Dice Shame - 77 | 'Cut and Run'

Episode Date: April 1, 2021

Danger lingers around Everlund and the party must move quickly towards their next destination... 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?!? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What the hell does this mean? It's been dead a while. It stinks. We started this mess, and we have a responsibility to finish what we started. This is a trap. We can't stay here. You see dark blood stains on the ground. And that's how my dad was taught. And that's how my dad's dad was taught. He smells like blood, and he says some stuff. It's Doran. Well, quite frankly, I feel like a bit of a...

Oh, never mind. Can't talk if I'm drinking. Welcome back to Dice Shame, episode 77, cut and run. This week's MVP is a new fan and friend of a friend, Justin Barrett. Justin's been binging through the early episode, so he's not going to hear this for a while, but hey, buddy, you're this week's MVP. Enjoying Dice Shame and wish there was more, the Invictus stream is just a click away. Join us every Wednesday night at 8 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, starting in April as we head back into our Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign, starring me, Joe, James Schwartz from Dimension Door podcast and an old friend Chris. It's a loose, fun, live show with plenty to offer if you're looking for more ways to spend your time.

All right, should we play some D&D? Let's do it. Harlan and I've been doing this thing where if we know we're going to have kind of an indulgent meal later on in the day we'll get our veggie quotient just like taking care of up top.

So this morning, it's like 9 a.m., by the way, before the show, Harlan and I are mowing, I guess we're still in the process of getting through this giant bowl. I finished my bowl. I brought me a mixing bowl

I was in the washing room Did I say strawberries and broccoli in there? Yeah There's broccoli carrots, strawberry, blueberries And she had cheese drinks Three cups of broccoli in there That I was just going through You know what?

Veggies are important This is what they call rabbit food I'm not upset about it I love rabbit food quite frankly I like a lot of veggies In fact when my wife goes away And she says Make sure you eat vegetables in the fridge

And she's expecting me to make a salad I like literally stand there at the fridge door open eating a handful of spinach and then I'm like I did the same thing I'm like there's my vegetable quarter she can't say I didn't eat my vegetables

I didn't have to make a bloody salad but now on to the fun food pizza pocket time of all the vegetables a handful of spinach was not the one I thought you were going to go for it's not my it's the truth you can't make that shit up just a handful of spinach

and an apple and a carrot well and maybe it's because Alex and I were siblings but to me You still are siblings. No, no, we were. We were. I don't want to talk to what happened. It's that surgery.

There was a tear. No, but I don't know. Growing up, our mother did a lot of veggies, but they were always sort of folded into things. And I think her reason was, and it was a smart reason, is she wanted us to eat more. So she put extra veggies, like cauliflower in the mashed potatoes. Kids don't notice veggies. They don't like veggies. Yeah, but really, I like raw veggies.

I just have a very specific. I prefer that. I like raw broccoli over cooked broccoli. I like raw pepper over cooked pepper. So I've eaten so many more veggies as an adult when I get to eat them my way, which is sort of just like, oh, grab a pepper and eat the fucking pepper. Like the start of Iron Chef. Maybe that was her intention all along.

She wanted you to like raw veggies. Maybe. Took a long time to kick in, Mom. Got a rebel. I don't know. Maybe Alex is different, though. The 9 a.m. broccoli, though, is like... Novel.

It's a push. That's a push. Unless it's in an omit. A raw broccoli bowl. Hey, you get your broccoli in, okay? We're having pizza tonight. I got to try this. I got to try this because I definitely do not eat enough vegetables.

Yeah. Tell you. Well, I don't know if you're, maybe it's a pallet thing because, again, I, like, I don't like stir fry. And we had, you know, whenever there was a stir fry and the cooked peppers, I grew up really hating peppers. Until I ate raw bell pepper. And I'm a really big fan. I love, as a snack on a lunch, I'll have raw bell pepper with, like, tuna just on a crap, just on itself, you know? and that'll be a great snack.

Harlan is a big fan of bell peppers. I think however you can manage, however you can manage to put them into your meal, vegetables. I love that last episode we started with a recipe for popcorn. And this one's just like, eat some fucking raw vegetables. Don't even cook them.

No, I don't like them cooked. Just cut it up and eat it. Put it in your face at 9 a.m. We are going to have the healthiest listenership. That's not a bad recipe to start with, I guess. Unhealthy fucks. Has anybody made the popcorn recipe?

I have. I have. But you taught me outside of dice shame. Yeah, that's true. That was, this was real-life friendship years ago type stuff. I didn't make the popcorn. Alex, did you make the popcorn yet? No.

I make popcorn all the time, but I don't know what you used. We tend to use coconut oil. Did you not hear the, you don't listen to dice shams? I did, but you didn't, you said something else. He said guaran or something. Gee, what was that? Gee. Oh, ghee is clarified butter.

And flavacol. Oh, clarified butter. Flavacol. Yeah, it's where they said. separate the fat solids from the oil of butter. Ask your doctor about flavor call today. It's really, because it's like butter oil, but it doesn't burn. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And coconut oil I found is just so, so light that you get this like really, and actually the butter's even got a little hint of sweetness to it. And it's just like a very, very nice. But what I didn't agree with was just the process, to be honest with you, because what we do is we put the coconut oil in the pot and then one kernel and when that kernel pops, you know it's hot enough. You pour the rest of the kernels in. Why do you wait?

Because you don't want your colonel sitting in oil for the whole time. Why not? I don't know. I think it's something to do with being saturated in oil. You know what? Different strokes, my friend. Yeah, yeah. The one pops and then you pour the rest in and they just start.

I mean, all you're saying is that you, whatever. Fair enough. It gets the hot, the oil hot enough. Speaking of ghee, Gee whiz, it's time to play some D&D. Let's play some ghee and gee. Beautiful. All right, let's do it.

Night draws in, the sky darkening like a bruise over the city of Everland. Leverid guards patrol the secure walls and towers of the city, totally unaware that this most recent threat has no issue circumventing these fortifications. The bell market is shuttered, now home only to the stray tressum and alley cats. Up the street to the north, past the theater but still in sight of Moongleam Tower. The usually bustling pub, called the Innocent Jester, is dark. One room's windows looking out on the back alley are lit. Inside, the tiny form of a halfling man sleeps, surrounded by his companions, swaddled in bandages, crusted with old blood.

I kind of picture us having moved out of the room, like a few minutes of past, and we're sort of speaking in hush tones and just discussing what we've just uncovered and Red is sort of looking up the window at the end of the hallway and he turns back to the others and he's like, what the hell does this mean? These things aren't just tracking us, but they're hurting our friends. That thing that B said about the burrow, that's a hunting term. It's trying to smoke. us out. It means that there's something more that we have to do to make sure that those things stop hunting us. Not only that, they are clever and red sort of gestures down the hall to the open door where B and Oren are. They came here knowing that we weren't to what, kill a friend of us?

That's sadistic. That's, that's, that's evil. Almost as if it was bait. What do you mean by that, Dorn? Well, they're going after our friends and, you know, I mean, to try and lure us in. They went after Thera, B, and Oren, who were with us. Maybe they can only go after people that they've interacted with. I think these things are clever, and Thera's dead because of us.

She's not dead because of us. We didn't do this. The hunt lords did this. They were evil. They haunted a town. We tried to put an end to it, and we were. We've at least drawn their attention away from the town. I'm heartbroken, but we didn't do this.

We didn't kill Thera. I agree. I've had my share of guilt, but we can't take blame for this, Red. It's the hunt lords, for sure. I didn't say we killed her. I said she's dead because of our actions, and I think that's true. I'm not saying we wallown self-pity, but I think we have to be accountable. Good or not, this is what happened because she met us.

Red is right. We started this mess, and we have a responsibility to truly finish what we started. Red, you've been taking this surprisingly responsible turn to your character, I think, which is really interesting. Since visiting Jalanthar and dealing with the dwarves and now, again, in Everland, dealing with the hunt lords, we're hearing like a voice of reason come from Red that we've, I don't know, you've been very flippant previously. And it just feels like you're kind of revealing a more serious side to your character, which I like. I think it's partly because these are tactics, terms, and sort of the way about going to hunt a prey that Red understands and has never had to be on the other end of. He is no longer the hunter, but the hunted. And throwing in the mix of B and Oren and the passion that he started to feel for this long-lost daughter, he's become.

a lot more aware of how much he could lose. Jack, do you have a minute? Yeah. Yeah, and Red pulls Doran says, come on, Dorn. Let's go see how being or not doing it. Kualaft pulls you aside and says, I really do think it's time that we look into this further. I mean, we can't stay here tonight.

I'm not even sure we can stay near Bian Oren. If this was a trap to draw us here, it means they're watching here for us. So we... We've got to get them somewhere safe. There is also the thought, Jack, that these things have only attacked us or people that were with us when we were back in Nguyenors' hold or camping afterwards. I know you want to go back to see Torin, but there's a chance that if you do go and see him. He's in danger right now.

I can't stay away either. There's a false cure in there, and I know I can't stay long. and I got to assume they're watching but I can't leave him in danger either. Difficult decisions. Red and Doran sort of ducked back in the room. Yeah, B is actually standing at the window

looking out into the night. Doran, maybe you should find out how these things approached. Like, you know, if they came in with hoods on, I mean, they looked on dead. Maybe the guy at the front door has a suggestion. Yeah, maybe I will look around and I'll see if they

say, B, you never, you never She never saw anybody come in, eh? She said that she woke up, and they were killing Thera. Right, right. Why don't you go ask the front door? Yeah. And Duren exits the room and goes downstairs. And Redwell head over to B and sort of stand next to her at the window looking out.

Mm-hmm. I know it seems like an empty question, but how are you doing? I'm okay. Oran's going to be fine. Yeah. And Red sort of looks at this small halfling, softly breathing asleep next to her on the bed. And he looks back to B and he's like, I think he's a fine man. And I think the two of you make a pretty spectacular team.

She searches your face with her eyes. Her whiskers kind of fold back along her jawline. Dad Orrin and I well we're in love he's a wonderful man you've seen it

and well we've been talking we thought it might be a good idea to settle down together not like settle down but more so you know what our relationship

might turn into if we weren't constantly fighting for our lives. I mean, that's before all of this happened, of course, but we've been talking about it. And Red's expression doesn't change. It's a soft smile as he watches be, as she sort of nervously explains us to him. And only his eyes begin to well slightly, and he just nods. I know. and I'm really happy for you. And I want more than anything for you and Orrin to be happy.

I never thought that I would have the capacity to open my heart to you. And now that I have, I hate feeling it break. She sits down on the window ledge and takes your hand and kind of guides you to sit down next to her,

kind of perched there, the two of you like leaning on your tailbones. You've taught me so much already, Dad. Part of me wishes that we'd done this more when I was a kid. River was an amazing mother. She gave me everything I needed. But I would have loved to have grown up with you by my side, and it's meant so much to me to have been able to spend these past few weeks with you.

You've taught me so much. I know that this is not goodbye It's only a temporary Separation You won't be able to escape me I don't intend to You're a good tracker

Good Because I need you In my life Yes Where do you think you'll sell down We'll go to the Hamprat House Right brilliant

These creatures that have been hunting you the hunt only started after we visited the villa right right i've been thinking about it today and we haven't been back since so it's likely that they don't even know about it yes but nonetheless you'll be careful of course but if it's not safe there are we really safe anywhere let's not start thinking along those lines yes and red takes bee's hand and sort of cups it and looks her in the eyes and just says i love being a dad to you and I can never repay you

for how much you taught me about what it means to love I love you B I love you too dad and he just looks to Oren and then back to B and he's like he's quite a little

fellow though isn't he? Not where it counts Ah Slong That's awesome Downstairs, Doran, you find that Captain Vico Astiff is still in front of the fire, hands clasped behind his back, just kind of regarding the common room, maybe guarding the place you're not really sure, but he's still on the premises. Is there any bartender? This place is closed down.

You guys are the only occupants right now. Doran walks behind the bar, climbs up on a stool, and retrieves, you know, like 10 silver pieces from his pocket and slaps it down on the bar. and pours himself a beer. I like that. Then he gets down from the bar and he walks around and sits down in like a patron's chair at the bar and takes a big sip of the beer and then turns to the captain. He says, so my friend up there is quite injured and do you have anything you could tell me about maybe how these hunt lords wandered into this place, into this town?

The captain like rolls the end of his mustache in between his feet. fingers thoughtfully. You called them hunt lords. What do you mean by that? Fuck. Well, it's an assumption. Maybe it's just a general term. You know,

something hunting us. Deception? Yeah. Why don't you roll a deception for me? He smells like blood and he says some stuff. It's Dorin. Fucking up stuff. A 15.

Not bad, not bad. And also, I want to just apologize that we're here, and this has all happened. Not that I feel we're responsible, but he stops talking and swigs the beer. And do you figure they were looking for you here? You apologized for bringing them here. I love the idea that Doran takes a sip of his beer and just won't stop. Like, as a pause, while he thinks, you know, he's just like, can't talk if I'm drinking. Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Captain crosses the floor and sits down at the bar, a couple bar stools away from you, Doren. And he sort of puts his foot up on one of the lower rungs of the bar stools next to him. And he says, tell me what you know about these villains. Duran's eyes wide as he watches the captain and swigs his beer. Kralov kneels down next to the bed where Therah's body. was. And Jackson hops off his shoulder onto the bed

and begins kind of padding around and looking for a spot to lie down. And Crayloff... It's like a blood soaked. Bloody torn-up mattress. Yeah, Jackson's just like putting catar all over the evidence. Yeah, and Crayloff reaches out. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, come here.

Pulls him back up. And I look at this mess of blood and tattered linens. and I say, please, Kalimvore, give me some sort of sign, some sort of clue as to how to prevent this from happening in the future. So Kralath, as you kneel by this bed, seeking divine inspiration, looking for clues, anything. Role religion check for me. 16. You're going through B's story in your head as you meditate on this place where Thera's body used to live.

lay and it occurs you that you didn't see the place of be in Oren's last stand. You haven't visited the kitchen of this pub yet. Just have a flash of food. I mean, it's where you find your comfort, right?

He feels his tummy grumbling. I love that it's like also unrelated. And he's like, thank you, Kalenvore for the sign. The kitchen. Yeah, without any further ado, he pushes himself up and moves down to the kitchen. And as you head downstairs, maybe you interrupt Doran and the captain in kind of an awkward tete-a-tete.

Oh, uh, Doran is standing behind the bar again. He's put more coin on the bar and he's poured the captain a beer. And Doran's like telling this long-ass story about how we're on this greater quest and that sometimes things happen and we can't really help it, but like... A little bit of context. And it's not that we've gone looking for trouble, but that... So, Krayloth, the droning voice of Doran Iron Fist is echoing up from downstairs. And as you come down the stairs, you see the captain has kind of got like a glazed look in his eyes.

And he's staring at a half-drunk pint of beer like, oh, my God, I have to go home soon. It's been such a long day. And I can't not be talking to this dwarf right now. I like that that's your deception role is just you. you like completely overwhelming him. Telling true stories, but just the wrong parts. I know. And as you come downstairs, he sort of snaps to it, stands up, finishes his beer,

and he's like, well, gentlemen, I'll be by in the morning to take any more information should you want to speak with me. But have a good night. Well, thank you. And where can we find you if we need to speak of this again? Everland. Everland. The city of Everland.

One Everland way. On the corner of Evelyn and Evelyn. One, two, three, he's like Evelyn. Fake street. One, two, three, police street. Goose Avenue. What? You guys are jerks.

Hey, Doran, come check out the pantry with me. Sure. Doran jumps down. Cool. So Kralath and Doran hanging out. Where's Jack? I thought Jack might also be downstairs. But I think he might just be pacing the halls.

I got a thing he's trying to think through at the moment, so he's sort of lost in his own thoughts, walking maybe not between upstairs and downstairs, just lost in thought after his conversation with Kralath. Red comes out in the hallway and he sees Jack. He's got an illusion of a map floating in front of him that's got our path from Noonershold to the High Forest to here. He's got a book in front of him called The Hunt Lords by Jack Page

that it's an illusion of a book that he's writing. taking notes, trying to figure it out. He's trying to paste together. Okay, we know we've seen them here, there, and here. Are there any rules to how fast they could get between places, how much time it takes them to find bodies? Jack, you're doing okay? I'm just trying to piece it all together. This is a trap. We can't stay here. I agree. I want to go ask Quinn if he will maybe help B and Oren head back to the Humperat household. That's where they want to go. They don't want to stay here. I don't think they should, and I think we should get out of here. And I think they should take the horses.

I also want to figure out how the hunt lords came here, if they just appeared or if they walked in through the front gate, that would give us some sort of idea, whether they are able to teleport on SPART or if they physically had to walk from the front gates all the way here. Yeah, the more information we have of that nature, the better. Cool. Do you think, I'm going to go do that and read heads downstairs? Can I make an investigate role to deduce any of those? I'm just trying to figure out, are they traveling like people, or are they teleporting between these places? With all your skills and tools and brain cells, Jack, there's no evidence that you have that would suggest that they are moving with superhuman speed. Because the farthest distance that you have seen them travel potentially is between Noanar's hold after you towards the edge of the high forest.

And they potentially could have caught up to you because you tarried for so long at Shadow Top Cathedral. Yeah. And that's the sort of like, okay, there's definitely a few days of like non-travel time where they could have caught up to us. And I think similar here, there's our trip to Jow and Thar and back is time they could have taken to get from the high forest to here. Precisely. You may even deduce that killing them or separating their essence from their undead bodies potentially creates like a day or two buffer where they're not chasing you. Do you know what I mean? Like by killing them at the edge of the... We set them back a little bit of time. Yes, precisely. All of these attacks happened in the evening or at night?

Yes. So there might be reason to believe, tonight, don't just go sleep in your bed. This is literally a trap set for us. Mm-hmm. Red walks through the front door and sort of heads outside and catches the captain. He says, oh, uh, captain.

I was just wondering where the body of Thera went. The ranger, Quinn Nodros, took her into his custody. And where is he? I believe he said he was staying outside the bell market with some refugees, some kind of shelter. Right, thank you. And Red heads off towards there. I think if it is a trap, I want to get B and Oren and Quinn,

I want to get them on the road as fast as possible. So Red is motivated to move. They could show up tonight. Kralath and Doran, you enter through these doors into a dark, room. The kitchen there is like copper, cookware hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. There is a scene of battle here and actually on the floor, splayed out, kind of in the middle of the room beside one of these butcher tables, there is a body with a tablecloth over it. Oh, you know, my conversation skills are terrible.

Are they? But this room speaks to me. And Doran bends down to reveal the face of the covered body. Yeah, Kralath kneels down next to it as well. The body that you reveal assaults your nostrils. This is a corpse long dead. Long dead? How long has it been dead?

Can roll a medicine check. Its face is gaunt and rotted, bone exposed here. Fourteen. Dead for at least. two weeks. What is a body this old doing in here? What happened to the bodies of the hunt lords when we killed them last time?

You burned them. Yeah, you can tell by the way the room, look over there, and Doren's like pointing around, kind of explaining then to Kralath how the battle took place. Yeah, so B told you a lot about what happened in this room,

and then you see Doren, all of this evidence to back up her story. The places where pots and pans made dents on the wall, as B had described Orin's resistance where he was picking up anything that would come to hand to be able to throw at these creatures. You see dark bloodstains on the ground where this chef who fell would have laid. That body is missing.

I'm going to just check this body. I'm curious if there's any sort of defining features like a gold tooth or something special about it that I may be able to glean some sort of. of identity from? Yeah, you get real personal with the corpse and you don't find anything apart from gross corpse. It's what I do. Where do you think this corpse came from?

I don't know, but it's been dead a while. It stinks. You know, I don't know, but it seems to me like maybe these hunt lords are possessing dead bodies that they weren't hunt lords to begin with. I'm going to go get Jack. And I cover up the face of the hunt lord again. Kralov stands and leaves the...

room to fill jack in on everything that we've found down here. Red, you move through the darkness of Everland to a large building with lights on. Just on the exterior of the bell market, you hear the murmuring of plenty of people through open windows, and this is probably your best bet in terms of the location of refugees that you'd seen coming from Jallanthar. And Red panting sort of slows And he moves inside the building It takes a quick look around

Yeah, you head inside He's actually fairly close to the entryway Maybe he's talking with a little family Who are like eating their dinner or something And he stands when he sees you And kind of rubs his hands on his trousers And Red just embraces him And gives him a hug

Like they did on the road when they first met And he sort of holds him back at arm's length. I am so sorry about Thara. He just swallows hard and nods at you. It's good to see you again. And you. You've done amazing work here, and Red looks around at all the refugees. Obviously, Quinn has been taken care of. Yeah, he looks side to side. Really, thanks to your help, you mentioned having set aside some funds here in Everland for the people displaced by the dwarves and giants, but really, this is... Thank you. Thank the Baker. They're the one that I'm sure has run all of this, but obviously you helped. And that's partly what I want to talk to you about. And he sort of pulls Quinn aside for a second. He just says, these huntlords that killed Therra, they were after us.

We might not have killed her, but I feel that because she did pair up with us, we have a responsibility. And I want to be honest with you about that. And Red just studies his face, waiting for him to react. People just murmuring in the background of this large room, echoing voices off of the tall ceiling, and you see Quinn's face just blanch a little bit, maybe in fear or anger. It's hard to tell. But what's done is done? Unlikely as it may be. They also could try to go after you.

We haven't directly interacted with you for very long, but... I'm worried about how far their reach might be. Furthermore, my daughter Bea and her partner, Orrin, are heading back to a home that we own the deed for, just north of Belliard. The hump rat household, it was once called. I was wondering, to settle my mind if you wouldn't mind escorting them, as well as our horses, back to the humprat household. Additionally, and he looks around, he just says,

in a hushed voice, I'm sure there are a number of orphans. displaced because of the actions that those dwarves took. If there are any young children, there is a safe place for them at the hump rat household as well, and you, of course, would be welcome to stay, perhaps even lay there as Barty to rest in a place where you could visit her. And sort of implying that he could bring a few orphans, too, because we have them at the humprat household, remember?

We have the two from Grudhog as well as... Thalus. Yeah. He looks left and right at the people surrounding him, living. still in some measure of squalor despite the roof over their heads and he nods at you. I'll speak with the community

and make ready for travel in the morning. There won't be room for many of them, but I'm sure since a lot of the families were displaced as holds, there shouldn't be too many orphans, Red says, with a grave hope. There's like 80 orphans. Yeah, well, that's whatever.

Anyway, I suggest you leave as soon as possible because we don't know when these creatures could come back. There are four horses in the stable, at the innocent jester. These are the horses that I suggest you take back with you. And again, we would appreciate very much if you did. Let us know if there's anything you need.

And Red reaches in the bag of holding and hands him 50 gold just to cover any expenses for maybe a cart to transport. Cool. And yeah, Red nods solemnly, says goodbye, friend. And heads out. You guys do that, like, cool warrior handshake one more time. Yeah. Dylan, you son of a bitch.

Our muscles ripple, but Reds are like the Bugs Bunny. like it hangs below his arm. Strength is not one of his strengths. But yeah, Red leaves and heads back to the innocent jester

to let B and Oren know of what's happening. So Red, you walk back in through the doors of the innocent jester into this eerily quiet tap room.

You hear the low voices of your friends coming from one of the back rooms, the kitchen, probably. Kralath is making arrangements with one of the guards.

to deal with the corpse. Now make sure that you burn it before you bury it. It's very important to burn it first. Actually, it didn't really help last time, but do it. The guard's just nodding. That's how I learned. And that's how my dad was taught. And that's how my dad's dad was taught.

Jack's got his illusion of his work set up on a table and is walking around that table, staying within 30 feet of it to keep it constantly updating as his mind is churning. And Red heads upstairs to B and Oren. Is Orrin awake yet? Yeah, actually. Oh, good.

You come inside and Orrin's just opening his eyes. And Red leans out the hall, like in the end of Lord of the Rings. He's like, guys, Orrin's awake. And we all run in in slow motion. Gannel! Jump on the fucking bed. He's like, no, no, I'm sore. No, but he, Red walks over and embraces B and embraces Oren.

And he just looks at him with a knowing look like, I know you guys are in love and I'm cool with it. It doesn't need to be said. I'm glad you're okay, son. And he sort of stands up and steps back and wipes a tear from his eye. And he says, anyway, Quinn is going to bring you to the hump rat household. B, told me about your plans, Oren. I'm happy to give my blessing for what it's worth. Also, you'll be bringing the horses back because we have new means of traveling around.

Red looks to the door as the others enter. Glad to see you all right, Oren. Thank you, Master Kral. Doran walks in. You're awake, little one. Oh, good. Yes, I'm feeling a little bit. under the weather, but here we are.

Hey, well, eat this. It'll give you a plus 3D R HP temporarily. I couldn't possibly. Oh, yeah, fair enough. Oren reaches out for your hand red and kind of pulls you to like a kneeling or sitting position so that you're in line with his line of view. And then reaches out a hand to you, Jack, after you enter.

Yeah. He takes your hand and, Again, also brings you down to his level on the floor. He wants us to be friends. Kind of casts a furtive eye over the room and says, Master Doran, can you close the door, please? Orrin's an imp. Orin's an imp. He's going to turn. Scree!

And Doran, like, shuts the door calmly with a flat palm. I'd been meaning to write you a letter, but I wasn't sure when you'd be coming back to. it, Everland, so... What's on your mind? I'm so glad that you're here. I just, I remember that box that the two of you were opening

together, that it took you so long. Over days and weeks, you were trying and and you found that token. The goose. Three nights ago, we were in the tap room downstairs. I was livening up

the place here and there between the tables, with me, mandolin, making B laugh, cavorting and whatnot. A group of card players sat in the corner all night. Don't you ask me what game it was, because I didn't recognize it. I passed by playing music when I saw one man draw a token out of his pocket, pretty thing, shining in the gold and the candlelight. It was exactly the same as the goose coin you fished out of the infernal puzzle box master red. I wanted to be discreet, not knowing what kind of attention I could attract

by asking about the thing. So when the song was over, I picked the coin right off the table and I said, what a pretty thing. And I asked where I could get one of me own. The man sneered at me and said, Yarter. Yarta?

Though you have as much chance of getting one as the chickens across the street, he said. Well-off-looking fellow, with an oiled hairstyle and fashionable clothes. hadn't seen him before, I'd not since, though I've been looking. Again, I didn't want to attract attention, so I just flipped the coin back to him, and I told him I'd be a, except in all forms of tips, though preferably metal and not wooden. And then the table laughed, and I went on me away.

I thought, I thought you'd want to know. Thank you, Oren. Yes, this gives new light, and red sort of looks towards the others. Yata. Yeah, there's that, like, sparkle of the puzzle box in Jack's, I, just from that like piece of psychic damage it did to us trying to open it that I think shines in my eye and yours, Red, as we sort of look at this thing. Yeah. But it gets quickly glazed over with the prospect of Waterdeep, unfortunately, and Red sort of

almost too excited sees the sadness in Jack's eye. And he's like, yes, thank you so much, Orrin. We need to head off to Water Deep as soon as possible. Torin could be in trouble. And we put it on the back burner for long enough. and Red stands up What are you two going to do? They're heading back to the Humprot household.

Oh. They've decided to, well, and Red sort of gestures as if, you know, you can tell them if you want. B is like uncomfortably sort of looking from face to face of the four of you. Well, we're going to...

We're going together. Oh. She Doran's like, inadequately explains. That would make sense. That would be a logical decision because you'd be able to look at Rayloff that doing kisses in a meaningful way. Dad! Oh, oh, well, why didn't you say so? Well, but I guess, I guess that then this is goodbye for now.

Only for now. It's... Master Krayloff, obviously, do you know where we are and we'll be looking after the place for you? Well, good. I look forward to coming back and making a huge feast for everybody when we do come back that way. Give me a hug. Here, I'll be, I'll be gentle. Okay, all right, all right, easy. And I guess we say her goodbyes and, yeah, I think we all file out of the room, Red hangs back and just turns to be one more time and embraces her. breathes her in deeply and even pulls a hand for Oren

and brings Oren into the mix for the three of them to hug. She sort of murmurs into your fur. Thank you for letting me tag along on your adventure this one. No, no, no. Thank you for coming along. You've showed me so much more than I thought I could ever be. You've made me want to try to be a better person. And I will be eternally grateful because of that.

He kisses her and he bends down And he kisses Orrin on the top of his head And he says You take care of each other all right We will, dad We'll keep each other safe And Red heads for the door And heads out to the hallway

A piece of his heart left behind Aw Kralath gives him a reassuring pat on the back As we walk out of the end Yeah Red starts bawling As he's like out He's just like, it's fine It's just fun

It'll be fun Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy, come on in. Come here, come here. And he hugs Kralath. We kind of walk arm and arm towards the tower. He's breathing you, and he's like, I just, you know, I never thought I would be a dad. I really like it.

I'm truly shocked. Be too. And thank you, Doren, he says. You pushed me to be a better dad to be, and I owe you that. Well, quite frankly, I feel like a bit of a, oh, never mind. Dora just looks down his feet. What? What is that supposed to be walking?

Well, you know me. I'm always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Oh, I see. I thought he just wasn't paying attention. No? Yeah, I like to keep it short in the summer. But what's funny, what's funny is that, I mean, Red, you know that when push comes to shove, Doran is not going to sell out the party. I do.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I appreciate Doran. So as we're walking through the streets of Everland towards Moongleam Tower, Jack sort of choked up worrying about what he could find there. I mean, the reality of coming back and seeing Oren near dead and Thera actually dead in relation to them because somebody knew they were in some way related. And now, on Red's advice, it's been a couple of days where we haven't communicated anything back to, I'm just, I'm really worried about Torin. Until we get back and can make sure he's safe, God, who knows what we're going to find, we just got to get there. when you ascend through the dark stairwells and twisting hallways of moon gleam tower led by a black-robed teenager you enter the teleportation room to find that flow in the sleepy mage from your first visit to moon gleam tower isn't here right now instead a lanky pale man with sunken cheeks and a big nose is walking a kind of slow perimeter around the circumference of the circle gesturing with his hands

over and over. The smell of sulfur and cinnamon hangs in the air as you enter the room. He ignores you for a moment. And you watch as he flamboyantly exaggerates and whispers, Tadda, nothing happens. He turns to face you, blushing slightly. Nespald Manc, it's your service. Who might you be, please?

We're the nightstone four. We need to go to water deep. Ah, of course. He gestures for the four of you to enter the teleprone. Portation Circle, all business, and he lights candles that surround the room in wall-mounted candelabras. As you step into the circle of runes carved into the worn stone floor, he speaks a few practiced incantations, and the carvings blazed to life, white, blue, and shining. They shimmer for a few moments and then, with a crackle of magical energy, a glaring white

portal opens before you. You're drawn into it, sucked in by, you're sucked in by the gravity of this magic, and you're gone. Nespril Mank alone, blinks in the relative gloom after the portal closes, grabs a nearby straw broom, and starts swinging at the cobwebs gathered in the corner of the room. Back to Waterdeep. Oh boy, I hope Torin's okay. Thank you once again to our wonderful Patreon supporters, Christopher Ryan Evans

Mitchell Cadwell Mari Kraniski Jessica Orrett Colin Burkhart Daniel Doug Katie Orrett and Merlin See you soon

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