funny inside. Honey, honey, that's what you want to do. That's fine.
00:47:45
Speaker
You're delaying the inevitable. Just you might as well just sit down and do my experiments. No, thank you. And she'll try to open the other gate with the cage with the person inside it with the clothes.
00:47:58
Speaker
The key you have does not work for that. Damn it. Hmm. I'm guessing Regina has clothes. Oh, yeah, she's bundled up in a, she's a big old, like, gaudy, oversized fur, like, coat. Like, yeah. She's got, like, hoop earrings, like, looking like she don't belong. Oh, I love that. In this and this kind of place, yeah. um I'm going to cast Command on her, and the command's going to be Stripped.
00:48:24
Speaker
I'm rolling really bad. Yes! Really bad. You better not get this coat dirty. as She begins to take it off and starts taking her clothes off. Do not. I paid a fortune for those. You better not to get them dirty. Okay.
00:48:43
Speaker
She, um, she'll walk in while she's stripping and grab the coat and choose mainly the main necessities while she's still stripping. So she can also leave without her coming at. Okay. mae Yeah, absolutely. So she won't grab anything. She mainly grabbed the coat and shoes because she already has a poncho.
00:49:04
Speaker
Somewhat covered up.
00:49:08
Speaker
Are you able grab them? Does Maeve see anything else on her? Like weapons while she's stripping? Anything else that she she has like armbands and lots of different jewelries.
00:49:19
Speaker
But it doesn't seem like she has any weapons on her. Okay, she's going to do that. And when Maeve goes to leave, she's going to tip the trolley over with all the rocks and the runes.
00:49:31
Speaker
Actually, is that healing one still there? The little crystal on it? Yeah. Yeah, she's going to grab that while she's stripping as well. And then as it's, I don't know how long it takes to strip, but um around the end of it, she's going to tip the cart and run.
00:49:49
Speaker
You see, you hear the of a fire one go off again. and she goes, oh, oh, hot. Oh my goodness. This, you're a a feisty one. As you lock the door and head out, you walk out into the tundra and then you go a couple steps out of the building before you hear a wagon. And as you turn, you realize you're on the edge of a city.
00:50:12
Speaker
Literally the edge. As you turn around and you see a sprawling metropolis of old, broken and ancient buildings.
00:50:25
Speaker
Variety of different architectures have this city having existed for so long, all of it covered with mixture of ash and snow. And just the foggy, faint moonlight coming through the ash clouds from the eruptions that are currently been going on.
00:50:42
Speaker
Realize you're on the edge of the city of Undor. um And you said there wass a cot? You hear a cart nearby in one of the and on one of the roads. You can hear the the creek creaking wheel, really rough, unkept brick streets.
00:50:57
Speaker
What do I know about Andor? You know Undor is old. It is dirty. Scholars go there to study a lot because it is one of the oldest cities that has not been destroyed from time and events.
00:51:12
Speaker
It is home to most of the world's worst criminal organizations and syndicates. It is intensely cold. It has a very good fishing industry as well.
00:51:23
Speaker
Love that. It is your dad has told you stories of Undor as well as most adventurers come through here at some point if they do it as a career. It's unspoken because speaking it aloud makes it real and it becomes a problem.
00:51:37
Speaker
But you know vampires are in the city as that is one of the syndicates. Mortifer Pactum headquarters out of here which is the world's largest and most successful crime syndicate headed by the cartel family.
00:51:49
Speaker
also has the world's oldest library. I'm guessing Mabel would know no one in the city at all because... No, you would not have any contacts here. Yeah, not at all. Let's see. Okay. um Not great.
00:52:05
Speaker
I guess she'll go to the city and try to keep a low profile in her big fur coat. You take a few steps into the city, dipping into an alleyway to try join into one of the streets, trying to keep a low profile, not try to stand out. Although giant fur coat makes a little bit more difficult as you you step by an alleyway, just not even a block into the city.
00:52:27
Speaker
i mean, it grabs you by the throat and throws you against the wall as you see a familiar bandage on the nose. As Ludo is looking up at you. Oh, hey there.
00:52:41
Speaker
Hey. Not in the cell anymore. of What happened? Oh, you know, they decided to let me go. oh that couldn't possibly be true.
00:52:52
Speaker
Oh, nah. Why don't we just take you back? Oh, I think I prefer it out here. And she ah she has a rock in hand. She smashes. i want to smash him in head with the rock. As you try to do that. Break his nose again.
00:53:06
Speaker
He's going to raise his arm and stop you. As I just rolled really well. Damn. And then he slams you against the wall. he's gonna He's going to raise a little further up as you can feel his warm breath in your ear for a moment.
00:53:20
Speaker
You're not going anywhere. Perfect. Just how I like it. I'm going to lift my knee up and try to knee him in the balls. It's a very paladin thing to do. Of course, of course. It's the most paladin move ever.
00:53:35
Speaker
You can't fight correctly, fight dirty.
00:53:40
Speaker
So that 20. And the pulse. 20. Nice. As your knee finds home right in his groin, he keels over for a moment as he lets go of you.
00:53:52
Speaker
like She runs. As soon as you run, you hear, now you stop right there. As it happens, you freeze.
00:54:09
Speaker
and his voice seems to change.
00:54:12
Speaker
I said I'm not done with you.
00:54:19
Speaker
As looking forward, your head stuck in the in the direction you were looking, you feel long, unnatural fingers grip around your throat. As the fingernail barely touches you and you feel blood immediately roll down your neck from where it just pricked you, he picks you up with one arm and just begins walking back towards the building.
00:54:44
Speaker
You can't see him. He keeps you outstretched and in front of him facing the opposite way. But you can hear the impact of much larger legs than he previously had.
00:54:56
Speaker
Oh shit. walks you back to the building. He opens the door and he throws you in as you make impact on the wall opposite of the door, cracking a rib.
00:55:07
Speaker
oh And the door slams shut.
00:55:11
Speaker
As Regina is walking up the steps at the same time. Oh, well, that was a quick trip. If you don't mind, i'll I'd like mine my jacket back. My jacket, fuck off.
00:55:25
Speaker
She rears back and kicks you in the face with ah with her high heel.
00:55:30
Speaker
breaking your nose.
00:55:34
Speaker
I think Maeve has an issue with pride. um A massive issue with pride that is kind of been a driving force for a while.
00:55:46
Speaker
And so even with the bloody nose and the cracked rib, and It's ah half that she refuses to give the coat back and half that she actually can't really roll over to give it back to start with because she's in a lot of pain.
00:56:02
Speaker
So she's just going to lay there ah and ignore Regina.
00:56:09
Speaker
Regina will kind of look at you and you you hear just a sigh. Ah. If these experiments are going to be successful, you're going to have to listen to me. And I think that's a lesson you learned now.
00:56:23
Speaker
And she walks over and you eat just from your laid position. You just see her legs and one of them raises as you feel the heel of her high heel pierce through both of your cheeks.
00:56:36
Speaker
And she just stands there with her extremely large heel pierced through both sides of your face. She would be trying to get her off, like scratching her. doing whatever she can.
00:56:50
Speaker
on your face as she just stands there full weight down i said i want my coat now and now you're going to have to make it difficult so lesson of learned but you know it's necessary but
00:57:05
Speaker
She'll still keep... well, she can't really take the coat off, she's pinned. So, um, she'll just be scratching at her leg as much as possible. Like, just just the the fiendish movements now of just someone like in massive distress of just trying to get this foot off her face.
00:57:24
Speaker
Come on, get the jacket off. She, um... She would mumble, like, can't really speak with a foot in your mouth, but, um...
00:57:38
Speaker
Oh, you can, you can. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt. It's a lesson learned. Like I said, we really got it. We got to get to know you. And let me, pain is such a good, it's such a good window into the soul. so yeah, you're going to have to take the jacket off.
00:57:53
Speaker
I mean, if I'm in the way, you can just move yourself. She's got to get her nail and... um ah Yeah, she's going to get her nails, and you know the ah in the back of the foot, in the heel, you know that little tendon?
00:58:06
Speaker
The Achilles tendon, yeah. Yeah, she's going to try her best to get her nails as far in as possible. She probably won't be able to break the skin, but to cause as much pain as possible, so she would want to lift her foot up.
00:58:20
Speaker
um okay.
00:58:23
Speaker
Ooh, hey, I finally rolled good. Damn. Yeah, you see you squeeze, and she's... but but ah as It's a good idea, honey, but you're just so weak you haven't even eaten.
00:58:34
Speaker
Listen, one of these days you're going to have to learn about yourself and might as well make it today. Now take the jacket off. she's up She will start ripping her mouth to take off the jacket as much as she could.
00:58:53
Speaker
As you can feel the ripping in your cheeks as you as you're as you're having to pull your face in certain contortions to try to get this jacket off while laying down completely helpless and just devoid of energy and and strength at this point.
00:59:07
Speaker
It finally gets off and she just reaches down and picks it up and she when she does, she lifts her heel suddenly out of your cheeks and puts the jacket on. She ah curls up a fetal position, grabs her face. Oh, honey.
00:59:21
Speaker
Oh, honey. Oh, we're not done. we we this is This is all just to get started. And she grabs her fingers deep into your hair to get as good of a grip as she can and drags you back into the cell.
00:59:32
Speaker
Wait, I've still got the healing stone, don't I? You do. That I took. Which made the cheeks that much worse. Oh, no. Because they were healing as you were ripping them.
00:59:44
Speaker
Oh. But sure enough, your cheeks are currently filling back in and healing as she's now dragging you across the stone floor back into the cell. I think Maeve is just kind of a little bit defeated at this point.
00:59:58
Speaker
So she just... She throws you the wool blanket back again. Cover yourself, honey. I don't want to see that. She takes the rock and immediately begins to just beat the shit out of you.
01:00:09
Speaker
Over and over and over again. As the she doesn't take the crystal, she just leaves it on your lap, in your hand. Finally, she goes, she finally stops.
01:00:22
Speaker
Hearing how labored your breath is, and goes and picks up another rock. This one is completely white, not jagged. This is smoothed and polished like one of the other ones. It appears to have lots of really tiny runes etched into it. Okay. Okay.
01:00:39
Speaker
So this one is really special and it's really going to get you to know who you are as well as me to learn who you are too. Are you ready for this one, Maeve? She like grabs your chin and like pulls your face up to look at her. Maeve, I'm talking to you.
01:00:52
Speaker
It's respectful to look at somebody when they speak to you. Maeve doesn't really say or do anything. She's just kind of checked out at this point. oh Her hope is a diminished a lot.
01:01:06
Speaker
Now this one, I need you to make sure not to swallow. Okay? She gingerly places it on in your on your tongue inside your mouth and closes your jaw for you.
01:01:17
Speaker
Just keep it there as long as you can. If you swallow it, you're really going to regret it. See you tomorrow. As she goes and walks out. Can Maeve just take the rock out of her mouth?
01:01:30
Speaker
She does take the crystal with her. Oh no, the one that's been placed in her mouth. Can she just assume she leaves? Yes, so you can take it out of your mouth, yes. Cool.
01:01:42
Speaker
And you hold it in your hand. You see the saliva from your mouth filling in some of the gaps, some of the cracks of the runes. You notice they start to glow. starts to get really hot.
01:01:55
Speaker
It starts to get very hot. As it starts to get hot, you can feel the air begin to sizzle around it as your cell begins to get hot. At first feels great, and then it it becomes too hot.
01:02:06
Speaker
As the air continues to warm, it's like it's a desert. It's like the sun's beating down on you. Except it's not a direct ray, it's literally just all around you. It's a radiant heat, and it just continues to get hotter and hotter and hotter.
01:02:21
Speaker
Would she be able to throw it to the cell opposite her? Through the bars. If she can get off? You can if you want to. Uh, yes. I would like that away from me as far as possible.
01:02:34
Speaker
You throw it, and it gives you relief for a few minutes. Half an hour goes by, maybe, and you start to feel the warmth in your cell slowly grow as you realize it's just going to continue to get hotter and hotter.
01:02:49
Speaker
From that far away, it'll eventually affect your cell. Damn. She'll definitely take a poncho off and just pee completely naked. Fuck. No sleep. this continues all night no sleep As what you can only assume would be but some point in the next morning, the heat finally dissipates.
