Campaign 2 (Astragar) Episode 38: Aftermath

[00:00:31] Speaker A: Welcome to carrots and suffering. A-D-D odyssey. I am Nate, your dungeon master. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review. [00:00:39] Speaker B: A little change of pace today. [00:00:40] Speaker A: Last time on carrots and suffering. My characters delegated the climactic end of. [00:00:44] Speaker B: Their adventure in Turtle Bay, and I. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Thought, why deprive the listeners of the good stuff? [00:00:49] Speaker B: So. So here it is, in short order. [00:00:51] Speaker A: Last time, without our heroes on carrots and suffering, who would order boxes of bone dust? I hear from a dragon so rich people, maybe a few dock workers, unload from the river to a cart. [00:01:11] Speaker B: No sooner is the wagon loaded that. [00:01:13] Speaker A: A group of rough looking people walk up with hands on hilts and clubs. [00:01:18] Speaker B: What do they call a land pirate? Mate? [00:01:21] Speaker A: I think that's called abandoned. It's kind of rhetorical, but thanks for the boxes anyway. The dock workers were unusually dirty and smelly today as they unloaded the boxes of supplies at the Zestildi family safe house. Walking past several guards, they also seemed. [00:01:40] Speaker B: Unusually confused by the cages of jungle. [00:01:42] Speaker A: Animals that included one human woman. It seemed their supervisor came along, and maybe that accounts for their strange behavior. The shipping supervisor was clearly a man of some power from his accent and education, and he promptly crossed the warehouse to shake hands with the old elf in charge. The guards didn't think much of the situation as the dock workers pulled away. Of course, they were distracted by the. [00:02:07] Speaker B: Second group of coin lord minions approaching. [00:02:09] Speaker A: With a receipt, entitling them to several. [00:02:11] Speaker B: The boxes that had just arrived. [00:02:16] Speaker A: Imston had never been in so much pain in her 800 years. [00:02:20] Speaker B: Her hand was swollen and her veins bulging, but the pain she truly recognized. [00:02:25] Speaker A: Was when her lungs began to fill with fluid, and she knew the end had finally come. [00:02:31] Speaker B: She didn't expect it to be so. [00:02:32] Speaker A: Painful, or expect it to come so fast. [00:02:35] Speaker B: She stumbled through the boxes of bone. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Dust and herbs, falling into them as she used the last of her strength to reach Dorothea whalei, ex notorious pirate priestess of the silent judge and her hopeful protege. [00:02:50] Speaker B: Dorothea has sat quietly through all the. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Lessons about gods of the dead and forgotten, but none of them seemed quite to stick. And finally, Imstid was forced to throw. [00:03:01] Speaker B: Her in a cage to prevent her. [00:03:03] Speaker A: From ending her plans and escaping. [00:03:05] Speaker B: The plan might fail now, but there. [00:03:07] Speaker A: Was a chance Dorothea might still carry it through to the end. Maybe she listened, after all. As Imstead lay dying at the door. [00:03:17] Speaker B: Of the cage, the key still in. [00:03:19] Speaker A: Her hand, Dorothea reached out and plucked them up. [00:03:25] Speaker B: The safe house and warehouse had been. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Quiet for some time, which isn't strange, considering it's the weed. Hours of the morning, he completed his. [00:03:32] Speaker B: Once an hour loop around the warehouse exterior and noticed the back door was open. He approached and saw a small cart was missing, as was the prisoner and the elder elf who ran the show. This was not going to be good. He'd surely be fired in the morning. [00:03:47] Speaker A: He began to worry as Imstead never. [00:03:49] Speaker B: Left without an escort, though in truth, he was kind of relieved for the prisoner, who seemed just fine and could figure out why she was in the cage. Walking into the warehouse, he sees a small metal and cloth ball having spilled out of one of the new crates. Odd packaging for spell components, but what does he know? Scoops the ball up and places it on the table and turns to leave. [00:04:09] Speaker A: In a hurry to report the potential problem in hopes that maybe it can. [00:04:13] Speaker B: Be fixed by dawn. [00:04:15] Speaker A: The roaring sounds of fire behind him. [00:04:18] Speaker B: Were the last things he'd ever hear. [00:04:21] Speaker A: Dawn breaks over Turtle Bay on the. [00:04:23] Speaker B: Ship of Dicky the devious, rebellious pirate. [00:04:27] Speaker A: Son of coin Lord Zestilde, his men. [00:04:31] Speaker B: Slowly lifting boxes to the rail of the boat and tipping the fine ivory. [00:04:35] Speaker A: Dust into the wild sea. [00:04:37] Speaker B: As the smoke begins to rise from the warehouse district, far off on the. [00:04:41] Speaker A: Distant shore, the smile of Dicky the devious could turn the blood of any mortal cold. The smile disappears when a second column of smoke begins to spill from the estate of Traffron beach crown. I guess two lords, mad as hell is just as good as one, really. And the smile returns to Dickie. [00:05:05] Speaker B: Let's get into it. When you step out in the morning, it's quite bright. You got a full rest. There is some rather dark, ominous looking, multicolored smoke coming out of the far dock district. [00:05:27] Speaker C: Oh, what do you suppose that is? [00:05:29] Speaker D: We do need to find out if those bones were part of it or not. [00:05:33] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:05:34] Speaker E: But do we not already find that out? [00:05:37] Speaker D: We know that there were boxes brought in from Sternheim and that some of them were taken by coin lords, but we don't. This is us guessing. Nobody has confirmed that it has the bones of the dragon. This is our theory. [00:05:48] Speaker C: We are guessing they replaced the bone dust with the dragon bone dust, and they're trying to go ahead with the ritual. [00:05:54] Speaker D: We are. [00:05:54] Speaker C: Within ten days, right, Nate? At this point, yeah. [00:05:57] Speaker D: Yesterday was ten days, so I believe. [00:05:59] Speaker B: This is day nine. [00:06:01] Speaker C: Okay. Lulain says, I would like to go out to the island and cast a spell on the turtle. The same one I cast on Emerson's body. [00:06:08] Speaker B: Sure. Okay, you head out to the turtle. So this is a truly massive creature. One casting will do it. But I think you're going to need to do it as a larger ritual for this to make sense. So go ahead and roll me a religion check. We're going to make this probably. There's no rush, right? So we'll say it takes an hour, but give me a religion check just to see how thorough you are. [00:06:30] Speaker C: All right. That's a 16, not natural. [00:06:33] Speaker B: 20. Okay. Yeah. You're very thorough, which is probably good. So there are a few spots where you realize this would go better if you could do some prep down around the turtle underwater. [00:06:43] Speaker C: But I can't get to him reliably, right? Or I wouldn't be able to cast the spell if I was underwater. [00:06:48] Speaker B: You can spend some time before the spell is cast prepping the area. [00:06:52] Speaker D: Okay. [00:06:53] Speaker B: So you are doing the full ritual. You do get wet. [00:06:56] Speaker D: Probably need a potion of water breathing or something. [00:06:59] Speaker B: Or someone else can get wet. If they're willing to help you, I'm. [00:07:02] Speaker E: Definitely willing to get wet. [00:07:03] Speaker D: Okay. [00:07:03] Speaker C: Yep. She will accept help. [00:07:05] Speaker B: Zerus, you get very wet. You have to dive in and drop some onions in different places. [00:07:10] Speaker A: Odly enough, they're in very similar places. [00:07:12] Speaker B: To the onions you removed, which are back. [00:07:16] Speaker D: Creedon is sipping a pina colada on the shore. [00:07:19] Speaker B: They're back, but they're different. Some of them are back. Not all of them. [00:07:22] Speaker E: We did benefit from a full rest. [00:07:24] Speaker B: Yes, you did. [00:07:25] Speaker C: All right. So we do a very thorough ritual of gentle repose. [00:07:29] Speaker D: Yes. [00:07:29] Speaker C: And she says, I hope that is enough to do the job or foil their job. [00:07:34] Speaker E: It's unlikely, but it's a good roadblock, at least. [00:07:37] Speaker C: Shall we go investigate the warehouse? [00:07:40] Speaker E: Let's think. [00:07:41] Speaker D: It's a good idea. [00:07:42] Speaker C: Okay. [00:07:43] Speaker B: You head towards the smoke. [00:07:45] Speaker D: Do we have the sharp edge of the pub with us today? Oh, yeah. [00:07:48] Speaker C: I want to catch up to Dredd and Max and Taemin, if he's still around. [00:07:53] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. And you know your ex helping out? [00:07:58] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll find out about that. [00:07:59] Speaker B: Taemin disappeared in the chaos, but dread and Max have shown back up. [00:08:04] Speaker D: Creedon did thank him for his help. [00:08:05] Speaker C: Buli looks at dread and says, do you know Taemin? [00:08:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:09] Speaker C: How? [00:08:10] Speaker B: We're in a club. [00:08:13] Speaker C: A club? [00:08:14] Speaker D: Oh, what kind of club? [00:08:16] Speaker C: She's looking at him very, very suspiciously now. [00:08:20] Speaker D: Creedon just sounds excited and is interested in this club. [00:08:23] Speaker B: Dread just shrugs. [00:08:24] Speaker C: Dredd, I know what Taemin is. [00:08:27] Speaker B: Yep. [00:08:27] Speaker C: Are you also a con man and a grifter? Is that why you run around with him? [00:08:33] Speaker B: No. [00:08:33] Speaker C: You keep strange company and we don't. [00:08:36] Speaker B: I told him that there was a problem tonight, and he came. [00:08:41] Speaker C: Enigmatic bastard. [00:08:43] Speaker D: You were following Mary. Did you learn anything else? [00:08:45] Speaker B: Well, I started following Miri when several miscellaneous strange beasts were removed from the house. The stilty warehouse menagerie. And she was clearly setting them up outside Boulain's house. So I went and got Annette and some help. And when I came back, there were a bunch of people. And so I started watching them, thinking maybe I could get some more intel. But then you all walked up the street and they started shooting at you. [00:09:19] Speaker D: I'm glad you're okay. [00:09:21] Speaker C: And thank you for bringing help. Even if it was him. [00:09:25] Speaker B: Do you know Damon? [00:09:27] Speaker C: You could say that. [00:09:29] Speaker D: Creighton just nods with a smirk. [00:09:35] Speaker C: We had a 15 year relationship, if you could call it that. 15 years. Well, not that long to a half elf and an elf. [00:09:46] Speaker D: It's just hard for Creighton to comprehend. [00:09:48] Speaker B: He was willing to help me as an associate. [00:09:53] Speaker C: He did not know that I was mixed up in this. [00:09:56] Speaker B: I didn't tell him. [00:09:58] Speaker A: He didn't ask. [00:09:59] Speaker C: All right, well, maybe he did not see me. [00:10:02] Speaker B: That doesn't mean he didn't know. [00:10:04] Speaker C: All right, well, we are going to investigate the smoke. Unless you have done it already. [00:10:10] Speaker B: Someone moved suspicious packages in last night, and they appear to have caught fire. [00:10:18] Speaker C: And burned Zeus dildy warehouse. [00:10:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:21] Speaker E: Job well done. [00:10:22] Speaker A: Got it. [00:10:24] Speaker D: But yeah. Was Dred with us whenever we went to see. Whenever we went to see Dicky. I have no idea if he knows that. We were kind of behind that. [00:10:32] Speaker C: I think Max was with us, but I don't remember if Dredd was with us or don't. [00:10:37] Speaker E: I don't understand what your question is. Dredd clearly knows. Dread knows. [00:10:40] Speaker D: I should just assume that he knows things even if we don't tell him. [00:10:45] Speaker B: There was a second fire. [00:10:47] Speaker C: Where? [00:10:48] Speaker B: House beach crown. [00:10:50] Speaker C: Another warehouse? [00:10:51] Speaker B: No, the actual house. [00:10:53] Speaker C: The actual house. [00:10:55] Speaker E: Such a shame. [00:10:56] Speaker C: Was anyone? [00:10:58] Speaker E: I'm sure no. One of importance was I wasn't able. [00:11:01] Speaker B: To go there and investigate. [00:11:03] Speaker A: I can only be in one place at a time. [00:11:05] Speaker C: I am a little shocked, Dredd, to be honest. [00:11:08] Speaker D: Which house was it? [00:11:09] Speaker C: I'm just writing Trefren beach Crown. Boulain looks at Xeros and says, do you want to investigate? [00:11:15] Speaker E: That why? [00:11:16] Speaker C: You seem to have a little bit of a relationship with beach crown. You want to make sure he's. [00:11:21] Speaker E: No. [00:11:21] Speaker C: No. Okay. [00:11:23] Speaker D: I feel like everyone is in a bad mood today. [00:11:27] Speaker E: No, I'm in a fine mood. [00:11:28] Speaker C: Well, we had a rough night. Okay. I lost sadie. [00:11:33] Speaker D: Oh, yeah? What do we do with Sadie's body? [00:11:37] Speaker C: She just disappeared. Oh, yeah. [00:11:38] Speaker B: She discorporated. [00:11:40] Speaker C: She kind of evaporated. Yes. I would love to be able to do death rites on Sadie, but there is nothing left of know. One thing we could do is we could try to find out who the green man priest was on the ghost ship and see if we can track down a possession of his, and I could put him. [00:11:57] Speaker D: To. I do think it's pretty important that we at least scope out the warehouse and try to see if they had moved out all of these potential bones into a different location. We need to know where that is. They could raise a dragon to attack the town. [00:12:11] Speaker E: No, it's ground bones. So they're using it to try and raise this dragon we're already keeping an eye on. [00:12:17] Speaker D: Are we sure that they aren't going to just try to raise a different. [00:12:20] Speaker E: Monster, a monster we've already defeated? [00:12:22] Speaker C: Why would they raise a different monster? They are trying to raise this monster. All they needed was 100 pounds of bone dust that we stole from them. [00:12:29] Speaker D: All I'm saying is that we have been actively foiling their plans so they know that somebody is working against them and knows that they want to raise this. [00:12:35] Speaker C: Well, Creed. And they know the bone dust went missing. They probably brought in the bone dust from the dragon to replace it. [00:12:42] Speaker D: Do we know that the bones of the dragon were ever ground? [00:12:45] Speaker C: No. [00:12:46] Speaker D: We left instructions for that. But there is clearly some sort of. I mean, there are already church officials that are involved in this. There could be others. I just am worried. I don't want to fight that dragon again. A lot of people got hurt, and it's really bothering me that there are boxes from Sternheim. [00:13:04] Speaker C: I mean, we left those instructions with your mother, Creedon. Are you suspecting your mother? [00:13:09] Speaker D: Yes, but she probably delegated that to somebody. I doubt that my mom stayed and ground bones into dust. [00:13:17] Speaker C: Whatever. [00:13:17] Speaker D: We can go look for possessions of the green man if you like. But I do think that at some point, we should at least swing by the workshop and just try to understand what was possibly in some of these boxes, if there are any left. [00:13:28] Speaker C: All right. We should do that first. [00:13:29] Speaker E: All right. [00:13:30] Speaker B: Okay. You get to the warehouse. It is an impressive mess. Whatever was in it was meant to burn hard, fast, and strong. It doesn't look like any structure survived. It burnt hot enough that it burnt through the railroad ties that make the platform that the building actually sits on. And so there's a giant hole where this warehouse used to be, down into this lower level of undercity that you now know exists. [00:13:57] Speaker C: Holy damn. [00:13:58] Speaker E: Right. So how do you want to search these boxes, Creed? [00:14:01] Speaker D: I mean, I'm assuming there are no boxes. [00:14:03] Speaker E: It's probably a good assumption. [00:14:06] Speaker D: We didn't know that until we walked up. [00:14:08] Speaker C: Unless they took them underground and they were not here. [00:14:11] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, I do think that we should maybe investigate a little bit of the Thunder city. [00:14:15] Speaker E: All right. Belain, is it better to approach from the hole or the shore? [00:14:21] Speaker C: Nate, is it better to approach from. [00:14:22] Speaker D: The hole or the shore? [00:14:24] Speaker B: Neither one is particularly great. You suspect the hole is unstable right now? [00:14:28] Speaker C: She says the hole is probably a bit unsafe. It might be best to go in from the shore where we were last night. [00:14:34] Speaker E: All right, we do that. [00:14:36] Speaker B: Okay. You head back to the shore. You can step down through that hole. It's safe. All of the cages that were here are empty. [00:14:44] Speaker E: Oh, someone else freed them. [00:14:47] Speaker C: I'm sure that's what happened. [00:14:51] Speaker A: What are you looking for? [00:14:52] Speaker D: Are we in the undercity now? [00:14:54] Speaker B: Yeah, Swiss. [00:14:55] Speaker D: Creedon would light a torch and I guess try to go too near under where I think the explosion would be. Okay, how big is this under area? Do we have any concept of that? [00:15:06] Speaker B: Yeah, so it ranges. So someone has basically gone over what was an extremely rocky beach with these massive piers. So there are points where it's flat. There's points where it's high. There's points where it's low. So the ceiling is occasionally 12ft above you, occasionally six, occasionally four. As you're basically walking along these rocky paths underneath this pier, anywhere where it's remotely flat. People have packed stuff, stored things. You see lots of trap doors and ladders that come down to certain areas. It looks like a commonplace to unload goods. [00:15:42] Speaker D: Yeah, my guess would be that they would haul as minimally as possible if they did store things under the warehouse. So I guess I want to try to go near the hole. [00:15:51] Speaker B: Go ahead and give me an investigation roll. [00:15:52] Speaker C: Oh, God. [00:15:53] Speaker D: Hey, dread, you want to help out? [00:15:57] Speaker B: Sure. [00:15:58] Speaker D: Oh, that wasn't terrible, though. That is a 15. [00:16:02] Speaker B: Okay. So you notice something pretty quickly and dread will confirm it for you because he will also notice it. But it looks like someone put some additional accelerant down here in roughly the shape of the warehouse. So when the floor caught fire, it lit the below floor on fire as well. [00:16:22] Speaker C: So it was very thorough. [00:16:24] Speaker B: Yeah, someone did a lot of burning down here. You see tracks leading. Soot covered gunk. Appears to be in a couple of spaces, which you assume was the accelerant that has just been dripped periodically between here and the waterfront. You could follow it back. [00:16:41] Speaker D: I mean, I don't know if I'm worried about the dicky. I guess he could be involved. Do I see any giant bones that flew away from the explosion and landed? [00:16:50] Speaker B: There's no sign of bones anywhere here. [00:16:52] Speaker C: I mean, we're assuming Dicky did the whole mean, right? [00:16:56] Speaker D: Yeah, but I don't know if I'm worried about him being involved in the plot to destroy Turtle Bay, which is what I am currently trying to pursue. However, this does seem like it might be a bit of a dead. Yeah, I don't know if I really want to follow the accelerator, because we know who did it. We can. [00:17:12] Speaker C: I mean, I have no questions about that. Yeah, and I am not sure I want to be seen with them or finding out about them. Yeah, I do wonder about Beach Crown's house also going up. Why would Dicky target beach Crown? I would be interested to know if it was the same method, if we find the same components there. [00:17:33] Speaker E: I don't think Dicky targeted Beach Crown's house. But if you remember the story from Dora, beach Crown and Zafrin swapped some crates. [00:17:42] Speaker C: So you think it was an accident? [00:17:44] Speaker E: I do. Because we didn't mention beach Crown to dicky at all. [00:17:47] Speaker B: Right? [00:17:48] Speaker C: We did not mention beach Crown to dicky at all. [00:17:50] Speaker E: That's my read on the situation. [00:17:52] Speaker C: Nate, in looking at the damage on this warehouse in the undercity, is there any part of it that seems like it's undone? Like if there was an accidental swap of crates, is there a place where things did not burn that maybe they would have if that hadn't happened? [00:18:05] Speaker B: It looks like they didn't need the extra explosives if someone removed some of them. [00:18:09] Speaker C: Okay. [00:18:10] Speaker D: Seems like he'd beat thorough. Okay, well, I wanted to pull on this thread, but I don't think I. [00:18:15] Speaker C: Have a follow up. [00:18:16] Speaker D: We can follow somebody else's whims. [00:18:18] Speaker C: All right, well, do you all have any objection to finding out about this green man priest? [00:18:23] Speaker E: No. No objections. [00:18:24] Speaker D: I'm also very interested in resolving that. [00:18:26] Speaker C: Yep. So we will seek out a green man. Is there a temple? [00:18:30] Speaker B: There is a series of shrines that has one priest known as the master of ceremonies, that tends them. The actual name of the master of. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Ceremonies is Riha Neds. [00:18:43] Speaker B: And Riha is the church of the green man, official for Turtle Bay. Boulain, when you have attended church functions, when you lived here, you met Riha. She doesn't attend very many, but green man priests are not reliable in the bureaucratic, civilized society kind of way. [00:19:05] Speaker D: Makes sense. [00:19:06] Speaker C: They don't care about that shit. [00:19:07] Speaker B: Not at all. None at all. I mean, they do in a token ceremonial fashion. [00:19:13] Speaker C: Do I know where to find her? [00:19:15] Speaker B: Yeah, presumably. So you head down to the shrines and you can spot her. She tends all of them, so periodically through the day she moves through the different shrines. Sailors throw a copper in to these basically bird baths that are set out and Riha pulls in the coppers and uses the money to maintain them. It's considered good luck to toss a copper to the green man before a ship sets sail. [00:19:39] Speaker C: Elaine will put a silver in the one that Riha is administering. [00:19:44] Speaker B: She'll smile and say, planning on running into some storms? [00:19:48] Speaker C: I am afraid we already ran into one. I was wondering if you could help us resolve something. [00:19:53] Speaker B: Well, storm survivors often carry with them some leftover baggage. I'm happy to talk you through that. [00:20:02] Speaker C: Well, we encountered the so called ghost ship that has been appearing. [00:20:08] Speaker B: The endurance. [00:20:09] Speaker C: It was not the endurance. It was a merchant vessel. And when we subdued the crew, we found in the log that evidently they had killed their green man priest and the boat was cursed. And we have ensured that they will not be plaguing any more ships. But we would like to put the whole matter