Anthony 0:01
Greetings, adventurers and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I am your Dungeon Master. My name is Anthony Reed. This is episode 41, and it is the first episode of the Twist of Fate story arc. Patrons. Hey, Patrons, I’m talking to you real quick. Just, just us. Okay, just you, me talking real quick on the side. Thank you. I want to thank you personally for being Patrons, for supporting the show. I just want to say, I see you. You’re doing great. I love it. I’m so grateful for you, to you. And the show thanks you, and we think you’re wonderful. I just wanted to get that out on the side, right here, just, just us. And now we’ll bring everybody else into the fold. Hey, if you felt left out just now head over to patreon.com/adventureinc and become a Patron, then you won’t be left out. You can come back and relisten to this as a Patron and say, hey, now he’s talking to me. And I will be because you’ll be a Patron at patreon.com/adventureinc with your own personalized RSS feed with the bonus content that comes each and every month. That’s the place to be. And if you haven’t been there, well that’s easily fixable. Just go to patreon.com/adventureinc. I did like, a flourish on that one. Also, don’t forget to check out our website, adventureincpod.com for all kinds of cool stuff that you might want to see there, you know? There’s like, world guide info, there’s links to cool things. There’s a shop. It’s got t-shirts and stickers. There’s all kinds of great stuff there. Go check it out. adventureincpod.com. Okay, I feel like I came in strong, and now we’re just sort of limping along aside from this rhyme, so I guess maybe it’s time to 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 2:17
She’s a Grimalkin. That’s, uh, but 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 2:26
Skarpin the Cleric.
Belroth 2:29
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?
Skarpin 2:31
Yeah, okay. I did say there was good as dead. I would hate for, you know, to break my word on our first contract with Adventure Incorporated.
Anthony 2:40
Ellori, the Bard.
Ellori 2:42
We would want you to leave this warehouse.
Anthony 2:46
He points behind it. Church!
Ellori 2:48
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.
Anthony 2:53
Deeran, the Wizard.
He say, you no worship Shattered Fang.
Deeran 2:58
Yeah, man he’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth- uh, Shattered Fang, man.
Anthony 3:03
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated!
Belroth 3:08
Whoo!
Deeran 3:08
Whoo!
Anthony 3:14
I was thinking maybe we could do some character management. That would be- there’s like- I mean like, fire on the screen or something if this were a visual medium. It’s not but-
Belroth 3:26
You can like, add in sound effects so all of our ‘whoos’ sound like a crowd?
Anthony 3:30
Probably, but I probably won’t. Um, so you guys are level 6 now. I want to- I’m gonna I’m gonna ask you some questions like- well I’m really just gonna ask you one question. I’ll start with Deeran. What’s level 6 like for you?
Deeran 3:50
One more than level 5 is kind of the main thing, you know? So, I rolled a Hit Die, taking a risk. So, right now I now have 40 hit points. I rolled a 5 so that’s pretty good.
Anthony 4:10
Imagine if you went to level 6 and it was one less than the level you were at before.
Deeran 4:15
It would be awful. So, this is the first time ever in my history of playing D&D where con hasn’t been like, a dump step for me. So like, getting 12 hit points just for free has been huge and cool, and I want to do this all the time now.
Anthony 4:39
What is Deeran’s dump stat, Strength? Dexterity? Wisdom?
Ellori 4:47
I think that’s a good first date question. Instead of like, what are your, you know, strengths or whatever? What’s your dump stat? Mine as like, a human is his Con.
Anthony 4:57
Well, mine is as a human is absolutely Dexterity. No question.
Deeran 5:03
Yeah, I think mine might be-
Anthony 5:07
Charisma?
Ellori 5:09
Got him!
Skarpin 5:10
Shots fired.
Deeran 5:12
What’s the one where you aren’t emotionally wounded?
Belroth 5:16
That would be a Wisdom dump stat.
Deeran 5:18
There it is. I should have seen that coming and I didn’t. To answer the rest of your questions, Anthony, Deeran also learned 2 third level spells, he learned Fly and Counterspell. And he got his sixth level Arcane Tradition with the Arcane Tradition of the Adept that the Patrons at the Beholder level have made. The sixth level for me is, when I prepare spells for the day, I may leave one slot unprepared. That spell can be any spell of the appropriate level that you know. So, basically, the idea is that like, oh, shit, I know I studied something like this, man. Uh- and then he does the spell kind of as a last minute, last gasp thing, which is great because that means I never have to prepare Counterspell.
Anthony 6:24
Yeah, mechanically, it’s a little bit like a Sorcerer like, for one slot. You have one spell slot of Sorcerer.
Deeran 6:32
Yeah.
Anthony 6:34
Yeah, cool. I do like the idea that Deeran learned Counterspell from anti-Deeran, and then just like, is like, oh, yeah, okay.
Deeran 6:44
Oh, man, that must be in a book somewhere. I know- hold on, I know I’ve got this one as he like, flips through the pages. And like, on the way by he sees fly. And is like, oh, that might be cool too.
Anthony 7:00
Skarpin, what did you pick up?
Skarpin 7:03
Picked up an additional level so, my level 6 Cleric.
Deeran 7:08
Nice
Anthony 7:09
Clerk. Oh, no, I’m a clerk now.
Skarpin 7:13
I’m a level 6 clerk, I said.
Anthony 7:15
You’re right.
Skarpin 7:18
I rolled poorly. So, I have 43 hit points. So, I will be slowly decreasing my ability to tank in this game.
Deeran 7:29
All right, I’m picking up speed here, bud.
Anthony 7:32
As the wizard.
Skarpin 7:35
The cool thing I got was Cloaked in Dream. And I can cast it 3 times. And I can cast Sanctuary on somebody, probably myself for one round, and I can do that as a Bonus Action.
Anthony 7:53
Cool.
Belroth 7:55
That’s rad.
Deeran 7:56
Um, is that a Class Feature, or is that a spell, Anthony?
Anthony 8:01
It is a Class Feature.
Skarpin 8:03
Of the Patreon created Dream Cleric.
Deeran 8:06
So, he could use that and cast a spell in the same round?
Anthony 8:09
Correct, because it is, it is an effect as though you are under the effect of Sanctuary, but it is a Class Feature. It also makes it so that it is not tied to a school and it is Divine in nature. Not that those will ever matter I’m sure.
Skarpin 8:26
Can’t see why they would.
Deeran 8:28
Feels very, feels very irrelevant to call it out then. Let’s ignore it.
Anthony 8:33
Let’s ignore it.
Skarpin 8:35
Done.
Anthony 8:38
Ellori, how does your level look?
Ellori 8:43
So, I got 2 non-Bard spells that I got to pick up. So, I grabbed Aid, which is pretty cool. And Fairy Fire, which is also pretty cool.
Anthony 8:57
Cool. Cool.
Ellori 8:59
And then I got a a spell for me. I got 6 extra Hit Points. Um, and that’s about it.
Anthony 9:10
I like the idea like, these skills are for you guys. This spell is for me.
Ellori 9:14
This spell is for me. It’s really just because I haven’t picked it yet.
Anthony 9:20
No, no, you’re keeping it a surprise, Steph so you can unveil it later.
Ellori 9:24
So here’s, here’s the thing is that part of me really wants to like, lean into this like, from a character standpoint she gets to pick up an extra spell. She’s gonna pick up something like, real nasty as like, a holdover. I know you said that when we wake up our like, memories of that life are fading, but since she was such a badass-
Anthony 9:48
And I think that’s okay. I think it’s okay to carry some of that through, right? But in general, I don’t want you to feel like you have to carry this baggage I saddled you with. So, take as much of it as you want, and leave as much as you want.
Ellori 10:04
And I think like, this is the one time that on like, getting a new spell like, there would be that holdover. So, that’s why I’m taking a while to kind of try and pick the right one.
Anthony 10:14
Also, don’t forget about your ability to forget an old spell.
Ellori 10:18
Yes. I remember that.
Anthony 10:21
Perfect.
Ellori 10:23
I remember that ability to forget.
Deeran 10:26
Your face totally confirmed that
Ellori 10:28
No, no, I thought about it earlier. I just haven’t like, gotten around to it yet.
Anthony 10:32
Uh, okay. Tell me, Belroth About your sixth level.
Belroth 10:37
Um, so Belroth is using the Tasha’s Ranger. So, at sixth level Belroth moves 35 feet and gains a swim speed and climb speed equal to his move speed. So, he’s a little faster. That’s all I get. He’s just buffer.
Anthony 10:57
I mean, honestly, that’s pretty impressive.
Belroth 10:59
It really is, like, think about swimming 35 feet per 6 seconds, which is- I don’t know what that would be. I can’t do that math. Right, because one turn is 6 seconds?
Anthony 11:10
I don’t want to talk about that. Um, so we’re-
Belroth 11:14
And if I use both of my Actions, and I use my Action in my Move Action, I moved 70 feet. I’m Michael Phelps.
Anthony 11:28
But I also just love the idea that if you were in a foot race with yourself while swimming, you would tie.
Belroth 11:35
Yeah.
Anthony 11:37
Yeah, it’s pretty cool.
Belroth 11:38
Yeah. All right.
Ellori 11:41
Wait, I have a question.
Anthony 11:42
Oh, yes, of course. What can I do for you
Ellori 11:44
Something like Silence, is that a magical effect?
Anthony 11:49
It’s a spell. It is a magical effect like, in that it can be dispelled by Dispel Magic.
Ellori 11:57
Yeah. Yeah. That’s what I was asking.
Skarpin 12:05
Not by Skarpin. He couldn’t do it last time.
Anthony 12:08
Well, last time might have been a special case, but we’ll say a typical silence effect you could Dispel. So, you drag your sled with Skarpin still unconscious on it back to the cave. You are straining right now, I imagine. You’re still pretty hurt, right, all of you? Most of you are one, right?
Belroth 12:39
Yeah.
Ellori 12:40
Yep.
Anthony 12:41
Okay. As you arrive back at the cave, Eridar and Ellori, your grandmother are standing at the cave like, watching for your return. And you can see your grandmother physically relax when she sees you coming through the woods. And Eridar, who’s basically just staying there with his hands behind his back, he’s like, nodding appreciatively at your return. As you get close enough, he says, you were successful then?
Ellori 13:18
Grandma! She like, looks around. We killed a demon.
Anthony 13:24
Oh, dear, that’s nice. Nicely done. Well done.
Ellori 13:29
Thanks.
Anthony 13:30
Was it good? Do you think it’ll, it’ll help build your tale?
Ellori 13:35
Oh, I think so. I think it’s a really good, you know- you know how sometimes, you know, you’ve got a big long story and then you’ve got like, a little thing that, that happens on the side? Um, I think it’s one of those.
Anthony 13:47
Oh, well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad. It feels like a big thing to be just a side story, but I hope-
Ellori 13:56
Oh, yeah, I almost, I almost died. I think I was dead for a minute.
Belroth 14:01
It was a little touch and go.
Deeran 14:10
Deeran checks on Skarpin because he doesn’t know what else to do like, he gets really nervous and turns around and looks at the slide to see if Skarpin is awake.
Anthony 14:18
He’s not.
Ellori 14:19
Also Ellori is still wearing Deeran’s coat so like, the sleeves are like, dragging on the ground.
Deeran 14:28
Yeah, Deeran’s almost entirely bled through his own like, under shirt. Like, because he’s also like, really f-ed up.
Belroth 14:37
I like the idea that we’re all like, just like, covered in blood. And then Ellori is in like, a big coat.
Anthony 14:47
You will look like- bad. You look bad. Would you like to come in and rest for a while?
Belroth 14:54
Very much so. Yes, please.
Anthony 14:59
Eridar like, allows you access to his cave. He says, I know it is not much, but hopefully you can find some rest and solace here.
Ellori 15:08
Thank you so much.
Deeran 15:11
Yeah. Deeran like, I don’t know, tries to like, help take care of Skarpin. He doesn’t know what to do.
Anthony 15:19
You can tell, looking at Skarpin that he’s alive.
Deeran 15:23
Yeah, yeah- but like, sorry I hiccupped in the middle of my, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’.
Belroth 15:31
It sounds like you had audio issues.
Deeran 15:34
Yeah, yeah, that wasn’t- yeah, it was an internal audio issue from like, production level.
Anthony 15:45
The production of sound.
Deeran 15:48
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But yeah, so he like, he grabs a towel and he starts like, pressing down on Skarpin’s wounds to try to like, staunch the flow of blood better and stuff like, so that when Skarpin wakes up, he can take care of himself better.
Skarpin 16:09
Thanks, man.
Deeran 16:11
Oh, Skarpin. Yeah, glad you’re, glad you’re all right man. It was, it was pretty touch and go.
Skarpin 16:21
Yeah, it was really nice of y’all to give me that rest. I feel much better.
Deeran 16:28
Does he look much better?
Anthony 16:29
No.
Skarpin 16:37
Yeah, I’ve been digesting that. Did- I can’t remember. Did Skarpin see the Pit? Probably not.
Anthony 16:46
No.
Skarpin 16:49
Did you see the pit? I’ve been just digesting here. It’s unbelievable what he did to the Dreamscape, but even more we’re, we’re 1/7 way done. Hooray!
Ellori 17:10
That’s a really good way to look at it, Skarpin.
Deeran 17:13
Yeah, man. And then Deeran like, tells Skarpin the like, what happened after he passed out complete with Belroth loosing an arrow into the depths of the, the abyss or whatever- the pit to try to you know frighten off the, the demons-
Belroth 17:36
Uh, okay.
Deeran 17:38
Yeah, man it was like, it was like the most cool hero thing like, I’ve ever seen him do. Like, no offense like, you do you do cool hero stuff a lot but like, that was like, wow.
Belroth 17:51
Belroth gives a thumbs up. He’s just not sure.
Skarpin 17:55
You might maybe hit a demon in there. Who knows?
Belroth 17:59
Yeah, yes. Who knows? Who could know? I definitely did miss it.
Skarpin 18:05
Yeah, that’s what Deeran said.
Belroth 18:08
Yeah, yes.
Skarpin 18:11
No, that’s- you saw into the Pit. We’re gonna have to go there some time, I think.
Deeran 18:20
Yeah, that’s what they said, right, that like we’re gonna have to- do you think we have to go in there now? Should we have followed?
Ellori 18:27
No.
Deeran 18:28
Like, right away? Should- did, did Belroth and I mess it up? Like, where are we supposed to go down there and like-
Ellori 18:34
No, I don’t, I don’t think so, no.
Deeran 18:36
-kill Old Scratch again like, right away?
Belroth 18:38
No, Deeran, I don’t think, I don’t think so.
Deeran 18:42
Well, because like, remember they said that like, killing a demon here only sends it to the Pit and then we got to get to the Pit to kill the demon for real, remember?
Belroth 18:52
I do. Yeah.
Skarpin 18:55
Yeah, Old scratch said that they could return by walking the Path of Skulls. So, maybe there’s some hard way for them to get back. But I mean, this, this had to have helped.
Belroth 19:08
I mean, these sort of beings have been so patiently trying to escape for so long. I’m, I’m sure time is very different to them. It’s hard to know, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now I think we should rest, and be proud of what we’ve done because we are the first people that I know of who’ve killed a greater demon- lesser demon? What, what classification of demon are they? What do you think, everybody? And Belroth takes out his notes and starts like, sketching stuff out.
Ellori 19:45
I would say they’re a pretty evil, pretty evil class of villain.
Deeran 19:52
Deeran looks at Eridar to get like, a feeling of whether this win was actually a loss because they didn’t pursue Old Scratch into the Pit.
Anthony 20:03
Eridar has not been- he’s been standing guard at the edge of the cave. Ellori’s grandmother is here, but she’s just sitting with Ellori. The look on her face seems to be that she’s just enjoying spending time with her granddaughter who she hasn’t seen in a while. From her expression, I mean, you’re not really picking anything up to that regard. She seems to be just pretty content with her experience here. Like, she’s not like, suddenly very concerned that you fucked it up, you know?
Deeran 20:38
Right. I mean, she wouldn’t say it in front of Ellori anyway.
Anthony 20:42
Right, right.
Deeran 20:43
So that makes, you know, she doesn’t want to like-
Anthony 20:45
Well, she might say something. I mean, you feel like maybe if she really felt it, she’d say something like, well, like I always say, the job’s not done to you go into the Pit and kill the thing. So, you know, you might be okay.
Deeran 21:01
That’s a good, good point, Anthony. Now I feel just the same as before.
Belroth 21:07
No Wisdom has been dolled out.
Deeran 21:11
Yeah, so at least I don’t know whether they’re disappointed in me.
Anthony 21:15
Um, she, she says, after you get some rest, I think it probably be wise for you to head to the Capitol. You have done a great service for our town here, for our village, and for all the villages surrounding. I can’t imagine that if he was able to intrude upon our dreams like that, that he would stop simply here when he was done. I imagine he’d move on to other villages if he hadn’t already collected others under his banner. And so I think you’re owed a great reward. You should go to the capitol and get one.
Belroth 22:07
How do we, I guess, prove that because I feel like the last time we went and tried to talk to any sort of politician about the ongoing demon threat they all kind of didn’t believe us for a bit.
Anthony 22:21
Well, did you have a village elder to send you with a letter?
Skarpin 22:27
No, we didn’t.
Belroth 22:28
No, no, we did not.
Anthony 22:30
Well, that’s my role. I can talk about the troubles the town saw. I can talk about the issues that we were facing and what you were able to do to thwart them, and as long as you’re pretty confident we’re not going to have to deal with that creature anymore then I can send you along with this letter and hopefully Stoneheart will do something for you.
Ellori 22:52
Wow, grandma, this is, this is really- and she looks back at the boys, she’s like this is so amazing. You know, I remember you always said, never go to the Capitol unless you’ve put your big girl success pants on and so this, you know, this means a lot that you, you know that you think that we’re worth it.
Anthony 23:14
Well you know me I- if I don’t have to deal with the Stouthearts I’m all too happy not to. Anytime you head to the capitol that’s just more, more problems with them in the mainlanders. So, I am giving you this gift, but it’s also a burden.
Ellori 23:37
Yeah, that sounds right.
Deeran 23:39
Yeah, should we like, go back to town to make sure everything’s okay before we head over to the, to the capital?
Anthony 23:46
Eridar and I have been feeling out the Dreamspace around here since you knocked that creature out, and I can tell already things have cleared up. Now I don’t know if tensions are going to truly be gone between us and the Deathwatchers, but I can tell that at least I’ll have the ability to rally my town, my village to do what is right and what they’re supposed to be doing.
Belroth 24:13
Well, except for Ellori’s friends who you said their casserole and cooking was bad.
Ellori 24:18
They weren’t my friends, they were my parent’s friends.
Anthony 24:22
I think we can smooth that over just fine.
Skarpin 24:26
Ellori’s grandma?
Anthony 24:33
Yes?
Skarpin 24:38
I, I kind of promised a friend of ours back home some of your pizza because I heard it was the best pizza in the land. And I think Teavana would be really sad if you didn’t get any or us to have tried it.
Anthony 24:57
I don’t, I don’t think we have the time. or the resources to be making pizza out here right now, but one day when you, when you’re all done traveling, we’ll we’ll do some pizza.
Belroth 25:09
That sounds, that sounds lovely.
Ellori 25:11
That’d be really nice.
Skarpin 25:14
Okay.
Ellori 25:15
Also, do you think maybe-
Deeran 25:18
Aww. Deeran looks like, more, more upset about no pizza than pretty much everything else that happened. Probably more upset since like, the only thing in the past 3 days that’s made Deeran more upset is when Ellori went down, everything else less so.
Anthony 25:40
Fair enough. Because he also thought he wasn’t gonna get pizza if she died.
Deeran 25:44
Yeah, yeah, yeah. My pizza plug is out!
Belroth 25:53
No one ever serves pizza at a funeral!
Deeran 25:59
I’m putting it in my will. Don’t worry boys.
Skarpin 26:04
Nice.
Deeran 26:05
Yeah, all you can eat pizza party at my funeral.
Belroth 26:08
Unless it’s a Tuesday baby, then it’s Taco Tuesday!
Skarpin 26:14
It’s gonna be a very complicated will.
Belroth 26:16
They are.
Ellori 26:18
Grandma, do you think that maybe since we fixed the demon problem that, that you could tell me where mom and dad are?
Anthony 26:26
Oh, yes, of course, dear. I sent them to the capitol hoping that we would be able to- well, I didn’t think anyone would look there because everyone knows how we feel about the capitol.
Ellori 26:37
Yeah, we do. We always say the Stouthearts, more like the Chickenfeets.
Anthony 26:43
Well, that’s a very polite way to say what I normally say, but, you know, that’s, that’s fine.
Ellori 26:49
I was censoring for the sake of our friends.
Anthony 26:52
Yes, yes.
Skarpin 26:53
Thank you.
Deeran 26:53
Wait, what do you normally say?
Belroth 26:55
No, don’t say it. You can’t say things like that in front of Skarpin. He gets very upset.
Deeran 27:00
I want to know!
Anthony 27:01
She leans in and whispers to you and it is the most vile thing you have ever heard this woman ever even remotely come close to say.
Deeran 27:15
Deeran sits back down. Like, ashen-faced.
Belroth 27:23
Like, head in hands, just like sweating.
Anthony 27:30
The Stouthearts were a family here from Eviara from generations back, but of course they have sold themselves out to the mainlanders. They have allowed themselves, in order to feel like they have some ruling power over this land, they’ve made themselves the toadies to the Empire.
Ellori 28:00
That was another nice word that you used in place of the one you normally do.
Anthony 28:04
Yes.
Belroth 28:05
Wait, what do you say instead of ‘toadies’?
Ellori 28:10
Belroth, I like you should have learned from Deeran’s face not to ask for clarification.
Belroth 28:17
That’s fair.
Deeran 28:19
Yeah, Deeran does not ask for clarification.
Skarpin 28:25
Do you think that the Soundhearts, are they not- do they don’t have the best interest of the Empire in mind. Like, they’re all fighting the Tritons.
Anthony 28:38
The Stouthearts, they’re part of the Diomhair clan. And I think they’ve always had their own best interests at heart. They mine this place for our Spellstone, and they ship it back to the mainland around the mountains. You can’t get from here to the rest of the Empire without going by boat because of the mountains and the desert beyond. So, when the Empire found this place, they really just wanted to strip it for resources. And we’ve been here trying to fight that influence ever since
Skarpin 29:29
Okay, well, we haven’t- they’ve been away. They’ve been so busy. So, we haven’t we don’t even know how they feel about the demon problem. We’ve just been dealing with Adventure Incorporated.
Anthony 29:42
With the Empire itself? Is that what you’re asking about?
Skarpin 29:47
Oh, just the Emperor. I don’t know if they even know about the demon problem.
Anthony 29:54
Probably not. She’s got a one track mind for these Tritons. I don’t know if anything could pull her away from that.
Skarpin 30:05
Well, maybe the destruction of the world will. ~Nervously chuckles~.
Anthony 30:10
She doesn’t laugh.
Deeran 30:15
Neither does Deeran.
Belroth 30:16
Well, why don’t we stay here the night and bandage up our wounds and rest and then head to the capitol tomorrow?
Anthony 30:26
Seems reasonable.
Belroth 30:28
Eridar, I’m sorry, I have several tangential questions for you about- not related to demon things.
Anthony 30:35
Hmm? Oh, yes?
Belroth 30:36
I just didn’t want to- I didn’t want to take the conversation away. I figured we could talk later about it.
Anthony 30:42
He’s standing at the mouth of the cave. He turns back. He says, whenever. Yes, let me know.
Belroth 30:47
Okay. Okay. Yes.
Skarpin 30:49
Hey, Eridar?
Anthony 30:51
Yes?
Skarpin 30:54
That thing you did to the- grandma shield, it’s inside of me now. It protected me during our fights. Thank you for that. It’s still with me.
Anthony 31:10
Really? Well, that’s not right.
Skarpin 31:13
Well, oh, okay. Well, I was, I was just grateful it was there, but it shouldn’t be?
Anthony 31:19
He comes forward and he places a hand on your shoulder, and he closes his eyes and murmurs to himself. Oh, okay. And then he says, I think, I think you have had a seed take root. What we have done to you has planted itself in you. I think this is a good thing.
Skarpin 31:52
Certainly seemed like it. And even in the Dream World. I even had a new holy symbol on my chest, and Skarpin looks down at his chest. Does he see anything?
Anthony 32:02
No, nothing has changed.
Skarpin 32:05
It was a plumeria flower. It was there, but beneath it is that shield.
Anthony 32:13
This seems like positive growth to me. It is not something I would cut back, let’s say. I don’t think that there is a way to, to pinch this hard or to move forward from it. But I will note that I have been wrong before. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a flower and a weed.
Skarpin 32:41
Yeah, that’s fair. But they all have their own beauty, don’t they?
Anthony 32:45
No.
Skarpin 32:46
Oh.
Anthony 32:47
No. Weeds are very dangerous and choke the life for many other things.
Skarpin 32:55
Skarpin looks at his dead half.
Anthony 33:00
You sacrifice a great deal for whatever minor advancement you get from a weed. It is important to know the difference between the 2 and be prepared to act accordingly.
Skarpin 33:15
Well, thanks anyways. He goes and sits down and rests.
Belroth 33:28
Eridar, that’s a good transition. The overgrown wild, the Is this the working of your dragons? Because the way it sounded like before we went to the Dreamscape was that it may have been, and I just wanted some clarification because if that’s really what it is, I would- it would really clarify a lot of things with my life. It wouldn’t answer questions, but it would clarify things.
Anthony 33:59
I can tell you a story, but I must admit that I’ve never been very good at that. And I don’t know if this story is interesting.
Belroth 34:08
Oh, I’m on board already. This is my kind of story because it’s the kind of story I also tell I’ve been told
Anthony 34:19
Several 100 years ago, before Shadow fell on this land my people went through a change, a transformation. When we did, we were cut off from power that we once knew from a master that we once knew. We had nothing. We were alone. And so we fled. For some of us that was a fleeing here, to the South where we found a new home, grew it from what was nearly a desert, to what you see around you now, this lush forest. For some of us, that was to head North to lands that were familiar and had a lot of influence of our former father. Because his magic was so strong there, many of them were drawn to it, and they changed that place as well. From what was a rocky, cold and barren area, sprouted a massive forest that stretched from one coast to the other, spread to the South, to the East, makes what you now call the Untamed Forest. Both that place and this place are siblings in a way as both have been touched by me, and the others like me.
Belroth 36:19
Belroth is writing down tons of notes.
Anthony 36:23
They are places of transformation, places of Cultivation, and growth.
Belroth 36:34
Um, this creature here, Freya, who you spoke to not too long ago, was found in the Untamed Forest. I’ve been studying her for quite some time, and I have lots of notes, but I’m also quite fond of her. I just wonder if you could give me an insight into her origin or like, why the features developed the way they do because what I see in the Untamed Forest is almost like a memory of one creature smooshed together with a memory of another creature, sometimes in chaotic ways that are destructive, and other times in very controlled ways, sort of like how she is. I don’t know if you have insight into that. And this is my interpretation. I don’t know if I’m- in fact, I don’t know if I’m right.
Anthony 37:23
Looking at this creature is like looking at a nephew or a niece-
Belroth 37:28
Oh!
Anthony 37:32
I can see the influence my siblings have had on the creatures like this one. That is not to say that this creature was crafted or created by other dragons.
Belroth 37:50
Okay, that’s a relief.
Anthony 37:52
This creature is a natural creature who has come because other creatures who were in that forest had aspects of themselves cultivated. Sometimes for cultivation, we must, as I did with Skarpin, remove something to allow something new to flourish. The cycle of growth and death is by its nature transformation. With each passing moment, there are pieces of you that are no longer there and pieces of you that have come anew. Each thing you learn, each idea you have is you changing and transforming, and so too have they brought their cultivation to the creatures there. This creature is touched by that magic, born from it, but not directly by it.
Belroth 39:04
So, it’s almost as though they are, they’re not necessarily growing with a goal. It’s almost experimenting, seeing what will flourish when something is changed and something is pushed in a certain direction or removed and prevented from going into another direction. Like, you and the weeds and the flower.
Anthony 39:31
Even that applies more intent than I think is here. There is simply an unknown, an uncertainty to what can be when one turns to their surrounding and begs it to change. And the creatures like this are the result of that.
Belroth 39:59
Oh. Belroth is- it almost looks like he’s not listening because he’s writing so many things down at the same time, but he’s also like checking in to like, make sure like, whenever he stops talking like, he takes those big pauses Belroth stops writing and looks up like, scared that’s it.
Anthony 40:22
If I may ask a question-
Belroth 40:24
Yes.
Anthony 40:25
-to all of you.
Belroth 40:26
Oh.
Anthony 40:28
You have done something colossal here, something quite impressive. But there is a daunting road ahead of you. How do you plan to tackle that road?
Ellori 40:49
Well, you know, my grandma always says, you can do anything that you set your mind to as long as you got your best friends by your side.
Anthony 40:58
I do say that. Yes, that is a thing that I’ve said on more than one occasion. That’s an interesting one that you picked out there because I’ve also said, you know, that everything you do requires patience and planning. And this sounds like maybe you forgot about that part, but that’s fine.
Ellori 41:18
Gunma I’ve always- I’ve never listened- I’ve never heard you say that. I believe you that you have. I believe, I believe that you have said that, but I’ve never, I’ve never heard it or or maybe I’ve just never, you know, like, listened to it.
Anthony 41:32
I believe that. I believe that.
Deeran 41:35
Yeah, she always, she always tells us the one about how you always say like, every road is built by forming- or is formed by taking one step after another and seeing where it takes you.
Belroth 41:49
Oh, I thought you’re gonna say the one where it was every road has its thorns- no every road? What is the saying? What saying am I thinking?
Anthony 41:56
Every rose! Every rose has its thorns!
Belroth 41:58
Well, I didn’t think it made a lot of sense as ‘every road has its thorns.’ I was like, this is not one of your grandma’s best.
Deeran 42:07
Yeah, she told us that one when we were drinking one night- oh! Is that all right?
Ellori 42:12
Oh yeah, my grandma knows.
Deeran 42:13
Okay. Cool.
Belroth 42:16
She was slurring her speech. That’s probably why- and it bugged me the entire night because I was like, this makes no sense.
Anthony 42:22
Well, I’ve been on some roads with some thorns, but not every road. I’ll give you that.
Belroth 42:26
A lot of roads have their thorns.
Anthony 42:29
Many, many roads I’ve been on have thorns, but I’ve never said that before.
Ellori 42:34
A decent number of roads have, have some thorns.
Deeran 42:38
Yeah, every road is formed by people taking one step after another, but not all of those roads have thorns.
Anthony 42:47
Some thorny roads are built by people taking a step and then another step while there are thorns around.
Belroth 42:54
That- we could workshop that one. That one feels like it’s a truth nugget waiting to happen.
Deeran 43:01
Is it tough coming up with all of these sayings, Iddra.
Anthony 43:04
Oh, no, no. Yeah, just- wisdom happens as you live, you know? I’ve said that one many times.
Deeran 43:12
That’s a good one.
Ellori 43:14
Yeah, you know, she always, she always followed it up with never make Wisdom you dump stat.
Belroth 43:20
Damn it! Rob says in real life.
Deeran 43:24
Wow, damn.
Ellori 43:29
Ellori’s dump stat is Intelligence. She took it to heart.
Deeran 43:40
Yeah, so Deeran, Deeran houses the last of the like, the bowls of food that everybody’s been like, passing around, you know, family style. Deeran has just waited until everyone stopped eating and then taking the big serving bowl for himself to finish off.
Anthony 44:01
And you see Eridar muttering a little bit, those were my rations for the week, but okay.
Deeran 44:07
He puts the remaining empty bowl down. He says, man, this was, this was so nice. Um, is everybody kind of- are we good to like- oh, you asked a question. I am so sorry. We got off on that tangent about just kind of letting stuff happen because like, that’s-
Anthony 44:30
I took that to mean that was your plan. You’re just going to let stuff happen.
Deeran 44:36
Well, it usually works out for me all right.
Anthony 44:42
Okay.
Skarpin 44:44
Ellori’s grandma thinks we should go to the capitol, and I think maybe checking in with Elder Riggs, Wesley, and even, even Carapath and the council would be a good idea.
Belroth 44:53
We do have, I believe- and correct me if I’m wrong, everyone, we do have the location of another one, I think. Or we have a good lead on another one, the twins? The Strangers, that’s what they’re called. We have a good lead on them, and so I think we need to regroup, and maybe rally our own forces- not forces, but rally our own strength and maybe gain some stronger ways to attack them, and find information so that we can make a plan because you’re, you’re right, we don’t have one yet, but we will because we have to.
Skarpin 44:53
So, Belroth do you think we should go straight after the Strangers?
Belroth 45:00
I think we should go to the Capitol first. I think we should regale the tale and get some rewards and maybe get some good equipment and then go off and kind of figure out where they could be. Because with this one we had a good plan. Basically, we had someone who’s good at Dreams, we’re going into the Dreams, we’re going to take them out of the Dream. The strangers, we don’t know.
Anthony 46:07
I feel like maybe you are a little bit confused about where I’m sending you because I want you to go to Tionol, which is the capital of here in Eviara.
Skarpin 46:17
Oh.
Belroth 46:17
Oh.
Deeran 46:18
Yeah, I was gonna ask if you meant the capital of Eviara or the capital of the Empire.
Anthony 46:23
I don’t care about the capital of the Empire.
Deeran 46:26
Yeah, it didn’t sound like you did when you were like, you know, when you whispered what you whispered to me. It didn’t sound, it didn’t sound like we were going there, man.
Belroth 46:37
Okay, well, I mean, I still think the plan is the same. We should still go to Tionol and then figure it out, strategize along the way.
Deeran 46:50
Yeah, at the very least, we know that they’re Standing Stones over here so like, if we have to hop back like, we can do that okay.
Ellori 47:00
Yeah.
Deeran 47:01
Oh, sorry. Deeran gets nervous mentioning Standing Stones in front of 2 people that don’t know what they are. But he also tries to like, and, and, and I mean, like, you know, so that we like, that’s the name of the, the dock or whatever, where we can rent a boat to like, drive back, right? Like, that’s the name of it?
Anthony 47:26
Eridar, he doesn’t buy it, and he looks intrigued. Ellori’s grandmother’s indifferent.
Deeran 47:36
You didn’t even let me roll Deception?!
Anthony 47:39
Yes, correct. Ellori’s, grandma seems indifferent to whatever it is you’re talking about.
Ellori 47:49
That tracks.
Anthony 47:53
He says nothing though. He just watches.
Deeran 47:57
Deeran also says nothing more, forever.
Skarpin 48:05
So, sorry, why, why, why are we going to the Capitol.
Anthony 48:11
You don’t have to, but if you want to reward that would be the right way or right place to go.
Ellori 48:17
And just think, Skarpin, just think, if we get a reward then when we go back to Elgroman’s Shoppe we’ll actually maybe be able to buy some things.
Skarpin 48:26
I doubt it.
Ellori 48:29
I mean, or we can, you know, just skip it all together, and know we are not able to buy some things.
Belroth 48:35
I mean, I- and I feel like, I feel like going there we could also, I don’t know, find some more information about something. The, the spread is happening everywhere, right? We can- I know news travels kind of unevenly and slow across the continent, but we could find some news, and figured out other things about what’s happening. I think it’s a good idea to go there first, get our reward, gather some information, figure out what we can find out and then go from there.
Ellori 49:10
Yeah, and this isn’t anything my grandma never said, but she did tell me about a grumpy old man who used to, all the time, say that, that the best reward you can ever get iis information.
Anthony 49:24
Oh, he sounds wise.
Ellori 49:29
You always, you always said he was grumpy.
Anthony 49:32
Well, I believe that both things can be true.
Ellori 49:42
Anthony doesn’t know how to recover from this.
Anthony 49:46
I’ve said my piece.
Belroth 49:49
We should rest for the night and then head off to Tionol.
Anthony 49:54
You all get some rest. I’ll head back to the village to make sure things are nice. And Ellori, when you get a little more of your story complete, you come and find me.
Ellori 50:07
I will.
Anthony 50:08
And all of you will be welcome in my home.
Deeran 50:11
Hey, wait just a minute. Sorry. I know I said, I know I said some dumb stuff a minute ago, but like, if you’re going back to the village can we go there too, so we don’t have to sleep in a cave.
Anthony 50:31
It doesn’t seem like a great idea right now to be bringing a bunch of people that people don’t know into the village when they’re just recovering from this paranoia.
Deeran 50:46
So, you’re just gonna make your poor wounded granddaughter sleep out here in the dirt?
Anthony 50:53
Oh, no, no, no, she could come with me if she wants, it’s just the rest of you.
Deeran 51:01
All right, that makes sense. Deeran looks down and he like, pulls off his like, blood stained disgusting shirt, and like, rings it out on the ground and his like tiny sickly like, a weakling looking body is underneath the shirt. And he goes, will you take this back and wash it, Ellori?
Ellori 51:29
Oh no, I’m not gonna- I’m gonna stay with you guys.
Deeran 51:31
Why would you do that?
Ellori 51:33
Because comfort is what you make of it.
Anthony 51:38
That’s a good one. I like that a lot. I’m going to start saying that all the time.
Ellori 51:43
Wow, did you guys- do you hear? She’s going to say something I said.
Deeran 51:47
Yeah, I think there’s also objective comfort.
Ellori 51:53
Here, Deeran. I’m so sorry. I’ve been so selfish. Here. And she gives him his coat back. Now you can be comfortable.
Deeran 52:01
Deeran is noticeably more comfortable after he gets his like, his rope wrapped around him like-
Belroth 52:08
It seems like you made this a much more comfortable experience for yourself, Deeran, and so I feel like there is a nugget of truth in what Ellori said.
Deeran 52:17
Yeah, that’s true. She’s pretty smart. And Deeran dumps like, dunks his, his gross ass shirt in the like, leftover water from, from dinner.
Anthony 52:33
Eridar is like, well that was my water supply for the week, but okay.
Deeran 52:38
Rings it out on the ground and like, leaves it hanging next to the fire to dry off. I guess it’ll be good enough. I don’t know, the maroon doesn’t really go with the blue of this jacket, but that’s fine, and like, starts preparing a bed for himself.
Anthony 53:00
Yeah, okay. Yeah, you guys get a Long Rest in the cave, and you are refreshed, healed.
Belroth 53:10
And Level 6!
Deeran 53:18
My level 6, I got one more level.
Anthony 53:20
You don’t need to do that again. We already talked about it.
Deeran 53:22
Oh, sorry. You’re just gonna edit the episode so that all that goes in right here?
Anthony 53:28
No. We’re just gonna open with that, but now it’s active.
Belroth 53:33
Got it.
Deeran 53:35
Got it.
Anthony 53:38
Okay, so, you wake up. You’ve done it. Eridar is still here. He’s sitting at the mouth of the cave looking outward.
Deeran 53:52
Here’s the thing for me where D&D breaks my immersion, Anthony.
Anthony 53:56
Okay.
Belroth 53:57
Everybody’s waiting.
Deeran 53:58
I went to bed with 4 Hit Points.
Anthony 54:01
Yeah, yeah.
Deeran 54:03
After an 8 hour rest. I am now back to full.
Anthony 54:07
Well, sure, but Mike, think about it this way. Let’s say I break your leg, right? I cut you across the chest several times with a sharp knife, and I punch you in the skull a bunch of times, right? And then I let you go to sleep for 8, 8 full hours. Like, you’re gonna be fine when you get up.
Deeran 54:27
Okay, cool.
Belroth 54:29
There’s an alternate version of the rules where a Short Rest is 24 hours and a Long Rest is a week. That sounds awful to play, and I’m glad we don’t do it.
Deeran 54:42
That’s brutal.
Ellori 54:43
Anyway, Mike is in month 4 out of 6 of achilles healing.
Belroth 54:48
Plus we have healers who would help us heal while we rest.
Ellori 54:56
No offense, Mikey, but like, healers can make you heal in 8 hours in our real world.
Deeran 55:03
Wait, can they? Am I, am I getting scammed on my health insurance? If I lived in Europe would I be healed already.
Belroth 55:15
They have potions in Europe! That’s why everything is medieval!
Anthony 55:22
I also think it’s important to note that you’re supposed to be like, basically superhuman, right? That’s, that’s the D&D conceit so that’s why you heal so fast.
Deeran 55:34
Everyone is Wolverine?
Anthony 55:36
Well, maybe not quite Wolverine.
Deeran 55:37
Every adventurer is Wolverine?
Anthony 55:39
You’re just not…you.
Deeran 55:44
Wow, wow.
Anthony 55:47
Anyway, enjoy your 4 to now 40 Hit Points. Enjoy your 10 times the hit points you previously had.
Deeran 55:53
10 times as healthy as I went to bed. Just like normal.
Anthony 55:58
When, when was the last time you got a full 8 hours though. You know what I’m saying? Maybe that’s the problem.
Deeran 56:03
Yeah, yeah. Humans only utilize 10% of their Long Rest. If they could figure out a way to unlock the other 90%…
Anthony 56:18
All right, you guys are awake and feel much better.
Belroth 56:19
Hooray!
Deeran 56:20
Yeah, cut that whole bit.
Anthony 56:23
I mean, Mike, I can give you levels of Exhaustion if you want like, I don’t know what you’re looking for here.
Deeran 56:28
No, I just, I just, you know.
Anthony 56:33
Eridar sits at the mouth of the cave staring outward at the, the now rising sun.
Deeran 56:43
Has Deeran’s shirt dried?
Anthony 56:45
Yeah, it’s, it’s but it’s like, kind of- you know when you dry something, it gets like, like, tough and it’s not comfortable. It’s rigid almost, your shirt.
Deeran 56:56
Great. Does that mean I have a 12 AC?
Anthony 56:58
No, no, no, you know that after like, 10 minutes wearing it’s gonna be fine, but just right now it’s uncomfortable.
Deeran 57:06
Got it, yeah. Deeran puts on. He’s scratchy.
Anthony 57:09
Yeah, it’s all crunchy.
Belroth 57:12
Belroth did his laundry and like, a nearby river and it’s perfect.
Deeran 57:20
Yeah, he hung it up to dry like, on a line. Like, he- he’s a responsible adult.
Belroth 57:25
He did not offer to do that for anyone else.
Deeran 57:29
That tracks.
Anthony 57:32
Okay. So, I guess Belroth leaves the cave half naked so that he can get dressed.
Belroth 57:37
No.
Deeran 57:48
How many nipples does a, does a tiefling have?
Anthony 57:51
Great question.
Belroth 57:52
Great question.
Anthony 57:57
Eridar turns, he says, ah, everyone’s feeling ready to go then?
Ellori 58:04
Yeah, I feel amazing.
Anthony 58:05
Skarpin, I want to point out that during your Long Rest, there was a period of time, maybe a few minutes, where you saw a swirl of colors, some vague shapes, as though they were not part of your Walking of the Dream. They were like, the barest hint of a dream of your own.
Skarpin 58:38
Skarpin stays quiet in the morning and doesn’t want to get too excited about it. Just could have been like, some bad soup or something.
Anthony 58:47
Yeah, there’s more gravy than a grave about that. So, Eridar says like, are you ready to go away from here? I thought I might help you move swiftly on your journey.
Belroth 59:06
Oh, excellent.
Anthony 59:08
If you’re willing to accept my aid.
Ellori 59:13
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
Belroth 59:15
I love that idea.
Anthony 59:19
Very well. Have you ever ridden a horse before?
Belroth 59:27
Yes.
Ellori 59:29
Yes.
Belroth 59:29
All of us believe we had that whole episode about horses.
Anthony 59:36
This will be like that, certainly similar to riding a horse. Just, you know, imagine that the horse knew exactly where it was going and didn’t need you to prod it at any point during the journey. Okay, so, you know, no heels, you don’t need to slap the creature or anything like that. It knows where it’s going, and please be gentle and kind.
Belroth 1:00:03
Did you think one of us was going to say ‘giddy up’ to the dragon?
Anthony 1:00:08
I hoped not
Belroth 1:00:09
I just wanted to- I would never.
Anthony 1:00:10
You wouldn’t be the first. It’s sometimes instinctual for people who haven’t ridden horses.
Belroth 1:00:14
Oh, my gosh.
Anthony 1:00:14
You know, they think like, oh, this creature is not going fast enough. I’ll just dig my heels in. And I can’t imagine horses like it either. It’s just a thing that people do.
Belroth 1:00:23
I’m so sorry.
Deeran 1:00:25
Wait, we’re gonna ride you?
Anthony 1:00:28
Well, if you’re okay with that.
Deeran 1:00:33
Yeah.
Belroth 1:00:34
I’m very excited.
Deeran 1:00:36
This is gonna be so cool!
Anthony 1:00:38
Are any of you afraid of heights?
Belroth 1:00:41
Belroth looks at Freya. Because Freya’s clearly, like climbed up something and then it was like, ‘oh no, I’m stuck’ kind of that situation. So, he’s never really been sure if he’s afraid of heights or just kind of like, you know, too much cat still in there.
Deeran 1:00:58
I was gonna say the cat with the bat wings is afraid of heights, great.
Belroth 1:01:04
We’ll find out.
Anthony 1:01:07
All right, then out of the cave. And Eridar steps out of the cave and transforms himself into his large draconic form. And you get the sense that this is- it almost looks like he’s made himself larger than he was. This is a very big creature standing outside the cave.
Deeran 1:01:27
Dibs on the front! And Deeran like, runs closest to the head.
Belroth 1:01:33
You ‘shotgunned’ it?!
Deeran 1:01:35
Yeah, he puts a finger on his nose and runs.
Ellori 1:01:43
Ellori’s gonna jump up right behind Deeran and like, squeezes into like, his sides because she is a little bit afraid of heights, but she’s never gonna say it.
Anthony 1:01:53
Right. Right. Okay.
Belroth 1:01:55
Belroth position. Belroth positions Freya in front of him and then like, is behind Freya. I don’t know how Freya would ride a dragon. How would that work?
Anthony 1:02:05
Yeah, I think like-
Deeran 1:02:08
Claws out.
Anthony 1:02:09
Yeah, we’re gonna get to that. But yeah, I think like, her head drooped to one side and her tail droop to the other in front of you, right?
Belroth 1:02:19
It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay, girl. It’ll be okay.
Deeran 1:02:21
Like a saddle bag.
Belroth 1:02:24
Like, I like, you know, I’ve got, I’ve got a, I got a grip on the scruff of her neck.
Anthony 1:02:32
Interestingly, anti-Belroth made a saddlebag out of her first and then switched to a cloak.
Belroth 1:02:37
Well, he’s dead, thank god. Deeran made sure of it.
Deeran 1:02:47
After you killed Deeran!
Belroth 1:02:48
Oh, stop changing the subject.
Deeran 1:02:52
I’m just saying, man- holding on to two of the spikes. I’m just saying, man. It was kind of weird.
Anthony 1:03:00
Skarpin, do you just hop on the back then?
Skarpin 1:03:02
Yeah. Skarpin, Skarpin heads in the back. He’s fine with heights. He’s always dreamed about flying. He’s only done it in dream.
Belroth 1:03:09
That’s really funny and cute. I love that.
Anthony 1:03:14
He turns his head back, Eridar, and he says, hold on tight, but not too tight. And then he stretches his wings out. And like, with a single push off of the ground just all launches into the sky. And yeah, claws instantly shoot out for Freya and dig down into the scales of Eridar who’s like, ~raor!~
Deeran 1:03:47
Yeah, as soon as it takes off, Deeran can’t help himself and he just goes, ‘yee-haw, man!~ One hand goes up in the air.
Belroth 1:03:56
What did we just have a conversation about?
Deeran 1:03:59
I didn’t say ‘giddy up’!
Anthony 1:04:06
The flight is fast. And it is only like, 10 minutes to close a huge amount of distance as this creature is just hurdling itself through the air. And that’s a little bit what it feels like. It’s not graceful, like a bird. It’s like, every time he starts to descend and fall, he just grabs the air around him and throws himself upward into the air and he like, peaks and then starts to fall again.
Deeran 1:04:39
It’s sort of like double jumping.
Anthony 1:04:43
Yeah, yeah. Double, triple, quadruple jumping through the air with his wings which are doing- but he’s not soaring at all. It’s just tossing himself forward at a ridiculous speed. You kind of have to hug the spines a little bit to keep from hurdling off the back and in a short amount of time he lands with a hard thump, but absorbs most of the shock of that on to the ground a little ways outside the city. Like, he didn’t land in the middle of the capital but nearby. He didn’t want to incite a panic.
Deeran 1:05:28
Just a giant dragon flying outside of the city, just, just outside the city.
Anthony 1:05:35
Yeah, he lands in like, a forest, you know, nearby. You’re gonna have to walk for like, an hour but it’s better than if he, you know-
Deeran 1:05:45
The parking sucks, everything else about it is pretty cool.
Ellori 1:05:50
That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life!
Belroth 1:05:53
That was something else. And then Belroth looks over and Freya is like, doing the like, like, the cat barf his coming.
Skarpin 1:06:01
That’s so gross.
Belroth 1:06:02
I’m sorry, everyone. I’m sorry. I said this was probably gonna be a thing.
Ellori 1:06:08
So, I feel like I just want to say that I feel like, this is like, the coolest time to have this happen in an episode because I feel like Mike and I literally just had this experience of like, flying a dragon. We did the Avatar Flight of Passage ride and you’re literally on the back of like, a big giant dragon and you can feel like, it breathing. And it was rad as hell. And so I feel like while you were describing it I was like, reliving that ride-
Anthony 1:06:36
You’re welcome.
Ellori 1:06:37
-and I was like Yeah, I know exactly what this is like.
Belroth 1:06:39
Um, I don’t.
Anthony 1:06:43
Sucks to suck I guess.
Belroth 1:06:44
It does. You’re right.
Deeran 1:06:48
Yeah, Steph is officially a Disney person now. Sorry, everyone.
Ellori 1:06:53
You’re welcome, everyone
Belroth 1:06:54
I can show you the dragon.
Skarpin 1:07:00
I thought he was going in a different direction.
Belroth 1:07:05
Why would I go in that direction?!
Skarpin 1:07:08
I was like, this is a bad idea, Rob.
Anthony 1:07:11
Don’t do this bit. Bail out!
Belroth 1:07:15
It was never my intention, and it was never going there.
Deeran 1:07:19
Wow, Rob.
Anthony 1:07:20
Rob, I can’t believe you did that. This is recorded.
Skarpin 1:07:23
This is, yeah, it’s a family podcast.
Deeran 1:07:32
Honestly, though, if you’re listening, tell your dads, tell your moms. Share the podcast with your parents.
Anthony 1:07:37
That direction I’m fine with. If you’re listening, tell your parents, maybe don’t like- you who would love this, my 4 year old. But I don’t know. You’re a parent. You figure it out. It’s up to you.
Skarpin 1:07:53
It’s your fucking kid.
Deeran 1:07:57
You think your kid should listen to this shit, hit play.
Skarpin 1:08:03
But like on their account. Set up, set up a separate account for them.
Belroth 1:08:07
So that we get the numbers.
Deeran 1:08:09
Make sure they give us a 5 star review.
Belroth 1:08:13
Have them teach you how to do it.
Deeran 1:08:17
And then you can teach your parents.
Anthony 1:08:19
That’s right. Okay, you’re outside the city. Eridar transforms back. He says, this is the only place with free parking. And then he-
Deeran 1:08:33
Well, they make you pay tariffs in some cities. Like, if you leave your wagon there too long. It’s like, a whole thing, especially in Federation Bay because like, there’s a lot of tourists and so like, they get the tariffs for the cart parking and then like, if you leave your cart there too long. Then they, they find you for it. And so they get the tourists twice because like, tourists don’t know where to look for the official signage.
Anthony 1:08:59
They’ll tow the carts. They’ll tow the carts here.
Belroth 1:09:02
You guys just were way too recently in Disney like, it’s showing.
Anthony 1:09:13
Well, I will say good luck. Hopefully that the rest of the challenges that you face are attainable, and within your grasp. Hopefully this was the most difficult of the demons to defeat.
Ellori 1:09:28
I hope so. That’d be great.
Belroth 1:09:29
I don’t think it’s true, but I hope so too.
Skarpin 1:09:32
Oh, come on. Belroth
Belroth 1:09:35
We know another one. She was scary.
Anthony 1:09:39
Should there be a way that I might help you in the future please do not hesitate to let me know, and I will do what I can.
Belroth 1:09:46
Oh, how would we get in contact with you? Do you have some sort of stone we could crush to like, call you? I’ve heard about that before?
Anthony 1:09:54
No, that would be ridiculous. No, I’ll just be there in the forest. You can come and find me.
Belroth 1:09:59
Okay.
Anthony 1:10:01
I don’t really go anywhere. You know my cave? You know my cave? Come there.
Belroth 1:10:08
Does it have a mailing address?
Anthony 1:10:10
What? No.
Belroth 1:10:11
Well, then you should get a mailing address for a cave. Get a PO Box so we can send you a mail if we need you.
Deeran 1:10:21
Belrot, we could always send a letter to Iddra and then Iddra could go to the cave.
Belroth 1:10:25
Oh, good point. Good point. Good point.
Deeran 1:10:27
Like if she’s not busy.
Belroth 1:10:28
Right, right, right, right, right.
Anthony 1:10:32
Well, this has been great. Good luck. It’s been some time since I’ve involved myself in the affairs of your world. And I would say that this was exhausting, but also a, you know, a great reminder as to why I don’t do it anymore.
Belroth 1:10:53
Thank you so much, Eridar. I, I do really appreciate the help and information that you gave us.
Skarpin 1:11:03
Bye, Eridar.
Ellori 1:11:03
Thank you, bye.
Anthony 1:11:07
He just starts to walk through the like- he walks away from you through the forest in his human form.
Deeran 1:11:13
Why do you think he didn’t just like, fly back?
Ellori 1:11:17
Maybe he likes, you know, taking it easy.
Deeran 1:11:21
Yeah, I guess he did say he didn’t have anything really going on.
Belroth 1:11:23
Yeah, that’s true. He just kind of, you know, didn’t have any plans.
Deeran 1:11:30
Yeah, but like, I feel like if I were a dragon, I’d fly everywhere.
Skarpin 1:11:35
Yeah.
Ellori 1:11:37
I mean, but if you’re like, 100,000 years old like he is maybe, you know, sometimes you just want to walk.
Deeran 1:11:43
I just can’t imagine that. I hate walking.
Belroth 1:11:45
Maybe he’s going to see another dragon in the area, you know what I mean? He dropped us off.
Ellori 1:11:50
Maybe he has a girlfriend.
Belroth 1:11:50
Maybe he’s going to see his girl or boy or whatever-friend and they’re gonna go and have a great time.
Deeran 1:11:56
Ellori, I thought there was something going on between like, your grandma and Eridar.
Ellori 1:12:02
No!
Deeran 1:12:04
I just- I’m just saying like, she was at his place, you know?
Ellori 1:12:09
Because she needed, because she needed somewhere to stay.
Deeran 1:12:11
Yeah, she needed someplace safe and the first person she thought it was Eridar.
Belroth 1:12:16
Old friends?
Ellori 1:12:17
You know, Deeran, a man and a woman can be best friends without there being anything romantic happening between them.
Deeran 1:12:21
That’s true.
Belroth 1:12:23
Yeah.
Skarpin 1:12:24
I haven’t seen it before.
Belroth 1:12:30
I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it plenty of times. I have several female friends. It’s not weird. It’s only weird when you make it weird.
Ellori 1:12:38
Yeah, it’s only the people commenting on it and making it weird. You know, there’s a travel in play that’s all about superheroes. And you know, one of the superheroes that’s a really good- kinda like Belroth, really good with an arrow is best friends with another superhero who’s like, she’s a very good fighter. And everyone’s like, oh, they’re in love, and they’re not.
Skarpin 1:12:59
I haven’t seen that.
Ellori 1:13:02
It’s really good. It shows, it shows that there can be, you know, platonic friendship and not everything has to be made a big deal out of.
Belroth 1:13:09
I do feel like that kind of undersells the plot. There was an apocalyptic event that happens and there really wasn’t a chance to- it’s fine. It’s, it- I am agreeing with you, Ellori.
Ellori 1:13:19
It’s kind of weird when you have to- when you say something and follow it up something like that.
Belroth 1:13:27
Well, I realized that I was being contrarian, and I wasn’t trying to and I’m trying to stop doing that. But it’s still- it’s so burned into my personality that I hate it, but it’s, you know, I don’t want to- I don’t know.
Deeran 1:13:41
Yeah, that makes sense.
Belroth 1:13:43
It seems like a very good way to end conversations with people you like, and I don’t want to do that anymore because I’d like you all.
Deeran 1:13:50
Oh, thanks, Belroth.
Ellori 1:13:52
Yeah.
Deeran 1:13:53
I mean, I like you too. I don’t like, I don’t feel like- I
Belroth 1:14:05
What is going on?
Deeran 1:14:07
Are you supposed to say that like, after- so when someone says, oh, I really like you. Like, are you supposed to say back like, oh, I really like you too, or you supposed to just say things?
Belroth 1:14:17
I have no idea but I’m glad you said it back. So that the answer?
Deeran 1:14:24
All right, cool.
Skarpin, what do you think?
Skarpin 1:14:28
No, it depends if you like them or not. You shouldn’t lie.
Deeran 1:14:33
Okay. Well, sure. But so if you, if you do like them you’re supposed to say it back.
Belroth 1:14:40
I assume we’re walking while we’re having this conversation.
Anthony 1:14:42
I hope so.
Deeran 1:14:45
It’d be so weird to just stop in the middle of the forest and hash this out.
Skarpin 1:14:50
Seems like something we do.
Deeran 1:14:52
I was gonna say, but also very TESSA.
Belroth 1:14:56
Hold on, we can’t continue until we figure out the fine details of something that doesn’t matter.
Ellori 1:15:02
Oh, look we’re at the capital!
Anthony 1:15:04
So, as you arrive at the capital, the capital is a coastal city, and it is the main through-port for everything that comes in and out of Eviara back toward the mainland. Additionally from the ports of Eviara you can look out into the distance and see the Demon Isles as they are not that far to the West from here. Now as you enter the city here and can see the docks and see our Westward from Eviara, what you see is that there seems to be some sort of a large barrier between you and the Demon Isles. It’s like a shimmering purple haze that is like an or like a dome around the Demon Isles.
Belroth 1:16:03
Belroth’s kind of jolly demeanor and candor as he was talking about what technically friendship means, very abruptly goes away as he’s looking at his home, reminded that it’s different and transformed.
Skarpin 1:16:22
Hey, we’ll get it back, Belroth. And he slaps him on the shoulder.
Anthony 1:16:33
The city itself is bustling. there are people moving about doing all kinds of things. There is pretty much anything that you could imagine here at the city. Tionol is largely an export town so the things that are most common are like, logistics, for shipping and for sending things away. But this is still a central hub for everything in Eviara so there’s plenty of stuff to find here as well. There is also a large building that is sort of the center is the Diomhair family Hall, and it’s sort of th,e the seat of power here in Tionol so if there was anywhere that you were supposed to go to meet up with this Stoutheart, that is where you would want to meet them. But if there’s other things you want to do or look for in the city before that, that is also an option.
Ellori 1:17:45
I feel like with the way this episode is going, let’s just get straight there. I feel like we’re at the capitol building. We’re there. We’re in the Stoutheart office.
Anthony 1:17:54
Okay, yeah. So, you head off to find Prudence Stoutheart who is part of now the Diomhair family here in Eviara, one of the, the old families, but the Stouthearts themselves who have really taken over the top end of that family as like, the leadership, supplanted the old family and really are the family in name now. They sort of run every level of the government in this area, and your letter of introduction- or your letter of accreditation from your grandmother gets you to Prudence herself, to an audience with Prudence. So, this is the Empire’s vassal here. She is the level of Viscount, and so that is where she’s at, within the structure of the empire. And so you get in to see her. There’s a long line of other people waiting to see her. As you wait in that line you watch as basically she is just denying every request that comes across from the people except for, there are some Spellstone merchants who come in and request more access to the shipping lanes to send more Spellstone back to the mainland and that is approved like, immediately. It’s clear that that is like, the major export out of here, the Spellstone. And then finally, it’s your turn. And you stand across the small chamber. It’s austere, but you know, she’s got a big throne in it, but it’s not like, large tapestries or anything like that. It’s a pretty small room. It’s sparsely decorated, but it is a- she’s still made herself important here. Hello, Welcome, welcome. What, what can I do for you?
Ellori 1:20:02
Um, hi. My name is Ellori…Realtanam. And she like, curtsies.
Anthony 1:20:09
Realtanam, yes. Okay, what can I do for you?
Ellori 1:20:14
Um, well, these are my friends. We’re all part of the Expedition Society of Stories and Adventures. And this is Belroth and Deeran and Skarpin and Freya, and we just killed a demon and sent it back into the pits of, of the place with the Pit where demons go.
Anthony 1:20:33
Killed a demon?
