Dice Shame - 127 | 'Last Night - Dead Man Walking'

Episode Date: March 17, 2022

Craeloth finally confronts a truth about himself, and what that may  mean for his soul... Comedy, action and a whole lot of shaming come together in Dice Shame, an Actual Play Podcast of Storm King's Thunder by Wizards of the Coast! Join our GM Jo; her partner Harlan, his brother Alex & their best friends Justin and Rob as they tackle the daunting world of Faerun in this legendary adventure module! Dice Shame is a podcast that welcomes its audience to the gaming table. Like the games they play at home, they try not to take themselves too seriously. The show aims to be entertaining, inclusive, and irreverent, while still taking the rules (somewhat) seriously. Join us every Thursday morning for brand new episodes available on all major platforms including; Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and more! If you haven't checked it out yet... what are you waiting for?!? Content Warning: swearing, violence, horror, mental illness and suicide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I had a choice. You have become an abomination, Krayloff. I drove the balance straight into his heart. I haunted your steps. You made me do terrible things. What God presents two equal sides to every single problem. Maybe a little fun for myself. Welcome back to Diteshame.

This is episode 127, Last Night, Part 3, Dead Man Walking. MVP this week is our amazing friend, Bobby Gale. They've been tirelessly working on getting Invictuscon ready and just being an absolute savior in this stressful time. Thank you, Bobby. We love you. Thank you, Bobby. Looking for some more great content to enjoy,

check out our friends at The Dead Letter Office of Somewhere Ohio. This show is a comedy horror audio drama set within one of the last remaining dead letter offices in the country. Join the office as they archive strange, spooky, surreal pieces of lost mail. You can find them at somewhereohio.com. All right, are we ready to do this?

Let's do it. Kralath, you enter the room to the inn. It's decorated with simple but comfortable furniture. a single bed with a quilt, a small hearth with all the makings for a fire, a writing table on which sits a lit candelabra, a chest for personal items, a mirror on the wall above a wash basin. And a single window in the far wall overlooks the street outside.

Through it you can see the stars glimmering through the treetops and other dwellings nearby. As you close the door, you shut out the outside world, and you are now alone. Kraloth's mouth is plastered in a big grin as he walks to the writing table, shaking his head, a look of fondness in his eyes, but something else behind it. And he chuckles to himself as he lifts his mace, places it on the table, and instantly the smile disappears. He leaves his mace of deception and moves towards the window.

He sheds his shield, placing it against the wall. His rucksack, he drops to his feet, kicks it over to the side of the room with his foot, and kneels down in front of the window. He reaches into his component sack and he pulls out a couple small candles, placing six of them around him, That equidistant points.

He pulls out his holy symbol. Brass medallion. Chains holding two plates that balance perfectly. He takes a moment to hold it before he places it on the ground in front of him. And he glances outside seeing the stars twinkling. And then he closes his eyes and tries to commune with his God. Calimvor, my lord These past few days have been a difficult journey

But I've come to a realization Come to the realization I know what I am I know what I have become And in your eyes it is something unforgivable I am void a blight upon Fyruh. But it doesn't have to be.

I am still your loyal servant. Speak to me, Kallamfor. Show me the way, and I will follow the path you set before us, as I have always done. And he sits, and he waits for a response. A few moments pass. and then the candle that's lit in front of you begins to flicker.

Rayloth opens his eye, watches it, reaches within. Do I feel anything? No, you feel empty as ever. And as you watch the flickering of this candle, you feel it. a bare breeze on your skin some crack in the window frame maybe it's just a breeze your absence

it uh concerns me after what happened to me I thought I felt nothing but there is something there isn't there he opens his eyes

looks out the window again, an owl hoots in the distance, something, a quiet tug, a thread of the unknown waiting to be unraveled, revealed, something that I haven't had the clarity to see until now, as if the constant churning in my heart has stilled and I can now see through clear waters to the muck below and the things that lurk in the deep. There is something there, and it is dark, Kalimvore, and powerful. But I don't want it. Whatever it is, would do anything not to, not to. And he begins to shake. His right hand reaches out and suddenly grabs his left arm to stop it from shaking.

For several days, I've tried to reach you to help me make sense of this discovery, soothe my mind, help me move forward and not dwell if that's what I need. You are my father, where you are my father. You take me, I follow. Let us continue our journey. The candle before you flickers, almost making fun of the fact that you can't hear any response. And my left arm begins to shake to a point where I can't control it anymore.

And clenching my fists, my left arm begins to shake. uncontrollably. And before I know it, it's out of my right hand and I slam it against the ground. And I shall kill them for my entire life I have given to you, your cause. With every action, I have sought to restore the balance. I have slain countless beasts, spread cures for diseases that plague the land, fed the hungry, all to maintain the balance. To keep those alive who deserved it and those that didn't. And a memory crosses through my mind. Jackson.

Jackson. Remember Jackson? Do you remember what I did for you? When he turned, I had a choice. I could spare him Whatever he was Let him continue to exist He wasn't harm in no one

Even after what he went through He wouldn't He was a good boy Kellenvore So I could have spared him Or I could uphold the balance

your balance I could I could have let him remain but I didn't I made that choice for you I drove the balance straight into his heart to appease you

he was my brother my little brother and he would have never left my side Never would have betrayed me despite his condition, Kalimvore. I beg of you to see the good in me that still remains. Don't leave me. You won't leave me. Tell me you haven't.

For I have done too much in your name to be abandoned. now and a wide grin spreads across my face but there's still pain in my eyes there must be a way to lift this curse i may be an abomination now but it's only temporary show me what i must do to get back to the other side You vanquish on death wherever you see it Surely you have the power to reverse it Please give me a sign Bring me into balance It's impossible to know

How much time has passed And still you hear nothing And with a swift, powerful motion Kralov reaches over grabs the chair by the sitting desk and smashes it against the wall. He lets out a bellow of rage as he runs to the bed, picks it up from its base, and rips the mattress off of it,

and tears it in half. And he continues to rage like this for several moments. And what do you do when the storm subsides? I look around and, And I see just the desolation. And I see how much destruction I've caused. But most of all, I just feel terribly alone, more alone than I've felt in my entire life. And so tentatively, my right hand shaking, I slip it into my pocket and I pull out the ring,

ring that I've been afraid to wear the past several days, and I place it on my finger to speak with my old captain. The figure of Captain Tranieros materializes slowly before you. He glares reproachfully at you and says nothing. Captain Tranieros, I, I regret to inform you that I have lost touch with the balance and um kelem vore has silenced has severed his connection with me but it isn't over i i i'm still here i'm still as good a soldier as i ever was and i'm ready to continue my duty and do what must be done to restore the balance

and atone in the eyes of Kallamvore. I await your command. He watches you for another moment, and then he shakes his head. So it's come to this. I haunted your steps, plagued your days, spent my essence to warn you, to instruct you, to tell you what you must do.

Recover your memory. Retrieve your soul from the repository. Free our company from unddeath. I saw you perish on the battlefield. Saw that vile creature extinguish your flame, and I thought all was lost. And then, I know not by what magic your body is animated here and now.

But what I do know for certain is that the worst is befallen us. The company is lost, and any hope of recovering your soul to your body is dashed to pieces. You have become an abomination, Kraloth, the very ones we'd come to kill. The spark of life is gone from you, a shameful husk. and Kelimvor turns from you now, rightfully, having insulted him. No, uh, it, it might be this way for me, but I can, I can still, I can still complete the mission, and perhaps if I were to recover my, my spirit, it, it would undo this, this, this, this, this condition, I... No, no, no, Kralath, your course is cold.

clear. Death is but a part of life. You have spent many centuries evading its grasp, and now you are become it, and worse. You must finish the journey. Die with dignity. Neither raging nor seeking to embrace undeth. Do honor to the dead,

for their strivings in life brought Farun and a thousand planes otherwise to where it is now. Death is a part of life. There, you are telling me the rights of Kalimvor, you are suggesting that despite the good nature that resides within me, despite everything I have done for the knights and for Kalimvor himself, that I am just to put an end to my existence?

Is this what you're telling me, Trenneros? He nudges a shard of mirror with his foot, kicks it across the floor towards you, and it clatters at your feet. Look in the mirror there. See your hollow visage. See your cowardice.

And do what is right. And he turns and walks from you, dissipating with every step. No. Krayloff sees the mirror on the ground. But he doesn't look in it. Eyebrows furrowed, he shakes his head. No. No. No!

And with two powerful steps, he marches towards the window, rips the ring off of his finger, and with a mighty throw of his left hand, he whips it through the window, shattering the glass. I will not, I will not reduce myself to nothing. You are wrong, Trenneros. You are wrong, after everything I did for you. And you, Kellenvore!

If you will not accept me as I am, And perhaps you should just do well to despise me. And with a heavy stomp of his boot, he crushes the mirror without looking in it. A knock comes at the door. Grayloth waits for it to subside. And a moment later, another knock. Go away! You find your heart begins to beat quickly.

And the air in the room begins to boil, or there's not enough of it or something. You feel suffocated. What is this? What is this? Some sort of wizard trick? Jack, if this is you, he stomps over to the front door and he whips it open, slamming it against the wall. Get away from my... There's no one there.

The hall is pitch dark. Empty. And he tentatively closes the door behind him. As you turn back into the room, the doorway is gone. And instead of the wood siding of your chamber, you spin, and all four walls are turned to ebony stone, polished and pitted, shot through with veins of orange and violet. A thin mist covers the ground, and the walls begin to expand, until you're no longer in a room at all, just a metallic void. And in this, a soft voice, like the cream on top of milk, addresses you.

Kralov, what vexes you? What is this? Where am I? You are a man of indecision. I see you constantly pulled in two directions at war with yourself and others. But you have forgotten the most important thing about life. You see her now at the top of a wide red staircase

that wasn't there a moment ago, taking delicate steps down to your level, Her hand hovering four inches above the railing. She's tall, maybe nine feet. And her long black hair hangs in generous waves nearly to the floor. The train of her silk cream gown pools and unpools behind her with every step, until she's in front of you. And she bends at the waist to meet your gaze, smelling of apples.

She touches your cheek like a lover. It's all a joy. All of it, Cray-Loth, my love. This life is nothing more than a sick, practical joke that the gods are playing on all of you. Your God. Well, what God presents two equal sides to every single problem. There's no such thing. Where's the balance when it comes to, oh, I don't know.

enslaving an orphaned child, denying them in education, keeping them barefoot and hungry? What about a creature so spiteful that it would manipulate you to betray your dearest friends for its own amusement and nothing more? Are there good sides to these? Nonsense. Such a god does not deserve your faith, devoted one. Kellenbore is a joke. All of it is. Tell me who you are, Enchantress.

You may call me anything you wish. I'm not jealous or picky for names. Mistress is fine, for one. Or Rayel, if you prefer a closer relationship. I am the goddess of second chances. Of free will, of death and undearth. And, dear Kralov, I forgive you for the so-called sin of defending your companions into the afterlife and past it into a body that decays. And she stands straight and walks around you, looking you up and down.

Kalimvor would. Have me end my life. If you present a different path I present many paths I believe that you should decide Your order of knights was not helped By your faith in Kellenvore

You were abandoned by him One by one Abandoned by the God of Balance left cold and alone. And what even is balance? Who decides? How is that fair? It is all I've known.

I don't know how else to be. Of course. And it has been a long life, hasn't it? What a tragedy that you can recall so little. Whose fault do you think that is, Craylaw? Who keeps you sheltered? in ignorance, a pet.

I... I can see that you're conflicted. Yes, I... I don't understand. I'm just... I just feel so lost, and alone, and... I see your suffering. I see it. And I take no pleasure from it. I see you hollow alone. Kray Loth. Let me lift you.

As an undead creature, you are free. And interesting, and hells, you have the potential to become more powerful than ever. Perfectionism is exhausting, darling. I want you as you are. Broken, ruined, injured. Let me love you. Let me help you see yourself the way I see you, not as some disgusting injury to the people.

pride of some deity who couldn't give two shits about you, but as a man, who can enjoy his own agency, who can take revenge on those who wrong him, without asking, Daddy, pretty please, someone who can laugh again. You do have such a beautiful laugh. I don't know what to say. It's all happening. fast. Of course. You are a god, goddess. Yes. The goddess of broken souls like me,

independence, um, choosing for yourself. I am happy to sweep up the broken pieces of lives that are shattered by the whims of gods who care little for their suffer. And I am so pleased to be here with you tonight, Kralov, when you could not feel more alone. And I don't... I don't ask much. What is it that you want from me? You seem like the type of being to only suggest things unless you're getting something in return. Oh, come now.

I don't seem so contrite. I only ask for a little fun. What kind of fun? Something that will help you find yourself. Let's face it, Kralath. You are the way you are for a reason, because of what happened to you, but we can enjoy a better future.

You can walk a path that brings you love and life, and I want that for you. Are you able to tell me what happened to me? When that creature felled me, I knew it was the end, and yet I came back, and I can't explain it. I don't know how. A pesky curse, though strong, I'm afraid. You were given a second chance, but with a cost. And I am not able to undo its effects, though I can make them more palatable.

Speaking of which, the towering goddess gestures and the table spread with a Feast appears before you. Food. Not just nourishment, but pleasure. Crayloth, as you well know, food means family and love and sharing, and to you as you are, it is ash in your mouth. I can make food taste good again. Here, try this. She selects a gleaming apple and throws it to you.

And I catch it and tentatively take a bite out of it, watching her the whole time, until the taste reaches my tongue. Hmm. And I pull the apple back and look at it in amazement. Its skin is snappy and crisp. Its flesh is bright and crunchy, sweet, tart, and juice runs down your finger from the bite. I have never tasted anything like this. It's just an apple.

But it's more than that for you, and I know that. There must be some, some cost. This is not a trick. Though you are a clever man, to assume a goddess would want something desperately of you, no, Kralov, I suppose I'm just the consolation prize. The consolation prize. Explain.

After your beloved father figure turns his back and walks out the door on you, someone needs to step in and pick up the pieces. I suppose I would be greatly honored by the addition of a powerful cleric such as yourselves to the ranks of my followers. But you are free to accept or deny my love as you will. And Kralov looks at the table. Your food is delicious. But I'm still not entirely sure what I'm bargaining for.

You say that I have the right to choose. What is it that I'm choosing? I want you to set aside the scales of Kellenvore that hang so heavily upon your neck. He's not listening to you, Kralov. He doesn't care. You don't know that. He could be just waiting for the right moment to show me the way. Yes, maybe he's busy.

Excuse me, I jest. As I said, it's a poor joke. He doesn't have a great sense of humor, but it is a little funny. A man like me doesn't put down the scales lightly, you understand. You wouldn't be half the cleric that you are if you weren't so, devoted. But if you follow the tenets of Kellenvore, you will have to die tonight. I'm telling you there's another way. If it is the only way to continue existing, then just tell me what I must do. I'm so glad my company has been illuminating for you tonight, dear Kralath.

Truly, I saw the way that elf woman turned her nose up at you. You deserve better. And I'm excited to watch you take your first steps into this world as a man who's not afraid to take his best interests to heart. Shall we have a little fun? to commemorate our first meeting. Kralath makes a gesture with his hand to get on with it. She laughs and twirls a finger in the air and with a puff of violet smoke. A winged creature appears before you, writhing in smoky bonds, spitting mad.

It's Aglap, the imp. The creature Jack summoned weeks and months ago who introduced itself to you as Shaxil. Now, here's a wretched thing. The very imp who manipulated you into stealing from your companions. Do you remember Red's reaction when he found out you chose to let Ashtad die? And who do you think is responsible for that suffering? You made me do terrible things. You, this creature, you, how did you get it here?

It's evaded us for months. I'm a goddess, Krayloth, I'm trying to help you. What justice would you meet out, Kralov? Now that you are a man whose will be done without consulting the exhausting whims of a god who hates you. You should kill this creature. It is no good. It'll trick you into terrible things, mistress.

You should be done with it. End it. Put it out of it. misery, rid the world of something so terrible. Oh, yes, I should. Or, I should allow you to decide. Decide. Decide what?

Will you have me free this creature, or will you kill it? You can't free the creature. It'll wreak havoc on Fyroon again. It'll take unsuspecting travelers like myself. and maybe misguided wizards like Jack and get them to do terrible things. We can't let it escape. Not just that, darling, but what it has done to you?

It made me hurt my friends. I... I do, more than anything, want to, exact my vengeance upon this creature. sure, but I can't help but feel that there's something here that I'm missing, some, something that I'll regret. And Kralov walks towards the imp, and he gets within a foot of it, and he looks at it closely. What's it doing? Struggling against these shadowy

bonds, its wings are flexing painfully against its magical shackles. This creature not only took from me and not only made me take from my friends, but it damaged

the trust that I have and that our party has with each other, and it's been a long road to get that back. In my heart, I know that this, this isn't my call to make. And Kraloth's left and begins to shake again as he remembers the times that he had stolen from his friends, the feeling of guilt that racked him. One of those feelings that, that had been deep down within him that he hadn't been able to feel. But now, in this space he can. And,

And not only the guilt, but the pain. The pain he saw in Red's eyes when he chose not to revive Asta. And the confusion and bewilderment, and Doran and Jack. I can't help but feel like the decision is not up to me, mistress. The balance must be maintained. Me, exacting judgment on this creature, is not in line with what everything I know would have in store for him. That's not up to me. I must maintain the natural order and balance of life, even if that's what I know is from, and his arm is shaking wine.

wildly now, and his fist is clenching and unclenching, and he reaches over with his right hand to stay it. You find the mace is actually clasped in your hands now. It wasn't there before, and here it is. And in a moment of peace, he looks down at this mace in his left hand, and it looks different in this new ethereal atmosphere. there is a golden light tinged with dark purple and a surge of warmth and fire fills his belly rising into his throat and into his face and into his eyes as he raises them to look at Aglap and he says fuck the balance and with a strong smash of his mace he pulverizes the imp into ethereal nothingness. The goddess erupts into applause.

Beautiful, Kralath, beautiful. Better than I could have even hoped for you. Oh, I'm so proud. Kralov wipes blood from his face. She moves towards you and kneels. Now you're of a height, and she takes you in her arms, and she hugs you. And then she stands back up. And how did that feel?

Liberated. Of course it did. And more than that, you can feel now. Huh. She bends and she wipes the gore from your face. It felt like I was doing that for myself, not for anyone else. You were. And she's getting a little bit emotional now.

She wipes the tears from her eyes. Why do you weep? I'm proud of it. you, Krayloth. It takes a great will to cast off centuries of oppression, to see your way through, to your own desires, and take what you need from this life. And I see a great future for you. And more than that, I know your body betrays you. You deserve a vitality denied to you by your circumstance. She lovingly bends and takes your forearm and flips it up, palm up.

And then she draws a single pointed nail across your skin, opening a seam in your flesh. Searing pain and blood, and she grips your wrist in her vice-like hand. And then, in just a moment, your flesh knits her. back together. Her lashes flutter and she's holding your gaze looking into your face, her pupils liquid,

a smile on her lips. And why shouldn't you enjoy all that this new body offers you? You deserve it. A gift. One of many. A gift of life for the undead. Mistress.

I don't know. know if I should thank you or curse you, but I suppose I'll thank you for now. The important thing is that it's your choice. So what now? I do feel again, but I am also an abomination in the eyes of, if not you, and maybe one day myself, in the eyes of the rest of Fyroon. who cares she sort of flicks a long strand of hair over her shoulder if they've got a problem with you sweetheart they've got a problem with me now let's get you cleaned up she touches your shoulder and the remainder of the imp's gore washes away you are a powerful being mistress for better or for worse i do thank you for what you've given me today

i want you to forget the past that you cannot change and recognize that the grief inside of you that you feel is just a different kind of love to worship me be true to yourself and do not subject yourself to another false figure like Kellenbore. Trust in your own wants and desires. They will take you far. Well, if that is all, I think I'll start this new journey with some ale and a good meal. Maybe a little fun for myself.

I highly recommend it. Take care. Rayl. Good night, Krayloth, my sweet man. She spins on her heel and ascends the staircase, and as she does, the illusion of this ethereal mist and the obsidian wall falls away, and you find yourself once more in your ruined-in chamber.

And Krayloff looks around He sees the smashed chair in the corner And the ripped bed sheets on the ground And the destroyed mirror In the center of the room on the floor The candles that you had lit for Kalimvor Are by now burned down Nearly to nothingness

He looks down at his mace And it's just a regular mace And then with almost like The spiritual equivalent of the snap of his fingers, he clicks something within his connection to the mace that lies in his left hand. And this glow of gold and indigo light pulses up from the base of the mace. And for the first time, since he arrived in Fayrune, he lets out a laugh that comes from a place deep within him

that feels connected to something more intrinsic to who he is as he looks out into the night sky smiles a genuine smile

and fades through the wall thank you once again to our wonderful Patreon supporters Christopher Ryan Evans Merlin Mitchell Cadwell Alex Reed Michael and Brianna

Weber Colin Burkart Daniel Doug Grey Jackie and Rain Jessica Orrett Jonah Goldman Melanyshean

Lars and Marri Kanniski See you soon Thank you.