High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #128 | Where Centaurs Roam (Part 2)

Episode Date: November 4, 2021

We rest with the roaming Centaur family and learn more about Rosemeadow! Go to http://manscaped.com and use code HIGHROLLERS to get 20% off + free shipping! We're sponsored by D&D Beyond! The ultimate Dungeons and Dragons toolset. Clean up your dungeon delving life and speed up your games here: http://bit.ly/HRDNDBeyond2021 Grab some High Rollers merch: https://freshmerch.fm/collections/high-rollers Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickaxe. so we are jumping back in the part you have defeated the Feywild Manticore, this extremely powerful manticore that was harassing villages and has been dispatched by the party. And a new group of companions, the Knights of the Splendid Panoply, led by Lady Penelope, that have accompanied the PC

and offered to escort them somewhere in return for their aid. And the plan, I believe, was to head to a centaur settlement to kind of gain rest, take a moment's respite, but also maybe try and find out a little bit more about Rosemeadow before heading on to Hearthspire, which is Thalia's homeland, home kingdom um birthplace uh and deal with this curse that's going on uh the knights of the splendid panoply uh waste no time once they've butchered the medical corpse for trophies uh gathered everything up they begin leading you out of the woods not really taking much moment to respite um claiming that it's a few hours away basically this uh the central camp to get to the edge of the woods.

You'd already traveled about eight, six, seven, eight hours beforehand. It's a couple more hours now to reach the edges of the wood. Pretty exhausted at this point. Yeah, and you just had a pretty gnarly fight as well. So there's definitely some injuries and stuff going around. But yeah, you guys make your way. The night's leading the way. Eventually, they do find their little musician, their satyr, Dago, and they head out.

The blue luminous leaves and the lilac grass and the blue flowers of this wood become thinner and thinner the trees eventually starting to grow sparser and further apart until eventually you begin to see the sight of green grass fields rolling out uh in in the horizon on the horizon um you begin to see mountains although from this distance as large as they are on the horizon now you can only imagine the size that these mountains would actually reach far higher than any natural mountain ever could one of the spires seems to reach so high it disappears not just beyond the clouds but into the atmosphere potentially reaching up all the way into astral space but the knights and lady penelope lead you down onto uh out of the wood once you're kind of out of the the immediate kind of vicinity of the glade

and the cover of the trees, it doesn't take long, maybe another hour's journey before you find a dirt kind of road, a traveler's road that stretches north, sorry, east to west. And after a short journey, you come into view of a lake, a lake that is pristine crystal clear there are actually rocks that float above it with a seemingly perpetual waterfall that just seems to flow into the lake that then becomes several meandering rivers that descend and on the edges of the lake you can see bright colorful bedouin tents mar marquees, and wagons.

And roaming around, you see small centaur children, foals running around, being chased by parents. You can see artisans. You can see cooks and people making meals out on big, long tables. All of them have long, flowing, brown chestnut hair.

Their bodies are all kind of like dappled horses. All of them have long flowing brown chestnut hair. Their bodies are all kind of like dappled horses. And yeah, they seem to be in the process of merrymaking and just general rest. But their bright, colorful tents sitting on the edge of the lake creates this very picturesque camp-like spot. I'm just looking at Rosemeadow to gauge her response to all of this uh yeah well rose meadow i think um all through the journey she's just constantly you know finding new things to be excited about as you make your way through the woods but upon seeing the lake you know her attention is first taken by the lake um and she just marvels at the beauty kind of like oh my goodness kind of just amazed by it.

But there is, I think Quill would sense this, anybody with a passive insight of 15, there is trepidation when she sees the centaurs. There's actually the first signs of a little bit of nervousness. You know, her hoof just kind of scraping against the grass, kind of wringing her hands. Yeah, it doesn't say anything though. We have made it after the longest journey.

Rosemary, are you okay? Oh, yes, Bernie, yes, I'm fine. There's so many wonderful things here to see and, you know, I just, those folks down there, they just, they look awfully busy and I don't want to trouble them. And, you know, it's, well, we've traveled such a long way, like you said, but we have your friend that needs help. And you can see that she's unsure. She wants to go.

You get the impression that she wants to go and speak to the Sentals, but she is obviously nervous about doing so. Look, if you want us to go forward and introduce ourselves first, you can stay behind us. As with the rest of the journey, we'll keep you safe. You don't need to make the first move. We can do that for you. That sounds nice. Yes, please. And she just kind of nods.

And yeah, she kind of looks around to everybody else. The Lady Penelope will say, well, if you wish, we will probably go down and ask the centaurs for some for a night's rest we will probably rest here this evening so if you wish to do so with us you're more than welcome okay um now it's been a long time since we've uh walked into a new town and not immediately been recognized. So I can't exactly remember how we used to do this. It was normally hey everyone, we're here to unearth an ancient evil. Let's

ruin everything for like a week or two and then save everyone. That's normally how it goes. Now, quickly, Aayla's got her hand up and I'm very worried that she wants to take the lead on introductions. No, no I was just going to remind you that I

yeah, I'm not going to take offense at that because it's true. i was just gonna remind you yes yeah i'm not gonna take offense to that because it's true i was just gonna inform you that i will in fact be standing at the back of the group and uh that's probably for the best just let me know when you can stay next to me ayla and like yeah oh yay. Physical contact, yay. What about the delightful part? You keep saying you're a delight. I am a delight. But many people in many worlds now,

we've been to several, don't really think so. So, I mean, to give us our best shot initially, maybe you and Quill can lead it. Maybe Lucius. I'll just, uh, I'll be here. I'll be delightful in the back. Thanks. You hear like a little

voice from behind Thalia and little Kairi kind of just sticks her little head out like folding her wings, her kind of feathery wings around and she's like, Quill's very nice for somebody to go and introduce themselves. He was the nicest one to me like she just kind of like says that like sticks a little head out

And I think I'll go forward who wants to come with me well I think Quill and Sentry the nicest people we know I mean obviously me and Nova are very very close second right

Thalia will actually kind of hold Nova's hand and say I think I should linger near the back and I prefer if you stayed with me just because I Thalia will actually kind of hold Nova's hand and say, I think I should linger near the back, and I prefer if you stayed with me, just because I don't want anybody to recognize me. It's been a long time, but fae have long lives. They may know who I am. My priority is you, and plus, I want to hold your hand.

