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Chapter 0 - Clay's Story
33 Plays7 months ago
Sometimes that little voice at the back of your head is your conscience speaking, other times it might be the princess you're kidnapping.
Meet the cast:
Dungeon Master – Zach Meikle (IG: @zachabee)
Clay Campbell – Prima Zhao (IG: @primbdraws)
Faunalyn Vaydark – Shannon Meikle (IG: @sharsharbinks)
Glimki Treefellow – Jordan Johnsen (IG: @jordan_johnsen)
Editing by Zach Meikle
Follow the show:
X: @bard_soup
Instagram: @bard_soup
TikTok: @bard_soup
Music & Ambience
Music: Enchanted Echoes by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Overture by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Setting Sail by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Megaepic by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Drifting Minds (no drums) by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Ambience: Sewers by Tim Roven (www.tabletopaudio.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Shadow Whispers by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Suspensify by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Ambience: Docks District by Tim Roven (www.tabletopaudio.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music: Loss by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Additional sounds provided by Pixabay
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Transcript
00:00:05
Speaker
Ptolemy Hinkle paused to catch his breath. Well, I guess that more or less does it for Phonolin. She went to a ball, met several important nobles, nearly got murdered, and threw herself off a magic tower. Well, good thing that Prince was there to help her out. He seems like a good guy. Ptolemy was growing ever more impressed by Clark's listening skills. Sure, he had spent the entirety of Faunalyn's backstory sharpening an ugly-looking butcher's knife, but he was clearly following along without issue. Now, I also have a few questions about Clay. Ptolemy smiled internally. He thought he would have to pitch another backstory episode, but Clarp seemed positively excited for it. Of course, my dear fellow. What is it you are wondering?
00:00:53
Speaker
well Obviously, they were involved with the princess's disappearance. Do you think you could tell me more about that? Of course. And... I know Clay is an artist, but we don't often get to see that side of them. Could we perhaps hear how they got established in the city's arts community? Um... okay. And perhaps you could elucidate me as to why Clay seems embroiled in a sort of gig-economy lifestyle, whereas it seems most folks of the age participate in a guild-based vocational sort of occupational framework. Why don't you let me figure out what the important parts are? Egg lab? Okay. Great. Alright. On with the story.
00:01:52
Speaker
Come gather round travelers and sit on the stoop We'll tell you a story about Batsu Three lovable scamps in our traveling troop We'll tell you a story about Batsu
00:02:23
Speaker
It's super time.
00:02:28
Speaker
Our story begins, or perhaps it is something that took place before the beginning. Either way, this particular story begins in the wondrous city of Erdenin. This city is the home of King Faron Galtries and his daughter, the Princess Callista Galtries. And Erdenin is known by many names. To some, it is the Trident's Tip, To others, it is the crown jewel of the crown lands. But to you, Clay Campbell, it is home. The city of Aridinien is divided into many districts. There's the Diamond District, where the home of the King and the Princess, Bellfire Citadel resides. There is the Ruby District, where the nobility and other societal elites live amongst works of art and arcane wonder.
00:03:16
Speaker
There's the Pearl District, where the many tall ships and trading vessels that Airdanine built its fortune upon enter and then subsequently depart from the city. And there's the Silver District, home to many of the commoners and working class that Airdanine depends upon. It is here in the winding, tangled streets of the Silver District that we find a small shop. The sign hangs above the door, it's rather elegant in its simplicity, and it is carved in the shape of a pair of scissors, snipping at the small chain that holds it aloft. This tailor shop belongs to Madame Arlette for Voment and for the last six months, the loft above the shop has been your home.
00:03:55
Speaker
While this loft is supposed to be your space, you pay your rent in exchange for tidying up at the end of the day. You're allowed to live up in the loft, rent free essentially. While the loft is supposed to be your space, Madame Fulvoment has a tendency to dump excess fabric or the occasional busted mannequin in your room, and as such the space has become quite cluttered. In addition to all of the furniture you rely upon, the stacks of fabric, the broken mannequins, etc., there's also a great deal of supplies of your own, artistic supplies, things that you have gathered up over the years in pursuit of furthering your ambitions as an artist.
00:04:36
Speaker
As we kind of peer into this room, we see a individual. The sun has just illuminated for the day and we see someone in bed. Would you please tell me what Clay looks like? Okay. Clay is a tiefling cleric. She is red skinned and horned. She has horns and her skin is patterned kind of like a cow so she has black spots and she has a tail with a little tuft of black hair at the end of it. She has yellow eyes that are like pure yellow with no pupil or iris or anything and she has several piercings like in her cow-like ears and she has a septum piercing on her nose.
00:05:30
Speaker
amazing. Yeah, clay is a rather bovine looking tiefling. You stand out in any crowd. So it is early summer, and you awake to see that pharaohs, the great phoenix, which provides light to all who live upon the surface of Xav, has already illuminated for the day, of course, every evening the The Great Phoenix explodes and eruptures in this display of brilliant cosmic light, and then every morning it is reborn anew and a new day begins upon Zaph. While you went to bed early the night before, you have barely slept, because today is an extremely important day for you. Today is the day that you attempt to gain membership into the Airdanine Artist Guild.
00:06:16
Speaker
The Artist Guild is one of the most prominent and impressive guilds in all of Zav, and has helped foster and grow the most prolific artists of the last millennia, such as Oscar Silvers and Venkin Lismore, and today you hope to join them. You know you've been preparing for this day for months now. And you know that the audition process is deceptive in its simplicity. You must simply bring three works of art, the three works that best represent you and your abilities and your artistic stylings. The caveat is that they are supposed to be different in either style or substance. If you are a painter, perhaps you would bring, you know, an acrylic portrait and then a watercolor landscape, something like that.
00:07:02
Speaker
You is my understanding are more of a sculptor. Yes. Yeah. So I would like to ask you at this time to tell me, I did warn you that I was going to throw some stuff at you. I would love for you to describe three pieces of art that Clay has been working on. I love this. So she grew up with a retired potter. who taught her pottery. So that's where her interest in art came from. So I think one item will be just like a classic very nice looking vase, but it's like very curvy body with handles and it's nicely glazed and everything. Then the two other pieces, one is also pottery made out of clay, but more contemporary art.
00:07:52
Speaker
like it's a strangely shaped structure with tied scraps of fabric that she stole from the tailor's shop tied into it. It represents emotions or something very artistic like that. And then the third item is like a flat stone or like a ceramic or something. um And it has like etchings and carvings on it that she carved onto it. And those are her three pieces of art. Very cool. Quick question for my sake. Looking at your proficiencies, bottom left, do you happen to have proficiencies in artisans tools or anything of that nature? I have thieves tools. Very different. I don't know why. Yeah. Who could say? why Why? Why would you ever? Do you have proficiency in performance?
00:08:50
Speaker
I have a ah plus two performance, but no, no dot next to the number. So you are not proficient. Good to know. Okay. That's fair. You're a baby artist. You're learning, you're, you're, you know, fairly new to this as much as you obviously have talent and natural ability. I'm proficient in deception, so fake it till you make it. Honestly. So, you get up, the sun is up. Up is the wrong word, the sun doesn't rise and fall, the sun is... The sun's awake. The sun is awake. And yeah, you quickly get ready, throw on an outfit, and there's a knock. The shop hasn't opened for the day, but you hear a knock from downstairs at the front door.
00:09:33
Speaker
I ignore it because I assume it's for the shop and not for me. okay I don't know anyone who would come find me, I guess. Fair. About a minute passes by and there is another knock, a little more intently, you know a little more force put behind it. Okay. I guess I'm busy gathering my art supplies to make it to this artist guide thing, so I just yell down to the store. I'm like, Madam, who's at the door? like I guess. There's no response. Hello? And then I guess I go downstairs to open the door. Okay. You walk past beautiful dresses upon mannequins and stacks of unused or un-sewn fabric, things waiting to be turned into works of
00:10:23
Speaker
art essentially clothing but you know beautiful clothing. Madam has a reputation like quite the reputation for making some of the finest outfits despite having her shop in the silver district it still has a amazing reputation in the city and you will see people coming from over the ocean crest bridge from the nicer districts of the city coming all the way to your neighborhood just to purchase something from her shop. Is it unusual that she's not in the store or not answering the door? She doesn't live in the building. Oh, okay. She lives elsewhere. So it's not surprising. It's, you know, it's before the store would open. So it's not something that would alarm you per se. Okay. So yeah, you make your way past beautiful dresses and tailored suits.
00:11:13
Speaker
he's even like a little corner with many fancy hats for people of various styles and you unlock the door and you pull it open and you see a young man early 20s he's got sandy blonde hair he's got bad acne you see his hand is raised up he was about to knock a third time you see that his fingertips are stained with a dark It looks like dye almost. And you recognize this individual. This is Sten Dexter. He's an acquaintance of yours, if not a friend. He is a dyer who brings fabric to the store. He dyes fabric to his father and brings it to Madame Favelmont. And you are not surprised to see him because you had actually requested his help in transporting your artwork
00:12:04
Speaker
to the artist guild this morning. He agreed to help you out after dropping off a shipment to another nearby store. And he greets you and says, well, hello, Miss Clay. How are you today? Hello, Stan. You're so early. I'm still gathering all my supplies. Do you want to come in? Oh, ah yeah, that would be nice. Thank you. Okay, I like rush back to my art supplies and keep getting them. Perfect. Yeah, he ah waits downstairs kind of just like idly looking at the different pieces of clothing that are available for sale. And we'll say about 10 minutes later, you've kind of gathered all your stuff together and you call him up and he he grabs two pottery pieces. He holds one under each crook of his arm and says, oh, all right then, um shall we be on our way?
00:12:49
Speaker
Yeah, let's go. Oh, careful with that one. Sorry. It's delicate. Yeah, you watch as he like kind of loosens his arm a little bit because he doesn't want to crush it. But then he's also worried about it dropping. And you can tell he's a rather simple man. And this added complication is really sending his brain into a tizzy. But he he's got kind of like a permanent smile on his face and he keeps on keeping on. Nice. As you make your way out into the the morning air, already the streets are starting to bustle. You see people rushing off to work. You see people hanging the days wash outside of the window. People have already gone to start on it. You see several street merchants who have stalls that they've already set up selling fresh fruit and bread.
00:13:35
Speaker
Local guy who sells beef patties that you're a fan of. You often swing by his his stand. But there's no time today because you have to get to the artist's guild. And as you begin to navigate the streets of the Silver District, you know that you have to head north. Generally speaking, Erdenin is a coastal town. It is on the Brascola Peninsula. which is on the southern coast of Zaf, or southern hemisphere, if you will. As you would know, there is one great ocean in the center, the El Suin Ocean, and the Rospula Peninsula sticks up into that, pointing north. And Erdenin is built right on that tip. And as you go from south to north, you go from the copper districts, which is incredibly run down, up through the silver, gold, and then if you wish to get into the
00:14:25
Speaker
really nice parts of the city that often requires either a toll or express permission from the city guard. They won't let just anyone through is very tightly regulated who is allowed to get into the sapphire or ruby or diamond districts. But luckily for you, you just have to get to the gold district today. So you start to work your way north through the streets with Sten behind you and the entire time Sten's just kind of cheerily prattling on behind you says, well Miss Clay, I mean you must be quite nervous today, it's the big day isn't it? Oh, yeah, I've been preparing for such a long time. I'm really desperate for this. It's it's been my dream to be part of the artist's god. Well, I wouldn't be worried. This is the nicest. And he looks at the piece of pottery with the cloth strapped on. He's like, this is the nicest. I've ever seen. Well, thank you. Yep. I like it quite a bit. And if those of those muckety mucks at the guild won't buy it, then I will.
00:15:23
Speaker
You'll buy it. Your style will. Well, and then he kind of throws his brow and says, ah well, I guess it depends on how much you're charging, I suppose. I'm just kidding. For you, I'll make you one as long as you display it proudly in your home, then that'll make me happy. All right. I think you lack business sense, but I appreciate your charitable excuse. And he continues along that way asking you questions. And you know, those mornings where something big is about to happen and you're kind of, you're, you're worried or you're stressed and all you kind of want to do is just focus on what you're going to do and say, that's kind of taken away from you as you've got the happiest little man following you through the streets, kind of just not giving you a moment to collect your thoughts.
00:16:07
Speaker
I think Clay would be okay with that. I think she's just also happily chattering with him but like fretting over her artworks and stuff. That makes sense. Yeah, so the two of you make your way up towards the gold district. You notice that things get a little nicer, a little more middle class perhaps, in some parts a little bohemian as things get just a little more eclectic. You see just people dressed in flowing robes that you've only ever seen wizards wear, but you're pretty sure these are not wizards. They're just, they're hippies.
00:16:41
Speaker
Before long, you find yourself standing in front of Betlehaus, the home of the Erdenian Artist Guild. Betlehaus is this ancient manor house. It has ivy crawling up the exterior and all these big glass windows. Upon the roof, you see more than a dozen grotesque stone gargoyles standing vigilant, looking down upon any who would enter. You have never been inside Bethel House. This is your first time, this will be your first time entering. You were able to submit an application, mail, and you received confirmation that on this day you were to bring your pieces and you would be adjudicated by the Guildmaster and a panel of judges who are going to look at your work and they are going to evaluate it. And if they determine you have sufficient artistic merit, then you will be granted membership.
00:17:33
Speaker
You walk up through this beautiful front lawn. There's all these shrubs cut into all manner of wild shapes. You see a peacock and you see a flamingo and you see several birds that you don't recognize and just all these magical animalistic topiaries that you walk past until you are standing in front of the main door. You see that there is a knocker also in the shape of a gargoyle. and it just sits there kind of menacingly but waiting for you to enter. I guess I'm just like looking around like wide-eyed and staring at everything as I go past and then I knock on the door. Okay. The knocker rings out and a second later the door swings open with this long dramatic
00:18:25
Speaker
And standing before you is this aging elven man. He's got stringy white hair and a pronounced bald spot on top. He hasn't cut his hair so you know it's like shoulder length still, but the top is completely bald. He's dressed in a black tuxedo and he says, yes. Hi, I'm here for my appointment. Name please. Oh, I'm Clay. Sir name. Clay Campbell. It should be right there. I made this appointment quite a while ago. I've been trying to get it for a while. Of course.
00:19:03
Speaker
Please follow me. And he walks away into the building and leaves the door open for you to follow. Okay. I'm like, oh my gosh, let's go. Sten, come on. A sure thing? Oh boy, he's like staring up at the gargoyles on the on the roof. Has not taken his eyes off of them. He finds them extremely discomforting, but he kind of shakes his head and follows you in, and the the old elf, he points to a side door. You may place your pieces upon the pedestals in the presentation chamber, and then you may wait here for the guild master to adjudicate you. Okay.
00:19:47
Speaker
i do that shift thing You walk into the side room, Sten follows you you, you see three pedestals, you place your pieces on them, and you notice that one of your pieces, the the pottery with the the fabric integrated into it, is a little wider than the base of this pedestal, and you're like a little nervous that it could topple, or it's just not going to fit quite right, and it could lead to an an accident. And as Sten places it down, you watch as the pedestal stretches and elongates, and there is now enough room.
00:20:18
Speaker
for this piece to sit upon it. And you return to the the entry hall and the old elf is sitting in a padded chair and his head's kind of like drooping down and he doesn't acknowledge you a second time. Oh, is there anyone else in this building, like in the room? There's Stan and he looks at the elf and kind of throws his brow again and he looks at you and says, well, I think I might wait outside. I don't think I feel quite comfortable here, Miss Clay. Yeah, I'll be back when you're done and I'll help bring your pots back to the tailor shop if that suits you kindly. Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for your help, Stan.
00:21:02
Speaker
I'll see you later. I'll treat you to beef patties later. Oh, all right, then. Well, for your help. Sounds perfect. Thank you, Miss Clay. I will see you and best of luck with your art exhibit. Yes. Good luck, then. I hope you sell all your pieces. And he walks away. He clearly doesn't know what an artist guild is for. He thinks this is an art show. You're trying to sell some stuff. He has no idea what you're doing today. yeah He's a good friend. and He's a good friend. You wait around for a few minutes, and the elf continues to just kind of sit there quietly. You have met a few elves in your time, maybe not a lot, but you've met at least a few elves. And you know that they do not sleep, but they do enter a meditative trance each evening. You think he maybe drifted off into a trance. He seems quite old and quite sleepy. But after about 10 minutes or so, you hear the sound of footsteps.
00:21:54
Speaker
you look up there's this big staircase in the entry hall it leads up to the second floor and you see at the top of the stairs making her way down is a middle-aged woman she's in a scarlet dress and you see that one hand is placed upon the banister and it's just every finger has a ring on it you see this big fancy necklace kind of hanging around her throat and you see that she has this large power gird wig that tips with each step she takes. It kind of sways side to side. It looks like it's barely holding on for dear life. But she makes her way down the stairs and she says, no, Miss Ghamboom, was it? Mm-hmm. Yep, that's me. Wonderful. I am Guildmaster Devika Se. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, darling. And she leans in for the classic, mwah, mwah, on each cheek.
00:22:46
Speaker
Okay, I happily do that. She kind of like looks you up and down and she says, I am in love with your aesthetic, darling. Tell me, how did you do that thing with your eyes? That is, it's magnificent. Oh, ah that's just my aesthetic. I want to cast Thaumaturgy and make my eyes change colors. Okay. ah Yeah, you wiggle your fingers slightly and your eyes start to, what what colors do they change to? You know, cause they're right now they're yellow. I want them to like flash through like the rainbow, like RGB. It's a repeating pattern, a rainbow pattern kind of crosses through your yeah eyes and she says, that's wonderful. I love it. I love it more. Give me more.
00:23:31
Speaker
But we don't have time. Today's a busy day. And of course, you're not here for me to critique your aesthetic. that's not That's not what we're here to do. No, we've got we've got important things to discuss. You wish to be a member. You wish to be a member of the artist guild. That's ah that's that's wonderful. i I truly love that for you. And I hope that you will impress us today. I am the guildmaster here, of course, and I will be leading the panel today, but I am not the only judge. It is a three-judge panel system. You must impress the majority. You simply need approval from two out of three guild members in order to gain access to our illustrious halls.
00:24:13
Speaker
And of course, with membership comes access to our studio spaces. We'll provide mentorship and training, get you discounts on your artistic supplies, whatever you require. I don't need to tell you how big a step this is for any young artist's journey. I hope today goes well for you. I really do. Now, I would like to present our additional two judges this fine day. I have Sir Malraum Dremain. She gestures once more up to the stairs and you see a ah dwarf. He seems to be slightly older in years. He's got graying hair on top along with a ah rather closely cut finely trimmed beard, also graying. He's dressed in these elegant robes that kind of flow around him with each step that he takes, twisting and sashing about him. You notice that he has gems that appear to be embedded in his in his skin, the skin of his face.
00:25:11
Speaker
You see little sparkles of red and green and blue flickering off the candles and torches that light this interior. And yeah, he appears to have just many a fine gem embedded into his skin. The dazzled freckles. Oh my gosh. He comes down the stairs and he offers his hand to you. And if you provide yours in return, he takes it and he kisses it gently and says, pleasure to meet your acquaintance dear. Now I am told you are a potter by trade. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. Thank you so much for this opportunity. And I'm still holding his hand and just like shaking it up and down.
00:25:49
Speaker
Wonderful, wonderful. Yes, I am quite interested in the creative process. I have many a question, I'm sure, about your techniques and how you have created your your works this fine day. I look forward to evaluating you. Of course, thank you so much. I can't wait to show you what I've brought today. Devika says she speaks up once more and says, Now, last judge, this is quite the honor for both us and to be quite honest for you. It is, well, this particular adjudicator has come from a far distance. She is visiting us from the Sealy court. Would you make a arcana or history check for me, please? 19. And I think my history. Sorry, I'm so slow at this. Oh, I think they're both minus one.
00:26:45
Speaker
18. That makes sense. Intelligence not Clay's strongest suit, as it were. Nope. That's okay. An 18 is still enough to remember ah some childhood stories from your upbringing with a man who you perhaps called Mr. Campbell, maybe Father, at some point, potentially, perhaps at one point, he told you to call him by his first name, Shepard. But either way, this name, the Sealy Court, it reminds you of childhood stories you heard about the Feywild, a realm of fairies and satyrs and magic where one might find themselves teleported into a strange reflection of our own.
00:27:25
Speaker
the Feywilds, and you know that the Sealy Court is a source of, you think, good, or at least less bad, fairies and their kin, and even if you hadn't remembered that, I think when you looked up the stairs, She looks almost elven in appearance. She's kind of got the pointed ears but they're longer, they're more exaggerated. The features are somewhat elven but that's about where the similarities end because this female presenting figure she has golden skin. It is bright yellow blazing golden sun colored skin and her hair is just a slightly different shade but still this golden hue to it. Not blonde, gold.
00:28:10
Speaker
And you watch as she kind of starts to step down the stairs and you notice that her feet aren't touching the ground. She's kind of gliding down the stairs. And you watch as a breeze whistles and dances through her hair and like around her, pulling at her clothes and her hair. But the windows are all closed here. there's no There's no open window. There's no breeze. Yet she is still kind of dancing around as if carried on the air. And she approaches you and she says, hello darling. How are you? I'm good. I'm am so honored that you're here today as a judge for my application. Of course. you And I'm just like starry eyed. Yes, I'm sure. I am Lady Narasana. It is lovely to meet you. Let us see your art. I have many things to care to today and this is but one of them.
00:29:01
Speaker
okay, I go to shake her hand, and then if she doesn't look like she's gonna shake my hand, i I like pull back. She does not go to shake her hand. She goes straight to the door behind which your artwork is on display. And Guildmaster Devika, she leans towards you and says, yes, she is not from around here. And she is a ah a centric sort and that's coming from me. And her wig kind of like tips forward and nearly like hits you on the head and she leans back and like doesn't even adjust it. And then she just marches herself towards the door, pushes in after Lady Narasana and Malraum Druman follows behind.
00:29:40
Speaker
They walk into the room and they look at the three pieces on display. Now, the first was a rather traditional pottery piece, as you described, but with a nice ceramic glaze. I need you to make a performance check for me, please. Okay, 12, and performance is plus two, so 14. They gather around the first piece, this ceramic pot, and they start looking at it. Guildmaster says, this is quite good. It's perhaps a little on the conservative side, but there's... there's... Oh, what would you say, Malroom? Would you say... There's a certain elegance to the simplicity. there's a And he cuts and he says, yes, craftsmanship is quite excellent. You can tell that the techniques applied are done to perfection. The Elodrine is what she is, Lady Narasanda. She speaks up and says, now this is nothing like we have back home.
00:30:40
Speaker
But for one such as yourself, this is rather impressive, I must say. And that is one success. yeah They are impressed with your first piece. They then walk over to the second one, and I need you to make it a second performance check for me, please. So is it success on each artwork or each judge I'm trying to win over? You are trying to win two out of three judges in order to gain access. The way that we are gamifying that is by having you roll a performance check for each artwork piece. And if you clear the DC for two out of three, then that will result in the the necessary support. Okay. So someone liked my elegant maze. Oh, four plus two, six. You walk over to the second one.
00:31:30
Speaker
and it is the second pottery piece, the one with the fabric. Yeah, this one's a mess. Yeah, ah you watch as Devika, she kind of squints at it and she tilts her head and her wig flops over to one side and she says, Now, this one is interesting. saying It seems like it is an introspection upon one's innermost manifestations. And Lady Narasana interrupts her and says, it is a mess. You put it in a bag and then forgot to take the bag off when you took it out of the bag that is
00:32:10
Speaker
this is This is a nightmare. And I know nightmares. I'm from a land of nightmares made real. Like, I see this out in my backyard every day. This would fit in in the unseally court, I must tell you. It is truly, truly... Oh, I do not like... i don't don' I don't want to see this. And she actually is going to shove over the pedestal and the piece clatters to the ground and shatters. And Malraim says, oh no, Lady Narasana, that's not how we do things here, but perhaps you were not wrong. And he kind of looks up at you sympathetically, because I'm sorry, but I did not care for that either. And then they look over to the third and final pedestal, and I'm going to need you to make one more performance check for me. Oh no.
00:32:57
Speaker
10 plus 212.
00:33:01
Speaker
Okay, now could you describe this one to me once more? It is a ceramic piece with engravings you said? Yeah, it's more like to show off drawing and like etching skills than sculpture kind of it's very intricate and it's like a very nice design. Yeah, so it's it's not like depicting something per se more of just like an abstract like line work, that sort of thing. It's like when you look at the tiles in your shower, you can see pictures in it, but it's up to each observer. Okay. Okay. I love that you went with my artwork that my artistic endeavors is writing upon is like shower tiles. I love that.
00:33:40
Speaker
I love looking at the shower tile. Amazing. I can stare at them for hours when I shower. That's fantastic. They gather around and they ask you a lot of questions. Malurim has like seven questions about how you managed to do the etchings without like punching through. He takes note to note that like Each line is like of a similar depth, you kept a steady hand the entire time. Guildmaster Devika Se, she's once again obsessed with the meaning and the interpretation of it, what it is supposed to be embodying or representing, and she's quite taken with it. And Lady Narasana doesn't say anything, she just kind of stares at it. And you see that her eyes are kind of dancing with this golden fire and she's just kind of staring at it expressionless.
00:34:30
Speaker
And the judges look at it for a second longer and then Guildmaster say, she looks at you and says, now, could you please wait out in the lobby with Parksley and we shall debate your pieces and discuss whether you are ready for guild membership. Of course. Thank you so much for your consideration. And then I like walk out, but I'm like tense all over. The door closes behind you, you find yourself once more in the lobby area. You see Parks Lee is sitting there, that evidently that is the name of this elf. He is still sitting, head down, hair kind of drooping down around his face. What do you do while you wait?
00:35:11
Speaker
I think I'm like pacing in front of the door, just muttering to myself, oh, that second piece, I should have worked harder on it. After like a few minutes of that, you hear a voice say, I didn't care for the second piece either. I thought it was turd. Bizarre. Yeah, yeah. Ugh, they just didn't understand it. No, it was a mess. And then I'm just like back and forth with myself. What what did you think of the other pieces? Oh, I thought they were. Parks, yeah. They were quite fine. It's parks, Lee Mam.
00:35:46
Speaker
park leave mypo I urge you, even should things not go your way today, to not give up hope. I have been applying for guild membership for, oh, 287 years, and I believe the next year might finally be my year. Oh, I would love to see some of your artworks, Park's Lee. I destroyed them all in shame. No, that's not the way to do it. You can always build on your artworks. I hope I can see next year's applications from you. I'm sure I would learn lots.
00:36:22
Speaker
Lady Nerusana said that they were only fit to be the funeral pyre that I lay upon as my mortal coil shed this. who That's not quite right, as I shed my mortal coil as the mortal- as I was coiled mortally. I think she wanted to roll me up until I died. She really did not enjoy my work. Oh, it's, um... I don't know what to say to this. I think I'm just trying to comfort him. You try and find the right words to say and after a few minutes he kind of like drifts back off into a trance and you can kind of hear like a gentle snoring. I'm sitting next to him and like patting his back and then I go back to worrying about my own pieces. You pace for about an hour. It takes a very long time like for you to get any signs. You begin to wonder like, am I just supposed to go? Like what is what is happening here? Are they busy sweeping up my piece off the floor? Like what are they doing in there?
00:37:18
Speaker
But yeah, about an hour later, the door to this side room opens and you see Devika say standing there and she says, come in, darling, come in, come in. We would like to speak with you. Okay, I go in. And you see that the other two judges, the other two adjudicators, their faces are completely blank. And Devika, she says, now, your first piece, I must be honest with you, we had quite a difficult time in reaching our decision. Your first piece, was simple, but it was well done. And Sir Malwurim here was quite impressed with your technical abilities. He thought you displayed much technical talent and that perhaps the more innovative aspects would be able to arise later on.
00:38:11
Speaker
Now, we're not going to discuss the second piece, and I am sorry that Lady Narasana destroyed it, but it was bad. We can all agree it was not good art. It was bad art. It was weird, and it didn't have a clear message. And if that doesn't make for good art, I don't know what the criteria there are, frankly. I admit, I tried something and it didn't work. I totally understand. Sometimes you swing, sometimes you miss, and you missed and that's okay. Which leads us to the third piece. Now, it was quite interesting.
00:38:44
Speaker
Once again, Sir Malroom was quite impressed with the technical prowess you displayed. I found it quite interesting. And she says interesting in a way that, like, my grandma would when she sees somebody wearing green and purple. She's like, that's interesting. Good or bad, don't know. It's a very open-ended description she provides. And then she looks over to Lady Narasana and she says, and Lady Narasana...
00:39:16
Speaker
And she now, the Eldrin, she interrupts once more and says, I loved it. It is remarkable. The pattern, I could stare at this for hours. I insist that the guild master put it on permanent display here. And if she will not do that, then I would implore you to allow me to take it home with me when I return to the Feywilds. And I insist, I absolutely insist that you be allowed entrance into this establishment despite that piece of shit on the ground. Yeah, I like, I like kick a few pieces away. I'm just like, yes, thank you so much.
00:39:56
Speaker
At this point Malroom and Devika, they start to smile and they say, you've done it. You are welcome amongst our ranks. We think you have much potential and we truly believe that with the proper training and assistance that you may become a truly noteworthy artist in our fine city or perhaps beyond. Who knows? Now, she looks to Malarum and Lady Narasana and she says, thank you for being on our adjudication panel today. I am much indebted to you. I greatly appreciate it. I will now take Miss Campbell to my office and we will discuss the next steps and then we can start to create art. And the the the dwarf and the elephant, they they bow politely and they exit the room. I bow back and I'm just like frantically like, thank you. Yay.
00:40:48
Speaker
And Devika says she leads you out of the room, up the stairs, into a side room, and it is apparently an office. There's a big desk, there's a couple of chairs, a couch, and she sits down on one end of this this couch, and she like taps it and gestures for you to sit down, and she says, tea, or perhaps something a little more celebratory? Orange juice? She rings a little bell and the door opens and Parksley is standing and she says, Parksley, would you please fetch one glass of champagne for myself and a orange juice for our newest member?
00:41:25
Speaker
And he says, of course, mom. And he looks at you with undisguised jealousy bordering on hatred. I give him a thumbs up. He turns without saying a word and comes back later with a glass of champagne and about a quarter of a glass of orange juice. He has barely put anything in there and hands it to you wordlessly. I take it. Excellent. I like cheers. yeah she She cheers you back and says, now, this is a very exciting day. It's not every day we admit a new member into our our ranks. There's a few matters of importance to take care of. We do require exclusivity for your time with us. We can't have you joining other guilds elsewhere. you We wish you to be our students as we invest in you and help aid you on your artistic journey. I trust that will not be a problem.
00:42:18
Speaker
Nope, that sounds good. Wonderful, wonderful. So now that I've joined the guild, what's the process of like setting up my own studio and like displaying my artworks? Of course, if you were to proceed up to the third floor, we can do a formal tour. After this, you will find that there is much studio space. If you wish to pursue your pottery endeavors, we have kilns and pottery wheels. If you require painting supplies or if you wish to get more into sculpting, I do know how to get the best
00:42:53
Speaker
marble and other stonework from Nelvedere. We have it shipped in our monthly, truly unparalleled quality. Yes, then we will be able to provide, of course, a table for you where you can leave your supplies and keep them here on a regular basis. Don't need to be carting your supplies all over the city. That'd be entirely ridiculous. Yes, there's just the matter of paying your monthly dues, and we will require first month's dues today. Or if you do not have it on you, then I would say by the end of the week at the absolute latest, and then we may process your application properly and convey your guild membership upon you.
00:43:31
Speaker
How much are these two? Ah, now I have a question for you. I meant to ask this earlier. How much money do you have on your character sheet? Fifteen gold. Fifteen gold. Okay. Given the nature of this level, like one session 0.5, I'm going to say you will have 15 gold at some point by the time like the actual game starts by session one. I'm going to say for today you have maybe we'll borrow a d4. you have four gold pieces at the moment. Oh, yeah, that's good. that's Not bad. You've been working at the infirmary lately. You know, you invested a lot in these pieces, but you've had these pieces ready for quite a while. And you're we're gonna say down to four gold pieces, though. Okay, she did I know how much I would have to spend to be part of the
00:44:18
Speaker
gold before I joined. Was I prepared? I don't think so. I think you knew like guild membership was like what you wanted to do. I don't know if you knew exactly all the ins and outs of what that required, but she looks at you and like, not like with any attitude, just very matter of factly, she says, uh, it is 10 gold pieces per month for membership. for your monthly dues and you as long as you maintain your payment, you will be in good standing. And that is that is all. Would you like to pay today or later? We can do that later. Very good. Very good. Completely unrelated. Were you thinking of displaying my artwork downstairs or would the lady like to take it home with her? I'm going to have her role on insight check.
00:45:09
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. She rolls very high. She seems like a very eccentric, very like unserious person based off the time you've spent around her. But she kind of looks at you with an understanding and a shrewdness that you maybe had assumed she did not carry up until now. And she looks at you and without missing a beat, she says, Lady Naosana intends to take your piece back to the Feywild when she departs the material plane. I might advise against asking for payment. Her kind does not exactly have a- Oh no, no, that's not what I was going for. If it were, I would advise against requesting payment. Her kind is quick to take offense at perceived slights, and they frankly don't have as, shall we say, as much of an appreciation for the value of coin as we do here.
00:46:01
Speaker
Oh, of course, of course, I was just wondering. As for the broken piece, very sorry about that. And the other part, while it is quite nicely made, the other vase, sorry, I do think that it is not quite what we are looking for for our collection, but it is a good good first effort, of course. No, of course, I was just wondering if I should wrap it nicely for the lady before she departs. If she was interested in giving me more pointers, I could perhaps work more on that style of art. but Potentially.
00:46:33
Speaker
We can talk about business another day. Today's a day for celebrations, and she wants more Clinks glasses with you, yeah and then she proceeds to take you on a tour of the facility, and she takes you up through the different wings. This is a rather large banner, as I said before, and yeah, she takes you and she shows off some of the current students. You see that there's several painters who are gathered around a a dwarf, a male dwarf who is tastefully covered by his beard, that they are sketching they're doing a figure drawing of you see several potters who are working big chunks of clay you see one elven woman who is slowly very slowly like she's not even i'm i'm doing emotion for those who are watching this uh but she is like holding up a ah chisel and a little hammer at this big slab of marble and she is not moving
00:47:20
Speaker
She seems to be like just thinking so intently about what her next movement will be. And you see that this appears to be a sculpture of a of a humanoid form, but there is about a single leg that has been carved. And the guildmaster leans in and says, she has been working on that for a decade so far. We are very excited to see what the final result may be. I can't wait. It looks amazing already. It will be truly remarkable when it's finished. And yeah, she takes you through the rest of the facility, answers whatever questions you may have, and at the end, she brings you back to the door and says, so if you can just come by the end of the week with your payment, then we shall be able to get you up and running, and we are so excited to see what you will accomplish next. Welcome to The Artist Guild. You are going to do wonderful things.
00:48:13
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so honored for this opportunity. I will get you that membership fee. Just hold on. Of course, of course. And yeah, Parkesley opens the door for you. And as you step out into the, it's like late morning now, it's still morning, but it's like almost noon. As you step out into the late morning sun, the door slams behind you, kind of hits you in the back of the ankle as you're like stepping out. He did not wait a second for you to leave before closing the door. okay Congratulations. You've made an enemy on your first day at Artis. I've also joined Artis. You've also made it into the Artis Guild. Congratulations. Yeah. There is one problem though, and you're not broke, but you don't have 10 gold piece a month to spare on a membership dues. It's pretty expensive. How much do I make a month?
00:49:04
Speaker
Typical like conventional wisdom is to live like a modest lifestyle. It requires one gold piece per day, and most employers pay about one gold piece per day in salary. for to put Am I making that much? Your rent is covered by cleaning. Yeah. You're not getting paid anything on top of that. You're merely given a loft to stay in. A lot of your money has gone into art supplies. I think that is partially why you are looking for cheaper housing options, things like that, cutting deals. I would say at the infirmary, it's somewhat infrequent work and you are not making a full gold per day either. But you don't need a full gold, you know, it's like you're not working full time because like you're trying to, you know, you work when there's work and when you need money.
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah, I take like odd jobs and stuff when they become available. Yeah, if you're looking for an odd job, you do know somebody you can talk to about such a thing. Yeah. Or you can go about your day. As you step outside, you see that Sten is sitting on the grass kind of under the shade of a tree. Oh, he's been here the whole time. he's been here the whole time and he is still staring up at the gargoyles just with like an expression of like mild disgust or like discomfort on his face he's just like i don't know like that oh can i do an insight check on the gargoyles sure eight insight is plus three eleven
00:50:34
Speaker
Is there anything off about these gargoyles? Yeah, you have heard or you know stories that gargoyles are sometimes just statues, you know, designed to keep birds or maybe an evil spirit away. You've also heard stories that some gargoyles are more than they appear, that they can come to life at times and move about. Looking up at these ones, you think they're just statues? They're ugly. They're disconcerting. There could be more to them, but they're not moving if there is something more to them.
00:51:10
Speaker
Okay. It's an aesthetic. It's an aesthetic. One extent does not care for, but he sees you step outside and he says, Ms. Clay, are you ready to go? Do you need me to go inside and collect those pieces? No, no, they will stay here. And then I like grab him and like, then I got it. You got it. You got it. And he like takes your hands and he starts like dancing around in a circle with you. Yeah, we're just like going in circles. That's wonderful news. I'm so happy. So they borrow your pieces then. That's, that's fantastic. i
00:51:41
Speaker
I have to pay them 10 gold pieces every month. That's the opposite of selling your pieces. I'm... hmm. No, but I'm part of the the guild now. That's how it works. He pulls out this like really like crumpled notebook. It's kind of like in his back pocket and he's got like a small piece of charcoal in another pocket that he pulls out and he starts to write and speaking aloud to himself, he says, note start guild people will pay you money too. And then he like says question mark, question mark, question mark.
00:52:17
Speaker
And then he flips this notebook back, sticks it in his pocket, stuffs the ah the charcoal in the other one and gives you a big smile and says, well, I'm very happy for you. And this is truly a remarkable day. I am about three hours late for work. I really should be going, but I'm very happy for you. And I'll see you maybe tonight, maybe tonight we celebrate or maybe tomorrow. I'm going to be working late because I am three hours late on my deliveries. So I'll see you when I see you. Don't let me keep you. Yeah. We'll meet up for those beef patties sometime. Oh, we will. I'll treat you. My treat. Wonderful. And he leaves with a big smile on his face. And you are left on the front steps of Bethela House. What do you do from here?
00:52:58
Speaker
I head to the infirmary to see if there's a shift for me to work. Sounds good. ah So there's like a formal hospital, if you will, or medical center in the city. It's run by the church of the octad. That's not where you find your work. This is a little more of a, shall we say, shady operation as you make your way to the copper district. And there is, he claims to be a doctor. You've never seen a certificate. You don't know.
00:53:36
Speaker
where he learned his healing abilities, but you are an occasional worker at the medical center, and that's being very generous, of Fuzom Bistan. and you walk through the gold district back to the silver district and you start to get close to the outskirts of the city near the southern wall kind in the southwest corner of the city and that is where you find the copper district. Things begin to take on a rather claustrophobic
00:54:11
Speaker
air to them. You know that this is a place where you keep a hand on your coin purse at all times, head on a swivel, make sure you don't run afoul. There's many a a criminal looking to make an easy piece of coin in this part of the city, but you continue on your way and eventually you find yourself standing in front of a familiar shop belonging to Fuzom Bistem. Okay, I go in and I'm like, Hey, Mr. Bistem, and I like clock in and work. ah Yeah, you you walk in and as you as you greet him, you hear him call out from the back. He says, oh, back here. Okay, i go I go to the back. Yeah, you see a halfling man. He's kind of in a very stained white medical coat. He is standing on a stool and he is looking down at a human man. He has a
00:55:06
Speaker
shaved head. His shirt is off at the moment. You see that one of his arms is just covered in tattoos. He has like a full sleeve going. You see on the other arm, he has a full sleeve up until his forearm, in which case there is protruding bone. He has a severely broken arm. And despite not expecting to see him here today, you recognize him as Riggs Trembley, but you've only ever known him as Riggs. And he is someone you've occasionally done business with, someone you've worked with on the occasional odd job, as you would say. And as as you walk in, you see Fuzam, he takes his arm and he says,
00:55:49
Speaker
now hold on this is gonna hurt a bit and he just like presses down on with like his full weight and snaps it back into place and Riggs just goes ah if i see wolf again he's dead oh he's a dead man Fuzam says, now, now, there's ah there's no need for that. Do no harm in this place of business. That's what I say. He looks over and you see he's got these, ah you know, like those goggles or these glasses with like the different lenses, like the magnifying lenses. Half of those are down and his eyes are kind of like magnified in them. And he pops the lenses back up and puts the the glasses on his forehead and says, well, I wasn't expecting to see you today.
00:56:32
Speaker
Oh, hey, I'm just here to pick up some shifts. Oh, Riggs, is that you? What have you gotten yourself into? Got myself into a bit of a scrap with wealth. And he like glances up at the, at the doctor who's kind of just innocently humming to himself as you start to talk about this. And Riggs kind of grimaces and says, we got into a disagreement. He snapped my arm. Shit. Oh. And the doctor says, all right, well, I'm just gonna wrap this up. And, you know, you don't use it for, you know, six weeks. And if you don't die of gangrene, then you should be good to go. All right. Thanks, doc.
00:57:10
Speaker
And the doctor looks over, just says, yeah, sorry, I mean, there's not much work today. I'm supposed to be getting some shipment in from the Apothecary. I could use help sorting it tomorrow. Can give you, say, five silver for the morning's work and see if it carries over into the afternoon. Making another five silver if I need you for the whole day. Yeah, sounds good. Just hit me up. I'm here. Yeah, sure thing. He takes this bandage and he starts wrapping it around Riggs's arm and he pops it into ah a splint or into a sling rather. All right, chew on this and he hands him a ah little green leaf and Riggs starts to chew on it fervently and says, all right, be seeing your Riggs. Always a pleasure doing business with you.
00:57:53
Speaker
and Riggs pushes himself with his good arm up onto his feet, says, yep, be seeing you doc, and walks towards the door and he looks at you and says, you, with me. Okay, I like follow him. He leads you through the copper district through kind of just like several back alleys muttering to himself. He doesn't acknowledge you for the duration of this walk. He is clearly very upset about perhaps his arm, perhaps something else. Something is clearly bothering him. And he gets to this door with one of those little sliding latches at eye level, and he just knocks on it. He goes, don't, don't, don't, just pounds on it with his good arm. And you see the slat opens up and you see a pair of ah these green eyes and the voice says, pass what? And he says, shut up, open the door.
00:58:44
Speaker
And ah the voice says, uh, sorry, need a password. And he says, Patrick, if you don't open the door, I'm going to break every one of your fingers. Understand? He says, all right, got it. And the hatch, or the slat, slam shut. The door opens and you see this young human man. He appears to be maybe 20 at the oldest, possibly younger. He's got long ginger hair that's kind of tied into a, uh, little ponytail. His face is just covered in freckles. His forearms are bare and you see they're also just super freckly. And this is someone you have also done business with in the past. This is Patrick Fast Hands, is how he goes by. He plays a beautiful mandolin. He plays this beat up old mandolin and he's yeah quite quite good with it. Is that mandolin like a guitar? Like a little fantasy guitar, yeah. A little ah medieval stringed instrument.
00:59:39
Speaker
I say, oh, hey, Hans, what's up? Is there a job? oh there's There's a job, but or we should probably talk about it inside, I don't think. Riggs is in a bit of a bad mood today on account of wealth breaking his arm during a disagreement. So ah why don't we just head on inside and I'll keep working on this Irish accent and maybe it'll slowly set into place until I have to speak with another voice and then it'll just be gone for good. Sounds good to me. And he closes the door as you as you walk in. and yeah you see yourself in a familiar space you've been here on a handful of times this is a hangout spot for Riggs and his crew Riggs is the leader of a group of bandits is not a word you would use maybe the law would use this word but a group of these are my friends these are your friends this is the clubhouse this is where you hang out with your friends
01:00:32
Speaker
When you're not painting and sculpting and crafting, and you're not working at the a infirmary, and you're not working at the tailor shop, and you're not sleeping, you're sometimes here. This is a place where you've been before. And yeah, you know that this particular crew, this gang, if you will, gang in the like, oh we're just a gang of friends yeah is led by Riggs he is the leader of this of this gang Patrick is also a member there is also a third individual here she is a female half elf with spiky bleached blonde hair
01:01:06
Speaker
Her name is Una Saris Silphayan. Her friends call her Una. And you've noticed over the years that while many half-elves have the slightly pointed tips that showcases their elven lineage, their elven bloodline, Unas are conspicuously rounded at the tops, and it doesn't look like it was natural. You've never asked her about it, but it's something you could not help but know. She doesn't hide it, her hair is up, like you it could not be more apparent. who But yeah, and you see her, she is lying down in a hammock, kind of what has one arm over her eyes. She stands up at the sound of you and Riggs entering, and she kind of snaps her fingers and disappears from the hammock and appears in the shadows next to you and says, Hey, how you doing? Good to see you. Hey, Una. Guess what happened to me today? What?
01:01:58
Speaker
I got into the artist's guild. Oh no way, you did? That's amazing. Yeah, so the thing is I'm short of some coin for my new membership fee. Do you know what's going on with Riggs today? Oh yeah, well about that. Another thing about Una is you've never seen her blink. okay but you know she's kind of a misfit you are definitely a misfit and i feel like there's a kinship there that you've always kind of felt with her oh yeah she says well yeah you see um we were supposed to do this this job tonight and uh apparently it was supposed to pay real well and then i don't know rigs and wealth got into some fight apparently wealth found some other work on the side and uh rigs was counting on him for tonight him and moon derrick they're supposed to be here tonight and they said they were off to do their own thing
01:02:42
Speaker
and well they got into a bit of a bit of a fight and wealth kind of broke Riggs's arm and then they stormed off yeah it's uh well it's kind of kind of ruined and everything this was really supposed to be a big payday tonight and now we're down two people not not ideal you would know wealth is this human man if Riggs is gruff wealth is mean he's just like a greasy unkempt and not being greasy and unkempt is not enough to make someone bad Wealth is bad on top of that. So he's just mean. He's a mean, aggressive, rude person with a real, there's certain jobs that Riggs won't take. Wealth will take any job. If there's money to be made, he'll do it. And he is often followed along by Mundarek, who is a halfling man who kind of, he always, they became a sort of of a package deal, you know? You always see them together. And yeah, they are clearly not here right now based off what you've heard.
01:03:37
Speaker
She says, yeah, so it's, uh, it's kind of all, all gone to hell. And, uh, well, yeah, Riggs is, I don't even think he's mad about the arm. Like that'll fix, right? But, uh, what can you do? Right? Easy come easy go. Yeah, I've told Riggs not to work with wealth in the past. Violence is not the answer. Well, sometimes it's the answer. If you're getting paid to rough somebody up, you know, you kind of need to. And then she like remembers who she's talking to and she says, right. Violence is never the answer. Yes, of course. Yeah, of course. One hundred percent. That's really true. I don't know when I forget I said anything. We don't do violent jobs. We just but do other stuff. Yeah. You mentioned a job like what's what's going on? Maybe I can help out.
01:04:17
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know too much about it. I think it's just like a like smuggling thing. We're supposed to go up into the Ruby district and grab a package and then move it out of the city to and I think there's like a boat or something waiting for it. And then it'll just be taken elsewhere. Seems kind of simple, you know, but apparently it's paying really well. So I don't know. We thought, hell, why not? Right. Easy job, right? Yeah, delivery. That sounds right up my alley. I can come help. Oh, I've got some time tonight. What's the split on this job? How much we talked? Riggs, kind of he's got a flagon of ale that he's now filled up and he's halfway through that. He says, I can give you 20 gold for the night's work. um I'm in, I'm in. All right. I can do the job of two people, wolf, moon derrick, you don't need them. Perfect. Glad I found you. Hang tight. We'll take you out right after sundown.
01:05:10
Speaker
If there's anything you want to do before that you are welcome to, otherwise we will just sort of fast forward to nightfall. I guess I hang out with Una and just chat a bit to learn more about the job as well, like to be more prepared. yeah she tells you that she recently broke up with her girlfriend. Oh no. She's not too broken up over it. Kind of feels like it was a long time coming, but it is what it is. She's got a rather upbeat sort of attitude. Seems like it takes a lot to get her down. Patrick is in the corner just like fiddling with his broken old mandolin. He replaces a string after it snaps and Una takes you through the plan. She says,
01:05:48
Speaker
Yeah, so like I said, we're gonna go to the Ruby District. Patrick, he found this the sewer grate right by the ocean crest. You would know, as someone who's lived here for a long time, the city is divided into these districts, of course. It is also coastal. Many of these districts have resulted from natural waterways, like canals that have formed of like ocean water that separate these into chunks of land. They're connected by bridges. and then another thing to note is that the gold district and beyond is below sea level so the three sapphire ruby and diamond districts they're above sea level the gold district and beyond is below sea level and to stop it from being underwater there is a wall
01:06:31
Speaker
a levee that has been built. The Oceancrest Falls is kind of a waterfall that flows over the northernmost wall. It kind of just is ocean water that pours down. Some wizard from long ago, you don't know who it was, they created some sort of sigil or portal system. You're not arcane trained, at least not in that way. All you know is that the water flows over the edge, does not flood the city, and it's one of many amazing landmarks in the city of Erdenim. But one thing that you have been told is, yeah, that there is a sewer, there's a sewer system that is supposed to be right around the entrance near the Oceancrest Falls,
01:07:14
Speaker
The plan is Patrick found it, it's unlocked, the idea is to hop down into that, travel north underground through the sewers, up into the Diamond District, grab the package, bring it back, and take it out to the Pearl District, which is where many of the ships, that's where all the ships are found, and move the package to a ship, put it on the ship, and then that's the end of the job. Someone else is going to take it off into the night. Cool. That's a cool layout for a city. Yeah. It's a fun little town and my little town, I mean big city. And yeah, that is the plan in general. Go to the sewers, go up to the Ruby district, grab package, come back, drop it off at the Pearl district, get paid 20 gold and go home. Be able to afford two months of membership. Easy money.
01:08:04
Speaker
so as you're chatting you don't see the sun explode as you know it does but you do not see it this evening and after a while Riggs kind of stumbles over stumbles isn't aggressive where he stops over he's you know still in a bad mood arm in a sling can i have like treated his arm a little bit more done something because i i have cure wounds i think are you casting cure wounds on him if i use it now will i have Like before we start the job, is that like a short rest, long rest? Do I get spells back? You get your spells back on a long rest. So that wouldn't count? You would not get them back till tomorrow. Okay. Till after the job. So you've got two spell slots and you'll get them back after you go to sleep for the night. so I think I'll save them for now. Okay. But I'll just like check over his arm and like rewrap it if he needs it to be rewrapped.
01:09:02
Speaker
It seems like it's good, the bandages are clean still, the dressing's clean. Despite not having any credentials that you're aware of, Buzam seems like a pretty good healer despite not having neither training nor arcane abilities to your understanding. It does not seem like he wields magic. Yeah, it's not like I distrust his work. It's more like a friendly gesture for Riggs to calm down. Fair. I like that. Yeah. He doesn't show it, but you feel like he probably appreciates it. And this current mood that he's in is not indicative of how he always is. He's usually serious, but not grumpy. Yeah. I'd be pissed if someone broke my arm. Yeah.
01:09:44
Speaker
No, it tracks. It makes sense. So he kind of stomps over a little while later, you dress up his arm or check on his arm. And he says, All right, so I'm gonna told you the plan. Patrick found a sewer. I think we're gonna head out then. Okay, do we have like roles we each play for this for this job? Like, what's what's my job exactly? yeah ah Uno's gonna make sure if we run into anyone she distracts them and you look over and she kind of wiggles her fingertips and you see little sparks of shadow and light kind of like play off her fingertips and she gives you a smile. Patrick, he found the sewer so he's gonna take us through that. He's been scoping it out. Shouldn't know how to get there without running into anything too gross.
01:10:33
Speaker
and uh you are and he he gives you a sort of sympathetic smile he says yeah you're you're the muscle you uh you stand there you look tough and you carry whatever this this package once we uh once we get it sound good sounds good i've carried many a large artwork Yep, this is probably exactly what this is. And he throws on a cloak, just a simple, kind of ratty, dark cloak, and steps out into the night. Okay. Looking up at the night sky, you see, like you expected, the sun is gone. Pharos has exploded for the evening, and you see floating above you, kind of one closer and one further off, somewhat offset.
01:11:22
Speaker
kind of sort of like right above you. You see the two moons of Zab, you see Golo the large moon, and you see Peccio the second moon. Lovely. f And you, under the light of these two moons, keeping in mind that there's no sun to illuminate them, so you're not entirely sure where the light comes from. It's not as bright as maybe our moon would be. but It's always a full moon, but it's kind of in more faded tone, so it provides maybe less light than you would be used to seeing in real life. i do have a question not really related but just are there stars are there other phoenixes far off there are other stars whether or not they are phoenixes you do not know you just know that there are other pinpoints of light off in the cosmos are there constellations yeah oh yeah ask me to name one and i will end this call but yeah there's constellations
01:12:14
Speaker
Yeah, you make your way through the Copper District. Nobody gives you any trouble as you make your way. Guards kind of leave the Copper District alone for the most part. It's kind of self-regulated unless something goes really wrong. The Pearl District, there's a lot of private security, shall we say. There's people that are hired by the various shipping guilds and companies to, you know, patrol the docks and make sure no warehouses or ships are broken into, stolen, anything like that. is it like illegal to go into other districts like the upper class ones? it is not illegal yeah it is it is patrolled for sure like to cross the ocean crest bridges you are aware of people being like turned away if they don't look like they have the right reason to be there um is it based off of like citizenship like passes borders like
01:13:11
Speaker
usually they're looking for someone who yeah it's there's not like an official system it's often just running into the right guard who thinks that you look like you're not going to cause trouble and oftentimes paying a toll across the bridge so if any like person just dressed up nicely they could Potentially, if they carry themselves in such a way. Maybe not Clay. She's very recognizable. Irrecognizable. I don't think you're like the talk of the town. Like I think despite maybe some of the activities you've partaken in in the past, I don't think you've really run afoul of the law. I don't think you've been arrested or anything like that. So you might be recognizable in your neighborhood. Probably not like, like if someone sees you on the street, they're probably not going to be like, Hey, that's Chloe Campbell. No, just not very subtle, I think.
01:13:59
Speaker
very not subtle appearance. And so as you kind of get into the Silver District, you know that there's the potential to see some guards, Gold District more in kind of just like increased security the further into the city you go, the closer you get to the castle. And so, what I need from you is we're going to do a group stealth check, which means that everyone who's going together is going to roll a stealth check, and I am going to roll for the three companions you have with you. You will roll for yourself, and we will see if everyone rolls high enough, you will avoid attention. If there's anyone to see you, and if you roll too low, you might get noticed by someone, whether they
01:14:36
Speaker
A costume or anything is another matter, but this is the kind of thing you don't want to be seen at any point. Yeah. Give me a stealth check, please. Uh, I rolled a seven, flat seven. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. Well, you're not known for your quietness. You know, you're a bigger cow gal. You don't have a cowbell around your neck, but sometimes it feels like you do. it I think your crew for the evening is aware of this and so Patrick kind of at certain points he takes extra care to be like okay so what you're gonna do is you're going to step around the corner and see that barrel there don't step
01:15:17
Speaker
onto it it's going to break and see that sign there don't bump your head on that that'll make a lot of noise sounds good sounds good and he kind of steps out across the street and you follow and you kind of follow the plan that he lays out for you you know you're not the quietest but you don't seem to attract any attention as you go through the silver and subsequently gold districts. You kind of manage to stick to the shadows, avoid the more well-traveled streets. This is the part of the city you know well. You're very familiar. I don't think you would have made it over the bridge at any point. I don't think you've ever been to the Sapphire District.
01:15:53
Speaker
Okay, so that's this is completely new. Yeah, I don't think you would have had business there. And I don't think based off your general aesthetic that they would expect you to have a reason. Maybe you tried once when you were younger or a few times when you were younger. but Maybe you snuck across once when you were like a kid with some friends, maybe something like that. But I don't think you've ever like officially been there. Maybe anytime you've been there, it's purely been covert stuff. Okay, have any of the others been there? Probably on business. Legitimately. never and yeah after a little while we'll say maybe like half an hour of navigating the city streets patrick fast hands says okay so i found the entrance it's just a block up that way and we'll just pop it we'll hop in close behind us we'll be good to go and he takes you the rest of the way and he finds the grade he points out the grade and you can hear the sound of rushing water and you look past the buildings that you're walking past
01:16:50
Speaker
and you see just this cascade of water pouring down as the ocean pours down in this endless cascade, threatening to drown the city but miraculously not. You don't know how anyone could live here, but you also know that these are like some of the prime real estate spots in the gold district being right under the falls. It's a view. Yeah, beautiful view. Patrick walks over to the grate and he pulls on it and says, but's ah it's a small budging. Hey, play. Give me a hand. Okay. Was it unlocked last time he was here?
01:17:21
Speaker
Sounds like it. Based off what you've heard, it sounds like he was like mapping out the sewers and finding a way in to make this an easier job. but I like tug on it. Give me a strength check or an athletics check if you are proficient in athletics. No, I'm not proficient in it, so it's the same thing. Okay, then just a straight strength check. Nine plus one, ten. You pull on, you bend your knees and you you're like, this is what I'm here for. And you reach down and you pull and it doesn't budge. Hmm. Is there like a lock on it? You look at it. Give me an investigation check. Oh gosh. 18 plus one. Nope. Minus one. Sorry. 17. 17. I would say with a 17, you do not see a lock. You look around, there's no chain. There's no padlock. No, any other kind of lock.
01:18:11
Speaker
Can I see why it's stuck like a cert? Well, I think with the 17, you feel like it's locked, despite the fact that there's no visible lock. And I think maybe you articulate that, you know, you're like, it feels like it's locked. And Patrick kind of curses, he says, oh, bloody hell. And Riggs walks over and says, what? What's the problem? And he says, well, The other day, when I did my last scouting, I hopped out of the grate and then maybe a guard saw me. I think they maybe stuck an arcane lock on it, stopped people from crawling around in the sewers, and Riggs just curses and says, well, isn't this just grate? Lose half our crew, grate's locked. Shit. Odd that.
01:19:01
Speaker
investigation role? Is there, do I know if I can do anything to open it? I think you don't have a formal arcane background. So while you have like a general innate understanding of magic, that kind of stems from this slight relationship that you have with Macrog. I don't think you know the inner workings of specific spells, at least ones that you don't personally know. such as an arcane lock but you do have Uno with you who is a you would know this she is a sorcerer she is born with some innate magical abilities and she says yeah so um an arcane lock is a it's like a real lock but it's magical and thus not really real and it basically makes things real hard to open unless you know the proper counter spells and uh fortunately i don't really know them
01:19:54
Speaker
She looks up at Riggs apologetically. She's like, sorry. Patrick speaks up and says, well, what if we and just went over the bridge and Riggs grunts and says, stupid idea. Look at us. I mean, we don't look like nobles. We look like a bunch of thieves. And he says, well, that is what we are. She's like, yeah, yeah, I get it. What? And she's like, oh, uh, just kidding. Just a little joke. We're just, we're just like kinda not very noble. We need to like put on some much nicer clothes if we were going to bluff our way past. Checks out. Good joke. Good joke. The tailor shop that I live above, would there be like noble costumes and stuff around in the loft that I live? If not in the loft, then definitely on the sales floor.
01:20:38
Speaker
Oh, but I don't want to steal from the man. That's my house. That's fair. I think upstairs there's not a lot of overstock in actual outfits. It's mostly raw materials that are yet to be converted into clothing. You are aware that there is nice clothes on the main floor, but to your knowledge, there's not really much in the loft that you think would be suitable for this sort of task. okay I'm like, oh, are we dressing up? what's What is everyone's nicest, most fancy outfit look like? Do they already own anything that looks like a good pass? Patrick speaks up and says, I've got her ah nice a nice cloak I wear when I when i play on stage. and Riggs immediately interrupts and says, yeah, that's great. If you're playing the bars down in the Silver District, you're not gonna not going to get past the guards wearing that, bud.
01:21:31
Speaker
And he says, oh, I thought you liked my cloak. He says, yeah, it's it's great, but it's not quite up to the job. Riggs looks at you and says, yeah, I mean, this is basically the nicest thing I got. And it's not nice. And Una kind of shrugs and says, yeah, I mean, ah I had a few things at the at the apartment, but she's kind of living there now and I don't really want to go back. Does anyone know any disguise skills or Una, do you know any disguise magic? I could disguise myself, possibly, but it would just be me. And I think the rest of you would have to find something else, unfortunately. Sorry.
01:22:11
Speaker
It's the middle of the night, right? Is there still people checking? like Is there still people going back and forth between districts, or is it shut down? There's still people on the street, but it's it's a lot less. you It's not directly after the sun exploded. It's, I'd say, like at least an hour after that, maybe an hour and a half, two hours. There's like kind of people that have been out at the local restaurants, local taverns who have kind of just have their evening meal and are in the process of going home, but the streets are quieting down for sure. Like it's far less busy. Like most businesses that are taverns or inns of clothes for the night, they're still like foot patrols of you guards on duty, kind of the night shift. They're walking around, make sure everything's cool, but it's it's not overly busy right now. Is it possible one of us makes a distraction and we just like run across without being seen, without being checked?
01:23:08
Speaker
Are you asking me or are you asking someone that you're with? Both, I guess. I'm asking like, hey, I've never been to the other side of the ocean crest falls, you know, like, but you guys seem like you've been there before. Yeah, I mean, we've we've been there a few times. oh It's possible, I think. Well, it's a pretty long stretch. So all it would take is the guards getting, like looking around for like even like a second and they would probably see us. And it would probably require like one person to stay behind, I'm guessing, you know, to like really, really draw them in. Patrick says, oh, I could do it, but would you be okay without me if that's the case? And Riggs says,
01:23:53
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's not ideal, but we could probably still manage. And yeah, to your knowledge, from your understanding, it's a pretty long bridge. So yeah, somewhat illuminated, not like lanterns every like three feet or anything, but there's like lanterns on the bridge. It's a nice, it's a nice bridge. They want those coming into the city to feel like you're entering the nice part of town, right? So it's well illuminated. It's fancy. Hence why you were going to take the sewers originally, but it's, it's possible if that's what the group wants to try. a I don't know. What's everyone's preference? Like, what are we leading towards? Is there out any way past the gate over the lock, like the arcane lock, so we can still go through the sewers? Or is that hopeless? Give me a intelligence roll. Just a general roll a d20 and add your intelligence. Roll a d20 and subtract one.
01:24:47
Speaker
Oh, 15. You think possibly, like you have a thought, you're like looking around, you're like, okay, I'm aware that there's clothes at the tailor shop. I don't really want to rob the place that I that i live. That seems, you're not a thief. That's not what you do. Also, it might fall back on you if suddenly There's a robbery at the place where you're supposed to be every night by yourself unchecked. So you're like, what are some of the other options? And you think back to your conversation with Fousane from earlier, and you remember how there is supposed to be a shipment coming in from one of the local apothecaries to his clinic. And you start to think about some of the medicines that you've helped sort, some of the reagents that you've helped shelve,
01:25:35
Speaker
And you remember that there is, at foodzombs, there's some real like quackish medicines, things that are supposed to reverse aging or to regrow broken bones like much faster. A doctor who actually is trained in this area would know that most of that is junk science and some of that is downright dangerous. And you remember one time where you were with Fuzam, And one of the apothecaries came by with different products he was selling. One of them he claimed was supposed to remove a warts. If you had a wart, you were supposed to apply this to your skin and it would dissolve away. And you were like, wow, that's amazing idea. How has no one told me about this before? This is like magic in a bottle. And Fuzam kindly informed you that that was just acid and that it would eat away at your skin and maybe down to the bone if you weren't careful.
01:26:33
Speaker
Stylosilic acid rewards. It has stuck with you to this day that there is an acid powerful enough to burn down to the bone. And despite his predestations, Fusam did buy a couple bottles. And over the course of like 20 seconds, like this whole thing plays out in your mind, and you're like, acid, what if we melt the grate? Aha. Okay, is Fusam like in on this side of my job, like he's familiar with Riggs. Yeah. He is, I mean, it's hard for you to say because you yourself don't have a full grasp on what it is you do when you get on these evening excursions with Riggs and the gang. and So it's a little hard for you to assess. You do know that on many an occasion you've heard
01:27:27
Speaker
a conversation, whether between Fuzam and other members of this group or other strangers that have just like come into the infirmary during one of your shifts. And they've had conversations that confuse you. And they're talking about things that you don't really understand. And they kind of conflict with your innocent worldview that you have managed to cultivate. So you think that sometimes Fuzam is talking about things that aren't medicine. You don't know what those things are, but they sound odd. Okay, I'm like, hey, I think we should stop by the infirmary again. I know of some wart cream that could really do the job here. This grate is kind of like...
01:28:08
Speaker
the war on the system and we need to remove it. Riggs scowls at you and he's about to like just be like, no, forget the whole thing's off. And and then it was like acid. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yes. All right. That's good. And Riggs starts to nod his head slow. He's like, yeah, all right. Good idea, Clay. And he sets off back towards the copper district. And you all follow. And a little while later, you see yourself standing in front of Fuzoms. Riggs looks at you and says, all right, get the door, will you? I knock on the door. And he's like, all right, I think I need you to use a little more heft, if you don't mind. Okay, I tried to open it.
01:28:58
Speaker
It is locked. He's like, all right, maybe a little more. Could you maybe throw your shoulder in? I think they forgot to leave it unlocked for us. Yeah. I, I, I opened the door. Like I go for it. Give me an athletics check to try and pound through this door. 17 plus what? Okay, 18 yeah you drop your shoulder into it and the door splinters slightly and breaks off the of the latch and you're able to push it open into this dark space. You see Una appear in front of you like she just teleports in front of you like stepping into the shadow and she goes inside and Patrick and Riggs follow it afterwards and they start to rustle around in the back and
01:29:43
Speaker
Riggs tells you to just keep a watch and you know you keep an eye out and they come back out a few minutes later with several glass bottles this little elven script on the side and we're just like all right don't know what we need let's head back and you close the broken door behind you as you go yeah gently gently gently close it behind you and you make your way back to the sewer grate sure enough they pour the contents of these these bottles onto the grate and you watch as the metal starts to dissolve
01:30:15
Speaker
And they pour it around the entire exterior, like the, the outer ring of this sewer grate. And after a few minutes, he watches the liquid starts to like bubble and starts to to burn into the metal. And then the grate just falls down. It just breaks and falls down into the ground. There's a distant clanging noise and rig says, all right, let's go. Okay. And you make your way down the ladder into this dank dark sewer. You have dark vision. Yes. 60 feet. Okay, you notice or you would know perhaps that Patrick and Riggs are both human and thus they cannot see in the dark. And so you see Patrick, he takes out a small torch and he illuminates it and he takes the lead and starts to guide you through the sewers. And you just hear the sounds of like echoing water and dripping and
01:31:05
Speaker
all manner of moist noises all around you as you walk through this underground labyrinth. But Patrick seems to know the way. He's scouted this out and ignoring this setback, you make pretty good time. About a half hour later of navigating through the sewers, he stops in front of a ladder and says, ah oh, okay. hu this is this is the one should lead us right up into the uh seven part of the uh the district and then we can make our way over to the terraces and we should be we should be good to go after that should be able to meet meet the guy and get the package and
01:31:43
Speaker
Oh, we'll be, we'll be, we'll be on our way. Riggs, who's been grumpy all night, he looks up at this ladder, his one good arm, and kind of sighs, but then he looks at Patrick and says, you did good. Good job. Good job, Patrick. And then he points to you and says, you first pop the hatch when you get up there. bring up the rear. I don't want to slow everyone down. And you go up and you press open the grate and you find yourself on the widest street you have ever seen. You did not know that city streets could be this wide. In fact, there's houses that are 30 feet from each other, separated by these large iron gates or walls. You're just in a very nice part of the city. The streets are clean,
01:32:27
Speaker
They're well illuminated, which, well, that's very nice, is kind of inconvenient for the kind of work you are going about this evening. But you get up there and a few minutes later, everyone else is up top as well. Riggs manages to haul himself up with just a single arm. He's late thirties, but still in like, you know, he's not still, but he's in in very good shape. He's quite fit, quite muscular, and yeah, manages to climb up with just one arm without any issues he says all right let's go and i'm going to need you to make another group stealth check 11 so as i said it is pretty well illuminated around here and you're finding it hard to stick to the shadows and the more you try and like find shadow the more you like bang into stuff and the more you start to like pant a little as you're like sprinting from corner to corner of the street
01:33:18
Speaker
my massive form like casting shadows with horns. and Yeah, the devil herself is walking through the streets of the Ruby District this night. And yeah, you are struggling a bit to stay secluded. But you are not the only one. It seems like Una who is well versed in shadow, she somehow manages to find a way like she's almost bamfing, teleporting from like spot of shadow to shadow, slipping out of view like you'll be looking at her and she'll turn sideways and then like the next time you see her she's 20 feet up in another alleyway. The other two, Patrick and Riggs, they seem to also be having the troubles that you're having though.
01:33:57
Speaker
And sure enough, after maybe five, 10 minutes, you hear a voice say, think I saw something. And everyone freezes and rig says, shit, everybody hide. And what do you do? Hide. Good plan. Also, where where are we going? I don't know where we're going. Yeah, you've been following like Riggs who seems to like know where you're supposed to be meeting, where the drop is, if you will. That part of the plan was not expressly explained to you. You did remember Patrick at one point said, the terraces. I think you being a local, you would know what the terraces are. You've never seen the terraces, the full name being the drifting terraces. They are this garden.
01:34:40
Speaker
This tower sort of that builds up to the sky composed of these large blocks and you know that all manner of trees and flowers and ferns and mosses, all sorts of natural plant life grows upon these towers. There's pools and little waterfalls and the thing that makes this place quite special is it was an arcane invention, one of many in the city that has enchanted this tower to constantly be shifting and the blocks will detach and then reattach themselves onto another part of the tower and you can kind of like walk your way up this tower and every time you go it is a different experience because the tower is ever changing. You have never been here but it is something you have of course heard about for your entire life. And yeah, you know that you are supposed to meet somebody near the drifting terraces to collect this package.
01:35:30
Speaker
I'm excited. I'm like, wow, that's such a cool building. So excited to go see it. Cannot wait to see it. Yeah, I hide. You hide. So you like duck down behind a there's not like a lot of crates and barrels like there might be in other parts of the city, the city districts that you're familiar with. But you see that there's a carriage that is parked out on the corner of a street, you like run over and hide behind it. A horse goes. as you approach but you duck down in behind the carriage and you hear two pairs of footsteps coming towards you and you hear a voice say, I thought I saw someone trying to stay out of the light maybe I don't know maybe a few people it's I don't know just didn't really get a look inside them I think one had horns and another voice says all right well uh let's see what we can do and they start to walk around they're not close to discovering me
01:36:21
Speaker
they don't seem like immediately about to. They're like starting to like fan out. If you like duck down you see like two pairs of feet and they start to uh spread out a bit and start to like look around the streets. But they're like actively looking for us like investigating. They're actively looking, yep. They think they saw someone that they think maybe isn't supposed to be here. I'd like to cast Thaumaturgy again. Don't remember exactly what you can do with it but I think one of them was you can make the ground vibrate. Okay. Can I make the tremors like far off, like around the corner down the street that we're not going? Sure. And make it sound like there's some thumping and like maybe a large horned animal is walking down that way. I don't know. Yeah, of course. There is a verbal component to thaumaturgy. So I'm going to have you make a stealth roll, I think, as you try and silently whisper out the incantation to make this happen.
01:37:17
Speaker
Okay, I'm hoping the distraction I'm trying to cause is loud enough too. Two. Two. Yeah. So you start to whisper out this incantation and one of the you presume guards says, I think I heard something. And as he says that you managed to finish the incantation and a block away the ground starts to rumble and the other guard says, who was that? And he's like, I don't know. Oh shit, we better check it out. And they go running off in that direction to check out the source of this, this quake. And you are able to like kind of sneak around to the other side of the carriage as they go by. They don't see you and everybody kind of regroups on the side of the street. The rig says, oh boy, this is getting real hairy. We're almost there though. Let's hurry up and get this done. And takes off a little quicker into the night.
01:38:12
Speaker
I'd say about 10 minutes later you approach this enclosed, this large enclosed space. There's like these big plant covered walls, moss covered walls, ivy growing up them. There's like some hedges kind of mixed in and Riggs goes through this opening and you look up and you see this magnificent tower reaching into the sky. and as you're staring you see a waterfall just pouring off one of the sides nearest to you and it's pooling in a ah this large pond and you see different trees sprouting off some of them quite tall and as you're watching you watch as part of the tower separates it just starts to fall
01:38:51
Speaker
from the tower and starts to slowly twist and then after it spins about 180 degrees it just reattaches itself about 10-20 feet down to another part of the tower and you watch as a second block comes tumbling down the same way and attaches itself and builds this big square loop if you will this new this new facet of the tower You don't have time to look though, because Riggs drags you along, and before long, you find yourself standing and like, this is like, you get the sense that this is almost like, it's like this private garden space and there's different enclaves or alcoves is a better word, where people can meet or walk or just enjoy some tranquility, and Riggs leads you into a far corner of this space under the drifting terraces, and you see a cloaked figure.
01:39:38
Speaker
They're standing there, there's a hood over their face, masking their features. They seem to be decently tall. Beyond that, you can't really make out much detail. And you see they're standing there off to the side and at their feet is a package. It is about six feet long and is... Person-shaped. Somewhat, one might say. wrapped in ah like a tarp or like a canvas perhaps so as someone who's done probably some painting in the past you've like put down painters cloth sort of thing to like you know protect the floor so it's like like a rug shape almost rug shaped yeah yeah and rig says wait here
01:40:20
Speaker
He walks over to the person and he chats with them for just like a minute. Can I hear what they're saying? Give me a perception roll. Plus three, nice. Ooh, 18 plus three, 21. Yeah, I think you cock one of your your big ears, pointing in that direction. You make as if you're like looking up at the tower still, but you're kind of all your attention is directed to this conversation. And you just hear the stranger say, I just need them out of town for a few days. That's all. Then everything will be complete. And frankly, it's none of your business. I'm paying you amply. I don't think I need to explain myself any more than that. And Rick says, no, no, of course, of course, I was not questioning. Just want to make sure
01:41:04
Speaker
I had the proper understanding of what I was involving myself in, that's all. And the stranger hands him a small satchel. You've seen enough bags of money to know that it's full of coin. And then Riggs reaches out a hand, and the stranger grabs it, shakes it, and you think you see something pass between them. You see like a small glint in the faint moonlight. You see a small glint pass from one hand during that handshake, passing the stranger's hand into Riggs's hand. but you're not entirely sure but with a 21 you like you think you see something then the stranger spins off their cloak kind of twirls behind them you see the faint flash of a scabbard kind of gets revealed partially and then gets covered back up by the cloak and then they disappear into the night Riggs looks over at you and says all right time to earn your keep okay i like heft the package over my shoulder
01:41:57
Speaker
Yeah, you feel like it's moving slightly? I like jostle it a little, I guess. I'm like, what is this? Riggs walks up and says, all right, you good to go? Yeah, it's like not easy to carry. That's all right. We just have to get down to the Pearl District and we're good. Okay. So you continue back into the night. I am going to need one more blast, I promise, of the evening. Group stealth check. That's a nat one, baby. So fun fact about nat ones is they count as two failures on a group stealth check. A natural 20 counts as two successes. A natural one counts as two failures. For what it's worth. Everyone else passed? No. um One person succeeded. Everyone else rolled kind of garbo.
01:42:50
Speaker
I'm carrying a six foot long package. Yeah. It weighs like maybe a couple hundred pounds. Like it's pretty heavy, but yeah, you've got like it over the shoulder, a couple of arms on it. You set off and it's not easy. And you're kind of like, you know, you're moving it from like one shoulder to the other, trying to like. balance out the weight when you can, stop your one side from getting too tired. And as you are moving down through the streets, trying to get back to that super great, you hear a moan coming from the package, just like a
01:43:27
Speaker
And before you have a chance to question that or ask what is going on, a familiar voice says, okay, now I know I just heard a moan. The second voice says, yeah, no, there was definitely something there. Something weird is going on tonight. And walking around the corner, you see two guards, two city guards, and they immediately lock eyes on your group. They clock us. They clock you. And Riggs says, run and sets off into the night. What do you do? Okay. Can I cast light like a flash bomb and then run?
01:44:02
Speaker
uh you can try to try and blind them like sure might buy you some time give me an arcana check as you try and channel this light energy and turn into something more than just like a source of illumination okay 16 on the dice minus one lovely lovely so 15 total i think that buys you like a few seconds someone's like Ah! Get him! And you start to take off. I am going to need an athletics or acrobatics check, your choice, as you try and, like, create some distance between you and your pursuers. Okay, athletics is better.
01:44:42
Speaker
18 plus one. 19. Not bad. As much as like this package was bothering you before, you kind of like suck it up and you just start to run. But you're following Riggs and he's not going in the same way that you went before. He's trying to lose these pursuers. You're not going in the same path that you were that led to the sewer grade or led from the sewer grade. as it were and he starts sprinting and you're following and Una and Patrick are following along before long you hear the sound of rushing water and you realize that oh
01:45:17
Speaker
at the Oceancrest Falls. And I'm going to end up jumping off the Watercrest Falls. And you hear the sound of guards running from behind. It sounds like more have joined them. It's not just the two that originally saw you. And Una screams at you. She says, OK, it's time to go. We got to go. We got to go. Jump, jump. Please now jump. Jump now. Everyone jump. OK, we're jumping over the waterfall, I guess. Riggs with his arm in a splint or a sorry sling at this point is falling out of the sling and it's flopping and he's like grimacing with each step he takes Patrick like looks over and he's like home. I just I just want to be a musician. I don't want to do this anymore says Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's great we great. We can fix that later. We can talk about your career clothes later five-year plan and all that Just please to the love of gods jump down. Please jump
01:46:00
Speaker
and he throws himself off the edge. You run with package on shoulder, jump off the edge. Una looks behind her and then just falls like straight back like trust ball off the edge of the waterfall. That's cool. She like dives past you and you look down and you see water just like mist spraying up water rushing past you on one side the ground is getting rapidly close and Una says okay one two three four five and you feel your momentum just slow and like a feather drifting upon the breeze you start to just slowly drift towards the ground and you are able to
01:46:38
Speaker
not like control where you're going but you're able to kind of just get enough time to slowly angle the way which you're falling and the five of you four of you plus package apologies land upon a one of these rooftops and Riggs looks over doing it says good job good job all right let's just get this over with we're almost done then we can all go home and uh All right, and sure enough, yeah, you are able to pick your way down off the roof and you keep an eye out, but it doesn't seem like word has spread from the the Ruby District to here, and you are able to navigate the streets of the city and you find yourself suddenly
01:47:23
Speaker
at the port. You find yourself in the Pearl District and you see all these magnificent tall ships with two, three mass big sails that are furled up, you know, you see flags slowly flapping in the in the late evening breeze. It's not an area where you've spent a lot of time but the times you've come here it's quite beautiful. There's the smell of the ocean drifting in aggressively and you go down to one of the docks and you see a small fishing boat maybe it's like a small single mass and a sail and there's another couple of cloaked figures sitting inside it and Riggs doesn't say a word he just points to you points to the boat and you take that to mean drop off the package okay and yeah you drop this package into the boat and you swear you hear like another faint moan can i do i don't know insight or like
01:48:13
Speaker
perception. sure There's like cloaked figures in the boat. what are you What are you trying to do specifically? I'm like, at this point, I think there's a person in the package. Sure. So I'm like, I guess, what's happening here? Like, am I a part of something bad? I have like an icky feeling, I guess. Yeah. If you want to make an inside check, you can. I think, though, I think if you want to take away that something icky is happening right now, I think you are able to do that without rolling. I think Clay, for the first time, is starting to wonder what she's gotten herself into, what she's taking part in. And she might, for the first time, think she's doing something bad. OK.
01:48:59
Speaker
I feel that like she feels icky, but she still drops off the package. Okay. Yeah. You drop it in and you watch as one of these cloaked figures just unties the boat from the dock and they kind of take one of the, like a long pole and they just like push off and they take off into the, into the night. You maybe are quiet on the walk back to the hideout. but you make it there and Riggs is happy. Everyone's kind of like feeling like, maybe with the exception of you, everyone's kind of exhilarated. Like things went well. There were some setbacks, but the plan worked out. And most importantly,
01:49:41
Speaker
you all got paid. Riggs is going to reach into the pouch into the the satchel that he was given and he counts out three platinum pieces and he hands them to you and he says a little bit extra for uh your uh your your quick thinking and he uh reaches into his pocket and he pulls out this little ring it's a silver ring with a bit of a ah like a flattened part on on one side and you look at it and it appears to bear the insignia or like a design of an owl bear and he says then here why don't you take this I uh
01:50:20
Speaker
Managed to sneak it off the asshole who paid us for the job. Oh, that's the glint that I saw? It seems so. Okay. And he says, here, take this. Maybe it's worth something to you. Okay. I pocket the money. How much is three platinum? Three platinum would be 30 gold pieces. Nice. Okay. So I have 34 total. You said I have four gold in the beginning. Yeah. We'll say, yeah, you were supposed to start technically with 15, but based on this, you're going to start with 34. So. Okay, I'm going to pay 10 for the month. yep I pocket the ring also. I guess I kind of want to like quietly ask Riggs, where did you hear about this job and like what kind of argument did he have with the other two guys before this? You ask him that? Yeah, because I'm like, what was this? It feels wrong.
01:51:12
Speaker
um Yeah. I mean, he looks down at his arm. It's back in the, back in the sling. He says, uh, argument was, I mean, in this bullshit. I mean, they agreed to work on the job with us and then last minute somebody else, I guess, scooped them, offered them apparently more to do something else. they They were real cagey with the details and I don't know. I hate when they find work outside the group. I mean, it's like fine if you work outside the group. It's like, no, we have a job.
01:51:46
Speaker
We've got a gig that just sort of pisses me off. But um, yeah, that was that and I don't know some some guy approached me the other day I was drinking and I said I was someone he'd he'd heard about someone who could be counting on to get a job done and want to hire me to do something. Oh, no. worked out, right? And he sort of absentmindedly passed the money pouch, which has still quite a bit of coin in it that he has not distributed to the others or you. Yeah, don't know what's in there. Okay, I guess I'm just, I don't know, feeling a little uneasy. I would like you to make a insight check for me, please. 20 plus three, 23.
01:52:30
Speaker
As you say that, you see Riggs's face. He's had this like really happy expression. They did the job. They got paid. Nobody got caught. You see that kind of fades away and he sort of squints at you. And he's like, hey, we good? Yeah, I pat him on the shoulder, but just like, I'm not as like elated as the others are. I'm like, I'll see you around. And I'm like, I get out of there, I guess. Okay. He nods at you and Patrick is like.
01:53:06
Speaker
Why don't you come down tomorrow night and all that. I'm gonna pick up a new mandolin with my with my cuts and put on a nice show for you. Sounds good. Una is like, all right, good, good job tonight. Glad glad I was able to catch you. Would've really sucked if you got splattered. Yeah, that was what an experience. Yeah, that was ah that was and something, huh? Yeah, good catch. Good catch. Thanks. All right. Well, good night. Good night. you uh yeah you step out into the late evening air it's like probably one maybe two in the morning like it's late so and you make your way back to the tailor shop and you let yourself in and you go up to your bedroom and what do you do i'm like setting aside 10 gold pieces like on the dresser next to my bed like oh this is for paying my membership fee tomorrow and i'm just like
01:54:04
Speaker
I got staring at the money and like feeling this sense of dread. Can I pull out the ring and like, do I recognize the symbol on it? Give me a history check. Okay. Three minus one, two. You get the feeling that it might have some significance. You, you've never seen a ring that just had like a picture on it before. That's not really a thing as far as you know. It doesn't appear to be art. You know art. It's not art, but you don't know what it symbolizes, where it came from. I know it came from the man. Yeah. You have a vague idea of who that guy is. Yeah. Okay.
01:54:50
Speaker
You fall asleep looking at your stack of three platinum coins and I'd say you awaken the next morning. The sun is high in the sky, which is a silly thing to say because at this time of year, it's always at the sun. But yeah, the sun is in the sky burning. You've kind of slept in a bit. I think I like feel guilty, but I'm like trying to explain it away. like It's a new day. i'm like It was probably nothing. i'm I made it into the artist's guild. I don't know. I'm trying to cope with what I feel like happened, I guess.
01:55:27
Speaker
I think a lot of those icky feelings you had last night probably fade slightly as you're like, I can go pay my membership. And I think that's probably what Clay does. You get up, you maybe like quickly tidy up the tailor shop. You didn't really have the time to do that yesterday, but you quickly tidy things up. The shop's already open. there's this young noblewoman who's trying on a dress that she's had ordered, complaining about how it fits on her hips. And you kind of step out into the late morning air, you work your way back up to the gold district, you go back to the artist guild, you meet quickly with guildmaster Devika Se, you give her this platinum piece, she is overjoyed that you're here and you're good and everything's ready to start, and you leave a short while later.
01:56:15
Speaker
And I have a job at the infirmary, right? Like you said to come back in the morning. Yeah. I'd say you, uh, you go to the infirmary and you're feeling like a little better. You know, you've spent some money on yourself. You've kind of accomplished one of your major goals in life. The shift passes by, you get five silver for the morning's work. there's no There's no need for you in the afternoon. And yeah, you go work your shift. Say later on you meet Sten and you buy a pair of beef patties for the two of you for lunch. He's like very happy to just keep talking about he had some ideas for some guilds he could start. He thinks he could start a dyers guild. He thinks that's a really good idea. But then he remembers that there's only like three people that do dye work in the city and like one of them is his dad. So he's not sure how that would work.
01:57:02
Speaker
but he's he's workshopping and i'd say later in the afternoon you start to walk home and you notice people are clustered in groups of two or three or four see people whispering in uh open window sills you see a like a woman like leaning out of a window and chatting with like a couple friends who are standing on the street you see groups of people kind of whispering urgently to each other you start to notice more guards walking through the streets very seriously not just like a casual patrol but like actively like scanning the crowds looking for something or so in one and as you round the corner to your neighborhood you see a crier a town crier someone who spreads the news and he calls out princess is missing the princess is missing princess calista galtrays is missing
01:57:57
Speaker
And that is where we will stop for the night. ah No. All of the guilt instantly hits clay again, just like sweating buckets in the street. I bet. Yeah. ah no
01:58:22
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening to the second part of our Chapter Zero series. I hope you're enjoying this glimpse into our characters' backstories and seeing how the decisions they made a very long time ago have had lasting impacts on the story so far. As always, I am your Dungeon Master, Zach Meekle, and today I was joined by Prima Jal as Clay Campbell. If you enjoyed the show, we would really appreciate it if you could give us a five-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and consider following us on Instagram, TikTok, X. We've got some cool artwork and working on some behind-the-scenes stuff, so anyway, give us a follow, and we'll be back in one week with the last of our chapter zeroes, Glimky's Story. Stay frosty.