Dice Shame - 91 | 'Wine and Dine'

Episode Date: July 8, 2021

A day off in Mirabar leads the group into some small but entertaining distractions... 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's in your heart red? I'm not going to fight you on it. Oh, you never want to fight a dog. Oh, scary. Well, no, uh, you know. I'm imagining also getting him an adorable sweater. Jack Page from the Nightstone 4. And it's meta, not meta, is that correct?

What the hell? What the hell? What the hell? It's in the back of the throat. Yeah, I wouldn't have, I couldn't have got there before you're right. Guys, it's going to be fine. Look, here, here, Krayloff. Is this the gun club? This is where we're meeting Hargnath, right?

Harshang, yes. Good try. Harshang. Harshang. I figure if you say anything with enough conviction. Sometimes you can get away with it. That's his name now. Welcome back to Dyshame. This is episode 91, Wine and Dine.

MVP this week is Lauren Klein, a longtime friend and fan who just started listening. Thanks so much. Can't wait till you catch up. If you've listened to 91 episodes of Dine, shame and you haven't given us a review yet, please take a second to do just that. Whatever podcatcher you use, wherever you listen, it's the easiest way to say thank you for the content you enjoy. We love making this show for you, but it is seriously hard work, and your positive feedback really makes it all worthwhile. Even if you think we don't notice, we notice. All right, you want to play some D&D? Yes!

So Harlan and I were at the cottage this past weekend. It was just a the three of us, and partway through the afternoon, Harlan was like, you know, there's a bow here, right? Like bow and arrows. Huh? Oh, yeah. No way. So we pulled them out.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Well, hold on. There's background important here because you taught archery. No kidding. Summer camp. Oh, yeah. When I was like 17 years old, probably, I was the archery counselor for like a portion of the summer. Yeah.

Well, there you are. Class trainer. And what was your worst life experience using a bow? Oh, I didn't rotate... I killed seven animals. I didn't rotate the arm bone in my arm. You know the bone that's in there? It's supposed to, though.

I actually hit my elbow a bunch of times with the draw string and I... Drawstring. A bunch of times with the like... The fuck is it called bowstring? The G string? I don't know anything about our tree. It's so badly that I burst a lot of blood vessels in my arm. And so there was like this black mark.

with a crazy bruise on top of it. So you weren't an expert trainer. I was part of the bullseye club, okay? But I absolutely shamed myself this weekend because Harlan hit the bullseye three times, taking three shots. So he's an epic archer, true to form with red. And mine go into the lake. Oh, no. Much larger target, a lake.

That's true. Much easier to hit. Yeah, low DC. I did also take a video of you trying to get the arrows out of the lake just in case you fell for posterity. And that's where I thought this conversation was going this morning and maybe it will just go there. How many of you have partners that encourage the other to make mistakes or fall when they're trying to get up? Because I filmed her? No, the reason being, the reason I filmed her was because it was in the water.

And I want to start off by saying I was wrong ultimately. but I was thinking it would be smarter to take the canoe and just get it from the water side and she was like, no, no, I can get it. No, I wasn't. It was definitely, I mean, you ended up getting it but I was just nervous.

So I was like, okay, I'm taking this as record for me saying, I think this is a bad idea so that if you do fall in, I can say I was right. So there was a fallen log. I was still bad, but it's very supportive. Very supportive. The values are lined up. We have to describe the situation.

There was a fallen log that was like partially submerged in the water near to where the arrow was lodged. And I crawled out on this. Precariously. Precariously, yes. I crawled out on this partially submerged fallen log and grabbed it with another another stick. A truly bold move, if I must say.

But, again, I want to say that I was wrong. You totally had it. You handled it. And Henry was so impressed. Sir Nugget was so impressed. Sir Nuggett, right. Yeah. The reason actually.

I wanted to talk about this is because after the bow and arrow debacle and I decided I wanted to put it away. I was like but I hit all three of my shots. You're like we're done. We're done playing. I was like okay. No, I didn't want to lose any arrows in the woods and I spent quite a bit

of time searching for everything I was shooting. None of my arrows. Then I got to shoot a pellet gun for the very first time. That was the first time eh? Yeah. It awakens something in her. I liked it. It was very interesting.

Oh, you awakened your inner gun nut. I've never fired a gun before. I think she awakened her inner redneck. Oh, oh. Yarr. We started shooting some beer cans and she just looks at me with like a huge grin and she's like, I like this. We're going to need more beer cans. With the pump action, I wasn't strong enough in the correct way to like pump it entirely without like leverage from the railing on the deck.

But I wanted to ask if any of you guys. have ever fired like an actual gun? Are you guys, do you like guns? What is your stance? We're gun nuts here. No, we're not. I used to be very anti the idea of guys. And now you look at me with a huge grin being like, I like this. No, but I could, I could potentially see myself going to a firing range. How's that man? Growing up, the gun club was a big place to go because my grandparents were into like skeet shooting and stuff. And so it was just the venue for things because they were part of the club and could rent it out. It was skeet. Real easy. So hanging out there. skater. Yeah. It was just called the gun club, but it was, you know, this clubhouse with a bunch

of skeet shooting. So it wasn't a clever name. No, it was, I mean, look, you're growing up in the, What the hell do they do there? Things are pretty, pretty straightforward. You don't have to differentiate too much. It's not, is this the gun club? Sir, put your muscles away. But it was pretty, so recently there was a thing for work where they, they, instead of like, oh, it's a golf tournament, they brought everybody out to this gun club around here. It was kind of like golf, but it was all these different skeet shooting stations. So they'd have all the little clay pigeons flying in weird ways or bouncing on the ground or whatever. And he had to try and shoot him.

It was pretty fun. Brilliant. How'd you do? No, see, what they're really doing is they're secretly training you. I mean, your office is like, well, there might be an outbreak and we want to make sure we're fully equipped. It's like subtle training. I mean, it was like a secret operative. Yeah.

We just don't want to like activate him with a phrase. Agent Rob. If everything goes to shit, we're pretty. Protecting the water. That's so important. It was pretty fun. I don't own any guns or anything, but it was nice to go fire a shotgun.

I destroyed my shoulder the first time because it was an hour of firing a whole bunch of things. It has a big impact. Alex, you fired guns too in Las Vegas. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I did. I shot automatic weapons. Oh, shit. That's some scary shit. And you don't, there's no purpose for those.

You mean fully automatic. Fully automatic. Uzi. They're semi-automatic, which is like, bam, yeah, you just continue to shoot. No, fully automatic. That's scary stuff, though.

I don't know how I would feel about that. I was shooting. Yeah, wow. That's a lot of clay pigeons. Yeah. We're going to sound so Canadian to the American listeners being like, wow,

I fucking shout I'm mad to go do you last night when I was cooking dinner. There's no, there's really no need for a gun like that unless you're in war. Agreed. Dice shame is a. against fully automatic firearms unsubscribe now you're never going to be hunting a rabbit just be like if i can't get over my first shot i'm going to chase it down with bullets

i mean you could be mow down the forest it's always fun to go after an intro see what the comments are and so this one is just going to be everybody telling us what kind of guns they've shot which is very different from what shot of candy you enjoy but you know what it's good to have i mean it's the same secret guns right secret i got washed mac my table but i have shot a shotgun before and and and I'm not sure at a gun club if it's much different, but it probably is because you're supposed to wear ear hearing protection, right? When I first shot a shotgun, I was out in the woods, no ear protection. There was a loudest thing I'd ever heard. I was like, holy crap, this is something else.

I've never fired a shotgun, but when I was maybe eight, I went to Ducks Unlimited, which is like a conservation group here in Ontario. Is it Canada-wide or is it-shot as many ducks as you? I'm confused. Why? Hold on. I think it's Canada. I got to know where an eight-year-old going to a conservation area ends with gunfire. I'm very excited. Well, so this is the thing. This is the weird thing about Ducks Unlimited.

I guess it's teaching you responsible hunting and, you know, all that stuff. But I don't remember anything. I just remember them handing me a rifle and, you know. And then everything goes black. More like Ducks Limited, am I right? I mean, Ducks Limited. But the funny thing is, is so I have a story from that time that I've always told as truth. But now I'm questioning whether or not, like, I remember it as truth, but was it something that I created in my imagination as a little boy to be like, whoa, like, this really cool thing happened?

Well, really cool thing. I fired it, and I swear to God, I remember firing the gun and being really nervous and not wanting to hurt anything. And as soon as I fire, a crow falls out of the air behind the target. Oh, no. Oh, no. So, but I don't remember if that happened. I'm going to say it's true. well it happened it happened it happened yeah why not fuck it happened it happened the saddest story about like

It's hilarious. Don't point a gun at things you don't want to hit. So we've got a pellet gun out at the lake when we were kids. And I think my brother and I were probably like six and eight or eight and ten or something. And we're shooting cans off to whatever. And my brother just picks this bird. And Graham was like, he was never going to hit. Hasn't hit a can all day.

Hasn't hit a damn thing. And doesn't he hit the robin as it's sitting on the bench? I was like, oh, come. Don't point a gun at something you don't want to shoot, I think, was the less. Don't point a guns. It's hard not to. I've only fired a gun once. and it was like a 22 or something at the cottage.

And I think I fired it into the lake. And it's one of the grandpa's old weapons. No, like Joe style. I know. I purposely shot it into the lake because I didn't want to shoot it. Oh, I see. Yeah. I was just like what the hell?

I'm not going to shoot anything else. But I don't know, man. There is definitely a very powerful fear surrounding guns. And I recognize the urge for people to be like they're just tools. But I kind of don't agree with that. I think it's more like, no, no, like guns are used for a very specific reason at a very specific time. It is scary, though. Like, it reminds me of when I hold, like, a power tool.

Like, if I've got a circular saw on my hand and, like, and it's plugged in and everything, I'm like, oh, I got to unplug this thing. I got to put it down. Yeah. You got to have respect for shit like that. Same to first, everyone. Absolutely. I think, for whatever reason, I think dad really installed that into you and I don't know how. Just uploading it directly.

Download it in. Well, he told us the story of when he was young And his friend was showing him his dad's gun And he like pointed it at him Oh yeah To be funny, it was like loaded Oh shit And he was just like

Yikes Oh scary And my dad's like well It's not just that But like everything I'm very like I have a barbecue now And like I'm very nervous to make sure the propane's off And like Joe bought me a little handhold

A handheld propane torch For like searing steaks last year Which is amazing But like I'm so hyper-never nervous around using it. You know what I mean? I have this great reverence for like powerful tools of any kind, whether they be blow torches or or guns. And I'm like, I don't think enough people do. I totally agree. But that's what I'm saying. I know you and I know me for whatever reason, because I've seen you barbecue and being just as weird about it. And I

don't know why, but we were instilled with a great sense of that. We're like, okay, just be careful. Even when Henry's around, you know, I'm like, just stand back while I like the barbecue. I don't know why. You could just cast cure wounds and everything. comes the worst. I mean, remove disease or if you really need to get there. Henry, call your Uncle Justin. Uncle Krala. Don't worry, Henry.

If I get to zero hit points, he can revive me for... Speaking of cure wounds, who here wants to play some D&D? Let's do it. Yeah, definitely. So, morning dawns in Mirabar, the 24 of Uttar, I believe. and yeah, it's cold as shit. For those of you who are not tending your fire during the night, it is out, and it is freezing in your room.

You smell good breakfast smells coming from around the corner down the hallway. But as is, it's kind of miserable to get it a bed. I think Red is the last one out of his room. And I think there's even a moment where maybe the three of you are, like, waiting in the hall, like, you know, waiting for me to go. Just sipping a coffee. Red opens the door and looks at Jack and Kralath and Doran. It's just like, you can see his face and he looks down.

He's like, oh, who's this? And so this is Kieran. This is what Kieran looks like now. Oh, Kieran, you're beautiful. Kieran just wags their fan tail, like a big, big slow arc. Okay, guys. So, there's a new member of the team I want you to meet. And he opens the door, like, presenting.

And you see sitting, like, upright in this. center of the bed and the bed is just like torn to shreds you see this tiny little umber hulk like he's got this dark orange coat and underneath he's got like this black sort of flesh between the chitinus plates and he says his name is shale everybody get 30 feet back and don't look in the eyes it's okay it's okay it's okay i've bonded with him he's he's perfectly safe and i walk over and i like pick him up and he like claws a little bit and i'm like Oh, it's okay, Shale, it's okay. And I try to bring them over to you guys.

Uh, that's, that's, um... Okay. That's from the day of the wedding. We ran into those. Yes, and I know what you're thinking. Do you? Look, guys, it's going to be fine. I was reading up on this in Waterdeep.

All we have to do is a certain number of steps on how to make sure he's safe and part of the family. But he wouldn't be any trouble, I promise. And the minute he'll leave, and nothing will change. I promise you guys. You were reading a book about raising umberhulks in Waterdeep? Well, I mean reading a book, you know, going to a library, talking to someone. It's all the same. Smash got to Red walking through the city.

And there's like a homeless guy being like, oh, you never want to fight a dog. And Red's like, here, here. And then it cuts back. I'm imagining Red's list for how to raise an umberhole. is like an acrostic poem, you usually don't feed it your own body. M. Midnight. Remember the first part.

Be yourself. The umberhulk will love you. E, everybody needs an umberhawk. R. Red's umberhulk. Guys, that's gonna be fine. Look here, here, Krayloth. And I hand the umber Hulk to.

It doesn't want to go. It's afraid. It's okay. Well, no, you know, I think I might know why. I mean, I took one of those eggs, but I had a totally different intention when I took it. It's kind of awkward. Look, he hugs right to my body and Red, like, kind of cups him against him. He, like, latches on to you with his mandibles, and it's almost painful, like, calipers, almost.

But he just kind of, like, hangs there. And then Red, like, wraps a little sheet around his waist. This thing is, like, attached to his body. See, look! And Red jumps up and down to, like, prove it. Totally fine. Won't impede me in any way. Huh.

I wonder if Umberhawks care for their young up to a certain age. That's interesting. I hadn't ever really considered that. That's right. Huh. Jack, think of the knowledge base we're going to get here. This was one of our most intimidating foes. And look how cute he is.

Selling it. Selling it. Selling it. Doren, you like tough things. Uh, look how tough shale is. Shale's like, meh. Yeah. Well.

Hold on. Doran, I didn't tell you his last name. It's Shale Iron Fist. Oh, I see you're trying to buy my vote, eh? No, no. I just think, you know, he's got little fists. And, you know. So Doran's kind of standing there, petting Kieran, and listening to all this.

And he just says, well, what are you going to do with it once it's bigger? You know, what then? Are you going to... Dorin, Dorin, Dorin, Dorin. Classic. That's a problem for tomorrow. Oh, today we have an umberhulk, and that's all we need to worry about. Ah, well, you know, I guess shame on me for thinking about what to worry about tomorrow or the day after that, but...

Look, I promise you, you're going to love him just as much as I do. Kralov, you know how difficult it is to crush spices? Look at these little claws. They're so perfect. You know? Your own personal spice grinder. I'm in. It is difficult to crush spices.

Hey! See? And Jack. the paper you can publish, the paper you can write and no one will, the paper that you'll do from this will be better than Chaslov's stupid book about nothing. I mean, anything I'd write would. Listen, if this is what's in your heart read, I'm not going to fight you on it. We should start our day. Dorin, little baby iron fist wants your approval. Oh, well, you don't need my approval and I just don't want to be responsible for it. I probably,

I promise you I'll walk it every day and I'll feed it. I'm making it a vegetarian, just like all good pet owners forcing dietary restrictions on their pets. Classic. Mm, yes. The four, now five, now six of you, including Kieran and Shale. And Jackson, the seven of you. Doran's got a parrot for no reason. Just with this scene.

The next scene is, what the hell? He brushes it off. What the hell? What the hell? What the hell? You head out into the common room and you are greeted by a sight that you missed through the darkness last night. It is beautiful and intimidating. The spine of the world is so close to Mirabar here.

The snowy shoulders of this huge, vast mountain range just crowns the horizon to the north of town. That is going to be your destination later on. And it just is a beautiful setting for this very interesting town. So you guys enjoy some breakfast together kind of under the shadow of these mountains. Wow. Look at that guys. It kind of reminds me of white fang, you know, before they go on like that huge... The Yukon or whatever.

Yeah, it's so cool. Yeah, for the golden staircase. The golden staircase, yeah. Interesting. I'm actually reminded of when I was in... Calgary we went to BC at night like we drove over to the

mountains at night so we didn't see anything and then in the morning it was exactly yeah boom here you are boom the Rockies they exploded yeah exactly they had that kind of presence it was it was powerful yeah this is where we're meeting

Hargnath right Harsh night yes Harsh night Hargnash I figure if you say anything with enough conviction sometimes you're You can get away with it. That's his name now.

Harsh knife. Yeah, there are a couple interesting shops across the street. You see the heavy bomb bookstore, which looks especially exciting. There's a florist called The Tasty Star. And actually, you see across the street the magic needle, the tailor shop that you were bound for. So after you finish up, you're free to go. I feel like Red is feeding pieces from the bowl. But he tends to like the mushrooms, you know, like the fungi.

Oh, sure. Yeah, I'm reading now about their diet, which is really fun. I'm really excited. It's rumored they digest precious metals, which I think could be really fun in a Dwarven town. I can see him, like, reaching out of my coat and trying to grab a diamond off the... Well, he's especially attracted to Doren's shiny face from his morning application of the diamond cream. They live for 50 years.

What? What? I think Doren scuttles into the magic... What is it called? The magic needle. Yes, the magic needle. Yeah, there's a Taylor in there. He's just standing behind the counter.

He's actually working on a mannequin right now, one of those like dress forms with a needle and thread getting some dress just beautifully sculpted on this mannequin. I feel like Doran sort of scuttles in quickly and then briefly wipes his hands off and takes a more gradual stance. He says, oh, well, good day to you. Taylor.

Hi there. Welcome. Welcome to the match needle. I'm a meta. Meta, nice to meet you. And it's meta, not meta, is that correct? Nice to meet you. Look like you're about a level seven adventurer. Yes. How can I get you outfitted?

It's not just a clever name. Well, I've got some friends with me, and we're going to be needing some warm clothes, but now we're not going to be staying in town long. Do you think, how quickly can you work? I have some standard off-the-shelf type stuff that should fit all of you, no problem. gear that would allow you to automatically succeed on saving throws against effects of extreme cold. Oh, that's exactly the type of clothing I'm looking for. Why don't you suit me up with that level of protection? Not a problem. And in a jiffy, you are wearing layers of woolen clothing, heavy fur cloak. Do you want some goggles or how do you feel about goggles?

I think that would be kind of cool. Just standard like snow goggles. Oh yeah, let's get goggles. Fur-lined hat or hood. your preference, some goggles if you like them, and then fur-lined leather boots and gloves. So it's going to be 15 gold per person. Perfect. Easy. I'll dish it out. And do you have anything

for like a little, like a little dwarf baby? Just something. And I say this in a hushed tone. Something for a little guy. Oh yeah, no problem. I can get you set up with like a... Not too loud. Like a baby Bjorn sort of thing. Yes, that's perfect. Yes. And I reveal the umberhawk in my chest. He's like, those are chaos.

Evil. Huh? Thank you. And I take the baby Doran from him and slide him five gold or whatever it is. Yeah, cool. So altogether that's called

75. Perfect. And Doran's got a warm hood up now and he looks at you with the Umber Hulk and he says, oh, you know, those things will cause a problem

with dwarves around here. You might want to keep him tucked away and he kind of trails off as he walks outside. What do you mean? Well, why would I want to hide him? Shale's sweet. Oh, sure, sure.

but they tend to eat minerals. And, you know, they often caused problems when we were growing up, especially with the tunnels. And it's certainly just something you want to keep out of sight for maybe some dwarves. And again, he kind of trails off and wanders outside. Do I detect that you're, like, upset by this, maybe? You can roll insight on him if you want? Yeah.

Can I roll inside on Doren? Yeah. Yeah, so I got 14. A 12. What does he detect about your countenance? That there's something on my mind. I don't think you probably wouldn't suspect that it's specific to the umberhulk. As you walk out.

And Doran, you know, if you haven't need to talk. No, and I think Doran kind of like looks at you for a second too long and then nods and walks back out. And Red looks down to Shale and he's like, we need to talk to him when we have a chance. All right, let's go. Cool. Do you guys want to do anything else specific in town or should we just montage it away? That's montage. Yeah.

I'm excited about Kieran playing in the snow. I know when it's a fresh snow, Louie goes bat shit. So I'm imagining Kieran like, just galloping through a snowbank, like eating big mouthfuls of snow the way that dogs do. Yeah, like playing catch with a snowball kind of. Yeah. I'm imagining also getting him an adorable sweater. Obviously.

For the cold weather gear. He's going to need some doggy boots. Yeah, you guys take a look around. So none of you have ever been to Mirabar then, hey, or at least you're all pretending not to have been. Red definitely has a crack. I don't think so. It's pretty out of the way. It becomes clear to those of you who didn't know initially.

Maybe Jack knew this just as a matter of, you know, being fairly worldly in terms of geography and, you know, urban areas and whatnot. But there is a city below this city. So the surface level is more largely populated by humans. kind. So there are a couple of half elves and a couple of halflings, but largely dominated by humans. You do see dwarves around, but the city below Mirabar, the like lower level, is a dwarven city. Oh, I feel like Doran would have known that. Yeah, definitely. So there are like subway entrances, you know how there's like big stairwells that lead down into the ground? Around the city, you'll encounter those here and there that lead down into the lower levels of Mirabar.

Well, that's kind of fun. There's a, just because there's something that's really incongruous about like, yeah, yeah, fantasy city with subway entrances is just kind of a neat vision. That's cute. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm not sure if you venture underground at all, but you're welcome to if you just want to see the sites. Maybe Doreen kind of explains that as we're kind of walking and Jack and Dorn are kind of like a little bit more knowledgeable about this.

So now that we've got, you know, our nice winter clothing on, you know, and we don't have to worry about where we come out, would you care to venture down into the lower city? Do you think they'd let us? Well, they'd let me. No, there is no. I'm dying to have a look at how they support it all with the... Yeah, oh, it's amazing with the pillars and the natural stalactites and stalagmites.

Oh, it's something to see. Now, be mindful, like I was saying, they're red. Just watch that, umbrahawk, okay. Not all dwarves are as open as I am about this stuff. Oh, of course. Red's obviously a bit protective and just, like, covers up a shirt. So you guys do, like, a brief tourist's exploration of the underground city of Mirabar. You find yourselves in these lit residential caverns that are home to hundreds of dwarves.

Then there are also industrial kind of neighborhoods within these caverns, huge pillars supporting these vast ceilings, containing superheated forges and foundries that are just churning out smoke and fire operating day and night. And then you see tunnels and mine cart trains that all lead to the mines in the north, carrying minerals, precious stones, and coal. Doran and Jack geeking out about the foundry and how they get all the ore here and how they process it all. And Kralath and Red are just like whistling, looking around, being like, all right, can we move on? No, Red is hanging back, like, explaining everything to Shale. But just what he makes up, he's like,

these are giant buckets. The dwarf slept in these when they rode them around on those rails. And the little Umber Hulk is reaching out, trying to grab a diamond from the bucket. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Kralath is actually more interested than you expect, Jack. He's looking around and he's taking in the information and nodding. and you catch him at one point as these a couple dwarves

are having a conversation between themselves, not in common. Kralov is like squinting, trying to understand what they're saying and then just carries on. Just, you know, every now and then, like lending his ear or leaning out to see what's...

Yeah. Listen for what's happening. Not to be too big, but Doren I would say is sort of leading the party and then there's Jack and Kralas like, you know, next to each other and Red pulling off the rear talking to

shale. And as Doran's walking along, you hear sort of like a vibe of people whispering iron fist. Like every now and then you'll hear kind of like the sparkle of the name. And Doran sort raises a hand and waves as he passes by people that might

recognize him or at least his steal. I wouldn't say that you hear people like excitedly heralding you're coming. No, no. A couple of times as you're doing this tour like a dude will walk up to you and clap you on the shoulder and be like, hey, you're an iron fist.

How's it going? And this is like someone who you did business with 30 years ago who's now stationed in nearby. Like you're well known as a craftsperson, but you're not like a celebrity. No, no. But then, but you know, and you'll look over and you see like one blacksmith was, oh, that's iron fist over there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the one.

Oh. Definitely among the crafts people. And here you are down among the dwarven artisans. So there are also actually, interestingly enough. like these huge brass cisterns that are being used right now to brew beer and to distill hard liquor. So there's like a brewery district as well and all the smells that are accompanying an operation of that size. So it's definitely a cool place to be. You guys spend an afternoon here just poking around and, you know. Jack has been like trying to get a hold of a couple of words

he sees to decipher what place is what and what he's hearing and trying to get a handle of the language he doesn't speak. Oh, and for once, Doren is like, no, it's pronounced. But why would they conjugate it that way? Oh, like, you know, there's a little bit of like, okay, the script is kind of similar to Giant, and I kind of get that one down, but there's a little bit of trying to wrap my brain around it.

Love it. And you got to get that sound. Ra. Ra. That's it. Ra. It's in the back of the throat. Yeah, I couldn't have got there before you're right.

Sir rolls forward. Ra. And Kralot does it, and he does it. And he does it, like, perfectly. Is that it? It's like that, right? Wow. Oh, normally I don't hear the comments people speak like that.

I think you got a, you got an ear for this one. Yeah, I don't know, Doren, there's something very familiar about all of this. Oh, really? Your backstory holds many mysteries. And then Red walks up and he's like, Blah, blah. What are you guys doing? Just totally off topic here.

Harlan, does Red groom himself like cats do, like with his tongue and stuff? Probably not, no. Okay. I was thinking it would be really funny if you're coughing up a curball. Yeah, I think we made that joke before. But I think almost if Red did it, it would be tongue-in-cheek, because cats still exist in this world. And he knows how, like, he kind of gets, it's like, you know, he gets mistaken for it the same way people are like, Tabaxies are cats. He's like, listen, I'm not, but whatever.

But maybe if you're like, when you're injured, you're instinctively lick the wound. The only time, I mean, not to get too into it, but the only time you've ever seen Red act animalistic is usually. Usually when he's hung over or super tired, there is a lot about him specifically in the way that he acts, and even the way his, like, ears are removed and his tail is removed, that he seems to try to fight against the idea of appearing as an animal. And there is more to that that is just not necessary to get into now. But no, he does distinctly try not to appear feline or animalistic when he can. He tries to act, for lack of a better word, human. the sun is setting evening's coming on

are you guys staying here one more night anticipating to meet up with Harsh Nag tomorrow yeah I think that makes sense he's meeting us in Mirabar right well he's meeting you outside of Mirabar

he does not enter any city except for water deep cool yeah yeah I think Jack might send him a letter with like a map attached showing like okay here's this place outside we'll meet you at whatever time seven bells I love to see Harsh Nag read that

fine I remember Harshonag meets it's just like okay he's very yeah not like a shit but like kind of like a man of few words you know it's just like this letter comes jack page from the nightstone four we'll be meeting you here at this time he's requests your attendant okay just crushes it yeah I don't know also red you're gonna be able to know if there are any giants within a five mile radius yeah you're gonna be able to figure out but whatever it doesn't matter to me red's busy he's got he's like hung back and and he's got

the umber hulk out and he's like digging a little bit into the cave wall and he's like nervously looking at the others to make sure they can't see. He's like, okay, okay, that's enough, that's enough, that's enough. Like puts them back away. Cool, cool. I think on this night, it's like being in a new city. Last night was just refuge and get food. And this night, I say we like have asked around and there's like nice places to eat like

the true dwarven cultural experience or something like that. You should do like a fine dining. We've never done a fine dining. It's so funny that you say that because I invented a fine dining. Dining Restaurant. I love it. Perfect. Mirabar is the richest city in Faroon.

Wow. By far. Really? Wow. It doesn't have all the glitz and glamour and nobility of water deep. Everywhere at least. It is very heavy on the fortifications. And during your time walking around the city today, you've noticed that the walls are very

thick. The city is built up on a hill. There's a ton of guards walking around. But there aren't any like carriages, carrying people, going to parties. So it doesn't have that like weird upper class type feel to it. But as far as commerce goes, Mirabar has all of the riches coming in from the mountains and that collaboration with the dwarves hand in hand that this is the place where people go if they want to make a lot of money fast.

Yeah. Interesting. You find a very swanky-looking. almost like modern restaurant. That's called the admired bite. Oh, let's go home and dress up a little bit. I still have my clothes from the wedding. I'd like to look nice for dinner.

I could do a fancy dinner. And Doran's clearly in a better mood than he was earlier, Red. A little time underground, really takes the edge off. Yeah, I think Red runs back to the room. Yeah, Kralov follows as well, very eager to try out some new dishes. You are sat by some very attentive. Weightstaff, there is linen on the tables. You were

offered a paper menu for the first time, maybe in your entire lives. Wow. You see that they are offering salted deer and almond bread that's being paired with a mug of bitter. I think red looks nice too. Like his

fur is combed back and he's wearing like a frilly shirt, but like five minutes has passed before he looks to Jack and he's like, can you just ask Kieran if Shale is okay? I'm a bit nervous, kid. I haven't been away from Shale yet. Like, they're the baby.

Like, I think, like, Kieran and Jackson. Shale is fine. It's going to be okay. It's like the baby at home, cliche. He's like, okay, okay, okay. I can relax. I would like to try everything on this menu, please. Well, let's have the experience.

I think that would be good. Let's all get everything on the menu, and everybody can try a bit of everything. Yeah, definitely. I mean, if you guys go to town, you do the wine and ale tastings, you do the Dwarven Spirit flights. You do, like, the whole chef's course.

Like, there's a seven-course situation. It's going to run you guys probably 200 gold. It's steep. Pretty pricey. Yeah. Worth it. You know what? Why not?

When in Mirabar? We got those vultures for free. We got 280 gold from them. Between the 75 gold that we lost for the cold winter clothing, and then the 200 we're going to spend at dinner, that leaves us five extra for tip. It could be the last time. We get together before we're all smushed by the ordnings.

Way to put that lately, Doran. Absolutely. You have to live it up sometimes, right. You're right. You're not wrong. The standout course for many of you is a dish of baked Phoenix with leeks and a glass of rosé. Is it charred? No, is it like the opposite? It starts off as ashes and then they light it on fire.

It's very conceptual. That's cool. There's like some weird gastronomy. molecular gastronomy going on here It's like raw They don't have like a phoenix firm Somehow Who's the chef?

The chef here The waiter is very proud to tell you Is Dugal Scherckman He sounds like a Sferf Neblin Maybe he's a great A great dwarf No those are, what are they called? No, Svirf Neblin are the great Nomew's

Yeah No this guy is a He's a human Durgar would be fucking dope though Durgar making some shit He walks through the dining invisible, just listening to people eat. Oh, that's brilliant.

He appears right beside your table when you say anything out of the line. This is a bit too salty. And when someone likes it, he appears. It's me, the chef. I'd like to propose a toast, boys. All right. You know, we've made it this far. And I think we're just about to head off to the next big chunk of this journey,

at least information-wise, speaking to the Oracle, you know. I just want to say that a crazy bit of circumstance has before on. us. We have landed in each other's laps, and we've walked this path together for long enough for me to feel like we are, for lack of a better word, family. And I want to toast each of you,

my brothers, and let you know that I would and will put my life on the line for each of you. And Red raises his glass and sort of toasts everybody. May the Oracle see at least something bright in our future. Here, here.

Yeah, yeah. Cheers. And may we I'll not die in a slaughtery, fiery death of sorts. That's what I was trying to say, yep. What a lovely little toaster in the night. Thank you once again to our wonderful Patreon supporters, Christopher Ryan Evans, Merlin, Mitchell Cadwell, Colin Burkart, Daniel, Doug, Jessica Orrett, Mari Karneski, and Katie Orrett.

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