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Ep.27 The Goblet Defense
161 Plays4 years ago
With various authorities in Wildhill on the lookout for Joxxer, the rest of the Swords must pull themselves together and keep appearances.. For now.. It won't be long before the tension in Wildhill has to give. Let's just hope we're long gone by then.
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Transcript
Joxer's Restless Night
00:00:13
Speaker
previously on the hired swords. With frustrations flared, Jox had left the swords' new base residence in Wild Hill to clear his mind, maybe have a drink or two to calm his nerves. All he would find that night, though, is trouble. That seems to be all we find here in Wild Hill. Something has to give.
Podcast Recap and Welcome
00:01:00
Speaker
You're listening to the hired swords. A T-R-P-T-G, uh, a P-G-R-P-C, no, a T-T-P-R-T-G-G-G-Gah! Dang it!
00:01:22
Speaker
All right. Welcome back to the hired swords. Things
Confrontation with Darnaldi Bogeshaw
00:01:25
Speaker
were a little crazy when we left off last with, uh, jocks are well, Craig's kind of coming clean about his whole history and his past. And then jocks are having a little bit of a hissy fit about the way Craig's handled Delmar in the keep at the stone mountain fortress. And after that jocks are stormed off, everybody else kind of went to bed and or crashed while.
00:01:49
Speaker
cleaning their armor and weapons, and Joxer encountered a little bit of problems, meeting Saria and a noble High Elven man named Darnaldi Bogeshaw.
00:02:07
Speaker
And he, they together told him he needed to pay recompense for his crimes against Bogota's businesses, which turns out the goblins that were attacked and some of them, a couple of them killed on their way out to the stone mountains were the property of Darnaldi Bogota. And so jocks are snuck around to get enough to drink, to pass out, passed out on the steps of the armor bears shop and come morning,
00:02:37
Speaker
Loud knocks were heard from the doors of the cabin that the hired swords here, our party has been sleeping in. And Sariah forced her way in after Krigs opened the door, barking loudly that they need to find Joxer immediately.
00:02:54
Speaker
And we ended with Craig saying he's going to put on his knickers and figure out what to do next and try to find him.
Reflection at the Armor Bearer Shop
00:03:02
Speaker
All good plans. Start with a pair of pants. Yeah, always. It's always a good idea to just put on a pair of pants to get started. Joxer, the town is full of people. You are awakened at the Armor Bearer. And when you're awakened, there are people, like I said, everywhere. You're awakened by the door opening as
00:03:24
Speaker
the Dwarven Armor Bearer, the shop owner, she opens that door and it kind of smacks you on the backside as you lay there. Good morning. She says, oh, well, sorry about that. You need something or?
00:03:46
Speaker
Oh, ugh, I could partake. Um, let's- let's take a gander. Pardon me, feels like I'm forgetting something.
00:03:57
Speaker
Okay, she says, Okay, come on in. We're open for business now. And she just kind of walks in and kind of looking at you funny, like it's weird that you were laying out there. She doesn't usually have the Black Friday type shoppers camping overnight in front of her door. So I knew I kind of bruised before, but I don't wear a whole lot of armor. It's nice seeing you. It
00:04:23
Speaker
I believe one of my friends came over here and was able to take advantage of some of the abilities you have in this shop. Who would that be? If he gave his name, Krigs Galder.
00:04:42
Speaker
Yes, yes, he left me this and he or she Pulls up there's hanging from a leather strap on her belt is this ball? That she holds up kind of holds up as high as she can as it's kind of straps her away So she says he gave me this it's a nice little trinket Said it reminds him of home. It just kind of reminds me of
00:05:04
Speaker
I don't know. Simpler times. My own folk, I guess. I... He... He's good at the work that he does. Indeed. Indeed. Hopefully he'll find the need to create some more stuff in the future. I'm sure he will. I'm sorry. I don't believe I caught your name last time. The name is Justice. Justice. My name's Joxer. It's a pleasure. The pleasure is mine.
00:05:33
Speaker
What kind of armor are you looking for? What did you come in looking for? You have some new things since the last time I saw critics called her, at least. Well, I'd like to take a gander. I don't really wear much on my body, but I do take some damage on some of the extremities.
00:05:54
Speaker
I'm not sure you'll carry so much of what so some bracers then something like that perhaps or I could definitely I could probably take advantage of some braces come over here let me show you what we've gotten she walks over to the this kind of corner shelves next to the the main section there and you can make a perception check as she's walking you that direction okay
00:06:20
Speaker
that is a natural 20 yeah you you can hear through the front door someone call out from the front door from outside you hear you hear check every building look at all of them he's gonna be here somewhere and
00:06:37
Speaker
And she
Joxer and the Militia
00:06:38
Speaker
says, right, right, right over here. This is where the the bracers are. And you can see three pairs. There's a one that's kind of a shinier kind of silver color. There's one that obvious leather bracers with a green kind of lining on the cuffs. And the others are just button up leather bracers kind of very flimsy looking. How much for the shiny one and and maybe quick? What would we be able to talk about these in the back?
00:07:06
Speaker
in the back. I mean, they're right here though, I guess. No mind. How much for each one of these? Each one of these. Well, if you want to buy each one of these, this kind of dinky one here is just 100 gold pieces. This other one here in the middle, it's a little thicker, a little more to it. Probably sell it for 150. The other one's 250.
00:07:33
Speaker
You know what? You're in luck. I'll take the two fifty and I'll I'll empty that. That's that is legitimately all but like what I have on. Let me make sure that is like I am. I am. I'm kind of like terrified in the moment. No, no. So I'll take I'll take the middle line. So I'll take the one fifty and I'll just pull out the one fifty. I.
00:08:00
Speaker
I appreciate it, Justice. I have a feeling that
00:08:06
Speaker
I have a place to be. And it kind of this moment after hearing some of those, I'm just going to like take that, put the money down on like the counter. And I I hope that we can meet again and in a less awkward moment. And I'm just going to walk out and kind of like try to, you know, clip those on my arms and just stand.
00:08:32
Speaker
Okay, and see if anybody is like your you kind of slide your hand through to put them on and They're just plus one AC. Okay, if you're not wearing any other armor or shield, right? Yep. Okay, and so as as you walk out You stand on the front porch. She kind of calls out. It's a pleasure. Oh
00:08:52
Speaker
And just you can kind of hear a little bit of confusion in her voice. But you walk out and stand on the front porch and immediately you're spotted. And somebody somebody calls out over here and a couple of people kind of start rushing your way. Don't go anywhere. Stand right there. No, I'm so glad you came. I've been waiting all morning. Sorry. OK, he says that's what I knew Jokster would say. That's why I'm laughing.
00:09:23
Speaker
Predictable. He says, you know, and this is just like some just frumpy looking from frumpy looking commoner. He's got a club in his hand and he looks like he's trying to do some kind of business. He's just some sort of local militia kind of guy. And he just says, he says he points the club at you and he says, you're you're wanted at the at
00:09:45
Speaker
at the tower, the chief needs to talk to you. Well, then let's go, make haste. Okay, and he stands up tall, like he walks with you and he puts his arm on, he grabs your arm with his hand, not really rough, just like he's posing with you, walking down the road, and as he starts walking and other people see him, he kind of puffs up a little bit, and he's just like, he's like, that's right, that's right.
00:10:13
Speaker
We're going to the tower, come with me to the tower. Here we
Hired Swords Rally
00:10:18
Speaker
go. As he says that, man, you have a great grip. Has anybody ever told you that? He nods like really aggressively. He actually does squeeze a little tighter then. It doesn't feel like it hurts or anything.
00:10:32
Speaker
He squeezes a little tighter. He puts his club up on his shoulder and kind of struts while he's walking with you. Well done. And he's about four inches shorter than you and about twice as round as you are. But he is walking like he did something great. Well done. Everyone else is kind of gathering.
00:10:51
Speaker
Some of them just kind of walk off and go back about their business, like they were looking for you, but now that they see you've been found, they're just over it. And he gets back up and you see Sariah standing in front of the tower with Darnoldi. I'm going to start waving. I'm like waving as we're walking out of the area. Let's jump back to Krigs and everybody.
00:11:14
Speaker
because I just fast-forwarded Darnoldi and Sariah. But as soon as after you guys come out and Kriggaldur says, you know, I'm gonna put on some pants or whatever, Sariah is in the middle of saying- Nickers? Sorry, Nickers, my apologies. Let's be clear. Sariah is in the middle of just saying, I don't have time for this. We got to get back to the tower and get everyone looking. And she starts to step out and somebody runs up to the doorway and says,
00:11:44
Speaker
Madam, I've got everyone not doing something out there looking now for him. We'll find him, don't worry, and turns and runs back away. And she starts to head out the door and Darnaldi has always been standing out there. He's not coming, come in, but he's about to walk off with her. Are you gonna just follow her out? Are you gonna say anything? What are you gonna do? And Elvin, I say, who are you?
00:12:06
Speaker
To Sariah? To Darnaldi. To Darnaldi, okay. That's right, Darnaldi. To this man I don't know. As you walk out and you speak to Darnaldi, he looks at you and he looks down his nose at you and his eyes squint and he kind of strokes his chin a little bit, this perfectly chiseled, like, you know, hairless chin. And he says, well, I don't think we've had the pleasure. My name's Darnaldi.
00:12:33
Speaker
I don't really care what your name is. And he starts walking off. Kregs. That was Denaldi. The note. That's Denaldi. I'm a little curious what our friend has gotten himself into. Wait here.
00:13:00
Speaker
Let me see if I can get Daven awake and we might be able to resolve this. This is not what I expected to find this morning. As Gwen rushes back to the room to put on some appropriate clothes, she's like,
Tower Confrontation
00:13:13
Speaker
Daven's still asleep? How is he sleeping through this? And she just goes into the room.
00:13:18
Speaker
Sariah, please pardon me one moment. I'm going to try and wake up our companion. He seems to be a little bit heavier of a sleeper than I am. What with you, you're knocking this, this morning. So graciously. She says, we're headed to the tower. We have people looking for him. We'll see what the tower, if, if you care to see what happens. And she just walks off. Fair enough. I'm going to walk back into the room. Devin. Devin. No response.
00:13:48
Speaker
I'm going to walk over to the bed and kind of like nudge him. I heard you the first time. I'm not. I thought we'd get one night that we could just sleep in and relax for a little bit. You should know better than that.
00:14:11
Speaker
All right, fine. Let's go. And he gets up and stands up and he's completely naked and he looks at down. He looks at you said, can I get a minute, please? I guess you don't sleep in your knickers then. Okay. Uh, I just imagine. Turn around. Are you in the room across from Gwen?
00:14:33
Speaker
Yeah. Are the rooms across from each other? Yeah. Yeah. Right across. Gwen walks out and then immediately walks back into her room. Just fail. Now or even Gwen. She just stands there blushing. I'll put my robe on and I will grab my stuff. I'm assuming you heard the conversation. I heard it, so I knew it'd be jocksery.
00:15:00
Speaker
I guess we're going to be headed to the Tower of Testing this morning. I don't know what we have to look forward to, but you have a little bit of rapport with Sariah more than I. Last she saw me, I was taking a quote-unquote leak in the woods. Besides that, I know our friend Gwyn here, though she might be shocked out of her fear, or at least anger, of the Chief after this.
00:15:26
Speaker
site she may have walked out on you we need to keep an eye on her as well not not necessarily for her sake but for the chief I fear well I don't really know it's hard to plan when you don't really know what's going on but let's we get we'll figure it out
00:15:47
Speaker
Seems to be what we do our best. Well, that didn't make any sense. Seems to be what we do our best. Seems to be what we do our best. Seems to be what we do best these days. I'll let you get yourself ready. And I walk out and just shut the door. All right. I finished getting ready to grab all my things and prepare for the day. Okay. All right. Gwen, you're going to head out with them.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah, she's going to have that awkward thing where her and Davin come out of the room at the same time. She's like, excuse me. She just walks to the front door. All right. You guys come out and the the excitement of finding Joxer has kind of just settled down as you come out of the cabin and get on the main road. You start to walk past the lamppost in and you can see ahead of you a little ways. Joxer is waving at Sariah and
00:16:42
Speaker
And Darnaldi standing in front of the tower of testing there. And he's just kind of waving with one arm while this other little squatty commoner looking guy is holding Joxer's other arm, walking all proudly with him. And Joxer approaches. Devin crosses his arms. He leans over to Kriegs and he says, I can tell you right now he's guilty. As Joxer does walk up a little bit closer to Darnaldi, he's going to be like,
00:17:12
Speaker
And in Elvish, in Elvin, you don't look like you've gotten a wink of sleep. He looks at you and in Elvin he says, he says, I don't think you can know anything from looking at me. And he looks over at Sarai and he says,
Chief's Discussion on Compensation
00:17:30
Speaker
in common, he says, when will the chief be here? And she says,
00:17:36
Speaker
He said he would come right out. Just wait a minute. Just give him a moment. And they're just kind of standing around waiting. And the crowd, it doesn't really seem to be much of a crowd.
00:17:47
Speaker
Is anyone do anything about that time the rest of your group jocks or the krigs Gwen and Daven you guys make it up to the steps of the tower itself where on the steps of standing Sariah and Darnoldi and the the guy who captured jocks are standing there. He's let you go jocks are and he's he just kind of I scour the area to make sure that there's no
00:18:30
Speaker
And a 17, there is nothing of that kind nearby. No, you don't see anything like that around. No hangman's nooses, no firing squad, no burn poles, nothing. And with a 17, you do see over in the corner leaning up against a building over, he's actually leaning right up against the statue that's in front of the tower testing. He's got his back on the statue, his arms crossed, and he's surrounded by a few, a couple
00:18:37
Speaker
spots for hanging or execution locks. What am I walking into?
00:18:55
Speaker
women and It's that bard from the last night. He's watching this whole thing happen and he's got a big grin on his face. He's pretty interested This will be the first time I'd really seen him. So I recognize likely by you saw him up standing on top of a table singing and he started singing So you saw him I saw him. He's very obvious He stands out like a sore thumb here because he has those light blue silken clothes on and a cape and
00:19:22
Speaker
and a hat with a big feather in it, and he's got his loot strapped to his back everywhere he goes and scrolls. I'd like to do a perception check for whether or not Gwen is super interested currently. That's an insight check, and you're welcome to do that. Not to.
00:19:36
Speaker
Well, that's solid 19 when how do you how's Gwen feeling about seeing him over there? She probably just doesn't notice him. She's looking at jocks are just wondering like why is he not fighting back? What is happening right now? Got it rose before bars. Yeah, okay Okay All right, when here's the plan if things go strange Oh turn into a something fast and go pick him up and run away. Oh
00:20:03
Speaker
What about your door? I mean, that's, you can get out of here real quick. Yeah, but he's far away from me. I'd have to run over there, then grab him. I'll get you, she gets him. It'd be more dramatic that way. That's, that's fire. And then the door opens. Oh, no, that's it. The door opens to the tower of testing and out walks Tomba and he kind of waddles out and he comes down to Sariah and jocks or you hear him say to Sariah,
00:20:28
Speaker
He's on his way. Please, make your way inside. And he says, she looks at you, Joxer, and motions you to go in, and Darnoldi says, after you, please. I was going to go first. You're the one that fought here. Yes, please. Go ahead. I nudged Daven. Oh, he's definitely guilty.
00:20:52
Speaker
So they're walking up the steps to go inside the tower. Once I get to the top before I enter the door, oh, this is about the goblins. And then I'm going to walk in. OK. Can you say something about the goblins?
00:21:07
Speaker
God, it was from those two cups that I stole from the uh, the lamppost in the other night. The first night. Why would you steal cups? We have, I could make some, we have a forge nearby. They were to go cups. We wanted drinks. So I kind of switched into a, I switched to Soraya and I went in there. I got us a couple of drinks and I brought the cops out. You are Trixie, you aren't you? What did I do with those cups? Why?
00:21:31
Speaker
They were nice gauntlets, but really the drinks were kind of just mediocre. I'll be honest with you. I might be able to recreate them if they're, I mean, at least some kind of castable metal. All right. So let's, let's retrace our steps from the first day. I went over to the lamppost in and I talked to the guy at the front. I told him the sign was bad. I did the same. That sign is terrible. It was a terrible sign. It looks like they changed it though. Oh, fancy that. Yeah. You look over at the sign and it says lamppost tavern.
00:22:01
Speaker
I guess they finally read our comment box. Oh god. I left him a very strongly worded letter. We can afford exclamation points. I've got enough gold. We can pay him back for the two cops. It's not that big of a deal.
00:22:20
Speaker
Fair enough. So, Jockster, they're out there having this conversation and when they get inside, the chief is sitting at one of the tables eating some breakfast. He's eating like an English breakfast with beans and some sausage and some stuff and some potatoes, fried potatoes and stuff and there's a dwarven woman sitting next to him and she's eating as well and a couple other young women are kind of walking around.
00:22:43
Speaker
And one of them is obviously serving him, making sure his cup stays full. And the other woman's, the dwarven woman's cup stays full as well. And as he's sitting there, he's bare, like he's dressed, but he's like, he's in like lounge around clothing. Like it's pretty early morning for him, it seems. And when you walk in, he says, okay, Darnaldi.
00:23:05
Speaker
What is so important that you have to begin my day in such a manner? Have a seat, please. And he motions to the bench across the table from where he's sitting and he's eating. And as he eats, he's like chewing with his mouth open and mouth breathing while he's eating. And it's kind of gross.
00:23:25
Speaker
I would never try to interrupt any of those this early in the morning. I don't imagine anybody wants to deal with this.
00:23:39
Speaker
The chief says, well, I don't know what exactly is happening here, but I'm sure that it was Darnaldi's idea to have this conversation first thing, not yours. Please, are there any witnesses to whatever you're saying happened? Joxer, is it correct? Joxer, I've heard your name around. Yes. Are there any witnesses? Did anyone see what happened here with these goblins?
00:24:09
Speaker
Is he referring to me or Darnaldi? He's asking both of you. And Darnaldi's like, he looks at you like, I wasn't there. I don't know. Did the others already join or? They're still outside. I'm still trying to figure out where these cups are. They're looking for goblets.
00:24:24
Speaker
Um, my, uh, the other, um, the others that I, I, I also earned the rights of joining the hired swords did, uh, I believe they are just outside. They, they were with me whenever it happened.
00:24:41
Speaker
Could you please gather them as well? And Denaldi says, they are his companions. They're only going to speak to his favor. I don't understand how this is. Please. Denaldi. They're only witnesses. Yeah, Denaldi, they don't care for me. If they speak something against me, it'll be against me. So unlike your friends, they don't, you know, just make me feel better.
00:25:05
Speaker
Well, I don't know if this is fair, but if the chief says this is what we must do, and Tomba comes out right about now, you other three, and he kind of comes out more. Do you remember what metal was made of copper or? Oh my gosh. I don't know different types of metal. Excuse me. If you speak about goblets.
00:25:24
Speaker
You guys. Yeah, what? Yes, Tomba. Yes. Can you please come in here? Did you see what happened? Uh, he said he had two goblets. I mean, don't, don't accommodate us. Goblet's. What are you talking about? If we tell them what we did, then they can all just come inside and play stupid the entire time. And he turns around and runs in. Let's just see. We'll see what he calls out behind him. Follow me, please. As he goes back in, I love that Tom has a catchphrase.
00:25:56
Speaker
Okay. All right. And so you come back in and you come in, you come back upstairs up the front steps. You come in through the big opening doors into this hide and stone and wood tower. And as you come inside to the wooden floor and these tables, the little small library to the left-hand side, you can still see the above here is a couple of like balcony areas that look like living space up there. Hard to tell from down here.
00:26:25
Speaker
And Tooey Wright over here at the tables is sitting, at one table is sitting the chief with a dwarven woman finishing up a meal next to him. And Durnaldy is sitting at the table. And Jockster, did you come in and sit down or are you still standing there? I would have sat down. You were served a drink.
00:26:46
Speaker
Shortly after you sit down, you're served a bit of like a breakfast bubbly with some juice of some kind in it and a little fizzy juice stuff. And Darnaldi
Negotiations and Tension
00:26:58
Speaker
is sipping delicately a beverage as well. And he's sitting as far away from you as possible while sitting on the bench still. And as I'm drinking, I'm going to slightly scoop my chair a little closer.
00:27:12
Speaker
Okay, and so you're scooting across the bench towards him. Just a little bit, not a lot. He's just huffing, like he kind of notices that, he's just like, you're getting under his skin, you know? And you can kind of see his left eye twitching just a little bit. And so when you guys come in and you kind of see all this and you see jocks are making Darnaldi a little more uncomfortable, more and more uncomfortable the longer they sit there,
00:27:40
Speaker
The chief says, okay, now begin, Darnaldi, please, tell me what happened, what your side is. Please, no one speak. Just let Darnaldi, you will have your chance. I must hear both sides, what happened? And Darnaldi says, well, I will tell you, you know about the blood bore, he says, looking at the chief. And the chief says, yes, you guys are idiots, that was stupid. And he says, we know that now, we know that now, we won't try that again.
00:28:09
Speaker
It got loose. I sent Teld and a small hunting party to go kill it or capture it. We suspended all hunting activities until that creature was captured for the safety of our noblemen who hunt with us. The entire village was shut down as we waited on word from Teld what happened.
00:28:32
Speaker
other goblins came to me just a couple weeks ago and told me of a drunken monk type fighter who came upon them after some strange spells had been cast and he
00:28:47
Speaker
He apparently killed Teld in just a couple of blows and they took what was on him. When the other goblins went to try to gather his remains and take him back to his family, they found that he had nothing left on him, including his- I nudged Avon and I mouthed the word.
00:29:08
Speaker
All right. Okay. As soon as Denaldi said bloodborne, Gwendolyn is fuming. She has some words to say. Okay.
00:29:24
Speaker
Hinter and Aldi says, they described this man in gestures to Joxer sitting next to him and says, I only want the money that was lost. It will cost a lot of money to train into the goblin the way Teld has been trained. And I believe his son may do, but he may not. I don't know. He had been training him. We will see if his mother will allow it. Either way, I must pay for that training. I also must pay to
00:29:56
Speaker
He must pay to compensate for the business income that I lost over these last three weeks that we have been shut down, not knowing if the blood boar is still out there somewhere. Also, he must pay for whatever adventuring party I must pay to go kill that blood boar.
00:30:14
Speaker
because it can't be out there and I continue to do business. If a party of these noblemen happen upon this blood bore, it will rip them to pieces. They are nowhere near capable of handling something like that. Only the- The jocks are going to raise his hand. Okay. And he looks at you and he says, anyway, you get the point. And the chief says, yes, thank you. You're rambling. You're rambling. You always do that.
00:30:40
Speaker
He looks at you, Joxer, and he says, what's so important? How much would you pay a party to remove this said blood bore from your life? Yeah, if they were out there another month, you would continue to lose money.
00:31:00
Speaker
I believe that is right. I believe though that the chief would have to tell me what it would cost. He usually sets the prices on these contracts. Chief, what would you charge for that? And the chief says, well, I haven't seen that thing. From what you said, it's pretty dangerous, right? Yes, it is. But, you know, I think most of your hunting parties could take it down. I believe your exact words were that it would tear a regular hunting party to shreds.
00:31:30
Speaker
No, I said it would tear the noblemen parties to shreds. These are men who come from their towers of riches and wealth and they want the thrill of killing something. They don't fight things. They shoot things that can't fight back. You don't understand.
00:31:46
Speaker
Gwen Boleyn's trying to keep her calm. She's going to slightly lose it. Okay. The chief says, okay, let me think. You said that you've been shut down for three weeks. You've lost about 5,000 gold. If that thing is killed, it would take you a while to make that gold back.
00:32:08
Speaker
You make nothing back until it is killed. Am I correct?" And Darnoldi says, yes, of course. That's absolutely the truth. He says, well, I would say at least half the amount you lost, 2,500 gold would probably be the price I would put on that contract. If someone were to kill that blood bore, I would believe that would be the price. And Jaksa raises his hand again. Yes. And if I could guarantee that that has already taken care of today, could that price be go up?
00:32:38
Speaker
Darnoldi says, don't be ridiculous. He's not being ridiculous. Excuse me. Oh, hello. Well, then please explain. I step forward and I get right into Darnoldi's face. OK. Whether he's sitting down or not. Oh, he is. And he's you got to like squeeze past Joxer to get to him and then get down in his face. I nudge down and I say, I think she's guilty, too. She took some goblets.
00:33:08
Speaker
Uh, in Elvish, I say what you did was terrible. That thing should have never became what it was. We killed it. And I just, I want to intimidate him if I can make an intimidation check. Oh no, I thought that was a one, uh, seven plus, um, not great five. Okay.
00:33:35
Speaker
So English, I say, it's done. He's telling the truth. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. If if this was already done, would you potentially raise that bounty to what our Denaldi is crying about? Chieftain, the chief goes, you know, to be honest with you,
00:34:04
Speaker
This bores me, no pun intended. He says, I say, Darnaldi, if they can help kill this boar for you, or if they have already, and they can find a way to ensure or pay that your young goblin is trained in a way to where he can take Teld's place.
00:34:32
Speaker
then whether that costs gold or what, I don't know, but however you can arrange that, then I say you should no longer bother me with this issue. Denaldi, I do have proof that we have disposed of this beast. Well, provide it then, the chief says.
00:34:58
Speaker
Um, so would you like me to burn your tables or provide a tusk? Um, perhaps just the tusk. I pulled up the, like, vial of blood, like acid, as I said that. Yeah, sure.
00:35:22
Speaker
I guess I'll find a different use. And I would kind of like to intimidate Dernaldi with that one. OK, make an intimidation check. Oh, that is a 13. No, 13. Yeah, 13. OK. His eyes get a little wide, like he knows what that stuff does and he's not interested in interacting with it. Then I will provide to you, Chieftain,
00:35:50
Speaker
Uh, well, give me a moment. It's a little larger than I can carry. Can you give me a five minutes and I will return with the, the tusk. He looks at Tomba, get somebody to go with him. Okay. And, uh, Tomba walks over to the door and stands by the front door waiting for you to leave. Did you put it in your home? It's as he's walking by you. I'm.
00:36:21
Speaker
I put everything in my whole heaven. Well, I mean, you do have a backpack. You keep your rations in there, I think. Did you see the size of that beast and its tusk?
00:36:34
Speaker
Honestly, yeah. Yeah. I remember that fight. I wasn't the best one. I liked the, I liked the, the, the ghost fight. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. And I walked by and I walked by. I don't remember that. I wanted to leave it. Jocks are just shakes his head and walks out and just tell, but please follow me over here and kind of finds like a flat patch jumps down a hole, grabs it.
00:37:04
Speaker
stuff from. Tomba just stands on the outside of the hole and looks at it like and kind of looks around and shrugs and looks at the chief and the chief just kind of waves him off like whatever. Then you see a jockser climb up with like this tusk hanging off his back a little bit. Okay. And so he can do this and then they walk back inside.
00:37:27
Speaker
All right, go ahead, Gwen. I wanna still be up where Denaldi is, and I'm gonna whisper to him, why did you create this blood boar? He says, it's in Elvin. He says, because sometimes you want to charge more for a greater adventure, and... Do I hear that? In Elvin? Oh, you're right, yeah, nevermind. I don't speak that fancy tongue.
00:37:58
Speaker
He says, it's just business, my dear. Please, you're too close. Just get closer. I hate this guy. I hate people like this.
00:38:10
Speaker
I just sit on him. I know I think we're both about to be guilty, too. So you're going to spit on him. I spit on him. OK. And Elvis, I just go, you disgust me. He you spit on him and he reacts and flinches and he stands up and and and man, would I would I sitting on?
00:38:35
Speaker
Yeah, you're walking up at this point when he stands up the bench you're sitting on flies backwards as his legs hit it and the Chiefs kind of sits up and he kind of looks up from his food like he I don't know if he saw what you did. Go ahead. Can I can I like see that chair or that bench flying back? Can I grab it like slide of hand maybe and then grab him by the shoulder sit him down and throw the tusk on the table?
00:38:59
Speaker
Oh, I know that's a lot. I know that's a lot. That's up to you. That's start
Morning Reflections
00:39:04
Speaker
with acrobatics. All right. Acrobatics to get yourself over there. Grab that thing. We're about to kill a whole thing. That's an 18. It's a what? It's an 18. So 15 plus three. An 18. OK. So yeah, you get over there to the bench. You flip that bench around. Now, I need you to make contested contested strength checks to push him down as you grab his shoulder. OK. All right.
00:39:28
Speaker
Oh, what is my strength? 17 plus.
00:39:33
Speaker
one. So 18. He rolled a seven plus zero. So you grab him and shove him down. And you slam the tusk on the on the table in front of him. And he kind of backs up to that he's still wiping his face off. And he looks around and he says, Well, I never I've, I've never been treated in this way. You know that this my business brings a lot of money into this place, chief, and you cannot allow me to be treated this way. And, and the chief still eating his breakfast. And he looks at him and he says, he says, Listen,
00:40:02
Speaker
You don't understand our type. People like you will never understand our type. Your boar is dead. I'm just going to say you can leave now. I nudged Gavin one last time. Antler on the table. Tusk on the table. Our boar is learning. And Darnaldi kind of looks around and is kind of huffing.
00:40:29
Speaker
And he points at the chief and he says, he points at the chief and says, says, you're lucky you're in charge of this town and there's nowhere else I could do this business. We would have problems. And the chief looks up at him and he says, you wouldn't want to point it to me while I'm eating sausages. You might pull back a nub. And, and the intern all the grabs the tusk and turns around to walk out. And the chief looks up at the rest of you and he says, you might want to, I don't know.
00:41:01
Speaker
Ensure there's a threat before you attack in the future. That's all. I cheat. Yeah. They they shot at us first. We were trying to run by. So make it deception check. That was the truth. Honshot first. No, it was not the truth. That's not the truth. I did the the sleeting. When did the sleet? Dang it. She cast a spell. She drew aggro. OK, OK. Deception check.
00:41:30
Speaker
Oh, that's a natural one. Thank God. He says, he looks up at you and says, yes, you never fired the first shot. I understand. Please let me finish my breakfast in peace. And he keeps eating. Devin gives a bow and then he says, we'll get those goblets back to you as soon as we can.
00:41:52
Speaker
Gwendolyn's out the door. He just looks at his chewing and he looks up at you like, what are you talking about? I say nothing. I say nothing. I just walk out. David struts out. We're all happy. Oh yeah. I just, I walk out confused. Well, for a second there, I didn't think that was going to be worth waking up for. Well, that was actually kind of entertaining.
00:42:14
Speaker
So what brought you guys down here? I was escorted myself by a gentleman. They knocked on our door looking for a couple of goblet thieves, but turns out it was you. Well, why didn't you come last night? You could have gotten in a lot worse. I'd never. Gwendolyn, I do apologize. Mama Gwen. Gwen is low key, like the Incredible Hulk.
00:42:42
Speaker
Yeah, you get too angry one day and just turn into a monster and attack everyone. I do. She's always angry. Yes. I I do apologize, Glenn. I I so the moment I walked outside of.
00:43:00
Speaker
of the nobleman's barracks. I was looking for a drink. I was confronted by that elven man and Sariah. And then they said they were going to throw me in the keep in a cell for the night. And I decided that wasn't how I planned on spending my night. So I went to the longhouse and then I went to the
00:43:25
Speaker
the lamp post in. And at this point, I assume we're kind of close enough for me to see tavern.
00:43:33
Speaker
What? Yeah. Perfect. They read my comment code. And then I just walked away from the tower of testing and it brought me to the armor there. Look at these. Look at these. And I point in my forearms now covered. Let me just get this straight for a second. They wanted to arrest you, so you went drinking and shopping.
00:43:59
Speaker
Why? Wait, wait. Why did they want to arrest me? Why didn't you just come home? Well, we have a home now. I walked off in such a rough mood. I couldn't bear seeing you guys. I just watching Delmar in those moments,
00:44:27
Speaker
I know, I just, I get it. It weighs on me, Gwen. And I didn't mean to bring the group down. I just, I don't want to see another Gwen lose or miss out on a chance to see her father. And that's what I almost saw.
00:44:49
Speaker
Well, I don't want to see a friend leave or is just gone. Another person in my life gone. That's fair. You cleaned up. Your braces
Connections Revealed
00:45:03
Speaker
look nice, but Dale is not going to be happy to hear this.
00:45:08
Speaker
So it may take some time and she just starts walking up to the house. Joczr looks over at Krigs and Daven. I've upset Dale, haven't I? He's very disappointed. We're never going to hear the end of this. He tries to keep a straight face.
00:45:34
Speaker
Knowing Dale, the whole town's gonna know about it before night. Gossip King. Look, Krigs, I just... I want to know that you trust us as much as I trust you, is all. I definitely trust you, lad. I wouldn't have told you a second of what I did last night, otherwise.
00:46:02
Speaker
if we plan on traveling together we we must work together and in those moments need to be very far from common where we act without the other's consents understandable um if you happen to kill a couple of goblets again we'll have to think twice for our actions and just be a little bit more can
00:46:32
Speaker
Controlled, I suppose. I didn't attack those goblets until they attacked me. Just saying. I don't know. You knock a few back a few times here and there. I thought we've all seen it. I caught that wolverjack. No, you didn't. And I walk away. All right, Krigs, as you walk away, make another perception check. OK. Jocks, are you two 18 actually this time? 14.
00:47:02
Speaker
Okay. Uh, you both notice that over standing, uh, standing by one of the nobleman's barracks, one of the nobleman's, uh, kind of cabins is the Bard. He's standing there and he's standing next to, uh, Mick, the other guy that you saw, uh, in front of the in the tavern. And they're just kind of standing around talking with each other, hanging out and, uh,
00:47:30
Speaker
Just kind of chit-chatting, not really paying any attention to you, but they're standing over there as you guys walk by. I'm going to put my hand on Craig's shoulder. I'm like, that gentleman, the one next to the fancy fellow, he's a good guy. His name's, I believe it's Mayak. He told me to call him Mick. I suppose you ran into him last night in your escapades.
00:47:59
Speaker
I swear last night it said the lamppost inn. But yes, he was outside the lamppost inn tavern. Inn tavern, yes. Is that the opposite of an extravern?
00:48:18
Speaker
I was an introvert once, but they hired me full time, so it's good. Oh my gosh, dad. Um, would it make sense for us to, I don't know, speak with this, Mick?
00:48:33
Speaker
I wouldn't mind. I'm curious if, if he, uh, if he saw Sariah last night, would you like to set some of the record straight with that barred man? I'm not sure I'm prepared for that, but I can at least accompany you if you, you need a companion to speak with this make just for a second set of years. We, we can take a moment. Uh, uh, and, and I'll start walking in that direction. I follow.
00:49:03
Speaker
All right, you guys approach him. Davin, Gwendolyn, are you guys following him or heading back to the cabin? What are you doing? I'm heading back. I was chasing after Gwen. I wanted to rush up to her and say, just for a second, I'm curious. What? You guys were talking to Elvish back there. Elvin? Elvish? I don't even know what it's called. But with that Denaldi guy, what did he say? I asked him why he created this thing and he
00:49:30
Speaker
It was for selfish reasons, just to make a buck. So he just creates the monsters and then sends people to go after him? Well, that makes it feel like everything we do here is pointless.
00:49:42
Speaker
it is. It feels that way. I didn't want to be in front of the chief. I didn't want to see jocks up there. I didn't know what was going to happen. I don't know. I feel like I'm just zoning out now.
00:50:02
Speaker
I understand that. I will say one thing though. It's, um,
Narrator's Closing Note
00:50:06
Speaker
spitting in people's faces is kind of frowned upon most of the time. I know. I'm just saying that maybe sometimes you need to try and keep your frustrations in check. It might get us into more trouble than you expect. Uh, I get closer to Devin. Maybe people should have their morals and check. And then I walk away. Devin stops and he thinks for a second. She's right.
00:50:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I guess she's right. So you guys walk up to, Jockster and Craig's walk up to Mick and this other, this minstrel. And they're just chatting you kind of over here as you approach, you hear Mick saying, saying three, or he says, sorry, I forgot his voice. Mick says, three more days.
00:50:59
Speaker
Don't be ridiculous. There's no reason for it. And the other one says, listen, we have to stay as long as we have to stay. It is not my choice like that. And and that's about what you hear as you walk up. Fancy boy. Hey, Mick. Yes, from last night. Jocks or is it? Yes. I see you. You're still here. So that's unfortunate.
00:51:26
Speaker
Well, yeah, so I was just discussing that with my friend BMO here. We are required to stay another couple days while we await a new contract. I was ready to go, but here we are. I guess I'll be drinking more tonight. BMO? Your name is BMO? What area of the continent is that from? I'm unfamiliar.
00:51:54
Speaker
My name is Abimo Muncir. I am from Morophos. It is a desert city state, far, far to the east of here. I am from there, but I travel many places. You will find I am very well traveled and will educate it as well as a very well spoken and well liked by most people, I must add.
00:52:25
Speaker
And you, what are you about? Oh, I'm just a small-town individual. I'm mainly interested in brew. I don't like to go too in-depth on many things. Are you into many brews?
00:52:51
Speaker
I spend many of days and nights in the taverns but I prefer to keep a sober mind so that I may perform at my top ideal peak abilities and sometimes I may indulge but only when it is most
00:53:16
Speaker
I don't know, advantageous to a circumstance that may cause me to be there. You, and he points over at Krigs and he says, you've not introduced yourself. Don't be rude. Tell us who you are. The name is Krigs. Just a dwarf trying to find his way in the world. Mick looks at you and make an insight check as Mick looks at you. Sure. Oh, what is my insight?
00:53:43
Speaker
Oh, that is 14. You've seen Mick before. Oh.
00:54:12
Speaker
Thank you for listening to this episodic installment of The Hired Swords. If you liked our show, tell a friend about us. And if you really liked our show, tell the world. Leave a review. If you want to keep up with us and get all the behind the scenes goofs and gaffs, you can find us on Twitter and Facebook at The Hired Swords. And if you really love all these cliffhangers, then well, yeah, sorry about that.