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Campaign 2 Episode 021 Transcript

Anthony 0:01
Greetings, adventurers, and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I am your Dungeon Master Anthony Reed. This is Episode 21. And it is part of the Ancient Secrets story arc. I always tell you that I’m your Dungeon Master, and it’s true. I consider you, the audience, a part of the table, you know, we have a 5 person table and you’ve got a seat to sit here with us and play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. And that’s why the community over at our Discord, which you can find links to in the show notes or on our website, adventureincpod.com, is so important to me. It’s a great way for me to talk to all of you, or at least all of you who are currently there, and have a conversation and chat about the show, how you’re feeling about it, where you think it’s going. We have a great little community that chats about every episode that comes out, and I love it. I can’t get enough of it. So, head over to the Discord if you have not already done so. And come and chat with us about the show that you are a member of. Also a big thank you to our Patrons at patreon.com/adventureinc, who are also a big part of the show, I guess twofold. They’re there twice. You know, I’ve got like 6 seats at the table. It’s 4 players, 1 for the audience, and 1 for the patrons who I guess are taking up an extra seat. The metaphor is very strained, but I appreciate them so much over at patreon.com/adventureinc, for supporting the show, for helping us out, for giving us a little bit of their hard earned money to tell us, hey, we like what you’re doing. We think you’re doing a good job and we want you to keep doing it. And we will say to them, okay, yeah, we can make that happen. And so thank you to them. That’s all. 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 2:09
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 2:18
Skarpin, the Cleric.

Belroth 2:21
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?

Skarpin 2:24
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 2:32
Ellori, the Bard.

Ellori 2:34
We would want you to leave this warehouse.

Anthony 2:38
He points behind you. Church!

Ellori 2:41
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.

Anthony 2:45
Deeran, the wizard.

He say you no, worship Shattered Fang.

Deeran 2:50
Yeah, man, he’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth- uh Shattered Fang, man.

Anthony 2:55
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated!

Let’s get started. You have sat down in the back of this tavern with Dorrin, who is a Bard. He was happy to regale you with some stories of demons if you are willing to buy him a meal. And so that’s where we think we’ll pick up if you’re willing. I don’t want to presume that you’re willing to front this bill for old Dorrin.

Belroth 3:37
I mean, did we exchange enough money?

Skarpin 3:41
We did 25 gold.

Ellori 3:43
We ended up doing 10 gold.

Skarpin 3:46
10 gold.

Ellori 3:49
No, we ended up only doing 5 because everyone told me 10 was too much.

Skarpin 3:53
I feel like the answer’s yes, though.

Anthony 3:55
I think you probably have enough to pay for a meal, yeah, for Dorrin the Bard. If that’s your inclination? If not, you can tell them to pound sand, I guess.

Ellori 4:06
No. Absolutely. Oh, hi.

Anthony 4:11
Then I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to share my stories with all of you and answer any questions you might have and enjoy a nice delicious meal here at the tavern. I am just passing through, and I am weary from travel and it seems that you are probably not from around here either.

Belroth 4:30
No, we are from, uh, from somewhere else. But we would love to hear some stories about demons.

Anthony 4:38
I don’t know if I will know more than you may, for instance, I suspect you probably have more first hand knowledge with the demon folk than I do, but I can tell you what I’ve heard I suppose.

Belroth 4:51
You’d be surprised. Don’t undersell yourself.

Anthony 4:58
Well, then what stories would you like to hear? There are many stories to tell about the demon folk and what they have done to this place and the people that they have hurt along the way, and I’m willing to share them.

Ellori 5:14
I think it would be most beneficial if we could hear the ones that are, you know, the stories that are recent enough to be, you know, categorized as as as- what do you call it-

Skarpin 5:35
Topical?

Ellori 5:37
Yeah, I think that’s a good word, Skarpin. I’m trying to put my lips over my teeth, and all of a sudden I don’t know what words are. It’s like my brain has aged with my voice.

Deeran 5:52
What about like-

Ellori 5:53
“Current events” is the word I was looking for. I’m sorry, Deeran, continue.

Deeran 5:56
Well, I was just gonna say like, what about ones were like, the humans like, win?

Anthony 6:05
I don’t have a lot of stories like that. I would say that the 7 greater demons who lead the demon armies. If those are the people that we could most pay attention to in our storytelling then I guess I can share with you stories of the Soul Eater and stories of the Accuser, stories of the Strangers, and stories of the Princess of Darkness herself. These are stories I can share.

Ellori 6:42
Anthony, can we infer that there were 7 that came out of the portal?

Anthony 6:48
You saw 6 that came out of the portal?

Ellori 6:51
Okay, sorry.

Anthony 6:52
That’s fine.

Belroth 6:53
I saw 2.

Anthony 6:55
No, you saw all 6. You just only recognized 2, right? Like, you only were able to wrap your head around the appearance of 2 of them before you were unconscious. One, if you were Mike.

Deeran 7:08
That’s right. Deeran saw like, a foot come out and he was done’ He was terrified.

Anthony 7:17
I guess then I shall start at the beginning.

Ellori 7:20
And any information you can include about, you know, like Deeran said how they’ve been beaten. That would be- or you know, their weaknesses. That would be the most important thing to focus on, I think.

Anthony 7:34
Well, there are some who claim that the demon generals have no weaknesses, that they are impossible to defeat.

Skarpin 7:41
Oh, no.

Deeran 7:42
I don’t want to hear a story from them though, man. I want to hear one from you.

Anthony 7:46
Ah, a clever man here, one who knows what he’s looking for. And I will say that of all the secret places that I have searched and tried to find information on these demons and greater demons. I will say that I have been unsuccessful in finding information about how we might defeat the greater demons alone. And now, of course, everyone knows that demons themselves are more susceptible to silver. That if you can strike at them with a weapon of pure silver. That will pierce them in a way that other weapons will not, but that’s common knowledge. I don’t mean to talk down to you about that.

Belroth 8:32
No, of course that is. And Belroth write that down in his notebook.

Deeran 8:36
And Deeran swaps out one of his stones spinning around the top of his staff for one silver coin. Yeah, man, like, everybody knows that as he does the other one as well.

Skarpin 8:52
I’m sorry, Dorrin and Deeran, I didn’t and I appreciate it if you talked to me like I’m, you know, a 5 year old.

Anthony 9:03
Well, I suppose it may be true that the stories of the demon folk have not reached you, wherever you are from, good sir.

Skarpin 9:13
The Northeast.

Anthony 9:14
Yes, I, I have met only one other tortle, and it was far to the North on the Northern ridges of the mountain ranges. And I will say that it is very odd to see one of your kind down here, and it looks like you may have a bit of a, I don’t know, like a flu or a cold. You look maybe sort of pale from what I might expect.

Skarpin 9:38
It’s a sunburn, and, you know, it’s, it’s in a pealing stage.

Anthony 9:43
Ah, yes, of course. Well, and I don’t mean to offend you, of course, I just, I’m worried about you, looking out for your well being.

Skarpin 9:52
Thank you. You’re very generous. Thank you.

Anthony 9:55
Well, then let me begin for you from the very from the most basic now. Yes, indeed, that silver is what we use to pierce the heart of a demon, to really cut them down. Not that any time you face a demon will it be easy, but that will be a way that might make fighting lesser demons easier. The demons come in many varieties. There are 100s of 1000s of the lesser demons that roam the lands that we fight. Then there are the large demons. The ones who, you know, an army might face, a large demon and his minions. And then there are the greater demons. Those are the ones who move in ways that are beyond armies and men. They are crafty, difficult to face in the best of scenarios, and in fact, as I said, I’m not sure they have weaknesses. Although there are some who claim that there are ways for us to beat them. And I think that is what the general is trying to do, but I will tell you of them.

Belroth 11:11
What ways does the general claim to have answer? I mean, is it public knowledge what they think the weaknesses- the plan to defeat these demons might be?

Anthony 11:26
I have it on- I should be honest with you, I suppose. I am working with the general. It is my job to come to these places, and gather up forces that will be willing to join him in our campaign.

Belroth 11:40
Insight Check. I don’t know if I believe him.

Anthony 11:43
Yeah, go ahead and roll an Insight Check.

Skarpin 11:45
Times are tough.

Belroth 11:45
We bought him dinner, come on. I rolled the 20 plus 2. 22.

Anthony 11:54
Before he says this, there is a very significant shift in his demeanor that makes you think like, he actually feels like you caught him in a lie, and he has to come clean.

Belroth 12:10
Like we caught him in a lie that he’s a Bard that we bought dinner, or we caught him in a lie that he was in the army?

Anthony 12:15
He was kind of trying to pretend that he wasn’t part of the army, and now he’s like, alright, okay, here’s the deal. He’s like, coming clean. Okay, I do work for the general, and it is my job to drum up support that when he arrives in the next day, he can call upon the people here who have been emboldened to join our cause. And I tell you that because I think you 4 would make excellent candidates for that, to join us in the battle against the demons. Where we go now, we believe this to be our last stand, and if what we attempt will not work, then I don’t know what will. The general has been in touch with one of the Archons. The Archon tied to the titan, Durath. The Archon says that they can see what the titan’s eyes and that they know of a way to stop what is coming. The Archon requested the gems that have been mined in this place, and they have requested enough silver to fill 4 wagon loads. We are bringing those things to the Archon, and the Archon is supposed to use them to create for us the means by which we can stop this. We are traveling from here with the gems to the Archon. And then from there, whatever we can do.

Skarpin 14:14
I’m so sorry to interrupt, Dorrin. “Archon”, I haven’t heard this term before.

Anthony 14:22
I am so sorry. I do not know what strange religious beliefs you might have, you and your people.

Skarpin 14:31
Lots.

Anthony 14:31
But we we have our acolytes of the titans, those who are connected to the powers that those titans have brought to bear. And of the acolytes the one most connected to any given titan is the Archon. And each Titan has an Archon that is associated with them. Durath’s Archon has been the most vocal in trying to help us against the demon threat. And while no acolyte or Archon will stand by while a demon lays waste, they are limited in what they can do about the demon threat. Their powers do not seem to have an effect on the demons as they do other things.

Deeran 15:33
But like, is that the only titan that’s like trying to help out, or are there others?

Anthony 15:43
I think the others help in small ways.

Deeran 15:46
Like how, specifically, each of them?

Anthony 15:52
Talb has tried to pass through his acolytes information about the demons. Some of the stories that I carry now, I heard from acolytes of Talb. And I believe that those stories are meant to guide us, meant to help us, at least protect ourselves. The titans, they want us to be safe, they want us to be protected. They want us to take our power into our own hands. The Acolytes of Vorace brought sorcery to the world. They did so so we would have a tool to use. They gave us, those of us capable of harnessing them, the matrix. For Jian, it’s been, well let’s say not all of the titans have a direct way that they seem to be helping us. I am sure that Jian is not a sympathizer of demon kind, but how they might be helping with us, the acolytes, they seem to stay out of it. And then of course, Chanerel. Chanerel had her own way of helping when she split the Demon Isles off from the land, tore them apart and filled the ocean between them. That did help for a while. It has not helped forever, obviously.

Skarpin 17:42
Wow.

Deeran 17:45
Yeah, sorry, for, you know. I guess I meant like, everybody knows about general splitting the world and stuff, you know, I guess I meant like, you know what, uh, what now actively, you know what I mean?

Anthony 18:03
Yeah, what have they done for us lately? Yeah, I agree.

Deeran 18:08
At least Durath is like, coming around with like, a, you know, a plan to help us out, you know? Like, knows all the stuff about Talb and Vorace, you know?

Anthony 18:21
And I would agree with you. I don’t know- I am frustrated by what seems to be apathy, but as I was once told to me by an acolyte, we live such short, frail lives, and the titans move on the scale of the world, that it can be difficult for us to perceive their movements. It can be difficult for us to know the tide we’re in when it shifts just as a river bend might move so slowly, that the stick does not notice its movement. We too are shaped by the titans, even if we do not realize it.

Belroth 19:12
I have a question. I may be of the Demon Isles, but I was not raised on the Demon Isles, I was raised in a distant forest in a settlement known as Prosperity. And the people there worship a titan, often given the title, the All Seer, and I have a theory that they are just merely referring to the same titan by a different name, but I’m not familiar with the way you refer to these titans in the same way. So, if you could just clarify if one of those titans is the All Seer or I’ve heard World Binder. I’ve heard they have all these different titles.

Anthony 20:01
All Seer and World Binder are not things that I have ever heard associated with the titans. I guess you could say they all would fit those monikers. Perhaps you worship all the titans as a single entity?

Skarpin 20:21
How about Coliesto?

Anthony 20:24
The child?

Skarpin 20:27
What are they doing for us?

Anthony 20:31
I do not know what one expects from a child.

Skarpin 20:34
Well, a child titan is still impressive.

Anthony 20:37
Certainly. The child titan is kept safe from the demon threat. They are protected by the titans. They are hope for the future. They are our beacon, should the titans fail. According to doctrine.

Deeran 21:04
You ever think that like, maybe, you know, the folks who think everything’s all connected, like all the way, you know, maybe they might be right about this whole thing, you know?

Anthony 21:16
In my experience, those who think everything is all connected all the way often miss the subtlety and nuance of coincidence.

Deeran 21:30
Yeah, but that’s like just what you think.

Anthony 21:38
That’s fair, you know, that’s true.

Deeran 21:44
You know, who knows?

Anthony 21:45
I do think, I will tell you this. I think it is almost certainly true that things are more connected than people ever realize, except the people who think it’s all connected.

Deeran 21:59
Oh.

Anthony 22:00
Less than they think, but more than most people realize. So, split the difference, really is the right amount of connected.

Deeran 22:11
That’s like, a really interesting theory.

Belroth 22:16
Is, is there a reason that the titan slit the Demon Isles off, but split it into 7 isles for the 7 demon generals? Is that a coincidence, or is that a connection?

Deeran 22:31
Oh, that’s a great question, man.

Anthony 22:33
That is a great question, and should you ever have an opportunity to speak with a titan, you know, maybe that would be something to ask. I don’t know if they’re correlated or not.

Belroth 22:45
I mean, my only understanding of- I grew up insulated from the whole arch- grand demon thing. I’m only recently a traveler, believe it or not, but I do have some old stories of them. And they were just told to me as they were things to scare children, so they would go to sleep and not complain to their parents. You know, those sort of kind of barbaric folklore fairy tales, that nobody enjoys in a really dark and you’re wondering, when someone wrote this, what were they going through? One of those.

Anthony 23:26
He like, looks around himself. He’s like, I wouldn’t tell these stories if children were around. These are truly horrific and terrifying things that could happen to someone, and we wouldn’t want to worry children that this could be occurring.

Belroth 23:39
I just want to clarify that my upbringing was very peculiar. Okay, I just want to clarify.

Anthony 23:45
I would say so, yes.

Belroth 23:48
I also do believe that children can handle more than adults often believe they can.

Ellori 23:55
Oh, yeah. My grandma always said that, you know, kids are responsible for all of the, for all of the elements of their chores, just as much as adults are because if children don’t participate in the workings of the village, you know, then the village isn’t going to operate the best it can.

Deeran 24:13
Wait, they make the kids work where you’re from?

Ellori 24:16
Well, it’s not really, it’s not really working. It’s just being part of a community. You know, if you, if you’ve got little hands that can you know, milk the baby…goats.

Deeran 24:27
Why are you milking the baby goats?

Ellori 24:30
I don’t know.

Anthony 24:26
Poor, baby goats?

Belroth 24:37
Ellori, I think I’ve realized you may have been given busy work.

Ellori 24:43
No, I was, I was the best one at-

Belroth 24:47
Milking the baby goats?

Anthony 24:50
I got more milk from the baby goats than anyone!

Skarpin 24:57
I like to think that Ellori would come back with a bucket of milk when they didn’t, of course, expect there to be any milk. She just wanted to like, not disappoint them.

Ellori 25:15
Yeah, that sounds right.

Anthony 25:19
We seem to have gone astray.

Deeran 25:25
You know, but like, maybe, you know, maybe there’s a purpose to all this right? Like, maybe it’s the youth, you know, that might save us or whatever.

Anthony 25:38
Maybe. I also think that if I walk into town and fearmonger about demons to the children of the town, the parents are going to be far less likely to help me out when it comes time to hook them up with the general and move on from here.

Belroth 25:56
I wasn’t suggesting you read scary stories to your children. I’m just saying your children might like it more than you think.

Anthony 26:01
And I think maybe, for us, I don’t know how secluded your village is, but for where the danger and threat is so real, they’re not really like the scary stories, so much as things to be aware of to protect yourself, you know-

Deeran 26:21
It’s like an advisory or whatever.

Anthony 26:24
Yes, traveling at night without a gorge or some way to protect your neck is going to make Nosferat a problem. You could be set upon by Nosferat, the Blood Taker, the Nightstalker, you know? If you are taken by the beast and turned into one of his living drones or turned into one of his children, you will turn against your own people, used as a weapon of the demons against your family and friends.

Ellori 27:01
Oh yeah, that would be so, that would be that would be…terrible.

Belroth 27:07
Nosferat is one of the demons?

Anthony 27:10
Yes, one of the greater demons.

Deeran 27:14
Tell us about him, man.

Ellori 27:15
Well.

Anthony 27:17
Nosferat is the servant of the Princess of Darkness. He is her informant. He gathers people to him like, through some means of beguiling them. And then he controls them. He feeds on their life force and controls their thoughts and can read what they have learned. He will use them amongst the populace to gather information, to turn more informants, and to return that information to him. He is her spymaster. He can take the form of animals, vermin mostly. He can travel as mist on the wind. He has two fangs, obviously, that he can use to drain his victims of their life force, feeding himself.

Deeran 28:23
Is he like, super strong?

Anthony 28:25
Well, they are all super strong, but yes, he is very, very strong. They do not call him the Beast because he is frail and weak.

Deeran 28:40
That’s true, man, good point.

Ellori 28:44
What about the other demon generals? Can you maybe run through like, you know, think of it as like an anthology, like a short story version of each of them.

Anthony 28:55
There is the Soul Eater, the Midnight Star. He is heavily cloaked. He carries long scythes. Where there is death, you will find the Midnight Star. He arrives on battlefields where once enough people have been slain, he will show up and more are sure to die.

Deeran 29:20
Like, on horseback?

Anthony 29:22
Occasionally. And he will rend through soldiers with these blades on his arms that no metal will stop. He is Death incarnate.

Skarpin 29:45
Not even silver can fight this creature?

Anthony 29:51
I suspect you would have the best chance with silver, but truly, I don’t know. The Accuser, she is the political arm of the Princess. When one needs dealing with, kept in line, for those villages and towns that early on submitted to demon rule, she would be there draining the emotion from people. She can quiet a room with a glare, and she can kill just as quickly. She was used mostly to quiet resistance in places that had opted for trying a diplomatic solution with the demons. It should be noted that that has not worked anywhere it was tried. All were conquered in time.

Old Scratch, the Whisper of Lies, the assassin for the Princess. He can slip in and out of shadow, darkness. He seems to move freely between pools of darkness as though they are gateways to him. When he finds you and consumes you, there is often little left except that which he chooses to leave as a symbol of your passing. He typically leaves something to identify the person by, most often the head, that’s the easiest.

Deeran 31:54
Deeran like, is visibly shaking as he lifts his ale to take a big heavy sip.

Skarpin 32:03
Yeah, and Skarpin kind of turtles his head a bit.

Belroth 32:09
Belroth is unfazed.

Anthony 32:13
The Strangers are her agents of chaos. There are 2 of them. Though I cannot tell you what they look like for they are able to take the form of mortals. Some claim that they have been overtaken by the Strangers, that they have acted on the Strangers accord, that they were not of their own mind. I think some people claim that as an excuse for actions they’d rather they had not done, but I think then there is some validity that that could be true, whether they take the shape of a person or simply control the person, I do not know. But we do know that the Strangers cause mayhem. And when they are together, they cause even more mayhem. Their power seems to increase significantly when they are together. And then there is the Princess of Darkness herself. She is protected heavily by her demons, not just the greater demons, but a whole series of demons that are not of the same power level, but are still far more powerful than those that we see roaming around. She is the one we know least about, but she seems to be the mastermind, the puppet master behind it all. She controls all the actions. She is not a hedonist. She is not one who has taken her power and let it rule her. She is not an empty suit. From our knowledge, she demands the loyalty of her demons and they willingly give it. These are the things we know about the demons, and it is not much, but we know that there is little that we can do because as time passes, our numbers dwindle, and their numbers only seem to grow.

Ellori 34:47
And their armies are comprised of demons, obviously, and also, Nosferat’s children. You said there are other types of turned- you said their numbers keep getting bigger. Are there other kinds of people who’ve been turned by demons into other sorts of monsters?

Anthony 35:10
He glances at Belroth. And then he glances away. And he says, Those who are born in the service of the Princess find themselves changed. That is where the tieflings come from. They are those who are born within her sphere of influence. Many of the human, elven dwarven villages that acquiesced to their control in fear that it would destroy them. Within two generations, they are demon kin.

Ellori 36:08
Okay, and you haven’t heard any stories of, oh, I don’t know people who are not exactly alive, but also not exactly dead. Maybe they have specific diets that don’t include human food.

Skarpin 36:25
Skarpin turtles more.

Anthony 36:30
That would be a way you might be able to describe those who have been touched by the Nosferat, but they are dead. Make no mistake. Those turn by Nosferat, touched by him, transformed by him, their soul is gone. Their life is gone. They are dead.

Ellori 37:03
So, how do we sign up?

Belroth 37:08
Am I allowed because it seems as though, well, I’m getting the vibe that you want these 3, and I am here. I don’t know if others of my kind are allowed.

Anthony 37:29
Few and I would say that the general will undoubtedly want to vet you before he allows such a thing, but I do not think it’s not a “no”.

Belroth 37:55
Excellent.

Anthony 37:56
At this point the general is pretty interested in taking anyone who is willing to help, though do not be surprised if you find yourself surrounded by people he trusts.

Deeran 38:08
Yeah, man if like if he needs like, anybody to like, vouch for Belroth or whatever like, I definitely would do it.

Anthony 38:15
I’m not sure how much weight that will carry as you are traveling with him, but I will inform them that he is not to your knowledge holding you captive in a way that you would be willing to share. So, I suppose really no validity and there’s no way that you could give me here no assurance that could trusted really, but I appreciate it.

Deeran 38:44
I mean like, I definitely don’t listen to him if that’s what you- like, he can vouch for that.

Anthony 38:53
I do not mean to- I do not mean you any offense, sir. I do not believe that to be the case. I think that frankly, there are far more destructive things to be doing with one who is being controlled by the demons than send them to this backwater and try to infiltrate what we are doing here. Hopefully what we are doing- you know, we expect that probably most of the demons know what we are attempting to do, and that will not be the deciding factor as to whether or not it happens.

Belroth 39:30
Belroth pets Freya on the head. Kind of ponder that for a second. And also sees if this guy is eyeing Freya nervously, cuz I imagine he’s never seen a Freya before.

Anthony 39:42
He actually doesn’t really seem to react to Freya in any meaningful way.

Belroth 39:51
He’ll still pet her on the head.

Skarpin 39:56
Dorrin, one, one other question. This seems important. What do the demons want? Why won’t they just leave us alone?

Anthony 40:08
From anything we have been able to determine it seems that the demons have only one thing that they care about and that is destruction. They seek to tear this place to the ground and destroy anything in their path. They cannot be reasoned with. They cannot be controlled. They cannot be bargained. We can fight them, and we usually fail, and they burn, and they kill. We have held our ground in places. We have pushed them back from time to time. And it was easier in the past than it is now. As I said our numbers dwindle and we do not, well we do not bring people back as they seem to be able to.

Belroth 41:13
Weird question to ask, and I don’t know if you even have the answer. Of the spellcasters, maybe in the army in this strikeforce, whatever, how do they describe the difference between the ways, you know, you would cast magic versus how the demon kind would cast magic? I don’t even know if you know enough about magic-

Deeran 41:45
He’s like, an academic and kind of a snob man. So like, the question’s not like- he doesn’t mean to be like, hurtful with it, you know?

Belroth 41:54
Well, I was just being accurate, but yes, that’s fair.

Anthony 41:57
Are you, Are you saying you, you cast magic?

Belroth 42:03
Um, well, I dabble in some various arcane trickery, but not magic itself. It’s smoke and mirrors more than anything.

Deeran 42:17
Yeah, he means like this, and he like, tries to do a coin trick where like, he makes a coin appear and disappear with his hand.

Anthony 42:28
Like with Prestidigitation?

Deeran 42:31
No, with Slight of Hand.

Ellori 42:35
Close up magic.

Deeran 42:37
Deeran gets a 13.

Anthony 42:39
Okay, yeah, you pick up the coin, you like, flip it up, you palm it, and then you drop it on the table. Like, you’re so close to palming. It looks great for a second and then it falls. Ah, yes, of course, of course.

Belroth 42:58
I study magic, and I’m fascinated by actual magic, but I don’t know actual magic.

Anthony 43:05
So few do. I would have been surprised. It’s too bad, I mean, certainly if you could throw fire from the sky, then-

Belroth 43:19
That would be so impressive. And he eyes Deeran.

Anthony 43:23
But I don’t expect that wanderers would- I mean, you’d be some sort of court marriage, obviously, if you could touch the gifts that were given to you by Vorace, he would be a court mage.

Ellori 43:44
Obviously.

Anthony 43:44
None of you are court mages, right?

Belroth 43:47
I’m definitely not. I’m an academic.

Deeran 43:49
No, man.

Skarpin 43:51
Skarpin turtles.

Deeran 43:53
I’ve only been to a court once.

Anthony 43:56
Well, then that is more than most.

Belroth 44:00
I was just asking because I’ve heard rumors that their magic is slightly different than our strongest magic, and I was just curious if you knew more about that.

Anthony 44:13
I am no court mage, and they keep their secrets to themselves. There is little I would be able to tell you of that.

Ellori 44:20
Um, Dorrin, you’ve been wonderfully helpful tonight. Thank you so much for all the information that you’ve provided. Um, if we wanted to impress the general when we meet him tomorrow- I imagine there will be a chance for us to meet him tomorrow. What would be our you know, what is he looking for in a soldier?

Deeran 44:40
Oh, yeah, cuz we’re like, so hard in. We’re like, we’re so excited to like, help out however we can.

Anthony 44:49
If you had perhaps a few examples of some of the daring feats you’ve performed in the past, things that might resonate with him, things you have accomplished, that might go a long way to providing the sort of expectation of what you might be capable of.

Ellori 45:16
Okay, so we’ll put together our, you know, collective resumes, and bring them in the morning.

Anthony 45:25
That sounds like a great first step, as you meet with the general. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to try to do my best to travel around and share some of this information with others that we might gather as big a force as we can from this, though, I don’t think there are many here with idle hands.

Ellori 45:45
Of course, and if you need any help, we’re great at making mobs.

Anthony 45:51
That might be something to include in your resume, I guess. I bid you adieu, and thank you. And he leaves.

Deeran 46:02
Once he leaves, Deeran’s gonna look at the group and be like, I thought he was gonna tell us stories.

Belroth 46:08
Yeah, he didn’t tell us one story.

Deeran 46:10
No, like we bought him a meal-

Ellori 46:13
He kind of told us 8 stories.

Belroth 46:15
He told us 8 titles.

Deeran 46:18
Yeah, he told us like, facts. Like, you know, like a story- you know this, Ellori-

Ellori 46:23
They were very dramatic facts!

Deeran 46:25
I can’t believe I was just starting to explain what a story was to you.

Ellori 46:29
I would accept those little bits as maybe even more helpful than a story because, you know, it didn’t have all the stuff you got to dig through. You know, like, when I tell a story, there’s a lot of details, but there’s also a lot of, you know, extra stuff. Versus when Belroth tells a story it’s, you know, just the bare minimum information.

Belroth 46:50
And I felt like it was more on that spectrum of story.

Deeran 46:54
That’s what I’m saying. I would never buy Belroth a meal for his stories.

Belroth 47:01
Also, we bought him a meal, and he works for the government. I’m not really quite sure what’s happening here.

Deeran 47:10
Well, I mean, it seems like he needed it, you know? I’m okay with that part.

Skarpin 47:19
What do you think about doing some magic for the general? I feel like that could be a good enough resume.

Ellori 47:26
Yeah, I feel like we probably shouldn’t hide the things that we can do. Well, to an extent. I’m fairly confident I’ve got to hide about 90% of myself.

Belroth 47:37
I don’t know if I can. I can’t even put up a hood. These horns will get right in the way. If I did, they would just kind of stick out. I don’t have the horns that poke back, which would have been nicer. They just poke upward, which is very hard for hoods.

Deeran 47:55
Here, but they look great, man.

Belroth 47:56
The hoods or my horns?

Deeran 47:59
Your horns.

Belroth 47:59
Thank you. You’re being so nice to me today.

Deeran 48:04
I mean, I did say I wouldn’t buy you a meal for your stories, but yeah, man, you’re welcome.

Belroth 48:10
Being nicer than normal, I guess. That’s fine.

Deeran 48:14
And if anything, you should appreciate that like, it’s just the truth, you know?

Belroth 48:19
Well, unfortunately, I know what people probably will think of me, and that’s stressful that I- it’s not great to hide it, but I wish I could, and that’s not a great feeling. It doesn’t make me feel good about myself that I want to hide myself in this moment.

Ellori 48:43
Belroth, at least you know, everyone knows your tiefling, and they’re willing to give you a chance. Me and Skarpin aren’t even, you know, we can’t even get that far.

Skarpin 48:56
Well, actually, Ellori, I think I almost got a date down by the docks. She was quite smitten with me.

Ellori 49:02
The bank lady?

Skarpin 49:04
Yeah.

Ellori 49:06
Oh, she was very pretty.

Skarpin 49:08
Yeah.

Belroth 49:09
I don’t know why you didn’t stay, you could have.

Skarpin 49:11
Well, maybe later tonight if we have time, but I think people will accept us. Maybe you should cover your face though.

Belroth 49:23
Who are you referring to?

Skarpin 49:25
Ellori.

Belroth 49:26
Oh, okay.

Skarpin 49:30
Maybe, maybe a mask for tomorrow just so you don’t have to hide- so you can sing and use your magic more freely.

Ellori 49:38
You know that masks tend to show your mouth. They tend to show your eyes and your mouth and those are the important things.

Belroth 49:46
What about a bandana over your mouth? That doesn’t seem very fashionable, but it would be practical.

Ellori 49:55
It seems like when people put masks on they’ve got something to hide.

Anthony 50:08
It didn’t translate great. There was a little bit of a sound of it, but I definitely saw in Mike’s eyeballs. I mean, you have something to hide.

Skarpin 50:19
I don’t know so you don’t have to- if it’s gonna interfere with your magics I just would rather have you be you know, able to use your strength.

Ellori 50:36
Yeah, no, me too. I just I guess, you know, maybe if I got fake teeth that went all the way down to my, to the bottoms of of my fangs, you know, so I had really big top teeth. Maybe that would be something that-

Belroth 50:52
All of my teeth are long.

Skarpin 50:57
Yeah, and a mask would help too.

Ellori 51:04
I don’t want to wear a mask.

Skarpin 51:06
That’s fine. Okay.

Ellori 51:08
The thing about masks is that they hide everything but your teeth.

Deeran 51:12
Well, what if you wore a mask that works the opposite way, that only hides your face? Like, the bottom part.

That would be ridiculous. Those don’t even exist.

Belroth 51:20
What if you tell a little bit of the truth in that you have beaten the curse that they are so afraid of? Technically, right?

Ellori 51:31
No, no one beats that curse.

Belroth 51:33
No, but in our world, you were never properly turned, right? And you were never turned into this mindless slave. You could say that you fought one and came out the other end-

Ellori 51:45
But I didn’t.

Belroth 51:46
Okay,

Ellori 51:47
I was only, I was only a kid.

Deeran 51:50
Well, so, okay, like, hear me out. I think Ellori, maybe like, at some point, it might not be a bad idea to get like, you know, those big fake teeth you were talking about, but like, I don’t know that you’re gonna be able to make those before tomorrow.

Ellori 52:08
Um, I can do anything I want. And she kind of pulls her hands out and she closes her eyes and she wiggles her fingers and she sings, ~I’ve got to pricking at the tips of my fingers. I’ve got an image in the back of my brain. Where there was nothing, let there be something. Show me a new set of teeth.~ And she makes like, big ol top dentures.

Anthony 52:37
What spell are you using?

Ellori 52:39
This is the, I can make something. This is the Bard College thing. I can make whatever the heck I want.

Skarpin 52:51
Is it concentration?

Ellori 52:54
It’s called Spark of Creation.

Belroth 52:55
I don’t think it is. I think you just make it, but I don’t know how long it lasts, right?

Skarpin 53:02
I imagine, long enough. Even if it doesn’t last until tomorrow. She can recast it. That’s dope.

Belroth 53:06
It’s such a cool spell.

Ellori 53:08
It won’t last until tomorrow. I think it’s like, the number of hours equal to the Bard level.

Skarpin 53:19
I don’t like that Anthony’s thinking about it, but I feel like that- Ellori, I think that’s wonderful. That’s a great idea.

Ellori 53:27
No, no, hold on, hold on.

Belroth 53:30
The item disappears after a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus.

Anthony 53:33
Ellori, you sing your song, and you feel the magic of Creation pour out of the world around you into your hands like you’re holding it like you can shape it, like you can mold it, and you give it the intention of this row of dentures which are going to pop in over your teeth to make you have I guess like a shark mouth is what you’re going for like, full, filed fangs all the way around.

Ellori 54:11
Like just really, really long top teeth.

Anthony 54:13
Okay. As you prepare this, the Creation magic forms in your hands. And then it won’t stop. The Creation magic is so thick, so heavy in this space. That there’s just more and more and more of this Creation magic pouring in that it is just everywhere. Suddenly, from your hand is like a font of teeth that just pour out all over the ground.

Skarpin 54:52
Oh, no. It’s so gross. It’s so gross.

Belroth 54:53
There’s so many teeth!

Ellori 54:54
Oh, my god I don’t know how to stop it!

Anthony 54:55
First in the 10s and then in the 50s, then the 100s, 1000 teeth have spilled out onto the floor around you, just clattering to the ground, landing on the wooden floor of this tavern, piling up next to your table until eventually you’re able to stop the flow of Creation magic in this place. And this pile of teeth is sitting next to you. You do have the set of dentures that you can put in your mouth. Although I am going to expect you to talk as though you have way too long teeth that you’ve put into your mouth that are fake.

Deeran 55:02
Deeran stands up and like opens his like cloak to like, try to hide the teeth.

Anthony 55:49
Yeah, it’s way too many for that. You feel like you could settle into this pile of teeth and make a little teeth throne for yourself. That’s how many teeth are here.

Deeran 55:57
I would never. That’s disgusting. That would never cross Deeran’s mind.

Belroth 56:03
You’re so weird, Anthony.

Ellori 56:07
Are there other people in the tavern looking?

Anthony 56:10
The bartender is just wiping the same spot on the table and just staring at you trying to figure out what’s going on.

Ellori 56:20
Ellori is gonna look up and say, whoa, where did all these teeth come from?!

Deeran 56:29
Deeran, thinking really quick, stands up and applauds. You’re so much better at close up magic than I am, Ellori. Where do you keep all these teeth to make that happen?

Skarpin 56:33
Yes, very impressive! Very impressive!

Anthony 57:05
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 57:39
Serious Business.

We’re super serious!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai