Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 43 (S3E43)

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Episode 43 (S3E43) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Hi, This is Joe for miniature landscape hobbies and you're
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: listening to Tale of the Manticor.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: is sacred and none will be spared if the dice
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: decide their fate is at hand. According to lore, the
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticore is barbed with cruel and spikes.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: time on Tail of the Manticor, in the last chapter,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: the party must contend with four animated suits of armour
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: that come to life when they enter a room that
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: has been designed to catch intruders. Despite the double level
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: up that happened before the fight, things go south quickly.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: While the party members do score some hits, the animated
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: armour lands blows frequently and hard, often scoring maximum or
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: near maximum damage with their pole arms to devastating effect.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: When it becomes clear to her that they are not
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: going to win, Achillia throws down her weapon and calls
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: for her allies to surrender. They do, and mercifully, the
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: animated suits of armor immediately stop attacking. It's clear that
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: they're programmed, so to speak, not to attack unarmed intruders,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: but instead to take them captive, and that is the
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: exactly what happens. The episode ends at the pieces being
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: marched into a cell at Halberd Point. Once inside, they're
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: forced to manacle themselves before the door slams shut. Chapter
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: forty three, Part one, Day thirty six Evening Mythic Event
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Meaning sixty and eighty seven Abuse Magic party status Achillee
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: seven out of fifteen hit points, Cord two of twenty four,
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Denni ten of nineteen ten, Tier nineteen of nineteen, fair
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Wind eighteen of thirty three, Flicker sixteen of sixteen supplies.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: The companions have no food, remaining spells available. Achillia can
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: cast message and glitter Dust, Cord can cast and tangle,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: slow poison and hold animal, fair Wind can cast protection
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: from Evil. There was little talk among the companions As
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: minutes turned into hours, there wasn't much to say. It
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: was clear to everyone why Achilia had called for their surrender,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: and her unanimous decision on the party's behalf this time
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: did not create any animosity. Warm look at Cord explained
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: all the wooden construct had had chunks hacked off him.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: There were deep clefts in his torso, even his head
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: a spiked halbert tip had gouged his cheek, and beside
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: his permanently mild smile, it made for a countenance that
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: was perverse and distressing to look upon, as though he
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: were quite happy to have been mutilated. Achilia, Duranian Fairwind
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: were not as badly off, but all three still had
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: taken serious wounds. They tended to themselves as best they
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: could while manacled using the needle and thread duringing. It
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: taken from Deroth to stitch up the worst of their cuts,
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: gritting their teeth through the pain of the operations. Tener
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: and Flicker had been miraculously untouched. After the battle, they
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: stayed silent out of respect for the others, who did
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: not look like they wanted to talk. In the end,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: the silence was broken, but it was not by any
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: one of them, the magic mouth suddenly grew in the
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: middle of their cell door and addressed.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Them, intruders. You are now the lawful prisoners of the
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: great and powerful wizard odok Zygog, within whose home you trespass.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: Consider your bolly as you wait.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: As abruptly as it had appeared, it withdrew the wooden lips,
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: melting back into the surface of the door. It must
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: have signaled to Achillia that the time for despair and
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: self doubt was over.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: We need to come up with some kind of plan,
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: she said.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: The longer the show continues to air Tale of the
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: mantic Ore, firsts get fewer and farther between. But I
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: think this is one. The entire party has been defeated
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: and imprisoned. They be locked in a cell and manacled
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: to boot, But because their captors were autoumatons, the Pecs
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: still have almost all of their gear. Immediately, two items
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: come to mind that might help them out of this situation.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Achille's potion of Gassia's form and her spellbook. Actually, let's
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: take a beat and talk about spells for a minute.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Achillie had her spell of Detect Evil active during the
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: encounter with the animated armor, so she knew that they
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: were not created by means of an evil enchantment. The
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: spell description about exactly what constitutes objects under evil enchantment
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: is I think, deliberately vague. About a third of the
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: skimpy spell description is a note to the DM saying
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: they'll need to make a ruling. Since this is a
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: second level spell. For it to have any utility, I
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: have to give it enough latitude to say that Achillia
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: knows with certainty that the animated suits of armour were
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: not made with dark magic. That knowledge was a key
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: factor in her decision to surrender. Actually, by extension, Achillia's
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: perception of odog Zygog as a potential enemy, something she
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: knows has never been more than an assumption, is now challenged.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: That said, I really stop the narrative to try to
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: figure out some kind of plan of action for the PCs.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Here are the key components of the situation as I
