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Ep. 39 Headway - Bellum Draconis
122 Plays1 year ago
Our party of “not yet heroes” make some headway towards their next goal.
Follow us on our Twitters - @FellowshipTable
Intro written and produced by Joseph McDade
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
That's a lot of doobah that is a lot of as you say doobah
Introduction to the Kingdom of Sleepguard
00:00:32
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop, Bellum Draconis. We are a live play 5e D&D podcast set in the magical home-brewed world of Aerith in the Kingdom of Sleepguard. My name is Mark and I am a dungeon master and I am the dungeon master and also with us for this week's episode we've got Callum who plays the Warforged Artifice at Alpha. Hello, I am a player. We have Will who plays the Human Cleric Emron. He is Baldur.
00:01:05
Speaker
The worrying thing is, I don't know to whom you are referring. It could be anyone or anything of us. It can't be me, I can't get any boarder. You can, on the bottom half you could do that kid. Of your face, not of my head. Very good. And finally we've heard him already. We've got Darren who plays the high elf after fiscer, Rainshadow. Peace out A-town.
00:01:29
Speaker
That is very good, though, Will of the I Am Builder. I like that. Very good, very good, very good. Welcome, welcome, welcome to this week's episode.
Recap and Yanda's Fate
00:01:37
Speaker
We are going to crack straight on into it as you still realize we don't have Ian and Danny. They've rage quit. They haven't. Their characters have...
00:01:47
Speaker
their characters have shuffled off this mortal coil yet again and have given us a little hiatus whilst the other three deal with the situation. So unfortunately we don't have our chronicle either and I'm not going to try and pretend to be either of our excellent recapists so far but I'm just going to take the mantle because the guys have
00:02:04
Speaker
got a lot of pressure on man with uh with everything that's going on at the moment so in our last week's episode we all had a chat and the sun rose and we all talked about what a waxing moon was so on the fellowship of the tabletop we don't just rp and have combat and do some some great dnd we also learn about lunar movements as well on next week's episode we're going to talk about the different types of moons you might see in the sky and when the next vernal equinox is going to be but until then
00:02:32
Speaker
We're going to have to wait to learn a little bit more about the moon. Now I'm going to have to go and learn some stuff about moons. Last week's episode, we put to rest, for all intents and purposes, Yanda. We built a pyre, the party built a pyre for him. A lot of conversation took place. We were also introduced into more depth with this angelic form that Emron had taken on at the end of the combat with the guard Drake.
00:02:58
Speaker
who introduced themselves and spoke about how it was separate to Emeron. Emeron had no consciousness of it and vice versa at the moment but would become aware and was told to follow his dreams or listen or pay attention to his dreams in the process. Alpha continued to hack away at the guard drake hoping to find any semblance of the remains of Magnus that were eaten by the creature and found a number of items namely one in particular a small black etched item heavy dark
00:03:29
Speaker
which reigns finally identified as being that of obsidian make. It was heavy. It seemed to almost vibrate slightly. The running consensus was that this could be a form of memory rune within it, the memory rune that seemed to power or channel the power of Magnus before his death.
00:03:50
Speaker
Emeron and Reigns also looked over the body of Yanda to check any other items that might be of interest in order to give away some information about where he's come from, where he's going, where he came from, Cotton Eye Joe. Unfortunately, the only item they could find was a letter, but at first had nothing written on it. But as the watches took place, as the pyre was finished building, Reigns continued to cast
Mystery of the Moonlit Letter
00:04:14
Speaker
take magic on it and as the moon rose we realised that it was the light of the waxing moon that caused the rest of the writing on the letter to form and a rather cryptic message was told about threat and danger and arrogance and there being peril
00:04:30
Speaker
and the loss being a real real foci moving forward names were left off this real detail was left off it left off this also the only details we have was that was signed to my dearest yander at the beginning and it was signed off with the initials BD that was all we had
00:04:48
Speaker
We left last week's episode with the sun slowly rising in the east as a new morning dawned. And, Rains, you are currently the only one awake and you have just read over this letter. What would you like to do? So I imagine at the minute the sun is just starting to colour the sky. Rains will know that to perform this funeral right properly as soon as that sun is visible on the horizon he has to light that pyre. So at this point he will just go and wake everybody
00:05:19
Speaker
Wake up. Wake up. Soon be time. I'm awake. Is that the night gone already? I'm afraid so. We're doing right by this person. You need to be up and ready to say your farewells very quickly. Raines will come to
00:05:45
Speaker
emerald and alpha is that they're getting up and getting ready and he will just hold out the letter and go this seems personal to this fella and i mean to
00:05:55
Speaker
to bury him with it, but the moonlight revealed this on it. I suggest you have a look at it before Solan departs the sky whilst it's still legible. Alpha, commit this to memory. We're burying this folk, or we're passing this folk on with this letter. Alpha, we'll take a quick look and just scan through the document. I have reserved the information. Oh, good. I won't read it then.
00:06:23
Speaker
I don't know. I need you to read it to know what you potentially think of it. You're from Shadowman. You're from that part of the world. I want to know if it means anything to you. And I'll press the letter into everyone's hand. Okay, I'll read it. Yes, I have definitely read this letter.
00:06:50
Speaker
great convincing that I have read this letter. I thought Alpha was robotic. Jesus Christ. What do you make of it, Rains?
00:07:06
Speaker
I don't know what to make heads or tails. I don't know who a BD is. I don't know what this talk about arrogance is. If it's about home, it could be about the cardinal. It could be about Drezlin. It could be about anyone of any position importance. It could be about a long lost cousin. It could be about someone in sleep guard. It could be about anything. But if you know nothing, neither do I. But we'll commit this to memory. And since this letter seems to be dear to this person, we'll
00:07:33
Speaker
will pass its material content onto the spirit world along with Yande. Until we know more, it's best for us to keep this information in our back pocket. We've got a few minutes. Is there anything you wish to say to this folk before I light this pyre? I'd do it now. I did my piece in the night. Fair enough.
00:07:59
Speaker
Rains will take the letter over and place it on Yanda's pocket, place it back in his hand. He'll then take his axe, put it across Yanda, so he's holding it kind of like a weapon of faith. Rains will then clip the haddow tabard on his armour and will pour it over his head and goes, I won't take this off again for him.
00:08:25
Speaker
I won't forget the burden that come with it and I'm sorry that you had to give your life to remind me of it. And we'll then just give him a thank you pat on the shoulder before turning toward her who also seemed to have something. I would just say I am sorry for the part I've played in your demise. I don't know where you're from and I don't understand it frankly.
00:08:55
Speaker
But I just want to say I'm sorry. And I will try to make things right. By your kinsmen. In whatever way I can. Raines will process that in silence. And then he'll glance over the pyre. And when he sees the rise of soul emerge, he'll withdraw a torch, light it, and just
00:09:24
Speaker
ignite the pyre before stepping back and placing a hand on Orla's shoulder and we'll go, his body has gone Orla, but the soul lives on. And he'll then take a deep breath as the pyre ignites and flickers and in the silence and solitude of the sounds of flames starting to take over, he'll then eventually say, two guards, two guards of our sky,
Journey to Meet the Dragon
00:09:49
Speaker
two guards for the duality of our existence,
00:09:53
Speaker
As soul rises on this day, we commit Yander and Magnus of Dashcalrai. As the night leaves us, and he'll glance around to where the moon is now, may Selen guide both of them above. As you rise, as you rise, father of us all, may Yander, Magnus find peace in your sky. As the body departs,
00:10:24
Speaker
The soul arrives at eternity. And then Rains will just stand in silence and watch as the pyre kicks off and takes hold. The ashes kicked high into the air. It's a still morning. Not much wind. The ever-present buzz of the bugs and insects of the swamp will continue. The rest seems quiet. Calm.
00:10:56
Speaker
A lot of smoke rising from this as the flames burn intensely, but there is a very slight shimmer, silvery shimmer to it, specks of
00:11:09
Speaker
of silvery substance seem to appear through the flames ever so slightly, not coming from anywhere in particular, but gives it a slight glimmer as the sun rises and finally the light touches the body of Yanda and the pyre itself. The group stand in silence for quite some time and all are as the first
00:11:36
Speaker
to rip her eyes away from the pyre as the flames start to lower and take herself over to the river to douse some water on her face and take a long, deep drink, leaving the other three standing by the fire. Raines will then speak and say, we've doubted too long on what we've been doing.
00:12:06
Speaker
It's time to pursue... It's time to pursue other things. I don't know if it's destiny or fate, but... There's a dragon out there somewhere that wishes a word with us. I suggest that we make plans to head to Dralik to find out what it's got to say. I'd forgotten about that. Ah, maybe we make our way back to the Keep. Make sure everything's in order and then...
00:12:36
Speaker
make sure we've got what we need to add to Dralak. All of you seem very complimentary about it. What's it like? You make a good point there and that probably stands to reason that we ain't best equipped to find our way in the Dralak. Seems to be an ungodly a place that we don't know much about. So I suggest that before we head off, we either some of us or all of us had to go with you and see if we can find someone
00:13:06
Speaker
He'd be willing to take us there. We ain't short of gold, or at least we won't be when we cash him this. We have the means to pay for it. Aye. Well, as they say, days are wasting. Mmm. There it is. Goodbye, Yanda.
00:13:37
Speaker
and rainfall turn from the pyre and make his way over to the river and we'll just put his hand on all his shoulder and go, Tam, we were heading on. Yes, I'm ready when you are. Let's go back home then. Right. Okay. Let's gather our belongings and then let's head off.
00:14:05
Speaker
Alpha, are you ready to go as well? While Rains and Emon and all have just kind of gathered down at the bottom, Alpha's been staring at the pyre and he's had the obsidian just in his hands kind of placed squarely just in front of his chest.
00:14:27
Speaker
And he's always kind of just letting Magnus watch the burning of Yanda just happen. Some of the words that Rayn said just kind of ring in Alfred's ears a little bit, talks of
00:14:46
Speaker
soul and while the body may have gone the soul remains and all this and he's trying to process that comment with respect to the obsidian that he's now got in his hands um as he is indeed bellowed he's gonna
00:15:02
Speaker
pocket back the obsidian. Yes, I am ready to depart. Ola, please advise. Do we need any proof of our accomplishments in order to claim our reward? Yes, some thing from the creature. Shall I take its head? Oh, gosh. We've already got his teeth. That will suffice.
00:15:29
Speaker
unless everyone you want to hold on to that, I can quickly pop out an eye if you wanted to hold on to what you've got. I don't want to take your bounty. That was my intention to keep it just in case there's...
00:15:42
Speaker
Any properties anyone can work out of them? Aye, say no more. And she's going to quickly pop over and deftly pull out a small butterfly knife out of her pocket, round into the air, pulls it out, sits almost at the size of a large softball in her hand. She pockets it down with the retina still attached, while I've given that much detail. Anyway, puts the eye in her pocket as proof of the kill. That should be enough. Excellent.
