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Dice Chain: Links 9-10 · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Dice Chain, a system fluid, multi-author, experimental
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: fiction series. Let's briefly recap the last episode. Link 7, Ironsworn.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Aristan is sent by Wallace Buckvine to meet with new
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: recruits at a crumbling ruin near Gant Manor. Morlaine has
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: yet to arrive, and Aristan grows increasingly doubtful. Aristan is
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: disturbed by the poor quality of the recruits, mostly bandits, peasants,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and youths, and fears they will be slaughtered in battle.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: After returning to the manor, Aristan confronts Buckvine about the delays,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: but Buckvine angrily rejects his concerns and orders him out.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Troubled by the approaching winter, dwindling supplies, and Buckvine's attitude,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Aristan leaves the hall to patrol the walls. There, he
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: meets a young sentry named Halifax, whose innocence reminds him
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: of happier times. Their brief conversation is cut short when
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Halifax is suddenly killed by an arrow to the throat,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: signaling the start of a surprise attack and plunging the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: camp into chaos. Aristan has only just witnessed the death
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: of the youth before he encounters a colossal, terrifying creature
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: whose aspect nearly overwhelms his mind and causes him to
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: fall from the castle walls. Although he survives the fall,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: he finds the castle under attack by a horde of
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: savage invaders led by a powerful, beast-like warrior. Realizing the
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: defenders have no chance against the monstrous creature, Aristan flees
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: through a secret tunnel with Dr. Pooley, Lord Buckvine, and
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: a small group of survivors. As they escape, Pooley reveals
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: that the monstrous being is the source of the Queen's
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: power and that the two are mysteriously bound together. Emerging
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: from the tunnels outside the castle, the fugitives intend to
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: warn King Morlane of the attack. However, they are immediately
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: surrounded by armed figures. Just as the situation begins to
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: seem hopeless, Aristan recognizes their leader as his sister, Alice,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: who announces that she has come to rescue him once again.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Link 9 For this link, I've decided to change the
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: ruleset once again, because why not? This time, instead of
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: an old-school style of the game, I've decided to take
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: one of the most recent RPG systems for a road test.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I'm going to be using Daggerheart. I have created Sir
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Ariston as a stalwart guardian, and I've jerry-rigged my own
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: custom GM emulator to fit in alongside the Daggerheart rules.
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: Let's see.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: How this plays out. Well, don't just stand there gawking,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: little brother. It's not as if that scouting party is
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: the end of your troubles. The forest behind me is
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: literally crawling with the enemy. Alice turned and barked orders
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: to the men who followed her. Although these were dangerous-looking,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: hard-eyed brutes, far more well-supplied in sharp steel than in
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: morals or integrity, they obeyed her without question. As one,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: they melted out from the undergrowth, forming up alongside what
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: remained of Gant Manor's defenders. Come on, follow me, and
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: keep quiet. The last thing we need is... As if
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: on cue, Sir Buckvine stepped forward, his sword shaking in
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: his grip. The man appeared to be utterly beside himself
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: with fury. You! You filthy, traitorous cur!
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: How dare you show your.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Face, woman! Alice rolled her eyes.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Oh, for the love of.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Buckvine, you pompous, arrogant, self-aggrandising blowhard! Do you really think
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: this is the time? Do you have the faintest conception
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: of what that thing is back there? Oh, what yet
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: lurks within these woods? Me and my men are all
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: that stand between you and slaughter. If you want to
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: take your chances alone, please be my guest. But know this,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: you fathead. Without me and mine, you and yours are
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: as good as dead. There was clearly something Ariston was
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: missing here. He was sure of that. But his sister
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: had the right of it. Time later for answers, assuming
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: they even lived that long. Right now, Their priority was survival.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Even now he could hear the screams from within the manor.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Some poor souls had not been so lucky in their
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: attempts to flee. She's right, Buckvine. We have no time
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: for this. Alice, if you think you can get us
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: to safety, lead on. He stared around at the assembled faces, Dr. Pooley, Del,
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: Buckvine and the rest, daring anyone to disagree. infuriatingly, Buckvine obliged. No,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: the big knight snarled, stepping forward and bringing up his
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: sword menacingly. Never! I will see you dead for what
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: you've done, woman, and consequences be hanged. Order before all!
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Thus far, there has been no use of the Daggerheart ruleset. Instead,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: play so far has stemmed purely from free role-playing and
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: from consulting my GM emulator, a system that I have
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: dubbed the Great Machine. Firstly, I asked, how does Buckvine
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: respond to Alice and the Woodsman? In my system, I
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: draw two tarot cards and consult a meaning table. For
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: this question, I got the Eight of Pentacles, which refers
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: to perseverance, routine, and mastery. and the Seven of Swords, deception, deceit,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: and betrayal. I decided that this meant Buckfast had respect
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: for their strength, but total fury over some as yet
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: unknown betrayal. Then I asked, how does Alice react to Buckvine?
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: The Five of Cups reversed meant acceptance, healing, and moving on,
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: while the Knight of Wands reversed meant haste, diffusion, and frustration. So, Alice,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: for her part, was prepared to let bygones be bygones, and,
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: quite reasonably to my mind, had no time to stand
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: around arguing about who had done what to who, while
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: the forces of darkness were closing in around them. Next,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Ariston tried to influence things, and for this, rather than
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: making a roll against his present stat, I decided that
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: the odds of this working seemed likely, and made a
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: simple roll against those odds on my custom yes-no oracle.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: And naturally, that role failed. No, said Buckline, never compromise,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: not even in the face of Armageddon. Oh dear, what
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: a time for our headstrong knight to go all Rorschach
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: on us. As one, Alice's men formed up around her,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: daggers glinting by the light of the flames that, even now,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: licked across the thatched roofs of Gant Manor's outbuildings. In turn,
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Buckvine's men did the same. Alice's eyes narrowed to furious slits.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: You utter fool, Buckvine, she spat. Your monumental pride above
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the lives of every person standing here, is that it?
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: with a low, growl, buck-fine move to answer with his blade,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: and both sides tensed for what seemed the inevitable clash.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: For the love of the Maker, wheedled a frantic Dr. Pooley,
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: glancing desperately between the sharp steel gripped in the fists
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: of Alice's men, the ominous tree-line, and the walls of
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Gant Manor, from which the clamour of battle seemed to
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: be growing gradually closer. Please, we have to escape! If
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: we don't leave now, we're doomed. I beg of you, Buckvine.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: Think of your men. Think of your duty to the crown.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Sensing a flicker of hesitation in the big knight, Ariston
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: seized upon this line of persuasion. He's right, Sir Buckvine,
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: he insisted. Listen to the man. Our first duty is
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: to King Morlane. If we die here, the king will
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: be left wholly ignorant of Queen Rhiannon's perfidy this day.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: of the forces that she has at her disposal and
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: the location of those forces. Damn it, man, did you
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: not see that wind creature? We have to let the
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: king know what peril he faces. Buckvine's face contorted the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: inner battle plain upon his features, and then, with a
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: roar of fury and frustration, he spun away.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: Curse you!
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: But you're right, Ariston.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Honor before all, but duty... He wheeled back around, tendons
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: straining in his neck as he struggled to hold his
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: rage at bay. But this is not over, woman. When
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: this is done, I will have satisfaction. I started this scene,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: after some posturing by my two NPCs, with a question
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: for the Oracle. How does Dr. Pooley react? And I
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: got the Page of Swords... curiosity, spontaneity and communication, and
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: the two of swords reversed, indecision, impasse and parallel. For me,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: this meant two things. Firstly, that the good doctor was
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: going to try and break the impasse with reason. Swords are,
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: after all, the suit of the mind and thinking. And secondly,
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: that a change had been triggered. When you draw two
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: cards of the same suit with the Great Machine Oracle,
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: that signifies a potential change to one of the four
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: types of story threads. I drew two sword cards here,
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: and those relate to the Perils list. The most obvious
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: currently active peril is the encroaching enemy forces, and so
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: I decided to kick off a dynamic countdown. For each
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: action roll I subsequently made, the starting value of 8
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: would be reduced by a variable amount. When the countdown
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: hit zero, the enemy forces would be upon our hapless heroes.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: The very first roll was Ariston attempting to persuade Buckvine
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: to do the right thing. This was a roll against presence,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: which in Sir Ariston's case is a plus one. And
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: because of Pooley's help and that compelling argument, I think
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: it's fair to make this roll with advantage. Given, though,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: that Buckvine has proved himself to be an impossible knucklehead,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: I think that the target number needs to sit at
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: a 15. Well, the result was a 17. A success,
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: but with fear. That means that the countdown clock ticks
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: down by one to a seven. But on the plus side,
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: our party are not going to fall upon one another
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: in the middle of a hostile battlefield. Thank goodness for
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: small mercies. Next, I asked the Oracle where Alice was
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: taking them, and I got the High Priestess, reversed, Irrationality, Denial,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: and Secrets, and the Ace of Swords, Intellect, Insight, and Learning.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Let's see where that takes us. The group... at Alice's insistence,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: travelled the forest trails in silence, she taking the lead,
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: and Buckvine bringing up a very sullen rear. If Alice
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: was to be believed, these woods were not safe, with
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: many a foe, be it goblin or worse, travelling its
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: winding paths. Even so, Ariston could not contain himself forever. Alice,
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: he whispered at last, I I don't know where to begin.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: How did you survive the fire? Where have you been
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: these five years? And how did you come to lead
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: this band of grim-looking fellows? What in the name of
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: all that's wholly transpired between you and Buckvine? And where
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: are you taking us? There was a fond, familiar twinkle
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: in her eye as she glanced sideward at him, her
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: lip tugged up into the faintest of smiles. A lot
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: of questions, little brother. Questions that will, I am afraid,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: have to wait. For now, satisfy yourself with this. I
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: have no idea what that flying horror was that breached
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: the manor walls, but I know a woman who will. Well,
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: I say woman. Close enough, I suppose. You have heard
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: her called by many names in those old nursery tales
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: Mother used to tell us, the ones that scared you so?
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: A smile spread, mischief and merriment dancing in her eyes.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: I am taking you, Stan, to Rootmother, to the Oracle
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: of the Green, to old Oakwich herself.
• 13:57
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• 13:59
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• 14:01
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• 14:14
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• 14:34
  Speaker 3: Link 10 The grey light of dawn strained feebly through
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: the tangled canopy of the old forest. What little of
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: it reached the ground was dulled to a haze. where
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: mist clung to the moss-draped trunks like ghostly breath. A
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: fine rain had begun to fall, soft and steady, its
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: droplets gleaming faintly as they pattered against the leaves in
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: the half-light. The company moved in silence beneath the dripping boughs,
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: their faces drawn and weary. Their cloaks hung heavy with rain,
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: boots sinking into the mulch of the forest floor. A
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: few stumbled, wounded men and women, leaning on their comrades
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: for support, slowing the group's already laboured pace. They needed rest,
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: but rest was a luxury they could ill afford. Only
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: Alice and her band seemed untouched by fatigue. Grim but resolute,
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: they led the battered survivors of Gadmana deep into the
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: green gloom. The deeper they went, the older and broader
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: the trees became, towering sentinels, their gnarled branches arched high above,
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: weaving together to blot out what little light dared to enter.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: The forest was alive here, ancient and watchful. Aristan's thoughts, however,
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: were far from the path ahead. His mind churned with
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: questions that gnawed at him like a fever. Bewitched, Buckvine
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: had said, and Pooley too had sworn it. But if
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: that were true, then why had Alice risked her life
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: to rescue him from Gant Manor? And what of the
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: bitter words between her and Buckvine? What past grievance had
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: sown such venom? None of it made sense. Driven by frustration,
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: Ariston lengthened his stride until he drew level with his sister.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Rain dripped from his hair into his eyes as he
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: spoke through clenched teeth. His voice low, so that only
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: she could hear. What in the five hells is going on, Alice?
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: If I was truly bewitched, then why did you try
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: to rescue me from Buckvine? Alice did not look at him.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Her gaze remained fixed ahead, cold and steady. When she answered,
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: her words were scarcely above a whisper. For all his bluster,
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: Wallace's heart is true. But the man's a fool. He
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: wouldn't know deceit if it bit him on the arse.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Aristan could not help but smirk. Then the flicker of
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: humour did little to allay his unease. He could feel it.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: His sister was holding something back. If not bugvine, then who? Careful, Stan.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: There are crow spies everywhere. The warning sent a shiver
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: up his spine. Her tone was quiet, but it carried
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: the prescience of something dangerous. What do you mean? She
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes sharp beneath the
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: hood of her cloak. Some masks are not so easily seen.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: He opened his mouth to press further, but Alice silenced
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: him with a look that brooked no argument. Whatever truth
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: she carried, she was not yet ready to share it.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: After a few moments, Aristan exhaled through his nose and
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: tried a different tack. Then tell me this, who is
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: this Rootmother anyway? Alice's expression softened, and a faint knowing
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: smile touched upon her lips. She is a seer, a mystic,
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: but more than that, she sees all. The forest speaks
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: to her, and she to it. She sounds like a witch.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: Alice laughed, a sound that seemed almost foreign in that
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: grim place. Oh, she is far more than that. She
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: is a teller of truths. With Link 10, I am
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: returning to the basic expert rules of Dungeons & Dragons,
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: and Aristan's character profile as determined by John in Link 1. However,
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: with everything our hero has been through, I think he
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: deserves a level up. As such, Aristan will ascend to
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: level 3, and get a d8 of additional hit points.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: A 6, which takes his maximum hit points to 17.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: In addition, whilst not part of the basic expert rules,
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: at level up, I like to give characters the possibility
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: to increase their ability scores. It makes sense to me
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: that through their experiences, characters might become stronger, wiser, and
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: more agile. I will roll a D6 for each ability score,
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: and if I roll a six, that stat will increase
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: by one point. Starting with strength. A six! Now that's
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: a great start. Aristan's strength increases to 16. And even better,
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: it will increase his hit and damage bonus to 2. Intelligence. 5. Wisdom.
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: Another 6. Aristan's wisdom increases to 12. This does make sense.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: The young knight has certainly gained great insight over the
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: past few weeks.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Dexterity.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: A 1. Constitution.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: A five.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: And finally, charisma.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: A two.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: Well, that was a very satisfying level up. But back
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: to the matter at hand. I decided at the start
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: of this link that I need to try and draw
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: together some of the seemingly contradictory threads. We know that
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: Alice tried to rescue Aristan from Gant Manor, presumably because
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: she is aware of something or someone that means to
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: harm him. Also, at Aristan's insistence, she was prepared to
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: attempt to rescue his squire who later confessed to being
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: a traitor, albeit under duress. At the same time, Ariston's
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: would-be captor, Buckvine, appears to be honourable, if a little pig-headed.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: This leaves me with one conclusion, that Dr Pooley is
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: not all that he seems, and Alice either knows it
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: or suspects it. Her plan is to get the Rootmother
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: to uncover Pooley's allegiance and discover the truth. I'm going
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: to test this theory by asking my oracle, Is Pooley
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: in some way an enemy? A four. That's a yes, but. Okay,
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: let's roll in the mythic event meaning chart for a
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: prompt as to the nature of Pooley's treachery. Action first. 45. Celebrate.
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: Now for the object.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: 73.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: Opulence. Celebrate opulence. Interesting. Now I'm going to make a
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: series of rolls for this journey through the forest. Firstly,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: I need to see whether the party will lose direction. Ordinarily,
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: a roll of one or two on a D6 would
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: mean that they do get lost, but I'm going to
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: reduce this to a one in six chance, as Alice
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: and her men seem to know the forest. A three.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: I'm also going to roll for a wandering encounter. A
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: roll of one or two on a D6 will be
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: a positive result.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: A one.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: Okay. As our setting is generic, I'm simply going to
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: use the random tables in the basic expert rules. Firstly,
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: I need to roll a D8 to determine what classification
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: a creature.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: An eight.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Oh, I won't ruin the surprise, but that is not
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: good news. Okay, now to roll a D12 for the type.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: An eight.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: Let's see. Right, I just need to make one more roll,
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: and we will see what the company encounters in the narrative.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Okay then.
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: The company continued travelling northwest during a day which barely
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: witnessed the light of the sun. The going was slow,
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: hampered further as the terrain grew more rocky the deeper
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: they ventured. Huge, moss-covered granite boulders littered the ground, and
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: soon a steep cliff loomed up among the trees to
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: the northeast. By now, the wounded among them were floundering badly,
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: and it was agreed that rest could no longer be avoided.
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: Alice dispatched a scout to search for a place to
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: make camp, and the weary band turned their steps towards
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: the cliff, seeking any hollow that might offer shelter from
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: the ceaseless rain. Fortune, or something like it, favoured them briefly.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: Beneath the cliff's overhang, the ground was less sodden, and
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: the rock had kept a few branches scattered beneath it dry. Soon,
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: Alice's man returned, breath steaming in the chill air, to
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: report a cave a few hundred feet ahead. A murmur
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: of relief passed through the company. With what little strength remained,
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: they pushed forward, boots rustling through the leaf litter, until
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: the forest abruptly fell away into a shallow basin. There,
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: the cliff's base yawned open, a black mouth in the stone,
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: broad enough to swallow a cart. Several nearby trees were uprooted,
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: else had their boughs snapped. The aftermath, perhaps, of some
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: great storm. None gave it second thought, though. Weariness dulled
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: their caution, and the promise of shelter drew them on.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: A pair of buck-fired men hastened forward, torches flaring against
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: the damp. Supporting their injured comrades, they ventured into the
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: waiting dark. The others were just beginning to follow when
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: the stillness broke. A roar, deep and guttural, exploded from
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: the cave's depths, shaking loose clods of earth from the
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: rock face. Screams followed, and then two figures burst back
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: into view, faces wild with terror. The wounded they had
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: carried were nowhere to be seen. Aristan's mind leapt to reason.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: A bear's den, perhaps. But before the thought had settled,
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: the ground itself trembled beneath their feet, the rhythm of
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: something massive drawing near. There was the sound of weapons
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: being drawn, as those that had their wits about them, Aristan, Bugfine, Alice,
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: and a few others, who had not already fled into
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: the trees, braced themselves, hearts hammering, eyes fixed upon the
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: cave's black moor. And then it came. A giant reptilian
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: serpent emerged. Its scales glistening wetly in the dull night,
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: head serrated and crowned with horns. But then, from the
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: darkness came four more heads, all extending by towering, sinuous necks,
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: but joined to the same long, muscular body. Two of
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: the heads were gulping back the remains of the two
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: wounded men bits of torn flesh hanging from their dagger-like teeth,
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: while the others eyed the interlopers with ancient and hungry malice.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: You have been listening to Dice Chain. In this episode,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: we heard from two different podcasters. Link 9 was created
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: by Carl White of the Lone Adventurer podcast, and Link
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: 8 was produced by Simon J. Williams from Legend of
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: the Bones. You can check out both of these great
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: shows anywhere you find podcasts. Episode 5 will be out soon.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Until then, you can always find new and exciting solo
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: RPG pods at soloworldplayersnetwork.com.