Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 1 (S4E01)

Transcript

Episode 1 (S4E01) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hi, this is Skidmar from the Glass Cannon Network, and
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: you are listening to Tale of the Manticore.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome to Tale of the Manticore. Season 4.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Like the creature from which it takes its name, Tale
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: of the Manticore is a mash-up, a crossbreeding between two
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: different species of storytelling. Here, you will find the unpredictability
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: of old-school paper and dice games with the storycraft of
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred, and none
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: will be spared if the dice decide their fate is
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: at hand. According to lore, the Tale of the Manticore
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will be much
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: pain in the days ahead. Welcome to Season 4 of
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticore. I am so excited to get started.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: But before we do, a few quick notes for the
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: benefit of new listeners. 1. You don't need to have
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: listened to any of the previous seasons to understand this one.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: It is designed to stand alone. so you can start
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: here with no problems and you won't feel lost. 2.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticore is intended for a mature audience,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: so as far as sensitive materials are concerned, you can
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: expect detailed descriptions of violence, accompanied by graphic sound effects. Sex,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: sexual assault, profanity, and torture may be referred to, but
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: I won't explore, dwell upon, or describe them in detail.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: In rare cases where I flirt with crossing that line,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: you can expect an additional disclaimer at the start of
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: the relevant episode. And with that all said, on with
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: the show. I want to explore a new bit of
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: my world map this season, so I'll be starting things
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: off in Camranth. Long-time listeners might remember that Camranth is
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: a western kingdom, many leagues from Xatia, beyond the borders
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: of Camertine and Nepeul. Camranth is huge and consists of
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: dozens of cities, towns, and fortresses. It's ruled by an emperor,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: but much of the power is in the hands of theocrats,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: and the population itself is religious, too. In terms of
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: racial makeup, Camaranthians are mostly humans, though there are some
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: dwarves and halflings living among them, mostly in the trades.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: As might be suggested by their religiosity, Camaranthians are a
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: conservative people. They follow strict norms, laws, customs, and rules
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: of conduct. The gods of Camaranth are many, but while
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: the population venerates all of its deities, each settlement tends
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: to favor one in particular and has a temple or
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: church devoted to it. In preparation for this season, I
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: used my world-building tool, Pendulum, to generate a starting settlement,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: which I am calling Prouth. I won't get into any
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: details here, but it's worth mentioning that the town was
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: originally built as a fortress, not very far from Camranth's
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: easternmost border. For this reason, it's not so unusual for
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Nepulix or Camartinians to be found there. The primary deity
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: in Prouth is Sabrathan, the two-headed god of fortune. Well,
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: that's enough about Prouth for now. At this point, I'd
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: like to roll up a couple of characters. I'm using
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: my usual house rules of 3d6 down the line, re-rolling
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: anything under a 6. Hit points will begin at max
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: for that class at level 1 only, and will then
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: switch to a min-out method later on. I'll explain all
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: that as we go. Let's jump in. Rolling for character 1.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: For strength. A 9. Intelligence. A 5. Re-rolling. A 9. Wisdom.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: A 15. Intelligence. That gives a plus one to magic-based
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: saving throws. Dexterity. Fourteen. Also a plus one, this time
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: to hit with missile weapons and armor class. Constitution. A ten. Charisma.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: I got a twelve. Okay, not bad at all. Since
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Kamranth is such a religious place, let's just make this
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: first character a cleric. I'll name them Wylowin, or Wylo,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: for short. Wylo has 6 hit points, and, as a
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: reminder for those who don't use BX, has no spells.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: He won't get one until he reaches level 2. If
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: he survives that long, that is. Well, I'm sure he'll
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: be fine. Moving right along with PC number 2. Strength.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: A 13. That's plus 1 to hit and to damage
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: with melee weapons. Intelligence. An 8. This character can neither
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: read nor write more than a few simple words. Wisdom.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: A 9. How about dexterity? A 12. Constitution. Another 12.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: And Charisma. A 5. That'll be another reroll. Okay, this
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: time it's an 8, which confers a minus 1 penalty
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: on reaction rolls. Well, nothing special, but certainly usable. This
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: character will be a fighter. Their name is... Altor. Altor Greymar.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Sounds good to me. Altor gets 8 hit points to
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: start with. And that's enough to get us going. Hopefully
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: I can add one or two more PCs in relatively
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: short order. But yeah, for now, these two will do
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: just fine. Prologue The Festival of Good Fortune marked the
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: midpoint of the harvest season, and its activities ran from
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: dawn until late into the evening. Unfortunately, the nature of
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Wylowen's work permitted him but one hour to enjoy himself.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: and of this hour, less than fifteen minutes now remained.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: In earlier years, he had always chosen to spend his
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: hour participating in, or, later, just watching, the Battle of
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: the Fireflies. This was a competition held after sundown, in
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: which the town's youth assembled in a large makeshift ring
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: to engage in a battle royale. The rules of the
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: game were simple. Each participant carried a lit candle in
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: each hand. When both candles were extinguished, they were considered
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: slain and had to leave the ring. The last one
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: standing was pronounced the champion of the festival, and was
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: awarded special privileges that persisted long after the event was over.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Audience members wagered on who would prove quick, agile, and
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: careful enough to be pronounced the winner. Wylowen had been
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: good at this event, as he had always been lean
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: and fast. One year he had even come close to
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: winning it, but had ultimately been eliminated in the final four.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: He was still proud of that achievement. Now in his twenties,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: he had outgrown the Battle of the Fireflies, and spent
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: his single hour at the festival in the early evening instead.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Over the past few years, he had seen a joust,
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: an axe-throwing competition, and an onion-eating contest that was reportedly
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: always won by a local halfling named Touchberry. Once again,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: this year he decided to try something new, and found
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: himself drawn toward the sound of laughter coming from a
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: pavilion tent. Upon entering it, he found several dozen villagers,
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: seated in front of a low stage, upon which a
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: pantomime was taking place. The sudden sound of piping and
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: the shriek of children preceded the appearance of an actor
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: wearing a black mask over his nose and mouth from
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: behind a curtain. Wylowen figured he must have missed the
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: first act, but didn't really mind. This looked like good fun.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Beside the stage, a storyteller stood with a small group
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: of minstrels, all dressed in yellow hose and green doublets,
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: colors that marked them as Camertinians. The storyteller raised his
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: hands to signal the crowd, who responded with a jolly,'.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: Lord Malefax laughed his evil laugh,'.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Said the storyteller, simultaneously elbowing his volunteer villain, who, up
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: to the task, cackled villainously at the children in the
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: front row, eliciting more laughter and booing. Wylowen recognized the
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: masked actor. He was the barkeep at the Tin Cask Tavern,
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: a jovial man named Naken. Some friendly members of the
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: audience shuffled on the nearest bench to make room, and
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Wylowen sat down to watch as the storyteller proceeded. Yes, yes,
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: his victory was almost complete.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: He had kidnapped the Lady Flatterback and cast an evil
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: spell upon Sir Truston so that he could never find
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: where she had been hidden. Now all he had to
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: do was steal the staff of Sardier from the temple
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: and his evil work would be complete. Then he would
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: be the undisputed Prince of Perfidy, the Duke of Dread.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: The Master of Mischief. Just then Sir Tristan leapt out
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: from hiding.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Nothing happened for a moment, and the audience began to titter.
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: I said, just then, Sir Truston leapt out from hiding!
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: A young man that Wylowen didn't know well, but recognized
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: as a member of the town guard, stumbled through the
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: curtain as though he'd been pushed. The storyteller rolled his
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: eyes dramatically and made a new gesture to the audience.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Unlike Sir Truston. They were paying attention and responded correctly.
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: My hero!
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: They cheered in unison.
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: Sir Truston had been concealed in the bushes all along.
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: He drew his sword and addressed the villainous Lord Malefax.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: At a cue from the storyteller, Sir Truston piped up. Um,
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: stop you dog. What wickedness dost thou perform? My hero!
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: But Lord Malefax drew a blade of his own.