to rest and that is going to involve finding out the identity of this green man priest and obtaining something that he owned. I was wondering if you would help us figure out who he was. [00:20:40] Speaker B: Do you have a time frame when this green man priest would have been in service? [00:20:45] Speaker C: This would have been 30 years ago. Oh, we know the ship name. Right. And the captain name from the log. [00:20:50] Speaker B: You do? You can pull it out of the log. It has a super generic name. Because it was just a random trade. [00:20:56] Speaker A: Vessel in a trade fleet, right? [00:20:57] Speaker C: They would have hired this priest officially and I thought there might be a record of it. [00:21:02] Speaker B: I'm familiar with. This priest you're looking for was actually my father. [00:21:07] Speaker C: Oh, I'm sorry. [00:21:09] Speaker B: Things happen at sea. We believed he was lost in a storm. [00:21:12] Speaker C: Not the case. They perceived that he was failing in his duties and they killed him. And the green man cursed the vessel and the crew. [00:21:22] Speaker E: So the good news here is that your father was clearly a righteous man. [00:21:27] Speaker B: Yes. [00:21:29] Speaker A: This is confusing, though. [00:21:30] Speaker B: There's a piece of information we must be missing. The green man. We have a saying amongst the clergy. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Of the green man. [00:21:38] Speaker B: The green man does not watch over you. He is a God of survival and the elements. Something else must have happened to inspire his rage. Like this? It is uncommon. [00:21:51] Speaker D: I was a bit surprised that the gray man would intervene in such a way. [00:21:56] Speaker B: Other gods are quick to intervene. Some more than others. The green man is the slowest by far, but I have a lot of information on my father, including most of his belongings. [00:22:10] Speaker C: Well, if you are willing to lend us something that belonged to him, we could put the entire matter to rest. [00:22:18] Speaker B: Come with me. She takes you to a fairly ramshackle shack. This is apparently the ancestral Ned's home. They were fishermen before Turtle Bay got big and have been here for generations and generations, and they have not really upgraded their house. It's bigger, but it is not better. So she walks you into this, basically a testament to a thousand years of fishing. It's like a museum in here. There are parts of boats mounted on the walls, different styles of fishing nets all over, lots and lots of old, old stuff. And she says, my father was a bit of a collector and I never quite threw away anything. If you're looking to lay his soul to rest, you're going to need something more personal. [00:23:05] Speaker C: The more valuable to him, the better. Yeah, I would imagine. [00:23:09] Speaker B: And she walks into the back of this really cramped, overcrowded place and pulls out a small box and opens it up and pulls from it a small medallion. And she says, his father gave this to him and he gave it to me before he left. Anytime he would leave on a boat, he would leave this behind with me. [00:23:30] Speaker C: Boulain takes it carefully and says, is there any particular place you would like me to do this? [00:23:35] Speaker B: If the green man is the entity we need to appease, you'll probably want to be on the water. [00:23:43] Speaker C: All right, well, I know someone with a boat who could take us out. [00:23:46] Speaker D: Part twelve. [00:23:47] Speaker C: We're imposing so much. [00:23:50] Speaker B: I have a small boat. [00:23:51] Speaker A: If you would like a fishing vessel. [00:23:53] Speaker C: That would be even better and faster. [00:23:55] Speaker B: I'd like to attend, if you don't mind. [00:23:58] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:23:59] Speaker D: I was hoping you would. [00:24:01] Speaker B: So you head out to an old fishing boat and there's actually. It's like it's in operation, people use it. You see a couple of folks standing around it and she says, I need the boat, please. And they nod and say, yeah, absolutely, ria, it's yours. And back up. And she says, these are my cousins. [00:24:16] Speaker C: Hello, cousins. [00:24:17] Speaker B: The priest is here to lay, to rest my father. And they look a little confused and they're like, ria, he's been dead for like 30 years. And they're like, yeah, but we have some new information and a new ritual will be acquired. [00:24:32] Speaker C: Filling looks at the medallion and she looks back up at Riha and she says, I am curious. When you presumed him dead, lost a sea, did no one put his soul to rest. [00:24:41] Speaker A: Then the green man does not watch over you. [00:24:46] Speaker C: Can I roll insight on this? [00:24:47] Speaker B: Sure. [00:24:49] Speaker C: That's a 24. [00:24:52] Speaker B: So, you know from your time in the church, the green man, if you are killed by a natural cause or eaten by a predator, that is the death ritual that you were going to get. [00:25:04] Speaker C: Okay? [00:25:04] Speaker B: And she's relying on this whole, hey, nature taketh him. And that is how it should be, is what that phrase means in their church. [00:25:14] Speaker C: All right, well, I hope the green man is all right with us doing a formal ritual. According to the silent judge, I think. [00:25:23] Speaker B: The green man would not mind the rights of humanity. [00:25:29] Speaker D: Hey, it's worth a try. [00:25:30] Speaker C: Yeah. All right, so we're going out on the boat, going a little out to sea. [00:25:35] Speaker B: Okay. [00:25:35] Speaker C: And she will pull out all of her field dressing, travel gear. [00:25:40] Speaker B: You may give me either a religion check or a perform check to do a last rites. [00:25:46] Speaker C: All right, well, religion, I get a better bonus than performance, so we're going with that. [00:25:51] Speaker D: You mean you aren't a theater kid also? [00:25:53] Speaker C: Zulane was not a theater kid. Mandy was a theater kid. Reformed theater kid. All right, that was 21. [00:26:02] Speaker B: Okay, so you say all the right words, run through the rights, burn the. [00:26:07] Speaker C: Incense, do the oils. She does it up. She does it up with what she's got on her. [00:26:11] Speaker B: Rhea seems to really be appreciating this. She's having a very spiritual moment watching you do this. And you realize that there is a moment where the sea becomes very, very calm. I need you all to write something on your character sheet. Oh, my charm of the green man. [00:26:30] Speaker C: Do we get to know what this is? [00:26:31] Speaker B: You will just write it down first. It's just a feature. It is a one time feature. You might want to write it as an item. [00:26:39] Speaker D: Okay. [00:26:40] Speaker B: Even though it is technically not a physical object. So you have a minor blessing for this feat that you have done. The minor blessing can be used in a couple different ways, but only one of those ways, and then it is gone. So the way this minor blessing works is any spell that helps you in the wilderness, you may replicate once and only once. So common uses are find the path, breathe water, endure elements, but again, once and only once. [00:27:12] Speaker C: So what do you mean by replicated? We could just conjure that spell. [00:27:16] Speaker B: You can actually, without even using an action, you can replicate the spell. Essentially, you have a blessing that will kick in to protect you from the harshness of nature. You just have to choose the moment to do it, and Nate will choose the spell that fixes that problem. [00:27:33] Speaker D: Okay, so this could also be like water breathing. [00:27:36] Speaker E: Okay, so we don't choose the spell. [00:27:38] Speaker B: You can choose the spell if you want to suggest, like, hey, Nate, I want my green man charm to make me not drown right now. I'd be like, cool, that's the one. But generally speaking, you don't have to assign it. You have this charm, and when nature next threatens you and you have a mystical way to resolve it, you can call up this spell. [00:27:56] Speaker C: Okay, neat. [00:27:57] Speaker B: You have one. Nature's wrath get out of jail free card. [00:28:01] Speaker C: Nifty. [00:28:02] Speaker E: So I can't just be like, I want this thing that's in the wilderness to be dead. Now, lightning bolt. [00:28:10] Speaker B: That would be a good use for it, but you'd have to go there. [00:28:13] Speaker C: And I mean, we are about to face down a dragon in a swamp. [00:28:16] Speaker B: You'd have to be constrained to the spells effects of call lightning. But you could replicate call lightning. [00:28:24] Speaker D: Now, one more question. Is this shared between the party or do each one of us get to do this? [00:28:28] Speaker B: No. Each one of you has the blessing. [00:28:30] Speaker E: Okay, that's pretty cool. [00:28:31] Speaker C: All right, as we get back to shore, how is Riha doing? Is she all mean? [00:28:37] Speaker B: She's happy isn't the right word, but moved. [00:28:40] Speaker C: Boulain will give the medallion back to her and say, I am glad we could do this for you. And for your father. And for the ghost ship. [00:28:49] Speaker B: To be honest, you are a truly exceptional priest, Boulain. Thank you. [00:28:56] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:28:57] Speaker B: This is above and beyond the duties of your office. [00:29:00] Speaker A: I will remember this. [00:29:02] Speaker C: I could not, in good conscience, leave this unattended. [00:29:06] Speaker A: As I said, exceptional. [00:29:08] Speaker D: Well, I'm still curious what caused that corruption in the first place, but seems like it's resolved. So that's good enough for me. [00:29:17] Speaker C: With the dead priest. [00:29:18] Speaker D: Well, I mean, as Rhea was saying, the green man tends to not intervene. So it does seem like something else is going on, and we don't know what that. We just. I don't know. There are still questions. But I'm okay with this being concluded. [00:29:32] Speaker C: Boulain will say to Rhea, well, it sounds like your father was exceptional in some way. If the green man saw fit to exert wrath over his wrongful death. [00:29:42] Speaker B: My father was exceptional. He had withstood countless storms on the sea. [00:29:48] Speaker A: I am certain he would have withstood this one as well. [00:29:51] Speaker B: It's possible that he called to the green man for aid. Maybe the green man responded. [00:29:58] Speaker C: Yeah, Belain is the kind of person who would know exactly what to say to that. But I don't. [00:30:04] Speaker B: Rhea nods to you all and says. [00:30:05] Speaker A: The green man does not watch over you. [00:30:07] Speaker C: Nor you. [00:30:08] Speaker D: And may not watch over you. [00:30:13] Speaker C: All right. Hopefully that makes up for our wrath last night. Because Boulain's feeling a little contrite about that at this point. [00:30:18] Speaker B: Oops. [00:30:19] Speaker C: Oops. [00:30:28] Speaker A: Welcome, apprentices. Today we will discuss the elves. Their pantheon, before the true faith emerged, was fascinating. The elves never bothered with creation stories. [00:30:39] Speaker B: Speaking as if the world had always existed. [00:30:42] Speaker A: But like the dwarves, they imagined a creator God of the moon who sung their people into existence. All the gods were flexible, shifting in appearance and form. Much like the faith. It was not uncommon to have separate names for gods when they appeared in male or female form. Most scholars agree that because the gods show themselves in many avatars, it's likely the elves were just describing the real gods, but in vastly different ways than we do today. Their creator God was most often named Corellin. When the God appeared in its female form, they called the God Angharad. In male form, the God was considered a creature of clever magic, music and crafts. And in female form, a goddess of the changing moon and magic, and in particular, divination and illusion. They did have a host of lesser gods, like Vanalunare, goddess of death, and Alona, goddess of the hunt, who also had many different forms, titles, names, genders, all that, like the shifting moon itself. When the prophet returned from the divine realm. Having seen the truth, the elves renamed their gods and adopted the predominant opinion that while a God can appear in any form, they tend to have a preferred form. As such, their moon God and goddess were actually the luminous one. Their death God was actually the silent judge, and their huntress God, actually the green man. It was generally determined their least gods were mainly archfei in disguise. And as a result, to this day, the elves are quite untrusting of the true fae. A wise practice indeed. There are lots of documentation left in the old archives of Astragar regarding the elven deities. Mainly because they match our existing deities today so closely that one cannot really confuse them any longer. Tales of their gods were definitely colored by their exile from the fay realm, their creator God, for example, of a deep hatred of the Orc God. Again, resources during the first arrival of the faye to the mortal realm were quite scarce. Conflicts were not uncommon. But there is some evidence that the elves are still special in the eyes of the luminous one. And some of their old practices persist in odd ways. For example, we know that elves do not sleep and instead meditate, but do have vivid waking dreams in which they are always living the lives of another elf. Seen through their eyes sometime in the past. Often these dreams prove to be historically true accounts. In the ancient times, the elves believed they were viewing their own past lives. But as we know, souls are purified of all past life experiences before returning to the mortal realm. Today, this is believed to be a kind of divination dream magic left over from their time in the fay realm, and perhaps a gift directly from the luminous one. But it does show the distant past, and perhaps they're meant to learn valuable lessons this way. Lastly, some elves who live long enough have crescent moons that appear in their eyes, indicating that they have not longed to live. There are many theories about this, but the occurrence is so rare and so unlikely as to defy study. Some believe the luminous one is relinquishing her claim on the elves so that the silent judge can claim them. Others believe the luminous one is making them to ensure the silent judge finds them. Definitely a special favor. Indeed. In ancient times, the elves believed this was a sign the moon goddess was calling them home. But as we know the truth now, the moon goddess doesn't have power over the soul. Elves are quite rare and quite special. So to have elven blood in your veins is to have a strong tie to the power of the goddess. And given their beauty and long lived nature, it's not uncommon for magic users, like all of you, to trace lineage. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Back to an elf somewhere. [00:34:39] Speaker A: As such, it's deeply important that when you see pointy ears, you show respect. It's good practice, considering they could also live long enough to hold your actions against many, many generations of your line. All right, apprentices, back to work. Through your machinas. A bomb exploded in two different coin lords houses. [00:35:08] Speaker B: For better or worse. [00:35:10] Speaker C: I feel like the second one wasn't our fault. [00:35:13] Speaker A: Hey, wasn't several of your faults. [00:35:17] Speaker D: We don't kill people. The explosives kill people. [00:35:23] Speaker B: So that was great. [00:35:24] Speaker A: And then you chased down the assassin and murdered them. [00:35:28] Speaker C: They murdered a familiar first. [00:35:30] Speaker D: They had it coming. [00:35:31] Speaker C: Also went to some elaborate lengths to try to murder us. [00:35:35] Speaker B: That is true. [00:35:36] Speaker A: They did kill a bird. [00:35:38] Speaker C: It was not a cold blooded, out of the blue thing about a fair play. [00:35:43] Speaker E: Why was it so elaborate? [00:35:45] Speaker C: Because it was personal. [00:35:47] Speaker E: So much effort put into it. [00:35:49] Speaker C: She had a personal beef with us because we lost her her job in Hilog. It was Kush. [00:35:54] Speaker D: So spectacularly. [00:35:55] Speaker E: Yeah, that's. [00:35:56] Speaker D: I hope it stung like that seawater. [00:35:59] Speaker C: That would have taken weeks to plan. And we were only in Turtle Bay for a couple days, right, Nate? [00:36:04] Speaker D: We're going to keep convincing ourselves that we're the heroes. [00:36:06] Speaker C: Yes. We're the heroes. We are the heroes. We're the victims. [00:36:11] Speaker E: I am the hero. There's no question about it. [00:36:15] Speaker C: We can only be the heroes of our own stories. [00:36:19] Speaker A: That brings us to the next thing that's about to occur. You folks get some sleep. [00:36:26] Speaker D: I sure hope so. [00:36:27] Speaker E: That'd be nice. [00:36:28] Speaker D: I'm resetting my hit points, actually. Did I even take any damage? [00:36:34] Speaker C: I don't think I took any damage. [00:36:35] Speaker D: I spent my spells. [00:36:37] Speaker A: No, you guys foiled that assassination pretty hard. [00:36:41] Speaker C: For as elaborate as it was. We nicked that one out. I mean, weak. [00:36:46] Speaker D: Now they know they have to bring better assassination game. [00:36:50] Speaker C: Well, Miri knows that, and Miri is dead. [00:36:53] Speaker D: Don't mess with whatever the dark arbiters. [00:36:56] Speaker E: Don't mess with the dark arbiters. Or you get the sharp edge of the pub. [00:37:01] Speaker C: Sometimes both. [00:37:03] Speaker D: Pretty good. [00:37:05] Speaker C: When the merger comes, that will be the slogan. [00:37:08] Speaker D: What's her Brangelina name? [00:37:09] Speaker C: Brangelina name? [00:37:12] Speaker A: It's really long nightfalls. Xeris, you have a dream. You find yourself in the wizard's tower in north bank, where you were recruited by the art sagemason into the silver thread. Sitting across from you is the same older looking man that you saw as you were leaving that you know to be the art sagemason, or at least that's what he was calling himself at the time. And he says, xeris, I'm using a dreaming spell. It's a little bit more open than a sending spell or any other sort of magical communication. And we can have a full conversation. I hope you don't mind. [00:37:53] Speaker E: Kind of no point to object now. [00:37:56] Speaker A: Yeah, well, sorry about that. [00:37:59] Speaker C: Dreaming without consent. [00:38:01] Speaker A: I need a status report from Turtle Bay. What the hell is going on? [00:38:04] Speaker E: Madness. Trafford beach crown is a dragon. They were trying to resurrect the turtle of Turtle Bayfame. [00:38:14] Speaker A: Oh. [00:38:15] Speaker E: We have, we think, successfully thwarted all plots to do that in any fashion. No sign of any vestige yet, though. [00:38:25] Speaker A: I have news on that front. [00:38:28] Speaker B: Like Frikers. [00:38:29] Speaker A: You remember him? [00:38:30] Speaker E: Yes. [00:38:31] Speaker A: Was hung for piracy and treason in Astrobus. [00:38:34] Speaker C: Shit. [00:38:35] Speaker E: Couldn't be a nicer guy. [00:38:37] Speaker A: He requested death over banishment. This brings me to my problem. His body is missing, along with about 100 others that were near him in the catacombs. [00:38:47] Speaker E: The catacombs in bay? [00:38:48] Speaker A: No, no, the catacombs in Astragar. All right, so I suspect Vecna. It's strange to say the least, particularly something underneath the capital. But I have turned Astragar upside down looking for this vestige. It is not here, and we know from your experience, that Vecna couldn't travel, couldn't stay active in the daylight, which means somebody's hiding them, somebody's helping, and that somebody is definitely affiliated with the church. There's no way that someone could have gotten 101 zombies out of Astragar. [00:39:32] Speaker E: All right. [00:39:32] Speaker A: This is a dangerous moment. [00:39:33] Speaker B: I don't know what they're intending, so. [00:39:35] Speaker A: I am activating the full silver thread. Every agent. I haven't seen something this dangerous or this close to the capital in 400 years. This vestige must be planning something very, very big. I need you up here in Astragar soon. But I don't want to get flanked by a problem that I have heard about. The lizard folk are treating both the dragon and this all father creature as gods. [00:40:02] Speaker E: Well, we are scheduled to take a look at the dragon problem, at least with a sizable force within the week. [00:40:09] Speaker A: Lovely. Do as much damage to both groups as you can and then get to Astrogar immediately. [00:40:15] Speaker E: I think we can do that. [00:40:16] Speaker A: There are only a few other members of the silver thread. I thought we were down to the last vestige or two. I may need to start recruiting. [00:40:23] Speaker E: All right. Good luck with that. [00:40:25] Speaker A: I'll see you when you arrive. [00:40:26] Speaker E: We'll stop by on our way north. [00:40:28] Speaker B: Is there anything you'd like to dream. [00:40:30] Speaker A: About for the rest of the night? Because I can just turn that on before I leave. [00:40:34] Speaker D: Scrooge McDuck fantasy. [00:40:37] Speaker E: Such a strange. No, I just like to rest now. [00:40:42] Speaker A: Okay. [00:40:44] Speaker B: See you later. [00:40:46] Speaker A: And he makes some sort of mystical gesture with his hand, and you go to a regular dream where you're snuggling. [00:40:53] Speaker C: With no dig, 20 happy couple, mattress made of money. [00:41:01] Speaker A: You're Scrooge McDuckanet. [00:41:02] Speaker C: The ching ching of it wakes you up. [00:41:05] Speaker E: Scrooge McDuckane. It means something completely different. [00:41:08] Speaker A: I think that's actually Donald tucking it. [00:41:13] Speaker D: I'm not going derrick dictionary for this. [00:41:17] Speaker E: Going without pants, wearing a shirt but no pants. [00:41:21] Speaker C: Scrooge McDuck is swan diving in piles. [00:41:23] Speaker A: Of totally different characters, different motivations, I think. [00:41:29] Speaker D: Is he swan diving or duck diving? [00:41:31] Speaker B: That's a good point. [00:41:32] Speaker C: He's probably duck diving. [00:41:35] Speaker E: We are such a focused group today. [00:41:40] Speaker A: Creedon. [00:41:41] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. Lay it on me. I have a dagger of my enemy. [00:41:45] Speaker A: You find yourself in a flowering field in the middle of spring. You wake up, you can feel the. [00:41:52] Speaker B: Warm sun on your face, a cool breeze. [00:41:56] Speaker A: And an old woman, extremely old woman, is walking towards you through the flowers and says, credentir, it's time for me to come clean. I am as you have likely suspected, originally a faye creature. But over here in the Fay realm, they call me a God. I can't tell if it's fortunate or unfortunate yet, but the world is about to change again. Perhaps at the level it did 500 years ago. I do not believe I can stop it. The question is, instead, how can it be tamed? [00:42:32] Speaker D: What do you mean? [00:42:33] Speaker C: The. [00:42:33] Speaker D: The world is about to change? Is this something about the vestiges? [00:42:40] Speaker A: Perhaps? You are my most powerful servant. [00:42:45] Speaker D: Creighton perks up at that, as of. [00:42:47] Speaker A: I believe, early this morning. And that means that, in a way, you are bound to some of the agreements that I have made over the years. I swore to the dead Saint Astragarian contessa that when people of odd ideology and powerful charisma emerge, when the gods do not choose them because their ideas are just a little off, they have the potential to stew, to create a God. And my job is to extend to those people enough power that they stop looking. You are one such person. I hope that makes sense. [00:43:37] Speaker D: Oh, no. I think I'm a little bit confused. I need to stop looking. At what? [00:43:43] Speaker A: Your obsession with love is not the kind of obsession with love that divine mercy seeks. But you are a powerful person. You are a force to be reckoned with, a will of your own. In time, you may have created a contender for divine Mercy's worship. So I gave you power. Do you understand now? [00:44:12] Speaker D: Okay, maybe Creedon does. But I am still very confused about this conversation. Do I need, like, a kindergarten, dumbed down version of this? Possibly. [00:44:24] Speaker E: You're a wizard. [00:44:25] Speaker D: I mean, I know. Well, not a wizard. [00:44:27] Speaker A: Go ahead and roll me a religion. Roll. [00:44:29] Speaker C: Okay. [00:44:30] Speaker D: I like it when Creedon can use her skills instead of me. If only I put points into that thing that's important to my character. Oh, boy. [00:44:39] Speaker C: That's a twelve. [00:44:40] Speaker B: She is promoting heresy directly at you. [00:44:43] Speaker C: Wow. [00:44:43] Speaker A: She is claiming that humans can create gods and that you could have done it. [00:44:49] Speaker B: Like you could have created a God. [00:44:51] Speaker A: Not that gods exist first, but that humans. I see making that argument right now. [00:44:57] Speaker D: Okay. [00:44:58] Speaker C: Or she recruited credence so that credence would stop going down that path. Okay, interesting. [00:45:05] Speaker A: Like Fryker's before you, charismatic man. Group of followers refused to be chosen by the mask because his form of rebellion wasn't right. Didn't match the way that mask does things, primarily because it was entirely self motivated. His desire to be nobility, to return things to the old ways, is antithetical to everything the mask stands for. He, too, could have created a new God. And so I gave him power. You see what I must do. [00:45:39] Speaker D: Well, things haven't gone too well for your other followers. Are you going to send someone after me, Creedon? [00:45:46] Speaker A: I pit my followers together against each other for several reasons. One is that I like to figure out who is the most important, who is the most powerful, who is the most resourceful. So that when I need them, I know the answer to this question. And should they die, I can extend my power elsewhere and stop giving it to them. You are one of the last people currently holding my power. There's no one to send after you just yet. But this is a problem for you, credent. You see, my power can only be used to preserve the empire. It can only be used to prevent people from worshipping new gods. For creating new gods. That is the purpose. That is the agreement I am bound to. And if the world changes how I think it may, I cannot have you bound to such agreements any longer. You won't be able to act. [00:46:42] Speaker D: So are you stripping me of the power that you've offered me? [00:46:46] Speaker B: No. [00:46:46] Speaker A: You are the most powerful, and I need you to remain so. But you need a different source of power. Mine will not serve you where you need to go. Are you ready for the last task I offer you? Creighton? [00:47:02] Speaker D: I think I am. [00:47:03] Speaker A: Deep in the heart of a swamp, there lies a coin. A single coin in a horde collected by multiple dragons over ages. This coin, it is different than all the others. You must find it and whisper into it these words. The sun and the moon are two sides of the same coin. It will set you on a path to power that is older than me. More importantly, it is a power that the dead Saint Astragarian contessa cannot ignore. [00:47:38] Speaker D: I think I understand. [00:47:40] Speaker A: That is all the time we have. Then move quickly. Do not. You do not have much time. The silver thread is being pulled. [00:47:49] Speaker D: Can you tell me any more about this coin? What I should be looking for? Or will I know. [00:47:54] Speaker A: And with that, your dream ends. [00:47:55] Speaker D: I don't even get to pick what I want to dream about? [00:47:58] Speaker A: She was not offering. [00:47:59] Speaker B: No. [00:48:00] Speaker D: Hayden dreams that she has the fly spell. [00:48:06] Speaker C: And uses it with impunity. [00:48:08] Speaker A: Boulain, you wake up after 4 hours and you go to cast. Find familiar. [00:48:16] Speaker C: I do. [00:48:17] Speaker A: You can tell me you don't want Sadie back. In which case you. [00:48:20] Speaker C: Well, no, she'd love to have Sadie back. I don't know if she realizes that she can come back. [00:48:24] Speaker A: The spell Sadie taught you to call her is about the only option you have. Unless you would have come up with something else. [00:48:30] Speaker D: Yes. [00:48:31] Speaker C: Boulain wakes up after 4 hours, and cats find familiar. [00:48:35] Speaker D: And then it's like, oh, yeah. Why was I so mad? Why was I so mad and murdered? [00:48:39] Speaker C: The. I knew I could get her back. It's like I'm being played by somebody who didn't remember. [00:48:46] Speaker A: You don't know if you can get her back. [00:48:48] Speaker C: Okay. [00:48:48] Speaker A: You know there's a spell that called her. [00:48:50] Speaker C: Okay. [00:48:51] Speaker A: This is an experiment. [00:48:53] Speaker D: Different bird shows up. [00:48:55] Speaker A: So as you're casting it, you see in your mind's eye a vision of gray space, where your vision collapses down into a small tunnel. And in that tunnel, where everything else is gray and silvery, there is the outline of a hobbled old woman that you recognize is Sadie. She's holding the hand of some dark hooded figure. It's all quite blurry, but they look back over their shoulder like they're going to leave. And then they turn and look at you expectantly. [00:49:28] Speaker C: She goes down on her knees and says, my lady, to the hooded figure. She says, forgive me for losing the gift that was Sadie, that you sent me. If you have it in your heart to send her back to me, I will take better care of her. [00:49:44] Speaker A: The hooded figure turns towards you, and it extends maybe a hand. Again, it's way too blurry to make out details. You understand something, like it doesn't say any words, but you understand something implicitly. And it is the choice is her eternal reward. Now or later, you know if you pull her back, she will come back. [00:50:05] Speaker C: Boulain says, I would leave that choice to her lady, not me. [00:50:09] Speaker A: You can't tell which one of the figures it's coming from, but you feel this sense of gratitude, and then they turn their backs on you and walk away. [00:50:16] Speaker C: Well, okay. That puth isn't. Isn't what I wanted. Fine. [00:50:21] Speaker D: You can have. [00:50:22] Speaker A: And then something else happens in this. [00:50:25] Speaker B: Space, wherever it is. [00:50:27] Speaker A: Again, you don't know. [00:50:28] Speaker B: It's all gray. [00:50:29] Speaker A: You see another figure that walks towards you, and it speaks with real words. It says, one moment, please. And a woman steps out. And it is a dark elf. It is an elf descended from the darklings, just like you. They bear a strong resemblance and appearance. They are also dressed somewhat like a death priest of the silent judge, only a truly ancient one, not a modern guise at all. [00:50:57] Speaker C: Robes that were out of fashion centuries ago. [00:51:00] Speaker A: You've seen them in sculpture. She says, sonwin, toy voya, I see your soul, and I beg a moment of your time. [00:51:10] Speaker C: Oh, she goes stone cold. [00:51:14] Speaker A: She says, who are you, my sons? Tell me that you are in Turtle Bay. And so I came to see myself. Your time with the silent judge, it suits you. [00:51:24] Speaker C: What do you want? [00:51:24] Speaker A: If you wish to call me something, vana Ulare will do. I knew I would not survive the era of Astragarian Contessa, that my worship would dwindle and none would pay homage to me. So I made a deal. I swore to astragarian contessa that I would join the silver thread, and I would use what is left of my power to hunt the empire's mortal enemies. But their current enemy is beyond my reach. So they are no longer mortal. They do not fear aging and dying. My power is useless. [00:52:04] Speaker C: Are you trying to tell me that after all this time, we are actually on the same side? [00:52:10] Speaker A: Maybe not. That's actually what I wanted to ask you about. You remind me of me when I was your age. [00:52:17] Speaker C: Are you trying to win me over? [00:52:20] Speaker A: No. But I think to understand you, you must understand me. When I came to this world from the fay wild, I saw the pain of death. And I knew that if I chose to live in the mortal realm, death would come for me, too. I saw this pain, and I joined the priesthood of the person you now call the silent judge. [00:52:43] Speaker C: What did you call her? [00:52:44] Speaker A: She's had many names. Queen of ravens, death. Most of the old names are more unpleasant, but more direct. But in my life, I saw something sadder. You see, people don't only suffer when they die. They suffer as they age. As you age, you find new limitations. The body it gives out. There is fear. There is great fear. People grieve not for the dead, but for themselves. For their younger selves, their younger bodies, their younger minds. [00:53:22] Speaker C: The youngest among us is nodding, knowingly. [00:53:28] Speaker D: Calling me out. My body hurts. I have. I have 60. [00:53:38] Speaker C: You went bungee jumping today. That's why your body hurts. [00:53:42] Speaker D: No. [00:53:44] Speaker B: It was a little avoidable, perhaps. [00:53:46] Speaker C: No. [00:53:47] Speaker D: I was going to be hurt today, regardless of jumping off. [00:53:52] Speaker A: So to finish my story. From the whispers of the dead that interrupted us, of the old decaying and dying. [00:54:08] Speaker D: Oh, God. I'm sorry. I'm trying to stop. [00:54:13] Speaker A: They grieved, and I spent my life trying to heal that grief. Of course, I had a duty. I saw to the dead, as you do today. But that did not define me. What defined me was the counseling I offered to those who aged. You also pay homage to the queen of ravens, silent judge. You also tend to the dead, healing the dead and the living through the turmoil of that experience. You are the same as I was. And what I would like to know, Boulain, is. How are you different from the raven queen? [00:54:56] Speaker C: She switched names. How am I different from the raven queen? Is that what she just asked? [00:55:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:55:01] Speaker C: She says I am no God. [00:55:03] Speaker A: You misunderstand the question. Are you only your work? Or are you something else? How are you different than the priesthood? How are you different than the teachings of the Raven queen? Or are you really, truly so one dimensional that you are defined entirely by your single, devoted faith to a single entity? [00:55:25] Speaker C: I am a priest. I have also been a wife. I have also been a lover. I have been a stepmother and a step grandmother. I have been a student. I have been a teacher. I have been a fugitive from you. I have been all of those things. If that is me being defined by my work, then I do not know how to not be. [00:55:52] Speaker A: It is a lot of answers to a question that should be somewhat simpler. I need you, Boulain. I need you to find yourself. Because you are going to have to be different from the Raven queen. Do not follow her blindly. That is why I am here, to ask you not to follow her blindly. [00:56:17] Speaker C: You did not answer my first question. What do you want? [00:56:21] Speaker A: The silver threads have been pulled. My power is greater than the one who leads us. And I can see some of the challenges that are coming. You will decide how the world changes. You and your associates will decide. You will be our dark arbiter. [00:56:42] Speaker C: I see you've heard of us. We have a reputation. I still do not understand what you want me to do. And I have spent my life running and hiding from you. Why? What do you think is going to come of this? [00:57:03] Speaker A: I don't know what's going to come of this, Boulain. But if you do not find yourself in the short term, if you do not become your own person, then I know exactly what comes of this. I'm afraid I cannot give you much more information. But you need to clearly be able to say to understand what makes you different. Otherwise, when the time comes, you will do whatever the Raven queen says. [00:57:29] Speaker C: Given that you are, for all intents and purposes, a vestige who challenges the Raven Queen, you have every reason to try to persuade me to betray her. So, I mean, yes, I have given my life to her. I serve her. Why would I not do everything she wants? [00:57:53] Speaker A: When I was about 600 years old, I discovered shortly before my death that I was very different from the Waveren Queen. In the end, despite dedicating 600 years of my life to her, we were similar. [00:58:08] Speaker B: Yes. [00:58:08] Speaker A: We wanted some of the same things. We served in the same way she gave me her power. But after 600 years, I discovered that I was a little different. You don't have 300 more years to make the discoveries that I did. At the rate that this goes, you might have won. All I ask you to do, Boulain, with your remaining time, is to represent mortals, not gods. When the time comes, I can give. [00:58:41] Speaker C: Some thought to what you might mean when you imply that I do not already serve mortals. [00:58:47] Speaker A: It'll be a very hard decision, arbiter. But I have faith in you. You remind me of me, after all. And I guess gods are vain. If you wish for a bird, I can send you a bird. Consider it a going away present. [00:59:03] Speaker C: Is this bird a spy for you? [00:59:06] Speaker A: No. My power is locked now. I can only use it to destroy enemies of the empire. As long as you stay on the side of the people that make up the empire. Bespurd's power is for you and you alone. [00:59:22] Speaker C: All right. [00:59:22] Speaker A: Try to give it an elven name. [00:59:24] Speaker C: I will give it whatever name suits it. [00:59:26] Speaker A: Very well. Sorry to bother you. [00:59:29] Speaker C: Are you. [00:59:29] Speaker B: No. [00:59:31] Speaker A: Gods are never sorry. [00:59:32] Speaker C: I did not think so. [00:59:34] Speaker A: And it just fades. [00:59:36] Speaker C: Whale shit. [00:59:40] Speaker A: Tell me about the bird that shows up. [00:59:42] Speaker C: You just sprung this on me. Okay. [00:59:44] Speaker B: I did? Yeah. [00:59:45] Speaker A: No, 100% improv. [00:59:48] Speaker D: Pelican. [00:59:50] Speaker C: Pelican. Oh, my God. [00:59:54] Speaker D: I mean, we're at the beach right now. A tropical bird would make sense. [00:59:58] Speaker C: It's a bird of paradise. [01:00:03] Speaker A: I think it's an ostrich. [01:00:09] Speaker B: There you go. [01:00:11] Speaker C: Or a turkey. It runs around catching rain until it drowns. I think she sends a falcon. [01:00:31] Speaker A: And that is our show for today. [01:00:34] Speaker B: Special thanks to Todd Ferguson of my pet machine for our tunes. Julie at elaborate flight of fancy for our logo. [01:00:40] Speaker A: Do not forget to leave us a rating and review. [01:00:42] Speaker B: And lastly, we're headed into the climax of book one pretty soon with the next chunk of our adventure. So how will our heroes tackle the dragon of the swamp? Find out next time on carrots and. [01:00:55] Speaker A: Suffering, a dnd odyssey.