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Episode 7: Fall of Magic Game Session pt 3 · Story Games

• Maggie Studio: Hello everyone and welcome back to Story Games, a podcast brought to you by Heart of the Deer-Nicorn. We are a podcast all about your favorite narrative-driven tabletop role-playing games. My name is Memo and I will be your host. Today I'm so excited to bring you more Fall of Magic. This is part three, so if you have not watched part one or two, please make sure you do that. I am absolutely loving how this series is turning out so far. I think we're telling such a cool story and I'm so happy that you're along for the ride. Anyway, I won't take up too much more of your time, so enjoy Fall of Magic Part 3. Hello everyone and welcome back to Heart of the Dunicorn. My name is Momo and I am here with Bloom and with Cruz and we are back for more Fall of Magic and I'm really excited because this game is so cool and I think the story we're telling together is awesome. I know everyone says that about the role-playing games that they play, but ours is really actually awesome. Verifiable. Perfect. So, let's do a recap. And then I have some more instructions to read before we progress to the next areas. So, last time on Fall of Magic. We were in Barleytown. We were in Barleytown. We did shopping, we had a shopping episode. We did, we had a little market episode. With the candy candy flies. Yep. What was with the whispering is my question. ⁓ there was whispering because we went to the old Abbey. and we'd established that there's a pantheon of gods for which the Magus is the demigod of the bird god. Yes. ⁓ There were others as well. There's others. There was a bear. There was a hare. Yes. Lots of just woodland animals. Yes. We established that there was people that were still following us ⁓ from The Oak Hills? Rivenhill. Now what's your character's name again? Oh, Sully. Sully, from Sully's backstory. Yeah. We all got a magic item of some kind. Oh, that's right. got really heavy arrows. got really cool arrows. You got a A ring that looks like either a fox chasing a hare or a hare chasing a fox. Which unlocks some pretty cool stuff. Yes. Yes. You got a- I got a cloak. Bit of a cloak, yes. Yeah, that makes me harder to see as a frog. Yeah. Because people are always looking for them. Yeah, I mean, to be fair. I am actually I'm always on the lookout for frogs Nice little ghillie suits I'm imagining a little frog sniper now After that we went to Barley Manor where we got to meet the very We were assuming going to be very pompous mayor of Bartletown, but he actually, he's trying his best. He's just... He's very excited about the Magus. Yeah. He's also very short and stands on boxes to hide his shortness. And does a good spread? He did have a good spread. ⁓ And now there needs to be repairs on the manor. Yes. Because we were attacked. We were attacked. By the demigod. demigod of the hair. Yes. Yes. It was cool. It was cinematic. was awesome. You shot it. I shot it with my fancy metal arrows. And I parried it trying to kill the magus. And you climbed inside it. Yes. Which is insane. And caught its soul. I want to say maybe it was the whispering that led. Like you can let slowly to make that choice like fair fair. I like it. Hell. Yeah But that's kind of ⁓ no, we've left off on a cliffhanger Because the people who were following us were Controlling the rabbit controlling maybe like did some witchcraft to it. Who knows? Yeah, because some corruption something like that on Undetermined, but they were doing some spookiness. They were doing some shit. Yeah. Yeah started well Just bagging a frog now they're tearing down the Barley Manor. Damn. How dare they? Stealing frogs is a gateway crime, yes, so. Oh no. Cuff me. Just send me to jail right now. All right, well, I'm gonna move our tokens back to the Barley Manor. That's kind of where we left off. So, before we be gone. Okay. When we first started, in the rule book, it says the following rules come into play after Barleytown. And then I didn't read the rest, because I was like, I don't need that yet. But now that we're past Barleytown, I'm going read these. OK, peril. A numbered story prompt is a peril. And you can see some of those here, some of those here. Peril is hard to say for me. Describe the scene and the first line as you would a regular story prompt. finished, a die and describe the result. ⁓ I see, okay, so there's like a header, so for example, there's like hunting grounds, the prompt is the quarry we track, and then you roll a dice to determine. What happens. What happens. A leaf symbol indicates a change. Leaf, okay. okay. Mm-hmm. Before you end your turn, change or remove something from your note card and describe why your character thinks this is true. This could be your name, your title, or a trait. Okay, so we could take away or change. Change or remove. Ooh, that's interesting. Okay, I wonder how that'll come into play. Blup, when you enter the Sightless Sea, shuffle the Lost Island cards and place the deck face down below the scroll. When you move the Magus to an island, draw two cards. Place the island you wish to explore on the map and the other island on the bottom of the deck. Continue your turn as the Magus using the location and story prompt on the island. Okay, so that's when we get to the sea. The torch icon marks the deep way, a road that leads to an additional section of the map located on the back of the scroll. What is the? ⁓ this side. ⁓ shit. It's like the Underdark. Okay. When moving the Magus, you may use the deep way to travel to the map on the back of the scroll. Find the matching torch icon on the other side and continue from that point along the dashed road. Okay, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. And then that's it. Okay. So I'm gonna keep these handy just in case we need them. And now we can choose to either go to Hall of the Woods or Stormguard Mountains. Gotcha. ⁓ interesting. And if we go, ⁓ this is kind of actually hard because we can either go to Sully's hometown or my hometown, but we can't go to both. It only goes linear? Yeah, because they lead to different parts. And then also Mistwood. I thought it was where you're from. Yeah, Mr. Wood's right there. ⁓ okay. Okay, Hall of the Woods, I see. Mm-hmm. Before we head out of Barleytown, I think that there's a small parade that as we're leaving town that none of us really want to be a part of. Totally. But the mayor is insistent. Yeah. He has to cry. Yeah. Just a little bit. Just to set that as we're exiting and looking out into the plains around Barleytown. and see the mountains in the distance and we're trying to decide where to go. Is the band like, everyone's there in the band or are there some people missing in the instruments? It's a little flat. I like the idea of there are people who definitely weren't there before that were just immediate like. quick replacements for people who were lost in the band. So it does not sound great, but they're trying their best. Which is kind of the theme of Barley Town, I feel like. Yeah. They really are just trying their best. There's some good stuff in The Merchants, so. Yeah. Okay, I also, I see my mistake now, yes. ⁓ We can either go to Mistwood or Storm Guard Mountains. Hall of the Woods is after Mistwood. I'm a silly bean. I mean, I wanna go to Mistwood. We could go to Mistwood, see your sister. You sure? Yeah, It's okay. It's up to you two. Okay. I also, I'm not, I think Sully actually might not have been from Stormgirl. ⁓ that's right. But we don't know that. We don't know that. Could be some answers there. I like it. We can only ever play this game once. Once we choose, this is the last one. Yeah. All right, my vote is for Mistwood. All right, I'm done with Mistwood. Okay, cool. So I will, I guess, boop, and then I'll just. I think when you move the Magus to Mistwood, you do the. Oh, how the road changes. Ooh, I see, okay, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool, May I, or does anyone feel strongly about? your home, go for it. Yay, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. Ooh, okay, okay, okay, let me cook. Okay. Let her cook. So we are on the road out of Barleytown and we go from kind of like a village town situation, cobbled streets, know, like roads that like ⁓ wagons traverse, so they're kind of like well kept, maybe a little damaged from like the skirmishes, but relatively well kept. ⁓ And then the further we go along this road, the more... The road starts to lose some of those cobblestones, maybe turns into like a dirt path. It becomes more rugged, it becomes less tame. And before we know it, we are entering the beginnings of Mistwood. And you can tell it is the beginnings of Mistwood because we start to see tree houses. Ooh. Yes. We start to see little ⁓ bridges in the tree line. We see ropes. we see just like structures in the trees, not a whole lot yet, but the further we get into it, the more we see that ⁓ most of the buildings are actually up in the treetops. I like to think also like you inspired me, like if it was almost like Mistwood itself is in a valley, and then so it's like the mist like kind of like goes between the two and like flows between it, but then there's like bridges crossing. Yes, so the bridges almost go above the mist, so it looks like. An ocean almost. But it's just mist. You could go under the mist and see the sunset. You could go over the mist, see the sunrise. This is so cool. Nice. Okay. And that is how the road changes. And now we're here. And now we're here. So I guess Bloom, you would be picking where you would want to go first. As we enter the Mistwood, let's see. Is Hunting Grounds going to be with the Hall of the Woods? Yes. Foraging. A crossing? I think I'm gonna start with just the ranger's road into the mist. ⁓ As we are starting to see more tree houses, the mist is starting to get much thicker. I like the idea that with the corruption that's happening with everywhere else, ⁓ the mist is substantially more dense than the last time you were here. To the point where the visual is maybe... 