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: Had come too far to give up his wicked ways now.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: A clack duel commenced, directed in some fashion by the storyteller.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: The volunteer actors feebly smacked their wooden swords against the others,
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: drawing further oohs and aahs from the delighted crowd. Eventually,
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Sir Truston was instructed... perform a series of mighty chops
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: and Lord Malefax to take the fatal blow. The ending
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: was bittersweet, as was tradition in Camaranthian morality plays, in
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: that Lady Flatterback was never found and presumably perished. However,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: the staff of Sardir remained unstolen and the temple undefiled,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: which was considered more important. When all the performers took
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: a bow together, Wylowen applauded along with the others and
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: and he remained afterwards to throw a coin in the
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: storyteller's hat. Then it was time for him to return
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: to his duties. He got up and made his way
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: out of the tent. Ah, it's so nice to be
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: back and doing what I love. You know, I only
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: took a month off gaming after Season 3, but I
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: sure missed it. Anyway, let's see what we've got so far.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: I have my town of Prenth that I worked through
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: using Pendulum in advance. I've introduced my first PC, Wylo
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: and the Cleric, and even though I don't really know
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: much about him, I already like the guy. In terms
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: of background information, I think this is enough to get
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: some plot happening. What I need is some kind of
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: inciting incident. I could roll for it. The mythic event
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: meaning table would serve very well in a case like this,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: but I actually have something in mind, so I'm going
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: to go with DM Fiat this time around. But before
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: we find out what it is, let's pause for a
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: quick ad break. If you play online, you know how
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: it goes. The voice chat is in one window, the
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: map is in another, someone's notes are in a third,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: and half an hour is gone before anyone rolls anything.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: Nexoria puts the table in one place. Voice and video
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: for the group, battle maps, with fog of war, and
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: dynamic lighting. Dice everybody can see, and a shared calendar,
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: so the session actually gets scheduled. Whatever edition you run,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: the map and the dice don't care. Nexoria is free.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: It runs in your browser, on Android, and on desktop. nexoria.chat
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: slash r slash manticore That's n-e-x-o-r-i-a dot chat. At the
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: front of the gate, Wylowen found Altor Greymar. As the
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: only guard in the manor, Altor had not gotten to
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: enjoy the festival at all. Since the older man had
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: always been friendly with him, Wylowen had purchased a folded
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: cloth containing roasted pumpkin seeds as a gift. He passed
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: them to Altor, as the two men exchanged the customary
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: greeting of Praised Be. Altor thanked Wylowen, who nodded and
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: smiled before climbing the stairs to the second floor. There
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: was a lot more work to do before he could
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: turn in for the night. Wylowen had lived his whole
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: life in Prouth. As the eldest son in a well-to-do family,
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: His lot was privileged, relatively speaking. He had joined the
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: church of Saberthon at the age of eight, living apart
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: from his family and among the brethren for the required
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: nine years in which he had studied with a focus
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: on the medicinal arts. Upon completion of his training and
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: receiving the title Novice Healer, he was sent here to
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: the Komon Estate to begin his first assignment. He would
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: remain until he turned 25, at which time he would
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: move on to something else, and another novice would take
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: his place. Wylowen was 23 now. His work at Komon Estate,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: even though it was often tedious and unpleasant, was a
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: position of prestige and honor that would allow him to
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: advance through the ranks of the priesthood much more quickly
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: than most other young clerics could hope to do. Wylowen
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: had just one responsibility, to provide full-time, round-the-clock care to
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: the champion, the paladin, Thalios Komon, and this he had
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: done for the past six years. He changed the man's sheets,
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: changed his soiled underclothes, and washed his body. He spoon-fed
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: him thin soup, massaged his muscles, read to him, and
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: prayed for him. For Thaleos was a complete invalid. The
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: glory of his youth had ended when he took a
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: blow to the head during a battle with a hill giant.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: The giant was slain, but Thaleos was rendered a vegetable.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: That blow had put him in a coma. All of
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: this had taken place 22 years ago. and Thalios had
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: not opened his eyes once since. In the meantime, his
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: body had aged normally. Wylowen knew that he had lived
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: for sixty winters, but he looked considerably older than that.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Upon opening the door to Thalios' bedroom, he was greeted
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: with the familiar ripe odors of the kind old men produce.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Wylowen was used to it, and didn't much mind. As
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: he often did in the execution of his duties, he
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: talked as he worked, Wylowen did this as though the
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: paladin could hear him, and perhaps he could. In any event,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: it made the hours pass by more pleasantly.
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: I saw a play.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: He began.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Negan was in it. So was, um, what's his name,
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: from the town guard, the one with the yellow beard. Anyway,
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: it was good fun. The children especially enjoyed it.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: The setting sun could be seen through the room's window,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: and it cast a beam of orange light across Thaleos's body,
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: which would have resembled a corpse were it not for
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: the almost imperceptible rise and fall of the chest. The man,
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Wylowen knew, had been mighty once. Two decades ago, these
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: slender arms had been thick with sinew. But now his
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: charge was so light that Wylowen could lift him with ease.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: He probably weighed no more than a hundred pounds. Wylowen
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: had the idea that he might try to spoon a
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: little more soup into him before he retired. so he
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: gently pulled Thalios into a sitting position against the backboard
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: and went over to a nearby table where a bowl
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: of cold, bleak soup waited. He lifted the bowl in
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: his hands, still talking.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I bought some pumpkin seeds for Altor. He was unable
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: to leave this year and, uh.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Wylowen turned back toward the bed and stopped talking mid-sentence.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: What he saw made him lose his breath and drop
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: the bowl on the floor. Bleak soup spilled everywhere. But
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Wylowen didn't even notice. He was staring at Thalios. And
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: Thalios was staring back at him, his eyes bright blue
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: and wet and shining. It's... it's a miracle, Wylowen stammered,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: meaning it in a literal sense. But the miracle, if
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: that's what it was, did not end there. For at
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: that moment, the paladin spoke. Well, it looks like I've
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: found my inciting incident. So, why does the paladin suddenly awake,
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: and what does he say? On both counts, I have
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: no idea. But I am excited to find out. Earlier
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: in this episode, I mentioned the Mythic Event Meaning Tables
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: as a potential way to answer questions. Let's go ahead
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: and use them now to answer one of these. To
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: do that, I roll a d100 twice and consult Mythic.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: I've got... 17. Antagonize. And... Pleasures. Antagonized pleasures.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: Hmm.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: The goal here is to use this word pair to
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: come up with something creative. And yeah, I think I've
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: got an idea. Beware, rasped Thalios. His eyes were staring
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: and wet, and his gaze bored into Wylowen with an
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: urgency that made the young cleric tremble. The sirens return.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Wylowen stumbled backward. He was hardly able to believe his
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: ears or eyes. Should he raise the alarm or should
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: he rush to the old man's side? He decided on
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: the latter. He ran to the bed, sweat now pouring
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: from his brow and his heart hammering in his chest.
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: Master Thalios, pray Sabrothon, you're awake. What can I do?
• 18:32
  Speaker 5: What can I get for you? Tell me what you require.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Thalios seemed oblivious to Wylowen's words, but yet stared at
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: the cleric's face with unblinking intensity. Whatever was meant by,
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: beware the sirens return, Wylowen had no clue. But before
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: he could muster another thought, Thalios spoke again. And this time,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: he said something that made even less sense. Wylowen shook
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: his head helplessly.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: What?
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: I don't understand. He pleaded. Just wait.
• 19:01
  Speaker 5: I will call for your son.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: Just... But at that moment, Thalios died. The shriveled paladin
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: canted to one side and then slumped over. His breathing
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: had stopped, but his eyes remained wide open. Chapter 1
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Part 1 Day 1 Night Party Status Wylowen 6 out
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: of 6 Hit Points The first to arrive was Altor.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: Wylowen hadn't even realized it, but upon Thaleos' death, he
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: had let out a sound of grief so loud and
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: strangled that it had roused the entire estate. Presently, Altor
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: was dead. stood in the doorway, taking in the scene.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: Wylowen looked at him in utter dismay.
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: He's dead! Thalios is dead!
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: So much was plain to see. And while to Altor
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: it was a shame, it was also an inevitable one.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: This day had to come sooner or later.
• 20:07
  Speaker 5: You did well by him, Wylow.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: Altor had never called Wylowen by his full name. Perhaps
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: because he had met the cleric before he reached adulthood,
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: he'd always thought of him as a youth. He certainly
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: looked young now, and afraid.
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: He said something before he died.
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: What did he say?
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: Wylowen told him.
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: I don't know what any of that means. Sounds like
• 20:29
  Speaker 5: it came from one of your books of poetry.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Remarked the houseguard. I don't think it is, was Wylowen's response.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: By now, boots could be heard rapidly approaching from the
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: direction of the stairs. A few moments later, the master
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: of the house entered the room. Olinar Komon was the
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: eldest living son of Thalios the Paladin. He had not
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: inherited his father's mighty physique, but he had other gifts.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Olinar was shrewd and pious and never rested on the
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: laurels of his family name. Instead, he had worked hard
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: to increase his fortune as a merchant, working primarily in
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: winemaking's secondary industries. He employed coopers, drovers, and owned a
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: small smithy. He also purchased local wine to produce a
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: brandy that was popular in the area, and competed with
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: other brandies in different parts of Camranth. Ever calm and collected,
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: he took in the sight of his father's lifeless body
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: with dignity and grace. But when Wylowen told him of
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: the words Thaleos had spoken, Olenar's demeanor changed completely.
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: Brother Wylowen, Altor, you will stay here until I return.
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: You are not to leave and you may not speak
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: to anyone.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: Understood? The two men nodded obediently and looked at each
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: other as their patron departed. A few minutes later, he
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: returned and shut the door behind him.
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: No one else has come in my absence.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Wylowen and Altor confirmed that no one had.
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: And you have spoken to no one else about what
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: you have seen and heard tonight?
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Again, the two other men said they had not. That
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: is well. Olenar looked at his father on the bed.
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: Brother Wylowen, will you help me too?
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: He didn't need to finish the question. Wylowen was already
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: moving to aid in arranging Thalios' body into a more
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: dignified position on the bed. When that was done, Olenar
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: spoke again.
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: Tonight I will keep vigil with my father, alone.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: Wylowen frowned at that.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: My lord, it is customary for a cleric of Sabrathan
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: to remain.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: I am aware of the custom.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: Volinar interrupted.
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: Listen, have either of you ever heard about a cult
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: that once held sway in these parts?
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: Wylowen and Eltor both shook their heads.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: They disappeared centuries ago. They were a group of men
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: and women who worshipped Vorodon.
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: Vorodan?
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: Wylowen was shocked. Vorodan was the god of the underworld
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: and the antithesis of all that was pure and good
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: on Merith. Olenar looked as though he was struggling with
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: something internally.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: Perhaps, perhaps the less I say the better. Both of you,
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: this is what must happen. You will travel to Caldwell
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: and speak with Marik.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Both Wylowen and Altor knew that Marik was Olenar's younger
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: sister and high priestess of the neighboring town. Olenar continued.
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: You will tell her, and only her, everything you heard tonight.
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: It is important that no one else should know. Will
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: you promise upon your lives to do this?
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: I will, said Altor. I swear it, added Wylowen. Sobrathon
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: be my witness.
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: When does your lordship wish.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Us to depart? Without hesitation, Olenar answered.
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Immediately.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to Tale of the Manticore. If you're
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: interested in helping the show to grow, here are a
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: few easy ways to do so. You can recommend or
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: like and repost episode announcements on social media, purchase a
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticore t-shirt at beararts.store, or one of
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: my offerings on DriveThruRPG, rate and review the show on
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: your favorite podcatcher, or give me a sub on YouTube.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: Thanks are also due to my amazing cast of voice actors.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: In order of appearance, they are... Camertonian Storyteller was played
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: by Carl White of the Lone Adventurer podcast. Sir Trustin
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: was played by Brian Rideout of the Swords Against Madness podcast.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: Wylowen was played by Chris Sagers. Eltor was played by
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: Dan Falk. And finally, Olinar was played by Andrew Fling.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: This episode also featured the incredible talents of real-life Ren
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: Faire musicians, so special thanks go to the Gemsman Renaissance
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: Consort for permission to use the composition Jenny Plucks Pears
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: as a featured piece of diegetic music in this episode.
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: You can find the Gemsman performing live at many Ontario
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Ren Faires. Keep an eye out for their next album,
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: which will be of medieval and renaissance Christmas music. For
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: those who wish to find other like-minded creators doing similar shows,
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: please check out solarollplayersnetwork.com And if you're curious to learn
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: more about this show, I keep a blog where I
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: post all kinds of show and RPG-related stuff, like sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: and show notes. You can find it at taleofthemanticore.com. The
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: adventure will continue next time on Tale of the Manticore.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: It's the story where chaos rolls.