Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 39 (S3E39)

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Episode 39 (S3E39) · 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
0:03
Speaker 1: listening to Tale of the Manticor. The following podcast is
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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
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Speaker 1: Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding between two different
0:39
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
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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
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Speaker 1: is at hand. According to Laura, the Tale of a
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Speaker 1: Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will be
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Speaker 1: much pain in the days ahead. Last time the Tale
1:15
Speaker 1: of the Mandicor, the previous chapter begins with the party
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Speaker 1: members speculating over the nature of their fallen enemy. The
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Speaker 1: Displacer Beast, is clearly a creature of magic, which supports
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Speaker 1: the theory that the land they now travel is different.
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Speaker 1: The companions continue their journey in search of the historian
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Speaker 1: odoak Zygog, but their progress is halted when a terrible
1:35
Speaker 1: storm comes in. When the rain becomes too heavy for
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Speaker 1: them to keep going, the companions are forced to take
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Speaker 1: shelter in the hallowed out bowl of a giant oak.
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Speaker 1: Poor do Renni had been suffering even before the downpour
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Speaker 1: soaked them all to the skin. He'd relived a bad
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Speaker 1: memory in his dreams every night since they discovered de Roath,
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Speaker 1: and it was beginning to take a toll on his spirit.
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Speaker 1: In a brief segment that changes the story's point of view,
1:59
Speaker 1: we learn that the ouk Kippins of the Iron Tower
2:01
Speaker 1: are in possession of the missing second Scroll of Galandol,
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Speaker 1: presumably there in this region search for the Golden Path,
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Speaker 1: just like the Dorothi had once done. We also learn
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Speaker 1: that the master and servant relationship between vimgrim Atrash and
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Speaker 1: Bellario is not as it first appeared. We returned to
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Speaker 1: the Companions in the morning after the storm has passed,
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Speaker 1: to find Dureni gone. While Tantier goes off to find
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Speaker 1: him and to make sure he's all right, Achilia, Fairwind
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Speaker 1: and the others are left to wait, hanging their clothes
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Speaker 1: in the sun to dry. The Song of the Woods
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Speaker 1: verse three.
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Speaker 2: A darkling sky, a mossy bed, What dangers of the
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Speaker 2: wild reside the fox and fawn in silence, hide and
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Speaker 2: twilight shows the path ahead. Here Toad's jewels ring a
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Speaker 2: secret glade where faylight's flicker soft and in time forgets
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Speaker 2: which way to go. Smells are spoken and dreams are made.
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Speaker 1: Chapter thirty nine, Part one, twenty two years ago. Her
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Speaker 1: curved sword leaned against the front door, untouched now for
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Speaker 1: many weeks. Her leather armor, not necessary, had been folded
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Speaker 1: and stored away in a wardrobe. Eulalon sat by Aldveay's fireplace,
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Speaker 1: wearing a simple linen shirt. Her platinum colored hair was
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Speaker 1: plaited in twin braids and draped one over each shoulder.
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Speaker 1: There was a pink blush to her cheeks. In fact,
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Speaker 1: her entire being radiated happiness and health. She was in
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Speaker 1: love and living in a dream of contentedness. There was
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Speaker 1: another reason for her glow as well. Presently, Aldvei came
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Speaker 1: up the stairs in the basement. When he looked at Ulalon,
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Speaker 1: his face lit up as if he was seeing her
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Speaker 1: for the first time ever since he had found her
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Speaker 1: asleep in the woods. It had been this way his
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Speaker 1: love renewed itself every time he saw her shape. Every
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Speaker 1: time he heard her voice or touched her skin in
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Speaker 1: his hands, Oldtvey clutched a soft feathered thing. It is
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Speaker 1: not very skillful, he said in Elvish, showing her his work.
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Speaker 1: Oldvey had been learning to speak Elvish for almost three
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Speaker 1: months now, studying and practicing every day. Although Elvis was
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Speaker 1: not a simple language for a human, Aldve had a
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Speaker 1: gifted intellect and could learn just about anything he put
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Speaker 1: his mind to. It helped that he was also motivated
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Speaker 1: as never before. By this time he could already express
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Speaker 1: most of what he wished to say. My hands are
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Speaker 1: not very he searched for the word, but could not
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Speaker 1: find it. Yulaloon's face lit up with a smile, and
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Speaker 1: her golden eyes shone fasting. She supplied steady, just so,
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Speaker 1: said Oldvay in his own eyes crinkled in mirth.
