D&D is For Nerds - Barovia IV #8 Barovian Nice

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

Well Hecktor has gone and left us to fend for ourselves, great, just perfect. Plus everyone hates me, which I suppose isn't that unusual. What was it the monks at the monastery used to say? "Not only are you at your chores young Mandarin, you are also unlikeable in some undefinable way unrelated to the things you say or do." Oh and now we're fighting spiders. Capital.If you're still wanting to pledge for the Jarren's Outpost Board Game you can right here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oi, lads, did you miss out on the Jaron's Outpost Kickstarter and wish you weren't such a big doofus? Well, fear not. Late pledges are now open and they'll be open for a little while, so just head to Kickstarter search for D&D for Nerds or Jaron's Outpost and slam that late pledge button. Though you see no water for miles around you, you are, like me. Nonetheless, Maroon. We are castaways in this terrible bad dream somebody decided to name Barovia.

To switch up the metaphor, we are imprisoned, and the fog is the bars of our cell and our jailer, is Baron von Strz. As far as I can tell, there's no way to escape other than possibly by dying, maybe by being eaten by a wolf, let's say. As the sun rises, all that could be seen is the two silhouettes, the one large, the one small. and the one large silhouette moves with sudden speed striking behind the smaller silhouette, which almost peacefully slumps forward. You seemed like you were a very good man. You seemed like you were very kind men. This place would have ruined you.

And in a way it did. Take him over to the pyre? Yeah. Gretchen sniffling to herself, as you go to pick up Bobbitt, she puts a hand on your shoulder and then without saying anything she scoops bobbed up instead and takes him over to the pyre i think before that maybe wrap him up in like a cloak or something like that just the shroud just something though she doesn't have to see sure um gretchen stands the closest to the fire so close almost that you're afraid she might burn as well but you knew you knew him best if you want to say a few words gretchen opens her mouth a few times but no sound comes out. You feel, Hector, behind you, the looming presence.

And it is looming, the looming presence of Rahadin. He has been... What has he been doing this whole time? You're not sure. He gave you... You haven't seen him. Hide nor hair of him. He maybe was on purpose, as he is not emotionally involved in this.

He maybe on purpose has just been keeping to himself. Or... Well, actually, you see him coming out of the forest. You think it's plausible that maybe he went and... got the carriage. I give like a respectable amount of like time for Gretchen. I'm assuming we also probably end up putting Fellhardt

onto the pyre at some point or she mighted to do that herself. Actually maybe when Gretchen grabs Bobbitt and takes him over to the pyre you see she's already laid fell heart on the pyre. I give her yeah the most respect amount of time to kind of like yeah mourn this

and then okay so Gretchen we need to be heading off now. This might sound ab-schoolish, but I gesture back to where, like, maybe the equipment was, all that kind of stuff. Because they had their equipment in the chest, the way. If there was anything that you needed to grab that belonged to Falhart, that will help you here. I would suggest you make use of it. As Gretchen goes through her supplies and is kind of checking all the different odds and ends that have been left here,

You see, she draws Felhard and then her own swords. Both of these swords, though, they've been, you can see, tarnished. So the Felhart's sword in battle, you're not sure exactly how it happened, and Gretchen doesn't furnish you with details, but you can see it's shattered. The sword has been broken, not neatly, very disastrously been broken in two. You're not a blacksmithy, but you fear that this is maybe that's done. with that sword. You don't think this is a repair that could be come back from that could be fixed short of anything other than completely melting the metal down. Okay. And Gretchen's sword, in addition, you can see that the metal is warped and bent. It's no longer straight and it doesn't

look like it's ever again going to hold a blade, a sharp-bladed surface. So Gretchen, here, do not think those weapons are going to be of much use. I am... I reach into my, I guess on my side if I've had it scabbard or whatever. It was like, I found this in a tomb. I knew it was, does not belong to me. I knew it belonged to somebody.

Perhaps it belongs to you. And I want to get the, the short sword. It felt like righteous justice that we got from the temple, from the amber temple and handed to Gretchen. As you transfer the sword from your ownership to Gretchen's ownership, wordlessly, it feels like a magic

bond has been created, a pact sealed almost, an agreement fulfilled. Make use of that. May save your life. Gretchen, you can see her, there's no tears, no tears, she has no tears left to cry. She holding the sword gives you a look of only grim determination, and then she straps it to her belt. Well, let us go. The two of you had, and sure enough, Rahadin, you can see he couldn't bring the carriage all the way, to this cave, but he's brought it basically as close as the trails will allow. The two of you climb into the carriage and then Raha Din before you set off, I have another errand that must be ran.

Would you like me to leave, drop, secure perhaps the lady somewhere, or shall she come with us? I think it is best if she comes with. Very good. The horses trundle off. And once again, the nightmare creatures of Borovia know not to attack their master's butler. Not what could be said. If only, such a thing could be said for Pip, you and your group. Yeah.

Yeah. I've had a lot. Having such two very different, different nights. Extremely different nights. different nights, yeah. I'm awake for, well, I am sleep deprived from a bad dream. You wake up, I'm not going to give you a level of exhaustion.

Yeah. But you are tired when you wake up. I imagine that kind of situation where I spend a lot of time by the campfire and like what you might call stage one's sleep. Yeah. Just drop, but never really properly falling asleep again.

Would you have healed a little bit, I guess, over the night? Considering you're quite injured. Does, yeah, how do I heal my max HP, Adam? Don't need some kind of fucking Mondo dongo You need a long rest Yep Oh let me check how many days

All right It's one less day Between now and a long rest And at the beginning I did say I was resetting that So it's five days till a long rest These days are getting Longer and longer

Dude Jesus Christ Okay I'll stand up Is anybody else up in the camp too? Yeah You can hear movement You're in the tent

You You can see sea movement through the light of day you can't hear anything except Gorob and Lushin's snoring. I'll crawl out of the tent and into the camp. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. One of them's doing the...

The other one does the, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. One's inhaling the air, one's exhaling. They're sharing the body, they're sharing lungs. It's like breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Yeah, yeah, I'll crawl out into the actual campsite. Okay, you could see Tarpos is awake. Tarpos and the engineer are awake, actually.

Cavendish appears to still be in his tent. Tarpos is slowly making her way around where all the twig blights were yesterday. And you can see she's just kicking them up. Sometimes she'll pick them up and kind of, she's doing something, but she's doing it with herself. And then she'll pick one up,

kind of manipulate it a little bit, then drop it and then keep going. And the engineer, you can see, he's like mech. It's got a huge backpack-type thing that device with two cylindrical tanks which whenever the mech is moving they

there's like exhaust things that emits smoke and steam and you can see he's doing something with those you hear as he's wrenching something with his tool hands okay um do I think I guess I didn't pay enough attention

I guess I will wait until Cavendish wakes up yeah cool yeah Cavendish gets up not long after you Did I saw yesterday you were asking Tarpos You know for possibly the location of Kolova's tomb Did she

Could have asked up Tarpos was in the middle or something Yes Tarpos is aware that She doesn't know exactly where Kelova is But It is presumed that Keralova rests in the Druids grow

Which is where the lodestone is, which Tarpos knows the exact location of. Well, that's serendipitous. My understanding, he says, is maybe this is something he confirmed with you last night. You have 24 hours till she gets out of, until basically you have to start from the beginning with Keraloa. So if you don't get to her crypt today by around, obviously you don't have a watch. Yeah. But if you don't get to her by about 6 p.m. today, back to the beginning. Back to the beginning and fighting her again, which I do not want to do.

I was very lucky the last time. Yeah. Yeah, that's right, Kevin. We're borrowed fucking time. All right, let's pack the camp up, I say. He nods. He turns around and with one sharp kick, you think this is intentional. You don't think he broke it.

With one sharp kick, his tent collapse almost neatly. Can I try to do the same with my? tent? Oh, wait, Garab and Lushin are still inside. Again, if you want. I don't think it's neat to collapse it on them ever. I don't think there's any way of surprising them awake. That's how you lose a tent. Are you going to actually? No, no, no, okay.

Probably, maybe Pip goes to kick and then sees that Garab and Luschen are in there and it's sad pokes his head and he's like, wake up, Garab and Lushin, we've got to get going. You don't wake them up. Fuck. Tarpos! Tarpos stops what she's doing and comes over. We've got to go. Can you wake up Garabon Luson

Lushin. She ducks her head in and says, Gorab, Lushen, immediately. They were ready for it. They were waiting. Both of them scramble out of the tent. My lady, we will be at your service, of course. God, I hate him so much.

Completely ignoring that my two top boss, I'll be like, we need to get there by dusk, probably, tonight. The lodestone, how far away are we talking? Can get by dusk? Great. Wood feels like there's a butt there. Is dangerous. Druids watch.

We can move slow, safe, or fast, not so safe. So slow, safe, but we fight Clover again. Or fast, less safe. But when we get to Clover, she's dead in her tomb in her coffin. Pyrin used expression once, pick poison. She seems pretty pleased with herself to remember something Pyrryn said. I think Pip does the, I think this might seem like leading, but let me assure you it's not. This is just Pip doing the...

You don't even get to do that. You look over at Cavendish and you see his entire kit is packed. He swings his backpack over one shoulder, his rifle over the other. I would rather fight a bunch of druids than Kelle over again. Quick and dangerous. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go. Let's go.

Okay, yeah, I'll pack up my tent. Once Gorbon Lushin are out of it. I'll pack up my tent, collect everything, and just... just start following Tarpos into the woods. Oh, man. What's that? I don't know if it matters to you, Pipp. Yeah.

But you don't kick it down as neatly as Kavadish does. Pip's used to humiliation. Yeah, that's fine. It's another humiliation ritual for you. It's a familiar sensation for old Pipporu. You are eventually on the trail. You following Tarpos, presumably, are making your way through the forests. Tarpos moves at kind of a breakneck pace, honestly.

You find yourself huffing and puffing pretty quickly. Tarpos every now and then looks back. The entire group, the engineer is moving in the mech, so he's largely fine. But Tarpos, Gub and Lushin would also be fine. But you, Cavendish, and Iona are all huffing and puffing pretty quickly. Can I, as we move through the forest, snap off twigs from the trees? Yeah. To be like, I don't know who's going to get to Kolover in time.

So we should each take a steak, basically. Okay. I'm not going to be able to turn them. I've got the only one that's been turned into like an actual steak, because I just don't have the time to do it for everyone else. But I'll hand out, I'll distribute as we're walking sticks to everybody. You turn? Sticks to everybody.

You start trying to distribute sticks. And you, maybe the first person, just because she's the closest, the first person you try to give one to is Iona. She whips out. She has one already. Then you try to give one to Cavendish. He has one already. Oh, that's for you a lot of Lushin.

Already. Tapos, already. When did you make, when did you make these? They all look at each other. Cavendish just says simply, last night. Pip, does the mental calculation to figure out whether or not they saw he'd made one and then when it made some for themselves. Or if they made some and didn't make one for him, and then Pip when it got one for himself. Uncertain.

Yeah. You vocalized that to them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm hoping I inspired them. Well, the dream for Pip is that he in some way inspired them. But his secret true belief is that they just did it without him. But he says neither thing. I don't know if this influences you one way or the other, Pip. But at one point, it's just such a blistering pace that at one point, Iona stops, dumps her pack. I am sorry, but I need to take a water, a break. She's sweating profusely red in the face Tarpos turns around Tarpos isn't sweating And she says

Okay And you take Like I said You like it was said You take a brief maybe like lunch break You eat you drink At one point PEP You go off

To whatever To use the bathroom or something To use the bathroom And when you come back You as you come back You heal laughter And you can see the rest of the group Even the engineer are standing, not standing, just hanging out together.

There's like a relaxed nature to this encounter. Have they noticed that, have they noticed me? Wow. I bring this up because as you step back out, they notice you and then it's gone. Shall we carry on if everyone's watered? Tapos nods. Yes. I lead.

Yeah. And then she heads on. Okay. As you all turn to leave, Iona gives Cavendish a wiry smile. Yeah. It's like the end of, kind of the end of a joke or something like that.

One of them, one of the two of them told the joke that made everyone laugh. Yeah. And they have an extra connection. They're just enjoying the joke. Yeah. An in joke that has developed within the group of which I have not part. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Getting like mean girl, dude. Pipps staying around. And not just fucking leaving. Brother, they should better improve after Kolova dies. I'm telling you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

They're the problem. Yeah, dude. Because then that's out of the way. And then, because fucking heck the Pipp's glowering. I'd be up the back, a little bit away from everybody else in line. And Pipp, like, you could see, you know, if it was a comic strip, there would be a little dark cloud above me, lightning and thunder and rain. And, like, every time Pip blinks, all he's,

picturing is Hector Dragon's Bain with his neck open and Baron von Straude drinking from him. Yep. What can I happen? I haven't even been like moisturizing my neck daily for the, it's fine. Why are we even, you know, internal marvellous like, why are we even doing any of this? As you keep marching. We've already lost, basically. As you keep marching, Pip.

Have faith in me. Come on, buddy. Yeah. As you keep marching. Farching. Cavendish pulls back a little bit so that he's in line with you, Pip. And through the huffing and puffing, did you fight in a war? The sharp, sharp companions. My understanding is they sometimes work as mercenaries. Sounds skirmishes. Yeah. I don't know if anything that could be categorized as a full war, not in my time at least, Durek maybe. Why? I'm curious. When

Because you were part of the uprising a year ago. Yeah. When you were selected to be a general, what exactly was your experience? I'd heard General Mandarin. It was... Well... I suppose you could call it self-appointed.

Ah. Yeah. Right, right, of course. You know, I mean, it skirmishes. Because I just, I understand, And in your day in Cairndor, military titles are appointed based on lordship, ladyship, a position outside of a field of battle. In my day, they tend to get assigned based on seniority experience.

Well, I mean, it's not like I had no experience. Right. I'd fought with the sharpshot companions. I'd directed battle. Oh, okay. Right, right. Yeah. Not an army, maybe.

No, but the small skirmishers. Yeah. How many strong? Sometimes 30, 60 max? Ah. Yeah. Quite a small troop. I suppose so.

Specialized, though. Elites, he says. You can, you don't have to. I mean, you know, don't try and make me feel good. It's not going to work. I'm kind of asking, actually. What's the answer to that question? Yes, specialized, I guess.

They're sharpshot companions. comprise of many different roles within the one unit, yeah. All right, good, good. Something you want to say? So this sort of small unit tactics should be your specialty, right? Suppose so. Suppose so. I mean, we're alive, aren't we?

Is that the goal? It's enough. It's enough. Cavendish starts moving ahead again. These motherfuckers, dude. Like that is just, you, Pip seems competent. Like, he is, like, he did lead, I guess, a specialised crew. And I guess, even with the uprising, you did lead for a bit these well-trained.

Although, you know, you did train as best as you could. Yeah. And they're just like, he's hard. It seems to be he's just asking just basic questions. And you're just being such a, you're hurt, a little baby. Yeah. Well, that is Pip. Also, you know, it's worth remembering that I think,

both times where Pip acted as a general, he had someone who believed in him on the other side. Without that, without Durek being like, yeah, you got this. Or without fucking Keenning being like, yeah, you got this, Pip. Not going to happen. Without Hector

being like, yeah, I got this. Pip don't have it. Fuck, dude. Pip, am I going to abandon this group? I think it's very possible. Oh, wonderful to hear. You get ambushed. Son of a bitch.

At one point. God damn, dude. That's fine. In combat, I'm fine. I'll be okay. He's competent. Fingers crossed. All right.

So, it happens while you're crossing a rope bridge. Mm-hmm. Oh, God. It's a funnel point. Had you been going slowly, you might have scoped. this out a bit better or maybe you just would have found a less precarious way to get from A to B

but unfortunately because you're in a hurry you're on a rope bridge as you approach the rope bridge as you clear some trees and you can see it and it's obvious that you're going to be crossing this road bridge the entire group no you understand that you're getting yourselves into some danger

unfortunately you just don't see it coming the entirety of the group is on the rope bridge and it's single file. Tarpos, in the lead. Yep. Then it would be Gorobin Lushin.

Then, Pip, is there any specific place you would like to be? I tend to take up the rear. And to take up the rear? All right. So then I'm going to call it as next along Iona, then Cavendish,

then the engineer. And then you. Cool. So. Mm-hmm. What's the situation, Adam? The rope bridge It's wooden slats, they're old, and a lot of age has been, age has worn these slats, but they still feel firm underneath your boots. It's not, it doesn't look as rickety as you first thought it might be.

It's not, if you're imagining a rope bridge with wooden slats, you're probably imagining slats with, like, huge gaps in the middle. That's not the case. Okay. It's a solid, the slats are so close together, it's almost like a solid bridge from end to end if it weren't for the fact that it. it's attached with drugs. Yeah, yeah, cool, cool. You, walking over, you're mostly focused on each end of the bridge because that's where you would see an ambush coming from.

And you're even, you understand to keep an eye out, even for just very innocuous bushes and trees. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Unfortunately, the druids know that. Okay. And so they've laid a very clever trap. Druids burst out, six druids burst out behind and in front of you. but then

you hear a chittering noise underneath the bridge oh fuck dude oh fuck and spiders huge spiders crawl their way over the sides gotta get out of Manuel

I got a little fucking thing for spiders in here and I see it every time I'm flipping through and it stresses me out because it says lycanthropy spiders like spiders that can become men sorry what yeah where is it

where spiders Hags, Midnight, animated object, undead, undead, undead, rock creature, undead, elemental, spider big. Well, actually, there's two kinds of spiders then, but I'm guessing this is spider big? These spiders, there's two of them. Okay. They each crawl over and one in front and one behind,

cutting you off, kind of in the same way that the druids have. They're just on the bridge. Yeah. Both of them, they look almost identical. They have hard fins that run down the length of, their body and you spot, never mind, you do not spot that unless you specifically ask me about it. Well, I'm looking for two things on these spiders, Adam, to determine whether they are poisonous or necrotic. The first one is white hairs on its body and if it has eight eyes or less.

They both have seven eyes. Okay, and then if there's red or blue coloring with black underneath, unless we're dealing with the lycanthropy spiders, then I got to read. They're just pitch black, both of them. There's no red to them, not in their eyes or in their body. Oh, no. The entry for Spider-Lichen is one of the most annoying Emanuel entries. Listen to this, Amit. Okay, get ready, listen.

Dear listener, settle in. I'm settled. Let me get prepared. And I don't even know if this is the spider we're dealing with. Spider, comma, lichen. You, Savvy Hunter, stare at Emmanuel de Monster, Dark Places edition. You think to yourself, I need to know. what this is. Thinking quickly,

you assess the monster before you. It has dorsal fin-like protrusions coming out of its hard carapace. Eight legs, seven eyes, and probably a bonded mate. Okay, well, that's what I'm dealing with. What does the book say? A bonded mate. Joseph asks, you hesitate. Its eyes and probably a bonded mate.

It's describing what's happening. Joseph looks confused. Like what this thing is doing? No, you think to yourself. He's writing what's happening. Shit. How does he know what I'm thinking right now? Fuck. The words are forming as you watch. or attacks. It runs down Joseph, pinning him to the ground before it bites down into

him. You can see the poison being transferred through this thing's fangs and into Joseph. We're not even halfway. We're about maybe a quarter. His buddy seizes up and he stops moving. Shit, while that bonded mate circles and prepares

to attack you, you check the book again. More words. Fuck you, Emmanuel. Tell me how to beat this thing, you scream at the book. There's no response. As Joseph is picked up and spun into a cocoon. You can hear the magically enhanced sound of a beating heart, and through a strange connection, you can see that while Joseph gets weaker, the spider gets stronger, it's sapping his fucking strength. You need to do something fast before Joseph is dead. Eldale the Mage starts throwing everything they have, their voice shrill. If Emmanuel wants to do that weird fucking shit again, then I'll see what damages stick. Please help. She looks you in the eyes with wild panic. You can't stop thinking about the book. How does it know what's happening? We're about two quarters of the way through. Uh-huh. You watch his fire and cold

Wash against the creatures, but don't seem to be doing as much destruction as they should. Then, poison does nothing. Aldell screams. You could have told them that. You didn't need Emmanuel to figure out that spiders are immune to poison.

Then Glenda rushes in. Her great sword is made of silver, as you were just fighting spiders and werewolves in the last room. Lucky too. The silvered sword seems to cut through the spiders like butter. Glenda turns to Aldeil

and speaks in her characteristic bro. How did Emmanuel know, it was her characteristic, bro. Aldale, I have the beasts. Free Joseph and figure out what's happening with our damned hunter. Why is he just standing there? Eldale switches targets and throws everything but the kitchen sink at that webbing. Fire and acid seem to do the trick.

There's one more twist. As Glenda slays one of the bonded pairs, the other seems to go into a rage. Glender is no match for the rampaging remainder. You watch as one by one your party is slain. As the giant wolf spider wheels about to kill you and finish off the party, you have one final thought. Fuck this book. I feel this is when, I guess, the publisher for Emanuel got the, I guess, the fiction and non-fiction versions of Emanuel, a little bit confused.

It's a fiction version of Emanuel. It's like, you know, oh, this is like, you know, we want like a nice, like, you know, story that involves Emmanuel to try and drum up interest so you can buy Emanuel. And then suddenly we have just... I'm reading the story about Emanuel when I'm trying to... Okay. I do like that their pitchers We need a marketing tragedy

You look at Emmanuel Into all these different novels out there I'm gonna put one where we fucking hate this book Yeah what we We try to make the book seem as useless as possible To sell Emmanuel So I'm guessing So bonded pairs

Bonded pairs Silver will damage them Fire will destroy their webs Or acid will destroy the webs And if you Kill one The other one goes into a rage So they will sap your strength

To make it more self-powerful God damn it There's probably like a brief, almost indescribable expression that crosses Pip's face as he remembers that particular entry

in Emmanuel. And then I'll yell. Silver, silver for the spiders and acid or fire for their web, and don't get God by one. But I mean, I probably don't need to tell you that. While we go to initiative,

Hector, you're trundling with Gretchen. It's, well, would you talk much? Probably, but it would be C. Don't ignore. Sorry, don't ignore. Ignore the amount of rolling I'm about to do. It's for a separate combat that doesn't involve you, Hector.

And that's nice. Yeah. Yeah, I guess it'll be very much led by them without trying to, you know, give them enough time. But also, I'm like, you do need to, we do need to get you to the other side. Yeah, yeah. Because, like, if you don't, your, Barovia's going to eat you up. Oh, absolutely. Barovir is not kind to the kind, you know?

And, like, it might not seem it, but I am being very kind. Oh, yeah, dude. Borovian nice. That's all you're doing. Sorry, did you say you were interacting with her much? Yeah, I'd probably be interacting, like, but I'd let her lead in a way kind of thing just to see, like, you know, where they're at. Last time we spoke, I made things worse.

So it is trying to kind of get him. gauge where they're at and they're still quite young aren't they yeah she's like just maybe just out of her teens yeah right okay um yeah I guess yeah it would be kind of led by them to see like

if she has any questions about like where we are what we're doing why are we in a carry anything like that if like see see what like they want to know as well because again it's you know I'll do my best to sort of prepare them for Borovia but the same time I'm like in my

head, I'm like, well, I know the only person that can get her out here. Yeah. And I also know that, well, if, like, yeah, Gulliver, he died a long time ago, do I know in terms of like, now that I've had a chat to Bobbitt, with the, they were around before the King's Road was made. Did the King's Road, was that made when Gaz rose to power, or is that just being like muddled lost the time. Oh, well, the, yeah, fuck, get a good boycott. The exact date of Gulliver's death is a very known thing. It was very obvious in all parts of Ognot when it happened. And, well,

the completion, it's, you know, hard to say, when is a road completed? You know what I mean? But the King's Road was certainly a name that was being used for a paved road that went all the way from Zemjada to Kandor. That was a name that it was. been in use for quite a while before Gulliver died. Okay, cool. All right. Excellent. Because then, yeah, fantastic. Because then if, you know, she goes to her time, then she

doesn't have to experience Gulliver madness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, um, the death of Gulliver. Yes. But if, um, uh, you know, she goes to my time, would it be, the, you know, outside the round possibility, like, you know, would I think

that if she was to go, you know, again, I don't even, you know, I'm even just surmising that, I don't know, how the magic works yeah because like you know is it like well you know I have no control here's a portal off your chuff if she goes to like my time or like post the death

of Gulliver would that just be an instant like madness you don't know time travel is not something that you were ever taught obviously but yeah was it the was it the sudden was it the death of Gulliver as in the moment of death the moment like

was struck dead or was at the moment that everyone was severed and being severed from a god that is something that has happened before to other people that aren't gulliver right when you lose a connection you don't know no one there was no like moment where a worship of gulliver became outlawed but it was it's just a thing people don't do anything well obviously because you can't really worship well yeah but what i mean to say is you don't really know what it would be like to have this connection and then have it severed but not experience the death of gulliver yeah so you there's no you're no frame of rifle yeah yeah you yeah you

It might be the first person to ever have to worry about this. To ever think this thought. My thought process is that it's like, well, if it was the exact, at the moment of death, it was that psychic backlash of your God dying. And if you're connected there, the faith, like, you know, would have just been, you know, like a rubber band snapping, right? Yeah. Now, there's been cases before of, like, people of faith, like, paladin's clerics,

those who have, like, you know, worshipping of a god, but then it's like they break their oath. Yeah, yeah. And so then it's like, cool, you're now being severed from that particular god. And so there are, oath breaker paladins. There are, like, you know, people have lost, like, so it's either they go down a different path, so they've been broken away from that divine. Either they have no more, like, you know, no divine or a different level of divine. So that is my frame of reference in terms of, well, that's, it can stop.

And people don't go mad. So then I'm like, well, I think you might have been doctrinally. court that an Oathbreaker Paladin is kind of mad. Is kind of mad. Yes. And they can. Whether or not Hector still believes that is another thing entirely. But, yeah, it would be by the sanctioned church, it would be considered kind of oath breaking

is kind of a form of madness. Yeah, right, right. And there are definitely cases that I would have heard about of people like, you know, breaking their oath or whatever. And I'm like, the madness, what is that historically? What do we mean by that? Like, what have we read up? As in, have they pulled their hair out?

Like, you know, they, like, pull their hair out. They go on a rampage, or are they just shut down? It's not a, it's a violent act. They became uncontrollable. It might be violence just to themselves, but it's very commonly violence towards others. Okay. Damn. A risk.

Yeah. Because, yeah, I am just like, well, people have been served. She is describing a connection to the divine still. But she is, there is something there, yeah. It's something she's tapping into right now. Which is interesting. Yeah. I'm just wondering when, like, do you let them know?

Their God will die. That's a tricky question. Do you let them live in ignorance? Well, you don't know. I mean, yeah, people come from all different times. My assumption is that they would go back to all the different times. Maybe. Not enough people getting out of Borovia to know that.

That's the thing. No one really leaves. Can the Vistani pick the time period? they go to? We've never asked. We've never asked. So in my head, I'm like, well, Stride can probably give them back to their time. So, and then it would have all this time to deal with it. Like, it wouldn't even come up. Yeah, it wouldn't even come up. They wouldn't even notice. That's fine. But if they go back to, you know, time where color doesn't exist, that's a risk. So I'm not going to bring it up just yet. I think that's probably a good idea.

Don't bring it up until you know, you know. Yeah. Or at least until it needs to make a decision. Yeah. Yeah. I would just kind of. kind of, yeah, just to have a, like, a conversation with them, just to sort of, like, as surface level as they will let it, as deep as they want to go, maybe trying to ask more questions about their training and, you know, what they hope to aspire to be, as it were. Okay. Why, why they, you know, why they joined the night? Because, like, you know, worshipping Gulliver has got that from Bobbitt, but it's like, well,

why did you decide to pick up a sword? Yeah, yeah. When you ask her questions, she responds. But she only responds because you're asking questions, not because she wants to tell you about herself, or she wants something to pass the time, or any other reason. She's just kind of a little bit autopiloty.

Okay. So when you ask her about why she took up the sword, she says, I, um, when I was, studying at the way shrines as part of our studies we are to travel a road to learn its stops and to meet people along the way write their tails record their travels as best as we can is that um part of gulliver's rituals traditions yes um for those

for those who wish to maintain a way shrine of any size or shape it is a requirement that you would see the world a little gulliver is a god of travel and he urges his followers to have a time of wonder lust to see the world and meet its people i guess that makes sense so uh i guess with the wonderlust you need to be able to protect yourself yes well i that i i i i When I was traveling these roads, the trail I picked was a busy one between cities large enough in Kandor that some trade was passing through at a consistent enough rate that I met a few merchants. They reminded me of the ones I had met when I was a little girl. And I guess, I don't know, I thought I wanted one thing and then I discovered. that I needed another.

Yeah, that is a understandable particular. The lands are treacherous for those who wish to travel, but those who wish to travel are important. They are the lifeblood of these places. How can a city exist if it cannot be connected to others? Gulliver teaches that connection is important. So when you reach out to your divine, at the moment.

Is there something familiar about it? Yes, there is something there, she says. Something familiar? Something familiar, yes, there's something there. It does not feel the same way that Gulliver did, perhaps weaker, maybe. Maybe it is hard for him to access this place. Yes, right.

So what do you see when you say the prayers to Gulliver to cast something as simple as like a light? I see nothing. I am not gifted with magic. Oh, no, so you do not know. No, I have never, my prayers, I'm sure Gulliver listens, but my prayers do not go answered in the way that some do. It is quite uncommon to have powers from your prayers, a true blessing of the gods, looking up at you. For the first time, there's like a light to her face.

So you, right, you're not, you're not, do not call. I guess, miracles. And it is a miracle. I just procure, like, you know, just produce like, you know, light in my hand and, like, I like, but you have a connection. Yes, I feel it. I have always felt it. Is that strange to have a connection, but to not be able to cast any divine magic?

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how is Hector rare or were Paladins rar in the past. Yeah. That's sort of what I'm also questioning. Well, no, magic like what you have is not common. No. It's quite rare, magical aptitude, or a connection to the divine that provides magic like that is quite rare. It is more common to have, to feel the divine, but not be able to tap into its magic. Okay, okay.

Or access its power. No one would call it magic, not a power of the core. comes from the divine. They would call it just the power of the divine, just that you are the conduit of it. But yeah, many people, more people feel it than have any control over it like that. So you've never been able to, I guess, yes, be a conduit for the divine. No, no, I am sensitive to it. I feel it. Have you ever tried to, um, I know with casting, like, magic. It's, it's a component of like semantics and it's a component of like, you know, the words you say.

It's a prayer. And it is also a... Yeah. But there is also, like, the words I say, I see, a prayer. But there's also gestures and probably some sort of components. The gestures and components would all be of a religious nature. In the same way that, for example, when someone says, at the end of a prayer, someone might say amen and then cross them, do the gesture of the cross, yeah. Okay, okay.

That is the sort of gesturing and words that would be involved in a prayer. Okay, I'm just wondering, because of like, if this person is sensitive to this? I was like, I want, could I coach them in a way to be able to say cast light? That would be difficult for you because it varies based on the religion and even sometimes the sect of the religion. You would be completely unfamiliar with some sects of Peña the way that they worship. Uh-huh. You don't know well enough to say what Gulliver asks for. I can't even, like, think upon, like, all right, if I, for example, like, you know,

the pen years, like, the light, the kind of stuff, it's like, well, if there's a travel, like, travel, like, those kind of, like, similar sort of words and similar kind of things, you know, it could be like, well, for me and, like, explain what I tend to do and the prayers for my, my gods, something similar like that. Has anyone ever continued to try? Do you know the similar? She walks you through some of the stuff that she has been taught to do. It's kind of the equivalent of like obviously you well no you might use this terminology actually it's the equivalent of like cantrip's yeah as nothing particularly powerful yeah she might know like a waif she might call it like the prayer the prayer of the guided path and that is a light spell for us outside of the

game abstracted from it she might know the the words and symbols to do like a light spell i was just you know if she knows the symbolity and she knows the words like try to coach them to try and to try that. Probably because I'm like, does colorful exist in Borovia in this sort of a slight sliver? Well, it's funny because like, does penia? Does penia? Like, I don't, I still

don't know. Yeah. Are you tapping into the same god with many faces? Exactly. And like, I understand the morning lawyers, again, it's a light god, it is a sun god. So that kind of makes sense to kind of use the same thing. Whereas I'm like, traveling. God of travel.

That's different. I see, it would not shock me if I found out there was only one god in Borovia. There was the night mother. Is that what it was called? The werewolf god, or the mother of night? The Mother Knight is the Warwick Lord. You know how I said there was a chandelier in this carriage? You coax her through.

She might know a prayer that, essentially thermotogy, a prayer, she would describe it as prayers that light candles as part of a way shrine to Gulliver. And you coax her through how she knows the prayer. And when she, there's like a gesture where she waves her hand at the end of the, at the end of the prayer. And when she does that, you're not sure if it's a little gust of wind or not, but the candles snuff out. I like kind of give a, you know, a smile and like, perhaps you were more blessed than you think. She looks a little shocked. She looks like she can't, she doesn't yet want. to believe that that wasn't just a gust of wind.

Borovia has a way of teaching you about yourself. The carriage trundles slowly to a stop, and you hear Rahadin climbing down. Well, no rest for the wicked. You hop out? Yep. Gretchen steps out as well. You are at that tower. Do you remember the one on the lake?

It had the bridge across to it where you, well, you escaped Boris that one. time. Where I saw that deer for that first time. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. Exothander's tower, right? Like, this is where he has his telescope and all of that. Yeah.

Oh, all the stuff we said we'd bring to him. Yeah. Well, I'm right here. What a beautiful thing. He loved the stars and then they were taken from him. That's so sad. Well, yes. Oh, Exothander's tower.

What are we doing here? Rahadin gives you a side look when you say Exothander. He knows that name and he knows the significance of you knowing that name, maybe, but he says nothing. He says, well, he doesn't say anything about Exothander, excuse me. What he does say instead is the master has requested that we collect some belongings from this place. Okay. Should not take long, not long at all. You can wait outside if you wish to stretch your legs.

No, that is okay. There is another pair of hands here, another pair of hands. Whatever needs to be collected, we can collect. You head inside, it's kind of just as you left it. Nothing seems to have changed. You take the elevator up and on the floor, I think it was the second from the top, On the floor that you slept here, you can see there's still the, it's so similar to when you left it. There's still some of your camp kit is left behind here.

Rahaddin, on that level, Rahadin starts scattering around what was left of your camp equipment. Also, Gorban Lushin stayed here for a little while. Yeah, that's right. They did. They got sieged. Yeah. They wrecked to that place up. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, they only have themselves to fight. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. No one to stop them. Yeah, yeah, no one to tell them no. From the kit left behind here, Rahadin retrieves a dagger in a little scabbard.

Yeah, you recognize it. It's Agogash's. It is, um, uh, gogash is, uh, wow, a Gogash. It is a his dagger. How is, how are they? Uh, master, a gogash. And the master. have formed a close bond, you could say.

But I fear that a go-gash will not perhaps satisfy the master's desires for him. The master appreciates honing a weapon, creating art, if you will. A go-gash is direct. maybe that is a kind way of putting it yes but uh not much as i go gash's temperament might exceed his grasp the master fears that it might come to blows it is a truly terrible thing the master does not wish conflict and yet it keeps finding him it wasn't the impression that vamprism changed who you are. But from this end of it, it sounds like not much. Yes. There are a great many

tales of beasties that are told to scare children, vampires and werewolves and what happens to them. But I'm sure as you're aware, it's more complicated than that. Yes. I'm beginning to realize it is. So I guess the dagger, is there anything else to grab from here? No, it was just this. A go-gash wished to have it returned to him. Didn't think he was sentimental. I think, well, I hope he is still.

Regardless, this is all that we have come here for. Forgive me, it was on the way. Oh, it's right. I thought we'd be grabbing more things. How heavy was that telescope, by the way? That's not light, but it's not hard to carry either. Okay. You could pick it up if you wanted, yeah? especially because you're in the carriage.

Yeah. And I know there is a telescope on the top floor. Exa Thander did love his stars. He did. Did you want to collect it? Yes. May as well. Rahai didn't nods.

You can go up to the top floor and collect it if you want. Yeah. I head up and I look around this place for the first time realizing kind of what it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What is you're going to do with a telescope? What are you going to do with the telescope? You're going to take it back to him? I don't know.

You see what was once, a beautiful observatory, has been marred not just by time, but by events. I don't know if you remember this, but Van Richten used to this place briefly, and his notes are still here. There's still that huge portrait of the sheriff of Coutherie. There's like a drawing of Rahadin. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Raja Dian probably didn't realize this was here and you see him staring at his own visage. Captured you quite nicely, I think. The nose is too big. Yeah, suppose so. Not many mirrors in Castle Ravenloft. Like a nose that takes up half of his face. Like somebody who does caricatures on the beach.

He's a roller skates. Hector, if the nose is too big, you can't see it. Gretchen wanders around. She picks up a few objects that catch her interest, but it takes nothing, puts everything back down where she found it. If something catches your eye, you can grab it. She shakes her head. There's a huge hole in the side of the wall here, and she walks over to that.

That hole would have been where a huge glass piece would have allowed you to view the night sky. Now it's just smashed out. She wanders over to that and just looks out into the sky. It's overcast, as it always is. I know you would not probably believe this But even Something you don't really notice it Until you start really

I guess looking up Just think it is all cloud cover But there are no stars I hadn't realized Yeah I hadn't realized Gretchen turns back to you I haven't seen the sky for so long

Yeah It sort of creeps up on you that way This was there Once the tower of I guess a wizard Exethander is now a litch I'm assuming you

they know of liches did they have liches in the past I'm assuming she might not she nods slowly and says like a powerful magician but a zombie

she has kind of like the basic idea of what a lich is but she quite clearly knows none of the specifics cutting some making some shortcuts there but yes he made a I'm fairly certain he made a deal

for more power and cost him a lot he met him he wanted a telescope this one I do not know if I will see him again

but hey just in case boom a tremendous explosion blasts one end of the bridge pip Okay One of the druid

Sprints to the beginning part Your destination end of the bridge No sorry the where you came from end of the bridge And you see grabs it air Grabs at air And then does kind of a shock Like a like a not a shoving sorry He's cracking it like a whip kind of

Yeah yeah yeah yeah kind of like he's cracking two whips And rippling lightning spreads out from him striking the end of the bridge that you just came from. You watch as it is destroyed, shattered immediately. Your entire group starts swinging. Okay, fuck, dude. What kind of a chasm are we over?

That's a good question. Yeah, I think it's important to know. You see a really terrible looking fall. The chasm slowly tapers to a very, like a point. It's like a, the chasm's shaped like a chevron. Yeah, okay. You can see that. There's a tiny stream that runs down the bottom, but you, it's not the stream that worries you.

It's the 100 foot drop. Yeah, okay. Okay. God damn it, too. On which you will hit several, you'll hit the walls several times on the way down. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The rope bridge swings around. Everyone's going to need to make a check not to fall.

It's crazy this could just kill us. Yeah. At the same time, now you can just, like, shove a spider. Yeah, that's true. The spiders, I think it might be hard to shove the spiders. I think the spiders have a better, yeah, they're going to have an easier time than you are. Spiders do not need to make a check to stay where they are. Yeah.

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