10 feet out in front of you. And as we're walking, it's eerily quiet and there's not even really the rustle of leaves or branches swaying and then trees just start to of loom out of the fog as we're walking in. And as we are fully entering the mist, ⁓ harp will like... your heart recurse a little bit and go, this is gonna kill my armor. This is, I'm gonna have to do so many repairs tonight, this is going to be the worst. That's why no one in Mistwood wears armor, only leathers. We should have gone to the mountains. We should have. I wanted to see my family. What? Fight you about it. Would you like to fight? You offering? Honestly, a sparring session could be cool. I'll fight. Let's fight. Let's fight. I've run the other direction. Anyway. Just want me a little dagger? I don't want to fight you. And Eric goes, blink. I missed you on purpose. Thank you. You can't see me, but I can see you. ⁓ snap. I will emerge back from the mist. Just right here. God damn it. You're no fun. Yeah, I know. I get that a lot. Yeah. So, ⁓ some hero of Barleytown. Mm, it was not me. But you hold the moniker now. Unfortunately. I think Barley Lord thinks you're the hero of Barleytown. he thinks a lot of things. Or not enough. I don't know which. I'm gonna go with not enough. Not enough. Not enough thoughts. He was very kind. Enthusiastic. Yes, yes. He usually is. I am a little worried about the low visibility in the mist. We still don't know about the people who kidnapped Sully. There was whatever that was at the manor. Do you know of any? large creatures, it doesn't ring any bells. Is there anything we should be looking out for while we're here? I mean, Mistwood is pretty small. It's kind of on the way to the Hall of the Woods. It's kind of like a pass through town. We're traders, we're hunters, we kind of keep to ourselves. I don't, we don't even have like a church. Like, there's not much here and... that makes me feel safe and comfortable. But also, I was born here. Is it always this quiet? It is more quiet than usual. Usually, usually you can hear animals. ⁓ They do know to stay away from like mistwood proper, but on the outskirts at least, they would be rustling. And it feels like not many people are out and about either, which is a bit weird. We're not the most hospitable. of people, but I feel like we should have had a welcome by now. Hmm. Do you think it's empty? Do you think they fled? I don't think so. The people who live here, I don't think would ever leave. But maybe they're hunkering down for something? I don't know. It's hard to say. Maybe they got word that things went awry just to the next town. Maybe. Should we call out or just continue on our way? Do you have a secret whistle? Let's visit. home. and go from there. I lead the way. Okay. I lead the way through the mist. ⁓ Usually we travel up in the treetops, ⁓ but I don't know if any of you are afraid of heights, so I will take the normie way to my house. ⁓ I step in a frog snare. There are those all over the place, do be careful. ⁓ Bear traps. I a reed down. ⁓ ⁓ Sorry, just got, ⁓ your foot's caught in a bear trap. ⁓ Okay, so we are walking and we come across this beautiful tree. This beautiful willow tree. ⁓ And I look up at it and I notice that the kind of like ladder, the rope ladder that usually kind of like hangs off of it for the entrance up into the tree house ⁓ is up. And that's really weird. So I'm gonna look at the tree, I'm gonna look up there and be like, huh. Usually there's a ladder here and there isn't today, which is weird. So I think now I will call out to my family and I will do a bird whistle. Do it. The whistle. How dare you? How dare you? ⁓ But. That way cooler than that, because that was really bad. Just in post, add Bradford. Yeah. Like an actual like, hock screech. Or the common loon. Ooh. What does that sound like? That's like the atypical like horror sound, like when they're in the forest. Ooh, that's a good one. Okay, I do a cool bird sound, because that is the way that we call out to each other, because you can't call out with like your voice, because then you'll scare the animals away. I explained. law. Hunter law. And I see a head that looks very similar to mine kind of poke out the side. Squints, goes back inside for a minute. It's attached to something excellent. I was concerned. Willow trees are often a symbol of death in literature. Are they? Yeah. I just like them because they're pretty. ⁓ Maybe we should move house. Actually, is an actual thing. Willow trees are often a symbol of death because they rot from the inside out. Just like us That's metal! That's so cool! Poplar's too. Huh. Anyway. You learn something new every day. Facts. How about that bird sound though? So, my twin sister pokes her head out. That is still attached to her body. Excellent. And I don't know what to go from here. She sees us, she goes back inside, she looks out, gets a squint, says like, that really? Huh, and then she goes inside, you can hear muffled something, not too loud, but definitely muffled Maybe she's like, shh, come on, hurry, inside. Oh, okay, yeah, she's like, yeah, okay, okay, she throws the rope down and then calls up to the side, like, get up right now, what are you doing down there, get up. She's also very aggressive. What shock. Or she just like super super complete opposite mellow But I kind of like the I like the aggressive I feel like my whole family is just like that like excellent. They're just like that I've got eight brothers and sisters. We're all like that wait eight brothers and eight sisters or together eight siblings Okay, so there's nine of you total Yes, That's how math works. That's how math works. That's math do ⁓ yes, so we scramble up into the tree house and my sister is there. I'm wearing full plate armor. It takes you a while. Trying to climb up a rope ladder that is not secured at the bottom. It's gonna take me a hot minute. I'm just gonna climb up the side. You got them sticky pads. On your own time? I'm working on it. Uh-huh. This must be really embarrassing for you as I'm climbing a glacier. Just like in passing? ⁓ There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's not like I can control the weight of my armor. I'd be embarrassed if I were you. Yes, you would be. But you see I am the hero. My father was the hero. I am just the child of the hero. You're doing your best. That's the whole thing about Barleytown. We're just doing our best. We're just trying our best. That's all we got. Welcome to Barleytown. We did our best. Throw that on some garb. You can get that on ⁓ Tankard's at the end. Yes. Beautiful. So Tankard is broken. Yeah. It's tripped. It does not actually hold anything. Anyway, anyway, it does take me a hot minute. Okay, but yeah, but you make it I do and then inside is ⁓ Okay, is it kind of like we're in a tree or is the like the tree in the center of the this tree is? Okay. Yes, so we go up a hatch in the bottom of the tree house So the the ladder like leads up to a hatch and you open the hatch and then you're in the tree house proper And yes, the tree grows through the house nice and up So it's very like, there's lots of windows, the light kind of like, once you're above the mist, like the light actually like shines through and it's really beautiful. ⁓ And I'm imagining those very specific tree houses in Seattle. If, I think it's Treehouse Point or something. Something like that, but they're very like elaborate tree houses, like all wooden, looks like a cabin, but it's just in a tree. And inside is ⁓ my family. And they're all looking at me like, What are you doing here? And I look at them like, I don't know what I'm doing here. Hi, I'm back, I'm just passing through. Good to see you too, family. One of your siblings runs up and just punches you in the stomach. yep. ⁓ I see. I'm on my best behavior, but I will get you back for that. Chet. Chet. Chet of the Mistwood. No, they all have to be, they have to be like Woodland. Chipmunk. Chipmunk. So Chip. Chip. Yep. Chippy. Chippy. Chippy. You're so cute, Chippy. Hey. Good to see you too. I feel like we should almost move our tokens to like a crossing who holds us back or maybe a memory of home. Ooh. since it seems like we've changed scenes. Yeah, we're out of Into the Mist. Yeah. ⁓ My turn was as Into the Mist, so that would be you, Khris. Okay, well I want to definitely continue what we're doing in the tree, so I think I'm gonna bring us over to By the Moonlight. So it's nighttime. question, just for setting-wise, willows usually grow next to water. Are we next to like a lake or a pond or a river? Yeah, I imagine there's a... In between a lake and a pond? Not like a pond, not like a lake. Maybe a dam that feeds, that's fed by river, that thing also goes through it since we're in a valley. ⁓ so artificial lake. Artificial lake. Okay, yeah. That's what they call it, actually. They call it. This is Artie official Lake ⁓ yeah, so we're still in your lovely little cabin. Yeah, and it's nighttime now, and it smells delicious. There's some ⁓ Rabbit stew which I probably will not partake mainly because we just had a big encounter with a rabbit Seems a little vindictive ⁓ Whatever it's easy to catch There's an abundant here. They reproduce you know that's fair. That's fair. You have a lot of mouths to feed a lot of mouths to feed yeah Nine. We've got nine. There's 11 of them. Mom, dad, grandma. 12. It's a full dozen. A full dozen. It's a multi-story tree house. It is actually, in my brain. We have a spiral staircase that leads to a second floor where all the bedrooms are. Nice. People do double up on bedrooms, so it's not like 12 individual bedrooms. Lots of bunk bed situations. But yes. Almost like, it almost sounds like from the center spine, there's actual bridges that then is like a little cubby that people sleep in. That's one yeah, that's fun But then as I'm sitting there I feel a flashback I'm a man again. And I'm a night from Storm Guard. Backstory backstory a memory of home. Let's go. I'm in the streets. Okay, just big concrete stone Walls along my entire side as I look up at your center tree. I just like get reminded of the center tower That brings me back to this memory. It was a stormy night. ⁓ I look down, my hands are just covered in blood and they're shaking. Damn, does anything else come through? No, that's it. That's That's it. That's it. Damn, that's harrowing. Memory of home. I'll probably notice that you kind of like stumble a little bit or like freeze and then be like, Sir Frog, you good? I don't know if Sir Frog is the best title for me, just Sully's okay for now. Okay, Sully. Well, welcome both of you to my home. This is my family. Can you name them all? Who's this person? I've got, okay, I've got, I'm Fawn. I've got Kit, my twin sister. I've got my littlest brother Chip. ⁓ I've got Raven. I've got Mack, short for Mackerel. ⁓ Oso for bear. Oso's good. Oso's really good. I was thinking of a bear one. It's perfect. Buck. Maybe another sister. The The eldest sister is... ⁓ Yeah, that's seven. I already have a bird I could do Robin, but I already have Raven That makes sense Robin and Raven Robin and Raven. Yeah, cash girl Castrilles pretty castrilles cool. That's nine You only need four more My mom and dad are okay, my mom and dad are Janet and Bill This sounds right. And my grandma is, we just call her Grammy. I actually don't know her name. All right, you need one more. I need one more sibling? Yeah. ⁓ okay. ⁓ No, no, that's it. That's it? Okay. Cause there's nine. Will I remember that? No. But I did it. All right, so and then Harp says hello to all of them individually. Just kidding. Yeah, I do. Harp does and shakes hands and asks some of the younger ones, would you mind helping me with my arm? It's very stiff in the mist. What are you gonna do for me? Punch your sister. Deal. Deal. Deal. No, you keep her safe. I'll leave it at that. I'll do my best to protect your sister on our travels. I will flick your sister in the ear 300 times. Just let him hold your swords. ⁓ do you want to hold a sword? I would like to hold a sword. I imagine it takes like three of them, they're all kind of just like holding it together like, ⁓ Just don't touch the blade. Just rummage through the fridge. If you get cut, that's your fault. One of those siblings like slaps her hand away. It's chaotic here. Yeah. Yes. But it's home. ⁓ like at no point do I not have a kid on my shoulder. Yeah. While staying here. Climbing. Just like drooped. Yep. That's how it should be. It's usually either buck or chip. Or chip. Yeah. They're the Hellions, believe it or not. I was a well-behaved child. I'll have you know. I believe it. Thank you. You are an honest sort, so yes, I believe that. Thank you. Cool, did it end the scene? Um, yeah. Do want more? I think that's good, yeah, it was your scene, I kind of took over there at the end. No, that was great. Uh, yeah. My part of it was very short. The bloody hands. Just in the midst of us playing with all these small children, I'm covered in the blood of men. What have these hands done? Beautiful, okay. I, okay, so I want to try the this. The this. The this. I want to try the this. So, how I'm gonna set the scene is I believe we all, ⁓ we eat the rabbit stew. Maybe some of us only eat the bread. ⁓ That my dad Bill has prepared for us, because Janet cannot cook. Excellent. And then we, You two can sleep on the first floor because there's no extra bedrooms, but I will reclaim my side of the bed with Kit. And I imagine we have a very bonding sisterly moment with only minimal hair pulling. Also, we didn't discuss quite why I was so quiet. ⁓ why it's so quiet in the forest. ⁓ You're right, why are they acting all suspicious? Okay, then maybe at the dinner table, we ask like, what is going on? Why are you guys acting so weird? Where is everybody? Like, why is everyone being weird about it? Do you wanna be the dad? Yeah. Yeah? You be Bill? Yeah, I'll be Bill. Okay. What's going on? Well, you see, ⁓ there was a little bit of a little kerfuffle with some of the creatures of the forest. ⁓ They started to just go crazy, just running wild all over the place. ⁓ they done ⁓ banged up me and your mom and got some big scratches. They're just attacking anything on site. Like feral? Yes, only it doesn't seem that they are ⁓ enraged or ⁓ how to put it, it doesn't seem like they, it seems like somebody's controlling them and directing them, not necessarily that they are outside of their own mind. Huh, that's weird. I don't like that. Yeah, we don't either. That's kind of why we were surprised to see some young folks walking around on the forest floor, because that's where most of them live, is on the ground. Yes, I am aware. ⁓ Weird, and you don't know why this is happening? Where have they gone to since then? Slowly hops onto the counter ⁓ Most of the time they they dart it from the from the fog and then disappear again We've tried tracing them down tried following them. There was a ⁓ one instance This hasn't been crop crop That one that's a hard word did this voice that's a really hard one in this voice corroborated you did great. Thank you And it's only been seen a couple times a large figure kind of like skulking through the woods Kind of in the mist in the background But we haven't really been able to establish who that is or what that is or... Must be pretty swift then if you guys are not able to catch up to it. Not really. It seems to move fairly slowly. Just it's not there when we get to it. Hmm. Was this just on the last night before? How long has this been happening? About since Fawn left. ⁓ Once Fawn left, the mist really started to roll in and things just got a little crazy after that. It must be connected to the Magus and the dying of magic and whatever the heck is going on with all of the everything. Oh yeah, you don't know. Yeah, you think so? talked about with the Magus at all. Wow, that's a bummer. I say more to myself than to anyone. But yes, that's a bummer. That's just no good. It'll be okay. We will figure it out. We will accompany the magus to where we need to take the magus. We will find the... You don't even know about the egg. We definitely got eggs so we got yeah, we got some of the nests up at the top of the tree You know what we got quail eggs. We got I don't know I don't know how they They just do this is fantasy. We're going to get a magic egg for a magic bird person We got quail eggs Specifically, that's it actually just with hundreds of quail eggs. Are they tiny? They're like that big And they're also live on the ground There is zero reason these are fantasy quail these are fantasy quail basically peacocks. They're just for show Yeah, these are our show quails There's a there's a there's a biannual quail off that we go to that We're very proud of Bill's hobby is quail husbandry. Yeah, of course. Yeah He pulls out a quail. The little thing on the front of the quail is like bright and shimmery and it's like, it's very nice. This is Patricia. Another name, yes. To name everything. I've lost the plot. So it sounds like something was stirring up. I'm gonna hop over to Harp. It sounds like whatever came for us is coming for all creatures. The imbalance is way out of whack here. It does feel as though nature is turning on the rest of us. How are you feeling? I know that you weren't originally a frog, but you are frog now. Do you know that? I think you told us that. Did you tell us that? I don't think I did tell you that. Okay, we're gonna rewind a second. I thought through context clues though, I was, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you were with us. From the context clues I got from Ron, you were not originally a frog, but you are a frog now, and has there been any, has voices, whispers, anything telling you to stab us in our sleep? Well... More so than usual, because I do have that voice all the time. don't like that pause. That hesitation has me worried. Well, yeah, actually now that you mention it, there was definitely some whispering during our time in Barleytown, like... I don't know if it's something that is... that I'm hearing. Have you sensed anything like that? Like, sort of a distant whispering, can't really make out what... Exactly, yeah. That's what drove me into the beast when Fawn fired the arrow. And inside of it, there was a spirit of the rabbit. And... and kind of like, calming it caused me to fall out and we were back into this realm. I did experience some whispers at the top of the tower where I found the ring. But not since then. During that fight it was all adrenaline. was fight or flight. I just needed to protect the Magus. There has been some flashbacks to that I'm starting to piece together kind of who I might have been. But I'm not sure if I'm if it's me or someone's trying to show me something. I'll keep us updated. ⁓ Whoever you were, you're helping us now, and that's what matters. Yeah, like a knight. Like a knight? Like a hero. We'll see. Damn. See. Well sort of ⁓ yeah scene part one Because I need to take his foraging. Yes scene of scene we go to bed Because we had to circle back guys now we know that the animals are gonna try to kill us if we go foraging Right, but you got me. I know these ones. I do trust you with my life I mean the the first thing is the lesson you teach And then the rest of it comes after ⁓ foxes, okay? Sex is just foxes. We're just surrounded by foxes. That would be horrifying in this context. Yes. ⁓ Okay, so I'm going to wake up early the next morning because me and Kit are bonding things. We always went foraging together. And I will invite the two of you if you would like to come. It is before sunrise. It is very early. I'm already pissed off. think you would go without your armor in this case. Yeah. And I'm from a farming community, so I would be up with you too. My dad's got some old leathers. They might be a little small. My dad is really scrawny. My mom, on the other hand... I would hurt my fit you I would appreciate it. My mom is a muscle mommy like we've bill scrawny Likes to raise quails. Yeah, I raised quails. I also raised quails There's two different two different tracks that you can do a show quail. You can do a racing quail. ⁓ my racing quails so fast So fast, they chase a little worm on a like a little hook Thank you, thank thank you. You got him going about the coils again. And then my mom Janet is ⁓ the hunter of the family. ⁓ I thought you were gonna say like woodsman. Woodsman, yeah, yeah. The marksman, the one who brings the bacon. The one that taught you everything. The one taught me everything, taught me everything. I also imagine she has a Russian accent for some reason. Let's go. can't do a Russian accent. Really? I don't think so. Okay. really. It's like a Ukrainian accent. That doesn't help me any. Watch, he did rivalry. Just watch out for him. Noted. Okay, so anyway, I feel like my mom is already off doing her thing. She's like getting food for everybody. She's out already hunting, but me and Kit, we like to go foraging for stuff that isn't hunting, because we're all hunters. We're all very comfortable with that. But we like to get little berries for pies and little other forageables that's not hunting. So like hunting and foraging are two different things. And it's cute and we're wholesome and we're great. And I've only hit her twice this morning, so that's great. But I will invite both of you to come with me if you would like. Yes. I'll put on your mother's leather armor. I look great. I look great in this armor. Fantastic. Are you gonna keep this armor? I might. I might switch from full plate to this leather. Maybe a mix between them. Keep the gauntlets and the greaves from the plate armor. Yeah. And then, like, more Aragon, like, cloak and leathers for the rest of me. Yeah. Let's go. Yeah. Let's go. Will you be joining us? Yeah, I'll join. Cool. All right, so we descend. probably against anyone else's better wishes, ⁓ but it's our tradition, so we have to. So we descend into the fog and we begin foraging. And I'm gonna teach you both how to forage. Yep, that's the lesson I'm teaching you. Because you have to have a keen eye for foraging. You can't just pick any berry, that's how you die. So. What are the berries that make you die? ⁓ Okay, the berries that have two leaves make you die. The red ones with two leaves, those are bad. The red ones with three leaves. Can I see color? The red ones with three leaves are fine. The pink ones may give you diarrhea if you are ⁓ susceptible to that. The blue ones taste really, really good unless you have a specific gene that makes them really, really sour. It's like cilantro. What's cilantro? Ooh, cilantro's really, really good unless you have the D that makes it taste like soap. It's a whole thing. But anyway, I'm rattling on about, this is the most I've talked in one setting since you guys have met me, and it's about berries. And I will roll. We got foxes. We got so many foxes. We got so many foxes. ⁓ wait, can I? Bounty, we share the lessons we learn in foxes. The only one that could have been better, let me cook. Okay. Can I do something that makes me seem really cool? Yeah. Is that okay? Absolutely. Okay, so we're foraging. Maybe we're in like a clearing. Okay, we're like taking a break from foraging. We're going over our bounty. have baskets full of different berries. What's I try the one that makes you taste like soap. or tastes sour. It does taste sour. That's unfortunate for you, they're really good. I'm eating my third one. Yes. And we're sitting and relaxing when all of a sudden you start to hear. Are we on a side of a hill? Are we in a field? ⁓ Yeah, a field, but there's trees surrounding it, like a little circle clearing. A glade. A glade. We're in a glade. Maybe even a meadow. But it's like relatively small. It's not too too big. And the mist is still here, but maybe the mist has receded just a little bit. It's like a really special place. It's where me and my sister like to go to escape the chaos of our house. And we start to hear scurrying. We start to hear chattering. Yips. We will also draw Forgive Me Not. And everything, or we go quiet, but the noise around us starts getting more intense when all of a sudden about two dozen orange foxes ⁓ emerge from the woods. And it's just like my dad said, they are irate. They're not feral, but they're agitated. Their bristles are up. Their teeth are back and they look like they want us for some reason. Kit immediately is like, ⁓ god, here we go. And Fawn ⁓ maybe notices that you've taken out your weapons and she kind of just like, hey, hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay, I got this. And she walks up to. the foxes, and she kind of gets down on all fours and kind of just sits cross-legged in front of them, and you just see her stare directly into the eyes of the fox that's in the front. And all of a sudden, the fox relaxes. and then all the foxes behind him start to relax. And you see Fawn's eyes kind of glaze over. And she blinks, and suddenly she has the eyes of the fox. ⁓ And you notice that the fox's eyes have Fawn's eyes. What kind of witchcraft is this? That fox just stole Fawn's eyes. Give her back your eyes. And they sit like that for probably an uncomfortable amount of time while Kit is explaining to you what's happening. And Kit is like, this is the most infuriating thing ever. That my twin sister, Fawn, not me, Kit, by the way, my name is Kit, I don't know if you knew that, my name is Kit, Fawn became the Fox of Mistwood. Which means that Fawn, can commune with the foxes. It's like a hive mind, it's disgusting, I hate it. I'm so jealous, I wish it was me. What is your moniker? I'm the Doe of Mistwood. So do you do that with doves? I can. I can. It is a trait passed down through our lineage, through our maternal grandmother. She... comes from a clan of, not shapeshifters, what's the word I'm looking for? Animal communicators? But cool? Imagine a word that's like that. There's like a cool ⁓ mystical word for it. ⁓ And. ⁓ you mean sassafras? Sassafras. The legendary sassafras of the Mistwood. I love it. I'm gonna use it for something. I don't know if this is the setting. Yeah, but I love it. Um I mean at this point you can pick anywhere. I could I my mind is not working. Um Maybe something like... The, yeah, we're madrigals. That's cool, that makes sense. And yeah, it's been passed down, all of my siblings have this ability and we each inhabit the spirit of an animal and it makes us able to commune with that animal, but only that animal. So, Are the rest of the siblings like that too? can, ah. All their names make sense though, I don't know what happened with us. You're twins. Mack can talk to fish. Raven can talk to birds. Robin can also talk to birds. Robin can also talk to birds. Huh. Yeah. Is it specifically doe for you and then buck can talk to? Yes. Okay. I forgot we had a buck. This is making less sense the more I think about it. It's fantasy, it's But it's fantasy, it's fine. I just wanted a cool thing. I That's really cool. And then yeah, after a while, Fawn stands up abruptly and chirps a little bit to the foxes. And the foxes leave. But what did Fawn find? Or do you want to have Fawn tell us what she found? The foxes are confused. They don't know what's going on. I really tried. I tried to talk to them. They have no idea what's going on, but they're scared. And they feel just fear. It's also really hard to try to communicate with foxes in words. They are instinct animals. So their instinct is to run and their second instinct is to fight. So something's making the instinct just fight. Usually foxes will not approach predators that are bigger than them. So the fact that they are is concerning and they don't know why. Interesting. Yep. Still more information than we had to begin with. Do you think there's anything we could solve here? I think the only thing we can do is move forward with the Magus. I don't think there's anything here that we can change. The greater quest. If we give the Magus to the egg, that should fix everything. It's going to be rough to not try to fix things as we go, but it's as we go that we fix things. Yeah. I hate it, but you're right. And now I'm antsy, I wanna get back on the road. Gotta find this egg. Should we do one with, should we meet with the Megas anywhere in this world or do we want to actually go to the next spot of the Hall of the Woods? I think, I think we'll go back, say, bye to your family. Okay. As we've forged for so many berries. So many. Obscene amount of berries. Obscene amount of berries. Yeah, let's move to the hall. It was as we were talking to your family, they gave us a few more provisions and rations. They got us crying profusely. I'm so proud of you. It's okay, Dad, I'll be back. Your mom just kind of like claps you on the shoulder and just goes like, hmm. Yep, thank you. You know how much that means to me. Do you start crying? I know if you start crying, I'm gonna start crying. This is only like half crying. is... It pulls out a quail in like this. Your dad might be my favorite character ever. Is he related to the mayor of Barleytown somehow? I really hope so. Oh my god. That would be so funny. He's like a... Distant cousins. Oh my god. He's a... They met in Barley, he's from Barley town and they met in Barley town when my mom was trading one day. And love at first sight, came back to the Mistwood. That's why he's like that. This is what all dads in Barley town. Yeah. Tracks. Wait, so wait, does that mean? Yeah, my dad, my dad too, the hero part, actual hero. That's yeah, I'm the hero. That just makes it funnier that Harp is just like. Or if Harp were to have a child, would they also? I don't know. Or would they resist? I think they're very resistant. They're like, seen what my future could look like. It's like, I'm not gonna have children for that exact reason. I will not. Okay, so as we're talking, your dad told us to go to the Hall of the Woods to seek out the Grey Rangers because they are also looking into whatever is happening. Okay. To add a little bit of lore, just because this is one of my favorite tropes. ⁓ You cannot find the Hall of the Woods. You know kind of in what direction it would be, ⁓ but you have to trust that you're going to get to it. There's no telling how far it is, how many days, where it's situated in the forest, but it doesn't feel like it moves. Like once you get there, you're like, ⁓ it's always been in this spot. you could have searched that spot yesterday and you just didn't see it. ⁓ So it's as we're ⁓ still moving through the mist. I now have my cool leather armor. Hell yeah. And much quieter, so much quieter. Clang, clang, clang, clang. No more clanks. That. Okay, just because this is funny, it's as we're walking, I feel like we might, ⁓ no, we're gonna do Appalachian rolls. We don't make noise in the woods. ⁓ We haven't really run into any other animals yet. There's been sounds of things like big moving through the brush around us, but anytime that happens, we just kind of hunker down to the side. ⁓ But it's as we're walking, we're starting to get tired, it's starting to get late. when all of a sudden as we're walking there's just a hooded figure in the fog that we just kind of start walking past and it's like, that's a person. And then a hooded figure who wants to be the ranger, one of the gray rangers. Yeah, he could be the gray ranger. What are you doing? No, what was I expecting? ⁓ gods. There's a big beast out here, don't you know? I'm looking at you. Yes, we are Are you from the mistwood? Yes, you bring provisions for the green. I dive always of course Did you hear that? That's what we're hunting out here. It's a giant goose. That's the beast in the woods. Had us going back and forth, circling on ourselves. Come on, come on, it's nightfall. Yes, we also are here to investigate the animals and the beasts and the everything. ⁓ Yes. Who are you? I you I we are with the we can trust these guys, right? Yeah, that's to you He's kind of scary I know I was ready to are you standing there? Come on? We're going we're going we're All right, I'm the off-kilder Sully have your dagger ready. I don't know I'm concerned No, yeah, we will follow the hooded figure ⁓ wherever they lead us. It's only about 10 yards this way. You could have missed it. That's typical, it's so typical. We don't see many travelers out here. Thankfully you brought your provisions. I'm losing the accent. What was, question, what was the accent to begin with? Aggressive. if that's the case, you're doing great. Nailed it, nailed it. Yes, we just stocked up ⁓ not too long ago. We still have some provisions from Barleytown, but Fawn's family was able to provide us with a little bit more. ⁓ I love Janet, she used to be part of the guild. Yes, she was. I forgot about that. Yeah, she used to be part of the guild for a minute when she ⁓ was in her early 20s. Shame she was the only one that didn't get the madrigal trait. It a generation. It skipped a generation. ⁓ yes, yes. Yeah, she will never let us forget it either. Isn't Madrigal the name of the family in- ⁓ Kanto? Yeah. I think so, yeah. No, is it? Yeah. Madrigal. Yeah, it is. Madrigal? If you say so. Hold on. It was just deep in there. Wait, did we just fucking write in Kanto? Yeah. With the traits, too. Fantastic. Madrigal yeah Family in Colombia I was like man this sounds so familiar. I love that you found it. Yeah It was the skip to generation part where I was like wait, that's really funny cuz I'm just rifting Okay, okay Um It's also still your scene Ranger may we ask your name? Little giant little giant. Okay little giant Might we stay with you for the evening? assuming that's where you're bringing us. It wouldn't be too bad to have more hands around The lead-on ⁓ is as we're going through with the woods takes us full off trail just we're now like climbing over bushes and logs, and we have to go through a little stream at one point. I'm sure it's just 10 more yards this way. Are you sure he's not going to kill us? No, I'm not. Be prepared. Okay. Knife. And I... It says we crest over this small, not hill, but like bank of a dried up river ⁓ that you see. This fairly simple looking log cabin ⁓ on ⁓ a stone foundation. I was gonna say platform, but yeah, foundation. And there's like a little trail of smoke leading up. Does not look secure, does not look ⁓ overly... It does not look very big. I would even say it would looks like it would be cramped with three adults in it. ⁓ wow. It's very small. It's And as we get closer, we notice that it seems to grow exponentially as we walk closer to it. And then as we get to it, ⁓ I'm gonna add a little spice to this, okay. It's not just the ⁓ building that gets closer. We also notice that little giant is also starting to grow. ⁓ By the time we reach the building, he is 15 feet tall. That's The door is, like the building is definitely meant for people this sized. ⁓ And we are now all like. So like I'm an ant now. Yeah, compared to like we didn't actually shrink that everything around us is the same size He and the building definitely got bigger also significantly more elaborate and more Varied like you can see carvings in the the wood There's ruins carved into everything the stonework has like pictographs carved all around it Yeah But everything is this very cool slate gray color. Cool as in rad? As in temperature. Both. have never thought of gray as being cool, being like rad. And then his voice is just like way boom boomier now. Yes. That's perfect. He's now aggressive and massive. That's exactly what we needed. Yes. But then leads us inside. ⁓ Very warm, open building. Very like Viking longhouse style. Huge fire pit right in the middle. There's other giants just out and about. And I'm going to lean over go, is your mom actually a giant? She's got some lineage in there. That's why she looks the way that she does. You don't get those arms by not being that giant. Why are you so tiny then? Oh, I guess your dad is tiny. Yeah. I got all my dad's jeans. That's All of you got all your dad's jeans. His jeans are surprisingly strong. It's the barleyville. That's why they all sound the same. It's the G. Literally, the barley. But yeah, and then we get led inside and we'll call the scene there as far as the hospitality of the Grey Rangers. Sweet. ⁓ yeah. Alright, Spirit Lake, what the rangers teach you. Wild altar of fresh desire. Hunting grounds that has some, potentially get wounded. The hall, why we must stay. Circle of Ancients, a disturbing ritual. I think I wanna go actually, I'm gonna say... We cozy up for the night. have me that are like the tankard is yeah, this for a 15 foot tall person As we experience the hospitality of the great Rangers we could all sleep in one bed It looks actually like a giant dog bed. Nice. That's the only accommodations they have for guests But they talk about tomorrow that they're gonna be going to spirit Lake to try and track down this beast that is lurking in the in the mist that they can't catch and ⁓ One of their scouts has said that it was making its way in that area so ⁓ Extra hands means we'll be joining them ⁓ And what the Rangers teach you sweet ⁓ Do you guys want to go on that quest ⁓ yeah, yeah, all righty So we're we're sitting in the long house ⁓ We're getting debriefed, briefed, debriefed afterwards. We're getting briefed on the plan for going to the lake. ⁓ Little Giant is kind of not really actually ⁓ leading it. He's actually kind of more of just like a foot soldier. So we see our main guy, Longfang. Ooh. Ooh, nice. Who is giving us the rundown, and he's just super militant, very strict, very kind of short, and matter of fact, and he sees this kind of creature and this invasion as just something that's not good. He's set on just destroying it, not figuring it out. Yes. Got it. And so he's assigning everyone a role for this capture. ⁓ He asks Fawn to be the main lookout overseeing the men as they circle the edge of the lake where the ⁓ Mistwood River feeds it. ⁓ He's telling Harp that you're going to be on the front line with the men to try and capture the beast. You'll be on the net. ⁓ And then he doesn't even see the frog. And so I'm gonna use this as my advantage to then just skulk a little. ⁓ ⁓ So I'm gonna I'm just gonna attach myself to long thing as he ⁓ Rides out in the morning with the rest of the with the rest of wait Do they have giant horses or do they just walk? I feel ooh I mean they they shrink as they go. Yeah as they get farther away. They shrink yeah, so Yes, they start out as giant horses, which is horrifying Clyde's ⁓ No, giant Clyde's tail. Giant Clyde's tail. Wait, so if they're 15 feet tall, then the horses would be like 30 feet tall? You did this. they don't have horses. Excerpting the horses. Yeah, we're gonna, no. Okay. No, no, no, no, they have horses. I don't think it doesn't seem fit that they would need horses in the woods. That's fair. Especially if they're needing to get around, not on trails. So, the plan is laid out, and... ⁓ As we're making our way out there, kind of clamoring through the forest, ⁓ I just hear behind Longfeng, what should he say? What should be the nasty? Okay, so there's a few ways we can take this. We can take it as another demigod situation, or we can wait for that for something a bit more dramatic. Or it could just be a corrupted beastie that is being changed by... the dying magic or our secretive baddie friends. There's a few different things we could do. I feel like it could be the forest itself is. and that's why they can't find it. And it's this corruption that's kind of causing them to get corrupted in themselves. ⁓ their perception is becoming corrupted. Gotcha. I like the idea of it being a personification of the forest, that the forest has made in effort as part of being corrupted. ⁓ Yeah, I like that a lot. Okay, so... ⁓ What should, I'm feeling like this guy is like spiteful then. That's really what it is. He's just like not in his right mind. ⁓ that's right. They're also getting corrupted because they're so tied in with the forest. Got it. So he's blind to anything else. He's just laser focused on getting this creature. Yeah. Yeah. Muttering a lot under his breath as we're going about capturing it, killing it, destroying, rooting out all evil. Exactly. ⁓ I like to think that if you are sticking close to him, what's something that you would notice as a magical tell? I think... What's going on? So I'm just like kind of, I've got myself attached to like one of his little pockets and I'm like crawling around as we're walking through the forest. And honestly, he's just like very moist. He's just like a really wet guy. No, no. ⁓ And so that's just kind of like a sign initially, like his eyes. the color in them as we leave the cabin and get further into the woods, tend to lose their, start to lose their saturation. They still like, use his iris and his pupil and things like that, but maybe like, it was like a really dark brown, but now it's looking more tan as we go out. Gotcha. I'd say yeah, you noticed that. ⁓ I'm not familiar with these people. I've never seen anyone grow or shrink like this. This is news to me. ⁓ But as Harp is kind of like crawling through, following them, trying to get set, I just kind of like, I'm there. I'd be like, Harp, Harp. Something's not right here. Something feels off. That man is way too moist. And his eyes. I look at the amphibian. Moist, say. And his eyes, do you notice the guys around you? I'll look around, as sneakily as I can. Mainly because I couldn't find Fawn. Yeah. Because Fawn's in the trees. I am in the trees. I'll look around and notice the same thing, but also notice it's coming out of their skin. Everybody looks vaguely paler, almost like they're... melting into the fog, or the fog is imbuing them. I was thinking with the eye thing, maybe their eyes are clouding over almost, like the mist is kind of like seeping into them. And I'll turn to Long Fang. ⁓ How do you know what we're going up against? We were told that nobody had really seen it. I have scouts all around this valley. They've been tracking the beast for days now. They've been running for weeks. We see it leaving behind just death and decay. And there's never been anything... like this before. We've only ran into our own search parties, but today is the day where we track it to the lake. Okay. Get information. Did you not hear the plan? No, I did. I'm just... I'm concerned. No time for concern. Fall back. I'm gonna look at him and try to make subtle eye contact with Sully and... not. and start moving back into formation and I'm gonna try to signal to you. I don't know where you are either. awesome birds out. Ka-ka! With my supreme, actually, I think because I'm the lookout, I would... have one eye on the streets, so to say. ⁓ And I would have a little fox friend doing scouting for me. Fox familiar. Fox familiar. ⁓ So I would like to think that I would have a fox with your group and then maybe a fox or two scouting out ahead. one of the foxes tells me that... How would they know though? Maybe they got a vibe, they caught a vibe and they told me that there's a weirdness happening down here. ⁓ And then I hear your cuckoo, which is horrible. It's bad. It's so bad. I've never had to make bird noises before. So bad. As we're treading forward, the lake that we were talking about is not there. It's all just mud flats. And we start trudging through this. Long Feng is adamant that it's on the other side. Keep marching as we start to slowly sink. I will come down from the trees, because there are no trees in the mud flats. And I will tell Long Feng, hey, there's nothing here. Like, I've scouted. I've had my scout scout. Whatever you're looking for isn't here. Are you not Janet's daughter? I am. Don't you see what's out there? The Beast is here. My men are around the corner. Listen here. I'm telling you, as Janet's daughter, what you're looking for isn't here. So we can waste our time all day if you would like. I got shit to do. The ground quakes and just a giant, almost like thousands of trees falling as the pit starts to slup down and we have to now find our way out. The battle is just getting out of the pit. Gotcha. Got it. Longfang and his men are still adamant about charging in. There's a war cry. They start running into the pit. now completely desaturated. None of them have any color. And as they do, we start to hear more of the whispering. And I turn to you and am about to say, we need to go when the ground goes out from underneath us. And it's not just like a pit. It's like the ground is grabbing and pulling us down. Down. And. can't really see the bottom. looks like it's almost the fog has sunken into this divot and we cannot see anything in there. Damn. So yeah, I think unfortunately us trying to get away, you on ⁓ Moist Man. Longfang. Longfang. We unfortunately do get sucked into the middle. Okay. And I like to think that as we are, like I'll draw my sword. ⁓ The ring will turn to the hair side and my senses just go off the charts like hearing sight smell Feel like I feel vibrations in the air and it feels like we are completely surrounded by something. Not just I can feel like the other Soldiers and the other Rangers Fighting something but and I can tell that there is something there to fight, but they're not making contact with anything Just like grunting and swishing swinging, but it's like I could still tell there's something there. Yeah, it's like an essence of something. Yes. Okay. And we need to get Sully. And I will start running for Longfang ⁓ to try to get you off of him. I'm like crawling up him. I'm trying to like grab onto like his collar of his shirt as he's just like swinging violently. Man, you've lost it! There's nothing here! What? Please stop! ⁓ He's like, God, this toad. I'm a frog. What vile witchcraft is this? Throws me down. like. Down. Into the mud. As he throws you, the moistness is the fog clinging to him. But you can see it latching onto him. Damn scene. I'm just kidding. Do you make it to Sully first or do I? I think the battle ensuing, you guys are just trying to fight, as you're charging in, they're attacking you guys, they don't. Yeah. Oh They're attacking us, the ground itself is trying to pull us down farther and away from each other. I feel like you're gonna be more light-footed to get to Sully. I would actually probably be going straight for Long Feng. Okay. Because he seems like the biggest threat. Okay. Long Feng's weapon is a... ⁓ His weapon is a giant claymore. Ooh. Oof. Yeah, this isn't gonna be fun. Oof. And he also has a secondary, which is a morningstar. How'd you both? That's crazy. Yay. Yay. So just like. Oh, he's dual wielding. Yeah. Oh no. Oh no. So it's just like big attack, and then just like, great. Okay. Yeah. So I'm running at that. I'm running to pick up our frog friend. I'm stuck in the mud. Okay. So I'm going to rush over to you. It does take me some time. And I imagine by the time I've gotten to you, the mud is trying to like, completely take over you, almost like quicksand. So, just like. Ooh, and maybe, we can retcon this, but maybe I try to pull you out, and it's not, the mud is almost solid. It's almost like a vine. So I take out a dagger and I start like stabbing me not stabbing you The mud vine away, I see yes. Yeah all the while you hear clink clink clink clink behind you This has gone terribly wrong. This is gone horrible. That's slowly saying that to you. Just very calm, this has gone horribly wrong. Did you get the frog? I'm on this. I imagine after some time, I do rescue you. I do get slowly out of the frog and I yell, I got it, we gotta leave. As I go to parry this huge overhead swing with, parry it down, it slams into the ground and I... and say, need to, we've gotta run. I look back at him and it's him looking at me, but I also see a figure standing behind him. it's like, think like Horned King-esque style, like made entirely out of dirt, looks like it's wearing like a cloak or something to cover most of its body and ⁓ roots are shooting out of its head almost like a crown or antlers. And I look up at it. as it reaches down and just snatches Longfing ⁓ into the mist. ⁓ shit. We need to run now. We need to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, we start running as we hear more, That's horrifying. Yeah, yeah. I think we learned a lot from the language. They taught us a lot that time. They did, unfortunately. Unfortunately, nothing that they consciously taught us, but they did teach us a lot. ⁓ yeah. Damn! ⁓ As we exit the pit, as soon as we stop and turn around, it's flat again. Yeah, like nothing happened. And then it's just dead quiet. Actually, almost as we're coming out, the water is at our feet. We're treading in light water. As the lake is coming back in. Damn. I hope long thing's okay, guys. No. I'm pretty sure they're all dead. Oh, no. Was there anyone left back at the hall? I don't think many, and even if there are, I don't know how many of them haven't been tainted. Devil's advocate? Maybe. They're not dead. Corrupted, yes. There's a possibility that they're lost, or under the control of whatever is doing this. They could be dead. They could not. All that to say, they definitely will be dead if we don't fix this. All right, where should we go next? You're familiar with this area. Should we do a disturbing ritual? There's no one left to do the ritual, feel, unless we did a weird ritual, which I'm not sure how I'd make that work in my brain. I feel like at this point we could bring in... The Magus. We haven't seen the Magus in a while, that's true. Cause there's a wild altar, a fresh desire, the hunting ground. I mean, we could save the hunting grounds for... And then... When, why we must stay. In the circles of the ancients. ba ba ba ba ba. Could do, okay. So your mom was part of this group? She knows Longfang? There is a, yes, she does know Longfang. ⁓ She left for a reason. ⁓ But she was very secretive about it. I felt like she didn't wanna talk about it very often. ⁓ As we're just like dejected walking through the Just covered in mud. Just drenched. I have an idea. I have an idea. Okay, so I'm going to move us here. I'm gonna move the Magus with us. And the way that I want to frame this scene is we go back to the lodge, for lack of better word, the hall. And the Magus is there. And we start to tell the Magus what happened, but we get the feeling the Magus knows exactly what has transpired here. Just by the look on their face, they... Maybe they even say like, I knew it was futile to stop them. There was nothing I could do. The only thing I can do now. is a ritual to stave off the forest and the mist from making things any worse. It will take a lot of my power, but it will give us some time to find the egg before things get worse. before we undertake this ritual. What are the consequences if we don't? And you preserve that energy. The creatures of this place will get more aggressive. The spirits will become more aggressive. Is this just a bandaid or is this a...? It is a bandaid. It is a bandaid to give us time. It will not fix anything permanently, but it may protect your family from... what happened here. She says to Fawn. ⁓ Not Buck, also Kit. Mac. Mac. No, like she says like your family in reference to Fawn's family. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not the eight siblings. Yeah. So. ⁓ Follow the Magus to do this ritual? Yeah. What's this scene, circle of the ancients? I didn't think that far ahead, did I? No, I did not. Maybe the Magus tells us, like, lead me to where it happened. And we go back out to this awful, awful lake that's now a lake. It's no longer a mudflap now that the atrocities have happened. And how do I make it disturbing, a disturbing ritual? feel like the Magus has to change very drastically. Yeah. I've got an idea. Okay. Okay. We get to the edge of the lake, and the Circle of the Ancients isn't a physical location, it is the ritual that is cast. Yes. The Magus begins to chant and grow in size, their wings extend out almost impossibly far, wrapping around the outside of the lake. It's almost like an optical illusion. You know they can't actually be that wide or that long, but it looks like it. I almost feel like it turns to glass too. Like it's almost like a mirror. it turns into a mirror. just now flat, completely flat. And as the chanting begins, what the ritual is meant to do is we know the thing that took them is still here. The ritual is trapping it here in the lake with the people that it's taken. And it's as the Magus is casting this that we see the peep, the Rangers that were taken, begin to try to claw their way out of the lake, but they can't break the surface. Damn. Okay. And. It doesn't necessarily look like they're drowning, but they know that they can't leave. I also feel like in the middle of this lake too is a large buck that is just like stuck there too. And it's like doing it's like the like almost like, Oh, maybe like an elk. Yeah. Like an elk. Oh, yeah. Yikes. And that's the, the demigod for whatever the deer God is. And it's the thing that was corrupted. Got it. But yeah, it's like thrashing and trapped in the center of the. But we basically have to watch these rangers drown. As part of this ritual, knowing that they're not dead. But they're going to be dying until we can figure this out. That's awful, that is disturbing, good job. I am good at what I do. Good job team. Heart's like, yes, yes. Damn. Yeah, scene. Scene. Scene. I like to think that the Magus passes out after that. Yeah. Like, look, yeah, look like visibly more monstrous than they did before. I was gonna say more human. Really? they were, they become more monstrous the more magic that they have. Oh, I was gonna do the opposite, okay. And now it looks just like a huge. closer to a just human person. ⁓ But super frail. Yeah. Super weak. But if you want it to be more monstrous, that's also good. What if they just turn into an egg? Wait! Wow. We just had to make you tired. I like the idea of it being more human because I my original thought was like the more magic they have the more they can glamour themselves to looking human. But I like the idea of like as their magic leaves they become more human-esque because their magic is what makes them look more monstrous. Like they don't care about glamour. Sure. It's the power. I like that. I like the idea of them looking significantly more monstrous during the spell. Yes. Because they had to pull on whatever reserves they had. Yeah, totally. Yeah, just fully passed out human. Yep. And maybe now we even have to carry the Magus with us because before the Magus was meeting us there Gandalf style Yeah, and now we actually have to physically bring the Magus to the next location What if he's just like a tiny guy? Like a kid or just small person small person I was thinking because bird they'd be very long and like very thin mm-hmm like very bird bony yes ⁓ I just feel like having the Magus be so frail with us is gonna make a lot of choices later really hard to... I mean, I'm fine with that though. Yeah. And it's just for a time. I imagine they'll gain strength back after they rest. I don't know how works. We don't know how magic yeah. I have a sword. I'm a frog, and I was hoping this person wouldn't make me no longer a frog, and now they're a man. I'm severely jealous. It hurts to see people live your dream. But Harp will make ⁓ a harness for their back to carry the... I was thinking we'd like... Drag. Not Just by the foot. Not drag. Create a sled of some kind. But the baby harness works too. Either way. I'm just picturing the Megas just like also just sitting on the front of your chest. This is our Megas. Our sleep. No, okay. That's fine with me. I was also thinking maybe we could tie it into the hall. Where, ⁓ why we must stay. yeah. If we need to give the Megas some time to rest. ⁓ that works too. Okay. In order to do that, I'm actually going to, because it's my turn, Yes, because you did the circle of vengeance. Could also be. Yes. So we are having to stay at the hall now, which I like to think is now no longer glamored, is just a hut. Yep. Completely empty, there's no people there, there's no food, nothing. Damn. Whatever the forest was doing to make it such a haven is now gone. And, nope, R1. I'm going to go try to track down food. ⁓ But I would like to go alone. Okay. Go alone. Go alone. so you too watch the Magus. ⁓ Take one of my metal arrows with you, just in case. You don't have a bow, but you can stab Oh god! This weighs like 80 pounds. It weighs nothing! What are you talking about? Like you can see my bicep, like, struggling. Okay, okay. You don't have to. No, no, no, I got it. But, it would make more sense for you to go, but... You got healing. Yeah, I feel like you are gonna be the one that knows the most about any sort of medicines to... That is true. Like I can hunt and kill something. will... I'm a frog guy. Yeah, I was gonna say. You're there to protect them. You're for moral support. I'll look out on top of the roof. I'll be up there. Perfect. I will forage only around the cabin to make like a poultice or like a rejuvenation... Tea. Something, yeah. Get to the top of roof, a bird just like picks me up. God damn it. I hear his voice. stab. We have a quail. Patricia! Anyway. I would like to imagine like later on like the dad comes in and the quail's giant and he's riding it. Yes. This is my riding quail. you've grown so big. ⁓ As I begin hunting, ⁓ I'll say, I don't have your bow, there is like a makeshift bow as well. ⁓ We'll say... You gotta roll to... Yes. ⁓ I like to think that I'm trying to track down a boar. ambitious. Lots of meat, a little bit more compact, not quite as fast as a deer. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But five times as aggressive as one. Yes. ⁓ Just because I want to make the wounded part really... If you get it. Yeah. So tracking this boar through the woods. can't see more than like 20 feet in front of me. Also internet, we're at the hunting grounds, the core we track, and we're gonna roll. we're yeah, we're so at the hunting grounds tracking some boar. The life you take. As a harp is making their way through the woods, they hear a pained noise and immediately goes to investigate and doesn't find a boar, does find a deer. The deer has broken its leg. And as Harp realizes what has to happen, the deer is not going to survive, we need food. ⁓ This is the easiest form. ⁓ Harp will kneel down next to it. And doing kind of the same thing you did, knowing that I can't actually communicate with the deer. ⁓ I like to think that the deer does stop panicking a little bit as much as it can. ⁓ And Harp will quietly... I'm so sorry. but your sacrifice will save the world. and will very quickly kill the deer. Damn. Unhappy about it the entire time. Damn. Was hoping for a fight. Aw. Not a sacrifice. Damn. And I think the harp's gonna be really quiet after that because there was this deer. just sacrificed a ton of good rangers to seal off whatever this is and. Thus far, after leaving Barleytown, it feels like just a lot of killing people to get by. ⁓ It was so nice in Westwood. Yes. Damn. then I'll bring freshly-filled dressed deer. Fun. We'll not read the room. You got it. Good job. Good job. Yay. We can eat. I'll give you the the pelt. I don't know if you could use this for anything Hmm, I don't have my leathering supplies. I don't want to go to waste. I'll pack it. We'll see. And I found a few more of those berries. And then we'll set to butchering this deer. Again, very quiet. Just crackling in fire in this shabby little hole. Now once was great. I think I saw a quail carrying off Sully. He should be dragging it back in anytime he's stabbed He's got it, yeah, yeah, it's fine. Don't tell my dad if you see him again. I never, would never. He's really sensitive about that. He seemed sensitive. His stomach is not made for the mist one. It's awesome. He's a vegetarian, I see, yeah. ⁓ no. Wait, we had rabbit stew. He didn't partake. ⁓ he had the stews. He just eats quail eggs, that's it. That's it. He's very malnutritional. Wait, but if he... Wait, he's eating the quail eggs? He's not vegan. ⁓ okay. Yes, fair, But yeah, scene. Scene. Yeah. So sad. I know. Every time, Harp, every time. I gotta bring them down a little bit. We had shenanigans with a funny sounding dad who has three different kinds of quail. We had sacrifices I needed to make things sad. Plus. You can't always be funny, even though I would like to be. But you gotta bring the other emotions. You gotta do emotional damage. That's how you're doing good job in an RPG. And I thank you for it. Thank you. Yes, you did a good job. Emotional damage. Are we thinking of moving on? Well, I guess it depends on the time, I was just about to say, I love ending on a cliffhanger, but... It is 3.42. It is 3.42. And I think this would be a good stopping point. Yeah. Okay. Can we see what the next spot is? Spirit River. The sound of the river fishing, a promise you won't keep. Drifting, a memory of your parents. Tall grass, what hides from view. River fork, what we regret. Ooh, and then it splits. We added so many cool things this session. We really did, yeah. ⁓ yeah, we gotta, now we debrief. Are you keeping a fox for the rest of this? Yes I am. Yes. Yep, now that my, it's not even a secret, I just didn't have access to foxes. Maybe it's more powerful now that you've been chosen by the magus? ⁓ yeah, yeah, maybe like they, I could commune with them, but they wouldn't listen to me. Yeah. And now, one's tagging along. Yeah, I felt like too when you announced it and like Kit was really sad about it. Like maybe yours is actually out of the family more powerful than the rest of the family. That's why I got the letter from the Magus. Yeah. Yeah, totally. But no, that was awesome though. Yeah. There were some highs and lows for sure. That was great. Yeah. I do really like that we have conflicted, not supposed to be a here person. not supposed to be a person and fawn The magical Fox lady of the woods who was definitely supposed to be here That's actually good range. So true. Yeah, you are you are here to lead us. ⁓ God Fuck. Okay. It's your character arc. You're gonna you're going to learn to be the the leader of the party I'm gonna learn to to be kind to myself and to be confident in my abilities, we're gonna find out if you kill people or not. We're find out what your deal is. We're gonna find out if you're criminal. Could be, could have been an accident, who knows? True. Was my blood maybe? I don't know, I'm looking forward to the next flashback. Same, I'm excited to see what you're all about. Me too. Hell yeah. I think it's all coming together really nicely. I really liked the whole lake scene. That was crazy. It was good. Yeah. Good way to round it out. ⁓ I like that we've got a good amount of action sequences. I wasn't sure how that would work with this game, but it's happening pretty seamlessly, and I think that's pretty cool. I think so. Yeah. It's a good ride, because it could be very easily just no conflict throughout the entire thing. Totally. Yeah. But that's boring. Got it. And little space. I'm wounded. All right, well thank you very much for hanging out with us today. If you would like a copy of Fall of Magic, you can get one through our website. I will have the link in the description box below and we will see you next time for another episode of Whatever the Hell This Is. Okay, bye. Wow, what a session. Sorry to leave you on a bit of a downer, but I do promise it actually gets worse from here, but we have a fun time. Anyway, thank you all for joining us today on another Story Games episode. I really do hope you're enjoying this series. Let us know what you think. If you would like to get a copy of Fall of Magic, you can do so through our website. That's heartofthedeerinacorn.com. Also, feel free to check us out on social media. We are deerinacorn or heart of the deerinacorn on most platforms. That's gonna be it from us today. So thanks for joining us and we'll see you in the next episode.