Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 22 (S3E22)

Transcript

Episode 22 (S3E22) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:01
Speaker 1: Hey, John, So, although it's logical for Tentier to be
0:04
Speaker 1: cautious after the undead encounter, I think it would be
0:07
Speaker 1: more in keeping with a central character to do a
0:10
Speaker 1: little tentative exploring. Elves are probably more cautious than humans
0:14
Speaker 1: in general since they're so long lived, but are equally
0:17
Speaker 1: susceptible to death, so we might not take any really
0:20
Speaker 1: wild risks. His curiosity, brashness, and desire to impress his brother, though,
0:26
Speaker 1: might nudge him down a side corridor if he thinks
0:29
Speaker 1: it could yield a useful discovery. Also, I just think
0:32
Speaker 1: it makes for a more engaging story. Hopefully it doesn't
0:35
Speaker 1: end in tragedy, but if it does, it'll certainly add
0:39
Speaker 1: some drama.
0:47
Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:52
Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
1:09
Speaker 2: season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
1:13
Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding
1:16
Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
1:20
Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
1:24
Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
1:28
Speaker 2: is sacred, and none will be spared if the dice
1:30
Speaker 2: decide their fate is at hand. According to lore, the
1:35
Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
1:40
Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
1:52
Speaker 2: time on Tale of the Manticor, Chapter twenty one begins
1:56
Speaker 2: with the cursed Wraith of Queen Anaya offering the companions
1:59
Speaker 2: a kind of dee. If they sacrifice Fairwind to her,
2:02
Speaker 2: she will let the rest of them go free. Was
2:05
Speaker 2: Fairwind about to lay down his life to save the others,
2:08
Speaker 2: we cannot know, because before he can respond, Achillia sends
2:12
Speaker 2: a jarring psychic blast at the wraith Queen by way
2:14
Speaker 2: of her last message spell. After that, the fight is
2:18
Speaker 2: on and the Queen's animated skeletal warriors rush to the attack.
2:22
Speaker 2: Achillia and the Queen can't participate effectively in the battle,
2:25
Speaker 2: so it's really Cord Tenire, Dehntni and Fairwind against the
2:28
Speaker 2: two undead opponents. Although they are outnumbered, the skeletal warriors
2:32
Speaker 2: have a special defense. They only take half damage from
2:35
Speaker 2: slashing weapons, making Doretti and Teniers attacks much less effective.
2:39
Speaker 2: After a surprising string of critical failures and hits, the
2:42
Speaker 2: pieces vanquished the enemy, and the Queen retreats, apparently back
2:46
Speaker 2: to the nether world. Post battle, Fairwind, who has taken
2:50
Speaker 2: a wound, faints when it comes to his torchlight has
2:53
Speaker 2: expired and it is dark. By now, Tentire has already
2:57
Speaker 2: been sent off on his own to retrieve a replacement light.
3:00
Speaker 2: Tenttuo considers investigating part of the unexplored sections of this
3:04
Speaker 2: crypt alone, but that would be unwise and reckless, foolish
3:08
Speaker 2: even most of all, it would be dangerous. You might
3:19
Speaker 2: remember that in the last episode, before combat began, there
3:22
Speaker 2: was a moment where it seemed that battle might be avoided.
3:25
Speaker 2: The Queen offered to let Achillia cord Duranian Tentire go
3:28
Speaker 2: free if they sacrificed Fairwood to her. Of course, Achilia
3:32
Speaker 2: didn't let that happen. I bring it up because the
3:35
Speaker 2: situation came from my mythic event meaning tense agreement. The
3:39
Speaker 2: idea was to present an offer of an agreement that
3:41
Speaker 2: would cause tension tense agreement. I think it made the
3:44
Speaker 2: encounter a bit more flavorful than it might have otherwise been,
3:47
Speaker 2: and it will probably have the effect of strengthening the
3:49
Speaker 2: growing bond between the cleric and the other companions too.
3:53
Speaker 2: At any rate, I need to roll a new event,
3:55
Speaker 2: meaning here we go on a D one hundred thirty
4:01
Speaker 2: three and forty four. That's let's see stop prison.
4:06
Speaker 1: Hmm.