Continued Abuse
01:03:12
Speaker
As you can't move because of the boils on your skin from the sheer heat and the touching of anything that would be stone or metal or anything. The only thing that would that possibly gave you any relief was just trying to stay on the wool blanket so you didn't have to touch the stone underneath. But even then, the heat still penetrated. So it hurt. It just wasn't literally baking your skin when touching it. Instead, you had to do the slow bake as if you're in an oven.
01:03:37
Speaker
completely dried, having no moisture left in your body at all, just dying for a drink. The door finally opens, and Luna walks in with a pail of water. Just told you needed did some water.
01:03:51
Speaker
As he throws it on you, and as the water hits you, it stings incredibly because of how raw your entire body is. My bad.
01:04:04
Speaker
but And he's he actually pulls out a glass of water and sets it on the stone at the edge of the cage and walks back out. Maeve would slowly drag herself to the water and drink it. She wouldn't even bother checking at this point. She's just just like, she just drinks the water.
01:04:21
Speaker
At some point in this process, you get almost as if maybe it was finally like let through. Something might have been blocking it. You hear your father's voice come into your head. Maeve, can you hear me?
01:04:33
Speaker
Maeve, are you there? Fuck, i've already wasted so many words. How does this work again? ah love you, Maeve. We're coming.
01:04:44
Speaker
She'll crack back.
01:04:48
Speaker
I'm alive in under captive edge of city. Later that day, the door opens and Renenzo walks in.
01:05:03
Speaker
He tosses you the little crystal that heals. I told you not to fight back. What do you want? They told me you'd need the crystal. I immediately was worried. Portal's ready, so he throws you a stack of clothes. Very simple clothes, just a white tunic, a heavy coat for the cold, some light pants.
01:05:22
Speaker
Or sorry, rather heavy pants, and some shoes. Do you mind turning around so I can get dressed? Yeah, and I'll give you a couple minutes to let that crystal do its work too.
01:05:35
Speaker
As he walks out of the building.
01:05:39
Speaker
Maeve will slowly, um... Wait, we'll wait for the healing to do its thing. Um... And slowly get dressed... and Into the clothes.
01:05:54
Speaker
Um, she'll still look around and see if there's any... She'll keep looking for a way to escape. Um, whether that's perception checks or anything.
01:06:07
Speaker
can roll me a perception check. I'll keep it in the back of my mind as this goes.
01:06:12
Speaker
Eight. She is a goner. Renenzo comes back in. Sorry had to go through all this. Some of them Mortifer Pacta remembers. Some of them are good.
01:06:26
Speaker
Some not so much. And you can see he he does seem to have a look of remorse on his face.
01:06:33
Speaker
If I didn't have to work with him, I wouldn't. Why do you have to work with him? Necessity of the people.
01:06:44
Speaker
You were out about the Zorogog. They ate the crow. They're trying to stop him. They aren't exactly making the right decisions all the time to do so, but... You know what they say about desperate decisions.
01:07:00
Speaker
I don't know. Bad things happen to good people when bad people are in leadership. So, I'm just trying to do the best I can for myself and the people I love. I'm sure you'd do the same if you were in my footsteps.
01:07:12
Speaker
She looks into his eyes, um like straight into his eyes, and she says, i have a religious friend, and he's mentioned a lot about souls.
01:07:28
Speaker
I wonder when you die how heavy yours will be.
01:07:38
Speaker
tell you, I think that's a good question. I think about it a lot. I just hope that the weight of my soul is something my kids don't have to bear. Kids always bear the weight of their parents' soul? Hmm.
01:07:54
Speaker
Not if I'm gone. Especially if you're gone. There might be some truth to that. Come on. Let's get going. We got places to be.
01:08:05
Speaker
i don't know how long this portal's gonna last. He puts shackles on your feet and on your hands, and he puts a Like a cover, a bag, just a burlap bag over your head.
01:08:17
Speaker
Necessities. Try not to fall. Ice gets real cold, I don't want to stick into your skin. Well, aren't you a gentleman?
01:08:27
Speaker
Ah, fuck off. He walks you out of the building, and you feel yourself being loaded into a small wagon. Transport wagon around the city. Nothing that's generally meant to go very far.
01:08:39
Speaker
You hear a cloth cover go over it. Do me a favor. The wagon goes for a while. Bumping and causing you to be awake so ah need to put you under i will trying to give you the benefit of doubt cause of everything you've been through this won't lie in your soul everything lost on my soul just like everyone else the wagon goes for a while bumping and causing causing you to shift With how weak you are, levels of exhaustion you would have taken by now, and just the open wounds that the crystal wasn't able to fully heal.
01:09:13
Speaker
Feel a little twinge of pain when you hit the big bumps. After a while, he helps get you down off the wagon, down a set of stairs, and walks you for a while.
01:09:25
Speaker
About twenty minutes walking on just bare concrete and bare stone. Cold, cold. You turn a corner and you feel a, rather don't feel, but you hear familiar sizzling and crackling.
01:09:39
Speaker
Same kind of sizzling and crackling you heard at the rifts back in on the Genoa Peninsula. The main rift that's controlled and regulated is on the surface level above here in a building that they build around it anytime it has to move.
01:09:53
Speaker
Unfortunate wind ends up in a populated place. Glad it hasn't done in the library yet. Regardless, like i said, satellite rifts open up. They're generally smaller, but they'll open up a time to time around the main one. Volatility and such.
01:10:05
Speaker
When we go through here, it's going to get even colder. It'll only last until we get indoors. you know, we're crazy. We do like heat. i don't know what they're going to do with you. I'm going to be here to deliver you. So exactly where are we going again?
01:10:18
Speaker
Primordial plane. She lets out a sigh, still listening up for any chance of escape. But at this point, with how exhausted she is, she's just kind of given up.
Renenzo's Remorse and Portal Preparation
01:10:33
Speaker
All right, let's go. And he leads you to step through the rift and into the primordial plane. And indeed, cold blast of air hits you and it's colder than the tundra north of Undor. It is extremely cold. It takes your breath away. It is pins and needles to breathe level of cold.
01:10:49
Speaker
Absolutely. And immediately.
01:10:53
Speaker
As you step through, but as soon as you step through, you feel other hands begin to take you and pull you and lift you into ah into a cart. And as soon as you're in the cart, there's a you feel a source of heat.
01:11:03
Speaker
Like ah maybe and like ah what would be equivalent to a space heater on Earth. Whatever the arcane version of that would be. Or maybe it's just, you know, um with an open flame. You don't know. Burlap sack is over your head, but you feel a source fluff of heat that that's keeping you keep you moving, keeping you alive.
01:11:20
Speaker
You hear Renenzo's voice one last time. You hear the curtain of what you can assume the wagon that you've been loaded into is based on just audible. Keep your head up. They won't kill you. You're worth too much.
01:11:31
Speaker
And none of these people are like the Mortifer Pactum. You're going treated the same. Sorry, again. If my friends ever reach you, say hi before they kill you.
01:11:47
Speaker
Like I said, I'm long gone. And hear the cloth close again. And the wagon begins to pull away. Hear the the snort of some sort of cow or bull niper riding in the wagon for a bit.
01:12:06
Speaker
I think that's where we'll end today's session. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us for another session. This one was heavy. I know it was. I mean, frankly, it could have been heavier. It could have gone a lot worse.
01:12:18
Speaker
But for our episodes so far, this one was pretty heavy. Extremely. Extremely. You doing all right, Sapir? Yeah. I'll send you my therapy bill.
01:12:30
Speaker
um
01:12:34
Speaker
I feel that. Oh, I feel that. I'll send myself mine as well. and just Oh, man. and Audience, we will not be able to pay your out your therapy bills. I'm sorry. that the It'll just stack up way too quickly. But that is going to be it for today. I hope you can look forward to the session that, frankly, we've already recorded. It's a great one. It's fun. It's wild. yeah So many things happen.
01:12:54
Speaker
And we hope you enjoyed it. We'll see you next time.
01:13:07
Speaker
We would like to thank our cast, myself, Curtis Woosley, as the GM, MJ Gunther as Talira Grimstone Echelanathi, Saphira as Maeve Strongheart, Renny Armas as Kalden, and Jack Baldwin as Yelan Yacol.
01:13:18
Speaker
Additional thanks to Scentic GFX for our graphics, to MJ and Renny here for our show editing, and our intro and outro music composed by Ryan Moons, owner and operator of Eyes on the Moon Studios...................