Belroth 0:00
Greetings, adventurers, and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I am your Dungeon Master, Anthony Reed. This is Episode 14 and it is part of the Brass Palace story arc. We are coming to a close on this arc in the not too distant future, and I’m just so thrilled to have you along for the ride. Thank you, and thank you to our patrons at patreon.com/adventureinc, who make this show possible, who do cool things for the show, and so in turn get cool things done for them. We have bonus episodes that we do every month with special guests. We have the Beholder livestream events where the patrons get to come and build new content for Dungeons and Dragons with me. They can submit magic items that will be part of the shop on the show. I’ve been sharing updates with the new application that’s coming out for the shop that you can follow along with at home. All kinds of really cool stuff for the patrons. Patreon.com/adventureinc. If you’re not a patron, you can fix that. That’s a fixable, solvable problem that you, only you have the power to do, but you do. You have it. Also want to give a shout out to people who are throwing out some reviews. We’ve picked up a few new reviews on iTunes and a couple other places. If you are enjoying the show, you haven’t done a review yet, just hop on, throw it a review there. It’s easy. It takes no time, and it makes our lives a lot, I guess brighter? You know, at the very least we enjoy getting your feedback. So, give it a shot, throw us the one of those reviews, we’ll smile, you’ll feel good about yourself, and we’ll all be happy. That’s really what this is all about, making each other happy. All right, you know what? Let’s get started.
Anthony 1:54
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 2:11
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 2:21
Skarpin, the Cleric.
Belroth 2:23
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?
Skarpin 2:26
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 2:34
Ellori, the Bard.
Ellori 2:36
We would want you to leave this warehouse.
Anthony 2:40
He points behind you. Church!
Ellori 2:43
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.
Anthony 2:47
Deeran, the wizard.
He say you no, worship Shattered Fang.
Deeran 2:52
Yeah, man, he’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth- uh Shattered Fang, man.
Anthony 2:57
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated.
A new day rises, and preparations are well underway around the town for the large meeting in the square of Old Mughamar. Already temporary shops and stalls have popped up to sell food items and other mob related necessities.
Belroth 3:35
~Pitchforks, quesadillas, torches!~
Anthony 3:45
Word has traveled fast. Now you’re starting to get some distortions on the story a little bit about the trip to the Demon Isles where the whole island was pulled to another location. It just disappeared right out of the ocean. For the most part the story is accurate as it travels around the town.
Deeran 4:20
Before we start Deeran’s gonna pull the crew together and be like, hey guys, I’ve been thinking. Did maybe we do too good?
Belroth 4:36
I didn’t expect this result. I’m not going to lie. I assumed-
Ellori 4:41
Deeran, you asked me to tell a story.
Deeran 4:46
I know, and oh, my gosh, Ellori, I knew you were incredible, but, wow!
Ellori 4:54
This is literally what I’ve trained for my entire life.
Deeran 4:59
It’s a lot. That’s all I’m like- okay, so when we get up there, what if we just like, let all these people do their thing for a bit, you know? Then we can step out and be like, okay, so actually, like, we were there. We saw it happen. We could give like, real eyewitness testimony, you know? We like, we could even pull out the stone that we use to travel like, between the way points with or whatever. The Nexus Points.
Ellori 5:34
We’re not supposed to tell anyone about that.
Deeran 5:38
Well, they’re gonna ask how we got here.
Belroth 5:43
Well, I think-
Deeran 5:46
Magic like, there are rules to magic, man, and like, I’m not strong enough to cast that spell, and we’re not rich enough to buy that wand. So, like, they’re gonna know that like, if we used magic to get here, it was through one of those points.
Skarpin 6:05
I feel like that might not be the most interesting part of the story. Let’s concentrate on the other aspects.
Deeran 6:12
Yeah, but like remember you said that like, Carapath is gonna use everything he can to like, cut down what we have to say, and so like, if we’re just truthful-
Ellori 6:22
I think it’s I think it’s not bad to tell- I assume Carapath and Willowheart know about the- well, no, because when Wesley told us he said, this doubles the number of people that know these exist. So, maybe we can ask Wesley, and if not, we can say we went through a portal.
Deeran 6:43
Oh, sure. Leave it ambiguous.
Ellori 6:44
Yeah, because then we’re not lying, and portals are things that that normal magic people can do. I mean, normal, powerful magic people.
Deeran 6:53
I was gonna say I can’t do a portal
Skarpin 6:56
Yes, someday.
Ellori 6:56
I didn’t mean to call you not powerful, Deeran.
Deeran 6:59
Oh, I’m not. Not yet, but I will be.
Ellori 7:02
Yeah, you will be.
Deeran 7:03
It’s my destiny, man.
Skarpin 7:07
I like it. Let’s let them- let’s see what they say, and then we’ll know when to break in. It’ll be-
Deeran 7:13
Do you think like, that’s a good idea, or do you think it’s stupid like, the-
Belroth 7:16
I think it’s important to be aware that we definitely broke a lot of rules, and being vague where we broke those rules is probably prudent. So, I think that’s a good point, Deeran. We’ve spread a lot of rumors so a lot of rumors could have made their way to this meeting already, and who knows what we’re gonna control.
Deeran 7:42
Do we just like sit back for now, or like-
Ellori 7:45
Yeah, Elder Riggs said to surprise them. So, we maybe wait for them to start their meeting, and then we give them like 5 minutes, and then we burst in the doors, and we say, we’re here, surprise!
Anthony 7:59
I assume you guys are doing this like inside the tavern you spent the night in or the inn or whatever?
Belroth 8:03
Yeah.
Anthony 8:05
So, let’s say you’re down in like the common room of the tavern, and from behind you hear, that’s not exactly going to work. A very drunk Wesley comes up behind you guys and says you cannot just burst into private meeting that you are already at. That will not work.
Deeran 8:34
Like check it out, man, and Deeran like, pulls the curtain aside to show the mob that’s gathering in the street.
Anthony 8:41
Since the last time you look the mob has doubled. It’s like 6000 people flooding the old square of Old Mughamar. Oh, boy. That is a- that is- you tell good rumors. You are very good at rumors.
Ellori 9:05
Good stories, you mean
Anthony 9:06
Yes. Good at stories. Great story. Great story you have told.
Belroth 9:11
We told the truth with flair.
Ellori 9:12
Thank you, Wesley.
Anthony 9:14
Speaking truth with flair: flair may not serve you so well in meeting, I suspect.
Ellori 9:25
Oh, so, Belroth should tell the story.
Belroth 9:26
I can tell you a story.
Anthony 9:28
Well, I don’t know if that’s good idea either, but maybe in between.
Ellori 9:34
I’m just saying, and she’s gonna put her like, hand around her mouth and whisper to Wesley: his stories are pretty boring-
Belroth 9:42
I can hear-
Anthony 9:42
No, I know they’re very boring. That is not point.
Belroth 9:49
I can break down the facts, and you could fill in the gaps.
Skarpin 9:56
Even that was boring.
Belroth 10:01
Belroth just has his hand- his face in his hand.
Deeran 10:05
Oh, my god, Mikey’s a savage.
Skarpin 10:13
That was Skarpin. Mikey’s nicer than that.
Deeran 10:23
Yeah, he just thinks these things.
Belroth 10:24
Waiting for Skarpin to throw in a quick updog joke.
Anthony 10:32
Deeran has brought up interesting point that I overheard while I was skulking which is about Travel Stone. I don’t know how you get around that one. Carapath will definitely know what stone is. He may be only one who knows- well Willowheart will know what stone is. They will know, both. That’s it. I can’t imagine any of the others will know what stone is, so…
Deeran 11:11
So, like, is it okay if we tell them we have one and used it?
Anthony 11:14
Oh yeah, it’s probably best you do or they’ll be very suspicious. No matter what I’m pretty much screwed, so just go for it.
Deeran 11:24
Well, like, we don’t have to say we got it from you like, in public.
Anthony 11:28
Yeah, there is nowhere else you would get, so, process of elimination say you got from me.
Deeran 11:39
Sorry, man.
Anthony 11:41
I knew what I was getting into, I guess. I was trying to avoid some of this, but it ~stumbling through word inevitable~ There we go. Got word out finally.
Deeran 11:56
The way you said like, I knew what I was getting into, but like, didn’t really commit to it made it seem like maybe you didn’t know what you were getting into, man.
Anthony 12:05
Well, I guess I hoped not. I hoped I didn’t know what I was getting into.
Deeran 12:12
And then Deeran pulls the curtain back again.
Anthony 12:14
Oof. There are lot people out there. Oof. Uh, I am going to find ways to bring Riggs around back. I don’t think trying to push Riggs through crowd is good idea. Crowd between home and meeting for Riggs, but I don’t think he should go through crowd.
Ellori 12:40
No, no, I think we get it because he’s really old fragile.
Belroth 12:43
He’s old and fragile. ~shakes head, clearing it~ Immediately the drunken haze on him burns away. I will go now. I will get him, and take him to meeting, and I will not be able to join you. This will be for you to solve on your own. If I am there it would only make things worse, I promise. First of all, I am not sure I could keep my tongue guarded and would probably say things that would make situation bad, very bad. Also the less Carapath sees me connected to you the better, even though it is already connection in mind, no doubt.
Ellori 13:28
Okay, well thank you, Wesley.
Anthony 13:30
Good luck. Meeting is soon, and I think your crowd is already performing admirably. They do not need any more encouragement.
Belroth 13:41
Yes.
Deeran 13:43
I mean, if you wanted like, to get them going a little, man like, feel free like, on your way.
Anthony 13:49
Okay. We’ll see what that needs to be done. He heads out.
Anything else for you guys? Everyone good? Folks all set? Ready? Do you want another? Need another drink?
Ellori 14:06
I think we’re good.
Deeran 14:07
Yeah, man I’ll have another Bloody Ioran, just, you know, tap me off for the morning.
Anthony 14:12
Cool, cool. Great, great, great. And settling up the tab, that’s happening too, yeah?
Belroth 14:18
Yes.
Ellori 14:19
Yup.
Deeran 14:20
Just put it on the Adventure Incorporated tab. We’re new members.
Anthony 14:24
He pulls out a ledger book. He opens it up, and he says, you know your friend there that just left, he’s tried that a few times, and it hasn’t worked so far for him.
Deeran 14:38
Yeah, but like, we actually work there.
Anthony 14:39
I’ll give you one attempt. If this doesn’t work, and I see you later, I’m gonna collect.
Deeran 14:49
What’s the name of this tavern,
Anthony 14:51
The Shining Night, but it’s N I G H T.
Deeran 14:57
Great. Deeran writes that down in his notebook, and underlines it with a like, an X next to it in a box.
Belroth 15:06
Can I get another hot toddy, and also how much do we owe?
Anthony 15:12
You owe 35 silver, and I’m gonna get my 35 silver out of you.
Belroth 15:18
Okay.
Ellori 15:23
Did it work?
Anthony 15:24
Well, not yet. You said I would get it from this company. I’m going to try to get it from them, and if I don’t get it from them I’m going to get it from you.
Ellori 15:31
Oh, I thought you put our names in your magic book, and it went through to Adventure Incorporated, and they gave you a little red X if they didn’t want to take it, or they gave you a little green check if it went through.
Belroth 15:42
And then we have to sign it and put in a pin.
Anthony 15:46
Can I get one? Can I get one of those? No, this is just a book. This is just a regular book.
Deeran 15:51
They’re pretty expensive.
Skarpin 15:53
They’re all over Varina though. I’ve seen that there.
Anthony 15:55
You bring me one of those, we’ll settle it even. How about that?
Skarpin 16:00
Okay.
Deeran 16:00
We’ll see, man.
Ellori 16:03
We’ll check back in later with you. Ellori walks out.
Anthony 16:08
Okay.
Deeran 16:09
I guess Deeran takes his Bloody Ioran to go then. Jeez.
Ellori 16:12
Yeah, I mean, welcome to the New Merittan Empire, you can get drinks to go.
Deeran 16:21
And drink them in the street?
Ellori 16:22
Uh, yeah.
Anthony 16:22
As soon as you walk out the door, Deeran there’s a shoving match that’s happening on the edges of this mob, and someone bumps into you, and it all just goes all over the ground.
Deeran 16:32
Can I at least make a Dex Save for the pickle?!
Anthony 16:36
Yeah, give me a Dex Save.
Deeran 16:39
- I feel like he does like, a cartoon fumble.
Anthony 16:47
You just hear from out a window like, no juggling! Then yeah, it smashes to the ground.
Belroth 16:54
Freya tries to lick some up-
Deeran 16:56
Ugh, Freya.
Belroth 16:57
-and immediately like, recoils from it and like, starts swatting at it.
Deeran 17:03
Yeah, no, you gotta eat like, the sausage and the pickle though, Freya. They’re good. He points with his foot. You know, he does like the foot point move that you do when you drop food in the house? Anthony, you know what I’m talking about when you drop food and you point with your foot.
Belroth 17:18
And you tell your son to eat the food.
Anthony 17:20
No, I get what you’re trying to say. There’s not enough time in my house to point at food on the floor before it’s gone.
Belroth 17:27
Wow, Anthony I didn’t know you were that fast.
Anthony 17:30
No, it’s not me. It’s a race.
Deeran 17:33
Surprising dexterity from Anthony Reed.
Belroth 17:36
Anyways, Freya definitely munches on. Like, the minute you point it out, Freya gets it.
Anthony 17:46
Yeah, the mob in front of you is thick and surly. But-
Deeran 17:54
I’ve been called that for years, Anthony.
Anthony 18:00
Tell me how you’re making your way through this mob, and that will determine what kind of check you’re making, I guess. Give me a check, and tell me what it is.
Skarpin 18:11
Performance.
Belroth 18:12
Yeah. What if we start a chant so that people are unified so then we walk through more easily because people are focused on chanting and less on pushing?
Anthony 18:21
Take one step forward! Take one step forward!
Belroth 18:24
We want the truth! We want the truth! Belroth starts chanting. We want the truth!
Deeran 18:31
Deeran jumps in right away.
Anthony 18:33
Oh, yeah. The whole groups chanting now.
Deeran 18:34
We want the truth, man!
Anthony 18:36
We want the truth, man! We want the truth, man! But yeah, the whole crowd is chanting as well.
Belroth 18:44
No truth, no peace! No truth, no peace!
Anthony 18:49
As you begin this chant, it doesn’t really get easier to push through. So yeah, I guess give me Strength checks as Ellori pointed out.
Deeran 19:02
Deeran is just holding onto Skarpin still. Like, he is not letting go.
Skarpin 19:11
Skarpin is not doing well pushing through the crowd. He got a 5. So, we’re stationary, Deeran.
Deeran 19:18
Perfect, because Deeran’s 4 did not help him push through the crowd either.
Belroth 19:23
Belroth got a 12.
Ellori 19:24
17.
Anthony 19:27
All right, yeah. So, as you move through this crowd, you sort of are getting like, jostled and pushed off course. You’re getting through very, very slowly. That’s around the time you hear the first window shatter. Things are getting out of hand with this group, and it’s getting larger, and they are slamming on the walls on the outside of the Brass Palace, and the guards have been deployed to try and contain the entrance area around, you know, the front entrance to the Brass Palace. So, with so much pressure against the walls and the ever expanding population of people here, it started to like, push into the edges of the town a little bit. Things are getting borderline violent. So, give me another Strength Check to make your way through.
Belroth 20:22
Oh, boy.
Skarpin 20:24
Let’s get into the meeting. Let’s get in there quickly.
Belroth 20:27
Belroth is consistently rolling a 12.
Ellori 20:32
4.
Deeran 20:34
Deeran would like to use a Persuasion Check to like, calmly negotiate with the people around him like, oh, yeah, I’m just trying to like- just right. He’s doing like this number, excuse me, and like, tapping people on the shoulder and doing that, like- he points like, up in front of like, 2 people ahead of him. You know what I mean? Like, you’re at the concert, you went and you got a drink, and you’re going back to your group, you know, and you’re doing this kind of over the shouldery point?
Skarpin 21:07
Your fake group to get to a better vantage point?
Deeran 21:11
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. And he gets a 16 on that Persuasion Check.
Belroth 21:15
Yeah, my friends are just up there like, on the stage. Sorry, I just get up there on the stage. I’m in the band.
Anthony 21:22
Skarpin, what did you get?
Skarpin 21:27
A 5.
Belroth 21:32
Okay, yeah, Deeran you and the rest of the group with I guess Belroth’s 12, you guys try to go a little bit further into here. You guys are surrounded on all sides, and you know, it’s getting a little bit rougher, and things are not very comfortable. Everybody takes 1 point of nonlethal damage. Just 1. Just 1 little point in nonlethal damage.
Skarpin 22:00
That’s nothing.
Belroth 22:02
Someone punched Freya in the face?!
Anthony 22:04
Someone elbowed you in the ribs.
Belroth 22:08
In the demon barb.
Ellori 22:10
And you got knocked off balance and you stepped on Freya’s foot.
Belroth 22:12
No, don’t make it my fault! No!
Deeran 22:16
And she screeches. She does that horrible cat sound when you like, accidentally step on them.
Belroth 22:23
My heart! No! Don’t make this my fault. Someone else stepped on her paw, please.
Skarpin 22:30
1 point of heart damage.
Deeran 22:31
We’ll never know. We’ll never know.
Anthony 22:34
It sure was weird bump on the ground you stepped on though. Whatever it was.
Deeran 22:39
So soft and like, kind of, you know, feline.
Anthony 22:46
Give me another movement through this crowd check in whatever capacity you’re doing that.
Ellori 22:56
9.
Deeran 22:58
Honestly, the polite move his hand up has worked better for Deeran, so he’s gonna keep trying that. And that one is a natural 1.
Belroth 23:11
Belroth would like to try and use Freya to intimidate people out of the way because there’s a giant cat that’s now mad because someone stepped on its toe.
Deeran 23:24
We’ll never know who.
Belroth 23:24
It was nobody.
Anthony 23:28
That’s not nice to say about my friend, Belroth.
Belroth 23:32
We’re friends? That was so nice. I believe, yeah, she got a 15.
Anthony 23:40
Okay, Skarpin?
Skarpin 23:42
Yeah, Skarpin is sick of this crowd. He’s just- they’re in his way. He got an 18.
Anthony 23:49
I thought you were gonna say 5 again.
Belroth 23:51
I’m just tired of this.
Skarpin 23:52
~Whines: Get out of my wayyyyy!~
Anthony 23:58
A loud- what is it from a cat, like a hiss? A roar? I don’t know. Something in between a hiss and a roar, right?.
Belroth 24:06
Something in between a bat screech and also a tiger growl, I guess. Like a terrible noise. A terrible noise. A sgrowl. A sgrowl.
Yeah. Freya sgrowls and people back up. Then Skarpin just like, charges through with the shell, gets a little bit of momentum built up, and you guys are just on the edge toward the entrance where the guards are. You do all take another 5 points of nonlethal damage on your way through. Now you’re facing down some guards with pikes. You’ve pushed your way to the front, and the guards are like, backup! Backup! Backup!
Skarpin 24:52
No, we have a meeting with the Elders. We need to get in.
Anthony 24:56
Yeah, okay. Everyone here has a lot of questions for the Elders. They got a lot of questions for the Viscount. We totally understand, but you know, just backup, backup. It’s not safe.
Ellori 25:07
We’ve been invited by Elder Riggs himself. If you go ask him, he’ll let you know.
Deeran 25:17
Yeah, you can let him know TESSA’s here. The Expeditionary Society of Secrets and Adventure, man
Anthony 25:25
Expedition Socie- that, that sounds like the very long name we were told to let through. You can, you can come on. There’s 4 of you if I’m correct.
Belroth 25:38
Well, also my cat.
Ellori 25:40
And Freya.
Anthony 25:41
Fine, I don’t count that.
Deeran 25:42
OUR cat, man.
Anthony 25:46
Okay.
Belroth 25:47
Belroth’s kind of feeling fuzzy inside.
Anthony 25:50
And a guy next to you is also with them.
Belroth 25:54
We don’t know that a man. We don’t know who this is.
Skarpin 25:57
Bring him in. Bring him in.
Belroth 26:01
So, the 4 of you get ushered past the guards, and a guard like, you know, comes in behind you with his halberd out, and walks you guys up the hill into the Brass Palace area. He points to the tower of the palace itself. He says the meeting is in there. Just let the steward know, and he’ll take you where you need to go.
Deeran 26:35
Deeran touches his like, right eye and he’s like, oh, man, I just got over the one from the fair. Now I got this one. Sure enough like, his right eye is starting to swell.
Anthony 26:51
You broke another pair of glasses.
Deeran 26:54
Turning a little purple to like, counterbalance the slightly greenish hue of the healing left black eye from just a couple of weeks ago.
Belroth 27:07
Does Deeran know Mending?
Deeran 27:12
That doesn’t work on a face!
Belroth 27:13
No, but your glasses. I want to know if you have tape or if he will have mended glasses.
Anthony 27:19
I don’t know if he even wears glasses.
Deeran 27:21
Deeran doesn’t wear glasses.
Belroth 27:22
Oh, you’re right. He doesn’t, but in my head he does.
Skarpin 27:24
He got LASIK like two years ago. Come on, keep up.
Deeran 27:30
Just before he started adventuring, he got LASIK.
Anthony 27:33
It’s like MASIK, right? Like, whatever the LASIK anagram, but with “Magic” instead of lasers.
Skarpin 27:40
There we go.
Deeran 27:42
I don’t know that it is an anagram. I think it’s just a fake word.
Anthony 27:45
It’s just a fake word? Is this a learning experience.
Belroth 27:47
No, that can’t be right. I’m looking it up.
Deeran 27:48
Don’t look it up! Let’s just keep going!
Ellori 27:52
It’s Laser Eye Surgery-
Anthony 27:56
Korrection. Correction with a K, I love it. Yeah, so now it is MASIK. It’s MASIK now. No, I guess, MAGIK. Oh know!
Skarpin 28:16
That sounds right.
Deeran 28:19
He’s a doctor-
Belroth 28:20
Now I know the answer, and I’m not gonna tell anyone. It’s fine.
Deeran 28:27
Nope.
Belroth 28:30
I’m not going to tell anyone.
Skarpin 28:33
Megan! Megan, I gotta tell you something!
Anthony 28:35
Rob try to keep a fact you know yourself. Let’s move on.
Skarpin 28:38
Shut up, Skarpin.
Deeran 28:40
Hey, why did Rob leave the podcast?
Anthony 28:41
Because everyone was a real fucking dick.
Deeran 28:44
Well, he looked up LASIK and you know how things go?
Belroth 28:49
He just got really excited and wanted to share cool stuff with his friends, but everyone hated that for some reason.
Deeran 28:54
No, he said he wasn’t going to and then he got mad because he had to reap what he fucking sowed.
Skarpin 28:59
They he got yelled at.
Belroth 29:07
Now I get yelled at.
Skarpin 29:08
And that’s where we’ll call it.
Deeran 29:21
God, I love you guys.
Belroth 29:24
I’m not in a great mood.
Skarpin 29:27
I’m kind of salty too. I don’t remember why.
Belroth 29:32
Mikey’s just empathic so he’s feeling all the feelings.
Skarpin 29:35
I’m not.
Belroth 29:42
Well fucking just say no to me then I don’t know, dude.
Ellori 29:44
Oh, my god.
Skarpin 29:45
I love you, Rob.
Belroth 29:49
Jesus Christ.
Anthony 29:53
I’m moving on from this.
Belroth 29:55
I’m not!
Anthony 29:57
I can tell!
You’re at the tower, and the steward, seeing the guard push you guys forward, he’s like, ah, this must be The Expedition Society I’ve heard so much about.
Belroth 30:16
That is us in fact. We are The Expedition Society of… Stuff and Adventure, and we are here for this meeting.
Anthony 30:28
All right, we have very little time to go on about things. Unfortunately the meeting has already begun or is soon to begin and so, in no short order I shall take you forward and announce you to the fine people within the meeting, and we shall provide the appropriate gravity to your entrance that is required of meetings of this stature and people such as yourselves who have been invited to such things. It is important that we create an air of pomp as is befitting. Follow me.
Ellori 31:11
Ellori curtsies.
Belroth 31:14
Do not curtsy to me. I am merely the steward. I bow to your magnificence in this moment which we have not one to lose for things are already in motion and quite busy so, I will give you proper deference. He bows deeply a second time.
I’m sorry. What is your name again? I don’t know if we quite got it.
Oh, wow, I am honored that you would ask such a question of me. It is not my place to answer such things, but I am Galabrad, and I am the steward of this palace of which I have been in this position for many years, and I am quite proud. For several of the emperors of the Empire I have stood stalwart as the steward of this palace, a caretaker, a groundskeeper, and manager of the staff here. It is a most important task, one I have been so delighted to carry out for all this time.
Do-
Anthony 32:20
If you look to your right, you will see the original tapestries that were once here from a dynasty. These have survived for 4 monarchs in our place here-
Belroth 32:30
Galabrad, um-
Skarpin 32:31
These are old. Wow, fascinating.
Belroth 32:34
Galabrad, this is all lovely, and it is a pleasure to meet you, but you said the meeting has begun so we have to get to the meeting, correct?
Anthony 32:43
Well, I guess so, yes-
Belroth 32:44
No, Galabrad it is-
Anthony 32:45
I will take you right now. No, no, you’re correct. You are of course correct. You are- stupid Galabrad-
Belroth 32:53
No, Galagrad-
Anthony 32:53
I will take you right away. There is no time to lose, and I have wasted so much of your time already that is far more important than standing here talking to me while I tell you about priceless artifacts from the past that have no bearing on the meeting today or your future. It was it was foolish of me to do so and I have I am so-
Belroth 33:14
Gal-
Anthony 33:14
-so apologetic for wasting your time-
Belroth 33:16
Galabrad, there is no need for apologies. I understand your position completely.
Anthony 33:25
You do me too much honor. Of course I- he bows deeply. Allow me to escort you right to the door. A fine, ancient oak door that was said to have been taken from the untamed forest itself, carved-
Skarpin 33:43
Oh wow.
Anthony 33:44
-by expert craftsmen is of the artisan guilds. Please, please follow me.
Skarpin 33:49
Very sturdy. And he knocks on it.
Belroth 33:51
Oh, no. Don’t do- Oh, okay, well, I will take this opportunity to introduce you. He pushes open the door, and he says, my 1000 pardons for the intrusion into this gathering, but I have with me, TESSA, who has come to share their information with you as requested.
Anthony 34:14
He bows like, 5 times to people in the room like, points himself slightly, and do you hear a voice: yes, of course, Gallabrad. Allow them to enter. As you enter the room, there are 7 people in the room. Elder Riggs is there wearing a black robe that has a symbol sewn into it, a symbol that you are familiar with, one of Adventure Incorporated in like, a shimmering silver. There are 2 others wearing the same attire as him. One of them is an elf with black hair who is like, bundled up into a tail at the back, and it’s quite long. He has, you know, somewhat youthful features, but he is an elf, so it’s hard to say for sure what his age is. Then another is a halfling. He seems to be- he’s like, propped up on- he’s got a special chair here that is much longer legs than the other chairs in the room. He’s got a pudgy little gut, but he seems to be just cheerily sitting in his seat, a smile on his face, and a big bushy beard, the biggest halfling beard you’ve ever seen. It really like, curls down probably around his feet if he were standing. He seems to have a, like I said, a smile on his face. Across from him in the most ornate chair is a figure that you recognize as the Viscount of this region, that is Devon Hawthorne. He wears just brilliant, beautiful, ornate attire of like, three layers of shirt and then like a velvet vest over that that is like, a long vest and tied off. He’s got a very small crown that he wears as the Viscount. To his right you see a man in full plate armor, head to toe. He carries a blade on his hip that looks like it might be a rapier of some kind. The handguard is like twisting routes that run over his hand. He is well known for being an incredibly skilled duelist and is the Head of the Guard, the Imperial Guard. You also see a woman wearing- she’s got a hammer on the tabard that she wears. She seems quite keen like, she seems like she is paying attention to everything as you walk in. She seems to be part of the Artificers Guild. Then there is a hunched over half orc woman who is sitting at the end of the table taking notes, very strenuous notes about everything that’s happening so far which doesn’t seem to be much, but she’s still taking a lot of notes. As you enter she leans over, she says, please spell your names for me.
Ellori 37:46
E L L O R I. R E A L T A N A M.
Anthony 37:52
Thank you, dearie.
Deeran 37:55
My name is Deeran Lincoln. Just the way it’s spelled. D E E R A N. Lincoln. L I N C O L N.
Belroth 38:05
My name is Professor Belroth-
Skarpin 38:08
Skarpin Nightholder-
Belroth 38:09
Oh, no, you go.
Skarpin 38:13
S K A R P I N
Anthony 38:22
Thank you, thank you, my dear.
Skarpin 38:24
Nightholder. N I G H T…H O L D…E R
Anthony 38:36
Oh, wonderful wonder-
Skarpin 38:38
Skarpin Nightholder.
Anthony 38:39
Yes, yes, I have it now, thank you.
Belroth 38:45
My name is Professor Belroth Beacon.
Skarpin 38:49
Well.
Belroth 38:49
B E L R O T H space B E A C O N.
Anthony 39:00
Oh, thank you, thank you.
Belroth 39:01
Does Belroth recognize anyone from Black Scale or any academic in the room?
You don’t see anyone associated with the Black Scale in the room at all, and the woman who’s taking your information you can tell from some of the stuff that she’s carrying that she’s Guild of Contractual Arrangement.
Okay, I didn’t know the other 2- they didn’t have symbols on them. I didn’t know if they were someone who would recognize.
Anthony 39:27
No.
Belroth 39:29
Kay.
Anthony 39:31
The other two, they had Adventure Inc. symbols on them.
Belroth 39:34
Oh, okay, okay. Belroth feels good to not see any of the bosses who denied him funding.
Deeran 39:43
So awkward.
Belroth 39:45
It would have sucked. They’d be like, oh, yeah, no, this guy sucks. Don’t believe anything he says.
Elder Riggs does not look your way as you enter. He seems to be focused ahead. The others look at you, and indeed the Viscount says, you are the ones who have been speaking of your time away from the continent. You’ve caused quite a stir.
Anthony 40:22
And the elf from Adventure Incorporated with black hair, he says, yes, I think we all know where that stir has come from. I think we all know who’s behind such things.
Elder Riggs says, now, now let us hear what they have to say. I suspect they will have much to share about the Demon Isles we do not already know.
Yes, and how they came by this information is most intriguing to me.
I would also like to know how they came by it. There’s a lot I would like to know. This is the small halfling
Deeran 41:08
Are you going to do this the whole time, or do we get to play?
Anthony 41:11
Wow!
Belroth 41:13
Whoaa!
Anthony 41:13
All the time it’s like, I sure would love to get a whole bunch of NPCs together and let them talk to each other!
Deeran 41:20
Yeah, I was wrong. You were right.
Belroth 41:23
I was into it. I disagree. I thought it was great.
Skarpin 41:27
I’m uncomfortable.
Ellori 41:28
Yeah, I think this is just Anthony proving all of the Season One haters wrong. He can do several distinct voices. We really need to let him have this.
Belroth 41:34
Yeah, let him have it. 5 to 10 more minutes.
Deeran 41:38
Two more people walk into the room.
Anthony 41:39
No, no it’s your time to speak now. Please tell me what you have observed.
Ellori 41:45
Ellori curtsies. Um, excuse me, esteemed panel of Elders and friends. We came by this information because we lived it. We saw it with our own eyes, we felt it with our own, very aching bodies, and we felt like it was really important for you to know that these great big things are happening.
Anthony 42:17
The man in armor- that would be Fennik. He says, I have concerns about these creatures you saw. How many of them-
Ellori 42:33
Yes, you should!
Anthony 42:34
How many of them did you see?
Belroth 42:39
We personally saw- let’s see. Well, we encountered about 4 or 5 up front, face to face, but we did see several pour out of the temple and several more humanoid but still devil-like creatures walk out of the portal in there.
Deeran 43:10
Yeah, like, are you talking about like all the monsters that we fought like, on the way there or like, the real bad things that like made us like, so scared we passed out.
Anthony 43:23
I had assumed that the monsters on the way there was an exaggeration.
Ellori 43:29
Oh, no. Skarpin show them the flower.
Yes, yes. It’s quite a fascinating flower, yes. Let me just take it- be very careful with it, very careful. He hands it to Elder Carapath.
Belroth 43:42
As he’s handing it, Belroth like, tries to add some credibility by being a tiefling and says, I grew up on the Demon Isles. I have never seen anything like this on the Demon Isles.
Skarpin 44:02
Show them your teeth. They’re similar.
Belroth 44:04
What? Oh. Belroth doesn’t know what to do and smiles, then stops.
Skarpin 44:13
See, see? That’s not normal.
Anthony 44:16
So, how did you go about magicking this flower to appear so strange. You want to call this proof?
Deeran 44:28
Cast Detect Magic on it, man. You’ll see what we saw.
Belroth 44:34
You see Devon Hawthorne looks to looks to Elder Carapath, and Elder Carapath looks to like, around the room. Elder Willowheart places his hand out, and he draws his hand back immediately. Well, that is something I was not expecting at all. It’s like a, void.
Deeran 45:01
It’s crazy, right, man?
Skarpin 45:04
Our magics couldn’t, couldn’t penetrate it, and when we tried to learn more It was as if nothing was there, like you say, a void.
Belroth 45:11
If I may, I actually have a wound from this encounter with these monsters that no healer in the city was able to heal properly. I don’t think anyone here may- well, I hope they could, but everyone turned me away and said that’s nothing worked on this. As he like, slowly reveals the like, the spike pointing out of his collarbone.
I, I don’t know what any of this has to do with anything. The member of the artificers guild speaks up now, and she says, What are we supposed to do with this information anyway? They’re storming the streets right now asking for the truth. So, what, we just tell them it’s true? We tell them that there are horrible monsters stalking the land. So, what? Now what? What do we do about?
To be honest, the mob wasn’t exactly a part of the plan. We expected to spread the information, but the people are scared. So, give them some sort of reassurance that the problem is going to be handled. I mean, that’s what they want, correct? If everyone is so scared that they gather in the streets and cause chaos, they want that feeling of safety that they don’t have, right?
Deeran 47:03
Yeah, I think if they just like, know that you are going to do something about it, right? Like, you’re the leadership in the in the city and like-
Ellori 47:13
Even if it’s just going to investigate to find out for yourself that what we’re saying is true.
Belroth 47:18
Well, that is a significant problem, the Viscount says. We have sent scouts to the Demon Isles. When we stopped receiving any word from them a couple of weeks ago, we sent scouts. None of them have returned either. We have heard-
Ellori 47:39
Ellori looks at Deeran.
Deeran 47:41
Deeran like, shakes his head like, I’m not bringing up the Trapezoid right now!
Anthony 47:48
We have not seen anyone from the Isles in months, which does beg a question of how you’ve brought us this information.
Deeran 48:02
Deeran looks at Belroth.
Anthony 48:05
Your Eminence, it does not beg a question why charlatans would pick a moment of stress to this empire, a moment of fear to exploit. This is Wesley’s work.
Skarpin 48:21
Belroth-
Deeran 48:21
Show him, man.
Belroth 48:22
If I may? The spellcasters in the room could probably verify what exactly this is, and he pulls out the stone that’s used to travel through the gate.
You see Willowheart’s eyes go wide, and Riggs reaches out a hand to you, and he says yes, you can put that away.
He puts it away.
Anthony 48:52
You see the artificers eyes like, she is hungry for whatever that was.
Skarpin 48:59
Oh, no.
Anthony 49:02
Hawthorne looks to Riggs and then to Willowheart and to Carapath, and Carapath, who is fuming, says, that his Adventure Incorporated business, and we will take care of it.
Deeran 49:23
Yeah, man, we’re part of the crew, and Deeran smiles.
Anthony 49:31
Fennik says, Nialetha is right. I don’t know what we can do about this threat. My guards are stretched thin. I do not have a lot of resources to contribute to hunting creatures. Obviously we will defend who we have to, but if they have not made their way mainland there’s not much I can do.
Deeran 50:04
Hey, man, um we could do that, right you guys? Like, we could hunt creatures like, that’s something that like, that would be helping- like, we would be doing something to like, help the effort. You know what I mean? Like, that can get strong enough to like, do more too. And Belroth that’s like your whole thing, right?
Belroth 50:25
Yes. Um, if I may, I suggest that we take some of these Adventure Inc. contracts that will probably be popping up because people are scared and start doing something. Obviously we are not nearly as skilled as many in the room here, but we do have a little bit of information, and that might give us a little bit of teeth to deal with this matter.
So, your intention would be to take the contracts that seem to be demon related, and try and garner whatever information you can, and do what hunting you can through these contracts that come in?
Not just us, obviously because we do not have: A, the bandwidth or B, the skill, but we want to be part of whatever is going to come. We brought this information hoping that we could help further. My family grew up on the Demon Isles. My sister was living on the Demon Isles. I am concerned for her and my entire family out there. I don’t know where they are, and all I want to do is somehow be involved. I don’t care what it is. I didn’t bring this for riches. I didn’t bring this for chaos. I didn’t bring this for political reasons. I just want to know where my sister is.
Deeran 52:05
I just want to help.
Anthony 52:07
A small smile flashes on Elder Carapath’s face, and then he swallows it down. He says, I think they may be right, Your Eminence. I think this is an important task that we at Adventure Incorporated will make our primary focus. The Empire is strained. We will find a way to ensure that Adventure Incorporated picks up the slack for anything that could come from these demon invasions. No, Fennik, your people can stay. You will need the resources you have, and I am sure Nialetha was not willing to provide anything anyway, but we will not be needing her help. No, we will make sure that this is handled as effectively as the Empire can muster through the channels of Adventure Incorporated. And I want to introduce to you, Your Eminence, to the team that will be the lead on chasing down every single complaint of demons that comes in from this point forward. When the whisper of demon is on the wind, it will be their job to track the sources of those whispers.
The Viscount looks pleased. He says, I think this is an accord we will all be very pleased to have come to. It is only in the best interest of Mughamar and the Empire in the name of the Emperor. May she be victorious.
Are you pleased with this outcome?
Deeran 54:10
Deeran is shitting himself.
Ellori 54:23
We appreciate all of the faith in us, and we’ll do the best job that we possibly can with all of the resources that we are given.
Belroth 54:31
Riggs also does not look very comfortable with this situation. He does not look pleased that Carapath is pleased basically. There is a loud popping sound in the room.
Ellori 54:48
Oh, no.
Belroth 54:49
And now there is another figure here. This one is in long, blue robes, very well kept, though travelled. Simple adornments. His face looks very, very similar to Fennik’s. He bows deeply as he enters into the room, and he says, Your Eminence. Please forgive me, brother. I have come as I heard important discussions will be had here today, and I wanted to lend whatever strength I could from the Silver Mask to this endeavor.
Anthony 55:42
That is where we’ll call it.
Deeran 55:46
Deeran officially shits, canonically.
Skarpin 55:52
Terrible first impression.
Anthony 56:19
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 56:53
Serious Business.
We’re super serious!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai