Anthony 0:00
Greetings, adventurers and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I am your Dungeon Master. My name is Anthony Reed. This is the ninth episode in the first episode of the Brass Palace story arc. And wow, I am thrilled. Thank you to our patrons, patreon.com/adventureinc. But thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting the show, for caring about the show, for putting a little bit of your money and your support where it counts. And if you’re not a patron, you can. You can do that. You can go there and be a patron, and becoming a patron gets you access to things like bonus episodes with special guests. It gets you access to be able to participate in the Beholder sessions at certain levels and the secret patron chat on our Discord. So, head over to patreon.com/adventureinc and become a patron. There’s cool stuff over there for you. If you’re looking for a different way to support the show, you can go to adventureincpod.com and pick up one of the t-shirts that are over there. There are some limited edition Spellslinger t-shirts that will be available until September 1st. And then something new will take their place, so don’t miss out your opportunity to get a Spellslinger shirt as, you know, we got some time, but it’s slipping away. There’s also some stickers and posters and things on the on the store. So go and check that out. It’s another way to support the show. All right, let’s get started.
Hello, folks, I want to talk to you about the East Coast Trolls and their Kickstarter for the World of Copernia and the Oakhaven anthologies.
I watched salt fires burn in the outpost, a mile or two from the sea walls. Council barricaded themselves in their shops and homes. Unearthly deep shouts and depraved laughter echoed out of the halls and into the streets. I noticed on the mountain we were all older, hardened veterans of conflicts that slipped into the faded and memories of few of us left. We charged from Eastgate. Ran hard. As we approached through the war cries and screams of clansmen and women. By the time we achieved, the plateau was all but silent, there was only one survivor. Just a wee bit of thing. I carried her back with me.
What you just heard is an excerpt from what I think might be one of the coolest features of the Copernia campaign setting. The digital version of the product comes with voice files like this for you to enhance your game, even if you’re not that great of voices. I really love this approach of utilizing the technology to its fullest to support and guide the game. It’s the touches like this that are going to make the Copernia campaign setting a must. Head to their website, EastCoastTrolls.com and sign up for the Kickstarter mailing list so that you are on the front lines when the Kickstarter goes live. Don’t miss this opportunity. I think it’s going to be very, very cool. And you’re not going to want to have let this one slip you by. That’s the world of Copernicia and the Oakhaven anthologies on EastCoastTrolls.com.
Nobles and farmers, knights and scoundrels gather round, gather round to hear a tale of excitement and mystery. Brave adventurers, facing grave dangers.
Belroth, the Ranger.
Belroth 4:03
She’s a grimalkin. That’s understood. No pets allowed. Even though she’s not a pet. I will wait outside. Everyone, if anyone needs anything. I am outside.
Anthony 4:12
Skarpin, the Cleric.
Belroth 4:15
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?
Skarpin 4:17
Yeah, okay. I did say they were as good as dead. I would hate to break my word on our first contract with Adventure Incorporated.
Anthony 4:26
Ellori, the Bard.
Ellori 4:29
We would want you to leave this warehouse.
Anthony 4:32
He points behind you. Church!
Ellori 4:34
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.
Anthony 4:39
Deeran, the wizard. He say you no, worship Shattered Fang.
Deeran 4:44
Yeah, man. He’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth, uh Shattered Fang, man.
Anthony 4:49
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated.
Let’s get started. So, as the four of you are planning to venture to the Brass Palace, Hobern has set you up with a small contract through the Commission Legion to escort a caravan that is traveling from here to the Brass Palace. Traveling with a caravan is always going to be a better travel than traveling by yourselves on the road. It’s faster, and you can make money on it. Plus, there’s, you know other people, so he sets you up. It’s not a ton of money and not a ton of gold, but it does leave today. So you have a couple of hours in town before the caravan leaves to do whatever you want to do in town.
Skarpin 5:52
Adventure shop!
Anthony 5:54
Shocked.
Deeran 5:57
Wow.
Belroth 5:59
Belroth is gonna buy studied leather because like, come on, he’s gonna do whatever that costs. He’s just buying it. Sure it’s not hard to find. 45 gold pieces?!
Anthony 6:10
The adventure shop does sell studded leather along with its other magic items. So I’m gonna go ahead and reroll what our magic items are here and send you guys the link.
Belroth 6:27
I’m not gonna buy the studded leather until I see if there’s fancy studded leather. Like, magical or something.
Skarpin 6:36
Or just fancy like sparkly.
Belroth 6:38
I mean, I’d be open to either.
Deeran 6:47
You guys, I hope if there’s tattoos this time they’re not…I just hope they’re better.
Belroth 6:54
But you know, that tattoo really was helpful for me. Actually, I was the only one who got through to the other side without any severe negative effects.
Ellori 7:05
Oh no, I did fine as well.
Belroth 7:07
Oh, well. Never mind.
Deeran 7:09
We’re all on the same page now man. True. Except like only one of us has that tattoo on their foot.
Skarpin 7:19
Yeah, it looks all sun faded now too.
Belroth 7:24
I need to I need to re-empower it, but it’s kind of expensive spells. We haven’t we haven’t gotten any more Spellstone down right?
Anthony 7:35
Um, you didn’t last time. You can purchase spell stone, but no, you did not get more spell stone.
Deeran 7:43
Like do you just like ground it up into, like a pumice and, like rub it on there? Like, a cream? How does it work man?
Belroth 7:53
I don’t quite know.
Anthony 8:00
You walk into Elgroman’s shop, and he immediately is like, Deeran?
Deeran 8:10
Yeah, man I know. Hands and pockets.
Anthony 8:13
All right. And, Belroth, we good?
Belroth 8:18
I’m good. And Freya is also good.
Anthony 8:23
Outside. Freya is outside, right?
Belroth 8:27
No, but I will. I will set her up outside. I got a little bowl of food for her.
Anthony 8:33
That’s fine. Just set her up outside.
Belroth 8:36
I’ll tie her to this. You’re- I guess. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.
Anthony 8:43
Welcome
Ellori 8:44
Hi Elgroman!
