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C2 Ep. 81 Wanton Vengeance Chapter One
277 Plays3 years ago
An acquaintance informs a party member of a setback to their goals, and enlists their help to make it right.
This episode is brought to you by the generous donations of our amazing Show Sponsors: Laura Pickrahn, Darrin Katzska, Irene Viorritto, Ryan Royce, Darrell DeLaney, Jessica Smith, Charles Compton, Danielle Bramhall-Smith, Nastasia Raulerson, The Kamm Family, David Scrams, Elizabeth Clark, Andy Dossett, Rebekah Gowman, deviouspoptart, Eðvarð Arnór Sigurðsson, Michael Clark, Eric Witman, and Shelby Johnson.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsors
00:00:00
Speaker
The following episode is brought to you by the generous donations of Laura Pickron, Darryl Delaney, Darren Katska, Devious Poptart, Irene Villarito, Ryan Royce, Andy Dossett, Danielle Bramhall-Smith, Elizabeth Clark, Eric Whitman, Jessica Smith, Charles Compton, Natasha Rallerson, Richard Cree, The Cam Family,
00:00:20
Speaker
David Scrams, Dustin Troop, Edvard Arnoff, Michael Clark, Rebecca Gowman, and Shelby Johnson, as well as all of our generous patrons.
Podcast and Hosts Introduction
00:01:15
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Ever On Renewed, an actual play podcast set in the Ever On Campaign setting. I'm your game master, Eric. I'm Phillip. I'm Trevor. I'm Randy. I am Jeff. Welcome to another episode. Gentlemen, what happened last time?
Recap of Previous Events
00:01:30
Speaker
Milo couldn't conjure a puppy. That is the central conflict at the biggest episode, yes. Eris is one step closer to becoming a mad scientist.
00:01:45
Speaker
a supervillain in her own right. I don't know where you guys were. Hop just bought some guys on a boat. I don't know what you guys were up to. I'd learned the secret of making teleportation bombs. I've learned to weaponize teleportation.
00:02:06
Speaker
um think of all the horrible things yeah right now it teleports an entire being though but if you can get that narrow damage just teleporting parts of a person i saw infinity war you're really onto something what you can do with this
Heist Aftermath and Battery Handling
00:02:22
Speaker
Um, yes, uh, you all finished the heist, uh, returned the batteries or the battery to Tarvel. Aeris has five other ones in her possession in one inert one. Um, and yeah. Save one of those in case Tarvel ever wants to send us on another job for one of those. And I now know how to make more. Yep. There, there you go. Um,
00:02:50
Speaker
Okay. Go sell him a spare.
Time Jump and Character Activities
00:02:55
Speaker
So we're going to jump ahead a few days since the end of the last job. How many few days? Let's say three exactly days. Very well. Anything in particular that you all would have gotten up to?
00:03:11
Speaker
I assume Milo would have been doing his collecting. Now, is Milo doing this solo now? I know there was a point in time where Hobb was with him. Yeah. So, I mean, is that still going on or is it a solo act now or what? Well, I think that's a question for old Hobb. I know Hobb's got things going on, so.
00:03:36
Speaker
I think that if Milo brings it up to Hob, Hob is on board to be there for it.
Stalking Concerns and Safety Measures
00:03:41
Speaker
I mean, remember last time you all sat down and talked, you found out that Jason has been stalking Milo while he's out doing collections. Hob did find out that out. That is true. So yes, Hob would probably go on the next run with you to see if Jason, like to see it for himself, just to see what it looked like felt like. So yeah, that is a good point. Okay. Whether you asked or not. Milo.
00:04:07
Speaker
Give me a average perception check. I would ask. Well, Hob, if you wanna make one till you can. Yeah, I mean, I'd be looking around. I just suck at perception. You say average? Yes. Could I... I mean, Milo's kinda on high alert now.
00:04:31
Speaker
Okay. We've got all the story points if you want to flip one, Randy. Sure. I like to flip one for a boost. Okay. Upgrade. Yeah. Upgrade. Whoops. Upgrade. Yep. So purple goes to a yellow.
00:04:48
Speaker
A green goes to a yellow. I mean a green goes to a yellow. That'd be a heck of a talent. But if you want to turn a purple to a yellow, you do that. Do you want Milo to roll first and me to augment it, or do you care? It doesn't matter. I'll go ahead and take care of mine then. There you go. One advantage, can I pass a boost? Sure. Okay, roll one boost, Randy, to add to your roll.
00:05:15
Speaker
Oh, zero success, three advantage. So neither of you spot Jason stalking about. You do have three advantage, though, Milo. I mean, I don't know if this is going to matter, but
00:05:46
Speaker
I just want to say the collections go uneventfully. We'll say it was an idea. OK, yeah, not for the advantage. I have an idea, though. OK, we'll say it was a particularly good take today. Yeah, everybody paid and then some and so. I would like to spend a story point. OK. Because we were all made aware that Milo thinks Jason stalking
Skepticism on Stalking Claims
00:06:11
Speaker
him. Yes. I think it's not surprising to anyone that Eris thinks Milo is losing his mind.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah. Literally it's whipping out through a scarring forehead. It's evaporating out of his forehead apparently. Eris is using the new feature of Tasha's bird chassis to follow along on this
00:06:40
Speaker
on this run of collections. There is a little mechanical falcon just popping from tree to tree watching. So can I make a perception check through Tasha? Sure. What was the difficulty? Average. One failure, three advantage.
00:07:04
Speaker
That's the one that sends Philip to the Dark Star Line. Fine. What would you like to do with your three advantage? Oh, I don't know. Who cares? Raynard's also there. I really have no idea. Not knowing what's happened. What's to come? Yeah.
00:07:32
Speaker
I have no strain to heal. I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a boost die for the next check that's made. OK. Raynard, what are you up to?
Pet Acquisition Gone Awry
00:07:47
Speaker
Oh, goodness. Well, Raynard's been thinking a lot about getting a pet now. So I was going to go see if I could if
00:08:02
Speaker
I'm gonna go buy him a little pet mouse. Okay, okay. But I'd like to, I'd like to, I don't know if I need to spend a story pointer for this or not, but to know where to go to get a little mouse that also knows some tricks, some little thieving tips and tricks. Give me a, this feels like a project.
00:08:31
Speaker
And I know Raynard does not have to discipline to train an animal. Give me a streetwise check. An easy streetwise check to ask him around. Be like, hey, you know where I can get a mouse that does stuff? Build you one. Oh. Well, it's automatically giving me two strain. That's weird. OK, that's one purple, right? Easy as? Yes. OK.
00:09:01
Speaker
So this is how we're starting out, huh? Starting out. This is how we're starting out. Get all the failures out of the way. You got one failure for advantage. So you aren't able to find a mouse that can do thieving tricks, unfortunately. People are like, I don't know, man. Because your contacts are a bit more upper crust than that. It's like, killing. I'm looking for a mouse.
00:09:27
Speaker
Well, I have a giraffe that knows how to steal things, but it's not very conspicuous. For four advantage, I will say that you can find the opposite though. You can find a cat that can do like... That can't steal anything. It's just constantly whales.
00:09:48
Speaker
It's a cat that always returns stolen objects to their owners. It's a dead cat covered in bells. It's a police cat. You're kind of a police cat. That's actually hilarious. Like, yeah, you found a cat with incredibly good senses that can track things. That's what you found.
00:10:08
Speaker
If you would like to acquire that animal, you can. No. Some mouse or nothing. I'll take it. I'll take it. What does it look like? Who's selling retired police cats? Tell me about the cat. What's it look like?
00:10:28
Speaker
Oh, uh, long hair, orange with, uh, white, like light orange stripes. Um, that kind of look with just the long hair on the face, um, still, you know, looks much bigger than, than he actually is. He's a very fit, uh, dexterous cat, but he looks very floofy. Oh, I like it. His name's Arthur. Arthur? Yeah. Artie. Okay.
00:10:56
Speaker
Hob doesn't like cats. I don't know if that's important to you or not. I don't know if you've noticed, but Raynard doesn't do things that people like. Okay. So Raynard got a cat while everybody else was out there. I want to know who this black market cat dealer is.
Cogs' Danger Alert
00:11:19
Speaker
Raynard. There's a million stories in the Naked City, Philip.
00:11:23
Speaker
No, okay, so Raynard was trying, okay, this might be a little like doofy for Raynard, but I think you're fine with that Trevor. You're trying to go around to like your black market contacts and you get frustrated and you go to Verla and it's like, I'm looking for a mouse that can steal things. It's like, we have a cat that just retired. It's like, oh, okay.
00:11:45
Speaker
It's an old cat. The least plausible aspect of this is the idea that Verla would entrust Reynard with a living creature. It's, I mean, outstanding.
00:12:02
Speaker
Where can I find a mouse thief? The police station. Surely they've arrested one recently. Can I get one of my custody? You got any mouse thieves? Sibley went to Verla to say, do you arrest animals? Oh, out of our animal crimes division just retired. It's the cat. The cat was the animal detective.
00:12:38
Speaker
I know it's not the most appropriate time to say that I've quit the podcast, but it's the time that's right for me to say that I've quit the podcast. I saw this stemming from Milo just wanting to conjure up puppies. 100%. It is. Absolutely.
00:12:54
Speaker
No, I was wanting an animal at some point anyway, so I just... Alright, well I guess Hob goes on the lookout for a raccoon to make a pet friend out of. Oh man, I bet there are so many raccoons in Sharn. Absolutely there are. There's gotta be so much garbage.
00:13:14
Speaker
I'll get you stats for the cat later, Trevor. I don't have them ready, obviously. Yeah, Hob's trying to find the right raccoon, though, Philip. Okay. Hob, you get contacted at some point when you go by the for sales, there's a message waiting for you from Narn.
00:13:40
Speaker
your minotaur friend. Basically, it says, a situation down the cogs is mounting, I need to discuss with you, meet me at our spot.
00:13:59
Speaker
First of all, Nord, it's not our spot. It's a restaurant. Well, it's really important. It's where we met. Yeah, sure. He goes to the Conspicuous Bird. Not Conspicuous, Consistent Bird.
00:14:20
Speaker
That's gonna be Hobbs pet, a conspicuous bird. That's a bird of paradise walking around. What's the, is it the Quetzal that has the extremely long tail feathers and the big bomb at the top? Yep.
00:14:38
Speaker
Okay, Narn is waiting for you there. Actually out front, he's not in the restaurant at a table. He's waiting outside. Hey, Hob. Something's happening down in the cogs that I got word from from some contacts. Some of the people that we've recruited have started fleeing the city and some others have wound up injured.
00:15:05
Speaker
It's not exclusively ours, though. It's just there's something going on down there. And there's been reports of a large figure attacking people. But it's bad for us and what we're trying to do. But I'm...
00:15:26
Speaker
Yeah, I wanted to come to you because I'm terrible in a fight. I don't know if we've gone over that. I'm a recruiter. There's a reason I have a desk job. So yeah, you seem to carry yourself better than that. I mean, I could throw a punch, but you know. So I just want to make sure that I'm clear. Narn has come to Hobb to say that
00:15:53
Speaker
People who came to sharn of their own volition but happened to meet Hob. Would have been in the cogs anyway and are now getting kidnapped from the cogs. Yeah, Hob probably still cares. After hiring up to do violent work. Right, right. Are you saying that mercenary work is dangerous, Narn? Okay, he said there's a...
00:16:18
Speaker
It's more than just that into a giant monster now. People that have witnessed, people are being severely hurt. And it's not in work, witnesses are saying that a large figure is during the night in the cogs stalking people and attacking them.
00:16:42
Speaker
You got to call the guys from Supernatural on this one. Man, I think Hobb takes it to the team. He's not going to fully ignore it, but he's not going to run down there with Narn to fix things. That was Narn, yeah. And Eris has expressed an interest in getting more involved in Hobb's life outside of work anyway.
00:17:04
Speaker
That's one way to interpret it. That's one way to interpret that. Hey, all Hobbs sees that she's upset that he won't let her come to recruiting missions. Well, guess what, Sis? We're going to the COGS. OK.
Team's Investigation Offer
00:17:18
Speaker
So call everyone together at the Vore Sales. Any NPCs that you're calling on? You know, I... Kath. Kath.
00:17:35
Speaker
I think he puts the call out to everybody and sees who shows up. Count Sigilsana, the whole crew can come and listen in here. Because you invite Viggo. Don't forget Viggo. I don't invite Viggo, but I do invite Jason. Great. Yes, excellent. Yeah, Jason, come to the secret meeting. Yeah, and Satan can come and Tarful and Narval the Garflop.
00:18:03
Speaker
Really everyone except- Everyone but Vigo. Just because there's a Vigo here, that everyone but him was invited. Get Beldar in here. We've decided to solve this problem by going Mean Girls on Vigo. Man, this episode is weird. I reached out to King Bornell.
00:18:29
Speaker
Okay, so cats on an incigil. What is the name? Like, what do you say, Jeff? What does Hobbs say? I say, I think all I say is, listen, a friend came to me concerned. People are going missing down in the cogs. And I mentioned the reports of
00:19:01
Speaker
Look, I'm going to look into it because this is a friend. However, if any of you would like to come with me, that would be great. I don't think, we're not getting paid for this. This is not a job, this is a outside of work. Well, if there's danger in your going, then I'm absolutely going to.
00:19:27
Speaker
Yeah, and I think I will say, you know, it would be the first monster we saw in the cogs, it could be related to what we've been dealing with. What? Why do you have to go deal with it? I mean, these people, you've been recruiting, they're, they're recruited to do dangerous stuff, right? I didn't know this. Specifically, it was the people he'd been recruiting.
00:19:57
Speaker
Oh. Cause. Cause last time we went down there. Um. We don't have a good record with big monsters in the cogs. Yeah. Right. No, I was also there. Um.
00:20:24
Speaker
I don't know how to explain it other than a friend came to me with a need and I think you don't be well enough to know that I'm at least going to look into it. I'm coming to you all because it seems prudent to let you in on what's happening and if you're not interested then you're not interested and if enough of you aren't interested perhaps my
00:20:54
Speaker
Did the cats all show up? Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Um, Kath speaks up and says, no, I'll, I'll, I'll go with you. To which Sana immediately, me too. I'll be there.
00:21:13
Speaker
Raynard actually wasn't invited, but he's gonna go. Me and Viggo on the Oscars. Somehow I definitely managed to avoid all eye contact with Raynard while making the speeches. My cat returned the invitation because he thought it was stolen. Are we gonna talk about the cat? This is Arthur.
00:21:41
Speaker
Well, did you get a cat? Are we allowed to have animals in the restaurant? This is ridiculous. He's gonna go crazy in here. Yes. Just can't get enough of the fish and chips.
00:22:01
Speaker
Well, I give up alcohol and I need another hobby, okay Did you see the way I drink I Just want to know is this cat going to be going with us when we Seems like the sort of thing that would get eaten by a big lizard
00:22:28
Speaker
Well, I can leave it here if you'd like, but it's very handy. It used to be a policeman. Oh, wonderful. Okay, what? What? And then Hobb thinks that this poor thing's been transmutated. Oh, right. Yes, that's obviously what happened. Like, Hobb, you used to be, are you still in there, officer?
00:22:54
Speaker
What does it do that makes you think it used to be a policeman? Oh, no, no, no. Well, it's okay. Rainard explains, but the audience doesn't need to hear it again. Oh, man, I'm gonna. Just, oh, what a dumb, what a dumb, everything, what a dumb world.
00:23:18
Speaker
Stupid cats would become the most popular thing on this podcast. So we are taking a cat? Well, we don't have to, but it would be a little rude. Look. I'm sorry, I asked. That was my fault. Raynard, Raynard, here's what you have to consider.
00:23:47
Speaker
If the cat goes with us now, the cat will likely still be with us when we potentially, uh, come across this large, dangerous monster. And we'll likely die. Because it's, it's, it's cat ringer. And what we do is dangerous. Cats that famously stay at home all day and are fine.
00:24:12
Speaker
Well, all right. I guess it can stay here at the for sales. What? Okay. Yes. If you've lost anything, just let him know. He'll find it. Really? Yes. Hmm. Arthur come and cat pops down off the level. It goes behind the counter.
00:24:37
Speaker
I want for the cat to imprint on open and just leave rain on.
00:24:45
Speaker
Also, do you have to have actually lost it or can I just tell that I lost a hundred gold? He knows. Where's, um, Sigil on all this? Sigil is sitting quietly, kind of getting a vibe for what everyone else is going to do. It's a weird vibe today, Sigil. That's what, that's the vibe of today. It's a weird one. Um, I,
00:25:14
Speaker
Obviously, Hob, anything that you need, I'm more than willing to assist, but I don't know where my particular skills lie in this effort, if that makes sense.
Interview with an Attack Victim
00:25:29
Speaker
If you all, I think the cat would fare better in a fight with a big monster than me. No, Sigils, certainly I don't want to put you in any danger.
00:25:43
Speaker
I wanted to extend. If there's something that you think I can help with, then I'm more than willing to come along. But if this is a find the monster, kill the monster kind of job, then we all know. Well, you know, I think there's certainly a what's the monster element to it all. Why the monster could also come up. It's just something that I think you might be particularly... What is that? What does that say, Philip?
00:26:10
Speaker
I really thought we were about to go into how the monster, who's the monster. How the monster is also important for sure. But, um, okay. And of course, if it does, if it does lead into an altercation, no one here, just like always, no one here will, uh, force you to stay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um, sure. Sure.
00:26:43
Speaker
Okay, so. Look, since I'm worried about you, Ed, I know. Okay, so you're all just gonna head down to the cogs and start looking about, or what's the game plan? I'm guessing Narn gave me something like a place to start looking or talking to people. It wasn't just like, all of the cogs are in danger.
00:27:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, obviously the area where you've been doing a lot of the recruiting is where people have been going missing. But Black Bones, which is under Tavox Landing, is where a lot of the lodging and residential and stuff like that is. And so that would be the district that would probably be the best place to go to ask around.
00:27:39
Speaker
I say we go there and I would like I'm gonna flip a story point to kind of play the Noah guy thing. Hobbs time down there. He's got somebody nice. He can talk or trust. So okay. So yeah, you you've made some contacts. You've gotten to know people down there. Okay, so yeah, your contact that you have down there. What is happening?
00:28:09
Speaker
is a warforged actually that lives down there in Blackbones. His name is Smith and he attends to... I once knew a pen with a wooden leg named Smith. There is a pool in Blackbones, a pool of water surrounded by lava.
00:28:33
Speaker
that you heard people talking about it while you were down there, that allegedly it's called the Pool of Onatar's Tears. Onatar is God of Smith and stuff like that. And essentially, it's believed that weapons and tempered metal that are tempered in this water are
00:28:55
Speaker
extra special. They are imbued with the magic on a tar and stuff like that. And so Smith looks after the pool. So, yeah.
00:29:09
Speaker
also smith also if you talk to him for too long we'll go off on a long tangent about the lord of blades and how he does not like that guy but that's just kind of his deal of the lord of blades related tangents i do prefer that one to have you heard the good news about our lord and savior of blades right yeah um
00:29:30
Speaker
But yeah, no, Smith is actually kind of adamantly opposed to the self-imposed segregation of Warforged from other, he thinks that Warforged need to integrate fully into larger society and just be among, all living creatures are meant to live together, it's kind of Smith's deal, so. But that's who you know down there, Hobb, so. And you know his tool. When you say that Smith tends to Onetar's tears, is that,
00:30:01
Speaker
Smith is like a cleric of Onatar sort of thing and this is a sacred space that he has actual charge of or he just lives near it because it's awesome. He is the caretaker of the pool. Like he takes care of it. He's not a full-on cleric in like 3.5 terms who would be an adept kind of thing. So yeah.
00:30:31
Speaker
And he mainly in terms of being a caretaker, just tries to keep people from messing with the pool of water. People will come on a pilgrimage to try and take water from the pool and it's like, hey, knock it off. No, it's supposed to be here. Now let me tell you my thoughts on the Lord of Blades. No, no, no. I'll come back for that. Yeah, I mean, I guess this is the sort of thing where
00:30:56
Speaker
we can roll seven strong into this room or just say, hold on, I'm gonna go chat. It's actually outdoors, so he would be just chilling by the pool. Just chill the up. Yeah, I guess I go up and take the lounger next to him. I think I'll just go there.
00:31:16
Speaker
Hey, Smith, Hob. Oh, hey, Hob. How's, you know, the tears and such? Oh, wet as ever. Great. A friend of mine told me that there's been some disappearances happening down here. Oh, yeah, yeah. Dreadful stuff. Yes, it's...
00:31:40
Speaker
The Forge haven't been targeted due to it, which is good, I guess. It became clear that Forge weren't the targets, mostly people coming in from Jo-Em that I've seen that have been targeted.
00:31:59
Speaker
Have you seen this monster? Uh, you know, I, one night I was out here and I caught out of my periphery, a large figure kind of skulking him out. Uh, but I did not give chase because obviously. Red smart short. Um, I mean, you got a tail. I, I, oh, hello. Um, I did not notice a tail. No. Eris is trying to get like a litmus strip into the pool. Nope.
00:32:28
Speaker
What are you doing? I just I'm not taking anything Don't people like temper stuff it yes, but that's different I Was that different Smith would you let her temper that strip of paper in the pool? That's not how temporary
00:32:52
Speaker
Yeah, man, I know. Let her put it in there. Eris sticks it back in her pocket. The animal tail? No. Fur? I didn't see a tail. No, I didn't see fur. Like I said, I saw a silhouette. How big are we talking? Big. We're big.
00:33:16
Speaker
I mean, you're huge. It was about as big. It was about as tall as you, but wider than you, Hob. And I guess Spooky has, I guess, an implied value of posture, but no, I just meant something moving in the shadows. That's what I saw.
00:33:39
Speaker
but they were big, real big. And yeah, only a couple of people have wound up dead, fortunately, not everyone, but people getting hurt real bad, so.
00:33:55
Speaker
But mostly at nighttime, when obviously we don't, nighttime is kind of a construct down here, but when people are sleeping and the street lamps are dimmed and things like that.
00:34:11
Speaker
So it's basically attacking like individuals, not anybody in a group or anything. As far as I know, yeah. It's certainly not going through the streets and like causing chaos and madness. It's definitely targeting people that it wants to hit. Like a predator. Look, Hobbes had a loss for what to do but wait around and see if the monster shows up. So if any of you guys have a thought,
00:34:41
Speaker
Because now that's just what it sounds like. There's a mystery to this. There's a monster taking people, period. Right. This is not the... But what might it really be? Is it a place... Is it a place where... What's the dim and dim for drama? Drawmites? Drawmic? Drawmites, I think? Drawmites, yeah, I think is... I don't like that. No. Is it a place where folk from drama...
00:35:11
Speaker
uh stay hang out there's a there a quarter down here yeah i mean they they live around here they're that we don't we don't have like large districts that are divided up like like up top but uh there's some houses i can point you in the right direction of of where some of the uh the housing for immigrants coming in from Joam uh where they stay
00:35:35
Speaker
if you like. And I do know, I figure that at those places, there's probably some of the injured folk that may have gotten a better look at the entity doing this to them. So they might be good people to talk to. Or you could also go check out the red hammer. That's the inn nearby. Mostly Warforged hanging around there, but inns are always a good spot to go get the scuttlebutt.
00:36:06
Speaker
and Smith spots Sigil kind of standing back. I just wanted to talk for a while. Yeah, okay. Well, what do you think, Hob? I mean, if there's a chance we...
00:36:29
Speaker
Hobb, Jeff may have misheard with his role then into Hobb having misheard. Hobb thought there wasn't anybody who's tussled and lived. So he says, well, if there are survivors that have seen it more closely, I suppose it certainly would be informative to go speak with them, wouldn't it?
00:36:46
Speaker
Be good. Oh, I'm talking to you, Smith. Oh, my bad. Sorry. But I'm going to talk to you a lot more. By the pool. I have a feeling, Smith, you and I are going to have at least one conversation per arc from now on. Great. Sounds good. Good to hear that voice. Over again. What do you say, team? Shall we go speak with the survivors? Sounds like Mr. Lee we got. Does he give us the name of the place?
00:37:18
Speaker
uh the housing yeah he gave you the location there's not really a sure good name of it i'm not it's not like an estate it's just i'm with you yep well uh by the the the light of the fire and forge guide you away aris pulls out her maps app and puts a pin in monetar's tears as a sighting of the creature
00:37:44
Speaker
And I was like, yep, what you said, kick the tires, light the virus, here we go. Yep, that's it, got it, got it in one. Okay, hey man, my name is Smith, I made a better time to intimidate you.
00:38:05
Speaker
Certainly not where it started, but it definitely is where it ended up. As you kept talking, I was like, okay, he's going for it. It's been early Barashah, but he's going for it. Let's see how that pans out. Okay, so yeah, you all head to the housing unit that
00:38:25
Speaker
that Smith pointed you in the direction of, you can see some people hanging out front, just people hanging on the street, it's during the day, and a half troll is hanging by the front door and sees you all approaching, he's like, help you? Half troll? Mm-hmm.
00:38:51
Speaker
fairy. He's got little wings on his back. Have you seen onward the the fairies in that movie are little like goblin with wings? Can I help you? Paris. Stairs.
00:39:09
Speaker
Of course she does. Uh, do you not speak common? Uh, I know we also, but Oh, you do. Yeah. Well, that's her giant. If you want to get crazy about it, if you got that giant, I need to start speaking in giant to you. Yeah. I've been, you know, I see five phone phone my way through it. We, um, what, what can I do for you? Listen, um, I'm going to shoot straight with you.
00:39:37
Speaker
I've got no... I don't know, he didn't start that way. He's gonna say, listen, a friend of mine came to me and my crew here with a concern about the disappearances lately. So he came down to the cogs to take a look. I've got no authority, I'll be frank. I can't force you to, but if you could help us talk to someone who may have had a closer encounter with the beast.
00:40:06
Speaker
Uh, yeah. Um, my, my brother actually had a run in with the, uh, the thing. Um, so how convenient for me, he says to himself silently without out loud. He's holed up inside. Um, so we can go in there and you can have a, he's touch and go. So don't press the issue too hard. Um, and maybe not all of you, uh, you, you are a rather voluminous group.
00:40:37
Speaker
Um, so.
00:40:42
Speaker
But yeah, I can lead Jin. And he walks through the front door. And walking through the front door, you kind of realize that by sheer fact that he can fit through it, this housing, Eris especially, since you're in the middle of a Renault job, this was thrown together out of necessity as quickly as possible. Like this was built into the walls of the base of the towers.
00:41:10
Speaker
to accommodate the individuals that are currently living here, if that makes sense. The door is this big because the people that live here needed a door this big kind of thing. Barris follows. Yeah. Yeah, I think Hobb turns around and assesses his group and says, all right, we can't always go in. Is there anybody who really wants to get a look at this fellow? I imagine that you will communicate
00:41:38
Speaker
everything that you learn. So I'm good, Kath says, and Sana and Sigil both nod, and Sigil's like, I'm gonna go talk to Smith real quick. I'll be, I'll just be over there. And it's eyesight away, like you could see Smith still. Yeah, I think Hob would. When Sigil says that, Hob just thinks real quick and recollects because he spent time with Smith what his,
00:42:09
Speaker
what his mark looks like. His mark is Gohra Gohra. Smiths. I mean, they look like
00:42:22
Speaker
Sigils is unique in that it looks like something else. Typically Ghoulra are a unique and individual symbol for that Warforge. So it looks like a Ghoulra. All Hob knows is there's something going on with Sigil and it involves his Ghoulra because of Milo and it involves
00:42:42
Speaker
I don't know what else, because I'll stop. So the big thing, well, it would have been communicated to you, it was just a long time ago, but the schema that Eris still has one of them, I think, and Olive has one, and Sigil has one, I think are where all three of them are. They had on them the Ghoulra of the War Forge that were like super powered that you encountered in your first job.
00:43:09
Speaker
So that's, that's where the Google reconnection is in terms of what Sigil initially started studying. So, um, so yeah. Um, and Kath, Kath just kind of, as Sigil walks away, kind of nods towards Sigil and, and Kath and Sana turn and follow just to, you know, no need to split up that that much. So, um, they head back over to Smith. We good?
00:43:37
Speaker
the half troll says all right and he walks in and opens the door and walks through an apartment uh you see a female troll sitting on a couch a full troll just like sitting on like an oversized couch you all feel like um
00:43:57
Speaker
Like those, I just remember a Laurel and Hardy sketch where they were playing children and so all of the furniture was built absurdly, like large. It's like that. And, who are they? These people come in to talk to Jessup. So you go into a back bedroom and you see another half troll laying in a bed.
00:44:25
Speaker
Just black and blue all over his face, clearly very severely beaten. Still some significant swelling. Looks like it was probably a couple of days ago. It's not so fresh that like the wounds are open, but certainly very little healing has happened up to this point. Interesting. Do we know that trolls have innate regenerative powers?
00:44:53
Speaker
And would it be weird to us that this troll is not regenerating? It would be weird that... So it's much more indicative of the fact that, like, he's healing, but he was beaten so severely that it's like... It's that bad. Okay. Yeah. He was beaten with an individual's life. Not something weird is happening that's preventing him from... It's just he was beaten so badly that it hasn't healed all the way yet. Okay. Yes. So...
00:45:24
Speaker
Okay. Um, Jessup, are you awake? And head kind of turns and you see two very swollen slits kind of open and look at you all and... Huh? Who are you? Uh, right, my name's Hog. Um, I've been asked to come down and look into the creature that did this to you.
00:45:53
Speaker
and you hear a sharp intake of breath as you broach that topic, it's like, okay. Come on man, you're living in that topic, nice. Did it have a tail? No, no, it didn't have a tail. Anything, anything to find that you could tell us, you know, do you know what, I mean, look, look for black of a better way of saying it. Do you know what it was?
00:46:19
Speaker
Well, it, it attacked me from behind. Um, so, and just essentially I remember being struck in the back of my head pretty severely and I fell forward. And by the time I rolled over, I, my head had already been hit against the ground pretty hard. And so my vision was hazy, I guess is the best way to put it. I remember a voice. I remember it speaking to me. Um,
00:46:47
Speaker
telling me that I deserved this as it was trying to I don't know if it was trying to kill me or if it was just trying to beat me up. It felt personal. Felt like someone with a grudge to settle. Did it use claws or teeth? Hands? A weapon? It felt like
00:47:16
Speaker
It was fists that felt like war hammers. What do you mean? Just the force behind them. It was clearly blunt. I mean, I've gotten in fist fights before. It felt like getting punched repeatedly. No magic, no spells, no nothing. Not unless they did something to sneak up on me. I mean, I'm not the most perceptive guy, but... Could you tell anything about its...
00:47:48
Speaker
Exteriors have skin, fur, scales. It was wearing armor. I reached up at a couple of times and tried to get purchase and felt. Yeah, so. So big and armored. It was also wearing a cloak. I remember that. I remember fabric also. So it was clothed, I guess, is the best way to put it. Right. So weird.
00:48:17
Speaker
not really dealing with a just a predator here. This is a attacker. Yeah, yeah. Like I said, it was I I we came from Joam about four months ago. And, you know, that's a hard country. It's not a not the place where you can be the nicest person in the world. But
00:48:44
Speaker
I certainly don't feel like I carried any hostilities with me here that warrant that. I don't have any enemies that I feel like would attack me. Where were you attacked? I was on my way home from out drinking with friends. So my brother found me in the street.
00:49:08
Speaker
Like I said, it left, like it beat me and then got up and walked away. But I thought I was dead by that point. So I imagine they thought I was too. But yeah, about, based on the vague site that I got, about as tall as you and gestured to Hob. But big, like lot of force behind whatever it was doing.
00:49:41
Speaker
Right. They were doing, it's obviously, it was humanoid in nature. Well, sure. Listen, I'm pretty tired if I, do you need anything else? Perhaps, Reynard, perhaps with your permission, of course.
00:50:10
Speaker
chance to maybe help with some healing here. Even though I just established something always goes wrong. I mean, I can try some, some, you know, I have some first aid training, but, and I would be willing to try to help if you wouldn't mind.
00:50:31
Speaker
I mean, I don't know how much you all know about my people, but trolls heal quicker than than most. Obviously, being half, it's not as rapid, but. Yes, I mean, I wouldn't we don't we don't have the best medical facilities down here, so any any assistance would be not turned away. I'm certainly willing to give it a try.
00:51:00
Speaker
Well, could I do like an assist and just like give a boost? Um, I'll let you, I'll let you give an upgrade. How about that? Just change, change one in green into a yellow Milo. And this is, yeah. Um, this is going to be because he is so severely injured.
Healing Attempt on Jessup's Wounds
00:51:21
Speaker
Um, this is going to be average difficulty. So two purple. Okay. Let me have a look here.
00:51:31
Speaker
four success one threat and a triumph. Okay so yeah you're able to patch up some of the wounds and get some of the
00:51:46
Speaker
the swelling to go down. You don't have the lightest touch, so he kind of winces a couple times, so he's annoyed by you. And go and take a point of strain, Milo, is you're just dealing with an entity much larger than you. And we're gonna figure out what that triumph does.
00:52:05
Speaker
next time. Thank you all so much for listening. If you want to be part of the conversation surrounding this episode, head on over to our Discord, the link to which you can find on all of our socials, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We also have a YouTube channel, youtube.com slash the geek pantheon. The Discord link is in the description to all those videos. But we have another actual play over there, Kyber Shards that Philip is the GM for. And we have a Patreon, patreon.com slash the geek pantheon. If you want to support the shows financially, you can certainly do that over there.
00:52:34
Speaker
Thank you all so much for listening. I've been your game master, Eric. I'm Phillip. I'm Trevor. I'm Randy. I'm Jeff. We'll see you next time.