Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 58 (S3E58)

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Episode 58 (S3E58) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hello, this is Terrence from Tev's Next Idea and you
0:03
Speaker 1: are listening to Tale of the Manticore.
0:09
Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:13
Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
0:31
Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
0:35
Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a crossbreeding between
0:38
Speaker 2: two different species of storytelling. Here you will find the
0:42
Speaker 2: unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with the
0:45
Speaker 2: story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character is
0:50
Speaker 2: sacred and none will be spared if the dice decide
0:53
Speaker 2: their fate is at hand. According to lore, the Tale
0:57
Speaker 2: of a Manticre is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There
1:02
Speaker 2: will be much pain in the days ahead. Last time
1:15
Speaker 2: on Tale of the Manticor, the last chapter begins with
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Speaker 2: the reflections on the life and death of fair Wind
1:21
Speaker 2: and the art of setting risk levels as a DM,
1:23
Speaker 2: specifically as it applies to this season of the show.
1:27
Speaker 2: We join the Pieces as they learn the fate of
1:29
Speaker 2: their former companion and then grieve and try to come
1:31
Speaker 2: to terms with the loss. De Renni especially struggles he
1:36
Speaker 2: has never been the pious type, but Fairwin's death throws
1:38
Speaker 2: it into light the seeming injustice of the universe and
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Speaker 2: those who created it, making him suspect that the divinities
1:45
Speaker 2: of the world simply do not care what happens to mortals.
1:49
Speaker 2: When nowhere else to go and nothing else to do,
1:51
Speaker 2: the companions followed the single path, which leads into the
1:54
Speaker 2: mountain side and ends at a large cavern with two
1:57
Speaker 2: blight wormhole tunnels of all sizes eating out and away
2:01
Speaker 2: from it. The walls also show a number of shallow
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Speaker 2: pock mark indentations. Ever, the curious one Tinteer wanders into
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Speaker 2: one of the tunnels, and then just like that, he's
2:11
Speaker 2: gone in. His tunnel has sealed up behind him. One
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Speaker 2: by one, the pieces all get separated in their own tunnels,
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Speaker 2: all except for Cord and Robin, who managed to stay together.
2:22
Speaker 2: The narration now moves to follow only to Renny as
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Speaker 2: he begins to search for an exit. The way is
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Speaker 2: smooth and slick with moisture and leads ever downward. The
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Speaker 2: moisture eventually builds into a trickle and then a stream.
2:35
Speaker 2: He eventually gets the idea to try sliding instead of walking,
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Speaker 2: and the idea seems to work. Chapter fifty eight, Part one,
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Speaker 2: day forty four afternoon mythic event meaning control dispute party
3:00
Speaker 2: status de Renni twenty three out of twenty three bit points.
3:07
Speaker 2: It began slowly, but der Rennie eventually felt himself lifted
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Speaker 2: ever so slightly by the running water, and then he
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Speaker 2: was moving. He experimentally brought up his arms and crossed
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Speaker 2: them over his chest and felt his speed increase until
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Speaker 2: he was sliding along at about jogging speed. This was
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Speaker 2: much more comfortable than walking while bent double, so he
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Speaker 2: continued on in this way for a few more minutes. Then,
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Speaker 2: without warning, the incline of the tunnel pitched sharply down.