Anthony 8:44
Oh, hello, Ellori. How are you?
Ellori 8:47
I’m doing so good. How are you?
Anthony 8:49
I’m doing great. You guys look like, well, honestly, I mean, you look like you’ve started adventuring. You look like fledgling adventurers.
Ellori 8:59
We actually came from the Demon Isles.
Anthony 9:02
Wow. Wow, that was fast. You, you didn’t leave that long ago.
Skarpin 9:08
Yes, I actually brought you something this time. And he takes a purple flower with teeth on it and hands it to Elgroman.
Anthony 9:16
What the hell is this?!
Skarpin 9:17
I picked it right from the Demon Isles. The island of Protection.
Ellori 9:23
You didn’t tell us that your trees have eyes there.
Anthony 9:26
They don’t.
Belroth 9:28
They don’t normally.
Skarpin 9:30
Yeah, I think we… yeah, that’s true. That’s the weird things that are happening, but still! Probably one of a kind then.
Anthony 9:38
He takes it from you. I’ve never seen anything like this. Is everything okay there? Are people all right.
Skarpin 9:47
Oh, no, a lot of chaos, death. It’s terrible.
Deeran 9:59
But like, um, you know, like, everybody seems like they’re doing all right with like, you know, the like, evacuation efforts and everything. Like trying to make things better.
Belroth 10:13
But clearly giving more information. There appears to have been- I don’t know which island you were from originally or your family hails from, but there seems to have been something at the Temple of Protection that did something. I’m not an expert in this sort of thing, but there were some creatures expelling from it. We were over there trying to do our best to help with evacuation efforts, prevent any damage we could, but it was awful, Elgroman. I’m not going to lie. Not looking good. I also got this. And he lowers his shirt a little bit. The spike that still sticking in him is there that he can’t remove now, right?
Anthony 11:14
Um, correct.
Belroth 11:17
I don’t know if it affects me but it’s there.
Anthony 11:19
Correct.
Belroth 11:21
I might have to go to a hospital.
Deeran 11:25
Magic doctor.
Anthony 11:27
Elgroman says: I don’t have much of a connection to the isles anymore, but you know, it’s always terrible to hear about things like that. I’m sorry. You know, it sounds like it was rough, but I’m glad that you all survived to come here and spend some coin, so you get an opportunity. What will it be?
Skarpin 12:02
Got any flying brooms?
Anthony 12:04
I do not. I do not have any flying brooms right now. I do have this. This you might love. He picks up a tall glass bottle with a cork in it, swirling mist inside. He says: if you pull the cork out and you use the phrase then smoke will just pour from it. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one of these, but, uh, very popular. Lots of people love it. It just pours out of it, and then you get to say the phrase and pop it back in to seal it up, but it’s a good one.
Skarpin 12:39
Seems cute. How about these Eyes of Charming?
Anthony 12:46
Let’s see. Ooo, these are a spicy little number, these ones are. Now they are, not obviously- you know, the name is a little misleading. Obviously, as you can see, they are lenses that fit over your eyes, not actual eyes.
Skarpin 13:04
Yes, I think they’d look great on me.
Anthony 13:09
Oh, okay. Why we put those back down till you paid for them? You can use these to make people around you more amicable to you.
Skarpin 13:22
What do you think Belroth? You have some. I feel like I look would good in glasses too.
Belroth 13:30
Belroth looks at Skarpin and notices that, like the glasses clearly having not been attuned are yet are meant for, like a humanoid face, so they’re just kind of like on his nose and the eyes are a little offset. I assume they’ll move, but it looks like when cartoons put like glasses on that are not functional. Like they’re just kind of there. Looks good. Looks great.
Skarpin 13:59
Oh, then I’ll take them! I’ll take them, Elgroman. Thank you.
Anthony 14:04
Um I honestly, I didn’t expect you to be able to come in here and drop this kind of coin so quickly. Um, that’s exciting. Cool.
Skarpin 14:15
Now I have 0 gold… Nope, can’t buy them.
Deeran 14:25
Oh, no. What’s going on?
Unknown Speaker 14:27
Oh, no, no, no, I misread my written down list of gold coins.
Anthony 14:36
You miscounted your coins?
Skarpin 14:40
Is that what you call it? It must be a regional thing.
Belroth 14:43
He has a little ledger book that he’s been keeping track of these things, and then he started counting.
Ellori 14:51
It’s, it’s okay, Skarpin. I can do the thing that that the lenses do, but without lenses. So, if we ever come across a person that you’re like, I really wish I had those lenses-
Skarpin 15:04
Yeah, maybe you can make them for me.
Ellori 15:05
-maybe that’s our keyword for me to do the thing that I don’t need the lenses for.
Skarpin 15:09
I’ll keep an eye out. I’ll keep an eye out. Excellent.
Ellori 15:12
It’s a, it’s a joke because of eyes.
Anthony 15:15
So you’re not gonna buy the lenses then?
Skarpin 15:18
Uh, no.
Anthony 15:22
Okay… He slides them back and puts them behind the glass to be cleaned.
Deeran 15:29
Check this out Belroth. And Deeran like points with his like elbow. You said that you wanted like some studded leather, man. This stuff looks awesome.
Belroth 15:42
Belroth walks over and he inspects it and he looks he’s very excited. Then he looks at the price. Diam’s eyes! Oh, um, I do have- oh my goodness.
Anthony 15:55
Oh, I see glamoured studded leather has taken your eye. It is a mere 12,320 gold for you to take this home with you today. A very rare piece, indeed.
Belroth 16:07
I was so, I was so surprised. I mixed up two exclamations.
Deeran 16:14
No, man. I get it. It’s like perfect for you.
Belroth 16:19
Colliesto’s eyes and Diam’s Ashes. I was like, oops!
Deeran 16:19
Yeah, no, man. I knew what you were saying. It’s crazy, but like, what good luck you have to like stumble across this, right man? Are you going to buy it?
Belroth 16:28
Deeran, can you look at the price tag?
Deeran 16:32
Oh, I can’t take my hands in my pocket to flip it around, man.
Belroth 16:37
Belroth positions it so Deeran can see.
Deeran 16:47
Oh, Diam’s eyes, man!
Belroth 16:48
So you see why I mixed up our expressions.
Deeran 16:51
Honestly though, like that’s so much gold.
Anthony 16:55
It’s a rare piece you know? It’s valuable.
Belroth 16:59
Do you have something like this but less expensive?
Anthony 17:04
I mean not like this. This is one of a kind. I don’t have anything like this but less expensive. I mean I could get you some some studded armor if that’s what you want some some leather armor.
Belroth 17:20
That’s okay. Yes.
Anthony 17:25
45 gold.
Belroth 17:25
This looks very- 45 gold?! 40 gold.
Anthony 17:32
I’m sorry. He points at the sign above the door that says “No negotiating”.
Belroth 17:37
Oh, you’re right.
Ellori 17:48
Um, hey, Elgroman?
Anthony 17:50
Yes, Ellori.
Ellori 17:52
Can you tell me a little bit about this? And she’s going to point to the recorder looking item, the Instrument of Illusion.
Anthony 18:09
Standby.
Ellori 18:09
I’ve decided it’s a recorder so that every time I use it, I can go ~recorder sounds~.
Belroth 18:24
~Illusion~
Ellori 18:24
~Hot Magic. Cast a little. Do a little hot magic.~
Anthony 18:41
So yes, this is an Instrument of Illusions. While you are playing the musical instrument you can create a harmless illusory visual effect within a five foot radius sphere centered on the instrument. If you are a bard the radius increases to 15 feet. Sample visual effects include luminous mus- I like that they said sample here. Here’s some samples guys. Here are some some samples that have come with the flute in case you’re curious. As he’s blowing these notes a spectral dancer, dances over his head.
Ellori 19:31
~Spectral dancer! Dancing for magic!~
Anthony 19:40
It just like swirls over his head and then it like bursts into butterflies. And then the butterflies fly up and ~poof~ into gently falling snow.
Belroth 19:51
I like the idea of samples because all I can think of is paint swatch.
Anthony 19:58
The magical effects have neither substance nor soud, and they are obviously illusory, but the effects ends when you stop playing.
Ellori 20:12
Her fingers are moving, but they’re not- her fingers are itching for this. I think that I’m gonna buy it. I would love, I would love to make it look like the snow was falling outside even if the snow is not falling outside. Can you imagine anything better than that?
Anthony 20:34
Ellori, I would be thrilled for you to purchase this. That would be, you know, the first purchase of your group of anything of significance and not mundane, or a tattoo. You did by a tattoo, Belroth.
Belroth 20:48
I did buy a tattoo, but that’s fine. You can-
Anthony 20:51
I would be thrilled.
Belroth 20:52
-blow me off that’s fine.
Anthony 20:53
I would be thrilled, Ellori.
Ellori 20:56
Okay. She counts out 190 gold. And she hands it over.
Anthony 21:03
He accepts it happily.
Ellori 21:06
And then she kind of like looks at it, like she’s waiting for permission to pick it up.
Anthony 21:10
And he nods. He gives he nods his permission.
Ellori 21:14
So she takes it and like holds it and observes it in her hands, like she really wants to test it out, but she knows how precious Spellstone magic is and she doesn’t want to waste her charges.
Anthony 21:25
So the instrument of illusion does have four charges and a capacity of four charges. So it’s full right now. When you use the instrument, one charge is good for one hour, and then it takes two Spellstones to recharge a charge.
Ellori 21:49
4 charges. 2 Spellstones. 1 hour.
Belroth 21:54
Hey, Deeran, I don’t know if you saw this one.
Deeran 21:59
His face is mashed up against the window. He’s not touching anything with his hands, but his face is like pressed against the window while he stares at the Hat of Wizardry.
Belroth 22:09
I see you seen the thing that I was pointing out.
Deeran 22:14
Oh, what, man? Sorry, I got distracted by this hat.
Belroth 22:17
That was what I wanted to show- never mind, it’s fine. I’ve got everything I need I think.
Deeran 22:23
It’s so stupid looking, but like, I feel like I really need it, man.
Anthony 22:31
Ah, the Hat of Wizardry.
Deeran 22:36
Yeah, Elgroman. I know you said hands and pockets all the time, man, but like- and he shakes his coin pouch, like through his robes. Can I like put out a deposit to try this thing on?
Anthony 22:51
Yes, you can put down a deposit of 160 gold, and then you can wear it for one minute, and if you are displeased I will give you half your gold back.
Deeran 23:07
Come on, man, I just want to make sure it fits first before I like buy it.
Anthony 23:13
So, okay, here’s the thing about this hat. It will fit you. I promise it will fit you.
Deeran 23:22
Well, I mean, not like physically fit man. Like, I mean, like, you know, will it like fit my asthetic, man.
Anthony 23:29
He says, what do you see when you look at this hat?
Deeran 23:35
I see a cone shaped, like old style wizard hat. You know, like my grandpa’s grandpa would have worn if he were a wizard instead of like a boat captain.
Anthony 23:47
The wizard who the wizard who sold this to me who walked in here with this hat. His whole outfit looked like this, but yeah, he says the guy he got it from used to wear purple and gold trim robes, and the hat was a big tall purple cone with golden stars all over it and a little tassel at top on the top. When he took it from that wizard, as he bonded to it, the hat changed to match him.
Deeran 24:19
Oh, man, that’s so cool. Do you think that’ll happen for me, Elgroman?
Anthony 24:26
Yes. That’s why I told you that hat would fit you, that’s what I was- yes, I do, Deeran.
Belroth 24:34
Elgroman, what if he doesn’t have any good sense in fashion? What will the hat do?
Anthony 24:39
I don’t know, but it’ll fit him perfectly.
Belroth 24:42
I guess we’ll find out.
Deeran 24:43
Good thing I don’t have to worry about that, Belroth! And he does like a twirl. But maybe the guy I sell it to next we’ll have to worry about that. Good looking out, man. And Deeran plops down the gold for that. Then, in addition to that goes, hey man, I know it says no negotiation, but would you be willing to let go of that Scroll a Mind Whip that you got back there? Would you be willing to let that go for 199 instead of 200?
Ellori 25:35
Oh, Deeran, I can lend you a gold piece.
Belroth 25:36
I could lend you a gold.
Skarpin 25:37
It says no negotiating.
Anthony 25:38
It sounds like, no, I’m not. Sounds like you have plenty of other options to get that.
Ellori 25:45
I just want to make sure that we always have a shop to come back to. If Elgroman starts, you know, discounting scrolls at minus a gold piece every time somebody comes in, then what’s that scroll gonna cost a year from now? It’s gonna be not worth it for him to stay in business.
Anthony 26:03
Ellori, I appreciate you.
Deeran 26:04
It’d be a shame if like, we got cheaper stuff it because we weren’t willing to spend it, you know?
Ellori 26:12
Listen, I think that if the thing that we want is worth wanting, then it’s worth paying the price that is on the price tag.
Deeran 26:21
Was that like, a your grandma one?
Ellori 26:24
No, my grandma never said that because in our village, we don’t actually use money for buying things from each other. We actually use just goods and services that we trade because we work together as a community.
Anthony 26:34
I appreciate that. I think that’s very noble, but it is 200 Gold here. So, if it’s any consolation, will take the money you give me and trade it for goods and services. So, it’s kind of like you traded their goods and services to me for these things.
Deeran 26:54
So which one he will give me the 1 gold then?
Ellori 26:58
Ellori hands it over.
Deeran 27:00
That’s so cool.
Belroth 27:02
I would have recommended the Wand of Magic Missiles, but it has one charged in it and 6 Spellstone refill.
Ellori 27:09
Oh, my God.
Belroth 27:11
Fuck that.
Deeran 27:13
Well, so what I was wondering with the Wand of Magic Missiles, Anthony, because this is our first time having a like, a magic item that has its own charges and recharges.
Anthony 27:25
Correct.
Deeran 27:27
How does that work with Spellstones?
Anthony 27:29
Those are ignored.
Deeran 27:30
I know that’s like, really crunchy, and so listeners if you don’t care about mechanics that Anthony has made up, I’m so sorry.
Anthony 27:36
Well this is gonna be a very short conversation. Those are ignored. So, this object has 1 use to it before it must be recharged and it takes 6 Spellstones to recharge.
Belroth 27:50
That. Sucks.
Deeran 27:53
That’s super sucks. What a waste.
Anthony 27:54
Soometimes magic items aren’t gonna be good. That’s a choice you have to make.
Belroth 28:00
Those charges in recharges are just automatically generated.
Anthony 28:03
Yes.
Belroth 28:05
I didn’t know if you balanced them
Anthony 28:09
The number of charges an item can have will always be between 1 and 5, no matter what about the item. Whatever it is, it can have between 1 and 5 charges. Spellstones per charge is based on rarity. So, there is a range at which any item can fall in based off its rarity, and as items become more rare, the amount it takes to charge them up becomes higher. So ,that’s why if you look at that Ring of Fire Elemental Command, it has 30 Spellstone to recharge. The other side of that though, is that the number of Spellstones it takes to charge a thing. The higher the number of Spellstones that it charges, the lower the price comparatively.
Belroth 29:03
Got it.
Anthony 29:03
So if we had two Ring of Fire Elemental Command, one of them is a Spellstone per charge 30 and one of them was at 60, the price would be lower for the 60 one than it would be for the 30 one.
Belroth 29:14
Got it.
Deeran 29:18
It’s a million gold?
Anthony 29:20
Legendary items can be very expensive.
Deeran 29:26
Okay.
Belroth 29:27
Yikes. Elgroman, I-
Anthony 29:31
You getting another tattoo? You want another tattoo? Is that what’s happening?
Belroth 29:34
There’s a couple, but the Masquerade Tattoo looks great. I just don’t have the money. That seems like it would have been useful, but I also like not dying so that’s why I took the armor. The boring unenchanted armor.
Anthony 29:48
Yes.
Skarpin 29:54
Elgroman, you know, you know I eat a lot, and every- this pouch over here, it’s very interesting. Every time I smell and think of a different spice, it smells different. What is that?
Anthony 30:09
Oh, yes, well, you are looking at a very special, a special piece of magical power here. Let me see where this is, you are looking at an old wizard named Heward. Heward was a bit of an aficionado for the cooking arts. So, this is Heward’s Handy Spice Pouch. He made a dozen of these to try and commercialize, couldn’t get anyone to, you know, pick up the process because it’s an immense amount of Spellstone to make them. Then they’re just the too high on the overhead for most places to bother with, but they’re very cool. They’re so nice, the belt pouch, it looks like it’s empty, and then while you’re holding it, you can think of the spice like you mentioned, and it’ll just be filled with that. A pinch is enough to season a single meal, and then you’ve got it. Pull out that little pinch of stuff. You put it on there, and boom. Your food is delicious.
Wow. I think I need it.
Okay. Yes, this one’s very nice. You’ll be able to do that five times. You know, get in there and get a little pinch of something, and then you will have to use some Spellstone to to re-empower it. Heward didn’t do a great job of creating this thing. It’s a little intense. It’s a hungry little pouch.
Skarpin 31:46
Yes, yes, it’ll fit right in.
Anthony 31:48
Perfect.
Skarpin 31:52
Great, great, great. I’m gonna go try it.
Anthony 31:53
He hands it to you.
Skarpin 31:54
And he leaves.
Belroth 31:56
So it just makes food taste good.
Anthony 31:57
Yes, food taste good, yes.
Deeran 32:07
Hey, man, I got these. Deeran tries to figure out a way to take the two like, gemstones that they found out of his pockets while keeping his hands in his pockets. So like, he like lifts his coat up and like, lays part of the like, coat on the table, and then like tries to like smooth it, like flip out.
Anthony 32:35
You’re pushing things off-
Deeran 32:37
-I’m sure I’m knocking things over
Anthony 32:39
-You’re pushing things aside and like he keeps like running over like putting his hands on things, like trying to keep stuff from falling off the counter. Deeran, Deeran, okay, all right. In this pocket right here? Is this what you’re trying to go for?
Deeran 32:52
Yeah, man, there’s two. There’s, there’s well there’s one more gem in there that looks just like that one. I wasn’t sure if you knew, like what these were.
Anthony 33:03
He picks it up, and he looks at it. I don’t know. I don’t know what these are, but I could buy them from you if you want. But, I’m gonna pay you what I would pay for like a gemstone. I don’t know if there’s something special about them or not.
Deeran 33:28
Well, what is that?
Anthony 33:31
Oh, I mean, these are pretty nice. Yeah. I’d say I pay 40 gold for this.
Deeran 33:41
I don’t know, man. They look like the kind of gemstones that you could like, use for magical reagents. You know what I mean?
Anthony 33:49
He puts it down. He says, Well, I won’t touch it if I’m not gonna buy it.
Deeran 33:56
I appreciate that, man. You mind just like dropping it back in my pocket?
Anthony 34:00
Well now we’re at an impasse because if I’m not gonna touch it and you can’t take your hands out of your pockets. Ellori, would you mind putting that in his pocket for me please?
Ellori 34:12
Yeah, no problem.
Anthony 34:13
I just feel like it’s only fair that if I asked you not to touch things you’re not going to buy, I don’t touch things I’m not going to buy.
Ellori 34:22
No, I think it’s a really good idea to model the expectation of behavior you have in your clients.
Anthony 34:26
Thank you, Ellori. I appreciate that.
Deeran 34:28
All right, cool. Um, well, will you at least put the hat on me then Elgroman since it like, was yours and now is mine.
Anthony 34:36
It’s not mine and I’m not buying it, so it’s not appropriate for me to touch this hat anymore.
Ellori 34:43
Do you and do you want me to put the hat on your head?
Deeran 34:45
I mean, I’ve got to wear it right?
Ellori 34:48
It feels a bit more ceremonial that way too. It feels like someone is placing this hat upon you.
Deeran 34:53
Ellori, that’s so kind to you. Yeah, I would love that, man.
Anthony 34:58
As she places it on your head, immediately the band like snaps to the right size around your head. So, it now fits perfectly. It still looks the same right now, but it fits perfectly.
Deeran 35:11
So it’s still like, dark blue with like bright gold stares on it or whatever.
Anthony 35:15
Like shabby, right? It looks, like real rundown and shabby.
Belroth 35:20
It clashes with you perfectly, Deeran.
Deeran 35:26
Belroth, like, I’m not, you know I’m not from Demon Isles, but like, if that’s supposed to be a compliment, man, it’s not.
Belroth 35:40
It wasn’t. Was I not clear, I’m sorry. It just looks ridiculous, but I’m happy for you.
Deeran 35:54
Now I know how you felt when I made fun of your tattoo.
It hurts, doesn’t it?
It hurts. Yeah.
Belroth 36:01
Let that be a lesson. A teaching moment.
Ellori 36:04
Speaking of hurting, um maybe with our time should we go try to find the healer to look at your chest, Belroth. If no one has anything else that they want to buy, Elgroman it has been a pleasure.
Belroth 36:17
I usually sleep on my stomach, and now I have to sleep on my back and it’s been a real hard habit to break.
Deeran 36:27
Yeah, I’m good.
Ellori 36:32
Skarpin?
I left.
Anthony 36:39
You look around. He’s just gone.
Ellori 36:40
Skarpin? Oh, okay. Um, all right, Elgroman, as always a true pleasure. A true delight. Thank you for everything you have here.
Anthony 36:52
You as well, Ellori. Enjoy that instrument.
Ellori 36:56
I will. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Anthony 36:58
And I’m so pleased that YOU bought something. Finally, someone from this group bought something and it just, it tickles me.
Belroth 37:05
Elgroman, I bought that tattoo.
Anthony 37:09
He doesn’t respond.
Deeran 37:09
I spent all my money, man. And Deeran, like uses his chin to, like roll the scroll off the counter and like squishes it against his chest to walk out the door with, as it like, crumples against the open door until he’s outside when he can use his hands again. He just stuffs it inside the inside pocket of his jacket. It’s like a sixth graders backpack.
Anthony 37:42
Oh, yeah. So, you guys are heading to the healer in town?
Belroth 37:51
Yes, please.
Anthony 37:51
Okay, so you head to the local chapter of the Celestial Host that does most of the healing in town. The building is fairly small. This part of the world- you’re right near Ashland, and Ashland has a lot of Celestial Host temples and places of worship and quite big ones, but people sort of travel to those. So, this is a much smaller ordeal, than those big ones that that people would go to. This isn’t a destination per se. It just is someone who helps out the town. So, when you arrive, it’s a very small home. There is a space where someone lives in the back and then a small side room for the healing arts where there’s a line of four beds. The human woman who is sitting at a little desk in the living area as you enter the space turns and she says, ah, welcome children of the light.
Belroth 39:03
Hello, I would like to see a healer about a barb that is bedded into my skin.
Anthony 39:10
That would be me. I am Berylla. It is a pleasure to meet you.
Belroth 39:15
The pasta?
Anthony 39:17
Yep, I guess so. She is B E R Y L L A, but we’ll go with- that’s fine. I mean it is what it is.
Belroth 39:36
Sorry, I apologize.
Deeran 39:39
Yeah, man he’s not from here.
Anthony 39:41
I totally understand.
Belroth 39:43
That’s how we pronounce it.
Anthony 39:44
I’ve had to tell Elgroman several times that it is Berylla, not-
Belroth 39:51
Barilla.
Anthony 39:52
Yes, thank you.
Ellori 39:55
Ijust want to say, I feel like I have to whisper in here, but you have a beautiful ambiance. It’s very nice. It feels like a good environment for getting healed.
Anthony 40:05
We try to make sure that the people who come through here are put at ease, and kept comfortable. Loud noises can be a real distraction when you’re trying to heal.
Ellori 40:17
Yeah, no, I totally understand. Usually I’m trying to do it in the middle of fighting going on, and boy does that mess with your brain.
Anthony 40:24
She nods.
Belroth 40:28
Where should I go or should I just show you the wound right now?
Anthony 40:31
Oh, yes, of course. Of course. Follow me. She takes you into the side room with-
Belroth 40:38
Can I bring Freya? Is that okay?
Anthony 40:40
Oh, of course.
Belroth 40:42
Okay, be good.
Anthony 40:45
Feya looks, like hurt, wounded that you didn’t think she’d be good. And she knocks something over on her way in.
Belroth 40:57
Like an incense of lavender.
Skarpin 41:02
Everyone falls asleep…because lavender is good for that.
Anthony 41:05
So, go ahead and have a seat here, and tell me what’s wrong.
Belroth 41:13
Well, I just have this, and he like, opens his like armor and reveals the barb.
Anthony 41:19
She pulls back a privacy screen while you’re taking your shirt down.
Belroth 41:25
There’s an incessant beeping you’re not sure where from, but you can’t escape it. It’s always the same volume no matter where you are in the hospital- in the Healing Center, sorry. Um, and he shows the barb. I had an encounter with a, I want to say, devil-like demonic creature. It sort of put it in here. Right?
Anthony 41:52
Okay, I’m sure the creature was very fearsome.
Belroth 41:55
It was very. It hurt. I had a second one, but I ripped that one out first. This one, I didn’t have time to, for a lot of reasons, and it seemed to have embedded itself.
Anthony 42:07
She pokes the skin around the barb, and you it’s very painful. Like, pain blossoms under wherever she presses against your skin. Then she gives it just the tiniest little pull, and that whole area just ~ugh~. Did that hurt?
Belroth 42:36
Oh, yes, very much, ouch.
Anthony 42:40
I’m going to try something. She closes her eyes, and she opens them back up, and she says, did that work?
Belroth 42:52
Did what work?
Anthony 42:54
Is it gone?
Belroth 42:56
He looks down.
Anthony 42:57
It’s not gone.
Belroth 42:59
It does not seem to be gone.
Skarpin 43:03
I just want the audience to know that this is pretty realistic.
Belroth 43:09
A visual bit of nothing happening.
Anthony 43:12
I will have to try something more serious. She turns behind her and goes to a small shelf. She brings back a vial of blood and a candle. She places the candle-
Skarpin 43:28
This is getting less accurate.
Deeran 43:32
We don’t know what’s about to happen.
Anthony 43:34
She pulls the cork on the vial of blood, and she pours it into her hands and rubs it onto both of her hands.
Belroth 43:45
Sterile!
Anthony 43:50
She begins to speak quietly, even more quietly. She says, Iora, God of blood and light. Bring me your guidance, your wisdom that we may face this darkness within this person and heal them of their ails. She breathes out onto our hands, and a flame erupts wherever the blood is on her hands, and she uses that flame to light the candle and it burns away quickly off of her hands and they seem to be fine. She holds the candle forward toward your chest, just to the end of this barb that is stuck in you. As she moves the candle toward you, like the second the flame touches the barb the flame winks out. Oh, that has not happened before.
Belroth 44:55
This has not happened before either.
Anthony 44:59
You said this creature was a fearsome monster.
Belroth 45:05
Yes, tail full of barbed, just like this. I would say demonic looking wings.
Anthony 45:16
You say? Like, like you?
Belroth 45:22
I don’t like that. I don’t really appreciate that description. Um, but I guess that is the closest description. I don’t consider myself demonic. I’m more devil-like. It’s very subtle. Demonic, very gross. Devil, handsome. Just want to make that clear.
Anthony 45:40
Okay, um
Belroth 45:44
So don’t say that again is what I’m trying to say.
Anthony 45:46
I don’t understand- I guess I’ve I’m not as traveled as many of our visitors tend to be. I’ve not seen a creature like that, and I don’t have the means to help you by more mundane methods, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to get much help with my magic either. I don’t think there’s anything I can do for you here.
Belroth 46:13
Well, do I owe you a copay? That’s the important part.
Anthony 46:16
Of course not. We help. There is a donation box you’re welcome to donate to if you would like to help support future people getting health provided for them. That would be something you could do.
Belroth 46:31
Sure. We’re traveling on the road. I don’t know if you have any person I could seek out to get this inspected because- I mean from my mild understanding of medicine this doesn’t look infected, but it doesn’t look like it’s able to go away by Divine, Arcane, or Alchemical, any of those easier means that we usually use. And touching it is a nightmare. I hate it
Anthony 47:06
If you were headed to the High Basilica, there are many who are more skilled with that kind of magic than I am. If you are not headed to the High Basilica, but you find yourself in the vicinity of the Brass Palace, there is a large enclave of healers there. Not all of them follow the same traditions that I follow. You may find others with more unique outlooks that could help you on your way.
Belroth 47:35
Oh, that’s excellent. Thank you so much. Berylla, I said your name correct. I will recommend- I will refer- I will mention your name. I don’t know what I’m trying to say. It still hurts a little bit after it was touched, so I’m just a little frazzled.
Anthony 47:58
Seek out the Enclave there then perhaps there is some help you can find.
Belroth 48:04
Okay, thank you so much.
Anthony 48:07
Indeed. Your time has now essentially expired. The caravan is preparing outside that has been using Redbridge as a way stop, and they’re getting ready to move on in the last leg of their journey.
Deeran 48:26
Hey man, everything worked out good for you in there?
Belroth 48:30
Belroth shakes his head no. Still there. Still hurts. Not infected
Ellori 48:39
Oh, that’s good.
Deeran 48:40
You gotta be quiet in here. The whole time Ellori was like, hey, shh. Every time.
Belroth 48:46
Who knocked over this incense?
Deeran 48:56
I guess it probably was me honestly.
Ellori 48:58
No, I’m just kidding. It was Freya.
Deeran 49:03
Oh, well, if Freya is gonna get in trouble blame me.
Anthony 49:06
Freya stands near the donation and looks at Belroth.
Belroth 49:17
Do you want to give it some treats? I don’t know what you want from me. They didn’t- He pops in five gold. Take that off. I bought nothing. Nothing!
Anthony 49:32
Information, Rob. You bought information?
Belroth 49:37
For five gold
Deeran 49:40
That sounds like a steal with Anthony.
Anthony 49:42
Information is the treasure, Rob!
Belroth 49:45
Usually when we get information, one of our family members died. It seems like a good price.
Deeran 49:53
All right. I guess.
Yeah, we should be getting back.
Let’s get going.
Skarpin 50:00
Skarpin meets y’all at the caravan.
Anthony 50:03
Skarpin’s already left again.
Deeran 50:11
What has Skarpin been up to?
Skarpin 50:13
I said I got my spices, and I’m gonna go try them out.
Deeran 50:18
And then you left, like what have you been doing?
Skarpin 50:20
Sure sure I said Skarpin’s going to meet you at the caravan. You hadn’t left the healers office. I wasn’t there to speak with you, so I said, Skarpin meets them at the caravan. And then, yeah.
Deeran 50:44
And then I asked where have you been.
Ellori 50:46
Hold on. Hold on. We get to the caravan.
Skarpin 50:49
Great. Oh, you guys gotten to the caravan?
Ellori 50:51
Hey Skarpin. What have you been up to in the past hour?
Skarpin 51:00
Not much, just waiting for y’all. Let’s get going.
Deeran 51:04
Wait, like you haven’t been doing anything. You’ve just been sitting here, man?
Ellori 51:09
Did you try your spices?
Skarpin 51:10
I didn’t. I couldn’t find anything to eat, and then I lost y’all, and I got worried. I just waited here. You were talking, and you couldn’t hear me, and I was very- I’m ready to go.
Ellori 51:32
Okay.
Anthony 51:33
A dwarf with a big potbelly comes around the corner of the caravan, and he says, hey, move around. Move along. We don’t need your kind hanging around.
Ellori 51:46
Oh, well, hello. We are The Expedition Society of Songs and…shit. Secrets-No.
Skarpin 51:54
Songs and Shit, I love it!
Ellori 51:59
She looks around. She’s like, oh my gosh, sorry. Hello. We’re The Expedition Society of Songs and Adventures, and we are here to escort your caravan to the Brass Palace.
Anthony 52:14
Oh, you need to be speaking to the caravan master, then. Follow me.
Ellori 52:21
And what’s your name?
Anthony 52:22
I’m Gallet.
Ellori 52:24
Gallet, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Ellori.
Anthony 52:27
He trundles off in a direction toward the head of the caravan. Are you following?
Ellori 52:36
I’m following. Oh, sorry. Yep.
Belroth 52:40
Quicker on his feet than I expected.
Anthony 52:41
And he actually kind of is, you know, for a heavyset, he’s moving pretty fast. He makes his way up to the front. He’s going to a big wide floppy leather hat that’s been, like oiled so that the rain will just bead off of it. He’s got a big long leather duster that’s scraping the ground as he walks. He carries a little, like a switch that he moves past the carriages and the oxen. It’s like one, he’s like brushing flies away from oxen and stuff like that, but you think like maybe it could be a little more-it’s probably for herding the animals along. So, he trudges up to the front is like, Talia! Talia, your recruits have come in. From the lead caravan, an older woman- she’s about four feet tall, and she has gray hair down to like the middle of her back, creases on her like tan skin. She comes out and she says, oh, you’re the adventures, are yeh.
Ellori 53:55
We are. I am Ellori and this is Belroth, Deeran, and Skarpin.
Deeran 54:01
When she says Deeran, Deeran is not there. Deeran has spaced out and is back where they left him.
Ellori 54:12
Oh, this is, this is Belroth and Skarpin. He’ll be along in just a minute time. Sure.
Anthony 54:18
I paid for 4. I expect 4.
Belroth 54:21
He’s, He’s back there. He’s just checking the rear flank for…defensive…purposes. I’ll go get him. I’ll go get them. Belroth goes back to get Deeran.
Anthony 54:35
Well, I don’t know about the lot of you, but the broker here says you’re good, so I’m gonna have to go ahead and take his word for it.
Ellori 54:45
We’re very happy to be here, and might I say your hair is beautiful. I love how long it is. I tried to grow mine out that long and I just couldn’t do it.
Anthony 54:54
Well, it doesn’t take any real skill. You just wait a long time. So, my name is Talia. If you need anything you can come and talk to me. This is hopefully going to be pretty easy track on the way to the Brass Palace, but you know, times are tight and you never know, so that’s why I have contracted with you. Of course it will be the agreed upon 20 gold when you arrive for each of ya. Top, top coin for this voyage.
Ellori 55:34
It is a pleasure and an honor to be moving alongside ya, Talia.
Deeran 55:39
Belroth when you get to Deeran you see him staring at his reflection in a puddle, as he’s like, turning the hat just a little bit at a time trying to get it to like look just right.
Belroth 55:57
Deeran-
Deeran 55:59
Hey, man.
What’s going on out there?
Belroth 56:03
Oh, we’re meeting- we wanted to meet with the head of the caravan. I’m sorry I insulted your hat. I don’t, I don’t- I’m not normally like that. I don’t know why I was so aggressive about that.
Deeran 56:16
I mean, I assumed you were like good natured ribbing me because like, honestly, and he looks down back at the puddle again, and he looks up at Belroth again and goes, honestly man this hat’s pretty sweet.
Belroth 56:33
Belroth bites his tongue.
Deeran 56:37
Deeran twists it one more time. Part of the like, shabbiness is like getting more pronounced. It’s starting to like curl over some getting.
Belroth 56:51
It’s quite interesting. It looks more weathered than when we originally got it.
Deeran 56:55
Yeah, man, I think it’s really starting to blend with me.
Belroth 57:00
Well, let’s go to the front. They just want to confirm that there are 4 adventurers, and we’re ready to go. If they ask why you are behind here, just say you’re investigating the rear defenses.
Deeran 57:13
I can totally say that. Yeah, this time Deeran follows along.
Anthony 57:23
There’ll be 3 meals a day. We’ll stop at midday, but only for about 20 minutes. So, eat fast. Fires at night, and then we’ll be rolling right around dawn.
Ellori 57:39
That sounds excellent. If you need anything from us, we are happy to help out in any other extra ways, but otherwise we’ll be keeping to ourselves and keeping an eye out on the roads.
Anthony 57:54
I don’t have any animals for you, so you’ll have to be on foot with the caravan however it is that you want to keep the caravan safe is up to you. If you need anything talk to Gallet. He’ll be out with you as well.
Ellori 58:10
All right, thank you so much, Talia.
Deeran 58:13
Hey, everybody, the back looks good.
Ellori 58:17
Good, Deeran.
Anthony 58:19
She climbs up into the front of the carriage after an exasperated sigh.
Ellori 58:24
Thank you for checking like we asked you to.
Deeran 58:27
Yeah, not a problem, man. Hey, I’m Deeran.
Anthony 58:30
She’s already gone.
Ellori 58:34
That’s Talia Deeran. She’s very nice.
Deeran 58:37
Hey, I’m Deeran!
Anthony 58:40
Gallet pokes his head from around the corner, and he looks at you. He scowls, and he just turns back around.
Ellori 58:49
I like your hat Gallet!
Anthony 58:51
Thank you.
Ellori 58:55
Why don’t we go away from- I don’t know.
Deeran 59:02
Yeah, how are we gonna do this? This caravan’s pretty long.
Anthony 59:07
It’s about 8 carriages long.
Belroth 59:13
Probably makes sense to kind of be dispersed in between all of them, or do we want say 3 people dispersed in between all 8 and 1 person taking a break or looking at a flank or something?
Deeran 59:28
Oh, I would kill for a break, man, and Deeran like, hops on the back of a close carriage.
Deeran we haven’t even started.
Yeah. And he’s eating the snacks that he had fed Freya earlier. Hey, Freya you want some of these too, man? He just throws some on the ground.
Belroth 59:55
She quickly goes at them.
Ellori 59:59
Would 8 caravans be front to back less than 120 feet.
Anthony 1:00:09
Math. Uh, yes. Yeah.
Ellori 1:00:11
It’s 15 feet per caravan divided.
Anthony 1:00:14
Yeah.
Ellori 1:00:16
Okay. All right. So, if we do want to if we want to take two in the front and two in the back, um, if I’m in the front, if something’s coming up on the road, I can let y’all know. I can do a thing with my brain that I put a thing in your brain. Like, like a, like a note, but in my words in your head.
Deeran 1:00:45
Oh, you can cast Message.
Ellori 1:00:48
Oh, yes.
Deeran 1:00:50
Yeah, man, I studied Message and decided I don’t need it.
Ellori 1:00:54
Oh. Oh, well.
Deeran 1:00:58
But I’m super glad you can, like that’s super useful for you.
Anthony 1:01:01
Flash back to Deeran getting an F in Message like 10 times.
Ellori 1:01:09
Well, so we could do that, just to let you know where to go, and maybe we could find a signal if you’re in the back and something’s coming up from there maybe something that you could do to let us know. Well, sure.
Deeran 1:01:21
Well, sure yeah, I could fire Ray a Frost into the trees.
Ellori 1:01:27
Yeah, like a like a little flare.
Deeran 1:01:33
Frost. Not fire.
Belroth 1:01:38
I was thinking actually, Ellori. I think it might make more sense if you’re in the rear of the caravan because what if the last caravan gets peeled off and the rest of the caravan doesn’t notice, especially in the Twilight hours?
Ellori 1:02:02
Well, sure, that would be- absolutely. That’s why I’m trying to troubleshoot something, so we have a message from the front and the back.
Belroth 1:02:09
Well, I think that’s a good idea, and I think maybe I could also use Freya to send Freya to notify you all as well, because Freya is faster than me by, you know, 10 feet.
Deeran 1:02:27
Oh, hey, what about this? And Deeran hops out of the back of the carriage and runs to the very back of the caravan.
Anthony 1:02:37
Which has just started moving the caravan is now starting to roll.
Deeran 1:02:41
Perfect. And so once he finally gets there, like luckily the caravan is coming with him right. So, once he gets there, he’s gonna yell out to everyone where they were. Can you hear me man?
Anthony 1:02:59
Gallet comes around the corner. Yes!
Deeran 1:03:04
Oh, sorry, man. I meant the rest of my group up there.
Ellori 1:03:09
Oh, do we roll to hear?
Anthony 1:03:11
Um, no, you can hear him It’s fine. You hear him yelling like distantly.
Skarpin 1:03:20
Skarpin gives a thumbs up.
Ellori 1:03:21
Ellori points to Deeran and she sings ~Here in New meritta we send Message, we send Message. Sending out the details through a link between our minds~ Yeah, we can hear you.
Deeran 1:03:41
Perfect, man. Why don’t we do this?
Ellori 1:03:47
Ellori looks at Belroth and Skarpin and says, I just feel like my way is better.
Belroth 1:03:52
Your way is definitely better. Why don’t you and Skarpin take the front and me and Deeran take the back.
Ellori 1:04:00
Okay. Perfect.
Anthony 1:04:04
So, Belroth, you and Freya make your way towards the back as the caravan begins to travel down the road and out of Redbridge and on to the Brass Palace.
Hey everyone. DM Anthony here, just reminding you that if you’re enjoying the show, tell your friends, tell your family. Let people know word of mouth. And you can support the show at patreon.com/adventureinc, or you can check out the shop at adventureincpod.com/shop. Make sure you check the show notes and the website for all our social media, including our Discord where you can come and hang out with some great people. We’ll see you there, and until next week, I wish you nothing but critical success.
Adventure Incorporated 1:05:18
Serious Business.
We’re Super Serious!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai