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Episode 1 (S3E01) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Ed Greenwood, original creator the Forgotten Realms, and.
0:04
Speaker 2: You're listening to Tale of the Manticore.
0:10
Speaker 1: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:14
Speaker 1: discretion is advised. Welcome to Tale of the Manticor Season three.
0:34
Speaker 1: Like the creature from which it takes its name, Tale
0:36
Speaker 1: of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding between
0:39
Speaker 1: two different species of storytelling. Here you will find the
0:43
Speaker 1: unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with the
0:46
Speaker 1: story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character is
0:51
Speaker 1: sacred and none will be spared if the dice decide
0:54
Speaker 1: their fate is at hand. According to Laura, the Tale
0:58
Speaker 1: of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There
1:03
Speaker 1: will be much pain in the days ahead. Hi, this
1:17
Speaker 1: is John, the creator of Tale of the Manticor. Whether
1:20
Speaker 1: you're a longtime listener or newde to the show, I
1:23
Speaker 1: want to extend to you a very warm welcome. I
1:26
Speaker 1: also want to mention that you don't need to have
1:28
Speaker 1: listened to either of the previous two seasons to understand
1:31
Speaker 1: season three. It's designed to stand alone and you can
1:34
Speaker 1: start here with no trouble in understanding what's going on
1:37
Speaker 1: before we jump in a quick word about what you
1:40
Speaker 1: can expect from Tale of the Manticor where sensitive materials
1:43
Speaker 1: are concerned. There are frequent and detailed descriptions of violence
1:47
Speaker 1: accompanied by graphic sound effects. Sex, sexual assault, profanity, and
1:52
Speaker 1: torture may be referred to, but I will not explore,
1:55
Speaker 1: dwell upon, or describe them in detail. In some rare
1:58
Speaker 1: cases where I find I might have of a tow
2:00
Speaker 1: over the line, you can expect an additional disclaimer with
2:03
Speaker 1: more information at the start of the relevant episode. Once again,
2:06
Speaker 1: thank you for listening, and now on with the show prologue.
2:21
Speaker 1: One year has passed since the final events of season two.
2:28
Speaker 1: The Kingdom of Xatia could not rightly be classified as
2:31
Speaker 1: a kingdom, for it was ruled by a magistocracy and
2:34
Speaker 1: had no monarch. Camertine, their neighbor to the west, matched
2:38
Speaker 1: it in size and power, but Zaytious history ran centuries older.
2:42
Speaker 1: Their other borders were less populated, at least by human settlements.
2:47
Speaker 1: The Kashmirioth Mountain Range described the southern frontier to the southeast,
2:51
Speaker 1: the sea, the north and northeast were made up of
2:55
Speaker 1: huge tracts of wilderness that refused to be tamed. There
2:59
Speaker 1: one would find it unpredictable patchwork of twisty forests, dank swamps, gullies,
3:04
Speaker 1: scrub and grassy plains. In the past, Seyesha had tried
3:08
Speaker 1: to conquer this land, but time and again they had
3:11
Speaker 1: learned that it would not be ruled, and at any rate,
3:14
Speaker 1: was not worth the price in blood and gold. It
3:17
Speaker 1: is here in the wilderness northeast of Zisha that this
3:20
Speaker 1: story begins. Far from the troubles of Camertine to the west,
3:24
Speaker 1: with the blasted ruins of the Agrejen to the south.
3:27
Speaker 1: Ignorant and uncaring of the politics and intrigues of Zatia
3:30
Speaker 1: with its rival houses and power struggles, those were places
3:34
Speaker 1: for the young and kyrious, and those with ambition to
3:37
Speaker 1: see the world and better their position in it. It
3:40
Speaker 1: was not the concern of old aldve his ward Achillea
3:43
Speaker 1: and his constructs. Ald Vei Muag was a wizard and
3:52
Speaker 1: areclus who had chosen a life as far away from
3:55
Speaker 1: those troubled places as he could manage. He had no
3:58
Speaker 1: interest in ever returning to society, but he did pay
4:01
Speaker 1: hisation boy to deliver supplies once per season that boy
4:05
Speaker 1: had only recently departed when Achilia walked into the living
4:08
Speaker 1: room of their modest dwelling built into the side of
4:11
Speaker 1: a hummock, and joined Oldvay in the kitchen, where he
4:13
Speaker 1: was putting parcels into cupboards and humming tunelessly.
4:19
Speaker 2: Did I miss him, Pappy, asked.
4:21
Speaker 1: Achilia, disappointed. Papi was the Elvish word for father, and
4:25
Speaker 1: Achilia had called Oldva by that name her whole life.
4:29
Speaker 1: He just left Bagon returned the other using the Elvish
4:33
Speaker 1: for daughter. He looked at her with fondness. How she
4:36
Speaker 1: had grown. Achilia now stood a full five feet tall,
4:40
Speaker 1: almost as tall as he was. She wore her platinum
4:43
Speaker 1: colored hair and braids that fell to either side of
4:46
Speaker 1: her pointed ears. Her eyes were warm, dark yellow, like honey.
4:51
Speaker 1: You would hope to speak with aaron. He was baiting her,
4:54
Speaker 1: but she did not bite. Instead, she huffed a little laugh.
5:00
Speaker 3: Especially he's a fine boy, dall and strong.
5:04
Speaker 1: Old Oldvey couldnot resist laying it on a little thick
5:07
Speaker 1: He enjoyed teasing her and making her blush. But Achillie
5:10
Speaker 1: just snorted.
5:11
Speaker 2: He's nice enough, but don't you think he's a little
5:14
Speaker 2: young for me?
5:16
Speaker 1: Oldvey gave a mysterious and wistful laugh, then before replying.
5:20
Speaker 3: A few years. It's not so much, he.
5:22
Speaker 2: Said, at any rate, I have no interest. I have
5:25
Speaker 2: everyone I need right here. You court and Robin.
5:29
Speaker 1: Nothing she could have said would have made him happier. Still,
5:33
Speaker 1: he teased, you forgot the oak man. Achillia wrinkled her nose.
5:38
Speaker 2: The oak man never talks and barely even moves. He's
5:41
Speaker 2: more like furniture than family.
5:43
Speaker 1: Make me, scolded the wizard with mock indignation. He has
5:46
Speaker 1: a wisp of my soul.
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Speaker 2: Fine, then I include the oakman for the sake of
5:51
Speaker 2: your wisp.
5:54
Speaker 1: Old Oldve chuckled and made some room on the counter.
5:58
Speaker 3: Why don't you put your cats here?
6:00
Speaker 1: He was referring to the three fish Achillie had slung
6:02
Speaker 1: on a line over her slender shoulder, as well as
6:05
Speaker 1: the two buckets of water held by the obedient construct Cord,
6:08
Speaker 1: who stood wordlessly behind her. Kord was the result of
6:12
Speaker 1: Aldveay's second attempt at making a construct, and like his first,
6:16
Speaker 1: he had not gotten the spell quite right. Cord was
6:19
Speaker 1: six feet tall, roughly shaped as a man, and made
6:22
Speaker 1: entirely out of wood. Four logs, each six inches across,
6:26
Speaker 1: made his legs and four arms. Two more slightly thicker
6:30
Speaker 1: made his thighs and upper arms. A single thick log
6:34
Speaker 1: served for both his head and body, meaning he could
6:36
Speaker 1: not turn his head without moving his entire person. He
6:40
Speaker 1: had functional feet and knees, and elbows and hands made
6:42
Speaker 1: of carved wood fitted into place with pegs. His face
6:46
Speaker 1: was painted on and always showed a mild expression, as
6:49
Speaker 1: though everything was perpetually calm and good. As far as
6:52
Speaker 1: he was concerned, Old Aldervae had always regretted not giving
6:56
Speaker 1: him a neck or the power of speech, but that
6:58
Speaker 1: was the way with magic, especially when you were trying
7:01
Speaker 1: to develop something new. Success came slowly and only after
7:04
Speaker 1: numerous failures. Besides, compared to Robin, Court had been a triumph. Presently,
7:12
Speaker 1: the wooden constructs had a pair of buckets, each with
7:14
Speaker 1: water on the counter. Thank your corn, said Old Aldervai.
7:19
Speaker 1: The automaton tilted forward in a bow of acknowledgment. Now
7:23
Speaker 1: the wizard turned to the girl, and.
7:25
Speaker 3: Thank you, Beckmy for catching our dinner. But there is
7:28
Speaker 3: one more task I need for you to perform.
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Speaker 1: Of course, replied Achillia. She might be curious and a
7:35
Speaker 1: little headstrong, but she was never lazy.
7:37
Speaker 3: Robin has told me there is another magic use that
7:40
Speaker 3: newly moved into our veil.
7:42
Speaker 1: Achillie's eyes widened. She had not been expecting that I.
7:46
Speaker 3: Needed you to meet with him. He is a few
7:48
Speaker 3: miles away on the far side of the river. Robin
7:52
Speaker 3: will show you.
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Speaker 1: The way you want me to go, Achilie asked, yes,
7:57
Speaker 1: beck me visit him and express a welcome.
8:01
Speaker 3: Perhaps while you're there you might get a measure of
8:03
Speaker 3: the man. Oh, and I have prepared a gift for
8:06
Speaker 3: you to bring.
8:08
Speaker 1: Achilia was brave as she was hardworking, but something about
8:11
Speaker 1: this task touched her with anxiety.
8:14
Speaker 2: Can I take a chord with me?
8:16
Speaker 1: The sturdy wooden construct stood rigidly behind her, not moving
8:20
Speaker 1: as they awaited Old Aldveay's reply. We are off to
8:31
Speaker 1: a weird start.
8:32
Speaker 3: I know.
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Speaker 1: I figured that some light hearted fantasy, at least to
8:35
Speaker 1: begin with, might be an appropriate antidote for the grim
8:38
Speaker 1: darkness of season two. Now I'm curious to know if
8:42
Speaker 1: Cord will accompany Achillia on her mission to welcome the
8:45
Speaker 1: stranger in their veil. But perhaps we should take a
8:47
Speaker 1: moment to get to know these characters. First. Achillia is
8:51
Speaker 1: the apprentice of Old Aldvey Muag, who is an accomplished
8:54
Speaker 1: magic user. Will get to him shortly, but let's first
8:57
Speaker 1: explore the character of Achilia because she is our first
9:00
Speaker 1: player character. The earliest editions of D and D used
9:04
Speaker 1: race as class, so it would be reasonable to assume
9:07
Speaker 1: that Achillea is of the elf class, except she isn't
9:10
Speaker 1: actually an elf. She thinks she is because that's what
9:14
Speaker 1: Oldveay has always called her, but actually she is a
9:17
Speaker 1: half elf. There's a story behind all this we might
9:20
Speaker 1: get to one day, but for now, I'll just reveal that,
9:23
Speaker 1: as far as Achillia knows, she was left as a
9:25
Speaker 1: baby on Aldvay's doorstep twenty one years ago, and that
9:29
Speaker 1: he adopted and raised her. This much is true. She
9:33
Speaker 1: also believes that she is simply his ward and not
9:36
Speaker 1: blood related, but this is untrue. So Achillia is not
9:40
Speaker 1: enough but a half elf. Okay, but that raises the
9:43
Speaker 1: question what class is she? Well, that's easy. She's the
9:47
Speaker 1: apprentice to a magic user, so she is also a
9:51
Speaker 1: magic user level one. Let's grab some dice and see
9:54
Speaker 1: how her stats work out. I'm using my usual homebrew
9:58
Speaker 1: rules of rolling three D six and re rolling any
10:01
Speaker 1: results of three, four or five. Here comes the first
10:04
Speaker 1: roll of season three. For strength A ten, Intelligence A nine,
10:12
Speaker 1: Wisdom ten, dexterity fourteen, Constitution eleven, charisma fifteen. Usually I
10:23
Speaker 1: roll straight down the line and just keep whatever I
10:25
Speaker 1: get borrowing those very low numbers. But since I've already
10:29
Speaker 1: decided that Achillie will be of the magic user class,
10:31
Speaker 1: I'm going to swap her best scores that fifteen in
10:34
Speaker 1: charisma with her intelligence. A fifteen in intelligence gives her
10:39
Speaker 1: a second language in addition to the common tongue, and
10:41
Speaker 1: it only makes sense that Aldvais has taught her to
10:44
Speaker 1: speak Elvish. It makes me wonder how he learned that language.
10:48
Speaker 1: Maybe we'll find out some time in the future. Achilie's
10:51
Speaker 1: other noteworthy stat is dexterity. Her fourteen gives her a
10:55
Speaker 1: plus one to ascending armor class and a plus one
10:58
Speaker 1: to hit with missile weapons. As a first level magic user,
11:01
Speaker 1: she gets four hit points and one spell. A first
11:03
Speaker 1: level will work out which spell later on over to
11:07
Speaker 1: Old Aldvey. Walzatia is ruled by wizards. Not all wizards
11:11
Speaker 1: are rule, far from it. Those who don't belong to
11:14
Speaker 1: noble houses are often subjugated, persecuted, or cast out. Aldva
11:18
Speaker 1: is one of the latter variety, mostly by choice. Generally speaking,
11:22
Speaker 1: he dislikes other people, despite that, he's good hearted and
11:26
Speaker 1: fiercely protective of Achille, whom he raised from a baby.
11:29
Speaker 1: Aldve is an NPC, so I won't generate stats from
11:32
Speaker 1: him at this time. For now, it's enough to say
11:35
Speaker 1: that he's a high level magic easer of around seventh
11:38
Speaker 1: level maybe eighth. Chord is a construct and represents a
11:42
Speaker 1: minor success and breakthrough for Aldvea when he was in
11:45
Speaker 1: the process of perfecting the custom spell Imbue Life. I'll
11:49
Speaker 1: put the full spell description on Tale of themantichord dot
11:51
Speaker 1: blogspot dot com, but the quick version is that it
11:54
Speaker 1: gives life to an inanimate object by sharing a wisp
11:57
Speaker 1: of the castor's soul with it. Cord is a co
12:00
Speaker 1: instruct of wood, which is a tough enough material to
12:02
Speaker 1: give him an armor class of fourteen and six hit points.
12:05
Speaker 1: He has the intelligence of an average human, but he
12:08
Speaker 1: cannot communicate verbally. He is extremely loyal to Aldbay and
12:12
Speaker 1: by extension, Achillia. For the most part, his job is
12:15
Speaker 1: to perform duties of manual labor and provide general help.
12:19
Speaker 1: There are two other constructs in Alvay's home, Robin and
12:23
Speaker 1: the oak Man, but will meet them later. I want
12:25
Speaker 1: to get back into the narrative, but let's briefly recap
12:28
Speaker 1: the scenario before we dive in. Here's what's going on.
12:32
Speaker 1: Old Aldvey has learned that another spellcaster has moved into
12:35
Speaker 1: his territory, and this is not especially welcome news. My
12:39
Speaker 1: first question is does Aldve know this other magic user.
12:43
Speaker 1: I'll say there's a fifty to fifty chance either way,
12:45
Speaker 1: and will high low high means the other wizard is known.
12:48
Speaker 1: The role on a D twenty A two completely unknown.
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Speaker 1: This explains why Aldve is sending Achillia out to meet
12:56
Speaker 1: him in Zatia. Meetings between wizard two are not known
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Speaker 1: to each other are generally avoided. In cases where the
13:03
Speaker 1: two parties do not get along and both sides have
13:05
Speaker 1: the power to bend reality to some extent, bad things happen.
13:09
Speaker 1: That probably goes some distance to explaining the complex layers
13:12
Speaker 1: of rank and status and difference between the various levels
13:15
Speaker 1: and factions of the Zati magistocracy. This is a good
13:19
Speaker 1: time to introduce a new mechanic, one I've been eyeing
13:22
Speaker 1: for years. I'm a huge fan of Tona Pigeon's Mythic GME,
13:26
Speaker 1: especially the page seventeen event Meaning tables. These two tables
13:30
Speaker 1: consist of random verbs and nouns, respectively that can push
13:34
Speaker 1: the fiction in new and unexpected directions. I'm going to
13:37
Speaker 1: start using them in a way that's not quite as intended. However,
13:41
Speaker 1: instead of rolling on the tables to answer an oracle question,
13:44
Speaker 1: I'm going to roll up and keep the results preemptively,
13:47
Speaker 1: keeping them in store until it can be used. Once applied,
13:50
Speaker 1: I'll roll a new pair so there will always be
13:53
Speaker 1: one in the chamber, so to speak. Near the end
13:56
Speaker 1: of season two, I did an interview with the best
13:58
Speaker 1: selling author Paolo Bacchiglupi off Mike. I asked him if
14:02
Speaker 1: he'd do me the honor of rolling up the first
14:04
Speaker 1: mythic event meaning pair for season three. He was game
14:07
Speaker 1: and rolled the twenty two Befriend and sixty two Disruption
14:12
Speaker 1: Befriend Disruption. This is where I got the idea of
14:15
Speaker 1: the arrival for the unknown Magic User. We're almost ready
14:19
Speaker 1: to jump back in the story, but as I said before,
14:22
Speaker 1: I always want to have one in the chamber. That
14:24
Speaker 1: means I need two more roles on a deep percentile.
14:27
Speaker 1: I've got ninety nine okay, that's a press and zero
14:33
Speaker 1: seven allies oppress allies. What does that mean? I have
14:38
Speaker 1: no idea, but it's not meant to be used just yet.
14:41
Speaker 1: Time will tell. This is just one more thing. Remember
14:44
Speaker 1: that Achillie asked Alta if she should take Chord with
14:46
Speaker 1: her on her visit to me at the stranger. Let's
14:49
Speaker 1: randomize the answer with a simple reaction role to determine
14:52
Speaker 1: the result two D six. With the higher the number,
14:55
Speaker 1: the more likely he is to say yes. The role
15:08
Speaker 1: Chapter one, Part one, Day one, early afternoon, mythic event
15:15
Speaker 1: meaning oppress Allies party status achillea four out of four
15:23
Speaker 1: hit points. Aldve shook his head.
15:27
Speaker 3: No, God might come across as a little intimidating, and
15:32
Speaker 3: this other wizard might mistake your intent if you bring
15:35
Speaker 3: him along, So I have to go alone, not alone,
15:41
Speaker 3: as I said before, Robin will accompany you.
15:43
Speaker 1: A brief silence hung in the air, pregnant between them.
15:48
Speaker 1: Aldve handed her a package and crinkled his eyes. I'll
15:51
Speaker 1: see you soon. Achilia realized her mentor had detected her discomfort,
15:56
Speaker 1: so she straightened her back and lifted her chin. With
15:59
Speaker 1: the smirk, she.
16:00
Speaker 2: Replied, I'll be back in time for dinner, and then.
16:03
Speaker 1: For good measure, she added.
16:05
Speaker 2: Dumping the fish.
16:07
Speaker 1: Having had the last word, she turned on her heel
16:10
Speaker 1: and strode out the front door, leaving their tumble down
16:12
Speaker 1: home and the hillock it was built into behind. She
16:17
Speaker 1: walked to where the land began to dip in earnest
16:19
Speaker 1: and a worn trail led to the river. Before she
16:22
Speaker 1: got a hundred paces, she heard a flutter of wings
16:25
Speaker 1: behind her, and then a soft touch on the top
16:27
Speaker 1: of her head. This was Robin, who preferred this perch
16:30
Speaker 1: to Achillea's shoulder, perhaps because her Elven blood line had
16:33
Speaker 1: given her hair that was fine and soft. Like Cord,
16:37
Speaker 1: Robin was a construct, while Cord had been given life
16:41
Speaker 1: only after dozens of failed attempts. Robin was actually the
16:44
Speaker 1: result of Aldveay's first attempt of the spell in viue life. Also,
16:49
Speaker 1: unlike Cord, who had been made into the tall and
16:51
Speaker 1: slender shape of a man, more or less, Robin, as
16:55
Speaker 1: his name implied, was a little bird. It was somewhat
16:58
Speaker 1: roughly put together, missing a few feathers, and with some
17:01
Speaker 1: of the stitching showing from the unskilled taxidermy job Alvey
17:04
Speaker 1: had performed. Sometimes when he took off, he leaked a
17:08
Speaker 1: little sawdust. Up close, Robin looked a bit strange. Most
17:12
Speaker 1: disconcerting were his eyes, for when Alvee had made them,
17:15
Speaker 1: he had nothing suitable at hand, and had improvised with
17:18
Speaker 1: a pair of clear glass beads. Thus Robin, though fully
17:21
Speaker 1: able to see, had no pupils. Achilia breathed in the
17:26
Speaker 1: fragrant summer air and closed her eyes against the sun
17:29
Speaker 1: that shone warmly against her face. This was her favorite
17:32
Speaker 1: time of year, when nature, she thought, was at its
17:35
Speaker 1: most beautiful. She kept to the well worn footpath, created
17:39
Speaker 1: in no small part by her own two feet, as
17:42
Speaker 1: it wound down the side of the valley towards the river.
17:45
Speaker 1: The two of them passed a mulberry tree whose fruit
17:48
Speaker 1: was now just beginning to darken. Perhaps on the way
17:51
Speaker 1: back she would pick some for their dessert, but it
17:53
Speaker 1: would be foolish to do so. Now. If she did,
17:56
Speaker 1: she would stain her fingers red and look a mess
17:58
Speaker 1: when she met The worry returned when she thought about
18:04
Speaker 1: who she might be going to visit. What if this
18:07
Speaker 1: person was unkind or dangerous? What if they hated elves
18:12
Speaker 1: or took her for a dangerous intruder before she had
18:14
Speaker 1: a chance to introduce herself. She wished that Bobby had
18:18
Speaker 1: let her bring Cord along. His presence always made her
18:20
Speaker 1: feel safe, and one could not ask for a better protector, except,
18:24
Speaker 1: of course, for the oak Man, but she didn't much
18:27
Speaker 1: like having him around, because he seemed somehow empty inside.
18:34
Speaker 1: Gilia had been walking with Robin perched on her head
18:37
Speaker 1: for a little under an hour. By the time she
18:39
Speaker 1: reached the river. They had no name for this river.
18:43
Speaker 1: It was, and had always simply been the river. Given
18:47
Speaker 1: that she had never seen another, she had needed a
18:49
Speaker 1: name for it. When she reached the bank and turned left,
18:53
Speaker 1: Robin stirred in her hair. She felt his prickly feet
18:55
Speaker 1: scratch her scalp as the stuffed bird gave a little
18:58
Speaker 1: peep of objection.
19:00
Speaker 2: I understand, but the ford is in this direction. I'll
19:03
Speaker 2: have to make a little detour.
19:06
Speaker 1: Robin couldn't understand her words, but it could tell by
19:08
Speaker 1: her tone that all was well, and settled down again.
19:12
Speaker 1: Vicilia walked a few more minutes to the shallowest part
19:14
Speaker 1: of the river, where the willows dipped their whiplike branches,
19:17
Speaker 1: pulled off her shoes and waited to cross. Once on
19:22
Speaker 1: the other side, she went barefoot for a little while
19:24
Speaker 1: and followed the bank back along the opposite side. Robin
19:28
Speaker 1: peeped again, and she put on her shoes before turning
19:31
Speaker 1: away from the river and walking away in a direction
19:33
Speaker 1: perpendicular to the flowing water. For the next hour. Robin
19:38
Speaker 1: directed her steps. It would alight from her head, fly
19:41
Speaker 1: a few dozen feet away, and wait on a tree branch,
19:44
Speaker 1: whistling impatiently. Since the way now was largely up hill.
19:49
Speaker 1: Acilia had worked up a light sweat by the time
19:51
Speaker 1: she saw her destination, and what a strange sight it was.
19:56
Speaker 1: Standing atop a knoll, completely incongruent with the woody surroundings,
20:01
Speaker 1: was a thirty foot tall cylindrical tower made of pure iron.
20:07
Speaker 1: Achillie approached the odd structure cautiously. Her first instinct was
20:11
Speaker 1: to turn back. She should return home and report that
20:14
Speaker 1: she had been unable to find whatever and whomover Robin
20:17
Speaker 1: had discovered. But this was just childish apprehension of the unknown,
20:22
Speaker 1: and she chided herself for entertaining it even for a moment.
20:26
Speaker 1: Was she not the apprentice of Master Aldvey Moak she was?
20:31
Speaker 1: Could she not also bend reality to her will? If
20:34
Speaker 1: not so spectacularly as her mentor she could? Was she
20:38
Speaker 1: such a stranger to the uncanny and the bazaar? She
20:41
Speaker 1: was not. Therefore, this iron structure in the middle of
20:45
Speaker 1: the woods, where it had no business being, would not
20:47
Speaker 1: make her afraid. She nodded to herself, eliciting a shrill
20:51
Speaker 1: twitter of surprise from Robin, who still perched atop her head,
20:55
Speaker 1: and walked towards it. The metal tower was twenty feet wide,
20:59
Speaker 1: or about two thirds its height. It had no rivets, seams,
21:03
Speaker 1: or decorations or features of any kind save one. The
21:06
Speaker 1: single door, flat not following the contours of the building,
21:10
Speaker 1: was set into the front. Though made of the same
21:12
Speaker 1: iron as the rest of the building, it was highly decorated.
21:16
Speaker 1: The profile of a man's head three times larger than life,
21:19
Speaker 1: was etched into it. The man's hair was bound up
21:23
Speaker 1: with vines and flowers. His one visible eye was shut.
21:27
Speaker 1: A beard clung to his square jaw and poked out
21:30
Speaker 1: from the point of his chin, where it rolled up
21:32
Speaker 1: in a curly cue The door had no handle and
21:36
Speaker 1: no knocker. Achillier reached out to touch it, wondering if
21:39
Speaker 1: the surface would be cold. As soon as their finger
21:42
Speaker 1: tips made contact, the eye lid of the etching flew open.
21:46
Speaker 1: Behind it was an iron iris and an iron pupil,
21:50
Speaker 1: while the rest of the face remained rigid. It rolled around,
21:53
Speaker 1: looking to either side and even above her, before gazing
21:56
Speaker 1: right at her face. At that moment, Robin took off
21:59
Speaker 1: from her head and alighted on the branch of a
22:01
Speaker 1: nearby tree.
22:02
Speaker 2: Ah Am Hello, stammered Achillie, flushing bright red as she
22:07
Speaker 2: jerked her hand away and stepped back.
22:10
Speaker 1: The metal eyeball quivered, looked once again to her left
22:13
Speaker 1: and right, as though trying to see past her, and
22:15
Speaker 1: then shut. After a moment, the door swung inward on
22:19
Speaker 1: invisible hinges, and standing before Achillee was a person of
22:23
Speaker 1: even shorter stature than herself. At first, she thought it
22:26
Speaker 1: must be a dwarf. Vapi had told her about dwarfs
22:30
Speaker 1: and had shown her drawings of them as well. This
22:32
Speaker 1: person was shorter than a dwarf should be, standing under
22:35
Speaker 1: three feet tall. He wore a felt cap of burgundy
22:39
Speaker 1: and had a rather large head with a stubby nose
22:41
Speaker 1: and a fringe of black beard. Achillie realized suddenly what
22:45
Speaker 1: this creature was.
22:46
Speaker 2: You're an, aren't you?
22:47
Speaker 1: She asked, rather impolitely. The gnome answered with an obsequious smile.
22:52
Speaker 1: Its teeth were small and brown, and there were gaps
22:55
Speaker 1: between them. The smile made the creature's face ugly, and
22:58
Speaker 1: Achilie had to force herself not to recoil. She straightened
23:01
Speaker 1: her back and laced her hands in front of her abdomen,
23:04
Speaker 1: in the formal greeting between wizards in Satia, him my
23:10
Speaker 1: name is. The gnomes seemed not to understand her, but
23:14
Speaker 1: it smiled its ugly smile again, and then bowed at
23:16
Speaker 1: her while throwing its right arm behind it in a
23:19
Speaker 1: gesture clearly meant to indicate that she should enter. Achillia
23:24
Speaker 1: summoned her courage, walked through the door and into the
23:27
Speaker 1: Weird Tower. Thanks for listening to Tale of the mandicor
23:39
Speaker 1: if you're enjoying the show and would like to help
23:41
Speaker 1: to support it, there are lots of ways to do so.
23:44
Speaker 1: You can recommend the show online, order friends, You can
23:47
Speaker 1: like and repost episode announcements on social media. You can
23:50
Speaker 1: pick up one Shot in the Dark, the Pendulum world
23:53
Speaker 1: building Tool, or Encyclopedia Manticorca on Drive Through RPG. And finally,
23:58
Speaker 1: you can rately review the show on your podcast of choice.
24:01
Speaker 1: By thanks to everyone for their support at this time,
24:04
Speaker 1: please allow me to share one of your very kind reviews.
24:07
Speaker 1: This one was left by Mycenius on Apple Podcasts. Mycenius writes,
24:12
Speaker 1: this is an absolutely fantastic podcast that captures the true
24:15
Speaker 1: D and D heart and OSR feel and values, and
24:18
Speaker 1: is fantastic inspiration for anyone doing fantasy RPG solo play
24:22
Speaker 1: or being a dungeon master or game master. Amazingly well
24:26
Speaker 1: done and presented. Thanks very much, Mycenius. I've noticed that
24:30
Speaker 1: my audience in New Zealand has been growing. Do I
24:33
Speaker 1: have you to thank for that? I'll thank you for
24:35
Speaker 1: the very kind review. In any case, much appreciated. Mycenius
24:40
Speaker 1: is not the only person I'd like to thank. In
24:42
Speaker 1: this first episode of the new season, extreme gratitude goes
24:46
Speaker 1: out to Ed Greenwood the Ed Greenwood for graciously recording
24:49
Speaker 1: a killer bumper to start off the season. Ed, you
24:53
Speaker 1: are one of the architects of my childhood imagination and
24:56
Speaker 1: I am forever in your debt. Another big thank you
24:59
Speaker 1: goes to god Roblin's Henchman for giving me access to
25:02
Speaker 1: his excellent facefolio. I decided to use some of these
25:05
Speaker 1: portraits as inspiration for characters on the show, and I'll
25:08
Speaker 1: post them on the blog as I go. Another artist
25:11
Speaker 1: who agreed to help me visualize the characters in the
25:13
Speaker 1: show is Hodegg RPG. You might have seen some of
25:16
Speaker 1: Hodegg's work in the teaser and lead up to the
25:18
Speaker 1: season posts I made on Instagram. Thank you so much,
25:21
Speaker 1: Hotagg and Goblin's Henchman for contributing your talents to the show. Finally,
25:26
Speaker 1: I'd like to take a moment now to acknowledge the
25:28
Speaker 1: great voice talent in this episode. Welcome back Andrew Flinging,
25:32
Speaker 1: who has taken on the role of Aldve Muag. What
25:35
Speaker 1: a great job you've done bringing Aldve to life. Thank
25:38
Speaker 1: you Andrew for listeners, I'd like to get in touch
25:40
Speaker 1: with me. I'm at Manticore Tale on x or Tale
25:44
Speaker 1: of the Manticor podcast on Instagram, and there's always email
25:48
Speaker 1: Tale of Themanticor at gmail dot com. I also keep
25:51
Speaker 1: a blog where I post all kinds of show at
25:53
Speaker 1: RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes.
25:58
Speaker 1: You can find it at Tale the Manticore dot blogspot
26:01
Speaker 1: dot com. The adventure will continue on the next episode
26:05
Speaker 1: of Tale of the mant Core. The story were chaos
26:09
Speaker 1: rolls