Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Nallukar Nights pt 2 of 4

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Nallukar Nights pt 2 of 4 · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:39
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to the show we are calling
0:42
Speaker 1: Nlucar Nights. It's a short run combination actual play and
0:45
Speaker 1: audio drama that uses both old school essentials and the
0:49
Speaker 1: Oracle from Ironsworn. My name is John and i'm Steve.
0:52
Speaker 1: We're so happy that you could join us for another session.
0:55
Speaker 1: Please be advised that this podcast is intended for a
0:58
Speaker 1: mature audience. Let's begin with a little recap of the
1:01
Speaker 1: last session, Steve, would you like to do the owners? Sure?
1:04
Speaker 1: Why not?
1:05
Speaker 2: Here we go last time on Nalakar Knights. In episode one,
1:10
Speaker 2: we are introduced to the walled city of Nalakar. During
1:13
Speaker 2: a brief prologue, two city agents Rangers go out on
1:17
Speaker 2: a scouting mission near the Riven Wood south of the city.
1:20
Speaker 2: They find an overturned caravan and a scene that looks
1:24
Speaker 2: like the aftermath of a massacre. While investigating, they are
1:27
Speaker 2: attacked by something not quite human. Neither of the two
1:30
Speaker 2: rangers survives. The main story begins the very next day
1:35
Speaker 2: with a group of four scouts who are on a
1:37
Speaker 2: mission to find out what happened to that original pair.
1:41
Speaker 2: This group consists of Findleth, the Mage, Vaidar, the cleric
1:44
Speaker 2: of Ugmar Kathir the El, and Uigal the Breaker, a
1:49
Speaker 2: fierce warrior. The quartet have just found the overturned caravan
1:53
Speaker 2: when a sound draws them off the road and into
1:56
Speaker 2: the ribbon wood. A short distance away, they find Drovar,
1:59
Speaker 2: one of the originals. At first, he seems hurt, there's
2:02
Speaker 2: something growing on his skin, and while he is alive,
2:06
Speaker 2: he doesn't seem right. Karathe Or the Elf, puts an
2:09
Speaker 2: arrow in him, which angers the cleric of Idar. But
2:12
Speaker 2: before the two can truly get into an argument, the
2:15
Speaker 2: second of the original scouts makes their presence known. Zeleidra
2:19
Speaker 2: is no longer human. Having discovered their presence, she attacks.
2:26
Speaker 1: Before we enter into combat, we need to work out
2:28
Speaker 1: a couple of things. Zeleidra has become a Thul, and
2:32
Speaker 1: a Thuol is a strange and dangerous creature. They can
2:36
Speaker 1: regenerate one hit point per round. They have an armor
2:39
Speaker 1: class of thirteen. They have three hit dice. This one
2:42
Speaker 1: has thirteen hit points. Like a ghoule, a Thul can
2:47
Speaker 1: paralyze its prey. Kea there as an Elf is immune
2:51
Speaker 1: to the paralysis, but nobody else is. There's no need
2:54
Speaker 1: to rule for surprise, here, so let's get right into
2:57
Speaker 1: it and to recombat. Round one initiative the Thuel a five,
3:12
Speaker 1: the party a five. It is simultaneous combat. Vidar and
3:17
Speaker 1: Carethr engage the creature in melee. Yugahl has an arrow
3:21
Speaker 1: at the ready and will loose it before using his
3:23
Speaker 1: mall fiddleth For now, we'll keep his distance. The fuel,
3:27
Speaker 1: with its sightless eyes, seems to choose its target and
3:31
Speaker 1: then lunges a kareth Here she swings her axe. Even
3:36
Speaker 1: in the pale light, they can see that it is
3:38
Speaker 1: slimed with something shiny and dark. A nine will miss.
3:42
Speaker 1: Now it's the party's turn. Carethier needs at thirteen to
3:45
Speaker 1: hit a seventeen good roll Carethr and six points of damage.
3:51
Speaker 1: Carither shoves his spear right into this creature's chest, but
3:56
Speaker 1: no pain registers on its hideous face. It simply continues
3:59
Speaker 1: to grope and snap, but Vaidar needs a thirteen to
4:02
Speaker 1: hit with his mace. A thirteen is a hit just
4:07
Speaker 1: three points of damage, and the thul is down to
4:09
Speaker 1: three hit points. Already a strong start, and Yugall still
4:14
Speaker 1: hasn't had a turn. He looses his arrow, but with
4:17
Speaker 1: an eight he misses. Well, if the rest of the
4:19
Speaker 1: battle goes like that, I do not think to going
4:21
Speaker 1: to last very long. It is round two initiative. The
4:26
Speaker 1: Thule A one the Party A one. Simultaneous combat once again.
4:32
Speaker 1: As the two sides slam together once again, the Thule
4:35
Speaker 1: attacks karethere, but A three misses and he parries the
4:39
Speaker 1: axe with ease. Something strange is happening on the Thol's body.
4:45
Speaker 1: The tendrils on the neck and chest begin to squirm.
4:48
Speaker 1: Gray flesh where it has been rent begins to knit
4:51
Speaker 1: back together, and the Thule regenerates one hit point. Care
4:55
Speaker 1: Theory tries to take out its legs with the butt
4:57
Speaker 1: of his spear. An eight on the dive missus. Huh,
5:01
Speaker 1: it's Vidar's turn. Another swing of his mace A five
5:05
Speaker 1: also misses. You gall the Breaker throws down his bow
5:09
Speaker 1: and joins the melee with his enormous mall. He has
5:12
Speaker 1: time to swing it this round, but A nine misses
5:16
Speaker 1: as well, and we are on to round three. Initiative.
5:20
Speaker 1: The Thool A one, the Party A six. Well, that's
5:26
Speaker 1: more like it. Careth here once again stabs with his
5:29
Speaker 1: spear an eight will miss. Now it's Vidar with his
5:33
Speaker 1: mace A four another miss. How about you Gall swinging
5:38
Speaker 1: his mall A four is yet another miss. Now is
5:42
Speaker 1: the Thol's turn. It attacks, Oh you Gall? Luckily A
5:48
Speaker 1: thirteen misses. Unluckily, the Thule continues to regenerate and now
5:53
Speaker 1: is back to five hit points. Round four initiative the
5:57
Speaker 1: Thool A six the Party A two. The Thule attacks
6:03
Speaker 1: Yugall again, viciously chopping down with attacks. A seventeen is
6:09
Speaker 1: a hit, but for only one damage. Looks like Yugall
6:13
Speaker 1: get out of the way in time. He takes just
6:15
Speaker 1: a scratch to the back of his hand, But Thols,
6:18
Speaker 1: like Ghules, paralyze their prey. Yugall needs to make a
6:22
Speaker 1: saving throw. A fourteen or better will succeed the role.
6:27
Speaker 1: A nine that is a failure. You Gall stiffens up
6:30
Speaker 1: where he stands as though frozen in time while the
6:33
Speaker 1: battle reaches on around him. Finally, the Thuel regenerates yet
6:39
Speaker 1: another hit point and is all the way back up
6:41
Speaker 1: to six. Now it's the party's turn. Carethier jabs with
6:45
Speaker 1: his spear. A ten is another miss. Ken vaidar Land
6:50
Speaker 1: a hit A seven means he cannot findleth watching all
6:55
Speaker 1: this is not sure what to do for now, he
6:58
Speaker 1: decides to do nothing. It is round five initiative the
7:03
Speaker 1: Thuol the three, the Party A three simultaneous combat once again.
7:09
Speaker 1: The Duel regenerates to seven hit points and attacks Vidar
7:14
Speaker 1: natural twenty ugh max damage plus a D six. Viidar
7:19
Speaker 1: is dead. The Thuol leaps on him, bearing him to
7:22
Speaker 1: the ground and sinks its teeth into his neck, savaging
7:25
Speaker 1: him and tearing out a fist sized chunk of flesh. No,
7:33
Speaker 1: it is Carathist turn to attack. He needs a thirteen.
7:37
Speaker 1: An eleven is a miss. Perhaps he's so horrified by
7:40
Speaker 1: what he sees that he just stands there for a moment,
7:43
Speaker 1: mouth agape. Because it is simultaneous combat, Vidar may attempt
7:47
Speaker 1: an attack before he goes down. A fifteen hits four
7:52
Speaker 1: six points of damage, taking the Thuel down to a
7:55
Speaker 1: single hit point. Findlus can stand by uselessly no longer.
8:00
Speaker 1: He casts light to blind the Thule. The Thule will
8:03
Speaker 1: save on a sixteen. A ten fails and the Thule
8:07
Speaker 1: is blind. It is round six initiative the Thule A four,
8:14
Speaker 1: the Party A three. The Thule regenerates and now has
8:18
Speaker 1: two hit points, but it will fight at a minus
8:20
Speaker 1: four penalty because it has been blinded. It attacks Karethier.
8:24
Speaker 1: A modified sixteen is a hit and for five damage.
8:29
Speaker 1: A Carithre is now down to one hit point. This
8:33
Speaker 1: is not going well at all. Carethr retaliates. A sixteen
8:38
Speaker 1: is a hit. He needs to roll at least a
8:40
Speaker 1: two on the die bah. He's rolled a one, and
8:44
Speaker 1: the battle is not over. Round seven and eight go
8:48
Speaker 1: by without anybody landing a hit. However, the Thule regenerates
8:52
Speaker 1: and by round nine is already back up to three
8:55
Speaker 1: hit points. Round nine initiative the Thule a four the
9:01
Speaker 1: party a five. Carathr lunges with a spear. A seven
9:07
Speaker 1: is a miss. In desperation, Findleth joins the melee, striking
9:11
Speaker 1: down with his staff. I'm nineteen. He hits. He needs
9:16
Speaker 1: to roll at least three damage to end this fight.
9:19
Speaker 1: A two foul based the Thul with one hit point
9:24
Speaker 1: immediately regenerates to two. It attacks Kaathr oh no a
9:30
Speaker 1: natural twenty. Again, Karethr is dead. Findleth is the only
9:40
Speaker 1: one left and he runs and so this combat is over.
9:45
Speaker 1: But there's one question left, and it's an important one.
9:49
Speaker 1: The question is this which runs out first the Thol's blindness,
9:54
Speaker 1: or you call the breaker's paralysis. The light spell lasts
9:58
Speaker 1: seventy minutes. That the same as the paralysis, but u
10:02
Speaker 1: Gall was paralyzed a few seconds before the Thul is blinded.
10:06
Speaker 1: Let's make it a one and six chance that you
10:08
Speaker 1: Gall cannot regain control of his body before the Thul
10:11
Speaker 1: regains its sight before on the die, u Gall regains
10:17
Speaker 1: control of his body after having listened to his slain
10:19
Speaker 1: companions being eaten for over an hour. When he is
10:23
Speaker 1: able to move again, he briefly considers staying to fight.
10:27
Speaker 1: Then the blinded Thule, perhaps hearing movement, turns its head
10:31
Speaker 1: and Yugall knows he is going to run. Wow, okay, okay,
10:43
Speaker 1: does this mean now we're going to like to dissolve
10:47
Speaker 1: and and you know time has passed, Yeah, and we're
10:51
Speaker 1: back in town. I think so. I think that that
10:54
Speaker 1: makes kind of more sense because we need more characters. Actually,
10:58
Speaker 1: so who would have thought that we would be spending
11:01
Speaker 1: this time rolling up new characters, But that is kind
11:05
Speaker 1: of what's happening right now.
11:07
Speaker 2: We're going to have a nice easy conversation after we
11:10
Speaker 2: beat that thing away.
11:11
Speaker 1: I know, right. I thought we'd be scratching our heads,
11:14
Speaker 1: going where where are we going to get our next
11:16
Speaker 1: plot lead? Yeah, well, that's that's not an issue. That's
11:19
Speaker 1: not an issue at all. Where are they in town?
11:22
Speaker 1: Are they at the barracks because they report to a
11:26
Speaker 1: kind of a captain, right, Commander Reagan? Yeah, Regan.
11:29
Speaker 2: I do have a question, which is we talked about
11:32
Speaker 2: in in episode one having the characters level.
11:35
Speaker 1: Up every episode. Oh, that's right.
11:37
Speaker 2: Do we still want to do that and have do
11:40
Speaker 2: this sort of like not a full time jump, but
11:43
Speaker 2: like a many time jump, and at least you gall
11:47
Speaker 2: and Findleth advance to second level, and then the new
11:51
Speaker 2: characters can be at first level.
11:53
Speaker 1: That's fine, Yeah, I think that we should. If we
11:56
Speaker 1: sort of introduce this idea that time has to pass
11:58
Speaker 1: for that level up to happen, then I could see
12:01
Speaker 1: it being a problem next time because we might be
12:05
Speaker 1: in the middle of the action. Maybe we should just
12:07
Speaker 1: do it video game style where you hit a certain
12:11
Speaker 1: XP and you just happens. And yeah, it might stretch believability,
12:20
Speaker 1: but given that we're doing like this short run thing,
12:23
Speaker 1: I think that that is a price I'd be willing
12:26
Speaker 1: to pay. I don't know. Should we just do that
12:28
Speaker 1: level up instead? Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it
12:31
Speaker 1: so a couple. I guess we have a couple of
12:34
Speaker 1: things to do. We have a scene to describe, maybe,
12:39
Speaker 1: or maybe we do the mechanical stuff first, and then
12:42
Speaker 1: we do the scene after. I think so, yeah, okay,
12:44
Speaker 1: so we're going to level up our characters, make up
12:48
Speaker 1: a couple of new replacement characters for the dead ones,
12:52
Speaker 1: and then we'll figure out some kind of way to
12:55
Speaker 1: introduce it so that the plot can have some momentum forward. Right, Yes, okay,
13:01
Speaker 1: level up first, let's do it great. Should we just
13:05
Speaker 1: keep it nice and simple and do hit points plus
13:08
Speaker 1: spells and skills? Yeah, we don't have to do the
13:12
Speaker 1: whole stat increase thing or whatever. It's maybe maybe the
13:17
Speaker 1: scope of what we're doing it just that would drag
13:19
Speaker 1: it down. All right, new hit points for fiddles one?
13:25
Speaker 1: You all get the D eight So six six is good?
13:31
Speaker 1: Oh yeah? Should I a mint that role at half?
13:35
Speaker 1: I think so, yeah, I think I should just even
13:37
Speaker 1: be consistent. I should. I'm prepared to live with the
13:41
Speaker 1: with the consequences, but I do want to be consistent. Yeah,
13:44
Speaker 1: so you got a six that's actually very good. Do
13:46
Speaker 1: you have a con bonus or anything like that. Oh,
13:49
Speaker 1: that's a good question, I believe I do.
13:51
Speaker 2: Yes, I do so as I get added on as well. Yeah,
13:55
Speaker 2: so I'm up to sixteen hit points.
13:57
Speaker 1: He's well, I mean that's what he does.
14:00
Speaker 2: He's the breaker.
14:01
Speaker 1: Is he's the breaker?
14:02
Speaker 2: But maybe this is a new aspect to his character.
14:06
Speaker 2: Is he the breaker because he breaks and runs?
14:11
Speaker 1: Well? Maybe Finderless and him, I mean, this is something
14:14
Speaker 1: to talk about. Do they have an understanding?
14:17
Speaker 2: I mean, Findle has definitely pieced out and left you
14:20
Speaker 2: gall there, and so there might be some hard feelings.
14:23
Speaker 1: There could be hard feelings findleths What story does he
14:27
Speaker 1: tell when he gets back that they were all killed? Yes? Maybe? Yeah,
14:32
Speaker 1: all right, I'm getting ahead of myself because this is
14:34
Speaker 1: this is perhaps part of the scene that we're going
14:36
Speaker 1: to be doing. We could even we could even like
14:39
Speaker 1: cut too there having an argument or something like that. Yeah,
14:45
Speaker 1: maybe we'll see what works. Yeah, Okay, I'm going to
14:47
Speaker 1: roll for a new spelt three is floating disc I
14:54
Speaker 1: mean that would be handy. I've never found that that
14:57
Speaker 1: has a use, but you know what, that's what it is.
15:00
Speaker 2: You know, it'll be really helpful for carrying your paralyzed
15:04
Speaker 2: friend out of danger.
15:06
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, a bit laid on the floating disc tip.
15:14
Speaker 1: All right, I think that that's it for level ups.
15:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, it doesn't look like you all gets anything else.
15:20
Speaker 1: Fighters get hit points. That's it, really Yeah. Next up
15:24
Speaker 1: is to roll up some new best friends. Do you
15:29
Speaker 1: want to do the back and forth thing? Did that
15:31
Speaker 1: work before? Yeah, let's do it rerolling out of five.
15:35
Speaker 1: Let's get into it with strength. Ooh, that's six. That's
15:42
Speaker 1: not good. It's not good at all.
15:45
Speaker 2: I got a thirteen nice intelligence, I got a ten.
15:54
Speaker 2: I got an eleven.
15:59
Speaker 1: Whizdome ten again, A nine decks. I'm really hoping that
16:06
Speaker 1: I get a good decks because I'm feeling rogue. Please, Okay,
16:10
Speaker 1: it's a twelve. I mean that's not bad. It's above average.
16:14
Speaker 1: It's not terrible.
16:15
Speaker 2: It's not terrible. An eight for DEXs thirty for this character.
16:21
Speaker 1: Con An eight. That's a minest one and.
16:26
Speaker 2: We're getting into the like C team of scouts.
16:29
Speaker 1: I no way. Twelve for con charisma. No, it's eleven. Wow,
16:41
Speaker 1: this character is not the best but workable. Nine for
16:45
Speaker 1: my charisma. So nie of us have got any stats
16:49
Speaker 1: that pop out is very exceptional, right, it really is
16:52
Speaker 1: the C team.
16:53
Speaker 2: I mean, I got the strength bonus of plus one,
16:56
Speaker 2: but a desk of minus one, so if I got
16:59
Speaker 2: a really good like intelligence or decks. I was going
17:02
Speaker 2: to joke about this being Bearethier Catheter's twin brother, but
17:08
Speaker 2: I feel like that doesn't necessarily fit.
17:12
Speaker 1: I'm just looking at the old Don John here for names,
17:15
Speaker 1: same I see one that I kind of like. I'm
17:20
Speaker 1: just going to change a couple of the sounds here
17:21
Speaker 1: and call him Adrius. And he's definitely a thief. So
17:26
Speaker 1: I got four glorious hit points NOE three because of
17:31
Speaker 1: his con.
17:34
Speaker 2: Okay, we're gonna call this guy Dulpher. He's a bit
17:38
Speaker 2: dull for a new character, Dulpher, and he's got to
17:47
Speaker 2: be a fighter because he's got strength of thirteen and
17:51
Speaker 2: really nothing else.
17:53
Speaker 1: And my guy is probably by trade like a long bowman,
17:58
Speaker 1: and he's got a few side hustles going on.
18:04
Speaker 2: So that's character creation for our new PCs. But we
18:07
Speaker 2: need to figure out what happened with Fidelith and Yugol
18:09
Speaker 2: and how we can bring them together with these new
18:12
Speaker 2: team members. So yougle and Findaleth come back.
18:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, is you go wounded? No, he took a scratch.
18:19
Speaker 1: He took a scratch. That's it. Okay. So it's not
18:22
Speaker 1: even like we have to stay in town so you
18:24
Speaker 1: can heal. Yeah, not even that.
18:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I think it makes sense that Reagan would
18:29
Speaker 2: not turn around and send the two of them back
18:31
Speaker 2: out after watching half their party get murdered. What if
18:34
Speaker 2: we say that she sends out a force.
18:38
Speaker 1: Okay, it's like a big force.
18:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, because it's like, okay, we sent we sent, you know,
18:43
Speaker 2: four people out to find two scouts. Half of those
18:45
Speaker 2: people came back and we're talking about some sort of
18:48
Speaker 2: wild creature. Let's send an army out there and we
18:53
Speaker 2: will find these creatures put them down. And they do that,
18:58
Speaker 2: and so it's like everything calms down.
19:01
Speaker 1: So how come Yu Gahl isn't leading this army? Did
19:06
Speaker 1: the captain say no, not you?
19:08
Speaker 2: I mean, I think I think the you Gaul is
19:10
Speaker 2: probably regardless of his his past and his experiences, there's
19:17
Speaker 2: no way that he's in a state of mind to lead.
19:20
Speaker 2: I'm like, he probably is coming back and like foaming
19:23
Speaker 2: at the mouth and like, you.
19:24
Speaker 1: Know how I'm gonna go back there. And I'm gonna
19:26
Speaker 1: burn that.
19:27
Speaker 2: Forest down and all this stuff, and Reagan's like, you,
19:30
Speaker 2: you know, I need your badge and your gun.
19:32
Speaker 1: On the yeah, you know, it's yeah. Yeah.
19:36
Speaker 2: So it's very much a like no, you you're grounded,
19:40
Speaker 2: You're you're grounded, yeah boy, yeah, whereas Fenderlus is quite
19:44
Speaker 2: happy to be not sent back out. And so what
19:48
Speaker 2: if then we jump to a month later and there's
19:55
Speaker 2: either like a killing or something like that within the
19:58
Speaker 2: city walls of nol or something happens and maybe the
20:05
Speaker 2: guard on duty who's investigating finds some sort of like
20:09
Speaker 2: ooze or you know, see somebody with some sort of
20:13
Speaker 2: like nodule on their necks.
20:16
Speaker 1: So something like it's it's in the city now, Yeah,
20:19
Speaker 1: it's in the city. We've got these two new characters,
20:22
Speaker 1: and we don't know how to add them to our party.
20:25
Speaker 1: Why don't we just start George R. Martin style. We're
20:30
Speaker 1: just going to switch to these two new characters. We're
20:32
Speaker 1: gonna leave you gall and Fiddle us to argue as
20:36
Speaker 1: they just bicker all day now, and we leave them
20:39
Speaker 1: in the barracks. But now we go off to some
20:43
Speaker 1: place a tavern or whatever.
20:46
Speaker 2: Are all these characters part of the like Nalacar City watch.
20:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's how we know each other, right. Yeah, so
20:54
Speaker 1: we're at our favorite dive bar and you know, they're
20:58
Speaker 1: exchanging their their dad joke of the day or whatever.
21:02
Speaker 1: H and maybe somebody's got to go take a leak. Yeah,
21:06
Speaker 1: and so I'll go with you. And they go into
21:09
Speaker 1: the alley and they discover a body.
21:13
Speaker 2: Oh so they stumble out from the wanton wife and
21:19
Speaker 2: I like it.
21:20
Speaker 1: Good little little drunk.
21:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, just just a little bit though. And they stumble
21:25
Speaker 2: down the alleyway in between the tavern and the next building,
21:31
Speaker 2: and they're preparing to take a leak when they see
21:36
Speaker 2: this body.
21:37
Speaker 1: Right, and then they joke that, you know, looks like
21:41
Speaker 1: somebody had too much yeah to drink. And maybe Adris
21:45
Speaker 1: goes up and gives this fellow or woman a kick
21:50
Speaker 1: in the ribs, but of course they don't move it all. Nope,
21:55
Speaker 1: and then kind of maybe lean down over it and
21:58
Speaker 1: just hit by a smell. I think Adrius. The first
22:01
Speaker 1: thing he does is he's going to rifle through the pockets.
22:06
Speaker 1: I mean, does he find anything. Let's use the oracle.
22:12
Speaker 2: Okay, so do we think that this person has anything
22:16
Speaker 2: in their pockets.
22:18
Speaker 1: I think it's likely because nobody's moved this body yet,
22:22
Speaker 1: so I mean if they don't, probably somebody already fleesed it. Yeah.
22:28
Speaker 1: The real question is if is there anything of value?
22:31
Speaker 1: But let's find it. Is there anything at all? Is
22:33
Speaker 1: there anything at all?
22:34
Speaker 2: Let's say likely, so that'd be seventy five or less
22:38
Speaker 2: fifty five is a yes? Okay, and could be could
22:43
Speaker 2: be an exceptional result if we want, since it's a
22:45
Speaker 2: matching result.
22:46
Speaker 1: Oh, I see, is that how that works? If you
22:48
Speaker 1: get doubles? It's exceptional? Yeah, it's an interesting twist. Or
22:52
Speaker 1: let's lead into that. Yeah, because we need some plot points.
22:56
Speaker 1: Do we make it exceptional by consulting the action, subject.
23:00
Speaker 2: Action and subject. Let's see what let's do the optional
23:03
Speaker 2: thing we might get here? So our action is thirty
23:06
Speaker 2: two breach?
23:09
Speaker 1: Interesting? Could they roll one? If you like? Go ahead,
23:13
Speaker 1: you bet? I like this is the best part.
23:17
Speaker 2: Thirty seven thirty seven vow breach vow breach of a vow,
23:22
Speaker 2: in breach of a vow?
23:24
Speaker 1: Is this a guard? Could be a guard? And what
23:27
Speaker 1: kind of vow would they make that when they got
23:29
Speaker 1: sick they would leave town? But they didn't have the
23:32
Speaker 1: guts to do it.
23:33
Speaker 2: Maybe we also have I don't want to lose necessarily
23:37
Speaker 2: this thread with Vaidar, we introduced Ugmar.
23:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's let's absolutely stay with that.
23:46
Speaker 2: So could this be a cleric of Ugmar or.
23:49
Speaker 1: This could be a cleric of Ugmar and what is
23:52
Speaker 1: the vow the vow? Oh, let's let's say what if
23:55
Speaker 1: what if they work with you know, like kind of
23:58
Speaker 1: like working with lepers, that idea like that they would
24:01
Speaker 1: be the ones to move among the sick. Maybe one
24:06
Speaker 1: of the soldiers came back with the disease and they
24:10
Speaker 1: being sort of on the lamb, like they disappeared, and
24:15
Speaker 1: this cleric has been caring for them, bringing them food,
24:19
Speaker 1: bringing them the water on the.
24:21
Speaker 2: Sly instead of turning them in.
24:24
Speaker 1: Yeah, as a charity. Yeah, that's their version of charity. Yep.
24:29
Speaker 1: And that is maybe a breach of their vow because
24:32
Speaker 1: by the law they would have to turn this person in.
24:36
Speaker 1: And of course that this cleric got infected and died.
24:43
Speaker 1: Maybe you don't automatically turn into a monster. Maybe you
24:47
Speaker 1: die or turn into a monster. Yeah, maybe it's yeah,
24:51
Speaker 1: like fifty to fifty chance you turn into a thrall
24:54
Speaker 1: or you just die. Is this a male or a female?
24:58
Speaker 1: Can I just roll this fifty fifth? Do you? Right now? Yeah?
25:00
Speaker 1: Go for it? Okay? High low high is mail? It
25:04
Speaker 1: is mail? Okay, we have a male cleric of Ougmar.
25:07
Speaker 2: Okay, how do we know because this is you know,
25:11
Speaker 2: Adris is rifling through.
25:15
Speaker 1: Right, Maybe we find a holy symbol? Right? But how
25:18
Speaker 1: do we wouldn't find money?
25:19
Speaker 2: How do we know that this person is you know,
25:23
Speaker 2: has been caring for this person that's on the lamb?
25:27
Speaker 2: Do we find a key, like a key to a
25:30
Speaker 2: like a room somewhere, maybe an inn or something like
25:34
Speaker 2: that that is you know, like the iconography on the
25:37
Speaker 2: key is recognizable. Okay, okay, and maybe is like, oh,
25:40
Speaker 2: I'm yeah, there's there's and there's probably more valuables. You know,
25:45
Speaker 2: where there are keys, there are locks.
25:47
Speaker 1: Right, that's pretty good. Is there anything else that would
25:51
Speaker 1: make us want to go and investigate? If there is
25:54
Speaker 1: some money, even just like a couple of gold pieces, yeah,
25:59
Speaker 1: that might make Adris think. You know, if this guy
26:02
Speaker 1: has two gold pieces in his pocket, I bet he's
26:06
Speaker 1: got twenty back home. Yeah, that might be enough. Maybe
26:10
Speaker 1: we don't even have to say that this person is
26:13
Speaker 1: obviously a cleric. There doesn't necessarily have to be a
26:17
Speaker 1: holy symbol. This could be enough to lead to the
26:21
Speaker 1: next plot point, which would be the investigation of the inn. Yeah,
26:27
Speaker 1: and we don't even have to say that Adris or
26:31
Speaker 1: Dulpher notice the infection. It could be one of those
26:36
Speaker 1: things where the camera lingers on the corpse. Yeah, and
26:41
Speaker 1: kind of slowly zooms in to that, you know, tenderly
26:46
Speaker 1: mass right under the ear that they missed. Does that
26:51
Speaker 1: work for you? Works for me?
26:53
Speaker 2: Let's slip into the narrative and see what happens next.
26:58
Speaker 2: Has the time yet, Dolpher asked, folding his arms over
27:02
Speaker 2: his chest. I'm starting to sober up, nor did, Adris replied,
27:07
Speaker 2: eyeing the door of the copper Hound.
27:09
Speaker 1: The matron of the injury be living any moment. We
27:11
Speaker 1: don't want anyone seeing us coming or going. Remember, Daufo,
27:14
Speaker 1: we're doing something mildly wicked. It's better not to be seen.
27:18
Speaker 3: We're not really doing anything wrong, Dolpher said, We're investigating.
27:23
Speaker 2: Adris grinned, right, Look there she goes. He pointed to
27:26
Speaker 2: a woman exiting the copper Hound. Wrapped in a heavy shawl,
27:31
Speaker 2: she lifted a lantern. Looked either direction, then made her
27:34
Speaker 2: way across the street to the small hovel.
27:37
Speaker 1: Where she lived. Now we can go.
27:40
Speaker 2: They crossed the street, only stumbling a few times in
27:43
Speaker 2: the murky darkness, before making it to the door. The
27:47
Speaker 2: wood creaked as Adris opened the door, but there was
27:50
Speaker 2: no one left inside the small common room. The last
27:54
Speaker 2: few embers burned in a fireplace on the far side
27:58
Speaker 2: of the room, casting flicker shadows on the walls. Let's
28:02
Speaker 2: be quick about this, Dolpher said.
28:05
Speaker 1: Don't tell me afraid of a dog.
28:06
Speaker 2: Adris replied, it's not the dark I'm afraid of, muttered Dolpher.
28:12
Speaker 2: The stairs led to a landing and a hallway that
28:15
Speaker 2: stretched the length of the building. The half moon cast
28:18
Speaker 2: a little light in the hallway, but for the most
28:21
Speaker 2: part it was dark. Adris felt for the key they'd
28:25
Speaker 2: pulled off the dead man, reminding himself of the notches
28:28
Speaker 2: cut into it, three in total. He walked down the
28:32
Speaker 2: hallway and felt along the lintel of the door. The
28:35
Speaker 2: first had a single notch, the next three notches. Stopping
28:40
Speaker 2: he felt around for a keyhole, then, crouching down, he
28:42
Speaker 2: peered through it. There was a candle burning inside, but
28:45
Speaker 2: other than that, he couldn't make out much of the room.
28:48
Speaker 2: This is it, he whispered, not sure if anyone.
28:51
Speaker 1: Is inside it, so let's be cautious. Yeah.
28:54
Speaker 2: Dulpher nodded, then remembered Adris probably couldn't see the gesture.
28:57
Speaker 1: So he said, right, I'm behind you.
29:00
Speaker 2: Adris fit the key in the lock and turned it
29:03
Speaker 2: until he was met with a soft click. Turning the handle,
29:07
Speaker 2: he pushed the door open ever so gently. The smell
29:12
Speaker 2: hit them first, and both men gagged. Fresh death and
29:16
Speaker 2: stale bedclothes filled their nostrils. Adris fished a cloth out
29:20
Speaker 2: of his pocket and he pressed it to his nose.
29:23
Speaker 2: Are you sure about this, Dolpher asked, but Adris had
29:27
Speaker 2: already entered the room. Sure, there was the stench of death,
29:30
Speaker 2: but that smell meant there might be something of value
29:33
Speaker 2: to perloin. Dulpher gritted his teeth and followed the other
29:36
Speaker 2: man into the room. The copper Hound was not known
29:40
Speaker 2: for its fine accommodations, and this place lived up to
29:44
Speaker 2: those expectations. There was little more than a bed, a
29:47
Speaker 2: small desk, and a chamber pot, and the source of
29:50
Speaker 2: the smell became immediately obvious. A man dressed in a
29:54
Speaker 2: soiled guard's uniform lay on the bed, face bloated and
29:57
Speaker 2: twisted in pain. His head was turned toward them, and
30:01
Speaker 2: his eyes remained half open. Two things were clasped in
30:05
Speaker 2: his hand, a letter and a holy symbol of Ukmar
30:09
Speaker 2: got Adris wore.
30:10
Speaker 1: Poor fellow's dead. I think.
30:12
Speaker 2: Dulpher held back a wretch and approach. Do you recognize him,
30:17
Speaker 2: Adris said, I.
30:18
Speaker 1: Want to say, was that bloating? It looks kind of
30:21
Speaker 1: like that fellow who runs the patrols in west Market.
30:23
Speaker 1: What was his name?
30:24
Speaker 2: He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
30:28
Speaker 1: Lusa.
30:29
Speaker 2: Dulpher reached out and touched the man's skin. Adrius, he's
30:33
Speaker 2: still wrong.
30:35
Speaker 1: Poor buck had just died. What was wrong with him?
30:38
Speaker 1: Some sort of disease.
30:39
Speaker 2: Dulpher flinched and recoiled as he withdrew his hand, and
30:42
Speaker 2: the head lolled to the other direction. Oh, God's his ear.
30:46
Speaker 2: Where his right ear had been, there was now jaggedly
30:49
Speaker 2: cut flesh and a strange mark on the skin behind it.
30:52
Speaker 2: It almost looked as though something had been peeled away
30:55
Speaker 2: from that portion of flesh after the ear was cut free.
30:59
Speaker 2: There's a little blow leaking from it. But it was
31:01
Speaker 2: mostly congealed. At this point, Adris looked around the room
31:05
Speaker 2: wide eyed.
31:06
Speaker 1: Someone's cut his zero off, probably after he died. Who
31:09
Speaker 1: would do that, Dolpher asked, I don't know, but it's
31:12
Speaker 1: bad news. Adris reached down and grabbed the holy symbol
31:16
Speaker 1: and letter. Let's get out of here before whoever it
31:18
Speaker 1: was comes back for the other ear. Shouldn't we look
31:21
Speaker 1: around some more? What else do you think we're going
31:23
Speaker 1: to find. There's nothing worth taking. Let's go.
31:26
Speaker 2: Dolpher was about to argue when the body twitched and
31:29
Speaker 2: a horrid groan escaped. Dolpher leaped straight in the air
31:34
Speaker 2: and ran for the door. Adris beat him there, and
31:37
Speaker 2: together they clambered into the hallway and down the stairs, utterly,
31:41
Speaker 2: careless of being seen. Neither man stopped running until the
31:45
Speaker 2: copper hound was far behind them.
31:52
Speaker 1: So these guys they buggered out. They bugged out. It's
31:54
Speaker 1: probably the next day, yeah, because they're not running to
31:58
Speaker 1: the captain in the middle of the night.
32:01
Speaker 2: Do you think that they might run back to the
32:03
Speaker 2: barracks and run into either you Gall or Findoleth.
32:08
Speaker 1: That would be good because then then they have that
32:10
Speaker 1: conversation like you guys, look like you've seen a ghost? Yes, yes, yes?
32:15
Speaker 1: So what are fiendalth or you gall doing up? You
32:19
Speaker 1: all can't sleep? Yeah, one hundred percent. He can't sleep.
32:22
Speaker 1: He's an insomniac now, so he volunteers to do door
32:28
Speaker 1: duty or is he just out? Yeah?
32:31
Speaker 2: I think maybe he's taken to like when he can't sleep,
32:36
Speaker 2: he'll get up and like go into the common room
32:39
Speaker 2: of the barracks and stoke the fire and then maybe
32:42
Speaker 2: even just like sit by the fire and light his
32:45
Speaker 2: pipe and stare off into the burning embers for hours.
32:53
Speaker 2: I feel like he has like he maybe had a
32:56
Speaker 2: beard before, and like it has it has continued to grow,
33:00
Speaker 2: has gotten a little like gnarled and matted, as he's
33:03
Speaker 2: just kind of forgotten how to take care of himself.
33:07
Speaker 2: And he just kind of like is chewing on his
33:10
Speaker 2: pipe and like puffing on it and then just like
33:13
Speaker 2: muttering into the like fire like Casier.
33:17
Speaker 1: That's good. Hits like he's aged five years, right, It's
33:20
Speaker 1: like in a day he aged five years. This is good?
33:23
Speaker 1: How to Adris and Dulfer get in? Is it seven
33:27
Speaker 1: to eleven? I mean, is it open all night? Yeah?
33:30
Speaker 1: I think so. I feel like there's a night watch
33:33
Speaker 1: and everything, right. So yeah, so they they come into
33:37
Speaker 1: the common room and they're still breathing hard because they
33:40
Speaker 1: essentially ran the whole way, and well, they can't read
33:44
Speaker 1: the letter without light, so maybe that's what their plan is,
33:47
Speaker 1: is to go and you know, they rush to the
33:50
Speaker 1: fire and slam down that letter and they start reading
33:54
Speaker 1: it aloud. And then they look up and whoa, there's
33:56
Speaker 1: somebody here. They didn't even notice yough because he looks
34:00
Speaker 1: like part of the furniture. Well, what are you reading, bearer? Friends, Yeah,
34:05
Speaker 1: that's cool, And so now it comes down to us
34:10
Speaker 1: figuring out what does the letter say.
34:15
Speaker 2: Dulpher pulls out the letter and opens it and begins
34:17
Speaker 2: to read.
34:19
Speaker 3: The sickness is growing worse by the day, and with
34:21
Speaker 3: it the voices whispers whispers in my ears. Brother Donnas
34:26
Speaker 3: says it's just the fever, but they seem to abate
34:29
Speaker 3: when the symbol of Ugmar is near. I can see
34:33
Speaker 3: the concern on Brother Donnis's face, and he's been leaving
34:36
Speaker 3: the symbol with me whenever he goes out. It helps,
34:39
Speaker 3: though I can't block them out entirely. When I sleep,
34:43
Speaker 3: I see a tower and a voice louder than the others,
34:47
Speaker 3: calls me to it. It reminds me of the watch
34:50
Speaker 3: towers along the walls, But I don't know why someone
34:53
Speaker 3: will be drawing me towards those. I fear that if
34:56
Speaker 3: I could walk, I would have already heeded the call
34:58
Speaker 3: and made my way up into town.
35:01
Speaker 1: I was a fool.
35:02
Speaker 3: I should have turned myself over to the commander when
35:05
Speaker 3: the whispers started. Brother Dannis assures me that Ugmar will
35:08
Speaker 3: preserve me, but I feel my mind and body betraying
35:12
Speaker 3: me with every hour that passes. I fear death is
35:15
Speaker 3: not far off, and I pray that Ugmar will have
35:18
Speaker 3: mercy on my soul.
35:20
Speaker 1: Dulpher squints at it.
35:22
Speaker 3: There's more, but it devolves into gibberish. And there's a
35:26
Speaker 3: sketching of the tower, but which one is it?
35:32
Speaker 1: This is good. This is good because you Gaul would
35:36
Speaker 1: say something to the effect of like, well, I don't
35:39
Speaker 1: know anything about the history of this town enough to
35:43
Speaker 1: tell you what building that is, or or you know
35:46
Speaker 1: what's special about it or whatever. But I know somebody
35:50
Speaker 1: who knows a lot of history. I just haven't talked
35:54
Speaker 1: to him in a month. We don't get along anymore. Yeah, right,
35:58
Speaker 1: this works, and that's how we bring the party together.
36:01
Speaker 1: And so then the final kind of scene would be
36:05
Speaker 1: you Gall, I guess, going back to his room, maybe
36:09
Speaker 1: even knowing that he's not going to sleep. And is
36:11
Speaker 1: this where we make your constitution check? I think so.
36:14
Speaker 2: I think it's Cohn or under con or under got it.
36:18
Speaker 1: Here we go.
36:26
Speaker 2: Hugall rose from his seat by the fire and said,
36:29
Speaker 2: you lads, get some rest. Tomorrow, will go talk to
36:33
Speaker 2: Findlea and we'll see if he has any insights into
36:36
Speaker 2: what this letter says. Dulpher and Adris nodded, and you
36:41
Speaker 2: Gall could see the first glimmers of the same terror
36:45
Speaker 2: that kept him awake most nights. He wasn't sure exactly
36:49
Speaker 2: what they'd seen, but he was certain it wasn't good
36:52
Speaker 2: for Nalakar. Returning to his room, he sat on the
36:57
Speaker 2: edge of the bed and stared at its dark wall.
36:59
Speaker 1: Across from him.
37:00
Speaker 2: Even with his eyes open, he could see Bydar falling
37:03
Speaker 2: before that creature Kathar, gurgling and bleeding out. He could
37:08
Speaker 2: hear the sounds of that creature devouring as friends. According
37:12
Speaker 2: to Commander Ragan, the beast that killed his companions was dead.
37:16
Speaker 2: There was something in the way the two guardsmen described
37:18
Speaker 2: to the corpse they found that made him tremble. Reaching
37:22
Speaker 2: under his bed, he pulled out a bottle and unstoppered it,
37:25
Speaker 2: tilting his head back. As the contents burned down his throat.
37:28
Speaker 2: He gasped and coughed a little before going back for
37:31
Speaker 2: another dose. His breath was heavy and ragged as he
37:34
Speaker 2: finished his third. Already the burning warmth filled his chest,
37:38
Speaker 2: and he could feel sleep at the edge of his eyes.
37:42
Speaker 2: He placed his head in his hands as the heat
37:44
Speaker 2: spread through his chest and up his neck. As the
37:47
Speaker 2: effects started taking he reached up and scratched the skin
37:51
Speaker 2: behind his right ear.
38:00
Speaker 1: This concludes the first half of the Nalakar Knights collaborative miniseries.
38:05
Speaker 1: Parts three to four will be released shortly on the
38:07
Speaker 1: Errant Adventures podcast feed. We hope you'll join us there.