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Episode 11 (S03E11) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Childclips and you are listening to Tale
0:03
Speaker 1: of the Manticor. The following podcast is intended for a
0:10
Speaker 1: mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale
0:28
Speaker 1: of the Manticor Season three. Like the creature from which
0:32
Speaker 1: it takes its name, Tale of the Manticor is a mashup,
0:36
Speaker 1: a cross breeding between two different species of storytelling. Here
0:40
Speaker 1: you will find the unpredictability of old school paper and
0:43
Speaker 1: dice games with the story craft of a dark fantasy novel.
0:47
Speaker 1: No character is sacred, and none will be spared if
0:50
Speaker 1: the dice decide their fate is at hand. According to lore,
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Speaker 1: the Tale of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
1:00
Speaker 1: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
1:12
Speaker 1: time on Tale of the Manticor, Chapter ten begins with
1:15
Speaker 1: their second level up of the game, and when the
1:17
Speaker 1: story continues, it does so with the flashback showing a
1:21
Speaker 1: younger Achillea that she fills her spell book with magic
1:24
Speaker 1: she doesn't understand. Reaching level two unlocks one of the
1:28
Speaker 1: spells that has always eluded her. When we return to
1:31
Speaker 1: the present, we learn the result of an earlier wandering encounter.
1:34
Speaker 1: Roll four orcs have survived a vicious battle among their
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Speaker 1: own kind, and they are eluding the bodies of the
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Speaker 1: dead when the Companions happen upon them. Once aware of
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Speaker 1: the party's presence, they attack. The combat that ensues goes
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Speaker 1: well for the PCs, who escape with only minor injuries
1:50
Speaker 1: and manage to kill all four of the enemy Orcs.
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Speaker 1: During the fight, Chord casts the spell in Tangle for
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Speaker 1: the first time, surprising himself and everyone else with his
2:00
Speaker 1: ability to command nature. Once the battle is over, the
2:04
Speaker 1: companion spends some time looking for items of value among
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Speaker 1: the dead. After a while, ten Tier calls out it
2:10
Speaker 1: seems he has found something interesting. Chapter eleven, Part one
2:25
Speaker 1: Day eleven night mythic event meaning abandoned suffering party status
2:34
Speaker 1: Achillea seven of seven hit points, Court nine of eleven,
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Speaker 1: de Renni six of six, ten Tier four of six supplies.
2:50
Speaker 1: The Companions have fourteen portions of food and nine of water.
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Speaker 1: Spells available. Achillea has memorized shrink Cord can cast locate
3:02
Speaker 1: plants and animals.
3:07
Speaker 2: To Rennie, come over here and look at this.
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Speaker 1: Ten Tier was crouching down in front of a pile
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Speaker 1: of Orc bodies. He unceremoniously lifted one of the corpse's
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Speaker 1: legs as his brother approached to show him the bottom
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Speaker 1: of a heavy boot.
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Speaker 3: Are there others like this?
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Speaker 1: Dear any wanted to know?
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Speaker 2: It seems like every other one?
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Speaker 1: Came the reply, What does that mean? Asked ta Kilia.
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Speaker 1: She could see that the bottom of the orc's boot
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Speaker 1: had been painted rusty red, but she didn't understand the implication.
3:37
Speaker 1: When Tentyer had called out, she had been hunting for
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Speaker 1: a dagger to replace her lost one. The blade in
3:42
Speaker 1: her hand was the fifth she had inspected, but only
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Speaker 1: the first to meet with her approval. Orcish weapons were
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Speaker 1: crude and poorly made. For the most part.
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Speaker 2: Half of these dead belonged to the blood Foot tribe.
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Speaker 2: Their home is miles to the south and east, close
3:56
Speaker 2: enough to the Setevy Marsh that they are known to.
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Speaker 4: Us, explained Who are the other hath?
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Speaker 2: Then?
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Speaker 3: De Rennie shrugged, I have no idea. There are no
4:06
Speaker 3: markings on their weapons or armor.
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Speaker 1: As she had rifled through their belongings, Achilie had noticed
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Speaker 1: that some of the Orcs bore tattoos on their forearms.
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Speaker 1: She pointed this out to the two brothers while Court
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Speaker 1: stood patiently near by. Listening to but unable to follow
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Speaker 1: their conversation.
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Speaker 3: Yes, these do seem to be tribal markings.
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Speaker 1: Said do Rennie, inspecting several of them.
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Speaker 3: But I have not seen their like before.
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Speaker 1: The tattoos were like the weapons and armor Gridly made.
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Speaker 1: They didn't resemble much of anything beyond black smears. Perhaps
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Speaker 1: that's why de Renni hadn't noticed them before.
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Speaker 3: What do you make of fees.
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Speaker 1: He asked ten Tyr. The other elf examined the tattoos
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Speaker 1: in the low light and shrugged helplessly. After Achilia explained
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Speaker 1: their conversation to court and asked his opinion, the wooden
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Speaker 1: construct scratched a dowel finger against his chin and then
4:56
Speaker 1: pointed at the sky.
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Speaker 4: Clouds. Asked Akilia, black clouds.
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Speaker 1: Kord nodded in his way. He was not wrong, she thought,
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Speaker 1: cocking her head to one side. They did somewhat resemble clouds.
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Speaker 1: She stood up, tucking the new dagger into her belt
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Speaker 1: along with the old one.
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Speaker 4: Had you ever heard of a black cloud tribe?
5:17
Speaker 1: She asked the brothers. They frowned and shook their heads.
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Speaker 2: We should discuss it.
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Speaker 1: Later, suggested Tantire.
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Speaker 2: For now, let's get clear of this place, find somewhere
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Speaker 2: to make camp.
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Speaker 1: He looked around, peering into the gloaming.
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Speaker 2: There might be more of them.
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Speaker 1: He had a point. There were a lot of bodies
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Speaker 1: on the ground, perhaps more than two dozen, but not
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Speaker 1: enough to constitute a whole tribe, let alone too. If
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Speaker 1: what Altra had taught her was correct, good idea, Achilia said.
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Speaker 4: Let's get go. Wait a minute, what's that?
5:47
Speaker 1: She interrupted herself when something among the dead caught her eye.
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Speaker 1: It was a flash of gold between the lines. The
6:03
Speaker 1: elves and the orcs of Merith. For the past four years,
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Speaker 1: I've shied away from writing about elves and orcs. Aside
6:11
Speaker 1: from a single brief encounter with an elf in season one,
6:14
Speaker 1: both races have been absent from Tale of the Manticor,
6:17
Speaker 1: and not for no reason. Elves and orcs are hard
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Speaker 1: to write about, But I'm embracing what I feel is
6:24
Speaker 1: a tough challenge this season, in part because the Dice
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Speaker 1: have led me to it, but also because I think
6:29
Speaker 1: I'm more up to the task this time around, at
6:32
Speaker 1: least I hope I am. So what's so tough about
6:35
Speaker 1: using elves and orcs? A lot? Actually, old school d
6:40
Speaker 1: and d elves are a tolkienesque Mary Sue race. They
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Speaker 1: are good at everything and have all kinds of advantages
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Speaker 1: over the other races. I've already talked about that in
6:49
Speaker 1: an earlier episode, so I won't rehash my concerns on
6:52
Speaker 1: that front. In Tale of the Manticor. I'm taking them
6:55
Speaker 1: down a few pegs, separating race and class, so they
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Speaker 1: aren't all spellcasters. I'm reimagining them as something one might
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Speaker 1: call wild elves or wood elves. Dur Any and Tentior
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Speaker 1: are not the tall, silvery haired angel like beings of
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Speaker 1: Middle Earth, but are closer to the characters of the
7:13
Speaker 1: Elf Quest comic if you happen to remember that series.
