Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 15 (S3E15)

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Episode 15 (S3E15) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hey, hey everyone, this is Dan the GM from What
0:03
Speaker 1: the Dice, and you are listening to Tale of the Manticre.
0:11
Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:15
Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
0:33
Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
0:37
Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding
0:40
Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
0:44
Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
0:47
Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
0:51
Speaker 2: is sacred and none will be spared if the dice
0:54
Speaker 2: decide their fate is at hand. According to Lare, the
0:58
Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticre is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
1:03
Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
1:16
Speaker 2: time on Tail of the Mantigor, in chapter fourteen, having
1:21
Speaker 2: passed through Black Cloud Territory, the party continues its journey
1:24
Speaker 2: to the north in search of Audoc. They are beginning
1:27
Speaker 2: to run low on food and water, but Cord uses
1:31
Speaker 2: magic to locate a raspberry bush. While this temporarily solves
1:35
Speaker 2: one problem, it unfortunately leads to another. The raspberry bush
1:39
Speaker 2: turns out to be the home of a family of Sprites,
1:42
Speaker 2: and they do not appreciate having it ransacked by a
1:44
Speaker 2: group of hungry dum humans. Making things worse, Tintier accidentally
1:48
Speaker 2: swatchs one of them, having mistaken it for a bug.
1:52
Speaker 2: Desprite's leader declares that Tantier must be punished and demands
1:56
Speaker 2: that the party make restitution for his affront. By way
1:59
Speaker 2: of punishment, the Sprites cast a minor curse on the
2:02
Speaker 2: young Elf, which will forever make raspberries taste like rotten fish.
2:06
Speaker 2: As for their restitution, the demand that the party turns
2:09
Speaker 2: over their salt. This is confusing to the Pecs, who
2:12
Speaker 2: don't realize they're carrying any until Achillia is made to
2:15
Speaker 2: empty her bag. That's when the gift from the wizard
2:18
Speaker 2: Fim completely forgotten at the bottom of her bag until
2:21
Speaker 2: now falls out. FIM's gift is, of course, a small
2:25
Speaker 2: quantity of exotic salt, as it is the way of
2:28
Speaker 2: fairy folk to offer a wager when meeting strangers. The
2:31
Speaker 2: companions find themselves risking some of their gold coins against
2:35
Speaker 2: the chance to learn where they can find water. The
2:38
Speaker 2: Sprites then ask a riddle, and de Rennie thinks he
2:40
Speaker 2: knows the answer. Chapter fifteen, Part one day fourteen afternoon
2:56
Speaker 2: mythic event meaning assist the innocent party. Status Achillia seven
3:04
Speaker 2: out of seven hit points, Cord three out of eleven,
3:09
Speaker 2: de Rennie nine out of nine, ten Tier six out
3:14
Speaker 2: of six. Supplies. The Companions have five portions of food
3:19
Speaker 2: and no water spells available. Achillia has memorized shrink and
3:25
Speaker 2: message Cord can cast entangle.
3:34
Speaker 1: M your solid.
3:36
Speaker 2: The solution to the riddle suddenly came to DORNI.
3:39
Speaker 3: I know the answer, he said.
3:43
Speaker 1: On s.
3:45
Speaker 4: Roof one. Guess is all I need or full? The
3:52
Speaker 4: thing that grows smaller the more you share. It is
3:56
Speaker 4: a secret.
3:58
Speaker 2: The sprites exploded in a frenzy of helter skelter flight.
4:02
Speaker 2: They buzzed and chittered to each other, possibly in frustration,
4:05
Speaker 2: possibly in celebration. It was hard to tell until they
4:08
Speaker 2: finally calmed and their leader, beaming and grinning, declared.
4:12
Speaker 1: You have the right of it off ro dust, which
4:18
Speaker 1: with promised.
4:20
Speaker 2: The other fairies erupted into boisterous applause, clapping their tiny
4:24
Speaker 2: hands madly and flipping their bodies in the air.
4:27
Speaker 1: You're s.
4:29
Speaker 2: He told them, pointing off to the northwest.
4:31
Speaker 1: I should ask for the secret. What's all offer for free?
4:39
Speaker 1: You should love power Moda. You're pitt the rules and
4:42
Speaker 1: I let us ass out are rising here.
4:46
Speaker 2: Some of the other fairies brought their little hands up
4:49
Speaker 2: to their mouths, as if to conceal smiles. The titter
4:52
Speaker 2: of laughter rippled through them.
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Speaker 1: Of course, thrus that perhaps the ripple of you.
4:58
Speaker 2: The companions thanked the sprites, and, taking their leave, circumnavigated
5:02
Speaker 2: their patch of raspberry bushes and went in the direction
5:05
Speaker 2: they'd been shown. They traveled in single file, as they
5:10
Speaker 2: always did, and one by one the hours passed. The
5:14
Speaker 2: terrain became less hilly and gave way eventually to plains
5:17
Speaker 2: of tall grass yellowed by the summer sun. Purple thistles
5:21
Speaker 2: poked through, and insects buzzed around them as they walked.
5:25
Speaker 2: By mid afternoon, the clouds had somewhat dispersed and a
5:28
Speaker 2: weak diffusion of sunlight filtered through them. The party stopped
5:31
Speaker 2: to rest only once, eager to reach the river by nightfall,
5:35
Speaker 2: and they almost succeeded. The fairies, who flew rather than walked,
5:39
Speaker 2: had overestimated their overland speed. It was two hours past
5:43
Speaker 2: sundown when they heard the sound of flowing water coming
5:45
Speaker 2: from up ahead. If they hadn't been so thirsty, they
5:49
Speaker 2: might have decided to make camp some distance away from
5:51
Speaker 2: the river. Both Durranian ten tier knew as a matter
5:54
Speaker 2: of common sense that a riverside was not a wise
5:57
Speaker 2: place to make camp. Rivers drew animals and all manner
6:00
Speaker 2: of other creatures besides, But they've been without water for
6:03
Speaker 2: a full day of travel, and the decision to risk
6:06
Speaker 2: it was unanimous. So they pushed on, and finally, by
6:10
Speaker 2: the light of the half moon shining overhead, they came
6:12
Speaker 2: to the curving silver shape of the river. Here they
6:16
Speaker 2: found a suitable spot to make camp for the night,
6:18
Speaker 2: under a weeping willow, and with cord keeping vigil Achillia, Durni,
6:23
Speaker 2: and Tantir laid out their bed rolls, and as they
6:26
Speaker 2: were all exhausted by the day's journey, quickly fell asleep.
6:36
Speaker 2: I need to make some hex crawl rolls for the PCs.
6:39
Speaker 2: Just the basics are required for tomorrow's weather A five.
6:43
Speaker 2: I think that a light rain begins in the night
6:46
Speaker 2: and will continue to drizzle on and off all the
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Speaker 2: next day. Next is the roll for stumble Upon at
6:52
Speaker 2: sixteen means nothing out of the ordinary happens. That said,
6:55
Speaker 2: this part of the world contains a special set piece scenario.
6:59
Speaker 2: When the party followed the river upstream, as are certain
7:01
Speaker 2: to do, since it will take them in their intended direction,
7:04
Speaker 2: they will eventually come within sight of the place the
7:06
Speaker 2: leader of this brites told them about these ruins, and
7:09
Speaker 2: there isn't much left of them mark the original home
7:12
Speaker 2: with the camors. More on the cay ors as we go,
7:16
Speaker 2: but for now, I still need to make a role
7:18
Speaker 2: for wandering encounters. And since I have mentioned that camping
7:21
Speaker 2: riverside is somewhat more dangerous than choosing a spot farther off,
7:25
Speaker 2: I'll represent that by increasing the chance of having such
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Speaker 2: an encounter. A four to six on a D six
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Speaker 2: means they will Here's the role.
7:34
Speaker 3: Hum I got a one.
7:35
Speaker 2: Finally, the pieces can spend a day without running it
7:38
Speaker 2: as something weird or unpleasant. She was dreaming again. This
7:48
Speaker 2: at least she understood. The rest was confusing. At first,
7:52
Speaker 2: she thought she was standing face to face with the
7:55
Speaker 2: boy from her dream of the previous night. But when
7:58
Speaker 2: he mimicked her movement so precisely, and as her environs
8:01
Speaker 2: coally surround her from whatever miasmic stuff dreams are made from.
8:06
Speaker 2: She realized that she was standing in front of a
8:08
Speaker 2: huge looking glass, and that the person in front of
8:10
Speaker 2: her was her, or she was him. Once again, her
8:14
Speaker 2: reflected image showed her an identity that was not her own.
8:18
Speaker 2: She was intrigued that her dreams should have such continuity,
8:21
Speaker 2: for the face in the mirror was the same face
8:23
Speaker 2: she had seen in the pond, though it was less
8:25
Speaker 2: frightened looking now according to the looking glass, she was
8:29
Speaker 2: clothed in rich garments, a black doublet slashed at the
8:33
Speaker 2: sleeves to reveal a green silken shirt. Underneath. Her hair
8:37
Speaker 2: was a wavy, light brown, parted in the middle and
8:39
Speaker 2: cut straight at the jawline. A gold medallion hung around
8:43
Speaker 2: her neck. Suddenly, and unable to control it, she found
8:47
Speaker 2: herself talking, come get home. She heard and felt herself
8:52
Speaker 2: say it, though her voice was not her own. It
8:54
Speaker 2: just want to go home, she said again, It just
8:58
Speaker 2: wants see. She realized that not only could she not
9:02
Speaker 2: control her own voice, but she could take no action
9:05
Speaker 2: at all of her own free will. She was merely
9:08
Speaker 2: a passenger in this boy's body, looking through his eyes
9:11
Speaker 2: and hearing through his ears. She was in some kind
9:14
Speaker 2: of room. There were symbols on the wall made from
9:16
Speaker 2: beaten copper. They showed stylized versions of the sun. There
9:21
Speaker 2: was a window of the lighted stained glass placed high
9:24
Speaker 2: on one wall over a set of double doors. It
9:27
Speaker 2: too showed a sun with chunky yellow wavy lines radiating
9:31
Speaker 2: out from a circle of red. But no light brightened
9:33
Speaker 2: the colored glass. It was dark but for the light
9:36
Speaker 2: of a candle that she held. The air felt cold
9:40
Speaker 2: and damp. Unable to control her movements, she found herself
9:44
Speaker 2: walking out of the small room and passing through a
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Speaker 2: pair of double doors. Outside, it was night. She was
9:52
Speaker 2: in a long courtyard flanked by columns and ending in
9:55
Speaker 2: a portico of ghostly white stone. The open sky above
10:00
Speaker 2: was the color of iron. With purpose, her steps took
10:03
Speaker 2: her across the yard under the portico into a single
10:06
Speaker 2: door decorated in carved filigree. Her hand came up and
10:10
Speaker 2: took the handle. Still with no agency of her own,
10:13
Speaker 2: she opened the door and stepped through it. A short
10:17
Speaker 2: corridor led to an opulent throne room, and Achillie realized
10:21
Speaker 2: that she was in a castle. She had only ever
10:24
Speaker 2: heard about castles from Aldvay's stories. Presently she felt like
10:28
Speaker 2: she was a part.
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Speaker 3: Of one of his stories.
10:31
Speaker 2: It was quiet, There were no other people around, only
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Speaker 2: a raised dais, upon which stood two lonesome thrones of wood.
10:38
Speaker 2: A different tapestry hung from each wall, showing some royal
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Speaker 2: personage or other, and a small table between the thrones
10:45
Speaker 2: held a pair of polished silver goblets. The reflection of
10:48
Speaker 2: her candle flame gleamed and bent across them. She walked
10:52
Speaker 2: up the steps of the dais, and once again she
10:54
Speaker 2: heard the boy's voice, while her own mouth worked like
10:57
Speaker 2: a puppet's mouth.
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Speaker 1: I can't find it.
11:00
Speaker 5: It should be right here.
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Speaker 3: She looked down.
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Speaker 2: There was a sun symbol etched into the stone floor. Here,
11:10
Speaker 2: repeated the voice in frustration. The hand that was not
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Speaker 2: her own then reached forward and picked up one of
11:15
Speaker 2: the silver goblets, holding it aloft. She caught her reflection,
11:19
Speaker 2: but this time it was her own face that she saw,
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Speaker 2: her own amber eyes and platinum hair in the image,
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Speaker 2: distorted and stretched by the polished curvature of the silver goblet.
11:30
Speaker 2: When the voice spoke again, she could hear it, but
11:33
Speaker 2: in her reflection, her mouth did not move.
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Speaker 5: Could I tell you the secret?
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Speaker 2: He asked, in a voice so low it was almost
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Speaker 2: a whisper. Achilie wanted to reply. She willed herself to reply,
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Speaker 2: but she had no voice and her image remained static.
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Speaker 1: I'll tell it to you if you promise to leave.
11:52
Speaker 3: Me, Achilie woke up.
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Speaker 2: Fifteen two day fifteen pre dawn mythic event meaning assist
12:07
Speaker 2: the innocent party. Status Achillia seven out of seven hit points,
12:15
Speaker 2: Court four of eleven, having regained one hit point through
12:19
Speaker 2: natural healing. De Renni nine of nine ten Tier six
12:26
Speaker 2: of six supplies. The companions have two portions of foot
12:31
Speaker 2: and twenty.
12:31
Speaker 3: One of water. Spells available.
12:35
Speaker 2: Achillia has memorized shrink and message. Court can cast and tangle.
12:44
Speaker 2: None of the companions slept very well that night, for
12:47
Speaker 2: part way through A light but cold rain began to fall,
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Speaker 2: and the willow provided poor shelter. The rain came and
12:54
Speaker 2: fits and starts, and it was during one of these
12:56
Speaker 2: short showers that Achillia was woken from a dream of
12:59
Speaker 2: the boy in fine clothes. After that, she found it
13:03
Speaker 2: was impossible to get back to sleep, so she stayed
13:05
Speaker 2: up with Cord, whispering idle thoughts to him for a
13:08
Speaker 2: time and then later, while the stars and moon shone
13:11
Speaker 2: through the clouds overhead, she tested out ideas for a
13:14
Speaker 2: third stanza to the poem she was working on. While
13:18
Speaker 2: happy with the first and second, the third had thus
13:20
Speaker 2: far eluded her. She wanted it to say something, be
13:24
Speaker 2: something more than just an ode to natural beauty, but
13:28
Speaker 2: no inspiration came, just more rain, and eventually the sunrise.
13:34
Speaker 2: The cloud cover made it a gorgeous sight to begin.
13:37
Speaker 2: A soft pink glow suffused the air, preceding the appearance
13:41
Speaker 2: of the red ball of the sun, but even the
13:43
Speaker 2: spectacle evoked no suitable words. Eventually, Achillie gave up trying
13:49
Speaker 2: and just enjoyed the view. When the rain abated once again,
13:54
Speaker 2: she took the jet and turquoise skull from her bag
13:57
Speaker 2: and unwrapped it from the bundle of clothes she had
13:59
Speaker 2: been keeping it in. She sat it on her lap
14:02
Speaker 2: and stared at it for a time. Its rictus grin
14:05
Speaker 2: stared back at her.
14:06
Speaker 4: Is that you in my dreams?
14:08
Speaker 2: She asked in a whisper. The skull continued to gaze
14:11
Speaker 2: at Achillie from empty eyes, and suddenly she felt silly.
14:15
Speaker 2: She rewrapped it and put it back in her bag,
14:18
Speaker 2: pulling out her spell book instead. Then she began to study,
14:22
Speaker 2: as she still had both spells memorized from before. This time,
14:25
Speaker 2: she read ahead into the labyrinth of arcane language that
14:28
Speaker 2: she herself had penned but could not yet understand. She
14:31
Speaker 2: read the words anyway, willing them to make sense, but
14:34
Speaker 2: she was unable to do that either. Perhaps her creative
14:38
Speaker 2: and academic failures this morning could be blamed on the
14:40
Speaker 2: disturbing dream. The noise to her left indicated that Dernnie
14:45
Speaker 2: had emerged from sleep. The older all fluked at her
14:48
Speaker 2: with puffy eyes and scratched his scalp.
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Speaker 3: Good morning, he said, have you been up long?
14:54
Speaker 2: Achilia closed her book and replaced.
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Speaker 6: It in her bag, just long enough to watch the sunrise.
15:00
Speaker 6: I suppose we should wake your brother.
15:02
Speaker 4: Let him sleep a bit longer. He had a hard
15:05
Speaker 4: day yesterday.
15:06
Speaker 2: The previous night, Tintier had explained to them that the
15:09
Speaker 2: sprites had cursed him so that he had tasted rotten fish.
15:12
Speaker 2: But surely it won't last forever, Achillie had remarked. Tin
15:16
Speaker 2: Tire had shared a grim smile with his brother before replying.
15:20
Speaker 5: There's an elder in our tribe, Toulani is her name. Once,
15:24
Speaker 5: long ago she accidentally killed the sprite, stepped on it
15:28
Speaker 5: while I was sleeping and crushed it. In fact, the
15:31
Speaker 5: other sprites then appeared and put a fairy hex on her,
15:35
Speaker 5: and it has lasted her whole life. It is still
15:38
Speaker 5: upon her to this day.
15:40
Speaker 6: Was it the same hecks they put on you, Achilie
15:42
Speaker 6: had asked.
15:43
Speaker 5: Worse, they caused her skin to smell like onions. Sounds
15:48
Speaker 5: harmless enough, right well. Even though nobody in our tribe
15:52
Speaker 5: blamed her for what happened, she has always lived alone
15:58
Speaker 5: and she has never found at.
16:02
Speaker 2: While ten Tires slept in, Achillia and Dorani undressed and
16:05
Speaker 2: went into the river to bathe. Akilia couldn't help but
16:09
Speaker 2: WinCE when she saw the as yet unhealed whip barks
16:12
Speaker 2: on der Rennie's back as he turned around. Despite these
16:15
Speaker 2: grim reminders of the dangers they had faced, it felt
16:17
Speaker 2: glorious to wash off the grime of so many days travel.
16:21
Speaker 2: Achilie even unbraided her hair so as to better clean it.
16:25
Speaker 2: The noise of their splashing around and laughing eventually woke
16:28
Speaker 2: ten Tyre, who joined them in the water. While Cord
16:30
Speaker 2: and Robin looked on from the bank. After they had
16:34
Speaker 2: washed and packed their things, they followed the river's eastern bank,
16:37
Speaker 2: heading north. By Achillie's calculation, they still had more than
16:41
Speaker 2: two weeks to go before they would reach their destination.
16:44
Speaker 2: It would be a long journey, but she had to
16:46
Speaker 2: admit that she felt optimistic, and she was so glad
16:49
Speaker 2: of the two brothers companionship. She wouldn't have gotten this
16:52
Speaker 2: far without them, she knew, and she was grateful. The
16:57
Speaker 2: rain started once again some time around noon. It was
17:00
Speaker 2: hard to tell the time of day with any accuracy
17:02
Speaker 2: because by now the sky was completely overcast. Presently, the
17:06
Speaker 2: companions began to feel hungry. They decided that it would
17:09
Speaker 2: be best if they could save the small quantity of
17:11
Speaker 2: preserved rations they still carried, and instead tried to forage
17:14
Speaker 2: for something. There was a spot up ahead where the
17:17
Speaker 2: river had bulged and the vegetation was thicker. It seemed
17:20
Speaker 2: like a likely place to find some food. I've mentioned
17:25
Speaker 2: before that the rules I've been using for foraging while
17:28
Speaker 2: on the move afford players a one in six chance
17:30
Speaker 2: to find enough food to last a day. I think
17:33
Speaker 2: I can rule that by a river the chances would
17:35
Speaker 2: be higher so all double those odds. That's are one
17:38
Speaker 2: or two on a D six for success. Here's the role.
17:43
Speaker 3: Two.
17:44
Speaker 2: How about that? No wandering encounter for the day and
17:47
Speaker 2: success at forging. I am almost ready to think the
17:49
Speaker 2: PC is luck has changed. It was Achillie who spotted
17:58
Speaker 2: at first a little patch of one and yellow flowers,
18:01
Speaker 2: half hidden behind the bank of the river, just at
18:03
Speaker 2: the point where it bulged out. Although there were wild
18:06
Speaker 2: flowers all over the countryside, most of these plants could
18:09
Speaker 2: not be eaten. Happily, in this case, both of these
18:12
Speaker 2: were ritable. It was an incredible stroke of luck. Look,
18:16
Speaker 2: she said brightly, that's watercress and those now she was
18:20
Speaker 2: pointing at the yellow flowers a cold's foot. The two
18:23
Speaker 2: plants combined made for a fresh tasting, a light lunch,
18:27
Speaker 2: and between them the companions ate the lot of it.
18:29
Speaker 3: Well.
18:30
Speaker 2: There wasn't anything left over after the meal to take
18:32
Speaker 2: with them. It was enough to fill their bellies for
18:34
Speaker 2: the day, and that was something to celebrate. As they
18:37
Speaker 2: rested digesting, Duranie patted his stomach and said.
18:41
Speaker 4: Well, spotted, Achillie. There's an old hunter's saying. Our friend
18:45
Speaker 4: Elmer is fond of repeating hunger sharpens the eye.
18:50
Speaker 2: Achillie laughed, but tentire remained silent. Oh no, said Achilia,
18:54
Speaker 2: mistaking his discomfort for something.
18:56
Speaker 3: It wasn't.
18:57
Speaker 6: Does the food taste of rotted fish like the four?
19:00
Speaker 3: No, it's not that.
19:02
Speaker 2: It seemed like the younger brother wouldn't say more, But
19:04
Speaker 2: then he suddenly had a change of heart and opened up,
19:07
Speaker 2: sharing the story of his recent transgression with Achilia. I'll
19:11
Speaker 2: have much to answer for when we get back, he concluded.
19:15
Speaker 2: Achilia didn't know what to say about that, so she
19:18
Speaker 2: changed the subject.
19:19
Speaker 5: Did you know?
19:20
Speaker 6: She began that cold foot flower can be tried to
19:22
Speaker 6: make a very tasty tea.
19:24
Speaker 2: The brothers nodded with polite interest, but Achilia suddenly felt
19:27
Speaker 2: some worry of her own. For the second time in
19:30
Speaker 2: two days, she recollected the meeting with the wizard Fim
19:33
Speaker 2: that tea he had served her. By her memory, it
19:36
Speaker 2: had tasted strange. Perhaps she only thought so because she
19:39
Speaker 2: was not used to sweet tea. Achilia had never mentioned
19:43
Speaker 2: anything to the brothers about the Iron Tower or fimgrim Atresch,
19:47
Speaker 2: and certainly not about her vappi. But now she found
19:49
Speaker 2: herself wanting to tell Dernnie and tantire everything. It was
19:53
Speaker 2: her turn to be honest and give a little more
19:55
Speaker 2: of herself, so she did. The brothers listened in silence
20:00
Speaker 2: as she unburdened herself, sharing every detail she could remember,
20:03
Speaker 2: all the way to where she found her. Bobby turned
20:05
Speaker 2: a stone. When she was done. There were tears running
20:09
Speaker 2: down her cheeks, and Cord, who had guessed at what
20:11
Speaker 2: she was talking about despite not speaking, Alvish, was at
20:14
Speaker 2: her side with a wooden arm around her shoulder. The
20:18
Speaker 2: brothers didn't ask any questions. They just nodded and waited
20:21
Speaker 2: patiently until she was composed. Before long, Achillie sniffed, wiped
20:26
Speaker 2: her cheeks, and stood up.
20:28
Speaker 6: I don't suppose either of you have ever heard of
20:30
Speaker 6: same grim.
20:30
Speaker 3: Atrash, she said, without much hope.
20:33
Speaker 2: Do any intent here? Just shook their heads. Then there
20:36
Speaker 2: was nothing to do but put on their packs and
20:38
Speaker 2: resumed the walk. Beyond the bulge, the river was wider.
20:43
Speaker 2: Achillia guessed that it might be one hundred feet across.
20:46
Speaker 2: It seemed deeper too, As it ran straighter, the current
20:49
Speaker 2: moved somewhat more swiftly. Myles went by as they hiked,
20:52
Speaker 2: keeping the river to their left and stopping whenever they
20:55
Speaker 2: required a break. A few hours before sunset, the clouds
20:59
Speaker 2: cleared and the intermittent rains finally abated. Their shadows began
21:03
Speaker 2: to lengthen, and then, just as the sun was completing
21:06
Speaker 2: its track across the sky, Tentyr, who is in lily
21:09
Speaker 2: it as usual, stopped to point at a shape in
21:12
Speaker 2: the distance. It was a little hard to tell what
21:15
Speaker 2: it was, partly because of the failing light, and partly
21:17
Speaker 2: because it was all the way on the other side
21:19
Speaker 2: of the river. It looked like a pile of rocks,
21:22
Speaker 2: but it did not fit with the rest of the landscape. Squinting,
21:26
Speaker 2: Tentyre thought he could see individual stone bricks, and he
21:29
Speaker 2: shared this observation with the others.
21:31
Speaker 5: That must be the ruins the fay folk mentioned.
21:33
Speaker 3: He said, we haven't.
21:35
Speaker 5: Discussed, but well, I think we should take a look.
21:39
Speaker 3: Achillie pulled at her chin.
21:41
Speaker 6: What did that fairy say that it was the location
21:44
Speaker 6: of a wizarding stick? Do you suppose there's any truth
21:47
Speaker 6: in that?
21:48
Speaker 3: Oh?
21:48
Speaker 2: Yes, said ten Tyr.
21:50
Speaker 5: Sprites do not tell lies. Their race is incapable of
21:53
Speaker 5: failing lies.
21:54
Speaker 4: In fact, tent Tier speaks truth. Agreed to renny, But
21:58
Speaker 4: they are also notorious tricks, and although I doubt not
22:02
Speaker 4: the truth of their words, they may well have left
22:04
Speaker 4: out something important. You saw how they were acting.
22:08
Speaker 3: Why don't we.
22:09
Speaker 6: Stop here for the night, and then in the morning
22:12
Speaker 6: we'll decide if we want to try and cross and
22:14
Speaker 6: take a closer look.
22:19
Speaker 2: Well, that brings us to the end of day fifteen
22:22
Speaker 2: and to another set of hex crawl rolls for the
22:24
Speaker 2: night and the next day. Given that they would have
22:26
Speaker 2: had plenty of food and water to day, I think
22:28
Speaker 2: the companions would have the energy and wherewithal to find
22:31
Speaker 2: a safe place with decent shelter a little ways off
22:34
Speaker 2: from the river's edge, where it's safer to spend the night.
22:37
Speaker 2: That means I can reduce the chance for a wandering
22:39
Speaker 2: encounter back down to a one in three chance. But
22:42
Speaker 2: first things first, a roll for tomorrow's weather A four.
22:46
Speaker 2: Oh boy, it looks like the rain is back, and
22:49
Speaker 2: it's worse now, no longer intermittent. Sometime in the middle
22:52
Speaker 2: of the night it recommences, and this time there is
22:55
Speaker 2: no reprief The rain is cold and the companion's clothing
22:58
Speaker 2: gets wet. Everyone and must spend the pre dawned hours
23:01
Speaker 2: shivering and unable to sleep. Next is a stumble upon roll.
23:05
Speaker 3: Here we go.
23:07
Speaker 2: Well, look at that, I've got a twenty. I thought
23:11
Speaker 2: I knew what the PCs were going to encounter on
23:13
Speaker 2: the next day, But this changes things. I'll need to
23:15
Speaker 2: come up with something new. At twenty means the PCs
23:18
Speaker 2: stumble upon some kind of boon.
23:21
Speaker 3: What might that be?
23:22
Speaker 2: Maybe my wandering encounter roll will provide a clue. Rolling
23:25
Speaker 2: a D six A three on the diye means no encounter. Hmm,
23:30
Speaker 2: maybe I can get an idea from my event meaning
23:33
Speaker 2: assist the innocent. Ah, yes, I know what's going to happen.
23:37
Speaker 2: Achillie is going to dream once again of the human
23:39
Speaker 2: boy tonight, but this one will be different. Thus far,
23:43
Speaker 2: she's been unable to communicate with him, but this stumble
23:46
Speaker 2: upon roll has given me an.
23:47
Speaker 3: Idea of how that could change.
23:52
Speaker 2: Chapter fifteen, Part three, Day fifteen, midnight mythic event me
24:01
Speaker 2: assist the innocent party status. The party's status is unchanged.
24:09
Speaker 2: She was dreaming again, but this time the experience did
24:12
Speaker 2: not begin with any disorientation. She knew where she was
24:16
Speaker 2: and who she was. A quick look around through the
24:19
Speaker 2: eyes that were not her own, and she saw she
24:21
Speaker 2: was in the throne room once again, or perhaps still
24:24
Speaker 2: in the throne room. There was the dais and the
24:27
Speaker 2: pair of wooden thrones, with the small goblet bearing table
24:30
Speaker 2: between them.
24:31
Speaker 3: The boy looked away.
24:32
Speaker 2: From the throne now and down at the floor at
24:34
Speaker 2: his feet. A sun symbol had been etched into the stone.
24:38
Speaker 2: It should be right, dear, said the voice of the boy,
24:40
Speaker 2: sounding frustrated and scared. In the last dream, Achilie had
24:44
Speaker 2: been unable to communicate with him, but this time she
24:48
Speaker 2: had a plan. Achilie cast the spell message tell me
24:53
Speaker 2: what you are looking for, she said, telepathically, hoping her
24:56
Speaker 2: magic would still work in a dream for the space.
24:59
Speaker 3: Of a heart.
25:00
Speaker 2: There was no reply. Then you can't hear me, the
25:06
Speaker 2: boy sounded jubilant.
25:08
Speaker 1: Thanks it all.
25:09
Speaker 3: I knew you could hear me.
25:11
Speaker 5: I just knew it.
25:14
Speaker 1: You are the same woman in the mirror, aren't you.
25:17
Speaker 2: Achilia wanted to answer, but her spell was spent and
25:20
Speaker 2: it only allowed for a single message.
25:23
Speaker 5: Are you there?
25:24
Speaker 3: Pre't you there?
25:25
Speaker 5: Woman?
25:27
Speaker 3: I think you are.
25:29
Speaker 1: I can hear you rear me.
25:32
Speaker 2: The boy knelt down on the floor, and Achillia could
25:35
Speaker 2: sense the cold stone through the knees of his trousers.
25:38
Speaker 2: He traced the etching with a small finger.
25:41
Speaker 5: I think this is wi it is. I've only seen
25:45
Speaker 5: it in my dreams, but.
25:46
Speaker 6: I think this is well.
25:50
Speaker 3: Suddenly, he sounded worried.
25:52
Speaker 1: You aren't just a dream, though, are you? Do you
25:56
Speaker 1: know what I think? I think you're good spirit. You've
26:00
Speaker 1: come to Garden Home, and that's why you're you.
26:05
Speaker 2: Akilia felt a deep sadness for this boy, even though
26:08
Speaker 2: she didn't even know what he was searching for. He
26:11
Speaker 2: seemed utterly alone here. She wished she could help him,
26:15
Speaker 2: even if all she could provide was a bit of
26:17
Speaker 2: comfort or reassurance.
26:19
Speaker 3: But what could she do.
26:20
Speaker 2: She wasn't even able to speak with him the second time.
26:24
Speaker 5: Are you still there?
26:26
Speaker 2: I think you are still here?
26:28
Speaker 5: You are, aren't you?
26:30
Speaker 3: He asked again.
26:31
Speaker 2: Achillia experienced the boy looking left and then right, as
26:34
Speaker 2: if to make sure there was no one else around,
26:36
Speaker 2: And now he was whispering.
26:38
Speaker 6: I hope you are because I want.
26:41
Speaker 5: To tell you my secret.
26:44
Speaker 1: You promised to believe me.
26:47
Speaker 2: If Achilia could have leaned forward, she would.
26:49
Speaker 5: Have don't know, but my secret is.
26:55
Speaker 6: I think I'm right to be dead.
27:05
Speaker 2: Chapter fifteen Part four, Day sixteen mourning mythic event meaning
27:13
Speaker 2: assist the innocent party. Status Achillea seven of seven hit points,
27:21
Speaker 2: Cord five of eleven, having gained one hit point through
27:25
Speaker 2: natural healing, Derni nine of nine ten Tier six of
27:31
Speaker 2: six supplies. The companions have five portions of food and twenty.
27:37
Speaker 3: One of water.
27:39
Speaker 2: Spells available. Achillee has memorized message times two. Cord can cast,
27:46
Speaker 2: entangle and locate plants and animals.
27:52
Speaker 3: In the morning, the.
27:53
Speaker 2: Cold rains came harder, making them shiver. After she had
27:58
Speaker 2: studied taking pains to memorize spell of message twice and
28:02
Speaker 2: to keep her precious spell bug under shelter, Achilie told
28:05
Speaker 2: the others about her visions of the human boy and
28:07
Speaker 2: how she suspected they were more than mere dreams. Der Renni,
28:11
Speaker 2: judging by the look on his face as he listened,
28:13
Speaker 2: was not much moved, but Tenttius showed great interest and
28:16
Speaker 2: asked for a lot of questions. Unfortunately, Achilie had no
28:20
Speaker 2: answer for most of them. While nobody knew what to
28:22
Speaker 2: say about her dreams, there was consensus on what they
28:25
Speaker 2: should do that morning, they decided to try a river crossing.
28:29
Speaker 2: Before that, they ate most of their remaining rations. This
28:33
Speaker 2: would lighten their load and prevent it from getting wet
28:35
Speaker 2: as they swam. They further dumped out the contents of
28:38
Speaker 2: their water skins, also for the purpose of reducing their burden.
28:41
Speaker 2: These could be refilled on the far side. When these
28:44
Speaker 2: preparations were complete, they removed those items from their packs
28:47
Speaker 2: that most needed to be kept dry and held them
28:49
Speaker 2: aloft as they entered the water. The river was cold,
28:52
Speaker 2: but the rain had already given them a chill, and
28:55
Speaker 2: it felt good once they got used to it. Achilie,
28:58
Speaker 2: de Renni, and tent Here were all fair swims. Cord
29:01
Speaker 2: could not swim, but he did have a natural talent
29:03
Speaker 2: for staying afloat, making things even easier. The current here
29:07
Speaker 2: was not so strong, and so in crossing the companions
29:10
Speaker 2: only drifted down river by thirty or forty yards. When
29:14
Speaker 2: they reached the other side, Achilia helped Cord out of
29:17
Speaker 2: the water and up the far bank. She and the
29:19
Speaker 2: Oven brothers wrung out their clothes as best they could, dressed,
29:23
Speaker 2: refilled their water skins, and then began to walk north
29:26
Speaker 2: again along the river's west bank. It was surprising how
29:29
Speaker 2: much weight a full water skin added to their load,
29:31
Speaker 2: each of.
29:32
Speaker 3: Them thought privately.
29:34
Speaker 2: When she had pulled Cord up on the bank, Achille
29:36
Speaker 2: had noticed again how well the construct was healing. The
29:39
Speaker 2: split down his torso was still there, but it was
29:42
Speaker 2: starting to fill up with new wood. The result was
29:45
Speaker 2: that it was now slightly wider on top than on
29:47
Speaker 2: the bottom. She had also caught something she had never
29:49
Speaker 2: seen on him before. There was a tiny green sprout
29:52
Speaker 2: growing out from the middle of the wound. When she
29:55
Speaker 2: asked him about it, Cord just shrugged. The companion's next
29:59
Speaker 2: task was to invest to get the jumble of stone
30:01
Speaker 2: blocks ten Tier had seen on the previous day. There
30:03
Speaker 2: wasn't much to discover. It turned out ten Tier had
30:06
Speaker 2: been right that the stones had been cut, and that
30:09
Speaker 2: this was indeed the ruin of an ancient building. Most
30:12
Speaker 2: of the blocks had crumbled, age and weather had rounded
30:15
Speaker 2: their edges. However, a few of them yet retained their
30:17
Speaker 2: rectangular shape. As the earth had reclaimed so much of
30:21
Speaker 2: the structure, it was impossible to tell from the outside
30:23
Speaker 2: what kind of building it had been.
30:25
Speaker 3: But when they drew.
30:26
Speaker 2: Close and Achillee saw inside, the half elf blurted.
30:29
Speaker 6: Out, of course I should have guessed She pointed.
30:32
Speaker 2: Out a huge round stone cut into a cylinder, sitting
30:35
Speaker 2: right in the middle.
30:36
Speaker 6: Of the ruin a building right near the river. This
30:40
Speaker 6: must have been a mill house.
30:42
Speaker 2: Elves did not use mills to grind anything in their culture.
30:45
Speaker 2: All such work was done by hand. It took a
30:47
Speaker 2: while for Achilia to explain how water mills worked. She
30:51
Speaker 2: showed them where a central wooden pole would have once
30:53
Speaker 2: gone through the middle of the mill stone, and asking
30:56
Speaker 2: them to use their imaginations, described how a second pole
30:59
Speaker 2: would have been connected to it, using gears to a
31:01
Speaker 2: water wheel outside. The engineering concept delighted the brothers, who
31:05
Speaker 2: had only ever heard stories about human ingenuity and invention.
31:09
Speaker 5: Amazing, said Tantyr, Imagine how much flour this could make
31:14
Speaker 5: and how much bread it could have fit dozens of people.
31:18
Speaker 2: Hundreds, Achillia corrected him.
31:20
Speaker 6: My master Olday once told me that when they don't
31:23
Speaker 6: have access to water, humans can harness the wind in
31:26
Speaker 6: much the same way.
31:27
Speaker 2: Durenny Scowl did that in incredulity, nonsense, he said flatly.
31:32
Speaker 4: Anyone can see that no amount of wind could ever
31:35
Speaker 4: move fat.
31:36
Speaker 2: Achillie followed his gaze back to the big millstone, and
31:39
Speaker 2: she had to agree that it did seem pretty unlikely.
31:42
Speaker 6: All the same, she continued, if this place was able
31:44
Speaker 6: to feed a lot of people.
31:46
Speaker 2: Then there might have been a whole village here, said Tantyer,
31:49
Speaker 2: finishing her thought.
31:50
Speaker 4: Well, I would not have expected to find a treasure
31:53
Speaker 4: such as the Fay folk described in a water will.
31:57
Speaker 3: Nill Achillia corrected.
31:58
Speaker 5: Duranenny ignored her, but if there is a bigger ruin,
32:03
Speaker 5: it would probably be fairly near by.
32:08
Speaker 2: His sentence trailed off as he noticed something in the
32:10
Speaker 2: distance to the west.
32:11
Speaker 3: Look, he breathed.
32:13
Speaker 2: The others turned and immediately saw what he saw. A
32:16
Speaker 2: half mile away, on the side of a small hill,
32:19
Speaker 2: with its source hidden by a copse of trees, a
32:22
Speaker 2: thin gray ribbon of smoke was slowly rising into the sky.
32:31
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33:08
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Speaker 2: episodes I've ever gotten to Max, the fantastic Truman Cooper
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33:18
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