00:16:11
Speaker
Rains will also go fill up your water skins and we'll cast a ritual. We'll get NC to hop out and we'll go NC. Do me a favor and just scroll through what we've got available here.
00:16:24
Speaker
what we got here, you give me a cleanse 24, we're going to need some clean drink and water. And I will cast a ritual as we move along as our gunky filled hit flask of purified food and drink. And eventually, almost like a Brita filter, it will just NC will just take this water in. And he will be the focus I channel this through. So like a kettle, he's now just processing this water inside of him. And when it's done, he will just come round.
00:16:50
Speaker
and we'll just have these little bits of text that are appearing across his hat almost like a ticker tape on a blimp and we'll go hipflas, please. And as people hold it out, he'll just fill it with clean drinking water as he's purified this water as I cast Purify if you didn't drink as a ritual. Amazing. Thank you. I'm assuming he wheezed out like he did the tea.
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah, he will have across the ticket aid. I can either use my mouth or my genitalia. Raines will just go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't care. And then she will go, genitalia it is then. But he'll do that for everyone.
00:17:34
Speaker
out of the formel he doesn't need to drink right now. Very good. And we start to make our way back through the heady swamplands all leading the way. A much slower morose pace given the speed and athleticism that we joined this jaunt with not a day ago.
00:17:54
Speaker
We'll make our way back through as a couple of roles I might need us to make on the way. So, Will, could I ask that you just roll a d10 for me? There's no sort of check for anything particular. I've just got a couple of things that could happen upon the way. Some are harmless, some are not. It's a six. Thank you.
00:18:14
Speaker
Your journey goes unbroken for quite a number of hours. You make your way past and through some of the heady swamp lands that fill the southern parts of Salitgarde. Though you take a different path, your path on the entrance kind of took you round through the south of the swamps on a slightly longer route, always trying to take your more direct path directly to the east out. And as you do so, you come across a set of boggy,
00:18:45
Speaker
A quicksand almost area and all up, puts a hand out, stop. There's some quicksand up ahead. She points not maybe 100 feet away from you down to the left from where your current location is and you see a giant twisted tree that's fallen across this sand pit. You've got to navigate your way across that in order to continue your journey.
00:19:10
Speaker
Order's going to be the front. What order would you three be in after her? Just so I know so I can take this one at a time.
00:19:19
Speaker
I just need to quickly check something. So Raines is just going to check something on that spell. What Raines has done, thinking he'd have to clear the lake again at some point or clear another body of water and knowing what happened yesterday, is he's prepared Longstrider for this day and is just getting ready to take a
00:19:39
Speaker
a help to take a running long jump with that no i'm not entirely sure darren's not entirely sure if that's going to be helpful but that's fine because rain says never cost that spell before and isn't entirely sure either but he's just gonna pull up the rubik's keep on me. He's going to firstly step into the suit cuz he hasn't done that yet and then he will put the rubik's keep and go and see what we got here because i don't wanna end up flapping around the lake like a car again.
00:20:05
Speaker
Oh, okay. Hobscotch 28. That sounds fun. Let's try it. Why not? And the Rubik's Cube will just turn and then say Hobscotch 28. Loading. And Rains will spend the spell slot to cast Longstrider. No, I need to change my spells because I haven't figured out how to do that. I figured it out, don't worry. That's quick. The realisation. Love it. Yeah, it's just down the side. Actually, changing spells is really easy on D&D Beyond.
00:20:31
Speaker
And if you're not given a try yet, you should use DND Beyond for all your DND needs. And use the code...
00:20:37
Speaker
No, we don't have a good code. We should have a code. No one wants to sponsor it. And whilst I was figuring out Longstrider, I'm assuming I'm going to make an assumption and say, oh, for you at the back and run you're behind all that and reigns through the middle. Just forgot some more. So could we work on the ones that aren't trying to fall in the swamp? Uh, everyone firstly across the tree. Could you just give me a dexterity, uh, check please. Okay.
00:21:06
Speaker
I'm thinking we're walking across... Alan's beamed style. Yeah, knotted, true trunk, wet with the moss and scum of the swamp. So, that's a crit. Nice.
Halfling Peddler's Tales
00:21:22
Speaker
So, 19. I don't know whether the crit overrides the minus. No, it doesn't. You were going to give you the score. Yeah, I thought you had a minus one. Cool, so 19 for you. Alpha?
00:21:36
Speaker
Could you also do the same? Crit with plus one, so 21. Okay, you're getting your crits now after you've killed two cats. Yeah, after we've got no enemies to fight, yeah, we'll waste them on walking over a lock.
00:21:50
Speaker
All I got, 17, and so she's good as well. So the three of us, we're going to run these kind of simultaneously. We're going to walk ahead and I'm going to walk across a tree trunk with no issue at all. All the leads the way and Emeril and Alfie kind of follow her footing as she goes, getting across this tree onto the other side. You look back to see Rain still stood there in his suit.
00:22:13
Speaker
processing something as he accesses D&D Beyond within the suit to figure out. So have you had a look into Longstrider now, Darren? Do you understand? I have, yeah. So what will happen is NC will process this spell and we'll just fly over onto the other side, not wanting to come across with Rains and I will go, well, thanks for the bowl of confidence, NC. Rains will take a deep breath.
00:22:35
Speaker
and he'll go to run and then just start to move quicker than he's anticipating. Oh shit! And we'll just take off at a speed. He now is 10 feet quicker. He's already five feet quicker because of the current fusion that's on the speed. So he's taking off at 45 feet.
00:22:50
Speaker
And he's just sprinting towards this quicksand, not knowing what's going to happen. And he's just going to, oh, fuck off, fuck shit! And he's just going to, just shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shit. And he tries to run across the tree. Yeah, that's what's happened, because I didn't know what was happening with Longstrider, and Raines is just discovering this at the same time that I am. So that's what's happening. So making a hell of a racket, that's the... Yeah, running very fast.
00:23:15
Speaker
Very, very fast. Hold on, I'm not making that much noise because the suit has dampeners on it, which actually reduce its clankiness in this version. Do you stop on the other side or do you keep going? Is it one of those things that you can- Rains will attempt to probably throw on the brakes at some point, realizing he's going very fast.
00:23:34
Speaker
Okay. Mud and moss gets thrown up into the air all over Emron, Alpha, and all that as you approach as you dig your feet of the suit into the ground and kick up a bit of mud. They don't look impressed. Thanks. You could have just walked across the log like the rest of us. Yeah. Thanks for that. I needed to wear more mud. It is not a sensation I like.
00:24:03
Speaker
I knew it. Dirty. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I had a spell and as you know, I've tried flying before. It didn't work. So what I thought would happen is if I try something else about just doing it over short distances, I might be able to propel myself and not have to fall in the river like yesterday. But what it actually does is it just makes me faster. So that's a thing. I can be quicker.
00:24:26
Speaker
Look, this is artificery. Sometimes you discover things, sometimes you build a sentient child, and other times you throw mud all over your friends. Maybe we could practice in a safe place with the rest of us being more than 30 feet away from you next time. Fair enough. Fair enough. Point well taken, point well made.
00:24:54
Speaker
And see, let's keep that note down somewhere that that's what this does. It's going to make me quicker. All far away from home. I can't remember. It takes days to get here. I can't remember. No, it's only a day's walk. We should get there by nightfall. We just have to spend a day in Dirty Clothes. Lovely.
00:25:16
Speaker
Yeah, hopefully there'll be some cleaner water once we hit one of the smaller tributaries not far from here and we can clean ourselves off as she glares at rains. But only a little glare because she's still very, very aware of how raw everything is from the last couple of days. The journey continues. You can continue to make your way through the swamp lands. Please may I ask, Darren, two things. I feel like you want to say something and secondly, could you also roll a detent from me, please?
00:25:43
Speaker
Yeah, what Reins does, if he's walking along, he just looks around at the mud and looks around down at his own arm, which is muddy, and knows he could take that off and not be wearing muddy clothes, but he dares because of what he's just done to everyone else. At a certain point, he will just go... You would get dunked if you ended up wearing nice, clean clothes. Feeling quiet and bare as let's just close the helmet and the helmet will shut just as he starts to walk off. Amazing.
00:26:12
Speaker
And then C will just land back on his wrist and we'll just put on the Rubik's Cube. That will start to flash and it will just go, that went well, dot, dot, dot. There's no need for the dot, dot, dot. Raines will say, as he just continues to walk off as well. Yes, he wanted to roll a d10, didn't you, before I started talking about squirrelsass. Yes, please. Squirrelsass is great, though. It's what we come in. That's what everyone listens to the podcast for. I like squirrelsass. Yeah, just a d10, no modifier.
00:26:39
Speaker
Tears are rolling. It's six. We've had six. Can you roll again? Otherwise, you're going to come across another giant tree across a sand pit that needs to be traversed, and then we're going in circles. It's a one. Okay. Your journey continues. The sun, it's hot in the sky. It's humid, and you know from your journey here that when the minute you get out of this swamp lands, the air becomes fresher. There's movement of air as you approach.
00:27:09
Speaker
You continue to work your way through the swamp lands, ducking under fallen logs, moving over vine lands, avoiding the swampy, muddy ground. You don't want your clothes to get any more muddy than they currently are. When Ola holds up her hand again to pause you, she asks you to lower to the ground with a gesture. As you lower down, she turns to you. I can hear a voice up ahead. Wait here. I'll be back.
00:27:40
Speaker
And she shuffles quietly off, a smaller half-length form barely making a rustle as she moves forward. Seconds pass. Seconds turn into minutes. You shuffle from foot to foot, bursting back through the vines and the leaves, all the returns. It's fine. It's just a peddler. Come, come up, come see, come see.
00:28:06
Speaker
Come through. And as you walk through the vines, you notice there's another halfling stood there. But this halfling is wearing much older gray and brown rag clothing. It's a small man, quite old in his demeanor, kind of a small, wispy, kind of patchy gray beard, large, dark, gaunt eyes, and a low, drooping forehead with low, drooping eyes.
00:28:33
Speaker
eyelids make his eyes look very small like his other very sleepy or very high one of the two. He also holds on his back a large number of stacked wicker baskets that seem to be handmade and you can tell that also by the fact that he is currently whilst walking continuing to weave one out of some of the materials he finds in the area around. He looks to you.
00:28:58
Speaker
I think there's more of you than just the one. And these are tall folk too. Good day to you three. What are you doing out here in the swamps? Hello, good day. Hello. You know, just work, killing monsters, that kind of stuff. Fab, you're making my life working in these parts much safer by doing so. So I commend you for your service. Would you like to buy a basket?
00:29:28
Speaker
A basket of what? Just a basket. How much? Let's say a silver. No? I will, everyone coming up from a trade craft background knows that the peddlers and that kind of stuff sometimes it's a bad luck to insult peddler.
00:29:55
Speaker
Therefore, everyone will take out a silver piece. I'll have a basket and thank you for your time and service. How are the roads these days? There's a fine, empty, quiet space for all. Not much in terms of bandits and brigands, not around these parts at least, nor other shoplands at least. You'll be fine wherever you're travelling, which is... Towards? We're heading towards Goldview.
00:30:25
Speaker
Okay, fair. Back to the city. Makes sense, makes sense. Pass on my best to the city. She knows me well. Warm day out here. Can I interest you in some substance and tea before you take on some water? You're much kind given your
00:30:43
Speaker
Friendship to strangers in these parts, we are always kind to each other, but this is beyond means. Yes, thank you, I would love to. Please, there's an area here, a fallen log nearby, where we may sit and talk if you wish. I would love some of your tea, thank you. Is it coming from the squirrel? Oh, yeah, how did, yeah, that, yes, yes, it will be. Yes, it will be. Hold on, hold on a sec, Raines will just look at the Rubik's Keep, and what the others will hear, because they can't see this, is just Raines will go,
00:31:13
Speaker
just turn around and almost like he's talking, almost like a comparison. No, I do not want you pissing in his cup. Use your damn mouth for this one. I'm sorry, ignore this. And what you will see is, Rains, do you have a hip flask or a cup? Or would you like a lender? Mine is back at home. If I could borrow one, that would be fantastic.
00:31:34
Speaker
Okay, but N.C. get that out of the bag of holding. Again, looking at it. Yes, now. And N.C. will dive into the bag of holding. We'll come back out with this China Cup and Raines will hold it. And what N.C. will do is he'll float into position. And he's much better at this since he's come into contact with superior Nakamura technology. And we'll just take his top hat off and lean forwards and just start to pour the tea.
00:31:56
Speaker
and Raines will just smile at him. Oh, you can't see me smiling because of my helmet. And Raines will just summon the helmet back and he's just smiling as this kid is being poured. Hello, hello, hello. That's quite a well-trained squirrel you've got there. I didn't know they could do that. You learn something new every day on the roads of Sleepguard.
00:32:14
Speaker
Well, it's part square, or it's part some kind of autonomous taxidermied invention. It's a complex being. It's complex as him though. No, it's complex as him though. And Raines will point to Alfa, who hasn't said anything yet. Alfa, are you going to say anything? Hello, small person. Good job. Not the best greeting for a halfling. It's like I do apologize if I've offended you. You refer to it as
00:32:44
Speaker
tall beings upon first introductions. I thought that was more of a common practice with yourself. I was merely trying to reciprocate the greeting that was invoked towards at our first meeting. This is fair. Give as good as you get. That makes sense to me. I will take back my feeling of being offended and put it well and truly to bed. I should be called to tall people. My apologies to that as well. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, however. And I will offer a handshake out to this halfling.
00:33:14
Speaker
Love it to meet you too, I think, and he's going to reach out his hand too. Do you feel like skin, or do you feel like metal? No, I feel like a combination of wood and metal. Wood and metal. Yeah, I'm not wearing the gloves at the moment, so it's very, very cold to touch, very, very rough, very clearly, obviously, not human. Okay, shake the hand. I see we've been in the wars. Wars?
00:33:44
Speaker
Well, the... I need to give a gesture to the... to the hand. It's a replacement, Lin, is it not? You've lost a part of you, and this is a replacement, is it not? Erm... I don't know if this is my original one or not. It could be a replacement. If it is... If it is, then you have an excellent eye, good sir.
00:34:11
Speaker
Well, I just thought, you know, and it doesn't feel like a normal, you know, hand. It is normal to me.
00:34:19
Speaker
Of course, and all limbs do eventually. I've seen it in my time going to Goldsey, the Sully Guard surge. Many of them came back from the Blight fight, the war with the Blight injured, and many of them have similar missing limbs and have them replaced by items to give them the appearance of looking like the rest of us. But I say, wear your scars on your sleeve. They are who make you. You are a culmination of your endeavors in life and indeed in death.
00:34:45
Speaker
Aha, you just said surge. Your teeth are ready by the way. Thank you. Did you just say the half dome surge? Yes, the surge force. Yes. Myself and Imran here, we built the arm that Prince Lucian uses. That's a small world.
00:35:05
Speaker
My Lord, that is… That's us. God, that's… He did that. Incredible. We have heard stories of the… He's part of the reason why it's so normalized now. If a hero can defeat the Blight in such a manner as that,
00:35:22
Speaker
in a state of the business before then. It's a basic mix of smifery and then the Imran does all that because you see what happens when I smith something and I'll point to the childlike squirrel. So the likeness and the fact that it's like a ergonomic, it's like an ergonomic arm that works for people. That's all Imran and then I give it some transmutation magic to turn it from
00:35:50
Speaker
inanimate to animate. That's how those work.
00:35:55
Speaker
Your face was entirely animated that entire time. But again, it's like you were speaking another language, friend. Your intelligence supersedes my own, unfortunately. And I didn't understand anything what you said. I make baskets. Good damn baskets. And thank you, good sir. I pointed to everyone for buying one. And thank you, good sir. He points to the squirrel for the tea. And thank you, good sir. He points to Reigns for that wonderful information. I will try and keep some of those words in my head and speak them to people at Sleekard. And thank you, good sir. And he points to...
00:36:25
Speaker
Alpha, for your service in the war. Now, is there anything else I can do for any of you while I'm here? Sorry, you with the fallen soldier, you felt like you were going to say something there. Alpha, at the mention of obviously fighting in the wars and whatnot, I'm just going to give a little bit of a confused look. He says, you are welcome. I have been involved in fighting recently.
00:36:52
Speaker
it still feels quite new. May I see one of your baskets?" Of course, and he's going to reach up over his back and grab the next basket, not the one he's given to everyone, the next one, and pass that over and continue to weave. He's weaving a rather small basket. These ones he's giving you a quite large, could fit a large number of apples, let's say, or punnets of other detritus. The one he's making at the moment is quite a small, tight, small, like a handheld one for a different use, as he hands it to you, Alpha, and looks expecting me for a response.
00:37:21
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just going to kind of investigate it a little bit. No need to make a role. It's a slight glance. He's kind of admiring craftsmanship more than anything. Alpha being more used to seeing wooden metal being used in more solid ways to see sort of flexibility on a basket. Kind of interesting to him. He's going to reach into his actual pullout. It's a massive handful of
00:37:48
Speaker
silver and copper pieces, nothing invaluable. They're just going to pull out one and gently give it to the gentleman as best as what he can do. Sorry, what have you given him? Silver or copper? Silver. He has given him a piece of silver. One of the best days of business in a long time, my friend. Thank you very much for your service again, yet again. I don't need to go the way I'm going now. I'm going to walk home. I don't need to go along here anymore. I'm just going to head back.
00:38:16
Speaker
I don't need to do any more business for today, so I'm making my way home, actually. I was going to go through to the grungs, they sometimes buy baskets, but I feel that the journey will probably be wasted now. They tend to never have much money. They bargain too bloody hard, if I'm being honest. Where do you call home?
00:38:34
Speaker
Well, I head off to the, I live in the swamp, I stay in here and I travel from area to area visiting. The many, the animal life that's here but the longer I live here the more dangerous it really becomes.
00:38:47
Speaker
creatures seem to be returning in droves ever since the blight ended. It was silent here, not a year ago, not a single creature, a dangerous creature, just living harmoniously in the swamp lands.
Moral Reflections on the Grungs
00:38:59
Speaker
Everything else seems to have vacated in fear. But now everything seems to be, I don't know where they come from, out of the ground, out of the sky, developing from magic. Who knows? But anyway, danger approach us. We are always surrounded by death. Let's just work with it the best we can, I say.
00:39:16
Speaker
But I'm not far from here. Two hours walk to the north as a lovely tree I call home, built a lovely little wooden shack up there. I keep myself up there out of trouble. Love it. I would invite you there, but it's rather small design for now. No, it's good. We'd always swim in the water. There was just awkward silence and I thought there might be the wanting and invite.
00:39:42
Speaker
Unless you really want to come. There's not much to it, really. You're more than welcome if you want to see it. Thank you for sharing the road with us, though. I would love you to meet you anyway. And thank you for the basket. Thank you for paying such an inordinate amount for it as well. You are some of the kindest strangers I've met up on my way. May the gods bless you and may those that guide our paths through trade and commerce also keep you safe, my friends.
00:40:11
Speaker
Can I have that mug back when you're done with it? Oh, yes, of course. I'm so sorry. Taking away by your kindness and generosity. That is excellent tea. What was it called, Nakavo? Nak of Kenco? What was it? Yes, that's what it's called. It's called Naka Kenco. That's the brand. Naka Kenco. I've never heard of it. I will... Where did you buy it from? It's a homebrew.
00:40:38
Speaker
Homebrew. Just like this everything that surrounds us, it's a homebrew. Good lord. I thought it all looked a little bit shuddily put together this swamp, but felt like it was hastily rolled and put up. Maybe, maybe build at the last minute. I'm breaking the fourth wall here, so I'm going to leave and go into the jungle now and probably never return again because I was a random encounter. Nice to meet you all. Bye!
00:41:02
Speaker
And he's going to, after slowly dying a meta death, and he's going to leave, thank you for not asking his name, I didn't have one, and move off into the, except singing a little swamp song to himself as he wanders off. He was less insane than I thought he was going to be at the offset. I thought he was going to be like, pop, or in the swamp, but he didn't, he ended up being, anyway, so he, he, he tutters off, and I was much longer than I intended it to be, but anyway.
00:41:31
Speaker
Yes, um, yes, I, yes, let's just, uh, should we move on?
Ola's Debt and Goldport Keep's Fate
00:41:39
Speaker
Yeah, he just seemed to be someone who traded with the grongs. It might be a bit awkward when you know. Yep, we murdered them all. Yep. Yep. Yep. Hold on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You got us to kill. I thought you said they were evil savages. I never said evil savages. I said savages and they were evil, but they tried to kill us. So,
00:41:59
Speaker
What was the wrong way? Have we just gone in and murdered a sleepy hamlet? What have you got us to kill here, Orla? No, they were savages. You looked at them. You saw them. You saw how they acted. They've killed in the past. I don't know whether that man has some connection to the grunts. They've killed many humans before. Look, it's not... I'm not going to kill... Well, have we? Yes, but...
00:42:23
Speaker
Raines is asking more on a moralistic level. Have I got you to kill a bunch of children? No, of course not. They were military armed mercenary grongs. Look, those two at the end that surrounded the two of you before the Drake appeared, they were deadly. They were difficult. They took all four of us to take them down. One of them literally took them down. I am confused, Dad. Have we done something bad? No. Sorry.
00:42:50
Speaker
It's getting increasingly difficult to tell, Alpha. Let's not. I'm glad it's not just my perspective on this. Yeah, there's been a lot happening the last 24 hours that I ain't sure of. Anyway, I believe everyone said data wasting and I'd be quite glad to get home and well, just be glad to get home. Bye, I'll check on my potatoes. You know it goes.
00:43:19
Speaker
And I'm sorry for the lack of transparency. From now on, I will be as transparent as the air itself. Everything will be on the table. You can start right now. You said yesterday, 500 gold is not nearly enough for what you owe. Just what exactly is it that you owe? 3400 gold pieces. That's a lot of doobah.
00:43:47
Speaker
That is a lot of, as you say, duper. And her face drops as she has that number embedded in her head. And that's if. He hasn't added any additional interest. Now, before we get back, we haven't worked for a long time. Gold port keep is expensive to maintain.
00:44:15
Speaker
And we haven't had much in terms of income. And I've been trying to weigh up my conscience about pushing you into things like this that make money and things that keep us safe, like the rats, the constant stream of rats we've been dealing with. And yes, our debt has risen. And yes, I haven't told you about it.
00:44:42
Speaker
because I didn't want that to weigh on your conscience, I didn't want you to rush. But it is getting worse. And this isn't some gambling or drinking problem or something nefarious, this is just the money I've needed to borrow to keep the place ticking over to stop it falling into disrepair further than it already was when you joined me half a year ago.
00:45:06
Speaker
So just know that, that's how much it is, 3,400 gold pieces. Add a conservative estimate. Please, someone say something? Please, someone... Well, how much do you have to pay back a month to keep the wolves at bay to be so frank? I don't...
00:45:36
Speaker
No, because we haven't been consistent enough to be able to pay monthly. I pay what I can, when I can, inheritance money, anything I can muster from the jobs that my portion, whatever I can, I pay. And then when I speak to him about what else I owe, that's when I know from Vordand,
00:46:04
Speaker
That's when I know what I owe. And this is my debt as well. Yes, it is tied to the keep as well. That is our backup. I think he wants the keep. I think that's what he's gaining towards. I think that's what he wants. Well, if a Drake is going to pay 500 a part,
00:46:35
Speaker
I think we need to suggest that maybe perhaps we need to look beyond monster hunting for getting this money because Drake was at the top end of what we can handle right now and we didn't handle it very well. Two people died. We got to be smarter. We have a lead in Dralak that could or could not prove to be what it will prove to be enlightening. I'm not entirely sure how profitable it will be.
00:47:06
Speaker
I think it's best that you don't come with us if we have to head to Dravak. Fair. I don't want to go anyway. I'll be staying in Sleepguard. What is the contract? Sorry. It's a... Well, okay. I suppose we can trust you now.
00:47:33
Speaker
Or does it not strike you as strange, and we should walk and talk while we're doing this. Does it not strike you as strange that a city that has had a royal family longer than Shadow Man, longer than where I'm from,
00:47:51
Speaker
i'm with from the did not strike you a strange that that royal family hands seem to have fallen into a state of protectorate now that my understanding of a royal entry is that that only people who are resistant to that protectorate call him a sleep god queen because what she actually is princess regent because that daddy still alive he's just he's somewhere else being protected and i'm sure
00:48:19
Speaker
Let's all just say, on a hypothetical level, I'm sure, just absolutely sure, that there are crisquerer, benevolent forces who are looking after Leopold's sleep guard during his maelstrom and guiding his young,
00:48:36
Speaker
fearless, blight-defeating daughter through her regency. I'm sure that that's what the abcrisk are doing, but let's just hypothetically say for a second that that's not what they're doing and that their arrival, which seems to coincide with these arrivals of dragons, is somehow
00:48:57
Speaker
intertwined, shall we say. Because when we arrived, I'm going to tell you something, although we got attacked by a dragon. The city of Goldview, it seems to happen not frequently, but more than it has ever done before. And the Chris Grue were on hand to stop that dragon, which is good to have such paragons watching the city. But let's just hypothetically say that there's more to it than that. And we had been contacted by some form of dragonkin.
00:49:28
Speaker
It would be our moral obligation to see that true, would it not? So Dragon wants to talk to you? Yeah, that's the TLDR of what I just said. Okay. Dragons have dragon hordes. Do they not?
00:49:53
Speaker
When Vermont attacked Great Haddell during the reign of my ancestor, Haddell III, he amassed quite a hoard on his lair. Yeah, he had a lot of gold. Okay, that might be a way through this.
00:50:15
Speaker
I'm not gonna lie, this back there was the closest to an actual dragon I'd really rather face. I'm lucky. I was out to the city when that black dragon attacked the city not too long ago in Goldview.
00:50:32
Speaker
Knowing you lot were in the middle of it doesn't surprise me actually. Knowing you lot survived as well doesn't surprise me either. But yes, I will stay at the Keep and I will keep Vordund obey until your return. Have any of you ever been to Dralak before? Never.
00:50:52
Speaker
I think Marauder was from there. We've heard some uncomplimentary things about it in taverns and that. Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? You know, it's a city in civilization that's different to them. Well, it's just different, isn't it? No one's ever, no one ever really goes there. I haven't been myself, but I can't speak for its evilness or greatness either, really. We sail past Scorch Helm on our way here. Didn't get a good look at it from where we were, but
00:51:23
Speaker
Yeah, we're going to need help. If Merola was still here, I think she would be perfect to get us there, but she ain't. So we're going to need to find someone who... Well, look, it's pretty obvious we've drawn attention to ourselves and it's pretty obvious that...
00:51:40
Speaker
We don't want too many people to know that the dragon wants to speak to us, so we ain't looking for any border crossing. We're looking for ways across from the border undetected, so we're going to have to find someone who can help with that. We may need some of that 500 gold to pay for that service as well, just to warn you.
00:51:59
Speaker
Now, of course, I'm sure if we can give them a couple of hundred that will keep them at bay, at least for a while, pay off some of the interest we have. Yes. But you understand. Apologies. You understand where I'm coming from, right? That when a dragon has reached out to speak to you, that it's got to see what that thing wants, right? And as you said, hordes. Exactly.
00:52:25
Speaker
Be careful, that's... You know better than I. I'm not in a position to preach carefulness and safety. I've grown fond of you all, so please just... You need to come back at some point. Like I said, two of my ancestors of Fort Dragons had over a third. He died fighting it, and I don't mean to be the second. I'm also now in a position to be... I had over four fever. I ain't going to be able to kill this thing anytime soon, nor am I sure if I want to. I think it's...
00:52:55
Speaker
It's just too early to ascertain what this dragon wants or does. However, there is one other thing that, in my rambling, that I'm now curious about your opinion on order. If those who don't seem to take to the Obkrisker's occupation of Sleet God refer to Helena as the Queen, and those who seem sympathetic to that occupation refer to her as the Princess Regent,
00:53:26
Speaker
What do you refer to her as? I am... Now's not the time. There was a time, not too long ago, where I was quite involved in... well, I've never particularly been a fan of the UPCRISCR.
00:53:55
Speaker
Look, come back from Drolak and we'll talk about it further. Okay, I have some, not information, but some history from before you met me that if you're interested in the abcruska, might interest you a little further, but let's go ourselves back.
00:54:14
Speaker
home now and look and Ola points just over there. That's the edge of the swamp lands right there through those willow trees there and she pushes a gap through kind of inviting you through and suddenly the open air you take a deep breath in as you feel a gust of cool air rush past you as you can almost think almost smell the sea from far off to the east where you can think almost a twinkle in the distance make out the bronze storm sea beyond.
00:54:44
Speaker
Take a deep breath in and look down not too far away a couple of miles almost to the nice gentle slope down you join a path. The path continues to lead you through a slowly and slightly more dilapidated path to Goldport Keep. As you approach though, you see a small trickle of black smoke rising from one of the buildings. Ola looks concerned. Concerns? She looks concerned. We didn't leave a fire going.
00:55:15
Speaker
I purposely put everything out. As would be sensible. As you told me to as well, Emron. Either someone's there or something is on a fire. We should make haste. Come quickly. She sets off at a slightly quicker pace down the road towards her home. Upon approaching it, you make out the
00:55:40
Speaker
groupings of buildings from how it feels in LA age ago, since we last were here on the podcast, but and that you were here not too long ago at all.
00:55:49
Speaker
the large hall, the room of where you would sleep, the kind of sleep lodgings building, the graveyard that sat behind it, the two empty buildings, an empty armory and a totally empty L-shaped room, all sit snugly like Tetris blocks in and amongst each other, almost begging for a wraparound, large palisade or wall that just was never built for the gold port keep.
00:56:11
Speaker
You know, just the armory building that had been empty and continues to be empty. The roof has been burning for what probably looks like a day or so. The black smoke that is remaining on the roof is the remains of a fire since long gone out. All her approaches hand on her head. Oh, God, not this as well. What has happened? Fire, Alpha. Fucking fire. Look. But I'm on...
00:56:42
Speaker
How? This has to have been set by someone because they're now in there that could set a short of a lightning freakishly in this building. An anomaly but still a possibility. We should look around. We should. Oh for God's sake and as she panics and starts looking around you all hear from the hall area which kind of creeping around one of these side corners closer towards you a voice
00:57:14
Speaker
It's a drawing, slow speaking voice that comes out before you can see. Money talks, my dear. And right now, it's screaming in my ear.
00:57:32
Speaker
middle-aged human, portly figure, bald head, long waxed black mustache, impeccably dressed finest tailor suits, steps out from around the corner. He is playing with the button at the top of his doublets, kind of rolling between his two fingers, as he seems to be busy chewing on something he's just eating before swallowing. He flicks a large white smile to you all. Ola looks back,
00:58:02
Speaker
Vaughn, you're here. And that's what we're going to leave it for this week's episode of the fellowship of the tabletop made of active gold. Shoot him in the face. They are problem solved. They'd kill him.
00:58:23
Speaker
Yep. If we kill him, we no longer owe him money. Exactly. So you know, we should just got this shit planned, man. This is like, this is good. He's, he's, yeah, if you do kill him off, I'll be sad because I've put some, he's, he's, he's, he's going to be, I think, we'll find out next time. Well, we're going to have to find out. We will.
00:58:44
Speaker
And if you wish to ask Mark what he has got planned for us, then you can do so by messaging individually. And if you wish to follow us and message the whole the whole podcast, we have social medias. We are at the fellowship table on Twitter, Facebook,
00:59:01
Speaker
Yeah, you name it, we're probably out there on it because Ian's really tech savvy like that. Give us a like, give us a subscribe, give us a listen, give us a review. We do this for you and we appreciate you listening to what is quite frankly a nice little hobby for us, but we want to make this so people can listen to it. So show it to your friends, show it to your family, show it to your enemies if you really don't like them.
00:59:24
Speaker
But yeah, it goes out there. And if you wish to go one step further and follow us individually, you can do so. You can find me, Will, at Natural20Will. You can find Darren at... DarrenPageO6. You can find Callum at... TheD20Gamer.
00:59:42
Speaker
you can find our wonderful DM who is nicely guided us through these two episodes as he rapidly tries to work out how to factor into new characters. You can find our wonderful DM at hasted your old DM. Until next time, please.