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Speaker 1: They live in smaller communities that are integrated into the
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Speaker 1: natural environment in a way that humans would find very
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Speaker 1: chaotic and distressingly asymmetrical. Their culture, like songs and art
7:28
Speaker 1: and poetry, as well as the things they produce, such
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Speaker 1: as weapons and armor and other mondaane items, would be
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Speaker 1: made over very long periods of time, and their quality
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Speaker 1: would reflect that. However, Elvin life spans won't last a
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Speaker 1: thousand years Untail of the Manticor. The character Valkein, for example,
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Speaker 1: is two hundred and thirty years old three hundred would
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Speaker 1: be considered ancient. Elvinkind will also be shorter in stature
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Speaker 1: than seems cannon in D and D. They'll measure four
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Speaker 1: to four and a half feet tall and will have
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Speaker 1: physical strength that my which is their size and weight.
8:01
Speaker 1: That's enough about elves for now, but let's talk about
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Speaker 1: their ancestral enemies for a bit. Orks are in many
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Speaker 1: ways the anti elf opposite in body and mind. They
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Speaker 1: make things quickly, poorly, and with speed of production valued
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Speaker 1: over durability. The life of an orc is short, even
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Speaker 1: by human standards, as very few survive the commonplace violence
8:22
Speaker 1: of their society and habits long enough to become old. Now,
8:27
Speaker 1: if elves of gaming and literature tend towards two perfect
8:30
Speaker 1: orcs are well, they kind of seem to have an
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Speaker 1: identity crisis. Are they the British beast men of Tolkien's world?
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Speaker 1: Are they the green skinned noble savages found in Blizzard's
8:40
Speaker 1: World of Warcraft series. I'm tending towards the former, using
8:44
Speaker 1: an old trope of Orcs having por signed faces and pale,
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Speaker 1: pinkish gray skin tail of the Mantigre. Orcs are tribal
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Speaker 1: and nomadic. They all mark themselves with some sign or other,
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Speaker 1: as we've seen with the Blood Foot tribe and the
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Speaker 1: Black Clouds. Orkish leaders would be their warlords or shamans
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Speaker 1: in cases where they're being led by their own kind
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Speaker 1: and not some other type of more powerful being. I
9:07
Speaker 1: wanted to mention that when I realized I'd be getting
9:09
Speaker 1: into the world of Orcs in some depth. My research
9:12
Speaker 1: brought me to the Monster Man podcast hosted by James Halloway.
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Speaker 1: His episode on them was fascinating. Apparently the word orc
9:20
Speaker 1: doesn't come from Tolkien, as I'd assumed, but from a
9:23
Speaker 1: combination of Old English and Etruscan mythologies, where they're called orknea.
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Speaker 1: I might be mispronouncing that, by the way, which means
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Speaker 1: evil spirit or monster that devours. It's a pretty broad description,
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Speaker 1: but I'd say it solves the can Orcs be good debate.
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Speaker 1: The verdict is in they cannot. Orcs are evil to
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Speaker 1: the core. It's right in the name. If it had
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Speaker 1: been one hour later, or if the moon had been
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Speaker 1: less bright, she might have missed it. A little flash
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Speaker 1: of gold peeking out from under a blood soaked cloak
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Speaker 1: worn by one of the bigger Orc corpses. She reached
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Speaker 1: down and hefted a wooden chest the size of a
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Speaker 1: loaf of bread. It was heavy, and she could hear
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Speaker 1: the distinct sound of coins, lots of them, sliding around
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Speaker 1: within The flesh she had taken for gold turned out
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Speaker 1: to be a clasp made of brass. Oh minute, said Tentyre,
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Speaker 1: his eyes wide. He had got the sound too.
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Speaker 4: Maybe we should leave this place before.
