Campaign 2 (Astragar) Episode 27: Trials and Tribulations

[00:00:32] Speaker A: Welcome to carrots and suffering. Finally, the moment of truth. The trial of truth has arrived. And also a date for the warlock of love. This is going to be a great episode. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. We are a Portland based podcast of nerds playing D d, and you can invite other nerds to come hang with us in the audio world anytime. Thank you for that last time on carrots and suffering. Raymond, a local farmer, who appeared to be more than a local farmer, passed a note to be delivered to the archbishop of the Church of Love, Creedon's mother, who happened to be in town to address a dragon attack. Boulain took it as a threat. [00:01:14] Speaker B: So, let's assume the situation played out as it was expected to. And we gave this note to Brightwind without looking at it, which would have been a silly assumption on his part, but let's take that assumption for a second. What do you think Brightwind's reaction to this would be? [00:01:34] Speaker C: It depends on how much she knows about my birth home of Mylorea. But I imagine that I might be able to mitigate this by having a long, private conversation with the bishop. Right wind. [00:01:51] Speaker B: Does that need to happen? [00:01:53] Speaker D: I'm okay with that. [00:01:55] Speaker A: This led to a long conversation with the archbishop, where some aspects of church politics were laid bare. And it turned out that Riemann apparently works for the state as a spy or assassin of some kind. And the risk of his exposure on the stand was very high for everyone. Okay, there's a couple ways we can go about this. We can do it the way it would be handled in Astragar. You let him go, you don't talk to him again, you disregard everything he said, and we find different evidence. And by find different evidence, I would probably recommend creating it. Or we can do it how they do it in the province, and this man just disappears however you see fit. I am willing to choose a third option, which is to extend him immunity. You can try to get him to testify, but if I put him under a zone of truth and he says these words, the consequences would be terrible. [00:02:56] Speaker D: He seems like our main lead, although we have a lot of circumstantial evidence to implicate the mayor. I mean, we caught on to him. It's just a matter of if that is enough for the court. [00:03:09] Speaker B: The best option is that Riemann says the truth of what happened. [00:03:15] Speaker A: All right. [00:03:16] Speaker B: The second best option is that no one who was there can defend themselves. [00:03:23] Speaker C: So, Creedon, if you have a conversation with dread Zerus and I could go have a conversation with Max. [00:03:29] Speaker B: I think I should talk to chastity instead. [00:03:34] Speaker A: With immunity agreed to and a slight deception planned, our heroes split up to get the defense team on board, which weirdly resulted in Creedine going on a dinner date, ending in plans for a breakfast date. [00:03:47] Speaker D: God, these are beautiful. But I want you to know that I like your plate, too. You know, flaws aren't always terrible and bad. [00:03:57] Speaker A: He looks down at his plate and looks up at you and says, thanks. [00:04:04] Speaker D: You shouldn't do all the work. Two way street. [00:04:08] Speaker A: Max says I should lighten up. How about you plan breakfast? [00:04:17] Speaker C: Something has come to light which I cannot really talk about on orders from the bishop, but there is something quite political happening that is above any of our heads. [00:04:30] Speaker A: Cool. What do you want me to do? How can I help? [00:04:32] Speaker C: It is important that we convict mayor Val, and I think on a personal level, you probably understand why. [00:04:38] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. No, that shitbag's guilty. [00:04:43] Speaker B: I understand that you have ambitions and that I do. Things don't seem to be really heading the right direction for you. So I was wondering, what are your actual ambitions, chastity? Where do you want to go? Where do you see yourself in five years? [00:05:05] Speaker A: Okay, let's get into it. Hi, I'm Nate, and I will be your dungeon master. [00:05:19] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Mandy. I play Boulain, the grave domain death cleric. Not in this trial. [00:05:25] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Claire. I play Creden, the warlock of anxiety. [00:05:30] Speaker B: Hi, I'm Robert. I play Xeris. Sir. Definitely appearing in this trial. [00:05:37] Speaker A: All right. It is the night before the trial. You have spent a great deal of time doing last minute negotiations. You still have a few hours in the morning before this thing kicks off, because it will be at noon just outside of town. And it is sleep time, I believe. Creighton, you are snoozing away. [00:05:57] Speaker D: Oh, God. [00:05:58] Speaker A: Not a care in the world. [00:05:59] Speaker D: Yeah, none. [00:06:02] Speaker A: When you wake up in your room, only it's a spring day outside. You can hear the birds, you can hear the wind blowing through the trees. It all seems very nice. And then on your windowsill is a single sunflower that was not there when you went to sleep. In fact, also it wasn't. [00:06:23] Speaker D: Oh, I think that Creedon will get up and go to the windowsill, and. [00:06:28] Speaker A: The sunflower says, oh, you're awake ish. I need a favor from you, Creedon. [00:06:35] Speaker D: I'm listening. [00:06:37] Speaker A: You are about to encounter another one of my special followers. [00:06:43] Speaker D: About to? At the. [00:06:45] Speaker A: No, no, they're not there where you are. They're somewhere else. But they are on the move. They have begun putting a plan into motion, and I believe you will be sent there very soon. [00:06:58] Speaker D: What do I have to do? [00:06:59] Speaker A: You are to challenge them and win. [00:07:04] Speaker D: Is this going to be a recurring thing that I need to do, Creedon? I mean, the weapons are really cool, and I appreciate them, of course, as well as the gifts that you've given me, Creedon. But I don't know how challenging these people is. Really helping with the love spreading part. [00:07:20] Speaker A: Oh, I see you've had all this time between your last challenge and this one to spread love everywhere you go. I see it coming up behind you. [00:07:29] Speaker D: Is it because I don't feel like that's been happening too much? [00:07:33] Speaker A: Oh, but it has. Every time you leave a place, love seems to flourish. North bank is positively fluttering with romance. [00:07:43] Speaker D: Oh, well, I'll have to revisit and see it. I'm really making a difference there. [00:07:49] Speaker A: Of course. Here's what I need from you, Creighton. The one you are about to challenge, like yourself, has been denied the affections of their God. And I have stepped in to grant them power, that they may sway the divine will in their direction. But I don't know that they're worthy. Challenge them. Prove it. [00:08:11] Speaker D: What happens if I failed the challenge? [00:08:15] Speaker A: Then they are certainly worthy. And unfortunately, you would not be. [00:08:20] Speaker D: Well, I'll definitely take care of it. [00:08:23] Speaker A: Excellent. I'll warn them that you're coming. [00:08:26] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. I guess it would make sense that this works both, huh? [00:08:31] Speaker A: Every time. I find it interesting, though, that you have chosen to take the bow. Unfortunately, like Friker's has been claimed by another now. And so I have no use for my power. To remain in such a tool before. [00:08:49] Speaker D: Dawn is, like, dead. [00:08:51] Speaker A: I don't know how to answer that. Before dawn, throw your wand and the bow in the river. [00:08:58] Speaker D: My wand? [00:08:59] Speaker A: You'll get it back or something like it. [00:09:01] Speaker D: Okay. [00:09:02] Speaker A: And you wake up. It is two, three in the morning. Real dark. There is a withered, single sunflower on your windowsill. [00:09:12] Speaker B: So I just want to understand this a little bit. Is it on the outside or inside of the window sill? [00:09:16] Speaker A: It is on the inside of the shutter, which I assume is what's closed. [00:09:21] Speaker B: Okay, so it's inside the room. They had to be in the room to place its side of the glass. Or open the window. [00:09:27] Speaker A: Yeah, something like that. [00:09:29] Speaker B: Okay. [00:09:29] Speaker A: Yeah, that's not cool. [00:09:31] Speaker D: I am going to dispose of the flour. [00:09:33] Speaker A: Okay. There are many choices for this. That's fine. It's dead flour. [00:09:39] Speaker D: I don't know, I'll burn it over a candle or something. [00:09:42] Speaker A: Yeah, it burns up real quick. [00:09:44] Speaker D: Yeah. And I guess I leave my room after doing a whole bunch of prestigation to myself. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Roll me a stealth roll, please. [00:09:52] Speaker D: Okay. Oh, no, that is a five. [00:09:58] Speaker A: Okay, you leave your room, you go down the steps. You walk out through the empty bar, and someone clears their throat in a startling way next to you. And you look over and chastity is sitting there with a really dim candle and several books open and a notebook. And she says, kind of a weird time to head out. [00:10:22] Speaker D: Wait, what time is it? [00:10:24] Speaker A: I don't know, but I would guess early rather than late. [00:10:28] Speaker D: I mean, come on, chastity, of course I'm a night person. [00:10:32] Speaker A: All right, here's the thing. Creedon dread is like a little brother to me. And if you turn out to be shady as fuck, I will beat you with a mace. [00:10:42] Speaker D: Well, I'm pretty sure that you're already shady as fuck. And I'll beat you right back with huh. And I'm gonna beat you in the trial. [00:10:50] Speaker A: Roll me. Persuasion or intimidate, you get to choose. [00:10:53] Speaker D: Okay, I'll go with persuasion. I'm better at that. Ooh. That is a 22. [00:10:59] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:11:00] Speaker D: Okay. [00:11:00] Speaker A: She raises an eyebrow and says, all right, I like the cut of your jib. I should probably go to bed anyway. Trials in the morning. And she stands up and blows out her candle and leaves you alone in the dark. [00:11:12] Speaker D: Could I see what she was reading? [00:11:13] Speaker A: Roll me perception. [00:11:18] Speaker D: That's a three. [00:11:19] Speaker A: Okay. No, too dark. [00:11:21] Speaker D: All right, well, I guess Creedon will watch her leave. [00:11:24] Speaker A: Yep. She goes up to her room. Are you heading out to the river? [00:11:28] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm going to go to the river. [00:11:30] Speaker A: Okay. Roll me perception. [00:11:32] Speaker D: I know. Am I being followed or something? Oh, 19. [00:11:35] Speaker A: You get to the river. It is brightish light outside for the middle of the night. The moon is really visible, the stars are out, and you do see a shadow away from you back towards the direction you came. [00:11:50] Speaker D: So I believe I'm being followed. [00:11:52] Speaker A: There is a person behind you. Yes. [00:11:54] Speaker D: Well, I will whip around and I don't have light. [00:12:01] Speaker C: You can shoot rainbows. [00:12:03] Speaker D: Yeah, I think I'm just going to shoot an Eldridge blast near the thing and see if I can light it up enough to see what it is. [00:12:10] Speaker A: Okay. You shoot off an eldritch blast, a giant kissy face floats across the darkness and explodes in a reddish pink light and it outlines a person. You're pretty sure it's Max. They're very tall. For just a moment, you appear to be being followed by Max. [00:12:28] Speaker D: Max. What do you want? [00:12:30] Speaker A: Max steps out and. Hey, sorry for following you, but chastity was really worried you were doing something, you know? [00:12:39] Speaker D: So you need to follow a woman alone at night? [00:12:41] Speaker A: No, I told her it was a stupid idea. Well, actually, you know what? In fairness, I didn't. I just sort of pulled on my pants and wandered outside. But I will tell her it was a stupid idea. You're not out here cheating on the trial, right? [00:12:57] Speaker D: What? No. [00:12:58] Speaker A: Okay, great. Chastity also thinks you're manipulating dread and trying to get the upper hand in this trial thing. So, like, don't do that. [00:13:07] Speaker D: I'm out here trying to think of something to do that would be nice for him. And it's kind of hard for me to think in the end, because that's where it's going to be. And, I don't know, I might hide something and try to get him to find it. You know him. What would he like? [00:13:23] Speaker A: He'll love that. No. Okay, you know what? This was a misunderstanding. I apologize for following you. Hold on a second. I got just the thing for this. Wait here. And he turns and runs back towards the inn. And you have a few minutes if you'd like to do your thing. [00:13:40] Speaker D: I'll go, like, 30ft up from where I am really quickly. They're downriver. And then throw them in and then come back. [00:13:46] Speaker A: Sure. [00:13:46] Speaker D: Just in case his idea involves hiding something in the river or something. [00:13:50] Speaker A: No. [00:13:51] Speaker D: But, yes, I do get rid of my. Well, I throw the bow in easily, but then I hesitate with the wand, but I chuck it in. [00:14:00] Speaker A: So Max comes running back and he says, all right, so I bought this for dread as we were walking through Palmville, and I haven't given it to him yet. I think you should give it to him. And he hands you this little stuffed fox. [00:14:15] Speaker D: Oh, my God. It's so. [00:14:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, no, Dredd had one just like it when he was a kid. Hide that. He'll love it. [00:14:22] Speaker D: Isn't that incredibly creepy? If I know that he had something like this as a kid, I don't know him that well. [00:14:29] Speaker A: I mean, it's dread, so probably not. [00:14:34] Speaker D: Good point. [00:14:35] Speaker A: Yeah, he's really not. His social skills are not his shining achievement. But he will think you care. [00:14:43] Speaker D: Well, that's great. Thank you, Max. [00:14:46] Speaker A: Hey, I got your back. Might I recommend hiding it in the kitchen? [00:14:50] Speaker D: Why would I hide it in the kitchen? [00:14:53] Speaker A: Lots of opportunity. Dredd's really, really good at finding things. So if you put it anywhere where there's, like, not a lot of opportunity. He's going to find it. Like, five minutes. [00:15:02] Speaker D: All right. I'll look around the kitchen, then. [00:15:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Cool. Okay. Well, have a great night, and good luck with your insomnia or whatever. I'm just going to go tell Chastity that she's barking up the wrong tree. [00:15:14] Speaker D: Yeah, break a leg. Cool. [00:15:17] Speaker A: Cool. Hey, you dropped your wand. It's going to land in the river there. [00:15:20] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. Thanks. [00:15:23] Speaker A: And he turns and walks off into the dark. [00:15:26] Speaker D: Did I not throw the wand in the river? [00:15:30] Speaker A: You did. The wand you pick up is slightly different than the one you threw in the river. It has some weird silver inlays running up of it. The same inlays that were on the bow. You now have a plus one warlock rod, so you get plus one to attack and damage with your warlock spells. And it has the effects of alertness, just as the bow did. [00:15:51] Speaker C: So does she still get advantage on her initiative rolls? [00:15:54] Speaker A: You still get advantage on initiative rolls, and you cannot be surprised because your wand will scream at you. [00:16:01] Speaker D: Okay. [00:16:02] Speaker C: Sweet. [00:16:03] Speaker D: I was sad whenever I deleted the bonuses from the silver bow, so I'm happy about that. [00:16:07] Speaker A: The magic seemed to have been combined. [00:16:09] Speaker D: Well, that's nice. [00:16:11] Speaker A: I imagine when morning comes around, Creedon does not get up right away. [00:16:14] Speaker D: No. Also, I did not hide the fox in the kitchen. That just seemed weird. [00:16:19] Speaker A: Okay, where did you hide the fox? [00:16:21] Speaker D: I find one of those trees that has really knobby roots and has a little area under some roots that you can tuck something into. And Creeden's plan is to make. I mean, it's just going to be like some bread and cheese kind of picnic. It's going to be very simple because she doesn't really know how to cook because that's what other people tend to have done for her. She's going to attempt to have a picnic out near it and tell him that she said something nearby and have him try to find it somewhere on the riverbank. [00:16:49] Speaker A: Okay. [00:16:50] Speaker D: But not near where I threw in the bow and the wand. [00:16:53] Speaker A: Well, then. So, at breakfast time, does anyone want to do anything? Because we know what Creedon's up to. [00:16:59] Speaker C: Baleen is up early, and she's probably in the in tavern area writing in her journal when everybody else gets up. [00:17:08] Speaker B: Is Chastity still there? [00:17:10] Speaker A: Chastity comes down late, but she has done her full medieval makeup and looks like she's ready to conquer the world. Somehow she's got the hairspray still going. [00:17:21] Speaker B: I'll invite her over when she comes down and just make small talk. [00:17:24] Speaker A: Yeah. She'll sit and chat with you. It's very businessy. You get the impression that chastity thinks of the whole world in terms of business and politics, possibly has no life other than that. [00:17:36] Speaker B: What? No, but she's perfectly happy to have. [00:17:40] Speaker A: A conversation with you, particularly after the conversation you had yesterday. [00:17:44] Speaker B: Yeah, just more conversation about where she's headed, her bright future in Hilock. [00:17:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:50] Speaker B: Talks about looking out for birdie. Looking out for Kaima. Was that her name? [00:17:55] Speaker A: Kaima? The ex Kaima. [00:17:57] Speaker B: And I've forgotten her. Mary and Mara. [00:17:59] Speaker A: Mary and Mary. [00:18:01] Speaker B: Yes, those two. [00:18:02] Speaker A: Yeah. So you give her the rundown on the politics of Hilock, and she's really digging it. She feels like this deal you made was great. [00:18:09] Speaker B: Oh, when the conversation seems like it should wind up, I'll be like, oh, and you should see the governor's mansion. It is opulent, well appointed for someone of good standing and station. [00:18:22] Speaker A: Wow. I mean, this is really exciting. And who's the mayor now? Is we appointed? [00:18:29] Speaker B: Yes, yes. Khan. Bardish. [00:18:31] Speaker A: Yeah, Khan. So tell me a little bit about Khan before we call it a day. [00:18:35] Speaker B: Well, as you know, he is a man of ambition, like yourself. He needed a bit of help. He was trying to solve all the problems of Hilock by himself, and when we came in, we were able to help him and put him on a faster track, just like you. [00:18:49] Speaker A: Roll me an insight roll. [00:18:52] Speaker B: That is not a good insight roll. That's probably going to be a seven. [00:18:57] Speaker D: Okay. [00:18:57] Speaker A: She's extremely excited about taking a position in Hilock. [00:19:00] Speaker D: Cool. [00:19:02] Speaker C: She's going to bring Bardish down. [00:19:06] Speaker A: Or something. Boulain, what are you up to? [00:19:08] Speaker C: I think she's eavesdropping. If they're at the next table, she's eavesdropping on their conversation, but she is sure she's just writing in her journal and she's minding her own business. [00:19:18] Speaker A: Max comes down. Unlike chastity, he does not look like he's ready for the day. He's shirtless with his hair all frizzed everywhere, and sits down at a table and chugs something, whatever is first available in front of him. Dread is waiting patiently. He was up early, sitting in the corner, eyeing the stairs, reading a book. [00:19:36] Speaker C: Boulain will side eye dread a Little inconspicuously, but then she will pocket her diary, and she will go upstairs and knock on Creedon's door. [00:19:47] Speaker D: I think that the knock will finally dark Creedon awake, and you hear a bunch of zaps and poofs before he opens the door. [00:19:55] Speaker C: Creden. [00:19:56] Speaker D: Oh, good. It's you. What time is it? [00:19:59] Speaker C: Late enough that your date is waiting on you downstairs. [00:20:04] Speaker D: Oh, that's not great. Being late isn't cool. [00:20:07] Speaker C: You could make a bid for the dramatic entrance, I suppose. [00:20:12] Speaker D: No, I want to call as little attention to this as possible. [00:20:15] Speaker C: As you like. Boulain will leave her and head back downstairs. [00:20:19] Speaker D: Wait, Boulain. [00:20:20] Speaker C: What? [00:20:20] Speaker D: Do you have any advice? [00:20:22] Speaker C: Is be yourself too cliched? [00:20:24] Speaker D: Yes. [00:20:27] Speaker C: Then be somebody who knows what they're doing. [00:20:31] Speaker D: Ooh, I'm not too bad at that. All right. Yeah, I've got this. [00:20:37] Speaker C: You have got this. [00:20:38] Speaker D: Oh, shit. I need to run to the bakery and get some bread. I gotta go. Creighton scurries off. I suppose she goes downstairs. Yeah. And meets up with Dread and says that we'll be going on a walk together, but I need to stop to get some stuff for breakfast. [00:20:53] Speaker A: Dredd nods and just says, am I coming now or waiting? [00:20:58] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, you can come with me. [00:20:59] Speaker B: Cool. [00:21:00] Speaker A: And he just falls in right next to you. [00:21:03] Speaker D: Creedon walks silently to. I suppose there's probably a place that she can buy some bread nearby. [00:21:08] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, there's a bakery. [00:21:09] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:21:10] Speaker C: Elaine, after they leave, will send Sadie off to follow them just so she can watch. [00:21:16] Speaker D: All right. [00:21:17] Speaker C: She says, keep your distance, though, Sadie, but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance. [00:21:22] Speaker D: Just rolled a perception check for Creed, and there's no way she catches it. [00:21:27] Speaker A: When you come out of the bakery with your loaf of bread, Dredd is standing there against the wall, and he steps up and walks over and blows the hair out of his face. And then he leans in really close to your cheek, and you hear him say, there's a bird following us. [00:21:46] Speaker D: There is? Where? [00:21:47] Speaker A: Don't look at it. [00:21:50] Speaker D: Is it a raven? [00:21:52] Speaker A: Yep. [00:21:52] Speaker D: She's cool. [00:21:54] Speaker A: And he just pulls back from your cheek. Boulain dread appears to have kissed Creedon on the cheek. [00:22:02] Speaker D: Does Creighton look like she mines Creedon's entire body? Definitely tensed up when he was close to her. She did not know what to do. [00:22:11] Speaker C: Okay. She will sing to Sadie to stay on them, but keep her distance. Stand by. [00:22:18] Speaker A: All right, Creighton, tell me about this date. [00:22:20] Speaker D: Okay. So, yeah, whenever she left, she had a bag that she had packed that had a blanket in it. She had some nice cheese rations probably already. She probably eats pretty well on the road with some reasonably well preserved food, since she has gold and is accustomed to such things. She has a skin of mead. She has some bread, and she has some cheese. A reasonable breakfast, in her opinion. And she walks dread out towards the river. So I was thinking that we could have a breakfast picnic together. And I'm taking us to a spot where nearby. I've hidden a gift for you. And I want you to find it because I know you're extremely good at investigating, and I am probably not the best at covering my tracks. And I kind of want to see what you can do. [00:23:08] Speaker A: Yeah. He nods and sits down on the ground. [00:23:13] Speaker D: Wait. I have a blanket. [00:23:15] Speaker A: Oh. [00:23:17] Speaker D: She puts out her blanket and then sits down on it. [00:23:21] Speaker A: So Dredd is not a great conversationalist. In fact, he's a bad conversationalist. But he does seem to enjoy a little nibbles of bread and cheese and a sip or two from the mead. Is there anything you would like to get out of this conversation in particular? [00:23:36] Speaker D: I think that one of the things that being raised in the church creden knows to talk about is religion and the gods. She's going to ask. Dredd belongs to one of the churches, or which of the gods he prefers to worship or feels the most kindredship with, if he's blessed by any of them. [00:23:56] Speaker A: So Dredd contributes to this conversation in two key ways. One, you'll mention something he knows about, and so he'll read to you the Wikipedia article on it, just from memory. That's his main social know. He's like, I know something about what you just said. I will tell you about it. So you get a slow retelling of the history of your own church. One thing that is immediately clear. Dredd is way better educated than you. [00:24:24] Speaker D: Mm hmm. I don't think that's a shock. [00:24:26] Speaker A: Yeah, he didn't fall asleep in any classes. The second way that dredd participates in this conversation is he'll tell. No, I don't. None of the gods. I mean, you can't just pick. Know. They're all good at their own thing. [00:24:48] Speaker D: Sorry. I was laughing at what Robert was doing. I wasn't sure if that was intentional. [00:24:53] Speaker C: A man after. [00:24:56] Speaker B: It's a response. It serves me up. That's true. I'm like, that's. They're all doing their own thing. That's exactly it. That's all that was. [00:25:04] Speaker C: And that's how we learned dread was barking up the wrong tree. Kids. [00:25:07] Speaker D: Well, I think that Creedon considers it for a minute and says, I've never even really considered worshipping other gods. But can you even do that? Can you give your faith to that many so much of yourself they won't. [00:25:24] Speaker A: Pick you back if you spread yourself thin like that, but that's what most people who have to do who aren't affiliated with a single church, you got to kind of spread it around. You got to pay the death God. You got to pay the life God. [00:25:41] Speaker D: Divine mercy is really all I've ever really known. [00:25:46] Speaker A: Yes, she's okay. [00:25:48] Speaker D: Okay. [00:25:53] Speaker A: I don't get her always. You know what I mean? [00:25:59] Speaker D: Shockingly, yes. [00:26:02] Speaker A: Yeah. But, you know, other people get her, so I see why she's important. [00:26:10] Speaker D: Well, my mom is a huge inspiration for me and she follows divine mercy so closely. I really hope to be more like her one day. She's always so sure. [00:26:21] Speaker A: I like sister truth. Sometimes. [00:26:25] Speaker D: That makes sense. [00:26:27] Speaker A: Sister truth is really good at defining things, and I like when things are well defined. [00:26:34] Speaker D: Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense for you. [00:26:36] Speaker A: Do you want me to find the thing now? [00:26:39] Speaker D: Yeah, go do that. It's within. Oh, gosh. I'm trying to think of a reasonable unit of measurement for a person to search a 500 foot radius of us. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Dread doesn't get up immediately. He looks at you and he says, do you want me to just find it or tell you how I find it? [00:27:02] Speaker D: Tell me what you're looking for, what you're thinking. [00:27:04] Speaker A: There was river mud out front of your door this morning, so you started along the river. You've cleaned it up, probably with magic from yourself, but your footprints are still out here. You appear to have run into Max last night. [00:27:21] Speaker C: Wow. [00:27:23] Speaker D: Okay. [00:27:23] Speaker A: She looks very surprised, which means you probably hid the thing he bought for me in Palmville. [00:27:32] Speaker D: Wait, what? [00:27:34] Speaker A: Dread stands up. Max is really nostalgic, so it's probably something from our childhood. He turns around, looks, just scans the. [00:27:44] Speaker D: Horizon, just puts her head in her hands. This isn't quite going how she thought it would. [00:27:51] Speaker A: It have to be small. And then he looks at you again and says, the branches on the trees are a little too high up for you to climb. No sign of pine SAP on you, so it's at ground level. And then he turns around and walks straight over to it, bends down and then stops, stops himself just before he's about to reach into this nook and pull it out and then pull himself upright, look around and then do a little lap around the tree and then come back and goes, oh, I found it. It was very cleverly hidden. And he pulls up the fox toy. [00:28:32] Speaker D: You did that a lot faster than I thought. It might take you a little longer. [00:28:36] Speaker A: He turns it over in his hand and he says, this was a really good idea, Creighton. [00:28:41] Speaker D: I'm sorry I didn't get you my own gift. And that it was something that Max gave me. [00:28:48] Speaker A: No, this is good. It means that Max thinks you and I are a good couple. Max is a nice guy, but he's all right. [00:28:58] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:28:59] Speaker A: And he turns the fox over a couple times and he says, I had one of these as a kit. [00:29:04] Speaker D: Yeah. What happened to it just wore out. [00:29:06] Speaker A: It's probably still there. And he walks over to you and he says, something weird is going on with the trial. Do you think they're going to find the truth? [00:29:19] Speaker D: I think that the truth is probably incredibly complicated. [00:29:23] Speaker A: He nods. We should go get ready. [00:29:26] Speaker D: What I do know, and I do genuinely believe this is the val does need to be punished. [00:29:32] Speaker A: He's guilty. And he looks down at the fox again. He says, this is really nice. Thank you. I'll plan the next one. [00:29:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I'd love some more of those pancakes. Those are way better than this kind of stale bread. And the cheese. I don't cook. [00:29:46] Speaker A: I can do pancakes again. How about a puzzle? [00:29:51] Speaker D: How hard of a puzzle? [00:29:54] Speaker A: Okay, maybe not a puzzle. [00:29:59] Speaker D: Damn. [00:30:00] Speaker A: I'll come up with something. Roll me insight. [00:30:04] Speaker D: Oh, my God. My dice are, like, top or bottom end all today. That is a seven. [00:30:10] Speaker A: A seven. Okay. Yeah. Dread is really hard to read. You get the impression that you should probably just take what he says for granted as true because he is not very subtle. [00:30:20] Speaker D: Yeah, I was figuring that with a. [00:30:23] Speaker A: Seven, you can't tell if he's having a good time or not. [00:30:29] Speaker D: Dread, I don't know how much longer we're really going to get to hang out. I mean, I know that we're going to be hitting the road pretty soon. Right now, I don't really have the leisure of going where I want and doing what I want for reasons that I don't feel like sharing. [00:30:45] Speaker A: Dread nods and says, yeah, me too. [00:30:49] Speaker D: But I'll enjoy the pancakes while I can. [00:30:51] Speaker A: Get them pancakes tomorrow then. [00:30:54] Speaker D: All right. [00:30:55] Speaker A: And you walk back really quietly because dread is not a conversational. [00:31:01] Speaker D: Yep. [00:31:08] Speaker A: Roll me an advantaged persuasion roll really quick just to end this encounter. [00:31:13] Speaker D: Okay. Oh, my gosh. Both of those were pretty good. Persuasion. All righty. 23. [00:31:19] Speaker A: 23. All right. You didn't get high enough insight to know this, but dread did have a wonderful time. [00:31:25] Speaker D: Oh, great. [00:31:27] Speaker A: All right, Sirius, what do you think? Yeah. [00:31:31] Speaker B: While that's happening, and while everyone else is distracted, I want to make a trip to Mayor Val's house. [00:31:37] Speaker A: Okay. It is just how you left it. Cool. [00:31:39] Speaker B: What I'm looking for is any object worth ten or more gold. That may be there. Object of art. Fine drapes. I don't care what it is, okay? [00:31:52] Speaker A: There are three or four paintings in there and some fine drapes, as well as some basic religious accoutrements, some of which is nice enough to qualify. [00:32:01] Speaker B: Great. In that case, I will feed each one individually to nodig. [00:32:05] Speaker A: Okay, roll me an investigate role while. [00:32:07] Speaker B: You'Re doing this, since I'm being completely selfish right now, can I do that with advantage? [00:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I think Nodig's really happy with you while you're doing this. [00:32:16] Speaker B: Investigation rolls a 13, scores a 15. [00:32:23] Speaker A: A 15 is decent. So you find a small picture. It's not drawn very well. Doesn't look like it's worth a lot of money. Probably not something you want to feed to notig, but it's framed. It has a human, an elf, a gnome and a centaur in it, just like a four person portrait. They're all wearing arms and armor. They are clearly a mercenary or adventuring party. [00:32:47] Speaker B: I'm sure I can guess to three of those four. [00:32:51] Speaker A: I can guess to the human, it's. [00:32:54] Speaker B: Valput and the alchemist. [00:32:56] Speaker C: I think it's probably his father. [00:32:58] Speaker B: Is Nodig depicted? [00:33:00] Speaker A: No. [00:33:01] Speaker B: Okay, do they have the shield and the sword? [00:33:03] Speaker A: Nope. [00:33:04] Speaker B: Is the centaur wearing bracers? The hair kind. [00:33:08] Speaker A: Okay, that's what I thought. [00:33:09] Speaker B: It's interesting. I will move that particular picture to under the mattress, but just a corner of it hanging out. [00:33:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:33:20] Speaker B: Subtly under the mattress, check. [00:33:23] Speaker A: Yes. [00:33:23] Speaker B: And then I will leave. [00:33:25] Speaker A: All right. [00:33:25] Speaker B: Unfortunately, that information comes a little too late to actually be helpful, and I don't feel like explaining myself just how I have it. [00:33:35] Speaker A: So it gets to be close enough to noon that people have started to go out to where the trial is to be held. The bishop has ordered, basically the pews, various chairs and other seating that was in the church to be pulled out here for the trial. There's a podium which you imagine that the judge will have to stand behind, and someone has taken a really big stake and hammered it into the ground. And you're guessing that's probably where they're going to chain bow to for the trial. [00:34:03] Speaker D: How nice. [00:34:04] Speaker C: Bolaine will seek out Creedon before we head out to the field and say, are you all right to handle what was supposed to be our end of the trial? [00:34:13] Speaker D: I mean, I do not want to do it without you, but you seem to have strong reasons that you don't want to participate. [00:34:22] Speaker C: I do. [00:34:22] Speaker B: Before I step away, I'll remind them. You should probably go over your arguments as well. [00:34:28] Speaker C: She'll make sure they don't have anybody to overhear them and say, Riemann agreed to your mother's terms. He will accept the immunity. And in return, he will play the simple farmer who was following orders. And he said he will spell out what those orders were. You might have to lead him to the questioning. [00:34:46] Speaker D: Of course. I was planning on using the witnesses and also some of. Can I call you as a witness to speak about the circumstances in which we ran into Val and that we found him consorting with fairy dwarves? [00:35:01] Speaker C: You may. I would like to stay away from the fact that we ran into people from Fenrir. [00:35:08] Speaker D: Yes, I was not hoping to bring. [00:35:11] Speaker C: That up, but I am happy to recount what we found with Bal and his weapons and the fairy dwarves. [00:35:18] Speaker D: All right. [00:35:19] Speaker A: Okay. Let's fast forward to the trial then. So, Xeris, there's a podium someone has set up for you. What are you wearing to the trial? [00:35:30] Speaker B: I'm wearing my armor. [00:35:32] Speaker A: Okay. [00:35:32] Speaker D: Dress to impress. [00:35:34] Speaker B: I'll lay most of my gear off to the side. If it's possible. I'll find a way to post the axe with the head of scales somehow behind me. [00:35:44] Speaker A: Check. That works just fine. The centaurs show up. Each one of them has a spear. They seem to have left their bows and arrows and other stabbing implements behind, but they still have some sort of spear. There are 20 of them who fill in around the chairs and then just kneel down. So they're basically on the outside of this trial, listening. All of the church officials who are in town pile in and take the front row seats. And then the members of the town fill in with great abandon. So every chair, every pew is full. There are members of the militia. There are members of the farming community. You see, the innkeeper has clearly closed down for this. And it's a big show. There's probably 40 people here, 50. So when Max, Dredd, and chastity show up, dread walks over and sits with the farmers in the back. Max and Chastity walk over to their side, over by the stake that has Val chained to it. Val is standing. He's still in his armor, looking kind of tired. And they look at you expectantly. Zerus. All right. [00:36:55] Speaker B: As all parties have adjourned, high wind's here, too, yes. [00:36:58] Speaker A: Yep. She's here in the front row. [00:36:59] Speaker C: Right wind. [00:37:00] Speaker B: As all parties are arrived, we can begin. We will be here to determine the guilt of Mayor Val for various crimes while leading Sternheim. [00:37:17] Speaker A: Sternheim. [00:37:19] Speaker B: For various crimes while leading Sternheim. [00:37:22] Speaker A: Zirus looks at his hand. [00:37:26] Speaker D: We are professional and qualified at our jobs. This is a kangaroo court. We are not courtroom people. [00:37:35] Speaker B: So I will ask the prosecution to start with the various crimes that have been discovered and the argument of why he is guilty. [00:37:54] Speaker A: Gather Round, apprentices. It's time for another tale. The sun commands this world. It sets the cycle of the day. It calls us to wake, to work, and to sleep. And its call cannot go unanswered. It drives away the darkness of night, exposing the world as it truly is for us to see. Who could live up to the expectations of such dauntless and certain power? To count themselves among the holy. Yet priests of the sun are not rare. Nearly every group of life of any size has a leader. One whose words set the pace of life, one whose calls are always answered by those around them. Like the sun, leaders give to others purpose, direction, certainty, and trust. Like the sun, their power defies the Poets. There once was a person born in the big city. Their energy and desire to be strong was unmatched by any follower of ambition. But they were also kind to others. They were funny, responsible and reliable, giving and loving. When they failed, there was always someone coming to help them back up. And so they learned to take risks. And over time, some of those risks paid off. This experience became wisdom and reputation. And when they saw those around them coming to help, they knew their power was not about personal skill. Those who came to help were their truest expression of power. They had become a leader of men. It is impossible to define a leader in Words. They carry something inside them that shines out from an ordinary creature. But with each passing day, it becomes clear that they are nothing like ordinary. Under the sun, all Things can be seen. Under the sun, all things are exposed. And those who find their power in being seen and exposed are the ones who gain the favor of the RAdiant one, God of the sun. The sun does not wonder, muse, or dither. It is with certainty that it rises each and every day. Expected then, that the sun God does not come to those who succeed and ask for their loyalty. It simply passes them the power they have earned in pursuit of growth. As a team, as a town, as a community, as a people. The light of the sun grows inside them, and they guide their fellow creatures, seeming to set the very pace of life. They call for joy, for excitement, for sorrow and anger, for giving and sacrifice. And their call cannot go unanswered. In truth, apprentices, anyone can be like the sun. It has nothing to do with the magic or cleverness that I teach you as a wizard. Anyone can set the pace and tone of this team. But when you do it not for yourself, but for the accomplishments of the many, you have the truest form of power granted by the sun itself to the humans it created. The radiant one watches each day for those who would lead that day. So I ask you, do not compete against each other today. Do not ask what you can do alone. Ask what you can do together and find inside yourself a light that can guide others to the warmth of the sun and the truth seen in its gaze. Now, back to work, apprentices. Creedon, you're up. [00:41:51] Speaker D: Okay, well, since we're going over courtroom outfits, Creedon is wearing a crushed, dark red velvet pantsuit, and her hair is in a very polished bun. [00:42:05] Speaker A: Perfect. [00:42:07] Speaker D: Okay, so is this basically a tv courtroom drama we call witnesses? [00:42:12] Speaker A: Yes, you should assume. [00:42:14] Speaker D: Okay, so I don't actually have to know anything about how actual courtroom things. [00:42:19] Speaker A: No. We are flying by the seat of our pants for the purpose of a narrative. So you should probably do an opening argument and then call a witness, I think is probably the best way to do this. [00:42:32] Speaker D: Okay. Creedon will stand and say, the ex mayor of Sternheim, Valriktus, had ruled for some time in this town, but there is substantial evidence to prove that he has done great harm to the city of Sternheim, some of its residents, and also to the Sintar peoples that live just outside of Sternheim. He has been planning to cause unrest with these sintars, resulting in some citizens of Sternheim getting killed. And he also went into places that brought about great danger to the people of Sternheim and cost many lives in the partial destruction of this entire town. Today, I plan on proving that by speaking with some of the people that have worked with him. And then allow the centaurs to take justice as they see fit. Or, well, I suppose, as our great judge sees fit. [00:43:29] Speaker C: Our great, neutral, unbiased judge. [00:43:31] Speaker A: Go ahead and roll me a persuasion roll. Just one dice. [00:43:35] Speaker D: All right. 1515. [00:43:39] Speaker A: Okay, so the centaurs are nodding along. The town's people still seem pretty skeptical. Call your first witness. [00:43:48] Speaker D: I'm going to glance at Boulain and just mouth Riemann. Just go all in. Go for the throat. [00:43:55] Speaker C: Boulain has her veil on because we're in broad daylight, but you see her nod her head just slightly. [00:44:00] Speaker D: I would like to call Riemann. I don't think I ever got his last name. [00:44:05] Speaker A: He did not have one. [00:44:07] Speaker D: Raymond of Sternheim as a witness. [00:44:10] Speaker A: Riemann comes up. He's dressed as a farmer, just as he was when you took him out of the construction site. He's clearly here directly from his imprisonment in a broom closet. He stands by the podium and nods to you. And nods. The judge question him. [00:44:27] Speaker D: Raymond, you were present on the night that some of the townsfoker Sternheim got into a conflict with some of the centaurs, and there were casualties. Can you please tell me about how you ended up in that situation? [00:44:41] Speaker A: Yeah. I was approached with a group of other farmers, including my neighbors, to act as temporary augmentation to the militia. We were all paid one day's militia wages in order to come act as militia soldiers. We put on the armor, we took the weapons, and went down to deliver a message from the mayor to the centaurs, and that's how we came into the situation. [00:45:06] Speaker D: So you said that you received these orders from other farmers. [00:45:10] Speaker A: I received the initial orders from other farmers, but I was called into a special discussion about my particular orders for this incident. [00:45:19] Speaker D: Can you elaborate on this special discussion and who it was with? [00:45:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Mayor Val called me in personally. He said that he saw my skills, both with the armor and the weapons that the other men did not have, and had a special job for me in which he would triple my pay. I was to ensure that the exchange had some measure of violence. So the mayor had his impetus to do whatever it was he needed to do next. He did not elaborate. [00:45:50] Speaker D: So you do not know why he wished for this conflict? [00:45:53] Speaker A: At the time that this happened, I did not know why he wished for this, but I suspect I know now. [00:45:59] Speaker D: So, Riemann, you and several other people from Sternheim that are not typically part of the militia were, in fact, hired by mayor Val in order to do this. I would like to back up that claim by this piece of evidence, one of the ledgers that we took, because I assumed that we were allowed to take those things. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Sure. [00:46:21] Speaker D: It shows a period of higher than normal spending with the militia, and I will walk up to zerus and put it on his bench. [00:46:31] Speaker A: I would like you to roll me. Either persuasion or performance. You choose. [00:46:36] Speaker D: That's going to be persuasion? Oh, no, that's going to be a ten. [00:46:41] Speaker A: A ten. [00:46:41] Speaker D: Okay. [00:46:42] Speaker A: The town's people start to murmur a little bit. The centaurs just look confused as to how this is going, but the church officials remain stone faced. Do you have more questions for your witness? [00:46:54] Speaker B: Zira says in a gruff voice. [00:46:58] Speaker D: Yeah. Am I allowed to circle back and question him again, or is this a. [00:47:04] Speaker A: One and done sort of thing for narrative purposes? It's probably. You can call him again when you move to a different topic, but we're probably going to keep the truck moving here. [00:47:16] Speaker D: Creedon will speak up. Raymond, you mentioned that at the time, you didn't know what the mayor's possible motives could be for wanting to start this conflict. Does that imply that you have some suspicions now? [00:47:30] Speaker A: Yes. I was hired to do two additional jobs in one night. I did them. And judging from the town's reaction, I suspect that the purpose of this was to cast suspicion away from Valriktis and on the centaurs. [00:47:46] Speaker D: What leads you to believe that that is the motivation? [00:47:50] Speaker A: Well, murder is illegal. And while a number of town's members did have associations with the two people who died in town, Mayor Val had the most associations with them. And so, when two people turned up dead, Mayor Val was able to successfully turn suspicion to the centaurs. Since days before, the centaurs had been in an armed conflict just on the edge of town. [00:48:19] Speaker D: I have no further questions. [00:48:22] Speaker A: Chastity pops up and says, may I, your honor? You may. Mr. Riemann, can you please tell me exactly the exact words that my client Valrictus used when he described the centaur initial encounter? And Riemann says, I would like you to ensure that there is justifiable violence, meaning that he was hoping that there would be enough violence, that there would be a response. And she says, you presume that that's what he meant? And Riemann says, yes. Yes, I do. So what you're saying then, here, Mr. Riemann, is that he did not ask for you to kill those centaur nor for there to be a bloodbath. He asked you to ensure that there was some measure of violence. And Raymond says, in a tense situation, if violence starts, there's really no other outcome than a lot of violence. And Chastity says, but it is true, then, that Mayor Valricnis did not tell you to kill those two centaurs, nor to take actions that would result in the death of townsfolk. And Raymond says he did not use those words. And she says, thank you. No further questions. Prosecution. I suppose it's your turn. [00:49:38] Speaker D: The prosecution would like to remind the court that it is still illegal to attempt to incite violence with another people's just because the trigger, as it were, was not pulled by the mayor himself. He gave an order that led to the deaths of both centaurs and citizens of Sternheim. Those orders are still illegal. And Mr. Raymond here is not the one on trial, for now, backing that up. Mr. Rayman is not on trial for actions that he took. The focus is on the illegal activities of ex mayor Valrict. [00:50:26] Speaker A: All right, I need you to roll me persuasion or performance role. But you have disadvantage. [00:50:31] Speaker D: Disadvantage? Why? That's a great argument. That's a 17 with disadvantage. Yeah, I do have a plus seven. [00:50:41] Speaker A: That's great. So, there were a few things you said where you saw Bishop Brightwind just visibly tense, but as you get through it, the church officials seem to nod, all in pleased agreement that you have landed your points without implicating any larger systemic problems. [00:51:01] Speaker D: Yep. [00:51:01] Speaker A: All right. [00:51:02] Speaker D: No further questions for their witness. [00:51:04] Speaker A: Raymond stands up and says, I'll go wait right over here. And he stands off to the side by the Paladins. [00:51:11] Speaker B: All right, I would like the prosecution to call their next witness, I believe. [00:51:16] Speaker D: All right. Did we negotiate with Max that we weren't going to involve him in his actions in the trial either? [00:51:22] Speaker B: We can't. [00:51:23] Speaker C: Yeah. He claimed immunity because he's a lawyer. [00:51:25] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. [00:51:25] Speaker A: You can only involve Boulain because she stepped out of it. [00:51:28] Speaker D: Okay. [00:51:29] Speaker C: You can also involve dread if you want. [00:51:31] Speaker A: You can involve dread. No, he does not have an official. [00:51:34] Speaker D: No. [00:51:34] Speaker C: Chastity might bludgeon you with a mace. [00:51:36] Speaker D: If you do that. He's also 50 times smarter than me. He would beat me to death with my own argument. [00:51:43] Speaker A: It depends on his agenda. [00:51:44] Speaker D: I have the charisma. [00:51:46] Speaker A: I can assure you, whatever dread's agenda is, he will, in fact, achieve it. [00:51:52] Speaker D: Yeah, no, I'm not playing smart people games with him when it matters. So, yes, I suppose I will call Boulain next. [00:52:00] Speaker C: Boulain stands up and takes the witness stand. [00:52:04] Speaker D: Okay, Boulain, you were there when the mayor was apprehended. [00:52:09] Speaker C: I was. [00:52:10] Speaker D: Can you speak about the circumstances in which he was apprehended? [00:52:14] Speaker C: My party and I had gone in search of him because he was missing and were led to believe he had disappeared into a cave not far from the thorns. When we went in there, we found three fairy creatures who were holding him prisoner. He was quite feverish from an encounter with their pet. I don't remember if we knew the name of this thing. [00:52:38] Speaker A: It's an Udiyug. [00:52:39] Speaker C: They had a pet Udyug, and he had taken some serious damage from that which had left him feverish and delirious. [00:52:48] Speaker A: There is immediately whispers in the church section. [00:52:53] Speaker C: We negotiated with the fairy creatures for his release. We restored his senses to him, and that is how we apprehended the mayor. [00:53:03] Speaker D: The prosecution would like to point out that Val had been in an area that was notably unsafe and was concerning with and also managed to get himself captured by fairy creatures. That's all. I don't know what I'm doing. [00:53:23] Speaker A: Boulane, you may roll me a persuasion role or a medicine role to make your testimony to the court. [00:53:32] Speaker C: I'm going to go with medicine because I get a plus six on that. My persuasion is only a plus five. Oh, dang. That's an eleven. [00:53:41] Speaker D: All right, moving on to another topic. I understand that you a. I think it's not unfair to say a medical professional have personally looked at the unfortunately deceased poop car bunkel and autumn Vale. [00:53:59] Speaker C: I did. [00:54:00] Speaker D: Can you speak about the autopsy that you performed? [00:54:04] Speaker C: I found that they had each been murdered with a short sword. They were each stabbed multiple times. The height of the wounds suggested a humanoid assailant. [00:54:16] Speaker A: When you say humanoid assailant, you see the centaurs stir. Please give me a medicine roll. [00:54:21] Speaker D: Are they humanoid? [00:54:24] Speaker C: Oh, that's much better. [00:54:26] Speaker D: 25. [00:54:28] Speaker A: All right, continue. [00:54:30] Speaker C: I discovered signs that poot had put up a little bit of a struggle. Autumn, I believe, was caught unawares. [00:54:38] Speaker D: It appears that a short sword is not a common weapon for a centaur to use either. [00:54:44] Speaker C: From what I understand about the centaurs, no. A short sword is a common issue among the militia, but it would be a bit too small of a weapon for your average centaur warrior to use effectively. [00:54:57] Speaker D: So this seems to corroborate the narrative that we previously heard from Mr. Riemann, where he stated that the deaths of autumn and poot appeared to be perpetrated not by the centaurs. However, the centaurs were used as a scapegoat. I have no further questions. [00:55:18] Speaker A: Chastity stands up and walks over and says, so, boulain. Mayor Val was illegally imprisoned by fairy creatures. [00:55:27] Speaker C: You say it would have been illegal in terms of the astragarian empire. I highly doubt it was illegal in terms of the fae. [00:55:37] Speaker A: But we are, in fact, in the astragarian empire. Is that not true? [00:55:42] Speaker C: Mayor Val was inside a tunnel that was within the thorn line. [00:55:47] Speaker A: So you think that because Mayor Val was just outside of the bounds of our paladin's physical force, that therefore the laws of Astregard did not apply in this situation? [00:56:00] Speaker C: I do not have an answer for that question. [00:56:03] Speaker A: If mayor Val was detained illegally by Faye, who's to say that he did not have other interactions with fairies before this time? [00:56:15] Speaker C: I do not have an answer for that question. [00:56:17] Speaker A: If mayor Val could have had interactions with fairies before this time, is it possible that this was all fairy manipulation? [00:56:25] Speaker C: You are asking me to speculate on things about which I have no position to speculate on. [00:56:31] Speaker D: Objection. Leading the witness. [00:56:33] Speaker A: Overruled. [00:56:34] Speaker B: Let the questions go. [00:56:38] Speaker A: We can't rule out, in your professional magical opinion, that Mayor Val was manipulated by Faye. [00:56:47] Speaker C: In my professional opinion, Mayor vow was being manipulated. I do not believe it was by the Faye. [00:56:54] Speaker A: Who do you believe it was by? [00:56:56] Speaker C: I believe he was being manipulated by the weapon he inherited from his father, which was made by poot carbuncle, who was renowned for making cursed weapons. [00:57:07] Speaker D: Objection. Speculation. [00:57:09] Speaker B: Sustained. [00:57:18] Speaker A: Cursed weapons, you say? So perhaps Mirvell's actions could have been the result of a curse and not his personal shortcomings. [00:57:29] Speaker C: Yes, chastity, that is possible. [00:57:32] Speaker A: Fascinating. No further questions. And I would like you to roll me. Boulain. Give me a persuasion roll. [00:57:42] Speaker C: Oh, that's not bad. 22. [00:57:44] Speaker A: Okay. You think that the church officials are nodding along with you and giving you positive feedback? The townsfolk were initially seemed to be cheering on chastity, but you seem to have won them over in the end. The centaurs don't seem to have an opinion on this very thing. All right, continue. [00:58:06] Speaker C: Do I step down? [00:58:07] Speaker B: Yes, you're excused. Thank you, Elaine. [00:58:10] Speaker C: Elaine will step down. [00:58:12] Speaker B: Creedon. What's next? [00:58:13] Speaker D: Do we want to question the mayor? I kind of don't. Can Creedon try to roll a history check to see if she would know if there's any legal precedent for if people under the influence of magical weapons or something like that? [00:58:31] Speaker A: Yes, you may. History would be exactly the skill you need. Essentially what you're doing is trying to draw on legalese to throw out that argument that chastity just made. Oh, let's see if you can do it. [00:58:43] Speaker D: That's a non natural 20. Oh. All right. [00:58:47] Speaker A: You are aware of several key cases in Astragar where it was clear that a person was cursed due to their own fault, and therefore they were found responsible for all of the actions they had while they were cursed. [00:59:01] Speaker D: All right. Crayden will speak up and say, I would like to remind the court of the legal precedent that has been set where the actions committed by an individual under the influence of magic are still held responsible legally for their actions. [00:59:18] Speaker A: The history role suffices. You don't have to roll another persuasion roll. The church officials nod approvingly. [00:59:23] Speaker D: Okay, I think I might be. Can I do, like, an inside check on everybody to see how I think that this is going? [00:59:30] Speaker A: Yeah, roll me an insight check. [00:59:33] Speaker D: That's a 13. [00:59:34] Speaker A: A 13? You feel like you've won over the church officials so far? They seem to be absolutely on board with. Mayor Val is guilty. The centaur are nodding along. They seem to be a little confused. The townspeople still seem to be in Mayor Val's corner. That's your quick and dirty impression? [00:59:56] Speaker D: Okay. I don't really care if the centaurs are confused. [01:00:01] Speaker A: None of this, by the way, is relevant to winning or losing this. I mean, it just feeds into what happens. [01:00:09] Speaker D: I mean, Creedon doesn't care what the Centaur thinks of all this because she's hoping that they will get to take him and do justice how they see fit in their own, so. [01:00:20] Speaker A: So you're switching to defense's witnesses? [01:00:23] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, I think so. I don't particularly want to call Val. [01:00:26] Speaker A: Okay, do me a favor. Just for the recording, say, the prosecution rest. [01:00:30] Speaker D: The prosecution rest. [01:00:33] Speaker B: Very well. [01:00:34] Speaker A: Chastity, you have the floor. Chastity stands up and says, I would like to call with a witness, Whitman, to the stand. And Whitman comes out and sits down next to the podium and looks really nervous. And Chastity says, now, Mr. Whitman, please tell everyone here you were present at the time that the fight started. [01:00:57] Speaker C: Do you mean Wakefield? [01:00:59] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:01:00] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sorry. [01:01:01] Speaker D: Who is Whitman? [01:01:03] Speaker A: Wakefield? [01:01:04] Speaker C: It's like we just made these names up. [01:01:06] Speaker D: Objection. This guy doesn't exist. [01:01:10] Speaker B: Sustained. [01:01:11] Speaker A: Objection. Get your shit together. [01:01:13] Speaker D: Objection. I didn't know about this witness. You shouldn't get to be in it. But I didn't know. [01:01:19] Speaker A: Hold on. Let me open my NPC tracker so I can read what I wrote and maybe get their names correct this time. [01:01:26] Speaker C: What's it like interrogating yourself on the stand? [01:01:31] Speaker A: Pretty good. [01:01:31] Speaker D: He has the know. I'm desperately reading through my old ones, being like, oh, things to remember, bits of evidence. [01:01:38] Speaker A: All right, so Wakefield is on the stand. And Chastity says, Mr. Wakefield, you were present at the time that the Centaurs and the humans got in their initial fight. Can you tell me who shot first? And Wakefield says, no, it was really chaotic. I don't know who attacked who first. I wasn't really paying attention, maybe. And she says, now, Mr. Wakefield, give yourself some credit. You were there, and you don't know who shot first? And he says, no, I don't. Okay, I'd like to. [01:02:10] Speaker B: Insight. [01:02:11] Speaker A: Yep, go ahead and roll insight. [01:02:14] Speaker B: Not awesome. [01:02:14] Speaker A: Ten. A ten. You're just going to to have see where this is going, I think. [01:02:18] Speaker B: All right. [01:02:18] Speaker A: She says, so, would any of your fellow Sternheim countrymen, fellow farmers, would they shoot first? Does that seem right to you? And he says, no, they're really nice guys. They're all really cool. What about Riemann? He says he might have even been paid to shoot first. Nah, Rayman would never do, you know. [01:02:38] Speaker D: Objection. Leading the witness. [01:02:40] Speaker B: Overruled. It's fine. Let it go where it's. [01:02:44] Speaker A: You know, he's a really good guy. They're all really good guys. They wouldn't do that. And chassis says, well, what about the centaurs? Are they really good guys? And Wakefield says, I don't know. And so she says, so it's possible then, that the centaurs, regardless of what mayor Val asked anybody to do, started this fight. And Wakefield says, I mean, I don't know. The centaurs, they could be the kind of person who would start a fight. No further questions, your honor. [01:03:10] Speaker B: Creedon. [01:03:12] Speaker D: I mean, we don't want to character assassinate Raymond here because we don't want to piss him off. Oh, do I want to ask him any questions? I don't know what to do. [01:03:22] Speaker A: Does anybody want to help? Table talk here you are all around for several negotiations. [01:03:29] Speaker C: I'll table talk. I would say I would draw on their nervousness in the situation and be like, don't you think panic can make people do things they don't mean to do that kind of thing. [01:03:37] Speaker B: I don't remember if it was Wakefield or if it was Dickens. [01:03:40] Speaker D: Dickens thought Wakefield did it, so Dickens blamed Wakefield. Wakefield apparently doesn't even know how to load a crossbow. [01:03:48] Speaker B: Play on that. Play on his ineptitude. [01:03:50] Speaker D: Well, yeah, but that's not going to help with the argument that the humans. [01:03:54] Speaker B: Incited it, discrediting him as a reliable source of information on anyone's intent or the tactical possibilities. [01:04:02] Speaker D: Yeah, that's true. Okay, Wakefield, you are claiming that you don't know exactly what happened and who began the conflict? [01:04:11] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I said. [01:04:13] Speaker D: How could you not have been aware of what was happening around you in the moment? [01:04:19] Speaker A: Well, my job was just to look scary. So, I mean, I put on the armor, I had the weapon, so I looked scary, and I just stood there and that the other people were talking, so I was just staring at my feet and. [01:04:32] Speaker D: Did you ever use your weapon? [01:04:34] Speaker A: I don't think so. I've never even really shot a crossbow before, so I don't even know that I loaded it correctly. [01:04:42] Speaker D: And did you see anyone that did have it loaded correctly? [01:04:46] Speaker A: I mean, I don't know how. Honestly, I don't even know how crossbows work real good, but everybody had one. [01:04:54] Speaker D: It sounds like you were not very aware in this situation of what was actually happening around you. [01:05:00] Speaker A: No, but I can just tell you all the farmer guys are really good guys. [01:05:06] Speaker D: Yes, I never doubted that good people could have been involved in this confrontation. All right, we're going to get nasty. Are you aware that you have been fingered as the person that potentially instigated the conflict? [01:05:21] Speaker A: I mean, you said in the interrogation that Dickens said it was me, and Dickens would never say. Just. I don't even believe Dickens is the best guy. Just the best guy. [01:05:34] Speaker B: What's Dickens'reaction to that? [01:05:36] Speaker A: Dickens just is shifting from foot to foot, looking really awkward over by the paladins, I suppose. [01:05:41] Speaker D: No further questions for him, then. [01:05:43] Speaker B: Very well. Chastity. [01:05:45] Speaker A: Yeah? I'd like to call my next witness, please. Mayor Val Richtis butts. So Val comes up to the stand and she says, your honor, at this time, I would like to request a zone of truth. [01:05:58] Speaker B: Granted, paladins, if you would. [01:06:00] Speaker A: Archbishop Brightwin stands up to cast the spell. Val rolls his saving throw. [01:06:05] Speaker D: All right, so mysterious. [01:06:07] Speaker C: Nate, I have a question about zone of truth. Okay, the wording says, you know, whether each creature succeeds or fails in its saving throw. So Brightwind would know whether he passed or failed. [01:06:18] Speaker D: That. [01:06:18] Speaker C: Okay, that's my question. [01:06:20] Speaker A: That was not a question. But Brightwind does not react. Okay, Creden, I did forget something. Please roll me a persuasion check for your attempts to discredit Wakefield. [01:06:29] Speaker D: That's a 22. [01:06:30] Speaker A: Jesus. [01:06:31] Speaker D: Okay, well, my pants suit is very fashionable. [01:06:35] Speaker B: You got all the pantsuit. [01:06:38] Speaker A: The townspeople. You seem to be winning over the townspeople a little bit. Their reaction is, yeah, Wakefield is kind of. Is. [01:06:46] Speaker D: Yeah, he's a little dense. [01:06:48] Speaker A: So Val says, how may I be of service? And chastity says, mayor Val, did you in fact tell Mr. Riemann to create violence at the initial encounter? And Mayor Val says, yes, I did. [01:07:05] Speaker D: Done. [01:07:08] Speaker A: Did you in fact tell Riemann to commit other crimes in town? Mayor Val says, yes, I did. Do you believe you were in sound mind when you did these? He says, no, I don't. And what do you believe is the cause of your mistakes? And Val says, I think the fairies were cursing me. And she says, which fairies were cursing you, Val? And Val points to the centaurs, and she says, no further questions. [01:07:41] Speaker D: Val, what reason do you have to believe that the centaurs had been influencing you? [01:07:50] Speaker A: The centaurs were the enemies of my father. And I believe that animosity was inherited, that they hold that animosity towards him, towards me as well. [01:08:00] Speaker D: Mr. Richtis, I have reason to believe that many of your actions were not driven by some kind of curse put on you by another, but in fact, due to your own desire to accumulate wealth whenever you went into the tunnel towards the thorns. What exactly was it that you were looking for? [01:08:21] Speaker A: The lost shipment of gold from Sternheim from 40 years ago. [01:08:25] Speaker D: And do you believe that these centaurs wanted you to seek out this gold for their own benefit? [01:08:32] Speaker A: No. I believe that I had regained my sense of composure and was trying to retrieve the gold for the benefit of this town of Sternheim. [01:08:42] Speaker D: However, the additional illegal actions that you told Riemann to commit were tied to people that had the keys to that tunnel in their possession. [01:08:53] Speaker A: That is true. [01:08:54] Speaker D: So, then, at a minimum, those illegal actions that you told Riemann to commit were not driven by the centaurs, but by your own saying with you in sound mind. Got him. [01:09:06] Speaker A: No creedin little saving throw here. He keeps his cool. He says, I don't know what bizarre and alien motives the centaurs and their fairy kin have. [01:09:18] Speaker C: Well, that didn't answer the question. [01:09:20] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:09:20] Speaker A: Do you just want to let it go again? [01:09:24] Speaker D: There is no evidence that that influence was present at all. And additionally, whenever you were initially hiring the townsfolk to instigate this conflict, would somebody in not sound mind also still be keeping such good records in their ledgers? You were still clearly competent enough to be able to document and perform your day to day tasks as mayor. [01:09:50] Speaker A: The duties that I inherited as mayor and as a church official are, in fact, very important to me, and I carried them out to the best of my ability at all times. [01:10:00] Speaker D: No further questions. All right. [01:10:02] Speaker A: Roll me a persuasion roll. [01:10:05] Speaker D: Oh, that's got to have advantage. I did so good. [01:10:07] Speaker A: Yeah, give it advantage. I think you caught him in a lie that anyone paying attention would notice. [01:10:12] Speaker D: Oh, good. I needed it. That is a 26. [01:10:15] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [01:10:16] Speaker D: I got a 19, baby. [01:10:18] Speaker A: So, the centaurs nod, the church officials nod, the town's people look convinced my. [01:10:25] Speaker D: Work here is done. Unless chastity has more. [01:10:28] Speaker B: Chastity, do you have more? [01:10:30] Speaker A: Chastity stands up and is rubbing her hands together. I was like, she's rubbing her beard. [01:10:35] Speaker B: That's what she does. She's a dwarf. [01:10:37] Speaker C: She's got a karen beard. [01:10:39] Speaker A: It's also waxed like a helmet. [01:10:44] Speaker D: To a point. [01:10:44] Speaker A: No. She's rubbing her hands together and she says, taking the temperature of the courtroom, it would seem that we are without witnesses. And she nods at Val. And Val says, your honor, I'd like to request trial by combat, if possible at this juncture. [01:11:01] Speaker D: Objection. [01:11:02] Speaker C: Should have opened with that bell. [01:11:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't see or know of a precedent of going through the majority of a trial only to request trial by combat. After the fact. In fact, I think that brother ambition followers themselves would see through such a tactic quite clearly and quickly as to not be inspired, but just wrong. And I'll try to intimidate her to back down. Fuck, I don't care. [01:11:30] Speaker A: Go ahead and roll it. [01:11:32] Speaker B: That's a 13, which is probably going to be an 18. [01:11:36] Speaker A: Chastity says the defense rests. [01:11:39] Speaker B: Excellent. [01:11:39] Speaker D: The prosecution also rests. [01:11:41] Speaker B: Do we need to do closing arguments? [01:11:43] Speaker C: No. [01:11:44] Speaker A: The room looks pretty convinced that this trial is done. I think if you skip him, no one's going to be upset. [01:11:50] Speaker B: Very well. [01:11:50] Speaker D: He has been caught in a lie. [01:11:52] Speaker B: Mayor Val, this court finds you guilty of crimes against eight of the ten gods. So let's go through them. You're guilty of inciting violence by hiring mercenaries, even though they are citizens and townsfolk, of hiring them against the town and their own better interests. You are guilty of hiring inept individuals to do such a job, placing them at more risk than is appropriate, and danger beyond their ability. You have admitted to consorting with fairies, though I will remind you, these centaur are citizens, but other fairies as well, by your own admission. And either you were acting in your own interest and seeking lost gold like some obsessed treasure hunter, or you were cursed by some external alien force. Either way, if you're too selfish or too weak to lead, those are the only two options, given what you've said. So against the radiant one, your leadership is inept. And you have proven yourself to have been criminally negligent as the leader of this town. Against the silent judge, you were encouraging people to die before their time. Aka murder. Or inciting and requesting murder on your own behalf for your own good. Against the whispering shepherd, you have actively worked against the prosperity of this settlement. Of course, as a follower of sister truth myself, your crimes of causing chaos and destabilizing this settlement and these citizens is heinous, beyond bound. Brother ambition, you are guilty of overreaching with your ambition, of trying to get things that you should not, and simply being inept at it for one reason or another. Divine mercy. You are guilty of the crime. Of preying on those who are devoted to you and believing that their devotion to you will help you get through the crimes that you're trying to commit. With divine hammer, you are guilty of draining the region of creativity via death and via attacks on its own citizens that can be productive members of the society. And lastly, you're guilty of crimes against mask. Because you're here. [01:14:28] Speaker D: Yeah, you got caught, bitch. Ow. Get him. [01:14:34] Speaker B: And so, if there's no objection from the esteemed faithful here. And as I have laid out, I will give sentencing. [01:14:45] Speaker A: There is no objection from the crowd. Go ahead and roll me an advantaged D 20. Roll. [01:14:52] Speaker B: I got a 17. [01:14:53] Speaker D: That was such a good sentencing. [01:14:56] Speaker C: I am stirred up here. [01:14:59] Speaker A: Okay, that 17. I'm going to call it a persuasion roll. So we're going to add your persuasion bonus to it. [01:15:04] Speaker B: 22. [01:15:05] Speaker A: Your sentencing is vigorous enough, it seems, to win over the whole trial grounds. Bishop Brightwind looks particularly pleased. And provincial Governor Tanglebeard looks particularly pleased. [01:15:19] Speaker D: Brother ambition smiles on you. [01:15:21] Speaker A: You may deliver your sentence. [01:15:24] Speaker B: The most aggrieved party in this fiasco has been the centaurs and their community. So I order whoever has their sacred objects to return them with haste. And mayor Val to be turned over to them for whatever punishment they see fit, as well as exile from Astragar proper. [01:15:47] Speaker A: So Max stands up and walks over. He's got two pairs of horsehide bracers. He walks over to the closest centaur and gestures them out. The centaur takes both of those bracers and gives a deep bow and says, thank you. And the Paladins come over and they pull up the stake that Val is hooked to and walk him over to the same centaurs. And the centaur raises its hand up, and you see all of the centaurs stand and they say, val, your actions against our people are despicable, but we are going to do better than you did to us. Enjoy your exile. And the centaurs rather solemnly walk out of the courtroom. [01:16:32] Speaker D: Well, they're pretty cool. [01:16:33] Speaker C: A lot cooler than the people are. [01:16:36] Speaker D: They were also super nice to let us even do this in the first place. [01:16:41] Speaker B: Paladins, please see that Val gets to his new home. [01:16:45] Speaker A: Mayor Val, you'll be taken to the swamp. In accordance with tradition, you will be given a dagger. Let's go. And they pull him along. Farewell. With that bright wind and Tanglebeard walk up and they say, well done, Zerus. This was really quite spectacular. And good work, Creighton. Your contribution's impressive. I think you'll still be a wonderful church official someday. [01:17:10] Speaker D: Thank you, mother. [01:17:11] Speaker A: And she looks over at chastity and says, chastity competently argued. It's unfortunate you lost, but I see real potential in your performance. And I have taken the liberty of recommending a new position for you. I apologize, Tanglebeard, for taking one of your few precious staff, but Hilock is in need of brother ambition's leadership. Given the recent church scandal, I have asked Khan Pardish to put you up in his governor's mansion. Apparently it's plenty large. So all you need to do is report to duty. And chastity smiles and Max says, if chastity's going there, what's that mean for the sharp edge of the pub? And Tanglebeard says, oh, I still have work for you. We'll just find you a new third member somewhere. Don't worry about it. And he okay, okay. And Chastity says, well, max, it's been good. I'm going to go get my stuff. And turns and walks off and Max looks kind of heartbroken. [01:18:15] Speaker D: Oh my God. Creighton kind of feels bad, but kind of is glad this way. [01:18:21] Speaker C: I mean, it's better for him, honestly. [01:18:23] Speaker D: Yeah, for sure. Now that could be a power couple. [01:18:30] Speaker A: I can promise you she's going for that. [01:18:33] Speaker D: I'm sure she is. [01:18:34] Speaker C: They're going to be like power tops together. [01:18:36] Speaker D: Go with my blessings. Divine mercy's blessing all over. That one sounds messy, as I'm sure their love would be. [01:18:59] Speaker A: And that is our show for today. Special thanks Todd Ferguson of my pet machine for our tunes, Julie at elaborate flight of fancy for our logo. And for the last time, thank you to author John Tara, the original author of Sternheim in the DNd lore in the 1990s. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review. What a show. What's next for our heroes after the trial of the century? Find out next time on carrots and suffering at the India Odyssey.