3:34
Speaker 2: Dernni flailed out his arms reflexively, looking for but not
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Speaker 2: finding purchase on the smooth stone of the tunnel. Now
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Speaker 2: he was moving along at a good clip and picking
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Speaker 2: up more speed. By the second cold water sprayed up
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Speaker 2: to either side of him, the exhilaration turned to fear,
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Speaker 2: and fear to panic. The tube bank left and the
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Speaker 2: ELF's momentum lifted him half way up the wall as
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Speaker 2: he rounded the bend. Then he felt stone against his
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Speaker 2: back again, but the way tilted a second time and
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Speaker 2: now he was shuttling down the slide quickly, like an
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Speaker 2: arrow leaving a bow. Derennie's mind became paralyzed as all
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Speaker 2: of his senses sounded the alarm at once. He felt
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Speaker 2: tears leap from the corners of his eyes and run
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Speaker 2: to either side. He was going way too fast. Somewhere
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Speaker 2: in his brain he managed to form the thought that
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Speaker 2: if he was rushing towards his own death, at least
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Speaker 2: the end would come quickly. But if he struck something,
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Speaker 2: would he have to feel his legs being driven up
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Speaker 2: through his torso or would he die instantaneously. He was
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Speaker 2: a truly horrendous thought, but he did not have time
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Speaker 2: to consider it further, for the moment after it came
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Speaker 2: to him, all contact with stone and water ended, and
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Speaker 2: he felt himself launched into the air. He was no
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Speaker 2: longer in the tube, but flying, no not flying, falling,
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Speaker 2: and soon he was going to hit the grief. De
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Speaker 2: Rennie has entered a new place. Will find out what
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Speaker 2: it looks like in a moment, But first I need
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Speaker 2: to calculatewling damage. A lot of his momentum was broken
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Speaker 2: by the way the tube tunnel curved up at the end,
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Speaker 2: so the damage will be mitigated but still significant. I'll
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Speaker 2: say he'll take two d six of damage for falling
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Speaker 2: roughly twenty feet. Let's roll some dice and see just
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Speaker 2: how bad it'll be. A four and a two, so
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Speaker 2: six damage. Well, that would be enough to kill a
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Speaker 2: regular alf, but not to Annie, who nonetheless gets knocked
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Speaker 2: back to seventeen hit points. Dernnie opened his eyes and
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Speaker 2: blinked up at the stars. Where was he? He sat
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Speaker 2: up and reached to the back of his head. There
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Speaker 2: was a large, painful bump on it. Ah, his hands
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Speaker 2: were badly scraped, and his tailbone hurt too. Furthermore, his
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Speaker 2: clothing was wet. In a rush, he remembered the tube
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Speaker 2: and falling through the air and realized he must have
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Speaker 2: been knocked out when he hit the ground. He looked
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Speaker 2: around and discovered that he was in an absolutely enormous cavern.
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Speaker 2: What he'd taken for a starry night sky was actually
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Speaker 2: his roof. It was irregularly but generously speckled with tiny,
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Speaker 2: glowing purple dots. Dur Any thought they might be some
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Speaker 2: kind of luminescent mushrooms. His gaze moved down over a
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Speaker 2: towering rock wall pitted with cavities, each of which dripped water,
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Speaker 2: and many of which were bearded with strange mineral formations
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Speaker 2: that looked like spilled candle wax. He felt alone while
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Speaker 2: in the tube, but sitting here in the middle of
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Speaker 2: this space, a place so enormous, he gave the impression
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Speaker 2: of being outdoors. The sense of solitude was almost crushing.
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Speaker 2: He stood up on shaky legs and turned in a
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Speaker 2: circle to fully take in his surroundings. If it had
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Speaker 2: not been for the myriad of glowing mushrooms, he wouldn't
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Speaker 2: have been able to see very far into the gloom
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Speaker 2: at all. But because they were there, the contours and
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Speaker 2: scale of his environment were clear. It was like standing
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Speaker 2: under a nebula. Terrifying, was somehow beautiful too. Dernni absently
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Speaker 2: rugged his sore bottom and then unslung his bow, checking
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Speaker 2: it over to make sure the fall had not damaged it. Luckily,
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Speaker 2: it was still intact and functional. He pulled an arrow
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Speaker 2: from his quiver, knocked it, and considered exploring his new location,
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Speaker 2: when suddenly the sound caused Dorennie to spin around, instinctively
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Speaker 2: raising his bow and drawing back the arrow. He lowered
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Speaker 2: the weapon as soon as he saw what it was,
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Speaker 2: or rather who it was. Ten Tier had just come
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Speaker 2: sailing out of one of the holes in the wall,
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Speaker 2: and his collision with the hard ground was imminent. Damage
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Speaker 2: for ten Tier will be calculated the same way it
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Speaker 2: was for Dorenni. A higher damage role here would indicate
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Speaker 2: that ten Tier's tube was higher up on the cabin wall,
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Speaker 2: but that he didn't land quite as well as his brother,
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Speaker 2: who got away pretty lucky well. In two D six
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Speaker 2: to find out wof ten Tier takes ten points of damage.
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Speaker 2: I guess his tube was higher up and he landed badly.
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Speaker 2: His current hit point total drops from thirty five all
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Speaker 2: the way down to twenty five. Flicker, Achillia, and we'll
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Speaker 2: all have to endure the same thing as in the
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Speaker 2: minutes that follow. They two will be ejected from their
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Speaker 2: respective wormholes and into the cavern. Flicker will take six
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Speaker 2: points of damage, not too bad. Achillea's roll seven points,
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Speaker 2: and finally Chord nine ouch Robin obviously is exempt. When
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Speaker 2: all is sudden done, the pieces are down by about
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Speaker 2: a third of their maximum hit points, and they are
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Speaker 2: going to be feeling it. Chapter fifty eight, Part two,
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Speaker 2: Day forty four, afternoon mythic event meaning control, dispute, party status,
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Speaker 2: Achillie ten out of seventeen hit points, Chord twenty one
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Speaker 2: out of thirty two, de Renni seventeen out of twenty three,
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Speaker 2: ten Tier twenty five out of thirty five, Flicker eight
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Speaker 2: out of sixteen spells available. Achillia can cast enlarge, detect evil, glitter, dust,
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Speaker 2: dispel magic and flay marrow cort can cast entangle, animal friendship,
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Speaker 2: slow poison, bark, skin, hold animal, tree shape, speak with plants,
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Speaker 2: cure serious wounds and past plant Whoah ten tears stood
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Speaker 2: up painfully. His chin was red with blood from where
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Speaker 2: his lower lip had been split in the middle. Juges
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Speaker 2: bray He's fore gingerly probing the hurt and discovering that
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Speaker 2: a tooth had become loose. His voice was slurred slightly.
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Speaker 2: Is it wrong to say that I wish we still
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Speaker 2: had fair wind with us? Akilia looked over and offered
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Speaker 2: the young Alpha a sad smile. Suddenly, she found herself
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Speaker 2: asking Tanya.
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Speaker 3: This might sound strange, but I was wondering.
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Speaker 2: Then she stopped, feeling somehow ashamed of herself. Tentyar's brows knitted.
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Speaker 2: You don't know who Chuccin is, do you no, Akilia admitted,
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Speaker 2: I I don't even know who I am.
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Speaker 3: I know who I am with, and I know what
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Speaker 3: I want. I think I know what I stand for.
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Speaker 3: But I don't look like you, or to Rennie or
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Speaker 3: Valki or Baron or Calynne. I definitely don't look like SETOPI.
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Speaker 3: I really don't know who I am, and I'm not
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Speaker 3: familiar with Chiuccin either.
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Speaker 2: Do any came over and put a hand on her shoulder.
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Speaker 3: You've known all along.
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Speaker 2: I guess, she said. Der Anny nodded.
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Speaker 4: I guessed as much. You always got a blank look
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Speaker 4: on your face whenever we.
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Speaker 1: Said his name.
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Speaker 3: Will you tell me?
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Speaker 2: Then?
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Speaker 4: Of course, I'll tell you the story of Chiuchin, just
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Speaker 4: as it was told to me by bel King.
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Speaker 1: Sit down to Reni, and I will tell you the
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Speaker 1: story of Chiuchin. His is one of our people's most
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Speaker 1: tragic tales, but there is wisdom to be had from it.
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Speaker 1: So listen well, will you give your full attention?
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Speaker 2: Good?
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Speaker 1: This is how the story goes a long long time ago,
11:31
Speaker 1: during the age of legends, there lived a community of elves.
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Speaker 1: These elves, Durni, were our ancestors. The very first of
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Speaker 1: the Setevi marsh tribes, and their lives were difficult, as
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Speaker 1: they often found themselves having to fight off one of
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Speaker 1: any number of Orkish war bands. Of all the Orcs,
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Speaker 1: the strongest and most brutal tribe was called the Shattered Bone.