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Speaker 1: We do that, Kilia replied, suddenly feeling exposed and looking
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Speaker 1: around into the encroaching shadows of the night. Cord was
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Speaker 1: not really paying them any attention. He too had seen
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Speaker 1: something of interest, and on the same corpse that carried
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Speaker 1: the chest. Bending down, he retrieved a battle axe with
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Speaker 1: a squared off blade on one side and a spike
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Speaker 1: on the other. Derennie walked over to inspect the constructs.
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Speaker 3: Find that's not of Orc manufacture, he said, Most likely
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Speaker 3: it was made by men.
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Speaker 4: Are there men in this part of the world, asked Akilia.
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Speaker 1: She hadn't mentioned do to dur Renni or his brother,
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Speaker 1: and didn't intend to. The elf shrugged.
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Speaker 3: Honestly, I have no idea, but I like your idea
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Speaker 3: of putting some distance between us and displace more and
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Speaker 3: more Achila, One last.
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Speaker 1: Thing, said ten Tyr. Croching by the dead ork's feet,
11:21
Speaker 1: he lifted a heavy boot and inspected the bottom. Bloodfoot,
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Speaker 1: asked der Rennie. Ten Tyrs shook his head.
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Speaker 2: Must be from the other tribe. Should we strip his
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Speaker 2: armor and check his forearms for markings?
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Speaker 1: Waste of time, opined de Rennie.
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Speaker 3: He must be one of the black clouds, or whenever
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Speaker 3: you wish to call them, there will have only been
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Speaker 3: the two tribes here.
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Speaker 1: Come on, let's go, said Achilia, impatient to leave. The
11:49
Speaker 1: crows were starting to return, and they made her nervous
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Speaker 1: for some reason. As there was nothing else to do
11:55
Speaker 1: at the sight of the York's battle, everyone agreed and
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Speaker 1: headed for the nearest tree, as the silvery half moon
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Speaker 1: shone above them. I wonder why it is that these
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Speaker 1: two tribes are fighting. It's probably a territorial dispute. But
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Speaker 1: what pushed one tribe into the path of the other
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Speaker 1: to begin with? The simplest answer can be supplied by
12:23
Speaker 1: my event meaning abandoned suffering. I interpret this as one tribe,
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Speaker 1: the Bloodfoot tribe, having been driven out of their lands
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Speaker 1: by something that caused them terrible hardship. So what kind
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Speaker 1: of suffering did they abandon? It could be anything from
12:38
Speaker 1: a big predator to war, to disease, or something else entirely,
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Speaker 1: but I don't need to figure that out just yet.
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Speaker 1: It's enough to say that the Bloodfoot tribe has come
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Speaker 1: into Black Cloud territory and the Black Clouds aren't keen
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Speaker 1: to share now, despite there being lots of orcs in
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Speaker 1: the vicinity. I'll say that the pieces will not face
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Speaker 1: any more danger tonight, so that means I'm free to
12:58
Speaker 1: make some rolls for day twelve. For weather a seventeen
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Speaker 1: that's favorable, I'll say there's a light fog that helps
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Speaker 1: the companions travel unseen, at least in the morning hours.
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Speaker 1: Stumble upon a ten no result. Forging a six on
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Speaker 1: D six is a failure. These lands are getting hillier
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Speaker 1: and rockier. Food is scarce, No wonder the Black Cloud
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Speaker 1: tribe can afford to share their land. Now, for a
13:25
Speaker 1: more important wandering encounter, roll a five or six on
13:29
Speaker 1: a D six will indicate that there is one A five, Wow,
13:33
Speaker 1: this is a dangerous area. This time, I won't roll
13:36
Speaker 1: on a table. A simple high low will do Low
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Speaker 1: means more orcs. High will trigger a special set piece encounter.
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Speaker 1: I have in mind the roll lo more orcs. It
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Speaker 1: will be at this point. I'm going to roll my
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Speaker 1: D six one more time and subtract one. That'll be
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Speaker 1: the number of orcs encountered. So that's zero to five
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Speaker 1: my roll. Okay, and one more role for a day
14:01
Speaker 1: or a night encounter day. That's enough for now. Any
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Speaker 1: other roles I'll make off mic as they become necessary.
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Speaker 1: It's time to get back to the story. Chapter eleven,
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Speaker 1: Part two, Day twelve afternoon MYSIC event meaning move stalemate.
14:29
Speaker 1: Huh how interesting. Party status Achillea seven out of seven
14:35
Speaker 1: hit points, Court ten out of eleven, having healed one
14:40
Speaker 1: hit point overnight, de Renni six of six ten Tier
14:47
Speaker 1: five of six, having healed one hit point overnight. Supplies.
14:52
Speaker 1: The companions have eleven portions of food and six of
14:56
Speaker 1: water spells available. Achillia has memori shrink and message cord
15:03
Speaker 1: can cast and tangle and locate plants and animals. The
15:13
Speaker 1: previous evening, Achillia and Dorenni had opened the orc's small
15:17
Speaker 1: chest and discovered one hundred coins inside, fifty of silver
15:21
Speaker 1: and fifty of gold. There had also been a dried
15:24
Speaker 1: mushroom cream colored with lavender speckles included in the contents.
15:29
Speaker 1: Achillia knew what it was, an infinity milk cap, frequently
15:33
Speaker 1: used in alchemy. If consumed, he could separate the eater
15:36
Speaker 1: from their sanity in a matter of minutes, with the
15:39
Speaker 1: effect lasting hours. Ten Tier and Durani knew of the
15:42
Speaker 1: plant's properties too, but more importantly, they knew what its
15:46
Speaker 1: inclusion with the treasures signified. This money was intended as
15:50
Speaker 1: a tribute or bribe. It was common practice among Orcs
15:54
Speaker 1: to recruit mercenaries or buy safe passage, and the infinity
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Speaker 1: milk cap was often given as a symbolic gift. The
16:01
Speaker 1: brothers found something confusing, however, The jest had been in
16:05
Speaker 1: possession of a Black Cloud tribe ORC, not a Blood
16:08
Speaker 1: Foot ORC, which was the tribe that needed safe passage.
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Speaker 3: My guess is the Black Cloud double crossed the blood
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Speaker 3: Foot after payment was given. Orcs are not the most
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Speaker 3: honorable of creatures.
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Speaker 1: After all, they were traveling in single file once again.
16:24
Speaker 1: It was afternoon, and the orange ball of the sun
16:27
Speaker 1: had long ago burned away the cloaking mists that had
16:29
Speaker 1: allowed them to travel without fear of being seen. There
16:33
Speaker 1: were few trees here. The land they crossed was open,
16:36
Speaker 1: and the companions felt exposed. Most train that spread out
16:40
Speaker 1: before them to the north was hill and rock. Some
16:43
Speaker 1: hills were bare, others were tufted in tall grass, and
16:46
Speaker 1: the diminutive elves tried to keep to these when possible.
16:50
Speaker 1: One consolation, the same conditions that made them easily visible
16:54
Speaker 1: also permitted them to see far distances. Ten Tier was
16:58
Speaker 1: in the late so it was he whose spot it
17:00
Speaker 1: at first, Up ahead the remnants of a camp fire
17:03
Speaker 1: on the lee side of an arrant boulder. The companions
17:07
Speaker 1: decided to investigate, and even after a cursory examination, it
17:11
Speaker 1: was clear.
17:12
Speaker 2: Orcs made camp here, three or four of them yesterday.
17:17
Speaker 1: Ten Deer scowled as he spoke.
17:18
Speaker 2: I fear we are headed directly into the heart of
17:21
Speaker 2: Black Cloud territory. We'll need to be very careful for
17:26
Speaker 2: the next day. At least.
17:28
Speaker 1: Robin, sitting atop Achillie's head as was for wont, peeped
17:32
Speaker 1: as though in agreement, while the others nodded, sharing expressions
17:35
Speaker 1: of concern among themselves. The feeling of tension and hypervigilance
17:39
Speaker 1: accompanied them as they pushed forward, going over or around hillocks.
17:43
Speaker 1: As they put some distance between themselves and the Orcish campsite.
17:47
Speaker 1: At one point, a kaleidoscope of curious butterflies with wings
17:51
Speaker 1: of sapphire, red, and gold followed them, but even these
17:54
Speaker 1: colorful creatures could not lift their spirits. By the time
17:58
Speaker 1: the sun was beginning to dip, the members of the party,
18:01
Speaker 1: traveling once again in single file, had discovered several other
18:04
Speaker 1: signs of Orcish presence in the area, a bootprint in
18:07
Speaker 1: dried mud, a rusted spearhead, and on four occasions, little
18:12
Speaker 1: piles of stones stacked into roughly pyramidical shapes. Durni explained
18:17
Speaker 1: to Achilia that there were something to do with the
18:19
Speaker 1: Orc's religion. He'd only seen a few of them in
18:22
Speaker 1: his entire life and had always been solitary. He was
18:25
Speaker 1: somehow disturbing to see so many here. A collective feeling
18:30
Speaker 1: of relief came over the group when Tantyr pointed ahead
18:33
Speaker 1: and quietly declared.
18:35
Speaker 2: Woods ahead, I can just make out the tree line.
18:39
Speaker 2: If we hurry, we'll make it there before dark.
18:42
Speaker 1: Despite their fatigue, each of them was happy to put
18:44
Speaker 1: in the effort to regain the cover of trees, so
18:47
Speaker 1: they ignored the ache and their feet and pushed themselves ten.
18:51
Speaker 1: Teir's estimate turned out to be correct, and the party
18:54
Speaker 1: came within a hundred yards of a thick wall of maple,
18:57
Speaker 1: oak and juniper with just a half hour of daylight rene.
19:01
Speaker 1: The sky was now clustered with puffy clouds, their undersides
19:04
Speaker 1: lit with pink, orange, and magenta. But the companion's attention
19:08
Speaker 1: was not on them for long because ahead, and just
19:11
Speaker 1: a bow shots distance away, out of the woods, strode
19:14
Speaker 1: three large figures orcs. As soon as the companion saw them,
19:19
Speaker 1: they knew they too had been seen. Strangely, instead of
19:23
Speaker 1: waving their weapons menacingly and calling out in challenge, the
19:26
Speaker 1: three orcs exchanged a few brief words between them and
19:29
Speaker 1: then retreated back into the trees. I don't always do it,
19:36
Speaker 1: but earlier, when I rolled up this wandering encounter, I
19:38
Speaker 1: decided to determine distance at random, So off Mike, I
19:42
Speaker 1: rolled four D six times ten and got an encounter
19:45
Speaker 1: distance of one hundred yards. I also rolled for surprise
19:48
Speaker 1: and learned that neither side would be in the spirit
19:51
Speaker 1: of the truly random hex crawl. I even made a
19:53
Speaker 1: reaction roll, thinking that although three orcs wouldn't be threatened,
19:57
Speaker 1: by a group of four obviously smaller and apparently weaker beings.
20:01
Speaker 1: They might not attack immediately. That I surprised me. The
20:06
Speaker 1: Orcs would not attack. Instead, they would try to leave.
20:09
Speaker 1: I wonder now, how would the PCs react to this
20:13
Speaker 1: turn of events. Their various personalities, I think would make
20:17
Speaker 1: for a mix of opinions. Cheuchin's breed swore to Rennie,
20:24
Speaker 1: and then he wheeled on Cord, glaring at him.
20:27
Speaker 3: He was your magic.
20:28
Speaker 1: But Kord did not understand a word. And besides, it
20:31
Speaker 1: was too late. The Orcs were already gone from sight.
20:35
Speaker 1: Achillie did not care for Dorenny's tone and had a
20:37
Speaker 1: different view of the situation.
20:39
Speaker 4: Those might have been bloodfoot arcs. We should let them go.