Let's go hold hands in the back. Part in the back with the people who don't do well with interaction. I do well with interaction, but other people don't seem to react very well to my interaction. I think I've been called the word intense before. Don't really understand it. I would definitely use that to describe you, dear. Lucius is just dreamily clasping his hands near his cheek and just smiling at uh the hands that are being held it's so romantic thalia like just looks at you and sort of narrows her eyes

uh meanwhile century and quill sounds like you guys are the front party to uh go and introduce yourselves okay okay we just stride in and say hello to someone. You're the morale officer. You should do this. You're going to be the best at this, I'll be honest. Normally waving works. Just go in there. Big friendly wave.

Hello! And then we'll just let it all happen. So when Sentry does that, you see a few of the centaur foals, the kids, stop, and they wave back. It's working! Hello! Hello!

You're so cute! They immediately gallop towards you. They come at a full run. Do you try and move out of the way? Are you going to try and move? Because you don't know if they're going to stop. They're running at you. What do you do? Oh, yes, this way!

I mean, I'm going to float up a bit so I'm above them if they do decide to charge straight into me. Lucius is wide-armed and bracing. So they gallop up and then just before they reach Sentry, they do manage to put the stop, but one of them, you mentioned who's a

Bit younger does stumble and they sort of like buckle their their legs a little bit and they do kind of have to catch themselves They do kind of pull up and they look at you and like one's got like a little kind of gap in the middle of Their teeth like he's like a young boy with curly brown hair that kind of spills around his shoulders And he's kind of got like a bit of a goofy looking face brown hair that kind of spills around his shoulders and he's kind of got like a bit of a goofy looking face um like big kind of wide eyes and he's just like look at you you're you're like you're like a metal woman oh wow and he's just like amazed at you and just like i've never seen anything like you before and kind of like dancing up and then the little girl kind of is just like oh where are you from where are you from and it's like looking around at everybody basically

sentry will like crouch down just so she's like more on their eye level just be like yeah because these are kids if he was a normal centaur you probably wouldn't need to but because these are kids yeah like you kind of take a knee and like yeah they kind of look up at you and like the the boy comes forward and he's like like can i touch and he's like pointing at like your arms and stuff and he wants to like touch them it's all like's all like metal wow cool he's just like really they're just you know curious they're just amazed and bewildered by it all uh the young girl is like peering at like everything she's like oh oh edwin edwin they've got knights they've got knights and then she points at the the lady penelope who just they bow their heads um and kind of gesture we should go on we should

go and tell ulsters go and tell ulsters um uh wait who is this ulsters is this uh the mayor of the town i don't know what a mayor is he's our commodore um he leads he leads he leads our family. He's the head of our family. Oh, well, if you wish to speak to your Commodore, then we would love to come with you. Come, come, come. And, like, the little boy is, like, holding Sentry's hand and is, like, tugging her along. And, like, the young girl one is, like, bouncing up all around, like, everybody, and, like, comes and, like, looks at Quill

and is just like, oh, Birdman! And, like, kind of, like, ruffles your feathers and then looks at lucius and like this one's got blonde hair and like i haven't seen blonde hair like that before uh and like they just bounce around and stuff like that like completely amazed by everybody um they kind of look in ayla's direction um and i think that like there is like amazement but there's that kid's thing of like oh she does look big and i don't want to bother her but she looks amazing and like they're kind of scared to approach but they you know still are amazed by it all um she'll look at this big cat she'll just look at them and be like hi hello um and then

they get distracted by the big cat they're like a big cat and then they run over by the big cat. They're like, a big cat! And then they run over to a big cat who's like, meow! And his back goes up and he's like, kind of like, getting angry with them. And they're like, oh, silly kitty, and they just bounce around. But yeah, they basically start leading you down to the water's edge, and you can already see a bunch of adult centaurs have

seen this happening, and they've started congregating in sort of like, their little camp. There's like, a bunch of tents. There must be be sort of like seven or eight big bedouin tents um there's a number of like marquees set up with like big long tables um all of it there's no chairs uh although the tables look like they're meant to be like the centaurs kneel at them so they kind of get on their their legs and crouch down there's no chairs or beds or anything like that that you can see um it is a camp they like standing desks for humans kind of they're more like so i guess they would be like desks and the centaurs yeah do that horse thing where they like go down on like they kind of fold their legs up and they they sit down

um but they're like you see some craft stations and the craft stations are basically standing desks yeah like they're heavily they're highly raised. Like you guys won't be able to use them. They're so high. Um, and, uh, yeah. And one particularly big looking center male is right in the middle of the family.

And, uh, you can see that they wear like a leather apron with like all hand, uh, decorated designs down their front. They're not wearing any other clothes. They literally just have like this leather apron and then a belt with like loads of tools on it.

Like, and it looks like leather workers tools. Um, and he's like rubbing his hands he's got like graying brown hair tied into an extremely long ponytail that's all braided and it hangs down loose by his side um his tail has also been braided and there's all sorts of like leather wraps and and decoration have been woven in amongst the braids um and uh soon as he sees you, he's just like, I bid you welcome. Welcome to the Fair Meadows family, travellers. Welcome, please.

Come sit, eat, partake in a moment of rest with us. Not often that we see knights and travellers on the road. Fantastic. So easy. I didn't expect such hospitality straight away. fantastic so easy honestly I didn't expect such hospitality straight away we were preparing waves all that sort of thing

you're very lucky to come across one of the middle roamers my friend we are friendly folk all of the families I'm Ulstus Fairmeadow I lead the Fairmeadow family and I know I welcome you wholeheartedly to my camp, and

please come sit. I'm afraid that we don't have, we often don't have many visitors of your kind, two legs, so we don't have chairs, but we have plenty of cushions that you can come and sit upon, and I think my wife's just dealing up a lovely bit of lunch for us all.

