Anthony 0:01
Greeting, adventurers. Welcome. This is the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I am your Dungeon Master. My name is Anthony Reed. This is Episode 13, and it is part of the Brass Palace story arc. I want to thank our patrons at patreon.com/adventureinc who make the show possible, who have supported the show financially with their human dollars to let us do really, really bad things with the show. I’m just, I’m so thrilled that people get value out of the show, and they want to give that value back. I also want to thank a whole bunch of other people too, people who have written reviews on iTunes or all their various other services. You know, to go and give a five star review takes a couple of minutes, and it’s very low effort for you. It doesn’t cost any money, and it helps us, you know, guide the direction the show and hopefully get the word out a little bit more. I mean, anything we can do to help spread the word, evangelize for this podcast is so helpful to us, and we’re so grateful for it. Thank you to everybody who’s spread the word on social media or told a friend. Whatever you can do to spread the word, we’re so eternally grateful. All right, I think that’s all this week. Let’s get started.
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 1:46
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 1:55
Skarpin, the Cleric.
Belroth 1:58
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?
Skarpin 2:00
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 2:08
Ellori, the Bard.
Ellori 2:12
We would want you to leave this warehouse.
Anthony 2:15
He points behind you. Church!
Ellori 2:17
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.
Anthony 2:22
Deeran, the wizard.
He say you no, worship Shattered Fang.
Deeran 2:27
Yeah, man, he’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth- uh Shattered Fang, man.
Anthony 2:32
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated.
Wesley leads you out of the area inside the palace, back through the gates that you just came through, down into the old part of town. He leads you around the town square to the back parts of town. It’s looking a little rundown back here in old Mughamar. As he takes you down the street to a building, there’s a like, a home here that looks pretty rundown. It’s seen better days for sure. He turns back, and he says, this is this is Elder Rigg’s house. So, treat Elder Riggs with- he is good ally of ours, you should treat him with most respect.
Belroth 2:51
Is there anything we should avoid saying or talking about?
Anthony 3:44
If there are parts of your story that you have told me that are lies, Elder Riggs will know. That is something that he is quite good at. If you lie to Elder Riggs, he will not call you on this. He will know, but he is too polite to say.
Ellori 4:13
You know, my grandma always says that lying to other people is like lying about a version of yourself that nobody wants to exist.
Anthony 4:23
I don’t fully follow.
Belroth 4:29
Wow.
Ellori 4:30
That one got away from.
Skarpin 4:35
I don’t know. No more than some-
Deeran 4:38
No more than any other?!
Skarpin 4:41
I don’t know why this one broke you.
Belroth 4:45
You know, I’m going to say it, not your grandmother’s best.
Anthony 4:49
I also would say that there are many people with whom you will interact with that you do not want to share your whole self with. Lying will become necessary for your own survival. That is the nature of the work that we do.
Deeran 5:10
Hey, man, with Elder Riggs what if you like really believe the things that you’re saying, man, and they just happen to not be right
Anthony 5:22
He may also know if they are right or not, but I suppose he will not think you are lying, but I am not trying to say that he is very good at knowing what is true and what is not, and that is up for you to decide. If you lie to him, you do so knowing he will know, but knowing that he will not press you.
Deeran 5:42
So like, Elder Riggs knows like, a lot then about like, the real- what’s really real?
Anthony 5:54
Elder Riggs is very…intuitive, we will say.
Deeran 5:59
I can’t wait to ask him about the turtles.
Ellori 6:06
Oh gosh, I hope the turtles are doing okay.
Belroth 6:09
We should go inside.
Deeran 6:10
Seems bad down there.
Skarpin 6:12
We will have the utmost respect for Elder Riggs. Yes, absolutely.
Anthony 6:17
He knocks on Elder Riggs’ his door and then pushes it open before any response comes. He says, after you.
Deeran 6:29
Oh, are we like, registered now?
Anthony 6:34
Uh, well, I would not say fully registered. No, I- but there is not- you know, that is something we can discuss with Elder Riggs I suppose, but it is gray area.
Deeran 6:49
I asked you when the door was open on purpose, man. He looks in to see if Elder Riggs is like, betraying any poker face or if he’s even in the room.
Anthony 7:00
Yeah, you look in. The room is dark, and you’re looking into a very small, cramped kitchen. Nobody appears to be in the kitchen.
Belroth 7:10
Belroth takes a step in.
Anthony 7:12
As you step into the room, you can see beyond this kitchen into a small living area that has a hearth that is- there’s a fire in the hearth. A very old looking human man is in his like, nice chair next to the hearth- like a comfy chair not like, ostentatious just looking into the flames, and he says, do grab the water on your way by. I would love to freshen up my tea.
Belroth 7:50
Greetings, I will do that. Belroth like, confused grabs the tea- or the water, I guess and brings it over to fill.
Anthony 8:04
Would you like some, my son?
Belroth 8:07
Um, yes, I would. I would love some.
Anthony 8:12
There are cups and tea in the kitchen, if you can find your way there ~chuckles~.
Belroth 8:22
I will- I certainly will struggle, and he walks over to the kitchen and gets some tea.
Anthony 8:29
Elder Riggs doesn’t turn to look at you, but as the 5 of you make your way into the room, he just says, oh you’ve brought many today, Wesley.
Ellori 8:42
Um, hello, and Ellori, even though he’s not looking, she does like, a little curtsy. We are The Expedition Society of Songs and Adventures, and we are here to- well, we’re, we’re here.
Anthony 9:02
Come. Come, and sit by the fire. I would speak to the lot of you. Wesley, you too.
Belroth 9:12
Belroth has poured everyone a glass and is like, handing them out to each other- or to each of the party members including- God what the fuck is his name?
Skarpin 9:25
Wesley.
Belroth 9:26
Including Wesley, who I assume doesn’t want water.
Anthony 9:30
Wesley looks down at his little cup of water, reaches into the cabinet, and grabs some tea, and like, puts tea in the water and then walks off.
Skarpin 9:46
Elder Griggs, it’s, it’s an honor. It’s an honor. We, we are just very honored to be here, and, uh, yes, it’s just- honored to make your acquaintance. He sits down and nervously.
Anthony 9:58
It is a pleasure to meet the 4 of you, well, Wesley we’ve met before, of course, but it seems like something is missing. I assume Deeran’s down the street. He has wandered off-
Deeran 10:16
Oh, no, no, no. Deeran just has not said a word. He has walked in. He is like, his lips are like, pursed, so tight. Hands in pockets like, so quiet, and a little nervous. And by a little nervous, I mean, very nervous.
Anthony 10:42
Oh, well. I am so grateful to have such capable looking adventurers coming to call upon me in my home. It is rare that I get to meet those who are actually doing the things in the world anymore. Too many meetings and discussions and decisions that have to be made. Too much bureaucracy to be out adventuring like I used to. Well, welcome, welcome.
Belroth 11:24
Would anyone like me to fix up some food for them? I just- I’m feeling- I got everyone waters. I can get everyone- I can make sandwiches.
Deeran 11:35
Deeran shakes his head “no” at first, and then his eyes like, grow huge, and he looks at Master Riggs and like, nods yes back to Belroth.
Belroth 11:46
If that’s okay Master Riggs I can-
Deeran 11:49
Oh god, I lied.
Anthony 11:51
Of course. Yes, please help yourself to anything you can find.
Belroth 11:55
Belroth just starts making lunches for everybody. He goes full dad mode.
Anthony 12:00
Wesley, Wesley, Wesley, I imagine that you did not bring these people for a social visit as much as I would enjoy that. I suspect you have some reason you have brought them before me.
Wesley says, they have found interesting news in the world that I felt would be important for you to have, maybe prior to whatever discussions are coming in the days to come.
Well, okay, then. I would hear what is happening in the world.
Ellori 12:42
Oh, well, um, in the whole world, we’re maybe not, we’re maybe not totally up to date on all of the things that are happening, but we can tell you what’s been happening to us in the past couple of days.
Anthony 12:57
That would be good.
Ellori 13:00
Okay, so we got to the Demon Isles, and we found out that it was really turtles trying to stay warm in the ocean, and they were shivering, and then we found out-
Anthony 13:09
Wesley, what have you done? You sent them to the Demon Isles?
I told you something is happening there and it is necessary for us to-
Elder Carapath is going to be furious when he learns of this. At least tell me you found something valuable for us to bring back.
Belroth 13:33
Belroth up takes out of his pouch the Demon Stone and kind of like, puts it near- he’s not quite sure if Elder Riggs is blind or not, and he’s too afraid to ask.
Anthony 13:47
Elder Riggs reaches for the stone, a feat that would difficult-
Belroth 13:51
Confirmation!
Anthony 13:51
-not, not impossible, but quite difficult were he blind. He does not move gingerly I would say. It is a delicate movement, and he looks, you know, maybe, borderline decrepit.
Belroth 14:05
So, Belroth is aware he could be legally blind, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s completely blind.
Ellori 14:11
All right.
Belroth 14:12
Got it.
Anthony 14:14
Steph, was that a, was that a nerve? Are you, are you legally blind?
Belroth 14:18
Oh, I was trying to be respectful, and I feel like I screwed the pooch here.
Deeran 14:26
And when she takes off her contacts or her glasses, and I put something down in front of her, it is very impressive when she’s able to get it if.
Ellori 14:35
It’s a very different color than the background. If it is the same color or the same family, it is never going in my hand.
Anthony 14:45
He reaches out and he grabs the stone off of his wooden table. It is very different color, very different material, very different shape.
Belroth 14:54
I think you said it was yellow in the table is like, very not yellow.
Anthony 14:58
Brown, super dark brown.
Belroth 15:00
Those are pretty similar colors.
Anthony 15:02
You’re right. He grabs it off the table, and he looks at it, and he says, this, what is this?
Belroth 15:11
Um this is the- in the Temple of Protection, this was the stone which I believe was imbued there with which gave the Temple of Protection its name.
Anthony 15:23
The Demon Stone is broken?
Belroth 15:28
It is.
Anthony 15:34
He puts it down.
Skarpin 15:36
Creatures, creatures came through. They had this crazy magic that suppressed all other magics and made me dream…
Anthony 15:49
You saw entities come through from the dragon stone- sorry from the Demon Stone?
Deeran 15:57
Deeran shakes his head. Well, uh, 1, then no more.
Ellori 16:04
I saw about 4 of them. It took me a really long time to get knocked out. It sounded like a brag. It really didn’t feel like it in the moment.
Skarpin 16:17
Yeah, she was trying real hard.
Belroth 16:22
I believe my companion may have seen just as many. He pat’s Freya on the head. I don’t know how many.
Skarpin 16:31
Freya shakes her head. She’s like, “I only saw 2! I only saw 2!”
Belroth 16:36
Don’t put me on the spot, bud!
Anthony 16:40
Also how do you know that?
Ellori 16:40
It’s not a competition, Freya!
Belroth 16:44
My perfect child saw the most demons come out of the gate, actually. My child…
Anthony 16:54
I always thought that the Demon Stone was superstition, myth, but now it has failed, and you have seen darkness emerge from it. Hmm. You were right, to bring them here, Wesley. This is troubling.
Wesley says, this is what I have been trying to say. I think there is something happening. Something big is changing, and there is no way they can deny it now.
Elder Riggs gives a joyless dry chuckle. They will always deny it. It is how things are done. We are in a more precarious situation than you know. Elder Hawktalon has gone missing, and I fear with Hawktalon gone, it’ll be very little keeping Elder Carapath from doing as he pleases.
Belroth 18:10
I’m sorry to interrupt. Two questions: did everybody want tuna, and also, who Hawktalon?
Anthony 18:21
One of my fellow elders at the Adventure Incorporated. We are an organization for adventurers, not unlike yourselves to make a name for themselves. You may have heard of us. We are one of the groups that helps people get what they need in this world. He is one of our leaders.
Skarpin 18:49
Oh, yes, absolutely. We’ve heard of you. We’re actually in a gray area of sorts of joining y’all if, if I would be honest.
