Introducing: The Glass Cannon Podcast Shadowdark E2 | This Is the Gloaming

Summary

Podcast Summary: Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry – The Glass Cannon Podcast, Shadowdark E2 | This Is the Gloaming

Date: February 27, 2026
Host & Production: Glass Cannon Network, featured on Geek & Sundry
Season: Ten Candles: Eclipse (Current focus: Shadowdark actual play)

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Episode Theme and Overview

Main Theme:
This episode centers on the continuing saga of four unlikely adventurers navigating the post-war realm of Shadowdark, specifically within the strange and dangerous region known as "The Gloaming." The focus is survival, group bonding, and the first foray into hex-crawl exploration, as the party takes on a search for a missing merchant while grappling with rumors of demonic forces and an atmosphere of ever-present threat.

Purpose:
To showcase the group’s improvisational problem-solving, the grim realities of their setting, and the emergent humor that arises from their banter as they delve into new missions, manage scarce resources, and deepen their understanding of the dangerous world around them.

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Key Discussion Points & In-Game Developments

1. Table Talk and Immersion

• Dice Legibility and Gear: Players share anecdotes about aging, dice reading, and glasses. Banter about digital subscriptions and wardrobe ensues, providing levity before diving into the narrative.
• Music & Cast: Opening notes highlight a musical introduction featuring Jason Charles Miller and Cindy Emmanuel, to which Player 2 jokes, “I can say now I sang on a song with Jason Charles Miller and that’s the coolest thing.” (03:13)

2. Recap of Episode 1 & Setting the Stakes

• The Situation: The DM emphasizes the party’s survivalist motivation after waking amid carnage post-war (“the opening image of this campaign is like your hand coming up from a pile of dead bodies. That says it all, right?” - DM, 17:03).
• Economic Hardship: Shelter and food are hard to come by; new arrivals in Marin’s Hold must scrape together coins for a single night's roof.
• Rules of the Hold: No magic is allowed inside the settlement, probably a blanket ban—all magic seen as dangerous or suspect (20:12–21:06).
• Rumors and Quests: Several plot threads are introduced—disappearance of merchant Regina Spence, rumors of bandits near Wardenwood, and suspicions regarding a tragic accident involving a wall collapse and a grieving widower.

3. Group Dynamics and Social Mechanics

• Trust-Building: The four characters are brought together by desperate necessity, not by choice—"You're together by circumstance. Four different people, all involved with this war, and you're all in need of work." (24:43)
• Establishing Ground Rules: The need for practical trust leads to new protocols (“If you leave the room, just lock the door behind you.” 30:31).
• Negotiation and Resourcefulness: Bartering for meals, sharing coin, debating how to split the cost for gear, and how in-game inflation affects their choices provide a thread of micro-conflict and camaraderie (34:00–34:57).

4. Investigation and Roleplay: Gathering Information

• Questioning NPCs:
  • The party interviews Martin Gardok, Regina’s business partner. He offers a reward (after much bargaining: “I guess I could offer you perhaps 80 gold pieces… Wait, I meant 50… just give me 30 gold and go find her.” 39:06–39:52).
  • Details on Regina’s missing party: she went north with three guards (Corvin, Brion, and Nelvin), on foot with a cart of spices (41:09–42:53).
  • Map procurement at “Maps and Stuff”—the group purchases a (questionably accurate) map from Denzar, an amateur cartographer who invites the party to improve his map in exchange for a rebate (45:32–54:05).
  • DM reveals the Gloaming as a volatile region where “the veil between our world and another world is very thin”—hostile and ever-shifting (46:22).

5. Uncovering Secrets

• The “Accident” at the Wall: Saint bribes Denzar with a silver, learns the true cause was a Skrull demon attack—covered up by the settlement’s authorities (60:06–62:38).
• Worldbuilding: Description of Skrull demons—flying, clawed imps—cements the supernatural threat (“They are more like imps…flying reptilian demons with long claws,” DM, 86:18).

6. Hex-Crawl and Travel Mechanics (Key Gameplay Segment)

• Preparation: Party pools resources to ensure they have weapons, armor, rations, torches—intense discussion on survival logistics and gear.
• Travel Rules:
  • Each hex = 6 miles/4 hours; party can move two hexes per day in normal terrain, one in marshland. Resource and fatigue management is key.
  • Random encounters and camp safety ("I'm going to be rolling random encounters every X amount of hours..." - DM, 73:11).

MAP MOMENT (48:12 onward)

The Gloaming’s revealed physical map via Foundry VTT triggers excitement and strategic planning.

7. First Night Camping Outside Marin's Hold [71:58–90:00]

• Encounter Tension: The group spies a nearby campfire; Saint scouts and finds seven strangers, but chooses caution (“I'm all in favor of not talking to them, to be honest,” 87:30).
• Night Watch: They opt for a fireless camp; suspense as the DM rolls for night encounters—nothing disturbs them, but the collective relief is palpable (“Oh my God. So tense. Really.” - Player 3, 90:42).

8. Second Contact: Refugees, Not Bandits

• Morning Social Encounter: The party tail the seven strangers, approaching in daylight. Far from bandits, they are refugees from a destroyed village (“We are seeking asylum…” 93:06).
• Mercy and Shared Hardship: Ferro gifts his last coin to the villagers—“It was all I had. I'm skint now. I've got nothing.” (95:44)
• Players’ Reflection: Relief that the world isn’t only full of threats (“That’s one less threat I guess we gotta worry about,” 95:58).

9. Pivotal Discovery: The Spiked Skeletons

• Daytime Exploration:
  • Moving north, they investigate ominous spikes seen the previous day.
  • They find “three scorched skeletons lashed to the three stakes.” (97:15)
  • The episode ends with this grim cliffhanger.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The opening image of this campaign is like your hand coming up from a pile of dead bodies. That says it all, right?” – DM (17:03)
• “It's not about, go kill this great wizard and rid the land of this evil. No, this is much more simple. You need money to live, to eat, money to have a roof over our heads.” – DM (18:53)
• “All magic? ... That would be risky, you know what I mean? You don't know their level of what they believe and what they don't. If you made a card disappear, they might put you to this...” – DM (21:06)
• “They left with them. They didn’t just throw them out, but they closed the thing behind them, the gate behind them.” – DM explaining punishment for magic in Marin’s Hold (25:21)
• “The land of demonkind... the world here changes sometimes. So this gives you the general area. There are pathways, as you can see, forests and whatnot. But the only way to really know the Gloaming is to explore it.” – Denzar, mapmaker (46:22)
• “There was an unfortunate attack recently on the palisade and the town. Half a dozen demons, Skrull demons I believe they’re called, came and breached the walls and slew several of our inhabitants. Horrible business.” – Denzar (61:03)
• “You quietly move through the forest...and you see seven people sitting around a campfire eating, like, cooking something over the fire. And they’re all eating.” – DM, player recon (81:21)
• “We are seeking asylum. Somewhere. A village was razed.” – Refugee, revealing their status (93:06)
• “As you approach, you see a mound rising up out of the ground...and there are three scorched skeletons lashed to the three stakes. And we’ll see you next time.” – DM (97:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Banter: 02:01–06:22
• Campaign Recap & Episode 1 Summary: 17:34–20:12
• No Magic in Town Rule: 20:12–21:06
• Resource Scarcity & Negotiations: 24:43–34:57
• Investigation – Merchant and Wall Mystery: 37:02–42:53
• Map Shop & Region Lore: 43:06–54:05
• Demon Attack Revelation: 60:04–62:38
• Preparation & Rations: 71:08–74:08
• Travel Mechanics & Hex-Crawl: 74:13–77:07
• First Night Outside – Stealth & Campfire Tension: 79:01–90:00
• Refugee Encounter: 91:20–95:44
• Discovery of Spiked Skeletons/Cliffhanger: 97:15–97:58

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Mood:
  • A balance of dark, immersive horror with light, sardonic wit and meta-playful jabs at RPG tropes and mechanics.
• Player Chemistry:
  • Rapid-fire banter, support, and table etiquette ground the episode, making moments of real risk, horror, and worldbuilding land harder.
• World:
  • The Gloaming is painted as an unstable, supernatural, and deadly region—mundane threats, demonic dangers, and the unknown loom.
• Tension:
  • Survival is uncertain, every resource and decision matters, and the threat of violence or misfortune is ever-present.
• Cliffhanger:
  • The grim discovery of skeletons impaled outside town escalates the stakes, promising further mysteries and dangers as the campaign progresses.

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For New Listeners

This episode is an excellent showcase of the Glass Cannon Network’s strengths: tangibly dark storytelling, nimble improv, and endearing cast chemistry. The campaign is accessible even for those new to the world, as the players themselves are making discoveries in real-time—creating a communal sense of dread, curiosity, and gallows humor. Expect suspenseful exploration, horror, and inventive roleplay in future episodes.

Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Player 1]

You are listening to the Glass Cannon Network, the premier source for role playing game entertainment.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I can barely see the road in front of me I can touch it

[Player 2]

before the things I'll never be

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

in my shadow time this air it's right off light on judgment day I can barely see the world. Welcome to the Glass Cannon Podcast. We're a bunch of good time pals yucking it up, busting chops and creating actual play podcasts of your favorite tabletop RPGs. And for this, our third campaign, we are playing Shadow Dark.

[Player 3]

Shadow Doc.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

The Shadow Dark and the Shadow Doc. I don't know if you know those vocals are Jason Charles Miller with backup vocals by Cindy Emmanuel.

[Player 2]

I can say now I sang on a song with Jason Charles Miller and that's the coolest thing.

[Player 3]

It was the best part of the song, I think.

[Player 4]

Yes.

[Player 3]

Apart from the music and Jason's and

[Player 2]

the singing and the guitar.

[Player 1]

Also the lyrics and the lyrics and the production. Production was great.

[Player 4]

So fifth best part.

[Player 2]

Thank you.

[Player 3]

It Was definitely part of the song.

[Player 2]

Stop talking.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Was it worth us flying you out to LA just to get in the studio with JCM?

[Player 2]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And his 17 piece band.

[Player 2]

Oh, man. And his five dogs to stand there and his five beautiful dogs amongst his five beautiful dogs. 17 piece band. I feel so lucky.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Five star hotel. We put you up.

[Player 2]

Five star hotel. You put me up.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Didn't mention that.

[Player 2]

First class.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Me in my office screaming at the top of my lungs.

[Player 3]

Wardrobe by Botany 500.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, great song and solid F1.

[Player 3]

It felt good.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It felt good. Leaving here felt good. If you liked it and you want to hear more of this stuff, the way to help us is subscribe and like the [e-mail] theglasscannon download and review us on Apple podcasts and Spotify. Drop a little five star John on those. It really helps boost us up the algo. Follow Glass cannon network on Instagram. We've got nudity on there. Probably. I don't know, maybe that got your attention.

[Player 4]

Right?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And if you want to get tons of content, including ad free versions of this very show, subscribe [e-mail] I gotta

[Player 3]

say something real quick because I think a lot of people, I think are under the impression that when we say subscribe, it means you have to like, get the card, like out of the magazine and like fill it out by hand mail it in. You know, six to eight weeks later, you get your subscription back. That's not true. It's just a button.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, I'm glad you clarified.

[Player 4]

We have really, like, updated all of our tech to just like. It's all digital.

[Player 2]

It happens like instantly.

[Player 4]

You can use your smartphone.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Yeah. You could do it on the phone.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Which is crazy to me.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

But that's great.

[Player 2]

The phones. Isn't it crazy that the phones are just getting smaller?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You're working out your type 5.

[Player 3]

She booked a corporate gig. She's very excited about it.

[Player 1]

It was funny. Halfway through that joke, I was like. I was like. She could go about four different ways with the last word and they'd all

[Player 3]

be, what do you like?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

We were all riffing, but something about your bit, we had to grind it to a hall.

[Player 2]

What made me think to do that bit was Joe taking the subtle pause before saying smartphone, which just really tickled me.

[Player 1]

As if you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You forgot the word smartphone.

[Player 3]

I like that.

[Player 1]

We were talking about choosing dice for the show that are legible and we were. Joe and I were just scrutinizing dice like this. Like two old men in cities are lying.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I can't see the numbers you're talking.

[Player 3]

I always complain about Sydney, your tiny dice. Like, how can you read those? I forget that how eyes work differently at your age. I didn't completely forget. Like, you can actually. Can you read that?

[Player 2]

12.

[Player 3]

There you go.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Wow.

[Player 4]

It's crazy.

[Player 3]

It's like a superpower to me.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It really is.

[Player 3]

I can't relate at all. It's insane.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It stinks. I have glasses. I don't want to wear them.

[Player 2]

Yeah, well, you're not wearing them.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, no, I haven't worn them in months.

[Player 1]

That's why you see them when you drive.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, no, I don't need them when I drive. I can get the gist.

[Player 3]

I know basically where everything is. Basically where everything is.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Big cars are.

[Player 3]

Can't miss one of those.

[Player 1]

My friends worked with this guy in high school. They worked at a UPS store with him. And he. I don't know how. I think he said a lot of things. One of the things he said he liked to do is he and his girlfriend liked to drop acid, drive down the highway and try to guess which cars were real.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Jeepers.

[Player 1]

We were all like, that's a bad idea. You're joking, right?

[Player 4]

And he was like, yes, I'm joking.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Sydney, do you wear any corrective lenses whatsoever?

[Player 2]

No, I have glasses that I never really wear because I don't really need them. But they're for when I read at night. They're a slight magnification because I would read a lot at night, my eyes would get tired. And my eye doctor told me you might be straining your eyes if your eyes get tired. And that's what leads to needing corrective lenses. So they're just my reading glasses.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Are they like librarian? Like, they have a long chain to them?

[Player 2]

No, that's Lose them. Which is why I don't wear them. Maybe I should get a long chain. No, they're just. I think they're Warby Parker.

[Player 3]

Oh, that's fun. Oh, those are.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Those are nice.

[Player 3]

That's another thing you can just get on the Internet. Yeah, well, you don't need a magazine

[Player 1]

or don't need a little card for that either.

[Player 4]

Six to eight weeks later, you get your glasses.

[Player 1]

Yeah, actually, I mean, like you.

[Player 2]

That's the cool thing about glasses these days. Like skid. Are your glasses new?

[Player 3]

I have like three different pairs.

[Player 2]

I love these blue ones.

[Player 3]

These are my. I have a pair. These are my, like, outside pairs that I wear when I'm even out in the world.

[Player 2]

Indoor, outdoor.

[Player 3]

These are my medium pair. If I'm going to be looking at a lot of screens, but I'm also afraid of like a close in sort of gunman. I can memorize their face if they're like 20ft away.

[Player 1]

There's a whole section for that.

[Player 3]

And then, and then I have like my, my office glasses, which is. I'm just gonna be looking at the computer for the next like, eight hours. If I'm streaming or something, then I wear those.

[Player 4]

Wow. Wow.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You know what? You don't need glasses to see a podcast. This break.

[Player 2]

Didn't see it coming.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That's right.

[Player 3]

Coming at all.

[Player 2]

Didn't see it coming.

[Player 4]

So smooth the transition.

[Player 1]

Segway expertise.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah. Yeah.

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

We are back. I want to thank our sponsors for this Shadow Dark campaign, our good friends at Norse Foundry. I think we might be rolling some rocks today. I had some rolling happening last week behind the old screen, you guys. Matthew pointed out at one point, don't worry about what I got going on here behind my tiny little Shadow Dark screen.

[Player 4]

That's a tight screen. Yeah, that's all you need.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I like, I. I ordered the wrong size.

[Player 1]

It is smaller than.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

If they take returns.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I'm not covered back here.

[Player 1]

It's the girth.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's the girth.

[Player 3]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's very girthy. I also want to thank. Speaking of girthy, big shout out to Foundry Virtual Tabletop, the girthiest virtual tablet on the market.

[Player 4]

They are actually.

[Player 3]

They are.

[Player 4]

You remember Ember? We did Ember.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

It's been a year. It was a year a year ago. Yeah. It's been a year, right. Yeah, I guess since we played Ember. Which. How would you describe Ember? It's.

[Player 3]

It was almost like. I mean, just with the, the. The platform, it was like an interactive, like a story game. It's like. What was those LucasArts games?

[Player 4]

Yeah, it was like. It was like being able to play a video game.

[Player 2]

Remember the landscape, the, like, scenes. They had, like these scenes. It was very narrative vignettes. Yeah.

[Player 3]

Were really cool.

[Player 4]

And that was like, whatever they call it. I don't know the terms of the alpha. Like, very, very early Alpha. They are now, I think, this week, actually releasing the beta. Oh, beta is out and if you backed it, you can, like, start participating.

[Player 2]

Oh.

[Player 4]

In the beta. Which is like.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's absurd.

[Player 2]

It's like, so cool.

[Player 4]

It's like a. I think he said if you play it weekly with your group, it's like a year of content in the beta that you could. It's the first three chapters of the adventure.

[Player 2]

So cool.

[Player 4]

Yeah. So that's like out now and then soon more people can buy into the beta in like, December or something.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Awesome.

[Player 3]

I want to play again. I want to bring Flomberg back.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, Flomberg. He was awesome. Matthew was the only one that wasn't there.

[Player 2]

Do you feel.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Is this awkward for you for us to talk about this?

[Player 1]

No.

[Player 3]

See, he's fine with it.

[Player 4]

He loves it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Glad I brought it up.

[Player 2]

He always sits up straight like that and freezes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Guys, you had a shadow dark tee on last week. Looks like you're dark in back.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That Morganicus or something? Yeah.

[Player 1]

What's his name?

[Player 3]

That's cool.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, he's got a whole page in the.

[Player 4]

Oh, yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Monster.

[Player 1]

This is honestly the most metal piece of clothing I've ever owned.

[Player 3]

You look so cool.

[Player 1]

You look so metal, which is so sad.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You're real Shadow dark pose. Or Danticus the Flayed.

[Player 3]

There he is. Like a Sarah Rat on theme.

[Player 2]

But I wore my shadow dark shirt for the first episode, and now I don't know, like, every episode I feel like I. I have to dress metal. Like, I have to dress hard. I don't know if I can keep it up. I don't know if I can keep it up.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Kate.

[Player 2]

Kate was the one who had, like, the coolest clothes. And I feel like she would be crushing the shadow dark thing.

[Player 3]

Her wardrobe would be perfect for this.

[Player 2]

I feel like I have to, like, step it up.

[Player 1]

I think she'd be willing to lend

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

me some clothes or costume design this

[Player 2]

from afar or costume design it. Oh, yeah. She would love to tell you guys what to wear.

[Player 4]

Absolutely.

[Player 2]

She tries.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

She always has a combination.

[Player 3]

That's why she loves the Sims. That's why she loves Sims.

[Player 2]

So dress you all up.

[Player 3]

Dress everybody up.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

We're not dol. Kate. Matthew Kite is.

[Player 3]

Oh, man.

[Player 1]

I've been waiting for this moment. I've been waiting for this moment. What I was like the first time that Troy makes a comment about my height. I'm going to reveal what we did, which was that I helped frame your seat before you got here today.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Is that why my head is cut off?

[Player 3]

Is that why my head's cut off in the frame?

[Player 1]

France is like, we need to start framing Troy's seat. He's not here yet. And Joe is like, oh, I'm sorry. Tall. And I was like, we're basically the same height. I'll do it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Wow, wow, wow. Do we have to stand up and do this? The old fashioned.

[Player 3]

Oh, my gosh.

[Player 4]

Oh, man. Get an official measurement.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Look, head's cut off. Slouching Troy. Yeah, nailed it.

[Player 4]

Natural. That's natural, Troy.

[Player 2]

Yeah, it was natural, Troy. You never sit like this slouching towards

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

who sits like this.

[Player 3]

Matt.

[Player 4]

That's how I play all my shadow dark.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Big fellas.

[Player 1]

This is the natural shadow dark pose.

[Player 3]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's time to play shadow dark. Are you ready to enter the shadow dark?

[Player 4]

Are you ready to enter The Shadow Dark?

[Player 1]

O.S.R. o.S.R.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

o Rubbug.

[Player 4]

Ruby.

[Player 3]

Rhubarb.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Man, last week was a lot of fun. I'm more stressed about this week, and I shouldn't be. We end the episode, I'm like, why was I stressed? That was great. But there was just so much going on. We went out to lunch afterwards and we couldn't stop talking about all the little threads. And you guys keep mentioning little things that, like, weren't even the major things that had come up. But obviously we get introduced to these four characters who are waking up after some cataclysm ended a war that they were in. And they. They don't know how long they've been out. Everyone around them, everything around them is death. And they come to, like, every part of their body aches and they find themselves in horrible, horrible places. I mean, I'll never not think about. The opening image of this campaign is like your hand coming up from a pile of dead bodies. That says it all, right? And you quickly realize that so much of what. What is happening right here at the outset is about survival. Right? It's not about, go kill this great wizard and rid the land of this evil. No, this is much more simple. You need money to live, to eat money to eat money to have a roof over our heads.

[Player 1]

We spent more money than any of us have spent or seen in recent memory for one night.

[Player 3]

I was thinking that had to be just kind of a stressful act too. It's like spending that much money that if we were to continue to spend at that rate, we wouldn't last a week.

[Player 2]

I mean, she said the weekly price and Sydney got. I looked at my sheet and I went, oh. Oh, no.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, she was trying to be nice. She was like, you know, we could prorate it if you decide to stay the. The whole week. But yeah, it's more you. You were. You're cobbling together those coins just to stay one night. And so you're. You come to Marin's hold this city where it seems like they've got everything you need here. Looks like it's a little bit under recons, but the guy has. Who runs the place, Reeve Tarley Winters. He sends out some guy to talk to the crowd and is basically like, this can be a sanctuary for you. Whatever wars you fought in, they're not going to be fought in here. One other rule. No magic. We don't deal with that shit here. Keep that outside our walls. As long as you obey the rules, everything will be fine. Otherwise, you might suffer a fate worse than death, which is banishment out there because the forest, this area is dangerous. At least. At least here you're behind walls.

[Player 3]

Did we take that to mean all magic or just arcane magic?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Sounded like all magic because it's like,

[Player 3]

I would understand a ban on arcane magic because the mishaps will occur. It can be very dangerous. But that doesn't.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It isn't divine magic, you know, if it's. If that divine magic aligns with the. The deities they worship, you might be okay. You might be able to get a pass. He didn't extrapolate on that. It was just kind of like, how

[Player 1]

do they feel about stuff? Like, like, you know, like the bullet catch or like, like catching a bullet

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

out of midair, like, you know.

[Player 1]

You know, or a little bit of like a, like, like a three Card Monty situation. How do they feel about that?

[Player 2]

Kind of.

[Player 3]

Oh, like stage magic.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, sleight of hand, prestidigitation.

[Player 1]

Yeah. Like if, you know, like, what if

[Player 3]

David Copperfield came into town?

[Player 1]

If David Copperfield came to town with

[Player 3]

I'm the Mott of the Mott and

[Player 1]

Bailey disappear, they might be disturbed for other reasons there. But you. You understand my example.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It sounds to me like it would be risky. You know what I mean? You don't know their level of what they believe and what they don. If you made a card disappear, they might be like, we're putting you to this.

[Player 1]

Is this your card?

[Player 3]

Show them. If, like, if Doug Henning showed up in medieval London and like, did, oh, here's your card, they would burn it at the stake as a witch.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So try it. Try it at the Crayfish tonight. See how it goes.

[Player 1]

Maybe on our way out, we'll be like, is this your card? See what happens.

[Player 4]

What was this show? That. Was it Will Arnett? Did he do that show where like, like somebody was not in on, like, they would have a celebrity come in and it was like a murder mystery, but it was all improv.

[Player 3]

Oh, Murderville.

[Player 1]

Murderville.

[Player 4]

Murderville. Yeah, yeah. Do you remember? Did you ever see. I never watched.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Was great. Yeah, it was on, but I wasn't

[Player 4]

there one with Conan o'.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Brien. Oh, my God.

[Player 4]

A guy did, like, a. It was a magician that was a suspect, and they were interrogating him. He was like, do you want to see a little. And he, like, did a thing. Will Harnett literally threw himself off of a chair, back against the wall, and

[Player 3]

he's just like, sorcery

[Player 4]

broke a character.

[Player 3]

So it was so funny. But that was a really good show. Yeah.

[Player 4]

But I do think about, you know, that kind of example, like, where somebody else might be like, oh, that was a fun trick. And somebody else might irrationally be, like, the use of magic in these walls is forbidden. And then, like, throw you into the.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Cut her in half.

[Player 4]

Right, exactly.

[Player 2]

Saint saw the guards making people leave. Like, unknown reason why, but it seems to be magic.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

This is where we ended the episode. A lot happened before then. You, you know, you got your room, you met each, because basically they were running out of rooms, and they're like, we're looking for foursomes. And Matthew's character, very wisely, was like, they're with us. And grabbed Joe and Sidney's character, and the four of you got a room. You're together by circumstance. Four different people, all involved with this war, and you're all in need of work. So you go down to the Crayfish Tavern. It seems pretty boisterous. Everyone's kind of looking at you sideways, especially the new people. But you get some drinks, and then Joe's character starts talking to some of the builders that are working on. Looks like part of the Palisade had been rebuilt recently, but some of the houses nearby are under construction as well. Talk to some of the builders, see if they had work, and they were like, no, unless somebody gets hurt, I think we're in good shape. But, you know, there are, like, other opportunities. There was this merchant that disappeared with her guard recently. You should talk to her business partner, who's still here. People don't know if maybe she took off or maybe she's gone for good. And then you followed a drunk guy out who was being carried home by one of the builders after putting up a scene. And you talked to the bartender, and it seems like his wife died recently from an accident, and so he's very sad about that. You followed him, found out where he lived. You come back to the Crayfish Tavern, and there's a guy waiting outside, kind of a shady character who you beat at dice earlier when you were waiting to get into Merrin's hold. And he's like, if it's real coin you're after, I have some Information if you'll give me my money back. And he tells you that there are bandits to the west outside of another settlement known as Wardenwood. And he thinks that the people of warden Wood would pay a nice price to be rid of that problem. So you've got a couple options. And then at the end, you go back home. You go back to your inn. The feathered wish. There's two ends. The weathered fish and the feathered wish. And you set a watch. On the second watch. You hear a woman shriek outside. You look out the window, and the guards are, like, forcibly ushering a few people, including at least two women, out of town. And they're like, no, it's not what you think, or something like that. And they brought them out. Drawbridge goes up, and you leave. And that's where we ended the episode.

[Player 4]

Sorry. Did they walk them out?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, they leave them. They left with them.

[Player 4]

Come back in?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, they left with them.

[Player 4]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Player 2]

Oh, they left with them.

[Player 4]

The guards left. I thought so. You described it coming back up, and the guards never came back.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I hope the audience understood that.

[Player 2]

Oh, Sydney, I didn't understand that.

[Player 3]

I didn't either.

[Player 1]

I didn't either.

[Player 2]

Yeah, okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Now you know.

[Player 3]

Okay.

[Player 2]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, they. They left with them. They didn't just throw them out, but

[Player 2]

they closed the thing behind them, the gate behind them.

[Player 4]

Middle of the night. Bring the second watch.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That is where we pick up our episode today. How about some fresh caps, Sydney? You used your cap. So you were at one while he's greedy. Fox M2.

[Player 4]

Ah, save them up.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So many caps, so many blood of the wild luck tokens.

[Player 1]

Who's this?

[Player 4]

Oh, that's Neil. That's Neil from get in the trunk.

[Player 2]

Oh, nice.

[Player 4]

Oh, yeah, yeah, like skids. Filmmaker.

[Player 3]

Filmmaker Filmmaker slash retired surgeon.

[Player 1]

Is it? Is it? Is the look b based on Rick Okasic?

[Player 4]

It is.

[Player 2]

Good call.

[Player 3]

Good eye.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right, so. So you tell me where you want to pick up. We can pick up next morning. Or are you coming back and waking them up?

[Player 2]

No, I would come back. I would retie the door and do the watch as normal. I'll tell them in the morning.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right?

[Player 1]

Tell them in the morning. Don't worry about it.

[Player 2]

There's nothing we could do now.

[Player 1]

You're probably dead, Joe.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Let me hear that queued up cock a doodle doo sound.

[Player 4]

Wish I did.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Ready to go?

[Player 4]

Wish I did.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That's what you hear. There it is.

[Player 4]

I nailed it.

[Player 1]

Verisimilitude is stunning on the glass gun network.

[Player 4]

There we go.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

There we go.

[Player 4]

Just took an extra second. Thank you, Sirenscape, for bailing me out.

[Player 1]

Was that Ben himself?

[Player 4]

Probably. Probably.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You wake up, you're on the sixth floor, sixth room of the feathered wish. It's a new day, and for the first time in a long time, you've slept in a bed comfortably. Some of you took baths, showers, or whatever. You feel recharged.

[Player 3]

But,

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

you know, it's a weird place.

[Player 4]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Player 3]

And we can't get used to this. We don't.

[Player 2]

We have the.

[Player 3]

We don't have the money to, like, do it all.

[Player 1]

And I can't decide if it's the. The best night of sleep that Ellison has had in a long time or the worst, because after sleeping on the ground in a foxhole for all this time to then have a bed, even a little cot, you know, it's like, be weird. You just keep waking up.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I wonder if at a certain point, you got up and just slept on the floor instead, because that was more comfortable.

[Player 3]

Yeah, I heard that, like, soldiers, like, coming back and sleeping in a bed for the first time and forever, and they're like, oh, it's too soft. I can't get comfortable.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

I think Saint is still, like, out cold in the morning once folks wake up. Like, he is sleeping through.

[Player 1]

Poke you a little bit.

[Player 2]

You poke me. And immediately shoots up holding his dagger.

[Player 1]

We're just gonna get breakfast. Well, yeah. I mean, should we. We were talking a little bit on our way back from lunch about order of operations here. So we do want to talk. We want to talk to Martin Gardach.

[Player 4]

Yes.

[Player 1]

The business partner of Regina Spence who went missing. We also thought maybe the. If there was. That was a bandit situation. That was your theory. But maybe we have. We don't know. But if that is what happened, that might be worth getting the information from the attempted card sharp dude.

[Player 2]

Yeah, my friend, I would be willing to part with some coin, but I'll probably get that coin back, if you know what I mean.

[Player 1]

I feel like also, if we show up with a hulking half orc soldier,

[Player 2]

this is, I think, what Saint's idea is too. He wants to bring the entire group to this guy to show, like, you can't bully me. You can't bully me into doing tasks for you. I'm not your friend. And I have people, like, with me now. I have, like, a crew now. So he pitches it to you guys in the morning, and he tells you about last night. He says during his watch, heard something, went outside, and we'll cut to them. Like eating breakfast, maybe. And he's talking low at the table. And they took her and some others out.

[Player 4]

Well, they just kicked them out because they. Well, they were probably fighting.

[Player 2]

No, they. They took them out, and the drawbridge closed behind them.

[Player 1]

I wonder if they were using magic.

[Player 3]

Magic?

[Player 2]

Well, that's what I thought, too.

[Player 4]

But even if they were, wouldn't the guards come back?

[Player 1]

That makes me wonder. The man we saw at the bar last night, the one crying about his. His wife who had. What did they say?

[Player 2]

Died in an accident.

[Player 1]

Accident.

[Player 4]

Accident, she said.

[Player 1]

Wonder if she had been removed, too, for the same reason.

[Player 2]

That's interesting.

[Player 4]

Did you.

[Player 3]

Did you recognize those. The women that. The people. You saw people being taken out. You see them today in one of the lines.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

So they knew Ken.

[Player 2]

Did. Did Saint kind of recognize if they were like new people he had been seeing in the camp?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's hard to tell at night. Like there. There was nothing distinguishing about them.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Also, why didn't you wake us up?

[Player 2]

It was my watch.

[Player 4]

But you left us in the room.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

Did you lock the door behind. Behind you?

[Player 2]

No.

[Player 4]

You can't leave the room this. Am I crazy?

[Player 1]

We're new to each other. But let's establish ground rules. Maybe if you leave the room. Just lock the door behind you.

[Player 2]

Well, then I'd lock myself out.

[Player 3]

Presumably have a key.

[Player 1]

You'd have key to lock the door.

[Player 2]

Well, apologies for not thinking through all this in the moment when I heard a woman scream outside, which Just wake

[Player 3]

us up if they.

[Player 4]

There's some danger or something. Just wake us.

[Player 2]

All right. I'll wake you up next time.

[Player 4]

All right.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Do you guys want anything else to eat?

[Player 2]

Just the check.

[Player 1]

Where are we eating?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Who's paying for that?

[Player 4]

He is.

[Player 1]

He is.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I'll just leave it on the table. I'm gonna make every single coin disappear.

[Player 4]

Could I ask.

[Player 3]

I'll leave it here.

[Player 4]

Ma', am, could I ask you a question before you go? The only.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Take cash.

[Player 2]

What else?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

What?

[Player 4]

I was asking about working on the. On the wall there, and I'm. We're new to town. I'm just curious what happened there?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

She kind of looks at you oddly. She's like. Oh, just an accident we had. Tree fell on it and caused a bit of damage. Anyways, I'll be right back.

[Player 1]

Are we eating at the Crayfish?

[Player 4]

I don't know.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, you're at a bed and breakfast. Like, a little breakfast spot. You're at the best breakfast spot in town.

[Player 4]

Seven gold for the meal.

[Player 3]

Well, I don't want to go to the best one.

[Player 4]

It's called.

[Player 1]

It's not the best one.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's a greasy spoon.

[Player 3]

Let's go to the worst.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You said you went out for breakfast,

[Player 2]

so the best one is ham on the bone. The worst one is greasy spoon.

[Player 3]

That's what I used to like to do. Like when I was going out to dinner, I was like, what would you like to drink? It's like bringing us a. Bring some of your worst wine. Not necessarily the cheapest wine, just the. The one you like the least.

[Player 1]

Isn't there.

[Player 3]

Let's go to the worst breakfast spot.

[Player 1]

Isn't there a rule of thumb that you. You want to choose, like, the second least expensive wine on the menu or something? Like there's some, like. I don't know, there's some thought process.

[Player 2]

I kind of live by that rule.

[Player 4]

That's usually what I do.

[Player 1]

Second cheapest.

[Player 4]

Yep.

[Player 2]

Because the cheapest is obviously the worst.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

When I look at a wine list, I don't look at the wine, I look at the prices. And then I go left from there.

[Player 3]

Right.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

One's $28 a bottle, one's 32 and one's 64. You get the 32.

[Player 3]

32.

[Player 2]

Same with sake. I do the same thing.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Unless it's special.

[Player 1]

This whole time I thought you knew what you were talking about.

[Player 2]

No, I like certain sakes, but I'm not gonna pick the most expensive one.

[Player 1]

You always are very, like, you're very. You take charge.

[Player 3]

Authoritative.

[Player 1]

Authoritative in the ordering of sake. I thought you knew what you wanted.

[Player 2]

No, I like what I like. I like a junmai. But anyway, I digress.

[Player 3]

Hey.

[Player 1]

All right.

[Player 4]

Warwick is going to turn back to the table and be like, Citizen Tree Fallen is not going to do that to a wall or a bunch of houses all at once.

[Player 2]

People are saying the word accident too much. I don't like it.

[Player 1]

I think one other order of business we should attend to is if we can find a map of the area. I want to keep heading north. I want to get home.

[Player 3]

Map would be brilliant.

[Player 1]

So if we. And if we can find someone who has an accurate, well drawn map of

[Player 3]

the area, that would be great. That would help a lot.

[Player 2]

You check the shops?

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

Maybe we can find. What's his name? Martin Gardok.

[Player 4]

And his car. I think that's gonna answer a lot of questions for us. So the sooner we get going, the better.

[Player 1]

I don't want to stay here.

[Player 2]

I think.

[Player 4]

Get ready.

[Player 2]

I think we should stay as a group, too. I got somebody I want to talk to. And I need you guys to come with me.

[Player 1]

All right, thanks. Thanks for picking up breakfast.

[Player 2]

And I get up, I get up and I leave.

[Player 3]

Oh, we're, we're. We're skipping out. How much is the bill?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

300 gold.

[Player 1]

No, we're definitely skipping out.

[Player 3]

That's why this is the worst breakfast place.

[Player 2]

Yeah, the food was great.

[Player 3]

They charged 300 gold.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Gold, you know, I imagine so what do we say? Rations were three silver. Well, silver for three, five silver for three rations.

[Player 3]

So I refer to the menu.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I think it's probably the menu.

[Player 2]

Give me something good.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I think 12 silver seems accurate.

[Player 3]

Plain breakfast at the end of the welcome wench was five copper. An elaborate breakfast on the other hand was two silver pieces.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, all right. So maybe mine is a little expensive.

[Player 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay.

[Player 4]

It seems like it's probably like two.

[Player 2]

Two silver.

[Player 4]

Two silver. Five copper each.

[Player 2]

Yeah, two silver copper each.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Silver. Hey, you might want a tip.

[Player 3]

True. There were no gratuities. There were no gratuities in a medieval fantasy.

[Player 2]

To me, this is Europe fantasy.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

In this two episode old show, everyone is new house rule, no gratuity.

[Player 1]

A fair living wage.

[Player 3]

Yes.

[Player 2]

In this town.

[Player 1]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It is a fantasy world in this

[Player 2]

poor war bedraggled town.

[Player 4]

Yeah. Also, she clearly lied right to our faces.

[Player 2]

Oh, 1000%. Everybody's lying.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So you start at 20%.

[Player 1]

What are you going to test her? You say put the tip on the table and everyone tells you a lie. You remove a copper piece.

[Player 4]

Sounds good.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

She did lie to us. So we shouldn't give her a tip.

[Player 3]

Yeah, anytime a server lies to me,

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

it's the first thing I do is

[Player 3]

take a percentage down to 18, ask

[Player 1]

the question to which you know the answer and just.

[Player 3]

Yep, I just. I just keep testing them the whole meal time.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Is it yesterday?

[Player 1]

What?

[Player 3]

14%.

[Player 4]

Let's head to this to Martin.

[Player 3]

Yeah, let's talk to.

[Player 2]

I'll put the two silver piece down. I'm tracking it. I put the two.

[Player 3]

Well, you were the richest one also. Cuz you won the money.

[Player 2]

You don't know that I put two silver.

[Player 1]

You made a point of saying you. You look clean and well fed.

[Player 3]

You're a peer richer.

[Player 2]

Maybe you do know that. I don't know.

[Player 3]

And you won that card game. You should have a million dollars.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Maybe she's just.

[Player 4]

What?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I think she's just a con man.

[Player 2]

Yeah, maybe.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right, so you head over to Martin Godrax shop. It's a little cart. And you go over there and there's a stocky gentleman. He's got sort of this fanciful white beard. And he's not dwarf. He's a human. But he's just, like, short and stocky. And he's going about, like, opening up the shelves of his cart. And you see there's, like, spices everywhere. And he sees you coming. He's like. Oh, just a moment. I'm almost ready. Just getting the rest of my spices set up for the day. It's a little hard here. I'm not used to setting this up. Is there something in particular you're looking for? I'm just. I'm not quite ready to. But I don't want to. No, it's all right.

[Player 4]

It's all right. We're not looking at the shop at the moment. We understand that your business partner. Regina Spence.

[Player 3]

Regina Spence, yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Have you heard anything about her?

[Player 4]

She's gone missing. And we were hoping to look into it for you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh.

[Player 3]

We were wondering if there might be, like, a reward. Not to be class mercenary about it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I see. Yeah. Yeah, I mentioned it to the town guard, but they.

[Player 3]

They're not gonna help you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, no, they have a lot to do here, and so they couldn't do it. I didn't want to put up signs or anything. Cause I thought maybe she'd come back. There's sort of rumors that she left. But I know Regina. She wouldn't just leave me here. We've been working together for some time. It's kind of of you. What did you have in mind? Well,

[Player 4]

rumor was that she headed north. Is that right?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. She was heading up the northern road to see what was left of the area. Just beyond here, there was a.

[Player 3]

So that's the direction of the battlefield that we.

[Player 1]

No, we were moving north from the battlefield.

[Player 3]

North from the battlefield. Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

So it's like an area, maybe another battlefield.

[Player 3]

But we really do need a map

[Narrator/Advertiser]

so I can look.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, you really need a map.

[Player 1]

But my understanding. I think the battlefields are all around. Right. But we were.

[Player 3]

The one we came from.

[Player 1]

Yeah, we came from one to the south.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. There's evidently a spice trader up there, and she took our guard because it's dangerous out there. So I suppose anything could have happened to them. There's all sorts of strange rumors of what goes on beyond these old.

[Player 3]

Right.

[Player 4]

Well, we were hoping that maybe finding out what happened to her or maybe even recovering some of the merchandise might be worth something to you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. I suppose we should get right down to it, then. I guess I could offer you perhaps 80 gold pieces.

[Player 3]

Holy shit. And I Just like completely. Holy shit.

[Player 1]

That's too low.

[Player 3]

It's completely free.

[Player 1]

Yeah. All of us, I think. I've never heard of that much money before in my life.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Sain also freezes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Wait, I meant 50. 50 gold pieces.

[Player 1]

I don't know.

[Player 4]

80.

[Player 1]

Plus, of course, a share of whatever we recover.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. No, 10 gold pieces each is, I think, more than sufficient.

[Player 1]

What happens to the 80?

[Player 3]

This is a terrible negotiation.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I read the wrong number originally. This is meant to be 53.

[Player 3]

Twice the. We've lost money twice without saying anything.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

25 gold should be enough.

[Player 3]

Keeps getting worse. We have to get. Run, run.

[Player 4]

Go find her.

[Player 1]

Bye.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Just give me 30 gold and go find her.

[Player 1]

It was like there's not even any time for counter offers. It's like.

[Player 3]

What the.

[Player 1]

What just happened?

[Player 3]

Have to flee before we heal him.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I meant to say 50 and I said 80 out the gate. But that's still 10 gold apiece. And even more if one of you perishes. Oh, no, there's four of you. I keep four.

[Player 3]

Kate's gone.

[Player 2]

So. 50 gold.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

50 gold. 50 gold.50 gold.

[Player 3]

Please.

[Player 4]

Do it for it. 50 gold. Yes, absolutely. Yes, absolutely we could do that.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I mean, obviously I should state the obvious, but best case scenario, you retrieve them. If the worst happened, I. I would just need to know. I need to know so that I can prepare myself to move on as best I can. But what I'm saying is I won't pay you without proof.

[Player 3]

Were you too close?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. We've worked together for some time. This recent unpleasantness out there in the world has made business a little more difficult. But there aren't many spice traders like us out here. And so we. We've done well for ourselves. We were able to hire our own guard. And you know, this was kind of. I don't know, we just thought like things were gonna go on great forever.

[Player 2]

How many guards went with her?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Three.

[Player 2]

You knew them?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. They're good men. They've been with us for some time.

[Player 1]

What are their names?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

We take care of them and they take care of us.

[Player 4]

They've been with you for some time? What are their names?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Coravin, of course. Corvin, Brion and Nelvin.

[Player 2]

Corvin. Brion and Nelvin, Yes.

[Player 4]

Were they well armed?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's gonna be a long armor. There's only so many names. They're gonna meet a lot of Corvin out a name.

[Player 4]

That's the other thing. It's like you're gonna be forget. A lot of people in the world have the same Name. It's not that crazy.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Corvin is like Mike and Shatterdeck.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Wait a minute, minute. We already met a mic. You're lying. You're lying about your name. Like they're.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You didn't know them that well?

[Player 1]

You even know their last name.

[Player 4]

That's honestly one of my favorite parts about Game of Thrones that there's so many of the same first names that people have. Yeah, it feels very real.

[Player 3]

I make it a little confusing reading it off the page, but it is more realistic.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

They were three brothers. They all the same last name. Which one was Lansing Shire.

[Player 3]

Lansing Shire.

[Player 4]

Melvin Lansing Shire.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Rolls right off the tongue.

[Player 1]

Orvin Brion and Nelvin Lansingshire.

[Player 2]

Brothers.

[Player 1]

Brothers.

[Player 4]

And they were. They were well armed? Armored.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes, yes. You have to be if you're to go out there.

[Player 2]

I assume horse.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, no, they were. They were traveling by foot.

[Player 2]

All of them?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes. Some of the land around here, some swampy. It's safer to travel by foot.

[Player 4]

So wait, how are they carrying the merchandise?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Just in a cart. A cart? A push cart.

[Player 4]

They were just pulling it themselves.

[Player 1]

Yes, speaking of that.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You find trace of the cart, Let me know that as well. But I need to know what happened. Or hopefully to retrieve them and bring them home. They could have been captured.

[Player 1]

Could you provide us or point us to. To a place where we could find an accurate and well drawn map of

[Player 3]

the area and current.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

There's a cartographer, a little shop of antiquities.

[Player 3]

Fantastic.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

He owns it right over there.

[Player 1]

Hey, what's his name?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You don't need to know.

[Player 4]

Please stop.

[Player 3]

What's the name of the store though?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You got maps and stuff.

[Player 3]

Amazing.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Perfect.

[Player 4]

I don't know how we miss.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Honestly, it has almost everything you'll ever need. Is it.

[Player 1]

Is it maps, Apostrophe and apostrophe Stuff

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

and maps and stuff. And the proprietor is nameless. He's never baptized.

[Player 3]

Johan. Nameless.

[Player 1]

Nameless.

[Player 4]

Right.

[Player 1]

All right.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Player 1]

All right. And all right, we'll sit out.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right. Thank you for taking an interest in this and good luck to you. I. I hope that weeks from now another group won't be coming looking for me to pay them to retrieve you. That would.

[Player 1]

Well, you don't even know our names, so.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, that's right. You asked me my name, I never got yours. And you do and then you move on.

[Player 3]

Fine.

[Player 1]

Fine. Okay, let's go to maps and stuff. Do you want. Can we not play, role play maps and stuff or do you want to do that?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You can role play maps and stuff

[Player 1]

a little bit we just want a map.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Welcome.

[Player 2]

Ding, ding.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, hello. Welcome to Maps and stuff.

[Player 3]

Hello. Mr. Nameless.

[Player 4]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, you've. You've heard of me.

[Player 3]

You've been highly recommended. We were told that you might be able to provide us with a map of the region. What you might charge for something like that? We don't have a lot of money.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, I'm an honest salesman, as you will know, no doubt hear if you ask anyone in town. And I.

[Player 3]

The nameless name carries a lot of weight.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

My name is Denzar.

[Player 3]

Oh, Denzar.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes, I am.

[Player 3]

We were misinformed.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I'm a bit of an amateur cartographer, I should say. But I do my work not so much from sight, but from stories. And the reason I'm hesitant at first to see you a map of the area is that its accuracy is questionable. And that is not from my handiwork, but is just from the nature of the area. You are outsiders? Yes. Were you part of this group that was recently let in?

[Player 2]

Yes, yes.

[Player 3]

We are new here. Yeah.

[Player 4]

We also don't even know much about the land itself around here.

[Player 3]

We're very much strange. This place is strange to us.

[Player 4]

What do you mean? The map is unreliable.

[Player 1]

Why would we pay for an unreliable map?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Let me explain. And he goes and starts reaching through papers and he says things are just different in the gloaming. And he pulls out a map and lays it on the fucking counter.

[Player 3]

Nice.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Go to Foundry.

[Player 4]

Virtual.

[Player 3]

Oh.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And you see?

[Player 3]

No mess.

[Player 4]

Come on.

[Player 3]

Oh, that's awesome.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, cool. This is the general area that is sort of known as the gloaming. It is a strange area made all the more strange by these recent goings on, wars and whatnot. I don't get involved. But it is a forest of sorts where the sort of veil between our world and another world is very thin. The abyss. Hell, a darkness beyond mortal ken, whatever you want to call it. The land of demonkind. They can sort of seep into this world here. It is a dangerous area that is very volatile. So when I say the map is unreliable, it's mainly because the world here changes sometimes. So this gives you the. The general area. There are pathways, as you can see, forests and whatnot. But the only way to really know the gloaming is to explore it. I think that this should be a good starting point for you. And you know, I will obviously sell this map to you if you are interested. And you know, perhaps I could even offer you some coin or you to help corroborate some information you find along the way could be a gift for me as well, for future maps that I sell. If you discover things out there and are lucky enough to return, you let me know and I'll draw my little palisades and whatnot. Yeah, you can even see I already drew Marin's hold. I will put the party token on Marin's hold.

[Player 2]

And this is Cardinal from where we are. So north, south, south, east and west.

[Player 1]

I can see the hexes now.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yep.

[Player 4]

Oh, my gosh. I see the party in the token.

[Player 2]

Oh, my gosh.

[Player 4]

Look at us. That's amazing.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You can always see one hex away from where you are. And depending on where you go, as you travel, it will start to reveal more on this map.

[Player 4]

Oh, that's so cool.

[Player 2]

That's so cool.

[Player 1]

So this road, kind of through this valley up here is the roads to the north, presumably, that Martin was talking about, right?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Presumably, yes. That is the road to the north. And then if we took Gina. Allegedly took. And then, yes, over that little footbridge, there's a pathway leading to the west. But you could even ask him. Oh, yes, Wardenwood. Yes. Wooden wood lies somewhere to the west, right at the edge of the lake, I believe.

[Player 2]

What's the lake called?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, the lake. You know, the lake. Are you really that new here? He stalled while looking at his notes. It's Finimir Lake.

[Player 2]

Finimir. I assume it was important, but maybe not now.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes, Finnamir Lake. There's a little island on there. And, you know, you'll see that to the south here. It is, a very marshy, swampy area. Tough to traverse. Yes, you might call it difficult. Terrain will slow you down should you go down in that direction. The paths in the forest. I can't tell you what is better. Some of the paths might be just as dangerous as the forest, as people wait for unsuspecting travelers in the brush just to jump out and get them. But the forests are equally dangerous. That's why I'm happy to sell you this map. But just being honest, if I were you, I'd hang it up on the walls of your new abode and stay in Marin's hold. You'll be mostly safe here.

[Player 1]

Sorry to say we have business outside the town walls.

[Player 3]

But this is sort of like horrible news. What, that we're in a region where the line between reality and hell is fraying? Well, I was gonna assume.

[Player 4]

I mean, it's assuming that he's crazy.

[Player 3]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Is like, is he. Is he exaggerating?

[Player 4]

Listen to Too Many stories.

[Player 2]

I think he's trying to sell up.

[Player 3]

Yeah. How are we? How are we. How are we to take.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You don't want this map, do you?

[Player 1]

We've been out in this part of the world for some time now. Have we.

[Player 3]

Have we seen anything like that?

[Player 4]

We see anything of this ever once before?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, you have not. And you have not seen anything. But you just recently.

[Player 1]

It does seem terrifying.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You just recently came into this particular area. If you see where you're positioned on the map, who knows how you actually got here, but you didn't spend that much time. You're probably. Probably spent three days.

[Player 3]

And we really, like, don't know this part of the world at all. Like, we're all.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I think it's more interesting that way.

[Player 3]

Yeah, definitely.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

Okay. So I just wanted, like, my impression was that, like, oh, yeah, we've known how horrible this area. No. But we don't know at all.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No. And I will say, the nights that you had leading up to this, when you first entered this area that you now know is called the Gloaming, they were. There were horrible experiences at night where you heard things.

[Player 3]

You heard.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You saw things.

[Player 3]

Like a Blair Witch kind of.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, just like, very, very creepy. But okay, you know, maybe just as if. As you were saying.

[Player 3]

Okay, great. I just really just wanted to get.

[Player 1]

That is important. Recontextual.

[Player 3]

Yeah. Yeah, totally.

[Player 2]

I think Saint One thinks this guy's kind of a con man, has a faulty map and is trying to sell it to us by giving us, like, a ghost story where it's like the map always changes. And he's like, all right. But he asks, feeling a bit of this fear of, what is this actual area that we're in? He says, so what's the nearest town?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That would be Wardenwood.

[Player 2]

And then after that, it's pretty much

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

it, as far as I know. But the world has changed.

[Player 1]

If we were to travel north and leave the Gloaming, would we encounter any other towns or settlements along the way?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You would encounter groups, but not so much towns.

[Player 2]

How big is the Gloaming?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's pretty large, although some say the size is ever changing. Is it growing outward? Is it contracting? It's all wives tales.

[Player 2]

How much is the map?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

75 gold.

[Player 1]

You can bill it, Martin Gordock. Yeah, expenses.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I'll tell you.

[Player 2]

Attention, Martin Gordock.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

This map is.

[Player 2]

I owe you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

There's three gold pieces.

[Player 2]

Three gold, Same kind of boss.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Or you can just roll an intelligence check and end up in a random hex as you go along.

[Player 1]

Or perhaps we might earn ourselves a discount by offering our services as guides and cartography.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, now we're doing business together. Yes. Yes, I like this. So perhaps one gold now and you come back with information and they don't charge you extra. Or three gold now and I give you gold back when you come. That one sounds better for me.

[Player 4]

Do we have one gold?

[Player 3]

And Ferro reaches in his pouch and he thinks about it. He looks at it, the coinage in his hand, and he takes a deep breath and lays it down on the counter. Three gold pieces.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Perfect. He reaches out his little meaty paw. Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, you know, I'll just. What I'll do is I'll put this aside and should you come back with some information, I could give you one gold back and a bevy of information. I could even give you that second gold back. And then we. Now we're partners. Yes, we're partners. Partners in this. This is wonderful. People are always asking for more complete maps. And now I'll have more information and you won't. It won't be as costly for you and look at the world as your oyster.

[Player 1]

Perhaps you could throw in a bit of rations or some traveling equipment to help smooth our journey then.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, but of course, yes. If you're going to travel beyond these walls, you'll need this. And it's a torch.

[Player 3]

Oh.

[Player 2]

Ooh.

[Player 1]

Ooh.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Just kidding. Yeah.

[Player 3]

This would never be exciting in any other system.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, right. It's like, whoa.

[Player 3]

Torch.

[Player 1]

A torch. The Most valuable item.

[Player 2]

17 of these in my backpack.

[Player 1]

So let me ask you before we leave. Maps and stuff. Warwick, are you. What are you.

[Player 4]

Maps and stuff.

[Player 1]

What are you wielding a spear? Are you happy with a spear?

[Player 4]

No, but. But A sword is 10 gold because we.

[Player 1]

We can. I feel like we can lay down the gold to get you a sword is.

[Player 4]

If you could take 10 gold. Gold.

[Player 1]

I do I. What else am I gonna. What else did I spend on?

[Player 4]

I didn't know you had 10 gold.

[Player 1]

I rolled.

[Player 3]

I didn't know you had. I should be robbing these.

[Player 1]

Kills you on the spot, takes my map. But like, I don't know how we run a role plays, like we all are pooling our money to buy a sword or whatever. You don't have any armor either?

[Player 4]

No.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, you could just. If you leave maps and stuff and wanna. You see the armor across the way. Way where you see Warwick just sort of staring longingly at the armorer shop, you could catch.

[Player 1]

That's why, passive aggressively.

[Player 4]

I don't think he Would say anything. I think that it's.

[Player 3]

Oh, I wish I had a sword.

[Player 4]

You know, I think, you know, if you ask, like, is there anything we can get you to anything else we need?

[Player 1]

Because honestly, like, you're like, I think else how much coin you has?

[Player 4]

He was surprised that Pharaoh pulled out three gold in. In the Cartographer. Like, he's shocked at the amount of money you guys have.

[Player 1]

I think we. I have 16 gold.

[Player 3]

I think we might have like, stumbled on.

[Player 1]

I think we stumbled on or something. Yeah. That's why. That's why he was able, like Allison was able to pay for this room last night.

[Player 3]

Yeah. Yeah. So maybe. Well, maybe like you would ask him. It's just like you wouldn't be able to spare a sword. He's just like, no, of course not. And then it's like, then we would

[Player 4]

think, oh, well, that's cool.

[Player 1]

Or maybe the better way to role play it is that we found a sword. Sword. And we have a sword. And we'll like, effectively pay for it. And then we'll like, hear you wield this.

[Player 3]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That way it seems like one of the things. The items that we found that's probably held on to.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

Because we're supposed to be like hard scrabble survival mode.

[Player 3]

It makes more sense.

[Player 1]

Buying a ten gold piece sword seems extravagant. But.

[Player 4]

Yeah, maybe you guys have a sorbet. You're not much good with it, right?

[Player 1]

Exactly. It's like you should. Yeah, let's do that. That's.

[Player 3]

So I give up five. You get Give up five. Great.

[Player 1]

And we'll have a sword.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You can sell the spear too.

[Player 2]

Oh, nice.

[Player 4]

Yeah. Sell back the spear.

[Player 1]

Well, do you. Would you want armor? We could also say, I mean, like,

[Player 3]

I don't have a lot left. Four gold left.

[Player 1]

I have 11 gold. I have. How much does a suit of armor cost?

[Player 3]

I think leather is 10, right?

[Player 4]

I think it is. Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

If you'd let me take some photographs of you, I could.

[Player 4]

Oh, my God. These freaking people you make up in your head are all so messed up.

[Player 1]

Any rope? We stay in for too long.

[Player 3]

I'm a bit of an amateur portrait artist. Wonder if you wouldn't mind sitting for me in my studio.

[Player 2]

Bad.

[Player 1]

I. I'm not. I. I'm more of a.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Lots of ways to earn gold in this town.

[Player 1]

I'm a student of the. The human form. Would you mind removing your cloak?

[Player 2]

Oh, my God.

[Player 3]

The line here is between hell and it's very thin indeed.

[Player 1]

Humanity and gravity is.

[Player 4]

Yes. Leather armor. 10. 10 gold 10 gold.

[Player 2]

I mean, I have gold, but. Are you talking to Saint?

[Player 1]

No. I think we're effectively saying, like, this is stuff we found. Like, it's starting gold. Like, but I make. And Joe's good for it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You feel weird buying your new friend a gift?

[Player 4]

No, he feels weird that, like, he's starting the adventure with all this loose cash when we're supposed to be really, like, on the edge.

[Player 1]

Yeah, but I won't. But also, like, this is.

[Player 4]

Because this is this character creation. Gold.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Right.

[Player 1]

I mean, it was. We. We looked into. I was like, well, maybe my guy would have a potion or something. But there's. Those are so expensive that it was crazy expensive. So it was like, the most reasonable thing to have is a weapon, even if I can't use it. So, like, buying a sword or, like, saying we found one or a suit. Like a pack of armor. A pack of armor.

[Player 3]

Pack of armor.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

A six pack. Like, boxers found a pack of armor.

[Player 3]

It's Batman chainmail shirts.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Like, pop one off.

[Player 3]

Haynes makes good armor.

[Player 4]

So let's say.

[Player 1]

Why don't we. Why don't we just say that, like, you and I, we came upon some gold and a sword and a. Yeah. And a suit of leather, maybe, like.

[Player 3]

Like a slain hedge knight. And he, like, he. He was injured somewhere else, like, wandered away and, like, died in solitude. And we. We happened across his body before any other scavengers got to it.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

How much gold of mine do you need?

[Player 1]

Well, if we want to split it evenly, it would be, I mean, three. Three. And I'll do four.

[Player 2]

Okay.

[Player 3]

Yeah. For armor.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Yeah, yeah, sure. Then that would leave me with one gold. One precious gold.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So you're, like, trying to suit up and whatnot, and you're looking at this pathetic guy, and you're like, you know, we. We have some stuff.

[Player 3]

I think we were, like, probably planning to sell it, but, like, now it

[Player 1]

was like, you wear this and, you know, you can. You can buy it from us eventually, you know, or whatever. You know, we'll give it to you for a fair rate, but for now, wear it and earn it. You know, Keep us. Keep us safe.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Okay. Awesome.

[Player 1]

Okay.

[Player 2]

Can I can. Saint while they're. Maybe they're, like, leaving the maps and stuff shop and talking about, like, gathering their equipment and whatever. I'd like to slide Denzar a silver and say, there's a lot of accidents in this town. I don't let him grab it yet. I'm just holding it. There's a lot of accidents in this town.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's a dangerous place.

[Player 2]

Right. Gloaming, that is what happened to the wall?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh, the wall. Hard time remembering.

[Player 2]

I, like, lift a finger off the silver, push it a little closer, and then put a finger on it again.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And so you both have your finger on it. Well, not something we're supposed to talk about, really, with outsiders especially. We don't want to scare anyone off.

[Player 1]

We're not out. We're not outsiders.

[Player 2]

You're not here.

[Player 1]

Wait. I'm sorry.

[Player 3]

We're outside the store.

[Player 1]

Oh, sorry. I didn't know.

[Player 3]

We are outsiders.

[Player 4]

We are outsiders.

[Player 2]

They're outsiders. I'm inside your shop.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It's a bit of a mandate, as it were. We don't want people to think that this place isn't safe. But seeing as you're eager to learn and sounds like you're leaving anyways.

[Player 2]

And we're partners.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And we're partners, yes. Most important of all, there was an unfortunate attack recently on the palisade and the town. Half a dozen demons, Skrull demons, I believe they're called, came and breached the walls and slew several of our inhabitants. Horrible business.

[Player 1]

Terrible.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

The guards were able to drive most of them off. All of them, actually. None of them perished. But we've been rebuilding ever since. And trying to rebuild the hearts of those who. And he just slides the coin to himself.

[Player 2]

Let's it go.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Those who suffered personal losses. It's a difficult time to be alive.

[Player 2]

That's the truth. What's a Skrull demon?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I don't know. Nasty little creatures. Long claws. I'm lucky to say that I had never seen anything like it. And when I heard the screeches, I peered out my window for but a moment before I hid under my bed. Heard stories about it the next day, but Reeve Winters made it clear that it was something not to be talked about. So I would appreciate if you kept it amongst yourselves. Yes. See, as we're partners. Yes.

[Player 2]

Mom's the word, right?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

If that word gets out, I don't know who said it.

[Player 2]

What was my name again?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I didn't catch it. Right.

[Player 2]

Nice to meet you, Denzar.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Denzel Washington.

[Player 2]

Denzar Den. That's your name? Denzar Washington.

[Player 1]

You didn't have to.

[Player 3]

Last name.

[Player 1]

She didn't.

[Player 4]

He didn't ask. He didn't ask.

[Player 2]

Denzar Washington.

[Player 1]

Literally didn't even ask for your name.

[Player 2]

Cool.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Bad not giving it to you.

[Player 1]

Denzar Washington, who owns maps and stuff?

[Player 2]

No relation. No relation.

[Player 3]

George Washington to George Washington.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Go back out there.

[Player 1]

All right. Should we go talk to Your dude?

[Player 2]

My friend.

[Player 1]

Your friend?

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

And then set out?

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Yeah, I think so. All right, all right. So who's this friend of yours we're

[Player 2]

walking to, like the crayfish? Not my friend.

[Player 1]

What's his name?

[Player 2]

Don't know.

[Player 1]

What's he look like?

[Player 2]

Like a guy. I'll know him when I see him. They get to the crayfish, I'll think

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

of a name during this break.

[Player 4]

Perfect use of a commercial break.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Player 2]

You.

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

we're back. You are are leaving confines of maps and stuff to head to the Crayfish Tavern in the hopes that you run into this fellow from last night. All right, I'm gonna roll luck die. I'm gonna say 1, 2, 3. He's there. 4, 5, 6. He's not there. He's not there.

[Player 4]

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Are you doing this by the book? Wait, wait, you're just making this up as you go?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yes and yes.

[Player 4]

Okay, well, there's a 1, 2, 3. Do you have them right?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, in this moment, yes, there might be a book way of doing it, but it is me looking at the book instead of just calling it before I roll it.

[Player 4]

Yeah, it's fine. But it does say around here we

[Player 3]

do things by the book. Lavalle.

[Player 4]

I just liked the entry because it was like a result of 1, 2, 3 is like favorable to the players or.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, I know what you're looking at. I was just making the call on the fly, but now I won't be able to sleep tonight. I'm not going to change my response because. Because I said before I rolled 1, 2, 3. This 4, 5, 6, this. But being a nerd, I need to know the truth.

[Player 4]

How to find the truth.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Anyways, he's not there while I look for the truth.

[Player 4]

A one to three results in a worse outcome for the players. I knew it. 4, 5, and 6, which you rolled is the better one.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, now we know for next time.

[Player 2]

Now we know.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

True.

[Player 1]

Now we know.

[Player 2]

Yeah. We open the door, look around. I come back out, he's not in there.

[Player 1]

Well, we better head out while we still got the light.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

I don't know if I trust him anyway. Anyone that's telling you they know details of a bandit camp has abandoned themselves, probably stab us in the back.

[Player 2]

Well, that is definitely what will happen regardless. But I thought maybe I could get some coin off him before we left.

[Player 4]

All right, well, we've got a map. We know the road that Regina went up. Let's check it and see what we can find.

[Player 2]

North first, then west.

[Player 1]

North first, then home. We're back here then to get our money from Martin, and then we can decide if we want to what we want to do next.

[Player 2]

All right.

[Player 1]

Also, we may all be dead.

[Player 2]

Might. I'll be dead.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Let's talk about hex travel. Since it seems like you're actually going to do this, I would say under normal conditions, you can travel eight hours per day. In order to go beyond that, you have to pass increasing conjects to push further beyond eight hours. That's straight from the book. These hexes are going to be six miles across, which is four hours walking. So.

[Player 2]

So,

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

you know, you can basically cross two hexes a day. It's eight hours.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Then you got to camp. You know, there's a marsh area to the south. I think that you should walk slower through there, which would be difficult terrain, which is two times, which would be like one hex a day. If you want to go to the south, that. That makes the most sense to me. Just to give some variation here, and obviously I'll be rolling for random encounters at a certain pace throughout your journey.

[Player 2]

Love this.

[Player 4]

Wow. That's amazing.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And you will see as you travel, depending on what hexes you move into monuments and strange things will appear on the map that may want you to lead you to go in a different direction.

[Player 1]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Shout out to our sponsor for making a mod to one of the modules that allows us to do that.

[Player 4]

So cool. Yeah, so cool.

[Player 2]

Cool. I think based off the map, we should go directly north. We'll hit the road if we just go directly north two spaces.

[Player 1]

She was traveling on the Road. So we should go the way she traveled.

[Player 2]

Yeah, Yeah. I just mean we'll hit the road if we just go north. So we might as well just go north.

[Player 4]

But we skip some of the road.

[Player 2]

Right.

[Player 4]

Like if we go northeast, we go straight to the road.

[Player 2]

Right.

[Player 4]

You know what I mean?

[Player 2]

But it's kind of takes longer then as the crow flies.

[Player 4]

But we also want to, like. We should go the way every part of the road.

[Player 2]

Okay.

[Player 4]

Because we don't know where she might have gotten jumped or.

[Player 1]

Yeah, so we just go. We go northeast.

[Player 4]

I mean, I think it's more likely

[Player 2]

the northeast and north.

[Player 1]

In the north.

[Player 4]

Yeah, northeast and north. It also looks like there's a little valley there, like a ridge that the road is running through. So maybe we get into that valley first.

[Player 2]

I like. So in game, we literally leave Marin. Marin's hold and just like follow that road. Yeah, just like straight out of the town.

[Player 3]

And we all link arms.

[Player 2]

Yeah. And we skip.

[Player 3]

And we skip. There's a lion and a guy made out of 10.

[Player 4]

Yeah. Oh, you just made me think that, like, rations are important and I don't have any.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So many rations.

[Player 4]

No, I didn't have any money. No, no, I. I did have some rations, but I actually got rid of those to start for. For flavor sake. But I think it was important. So.

[Player 2]

So let's buy some.

[Player 4]

So, yeah, I think I would just need to buy some rations, but that's five silver pieces.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Do you have back to maps and stuff?

[Player 4]

No, I don't. I don't have any money, so maps, but you guys are good. How many rations does everybody have if you.

[Player 1]

It's three.

[Player 3]

I have three days of rations, so let's buy more.

[Player 2]

And you hold them.

[Player 4]

Yeah, that's fine. So do you want to just spend like one gold on rations? And that's six rations and. And I'll hold them.

[Player 2]

Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. Saint will come back with rations and, like, hands them to you. It doesn't say anything. Just hands them.

[Player 4]

Just like stuffs them into this big. This big oversized backpack.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

What's your. How many gear slots do you have with your strength?

[Player 4]

17.

[Sponsor Voice]

Oh, my God.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's strength plus con for fighters because of haul.

[Player 3]

Oh, right, Hauler ability.

[Player 4]

Yes.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right, let's talk about this because there's a lot of crunch to this. That will seem pedantic at first and then it will just be second nature. But obviously I'm going to be rolling random encounters every X amount of hours. Okay. And then when your day ends and you need to camp, there are random encounters that could happen while you're camping. And on top of that, if you want to make a campfire fire, you need.

[Player 1]

Which we do.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It says in many cases, adventurers need a light source while resting that might stave off, you know, predators. It may also alert you to other things, Things you have to decide. You can combine three torches into a campfire that can't be moved once lit, and it lasts up to eight hours while at least one character remains near to it.

[Player 2]

Also, how many torches do we have? I have one.

[Player 1]

You only have one?

[Player 3]

Yeah, I only have one. One.

[Player 1]

I have two from my kit. From my, my crawling kit, and we got one. So from crawling kit comes with two torches.

[Player 3]

But does that. Do we need to do that? Like, we're in a forested area? Like, do we. We need torches?

[Player 1]

Make a torch.

[Player 3]

Why not even make a torch? Can we just, like, build a fire?

[Player 4]

Yeah, I don't see why not.

[Player 3]

Yeah, I mean, I said, like, we're passing through, like, the Goi Desert and we need to make a fire. We would use torches or a fire work.

[Player 4]

Camping in a dungeon.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Or, or, yeah, no, exactly.

[Player 4]

That's a perfect use.

[Player 3]

We're in the wilderness. I don't think we need.

[Player 1]

And you've got high wisdom, right?

[Player 4]

We have, we have flint and steel and, and wood.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

And I'm a, I'm a, I'm a nature guy, so.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

So, yeah, I, I, if that's okay with you too. I feel like we should be able to roll to make a. Not even roll, but just, like, make a fire while we're outside in the forest.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So that makes sense to me. It's like, if you're in a, A place where wood is readily available, you should be able to at least roll to see if you can start a fire, because why not roll? That's always fun. And I might roll to be like, no, it rains drained out, and so you got to roll with disadvantage, who knows? But if you're in a cave or in an area where wood isn't really readily available, three torches make a campfire cool. And it does say, like, even if you're outside at night, you're rarely in total darkness, so you still have the moonlight, maybe. Disadvantage, who knows? But, like, if something jumps you in the middle of the night, you have a lot of problems beyond the light.

[Player 2]

Yeah, yeah.

[Player 1]

You have the light spell. You just.

[Player 3]

And I do. Yeah.

[Player 1]

Well, how long is that last hour?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay. Yeah, my D6 is going to be like, all the edges are going to be frayed by the end of this game. That video of a guy that, like, tries to kick a stone into a sphere.

[Player 2]

Yes. Into a sphere.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

And it's like, day five.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I didn't know you could do it.

[Player 2]

He's doing it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

He just kicks it for hours a day.

[Player 3]

Into a what?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Into a sphere. He's trying to kick.

[Player 2]

He's kicking a rock to make it rounder, and he just kicks it down the street for, like, hours.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And so day 100 and whatever. And it's almost completely spherical. And he'll put it on something that measures how perfect a sphere it is. That's. Anyways, that's what my D6 is going

[Player 3]

to look like eventually.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

This is going to roll. You stop rolling a marble.

[Player 1]

They have rock tumblers for that purpose.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah. Makes me want to start kicking rocks.

[Player 2]

Hey, kick rocks.

[Player 3]

I think you should. I think you should go kick rocks.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

If I walked home, that thing would be a sphere. All right, so, jeepers, we're doing this. Did you get some extra torches?

[Player 4]

Yeah, I feel like we bought some extra torches.

[Player 3]

A torturous number of torches.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Torturous number of.

[Player 1]

And we have light the lights will as a backup. So I feel like.

[Player 2]

And most importantly, I saved you the roleplay from torches and stuff.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Thank you.

[Player 4]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Which he also owns.

[Player 2]

Which he also owns.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

He owns rations and stuff. Torches and stuff.

[Player 1]

And he's also got his sketch portraiture business.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

He's quite the entrepreneur.

[Player 4]

You'd like to pose for a few pictures?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That's in the back room.

[Player 1]

Imagine we just added that. As a mechanic, it's like, we need a little extra gold.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Thing is, when you go back there, there's no paint.

[Player 1]

I go. I go sit with Denzar for a photo sesh. For a photo sesh.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

The easel. Shut up.

[Player 3]

Shut up. Turn around.

[Player 4]

Don't look at my face.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Where do you want to go? You got, obviously six different options.

[Player 1]

We're going to go the northeast text,

[Player 4]

and then we'll go to the northeast

[Player 3]

text, go to the northeast.

[Player 4]

Let's see what happened.

[Player 3]

We also.

[Player 4]

Let's see what we see. It's going to open up more.

[Player 2]

Go, go, go.

[Player 4]

I want to see this in action.

[Player 2]

Can we move it? Can I move it?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No. I don't trust you guys. All right, so let's move.

[Player 3]

Oh, oh, oh, oh. There' settlement.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right, so you now see. Now that I've moved the hex, you see Marin's hold there. But yes, to the south east. You see, in the distance. What looks like a castle.

[Player 3]

Whoa.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay.

[Player 2]

This is the point in the video game where I would immediately go on a side quest. I would immediately stop what I'm doing and go to the castle.

[Player 3]

I would immediately save the game.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It would immediately save the game or

[Player 3]

do anything else at this point.

[Player 1]

Let's save right here.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Save here.

[Player 2]

I don't care about saves. Coming. I can quick saving right now.

[Player 1]

I think let's stick to our mission for now. We can always retreat some mods where

[Player 3]

we all have flamethrowers.

[Player 2]

Saint Saint is like picking his. His nail and he just is staring at that castle as we walk further away from it, thinking, like, what could be inside that castle?

[Player 4]

I mean, it looks that it's so close. How is it not on his map?

[Player 1]

I know it's. Mention it.

[Player 3]

It's not. I think it's ruins. I think it's. I think it's. It's crumbling right from the art. It kind of looks like it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, it looks like. Does look like ruins of a castle. A once great castle.

[Player 1]

Cool. All right, let's stick to the plan for now.

[Player 2]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Make a note. Yeah.

[Player 3]

Put it on the map.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Yeah, make a note. We. We mark it.

[Player 4]

Benar would like to know about that

[Player 3]

bastard didn't even know it was a Bruin castle. Four miles to away from his hometown.

[Player 1]

That's one less portrait we have to sit through.

[Player 3]

Good.

[Player 4]

All right.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right. So you want to go north and

[Player 4]

then this would be towards the end of the day, right?

[Player 3]

Yeah, yeah.

[Player 1]

Then we have to camp.

[Player 4]

So we go straight north.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay.

[Player 3]

This is cool.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right. So you go straight north.

[Player 1]

Oh, my God.

[Player 4]

Oh, my God.

[Player 3]

Skeletons.

[Player 1]

Are they. Do they look like brothers?

[Player 4]

But it's not in our hex. It's far to the distance.

[Player 1]

It's my. A few miles to the north off the road.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You see like stakes coming out of the ground with looks like something hanging on them.

[Player 3]

Oh, shit. And like the sun is going down.

[Player 2]

Yeah, it's going down.

[Player 4]

Oh, man.

[Player 3]

Man, what a creepy image that would be.

[Player 1]

All right, good night, everybody.

[Player 3]

Sleep well.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

As you're walking towards the latter half. Half of the first day, you see. God, this is so scary. You see campfire where the.

[Player 3]

Where the stakes are.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, like in our hex in your

[Player 4]

house right near us now.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

In the distance.

[Player 1]

Well.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Well, we should.

[Player 4]

Sorry, real quick. Is it on like, just to the side of the road?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

It'd be just to the side of the road in. In the. In the world woods.

[Player 3]

Why don't you go like, take a

[Player 4]

look all right, we have no idea what they're about, so maybe we stay out of sight.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Don't.

[Player 4]

Don't get seen.

[Player 2]

I'll go alone. I'll come back. By the way, the town has demons.

[Player 1]

Wait.

[Player 4]

What?

[Player 2]

I'll be right back.

[Player 3]

Wait.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That.

[Player 1]

We're all demons.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right, give me.

[Player 2]

Let's go.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Give me a Dex roll with advantage here. Just to see if they hear you coming.

[Player 1]

Just while you're doing like it. I think this is only contributing to my sense of unreality. Right. To know that, like, all the. Like, something I had not. There are demons that have overlaid with this reality just since, like, oh, the

[Player 3]

world has become fundamentally has become somewhere we don't recognize.

[Player 1]

Yes.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Also, I was going to tell you guys at campfire time at camp, but

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

now I feel like we might die.

[Player 2]

Get into a combat. So by the way, 16, okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You quietly move through the forest to come around.

[Player 2]

And I have my bow.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You have your bow. And you see seven people sitting around a campfire eating, like, cooking something over the fire. And they're all eating.

[Player 2]

No talking.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Maybe some light talking. How close we can getting.

[Player 2]

How close am I right now?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

About 50ft away.

[Player 2]

50ft.

[Player 1]

It's pretty close.

[Player 2]

I could probably hear.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay.

[Player 1]

Son of.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

They're not talking like this.

[Player 2]

I'd like to.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

My. This meat is delicious.

[Player 3]

More human, please. The best part is between the thumb and the forefinger.

[Player 1]

We call that the oyster.

[Player 2]

Is there any place of elevation compared to where we are right now? Like the road?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You know what? 1, 2, 3. Yes.

[Player 4]

No, the other way.

[Player 2]

1, 2, 3. No.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

5, 4, 5, 6. No. Fuck. No elevation.

[Player 3]

I think it was the reverse just

[Player 2]

said the other way.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, it's all very flat here. It's all heavily forced. You feel pretty safe back here. You could probably get even a little closer.

[Player 2]

I think Saint will kind of get down and crawl very slowly to just hear. He doesn't even need to necessarily see, but just to hear.

[Player 3]

It's like the call of duty ghillie suit. Mission.

[Player 2]

Yeah. I'm in forest shrubbery.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay. So they appear to be here. Human. They're not. They're not dressed in, like, fancy armor or anything. You see some weapons, nothing fancy. And looks like they caught an animal that they're roasting over the fire. And they're just talking about, like, mundane stuff. What's the plan for tomorrow? Oh, I don't know. We'll have enough meat to get us through the next day or so, but then we'll have to hunt some more men. Men, couple. Women.

[Player 3]

Humans.

[Player 2]

He says they seem like humans. Yep.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Size? The couple that you've seen. Like, did you get a real good look at their face? Humans?

[Player 2]

No horses.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No horses.

[Player 2]

No carts.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No carts.

[Player 2]

Okay. So he'll hang to listen. Doesn't hear any, like, pertinent information sticking out. No names or anything. And then he'll backward crawl until he's out of their sight line. And then he'll get up and sneak back.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

What do you tell your compatriots?

[Player 2]

He comes back up behind. You guys

[Player 3]

scared the hell out of me.

[Player 4]

What did you mean about demons?

[Player 3]

Yeah, what was that about?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

God, say that.

[Player 2]

I'll get back to that. I just wanted to tell you.

[Player 1]

You'll get back to that.

[Player 2]

What's worse, there's seven people up ahead. They have a campfire. They're cooking food. Men and women. They seem all human.

[Player 1]

Soldiers?

[Player 2]

Doesn't look like it.

[Player 4]

Ordos?

[Player 2]

Can't tell. Couldn't see coloring or insignia. Some of them have armor. Some of them have weapons. No carts, no horses.

[Player 4]

So, quality of the armor. Could you tell? Weaponry?

[Player 2]

Nothing looked fancy.

[Player 1]

What was their facial hair like?

[Player 2]

Scruffy.

[Player 4]

Unkempt.

[Player 2]

I mean, have you looked in a mirror?

[Player 4]

My beard is very well kept.

[Player 2]

You look great after that bath.

[Player 1]

He's extremely comfy.

[Player 2]

Yeah, true.

[Player 4]

I'm sorry. Kept.

[Player 2]

And then he kind of crouches down, back to the demons.

[Player 4]

Well, we either have to talk to him or we don't light a fire tonight.

[Player 3]

There could sounds. Could easily be bandits. I don't think. I don't think we should light the fire. I don't think we should risk it. We can't go any further. The sun's going down.

[Player 1]

I didn't like what Denzar Washington suggested we would happen in the dark.

[Player 3]

I didn't like that. I mean, we've been. We've. You and I, we've heard and seen some strange things. We have last.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Since we've.

[Player 3]

Since we've come into these lands.

[Player 2]

The tree falling on the wall is a lie. I asked Denzar about it. He said it was demons. I don't believe in demons. I don't even know what they would be, what they would look like. But he said it's a Skrull demon. Never heard of that in my life.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Skrull demon?

[Player 1]

Skrull demon. What? I've heard of Skrull demon. I'm pretty smart.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Do you study demons?

[Player 1]

I'm. I'm. I'm widely read.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You're widely read? Yeah. I think it's safe to say that you May have heard of a Skrell demon. They are. I think they're more like imps. They're not like giant demons. They fly. Oh, they're like flying reptilian demons with long claws. Kind of like, you know, dark. I think of them as, like, dark souls, the things that take you away as The Dark Souls 3. When they've come flying in and they bring you to Anor. Londo.

[Player 4]

Yeah, like leather.

[Player 3]

You know those things?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, yeah, like leathery wings. Gaunt.

[Player 4]

Like dragon esque. Except they're so gaunt and like. Like qu. Yeah, they take you to.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Inland, right? Am I crazy? Yeah, they like bring you to.

[Player 4]

Oh, they do. They take you a few. Few places in the. Over the course of the.

[Player 3]

Sounds like the alien race from the movie Forbidden Planet.

[Player 4]

Well, I think that we hike off the road here a bit. I mean, do you think there's any chance that these are the ones that jump the caravan?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Could be. Could easily be.

[Player 2]

They didn't seem to have anything on them.

[Player 4]

Do they have any horses?

[Player 2]

No horses.

[Player 1]

They might have information.

[Player 2]

They might be like us. I mean, it could be. Be a lot of things. I'm all in favor of not talking to them, to be honest.

[Player 3]

I don't think we risk it. There's seven of them. There's four of us.

[Player 1]

Yeah, they outnumber us. I just want. I don't want to go through the night without a. Without a fire.

[Player 3]

I know, but what are you gonna do? We can't.

[Player 1]

I mean, we could. We could roll a constitution check and

[Player 2]

try to move another hex away from them.

[Player 1]

Yeah, or further along.

[Player 2]

Wanna flip a coin?

[Player 4]

I mean, what happens if we fail the con check?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You're gonna be fatigued. Right. You will.

[Player 4]

You know what happens if we sleep without a campfire?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

You know what? Sleep without a campfire. You know, you just won't have light if something attacks you in the middle of the night, you know, so you might. You might be fine. You might not be. Depending on the level of the moonlight, depending on what hour you've got.

[Player 1]

Magical. It takes. This is something we encountered in my. My game. Initial lighting a torch in combat is not particularly easy. You have to roll a check.

[Player 4]

Right.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

So.

[Player 1]

So if we. If we get jumped, you're gonna have to get that spell off.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

All right, well, why don't we just try to. We kind of make our camp a little farther away from them and go

[Player 3]

on the opposite side of the road. Like deeper into the woods.

[Player 2]

Yeah, but not move a hex or do move.

[Player 1]

No, stay in the hex.

[Player 3]

Stay in the hex.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

Just. Yeah. Make a camp, no fire. And risk it.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

Take turns.

[Player 1]

Agreed.

[Player 3]

If.

[Player 1]

If something happens, we agree to wake up.

[Player 3]

I should take. I should take the first watch though, because if I do have to use light spell. I'll have that. I still have it for today. Tomorrow I'll have another one.

[Player 4]

So I should use.

[Player 1]

That's a good idea. All right.

[Player 4]

And maybe, maybe once the sun comes up, we could pass him on the road. Maybe ask them if they saw anything.

[Player 3]

Could do. Could always try to run away if.

[Player 1]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

And I. I think maybe if we approach during the day, they won't be as frightened. Won't be my. Maybe as prone to attack.

[Player 1]

I mean they could just be travelers on the road, same as us.

[Player 3]

That could be. I don't. I don't want to be cynical, but just have to be cautious. You and I know that.

[Player 1]

That's true.

[Player 2]

Pharaoh's right.

[Player 3]

All right, let's get some sleep.

[Player 2]

Sleep with my dagger.

[Player 1]

So we reduce our rations.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, reduce your rations by one. Obviously you get three per pack, so just rations by one. If you get interrupted during your sleep, you have to roll a check. Otherwise you consume the ration and don't gain the benefits of rest, which right now is okay. You haven't spent any spells, you haven't lost any hit points, but over time. That sucks.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And you should role play it. It's like you didn't sleep. You got something attacked in the middle of the night. I wonder if anything is going to come after you. You guys set the watch.

[Player 3]

I'm first watch.

[Player 1]

I'll go. I'll go second.

[Player 2]

Okay.

[Player 1]

Just in case I have to spell,

[Player 2]

then I'll wake up early and do the rest of it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay. You go to bed. Night two of her adventure.

[Player 4]

Night two of our adventure.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yep. And the night passes without incident. Oh my God.

[Player 3]

So tense. Really. Like.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Oh man. And like it's sometimes that's going to happen. Sometimes every two hours. Something could come after. Like it's just. And we'll see what. We'll see how it plays out for our.

[Player 3]

What our environment's like.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, that is just stray rolls. Now I want to. I want to let the system do the talking. You wake up, you gather your things, and as you set out, you see that that other group got out a little bit before you and they're ahead of you on the path.

[Player 1]

Walking the same direction.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Walking in the same direction.

[Player 4]

Interesting.

[Player 1]

Interesting. Do they notice us?

[Player 2]

Huh?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I don't think so. I think you were careful enough. No, they don't notice you.

[Player 1]

And now that we're walking behind them, they're far enough ahead, they don't notice.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah. So you could approach them and get the jump. You are. I think.

[Player 4]

I think we approach them and just

[Player 2]

in a friendly way.

[Player 3]

Yeah.

[Player 4]

Right.

[Player 3]

Hail them.

[Player 4]

See if they. Them heard anything or seen anything on the hailing frequencies.

[Player 3]

Hailing frequency is open.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay, who wants to talk? Talk. And keep in mind, I'm gonna add your charisma to their reaction.

[Player 3]

I think I have the highest charisma.

[Player 1]

You certainly have higher than one than me.

[Player 2]

What's your charisma?

[Player 3]

It's 14.

[Player 2]

Nice. Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

I love this mechanic. So I. You. You'll talk. Yeah. And then, you know, you'll add your charisma bonus to what I roll to see what their reaction is.

[Player 3]

Okay.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

But what I'm. The way I'm gonna play it is I'm gonna set the reaction and I'm gonna modify it by your charisma roll.

[Sponsor Voice]

Okay.

[Player 2]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay.

[Player 3]

Uh, who There?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And they stop. And they turn around slowly, one by one by one. And they kind of put their hands on their weapons suspiciously.

[Player 3]

I have my hands up in the air.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That's far enough.

[Player 3]

No, no, no, no. Of course.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

What's your business here on the road?

[Player 3]

We're traveling north. We're seeking a loss. Lost merchants from. From the town. From Marrow. What was it? Merrows? Marin's hold?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

No, no. No lost merchants here.

[Player 3]

No, no. We just. We want to make sure. Oh, no. There are bandits about. We just wanted to gauge your. Your attitude towards civilians.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

What's your charisma?

[Player 3]

It's plus two. 14.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Plus two. We haven't come across any bandits, Thankfully. We did run afoul of some wolves and lost some of our number. We're from a village to the east called Treefall, or once called Treefall. It's gone. It's gone. We are seeking asylum. Somewhere a village was razed.

[Player 3]

Well, you're going the wrong direction, man. Go back the way. We're coming down the road to Marin's hold. They're taking refugees. That's how we got there.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

They take all comers.

[Player 3]

Yes. I mean, look at us. They took us in.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

We have women and children.

[Player 3]

Yes, of course. All are welcome.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

This is no funny business.

[Player 3]

No, no, no, no, no. Of course we'll stand back. There's no. Don't worry about us, in fact, here. And I take my last gold and I say, look, it's a gesture. And I toss it and stand back.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Lands in the dirt at his feet. And he picks it up. Thank you, stranger. A blessing upon you and your friends. You say it's just this way to the south? Southwest, Right.

[Player 3]

Just that way, as a matter of fact. You're going to laugh. We saw you last night. We were terrified, shaking in our boots. We slept with no fire off the. We terrify you of bandits or bad men. It's just. Honestly, I think we're all relieved to see that you're just normal folk like us. So.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, it's good to know that it's not all evil out here.

[Player 3]

No, no, no.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

All right. Just to the south. We can make it there.

[Player 3]

You can make it there. That's start of the day. They got plenty of time. I think it should. Well, it might take two days, I suppose, but you'll get there.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Just follow the road right there. Thank you. Thank you all. And they just, like, gather up, and this group of seven villagers just, like, walk by you.

[Player 4]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

They look at you kind of smiling and nodding their heads.

[Player 4]

We'll be on our way back.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Little children.

[Player 4]

Hopefully soon.

[Player 2]

They have children?

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, there's, like, two women.

[Player 4]

I was going to ask you about that.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Little children. And they're smiling and think. And they, like, point at you like, wow, worried.

[Player 3]

Hello, I'm Wave there.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Hello.

[Player 3]

Gied preserve you.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And they pass on.

[Player 3]

I didn't think

[Player 4]

that was great.

[Player 3]

I can't believe I gave them the last of my gold.

[Player 2]

You gave them the last of your gold?

[Player 3]

I did. That was it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

That was all.

[Player 3]

I. I'm skint now. I've got nothing. Nothing left.

[Player 1]

Alms.

[Player 3]

I'm going to need alms now.

[Player 4]

I'm just.

[Player 3]

I'm just so glad.

[Player 1]

I know we're all. I think we're all relieved.

[Player 2]

Right?

[Player 1]

It was like, yeah, all right.

[Player 3]

That's one less threat I guess we got to worry about. What.

[Player 4]

And he's, like, watching them pass maybe over, like, a hill and then down the road to a point where we don't see them anymore. He's like, I hope they'll be all right. I'm not sure if maybe we should have gone.

[Player 1]

They could always push themselves and get there tonight. Could get there, get there before night, get there tonight.

[Player 3]

Still early.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 2]

They made it this far.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah.

[Player 1]

All right, let's keep moving.

[Player 4]

Let's keep moving.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Okay. Where are you going?

[Player 2]

Do you want to head north to the spike?

[Player 1]

Oh, yeah. Do we want to check in? I mean, it's. Is it only 3? Is the picture representative, or is it.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Yeah, it looks like three large spikes coming out of the ground. At first they look just like trees, but you realize, you know, from this distance, especially now, that's the day you can see it.

[Player 1]

It's like they could be the brothers.

[Player 2]

Sydney's curious.

[Player 1]

Yeah, they could be.

[Player 3]

I think this is. This could be. This. This could easily be. I mean, we're out here looking for evidence of what happened. Yeah, like this could be evidence of something that happened.

[Player 2]

And it's daytime. I think we should go there in the daytime and then we can move

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

north again closer, carefully.

[Player 1]

Get back on the road.

[Player 3]

And get back on the road.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

On the road.

[Player 1]

Yeah. So we'll go that hex.

[Player 4]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Day three. You head out this hex, you head north another six miles, and as you approach, you see a mound rising up out of the ground. It's kind of like in the shape of a boot. And at the ankle part of the boot, there are three large stakes in the ground overlooking the forest. And there are three scorched skeletons lashed to the three stakes. And we'll see you next time. Oh, no. Oh no.

[Player 4]

Completely lost truck on me.

[Player 3]

I'm like that snuck off on me.

[Player 4]

Physical.

[Player 3]

Oh my God, dude, I'm so pissed.

[Player 4]

I have to stop. I want to go in there right now.

[Player 3]

This game's awesome, dude.

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[Player 2]

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

Could we get something a little bit lighter? Some lighter music here?

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

And what about Unsolved Mysteries, the show that jump started all of our love of true crime?

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

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[Dungeon Master (DM)]

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