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Episode 63 (S3E63) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, This is James and this is Dan from grog
0:02
Speaker 1: Talk and you're listening to Tale of the Manticore. The
0:09
Speaker 1: following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion
0:14
Speaker 1: is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor Season three.
0:32
Speaker 1: Like the creature from which it takes its name, Tale
0:35
Speaker 1: of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding between
0:38
Speaker 1: two different species of storytelling. Here you will find the
0:42
Speaker 1: unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with the
0:45
Speaker 1: story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred,
0:50
Speaker 1: and none will be spared if the dice decide their
0:53
Speaker 1: fate is at hand. According to lore, the Tale of
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Speaker 1: a Manticore is barbed with cruel iron spike. There will
1:01
Speaker 1: be much pain in the days ahead, last time until
1:15
Speaker 1: of the Mantigor. Chapter sixty two begins with Bellario wounded
1:19
Speaker 1: and in wasp form, hiding in the narrow stretch of
1:22
Speaker 1: land on the mountain saddle near the end of the
1:24
Speaker 1: wooded area. Behind him are the companions. In front of
1:28
Speaker 1: him a dragon. He would prefer not to have to
1:31
Speaker 1: deal with either, but good options are limited. In the end,
1:34
Speaker 1: he risks remaining in his current form. While he cannot
1:37
Speaker 1: cast spells as a wasp, he is much faster, and
1:40
Speaker 1: of course he can fly. At this point, the narrative
1:44
Speaker 1: flashes back to a time near the beginning of the story. Tantire,
1:47
Speaker 1: once again in trouble for his defined attitude, gets a
1:50
Speaker 1: special talk from his mother, but it isn't the talk
1:53
Speaker 1: he expects. She tells him that his brother has returned
1:56
Speaker 1: from his hunting trip early and is leaving again on
1:59
Speaker 1: a quest. She wants him to go along in order
2:02
Speaker 1: to protect Aureni from the dangers of the world and
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Speaker 1: from himself. We return to the narrative where the companions
2:08
Speaker 1: are actively searching the woods for signs of the giant
2:11
Speaker 1: wasp that attacked already, and it is Belario's bad luck
2:14
Speaker 1: when they do spot him, for each of the eleven
2:17
Speaker 1: brothers manages to put an arrow into him as he flees,
2:20
Speaker 1: almost claiming the Gnomish wizard's life before he gets away.
2:24
Speaker 1: The pieces give chase, and when they break through the
2:26
Speaker 1: tree line, they discover an astonishing sight. Even though I
2:37
Speaker 1: am dying to get into the action, it would be
2:39
Speaker 1: unwise for me to do that without first taking care
2:41
Speaker 1: of some important housekeeping, because this episode is a level
2:45
Speaker 1: up episode. Cord has achieved Druid Level eight. Forgive me,
2:49
Speaker 1: but I can't help saying that our man of Wood
2:51
Speaker 1: is really blossoming. He gets a de six of newhay points,
2:55
Speaker 1: while his saving throws and basic attack bonus don't improve.
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Speaker 1: He is due to two new spells, one a third
3:01
Speaker 1: level and one of fifth rolling for new hit points
3:05
Speaker 1: A five is a great result. Super pleased with that,
3:09
Speaker 1: chortz Max goes up to thirty seven. Unfortunately, level eight
3:13
Speaker 1: unlocks no new special abilities for a Druid, but two
3:17
Speaker 1: new spells is a fair trade. Let's find out what
3:19
Speaker 1: it gets. Rolling for a new third level spell gives
3:22
Speaker 1: me water breathing. There's no need to look closely at
3:26
Speaker 1: the spell description. Water breathing does exactly what you think does.
3:30
Speaker 1: Next the fifth level spell, the roll huh Protection from
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Speaker 1: plants and animals. The spell creates an invisible barrier around
3:39
Speaker 1: the castor preventing contact by either plants or animals. Will
3:43
Speaker 1: we see either of these spells in play? It's unlikely, granted,
3:48
Speaker 1: but I know better than to dismiss the chance outright.
3:50
Speaker 2: So who knows?
3:51
Speaker 1: And that's that it was a decent level up short
3:54
Speaker 1: and sweet. But now it's time to jump into the action.
4:03
Speaker 1: Chapter sixty three, Part one, Day forty five Morning mythic
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Speaker 1: event meaning block goals, party status, achillea fifteen of twenty
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Speaker 1: hit points, Court thirty seven of thirty seven, dur any
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Speaker 1: eighteen of twenty six, ten tier thirty one of thirty nine,
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Speaker 1: flicker sixteen of sixteen spells available. Achilla can cast, shrink
4:37
Speaker 1: and large charm, person detect evil glitter, dust, dispel magic flame,
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Speaker 1: arrow and wall of fire. Cork can cast, entangle, animal friendship,
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Speaker 1: slow poison, barkskin, hold animal, tree, shape, water breathing, speak
4:59
Speaker 1: with plants, past plant cure, serious wounds, and protection from
5:05
Speaker 1: plants and animals. The Chilie blinked in astonishment. There was
5:12
Speaker 1: so much going on that at first she didn't even
5:15
Speaker 1: know where she should be looking, But because of its
5:18
Speaker 1: size and magnificence, her gaze was eventually drawn up to
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Speaker 1: the silver Dragon. It in turn looked back at her,
5:27
Speaker 1: mostly it seemed, with its larger central eye, watching with
5:31
Speaker 1: interest but doing nothing. A sudden noise pulled her attention
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Speaker 1: away and back down to the Gnome. He had stepped
5:39
Speaker 1: out from behind the owl idol and was cursing loudly
5:43
Speaker 1: while practically hopping up and down in apoplexy. His face
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Speaker 1: was contorted with both anger and pain, and he was
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Speaker 1: shaking his fists at her.
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Speaker 3: Just look at what you horrible owls have done to me.
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Speaker 1: His wounds did look serious.
6:00
Speaker 3: Nobody attacks me, nobody touches me. I am going to
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Speaker 3: make you all pay.
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Speaker 1: At this point, he threw something to the ground a
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Speaker 1: short distance away, and within the space of three breaths,
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Speaker 1: the iron tower grew up from where it landed, expanding
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Speaker 1: from the size of an apple to its full dimensions.
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Speaker 1: All the while, the silver dragon, more or less unmoving,
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Speaker 1: continued to monitor everything with an expression of mild curiosity
6:31
Speaker 1: on its reptilian face. Moments after the tower reached full size,
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Speaker 1: its single entrance opened, there filling the doorway, and then
6:41
Speaker 1: so was the Magis Fimgrin atrash Achillia's general confusion now
6:47
Speaker 1: funneled into a beam of rage. She pointed at fymgrim Here,
6:52
Speaker 1: she yelled, her voice accusatory, but Belario was not finished.
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Speaker 3: No, not him, me, He is nothing, He is no one.
7:04
Speaker 3: It was me me, and it will always be me.
7:10
Speaker 3: I killed the weakling old wizard I took his spell book.
7:14
Speaker 3: I will complete the Golden Path. And you do you
7:18
Speaker 3: think you can lay hands on Malario, paisl stitch and live.
7:24
Speaker 3: This is as far as you will ever get your
7:27
Speaker 3: journey and your lives.
7:30
Speaker 1: And here, once again, Achillia struggled to make sense of
7:34
Speaker 1: what she was seeing and hearing. In her last encounter
7:36
Speaker 1: with the Gnome, she had been given the impression that
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Speaker 1: he was a servant and that Fimgrim was the master.
7:42
Speaker 1: Now it appeared that this Belario was not a servant
7:44
Speaker 1: at all. Furthermore, they claimed to have killed her vapi.
7:48
Speaker 1: If that were not enough, somehow, they were also the
7:52
Speaker 1: wasp de Any had fought with. Unconcerned with Achillia's perplexity,
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Speaker 1: Bellario continued to fume, waving his arms wildly. At least
8:00
Speaker 1: that's how it looked until a Chillier realized that the
8:03
Speaker 1: ranting and gesticulating was actually the casting of a spell.
8:07
Speaker 1: The realization came too late, however, for suddenly there was
8:11
Speaker 1: a tremor, not unlike the one caused by the Purple Worm.
8:15
Speaker 1: Then the ground between the two groups bulged up in
8:17
Speaker 1: a heap, and a massive gray hand burst forth from
8:21
Speaker 1: the ground. The hand was attached to a heavy, deformed arm,
8:25
Speaker 1: and followed by a hulking shoulder. These pushed against the
8:28
Speaker 1: ground to lever the rest of the body up and
8:31
Speaker 1: out of the earth. It occurred to Achillia that this
8:34
Speaker 1: monstrosity had not been buried, nor had it burrowed out
8:37
Speaker 1: from beneath the ground. It was made from the ground stones, clay, grasses,
8:43
Speaker 1: and dirt combined to form an absolutely enormous body. It
8:47
Speaker 1: was taller even than the forest troll had been, but
8:50
Speaker 1: also thick and bulky, malformed like something made by a
8:53
Speaker 1: fumbling god child. It had one arm bigger than the other,
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Speaker 1: a head that attached to the body than a neck.
9:00
Speaker 1: Its eyes were deep pits, in its mouth a jagged crack.
9:04
Speaker 1: After it had pulled itself completely up and out of
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Speaker 1: the ground, it boomed at a roar like a thunderhead,
9:09
Speaker 1: and the companions fell back in fear. Bellario, in a
9:19
Speaker 1: murderous rage, has just cast his most powerful spell, Conjurer Elemental.
9:25
Speaker 1: Since this course of action fulfills the current event meaning
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Speaker 1: of block goals, I'm going to roll for a new
9:30
Speaker 1: one using deep percentile twice. I've got fifty eight betray
9:36
Speaker 1: huh I think that one has come up at least
9:39
Speaker 1: once before this season. But okay, and here comes the
9:42
Speaker 1: next roll zero seven Allies betray Allies. Oh okay, I understand.
9:50
Speaker 1: That's well. We'll put that aside for the time being,
9:52
Speaker 1: because we need to look at the spell description for
9:55
Speaker 1: Conjure Elemental in the Expert rules. We'll probably want to
9:58
Speaker 1: have a peek at the monster entry for Earth Elemental two.
10:01
Speaker 1: Let's see. The spell allows the castor to summon one
10:04
Speaker 1: elemental to do their will. Continual concentration is required, otherwise
10:09
Speaker 1: the elemental will turn upon their summoner. That means Bellario
10:12
Speaker 1: cannot engage in combat, cast other spells, or even move
10:16
Speaker 1: very much. The rules say that the conjured elemental will
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Speaker 1: serve until slain in combat or until Bellario dismisses it.
10:23
Speaker 1: So just how tough is an Earth elemental turns out,
10:26
Speaker 1: it depends. In D and D there are three kinds
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Speaker 1: that players may face. The least powerful are conjured by
10:33
Speaker 1: a magic staff. They have an armour class of eighteen
10:36
Speaker 1: eight hit die, and do one to eight points of damage.
10:38
Speaker 1: The next strongest are called by quote unquote other magic devices.
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Speaker 1: These elementals are considerably tougher with an AC of twenty
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Speaker 1: twelve hit dice, and they are able to do two
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Speaker 1: to sixteen points of damage on a successful hit. However,
10:52
Speaker 1: the mightiest elementals are the one summoned by use of
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Speaker 1: the fifth level magic user spell Conjure Elemental, and that's
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Speaker 1: what the players are currently up against. These creatures have
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Speaker 1: an AC of twenty two. Yep, you heard that right,
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Speaker 1: twenty two with sixteen head dice and doing a devastating
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Speaker 1: three to twenty four points of damage when they score hit.
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Speaker 1: They are terrifying. If that wasn't bad enough, all Earth
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Speaker 1: elementals do an additional one to eight points of damage
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Speaker 1: against opponents who are on the ground. In short, the
11:21
Speaker 1: thing facing off against the PCs is even worse than
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Speaker 1: a purple worm. But there's another detail, and it's going
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Speaker 1: to matter a lot. The last line in the spell
11:31
Speaker 1: entry is kind of a bombshell. I'll just read it out.
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Speaker 1: A conjured elemental quote can be dispelled by the dispell
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Speaker 1: magic or dispel evil spells unquote. I actually felt blindsided
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Speaker 1: when I read that, not because I'm rooting against my PCs,
11:47
Speaker 1: but because the story was suddenly likely to take a
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Speaker 1: hard left turn. Let me explain. I ended season one
11:53
Speaker 1: and season two with big Boss battles, and I fully
11:57
Speaker 1: expected that this encounter between the PCs and the Earth
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Speaker 1: Elemental would be the final showdown of this season. But
12:03
Speaker 1: who would have thought that Achillia rolling A two when
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Speaker 1: she leveled up in episode forty two would supply her
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Speaker 1: with the exact spell she would need to combat a
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Speaker 1: power Belario also got by random chance. The storyteller in
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Speaker 1: me resists the idea that Achillia could defeat this adversary
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Speaker 1: in a single round. But and I think this is
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Speaker 1: really important. If I didn't let her try, I'd be
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Speaker 1: ignoring the story that the dice gods are trying to tell.
12:27
Speaker 1: I've been saying it in every episode for literally years.
12:30
Speaker 1: Tale of the Manticor combines the unpredictability of a paper
12:33
Speaker 1: and dice game with the story craft of a dark
12:36
Speaker 1: fantasy novel. As a solo player, it's moments like these
12:39
Speaker 1: where I most need to allow the story to take
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Speaker 1: me by surprise. Now, I've been saying that Achilia could
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Speaker 1: dispel the Elemental, not will. That's because there's a chance,
12:49
Speaker 1: a small one, that she will fail. Belario is two
12:52
Speaker 1: levels higher than she is, and the rules say she
12:55
Speaker 1: has a five percent chance per level of difference to fail.
12:58
Speaker 1: As a point of interest, scheduled to level up in
13:01
Speaker 1: the very next episode. If he'd waited just a little longer,
13:04
Speaker 1: Achillie's chance to fail would have increased to fifteen percent. Actually,
13:09
Speaker 1: wait a minute, hold the phone, I misspeak. Achille has
13:12
Speaker 1: wand alaser to cast spells as though she were one
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Speaker 1: level higher. Therefore, the effective gap between the two wizards
13:19
Speaker 1: is not two levels, but one. Her chance to fail
13:22
Speaker 1: is five percent, not ten. Okay, at this point, with
13:25
Speaker 1: my deep percentile already on the table right in front
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Speaker 1: of me, there's nothing else to do but roll and
13:30
Speaker 1: discover the will of the dice gods. He goes nothing.
13:34
Speaker 1: I got a fifty seven. The Earth Elemental roared again
13:44
Speaker 1: and charged, moving much faster than seemed possible considering its
13:47
Speaker 1: size and weight. While Cord and Flicker rated themselves for battle,
13:53
Speaker 1: Durani drew one of the last remaining arrows from his quiver,
13:56
Speaker 1: fitted it to his bowstring, pulled and fired all in
14:00
Speaker 1: on fluid motion. His arrows streaked forth, biting deep into
14:03
Speaker 1: the creature's face, but it didn't slow down at all.
14:07
Speaker 1: It didn't even seem to notice. Seeing that, ten Tier
14:10
Speaker 1: tossed his bow to the ground and drew the sword
14:12
Speaker 1: of Learraane. He was on the verge of saying the
14:14
Speaker 1: word of power that would have sent magical fire up
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Speaker 1: its length when Achillee pointed her wand at the onrushing
14:19
Speaker 1: elemental and spoke an arcane word of her own. The
14:23
Speaker 1: moment of the last syllable left her lips, the creature
14:26
Speaker 1: exploded into a fountain of dirt, stones, and clods of earth.
14:35
Speaker 1: Whatever other worldly force had bounded together was gone, and
14:39
Speaker 1: in the empty space where the elemental had been, there
14:42
Speaker 1: was now only swirling, displaced mists. Bellario stared goggle eyed
14:47
Speaker 1: at it. The ease and speed with which its spell
14:50
Speaker 1: had been unwoven was hard to believe. But now the
14:54
Speaker 1: fires of his rage burned even hotter. If his face
14:58
Speaker 1: had been purple before, he was a shade of deep burgundy.
15:01
Speaker 1: Now he looked like he might explode. Kill them, Fimgrin,
15:07
Speaker 1: he commanded.
15:08
Speaker 3: Do something, you, useless, miserable lump cast a.
15:14
Speaker 1: Blario trailed off impotently. He had just realized that fimgrim
15:18
Speaker 1: was no longer standing in the Iron Tower's doorway. Now
15:21
Speaker 1: it stood open and empty, and his apprentice was nowhere
15:24
Speaker 1: to be seen. Assuming he had retreated inside, Balario lost
15:29
Speaker 1: what remained of his composure.
15:30
Speaker 3: Fim grin, you slop brained idiot, you use less milk
15:36
Speaker 3: livered cower, I'll kill you myself all.
15:40
Speaker 1: Then the Gnome stopped in mid sentence. Suddenly realizing just
15:43
Speaker 1: how exposed he was, he made a break for the tower.
15:50
Speaker 1: I think at this point I need to roll initiative.
15:52
Speaker 1: I won't formally enter combat because one way or another,
15:56
Speaker 1: this encounter is only going to last a single round.
15:58
Speaker 1: You'll understand why in a moment. Still, I do need
16:01
Speaker 1: to figure out who acts first. Here's the role for
16:04
Speaker 1: the party. I've got a six and for Blario. The
16:09
Speaker 1: three Flicker blinks forward and raises towards the Gnome, barking ferociously. However,
16:14
Speaker 1: she cannot reach him this round. Court also starts moving
16:17
Speaker 1: so that he'll be within melee range. Next round ten
16:21
Speaker 1: Deer Sword Drawn does the same. Achilia has her wand
16:24
Speaker 1: ready and a new spell on her lips. She casts
16:27
Speaker 1: Charm person on Belario. To save the Gnome will need
16:31
Speaker 1: to roll a twelve or better on a D twenty.
16:33
Speaker 1: His roll a fourteen is good enough, and he makes
16:37
Speaker 1: it safe. Durani is still holding his bow. He draws
16:40
Speaker 1: the last arrow from his quiver and fires. He only
16:43
Speaker 1: needs a four to hit Belario's terrible ac of eleven.
16:47
Speaker 1: The roll A twelve hits easily, and since Belario only
16:52
Speaker 1: has four hip points left, there's a good chance he'll
16:55
Speaker 1: be killed right now? Will he be the roll two
17:00
Speaker 1: points of damage? He is not slain, not yet anyway.
17:06
Speaker 1: Despite the pain from the elven arrow that opened yet
17:08
Speaker 1: another gash in his flesh, Belario laughed.
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Speaker 3: Ah ah.
17:13
Speaker 1: It was a mad laugh, born of the knowledge that
17:15
Speaker 1: he had not only deflected Achillee's spell, but was also
17:18
Speaker 1: guaranteed to reach the safety of the Iron tower. Once inside,
17:22
Speaker 1: they would not be able to touch him, and the empty
17:25
Speaker 1: doorway was only a few strides away. He couldn't resist
17:29
Speaker 1: turning to taw the enemies closing in on him. They
17:32
Speaker 1: could not possibly reach him in time.
17:34
Speaker 3: Flag You'd be pretty foxy, didn't cha. But no one
17:38
Speaker 3: wins against me, No one defeats Belario pays a smile.
17:43
Speaker 1: Belario slammed into nothing. He fell back and laid on
17:49
Speaker 1: the ground, stunned. From Achillee's perspective, the Gnome seemed to
17:53
Speaker 1: have run into an invisible wall, for the tower's entrance
17:56
Speaker 1: remained wide open and empty. That was strange. But when
18:00
Speaker 1: something stranger happened, Belario's body was lifted into the air,
18:04
Speaker 1: as though by a giant unseen hand. As he levitated
18:08
Speaker 1: off the ground, he shook free that dazing he'd sustained
18:11
Speaker 1: from the impact, and began to struggle fiercely.
18:16
Speaker 3: Let me go.
18:17
Speaker 1: But whatever had him had him firmly, and Belario could
18:21
Speaker 1: not escape. Then, still suspended in the air, Bellario's body
18:25
Speaker 1: violently bent in his spine broke in two. As he
18:32
Speaker 1: fell lifeless to the ground, the large shape of fim
18:36
Speaker 1: Grin atresh materialized. Flicker Cord and Tendere had stopped their
18:42
Speaker 1: advance in horror and surprise, and watched it all unfold.
18:45
Speaker 1: Achilia let her wand hand drop to her side. De
18:49
Speaker 1: Rennie lowered his bow. Fimgrin was now fully visible, with
18:54
Speaker 1: his concentration broken. The spell of invisibility taught to him
18:58
Speaker 1: by Blario had ended. He looked down with distaste at
19:02
Speaker 1: the body of his former mentor, then cast a sad
19:06
Speaker 1: look at Achillia.
19:07
Speaker 2: He was a good teacher.
19:09
Speaker 1: He said, softly, but he was a bad person.
19:14
Speaker 2: He was not always this way. He used to be kind.
19:20
Speaker 1: Finally, he reached down and removed the amulet from around
19:23
Speaker 1: Belario's neck, stepped back into the iron tower and shut
19:26
Speaker 1: the door. A few seconds later, the whole structure was gone,
19:32
Speaker 1: leaving a flattened circle of grass and dirt to mark
19:34
Speaker 1: where it had been. The idea of Fimgrim's betrayal was
19:46
Speaker 1: something I'd been toying with for a while. But when
19:49
Speaker 1: the Dice gods dropped betray allies in my lap, it
19:52
Speaker 1: was like they were yelling in my ear. And if
19:55
Speaker 1: I was a bit unsure before about not ending this
19:57
Speaker 1: season with a knock down, drag out, well I was
20:01
Speaker 1: certain of it now. The final confrontation this time around
20:05
Speaker 1: was to be something internal and personal. But it will
20:08
Speaker 1: not be safe and it will not be easy. I
20:11
Speaker 1: have a few ideas about that, but as always, I
20:14
Speaker 1: want mythic to guide me. So here's my de percentile
20:17
Speaker 1: rolling twice on the event meeting tables twenty seven and
20:22
Speaker 1: once again seventeen. This is too much. The results are
20:29
Speaker 1: praise the spiritual, and that says it. All The Dice
20:33
Speaker 1: have spoken as events unfolded, the great three eyed Dragon
20:41
Speaker 1: observed attentively but without interfering, like a parent watching their
20:45
Speaker 1: children at play. Below, Achilia wandered around, as though lost
20:49
Speaker 1: in the circle of flattened earth left by the tower.
20:52
Speaker 1: So many thoughts raced through her mind, all at once.
20:56
Speaker 1: Bellario had been her Boppi's attacker. Why, also confusing Fimgrin
21:03
Speaker 1: had just said that Bellario was his teacher, or at
21:06
Speaker 1: least he'd implied it all along. She had assumed that
21:09
Speaker 1: the gnome was his servant. What was the reason for
21:12
Speaker 1: the deception? And why had he turned on his master?
21:16
Speaker 1: While Achillia searched for answers, Cord and Flicker walked amongst
21:19
Speaker 1: the stone owl idols, also apparently lost in thought, Robin,
21:23
Speaker 1: silent as a statue, remained perched atop Chord's head. As
21:28
Speaker 1: for tentire, he divided his attention between the gleaming dragon
21:32
Speaker 1: and the rows of silver beds and their reclining silver occupants.
21:36
Speaker 1: It was dur Reni who thought to inspect the body
21:39
Speaker 1: of Belario. After a moment of consideration, he reached down
21:43
Speaker 1: to take a few items from the corpse and put
21:45
Speaker 1: them in his bag. When he was done. Something happened
21:48
Speaker 1: that made him gasp and step back. Cutchin's braid, he exclaimed.
21:54
Speaker 1: Achillea cord and tentire all looked over. At first they
21:58
Speaker 1: didn't notice anything special.
22:00
Speaker 3: Body it is changing color.
22:03
Speaker 1: Breathed Dorrenni in wonderment. And so it was. Belario, including
22:08
Speaker 1: all of his clothing and possessions, was turning gray.
22:11
Speaker 3: I think I think he.
22:15
Speaker 1: Is, de Rennie said, as the transformation continued. He's turning
22:19
Speaker 1: to starn Lukilia finished for him. She had come over
22:22
Speaker 1: to stand beside Dornni and watch. Belaria's body was not
22:27
Speaker 1: just petrifying, it was also changing shape. The head pulled
22:30
Speaker 1: into it like a turtle's head into the shell. The
22:33
Speaker 1: arms drew flush with the sides and then fused to them.
22:37
Speaker 1: The legs were tracted into the body as the head
22:39
Speaker 1: had done, and now his entire form was roughly egg shaped.
22:43
Speaker 1: But there was yet another change taking place. The oblong
22:47
Speaker 1: mass expanded and Avian facial features emerged grated in the
22:51
Speaker 1: stone near the top. When it was all over, Dornni
22:56
Speaker 1: was standing in front of a new owl idle, identical
23:00
Speaker 1: to the others in all respects, and with no trace
23:02
Speaker 1: or echo of the person it had once been. The
23:09
Speaker 1: silence that came after felt heavy as one The companions
23:13
Speaker 1: looked up at the dragon, who returned their gaze as
23:15
Speaker 1: though it had been waiting patiently for the moment. Welcome petitioners,
23:23
Speaker 1: it intoned in a deep, rumbling voice.
23:25
Speaker 2: I am the warden of the true Path, a guardian
23:31
Speaker 2: of the silver Sipers and their first temple of a
23:37
Speaker 2: heah tah no ya. Sorrowfully is my name.
23:45
Speaker 1: The dragon's silver scales shone with such brilliance in the
23:48
Speaker 1: morning light that Achilia and the others had to squint
23:51
Speaker 1: to look at it. Its single violet colored horn pointed skyward,
23:55
Speaker 1: and rose vapor escaped its mouth as it spoke. Its
23:59
Speaker 1: large central eye did not blink. When to know yourself
24:02
Speaker 1: folly shifted, beams of light sprayed out in every direction,
24:06
Speaker 1: striking the many owl idols and the six beds of
24:08
Speaker 1: silver arranged in front of it.
24:11
Speaker 2: Which of you I calm to speak.
24:15
Speaker 1: With the glads, he'd asked, although ostrach Achillia found that
24:20
Speaker 1: she was not frightened, and when she answered, her voice
24:23
Speaker 1: was strong and steady.
24:25
Speaker 2: If it pleases.
24:26
Speaker 3: You to know yourself fully, it is never to help
24:29
Speaker 3: or purpose of any of us to speak with.
24:32
Speaker 1: Achille did not know how to name her. She decided
24:35
Speaker 1: on her holiness beside her Durann he shifted uneasily. Privately.
24:42
Speaker 1: He had entertained thoughts about trying to strike a bargain
24:45
Speaker 1: with the goddess of magic. He would have offered anything
24:48
Speaker 1: to have the weight of guilt he carried lifted from
24:50
Speaker 1: his shoulders. Still, the elf held his piece to Know
24:55
Speaker 1: Yourself fully, cocked its massive head at a forty five
24:58
Speaker 1: degree angle in a way that was oddly bird like.
25:02
Speaker 2: Then wah Hazu.
25:05
Speaker 1: Coln Achillia scanned the line of silver beds. Four of
25:10
Speaker 1: the six had a figure lying on them. The first
25:13
Speaker 1: was a large frog headed humanoid whose limbs spilled over
25:17
Speaker 1: the bed's edges because its body was too large for it.
25:20
Speaker 1: Despite being solid silver, it wore a complicated outfit of robes, straps, bandoliers,
25:25
Speaker 1: and pouches. On the next bed reclined a very small figure,
25:29
Speaker 1: only slightly taller than Blrio had been, and by all
25:32
Speaker 1: indications a member of the same race. It had a
25:35
Speaker 1: beard twisted into a spiral that pointed heavenward. The next
25:39
Speaker 1: figure along was definitely Elvin and female, while the fourth
25:43
Speaker 1: and final was human and male of advanced years. It
25:47
Speaker 1: wore a short, neatly trimmed beard and was garbed in
25:49
Speaker 1: a wizard's mantle. Achillia knew who it was. Although she
25:53
Speaker 1: could only see it in profile, there was no mistaking
25:56
Speaker 1: that this was the same face she had seen in
25:59
Speaker 1: the painted portrait that hung in odok Zyagogue's vestibule. She
26:03
Speaker 1: pointed her finger at it.
26:05
Speaker 3: We have counseled to speak with one of the pilgrims,
26:08
Speaker 3: she said.
26:09
Speaker 1: She didn't know what she would do or say if
26:11
Speaker 1: the dragon forbade it.
26:14
Speaker 2: The petitioner has already given two years in sacrifice for
26:19
Speaker 2: the privilege of speaking with the goddess. Are you sure
26:24
Speaker 2: you wish to interrupt that, Akilie hesitated. Sager had told
26:30
Speaker 2: them that petitioners were required to choose between law or
26:34
Speaker 2: chaos upon speaking with the goddess, and that either choice
26:37
Speaker 2: came with a kind of price, but he had not
26:39
Speaker 2: mentioned anything about a sacrifice. Seger had also mentioned the
26:43
Speaker 2: choosing law required giving a gift of true value, whatever
26:47
Speaker 2: that meant. A Kilia felt she was missing some key information.
26:51
Speaker 3: How long must he snake in kartor she asked, four
26:56
Speaker 3: ten thousand days and ten thous den.
27:02
Speaker 1: Was the dragon's elaborate reply, do you still wish for
27:06
Speaker 1: me to awaken him? Achille did a quick calculation. Ten
27:11
Speaker 1: thousand days and nights made for a little more than
27:14
Speaker 1: twenty seven years. That was a long long time. However,
27:18
Speaker 1: looking at the reclining silver z eyegog unmoving and gleaming,
27:22
Speaker 1: she thought that two years was not so long compared
27:25
Speaker 1: to twenty seven, and that if she were truly asleep
27:27
Speaker 1: and unconscious, perhaps he would not mind so much losing
27:31
Speaker 1: the time. That she had come all this way only
27:34
Speaker 1: for this single reason, the choice was not as difficult
27:37
Speaker 1: as it might have been.
27:38
Speaker 3: LUs, please are rolt on this man.
27:45
Speaker 2: Before warned that the petitioner might be offender.
27:51
Speaker 1: Declared the dragon in a deep, rich rumble.
27:55
Speaker 2: And I will not interfear should he decide you take tribute?
28:04
Speaker 2: Are you sat?
28:05
Speaker 1: Achilia suddenly wondered if the dragon was speaking in Elvish
28:10
Speaker 1: or the common tongue, for it seemed like neither language.
28:14
Speaker 1: Perhaps it was the same one that Ioni had used,
28:17
Speaker 1: the one that all of them could understand at once.
28:20
Speaker 1: She turned to her friend.
28:22
Speaker 3: Tom, What should ill do?
28:25
Speaker 1: Tell him? To wake the wizard. Durreni answered, Achilia sucked
28:31
Speaker 1: her underlip and looked right into the dragon's face. Ranking
28:38
Speaker 1: to know youselfully woke up. Odok Zaygok. Thank you for
28:45
Speaker 1: listening to Tale of the Manticore. If you are interested
28:48
Speaker 1: in helping the show to grow and thrive, here are
28:51
Speaker 1: a few easy ways to do so. You can recommend her,
28:54
Speaker 1: like and repost episode announcements on social media. Purchase a
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Speaker 1: Tale of the Manticore T shirt at bare archsdot's store
28:59
Speaker 1: or one of my offerings on drive through RPG. Rate
29:02
Speaker 1: and review the show on your favorite podcatcher will give
29:04
Speaker 1: me a sub on YouTube. I am very grateful for
29:06
Speaker 1: all of your support. At this point, I'd love to
29:09
Speaker 1: read a review from Apple Podcasts. This one was left
29:12
Speaker 1: by myth and Moon. Myth and Moon writes John at
29:16
Speaker 1: Tail of the Manticor has done something really special. He's
29:19
Speaker 1: taken the best story craft arcs, dramatic interplay, flare, and
29:22
Speaker 1: extensive world building from the fantasy genre and removed all
29:25
Speaker 1: the extraneous visual noise and goofy nonsense that contemporary storytellers
29:30
Speaker 1: may use. No flashy sights or loud personalities only curated
29:34
Speaker 1: stories and sounds, add in homebrew, well managed cannon and lore,
29:38
Speaker 1: and wrap it in an incredibly popular imaginary game of chance.
29:41
Speaker 1: And he's concocted something so riveting and inspirational that many
29:44
Speaker 1: others seek to emulate his presentation. Thanks very very much
29:48
Speaker 1: to Myth and Moon for that generous comment. It means
29:51
Speaker 1: a lot, especially coming from a couple of creators that
29:53
Speaker 1: I really admire. Myth and Moon also make a hybrid
29:56
Speaker 1: D and D show, only they put a brand new
29:58
Speaker 1: twist on it by having two creators at the helm,
30:02
Speaker 1: James and Coop. I appreciate you. This feels like a
30:05
Speaker 1: good time to mention that I'm going to be at
30:07
Speaker 1: gen Con this year in just about ten days. It
30:09
Speaker 1: would seem if you have thoughts or questions about the show,
30:12
Speaker 1: or if you'd just like to say hi, I'd love
30:14
Speaker 1: to meet you. I know that Coop from Myth and
30:16
Speaker 1: Moon will be there too, and there's a good chance
30:18
Speaker 1: you'll find us hanging out together. It occurs to me
30:21
Speaker 1: that finding the two of us amongst the tens of
30:23
Speaker 1: thousands of attendees might not be the easiest thing, so
30:27
Speaker 1: I will post my itinerary on the blog that way
30:30
Speaker 1: you'll know where I'll be at certain times and dates. Anyway,
30:33
Speaker 1: if you'd like to come by and say hello. At
30:35
Speaker 1: this point, I'd like to thank my wonderful cast of
30:38
Speaker 1: voice actors and what a wealth of talent I have
30:41
Speaker 1: got in this episode. In order of appearance, they are Bellario,
30:45
Speaker 1: paisl Stitch is played by hodag RPG fimgrim Atresh is
30:50
Speaker 1: played by Ian Woodworth, co host of the Undercommon Taste podcast.
30:54
Speaker 1: De Renni is played by Ky Ellen, and to Know
30:57
Speaker 1: Yourself Fooley is played by Jared Hess, fellow Solo RPG
31:01
Speaker 1: and host of the podcast role Ponder and Play. For
31:04
Speaker 1: those of you who wish to find other creators like myself,
31:07
Speaker 1: like Myth and Moon or role Ponder and Play, please
31:10
Speaker 1: check out Solo Roleplayers Network dot com. And if you're
31:13
Speaker 1: curious to learn more about this show, I keep a
31:15
Speaker 1: blog where I post all kinds of show and RPG
31:17
Speaker 1: related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts, and show ups.
31:22
Speaker 1: You can find it at Talesvithmanticore dot com. If I'm
31:25
Speaker 1: not going to meet you at gen Con, you can
31:26
Speaker 1: always get in touch with me on Blue Sky, Instagram
31:29
Speaker 1: or Gmail. The adventure will continue next time. On Tale
31:33
Speaker 1: of the Manticore, it's the story. We're chaos roles