Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 62 (S3E62)

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Episode 62 (S3E62) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is James Holloway from Monster Man and you
0:02
Speaker 1: are listening to Tale of the Manticor. The following podcast
0:09
Speaker 1: is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised.
0:27
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor Season three. Like
0:31
Speaker 1: the creature from which it takes its name, Tale of
0:34
Speaker 1: the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding between two
0:37
Speaker 1: different species of storytelling. Here you will find the unpredictability
0:42
Speaker 1: of old school paper and dice games with the story
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Speaker 1: craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred
0:49
Speaker 1: and none will be spared if the dice decide their
0:51
Speaker 1: fate is at hand. According to Lare, the Tale of
0:56
Speaker 1: a Manticre is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will
1:00
Speaker 1: be much pain in the days ahead. Last time on
1:14
Speaker 1: Tail of the Manticor, the previous chapter begins with Achillia's
1:18
Speaker 1: ascension a level seven. With it come two new and
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Speaker 1: powerful spells, Charm Person and Wall of Fire. Next, the
1:26
Speaker 1: story picks up with do Renni, frazzled by bad dreams
1:29
Speaker 1: and going off alone to meditate in the woods. Do
1:32
Speaker 1: Renni doesn't know it, but he's followed by Bellario in
1:35
Speaker 1: wasp form, who waits until the elf is at his
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Speaker 1: most vulnerable before attacking. However, in a twist of fortune,
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Speaker 1: the elf manages not only to avoid being poisoned by
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Speaker 1: Bellario's stinger, but to deliver a pair of deep cuts
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Speaker 1: to the giant wasp. Wounded, the polymorphed wizard decides to flee,
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Speaker 1: zipping off into the woods as fast as his wasp
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Speaker 1: wings will carry him. Dornni then returns to camp to
2:00
Speaker 1: warn the others about the nearby danger. As a group,
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Speaker 1: they decide the safest course of action is to push
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Speaker 1: on and try to reach the end of the Golden
2:08
Speaker 1: Path as quickly as possible. Up ahead, Bellario has found
2:12
Speaker 1: the edge of the wooded mountain saddle, but has seen
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Speaker 1: something beyond the tree line that frightens him enough to
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Speaker 1: turn back a dragon. Caught between it and Achille's party,
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Speaker 1: he finds a hiding spot in the top of a
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Speaker 1: fir tree, where he pauses to strategize. Chapter sixty two,
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Speaker 1: Part one, Day forty five Morning mythic event meaning block goals.
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Speaker 1: Party status. Achillea fifteen out of twenty hit points, Cord
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Speaker 1: thirty two out of thirty two, de Renni eighteen out
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Speaker 1: of twenty six ten tier twenty seven out of thirty five,
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Speaker 1: flicker sixteen, and of sixteen spells available. Achillia can cast shrink,
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Speaker 1: enlarge charm, person, detect evil, glitter, dust, dispel magic, flame,
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Speaker 1: arrow and wall of fire Cord. Can cast entangle, animal, friendship,
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Speaker 1: slow poison, bark, skin, old animal, tree shape, speak with plants,
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Speaker 1: cure serious wounds, and pass plant. Belario, still in wasp form,
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Speaker 1: climbed higher up the trunk of the fur he had
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Speaker 1: been clinging to. He knew he needed a plan, but
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Speaker 1: did not have much time with which to make one.
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Speaker 1: He wouldn't be long before Achillia's group came this way.
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Speaker 1: Somewhat Angry with himself, Belario had to admit that he
3:57
Speaker 1: had foolishly underestimated them. This grew had passed both the
4:01
Speaker 1: test of air and the test of earth. Yes, they
4:04
Speaker 1: had lost one of their number, but knowing what they'd
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Speaker 1: been up against, it remained a very impressive pair of accomplishments. Achilia,
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Speaker 1: he realized, was probably the least of his worries. She
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Speaker 1: was an apprentice, after all, and therefore Balario froze mid thought.
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Speaker 1: Was it possible? Was it actually possible? Could it be
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Speaker 1: that Achillia and the old Man had played the same
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Speaker 1: trick on him that he had played on them. Had
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Speaker 1: he poisoned the apprentice and left the master alive? Was
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Speaker 1: it her book he had stolen? He shook his insectile
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Speaker 1: head to try to clear his thoughts. Even if that
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Speaker 1: was not true, The elf with the curved sword was
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Speaker 1: a deadly opponent. The gashes in his body were proof
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Speaker 1: of that. At least he didn't feel pain quite so
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Speaker 1: acutely in wasp form. Once he climbed his tree to
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Speaker 1: hide him about forty feet, Blario stopped once again and
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Speaker 1: set about weighing his available options. He could use his
5:03
Speaker 1: spell of invisibility and hide here to let them pass
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Speaker 1: and once again take care of problems ahead. He didn't
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Speaker 1: even want to think about what he had witnessed on
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Speaker 1: the other side of the tree line. The problem with
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Speaker 1: using invisibility was that he would have to revert to
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Speaker 1: his gnomish form to cast the spell, and that would
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Speaker 1: mean he would lose all the speed and mobility he
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Speaker 1: currently enjoyed as a wasp. Achillea's group kept a dog
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Speaker 1: that he could not hope to outrun, and against which
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Speaker 1: invisibility might not conceal him. Another option would be to
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Speaker 1: remain just as he was and hope Achillia's party would
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Speaker 1: pass him by without spotting him. This second option seemed
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Speaker 1: marginally more appealing than the first. A third choice would
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Speaker 1: be to make a stand here. He didn't like that
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Speaker 1: one at all. A fourth would be to restore his
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Speaker 1: iron tower to full size and take sanctuary inside it.
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Speaker 1: A fifth would be to fly on ahead and try
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Speaker 1: to deal with and No. That was even worse than
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Speaker 1: making a stand, because he could find himself trapped between
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Speaker 1: two dangers. The sound of a branch snapping in the
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Speaker 1: distance told him that he needed to make a choice now,
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Speaker 1: and so he did. He would do nothing but hide
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Speaker 1: here and let them pass. Then he would watch from
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Speaker 1: afar and see how they fared against a dragon. Perhaps
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Speaker 1: it was from having washed the wound with water from
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Speaker 1: the sanctuary's pool, or perhaps the swelling had gone down
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Speaker 1: on its own, but Durani felt significantly better as they
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Speaker 1: cautiously left the water's edge and made their way deeper
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Speaker 1: into the woods.
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Speaker 2: Eyes sharp everyone, he told them the giant wasp may
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Speaker 2: well still be around.
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Speaker 1: Both he and tent Here were in the late with
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Speaker 1: arrows fitted to bow strings and ready to fire. Eyes sharp,
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Speaker 1: Tender repeated in confirmation as he scanned the ferns, bushes,
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Speaker 1: and undergrowth for signs of color or movement. He struggled inside.
7:03
Speaker 1: Bitter guilt laid heavily at the bottom of his stomach,
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Speaker 1: and he felt his face flush in shame. He was
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Speaker 1: beyond grateful that de Rennie was all right, but he
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Speaker 1: should have known better than to let him go off
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Speaker 1: on his own. For ten Tire, that had been more
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Speaker 1: than a lapse in judgment. He was closer to breaking
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Speaker 1: his word. For Tenier knew something that Dernni and the
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Speaker 1: others did not. He had been carrying a secret with
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Speaker 1: him ever since leaving home. Dramatis Personae ten deer thirty
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Speaker 1: six days ago, for the third time that month, Tendier
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Speaker 1: had been sent home early from an archery lesson for
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Speaker 1: having offended his instructor, Elmir. As usual, the punishment for
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Speaker 1: impudence had been confinement for the rest of the day.
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Speaker 1: In his room, unfed and alone, Tender didn't really mind.
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Speaker 1: He would lays about and fantasize about becoming a hunter
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Speaker 1: like de Rennie. De Rennie, who had been gone these
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Speaker 1: past several weeks on a hunting expedition. How Tentier wished
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Speaker 1: he could be out there in the wilderness with him,
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Speaker 1: experiencing the freedom from strict Elvin society and enjoying the
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Speaker 1: beauty of nature. As often happened during a punishment, Tintyre
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Speaker 1: overheard his parents muffled but raised voices through the wall
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Speaker 1: of his little room as they argued. Typically, his father
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Speaker 1: would press for stricter measures, insisting quite correctly that present
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Speaker 1: methods of discipline were not working. His mother always sued
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Speaker 1: for leniency and understanding, pointing out that in time Tender
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Speaker 1: would eventually grow out of his rebellious behavior. It was
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Speaker 1: also his father who had eventually come to lecture him
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Speaker 1: on proper Elvin comportment sometime in the evening, after the
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Speaker 1: supper he had missed had come and gone. Therefore, Tender
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Speaker 1: was surprised when the door to his room creaked open
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Speaker 1: and he saw his mother standing there. Her usually soft
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Speaker 1: face was tight, her eyes looked tired. May I come in,
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Speaker 1: she asked? Ten Tyr nodded dumbly as his mother entered.
9:08
Speaker 1: She picked up some half fletched arrows that had been
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Speaker 1: lying on a chair, placed them gently on a shelf,
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Speaker 1: and then to proceeat, folding her hands in her lap.
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Speaker 2: Your father and I have come to a decision.
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Speaker 1: She began, tentars swallowed down a lump that had suddenly
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Speaker 1: appeared in his throat. He thought she would announce that
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Speaker 1: her father's arguments had finally won her over, and then
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Speaker 1: much stricter discipline would follow, But instead she said something
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Speaker 1: totally unexpected.
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Speaker 2: We've had word that Derenni has returned.
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Speaker 1: Ten tyers started. Dernni was not expected back for another week.
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Speaker 1: He had a dozen questions, but his mother held up
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Speaker 1: a hand to forestall.
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Speaker 2: Them, and he has returned under strange circumstances. We've just
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Speaker 2: had a meeting with Elder Valken to discuss them.
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Speaker 1: Elder Valken, then this must be serious, Tintyre felt, the
10:01
Speaker 1: blood drained from his face.
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Speaker 2: Is he he is fine? Yes? But this was almost
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Speaker 2: not the case. It appears that he was captured by orcs,
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Speaker 2: but then rescued by a young woman. She is waiting
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Speaker 2: outside our borders. De Rennie wishes to accompany her on
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Speaker 2: a quest to thank her for saving his life.
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Speaker 1: And what does Elder Valkein have to say about that?
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Speaker 1: Asked Tintier.
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Speaker 2: Well, he says it is de Rennie's choice to make
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Speaker 2: and will not stand in his way.
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Speaker 1: Oh, replied Tintier. He was yet another thing he had
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Speaker 1: not expected to hear.
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Speaker 2: When will de Rennie come back then, when the quest
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Speaker 2: is over and the debt is repaid? I suppose.
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Speaker 1: I understand it was unwelcome news.
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Speaker 2: There was nothing else to say, ten Tier, there is more.
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Speaker 1: Tentres shifted. Go on, he said, I'm going.
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Speaker 2: To ask you to do something for me. Your father
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Speaker 2: was not in favor of this, but I have persuaded him.
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Speaker 1: What would you have me do? As ten Tier, taking
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Speaker 1: a seat on the edge of his.
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Speaker 2: Bed, I want you to go with your brother.
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Speaker 1: Ten Tire didn't know how to react. His mother misinterpreted
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Speaker 1: his blank look. Her face slackened, and she leaned forward.
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Speaker 2: You will go. You will do this for me, won't you,
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Speaker 2: ten Tire?
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Speaker 1: I uh, the other stammered, I will, of course I will.
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Speaker 1: His mother's eyes closed, and she leaned back into her
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Speaker 1: chair with a sigh.
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Speaker 2: Good because you know, ever since, ever since the Old
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Speaker 2: Crows lost to us, your brother has been he has
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Speaker 2: been hard on himself.
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Speaker 1: He blames himself, you know, Tinder knew very well how
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Speaker 1: badly Dornni had taken his mentor's death, and that he
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Speaker 1: felt responsible for it.
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Speaker 2: My son, I need you to watch over der Anni
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Speaker 2: and protect him, not just from the dangers of the wild,
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Speaker 2: but from himself as well.
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Speaker 1: Tender, you're nodded his understanding.
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Speaker 2: And Dernni must not know the real reason you go
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Speaker 2: with him. I do not want him thinking we do
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Speaker 2: not trust him not to do something reckless.
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Speaker 1: Then what should I tell him?
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Speaker 2: Best to tend here, tell him that you have slipped
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Speaker 2: away without permission, leaving a note behind for your father
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Speaker 2: and me that explains what you've done.
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Speaker 1: Do you understand, Tender nodded yet again, good.
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Speaker 2: Do not fail me in this tent here, no foolishness
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Speaker 2: this time. Do not repeat the folly of Cheuchin. Please
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Speaker 2: be careful for your mother's sake. We'll be sure that
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Speaker 2: you both come home safely when this is over.
13:18
Speaker 1: It is fitting that we learn a little bit more
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Speaker 1: about what makes ten Tier tick in this episode, because
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Speaker 1: it is a level up episode for the young Elvin fighter.
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Speaker 1: For reaching level seven, ten Tower will get an additional
13:29
Speaker 1: D six of hit points, chances for stat increases, and
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Speaker 1: a plus one improvement to his basic attack bonus, which
13:35
Speaker 1: goes from plus four to plus five. Let's roll for
13:38
Speaker 1: those new points ten two will get on nuts. I
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Speaker 1: got a two. However, with the min out and the
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Speaker 1: constitution bonus applied, it becomes four, which is actually not
13:48
Speaker 1: that bad. His max of thirty five goes to thirty
13:51
Speaker 1: nine and his current score from twenty seven to thirty one.
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Speaker 1: Potential stat increases are next. Using this same D six
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Speaker 1: and rolling four A one, well that's no good. How
14:03
Speaker 1: about intelligence, I've got a five, Well it's better not
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Speaker 1: good enough. Wisdom before dexterity a one, constitution another one, oh,
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Speaker 1: last chance, charisma A six, Wow, just barely got one.
14:23
Speaker 1: Fourteen goes to fifteen. I think tan Tier has had
14:25
Speaker 1: a real scare, which gives him a better sense of
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Speaker 1: who he is and who he needs to be. And
14:30
Speaker 1: that's it for the level up. Certainly it wasn't the
14:32
Speaker 1: most spectacular, but it wasn't a total wash either. Before
14:36
Speaker 1: we get back to the story, there is one more
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Speaker 1: thing to figure out. Bellario in wasp form is hiding
14:41
Speaker 1: in the branches of a tree top. He's not invisible,
14:44
Speaker 1: but he is concealed. He's chosen a good spot, but
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Speaker 1: he isn't a thief and he can't hide in shadows
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Speaker 1: like one further, he's in an area where the mountain saddle.
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Speaker 1: You know, I've been calling in a mountain valley for
14:55
Speaker 1: a couple of episodes, but I have since learned valley
14:58
Speaker 1: is the wrong term. Really called a saddle or a call. Anyway,
15:02
Speaker 1: this mountain saddle pinches until it becomes quite narrow, just
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Speaker 1: one hundred feet across, and that's where Bellario is. This
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Speaker 1: is not in his favor. It's by no means to
15:13
Speaker 1: guarantee that he can escape notice, especially given that the
15:16
Speaker 1: PCs are keeping an eye out for him and they've
15:18
Speaker 1: got a flicker with them. In fact, I'd say the
15:21
Speaker 1: odds are against it. This is one of those moments
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Speaker 1: in OSR gaming where a ruling on the fly is needed.
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Speaker 1: Let's see, how about given all factors, I give Blario
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Speaker 1: a forty percent chance to hide. As I said before,
15:34
Speaker 1: that's not great odds, but I definitely would make a
15:36
Speaker 1: PC rule for it if they tried the same kind
15:38
Speaker 1: of thing. So I think it's fair here we go
15:41
Speaker 1: on a D percentile. Well, okay, then Chapter sixty two,
15:54
Speaker 1: Part two, Day forty five morning. We think of it
16:00
Speaker 1: meaning block goals party status. The party's status is unchanged,
16:06
Speaker 1: with the exception of tent Tire, whose hit points improved
16:09
Speaker 1: to thirty one out of thirty nine, and Cord, who
16:12
Speaker 1: is used to spell locate plants and Animals. The party
16:18
Speaker 1: continued to move with caution, scanning the underbrush for signs
16:21
Speaker 1: of danger, but they saw nothing of Doranni's attacker.
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Speaker 2: I am fairly certain it flew off in that.
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Speaker 1: Direction, said Dernni, bringing everyone to a halt by the
16:32
Speaker 1: trunk of a fir and as his hands held bow
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Speaker 1: and arrow, indicating the way by pointing with his chin.
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Speaker 2: But perhaps it has out paced us or doubled back.
16:42
Speaker 2: Achillee ask Cord if he is certain he cannot sense it.
16:47
Speaker 1: Shortly after departing the pool, Cord had cast his spell
16:50
Speaker 1: of Locate plants and animals, but could not feel the
16:53
Speaker 1: presence of any giant wasps nearby. As before. He twisted
16:58
Speaker 1: in his way, saying, no, what it kills. They have
17:00
Speaker 1: put the question to him a second time, and that
17:02
Speaker 1: is why nobody was expecting it. When a large drop
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Speaker 1: of greenish fluid fell right on top of Achille's head
17:09
Speaker 1: with a wet splat above, you cried tintire in mourning
17:13
Speaker 1: without missing a beat. The young elf loosed an arrow
17:15
Speaker 1: into the tree top, and Durnnie released one of his
17:18
Speaker 1: own a split second later. I have learned so much
17:27
Speaker 1: about wasps in making tail of the mantigor this year.
17:30
Speaker 1: Did you know they have five eyes with three in
17:33
Speaker 1: the middle arranged in a triangle? Or that a hornet
17:36
Speaker 1: is a type of wasp. Technically, Belaio's ring allows him
17:40
Speaker 1: to polymorph into a hornet, but I admit that I've
17:42
Speaker 1: been using both the term wasp and hornet interchangeably thus far.
17:46
Speaker 1: Here's a question I had to look up. Do wasps bleed?
17:50
Speaker 1: It turns out they do kind of. Wasps bleed not
17:54
Speaker 1: red blood, but a clear, yellowish or greenish fluid called hemolymph.
17:59
Speaker 1: This this is what is just splatted on Achille's head
18:02
Speaker 1: and given away Belario, whose attempt to hide has failed.
18:05
Speaker 1: When I rolled for it, I got an eighty three,
18:07
Speaker 1: but he needed a forty or less. You might be
18:10
Speaker 1: curious to know why chords locate plants and animals. Spell
18:14
Speaker 1: failed to discover Blario without the need for any dice
18:16
Speaker 1: to be rolled at all. That was something else I
18:19
Speaker 1: had millicom turns out that while the range and duration
18:22
Speaker 1: of the spell were both plausibly useful, the description says
18:25
Speaker 1: that quote the castor can sense the direction, but not
18:28
Speaker 1: the distance of a non magical, non sentient plant or
18:32
Speaker 1: animal of a chosen type end quote. So that excluded Belario,
18:35
Speaker 1: who is one, if not both, of those things. But
18:38
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter, because Belario still failed his role to hide,
18:42
Speaker 1: and that is bad news for him. At this point,
18:45
Speaker 1: I could enter combat, but I don't think what's coming
18:48
Speaker 1: will last long enough to be worth its own formal
18:50
Speaker 1: segment of audio. I do need an initiative roll, however,
18:54
Speaker 1: Let's see how that goes. A D six for Blario
18:57
Speaker 1: gives me a six. I guess he is aware that
19:00
Speaker 1: he is being spotted. The next role is for the
19:02
Speaker 1: piece's afore. Okay, here's what happens. Balario flies away as
19:10
Speaker 1: fast as he can. He's headed for the tree line,
19:13
Speaker 1: despite earlier reservations about going there. Ten Here and Durni
19:18
Speaker 1: each get a shot at him as he flees, however,
19:20
Speaker 1: and Belario is leaving cover, so there's no penalty to
19:23
Speaker 1: hit him as there might have been had he stayed
19:25
Speaker 1: put or lost the initiative since his previous fight Withdurni.
19:29
Speaker 1: Balario currently has just fourteen hit points in WASP form.
19:33
Speaker 1: His ace is sixteen ten here therefore needs a ten
19:36
Speaker 1: or better to hit him. Mont de Renni only needs
19:39
Speaker 1: a nine. Flicker cannot effectively participate right now. Cord's spell
19:43
Speaker 1: of hold Animal has the same restriction as locate plants
19:47
Speaker 1: as animals, and that it cannot be used on sentient targets.
19:51
Speaker 1: Hang on, would he, not, knowing this, cast it anyway?
19:55
Speaker 1: Fifty to fifty chance he does? Rolling high low with
19:57
Speaker 1: high meaning he does cast it. I got a three,
20:01
Speaker 1: he does not. As for Achilia, by the time she
20:04
Speaker 1: has scraped the slime out of her hair, Belario will
20:06
Speaker 1: be gone. So that leaves me with two attack rolls
20:09
Speaker 1: for the brothers and that's it. Tenders roll A sixteen hits.
20:14
Speaker 1: Damage will be four points. Nice shot ten tier. Can
20:19
Speaker 1: Dernni do as well his roll and eleven is enough.
20:23
Speaker 1: Dernni's arrow does ooh six damage. Sweet revenge for de
20:29
Speaker 1: Renni with ten points delivered. Blario is pincushioned as he
20:34
Speaker 1: tries to zip away and almost crashes into the ground
20:37
Speaker 1: when the Elven missiles thud into his abdomen and thorax,
20:41
Speaker 1: but Balario gets away. He only has four hit points remaining,
20:44
Speaker 1: but he does get away. Chapter sixty two, Part three,
20:57
Speaker 1: Day forty five morning mythic event meaning block goals party status.
21:05
Speaker 1: The party status is unchanged. Achillia, dur Anni, Tentiir, and
21:11
Speaker 1: Cord crashed through the underbrush in pursuit Flicker, faster than
21:16
Speaker 1: the rest had raced on ahead, propelled by a series
21:18
Speaker 1: of links called Achille Ready get around the tree line
21:27
Speaker 1: that marked the end of the wooded section of the
21:29
Speaker 1: mountain saddle now came into view. Achillia was sure they
21:32
Speaker 1: would find the Wasp on the other side, but when
21:35
Speaker 1: they passed the last of the trees and stepped out
21:38
Speaker 1: into the open, there was no wasp in sight. Still,
21:42
Speaker 1: every one of them, Flicker included, stopped in their tracks,
21:45
Speaker 1: unable to do anything but gaze in awe and wonder
21:49
Speaker 1: at what they did see in front of them. The
21:52
Speaker 1: misty landscape rose up, its background dominated by three titanic
21:57
Speaker 1: mountain peaks that pointed up that the cloud strewn'sk like
22:00
Speaker 1: a trident. Symmetrically arranged in bands in front of the
22:04
Speaker 1: central peak were the following there were two rows, each
22:08
Speaker 1: one consisting of seven stone owl idols. Each idle was
22:12
Speaker 1: roughly egg shaped, but as tall as a man. All
22:15
Speaker 1: fourteen had graven faces that looked outward, as though guarding
22:18
Speaker 1: a third row of objects behind them. That third row
22:22
Speaker 1: was a line of six silver blocks. Each block was
22:26
Speaker 1: uniform as highs, smooth and featureless, save that four of
22:30
Speaker 1: them had humanoid shapes, also of silver, lying atop them. Somehow,
22:35
Speaker 1: they reminded Achilia of the burial slabs she had seen
22:38
Speaker 1: in the can or crypt. Behind this row of silver
22:42
Speaker 1: beds or whatever they were and furthest away from the companions,
22:45
Speaker 1: crouched an enormous creature of living silver, a dragon like
22:51
Speaker 1: the creatures of myth that Achillia and the others had
22:54
Speaker 1: heard stories about. It was big, bigger than a house
22:59
Speaker 1: generally speaking. It had reptilian features in that it had
23:02
Speaker 1: a long face, a long tail, and was covered in scales.
23:06
Speaker 1: It crouched sphinx like behind the lines of stone owls
23:10
Speaker 1: and silver beds, calmly looking down upon the companions, who stared,
23:14
Speaker 1: unblinking and unbelieving back up at it. Achillia noticed that
23:20
Speaker 1: the silver dragon had wings that were pulled tightly against
23:23
Speaker 1: its body. But apart from these, in the overall reptilian shape,
23:27
Speaker 1: it did not look like any of the dragons she
23:29
Speaker 1: had ever heard about in fables. Instead of fire, rose
23:32
Speaker 1: colored vapor escaped its mouth between rows of silver teeth.
23:37
Speaker 1: It had not two but three eyes, a slit like
23:40
Speaker 1: one on either side, and a single, large, round eye
23:43
Speaker 1: sat in the middle of its forehead. All three eyes
23:46
Speaker 1: glowed bright pink, just like the beacons the party had
23:49
Speaker 1: encountered at the end of the tests of air and
23:51
Speaker 1: the test of water. Above the central eye was a
23:54
Speaker 1: single horn. It struck straight up into the air like
23:57
Speaker 1: a spear. The horn was neither silk nor pink, but
24:01
Speaker 1: dark violet, like Achillee's Wand with all this to behold,
24:05
Speaker 1: it was a miracle that anyone noticed the tip of
24:07
Speaker 1: the giant wasp wing that became visible when it buzzed,
24:11
Speaker 1: almost completely hidden by one of the first rows owl idols.
