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Episode 5 (S3E05) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hi, this is Dan from Legends from the Fireside. You're
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: listening to Tale of the Manticor. The following podcast is
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: back to Tale of the Manticor Season three. Like the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: creature from which it takes its name, Tale of the
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding between two different
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: species of storytelling. Here you will find the unpredictability of
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: old school paper and dice games with the story craft
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: of a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred, and
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: none will be spared if the dice decide their fate
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: is at hand. According to Lare, the Tale of a
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will be
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: much pain in the days ahead. Last time on Tail
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: of the Manticor, in chapter four, Achillia, Cord, and Robin
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: begin their quest in earnest. They set off headed north
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: in search of a person named Otdoc. Their first encounter
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: is mercifully harmless. A bold raccoon trust to steal their
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: food at night, but Cord, who doesn't sleep, spots it
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: and the pieces easily shew it away. Their next encounter
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: is less straightforward. The very next day, the trio run
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: into a solitary human. He's filthy and appears not to
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: have eaten in some time. Achillie shares a bit of
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: food with him, and the two decide to make camp
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: together as night is falling. In the morning, Achillie asks
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: the man, whose name is Edo, if he knows any
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: one by the name of Odoc. Incredibly, he says he does.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Near the end of the last episode, I recognized a
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: good opportunity to use my current mythic event, meaning create
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the intellectual to guide the story along. Ito has no
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: idea who Audoc is. The lie he believes is justified
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: by his need at the moment. He needs Achilia and
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: her companions not just for food, but for the safety
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of their numbers. Achilia, for her part, is guileless and
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: not used to dishonesty. She's no fool, but her inexperience
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: makes her gullible, and she takes Odo at his word.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: After all, he's telling her precisely the thing she wants
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: to hear. Before returning to the narrative, I need to
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: roll up a new event, meaning to put in the hopper.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Let's see what do seventy eight and forty three give
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: me okay, it's cruelty competition. M no immediate use for this,
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: but that's no problem. It gets set aside until it's needed.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Since I have the action paused, I should take this
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: chance to make my roles for tomorrow's hex crawl. Here's
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: a D twenty for the weather, A fifteen A beautiful
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: day for traveling stumble Upon, while I'll be damned, I've
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: got a one that means something bad's going to happen,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: and I already know what it's going to be. Here's
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: a hint. I'm not going to need a wandering counter
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: roll for the day. Chapter five, Part one, Day four,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: mid afternoon, mythic event meaning cruelty competition. Party status ACHILLEA
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: four at A four hit points, Edo four at A
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: four hit points supplies. The companions have four portions of
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: food and six portions of water. Remaning spells available. Achillia
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: has memorized shrink Edo's limited charm was beginning to wear thin.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: The man huffed and complained peevishly about minor discomforts, even
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: though the weather was fine and the going was easy.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: He also kept looking back over his shoulder, which made
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Achillia nervous too. Furthermore, Edo talked too much and he
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: smelled bad. But he had offered to take her north
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: to see Ottoc, and Achilie would have put up with
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: much worse for such help as he was able to offer.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: The quartet entered a lightly wooded area that eventually grew
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: dense with thickly clustered oak and boxwood trees. Odo stole
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: another glimpse behind them, and Achillia's patience broke. Would you
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: stop looking over your shoulder every twenty minutes you've jump
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: in shadows? Edo? What are you so worried about? Anyway?
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: It'do bit his lip before answering.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: You.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Remember I said I had been traveling with someone.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: We had a falling out rance.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: What kind of Achillie did not own a bow. So
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: it was not the sound of a drawn string that
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: made her stop in her tracks so much as the
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: awareness that Edo at her side had ceased walking. When
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: she looked at him, his eyes were wide and hid
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: a fairer look on his face, like a trapped animal.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: Achillie quickly scanned the tree line in the direction of
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: the sound had come, but the way the sunlight dappled
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: and played in the foliage made it impossible to make
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: out anyone hidden within the greenery. At that moment, a
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: voice rang out, although it came from somewhere directly in
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: front of her, still she could not see its owner.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Whoever you are, We have three arrows trained on your party,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: but we only want the man who wronged us. You
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: can walk away. It's not your lives that we've come for.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: She said, you are traveling with someone. Achillea hissed at Itito,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Did I say that? Stammered the other in a whisper.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: How do we know there are three of you? Achillea
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: suddenly found herself calling into the woods. She could feel
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Robin tensing on her head, about to spring off and
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: fly away. A sudden movement at this moment would not
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: be good, she thought. The reply came after a momentary delay.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: Ask your new friend, he can tell you.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: In the disembodied voice. Achilia stared at Itto well. He
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: looked at her out of the corners of his eyes
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: and nodded guiltily. Achilia felt a flush of anger at
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Edo for having misled her. What will you do with
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: this man if we walk away and leave him to you?
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Another pause from the forest. Then his life is forfeit.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Choose quickly now you can't hold back this bow string forever.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Dramatis persona Edo two days ago. It was absolutely unfair
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: because it wasn't his fault, not really, and accidents did
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: happen after all. This is what Edo told himself while
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: he stopped to catch his breath hiding within the brambles
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: of a particularly inhospitable thorn bush. He'd been on the run,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: stopping periodically for hours. Earlier that morning, he'd woken up
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to the noise of his three fellow outlaws wretching a
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: little ways off from their campsite. As Itto was the
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: only one who was not ill, he did not take
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: long for his companions to draw the same conclusion. The
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: mushrooms he had gathered as part of their meal the
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: night before must have been poisonous. Edo had tried to protest,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: saying that he had eaten them as well and just
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: as many, but they had not believed him. Perhaps the
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: mistrust was due to his joining their group last. He
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: had always been on the ouge of them. Edo suspected
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: that they also blamed him for the failure of their
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: last caper. When the vomiting stopped. The accusations began. There
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: was yelling, insults hurled in both directions, and then the
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: knives came out. He had run for his life and
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: they had pursued by the hatefield. Look on his former allies,
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: waxy and pale faces, do did not expect them to
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: give up. He had to keep going. His throat was
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: still raw in his heart yet beat a rapid tattoo
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: in his chest, but there was nothing for it. If
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: he didn't keep moving, they would catch him. And while
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: he had nothing to defend himself with, not even a dagger,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: they had knives, swords, and bows. Chapter five, Part two,
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Day four, mid afternoon, mythic event meaning cruelty competition Party
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: status ACHILLEA four at A four hit points Edo four
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: at A four hit points supplies. The companions have four
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: portions of food and six portions of water. Remaining spells available.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: Achilie has memorized shrink. Achilia's mind raced through the limited options.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: They could flee or fight, or she and Court could
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: walk away. If they fled, they all might well get away.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: These woods were thick and would provide plenty of cover.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Fighting would be foolish. Edo was unarmed, she had no
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: combat skill, and Court couldn't take on three humans alone.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: The third option was also problematic. To surrender Edo, despite
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: the questionable morality of such a course, would result in
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: her losing her best chance to finding Audoc. It was
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: possible that Otdoc was very famous. That would explain how
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Edo knew of him, and would suggest that others could
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: help in the future. But what if she had stumbled
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: across the exact person she needed. Maybe Fate was screaming
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: in her ear? Was she being deaf to it? She
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: flicked her eyes at Cord and saw that he was
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: waiting on her decision. She felt oddly alone and suddenly
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: wished she were back at home, but there was no
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: one to make choices for her there either. It was
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: up to her. Earlier in the episode, I rolled a
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: natural one when my stumble upon roll, one of the
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: roles I make each day to prepare for a hex crawl.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: A natural one indicates that something really bad will happen,
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: something life threatening. It took me no time to decide
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: what that would be. Edo's ex partners, also Outlaws, have
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: been tracking them and have managed to overtake them and
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: set up an ambush. Edo had mentioned that he'd fallen
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: out with his previous companions, and that part was true,
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: but he was vague about their number. Achillia's party is
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: in a lot of trouble because there are three outlaws
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: hidden in the forest pointing arrows at them. Achillia, Cord,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: and Edo can't really make an effective attack because they
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: can't see the enemy. Ultimately, they could run where they
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: can surrender. Akilia is fairly nigh, but even she doesn't
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: really believe that Ido's old allies will just let them go.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: At best, they would steal her food and other valuables,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: maybe even her spell book. That would be disastrous. So
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: it would seem that flight is the best of the
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: three bad options. The danger of the natural ones stumble
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: upon is not just in that this encounter happens. The
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: penalty is really expressed in the current no win situation,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: where even the best option puts every one of them
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: in mortal danger. Achilia didn't say anything. She didn't yell
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: out for her companions to run, or give any indication
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: by her posture or orientation to suggest her intentions. She
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: simply dashed off to the left, ducking low and hoping
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: desperately that Chord would follow and that the archers would
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: be taken by surprise by her sudden flight. Her keen
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: ears picked up multiple twangs as bow strings were released.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Then she heard the crashing sound of Cord and Edo
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: as they fell in right behind her. She sprinted, jagging
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: left and right, deliberately choosing the thickest oaks to put
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: between herself and the archers injury combat. Achillia runs as
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: fast as she can through the woods, hoping the trees
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: will provide good cover against enemy bowfire. They will, but
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: not before the archers get to loose a volley of arrows.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Because the pieces have so few hit points, each one
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: of them will face death here. Even Cord, who I've
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: decided will have six hit points, could be killed outright.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: It's time to make some rolls. Edo has an armor
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: class of ten. Achillia has a Dexterity bonus, which gives
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: her an ac up eleven, and Chord because he's made
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: of wood. As an ac of I'll say fourteen, Robin
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: is not a target. The archers will each take a
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: minus two penalty because even at close range, the woods
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: do provide some cover. The first arrow is meant for Edo,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: a twelve are better on a D twenty hits. The
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: roll a seventeen hits damage will be four points. That's
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: it for him. Edo has been shot in the back
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: and killed. Not what I'd call a good start. Chord
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: is next. The archer firing at him will need to
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: roll a sixteen or better. Here goes. A fourteen is
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: a good roll, but not good enough. The arrow's zips
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: harmlessly past Chord's shoulder. Now for the role I'm dreading.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I've already bonded with Achillie and would hate to lose her.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Here the arrow speeding towards Achillea needs a thirteen or
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: better to hit A ten. Sure, the young half elf
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: and her friend hear their new companion go down, but
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: there's no helping that. They need to save their own
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: skins and do not even break stride as they bolt
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: through the forest, arms and legs pumping madly. At this point,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: the combat is over, at least for now. I'm going
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: to make a reaction roll to see if the outlaws
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: will want to pursue. I think since they got what
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: they wanted that they probably will not, but they might
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: all add a plus two to the role given the
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: circumstances on two D six, higher is better at ten
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: on the dice. Yeah. Even with that bonus, Ito's former
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: companions will not give chase. They were out for revenge,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: and I guess they got satisfaction. Chapter five, Part three,
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Day four, late afternoon mythic event meaning cruelty competition party
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: status Achillea four out of four hit points, Cord six
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: out of six hit points. Supplies The companions have four
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: portions of food and six portions of water. Remaining spells available.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Achilie has memorized shrink. Achillie ran and ran and ran
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: until her throat and lungs burned and her heart felt
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: like it would burst. She had no idea which direction
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: she was headed. She only wanted to put as much
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: distance between her and Cord and the archers, while keeping
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: to the woods as much as possible. As a result,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: when Achillia could go no further and they were finally
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: forced to stop, she had no idea where they were.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: The half elf bent over double with her hands on
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: her knees, sucking wind. It took some time before she
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: could manage a word. Do you think she didn't really
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: need to finish her sentence. Cord could just about read
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: her mind. After so many years of companionship, he knew
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: that she was wondering if Edo had been killed. He
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: bowed in his way of nodding. Maybe he isn't there,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: Maybe we should go back. Neither of them had ever
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: seen someone be killed before. Technically they still hadn't, but
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: despite her words, Akilia was pretty sure that they had
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: heard Itto die. Cord twisted his body back and forth,
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: meaning no, they should not go back, and Achilia did
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: not argue about it further. She felt strangely exhilarated by
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: having been so close to death herself, but she was
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: equally frustrated her best chance of finding Adoc was gone. Suddenly,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: she pinched her eyes shut and let out a moan.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: How could she have been so stupid? Itto had never
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: known about Adoc. That had been a lie, just like
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: the number of his companions had been a lie. Of course,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: all he had wanted from her was her food and
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: the improved safety of their company. She shook her head,
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: angry with herself, and bunched her little hands into fists.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: She would have to be more careful, less trusting in future.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: She opened her eyes. God, I'm a fool. The bland
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: slightly smiling face of her companion looked back. Just then
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: a fluttering of wings and a peep from a nearby
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: boxwood told a Chillie that Robin had found them. At
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: least that was good news. Come Robin, the stuffed bird
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: wing down from the branch to settle once again on
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: top of her head. I'm glad you found us. I
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: don't know what we would have done if we'd lost you.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: A trill came in reply, and she felt the hard
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: little bird feet on her scalp as they gripped her hair.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: All right, let's keep going between the lines. You know,
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: I think I'm going to need to start a map.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: We can begin with this story's starting point. This is
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: a place called Willow Vale, Ald. They chose to build
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: his home here because of its remoteness, no doubt, but
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: also because the valley had a river that, because of
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: its steady current and fordable shallows, teemed with fish. Besides this,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Willow Vale is also a beautiful locale, with plenty of
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: wild flowers, fruiting trees, and a pleasantly rolling landscape. To
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: the north where Achillie met Edo is a place called
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Summer Hill. Summer Hill wasn't named for any unique features.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: It was just a name that Aldveay thought sounded well.
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: Going further north, we leave the circle of protection that
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Aldvey's presence once provided. I'll call the woods where Achillie
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: and her companions can currently be found the finch Wood.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: On account of the number of that type of bird
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: living in its canopy, I think the Finchwood will end
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: in an escarpment where the land sharply drops along a
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: miles long line running southwest to northeast. By the time
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Achillies party reaches this feature of the landscape, the sun
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: will be low in the sky and trouble will be
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: miles behind them. Chapter five, Part four, Day four sunset
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: mythic event meaning cruelty competition, party status Achillee four at
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: a hit points supplies. The companions have three portions of
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: food and five portions of water remaining spells available. Achillia
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: has memorized shrink. The low sun made the trees cast
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: long shadows as Achillie, Cord, and Robin emerged from the
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: finch Wood and found themselves looking down from the lip
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: of an escarpment that ran away to their left and right.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: As far as the eye could see. Below was a
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: grassy plain whose surface rippled and dimpled in the light wind,
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: revealing a secret legion of pink clover blossoms. Achillie felt
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: more settled than she had before. It had taken her
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: all day to stop shaking, and she still had the
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: impulse to look back over her shoulder. It was mad
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: to think that the people who had tried to kill
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: her would have pursued her this far, but she could
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: not fully banish the notion. She decided to stop for
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: the night here, where there is plenty of cover, and
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: she was at a good vantage for at least the
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: terrain in front of them, if not behind. Once again,
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: she did not wish to risk a fire, but there
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: was no need for one. She still had a few
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: days worth of dried provisions, and the summer evening, with
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: its chirping crickets and katy DIDs, was warm and comfortable.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: She and Court found a thick tree to lean against
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: and sat in silence while twilight became night and the
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: fireflies came out. She tried to control her breathing and
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: meditate in the way Aldvee had told her to calm herself,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: and truly think of nothing. This was a skill that
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: did not come quickly or easily, but she had been
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: practicing for years, and so even considering all the troubles
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: she had recently faced, or perhaps because of them, she
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: eventually found sleep. It's time to make the rolls for
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: the next day's hex crawl. The first roll will be
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: for weather on a D twenty. A fourteen means the
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: mild weather continues stumble upon. I hope we don't see
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: another one here. That role has already it cost me
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: a potential player character. Here goes eleven. That means nothing
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: exceptional will happen or be discovered. Of course, that doesn't
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: preclude the chance for a wandering encounter. A four to
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: six on a D six indicates there will be one
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: the role. I've got a one. I don't think it
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: would make for a particularly gripping audio drama to narrate
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: a day's worth of travel through pleasant weather in which
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: nothing is encountered. So I'll just update my map and hmm,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: I seem to have forgotten how many miles a person
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: can walk in a day in D and D. Hang on,
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I'll check the internet. Okay, I'm back and it seems
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: like the official number is eighteen miles in a day.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: This seemed like a lot, so I did a bit
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: of research on what real life hikers can do, and
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: I found answers ranging from eight to sixteen. I'm going
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: to say that Achillia, who's young and fit but not
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: an experienced long distance hiker, can go twelve miles a
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: day on average through this mixed terrain. I'm going to
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: mark off a day's worth of supplies from Achillea's character sheet,
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: and then I think it'll be time for new dice
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: rolls for weather an eight that's maybe a little gusty,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: making the walk a bit more fatiguing, but nothing special
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: stumble upon, Oh and nineteen My d twenty is teasing me,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: but nothing is stumbled upon on day five while it
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: just food and water supplies down by one each. And finally,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: is there any wandering encounter the roll A six that's
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: a bingo. I'm first going to make a few light
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: additions to my bespoke wandering encountertable. The most important one
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: is to replace human outlaws with something else. I'm going
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: to substitute human travelers there, just so we don't get
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: a repeat result. Rolling on the new table before what's that,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Oh dear, that's not very good. A quick high low
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: roll to see when the encounter takes place night, Yeah,
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: that makes sense. One more pair of rolls to check
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: for surprise for the PCs A six for the wandering
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: encounter A one. The dice gods like to tease me,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: but I think they might just be rooting for Achillea,
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: because that is a stroke of good luck. Here's how
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: all those dice rolls play out in the narrative. Chapter five,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: Part five, Day five night mythic event meaning cruelty, competition,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: party status, Achillea four out of four hit points. Supplies.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: The companions have two portions of food and four portions
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: of water. Remaining spells available. Achillea has memorized shrink. The
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: sky had not been so overcast that Achillia and her
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: companions could not see the stars, and they had taken
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: their bearings before going to sleep. The escarpment that marked
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: the edge of the Finchwood was now two dozen miles
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: to her back. The terrain had been flat for a
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: day and then began to rise and fall. She had
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: felt somewhat exposed as they made their way through the
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: tall grasses, though conversely, there was a comfort knowing she
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: could see for long distances in all directions, especially behind them.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: They had made a cold camp right there in the
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: grass that night, looking up at the stars and wondering
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: what the next day would bring. It turned out that
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: overcast skies and gusty winds were in store, and to
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: going on the next day was a little harder. Eventually,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: the plane gave way to a mixed forest of white cedar,
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: broad leaf and ash. Camp that night was in the
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: naturally hollowed out bowl of a large sequoia. It was
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: spacious enough for all three of them, and Achillia was
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: even considering making a small fire to warm them when
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: a sound pierced the noises of the chirping dusk insects.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: The sound was not familiar to Achillia, who had never
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: heard or seen a whip before. There it was again,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: this time accompanied by the unmistakable sound of laughter. Whoever
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: owned that laugh, Achilia did not want to meet them.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: It sounded somehow cruel. Making a fire was now off
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: the table, and Achilie only hoped to pass the night
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: without being molested. Was that the sound of someone in pain?
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Common sense told her not to investigate, and she would
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: not have if it hadn't been for the next time
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: the sound came, because there could be no mistake that
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: voice was speaking in Elvish. Thanks so much for listening
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: to Tale of the Mantagor. If you're enjoying the show
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: and would like to help them support it, there are
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: lots of ways to do so. You can recommend the
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: show online or to friends. You can like and repost
• 25:38
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  Speaker 1: Shot in the Dark, the Pendulum world building tool, or
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  Speaker 1: Encyclopedia Manticorica on drive through RPG. You can purchase a
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: Tale of the Manticore t shirt at www dot barearts
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: dot stor, and finally, you can rate or review the
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: show on your podcatcher of choice. I am grateful for
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: all of your kind support. As you know, I enjoy
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: sharing a listener review at the end of each episode.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: This one was left by Displaced Hoosier. Displaced Hoosier writes,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: we are absolutely obsessed with this podcast both seasons one
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: and two. John does such an excellent job weaving dark narrative,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: absolutely terrifying details, and fantastic character development. We feel nothing
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: but gratitude to listen to this podcast every week likewise
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: displaced Usier. It's all gratitude here. I feel extremely fortunate
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: to have listeners who are so supportive. Thank you very
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: very much. I have three voice actors on the show today.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Chess from roll Bound is back playing Edo once again
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: in the role of the ambushing l Law is a newcomer,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Tom Masters. Tom did a great job in this role
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: and has asked me to let the world know that
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: he is available for other voice work. Contact him at
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Tea Masters two three nine five at gmail dot com. Finally,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: who's that person speaking Elvish off to one side at
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: the end of the episode? Returning season two favorite Kyellen
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: is back on the show in a new role, but
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: since we haven't met this character just yet, I'll leave
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: it as mystery voice for now. Thanks very much, Chas,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: Tom and Kyellen. For those curious to learn a bit
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: more about Tale of the manticor at gab a blog
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: where I post all kinds of show and RPG related
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes, you
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: can find it at Tale of Themanticore dot blogspot dot com.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: To get in touch with me, try at Manticore Tale
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: on x, Tale of the Manticor podcast on Instagram, or
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: Tale of the Manticor at gmail dot com. I'd love
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: to hear from you. The adventure will continue on the
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: next episode of Tale of the Manticor. It's the story
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: where chaos rolls.