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Speaker 1: It was led by the Orcish champion Shock. The Setevi
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Speaker 1: Elves had a hero too, the young Chiuchin, was known
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Speaker 1: among his people for his quick blade. He was also
12:05
Speaker 1: famous for his long golden hair, which he wore a
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Speaker 1: single braid that whipped around like a griffin's tail when
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Speaker 1: he fought. Chiuchin was desired by many and had endless suitors,
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Speaker 1: but he only had eyes for the maiden Marien, who
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Speaker 1: was as beautiful as she was kind. Sadly, Mareen did
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Speaker 1: not return Chiuchin's affection and discouraged his advances. One day,
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Speaker 1: a scout reported that the Shattered Bone tribe was on
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Speaker 1: the move again and would reach the Setevi community the
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Speaker 1: next day. This was most dire news, as the Setevi
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Speaker 1: Elves had not yet finished rebuilding after the last Orkish attack,
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Speaker 1: and the coming of the Shattered Bone tribe might well
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Speaker 1: mean their doom. When Mayreen heard the news, she fell
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Speaker 1: to her knees and cried while Strasindia not help us
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Speaker 1: in her darkest hour. Young Chiuchin heard this appeal, and
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Speaker 1: he rushed to Mayrene's side and made her a promise
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Speaker 1: that he would challenge to Ak the shattered bones lie
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Speaker 1: leader to single combat. Once Sha'ak was dead, the other
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Speaker 1: Orcs would lose morale and flee. Word of Chiuchin's plans
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Speaker 1: spread one by one. The elders of the community tried
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Speaker 1: to talk him out of it, for as strong as
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Speaker 1: he was, Chiuchin could not hope to defeat Sha'ak in
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Speaker 1: a duel. Even Marine's tears did not change Chiuchin's mind,
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Speaker 1: and the young champion set out alone to save his
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Speaker 1: community and win the heart of his beloved. A true
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Speaker 1: champion has no fear, he boasted. Even as he left,
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Speaker 1: his friends begged him to reconsider, but it seemed the
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Speaker 1: more they protested his intention, the more Chiuchin committed himself
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Speaker 1: to it. As he left, he looked back over his shoulder,
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Speaker 1: flashing a smile and saying, I shall defeat Sha'akh and
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Speaker 1: be back before dawn. In an act of equal amounts
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Speaker 1: of bravery and foolishness, Chiuchin did walk into the camp
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Speaker 1: of the shattered bow where he issued his challenge. Sha'akh accepted,
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Speaker 1: and two opponents squared off in a clearing near the
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Speaker 1: place that today we call Lethrie. Chiuchin thought with skill.
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Speaker 1: He was quick, agileed precise, but it was not enough.
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Speaker 1: Sha'ak remained strong while Chuchin's vigor began to fade. When
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Speaker 1: the battle was near its end, Sha'ak stood over Chiuchin's
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Speaker 1: broken and bleeding body, with his shoulders heaving and blowing
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Speaker 1: out his breath like a bull. He raised his mighty
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Speaker 1: battle axe and cut off Chiuchin's golden braid. While the
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Speaker 1: Orcs that shattered bone jeered and stamped their feet in bloodlust,
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Speaker 1: Sha'ak did not kill Chiuchin. Instead, he broke the young
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Speaker 1: ELF's wrists and ankles and gouged out his eyes. Then
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Speaker 1: he had the young Elf nailed to the front of
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Speaker 1: his great shield. On the next day, he led his
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Speaker 1: orcs into the Setevi marsh, bearing the defeated champion still
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Speaker 1: alive like a banner. The Setevi tribe was all but
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Speaker 1: destroyed in that attack. We would have been utterly annihilated
14:52
Speaker 1: had it been any other Orchish tribe that invaded Sha'ak's
14:56
Speaker 1: preference was to leave a few of the defeated enemy
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Speaker 1: alive to take the tale of what happened. Many many
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Speaker 1: of our ancestors were butchered on the battlefield that day.
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Speaker 1: The Orcs took everything they could carry. They even took
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Speaker 1: Chuchin still alive when they departed, But they left one thing.
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Speaker 1: Before Shahak ordered his orcs to leave, he threw something
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Speaker 1: to the foot of our home tree, a long golden braid.
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Speaker 1: That braid became a symbol of our failure. The remaining
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Speaker 1: Setevi began to rebuild and eventually made the place that
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Speaker 1: we call home today. But Chuchin's folly was never forgotten,
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Speaker 1: and it's often said if one good thing came from
15:38
Speaker 1: his actions, it is this lesson we elves must always
15:42
Speaker 1: work together. There is no such thing as a champion.
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Speaker 1: Chapter fifty eight, Part three, Day forty four afternoon mythic
16:02
Speaker 1: event meaning control dispute party status. The party status is unchanged,
16:09
Speaker 1: with the exception of court who casts cure serious wounds
16:12
Speaker 1: on himself to heal nine points of damage, his current
16:17
Speaker 1: total increases to thirty one out of thirty two. The
16:21
Speaker 1: companion spent a few hours resting in the enormous cavern
16:24
Speaker 1: before reluctantly getting up to proceed. Somehow, Chord's condition had
16:28
Speaker 1: improved dramatically during that time, though of all the party members,
16:32
Speaker 1: he was the only one who did not move with
16:34
Speaker 1: pain and difficulty, as there was just a single possible
16:37
Speaker 1: direction to take during any intenture formed up with Achillia,
16:41
Speaker 1: Chord and Flicker walking behind them. The feeling of being
16:45
Speaker 1: out of doors and under a night sky, albeit once
16:48
Speaker 1: studded with purple stars, continued as they made their way
16:52
Speaker 1: through what was essentially a gigantic tunnel. The occasional mineral
16:56
Speaker 1: formations stalactites, stalagmites, and natural calls of various shapes were
17:01
Speaker 1: the only things of interest along the way. There was
17:04
Speaker 1: no sound other than that of their reverberant footfalls, and
17:07
Speaker 1: apart from the companions themselves, nothing stirred. After about an
17:14
Speaker 1: hour had passed, ten Tiers turned around to indicate that
17:17
Speaker 1: he had seen something up ahead. The young Alf's face
17:21
Speaker 1: was still smeared with blood, and he now walked with
17:23
Speaker 1: a limp. Of them, all ten tiers injuries seemed to
17:26
Speaker 1: be the worst. As usual, it took some time before
17:29
Speaker 1: Achille could see what he had been pointing at. It
17:32
Speaker 1: was a kind of natural obelisk, standing in the middle
17:35
Speaker 1: of the vast tunnel. It seemed to glisten, but only
17:39
Speaker 1: on one side. While there had been other natural rock
17:43
Speaker 1: formations along the way, this one dwarfed the mall. It
17:47
Speaker 1: seemed to mark the end of this area, as beyond
17:49
Speaker 1: it the tunnel split into two very different kinds of regions.
17:55
Speaker 1: They approached cautiously, and as they drew close, the details
17:58
Speaker 1: of the obelisk came clearer, as did the reason why
18:01
Speaker 1: one side shone in the purplish glow of the luminous
18:04
Speaker 1: mushrooms overhead while the other did not. The obelisk rose
18:11
Speaker 1: at least eighty feet and still did not touch the
18:13
Speaker 1: tunnel ceiling. The right side was of a dull, black
18:17
Speaker 1: and porous rock, jagged in some places. The left was
18:21
Speaker 1: all smooth curves and looked like obsidian or black glass.
18:25
Speaker 1: The whole thing was asymmetrical and climbed, poured, and spiraled
18:29
Speaker 1: all the way to a pointed tip. Achilia thought it
18:32
Speaker 1: looked not unlike her wand, thinking so, made her draw
18:36
Speaker 1: the item and hold it at the ready. If the
18:38
Speaker 1: companions had never seen the air water gate and were
18:41
Speaker 1: not expecting to eventually come across something like this. They
18:45
Speaker 1: might have been baffled, but when Tantyer looked back over
18:48
Speaker 1: his shoulder for a second time, he spoke what everyone
18:51
Speaker 1: was thinking. Earth Fire Gate.
18:54
Speaker 2: Where the obelisk stood, the massive tunnel split into a
18:58
Speaker 2: y shape. Both ways shared the huge proportions of the
19:01
Speaker 2: tunnel that led to them, yet they were very different
19:03
Speaker 2: from one another. The area to the right continued to
19:06
Speaker 2: be illuminated by the glowing mushrooms that clung to the ceiling,
19:09
Speaker 2: but the ground ceased to be flat. It heaved and
19:13
Speaker 2: swelled in piles of gravel and loose rock. Other than this,
19:17
Speaker 2: the way looked empty and penetrated into the distance. For
19:20
Speaker 2: as far as the eye could see. To the left,
19:22
Speaker 2: the ground remained level, but at a certain distance it
19:25
Speaker 2: became broken by cracks, fissures, and chasms, many of which
19:29
Speaker 2: were filled with flowing lava. In some places, molten rock
19:34
Speaker 2: belched out of the ground or sprayed up in orange fountains.
19:38
Speaker 2: The air in these spots shimmered, warped by the heat
19:40
Speaker 2: that could only just be felt from where the companions
19:43
Speaker 2: currently stood. A sulfuric smell also came from that direction.
19:48
Speaker 3: I think were meant to make.
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Speaker 2: A choice again, Achilie said, without enthusiasm. She looked first
19:53
Speaker 2: to the right, then to the left, and then to
19:56
Speaker 2: the right again.
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Speaker 3: Does anybody have a preference?
20:00
Speaker 2: The way to the right looks easier, said Tantyre, his
20:04
Speaker 2: voice was still a little thick from his split lip.
20:07
Speaker 4: That is what bothers me about, is.
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Speaker 2: Was his brother's reply.
20:11
Speaker 4: If navigating the rivers of fire are the only problem
20:15
Speaker 4: we face in that direction.
20:17
Speaker 2: Dur Any pointed with the tip of the sword to
20:18
Speaker 2: the left.
20:20
Speaker 4: Not to say that it would be easy, but it
20:23
Speaker 4: might be better than whatever surprise we will discover if
20:26
Speaker 4: we take the other route.
20:28
Speaker 3: That's a good point.
20:29
Speaker 2: Said Achilia, scratching the back of her neck with her
20:31
Speaker 2: free hand.
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Speaker 3: What do you think could.
20:35
Speaker 2: Cord creaked as he pointed to the right. Clearly the
20:38
Speaker 2: man of Wood did not want to get too close
20:40
Speaker 2: to any fire. But Achilia had her own deep seated fears.
20:45
Speaker 2: She imagined taking the test of Earth and having to
20:47
Speaker 2: endure a god sized version of a panic inducing crawl
20:50
Speaker 2: like the one she and Durrani had experienced when they
20:53
Speaker 2: had wiggled through the impossibly tight and claustrophobic tunnels of
20:56
Speaker 2: the giants centipede mound. She remembered distinctly the feel of
21:00
Speaker 2: being completely vulnerable, unable to move if anything were to happen.
21:05
Speaker 2: On the other hand, her only real experience with fire
21:08
Speaker 2: had been with the illusory' zyegog, and while that had
21:10
Speaker 2: been terrifying at first, she had mastered that fear.
21:14
Speaker 3: I understand court, But if it were up to me,
21:16
Speaker 3: I'd take the left path. Which do you prefer?
21:19
Speaker 4: Flicker?
21:22
Speaker 2: Flicker just barked directly at the obelisk, apparently having no
21:25
Speaker 2: opinion on the matter.
21:26
Speaker 4: Then, dear, do you still wish to go right? If so,
21:31
Speaker 4: we will need to find a way to make a
21:33
Speaker 4: decision that is fair for the group.
21:36
Speaker 2: No, you have a point.
21:38
Speaker 1: The test of Earth is sure to be harder than
21:40
Speaker 1: it appears.
21:41
Speaker 2: We can go left with cord outvoted. The companions prepared
21:44
Speaker 2: to take the left fork and enter the test of fire,
21:49
Speaker 2: but after they'd advanced only a few yards in that direction,
21:53
Speaker 2: something happened that stopped them in their tracks. In the distance,
22:00
Speaker 2: maybe three or four hundred yards away, a massive wall
22:03
Speaker 2: of flames rose up, filling the tunnel from side to side.
22:08
Speaker 4: Chu chin's braid.
22:10
Speaker 1: There is no way we are going.
22:11
Speaker 2: To be able to get past that, said Tantier. Achilie agreed.
22:15
Speaker 3: We'll have to take our chances with the right path,
22:18
Speaker 3: after all.
22:19
Speaker 2: She stared a moment longer at the huge flaming barrier.
22:22
Speaker 2: It was almost hypnotic in the way it bulged and leapt.
22:25
Speaker 2: She could imagine the deafening roar it would produce so close.
22:29
Speaker 3: At least Cord would be happy.
22:32
Speaker 2: The party backtracked and then cautiously took the right fork
22:35
Speaker 2: of the tunnel, where the flat rock of the floor
22:37
Speaker 2: quickly gave way the scattered gravel before rising up in
22:41
Speaker 2: dunes of the stuff. Bellario waited. He was hiding in
22:54
Speaker 2: a crack in the tunnel floor, a short distance into
22:57
Speaker 2: the test of fire. He was not far enough down
23:00
Speaker 2: on the path that he was endangered by any of
23:02
Speaker 2: the spurting fire or lapa. He wasn't even close to that,
23:06
Speaker 2: but it was far enough in that his body was
23:08
Speaker 2: hidden from view, and as scent would be masked by
23:10
Speaker 2: the mild odour of sulfur. He rubbed his side and winced.
23:14
Speaker 2: The skin there was still raw from the burns he'd
23:16
Speaker 2: sustained when he'd taken the wizard's spell book and the
23:19
Speaker 2: glyph that had protected it had detonated. He had no
23:22
Speaker 2: desire to attempt the Test of Fire, even following Achillea's party,
23:26
Speaker 2: as he'd done with the Test of Air. Such a
23:28
Speaker 2: strategy would not work, he suspected if they had chosen
23:31
Speaker 2: this way. Therefore, he had devised a way for them
23:34
Speaker 2: to take the other one like those he sought a trick.
23:37
Speaker 2: He suspected that there was a hidden danger waiting in
23:40
Speaker 2: the Test of Earth, but he also reasoned that flying
23:43
Speaker 2: in his wasp form, he would be far more able
23:45
Speaker 2: to overcome it, all the while using the other group
23:48
Speaker 2: as a shield. To this end, he had used his
23:51
Speaker 2: spell of spectral Force to embellish what was already present.
23:55
Speaker 2: The wall of flame that had ultimately dissuaded Achillee's party
23:58
Speaker 2: was of his invention. By putting it at a distance,
24:01
Speaker 2: he'd been able to make it seem absolutely enormous, and
24:05
Speaker 2: was more than pleased. Through this work. Of course, it
24:08
Speaker 2: had achieved what he'd wanted. The Chilia, the two elves,
24:11
Speaker 2: the Man of Wood, and Oh it seemed that one
24:14
Speaker 2: of their number was missing. Now the human must have
24:17
Speaker 2: fallen in battle during the test of air, Blario had
24:20
Speaker 2: flown past the chaos of that fight, giving it a
24:22
Speaker 2: wide berth and getting ahead of the other group, and
24:25
Speaker 2: so I hadn't noticed. Well, that was a lucky break
24:28
Speaker 2: for him. He had no fear of these people, but
24:30
Speaker 2: five potential rivals was still better than six. Hopefully their
24:34
Speaker 2: ability to handle what lay ahead for him would not
24:37
Speaker 2: be diminished. With a grunt, Blario climbed out of his
24:40
Speaker 2: hiding spot and crept back towards the obelisk. Peering around
24:46
Speaker 2: the corner, he spotted the group a hundred yards away
24:49
Speaker 2: and climbing a dune of gravel. Blario scratched his chin
24:53
Speaker 2: as he watched them. He let them get another hundred
24:56
Speaker 2: yards into the tunnel before once again using the magic
25:00
Speaker 2: his ring to transform into a giant wasp. Thanks for
25:10
Speaker 2: listening to Tale of the Manticore. If you'd like to
25:12
Speaker 2: help out the show, here are four easy things you
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Speaker 2: can do. You can recommend, or like and repost episode
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Speaker 2: my offerings on drive through RPG, Rate and review the
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Speaker 2: show on your favorite podcatcher or give me a sop
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Speaker 2: on YouTube. Why thanks to everyone for their support. By
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Speaker 2: way of example, he's a review left on Audible by
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Speaker 2: Michael McClendon. Michael writes, very well done. Listen to season
25:39
Speaker 2: one and got hooked. Plan on binging season two now
25:42
Speaker 2: that it's complete, listening to each new episode afterwards as
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Speaker 2: they come out, keep them coming. Sorry it took me
25:48
Speaker 2: so long to read that review on air, Michael, like Apple,
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Speaker 2: Audible makes some reviews hard to discover. Anyway, better late
25:55
Speaker 2: than never, and I certainly do appreciate your having taken
25:58
Speaker 2: the time to write that. I hope you finished enjoy
26:00
Speaker 2: season two, and if I'm doing a good job, hopefully
26:03
Speaker 2: you're still listening along as we push further into the
26:05
Speaker 2: final act of season three. A huge thanks goes out
26:09
Speaker 2: to regular voice actors Ky Ellen and Kevin Barringer, who
26:12
Speaker 2: played Doretty intent here respectively, and both a thank you
26:15
Speaker 2: and a welcome back to James Daily of the Undercommon
26:18
Speaker 2: Taste podcast, but returning is Valkeine the Alvin Elder. For
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Speaker 2: those who wish to find other like minded creators doing
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Speaker 2: similar shows, please check out solo Orldplayers network dot com
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Speaker 2: and if you're curious to learn more about this show.
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Speaker 2: show on RPG related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
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Speaker 2: and show ups. You can find it at tale of
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Speaker 2: themantcore dot com. To get in touch with me, I'm
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Speaker 2: at gmail dot com. We'll see you next time. On
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Speaker 2: Tale of the Mantacar. It's the story where chaos roles