Dark Dice – Season 2, Episode 26: "The Bell of Bone"

Release Date: October 28, 2025
Podcast by Fool and Scholar Productions

Episode Theme & Purpose

In "The Bell of Bone," the Dark Dice adventurers stagger from the trauma of previous battles into even darker territory. Haunted by loss, impossible choices, and unraveling reality, the party confronts their worst fears as the price of survival is paid in blood and betrayal. The narrative weaves horror, moral ambiguity, and cosmic dread as the Neverborn God is brought into the world through their actions—a passage from mere adventurers to unwitting harbingers of apocalypse.

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Aftermath of Escape and Moral Dilemmas

• Setting: The party, battered and exhausted, emerges from a hellish abyss, just barely escaping death—and not without cost.
• Sacrifice Debate:
  • Survivors (including Rowena, Sindri, and Sorin) grapple over who should be sacrificed to seal a supernatural gate, invoking heated arguments and dredging up painful personal histories.
  • Rowena volunteers herself for sacrifice, reasoning her lack of anchors in the mortal world, but a sinister influence overtakes her.
  • In a trance, Rowena murders Sorin; afterward, she is shocked and unable to comprehend her actions.

Notable Quote:

“I’ll be the one to choose, she.”
– Rowena (03:47)

• Children present silently witness these horrors, setting a deeply unsettling tone.

2. Haunted Memories and Failing Sanity

• The party falls into fugue, plagued by relentless visions: flying as a dragon, enacting bloody revenge, and countless other lifetimes—each blending into the next.
• The group emerges in a bizarre chamber of 15 doors, reality warped, everyone shaken from failed sanity checks.

3. Fractured Group Dynamics and Despair

• Rowena is emotionally shattered, holding the bloody dagger, barely responsive even as Lyrel tries to feed her or comfort her guilt and trauma.
• Sindri, Lyrel, and Wreath attempt to ground Rowena, but tensions remain high. Wreath detects Rowena carries something malevolent within her.

Notable Quote:

"I don't care what you want. You're not killing yourself. Eat."
– Lyrel to Rowena (08:00)

• Rowena, tormented and fearful of what lies within, urges the others:

“If it comes to it again... if it comes between letting this thing into the world or not, and I’m the price you have to pay, you pay it. Do you understand?”
– Rowena (10:48)

4. Revelation and Emergence of the Neverborn God

• Wreath states a god stands among them; Rowena realizes she is the host to the Neverborn God, a being never meant to exist.
• The chamber is a temple, its silver door able to lead “to whatever our hearts desire.” Tension mounts over whether to use it, as they comprehend the cost of their escape: the Neverborn is becoming flesh.

Notable Quotes:

“None can stop his triumphant march as his host has consumed the flesh of friends.”
– Wreath (12:08)
“The Neverborn God. He’s here… it’s found a host.”
– Rowena (12:55)

5. Transformation and Horror Unleashed

• As the party argues and explores, Rowena collapses. Her body spasms as something grotesque tears itself from her: bones breaking, flesh unraveling—a new figure of elvish aspect, golden-eyed and cruel.
• All present must make sanity and willpower saving throws to resist the mind-breaking command:

  “Kneel.”
  – The Neverborn (17:01)

Memorable Moment:

• Graphic body horror as the Neverborn is born from Rowena, her corpse gruesomely gutted, underscoring the podcast’s reputation for mature, chilling storytelling.

6. Desperate Flight and Final Stand

• Sindri casts a preservation spell to keep Rowena’s body from rotting—accepting her death and vowing a proper dwarven funeral.
• Elias, fleeing in panic, witnesses strange allies opposing the Neverborn—a knight playing a spellbound lyre, a dragonborn chanting, and more.
• The Neverborn wields unimaginable power—casting deadly magic, annihilating allies, and nearly killing Sindri and Lyrel.

7. The Last Portal & Aftermath

• Utilizing the silver portal, the party escapes to Vestmansholt just as time and a multiversal battle fold around them. Allies on the other side have been preparing for this threat.
• The Neverborn is ultimately destroyed by a coalition of new and old heroes after a furious 36-second battle, though echoes of its brief existence will haunt the world.

Notable Quotes:

"Remainer of a corpse. Go back to your grate."
– Lyrel’s battle cry at the Neverborn (21:22)
"Guide me in darkness. Grant me a swift death if I fail."
– Father Sindri (24:37)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:47 | Rowena’s possession and murder of Sorin | | 05:13 | Rowena’s chilling farewell: “Thank you, friend. We will remember your sacrifice always.” | | 06:51 | Rowena’s post-trauma state, discussion of Lauriac | | 08:00 | Lyrel confronts Rowena over her will to live | | 10:48 | Rowena’s warning: a plea to let her die if needed | | 12:55 | Revelation: Neverborn God has found a host | | 14:47 | The horrific birth of the Neverborn from Rowena | | 17:01 | The Neverborn’s first command: “Kneel.” | | 18:58 | Rowena’s corpse preserved; party decides to flee | | 21:22 | Lyrel’s charge and battle against the Neverborn | | 24:41 | Lyrel lands a blow: the demigod feels pain for the first time| | 26:08 | The party escapes through the portal, conclusion of the Neverborn| | 26:23-30:49| Aftermath, lives of major characters, campaign epilogue |

Memorable Quotes

• Rowena:
  "If it comes to it again... if it comes between letting this thing into the world or not, and I’m the price you have to pay, you pay it. Do you understand?" (10:48)
• Lyrel, resolute:
  "I don't care what you want. You’re not killing yourself. Eat." (08:00)
• Wreath, prophetic:
  "None can stop his triumphant march as his host has consumed the flesh of friends and delivered him from Chromana." (12:08)
• The Neverborn, chilling command:
  "Kneel." (17:01)
• Father Sindri, fatalistic prayer:
  "Great all shadow, guide me in darkness. Grant me a swift death if I fail." (24:37)
• Lyrel, bravado in crisis:
  "Remainer of a corpse. Go back to your grate." (21:22)

Concluding Moments & Epilogue

• The party’s escape leads to fulfillment of prophecies, unexpected heroics, and a montage of legends forged and lives rebuilt (26:23–30:49).
• While some party members find new beginnings, others are left to grapple with trauma and the haunting aftereffects of their actions in Vestmansholt.
• The campaign’s narrative seeds the next chapters—loose threads, new threats, and characters forever altered by what they witnessed.

Tone & Style

The episode stays true to Dark Dice’s signature tone: unflinching, atmospheric horror interlaced with moments of tragic humanity and fleeting hope, delivered in an immersive, roleplay-intense manner. The dialogue is raw and real, often punctuated by gallows humor and anguish. The events are both intimate and epic, demonstrating the cost (emotional and physical) of victory in a world forever darkened by their choices.