24:16
Speaker 1: But Achilie did notice it. No sooner had she done so,
24:19
Speaker 1: than there was an odd sound, and then the wings
24:22
Speaker 1: were gone, to Achillea's complete and total bafflement. Out from
24:27
Speaker 1: behind the idol limped a person she recognized. He was
24:31
Speaker 1: terribly injured, bleeding in four places, but there could be
24:35
Speaker 1: no doubt at all about who it was. It was
24:38
Speaker 1: the Gnome from the Iron Tower, and he glared at
24:42
Speaker 1: her with eyes filled with rage. Thanks for listening to
24:51
Speaker 1: Tales the Mandicor. If you're interested in helping the show
24:54
Speaker 1: to grow and thrive, here are a few easy ways
24:56
Speaker 1: to do so. You can recommend her a liking repost
24:59
Speaker 1: episode Nune once on social media, purchase a Tale of
25:02
Speaker 1: the Manticore t shirt at bar Arts dot store or
25:04
Speaker 1: one of my offerings I drive through RPG, rate and
25:07
Speaker 1: review the show on your favorite podcatcher, or give me
25:09
Speaker 1: a sub on YouTube. As you know, I only recently
25:12
Speaker 1: learned that Spotify allows comments. Here's one from Jama Luis
25:16
Speaker 1: seven and I do hope I pronounced that correctly. On
25:19
Speaker 1: episode forty eight, jaw Louise commented many many congrats on
25:23
Speaker 1: the one million downloads. It's well deserved. I'm very thankful
25:26
Speaker 1: for that day many moons ago when I discovered Tale
25:29
Speaker 1: of the Manticor. Your words and your world are great
25:32
Speaker 1: company on my way to work every morning. And hey, John,
25:35
Speaker 1: don't worry about the bad news. We'll be here. That
25:38
Speaker 1: last part was in reference to my catastrophic SSD failure
25:42
Speaker 1: and massive loss of data. By the way, thank you
25:45
Speaker 1: Jao Luis. Your comment really means a lot to me.
25:48
Speaker 1: I couldn't be happier when I hear that folks listen
25:50
Speaker 1: to the show on their commute. That's how I came
25:52
Speaker 1: into my love of the genre and podcasts in general.
25:55
Speaker 1: Shows like The Adventure Zone and The Iron Realm kept
25:58
Speaker 1: me company on the subway on the way to work
26:00
Speaker 1: for a long long time. Then they really made my
26:02
Speaker 1: day better. The commune even became something to look forward to.
26:06
Speaker 1: If I can pay that forward and do the same
26:08
Speaker 1: for others, I couldn't be happier. Thanks very much for
26:11
Speaker 1: the comment. Gratitude also goes out to my cast to
26:14
Speaker 1: voice actors. This episode features Kyellen and Kevin Barryger playing
26:18
Speaker 1: Durnian Tentire as usual and as a treat, Dana Cleek
26:22
Speaker 1: returns as the voice of Tenier's mother. Thanks so much, Kyellen, Kevin,
26:26
Speaker 1: and Dana. For those who wish to find other like
26:29
Speaker 1: minded creators doing similar shows, please have a look at
26:32
Speaker 1: Solo role Players network dot com and if you're curious
26:35
Speaker 1: to learn more about this show, I keep a blog
26:37
Speaker 1: where I post all kinds of show and RPG related
26:39
Speaker 1: stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes. You
26:44
Speaker 1: can find it at talesthmanticore dot com. To get in
26:46
Speaker 1: touch with me, I'm at Tale of Themanticor dot Blueskid
26:48
Speaker 1: dot Social, Tale of the Manticor podcast on Instagram, or
26:52
Speaker 1: Tale of Themanticor at gmail dot com. Oh and here's
26:55
Speaker 1: another way. As many of you know, gen Con twenty
26:58
Speaker 1: twenty six is coming up in a few weeks, and
27:00
Speaker 1: for the first time ever, I'll be there. This has
27:03
Speaker 1: been a dream of mine since I was twelve years old. Anyway,
27:06
Speaker 1: if you spot me in the crowd, please say hello.
27:09
Speaker 1: I would really enjoy meeting you. That's all until next time.
27:12
Speaker 1: I'll be back in ten days with more Tale of
27:15
Speaker 1: than mantigor The story where Chaos Rolls