20:43
Speaker 1: The older l forrolled his eyes.
20:45
Speaker 3: And if you're wrong, what then They'll raised the alarm
20:49
Speaker 3: and soon will have every damned Orc from every damned
20:52
Speaker 3: cave upon us.
20:54
Speaker 1: He started after them, and ten Teer, perhaps because elved
20:57
Speaker 1: and culture gave power to the most senior of the group, followed,
21:00
Speaker 1: unslinging his bow as he went. Achilia felt her face
21:04
Speaker 1: turn hot, but she swallowed her anchor and turned to court.
21:07
Speaker 1: Come on, She too, ran for the trees, in pursuit
21:11
Speaker 1: of the fleeing Orcs, while a startled Robin flew from
21:13
Speaker 1: her head court in confusion. Came last. We find ourselves
21:22
Speaker 1: in yet another chase scene, but this time the script
21:25
Speaker 1: hads flipped and to PC's are the ones doing the chasing.
21:28
Speaker 1: Let's get some dice and see how it'll play out.
21:31
Speaker 1: I'm giving the Orcs a big bonus to account for
21:33
Speaker 1: their heads start and for the fact that the forest
21:35
Speaker 1: will quickly break line of sight. A plus two to
21:38
Speaker 1: their role feels about right. Actually I give even more,
21:42
Speaker 1: but I have to justify the orc's decision to run.
21:44
Speaker 1: One of them is probably wounded, otherwise they would have
21:47
Speaker 1: rushed into battle. Of course, there might be something else
21:50
Speaker 1: going on here, like an ambush. I suppose the dice
21:53
Speaker 1: will let us know in due course. Let's get into
21:55
Speaker 1: this pursuit. Round one the Orcs one plus two is
22:05
Speaker 1: three interesting the party, but four the Orcs leave a
22:10
Speaker 1: clear path of broken foliage, and their direction into the
22:13
Speaker 1: forest is easy to see even in twilight. When ten
22:16
Speaker 1: two discovers it and points it out to the others,
22:19
Speaker 1: they redouble their efforts. The party will now gain a
22:21
Speaker 1: plus one to their role. Round two. The Orcs A
22:26
Speaker 1: six plus two is eight. The party four plus one
22:31
Speaker 1: is five. The path the Orcs have taken is too
22:34
Speaker 1: obvious for Durni's liking one into the woods and the
22:36
Speaker 1: shadows close around them. He suddenly suspects a trap. He slows,
22:41
Speaker 1: and the hesitation costs him. The Orcs will get an
22:44
Speaker 1: additional plus one to their roll. Each side now has
22:47
Speaker 1: one success of the three needed to prevail. Round three,
22:51
Speaker 1: the Orcs four plus three is seven. The Party six
22:57
Speaker 1: plus one is seven. It's a tie. Ambush or not.
23:01
Speaker 1: Duranty pulls his sword and uses it to point along
23:03
Speaker 1: the broken trail of ferns and bushes that way.
23:06
Speaker 3: He cries, don't let them escape.
23:09
Speaker 1: My pursuit rule says that a modifier must be added
23:11
Speaker 1: every round, even a tie round. I think the Orcs
23:14
Speaker 1: still have the advantage, so I'm increasing their bonus to
23:17
Speaker 1: plus four. Round four, the Orcs three plus four is seven.
23:23
Speaker 1: The party the two plus one is three. Tentier now
23:28
Speaker 1: in the lead crashes through the bush, bow in one
23:31
Speaker 1: hand and an arrow in the other. It's dark now,
23:34
Speaker 1: as the thick canopy is cut off. Almost all of
23:37
Speaker 1: the light supplied by the half moon overhead. With the
23:40
Speaker 1: light so low, ten Tyre's intra vision is beginning to
23:42
Speaker 1: compete with his day vision, and the result is that
23:45
Speaker 1: he cannot see well with either. In fact, he has
23:48
Speaker 1: lost the trail. The Orcs have now won two pursuit
23:51
Speaker 1: rounds and only need one more. I'm increasing their lead
23:54
Speaker 1: to a plus five, which all but ensures that they
23:56
Speaker 1: will escape at the next round. But let's see what
23:58
Speaker 1: the dice have to say. Round five. The Orcs four
24:03
Speaker 1: plus five is nine. The party three plus one is four. Ten.
24:09
Speaker 1: Tire has no choice. He has to give up. The
24:12
Speaker 1: Orcs might have gone in any direction, and blundering around
24:15
Speaker 1: these unfamiliar woods in the gloom is foolhardy. He stops,
24:19
Speaker 1: breathing hard and waiting for the others to catch up,
24:22
Speaker 1: which a few seconds later they do. Which way?
24:37
Speaker 3: Ten tier, which way?
24:40
Speaker 1: Rasped Dernni between hard breaths. Tendu just shook his head
24:45
Speaker 1: Chiu Chin's braid, Chris Dorrenni again, swatting a nearby tree
24:49
Speaker 1: trunk with his sword and frustration. Then, in a final effort,
24:53
Speaker 1: he closed his eyes and listened for any sounds the
24:55
Speaker 1: escaping Orcs might be making. But there was nothing, no
24:59
Speaker 1: sign of them all. Reluctantly, he gave up, drawing his
25:03
Speaker 1: free hand down over his face in defeat. Thanks for
25:11
Speaker 1: listening to Tale of the Manticor. If you're enjoying the
25:14
Speaker 1: show and I would like to help the support it,
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Speaker 1: there are lots of ways to do so. You can
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Speaker 1: recommend the show online or to friends. You can like
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Speaker 1: and repost episode announcements on social media. You can pick
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Speaker 1: up one of my offerings on drive through RPG. You
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25:33
Speaker 1: can rate or review the show on your podcast troupe choice.
25:35
Speaker 1: I am grateful for all of your support. Here's another
25:39
Speaker 1: kind listener review. This one was left by win More
25:43
Speaker 1: Games on Apple podcasts win More Games Rights. This is
25:47
Speaker 1: my favorite podcast. I thought I would take this momentous
25:50
Speaker 1: occasion to review Tale of the Manticor. There's so much
25:53
Speaker 1: to love about this story, but for now, I'll just
25:56
Speaker 1: say I am so excited that we have another elf
25:58
Speaker 1: in this story. Wait to hear what happens next. Thanks
26:02
Speaker 1: very much, win More Games. The elf count is climbing.
26:06
Speaker 1: I truly appreciate your taking the time to leave that review,
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Speaker 1: and of course I am delighted that you're enjoying the
26:11
Speaker 1: new season. By way of saying thanks, I'm going to
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Speaker 1: write your name into Tale of the Manticor lore and
26:17
Speaker 1: say that Win Morgem will be Elvish for thank you,
26:20
Speaker 1: So Win Morgem very much, Win more games. This episode
26:25
Speaker 1: features the voices of regulars Kyellen and Kevin Barringer, playing
26:28
Speaker 1: Durnny and Tentire, respectively. Thanks as always for your contributions, guys.
26:33
Speaker 1: It wouldn't be the same without you. For listeners who
26:37
Speaker 1: are curious to learn a bit more about Tale of
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Speaker 1: the Mantacre, I keep a blog where I post all
26:41
Speaker 1: kinds of show and RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts,
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Speaker 1: and show notes. You can find it at tale of
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Speaker 1: Themanticore dot blogsbog dot com. To get in touch with me,
26:51
Speaker 1: I'm at Mansacore tale on X, Tale of the Manticor
26:54
Speaker 1: podcast on Instagram, or Tale of Themanticre at gmail dot com.
26:58
Speaker 1: I would be delighted to hear from you. The adventure
27:01
Speaker 1: will continue on the next episode of Tale of the Manticorn.
27:04
Speaker 1: It's the story where chaos rolls