Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 65 FINALE (S3E65)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: This is Tana Pigeon and you're listening to the season
- 0:03Speaker 1: three finale of Tale of the Manicore.
- 0:08Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
- 0:13Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
- 0:30Speaker 2: season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
- 0:34Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticore is a mashup, a cross breeding
- 0:37Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
- 0:41Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
- 0:45Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
- 0:49Speaker 2: is sacred, and none will be spared if the dice
- 0:51Speaker 2: decide their fate is at hand. According to Lare, the
- 0:56Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticore is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
- 1:01Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
- 1:14Speaker 2: time on Tail of the Manticor, Chapter sixty four begins
- 1:18Speaker 2: with odok Zygog waking from his silver sleep. Right away,
- 1:22Speaker 2: he sees something familiar in Achillea's face, though it takes
- 1:25Speaker 2: a minute before he realizes what it is. When Achillea
- 1:28Speaker 2: explains why she has sought him out and woken him prematurely,
- 1:32Speaker 2: Odoke suggests that Oldvey most likely turned himself to Stone,
- 1:36Speaker 2: revealing that long ago he taught the spell flushed to
- 1:39Speaker 2: Stone to the other wizard. Achilia doesn't really believe that
- 1:43Speaker 2: and asks Odok to return home with her and her
- 1:45Speaker 2: companions anyway, But in an unexpected twist, Oodok refuses. There's
- 1:50Speaker 2: something critically important that he must do here, and he's
- 1:53Speaker 2: already lost precious time. Instead, Oodok offers to teach Achillea
- 1:58Speaker 2: the spell so that she might save Oldway herself. This
- 2:01Speaker 2: is where he drops a second bombshell, saying that Achillie
- 2:04Speaker 2: must be Oldvey's daughter as well as his pupil. Achillie
- 2:08Speaker 2: wants to believe it. The best part of her does
- 2:10Speaker 2: believe it, but once again she pushes aside everything that
- 2:13Speaker 2: does not contribute directly to Aldve's salvation. Finally, under Odoak's tutelitch,
- 2:19Speaker 2: she tries to learn the necessary spell, but sadly, she
- 2:23Speaker 2: fails worse than this, when she entreats Odok once again
- 2:27Speaker 2: to come back with her to cast the spell himself.
- 2:30Speaker 2: The wizard still refuses, saying he is already lost too
- 2:33Speaker 2: much time. Then he lays back on his bed of
- 2:36Speaker 2: metal and rejoins the Silver Sleepers. Chapter sixty five Part
- 2:46Speaker 2: one day forty five morning mythic event meaning praise the
- 2:54Speaker 2: spiritual party. Status Achilliae twenty hit points, Cord thirty seven
- 3:04Speaker 2: of thirty seven, Diretti eighteen of twenty six, ten tier
- 3:11Speaker 2: thirty one of thirty nine, flicker sixteen of sixteen spells available.
- 3:19Speaker 2: Achille can cast shrink and large, detect evil, glitter, dust, flame,
- 3:27Speaker 2: rrow and wall of fire. Cord can cast entangle, animal friendship,
- 3:35Speaker 2: slow poison, barkskin, old animal, tree shape, water, breathing, speak
- 3:43Speaker 2: with plants, pass plant cure, serious wounds, and protection from
- 3:49Speaker 2: plants and animals. Durnni came over to stand by her side.
- 3:55Speaker 2: He touched her lightly on the elbow.
- 3:58Speaker 3: He cannot help you, She will not. What are you
- 4:04Speaker 3: going to do now?
- 4:06Speaker 2: The ELF's eyes were so deeply sad it made her
- 4:08Speaker 2: want to weep, but she would weep no more than
- 4:11Speaker 2: she would beg That fragile, unsure person no longer existed.
- 4:17Speaker 2: This Achilia knew exactly what had to happen.
- 4:21Speaker 1: I'm going to do what needs doing.
- 4:23Speaker 2: She replied, walking over to the next closest silver bed.
- 4:28Speaker 2: This one and the one beside it had no person
- 4:30Speaker 2: atop them. She got on it and sat, feeling the
- 4:33Speaker 2: metals coldness against the backs of her thighs. Then she
- 4:37Speaker 2: took a deep breath, laid down, and closed tries. A
- 4:44Speaker 2: coldness passed through her body, accompanied by a terrible clanging panic.
- 4:48Speaker 2: As her body began to stiffen, just as she had
- 4:52Speaker 2: done so many times before. Achillia forced herself to be calm,
- 4:56Speaker 2: at first by regulating her breathing, and then, when her
- 4:59Speaker 2: lawung is no longer worked and her heart began to slow,
- 5:03Speaker 2: by meditation. Is this what Aldre had felt as his
- 5:07Speaker 2: flesh turned to stone? This was her final thought before
- 5:16Speaker 2: her physical self became solid silver and she entered into stasis.
- 5:21Speaker 2: Her mind and spirit then decoupled from her body. They
- 5:25Speaker 2: did not float above it or drift away, but stayed
- 5:28Speaker 2: anchored exactly where they were superimposed over her physical self.
- 5:34Speaker 2: When the transmutation was complete, a voice, all at once
- 5:37Speaker 2: mighty and kind, terrifying and delicate, entered her consciousness.
- 5:43Speaker 3: Welcome pilgrim.
- 5:45Speaker 2: It was the voice of the Goddess. If Achilie could
- 5:48Speaker 2: have trembled, she would.
- 5:49Speaker 1: Have to treat with me.
- 5:52Speaker 2: You must fast make a choice.
- 5:56Speaker 3: Shall it be you or shout it be.
- 5:59Speaker 2: Chaos between the lines, Achilia is speaking directly with the Haya,
- 6:10Speaker 2: the goddess of magic. At this point, I think it
- 6:13Speaker 2: might be worth spending a moment to go over the
- 6:16Speaker 2: rules of engagement, so to speak. To reach the end
- 6:19Speaker 2: of the Golden Path, Pilgrim's rule, encounter seven tests. They
- 6:23Speaker 2: must pass four of these to quickly recap. They are
- 6:27Speaker 2: Iami's tests, either one of the two lightning blasted trees,
- 6:31Speaker 2: either the test of air or of water, and either
- 6:34Speaker 2: the test of earth or of fire. Once they've passed these,
- 6:37Speaker 2: they may speak with the Goddess. It is here that
- 6:40Speaker 2: they have to make another choice. A hay will ask
- 6:43Speaker 2: them to pick either law or chaos. If a petitioner
- 6:46Speaker 2: chooses law, they need to offer something of value to
- 6:49Speaker 2: the goddess in exchange for a boon. If they choose chaos,
- 6:53Speaker 2: then they must sacrifice ten thousand days in nights as
- 6:57Speaker 2: a member of the Silver Sleepers. Only after this sacrifice
- 7:01Speaker 2: is being made can they then submit their fate to chance.
- 7:05Speaker 2: Ahea gives fifty to fifty odds. Those who win receive
- 7:08Speaker 2: a boon with nothing further asked of them. Those who
- 7:12Speaker 2: lose receive no boon, but instead are given some kind
- 7:15Speaker 2: of task to perform, and these tasks are epic in
- 7:18Speaker 2: scope and difficulty. These are all things I've mentioned before
- 7:21Speaker 2: on the show, but I have never discussed what can
- 7:24Speaker 2: and cannot be granted as a boon. In game terms,
- 7:27Speaker 2: you can think of it as a wish like the
- 7:29Speaker 2: ninth level spell of the same name, but with a
- 7:32Speaker 2: couple of limitations. First, a Heya will not try to subvert, distort, evade,
- 7:37Speaker 2: or minimize the wish requested. The pilgrim and the goddess
- 7:40Speaker 2: are not in a contest of wills here, as might
- 7:43Speaker 2: be the case with genies, devils, or other wish granting entities. However,
- 7:48Speaker 2: the asker is not entitled to limitless power and will
- 7:51Speaker 2: be denied anything the goddess deems unworthy of them. Second,
- 7:55Speaker 2: Ahea will not grant power over life or death. She
- 7:58Speaker 2: will not raise or resurrect them dead, and she will
- 8:01Speaker 2: not accept her request to take the life of a
- 8:03Speaker 2: living creature. So those are the constraints a petitioner must
- 8:06Speaker 2: operate within. One of the thing that's worth mentioning is
- 8:09Speaker 2: that the Dragon to know Youselffully is more than just
- 8:12Speaker 2: a guardian an overseer. They introduced themselves as the warden
- 8:16Speaker 2: of the True Path, guardian of the Silver Sleepers, and
- 8:19Speaker 2: the first Temple of Ahea. That last bit was not misspoken.
- 8:23Speaker 2: They are the first Temple of Ahea. But what does
- 8:27Speaker 2: that even mean?
- 8:38Speaker 1: I choose law, a Kilia replied.
- 8:43Speaker 3: Very well.
- 8:45Speaker 2: Open nine eyes, a Kilia had forgotten they were still closed.
- 8:49Speaker 2: She did as instructed. Her physical eyelids, now solid silver,
- 8:53Speaker 2: remained closed, but her mind's eyes opened wide. She saw
- 8:59Speaker 2: nothing but the blue cloud strewn sky, then, glancing to
- 9:03Speaker 2: the right, the peaks of the three mountains that converged here.
- 9:06Speaker 2: It was when she turned her head to the left
- 9:08Speaker 2: that she saw something wondrous. To know youselfully. The silver
- 9:14Speaker 2: dragon had transformed into something new. It was still more
- 9:20Speaker 2: or less a dragon, and it still assumed the same
- 9:23Speaker 2: catlike position resting on its forearms as before. But where
- 9:27Speaker 2: there had once been a breast of shining scales, there
- 9:30Speaker 2: was now an aperture, a door set right into the
- 9:34Speaker 2: dragon's chest. The creature was no longer just a living being.
- 9:38Speaker 2: It was a kind of living structure.
- 9:42Speaker 1: The First Temple of their.
- 9:44Speaker 2: Achilia breathed, and so said the voice of the goddess
- 9:48Speaker 2: in her mind. At the same time to know Youselfully
- 9:52Speaker 2: gazed down upon her, somehow imperious in approving. At the
- 9:56Speaker 2: same time, Achilia felt her soul pull away from her
- 9:59Speaker 2: b As she slipped off the bed of silver and
- 10:03Speaker 2: approached the door in the dragon, she did not walk,
- 10:06Speaker 2: but floated, like the spirit she had become. She glided
- 10:10Speaker 2: on until to no Useulfully's shining form towered over her.
- 10:15Speaker 2: The door in its chest was a triangle, like the
- 10:18Speaker 2: door of a great tent or pavilion. It was made
- 10:21Speaker 2: completely of scales that shimmered with dazzling light. As Achillie
- 10:28Speaker 2: drew near, the folds parted in anticipation of her entrance. Unafraid,
- 10:34Speaker 2: she stepped lightly through, passing the metallic flaps of the
- 10:38Speaker 2: dragon's chest and moving beyond. Now she was in a
- 10:43Speaker 2: new space. A pocket dimension fitted inside the dragon, but
- 10:48Speaker 2: it did not resemble the inside of a dragon. Achilliea
- 10:52Speaker 2: was in a grassy clearing in a forest unlike any
- 10:55Speaker 2: she had ever seen before. He was surrounded by all
- 10:58Speaker 2: manner of fantastic trees. In fact, it seemed that no
- 11:02Speaker 2: two were alike. Here was a mighty oak with bark
- 11:06Speaker 2: of gold, next to a maple with leaves of magenta.
- 11:10Speaker 2: There was a birch that twisted in a spiral. These
- 11:13Speaker 2: were interspersed with pointed conifers that bore needles of every color,
- 11:17Speaker 2: black and ochre, and ruby and cream. He was a marvelous,
- 11:22Speaker 2: beautiful and breath taking sight. In the center of it
- 11:26Speaker 2: all stood a mound of lush grass. He was dotted
- 11:29Speaker 2: with small shrubs and ferns of a likewise myriad variety.
- 11:34Speaker 2: From all around came the sounds of birds and the wind,
- 11:37Speaker 2: cheerful and soothing everything. Trees, shrubs, and grass seemed to
- 11:43Speaker 2: move together in concert, as though breathing like a single organism.
- 11:49Speaker 2: The chilia approached the mound. As she did, the little
- 11:52Speaker 2: cloud of butterflies broke free from somewhere among the surrounding
- 11:56Speaker 2: trees and settled upon it. Then another cloud of the
- 11:59Speaker 2: colorful insects came over from another direction to join them.
- 12:03Speaker 2: After that, dozens, and then hundreds, and then thousands more
- 12:08Speaker 2: butterflies blew in like drifts of multi colored snowflakes. They
- 12:14Speaker 2: covered them out until not one inch of its surface
- 12:17Speaker 2: remained visible. The tiny creatures opened and closed their wings,
- 12:21Speaker 2: looking like so many little animated books, and the way
- 12:24Speaker 2: they did so, out of sync with each other, created
- 12:26Speaker 2: a rippling illusion across their surface. Achille's spirit beheld all
- 12:31Speaker 2: this with wonder and delight. She had an odd impulse
- 12:35Speaker 2: to clap her spirit hands together for joy. Instead, she
- 12:39Speaker 2: brought them up before her chest and kept them there
- 12:41Speaker 2: with the fingers touching. It was at this moment that
- 12:44Speaker 2: the host of butterflies winked and jostled their positions until
- 12:48Speaker 2: together they formed a face on the mound ten feet high.
- 12:53Speaker 2: Butterfly eyelids opened and butterfly eyes regarded her. Then a
- 12:58Speaker 2: mouth sublime and perfect opened, and once again the voice
- 13:02Speaker 2: of the goddess filled her mind. You are a creature
- 13:08Speaker 2: most rare, he said, the exact same thing Aami had
- 13:12Speaker 2: said to Achillia when they had met. Achillia knew what
- 13:15Speaker 2: was happening was real, but still could not help asking.
- 13:19Speaker 1: Am I dreaming?
- 13:22Speaker 2: It is a funny question, replied the giant sized face
- 13:25Speaker 2: made of butterflies.
- 13:27Speaker 3: For the dream to ask the dreamer, no rare creature.
- 13:33Speaker 3: I anticipated our negotiation.
- 13:36Speaker 1: What do you wish for and what.
- 13:39Speaker 2: Do you offer? Achillia had her answer ready.
- 13:42Speaker 1: I seek the means to restore my master, lay millag
- 13:46Speaker 1: to health. In exchange for this, I offer my want.
- 13:52Speaker 2: There was a long pause, and then.
- 13:56Speaker 1: I refuse this offer.
- 14:04Speaker 2: Durrenni looked down at the rigid silver form of Achillia
- 14:07Speaker 2: lying atop the metal bed. The entire surface of her body,
- 14:11Speaker 2: including her clothing and possessions, was polished and mirror like.
- 14:15Speaker 2: He could see his own reflection in it. He looked worried.
- 14:19Speaker 2: They had been waiting for an entire hour, but nothing
- 14:22Speaker 2: at all had happened. He glanced over a Tentere, whose
- 14:26Speaker 2: face showed that he too felt concerned. Do you think
- 14:30Speaker 2: we should do something? His brother asked, I.
- 14:34Speaker 3: Do not know what we could do.
- 14:38Speaker 2: Cord and Flicker were with them too. The blink dog
- 14:42Speaker 2: whined plaintively at the motionless sup Pine and Achillea. As
- 14:47Speaker 2: for Cord, his painted eyes were locked on her. Suddenly,
- 14:52Speaker 2: the wooden construct looked up. He faced the eleven brothers,
- 14:56Speaker 2: bowed once, and then walked over to the next available bed.
- 15:06Speaker 1: I refuse this offer.
- 15:10Speaker 2: Achille was stunned. The goddess refused. She looked away from
- 15:18Speaker 2: the enormous face composed of butterflies and searched the trees,
- 15:21Speaker 2: as though somehow she might find a solution among their
- 15:24Speaker 2: multicolored branches. Strangely, she thought she saw a tree that
- 15:28Speaker 2: had not been there before, one whose boughs were covered
- 15:32Speaker 2: in vibrant pink blossoms. When she turned back to face
- 15:36Speaker 2: the goddess, she was ready to make a new offer,
- 15:39Speaker 2: an offer that came not from her mind but from
- 15:42Speaker 2: her heart.
- 15:43Speaker 1: I will offer my life in exchange for my masters.
- 15:48Speaker 2: The oversized prismatic face undulated. Its eyes blinked slowly.
- 15:55Speaker 1: As Alif is neither mine to take nor to give.
- 16:02Speaker 1: The underworld belongs to Borrowdo's governance.
- 16:08Speaker 3: Therefore, by an offer is refused.
- 16:14Speaker 2: Achillia felt something inside her guy. It was the fragile
- 16:19Speaker 2: hope that she had nurtured and protected and carried all
- 16:23Speaker 2: this way. Now, finally there was nothing else with wish
- 16:28Speaker 2: to sustain it. What more could she offer than her
- 16:32Speaker 2: own life? There was nothing. She had played her last
- 16:37Speaker 2: piece and lost. It was over.
- 16:46Speaker 3: An offer has been made and has been accepted. Awaken
- 16:53Speaker 3: and accept Five.
- 16:54Speaker 2: Years before Achille had time to even begin to try
- 17:01Speaker 2: and work out what had happened, she found herself coming
- 17:04Speaker 2: awake on the cool slab of silver. She was staring
- 17:22Speaker 2: up at a contingent of white clouds that marched across
- 17:25Speaker 2: a pale blue sky. She felt groggy and confused, but
- 17:30Speaker 2: sat up anyway, shaking her head to clear it. It
- 17:34Speaker 2: was at about this time that she became aware of
- 17:36Speaker 2: Robin's agitated piping. She looked in the direction of the sound.
- 17:41Speaker 2: Gathered at the silver bed. Next to hers were de Renni,
- 17:44Speaker 2: tan Tier, and Flicker. Robin was there, too, hopping up
- 17:48Speaker 2: and down on its surface in a state of agitation.
- 17:52Speaker 2: Beside the bird was a pair of small objects. Otherwise
- 17:55Speaker 2: the surface was bare cord or to be seen. She
- 18:02Speaker 2: turned her head to the left to know Youse how
- 18:05Speaker 2: Foley was there no longer with an opening in their chest.
- 18:09Speaker 2: The silver dragon, with the same patient expression as before,
- 18:13Speaker 2: He gave her a barely perceptible nod. When her yellow
- 18:16Speaker 2: eyes met its central pink one. She turned her head
- 18:19Speaker 2: to the right. There was nothing to see but the
- 18:22Speaker 2: double line of stone owl idols, all facing away from
- 18:25Speaker 2: her and toward the tree line. Her mind reeled, where
- 18:31Speaker 2: is could, she asked, and got stricken looks in response.
- 18:37Speaker 2: The sound of Achillie's voice provoked Robin in new heights
- 18:40Speaker 2: of anxiety. With mounting concern Thatchllia slipped off her silver
- 18:46Speaker 2: bed and approached faces remained grim as she drew near.
- 18:54Speaker 2: Now she could see the two objects on the bed
- 18:56Speaker 2: more clearly. One was a very small scroll made paper
- 19:01Speaker 2: and all of pure gold. Beside it was a little
- 19:05Speaker 2: pink blossom. Achillier recalled the tree that had been where
- 19:09Speaker 2: it hadn't been before during her audience with the goddess.
- 19:14Speaker 2: Tears ran down her cheeks as she began to understand.
- 19:26Speaker 2: If I'm doing my job as a storyteller, I'll have
- 19:28Speaker 2: leaked out enough clues that you too might have figured
- 19:31Speaker 2: out what has happened. But in case, I have held
- 19:34Speaker 2: back too much, as I know I've done in the past.
- 19:37Speaker 2: Here is the full explanation. After Achille had joined the
- 19:40Speaker 2: Silver Sleepers, the rest of her party had been unable
- 19:43Speaker 2: to do much of anything except gather around her and wait.
- 19:47Speaker 2: Time passed and the Alps grew worried. So did Court,
- 19:52Speaker 2: most of all Cord, and at some point he decided
- 19:55Speaker 2: to take matters into his own wooden hands. He walked
- 19:58Speaker 2: over to the last occupied silver bed, got a top it,
- 20:02Speaker 2: and joined the Silver Sleepers himself, just as Achilia had done.
- 20:07Speaker 2: He entered to know youselfiy and arrived just at the
- 20:10Speaker 2: moment where his friend offered up her wand and was refused.
- 20:13Speaker 2: When she then offered up her own life to save
- 20:16Speaker 2: Aldve and was rejected again, Chord made his move. He
- 20:20Speaker 2: proposed a bargain of his own to the goddess, and
- 20:23Speaker 2: she accepted. In exchange forgiving Achilia the necessary things to
- 20:27Speaker 2: save aldvea Kord offered to remain with the goddess in
- 20:31Speaker 2: her grove for eternity. You see, Cord had understood something
- 20:35Speaker 2: from the beginning that Achilia had missed to the Goddess
- 20:39Speaker 2: of magic, magical items were less interesting than things that
- 20:42Speaker 2: were real. He had the notion that this might be
- 20:45Speaker 2: the case ever since learning about Seger's task. But what
- 20:48Speaker 2: Odo had said.
- 20:50Speaker 1: There is only one thing of mine, the goddess with
- 20:53Speaker 1: value my library.
- 20:57Speaker 2: That is when Chord became certain, and that is when
- 21:00Speaker 2: he made his offer. He was for his physical company
- 21:03Speaker 2: in perpetuity. From this moment on, Cord is a part
- 21:07Speaker 2: of a Haya's fantastical grove of wonders. And while he
- 21:10Speaker 2: is sad to part company with Achillie and Robin and
- 21:13Speaker 2: their other new friends, and he regrets that he's unlikely
- 21:16Speaker 2: to ever see his creator again. Chord is not unhappy
- 21:19Speaker 2: with his decision. Joining a deity's holy retinue is not
- 21:23Speaker 2: such a terrible fate, after all. Achillie took up the
- 21:31Speaker 2: delicate pink blossom and stroked its softness with her thumb.
- 21:36Speaker 2: Her brow furrowed, her eyes grew wet, and her lip trembled.
- 21:42Speaker 1: Oh, Cord, I am so very proud of you.
- 21:49Speaker 2: Gently she put it in her satchel. Then she took
- 21:52Speaker 2: the golden scroll from the bed surface and unrolled it.
- 21:57Speaker 2: While the incantations in her spell book went on for
- 22:00Speaker 2: pages and pages, this scroll contained only three ruins. Without
- 22:05Speaker 2: realizing it, she held her breath as she scanned them.
- 22:08Speaker 2: They were impossibly elegant, impossibly perfect. Even though she wasn't
- 22:14Speaker 2: sure if the blossom was meant for Altvade's restoration or
- 22:17Speaker 2: as a memento of court, she was confident that now
- 22:20Speaker 2: she had everything necessary to save her master, everything except one.
- 22:25Speaker 2: She looked past the stone idols and into the tree
- 22:28Speaker 2: line beyond it was the test of Earth. Further still,
- 22:33Speaker 2: the wormhole tunnels. If they were somehow able to get
- 22:37Speaker 2: by the purple worm a second time, there was still
- 22:39Speaker 2: no way they could go back the way they had come.
- 22:43Speaker 2: The wormhole tunnels had sealed behind them. Tantire must have
- 22:46Speaker 2: been thinking something similar, for he asked, how are we
- 22:50Speaker 2: going to leave this place? Akilia felt despair creeping its
- 22:54Speaker 2: way back into her heart, but she didn't have an answer.
- 22:59Speaker 1: Ah, I had no idea.
- 23:04Speaker 3: I think I might know a.
- 23:07Speaker 2: Way, said Dorenni. The elf was wearing a rare and
- 23:11Speaker 2: a strange little smile. He reached into his bag and
- 23:16Speaker 2: produced one of the things he'd removed from Belaria's corpse
- 23:19Speaker 2: before it had turned to stone. It was a wide
- 23:23Speaker 2: shaped pipe, identical to the one Achilia carried during her
- 23:33Speaker 2: quest to find odok Zygog and discover a way to
- 23:36Speaker 2: save her father. Achilia traveled the distance of somewhere between
- 23:40Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty to three hundred miles. If she
- 23:43Speaker 2: could have somehow walked from her house to the end
- 23:46Speaker 2: of the Golden Path in a straight line, it would
- 23:48Speaker 2: have taken her about thirty five days to do so.
- 23:51Speaker 2: I bring it up because I'm wondering how long it
- 23:53Speaker 2: would take for a griffin to cover that distance. I
- 23:56Speaker 2: live in Canada, and we have many native birds and too.
- 24:00Speaker 2: I might add that travel south for the winter. One
- 24:03Speaker 2: of those is the Canada goose. I decided to look
- 24:06Speaker 2: up how many miles the Canada goose could fly in
- 24:09Speaker 2: one day. I was absolutely astounded by what I found.
- 24:14Speaker 2: The answer is about fifteen hundred miles. Isn't that wild?
- 24:19Speaker 2: These birds traveled between forty and eighty miles per hour,
- 24:22Speaker 2: depending on wind conditions. Is a griffin as fast as
- 24:26Speaker 2: a goose? It's a question I didn't think i'd be
- 24:28Speaker 2: asking when I woke up this morning, but here we are,
- 24:31Speaker 2: and I think that, yes, that Gryffin is at least
- 24:34Speaker 2: as fast as a goose, which means Achillie and her
- 24:37Speaker 2: companions will be home before dark. Now it's almost time
- 24:42Speaker 2: to return to the narrative. But before I do that,
- 24:45Speaker 2: a quick note to say that the current mythic event
- 24:47Speaker 2: meaning praise the spiritual, as been fulfilled. I don't think
- 24:51Speaker 2: I'm going to need another one, so I'll just say
- 24:53Speaker 2: thank you very much ton A Pigeon for the inspiration.
- 24:56Speaker 2: And with that said, it is time to finish up
- 24:59Speaker 2: this story. Chapter sixty five, Part two, Day forty five,
- 25:13Speaker 2: early evening party status. The party status is unchanged with
- 25:19Speaker 2: the exception of Achillee, who is used for spell of shrink.
- 25:29Speaker 2: With a cry from their leader, the pack of Griffins
- 25:32Speaker 2: leapt into the air. In the space of a few breaths,
- 25:36Speaker 2: they retreated into the sky to the north, became specks,
- 25:39Speaker 2: and then were gone. Achillee wafed at them as they went,
- 25:44Speaker 2: until a noise and movement from her satchel drew her attention.
- 25:48Speaker 2: Remembering that she carried passengers, she exclaimed, oh, she give me.
- 25:53Speaker 2: Once her bag was open, Robin emerged, looking slightly dazed,
- 25:57Speaker 2: followed by a Flicker, who had been magically shrunken to
- 26:00Speaker 2: the size of a puppy. Achilia canceled the spell that
- 26:03Speaker 2: made her sell, and the blink dog returned to normal size.
- 26:09Speaker 2: As soon as that was done, Robin flew up and
- 26:12Speaker 2: alighted on top of Flicker's head. It looked ridiculous. Returning
- 26:17Speaker 2: her attention to the sky, Achillia marveled that the Griffins
- 26:20Speaker 2: had brought them from the first temple of Aheya all
- 26:22Speaker 2: the way back here to her home in just a
- 26:25Speaker 2: few hours. But it was true all the same. Achilia
- 26:29Speaker 2: and her companions were standing in front of her cottage
- 26:32Speaker 2: and the sun was still a few hours from setting.
- 26:35Speaker 2: She looked over at Dureni in tent here, and the
- 26:38Speaker 2: elder brother asked.
- 26:40Speaker 3: Are you ready?
- 26:42Speaker 2: Biting her lower lip, She nodded, and then led them
- 26:45Speaker 2: to the door. It still bore the sign she attacked
- 26:50Speaker 2: on it that said a wizard lives here no trespassers.
- 26:55Speaker 2: At the time, the sign had been all she could
- 26:57Speaker 2: think to do, since the door only below from within,
- 27:02Speaker 2: She took a deep breath, took hold of the handle,
- 27:05Speaker 2: and pushed it opened, and she stepped inside. The familiar,
- 27:21Speaker 2: naive smells of happiness and home struck her, and she
- 27:25Speaker 2: almost sobbed. It felt like she had been gone for years,
- 27:30Speaker 2: even though she had only been away for a matter
- 27:32Speaker 2: of weeks. The place was just as she had left it.
- 27:36Speaker 2: There were the earthen ceiling, the little wood stove in
- 27:39Speaker 2: their kitchen, the bedroom still in disarray, the pair of
- 27:43Speaker 2: reading chairs in the corner, the wall of mortared stones
- 27:47Speaker 2: with the concealed nook where she used to keep her
- 27:49Speaker 2: spellbrook hidden. And there were the stairs going into the cellar.
- 27:57Speaker 2: Please come in the words sound it's strange? What uttered?
- 28:02Speaker 2: De Rennie saw that Achilia was staring at her flight
- 28:04Speaker 2: of steps bleeding down intrepidation and wanted to say something.
- 28:08Speaker 2: He decided on.
- 28:10Speaker 3: Do you wish to go on alone?
- 28:14Speaker 2: Akilia shook her head, No.
- 28:17Speaker 3: We shall all go together.
- 28:19Speaker 2: Then Achillia blinked away the tears that had suddenly come,
- 28:23Speaker 2: sniffed and nodded. Then she walked over to the stairs
- 28:29Speaker 2: and took the first step. It creaked ever so quietly.
- 28:33Speaker 2: She took the second step, then the third, unintentionally repeating
- 28:39Speaker 2: the exact words she had said upon first returning here
- 28:42Speaker 2: from the iron tower.
- 28:43Speaker 1: She whispered, please let him be here, Please let.
- 28:48Speaker 2: Him be all right, and once again her heart was
- 28:52Speaker 2: in her throat. At the midpoint of the stairs, her
- 28:55Speaker 2: day vision began to give way to the grayscale of infrovision.
- 29:00Speaker 2: Looking down, she could now make out part of Aldveay's laboratory,
- 29:03Speaker 2: with its retort, alembic and copper bowl. After a few
- 29:08Speaker 2: more steps, she could see the exhaust pipes attached to
- 29:11Speaker 2: the wall that led up to and joined with the
- 29:13Speaker 2: stone's chimney. Here too was the shelving in it, stocked
- 29:17Speaker 2: with powders and liquids. The last time she was here,
- 29:22Speaker 2: she had seen a pair of overturned jars one of
- 29:25Speaker 2: night Bloom and one of snake Foot, and had wondered
- 29:27Speaker 2: if Aldvey had been trying to slow the onset of poison.
- 29:31Speaker 2: It hadn't made any sense to her then, but now
- 29:35Speaker 2: Achilia suddenly remembered the puckered wound that Belario in wasp
- 29:39Speaker 2: form had inflicted on to any. Then she recalled the
- 29:43Speaker 2: nomes brag that he had killed Oldvay. If Blario had
- 29:47Speaker 2: poisoned her Vapi, and if Odok had been right in
- 29:51Speaker 2: his theory that he had turned himself to stone, something
- 29:56Speaker 2: clicked in her mind, and she realized what must have happened.
- 30:02Speaker 2: Just then she reached the last step, and the wood
- 30:05Speaker 2: made a little groan. It was answered by a deeper,
- 30:11Speaker 2: louder one from further inside the cellar. For a second,
- 30:15Speaker 2: Achilia's heart lecked in her chest. The noise sounded so
- 30:19Speaker 2: very much like cord, But then she realized that it
- 30:22Speaker 2: was in fact different, deeper and louder too. It was
- 30:28Speaker 2: the oak man, who, upon recognizing her, had come to attention.
- 30:33Speaker 2: The oak man could not speak and did not show
- 30:35Speaker 2: any expression in his roughly carved face. He showed no
- 30:40Speaker 2: sign that he had even noticed her absence in front
- 30:44Speaker 2: of the oak man was a large, round and smooth shape,
- 30:47Speaker 2: almost like a boulder. It perplexicily for a moment, before
- 30:51Speaker 2: she remembered she had covered al Jay in a blanket
- 30:54Speaker 2: before leaving. She crossed the floor and removed it, and
- 31:03Speaker 2: there was all day frozen in stone, exactly in the
- 31:07Speaker 2: same position she had left him. She placed her hand
- 31:11Speaker 2: on his cheek. He was cold and hard. Dropping her gaze,
- 31:17Speaker 2: she saw the name Odok lightly scratched into the packed
- 31:19Speaker 2: dirt beside It was the blank piece of vellum she
- 31:22Speaker 2: had found before and discarded. She heard the others finish
- 31:28Speaker 2: descending the stairs behind her, and then Flicker was at
- 31:31Speaker 2: her side, panting and wagging her tail. Robin, still atop
- 31:36Speaker 2: the blank dog's head, peeped excitedly.
- 31:40Speaker 1: Right, I suppose there's no reason to wait any longer.
- 31:46Speaker 2: A chillier reached into her back and withdrew both the
- 31:49Speaker 2: tiny golden scroll and the pink blossom she'd received from
- 31:53Speaker 2: the goddess. Her hands were trembling a little as she
- 31:57Speaker 2: unfurled the tiny roll of golden paper. On it were
- 32:01Speaker 2: written just three elegant runes. She read them sheriff.
- 32:08Speaker 1: Oughts.
- 32:11Speaker 2: Notice the transformation began. Within a few moments. Even by
- 32:20Speaker 2: her introvision, Achilie could tell that color was returning to
- 32:24Speaker 2: Aldvea's flesh. The shine returned to his eyes, which brightened
- 32:28Speaker 2: further upon looking into Achilias. And then he spoke, Achulia.
- 32:34Speaker 2: He said, you've done it. Tears ran down Achilia's cheeks,
- 32:39Speaker 2: but she didn't wipe them away. She just grinned at him.
- 32:43Speaker 2: Her happiness was so intense that no words could express it,
- 32:47Speaker 2: and so she just nodded at him vigorously. Then, just
- 32:52Speaker 2: as quickly as his life force had returned, it began
- 32:55Speaker 2: to fade. Old Vay visibly paled, Beads of sweat appeared
- 33:00Speaker 2: on his brow, and his expression contorted into one of pain. Ah,
- 33:05Speaker 2: he moaned loudly as his hands moved toward his throat.
- 33:09Speaker 3: Ooh, beg me.
- 33:12Speaker 2: But Achilia was ready for this. She had figured out
- 33:15Speaker 2: what must have happened here. While she'd been at the
- 33:18Speaker 2: Iron Tower speaking with fim grin atrash Bealario had come
- 33:23Speaker 2: in wasp form and poisoned her. Vobby and odo Zyagog
- 33:27Speaker 2: had been right to think that the petrifaction had been
- 33:29Speaker 2: self inflicted. That had been Aldvays's only option, the alchemical
- 33:34Speaker 2: Reagentcy'd consumed to slow the poison, would not have been enough.
- 33:39Speaker 2: Achilia's voice returned to her as she put the pink
- 33:41Speaker 2: blossom Aha had given her into Aldvay's mouth.
- 33:44Speaker 1: Quick eat this, she told him.
- 33:48Speaker 2: He did, and once again, the magic worked right away.
- 33:56Speaker 2: A few seconds was all it took before Old Vai
- 33:59Speaker 2: was returned to health, all traces of poison gone from
- 34:02Speaker 2: his system. The old wizard wiped the sweat from his
- 34:05Speaker 2: forehead and smiled weakly at Achilia.
- 34:09Speaker 1: What was that a gift from court?
- 34:13Speaker 2: Was Achilia's wistful reply. Near By, Robin tweeted a note
- 34:18Speaker 2: of sadness. Old May seemed to understand something from the
- 34:23Speaker 2: bird's song. He looked over Achilia's shoulder at the strange
- 34:27Speaker 2: faces arranged behind her. They belonged to a pair of
- 34:30Speaker 2: serious looking elves. Beside her was a white furned dog
- 34:35Speaker 2: with pale eyes.
- 34:39Speaker 1: Where is Cord?
- 34:41Speaker 2: He asked? If the construct had perished, he would have
- 34:44Speaker 2: felt it in his soul, but he did not feel
- 34:47Speaker 2: that Chord was gone.
- 34:49Speaker 1: I will tell you everything, replied Achilia, but first there's
- 34:54Speaker 1: something I need to know. Of course, I want to
- 34:58Speaker 1: know about my mother. I want to know the truth.
- 35:03Speaker 2: Fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
- 35:06Speaker 1: Suppy Jennifer.
- 35:09Speaker 2: Here, Achillia switched for the familiar and casual Elvin word
- 35:13Speaker 2: for father to the formal.
- 35:14Speaker 1: Term why didn't you tell me?
- 35:17Speaker 2: Alda's face dropped. Even through his white beard, Achille could
- 35:22Speaker 2: see his lips tremble. He had always feared this question.
- 35:26Speaker 2: He looked up, wiped moisture from her cheek, and then
- 35:29Speaker 2: stroked her hair fondly.
- 35:31Speaker 3: Don't cry, Aikidia, You cannot make a blanket out of tears,
- 35:37Speaker 3: he said.
- 35:38Speaker 2: Despite his own freely falling ones.
- 35:42Speaker 3: But you deserve to know the truth, and I regret
- 35:47Speaker 3: that I kept it from you for so long.
- 35:49Speaker 2: Come let us go upstairs.
- 35:51Speaker 3: You can introduce me to your friends and I will.
- 35:55Speaker 2: Tell you everything. And that is what they did. Aldve
- 36:07Speaker 2: told her about his relationship with Eulalon, from its sweet
- 36:10Speaker 2: beginning to its bitter end, while a Chilia listened intently,
- 36:14Speaker 2: hanging on every word. More tears were shed, but not
- 36:18Speaker 2: all of them were sad tears. When Alvey was done,
- 36:22Speaker 2: Achilia hugged him fiercely and told him that she forgave
- 36:25Speaker 2: him for deceiving her. She knew that it had all
- 36:28Speaker 2: been done out of love for her. To spare her
- 36:31Speaker 2: feelings that it was her turn to talk. She introduced
- 36:36Speaker 2: Aldvey to her companions and told him all about their meeting.
- 36:39Speaker 2: Then she talked about Fairwind, the loyal cleric of Sadhal,
- 36:42Speaker 2: who had aided them on their way too and along
- 36:45Speaker 2: the golden path. Finally, she explained how Court, through his
- 36:49Speaker 2: wisdom and altruism, had found a solution to their problem.
- 36:53Speaker 2: Throughout both of them wept tears of loss and of love.
- 36:57Speaker 2: When all the difficult words were out, they spoke of
- 37:00Speaker 2: lighter things. Aldve Achilia de Rennie in Tentyr made a
- 37:04Speaker 2: small meal of tea and dried rations from Aldvey's pantry.
- 37:08Speaker 2: When Achilia asked, Aldve explained that the blank piece of
- 37:11Speaker 2: vellum on the cellar floor was what remained of a
- 37:13Speaker 2: spell scroll that he had made using the flesh to
- 37:16Speaker 2: stone spell Odok had taught him. He had kept it
- 37:19Speaker 2: hidden in their home in case an intruder ever came.
- 37:23Speaker 2: Speaking of Odok, Achillie remembered that she still carried the
- 37:26Speaker 2: wizard's sketch book in her bag and returned it to Aldvay.
- 37:30Speaker 2: The slim volume, bound in red leather with a clasp
- 37:33Speaker 2: of gold, was so weathered and beaten that it made
- 37:35Speaker 2: Aldvay remark once again with gratitude that Achilia and her
- 37:39Speaker 2: friends must have gone through much to save him. Eventually,
- 37:44Speaker 2: night fell and it was decided that de Rennie in
- 37:46Speaker 2: Tentyr would stay until morning, when they would depart for
- 37:49Speaker 2: the Citeavy marsh Achillie wanted them to stay longer, but
- 37:53Speaker 2: the Elves pointed out that they had people of their
- 37:55Speaker 2: own who were waiting for their return. Listening to the
- 37:59Speaker 2: sounds of night coming through the window, the group turned in.
- 38:03Speaker 2: Since the bedroom was still a ruin, blankets were brought
- 38:06Speaker 2: into the living room and everyone fell asleep together on
- 38:09Speaker 2: the floor. Chapter sixty five, Part three. One week later,
- 38:32Speaker 2: de Rennie polymorphed back into Elven form. The shift was
- 38:36Speaker 2: disorienting and he stumbled, almost falling into the marsh cutchins breed.
- 38:41Speaker 2: He cursed. Dornni had only practiced for the GNOME's Ring
- 38:44Speaker 2: a few times. While the first had been terrifying, each
- 38:48Speaker 2: session had gotten a bit easier, and now he was
- 38:51Speaker 2: beginning to navigate the new sensations of seeing through compound
- 38:54Speaker 2: eyes and of flying, but the transformations between forms, especially
- 38:59Speaker 2: returning to his Elvin, always left him feeling irrationally angry. Luckily,
- 39:04Speaker 2: the emotion, apparently a byproduct of the ring's magic, faded
- 39:08Speaker 2: quickly and he became his usual pensive self again. Having
- 39:12Speaker 2: been here many times before, Deranni knew how to cross
- 39:15Speaker 2: this part of the marsh while keeping his boots dry.
- 39:19Speaker 2: He stepped up a rise flanked by a stand of
- 39:21Speaker 2: red cedars and thought about the conversation he'd had with
- 39:24Speaker 2: tent Tier that morning. His brother still wore the scars
- 39:27Speaker 2: from their adventures together. The one on his forearm where
- 39:30Speaker 2: the dire Wolf had bitten him was especially bad. He
- 39:33Speaker 2: also had a small cut on his lip, the souvenir
- 39:36Speaker 2: from the Golden Path that hadn't yet healed fully. Dernnie
- 39:40Speaker 2: thought about how different Tantier had become. He was a
- 39:43Speaker 2: reckless and naive child.
- 39:45Speaker 3: No longer I cannot call you little mouse anymore, I.
- 39:50Speaker 2: Think, Deranni had teased, but Tantyr had replied in a
- 39:54Speaker 2: serious tone. There were times on the journey when when
- 39:59Speaker 2: I was read about you. For once, de Renni had
- 40:02Speaker 2: not blown off the concern. He knew what Tantry was
- 40:05Speaker 2: talking about then replied, honestly, there.
- 40:09Speaker 3: Were times I came close to doing it.
- 40:13Speaker 2: What made you stop?
- 40:17Speaker 3: I think it was meeting sager.
- 40:20Speaker 2: De Rennie had answered, surprising himself a little sager by him.
- 40:27Speaker 3: It was something, he said, the good hand holds the
- 40:31Speaker 3: broken thumb. It made me think about things in a
- 40:36Speaker 3: different way.
- 40:40Speaker 2: A loud crook from a nearby bullfrog brought to Rennie
- 40:43Speaker 2: out of his reverie. He was almost at his destination.
- 40:47Speaker 2: It had been years since he had last visited the
- 40:50Speaker 2: Home Tree. Even before his job as a trader and
- 40:53Speaker 2: then as a hunter, he would only seldom visit this place.
- 40:56Speaker 2: But here he was now, and looking at the Home Tree,
- 40:59Speaker 2: at the very spot at its base where the roots
- 41:02Speaker 2: jumbled and twisted, where legend had it the orc chief
- 41:06Speaker 2: Shahuk had thrown chichen severed braid of golden hair. Durnni
- 41:11Speaker 2: regarded it as he rolled his new magic ring between
- 41:14Speaker 2: his thumb and forefinger. Did you think I was going
- 41:22Speaker 2: to let this episode pass by without rolling any dice?
- 41:26Speaker 2: I admit I almost did, But then I realized there
- 41:28Speaker 2: was one more question and needed to ask the dice gods.
- 41:32Speaker 2: You may have figured out that the ring Dennie took
- 41:33Speaker 2: from Belario is a little more complicated than it appears.
- 41:37Speaker 2: He doesn't just allow the wearer to turn into a
- 41:40Speaker 2: giant hornet and back it will. It also carries with
- 41:43Speaker 2: it a price, maybe something akin to a curse. Well,
- 41:46Speaker 2: it's not really a curse per se, but it's definitely dangerous.
- 41:50Speaker 2: The ring carries a similar risk of permanent personality alteration
- 41:54Speaker 2: as the spell polymorph other The difference is that with
- 41:58Speaker 2: the ring of the Hornet, the owner's personality becomes more
- 42:01Speaker 2: and more wasp like with each use, gradually over time.
- 42:05Speaker 2: After he slew his master, fimgrim Atrash mentioned that Bellario
- 42:09Speaker 2: had been kind once. I wonder if de Rennie has
- 42:13Speaker 2: the wisdom to have caught that remark in to sense
- 42:15Speaker 2: the slight influence the ring has already had on his nature.
- 42:19Speaker 2: If so, he might understand that over time it will
- 42:22Speaker 2: eventually corrupt him. I'm going to make a roll under
- 42:26Speaker 2: wisdom check to find out Dernni has a wisdom score
- 42:29Speaker 2: of twelve, not bad, and so we'll need to roll
- 42:32Speaker 2: that number or less on a D twenty. Here we go. Huh,
- 42:37Speaker 2: I got a one? Now? In this case, a one
- 42:41Speaker 2: is a critical success. No one knew what had become
- 42:53Speaker 2: of Chucin's actual braid. Some said an owl had carried
- 42:57Speaker 2: it away to make its nest. Others believed it hung
- 43:00Speaker 2: on one of the home tree's lower branches and was
- 43:02Speaker 2: eventually absorbed into the wood. Another theory was that it
- 43:06Speaker 2: had simply disintegrated after so much time. In any case,
- 43:10Speaker 2: one thing that had survived of the Alvin Champion was
- 43:13Speaker 2: the warning contained in the account of his folly, and
- 43:16Speaker 2: it was not lost on de Renny. Presently he meditated
- 43:21Speaker 2: on Chucchin's failures and his own. At last, Dorenni understood
- 43:26Speaker 2: that he was not alone and never would be. A
- 43:30Speaker 2: decision was made his days as an outlander were over.
- 43:34Speaker 2: He would stay here and cease to put himself apart
- 43:37Speaker 2: from other people. Then he made another decision. Taking one
- 43:42Speaker 2: final look at the ring in his hand, he threw
- 43:44Speaker 2: it into the swamp. Epilogue, Achillia and Aldveay had spent
- 43:55Speaker 2: many many hours over the past week simply talking as
- 43:59Speaker 2: far and daughter, enjoying each other's company and the new
- 44:03Speaker 2: simple honesty of their relationship. Flicker quickly became a full
- 44:08Speaker 2: member of the family and would often spend time with
- 44:10Speaker 2: him as they worked in the kitchen or conversed in
- 44:12Speaker 2: the living room. Aldvey had endless questions about Achillia's adventures,
- 44:17Speaker 2: and she had what seemed like countless stories to tell him.
- 44:21Speaker 2: She talked about the traveler named Edo she had met
- 44:24Speaker 2: early on in her travels, the strangely tentacled six legged
- 44:27Speaker 2: panther whose form seemed to shift as it moved, the
- 44:31Speaker 2: lovely but terrifying dryad, the great illusory fireball pretending to
- 44:35Speaker 2: be odog Zygog, and all the other bizarre and terrifying
- 44:39Speaker 2: things she had experienced along the course of her quests.
- 44:43Speaker 2: Aldve had been horrified to learn about du Roth and
- 44:45Speaker 2: the giant forest troll, not only how it had wiped
- 44:48Speaker 2: out that community, but also how it had almost claimed
- 44:52Speaker 2: Kord's life. He had been delighted to hear about Achillea's
- 44:56Speaker 2: wand and had examined it with great interest. These days,
- 45:01Speaker 2: Achillia spent a lot of her time at the riverside,
- 45:04Speaker 2: daydreaming and fishing. Sometimes she took Flicker along with her,
- 45:09Speaker 2: sometimes she went alone. Presently she was there by herself,
- 45:13Speaker 2: lying on the river bank with her line in the
- 45:15Speaker 2: flowing water and waiting for dinner. To swim up and
- 45:18Speaker 2: take her bait, she led her thoughts to wander. Eventually,
- 45:23Speaker 2: as sometimes happened at times like this, they went to poetry.
- 45:28Speaker 2: The Chilia still had not finished her Song of the Woods.
- 45:32Speaker 2: The last verse had been written just before the encounter
- 45:35Speaker 2: with the gargantuine worm in the Tests of Earth, and.
- 45:38Speaker 1: Had gone like this, from star stitched fault with pinprick
- 45:46Speaker 1: flame to tangly roots which twist in coil as they
- 45:51Speaker 1: slumber in the soil, in dreams of darkness and of rain,
- 45:56Speaker 1: and deeper still were blind things, squirm and beetles. Not
- 46:01Speaker 1: a one among them ever saw the sun here lives
- 46:04Speaker 1: and turns the ancient wormen.
- 46:12Speaker 2: The sound of water moving gently along soothed her, and
- 46:16Speaker 2: in her mind Achilie began to piece together words and phrases,
- 46:20Speaker 2: careful of the number of syllables and their stresses so
- 46:23Speaker 2: that they would fit together properly. Eventually the right words came,
- 46:28Speaker 2: and so, with only the river and the skimming dragonflies
- 46:32Speaker 2: and the clouds above to listen, she spoke the final verse,
- 46:35Speaker 2: all the while smiling and contentment.
- 46:44Speaker 1: Sunlight warms and fair winds blow and speak a tongue
- 46:48Speaker 1: that none can claim. Yet every tree adores its name
- 46:53Speaker 1: recorded in their hearts. They know to linger where the
- 46:56Speaker 1: heart beats true, where chaos touches nature's law. Lin Taka
- 47:01Speaker 1: luncilm don Cho, Laura kenn This.
- 47:17Speaker 3: Linda co.
- 47:21Speaker 4: Silmaa Nonchumaiti, non de sue.
- 47:38Speaker 3: Hellsy Lord.
- 47:41Speaker 4: Dear Halla to Halloeenia honni nor the same.
- 48:04Speaker 1: Ul usual.
- 48:17Speaker 3: To the fall.
- 48:20Speaker 4: Ye see money.
- 48:26Speaker 1: Hammen.
- 48:29Speaker 2: And these days there are so many kinds of entertainment
- 48:40Speaker 2: vuying for our attention, even just where podcasts are concerned. Hell,
- 48:44Speaker 2: even just where RPG adjacent podcasts are concerned. The choices
- 48:48Speaker 2: feel almost limitless, and a lot of them are so good.
- 48:52Speaker 2: It makes me feel so grateful and honored that you
- 48:55Speaker 2: have chosen to spend your precious time with me on
- 48:58Speaker 2: this adventure into the end known tale of the Manticor
- 49:02Speaker 2: still feels just as fresh and exciting and even experimental
- 49:06Speaker 2: as it did when I first started. Also, for your
- 49:09Speaker 2: support in the form of recommendations, reviews, emails, and comments,
- 49:13Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Your support means the world of
- 49:16Speaker 2: merit to me. Thanks are also due to the small
- 49:19Speaker 2: army of voice actors, artists and other creators who have
- 49:22Speaker 2: volunteered their talents to the show. While I can't list
- 49:25Speaker 2: all the names of those people here, I want you
- 49:27Speaker 2: to know that I appreciate you. An extra special thanks
- 49:31Speaker 2: goes to my core actors Kylin, Kevin Barringer, and Dave Cooper,
- 49:35Speaker 2: who played du Renni, Tantier and Fairwood throughout the season
- 49:38Speaker 2: and have appeared in some combination in almost every episode. Guys,
- 49:44Speaker 2: Tale of the Mantagre would not be the same without you.
- 49:47Speaker 2: This final episode featured the voices of Kyleen and Kevin
- 49:50Speaker 2: Barringer in their usual roles, but it also brought back
- 49:53Speaker 2: Andrew Flynn in his role of Albay and marks the
- 49:56Speaker 2: first time I've had the entire Tumbledye team the together
- 50:00Speaker 2: in one episode since the finale of season two. Believe
- 50:04Speaker 2: it or not, last, but not least, a warm welcome
- 50:07Speaker 2: to a new member of the cast playing Ahya, Goddess
- 50:10Speaker 2: of Magic is Ross Williams. Thanks Ross, you got it
- 50:14Speaker 2: just right. Thank you for being on the show. So
- 50:17Speaker 2: what's next? Pretty soon I'll release another of my looking
- 50:21Speaker 2: back and Ahead episodes to talk about how season three went,
- 50:25Speaker 2: what I learned from it, and what you can expect
- 50:27Speaker 2: in the future. From Tale of the Mantacre. As always,
- 50:31Speaker 2: if you'd like to know more about the show, you
- 50:32Speaker 2: can visit Tale of themanticore dot com for sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
- 50:37Speaker 2: and show notes. To reach me, try Tale of the
- 50:40Speaker 2: mantacor dot Blue Skidaw Social, Tale of the Manticor podcast
- 50:43Speaker 2: on Instagram, or Tale of the Manticor at gmail dot com.
- 50:46Speaker 2: I reply to every email I receive and with that
- 50:51Speaker 2: season three is a rap. Thanks again for joining me
- 50:54Speaker 2: on this game, this story, and this adventure were chaos,
- 50:59Speaker 2: roleless shoo