Dice Shame - 148 | 'Be Home and Dry'

Episode Date: August 11, 2022

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.

Take a rest of her by those trees. But I don't know what they want. Yeah, that's what I want to know. I mean, I don't know, actually. I will slap your fucking hand. Standing, very tall. Very nice surprise. We only have six seconds.

I love you guys so much. Yeah, you better make your decision quick. He's in a cold sweat. Down in the basement, eh? He'll sleep in the basement. Everland gets a real half-ass job. That was gonna be my question. Carol, show you.

Don't pour your coffee on your notes, Jack? Jack tends to get up with the sunset to go and watch it and do some lethandery stuff and have a quiet... have a quiet sunsets? Whoa, the sun's set. He never even went to bed last night. Oh, oh, oh. He's an elf.

What do you want? MVP this week is David Sokol for their kind and thoughtful Facebook post. Thank you for sharing such kind words about the show, David. Thank you, David. Enjoy getting a little spooky? Most Friday nights on our sister YouTube show The Invictus Stream, you can catch GM Joe and Player Harlan as we dive into some of your favorite spooky games. The vibe is relaxed and the spooks are real. So join our Discord or follow us at the Invictus Stream on YouTube to catch the next live stream.

It's going to be a scary time. Ooh! All right, shall we do this? Yeah, let's do it. The way into the temple of Anam lies shut. The eye of the Allfather is blinded. Our party stands blinking in the snow surrounded by the rubble that was once the entranceway. The carved support pillars lie broken and beheaded.

The fate of Harshnag and the ancient dragon is unclean. And you push your way through the snow into the forest. fleeing the temple. Ah. I think we make our way to the woods, to a clearing, an area that we can get far enough away from what just happened. We need to find somewhere safe to think for a minute. There's a lot to sort out where we go next.

I've got a long walk to get anywhere, period. I wish I had an airship right now. Look, let's just take a rest of it by those trees. Okay. It's far enough away. And Red heads over and sort of sinks into the snow, looking back with teary eyes at the rubble of the temple. Yeah, and it's a kind of a unique copse of trees

that is kind of in the middle of a clearing and the trees kind of gnarle over one another, creating like a nice little area to sit, but also I imagine them being quite strange as well. Sure. There's almost a compulsive, like for a lack of something to do, Jack starts walking the circle and performing the ritual to make like a, you know, the tiny hut for us.

to like be inside and safe for a minute as, you know, he looks in on his friends collecting themselves. I mean, it is coming up on nighttime. So it would make sense that out of maybe nothing else but habit, you're just, it's time to go to bed soon. So. Yeah, but those automatic resources take over and you can think about it later. Yeah, exactly. Are you okay, Doren? Red says and puts a hand on Doren's back. Well, he was, he was certainly a strong giant, and, you know, I'm okay. Yeah, it is what it is, Red. It is what it is. How is that dragon doing there?

Yeah, that's what I want to know. That's the part that really scares me the most is where the hell did that dragon come from? I'll tell you, it gives me chills just thinking about it. Do you remember anything about it? Any details that could give us a clue as to where it came from? Well, it was blue and meddling in giant affairs, and the Oracle had told us about a blue dragon meddling in giant affairs. It was the doom of the desert.

That's right, redhards. Let's just keep going. Yeah. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So you hike until dusk, and then, after settling down, and Jack makes the customary Liaman's tiny hut. Mm-hmm. The four of you plus Kieran's settle.

in for the night and nurse your own thoughts. And when you wake up in the morning, you are brand new, shiny, level nine adventurers. That's right. Yeah. I see why you put us to bed so quickly. It's that like go to bed on Christmas Eve. Just go to bed. You'll like tomorrow so much more if you're awake.

That's right. The spirit of harsh nag. instilled something with me. Congratulations, you guys. Thanks. I was really hard. I worked really hard. Just got to give you 110% every day.

We did work really hard for that level. This was a rough level of the hours of content. Yeah. Oh, we're fine. Yes. We're fine. That was like a night's sleep. I mean, if people binge it, then nothing's really past.

I must feel good now to be level nine. So tell me a little bit about the most exciting part of level nine characters. Let's start maybe with Jack. The wizard gains precious little in some ways at level nine. Obviously, the proficiency bonus and access to fifth level spells. So that's pretty huge. For Jack, that means we'd written teleportation circle into his spellbook a while ago from the Harper's. And he gets to pick two new spells to develop.

And I think he has learned how to conjure elementals and create a wall of force. Very, very exciting. That's cool. How forceful is the wall? I mean... What are you doing? Get, don't, don't fuck you. It's essentially a timeout.

Do it. Is it a timeout? It's not like, it's not like forceful in terms of like, eat that second cupcake. Do it. You should do it. No, it's more like go to your room and think about what you've done. Oh, it's more punish.

It's more parental. Yeah, I think, certainly I think that's Jack's take on it. It's inspired by his daddy issues. He's got a very much this paternal, like... Whoa, Jack has daddy issues? It turns out. I don't know how many episodes we're in, but... I'm just picturing us having a lot of conversations in the future

about how well Jack remembers a place that he's been to before. Looking forward to it, maybe let's move on to Red. Red, tell me about your favorite parts of your new Level 9 character. Well, Red-handed Robin, Level 9, Ranger. I mean, it's even less interesting than a wizard. My proficiency bonus went up as it all did for everybody. and that's about it I get a new spell

I get a finally I get a level three spell but I only get one and I had to get rid of some of my other ones so it's I lost the ability to do my little

the thing I killed all the wasps with a hill of thorns I had to lose but I gained water walk which will basically allow up to 10 people the ability to walk on any liquid

including lava or mud or water for an hour. So I had the choice between that and water breathing, but I figured as a wizard, Jack would eventually be able to do water breathing if you wanted. But Waterwalk, to my recollection or to my study, I should say, was not a wizard's spell. So I figured I would take that to be unique. It's a cleric spell.

It is a cleric spell as well, yes. But I figured you and me are a little bit more. Oh, that's weird. It's a sorcerer spell, but not a wizard spell. Fascinating. Well, I think it really works for Red as, like, the terrain navigation person. Yes. Well, I was thinking water breathing would have been more useful, but again, I think red, yeah, I think it makes more sense to be like.

Very fun. Jesus. I also love how you have to forcibly forget something in order to learn that new spell for yourself. Yeah, I love that. I mean, it's hit yourself in the face with a rock. I just think it's very red. If he really tried, he could probably remember both, but it's just. like in one ear out the other. It's, oh, new shiny.

I can't do hail of thorns. Are you kidding? But what a walk? I never did that. I've always been. Looking forward to the ways you will foil all of my plans. I mean, it's definitely a foiler. It is. Kralath, what do we have to look forward to for Krayloff? Yeah, okay. So similarly to Jack, as a cleric, Krayloth gets access to his fifth level spells. And a couple of note, there's a bunch of notes. of them that I looked up and I've honestly already forgotten what they do, but some of them

speak for themselves. First of all, I get raised dead, which is like, if you die, I can bring you back to life, but I think it's got to be within a minute. No way. Or something like that. No, 10 days. Or maybe not. Ten days. Yeah. We got 10 days to bring you back down. Don't even worry about it. Just, you know, don't yourself die. Ten days? You still need a body for that, though, right? So if I like immolate you or throw you off a cliff or something oh yeah i guess so i think i need the body but if we go digging through the rubble of the oracle maybe we can bring harsh nag back very exciting cool stuff and the other spell that i'm really excited about actually is greater restoration which i now have access to which means that we will be able to stone elf yeah stone elf

side quest yeah yeah or any other stone people stone people at all. Very cool. And Doran, last but not. Oh, yeah. So Doran, other than just, you know, I'm going to speak out of turn. Does everybody change? Like, does everybody get?

You're not out of turn, Alex. It is your turn. Well, I guess. Doren doesn't get it then. I do. He's electing not to take it. No, I increase on my proficiency. Bonus.

And then I take what's called indomitable. What? Is that? That's an indomitable snowman. Indomitable just means I can re-roll a saving throw that I fail. Very cool. So I will know I fail, and I can say I fail, but I'm re-rolling using indomitable. And if I do so, I must use the new roll.

And I have to have a long rest before I can use it again. So you get to roll bad. Use lucky a couple of times to roll bad some more times, and then be like, all right, I failed three of those. I'm actually indomitable. I'm trying one more time. Yeah. Doren is nothing, if not somebody who fails often and continues moving forward. Obstinate, stubborn? I love it. He fails uphill, absolutely. That's great. Good stuff. Oh, shit. Fuck. Oh, I got this. I got this one. Yeah, exactly. Shit. Very Doran.

So morning dawns, the tiny hut has been covered in snow overnight, and you are innervated with new powers and abilities. What do you do now? Oh, morning, guys, I'm just walking on this pool of water. I feel refreshed. I feel stronger today. I don't think anything could stop you, Doran. Yeah. I think you're right, Jack.

You seem indomitable. Good morning, everyone. Oh, yeah. Good morning. All right. So, uh, look, it was. was a rough night last night. I kept tossing and turning in my sleep and, uh, that moment with the dragon just kept replaying in my head, you know, what could have been, what, what, what, what could have happened if we, uh, hadn't have done what we did, what, what happened to

harsh night, could have happened to us. Yeah, it didn't feel good, that's for sure. Yeah, certainly not easy. Uh, I think I'm, uh, probably going to be afraid of heights again pretty soon. Yeah. There's a reality check, as it were, in my mind this morning. As much as we've been pretty successful at taking on most challenges before us, that dragon was something else. Regis says as he sort of like flops back onto his bedroar,

almost awestruck at the size and power at what they just saw. Yeah. I mean, I don't know, actually. We got through it unscathed. All we had to do was give away a couple of our trinkets and it was pretty mollified. Well, I think it's because we were beneath notice, right? Like if, if, if that beast saw us as any threat to its schemes, I don't know that we would be here today. And that's, that's interesting.

Not only that, we don't know what similar creatures we might. I mean, who knows? We might be seeking that thing out next time we need to. Well, and this is where the politics of those dragons, I think it's really interesting because we've had Clouth give us an airship to fly around their territory and Plagilliam Atar point us in the direction. And here's, and here we've got Imrith, the doom of the desert, caught up in their own scheme, is not even considering us pawns on the board yet, which maybe that's good if we need to move against them, but I don't know what they want. I don't know what any of them want or how it relates to other than they're probably all have some stake in the giants being a mess. I don't know either.

But, and Red stands up, we do have our next goal in mind, or at least a few goals. And he picks up a scoop of stones from beneath the snow, and he sort of casually just tosses them down in the snow, sort of in an odd pattern at first as he's talking. there's the stone giants there's the cloud giants there's the fire giants and as he drops each stone

sort of in an odd placement he waits a beat after talking through each and then casts minor illusion on top of the clean snow and it's a map of Féruin and each stone he's dropped is sort of referential to a point that has been pointed out roughly

it's all over the map guys I don't know about you but I don't even know where to start. Well, I think that's part of it. And Jack stops himself from moving one of the stones that's two millimeters to the left. But otherwise, it's a pretty good map. He's, you know. I will slap your fucking hand.

I wouldn't dream of it. But I did, like, there is that impulse, and he thought better of it. But don't worry. Banishing Arrow. Sachs just see y'all in a minute. Gone. So part of the transportation. problem, but I might be able to help with.

I've been thinking about those teleportation circles, the Harper's were using, and I think I might have cracked the code how to get to some of them. Up, up, down, down, left, right, A.B. Exactly, yeah, the start select. And so as far as getting to some of those places where we know we've got an address that at least gets us in the vicinity,

it's a little bit less hiking. Well, hell, that's brilliant. Well done, Jack. It's not nothing. Right, well, and Red takes a moment and he looks at everybody. He looks at Kraloth, like still with maybe a bit of dried blood from two weeks ago, you know, from just behind his neck. And he looks at Doren, whose beard is frozen and matted and dry. And there's so much dirt on his face that you can't even see. Even the whites of his eyes are dark.

And even Jack, who's like beat up and he stares down at his own hands. His paws are just caked in mud and dirt and blood. And he takes a breather and says, You know, I really want to go home. Not Mazdica. But the closest I've had since coming here. What about you guys? Yeah, let's go visit Bian Oren and regroup for a minute.

Orrin? Trey Loth. Hey, I'm in for one. Whatever. I'm with you guys all the way. It would be nice to be back in a real kitchen again. Well, for all his flaws, my friend DeZan knows some pretty cool tricks, and there's that teleportation circle he created just outside the Hamperet House. We could be there, you know, end a day probably.

That quickly. It's magic. Huh. Take a hot bath. Mm. God, fucking get some nice warm warm. weather. Yeah.

I hate to tell you, it's still going to be cold there. No, I talk to the GM. She's going to make it a nice day. Hey, GM is Fiverer. Make it a nice sunny one when we arrive, aye? You put in a special request. So we go back, back to the Hamparet house. We put our quest that is going to settle this dispute between the giants and the dragons

on hold, and we give ourselves some serious R&O. No, no, not on hold. No, no, look, we deliberate. Look, the next move we make is perhaps the most important decision we make. We need to figure out who we take on first. Look, we were way out of our depths the first time we went to Grad Hogg. And I got to tell you, Hill Giants aren't that smart, but every other kind of giant just gets progressively smarter and harder

and who the hell knows what they're up to. we need to do some research. I think we need to figure out what we can figure out and come at this with a plan. Because if we come at it sideways, we'll be buried under a mountain, just like Harsh Nag. Exactly. Let's take some time to educate ourselves to get wise on the information. I want to chew over what Harshnag told us. It's been go, go, go since we left water deep the last time and headed north to Amphel. God. We've barely had a moment between the odd stop here and there in towns, I'd love to be back in my own bed and just take a day to figure out exactly what the hell's just happened to us. And if we want,

we can always be back on the road the day after. We don't have to stop any longer than we need to. Doran, Doran, don't you want to take a shit anywhere else but the woods? Are you talking to me? Because I'm fine shitting in the woods. Well, I mean, you'll still shit. in the woods everything is the woods but you don't have to shit against a tree listen red you can shit in the outhouse like I said I'm in for whatever

we do I love you guys you're like my brothers now and we shit together in the woods so wherever you go I'm going hey we shit together everywhere

you accept me and all my flaws and I accept you and all your flaws so need I say anymore Krayloth Would you like to do the old one Two inside for once? Oh, inspiration. Things start flying

out of Jack's spell component pouch as rare chocks and inks and some like gem dust and stuff start flying around in a circle around us and in a minute later there's this intricate design pattern in the snow where we've been camping

and in a minute after that the lines light up and a shimmering portal sort of appears around us. Cool. This is the first time that you've cast this spell, Jack. Yeah. Jack, why are you a wrecked? Oh. Oh, I see.

It's just going so well. I'm erect too. There's this shot of us all standing at like our backs to... Totally wrecked. Stand in very. Very tall, yep. Add attention, boys. Add attention.

Yeah, man. So this teleportation circle is inscribed in the snow. All right. Let's go home. And Jack goes through. Yeah, Jack followed immediately. And then Red snubs it out. Ha, sucker.

Finally, boys, let's have a good time. He bought it. He bought it, guys. Harshag, come out, come out, Harshag. Come out, Arsne, Imrith, Imrith. Dizon, Dizong, come back out. Come back out. Being on our almost here.

They're meeting us over by the big trees. That's so mean. We rented a castle for the weekend. How many fucking wizards do you think had that pulled on that? You know, too many actually. That's funny. Just kidding. No, Kieran trots faithfully through the teleportation circle directly after you, Jack.

And then the rest of your party, who loves you? My one friend. Red steps in, gives the middle finger to the far north and disappears. Fuck you. You're me first, Dorn. And I feel like at this point, this is the point where Dorn's kind of been like staring off into the distance thinking about things and only coming to the conclusion that like we're going through a portal. Because he's going up to this conversation, he was like, okay, we're high. I love you guys so much.

Wait, what the fuck are you talking about? Yeah, exactly. Wait a minute. Where are we? Where'd you go? And it was like shortly, I guess it was shortly after, you know, Jack went through the first time. Dorn's like, wait a minute, we're going, we're going through that again.

Yeah, yeah, we're going through another portal. Now this one might be more unstable than the ones that the Harper's made. More unstable? I don't know. Ouch. Can we go together? I don't know. I mean, he grabs some twigs and things.

Meanwhile, Red and Jack on the other side being like, what the fuck is with that? It's only open for one round. I hope they better, I mean, talking is a reaction and all, but come on. Wait, do we have six? We only have six seconds? Yeah, you better make your decision quick. Do you want to go first or should I? I think it's sputtering out.

Let's go. And Kralov grabs Doran and then jumps through just as this portal is starting to wink out. That's awesome. What movie I'm thinking of where they hold hands and they jump forward and they go. Merry Poppins. Stargay. Is it Mary Poppins? They jump to a portal and Mary Poppins?

They jump into the cart. Roll a box. Oh, okay. Ew. Wink. Do a double blink. Boink. Yeah.

And they jump right into my giant portable hole that I have opened on the other side. Got him. Jack in it out there. Jack and red tides. Right. That's awesome. God.

And then this is just quiet. What the fact do we do now? out, Jack. I'll take him out, I guess. Jack and read, staring at each other. Yeah, it's awkwardly looking at each other. What do you have a book or something?

Oh, you want to read? Absolutely. Jack jumps in. I'm asking if you have a book to keep yourself occupied. Oh, I've got a few, yeah. I just thought you were suggesting we had quiet time, but I was real excited about it. Yeah, yeah.

Anyway, I'll be here. I'll be back in an hour. All right. So you guys come to being? Is it like, do all your atoms come apart and you die and then like another version of us? I don't think so. We could cloned. Slightly shorter.

It's like the prestige. Yeah, Dorn doesn't have the scar from the devil on his face anymore. It's like just slightly different. Oh, an evil door. He doesn't have the beard. He's just got a goatee. He's just wearing all black. Oh, no.

He's got eyeshell. That would actually be cool if you had a character whose like hook was every time something happens to you, like every time someone casts cure on you or every time you go through a teleportation circle, you just change like a little bit. The shipathesius, how long till you're no longer the same character. Yes. Anyway, you're in Jundar's Pass in the desert in hills with the high forest just to the east of you and Belliard to the south.

you know that this road, if you follow itself, will take you to your own doorstep. It's exciting, a thrill of being close to comfort, maybe, and you make the travel south hastily, arriving at the hambrot house just as dinner is being served. Smoke curls from several chimneys and reeds the top of the villa, on whose roof snow clings like icing to a gingerbread house. on the lawns outside there's evidence of children's play a dugout snow fort underneath some scrubby bushes a hill that's marked with trails from a sled

and you smell chicken roasting somewhere inside I smell food better check that out could be dangerous uh yeah I'll go yeah forking nice guys guys we're home look and red takes a second and just breathes it all in it's like the closest thing he's ever had to a home.

Like even before arriving here, you know, in Mazdica, he's never had this. And he like oddly stops as the three of them keep going. And he's like, just, just bathe it in, boys. You head back inside and you hear familiar voices coming from the dining room. You hear the high-pitched voice of B. and you hear Oren laughing at something that she said and then there's just a chorus of children's voices and as you enter into the hall

and you kick the snow off of your boots and shake your cloaks out someone comes around the corner and you don't recognize them it's strange there are people in here a lot of people that you don't know hello my name's Redd this is my best friend Jack

and my best friend Kralath and my best friend Doran Well, your daddies. That's a strange way of putting it, but I suppose. Isn't that what the orphanage means? Isn't that what we're supposed? I don't. Ridge is like totally blank. Isn't that the thing?

Yeah, and this like, you know, 12-year-old is standing in the front hall and just eyes kind of wide. Bee, Bea, there's some people here? You can call me Papa Redsies. You hear the scrape of a chair. getting pushed backwards and then all of a sudden she's there with you in the hall be your daughter

Red runs over and hugs her tightly oh I've missed you so much look at you you look two months older welcome home oh you're skinny well it's been very chilly and not much food and oh my god it smells good in here you remember well of course you remember everybody

She runs her hand over your quiver. What's this? That's a long story. Jack Doran, Kralath, it's B. Be it wonderful to see you. Hello, B. We're hoping we could take some time to stop by for a little bit. Welcome.

I'm so happy you could all make it. Oh, man. What a trip. Great to see you. Great to see you. Oren's going to be so excited to hear everything that you've done. He's been penning these. incredible stories.

What am I saying? Come in. It's dinner time. Please. And she leads you forward into the... Oh, hold on, B. It's an important... I need to.

Well, I don't know how to put this, but I want you to meet your little brother. And Red turns around and takes, like, a shale from, like, this sling that's been around his back. B's eyes just... go crazy wide, and she drops her hands to both sizes. She looks at the bundle in your arms. She's like, I know, I know.

Who would have thought? I thought. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. It's Shale. He'll sleep in the basement, and he's great at making tunnels. And Red just pushes past her.

She, like, follows you, like, in your wake, trying to get a peek at the creature in the bundle. whatever it could be. It's just like a pile of blankets. And then when Shale locks eyes and they start spinning, I'm like, no, no, no, no, slap his little hand, his little claw. No, no, no, this is your sister Shale. In the dining room, it's a scene of chaos. There are children of all ages, 12 of them sitting at the table here. You recognize immediately Thalas Zoras, who was the servant boy to the Duchess before you liberated him, as well as the twins, Elizabeth and Anthony from Grudhog and some unfamiliar faces.

It's friendly chaos, but chaos nonetheless, and it seems like Oren and B definitely have their hands full here taking care of everybody altogether. Orrin is sitting at a place of honor, the head of the table. his plate piled high with dinner and he stands up when you enter Oh Master Kralov Master Doran, Jack and Red

This is quite a surprise, how are you? I didn't get a letter or nothing Sorry, it was a bit of a... No, it was a little surprise we were able to get you. The last minute decision. Yeah, yeah. We'll tell you all about it. And let me tell you

a very nice surprise, Doran says as he's like making his way to the to the food, you know, he's like, he's like kind of already digging. Elbowing orphans out of the way. Yeah, he's, he's reached over the orphans. He's like already got a tankard of ale somehow. Orphans love ale. I was, I was imagining the cabinet where there was that poisoned wine before just to be like, is there any more left? Maybe there won't be any of that's And he's grabbed a chicken leg or a piece of meat. And he's, and he's, you know, half looking at Oren as he's more focused on the food. But I'll tell you, What a great timing this is.

Oh, we had to go through a portal, and it just really upsets my stomach. So I'm really glad that, you know, we made it here, and it's so great to see you all. Look at all the little kids. You guys have really made a real impact here. Now I'm just, sit down and finish it. And Kralov doesn't seem too keen on the kids, really. They're kind of running around, and Kralov goes over, and he gives an half hug, and reaches over and grabs a little paste.

and begins chewing on it and says, so, uh, Oren, the past couple months, you guys been able to fix this place up pretty good, eh? Oh, well, Master Kralov, we've been busy for sure.

I mean, B and I have been educating the children we've got a school down in the basement. We've done some renovating. Oh, amazing. Down in the basement, eh? Yes, well, I mean,

you did your best, just removing the evil bits when you were here last. as far as I understand, but there was some more work to be done. And, well, yes, kids need teaching. Very nice. Very nice. A school. Are you teaching the music? Ah, of course I am.