4:07
Speaker 2: Okay, no ideas at the moment, but that's par for
4:10
Speaker 2: the course. I'll let it percolate and move on. The
4:13
Speaker 2: main thing I need to work out before I begin
4:14
Speaker 2: this episode's narrative is how to handle ten tiers foray
4:18
Speaker 2: into the unexplored parts of this crypt Now that Kevin
4:20
Speaker 2: is replied to my email to say that he will
4:22
Speaker 2: indeed do that. After receiving that reply, I wrote back
4:26
Speaker 2: to suggest we do a little play by email. I
4:28
Speaker 2: attend him situations. He would respond with ten toars actions,
4:31
Speaker 2: and we would proceed like that until there was enough
4:34
Speaker 2: material to write a scene. With this in mind, I
4:36
Speaker 2: could go into full DM mode, but I still want
4:39
Speaker 2: a bit of chaos for my part of the game,
4:40
Speaker 2: so to that end, I will continue to generate the
4:42
Speaker 2: dungeon randomly. Here's what I have in mind for each
4:46
Speaker 2: new place Tender explore us. I'll roll a D ten
4:49
Speaker 2: on a one to four. There will not be any
4:50
Speaker 2: kind of danger or benefit there that doesn't indicate an
4:53
Speaker 2: empty room. Necessarily, it just means that the room won't
4:56
Speaker 2: introduce any risk or reward. On a five or six,
4:59
Speaker 2: it'll only contain danger, a trap or monster. Probably On
5:03
Speaker 2: a seven to eight it'll have something good or useful.
5:06
Speaker 2: On a nine to ten, there will be both a
5:08
Speaker 2: benefit and a hazard. Now, I told Kevin that going
5:12
Speaker 2: off alone would be very dangerous, so both risk and
5:15
Speaker 2: reward will be high over the course of this little
5:17
Speaker 2: game within a game experiment a couple more decisions. For
5:21
Speaker 2: each new place, I'll roll a second D ten, and
5:24
Speaker 2: on a one to two there will be another exit.
5:26
Speaker 2: Any other role will indicate a dead end. I'll do
5:29
Speaker 2: all these rolls off Mike by the way, and keep
5:31
Speaker 2: the results hidden. Finally, if Tener continues to explore room
5:35
Speaker 2: after room and finds nothing interesting along the way, I
5:38
Speaker 2: will force a danger, benefit or both to occur in
5:41
Speaker 2: the last available place. I hope that all makes sense.
5:44
Speaker 2: It's exciting for me to give up player control like this,
5:47
Speaker 2: but I'm also worried for ten tier. Well, it's up
5:50
Speaker 2: to Kevin and the dice Goods to decide how it'll
5:52
Speaker 2: play out. Now, I'm going to roll some D tens
5:55
Speaker 2: send an email to Kevin and get this thing started.
6:03
Speaker 2: Chapter twenty two, Part one, day sixteen, early evening mythic
6:10
Speaker 2: event meaning stop prison party status ten tier ten out
6:17
Speaker 2: of ten hit points ten. Tyres stalked off down the corridor,
6:24
Speaker 2: back towards the intersection with a head full of steam.
6:27
Speaker 2: Dernny probably hadn't meant to embarrass him, but he'd done
6:30
Speaker 2: so all the same. Suggesting he should take Achille with
6:33
Speaker 2: him on such a simple task was insulting. What made
6:36
Speaker 2: it worse, although Tender would never admit it to himself
6:38
Speaker 2: or anyone else, was that Derny had been right right
6:41
Speaker 2: as usual, he was afraid, and as soon as his
6:44
Speaker 2: temper cool he felt the fear resurface. What was he
6:48
Speaker 2: doing walking through a series of haunted hallways alone? Just
6:52
Speaker 2: up ahead was where they had encountered the headless ghost
6:54
Speaker 2: of the Prince. Might it still be there? It had
6:58
Speaker 2: pointed them towards the inner crypt, where they'd be intact.
7:00
Speaker 2: Had it all been a trap? If so, wasn't it
7:03
Speaker 2: possible that the spirit still lingered, waiting for the opportunity
7:06
Speaker 2: to do further mischief. Where the supernatural was concerned, logic
7:10
Speaker 2: held no governance and so Tender's mind reeled with wild conjecture,
7:14
Speaker 2: each notion making less sense than the last. If he
7:17
Speaker 2: hadn't made such a show of his bravery by walking
7:20
Speaker 2: out on Durranty in a huff, he might have turned back.
7:22
Speaker 2: But even the fear of the undead was not enough
7:25
Speaker 2: to make him do that. Tander forced his leaden steps
7:28
Speaker 2: to continue until he reached the foreway intersection. When he
7:33
Speaker 2: arrived and nothing happened. Though his chest was tight, he
7:36
Speaker 2: let out a short breath of relief. The passage continued
7:40
Speaker 2: into the gloom, straight ahead and both to his left
7:42
Speaker 2: and right. To get to Fairwind's little campfire, he should
7:46
Speaker 2: turn right, he knew that much. But there were these
7:49
Speaker 2: other two passages yet unexplored. He moistened his lips. He
7:54
Speaker 2: was frightened, yes, but he was also his mother's son,
7:58
Speaker 2: her little mouse, Just as dur Annie had said, if
8:01
Speaker 2: he wanted to live an exceptional life, if he wanted
8:03
Speaker 2: to prove himself, he would need to learn to master
8:06
Speaker 2: his fear. The heroes of legend did not whimper, and
8:09
Speaker 2: Blanche Chuchin hadn't quaked like a leaf in a storm
8:13
Speaker 2: when his final battle had begun. He knew the courage
8:16
Speaker 2: was inside him, if he could just find it. Tender
8:19
Speaker 2: took a single impulsive step to the left and felt
8:22
Speaker 2: his guts flush as though with ice water. He grit
8:25
Speaker 2: his teeth and willed himself to continue, but his body
8:28
Speaker 2: did not want to obey his mind. Do it, He
8:31
Speaker 2: told himself.
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Speaker 1: You are the brave little mouse. You are in control.
8:38
Speaker 1: You can choose courage.
8:41
Speaker 2: He tightened his hand around the hilt of his short sword.
8:44
Speaker 2: His palm was slick with sweat. Go little Mouse. Dramatis
8:53
Speaker 2: Personae ten tier, thirty five years ago. Childhood was a
9:01
Speaker 2: simpler time. He was typical of ten year old Elvin
9:04
Speaker 2: boys and had all the usual joys, fears, and overwrought
9:08
Speaker 2: sense or justice that most children have. Even then, he
9:11
Speaker 2: endure anywhere fast friends. That was one thing that never
9:14
Speaker 2: seemed to change. The two brothers were playing together one
9:17
Speaker 2: particular evening when their father instructed them to go to bed,
9:20
Speaker 2: pointing out that the sun had set hours earlier. The
9:23
Speaker 2: boys had protested and begged to be allowed another half
9:26
Speaker 2: hour before they had to retire. To spare her husband
9:29
Speaker 2: the usual argument, the boy's mother had intervened with the
9:31
Speaker 2: offer of a compromise.
9:33
Speaker 3: You may stay awake for a while longer, and I'll
9:37
Speaker 3: even tell you a story if you agree to go
9:40
Speaker 3: right to bed without complaint when it is done.
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Speaker 2: The boys readily agreed, And this is the story they
9:47
Speaker 2: were told.
9:51
Speaker 3: This is called the Tale of two Owls. In a quiet,
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Speaker 3: moonlit forest, a wise old mouse huddled in his cozy burrow.
10:03
Speaker 3: Beside him was his young pupil Bury more than a
10:07
Speaker 3: pup the wise old mouse declared, inside each of us
10:13
Speaker 3: there are two owls. One is calm and wise, filled
10:18
Speaker 3: with patience, understanding, and peace. This owl sees the world clearly,
10:26
Speaker 3: with empathy and compassion. He paused, allowing the young mouse
10:31
Speaker 3: to reflect on the feeling of stillness that comes with wisdom.
10:38
Speaker 3: The other owl, the mouse continued, is restless and angry,
10:44
Speaker 3: filled with wrath and hunger and violence. This owl is
10:50
Speaker 3: the terror of the night's sky. The young mouse trembled.
10:56
Speaker 3: He knew all too well what these predators were capable of,
11:00
Speaker 3: and how they struck from above without warning. The wise
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Speaker 3: old mouse cleared his throat and continued, Yes, these two
11:12
Speaker 3: owls exist inside each of us. They are locked in
11:16
Speaker 3: battle with one another and fight for control over every
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Speaker 3: mouse's heart. The young mouse looked at him, wide eyed
11:25
Speaker 3: and with whisker to tremble, and asked, but, master, which
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Speaker 3: owl will win in the end. The old mouse gave
11:34
Speaker 3: a soft, knowing smile and said, little mouse, the one
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Speaker 3: who will win is the one that you feed.
11:55
Speaker 2: Chapter twenty two, Part two, Day sixteen, early evening mythic
12:02
Speaker 2: event meaning stop prison party status ten tier ten out
12:09
Speaker 2: of ten hit points.
12:12
Speaker 1: Ten.
12:13
Speaker 2: Tyre grit his teeth and walked down the left hall,
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Speaker 2: going in the opposite way that he was meant to.
12:18
Speaker 2: It was a deliberate choice to put safety to his
12:20
Speaker 2: back and walk headlong into the unknown. His heart thumped
12:24
Speaker 2: in his breast, but it began to calm down after
12:26
Speaker 2: he had taken just the first ten steps. Another ten,
12:30
Speaker 2: and he really started to feel more confident. Incredibly, when
12:34
Speaker 2: he was thirty feet into the hallway, he realized that
12:36
Speaker 2: he was wearing a smile, a tight, unhappy smile, but
12:40
Speaker 2: a smile none the less. Furthermore, the ice in his
12:44
Speaker 2: belly had been replaced by a hot sensation, as though
12:46
Speaker 2: he'd swallowed an ember, and it was blooming inside him.
12:49
Speaker 2: He quickened his step. Now he could see that the
12:52
Speaker 2: tunnel ended some sixty feet ahead at the limit of
12:54
Speaker 2: his dark vision, though he couldn't make out any details yet.
12:58
Speaker 2: When he could, he saw that the all terminated in
13:00
Speaker 2: a stone staircase going up. But even before he closed
13:03
Speaker 2: the remaining distance, he could tell that the entire thing
13:06
Speaker 2: had collapsed. It was filled with rubble to the ceiling.
13:10
Speaker 2: When he arrived, his suspicion that there would be absolutely
13:13
Speaker 2: no going through was confirmed. The collapse was total. There
13:16
Speaker 2: weren't even any gaps in the fallen masonry that he
13:19
Speaker 2: could see through. He thought briefly how strange it was
13:22
Speaker 2: that an earthquake, or perhaps it would simply been time
13:25
Speaker 2: and erosion. Whatever he caused, this collapse had done such
13:28
Speaker 2: localized damage The hallway before the stairwell was completely intact.
13:33
Speaker 2: There were neither cracks in the ceiling nor in the
13:35
Speaker 2: flagstones of the floor. In truth, he felt disappointed. All
13:39
Speaker 2: that effort to motivate himself to explore on his own,
13:42
Speaker 2: and he had found absolutely nothing. Going back to report
13:46
Speaker 2: this would be worse than not mentioning his little excursion
13:48
Speaker 2: at all. De Renni would give him a tongue lashing
13:51
Speaker 2: for his recklessness if he returned with nothing significant to share. However,
13:55
Speaker 2: if he brought something useful and retraced his steps back
14:01
Speaker 2: to the intersection. Without even thinking about it, he turned
14:04
Speaker 2: left once again, foregoing the correct route in favor of
14:07
Speaker 2: one I yet explored. He could see that this corridor
14:11
Speaker 2: went another fifty feet and then turned to the left.
14:14
Speaker 2: Suddenly stopping in his tracks, the young elf remembered the
14:17
Speaker 2: sprung trap he and the others had found and bypassed earlier.
14:21
Speaker 2: His free hand moved unconsciously to touch his side while
14:24
Speaker 2: he imagined stepping on a pressure plate and having a
14:26
Speaker 2: spear skewer him sideways. Cursing himself for not having taken
14:30
Speaker 2: appropriate precautions, Tender decided that he needed to start now.
14:34
Speaker 2: If there was another trap like the previous one, whatever
14:37
Speaker 2: had triggered it was probably a trip wire or a
14:39
Speaker 2: pressure plate, he would be wise to walk on one
14:42
Speaker 2: side of the passage, hugging the wall and also probing
14:44
Speaker 2: ahead of him with the tip of his sword. This
14:47
Speaker 2: he did, slowing his pace to half of what it
14:49
Speaker 2: had been, and navigating the corridor up to the bend
14:52
Speaker 2: with extreme caution. He reached the turn without incident, but
14:56
Speaker 2: remained vigilant as he rounded it. And found himself looking
14:59
Speaker 2: down a second section of hallway. Like all the others
15:02
Speaker 2: they had seen thus far, it terminated in an open
15:04
Speaker 2: archway with a chamber beyond. Tendier could see two men
15:09
Speaker 2: shaped figures in the room ahead, but they were standing
15:11
Speaker 2: so rigid and tall that he assumed they were just
15:14
Speaker 2: another pair of statues. Although curious to get a closer look,
15:17
Speaker 2: he took his time and congratulated himself on his prudence
15:21
Speaker 2: as he crept forward, all the while probing ahead with
15:24
Speaker 2: the tip of his sword. Eventually he reached the archway
15:28
Speaker 2: and could see the contents of the chamber. It was
15:30
Speaker 2: a smallish one, just thirty feet by thirty feet square.