Anthony 18:58
Wesley goes, oh, yes, yes. He reaches into his bag and he goes, here you go. He just hands like, a crumpled letter to Elder Riggs.
Elder Riggs picks it up and smooths it out and looks at it and he goes, Wesley, what am I supposed to do with this now? Also, this is not the name you gave me. There’s a very different name on this paper for your group. The Seekers of Truth and a “1” in parentheses?
Belroth 19:34
Well, we changed it because The Seekers was originally taken, and I think it caused a paperwork snafu.
Anthony 19:44
Oh, yes, I see the corrections.
Belroth 19:46
Yeah, um here’s your sandwich, and Belroth gives everyone tuna except for Skarpin which he gives a sandwich of I guess ground beef that has not been cooked, because he’s not sure what a corpsen would eat in sandwich form other than, I guess, a hand which he doesn’t have, so he gives it.
Ellori 20:06
Ellori just looks at her sandwich.
Skarpin 20:08
He puts it down. Thank- thank you.
Deeran 20:12
Hey, hey, Ellori, are you gonna eat that?
Ellori 20:16
Oh, I mean, I was gonna take some bites out of it just to be polite, but if you were going to eat it legitimately I’ll give it to you.
Deeran 20:23
It’s gone. As soon as she said, “but if you” it’s gone.
Anthony 20:33
Well, I guess typically, we would do this with more, I would say, ceremony, but welcome to Adventure Incorporated, as you are now officially members.
Skarpin 20:50
Skarpin gets down on his knees like he’s about to be knighted.
Ellori 20:55
Ellori curtsies again.
Anthony 20:57
Wesley just like, pat’s you on the shell, like, on the shoulder.
Belroth 21:04
Belroth eats a piece of tuna? It’s okay. He doesn’t have all the things he’s used to making with.
Anthony 21:12
If you meet me at the tower, I will give you your signing bonus when we arrive.
Belroth 21:17
Signing bonus?!
Anthony 21:19
Yes, of course. All teams when they are officially brought into the fold will be given their original stipend for joining up with us.
Belroth 21:34
Sorry to bring the topic back a little bit, but you said, “I believe they will deny it”? Who is “they”?
Anthony 21:43
Yes, well, in the absence of the Empress- may she be victorious, we have been consulting with the Viscount, with the Leader of the Guard, as well as some other influential figures in the Empire. The Guild, of course- the Artificers Guild and a few other dignitaries. We have been trying to set the course of how we defend our home and from whatever other threats are coming aside from the Triton. So, while the fish folk wage their war, and the Empress leads our armies in glorious battle against them, we are trying to determine the fate of the rest of the empire in her absence.
Deeran 21:50
Deeran’s eyes grow so wide, and he can’t help himself, and he says, so you think it’s all a front too, man? The whole war, it’s just a distraction? It’s a black ops? It’s a smokescreen for something bigger, something worse, something insidious?
Anthony 23:04
I do not know what has caused the Triton War, and I do not know why they are so unrelenting, but no, I do not believe that the Empress is engaging in this war haphazardly or as some sort of cover for something else.
Deeran 23:26
No, man, she’s just a pawn like the rest of us, you know? We’re all distracted by the war, and something else is going on under the auspices of this war, man.
Anthony 23:41
Emperor Eloria Shi’Aikar is many things, but a puppet or a pawn is not one of them. I have seen her first hand, and I would say that if this is where she thinks her attention is most needed, that it is most certainly true. Now, I am not saying that there could not be others taking advantage of her absence, and in fact, I think that is most assuredly true.
Deeran 24:17
Deeran points under his eye, and he nods a little.
Anthony 24:22
Many who consider themselves enemies of the Empire would take this opportunity, and indeed, many who would claim to be allies would take this opportunity as well. It is best to be aware of all who might have ulterior motives, which brings us back to your question. We have been working to find the best solutions to the Empire, but not everyone agrees how that looks. Even within my own organization there has been disagreements.
Belroth 25:05
Wait, how did you then know that the Demon Stone was going to break or that anything was happening on the Demon Isles? Like, how are you so sure that something is going to happen there, but others don’t have that information?
Anthony 25:27
Do you want to tell him what your tracking down, Wesley?
Wesley looks around, and he says, I have been searching as I have told you for ways for us to solve the Fading. Elder Riggs looks like he’s going to put up a complaint here, but he just puts up a hand and waves him to continue. He says, I have been tracking surges of magical power around the, around the Empire. There are many places where this magical power has touched, and I have been trying to find answers, but I have been told that my search is fruitless, and a waste of time and against what the best interest of the Empire. I should leave at all alone. But I knew that there was something coming, something in the Demon Isles as the energy was beginning to build. As I said, I have not gone to the Demon Isles, as I was instructed in no uncertain terms not to go, but you went instead. You have now found the corroboration for what I believed might be true. Something was coming, something bad, and it seems something bad has come.
It is not going to be easy to convince the others. Even if you have eyewitnesses such as these 4, I can already tell you there will be 100 counter arguments against you. You were paid off, told to see what you said, you were tricked, fooled by an illusion, you were-
Ellori 27:40
None of that’s true!
Anthony 27:41
Is it not?
Ellori 27:42
We really saw it!
Anthony 27:44
Can you prove that?
Belroth 27:48
The Isle of Protection was evacuated.
Anthony 27:51
We have not heard anything from the islands in several weeks. We are now at the point where that has become suspicious indeed, but suspicious- suspicion of something only leads to less credible answers coming forward.
Belroth 28:13
If you are looking for information, especially from survivors, I believe they were being- the boat went to, I want to say Varina. Am I correct there?
Anthony 28:29
How long ago did the boat leave the islands?
Deeran 28:37
How long has it been, Anthony?
Anthony 28:39
You’ve been traveling with the caravan, so it’s probably been about 3 weeks.
Belroth 28:41
3 weeks ago.
Anthony 28:46
The boat should be back by now. We’ve had no refugees from the islands come to the mainland here or anywhere that we’ve heard of, and we likely would have known.
Ellori 29:03
Oh, this sounds even worse than we thought it was. Also, it sounds like it’s a pretty good thing we didn’t get on that boat.
Belroth 29:08
Yeah.
Anthony 29:14
You will be seen as opportunists. The best scammers use bits of information of truth to back their plausibility. There is rumor and fear about the Demon Isles. Your report will be met with skepticism. I believe you. More than I believe that you saw what you saw, which I do. I believe your story to be true. I believe what you have seen to be what happened.
Ellori 29:53
Is that because you’ve got to lying meter in your brain.
Anthony 29:57
No, that is not totally an accurate way to describe- it’s fine.
Deeran 30:09
Deeran’s eyes are wide and then narrow, and then when he says, “that’s fine”, he like, visibly deflates.
Anthony 30:17
He says, I believe you, because what you have presented to me- well, most would say that what you are talking about is fanciful fairy tale: creatures trapped beyond the stone of the demon stone that has been intact for 1000s of years, but I have spoken with beings of legend. I have touched the past in ways most have not, and I truly believe that if the demon kin felt there was a reason for protecting that place, then maybe there was a reason after all.
Skarpin 31:07
Elder Riggs, are there any of the elders that are of the religious sort? I can’t communicate directly what we saw, but I can send dreams and maybe provide a little clarity, and, I don’t know, information via that way and prime people for this discussion that we seem to be heading towards.
Anthony 31:38
Sending a dream is an interesting idea if you are capable of communicating through the dreamscape. Elder Willowheart is going to be the key to this. With Elder Hawktalon gone, Elder Willowheart would be our deciding factor, but I will warn you he is inclined to follow the lead of Elder Carapath.
Skarpin 32:12
Perhaps sending both of them such images that I can come up with would be helpful.
Anthony 32:22
It would be a mistake to send this to Elder Carapath. Any information you give him he will use as a weapon against you. Best to surprise him. That will make our actions more effective.
Skarpin 32:39
All right.
Deeran 32:40
Is this gonna be a fight? Are we gonna have to find a bunch of old people?
Anthony 32:46
If there is anything that I have learned in my years of adventuring and the many, many years afterward, everything is a fight?
Ellori 32:58
Oh, that’s really good.
Deeran 33:02
You should use that one. Like, I know it doesn’t feel like something your grandma would say, but like-
Ellori 33:08
Oh no, she definitely wouldn’t say that.
Deeran 33:10
But it was really good.
Belroth 33:12
Um, should we be then conspicuously or inconspicuously adventuring in the area where these pulses of magic that you are detecting, may be found? Like if, for example, if we are the only ones who know the truth, or maybe some of the few, maybe we should continue to investigate and also knock off some other contracts.
Anthony 33:51
If what you say is true about the Demon Isles, then time for that has passed. This threat has become too real to simply bide our time on. We are going to have to try and convince the people we can to gather whatever support we can and to find a way to move forward on this because if these creatures have come from beyond then it is untold what power they could wield. To be sealed away for as long as anyone can remember, well beyond even the Shadow Wars, that could provide great difficulty for this Empire, especially with most of our eyes turned to the sea.
Skarpin 34:59
Wesley, what do you think? If we were able to convince people that this was of import, what can we do next? What are we trying to convince them to let us do or support us in?
Anthony 35:14
Personally, this is a matter of resources. We know too little, and we do not have the connections we would need to know what comes next. Acting in secret, we can only get so much done. Acting in the open, perhaps there would be more that we could access.
Belroth 35:37
What if we fail to convince them and are then forbidden from investigating these things? We then have less resources than before.
Anthony 35:50
Indeed, we have fewer choices. We could you then defy our orders. We could forsake our oaths. We could abandon what other bodies that would hold us back. We could move in secret. We could ignore the problem. These are risks that we would have to take, one way or the other. I have the information you have told me, but I am not a credible source for it. If I walk into that room, and I tell the things that you have told me, I will likely be in a worse position than I am now. I will be exiled, pushed away.
Deeran 36:43
Well, let’s go man, where’s the room?
Anthony 36:46
Well, I mean, it will be in the palace, but it is not right now, not this moment, but I am saying-
Deeran 36:53
Why not, man? Why are we sitting around talking about talking? Why can’t we just like go do the talking to do the stuff to do the work. You know, like let’s actually do something about this problem, man.
Anthony 37:05
You cannot walk into this situation unprepared. The forces at play here will oppose you. You must do the thinking before you can do the talking, and the talking comes tomorrow.
Deeran 37:23
That one does sound like something your grandma would say, Ellori.
Ellori 37:26
It does, it’s pretty close to one that I’ve told you all before.
Deeran 37:34
Which one was it?
Ellori 37:37
Do you think that-
Deeran 37:37
Ellori, which one was it though?
Ellori 37:41
Deeran, I’m trying to do the talking while I’ve got the thinking in my head. Elder Riggs, do you think that maybe we should go try and find Elder Hawktalon? If he’s missing, and you think that he would be on the right side of things, maybe we should find them first before we do the talking.
Deeran 38:06
Then we’d be able to do something.
Ellori 38:08
And then we’re doing something, yeah.
Anthony 38:13
I have no leads for where Hawktalon went. You can search for Elder Hawktalon, but the meeting is tomorrow, or at least the next meeting is tomorrow. I think the information you carry is important. I think it is something you should bring before them smartly, and I think if we wait, someone will find an opportunity to feel this creeping fear with salve of lies that will make it even harder for you to do what you must do.
Belroth 38:52
I don’t think we have a lot of proof of what happened on the Demon Isles, but we do have two definitive things: 1, the Demon Stone, and 2: an expert in chimerology with a spine from a demon stuck in his chest. Oh, by the way- and he like, slowly reveals it- this can’t be disenchanted by any of the most powerful healers, and I’m sure a wizard or sorcerer of some kind in the court will be very confused by its magical energy.
Anthony 39:32
That is a start. If we do not have more to go on, then it is best to know the people that we will be speaking to, that we can appeal to. The finding consensus would make complaints from Elder Carapath easier to abate.
Skarpin 40:00
We do have a third thing, and he takes his final toothed flower from his staff and puts it on Belroth’s spine.
Belroth 40:10
Ow, don’t do that!
Skarpin 40:14
He takes it off. We have this toothed flower thing. It’s real weird.
Anthony 40:20
It is weird. I will give you that. I’m not sure how convincing or compelling that will be, but-
Skarpin 40:29
That’s okay, I can keep it.
Ellori 40:30
Um, my grandma said that, that there are people with magic that can take a part of your brain and play it out like a traveling play in front of them. Is that something that- because if they could see our memories played out like a traveling play in front of them, then maybe they would be more likely to believe the things that we saw were real.
Skarpin 40:52
Terrifying.
Anthony 40:53
Perhaps. The most powerful divination- divinis- divinist that I know- I guess diviner is the word.
Belroth 41:06
Divinator! Divinator 2!
Anthony 41:08
Yeah, it might be divinator. The most powerful diviner that I know is, unfortunately, Elder Carapath, but he is not the only diviner. Certainly we could find someone to create an amalgam of the memories that you carry within you. Memory is fallible.
Ellori 41:31
Wouldn’t it be good if it was him because then he would believe us, and he’s the one that doesn’t want to believe us.
Anthony 41:39
I suspect that no matter what we bring for evidence, this personal for Elder Carapath. He will see you as a threat to his control, and he will-
Ellori 41:55
So, he would take the embarrassing memories and put them all out like a travel and play in front of everyone.
Anthony 42:00
Most certainly. He would take much more information than you would want, and already I suspect that there would be plenty to incriminate, not that this is important. If this is how it must be, it must be, but there would be plenty to incriminate me and make my life much harder, if that is the case. Elder Riggs like, narrows his eyes at Wesley.
Deeran 42:28
No, that’ll never work. Never mind…
Anthony 42:32
Deeran, if you have an idea, you should bring it forward.
Deeran 42:36
Well, so like-
Anthony 42:42
What if Elder Carapath is like, a ghost in some spooky old man costume, and we like pull off and find out-
Deeran 42:50
We can reveal him, yeah. Well, that’s way better than what I was gonna say, and so Deeran says that.
Belroth 43:01
What if Elder Carapath actually part of the global elite who’s addicted to adrenochrome which is what’s inside the Temple of Protection, man?
Deeran 43:16
That’s two that are better than what I was gonna to say.
Anthony 43:18
Sorry, sorry.
Deeran 43:21
Here comes a third, worse option.
Skarpin 43:24
Hey, Mike if you wanna just step off? We got it from here.
Deeran 43:29
Yeah, like I’m just gonna drop. I guess I’m gonna go play video games now. Deeran is-
Anthony 43:33
My biggest problem is I thought- I didn’t realize it was a bit coming. I thought you had something real, and I was coming in with a bit to set up your real thing.
Deeran 43:43
No, it was a real thing, but the bit is so much better.
Skarpin 43:49
Let’s get back to Mike’s boring idea.
Belroth 43:51
Boring idea. Back to one. What’s your good idea, Deeran?
Deeran 43:59
Well, Belroth, man-
Belroth 44:01
That wasn’t in character!
Deeran 44:03
That was so aggressive. All right. Yeah. Okay, Wesley, so like, this guy, right, Elder Carapath, he like, he wants to be the guy or whatever, right? So like, what if we made the Demon Isles thing his discovery?
Anthony 44:29
I think that that would be- Do you have an idea for that, a plan?
Deeran 44:36
Well, like, I mean, people gotta eat, right? Like, I’m starving. So, like, if we happen to meet him, like, wherever he is, like, you know, he’s going to get food, and like, we go to get food, and we’re like, oh, yeah, I can’t believe you know, what we saw down at the Demon Isles. That was crazy. If only there were someone so powerful who could like, you know, solve the problem, they’d be like, next in line for the Emperor. Whatever, you know, whatever he wants, I don’t know man, you guys know him. Like I said, man, it was just a dumb idea, but like-
Ellori 45:13
Deeran I thought that was a pretty good idea.
Belroth 45:15
It was a good idea.
Deeran 45:15
I was just thinking about getting, getting a little bit of dinner, you know, a little early dinner.
Anthony 45:22
Carapath, as was said, he is a diviner, so if he, if he delves, he will learn that you’re being disingenuous.
Deeran 45:43
Sure, but then he would also learn that we’re right, and like maybe he would respect that, like, we took the time to think about him, you know, man?
Anthony 46:03
Wesley looks at Elder Riggs. He says, I think I am probably too close to the situation. This idea gives me great anxiety, but I understand that this, on its surface, it sounds like it might be the right plan.
Elder Riggs is stroking his chin, thinking deeply. He says, perhaps. Perhaps it is right to give him this information. I do worry about how he will choose to present that information if you give him the power. Is there a way that we could make guarantees to the information that you have, that he couldn’t corrupt it?
Deeran 47:08
I guess I don’t understand like, why somebody would want to like, corrupt this. It seems pretty bad, and like a really great way to like make a whole bunch of money like, by saving the world or whatever.
Anthony 47:25
Elder Carapath will think that this is something that I have done to justify my search, that I have found you- the things that Elder Riggs has said, the ways that people could try to besmirch you, these are things he will probably truly believe, that you have come at my behest, that you are have been tricked by me, that I have lied to you, that I have cajoled you, and that you have come to give him this information by means of tricking him by jockeying me for power. Indeed, I have- I did not have a lot of choices in order to act within my mandate, but I have not made this path easy for you.
Ellori 48:18
I have a question. This question is for Deeran. Because I feel like if we could get all of the people from the Demon Isles to talk about what happened on the Demon Isles there wouldn’t really be any of this happening. Um, Deeran has there ever been a boat that’s gotten lost in the waters like, the water just ate it up, and, and several boats like, in one area like, like, it’s almost like nothing comes out of this area?
Deeran 48:44
Oh, I’m so glad you asked, Ellori. That’s such a great question. Listen, I could talk about the Trapezoid like, all day, man, you know. There’s one section- there’s this one section of ocean that is like, almost impassable, you know, like, the people who have who have flown machines over it, the people who have like taken boats through it, you know, like, you never hear from them again, man.
Ellori 49:10
Is that on the way from the Demon Isles to Varina?
Deeran 49:14
Gosh, I don’t know.
Anthony 49:15
It is in the Northeast. It is also called Great Vortex, and it is not real. I have been there. It is nothing.
Deeran 49:22
No, man, I’ve heard the stories. Like, I mean, you know, you trust the stories about as much as you can nowadays, but like, I’ve heard about it, man. I’ve heard there’s a spot that like, swallows everything, and nothing comes back.
Belroth 49:37
Well, I think that’s a- this gave me an idea, Ellori and Deeran, but I don’t know if we have the time to do it. If we want-
Deeran 49:48
I don’t know, man. I don’t think they’re gonna punt it.
Belroth 49:52
But what if we don’t tell just him? What if we make the town know that people have gone missing from the Demon Isles? What if we caused the hysteria, so then they have to listen? They can’t corrupt the public’s fear if the public already has fear. They can manipulate it, so it is a risk, but if it’s already out there, and people are already worried about it, they can’t avoid it. Then you can just look at them and say, “I told you so”.
Deeran 50:34
Oh, man, and if anybody knows where your sister is, then like, maybe they’ll come forward and tell us.
Belroth 50:41
I have no idea where Dorcia is. If she came, I’m sure she’s probably already working on something. I really hope she’s working on something, but if we want it to be not corruptible, we don’t just tell him. Other people have to know
Anthony 51:00
That is dangerous, but Wesley smiles, he says, this, this is good idea. This, this is powerful idea. If we spread word like rumor, it will catch fire, and then there is very little that he can do to manipulate story. He may still believe that it is not true, but the facts of the story are out.
Belroth 51:32
And then we come forth with proof that there is some truth to the story. It becomes undeniable.
Skarpin 51:41
Rumors spread quickly from taverns.
Belroth 51:46
I could go for a drink.
Anthony 51:47
Wesley says, ah yes, let us all take a different tavern, and spread the word, yes?
Belroth 51:52
Oh, I hate- ugh, okay.
Ellori 51:57
My grandma said if you’re with a group of people to not split up from them because bad things happen when you split your party.
Anthony 52:04
Well, then you can stay together, but make sure that you hit 4 times as many taverns.
Skarpin 52:10
Okay.
Deeran 52:11
All right.
Belroth 52:12
We could pair up and spread rumors amongst the city.
Skarpin 52:16
We could meet people and hang out with them.
Belroth 52:19
Should I show them the barbed, spine thing that’s sticking out of my chest or should I wait?
Anthony 52:25
I don’t know why you should. I mean you can decide in your own time, but I feel like you’ll get kicked out of more taverns.
Belroth 52:32
It’s very irritating, I’m sorry.
Anthony 52:34
Well, yes, you know, most taverns require tunic of some kind. You know, no tunic, no sandals, no service, so-
Ellori 52:44
Belroth, I could probably fix all of your tunics to make- so that there’s a little hole in them-
Belroth 52:50
No, I don’t-
Ellori 52:50
So that it’s not just like ripped, but that you could maybe- so it would be comfortable, and you wouldn’t have this big, you know thing, sticking out.
Anthony 52:59
I could fix all your tunics where I rip a hole in them.
Skarpin 53:02
She just takes a gadder to them.
Ellori 53:07
Yeah. Yeah, but then she would stitch a little pretty pattern around the rip.
Skarpin 53:14
That would look cool, actually.
Ellori 53:16
Yeah.
Belroth 53:16
That’d be pretty.
Ellori 53:18
It’s like Iron Man, but like, more aggressive.
Belroth 53:21
But slightly more in the neck, collarbone area.
Anthony 53:27
And just a pin.
Skarpin 53:34
Wesley, Elder, what others would we have to convince? Are there other opposition, or does it primarily feel like Willowheart and Carapath are the ones that we need to concentrate on?
Anthony 53:46
Well, this meeting will certainly have them at it, but there will be others as well. I suspect the Head of the Guard, the Emperor’s Guard will be there, Fennik Silverblade. You have probably heard stories of his prowess as a duelist. He is a good man, but he is very focused on trying to- you may be able to sway him just on the threat alone, but he ultimately serves at the will of the Emperor, and her will is being carried out by the Viscount who will also be there. The Viscount is- Hawthorne is savvy. He will look to turn any situation, this one included, to his advantage. If you can find ways to convince him that this is in his best interest, then that would gain considerable solutions to these problems. And truly I think that Carapath will go whatever way Hawthorne goes, though he may not be happy about it. Undoubtedly, there will be someone from the Artificers Guild there. They have been trying to flex their muscle lately. I don’t know who will come, but a representative of the guild will be there. They are not much concerned about what happens as long as they still get their fingers in the pie. There could be someone from the Black Scale there as well, though I have not seen their representative in the town for some time.
Deeran 55:52
I mean, even if they’re there, it’s not like they’re gonna do anything about, am I right? He holds a fist out to Belroth.
Belroth 56:01
Belroth, looks over and like, tepidly fist pumps it because he has mixed feelings. He’s like, you’re right, but give me money.
Anthony 56:15
It might be beneficial to have one of the Scarlet Guard present, but I don’t know if this will be in the same wheelhouse that they actively participate in. I would expect someone from the Guild of Contractual Arrangement there if for nothing else, to take minutes.
Deeran 56:43
But like, we don’t have to get those people, right? Like, they’re just going to be there.
Anthony 56:47
The more you can get on board, the easier this will be. If it is a room of people standing against Carapath, he will have no choice but to relent. If everyone is on his side, it makes his power much stronger.
Deeran 57:06
I’m sorry, I’m just, I’m really antsy about like actually doing something instead of just like, talking about it all night. Can we like, go do that?
Anthony 57:19
Go to what?
Belroth 57:21
Spread rumors.
Ellori 57:22
Stir up the hysteria.
Anthony 57:24
Yes. If you are ready, then yes.
Deeran 57:28
I mean, I’m always ready to talk about what’s really happening out there that people don’t know about
Ellori 57:35
Ellori curtsies goes to leave.
Anthony 57:38
Good luck. Wesley turns to leave, and the elder says, are you going to spread rumors to Wesley? I don’t know if that’s the best idea.
And Wesley says, maybe not, but I will be joining them for drink, yes? And he walks out the doors.
Belroth 58:04
Goodbye, Elder Riggs.
Anthony 58:07
Goodbye.
Belroth 58:08
I hope you’d liked your sandwich.
Deeran 58:09
Bye, man.
Anthony 58:11
Oh, yeah, sandwich. He picks it up and starts eating.
Skarpin 58:15
Thank you for, for taking our meeting, and it’s very nice to meet you. We look forward to many meetings in the future. He leaves.
Anthony 58:27
Wesley says, all right, while you go and do your thing, I will go and do mine, and we will meet back later, I guess.
Skarpin 58:36
Any particular taverns we should hit, or just all of them?
Anthony 58:39
Yes, all of them. All of them would be the right to call.
Skarpin 58:42
Excellent.
Anthony 58:44
So, describe to me how-
Deeran 58:49
As soon as we leave, Deeran is like, terrified. Before we get into how we do anything, Deeran is so nervous. He’s sweating. He’s like, oh my god, I told him- I said in there that like, I was really hungry, but like, I was only kind of hungry, and like, you know, like, I think my, my like, brain stomach was like, bigger than my actual stomach. I think Elder Riggs knows, man
Belroth 59:17
You did eat both of those sandwiches.
Deeran 59:21
And they were like, surprisingly more feeling like, like, now like, I’m more full than I thought it was gonna be after two of them, and so like, I like, don’t get me wrong, man, I’m still gonna eat, but like, I’m not like, super hungry like I said I was, and Elder Riggs knows I lied to him now, man.
Skarpin 59:39
Oh, well perhaps you just have this insatiable, hunger, everlasting that will never be satisfied within…as well…
Deeran 59:53
No, that’s like the opposite.
Skarpin 59:57
Oh…
Deeran 1:00:02
All right, that’s all I have, just wanting to express some fear.
Anthony 1:00:07
Great. So, now describe to me- assuming you go from tavern to tavern, what’s the shtick, right? Let’s say the fourth or fifth time you’ve done it, now that it’s evened out a little bit, how does it look when the 4 of you run this scam?
Belroth 1:00:26
It’s not a scam!
Ellori 1:00:26
It’s not a scam! It’s actually happened!
Skarpin 1:00:29
It’s kind of a scam.
Anthony 1:00:29
It’s kind of a scam.
Belroth 1:00:30
Belroth is going to suggest the postcard idea that was so haphazardly discarded. We make flyers-
Deeran 1:00:42
Postcard? Postcard idea?
Belroth 1:00:46
I said that we should make business cards but then like, bigger postcards we can leave on tables.
Skarpin 1:00:51
Yes, yes, we can go to the tavern with the crayons that you can use, and you can play with those. We’ll handle everything else.
Belroth 1:00:56
If we quickly made- if we quickly made flyers and spread them throughout the city- I don’t know if we have the time for that.
Skarpin 1:01:14
That’s a pretty cat you drew. Very nice.
Belroth 1:01:15
Thank you.
Ellori 1:01:18
Um, in my experience, people tend to like stories better when they’re told to them rather than when they have to infer them from a piece of crayon paper.
Belroth 1:01:26
Well I wasn’t thinking we would do crayon paper. I do crayon paper to pass time on trails, but thank you for saying that the cat is good. It is Freya, and he pats Freya on the head.
Skarpin 1:01:40
We could do that. I feel like we should do all the things, all the ideas, and try different ways, and then we’ll see what comes out.
Belroth 1:01:49
Yes, I think that’s- I think that’s a good idea.
Skarpin 1:01:54
Great, great.
Deeran 1:01:54
I will say that these worked great for me. Deeran pulls out a stack of leaflets for The Seekers. You know, like, I never would have found you. I never would have found this group if it weren’t for these. They’re all crumbled. Like they, you know, they’re like, some of them are water-stained, but like, they’re still flyers. You know, like, if we- okay, so Belroth, what if, like, we just reuse these, and we write like, a different like, you know how I left the space blank to like, fill in different times and like, meeting places and stuff? Like, we could do the same thing for this, you know? And then we could have like, another seekers meeting here, outside the Brass Palace.
Skarpin 1:02:41
Oh. What if The Seekers meeting was held tomorrow, in the Brass Palace? And a large mob showed up and demanded to have an audience? Oh, I don’t know. Hmm.
Deeran 1:02:58
Like, maybe just before we could do the, we could do the meeting and then like, whip them all up, you know, and like, bring them on over.
Belroth 1:03:05
So, while we distribute flyers, then Ellori, you go out, and we support you telling stories, and you being an expert in convincing people of ideas, that this happened, and you talk to them and then they’re walking out of the tavern being like, that was peculiar and they say, oh, what’s this crumpled piece of paper on the ground? More information that supports that theory? That’s what I’m thinking.
Skarpin 1:03:30
We’ll be her hype people.
Ellori 1:03:33
I feel like peculiar is a review I’ve never gotten before
Belroth 1:03:36
That is true. That was unfair of me.
Skarpin 1:03:38
Really?
Belroth 1:03:39
Let me take that back.
Ellori 1:03:53
Skarpin’s such a dick.
Skarpin 1:03:54
The first one, yes, yes, let’s do that one. The second one, you throw me in there and say, oh, look what happened to him when he came from the Demon Isles. It exploded and all these terrible things happened and then, and then they’ll see me. People tend to have, you know, that, that fear anyways. We could just blame it on that.
Anthony 1:04:16
I like that Skarpin is like, trying to get this scammier. How can we get this scammier?
Skarpin 1:04:22
He is in to this. He is just, you know, all about it.
Ellori 1:04:28
Skarpin, I think that sticking to the truth is probably going to be our best bet here.
Deeran 1:04:32
It’s always what I do.
Belroth 1:04:33
Belroth is trying to distribute syllabi to people.
Deeran 1:04:44
Yeah, on the way to the first tavern, he’s like, writing a synopsis, like a, like a brief-
Belroth 1:04:53
A syllabus.
Deeran 1:04:55
-for like a paper. Well, no. A syllabus is for a course.
Ellori 1:04:59
An abstract. Is that the word you were looking for?
Deeran 1:05:00
That is the word I was looking for, thank you. Only one of us is smart.
Skarpin 1:05:06
Yeah.
Belroth 1:05:06
It’s not Belroth.
Anthony 1:05:11
Okay, so give me the example from inside the tavern of what this looks like. You can narrate your action and your positioning within the bar, or you can play act it. I’m up for whatever.
Ellori 1:05:28
Excuse me, Ellori says to the bartender.
Anthony 1:05:32
Oh, yes, what can I do for you?
Ellori 1:05:36
Would you mind if I did a bit of entertainment for a few minutes?
Anthony 1:05:42
I can’t pay you.
Ellori 1:05:45
Oh, no, that’s all right.
Deeran 1:05:47
I’ve got a tight five, and I’ve been working on it and I’d just love to use it here.
Anthony 1:05:51
Wait, you don’t do like, jokes, right?
Ellori 1:05:55
Oh, there’s nothing funny about this.
Anthony 1:05:58
Do you do juggling?
Ellori 1:06:02
You know, my great uncle Silas was a juggler, and he always tried to teach me how to do it, and I never just caught on.
Anthony 1:06:08
That’s fine. I don’t want I don’t want any juggling in here. Juggling makes people rowdy. When they drink they start throwing things around. Things break. So, no juggling.
Ellori 1:06:18
I can see that. No juggling.
Anthony 1:06:20
All right. If you get up there, you start juggling, I’m gonna be furious.
Ellori 1:06:25
So, she’s gonna like, hoist herself up on the bar.
Anthony 1:06:28
I didn’t sign up for this- ugh.
Ellori 1:06:31
And she’s gonna kind of like, toss her ukulele in the air with her tambourine and then like, wink at the bartender. Then she’s gonna wiggle her tambourine for attention.
Anthony 1:06:48
Okay.
Ellori 1:06:49
She’s gonna say, everybody, gather round, gather round, I have a tale of adventure to tell you. It all started when we got to the Demon Isles. We were there to see our friend’s family, and then, you’ll never guess what happened.
Anthony 1:07:07
Click to find out.
Deeran 1:07:10
Yeah, she just clickbated the whole room.
Belroth 1:07:14
The fifth thing that happened will shock you.
Ellori 1:07:21
An innocent trek into the jungle turn to deadly. So, she’s going to kind of go through the whole thing and tell the story like with as much drama as possible.
Deeran 1:07:31
And as she’s telling the story Deeran is passing out flyers to the crowd with tomorrow’s date just before the council meeting in the square outside of the palace.
Anthony 1:07:44
Okay.
Deeran 1:07:45
And so he’s handing out Seekers. Yeah, man, for more information come tomorrow. Tell your friends. This is gonna be big. This is huge. Just kind of supporting and like, kind of helping move the action along here. Whenever people start to like go back to their beers, he like, interrupts them to like hand them a flyer.
Anthony 1:08:07
What is Skarpin doing?
Skarpin 1:08:09
He’s going around and whispering and like, can you believe that? I used to be a gnome. And then he goes to the next party.
Anthony 1:08:22
He’s coming up with like, increasingly implausible things.
Skarpin 1:08:25
Exactly. He like, he like puts like, his dead part of his arm on the table next to them and be like, wow, fascinating, isn’t that? Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to get this cursed arm on you. Got this from the Demon Isles the other day.
Anthony 1:08:42
What’s Belroth’s doing?
Belroth 1:08:43
He’s looking for other tiefling in the bar if they are there, and he’s going to basically try and like-
Skarpin 1:08:49
Trying to get a date?
Belroth 1:08:50
No. He’s still a little heartbroken. He’s trying to like, talk to them about things that they would know in- like, basically say landmarks in the aisle of protection to give it like, credibility to like, mention things. He has the flower with him to show people that like, have you ever seen this on the Demon Isles? I’ve never seen this on the Demon Isles, and my job is to know of crazy flora and fauna on the Demon Isles. I’ve never seen this.
Anthony 1:09:27
Okay, everyone roll d100.
Ellori 1:09:32
Is that is that the one with the zeros on it.
Anthony 1:09:36
Also a 10. Roll them both together.
Belroth 1:09:39
Wait, wait, wait. Is high or low good?
Anthony 1:09:44
Great question.
Belroth 1:09:45
99!
Anthony 1:09:47
Nice.
Deeran 1:09:49
That is a great question then.
Belroth 1:09:50
Yeah!
Ellori 1:09:53
I got a 96.
Skarpin 1:09:55
Oooo, 71.
Deeran 1:09:55
- D’s get degrees. Let’s go! Deeran in the house!
Anthony 1:10:06
By the time you enter the final tavern, someone is telling you the story of the Demon Isles.
Belroth 1:10:13
When that starts happening, Belroth goes, oh my gosh, I heard the same exact thing. I heard that there were these creatures with these spines on them that embedded them into their flesh, that clerics could not have any kind dispel the power.
Anthony 1:10:29
I didn’t hear that part, but it’s plausible, I guess.
Belroth 1:10:32
There were only a few survivors, and one of them has permanent damage from it.
Anthony 1:10:39
Whoa, okay. All right, guy. Cool.
Belroth 1:10:41
It’s amazing. He’s like, weirdly excited, storming off.
Anthony 1:10:49
One up my story, I guess.
Deeran 1:10:49
Belroth is one upper.
Belroth 1:10:49
Of course he is. He’s an academic.
Ellori 1:10:49
Um.
Belroth 1:10:49
Let me be clear. Let me be clear. He’s a science academic.
Ellori 1:10:49
I don’t like it.
Belroth 1:10:49
Oh, yeah, you discovered elementary particle. Yeah, well, I discovered the Higgs boson. Idiot.
Anthony 1:11:17
So, as the night closes out, you are relatively confident, and especially it seems like with a high degree of accuracy, this rumor has begun to spread. Already people are buzzing about the meeting that will come tomorrow.
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 1:12:32
Serious Business.
We’re super serious!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai