Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. No pre role add on this week's episode.
If you are listening to the podcast version. Here's the thing.
We don't make a lot of money on it. We
are two months into the show. We've had a fantastic
response so far, and I think we've made a grand
total of a dollar forty so not really funding the
cost of microphones and cameras and hard drives and subscriptions
to software that we need to produce the show, let
alone hiring other editors and artists to help contribute to
and take off some of my workload to keep us
on track and ahead of the curve and be able
to do some more exciting, broader productions. So here's what
I'm thinking. We have a brand new Patreon that we've
established exclusively to support the next archive. If you sign
up there for as little as three dollars a month,
it'll help us fund everything that I just mentioned. If
you go up from there, you can get access to
early episodes right now. They come out as soon as
I'm done. If we had another editor working, we could
potentially get a week or two ahead of our backlog,
which would be amazing for me personally. You can also
get access to the day's end our talkback after show.
You might have heard some of the episodes already that
I've posted to the main feed as like a demonstration
of what's on there. We post exclusive artworks on the
Patreon from time to time going forward. We would love
to do some like Q and A stuff or some
fan created ideas that make their way into the show.
We've talked about potentially answering questions on the talkback after
show that come from patrons, all that kind of thing,
and we do have a shout out tier if you
are interested. We're still kind of working through what we
pre recorded at this stage, but we are going to
be shouting out patrons who subscribe to that tier at
the end of every episode. So if you're interested in that,
that would be great. If we get up to ten patrons,
that's all I'm shooting for is ten monthly patrons. At
any level, I am willing to completely remove all pre
roll ads from the podcast version of the show. YouTube's
a little different. I don't control it as tightly right now.
I don't We shouldn't have any ads on YouTube. We're
not a monetized channel. Once we do, I don't know
what controls I actually have over where they go, but
I will attempt to keep to the same promise of
no pre roll ads on there as well. I would
much rather fund this show through the support of our
actual fans and sponsors like WestLine, VTT and Monument Studios,
other creators who are doing cool things in the RPG
space that I can personally vouch for as things that
I have either used for Relict or the next archive already,
and you know, would rather promote them than have random
ads that are targeted to you based on whatever the
ad algorithm decides. I don't like that. I don't like
having that little control over it. But since Relict is
a free product and making a show is not free,
we got to do something. So ten patrons is what
we're shooting for. If you can help us get there,
that would be amazing, and I think that would be
better for everybody. Anyways, enough out of me, let's get
back to your regularly scheduled adventure. Hello and welcome back
to the Knicks Archive. I, as always am your game
master and comfort voice c D Core again. Hey, how
we doing? As always, I am joined, of course by
the lovely miss Maddie Hammond. Hello everyone, I'm playing Farrah
and Miss Marissa Montero.
Speaker 2: Skak of marikik You do right here?
Speaker 1: Every I was like, what's she gonna do? Every single
time before we jump into the episode. Here today, folks,
we do have to talk to you about an issue
that is near and dear to the Knicks Archive family. Here.
Did you know that for just one dollar a month
you can contribute to the Knicks Archive Patreon and in
doing so, ensure that the Marisas of the world do
not have to roll into used yogurt containers anymore. You
can do that. It's within your power.
Speaker 2: It's all I have.
Speaker 1: Of course, if you contribute more than that, you can
get access to early access episodes and exclusive artwork and
what what the hell, we're our other tiers. We're gonna
we got a shout out here. Now we're gonna start
doing shoutouts and everything. This is really fun. This is
actually the first episode we are recording since episode one
release to the public, so that'll give you an idea
of how far ahead we do these things. And it's
been really wild. We've gotten some great feedback and a
couple of super fans. It's been really cool. But there's
places you can support us to find us. Get on
the Patreon and you can talk to us and that'll
be a thing. We'll get all parasocial about it and
that'd be fun. Anyways, enough out of me, we are
going to get back into our story. The last time
we met up with the ladies here, they split up.
We split the party. Farah, of course, trying to cure
her rattled affliction, found her way over to the Temple
of the Thaw and found a little faith, made a
little contribution, got some healing that was delayed slightly and
a little bit randomized, but worked out in her favor,
and just before she left she got taken into a
terrogation by the cops. Meanwhile, across town, a good old
skink went to check out the sight of Roland's financial
ruin and walked away with a prized firearm, after which
time she promptly went outside and shot at a bear.
Speaker 3: It iss you add the bear, Okay, I shot at
the mountain and then the bear came at me.
Speaker 4: The bear.
Speaker 1: I know how well you rolled, and I think you
can't prove that you didn't shoot at the bear.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 4: I just need to remind people that do bear. She
used a a squirrel carcass.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, she did distracked the bear. She did, in
fact sacrifice Chippy, the undead chipmunk who reminder, has no thoughts,
free will, or feelings of his own, or had rather
because he was sicked on a enraged scruff bear.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and if we remember, it really had no effect.
It wasn't until I got a shadow bear.
Speaker 1: Genuinely an excellent combination of abilities from the necromancers shadow
age class. We did discuss that I believe in the
after show, which is also available on the Patreon. Moving on,
but I.
Speaker 2: Will, I will for sure be looking for another little
critter to replace Chippy.
Speaker 1: You do have one small carcass still in your necromancer's
bad sure.
Speaker 2: Do, don't think I forgot it?
Speaker 1: And a skeleton bottle. Let's not forget that either.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they like to have friends. They're better in pairs.
Speaker 1: They're better in pairs, alrighty, well, of course, as is tradition.
On the next archive, we did end that episode with
a hot centaur knocking on their hotel room door. This time, however,
it was not in fact or Low. It was Tulla
or lott sister. She turned Russian there for a moment
that wasn't intentional. I only know like two accents, So
y'all are gonna have to get used to that. I'm
gonna I'm trying. We're gonna pick it up right back there. Skink,
did you slam the door in Tula's face?
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say.
Speaker 1: Three two one.
Speaker 2: No, I did it because I learned my lesson from
last time.
Speaker 1: Okay, hello, tiny people, I am Tula. I am or
little sister. He says, you maybe have jobs? Why am
I doing that?
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 3: That sounds like it's a skill issue.
Speaker 1: Listen, I can't be good at everything.
Speaker 2: But anyway, I'm gonna look.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna look over and Skink and just like be
like no, yeah, yeah, sure.
Speaker 3: I'm just like looking back at Farah like what how
does this keep happening to us? And then uh, I'm
gonna look all the way up at Tula.
Speaker 2: And say come quietly.
Speaker 3: And then I opened the door enough to make room
for Tula to come in.
Speaker 1: She very well and clunk cluk clunk, cluk clunk, cook clunk.
A Clydesdale is now taking up the vast majority of
your bedroom. She is a large creature uh, this is
a small room. You two are basically standing on the
beds while she stands in the middle and looks between
you two because hello.
Speaker 3: And then so Skink shut the door and immediately goes
who knows you're here?
Speaker 1: I think Orlon knows I am here? Trying with the accent,
Orlon knows I am here? Maybe some people downstairs saw
me come in.
Speaker 2: Oh wait, I just got an idea of your accent?
Can you channel b York?
Speaker 1: It is crazy how much you think I know York?
So all on us and maybe some fox downstairs. So
see me come up to talk to Tiny Goblin and
metal Woman because I ask where Tiny Goblin and metal Woman?
Who knows Orlo are? And then the people tell me
you are here? And I knock and that is true?
Speaker 2: Okay, that seems that seems fine, That seems safe. Yeah,
I look over at Pharaoh Lake. Where do we start?
Speaker 4: Well, we're planning on going on a flak expedition. Would
you be interested in helping with that?
Speaker 1: I can assist with Flake expedition. Lad tells me he
make much money and then it exploded. That is bad.
Speaker 4: Does seem like what happened? But we're hoping our plans
don't include explosion, so I think we would sing. Correct
me if I'm wrong. I think we really only want
two people, Orlo and Tula, if you're up for it.
Speaker 1: Hiring Centaurs is smart. We do not require extra transportation.
Speaker 4: That makes sense.
Speaker 2: Yes, just makes sense.
Speaker 1: We are half horse.
Speaker 3: Yes, and I was considering inviting Orlo earlier, so this
I mean double Orlo.
Speaker 1: Orlo also needs money. Yes, he will come. I will
tell him he will come. He does not know.
Speaker 4: Okay, we do.
Speaker 3: And then and then Skink sort of squints her eyes
and does like one of those looks like, let's.
Speaker 2: See if you're going to pick up what I'm putting down.
Speaker 3: And uh, And I say to Tula, our operation is
going to be financed by Lady Sire.
Speaker 1: Tula does not know who this is.
Speaker 4: Oh, okay, we might have you meet our patron before
we go.
Speaker 1: This is fine. Tula must explain terms.
Speaker 2: It has terms, it has terms.
Speaker 1: Tula will walk, Tula will fight, Bulah will smush and
carry Bulla does not dig. We find flakes, tullab guard
you dig. I do not dig. You load flakes on Tula.
This is fine, that's.
Speaker 4: Fine with me. I mean imagine it's really hard to
like bend down.
Speaker 1: It's very bad for lower back.
Speaker 4: Makes sense.
Speaker 1: Many centaurs engage in mining horrible lumber problems. Tula is
very concerned about spinal health. Centaurs mostly spine. You don't
think about it.
Speaker 4: It's true.
Speaker 1: People, we call you one rib cage people. You don't
think about it.
Speaker 3: We have so much ribs, so much Skink as a necromancer,
has oddly thought about it a lot.
Speaker 1: I can make so many golms.
Speaker 5: Out of you, like you have so many bones in
your body, just like I've definitely never thought about how
many bones you have.
Speaker 1: Dola has dealt with this reaction many times. And she goes,
she turns and really tries to turn in the room,
and she puts a hand on Skank's shoulder, which the
hand is like the size of your head. Right, just
puts a hand on your shoulder, goes. Sola thinks you
are a very nice little green woman. Sola will keep
this professional relationship. You must control your feelings for Tula.
Speaker 2: Strictly professional. Stoling Skink in like a strained voice. Strictly professional.
Speaker 1: This is understood. These are also terms.
Speaker 2: And then I look into it.
Speaker 1: I just go additional term. I have to tell with
tiny people. Sometimes no one will write Dula.
Speaker 4: That's fair.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you may ride or he does not know this,
but I will tell him.
Speaker 4: Okay, we are we have We are acquiring equipment so
that we won't have to write anybody.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were going to get a beareth to carry
us on a sled.
Speaker 4: We only believe in consensual rites.
Speaker 1: Consent is important. You do not have my consent. It
is good you checked.
Speaker 3: Skin feels like oddly read at this moment, not anymore.
Speaker 1: We will last sleep separately, but we will last sleep tonight.
Tomorrow breakfast we meet we see your patron.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, that sounds good. We were considering leaving tomorrow,
but we might if we see the patron tomorrow. We
might leave the day after.
Speaker 1: Yes, will not take much time. No, maybe you tell
us when you need.
Speaker 4: We have to figure some things out. We will let
you know. Okay, it will be in the next forty
eight hours that we plan to leave.
Speaker 1: Okay, we sleep here. We see you at breakfast. Now.
The Goblin woman has closed the door on Tulla. Tula
cannot reach the door from here. There's not enough room
in this room to turn around. The Gablin woman or
the metal woman, please crawl under Tulla and open the door.
Speaker 3: Skik just worth this gig is like feeling like maybe
I just shouldn't talk anymore, and and just just scrambles,
just scrambles over to the door. It was like, I
just I'm not allowed to look at anything except the
doortop right now. I'm just gonna just scrambling to the door,
opens it and just like just does that. They were like,
you open it and you just stand next to the
door without looking at anything.
Speaker 1: So Tula kind of tries to look over her shoulder,
and I think, Sarah, you can go ahead and make
a knowledge check if you want.
Speaker 4: Okay, ooh that is a fourteen.
Speaker 1: Fourteen is really good. Yeah, it looks like she actually
does have some shine problems because she can't quite turn
all the way around, and she just goes, this is difficult,
and then she pulls from a little strap around her neck,
pulls a tiny little jingle bell and just sort of
wrings it over her shoulder as she backs up.
Speaker 4: Cute, that's ancusing.
Speaker 1: I heard.
Speaker 2: It's like a centaur with arthritis. Like, what happened this
poor person?
Speaker 4: I do you love her well?
Speaker 1: Maybe you'll find out. Wow, wow, she just d I
am backing up. I cannot see you. It's not my
problem with squish you. I have bell wow. Oh fun.
Speaker 2: And I never thought I would visualize in my life right.
Oh my inredible.
Speaker 1: Oh she might be my favorite NPC, even if I
can't get her voice right most of the time.
Speaker 4: You're doing pretty well. You've been pretty consistent.
Speaker 1: I had to get into it. I had to get
into it. She was definitely Russian in the first scene.
But that's okay.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you found it. You found it to.
Speaker 1: Look at that. I'm channeling Taikawa, is what I'm doing.
Speaker 4: Uh, I like you?
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's good. Anyways, the door closes and you guys
are back reunited in your room for the night.
Speaker 3: I look, I look at Farrah, and I go, I
wasn't gonna ride her.
Speaker 2: I isn't going to ride her.
Speaker 4: It's fine, and it's fine. She knows. She just okay,
I don't know. See, I know you, and I know
that you were salivating over the bones.
Speaker 1: She doesn't know that.
Speaker 2: Okay, she made me feel really weird.
Speaker 1: As you guys are standing there talking, you hear a little.
Speaker 3: And I look at Pharah and I'm like, what the fuck?
Speaker 4: We have never been it is popular.
Speaker 2: No, something's wrong. What did we do? What have we
done to deserve this?
Speaker 4: I think it's because we agreed to go on an expedition.
All right, I'm going to open the door. Yard opens
the door.
Speaker 1: You look out to see a horse. No, you see nothing.
And then you look down and you see Pip.
Speaker 6: Oh oh, and he hops his way into the room,
and you see he is got in his beak firmly
clutching a long white feather.
Speaker 2: Where did you get that?
Speaker 4: What did you been?
Speaker 2: And then I look at Fargo. I thought I thought
he was with you.
Speaker 4: He was supposed to be with me. I don't know
what happened. I lost a child. And then I knew.
Speaker 1: I totally didn't go roadue because the DM forgot to
say anything from his voice.
Speaker 3: I go to Pip and I I asked, I put
my hand out to ask if I can look at
the feather, and I say.
Speaker 2: I'll give it back, I'll give it back. So I
take it and I look at it, and Chris told
me what I see? How long is this feather?
Speaker 1: It's definitely not Pips. It is significantly longer than his
looks like it's from a bigger bird. You can make
a check about learning more. It would be a knowledge check.
We're going to say, all right, you tell me how,
and Sarah, if you want to get in on this,
let me know how bird savvy are you.
Speaker 4: Considering? MM, I don't know. I don't feel like Farah
is very well Farah has weirdly high knowledge checks. I
feel like at this point we've established that she's well read.
So I'm going to say, at least for her character,
my character, that she might know what this bird is.
One time, go ahead, This is the one time I'm
going to roll a low knowledge Yeah.
Speaker 3: Why Yeah, you rolled high when it mattered to say
that skank probably has like middlan knowledge of birds. They're like,
maybe maybe knows a couple of weird species by accident,
but has never like sought out specific bird knowledge. Is
you know, interested in any creature, certainly has an interesting creatures,
but certainly has never bothered to learn how to identify
by feather alone.
Speaker 1: Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. Yeah, if one
of you would like to make this knowledge check, we're
going to set it at a nine. If both of
you would like to do it. We'll add them together
and the result has got to beat a We'll say sixteen.
It's a little bit better as collaborating.
Speaker 3: Let's combine, combine, and I just rolled in that twelve?
Speaker 2: Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1: Every day? You might as well stack it down there,
Skan could just see what happens.
Speaker 2: But I'm rolling in the yogurt cup.
Speaker 1: I mean, you too can control.
Speaker 2: I wish you could see the one. I wish you
could see it.
Speaker 1: So what is everyone's knowledge?
Speaker 4: Plus three? So I'm a I'm a fifteen on my own.
Speaker 2: I'm also a plus three.
Speaker 1: So okay, so you've definitely cleared it a farah. You
can take a fait point yes, or explode it if
you want, but I don't know why you would.
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna no.
Speaker 1: So all right, this is going to be a storytelling moment.
We know, as players around the virtual table here, that
you guys have communally beaten this check. Yeah, but from
a dialogue perspective, I want you guys to show me
what uh A one combining with a twelve comes together
to get the right answer with I'm just real curious.
Speaker 2: Can I go first?
Speaker 1: I was gonna filter it I felt it.
Speaker 4: We say say that our at the same time, but
you're just like way off face and mine.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I was like, are we even sure this
is from a bird? This could have been from anywhere.
Speaker 4: And at the same time, Farah is like, I know
exactly what them, what bird that belongs to?
Speaker 1: It's a giant owl feather.
Speaker 4: Lass. It's a giant owl feather obviously.
Speaker 3: Gik is like wow, like truly astounded that you know this,
and Skik was ready to believe this could have.
Speaker 2: Been a leaf. This could have been a leaf off
of a tree.
Speaker 4: I feel like with an twelve like Farah goes. I
almost said, Farah, not a gatar. I'm sorry, y'all, it's
not an a guitar.
Speaker 1: Sharah could run a guitar in Relict because that's how
flexible the system is.
Speaker 4: It's true, it's true.
Speaker 1: I gotta stop doing cuts to sales pitches. I'll knock
it off anyway.
Speaker 4: Farah, I think, would also like rattle off several facts.
She'd be like, yeah, giant owls are nocturnal and they
hunt small rodents, typically in relic honey. Do they have
any magical ability?
Speaker 1: Not intrinsically, however, they are considered as significant or spiritual
creatures in a number of different faiths, particularly in northern latitudes,
and their feathers and other components are occasionally used as
magical reagents in different out chemical and magical like thomaturgical practices.
Speaker 4: Okay, so farah, farah, I'm gonna get it. Rattles all
of that off. At the same times, Kink is like
this is from a bird, Like.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I saw a tree that has these
exact leaves.
Speaker 4: I love it.
Speaker 1: As you guys are discussing this, Pip perchase on one
of your arms and kind of like takes the feather back,
and then we'll say, he hops over to Parah's hood
and sort of nestles down in there and like tucks
the feather in.
Speaker 4: Didn't Pip have relations with a giant owl?
Speaker 1: Mother?
Speaker 2: And then he goes, did it try to do something
to you? Did you have to fight it?
Speaker 1: New friend? Mother?
Speaker 2: Oh, that's wonderful friend cute.
Speaker 4: I love that for you, Pip, And I'm gonna h.
Speaker 2: I wonder if it was a wild owl or if
it's somebody's owl.
Speaker 4: Good question.
Speaker 1: Seems to be considering this and has no idea how
to answer.
Speaker 4: Okay, does Pharah know if there ever like Captain's pets.
Speaker 1: Well, you did get another Faarat level knowledge checks. We'll
say that it would be this is an animal that's
generally intelligent enough that keeping it as like a domesticated
pet would be very hard. It would be more like
I have a friend.
Speaker 4: So I think Pharah would say it's probably it is
probably wild. Yeah, it's a wild friend.
Speaker 1: It's a little bit like having like a pet dolphin.
Speaker 4: It's just like, well, wow, is it you can technically
do it? Sort of?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it raises some questions.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, so Pip is back, the trio was reunited,
and now I thought we came all we also came
up here to discuss whether or not we were going
to be honest about the true nature of our expedition.
And it seems like Tula doesn't know anything about what
has been happening in these parts, so she also seems
very blunt, So I don't know if we should say
anything to her. But Orlow was willing to go on
the quest for Lady's side before, so maybe it would
be okay to tell him. But I think maybe it's
a matter of when we tell him like, do we
tell him before we leave or whence we're in the
middle of nowhere.
Speaker 4: I think we run the risk of being abandoned by
our group. It's a I think it's a risk not
to be transparent, especially since he's gone out for this
expedition before, so he knows what it entails. He knows
that it entails. He needs to be able to choose.
I think because people someone died due to.
Speaker 3: This, Yes, but I do think maybe he would understand
our need for uh for discretion, for discretion. Yeah, I
think he would understand why we would be nervous to
tell people what.
Speaker 2: We were doing since uh someone was killed. Yeah, for
going on this exact quest earlier.
Speaker 4: I agree he might know whether or not it's a
good idea to tell his sister.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, Okay, so we'll uh, we'll have to
convene with Can we get orlo up here?
Speaker 2: Is there a wave for us to like call him?
Will Pip go get him? Spell or whisper God. I'm
just I'm just like running on gnat one energy here
right now.
Speaker 4: I need that on a shirt.
Speaker 5: I'm running on that energy.
Speaker 1: I really do need a.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, let's start taking notes, people, running unempty.
Speaker 2: Uh. Okay, so that's a great idea.
Speaker 3: So we have to find a way to get Orlo alone,
either tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm assuming that Tula will
tell him everything.
Speaker 2: You know what, I.
Speaker 3: Can't assume anything. I don't know anything about their relationship.
Just because they're related doesn't mean they talk. You know
plenty of brothers and sisters who are hustle to each other. So, uh,
maybe now that the two of us are on the
same page, maybe we should venture out.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think that's a good idea. We can see if
we can track him down. You could use whisper to
communicate with him without her knowing.
Speaker 1: Whisper. Since you know him personally, you can also use
it through walls.
Speaker 2: I was just gonna double check. I was almost was
going to go look it up to read it. But
if you remember, what's the range?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I'm gonna look up.
Speaker 3: Maybe maybe we should just double check the rules real quick.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's really embarrassing and get my own rules wrong,
isn't it. Range is fifty.
Speaker 2: Feet Okay, but like inside it.
Speaker 1: For every extra manna you used to cast it, you
add another fifty feet. So technically, if skink wants to
sit here and just dump her whole resource pool for
a minute into something you can communicate with someone, like
within a couple hundred I don't know how much mana
you have, but you can do the math.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well I.
Speaker 3: Think I think I could at least just for within
one hundred feet, just sense out the building and see
if Orlo is here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how much total mana do you have?
Speaker 2: My capacity is ten?
Speaker 1: Yeah, So you can pump this thing if you so choose,
up to five hundred feet and just you know, orlow,
so you can just cast a whisper to orlow within
five hundred feet and if he's there, he'll hear it.
Speaker 2: Okay, but five hundred feet is.
Speaker 1: It's a very big radius? I think there is. Yeah.
I mean, as you're we're talking about more than a
football field. That's three hundred so like a football field
and a half.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I would say, like, I don't even need
to do that much.
Speaker 3: I'm just gonna I'm just gonna pump it to like
a hundred feet and see just just like you know,
just to cast out the feelers and be like, hey,
orlow are you in the midwinter sun? Just gonna like
throw that out there and see if it pings back
anywhere like a bat with echo location.
Speaker 1: No, so the text of this spell, uh does not
give them a way to respond unless they also have whisper.
So what I'm gonna say, Skink, at this moment, you
cast up to one hundred feet, So let's go ahead
and give me a knowledge check. And it's going to
be a simple six to see if you know if
the spell worked or not, because there's a chance where
you're just shouting into the void. Yeah, exactly, Yeah, And
I did a little roll over here to see if
Orlow was, you know, at his hotel.
Speaker 2: Well, it's two plus three, so I get I get five?
Speaker 1: What I say a five or six?
Speaker 2: You said six? Well he said roll six. I don't
remember what you said anymore.
Speaker 4: Six It was six needed you.
Speaker 1: Needed a six, So you don't know you cast the spell,
the spell works.
Speaker 3: You have Okay, let me, but let me like amend it.
So I'm Skink should know how to do this.
Speaker 2: It's not her fault.
Speaker 3: So Skink is gonna send out this message not knowing
if it wereked to say orlo if you're in the
midwinter sun meat, Skink and Farah in.
Speaker 2: Their room, just throwing that out.
Speaker 3: There, and we're just I'm just gonna like hang around
for like fifteen minutes and see if anyone shows up.
Speaker 1: Okay in the meantime, is there anything else you guys
are doing? The answer can be no, I just want
to again.
Speaker 2: It's kind of the end of the day now, right.
Speaker 4: How does it take to prepare my room tablet.
Speaker 1: That's a great question. I believe that would come under
the skills for describing a rune, and I think it's
only a couple of minutes per enchantment slot, so you
could do that in the meantime for sure, or at
least get started on it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm to talk to Skink about maybe I don't
actually make the room, but I ruin, but I talk
to her about what kind of room roune we might
want to have ready for our adventure. I have an
alarm roune, a trigger rooune which can be used to
link runs together, awarding roune, which I basically can make
a want line that's harder for creatures to cross, a
denial rune that creates a wall of force, an abduration
roune that creates like an aberration celestial fe fiend or
undead creature creates a sphere where they're like slowed down,
a purgation room which I can choose an elemental damage
type and it can explode dealing damage. So like there's damage,
there's slowing people down by creating walls or spheres of
quicksand or well quick snow, quick snow. The alarm room
I've used before, you have, yeah, although I think that
one is not as helpful, like I would need to
put that somewhere that we left it, So the tablet
should be something that's.
Speaker 2: Like something that comes with us.
Speaker 3: I do let the idea of a ward or denial
to protect us, especially if you know we all have
to stop at some point, we'll have to sleep, and
I know, like within the party there might always be
someone on watch, but it's going to be really dark,
it's going to be hard to see. So having a
board up so that we're harder to.
Speaker 2: Attack seems like a really good idea.
Speaker 4: I agree.
Speaker 3: I do love the idea of explosions though, and dealing damage.
Speaker 2: That like if something came near us immediately hurt without us.
Speaker 4: Having to do anything right hm, So I think the
denial room could work better well almost almost like both.
It doesn't deal well, it can deal damage. It designate
a line up to twenty five feet in length and
five feet wide starting from this room. Starting from the room,
this room projects a twenty five foot tall wall of
force along that line, preventing passage. Creatures must make a
mite check against my spell check target to pass through
the wall, suffering one de four kinetic damage times my
character level if they do so. Here's what's cool about that.
It's not explosive, but it can still cause damage and
it works similar to the warning room. Does that make sense?
I think that one.
Speaker 2: I think that sounds great.
Speaker 3: And is there any way that you can make it
so that when something runs into it, there's a voice
that just yells up.
Speaker 4: Denied. I don't know, gm am I allowed to do that.
Speaker 1: Rules as written, No and determined.
Speaker 4: You still have to use whisper at the creature right.
Speaker 3: As soon as something happens, they're just gonna hear ringing
in their mind.
Speaker 2: Denied.
Speaker 4: I feel like that should count as like intimidation.
Speaker 1: For so, the denial room does take two enchantment slots,
so just make sure you mark that down when you're
tracking your resources and everything. The warning room takes only
one if that affects your choice, but I don't think
it should just put all the information out there. Okay,
so faris sets to work on this magical tablet that
Lady Sive had given her. Once cast, the room will
remain active for twenty four hours. Alternatively, you can continue
to sustain the man of cost for twenty four hours
per slot, so it'll be forty eight hours for this.
If completed, the ruin remains active indefinitely and the enchantment
slots are restored.
Speaker 4: Okay, so what's cool about this is we could if
we can like wedge ourselves into a little crevice, we
can we can take a rest using that really.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, So the nice thing about the tablet she
gave you is you conscribe like ninety nine point nine
percent of it and just leave the last little activation
off so you don't actually have to start that clock. Yet.
We'll say it does still take your enchantment slot. Well, no,
because the whole point of this do you have the
text of the tablet somewhere? I think it doesn't take
a slot or something.
Speaker 4: I don't know if I saved it.
Speaker 1: All right, we'll dig that up We're not gonna worry
about it right the second. I have it somewhere.
Speaker 4: So it's funny you have it somewhere too, but hold on.
Speaker 1: So the nice thing about the tablet, I believe is
that it saves you a slot, like it can eat
up one enchantment slot without it, and you don't have
to sit there.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I can add one room, no enchance slot, is
what it says.
Speaker 1: Perfect there you are. Yeah, so I don't.
Speaker 4: I haven't used those two enchantment slots yet.
Speaker 1: No, you haven't, and actually using it on the tablet itself,
you will not use them period. You would still need
to use the mana. So if you sustain that mana
deficit for forty eight hours, that room can permanently exist
without a clock on it. Okay, if that makes sense.
So yeah, enchanters are cool. You can build a nice
little fortress or really complicated like rune machine if you
have enough in game time to sit there and spend
manna and just exist at a deficit for a while. Yeah,
and surely nothing would happen. Okay. So Sarah sits and
sets to work scribing this room on this tablet that
lease I've had provided her as you guys are sitting
there and kind of having this discussion as that work
is happening, you do hear a knock on the door.
Speaker 3: And then I think to myself, it worked. And I
just look at Farah and I say, I asked.
Speaker 2: For orlo Ah.
Speaker 4: Excellent.
Speaker 3: And I go to the door, still suspicious, even so
I specifically told someone to come to this room.
Speaker 2: I open it just the tiniest crack, and I look up.
Speaker 1: Are you going to slam the door on me again?
Speaker 2: And I act like nothing weird has ever happened. No,
of course not, And I just like open it all
the way.
Speaker 1: Do I have to squeeze in there?
Speaker 2: Well, it's just that we'd rather have a private conversation.
Speaker 4: Could you use whisper to communicate the information?
Speaker 1: No, I'll do it, that's fine. And he kind of
just like he's like even a little bit broader than Tula,
and he kind of just wedges his way in and
he's very clearly quite uncomfortable, but kind of like nudges
the door closed with his tail. Hello, and I put.
Speaker 2: My hands together and I say, thank you, thank you
for coming up here. We have spoken to your sister Ula.
Speaker 1: As soon as you say that he just goes.
Speaker 4: What's wrong?
Speaker 1: I did not intend to send her after you. I
apologize for that. She is very goal oriented. I respect
that I had mentioned that there might be work happening,
and I supposed from our discussion she must have gathered
who it was involving and taken the initiative.
Speaker 2: My apologies, Oh, no, apologies necessary. In fact, we're happy
to have the two of you accompany us, but.
Speaker 3: Giving Tula's obvious bluntness, I wished to speak to you
privately before we set out.
Speaker 1: What did she say? Oh? No, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this has nothing to do with her. It's just
that the two of us.
Speaker 3: Have invited you on a flake expedition, knowing that you
previously went on an expedition that was not specifically for flakes.
Speaker 1: Right. We had been pursuing a lead from miss miss
Ive right, and.
Speaker 2: One member of your party was murdered for engaging in
this quest.
Speaker 1: Yes, and you see he's starting to put together what's
happening go on?
Speaker 3: And then I look at Pharah and just to like
double check that, like, okay, I'm gonna still the beats
are not okay.
Speaker 2: Lady Sive has asked us to do the very same quest,
but we wish not to be murdered, so we have
agreed to go on this quest, but we would rather
everyone believe that we are motivated by monetary reasons, if
you catch my drint.
Speaker 1: So the flake prospecting expedition is a cover. Yes, I
understand what you're driving at. That makes decent sense. I
get it.
Speaker 4: We wanted to make sure you knew because I feel
like you have a good understanding of the potential consequences
and you deserve to be able to make an informed decision.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that. Listen, as far as I'm concerned, the
job is a job, so that's fine. It was going
to be dangerous either way, if you're coming back with
a sack full of flakes, or if we're going off
on a quest where other interested parties are already being violent.
I'm here to swing an axe a people and make
sure we all come home. So that's fine. I do
appreciate going and informed. It allows me to be better prepared.
Speaker 2: Is Tula someone who can be trusted with this information?
Speaker 1: If we give her the explicit instructions that she is
not to share certain information, she won't. However, as demonstrated
by the events of this evening, it is better to
be explicit about what she should and shouldn't do upfront.
Speaker 4: For the time being. Do you think it would be
better to just allow her to believe that we are
going on a lake expedition? She?
Speaker 1: Are you thinking we wait until we're on the road
to tell her.
Speaker 2: She's your sister?
Speaker 4: We just.
Speaker 2: I don't know. Is she's someone with explosive moods? Does
she get angry if she's not told the truth upfront?
What sort of person are we dealing with here?
Speaker 1: I think she would be most angry if the payday
was less than expected.
Speaker 4: Oh well, okay, this.
Speaker 2: Is lady Sithe. I think it will be more than expected.
Speaker 1: Honestly, I'm she'll probably bitch it me, but I don't
think she'll care one way or the other. It's not
like she was going to dig up flakes.
Speaker 2: She did tell us no digging.
Speaker 1: I'm not shocked by that, to be honest. It's hell
on the low spine.
Speaker 4: I believe that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she also mentioned her spin.
Speaker 1: Well, she's got an injury there from when she was
a younger. It's a whole thing, so she's very protective
of it.
Speaker 3: Okay, Yeah, Well, you were certainly not the one at
the bar talking about what you'd been up to, so
I trust your discretion on the matter.
Speaker 1: Of course, of course I won't. Lady Sive's a good payday.
It'd be nice to finish the job that we originally
set out on. I was overruled in terms of diverting
that quest to bring back Flakes instead. But what am
I going to do go on alone? Do we have
any idea? I've heard whisperings of the investigation going on.
Someone mentioned that there might have been necromancy involved or
anything like that. Oh do you know? I had a feeling.
I believe I saw you in the common room the
other day with a zombie squirrel. So I didn't want
to be too I don't want to be indelicate about it.
That was me?
Speaker 2: How did everyone know that was me?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 1: You know?
Speaker 2: I was so sneaky about that.
Speaker 1: Anyway, I'm very observant, like, very clearly trying not to
hurt your feelings. He goes, I is there a chance
will be crossing paths with chesters killers?
Speaker 4: I certainly hope that's why we're hoping to keep our
expedition a secret, because we're hoping that if it appears
as though we are just going for flakes, that no
one will be dipped off.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't know what you were told about the investigation,
but none of the flakes were taken, only Chester was killed.
Speaker 1: That much I gathered in talking to my companions. I
haven't heard much from the investigation itself, but given that information,
it was not a huge intuitive leap to guess that
Lady Syb's expedition might have been the root cause, as
opposed in the flakes a convenient cover.
Speaker 4: It does seem to me that way.
Speaker 1: Yes, I understand and respect your wish to not cross
paths with his killer, but I would be lying if
I said that part of me wasn't hoping we did.
Speaker 4: That is completely fair in you know, wanting justice for
your friend.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Escate clicks up, like are you the vengeable type?
Speaker 1: I've been known to hold a grudge. I'm a professional.
Speaker 2: Smiles like this is great news.
Speaker 1: I won't do anything to jeopardize the tasks that I've
been hired to do. I want to be very clear
on that, but I'm just saying, if two birds one step,
you hear Pip.
Speaker 2: Go, it's Pip's least favorite aphorism.
Speaker 4: Just behind herself and like pats like she's okay, cuddling
with his feather.
Speaker 1: Just sorry, I didn't I didn't think about that, He
goes so right. I guess that's sort of a win
win scenario. Either we don't find them in the mission,
go smoothly and fantastic we all get a nice payday,
or we do and I have some good news to
bring back to Cassie. Yes, fine with me, excellent. I
don't I don't think it's a terrible idea to keep
Tula in the dark. For if you're worried about departing discreetly,
that's fine. We may we're going to speak to Lady
Syb before we leave, or we can just beat you
when you're ready to depart.
Speaker 4: We had thought maybe we could have you talk to
Lady Syve, and that might be a good time. If
we're at her house or her town home, I guess
to talk to Tula. We could debrief her there if
we want to do it before we set off.
Speaker 1: I would probably be safe enough to just tell her
there and then not really let her talk to anyone
else until we head out of town. As long as
we're ready to do that, sure, skank.
Speaker 2: Also having second thoughts like I don't know if we
should go to Lady Sive's house, Like what what you know?
Speaker 3: We don't want anyone to think that we're going after
anything but flakes, and true we set out straight from
Gallios with a barreth and a sled and uh and
just go like straight from there, then everyone totally believe
like any pass or by any witness will know like
oh yeah, those people who set out for flakes whatever.
Speaker 4: Sure, that's not a bad idea.
Speaker 2: Or now would you be able to what else did
we need to know from Lady Sive anyway?
Speaker 4: I don't know. I think we just wanted maybe her
to communicate with Orlo and Tula, maybe talk about their compensation.
Speaker 1: M m M. I will say this. I will say this, okay,
having worked with Lady Sive in the past, as long
as you are amenable to guaranteeing that whatever share, if
for some reason she does not wish to offer additional compensation,
I suspect she will compensate the two of you well enough.
If you are willing to give us an appropriate share
of that, I will take that as a guarantee, and
I also would not be surprised if she was happy
to sweeten the pot once we get back with all
four of us.
Speaker 4: Yeah, at this point, we still have two hundred gold, right,
yeah you do, and he does.
Speaker 1: Go ahead.
Speaker 4: Sarah is going to reach into her bag and pull
out half. Right, it was two hundred for both.
Speaker 1: For both of you, yeah, even of us.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Oh wait, she gave me four hundred gold walking around.
Speaker 3: Yeah exactly, yeah, not two hundred, like both two hundred each,
Like you have two hundred, I have two hundred. Yeah, yeah,
So like honestly, if yeah, if Sarah reaches in and
grabs like fifty, Skink would also put up another fifty
and say, if you guys want to if you need
like some sort of security, some sort of deposit.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, that's where what Pharaoh was aiming for. So
she's pulling out money to give their like half of
their walking around money.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he takes it. I appreciate that I do have
some equipment that I'll want to be procure before we
head out in the morning, and he drops that into
his pouch and he goes. I am confident that there
will be enough payment that we will all leave satisfied.
If we leave Lady Sive happy with our performance. Further,
for what it's worth, I think there is very little
chance in the in the brief time I've spent an
osk a little bit more than you guys, but not
too much. From what I've seen, there is very little
chance that the four of us leave here tomorrow together,
and Lady Sive doesn't already know about it, So correct.
Speaker 4: That's fair. I think that's a good idea, Skink. I
think that we need to just leave from the shop.
Speaker 1: So should I tell my sister we will meet you
at thin Winter Outfitters after breakfast or would you like
to head there together?
Speaker 4: That was my next question was if you could contact
at Gallios.
Speaker 1: I can do that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, if you can talk to your sister about it,
that'd be great, because she right now thinks that we're
meeting at Siders.
Speaker 1: So I'll find whatever room she's shacked up with with. Yeah,
I'll take care of her. Could and someone open the door?
Speaker 4: Do you want me to I'll do it this time? Okay,
So Parah's gonna like slot around carefully, trying really carefully,
like not to touch you.
Speaker 1: Don't, don't scoop me, I'll kick you. Joke She's gonna open.
Speaker 4: The door and do the same thing. This time she's
kind of behind it, like she tries to like stuck
behind the door, off the handle as much space as possible,
all right.
Speaker 1: Backing up, backing up, and orlo the parts we close
the door, you hear a knock. I'm kidding.
Speaker 2: So oh and so I look over at Pharah and
I was like, what a day?
Speaker 1: What a day?
Speaker 4: What a day? Listen. I actually want to do a
little more magic and I want your opinion again. So
I'd like to create a war item, which means I
can create a luck ward, which can kind of like
reduce my chance.
Speaker 2: Affliction, I think.
Speaker 4: And I also could do an ether ward, which can
prevent damage. And I could also do a kinetic word,
which is more like prevents me from taking damage as well.
It's forceful damage. The etherward is when you're dealt damaged
by a spell or a magical ability. It's like a
counter spell, is what it reads us.
Speaker 2: Were you asking me or are you asking the gem
asking you?
Speaker 4: I was asking you so Dow and I was like,
Chris will answer.
Speaker 1: This was like, all right, I've got enough free agents
to do this that or the other thing. And Skink's
just like, wow, I mean that does.
Speaker 4: Fit with our characters.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's Escape was fully thinking about whether or not
to go fishing for like a little set of fish bones.
Speaker 4: That's not a bad idea. I don't hate that what happening.
Speaker 1: I love that you could probably get them in the kitchen.
Speaker 2: Exactly exactly like Skegs was like, no, you know, ice
fish shake is hard. It takes a long time. You
got to cut a hole and and uh, you know,
I don't think we have that much time.
Speaker 4: I do want to go to sleep.
Speaker 2: I don't want to. I could set it up and
then check.
Speaker 3: It in the morning, or I could just like go
get bones from you know somewhere, like that's what was going.
Speaker 4: Vera has has a request. Can we go back to
the fish fried place? We can ask for bones and
I could get more fried fish?
Speaker 3: Okay, And then Escap it wasn't far from Gallios Escape.
It's like I'm back and was like, did you ask
me something important?
Speaker 4: Para is fully used to this at this point in
their relationship, so she's like, should I work to prevent damage?
I guess that's my three options.
Speaker 2: Really prevent damage, cause damage, or.
Speaker 4: The luckword specifically when you Okay, so it reads when
you first roll on the affliction table while wearing this word,
roll twice and apply the lowest possible result. Once used,
this item is destroyed and Crumblsome's dust, of course, so
it means I can lower the possible affliction.
Speaker 2: That also sounds like a good idea. Bad things keep happening.
Speaker 4: I can prevent damage with the other two, but I
think the luckcord might be lucky.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've already got We've already got denial like on
like routing up.
Speaker 3: It's working, and we may as well do something proactive
instead of just protective.
Speaker 4: Okay, it does require a physical object. I wrote myself
a note to create award because I feel like I
got a physical.
Speaker 3: I did that one.
Speaker 4: This might be something I try to procure tomorrow.
Speaker 1: You can also make so wards can be as sorry.
Awards can be as simple as just a piece of
paper with like magic ruins and everything on it. They're
basically disposable magic items, so they don't have to be
anything super elaborate or specific. Some advanced words that you
might learn later, like the enchanter can make like mythical
ones that have crazy powers and whatever. Some of those
might be like this can only be created out of
a dragon's bone or something, but for basic luck boards
and stuff, now, okay.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was gonna say if you Skak's got a
necromancer bag, and I was like, what object you want?
Speaker 4: Do you want? Do you want like a little shoulder
blade or something? And you know, you know what, I
actually love the idea of using a bone fantastic, So
I will take I will take totally a scapula. That
is the anatomical word for absolutely body. You'll learn something
through relic.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, vocabulary.
Speaker 1: Is just like grasstiction.
Speaker 2: Ruffles around in the bag. It was like, oh yeah,
this one's from a raccoon.
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 4: So I have to write a note makes ward necklace
out of.
Speaker 2: Raccoon scapula.
Speaker 1: So I will say this is a little bit of
game abstraction here. Just as a balancing item, wards create
awards require some amount of components and material costs to
go into them. So go ahead and subtract eight gold
from your stores to just sort of like, yeah, I
use magic ink and this that and diamond powder and
whatever to make this thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah I am I just googled raccoon scalpul too.
Speaker 4: I was going to send you a picture, and there's
there's lady on Etsy who puts their little paw prints
on them. It's so cute. I love that.
Speaker 1: There's no way this doesn't wind up on TikTok.
Speaker 4: Okay. So at this point, we each gave fifty gold.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I marked my I'm down one fifty. I gave
away my black coin, my like special you know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, good credit guard to Gallio.
Speaker 1: Yeah. They are weirdly well formed.
Speaker 2: Don't they look like flower petals?
Speaker 4: You're so pretty? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I love them lovely. Okay, so we're creating a ward.
We've marked off our gold that we've paid to or
low anything else before you guys go to bed. It
is relatively late in the evening at this point, I
think that Pip is already nested down. The lantern is
burning low.
Speaker 4: I think it's a good time to take a rest.
Speaker 2: I think it's a good time.
Speaker 3: Skin feels satisfied having like provided a bone and is
going to dream about bones all night's.
Speaker 1: Visions of centaur bones danced in her head. Yeah, okay,
you guys bed own for the evening and have a
lovely night's sleep. We are, of course now going to
roll for Pip. You guys want to even or odds?
Speaker 2: Sure?
Speaker 1: Sure? Okay, who's evens? I am? It is odds pip ismssled.
In our first duplicate, Pip is nuggled in with his
little feather and doesn't seem to want to move this morning,
just sitting in mother friend feather ah friend feather friend. Breakfast, yes,
not the breakfast we.
Speaker 4: Should eat well before we set off today.
Speaker 1: Breakfast breakfast, breakfast, breakfast. Do you guys want to do
anything before hit downstairs?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 2: But Skank totally knows what she's going to order.
Speaker 1: Lovely, I will point out, Pharah, who whichever one of
you you're giving that word to, you do have to
wear it for twenty four hours before it activates. That's
how work that's going to keep it. But I guess, oh,
if you want to wear it, that's totally fine. You
just have to like it, doesn't You can't just like
make a war to put it on. You've got to it.
Speaker 4: Hold on one second. My blood mage allows me to
do a like sort of healing, like with clot, but
I also take quite a bit of damage. I think
I'm gonna wear it myself.
Speaker 1: Did you make the luck ward? Is that what you
went with?
Speaker 4: I did? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, So with a luck ward, you're giving an
affliction either way, but you can reduce how bad it is,
which is nice, yep, beautiful, And then let's double check
before it comes up, do you You do have to
use your reaction to activate it, so keep that in
mind for planning Accordingly, when you kind of are like
on the verge of an affliction.
Speaker 4: I will write myself, Oh wait, no.
Speaker 1: Not with the luck ward, I apologize.
Speaker 4: That's only with the ether and the kinetic Okay, I
was gonna say I didn't read that, but I know.
Speaker 1: So the luck ward it's worse in that you're definitely
still getting an affliction, but it always works. The ether
and the kinetic ward, you can use a reaction to
not take damage, so possibly avoid an affliction. But you
have to have a reaction. Sure, yeah, so's.
Speaker 4: Okay, skink. Are you okay that I'm keeping the luck ward? Yeah,
since I regularly like basically damage myself so that I
can do my magic.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I want you to live.
Speaker 1: I want you to live too. Funny, speaking of afflictions, Farah,
as you wake up this morning and are getting ready
and starting to head down pack your stuff, get ready
to head down for braktice, you realize you're you've really
kind of shaken off the last lingering little bits of
that scuffle at the long haul. You are no longer
afflicted with the rattled Yay, here's a.
Speaker 4: Sarah like stretches like real big, like, oh my gosh,
pretty good this morning. Hmm lovely, I.
Speaker 2: Think Skink looks over and says, oh, Barah, you're glowing lovely.
You're so much shinier than you have been the last
couple of days.
Speaker 4: My beautiful iron skin. M h.
Speaker 1: As you guys head down the stairs, h Pip pops
out of Farah's hood and kind of scampers over your shoulder,
and then Skink, you feel Pip settled in onto your
shoulder for a moment, and he sort of like crouched
in this like ready to pounce position, and you see
that he is tracking a fiendling across the room who
has just loaded her plate full of food because the
last time you guys were here for breakfast you told
him he's got to take Arealia's food.
Speaker 4: Oh I live really though, right?
Speaker 1: Nope?
Speaker 2: I look over it, Pip, and I was like, not
that one, the good one left. But honestly, feel free
to take food from anybody else's plate. I'll give a fuck.
Speaker 1: He's gone, he is in the air. He's just he
hits like two plates in a swoop before if someone
is like he, he just sort of like ducks out
a window like events up at the top, so he
doesn't circle straight back to you, guys. Nice and Pip
is sort of indisposed for a moment, but seems to
be very content with the bacon he stolen.
Speaker 3: Skink ignores the buffet and looks for a weight staff member.
Speaker 4: And oh, Chris, it's.
Speaker 2: Got a sheet of paper.
Speaker 1: Okay, you walk over and you find a young let's
say this will be a young l man, young elevant boy,
probably one of the townsfolk. Hello, miss, how can I
help you?
Speaker 3: Good morning?
Speaker 2: Could I trouble the kitchen for a rotisserie chicken?
Speaker 1: You want a whole rotissery chicken?
Speaker 4: A whole chicken?
Speaker 1: Okay, that won't be included in the buffet, is it's
it'll be about six coppers? That all right, no problem,
thank you, miss, And he holds his hand out for.
Speaker 2: The copper and I give him seven copper on purpose.
Speaker 1: Thank you. He pops the one into his pocket and
he is going to be right out. You're sitting, you're sitting.
Speaker 3: Over there, yeah, and I don't really know where I'm sitting,
but I like look for where Pharaoh might be, and
I guess I see her by the buffet.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Pharah is loading up right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he disappears back into the kitchen. He's taking your order,
and then you guys are loading up on buffet farah
as you are piling your plate high with the many
kind of breakfast options of the midwinter sun. You see
emerging from that larger sort of like macro sized common
room that Skink had spoken to Orlo in once upon
a time, a tall, blonde centaur woman steps into this
room and seems to be looking around. Tula is searching
for you too.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna wave hi, Tula, ah.
Speaker 1: Hello, miss Ferra, and she walks over and is just
absolutely towering over not only your table but the two
next to you. Good morning, Good morning. Tula is prepared
for an expedition.
Speaker 4: All right, did Orlo tell you were actually going to
just go straight to Gallio's the what is it this
Outfitters w Yes in Winter Outfitters, I.
Speaker 1: Have been informed of this, Yes, excellent.
Speaker 4: Do we need to do anything else before we go
over there this morning?
Speaker 2: Skik's like, we're gonna eat. We'll see you there, you know,
no rush.
Speaker 4: A couple hours.
Speaker 1: This is good, good, this is good for Tula. Tula,
We'll go to blacksmith. Lula must acquire more weapon excellent
for killing.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 3: Indeed, Skik is thoroughly perplexed with like how to interact
with someone like this? And it's just like mildly uncomfortable
the whole time, like so glad that Tula is coming,
but also just like I don't know what to.
Speaker 4: Say to you. On the flip side, Sarah loves it.
She thinks these kind of interactions are perfect. She's like,
thank you, Julia, I wish you could look at the blacksmith.
Speaker 1: Good. Yes, I will see you later and goodbye, goodbye,
And she just stops out, like steps fully steps over
a booth at one point, just oh my gosh, she's
got bad ai pathing. You guys enjoy a lovely breakfast.
Is there anything you would like to get up to
before we head over to thin Winter Outfitters so the reason.
Speaker 3: That Skink ordered a whole rotisserie chicken was so that
she could keep all the chicken carcasss.
Speaker 4: Like she obviously can. Sarah, I'm gonna I'm gonna offer,
do you want to help picking that clean? Because I
can eat some.
Speaker 1: Chicken all right. At some point has snuck his way
back down from the rafters and appears beside your table. Excellent.
Speaker 4: Farah is just feeding him chicken.
Speaker 1: Bone duty.
Speaker 3: And Skink is like, you can eat the meat, but
leave me all the leave me the bones, leave me
the boneset.
Speaker 1: Yes, it has helped with this chore many times. We
need all of them, all the bones.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this to be nice and intact and uh he.
Speaker 1: Does like an imitation of Skink's boys just.
Speaker 3: Intact, and Skink's like, yeah, because you know, sometimes it's
better when they don't have any heads. I mean really,
it doesn't need to see it knows, you know, it's
it's most it's attacked enough, we don't care. Yeah, you know,
sometimes it's worse when they have faces.
Speaker 4: This is actually the origin of the phrase chicken with
its head cut off running around.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I'm sacromancy, h I'm just skink unleashing a rotisserie
chicken on the next bear.
Speaker 2: I truly truly can't wait, And I like, I have
a cloth that I take out and I'm like rolling
it up so that it doesn't, you know, all the
oils don't come off and make everything messy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can go ahead and add one rotissary chicken
carcass to your to your bag. That's fine.
Speaker 4: Do we need to clean it?
Speaker 1: Means? Is not that picky.
Speaker 4: I was like, it's gonna you.
Speaker 2: Know, it never looks good whether it doesn't.
Speaker 1: It doesn't that zombie is gonna smell delicious for like
a couple of days.
Speaker 4: It's gonna say, I think she's does skink just sort
of smell like rotting flesh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like it's like if skank's not moving, nobody notices,
but like at certain angles or you know, get.
Speaker 2: A whiff, just a whiff of something.
Speaker 1: Yeah, something bad is less air tight than it could be.
Speaker 3: Yeah right yeah yeah, yeah, Like yeah, another reason why
people don't like hanging around skinkle or just get a
weird vibe.
Speaker 2: Yo, you're standing around someone who smells, but you just
take a couple of steps.
Speaker 4: Back, you know. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1: Delightful you guys have an uneventful breakfast.
Speaker 2: Off we go?
Speaker 1: Then off we go? Are you going to stop by Tenors?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 2: To make very happy? Absolutely?
Speaker 4: What I don't.
Speaker 1: Okay the fish place?
Speaker 4: Oh yeah absolutely, I feel so bad.
Speaker 1: Now. What I was going to say was as you
come up to Tenor, as you realize that it was
notoriously only open one day.
Speaker 4: Oh yes, that's oh yeah fine.
Speaker 1: I didn't mean to give it that much of a
build up.
Speaker 4: Sarah's like dejected. Luckily, she's actually full, like she was
gonna eat it and probably give herself heart burned, but
she had enough chicken and whatnot so that she's not
really hungry. But she is sad. I think I as
MADDI am a little sad. I like to it. Really
the description that really makes me want fried bitch.
Speaker 1: But as you stand there, dejected in front of Tenors,
you are able to look up the road and see
two centaurs making their way into thin Winter Outfitters on
the other end of the street. There is that. But
before you do that, Parah, I do need a precision
check from you. Can it be a knowledge check in Nope?
Speaker 4: Okay, that's a seven plus one? Is it eight?
Speaker 1: Okay, that's it. Okay, so you definitely see Tula and
or Low heading into thin Winter Outfitters.
Speaker 4: Cool cuck coocky. So let's head that's ahead to thin Winter,
the winter outfitters. I don't know why that's so hard
for me.
Speaker 1: It's a lot of consonants. Yeah, you guys, head over
you you walk in this never quite warm interior. You
do see Gallio kind of standing off towards the back.
There's a door in like the back corner that leads
to like the back of the building, the aisle. Some
of the aisles in here are spaced like pretty far apart.
Obviously some larger clients heel come through here, people hauling
a lot of different equipment whatever. There are some like
stable doors on one side of the building.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 1: And he kind of waves you guys back and says, oh, good,
you're here. We you know your friends have just arrived.
We're gonna set up in the back for the barrath.
So come on in and skim. I think you clock immediately.
Gallio is actually not smoking today.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Skink was a little worried this time.
Like you know, last time I came here, I got
really high and it's pretty early to be like that,
So I think skinkad like held her breath a second
like before going in, like okay, here we go, and
then breathes a sigh of relief when she notices that,
like the place isn't full of smoke.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1: He leads you guys into the back, and you see
the back is actually set up more like a horse
stable like there is. It's not open to the elements,
maybe more of a barn, but there are a number
of stalls and a wide open area that's clearly like
covered in different tech and harnesses for hooking up sleds
and different equipment and saddles and bridles and all sorts
of different stuff in here. This is very much like
a working stable. Post right chained up in the middle
of the open area is a barreth. You guys might
have seen one or two of these around either around
town and Oscar on the road on your way to
get here. These are these large, low slung polar bear
walrus lizard looking creatures. They look much like a polar
bear that is set more scampery close to the ground
like an iguana or something with these big walrus tusks
and this long spined furry tail coming off the back,
and it's kind of sniffing around and looking all around,
looking at you. Guys can cock his head and there
is a large uh, there's a large typheny trainer standing there.
A Typheny is a type of wilder kin. It is
a tiger person.
Speaker 2: I was waiting for you explain this.
Speaker 4: I was like, oh, why, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 1: Like a tiger folk type person. So large, broad shoulders
staying there. Hello, you are here to rent old Bessie here.
Speaker 4: Oh Bessie, Bessie like that name. Look at how beautiful
she is.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: And uh so Skink had a bad run in with
a bear before, but is sort of this feeling like
this one must be team right.
Speaker 4: Uh. Sarah, on the other hand, is immediately delighted, like
you can see it light up.
Speaker 1: Here's what we're gonna do. There's some safety procedures here. Okay,
all right, one at a time, we're gonna come over here.
You're gonna introduce yourself to the bear. It does require
prolong eye contact, very important. I'm gonna give you a
treat on my queue. You're gonna feed the beareth. Do
not feed the bearreth before I give you the cue.
Do it to early. She's gonna identify you as a
food source and identify yourself as an ally.
Speaker 4: It's crucial, noted.
Speaker 1: If you lost this up and we'll try and eat you,
I will not be able to stop it. Cool, you understand, Yeah, I.
Speaker 4: Want to go first. I want to go first.
Speaker 2: I love this character.
Speaker 1: All right, nice hands missus Farah pharah, fantastic. Come on
over here. All right, you're gonna stand right here on
this marker, and gal, he's just like, just do what
the man says. I stand right here on this marker,
and he's got like a little little chalk X scrawled
in the in the floor down there, and you see
it as like just out of reach of this thing
being able to be like just these big old nostrils
flaring as you get close. All right now, I contact, I.
Speaker 4: Stare straight into the barras size. I love her. She's
my new favorite a friend ship.
Speaker 1: Go ahead and make a willpower check for me.
Speaker 4: Oh I love this. I love this so much. That
is an ace.
Speaker 1: All right, Uh so eight will power check. I'm gonna
write these down for no reason.
Speaker 2: Uh oh, no reason, no reason.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna ask the handler can I talk to her?
Speaker 1: You can say whatever you want. If she does talk
starts talking back, you let me know because I can
sell that.
Speaker 4: Hello, little Bereth Berry, the Bearreth, that can be your name.
See what do you think berry? Oh? Absolutely, absolutely, like
a blueberry or a strawberry. Oh, I love her.
Speaker 1: So after a moment of just this prolonged eye contact
as you're talking to her, Yes, all right, I do
not break eye contact. Keep it on in your left hand.
I am going to press into your left hand and
meet maul. You are going to extend your hand, keep
your palm flu hold it up. The Barreth will take
the meatball from your hand. She will lick your hole.
I don't do it yet. I'm sorry. Ok et your fingers.
She will lick your entire arm. Letter, maintain eye contact,
and he does. He presses this wet, gross meatball into.
Speaker 4: Your pald, not even a cooked meat. All do it?
Speaker 1: Eye contact, eye contact, eye contact, look, eye contact. Oh
that's a gift. And she does. She just a her
tongue is like rough and disgusting and freezing gold and
just wraps fully around your arm and slorps this thing
back in and then she kind of sits on her
haunches and wags her tail. Oh my god, I love
her all right. Next up, next up, move, move, keep
it moving, keep it moving.
Speaker 4: You got you got this?
Speaker 3: Okay, Skink, watch this happen and watched Pharah have no
problem whatsoever. And it was like, okay, okay, uh, it
already loves Farret, so it won't kill me. So I
go up and I hold out my little my right.
I hold out my right hand for the meatball. Right.
Speaker 1: He swats it away and he goes, wright. Wait, A
contact first, A contact, very important. Eye contact. You gotta
maintain eye contact. Okay, maintain eye contact and make a
willpower check for me.
Speaker 4: Oh oh.
Speaker 2: Seven okay, Oh wait, I didn't add my willpower.
Speaker 4: Oh you gotta do that plus two. That's a nine, nine,
beautiful nine.
Speaker 1: Uh. You feel a strong connection with Barry as you're
sitting there staring deep into her little berry eyes. So
as you're doing that, you see the Beret's eyes start
to wander, starts going, she starts pulling at her chains,
and he goes, wow, Wow, Bessie, Wow, Bessie.
Speaker 3: You And then Skink looks directly into the bear's eyes
and says, I know, I know what I smell like,
but very guess what, fairy, guess what, We've got something better.
Speaker 2: You don't want dead food. You don't want dead food.
Speaker 1: You want the meatball.
Speaker 4: You want the meatball.
Speaker 6: And then.
Speaker 1: All right in your.
Speaker 3: Hand, and Skink holds out the correct hand, this time
holds out the left hand.
Speaker 2: And and Skink doesn't break eye contact and is like,
you don't want the boats, you want the meat. You
want the meat.
Speaker 4: And I stick out my.
Speaker 2: My little arm, just.
Speaker 1: Whole hand, and then and then and.
Speaker 2: Then again, like holding the eye. Context slowly backs away
and just keeps whispering. Barry doesn't want the boat. Berry
doesn't want the boat kipped.
Speaker 1: From your hood. Pharah just Bury doesn't want to bounce
orlo steps up and she's like, yeah, this might as
well happen. He does that. He doesn't do amazingly, but
he does get through the process. And then Tula steps up,
goes Tula will let the creature partially eat hand. Okay,
this is fine, Tula does. Tula immediately has a rapport
with this creature. She walks off. She walks up, and
Barry just sits on his haunches.
Speaker 4: Well to her. Berry's her.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Mary just sits on her haunches.
Speaker 3: I also love that maybe the trainer has noticed or
hasn't noticed it doesn't care that he introduced the bear as.
Speaker 2: Bessie and the both of us have just completely ignored this.
Speaker 1: And he immediately immediately doesn't care. He's like, all right,
whenever you're renting her. Yeah, Tula walks up to this
thing and it sits down. She sits down before she's
even done anything. And the trainer is like, all right,
we're gonna do eye contact. And Tula just reaches out
and scruffles its little ears. This is good bear, so great.
I love that, all right so much. Well, we're still
gonna all right, here's the and she just like grabs
the other meatball and like hands it to him, and
he just hmm, okay, Well, you've already paid your fees,
and we expect you back roughly. We'll say two weeks
plus or minus a couple of days, we understand whether
and all that. Thank you very much for renting old
Berry here. And I very much hope you all don't die.
If you do, I will keep your deposit. Goodbye. Wow.
And he turns and leaves, and Gallio kind of takes
over us. Great, all right, So.
Speaker 3: And he looks over and it was like, were there
no directions about how does the bear take instructions?
Speaker 4: Do I have to know how to tell it to
start and stop?
Speaker 1: What? Oh there's a yeah, don't worry about that. And
he hands you a little pamphlet and there's just like
six words on it, just like go stop. Like here's
the thing. Once you hook this led to it, you
basically like there's there's like rains that it has, and
like you're mostly making suggestions like it's gonna do what
it's gonna do, but like it should be fine. You know,
I feel likes you generally it's fine. It's like having
a dog. The instructions are vague but passable.
Speaker 4: I want to be scratches screeches behind the ears. Wow,
this is how big is this thing? Compared to farah massive?
Speaker 1: It's bigger than orlow.
Speaker 4: I mean like, yeah, I envisioned this like teeny tiny
if you will, Toyota like viewers out there, viewers and
listeners out there, like envision this tiny like metal metaloid,
three foot creature petting a creature of the size of
a car.
Speaker 1: Yeah, like like Berry is roughly rhinoceros sized, like for
the real world scale, Like it's with the tail and
everything is a little bit you know, the mass is different,
but whatever, but she's fu.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're just lucky that Barry thinks were cute.
Speaker 1: Did the DM write down all your checks? Yes, yes
he did. Gallio kind of goes okay, so and he
shows you kind of like how to hook the sled
up to Barry's harness and how to take it off,
and he gives you some basic instructions. I'm like, all right,
these satchels here are for feeding Barry. If you run out,
you can always let her go hunt. She may not
come back until she's done, but usually they'll come back.
If they don't, you're stranded and you'd either walk home
or die. So try and stick to the rations if
you can. And he walks you through like all the
different rations and tools and everything that are in your
equipment that he set up for you kind of you know,
basic survival stuff, and he goes, okay, So here's the
thing you've imprinted on the barrath for now. You can't
actually take this thing like crapesing through town. That's why
we're on the outskirts here. So if you want to
stay in town right now, one of you has to
stay here with it or it causes a lot of problems. Otherwise, okay,
otherwise you're ready to leave whenever.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think we were already ready to leave.
But if you guys want to do anything off day
with Berry, okay.
Speaker 3: Skink starts doing a mental check, like Gallio got all
of our stuff ready ahead of time, like he made
our packs. He got everything ready for a flint mining
you know, flake flake mining expedition, So the packs are set.
I mean he's got two packs. We only asked for two,
Orlo and Tula brought whatever. They got their own stuff.
They're fine, and we've eaten, we've got, we've got everything
we need. So really it's like a vibe check.
Speaker 1: We get in the wilderness.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm ready, I'm ready, excellent, borlok.
Speaker 1: Not it my first time. Let's uh we can go
ahead and do this.
Speaker 2: All right, okay, pip uh you ready?
Speaker 1: Okay? Mother?
Speaker 2: Can I get a pop pop? Okay? Now now we
can go.
Speaker 1: You guys set off into the snow and ice north
of Oscar, heading off into the waterness towards the Bulwark Mountains.
Speaker 3: I just want to say, Skink is going to use
whisper to tell Lady Syve that the party is setting off.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, so go ahead. Are you gonna just like
fully pump how much power you're putting into it? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I mean how far are we from? I mean you're
a Crosstown I'm across town.
Speaker 4: It's taken to five hundred Is that five hundred feet?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Five hundreds about as far as you could get it,
So it was pretty good chance she wouldn't be within
range whisper.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, they never mind.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, so you guys set off. It's early in
the morning, so still dark out here, but the skies
are clear. We have this beautiful Aurora borealis effect happening
that faray you had previously observed as you set off
into the snow and ice. Part of your pack does
include a map, and so Orlo kind of reviews it
with you guys and reviews Lady sives notes and sketches
off like the general path of travel and direction. I
have some questions for you. Orlo explained it's gonna be
about fifty miles to the base of the mountains, where
you're gonna have to leave the sled. Do you want
to set a hard pay to get there faster but
run some risk of like mishap and mayhem? Are you
gonna set just a steady pace and potentially take up
to an extra day?
Speaker 4: I vote steady.
Speaker 3: I was gonna say steady. I don't want the bears
to be mad at us on the first day.
Speaker 1: Okay, Barry, So you guys set off. The centaurs are
able to sort of keep pace with Barry, who lopes
along in this crazy, like just lumbering motion but seems
to be like tongue wagging out, just having the time
of her life. The centaurs keep up in like a
brisk trot, kind of off to the side. There are
portions where the snow is a little bit deeper and
they have to slow down. Berry plows through it. It's
just like it's a little bit like being on a
boat that's like cutting through choppy water. Sometimes when you're
in the more of the drifts than everything, Barry just breaks.
Snow drifts over her head and just you guys get
showered if you're riding on the sledge, I assume yeah, yeah,
so you guys clinging onto the sled back there like
with the rains kind of between you and Pip, just
sort of flapping in your in your hood.
Speaker 2: I think also for the visual.
Speaker 3: Of the sled, Skink isn't even looking where they're going,
like after like once maybe for a little bit, they
were all heading forward, but Skink has decided to sit
down and just watch the town receipt.
Speaker 2: Behind, you know, as they go away.
Speaker 4: Farah is like face forward, like you know, if you've
ever seen like a picture of somebody in I don't know,
the tundra and they have like a fur lined hood
up and a scarf over their face and it's just
like covered in snow. That's what Sarah looks like right now.
Speaker 1: Like the cross country skiers the Olympics who are just
like frozen spit just do. Yeah, you guys charge off
into the snow and the ice. So traveling at a
normal pace, you guys can travel for roughly like eight
hour stints at a time. That allows time to stop
and have a break for meals and you know, normal
rest and leaf like energy and room for like other
activities during the day without any massive penalties to it.
If there is anything specifically a scene wise, you guys
want to run for like what you would have done
at lunchtime or anything like that, you can go ahead
and stop me. Otherwise we'll kind of just skip through
a couple of segments here as we go to kind
of cover eat up the time.
Speaker 3: I just love imagining Farah getting to feed Berry, you know,
during the breaks, and that's that's like all anyone is
living for is Farah's joy.
Speaker 2: Like Sarah's just pure unbridled joy of being with this
massive barras and we all just like watch you enjoy that.
Speaker 1: Very very clearly isn't really registering the sled and you, guys,
Berry is just like there's like a dog like energy
to this of just like I get to run like
just going, going, going. You do periodically have to kind
of stop and check in with orlow and check in
with a map and a compass and everything, like make
sure you're on the right vector. Skink, you watch Osk
recede into the distance, and like the glittering banks of
the frozen river and Osk in darkness, the town is
simply an array of tiny motes of light that fade
further and further into the blue black of the open
tundra until they finally recede into a fine point that
is indistinguishable from the glowing borealis above. As the day dawns,
you guys stop, You have a meal, You feed Berry.
Everyone else has their turn. You make sure you check
your vectors. There is a little bit, As Orlo explains,
there's a risk of drift out here, especially when you're
moving at high speeds. The barrif and foot traffic will
just follow the path of least resistance if the snow
drifts have shifted. If the ice is one way or
the other, you tend to wander, so it's important to
stop and check in check your stars, check your map,
check your compass, and make sure you're going still the
direction you want to go. As landmarks kind of fade away,
but so far you all seem to be on the
right path until you get to the point the sun
comes up weekly waning throughout the day, and then sets
once again, and you continue on for several more hours.
You get to a point where Barry is starting to
flag slightly. You guys are cold, rattled, tired, and Orlo
and Tula even look a little bit bedraggled, and they're
like it's probably time to stop and make camp. Not
much around here landmark wise. Orlo kind of directs you
over to a little bit of a holler between I
don't know if it's a holler on the ice, but
a holler between like two drifts of snow, like two
snow banks. And he's like a couple of ways we
could do this a little bit tricky with the barrath.
We could dig a shelter take a couple hours, or
we can just set up the tents. Shelter tends to
be a little bit warmer, but obviously a lot more work.
So it's up to you.
Speaker 4: Beara would like to sleep with Mary.
Speaker 1: Oh well, that's aggressively cute. Okay, we'll go ahead and
set up the tents here. That's fine, we'll cluster mine.
Or Low kind of helps you guys. Prepare you guys
are all everyone in this party has experienced travelers and
like wilderness campers and everything. There's some particular tricks about
camping comfortably on the tundra that Orlo kind of helps you, guys.
With Gallio, has you paid for the right stuff in
terms of like having things to keep yourselves comfortable and warm?
There's a very thick line tent with like multiple layers
to its walls and everything that he helps you set up.
There's even like ways to sort of like build in
a little fire pit between the different tents.
Speaker 4: Yes, darling, Pharah would like to, if the GM will
allow it, heat everyone's water bottle, of course, yeah, using
using hold on, using my minor enchantment ability.
Speaker 1: Minor enchantment. For sure, you do that. And Orlo is
immediately like, I am gonna put that into my sleep blanket.
That's what I'm gonna do. And you see, the centaurs
do have this little like it's not a sleeping bag,
but it's sort of like a big thick quilp that
they like tie around themselves. He's like he kind of
tucks that down between two layers. It's like that's delightful.
Love that, and everyone sort of like sets up a
little ring of shelter. Barry is fully taking up like
one side of it up against the sled to keep
kind of the wind off. Pharah, you are welcome to
cuddle up against Barry if you want to, sort of
maybe a little bit exposed to the elements here, but
between him and the fire, or her and the fire.
You're gonna be pretty fine.
Speaker 2: Where does Pip go?
Speaker 1: Pip is going in the fucking tent?
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely not.
Speaker 1: Mother and nestles into the little tent there, and you,
guys pass a beautiful night underneath the Aurora borealis, your
first night on the tundra. As you bed down to sleep,
I need you, guys. Let's go ahead to do Evans
or odds? Who wants to be Evans?
Speaker 3: I'll be even the wait I was even's last time.
I'm odds now, Okay, great, I'll be.
Speaker 1: Lovely? So who is evens? Farah?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Sarah?
Speaker 1: Yeah. As sleep takes you, Farah, your mind falls back
into this dreaming, liminal space, scenes and memories twisted and
broken and fragmented, all sort of morphing between the light
and color of the borealis and those strange patterns that
they sort of form without and within around the realm
of rubica, the lay lines the next side. The different
shapes sort of infect your dreams and seem to morph
and twist them and change memories, tweak details, make things
just a little bit different. I want you, Farah to
tell me what was the first time Farah experienced death?
I didn't say we were rolling for pip kids.
Speaker 4: Farah is a gnome of the Iron Clan. I actually
think her first experience in death would have influenced her
pursuit of becoming a blood mage. Her first experience with
death would have been when she's actually fairly young, like
maybe around seven, Okay, she would have experienced someone dying.
I don't think it would have been anybody close to her,
but somebody in the community of the Iron Gland dying
from a really nasty, like bloody wound. So like think
like old farm accident wounds where people would like like
chop their arm off or something. And I think, you know,
at the impressionable age of seven, she has the thought
of like, well, if I could control the blue blood,
I can control the death Farah.
Speaker 1: Seven years old. You are sitting on the floor of
your family's home. Does Farah have any siblings?
Speaker 4: She's got one. No, she's got one older brother and
two younger sisters.
Speaker 1: Your older brother bursts into the room. Where's mother, I
don't I don't know. Ah runs off into the back.
You hear him shouting and screaming. Your mother and father
both rush out, with your older brother in tow One
of your younger sisters comes up behind, is Sarah, Sarah,
what are we supposed to do? Come on, I.
Speaker 4: Don't know what to do.
Speaker 1: You look outside and you see a number of other
gnomes from the Iron tribe have gathered around and are
bearing a stretcher towards your parents. Your parents' home on it.
One of your neighbors is collapsed and bleeding and kind
of screaming and writhing in pain. Your mother turns to
you says, get girls, stay inside, please, you don't need
to see this. Your brother, however, runs over, ands Farah,
We're gonna need everyone's help today. I need you to
go get clean sheets, clean linens, tear them up into
strips like I showed you, and start boiling water. Can
you do that?
Speaker 4: I think?
Speaker 1: So? Okay, you go now, go get me if you
need help. But I need you to handle this.
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 1: He runs off.
Speaker 4: She's chanting in her head, clean water, boil water. She's
clean sheets, boil water, sheets, boiler.
Speaker 1: Farah runs off and starts to stokes the family stove.
It's always kind of running a little bit, especially this
time of year. You put a pot on, you get
the water, going uh and start ripping sheets. Your little sisters,
even though we're told to go into the back, come
back out and start to help. You tear the sheets
into thin, long strips. As soon you have a short
pile there, and someone shouts from the other room, Pharah,
what were those sheets? We need the water.
Speaker 4: We're goody, We're goody.
Speaker 1: You run back and you find a man, the neighbor
you've known your whole life, is sitting there, bleeding profusely.
The blood is dripping down the side of your bed.
They've put him in there, in your bed where you sleep,
because it was the closest to the door. Your mother,
the town healer, is rushing to help treat him. I
think at this moment, Parah has a realization, where's you
weren't It wasn't fast enough, No one was fast enough.
This man was dead before he got here. He just
hasn't caught up with him yet. You deliver the water,
you deliver the sheets. I think there's a moment too,
where you realize that all of the adults in here
know it. They're still doing it, they're still moving with urgencies,
they're still doing what they're supposed to do. But you
see this hollowness in their gazes where they.
Speaker 4: Know is he gonna die? Mama?
Speaker 1: You realize your mother has kind of like forgotten that
you were in the room and turns and cars uh.
And then your brother quickly turns and ushers you out
of the room. You never receive the answer directly from
your parents, but in a way that was already the answer.
Speaker 4: Skink, thanks for a traumatizing dream.
Speaker 2: Gm uh my skanks. First a counter with debt.
Speaker 1: Oh, totally different, totally different, skink. It's so fucking cold
up here. Yeah, it's so fucking cold. As you descend
from the clouds, the buzzing drone of wings all around you,
this constant the megabella are struggling to push through these
storms and the winter. These are not creatures that are
made for this climate. You told them that every night
in your company, told them that. As you dive towards
the tundra below, and yet the carnage unfolding before you
is obvious for all to see. It may not matter.
The giant bees won't last a full winter here. But
you have a damning realization as you dive into the melee,
as arrows and magic pierce your shield, and scratch your
armor as you are thrown from your mount. It won't matter,
because they were never going to make it that far
to begin with. You hit the ground. The bee that
you have raised from a calf from a drone is dead,
slain before you, a six armed monstrosity raises up out
of the snow and tundra and cleaves two men asunder
in front of you. You raise your sword, you scream
for beacon, you charge into combat. You both awaken cuddled
against Barry, the centaurs storing in their tent off to
one side, and for the fleeting, faintest moment, as you
look up into the morning borealis above you, you see
onyx black eyes shot through with veins of violet. And
that is we are. Where we are going to end
episode eight of the Nick's Archivegan I am joined as
always by the lovely Pharaoh played by Maddy and of
course the goblin necromancer Skink.
Speaker 4: What the hell.
Speaker 1: You're out of the town now, kitties.
Speaker 2: I love that dream, very exciting.
Speaker 4: Yeah, what.
Speaker 1: Stuff into it? And we are going to talk about
that on the day's end talkback after show, which is
available to all of our patrons. You're gonna be one
of them, right. For as little as one dollar, you
can support us for as little as three. You can
get access to the after show, and we have tears
going up to shout outs at the end of the episode,
which I would do right now if anyone had signed
up for that yet, but we just launched the Patreon,
so probably going to be a minute. And you can also,
of course get early access to next week's episode. What
are you doing? Go do that. That's all for us
here tonight, wherever you are in space and time.
Speaker 4: Hi