15:34
Speaker 2: What he had taken for statues were not in fact
15:37
Speaker 2: statues at all. They were suits of armor wired to
15:40
Speaker 2: a pair of posts so that they appeared to stand
15:42
Speaker 2: up on their own. Of the two sets, one was
15:45
Speaker 2: fully six feet tall, as tall as fair Wind Tender thought.
15:49
Speaker 2: The other was made for someone only a little smaller
15:51
Speaker 2: than himself, about four feet. The bigger suit was of
15:55
Speaker 2: uninterrupted plate and chain all the way from its lobstered
15:58
Speaker 2: feet to its great helm. It was very imposing, and
16:02
Speaker 2: even though Tender could see through the helm's visor slit
16:05
Speaker 2: that there was nothing inside it. He felt a pang
16:07
Speaker 2: of fear. All the same, he wildered away and looked
16:11
Speaker 2: at the smaller suit. This one was a partial suit
16:13
Speaker 2: and had gaps where the owner might have worn leather
16:16
Speaker 2: breeches and boots, but still showed steel greaves, skirt breastplate,
16:20
Speaker 2: van braces, and a chain claff. It had no helmet
16:23
Speaker 2: and thus no head. Both suits bore arms gauntleted fists,
16:28
Speaker 2: came together in front of where a belt buckle might
16:30
Speaker 2: have been, and rested on the pommel of a sword,
16:32
Speaker 2: set blade down so that the point rested on the
16:35
Speaker 2: stone floor. All items were badly rusted, flaking in patches
16:39
Speaker 2: of light and dark corrosive blooms. It was a shame
16:43
Speaker 2: thought tender, because Faerwin could certainly have used some kind
16:46
Speaker 2: of armor. Unfortunately, this was all worthless. The two steel
16:51
Speaker 2: suits were not the only things in the room, although
16:53
Speaker 2: they did draw the eye. First, to the right, a
16:56
Speaker 2: narrow shelf had been built into the wall. It held
16:59
Speaker 2: a dozen surren amc pods. To either side of this
17:02
Speaker 2: shelf was a crescent bearing stanchion of about ten TuS height.
17:05
Speaker 2: Looking the other way, opposite the shelf, and tucked neatly
17:08
Speaker 2: against the facing wall. He saw a chest of wood
17:10
Speaker 2: and banded iron on the floor. The hasp corners and
17:14
Speaker 2: iron bands were all just as badly rusted as the armor,
17:17
Speaker 2: but Tenttyers noticed with interest that the chest had no lock.
17:26
Speaker 2: Tento's attention was suddenly interrupted by a light but very
17:29
Speaker 2: cold gust of air that seemed to pass right through him.
17:32
Speaker 2: He shuddered as a chill shivered his whole body. He
17:35
Speaker 2: spun to the right, then to the left. There was
17:39
Speaker 2: nobody else there, but something had changed. Something about the
17:43
Speaker 2: smaller suit of armor drew his eye, and what he
17:46
Speaker 2: saw made his breath catch. The short sword was no
17:50
Speaker 2: longer rusted. In fact, it gleamed like burnished silver against
17:55
Speaker 2: the mottled rust and cobwebs of the rest of the armor.
17:57
Speaker 2: It could not have stood out more. Tent Tire was
18:00
Speaker 2: filled with wonder and immediately stepped forward to grasp his helt,
18:04
Speaker 2: but something stopped him. He could imagine Derannie's disapproving face
18:08
Speaker 2: if he were to do something so risky, and he
18:10
Speaker 2: heard his brother's voice in his mind unts nothing. Clearly,
18:14
Speaker 2: there was magic at work here. It would be wise
18:17
Speaker 2: to use caution. He should probably leave and report, but
18:21
Speaker 2: he could not deny that he was drawn to the blade.
18:24
Speaker 2: He forced himself to ignore it for now, and instead
18:26
Speaker 2: turned to his right, where seramic jars sat in rows
18:29
Speaker 2: upon a shelf flanked by stanchions. The cressets atop them
18:32
Speaker 2: were almost certainly lamps. Surely it would be better to
18:35
Speaker 2: return with one of these rather than a feeble torch.
18:39
Speaker 2: Each jar was but the size and shape of an apple,
18:42
Speaker 2: slightly bigger at the top than at the base. Each
18:45
Speaker 2: also had a plug of wax at the top, although
18:47
Speaker 2: upon inspection, Tenter found that all but two had dried
18:50
Speaker 2: and cracked with age. Quickly lifting and setting down each
18:54
Speaker 2: jar in turn revealed that only the two with intact
18:57
Speaker 2: seals had any weight to them. The rest were empty.
19:00
Speaker 2: Tentyre selected one of the heavier jars, and using the
19:03
Speaker 2: tip of an arrow, he scraped off some of the wax.
19:07
Speaker 2: The young elf had the hem of his cloak pressed
19:09
Speaker 2: over his mouth and nose, and was pointing the top
19:11
Speaker 2: of the jar away from him, afraid that some noxious
19:13
Speaker 2: cloud might be released when his arrow head broke the seal,
19:17
Speaker 2: But no such thing occurred. And upon sniffing the contents,
19:20
Speaker 2: Tintyre was confident that he had found two large flasks
19:23
Speaker 2: of oil. He emptied half of the jar he was
19:26
Speaker 2: holding into the nearest cresset and lit it with his
19:28
Speaker 2: tinder box. It flared to glorious life, and Tinder could
19:32
Speaker 2: not help but look at the sword as it caught
19:34
Speaker 2: and reflected the lamp's orange glow. In the moment that
19:39
Speaker 2: his dark vision gave way to his normal vision, he saw,
19:43
Speaker 2: for just the space of a single breath, a face
19:46
Speaker 2: reflected in the blade. It wasn't his own, It was
19:49
Speaker 2: the face of a young boy. When Tinder blinked, he
19:53
Speaker 2: was gone. Prince sar he he asked, in a whisper,
19:58
Speaker 2: are you here? Silence was the only reply. Now Yet,
20:03
Speaker 2: daring to touch it, ten Tier crouched down so that
20:05
Speaker 2: he could really study the blade. It stood out in
20:08
Speaker 2: such bright contrast against the mottled browns and oranges of
20:11
Speaker 2: the rusted metal around it that ten Tyre thought it
20:13
Speaker 2: almost seemed not of this world. The hilt, cross guard,
20:17
Speaker 2: and pommel sparkled as though there were crushed diamonds mixed
20:20
Speaker 2: in with the metal. A pair of markings had been
20:23
Speaker 2: etched into the blade just above the cross guard, and
20:25
Speaker 2: to either side of the fuller one was of a
20:27
Speaker 2: circle with three wavy lines reaching out from it, spaced
20:30
Speaker 2: at equal distances from each other. The second marking was
20:34
Speaker 2: a trio of diamonds. The dwarfs tentyer knew used such
20:38
Speaker 2: symbols as makers marks, perhaps humans did the same. Removing
20:42
Speaker 2: his cloak, Tintyre used it to snatch up the sword,
20:45
Speaker 2: bundling it and making sure that no part of him
20:47
Speaker 2: touched it. The time to inspect it more fully would
20:50
Speaker 2: come later, he decided. By now, the others would be
20:53
Speaker 2: expecting his return, and he didn't wish for them to worry.
20:57
Speaker 2: He shifted his new prize to his free hand, the
21:00
Speaker 2: remaining intact flask of oil into his pack, grabbed the stension,
21:04
Speaker 2: and turned to go. But then the rusted chest caught
21:08
Speaker 2: his attention once again, and he hesitated, biting his lip.
21:12
Speaker 2: What harm would it do to take a quick look. No,
21:16
Speaker 2: he should leave it alone. They could all return together
21:19
Speaker 2: later on and investigate it properly. On the other hand,
21:23
Speaker 2: he was already here, and it was easy to imagine
21:26
Speaker 2: the others not wanting to come back this way at all.
21:30
Speaker 2: So what should he do. Does a couple of things
21:38
Speaker 2: I'd like to talk about before I let the story progress. First.
21:42
Speaker 2: This is a rare kind of episode in that it
21:44
Speaker 2: splits the party and concentrates exclusively on the actions of
21:48
Speaker 2: a single character. One of my rules in Tail of
21:51
Speaker 2: the Manticor is that pieces advance towards the next level
21:54
Speaker 2: by surviving episodes in which they are actively adventuring and
21:57
Speaker 2: contributing to the story. They should also be in some
22:00
Speaker 2: amount of danger. Achillia, Chord, Ferwind, and Derenni are essentially
22:05
Speaker 2: not in this episode, and so they will not make
22:07
Speaker 2: any progress toward their next levels. Ten Tier will, however,
22:12
Speaker 2: since he is adventuring and is also insignificant danger. Actually
22:15
Speaker 2: he is in potentially mortal danger. Ten too doesn't know it,
22:19
Speaker 2: and neither does Kevin Barringer, who voices him and for
22:22
Speaker 2: now is controlling his actions. Let me go back and
22:26
Speaker 2: explain something before we move forward. For this little side quest,
22:30
Speaker 2: I've given over control of ten Tier to Kevin and
22:32
Speaker 2: shifted into the role of DM. We've played the game
22:35
Speaker 2: through a series of emails. I would set the scene
22:37
Speaker 2: and Kevin would write back with some actions. The narrative
22:40
Speaker 2: you've just heard is the dramatization of that exchange. While dming,
22:44
Speaker 2: I wanted to introduce a good amount of chaos into
22:46
Speaker 2: the gameplay, so I decided to use dice to determine
22:49
Speaker 2: what each unexplored direction would lead to. On a D ten,
22:53
Speaker 2: a one to four meant no danger or benefit, a
22:55
Speaker 2: five to six meant only danger, a seven to eight
22:58
Speaker 2: indicated only some kind of boone, and finally a nine
23:00
Speaker 2: to ten signified both a benefit and a danger. The
23:04
Speaker 2: second D ten would determine if there are any other
23:06
Speaker 2: exits in the new space. I wanted Tento's excursion to
23:10
Speaker 2: be a high risk, high reward kind of situation, and
23:13
Speaker 2: told Kevin upfront several times that it would be dangerous.
23:17
Speaker 2: The first newly explored tunnel took ten tier to a
23:20
Speaker 2: collapsed stairwell. This was the result of a roll of
23:23
Speaker 2: three no danger, no benefit, and five no exit. Since
23:27
Speaker 2: I didn't want to waste narrative on a more or
23:29
Speaker 2: less empty room, I decided that TENTTYO would find a
23:32
Speaker 2: collapsed tunnel where the damage was oddly localized. This was
23:36
Speaker 2: a kind of clue, albeit a subtle one. When Kevin
23:39
Speaker 2: decided that ten tier would continue his exploration. I rolled
23:42
Speaker 2: another pair of D tens and got a nine and
23:45
Speaker 2: three danger and benefit and no exit. I came up
23:48
Speaker 2: with this idea of a room that holds suits of
23:51
Speaker 2: armor for father and son. As I was writing it,
23:54
Speaker 2: I realized that Leirhane would never have worn the armor
23:57
Speaker 2: that was built for him. He didn't survive to an
23:59
Speaker 2: appropriate age to do so. That was a bit sad,
24:02
Speaker 2: but the story of Moroc's family is a tragic one,
24:05
Speaker 2: so it feels appropriate at this point. You know more
24:09
Speaker 2: than Kevin did when he was playing this section of
24:11
Speaker 2: the crypt. Actually, Kevin may well be listening to this
24:14
Speaker 2: right now, and if he is, I bet I've got
24:17
Speaker 2: his attention. There's no risk of spoilers, because by the
24:20
Speaker 2: time this episode is published, all decisions will have been
24:23
Speaker 2: set in stone months before. The current room does indeed
24:27
Speaker 2: hold a boon and a danger. The two flasks of
24:29
Speaker 2: oil are a little bonus. They are not the boon
24:32
Speaker 2: the sword is. It's a parting gift from lear Han,
24:36
Speaker 2: who touched it with his spirit before finally returning to
24:38
Speaker 2: the nether world. We'll figure out what kind of enchantment
24:41
Speaker 2: he might have bestowed later on. For now, we need
24:44
Speaker 2: to talk about the danger. If you guess that the
24:47
Speaker 2: chest is trapped, you guessed right. The chest isn't even
24:50
Speaker 2: a real chest. It's a fake. When opened, the lid
24:53
Speaker 2: pulls up a chain that runs through a cavity in
24:55
Speaker 2: the wall and up to the ceiling of the hall.
24:57
Speaker 2: Just outside the arch, the chain pulls out a pin
25:00
Speaker 2: that causes tons of masonry concealed in a cavity above
25:03
Speaker 2: the hall to come crashing down, sealing the armor room
25:06
Speaker 2: and anyone in it from the rest of the crypt.
25:09
Speaker 2: The trap is very similar to one sprung by tomb
25:11
Speaker 2: robbers long ago. Yep, that stairwell full of rubble was
25:14
Speaker 2: the result of a similar kind of thing. Just to
25:17
Speaker 2: twist the knife. Inside the lid of the false chest
25:20
Speaker 2: is an inscription etched onto an iron plate. It's written
25:23
Speaker 2: in the language of the ancient ky Moors, but if translated,
25:26
Speaker 2: would read the following, thief, our tomb is now yours
25:30
Speaker 2: as well. This whole idea came from my mythic event,
25:34
Speaker 2: meaning stop prison. By the way, isn't mythic great? All
25:38
Speaker 2: this stalk leads to the big question. Will Kevin have
25:41
Speaker 2: ten tier open the chest? Is his curiosity as much
25:45
Speaker 2: or greater than his characters. Here's the email I sent
25:48
Speaker 2: him at this point in the story. Working in all
25:50
Speaker 2: his choices thus far, ten Tier glances at the closed chest,
25:57
Speaker 2: then suppresses his curiosity and carefully picks up sword, secures
26:01
Speaker 2: the extra oil, and hefts the stanchion. He begins to
26:04
Speaker 2: make his way back to the others, proud of himself
26:06
Speaker 2: for having done the right thing. We can stop here
26:09
Speaker 2: if you're satisfied or else. Let me know if there's
26:12
Speaker 2: anything else you wish to do. And how about you
26:16
Speaker 2: listening to this right now? Would you have opened the chest?
26:19
Speaker 2: Do you think Kevin will change his mind and go back?
26:22
Speaker 2: I hope you can master your curiosity because this is
26:24
Speaker 2: where the episode must end. We'll find out what Kevin
26:27
Speaker 2: intends you to do next time. Thanks for listening to
26:35
Speaker 2: Tale of the Mantigor. If you're enjoying the show and
26:37
Speaker 2: would like to help to support it, there are lots
26:39
Speaker 2: of ways to do so. You can recommend the show online.
26:42
Speaker 2: You can like and repost episode announcements on social media.
26:45
Speaker 2: You can pick up one of my offerings on drive
26:47
Speaker 2: through RBG or a T shirt at www. Dot bear
26:50
Speaker 2: Arts dot store. And finally, you can rate or review
26:53
Speaker 2: the show on your podcast your choice. I am super
26:56
Speaker 2: grateful for all of your support. At this point, i'd
26:59
Speaker 2: like to share listener review. This one was left by
27:02
Speaker 2: D and D Dad on Apple Podcasts. D and D
27:05
Speaker 2: Dad writes, this podcast is the catalyst of a new
27:08
Speaker 2: genre solo play D and D in a fantasy novel.
27:12
Speaker 2: It's actually better in some ways because John gives a
27:14
Speaker 2: lot of careful thought to the interpretation of the dice
27:17
Speaker 2: after they determine random outcomes. As a GM, my players
27:21
Speaker 2: and I have to come up with this stuff on
27:22
Speaker 2: the fly, but it's careful thought and creativity brings out
27:25
Speaker 2: amazing stories. Listening to this will make you a better
27:28
Speaker 2: DM slash GM for sure. Please don't stop making it.
27:33
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, D and D Dad. I'm so
27:36
Speaker 2: glad that you're enjoying the show, and I'm very grateful
27:38
Speaker 2: for the review. Your words and those of others who
27:41
Speaker 2: support me through reviews not only help the show find
27:43
Speaker 2: a bigger audience, but they provide a great deal of
27:45
Speaker 2: encouragement to me personally. I really appreciate it, and I
27:49
Speaker 2: do not plan on stopping anytime soon. Also deserving of
27:53
Speaker 2: things are the members of my awesome cast. In this episode,
27:56
Speaker 2: we hear from Kevin Barringer playing while playing himself and
28:00
Speaker 2: playing tent here. And this episode also introduces Dana Click
28:04
Speaker 2: in the role of Tentyr and Dorani's mother. Dana has
28:07
Speaker 2: asked me to share her email with other creators who
28:09
Speaker 2: are looking for a new voice. It's Dana Mclick. That's C. L. E.
28:14
Speaker 2: E K at gmail dot com. Thanks very much, Kevin
28:17
Speaker 2: and Dana. A small but mighty cast this time around.
28:20
Speaker 2: For those curious to learn a bit more about Tale
28:22
Speaker 2: of the Mantagor, I keep a blog where I post
28:25
Speaker 2: all kinds of show and RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts,
28:29
Speaker 2: and show notes. You can find it at tale of
28:31
Speaker 2: Themanticor dot blogspot dot com. To get in touch with me,
28:35
Speaker 2: I'm at mantacre Tale on x Tale of the Nantacor
28:38
Speaker 2: dot Bluesky dot Social, Tale of the Manticor podcast on Instagram,
28:42
Speaker 2: or tale of Themanticor at gmail dot com. I'd love
28:45
Speaker 2: to hear from you. The adventure will continue on the
28:47
Speaker 2: next episode of Tale of the Mantagor. It's the story
28:51
Speaker 2: were chaos roles