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: see it. One, the party members are all manacled and
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: locked in a room. For argument's sake, i'll say they've
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: tried the door and confirmed that it is indeed locked. Two,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: some of them are badly wounded. Three they can assume
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: they'll be left alone for a while, since the magic
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: mouth told them to consider their folly while they wait,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: so hours are likely to pass before anything further happens
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: to the PCs. Four Achillia has a potion of Gassia's
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: form and will soon have access to a new enchantment,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: or rather disenchantment, when she acquires dispel magic after rest
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and studying. Five Flicker has the ability to blink, possibly
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: through a door. Probably would that even be helpful, I'm
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: not quite sure. Six The pieces still have access to
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: mundane items like rope, thread, oil, etc. I think I
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: need to step away from the game and have a
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: good long think. See you later. Okay, I'm back and
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: I have had a chance to let the marbles roll
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: around in the attic for a while. My first thought
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: concerned Achille's potion of Gassy's form. If she used it,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: she could escape her manacles and even the prison cell
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: with no problem. It's not a magical door with her
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: medical seal or anything. So let's say hypothetically she does that,
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: then what she floats around like a cloud hoping to
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: find a key. It's not likely to happen. Eventually, she'd
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: recorporealize as an aked half elf running about in a
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: highly dangerous and well guarded wizard's home without access even
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: to her own spell book, so that choice is clearly
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: not a wise choice. A much better option is to
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: wait with the intention of learning spells that could help
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: in their situation, like shrink Hey, it worked for Derenni
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: when Achillia met him. It could work again, and Achilia
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: is not the only one to get a new and
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: potentially useful spell. Fairwood, since his level up in episode forty,
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: now has access to second level spells, I think he'll
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: choose hold person as the most likely to be useful
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: in an escape attempt. With this course of action pretty
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: much decided, I redirected my train of thought and started
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: thinking about the Seclusium itself. I know certain things about
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: this place that the characters don't, and I've kept him
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: close to my chest. In general. I mentioned that not
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: as an annoying tease, but to say it does and
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: will greatly affect a thing's play out. But I'm getting sidetracked.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Here's what's most important right now. The parties stay in
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: the cell will not last forever. They've been told to wait,
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: wait for what we'll see soon enough. But the point
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: is that the pieces do not have unlimited time to prepare.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: How much do they need and how much will they
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: have while they need about twelve hours to rest and
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: memorize new spells. Knowing what I do about what's happening
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: outside their cell, I can say that they won't be
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: interrupted in the middle of the night. But let's make
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: things interesting and add an element of randomness here. I'll
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: say there's a one and six chance that they will
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: be interrupted first thing in the morning before they can
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: memorize their spells. We'll just grab eighty six. Okay, we're
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: looking for anything except one on the die. Here's the role.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: Very good. I've got a five chapter forty three, part two,
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: day thirty seven, sometime in the morning. Misic event meaning abuse,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: magic party status achillea eight out of fifteen hit points
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: having gained one point through natural healing, Cord three out
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: of twenty four, having gained one point through natural healing,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: tour Any eleven of nineteen having gained one point through
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: natural healing, ten Tier nineteen of nineteen, fair Wind nineteen
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: of thirty three, having gained one point through natural healing.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Flicker sixteen of sixteen supplies the companions have been without
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: food for one day. After today, they will not be
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: able to heal naturally until they have eaten. Spells available.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: Achille can cast, shrink, message, detect evil, glitter, dust and
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: dispel magic. Cord can cast and tangle, locate plants and animals,
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: slow poison, create water, hold animal, and speak with plants.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Fair Wind can cast, cureled wounds times two, and hold person.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: While it had been impossible to track the passage of
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: time inside their presumably underground cell, the companions eventually grew tired.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: For most of them, their worry and their wounds made
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: sleep come with difficulty. If they hadn't had their bed rules,
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: perhaps Achillia and Dorrenni might never have passed out. Poor Court,
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: who never slept, had to stay awake all night feeling
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: his injuries in whatever way plants feel pain. At least
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: he had Robin to keep him company. Some hours later,
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: as morning arrived in the outside world, the companions woke
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: up groaning and stiff, their hurts complaining, and with the
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: graveness of their situation hurtling into focus. But Achilia found
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: her resolve and, despite being manacled, managed to fumble open
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: her book of spells and began to study, hoping to
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: learn those enchantments that might prove most useful in an
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: escape attempt. While she was pouring over the arcane text,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: part of her mind began to ponder the nature of
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: the beings that had captured them. She realized that she
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: had some understanding of how the animated seas of Armour worked,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: and although she lacked the skill to make anything like that,
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: she might just have enough to unravel it. She turned
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: to the pages at the back of the book and
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: found what she was looking for. Yes, there it was
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: a spell that had never made any sense before. Now
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: she understood it, and the knowledge could not have come
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: at a better time. She'd been to the task of memorization.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: Beside her, fair Wind was tending to cowards wounds. He
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: put its bound hands on the construct's torso and eyes closed,
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: allowed his energies to flow out. While Achillie is learning
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: dispell magic, fair Wind will create some magic of his own.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: He will use both of his secure light wounds prayers
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: to bring Cord back to I hope reasonable health. Each
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: spell does one to six plus one points of healing,
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: so I'll roll twoty six plus two here we go, hmm,
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: that's not great. I have a five on the dice
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: for a total of seven points. Cord is restored to
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: ten points, and while that's not a lot, at least
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: now a light breeze won't send him to meet his maker.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: When Achillia closed her book of spells and looked up,
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: she saw dor Ready and tent Tears, sitting with her
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: backs to the wall, side by side, conversing in low voices.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Flicker was snoozing by her side. She jerked a little
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: at the sound of Achillee's book closing, and then immediately
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: returned to her nap. Cord and Fairwind were standing by
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: the shelf that held the remaining manacles, the construct, she realized,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: was looking somewhat better. Understanding what Fairwynd had done, she
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: thanked the cleric for his ministrations.
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: Or thank me, the gift of healing comes from Sadal's
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: divine grace.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Fairwood replied. Achilie looked over Cord's renewed body and saw
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: how his wounds had closed to some degree. Then she
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: looked at her own stitched upcuts, even they were beginning
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: to scab and heal, albeit slowly. She touched one gingerly
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: and winced. Then led back at Cord once again noticed something.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Some of the wood sprouts and muss that had been
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: hacked off him were destroyed had grown back, but in
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: different places. She pointed it out to Fairwind, who smiled
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: knowingly and chuckled to himself. Proof of the immortal soul,
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: come again, said a Chilia.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Oh, I said, it's proof of the soul.
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: Does the soul's existence need proving?
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: Achillie was a bit confused.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: Cord and Robin are proof enough. They wouldn't exist if
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: al they hadn't.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: No, no, no, not to us.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: Fair Wind cut in.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: But without Cord or Robin at my side, I might
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: struggle to explain the existence of an immortal soul to
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: a Cameranthia farm hand, or a soldier or someone's dying
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: old grandmother. You know, before I came out east, I
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: traveled in the West teaching the word of Sadal.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Achillia didn't know that, but she was unclear.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: Noetheless, but how could Cord's wounds prove the existence of
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: a soul?
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: She asked the construct leading in and listening to the
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: conversation intently, he had an existential interest in the matter.
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: After all, there's a story I would tell sometimes. Let's see,
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: how does it begin?
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: The parable of the clergy House.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: In the western reaches of cameronth where the land meets
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: the sea, there once was a fishing village with an
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: old church made of stone and wood. Beside this church
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: was a second, smaller building, called the clergy House. It
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: had a roof of drooping thatch. There was a little
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: garden in the back where the priests grew tomatoes and
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: green beans for the supper. Time. War on the house,
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: as it does on all things, a roof beam rotted,
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: and the villagers replaced it. The plaster walls cracked. They
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: were mended over the years, one by one. The bricks,
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: the timbers, even the doors themselves were replaced. Eventually it
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: was said that not a single original stone or beam remained,
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: Yet the villagers still called it the clergy House, the
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: same as they always had. One day, an innocent child
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: asked one of the clergymen if it was really true
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: that all of the parts of the church had been
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: replaced at one time or another, to which the priest
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: replied that indeed it was. Then the child asked a
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: second question, if none of its parts were original. Was
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: this building truly the clergy house? Or was it some
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: place new? This question might have made an unwise man laugh,
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: dismissing the question as silly, even foolish. But this priest,
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: this priest had the wisdom to understand its true importance,
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: and the child never forgot the answer they received. All
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: things and all beings have a divine form, began the priest,
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: and their existence is not essentially in the material world.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: Forms are eternal. They exist before and after the life
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: of the person. The tree, the wagon, or the building
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: has come and gone. You and I are no different.
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: We were here before we were born, and we will
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: remain after we die. Our time on Marath is a
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: blink in the grand scheme of things. This thing I
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: refer to is Sadal's greatest gift, yet most men are
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: not even aware of it. Only the wise can perceive
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: the immortal soul.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: Are you two also working on a plan? As de
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: Rennie from where he intent here were sitting.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: We have had a few ideas, none of them are
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: very good.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Though Achillia bit her lip without really answering the question,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: She replied, I.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: Think I can break these manacles open.
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: How would you manage that.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: Achillie considered trying to explain the epiphany that led to
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: her understanding of the new spell. But before she could
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: begin her answer, the magic mouth reappeared on the door
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: of their cell. Everyone looked up as it spoke, Intruders.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: The great and powerful wizard odok Zagog has decided to
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: speak with Hugh, prepared to explain your presence in his home.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Attempts at trickery will be unsuccessful. Attempts to resist will
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: be dealt with severely.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Achillia's mind raced. Her shrink spell could free one of them,
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: but what good would that really do. She didn't even
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: have time to think that course of action through before
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: the familiar clanking sound of the animated suits of armour
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: could be heard. Another option was to use her disenchantment
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: spell on all their manacles. A third was to cast
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: it on the suits of armor themselves. The clanking sound
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: was louder now the captors would be there any moment.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: What do we do? Asked Tender, looking around nervously, courage
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: little mass soothed der Annie carriage. Achilia really did not
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: know what the wisest course of action would be, and
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: at the same time knew that hesitation would cost her
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: in options. Flicker now backed up and lowered herself as
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: though about to spring, facing the door. A low growl
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: spilled out of her throat. Then the door opened, and there,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: looking just as they had before, were the three remaining
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: headless suits of animated armor. They were still battered and beaten.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: The one missing an arm still held its halberd one handed.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: Something about this struck Achillie as odd. If odoak Zygog
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: was such a great wizard, why do he not repaired
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: his sentries or sent different ones? These looked like they
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: could barely stand upright. She put a hand on Flicker's
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: back when she noticed the blink dog was preparing to lunch.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: No Flicker, she said, and the dog relaxed. Dented and
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: shaky or not, the animated armor held weapons, while she
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: and her companions were almost defenseless. Even if she could
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: free them from their manacles, they would be outmatched. And
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: what if they did somehow defeat the sentries? What then?
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: They could not presume That the rest of the wizard's
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: home was undefended, and she was unwilling to leave without
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: speaking to him for these reasons. When the armor gestured
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: for them to leave the cell and re enter the corridor.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: She complied, Her friends followed her lead, and soon the
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: whole company was moving down the corridor, away from the
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: direction they had come and deeper into the complex. They
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: moved at a brisk pace, as lagging resulted in the
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: firm poke of a halberd tip, and it didn't take
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: many of those before the companions learned to keep up
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: the pace. The corridor turned east and then went straight
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: for a long way before turning once again to the north.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: In the space between the bends and the hallway were
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: a number of archways and doors. The doors were all closed,
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: but some of them had odd sounds coming from behind them.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: Others had weird smells seeping through. The archways all opened
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: into libraries and studies of different sizes. Even the smallest
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: of these contained dozens of volumes, and by the time
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: they reached the turned north, Achillia guessed that they must
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: have passed by at least five or six hundred.
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: Books a historian.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Indeed, she thought the rooms must have included the archived
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: collection of Odok's life's work. It was an astonishing notion
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: that so many thoughts and ideas could exist together in
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: essentially one place. The companions were herded around the corner
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: and now faced north. The corridor ahead of them stretched
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: for about sixty feet and terminated at an open archway
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: with scroll work decorations worked into the stone along its top.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: The only other feature in the hall was a pair
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: of ensconced torches set opposite each other on the wall
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: midway along. These were not the only sources of light, however,
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: nor the strongest. A bright yellow orange glow emitted from
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: beyond the arch, so bright that whatever was producing it
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: was impossible to see. This did not change as the
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: party passed the torches and drew closer to the arch,
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: but now they could feel heat come from the room
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: and hear a dull, low roaring sound like that of
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: a bonfire. Even though a meeting with odok Zygog was
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: all Achilia had wanted for weeks, she was now beginning
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: to feel a mounting sense of dread. When she hesitated,
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: she got the tip of a halberd between her shoulder blades.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: As she cried and lurched forward, it looked like she
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: was going to have this meeting, whether she wanted it
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: any more or not. Her heart beat throbbed in her throat.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: This was it, and the responsibility to not fail was
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: like carrying a mountain on her shoulders, and she approached
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: and then passed under the scrolled larchway. Achilia could never
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: have anticipated what was waiting for her and her companions beyond.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Even before they saw it, they felt it. A wave
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: of intense heat that pulsed out from the back of
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: the room. The source of the brightness that had been
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: obscured by its own light was now visible above a
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: wide two step dais. An enormous ball of fire hovered.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: It was bigger than the biggest bond fire any of
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: them had ever seen. It must have been six feet across,
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: perfectly round, with a surface of roiling flames like a
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: miniature sun. Now Achilia's heart banged in her chest like
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: a smith's hammer. She faltered, but caught herself and kept
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: advancing before the halberd tip could prod her again. The
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: companions were marched into the room, a white marble square
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: of forty feet per side. Floor, walls, ceiling, and dais
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: were all made of the same polished stone that caught
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: and reflected the orange of the floating ball of fire.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: The room had no other exits or features. With a
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: clanking sound, The animated armor now arranged themselves so that
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: one flanked the companions on either side, while the third
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: remained behind them. Raised halberds made sure that they were
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: all corralled tightly together. Why is it All's grace? Breathed
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: Fairwind as he pressed against Tenier's side. The Elven brother
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: echoed his sentiment, or Sendiu save us. In the face
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: of the heat and the fire, that Kellia had to
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: squint and sma. Though she felt no joy, she had
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: a promise to fulfill, and she was determined to do right.
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: My name is Achillie Muog, apprenticed to Old Vay Muog.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: She practically shouted at the blazing sphere. There was a
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: moment where Fate seemed to stretch out, hanging in the
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: room while the blistering heat beat at her. Then a
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: face became discernible in the self consuming, self regenerating fireball.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: It had two black pockets of eyes and a gaping
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: crescent slit for a mouth. The members of Achille's party
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: trembled anew Fawan's frantic mind madly recalled a carved pumpkin
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: lantern seen once in Camrades during the Festival of Autumn.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: The fireball spoke with the voice of an inferno. It began.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: Elia could not stop herself from shaking. Somehow, the great
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: ball of flame produced no smoke, neither did it consume
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: any fuel. All the same, a new wave of heat
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: pushed out of it when it spoke again. Thank you
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: for listening to Tale of the Mandicor if you'd like
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: to help support the show, there are a bunch of
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: ways to do so. You could recommend it online and
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: to friends. You can like and repost episode announcements on
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: social media. You could produce a Tale of the manticor
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: t shirt at Bare art stats store or one of
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: my offerings on drive through RPG. And finally, you can
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher. All
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: these things help and I appreciate it. At this point,
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: I'd love to share a listener review. This one was
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: left on Apple Podcasts by sir Helius. Sir Helius writes,
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: mind blown, this podcast managed to scritch an itch that
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: almost no other D and D media could. It takes
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: itself and the adventures seriously, a refreshing antithesis to the
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: silliness that took over the game and the way many
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: people play it. I'm happy this art piece exists and
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to listening to it in its entirety.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, sir Helius. You know, I'm always surprised
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: by how few quote unquote serious D and D shows
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: there are. The comedy style shows simply dominate the field,
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: and I still don't know why. Though I am a
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: little less bothered by it than I used to be,
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: which is probably good for my blood pressure. Anyway, I'm
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: very grateful that you and other folks that listen in
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: here exist and have the same tastes as I do.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Thanks a million for that review, and I have more
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: thanks to give. Let's talk about this episode's guest of
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: voice actors. We're back to the usual core trio of
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: Kevin Barringer, Kylon and Dave Cooper playing Tentier Doranian Fairwind.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, guys, and yet again, playing the voice
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: of the Magic Mouth is Amanda Tea. Thank you, Amanda.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: Check out her work at Wicked Underscore or Loving Underscore
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Lies on Instagram. Trust me, it's really good stuff for
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: those curious to learn more about Tale of the Manticore.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: I keep a blog or I post all kinds of
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: show on RPG related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: and show notes. You could find it at tale of
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: Themanticore dot com to get in touch with me, and
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: I'm at Solo Roleplayers Network dot com, Tell of Themanticore
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: a dot blues guide dot social, Tell of the Manticore
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: podcast on Instagram, or Tale of Themanticore at gmail dot com.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: I read and respond to every email I receive. The
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: adventure will continue on the next episode of Tale of
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: the manticor it's the story We're chaos roles