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Ep. 54 The Fallen Tree
109 Plays3 years ago
The fragility of life is something I think we try to forget. At least I know I do.. If I remembered how easy all of this can be taken away, would I fight? Would I be able to protect those dear to me? No.. No that can't be it.. We must remember. We must fight. Because we may not have tomorrow. I will fight for the weak, I will fight for love, and I will fight for you.. Until my last breath.
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Transcript
Reflection on Life's Fragility and Motivation
00:00:13
Speaker
previously on the higher swords. Watching jocks or fall reminded me of the fragility of life. It's something I think we try to forget, at least I know I do. If I remembered how easy all of this can be taken away, would I fight? Would I be able to protect those that are dear to me?
00:00:41
Speaker
That can't be it. We must remember. We must fight. Because we may not have tomorrow. I will fight for the weak. I will fight for love. I will fight for you. Until my last breath.
Introduction and Scene Setting
00:01:21
Speaker
You're listening to the hired swords. I'm not really sure why I'm telling you that though. I mean, you clicked on the title to play this thing.
00:01:55
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to the Hired Swords. I am your Dungeon Master, Michael. And with me here online is Derek, playing Daven. Oh, I hate when I go first. Hi. Blaze is a guy called Krigs. You know what? I think this is the first time I've ever gone second. Second for first. Wait. Congratulations. Congratulations. And Ash is Gwendolyn. Howdy. I'm here. And everyone's favorite brew man jockser is played by Mikey.
Battle with Shadow-Possessed Teld
00:02:26
Speaker
Hey yo, I'm here. When we last left off, we were in the middle of a fight still with the shadow possessed version of Teld who had stirred up a ruckus in this goblin village, the father of Gis. He
00:02:44
Speaker
had been killed previously and he has now been reanimated it seems by the shadows. He is able to summon these shadows that have kind of caused a little trouble for the animals that were in these pins and killed one of them and then this our party created or didn't create but they jumped into the fight.
00:03:03
Speaker
getting some damage done to them but doing some damage back. And we are now sitting with Joxer having been completely knocked unconscious, failing a couple of death saves automatically from a post-unconsciousness attack from Teld. But then some spells were cast to bring him back. He has been conscious and I think he's even attacked a couple things and killed it since coming back to consciousness.
00:03:26
Speaker
With gwyndolin helping out with that as well as krigs i believe and then shortly after all that took place we had a song from the tavern as everyone's favorite goblin bard veil jumped into the fray.
00:03:41
Speaker
Giving up giving some folks bardic inspiration and getting in there with the animals and starting to play some songs to console them to keep them from running amok and causing even more trouble. And then out of the tavern also stormed up a goblin fighter holding a table and a glaive table as a shield and holding a glaive.
00:04:00
Speaker
This is Kevin, the one who had eaten a bunch of food and drank a bunch and partied with them earlier. These goblins have now jumped in here to participate. So we sit now with a single shadow still facing Krigs and Teld having attacked Daven and the goblins, I believe, have just done their last turn.
00:04:22
Speaker
If I remember right, we ended on kind of a crazy ending last time, kind of abrupt. So my apologies if I've got the turn order wrong, but the goblins would be at the end. So we go right back to tell. Unless someone has a rebuttal. I think that is correct. I don't want him to go. I know. I mean, I, that's why I'm giving you guys the option to tell me I'm wrong, but be, but really.
00:04:44
Speaker
So to start off, we are at Teld's turn. He is going to attack Davin, and the first attack is a natural one. So as he goes to swing his sword at you, his short sword, he phases in and out of this shadow form, and as he shifts into the shadow form, it's right when that sword would have made contact.
00:05:06
Speaker
and it goes right through you instead of harming you. You flinching at feeling like it's going to impact you. But then he comes back into existence and flings his sword back at you, rolling a 20 this time, a 10 plus 10. So that will hit you. And it does a d6 plus three damage. And I need you to make a constitution saving throw. That is eight damage plus maybe poison.
00:05:32
Speaker
Um, it's nine, but give me a second. I think I have, uh, I can use favored by the gods. I can add 2d four to any missed attack roll or saving throws. I'm going to add 2d four to my nine. Good roll. Do it. So go for it. Um, that is a seven more. So 16.
00:05:53
Speaker
Yep, that beats the 15 you needed, so you only take the eight damage. Eight damage from that slice. And then as a bonus action, he is going to go ahead and complete that phase out of existence. And you see just a barely shadow mist form of Teld in front of you there, standing there. That takes us now to Joxer's turn.
Joxer's Combat Decision
00:06:16
Speaker
Well, that's not fair, but he's like phased out. Hmm.
00:06:23
Speaker
I guess, uh, I know that I have, uh, sh or mostly know that there's a shadow near me that, uh, is battling Krigs. Yeah. I got a shadow and I, does Devin have a shadow or does he only tell one with a shadow at this point? I got the monkey on my back. Um, I can't decide. You know what?
00:06:49
Speaker
Just just off the cuff of what I've been seeing in and out what I think that held is undead potentially. That would yeah you would you would feel like some of what you're experiencing here with the shadows and everything yeah I think undead would be a fair assessment for sure.
00:07:08
Speaker
Okay. And also knowing that you straight up killed this guy and now here he is. Yeah, yeah. Just making sure that it's not, you know. It's just truly undead. I think that classifies as undead, honestly. I've seen The Walking Dead at least once. Yeah, I'm not going to mean DMU out of that knowing that for sure. It's pretty clear.
00:07:32
Speaker
I can't decide if I use something simple like chill touch just to give him disadvantage or just try to run up there and attack him even though he is phased out or try to attack this shadow. I think
00:07:54
Speaker
mostly expecting that Krigs might be able to do something about
Krigs' Near-Death and Miraculous Save
00:08:02
Speaker
the shadows. I will run up
00:08:06
Speaker
Got too much faith in me. I know. I just, I'm hoping. I am going to run up, bonus action, pull out the shadow blade again, and then I'm going to attack with the shadow blade and then the fire rapier. So that'll be my second spell. All right, make your two attacks. Okay, shadow blade is a nat 20 this time. That will hit. Good job.
00:08:36
Speaker
And this one is a 17. Both of those hit. OK, we like that. We got the eight. Three. Eight. Seven. Fifteen. So that's 18 with the shadow blade. Eighteen damage with the shadow blade. Yeah, which is psychic damage. OK, yeah. And that's an eight.
00:09:07
Speaker
Uh, eight and five. Oh, and that's that's without the plus. What is it? Plus, what's my weapon? Plus four. So that had been twenty two with the shadow blade and then twenty one with the rapier and seven of that was fire. Oh, baby. So 43 damage. Yeah. And Mac and oldie. And I'm hasted. So I will do another attack.
00:09:36
Speaker
So because both of those are magical, those both of those weapons are magical. You do see him except like take that damage as if he were not ethereal, as he hasn't fully transitioned out of this existence into another plane. He's only kind of gone to shadow mode, I guess you could call it. And so, yeah, you you cut through him in that the flame maybe didn't do as much, but everything else sure did. So I'm attacking again with the shadow blade. And sadly, that's only a 19.
00:10:07
Speaker
19 well 19 plus 8 so 27 hit oh yeah that hits 17 plus for another 21 psychic damage
00:10:26
Speaker
21 psychic damage that psychic damage is legit as you see told Grab his head and just just screech and roar and you hear this like goblin this goblin I'm mixed with this like
00:10:42
Speaker
of whatever's possessing him as he just roars out and grabs his head, shaking his head. You see the mist pull from outside of him like it's trying to go back into the mist that has swirled around the tops of these trees. And he's willing it back into himself as he kind of stands seemingly ready to take his last stand as a shadow creature. Is that your whole turn, Joxer?
Teld's Liberation from Shadow
00:11:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I don't have another bonus action. So that is all I can do. Krix calls out.
00:11:10
Speaker
Don't give up. Don't let up. He's almost gone. Just move forward. Now it is the shadow's turn that is with you, Krigs. It is going to attack you and try to wrap itself around you and give you a nice little strength drain hug. 19 plus four. So a 23. Definitely does not yet hit. It does not not hit. That does not.
00:11:41
Speaker
Not here. So 2d6 plus 2, your strength score, 10 damage, 10 necrotic damage, and then your strength score is reduced by 2. You're getting a lot of suckage going on there. What are you at? Well, that takes me to zero. Really?
00:12:06
Speaker
It does? Okay, so the target dies if it reduces strength to zero, otherwise the reduction lasts until the target finishes a longer short rest. If a non-evil humanoid dies from this attack, the new shadow rises from the corpse in 1D4 hours. So I guess I'm dead. So your strength starts to drain.
00:12:30
Speaker
And those standing there, Joxer, you're pretty nearby as the shadow has wrapped itself in Krigs. Krigs is trying its hardest to force this thing away from him. And Gwen, you see it in his eyes as he looks at you and they just fade. The strength, the everything within Krigs just starts to drain and fade as his face goes limp and he starts to drop. And as he starts to drop and he starts to lower,
00:13:00
Speaker
You hear a crack of thunder in the woods in the distance. And this surge of energy, electricity jolts underneath you. You feel the buzz of it in the ground beneath you as it shoots by and you hear this howl in the distance and you can feel the wind like you felt in Wild Hill.
00:13:32
Speaker
And Krigs, as your heart stops, it beats one, it beats again, slowly, but beating as you go back to one hit point. And you don't lose the strength you just lost, as you've been blessed by Solrin, the direwolf of the wilds.
Post-Battle Reflection and Burial Planning
00:13:52
Speaker
I feel like I just used my one get out of jail free card. Sweet Christmas.
00:14:00
Speaker
Dang. You hear in the, in your mind. I can't always be here to protect you. I may be a super cool ethereal direwolf now, but I'm not omnipresent and I can't always save you. That makes two, but who's counting? You are one lucky dwarf. So I believe that takes us from
00:14:29
Speaker
The shadows turn now to Krig's turn. What are you gonna do with that last hit point you've got? Ooh, buddy. How close am I to Teld?
00:14:50
Speaker
You're about 10 feet, and you have that shadow kind of wrapped around you. On the map there, you see him standing right next to you, but he's really just kind of in your space. You're sharing that same five foot space. Would you consider me grappled? No. I don't imagine that I'm going to be able to move very well with one hit point. I basically just got resuscitated like electric shock. Yeah, you got the defibrillator just now. It's like adrenaline point now. You're all in. I can't imagine that I am
00:15:21
Speaker
doing well but I'm also just I see myself stumbling forward trying taking a step taking another step and then I'm gonna walk that 10 feet step by step inhabiting the same space as this this shadow creature is just a part of me it feels like and I'm gonna take my hammer I'm gonna
00:15:51
Speaker
Grab it with two hands, try to pull it overhead, and bring it down onto Teld. I don't think I have the strength to actually do a two-hand attack, though. My grip is going to fail as I go to swing, and it's just going to have to be a one-handed attack. I can't hold it with both hands and swing down on it. All right. Making an attack.
00:16:21
Speaker
11 plus. Five, 15, 16. Yeah, 16 with my hammer plus one. So you you reach that hammer up to swing and you feel the strength that you don't have the strength to make an attack like normal. You just don't feel it.
00:16:44
Speaker
and you've got that residual energy inside of you and adrenaline, and you feel that surge through you, that same energy that gave you that hit point, just as you felt like you were about to let go, and you swing and you make a hit, roll your damage. 10 damage. You swing down, and as you swing down with this magical. Oh, 11 damage, I'm
Mystery of Krigs' Survival and Forest Eyes
00:17:13
Speaker
sorry. Hammer.
00:17:14
Speaker
It's okay. As you swing down with this magical hammer, the green glow that kind of echoes behind it as it swings down like a pulsating behind it. As you swing down, almost the weight of the hammer is giving it more energy than your actual swing, but the hammer hits tell and crushes what was left of his face.
00:17:37
Speaker
And when it does, the shadow retreats from his body. You see every, his nose, his ears around his eyes, out of his mouth, out of the wounds that have been cut into him, the shadow just exits him and just starts to pull itself out from him and enters the sky and starts to swirl around in the sky. Everyone make perception checks as you look up and see the swirl in the sky. Nope, it's too dark.
00:18:07
Speaker
17 plus it's a 12. Okay. What is 20 21 21 for Gwen plus eight? Yeah She got the perception. Yeah, she does mine. It was a 20 total
00:18:21
Speaker
All right, Davin Krigs and Gwendolyn, as you look up and you see all this leave, you see the swirling, Teld's body just collapses lifeless and decayed and decrepit like it's been dead for weeks and laying there. But in the air, you see these two glowing, just dull, glowing eyes behind the mist. Familiar to you, Davin and Krigs, because you've seen them in the woods before.
00:18:50
Speaker
And then the mist swirls around and starts to retreat and the eyes retreat as well. And you're left in the silence, just the stirring of these animals, the slight picking of this, the guitar part, the stringed part of this instrument that Vail was playing. You hear Kevin breathing.
00:19:09
Speaker
As everyone's kind of standing in what's left, the shadow removing itself with Teld being dead, it also, this shadow shifted into the sky that is now retreated. And you're standing in this village at night, the stars have returned, the moon is now shining. It feels like somebody turned a light on because of the stars and the moon, even though it's still nighttime. It was so dark that even the darkness of night feels bright to you.
00:19:36
Speaker
as the shadow comes off my back and as I'm watching all that, there's no way that I don't just drop my shield and hammer and fall back and essentially not actually unconscious, but just I'm down. I have nothing, nothing left in me right now. Yeah. Kreeks, get over here, everybody. Gwendolyn looks down at her hands and she's
00:20:05
Speaker
I'm going to fix this. She's wondering why the spell she was casting wasn't working. It should have went off by now, and she's looking at her hands, and I want to insert a flashback scene to when she was reading the scroll of the spell from her dad's old boxes.
Gwendolyn's Magical Reflection
00:20:23
Speaker
She had set an apple on it, so she thought it was supposed to take one second, but it actually takes a whole minute.
00:20:32
Speaker
Awesome. So comes back to now and she's like, Oh, Krigs. And she runs over and I'm going to cast cure ruins. Yep. We're going to do it on this. Okay. Out of the corner of the eye of your eye, you see, tell his wife, guess his mother start to walk over towards the body of Telled. Oh, no.
00:21:02
Speaker
Okay. I know. I knew he was gone. He was really gone. I know. And Giss is there with her and just. Yeah. She's, he's gone, mom. It's okay. It's fine. It's, we're gonna, we'll bury him now. We, we have his body now. We can do proper service. And she says, he won't be buried. He'll be burned like a soldier. He'll be burned like with honor. We'll take care of it. And so they're starting to just talk about how they're going to handle.
00:21:27
Speaker
this now that seems like they hadn't ever got his body to give him any kind of burial or anything and now they're going to do so.
00:21:44
Speaker
You're telling me those blades. I don't understand. Just cut deeper than I can even realize. But we need to tend to Krix. He's completely wasted. Krix, can you hear me? Is everything all right? I don't respond. I know I just had cure wounds, cast Dominy, and I have some HP, but I'm done at this point.
00:22:14
Speaker
Yeah, you're going to live, but there's no gas in the tank. Do you think the monastery would have had any like knowledge on on that type of ailment? Yeah, make a make a history check on that. OK, so that one is a 15. Yeah, you.
00:22:38
Speaker
You definitely you definitely know of spells that take people's strength and and you've heard of poisons that do this or that sort of thing and you know the idea that something like a this dark creature exists.
00:22:56
Speaker
This whatever this mist or shadow is this this idea for you is it's not crazy for sure based on what you know and have studied and so it makes complete sense to you that this is something that would be the result of a creature or being like that. I think I think we need to let him rest we need to get him to the bed.
00:23:16
Speaker
I look over at Kevin. Kevin, can you help my friend into a bed? And I'm going to try to lift Krigs, but on my strength, I have noodle arms, so I am not surprised. Okay. I'm going to put my hand on Gwen's shoulder now and say, I'll get it. It's fine. And I'm going to cast telekinesis.
00:23:39
Speaker
Okay.
Davin's Telekinetic Aid to Krigs
00:23:40
Speaker
And I can lift up to a thousand pounds. I'm pretty sure Krigs isn't that big. You don't know me. So he's just going to, uh, Daven's just going to swirl his hands around and you see like this, the dirt kind of swing up underneath him and then he just starts floating up into the air. Shield, anything I was carrying is still on the ground. I'm not holding, I don't have, I can't hold on to it. I would have, I would have, uh, grabbed.
00:24:05
Speaker
Um, that seeing him be being lifted and uh, don't, don't, don't worry, Kriegs. I'll, I'll bring this with us. All right. Kevin, Kevin just says, I can help with anything you need though. Don't worry. Um, do you want me to take the shield and stuff or? I think we're fine. Just tend to guess in his mother, make sure that they're all right.
00:24:28
Speaker
Okay, and he runs over there, and he picks up the body of Teld, and I guess puts his hand on Kevin's shoulder to say thank you, and they start to walk off towards the, out in the woods a little ways. Devin looks to the other two, and he says, you saw that, right? It wasn't just me. I saw the life leave his eyes, and I thought that was the end. I was scared for just a brief second, and then I was like, I don't know.
00:24:58
Speaker
You saw it too, though, right? Yes, I think we owe the wilds more than we can even ask for. I know of monsters or of effects that would drain a man, and once it's happened, there's no return. Well, he returned, or at least seems like it's going to be all right. Why did he come here, though? Who told?
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah. Was it for his wife and son? What made him want to fight us here and now? I don't think he was specifically here to fight us. He was probably drawn to his family, but being cursed as he was, that's definitely the problem. We don't understand that kind of curse at all. I don't think we'll ever actually know the answer. I just hate that.
00:25:57
Speaker
Everything seems to be solved with violence and not talking. I was really hoping, just mentioning his family during all of that, it was going to be
00:26:09
Speaker
more effective. He was not faced. I don't understand. All I know is those eyes. After he laid the rest and whatever that was that was possessing him left, I've seen those eyes before in the forest. I don't think that's going to be the limit for us. Whatever it is, it's been watching us and following us. It had anything to do with those tiny footprints we found.
00:26:39
Speaker
one of the camping nights we had as well. I was to say exactly. Come on, let's get him to bed. Let's get him to rest.
Haunted Sleep and Visions
00:26:47
Speaker
And I'll start moving over toward the hut and floating him with me. All right. As you make your way that direction, veil kind of comes out of the pen and hops over the fence. He sets his instrument down over the side of the fence and then he hops over and picks it up and he looks at you all and he's like,
00:27:08
Speaker
I've never seen anything like that, man. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. I love how groovy he is. If you need me for anything, I'm still going to be in the tavern on the stage. That's where I'm most comfortable, baby. And he heads that direction. Vail, there's still some some some drinking those casks. So, yeah, you're welcome to it. Oh, do I ever need it now?
00:27:36
Speaker
C star as he's walking away. Still kind of how much swag does he have as he walks away? I need to know. A swag eater. A full swagger. I mean, yeah, shaking the hips a little bit. He's got one shoulder drops with every step. Yeah, I'm kidding not. Let's figure it out. He's having a good time. We can hear his puka shell necklace jingle as he walks. That's right. That's right. And he's strumming as he goes. You hear a little. He's playing the blues right now.
00:28:08
Speaker
Yeah, I'd follow make sure Krigs makes it into a bed and then I'm unsure if I'm also gonna go meet Vale and and Chat it out or chat it out with everybody Okay, what's everybody else doing Krigs? You're you're out. Yeah. Yeah, I am curious and I'm curious if I dream at this point like I'm curious and
00:28:32
Speaker
What what is happening to me? I'm just sleeping. But like, man, I just I just died. I didn't know if if that is having any effect on me now. Make a make a wisdom saving throw. OK. But but but but up 12. It's it's not the the most delightful rest.
00:29:02
Speaker
The moment just keeps repeating itself over and over and those eyes, those eyes see everything you don't want anyone to see. And that's what gives you a hard time sleeping.
00:29:24
Speaker
I'm in the bed now, so I'm just going to be tossing and turning and just mumbling, just random nonsense, words here and there that don't string any kind of coherent thought. But for anyone that's in the room with me, that's you're just hearing fitful slumber. It's a good band name. Yeah, it is. The first album is Ambien.
00:29:57
Speaker
Wondering why that spell still didn't go off. And so she's going to have a late night of staying up. She goes into one of the rooms, probably the room that she was staying in, which was Davens before. And she's going to put Dale on the bed and she's going to send Indian style and go through her notebook that she hasn't looked at in a while. And she comes across the map to Almanora and just kind of stares at it for a while.
00:30:11
Speaker
It's so good. Gwen, what are you up to?
00:30:28
Speaker
And so she's going to be up for a little while and just in a room alone talking to Dale here and there. Okay. Devin. Uh, Devin's going to go back to his room and he's going to lay down and kind of fitfully try and go back to sleep for a little while and then realize that he can't and he's going to get up and he's going to grab his blanket. He's going to grab the pillow off the bed and he's going to walk over and he's going to sleep on the floor underneath the Craigslist bed. Okay.
00:30:58
Speaker
You make a wisdom saving throw too. Okay. Why? Natural 20. Okay. The restful or the fitful sleep that Krigs is having makes it hard to fall asleep at first. And you're also thinking about those eyes and
00:31:23
Speaker
When you first close your eyes to finally drift off, like that first moment, you know, that first little inkling that you might be going to sleep. You see yourself. You don't see yourself. You're looking in first person, looking up at the entrance of this cave. You look to your left and your right and there is, there are bodies of creatures dead, dead.
00:31:55
Speaker
And then you look up and you see yourself looking over you. And you see your own self at the feet of whatever point of view you have right now. Start to look around. And as if noticing nobody's looking, they look down at you and a darkness shows in their eyes. And you jerk up awake like you do when you've got that half sleep and you haven't fully fallen asleep. You jerk in the on the floor and you kind of whoo.
00:32:23
Speaker
From then, you do fall asleep after that. Jockster, what are you up to? At first, I'm going to be kind of walking back and forth in the room and trying to decide like, okay, I'll just go talk to Vail and work this out in my head. No, no, I'll just lay down and then I'll lay down and then I'll roll around and then I'll get up and I'll go over to
00:32:53
Speaker
Gwen's room, and then I'll hear her talking to Dale, and then I'll just... No, that's not what I... I didn't write that down. And then I'll stop. I was like, okay, it's fine. And I'll go to Krigs' room and just kind of like peek in, and then I'll see... Those eyes. Telled... Oh, I just gotta stay to my room.
00:33:22
Speaker
And then I'll just kind of go back and forth a little bit, pacing as quietly as I can. And then I'll go back into my room and then lay out the brew hole. And I'll go in it and I'll cast dancing lights in there. And you'll start seeing me kind of feverishly trying to maybe make new brews or come up with some other things.
00:33:51
Speaker
There's like this undead hand that starts crawling across the casks as I'm doing it. And then I pick it up and look over at it. I don't know what to call you.
00:34:08
Speaker
but you've been helpful so far, as it goes back onto the casks and starts turning little dials, items to drop ingredients or moving ingredients back and forth. What the? When did you get a thing? And then that's going to be, I'll take a short rest and then
00:34:36
Speaker
you'll see me take off that ring and cast Shadow Blade into it. And I'm going to put it on the undead hand. And then I'll get back up, close up the brew hole, and try to sleep. So as everyone finally settles in, Gwendolyn, make a constitution saving throw. Why? Nothing real bad. Don't worry about it.
00:35:06
Speaker
That's good. You know me, I would never do anything to hurt you. I don't know about that. I don't think the Twitter committee would let you hurt her. Uh, how's the seven? Three plus four. You are in the middle of arguing with Dale and you think you've made a really good point and Dale starts to go in in this lecture. I hate it when he does that. And he's just lecturing you on
00:35:36
Speaker
taking the time to read your spells. Read the spells. And I don't need to, though. Your eyes get heavy. And before he can finish, you're fully asleep. And just like that, for all of you seemingly, just as soon as you close your eyes to go to sleep, you hear ruckus outside.
00:36:00
Speaker
Nothing crazy. Nothing seeming dangerous as you feel the sunlight beating down from the window on your skin. And it's already morning. Gwendolyn's dead asleep. She's not going to wake up first. Yeah. Okay.
Discussion on Solrin's Role in Survival
00:36:18
Speaker
Devin opens his eyes and he just immediately sits straight up and he can look up at the bed and see what he sees with Krigs. Krigs, what's he see? Um,
00:36:30
Speaker
I can't imagine that I'm doing anything besides just kind of like laying there and uh staring up at the ceiling and just feeling like I'm way too old for this now just like oh dear gods oh I don't even oh my gods oh and just sitting there just groaning and mumbling to himself like this is the absolute worst um
00:37:00
Speaker
And I know they're not sounds of joy, but it's still nice to hear sounds from you again. I don't. Did we kill him? Like, I'm obviously not dead. I don't. Are you real? Is this a dream? I pinched myself. Your life. I don't know why you are much more alive.
00:37:26
Speaker
We're all alive. That's the good part. I heard her voice, Devin. I don't. Who? Ah, Sauron. I heard Sauron. The moment that shadow creature, whatever that was, it took hold of me. I felt it grab my heart and I felt it squeeze as tight as it could. And everything I had was gone. All I remember was the fear and Gwendolyn's eyes as she looked down at her hands, wondering how
00:37:55
Speaker
don't even know but something shook something shook from inside and I heard the voice of Solrin I don't if we had been any further from Wild Hill I don't know if I'd still be here I I was spared I don't know if it was the blessings from the wild or if if it was just
00:38:20
Speaker
I don't know. I'm just glad to still be here, I guess. I have no idea what happened. That's not something that I've ever experienced before, but I don't think it's something we want to get in the habit of doing. Like you said, maybe- Did you see them too in the sky? Did you see them? I saw them, yes. Let's not be too happy yet, I guess.
00:38:49
Speaker
Joxer just kicks the door in. At least I'm not the only one who killed Teld. Fireball! Fireball! I just like the idea of you kicking the door in like wildly and then just calmly saying that phrase. Yeah, yeah. I've been probably listening at the door for a while.
00:39:11
Speaker
Yeah. It's nervous and anxious, just, okay, this is a, nope, this, I'm just going to go in here and, no, we're just going in and then kicking it
Goblin Village Celebration and Feast
00:39:21
Speaker
in. My God, oh, you almost took a hammer to the face, boy. That's, uh, it had been quite the reach for your, for your short arms, Kriegs. I'm not so happy to be around, I think, anymore. I could have.
00:39:39
Speaker
It's the worst hangover ever. Where's Gwen? Has anyone seen her? Is she okay? I'm sure she's fine. She went to her room. In the other room. You just hear... She is out. She was up late with a very heated discussion.
00:40:08
Speaker
It must've definitely been Dale then. Can one of you, can one of you help me up? I'm still a little weak from last night's festivities. Of course. Yeah, of course. We'll each grab a hand, I think. Yeah. Pull them out a bit.
00:40:27
Speaker
I'm going to. Do we even do we have enough strength even do that? Oh, yeah. No. Can we can we can we like swing him? I think so. Like like a little kid between their their mom and dad. Hey, come on. My strength is a minus three. I don't think I'm going to be doing too much of that. It's a minus three.
00:40:47
Speaker
Um, after shadow damage or no, you never took that, huh? Oh, I did. Actually, I have to adjust that. It doesn't do automatically. And yeah, did we get a rest or no? Yes. Everyone got a rest. As you start to head outside, you realize it's nearly noon. Oh my. As you all did get a long rest, but you slept in the bore that had killed itself running into the tree is now on a
00:41:18
Speaker
a skewered stick being roasted in large sections of it are being roasted over a fire in that courtyard just outside your front door of your hut. And the goblins are all sitting around on these logs and on these tables and they're starting to set placings for a large feast, a large meal as this. And you can hear the fire sizzling.
00:41:47
Speaker
as all the fat drips off of these, this meat down into the fire from these overfed, this overfed boar that is now being cooked for breakfast. I sniff the air and I, I guess, waste not, want not. Maybe we, maybe we don't tell Gwen about this though. Yeah, she's sleeping in. We don't have to wake her up quite yet. I do love bacon. Don't tell the vegan. Exactly.
00:42:18
Speaker
All right. So yeah, they're all coming as you walk up, as you walk up, uh, guess comes over to you and he says, we're celebrating my, my father's life and your victory last night. So please your guests of honor, take what you'd like to drink and sit down. We would be happy to serve you a meal and possibly do a celebration, uh, performance for you tonight, today. Is that okay? Uh, would you be okay to leave tomorrow and stay one more day with us?
00:42:47
Speaker
I'll look over at Krigs, and I think one of us is a little too weak to leave anyway. We'll be all right. We'll stay. Don't worry, Gis. Joxer will be in good health tomorrow, and we'll be ready to go then. We'll stay another day. He says he's just tenderly doctoring his bruises and things. Yeah, Gis looks at you, Krigs, and kind of looks you up and down.
00:43:16
Speaker
looks at Joxer and gives a wink and says, I hope you feel better soon. And kind of grins at you with this like large, sharp toothy grin and says, please just have a seat. You too, David. And he runs over to get you guys something to drink. This is my kind of service. It's drinks in the morning. Honestly, it's kind of nice to have just out of nowhere like this. You know, after all we've been through, it's nice to just kind of relax for a minute, have somebody take care of us.
00:43:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's we I thought it was going to be a relaxing night after after the events that that started yesterday, but it it ended much, much differently than I expected. I don't think we had a relaxing night since we met Solrin. Krieg's just kind of. So it's true, it's true. How close are we to the barracks now in this area?
00:44:15
Speaker
where we slept. You're just right outside the door, probably 20 feet or so away. I'm gonna take my hammer and I'm gonna ting, ting, ting on my shield and rise and shine, Gwen! And just shout it out, assuming she can hear me. Very much like one would do for a young one. Awesome. Gwen, does this wake you?
00:44:43
Speaker
I don't know, does it? I kind of want to roll for it. Okay. Make a constitution. Okay. So if you can will yourself to stay asleep. Uh, 17. Yeah. I mean, if you don't want to wake up, you don't, I don't wake up. All right. I'm going to sit down at the table. Uh, if guess is sitting, I would like to sit kind of by him and
00:45:12
Speaker
just be, you know, commune with the locals and not try to sit distant or anything. Yeah, these tables are set up more like serving tables. So they've got several cups of mead set out and an ale and other drinks. And then you've got the other one has some of the
00:45:33
Speaker
some of the grains and seeds and berries and some of the other kinds of foods that they'll serve along with this meat feast. And it's just kind of all ready to serve once people are ready to eat, once the meat is done. But they're just kind of getting stuff ready. They're setting out little wooden, like wooden planks that have been chopped off of logs and carved down to look to be like plates and
00:45:56
Speaker
and some utensils of sorts and just stuff like that, that they're preparing for you to have a feast. And it looks like they're very practiced at this, much like what you experienced in Wild Hill. This is a similar experience where before a hunt, maybe they would come out here and get everything ready for a little celebration. Well, they're doing that just for you guys now and for themselves and each other. Well, boys, I guess you find yourself a spot. Seems we're going to be here for at least another day.
00:46:26
Speaker
I think we have some things to talk about before we move on anyways. Maybe not right now, but when we go back to our private rooms, I completely forgot about the secret mission you went on last night. Let me tell you, you missed one heck of a dance off. I could hear your music.
00:46:43
Speaker
That was a whole veil. I look over and kind of point to veil and give him a side-eyed daddy-o snap. He's sitting on a stump right outside that tavern and he's plucking the strings and he's stomping a foot that makes a couple gadgets spring and knock on like a cowbell and so he's got this beat going with this strum and it's not a real fancy tune at this point. It's more he's meaning it to be like ambiance but he's definitely
00:47:09
Speaker
fitting the mood. And you can see in his face, he's into every second of it. He does look at you and you give him the nod and he gives you a wink and a snicker and gives a little, a little, uh, nice little run on the, on his little guitar thing for you. Just a little quick little shred and then keeps going with the strumming show off. And I just, I kind of sniff around and wait for the festivities to begin, I guess.
00:47:35
Speaker
you know, it's funny when I was younger, I always heard about goblins and how terrible they were. They're evil, ugly creatures. I just attack anybody so far. I haven't met anyone that wasn't just a nice goblin. Well, I mean, we killed, I suppose, but we don't really know what they're like. That's an old war attitude. You wouldn't believe it, but there were secret underground parties between the dwarfs and the goblins back in the war days. Some of us that were more, uh,
00:48:01
Speaker
peace-minded that didn't necessarily want to be fighting for what felt like unnecessary reasons, we would gather. And since at the time common wasn't so common, well, we only spoke one language and that language was dance.
Secret Goblin-Dwarf Communication
00:48:20
Speaker
I'm sorry, I was going to try to keep it serious. I could not. We only spoke one language. And that language was dance.
00:48:31
Speaker
Oh, I can't. I can't. It's canon. The DM is saying it's canon right now. Oh, yeah. That's there's no taking that back. I'm picturing the scene from the second Matrix movie where they're all just like raving. Oh, yeah. Except for it's all dwarves and goblins. Completely. Yeah, it's dwarves and goblins just heavy rave. Daven, some of the outlying cities that weren't on the front lines, they I mean,
00:48:58
Speaker
Propagandist attitudes definitely arose, and goblins, they're not really any different than you and I. I never was one that understood the causes behind the wars, but I'm just glad those days are upon us and now we can dance in the sunlight, not in little rave caves.
00:49:17
Speaker
Rave caves. Rave caves. That's just nice to see the side of the world, I guess. You know, it's different than what I grew up hearing about. So whenever you hear about dancing goblins and relationships with dwarves, I mean, to be honest with you, I didn't really even meet a dwarf until I had gone to a big city where I grew up. There weren't any. It was all humans. Just an interesting change. That's all.
00:49:41
Speaker
We'll have to get you into the stone mountains one day and let you see some of my old stomping grounds and hopefully not be chased off by giant formorians or, you know. First experience was a terrible one. I swear it's not as bad as all that. It's quite beautiful if you get to the correct areas. All right. What was that giant bird that seemed quite terrifying from a distance? It seems like there's a lot of monsters there that are... I know.
00:50:08
Speaker
Let's be honest, it's not any more than anywhere else. That's my home you're talking about. The only thing that was a monster where I grew up was whenever my aunt would come over and try to make us eat her Brussels brat stew. Oh, that's terrible. Sounds quite lovely. I'd like to meet this one, your aunt. Maybe someday you will, but I can tell you she's a talker. It gets a little old after a little while. You know, she just she's got like four stories she just tells over and over and over again. Yes, I understand you went to the canyons.
00:50:37
Speaker
Sounds like my brother Warren, and frankly, I'm sure he would not be very fond of the Brussels sprout stew either. He's not fond of Brussels sprouts or he's not fond of stew? If it's a plant, I don't think he would rather it be on his plate, but instead inside the forge, fueling the fires. So he's like the opposite of Gwen. He only eats meat. More or less. But let me tell you what, I think he'd probably fancy her if he had the opportunity to actually meet her. He was something of a
00:51:07
Speaker
Ladies dwarf. All right. Well, as long as he doesn't mind, uh, you know, I'm, I'm just going to go wake up when I'm
Gwendolyn's Meat Aversion at Celebration
00:51:17
Speaker
going to stand up. I'm going to walk over to her. All right. That's all I'll lean over. He was going to say as long as he doesn't mind a Dale. That's a, that's a whole other story. I think we're going to have to figure out someday. Who is this Dale?
00:51:39
Speaker
David's going to, on his way over there, cast message and start whispering in her ear as he walks that direction in this Dale impersonation. Gwen, Gwen, it's time to wake up. Come on Gwen. And she turns over and she's
00:52:02
Speaker
She's a mess. All right, she's got slobber all over her face. Her hair's all messed up. Definitely sorority girl hangover, if you will, in this middle age that we're in. She looks over and just, when did your voice change? And she picks up Dale and just makes a gross face at him.
00:52:31
Speaker
And then she realized that she slept all over her papers and crinkled them even more from the journal. And so she's, way to go Gwen. And she puts Dale down and starts collecting up the journal. And I don't know if you're still doing the voice or if you're there. Gwen, Gwen, are you awake yet? Yes.
00:52:52
Speaker
I'll be there and Jiffy and she's hurrying up now that she knows someone's there and stacking up the papers and putting them in. And she's not putting them in like they were before. She's just stuffing them in there because she doesn't want him to see her being a mess. We're out here. They're kind of putting on a little party. Just a heads up. They're making the best use of the poor boar that's died.
00:53:17
Speaker
Of what? And she's still putting the papers in the journal. Remember, nothing goes to waste. Just remember that. We'll meet you outside. Goes to what? She's, there's, okay. And she grabs everything, puts it in a bag, puts on her locate, and she starts to walk out the door and she smells something foul in the air, which is going to be the boar. Yeah. You walk out the door and when you step out, you see
00:53:48
Speaker
what they saw, you know, you see everybody kind of gathering around and, and talking by this time, by this time, the, there's a kind of a crowd of goblins around the campfire area, filling their plates. They've already handed plates to Joxer and Krigs and Davin, as you walk up to the log there to sit down, they hand you a plate with perfectly sliced cuts of pork for you to enjoy for breakfast meats.
00:54:14
Speaker
And Gwen, as you walk down, the crowd kind of splits. This is the right amount of people leaving. You can see four big sections of meat that are on this contraption that's been built to kind of turn it over the fire to roast it, being sliced and put on plates. And a goblin kind of runs over to you and gives you this big toothy smile and says, this is for you. And holds up a plate with all this meat and everything on it.
00:54:45
Speaker
I don't think Dale and I would like, do you have any vegetables? I appreciate the offer. I just, she looks kind of crazy cause she's, she's doing that thing where she's trying to smile, but it's not. The, the goblin looks down at the food and looks up at you and says, um, okay. And points to the table over there and then reaches down in the plate and grabs the meat and just start to munching on it since you're not going to. Thank you.
00:55:15
Speaker
Yeah, and then they turn and just walk away from you. Okay. Just start going to the vegetable table. Okay. If there is one. Go gather your vegetables. So yeah, it's not really ve- there's some like-
00:55:28
Speaker
sort of vegetables kind of stuff there. There's some like roots and mushrooms that have been gathered and berries and some nuts and things like that. So there's sustenance for you, but there's nothing grown here. There's no farming here. They just, they hunt and gather and that is it. So that's what you've got is what they've been able to gather. And living off the sides. And so you, yeah, salad bar. And so you,
00:55:55
Speaker
Go and get what you can get what you want you go sit down and they just kind of throw this little shindig for you and they they feed you and everyone eats till they're full they drink until they're as as happy as they want to be and then veil starts this song that just sounds a little more.
Dance Reenactment of the Battle
00:56:11
Speaker
old and maybe traditional as a couple groups of these goblins come out and they start dancing and performing and you do see one, the song stops and then the same little goblin child that you had frightened the day before Gwendolyn comes out and announces a new performance from a group of dancers.
00:56:39
Speaker
enjoy in turns and walks off and the dancers come back out and they start dancing to this slow almost like this slow like dark like almost ominous music coming from veil he's got now this like horn thing he's attached to his contraption and he just like
00:56:59
Speaker
He plays this low horn sound. He's got this strumming going on the guitar thing that makes this eerie kind of sound and then you see them reenacting
00:57:12
Speaker
what they saw of your battle last night as the this creature comes out this this goblin comes out draped in black cloth and shaking its arms around like one of those shadows and they show this one walk out with looks like they've covered it's they've covered their head with some sort of bowl or something to make it look like they're bald and he comes out with a hammer and starts swinging it at the the at the creature and the other one comes out with this like
00:57:38
Speaker
purple tablecloth or something wrapped around them and some like chains and things around their neck like necklaces and this goblin starts to like wave his hands around like it's doing magic and there so they're all reenacting as one of them comes up and they've drawn on their hands and they start punching at these these like other goblins that are in their in their black
00:58:00
Speaker
Clokes or whatever pretending to be these creatures and so they do this but it's all in this like dancing kind of form and they're just doing this performance in honor of you defeating the shadows last night and then finally one walks out as everything kind of starts to settle one walks out and this one
00:58:19
Speaker
has this tight across their neck, like this cape kind of thing flowing behind them. And this one looks as caringly as they can get their goblin face to look and starts laying their hands on the other goblins that have been injured by these monsters as they stand back up like they're healed and better. And that kind of ends the day. Beyond that, it's just kind of a party, everybody just hanging out and enjoying themselves. And that's where we'll end this episode.
00:58:49
Speaker
Oh, I like the happy endings. That was a good one. Jax is just like making claps and stuff to the beat.
Conclusion and Audience Feedback Request
00:59:12
Speaker
Thank you for listening to this, hey, episodic installment, been a minute since I said that, of our second season. We really appreciate you joining us for this adventure. If you enjoyed our show, please tell a friend about us. And if you really enjoyed it, tell the world and leave a review. Be sure to check out our shop at thehired.store. And if you want to keep up with us and what we're up to, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at thehiredswords. And again, thank you for listening.