That would be delightful. We've been traveling a long time, and anything to sit on. I mean, we're used to the ground at this point, but we'll definitely take a cushion. Oh, come, come. And then his eyes are kind of glancing over everybody, and then he sees Rosemeadow, and he's like, Oh, well, I didn't know.

Well, first of all, I didn't know that you traveled with another meadow roamer. Of course, you're welcome. A friend of any family is a friend of the fair meadow. Come, come, come, sister. And he gestures to her and Rosemeadow's like freaking out. Like, Rosemeadow is like, I don't know what to do. I don't know these people. Yeah, I'll

take Rosemeadow's hand just gently. it's okay rosemary start by saying hi small steps hello um and she kind of manages to look at i'm sorry i i don't i don't really remember much i i don't know i don't know your family i i don't know who i am and she just kind of blurts it out like because this guy's like calling her sister and like saying, yes, come, who are you? And he's like, oh, I'm so sorry, my dear.

I didn't, some, well, I don't know what's befallen you, but of course, well, you're clearly a metal roamer like us. Yes, come, come. And he just gestures very softly. Did my good metal lady, did you, did you call her rose meadow yeah yes i did oh i just as well you should come and sit and obviously your friend here is a little nervous come come come my girl and he gestures to rose meadow like you shall have a fine seat and we'll get you something to eat and something to drink something sweet perhaps and she's like yes i i like sweets yes and he's like of course

of course he gestures um and then he says we should we should talk more uh he just just used century we should talk more about your friend and your travels and these reasons that you've come to come to our camp uh we love to tell stories around the fire at night and perhaps you can share one with us uh in exchange for a bit of a bit of food and a bit of drink and a bit of rest but come come and it sits and yeah you guys have a moment is there anything you guys want to talk about like talk amongst yourselves or like do uh there's plenty of like you can see that there's all sorts of different uh centers here like there's there's maybe about 20 or so 20 21 22 i think i'd just brief everybody a little bit these people seem absolutely wonderful and i i think we should also be a little cautious with how open we are i'm sure

they're going to be very open with us uh Certain details, and I look to Thalia. We don't necessarily need to inform them about. She nods. Also, and I'm sure that this fellow means well, if anybody offers you anything here, ask and make sure that they do not expect anything in return. Oh, there's always a deal there. Do not eat, do not drink, do not do anything unless you are certain it is being freely offered.

They must say it out loud that it is freely offered. This is a place where things like that can be very magically powerful. Right. Oh, now you've got me thinking. How did he offer the food and the cushions to us? Don't sit in it, don't eat it. I mean, we haven't sat. We haven't sat down it i mean we haven't sat we haven't sat down right we haven't sat nobody sit down just honest in fact in fact let me ask and she will say excuse

me ulster's was it uh and he turns he says i feel elven lady yes indeed ulster's fair middle and she's like would you please confirm that your offering is given freely without expectation or cost. And you see he kind of looks at her and his eyes kind of shift a moment. And he kind of nods. Well, you're obviously used to dealing with those fae nobles and the archfae. We don't do those kind of tricks here, madam. I offer food, drink, rest and soccer for freely with no obligation. Please. We mean you no harm, no tricks.

We're not some pixie coven. We're not some satyrs out for shenanigans or mischief. We're just simple folk who enjoy good company. You can be at ease here. Well, of course, we wouldn't take these things so freely. We have many fantastical stories to share with you. Indeed, indeed, fantastical stories. And if by any chance I can see that you travel in the company of knights,

we have people here that can attend to weapons and armor and craftsmanship. I happen to be a bit of a craftsman myself, an artisan. If there's things that perhaps I could make you in an evening, perhaps I'd be more than happy to exchange goods for gold or jewelry that you carry. Such things are always useful to a traveler. But yes, indeed, come, come. Any gestures. And you can see that like already

the other centaurs have brought out big cushions, like horse-sized long cushions, very thick, very plump, and they've pulled them out of wagons and they've laid them out so that you can sit next to each other. So it's like rather than being a long ways for a horse, they put them sideways so that two normal, like two humanoids can sit down on them. And they begin setting them around a table and they bring out food. It's simple food.

It's nothing fancy. It's things like basic bread rolls, like a tub of butter, some fruits and vegetables, some like nuts and things like that. But it's all, you know, it's stuff that they could easily offer freely and not worry about the cost of too much.

And yeah, they begin laying it all out on the table for you. A fine banquet. Oh no, this is no banquet, sir. Not at all. Not at all. This is merely what we can offer travellers for free. If you have a little coin to repay us, I'd be more than happy to bust out our finest supplies.

We've got fine meats and all sorts of treats and sweets and drinks that we can share as well. But unfortunately, that we only have in limited stock. So I must ask for a little bit of coin in return. But this we offer freely. Of course, thank you. We'll look at your wares shortly, I'm sure. Of course, of course.

Yes, indeed. Well, I can also, I'm very blessed. We happen to be on a couple of, a string of nights of full moons here on Lunaria. And thanks to the power of the moons and a certain little relic I carry I can actually make things in the evening I can make things overnight if there is something that I can make perhaps to aid you you are connected with the moon you're empowered I'm one of the perhaps this perhaps this is all a bit much, but the Middle Roamers, we call ourselves,

centaurs of a certain disposition. We have different families, and in mine, we carry an artifact. It was passed down from my grandmother to me, and from her grandmother to her, and so forth and so forth. And it allows me, it's a hammer of fine craftsmanship. It allows me to make things very quickly that would take weeks for

others I can make in a matter of hours. But only when the moon is at its right height. I can only do it all the time. Phenomenal. A limited amount of things I can make, but fine boots that can make your walk as quiet as a pixie in a dew-covered forest.

I look at Sentry. Deep bags, bags that can carry more things than you can imagine. I can make things of wood. Anything of wood or leather I tend to be able to make. I'm no blacksmith, but I can carve wood and I can craft leather very well. These all sound phenomenal. I think we could use them all.

How much would you take for some sneaky boots? Oh, boots of that nature? Not much. 500 gold I imagine I'd be able to part with it. But I could make as many as you need. Such a simple thing.

Cobbler like myself. And in the Fae, is there such thing as negotiation? Back and forth. Is that disrespectful? I mean, I'm not trying to cheat you of any money, sir. I charge you what it costs to make the materials and a little bit extra for my years of experience nothing more i'm no no city dwelling merchant uh charge you

probably twice or three times the price i i charge what i can afford to make so i don't tend to negotiate on my prices unfortunately right but so perhaps perhaps if there's a there's a good reason perhaps if uh you can convince me you're worth it, I could maybe treat you as one of the family. Well, I'll let everyone else think about what they could potentially benefit from. I'm just going to have this bread roll. Before we err too close on the side of business chat...

600 gold, no less. Let's get comfortable and get to know each other as new family members. I think we may as well spend a little bit extra just to make this meal a little bit nicer. Those treats and drinks and things you were talking about. Of course, indeed. If you can spare us ten gold, I'll bust out my finest stocks.

Okay. I thought it was more. In that case, let me get my chest out real quick. I mean, yeah, you guys can easily just give this guy ten gold and yeah, he brings out they start cooking up food

and they start bringing out sweets and things like that and putting he brings out they start like cooking up food and they start like bringing out sweets and things like that and in bowls and things like that easily I think in the interest of time Lucius would regale them with tales that we are not from here if you didn't notice and then where we're from and the generic Aroas and the cradle

and things like that not specifically our mission as to why we're here but we are just visiting we're traveling um that sort of thing indeed oh yeah they they listen um ulstas doesn't seem to focus too much on it but all of the other centaurs like and you can one thing you would all pick up on actually um everybody here calls like so all the kids they you hear them call multiple people mom and dad um you hear the adults call multiple people husband and wife or like brother like this is a very big family like all the kids are kind of related and stuff like that this is like one of those like they are a family

unit together even if that means not related by blood like you know all the adults are mothers and mothers and fathers to all the kids like it's that kind of like they they all integrate together and work together kind of thing big family unit um and uh yeah they all listen the kids love the stories like especially lucius i can imagine with a high charisma kind of like really telling them in this kind of like you know uh embellished and sort of uh you know very eloquent way um they they love that they listen to it they're quite happy to listen to those stories um ulster's definitely listens and you can see he's the type who's like listening for like more things than just what you're basically

telling and he's kind of watching you all as he does but he plays the part of the gracious host you know always checking to make sure you have enough drink always making sure that you're comfortable um how long do you guys want to stay here like is this like a you want to stay till evening or are you just taking like a short rest like an hour long thing or do you want to take like a long rest here i mean i feel like this would it's intentionally a short rest but it sounds like it's extremely comfortable and quill is enjoying it a little bit too much that it could just last longer than that Yeah, unless Nova interjects with some Stats we got a move. Yeah

Sentry's got a level of exhaustion from the Lance Mm-hmm So a long rest is the only way you're gonna get rid of of that. I think Nova kind of whispering with Thalia in the back would kind of encourage actually that we do spend a long rest because she'd say to Thalia that like, you know, this is the first time you've been back here in how long? Let's just enjoy it for a moment. Take this moment to enjoy it.

You should ask them about Heart Spire. The knights didn't seem to know that much, but maybe these folks will. We should try and find out whatever information we can. Thank you. I don't want to raise too many suspicions about me. If I start mentioning Heart Spire, maybe they'll start thinking oh that elf looks familiar she's like definitely like staying quiet you know i'll be careful of course i will be um but let's just take this moment to just look around and yeah and reconnect maybe yes i'm glad that these i'm glad that we

came across these people to begin with um i would have hated it if we'd encountered one of the noble houses or something like that it would have been a very different experience but this this is the part of the fey wild i missed folks like this places like this can you see the stars from here? Do we get stars? Are there stars here? Well, there are. The twilight nebula kind of casts even the night sky. It's not too dissimilar to your cradle, really. It doesn't cover it up entirely, but it gives everything a sort of haze. But it also makes some of the stars shine brighter sometimes.

We'll see. We'll see. A place like this, though, and she gestures at the lake. This will be a nice place to spend the evening yeah maybe you can teach me some new constellations we don't really have them we don't name the stars here the stars before valkyrian arrived the stars to the fey folk were not places to visit or things out in astral space they were they were beings they were gods or heroes who ascended to become stars and things like that we don't really have constellations

but i can definitely tell you a few stories i'd like that sure just kind of like sits with you and sort of like presses up against you. Big Cat has found a big cushion and is like dragging it over towards Thalia. Like he's got it in his mouth and he's like dragging it. And then he flops down on it to sleep. What about everyone else? And then a rift formed. It was drawing infinite evil and we are transported through astral space to a rift formed. It was drawing infinite evil,

and we were transported through astral space to a whole different place. And I'm just creating, like, spells and things to, like, illuminate or create fire or acid. And then Birdie died! A little bit prior to that, but sure. Lucius's story is all over the place in terms of like chronological order also rosemary doesn't know that quill died and so like she is engrossed

she's like with the kids like on the like sat looking at lucius and she's like oh like she's like completely shocked and surprised by all of this stuff going on as well so she's like fully in there with the kids basically like completely um dazzled by the storytelling you know sentry did too and to carry her about for a little bit no heavy heavy when you carry over a long distance i will say sentry i love you but a lot a lot of metal there a lot of wood and metal. It's a lot to take care of. But she's back. And now she's even bigger. Don't do that again. Because, yeah.

New Sentry. Sentinel Prime. Big challenge. Big challenge. I'll try not to. I think I gained some good muscle. Good plan. Yeah.

Well, I guess that's the end of the story Lucia sits down That's kind of the end of the story there was a few missing details I will admit and a lot of it was all over the place but it was all the right events

just not necessarily in the right order but It sounds like you people have done quite a lot. We have. We've been around the place, but it's our first time in Lunaria. So I think it's best if we learn more about you. I mean, have you had much dealings

with Penelope of Penapoli before? I must say, we've never encountered we saw you pass when you were going into the wood but I've not had much dealings with the three knights I must say but we've certainly heard of various groups and the Lady Penelope just sort of

nods her head and her group are just keeping to themselves for now eating and resting and things like that they did pay a small amount of gold to the centaurs as well and you can see that one of the tents is being sort of like things are being taken out of it to make it available to them to rest in um but she just kind of raises a glass of wine to to ulstus the centaur um and just says and your your most gracious uh hospitality is most welcome uh is most welcome. It's most welcome, my good sir.

And she just kind of tips her glass and he just nods back. Yes, we've had various visitors. It has been quieter of late. Something is going on with the noble houses, some war somewhere that the emperor has requested troops for or some such but we're not soldiers, we don't apply to that so

I must say the Middle Romers don't have much love for the Empire as it is hear hear we're in agreement there they also attempting to take our homeland as well, from where we're from. I'm sorry to hear that.

The Lunaria, thankfully, it was a peaceful transition. The Valkyrians, well, the Twilight Nebula means that they cannot bring all their full force to bear here, but they still could have invaded if they wanted to. They certainly have the might and the numbers to do it. they still could have invaded if they wanted to they certainly have the might and the numbers to do it but the fey lords for once you know for the once in their many long-lived lives they worked together and they made an accord and uh we thankfully have been left alone yeah lunaria is still a peaceful and and uh quiet land quiet world that's good to hear unfortunately there was some quiet world. That's good to hear.

Unfortunately, there was some diplomatic talks, but there's a divide, and now I believe war is brewing. Where we're from. Difficult. I never would have expected the Fey Lords to unite on it, but something brought them together for certain. But, uh,

unusual, to say the least. But, uh, still, let's not trouble ourselves with such depressing talk. Why did you come to Lunaria? What brings you here? Well, I look to know the... No easy thing. Is it to help your friend?

And he gestures at Rosemeadow. Twofold, really? First, yeah, Rosemeadow doesn't remember... Has no recollection of the Feywild. None whatsoever. None at all, you say? doesn't remember has no recollection of the Feywild none whatsoever none at all you say not Rose My Doe

yes sorry we were just playing a game and you can see that she's like playing a game with the kids basically and she's just like yes sorry did you have a question Nova tell me everything you know about your childhood uh well i was found um by a uh the mayor of a place called kayla's rest and they found me in a beautiful field of roses out in the woods and that's why they call me rose meadow and that's about it and then i grew up and i learned how to make little alchemical things and i sell you know

hair tonics and crystals um i decided that my birthstone is uh is an amethyst uh like she goes into rosemary speak a bit um and you can see that ulstas is like watching her and like she goes on to Rosemallow speak and you can see that Ulstas is like watching her and like listening surprisingly intently and he just says oh interesting it seems certain that she is a Medawar as you well

given her perhaps it is her appearance first of all many centaurs, there are many centaurs here in Lunaria uh if you're not from the Meadowromers which is our group I suppose you tend to look a bit scarier uh plus uh there's her nature I mean look at her and he just gestures and she's like clapping and happy and stuff like that it's like we, the centaurs of my family and the families, the branch families

that we're all connected to, we were created by a tree spirit that had a great love of life and nature and people. And that's instilled in all of us. That's instilled throughout all of us. We have a great love of things, people, living things. Tends to make us very likable and amenable. And I can tell.

Just gestures at Rosemary. She's definitely one of us. I think, well, perhaps when she gets a bit of sleep, I can tell you a bit more. Right. I'd rather tell you without her here. It's a bit of a sad story. Oh.

Oh. Understood. Oh, well, Rosemeadow, you must be absolutely shattered from all that travel. You know, we're adventurers, so it's... I didn't want to say anything, but I am getting quite sleepy. We walked for so long and all this delicious food and it's just really nice and all this delicious food and and

it's just really nice and the fire is nice and warm and yeah I'm getting pretty sleepy well I'm sure our gracious hosts here can find you somewhere uh to to rest indeed indeed uh Elowen Elowen come and let's take our friend friend here and let's find her a nice place to sleep, maybe. In one of the tents and things like that. And they're like, oh, yes, indeed, I'll assist. And they grab a bunch of people and some of the knights also retire. The injured ones are all going to start

heading off to bed early. But Penelope and Radavan and Dago will stay up. And yeah, people start filtering off. The kids get taken to bed. Rosemeadow, probably Kairi would go with her as well like kairi's just like i'm kind of sleepy i don't tend to walk that much and then she'll like go with rose meadow and stuff as well um but leaving pretty much all of you guys uh and ulsters just ulsters up uh he's the only one who stays up and he kind of goes into that like you know a barman like a landlord like at lock-in starts

like getting like the good booze out and like starts laying glasses down for everybody and pours like a little shot and you know it's got that kind of like lock-in vibe where it's basically like you guys lady penelope rada van and ulsters just sat around a big fire and like real night begins to fall in this is like late night camping like the the stars are overhead although like thalia said there is this kind of purple haze that covers the night sky even though it's night time and it's dark there is this kind of gentle purple haze that blocks out some of the stars um there are two moons at least um that kind of shine down um but it's all reflected off the lake um and off these like floating rock waterfalls it's very

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Yes, she seems almost too close at all times. Yes. She came... She has a... She's done many great things for the Empire. Many magical advances and technologies that have improved the lives of people in various worlds. But the Feywild has seen the darker side of Zarkira.

Perhaps one that even the Emperor doesn't know. She came to Lunaria, maybe a century or two ago. She was seeking out creatures with unusual or powerful magical abilities. Innate.

Unusual. Something outside of what is expected of fake creatures. She was... They went missing. She would find them, introduce them, talk to them, and then within a few days they vanished, never came back. All sorts of creatures, pixies, centaurs, satyrs,

many things. There's a branch family of ours. They're called the Rosemeadow family. There's a branch family of ours. They're called the Rosemeadow family. They welcomed a new child into their group a long time ago. This child was special. Their mother was a unicorn, not a centaur or anything like that.

They were an actual unicorn who could take centaur form. And so they were blessed with very rare magic, half cent half unicorn very powerful druidic magic it was apparent even in a even in a babe even in a young child it was clear that our powers would grow and and become quite formidable and they feared for when they heard of zarkira seeking these magical creatures they They were afraid. And so, and then Zahkira came for them. Zahkira came to the Rosemeadow family. It was all smiles and offers and diplomacy, but I think we all knew what was really going on. When they refused, Zahkira attacked.

She killed many of them, but the child's mother, Alantea, a unicorn, she gave her life to hold off Sakiura, to fight her by the rose meadows as much time as they could to escape, to flee. And in their desperation, they made for an old dark wood, a place that many fey folk don't go anymore. And inside they sought out a powerful sorceress,

a spider witch, called Dawnweaver. They made a deal. Dawnweaver agreed to hide the girl. She said that, what did she say? There's an old legend. I can't even remember exactly. Maybe if you find them or if you can speak to somebody, they may know better.

But it's something like, I will take this girl to a world that zarkira cannot reach until something brings her home something like that i can't even remember but uh there's some sort of prophecy anyway uh that she would take the take the girl to a world that Zarkira couldn't reach until somebody brought her back. But Dawn Weaver knew that this would enrage Zarkira. Zarkira is not the type to be denied anything. And she knew that here in the Feywild, that rage could become a threat. a threat.

And so she forbid the rose middles from ever leaving her glade, Dawn's Hollow, her home in the heart of this dark wood. They could never leave it because she knew that Zarkira's rage, her anger, her desperation would constantly hunt them wherever they go. And so they've been trapped

there ever since, unable to leave. And we cannot go in either. Anybody who enters the forest called Black cannot go in either anybody who enters the forest called black stallion woods anybody who enters is killed by these roaming spirits two riders travel seemingly unaging immortal okay uh that was quite the tale and uh needless say I do wish to find out more about this prophecy because well she's back and it seems like

we were the ones to bring her here so the prophecy definitely pertains to us but also I feel guilty like we've made a mistake here Rose Meadow was blissful and content in the life that she had and we've almost forced her into position where she is to discover this harrowing

tale perhaps but she still has family maybe her her unicorn mother gave her life but the rose medals will be her family they are descendants or close relations they will be they will be her people but one thing is curious she doesn't seem to have any traits that I would expect has she ever shown any magic she used any magic or abilities or the like. I feel like she makes potions. She's pretty good at that. I think by your reactions she would be quite powerful for her age that she is now.

The unicorn blood, if she was indeed this lost child she should have far more power than she's shown that's the bit that I'm confused by so perhaps I could be wrong perhaps it could be just a coincidence perhaps she's just

I don't know some other girl that stumbled into a portal or a trick or some cruel spirit or something I don't know but um it would also be not necessarily cruel but cruel spirit or something, I don't know. It would also be

not necessarily cruel, but disheartening to take her to such a potentially dangerous place, only for her to discover it's not really who they were expecting. To build her hopes up like that, to find family.

Well, that's not for me to decide. That's just for you. I'm simply telling you a tale that I've been told. We appreciate that. If you wanted to learn more, I'm afraid that, well, the legend of the Rose Meadows has passed through. It's a story that we tell. It's a story that we tell around the fire.

The only people that would have more information are the Rose Meadows themselves. Or this Dawn Weaver, the spider witch who apparently aided them. the only people that would have more information are the Rosemeadows themselves. Or this Dawnweaver, the spider witch who apparently aided them. They would probably be quite powerful. There are many powerful archfey and spirits that roam these lands. Dawnweaver would know more. Fine, it's not for me to decide. But the story says that she would be brought back by someone, some prophecy.

You brought her here. And from the sounds of what your knight friend said and the stories you've told, I can't think of anybody else who could defeat these spirits that wander the woods. I can't think of anybody else that could actually help her get there. defeat these spirits that wander the woods i can't think of anybody else that could actually help her get there well uh i'm wary of our full grasp of uh lunaria and the uh the way things operate here these these spirits manifestations whatever they are i mean they could be far

stronger than anything we've faced before um could be could be but surely reuniting a family that has been torn apart by zarkira starmane is worth more than any risk i'm tired of hearing it i'm tired of hearing about her about them touching everything and turning it into sadness misery everything and turning it into sadness. Misery. Zarkira is a giant bitch, so if doing this would piss her off, then I'm all for it.

I'll defeat a spirit. I don't care. Apologies. Sorry, I'm very blunt. They probably should have warned you about that the foals have gone to bed don't worry about that we're all adults here

we're having a nice drink and a nice story I don't mind a bit of foul language doesn't bother me get pissed Lucius it's not becoming of you Lucius sorry I'm so sorry you're right you're both right Lucius. It's not becoming of you, Lucius. Sorry, I'm so sorry.

You're right. You're both right. We owe it to to find the truth even for that family. If nothing else, you'd be freeing. If you could destroy these spirits or find a way to unbind them or defeat them, if the meadows really are trapped and again

I must stress this is a story that I've been told I don't know how much is true about it but if they are there I mean free family it's just a coincidence that she was found in a bed of roses and she was called

rose meadow that's not only themselves we have a here in lunaria i don't know how things are in your world but um things like stories and prophecies and coincidence powerful things destiny destiny is a thread and it weaves through far more than we realize connects even the simplest things the simplest of folk to the greatest of stories a humble farmer who goes on to destroy an evil lord to the the young prince who's abandoned and returns home to claim his his birthright All of these things, coincidence is always part of them. They just happen to meet the right people at the right time.

They happen to be in the right place or even the wrong place at the right time. I think if you're here and you brought her, I have a good feeling. I have a good feeling but I'm not the one who's I'm not the one who has to go into a dark scary wood and fight off a couple of evil ghosts so not only that I think

it's not even our decision to make it's Rose Meadows and I believe we should inform her in the best way we can well that's why I wanted to tell all of you because I don't know her. I don't know how she'd react, but you all seem to be pretty sound of mind, and you know what's best for your friends. So I've passed it to you.

Now it's up to you, whatever you want to do. Thank you. And what do we owe you for that? Nothing. Story's a story you shared yours i've shared mine think of it that way i may be but if you'd like to drink it from our house if you'd like to buy something oh we could buy something i would i drink it i mean gold from our world i'll take that all right gold's gold gold on any world there's always 700 you said for those sneaky boots a 500 if you want the the boots they're quite the well-made boots um there's other things uh i have out of interest i have put them in the

chatter vmix i've put a big old list oh cool um a lot of them you'll probably be like what does this do uh he probably would be able to bring out some little trinket items so he brings out like a little staff um that he can play bird sounds like he like blow into a section of it and it makes bird calls um he brings out a cloak that always looks like it's billowing in the wind it always looks like there's a dramatic wind behind you um lucius's eyes widen at that and then glances at nova and back at the cape and back and over he's got like a very well-made there's lots of stuff i don't have the money anymore. Please, Birdie, can we have... Yeah.

Just for the flowy cape effect? It's a flowy cape. It constantly blows. How much is the constantly blowing cape? 50 gold. It's really a minor enchantment. It's nothing special. 50 gold? Don't set yourself short.

This is a phenomenal piece of fashion. Glad you like it. That one's actually, the capes were made by my third wife. She's the seamstress. Third wife? Things are very mysterious here to me.

In Gusthaven we have a single partner and that's it. How do you get anything done? How do you? God, that sounds very lonely. Well, we have lots of families that meet and converse. Lots of conversing, actually. No, it is quite dull, you're right.

Sounds exhausting. Anyway. Still. If there's anything else I can help you with, I feel like you've come to Lunaria for a good cause. If there's any information I can provide, if there's any other way that I can help. Oh, look, Nova.

A periapt of wound closure. That'd be good for your legs. Thank you, Lucius. That would be rather nice. I got impaled by a manticore twice. It could happen again. Oh, wow. That's the problem with only having two legs, my girl.

You need four. Do you have anything that adds legs? I don't, actually. No, I don't. I don't have anything for making more legs. I can make you a fine pair of horseshoes, though. Oh. Just hands and feet here.

I'm like, hmm. Just hands and feet here. I might... Hmm. Are you going to get horse feet, Sentry? Is that what you're thinking? Hoof your feet! I'm trying to think if... Do peritons have hooves?

I don't know. I'm D&D Beyond! They have clawed feet. They have clawed feet. They have clawed feet, yes. They have front hoops, actually. I mean, you can choose the form that Feinsteed appears in if you wanted to. Yeah.

And it's true. I might take those horseshoes. Well, these horseshoes are magical, not just normal horseshoes. Hmm're magical not just normal horseshoes what do they do well I will tell you what they do they are

we I guess a common name for them would be horseshoes of speed they actually increase a horse they make a creature faster it bears them sorry it's a picture of a periton it's got such a derpy smile it's about as good as mine with my fangs in

not true perhaps have a think on any items you might want to buy for the morning perhaps But did you have any other questions about Lunaria about the fee wild hello me hi Anything about a place called heart spire Oh Kind of expression goes a bit dark. I do um i mean i don't know much we haven't had news out of hearts by our first centuries uh we pick up being being traveling folk and having people stop by we do hear uh a lot of things rumors that sort of thing. I think Hartsbyre, a few hundred years ago now, a while ago, maybe five, six, maybe longer, the archfey who ruled Hartsbyre vanished. A new one took her place.

I don't know who, I don't know if that's ever been recorded anywhere, but shortly after, a wall of briars sprang up around the city-state. It's Hartsbyers, like a large city, and then a few outlying grounds, but nothing more than that. It's in the middle of a great wood, like most places in the Feywild. And the briar wall came up, and people suddenly found that they could not easily come and go.

Nobody came out, that's for certain. And when some of the nobles, the other regional nobles, wanted to find out what was happening, they sent scouts in, flying scouts, winged elves, airy. They crashed. As soon as they flew over the wall, they dropped out of the sky and landed behind the city walls. Never came back. Apparently, the Archfey have spoken to each other and they've just simply

agreed to leave Heartspyre as it is. It's not considered part of the council, it's not considered part really involved in anything of Lunaria's affairs, it's just sort of left to self-sustain, I guess, to be itself. But you hear rumors. The sky has gotten darker over the hundreds and hundreds of years. From my grandmother's time to my time, the sky has gotten darker over Hartsbire. People say that they can see things at the top of the briar wall looking out what sort of

things? nice things? faces? mixture, sometimes they see they might see a pretty elven woman's face flying on wings and then it disappears sometimes they say it's like a living shadow with eyes like fire

other times it appears to be a great serpent all sorts of things really people think that it's cursed people think that the whole place is under some malady, some curse out of curiosity I don't suppose you've ever heard of under some malady, some curse. Out of curiosity, I don't suppose you've ever heard of

a person called Mesmera? Rings a bell, aye. Rings a bell. There was a sorceress called Mesmera once. Used to be friends of Alicorns and very potent. People would go to her with desires. People that had wishes

travelers from other worlds or people here on the feywild um people that wanted to see things happen um they would go and speak to this good sorceress i believe they called her they called her the sorceress in white um and they would go and seek her but she vanished she vanished about the same time the new archfey took took charge of hearts by her i imagine that either the new archfey killed her um or has a trapped or locked up somewhere nova you feel like thalia's like tighten your tighten your like holding her your hand um but i mean also this is saying it genuinely you don't think that he's lying he just that's to be what he genuinely his interpretation yeah um I don't I don't suppose you know speaking of families and Rosemary's family do you know anything of the whisper wind family family? Whisperwind, Whisperwind.

He thinks, and it takes a moment. Something tickles the back of my brain. Old. Older than even Grandmother's stories. I think she was told stories when she was a girl, maybe. Similar to Mesmera, there was a family called Whisperwind. I think they may have been people in Hartsbyre, perhaps the ruling family. I can't say I've heard anything about them ever since.

Some things happen. Families, especially noble families and those who are empowered as Archfey, especially noble families and those who are empowered as archfey. Rivals can make them disappear. They fall foul of curses. Travelers, all sorts of things can happen. Quite a few have fallen in with less savory sorts of other worlds. Demons and devils have a particular interest in Lunaria. It's rich in magic. They feed off of it.

I can point you in the direction of Heartspire. I know the way. I can point you in the direction. Whether you can find a way through that infernal briar wall... Well, I mean, you look like a resourceful bunch. I'm sure that you'll find a way through, but I can't say what to expect when you enter. Yeah, Lunaria seems to have a knack for the inaccessible, whether it's haunted

dark woods patrolled by evil horsemen or briar-contained cities. The nature of it. It's the nature of a place that is all about magic and freedom. It's very easy for those things to not want to be found.

I suppose it's not so easy to just joint wish for an entrance to appear. You could try. People of sufficient will. The problem there is those wishing for an entrance, those trying to manifest it, would need to have a stronger will than the archfey who rules Hartspire. Only the archfey who rules Hartspire could have erected that briar wall, and I imagine they've done so with good reason. But I'm not saying it's impossible.

Tricky situation. I think we're definitely going to have to be careful. I don't like the sound of cursed briar walls I don't like the sound of smiling serpents or uh you know things peeking out at us while we try and um imagine a door just fiery eyed

shadows you know all the good things that you want to hear when you ask about a place probably seen it there again I don't know if this will be effective. I can imagine that knights in the past may have tried. You've got plenty of steel. You've got axes and swords and I'm sure many other tricks.

You could always try those. I mean, the Briar Wall, as far as we can tell, it's just thick and tall. I don't know if it's... I don't know if it can be destroyed but it could be worth a shot perhaps perhaps lady penelope would know more of that and lady penelope is like i have been listening um the three knights have never tried to go into our spire like i mentioned to you before we avoid it as far as we're concerned it is no longer part of Lunarian the Feywild but I do

remember there was a group of knights a group of warriors from one of the cities the archfey of that place he believed that he was owed something by Artspire when it closed its borders off he sent a unit of knights he sent a squadron of knights to go and get it, whatever it was to break down the briar wall and step in if I seem to remember, they could they managed to find a way, I believe fire I believe that they had a flaming sword

and the flaming sword they cut the briar and it worked but it grew back quickly so they had this noble knight with a flaming sword lead the way he cut a path through the briar wall but it sealed back quickly. So they had this noble knight with a flaming sword lead the way. He cut a path through the briar wall, but it sealed up behind them. They were never seen again. So perhaps fire may work.

One of the few elements that we are well-versed in, fire. But we might be able to make something work. I've got my lance. And so you can. I have my grenades. I have a really big hammer. And a law of anger.

I would recommend if you want to chop down briars, you will want an axe or a sword. I don't believe your ammo will do much against their thorny planks. Boo. Not fun. I'll give it a couple hits for good measure. It'll find a way of working, I'm sure. If you're angry enough, the hammer always works. if you're angry enough the hammer always works in my brain that's what I say

the angrier you get I yeah feel like I've told you all I can all that remains is for you to get a good night's rest if that's what you intend we've had a we've had one of the tents set up for you. Thank you.

Again, we must thank you for your gracious hospitality and the information you've so willingly provided for us all. It's no problem. It's not a problem at all. Like I said, you shared stories with us, we shared stories with you and it sounds like

you've come with a purpose and also you come if if your friend is indeed a member of the rose meadow branch family i'm obligated to help you we help each other that's what we do meadows care for one another so and if you do meet them if you do find the rose meadows tell them that if tell them that if they need any help the fair meadows family is waiting for them of course right then

some kippy kip yes kip is that the new one sleepy sleep was bad enough we don't need kippy kip such a beautiful sky as well I could get used to this Thalia just for the first time

Speaking to the group she's like It is a very welcome sight To see this night sky again My girl And with that I think that sounds like that's going to be the end of the episode so yeah I think we need to

talk to Rosemeadow that'll be fun shattering the dreams of an innocent family family so your mum's dead most of your fam's dead let's let Nova do the talking then So your mum's dead. Most of your fam's dead.

Let's let Nova do the talking then. Oh, why me? Don't let Ava anywhere in your situation. Very quickly, mum's dead. Ghosts are haunting the place where the rest of your family is. So the good news is you've got family. The bad news is that... They're trapped in a haunted wood.

Oh, but not your mum, though. Not your mum, because she died. Yeah, no, it'd be terrible. Forest can spit so many holes in it. Oh, dear. Oh, also, I spent 50 gold. Lucius can have the gad dang cloak. You can add a billowing cloak to your inventory, Lucius.

There you go. Does this take over any armor pieces, or can I have it as an accessory? It is entirely an accessory, and it does not require attunement, you'll be good to know as well. It just billows on its own. Incredible.

I wouldn't put it past him to take out something actually useful to put the billow in the legendary armor i got you joke i'll get rid of this stormcaller chain nice thing huh finished yeah that's the chain you got it from zafir you know the thing that i can hold down like level eight you can level 8 cool lightning and then walking on clouds and shit. I'll remove that. I just drop that on the floor and then put this here.

Sell it to a vendor. Give me 100 gold. You want this for it? Can I do that? Pretty good. Had finished off a fight. Got some lore. Got some drops. Got a couple of different things you can try now. I guess the main thing for me

as GM, have a look through those items if there's any ones you want to buy off Ulster's. But also, I know you want to talk to Rosemeadow, but decide are you guys going to go to this Black Stallion Wood and try and help Rosemeadow or are you like, let's go and help Thalia first?

That's what I need to know. lot I can pray yeah I think it's the time is on a time limit Rosemeadow's not aware currently yeah but she's got unicorn blood and she needs to discover her innate fire abilities so she can burn down the briar I see okay okay right yeah that's uh unicorns might have powers that could help in Hotspot, don't they? I think, yeah, that's the kind of... It's a trade-off. Time, danger, for... Yeah, we don't know.

We'd love to see how fast that tattoo progresses. That's true, yeah. Cool. Well, thank you very much, everybody. Happy Halloween. We hope you had a good time show us your costumes if you did any if you did any high rollers costumes do make sure you tweet them and send them to us because i always love seeing that stuff as well um and

happy halloween we'll see you next time ta-ra you