Ellori 1:20:35
Mm hmm
Anthony 1:20:38
Do you have some sort of proof of that?
Ellori 1:20:41
Um, we have this letter from my grandma.
Anthony 1:20:46
She holds her hand for the letter.
Deeran 1:20:49
Yeah, to be clear, her grandma is a village elder.
Anthony 1:20:53
I know who her grandmother is.
Belroth 1:20:56
I also would like to point out that we have been put in charge with many of the demon investigations happening with Adventure Incorporated. We have- that actually, I believe that was- we have the paperwork for that. We were put in charge of that specifically so- and he like ferries that forward. I forget, was that Carpath who gave that to us?
Deeran 1:21:19
Deeran checks his pockets, and he doesn’t have it so we looked at Skarpin.
Belroth 1:21:21
Belroth has already given it. I think it was Carpath gate who said like, we are in charge, so I assume it was like, notarized somewhere.
Anthony 1:21:31
So why then is this coming to me if you are already responsible for these activities? Why, why am I now getting this- my time wasted?
Ellori 1:21:44
Um, well, you see, there were a lot of things happening. You might have noticed a lot of the, the town’s here in Eviara had been falling prey to this demon. They were turning on each other. There were rumors and riots and, you know, just generally like, ill-behaved folks, you know. And so, we were hoping that maybe for solving this problem in your kingdom, there might be some sort of- whether it’s a, you know- she’s just trying really hard not to like, say the word reward. Whether it’s uh, you know, there’s anything that you can do for us after what we’ve done for you.
Anthony 1:22:26
She’s scanning this letter. She says, this says you’re looking for a reward.
Ellori 1:22:31
Oh, well, if you’re offering, we’d gladly take one.
Anthony 1:22:37
So, this says you solved the problem in Naiah. Have you solved it for the other places as well?
Ellori 1:22:45
Well, we got through to the source of all the problems in Naiah which are also the source of the problems everywhere else.
Anthony 1:22:52
This demon, yes?
Deeran 1:22:58
Yeah.
Ellori 1:23:00
Yes. Sorry, I wasn’t sure that that was a question because it’s what we just said.
Deeran 1:23:05
Yeah, it sounded like you were gonna say a whole, a whole sentence.
Anthony 1:23:11
Oh, I don’t know anything about a demon.
Deeran 1:23:16
But like the way you started it you said, this demon. And then it sounded like an ellipsis and not like-
Ellori 1:23:23
Yeah, or even a comma, maybe.
Belroth 1:23:24
Belroth shoots eyes at both of them wondering what the fuck they’re doing.
Deeran 1:23:27
A semicolon? Is that what it is, Belroth?
Ellori 1:23:31
No, no, no, a semicolon would be- Ellori doesn’t know this shit.
Belroth 1:23:35
Why don’t you continue your thoughts before we get sidetracked?
Anthony 1:23:42
The demons- strange things have been happening the last couple of months. First, we heard were that there was dangers coming from the Demon Isles, refugees on their way. Then, before a single refugee hit our shores, the Great Barrier arrived, that purple swirling thing I’m sure you saw out there. And then, the strangeness in the villages from here to Lake Siochain started happening. Now I’m left wondering what all of this means and why I can’t get a single answer from anyone back in the Empire. If you’ve dealt with this, if you have solved my problem for my people, then I am happy to provide a tangible reward for that. But I find myself in a position where all I have to go on is the word of a relative of yours who, by the way, has been a real problem for me for a long time.
Ellori 1:25:10
Have you considered that, you know, sometimes problems are just misunderstandings from both ends, and could be solved with some proper communication rather than holding grudges?
Anthony 1:25:23
Oh, I sure wish I could get that from her, yes, that would be wonderful. I’ve tried two different delegations. I’ve tried a few. If, if you can find me another way to try and sit down and have talks with your grandmother, I would be happy to try and have those. It does not do me any favors, to have villages who will not- who just ignore every edict I put out.
Ellori 1:25:57
Well, maybe that’s a conversation for another day after we deal with the, you know, the demon thing.
Anthony 1:26:03
Certainly.
Belroth 1:26:06
I mean, if you are looking for an amount of information on the date of the demon threat, we do have some information that we could provide. We don’t have-
Anthony 1:26:16
I’m more worried about my villages so let me tell you this, give me 2 days. If you can give me 2 days, I’ll find out what I can find out. And if you have done what you say you’ve done, then I will reward you with what I can offer which business being what it is, probably somewhere around 20,000 gold. I wish it were more, but that’s what I can do.
Skarpin 1:26:52
I think that sounds amazing. She looks around.
Belroth 1:26:57
Belroth nods.
Skarpin 1:27:00
Yeah, Skarpin nods.
Anthony 1:27:03
Deeran’s distracted.
Deeran 1:27:06
Like, he was expecting Skarpin to angle for more, and so like, having him not, Deeran thrown off. And so he’s like, yeah, all right.
Anthony 1:27:19
He’s like, Skarpin, no!
Deeran 1:27:22
Yeah, exactly. Skarpin, be reasonable.
Belroth 1:27:24
Reflex, I’m sorry.
Deeran 1:27:27
Geez, man. She just said business is tough here. Oh, wait, I did hear a lot of like, Spellstone talk like while we were waiting or whatever.
Anthony 1:27:43
If you wish to have yours in Spellstone, I could get you that instead.
Deeran 1:27:49
I guess I was just thinking like, in addition or whatever, but no, I guess that’s fine.
Anthony 1:27:56
Give me time. In the meantime, feel free to use the city in whatever way you need to. And we will- I’ll get back to you shortly.
Belroth 1:28:09
I’m sorry, before we go, you mentioned refugees. I had family on the island that I’ve lost contact with. I don’t know if you- if there is a refugee camp or somewhere I could find information about them. I assume you would not know like, or like necessarily-
Deeran 1:28:25
Like, a registry?
Anthony 1:28:29
I’m sorry if I was not clear, not a single refugee hit our shores.
Belroth 1:28:36
Okay.
Anthony 1:28:42
I’m sorry.
Belroth 1:28:44
It’s okay. You…yeah…
Anthony 1:28:53
Okay, next! Like, literally just pushes- some guards come out and like, start shuffling you off.
Deeran 1:29:03
Deeran puts a hand on Belroth as they’re leaving, and he looks at him and says, hey, man it’s one more place she isn’t. I know that there’s like, a lot of places left but like, you know, at least we know that we don’t have to come back to find her here, you know?
Belroth 1:29:30
I mean, if I’m honest, I’m not super worried about Dorcia. I think she’ll figure it out. She’s the stubbornest of us all. But my I mean, I had cousins and nieces and nephews and other relatives like, whole family just gone. Like, I know where my mother and father are probably, but are they not there now? Like, I don’t- let’s find a room. I would like to find a room.
Anthony 1:30:06
Okay, um, you guys start to hunt around for an inn. It’s pretty easy to track one down and then, let’s see, there are some other features of the place. I know you guys don’t have a lot of money right now, but there are shops here.
Deeran 1:30:22
Deeran has 155 gold. He’s all set.
Ellori 1:30:30
Yeah, Ellori has 130.
Anthony 1:30:32
If you want to track down a shop you can.
Ellori 1:30:36
We meant for rent for like a nice room and food.
Anthony 1:30:39
I was like, I’ll fire it up.
Deeran 1:30:41
I was worried at how cheap our accommodation would have to be. Are we staying in another fucking cave. Gonna go out to free parking land.
Belroth 1:30:53
Spend some gold on new clothes and replace some things.
Deeran 1:30:59
Oh, yeah Deeran would like to buy a shirt.
Anthony 1:31:02
Sure. I think that- I think probably for a total of a gold, you can get a place to stay and a new change of traveling clothes.
Belroth 1:31:08
Sweet. Belroth does that.
Anthony 1:31:11
And meals for the timeframe.
Belroth 1:31:13
Great deal.
Deeran 1:31:14
Deeran also will choose to do that.
Anthony 1:31:19
There are a couple other things here. There is a temple set up for the Celestial Host. On the outskirts of town there is a Grove set up for the Agrestal Spirit. There is a library in town. There is a school for the, the Black Scale set up in town. And there are a few other things so if there’s anything that- there’s a broker for Adventure Incorporated here as well as some of the other adventuring companies. And if there are other things you want to try to track down or anywhere you want to go there may or may not be access to those as well.
Belroth 1:32:08
Everyone, should we craft a letter to be sent to Adventure Inc about our current exploits since we are de facto in charge of the demon threat and whatever. Should that- should we do that through the broker or, or anything, or is that just- we’ll tell them when we tell them.
Skarpin 1:32:25
I think that’s a great idea, yeah. Could take a while to get back, I think.
Belroth 1:32:29
Belroth will- like, he’s not really in the mood to go anywhere right now he’s gonna write the most boring, factual, this is what happened, you know, to really cheer himself up.
Anthony 1:33:07
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 on 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 1:33:41
Serious Business.
We’re super serious!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai