Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 52 (for real) (S3E52)

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Episode 52 (for real) (S3E52) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Kevin Lamb and you are listening to
0:02
Speaker 1: Tale of the Mantacre.
0:08
Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:12
Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
0:30
Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
0:34
Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding
0:37
Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
0:41
Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
0:44
Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
0:48
Speaker 2: is sacred, and none will be spared if the dice
0:51
Speaker 2: decide their fate is at hand. According to lore, the
0:55
Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticre is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
1:00
Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
1:13
Speaker 2: time on Tail of the Manticor, the last chapter opens
1:17
Speaker 2: with a Chillie alerting the spell flame arrow. While she's
1:20
Speaker 2: filled with excitement, Durrani has once again fallen into a
1:23
Speaker 2: kind of depression. His distressing dreams and memories of the
1:27
Speaker 2: old Crow are back, it would seem. The pieces leave
1:30
Speaker 2: the mountain top by a narrow trail that leads them
1:33
Speaker 2: down a long way until it ends abruptly at a
1:35
Speaker 2: rock balcony that juts out over empty space. A second
1:39
Speaker 2: lightning blasted tree, just like the one at the mountain's top,
1:43
Speaker 2: is the only notable feature, and looking down, the companions
1:46
Speaker 2: see nothing but a vapor filled abyss. Achillie briefly wonders
1:51
Speaker 2: if this is one of the tests Iami mentioned. Perhaps
1:54
Speaker 2: she is expected to make a literal leap of faith.
1:57
Speaker 2: Of course she does, and she's wrong. Jumping off would
2:01
Speaker 2: be a fatal error. Before she can act, Frewin notices something.
2:05
Speaker 2: There is writing in the varied grain of the tree
2:08
Speaker 2: in the wood. When the lightning it's undered it. As
2:11
Speaker 2: it is written in the language of magic, Achilia can
2:13
Speaker 2: read it. It says the truest faith is faith in oneself,
2:18
Speaker 2: which Achilia takes to mean that a leap of faith
2:20
Speaker 2: is the wrong move, and so they are left to
2:22
Speaker 2: use their wits and courage to solve the problem. In
2:25
Speaker 2: the end, the solution is simple. Ten Tyr goes down
2:29
Speaker 2: under Renni's rope, which they've tied to the tree. After
2:32
Speaker 2: a brief scare in which it seems the young elf
2:34
Speaker 2: might have fallen, they hear his voice calling up to
2:36
Speaker 2: say that the path continues from where he is. Achilia
2:39
Speaker 2: uses her shrink spell to allow her to carry Flicker,
2:42
Speaker 2: and then the rest of the party climbs down the
2:44
Speaker 2: rope to join Tantire. Next, a po v Schief takes
2:48
Speaker 2: us to the base of the mountain where Aami is
2:50
Speaker 2: offering her test to a new petitioner, Bellario the Gnome.
2:54
Speaker 2: After passing the warden's test, he shrinks the Iron Tower
2:56
Speaker 2: down to pocket size before calling down a griffin just
2:59
Speaker 2: as the p's dead. Before Whether or not Belario is
3:03
Speaker 2: actively trying to catch up with a Chillia and her party,
3:05
Speaker 2: but whether he seeks the Golden Path for his own reasons,
3:08
Speaker 2: he's yet unknown. The Song of the Woods verse four.
3:21
Speaker 3: Along the hidden Golden Path, the weary walk in Lantern's glow,
3:26
Speaker 3: unknowing where their spirits go or what a Haeus purpose
3:30
Speaker 3: hath The mountain heavy dread and fair its roots remember
3:35
Speaker 3: what was lost, and every step exacts a cost for
3:39
Speaker 3: those who seek her secrets there.
3:46
Speaker 2: In the last episode, I allowed Belario to find the
3:49
Speaker 2: entrance to the Golden Path. This was to reflect the
3:52
Speaker 2: latest mythic event meaning word pair release opposition. The idea
3:56
Speaker 2: was that the Gnome, along with the Iron Tower and
3:59
Speaker 2: presumably other occupant would be released into a Hayes's secret
4:03
Speaker 2: lands and onto the Golden Path. As for the opposition
4:07
Speaker 2: part of the event, meaning, it's not yet clear if
4:09
Speaker 2: Belario's goal is actually in conflict with Achillias, but he
4:13
Speaker 2: is certainly a potential threat and may well pose a
4:15
Speaker 2: problem for them in the future. With the current pair used,
4:19
Speaker 2: I'm quintiny in a new event meaning, let's roll some
4:21
Speaker 2: dice using deep percentile, I've got fifty eight and again
4:28
Speaker 2: twenty eight. That betray Pleasures sounds workable, if a bit ominous,
4:33
Speaker 2: but with no immediate use. He goes into the idea
4:36
Speaker 2: bank for later Chapter fifty two, Part one, Day forty
4:47
Speaker 2: three afternoon mythic event meaning Betray Pleasures. Party status Achillee
4:58
Speaker 2: sixteen out of seventeen hit points, Cord twenty six out
5:03
Speaker 2: of twenty nine, do Anni twenty three out of twenty three,
5:09
Speaker 2: ten Tier twenty four out of twenty eight, fair Wind
5:14
Speaker 2: thirty seven out of forty two, Flicker ten out of
5:18
Speaker 2: sixteen supplies. The companions have ten portions of food spells available.
5:27
Speaker 2: Achilla can cast shrink, enlarge, detect evil, glitter, dust, dispel magic,
5:35
Speaker 2: and flame arrow, cord, can cast and tangle slow poison,
5:42
Speaker 2: hold animal, tree shape and pass plant fair wind can
5:48
Speaker 2: cast culate wounds times two, hold person and bless. Durni
5:59
Speaker 2: made the rest of the g wait for several minutes
6:01
Speaker 2: as he went on ahead to inspect the opening in
6:03
Speaker 2: the mountain side on his own. He approached the stone
6:07
Speaker 2: archway with caution, straining to listen in case there was
6:10
Speaker 2: something inside. However, nothing was audible save for the whine
6:14
Speaker 2: of the wind. He inspected the archway before getting too close.
6:18
Speaker 2: It was of simple construction, neatly cut stone work, devoid
6:22
Speaker 2: of decoration, and built large enough to easily accommodate someone
6:25
Speaker 2: of Quart's height with room to spare. Doretti peeked around
6:30
Speaker 2: the corner and saw a tunnel that was wider than
6:32
Speaker 2: the opening. It pierced straight into the mountain side as
6:36
Speaker 2: far as he could see. Once he was sure the
6:39
Speaker 2: way was safe, he made a come here gesture behind him,
6:42
Speaker 2: and the others followed him aside. It was strange how
6:51
Speaker 2: the sound of the wind abruptly changed. It still howled
6:55
Speaker 2: and moaned, but in here it was muted, and the
6:58
Speaker 2: natural reverberation produced by the tunnel made it seem like
7:01
Speaker 2: it came from deep inside.
7:04
Speaker 4: It smells like rocks, if such a thing as possible.
7:08
Speaker 2: Observed ten Tyr during he drew his sword.
7:11
Speaker 5: Just be ready, he said.
7:14
Speaker 2: With her limited introvision, Achillie could only see about sixty
7:17
Speaker 2: feet down the tunnel. He went straight as an arrow
7:20
Speaker 2: and disappeared into the gloom.
7:22
Speaker 6: Eiland, you want to lay your.
7:23
Speaker 2: Lantern, she suggested, back at Odok's sclusium. Not you had
7:27
Speaker 2: provided them with various useful supplies besides the rations that
7:31
Speaker 2: he carried. One of these was a large flask of
7:33
Speaker 2: oil that contained enough fuel the power of Fairwin's lantern
7:36
Speaker 2: for several hours. As the cleric drew forth the necessary
7:40
Speaker 2: items from his pack, the others waited, still peering down
7:43
Speaker 2: the length of the tunnel and seeing nothing. Oh that's bright,
7:49
Speaker 2: complained tent Here. In truth, the lantern's glow was not
7:52
Speaker 2: that strong, but the ELF's eyes had only just fully
7:55
Speaker 2: adjusted to the dark when it fled to life.
7:58
Speaker 4: Oh, when morgem.
7:59
Speaker 2: Said, fair irent mistakenly using the wrong word.
8:02
Speaker 6: Now you mean, gil Fane.
8:04
Speaker 4: Said Achillia, We more than means thank you, Oh gil Thanna,
8:10
Speaker 4: then was the cleric's reply.
8:12
Speaker 6: My apologies.
8:13
Speaker 4: I will partially cover the lantern so it does not
8:15
Speaker 4: cast so much light.
8:17
Speaker 2: Well, Ferwin made these adjustments to their lights. Horse the
8:20
Speaker 2: party formed up into a new marching order. Since the
8:23
Speaker 2: tunnel was wide enough, they decided to go to a
8:25
Speaker 2: breast ten tier under anywhere in the lead. Then came Cord,
8:29
Speaker 2: with Robin atop his head and Ferwin to his side.
8:32
Speaker 2: Lastly came Achillia and Flicker, who brought up the rear.
8:35
Speaker 2: All right, said Achilia, let's go. The walls of the
8:39
Speaker 2: tunnel were of a kind with the archway. They were
8:42
Speaker 2: built with the same neatly cut large blocks. The floor
8:45
Speaker 2: was a flagstone, and every ten feet a pair of struts.
8:48
Speaker 2: Also stone had been built into the wall on either side.
8:51
Speaker 6: It supports I wonder who built this space.
8:54
Speaker 2: Achillie muttered to herself, Oh, she heard ten tiers say.
8:58
Speaker 2: In surprise, she didn't have to wane at what for long?
9:01
Speaker 2: Just ahead, the flagstones abruptly changed into a grid of
9:04
Speaker 2: stone tiles, some of which were cracked and broken. The walls, too,
9:08
Speaker 2: looked different. They showed no seams at all, but were smooth.
9:13
Speaker 2: The whole facade had been mortared over. Neither were there
9:16
Speaker 2: struts or any kind of supports to be seen. It
9:19
Speaker 2: was as though whoever had built this place had suddenly
9:22
Speaker 2: been swapped for someone else. This is really strange, said Tantyr,
9:28
Speaker 2: looking around. That Kelia touched the wall. It had a
9:31
Speaker 2: cool and grainy feel. It really is she agreed.
9:35
Speaker 3: Why would this place have been made this way?
9:39
Speaker 2: That of caution? Deranny insisted that they stop and search
9:42
Speaker 2: for hidden traps where the two styles met, but there
9:45
Speaker 2: was nothing to be found. When the party resumed their march,
9:49
Speaker 2: the mystery still remained unanswered, and in fact deepened when
9:54
Speaker 2: after another hundred feet, the tunnel design changed once again.
9:58
Speaker 2: This time, although it maintained its cementge, the way forward
10:01
Speaker 2: had simply been excavated, as though by a team of
10:03
Speaker 2: pickaxe wielding miners, and Stone's trusts were back present at intervals.
10:08
Speaker 6: It is true, besigh Achillea.
10:10
Speaker 2: Commented, but since nothing hindered their progress, they continued on
10:14
Speaker 2: their way, pushing deeper and deeper into the mountain with
10:17
Speaker 2: every step. They continued in this fashion for several hours,
10:22
Speaker 2: with the tunnel design completely changing after each stretch of
10:25
Speaker 2: one hundred feet. Sometimes the stone was of tiles, sometimes
10:30
Speaker 2: smooth and sometimes of flagstone. Likewise, the walls changed from
10:34
Speaker 2: brickwork to natural excavation to stone blocks. Some stretches featured
10:40
Speaker 2: minor decorations in architectural flourishes, most did not. Every so
10:45
Speaker 2: often they came across the stairs leading down a distance
10:48
Speaker 2: of ten or twenty feet, They went until they had
10:51
Speaker 2: passed a dozen such stairwells and many dozens of differently
10:54
Speaker 2: designed tunnels. It seemed like they might go on this
10:57
Speaker 2: way indefinitely. Fair One did just been about to express
11:00
Speaker 2: his concern that if their lamp oil supply, ample, though
11:03
Speaker 2: it was, did not last the full journey, his situation
11:07
Speaker 2: would become dire. The cleric never did voice his misgivingcks, however,
11:11
Speaker 2: because de Rennie suddenly called a halt.
11:15
Speaker 5: Do you hear that?
11:16
Speaker 2: He asked? At first Achilia could not, He was ever
11:20
Speaker 2: so faint a sound, But when she did, she wondered
11:23
Speaker 2: how she'd missed it. Somewhere in the distance there was
11:27
Speaker 2: a ticking sound. It was rhythmic and unbroken.
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Speaker 6: What do you suppose that might be?
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Speaker 2: I have no idea, was Deurenni's reply.
11:39
Speaker 6: You don't suppose that this tunnel is still being built?
11:43
Speaker 5: Do you you think it's the sound of a pickaxe.
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Speaker 2: Asked the elf, scratching his head with his free hand.
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Speaker 5: I do not see how it would be possible, But
11:54
Speaker 5: if the tunnel does come to a dead end, I
11:58
Speaker 5: suppose we will be encountering your odok zygogue before long.
12:04
Speaker 2: Do you hear that? What do you think is making
12:07
Speaker 2: that sound? Asked Sherwood. He was the last to become
12:10
Speaker 2: aware of it. It had only become so when the
12:12
Speaker 2: demi humans and the party stopped and began conversing in
12:15
Speaker 2: serious tones. Achillia looked up at him. We aren't sure,
12:19
Speaker 2: it was all she could offer.
12:21
Speaker 6: Do you have any ideas?
12:23
Speaker 4: Hmm, it's rhythmic, so it could be dripping water, but
12:29
Speaker 4: it sounds too sharp to be that. Frankly, it reminds
12:33
Speaker 4: me of a stonemason at work.
12:36
Speaker 3: I actually thought something similar, she replied. I suppose we'll
12:40
Speaker 3: find out soon enough.
12:44
Speaker 6: Achillie, yes, Fawn.
12:47
Speaker 4: Before we stopped, I was wondering about something else.
12:51
Speaker 6: What's on your mind?
12:53
Speaker 4: I was thinking about the message written into the grain
12:56
Speaker 4: of the dead tree back at the precipice, and.
12:59
Speaker 3: I thought thought there might have been a similar message
13:01
Speaker 3: written in the first tree we saw at the top
13:04
Speaker 3: of the mountain as well.
13:06
Speaker 2: Uh exactly, I.
13:08
Speaker 3: Was wondering about that as well. But it's too late now,
13:12
Speaker 3: we aren't going back.
13:22
Speaker 2: Chapter fifty two, Part two, day forty three, late afternoon.
13:31
Speaker 2: With a stubby finger, Belario traced the grain in the
13:34
Speaker 2: wood with lightning and split the tree in two, and
13:36
Speaker 2: the black and gold jewel in his ring glittered as
13:39
Speaker 2: he moved his hand. He squinted and then smiled his
13:42
Speaker 2: gap toothed smile. There was something written into the fibers
13:46
Speaker 2: of the wood in the language of.
13:47
Speaker 1: Magic, walk back to go forward.
13:51
Speaker 2: It was a rough translation in the common tongue, and
13:53
Speaker 2: Belario spoke it aloud for the benefit of nobody. The
13:56
Speaker 2: gnomes apprentice Fimgran was still inside the tower, and the tower,
14:00
Speaker 2: now in miniature form, was in Belario's bag.
14:04
Speaker 1: Look back to go forward.
14:06
Speaker 2: He repeated thoughtfully. He regarded the lonely, narrow trail that
14:10
Speaker 2: led off the mountain side in front of him. The
14:13
Speaker 2: gust of wind lifted his greasy hair and ruffled the
14:16
Speaker 2: fabric of his shirt.
14:17
Speaker 6: Look back.
14:20
Speaker 2: Bellario turned around and walked directly to the other side
14:23
Speaker 2: of the flat expanse of rock which formed this mountain.
14:26
Speaker 1: Summit.
14:27
Speaker 2: Now he was facing south. If the distance had not
14:30
Speaker 2: been so great, he would have been able to look
14:32
Speaker 2: down upon the spot where he'd passed the centaur's test.
14:36
Speaker 2: As it was, all he could see was the dark
14:38
Speaker 2: blue dot of Mirror Lake. He shifted his eyes to
14:41
Speaker 2: the spot just below where he stood. There, almost invisible
14:45
Speaker 2: to the eye, was the Second Trail. Chapter fifty two,
14:56
Speaker 2: Part three, Day forty three, late afternoon. We thic event
15:03
Speaker 2: meaning betray pleasures party status. The party status is unchanged.
15:13
Speaker 2: The noise never faltered, sending once for every two steps.
15:16
Speaker 2: The companions took chip chip chip, and it grew steadily
15:22
Speaker 2: louder as they passed stretch after stretch of tunnel. As before,
15:26
Speaker 2: each was differently designed. Some were roughly caught from the
15:30
Speaker 2: rock with no attention to how they looked. Others were
15:33
Speaker 2: decorated with some kind of minor accent or pattern. A
15:36
Speaker 2: rare few were purely smooth, showing not a single discernible
15:40
Speaker 2: seam or cut of any kind. Now and then they
15:43
Speaker 2: encountered a short flight of stairs, always going down, but
15:46
Speaker 2: no matter what style or craft, At every interval of
15:49
Speaker 2: one hundred feet, the tunnel changed abruptly, chip chip chip chip.
15:56
Speaker 2: The sound was quite loud, now loud enough that the
15:59
Speaker 2: eleven brothers both said they recognized it as that of
16:02
Speaker 2: chisel on stone. Achillean Fawin, who had guessed this from
16:05
Speaker 2: the start, were more convinced than ever. Chip chip chip chip.
16:12
Speaker 2: After an hour or so, the tapping sound was extremely loud,
16:15
Speaker 2: and by now there was no mistake. Someone up ahead
16:19
Speaker 2: was chiseling stone. The party passed through one final stretch
16:23
Speaker 2: of tunnel. It was similar to the first one they'd entered,
16:25
Speaker 2: with a flag stone floor in walls of large stone blocks.
16:29
Speaker 2: It terminated at an archway, also very like the one
16:32
Speaker 2: of the entrance, if not identical. Beyond was a large
16:36
Speaker 2: open space, not having it passed under the arch. They
16:39
Speaker 2: couldn't yet see it, but they could tell by the
16:41
Speaker 2: way the smack of chisel against stone reverberated that the
16:44
Speaker 2: space was large. Be Ready, said to Rennie from the
16:48
Speaker 2: front of the group.
16:49
Speaker 5: I think we are about to meet the source of
16:52
Speaker 5: all the noise.
16:53
Speaker 2: He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword,
16:55
Speaker 2: and moving in front of his brother, passed through the arch.
17:00
Speaker 2: Cord and Fairwind followed dur Any and so Achillia with
17:03
Speaker 2: flicker at her side was the last to enter the
17:05
Speaker 2: new space. It was a large cavern, easily sixty feet
17:09
Speaker 2: deep and just as wide. The second archway was just
17:13
Speaker 2: barely visible on the far side. The ceiling went up
17:16
Speaker 2: to the limit of Fairwind's lantern light, so that the
17:18
Speaker 2: stalactites jutting down from it seemed to pierce through the gloom.
17:22
Speaker 2: The cavern walls were honeycombed with stone cells, dozens of them.
17:26
Speaker 2: They were connected to each other by a network of
17:29
Speaker 2: narrow ridges. As the pockets were multi storied, a number
17:32
Speaker 2: of stone stairs had been built to connect the ridgeways
17:35
Speaker 2: and the stairs to each other, so that all of
17:37
Speaker 2: the cells could be accessed. Achillee's gaze went up and up.
17:42
Speaker 2: There were five stories of cells, each of which was
17:44
Speaker 2: about ten feet wide and deep. As far as she
17:46
Speaker 2: could tell, with fifteen or twenty of the indentations at
17:50
Speaker 2: each level, Achillea quickly calculated that there were about one
17:53
Speaker 2: hundred cells in total. Most of them were not empty.
17:58
Speaker 2: About seventy five percent of the cells were occupied with
18:01
Speaker 2: what looked like statues, and all the statues were more
18:05
Speaker 2: or less identical. Each was a three or four foot
18:08
Speaker 2: tall pillar of stone carved to resemble an owl, with
18:11
Speaker 2: its wings folded tightly against its body and its face
18:14
Speaker 2: blankly staring straight ahead. As there were thousands of them,
18:17
Speaker 2: they collectively produced the impression in the companions of standing
18:20
Speaker 2: in front of an enormous audience, frozen in a moment
18:23
Speaker 2: of surprise or suspense. It took just a moment to
18:26
Speaker 2: take it all in. Then the companion's attention returned to
18:29
Speaker 2: the chiseling noise. They looked around in an effort to
18:32
Speaker 2: determine its source. At first, it wasn't apparent. No person
18:36
Speaker 2: was visible, only a legion of stone owls that gazed
18:39
Speaker 2: back at them. But eventually it became clear that the
18:42
Speaker 2: noise was emanating from an empty cell located about half
18:45
Speaker 2: way up the cavern wall and to their left. They
18:48
Speaker 2: turned to face it. Abruptly, the noise stopped, Then came
18:53
Speaker 2: a muted shuffling sound. Finally, from the shadows appeared a
18:57
Speaker 2: small gray face. A dwarf, whispered Drennie, more in surprise
19:03
Speaker 2: than alarm. The dwarf, if that's what it was, wore
19:06
Speaker 2: a leather apron that, along with its beard and skin,
19:09
Speaker 2: were so pale as to make the dwarf resemble a specter.
19:13
Speaker 2: It just stood there in the mouth of the cell,
19:15
Speaker 2: looking down at them through squinting eyes. Presently it patted
19:20
Speaker 2: its beard. This produced a big cloud of dust, which
19:23
Speaker 2: caused the dwarf to cough violently. Suddenly it erupted in
19:27
Speaker 2: manic laughter, which quickly degenerated into mon coughing. When that's subsided,
19:32
Speaker 2: it spoke, it's bad. The dwarf touched its beard thoughtfully, A.
19:37
Speaker 1: Couple of years since I saw anyone go through here.
19:40
Speaker 2: The voice was wiry and creaked, like a rusty gate.
19:43
Speaker 2: More dust fell off them when they moved. A chisel
19:46
Speaker 2: held in one hand waved in the air at them.
19:48
Speaker 1: But welcome to the hall of the first Petitioners, I suppose,
19:52
Speaker 1: and good luck to you for what it's.
19:53
Speaker 2: Worth, apparently finished. The dwarf just stood there blinking. Then
19:58
Speaker 2: they licked their lips.
19:59
Speaker 1: And declared, well, I guess that's it.
20:02
Speaker 2: Turning around, it disappeared back into the cell almost right away,
20:06
Speaker 2: the sound of chiseling recommenced. Dernnie looked at his brother
20:10
Speaker 2: in amusement. The younger elf barely shrugged, nonplussed, but then
20:14
Speaker 2: turned to Achillia. What do you think we should do,
20:18
Speaker 2: he asked.
20:19
Speaker 3: I I'm not really sure, she replied, but we have
20:22
Speaker 3: to say something.
20:24
Speaker 2: Achillia cleared her throat and addressed the space where the
20:27
Speaker 2: dwarf had been.
20:28
Speaker 6: Ahem.
20:29
Speaker 3: We beg your pardon, master dwarf, but perhaps would you
20:33
Speaker 3: be willing to speak with us. We have some questions
20:36
Speaker 3: if you are willing to hear them, and we have
20:39
Speaker 3: some food we.
20:40
Speaker 6: Can share too.
20:42
Speaker 2: The chiseling continued unabated, long enough for Achillie to wonder
20:45
Speaker 2: if she had not been heard. She was about to
20:48
Speaker 2: try again when the noise stopped, and although the dusty
20:51
Speaker 2: dwarf did not reappear, its voice rang out loud and clear.
20:55
Speaker 1: Don't bother me, I'm busy.
21:02
Speaker 2: The pieces have encountered a dwarf living in a cave
21:05
Speaker 2: honeycombed with dozens of cells. Most of these cells are
21:08
Speaker 2: occupied by stone cut idols, which the dwarf seems to
21:11
Speaker 2: have sculpted. It appears he does not wish to be disturbed.
21:15
Speaker 2: If there is ever a good time for a reaction role,
21:18
Speaker 2: this is it now. Wonder how would the idolmaker react
21:21
Speaker 2: to the presence of the PCs. To some extent, this
21:24
Speaker 2: has already been determined by what I know about this character.
21:27
Speaker 2: But I want to inject some chaos here, so I'll
21:29
Speaker 2: use dice to influence how much information he's willing to share.
21:33
Speaker 2: How about this. The dwarf will provide from zero to
21:35
Speaker 2: three useful pieces of information depending on the result of
21:38
Speaker 2: a standard reaction roll on two D six, I'll say
21:42
Speaker 2: that at two the worst role will mean he shares
21:44
Speaker 2: nothing at any real use at all. A roll of
21:46
Speaker 2: three to five will mean he provides just one piece
21:49
Speaker 2: of information. The sixty nine will be two and ten
21:51
Speaker 2: to twelve three. However, even on a roll of twelve,
21:55
Speaker 2: this person will not show the quote enthusiastic friendship unquote
21:59
Speaker 2: that the rule book prescribes their situation in history prevents
22:03
Speaker 2: anything more than a sort of reluctant kindness. I'm sure
22:06
Speaker 2: that'll become clearer as we get into their exchange. Well,
22:10
Speaker 2: here's the role. I got an eight, so that's two
22:13
Speaker 2: pieces of useful information. Not bad.
22:21
Speaker 6: We need to find a way to make him speak.
22:23
Speaker 2: With us, said Achillia.
22:24
Speaker 3: De Rennie say something and dwarvish so he knows he
22:27
Speaker 3: can trust us.
22:29
Speaker 2: De Rennie scratched his chin trying unsuccessfully to think of
22:32
Speaker 2: something to say. When Tender observed he hasn't started chiseling again.
22:37
Speaker 2: They looked back up and there was the gray dwarf
22:39
Speaker 2: once again, standing at the edge of his cell. A
22:42
Speaker 2: second time. He patted his apron in his beard, producing
22:45
Speaker 2: another cloud of white dust. He cocked an eye at them.
22:48
Speaker 2: Would you say what kind? No, I ain't got time
22:53
Speaker 2: for this. Once again, he turned and marched back to
22:56
Speaker 2: the cavity, But before he went back to his chiseling,
23:00
Speaker 2: Achillia called.
23:01
Speaker 3: Out, wait a moment, Oh, please, wait. We only want
23:05
Speaker 3: to talk for a few minutes, that's all. And we
23:08
Speaker 3: do have food to share, lots of it.
23:13
Speaker 2: The silence that followed was drawn out, but the chiseling
23:15
Speaker 2: did not resume. Achillia tried to press and imagined advantage.
23:20
Speaker 4: And we have water too.
23:23
Speaker 2: She elbowed Cord, who nodded, and, making a V with
23:26
Speaker 2: his fingers, began casting a spell of water creation only water, eh, nothing,
23:34
Speaker 2: with some fire came the voice from the dark. Achillie
23:37
Speaker 2: wasn't sure what the dwarf meant, but she didn't have
23:39
Speaker 2: time to figure it out before he trundled back into view.
23:43
Speaker 2: He huffed an apparent surrender, and climbed down into a
23:46
Speaker 2: nearby run of stone steps. As he made his way down,
23:50
Speaker 2: they could hear him grumbling remonstrations to himself. But a
23:53
Speaker 2: minute later he was in front of them, chisel in hand.
23:57
Speaker 2: The dwarf was very old. They saw every unch of
24:00
Speaker 2: his skin was webbed with deep wrinkles. He was also,
24:03
Speaker 2: along with his clothing and beard, covered in gray dust.
24:06
Speaker 2: Despite his ghostly appearance, his eyes were dark, bright and intelligent,
24:11
Speaker 2: perhaps tinged with madness. Let's make this quick, grunted the dwarf,
24:15
Speaker 2: combing his fingers through his long, whispy beard. As he did,
24:18
Speaker 2: the companion saw a flash of purple from an amulet
24:21
Speaker 2: worn around his neck. Show me the food you brought.
24:24
Speaker 2: A lopsided grin had formed on his face. While Cord
24:28
Speaker 2: summoned forth water from a crack in the rock floor,
24:30
Speaker 2: a chillier produced what remained of the food not you
24:33
Speaker 2: had given them, mostly dried fruits and nuts. If the
24:36
Speaker 2: presence of Cord or Flicker, with a strange composition of
24:39
Speaker 2: the party in general struck the dwarf is strange, he
24:41
Speaker 2: made no indication of it. He was, however, very interested
24:45
Speaker 2: in the food haven't eaten a single thing in years,
24:48
Speaker 2: he muttered, licking his lips. As soon as Achillie had
24:51
Speaker 2: their provisions fully unwrapped, he grabbed a handful of them
24:54
Speaker 2: and shoved it all into his mouth. Still chewing, he managed.
24:59
Speaker 1: Well, hurry up and ask me your questions.
25:02
Speaker 3: Time's a wasted Well, I suppose we should begin with
25:06
Speaker 3: some introductions, said Achilia.
25:08
Speaker 2: I'm sure what to make of this odd person.
25:10
Speaker 3: My name is Achillia. These are de Renni and Tanier.
25:14
Speaker 3: Beside ten Tier is brother Fairwood. This is Cord, and
25:17
Speaker 3: that's Robin, and this is Flicker.
25:20
Speaker 2: Upon hearing your name, Flicker yipped and began to wag
25:22
Speaker 2: her tail. The dwarf didn't seem to be paying much attention,
25:26
Speaker 2: but then he looked up and, knuckling crumbs out of
25:29
Speaker 2: his mustache, said.
25:30
Speaker 1: No mind, der Sager, is my name? Tell me what
25:35
Speaker 1: moves of the ago jen? Did they ever find all
25:38
Speaker 1: the black nails?
25:38
Speaker 6: Fault black nails?
25:41
Speaker 2: Achillie was at a loss.
25:43
Speaker 6: No, I mean, I don't know anything about that.
25:46
Speaker 2: Sager scowled and stuffed another handful of their rations into
25:49
Speaker 2: his mouth. Wanted to steer the conversation to something she
25:52
Speaker 2: might be able to understand.
25:53
Speaker 6: Achillie asked, did you did you make all of these?
25:58
Speaker 2: She indicated the thousands of stone?
26:00
Speaker 1: Of course I made him. Who else do you think
26:02
Speaker 1: made them?
26:03
Speaker 2: Was the gruff reply. Segur made a face and grumbled.
26:06
Speaker 1: Should be working right now, not standing around wagon beards.
26:09
Speaker 2: But why, asked Achillia bluntly. The Door finished off whatever
26:14
Speaker 2: bits of food remained stuck to his hand and frowned.
26:17
Speaker 1: Listen, you lot, I need to get back to work.
26:20
Speaker 3: Stay just a minute more, won't you tell us why
26:23
Speaker 3: you're making all of these?
26:24
Speaker 1: All the pilgrims think they know, but they don't know.
26:28
Speaker 2: The little gleam of madness was back in the dwarf's eye.
26:32
Speaker 1: You don't just walk up to a goddess and start
26:34
Speaker 1: making demands, you know.
26:36
Speaker 2: Judging by his tone of voice, Segur was growing impatient.
26:39
Speaker 1: You make your request, and if she deems you worthy,
26:42
Speaker 1: you get to choose.
26:44
Speaker 2: Achilli was confused, but nonetheless asked.
26:47
Speaker 6: Choose what. I don't follow what you mean, I.
26:50
Speaker 1: Said, choose your stupid girl.
26:52
Speaker 2: The Door's temper flared for a brief moment, then subsided.
26:55
Speaker 1: You gotta choose law or chaos before you ask for a.
26:59
Speaker 2: Boom ignored Sager's insult.
27:01
Speaker 6: What happens if you choose law?
27:03
Speaker 1: You choose law. You ought to offer something of true value.
27:07
Speaker 2: Sager's eyes grew misty for a moment here, and he
27:10
Speaker 2: touched the amethyst amulet at his neck, half hidden beneath
27:13
Speaker 2: his white beard. He sighed heavily, That's what I should
27:19
Speaker 2: have done. Thank you for listening to Tale of the Mantigre.
27:26
Speaker 2: If you're interested in helping out the show, there are
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Speaker 2: lots of ways to do so. You can recommend, or
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Speaker 2: and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, or give
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Speaker 2: me a sub on YouTube. It all helps. Right now,
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Speaker 2: I like to read a review left on Apple Podcasts
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Speaker 2: by Jesse Hartnett. Jesse writes, the story really pulls you in.
27:50
Speaker 2: Great voice acting too, Thanks very much, Jesse. So glad
27:54
Speaker 2: you're enjoying the show, and I couldn't agree more. I've
27:56
Speaker 2: got fantastic voice talent. This episode features the Core as usual,
28:01
Speaker 2: Ky Allen, Kevin Barringer and Dave Cooper played to Rennie
28:04
Speaker 2: Tanti and Fairwood respectively, back as Bellario, thenome It's hodagg RBG,
28:09
Speaker 2: and finally a newcomer to the show, I'm happy to
28:11
Speaker 2: welcome Chris Sager's to the cast. Chris plays Sager the
28:16
Speaker 2: Mad Mason. Chris also edits and writes for the independent
28:19
Speaker 2: comic magazine Tales from the Void. You can check out
28:22
Speaker 2: the comic and the short horror stories Chris writes for
28:24
Speaker 2: it on Global Comics That's Comics with an X, and
28:27
Speaker 2: listen to the companion podcast, The Void Transmission on Spotify
28:31
Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts. For those keen to
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Speaker 2: find other like minded creators doing similar shows, please check
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Speaker 2: out Solo Roleplayers Network dot com. There is so much
28:40
Speaker 2: good stuff there. If you're curious to learn more about
28:43
Speaker 2: this show, I keep a blog or I post all
28:45
Speaker 2: kinds of show on RPG related stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts,
28:49
Speaker 2: and show notes. You can find it at tell of
28:51
Speaker 2: themanticor dot com. To get in touch with me, I'm
28:54
Speaker 2: at tell of themanticor dot Bluesky dot Social tal of
28:57
Speaker 2: the manticor podcast on Instagram, or Tale of the mantacordges
29:00
Speaker 2: email dot com and I do respond to every email
29:02
Speaker 2: I get until next time. The adventure will continue on
29:06
Speaker 2: the next episode of Tale of the nantcar It's the story.
29:09
Speaker 2: We're chaos rolls