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Speaker 3: Vestren, bring in here.
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Speaker 1: Said Ulalon. Oldvey did as he was bid and placed
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Speaker 1: the object on the table beside the Elfin woman, who
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Speaker 1: picked it up. That morning, Aldve had gone out to
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Speaker 1: catch a fish, but instead had come home with a
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Speaker 1: wounded bird cradled in his hands. Must have fallen from
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Speaker 1: its nest, he had explained, The two of them had
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Speaker 1: tried to nurse the little bird, a red breasted robin,
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Speaker 1: back to health, but their efforts had failed, and the
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Speaker 1: sweet little thing had died. Ulalon had then shown aldvais
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Speaker 1: something secret to the elves, something that they were forbidden
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Speaker 1: to share with anyone outside their race. It was a
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Speaker 1: magical incantation that could allow the castor to extract a
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Speaker 1: tiny wisp of their own soul and imbue life into
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Speaker 1: something inanimate. The spell will not bring the bird back
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Speaker 1: to life, Ulalon had explained, but it will give it
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Speaker 1: a kind of new life, a partial soul. With that,
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Speaker 1: she had spoken the arcane syllables and pulled a tiny
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Speaker 1: strand of spirit manner from her own soul. Plucking it
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Speaker 1: from her very breath, she placed it into the bird,
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Speaker 1: which Altvey had taxi jermy to per her instructions. It
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Speaker 1: immediately twitched a leg. Now it is your turn, she said.
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Speaker 1: Alva carefully recited the spell as she had tottered to
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Speaker 1: him and exhaled, drawing a wisp of his soul from
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Speaker 1: within and transferring it to the stuffed bird to mingle
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Speaker 1: with ulaloons. One grayish brown wing spasmed, then twitched again,
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Speaker 1: and then suddenly both wings fluttered and the bird flew
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Speaker 1: up into the rafters, where it piped excitedly, staring down
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Speaker 1: at them with its glass bead eyes. Ulaloon held out
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Speaker 1: an elegant finger, and the bird fell off the beam
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Speaker 1: into a dive to a light on her knuckle. Life
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Speaker 1: said Oldveay. Life agreed Ulaloon, nodding. Then Alvey smiled broadly
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Speaker 1: once again and looked at Yulaloon's abdomen. She had her
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Speaker 1: free hand cupped over a soft bump that was now
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Speaker 1: growing there. The wizard and the elf looked at each
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Speaker 1: other and laughed. Chapter thirty nine, Part one day thirty six,
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Speaker 1: within one day of their destination morning mythic event meaning
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Speaker 1: abandoned anger party status Achillee thirteen of thirteen, hit points
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Speaker 1: court twenty four of twenty four, der Any sixteen of sixteen,
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Speaker 1: ten Deer nineteen of nineteen, fair Wind nineteen of twenty six.
7:44
Speaker 1: After receiving one point of natural healing Flicker sixteen of
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Speaker 1: sixteen supplies, the companions have no food. Remaining spells available.
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Speaker 1: Achille can cast in large message glitter dust and detect evil.
8:03
Speaker 1: Cord can cast entangle slow poison hold animal and speak
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Speaker 1: with plants. Fair ones can cast cure like wounds and
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Speaker 1: protection from evil. Tentyre found de Rennie without too much trouble.
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Speaker 1: He knew his brother well, and when he saw the
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Speaker 1: secluded and shady grove of juniper tucked behind a knoll,
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Speaker 1: his intuition told him this is where he'd be, and
8:31
Speaker 1: sure enough, there he was. De Renning didn't look up
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Speaker 1: at Tendre's approach, nor when his brother took a seat
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Speaker 1: on the springy ground beside him and placed a hand
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Speaker 1: on his back. He merely continued to study the toes
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Speaker 1: of his boots. Finally, he said, it's torture.
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Speaker 3: Ten tier, you had.
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Speaker 1: The dream, again, asked the younger elf gently. Dournnie nodded
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Speaker 1: and bit his lip.
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Speaker 3: It is so real, and it is forcing me to
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Speaker 3: remember some details that I had tried hard to forget.
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Speaker 1: The number of orc voices you mean, tintereresque. He had
9:09
Speaker 1: heard the story and knew very well how deeply the
9:11
Speaker 1: experience had wounded his brother. No more than three, said
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Speaker 1: de Rennie. It was almost a whisper.
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Speaker 3: We might have made a stand together.
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Speaker 1: It wasn't your fault, de Rennie. The old crow gave
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Speaker 1: you an order, The other laughed joylessly.
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Speaker 3: Ha ha, and what do you think about following orders?
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Speaker 1: It was a fair point, at least as far as
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Speaker 1: Derenni knew. He believed that his always rebellious brother had
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Speaker 1: defied their parents order by joining with him on this quest.
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Speaker 1: Tender pursed his lips and patted de Renni's back.
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Speaker 4: Fair enough, he finally said, But you made the best
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Speaker 4: decision you could at the time, and that's all anyone
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Speaker 4: can do. What if you'd stayed behind to fight and
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Speaker 4: four of them had shown or.
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Speaker 3: Six, I'd have my honor at.
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Speaker 1: Least, came the bitter reply de Rennie. Tender began squeezing
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Speaker 1: his brother's shoulder.
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Speaker 4: You are the most honorable person I know.
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Speaker 1: There followed another moment of silence.
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Speaker 3: Then de Rennie said, go back to the others, tell
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Speaker 3: them I am well and we'll rejoin you soon. Just
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Speaker 3: just give me a little more.
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Speaker 1: Time, all right, said ten Teer, getting to his feet.
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Speaker 4: But don't still in your emotions too long, brother.
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Speaker 1: He walked away. De Rennie did not reply. When Tender
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Speaker 1: returned to the sight of the hollow oak, he found
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Speaker 1: the trees branches festooned with damp clothing, the half naked
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Speaker 1: fair One staring off into the distance in a fully
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Speaker 1: naked Achillia carefully going over Kord's body. She heard him coming, called.
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Speaker 2: Out, come here, Tenttier, and look at this.
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Speaker 1: Unlike Fairwind, ten Tire had not been raised to be
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Speaker 1: embarrassed by nudity, so he joined Achillie to see what
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Speaker 1: she was so excited about. He noticed right away the
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Speaker 1: single pink flower the dryad had given to Dorni and
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Speaker 1: who had in turn given to Chord, had not only
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Speaker 1: attached itself to the Construct's body, but had multiplied. There
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Speaker 1: were three pink blossoms now, all in a cluster right
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Speaker 1: in the middle of his chest. Achillia pointed out several
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Speaker 1: sprouting twigs on his shoulders, forearms, and hands, and a
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Speaker 1: patch of moss on Cord's left hip.
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Speaker 2: At this rate, you'll be a whole forest before long.
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Speaker 1: Achillie told her friend, what do you think it means?
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Speaker 2: As ten Tire, I have no idea what it means,
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Speaker 2: but it's marvelous.
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Speaker 1: Nonetheless, she said, beaming.
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Speaker 2: Cord, you are beautiful.
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Speaker 1: The Construct bowed in the thanks, creaking, while Robin piped
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Speaker 1: a reprimand into his painted ear for the sudden movement,
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Speaker 1: Achillie decided to change the subject.
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Speaker 2: He found her any.
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Speaker 1: I take it she had lost any concern when she
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Speaker 1: saw ten tears return. His easy gait had not signaled
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Speaker 1: any alarm. He'll be fine. He just needs some time
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Speaker 1: alone to work through some bad memories. He has been
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Speaker 1: having dreams, you know, nightmares. Really, Achillia nodded, we need
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Speaker 1: to wait.
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Speaker 2: For our things to dry before we go on anyway,
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Speaker 2: Speaking of which, I really don't know which way we
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Speaker 2: should go next. Farwint has discovered a lake, he thinks,
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Speaker 2: and there are several pictures of lakes in Aodok's sketchbook,
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Speaker 2: so we might stop by looking there.
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Speaker 4: It makes sense we'd find him by a lake. True. Still,
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Speaker 4: I wonder if our quest is now going to resemble
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Speaker 4: looking for a particular acorn in a pile of acorns.
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Speaker 1: Achillia gave him a quizzical look, unfamiliar with the elvin idiom.
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Speaker 4: I just mean trying to find one man in all this.
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Speaker 1: He waved in all directions at the rolling lands covered
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Speaker 1: in thick forests, then at the mountains to the north.
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Speaker 4: I don't know how we can possibly do that.
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Speaker 1: The scene in which Tentier counsels his older brother was
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Speaker 1: born out of my mythic event meaning abandoned anger, and
13:07
Speaker 1: it in turn gave me an idea for a little
13:10
Speaker 1: twist in the siblings relationship dynamic. I try to drop
13:13
Speaker 1: a hint of it in their exchange. Did you catch it?
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Speaker 1: Either way? I'll circle back to it later on. At
13:19
Speaker 1: the moment, I need a new event meaning pair, So
13:22
Speaker 1: here we go using deep percentile forty nine and sixty eight.
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Speaker 1: All right, that gives me harm rumor hmm, you know
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Speaker 1: that's pinging something in my brain. But nah, I'm not
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Speaker 1: quite sure just yet. I'll put it aside for now
13:39
Speaker 1: because there's a second reason I stopped the action. In
13:42
Speaker 1: addition to the new event meaning pair, I also need
13:45
Speaker 1: to roll on my wandering encountertable. This is because in
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Speaker 1: the last episode I determined that there would be one
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Speaker 1: this day, but I didn't figure out what it would
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Speaker 1: be this close to Odoak's home. I think a small
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Speaker 1: adjustment to the current table is in order. The existing
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Speaker 1: one one goes like this on a D six A
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Speaker 1: one is a sketchbook event A two giant animals or
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Speaker 1: insects three fay four or five exotic dangerous creature six
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Speaker 1: some kind of minor boon like found equipment, supplies or information.
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Speaker 1: I'm going to change that to the following. On a
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Speaker 1: D six A one to two is a sketchbook event.
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Speaker 1: Three giant animals or insects four FAY five exotic dangerous
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Speaker 1: creature six some kind of clue that will get the
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Speaker 1: PCs closer to Odokes home. And here's the role. I
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Speaker 1: get A one that's a sketchbook event. And as for
14:39
Speaker 1: which sketch to use, we won't be random this time.
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Speaker 1: I know the right one. All right, Let's take a
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Speaker 1: quick ad break. When we return, we'll see what the
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Speaker 1: PCs have discovered. Chapter thirty nine, Part two, D thirty
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Speaker 1: six within one day of their destination late morning mythic
15:05
Speaker 1: event meaning harm rumor party status. The party status is unchanged.
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Speaker 1: De Rennie took more time than Tener had expected for
15:17
Speaker 1: him to rejoin the group. When he did, he did
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Speaker 1: so with that explanation or apology. He merely showed up
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Speaker 1: and began to pack up his things, which by now
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Speaker 1: had been dried by the sun and taken down from
15:29
Speaker 1: where they'd be hung from the tree branches. When Achillie
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Speaker 1: turned as though to speak with him. His expression darkened
15:35
Speaker 1: and he minutely recoiled. It was clear he did not
15:39
Speaker 1: want to talk about his absence, but Achillee surprised him
15:42
Speaker 1: when she simply.
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Speaker 2: Asked, you found some fishoks andsm the threat back in
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Speaker 2: De Ros.
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Speaker 1: Didn't you do any With audible relief, the elf replied.
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Speaker 3: Ah, yes, yes I did. The hooks are in that
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Speaker 3: leather wallet over there. There is a wooden s somewhere too,
16:01
Speaker 3: still in my back perhaps.
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Speaker 1: Achillea located the items quickly and continued as though nothing
16:07
Speaker 1: had been amiss.
16:08
Speaker 2: That morning, thewin thought he saw a lake some miles
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Speaker 2: in that direction, and Hino says he can definitely see it.
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Speaker 2: We're going there, and I'm going to catch a fish.
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Speaker 1: The thought of a proper meal brought a smile to
16:19
Speaker 1: everyone's face, even to Rennie's. Soon the companions were packed
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Speaker 1: and headed northeast in the direction of Fairwind's Lake. About
16:27
Speaker 1: an hour later they reached its stony shoreline, but long
16:30
Speaker 1: before that they realized there was something special about it.
16:34
Speaker 1: There's no question, achille had said, excitedly, when they were
16:37
Speaker 1: still several hundred yards away.
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Speaker 2: That lake is in the book, see that island there
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Speaker 2: with the three tall pines with the smaller rocky part
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Speaker 2: poking out of the water in front.
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Speaker 1: Dahlfel forced the others to wait while she pulled out
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Speaker 1: the sketchbook and turned to the proper page. Then she
16:54
Speaker 1: held it up to show that she was right. The
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Speaker 1: page was an exact match of the vista before them.
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Speaker 1: Odok had captured every last detail too. There was a
17:03
Speaker 1: mountain on the right side that seemed to lean into
17:06
Speaker 1: the frame as though not wanting to be left out,
17:08
Speaker 1: and there was a dark clump of pines filling the
17:10
Speaker 1: hollow of a mountain slope. On the other The charcoal
17:13
Speaker 1: penciled strokes showing the surface of the lake even rippled
17:17
Speaker 1: slightly in the breeze, just as it did in real life.
17:20
Speaker 1: Achilia got a little thrill knowing she was standing in
17:23
Speaker 1: the same spot where Odok had once stood, and once
17:26
Speaker 1: again she felt a renewed sense of purpose and hope.
17:30
Speaker 2: We are so close. Acorns be damned. I just know
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Speaker 2: where going to find him to day.
17:40
Speaker 1: You know, I had really wanted to use the metaphor
17:42
Speaker 1: of a needle in a haystack, but I couldn't do that.
17:44
Speaker 1: Unless I put the words in a fair Wind's mouth.
17:47
Speaker 1: The cleric is the only member of the party who
17:49
Speaker 1: would know what a haystack was. An acorn in a
17:52
Speaker 1: pile of acorns is a bit harder to grock, but
17:54
Speaker 1: it's also a bit more poetic and certainly more believable
17:57
Speaker 1: as an alpin idiom. But I digress. The point I
18:00
Speaker 1: really want to make Intenter did make is that even
18:03
Speaker 1: though the companions have reached the area where Odok did
18:06
Speaker 1: his sketches, it doesn't mean they can find his home.
18:09
Speaker 1: I will grant that the recluse does live in these parts,
18:12
Speaker 1: but where and how could the Pieces possibly find a
18:15
Speaker 1: cottage or whatever kind of place he lives in in
18:18
Speaker 1: the middle of a massive forest. I can't use the
18:21
Speaker 1: old plume of smoke from the chimney trick. If that
18:24
Speaker 1: was there, Achilia's group would have seen it long ago,
18:26
Speaker 1: and from miles off. Also, I've used that device already
18:29
Speaker 1: when the Pieces first met fair Wind. This acorn pile
18:33
Speaker 1: problem is something I had been wondering how to address
18:36
Speaker 1: for some time, But then back in episode thirty seven,
18:39
Speaker 1: the dice Gods threw an answer in my lap when
18:43
Speaker 1: Cord leveled up Achillia, Cord fair Wind, de Rennie, and
18:53
Speaker 1: Tantier sat in a line on the lake shore, with
18:55
Speaker 1: their boots in a pile behind them and their bare
18:58
Speaker 1: feet in the cool water. The flicker was lying on
19:00
Speaker 1: her back beside the half elf, showing her belly and
19:03
Speaker 1: asking to be stroked, but Achillie's hands were busy. She
19:07
Speaker 1: had fashioned a rod from a willow branch and tied
19:10
Speaker 1: tor Rennie's hook and thread to the end. A worm
19:13
Speaker 1: provided bait. Occasionally she gave the line a light jerk,
19:16
Speaker 1: but if there were any fish in this lake, they
19:18
Speaker 1: were not tempted by it. By now, it was late afternoon,
19:22
Speaker 1: and Achillia's confidence in catching a tasty lunch was beginning
19:25
Speaker 1: to crumble.
19:26
Speaker 2: If nothing bites in the next few minutes, we should
19:29
Speaker 2: probably get moving.
19:30
Speaker 4: She said, But we have no idea where to look.
19:34
Speaker 1: Tantier had replied. This problem of being so close and
19:38
Speaker 1: yet completely unsure where to go next was one each
19:41
Speaker 1: of them had been struggling with, and perhaps that's why
19:44
Speaker 1: they had spent so long here trying to catch a fish.
19:47
Speaker 1: If the alternative was just to pick a random direction
19:49
Speaker 1: in the hopes of stumbling across Odoke's home, since no
19:53
Speaker 1: one had actually put a voice to the concern for
19:55
Speaker 1: some time. It was not until this moment that Chord
19:58
Speaker 1: stood up and stepped up the shore hers embankment, causing
20:01
Speaker 1: Robin to peep in protest at the sudden movement. The
20:06
Speaker 1: wooden construct walked back to the willow from which Achillie
20:09
Speaker 1: had taken her makeshift fishing rod, and placed his dowel
20:12
Speaker 1: fingers against his trunk. From where the others sat twisting
20:16
Speaker 1: in place to see what their companion was up to.
20:18
Speaker 1: It looked like Cord was about to embrace the willow,
20:21
Speaker 1: but he just stood there for several moments with his
20:24
Speaker 1: fingers touching the bark. Achilie was nonplussed. She was about
20:28
Speaker 1: to say something when several of the willow's branches side
20:32
Speaker 1: down all around Cord, gently curving around him. A moment passed,
20:37
Speaker 1: and then the branches released him. As Cord walked back
20:40
Speaker 1: to rejoin the others, he turned his painted face towards Robin,
20:43
Speaker 1: still perched on his shoulder, and some silent communication seemed
20:46
Speaker 1: to pass between the two of them. Then the stuffed
20:49
Speaker 1: bird took off into the air. Cord has just cast
20:58
Speaker 1: speak with plants to ask the willow if it knew
21:01
Speaker 1: of any human animals in the area. While the spell's
21:04
Speaker 1: description doesn't give a lot of detail about how much
21:07
Speaker 1: it can accomplish, it is, after all, a fourth level spell,
21:11
Speaker 1: so I will allow that the willow can provide substantial
21:13
Speaker 1: and useful information. It answers that, yes, there is one
21:17
Speaker 1: human who comes sometimes and just sits on the ground,
21:20
Speaker 1: apparently doing nothing. Cord follows by asking when the human
21:24
Speaker 1: animal was there last, and the willow replies very recently. Unfortunately,
21:29
Speaker 1: this is meaningless. What is a day or a week,
21:32
Speaker 1: or a month or even a year to a willow,
21:35
Speaker 1: Almost any length of time would be recently. Lastly, Chord
21:39
Speaker 1: asks which direction the human animal comes and goes from,
21:42
Speaker 1: adding that they're seeking this person. The willow has roots
21:45
Speaker 1: that run deep, and it could communicate with some of
21:48
Speaker 1: the other trees in the area, so I will rule
21:50
Speaker 1: that it can provide a general direction. Court then thanks
21:53
Speaker 1: the willow and ends the spell. Next, he tells Robin
21:57
Speaker 1: telepathically to go and look for any signs of a
22:00
Speaker 1: man made dwelling in the direction the willow provided. He
22:03
Speaker 1: adds that the place would probably look similar to their
22:05
Speaker 1: own home in Willowvale, and with that Robin flies off
22:09
Speaker 1: on his mission. As a DM, I am satisfied that
22:12
Speaker 1: the use of these abilities will be enough to allow
22:14
Speaker 1: the companions to find the place they seek. The only
22:17
Speaker 1: question is how long it will take. Let's say that
22:20
Speaker 1: Robin will return in one D six times ten minutes.
22:23
Speaker 1: Here's the role. Okay, that's forty minutes in terms of
22:27
Speaker 1: distance for the party to cover two hours feels about right.
22:35
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty nine, Part three, d thirty six within one
22:41
Speaker 1: day of their destination late afternoon mythic event meaning harm
22:47
Speaker 1: rumor party status. The party status is unchanged, with the
22:52
Speaker 1: exception of Court, who is used to spell of speak
22:55
Speaker 1: with plants. Return and less than an hour after flying
23:01
Speaker 1: off and returned to his perch on Cord's shoulder, he
23:05
Speaker 1: twittered his findings into the constructs painted on ear and
23:08
Speaker 1: Cord creaked his torso forward as though to tell the others, yes,
23:12
Speaker 1: Robin has found something. Leaving the serene, cool beauty of
23:16
Speaker 1: the lake would not have been such an easy thing
23:19
Speaker 1: but for the palpable excitement of knowing that the end
23:21
Speaker 1: of their long quest was close at hand. Soon Achillia
23:25
Speaker 1: would have her meeting with the famous historian, and she
23:27
Speaker 1: would have her answers too.
23:29
Speaker 2: Just a little longer, vappi Achilia thought.
23:33
Speaker 1: The group trekked east, keeping the mountains to the left,
23:36
Speaker 1: weaving their way between rolling hills. Some of these were forested,
23:40
Speaker 1: but others were covered in tall grass, and a few
23:43
Speaker 1: were of bald gray rock. All the while the sun
23:46
Speaker 1: shone over them, warming their skin. After an hour or so,
23:51
Speaker 1: they passed a flat topped hill covered in tall grass.
23:54
Speaker 1: There was no reason to climb this hill, it was
23:56
Speaker 1: not in their path. But if they had been given
23:58
Speaker 1: reason to walk to the top, the companions would have
24:01
Speaker 1: found a flattened circle of grass thirty feet across the
24:04
Speaker 1: top it. Somehow Robin had missed it, or else did
24:08
Speaker 1: not have the capacity to understand what it indicated, and
24:11
Speaker 1: so had paid the mark of the iron tower no Heed.
24:14
Speaker 1: Ignorant of all this, the party pressed on. Robin would
24:17
Speaker 1: fly ahead and return, frequently tweeting some minor coarse correction
24:21
Speaker 1: into Chord's ear each time. Finally, the stuffed bird came
24:24
Speaker 1: back and settled on top of Kord's head instead of
24:27
Speaker 1: his shoulder. The others knew at once what this must mean.
24:31
Speaker 1: That they were very close, and indeed they were. For
24:34
Speaker 1: when they broke through the next line of trees, they
24:36
Speaker 1: saw it. A little cottage barely more than a hut,
24:39
Speaker 1: really sheltered under a cherry blossom tree, with a small
24:43
Speaker 1: pond to one side and a garden to the other.
24:46
Speaker 1: But something was not right. Oh no, breathed tent tyr
24:52
Speaker 1: a Chilia. I am truly sorry, intoned de Rennie. The
24:58
Speaker 1: garden was overgrown, the cottage was in ill repair. The
25:03
Speaker 1: place looked for all the world, as though it had
25:07
Speaker 1: sat abandoned for years. Thank you for listening to Tale
25:15
Speaker 1: of the Mandicor if you'd like to join the many
25:17
Speaker 1: wonderful folks who support the show, there are a bunch
25:20
Speaker 1: of ways to help. You could recommend the show online,
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Speaker 1: went to friends. You can like and repost episode announcements
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Speaker 1: on social media, pick up a Tale of the Mandicore
25:28
Speaker 1: t shirt at bare Arts dot store or one of
25:30
Speaker 1: my products on drive through RPG. And of course, you
25:32
Speaker 1: can rate and review the show on your favorite Podcascher.
25:35
Speaker 1: Everything helps, and I am very grateful. Today i'd like
25:38
Speaker 1: to read a review from Apple Podcasts left by cockleshell Boy.
25:43
Speaker 1: Cockle shell Boy writes quite simply an utterly fantastic piece
25:46
Speaker 1: of work. I can't recommend it highly enough. It actually
25:49
Speaker 1: got me back into solo gaming. Love seeing how the
25:52
Speaker 1: dice determine the story. Thank you so much for that review,
25:55
Speaker 1: cockleshell Boy. I'm always excited to hear when someone is
25:58
Speaker 1: drawn back to the hobby after hearing the show. It's
26:01
Speaker 1: about the highest praise I can imagine, and so cheers
26:03
Speaker 1: for that. Next, let's shine a light on my great
26:06
Speaker 1: cast of voice actors. Today's episode features Andrew Flag and
26:10
Speaker 1: Lizier Dick as Oldve and Ulalon. They're joined by regulars
26:14
Speaker 1: Kayellen and Kevin Barringer, who played Duranty and tent Here
26:17
Speaker 1: as usual. Maya thanks to all four actors who contributed
26:20
Speaker 1: to this episode. For those curious to learn more about
26:23
Speaker 1: Tale of the Mantagre, I keep a blog where I
26:25
Speaker 1: post all kinds of show and RPG related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
26:30
Speaker 1: and show notes. You can find it at tale of
26:32
Speaker 1: Themanticore dot com. To get in touch with me, I'm
26:34
Speaker 1: at Solo Roleplayers Network dot com, Tale of themanticor dot
26:37
Speaker 1: Bluesky dot Social Tale of the Manticore podcast on Instagram.
26:41
Speaker 1: Or Tale of themanticre at gmail dot com. The adventure
26:45
Speaker 1: will continue on the next episode, a Tale of the
26:47
Speaker 1: manticor it's the story. We're chaos goals