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Ep. 19 The Fallout – De Profundis
99 Plays5 years ago
Follow us on our Twitters - @FellowshipTable
Check out the Initiative Trackers used in the show - CraftsByClaude
Intro written and produced by Joseph McDade - https://josephmcdade.com/
The Fellowship Party Twitter Pages:
- The DM/Mark - @HastilyRolledDM
- Drago/Ian - @IRolledA1
- Folly/Callum - @TheD20Gamer
- Elthir/Will - @Natural20Will
- Robin/Darren - @DarrenPage06
- Claude/Danny - @totalpartythrlz
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Transcript
Introduction and Character Set-Up
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you have a way
00:00:34
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of the Fellowship of the Tabletop. We are a live play 5e D&D podcast set in the world of Aerith. My name is Mark, I'm the Dungeon Master and also with us for today's episode we have Ian who plays the Dragon Ball. Take a breath man, take a breath. Have a breath, take some punctuation and work with it. He turned blue. That was fluid. Thank you, I've taken lots of coffee.
00:01:03
Speaker
Ian! Sorry, that's too loud. Ian, who plays... Oh, fuck. I'm fine. He plays fuck. He does. Ian, who plays the Dragonborn Barbarian Dragon.
00:01:16
Speaker
Wow, that is the perfect introduction. Thank you. For the first time as well. Darren, who plays the human fighter Rogue Robin. Hello there. Danny, who plays the human cleric Claude. Bonjour. Will, who plays the wood elf monk Elthea. Sup. And Callum, who plays the gnome sorcerer Folly Fizzlebang the Ninth.
00:01:39
Speaker
You can't say that. That is straight a rip from, I apologise to the tag-up of champions, for the clear rip of their, ahoy hoy. Yeah. It is ripped from his belt. That's stolen from Taylor Taft and I finish a technically ripped from Alexander Graham Bell anyway. So essentially Alexander Graham Bell. Yeah. To your own. To your own.
00:01:59
Speaker
Well that's how we announced if you watched the Big Bang 3 then we've told you. Ahoy! Yeah! Ahoy is that the answer to that? That's how you want to answer the phone with Ahoy! Ah that would be so much better, let's do that. Ahoy everyone!
Battle Recap and Aftermath
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, quick follow for the Tabletop Championship. You've got to listen to them, they're a very good podcast. Listen to us first. No, please.
00:02:19
Speaker
Episode 200 now, so they've got a lot of names. Real good, guys. Thank you very much. All right, so on last week's episode of The Fellowship of the Tabletop, we had a fucking massive session. Don't know what I'm gonna say.
00:02:33
Speaker
huge episode dedicated primarily to combat, so it was massive, we had the defence of Bleakmoor, the undead hordes were pouring against the walls of the Bleakmoor encampment, we had huge amounts of battle, fully fizzled by the land killed off literally thousands of these ghouls that were pouring into the camp
00:02:53
Speaker
Unfortunately, the camp did fall, the wall was destroyed, the palisades were destroyed by a number of fireballs. Drago refused to leave in his frenzied state. He was killing and killing and killing and killing, and it actually took the rest of the party to almost knock him out. Eventually, we managed to stay as many as we can from this guard camp, which was actually quite a high number by the end. It was in the 50s, actually, or the 40s. I don't think you actually saved that many.
00:03:20
Speaker
back behind the doors of the camp, back into the doors of the keep. The doors were then shut, they were smashing against the door. Suddenly it stopped and we had silence. Someone called from above to open the gates and bodies of the ghouls had just collapsed into the courtyard as the single Tiefling's mounted soldier strode out into the camp. He stood there, took off his helmet, white-haired Tiefling, and just said, where is she? He called out, Ark Ward. And that's where we'll pick up.
00:03:50
Speaker
So this Tiefling stepped out, he sweats, poured back off his face, he's wiped his brow, he's still on this impressive looking black steed, and he looks down to you, the party, who has stood there in front of them, this mudded floor, blooded floor, you can hear the groans of people around, his other soldiers are still on the gates, silence though across most of it. Where is she? Arkward.
00:04:16
Speaker
Don't all speak at once. Who's in charge here? Is Arc Ward still in charge here? Yes. Sure, why not? What do you want with Arc Ward? I want to speak with her. I believe she was on the walls. It says he gestures up to the left where he last saw Arc Ward. He'll look up there and he shacks up. Arc Ward!
00:04:37
Speaker
You do see her pop out from it, look down with the look of relief in her face. She comes running down the steps of the walls of the battleman to comes down and stands looking up at this impressive Tiefling on this horse. When did Hawke splitter give you command over the fourth Garmir? As soon as you decided to undertake this fool's folly. When will you return to Obsidian, take on a battalion of your own? I have no interest in returning to Obsidian.
00:05:05
Speaker
Why are you this far north? I thought you were at Vallagarde, covering the western front. Liverpool told of a rift opening in the west. We were ordered to head along the northern coast of Baysonwind Swamp and find and close it. I believe we've dealt with that for you. You there. Elf. What was that? We've dealt with the rift in the Baysonwind Swamp. What do you mean dealt with? I think closed it.
00:05:32
Speaker
You've closed the rift. So I believe. Good. Thank you. You saved us a long journey along a shit bit of land. Look, he turns back to our court at that point. At least join me in the fourth. Your talents are wasted here.
00:05:49
Speaker
And she looks around for a second, seeing the number of undead now. People are walking out into, past the gates, and working through the bodies of the ghouls, trying to find those of their lost companions. You do see lines and lines of black soldiers on horseback standing perfectly in line, not moving, as these members of Bleakmoor work past them to try and find people of the Skaad to see if they can help them. And she turns back to Garmia, commander Garmia, and says, my work is here.
00:06:19
Speaker
You know that, but thank the gods you came. There was no stopping them this time. Our defense is only held thanks to these brave souls and she gestures to you in the party. He takes another look at you, Elphir and Robin and everyone else who is yet to kind of speak to him, but he notices you as a group. You, you aren't hailstorm. Oh yeah. He looks down at your tablet. Are you still wearing your tablet with the sigil? Couldn't see it through the mud.
00:06:48
Speaker
Good to see you, soldier. But why the rest of you? Why stay here with the undead pressing down on this godforsaken town? I believe we are here due to perhaps circumstance and fortune, I think, is the reason why we're here. I'm here to fight. Good, you came to the right place, Dragonborn. And for that, you have my thanks, all of you.
00:07:23
Speaker
I'll pay you not to ask him that question. It's a valid question, soldier. I appreciate you covering me, but...
00:07:33
Speaker
You did some good work, all of you. I'm sure Arkward will find a way to reimburse you for your efforts, so thank you for that. Bear in mind it wasn't just the five of you, but there were thousands of soldiers outside that also did a hell of a lot of work too. At that point, Hesse, who you would know Claude,
00:07:54
Speaker
who is the person who runs the Skaad camp, she comes running out in front of Garmir, stands there, defiant, just looking up to her, and looking up to him, and they've saved hundreds of us with their selfless actions, he's right up in his face, kind of wagging her finger in his face if she can, even though he's still on a horse. The Skaad can recover, these soldiers can recover, thanks to them! And she turns round to the group, to you, and says, thank you, thank you so much for what you've done here,
00:08:21
Speaker
How can we thank you? Anything the academy has to offer is at your disposal. Upward steps forward. Uh, Hesse, you can't offer that. You're
Magic, Reflections, and Tavern Talks
00:08:30
Speaker
not a member of the academy. But I iterate Hesse's words. You were key in the defense of Blythmore. Look, the night is late and our undead, our, our undead, our dead must be put to rest in the northern fields. Please, rest up in the tavern and tomorrow I will come to you to discuss further our plans.
00:08:51
Speaker
Claude, stay with these people. I see this group has a good influence on you. They probably want to go and see to the undead, knowing Claude.
00:09:06
Speaker
their souls. Of course. Thank you, Claude. You can see some of our clerics already working out in the fields. Please feel free to join them. I'll bow, salute or some sort of mixed formality and wander off to help them. I should say
00:09:23
Speaker
To Claude's credit, he has been a great help to us in what we have had to do. He is certainly an interesting character. Thank you, Traveller. I watched Claude fight from the battle, from the battlements, and his bravery was unmatched. To stand at the vanguard for all intents and purposes alone until you chose to join him was something that
00:09:46
Speaker
Not many people in the Hailstorm Surge can say they stood for a second, albeit alone, against the hordes of the Emberskub Light. So, he will be commended for his action. So, thank you, Traveller, for those kind words. Speaking of commending for actions, Folly, the hell kind of magic you into? What? The hellfire that you unleashed at the start of the battle? Oh, that thing! Oh, that was nothing. That was just a bit of spark.
00:10:12
Speaker
Fine. Little Spark, you blocked the entrance for what seemed like an age. How many of them did you kill with that wall of flame? I lost count, but it seemed like a good strategy, was I wrong? When did you learn all this? Oh, not really learnt, more gifted, I suppose you could say. Interesting. The narcole kind of starts starting ahead. We'll speak more on this, you know.
00:10:39
Speaker
To all of you, again, my thanks, we will look to reimburse you, but please for now let us deal with the dead and the undead. Gummy grunts in approval. Arc Ward, we must get moving. With Rift closed, we must head down to the southern coast to shore up our defences, and we will pass by Valor Guard on the front line.
00:11:00
Speaker
Do you need me to take any messages? She nods and says, just the usual, to keep searching for Edmund. Very well, Garmir pulls on the reins of his horse, turns it around, and as quick as Commander Garmir has appeared, he and his men are gone. As you look outside, you see the river, a river of flashing black steel as thousands of horses gallop off to the north before banking to the east out of sight.
00:11:25
Speaker
Silence returns to Bleeckmoor in the true power and numbers of the endless car blind have now been made stark to you. Arc Ward starts speaking to Hesse and asks her to help organise the movement of some of the undead from the doors. She turns back to you and states, there's a pub in town, it's where we're feeding all the men who fought and are alive in the Battle of the Bronze Kask. Claude, you know where it is.
00:11:51
Speaker
Feel free to visit there. There's some spaces at the table for you with food, places to stay, and drink if you would need. It's free of charge, as it is for all soldiers who fall so valiantly now. Is the ale free as well? Yes. But okay, that sounds like a good idea. No objections from me. I would have moved over to help with the bodyguard. Claude would be at the tavern. Bronze Kask. Thank you. We'll be there.
00:12:20
Speaker
Come join us when you're free. I will. So we're making our way over to the tavern. What Folly would like to do alongside that, all the creatures that we killed, I assume, are still out in the camp. He's going to waddle over in his lonely style and just kind of take samples, so the blood, skin, anything like that. But he can still retrieve from these creatures. He's just going to take them pocket. Folly, what are you doing to the dead?
00:12:51
Speaker
Just take a few things don't worry about it Yep, you managed to go through five or six of the corpses that seem to have not been burned as well You've picked the ones that have been hewn or been killed via arrows and take some fluid samples as you take the fluid samples You see this black ichor slowly seep out of its body Which you managed to put into a vial and keep you also managed to take some clean small raggedy skin samples as well It seemed to be this pale blue color, which you managed to roll up and place within some kind of skin
00:13:23
Speaker
I'm sure. While Folly's sort of hand me the cork scissors. Have you seen anyone ever do this off here? No. A pub? Yeah. A pub? I mean, even for me, that's a bit weird. Anyway, I've never seen someone quite, last time I checked, I mean to people, burning the bodies straight away tends to be how we've said that. What cord always says burn that?
00:13:44
Speaker
Yeah, not sort of... Take examples. Yeah, sort of... What's he into? I don't know. So on that, you notice just off to the west that the sun has started to rise. This is the break of day. Oh god.
00:14:01
Speaker
This is the break of day, still very early in the morning as you make, the three of you make your way, but Folly, will you be following along after you've taken your sample? After I've taken your sample. And Claude, you're still in... As long as there are bodies that need ferrying.
00:14:18
Speaker
have a need of right performed on them that I'll be doing that until there's none left of it. It's mental image of you performing a dance like you know. As you head out into the fields of the undead this isn't the first time you've been in this kind of situation before there is an eerie silence across even though there are people there
00:14:41
Speaker
There is a silence that seems to deaden all the sound. You work your way through finding those of your fallen comrades that have died, members of the Scard, in and between those of the thousands of the undead. You notice, again, the difference, actually, between, you've got like an 18 perception, haven't you? 16, it's high. It's high, it's high, it's high. You notice, quite clearly, the difference between those killed by those of Bligmore and those killed by those of the Obsidianists.
00:15:10
Speaker
the blades they use must be sharper the way they wield them must be the fact they're on horseback who knows but these cuts are clean these cuts are uh surgical it's normally it was beheading on a massive scale practically they they they didn't say
00:15:30
Speaker
As you come across, you do notice a few of your comrades as well, and you do start to perform rites on them. What do you do with them once you've performed your rites? So it's more of a... how... It's more of a picture of how a mortician, not really a mortician, but someone more spiritual would send them, so the spell in...
00:15:52
Speaker
specifically details, the ones that I have been using for the journey so far. You place like a copper coin over the eyes and then you perform a rite and it sort of, yeah, it's a prayer almost, sort of thing. But it protects them from becoming undead. Gotcha.
00:16:08
Speaker
You'll also notice whilst you're there, a few more of the soldiers from the battlements come down, they start stacking up into large, large piles, the undead, and start alighting them. They try to move them far right away from Bleepmoor, but with a number of them, unfortunately, they just have to burn them as they come. And it's this black, thick smoke that rises in a central column directly up. There's no wind today, not a cloud in the sky, and the wind, the black smoke of the undead just moves directly upwards. Another Claudan's guy.
00:16:38
Speaker
All those months ago.
Trust and Strategy Debates
00:16:40
Speaker
Shameless plug, huh? Get out of it. So the four or five of you, because Tani's going to be following along as well, the five of you head to the pub. You head down a pathway away from the academy in the central building. You take a path down. You can see a few of the other soldiers going there. You would have asked them along the way. You would have been given directions, of course. You come across this tavern.
00:17:06
Speaker
Everyone's, no one's really in there at the moment. It seems very quiet, though people are kind of walking around, those who live in Blythmore, not so much the soldiers, and see a sign out in front of the bronze cask, and there's this concerned looking halfling woman who's standing at the entrance.
00:17:24
Speaker
Yes, we've been told that this is where we can come and get a sustenance from perhaps a place to stay. You're the outsiders, absolutely, no problem. I've already been told about that, and she opens the door, and Jesse, and please, there's a booth in the corner, feel free to sit in there. Thank you. As you walk in, you see there's an empty tavern, there's no one in there, but...
00:17:44
Speaker
There are loads of tables, almost too many tables for the space, and every single table has cutlery plate cups ready for wine or beer or water on every single table. It's all been laid out for these soldiers that are coming in, and an area in the corner already currently has food on as well, laid out for all of you, including Claude, so there will be one spare for you. Suggestions to the table, there's food laid out there. As you take your seats,
00:18:14
Speaker
The food in front of you is just a selection of kind of meats and vegetables really, kind of like a roast if you will, a British roast. But more simplified than that, they've made it on a massive scale. You also see a small boy look out from the kitchen for a second, which the half-owner says, go back in, come on, continue, we've got more work to do. And he disappears back into the kitchen, slamming the door shut as he goes. So the four of you, five of you are currently sat on a table, you've got
00:18:39
Speaker
pints of mead laid out around for each of you you've got plates of steaming hot food in front of you as well as the kind of the the feeling of battle and everything that's just happened over the night washes over you. Jaga grabs one of the meads and quickly drinks the entire pint as it were and then grabs another one mid one mid drinking through it's just
00:19:07
Speaker
for a group of people that just survived a big battle. Well if we will do respect Drago half the city has just died but half survived. I don't know I think there's a cause for celebration here that we survived that that that was a big battle.
00:19:23
Speaker
In that note, Folly is taking in what Drago's saying, he's going to cast Man of Illusion and he's just going to try and pipe in a bit of like, music, just using his spells, just trying... The halfling woman kind of looks around and kind of looks over towards Folly and kind of...
00:19:40
Speaker
Gives you like a note, you go, oh thank you, nod. Lifts the mood slightly, she was feeling the pressure as well. And you hear this nice kind of gentle music play in the background just picking up enough to stop the place feeling quite so sombre. You also notice a couple of soldiers start to walk in and sit on tables of two and quietly talk and drink away. And their mood seems to match yours, a kind of a mixture between sombre and surprise that they are still alive.
00:20:06
Speaker
So Elthir, as he sat down, we've got all the mead there. Elthir will carefully pick up his pint glass. He notices his hands are quite red and raw, and he will sort of very carefully, almost tenderly, then pick up his pint of mead, almost sort of cupping it without having too much of it touch his hands before taking his drink. This might be your first bagel drago, but...
00:20:33
Speaker
This is definitely not my first battle. Well, of this scale, maybe. But I've seen wars and this kind of atmosphere is what I would expect from this kind of fight. See, me and you are very different in that respect. I've been in wars before and have survived all of them. There is always glory to be had in death at a battle. And there's always victory to be celebrated at the end of a battle. And sometimes it's all too easy to feel like you've lost
00:21:03
Speaker
when actually you've survived, which is victory and cause for celebration. So then we should celebrate? I'm not saying celebrate per se, but we should certainly try and encourage the others to appreciate the fact that they survived. I think we should rest and we should really, really think about what it is we are doing here. What about what happened at the start? What do you mean? Do you know the rest of you
00:21:35
Speaker
That vision. There's a time and a place to talk about that. It's not now. You got the vision too. Yeah. I thought that was just me. No, no, I saw something as well. It's very, very bizarre. Lots of places I didn't really recognise. Somewhere from a long time ago. So you knew the places that we went to? Yeah, it was called Chenna. Chenna? Chenna, it's a place from where we're from. Why are we all seeing the same thing? I don't know. Was I the only one
00:22:04
Speaker
I mean, it's when I first met Shader. Was it Shader? Shader is our friend who died, unfortunately, clothing, that blight or whatever, that tiefling fucker to talk about. The Rift? Yeah, that. He died like a warrior. He fought like a warrior. But it's odd that that was the place that came into our shared vision. Why are we having shared visions?
00:22:30
Speaker
visions. I assume it has nothing to do with Thrace Dan. Let's not forget that our arrival to this shithole was brought upon us with a vision from this Thrace Dan. I think there is a time to discuss that. I don't feel as if that's now. I'm starting to be inclined with Drago that what I want to do is I want to enjoy this drink and I want to
00:22:56
Speaker
reflect on how we got here and what we're going to do next because I'm feeling like a man who has been sucked into a book and doesn't know what's going on and well you'd have experience in that to be fair Robin well that's yeah not a metaphor you got sucked into a book you got sucked into a book a book a book you got sucked into a book I don't think you got sucked into a large deer that's why
00:23:23
Speaker
I, I, I, Folly, Folly misheard. He had bad hearing. So that's, that's two of them that we picked up that mishear things. Wonderful. I want to hear more of that, definitely. I can gladly tell you, Folly. And, um, in, in time, of course. Does anyone still have that book? Yes. Ooh. Uh, no. Oh. Why can't I see it in my book?
00:23:54
Speaker
Where is it? Close to my sword. Folly's just kind of running his fingers along his staff, contemplating certain actions right now. Gentlemen, perhaps now is not the time for us to break the moon and all of a sudden start fighting against ourselves again. Agreed. As Drago has just said, being unified by a
00:24:18
Speaker
An ordeal, so as Drago says, let us drink and be merry for tomorrow we might actually die. Gentlemen. Lady. Thank you. Any kind? We'll never forget about you, darling. No, you'll never be, Drago. Always. Congratulations on making it through the night. Yes, a good fight and many an undead slain. And many saved. Many saved. Of living. Saved. Good differentiation. Yes.
00:24:49
Speaker
Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Clink. Yeah, big old clink. And as soon as that dumb folly is basically going to jump into his rucksack again, find a bit of space on the table. Close it. Close the bag. Close it.
00:25:09
Speaker
He's basically going to start bringing out some tubes, some vials and whatnot. It just gets like a mini, almost high school chemistry set. It sounds like my first chemistry set. It's a mini chemistry set that he's just going to put on the table and he's going to start experimenting with the samples that he's took from the creatures. Is this dangerous? And why are you doing it here in a tavern?
00:25:31
Speaker
around our food. Like, if this stuff drips on my food, I'm gonna get pissed. That black shit does not look good. Don't put your food near my samples. Followed, might I suggest as you're covered in the charred remains of an experiment that went wrong earlier in the camp that you desist from doing this at the table?
00:25:49
Speaker
Well, where else can I do it? In your room, outside. Jump in your bag and do it in there. Perfectly somewhere not combustible. Definitely not around us. We don't even really know you. Respect to you on the battlefield. We couldn't have done it without you, and I begrudgingly say that. But don't do this in front of us. If I was going to look to the keeper of the town, say...
00:26:12
Speaker
She's over the other side of the town but she catches your eye. Yes, our quads asked if you could all have a room here and we've got some sort of view. Everyone else will stay at the academy but you have rooms. Here are your keys and hands. All the keys to all the rooms to follow to take. Is this building particularly findable?
00:26:28
Speaker
It's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out of wood, so... Yeah, it's made out
00:26:58
Speaker
That's what we're gonna do. Eh, it's not, not yet. Not yet. So. That's what it's... With Wally having gone, Elphie's gonna roll his eyes and then... You know what? I'm quite amenable to most people, but sometimes the little folk are really annoying. We seem to attract weird and annoying folk. Speaking of which... And Drag has been drinking this whole time. Er, Elphie? Yes? Did you hit me? Yes, I did.
00:27:29
Speaker
Fair enough. I know why you did it. We thought you were gonna die. I got myself into a rage. One might call a frenzy. I know why you did it. I think we need to perhaps consider... Could have not walked away from that one. I know why you did it. And...
00:27:57
Speaker
It is a bitter pill to swallow, but thanks. You're welcome, though. It may have cost me a little bit. You might have been all right with it, dying on the battlefield, Raggle, but you've got to remember that it's not just you. We're all stuck here. And if you go, then it's just us. And then we've got to do it alone, and that's not fair. And Tali's gonna stand up, snatch a key off the table, and she's gonna have to room.
00:28:28
Speaker
She has a point. Well. So we're going to pass over. We're going to follow. Three, say five. So we're going to fight over to follow. He's just out in his room. Finally, I'm on my own. Thank you. I like it. I'll just stay and go, oh.
00:28:55
Speaker
That's your brewing kit. I've been brewing that one for a while. We're going to pass over to Folly. We're going to follow him up the stairs as he plods up to his room, unlock with a key. What's Folly going to be getting up to? Up there. At the moment he basically...
00:29:13
Speaker
He's very intrigued by these creatures that he's fought. He's basically trying to determine what their actual origin is. Obviously, they are undead, but he believes have been created by one way or another, and he's trying to determine the origins of their creation, if he possibly can. Okay, so for that, I'm going to need two different checks.
00:29:42
Speaker
Sorry, three different checks. Okay. Firstly, I'd like you to give me an investigation check. All right. I won't tell you the outcome of it until I've got all three. All right. That is 24. Thank you. Then can you give me a religion check? Natural 20. Wow. Then can you follow that up, please, with a... What did I decide on? Arcana check, please.
00:30:11
Speaker
And 19. Lovely, thank you. You pull out some of the samples and you use your brewing kit to be able to find certain elements, our chemical sections that you can differ from other sources you have in your rucksack. You think back. Oh, sorry, I missed one. A history check as well, please. That was the last one I forgot to add in. History.
00:30:36
Speaker
15. You rolled really well there. Who are you and what do you think we can? I know. So you look through these sources, you think back, you're looking
00:30:49
Speaker
stored in there as well, reading over some of the gods of this land. You look into their history, you look into the way in which they're attached, you look into a number of the illegal religions that you know lots about. What's bad you know about because it's in your lifetime that they were made illegal. You look into this information, you look into what you know about this realm, what you know about your homeland, what you know about religion here and how these things might come into being.
00:31:17
Speaker
and you come to the conclusion that someone or something has forced souls back into the bodies of the undead. You don't know who, you don't know why, you don't know where or when, but it's something to do with souls being
00:31:37
Speaker
of a lost soul, of a lost body. So souls being re-entered into a dead body in order to reanimate it, bringing it back to life. However, the soul portion of it is corrupted, and therefore they don't come back like a reanimation, like they come back more like a reanimation. It's not like a true resurrection, it's kind of like a false resurrection. Ooh, nice. Yeah, it is like a false resurrection, like a anti-resurrection. They are alive, but they are not alive in all intents and purposes. It's a portion of the soul returns,
00:32:10
Speaker
Holy shit. What was it? You rolled really well for that. That was four, basically a skilled challenge of four different roles and you, the DC was, I think I said 14 and everything was above 15. So it's like someone cast a raised dead spell. Or a raised head spell. I suddenly regret sitting them upstairs.
00:32:31
Speaker
So you have that information, is there anything else you want to do whilst you're up there after discerning that? That would be taking you about half an hour or so because you managed to get through that quite quickly because of your higher roles. Is there anything else you want to do whilst you're up there? Not right now. Okay, lovely. So Claude is still off in the fields working on those that are never returned back to the three, four of you sat in the bar, sorry, sat in the pub, around this table, probably eating your food by now. Who's the fourth?
00:32:57
Speaker
I thought she should not die, it's gone, sorry, it's just for three of you. Apologies, apologies, apologies. Just the three of you there. How many did you kill in the end? I'm not exactly treating this as a commentary. Alfred, how many did you kill in the end? I believe around 20. God, I wish Folly was there, right? Wow. 20, well done. Well done. No, I must admit, it has not by my normal means, of course.
00:33:24
Speaker
I'm really glad that Folly's not here. Did you see the decimation he laid forth? I did. If he sticks with it, he's going to become very useful. He must have been in Triple Figures by the end of it. Probably. It's really disheartening to me. Yeah, that's like a reminder. Nice little two-foot kind of gnome just obliterated your Kittle score at that battle. Like really, really disheartening to me. I mean, that must really prove the ego. It does, somewhat.
00:33:52
Speaker
I feel like more training is in order. I mean, I think if you think of a circumstance, it's the first time we've ever fought people of that number. I think, you know, if it was our usual sort of attacking in small scales, then he's not going to get a chance to get that high, I don't think. It was impressive. I don't want to tell him that. I really, really, really don't want to tell him that all through. It proves that he is of use to us and if he wishes to come with us, we should accept
00:34:20
Speaker
his companionship. You really do keep count. I wasn't keeping count, I was more concerned with actually, you know, trying to find out the hordes of the undead. I mean, a rough number. I don't know, I wasn't keeping count. Ah, never mind. You'll get more next time. Treating everything as if it's a game is part of the reason why you were almost died on that field. Not a game. I've done what I've been listening to. I've gone. I've taken a key and I've gone.
00:34:55
Speaker
I mean, maybe we should put him back in a book. It was more fun that way. He does have a point though. I don't know. I feel more alive when I'm at battle. I'm not going to make excuses for that. I'd like to wave over the halfling one. Do you want a bottle of spirits, something like that? We've got the selection of spirits, yes. Would you care for one? Yeah, bring a bottle of spirits.
00:35:23
Speaker
she goes behind the bar and pulls out what looks like a bottle of brand liquid, looks like some kind of liqueur, hands out two small kind of tumbler glasses to you both, pours one out and leaves the bottle on the table. Once again, thank you for all you've done. Totally. Walks off to Tenter now, the more number of soldiers that are starting to fill
00:35:39
Speaker
the tavern, it's got kind of a nice bustle to it. The music that Folly set up is still playing and that's kind of bringing the mood up slightly. You can hear the laughter, you can hear people talking and lots of cheers and going on which you can join in on as well. Does Minor Illusion follow you about? Are you just walking around like a demon doo-pops? No, that would be so cool. I wouldn't be brilliant. Yeah, that's like a music level. So, Elphay will pick up his tumblr.
00:36:05
Speaker
raise it to Drago to being alive being alive and we'll take a drink so whoa what is this i don't know it's interesting oh so what wars have you fought in um well quite a few back in the day um my father was a great warrior
00:36:27
Speaker
And he taught me how to fight. And following around? Yeah. We were a part of a small settlement on the Sword Coast. I feel so long ago now. It takes another drink. There were good days. We helped, basically, this little village, thanks to the other drink. And we kept them safe. Me and my father, whose name was Dengon, my brother, Sihangar,
00:36:58
Speaker
all strong warriors, big dragonborns, my father the biggest a long time ago now but this village that we were part of used to get raided by a lot of monsters of some sort and we were charged with keeping everyone safe so it involved a lot of battles and that's where I learned my craft and that's where I learned to enjoy it
00:37:27
Speaker
My father was unfortunately killed in this battle. Takes another drink. Elthir is just, at the moment, Elthir is constantly topping up Drago's drink. Now, he is drinking his own occasionally, but he is certainly in no way trying to pace Drago. And Drago keeps drinking. Every time he finishes this little bit of storing, he keeps drinking. Sounds horrible. It wasn't.
00:37:53
Speaker
the greatest of days but he died a warrior and I took his sword and it's the sword I use here. I'll just drag it with Jules' sword and place it on the table. And what is called Dengon's deception and my father's sword and I carry it with me wherever I go. But unfortunately I also lost my brother not through death and then it was just me. Sounds quite an ordeal.
00:38:21
Speaker
He died a warrior. Your sword, then? Obviously, this is a sword that we've helped you find the origins of and do all thoughts with. It's a special blade. I know you're eager to sort of seek out battle, but my one question to be dry with is what happens when you die? What happens to your sword? I assume it just gets left there. And falls into the enemy's hands and gets wielded by the unliving. The way I see it all through is that death is final.
00:38:54
Speaker
One does not need to care about what happens afterwards. No, but, you know, you would think that your sword being your father's sword would perhaps, you'd have to care about what happens to and after you. I care about how I die. I don't care about when I die. And I hope it's in battle because there's honour to be had when you die in battle. My father, Shader. Yes, but let's have a think about this.
00:39:22
Speaker
You might be happy to die in battle and that's great, but what happens if you wanted to do that puts the rest of us in danger, puts Talia in danger. What's good for you might not be good for the rest of us. And I appreciate we have differences on this. I've only ever done what's good for me, Althea. Maybe you need to think about that. I lost people in the past because I cared.
00:39:49
Speaker
We've lost people now because you've been a bit reckless. Oh, we lost because I'm reckless. Check it out. That wasn't down. If you hadn't charged into that room, we could have rested.
00:40:04
Speaker
As if Shader, you dishonor his memory. As if Shader would want to rest before a battle. He was cut from his main cloth as me. He's actually quite sensible. I've known him for a long time. And as someone who is actually quite knowledgeable in battle, he probably would have wanted to rest and make sure we go into that room full of stuff. I disagree entirely. He died a warrior and what you're doing is belittling his memory and saying that there's a way that we could have saved him. No, he died as he lived, by the blade, with the blade.
00:40:36
Speaker
I say those that live by the sword will die by it very quickly. Well then I hope it's a good death. Let's hope you're not the... unfortunately your death doesn't cause the rest of us to die as well then. That's on you, that's not on me. I am responsible for myself. Clearly.
00:40:59
Speaker
And while we're here, I will help this polite. I will kill the undead. And I will do so because battle is good. And you want to get paid? Yes, always. Fair enough. I see you take money before. Yes. Don't.
00:41:25
Speaker
Clay Peak, when we went to go and capture or save Captain Duralanis, you told me off for not getting money up front. You told me off for not agreeing terms of payment when I approached those guys in the bar. Only because I expected it from you. I think you're being very hypocritical out there. What started out as a friendly drink,
00:41:57
Speaker
A blame game on Shader's death. Let's make this clear, Shader died as he wanted to die. I would take that death. I bear no responsibility to it. Am I sad he's dead? Yes. Do I respect his death? Yes. Fair enough. I wasn't blaming you, Drago. I mainly...
00:42:22
Speaker
merely had us having this conversation to discuss perhaps what had happened to him and trying to hope that you might be able to see that perhaps sometimes your retinuses, which you've admitted will cause your death, will perhaps threaten the rest of us. Well then have that responsibility for yourself. I will keep fighting as I fight and I think so far I've done okay.
00:42:43
Speaker
I thought you'd probably top off his drink again and sit, drinking your silence as the tavern continues to fill up with people. You hear them singing along to some of the songs that Folly you have got playing on down there. They recognise some of the tunes. You know a lot of the songs from this realm, so you'll be playing quite a few of them. The coward tilts and pans over towards where Claude is. Claude, you've, by this point, done all you can.
00:43:04
Speaker
a number of people have told you go rest you must rest we can deal with the rest of them there aren't many now from what you've seen actually you and the others of the hailstorm surge managed to actually save quite a few of them so the death toll isn't out on the field as high as you first thought Gilda our quarters stood in the door kind of looking out over and over the scene as the Sun continues to run
00:43:30
Speaker
I'd like to approach out, Claude. She sees you approaching. Thank you, Claude, for all your work on the fields. That's all right, madam. I'm wondering, who was the pointy, horned person? What came in the end, then, and shouted at you? No, he didn't shout at me. That's just his way. His name's Commander Garmia. He's the leader of the 4th Battalion of the Obsidianus.
00:43:59
Speaker
What is the obsidian? Close, yeah. What is that? The obsidianis. It's one of the armies from the San Green Lands. The obsidian. You know this, Quill. We have had, we have had sessions on this. Why, why, why does he command you? He doesn't command me. He's commanded by Leopold. King Leopold Slikar II.
00:44:25
Speaker
What I understood of the academy and of the surge is that we are not governed by kings and king's men. And you are absolutely right in that knowledge, Claude. However, Gambia and I go back, far back, to our training days in the Hurial Empire. We are friends and we knew each other before any of the blight began. We've been old friends and that's just our way of talking, so thank you for your concern, Claude, but it's just
00:44:58
Speaker
So... am I an Epsipiani? No, you're not, Claude. You're member of the Hailstone Academy. And they're not connected? They are not connected, no. Okay. Rothogesplitter sent us over one battalion of his men.
00:45:14
Speaker
That fourth army, that fourth battalion of the Obsidianists, they aid us on our front. Two more battalions are currently situated at Spiritmont Redo, on the western front fighting the Blight. The two others, I don't know where they are. So there are three battalions of their soldiers here fighting with us, which is an amazing result considering how we used to not get on so well. I know that. I've killed many of them.
00:45:44
Speaker
Another question. Yes, called. Why was Horned Mahan going to the same place we went in the swamps?
00:45:58
Speaker
As far as I could discern, Claude, from what he said to me, their job seems primarily on stopping any alternative or extra rifts opening. We know this rift is in the forest. We also hear rumours of another rift opening far, far, far to the east. We don't want any more of these opening. One is dangerous enough. So, one of their tasks, and I'm sure there are other tasks across the realm whose purpose is to make sure no more of these rifts open.
00:46:26
Speaker
And I'm very glad now hearing the danger that this rift could have caused that you did shut it. So I apologize for the way I spoke to you earlier. That's okay. I appreciate the work you and your comrades did. Yeah. They lost a friend of theirs. I think they said that. They did. And I am forever grateful for his sacrifice. Yeah. I'm still trying to figure them out. You wish for me to continue to work with them?
00:46:57
Speaker
And she looks around to make sure no one's around. She leans in a bit closer to you, Claude, and says, absolutely. They are from... Sorry. No problem. But I have not seen some soldiers, some people, fight like that in a very, very long time. You have some outstanding people with you in that group. People that one day might become integral in the saviour of this kingdom.
00:47:26
Speaker
Claude, I need you to keep taps on them. Not to control them. I can't control them. They don't seem to take orders. You saw that one with the lizard tail going crazy. Dragonborn. Dragonborn. I don't know if you can say... Maybe. Sensitive subject. Right, okay. Well, stick a pen in that for now, Jimmy Claude.
00:47:47
Speaker
Nonetheless, I'd like you to keep tabs on them. Not spy on them, but just stay with them. They seem to appreciate your skills. And for now, I think you staying with them offers you the best training and staying in the academy here. We will be stintered and thrown back six months by this attack. Our training won't continue for that time. You would be literally here.
00:48:11
Speaker
building and that, Claude, is not what a person of your talents should be doing, especially in this dark hour. Okay. Okay. Okay. They come... I think I know the name of the kingdoms of Erith. I think I know. Good. They claim to come from a kingdom called the Sword Coast.
00:48:37
Speaker
of this. I've asked some people and they've not known of this. Is this the kingdom everyone's talking about? The new kingdom? The 13th to 12th kingdom? She takes a second to think. Sword Coast. I have never heard of this place, but it helps. It is beyond the sea, north of the Osran Islands, but it's a place I have never heard of, nor seen myself. This sword coast.
00:49:08
Speaker
Your guess is as good as mine, Claude. It may be an additional kingdom. It's not anywhere that I've heard of. Okay.
00:49:17
Speaker
I guarantee you are tired. I guarantee you will need some rest. I haven't slept in a while. It has been a while, call. It's been a very, very tiring couple of weeks. I'm not going to lie. It's difficult saving the world. Well, maybe it's time now for some rest. Okay. Please, go to the tavern. There is rooms there. Okay. Your comrade should be there with you. Okay. Have some food. Okay. A drink. Yes, madam. Have a rest.
00:49:44
Speaker
and come to me when you're fully rested and you can talk more. Yes madam. Thank you. Again, not know the formalities of salute or bow or curtsy, it'll be a mixture of the three. I really wanted you to stand up and do it. He did it everyone. It looks like he's just pooed himself.
00:50:05
Speaker
And she will give a kind of a wry smile to herself, like a knowing smile, and just kind of, you're dismissed, Claude. Thank you for all your hard work, and kind of see you leave, and she'll still oversee the last couple of rites that are taking place on the bodies, as the sun continues to rise in the day. Still good. You walk to the tavern, and you see, walking out, walking away from you, is Tarly.
00:50:35
Speaker
What? Can I try and cope? She looks furious and she's got tears falling down her face as you do approach her. What's happened? Nothing, I just couldn't stay in there. So it came out here. What did they do? Nothing, it's everything that's happening. It's what we saw. Did you see it? I'll get down on the knee. On her knee? On my knee. So we're on the same eye level.
00:51:04
Speaker
You're fucking weird, don't you? It is plate armour. Do you remember what happened that time in the swamp? Are you feeling like that? Yes. And do you remember what I said to you then? Yes. I do. No matter what the mean, mean of... Dragonborn. Whatever they've said, you'll be safe.
00:51:37
Speaker
I will get you back to your sword coast. Okay. I feel very bad about what happened to Shahidah. And I will promise that I will do everything I can to get you home. Thanks Claude. Despite what the others say, it's nice to have you around. You just seem honest. Much to be honest, I can't say for some of the others sometimes.
00:52:06
Speaker
Well, honesty is a hard thing. I try to be honest. I appreciate it. It's refreshing from time to time.
00:52:21
Speaker
If you don't want to stay near snoring men, there's a couple of other places I can recommend that might be nicer to stay. No, it's fine. I'll stay close. I just needed some air. I needed to get out and see the sun. OK. So I'm just going to go to the gate we entered and the other way away from all the death and just
00:52:47
Speaker
actually I sort of acknowledge that she wants to leave and as she passes by I'll whisper something very quietly in infernal and she will be blessed for the next period of time. You notice just as you whisper that she doesn't quite catch what you've said.
00:53:03
Speaker
but she starts to walk, she's slightly not hunched but kind of leaning over slightly and she just ever so slightly her posture lifts slightly she continues to all not knowing why but she does seem to feel slightly. A little boost in her spirit. Absolutely and she seems to see her posture starts to straighten up as she walks off and leaves around the corner.
00:53:22
Speaker
Well, I was going to say, as Ford walks in, he was going to see Alfred Baker get up from the table with Drago and go upstairs. Okay, you were going to go then? I was going to go upstairs to follow wherever Robin had gone to. So, you walk into a rather full tavern now with the jovial atmosphere, there's some music playing that you can't see any particular place where the music comes from, and you do see the corner of Drago sitting alone around a table of six.
00:53:47
Speaker
Can I have a general scope of the room? I imagine everyone who is in there is a soldier who participated in the events of the evening. Are there people in worse shape than others? Is anyone in a dangerous state of health at the moment? Everyone that you see in there seems fine. Everyone seems shaken up. There's a couple of minor injuries, a couple of cuts, bruises, but they've been bandaged up.
00:54:09
Speaker
and everyone seems in relatively high spirits you know that if there were any issues or life-threatening problems they would be housed in the main hallway the main kind of entranceway of the academy where they would be using as like a temporary place to
00:54:26
Speaker
where Hess is currently working with the now new members of the SCARD. But these are all those that are, well, have kind of had their debrief and they are now just enjoying some downtime away from battle. Okay, it's a good atmosphere, there's a good mix of people in there, some you semi-recognise, they all seem to recognise and know you, you're relatively unique to look at, so they kind of give you a nod as you enter, you do see a rather
00:54:49
Speaker
rather drunk no i won't i won't decide that for you but a drinking dragonborn and you can't tell a lot about about expressions of dragonborns but it looks more snarly than usual so yeah on that uh scouting of the room i'll then at the end of my look see jago in the corner and i'll start running quite happily over to him to see how he is probably trip on a stall or something on the way yeah apologize to the stall and uh yeah make my way to the table brilliant okay so you approach over here and still take our food
00:55:19
Speaker
I've got a plate of food there that hasn't been touched. It's quite cool by now, but you put it pretty easy. There are no drinks or anything. There's just a bottle of bran liqueur, which Drago is currently getting his way through. And there's also an empty glass as well that seems to have had the same liquid in it. But every other drink on the table is empty. Drago's slightly rocking. OK. OK. And he's very intently looking at the bottle. OK. OK. Are you going to eat that? I haven't eaten in a while. I'm feeling a bit weak.
00:55:50
Speaker
Claude, I didn't see you. Yeah, yeah, help yourself. Thank you. Your breath smells. Okay, I don't know what to do with that. Okay. What has you been drinking? It doesn't smell like owl. Actually. And then Draghi takes the drink and another cup that Elfie was using, unless you took it over with you. No, no. That would be weird. No. And it fills up Elfie's cup and slides over. Actually, if I drink and buddy, it's appreciated sometimes.
00:56:20
Speaker
I said, I brought my own, and then I hit flask of milk appears on the table. Your milk. I forgot, I don't know as well, just and he takes the shot glass that he handed to you and finishes it and then gives it back to you for your milk. Thank you. Thank you. Where's everybody else? I think I pissed off everyone to bed. You pissed them off the bed?
00:56:46
Speaker
I don't know what that means. Is that a saying in the salt coast? I'm glad, um... Claude, can we not do this right now? I've already got, like, a lot going on. You look different. And I don't think it's the sniff, it's the drink. You look... Have you had an... Have you had an unpleasant experience? A couple of unpleasant exchanges with people that I shouldn't care about.
00:57:15
Speaker
I noticed on the battlefield, sometimes you're the person I'm speaking to now, and sometimes... Do you think I'm reckless? Focused. Reckless. On the battlefield, do you think what I did out there was reckless? No. Everyone else has an opinion about it, so you may as well give me yours before.
00:57:36
Speaker
You just tell me in an angry exchange. I'm asking you up front. It takes a lot to make me angry. I actually can't imagine you're angry. Intelligent, I think. You stayed close enough to me that I made sure nothing could happen to you. And that's a good thing. I think we made a good team.
00:58:04
Speaker
I didn't expect you to say that. I expected you to say that I was reckless. I've been thinking back. I don't know, Claude. I don't know. A few words said to me tonight. Look, I'm just thinking about things. I don't know. I contemplated maybe I was.
00:58:29
Speaker
Maybe I wasn't reckless art. Who cares? Where do you think your recklessness has happened? And we can find out if you were reckless or if you were intelligent. I can't believe I'm going to ask this. Can you do me a favour? Okay. Okay. Maybe.
00:58:59
Speaker
You don't seem to get angry. You don't seem to get emotional. You just seem like you all the time. Thank you. Yes, so I wonder maybe if you think maybe if I'm being reckless you could
00:59:26
Speaker
or some kind of like... Do you think you're more likely to be reckless when you're like you are now or when you fight like a crazed and rage dragon? I mean maybe the battle has something to do with it but I do like to battle. You're good at it? I find that it gets the blood pulsing, pumping around my body, it's addictive. You're good at it? I know, yeah but it seems that other people
00:59:59
Speaker
Can you put Shadar in danger? I mean... Because you didn't. You didn't. Is this what it is? Are you feeling bad about your dwarven friend? I really don't. Or was he your... He wasn't your owner. He wasn't. No, no, no, no, no, no. I understand. He was just a friend. I didn't feel bad. I don't feel bad. I... I'm not... Right.
01:00:29
Speaker
He died as I want to die and that's all I see it, but everyone else seems to read into it a little bit more and maybe someone has said that my recklessness could get... I don't know. Was it Tali? Because I just saw her outside and she was very upset. She upset too. I seem to have upset everyone somehow.
01:01:01
Speaker
Elthea and Robin I feel like have made me thought about this. It seems to come apparent that they've been thinking for some time that my recklessness is a problem and not a help and as someone who is only ever
01:01:25
Speaker
Gone into battle. Headstrong. Never really thinking about consequences. This is kind of new to me. Well, maybe there's a way that you can combine both those things. Maybe you can continue to be headstrong and be your ultimate machine of fighting.
01:01:48
Speaker
Ultimate machine of fighting hmm. I mean that has a ring to it. I think you would suit that title Maybe there's a way that we can I know that whenever I start to feel any sort of strong emotions like happiness or or laughter or anxiety or hunger I just
01:02:16
Speaker
consult the master. I really don't want to consult any master going forwards. Maybe not my master, but maybe there are ways that you can train yourself in other ways to control the recklessness if you think it's a problem. I don't think it's a problem.
01:02:45
Speaker
Well, lots of things. I mean, there's the master, there's milk, there's the fact that I died once, there's a few of the lovely things that- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You died once. Yeah. I mean, you say that like that was just a natural thing.
01:03:13
Speaker
Well everything we just fought outside last night died once. I've never died once. I don't recommend it. When did you die? In the past. Fair enough. How long ago in the past? Some time. And who killed you? Myself, maybe. I don't like to talk about it. Are you telling me you're an undead? No. So you're not like one of those guys?
01:03:43
Speaker
No, I eat and the other bit at the bottom happens after I eat. I sweat and get tired. I am capable of speech-ing. OK, I mean, I get that you'll have things that you don't want to talk about. Trust me, I kind of wish that that's my normal state of being. I don't know what's happened to me tonight. He takes another drink.
01:04:13
Speaker
What helps me is having, not necessarily guidance, but a means to think more about things. And maybe that's something that we can help with you. Maybe. Just, um, okay. Try and keep this between me and you and, um, don't tell others I was second-guessing anything.
01:04:49
Speaker
If what I'm going to do... If I don't have any heads, I will wave or something. Just whatever you need to do to let me know that my actions could cause damage to the party. I understand. Or the living. I understand. Okay, well... I, um... I think you'll see Shader again.
01:05:21
Speaker
I'm not in a way that meant that you die, or that he comes back like... Claude, I'm not a god. I'm not a god. You fight like a god sometimes. I mean, I don't believe in the gods. That's okay. When someone dies, other than what I've seen out there with the undead horde, in my past, when people have died, they've stayed dead.
01:05:51
Speaker
No matter how many times I've prayed for them to come back. So I don't think I'll see Shado again. The problem here is we're praying for them to stay dead and they're not. That's a problem. Well, maybe there's something to be said about helping the people here.
01:06:21
Speaker
And with that, he takes the bottle and does no longer bother to fill the glass. He drains the entire bottle. Okay, I'm going to. And he just kind of gestures upstairs. Nice night. Morning, morning. Rather. Thank you, Claude. Would you like one of these? What? It's just a teddy bear. It helps me sleep.
01:06:50
Speaker
And it's hard to sleep when the sun's out. You know what? Just give me the damn bear. Oh, I have a yellow one. Okay, fine. Thank you. And Drago then takes... How little is this bear in Drago's hands?
01:07:05
Speaker
It probably fits in the palm of your hand. Okay, Jago just takes that and with that drunken shuffle, like just moving slowly, head down, goes upstairs and finds his room for the night. Lovely, and... Elf here, you've just headed up, you've grabbed one of the keys and you've walked up the way that much Robin has gone as well. What would you like to do?
01:07:31
Speaker
I see it was sort of like a landing or something like that, so... It seems the door's off to the right and left. Elf air sort of looks down. Are any of the rooms, are all the doors closed? The doors are open, most of them.
01:07:45
Speaker
Sorry, three doors are shut. One of them will be Folly's, which is still shut. Tally's door is still shut as well. And also another door, which you assume is Robin's door, is still shut. So there are three possibilities. Every other door is open, almost like they're just open and ready to be taken. So imagine like Folly's room has distinct, like, self-fury smells coming from it. You can tell which one it is. 100% you can smell very clearly. The first door on the right that's shut is Folly's room. You can hear him.
01:08:09
Speaker
Behind the door as you go, ooh that's very interesting, like that behind the door as you do this, you know if one is in that first room, there are two other doors opposite one another, but half way down the corridor that are also shut. So, I'll say we'll walk down the corridor, sort of outside the bedrooms. Robin? Robin, do you hear me? Do you want to say anything back? You would hear this by the way, there are only wooden doors.
01:08:29
Speaker
I'm in here, Alfie. And I will then sort of gently open the door that he's called from. And what does Alfie see when he enters into the... Robin sees that... Robin doesn't see. Alfie sees that Robin has sat. Are they like Juliet doors in these rooms, whatever they are? Juliet doors open, he's just sat there. He's taking his boots off and he looks quite tired.
01:08:58
Speaker
doesn't turn around as Elphir comes in, just keeps his gaze out of the door in front of him. So Elphir will actually now switch to Elvish. Okay. And sort of approaches Robin sort of gently and goes, you left the table quite quickly, is everything all right? This attempt to get home, not going very well, is it? No.
01:09:26
Speaker
That's all I'll reply to, I'll assume for every reason we're having this discussion at the end of the day. Elph is quite pleased that Robin has followed probably even whether or whether Robin has done it consciously or just slipped into it. Yeah, we seem to have been sidetracked, although at least that vision has given us some help.
01:09:48
Speaker
That vision made no sense to me whatsoever, but if you think it's useful, then, then wonderful. And he said Freestand was the keeper of our way home, so... And Freestand's the voice we've heard before. Yeah, he's the hanging man. I've forgotten about him. I was quite happy to have forgotten him. It's a strange thing.
01:10:12
Speaker
to sit here and say I feel completely out of my depth, but I do. These soldiers here are lucky, we are lucky that those creatures were not as giant or not as dangerous as some of the other things that we have fought in the past.
01:10:31
Speaker
I agree, and you're right. We are very lucky, and I feel the same way you do. The vision's unsettled me. It's not the first one I've had. But we fought worse. We know that these terminals, these places, can throw out far worse than those things with the tongues. Yes. How did it have done so? This city would have fallen. Or we would have been faced with the decision of trapping Drago and you trying to rescue him yourself outside the city walls. Yes. I had a conversation with Drago about that just now.
01:11:01
Speaker
He's, am I being unreasonable to think that he's being reckless sometimes? There are two agents at play and then they battle, chaos and control. Drago is a master of chaos. We can't expect him to do any less. He has his uses. Yeah, but the problem is, and I agree, he has his uses. You're absolutely right. But I think, I think back to some of the things that we've encountered, some of the things that have happened to us.
01:11:30
Speaker
It makes me think that sometimes the things, the way Drago approaches things with his bullheadedness and his recklessness without considering anything else is getting us sometimes into more trickier situations than we should have been in. Maybe. If you're referring to, of course, the situation where Shayla felt, I feel bad about that.
01:11:54
Speaker
But I feel like we could have rested like I wasn't at full strength. We'd fought the mummies downstairs, we'd fought those two creatures. We weren't at full strength and yet when I said let us rest here...
01:12:07
Speaker
another instance where he wants to charge into a room and kick the door open. You saw as well as I did that the creatures were coming out of that portal. Which I don't deny. And perhaps they would eventually come across when we were resting, but then maybe... I know, I know. I'm just speaking out loud. It's just, it's with the visions, that vision we all had and the visions I've had before, it makes me think about... It makes me question. I mean, have you had any visions?
01:12:37
Speaker
I have what I saw in the book. Didn't make a lot of sense. It said some things that unearthed me. This rough hawksplitter appears to be quite important and the book distinctly told me he was dead. Here's the rub everyone else is talking like he's very much not dead. But this person you think is dead? I don't. The book told me many things and I don't know if the book told me things because it understood
01:13:05
Speaker
how I would process them. I'm concerned more about Driver that he's insisting on carrying that thing around. Yeah, this is it. I mean, you know, we've come through this world, we fought to get his, get to find the origin of his sword, which has ended up us being here. And you're right, he does seem to be focused on, on things that
01:13:24
Speaker
There are odd for him. He all of a sudden seems willing to do things for others that he didn't before. And as you say this, I don't know, he just seems to be more arrogant than he used to be. The visions I've had, I had a vision, the visions I've had and the conversation I had in a mirror which you weren't there for. It's warned me about something within our group. The book said something similar to me. And that worries me.
01:13:54
Speaker
It worries me a lot that I don't know. We've shade all gone and everything and I'm looking at what we're getting into and the last thing I want to do is face it knowing that, or worrying that we have to look.
01:14:10
Speaker
to our own. Does that not... It worries me, but having lived through this once before, and if I could give you some advice out of here, I don't suppose that there's much that I could give you, but... I'll take it though, you are my friend after all. Glad you see me that way. Glad to see you the same. I, having lost pretty much my entire family to betrayal and deception,
01:14:37
Speaker
All we can do is ensure that we trust each other. I'm, at this stage, willing to give us the trust rather than these visions and creatures that are telling us. We should not entrust that these things that talk to us are benign presences. They could be the very things that are trying to serve against each other. And fall for that. Not again. And you're right.
01:15:05
Speaker
When I saw the mirror, you were in your book by this point, the mirror said some things to me that my mentor said to me a long time ago. And I think about my duties and my oaths that I swore on the Sword Coast and my loyalties there. And I agree with you, maybe these visions are bad, but then equally I think about
01:15:36
Speaker
that these visions may be warnings as well, and I just can't keep pushing it out of my mind. This Ralph Hawkes blizzard, will any of the others know where to find him? Maybe Claude Mites, maybe Folly's heard of him, I mean maybe Arc Ward will know. We find him, and if the book told me true, we know we may have a serious problem. However,
01:16:01
Speaker
We should not place any trust in these visions that we have seen at this stage. I would rather place our trust in each other. As far as Drago goes, well, we need to talk to him rather than about him. He makes it difficult though. I will sit down there right now.
01:16:19
Speaker
His arrogance, his recklessness, he doesn't even, I asked him what his aim was, he said I'm going to die gloriously about it. He didn't care if that death then impacted us. And that worries me. The fact that his outlook on life is so all about himself.
01:16:37
Speaker
I don't know, you're right. I don't know whether I can have a, we can have a reasonable conversation with him about it, Robin. I'll be honest with you, he is, the way he's spoken, the way he acts is, he doesn't care about what others think. And his arrogance is going, his arrogance and his reckoning is going to, at some point, cause another one of us to die. It might not be me. It might not be you. It could be Tali. Tali could be the next one to die because he decides to charge into a room.
01:17:11
Speaker
And that worries me. Robin takes a deep breath aside, sits back in his chair and goes, I think we should get some rest, Elfie. There is, um... I have seen what pulls at the heart of every dragon. One dragon might not believe it.
01:17:33
Speaker
But the desire to do good stems from their god of behemoths, and the desire to tear things to pieces stems from Tiamat. It pulls at his very soul. We can't change that. What we can do is look to the fact that he has improved, I mean, and that he seems to, I don't know, I don't know what I believe him, I don't know what I feel.
Visions, Tensions, and Future Concerns
01:17:57
Speaker
But what if, what if these visions, these things are gonna draw upon the part of him that's Tiamat?
01:18:04
Speaker
then we'll have a difficult decision to make. Me well, and I just worry what happens when we have to make that decision. But I appreciate... Trust, I fear. Let's trust in Drago that that decision will never come to come. He makes it difficult sometimes. Rather than... You've earned my trust and my respect, my admiration as a human, the things I've seen you do and the way I've seen you conduct yourself beyond your years.
01:18:35
Speaker
And from an old fat, that is a lot for me to see in a man. But what I see in Drago is, you ask me to trust in his actions. The problem is, is sometimes the things he does, the things he says, the way he talks to us, does not endear me to that. Well, as I said,
01:18:56
Speaker
I think when heads are clearer, I myself needed to withdraw myself from that situation. And I appreciate that, man. Sorry I had to come up. I just needed to talk to a friend. I think when heads are clearer, I feel we all need to discuss what we're doing next. But for now, I'm going to spend a few days trying to understand this world we're in, because that's my first goal. I still don't understand where we are. We're certainly not at home anymore. That much I've come to the conclusion of.
01:19:24
Speaker
And you're right, and thank you for talking to me. I needed someone else to talk to. Home's an abstract concept, my friend. I don't have one for many years. That's, um... Well, I will talk to Talia in time, if I think that she will... if that's of any use. I am worried for her. I... I can see elements of myself in her. When I grew up, lost...
01:19:52
Speaker
walked away, lost my family at a young age, didn't know where I was still. Still that. But the girl is a girl with great potential and she could be the most important of all of us. As we said, Drago is a creature of chaos and well, I think she could be one of the greatest creatures of control.
01:20:16
Speaker
You both are, and I think you do yourself discredit to not include yourself. One thing I know from my many years is that you humans have such potential and such an ability to see a light in the darkness. And I think you both are perhaps the guiding light we need. Robin takes a thing into that. He's not one for those kind of stereotypes or compliments.
01:20:43
Speaker
The terrible thing about humans, Alfie, is we need sleep. And I need sleep. We'll talk more later. I'll give you some sleep. Thank you, Alan. You're welcome, Robin. Then the door shut behind it. As the door goes to close, Alfie? Yes. I appreciate what you said. Strange concepts in me, friends. I've only ever had family. Good to have a friend. I mean it. Every word. As an Alf.
01:21:12
Speaker
I say this, you know, I've seen humans and I've seen you all grow, be young, grow old and die and for us it is quite hard. And so when I make a friend in a human it is certainly, I stand by it to count you as a friend. Give Drago time, give him the benefit of the doubt and give him
01:21:41
Speaker
They're coming favourably. I didn't do that with Belprachs and he died a crazed lunatic at the hands of Shailar's axe. Oh, I'll go as a chance to be more than that. We should... We should give him that benefit. I'll do my best for you, but I will have to keep myself and be very cautious around him, because I don't want us to fall because of something he does. And with that outfit, it will.
01:22:10
Speaker
I think the door just shuts and you have your quiet and, well, you, uh, sorry, um, Elfie, you could then use this time to return to your library as well. Thank you very much.
Community Engagement and Shoutouts
01:22:21
Speaker
I think that was a very good RP session there. We are like, some things got off people's chests, maybe they were holding on to them for a while. Maybe some backstories were told that no one expected to be telling. That's at all, Drago. You are welcome. Yeah, thanks. Now he's in a fucking open book.
01:22:39
Speaker
No, thank you all very much. I thought I had a real good episode. I look forward to listening to that back. As always, you can keep in touch with us via our Twitter page, which is, as the podcast, is at Fellowship Table. And then if you wanted to go one more step further, you can follow us on our individual pages. You can follow me at iRoller1.
01:23:09
Speaker
Until next time guys. Farewell!
01:23:28
Speaker
Hi everyone, this is a special and really quick shoutout to our main man Danny who plays Claude. He's set up his own Etsy page and is called, funnily enough, Crafts by Claude. He's currently hand making and selling personalised initiative trackers. Each comes with a logo of the character or creature type
01:23:43
Speaker
you can also have them made for baddies as well, and they can be personalised to include specific character names or indeed nicknames if you want them. But wait, I hear you exclaim, where do I put these awesome trackers made by the world's single nicest person? Luckily they fit perfectly on your DM screen, or in my case, my laptop screen.
01:24:01
Speaker
We've all been there in the heat of battle with six or seven rounds in. It's been five straight hours of playing D&D and your mind's a little bit frazzled and you're losing track. These are perfect just for letting you know who's going when and who's next. Check out his work on Etsy. Search Crafts by Claude.