Are you teaching the blocksmithing? Well, no. Not many of them, no. Well, I could probably think of a pretty good teacher. Are you teaching the manners? I say it and slap the bread out of Doran's hand. No, come. I asked politely. Kieran runs across to grab the bread on the floor and...

Aw. We're obviously a bit worse for where. We've been having camp manners for the past little while. So, understandably, we're a bit. And again, Red looks down on his blood, crusted hands. Ah, dirty. Of course. Maybe I'll go wash up.

Is my room still available? Red starts heading up the stairs. Yeah, absolutely. They left all of your own particular corners of the house available. It's a big place. It's a mansion, yeah. This is a villa. Dorn kind of gets up from the table and he's like, yeah, that's, maybe that's fair.

He's heading towards the kitchen to wash his hand. He's looking at all the kids running around him. He's already eaten. You know, human kids are freaking big, man. This is weird in some ways, you know? And he's like looking up at the kids. Yeah, yeah. You're what?

How tall would you be? You're the same size as like a... Four foot size. Seven-year-old, probably. You're the same size. So I'm like eye-to-eye. It's a pretty tall seven-year-old. With a lot of these kids then.

Cool. So you guys grab a bite and then you make your way to your own private areas. I don't know. How do you guys spend the rest of the evening? Red is by the fireplace as it crackles away. The kids sort of chittering around him and laughing. He's like, hold on, hold on, hold on. And Shale like turns around and spins.

on his hinds and does like a little move that reddish out him and all the kids like laugh he's like see see he's one of us be i tell you when he like looks up and like b and orrin are sitting off in a couch her like legs tucked up under her and they're just kind of watching red is at home in the children like the youngest at heart of all of them and uh excitedly trying to make himself feel surrounded by his family as much as humanly possible i remember golden field when Red was playing tag with the kids during the celebration. Yeah. Maybe there's a moment too where Red's like, well, you know, I mean,

I guess it's almost time for bed unless we're, you're right? And he like touches the kid and like runs off laughing towards the underhalls. Yeah, I picture Kieran is playing tag with Red and the kids while Jack is walking through.

I remember there's a library somewhere on the main floor and sort of going through sort of filing away the books he's had with him on adventure that he thinks, Well, this one can stay here. I probably don't need it and finding, you know, a few others to take with him

for some light reading on the campaign trail just trying to sort through like maybes or must-havs or something. Just some really like, you know, that Zen picking new books task. Love it. Doran rolls up another cigarette of his and, you know, sits sort of by the fire where Red is and there's kids running around.

And he kind of pulls up a chair, not beside Red, but a little bit of ways and maybe on the other end of the fire. fireplace and he says now if any of you want to hear some tales of adventure and battle please feel free to circle around me and i'll regale you about some of the deepest darkest magic from the deepest depths gather around kids gather around i think jack even comes to sit and listen and as the kids all gather around kraloff is is leaning in the doorway kind of a half smirk on his face as he's just watching and taking it all in the kids running around with

Red and Shale and Bia Noren curled up on the couch and Doran and Jack reading to the kids. And he slips back into the shadows of the house and makes his way towards the stairs leading down into the basement. And he pulls out his shield and his mace, both of which came from this place. And Kralov walks down at the basement. The light of the winter morning filters in through the curtains of your rooms and you wake up in a soft bed. It's kind of nice, right? You're used to sleeping on the road, sleeping rough quite a bit, sleeping maybe in a stone bed in a giant temple. Although we're not going to talk about that because that's a sad place.

But I'm talking about the giant temple. But here you are in relative comfort, relative quiet. relative safety. Yeah, definitely the quiet of the house compared to the inns, too, that we've stayed at. You know, where there's adventurers downstairs, being all boisterous. Who's up first in the morning, or do you all tend to lie in? Jack tends to get up with the sunset to go and watch it and do some lethandery stuff and have a quiet moment. Oh, the sunset.

He never even went to bed last night. He's an elf. What do you want? Jack tends to make sure he's up. during sunrise to, you know, go see the sun come up whenever he can and, you know, do some of that letharthandered self-reflection and that kind of stuff. Have a cup of coffee, you know, pour over some notes.

Yeah, I think... Don't pull your coffee on your notes, Jack? That's a terrible way to read them. Pour over my notes. Are you up with him, Red or no? No, I think Red wakes up in, like, the pile of blankets. He's pulled off the bed and made into the corner, like a little nest. He can't go straight back to soft bed.

He's got to sort of do a middle ground. Red's room is by far the most like his personality because it's an amalgamation of like other objects sort of on their side. It sort of looks like there's leaves on the floor at times. Red does roll over into a little sunbeam and wakes up, yawning at the sun before joining Jack downstairs. I picture you yawning like a cat or a dog would yawn. Oh, totally. Yeah.

especially in those unself-conscious moments where you know there's no one around that's going to make a fucking crack about me and you full out see my cat butthole yeah and you're like stretch and your little claws come out that's cute kraloft stomps down the stairs yawning himself and uh kind of nods at people as he walks by them and a couple kids run by him and he's like oh oh and he goes straight to the kitchen nods at red where he put some water in a kettle, starts to boil it, and starts making a pourover, like a pourover coffee. He gets a single mug out. There's like, there's a whole bunch of mugs there that are

ready to be like grabbed and like made into coffee and he could like even make like a French press. He goes for a single pour over and he starts making one just for himself. Yeah. While humming a tune. And I think when Jack gets up before, before dawn, Jack, you hear like, I think you hear like a strange thud and you're not really sure what the hell that was, right? A house with kids in it, you know, it could be anything. Yeah, right. But in the wee hours of the morning, Doran is waking from this, you know, crazy nightmare. And, and he sits up straight in bed and throws his acts across the room chunks right into the wall and he's in a cold sweat uh oh did you have a bad dream yeah yeah and and then you know he he's looking around picturing jack walking by and then

splinters from the wall just just dust off the wall yeah yeah and and doran's in a cold sweat doran are you all right in there uh yeah yeah i'm okay i'm okay uh it's it's jack i'm gonna i'm gonna come in if you don't mind. He's thinking to himself, right, it's Jack, of course. You want to come in? No, I'm not dressed. What are you doing up? It's late.

I'm going back to sleep. I'm going back to sleep. And, you know, Doren lies back down and still kind of reacquanting himself, reminding himself where the hell he is, you know? I guess what was kind of the last thing on his mind was the mountain coming down on Harsh Nag. And I think Doren kind of brushed it off like it didn't affect him much, but I think deep down, you know, seeing the dragon, it shook him, you know, to his kind of core.

And now he's kind of like thinking, fuck, I got to go back and see my home. And are there going to be dragons there or, you know, so he falls back asleep and eventually wakes up and, you know, kind of moses his way downstairs and joins Krayloth. Good role playing, Alex. Yeah, really good role playing. I want to give you inspiration for that. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Thank you very much. Well done. Morning, B. Oh, morning, Dad.

Have you been? I fell asleep yesterday. I saw you watching us in the living room thing, and then I remember wanting to go to bed, and now it's morning. Well, everyone sort of went off to bed pretty early last night, but I imagine it was quite traveled to get here. Yeah, in many ways. So, what are you up to this morning? Well, I'm just, I'm actually getting ready to go out. Go where?

Well, I typically, mornings when I don't have much going on, I will swing by Bellyard and see if there's anything posted at the watchful night. Posted? What's Be wearing? B is in adventuring clothes. Oh. She's got her hand wraps on. She has a quiver by the door.

You can see that her tunic has been well mended since you saw her last. Clearly, she's been in a scrap or two. Actually, you notice now that it's daylight. She has a silver scar underneath her fur on her jaw that looks like it's still pink from healing. Oh, well, you've been keeping up with your adventuring, I guess. I've been trying. I mean, everything was so exciting when we were together. Grud hog and all of that.

I mean, I know that you were trying to protect me as much as possible. So I didn't see a lot of what you got into, but she looks out the window at the snow starting to come down. Let me come with you. Let me get my things. One second. And Red, like, runs upstairs past Doran. There's like three kids on the stairs.

They're in their jammies. And they're, like, playing with a wooden chariot. Excuse me, excuse me. He like hops over them and he runs into his room. and throws on his gear to meet B back outside. Oh, good morning, Red. Morning, morning. I'm going with B to Belliard. Oh, sounds good.

We'll be back in a little bit. All right. Be safe. She's already got True Stephen saddled. True Stephen. I've missed you, my friend. Red walks over and does his primeval awareness and does a little head bump to him. Yeah, true Stephen wickers at you recognizing your smell immediately.

You can tell that the horse is. is happy to see you and B. Pat's his flank. He's been a good horse, Dad. I've been riding him to, you know, exercise and also, well, just the things that they post at the inn are not glamorous. I'm sure you know, small-time adventuring stuff, goblins, cobalds, but I can handle it mostly by myself. A good horse deserves to be rode.

Let me head with you to Beliard. I want to hear more about what you've been up to. So Doran's coming down the stairs as Red runs up past him, and then he makes it to the bottom of the stairs as Rudd runs down past him back out. Spinning you one way and then spinning you the other way? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then he enters the kitchen and heads for the coffee as well. You've got to make it yourself around here.

And picks up the French press. And he picks up another thing, and he looks over at Krayloth, and he says, Uh, is there, uh, there's no coffee made? Where'd you get your coffee from? I made it. We just. And now Doren's looking around kind of, kind of confused. It's real good.

You made one? Uh, yeah, it was a pour over. Oh. Here I'll show you. No, no. You just get this little cone thing. You stick it on top of your cup. You put the.

filter in, then you pour the coffee in. Here, do it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. You can do it, Dorn. Starts making a French press, you know, he's like, he's making coffee for everybody. And Kralov kind of nods. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. And then as the water is

boiling on the stove, you know, Doren stands and pulls out his tobacco pouch and rolls a cigarette and leans down under the stove and lights it. He flicks out a piece of fire on his beard. Oh, oh. Just a little bit of burnt hair, smell in the air. Oren wanders in around now, bleary-eyed.

You know him to never have been one for mornings. And his hair is all stuck up on one side. Morning, Master Doran. Good morning, little Orrin. Master Kralov. Morning. How are you? Oh, I slept.

I slept well. Thank you. Yeah, it looked like you did. Yes, I did. How did you sleep, Kralath? Oh, like the dead. I've been waiting for you to use that. I'm going to ask you that.

Yeah, that is good. That is good. That's not mine, though. Too soon. Are you planning on staying here for long? No. No, I don't think so. Unfortunately not, you know, duty calls type of thing.

We got this big quest. We got to go to something like desert or maybe a jungle or something like that. I don't remember what the other places were. Well, yeah, there's a couple places of it. Doran grumbles a little bit to himself. Jack calls from the other room. I'm setting him up on a map. Don't worry.

Orrin does it look a little stretch. Yes, I don't know. We won't be in your hair for too long. Thank you for putting us up. We do appreciate it. You've been looking after this place well. You can stay for as long as you like. I do have a small favor to ask of you if that's not too much.

Oh, yeah, good, because I got one too, but you go ahead. No, no, no, you first. No, no, no, you brought it up first. Mine's not so significant. Oh, my God, Doran, shut up. Orin, what's up? Well, there's a, an old tree, an oak stump in the back. I've been meaning to try to dig it out. too big for me.

Hmm. If you wouldn't mind giving me a hand after you have your breakfast. Yeah. Speaking of which, that was going to be

my question. You're going to ask about the tree? The tree stump, well, who makes, and Doran's now kind of like shifty eyes over at Kralath,

but not really looking at Krilyla? He's like, oh, well, who, uh, who makes breakfast around here? Because, uh, well,

you're welcome to find whatever you like in the pantry. Oh, take care of the children myself. And then Mish will be by along shortly to start the lessons. So he'll fix lunch, typically. And we all pitched together for dinner.

Dorn's like already off into the pantry. You know, he's like, oh, help myself. Yes, please. You haven't finished your sentence. And Doren's like, already off. Bites of raw eggs. Got an eggs in here. You got eggs in here.

A bite of an egg. Raw egg. Love of a shell. Eggs in beer, Doren's favorite. Yeah, I think Doran kind of throws together some non-perishables and downs it in his gullet with the coffee and then takes the remaining coffee and goes into the next room. I guess this is like the study. This is like the great room or something. I think Kuala follows you in there.

Good morning, Jack. What have we got here? Yeah, I think Jack's commandeered a table in the study and he's got actual physical paper on it. and he's, you know, found the brand new art supplies that we bought in the last place. And he's sketching up a map and trying to put all the different locations. We know down on it. He's, you know, spent a little bit of quiet time on Gendar's Pass and a really artful, although not expert, like, depiction of the Hamperat House.

And, you know, can't forget Waterdeep. You know, Everland gets a real half-ass job. Oh, yeah. Not his best work. It's like a pile of shit. There's like flies spinning around. But if you don't put Everland, then you can't put the Evermore's on. And that's one of the four locations that, you know, that's important to us.

So he's duty bound to, like, put it on the map. But, you know, it's Everland. He's rolling his eyes, too. Well, you can tell the eye roll just through the penstrokes. Yeah. And Doran's kind of got his own notebook, and he's kind of looking at his notes and looking at your map and looking at this. and kind of doing his own little work in his own book. Jack, as your friends come into the study

and begin to add their own comments, maybe interfere with your thought processes, Kieran is curled up by the fire. And as you begin to explain your illusion, what it is everyone's looking at in the map and, you know, Kieran sits up, bolt up right, and they cocked their head to the side. What's up? Brimstone.

Smells like, smells like imps, boss. Shit. In this room or in somewhere else? Make a perception check for Kieran. I'd love to. Yeah, let's, I've got to find his stats. I can't remember. Can we hear Kieran?

No, we can. We can't hear this conversation. And Krayloff leans over to Doren and says, Jack zoned out again. It just does this from time to time. Yeah. What do you think about that stump? Yeah. Yeah, that's probably the most important thing to take care of right now.

And Kralov turns around and leaves. Yeah. I think Doreen follows him. Hold on. Hold on. What? What? Uh-huh.

Oh, you look like you're zoning out there. We weren't really. Figuring out the next piece of the map. 21 perception for Kieran. Ooh. Kieran smells imps. Just give us a second, guys. Imps.

Imps. Like Aglap? That other one. Where are they? Kieran makes like a pointer almost. Yeah. And indicates with their nose toward the dining room.

Yeah. I think Jack starts moving towards the dining room and sort of signals to Doren go around the other side. Yeah. And I don't know if Dorn has his axe with him. It's stuck in a wall somewhere. Oh, it's still in the wall.

Well, he's sort of in the house. I don't know. He's not going to carry it around the house. It would be weird. Yeah. You can tackle an imp. You've got fists. You're good. Should I run up and get my axe?

No, he dashes up the stairs. I'll be right back. I'll be right back. Just, just wait. Don't go anywhere. Like a kid, eh? And he grabs here like, Ere, Each.

Krala, do you want to go around to the other door? Just, we can keep these things in one room. They can turn invisible. They can get behind us. We got to. Oh, they're not that hard. and Krayloff saunteres over to the other. They're poisonous and if they stab a child,

they're not going to make it through, so don't fucking take this flippantly. And Kralov nods at that and places down his cup and walks over to the other door. Okay, I'm back. I got my axe. Ork splitter's like, let's do it.

Fuck yeah. Yeah, yeah, we're going to get. Yeah, imps. Little imps, little bastards. They're probably trying to eat children. Hmm, uh, well lead the way, Jack. What do you do? Kralov arrives in the dining room and, like, waits by the side of the door and looks back to Jack and waits for his lead.

I think Doran steps in as well. Kieran with your shirt's in the room? Smells like it, boss. Jack's going to pull out his, his wand, and wave it twice quickly and put a hypnotic pattern in that room for just a split second to sort of try and stun anything in there for a minute and give us a a second to hopefully sniff them out. Jack and Kieran sort of step in and he motions for you guys to follow on the other door. Okay. At this grand dining table, there are four children sitting, eating breakfast, staring into space.

Just like stoned. Right? It's a harmless spell. This is why we picked it. Elizabeth and Anthony, who you recognize from Gred Hogg as well. Those two children you do not recognize are paused with their porridge spoons halfway to their mouths, just looking into the middle distance at whatever hallucinatory image that they have placed there in their brains. And you see no imp. Kieran's tail stops wagging and they look up at you in confusion.

It's gone. You've hypnotized the children, Jack. Is it going to hurt them? You did a great job, Jack. Really good job hypnotizing these, these imps. Do you not understand what one imp can do to an entire world? This is the place that our friend Red's daughter is calling home with her family. This is like the only place Red has ever sat down foot and you're going to let

imps into there to ruin it. I know what that feels like. We've got to get this fixed. So pay attention. Be on the lookout for something that could be invisible and turn into rats and bats. be tricky as fuck get on your toes guys yeah how long does this spell last they'll be fine in a minute nobody's hurt and for the moment they're not going to go poke something one minute one minute do you remember uh the amps when we were her last when we when we originally found this house

no forgot all about them they were all over the place yeah yeah i think i remember something True Stephen is walking the road to Bellyard, basically by memory at this point. The horse needs so little guiding. He is just contentedly plodding along. And there are these gentle snowflakes falling. And you have your daughter here, Red. Bees is atop the horse. Yeah, and I'm walking aside it, I think, sort of holding its bridle.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's a horse thing. Is it? Yeah. Sure. Is that what it's called? Yeah.

No one's saying I'm wrong, so I'll say. Alex is nodding authoritative. It is. Yeah, Red's just walking alongside holding its bridle. It's quite impressive what you and Oren have done here. You were a little bit of an item the last time we talked. Is that still something that's happening? Yeah, of course.

Who doesn't like Oren? Can I roll insight on that? Yeah. That is a 19 plus 6. Ooh. Nope, plus 7. Nice. That is a 26th.

Dang. You know a fib when you see one. Uh, look, B, you can be honest with me. I hope to be the same with you one day, but there's a lot. What's that supposed to mean? Well, you know, there's a lot that I've done and been up to that you just say you wouldn't be interested in, but... No, that's not true at all. Well, maybe there's a lot that I have done that I don't want you to be interested in.

I don't know how to take that. Look, all I mean to say is that you can tell me what's on your mind, what's really on your mind, if you want. I won't say anything. Give any opinions on it if you don't want me to. I can just be a bit of a sounding board. I know there's kind of only children and awe in there. And if you have any thoughts you want to share with me, it might be... Oh, now that you mention it, we have hired help.

So there is another adult in the house. Oh. You haven't met him yet. His name's Mish. Oh, that's nice. Hired help to take care of... To teach the children and care for them. It's a lot.

Oh, is that not something you want to do, then? Well, of course. I mean, well... Well, what? Dad, I want to see the country. I came here from Mastika to be taught by you. I followed you through cities and tracked you down. And sure, you taught me for a little while, but...

Don't get me wrong. It felt so good to fall in love with Oren while you're on the road together. He's a great guy, but I don't think I'm ready to settle down right now. I don't know what to say. I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud of you. It feels weird to be proud of you because I don't think I've done enough to deserve this feeling but i am and and you have developed into such a better person than i could

have ever imagined better than me by a long shot i i can't imagine how that must be weighing on you i know how it feels to need to move around to not to not to not want to lay down roots despite maybe knowing you love someone your mother obviously was River Of course

I just mean to say someone that I loved tremendously And then I I felt a great deal of guilt Leaving Leaving it all behind You know And I I

I guess I'm Well I guess I'm I'm I'm proud of you and then Red sort of trails off it's kind of a dark cloud sort of washing over him as if he's realizing something

and he sort of just stares off into the snowy woods for a second but you know be sure that it's what you want you know Orrin is a great person and if you do love him maybe maybe there's

you know space for you to still call this place home and he starts fiddling with something in his pocket in his coat pocket a small sort of thing just around his fingertips. I think the problem is, Dad, that I don't really know what I want. Apart from the fact that I miss the adventure from being on the road with you.

Yes. I don't know if I can say that I love being here at the villa. No, and that's fair. But, you know, you never know where. your wander last may take you and i you know you have to make sure that you um think these things through you have a cushy place here and uh and you don't want to go you know blowing that up just for a for a for a life of what is this this is nothing this is this is dirty feet and and and i saw back and uh you know people hurting people friends and enemies alike uh it's living i don't want to

retire to a cushy mansion and take care of 12 children, Dad. Why, why not? Why shouldn't you? That's a perfectly lovely place to settle down. Because I'm talented and I'm curious and I want to understand things. Yes, but, but what if you make a mistake? Of course I'll make mistakes.

No, no, but what if you make a mistake that you can't undo? Are you talking about your own shit? No. Yes. Yes, I am. And Reds just stops walking. B hops down off of True Stephen and confronts him in the road. B, I love that you have the same drive in you that I see in myself.

But it also terrifies me because I know the path I've walked and I wish, sometimes I really wish, that I had walked a different one. And I don't know whether to tell you to follow your dreams or to tell you to run as far away from them as possible because they brought me here. And I don't know how much I love where I am right now, at least how I got here. I just... And Red looks at her eyes for a second and breathes a sigh. You're not me. You're really not me.

You're so much better. You're more like her. I should tell you something. something that uh something that i'm ashamed of jack what are you doing right now i don't think jack and kieran are off the case of where the fuck is this imp and if we've lost the scent we're going to go back to where we heard it and detective hat on i i think doran and kreelot ever like call us when you find the dorn and kreelot didn't smell anything they didn't see anything they didn't hear anything there's a uh like uh all right jack call us if you find anything and then we go out and

deal with the uh yeah the stump dorin's not using his axe on on wood like this is not this is not a chopping axe so it's a big stump too this thing is like at least five feet across it must have been 200 years old before it came down and you can see that probably a couple of the older children Bian Oren have made a half-hearted attempt at cutting most of the limbs into firewood. They're stacked against the side of the house. It must have been quite a storm that blew this down. But it's a huge eyesore. I think at this point, we've gone to the stables.

We've got some horses and we've rigged up a big roping system. And, you know, we've got some kids that are digging out underneath the stump. and you and I have maybe axes. Well, I feel like Doran's doing a lot of this work, and Kralov standing there with his coffee, which is magically not emptying. He's just like... He's casting, create food and water on it.

He's just, yeah, yeah. He's like, you know who would make quick work of this? Jack. Mold Earth to literally have the Earth toss it out of the problem, but there's literally way more important things. I can't believe. The wizard with Moldearth would be pretty good of this. And that is such a brilliant idea, but Doran is so not even paying attention that, you know, I wish that he was because then we could just call Jack out and he could do his thing.

Yeah. But I love the idea that right now, Doran, you're confronted with this emotional, intellectual problem of the bad dream that you had and the realization about Harshnagg that instead of addressing that, you're like, oh, manual labor, got it. I can do this for a good point. Not only that, but the soldier too is coming at this, the unit officer of being in the infantry. I'm like directing the kids as if I was directing. All right. We're going to, we're going to pull on three.

You kids ready to go up there? And like not, not rude, right? And you kids are digging a, what do you think? Is it getting loose down there? How do you feel? This is a big stick, Doran. Yeah, it is. Get ready to pull those horses and move back, kids.

And Doran starts whacking away at this stump with the axe. Awesome. Kralov just is like following him around and just listening to him, direct orders, and just like casually following. And then at one point in a break as Doran is swinging his axe, he says, Doren, you ever hear the phrase, work smarter, not harder? Yeah, yeah.

No, I haven't. No, I haven't, Krala. Oh, that's a phrase that I used to hear a whole lot. And I'll listen to you right now. Work smarter, not harder. And Krayloff just like, has like a curious look on his face as he's watching. Can I do an insight role on, on Doren? Ooh.

Sure. Yeah. Is this contested, eh? I don't think Doren, you're not trying to be deceitful. No. 26. Ha, ha. There you go.

Doren's an open book right now. Doren is focusing on, you know, hacking away. getting this stump out of the ground because then he will be it will he will accomplish this and he can wipe his hands of it and it will he can say you know I have completed this task you know there's a few things going on in Doran's mind and and that's one of them is that this is an ongoing very arduous task and then of course the other things are going home right and Kralov sees this, and I think a question raises in his mind as to what Doren would do if he didn't have this task to distract himself. So really casually, he just kind of takes another sip of his coffee and then reaches out and casts blight on this stump, which just fills it with this life-rotting energy that just decimates plants.

and as it like fills this this root structure with it yeah um doran's axe just like just sinks right through it like butter and the horses go you know pull it out and like it all just kind of comes out of the ground yeah it's all just like rotted whoa whoa okay stop the horse yeah that's good that's good what the hell just happened there this is that was way too easy this is i cast a spell dorn i cast a spell took care of it what the hell's your problem we were we were doing it there we were having a good time

we we would have got it out you we didn't need your help god do you work smarter not harder right yeah yeah i see what you're saying yeah smart and not harder very good very good you want a sip of my coffee no i need something stronger and dorin sort of throws the axe down and he storms inside you know and crayloff follows and says i got cooking brand

yeah yeah that'll do all right i thought you guys were watching the kids i mean so jack is full on like the kids were outside with crayloth and dorin had to be as safe as they were going to be he had herein and him full on investigating every room trying to put together a hypothesis every egress for a you know rat bat spider raven whatever he's cataloging them all he's trying to like go back to first principles and say it was just the smell of brimstone okay how do we like work back where it could have come from or how it could have got there he's he he hasn't stopped looking around and poking his nose in every corner he he can to you know find an imp oh are you making a mess of things it's not it's not tidy but it's not like he's not purposely like he's not breaking anything but

there's definitely like things pulled forward or off the wall or you know stacked in a weird corner or something like things are out of place but they're not they're not like strewn about chaotically because you don't want to create more hiding places for this thing. Jack, it's during one of these furniture rearranging sessions, maybe in one of the smaller studies, that you pull a desk aside and a secret compartment pops out of the back of the desk and just a whole pile of paperwork falls out.

Oh, oh, I could see Jack's eye. right now. Even Rob's eyes going, ooh. Information. Yeah, I mean, he stops and scoops it off the ground and can't help but read the first page. Yeah, you've gone through. picturing Homer Simpson eating a donut, like, ooh, like a scroll. So tantalizing. You have gone through a lot of the paperwork in this place when initially you were cleaning it out. So you've seen folios like this before, different ledgers and receipts. But as you are going through this paperwork,

you come across some names that you recognize. With your keen mindfeet, you immediately recognize the names. Hasios, Ketra, Tayrol Favon and Eric Grid, Boulderhead. These were the three names that were in the folio, the assassins in Silverie had on them. They are listed as owners of different shipping companies

that operate out of Yarder, Waterdeep, and Balders Gate. Red and B, you're sitting on a tree stump by the side of the road, errand to Belliard kind of forgotten and when they came for Doran in the market I knew I couldn't keep it secret for much longer

so I told everyone and asked them not to say anything to you probably because I never intended to say anything which is another one of my flaws I thought it would be easier to keep it hidden and run away

but the truth is, I'm used to running away, and I'm starting to grow tired of it. Look, before you say anything, I don't expect any understanding or acceptance. I just want you to know, like Jack deserved to know, that I regret it, and I regretted doing it. And I wish I had made a different choice. but that choice did lead me to where I am now, so what that means, who knows?

But I'm sorry for what it's worth. How did they take it? I'm having a hard time. It was a mixed bag, you know? Uncle Jack seemed to be a little upset more than the others. Uncle Craylath, well, he's doing his own thing right now. More on that later.

And Uncle Doran, he's been having a bit of a self-realization crisis, I think. I don't really know where he's at either. You know, to be frank, the party's kind of fractured at the moment, Red Sir is kind of throwing his hands to the side. Kralov used to be my best friend, but ever since one stone, Kralath and I have, I don't know, I feel like I've lost him to an extent.

And Doren, you know, we have our laughs, but I feel like he would never come to me on a deeper level. And Jack, you know, he's the most like a brother because I feel like we're on opposite ends of most problems, But they didn't take it well, but they still care about me, I think. And I hope, at the very least, maybe you can still call me dad. Of course I can still call you dad. That's stupid.

Just because you did something that you regret and you hurt some people doesn't mean you're not my father. I wish you didn't. I wish you had chosen. a different way to make money or to make a name for yourself or whatever it was you were looking for. And I wish that you were safer than you are now. But I can't say that I don't love you. And as for your friends, well, I know that everyone has their own flaws. And just as you see through theirs and you're their friend, they will see through yours.

And if they don't, well, then they don't matter. You are such a good person. You're cool. I like you, B. You're such a better version of me. Honestly, I keep saying it. But it's so true. What a great way.

I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you, and that's probably the worst of all of it. But the truth is, when you told me back there that you wanted this life of adventure, I got so scared that you would make the same stupid mistakes that I did. will. I'm going to make mistakes, but that's part of making a life. That's a story that we all get to write for ourselves. I'm excited not to join a secret assassins guild and kill a bunch of people, but... I mean, they pay well. I'm kidding. I can get you in touch with them if you want. I mean, like, there's numbers, I know. I think Jerry's still in charge of booking.

The only thing that's holding me back is the fact that there are 12 children in that home. Well, that's not your responsibility, and it never should have been. And I'm sorry, look, things came about in a way that just spiraled, and I don't think Jack, nor myself, nor the others realized the burden we were putting on you. That was never our intention. But it wasn't our intention. No, no, we'll hire somebody.

Jack's got money, he's got parents. This should never have been your burden, and I don't want it to be. And I promise you that none of the other guys. guys want it to be either. She flings herself onto you and gives you giant hug. Thank you. Red just hugs your back. It's so easy to get caught up in this, this idea of this reordening that we, I have such a tough time realizing how important it is for you in your role here. But don't stay another second in that house if it means that you are being withheld from everything you want. Jack would, we will find out a way immediately upon returning to make that possible.

I promise you. I'm sure he's there right now finding a way to make that place clean and organized and just make it run as efficiently as possible. We just cut back for three seconds as he's throwing an armchair out the window. House is burned to a ground. Jack has just demolished it to... And then we cut back to B. Anyway. Can I ask for one more favor? Anything. Can I come with you when you leave? I need to get out of here, and I think it will be easier if I leave when you do.

I would be so honored to have you with us. You can be New Kralov. I mean, you can be my daughter. I'm just kidding. I, yes, of course, of course you can. At least I made the cut. Yes All right

Let's go back home Yeah Goblins can wait You know You head back home I'm gonna go to Belliard I'm gonna get a few Potions of greater healing

I I owe someone At least one of them But you go You know Take your time back And I'll race your home I promise I'll beat you there

Are you sure Yes Yeah yeah It'll be good to clear my head as well All right Bye dad Bye B and thank you

and she rides away Doran and Kralov are sitting outside on a rock by the ruins of the stump as kids are carrying away these like mushy rotten pieces of wood

Orin is nearby with his mandolin out and he's composed this song about how heroically the two of you dispatched with a stump with a single act and how the horses

were sweating and how their snow was flying and then Krayloth came and the stump exploded and it's all very heroic. It's like a really vague song that it's not like about a stump but overcoming some great thing.

Oh yeah, the whole thing is an analogy for like life or something. Kralov passes Doren back the bottle of brandy and says, I'm gonna be humming that tune for a while. Yeah, yeah. You're telling me. Hey, listen, I didn't, I didn't mean to explode on you there.

No, you were angry. It's all good. I didn't, I didn't sleep well, and I didn't have a drink yet today, and I always calm as my thoughts. Dark. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, it's a dwarven way. I just wanted to do that, and, and, and, you know, I would have been able to say, yeah, like, you know, here I am, I'm helpful. I've done that. Yeah, you were using a task to distract yourself, and, you know, I would have been able to say, yeah, you know, I would have been able to

yourself and not face something that was bothering you because a part of you is still a coward, is still afraid that if you face these difficult feelings within yourself, are you all right there? Dora was like following you along drinking up until you said coward and he spits his drink. Oh, maybe coward is the wrong word. I mean, uh, Craven or, um, like a... Yellow. Yeah.

Listen. I, I understand. what you're saying and I okay fine you didn't mean to say coward I'm not afraid okay I'm not afraid you know put me up against a a bug bear yeah put me up against a dozen orcs I don't care mm and they takes another swig mm but you know if you have to put me up against my family and friends again the way they look at me after well shit Kralath I don't know that's me it's it's a it's a bigger task than I've had to do it with a long time.

Hmm. Do you worry about what the people you care about think about you? It's more about, you know, the way they treat me. Hmm. Ah. You're worried that if you do something wrong or make a mistake, that, uh, they're going to start treating you badly. Well, I think the mistakes have already happened. Hmm.

Uh, I don't know. You know what? I'll figure it out when we, when we'd figure it out, I guess. Yeah. These things take time. Or you die and everything changes overnight, who knows. You know, you say once you die, it never really matters, but, I mean, shit, Kralath, you died. You died, and you're here, so.

Yep. What does that mean? I mean, you died, you died. And since then, you've been, oh, I mean, I look at red and honestly, Kriolath, you've been a bit of an asshole. Yeah, I'm glad we can laugh about this. Me too. Well, you're not wrong about that. I mean, the way I see it is that it's all right to be an asshole.

I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm being honest, aren't I? Yeah. Would you rather be someone kind to your face but is lying through their teeth to you? Or someone who tells you how they feel it is? and be a jerk, just let that spirit flow, so to speak. Before you died, I always thought, you know what, that Kraloth, I think he's just being nice. I don't think he's saying what he really means.

But now, I mean, hell, your honesty is, I would say it's refreshing, but it's more, what's the word. it's paralyzing sometimes your honesty yeah Kralath smirks and he leans back and swishes around the brandy a little bit and he sees it's a little low

so he raises a finger and rises it back up and takes another swing Yeah No wonder Dorn's like drunk You guys have been sharing this ball for half an hour New Kraloth is at the precipice of a new discovery of how to interact with this world, this existence, in a way that honors his own power. The new Kralov has a spine, you see. He also has a voice. And as he moves in the world and learns about himself,

he's discovering that he has a lot more power than people allowed him to have. And if he could just take that power into the palm of his hands, he could do a lot in this world. Jack, what are you doing? Jack's been tearing through the house panicked. And his wits end, he rushes down the stairs. He starts drawn a big circle out in front, putting in some arcane sigils to try and... Downstairs? Right out front of the door.

He needs to be outside. He needs to be touching the earth for this spell to work. And he's... Okay, okay. He's, you know, pulling together all of the sigils in it. It's a big circle, ready to, like, pull off the most powerful summoning he's ever done. And he's, you know, tossed his backpack on the ground to get all of his kit out of it. There's this panic.

Whenever Jack's in a panic, like, he's reaching for magic. He's drawing this summoning circle. And there's just like when he summoned the imp for the first time in the house after Gredhog, right here. You know, he's reaching for that tool. This time, a more powerful spell, certainly he's going to control it. And there's a minute where he sees the flute stick out of a corner. And he stops himself and goes back and changes some of the sigils for a minute. And then pulls out the flute and shouts,

Hey, everybody, come here for a minute. Gather around. It's song time. Oren, I'm going to show you how bad I am at this flute. and he waits for a minute for everybody to get around and he completes a tiny hut around us and keeps everyone there for a minute at least in his mind safe and like starts to you know

play this little flute let everybody laugh at him try and like explore a different part of his personality like just do anything else channel that energy into some kind of frantic something until he feels a little bit more in control of himself At least he's made a space that is safe for a minute. I feel like Doran and Kraloth are like standing there behind like the kids who are like clapping and like, what the hell is going on? Like.

Yeah. Jack finishes like his second panicked tune that's only slightly better than the first one and then says, okay, somebody else has turned to sing and like invites one of the kids into the center. Oh, well done, master Jack. Now, if you don't mind. and let me show you how to hold it properly. And that's when you see B. She rides up happily, it seems, based on the speed of the horse. And she looks around as she enters the yard and dismounts.

What's going on here? Wow. We're just having a bit of a sing-along, I guess. Where's red? Oh, he said he was going to beat me home, of course. I left first, but he's. become quite a good writer. I'm sure he's in town doing something still.

Probably some sort of surprise. We're buying potions. Maybe he's hunting imps. Hey, hey, Jack? Sorry, I'll go inside. I'll take another look around. Doren goes inside and look around for more imps or signs of imps. She passes the reins off to Anthony,

who seems fairly comfortable with the whole. horse leads the animal back to the stables. Imps. Kieran smelt brimstone at some point, and so we just wanted to be sure the house was safe. That's concerning. And maybe you hear like a clanging in the kitchen from inside, and Doren kind of steps out,

and he's got soot all over his face. I think that the smell of brimstone was actually just normal smoking soot from the fire, you know, in the kitchen stove. I looked in there and there's a lot of ashes and, uh, well, Orrin's cooking dinner. So, uh, you know, it was going and stuff. So I thought I, I thought I smelled brimstone, but it was just burning. You sure it's not just burning that you smelled Jack or maybe, I guess. Well, I just came to tell everybody that dinner is almost ready.

And so, uh, you know, you should wash up kids. And then he looks at his own hands and walks back inside. That's good. The kids kind of start to follow you, Doren, and the yard empties out. What's that? B points towards a smudge on the horizon. Is that smoke? Ohren comes out onto the porch and sees everyone standing in the snow.

he's wiping his hands on a dish towel and he looks up at the sky towards the smoke. What are y'all looking at? Well, I'm looking at a fire over there. I don't know. I think it might be known as hold. I don't think it's much for us to worry about it,

to be honest with you. Yeah. Oh. It's just strange to see a fire in that direction. I mean, it's fine, Doran. It'll be all right. Fires happen all the time and Krayloff begins walking up the steps.

I heard there were some knights of Kellenvore in the area. In fact, I saw one ride that way not two days ago. And Kralov stops, just as he's about to step through the door and turns around, a dark look on his face. What did you say, Oren? I saw a knight bearing the sigil of Kellenvore with the scales, the balance, ride towards Noanar's hold. There's a pause, as he just kind of. of looks off to the side a little bit, clearly thinking. And then the side of his mouth quirks up in a grin. And he says, well, knights of Kullimvor, you say. Well, perhaps it is

worth investigating this fire after all. Hmm. To the stables. Maybe it's time to, I don't know, balance the scales a bit. starting to get low in the sky when you exit the potion shop, Red. At the side of the building, True Stephen is standing at the hitching post, right where you left him. Hey, buddy. All right, we're not going to beat B back, but if we ride quick enough, we'll be there before dinner time. And as you put your things in the saddlebags and get ready to mount up, someone throws a rough sack over your head. Before you can even fully register what's happening, a heavy blow cracks across the back of your skull. Stunning you.

You drop to the snow. And the second swing puts you out like a light. Thank you once again to our wonderful Patreon supporters, Alexander Ruku, Lost with Two Faces, Matilda Rushing, Lida, Chelsea Chong, K.R. Sky. Creature. Regan, Michelle Con, Heather Nichols, Alexander Reed, Melanie Sheen,

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