Due to some violent content, barental discretion is advised. In the year two
hundred and forty seven, in the age of Judges, Vartan was summoned home
by a letter stating that his father had died under mysterious circumstances. Upon returning
home, Vartan opened his mind to the possibility that his father's death and his
hometown of Eterno was not everything that it appeared to be. Welcome to ethereal
embrace, I'm Baia, and did you know that in most lands, information
gained from informal questioning is not admissible in a trial against you keep that in
your back pocket. Day four morning Kirion's home. So you guys wake up
the next morning, and unlike yesterday morning, it's not rainy. It is
a beautiful day outside and you can hear the birds chirping and it's nice and
the sun is just coming up as you guys get up. Because we agreed
that you guys all wake up early, you had a few different options for
the day that you guys wanted to take a look into. So where did
we land on how we would like to begin Day four? I do believe
that we were going to go talk to Emory. Yeah, I was the
only person we hadn't talked to. Yeah, well, because we know that
they had something to do with this, and they surely would have more information.
Yeah yeah, I mean Emory made all the tunnels under the city,
so she's at least seen the symbols, whether or not she knows what they
are. Surely she would have asked what she was doing all of this for.
Ye Okay, So you guys get up and yeah, go grab some
breakfast. Nothing happens, or do you guys just go straight to Emory or
I think straight to Emory. Yeah, and then we can talk to Cody
while we are waiting on food after all. Right, So you guys get
up and you go into town, and you can tell that the hustle and
bustle around the bricks has already started up as you guys approach. I mean,
the bricks are only five buildings down from you, so it's not a
very long walk. You come out. You can smell the bread is baking
in the bakery. You can hear the blacksmith hitting on some iron work,
and different different businesses are different doing different things. And you come up to
the Arcanus shop and Emrie is actually in her shop right now working on mixing
just a couple of batches of something that she's putting together in like a big
bowl. It was a couple splashes of this, couple splashes of that.
So when you come in, it smells very fruity in the air of the
shop as you walk in. Would buy a know what that would be?
Make an arcana check or what type of smells or spells smell fruity? Sixteen?
Yeah, so with a sixteen you could kind of get a hint of
it, and you can tell that it is some kind of restorative potion that
she's working on. Well, I guess by a will greet her first,
Well, hello, Emrie, how are you doing today? Oh? My
god, is that Vatan Vatan? You're wonderful, your beautiful look at you.
Get over here and she puts out her she's a half out zono,
so she's like smaller than Vartan is, but she puts her arms out to
for a hug before she even walks around the edge of the table. Yeah,
she didn't even realize that you were in the room until you spoke up.
So now that she sees you, she walks around the counter fully ready
for an embrace. Oh, hey, Amrie, how you being. I've
been doing so so well these last few days. Oh my goodness, look
at you. You are huge? Were you always this huge? Beautiful?
You're beautiful? Oh what's been happening in the last couple of days. Oh,
I've been busy. You know. Things have been crazy since your father
passed, and then I had to go and had to work on his house.
It was keeping me busy. And now you know, the these monsters
are coming. I hate the monsters, but it really gives me a good
amount of time to work on my potion, some new potions. I haven't
done it quite some time, to help the city god out, you know
what I mean? Yeah, yeah, I reckon. So so what can
I do for you? What brings you at han? Bye? What were
you going to ask? Sorry? Um? Oh honey, is that a
what kind of potion are you brewing? It smells fruity? Is that a
resto potion? Oh? It is? That's very intuitive of you. Yes,
I'm putting something together to help fight off any kind of poisons. I
heard that there might have been some poison in the area after some of the
monster attacks. So I'm putting this together for the for the Gods. Do
you want to look at it? Oh? Yeah, maybe in a moment.
Um, I do have some questions for you, though you have some
time. Go ahead, sweetie shoe, I'm gonna get back to work on
this potion where we talked though. You don't mind, do Yeah? Now
you don't correct, I do not. Um. So, what was your
relationship with Kirian? Oh? With Kirian? Oh, you know, I
mean we were good friends, to be honest, you know, I think
he was a little sweet on me. She gives you a little smile.
Well, I mean, who wouldn't be your adorable right? Yes? Um?
Okay? Did you Were you working on anything with Kirian before he passed?
Oh, we had a few projects. Always there was something cooking in
that man's brain all the time. But yeah, we were working on a
couple of different things. We put in the seward system. Did you see
that? Have you heard about that? Did? Grace? Don't tell you
all about it? Yeah? Actually I did see the sewage system. I
noticed that. That's part of why I'm here. I was in the basement
of Kirian's house and came upon a trap. Did you have anything to do
with that? Do you know anything about that? Why he would have a
trap down there? Oh no, by grayhawks, bia never. I did
not think there would be any trap in the basement. Had nothing to do
with that. What's that got to do with the sewer system? Well,
just past that trap, there was a door that led to the sewage system.
Oh lord, now that's not me. No, I didn't do that.
Insight check, Yeah, go for it. Yeah, well we'll do
it too, sixteen fourteen. Yeah, your insight. So while she's mixing
up the potion, you feel like she's not lying to you or anything.
She's not trying to be evasive. She is focused on what she's doing.
But for the most part, she seems to be being honest about She did
work on the sewer, but the not the trap or the entrance to the
sewer from the basement. So when you were building the sewage system with Kyrian,
so I went down there and I came across a few carvings in the
wall. Did you see any of those some carvings down in the sewer system.
M yeah, just north of town, the north end of the sewage
system. I do. Now, are you talking about the carvings on the
ground the carvings that he was looking into doing the researches on. Well,
there were carvings in the ground on the south side of town, but on
the north side, I believe they were against the wall. Yeah, I
saw some of them. I would I let Kirie and handle all that though.
I did notice them, but the language was too old for me.
I couldn't I couldn't understand a single one of it. Well, I mean,
somebody who's able to make up a potion that can fight off poison,
I would assume that maybe you should know a little bit more about that.
Is that not the case? What was your insight check from before sixteen?
Okay, you do feel like she's starting to get a little bit more.
She's starting to hold back a little bit more and not necessarily be as honest
as she initially was. Yes, I do study some stuff, but I
mean, some of those things are so old and there's so many languages for
spells. I just couldn't make heads of tails. Okay, um, tell
me about that potion while I collect my thoughts, and I'm gonna let at
that point let somebody else take over questioning, because I'm super close to casting
a spell on this lady. I'm ready to just like just be like.
I don't know if I should. I don't know if I should, but
I kind of want to. I'm gonna reach into my pouch and I'm gonna
grab that hollow spellstone and I'm gonna pull it out in front of her and
be like, So, it's my understanding that you would put the spell on
this stone, and it's supposed to be a powerful magic, and what you're
saying just isn't adding upright? Now, make a persuasion role on this five?
Do you slave inspiration? I do twelve? Well, okay, no,
I twelve was gonna twelve was gonna do it? Because she's taken aback
by the fact that you have this spellstone. So she her eyes fall on
the spellstone and she quite visibly stops, you know, she stops messing with
the spell or the potion. She stops everything. But her eyes are just
glued to the spellstone, and she says, where did you get that?
It was left for me by my father? Oh isn't isn't that sweet of
him? Did you? Uh? Have you looked at it yet? Yeah?
I know what it does. Oh well, okay, yes, I
did cast a spell on that stone. So do you know what the symbols
down in the sewers mean? On the wall? They go around the entire
city or town. I'm not sure what they mean now. I know it's
some sort of barrier spell. Kirian was doing some resetch into it, some
ancient languages. I do recognize hints of Elvin script in there, though it's
old, older than the Elvin that I know. But it's definitely ancient stuff
not to be trifled with. Yeah, so I imagine you figured out the
right order of everything. Yeah, where it starts and ends, I think,
So give me a second. She stops grinding up some stuff and pours
some powder into the potion, and then puts a lid on top of the
bowl that she was mixing it in, and walks over and opens up a
drawer and pulls out a piece of paper that's like a stack of paper,
brings it over and sets it on the table, rifles through a few of
them and pull one out and says, it looks like the thirty two rooms
repeat, and it goes around the entire city, makes like a perfect circle.
I'm pretty shure it looks really ancient. But from my estimations and from
my workings with Kirian. Here's the circle around the city. You can see
it cuts right into Mount Obix. Even it's a much bigger circle than what
you might think. The cave system gets tricky once you're in there. What
do you mean, shakey? Like like you travel farther than you think you
do in the amount of time that it takes you to get from point eight
to point B, So the distance is a little bit harder to measure just
by walking. You gotta kind of figure it out by by walking about the
same elevation you'd think you were in the mountain. It took us a while
to figure it out. The circles just never made sense. Kirian's the one
who actually figured out the math on it, but he needed bigger dig sites
and bigger reference points for the rest of the circle. Was there anybody else
working on another than Kyrion and you not that he told me about. Do
you know anything about the summoning circle? Which one? You tell me?
Yeah? Kyrian had me install two of them, one into the cave and
one back from the cave to the house. That way he could go home
and then quickly teleport from one area to another. It was a bit tricky,
very complex. Took me quite a bit of time to do one in
the cave, in one into his house. Yeah, there's not any other
ones, not that I know. Of the two stones that we have,
do they look different? Yeah, the two stones that you have, Yeah,
one has a ruin that matches the symbol was on the basement floor,
and then one has a ruin of the smaller teleportation circle that's in the cave.
But neither of them matched the really large teleportation circle, like that portal
circle, the spherical one that you found in the cave. Okay, so
the symbols that you used for the summoning circles, we found a third summoning
circle, but it doesn't match the symbols on the two that you just described.
I I promise you I don't know anything about that. I mean,
I could take a look at it with you if you want, if you
want to take me to where it's at. Who asked you to make this
anti poison potion? It was brass keynes Idea. He said he was concerned
about a couple of people got knocked out, fell asleep something. I don't
know that makes sense, because there were some zill that showed up at Timerin's
farm and attacked people. But it wasn't just Zill. There were also chasms.
What do you know about chasms? I only know what brass Kings told
me about the creatures that have come out, and I just fierce, wawful
creatures, horrendous. You didn't Emrie. I'm sorry. I know that you're
a lovely person, and I don't mean for this to come out as accusatory,
but I mean, you are powerful, intelligent, just an all around
amazing woman. Wouldn't you ask more questions about the monsters to see if you
could help in a better way. I made some attempts to help with some
stuff outlier. I made some some wizards fire that we put out there.
But a lot of my stuff that I can do is kind of destructive in
nature, and gray Stone was concerned that I might burn up Terennial's farm or
house, or damage something a little bit more important than timorants property. They
figured the danger of one Zill versus seven or eight gods wasn't as really bad
as it needed to be. It wasn't until the chasms came two days ago
that really we started looking to do more stuff with the magics. Okay,
that's understandable. How's this fire of yours work? Like? How do you?
How do you put it out? Like? I mean, how do
you how do you ignite it? Oh? Well, the wizards fire.
It's a takes you or she She walks over to a little bench and pulls
out this little ball of glass. And this ball of glass, it's got
two components in it, you know, two different types of liquid, one
on the left side, one on the right. If you throw it and
the liquids combined, they explode into a into a ball of fire. Yeah,
it really huts the things. I mean, it huts a lot of
things. You got to be very careful with it. Is there something similar
to it that? Like it's like a like a powder? Uh? Not
that I'm not that I'm away. We can take a look and see.
Well did you hear about the stands that got burned up? Oh? They
were hit with some kind of powder. Oh. I heard there was a
fire going on with it, but I didn't realize there was a powder.
What happened with that? It got put out, but I just didn't know
if you knew what caused that. I mean, if you're just talking about
a combustible powder. I could make a combustible powder one that if you threw
it, threw it out of fire, it would explode. That's doable.
No, okay, So what they had out there? How much of the
wizards fire to do? Give them? Well? I gave them six total.
I've got three left here. I was already working on some new batches
this morning before I switched over to the anti poisons. You gave who six
brass cane six? Yep? I was right about the powder though, right,
like asking Meta, what was that? Some kind of powder? Okay,
yeah, there was a powder that was dropped on the stands and then
and then lit fire. Yeah, well there were torches on the stands already.
Yeah okay, oh yeah, yeah, okay. We should probably ask
her what she knows about her relation about the relationship between Kyrian and Timerin and
Graystone, yeah, or if she knows of anyone else that he worked diligently
with like that he did her, or what do y'all think? Well,
now, I don't Breascade. I already wasn't trusting him. That's why I
tasked him with Cody and and uh, but Emery, this powder, do
you did you make this? Before. Have you given this to anyone else?
I mean, if we're just talking about a combustible powder, I mean,
yes, several people in the town have it. We use it for
fire status during the winter, so you don't have to try and work with
wet wood that sort of thing. Anyone purchased any recently or well, I
would say probably Brass Cane has purchased some recently, you know, for out
by the farms and stuff to keep the torches going all night. And then
also I think, uh oh, yeah, I did sell some up to
the temple. Tell Mika came by and grabbed some. But they have candles
lit there all the time and fires burning to Grayhawk, you know how that
is the religious type. Yeah, I got a question for you, Emory.
How long have you lived here? You can you can tell Emory's trying
to like mull it over, but something in her head is just kind of
setting her a little off balance, you know, I mean pretty much since
I've been a little gal I mean years now, right, years. I
couldn't put a specific number on it, but it's been a good while.
Well, I mean, you know, I was here when you were born,
So how old are you now? Two? Hundred and sixteen years old.
All right, so at least two hundred and sixteen years. But I
mean I lived here for a little whiles before you you was born. All
right, what about have you noticed anything off recently, like other than the
stuff we've just talked about, Like if you noticed anybody's anybody acting weird,
acting strange, anything weirder than your father dying, monster's attacking the town,
Timbering and gray Stone fighting it out. I mean, no, things have
been normal around here. Of course, things are weird. There's a giant
monster in the storehouse right now. Every time I go to get supplies,
I think, oh, it's in there. What am I gonna do about
it? Nothing? It's weird. So the I was looking at the map.
So these three houses are empty. I've never known anybody to live in
them. Why did y'all hook the sewer, syster or entryways into the sewer
system? There? Ah, sweetie, I think they're just on the outside
of town. Your father owned those properties. They were easy for him to
manage and able to get, you know, the systems hooked up through that.
We didn't have to buy any of the other townsfolk. You know.
Yeah, I mean you try going into Ruby's house and say, Ruby,
I want to huck something up to the Siuua, give me access to a
salah. Ruby's gonna throw a connection, you know what I mean? Yeah,
I know what you mean. Fuck, I don't know anything else to
ask right now. I mean, the only thing really love to ask,
unless Chris has anything, is if she knows if she knows if Kirian was
working with anyone else on something before he passed away, or Anne to take
her to the summoning portal. Yeah, well she said she didn't know about
the big one. Yeah, but she also she also offered, she said
she would take a look at it with us. Though I don't know if
that's a great idea. I don't know. I think we've got all the
information we're gonna get from her we need to. So brass Cane has the
powder that made the watchtowers explode, and tell Mika came and bought some.
And it might be for completely innocent reasons to keep the candles in such going,
but I mean the candles would just burned down to a certain point and
then they'd have to replace them anyways, So they wouldn't put the powder on
the candles, Yeah, because then they would have to magical candles to not
melt all the wax away. And if you got magical candles, why would
you need the powder. That also gives Bastiel access to the powder. But
I'm not trusting brass Cane because he betrayed my trust. Oh yeah, so
I kind of want to go to the city Guard and see if anybody's not
in there and if they're not sneaking there, and see if we find any
big stash apout or I don't know, maybe we can find something, but
I could be way off. So now you you do remember the city Guard
is, I mean, it's a decent sized building, but most of the
stuff for the city Guard like that would probably be held at his specific room
in the storehouse okay, where they keep like the spare weapons and random things
that the city Guard would need for city guard stuff. Yeah, Emory,
yes, sweetie. What's up? Did you make more than one stone for
teleporting back and forth between these portals other than the one for each one?
Did you make any more beyond that? Wow? No, I just made
the one stone fight each Okay, we need to roll another insight check to
see if that's true. Now it's true you're sixteen is still holding true?
Your insight check was good. I'm not going to make you guys roll it
over and over again. You were just successful. That's really concerning though,
because if someone isn't using a portal to go in Emrie have you have you
done the portal thing before? How did you know what was going to work?
Well, I've read it in a book, you know, some several
books. And then I did make a portal for myself. I put one
in my own house. But after a little while, I didn't really like
it. I wasn't walking as much and I really needed to get my steps,
you know, So I just went ahead and dissolved that portal. What
book, Oh, you want to borrow it? Give me just a second,
one minute. Yeah, And she goes and gets a book about teleportation
circles. Okay, has anybody else borrowed this book? No? No,
I think you are the first to get it. Cool, I mean,
yeah, Bay, it is going to open the book up. Is there
like dog ears or anything? No, dog ears, but there is some
writing on the inside of the book. Make a perception check to see if
you can identify whose writing it is. I'm gonna be looking over her shoulder
at the book. Yeah, I would say all three of you probably see
okay twenty six nineteen, all right, so all three of you, She's
okay. You recognize there are a few different handwriting styles from a few different
people, but you initially immediately recognize Kiian's handwriting towards the bottom of one of
the pages that you opened up to. But towards the top of that same
page there are notes a sound in incantation, footnotes in tell Mika's handwriting that
bitch. Thank you for listening to this episode of Ethereal Embrace and a Fool's
Quest production. Vartan the fur bag Fighter is voiced and played by Adam Culbertson.
Bay A Rustin, the Half Elf Sorcerer is voiced and played by Tisha
Ovic. The tie Fling Cleric is voiced and played by Chris Johnson and I
am Nico your GM. Please remember to drop us a five star rating and
review on your favorite podcatcher. Music provided in part by Midnight Syndicate, makers
of the original Dudgeons and Dragon's soundtrack. If you would like to follow us
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us will be in this episode's else Remember be safe, we love you all,
and stay foolish.